Amaya Sensei’s decision to give her test a one-hour time limit had worked in the boys' favor, as had her apparent disinterest in their abilities. They had shown her some of their basic skills before retreating into the woods. Now, they were biding their time, preparing to capitalize on the final ten minutes of the task.

Engaging a Jonin-level ninja for a full hour, revealing their abilities while wasting their Chakra, made little sense to Reito. The concept of getting the flag and holding onto it for that long made even less. They had one chance: to catch Amaya Sensei off guard, get the flag, and limit her window of opportunity to recover it by waiting to strike. It was an all-or-nothing gambit.

Reito would have been reluctant to suggest such a strategy had he been grouped with other students, but the bond he had with Kazuki and Yuji made it possible. He knew they were more talented than he was, but thanks to their trust in his analytical ability and tactical know-how, he was still able to contribute something to their team, and he was grateful for that.

Thankfully, it seemed as though Amaya Sensei really had no intention of chasing them. With a capture-the-flag exercise, there was no reason for her to, not until they had the flag at least. So, after a very tense half hour or so, Reito checked his watch for the last time and announced with a sigh of relief, “Okay, guys, this is it. We have ten minutes left. Ready, Kazuki?”

The boy took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then performed a Hand Seal sequence. “Eagle Eye (Washigan no) Jutsu!” he said, and when he opened his usually green eyes, the irises had turned yellow and grown considerably in size. “Alright, it worked. Let’s do this! See you in a bit.”

With that, Kazuki leaped upward, disappearing into the canopy of the hulking tree, while Reito and Yuji relocated to the east before emerging from the woods.

“Ah, there you are,” said Amaya Sensei upon spotting the two boys running toward her. She was now sitting on the ground with her arms and legs crossed, looking rather bored as she pocketed her clock, even as the boys approached. “I thought you might have gone home. Oh, it looks like one of you has.”

Once in range, Reito threw a kunai, which the teacher dodged with a sigh and a mere bend of her neck, then Yuji jumped and hurled his staff down at her like a javelin. Again, she lazily dodged the headshot with minimal effort.

Reito had to work to conceal his grin. He had noticed the teacher’s propensity for dodging their attacks in this manner, only choosing to deflect them when absolutely necessary, surely because she thought it was more humiliating for them. He had been banking on her doing so again.

When he then threw a full spread of shurikens that were obviously not going to hit her, Amaya Sensei frowned in confusion. That was when she noticed it. Lying just behind her, where it had landed seconds earlier following her dodge, Yuji’s staff began to crackle ominously. The white wrappings around its center were now covered with Explosive Tags, which Yuji had triggered.

Amaya Sensei reacted just in time to escape the blast, but as planned, she was then forced to retreat from the shurikens that were now in her path. She somersaulted away, landing where they had been fighting earlier. She was clearly surprised, though, to see Reito and Yuji still advancing on her, and Reito extending his forefinger and index finger upward to form the Seal of Confrontation, which was used for basic Chakra activation.

That was when a number of what appeared to be firecrackers began to go off all around her. Looking down, minding her footing, Amaya Sensei realized she was standing on a minefield of Reito’s used Shurikens, which had been equipped with miniature Explosive Tags. They weren’t powerful but caused an unexpected distraction, giving the boys a chance to throw a well-aimed kunai each. She deflected the first with one of her own, but the second hit her in the shoulder.

“Impossible!” she said, wincing from the wound, obviously not comprehending why she hadn’t been able to simply deflect the second, hadn’t been able to even move. “What have you done?”

Yuji halted two meters from the teacher, while Reito continued and lunged for the flag at her waist, yelling, “It’s up to you now, Yuji!”

***

“Leave it to me,” said Yuji with confidence. He was now making the Seal of Confrontation, using Chakra in some way unknown to the teacher, which was resulting in her inability to move.

“How did you…?” Amaya Sensei mouthed as Reito snatched the red flag and took off for the woods at top speed. “The Paralysis Jutsu at your age?”

“No, Sensei. Your shadow,” Yuji answered.

“Shadow? You’re not from the Nara Clan,” she replied, an eyebrow raised with curiosity.

Yuji indicated to the floor with a nod of his head.

With some effort, Amaya Sensei craned her neck. An arrow had pierced the floor behind her. On its fletching, a tag of some kind was attached, burning blue with Chakra.

“I heard about the Nara Clan’s Jutsu. I liked that it could bring a battle to a halt in a peaceful way, so I devised my Shadow Tag Jutsu to mimic it,” Yuji elucidated. “I imbue paper and ink with my Chakra to create tags inscribed with an Activation Seal and some extra characters. I don’t have much Chakra of my own, but these can be activated with a minimal amount, just like Explosive Tags. Kazuki attached one to his arrow and fired when Reito set off his distraction.”

“Very interesting,” said Amaya Sensei. “Isn’t your technique limited by the amount of Chakra the tag can hold, though?”

Yuji’s white tag was almost burned black already. However, as if in answer to the teacher’s question, there was a whooshing sound and a soft thud. A fresh tag-equipped arrow had sunk into the teacher’s shadow right next to the first. Yuji concentrated and activated it.

The teacher smiled wickedly as she scanned the tree line. “The long-haired kid has remarkable aim,” she praised.

“Kazuki has worked very hard on his archery and on mastering his father’s visual Jutsu.”

“So, you three planned this right from the start, huh? The other kid laid down his trap during our first bout, and then you both maneuvered me right into it.”

“That was all Reito’s doing. He had us visit the site last night and plan accordingly. He even accounted for the sun’s position to decide on Kazuki’s vantage point. He didn’t know off-hand, but he brought a library book and a compass to figure out where your shadow would be. We may not be the best students, but we are hard workers. You underestimated us, Sensei.”

“Oh, you think the game is over? This won’t hold me.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Perhaps not,” Yuji conceded, reaching into his long sleeve and pulling out an ofuda scroll. “That is why I will now use my own Chakra to supplement the effect of my Shadow Tag.”

Amaya Sensei grimaced as Yuji placed the long sheet of paper on her forehead and held it there with two fingers, channeling his Chakra directly into her. “Aren’t you concerned?” she taunted. “Time is almost up. Only one of you can pass, and you don’t have the flag.”

“If only one of us can pass this test, so be it. The alternative is none of us passing, and that outcome is unacceptable to me and to Kazuki as well. We discussed it and will leave here happy in the knowledge that we assisted Reito in becoming a Genin and proved you wrong about us.”

“I see…” said Amaya Sensei, her arms moving in increments as she fought against her immobilization and the pain of her wound. “I guess I shouldn’t waste any more time here, then. I can’t have the three of you making a fool of me, can I?”

Yuji’s eyebrows raised in shock as she gradually brought her hands together to form seals, Chakra rolling off her in waves. From his hiding place, Kazuki fired two more Shadow Tag arrows, which Yuji activated immediately before increasing his Chakra output.

Neither action appeared to make a difference, and Amaya Sensei finished her long sequence with the snake seal. With gritted teeth, she slowly raised her left leg, then stomped down with all her might, commanding, "Earth Style (Doton): Altered Landscape (Henka Keshiki no) Jutsu!”

Immediately, the ground began to shake with increasing intensity. A second later, Yuji’s eyes widened in fear as a web of cracked earth spanned out from their position, its circumference continuing to grow far beyond them.

“I’d move if I were you,” the woman advised calmly.

Yuji held on as long as he could as the ground bucked violently, but when the segment of ruptured earth he was standing on rose and teetered over, he was forced to abandon his task and take evasive action or risk falling into a crevice.

Careful of his footing, he leaped his way to safety. Perched on the branch of a tree, he turned to try and spot the teacher. She was gone, no doubt already in pursuit of Reito and the flag, and much of the once flat grassy clearing now resembled mountainous terrain.

He couldn’t believe it. Amaya Sensei had fought through his technique and three of his Shadow Tags, then pulled off a high-level elemental Jutsu by channeling Chakra through her foot, all with a kunai embedded in her shoulder. He felt so foolish. He had done the very thing he had accused the teacher of. He had underestimated her. This was a Jonin-level ninja.

“Yuji! You okay?” Kazuki asked frantically, landing on the branch beside him and placing a hand on the panting boy’s shoulder. “I had a bird’s eye view of that crazy Jutsu. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The training ground is wrecked!”

Yuji nodded, but the teacher’s technique had shaken him, both figuratively and literally. “I’ll be fine. We’ve got to go after her and try to slow her down.”

***

Reito had been racing through the woods at top speed for five minutes when he heard it. A cacophony of some sort was coming from behind him. Was it…? No, it didn’t sound like that. When he paused on a branch to try and identify the noise, he found his balance affected. The tree was vibrating. No, not the tree, the ground.

What the heck had happened? Had Amaya Sensei escaped Yuji’s Jutsu somehow? Was she on her way to his position now? Reito checked his watch, took a deep breath, and continued his retreat. Four minutes. He just needed to hold on to the flag for four more minutes. Unfortunately, he could already tell that he was slowing down. Running across hazardous terrain at maximum speed was quickly consuming his pitiful Chakra pool.

Just then, there was another noise in the distance, this one easily distinguishable as the sound of an explosion. The first of Reito’s traps had been triggered. Amaya Senesi was coming for him. She wouldn’t have fallen for a proximity mine. He hoped they might slow her approach by putting her on guard for more, but he had primarily set them up as an early warning system.

When a second explosion sounded, Reito checked his watch. Just three minutes remained, but the second trap had been placed a good distance from the first, which indicated that Amaya Sensei was approaching at an incredible velocity. This realization made him lose focus on his Chakra control, and the foot he used to land on the next tree branch slipped.

Reito fell out of the tree but managed to stick his landing by using his arms to absorb some of the impact. He flipped over and continued running as fast as he could at ground level, breathing hard now due to the Chakra requirement for such leg speed, which had his arms flailing out behind him.

For a moment, he found himself wondering whether Kazuki or Yuji would have been better suited for this role, but he quickly reminded himself that he had volunteered because the two of them were essential to delaying Amaya Sensei. He was the only one of them without any useful Jutsu, after all.

His negative thoughts were interrupted by a third and final explosion, much louder than the previous two. Stopping in his tracks, Reito leaped back into the trees and doubled back the way he came, then carefully wound his way through the brush west of his previous heading. With any luck, Amaya Sensei would follow his tracks the wrong way until they came to an abrupt halt.

After clearing some thick shrubbery without disturbing it, Reito took cover on the floor beneath it. With two minutes to go, if he continued running, he risked detection. Hiding was his only option now. He didn’t have the Chakra for a lasting Camouflage Jutsu or Transformation Jutsu, so he resorted to the basics, pulling a sheet of green cloth from his bag, which he draped over himself.

Reito lay there under the plant, watching the seconds count down on his watch, his ears strained for movement. With just a minute left, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice whispered very close by, “A camo sheet? I admire your use of the classics, but transforming into a rock or something would have served you better. Perhaps you’re not capable, though?”

Shooting to his feet, Reito was faced with Amaya Sensei, grinning as she chewed on one of her toothpicks. He checked that he was still in possession of the flag, then turned on his heel and ran.

“You gave me a good run for my money, but it’s over,” said Amaya Sensei as Reito looked over his shoulder, seeing her casually reaching for the trailing red fabric at his waist.

Summoning the last of his Chakra, Reito focused, performed the Hand Seals for the technique that had almost prevented him from graduating, and muttered, “Clone (Bunshin no) Jutsu!”

Only two afterimages appeared, but that was enough. While Amaya Sensei grabbed at the air, her hand passing right through one of the fake Reito’s flags, he reached into his bag, pulled out an object, and slammed it down on the ground. A blaring light filled the area, accompanied by a deafening noise.

With his eyes shut tightly, Reito soon stumbled and fell to the floor with his arms over his eyes and ears. When the light of his homemade flashbang dissipated, his senses slowly started to return. He could just about open his eyes, but his ears were filled with a horrible ringing. It wasn’t the sort of high-pitched ringing he would have expected, though. It was more like the clanging of…an alarm clock.

Reito turned excitedly, squinting in the direction of the noise. There was Amaya Sensei, holding her little clock aloft, signaling the end of her test. For a second, a huge grin stretched across his face. However, in the teacher’s other hand was the flag. With a glance at his waistband, he accepted the truth. He had failed.

Amaya Sensei turned off the clock and walked forward, extending a hand to Reito. She helped him to his feet. “You came very close,” she said kindly.

“Not close enough,” Reito sulked.

“But you impressed me, and trust me, that doesn’t happen very often.”

Reito nodded. “I guess I can’t be too upset,” he said glumly, a sad smile coming over him. “At least Kazuki and Yuji passed.”

The teacher blinked at the boy in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”

“Well, you did come right for me after escaping Yuji’s Jutsu, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Why?”

Pointing to the flag, Reito explained, “Because I made a pitstop on my way here. Your rules stated that we had to have the flag at our waist when the test ended. Before I took off, I cut a section off and left it at our meeting spot for Kazuki to find.”

Just then, Kazuki and Yuji arrived on the scene, panting deeply, dropping to their knees from the exertion of catching up with Amaya Sensei and Reito. Each of them had a thin red strip of fabric tucked into their waist.

The stunned-looking teacher’s jaw dropped, causing her toothpick to fall out.

“I told Yuji to lie to you, Sensei,” said Reito.

“I told you — Kazuki and I — were happy for Reito — to take the flag,” breathed Yuji.

“With the time limit and Yuji’s delay tactics pressuring you, this statement made you focus all your attention on catching me.”

“A ninja must have the ability to discern fact from fiction, Amaya Sensei,” Kazuki taunted, clutching his side, his expression pained.

“The question now is,” said Reito, looking the woman in the eye, “how much of what you have told us was fact? And how much, if any, was fiction?”