When Reito arrived at the training ground that he had booked for him and Haru, he didn’t get to work right away. He lay down on the grass for at least fifteen minutes, just basking in the Sun’s rays, imagining that the warmth on his skin had a rejuvenating quality. What a day it was turning out to be.

It hadn’t been an easy conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Torimoto. They were very kind—kinder than Reito felt he deserved—and they didn’t ask any questions about his last mission. They just wanted to know how Reito was doing.

He couldn’t be totally honest, of course, but assuring them that he was doing okay when Kazuki was gone seemed just as inappropriate, so he wasn’t sure he said the right things, especially after he was introduced to Sora, a three-year-old little sister his best friend never got to meet. When Reito opened the sack Sakura had brought to him and presented them with Kazuki’s bow, Mrs. Torimoto broke down.

He probably left sooner than he should have, but the way the Torimotos treated him—like caring parents—was somehow harder to take than a slap across the face from Mr. Saito. He was glad he visited them, though. He owed them that much, and it had been a cathartic experience, probably for all of them.

“Hey! What are you lying around for? We’ve got training to do!” Haru called out as he approached.

Reito flipped onto his feet. He was happy to see that Haru looked like his usual smiling self again and that he was sporting his new katana. He also had his shinai in hand. “What did you bring that for?”

“You need something to defend yourself with, don’t you?” asked Haru, throwing the wooden sword.

Reito had one of Yuji’s old kunai in his pocket, but he caught the shinai, deciding it would be a better match for Haru. “Alright, but I’m no swordsman, so go easy on me!” he said.

The boys crossed swords for the next hour—Haru careful to use the back of his blade—in which Reito didn’t land a single strike.

“Man,” Reito said breathlessly, “It’s a shame they don’t teach Kenjutsu at the academy. You’d be top of class!”

“Ha!” Haru expelled. “I’m happy they don’t! If everybody learned, I’d probably be average. At least this way, I have my niche, even if swordsmanship isn’t very flashy. Speaking of flashy, let’s have another go at getting your ability to manifest.”

“I dunno. I’m starting to think I imagined the whole thing,” Reito derided.

“I’ve dreamed of Akio getting knocked on his backside plenty of times, so trust me, I know what it looks like when it really happens!” said Haru as he sheathed his sword and placed it on the ground. “Anyway, I’ve had an idea about how to activate it.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I think the problem is we’ve been trying to get you to do what you did before, to hit me like you did Akio. We need to start smaller.” Haru walked over to the tree line and retrieved a twig from the brush. He then returned and planted it upright in the ground. “Knock it over,” he instructed.

Reito laughed, “How?”

Haru shrugged and made an “I don’t know”-type of noise. “Should be easier than a whole person, though, right?” he said.

Deciding there was truth to this, even if it sounded crazy, Reito relented. He molded some Chakra, then tried thrusting his hand toward the twig. When nothing happened, he looked to Haru, feeling foolish.

The boy nodded encouragingly, “Concentrate and try again.”

Reito sighed, focused on the twig and his Chakra circulation, and tried a second, third, and fourth time to no avail. “See? It’s not working,” he huffed, gesturing defeatedly with his hands.

“Look!” Haru exclaimed, pointing at the twig. “It moved!”

Reito narrowed his eyes dubiously. The twig was leaning very slightly to one side. “You probably just didn’t stick it in far enough.”

“No, it moved when you moved your hand just then, I swear!” Haru insisted. “And I think I saw a tiny Chakra flare! Do it again!”

Reito tried again, concentrating and thrusting his hand out hard. The twig didn’t move, not that he was expecting it to.

“Wait, don’t stop,” Haru ordered.

“Stop what? I already tried, and it didn’t work.”

“No, I think it did work!” Haru said, approaching the twig. “See? It’s hard to see in the sunlight, but there’s a Chakra distortion. Just keep trying!”

Reito gave it another try.

“It’s working!” Haru said. “The Chakra’s getting clearer!”

It was true. Reito could see the faint haze of blue around the twig now that it was in Haru’s shadow. It wasn’t moving, though, so what was happening? Reito persisted until the twig was shrouded in Chakra. “Now what?” he asked.

Haru seemed just as confused. “Maybe it only works on people?”

“But I think I snapped that tree branch with it, remember?”

“Don’t give up. I feel like we’re so close to working this out!”

Reito agreed. He continued to push more and more Chakra at the twig, but it wasn’t budging. He noticed an odd sensation inside him, though. His Chakra was surging as if he were performing a Jutsu, and it was depleting fast. Something was happening, but what? Reito concentrated on his Chakra flow. He could feel it circulating, he could feel its reach, he could feel…the twig.

Focusing on this, Reito reached out with his mind and his hand, closing his fingers into a fist, imagining himself holding the twig and plucking it from the earth. To his astonishment, it began to move. It didn’t fall over as if hit with his Chakra. It floated, raising a foot, then two, then three feet off the ground.

“Whoa,” Haru said in wonder.

“Is this really happening?” Reito asked as the twig began to spin in the air at his urging before shooting upward, following his hand movements. “It’s like I can feel my Chakra from a distance.”

“This is so much cooler than I thought,” said Haru. “I figured you were just pushing Chakra at things, but this… This is… I don’t know what this is! Try moving something else!”

Reito released his hold on the twig, and it dropped to the floor. Without thinking too much about it, he felt his churning Chakra extend outward from his body and connect with Haru’s katana. It was harder to move, being heavier and further away, but after a few seconds, it began to shake, then rose off the ground and shot toward the boys.

When Haru caught it, beaming in awe, Reito wobbled and dropped to his knees. “Reito, you okay?”

“Yeah. Just…a little lightheaded,” he answered. He realized then how hard he was breathing, how much he was sweating. “I think it uses a lot of Chakra.”

“No kidding! Your shirt is soaked through! I should have noticed. You should have noticed! Are you okay? Should I get someone?”

“No! I’ll be fine, I just need — a minute,” he said, but as he lay there on the grass, trying to catch his breath and cool down his dangerously active Chakra network, he had to wonder whether that was true. Was he going to be fine? What was this strange, Chakra-consuming technique? Where did it come from, and why did he have it? He felt sure that the answers to these questions weren’t going to add up to something good.

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Haru stared down at Reito, watching him warily, “As cool as that was, Reito, I don’t think you should be using this Jutsu, at least not until you get the hang of it,” he said.

“I think you’re right.”

***

After getting a breakdown of their exam scores, Reito and Haru made their way to Genin orientation. Strictly speaking, their scores didn’t matter that much. They only had to get a pass rate on the general tests. The Graduation Exam was the determining factor in their progression to Genin status, and they had both passed that.

Reito had done well on his other tests, much better than before. He was still one of the lowest ranked in many areas, although he had improved his Taijutsu score thanks to Kakashi Sensei, but his Ninjutsu scores were drastically different. In terms of overall rankings, he was now placed somewhere around the middle.

Haru, on the other hand, was ranked seventh from the bottom, but Reito knew that it wasn’t a true reflection of his abilities. The rankings didn’t take his Kenjutsu or Medical Ninjutsu skills into account, which seemed unfair.

Thankfully, Haru didn’t seem bothered. He was just happy not to be in last place. That, Reito reminded himself, was because he didn’t know what was coming, didn’t know that the teachers used their scores to assign the teams for the secret final exam.

“Good morning!” said Iruka Sensei as they took their seats. “As of today, you are all fully fledged ninjas. However, you are still Genin. For the twenty-four students here who have applied to continue your ninja training, the tough part’s still to come!”

Reito wrestled with one of his flashbacks as the man proceeded. His leg bounced with nervous tension.

“Today, you’ll be assigned to a three-man squad. From here on, your squad will carry out missions as Genin under the supervision of a Jonin-level ninja.”

Murmurs broke out around the room. “Three-man squads? Did you know?” asked Haru.

Reito nodded guiltily.

“Man, I feel dumb, I hadn’t even considered that.”

The teacher cleared his throat as he picked up his trusty clipboard, “The groups have been determined based on your teacher’s observations of you at the academy and on your performance in last week’s exams, with the intention of making each team balanced. I’ll now announce the assignments…”

“I hope we’re on the same team!” Haru whispered.

“Me too,” Reito agreed wholeheartedly. He had ended up grouped with his friends last time, hadn’t he? Maybe his friendship with Haru over the last two and a half weeks would play a part this time as well?

“Team One will consist of… Akio Hino—”

“Alright, number one!” Akio cheered obnoxiously.

“Quiet, Akio, there’s no order to the names!” Iruka Sensei chastised. “Joining Akio on Team One are Keita Kimura and Marin Aburame.”

“Hmm. I see what Sensei meant by balancing the teams,” Haru commented. “That’s an interesting mix: brawn, brains, and Marin, who’s a medic and a bit of an all-rounder. I’m probably going to drag down whatever team I’m put on.”

“Don’t say that,” Reito said, remembering that he had thought the same thing of himself the first time he went through this process.

“Team Three will be Hanabi Hyuga, Tora Inuzuka, and Haru Daigo,” Iruka Sensei announced.

There went Reito’s hopes, and Haru’s too, judging by the boy’s look of disappointment. It suddenly occurred to him that he really hadn’t made any effort to get to know any of the other students in his class. They hadn’t tried to get to know him, either, of course, but the problem was that there was a teamwork-based exercise on the horizon for all of them.

“Man, how did I end up on a team with two of the strongest people in class?” Haru despaired, looking in the direction of a disgruntled Tora.

“Trust me, it’s a good thing,” Reito assured the boy, thinking of what was to come. Haru would have a better chance on the final test teamed with two of the top students, and they were clan kids to boot. “At least neither of us is on Akio’s team!”

Haru stifled a laugh.

“Team Five,” said Iruka Sensei, “Reito Tsu—”

“Here’s you,” said Haru.

“—Daishi Akamine—”

“Oh, you know Daishi, kinda. He’s good!”

“—and Sekka Shimizu.”

“Ah.”

Reito’s heart sank. He didn’t know much about Sekka, but he was fairly certain that she hated him. The angry transfer student, the quietest kid in class, and Reito, the most reviled person in the village. How was this team going to work?

When Iruka Sensei finished with the team assignments, he grinned widely and surveyed the students. “Congratulations again on graduating! I’m very proud of all of you. This afternoon, I’ll introduce you to your Jonin instructors, who will explain the next steps. I suggest you use the break to liaise with your new teammates.”

***

Reito intended to do as their teacher advised, to “liaise” with his new teammates. He had a lot of catching up to do, after all. He knew next to nothing about Daishi or Sekka, and without more information, he wouldn’t be able to strategize for the final exam. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find either of them.

As the students filed out of the room, Sekka walked right past him as he tried to get her attention, and when he turned around to look for Daishi, the boy had vanished. After two laps of the school grounds, he accepted that they didn’t want to be found and headed for the cafeteria, where he joined a very uncomfortable first meeting between Team Three.

Haru tried several times to strike up a conversation with Hanabi and Tora, but each time it would descend into bickering between the girls, who appeared to have something of a rivalry. Tora would make a cutting remark about being saddled with the “Hyuga princess,” and Hanabi would hit back with a passive-aggressive jab about Tora’s demeanor. It would have been a funny exchange to watch had they not been Haru’s new teammates.

“And if it wasn’t bad enough getting stuck with her highness, I get lumbered with the class dud, too!” Tora complained.

“Don’t call him that!” Reito snapped in defense of his friend.

“Perhaps if your scores were better, you’d be on a different team, and Haru and I would be spared the pleasure of your company,” said Hanabi cooly before sipping on some water.

“Oh, cram it, your majesty!” Tora barked. “And who asked you, killer?”

Reito frowned. It had been a while since anyone had repeated Akio’s insult, at least to his face. Hearing it had unknowingly triggered his strange ability, causing the paper cup in his hand to crumple and spill water over the table.

“Careful, killer,” Tora taunted, baring her teeth and raising a sharp-nailed hand in warning, unaware of what Reito had really done to the cup.

“Come on, Reito, let’s get some air,” said Haru, getting to his feet. As they left the cafeteria, he added, “You’ve got to be more careful!”

“Oh, you saw?” Reito asked. “I didn’t mean to do it, it just happened.”

“That’s why I’m saying you need to be careful until you have a handle on that Jutsu. What if it had been a knife or a fork?”

Reito shuddered at the thought.

***

Eight adults joined Iruka Sensei in the classroom after lunch, the Jonin instructors for the new teams. A few looked vaguely familiar, including a girl wearing a white qipao dress with pink trim, and a boy who wore a disturbingly clingy green jumpsuit under his flak jacket. They seemed young for Jonin—around Sakura’s age—and had unusual hairstyles for ninjas—two large buns on the side of the head and a severe bowl haircut, respectively. The boy also had the bushiest eyebrows Reito had ever seen.

“Okay, Team One will be led by Rock Lee,” said Iruka Sensei after a brief explanation.

“Yes! Number one, for the future number-one rookie team! Let’s go Team One!” Lee Sensei called out with bracing fervor, punching the air. Akio got to his feet slowly, looking rather embarrassed. Perhaps he was getting an idea of how he had sounded when he did something similar, albeit with less enthusiasm than his new instructor.

Team Three was assigned to Tenten Sensei, the girl in white. Reito whispered good luck to Haru, and she happily but quietly led him, Hanabi, and Tora out of the room.

Four unremarkable-looking Jonins were remaining when the teacher reached Reito’s team: three men and a woman, all in full uniform, though one of the men sported a turtleneck collar that covered his chin and a happuri-style forehead protector.

“Yamato will be taking charge of Team Five,” said Iruka Sensei.

The man with the head guard stepped forward and smiled politely, then walked toward the door.

Reito sighed as he got to his feet. “Here we go,” he muttered to himself.

***

“I’m still not sure putting those three kids on the same team was a good idea,” Tsunade grumbled, leaning back in her chair. “If they pass the exam, each of them could pose a problem for us.”

Kakashi waved off her concern, “We wanted Yamato to keep a closer eye on Reito, anyway, so we might as well put them together and have him watch all three for us! With the rebuilding project finally winding down, he needed an interesting assignment to keep him busy.”

“You didn’t tell him that, though, did you?”

“Of course not, he might have turned it down!” Kakashi said with a hearty laugh at his old friend’s expense.

“Tch! Reito Tsu… He’s a big enough unknown all by himself. I still can’t get over Iruka’s report about his transformation during his Graduation Exam. There are too few portraits of my grandfather that he could have studied for it to have been intentional.”

“For what it’s worth, I think he’s a good kid, but transforming into the First Hokage was quite a surprise,” Kakashi agreed thoughtfully, “as was the way his ability developed. Who’d have thought it would turn out to be Chakra Projection? Very interesting. I’m a little jealous of Yamato.”

“It’s not interesting, it’s concerning!” Tsunade scolded the man, biting the tip of her thumb. “We have no idea whether he’ll be able to handle that power or why he has it in the first place! Then, to group him with the Kiri Village girl and a member of the Akamine Clan…? I don’t like it one bit. If it turns out badly, on your head be it!”

Kakashi smiled behind his mask and nodded. “The Third Hokage did something similar once, you know. He put the Uchiha Clan survivor on the same team as the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki, hoping they would bring out the best in each other, and look how that turned out!”

Tsunade huffed but smiled, running a hand over her blonde head. “How that turned out is up for debate. Besides, those two had Sakura.”

“Hmm. That’s true. Maybe that Akamine kid will turn out like her? Isn’t he her top student?”

The Fifth Hokage rolled her eyes. “That just makes him a bigger question mark. No good comes out of that clan.”

“Maybe the girl, then? Perhaps she doesn’t need surveilling anymore?”

“A final-year Kiri Village student transferring just months before the war? Oh no. As long as I’m Hokage, she and her mother will be monitored.”

“Well,” said Kakashi facetiously, knowing Tsunade had made his argument for him, “it’s probably a good thing that we have Yamato on the job, after all, huh?”