—Ino's Hiding Spot—
'He's here!'
Ino was hiding her presence as best as she could. If she moved even an inch, she would be found instantly.
'He's farther away than I thought. Maybe I can stay here until noon.'
Without taking her eyes off Yamato, Ino moved her foot a few inches, which was a serious mistake.
Yamato immediately noticed the unusual sound coming from the forest, so, with his hands in his pockets, he began walking in Ino's direction.
'Oh, no! He's going to find me!'
Ino covered her mouth so she wouldn't make any noise, but that was only a temporary solution. Yamato was about twenty-five meters away from where Ino was hiding. If she moved even an inch more, she would be found and the exam would be over.
But something strange happened. Somewhere nearby, the sound of wood being struck by something caught Yamato's attention. At that moment, everyone realized that this was no child's game, because as soon as he heard the noise, Yamato appeared in front of the spot where it had come from.
Upon witnessing this, Ino's eyes widened in disbelief.
'No way... If I had made more noise...'
A drop of cold sweat slid down Ino's forehead. She was terrified, because she hadn't known Jounin could move so fast. Even with his eyes covered, Yamato had been able to appear in front of the place where the noise had been made because of a worn-out branch that had fallen from a tree.
—Hinata's Hiding Spot—
Hinata watched Yamato carefully. She was trying to find a good moment to change hiding spots in case Yamato got too close, but after seeing what had just happened, she knew her Byakugan would no longer be of any use.
'Something like that is...'
Unfair.
Hinata's breathing became heavy and far too agitated.
'If I move from this spot...'
Pushing away her negative thoughts, Hinata shook her head.
'No! I can't get scared. Right now, I just have to stay quiet. Yamato-sensei has his eyes covered, so he won't be able to see me. If I stay silent, I can blend in with the trees.'
Activating her Byakugan once again, Hinata directed her field of vision toward Toru, who was simply watching everything in silence.
'So far, Toru-kun hasn't moved from the same spot.'
—Toru's Hiding Spot—
Toru's eyes narrowed as he witnessed the terrifying speed Yamato could reach, but even so, his expression and breathing remained relaxed.
'It was a good choice to pick these up along the way.'
Toru looked at his closed hand, hiding something in his palm.
'If he gets too close to me, I'll use this...'
Toru held his breath as Yamato appeared directly beneath him. Even though he hadn't made a sound, he had still come dangerously close to being found.
'What was that? How is that possible? I haven't made a single sound, yet sensei still appeared here.'
Trying not to move, Toru allowed his breathing to settle. If he did that, the sound of his breathing wouldn't be heard by Yamato.
'This is bad. I can't use "that" if Yamato-sensei can hear our breathing. Even if I try, the sound of my clothes will alert him immediately.'
He had planned to use the stones he had picked up from the ground as a distraction to change hiding spots, but now that he had realized Yamato could hear far beyond what anyone expected...
All he could do now was wait for Yamato to find one of them and end the exam.
'I have to think of something, and fast.'
Closing his eyes, Toru's mind began to work. A few seconds passed until the stupidest idea Toru had ever had in his life came to him.
'Maybe "that" will work.'
—Ino's Hiding Spot—
'He's gone!'
A faint sigh of relief escaped Ino's lips. If it weren't for Toru, the exam would have already been over.
'Damn it, if I move even a little, all my effort will go to waste.'
Ino closed her eyes, trying to relax. This entire exam had pushed her stress levels to a whole new level.
Peeking slightly over the bush, Ino could see Toru sitting on that tree branch, with Yamato directly underneath him.
'Ha! That's what you deserve. No matter how fast you are, you'll never beat sensei's speed, so let him find you and put an end to this torture,' she thought with a triumphant smile.
She knew that if Toru was found, he would be out of the team, and that was good news.
—Toru's Hiding Spot—
'I have no choice.'
Toru decided it was time to execute his master plan, a plan he had come up with in less than thirty seconds.
'There's a good chance I'll be found, but if I stay here, I'll be found anyway.'
Toru looked at one of the trees farther away and made a long jump toward its branch, but Yamato appeared directly in front of him, attempting to touch Toru's head.
'Damn it!'
Spinning in midair, Toru avoided being found by Yamato. He immediately landed on a tree branch and, using the branch's flexibility, Toru jumped once again, but Yamato appeared behind him once more.
'Just a little farther. I need to draw him a little farther away from this area.'
Throwing a kunai with a wire attached to it, Toru used his strength to take advantage of the wire's tension and evade Yamato.
'If I keep this up, I'll get caught, but I still need to draw him a little farther away.'
Using two kunai with wires attached, Toru swung through the air, landing on another tree. Yamato heard Toru's feet touch the branches, so, in one final attempt, he moved toward Toru, but...
Toru threw one of the stones in his hand to distract Yamato, something that surprisingly worked. Toru took this opportunity to get a little farther away.
Using all the stones he had left, Toru threw them in different directions at the same time, confusing Yamato.
'I did it.'
Yamato remained there, analyzing the area with his ears, but he had already lost track of his target. After that, Toru hid among the leaves of the trees once again.
—Hinata's Hiding Spot—
She was surprised. She knew Toru was skilled at many things, but she had never imagined he was this capable in situations like this.
'Toru-kun is strong...'
Hinata looked at the ground as she thought about herself. Despite having trained a lot, she was still weak. She wasn't very good at talking to people, but even so, she had some confidence in herself.
'I don't have to get depressed. I can become strong. I just have to give it my all, and for that, I have to pass this exam.'
—Ino's Hiding Spot—
'How is that possible?!'
Ino's jaw was practically on the floor. She had always seen Toru as that weird, quiet guy who, although he was skilled in taijutsu, everyone secretly made fun of because he couldn't use chakra like everyone else.
'This makes me so angry.'
Closing her eyes, Ino sat down on the ground. She had completely forgotten about her situation, so when she sat down, she made a slight noise, and at that moment, Yamato appeared in front of Ino.
'Huh?'
Ino immediately covered her mouth. She didn't move a single inch, didn't breathe, didn't blink. Her body disconnected from her brain the moment she saw Yamato standing in front of her.
'No... Please... No...'
After so many years of waiting to graduate and become a Genin, all Ino could do was give up. It was over. Her own stupidity had brought her to this.
'Why me?'
The question was ridiculous in itself, because she knew perfectly well why.
'Why...?'
Yamato raised his hand to touch Ino's head and end the exam.
'I can't! I don't want to give up on my ninja path!'
Accepting her fate, with tears about to spill from her eyes, Ino closed them and waited for Yamato to finish the exam, but...
"The exam is over."
Ino didn't feel Yamato's hand touching her head, so she opened her eyes, and what she saw next was...
"What...?"
Yamato had his hand on Toru's head, who was lying in front of Ino. That meant the one who had failed the exam was the very same guy she had been looking at with annoyance.