Sena was visibly tired. She was the only one among us who had not managed to get any real sleep since the exam started, and after two animal attacks and a full fight, it was finally beginning to show. Her steps were still steady and her posture controlled, but there was a faint heaviness to her movements that had not been there before.
Kaen noticed it too. He glanced at her more than once before finally speaking. "Just take a soldier pill." His voice was restrained, but the concern was obvious. Sena shook her head immediately. "I will not," she said without hesitation. "I do not want to risk it. Our performance needs to be perfect."
I slowed slightly and looked back at her. "No, it doesn't," I replied. "Even if there is a total war waiting for us right before the outpost, Kaen and I will make sure we get there with the medallions safely." Kaen nodded beside me, his eyes lingering on Sena, almost pleading this time.
She smiled in response, calm and confident. "You do not need to worry about me. Out of the three of us, I am the one who knows best how to take care of myself, and I know my limits." I clicked my tongue quietly and looked away. She always did this. She wore expectations like armor, even against herself.
We continued walking the path narrowing as we moved forward, the stone pillars pressing closer together until the space between them barely allowed one person through at a time. We did not jump or move above using chakra. Drawing attention here would be stupid, and conserving chakra mattered in case another ambush came out of nowhere.
The narrow passage stretched on longer than I liked before it suddenly opened up. A vast area spread out in front of us. Tall stone pillars rose toward the sky like a petrified forest, their surfaces coated with moss and creeping green vines. A thin layer of fog clung low to the ground, just enough to dull sound and give the place an eerie stillness.
We moved in carefully, spreading out just enough to keep sightlines without breaking formation. After only a few steps, something tugged at my senses. I raised a hand immediately, signaling them to stop. Sena and Kaen froze without question.
"What is it?" Sena asked quietly as she expanded her sensory field. "I sense seals," I said, closing my eyes as chakra flooded them. The markings revealed themselves almost at once. Multiple seals were etched into the terrain, scattered across pillars and ground alike, subtle enough to blend into the stone if you were not actively searching.
Kaen adjusted his stance. "Is it dangerous?" he asked. I scratched my chin, following the chakra flow carefully. "Mostly concealment and area-covering seals," I said. "This place was probably used as a camp for a battalion at some point. There are stabilization seals too, meant to reinforce the terrain." I hesitated. There was something else there, faint and slippery, but not clear enough to call a threat.
Sena muttered under her breath, thinking it through. "We are close to the green area we observed earlier. Going around will cost too much time." She looked at me directly. "Do you sense any immediate danger?" I shook my head. "I do not think so," I answered honestly. "But we should move carefully and avoid disturbing the seals, just in case."
She nodded once, accepting the call, and we moved forward into the field. As we walked deeper between the pillars, tension slowly eased. Nothing happened. No tremor, no ambush, no sudden shift in the air. Step by step, the silence held. By the time we reached the middle of the area, I found myself thinking that this must have been an incredible place for a battalion to rest and recover. Sheltered, concealed, reinforced.
That was when I felt it.
The moment we crossed the center point, something unseen snapped into place. A threshold was passed. I sensed it instantly as multiple seals flared to life at once, their chakra signatures igniting in unison. The array awakened as if it had been waiting for us to commit fully, waiting until we were deep enough inside that retreat would be slow and costly. A heartbeat later, explosions tore through the field. Pillars to the left detonated first, then the right, then behind us, violent bursts of force shattering stone and hurling razor sharp debris in every direction. The shockwaves collided and folded inward, driving the destruction toward the center with terrifying speed.
"Shit, run," I shouted.
We sprinted forward, the only direction not yet consumed. Every step became a gamble. I kept my eyes flicking between the ground and the surrounding pillars, half expecting one of them to erupt out of sequence. The explosions were not uniform. Some pillars burst outward, others collapsed inward, sending slabs of stone tumbling low across the ground while smaller fragments screamed through the air at head height.
The detonations were closing fast. A massive chunk of stone tore free behind me, spinning end over end as it cut through the air. I saw it coming at the last second and dropped hard, feeling it pass close enough to tug at my clothes as it slammed into the ground ahead and shattered. Kaen nearly caught the same fate, but his Sharingan flared as he twisted and pulled Sena with him, narrowly clearing a spray of debris that would have crushed them both. Stone fragments struck around us like rain, some burying themselves deep into the earth, others ricocheting violently off nearby pillars.
We burst out of the open area just as the explosions reached its edge. Ahead of us was a narrow opening, barely wide enough for three to pass comfortably, maybe four if they squeezed. The rocky walls on either side were etched with seals, dense and deliberate, promising death to anyone who tried to climb or linger. There was no time to think.
I sensed forward and felt nothing. No seals. No resistance. I jumped without hesitation. Sena and Kaen followed a split second later. Behind us, the entire field erupted in a final detonation, the blast wave slamming into our backs and hurling us forward as the air itself tore apart.
We hit the ground hard. For a moment, all I could hear was a high pitched ringing in my ears. Dust filled my mouth and lungs as I pushed myself up, disoriented and shaken. When my vision finally cleared, I saw where we had been thrown. A small valley stretched out around us, enclosed by towering rock walls. They were tall enough that climbing them would take a long time even with chakra, and there was no cover along the valley floor. Only near the top did carved stone positions exist, placed to give clear firing angles on anyone trapped below.
This was a trap meant for an army. Concealment and stabilization seals were left behind to make the site look abandoned, safe, even useful. Enemies would move in, regroup, and let their guard down. Once they reached the middle of the field, the array would activate, driving them forward under fire as debris and explosions tore through their ranks. Any survivors would be funneled into this valley, cornered, exhausted, and slaughtered from superior positions above.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized how deliberate it all was. The seals had been layered and masked with masterful precision, far beyond standard field work. No wonder I failed to sense the true array beneath the obvious ones. Whoever designed this did not just understand shinobi tactics. They were most likely a seal grand master who knew exactly how to capitalize on them.
I almost wanted to clap for the Hidden Sand.
Sena exhaled slowly. "Now I understand sensei's words about how difficult it is to fight in the Land of Wind." Kaen said nothing, but I could see it in his eyes. His mind was racing, already dissecting the trap, imagining what he would have done if he had been part of an army caught in it. Something in his mindset shifted quietly as he stood there.
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A/N: This one should get some interesting reactions lol. Let's see what y'all think down in the comments.