Dawn broke like a blade drawn from its sheath—sharp, quiet, promising conflict.
The special testing field behind the Academy buzzed with silent energy. Wooded trails, rocky clearings, and mock terrain stretched in uneven patterns under a pale sky. A crowd had gathered in the spectator zone: instructors, Chūnin, and above them all, the Third Hokage stood on a raised viewing platform, his robes fluttering faintly in the breeze.
Tetsuo stood at the field's edge with a scroll in his hands. He addressed Haruko, Emi, and Daichi with a crisp tone.
"You three asked for early graduation. The Hokage approved this trial. Today, you face it."
He looked up briefly toward the viewing deck. Sarutobi gave a small nod.
Tetsuo turned back. "This is a full scenario drill. You will infiltrate enemy-held territory, retrieve a secured scroll, and extract under pressure. The defenders are three Chūnin. They are not here to go easy on you."
Behind him, three seasoned Chūnin stood at ease—scarred, stoic, and silent. One adjusted the strap of his utility pouch, another cracked his knuckles.
"This isn't child's play," one of them said, his voice gravelly. "Treat it like a real mission—or fail like it's one."
The whistle blew.
The trial began.
They entered the mock terrain from the north ridge, moving low through the brush.
Haruko took point, crouched and balanced. Emi watched their flank, her eyes darting for chakra signatures. Daichi, rear guard, his senses primed for any movement.
Barely a minute in, a line of explosive tags erupted from the undergrowth.
BOOM.
They dove and rolled. Daichi threw up a dirt wall with a chakra-enhanced stomp to shield their position. A kunai embedded near Emi's arm. Haruko yanked her behind cover.
"That was Fire Style," she hissed. "Real jutsu."
"They're testing fear," Haruko muttered. "We won't give it to them."
From the left, a Chūnin burst through the brush, hands weaving signs.
"Water Style: Crushing Wave!"
A stream of water spiraled toward them, crashing through trees like a whip.
Haruko shouted, "Split!"
Daichi charged straight through it with a low tackle, forcing the Chūnin off balance. Emi circled wide and used chakra-infused stones to blind the attacker temporarily. Haruko flanked and landed a swift, disabling palm to the ribs.
One down—but not unconscious.
"Don't celebrate," Haruko barked. "They're regrouping."
They moved deeper.
The forest opened into a clearing with a shrine in the center. On a pedestal within lay the target scroll.
Emi hesitated. "It's a trap."
Haruko nodded. "Let me confirm it."
As he stepped forward, the ground cracked. A second Chūnin burst from underground—Earth Release.
A second enemy dropped from the trees, dual kunai flashing. Daichi stepped in to parry but was forced back. Emi rushed to heal his grazed shoulder while forming one-handed seals.
"Chakra Disruption Pulse!"
A green wave pushed out from her palm, disorienting the two attackers briefly.
Haruko circled wide, scanning everything.
"The scroll's a decoy," he muttered. "Look!"
From the shadows, the third Chūnin launched a surprise attack. This one was faster, masked, precise.
He moved like a ghost.
Haruko clashed blades with him, parrying furiously. A feint to the leg—then a hand seal—
"Lightning Style: Static Snare!"
A jolt shot into Haruko's body. He dropped to a knee, muscles spasming. Daichi moved in with a shout and tackled the Chūnin away, giving Haruko time to recover.
Emi's hands glowed. "Hold still!"
Haruko breathed in ragged gasps.
Then… something shifted inside.
He didn't wait.
Didn't think.
He moved.
A pulse of violet chakra shimmered—then silence.
Haruko vanished and reappeared behind the Chūnin in the blink of an eye—kunai poised at his throat.
Everyone froze.
Even the Chūnin's stance faltered.
Up on the viewing platform, whispers stirred.
Tetsuo's jaw dropped. "That… wasn't a Body Flicker."
Sarutobi's brows rose. "It was something else."
A Scribe Jōnin muttered, "An instantaneous movement. That wasn't substitution. That was pure displacement."
One instructor whispered, "Only Minato moves like that…"
Below, Emi's jaw hung open.
"Wha… you never showed us that!"
Daichi stared. "You said you were still testing techniques!"
Haruko, breathing hard, replied softly, "I was."
He retrieved the real scroll—hidden inside the shrine's base.
They returned as the clock expired.
The Chūnin instructors—bruised but smiling now—bowed briefly.
"Well played," said the masked one. "You earned this."
Tetsuo stepped forward. "By order of the Third Hokage, you have passed the trial."
Sarutobi himself walked down from the platform. He stood before them, solemn, almost proud.
"You've walked a hard path," he said. "Especially you, Haruko Iso."
He looked to Emi and Daichi.
"And you stood beside him. That will make all the difference."
He handed them their headbands one by one.
"And now, you will need a guide for the path ahead."
From behind him stepped a tall man with silver-streaked hair, a red scar across his cheek, and the bearing of quiet strength.
"Shinku Yūhi," the Hokage announced. "You'll report to him starting tomorrow."
The man bowed. "I look forward to seeing what you three can do."
That night, alone in his room, Haruko stared at his new headband resting on his desk.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: Ability Gained – Phantom Strike]
[Progress Milestone Achieved – Initiate: Shinobi Rank Unlocked]
A warm wind passed through his open window.
In that moment, he was no longer a student.
He was a shinobi.
Thus ended the days of childhood. The quiet hours of classroom chatter, the innocent rivalries, the clumsy sparring matches on sun-warmed rooftops—those were now memories folded away, sealed behind a headband's weight.
Haruko Iso, Emi Takano, and Daichi Nara had crossed the threshold.
From this moment forward, they would walk the path of Konoha's true shinobi—where survival was earned, trust was tested, and every decision could etch itself into the scrolls of history.