Although they had learned from the enemy's words that the explosive tags scattered across Konoha were too old to detonate, the overall attitude of the Hidden Cloud still had to be reported back to the village.
With that, the mission to officially become Genin no longer seemed so important.
Inuzuka Hana carried Izumi on her back. Tokuma nodded, and the two began heading toward Konoha.
But just as they set off, the space around them twisted and shattered. Izumi, unconscious on Hana's back, suddenly vanished.
The sudden loss of weight and the warped surroundings made them stop in their tracks. They exchanged a glance, then scanned the area.
'Genjutsu?'
Even Izumi had disappeared, and they hadn't noticed a thing.
Only one person could cast genjutsu of this caliber.
"You were looking for me, weren't you?"
Yun's voice rang out as he approached, Izumi walking calmly beside him. He looked at the two and smiled. "What's with those faces? Surprised?"
Tokuma gave a helpless smile. "So… everything that happened in the genjutsu was the real test?"
Yun nodded with a grin. "In a situation of absolute disadvantage, you still refused to abandon your teammate. That's why Team Ten will naturally develop strong teamwork."
"Bonds are never formed without reason. Only in the face of true crisis do they take root."
Hana glanced around. Her ninken, Rimaru, leapt out from the forest and landed on her shoulder, baring its teeth at Yun.
Yun shrugged. "Rimaru realized you were caught in a genjutsu and kept trying to act. To keep the test going smoothly, I pulled him in too."
"But after you sent him back to the village to report, I let him sleep a little longer."
Hana nodded, satisfied. "Rimaru says he forgives you."
Yun chuckled as Rimaru tucked its tail.
Tokuma asked again, "What about Izumi? She was captured right at the start, her genjutsu must've been different from ours."
Izumi closed her eyes, then snapped them open. Her Sharingan spun slowly, two tomoe visible.
"Because of my Sharingan, my brother gave me a different genjutsu. Bonds formed between life and death, witnessing comrades killed… only under that kind of emotional shock does the Sharingan awaken."
She touched her eye. "My brother says I've reached the three-tomoe stage, but for now I can only control two."
"This power… was born to protect the bonds I've lost. That's what he told me."
Tokuma and Hana stared at her eyes. They'd heard of the Sharingan's power, dynamic vision, chakra flow detection, copying jutsu. With two tomoe, Izumi's strength was now on a whole new level.
And all of this… from a single exam?
Wait, there was more.
The words spoken by the spy in the genjutsu had already taken root in Tokuma and Hana's minds. Politics. The village's leadership. They now had a glimpse of something deeper.
That, too, must've been part of Yun's test.
The sudden revelation of the Cloud's plot against Konoha, the sacrificial plan, and the spy's final appearance, this was far beyond the scope of a Genin exam.
"Tokuma."
Yun's voice broke the silence. He placed a hand on Tokuma's shoulder. "Unlike Hana, you've carried an unfair fate since birth."
"I've said before, the caged bird is protection for the weak, but a shackle for the strong. No matter how you explain it, the Hyuga clan's main and branch families are unfair."
"But breaking centuries of tradition isn't easy. Fairness… is something you must fight for yourself."
He turned to Hana with a smile. "You won't tell anyone what I just said, will you?"
Hana nodded quickly. 'Tell someone? No way.'
The Inuzuka clan had survived in Konoha thanks not only to their tracking skills, but also their habit of minding their own business.
Still… what was Yun's real goal?
Tokuma turned to Yun and nodded. "Politics is about achieving goals. Uniting every force you can. Fate isn't unchangeable."
Yun nodded. "Your generation of the branch family has the best chance. Hiashi has compassion for his brother. His eldest daughter has already entered the ninja academy…"
Tokuma's eyes lit up.
That sentence carried many meanings.
But it wasn't time to rush. He was still just a freshly graduated Genin.
"Thank you, Yun."
Yun nodded and led the group back to the village.
Behind him, Tokuma, Hana, and Izumi chatted, the beginning of a bond.
"Izumi, what was your genjutsu like?"
"Wait, you killed two Chunin to save us? And even severed a Jonin's arm?"
"You're way stronger than I thought!"
"Inuzuka never abandons teammates. I won't be the exception!"
"What can a two-tomoe Sharingan do? Tell us!"
…...
As they talked, Tokuma suddenly asked Yun, "Yun, we never saw the Sharingan, right? How did we get caught in genjutsu?"
Yun waved. "Izumi, explain."
Izumi scratched her head. "I'm not sure, but my brother said… we were placed under genjutsu three or four days ago."
"Then, when his shadow clone created a specific scene, the genjutsu activated. It's like a sealing technique combined with genjutsu."
Tokuma and Hana exchanged glances.
'A genjutsu laid days in advance… and we never noticed?'
"Just one pre-set genjutsu and we were completely helpless…" Tokuma smiled bitterly.
Hana looked at him. "He killed the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud in battle. With that kind of record, no level of strength surprises me."
She looked at Yun's back. "If you keep seeing him as a peer, you'll only feel worse. Just accept his other identity."
Tokuma blinked. "Other identity?"
Hana nodded. "A twelve-year-old Jonin. A village elite. Even the Hokage relies on him… all of that is Yun's other identity."
She smiled. "See? Doesn't that make it easier? Outside of being our peer, it's normal for him to be stronger."
Tokuma nodded and glanced at Izumi. "True. Even twins can be worlds apart."
Izumi sighed. "I've gotten used to it. My brother's always been that legendary 'perfect child' everyone talks about."
Tokuma shrugged. "Having a genius brother isn't always great. Everything becomes a comparison."
Yun called from ahead, "You guys keep praising me like this, I'm getting embarrassed."
→_→ x3
…...
At Konoha's gate, Yun finished the mission report.
He looked at the three and said, "You didn't complete the task I set, but congratulations, you've passed the test and are now official ninja."
"Go home, clean up, rest. Meet at the barbecue shop at 7 tonight. My treat."
Tokuma smiled. "Becoming ninja deserves a celebration."
Hana patted Rimaru's head. "I need to get Rimaru a full check-up, but I'll be on time."
Izumi stepped forward and held out her hand.
Tokuma and Hana smiled and placed their hands over hers.
Then all three looked at Yun.
"Sensei, aren't you joining?"
"Calling him sensei now?"
"Half the village wants him as a teacher, we got lucky."
"Brother, should I call you sensei too?"
Yun placed his hand on top and scratched his head. "You can keep calling me brother. 'Sensei' feels weird."
The three rolled their eyes and shouted together: "Team Ten, formed!"
…
Back home, Yun looked out the window.
The ninja exam was over, but the test of trust had only just begun.
'Tokuma, Hana… what will you choose?'
"Brother, I heard the academy's instructor evaluations are today. Want to go?"
Izumi walked over, drying her hair. She followed Yun's gaze and paused.
"Wait… Tokuma and Hana aren't still being tested, are they?"
Yun smiled. "Why would you think that?"
Izumi pouted. "Every time you stare out like that, you're up to something. But we're back in the village, what could go wrong?"
Yun ruffled her hair. "Remember? They think everything was genjutsu. But when you woke up, I told you the truth."
Izumi's eyes widened.
The explosive tags!
Her brother had said the intel was real. The village was still filled with explosive tags.
If Tokuma happened to scan the old map with his Byakugan…
Then…
Izumi looked up at Yun. 'Was he waiting to see how they'd respond?'
"You figured it out?"
Yun flicked her forehead. "Inuzuka and Hyuga's branch family are powerful forces. Their choices won't affect the ninja exam, but they will shape future training."
He turned and walked into his room.
'If they wanted independence, they'd have to understand the shadows and schemes themselves.'
'Besides… in a month, the other nine teams would enter the academy, except for Guy's team.'
'If Uzumaki Karin joined, that made thirteen.'
'With her sensory skills, would she replace someone? If Kushina pulled strings… would Sakura lose her spot in Team 7?'
'Still… would Karin still fangirl over Sasuke?'
The "hero saves the damsel" moment during the Chūnin Exams had been a big deal… after all, she'd grown up in darkness, and someone saving her would've left a deep mark.
Yun shook his head, clearing those stray thoughts.
Time to focus on the next transaction. Two months left, who should he trade with?
The Eternal Mangekyō?
Or maybe push his clone, Uzumaki Yun, to get the Rinnegan first?
…
At the Hyuga compound, Tokuma, freshly washed, couldn't calm his mind.
Though it was supposed to be a simple Genin test, the experience meant far more to all of them, him, Hana, and Izumi alike.
Some things, once planted, start to grow, like seeds on once barren soil.
A shinobi's life revolves around completing missions… but now, Tokuma's views had begun to change.
About the village's leadership. About the Hyūga's hierarchy.
On the water tower, he gazed at the Hokage Rock.
There-
He recalled the spy's words from the illusion: Even the faces carved into the cliff were rigged with explosive tags. If they went off, the falling rock could devastate the village.
"Whoosh!"
Tokuma vanished, reappearing moments later in a cave beneath the Hokage Rock.
This place… really would be perfect for setting explosives.
Since he was here anyway… might as well check.
He activated his Byakugan-
And froze.
'Impossible!'
All around him, within his field of vision, countless explosive tags.
These weren't illusions.
'Could it be… Am I still inside Yun's genjutsu?'
"Release!"
He formed the seal, but the tags didn't vanish.
They were real.
Tokuma's scalp tingled as he bolted out of the cave, his Byakugan scanning frantically.
One tag. Two. Three…
They were well hidden, but his eyes found them one by one.
"This… this isn't genjutsu!"
He reached out, pulling one free with chakra.
Feeling its distinct chakra pulse, Tokuma's mind went blank.
…