The reverse summoning struck like a thunderclap.
A burst of smoke swallowed Reina's squad as they crashed into cold stone — hard.
They tumbled across the ground, rolling to a stop on the damp floor of an abandoned cave. The echo of their impact faded into silence. Only their ragged breathing remained.
Karui (groaning): "Ugh… please tell me we're still alive."
Reina (coughing): "If this is the afterlife, it's got bad landscaping."
A few feet away, Aika collapsed to one knee, drenched in sweat. Her chakra flickered faintly around her palms like dying embers.
Aika (panting): "Reverse summoning… successful. I… I linked it to the old shrine above this cave. We should be just outside the exam grounds."
Raizen slowly pushed himself up. His head throbbed, his arms streaked with soot. His uniform was scorched at the edges, but he was breathing — and more importantly, so was everyone else.
Raizen (exhaling): "You saved us, Aika."
Aika (smiling faintly): "Don't make it a habit."
The team shared a brief, tired laugh. The tension that had ruled their bodies finally began to unwind.
They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the faint drip of water echoing through the cave. Then—
A sharp pulse stabbed behind Raizen's left eye.
He blinked, vision bending.
The world shifted.
For a brief second, everything glowed — the cave walls, the faint veins of chakra in the stone, the chakra signatures of his teammates, even the trees far beyond the cave mouth. All of it pulsed in translucent colors — blue, green, gold — like living energy maps.
Raizen (thinking): Again… that same flash… what is this?
He squeezed his eye shut. When he opened it, the glow was gone — but the memory wasn't.
Every detail of that earlier attack replayed in his mind with perfect clarity, frozen midair like a diagram.
Reina: "Raizen, you good? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Raizen: "…I'm fine. Just—chakra feedback, maybe. Too many seals back-to-back."
Karui (dropping beside him): "You almost got turned into lightning ash back there. Whatever that flash was, it saved you."
Raizen (shrugs): "No idea. But I could… see the attack. Its flow, its movement — everything."
Aika (serious): "That's not normal. Your chakra was fluctuating like it was… syncing with something. You might've awakened a new sensory reaction."
Raizen (quietly): "Maybe."
A silence followed, heavy with unspoken questions.
Then Reina stood, brushing the dust off her cloak, eyes drifting toward the cave entrance. Faint tremors rippled in the distance — the sound of collapsing stone from the destroyed maze.
Reina: "Right now, we rest. Then we figure out what comes next."
Her eyes landed on the scroll clutched in Lanjer's tail.
Reina (nodding): "Starting with that."
Aika reached over and took the scroll, gently prying it from the monkey's grip. She gave Lanjer a soft nod.
Aika: "You did great. Return."
The summon vanished in a puff of smoke.
Aika tossed the scroll to Reina, who caught it and slowly broke the wax seal. A faint pulse of chakra rippled out, reacting to their presence.
Inside was a letter written in crisp, inked script — the faint hum of an embedded seal radiating through the parchment. Reina began to read aloud.
⸻
The Scroll's Message
"Congratulations, candidates."
If you're reading this, you have successfully completed Phase I of the Academy's Midterm Examination — Infiltration and Retrieval.
However, your mission is not yet complete.
Phase II — Delivery and Survival.
Your next objective is to deliver this scroll to the marked rendezvous point within the forest perimeter north of the compound.
You are not the only team with this mission. Every squad that succeeded in Phase I now possesses an identical scroll and the same coordinates.
Your goal is simple:
— Deliver your scroll safely.
There are no rules beyond this. You may fight, deceive, or cooperate. The choice is yours.
But remember — the contents of this scroll will be examined upon arrival. Lose it, and your team fails immediately.
Good luck, young shinobi of Kumo. May your choices define your strength.
— Instructor Takuma, Elite Class Supervisor
⸻
Reina lowered the scroll slowly, eyes narrowing.
Reina: "So that's their plan… make us fight each other."
Karui (grinning faintly): "Guess rest time's over."
Aika: "Our chakra's low. If another squad finds us first, we're done."
Raizen's gaze shifted toward the cave mouth. Outside, the sky was deep purple — night slowly bleeding into dawn.
Raizen (quietly): "Then we don't wait to be found."
He stood, hand brushing against his temple as that faint pulse of light flickered once more behind his eye.
Raizen: "We move before anyone else can."
The others exchanged glances — tired, wary, but resolute.
Reina rolled up the scroll and tucked it into her cloak.
Reina: "Then let's move, before the next phase finds us first."
They stepped out of the cave together, the wind of the open forest hitting their faces.
Somewhere in the distance, faint flashes of chakra lit the treeline — other teams, already fighting for survival.
⸻
Squad Two — The Silent Hunters
Tetsuo, Daichi, Mizue, and Riku had finished Phase One faster than anyone expected.
Their infiltration was clean, quiet, and surgical.
Under Tetsuo's sharp leadership and Mizue's precise intelligence work, every movement was calculated down to the breath.
They didn't waste time or chakra — they executed.
Their target: a Kumo hotel bustling with civilians and shinobi alike.
Somewhere on the top floor, hidden under layers of seals and genin patrols, their scroll awaited.
Getting inside should've been impossible.
But Mizue's espionage training paid off — a combination of chakra suppression and environmental camouflage let them slip past unnoticed.
Tetsuo signaled — two fingers forward.
Daichi and Riku nodded, splitting left.
Two guards later, both down.
Daichi's brute strength met Tetsuo's surgical precision.
A faint mist curled through the hall — Riku's work.
His Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu muffled every sound as they advanced toward the final door.
Within minutes, they reached the suite.
Mizue knelt, chakra threads flickering from her fingertips.
Click. Seal disarmed.
They moved in, retrieved the scroll, and slipped back into the night — no alarms, no witnesses, no wasted effort.
⸻
The four regrouped in an alley overlooking Kumo's mist-covered harbor. The night air cooled their sweat.
Tetsuo unrolled the scroll, eyes narrowing as crimson chakra ink lit across its surface.
Mizue: "That's it — Phase Two instructions."
Daichi (grinning): "Bet it's another fetch mission. Easy points."
But as the words burned across the parchment, their smiles vanished.
⸻
The Scroll's Message
"Congratulations, Squad Two. You have successfully completed Phase One."
However, your assignment for Phase Two differs from the others.
Objective: Sabotage.
Intercept, disrupt, or destroy the progress of rival squads attempting to deliver their scrolls.
Use deception, traps, or direct combat. Success will be measured not by survival, but by the impact of your interference.
The examiners will be watching your methods closely.
Sabotage can be silent or loud — but it must be effective.
— Instructor Takuma
⸻
Riku smirked faintly.
Riku: "So we're the hunters."
Mizue: "That means every team out there is a target."
Daichi (cracking his knuckles): "Finally, something fun."
Tetsuo (calmly): "Focus. They're testing how far we'll go to win."
He rolled up the scroll, tucking it away.
Tetsuo: "We move before dawn. Let's make sure no one delivers their scroll but us."
The four melted into the mist — shadows vanishing into Kumo's sleeping streets, hunters unleashed in the chaos of Phase II.
⸻
Squad Three — The Calm Before the Storm
Samui, Omoi, Kaien, and Atsuro finished Phase One with mechanical precision.
Where other squads relied on chaos, they thrived on control.
Under Samui's quiet command, every step had purpose. She was calm, analytical — a leader who spoke softly and was obeyed instantly.
Omoi provided rhythm — anxious until the moment his blade left its sheath.
Kaien, heir to the Mabui Clan, radiated a quiet intensity — a storm bound by discipline, chakra sharp and swift.
Atsuro, of the Kamizuru Clan, was their foundation — his insect scouts charting safe paths through every corner of Kumo.
Their target: a courier office deep within the administrative district, crawling with exam guards.
Atsuro's insects mapped the routes; Samui drew the plan in the dirt.
Samui: "Three guards rotate every thirty seconds. Kaien, on my mark you're the relay. Omoi, take the second window. We end this before anyone breathes."
Thirty seconds later, it was done.
No chakra wasted.
No sound raised.
Their scroll was secured — cleanly, efficiently, without spectacle.
⸻
Later, in an abandoned teahouse, Samui broke the seal on their prize. Blue chakra ink illuminated the walls as she read aloud.
⸻
The Scroll's Message
"Congratulations, candidates."
Phase I: Complete.
Phase II — Delivery and Survival.
Deliver this scroll to the designated rendezvous point at the northern forest perimeter.
Other squads share this objective. You may cooperate or compete, but only one scroll must arrive intact.
Engagement is permitted. Deception is encouraged. Survival is mandatory.
— Instructor Takuma
⸻
Omoi (sighing): "So basically… babysit a scroll while everyone tries to kill us. Great."
Samui (closing the scroll): "Exactly. Which means we arrive before the fighting starts. We move before dawn."
Atsuro (adjusting his pack): "I'll send scouts ahead. My hives will track anyone within two miles."
Samui: "Good. Kaien — coordinate with his signals. You're our relay if we split."
Kaien (quietly): "Understood."
But his tone carried an edge even Samui noticed. His eyes flicked toward the southern horizon — toward the squad that had beaten him once before.
Omoi (noticing): "You're thinking about them again, huh?"
Kaien didn't answer. He tightened his bracer straps instead.
Kaien (low): "Daichi. I owe him something. Him and that little strategist, Mizue."
Atsuro (dryly): "That loss still bothering you?"
Kaien: "It's not about losing. It's about being underestimated."
Samui (firmly): "Focus. This is an exam, not revenge. You'll prove yourself when it's tactically sound — not before."
Kaien nodded, though his jaw stayed tight. The air hummed faintly — not with chakra, but tension.
Samui secured the scroll beneath her cloak and stood.
Samui: "We're not the fastest team. We're the most prepared. That's how we win."
They stepped into the moonlight. Kumo's mist rolled through the streets like the breath of a sleeping giant.
Atsuro's insects swarmed ahead, glowing faintly as they marked the route toward the forest.
As they vanished into the night, Kaien glanced at the clouds above.
Kaien (thinking): Next time, Daichi… you won't see me coming.
The storm of Phase II was already gathering — and Squad Three moved like the calm before it.