Location: Training ground 8.
Four figures stood facing each other, one taller than the other three.
Murakami, Sora and Hideki stood facing Kaito as his eyes bore into the trio with an analytical look in his eyes.
Sora stood between Hideki and Murakami, his hands hanging loosely by his side, his posture straight with an expectant expression in his eyes.
Murakami stood with a casual smile on his face, his hands crossed behind his back as he took in Kaito-sensei presence with a similarly analytical look in his eyes.
The entire area was silent, safe for the gentle rustling of leaves and the chirps of cricket, then finally. "Sigh…"
Kaito-sensei sighed out then crossed his arms. "Except for Murakami, you both are lacking in so many areas." He said directly and continued. "If you're to remain in my team, you both need to get stronger…quickly,"
"Does that mean we've passed?" Sora asked, rubbing his cheek in confusion.
"Not yet. Judging you all from observation alone is a mistake unbefitting someone of my experience." Kaito shook his head. "Ideally, I would've preferred to evaluate you all individually, but you'll be functioning as a team going forward so I'll evaluate you as a team."
"What does that mean?" Hideki asked.
"It means that for the next hour, you're free to attack me however you wish with the intention to kill. At the end of the hour, I'll begin my attack and for thirty minutes, you're expected to defend against my assault."
"What!? But sensei, that doesn't make sense." Sora immediately tensed, exclaiming at the absurdity of Kaito's words.
"It isn't supposed to make sense to you." Kaito shot him a glance and said. "As long as it makes sense to me and serves my purpose, that's what matters."
Murakami nodded internally but his expression didn't change as he still wore the same casual smile. "When do we begin, sensei?"
Kaito-sensei hummed, then put his hand into the pouch hanging behind his back and pulled out a clock. "As soon as the timer begins, you're free to attack."
Murakami nodded then turned to Hideki. "Go all out as soon as the time starts," then he turned to Sora and gave him a thumbs up. "You too, I've got your backs."
For some reason, Sora felt insulted but couldn't place a finger on it, so he only frowned and nodded.
"Sensei, you said we can go all out right?" Murakami turned to Kaito and asked with a wider smile that made Kaito-sensei feel creeped out.
"Hm." He nodded. "You're also allowed to use any weapon of choice."
Murakami brought his hands together and clapped. "Splendid." Then slowly, he took off his haori to reveal a fitted, sleeveless under-gi that clung to his skin.
As he did that, all eyes turned to him as though they felt a shift around him.
It wasn't the action itself that drew the attention, but the muscular frame of his body.
One had to know that Murakami, like other Genins, was just 12 years of age, yet looking at his toned arms, chest and abs sticking out from the gi, the trio couldn't help but be amazed.
Though different from Hideki and Sora, Kaito-sensei's attention was on another thing.
And that was the faint markings along Murakami's wrists and just above his ankles. They were thin, almost unnoticeable seals etched into his skin like ink that had long since settled into place like a tattoo.
Kaito-sensei's gaze sharpened.
"Weighted seals…?" he muttered under his breath, but loud enough that Murakami heard it but didn't confirm it.
He simply rolled his shoulders once.
A soft click rang out, not from his bone, but from something else. A release.
The ground beneath his feet creaked faintly as his presence changed once again that even Hideki and Sora had to take a step back.
"What was that…?" Hideki asked in bewilderment.
Sora on the other hand frowned deeper. "You've been wearing those this whole time?"
He also heard what Kaito-sensei said and he understood what those words meant.
Weighted Seals.
From what little Sora understood, they were a type of Fuinjutsu that placed an artificial burden on the body without using any physical weight.
Instead of straps or iron, the seal itself forced the limbs to feel heavier, like constantly moving under pressure. It didn't just slow movement, it made every action harder, from lifting an arm to reacting on instinct.
And the worst part? There was no visible sign of it.
If Murakami had really been using something like that this whole time, then it meant everything he'd shown so far… wasn't even his real speed or strength.
Thinking back to last night's display, he couldn't help the feeling of horror that washed over him.
Murakami glanced at him, expression unchanged. "More or less."
Hideki exhaled slowly, tension creeping into his stance. "That's… insane."
Kaito said nothing.
But his grip on the timer tightened slightly.
'Interesting…'
Murakami stretched his neck lightly, then stepped forward, stopping just beside Sora.
"Remember," he said calmly, "don't try to match sensei head-on. Just create openings."
Sora clicked his tongue. "I know that."
"Do you?" Murakami asked mildly.
"…Tch."
Kaito raised the timer and the atmosphere shifted. "Ready yourselves," he said.
The second hand ticked once, twice, then…
Click.
Sora moved first, his hand already weaving through seals.
"Fire Style:—"
He didn't finish as a blur shot past him.
'Murakami…' Sora thought in awe. 'what speed.'
There was no explosive step, no visible exertion. He was there one moment, and the next, he was just gone.
For a moment, Sora couldn't believe his eyes, but that was his problem.
Kaito's eyes on the other hand flickered with a strange light as Murakami appeared within striking range in an instant, his arm already moving.
It wasn't fast or slow.
Just a straight and precise palm that cut through the air toward Kaito's centerline.
But Kaito didn't move back or defend, but made a slight turn of his torso and Murakami's palm slid past him by a hair's breadth.
But, Murakami didn't stop as his fingers twitched slightly , causing the air to warp.
Kaito's sleeve fluttered violently as something invisible brushed past him.
A delayed shockwave.
Kaito's eyes narrowed. 'So that's what he was testing earlier…'
Behind Murakami, Sora recovered instantly.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A mass of flames surged forward, expanding rapidly, swallowing both Murakami and Kaito's positions.
"Idiot—!" Hideki cursed, but moved anyway.
He flanked from the right, closing in low, aiming to capitalize on the visual obstruction.
Within the flames, Murakami didn't look particularly perturbed as he took a step forward as his hand rose, palm open as the fire split.
Not extinguished but redirected like a curtain being drawn aside.
'Did this kid just create a vacuum around himself?' Kaito wondered to himself as he moved, his hand shooting out, aiming for Murakami's shoulder.
But Murakami's body tilted, causing the strike to miss as his foot slid half a step to the side, revealing Kaito's exposed centerline.
And just then, Hideki appeared right on cue and made a clean, well-timed punch aimed at Kaito's blind spot.
But Kaito's other hand moved without even looking to intercept it.
But, Murakami's hand was already there and Kaito felt it.
A subtle pressure on his wrist.
'A redirection…' experienced as he was, he realized what Murakami was trying to do, and for the first time, his movement paused slightly and Hideki's strike slipped through and stopped a centimeter from Kaito's ribs.
Silence.
Kaito looked down at the halted fist.
Then at Murakami.
Then at Sora, who stood at a distance, breathing lightly, then at Hideki whose fists were close to reaching him.
"…Not bad," Kaito said.
Murakami smiled faintly. "We've just begun, sensei."
And for the first time since the test started, Kaito's expression shifted, from evaluation to interest.
"I see." Kaito said and Murakami immediately felt a chill run down his spine, and without hesitation he kicked Hideki away and used the force to jump away.
Just then, another Kaito appeared beside the first Kaito and looked at Murakami who landed and slid back by a few steps.
"I see you've got sharp instincts too. Good." The new Katio said.
"So that's the Shadow Clone technique." Murakami ignored the praise and said as he stood up straight. "As I thought, it's very much different from what I'm used to."
Without waiting for a response, Murakami made a few hand seals and a second figure appeared beside him in a soft puff.
Sora blinked. "A clone?"
Murakami glanced at it briefly before looking back at Kaito. "A smoke clone technique," he said calmly. "Something I picked up in the past."
The clone stepped forward, its movement slightly more grounded than an illusion. It even had a shadow.
"Similar to the Clone Technique," Murakami continued, "but unlike illusory clones…"
Kaito moved in a blur and struck it.
Pffft.
The clone burst apart into a thick cloud of smoke that spread outward instantly covering his figure.
"…this one creates a smokescreen when destroyed."
Just then, the cloud of smoke parted as a figure dashed out of it and made straight for Kaito at an astonishing speed.
'He got faster…' Kaito noticed as he readied himself to confront Murakami, but the next moment, he felt the ground behind him crack open as a pair of hands grabbed onto his feet. 'When..?'
Kaito-sensei felt a downward pull acting on his leg, but the next instant, he disappeared and appeared at a spot not too far from where he previously stood.
"You-" just when he was about to commend him, his eyes widened in surprise as he found Murakami right in front of him with a palm aimed at his chest.
Crash!
The palm stopped right before making contact, but the shockwave it carried continued, felling a bunch of trees in its path.
"You've got to be more careful sensei. If that had landed, you could've been hospitalized." Murakami teased with a smile.
For a brief moment, Kaito simply stared at the fallen trees behind him.
Not just at the destruction but at the control behind it.
The palm hadn't touched him, and yet…
His gaze shifted back to Murakami, narrowing slightly.
'No wasted motion… no excess chakra… and that sequence—'
Smoke screen. Feint. Underground restraint. Immediate follow-up to the centerline.
It was a layered and deliberate sequence of actions.
"…You're dangerous," Kaito said finally, his tone no longer casual. Then his presence changed subtly "From now on," he continued, "I won't be holding back as much."
Sora's mouth hung slightly open by the side.
"…What just happened?"
He had seen Murakami move.
He had seen the smoke.
But everything in between… felt like it skipped.
One second Kaito-sensei was fine, the next, the trees were down.
His eyes darted to the ground where it had cracked earlier.
'That was him too…?'
A chill ran down his spine.
"…He planned all that?" Sora muttered under his breath, equal parts impressed and unsettled. He turned to Hideki and saw that he wasn't faring any better.
Hideki exhaled slowly, his fists tightening. Unlike Sora, he hadn't missed it.
Although he couldn't keep up with the whole sequence of movement, he could perceive how it all went down.
From the clone, the explanation that served prelude to the distraction, then the trap and finally the real attack.
His gaze shifted from the destruction wrought by Murakami's attack to Murakami's back.
'Is this his true strength..?' He thought to himself, but sensing the shift in Kaito's presence, he shelved the thought for later and refocused on the fight.