[ JINICHI WATARU ]
The moment my feet hit the flat, concrete surface of the academy roof, I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. The cool afternoon wind whipped past us, carrying the distant sounds of the bustling village below. I fully expected our newly assigned Jonin to stop, sit us down in a circle, and go through the typical, idyllic Team 7 bonding routine. I was ready with a fabricated list of likes, dislikes, and a generic dream for the future.
Instead, the Jounin didn't even break his stride. He walked straight past the wire fencing, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his flak jacket.
"Keep up," he drawled, his voice carrying a heavy tone of absolute exhaustion, before casually stepping right off the edge of the roof.
For a split second, the three of us just stared at the empty space he had occupied. Then, survival instincts kicked in. I scrambled to the ledge and pushed off, channelling a small burst of chakra to the soles of my sandals. Aoi and Kisuke were right on my heels.
The village blurred past us in a sequence of rapid, dizzying jumps. We hopped from clay shingles to wooden balconies, trying our hardest not to lose sight of the Jonin's lazy, slouching silhouette. As we leaped over an alleyway, I caught Aoi glaring at me out of the corner of my eye. Her resentment was practically radiating off her, turning the air between us thick and sour. On my left, Kisuke was the picture of calm, matching the intense pace with an effortless, gliding stride.
It didn't take long for the dense, urban sprawl of Konoha to give way to the towering canopy of the outskirts. We crossed the village boundaries, plunging into the thick foliage of the surrounding forest. The sunlight broke through the leaves in scattered, golden patches, illuminating our path until we suddenly broke through the tree line and landed in a wide, secluded clearing.
Standing in the middle of the dirt field were three worn wooden training posts. Leaning against the center post, looking like he was just a few seconds away from falling into a deep coma, was our Jonin.
As I straightened my posture, he casually reached into his pocket and pulled out two small, silver bells. They jingled sharply in the quiet forest, the sound triggering a massive alarm bell in my own head.
The Bell Test. I knew exactly what this was. The ultimate psychological trap designed to force Genin into working together against impossible odds. My inherited memories didn't help me here, but my knowledge of the canon timeline sure did.
"Hold on a second," I said, stepping forward and feigning a look of total bewilderment. "Aren't we supposed to do introductions first? You know, our likes, our dislikes, dreams for the future? We don't even know your name."
He slowly turned his head to look at me, his half-lidded eyes devoid of any spark or enthusiasm.
"My name is Shohei Nara. There. Introductions are over. Now shut up and listen."
A heavy, awkward silence descended upon the clearing. Aoi's eye visibly twitched, and even Kisuke's perpetual, polite smile seemed to strain at the edges. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know that in that exact moment, the three of us were completely synced up on one single thought:
'This dude is a lazy douchebag.'
"Here are the rules," Shohei sighed, dangling the bells by their red strings.
"You have until noon to take these from me. You can use any weapons, any jutsu, and any tactics you want. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't even get close."
Aoi narrowed her eyes, stepping up beside me.
"There are three of us. Why do you only have two bells?"
"Basic math," Shohei replied, yawning widely.
"It means at least one of you is going to fail. Whoever doesn't have a bell by noon gets dropped from the squad and sent right back to the Academy. Simple as that."
He pulled a scuffed, archaic pocket watch from his vest, flicking it open with his thumb.
"You have exactly three minutes to prepare and hide."
The second the ticking started, the three of us bolted. We dashed into the dense brush, instinctively converging behind the thick, gnarled trunk of a massive oak tree. The tension we had brought from the classroom instantly flared back up in the cramped hiding spot.
"Alright, listen," I whispered fiercely, crouching low in the dirt and looking between them. "He's a Jonin. We can't just rush him blindly. We need a coordinated plan."
Aoi scoffs loudly, crossing her arms and glaring daggers into my soul.
"I am not taking orders from a class fluke. Just because you got lucky with a spinning party trick during the spar, doesn't mean you can act like you're the team captain, Jinichi."
"That 'spinning party trick' put you in a hospital bed, Aoi." I bit back, feeling my own temper spike as the seconds ticked away.
"If you want to run out there on your own and get your teeth kicked in, be my guest. But I am not doing another year of basic chakra theory just because you have a bruised ego."
Her eyes blazed with anger.
"You want to settle this right now?" she hissed, her hands dropping dangerously close to the kunai pouch strapped to her thigh.
Before things could escalate into a full-blown brawl in the bushes, Kisuke smoothly slid between us. He raised both hands in a placating gesture, his voice a calm, hushed whisper. "Please, both of you. If we tear each other apart back here, our sensei won't even have to lift a finger to fail us."
We both paused, glaring at each other over Kisuke's shoulder, but neither of us made a move.
"Since we obviously lack the synergy for a combined assault."
Kisuke suggested, his eyes darting between us analytically,
"I have a suggestion. We take turns. Sequential, relentless strikes. We attack one after the other to keep him on the defensive. If one of us manages to catch him off guard or trap him, that person uses the opening to dive for the bells."
I ground my teeth, thinking it over. Right now, it's the only logical step we can take to make us focus on the test and stop the trigger happy Aoi from trying to stab me.
"Fine," I muttered.
"Agreed."
Aoi gave a reluctant nod. Without another word, we broke our huddle, scattering silently into the canopy to take up separate watch points around the clearing.
I settled onto a sturdy branch, parting the leaves just enough to spy on our target. Down below, Shohei hadn't moved an inch. He let out another exaggerated yawn, but then he slowly crouched down and placed his palm flat against his own shadow.
!!!!!!
The darkness beneath him instantly began to boil and ripple like thick tar. It expanded outward, swallowing the sunlight on the dirt, before something massive began to pull itself out of the two-dimensional void. It was a hulking, terrifying creature—a massive, pitch-black bear composed of a mixture of dense shadow and animal fur. But it wasn't just a standard summoning; thick, jagged plates of glowing, crystalline armour erupted from its chest, forearms, and back, giving it the monstrous, alien appearance of an unstoppable juggernaut.
'What the hell is that!!!!????'
Shohei casually hopped up, settling cross-legged onto the beast's broad, crystal-plated shoulders as if he were sitting on a couch.
"Oh, I almost forgot," his lazy voice echoed effortlessly through the trees, carrying a distinct edge of malice.
"The first person to get caught by my summon gets tied to the dummy and loses their lunch."
A cold bead of sweat rolled down my temple as I stared at the towering monstrosity. The sharp, metallic click of his pocket watch snapping shut rang out like a gunshot in the silent forest.
"Three minutes are up," Shohei announced into the wind.