"Alright. Time's up!"
The moment the alarm went off, Endo Daisho opened his eyes. He silenced the clock, then turned to face Shin and the other two, who had already finished discussing their strategy.
With a blank, unreadable expression, Endo Daisho declared, "Your next test is a combat exam. All three of you will be facing me, alone. There are no rules. You can use any means necessary—any weapons, any tactics. Your goal is to defeat me, or be defeated by me. Once the outcome is clear, the exam will end."
He paused briefly before adding in a cold voice, "Whether you remain shinobi, or are eliminated and sent back to the Academy for retraining, will be decided by what happens next."
"The exam begins now!"
The moment Daisho's words faded, the trio sprang into action.
During the half hour Daisho had given them, they'd worked out a handful of preliminary strategies and counters. If their instructor had been Hatake Kakashi, he might already have passed them on the spot—Kakashi valued teamwork and loyalty above all. But every jōnin had their own criteria, and it was already clear that Endo Daisho wasn't interested in camaraderie. He wanted something else.
Instead of wasting time trying to hide—which would've been pointless against a jōnin—they fanned out quickly, surrounding Daisho from three directions. Without hesitation, they began hurling shuriken at him from a distance. In an instant, dozens of spinning blades filled the air, slicing toward Daisho in a shimmering net of steel.
"Naïve," Daisho muttered, not even raising an eyebrow. Most of the shuriken were poorly aimed or lacked force. He didn't bother to move. Calmly drawing a kunai, he flicked his wrist a few times, effortlessly deflecting the few that posed any real threat. The rest he ignored entirely.
The trio were clearly stunned by the precision of Daisho's movements, but they didn't lose their nerve. Instead, they kept circling him, throwing more shuriken as they closed the distance.
Shin narrowed his eyes, subtly slowing the pace of his throws. He already knew the shuriken were little more than a distraction; they served a purpose, but not a decisive one.
Back when they were sketching out their plan, he had quickly come to a sobering realization: apart from the Three Basic Ninja Techniques taught in the Academy—and basic weapon use—they had nothing of substance. No real ninjutsu, no advanced skills. Beating Endo Daisho? That was wishful thinking. At best, they might manage to give him some trouble. At worst, they wouldn't even land a hit.
More importantly, Shin was painfully aware of how things worked behind the scenes. The nine genin slots were almost certainly already spoken for. No matter how hard they fought, they were likely to be weeded out. Still, Shin wasn't about to take the fight lightly. He wanted to feel firsthand what it meant to face a true jōnin—and to test his own abilities after awakening the Sharingan.
Flick.
Shin quietly activated his Sharingan. In an instant, the world changed before his eyes.
From the outside, the transformation went unnoticed—only the faintest ripple of chakra energy hinted that anything had shifted. That was thanks to a clever move he'd made earlier that morning. After awakening his Sharingan, he'd swung by an optical shop and picked up a pair of contact lenses with a dark tint. Now, even while using his dōjutsu, his pupils remained pitch-black to any observer.
With the Sharingan fully active, Shin launched a kunai from each hand in a sharp, rapid motion. This time, the speed, power, and accuracy of his throw made Daisho's eyes narrow ever so slightly. But the difference in strength between them was still too great. With practiced ease, Daisho dodged both projectiles.
However, to his mild surprise, while his attention was focused on Shin's kunai, a clumsily thrown shuriken from Ryota came tumbling in at an awkward angle—almost catching him off guard.
Did they plan that? Daisho wondered. Even if the shuriken lacked strength—it would have barely scratched him had it hit—the implication disturbed him. A genin nearly landing a hit was, frankly, embarrassing.
Still, Daisho couldn't help but think, Not bad. For genin, this level of pressure is almost a passing grade.
Of course, he wasn't praising Ryota's crooked shuriken—he was praising Shin's aggression and timing.
Wham!
Before Daisho could finish the thought, Shin burst forward like a spring-loaded trap, exploiting the brief opening as Daisho dodged. In a blink, he was at Daisho's side, delivering a savage kick aimed squarely at his groin.
Daisho's face darkened instantly. So that's how it is? He was ready to retract his praise. This kid wasn't just determined—he was cunning, and a little dirty.
But such a straightforward attack had no chance of landing. Thud! The blow struck home—only to reveal a log taking Daisho's place.
Substitution Jutsu!
In the next breath, Daisho reappeared behind Shin without a sound. He plucked the kunai Ryota had thrown from mid-air and pressed it against Shin's neck.
It's over—
But just then—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!—a dozen kunai exploded through the air from Chie Mai's position. She had closed the distance silently, and now her blades rained down on both Daisho and Shin from his blind spot.
At the same time, Ryota's timid expression vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating glint. He too launched a spread of kunai—cutting off all potential escape routes.
Daisho could have dodged, of course. But Shin was directly in the line of fire. If he tried to save the boy, he'd leave himself open. If he moved on his own, he could get out safely—but only by abandoning Shin. There was no time to retreat with him in tow.
At least, that's what Chie Mai and Ryota thought.
"You—!" Daisho's face darkened, fury flaring in his eyes. Those two were willing to sacrifice Shin just to restrict my movements? Was this all part of their plan? Did they betray him on purpose?
Boom!
An intense wave of chakra erupted from Daisho's body. Blue light burst into the sky, almost tangible in its force. The kunai in midair were swept aside by the raw power of his chakra alone.
Daisho moved instantly to grab Shin and pull him to safety—but the boy's body had already turned into a log with a hollow thunk.
Another Substitution? Daisho froze for a moment. He timed it perfectly. Even I didn't catch the switch... A spark of reluctant admiration flickered in his eyes. Impressive. A pity.
Shin reappeared behind the trunk of a large tree some distance away. He didn't launch another attack. Instead, he stared darkly at Chie Mai and Ryota.
He had been planning to use the Substitution Jutsu to set up a feint—another trap to catch Daisho off guard. But he hadn't expected to be sacrificed. That part hadn't been in the plan.
His eyes narrowed, not with anger, but with clarity. Somewhere deep down, he'd underestimated them. Treated them like extras in a story—nameless side characters who didn't matter. That had been a mistake.
A stupid one, he thought grimly. And one I won't make again.