After the physical test ended, we were ushered to a more forested section of the Academy. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming next. Daiken, who we thought we left behind at the training track, was already waiting for us here at the chakra control testing area.
I didn't feel him flicker or move at all.
I paused, shivered slightly, then muttered under my breath, "I have so much to learn. The gap between genin and jounin is too big."
Daiken stood next to a tall practice wall, arms crossed like usual. A few younger chunin flanked him with clipboards, but none of them said a word. This was clearly Daiken's show.
He pointed at the wall.
"Basic wall scaling. Chakra only. No running starts. You will walk up, stop halfway, hold for ten seconds, then come down slowly without breaking contact."
Simple. Clean. And judging by the way half the class turned pale, a bit harder than it sounded.
"Failures will repeat until they pass. If you fall, healers are standing by. If you cry, we won't heal you until you stop."
The test began. A few of the clan kids started first and did fairly well, but the pressure from Daiken's constant stare and the chunin scribbling notes just behind him threw off a few of the more nervous students. Some lost balance. Others pushed too much chakra and slipped like overcharged puppets. One boy made it halfway before he froze up and slid down the wall like a sad, abandoned snail.
Still, most of the clan kids handled it very well. A Hyuga girl ascended like she was born to it, stopping at the exact midpoint and holding her stance with perfect poise. An Aburame kid went up after her, less elegant but technically flawless. His sleeves twitched midway up, and I was pretty sure I saw a beetle crawl out and head straight for me.
I almost screamed. Not because I was scared, no. But because for a second, I thought the bugs had finally come to take revenge for the crimes I committed against their flying cousins. Birds, flies and mosquitoes. My lightning chakra training had claimed too many.
Nobody else reacted. I kept it together.
Then came Kaen Uchiha, who naturally had to announce his arrival like it was a stage play. He stretched like he was preparing for a world record and flared his chakra as if daring the wall to doubt him.
He molded his chakra, stepped forward… and tried to sprint halfway up the wall.
It worked. For about two seconds.
Then he lost control of the flare, slipped, flailed, and nearly landed flat on his back. I wanted to clap. So badly. Full mockery mode. But Daiken was already looking in my direction, and I do like having functional wrists, so I restrained myself.
Seriously though… can that man read minds?
I narrowed my eyes at him while pretending to watch Kaen's second attempt.
Kaen did it properly the second time. Steady, quiet, focused. Obvious that his showboating had caused the first fail.
Daiken said nothing. Just stared at him for five full seconds before turning to the next name.
Shizuru went next. She looked nervous, but I saw her take a breath. long, slow, steady. Then she started climbing, each step deliberate. She paused at the halfway point, holding firm. Her legs shook a bit, but she didn't break. On her way down, her eyes flicked toward me, like she was silently asking, Did I do okay?
She did fine.
Then it was Sena.
She didn't stumble. She didn't show hesitation. She walked up the wall with all the casual grace of a noble stepping over a puddle. Paused at the halfway mark. Held. Then walked down with the same elegant neutrality.
No flair. No struggle. No attention drawn.
And yet, there was something deeply unnatural about how practiced it looked. Not perfect, just perfectly calculated. Like she knew the exact performance rating Daiken wanted and had dialed herself to meet it without ever rising above it.
Finally, it was my turn.
I stepped forward, hands relaxed at my sides, and stared at the wall like it was Wall Maria and I Eren Jaeger was about to make a statement.
I channeled chakra into my feet. No rush. I climbed steadily, cleanly. Paused at the halfway mark and held my position. I'd done more complicated things alone. like walking up trees upside-down while dodging mosquitoes trying to kamikaze into me to avenge their brothers I electrocuted during lightning chakra training.
Still, I kept it smooth. Controlled.
Ten seconds ticked by.
Daiken's eyes didn't leave me once. He didn't blink. He didn't breathe. Or maybe he doesn't even need to breathe to begin with. He just... watched.
I held for an extra second. Then walked down.
Clean.
Daiken gave the smallest nod. Barely a twitch. But it was there.
Not a word passed between us.
And yet, somehow, I felt like I'd been told, Not bad.
What I didn't know, what none of us beside Daiken knew, was that far above the training field, nestled in the high branches of a tree, a masked shinobi crouched in perfect silence.
He wore no insignia. No armor. No color. The kind of figure you wouldn't notice unless you were meant to, and by then, it would already be too late. The air around him seemed to hold its breath.
His gaze didn't scan the class.
It stayed fixed on Noa.
He watched as Noa walked down from the wall with steady steps. No flaring chakra. No wasted movement. No hesitation.
He watched as Daiken gave that rare, silent nod.
And he didn't blink.
After a long moment, the man exhaled, soft and measured.
"Composed. Disciplined. Efficient."
His words barely disturbed the leaves around him. They weren't praise. They were evaluation.
A pause.
"He doesn't need shaping," he murmured. "He needs sharpening."
Then came the final thought, quiet, cold, and certain.
"The Root could make something... exceptional out of him."
And like that, he was gone. The branches barely stirred as he vanished, as if the forest had agreed to keep his presence secret.
I however was busy thinking that the test was over.
But instead of being dismissed, we were led into a closed training hall and told to wait. Daiken and the chunin disappeared into a quiet discussion near the back.
The scene was absurd.
Daiken stood in the middle like a walking mountain, and the younger chunin circled him like baby ducks orbiting an extremely dangerous, muscle-bound mother duck.
After half an hour, they returned.
Daiken stepped forward.
"We've compiled the results of the written, physical, and chakra control exams," he said. "Based on those, we've identified the top students."
He scanned the room.
"However, some of you were too close to call."
He let the silence stretch for a second before continuing.
"So we're holding one final test. A sparring match. Between the top students. One-on-one."
The air buzzed with quiet murmurs. Daiken didn't react. He just let it settle.
"You might wonder what's the point. Bragging rights? Maybe. But the winner will receive access to a special training regimen, tailored to their strengths."
My eyes widened.
I grinned.
Best news I'd heard all day.
Special training. For free. My brain locked onto one word. free.
Free insight. Free techniques. Free edge.
I was already mentally drafting a request list.
And somewhere in the distance, buried in the shade of another tree, the same masked figure watched again.
This time, his gaze didn't just evaluate.
It lingered.
Within the soil of the Hidden Leaf, Root stirred quietly to life.
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(A/N: Thank you so much to Doof, ReapingRed Sanguis (cool name, by the way), and Celestialz for your support on Patreon!
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