After the intense training that they did, now was the time to graduate. Seijuro made sure he took all of his shit before leaving, because after all, he didn't know what he would need.
So on him right now, he had like 15 kunai, 15 shuriken, his Kyoka Suigetsu—he was ready to beat a Chunin if that was what was required of him.
When they reached the place, there was a Chunin there. His name tag read Tsurugi.
"Ah, the prodigies," he muttered with a yawn. "You're both here for early graduation, huh? Figures."
Seijuro said nothing. Mikoto gave a polite nod.
"Alright then, let's make this quick," the man continued, tapping a line on the floor with his foot. "Step inside this circle. Make me leave it, and you pass the first part."
Not for the Genjutsu Gauntlet of Doom™.
The first to go up was Seijuro.
Seijuro began the round by sizing up his opponent. All in all, he seemed to be Chunin level on everything—like if they were to judge him, he would be baseline Chunin.
Generic among generics.
Seijuro simply looked at the man.
The world shifted sideways for him. The walls melted. The ground became unstable. Somewhere off in the distance, a girl was yelling at him for eating her dango.
The Chunin staggered back, then walked straight out of the circle with the posture of someone who just realized he forgot his towel in the bathhouse. Then he blinked again, returned to himself, and looked around in shock.
"I win," Seijuro said coolly, stepping back. It was a simple illusion, really—meant to fuck with you, that was the goal of it.
The man could only mutter something about "damn Genjutsu freaks."
He was just salty he lost. Well, up next was Mikoto.
The Chunin, now suspicious, took a defensive stance. He wouldn't get caught off guard again.
Fast, efficient, Uchiha-style Taijutsu—textbook perfect. He blocked, countered, ducked, twisted. She ducked under his arm, tried to sweep his legs, got pushed back—
They clashed. Sparks could be seen flying. She was applying the pressure. As he pushed her away, while she was in the air, her hands went through some hand seals very quickly.
Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu"
She launched a massive fireball at the Chunin. The man retaliated by going through some hand seals of his own.
Tiger → Ox → Tiger → Rat
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique"
(Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu)
As the water and fire clashed in the air, steam was created from their collision. In the mist, the man clutched his kunai.
He was not about to be caught lacking.
And then he felt the cold blade of her kunai against his neck... Turning around, all he saw were those red eyes staring daggers at him.
And thus, he raised his hand.
She bowed respectfully.
As if, not one second ago, she wasn't planning to remove him from the census.
Anyway, they needed to showcase some other stuff apart from impressing a Chunin.
Transformation Jutsu — flawless. Mikoto turned into Seijuro, down to the cold smirk and everything. Seijuro transformed into their examiner, complete with eye bags and bad posture.
Substitution Jutsu — textbook. Both evaded fake attacks using perfectly timed logs. (Why was it always logs?)
Clone Jutsu — simple but clean. Two shadowless clones each, indistinguishable from the real one. Fresh chapters posted on novel※fire.net
The examiner handed them two things: their headbands and official shinobi ID slips.
The moment that band touched Seijuro's hand, it hit him. He was now officially a shinobi. Not a prodigy. Not a student. Not someone training for war.
But someone ready to go into it.
She tied the headband on her forehead—she was now an official Leaf shinobi.
He also tied his on his forehead but was planning to move it to his arm—so that when the enemy looked for his hitai-ate, they'd look at his arm, notice his sword, and bam, under the effect of Kyoka Suigetsu...
And now it was on his arm. On his right arm, to be more exact, since he was more familiar with it. Yes, he could also use his left arm, but the right felt way more comfortable for him.
Well, he was a ninja now.
A young one at that. He was like ten years old, barely. Oh well. Didn't mean his stats had changed much. The Second Shinobi War was rearing its ugly head. If he calculated correctly, he only had about six-ish months before the war started—and that was if he was being generous...
So in the next six or so months, he expected himself to get a lot more battle experience and have enough power to kill a Jounin. He didn't want to die in the war—and he also didn't want her to die.
So, for her sake, he shall get stronger. Hm. Getting stronger for someone else's sake... that was a new concept to him.