A cold draft swept through the dim tunnel, brushing across the faces of two thoroughly confused individuals.
"Kaito… don't tell me your feet have built-in trap detection. Why do you ALWAYS step on the trap EVERY. SINGLE. TIME?!"
On the floor of the cavern, Shiranui Unma—senbon between his teeth—looked down into a large pit.
Inside it, Kaito hung in a big, awkward starfish pose, bracing himself between the walls to avoid falling into the paint at the bottom.
Yūhi Ryūun held up a small candle, the flame lighting Kaito's very unamused face.
"I don't know," Kaito said, dead serious.
"Last time it was on the left. Who knew they'd move it to the right?"
Ryūun covered her face.
"Kaito… how do you always do this? You complete every D-rank flawlessly, so your observation skills should be great. And yet—this happens every exam…"
Kaito exhaled, pushed off the walls, and landed behind the two with a clean flip.
He dusted his hands calmly.
"Relax. Something this small can't possibly sto—"
WHOOSH!
Kaito vanished straight through the floor a second time.
Unma face-palmed hard.
He truly regretted teaming with Kaito—but Kaito's combat power was too good to ignore.
"Oh right, forgot to tell you," Unma said casually.
"There's a trap there too. The last one on this stretch."
"I know that! I just got careless! I won't fall for it again once we—"
"..." x2
Both teammates silently stared at him.
He definitely just cursed himself.
A hidden surveillance camera in the cave captured everything.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke was laughing so hard he grabbed his stomach, nearly choking.
Yūhi Jinchūriki covered his face.
Kaito always managed to embarrass himself directly under the cameras.
Last exam, he fell into one trap.
This year?
Two traps within the first minute.
Orochimaru, observing quietly, frowned.
Something about Kaito felt… off. Wrong. Suspicious.
But he couldn't quite pinpoint what.
When Shinnosuke finally stopped laughing enough to breathe, he wiped his eyes and sneered:
"Incredible. Truly incredible. Six years of failing the chūnin exams, and THIS is the legendary six-year genin my father praises."
Orochimaru shot him a cold glance.
"This is only the beginning. Wait and watch."
If Kaito continued like this, Orochimaru would be deeply disappointed—
After all, a team leader weaker than his students hardly deserved the title of teacher.
Time passed.
Teams scattered through the forest, hunting others to seize scrolls.
This exam had pairs of Heaven/Earth scrolls distributed such that four and a half full sets existed.
A River Ambush
"AHHH!!"
A genin stepping through the river triggered a trap—
A rope net sprang up and hoisted him midair.
"Help—! Hey—!"
His two teammates rushed toward him—
—but from behind the rocks, a squad of Konoha chūnin disguised as Iwagakure shinobi emerged.
"Well, well. We were waiting to ambush Rain-nin, but instead we caught a few Leaf brats."
"Seriously. Can't even walk on water properly. Classic Konoha trash."
"Enough talking. Let's finish this."
The disguised jōnin began forming hand signs.
The trapped genin's teammate shouted:
"We can't beat him—RUN!"
He cut the net free with a kunai, grabbed his sputtering teammate from the river, and fled.
The "Iwa" jōnin finished his jutsu—slowly, intentionally—to give the kids a fair chance.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear Barrage!"
Spiked stone pillars shot up in succession.
The three genin dodged and fled—barely.
"Running, huh. Better than giving up," the jōnin muttered, nodding slightly at their performance.
A kunai suddenly whistled out of the trees.
He leaned aside easily.
"…They're mocking me now."
Behind him, the two "Iwa" chūnin straightened nervously.
"Orders?"
"Since they provoked me… teach them a little lesson. Chase them down. If you can't, forget being chūnin."
"Yes, sir!"
They shot into the forest.
The Chase
"Why did you throw that kunai?! He's pissed now!"
"Shut up! Just keep running!"
The trio sprinted through the trees.
But genin stamina couldn't match chūnin.
Soon, the distance closed.
"You three made our captain angry," one chūnin said, weaving seals so fast the genin couldn't react.
"Water Release: Wild Wave Crash!"
The two genin in front panicked, preparing to dodge with a replacement technique.
But the second chūnin inhaled—
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful wind slammed into them, disrupting their hand signs.
The wave hit them head-on.
BANG! BANG!
They crashed into a tree and collapsed, unconscious.
Only one boy—Takao—remained standing, clutching a kunai with shaking hands.
He forced himself to form seals.
The two chūnin folded their arms, unimpressed.
He completed the final sign—
A small fireball shot out.
"Fire Release: Fireball!"
"A D-rank? Kids these days don't improve at all," one chūnin sighed and sidestepped casually.
Takao lunged with desperation—
—but completely forgot the other chūnin.
A fist slammed into his stomach.
He collapsed, gasping.
"You three… what, first-time exam takers? Maybe a few C-ranks at best."
Takao grit his teeth.
"A Konoha ninja… will never betray his village's secrets!"
The two chūnin:
"…Kid. You're not even passing."
They were about to continue interrogating him—
when something rustled behind them.
Both instantly moved, one grabbing Takao and leaping aside.
THUNK, THUNK, THUNK
Three shuriken embedded into the dirt.
"Who's there?!" one chūnin barked.
A calm voice answered:
"Team Eleven.
Uchiha Mikoto."
"And I don't recall the rules saying we can't attack enemy ninja."
A silhouette appeared on a high branch—
Black hair, red eyes.
Before the chūnin could act—
Two small hands erupted from the ground beneath him.
"You let your guard down."
"Earth Release: Hiding-in-the-Ground Decapitation!"
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