Mission

"Damn it, give Sakura back!"

Ino roared and charged forward.

"Wait..." Shikamaru tried to stop her.

But it was already too late.

The Skeleton Giant slapped her away, sending Ino crashing into the wall and knocking her unconscious.

"Damn it..."

Sasuke stared at the Skeleton Giant's chest. Sakura was still trapped inside, so he did not dare use ninjutsu for fear of hurting her.

But waiting helplessly was not in his nature. He drew a kunai and rushed forward, stabbing at the Skeleton Giant's joints.

Then, as expected, he was slapped back.

Fortunately, he was luckier than Ino and did not lose consciousness. Still, he was not in much better condition. His entire body felt as though it had been torn apart, and he could not move for the moment.

Human Boulder!

A constantly spinning sphere burst out from the hole in front of the giant.

The giant caught it one-handed with its left hand, then threw it back into the hole, knocking Naruto, who had just climbed out, back down to the second floor.

"What do we do? What am I supposed to do?"

Shikamaru broke out in a nervous sweat. Even the strongest among them could not budge the Skeleton Giant, while Sasuke, who knew powerful Fire Release techniques, had temporarily lost the ability to move. More importantly, it had a hostage in its hands, leaving them even more constrained.

It could be said that the Skeleton Giant they faced this time was on an entirely different level from the one they had encountered before!

Splitting up and fleeing to look for an opportunity was the best course of action now.

But... would it give us that chance?

They did not know how fast this big guy was, but with legs that were nearly five feet long, there was no way it could be slow.

"I didn't want to use this..."

Shikamaru took out a scroll covered in tadpole-like curse markings.

This was a Sealing Scroll they had specially prepared.

They could have prepared more scrolls, but they had made this one themselves. During the test, they did not want to rely too heavily on their families' strength.

Seeing Shikamaru take out the scroll, Neji and Rock exchanged a glance before charging forward.

They had spent considerable effort preparing this scroll, and its power should have been enough to seal the Skeleton Giant before them. But it would not obediently let them seal it.

So someone had to engage it and buy Shikamaru time to find the best opportunity.

"I've realized this thing is way too unfriendly toward me..."

Tenten threw a projectile at the Skeleton Giant, but it did not even leave a mark on its body.

Those weapons might inflict fatal wounds on people, but they were rather powerless against certain nonhuman beings.

Neji and Rock attacked from the left and right, unleashing all sorts of moves from the Konoha Steel Fist and the Hyuga Gentle Fist upon the Skeleton Giant. The Skeleton Giant did not even make a defensive motion, nor did it need to.

Because they simply could not harm the Skeleton Giant!

Shikamaru helplessly put away the scroll.

Sasuke pushed himself upright against the wall, but the trembling of his body made it clear that even standing was extremely difficult for him now.

They had made that scroll together, and he knew that with the strength the Skeleton Giant had displayed, that scroll alone was probably incapable of sealing it.

In other words, they had still failed this test.

Before long, each of them lost the ability to resist under the Skeleton Giant's hands.

They also got to experience what it felt like to be swallowed by a shadow.

The moment they entered the shadow, it felt as though they had arrived in a place without gravity. There was nowhere to brace themselves, and they could only let their bodies fall.

Or rather, was it really falling?

With their vision gone, in a space where they could not distinguish up from down or left from right, they did not even know where they were drifting.

Their breathing was clearly unaffected, yet they still felt as though they could barely breathe.

This left their minds dizzy and their bodies weak.

It was an utterly miserable feeling!

Watching the scene at the Ninja Academy through the crystal ball, Hinata knew that once the Skeleton Giant appeared, Naruto and the others were destined to fail this test.

The various clan heads did not show any disappointment over their children failing the test.

After all, they knew the truth behind the Ninja Academy's tests. And honestly, they did not want their children leaving the Ninja Academy so early either.

"The teacher who came up with this test is inhuman! They clearly don't want us to graduate, do they!?"

The recovered group gathered together. They had not suffered any serious injuries to begin with.

Naruto immediately voiced his indignation.

Hinata looked at her teacher and found that the Third Hokage still wore a cheerful expression, showing no intention of taking Naruto's words to heart.

The various clan heads had already left, leaving only the Third Hokage, Hinata, and several ninja assigned to protect him in the room.

Those ninja simply pretended to be deaf and mute, acting as though they had seen and heard nothing.

"Hehe, that child certainly has plenty of energy," the Third Hokage said with a smile.

Wasn't that true? Naruto had fallen from the third floor to the second, then been sent up to the third floor by Choji before getting smashed back down to the second.

There had been no shortage of bumps and bruises along the way, yet it had not been long at all before Naruto was full of energy again, without the slightest trace of fatigue.

Shikamaru said, "Alright, Naruto. If the teacher hears you, you'll be punished by standing again."

Naruto was very dissatisfied. They had prepared for an entire month for this test.

Sasuke felt the same way. He strongly agreed with Naruto, but because of his status, he could not openly complain like Naruto.

Besides, he did not even feel like talking right now.

He still had not recovered from the slap the Skeleton Giant had given him.

The others were no different. Even while walking, they looked weak and listless. A group of children somehow walked with the gait of old men in a park.

Two days later.

The Third Hokage sat in his office, smoking with a troubled expression.

So many days had passed. Logically, whether Jiraiya had found Tsunade or not, he should have sent word back to the village on time.

Yet ever since Jiraiya left, not a single message had returned.

If he did not understand Jiraiya's temperament, he would have thought Jiraiya had run away from the village.

"Teacher, I don't object to you smoking, but you should consider my feelings too."

Though the smoke could not affect her in any way, secondhand smoke smelled bad. If it smelled bad, then it should be said.

"Sorry, Hinata."

The Third Hokage knocked the tobacco from his pipe and put it away. Yet his troubled expression remained unchanged.

Hinata said, "Teacher, if you're worried about Senior Disciple Brother Jiraiya and Senior Disciple Sister Tsunade, you can let me look for them. With my strength, I can bring them back very quickly."

"No..." The Third Hokage rejected Hinata's suggestion. "I have another mission for you."

"Another mission?" Hinata asked in confusion.

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