The Test

"Fire Release: Fireball Technique!"

A two-meter-wide fireball burst from the crowd, roaring toward Jingxin's real body.

Wherever the fireball passed, the air warped and waves of heat washed over him.

Jingxin formed hand seals and slammed his hands against the ground. A wall of earth rose in front of him.

The instant the fireball collided with the wall, Jingxin lowered his center of gravity and moved to a spot with a clear view, continuing to form hand seals as he went.

After locating the ninja, Jingxin swung his arm, sending a blade of wind slicing toward him.

The man stared wide-eyed, seemingly unable to believe someone could use ninjutsu twice in such quick succession.

He barely dodged the wind blade before realizing Jingxin had closed in on him.

Squelch!

Jingxin pulled his ninja blade from the man's flesh.

At the same time, the last wandering ninja was taken out by a Shadow Clone.

In just two short minutes, the entire camp had become a slaughterhouse.

Blood stained the ground, and bodies lay scattered everywhere.

A Shadow Clone walked over to the fence and untied the people the bandits had captured.

Jingxin stood in the middle of the camp, his breathing steady beneath his mask.

He looked around, confirmed there were no survivors, then dispelled his Shadow Clone, and the battle experience returned to his real body.

Shifeng and Yeying leaped down from the rock face and landed beside Jingxin.

There was less laziness in Shifeng's voice as he asked, "This wasn't your first time killing someone, was it?"

Jingxin replied, "I ran into quite a few bandits on my way to Iwagakure."

"Fair enough." Shifeng scratched his head. "Still, try not to reveal too much about your past during missions. All you needed to say just now was yes."

"Mission complete. Let's head back."

By the time the three returned to Iwagakure, night had fully fallen.

They went to the Tsuchikage Building to turn in the mission.

Ōnoki looked at Jingxin and smiled with satisfaction. "Well done. Go get some rest, Blood Gold."

"Yes." Jingxin bowed, then turned and left.

Ōnoki looked at the other two. "How was he?"

"Far better than expected," Shifeng said slowly. "He's seen blood before. We should raise the difficulty for him a little."

Ōnoki shook his head gently. "We need to take this one step at a time. You two should go get some rest as well."

The barren mountains along the Land of Earth's border looked especially grim at dawn.

Wind threaded through the cracks in the rocks with a mournful howl, kicking up sand that pattered against the black stone walls.

Shifeng stood atop a towering stone pillar, his eyes scanning the valley below through his Wolf Mask.

Yeying hid in the shadows ten meters to his left. Only half of his face showed beneath his Owl Mask, and he was almost indistinguishable from the rocks around him.

Jingxin crouched to Shifeng's right, his Fox Mask concealing his youthful face.

"The target's hideout is in the ravine three hundred meters ahead," Shifeng said, his voice carried directly into their ears by chakra. "According to the intel, there are twenty-three bandits. Five are suspected wandering ninja. Their chakra signatures are weak, probably Genin level. The rest are ordinary thugs."

Beneath his mask, Jingxin's Sharingan turned slowly. Through the narrow slits in the mask, he could clearly see the smoke rising from the valley and hear the distant commotion.

"What about the hostages?" Yeying asked, his voice cool.

"According to the intel, the bandits abducted seven villagers from a nearby village: three women and four men. They're being held in a wooden house on the east side of the hideout," Shifeng replied. "Our first priority is to rescue the hostages, then wipe out the bandits."

"I'll attack from the front and draw their attention."

"Yeying, infiltrate the hideout and rescue the hostages. Take out the outer sentries as well."

"Blood Gold, use your Sharingan to observe the battlefield. Deal with any stragglers you spot, and keep watch on our surroundings."

"Understood." Jingxin nodded.

Shifeng reminded him, "Blood Gold, this is a tactical coordination exercise. Do what you're supposed to do."

Jingxin understood, of course, and nodded.

If that weren't the case, a team of Chunin would have been sent here.

Shifeng leaped down from the stone pillar, forming hand seals in midair.

"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Technique!"

A massive stone pillar, three meters in diameter, burst up from the ground and smashed straight into the center of the bandit hideout.

Rumble!

Half of a wooden house collapsed, and dust filled the air.

The bandits' panicked shouts rang out at once.

"Enemy attack!"

"It's a ninja!"

"Grab your weapons!"

Shifeng landed and formed hand seals again.

"Earth Release: Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

Three thick earthen walls shot up, sealing off all three exits from the hideout.

A crossbow bolt came whistling toward him.

Shifeng swept his ninja blade across and easily knocked it aside.

The battle had officially begun.

Yeying flickered through the shadows, moving at astonishing speed like a gray ghost. Almost no one noticed him approaching.

From his elevated position, Jingxin could see everything clearly with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Two elite Jonin were playing house with a bunch of worthless nobodies, even deliberately letting five bandits escape.

The five bandits fled toward the valley's exit in a panic.

Jingxin threw five shuriken. They traced strange arcs through the air, collided with one another, changed direction, and struck the five bandits precisely in the backs of their necks.

At the same time, Yeying rescued the hostages.

Shifeng was surrounded by bandits and five wandering ninja. The situation looked dire.

Wait!

This was definitely a test for him.

An elite Jonin versus a bunch of bandits and five wandering ninja.

And the elite Jonin was in dire straits?

Beneath his mask, Jingxin looked thoughtful.

It was less a mission than a test.

If his teammates weren't Yeying and Shifeng, or if the enemy were much stronger, what would he do?

His task was to deal with stragglers and keep watch on their surroundings.

But with his teammates in trouble, he couldn't abandon his post, nor could he stand by and do nothing.

How should he handle this situation?

If his real body joined the fight, it would definitely be against the rules.

Should he join the battle with a Shadow Clone?

That would weaken his real body's combat strength. If enemy reinforcements showed up now, he wouldn't be able to deal with them.

Jingxin quickly made his decision.

He took several kunai from his ninja tool pouch and tied steel wire and Explosive Tags to their ends.

After igniting the tags, he hurled them toward the enemies surrounding Shifeng.

Rumble!

Below, Shifeng leisurely dodged the attacks while watching Jingxin's choice.

The moment he saw the Explosive Tags, Shifeng's eyes showed approval beneath his mask.

The tags could effectively disrupt the enemy and support a teammate in trouble without using much chakra. They also let the guard stay at his post.

"He has a teammate! Kill him first!!!"

One of the wandering ninja shouted.

Oh?

Who did you say to kill?

Jingxin had already written the answer to the test.

So Shifeng no longer needed to hold back.

He vanished from the spot, using the Body Flicker Technique to leave the enemy formation, then raised his hands to form seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Style: Rock Mountain Convergence!"

Shifeng's chakra spread rapidly through the ground from his hands, covering almost half the bandit camp in an instant.

Rumble!

Two small mountains rose on either side of the camp, then slammed into each other.

In the blink of an eye, the wooden houses, rocks, saplings, and enemies...

Were all crushed inside the artificial mountain.