Kirigakure, in an overlooked corner.
A boy and a girl, both still in their teens, fought each other.
Two wine cups lay on the ground, suggesting they had each drunk a farewell toast before fighting.
Both were graduates whose names had appeared in the intelligence files.
The boy was named Chojuro, an S-rank "prodigy" who was only two years older than Sasuke and the youngest student in his graduating class.
The girl was named Ryuna, an ordinary B-rank graduate.
The two had grown up together. Ryuna was three years older than Chojuro and usually looked after him like an older sister. Given Kirigakure's twisted sense of humor, they had naturally been assigned to the same group for their graduation duel.
They didn't want to fight to the death like gamecocks in an underground casino, with a crowd of gamblers watching. If that was their only choice, they would rather settle things in an empty corner and decide who would be the last one standing.
This was a fight with no suspense.
Though Chojuro was three years younger than Ryuna, his swordsmanship was superb. He hadn't even used ninjutsu, yet he had completely overpowered her.
Chojuro's blade stopped an inch from Ryuna's chest. No matter what, he couldn't bring himself to thrust it forward.
"Ryuna, let's run away. We can wander the world, become rogue ninja."
Ryuna gazed at the blade and slowly shook her head.
"We can't escape. Other villages might turn a blind eye to rogue ninja, but Kirigakure hunts them down without mercy. If we run, we'll both end up dead."
As she spoke, she stepped forward, letting the blade tear through her clothes and press against her chest.
Chojuro stood there, stunned, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes.
A red stain seeped through. Ryuna smiled