"Quick, throw away the scrolls. This is a summoning!" Mirai's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the scroll in his hand. He hurriedly shouted, then tossed the scroll in front of him.
Kiba panicked. Without thinking twice, he threw his scroll out as well!
By coincidence, the Heaven and Earth Scrolls landed in the exact same spot, overlapping each other.
Bang!
The loud blast dispersed the thick fog, and a figure faintly appeared within the white mist.
"This is..." Yasuda murmured hesitantly.
"Hm?"
The white fog gradually dissipated, revealing the figure within.
"Iruka-sensei?!" the three cried out at once.
It was none other than Iruka, the Ninja Academy teacher who had once taught the three of them!
Iruka clasped his hands tightly and raised his head slightly to look at Mirai. "Long time no see!"
"Um... what's going on?" Kiba asked in confusion.
"Haha, look at you. It seems you didn't suffer much and passed easily!" Iruka looked at the three of them happily. Their clothes were not particularly dirty, and he was not surprised.
"Of course! I'm going to become Hokage someday!" Kiba said smugly.
"Why is Iruka-sensei here?" Ikeda asked doubtfully.
"Because we were supposed to meet the candidates who passed the second exam here, and I'm merely the messenger responsible for delivering important information to you!"
"Delivering information?" The three were all confused and fell silent.
Delivering information? Was he announcing the third exam?
"Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, congratulations on passing the second exam!"
"Hm?"
"Also, I have another task: to pass on to you the meaning of shinobi. That is..." Iruka said, pointing behind him with his thumb. "Did you notice that the words on it have disappeared?"
"Ah? Did they... did they?" Mirai raised his brows awkwardly and rubbed his nose.