At the same time Rikusei was setting Mao a test, a corresponding exam was being prepared at the Ninja Academy.
This was the first written exam since they had captured the Nine-Tails. Having already missed one opportunity, they were determined to seize the lead by any means necessary and get their names onto the roster for the mission to capture the Eight-Tails.
The school was more than happy to see it. The exam rules had changed dramatically and were completely different from the previous individual tests.
Teams were formed by drawing lots. If even one member of a three-person team failed, the entire team would be eliminated. Any team caught cheating would be disqualified immediately.
According to unreliable rumors around the school, the rule had been proposed by a white-haired, red-eyed man, who had forced it through at a meeting of all the teachers by winning them over with reason.
For the first time, the Ninja Academy was divided.
The young students, usually fond of sticking together, had scattered to every corner of the school according to their team assignments, watching the members of other teams warily.
Whether they knew them well or not, everyone outside their own team was a potential threat.
The group gathered around the flower bed made them feel conflicted.
Beneath a cherry tree that had already finished blooming, its canopy spread wide to provide excellent shade. The laughter and chatter that drifted from the group made them rather envious.
They were the ones who had taken part in sealing the Nine-Tails. Thankfully, most of them had decided to withdraw from future capture missions.
Even Tobirama couldn't refuse their reason for withdrawing.
They would never again see the Buddha walking the mortal world in blue armor during the capture missions to come.
Tobirama had no choice