The wooden-dart bags in front of the target racks had been replaced with iron-clasp bags.
When Naruto saw the iron clasps, his first instinct was to reach out and pry one open. Before Iruka-sensei's whistle had even sounded, his hand was already close to the bag's opening.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Iruka-sensei called him by his full name, and Naruto's hand froze in midair.
A few muffled laughs came from the edge of the field. Naruto turned to see who had laughed, but the moment he looked back, the laughter scattered, leaving only the wind rolling sand past his feet.
Sasuke stood beside him, his wrist guards fastened neatly.
"It hasn't even started, and you've already had to do it over once."
"Shut up."
"This doesn't need a whistle."
Kiyo nearly laughed out loud. Remembering that someone from the academic affairs office was standing nearby, he forcibly swallowed it, his face wrinkling from the effort.
Today's assessment had three parts: short-distance footwork, wooden-dart throwing, and close-range evasion. After Iruka-sensei finished reading them out, the neatly groomed academic affairs recorder beside the field looked up and swept his gaze around, pen already pressed to paper. Mizuno-sensei stood on the other side, her expression unreadable.
Che immediately noticed that someone had appeared beside the recorder.
A Chunin vest, a narrow face, and a thin smile. The newcomer spoke to Iruka-sensei with constant politeness, but something else hid beneath it. Che heard someone call him.
Mizuki-sensei.
The moment the name reached his ears, Che's fingers paused at the edge of his wrist guard.
Mizuki had arrived too early.
Maybe he was simply observing. Maybe it was merely a rotating duty for Ninja Academy teachers. But when this man appeared at a basic assessment involving Naruto, Sasuke, and a group of newly merged-class children, it took