Result

"So that's how it was. But this time, you look much better, Inoue. Do you have any other moves? Let me see them."

Masayo's voice was cool and indifferent. The people who should have become comrades were now returning to Training Ground 44 in this manner.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Suddenly, Inoue Mura formed hand seals with both hands, sending a fireball roughly three meters in diameter hurtling toward Masayo.

Boom!

The fireball swallowed Masayo whole, but Inoue Mura did not let his guard down in the slightest. He leaped backward and hurriedly pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch.

But it was still too late. Even though he sensed it, his current strength and body could not react in time. He could not even perform the basic Substitution Technique he had planned to use as support.

Masayo appeared in front of Inoue Mura with Wind Body Flicker and drove a heavy punch straight into his abdomen.

"Gahhh..."

Inoue Mura's face nearly twisted in agony. Clutching his lower abdomen, he collapsed painfully onto the ground, instantly losing his ability to move. Masayo had defeated him in a single move.

Masayo looked at the unconscious Sakiban, then at Inoue Mura, who was glaring at him with unwillingness, and said blandly, "You still had other ninjutsu you didn't get to use, didn't you? But you focus too much on ninjutsu and neglect the basics. Inoue, it seems you haven't changed at all."

Inoue Mura's eyes widened. Masayo's words stirred his emotions, but the pain in his abdomen kept him from getting up, and he began coughing violently.

"Cough, cough... You... what did you say, Masayo?"

"You'll be fine soon. I held back."

Masayo looked toward where Mimai was hiding and smiled faintly. He glanced at the alarm clock on the wooden post and said, "Sigh, it hasn't even been five minutes. I haven't even put in any effort, and you're all already going down."

Whoosh!

Masayo vanished from before Inoue Mura with Wind Body Flicker, and the bells gave off a clear, delicate chime.

"It's over. It's all over. This time, we were eliminated even faster than the previous two times."

Inoue Mura lay on the grass in a daze. Then Mimai's scream shattered his last illusions completely. They had failed—failed utterly.

Masayo carried the unconscious Mimai over to Inoue Mura. Then he took out a rope from his ninja tool pouch and tied Inoue Mura to the wooden post.

"I'll give you a chance. Whether your future teammates can seize it or not is another matter."

After saying that, Masayo tied Inoue Mura to the post and released Mimai and Sakiban from the genjutsu.

"Ah, my head hurts. Strange, wasn't I supposed to have fallen off a cliff? Why am I here?"

Sakiban inspected his entire body to see whether any parts were missing. Only after finding himself completely intact did he let out a sigh of relief.

Sakiban had not noticed at all that he had just been caught in a genjutsu. Meanwhile, Mimai hung her head in shame, her fingers continuously poking at the grass. She had also been utterly defeated, instantly taken down by Masayo in the genjutsu she specialized in.

Sakiban looked around, then suddenly noticed Inoue Mura tied to the wooden post with a lifeless expression. He burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... How did you end up like this?"

"You think that's funny, Saki?"

Masayo's icy voice reached Sakiban and Mimai's ears, and they instantly froze.

"Th-this, Masayo-sensei!"

Sakiban now understood what had happened. He had been caught in a genjutsu just now.

Masayo put away the alarm clock, sighed helplessly, and stood before Sakiban, Inoue Mura, and Mimai. He removed the bells from his body.

"You three, I really don't know what to say. I'll give you one final chance. I have two bells in my hand. The three of you discuss it—who will choose to return to the Academy and repeat the year?"

After saying that, Masayo shook the bells, producing a crisp ring.

"This..."

Sakiban and Mimai exchanged glances. Neither of them wanted to be eliminated, but Inoue Mura wanted it even less. He had already been sent back to repeat the year twice in a row.

"Inoue Mura-senpai, you should go back and repeat the year. You've already been eliminated twice, so surely you won't mind a third time. Please fulfill our wishes!"

Sakiban suddenly spoke to Inoue Mura, leaving Masayo dumbfounded. Damn, I gave him a chance, and this was how he used it? He really was stupid—exceptionally stupid. Just another ordinary person you could find anywhere.

Inoue Mura looked at Sakiban, unable to speak. He now understood Masayo's intention. Just like before, it was a test of teamwork. Though he had once been weak and unqualified, he would never have done something like this, much less said such words.

"Sakiban, what are you saying? What right do you have to decide that Inoue should be sacrificed?"

Mimai's beautiful eyes narrowed as she glared at Sakiban in displeasure.

Sakiban directly asked, "Then what do you want to do, Mimai? I absolutely refuse to repeat the year. Since you're unwilling to give him up, then you can forfeit instead."

"I..."

Mimai was immediately at a loss for words. Looking at the silent Inoue Mura, whose face was full of gloom, her feelings became complicated. Inoue Mura had already failed twice and been sent back to repeat the year twice.

"Then I'll forfeit. Masayo-sensei, let me return to the Academy. Inoue has already failed twice. He can't fail again. It's fine for me. I can wait another year."

Of course Mimai did not want to be eliminated, but she could not bear to see Inoue Mura sent back to repeat the year again.

Inoue Mura raised his head in disbelief. His gaze toward Mimai softened. At that moment, Mimai seemed like an angel in his heart, while Matsumoto Kei, whom he had secretly loved for so long, was thrown far beyond the clouds.

Tied to the wooden post, he had no chance to choose. Even if he understood the true meaning behind the test, his teammates would not cooperate at all, just like he had been at the beginning. He had never expected that someone would truly care about him now.

"Th-thank you, Mimai. Great... we can become ninja now!"

Inoue Mura cried excitedly. He was about the same age as Masayo, but he cried like a child now.

"What?"

Sakiban and Mimai both looked confused. Suddenly, Masayo's applause rang out, making them turn toward him.

"Mimai, it seems I was right about you. Inoue, congratulations. You've become a Genin. Sakiban, you failed. I gave you so many chances—why couldn't you cherish them? You were always thinking about showing off on your own."

Masayo first praised Mimai and Inoue Mura, then faced Sakiban with disappointment. After all, Sakiban had contributed that scene of the Naruto-Sasuke kiss, so Masayo had given him many chances. Yet a leopard could not change its spots. He was completely different from Inoue Mura in temperament.

"No, failed? Wait, I refuse to accept this! Why did I fail, Masayo-sensei? Even if you defeated me, you defeated them too! Why am I the only one being eliminated? Besides, Mimai was the one who chose to give up just now."

Sakiban argued with Masayo unwillingly. Even now, he still did not understand why he had not become a ninja alongside Mimai and Inoue Mura.