Exams and the Hunt

Three days passed in a flash. Early that morning, Lu Zeming met up with Mui and Shinbu Kosuke, and they headed to the Ninja Academy together.

The first round was a written exam, held at the Ninja Academy.

At the entrance, Lu Zeming found nearly a hundred candidates.

There were men and women of all ages. At seven, Lu Zeming was the youngest; the oldest were in their twenties or thirties.

Everyone stood respectfully on the school field, waiting for the Kusakage to address them.

But the Kusakage did not come. Speaking on his behalf was Shinomiya Eita, head of the Shinomiya.

Like so many leaders' speeches, Shinomiya Eita's was long and tedious. The other candidates either stared into space or yawned nonstop, but Lu Zeming listened closely.

Shinomiya Eita opened with the spirit of Kusagakure.

"Where wildfire burns, grass roots grow on without end" was the same rhetoric as "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on." It was just a different wrapper, with no real difference beneath it.

Shinomiya Eita then spoke of the deep ties between Kusagakure and Konoha.

He praised Konoha's progress at length and said Kusagakure should learn from its advanced methods of governance.

He went on for over an hour.

From Shinomiya Eita's seemingly dull speech, Lu Zeming drew three useful conclusions.

First, the Shinomiya had the upper hand in their struggle with the Shinbu. The fact that Shinomiya Eita could speak for the Kusakage said plenty;

Second, Kusagakure had long been on good terms with Konoha;

Third, the Shinomiya wanted to maintain those friendly relations with Konoha.

Lu Zeming knew war inevitably reshaped the international order.

The Third Shinobi World War had just ended. As a buffer between Konoha and Iwagakure, Kusagakure was bound to see its internal balance of power reshuffled. As for who backed the Shinbu in their bitter rivalry with the Shinomiya, the answer was obvious.

Lu Zeming then thought of the Nine-Tails' Attack that would soon strike Konoha.

The Fourth Hokage would die, the Third would return to power, and Konoha would be left short of capable fighters. When that happened, it would have no choice but to pull back strategically.

That did not bode well for the Shinomiya, who had Konoha's support!

Lost in thought, Lu Zeming followed the crowd into the exam hall.

The desks were familiar. So was the blackboard. Only the people were different.

For a moment, Lu Zeming felt dazed. Then he opened the paper and found that the first question asked him to explain the Will of Grass.

The next few questions were more conventional, covering skills suited to a ninja: estimating distances by sight, infiltrating unseen, gathering intelligence, and passing it on.

Lu Zeming had no intention of answering on his own. He released his Spiritual Power to sense the answers and started copying.

Kusagakure's written exam, at least, did not have someone show up to put on a grand display, deliver a lofty speech, and let the young hero pass without answering a single question, the way Konoha did.

The written exam was little more than a formality. Most of those eliminated were civilian-born ninja; not one candidate with connections failed.

Lu Zeming could not tell whether he had passed because he had copied well or because of Shinbu Kosuke's influence.

When Shinbu Kosuke left the exam hall, he had made a point of giving Lu Zeming a look that said not to worry—he had everything covered.

The second round was a flag-capture battle fought in three-person teams.

It was held in Crescent Valley, east of Kusagakure.

Each team received a randomly assigned red, yellow, or blue flag. To pass, they had to seize flags of the other two colors in the coming fight, then reach Lakeheart Island with all three.

Though called a valley, it looked more like a basin. Sheer cliffs ringed it, with an endless forest below. A small river ran from north to south, widening at the center into a crescent-shaped lake.

The valley was relatively enclosed but spacious inside. From the clifftops, observers could watch the entire field. It was an ideal exam site.

Lu Zeming's team was assigned to the southeastern corner. Standing atop the cliff, they could see candidates from other teams on the opposite rim.

Whoosh!

A plume of colored smoke shot into the sky: the signal to begin.

Lu Zeming did not hesitate. He leaped off the cliff and plunged toward the valley below.

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke sucked in a breath. The cliff was at least forty meters high, yet he had jumped straight off. That was reckless even by ninja standards.

When the two ran down the rock face and reached the valley floor, they found Lu Zeming sitting in a tree, delightedly examining a plant.

"Oh, this is good. I've only just come down, and I've already found a wild ginseng root! Look at its shape, its color. A real rarity!"

Lu Zeming gazed at the plant in his hand as though it were a beautiful woman, much to the surprise of the other two.

Neither had imagined he had this side to him.

"Ahem. Zeming, we're still in the middle of an exam!"

"Oh. Right!" Lu Zeming put away the wild ginseng. "So what's our plan?"

Shinbu Kosuke answered as though it were obvious. "Find people and take their flags, of course!"

Mui saw that Lu Zeming had fallen silent and knew he already had a plan.

"What are you thinking?"

"My plan's simple. You two find somewhere to hide while I gather herbs. Crescent Valley is a treasure trove. There must be plenty more waiting for me to find!"

The look on Lu Zeming's face was like that of a creep leering at someone on the subway.

Mui's and Kosuke's mouths twitched.

"What about the exam?"

"The exam lasts three days. On the last day, we'll wait at the entrance to Lakeheart Island. Any team that makes it there will have all three colors, so we can just take their flags!"

Mui thought it was a good idea. They could conserve their strength and get all three flags in one go.

Shinbu Kosuke, who had plans of his own, firmly opposed it.

"What if other teams collect their flags and pass before the third day? And what if someone finds the two of us while you're out gathering herbs and picks us off one by one?"

Lu Zeming narrowed his eyes and watched Shinbu Kosuke in silence. Eventually, Kosuke grew so uncomfortable that he began to stammer.

Lu Zeming did not call him out. He merely nodded. "You have a point. We'll find the flags first, then I'll gather herbs."

The three hurried northeast. Whenever they came across medicinal herbs, Lu Zeming stopped to pick them. By midday, his pack was bulging.

Lu Zeming was fast enough to catch up with Mui and Kosuke even after stopping to gather herbs.

Sometime in the afternoon, Shinbu Kosuke suddenly took the lead and headed due north.

Lu Zeming smiled and followed.

Before long, the three stopped behind a slope and hid. A hundred meters ahead, three ninja wearing Kusagakure forehead protectors were resting beside the river.

Lu Zeming whispered to Shinbu Kosuke, "You knew they were here all along, didn't you?"

Shinbu Kosuke flushed. "That's not important. Three against three, with us attacking by surprise—we have a good chance!"

Lu Zeming shrugged, looking unconcerned.

The three concealed themselves and moved to surround the ninja by the river. The instant they came within range, Lu Zeming and his teammates hurled Hidden Weapons together.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Three sharp reports rang out in succession.

All three figures by the river dissolved and vanished.

"Damn it! Phantom Body Technique!"

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke's faces darkened. They stood back-to-back, scanning their surroundings.

Lu Zeming, however, looked as though he had expected this all along. He simply planted his blade against the ground and watched a large rock nearby.

A young man appeared atop the rock, his face full of smug triumph and contempt for the three of them.

"You Shinbu scum. I knew you were up to no good. You wanted to hunt me? Too bad you're the ones we're hunting!"

Shinbu Kosuke stiffened his neck. "Don't get cocky, Shinomiya Takuto! My ambush failed, that's all. It's still three against three. We'll see who hunts whom!"

Shinomiya Takuto burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! You still haven't noticed, you idiot? It's not three against three. It's nine against three!"

As soon as Shinomiya Takuto finished speaking, six more figures darted out and surrounded Lu Zeming's team.

At the sight, Shinbu Kosuke went deathly pale. Mui pressed his lips together, his expression grim.