Second Round Assessment

The second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams was a team-versus-team preliminary match.

In a lush forest,

sunlight filtered through layers of leaves and fell in dappled patches beneath the trees.

In a fairly spacious clearing, six young ninjas stood facing one another in two groups.

Shikaba looked at the three across from him and sighed.

"Our luck is terrible. We had to run into you three troublemakers."

Kakashi, Rin, and Obito.

A team made up of those three

could practically walk all over anyone else in their year.

Obito chuckled.

"Don't worry, little Shikaba. I'll go easy on you."

Nagano Nami snorted, clearly unhappy with Shikaba's attitude.

"Shikaba, why are you talking them up and putting us down?"

"If the three of us work together, I don't believe we can't beat them. Right, uh... Ayako?"

Nagano Nami had struggled for a moment but finally remembered Ayako's name.

Ayako nodded and said timidly,

"Nami's right. Even with Kakashi on their side, who's strong enough to rival a Jonin, we still have a chance!"

Nagano Nami: "..."

Once the young ninjas had finished talking,

the teacher overseeing the assessment waved a hand.

The team preliminaries officially began!

Rin and Ayako quickly retreated.

Both were support-type ninjas, focused mainly on keeping their opponents occupied in battle.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The sounds of weapons slicing through the air rang out.

The two kept throwing Shuriken, beginning their first exchange.

Clink, clink, clink!

Shuriken flew through the air, collided, then fell to the ground.

Short Swords in hand, Obito and Kakashi charged at their opponents through the occasional incoming Shuriken.

Nagano Nami refused to back down. He held a Kunai in each hand and leaped toward Obito, who was closer.

"Hey, don't rush in like that!" Shikaba said helplessly.

Their team was already slightly weaker. Playing it safe was their best bet.

That idiot Nagano Nami!

A hint of red crept into Obito's eyes.

Nagano Nami's body suddenly stiffened, and he froze where he stood.

Shikaba shouted,

"Not good! It's Genjutsu!"

Kakashi seized the opening and swept past with his blade. A flash of silver burst forth.

But Shikaba reacted with remarkable speed.

A mass of black shadow emerged from beneath his feet.

It split into several thin strands and caught hold of Nagano Nami's shadow.

Then something strange happened.

Under the control of Shikaba's shadow,

Nagano Nami moved like a puppet on strings, perfectly mirroring the shadow's movements.

He dodged Kakashi's Short Sword in an impossible-looking pose.

Shadow Imitation Technique!

Obito curled his lip, pushed hard off the ground, and drew his blade in midair.

Iaijutsu!

The sharp attack closed in almost instantly.

Shikaba cried out,

"Shimatta!"

He released Nagano Nami with his shadow

and sent it after Obito instead, stopping him for a moment.

Just made it...

Cold sweat broke out on Shikaba's forehead. That had been close.

In that brief span of time,

he had already used up a quarter of his Chakra.

Fortunately, Nagano Nami had broken free of the Genjutsu.

Kakashi's blade came down at Nagano Nami again.

Nagano Nami sprang back, patted his stomach, and took a deep breath.

"Wind Release: Nagano Nami!"

He opened his mouth and spat out a concentrated mass of wind-nature Chakra.

Wind howled, and the air around them turned razor-sharp.

Kakashi frowned slightly and dug his toes into the ground, stopping at once.

Obito had also escaped the Shadow Imitation Technique and returned to Kakashi's side.

With that, the first exchange ended.

Obito's team was virtually unscathed, while Shikaba's team had already spent some of its strength.

Obito couldn't help laughing.

"Nagano Nami, that's quite a name for a Ninjutsu, huh?"

Nagano Nami replied glumly,

"It's a Ninjutsu passed down through the Nagano Family. It just happens to have the same name as me, okay?"

He glanced at Shikaba beside him and said reluctantly,

"Sorry. I was too impulsive just now, and that's why..."

Shikaba smiled, relieved, and shook his head.

"It's fine. Let's try again."

Huh?

Obito suddenly formed Hand Seals, turned, and breathed out a fireball.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

As the flames burned,

a series of sizzling sounds came from the air.

Tiny black specks, barely visible to the naked eye, died and fell to the ground all at once.

Obito said with a smile,

"Hey, Ayako, that's a little sneaky, don't you think?"

Ayako's apologetic voice came from the trees.

"Sorry, Obito-kun. Ayako wants to win this exam too."

Obito waved it off.

"Haha, no problem. We're all using what we've got."

With that,

he took a winding route through the trees, gradually closing in on Shikaba and the others.

Kakashi did the same, appearing and disappearing among the trees as he searched for an opening.

Shikaba kept a wary watch on his surroundings.

Shadowy tendrils extended from beneath his feet, ready to strike.

Nagano Nami stood in front of him as his shield.

Hmm...

Obito narrowed his eyes and assessed the situation.

Beneath the trees, Shikaba's Shadow Imitation Technique had a clear advantage.

Once it connected with the dappled shadows on the ground, its range doubled.

If they charged straight in, they would be pinned down. Then it would become a battle of attrition...

Should we use Shadow Clones to draw their attention and try to take them out in one rush?

But could that fool Ayako's senses...?

Obito looked over at Kakashi.

Kakashi happened to look his way too.

They understood each other instantly.

Let's try it!

From Shikaba and the others' perspective,

Kakashi and Obito burst out, crossing paths as they attacked.

Shikaba frowned. Something felt off.

But he had no time to think it through.

He activated Shadow Imitation Technique, sending black tendrils toward them.

Nagano Nami roared and lunged at Obito.

"Nagano Barrage!"

Ayako's panicked voice rang out.

"Watch out! They're Shadow Clones!"

Shadow Clones?!

Obito, that Dead Last, learned Shadow Clones?!

That was the first thought to cross Nagano Nami's mind.

The next moment,

two more figures emerged from the trees: Kakashi and Obito.

Ayako appeared too, trying to intercept one of them.

But Rin blocked her path with a Kunai.

"Sorry, Ayako. I can't let you through."

No Way...?!

Shikaba hesitated, and his shadow tendrils stopped for an instant.

In that blink of an eye, the four figures nearly surrounded them.

"Ah..."

Shikaba sighed helplessly.

If I'm right...

Thud!

A dull impact sounded, and Nagano Nami flew backward.

Shikaba gave a rueful smile and raised both hands.

"We surrender."

A Short Sword stopped in front of him, then the boy holding it sheathed it without a word.

"That's great!"

Rin pumped a small fist in excitement.

But when she saw how unhappy Ayako looked,

she put away her smile and went to comfort her.

Nagano Nami got up from the ground, baffled, and muttered to himself,

"Wait, shouldn't the one who appeared first have been a Shadow Clone? Then why...?"

Shikaba rubbed his brow and explained,

"We fell for it. Those first two weren't both Shadow Clones."