The final test

The investigation of Kirigakure continued for over half a month. During that time, the Konoha team made contact with both the Kumogakure team and the Iwagakure team.

For some unknown reason, however, the Iwagakure team left Kirigakure early.

Over that time, Orochimaru ruled out, one by one, the possibilities behind Liumu's speculation that Isobu might be hiding at the bottom of a lake.

"Could the Three-Tails have already been captured by Madara?"

At that moment, Liumu was sheltering in a dim underground passage beneath Kirigakure.

After searching painstakingly for so long, he had investigated almost all of Kirigakure. If he still could not find any trace of the Three-Tails, that had to be the only possibility.

"This place is..."

Looking at the stone chamber before him, bathed red in candlelight, Liumu bent down and immediately caught a faint, bloody stench.

"Blood!"

The walls of the small stone chamber were densely covered in neat, closely spaced marks.

The stone walls were also stained with blood, lending the entire chamber a staggering air of stillness and terror.

Recalling Orochimaru's recent investigation into the "breeding of Kekkei Genkai," Liumu immediately thought of a possibility.

Tap, tap, tap.

Just then, crisp footsteps suddenly sounded from the distant passage.

Hearing them, Liumu immediately transformed into specks of light and hid within the candle flame on the wall.

"This batch of children is more than halfway through training. There are a few promising ones among them."

"A few? Keeping one will suffice. We only want the strongest. As for those defective ones..."

"Understood, my lady."

Gradually, as the voices drew closer, three ninja wearing Mist Shadow Forehead Protectors all came into Liumu's view.

The man and woman leading the way were both adults. Judging by the way they walked, the woman in the middle clearly held considerable standing.

As for the white-clad girl following behind them...

Han?

Liumu recognized her as soon as he saw her face.

Why was she here?

"Han, once this batch of test subjects finishes training, you will be responsible for testing them."

"Me!?"

Hearing the woman's words, Han actually showed a trace of fear on her previously cold, sorrowful face.

"What?" The woman stopped, turned to Han, and demanded, "You don't want to?"

"No, no, no!" Han knelt and replied, "I will do everything in my power for the Mist Shadow's plan. It's just... my lady, you said you would tell me about my origins when I returned from Kumogakure this time. It's already been more than ten days, and you still..."

Slap!

Before Han could finish, a sharp sound rang through the passage.

Looking at the blood-red finger marks on Han's cheek, the woman said, "Don't forget your place."

Faced with that reprimand, Han kept her head lowered, not daring to raise it. Only after the woman left did the man beside her finally help Han to her feet.

Looking at Han's expression and the finger marks on her face, the man sighed, shook his head, and slowly followed after the woman.

Kirigakure? A plan?

And who was Han?

A string of questions surfaced in Liumu's mind. Recalling the scene of a swaddled infant being snatched away on his first visit to Kirigakure, he quietly followed Han out of the underground passage.

He followed Han to a shabby house.

Han pushed open the door and entered alone. Liumu slipped inside through a gap and settled beneath the roof. As he looked at the sparse furnishings below and the thin blanket on the bed on this bitter winter night, Han slid down against the wall alone, covered her face, and began to sob.

How could this be?

When Liumu first saw Han, her uniquely icy bearing had drawn him in. Whether it was her appearance or her Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, she would surely have been treated like a treasure in any other village.

But why was she now...

"Who's there!"

Han suddenly snapped, and an ice senbon shot straight toward Liumu's hiding place.

But Liumu was currently in his light-speck form, immune to all physical attacks.

Seeing this, Liumu swooped down, enveloped Han in specks of light, and immediately opened the Time House, pulling her into his sea of consciousness with him.

"It's you?"

Han looked at Liumu as he resumed human form beside her, a trace of wariness mixed into her shock.

This was also Liumu's first time entering the Time House after opening it.

He saw a huge, illusory clock in the center of the room, with boundless mist shrouding the surroundings.

Before Liumu had time to examine the Time House closely, he walked straight up to Han.

Sensing his chakra gradually surging, Han immediately unleashed Ice Release: Senbon Technique, attacking Liumu.

But to Han's astonishment, Liumu not only offered no resistance to her attack, he even allowed the senbon to pierce him. Countless holes filled with specks of light appeared across his body where the senbon passed through, but once the ninjutsu ended, he gradually returned to normal.

"Where is this? And why were you inside Kirigakure?"

Looking at the wary Han, Liumu smiled slightly and sat down on the floor under her gaze.

"Sit down too. I have a story I think you'll find very interesting."

Han did not accept Liumu's gesture of goodwill. She continued watching him warily, like a frightened kitten.

"On my first day in Kirigakure, I happened to see ninja from the village killing villagers. If I'm right, that child must have had a Kekkei Genkai bloodline too."

"What are you trying to say?" Han asked coldly.

Liumu glanced at Han speechlessly and continued on his own. "I saw everything that happened in the underground passage just now. I don't expect you to tell me what this so-called plan you mentioned actually is. So I'll talk, and you listen. See how much I've guessed."

Kirigakure was cultivating Kekkei Genkai users, even the strongest ninja among Kekkei Genkai users.

Han, who possessed Ice Release, was likely the last survivor of the previous batch, or even one from several batches earlier.

She had been confined in an underground stone chamber since birth. From her earliest memories, all that awaited her was endless daily training and fights to the death with children her own age.

Han was fortunate, but unfortunate too.

She was fortunate because she had survived, standing out among the many children with Kekkei Genkai bloodlines through her own strength alone.

She was unfortunate because she had spent her entire childhood in darkness, and even now, she did not know who her birth parents were.

The woman in the passage had promised to tell Han about her origins after she finished the Chunin Exams. Yet despite having been back for so long, she still had not received the answers she wanted.

"And she wants you to take part in the next so-called test..."

Liumu paused there, then looked up with an indifferent expression and asked, "You must know the reason yourself, don't you?!"

"Because I lost!"

Han lowered her head and muttered, "Because I lost to you. Even if it was a draw, they aren't willing to accept a defective product like me."

The purpose of the test was to eliminate Han, because in their eyes, having failed once, she had already lost her former luster.