She was definitely planning to make trouble for him in there!
The assessment was set to last two whole days, after all.
Unless he could complete his objective the moment he entered, that girl really might find an opportunity.
But the mere thought of his task requirements...
Gave Kei a headache.
That was not something he could finish in a short time.
Hmph, even if I can't take you on, can't I hide?! This forest is so big. I refuse to believe you can find me that easily!
Kei tightened his fists slightly, thinking fiercely to himself. He refused to believe he would be that unlucky. He did not need much time. As long as he could buy half a day and avoid any unexpected incidents, he should be able to complete his assessment task, however troublesome its requirements were!
Then he could leave the examination grounds without a hitch!
Phew...
Kei silently weighed things up, then gently exhaled a stale breath as he watched the steadily dwindling number of candidates ahead.
He also relaxed his body as much as possible.
"Group five, team one!"
Once all the candidates ahead had entered in batches...
A somewhat low voice rang out from the left.
Kei perked up.
He quickly approached the young Mist Ninja who had called out. By the time Kei arrived, five other candidates had already gathered in front of the instructor, and one happened to be someone he knew.
It was his classmate.
Heiji Kaguya, one of the two boys from the Kaguya Clan.
"Hoho!"
The moment Heiji Kaguya saw Kei, he looked at him with a terrifying grin. The dangerous aura spilling from him already made a great deal blatantly clear!
Kei's gaze sharpened slightly at that moment.
Over the past three years...
Kei had truly come to understand those two from the Kaguya Clan, and what a battle-crazed berserker really was!
Savage and bloodthirsty.
It was practically a trait etched into the very bones of every Kaguya clansman.
It was only because Kei had kept a relatively low profile throughout his school years, and because the boy from the Hozuki Clan, the two most boisterous members of his own clan, Kazayasu Minazuki and Minazuki Shinya, and the consistently top-ranked Mei Terumi had been the two Kaguya boys' primary targets, that Kei's daily routine had remained undisturbed.
He could live his life a little more leisurely.
Neither of the two Kaguya boys had ever paid Kei much attention. During every practical lesson, those others were still the ones they challenged.
But today was different!
They were taking the same graduation assessment.
And they were entering the examination grounds through the same entrance.
With the other candidates all clearly mediocre, a "genius" from the Yuki Clan like him stood out far too much.
The Kaguya Clan truly seemed born to fight.
In their vocabulary, in their eyes, fighting seemed to be the very meaning of their existence!
That was also why so many people in Kirigakure truly "shunned" the Kaguya Clan. Their personalities made them seem somewhat abnormal even in the bloodiest of villages.
Kei had no doubt that once they entered the examination grounds...
This guy would attack him immediately!
The graduation assessment?!
The task objective?!
Couldn't those things wait until after the fight?!
That was how the Kaguya Clan thought. Besides, perhaps the other boy's assessment objective was Kei himself! If that were the case, he would have every reason to attack.
And so...
At that moment...
Beneath Kei's seemingly unruffled exterior, the corners of his mouth actually twitched twice, and inwardly, he was already cursing up a storm!
How did I end up matched with this damned nuisance right off the bat?!
Kei took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Now, whether he wanted to or not, he really would have to take the stage early.
Judging by the attitude of the guy opposite him, there was no way he would readily let Kei leave the entrance area to carry out his own task.
He was practically showing his hand.
"Time's up. Go in!"
As the instructor led Kei, Heiji Kaguya, and the others to one of the examination grounds' designated entrances, he gave the order.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Just as they each sprang forward, darting through the entrance and into the examination grounds...
Boom!
Just as Kei had expected...
"Minazuki Kei!"
That battle-crazed boy from the Kaguya Clan really did launch a fierce attack on Kei at the very first opportunity!
In just a few seconds, that vicious figure rushed right up to him.
A heavy kick came crashing down from above.
"!?"
Within his field of vision...
A dark shape suddenly burst forward.
Kei's gaze sharpened.
Bending his body, he swiftly leaped backward to evade the attack.
The kick slammed heavily into the ground, landing with a loud crash and sending up a violent cloud of dust.
"What is the meaning of this, Heiji-kun?"
Kei slid backward, putting a relatively safe distance between them, then expressionlessly questioned Heiji Kaguya, whose face was already filled with a look of savage delight.
"What does it mean?! You're asking me what it means?! It means I'm going to slaughter you right here, Minazuki Kei!!"
The bloodlust he had been forced to restrain at the Ninja Academy...
Now that he had entered this almost unrestricted graduation assessment...
The savagery within Heiji Kaguya was completely unleashed.
With that cold, crazed air radiating from his entire body, it had to be said that the Kaguya Clan truly excelled at passing things down through their bloodline. A child barely over nine could already exude such intense madness!
And the trace of genuine killing intent faintly showing through it...
Made Kei almost certain that the guy before him had killed before!
That fighting clan really lives up to its reputation!
Kei gently exhaled a stale breath, his expression turning utterly grave. With a turn of his right hand, a kunai appeared in his grip as well.
"Heh heh!"
The moment he saw Kei's movement...
Heiji Kaguya licked his lips, a scarlet tinge appearing in his eyes.
"If you don't want to die, then get the hell out of here!"
His chilling aura surged to its peak.
With an utterly vicious expression, Heiji roared fiercely at the other candidates on either side, who were already looking somewhat dumbstruck.
"!?"
The moment they felt that undisguised chill...
The expressions of these Ninja Academy candidates, all from ordinary civilian families, changed.
They needed not even a second to hesitate or think.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
They each sprang away, scattering from the spot and darting toward the depths of the forest.
Their assessment tasks had nothing to do with the two before them anyway.
They had no desire to stay and get caught in an undeserved disaster!
There was a time and a place for watching the fun!