Chapter 70: Ch.69. The Bell Test

The group found a place to sit together close to the academy on a nearby building.

Yamato nodded his head and looked at the group.

"This place will do. Everyone, sit down and we'll introduce ourselves to each other."

The three nodded, making Yamato smile.

"I'll go first to set the example. Once again, my name is Yamato. I have been designated as a Jonin. My hobbies include studying architecture and my dream is to protect the Leaf village to the best of my ability. Just follow that format for yours. Who wants to go next?"

Shizuka raised her hand with a smile.

"I'll go~! My name is Shizuka Uzumaki. I'm a new Genin. My hobbies include studying seals and playing with my friends. My dream...."

Shizuka closed her eyes for a moment.

"?"

Yamato looked confused until she reopened her eyes. Her green eyes shimmered with a cold light as she looked at Yamato. 

"My dream is to kill Orochimaru."

Her sentence sent a cold shiver down everyone's spine!

Just as soon as the chill appeared, it vanished into thin air.

"Please take care of me~!"

"...Of course. Thank you for sharing."

Shizuka gave a small nod as she looked over to Hii and Maka.

"I-I'll go next. My name is Maka Uchiha. I'm also a new Genin. My hobbies include training and recently cooking. My dream is to be the strongest Kunoichi!"

"I see. A very admirable goal. Now there's just the last one."

Hii nodded his head.

"My name is Hii Kurokumo. I'm also a Genin. My hobbies also include swordplay, cooking, and studying Medical Ninjutsu. My dream is to be able to assist my friends."

"I see. A rather selfless goal."

Yamato nodded his head.

"We'll be together as a team. I plan to teach you how to become excellent ninja in the future.I must tell you first, however, that your exam to become a Genin isn't over yet."

"Really?!"

"I figured as much."

"...."

Maka, Shizuka, and Hii were shocked, but quickly calmed down to find out what else was necessary to pass.

"We will have another test tomorrow at 10 sharp. You'll meet me at the southern training grounds at that time! Don't be late and make sure you have an empty stomach!"

*Tssst*

Yamato flickered away after he gave his message, leaving the three a bit confused.

Shizuka sighed and stood up.

"Welp, I, for one, don't like missing breakfast. I'll have to ignore that part."

"Eh, but Sensei..."

"No one is every fully operational on an empty stomach. Right, Hii-kun?"

"I can agree with that."

"Eh??"

Hii smiled as he stood up.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

********

Hii woke up early in the morning and cooked breakfast with Riku.

"Are you ready for your test today, dear?"

"Yep! I have my scroll ready too, just in case. I don't think I'll use it though."

Riku nodded her head as she moved the fillets in the pan with her chopsticks.

"Always have it with you. You never know when death comes for you. It's better to be ready to die fighting than cowering in fear. Remember that."

Hii nodded his head slowly as he digested the message.

Death was in every aspect of a Shinobi's life. He had only realized now how heavy it was.

Hii suddenly felt a gaze at his back.

"......."

Hii turned around and saw Yozora staring at him.

"Morning Yozora. What's wrong?"

"Headband."

"Oh. Did you want to see my headband?"

Yozora nodded his head.

"Okay. Just let me finish the food here and I'll go get it for you."

"You can go get it now, dear. I can handle the rest."

Hii nodded his head and went to his room. He came back with his blue Leaf headband in his hands.

"Here. Check it out."

"Ooooh!"

Yozora was rather enthusiastic as he played around with the headband. He looked back up at his brother with a determined grin.

"I'll get one too, Nii-san!"

"Haha! I can't wait to see you with one. You and Moya both need to wear it with style, okay?"

"Umu!"

Hii rubbed Yozora's head and sat down to eat his breakfast.

***********

Hii arrived at the training grounds an hour earlier than their meeting time to wait for his Sensei to arrive.

"Hey! You made it!"

"Shizuka?! I didn't expect to see you here so early."

Shizuka leaned against a tree and waved at Hii.

"Of course I came here early! I'm not missing the chance to finally be a Genin because I overslept."

Hii nodded his head and sat down near the tree with Shizuka.

"You see Maka-chan?"

"No. I think she's on her way soon."

"Hehe. I'm surprised she missed the chance to come together with you..."

Hii felt her gaze on him, but he ignored it.

"She doesn't need me to babysit her or anything."

Shizuka sighed and shook her head.

"That's not very romantic~."

"It's not the time for romance right now. We have to prepare ourselves."

"True, but you should take every chance you can to be romantic. You can only live once and our profession makes it even more likely that it'll be short life at that. Might as well have some good memories to reflect on."

[That's quite a way to see things.]

{It's true though?}

[I didn't say she's wrong.]

Hii nodded his head and kept silent. The two waited for around 30 minutes before Maka came running towards them, out of breath.

"Haa! Haa! Haa! I made it!"

"Did you actually almost oversleep?!"

Maka caught her breath before she puffed her cheeks.

"It was Nii-san's fault! I had some trouble sleeping so he put me under a Genjutsu! He even turned off my alarm!"

"Wow. Shisui-san is a prankster? I wouldn't have thought that."

Shizuka was surprised, but Maka looked away with a slightly red face.

"H-He isn't like that! I think...he's just mad about the team I'm in."

"Mad? Oooooh! Hehehe!

Shizuka covered her mouth, giggling while she looked at Hii.

"Must be tough for you, Hii-kun."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"D-Don't worry about it! When do you think Sensei is coming?"

"Hopefully on time."

Maka quickly diverted the conversation while Hii looked around the training grounds.

"I'm already here."

""!!!!"""

*Ttst*

Yamato jumped from a nearby tree and landed in front of the three.

"Good. I'm glad you all arrived early. I can see you're serious about being Shinobi!"

"Can't be late on the first day, right Sensei?"

"Indeed, Shizuka-chan. You really shouldn't be late, but that's beside the point. I'll now tell you all about the test for today."

Yamato reached into his pocket and pulled out two bells.

*Ching Ching*

"Your mission is to take these two bells from me by force. I will be on guard against you, and you must retrieve them from me by noon. The two who can take the bells will be the ones to remain on the team. Is that clear?"

The three looked at each other briefly before nodding their heads.

"Good! We'll start on the count of 3! Are you ready?"

"Ready!"

"I'm ready when you are!"

"Hehe! Don't be surprised when you lose, Sensei~!"

The three readied themselves for combat as Yamato began to countdown!

"1! 2....3!"

*Tzzt Tzzt Tzzt*

The three Genin all jumped into the bush and hid from their Sensei at the same time.

'Looks like we all have the same idea.'

Hii hid under the nearby bush as he prepared a trap for Sensei.

'The big question is what can Sensei do?'

The problem with any opponent is the unknown abilities they possess. 

Hii slowly set his trap and moved quietly to a different bush.

'One trap should be good enough. Let's test him out.'

Hii jumped out of the bush with 2 kunais in his hand and headed straight to Yamato!

"Not bad!"

Yamato pulled out two kunais as well and met Hii halfway!

*Bang Clank Clank*

The two blocked and parried each other at high speed.

'As expected from a Jonin! He has no openings!'

*Swish Swish*

"Hmph!"

Shurikens flew towards Yamato from a nearby bush!

*Clank Clank*

Yamato expertly threw one of his kunai towards the Shurikens, blocking most of them and dodging the rest.

'Now!'

Hii took this chance to throw one of his kunai at a hidden wire near a tree!

*Swish Swish*

Kunai came flying out from the branches towards Yamato!

*Clank Clank Clank*

"Nice job!"

Yamato calmly blocked and dodged the kunai!

He jumped back a distance from Hii, maintaining his defense.

"Hmm?!"

Yamato suddenly realized couldn't move! He could barely look down and noticed the markings of a seal near his feet.

'It must've been on one of the kunai thrown earlier!'

"Haaa!"

Shizuka suddenly appeared behind him and reached for the bells at his waist!

"Hrrrgh!"

Yamato strengthened his chakra and forcibly jumped from the spot, dodging Shizuka!

"Shoot! So close!"

Yamato looked at the ground he was standing on and noticed a seal on one of the kunai stuck in the ground.

"A seal?! That's pretty amazing for a Genin!"

"Tch! Not enough to win though."

*Swish Swish*

More shurikens were thrown towards Yamato from his left!

"Ha! The third one finally wants to come out?"

"Hehe! It's a fun party!"

Shizuka quickly pulled out several shurikens and tossed them over to the nearby trees!

Hii could hear several wires being cut at the same time!

'How many traps did she make?!'

*Swish Swish Thunk Thunk*

Several kunai and even logs came out this time, surging towards Yamato at high speed!

"Oh geez!"

Yamato quickly weaved hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground!

Earth Style: Mud Wall!

A circular wall appeared around Yamato, blocking all the projectiles.

'So he can use Earth style...'

Hii thought to himself as he quickly disappeared into the bush. 

Shizuka quickly followed after him once she realized her attack couldn't continue.

The dirt wall slowly sank back into the ground as Yamato sighed.

"Sheesh! These kids are Genins?! Senpai lied to me again."

Yamata shook his head as he kept his wits about him. One slip up here could be bad.

***********

In the nearby bushes, Hii laid prone on the ground as he watched Yamato.

"Pssst! Hii-kun!"

Hii turned to barely see Shizuka waving at him.

"What?"

"Let's team up! All three of us! He's too tough to take alone.We can split the bells with rock paper scissors! What do you think?"

"....."

"Come on~! It's fair!"

Hii sighed and nodded his head. He didn't think he could take him on by himself either.

"Sweet! I'll go find Maka and ask her too!"

*Tzt*

Shizuka disappeared quickly to find Maka.

{Good luck with getting the bells! Oh! And with the game after too!}

'Thanks, but I feel like I'm missing something here. What is the point of this test? A skills check?'

[In a way.]

'Any hints?'

[You're on the right track right now, but no more hints from me. Figure it out.]

Hii nodded his head and continued to observe Yamato.

'I now know Sensei can at least use Earth Style, but he might have other skills up his sleeve too.'

Hii silently thought to himself while hiding.

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A few minutes passed by and everything was still silent.

'Sensei hasn't moved yet?'

Hii observed that Yamato hadn't moved at all. He only stood up with his arms folded and his eyes closed.

'That's strange. He's acting like he knows where we are...'

Hii suddenly felt a shiver crawl up his spine.

'...Does he?'

Yamato continues to keep his eyes close as Hii continues to think.

"No way....right?"

"Psst! Hii-kun!"

Hii turns over to see Shizuka appear once again with a smile.

"She said okay! Let me tell you the plan we came up with. I think you'll like it."

Shizuka had a mischievous smile on her face. Hii knew this was going to be an interesting plan.

*********

'Hmm. It's quiet.'

Yamato looked around and studied the area.

'They haven't made a move in a while. Did they already figure out how the test works?'

Yamato tried to sense his students and realized they were nearby each other.

'Now then, what will you do?'

*Rustle*

Hii suddenly came out of the bush and quickly darted to Yamato with a kunai in his hands!

"Time for the next attempt, eh?!"

Yamato pulled out another kunai from his leg holster as well and waited for Hii to approach.

*Swish Swish*

"!"

*Clank Clank*

Kunais were thrown at Yamato once again from a bush, but he deflected them in time.

Hii quickly approached Yamato and tried to strike at the string of the  bells!

"Not good enough!"

*Clank Clang Clang*

*Swish Swish Swish*

Hii was pushed back as more kunai were thrown at Yamato from two directions!

"Tch!"

Earth Style: Mud Wall!

Yamato pressed the ground and the earth grew a wall around him once more!

*Tak Tak Tak*

The kunai struck against the wall with force!

*Tssss*

"!"

*Boom*

These kunais had explosive tags on them this time, blowing up the wall entirely!

Yamato jumped out of the smoke, coughing out a bit of dirt.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Not if you hand over the bells!"

Yamato sighed at Shizuka's response.

Shizuka jumped out of her bush and began to weave hand signs.

"Tch! Jutsus now?!"

 Yamato quickly readied himself for the next barrage!

"Get ready, Maka!"

"!"

Yamato turned and could see out of the corner of his eye Maka jumping out of the bush on the other side of him. She also weaved hand signs as she and Shizuka took deep breaths!

Wind Style: Air Bullets!

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

Shizuka's many air bullets and Maka's fireball converged to Yamato's position!

"Oh come on!"

Despite his complaining, Yamato  quickly weaved a new hand sign Hii hadn't seen him use before!

Wood Style: Wood Locking Dome!

"Wood Style?!"

Large columns of wood grew from the ground, interlocking into a dome around Yamato!

*Boom*

The two techniques both landed on the dome, leading to a big explosion!

"Hnng!"

Hii quickly jumped back into the bush as he watched the outcome of the attack.

When the smoke cleared, he could see the burning wood of the shield still hold strong!

'Sensei has great defensive skills...'

Hii continued to observe him as he got in position for his part in the plan.

*Pak Pak*

The wood shield suddenly broke down and revealed no one inside of it, but a hole!

"Crap! Where'd he go?!"

"You three are making my job so much harder!"

*Bang*

Yamato came out of the ground away from the two and dusted off the dirt.

"Now what will you do?"

Maka and Shizuka quietly observed Yamato, weighing their options.

"I didn't think he had Wood style."

"Me neither. That puts a few plans out of commission."

"Which one do you think would work, Shizu?"

"Plan E for now."

"Got it!"

*Tsu*

Maka quickly dashed towards Yamato as Shizuka pulled out more kunai from her bag!

*Swish Swish*

"That's not going to work!"

Yamato dodged the kunais and approached Maka halfway!

Maka weaved hand signs and breathed in deep!

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

*Fwoosh*

Multiple fireballs spewed from Maka's mouth towards Yamato!

Yamato weaved hand signs as well and prepared his jutsu!

Water Style: Water Ball Jutsu!

"?!"

Hii, however, beat him to it!

*Tsshhhh*

The two Jutsu clashed and created a steam smokescreen, blocking vision for everyone nearby.

'They are working together! I wondered where Hii-kun was!'

Yamato leapt out of the steam for better vision, but suddenly felt someone behind him!

"Hrrrng!"

"Oh no!"

 Yamato barely managed to dodge Maka's hands reaching for the bells!

Shizuka sent even more kunai to Yamato as he barely landed on the ground!

Flustered, he deflected the kunai approaching him and dodged the ones off course!

"Huh?!"

This time, however, the kunai had seals on them!

They formed a triangle around Yamato, sealing his movements!

"This again!"

Yamato tried to overpower the seal, but it was stronger than the first one! 

*Chi Chi Chi*

He suddenly heard the sound of lightning flickering behind him!

Lightning Style: Chakra Armor!

Hii dashed out from the nearby bush at high speed and quickly grabbed the bells while Yamato was sealed! He didn't have enough to dodge!

"Yes!"

"Alright!"

"Phew~!"

The three cheered at their success while Yamato finally broke through the seal.

"Great work! I can't believe you two haven't worked together before."

"Well, we're good friends so it's only natural."

Hii held the bells in his hand as the other two crowded around him.

"The problem is what you will do with the bells. How will you settle it?"

"That's easy! We'll settle it with Rock Paper Scissors!"

"Eh?!"

Yamato was surprised as Maka and Shizuka got ready throw down!

"Come on, Hii! We won't give you a retry if you're late."

"No need. Here."

Hii tossed the two bells over to Maka and Shizuka!

They both barely caught them as they were caught off guard!

"What are you doing?! We decided it would be fair!"

"Yeah! We should keep it fair!"

"It's fine like this. You both are my comrades and you put in a lot more work than me with the plans. I just had to grab it as fast as I could when he was open. I think it's fair, right Sensei?"

"Yep! I think that's fair."

Yamato nodded his head and looked at the three.

Maka and Shizuka had rather vexed faces while Hii was very calm.

Yamato shook his head and smiled.

"Well, you all pass. Congratulations!"

""Eh!!!!?""

Yamato let out a sigh and explained.

"The test is designed to have you work together as one unit. Even if two of you get the bells, the team still accomplished the mission. Hii saw through it in the end, but you all worked together splendidly. I hereby announce you official Genin!"

"Huuuu~! I thought we'd lose Hii because of this!"

"Me too..."

"It'd be way worse for you if that was the case. You'd probably cry in your bed."

"I-I would not! Don't believe her, Hii!"

"Hehe. Okay, I won't."

*Gasp*

Shizuka brought her hands to her face with a shocked expression.

"Betrayed by my teammates already~! You believe she'd do it, don't you Sensei?"

"...Well I think we're done for today. Let's meet in front of the Hokage building tomorrow to get started on missions. I'll be counting on you all from now on."

""Yes, Sensei!""

"Tch! So stiff."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow! Make sure to rest up!"

Yamato quickly flickered away, leaving the three on the battered training ground.

Shizuka folded her arms with a sigh.

"Jeez! It's over already?! We never even got to play the game!"

Hii looked at her with a wry smile.

"Did you still want to play it that badly?!"

"I'm game for a round."

"Alright! Are you finally in, Hii-kun?!"

"...Sure, I guess."

"Good! Ready?!"

The three each entered a stance around each other as they counted down.

""Rock! Paper! Scissors!""

The result was a draw and a loss.

"Gaah! One more time!"

The same result happened.

"Grrr! J-Just one more!"

The same result came out once more.

"....."

"....."

"...I'll win next time..."

Shizuka quickly flickered away as Hii and Maka watched her leave.

The two found out that Shizuka was surprisingly bad at Rock Paper Scissors.

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