Roen stepped further into the courtyard.
Students were gathering the same way they always did in the morning, drifting into small groups across the packed earth while the early light spread over the academy rooftops. Conversations moved easily through the cool air as children compared assignments, complained about drills, or argued over trivial things that would be forgotten by afternoon.
From a distance it might have looked like any other morning.
Up close, the difference was obvious.
Several additional instructors stood near the edges of the yard, older teachers who normally remained inside the academy buildings. None of them spoke to the students. Their attention moved slowly across the courtyard, watching.
Roen felt the tension in the air immediately.
This was not routine training.
Something had been prepared.
The main instructor stepped forward once the courtyard had mostly filled.
"Listen carefully."
The conversations died down quickly. Students turned toward the front of the yard, curiosity spreading across the gathered rows.
"Today's classes are suspended," the instructor continued. "Instead, we will conduct academy evaluation drills."
A ripple moved through the courtyard. Some students straightened with excitement while others exchanged nervous glances. A few whispered questions to their neighbors, already wondering what the tests might involve.
Roen stood quietly in his place and watched the instructors instead of the students.
Several of them were not looking at the crowd as a whole. Their attention moved deliberately from one individual to another, pausing briefly before shifting again.
This was not routine training.
The students were led out of the courtyard and toward the academy's larger training ground on the edge of the compound. The field had been prepared in advance. Long white markers had been laid across the dirt to form a running lane, wooden targets stood in rows beside stacked crates of practice shuriken, and several wide circles had been drawn into the ground for sparring drills later in the day.
A wooden scoreboard stood near the center of the field where the instructors gathered.
Roen's gaze moved across the layout, mapping it quickly, before drifting toward the surrounding trees.
Something there felt wrong.
At first the figure looked like a shadow resting against the trunk of a tall tree, hidden partially by the branches above the field. The shape was human, though the posture carried a kind of unnatural stillness that made it easy to miss at a glance. The observer wore dark clothing and a cloak that blended into the bark behind him.
Roen watched carefully.
There was no animal mask.
ANBU almost always wore one.
Roen looked away a moment later.
Danzō's people, then.
The realisation did not surprise him. His father had already made it clear that the village had begun watching him.
If Root was present, then Danzō had taken interest personally.
Roen returned his attention to the field as though nothing had happened.
The instructor called the first group forward.
"Endurance run. Ten students per heat."
He pointed toward the far edge of the training field where a red marker had been placed near the treeline.
"You will run to the marker and return. Two kilometers total. Finish order and time will be recorded."
The explanation was simple enough that even the youngest students understood it immediately.
The first group lined up.
When the signal was given they sprinted forward together, feet pounding against the dirt as the cluster quickly stretched into a staggered line. Some students surged ahead at the start only to fade halfway through the run, while others kept a steadier pace that carried them past the early sprinters on the return stretch.
By the time they returned, several were breathing heavily while the instructors calmly recorded their times on the board.
The next heat moved into position.
Roen watched each group carefully as the drill continued. Some students sprinted too hard at the beginning and paid for it on the return stretch, while others held their pace more carefully.
A Hyūga student in one of the middle heats ran with precise, controlled footwork that drew approving glances from one of the observing instructors.
Then Itachi's group stepped forward.
The signal came.
They ran.
Itachi moved with the same controlled efficiency Roen had seen during their spars in the forest. His stride remained smooth even during the return stretch, conserving energy where others wasted it. By the time the group crossed the finish line, the distance between him and the rest of the runners was obvious.
The instructors wrote his time on the board.
Whispers spread quietly through the watching students.
Roen's group was called several heats later.
He stepped to the line with the others and settled into position.
The signal came.
He ran.
Roen did not sprint recklessly at the start the way several students did. His pace stabilised within the first few strides, breathing and movement aligning into a steady rhythm that carried him forward without wasted effort. Ryūga's correction from the previous night remained fixed in his stance, the small correction in his stance letting his stride flow more cleanly with each step
The marker at the far treeline grew closer, then passed.
He turned and began the return run.
Several runners began to slow as the second kilometer pressed against their stamina. Roen maintained the same controlled pace, his breathing remaining even as he crossed the final stretch of dirt toward the finish line.
The instructors wrote the time down.
A moment later one of them stepped toward the board and adjusted the ranking.
Roen glanced briefly at the results.
1 — Roen
2 — Itachi
3 — Hyūga Kazuma
He stepped away from the lane without comment.
The instructors allowed the final heat to finish before addressing the students again.
"Endurance results are recorded," the lead instructor said. "Next evaluation: shuriken accuracy."
Assistants began carrying the target boards closer to the center of the field while students lined up for the next drill.
Roen took his place among them.
Somewhere behind the treeline, the motionless observer remained where he was.
And the day's evaluation had only just begun.