Dust lifted under Roen's step as he cut across the clearing, heel turning just enough to carry him off the line before the strike came through. Shisui's arm passed where his chest had been a moment earlier, sleeve brushing air instead of cloth, and Roen's hand came up late on purpose, catching the wrist after it had already extended. The contact didn't hold. Shisui twisted out of it without force, feet resetting in the dirt, shoulders loose like it hadn't mattered.
Itachi stepped in from the side without being called, closing the space in two short steps. His hand came straight through the center, no angle, no delay. Roen shifted half a step, shoulder turning just enough to take it off him, and the follow-up came immediately after, tighter, closer. He didn't answer it. Let it pass. The ground held under his foot as he came back into place, the gap opening before anything followed.
They didn't stop.
Shisui moved first this time, faster entry, low and direct, foot cutting across the front of Roen's stance. Roen turned with it, elbow coming in tight, catching the line before it closed fully. The contact broke quick. No one pushed it further. Itachi was already there again, stepping in before the last exchange had fully broken.
They touched and separated before anything could build.
Shisui stepped out first, dragging the back of his hand across his jaw as he turned away, breath steady. "That's enough."
Roen let his hands drop a fraction.
Itachi didn't.
He stayed where he was for a second longer, eyes already off Roen, looking past him toward the tree line like something had already shifted there.
"…I've got a mission."
Shisui looked back. "When?"
"Soon."
Roen set his foot into the dirt. His stance settled without thought.
Itachi had already turned away, adjusting his sleeve once before stepping back toward the path out of the clearing. Shisui followed, a step behind, saying something too low to hear.
Roen stayed. Then stepped out in the opposite direction.
The path had changed by the time he took it again. Loose dirt packed down into a harder strip between the trees, one of the low branches snapped where it used to catch at shoulder height. Roen stepped over the break without looking, foot landing where it always did.
A cart rolled past close enough that the wheel clipped a loose stone and knocked it aside, the sound sharp against the ground before it settled. Roen walked along the edge without stopping, shoulder passing a man who shifted half a step to make space without looking at him.
"…have you heard?"
The voice came from behind him, low but not quiet enough.
"One of the genin teams got wiped out."
Roen didn't turn.
"Wiped out?"
"That's what they said."
"Who came back?"
A pause. Someone stepped closer to the wall before answering.
"…one."
"Who?"
Another pause. Shorter this time.
"Itachi. Uchiha."
The last word dropped lower than the rest. Not loud. Careful.
A second voice cut in quick. "Don't say it like that."
"Like what?"
"You know what."
Someone else shifted position, sandals scraping once against the ground. A man opened his mouth, then thought better of it.
Roen kept walking.
Two shinobi crossed ahead of him at a diagonal, pace even, not speaking to each other. One of them glanced once toward the group behind Roen, then forward again without changing speed.
Roen stepped over the same loose stone the cart had knocked earlier, now sitting near the edge of the path, and kept going.
The board had already been wiped when Roen stood, the last line of chalk still faint across the surface where it hadn't been cleaned properly. Chairs shifted around him as others got up slower, some talking, some already moving toward the door. Daichi didn't stop anyone this time.
"…end of term tomorrow."
Someone said it near the back, half to themselves.
"Yeah."
"That's it then."
Roen was already in the aisle.
His hand brushed the back of a chair as he passed it. The door was open. He didn't wait for the rest of them to move.
The testing ground sat empty when he reached it, the posts set in place, ropes hanging still. A clipboard rested against one of the posts, left there, not set out for anyone in particular.
Roen stepped in.
He didn't circle. Didn't stretch it out.
The first movement landed clean. The second followed without delay. A marker struck the post once, then again, wood taking the hit with a dull sound. He adjusted once, half a step, then finished it. No pause.
A shinobi stepped out from the shade near the wall, picking up the board without asking.
Roen reset once. Then stopped.
"That's enough."
Roen lowered his hand.
The shinobi marked it down, then glanced at him properly for the first time.
"…you're not on the list."
Roen didn't answer.
The pen tapped once against the board.
"…early?"
"Yes."
A second passed.
The mark went down anyway.
"Go to the tower."
The hallway outside the office held quiet differently. Not empty. Just contained. A shinobi stood near the wall, arms folded, eyes forward, not watching Roen directly but not ignoring him either.
"Go in."
The door was already there.
Roen stepped up to it, hand coming up once before he pushed it open. The wood moved without resistance, hinges giving just enough sound to mark it.
Inside, the light sat lower, coming in from the side window across the desk. The Hokage was already there.
Roen stepped in.
The door closed behind him.