Eight o'clock the next morning, Makoto Nishikado arrived at Training Ground Seven on the village outskirts, right on time.
A waterfall roared nearby, hemmed in by dense forest on all sides.
In the original series, Naruto had trained here under Jiraiya to learn the Summoning Technique. Despite its official designation, the place doubled as a swimming spot for girls in summer.
None of that mattered right now.
Makoto hadn't pulled a Kakashi and shown up fashionably late. When he arrived, his three students were already waiting: Megumi Kato, Utaha Kasumigaoka, and Ran Mouri.
What he hadn't expected was the fourth person standing off to the side.
Tomoya Aki.
Makoto's gaze swept toward Megumi and Utaha. Ran had no connection to this guy, so the problem clearly started with those two.
"Um... Makoto-sensei, Aki wanted to observe our training session." Utaha looked uncomfortable saying it.
She and Megumi had run into Tomoya on their way home the day before.
The moment he heard their jonin instructor was Makoto Nishikado, he'd thrown an absolute fit, practically rolling on the ground until they agreed to let him tag along.
Utaha hadn't developed any feelings for Tomoya the way she did in the original story.
But back in the real world, he'd already discovered she was the author of Metronome in Love, and with her sales tanking lately, he'd offered to promote the book on his social media in exchange for her joining his game development circle.
That made him a business partner, more or less. She couldn't afford to burn the bridge entirely.
Besides, if Tomoya Aki had one talent in all of fiction, it was being absolutely shameless. Two sheltered girls like Megumi and Utaha never stood a chance against that kind of persistence.
Makoto laughed despite himself. "You think ninja training is a goddamn picnic?"
Megumi and Utaha stared at their feet.
Tomoya pressed his lips together, not daring to make a sound.
Ever since learning that Megumi and Utaha's jonin instructor was Makoto, he hadn't been able to sit still. His circle's leading lady and his screenwriter, spending every day with the person he hated most?
How was he supposed to live with that?
So what did Tomoya Aki do after much deliberation? He decided to... tag along and keep an eye on things.
He hadn't even taken the graduation exam. Two years ago, Iruka had declared him "completely devoid of any ninja talent" and forced him to drop out.
Makoto raised an eyebrow at him. "What exactly are you here for?"
Tomoya had nothing to say. He kept his head down the entire time.
He could hardly admit he thought his presence alone would keep Makoto from trying anything... right?
If Makoto could read his mind, he'd have lost it.
This was what happened to idiots who'd never been humbled by the real world.
Makoto saw right through the kid's little scheme. No talent, no drive, unwilling to grind like Rock Lee, yet somehow convinced he was the chosen one, waiting for a cheat code to fall from the sky.
Who do you think you are? The main character?
"Whatever. This isn't an actual mission, so I'll let it slide." He waved a hand. "Pull something this stupid again, and you're going back to the Academy to repeat a grade."
Megumi and Utaha finally lifted their heads.
Ran took the opportunity to ask, "Sensei, what are we doing today?"
Clink.
Makoto held up a small bell from his belt. "Survival exercise. Your mission is to take this bell from me. If even one of you manages it, you all pass. You have until noon, and anything goes: ambush, traps, assassination. Touch the bell and you're officially genin. Fail, and..." He paused, pointing at Tomoya, still staring at the ground. "You go back to the Academy. Or quit being a ninja entirely. Like him."
Even Ran, who barely knew Tomoya, winced.
Brutal.
But none of the three girls talked back. They could all tell Makoto was in a foul mood.
"Come at me with the intent to kill. Now... begin."
The instant the words left his mouth, Utaha called out: "Megumi, Ran, fall back!"
All three girls kicked off the ground simultaneously, exploding into motion faster than any world-class athlete, and vanished into the treeline in the blink of an eye.
Makoto allowed himself a small smile.
Smart call. Fresh graduates facing a jonin. You'd have to be an idiot to charge head-on the way Naruto had.
Tomoya stared after them, jaw clenched.
So strong... Why? Why don't I have that kind of power?
Makoto didn't spare him another glance. He stood motionless, waiting to see what the three of them could pull off.
Slice-of-life heroines who couldn't hurt a fly in their home series, put through four years of ninja training. What level could they possibly reach?
He was curious.
Minutes crawled by. Nearly eleven o'clock now, barely an hour left.
Tomoya had long since given up standing and dropped onto the bank of the stream. His endurance alone disqualified him from ever being a ninja.
"Do you think they... gave up?"
He cupped a handful of stream water and drank, muttering to himself. A faint note of hope crept into his voice. If Megumi or Utaha couldn't become ninja either, wouldn't that make them ordinary people, same as him?
The words barely left his lips before a blur shot from the treeline.
To Makoto, the speed was laughable. To a civilian like Tomoya, it was blinding.
Ran Mouri.
She swung her right leg high, the air shrieking around it, and unleashed a sweeping side kick.
In terms of raw combat ability, she ranked second among this year's graduates, behind only Sasuke. That said, it assumed Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi, and the others weren't using their clan techniques.
"Ran on point, huh?" Makoto raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand to block.
The kick connected with the back of his hand, and Ran's body shattered like a mirage.
Tomoya nearly jumped out of his skin.
Makoto didn't flinch.
A Clone Jutsu?
A standard clone had no physical form. All it could do was distract.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
A storm of kunai rained in from every direction. The sheer volume couldn't have come from three people alone. They'd clearly rigged the surrounding trees with small shuriken launchers ahead of time.
Makoto remained perfectly still. He drew a single shuriken from his pouch and flicked it outward.
It struck one incoming kunai dead-on, then ricocheted like a billiard ball, pinging off the next, then the next, a chain of sharp metallic cracks that knocked every last kunai out of the air.
Tomoya's jaw nearly hit the ground.
It wasn't over.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Three of the fallen kunai burst into clouds of white smoke, revealing Megumi, Utaha, and Ran. They'd used the Transformation Technique to disguise themselves as kunai all along.
"Naruto's old trick." Makoto smiled.
A split second later, Megumi and Utaha seized his arms from both sides, pressing close.
Twelve and thirteen years old, their figures still slight but already taking shape, soft warmth squeezing against his arms through the fabric of his sleeves...
Tomoya's face twisted into a mask of pure agony.
"NOOO!"
The two girls didn't waste a breath on him. Together they shouted: "Go, Ran!"
Ran charged, hand outstretched, reaching for the bell at Makoto's waist.
______________________________
*The Bonus Chapter*
Every 80 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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