Chapter Eleven: Final Exam

The next day was one of comparative rest.

Itachi had the three of them doing meditations and comparatively restful training. It was a time that put Tenten in suspense, but he didn't ambush them or anything. They did a bit of tree climbing as well, and they found it was far easier the second time.

Then came the next day.

"So, from the looks of things, you've all rested up a bit," said Itachi.

Tenten, Neji, and Lee drew their weapons. Itachi blinked and smiled. "Oh, don't look so scared. We're not quite done with the lessons yet.

"For now, I need you to meet me down at that lake," said Itachi, motioning through the trees to a tranquil lake. I'm going to bombard you with some harmless genjutsu along the way. Minor things, but you'll have to get rid of them if you're going to reach me. Once you arrive, I've got a more advanced lesson for you.

"Also, I need each of you to come one at a time. You'll know when you come.

"And if you come all at once, the truce is off. Understand?"

"Yes, Itachi-sensei," they said.

"Good," said Itachi before vanishing. "Then let's get started."

Tenten looked to Neji. "You first, Neji."

Neji nodded and made his way toward the lake. As they waited, Lee looked to Tenten. "Itachi-sensei seems to be two different people, Tenten. I wonder if his harsh appearance is not a facade."

That was too much. "Do you remember what he did to us, Lee?! I don't care if he's really got a great personality he...

"Nevermind."

"Lee, you're next," came Itachi's voice. "You should find breaking the genjutsu a bit easier now."

Lee sprang off on his own. Tenten was on her own in the woods again. As she waited, she decided that she'd been too focused on weapons. With her Fuijutsu, Tenten could carry all kinds of things. Which meant it might be good to have something for every possible situation.

"Tenten, you last," said Itachi.

Tenten started walking, not bothering with evasive maneuvers or subtlety. Itachi was going to get her in a genjutsu either way, so it really didn't matter. "Honestly, this is the worst. Why couldn't we get someone normal, like Guy-sensei." Tenten suddenly realized Guy-sensei might be a somewhat low bar for sanity. But then, Itachi certainly didn't make it. "Itachi is completely nuts." As she walked, she realized she wasn't getting anywhere. "Wait, those trees have a completely different kind of bark on them from before.

"Genjutsu release."

The genjutsu broke, and Tenten walked on.

Fairly easy, all things considered.

When she got to Neji and Lee, they were standing before Itachi. And Itachi was standing before the water. "Excellent work. You may not have realized it, but that genjutsu I put on you was far stronger than those before. With greater chakra control, you were better able to purge it.

"One of the things you need to understand about breaking a genjutsu is this. Not believing in it is as important as technique. If you believe in a genjutsu, it becomes much harder to break. So an excellent way to snap out of it is to perceive inconsistencies in it.

"Lee, I'm pleased you managed to learn the technique. Even so, I think you should focus more on it. The genjutsu release can be done by anyone with a chakra network, fortunately. All it requires is a pulse of chakra and the mental fortitude to pull it off.

"Neji, you performed seamlessly. Keep practicing, and do not settle for anything less than perfection.

"Tenten, you were a bit slow, mostly because your mind was dragged down by bitterness. Hatred can be a powerful motivator for killing an enemy; however it can also impede you if you let it drag you down.

"Now, we're going to move on to water walking."

"Water walking?" asked Tenten. "Isn't that kind of an advanced skill?"

"Yes, it is a similar technique to tree-walking, but far more difficult and in need of far more control," said Itachi. "Ordinarily, genin are taught it after a few months, but I feel you are ready."

"Why?" asked Neji. "Surely the traditions of the Leaf exist for a reason."

Itachi nodded. "In my opinion, the Leaf Village training regime is far too efficient. Students should be pushed to their absolute limit. They should learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. Otherwise, those students will end up as corpses.

"A bit of mental duress is a small price to pay for a long and successful life."

"Do you mean 'Guy-sensei' successful?" asked Neji. "Or you?"

"Neji, that does not seem like something-" began Lee.

But Itachi laughed. "Results may vary based on the individual."

"But why are these exercises so important?" asked Tenten.

"A good question, Tenten," said Itachi. "Both of them help with chakra control. Your chakra network is like a muscle, and once you learn to use it, training it becomes much easier. Tree walking awakens the chakra network and forces you to really work at it. Everything about you becomes stronger because your chakra moves faster and more efficiently.

"Water walking, however, requires an even greater level of control over chakra. I think you'll find this task a lot more difficult. But, once you succeed, you will have fine-tuned control of all your powers.

"Now, start at once."

Looking at one another, all three of them walked forward toward the lake. They immediately got cold and wet feet in a literal sense. They stepped back.

"Try again," said Itachi. "You don't need to fear. No one makes it on their first go."

And so it began.

They tried using the same tactics that they had on the trees. Tenten, Neji, and Lee went into it over and over. It was clear there was a different technique to walking on water than trees. Tenten gave a wary glance at Itachi.

"Tenten, if you keep focusing on me, you'll lag behind the others," said Itachi. "You don't have to worry; if I had intended to hurt you, all three of you would be dead long ago."

Tenten froze in terror.

"I have been told that I am lacking in social skills. Forgive me if I am blunt," said Itachi.

"I did it! Yes!" said Lee, holding his place on the water.

"How did Lee do it first?" asked Tenten.

"Having less chakra, Lee naturally has an easier time controlling what he has," mused Itachi. "Also, Neji, you have the wrong attitude. You are attempting to compensate for the lack of a solid surface by pouring more chakra. But doing so is disrupting the water and leaving it on an unstable surface. "Neji, Tenten, continue. Lee, you stand right there."

On it went, and Neji got it on the next try. Around the time he did it, Lee fell into the water and emerged with a splash. Tenten tried again and ended up holding it for an instant before falling in. And so it continued for the entire morning as they tried to get stable on the water and fell in.

Not that Neji ended up falling in very often. Being a Hyuga, he was used to this kind of stuff.

Tenten ended up being dead last.

"Hmm, so all three of you have gotten it, then," said Itachi picking up a pine cone. "Excellent.

"Now we can get to the fun part. I'm going to throw these pinecones at you, and you will have to dodge them while on the water. If you fall in, I'll give you time to get out."

"Now hang on! I-" began Tenten.

Wham.

A pinecone hit her in the face and sent her plunging into the water. Landing under the water, she surfaced, sputtering. "I wasn't ready!"

"Case in point, Tenten," said Itachi. "Oh, and don't get out of the lake. I want you to climb out of the water without getting to shore.

"Begin."

Neji and Lee got hit in the face with a pinecone before Tenten could get out. Disappointingly, Neji managed to right himself very quickly. He got out before Tenten was halfway up. Pulling yourself out of the water by the water was hard. You had to focus in all the right places.

But, Tenten did it and was immediately hit by a pinecone.

Down she went.

The third time she tried to dodge, she was hit by a pinecone anyway but managed to catch herself. At least until she was hit by two more and fell in again.

And so began a truly miserable time.

None of them had any time to talk or think. Only to get out of the water over and over. But, gradually, they began to be able to react faster. They usually got hit anyway, but they could dodge one or two. By the time the sun was high in the sky, they were dodging more than they were being hit by.

Itachi nodded. "Hmm, you've begun to dodge much more effectively. I suppose I will simply have to increase my throwing speed to keep things challenging."

"Wait a minute-" began Tenten.

And then she got hit in the face with a pinecone. As she plunged in, she climbed out. "Why does he always target me?!"

"You make for a convenient target," said Itachi. "Many ninja squads will target the least powerful member of an enemy team. Their death will demoralize an opponent.

"While you are creative and talented, you are physically inferior to Lee and Neji. As such, you must be prepared to be a target.

"Now, continue."

And on it went.

And on.

Every time they started to get anywhere, Itachi made things more difficult. He started doing trick shots with the pinecones, hurling them so they'd spin in an arc. Several times he put them under genjutsu, forcing them to cancel it. And they plunged into the water over and over, never getting a chance to stop.

"...Hmm, you've done well," said Itachi, when the sun was waning. "Why don't we stop for the day. We'll pick up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" asked Tenten.

"Of course," said Itachi. "Dodging a few pinecones on the water is one thing. However, water must become like the ground for you to truly master this technique. It only gets harder from here."

"Why are you doing this to us!" said Tenten. "This is insane!"

"A fairly simple answer," said Itachi. "I do not want to lose any members of my team. War can and will happen suddenly. When it happens, you will be called to fight in life and death situations. If I take things slow with you, then what if war comes a month from now?

"Wouldn't you rather have all the training and experience you can?"

"Perhaps," said Neji, "but is it not standard practice to only give power when a ninja has proven worthy of it?"

"You are referring to the traditional form of shinobi training," said Itachi. "Wherein a ninja is given limited techniques initially. Then they face a terrible opponent who humiliates them and must undergo training. They then risk crippling injury in order to gain a dangerous forbidden technique.

"I considered that. It seemed needlessly inefficient.

"I'm not going to wait for you to be defeated. I'm just going to put you through all the training from hell right off the bat. And if a nemesis is required, I am only too happy to be that nemesis."

"The traditional form of shinobi training is looking pretty good," said Tenten.

"It is," said Itachi. "Until you consider that the only stories you hear about it are the successful ones. For every ninja prodigy who beats the odds, there are dozens who cripple themselves. Assuming they survive their initial conflict with their adversary.

"What do you think your odds are of being a prodigy?"

"...Good point," said Tenten with a nervous smile.

"As I see it," said Itachi. "It is more humane to break my students and rebuild them better early, instead of relying on destiny to naturally mold them into excellent shinobi.

"But, I will not press the matter.

"All three of you have done well. If you wish, you may return to the Leaf and the academy with taking the bells. You may even hope for a field promotion."

Tenten looked to Lee, then Neji, and they hesitated. And Tenten realized she was not going to take Itachi's offer. Lee nodded. "Sensei, we are ready to continue."

"Yeah, I..." Tenten shifted. "No way am I going back to the academy after all this."

"It would be a waste of time," said Neji. "Both for us, you, and the village."

"Good," said Itachi. "Then I consider you worthy of the lessons I am teaching. My Father had me master such techniques when I was younger than you. And you three have demonstrated genuine character, skill, and ability.

"You have to understand, this rigorous pace may be unpleasant. But you have already surpassed genin, who have been doing this for years. Many would have given up as the path became longer. Others would have begged me to return them to the Leaf after my genjutsu."

And so their training began.

And it got harder.

Itachi pushed them, little by little, to further feats. When they mastered water walking, he forced them to spar on it. When they were sparring well on the water, he made them do it with weights. Now and then, he would call for a day of rest, and there would teach them the history of battles. They were forced to practice using formations and also practice ambushes.

Yet Itachi did not teach them genjutsu. Nothing he taught them was anything other than standard material. For the most part, he made them improve on her existing skills. And they improved a lot.

Days turned into weeks.

Tenten felt herself becoming stronger. She got out of her bedroll easier and without even realizing it. Her taijutsu grew in power, and soon she was even able to pressure Neji sometimes. Often Itachi would take one of them aside to train.

He would also practice genjutsu on them at random points in the day, though he always informed them. Often they'd end up being forced to break it, and they got better and better at seeing the errors. But every time they had a breakthrough, Itachi just started pushing them harder. And Tenten began to suspect that she was nowhere near seeing his full power.

Until one day, he took them aside. By this time, their clothes had become rags that were only held together by stitches. They were smeared with dirt and sweat, though the smell was kept in check by regular bathing.

"All three of you have performed exceptionally," said Itachi. "Your accomplishments in the field are respectable. You've advanced in skill a great deal.

"However, I'm afraid our truce is coming to an end.

"That said, I've noticed that you three seem to have become a bit paranoid about my genjutsu. I don't want you to have a nervous breakdown, so we'll mix things up for today. I'm going to hunt you, and I will not use genjutsu of any kind.

"You have my word on that."

"Okay, so..." began Tenten.

"I'm going to go over to that tree and count to a hundred," said Itachi, drawing the bells out on new strings. "When I realize ten, I will come after you. Now, you'd best start hiding." Walking over to the tree, Itachi turned around and covered his eyes, like this was some game of hide and seek. Tenten looked to Neji and Rock Lee, and then she drew out her kunai.

They were not going to run.

Not this time.

"One, two, three, four, five," said Itachi.

At the same time, Lee and Neji moved in complete silence. All three of them used a genjutsu release.

"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten..." Itachi stood up. "Ready or not, here I come."

Tenten began hurling her kunai with pinpoint accuracy, though she was only trying to pin him in place. Waves of kunai shot toward Itachi, who dodged it, of course. Even as he did, however, Rock Lee was above him with a spinning kick. Itachi blocked it, defending against a flurry of rapid strikes, even as Neji came from below.

"Gentle fist!" said Neji.

"Leaf Hurricane!" said Lee.

Itachi was being hit by a nonstop barrage from both sides, the bells jingling. As he did, Tenten hurled two kunai at him. Even as he knocked them aside with afoot, however, Tenten had hurled two others, one knocking the other at the bells. Itachi moved aside the hand, but that gave Lee an opening.

Itachi Uchiha got punched in the face and sent flying. Even as he made the landing, however, they were at him from all sides. Itachi made a motion with a hand, but even as he cast his genjutsu, they were already forming the hand signs. In an instant, the genjutsu shattered before it could form.

Lee and Tenten got to Itachi first this time. Neji was lagging back behind for some reason. Engaging Itachi in hand to hand, she noticed the ground beneath their feet was loose. Setting one foot on the loose dirt, she had an idea. She sent a pulse of chakra into the ground.

A wave of dirt shot into Itachi's face even as he fought Lee. Tenten brought around a kick to knock him off his feet. Itachi moved away, but Neji was already on him. Even as Itachi responded to him, Lee came at him. No one gave him an inch, and Tenten saw her chance. The bells were before her, and she grabbed them.

Hauling them away, Tenten stepped back and raised them. "Ha! We have the bells!"

Silence.

"...You pass," said Itachi. "Good job."

It was somewhat anticlimactic. All the effort they'd gone to in order to get these little balls of silver. But then, the journey had been worth it. They'd saved those villagers from Suzaku and saved all those banks. So, it had kind of been worth it.

The bells had really just been an excuse for the journey.

Though they hadn't started out that way.

"So um... which one among us will go back to the academy?" asked Lee.

"You needn't worry about that, Lee," said Neji and Itachi in unison.

Silence.

"That was creepy," said Tenten.

"Go on," said Itachi to Neji.

"A team only needs one bell to all graduate," said Neji.

"How do you know that?" asked Lee.

"Simple, I looked at the public records of Ninja Teams and saw that most of them graduated in the same year," said Neji. "Usually from the same class and were noted for good chemistry together. There were also almost always two males and one female.

"That such specific arrangements could hardly be arranged if a third of every team went back."

"Well then, why did you try to divide us?" asked Tenten.

"To add an element of stress," said Itachi. "The purpose of the bell test was to see if you could work together as a team, even when you had differing interests."

"You dragged us all the way out here for that?!" said Tenten incredulously. "We've been working as a team for years!"

"Yes," said Itachi. "That is why I choose to make alterations to the orientation in order to fast-track you on the road to success. You were already far more qualified than most academy students. This is owed more to your work ethic and discipline than any innate talent. As a result, you were also more emotionally mature. Thus I skipped past intermediate stages and brought you B rank missions."

"B rank missions?" asked Tenten.

"Yes," said Itachi. "Removing Suzaku constitutes one. Getting the Leaf Village all those favors from banks constitutes another. Though, I admit, neither of those encounters were planned.

"I chose to direct you toward areas which were likely to help with your training. Then I improvised by using my genjutsu to ensure you didn't get in over your head. Though I didn't have to do much.

"As of this moment, all three of you are full genin and have passed the orientation. You will also receive substantial pay when you return."

Now that was a climax. "Yes! Yes! This is so awesome!"

"Indeed! We are splendid ninja at last!" said Rock Lee.

Neji, however, seemed suspicious. "...What's the catch?"

"Well, it gets far more difficult from here," said Itachi. "Having proven capable of greater things, you have proven worthy of more attention. Both good and bad." He smiled in a way that was both friendly and menacing.

"...Can we do some D ranks for a bit first?" asked Tenten.

"Of course," said Itachi. "Now, let's go home."

And home they went.