Chapter 4 - Genin Test
After leaving the academy, the newly assembled Team 2 trailed behind their jonin instructor, walking through the village until they reached a training field near the edge of the village.
"Starting today, the three of you will be working for me as genin of Team 2," Raidō declared, a smirk adorning his face. "That is if you can pass the final test required to earn the rank of genin."
"What?" Jirō erupted. "But we already did that!"
Raidō shook his head. "Come on, kid, you can't honestly believe that memorizing a handful of test answers and demonstrating simple Jutsu like the Clone Jutsu makes you worthy of being genin?"
Sakumo's brows furrowed as the twins exchanged an uneasy look. While he was aware of Kakashi's bell test, he didn't have a clue about the examination methods used by other jonin instructors for their prospective genin squads.
An air of tense silence filled the training field, only broken by Raidō when he continued speaking.
"To be honest, I didn't ask for a genin squad," the jonin spoke with a put-upon tone. "In fact, I have no desire for one at all. So, you all fail the test."
"What!" Jirō gasped. "You can't do that!"
"I'm a jonin, kid," Raidō scoffed. "I have earned my rank and then some. And I didn't do it to waste my time training some snot-nosed brats."
Sakumo glared at the jonin. "So, that's it? You're just going to drop us? Why even bother leading us out here? You could have told us you were going to fail us back at the academy?"
"Because technically, I'm not actually allowed to fail all of you without reason," Raidō confessed, absently scratching at his scar. "However, I don't want to be burdened by a team of three brats. So, I'll take one of you as my student. The other two will return to the academy for...you three all already failed at least once, right?"
"That's utter nonsense!" Jirō shouted, breaking formation.
He charged Raidō like a wild animal.
"Jirō!" his brother gasped.
Raidō effortlessly subdued Jirō, sitting himself on Jirō's back and firmly planting a foot on his head. "See? This is why I couldn't stand training you brats," he said.
Jirō's face flushed as red as an apple.
"Then which one of us is going to pass?" Sakumo asked. He had a hunch that this might be a test similar to Kakashi's bell test. The three of them would need to agree not to turn on each other and accept success or failure as a unified team.
"That decision is up to the three of you. I will only accept the strongest as my student," Raidō said nonchalantly. He let Jirō back up off the ground and walked over to three large logs that were planted in the ground. He set an alarm clock on top of the middle log. "This alarm goes off in an hour. I'll be back then and if you three haven't decided which one of you pass...you all fail."
Sakumo blinked as the jonin vanished.
Just a moment ago, Raidō stood a little less than ten feet away. Sakumo hadn't even seen the jonin move. There was no trace of a shadow, blur, or even a disturbance in the air.
In an instant, Raidō was there, and in the next...he was not.
Shaking his head, Sakumo turned to face Jirō and Tarō. "We need to—"
As soon as he started talking, the two brothers fanned out in different directions. They both suppressed their chakra and hid from sight in the forest around the training ground.
Before he could even try and explain that Raidō might be testing them to see if they could put the team ahead of themselves Sakumo was forced to roll to the side.
Jirō had darted through the trees and started throwing shuriken with lightning speed. They looked like they were coming from completely different directions, but every one of them hit Sakumo.
Or did they?
"I got him!" Jirō cheered. "Now it's just me and you, Tarō!"
He hurried towards the spot where Sakumo had stood. In his place, a large log riddled with shuriken was lying on the ground. He lured me in on purpose! Jirō suddenly realized he had been lured into a trap. Now he knows where I am!
"We shouldn't fight each other," Sakumo stated, emerging from the forest with his hands raised in a disarming gesture. "Something isn't right here. I've never heard of a genin team without three members."
Jirō smirked. "You won't trick me!" he shouted, hurling shuriken even faster at Sakumo.
Is he really so arrogant? Sakumo wondered, evading the incoming shuriken. He didn't know if it stemmed from his newfound memories or not, but he found it hard to believe that anyone with half a brain wouldn't be able to see through Raidō's lie.
It was clear there was more to the test, so why couldn't Jirō see that?
Tarō attacked Sakumo from behind, launching a kick in his direction. Sakumo grabbed Tarō's foot and flipped him upside down. Jirō used his brother's attack as a distraction, aiming a punch at Sakumo's jaw. Sakumo blocked the punch with his elbow.
Releasing his grip on Tarō, Sakumo leaped backward, out of their reach. The twins turned their attention towards him, panting heavily but still ready to fight. "Two brothers and myself... I guess I'm the odd one out, huh?" he grinned wryly.
"Looks like it turned out for the best that all three of us weren't assigned to the same squad, huh, Tarō?" Jirō remarked, grinning. "Yarō will definitely pass his test, so at least two of us will become genin."
Sakumo felt a tickle on the back of his neck and ducked.
Tarō's leg swung over his head.
"What the hell?" he demanded, glaring at the twins. "Why won't you two listen?"
"I'm sorry, Sakumo," Tarō said, and he did look genuinely guilty. "But we can't risk you betraying us. And if it comes down to you or my brother passing this test, I choose Jirō."
Motherfuckers! Sakumo glared at the twins. They were going to ruin his chances of becoming a Genin!
Jirō grinned, pulling a kunai from the holster on his leg. "One of us will definitely pass, Tarō!" he shouted, charging at Sakumo once again.
|—|
I hate these two!
As the sound of an alarm clock filled the training ground, Sakumo glared at the twins standing across from him.
For the past hour, he had been doing everything in his power to dodge their attacks and attempt to make them understand the absurdity of this test. Yet, they seemed utterly oblivious.
Suddenly, the ringing of the alarm clock stopped.
Sakumo spun around. Raidō had returned to the training ground as fast as he left. Tarō and Jirō both looked surprised too.
"Have you decided who is going to pass?"
"No, all three of us are going to—" Sakumo's words were cut short by the twins.
"Me! They chose me!"
"Quit lying, Jirō! I'm the one we picked, sensei!"
Sakumo sighed as the brothers started to argue. He was screwed. It didn't matter how much he knew about the future, without Jirō and Tarō's cooperation, he was going back to the academy.
"You all fail."
The twins fell silent at Raidō's announcement. They seemed shocked, and Sakumo decided that he hated them just a little more for their reaction. Those two idiots didn't deserve to be shocked.
"Does that mean we're going back to the academy?" Tarō asked, his fingers fidgeting nervously with his headband.
Raidō shook his head.
"No, you're all still genin. I was watching the three of you fight, and you all have potential."
Jirō gasped. "Does that mean we—"
"All three of you still failed my test. So you won't be a part of a genin squad. Instead, the three of you will be assigned to the Genin Corps."
Genin Corps? Sakumo frowned. He didn't remember that from his memories of the future, and Iruka had never mentioned it at the academy.
"Follow me," Raidō ordered, leading the way out of the training ground.
Team 2 trailed silently behind the jonin until Raidō came to a halt in front of a two-story building just a few streets away from the Hokage Tower. A flag bearing the Hidden Leaf emblem on a black field fluttered atop the building and a sign was displayed out front.
The sign read: Konha Gen Rev Cops, which seemed weird.
Sakumo looked at it closer and noticed that many of the letters had lost their color or peeled off.
"This is where you guys will be reporting from now on," Raidō pointed at the building. "The office of the Konoha Genin Reserve Corps. You'll receive missions here and report back."
"Genin Reserve Corps," Sakumo whispered, his gaze returning to the sign. It now made sense. When read with the missing letters, it spelled: Konoha Genin Reserve Corps.
"No need to stand around staring," Raidō gestured for them to enter the building.
Upon entering, they found themselves in a spacious room with scattered tables and chairs. At the far end stood a long counter spanning the entire length of the room.
Behind the counter stood an elderly man, his arms crossed. Apart from the old man, Sakumo, Jirō, Tarō, and Raidō were the only occupants of the room.
"Well, this is it for me!" Raidō nodded to the man behind the counter. "I know I say this every time, but give them the rundown. Okay, Kosuke?"
"Will do, Raidō," Kosuke replied, waving goodbye with his arms still crossed.
Once the door was closed behind Raidō, a strange tension spread through the room. Likely because Kosuke was closely examining Sakumo and the others.
Kosuke? Sakumo stared at the man behind the counter. He was certain he had come across the name Kosuke in his new memories.
But where...
"Hm..." Kosuke leaned over, placing both elbows on the counter and resting his chin on top of his clasped hands. Nodding to himself a few times, he eventually stood up. "You three don't seem beyond hope. Welcome, I'm Kosuke Maruboshi. Chief Genin and the host here at the office of the Konoha Genin Reserve Corps. You can call me Chief, but Kosuke works too."
"Chief," Sakumo walked straight up to the counter. "I have a few questions. The first is are we going to be genin forever?"
Kosuke glanced at Jirō and Tarō before looking back at him. "That's entirely up to you. Lord Hokage is a fair man, so if you train hard and show enough promise, he will promote you."
"Okay, that's good to know," Sakumo breathed a huge sigh of relief. He could still accomplish his dream. He motioned to the brothers. "What about genin squads? Are we even still a team?"
"No, the reserve corps is set up differently, " Kosuke explained, stepping out from behind the counter. "Follow me."
Sakumo followed after the older the genin. Behind him, Jirō and Tarō trailed along. They stopped at a large wall that seemed to span the length of the entire building and was made entirely of corkboard. There were dozens, probably over a hundred mission requests pinned to the wall.
"This is the mission board. The name pretty much speaks for itself, but I'll clarify since you're rookies," Kosuke said. "We post D-rank and C-rank missions that the Hokage doesn't assign to jonin-led genin squads. You can select any mission from the boards on this floor. As rookie genin, you can only undertake D-rank or C-rank missions right now and will not be allowed to take any higher-ranked missions unless specifically authorized by Lord Hokage himself. After you successfully complete ten C-rank missions you will be allowed to the top floor where B-rank missions are posted. A-rank and S-rank missions will only be assigned by Lord Hokage himself."
Sakumo read some of the D-rank mission requests: dog-walking, babysitting, and trash cleanup. He had the freedom to choose any of these missions and get paid. However, he needed a mission that would take him out of the village.
Without a jonin looking over his shoulder, he'd be able to move with a lot more freedom. Sure, he wasn't going to have a Jonin-sensei to teach him, but with the jutsu he copied from the Scroll of Sealing, he would have even better teachers!
"Taking a C-Rank mission alone?" Tarō furrowed his brow. "That seems...reckless."
Kosuke nodded, acknowledging the concern. "It is," he agreed. "I've seen hundreds of cocky rookies and veteran genin who grow too arrogant and get themselves killed by taking a mission they had no business attempting."
"Then why does the Hokage allow it?" Sakumo inquired. Based on what he had seen in his new memories, the Hokage was responsible for assigning all missions within the village.
Except now that he was thinking about it...that system was extremely flawed. With thousands of ninjas in the Hidden Leaf, it would be impractical for the Hokage to assign every mission that came through their gates personally.
"You're no longer children," Kosuke said firmly, glaring at the former members of Team 2. "When you graduated from the academy, you became ninjas. You're all adults now and no one is going to hold your hands or coddle you."
Sakumo agreed wholeheartedly and took a step forward. He selected a"Bandit Control" in Tanzaku Quarters from the C-rank section of the mission board.
Kosuke frowned upon noticing the nature of the mission request. "Are you playing games, kid?"
"No games," Sakumo replied, briefly glancing at his astonished teammates. They might be content with working their way up, but he needed to get out of the village. If he wanted to grow stronger, he needed live sacrifices.
"Do I have to do anything else, or do I just go?" he asked.
"You report to me at the counter." Kosuke took the mission request back to the counter. He created a copy and hit the copy with a stamp before handing it back. "After the mission is completed, I'll stamp the copy again and you turn it in at the Hokage Tower to get paid."
Sakumo took the mission request and grinned. Those bandits didn't know it, but they were really going to help him out.