The genins went to their respective jonin before exiting the room. The injured Hyuga and his sensei went toward the infirmary. The Kumo jonin led his students toward the street promising to treat them to a feast. The Uchihas went toward their district. Shiba was smiling, which was rare. He didn’t seem in a hurry to leave.

“You did well. I’m proud of you. The senseis were allowed to watch your progression through the canyon from afar. You approached the test perfectly. Pulling away and setting up traps to ambush the others were brilliant moves. They were many dangerous teams in there.”

“Kumo is the real deal. We almost lost to their shinobis. If Jun hadn’t killed the girl, we would have been in trouble.”

Shiba nodded.

“Kumo only sends chunin level ninjas, who are sure to succeed. For them, the exam is an opportunity to show their strength. The tensions between our two villages are still present. The team you fought against; they were very skilled. I believe it’s the second time they took the exam. They participated in the one in Kumo a few months ago as a practice. The kunoichi of the group, she was one of the last members of the Hayashida clan. That clan and the Kurama clan from Konoha almost exterminated each other during the last war.

“Kurama?” Jun asked, thinking of the Nine-Tails.

“They’re experts in Genjutsu. They use visual mediums like drawings or paintings to cast their illusions. The Hayashida clan uses sound. I know jonins who would run away facing a Hayashida. You performed wonderfully.”

Shiba then turned to Susumu.

“Nice work! Your Genjutsu allowed the team to escape a perilous situation. That was well done.”

“You’re not upset I gave up?” Susumu asked timidly.

Shiba shook his head.

“I respect your decision. Knowing you, you must have your reasons. I hope you can help me train Natsumi and Jun.”

Jun realized both he and Natsumi were going to fight Uchihas who are members of the Police and had a grudge to settle. They would need all the training they could get. The jonin gave them a summary of what happened during the second round. Jun realized they had been lucky to escape the starting line’s battle royal. It was what made the rest easier for them. Many genins were killed during that battle. Almost everyone else suffered some kind of injury. The ones with lighter injuries chased and hunted the other ones.

Miyamoto Hyuga’s team had been among the teams that were hunted. They got lucky and stumbled upon a team with the tokens needed to pass the test. It was a team from Kiri; they were also injured. A deadly confrontation began between the two parties, ending with the death of the Kiri team. The genins from Konoha almost lost their lives there. They barely won and used the last of their energy to run towards the exit. They had all been poisoned; hence the reason one of them passed out as soon as they arrived.

The Kumo team chased after other teams, but they had a hard time. They had begun by taking tokens from a Konoha team, then lost everything to the Kiri team that perished later at the hands of Miyamoto Hyuga’s team. Afterward, they attacked a team from Taki and successfully took all their tokens.

As for Fujitaro’s team, they had made their way to the exit to confront those who tried to get out of the canyon. They reasoned that those teams would have all their tokens. On their way, they came across a team from Taki and gained three tokens. They gained two tokens, the ones Susumu used for his Genjutsu, from Team 14. They had defeated the team from Kusa that came when they confronted Team 14. They obtained the remaining tokens from them and were able to pass the test.

“What about Yugao and her team?” Jun asked.

His sensei’s smile disappeared. Her team has been unlucky. They had been caught in the battle royal and got overwhelmed. One of her comrades died in the fight. The other succumbed to his injuries a few hours later. Yugao made it out, but she was injured. She would spend a while in the hospital.

Jun was shocked. He knew Yugao was strong. But sometimes luck played a factor. She couldn’t avoid the initial fight; however, she was fortunate to make it out alive. Jun went to see her at the hospital, but his friend wasn’t in the mood to talk. She had lost her two teammates. She just stared out the window, lost in thought. There were bandages all over her body. Jun didn’t know what to say to boost her morale. In this type of situation, being silent wasn’t bad.

Jun didn’t remember their names. He was ashamed. He had never paid attention to them. But they were important for Yugao. They had had her back during missions. She trusted them with her life. Jun thought about how he would feel if Natsumi or Susumu were killed. He couldn’t imagine the grief, anger, and guilt he would experience. No word could comfort him if such a situation happened.

Therefore, Jun could only focus on his training. Before that, he visited his family and they all praised him. Izumi was very proud of him. He also visited Iruka and told him what happened to Yugao.

Shiba trained Natsumi and Jun separately. He spent one day with one person and the following with the other. In his free days, Jun went to see some acquaintances. He asked Kurenai to train him more on Genjutsu. That was his weakness. Moreover, he needed to be able to dispel Genjutsus cast by the Sharingan.

Anko helped him with Ninjutsu training, especially in Katon Jutsus. Genma sparred with him using Taijutsu. Furthermore, he asked his mother to show him more katas and movements from the Uchiha style Taijutsu. Even though he couldn’t spar with her anymore due to her health issue, she could still slowly demonstrate katas to him. The teenager wanted to recognize Fujitaro’s attacks the moment he launched them.

He even went to see Gai and begged him to let him see his rivalry matches with Kakashi. The goal was to discover ways to fight an opponent who used the Sharingan. Gai was so moved by his sincerity that he immediately accepted. He found Kakashi and challenged him to a duel. Jun had never spoken to Kakashi, so he felt a little guilty using Gai to indirectly get the copy-ninja to aid him.

Kakashi didn’t seem to mind, and the two rivals started battling. Within a minute, they were completely focused on the fight. Kakashi raised his headband and revealed his Sharingan. Gai was using his Taijutsu to the fullest. They didn’t pay attention to Jun who was hidden in the shade of some trees. The teenager activated his Sharingan and copied the details of their battle.

He didn’t have their speed nor power, but he wasn’t going to face these two. His opponent was Fujitaro. He could beat him with his abilities. He needed experience and technique. And thanks to the beauty of the Sharingan, he only needed to witness the fight to acquire some. He now knew how to fight similarly to Gai. How to avoid the gaze of the enemy, how to perform the Leaf Hurricane technique, the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf technique, and even the Primary Lotus. He also absorbed a bit from Kakashi’s style. The teenager saw how to anticipate the blows of an opponent and use that advantage to counter-attack. He kept his Sharingan for well over an hour until the fight was over. It ended in a draw. Neither party could overpower the other one.

Jun multiplied his training partners. He didn’t only spare with his sensei. In addition to Anko and the rest, he also trained with Natsumi. It may seem like a bad idea since they could potentially encounter each other in the tournament. However, he wanted to be comfortable facing shuriken techniques. His comrade equally benefited from it. She would learn how to fight against the Uchiha Taijutsu style.

A week passed in a blink of an eye. He ran into some Uchihas in the street. As usual, they ignored him and acted like he didn’t exist. Jun saw Itachi a couple of times, but the latter never stop to say hi. He didn’t even make eye contact. He acted like he didn’t know him.

The teenager also saw Shisui one day. They were both surprised to cross paths. They hadn’t seen each other in months. Jun felt awkward. He didn’t think they would meet again. They lived in the same village, but they walked different paths. Jun was no longer associated with the Uchiha, and Shisui was a rising talent in the clan. Jun felt nostalgic. He recalled the times they trained and hung out together. Shisui was a good friend.

“Congratulations! I heard you qualified for the tournament.” Shisui said awkwardly.

An Uchiha police who was patrolling nearby glared at them. Jun ignored the law enforcer.

“You can congratulate me after the tournament.” He replied in a humorous tone.

Shisui opened his mouth and closed it. He wanted to say something but hesitated. Maybe he wanted to offer to train him like in the old days. Or perhaps to apologize for being unable to train with him. Jun would never know as a jonin called Shisui. He remembered the Uchiha was also a jonin. Maybe they had a mission together.

Shisui gave him an apologetic smile and wished him good luck before leaving. Jun watched him walk away with a heavy heart. He really missed the old days.