The men lungs, punching a hole through the tree the two boys and Lia are leaning their back on.
"Seems you have great reflexes."
What he means by that is, Kazuki who is sitting in the middle was able to lower his head downwards quickly to avoid the punch.
The two boys and Lia stand up and scatter maintaining what they believe is a huge distance from the men.
"Triangle formation." The men mutters.
The two boys and Lia glance at each other before sprinting in opposite directions.
"Even though you guys out match me when it comes to numbers you deemed it better to retreat." The men adds, "Not just a normal retreat, but you made me waste time trying to choose who to go after. Impressive. One point to each of you."
Three men leap down from the tree the two boys and Lia were leaning on.
"Namato, Ren and Kishu. Keep an eye on those three. They have potential."
The three men disappear immediately leaving smoke come out from where they where standing.
***
After some time of running, Kazuki takes a stop. Breathless he place an elbow on a tree beside him. He stands up straight with only one thought in his mind.
'Find Nero.'
On the other hand, Reiji pause his movement wondering why did the men attack him for and what he meant by "understand the meaning of the exam."
None the less he puts that thought at the back of his mind focusing on thing that he had been trying to master.
"External Sei huh."
For the past 5 months Reiji has understood that Ryusei is circulated within ones body. From the heart to all veins in the human body like a stream of water.
Though he understands that, he is unable to come up with a way to apply that same way that Sei is circulated to external Sei.
Even worst for him is that no one wants to teach him the way to learn it. So now he has no choice but to self study something he does not even understand.
On the bright side he is filled with joy that for the first time in his life he just had a spiritual connection with someone.
If he were to be honest with himself, he would have tired to get the key the men spoke about from him.
That thankfully did not happen, because Kazuki's eyes told what he did not want to accept.
"We had no chance against someone like him."
Reiji shakes his head and is thankful for the connection he has with Kazuki.
Meanwhile Lia is sitting on top of a branch hiding herself from sight.
"What was his problem." She adds, "I don't have time to be dealing with him. My goal is Nero and Tamia. This may be my last time as a ninja."
She comfortably sit on the branch waiting to spot Nero and Tamia to walk under her.
***
Back to Kazuki who has just met someone he thought he would see after finishing the exam.
"I see something has already happen to you." Koruto says.
Kazuki simply smiles at him speechless at the coincidence of the meeting each other.
"Where your friends?" Koruto ask.
"Th-"
He is cut short by the men suddenly standing in between them with smoke coming from the bottom of his feet.
"Oh. I came to you." The men says staring at Kazuki.
Kazuki leaps backwards while Koruto jumps straight to the men. His hand stretching to the men's waist.
The men moves his hand to his back, however that was Koruto's plan.
"Kazuki now!" He yells.
Kazuki leaps towards the men, pulling his scared and raises it to the air. Targeting the head of the men.
The men steps backwards confident Kazuki will miss if he moves back. Out of nowhere Koruto wraps his arms around him.
"Kazuki do it!"
"Impressive boy. Your muscles are not for show."
Kazuki strikes on the men's head with all his strength. Hoping the men will be knocked unconscious. However…
"I wouldn't be a Special Force ninja if I was captured so easily."
He now standing behind Kazuki and does the Rin, Hei, Toh and Kai hand sign. Blasting the two boys away with his palm like they are made out of paper.
The two boys crush into a tree before falling to the ground. Kazuki feels immense pain on his back like his been hit with bricks. Koruto however does not feel the same way and pushes him off him.
The get up simultaneously from the ground. No words are need, because the men can tell they are angry based on their frowning eyes.
"Why are you after me?" Kazuki says in a commanding voice.
The men laughs historically.
"What's funny?"
"Don't think of yourself as special. Am simply doing my job. There are more like you who are going to fail early than others."
"Does that mean you've been going around attacking other students like you just did?" Koruto joins.
"Correct boy. These exam was not about collecting keys and if it was it would be unreasonable as it would mean two people will pass."
"Then what is the point?" Koruto ask once again.
"To test you. In a real battle we don't need people who are unable to hold out against someone stronger than them and is unable to think quickly to survive. So…"
Koruto interrupts.
"Then all we have to do is beat you and we pass."
"Hahaha!"
Kazuki runs to the men, his hands tightly clenches his scarbed. He slashes his scarbed horizontally, but the men leaps up.
Waiting for him in the air however is Koruto.
"Weather you are a Special Force or not I will show you that you never stood a chance against me."
Who kicks him straight to the face like a kicking a ball.
The men does the Rin, Hei, Toh hand sign. He changes his posture in mid-air, making it so he is facing flat parallel to the ground. He lands on the tree - his feet keeping him in the same posture.
"That was an impressive kick my boy. It even made my nose bleed."
The men wipes the blood from his nose and walks down the tree until reaching the ground.
He strolls to the two boys to say.
"How laughable. I never thought in my life that I would be called inferior by a brat. Hahaha."
He dashes to the two boys boys standing in between them. He stretches his legs, sending the two boys flying in different directions.
With no second thought, Koruto is able to stop himself like a brake. He runs up to the men and throws punches left and right.
The men evades each one easily like his dancing to the rhythm of the wind. He does the Rin, Hei, Toh, Kai and Restu hand sign.
He let's go off his hand, facing his palm to Koruto's face and blows Koruto a few meters away.
"Was that supposed to hurt." Wiping his face.
"What are you?" In shock.
All along Kazuki was hiding behind him, squatting down and launches his scarbed directly on to the jaw of the men.
The men steps back, before falling to the ground with his back.
"Koruto, thanks for that I'll…"
Koruto yells for him to stop.
"Don't you go anywhere. You and me are going to stay here until we beat this guy."
"I can't."
"Kazuki, before you run you have to first know how to walk. I understand you had a detailed plan on how you are going to beat Nero. But that will have to wait. Right now we have to first beat this guy who possible might be stronger than Nero."
"Huh. But I know…"
"Hahahahahahahahahah!" The men standing up.
"Impressive boy. You pass. You never hesitated when it came to your punches, you are able to co-operate with your partner and you are keenly observet of your opponents strength. You have met all the qualifications I have set."
The men raises his index to the sky.
"Is that some sort of sig…"
He is cut short by a mysterious thing appearing behind him and disappearing in an instant alongside him with smoke coming from the ground he once stood.
"What? You look shocked." The men says to Kazuki.
Still in disbelief of what just happened, the men uses this opportunity to shoot Kazuki away and directly into a tree.
With no stopping, the men rush to Kazuki delivering a barrage of punches. The moment first feels like a minute, then into an hour, then a day and to an eternity of him being punched non-stop.
The men stops, whipping his bloodied knuckles with Kazuki's clothes.
"You boy on the other hand has failed. Sorry to say but you won't be a ninja for sometime."
The men walks away into the distance disappearing from the blurred eyesight of Kazuki. Who falls to the green ground.
Water drips down his swollen eyes. He wants to move, however his entire body refuses to do so.
After making it to this day, his training and non-stop Ryusei training can not have been for nothing.
How can he accept this. If doing all those things were for nothing, then how will he be able to stand against Nero let alone that men.
'It would be better if I were to give up and continue living with hina.' He thinks to himself.
All the memories his had in the academy flash through his mind. The meeting with Reiji and Lia, fighting Faizan, spending time with Hina, Reiji and Lia in the same house, practicing with Koruto and the annoying voice of Shiru.
Speaking of voices, the voice of Koruto begins to light his eyes. As he now understand what Koruto meant by…
"Before you run you have to first know how to walk."
TBC.
NEXT CHAPTER: PRELUDE 28