"Go! Nonou!"
Folken's ears caught the shout of the broad-shouldered youth ahead. The ground beneath his feet shifted slightly, noticeably different from the solid earth moments ago. It was a trap.
Crack.
The soft topsoil and green grass sank underfoot. The person above lost their footing, hands flailing and unable to form hand seals these few seconds guaranteed an unavoidable attack.
"Where will the attack come from? Above? From the side? Or…"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Nonou had dug into the ground, using a D-rank Earth Release technique, Earth Dragon Concealment, and hidden a cloud of anesthetic gas below the surface. Anyone stepping on it would release the gas upward.
Just the faintest whiff made Folken's body tingle. It was likely one of those anesthetic bombs bought from the ninja supply store, spherical and wrapped in special white cloth designed to create smoke or poison clouds essentially a primitive grenade.
"Got you!" Nonou, using the D-rank technique, lay hidden less than ten meters from Folken, ready to celebrate. In her imagination, she stomped on Folken's handsome face, mocking this "weak" teacher who had lost to her, a student.
"Is it that spot?" Folken's ears twitched. He detected subtle movement beneath the ground and shifted a step, forming a hand seal with one hand.
"Substitution Technique."
Bang!
The dummy perfectly swapped positions with him. Mikoto, watching from her hiding spot, was shocked.
One-handed hand seals? The so-called school bottom-ranker should only know weak techniques! And yet, here he was, performing ninja arts effortlessly!
The dummy fell into the iron-wire trap Nonou had set, the weight tightening the wires and pinning it in place.
Nonou emerged to confirm Folken's position, intending to drag him up and humiliate him.
However, a small head appeared from the green soil, casting a shadow over Nonou's nape in the sunlight.
A chill ran down her spine. Two words raced through her mind: incredible power.
"Ninja tactics insight: genjutsu."
"Wh…"
Smack!
Halfway through her words, a sharp pain shot through her neck, and her vision went black.
"Since Sensei isn't very skilled at it, I'll let you faint and dream instead."
"And now, the final skill: ninjutsu."
Folken turned his gaze toward Mikoto, hidden in the grass.
"Now you'll see my ninjutsu," he said calmly.
Mikoto stopped hiding, a few green leaves clinging to her. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I won't lose to you in ninjutsu!"
"Excellent!"
Folken's hands moved with lightning speed, forming seals faster than Mikoto could complete the six for her Great Fireball Technique.
Snake, Goat, Tiger!
"Fire Release: Fireball Technique!"
A fist-sized fireball shot toward her. Mikoto rolled to avoid it, the fireball hitting the grass with a hiss, igniting the greenery. The orange glow reflected across her back, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"D-rank ninjutsu… you shameless guy!" Mikoto thought. She had expected a powerful jutsu, not a C-rank Phoenix Flower Fireball. This was an insult to ninjutsu itself.
"Eh?! Where is he?!"
"Water Release: Water Droplet!"
Whoosh!
Smaller and faster than the fireball, the water droplet cut across Mikoto's cheek. Pain flared instantly in her brain as she struggled to process what had happened.
"This is my D-rank Water Release. Not bad, right?"
The black-haired youth remained to her side, his hands forming the final Boar seal.
Dai, exhausted after opening the Eight Gates, watched everything from the ground.
Folken first interrupted Mikoto's ninjutsu with the quick D-rank Fire Release, then used the brief distraction to move swiftly to her side. From behind, he launched a Water Release droplet a technique inspired by Water Release: Heavenly Cry. Slow, not particularly stealthy, and limited to a single shot, it ranked D for speed and E for power and concealment.
"Liar."
"What?!"
"You're a huge liar!" Mikoto exclaimed, touching the small cut on her cheek. You said you weren't skilled in ninjutsu! And yet you can invent one on the spot!
"You're not a Genin with that strength!"
Folken paused briefly, then relaxed, breathing deeply. "Becoming a Chunin is my dream. But everyday performance isn't enough. I must pass the Chunin exam to truly qualify."
Mikoto twitched at the corner of her mouth, blood from the scratch already stopping. "You… jerk! And what about me?!"
"You're my student," Folken said with a wave, ignoring her tantrum. "You failed the exam, but I know what you need to learn now."
"Mikoto, your hand seal speed is too slow. Start focusing on forming seals consistently. Don't overdo kunai practice. Against tough enemies, wire traps are trivial." Folken referred to the kunai trap from earlier.
"Against a Jonin, such tactics might be countered. But sometimes opponents let their guard down. That's when combining wire traps with the taijutsu-based 'Manipulate Kunai' technique can work."
"Who would deliberately get hit?" Mikoto pouted.
Folken gave her a sideways glance. "You might not get another chance."
He stepped over to Dai, supporting him. "Forget that for now. Take the unconscious Nonou to the shade of that tree. Then we'll continue."
"Got it~"
Nonou awoke from a nightmare, which had been terrifyingly brief. She dreamt her teacher had tied her up and leaned close, whispering:
"You little brat, wake up."
"Nonou, wake up."
"Ah!!" She jolted awake, finding her head resting on Folken's leg. Her cheeks flushed red.
Folken ignored it, scanning Mikoto practicing her Fire Release-infused kunai technique to deepen her fire chakra control. Then he turned to the other two.
"Next, I'll teach you both the secrets of chakra control. Pay attention."
Half an hour later:
Mikoto, using her innate Fire Release talent, successfully channeled some fire chakra into her kunai. She ran over to show off. Folken, though slightly surprised, casually remarked that she had already mastered two C-rank Fire Release techniques, then let her continue practicing.
Dai, seated nearby, had exhausted his chakra after opening the Eight Gates. Nonou trained water walking at the riverbank, while Dai began climbing a tree to practice chakra control.
Crack, crack.
Folken covered his face, watching Dai struggle with basic chakra control. Dai's inability to control chakra was the main reason he couldn't become a Chunin. The Triple Body Technique was unreliable, and using chakra while climbing caused noise and damage. No leader would promote a ninja like that.
"Distribute your chakra evenly," Folken instructed.
"Okay!"
Seconds later, Dai fell repeatedly, unable to climb more than a few steps. Scratching his head, he asked Folken, "What's wrong this time?"
Folken hid his face, while Mikoto, activating her single Byakugan eye, stepped forward.
"You should start by evenly placing chakra in your feet, gradually increasing it. Once you confirm the balance, try climbing. That might work."
"It's a dumb method, but it might work," Folken said. "Try it, Dai."
"Okay!" Dai took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Blue chakra flowed from his body through his veins into his feet.
As the chakra increased, cracks formed in the ground. Dai carefully adjusted, listening to the subtle sounds.
"Be patient… once you get it once, you'll master it quickly. This is basic stuff," Folken observed silently, glancing at Mikoto practicing Fire Release chakra on her kunai.
When did she awaken the Byakugan and not tell anyone…
Tap, tap, tap…
Dai's chakra stabilized. He walked carefully, delighted:
"I did it!"
"Try climbing," Folken said. Controlling chakra on flat ground doesn't guarantee stability on a tree.
Crack.
"Eh?!"
Crack, crack.
"Don't get excited. Focus on control. Just because you moved steadily on flat ground doesn't mean you can maintain it on a tree."
"Alright." Dai responded and immediately fell from the tree again.
Folken frowned. "What happened?"
"I ran out of chakra."
"…Sigh."
Folken rolled his eyes. With Dai's limited chakra, training control was painfully slow.
When the training session was nearly over, Folken called Nonou back from the riverbank. He brought out the prepared bento boxes, and the four ate together.
Seeing Folken pull out two enormous bento boxes while the others had regular ones, the three stared in disbelief. Could he eat all that?
Folken demonstrated effortlessly, showing the appetite of someone with a powerful physique.