The morning after his third draw, Rai was summoned to the Academy director's office. There, he was informed of a new opportunity: he would not yet be promoted to Genin, but he would participate in training alongside a real squad. The goal wasn't rank advancement—it was to test the practical potential of the Reliquary system in field conditions.
For the next week, Rai would be placed under a chūnin instructor for mock exercises. He would return to the Academy afterward, but this trial would give both him and the village a chance to understand his evolving techniques in a group setting.
---
Team Nine.
Their chūnin instructor was Kaida, a tall kunoichi with copper hair tied into a high braid. Known for her sensory ninjutsu and precise hand-to-hand combat, she was sharp-eyed and calmly observant. She greeted them in the grassy clearing behind the Academy with a neutral expression and a folded set of notes in hand.
"So," Kaida said, glancing from one student to the next, "I've been asked to assess the balance and potential of this squad. That includes you, Rai."
Rai didn't flinch. The other two Genin looked mildly curious.
Kaida continued, "There's no risk of reassignment, no threat of failure. But I need to see what you're capable of—individually and together."
Rai's current teammates stood beside him. Reina, a slender girl with narrow eyes and long brown hair, controlled chakra threads and wire tools with delicate precision. Daiki, sturdier and broader, had a faint scar across his nose and a quiet, steady presence. His chakra flowed dense and rough—unrefined but abundant.
Kaida nodded once. "Rai, you're up first."
---
Rai stepped forward into the clearing.
He stood in silence as Kaida shifted into a ready stance. No tension, just measured focus. She didn't waste words.
Then she moved.
Her palm lashed forward, speed blurring slightly, aiming for his shoulder. Rai was already in motion.
"Kuriboh!"
The familiar card flashed, flaring to life just in time. The tiny beast popped into existence and intercepted the strike, bouncing away in a blur of brown fuzz. It faded moments later—spent but successful.
Rai responded immediately.
"Shrink."
The spell flared to life, and Kaida's movement tightened. For a half-second, her posture compressed unnaturally. She stumbled—not physically, but in flow.
She flickered again, reappearing to Rai's side. Her foot struck toward his ribs.
"Book of Moon."
The third card hovered above Rai's palm. With a smooth push of chakra, the spell activated. Kaida's momentum broke mid-motion. She landed awkwardly, her form recoiling like her weight had shifted backward without warning.
She didn't fall—but her movement had been cut at the root.
Kaida raised an eyebrow. "That one's new."
Rai nodded. "It disrupts. Like a turning seal."
"Hm." She lowered her stance. "You're hard to read in real time. I like that."
---
The team spar came next.
Reina anchored threads to nearby stumps and used flickers of motion to try and bind Kaida's wrists. She was careful, thoughtful—her style focused on misdirection.
Daiki surged forward behind her, fists glowing faintly with chakra.
His first punch hit the dirt just short of Kaida's feet—not a full impact, but enough to send a puff of dust upward. The ground beneath trembled—not cracked, but unsettled. His chakra was strong, but wild.
Kaida parried him easily. "Control your output," she advised.
Rai slipped to the flank, calling forth Mystical Space Typhoon just as Kaida formed a one-handed seal.
"Lightning Style: Static Grasp."
A shallow arc of electricity snapped across the ground—more stun than damage, designed to freeze a target's limbs on contact. It crackled toward Daiki's legs in a spiderweb pattern.
The card flared to life, and the air split with unnatural wind. The Typhoon didn't just disperse the jutsu—it unraveled it.
The lightning chakra sizzled once and vanished, leaving the grass beneath lightly scorched but Daiki untouched.
Kaida raised an eyebrow. "Dispel-level reaction. You redirected elemental chakra. That's not a basic effect."
Kuriboh returned again for defense. Rai felt the tug of chakra, but he was managing his costs better now—familiarity reduced the load, even if just slightly.
Kaida raised the pressure. For a moment, she was everywhere: behind Daiki, then pinning one of Reina's threads, then brushing past Rai with a test feint.
Rai didn't flinch.
Call of the Haunted activated briefly, pulling Kuriboh back to the field after destruction, and absorbing another attack.
Finally, Kaida ended the match with a soft flare of chakra that sent all three Genin back a few paces.
She stood with her hands on her hips, expression unreadable.
Then she smiled.
"Not bad at all."
---
As they caught their breath, Kaida approached Rai first.
"Your chakra control's excellent, but what's more interesting is how you approach combat. You're not trying to overwhelm—you're building a rhythm. Disrupt, deflect, and respond."
She tapped the notes in her hand. "The Reliquary's format doesn't follow any existing system, but it's tactical. I can work with that."
Then to the team: "You've got rough edges. That's expected. But there's synergy here. I'll run you through drills for the next few days, and then we'll do a formal test. Don't worry—no risk of failure. It's just to get a better idea of how you fight under real pressure."
Rai exchanged glances with Reina and Daiki. No one objected.
---
That night, Rai sat under a tree on the hill above his district.
In his hand, Book of Moon rotated slowly, like it were studying him just as much as he studied it.
Some cards hit hard.
Some protected.
Some twisted the rules of movement and engagement in unexpected ways.
He wondered what tomorrow's card would be.
And what kind of tool it would become.