"Teacher Akaba, does that phrase have any special meaning?"
That's why they say old folks must be spirits in human bodies...
Everyone else remained clueless, but Shiragusa Ryosuke alone sensed that Akaba seemed slightly excited and proud—something that gave him a very strange feeling.
Akaba couldn't help but cough a few times when he heard that. He'd just blurted it out without thinking—there was no hidden meaning at all.
"Maybe it's the incantation for releasing the illusion?" someone guessed.
"Cough... cough... Let's watch the live feed first. I'm pulling everyone into the illusion now, so please, teachers, don't resist."
Akaba cut off their pointless guessing.
If they kept speculating like this, who knows what conclusion they might reach. He couldn't exactly admit it was just his inner dork moment—when he'd unconsciously recited a dramatic line from habit.
As for why he pulled them into the illusion—
First off, these mentors will be guiding the Genin training. They needed to observe and understand each Genin's unique talents and abilities in order to provide targeted instruction.
Secondly, compared to the Genin, these mentors had far stronger 'spirit points.' Once inside the illusion, they only needed to observe without expending unnecessary mental energy. Their stored spiritual reserves could then be used entirely for sustaining the illusion itself.
In short: they were perfect comic sidekicks.
Once everyone entered the illusion, they quickly saw a Giant Eagle carrying all the Genin as it flew across terrain resembling the Land of Wind and eventually reached an enormous desert.
A war-themed terrain?
Everyone fell silent, lost in thought.
"This desert landscape must be Sunagakure's famous forbidden zone," Ryosuke explained.
His leg had been shattered during a battle against Sunagakure. Although he later received treatment, fragments of broken bone had embedded themselves within his leg, permanently preventing him from being a proper ninja again, forcing his retirement.
He knew the Land of Wind extremely well.
"That's right. This is the forbidden desert of the Land of Wind. It contains countless traps, and some areas still have lingering poison mist. Their goal is simple: survive, and follow the clues to find the exit I've hidden."
Akaba further explained.
In short, they'll need to outrun the toxic zone, circle through the battlefield, and skydiving will play a crucial role here. If the Genin fail to deploy their umbrellas properly, they could easily fall straight into deadly traps.
They'd been warned beforehand about everything. If they screwed up and died, it was on them.
Of course,
Besides controlling the umbrella, successfully landing from such heights also depended heavily on their chakra control.
Like tree climbing or water walking [Water Walking (a technique where you walk across the surface of water)], precise chakra control could soften the impact of a fall. This was something briefly covered back at the academy.
Right now, the Giant Eagle had already reached the desert skies, and quite a few Genin had begun jumping off.
Though none had experienced such an illusionary exercise before, it looked incredibly thrilling. Watching each Genin leap from the eagle's back made even the mentors themselves feel exhilarated.
Within minutes, battles began erupting in several locations.
Shiragusa Ryosuke's gaze never left the small map showing everyone's positions. After glancing at it, he remarked, "That Genin named Uchiha Ryo doesn't seem to be part of any team."
"Standard procedure for the Uchiha clan. Nothing to worry about," Akaba replied with a quick glance, not particularly concerned.
The other instructors weren't particularly surprised. Although the Uchiha clan had recently tried to integrate into the village, the image it had built over many years couldn't simply be erased overnight.
Certainly.
Uchiha Ryo wouldn't be happy if he knew what the instructors were really thinking.
It wasn't that he wanted to be alone—it was just that no one else wanted him.
This is tough!
"But if it's someone from the Uchiha clan, their abilities definitely won't be an issue. Plus, Ryo was top of Akaba's class last year before getting held back due to some incident."
Shige Nohara seemed to have done his homework—he knew about Uchiha Ryo's background.
Hearing this, everyone recalled who Ryo was and showed expressions of sympathy. The boy did have talent, but then he got stuck in Akaba's class. After impulsively using the Powerful Fireball Jutsu, he had no choice but to repeat the whole year.
No one wanted to team up with him after all that mess.
The scene shifted, revealing someone deliberately targeting Uchiha Ryo.
A four-man squad intentionally parachuted near him, finally tracking down his location after searching around.
But what good would a bunch of sheep do, even if they surrounded a wolf?
After a brief clash, Ryo broke through the encirclement and fled—there was still a noticeable gap in ability.
"One extra year really does make a difference. By the way, Akaba, I remember quite a few of your former classmates are in here too, right?"
"Yeah, let me check."
Akaba scanned the Illusion for students, then switched multiple large screens inside this "Observation Room."
Inuzuka Ishi's squad, Loe's Ino–Shika–Cho squad, and a few other students whose names Akaba couldn't recall.
Just a single year's difference, yet there existed a significant power gap.
In under ten minutes, the numbers dropped from over a hundred to more than eighty, most eliminated by these upperclassmen. Each of them educated the juniors mercilessly.
Another dozen minutes passed, leaving fifty people on the battlefield—one portion fell victim to others, while another portion failed to survey the terrain properly and were killed either by traps or poisoned.
"This arena puts every essential ninja skill to the test. I never expected such an unconventional training method. No wonder the village invited you specifically to serve as the Training Instructor."
Halfway through, Shiragusa Ryosuke transitioned from skepticism to complete admiration. His tone turned respectful when addressing the instructor.
"This Genjutsu is too strong."
"No wonder Akaba became Tokubetsu Jonin at such a young age—his Genjutsu surpasses even most regular Jonin."
"..."
Even the Chunin instructors were deeply impressed.
This Genjutsu was basically a combat-grade training weapon. Currently among the Sakuma clan's new generation, only Akaba had awakened the Kekkei Genkai.
Most previous Kekkei Genkai users within the clan were either deceased, injured, or aged beyond teaching capability. Moreover, even those elder generations likely couldn't rival Akaba's mastery of Genjutsu.
Considering all factors, only Akaba was truly suitable for the role.
Akaba felt satisfied.
With just a small exercise like this, both students and instructors were convinced.
The effect was off the charts!
Little Yumekuma also felt satisfied—even though the mental energy flowed in and right back out, the sheer volume consumed at once left him feeling deeply fulfilled.
Before long, the poison zone began shrinking again.
The circle now contained only two teams: Inuzuka Ishi's and Nara Loe's. Alongside Ishi himself were Sarugami Aburame and a member of the Hyuga Branch Family.
A standard scouting unit.
Nara Loe's team was the classic Ino–Shika–Cho trio. While their individual strengths weren't particularly outstanding, their teamwork was incredibly strong—fully confident in facing off against Ishi's squad.
Thus, in the final phase, Take Yamano and Yamanaka Toru would first suppress the enemy to reduce their combat effectiveness, after which Akimichi Izumi would deliver the decisive blow with Human Bullet Tank.
This match was a foregone conclusion.
Yet Inuzuka Ishi's team had its own moments of brilliance. Though their direct combat strength was average at best, they made full use of their powerful scouting skills, masterfully employing terrain advantages, traps, and poison mist to eliminate over a dozen squads mid-way through.
Of those eliminated, one-third were indirectly taken out by this team.
The illusion vanished.
Little Yumekuma perched comfortably on Akaba's shoulder, letting out a happy sigh like it had just finished a hearty meal.
Injuries and deaths caused intense spiritual fluctuations, releasing a bit of that energy—some of it lingered inside its body.
After this match, it had genuinely eaten its fill!
Outside the illusion, all the Genin groaned in pain.
Even at 60% intensity, this level of pain was just too much for kids their age. Some even fainted outright and were dragged away by the medical team waiting on standby.
"As I expected, you're all greenhorns. Greenhorns aren't qualified to become ninjas. So anyone who passed out is eliminated—they'll have to repeat at the ninja academy."
Akaba showed no mercy whatsoever.
Shiragusa Ryosuke wholeheartedly agreed.
If just 60% pain could make them faint, with such courage and willpower, they'd only endanger others on the actual battlefield.
"Among those remaining, some got eliminated by traps—those people are idiots who failed to perform even basic reconnaissance."
"Some were killed by poison mist—I recommend these individuals train alongside the taijutsu class. Others died due to foolish tactical decisions—I suggest they work on developing their brains more."
"There's another type—the lone wolves—who believe in personal heroism, only to get crushed by group tactics. I won't name names here."
Faced with Akaba's ruthless sarcasm, everyone felt anger inside but couldn't refute it when recalling their own performances.
Uchiha Ryo, Might Duy, and others lowered their heads in shame.
The 'lone wolf' remark referred to Uchiha Ryo, while 'foolish tactical decision' pointed at Might Duy—the hot-blooded youth who charged bravely at a shadow clone and ended up pointlessly sacrificing himself.
"Of course, I'm young and may lack experience. Jonin Shiragusa, as our most experienced instructor, please share your thoughts on how they did."
Akaba shifted the topic to Shiragusa Ryosuke.
Shiragusa was one of only two Tokubetsu Jonin among them. Though he taught only ninja tool manipulation, his experience and judgment were highly respected, giving him greater authority compared to the other instructors.
He didn't even pause before replying, "They're all failures. Send them back to the academy."
"That might be too harsh!"
Nohara Shige's expression changed.
Some genin had been sent back to the academy in previous years, but this year over a hundred would be returning. The teachers at the academy must've lost their minds by now.
"Esteemed seniors," one chunin immediately spoke up, "don't you think this is going too far?"
They thought it over and finally figured it out.
Akaba and Shiragusa Ryosuke were playing the bad guys as tokubetsu jonin, while they themselves were supposed to act as the good ones. Except for those who had truly fainted, all other methods had merely been psychological intimidation.
"You think it's excessive? Then I'll give you one month to train them into decent rookies. One month from now, I'll conduct another illusion test. If you fail, you'll join them in repeating the course."
Akaba said ruthlessly.
"Yes, sir!"
Shiragusa Ryosuke quickly followed up, "To ensure training quality, we will conduct closed training for the entire month. Anyone unwilling can leave now."
These genin had it rough.
They hadn't even eaten breakfast yet, and were just tortured by the illusions. Now everyone was exhausted.
Leave?
In the ninja village, getting sent back after fainting unconscious was understandable, but anyone who voluntarily quit at this moment would be looked down upon by the whole village.
No one left.
Nara Loe sighed inwardly. He saw through everything clearly, yet it was useless. As a genin graduated last year, he still had to accept the training.
Of course,
As he guessed, their team, including Inuzuka Ishi's squad, would be split up and assigned as team leaders.
Things went just as he expected. Shortly afterward, Ryosuke announced the list of group assignments. The twenty-five who made it through received high praise.
They were appointed as team leaders, each responsible for guiding three others through training.
A few who nobody wanted were grouped together separately.
For example, Uchiha Ryo, Might Duy, and others from civilian backgrounds.
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