The training field was empty except for a handful of masked chūnin standing at its perimeter. No students. No cheering classmates. Just him.
Reiji stood at the starting line, his gear perfectly arranged, his expression blank.
Across the field, the obstacle course sprawled like a warzone. Barriers. Trap-marked logs. Dummy sentries. Targets hidden in blind spots.
The Head instructor stood on a raised platform with two advisors at his side.
"This is your first trial," he said, his voice carrying across the field. "This course simulates field conditions. You will navigate hazards, detect and avoid traps, neutralize targets, and retrieve a marked scroll at the center. Treat it as a mission. Understood?"
"Yes," Reiji said simply.
One of the advisors scoffed. "We shouldn't even be indulging this."
"Begin."
Reiji exhaled slowly.
Like this.
The first hazard will be in the open. Always is. They want me to rush, to think the starting ground is safe.
He crouched low, scanning the soil. A faint depression in the dirt, too perfectly circular to be natural.
Pressure trap. Probably a net. Obvious.
He tossed a kunai into it. A weighted net launched upward with a snap, flailing uselessly before dropping back to the ground.
He moved on.
The first barrier was a log wall with handholds carved into the side.
Climbing it is easy. Too easy. What's on the other side?
He crouched at the base, pressing his ear to the wood. The faint hum of chakra.
Explosive tags. A burst trap set to punish the overeager.