The Celestial Copy - Chapter 25

[Cee]

Sitting at his desk, Cee couldn’t help but feel that the entire situation was absurd. He was taking the Chūnin Exams. Sure, he and his partner were both Genin, but that was in name only. Darui was a student of the late Third Raikage, and Cee himself was already the best sensory ninja in the entire village.

Still, Lord Raikage had ordered them to participate and keep an eye on Itachi Uchiha from the Hidden Leaf. So naturally, they obeyed their village's leader.

The point of this first exam was to cheat without getting caught. As a medical and sensory-type ninja, Cee was required to be academically proficient, so he already knew most of the answers. There were a few questions clearly designed to be so difficult that you had to cheat, but luckily for him, his abilities were the perfect form of insurance.

Closing his eyes and forming the Ram hand seal, Cee expanded his senses, perceiving the entire room as a web of chakra signatures. He felt the sharp spikes of anxiety radiating from most of the genin and the steady confidence from a few others. The Uchiha boy, sitting just two seats to his right, was in a state of absolute calm.

Deciding to learn more about his target, he rested his chin on his hand, tracking the supervisors’ gazes before he tilted his head just slightly. From this angle, he focused on Itachi’s hand, watching as the boy’s pencil moved across the paper. All of his answers were logical. 

At least the Leaf put in the effort to send a halfway decent distraction.

Satisfied, Cee pulled back and lowered his gaze to his own blank test paper, ready to write down the answers. His pencil touched the page.

He froze.

There was a subtle, foreign thread of chakra within his network. A genjutsu. 

What? When did this happen?

It matched Itachi’s signature, but Cee was still baffled as to how. The Uchiha were famous for their ocular genjutsu, but the two of them had never once locked eyes. The only possible moment…

When I looked at his hand?!

Cee glanced down at his paper again and saw it. The questions were different. Just a single word changed here and there from what he remembered, and yet that was enough to completely change the meaning, resulting in an incorrect answer.

Dispelling the illusion with a pulse of his own chakra, Cee finished the exam normally.

He had failed to cheat, but he’d accomplished something more important. Dodai-sensei told them that this was just a formality, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Itachi Uchiha was far more formidable than they’d realized.

“Time!” the proctor barked, slamming his hand on his desk. “Pencils down. Everyone still here, make your way to the Twenty-Third Training Grounds for your next exam. The results of this exam will be announced when the second is complete.”

A test taker with neck-length blond hair in an asymmetrical bowl cut style raised his hand. “Oi, I got a question.”

“What is it?”

“Lemme get this correct, you’re sayin’ even if we blaze through the next test, we could still get burned by our score on this one?”

“Looks like we’ve got a genius here!” the proctor sneered. “You’re absolutely right, kid! Any other stupid questions?”

The other examinees started protesting all at once.

“Quiet!” he roared, silencing the room instantly. “You’re here to become Chūnin. Not all missions yield immediate results. A Chūnin must be able to focus on the task at hand while waiting for intel from a separate operation.”

Cee couldn’t argue with the logic. Your next move on a large-scale mission often depended on another team completing their objective first.

“Now, off you go to the second exam,” the proctor continued. “You have fifteen minutes to get there or else you’re automatically disqualified!”

A Genin from the Hidden Grass shot up. “But we don’t know where that is!”

“Not my problem. You’re ninja, aren’t you? Figure it out yourselves!”

One of the younger Cloud teams bolted out of the room, and a panicked mob of foreign shinobi scrambled to follow them. Cee stayed put, waiting until he saw Darui ambling over, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Well,” Darui drawled, “that’s our cue. This whole thing’s feeling pretty dull, so let’s get it over with.”

“They might actually be trying to disqualify most of the competition,” Cee mused. “Think about it, the shinobi from other villages don’t know where the exam location is. If they find cover and create clones, then they can easily mislead everyone.”

“I have a feeling that’s not the case, but who knows? If they get that Uchiha kid eliminated in the process, we can even drop out of this dull exam.”

Before they wasted any more time, the two took to the rooftops. As they leaped from peak to peak, they quickly noticed the dust cloud from the stampede below was moving along the most direct route to the exam location.

Darui sighed. “He’s leading them right to it. What else would you expect from Hidden Jugs’s brother?”

“Hidden Jugs?” Cee asked, confused.

“You know. That older girl from the Academy. Samui.”

Cee stared at him, then kept running after deciding to erase the conversation from his memory.

Five minutes later, they arrived at a vast canyon’s edge where the other Genin were catching their breath. A different proctor, a tall man with a gruff expression, stood before them. 

“Welcome to Catastrophe Canyon,” he announced, his voice echoing. “This exam will last twenty-four hours.” 

Several Chūnin assistants moved through the crowd, handing each Genin a small badges with a number on it. Cee received number 22, and saw Darui with 43. His eyes instinctively landed on the Uchiha, noting his badge was 17.

“To pass this exam, you will need to acquire a total of six points.”

Cee watched as Itachi tucked his badge into an inner pocket. He nudged Darui, and they did the same.

“Now, you might be wondering what those badges are for. Those are the points” the proctor explained for the slower ones. “Your own badge is worth three points. In a moment, you will each be given a target. Your target’s badge is also worth three points. Any other badge you happen to acquire is worth one point.”

This shouldn’t be too difficult. Darui’s an excellent fighter, and I can handle all the tracking.

“And one final rule,” the proctor added with a smirk. “Every member of a team must have enough points for that team to pass. If even one of you fails, the entire team is disqualified, regardless of an individual’s points.”

Cee’s confidence didn’t waver. That rule was still an advantage for them. They were the only team with two members, and both of them were far beyond the level of a typical Genin.

The proctor pointed to a nearby enclosed booth. “That’s where you’ll receive your target’s number. If you get caught peeking, then you and your entire team are disqualified.”

The examinees formed a line. Darui went in and came back out a few seconds later. Cee followed, stepping into the booth where a Chūnin held a lottery box. He swirled his hand inside, and pulled out a slip of paper with the number 59 on it.

He stepped out and regrouped with his teammate a short distance away.

“I got thirteen,” Darui said.

“My target is fifty-nine.”

“One last piece of advice,” the proctor called out after the last Genin had exited the booth. “While six points is the minimum to pass, acquiring more points is highly beneficial. The exam begins in thirty minutes. Use this time to get set up. Now, get down there.”

Most teams started carefully scaling their way down the massive canyon walls, searching for handholds. Cee and Darui simply applied chakra to their feet, ready to walk down the cliff face.

Then Itachi Uchiha walked to the edge and stepped off. All of the Genin who hadn’t started making their way down rushed to the edge to stare down. They watched as the madman jammed a kunai into the wall, slowing his momentum. Then he kicked off the wall, repeating the process with another kunai until he reached the bottom of the canyon.

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[Kakashi (Real One)]

Leaping through the snow-dusted branches of the final tree, I finally arrived at the base of the peaks known as the Three Wolves Mountain. The temperature was low enough to freeze my breath instantly.

Still, as I stood there, I couldn’t help but admire the landscape. 

True to their name, the mountains looked like three beasts howling at the heavens, their bodies covered in snow. This untouched wilderness offered a breathtaking view that you just couldn’t find back in the Land of Fire.

I found a high ledge and climbed up, trying to get a better angle to see through the ever-present blizzard. When that failed, I settled into a cross-legged position. Closing my eyes, I began the process of drawing in nature energy. After a few seconds, I realized even the nature energy here was cold, yet it was one of the strongest I’d ever felt, as if the world itself had declared the  mountain an untouched winter paradise.

Ignoring the feeling before I could get lost in the sensation, I continued the process, converting it into Senjutsu chakra as I absorbed it. Eventually, I felt the hyper-awareness that always came with Sage Mode.

I shivered. Activating a state that enhanced my senses had been a mistake. The chilling bite of wind was now a thousand times worse, but beneath it, I could sense everything. Deeper within the mountain was a pulsating concentration of tainted nature energy, a disgusting feeling when compared to the purity of the rest of the mountain. That had to be him.

Using the water-walking chakra control exercise, I made sure my feet didn’t sink into the deep snow as I followed the chakra signature. It was practically a corrupted signal flare guiding me through the snowdrifts and icy rock formations.

A technique I had figured out on my own was a method of absorbing chakra directly, based on what Kanazuji had done when he helped me with my Senjutsu training. It wasn’t particularly special considering just how many identical techniques existed, but mine operated on a principle similar to the Preta Path, allowing me to absorb chakra in any form through my claws or teeth when I was in Sage Mode. It was rarely useful for absorbing ninjutsu, as dodging was always a more efficient option, but having the option was nice.

What really made it useful was the ability to draw chakra directly from a living being. That was how I hoped to use it now. If I could absorb the nature energy from Gintoki, he should return to his normal form. I would have to be careful, though. Siphon off that much of that corrupted energy, and I’d lose control just like him.

My sense led me to the entrance of a gaping cave. Inside was the chakra signature. Just before I headed in, I paused.

Should I summon Tsukihana or the Grand Elder here?

The only thing I’d promised Tsukihana was that I would put Gintoki down if I ever found him and then bring him back to their home, but having her or her grandfather here might be more meaningful. They could get closure from helping.

What if I fail to save him when they’re right there?

I decided against it. To give them that false hope, only to potentially fail, would be a far greater cruelty. If I succeeded, then the surprise would be all the greater. And if I failed, then I would simply do what I had originally promised.

As I steeled my resolve, the familiar sound of a notification pinged in my mind.

[FEAT ACHIEVED: BEFRIEND KILLER B]

[50 CP GRANTED - 50 TOTAL]

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO ROLL?]

Huh?

Ah, that must have been my clone. I didn’t know they could earn points for me. I’d have to do more testing to find out how shadow clones interacted with the Celestial Grimoire in the future. But for now, I had something more important to deal with.

With that decided, I stepped into the cave. Lying in a coiled heap was a massive, eight-headed dog, its brown fur rising and falling with each breath.

Weaving through a quick set of hand signs, I spat out a basic water style technique, soaking the dog’s upper body. All eight heads snapped up at once, sixteen red eyes fixed on me with mindless fury. I immediately turned and left the cave.

“GRRrawwwhl-HSS-snaarl-RUF-rAwR-GRUH!” The creature roared as it chased after me, each head giving off a different noise to combine into a discordant sound. 

Once we were in the more open space of the mountain, I spun around and hooked one of its legs, using my sage-enhanced strength to flip its body, slamming it into the ground. Four of the heads pulled away from the main body, the flesh stretching until it formed two separate four-headed dogs. The one I wasn’t pinning lunged at me, forcing me to leap back and create distance.

Oh. So Gintoki was Pain’s summon all along. That’s convenient. I can also make a future enemy weaker in the long run here.

The first dog waited for its other half to get back on its feet, and then they charged at me together. I went through another set of hand signs, taking a deep breath and expelling a large, crushing sphere of wind. The Wind Style: Vacuum Bomb slammed into the dog on the right, sending it flying through the air until it crashed into a distant mountain face, shattering a layer of ice. I intentionally let the other one get closer, using the Iron Skin Jutsu to harden my skin as its four heads clamped down on my arms and shoulders. Then, I dug my own clawed hand into its back, making it howl in pain before its body ripped apart, becoming two smaller, two-headed dogs.

Keeping one of them pinned beneath my knee while two sets of jaws continued to bite uselessly against my sides from behind, I activated my absorption technique through my claws, immediately feeling a surge of that raw, tainted nature energy flow into me. The pinned dog yelped, then split once more, but this time it resulted in only a single, regular dog instead of the two I was expecting.

Maybe…

At that moment, two more two-headed dogs rejoined the others, meaning the one I’d hit with my wind jutsu had also divided itself. The single-headed dog leaped at me, but I ignored it, drawing my blade and aiming for the three two-headed dogs. A series of slashes later, and there were now seven single-headed dogs.

As they began to box me in, I charged a Chidori in my right hand and then flicked my wrist. A shower of dozens of razor-thin senbon rained down on the pack, each one delivering a paralyzing jolt of lightning. With all seven of them locked in place, none of them splitting any further, I saw my chance. I grabbed the closest dog, digging my claws into its flesh as I absorbed its nature energy.

That confirms it. The ability to split itself is its own, however it’s not infinite like it would be after Pain enhances it with the Animal Path. Gintoki’s currently limited to eight heads, and they can even “die” if their energy is depleted.

The six remaining dogs realized the same thing when I one I was grabbing disappeared. They rushed together, merging back into a larger, six-headed beast.

I felt something strange and glanced at my forearms. White hair was starting to grow, faint but noticeable. My system was saturated with the absorbed nature energy, a clear warning from my body that I needed to release some of it before I risked losing control.

Forming a few seals, I made the ground churn as a colossal dragon of rock, far larger than any I could normally create, rose from the frozen ground and slammed into Gintoki, knocking him onto his back. I’d added some of my excess Senjutsu chakra into the attack.

Before he could recover, I leapt onto his chest and drove both claws into him, drawing in his nature energy. 

A warning from A Shred of Self Preservation alerted me of a head snapping around to bite me, but I just ignored it. Unfortunately, in this form he was much stronger than the smaller ones from earlier and managed to break through my Iron Skin and pierce into my flesh, forcing me to finally let go of the now five-headed beast.

Noticing that I was almost full of Senjutsu chakra again, I realized that it worked even faster when he was bigger. 

The cycle of absorbing energy, followed by having to jump off to deplete it with a big ninjutsu, then get right back on and repeat the process while he was resisting every step of the way would waste too much time. He was more than durable enough to endure one of my stronger hits, and that should make things smoother.

I created a Rasengan in my palm, pouring every ounce of excess Senjutsu chakra into it until it swelled to gigantic proportions. I slammed the Sage Art: Ultra-Giant Rasengan into Gintoki’s side. The impact released a devastating shockwave that nearly sent me flying backward. 

Before he could recover, I flew through the hand seals for the Earth Style: Mountain Jutsu and slammed my hands on the ground. Two enormous rock formations erupted from the opposite cliff faces, crushing inward and trapping Gintoki between them like a vice.

Bringing my fingers into a cross shape, I created a dozen shadow clones. They popped into existence already knowing the plan and swarmed the immobilized Gintoki, their claws and fangs digging into his flesh, continuously draining the corrupted energy from his body. Gintoki struggled, trying to crush them with a desperate paw slam, but the clones easily dodged. They waited until they’d absorbed enough energy, then one would let itself be hit, popping and transferring the chakra back to me.

With the clones handling the grunt work, I had a moment to breathe.

I guess since it’s my job to get rid of the excess chakra, I can use the time to experiment.

I held out my hand, the familiar chirping of my signature technique filling the air. As I added Senjutsu chakra to it, the blue lightning darkened into black, the sound shifting from chirping birds to the heavy flapping of wings.

Interesting. It’s close in appearance to the one Sasuke would use in his first fight with Naruto in the Valley of End, and the Raikiri I would use against Kaguya. It makes sense though. Both had some form of nature energy infused into it. Sasuke was under the influence of the cursed seal, and I would receive Six Paths chakra from Obito.

I turned and drove the Black Chidori into the mountainside. The rock around the point of impact disintegrated, leaving a massive crater over ten times the size a normal Chidori would have made.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, I continued testing other senjutsu-enhanced variations, sometimes with elemental jutsus, others with Rasengans and Raikiris, even my Chidori variants. 

During that time, I had to create another set of shadow clones. Through their memories, I saw the heads disappear one by one as Gintoki’s matted brown fur lightened to grey, then to white, though it was stained red with his own blood. He was now a forty-five feet tall husky, just like his father and daughter.

[FEAT ACHIEVED: DEFEAT AND PURIFY THE CORRUPTED BEAST GINTOKI.]

[100 CP GRANTED, 150 TOTAL]

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO ROLL?]

Later. Gintoki’s still alive, but he’s wounded. After all this, I’m not about to let him die.

Walking over to the unconscious, single-headed white dog, I unsealed the Twin Sacred Flasks. I drank the Cerulean Tear myself, my chakra reserves refilling itself. Then I gently opened Gintoki’s jaws and poured the Crimson Tear down his throat.

The various gashes across his body began to close and he started stirring, letting out a low groan. His eyelids fluttered open, the blood-red replaced by amber.

“This form… the clarity,” he rasped. “A-am I—Am I truly myself once more?”

“You are,” I confirmed. “My name is Kakashi Hatake, but that’s not important right now. We need to get you back to your family at Kyojitsu Plateau.”

He shuddered, the name of his home seeming to cause him pain. “Home? Nay, that is a path I can no longer walk. The deeds I wrought when my mind was lost—They should not have to face such a disgraced son.”

I shook my head. “Disgraced? That doesn’t feel right. I spoke to your father and your daughter. I know just how much they loved you, and wished you would come back.”

“Tsukihana…?” he whispered. “My little moon-flower… and my father… they wished for my return?”

My eye curved into a smile. “Of course. But, I think we should delay it to get you cleaned up first. The last time you saw them was three hundred years ago, right? We can’t have ‘The Silver Inevitability’ making his return looking like that.”

A rumbling chuckle, the first sound of true life from him, shook his massive frame. “Heh… aye. That would be a poor tale to tell. Lead on, then, Kakashi. It seems I am deeply in your debt.”

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[Kanazuji]

Kanazuji rested against the ancient tree, letting the scents of his plateau comfort him. This was the only place in the world where he could feel at ease after his painfully long life.

But something different carried on the wind this time. An unwavering will, sharp and resolute, and beneath it was a harmonious connection to the world. He knew that scent.

Gozen Kakashi.

His smell was as pleasant as it had been the last time he was here. It reminded him of a time long ago, of the first man to master the world’s poison, making it seem harmless. That man was both an inspiration and a curse, a being of perfect balance who had set an impossible standard. In his own arrogant youth, Kanazuji had tried to replicate that power, a single mistake that had cost him everything.

A being like him should not have lived as long as he did. And his progeny shared the same trait, inheriting it from him even when they didn’t absorb the same curse. 

He raised his head, flaring his nostrils as he tried to taste more of that comforting scent to get his mind off his foolishness. 

What?

There was a second scent, which he hadn’t noticed because of the overwhelming feeling from Kakashi’s. The other scent was one he hadn’t smelled in hundreds of years.

No, it can’t be possible.

He knew the stench of corruption that clung to his son. He smelled it every day on the distant wind, a phantom echo of pained roars. But this… this was not that. This was pure, exactly as his son had been before the madness took him.

Kanazuji moved with haste, heading for the center of the plateau. His nose never failed him, but just this once, he had to verify it with his eyes.

If this is a dream, let it break only after I see him once more.

It was a ridiculous thought, he had not slept in over a thousand years. He couldn’t, lest he fell victim to the poison in his body and lost his own mind.

Crossing the last ridge, he found them by the Sunken Spring. His granddaughter, Tsukihana, was there, whining joyfully as she pressed her body against a silver hound nearly twice her size.

He could not deny it any longer. This was truly happening.

“…How?” he whispered, his voice still loud enough to be heard by the three figures before him.

The larger white dog struggled to meet his gaze. “Father. This unfilial son has returned. I… I failed to heed your warnings. This human warrior, Kakashi Hatake, found me and restored my mind to what it was. He is able to wield the cursed power safely.”

Hatake. 

Gozen was the honorable clan of the boy’s mother, the bloodline his own kin had allied with, and the name the human had used when they last spoke. And yet, his son had introduced him by the name of his father, the shinobi. That meant Kakashi preferred a name different from the one he had used within these lands.

“HATAKE KAKASHI! YOU CARRY OUR CLAN’S CONTRACT, DO YOU NOT?”

Kakashi’s eye widened briefly at the usage of his other name. “I do, Grand Elder.”

“YOU HAVE SUCCEED WHERE I, HIS FATHER, HAD FAILED,” Kanazuji boomed, the words heavy with both pride and regret. “YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF WORTHY OF OUR BOND. THE CONTRACT IS YOURS, USE IT AS YOU WILL.”

“May I allow other shinobi of my village to sign it?” Kakashi asked.

“IF THEY CAN PROVE THEMSELVES WORTHY OF STANDING BESIDE A MAN OF YOUR WILL, THEN THEY MAY,” he declared. “THE CHOICE IS YOURS.”

Kanazuji took a deep breath, filling his massive lungs, and let out a roar infused with all his authority, a command that every member of his clan on Kyojitsu Plateau would hear and obey.

“HEAR ME, MY KIN! HATAKE KAKASHI, THE PURIFIER, IS HENCEFORTH A SWORN ALLY OF OUR BLOOD! HIS CALL IS MY CALL! TO BE SUMMONED BY HIM IS TO BE GIVEN A MATTER OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE! YOU WILL AID HIM IN ALL THINGS!”

Gintoki stepped forward and bowed his head low before the human. “Hatake Kakashi-sama. You have returned to me the life and honor I forfeited. Both are now yours. No matter the task, if you ever require my assistance, you need only call. I will always answer.”

“Just call me Kakashi,” Kakashi replied, a hint of unease in his voice. “And that won’t be necessary. I did it as a favor to Tsukihana.”

Tsukihana followed her father’s lead, stepping forward and bowing her own head. “You have my eternal gratitude, Kakashi. My power is also yours to command.”

“…Right,” Kakashi said, a bit awkwardly. “I’ll be leaving, then. I’m sure you three want to catch up now.”

“NO. THERE WILL BE A GREAT GATHERING. A FEAST TO CELEBRATE MY SON’S RETURN AND THE CLAN’S NEW ALLEGIANCE. YOU ARE OUR GUEST OF HONOR. EVERY HOUND ON THIS PLATEAU WILL KNOW YOUR SCENT AND YOUR DEED.”

------------------------------

[Itachi Uchiha]

A balance between brain and brawn. That was an essential element of Itachi’s ideal ninja. When there was a competent mind, a ninja could fully utilize their physical abilities. The opposite was not true. No matter how superior a ninja’s body was, if they could not make appropriate decisions, failure was almost inevitable.

The Chunin Exams were a reflection of his beliefs. The first stage, a test of information gathering, had filtered out the foolish. This second stage, a twenty-four-hour hunt, was designed to cull the physically unprepared and strategically inept.

Now, with less than an hour remaining, the test was all but over. From the moment the badges had been assigned, before the proctor had even explained their purpose, Itachi had used his Sharingan to memorize every other candidate’s number.

His assigned target, number 49, was a shinobi with the symbol for lightning tattooed on his left shoulder, a tradition within the Hidden Cloud that signaled an inheritance of the Third Raikage’s Black Lightning. His teammate was the one from the first exam who had immediately broken Itachi’s genjutsu. For a Genin to detect an illusion that subtle suggested he was likely a sensory-type. As the only other team with less than three members, it was a logical conclusion that they were highly skilled.

Thus, Itachi had decided against pursuing his assigned target.

Besides, it didn’t matter anymore. His stunt at the start of the exam was a deliberate choice. It had broadcast to every other team that he was on his own. And, as expected, they had come for him, one after the other. From them, he obtained more than enough points to pass. Eighteen, to be exact.

A distant explosion caught his attention. Itachi knew exactly what that was. Taking the exam alone made it difficult to find time to rest. Getting caught off guard for even a moment could mean failure. To counter this, he had left an exploding shadow clone behind to guard him during a short break. The clone’s memories now flooded into him. 

He was standing calmly as a team from the Cloud found him.

The blond-haired boy in the lead pumped his fist. “Hell yeah! One more badge and we’re golden, baby! This last point is gonna be hot!”

“Taking the Chūnin Exam by yourself is suicide, kid,” the boy with reddish-pink hair added.

“You’re outnumbered,” the kunoichi with brown hair said, her hand resting on her kunai pouch. “Hand over your badge. That way, you won’t get hur—”

“The only conclusion you can draw from this three-against-one situation is that it is to your advantage?” the clone cut her off flatly. “Such a surface-level deduction… it is clear none of you are fit to be Chunin.”

“You little brat, you better watch your mouth!” the red-haired one snarled.

“You’re even using my age as a justification for your carelessness,” the clone observed.

He scoffed, moving to flank the clone from behind. “Look here, Atsui. The kid’s got a mouth on him, even when he’s all alone!”

“Why does it not make you uncomfortable that I am here alone?” the clone asked, its voice never rising. “Why have you failed to consider the reason I was permitted to participate in this exam alone? The standard for this test is a three-person cell. Has it not occurred to you that there is some meaning behind the fact that I am taking this test… alone?”

“Oi, Netsu! Let’s turn up the heat and finish this hot-shot!” Atsui shouted. He and Netsu charged from opposite directions in a textbook pincer attack, Atsui’s sword wreathed in flames, Netsu’s fists coated in the same. The clone stood its ground, making no move to dodge.

And then it exploded.

The clone’s memories ended with the shocked faces of the two boys caught in the blast at point-blank range.

Heading toward where his clone had been, Itachi found the kunoichi kneeling between her teammates with a panicked expression. The two boys were both unconscious on the ground. She looked up as he landed twenty feet away from her, her hand immediately going to her kunai pouch.

“Hand over all three of your badges,” Itachi stated, “and you may leave. There is no need to continue this.”

The kunoichi hesitated for an instant, glancing at her downed comrades, then back to him. Even though she was uninjured, it wouldn’t be wise for her to face the shinobi who had just taken out her teammates. Especially after seeing what his clone could do.  

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she pulled out her badge, then reached into each of her teammates’ pockets, tossing all three of them onto the ground between them.

Itachi collected the badges, then left without another word.

The final thirty minutes of the exam passed in silence. As the last second ticked away, one of the Chūnin assistants appeared on a rocky protrusion beside him. 

“The second exam is now over,” the man announced. “Itachi Uchiha, you’ve passed with a total of twenty-one points. The proctor is gathering the successful candidates at the starting point. Do you require assistance getting back up?”

“No,” he replied simply.

“Alright, then. Make sure you keep up. I won’t go back for you.”

The Chūnin flickered away in a cloud of dust. Itachi followed with his own Shunshin, leaping from rock to rock until he reappeared on the canyon's edge in a swirl of leaves. The proctor was waiting, along with two Jonin from the Hidden Cloud, one from the Hidden Frost, and Kakashi-sensei.

The other genin arrived over the next few minutes. Some were brought by the Chūnin assistants, looking battered and exhausted. A few, like the two-man team he was wary of, managed the climb on their own.

The proctor waited for them to get in a line before addressing them. “Of the eighty-four who started, nine of you remain. The final exam will be a tournament held one month from today.” He paused, surveying the group. “I said earlier that acquiring more points was beneficial. The two of you with the lowest point totals will participate in an additional preliminary battle on the day of the finals to determine the last spot in the main bracket. Here are the first-round matchups.”

A Chūnin assistant turned around a large board, revealing the tournament bracket. Each name had the symbol of their village next to it.

The first match was Itachi vs Nemui of the Hidden Cloud. The second was Cee of the Hidden Cloud vs a kunoichi from the Hidden Frost named Fuyuki. The third was another Cloud versus Frost matchup, Raita vs Haruki. The fourth and final match of the first round would pit Darui of the Hidden Cloud against the winner of a preliminary bout between Kento from the Cloud and Kaede from the Frost.

“You are all dismissed,” the proctor declared.

Itachi turned and found Kakashi-sensei waiting for him. They walked together back to the village.

“You did well,” his sensei said. “I’ll admit, I thought this exam wouldn’t have any truly worthwhile participants. It seems you might actually have some competition.”

Itachi glanced at him. “Do you mean the black lightning user from the Hidden Cloud?” 

“Yeah, that’s Darui. He also has the Storm Release bloodline.” Kakashi’s visible eye crinkled at the corner. “I’m not worried, though. You’ve got a month to get even stronger.”

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Author’s Note: Just a quick note on this chapter’s intended ending: My original plan was to finish with Kakashi getting a new power from the Grimoire, but um... he had a mediocre roll lol. While they weren’t bad enough to warrant a reroll, the available perks were all over 300 CP and nothing I particularly wanted to write about. Writing about Kakashi going “Nah, I’ll pass” would be a pretty anticlimactic ending, so I decided to end the chapter in Itachi’s POV instead.