Chapter 178: A Wider Horizon

Naruto had scarcely stopped talking since the first match. Every time he thought he understood what a fighter intended, a hidden weapon or a substitution proved him wrong. Even the students who had grown up among shinobi watched without looking away.

"These are the people becoming chūnin," Shikamaru muttered. "Each one's more devious than the last."

"Watch carefully," Iruka told them. "In nine months you'll be genin. Anything you learn here may help you then."

"The examiner is more impressive," said a voice beside Naruto. "He follows both fighters at once and knows exactly when to intervene."

Naruto turned. "When did you get here?"

Shino adjusted his glasses. "I've been sitting beside you the whole time."

Across the stands, Konohamaru was waving his fists as if he could help the contestants fight. Hiruzen watched with quieter satisfaction. Konoha had taken years to recover from the Third Shinobi World War, but every new generation gave him reason to believe that strength was returning.

"Grandpa! What's that?"

Below them, Izuno Saiji spread a scroll and pressed his hand against it after a sequence of seals.

"Cat Spirit Possession!"

A vast pink cat rose around him. An explosive tag burst against its raised paw; the paw swept through the smoke and knocked aside the shuriken following it. More tags came. Saiji drove forward, the great round body moving with an agility its bulk did not suggest.

His opponent retreated, throwing as he went. The cat batted away his weapons, closed the distance, and planted one enormous paw against him.

"Izuno Saiji wins," Tonbo announced.

He allowed himself a small smile as Saiji released the technique. The boy had learned to use it well. Then Tonbo called the next pair into the field.

"How are we supposed to fight something that big?" one of the students asked.

"We'll learn stronger techniques when we graduate."

"You wouldn't have to fight it," Kiba said. "Keeping that cat there must use a lot of chakra. Make him chase you until he runs short, then attack."

"Kiba, that was almost clever."

"What do you mean, almost?"

Akamaru barked his support from inside Kiba's coat.

The remaining matches passed without incident. Tonbo kept track of the candidates whose performance justified promotion. Most shinobi who reached this stage of an ordinary examination already had considerable experience; their earlier assessments had established whether they could gather intelligence and lead a team. Fighting was the last part of the judgment. Exceptional children might possess the strength to compete years before they had learned those other things.

When the final match ended, he assembled the contestants on the field.

"That concludes the examination. The Hokage will review the results and notify those selected for promotion. Before you leave, however, I have something for everyone who reached the final stage. Consider it a gift from a senior shinobi."

Konohamaru looked up at his grandfather. "A gift?"

"He arranged the examination," Hiruzen said. "He hasn't told me about this part. I suppose he's pleased with them."

Kabuto, still seated among the spectators, frowned. Promotion was normally reward enough. He had never heard of an examiner offering anything beyond it, and the surprise irritated him almost as much as it interested him. Tobitake Tonbo had a habit of doing things Kabuto had not anticipated.

On the field, surprise gave way to eager speculation. A gift from a jōnin might mean instruction. It might even mean a technique none of them could otherwise learn.

"For the next half day," Tonbo said, "your time belongs to me. The Hokage has work to do before he can approve your new ranks. We may as well make use of the wait."

Ability alone was not enough. Chūnin commanded other shinobi and gained access to information that could endanger them; their backgrounds had to be examined as well. A sufficiently well-prepared spy might survive that scrutiny, of course. Tonbo knew the limits of such investigations better than most.

The contestants agreed without hesitation.

"Then let's go."

Boar. Dog. Rooster. Monkey. Ram. Rat.

Something immense took shape beneath their feet. The twenty-two shinobi rose together on the back of an eagle, while Tonbo stood upon its head with his hands clasped behind him.

The wings opened. Their first stroke sent dust scudding across the field and forced the spectators to shield their faces. The second lifted the bird clear of the arena. Its cry rang over the stands; a few moments later, bird and passengers were a dark speck against the sky.

Naruto stared after it with his mouth open.

"What was that? One feather was bigger than me!"

"A summoning animal," someone behind him said. "It has to be. They say Captain Tobitake could even withstand the Tsuchikage's Dust Release. After that, I believe it."

"It wasn't a summoning," Iruka said. "That was genjutsu. Remember this when you become shinobi: appearances can deceive you."

Privately, he wished he had learned the technique when he had the chance. His students would never forget a demonstration like that.

Shino was still watching the sky. "But it really carried them. My insects noticed it too. Altering reality through an illusion would be far too expensive for a simple outing. Some kind of Yin Release nature transformation would make more sense."

Iruka looked at him with renewed interest. "Very good, Shino. That's close to the principle behind Living Weave."

"What's Yin Release?" Naruto asked.

"Something we covered in your fourth year." Iruka sighed. "Go back and read your lessons."

Naruto's face fell at the word read. The fights had left him restless, full of attacks he wanted to try and tricks he was certain he could learn.

"But I want to train!"