22 The Graduation Exam Night Incident (1)

Winter in Konoha had always been short, thanks to the Land of Fire's warmer climate. The snowy days had already passed even though it was still halfway through the first month of the year.

The sun wasn't in its full glory just yet. The light of dawn was still too weak, barely able to breach through the darkness shed by the night.

In the small room that she had been inhabiting for the past years, a brown-haired girl rose from her bed, letting out a long yawn as she stretched her limbs.

"It's morning..."

She lifted the thin robe she was wearing. Five-branching horse tails sprout out from behind, swaying for a brief moment before she pulled them back in.

Thanks to her continuous training, she finally gained the ability to control those tails at will. They no longer popped out unannounced, although she had no choice but to keep them out whenever Kokuo was supplying her with additional chakra.

"This One is amazed. It is praiseworthy for a human to exhibit this exquisite chakra control in such a short time."

A faint light shot out from her chest, transforming into a form resembling a dolphin-faced horse with five horns and the same five-branching tails as the girl's.

Kokuo the Five-Tails. The monster dwelling within her soul.

With the seal gone, it could have broken free from the girl's body whenever it wanted, but it had refrained from doing so as it gradually grew fond of her. The human had also promised that she would train hard until she had enough strength to separate them without any adverse effect, so the beast was willing to wait for a bit longer.

Anyway, she had indeed brought it to a place with lots of trees, so it was content for the moment.

"Chakra control, huh... I'd rather advance in rank instead..."

Her cultivation was far from satisfactory. Years had passed and she was still stuck in Qi Condensation stage.

The root of the problem was in the refining process. Normally, cultivators would pull the abundant, near-limitless qi from the surrounding environment into their bodies. There were countless array formulas and medicinal pills to assist this process, allowing for a faster and easier breakthrough.

However, this world worked differently.

Not only was chakra so hard to refine, but its amount was also limited by how much her physical body could produce in a single day. The only way to increase it was by training her body and mind.

"Are you still not satisfied? If you desire more chakra, This One can lend it to you."

"Thank you for your generosity, Venerable One, but that's not the issue here."

No matter how many chakra she piled up, it would still be pointless as long as she couldn't refine it. The most she could use them was for body enhancement. Her world's techniques couldn't work with this form of energy.

"...Let's finish some chores first."

Hopping off the mattress, the girl readied herself for another day in her surprisingly mundane new life.

---

There was a small party in the afternoon, but this time it was not for anyone's birthday.

Kiba had passed the graduation exam with flying colors. Naturally, it was a cause for celebration.

"Hahaha! Thank you! Thank you!"

The person in the spotlight was awfully happy about it, throwing toast here and there. Tsume rewarded him with a smack in the head.

"Don't get cocky, you moron! This is barely the start!"

"Mom is right, Kiba," Hana smiled at him. "You've only learned the basics in the academy. From now on, you'll be considered an actual ninja, a Genin. When you're doing missions, you'll be carrying our village's honor, so don't be so reckless anymore."

Kiba didn't seem to agree with the last part.

"But, big sis... Mom is already a Tokubetsu Jonin and she's still reck-"

Before he could finish, another fist smashed onto his head, planting his face on the table.

"You talk too much!" Tsume growled.

"Hikari, what's wrong? You seem confused," Hana turned to the girl who was staring at the mother-and-son antics with great interest.

"Ah, nothing..." She hesitated for a bit before continuing. "Actually, Big Sister, what's with that Genin and Jonin stuff?"

"What, don't you know?" Kiba chimed in with a smug look on his face. "Let me tell ya, those are the ranks for shinobi. When you've graduated from the academy, you're a Genin. After that, you can become a Chuunin. If you're really good, you'll become a Jonin. Finally, the one above them all, the strongest ninja, is the Hokage!"

"Oh..."

In short, Genin was the lowest rank, Chuunin was the middle one, and Jonin was the highest one just below the supreme commander...

"What about Tokubetsu Jonin? And those porcelain-masked people, the Anbu?"

"Err... that's..."

Kiba didn't know the answer.

"That's why you shouldn't get cocky, you dumb brat!" Tsume slapped him on the back. "Girl, listen up. Genin, Chuunin, Jonin, these ranks are applicable for general-purpose ninja, those guys who can use a wider array of jutsu. Tokubetsu Jonin like me are shinobi whose job consists of one specialized task. In my case, it's tracking with my good boy Kuromaru here!"

The black dog barked his affirmation.

"As for the Anbu, they're special operatives under the Hokage's order," Hana continued where her mother had left off. "Since they're dealing with extremely sensitive matters, their identities are always concealed. A shinobi could be an Anbu even though publicly they're still a Genin. Then again, members of Anbu are recruited from the ranks of exemplary Jonin most of the time. You can't become Anbu if you're not skilled enough."

That sounded similar to the secret service employed by emperors in her previous world...

"What about you, Big Sister?"

"I'm still a Chuunin. To be more precise, I'm a medical-nin. Perhaps when I'm more experienced, I can also become a Tokubetsu Jonin like Mom."

"I see..."

In that case, compared to these accomplished members of the society...

"You suck, Kiba," Hikari concluded.

"Shut up, you civilian!" The boy roared in response.

Tsume was laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach because of the pain.

"Alright, alright, enough messing around," She turned to Kiba with a serious expression. "Brat, never forget this. You'll receive actual missions from now on. It's no longer a game. If you don't take it seriously, you might even die. Never do things on your own anymore. Work together with your team and listen to your commander! Understand?"

"Hold up, team?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"It's a tradition that rookie Genin will be put in a three-man cell led by a Jonin. I also entered one when I graduated. I stayed with the team until I managed to pass my Chuunin exam," Hana explained.

"Sooo... who're my teammates? Teacher Iruka didn't say anything."

"Who knows?" Tsume shrugged. "The academy will handpick the members to make sure the teams are properly balanced. We'll only be notified after the actual graduation ceremony. Let me tell ya, you better get along with 'em, boy. I don't want to hear any complaint from your commander, got that?!"

Kiba still couldn't accept it, but he nodded anyway. No point in making his mom angry...

"Speaking of friends..." Tsume suddenly remembered. "Those kids, did they pass?"

Hikari was also interested in that topic, particularly concerning Hinata. She perked her ears up to listen.

"Hinata passed without a problem, as expected," he paused a bit to let that info sank in, and then continued his report. "Choji almost failed the written exam, but for practical skills, he's good, so teacher Iruka just let that pass."

He then frowned.

"Shikamaru just barely passed on every subject. Every. Subject. I've never seen such a flat score before! That lazy bastard, he's doing it on purpose!"

...That did sound like what Nara Shikamaru would do, that epitome of bare necessity...

Hmm? She felt that there was another name missing from the list...

Tsume coughed.

"What about that yellow-haired kid?"

Kiba's lips twitched.

"He... uh... his clone turned into a poopy, mushy mess... at least, that's what I heard when I was eavesdropping the teachers..."

""...""

What kind of description was that?!

Hana and Hikari were dead silent. The latter had never tried to perform that jutsu, but from what she had surmised when Kiba demonstrated it for her, it was just a basic chakra splitting technique. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

...Right?

"Aaand... the result?" Tsume pressed on.

"...Failed."

Ah... damn.

The atmosphere turned gloomy all of a sudden.

"...Looks like I have to rip him a new one when he comes over..." Tsume murmured with a very suspicious smile.

Kiba shuddered, repeating in his mind that he shouldn't invite Naruto over until his mother forgets about this matter...

---

Even though it was still winter, the night sky was already so clear. Stars decorated the vast expanse of dark blue while the luminous full moon shared her light to the world below.

Hikari was sitting cross-legged on the top of the roof, basking under the moonlight with a cup of steaming-hot tea by her side.

"Peaceful time is the best..." Kokuo mumbled.

"Indeed..."

She took another sip of the tea.

Aah, bliss...

This hobby of hers had become a routine in the Inuzuka household, to the point that Tsume didn't even bother to pay attention anymore. There was a small ruckus when they first found out since they had mistaken her for enemy ninja.

That was an embarrassing mess.

After that small hurdle, nothing else could disturb her relaxation time except for one thing.

"Huang'er~"

Speak of the devil!

"Hyaah?!"

Someone had pulled her from behind while nibbling on her left ear at the same time.

This kind of ridiculous action... who else would it be if not that vixen?

"Daji, how many times have I told you not to- h-hyaaa~?!?"

"Oh my, Huang'er, that's such a cute sound you're making there~"

"Cut. It. Out!"

Wearing a revealing, seductive outfit, the dark-haired woman didn't concede to her demand. Instead, she moved her lips from the ear down to the girl's neck. Starting with a kiss, Daji grew more aggressive as she began sucking on the girl's skin.

"D-Don't... hyauu..."

Against her better judgment, Hikari shivered from the sensation.

That response only prompted Daji to become even bolder. Her hands began to explore the young girl's body, tracing down her curves as she started to push her down-

"Oi, Hikari, is Akamaru with you?"

Kiba suddenly popped up on the roof.

What he found was a girl laying down on the tiles with messy clothes. Akamaru was sprawled on top of her chest. The cup of tea on the side had been toppled over, while the tray had been thrown a few feet away.

"What... what happened here? Are you alright?"

"...Nothing... here's your dog."

Hikari handed Akamaru over, her face flushed red. She still couldn't control her breathing.

"You sure you're okay? You look an awful lot like Hinata right now... sure you don't have a fever?"

"I told you, I'm fine!"

She half-yelled the last part, causing Kiba to freeze on the spot.

"O-okay then... huh?"

He was about to get back down when he suddenly noticed something. Hikari didn't fail to catch that.

"Hmm?"

When she glanced at the spot Kiba was staring at, she saw Tsume and two other Inuzuka clan members about to go out through the front gate.

"Going out this late at night... is it an urgent mission?"

"Sssh, I'm trying to find out."

By focusing chakra on his ears, coupled with Inuzuka clan's enhanced hearing, he could barely hear what her mother was talking about with the guards.

"Third Hokage... something got stolen... scroll... huh?!"

The next word stunned him silly.

"What is it?" Hikari raised an eyebrow, noticing the bewilderment on his face.

"Naruto..." He murmured.

"Naruto?"

"Naruto, he... he stole a hidden scroll from the Third's house!"

Hidden scroll... if she compared it to her previous world, it would be the equivalent of stealing the secret manual of a sect. The punishment for such heresy was, most of the time, death upon capture.

"Isn't that bad?"

"Of course it is! That idiot! Just because he didn't pass the exam doesn't mean he has to do this kind of thing!"

Kiba was greatly agitated. No matter how much he had looked down on Naruto, that boy was still his friend. After all the time they had spent together, there was no way that he could just turn a blind eye over this matter!

But, what can he do? He was just a little kid, while it seemed that the entire clans residing in Konoha had been mobilized in full force...

"Well..." Hikari mumbled, "How about we get the scroll back from him and return it to that old geezer?"

The kid would be screwed if he got caught by the village's shinobi. As long as they could get to him first, they could hide him while they negotiate his case with the Third Hokage.

Perhaps he would be able to show leniency, considering Naruto's young age.

"You- you're saying it as if it's easy..."

Her words did make sense.

It seemed to be the best course of action if they wanted to solve this without hurting Naruto. But still... could two kids like them pull off that crazy plan?

"..."

His mother said that he shouldn't be reckless, but... but...

In the end, his feeling toward his friend had won over.

"Aargh, I get it! Let's go!"

Kiba was about to leap away when Hikari caught him by the sleeves.

"What?!"

"Let's go to my room first."

"Why?! There's no time to lose!"

"Do you want to risk getting involved as accomplices if someone noticed us?"

"...Ugh."

"Be patient, young man. Worry not,"

She flashed him a mischievous grin.

"I have something good for this kind of occasion."