---
Morning dew still clung to the grass as Team 8 gathered at Training Ground 18—a remote and quiet forest clearing that echoed with birdsong and the occasional rustle of leaves.
Kurenai stood with her arms folded, a faint breeze tugging at her crimson robes.
Her expression was unreadable.
"This," she said, "is your real test."
The team stiffened.
Kiba raised a brow. "Wait—I thought we already graduated?"
Kurenai smirked softly. "Graduating from the Academy means nothing if you can't work as a team. Fail this… and you'll be sent back."
Even Noir's gaze sharpened slightly.
Kurenai held up a slim, silver pendant. A small glass orb dangled from its chain.
"This is your objective," she said. "You have two hours to retrieve it."
She let it fall from her fingers. It vanished into the grass.
"I've hidden five decoys around the forest. Only one is real. You have until noon."
Shino adjusted his collar. "What's the catch?"
Kurenai's smile returned—knowing and sharp.
"You can't touch the real one unless all four of you are within ten meters of it. If anyone approaches it alone, the entire team fails."
Then she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
---
Silence settled for a moment.
Then Kiba groaned. "Tch. Great. This again."
Shino was already calculating. "We should assume the real pendant will be obscured by multiple traps. I'll send out a few scout insects."
Noir finally spoke. "And I'll look from above."
He leapt lightly into the trees.
Kiba blinked. "He moves like a shadow."
Hinata followed timidly, activating her Byakugan.
The four moved in silence, slowly branching out. As Noir's eyes flickered into his Kuraseigan, the world stretched.
Branches slowed.
Time widened.
And between the layers of reality, one object glowed slightly—faint energy warping the flow around it.
He focused—but too much effort, too fast.
Blood trickled from his nose.
He hissed and deactivated it immediately.
Too early to push it that far.
---
Shino's kikaichū led them toward one of the decoys—metal, weighted, identical to the real one… but lacking any chakra signature.
Hinata pointed softly. "Trap there. Paper bomb seal… beneath the leaves."
Kiba sniffed. "Yeah. That one's a fake."
They found the next decoy near a stream, then the third hidden in a hollow tree. All booby-trapped.
Noir eventually returned to the group and pointed without a word toward a mossy stump. His expression was neutral, but something about his tone cut through the tension.
"That one."
Shino raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"
Noir nodded. "It's the only one that felt… off."
Hinata looked at the others. "W-We should surround it… stay within ten meters, just like she said."
They formed a diamond formation, approaching together.
Kiba stepped forward.
The orb began to glow.
No explosion. No kunai springing from hidden wires.
Just a gentle click as the orb rose from the stump and hovered in mid-air.
Kurenai reappeared, arms crossed, smiling faintly.
"Well done."
---
She glanced at Noir, thoughtful.
"You saw through the illusion faster than I expected. You didn't try to grab it alone… that says a lot."
Noir met her eyes but said nothing.
Kurenai looked at the team.
"You passed. Not because you found the orb… but because you relied on each other."
She turned.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll receive light assignments. Patrols. Herb gathering. Surveillance."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You'll have to prove yourselves slowly. But I'll be watching."
---
That evening…
In his room, Noir studied his reflection.
The Kuraseigan shimmered faintly in his eyes.
Earlier, when he tried to sense the real orb, he felt a tug. Not chakra… not genjutsu…
Something deeper.
Something that responded to his gaze.
He whispered under his breath, testing a theory.
"…Chrono Perception…"
The world flickered for a second—layers of time overlapping like pages in a book.
He saw the orb again, even though it was no longer there.
Then the images collapsed.
His knees buckled slightly.
Still too much. But I'm getting closer…
---
[End of Chapter 15]