Konoha: Who Says the Shinobi World Can't Play Hunter?

Chapter 32: The Survival Exercise

"Little girl, you're overthinking it. Even without ninjutsu, one punch from him would have us both on the ground," Kazama said. "So, our best bet is to showcase ourselves as much as possible. We need to avoid being taken down in a single move, and the longer we last, the better. If we can make the instructor struggle a little, even better. So, whatever tricks you have, use them. Don't hold back—there's no way an elite jōnin could get hurt by us genin."

"Showcase ourselves as much as possible?" Nobuko murmured, a series of thoughts flashing through her mind.

Kazama had done his best to guide his two teammates. Whether they truly understood his point, he wasn't sure. He didn't know much about Hayate Gekkō, only that he was an elite jōnin—calm, serious, and one of old man Kosuke's former teammates. As for his teaching style, Kazama had no intel at all.

For now, all he could do was boost his teammates' morale and encourage them to use any tricks they had. As for himself, he wasn't too concerned. As long as he officially became a genin, that was enough. Even if he failed and got sent back to the Academy, he would be happy to spend another year training in his treehouse. In fact, an extra year of training would only make him stronger.

"Right, the test is happening at Training Ground Six tomorrow. Time, place, people—it's all set. Isn't this just like the battle scenarios we learned in class? Maybe we can use some of those tactics," Nobuko mused.

At least she had a good head on her shoulders. Their previous instructor might not have taught them much, but she had clearly absorbed the lessons from the textbooks.

Ichirō... well, there was no point expecting him to contribute to tactical planning.

"Good thinking. Try to recall anything useful we can apply," Kazama encouraged. He was pleased with how quickly Nobuko was catching on.

"Traps! We can set traps in Training Ground Six ahead of time," Nobuko suggested. "You said we don't have to worry about hurting the instructor, right? That means we don't have to hold back. We can use everything we've learned."

"Too bad we don't know any attack-based ninjutsu," she added, frowning after pondering for a while.

"Ninjutsu isn't something you can master overnight. But you can still arm yourselves. Fighting barehanded and fighting with weapons are two completely different things," Kazama reminded them.

"Oh! Right, weapons!" Nobuko clasped her hands together in realization.

"But... we don't have any money," Ichirō sighed, dejection returning as quickly as it had left.

"Follow me," Kazama said, deciding to dig into his savings for the sake of tomorrow's survival exercise.

Tenten's Ninja Tool Shop

This shop belonged to Tenten's family—a future business empire in the making. Unlike most ninja clans, Tenten's family was a merchant family, and her parents were wealthy traders based in the capital of the Land of Fire. That explained why, in the future, Tenten could afford to specialize in a pay-to-win ninja tool combat style—her family was loaded.

This shop in Konoha was a new business venture for them, an experiment in the military supply industry. With Tenten set to graduate in a year, her parents wanted to pave a path for her. Even if she didn't make it far as a ninja, she could still fall back on managing the store.

"Pick whatever you need. I'll lend you the money for now," Kazama said.

He was also poor, but there were different levels of poverty. Some people were completely broke, while others had just enough to get by. Kazama fell into the latter category—he saved a bit from his odd jobs to cover emergencies. Now, he was dipping into those savings to arm his teammates.

Nobuko and Ichirō were dazzled by the vast array of ninja tools. They wandered the store for ages, unable to decide what to buy.

Kazama sighed. This is just like country folks coming to the big city for the first time...

Not that he was looking down on them—it just frustrated him to see fellow ninja struggling like this. Whose fault was it that they had fallen so far behind?

"Each of you, take two large kunai—one as a spare. Three sets of small kunai, five sets of shuriken each, and explosive tags..." Kazama took charge of their selections.

Then, as they were about to leave, an idea struck him.

"Get this guy an iron staff," he said, pointing at Ichirō.

Ichirō was big, strong, and clearly the best choice for frontline combat. Expecting him to fight using a standard kunai in direct engagements seemed like a waste. He needed a heavy weapon.

The iron staff was perfect. Even if he hadn't trained with it before, he could at least swing it with brute force. After all, there was an old saying: A month for the staff, a year for the blade, and a lifetime for the spear. The staff was the easiest weapon to learn, making it ideal for Ichirō.

Throughout history, powerful warriors had wielded clubs and hammers—proof of the sheer power these weapons carried.

By the time they left, Kazama's savings were completely drained, but at least his teammates were properly equipped.

As a final touch, he took out two small radios—leftovers from an impulse buy. He had been tricked into buying multiple sets by a persuasive shopkeeper, but now they were coming in handy.

"During tomorrow's fight, use these to stay in contact and coordinate better. Now, let's head back to the treehouse and finalize our battle plan."

"Got it!" x2

Training Ground Six

Hayate Gekkō had no idea that the students he had only met yesterday had already crafted an entire strategy against him.

Or rather, even if he did know, he wouldn't care. He was an elite jōnin. If three freshly graduated genin could defeat him with just a strategy, he wouldn't have survived as long as he had.

Still, today's assessment would allow him to see for himself if Kazama was really as talented as Kosuke had claimed.

As for the other two, he already had a good understanding of their personalities and history. The one-year gap in their careers didn't concern him. The fact that they had continued training during that time showed diligence, and their ability to graduate in the first place meant they had the necessary talent. If all they needed was a proper mentor, then he was willing to fill that role.

After all, they had been neglected for long enough.

But Kazama…

Kazama was the real focus of today's assessment.

Kosuke had spoken highly of his grandson's talent, but Hayate needed to see for himself. If Kazama truly had potential, he would invest in training him. But if he lacked the necessary qualities, then Hayate would be honest about it—there was no shame in following a different path.

As it stood, Kazama's lazy attitude had already left a bad impression on him.

Waiting at the Training Grounds

At Training Ground Six, Nobuko and Ichirō sat upright beneath a tree, taking advantage of the shade to avoid direct sunlight.

Kazama, meanwhile, was three steps behind them, lazily leaning against the tree, looking utterly uninterested.

Hidden nearby, Hayate had been observing them for a while.

Just as he suspected, Kazama's laziness wasn't an act—it was real. And yet, Kosuke had called him talented?

Hah. Grandparents always think their grandkids are prodigies, no matter how they actually are.

The sun had risen high in the sky.

The three genin had been waiting at Training Ground Six since seven in the morning.

More than three hours had passed.

Any genin with no prior mission experience would have grown impatient by now.

And that was precisely the lesson Hayate wanted to teach them first—

As a ninja, patience is everything.

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