Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains of the Uchiha compound, casting long shadows across the breakfast table where Indra and Sasuke sat in silence.
Their chopsticks occasionally clicked against their bowls - the only sound in the otherwise quiet kitchen.
Two days had passed since Indra's Sharingan had awakened and his life had changed dramatically.
The traditional Japanese breakfast Sasuke had prepared was simple but nourishing - rice, grilled fish, miso soup, and pickled vegetables.
Neither boy seemed inclined to break the awkward silence that had settled between them.
They were clansmen now, technically family, but neither knew quite how to navigate this sudden situation.
Indra glanced at Sasuke, who was working through his meal.
"We should leave soon," Sasuke finally said, setting down his chopsticks. "Team assignments are today."
Indra nodded. "I've been wondering which team they'll place me on."
"With your scores, probably with other high performers," Sasuke replied, standing to clear his dishes. "They usually balance the teams based on overall ability."
"And you?" Indra asked, helping to clean up.
"Likely with Naruto," Sasuke said with a hint of resignation. "The dead-last is typically paired with the top student."
They finished cleaning in silence, then gathered their equipment for the day.
The walk to the Academy was equally quiet, both lost in their own thoughts about what lay ahead.
Occasionally, villagers would do double-takes as they passed - the sight of two Uchiha walking together was something Konoha hadn't seen in years.
"Word spreads quickly," Indra observed after a merchant openly stared at them.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted in agreement. "The Hokage probably made an official announcement yesterday."
The Academy was buzzing with excitement when they arrived.
Fresh graduates proudly displayed their forehead protectors, gathered in groups discussing potential team assignments.
When Sasuke and Indra entered together, conversations momentarily halted as curious eyes tracked their movement.
"Look, it's true," someone whispered loudly. "There's another Uchiha."
Indra ignored the whispers, making his way to his usual seat beside Shikamaru, who raised an eyebrow at his arrival.
"Heard you had an eventful night after graduation," the Nara heir commented lazily.
"News travels fast," Indra replied, settling into his seat.
"Troublesome, isn't it?" Shikamaru yawned. "Suddenly being part of a clan."
Before Indra could respond, Naruto burst into the classroom, his new forehead protector gleaming proudly on his brow.
"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Shikamaru called out. "This meeting is only for those who graduated."
Naruto pointed proudly to his headband. "See this? I graduated too! Believe it!"
The blond boy's eyes met Indra's, and he gave him a grateful nod before spotting an empty seat next to Sasuke and claiming it.
Moments later, Sakura and Ino burst through the door simultaneously, arguing about who would sit beside Sasuke.
Iruka entered shortly after, silencing the class with his presence. His eyes swept over the room, lingering briefly on Naruto with a proud smile, then on Indra with a knowing look.
"As of today, you are all shinobi," Iruka began, his voice carrying authority and pride. "But you are still genin - the lowest rank. The hard journey that lies ahead has just begun."
"You will be assigned to three-person teams under a jōnin instructor," Iruka explained, lifting a clipboard. "These teams have been balanced based on your individual strengths and weaknesses."
As Iruka began calling out team assignments, Indra noted the patterns. Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino formed the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio, continuing their families' tradition.
Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were grouped together as a tracking unit.
And as Sasuke had predicted, he was placed with Naruto and Sakura under Kakashi Hatake.
"Team Seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka announced, prompting cheers from Sakura and groans from Naruto.
When Iruka reached the end of his list, Indra realized his name hadn't been called.
"Uchiha Indra," Iruka said, the new surname causing a ripple of whispers, "you will be joining Team Eleven with two students from Class B. Your jōnin instructor is Kamizuki Yua."
Before Indra could process this information - about being paired up with people he had no idea who they were, the classroom door slid open, revealing a woman in her late twenties with sharp features and calculating dark eyes.
Her black hair was pulled back in a practical bun, and a scar traced from her right cheek to her nose.
She wore standard jōnin attire with a dark blue coat over it, and her forehead protector was tied around her neck.
"Team Eleven," she called, her voice crisp and authoritative. "With me. Now."
Indra rose, aware that all eyes in the classroom were on him. This was unexpected - jōnin instructors weren't supposed to arrive for another hour, according to the schedule.
"Efficient," he murmured to himself as he made his way to the door.
In the hallway, Indra found two other students already waiting with the jōnin.
One was a boy with wild, dark brown hair and intense eyes that immediately narrowed upon seeing Indra.
The other was a girl with long black hair tied with a simple ribbon, her posture perfect and her expression unreadable.
"Uchiha," the jōnin said, sizing him up with a quick glance. "I'm Kamizuki Yua. This is Chinen Hayate and Hoshikawa Sayaka. Your teammates."
Hayate scoffed. "So you're the prodigy everyone's talking about? Don't look like much to me."
"Hayate," Yua warned, though there was little actual reprimand in her tone. "Save it for training. Let's move."
Without waiting for acknowledgment, she turned and strode down the hallway, clearly expecting them to follow.
Indra fell into step behind her, noting how Sayaka moved with unusual grace for a genin, while Hayate's gait was more forceful and deliberate.
They exited the Academy and continued through Konoha's streets in silence until they reached the village gates.
"We're leaving the village?" Indra asked, breaking the silence.
"First mission starts now," Yua replied without slowing. "Questions at the checkpoint."
The gate guards nodded respectfully to Yua as she signed the departure log, then the team proceeded onto the road leading away from Konoha.
Once they were a kilometer from the village, Yua abruptly veered off the main path, leading them into the forest. After another fifteen minutes of travel, she stopped in a small clearing and turned to face them.
"You're wondering why I pulled you out before the other jōnin arrived," she stated rather than asked. "And why we're leaving the village on your first day."
"The thought had crossed my mind," Indra replied evenly.
Hayate crossed his arms. "Yeah, what gives? Aren't we supposed to do some kind of test first? That's what my cousin said his team did."
Yua's expression remained neutral. "This is your test. And it's not the kind they tell you about in the Academy."
Sayaka, who had been silent until now, spoke in a soft, measured voice. "We're not officially genin yet, are we?"
"Sharp," Yua nodded. "The Academy graduation is just the first filter. Each jōnin conducts their own test to determine if their assigned team is worth training. The failure rate is typically around sixty-six percent."
"What?" Hayate exclaimed. "You mean we might get sent back to the Academy?"
"No," Yua's response was blunt. "If you fail my test, you're done. Permanently. The Academy is for those with potential. Failing a jōnin's evaluation means you lack what it takes to be a shinobi of Konoha."
The gravity of her words settled over the clearing. Indra studied their instructor carefully, noting the hardness in her eyes that spoke of what he assumed ANBU experience, having gazed upon their chakra once with the Rinnegan from afar.
This wasn't an idle threat.
"What's the test?" he asked directly.
Yua's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "We're traveling to a small village about four hours from here. Remote, but big enough that a lot of things can happen.
Once there, you'll each have until dawn to complete one task:
Kill someone."
The declaration hung in the air like a pressure that suddenly appeared upon all three kids.
Hayate's eyes widened in shock, while Sayaka's expression remained unchanged, though Indra noticed her hands tighten slightly at her sides.
"That's-" Hayate began.
"Reality," Yua cut him off sharply. "You think being a shinobi is about heroic battles and flashy jutsu?
It's about completing missions, and sometimes those missions require eliminating targets. If you can't handle that fundamental truth, you have no business wearing that headband."
"We're going to assassinate specific targets?" Indra asked, his tone neutral despite everything.
Yua shook her head. "You choose. Any civilian in the village. I don't care who. The point is to cross that line and prove you can do what's necessary."
"That's murder," Hayate protested, though his voice had lost some of its earlier bravado.
"That's being a shinobi," Yua corrected coldly. "The pretty stories they feed you in the Academy are just that - stories.
We are weapons. Tools. When Konoha points us at an enemy, we eliminate that enemy, whether they're armed shinobi or sleeping civilians."
Indra processed this information carefully.
The test was clearly designed to be psychologically challenging - forcing them to take a life not in the heat of battle but through deliberate choice.
It was also a test of resolve, of the ability to compartmentalize emotions and complete objectives regardless of personal feelings.
"Why civilians?" he asked. "Wouldn't enemy shinobi be more logical targets for training purposes?"
"Because enemies fight back," Yua replied matter-of-factly. "This isn't about combat skills. It's about crossing a psychological threshold. Besides, your first kill should be clean and controlled. It gets messier later."
The casual way she discussed murder sent a chill through the clearing. Hayate looked slightly pale, while Sayaka's eyes had taken on a distant quality, as if she were already mentally preparing herself.
"Any more questions?" Yua asked, scanning their faces. When no one spoke, she nodded. "Good. We continue to the village. No more discussion until we arrive."
The journey resumed in heavy silence. Indra used the time to analyze his options.
He had never killed before. He was a normal person in his previous life.
The idea of selecting a random civilian and ending their life was fundamentally disturbing, even to someone with his ambitions.
But he also recognized the test for what it was: a filter to identify those who could function in the morally gray world of shinobi operations.
Refusing would end his career before it began, and with it, any chance of achieving his goals.
It seems he really has been underestimating this world and Konoha.
Hiruzen must have approved her to be able to give such a test. The Old Man is colder than he gave him credit for.
His mind worked through scenarios, contingencies, and potential targets. If he had to kill, he would choose carefully - someone whose death might even serve some greater purpose. Not an innocent, if he could help it.
The village, when they reached it, was unremarkable - a collection of modest buildings clustered around a central marketplace, with scattered homes extending outward.
It wasn't prosperous, but neither was it impoverished. Just an ordinary settlement where ordinary people lived ordinary lives.
Yua led them to a small inn on the outskirts. "We'll take rooms here. You have until dawn to complete your task and return. Don't get caught. Don't leave evidence. Make it clean."
She handed each of them a small pouch. "Basic supplies. Use them wisely."
Inside, Indra found senbon needles, a vial of fast-acting poison, thin wire, and a small packet of powder he recognized as a coagulant to minimize blood spatter.
"One last thing," Yua added as they prepared to separate. "This isn't a competition, but it is an individual assessment. Your teammates' success or failure doesn't affect your own standing. This is between each of you and your conscience."
With that, she disappeared into the inn, leaving the three genin standing awkwardly in the fading afternoon light.
Hayate was the first to break the silence. "This is messed up," he muttered, gripping his supply pouch tightly. "They never said anything about this at the Academy."
"Would you have still enrolled if they had?" Sayaka asked quietly, her dark eyes studying the village below.
Hayate didn't answer, which was answer enough.
"We should split up," Indra suggested pragmatically. "Operating independently will attract less attention."
Sayaka nodded once, then turned and walked toward the eastern part of the village without another word.
Hayate lingered, looking at Indra with a mixture of defiance and uncertainty. "This doesn't make us friends, Uchiha. I've heard about your type - born with everything handed to you because of your fancy eyes."
"You don't know anything about me," Indra replied evenly.
"I know enough," Hayate retorted, though the heat in his voice seemed forced, as if he were trying to distract himself from the task ahead. "Just stay out of my way."
He stalked off toward the village center, leaving Indra alone.
With a deep breath, Indra composed himself and began his own reconnaissance of the village, moving westward where homes were more scattered and isolated.
For the next several hours, Indra observed the flow of village life, identifying potential targets and discarding them just as quickly.
A drunk who beat his wife? Too obvious. The shopkeeper shortchanging customers? Too public. The elderly? Too defenseless and would leave a bad taste in his mouth.
As night fell, Indra found himself on the outskirts of the village's red-light district - a small collection of establishments catering to travelers and locals seeking various forms of entertainment.
He settled on a rooftop, watching the comings and goings below.
It was there, in an alley between two establishments, that he witnessed a scene that solidified his decision.
A woman - clearly a prostitute from her attire - was violently dragging a young boy no more than six years old. The child's face was already bruised, one eye swollen shut.
"Useless brat," the woman hissed, her words slurring slightly from alcohol. "You cost me another client! He took one look at you and left!"
The boy whimpered as she slammed him against the wall. "I'm sorry, mama. I'll be quiet next time, I promise."
"There won't be a next time," she growled, raising her hand again. "I should have drowned you the day you were born."
Indra had seen enough. This woman had given him what he needed - a justification. Someone whose death would not burden his conscience.
Someone who, arguably, deserved it.
He tracked them to a small, dilapidated shack at the very edge of the village. The woman continued to berate and occasionally strike the child as she prepared for the night's work, applying makeup to cover her own haggard features while the boy huddled in a corner.
"Stay here and don't make a sound," she ordered, checking her appearance one final time. "If I hear you've been crying again, you'll get worse than this." She emphasized her point with a sharp kick that made the boy curl tighter into himself.
Indra waited until she left, heading back toward the red-light district to find clients. The boy remained in the shack, quietly sobbing. Indra considered his options, then made his decision.
He would not kill in front of the child. He would wait until the woman returned, likely in the early morning hours.
The boy would be asleep by then, and Indra could complete his task without traumatizing him further.
He did internally realise that perhaps he would be giving the boy a worse fate by taking his mother, but he had to kill.
He had to.
And this was the most eligible person he could find to be his first one.
The hours passed slowly as Indra maintained his vigil. He wondered briefly how his teammates were faring, whether they had already completed their tasks or were, like him, still searching for the resolve to take a life.
It was nearly three in the morning when the woman returned, stumbling slightly from exhaustion and alcohol.
She fumbled with the door to the shack, cursing under her breath. Indra moved silently from his hiding place, approaching from behind as she finally managed to push the door open.
The interior was dark save for a small shaft of moonlight filtering through a crack in the roof. The boy was asleep in the corner, his bruised face finally peaceful. The woman didn't even glance at him as she began removing her jewelry.
Indra slipped inside, silent as a shadow. He had prepared the senbon, coating its tip with the poison from his supplies.
One strike to the base of the skull would be quick, nearly painless, and most importantly, silent.
For a brief moment, he hesitated.
Despite her cruelty, despite her abuse, taking her life was still crossing a line he had never crossed in this life.
But then the woman turned slightly, and in the dim light, Indra could see fresh bruises forming on the boy's arm - new ones, different from those he'd observed earlier.
His resolve hardened. And he struck. The senbon penetrated exactly where he intended, directly into the brain stem.
The woman's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then glazed over as she collapsed. Indra caught her before she could hit the floor, lowering her body silently.
He checked the boy, who remained asleep, oblivious to the death that had just occurred mere feet away.
Using the coagulant powder to ensure no blood would seep from the tiny wound, Indra arranged the woman's body to appear as if she had simply passed out - a position the boy had likely seen many times before.
By morning, when the child awoke, he would find his mother dead from what would appear to be alcohol poisoning or heart failure - a common enough end for those in her profession that it would raise few questions.
Indra retrieved the senbon, wiping it clean before returning it to his pouch. He took one last look at the sleeping child, wondering what would become of him.
Then, silently as he had entered, he departed.
The walk back to the inn was surreal. Indra felt strangely detached, as if observing himself from a distance.
He had taken a life - ended a human existence with calculated precision. The fact that he felt justified didn't change the weight of that action.
Though it did help him by not feeling much guilt.
When he arrived at the inn, he found Yua waiting on the porch, her expression unreadable in the pre-dawn light.
"It's done," Indra stated simply.
Yua studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "You're the last one back. Cutting it close."
Indra raised an eyebrow. "The others completed their tasks?"
"Hours ago," Yua confirmed. "Sayaka returned before midnight. Hayate shortly after. You had me wondering if you'd go through with it."
"I was selective," Indra replied.
"I noticed," Yua said, surprising him with her awareness. "You spent most of the night watching that woman and her son. Waiting for the right moment, I assume?"
Indra didn't respond, which Yua seemed to take as confirmation.
"Interesting choice," she continued. "An abusive mother. Someone you could justify killing. The others were less... discriminating."
The implication hung in the air between them. Indra felt a chill that had nothing to do with the pre-dawn air.
Again, he has been underestimating this world.
"What happens to the boy?" he asked.
"Not your concern," Yua replied flatly. "The mission was to kill, not to save."
Before Indra could respond, the inn door opened, and Sayaka emerged.
Her face was as composed as ever, but there was a new stillness to her that hadn't been there before. Her eyes met Indra's briefly, then shifted away.
Hayate followed shortly after, his earlier bravado completely absent. He looked pale and drawn, with dark circles under his eyes suggesting he hadn't slept at all.
"Gather your things," Yua instructed. "We're returning to Konoha."
"That's it?" Hayate asked, his voice hoarse. "We just... go back?"
"You completed the test," Yua stated matter-of-factly. "You're genin now. Officially."
"And the people we killed?" Sayaka asked, her voice soft but steady.
"Collateral," Yua replied without emotion. "Necessary sacrifices for your development as shinobi."
The journey back to Konoha was conducted in heavy silence.
Hayate occasionally looked like he might be sick, while Sayaka maintained her composed facade, though her eyes had taken on a distant quality.
Indra kept his own counsel, processing the night's events.
As they approached Konoha's gates in the late afternoon, Yua finally addressed them as a group.
"Tonight was your first kill. It won't be your last. Some of you handled it better than others," her eyes flicked briefly to Hayate, who flinched. "But you all crossed that line. That makes you shinobi."
She paused, studying each of them in turn. "Uchiha, you waited too long. Hesitation gets shinobi killed. But your execution was clean, and your target selection showed thought. Next time, be more decisive."
Indra nodded, accepting the critique without comment.
"Tomorrow, training ground seventeen, 06:00 hours," Yua continued. "We'll begin your actual training then. Dismissed."
As they passed through Konoha's gates, signing in with the guards who seemed oblivious to what they had just done, Indra couldn't help but reflect on the stark contrast between the peaceful village around them and the reality of what being its shinobi truly meant.
He had known, intellectually, what being a ninja entailed.
But knowing and doing were different things. He had crossed a line tonight, one that couldn't be uncrossed.
But he won't be a child about it.
He killed and that's it. It had to be done. It will be done even more in the future, perhaps upon even people he himself would deem innocent as collateral damage.
He can't hesitate. This world is far too cruel for that.
To thrive in this world, to not have to do what he doesn't like, to destroy any displeasure, he needs to become stronger.
The Strongest.
That is who he has to become.
Who he's vowed and vows even more to become.
The Strongest, The Strongest, Strongest, Strongest, Strongest,
The Strongest...
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!
Do tell me how you found the test. I honestly find it logical that some former ANBU, new jonin with past trauma would give it, especially when I read about this kind of test in a Naruto fanfic long ago.
So yeah, do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)