Reborn in the Mist

The day of the first exam was here at last and Zabuza was prepared for everything but it. He’d done a lot of homework on his competitors and reaped enough information on those that appeared strong to fight them with little worry of losing. But there was no such opportunity with the first exam.

Every participating team congregated out by what looked like a deserted frontier outpost. It was a ways from their accommodations but easy to find as it was situated close to the edge of the village’s protective valley. Zabuza imagined it’d once been of great use to the Hidden Sand before advances in sensory techniques— the outpost was too close to the village to be beneficial as an early warning system.

Sand stretched in every direction, broken only by the squat stone structure rising from the buried desert floor. Zabuza had tagged on enough B-rank assault missions to know there was more to the structure underneath. Two stoic faced assistant proctors stood guard at the only entrance, denying everyone that approached entry.

Not all the teams were gathered, noticeably the Takigakure and Iwagakure teams were yet to arrive but they weren’t who the proctors were waiting for. None of the teams assembled had their Jounin leads with them but Pakura was also nowhere to be seen.

With nothing to do but wait, chat and try not to ignite another brawl over wounds cut last night, the gathered teams waited.

Just as Zabuza began to question if torturing them under the desert’s rising sun was the true aim of the exam, Pakura and a flood of Jounin’s arrived, Ao among them. He detached and quickly made his way towards them with paper documents in hand.

“This is a waiver, you sign this, you sign the right for the village or any other to pursue vengeance for your death.” He scrutinized them with his eye as he passed them out.

“Death?” Team 8’s kunoichi whimpered. “What happens if we—”

“You cannot participate in these exams without signing.” Ao said before she could finish. He narrowed his eyes on her, “Know that if you refuse to sign, your teammates will be forced to forfeit the exams as well.”

She gulped, squirming under Maita’s pressuring stare and Tamura’s hidden and expectant one. Zabuza shook his head as she took the pen from Maita and signed.

It’d be better if she didn’t try.

Zabuza signed his without looking through, as did just about everyone else. This wasn’t his first time putting himself in mortal danger and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

We’re shinobi. Zabuza thought, tearing his eyes away from the kunoichi before her attitude could frustrate him even more.

“Alright, alright!” Pakura yelled, clapping her hands over head for attention. She stood in front of the assembled teams with her assistants, ignoring how the wind tugged strands of her red hair across her face. “The first exam will be conducted here.”

Her voice carried the announcement easily over the sand. “This facility contains three testing chambers. Teams will enter one at a time and remain inside until each member has completed their evaluation.” She glanced around the dozens. “Make no mistake, just because you’re going in together doesn’t mean you’re evaluated together. If the weakest link in your team cannot pass then none of you will.”

A stir of murmurs carried through the gathered teams. Pakura clapped once, seizing attention once again. She gestured behind her, “Once inside, each team will be evaluated on their ability to provide tactical counsel to a superior officer and in turn, themselves.” She smirked darkly and added. “You will be presented with hypothetical mission scenarios and given limited, false or incomplete intelligence reports from subordinate units. Your responsibility is to revise the information and advise how the mission should proceed.”

One genin raised their hand out of the crowd, earning an irritated glare from Pakura as she sneered. “What is it?”

“This is supposed to be a written test, right?” the genin asked nervously. “Why do we need to sign waivers?”

Pakura shared amused looks with her assistants, one even hid a chuckle. “This will be the only exam in which surrender is permitted before the time elapses, if you aren’t comfortable with what that implies you’re free to rip up your waivers now.”

That drew more murmurs, louder as many hushed voices filled with a rising panic. Zabuza looked amongst his team, Utakata and Mangetsu were just as unfazed as he was but Team 5 and 8 looked more concerned, the latter especially so as their weakest link looked just about ready to bawl.

“If at any time you determine that you cannot complete the examination, you may withdraw. However…” her eyes swept across the teams, “…once the proctors accept your surrender, that is the end of the exams for your entire team.”

This time a cold realization seemed to settle over the teams. It was obvious now that the intent of the first exam was to drastically decrease the number of participating teams. The second exams would likely be worse and the third…the third was what mattered most to everyone.

“Now then, submit your waivers so we may begin.”

Once the assistant proctors collected all the waivers they called in the first team, one from a lesser village. They didn’t look too pleased to be going first but they’d be lessons for Zabuza and everyone else watching and listening closely enough.

The trio disappeared into the facility with all three proctors while the rest of the candidates waited patiently under the brutal desert sun. Some spent that time building shade, impromptu seating from sand and rocks while others discussed with their grinning Jounin leads.

Ao was not in the mood for discussion. He’d already given them all he was meant to, all that was left was for them to show what they were capable of and not fail.

For several minutes nothing worth noting happened. Then someone to shush, a dark haired Suna-nin. Few were willing to shut their mouths but with the extra quiet, the muffled sounds of the first team screaming could be heard from the door.

Moments later the door swung open and the first team was hauled out one by one by Suna-nin they hadn’t seen before now.

All three of them were coughing violently, their faces coated in sand and swollen red spots. One of them staggered out of his helpers grip, collapsing without so much of a twitch. Team Kirigakure and the rest could only watch in building dread.

Pakura stood before them, not bothering to even glance in the direction of the flailing first team as she asked, “Who wants to go next?”