As bad an idea as it would normally be, the very first thing Team Five did after crossing into Training Ground Twenty-Seven – after spending the entire run there discussing strategy – was split up.
Under normal circumstances that would have been suicidal. But the rules were on their side: Hayama wouldn't attack at all until he'd been tagged, so the biggest danger of separating was effectively made null. Staying together would restrict them to Ren's pace – the slowest among them – which would waste Souma's speed entirely. And Souma was, by far, the most likely of them to physically tag a jōnin.
Unfortunately, reality had other ideas.
They spent the better part of an hour executing the plan perfectly… with absolutely nothing to show for it. While alone, not one of them managed to catch even the faintest trace of Hayama – not a snapped twig, not a footprint, not a single peek at him. Yet the moment any two of them crossed paths, Hayama would appear at the edge of their vision – just long enough for their minds to register him – before vanishing again, leaving them scrambling in his wake.
Only when all three of them were together would he appear fully, standing just barely within their field of view. And then he would run – always staying at a fixed distance, perfectly matching whatever speed they chose. If even one of them sped up and left the others behind, he would match that speed… and then disappear once they split up.
It was infuriating. Their target was right there – tauntingly close – and still utterly unreachable no matter how hard they pushed themselves.
Worse, it was terrifying.
Because as the hour passed and night fell… Hayama never once showed the slightest sign of exertion.
Meanwhile, part of Team Five was already panting, stumbling, and utterly exhausted from the ceaseless chase.
Yohei considered using Extreme Muscle Assault, but he doubted he'd be able to overtake the jōnin even with that. Maybe, eventually, he could catch up – maybe – but by then he'd be tired, sore, and running on less chakra than he was comfortable with for the second part of the task. And even that depended entirely on Hayama not choosing to simply vanish, which the man had proved he could do easily and consistently.
Still, the frustration was chewing at his ribs. If this went on much longer, Yohei was pretty sure he'd lose it and try to buff up and throw a tree at the fast bastard just out of spite.
Something else broke the stalemate first.
Ren, struggling to keep up and already visibly exhausted, missed a step on a branch and tumbled toward the ground. Yohei tried to stop immediately, twisting and kicking off the side of a tree to bleed momentum before launching himself back-
He wasn't going to make it.
Thankfully, Souma's reflexes matched his speed; in a blinding flash he went from being ahead of Yohei to streaking past him, catching Ren before he hit the forest floor.
Yohei hurried over to them, touching solid ground for the first time in hours. The phantom sensation of constant branch-leaping clung to his legs, leaving a weird, unpleasant feeling – like stepping off a trampoline and having his balance argue with him. He stumbled once before steadying himself.
"Damn it!" Ren snarled, frustration and rage twisting together as he punched the bark of the tree he'd been set against.
Yohei scanned him quickly – flushed face, bloodshot eyes, chest heaving with ragged breaths, mist puffing into the cold night with every exhale. His limbs trembled, sweat soaked through his clothes, and he looked one bad push from fainting.
"Did you get injured?" Yohei asked, worry jumping straight to his throat as he glanced at Ren's legs. If he had… their chances dropped from "low" to "laughable." The thought made Yohei curse his past self for not begging his mother to teach him Iryōnin basics. Even without Healing Palms, he could've at least known how to assess or stabilize something.
"N-" cough. "No." Ren rasped between coughs as he fought to steady his breathing.
Yohei let out a long breath of relief, then looked around. Hayama was gone – again – leaving only the forest's quiet and the fading disturbance in the branches above. He frowned.
With lips pressed tight, he finally said what he'd been thinking for minutes now. "We can't keep going like this."
"No shit," Ren shot back, voice sharp and dripping with aggrieved sarcasm – before he winced, shoulders hunching. "...Sorry. Sorry. You're right. We can't."
Ignoring Ren's slip for what it was, Yohei waved it off and sat down – grateful to get off his feet for even a moment. He didn't let himself fully relax, though; he kept an eye on the tree line, even if Souma – far more composed than the two of them – was already standing guard, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, posture alert.
"We need to rest," Yohei said, thinking aloud. "Actual rest. Find somewhere decent to make camp, try to sleep as much as we can, set a rotation. Get our strength back for tomorrow. At this rate, we're gonna pass out before we even scratch Hayama-san."
"We can't." Ren immediately shook his head, fierce and unyielding. "A jōnin never does anything without a reason. We were given more than twenty-four hours for a reason. And the fact he only shows himself when we're together? Not a coincidence."
"And that reason would be…?" Yohei prompted.
Ren looked between him and Souma, licked his lips, then lowered his voice. "Look… my family has a lot riding on me making it as a ninja this year and rising through the ranks fast. So they've been trying to get every advantage they can – including looking into who might end up as my sensei."
He closed his eyes briefly, reciting like he'd drilled it a hundred times: "Shirakumo Hayama. Thirty-three years old. Made jōnin seven years ago. Only took one team before us – all of them already promoted to chūnin. So now he's looking for another team to train. He's completed 799 missions: 173 D-Rank, 204 C-Rank, 256 B-Rank, 152 A-Rank, and 14 S-Rank. Most of his missions are team-based and categorized as Search-and-Destroy."
Opening his eyes again, he finished, "That's why he's testing us like this. He's checking our endurance and teamwork. Seeing if we can handle the physical and mental pressure of long missions where you have to keep moving nonstop while tracking a target."
Realization – and no small amount of surprise – washed over Souma's face. Yohei rubbed his chin, absorbing it. It made sense. Annoying, exhausting sense.
"What do you propose then?"
Ren smirked, though it was shaky around the edges. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a small transparent flask filled with dark little pellets.
"Soldier Pills," Yohei said, eyebrows rising.
Ren nodded. "Remember the rules: Sensei can't do anything to us in the first part of the exam except run away. My plan is simple – each of us takes a Soldier Pill, then we start chasing him at max speed. Every time we start lagging behind, we take another."
He shook the flask lightly, pellets clacking.
"He might have way more natural stamina than we do, but I seriously doubt he can run at full speed for twenty-four hours straight. We could, with these."
"Then, when he starts lagging, we tag him," Souma said – only for Ren to shake his head, his grin widening like he'd been waiting for that exact question.
"No. Better than that. We keep running after we reach the point we could catch him. Let him get exhausted – then the second phase will be way easier." He pushed himself upright, pressing a Soldier Pill into Souma's impressed hand and offering another to Yohei with a bright, confident smile.
Yohei accepted it, staring at the little pellet for a few seconds before frowning and shaking his head. "I don't think this is going to work."
"…Why?" Ren asked, grin faltering.
Yohei scratched the back of his head and let out a slow exhale.
'Because we didn't pass in the canon timeline,' he thought grimly.
But that wasn't something he could exactly say. So instead he had to treat it like an actual analysis: Why wouldn't this work? What overlooked flaw ruined it originally?
"We're making a lot of assumptions with this plan – really optimistic assumptions, which are the most dangerous kind." Yohei held up a finger. "First: we're assuming the Soldier Pills will let us perform at top shape for more than a full day. And… maybe? But the 'fight for three days and nights' thing only works if you have breaks between fights and you're not pushing your body into the ground."
He tapped the flask Ren held. "Soldier Pills are for emergencies. They keep you awake and give a short burst of energy. They don't fix muscle damage, they don't stop your reflexes from dulling, and they definitely don't prevent mental exhaustion. We could probably force ourselves to keep moving, but our actual performance would tank hard."
He raised a second finger. "Second: we're assuming Sensei will keep acting the exact same way he has so far. Yeah, he's been consistent – but he never said any of that was part of the exam. He could literally just… stop. Hide somewhere and rest. Stay perfectly still until the end of the time limit. We already know we can't find him if he doesn't want to be found."
Yohei met Ren's eyes. "And that's assuming he even needs to rest. You said it yourself – he's a veteran of Search-and-Destroy missions. How many high-level shinobi do you think he's hunted for more than a day straight? Are we really betting that we can outlast him when we've only got twenty-four hours?"
He raised a third finger. "And finally – this plan assumes that the only factors in this test are us… and him."
He let that hang for a second, gaze shifting between his teammates.
"We aren't the only variables here."
"You're talking about Chakra Beasts," Ren said, face twisting sour and dour, lips tight.
Yohei nodded. "We haven't seen many yet, thankfully – but I did spot a few. And night is when the worse ones come out. If one catches our scent and decides we're a good snack, then not only does all the time you want to buy us go straight into the trash, but we'll burn energy the Soldier Pills can't replace."
A heavy silence crashed down over them.
Suddenly every sound of the forest felt amplified – the distant screech of some night bird, the rustle of leaves shifting in the cold air, a long, low howl somewhere far off in the dark.
"Fuck!" Ren snapped, dragging a hand down his face and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fuck, fuck, fuck-"
Yohei and Souma let him spiral quietly, each giving him space. Souma glanced awkwardly at the Soldier Pill lying in his own palm – the one he'd spit out mid-explanation – unsure what to even do with it now.
When Ren finally exhaled, it was sharp and shaky. His scarlet eyes met Yohei's blue ones, the exhaustion in them suddenly very obvious.
"What's your plan, then?" he asked.
"Yeah… that's the problem," Yohei said with a humorless laugh, "I don't have one either."
Before Ren could snap something back, Yohei pushed on: "What I do know is that we're not going to catch Hayama-san by exhausting him. And we can't afford not to rest. I say we find a safe place, make camp for the night. Tomorrow, with clearer heads, we come up with a real plan. Remember – Sensei can't leave the Training Grounds. We're not chasing a real fugitive. No matter how much time we give him, he can't prepare anything or make himself harder to catch."
Ren and Yohei held each other's gaze for a solid second – frustration etched on both faces.
Fear flickered under Yohei's; anxiety under Ren's.
But at last, the smaller boy let out a long sigh and nodded.
He turned to the third member of their little trio.
"What about you, Souma-kun? What do you think?" Ren asked tiredly.
Souma tilted his head, glanced up in thought, then answered calmly, as if it were the most logical idea in the world:
"You two could go to sleep while I keep running after him. I'm not really tired yet."
Silence.
Absolute, utter silence.
Ren stared at him.
Yohei stared at him.
Both with the exact same expression: What the actual hell did you just say?
Then Yohei snorted. Tried to stifle it. Failed completely.
A laugh burst out of him – quiet, but uncontrollable. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he curled forward, shoulders shaking.
Souma blinked at him, visibly confused, like he genuinely didn't understand what part of that was strange.
Ren, meanwhile, gave a twisted little smile. Both his hands slowly raised toward Souma, fingers curling as though he were imagining wrapping them around the taller boy's throat.
"Oi, oi, oi, Souma-kun," he said, voice trembling with exhausted hysteria. "You just said some truly absurd shit, you know? You're making me feel bad, you know? What kind of freak are you, Sou-Ma-Kun~?" His grin stretched sharper. "If you've got all that energy, why don't you share a bit with us mortals, hmmmmm?"
Souma shook his head solemnly. "I'm sorry. I haven't learned that technique."
That sent Yohei right back into hysterics. He doubled over, collapsing to his knees, one hand over his mouth and the other clutching his stomach as he wheezed with laughter. Ren let out an explosive, soul-deep sigh and looked up toward the heavens like he was asking whichever god was on shift tonight to save him.
"Alright. I'm tired as fuck. Any more of this and I swear I'll kill one of you. Let's go find a cavern or something."
"Caverns are dangerous shelters in forests like this," Souma informed, perfectly earnest. "They often serve as lairs for bears and wolves."
Ren choked, then stared at him like he was genuinely planning murder.
A brittle, slightly hysterical laugh broke out of him. "Oh, I hope there's a bear. I'm hungry too."
-~=~-
In the end, they didn't find a cavern. Instead, they made camp on a rocky, slightly elevated patch of forest. The height and sparse vegetation gave them good visibility in every direction. The downside, however, was the cold – biting, persistent, and already creeping under their clothes.
For practicality's sake, they agreed two of them would sleep inside the single bedroll Yohei had brought – Ren had forgotten to pack one entirely, never imagining they'd need to sleep during the test, and Souma had brought nothing but his sword – while the third kept watch.
"I'll take first watch," Souma said immediately, even before the discussion had fully started.
"Then I'll take second," Yohei said. "You need as much sleep as you can get, Ren."
That earned him an eye-roll, but Ren didn't argue. He climbed into the bedroll without complaint.
"Don't hesitate to wake us if anything weird happens, Souma," Yohei added.
The white-haired boy nodded with solemn seriousness, already seated with his sword across his lap, posture straight as a temple guardian.
Getting into a bedroll with another guy was… yeah, a little awkward. But exhaustion and cold were great motivators to shove embarrassment aside. Yohei wriggled in, settling back-to-back with Ren. He tucked an arm under his head like a pillow and felt sleep tugging at him hard and fast.
But just as he was sliding under, Ren's voice nudged his ear.
"Hrm?" Yohei grunted, half-asleep. He hadn't caught a word.
"I said: I'm sorry." Ren repeated, louder this time. His voice was muffled by the bedroll. "For… you know. Being moody. Making a dumb plan. I-"
He stumbled over the rest, the words dissolving uselessly before they could form.
"Don't-" Yohei began, but a yawn hijacked the middle of it. "Don't worry. I get it. Maybe not your exact situation but… I broke down a few nights ago. Full-on bawling, thrashing in bed like a kid, if you'd believe it."
He let out a tired little huff. "We're under a lot of pressure. It's… a lot for one person to carry alone."
"… yeah."
"But you're not alone, dude," Yohei said sleepily. "None of us are. And you know what? We're fucking amazing. Souma's a freak who can keep going forever, I'm strong as hell, and you're smarter than both of us put together."
"Fat lot of good it did me," Ren mumbled. "You're the one who stopped me from fucking us up."
"Yeah, well, you're also kind of a wimp."
"Fuck you," Ren said – surprised, but amused.
Yohei snickered. "So rest up nice and good, wimpy, so tomorrow you can make a good plan with that big beautiful brain of yours."
"…Calling my brain beautiful has got to be the gayest thing anyone's ever said to me."
"Shut the fuck up, I'm sleepy," Yohei laughed. "Now shoo, go to sleep or I'll knock you out."
Ren laughed too, and quiet settled over them again.
"…Thanks."
Yohei's reply came out half-garbled, half-asleep – something like "yer welcome," swallowed by a yawn and the slack weight of drifting off.