The next day, team 11 continued to train with team 41 and 42.
[Mission - Exchanging Pointers (D) – COMPLETE]
[Rewards: 100 EXP, +30 Reputation with Team 41 & 42, +5 Reputation with Amegakure General Corps, 5,000 Ryô received.]
[Additional: Skill Proficiency gains detected across multiple participants, 200 EXP gained by Goto, Yumi. 150 EXP gained by Ren, Kota, Makura and Sora]
The day after that, they received a summon from the Dark Hall Tower.
As they were waiting in the lowest floor, Ryugo spoke: "Don't you think it weird that Mumei still did not come back? Usually, ops from the dark hall tower do not take genin cell instructors for long"
Ameruyi nodded: "I heard that the Tanigakure borders were getting restless. Genin cells of above-average strengths, strategy that look out of this world..."
Ryugo frowned. This was...suspicious.
'Genins? This would match their arrival in this world too...', he analysed
Inspector Kosuke cut the small talk, followed closedly by three grim-faced chunin with the Dark Hall insignia. It was a single line on official parchment:
"Do you know why I have summoned you here instead of the mission hall?", Kosuke spoke
The genins shook their heads.
"Your latest performance on the Lands of River borders have shown that you were capable of working as an independent unit. Your flawless mission records also show that you have accumulated enough promotion points. Today, you will demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses. If you manage to impress me, you will become chunins on your own, and you will no longer need Shinobi Mumei's approbation to take on requests yourselves", Kosuke spoke
The atmosphere changed.
Ryugo looked at the notification.
[Mission - Chunin Promotion (C)
You have accumulated more than 300 Promotion Points in the Dark Hall Tower. As per protocol, you will be tested against chunins and if you show adaptability and strength, you will be promoted
Rewards: 5000 EXP, +100 Reputation with Amegakure, +50 Reputation with Team 11, +50 Reputation with Kagutsu Clan, B-Rank Ninjutsu, Chunin Rank, Chunin Vest
Failure Penalty: Ineligibility to take on a chunin promotion exam for the next 28 days, -20 Reputation with Ameruyi]
'Reputation points, enough experience to level up once, B-rank ninjutsu. This is quite generous'
The genin cell followed Kosuke and the three chunins in Examination Ground Delta. It was not a training field. It was a sunken arena deep within the Dark Hall Tower's underground level, a circular pit of sealed stone thirty meters across. It was the first time they had come here.
It was dark. The only illumination came from harsh, white glow-stones set into the ceiling.
Inspector Kosuke stood at the edge of the pit, flanked by three figures Ryugo didn't recognize. He mentioned them as chunins, but their levels showed that they were not as strong as they claimed to be. Except for the Waraiko elder, that is.
[Inspector Kosuke - Lv. 62 Jonin]
[Ayaka – Lv. 32 Chunin]
One was a stern-looking woman with her hair in a tight bun, her arms crossed over a standard-issue flak jacket—a Dark Hall examiner.
[Elder Michio Waraiko – Lv. 48 Chunin]
The other was an older man in the simple, dark robes of the Waraiko clan, his face hidden behind a mask of solemn weeping, not smiling. This was undoubtedly Tetsu's examiner.
[Genzō – Lv. 30 Chunin]
The third was a man wearing a soldier-looking shinobi with a chunin vest, a muscular build and a gas mask.
"Genin of Team 11", Kosuke's voice echoed in the sterile space, "You have been recommended for promotion consideration based on mission performance, tactical innovation, and observed combat proficiency. The exam is simple: fight your designated Dark Hall Examiner. You will be evaluated on technique, adaptability, and judgment. There are no rules beyond the prohibition of lethal force. Begin with Ameruyi Takeda"
Ameruyi didn't hesitate. She stepped into the pit, her straw hat and veil removed for the first time in front of official observers. Her face was pale, composed, and utterly blank. Her hair, a silver blur, was not clean, but showed traces of mud and sweat. She was not a kunoichi like Yumi. She was a swordsman before she was she was a girl.
Her examiner, the stern woman with a bun, dropped down opposite her. She didn't give her name.
[Ayaka – Lv. 32 Chunin]
But the system did. It looked like as long as it was from 'Friendly' individuals from a reputation's perspective, the system would register it. That would explain why he could see her name, but not that of enemies like the Tanigakure genins.
The woman moved first, kunai already in hand. She was fast, her style a generic but polished form of Ame taijutsu. More importantly, her form was clean.
Ameruyi didn't draw her sword.
She flowed around the initial strikes, her footwork minimal, her body twisting in ways that seemed to defy momentum. When Ayaka lunged with a chakra-enhanced punch, Ameruyi simply leaned back, letting the fist pass centimeters from her chin, then stepped in, her own palm striking Ayaka's extended elbow joint.
CRACK.
A clean, sharp sound. Ayaka grunted, her arm going momentarily numb. She disengaged, leaping back, her eyes now wide with alarm. She hadn't expected such precise, devastating counters from a genin.
"Draw your weapon, girl," Ayaka hissed, cradling her arm.
"It is not necessary," Ameruyi stated, her voice flat.
This seemed to anger the examiner. She formed hand seals—Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.
"Suiton: Water Dragon Tail Sweep!" (B-Rank)
A torrent of water coalesced from the dry air—a testament to her impressive chakra control—forming into a roaring dragon's maw that filled the arena.
Ameruyi finally moved her hand to her katana's hilt. She didn't draw it in a flash. It was a slow, deliberate motion, as if unsheathing the blade itself required immense focus.
As the water dragon descended, she completed the draw.
[Silent Rain Kenjutsu: Eigth Form (Takeda) – Sky Cleaving Wave (B)]
There was no dramatic clash. Her blade cut through the heart of the water dragon in a single, vertical arc. The chakra shaping the technique didn't explode; it unraveled.
The dragon split apart into harmless, falling water that pattered onto the stone, leaving Ameruyi standing perfectly dry, her katata held steady in a follow-through stance.
Ayaka stared, stunned. That was a B-rank suiton technique, dispersed not with a stronger technique, but with a kenjutsu form that targeted the chakra structure itself. The level of perception and control required was jonin-level. And she was witnessing it from a mere genin.
Ameruyi didn't give her time to recover.
She was across the distance in an instant, her sheathed sword now a blur. A strike to the solar plexus, a chop to the neck, a sweep of the legs.
Ayaka blocked frantically, but each paray sent shocking waves of force through her arms.
Ameruyi's strength, honed by the Takeda's brutal training and Ryugo's relentless team drills, was monstrous for her frame.
As minutes passed, the wounds on Ayaka's body accumulated. Ameruyi's blade thrusts and quick draws were blocked by kunai, but gnawed at Ayaka's strength.
After three minutes, Kosuke spoke: "Enough. Ameruyi, you won"
Silence reigned in the observation balcony. The Waraiko elder's mask tilted slightly. Ryugo's face was unreadable, but he could tell Ameruyi had not even used her strongest technique. She had displayed force, but stamina conservation too.
'Heh...Now I really can't fail, can I?', Ryugo thought
Fortunately, he had no reason to hide his strength. The more talent he had, the more opportunities he would get. The higher his status, the stronger he would become.
These were simple truths, and he certainly planned on leveraging every asset at his disposal.
To survive, at least that much was required.