Genzō was being carried out on a stretcher by two genins who came after the loud impact, his burns a silent reminder of Ryugo's strength as Team 11 Captain.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Tetsu smirked behind his weeping mask: "I am shocked...This was nuts and volts"
Inspector Kosuke's sharp eyes lingered on Ryugo for a moment longer, then shifted to the last member of Team 11.
"Tetsu Waraiko. Step forward."
Tetsu did not back down.
He adjusted his weeping-smile mask, a habit not born from low-confidence but rather trust in his own abilities, before walking to the center of the arena.
His opponent, Elder Michio Waraiko, descended with a slow, dignified grace.
His mask was one of solemn, unmoving tears, a stark contrast to Tetsu's paradoxical expression of sadness and laughter.
[Elder Michio Waraiko – Lv. 48 Chunin]
"A Waraiko examining a Waraiko", Kosuke stated, his voice echoing, "A test of spirit. I am afraid we will not see much, but Elder Michio insisted in examining you"
Elder Michio did not assume a combat stance. He simply stood, his hands folded within the sleeves of his white and grey uniform.
"Tetsu. The inferior hybrid born from adultery, a wretch that brings shame to the Waraiko household" he began, his voice a dry, rustling whisper that carried despite its softness, "Let us see if you have learned anything beyond being a burden"
'I never knew Tetsu was an illegitimate child...I guess I never cared enough to ask him about his family. Maybe that's why he was so happy when I dragged him on the training fields early in the morning. Perhaps team 11 is his escape from a harsh environement', Ryugo analysed
'And on top of it, Tetsu, our lowest level member, is facing a chunin who could almost qualify as a jonin. In Konohagakure, he would be considered a Tokkubetsu jonin, but here in Amegakure, there is no such rank'
Tetsu flinched as if struck. But he did not let it get to his heart.
He said nothing, but his hands came up, forming the first seal—Ram.
Elder Michio sighed, a sound of profound boredom. "The basic 'Mirage'. How pedestrian."
Tetsu's hands didn't stop. They flowed from Ram to Horse, to Bird, to Tiger—a sequence far more complex than the simple academy genjutsu the elder expected.
Genjutsu: Shroud of Weeping Mist (C)
The air around the elder didn't waver. Instead, the very sound of the rain, piped into the chamber for atmospheric conditioning, changed.
It became the sound of muffled sobs, of droplets hitting not stone, but flesh. There was not even rain in the underground arena, but everyone was affected.
Ryugo was surprised, but it was nothing compared to Kosuke's expression. He seemed...interested. Genjutsu was a powerful art. If you could not get out of it, even high-rank assets could die. That's why the Uchiha were infamous since the warring state era.
A cold, clammy dampness seemed to seep into Elder Michio's robes, a sensory illusion so tactile it raised goosebumps on his arms.
The elder's masked head tilted.
"A two-layered illusion. Auditory and tactile. Adequate for your level", he made a single, dismissive hand seal, "Kai."
The sobbing rain faded. The clamminess vanished.
Tetsu was already weaving his second set of seals, faster now. Ox → Snake → Dog → Rabbit.
Genjutsu: Memory of the Drowning (C)
This time, the assault was mental. The elder felt a sudden, irrational pressure in his lungs, the ghost-memory of a childhood near-drowning in the clan's flooded crypts.
It was a fear he had mastered decades ago, but its sudden, vivid resurgence made his breath hitch for a fraction of a second.
"Three layers", Elder Michio acknowledged, a hint of something other than disdain in his voice. He formed his own, more intricate seal, "Kai!"
The pressure vanished. He took a step forward. "You have technique, boy. But genjutsu is the art of the mind. Your mind is weak. Fragile. If your mother was of Waraiko blood, you might have stood a chance against me. But you are not only of inferior blood, you are young too. You can't outmatch me in a battle of mind"
Tetsu's hands, poised for a continuation, trembled
"She cried so easily too", the elder continued, advancing slowly, like a predator circling wounded prey, "Her tears were worthless. They produced only pity, not power. She did not have the gift, so she drowned herself in the lower canals. A fitting end for thrash. Tell me, boy. Are you thrash or are you Waraiko?"
Something in Tetsu snapped.
He didn't form another seal. A single, choked sob escaped his mask. A real tear traced a path down the painted wood.
In the underground of the Dark Hall Tower, that tear did something extraordinary. It did not sparkle. It darkened. It pulled the ambient chakra into itself as it fell.
It hit the stone floor with a sound like a dying heartbeat.
Plink.
Where it struck, the arena floor warped. Not physically, but perceptually. The grey stone turned black. A shape began to pull itself up from that point, drawing form from shadow, malice, and Tetsu's bottomless, repressed grief.
It stood as tall as two men. Elongated figure with too many joints, it was as dark as darkness itself. Its face was a void save for a massive, stitched-shut mouth that curved upwards in a grotesque smile. From the stitches, black, tear-like oil seeped.
Its eyes were hollow pits from which silent, racking sobs seemed to emanate.
It held no weapon; its long, clawed fingers were the weapons.
[Phantom: Grief-Joy-Demon – Lv. 40]
[Type: Advanced Psychological Genjutsu Manifestation]
Elder Michio stopped. His sensory abilities, sharpened by a lifetime with the Waraiko bloodline, screamed.
This wasn't a simple illusion to be dispelled with a Kai
This was a genjutsu given semi-autonomous form, fueled by a potent cocktail of chakra and raw. It was the advanced form of the Waraiko bloodline release, one that was only taught to outstanding heirs in the clan. Those who could summon it in the clan could be counted on one's hands.
"Impossible…", he whispered, "To awaken the grief-joy-demon at just twelve, without the Waraiko medium..."
The demon moved. It didn't walk; it flowed across the stone, silent as a shadow. Its clawed hand swept at the elder.
Elder Michio reacted, his hands flying through seals, "Fūton: Great Breakthrough!" (C)
A torrent of wind shot from his mouth, meant to scatter chakra constructs. It passed through the demon like smoke, barely disturbing its form. The wind hit the wall behind it with force, but the demon was untouched. It was not a physical entity. It was a thought given weight, a feeling given claws.
The claw passed through the elder's guard. It didn't cut his skin. It sliced through his mind.
Elder Michio screamed.
A raw, ragged sound of pure, psychic agony.
He fell to his knees, clutching his head. Visions assailed him—not his own fears, but Tetsu's darkness.
The loneliness, the bullying, the whispered insults about his dead mother, the crushing weight of being deemed worthless.
They flooded into him, amplified and twisted by the demon's touch.
"STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" he shrieked, his dignified composure utterly shattered. He scrabbled at his mask, trying to tear it off, as if it were suffocating him. As the mask decomposed, he continued to scratch his face, his nails turning bloody.
It was a scene of horror that made Ameruyi gasp in horror, the medical nins genins stumble backward and stop Genzo's treatment, and Ayaka tremble.
The demon leaned over Michio, its stitched mouth straining as if trying to open, to laugh. Black tears dripped onto the elder's robes, each drop causing him to convulse.
Inspector Kosuke was on his feet, his silver eyes wide. "Tetsu! That's enough!"
He did not just stand by.
Seeing that Tetsu was not in full control, he did what protocols indicated.
"Katon no jutsu: Great Fireball" (B)
A massive ball of fire incinerated the zone where the demon was, but it stood, unaffected, barely scratched by the jutsu.
Tetsu stood frozen, his body shaking, more tears—real, shining tears now—streaming from behind his mask.
He was losing control.
The demon's form flickered, growing more solid, more defined, its emotional feedback loop threatening to consume Tetsu's own consciousness.
Ryugo moved.
He didn't shout. He stepped to the edge of the pit, his voice cutting through the psychic storm, calm and absolute. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Tetsu."
Tetsu's head jerked towards him.
"Look at me," Ryugo said, locking eyes with him through the mask. "It's a tool. You control it. It doesn't control you. Bring it back"
Ryugo's voice acted as an anchor. Tetsu took a shuddering breath. He clenched his fists, his knuckles white. Seeing that it was going to disappear, the demon stopped its attack on Elder Michio and rushed over towards Ryugo, Tetsu's anchor.
The stream of tears lessened. He focused on Ryugo's impassive face, on the cold, logical certainty there.
Seeing this, Ryugo received the same treatment as Elder Michio.
Tetsu's darkness, the crippling pain of loneliness...
[Mind attack in progress...Host is resisting...]
[Mind damage taken...22 seconds until mental breakdown...]
But Ryugo did not give in. He endured, saying nothing. He wanted it to stop. The pain, the memories...they were too much, his mind about to burst from the information. The memories then turned into physical afflictions, or rather, illusions.
Burning.
Drowning.
Falling from a cliff.
In seconds, he died dozens of times in a torrent of simulations.
But a couple of seconds later, it all stopped. To Ryugo, it felt like an eternity, but to the others, it was only a couple of seconds.
The demon shuddered. Its form began to dissolve, pulling back inwards, sucking the bruise-colored shadow from the floor.
The oppressive, sorrowful aura receded like a tide. It unraveled into strands of dark chakra that flowed back into Tetsu, disappearing with a final, whispering sob.
Silence, deeper than before, filled the pit.
Elder Michio lay curled on the floor, whimpering, his mind brutally scoured. The other examiners stared, horrified and awed.
Ryugo was panting, but showed composure on his face. A mere facade.
His mind was in full analysis...
[Tetsu Waraiko - Lv. 20 Genin]
'This...this is amazing!', he exclaimed inwardly, 'A mere couple of seconds put me to my knees despite Tetsu only being level 20. To think he would actually be the strongest of us three'
Kosuke slowly sat back down. He looked at Tetsu, then at Ryugo who had commanded the uncontrollable, then back at Tetsu.
"A Waraiko genjutsu of that order…", Kosuke said, his fist clenched.
The inspector who had planned a regular promotion exam had lost control. If words of it escaped this room, his reputation would take a heavy blow.
Worse still, if Ryugo had not stopped Tetsu and he lost control...The Dark Hall Tower would have been ashamed to go to the Shizuku clan for help. This was unforgivable.
"That was not a technique. That was a curse given will", he paused, collecting himself, "Tetsu Waraiko. Evaluation...Pass. Promotion to Chunin approved"
Tetsu didn't celebrate. He just stood there, empty, the cost of his power etched in the slump of his shoulders.
"Are you okay, Ryugo-san? I am so sorry..."
Ryugo straightened up. He jumped down into the pit, ignoring the groaning elder and his trembling hand.
He gave him a smile: "You did well", he said, his voice low, "Now you see it. The source of your strength. Use it. Don't fear it. We will learn to control it together"
Tetsu nodded weakly.
[Quest Updated: Chunin Promotion (C) – COMPLETE for all members.]
[Rewards: 5000 EXP each, +100 Reputation with Amegakure, +50 Reputation with Team 11, B-Rank Ninjutsu Scroll (Individual), Chunin Vest acquired.]
[Additional Reward for Tetsu Waraiko: Hidden Bloodline Trait 'Weeping Demon' unlocked. Progression path available.]
[Ameruyi Takeda – Lv. 26 (↑1) Chunin]
[Ryugo Kagutsu – Lv. 28 (↑1) Chunin]
[Tetsu Waraiko – Lv. 22 (↑2) Chunin]
Inspector Kosuke looked at the three of them, and felt a small surge of chakra.
'This...', he thought, 'Was it my imagination? It must be shock from Tetsu's kekkei gekkai'
The flicker of surprise and suspicion in Kosuke's eyes did not escape Ryugo: 'Mumei-sensei told me that Kosuke used to be a sensor in the first shinobi war...He must have noticed us leveling up from the mission's rewards. I will need to be more careful in the future when I accept a mission's rewards'
Ryugo smiled. They had all been promoted to chunin rank.
"Report to the quartermaster for your vests and scrolls", Kosuke said, his monotone voice returning, though his eyes held a new, deep wariness, "Recover. Your first chunin-level briefing is in 48 hours. Dismissed. As of now, you are no longer affiliated with Shinobi Mumei. You will act as an elite chunin cell. You have displayed...fitting qualities. You will be deployed on the Lands of River borders"
As they left the examination ground, the echoes of Elder Michio's whimpers fading behind them, Ryugo knew that the tutorial had ended.
Finished were the peaceful time of D-rank bandit extermination missions.
Now that they had shown strength, they would enter a battlefield.
Everything was going as planned.
The true game could begin.