Naruto: Becoming a master taijutsu using martial arts.

Each group had a two-minute gap to enter the exercise zone, which felt less like strategy and more like giving us time to question our life choices.

"All right, team!" I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt, "priority one: find water and set up camp. Don't mess this up, okay?

The training field was no walk in the park. Dense trees loomed overhead, and the ground was a mix of damp soil and crunchy leaves—perfect for someone to trip and blame me for it later. The air had that "wet forest" smell, like nature's way of saying, "Welcome to the jungle, rookie."

I was half-expecting The Rock to burst in wearing his tiny Jumanji shorts, shouting "Don't cry!" on loop like he's stuck in a time loop or something.

Tokuma activated his Byakugan, struck a dramatic pose, and pointed to a clearing like a ninja GPS. 

"That's the perfect spot for our camp."

With his Byakugan, he could see stuff the rest of us couldn't, so I took his word for it.

"Great, Mr. I-Can-See-Everything." I said. "Now, let's move before something with teeth decides we look tasty."

We got to the clearing, and I started delegating like a boss.

"Okay, this could work. Hiyomi-san, traps. Now."

Hiyomi, who had been sleepwalking through this whole thing, yawned like I'd asked her to run a marathon. 

"Ugh, fine. Traps, got it." She shuffled off like she was headed for a nap, not ninja work.

"Jimei, stop daydreaming about Hiyomi and help to set up the camp. Natori… just keep standing there looking intimidating. Good work."

Jimei jumped in his seat and started babbling nonsense, turning redder than an Uzumaki's hair. And Natori... Well, if I didn't see his eyes moving, I'd swear he was dead. Honestly, at that point, I was half-convinced he was in some secret Danzo cult or something, the guy was completely unphased.

"Tokuma, stop posing and scan for threats."

"I'm not your errand boy, Kenshin," he grumbled, clearly annoyed, but activated his Byakugan anyway.

I noticed that Jimei couldn't stop side-eyeing Hiyomi, who was too busy grumbling about traps to notice. Drama brewing? Probably. My problem? Absolutely not.

Then we heard it.

A low, thunderous noise rumbled through the trees. Something big—no, massive—was heading straight for us, shaking the ground like a bad earthquake.

"Uh, guys?" Tokuma said, his Byakugan in full scan mode. "We've got company. And it's... huge."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Captain Obvious!" Jimei shouted, whipping out a kunai.

Out of the trees charged a freaking giant boar. And when I say giant, I mean this thing looked like it'd been sprinkling whey protein on its meals for years. Its tusks looked like they'd seen a few battles, and it did not look happy to see us.

"Oh, COME ON!" Jimei screamed, his voice cracking in ways I'd tease him about later. "WHY IS IT SO BIG?"

Hiyomi blinked at the scene like she was processing whether this was real or just a very weird dream. 

"Is this thing for real?" she muttered, still half-asleep.

I couldn't judge either of them, like, what the heck is going on here? What kind of messed-up world sends eight-year-old kids to camp where there's a monster like that? Someone call social services on Konoha! 

At least Bekkou-sensei is around, right? He wouldn't just let us face that thing, would he? He's probably gearing up to save us any second now, right?

Right???

Apparently not, because the boar charged at Hiyomi like she was a gourmet breakfast, and Bekkou-sensei didn't even bother showing up.

"Move!" I yelled, but she was too stunned to react. Luckily, Natori wasn't. He whipped out two shurikens and sent them flying, hitting the boar's legs and making it stumble just enough for Hiyomi to snap out of her trance. She stumbled backward, eyes wide, muttering something about nightmares.

"Hiyomi-san! Shadow jutsu! Pin it down!" I shouted, hoping she'd surprise us all.

"Shadow—what? Oh, right, that thing." She sighed, like saving all our lives was some big inconvenience. "But I need, like, time. And it only works within a meter."

Great. Just great. We needed to pin this boar down long enough for her to work her magic.

"New plan. Everyone, triangle formation! Tokuma, Jimei, get to its sides. Natori-san hit it from the back. Let's box this thing in!"

The boar wasn't about to give us a break. It charged again, this time at Jimei, who froze like a deer in… well, boar headlights.

"JIMEI! MOVE!" I shouted, sprinting toward him. With a burst of adrenaline (and poor judgment), I leapt between him and the boar, landing a kick right on its snout. Not my brightest moment, but it worked. The boar staggered back, snorting angrily.

Realizing he was about to be turned into a human shish kebab, I dashed toward him. Just before the boar reached him, I jumped, landing a back kick that sent the beast flying.

"JIMEI! SNAP OUT OF IT!" I yelled, yanking him out of his stupor. "This is not the time to play dead!"

Jimei shook his head, gripping his kunai like his life depended on it—because, well, it did.

The team moved into position. Tokuma, with his Byakugan, took position on the boar's right, ready to make his move. Jimei, now looking slightly less terrified, prepared to strike. Natori, meanwhile, stepped back, eyes glued to the boar, ready to toss shurikens at any escape attempt.

The boar, however, was not interested in our well-coordinated plan. It charged straight at Hiyomi. She barely had time to react. But just as it was about to slam into her, Jimei, finally snapping out of his daze, leapt in front of it, kunai drawn.

Jimei slashed at the boar, but the cut was shallow. The beast hesitated, then turned its focus to Natori on the opposite side.

Tokuma wasn't having any of it. He intercepted the boar's charge with a perfect Gentle Fist strike right to its snout, sending it staggering back, whining like a kicked puppy. As it tried to retreat, Natori's shurikens stopped it from running away.

"Hiyomi, now!" I shouted.

Without wasting a second, Hiyomi formed a hand seal eyes locked on the boar and a shadow stretched out from the ground, wrapping around the boar's legs and locking it in place.

"I did it!" Hiyomi grinned, for the first time actually looking awake. "I can't believe that I actually did it!"

"Yeah, you did," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "But maybe next time, let's not wait until the boar's five seconds from killing us, okay?"

The boar wasn't going anywhere, but now came the awkward part. Someone had to finish it off. I just stood there, staring at it, speechless. The weight of the situation hit me harder than any pressure I'd ever felt. This... this was real. I was about to kill something for the first time in this new world.

I noticed the others were waiting for me to do something, and I could see a tiny bead of sweat running down Hiyomi's forehead from holding that jutsu in place. I took a step forward and pulled out a kunai. It felt cold and solid in my hand, almost heavier than I expected.

Back in my old life, the only thing I'd ever killed was a few chickens when I was a kid, during one of those winters when my grandma decided to teach me the "circle of life" in the most brutal way possible.

She always said that when you take the life of another being—whether for food or self-defense—you should show respect. No matter how small the animal, it deserves dignity in death.

I didn't really get it back then, but now, with that kunai in my hand, I got it. I could feel the weight of my decision, knowing I was about to end the life of a creature that had just been trying to survive.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a second, and thanked the boar's spirit, hoping it would die quickly and without suffering. I promised that we'd make good use of its body.

When I opened my eyes again, I acted fast. A clean strike right where I thought the heart was. The impact made a dull thud, but I could feel the boar's body go still immediately.

I exhaled in relief. A clean hit like that? Total luck. And the fact that it died so quickly made me feel, well, kind of grateful. At least it didn't suffer. That was something, right?

There was complete silence around us. I wiped the kunai on my shirt, feeling strangely accomplished, but also kinda uneasy. Like, I wasn't sure what to make of this whole "killing" thing yet.

"We need water and fire. Let's not have a repeat of this, alright? Hiyomi, keep setting traps to keep other animals away. Tokuma, Natori, gather firewood for a campfire. Jimei, find clean water. Let's hustle." I said, trying to sound like I knew what I was doing.

As they split up to do their jobs, I stayed by the boar, staring at it. There was something about killing for the first time that was hard to put into words. I knew this was a turning point. It wasn't just a random moment—it was changing everything.

When I came into this world, I was pumped. Ninjas, crazy moves, all the cool stuff. But now? Now I realized what it really meant to be here. It wasn't just about killing boars. Eventually, I'd have to kill people.

I didn't think it would be a huge deal, but theory and practice are two very different beasts. Thinking about killing, understanding why it's necessary, even accepting it—that all made sense in my head. But when it came to actually doing it... yeah, that's a whole different level of messed up.

Killing isn't something you can undo. No rewind button. You just do it. And that? That's something you don't easily forget.

As I cleaned the boar, the sight of its blood and guts left a bad taste in my mouth, but there was also this strange sense of... acceptance? My mind was all over the place, trying to figure out what this all meant.

Life. Death. What really matters here? I knew I wasn't the same person I was before. I couldn't be. Every choice, every action, was molding me into something I didn't expect.

Killing, surviving, doing what's necessary... This ninja world is unforgiving, and I knew I'd have to change to survive here. But the question that kept bugging me was: who the heck was I going to be when this was all over?

I didn't know the answer, and honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted to. All I knew was that, in that moment, while I cleaned the boar's meat, I was a long way from the kid who came into this world clueless and confused.

That kid? He was a distant memory. I was becoming something else—and as terrifying as it was, it also gave me a weird kind of strength.

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So, we have some more OCs here. Hiyomi was so much fun to write, seriously, this arc is the last one before graduation, so I'm trying to make some character development here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next chapters will be out on Sunday. I'll try to update on regular days in the future, but I can't promise anything right now. So far, you can expect at least four or five chapters a week, minimum. Oh, and please send some power stones and leave comments.