The three Genin emerged from the woods at separate points, coming together at the center of the clearing. This was probably coincidental, but Reito hoped it was a sign that his teammates had concluded that cooperation was necessary. After all, they looked as bedraggled as he did now. They were sweaty, their clothes were dirty, and their hair was unkempt. Clearly, like him, they had been put through the wringer.

"You have less than fifteen minutes left," the man announced. "Unless you would like to forfeit?"

Sekka scowled darkly.

"We can do it if we work together," Reito coaxed.

Sekka tutted and eyed him with disdain, then pulled a kunai from her thigh holster and charged at the man.

Daishi inched forward. "Wait," Reito pleaded. "A frontal assault won't work!"

This, it transpired, was true. Reito missed exactly what happened, but the Jonin now had Sekka's kunai-wielding hand placed precariously against her neck. She was stationary, looking as confused as he was.

With a complicated twisting movement, Sekka broke free from the teacher's hold and resumed her attack. A similar grapple was used, but she was ready for it this time, using her flowing Taijutsu movements to anticipate and counter it. Suddenly, she had the advantage, using the man's arm to swing herself onto his back like a monkey, but then he moved in much the same way.

Reito couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was like a dance. A violent, high-speed dance. Their Taijutsu skill made his morning training sessions with Kakashi Sensei look like recess at the kindergarten. Sekka's attacks weren't landing, but neither were Yamato Sensei's. They were parrying each other perfectly.

Whether the teacher was trying his hardest, Reito wasn't certain, but it certainly looked like he was. Remembering himself, he pulled out two shurikens, looking for an opportunity to support Sekka the way he used to with Yuji.

When Sekka went for a mid-air kick, Yamato Sensei blocked it with his arms, and she bounced off them before he could grab her foot, creating some distance between them. Reito took his shot, launching two shurikens, one with extra spin to hide it in the shadow of the other.

Unfortunately, Sekka had the same idea. She had thrown a pair of shurikens mid-somersault, which collided with Reito's. "Don't get in my way!" she snapped, beginning a Hand Seal sequence before she even landed. "Water Style (Suiton): Great Cannonball (Taihōdan no) Jutsu!"

When Sekka released a large burst of water from her mouth, Yamato Sensei looked just as surprised as Reito and... Daishi was gone again! But Sekka being able to use an elemental Jutsu was the bigger shock right now. She must have used water to create her mud trap from before. But how? They had barely touched on Chakra Natures at the academy. How was she this advanced?

The girl's attack hit their instructor head-on. Its speed, density, and the deluge of droplets it created on impact indicated that the ball of water was highly pressurized. Reito was a little concerned for the man.

Yamato Sensei was safe, though. He had erected a square-shaped wall of earth before him—now with a deep, circular indent—in time to block Sekka's attack.

That was when Daishi appeared, seemingly out of thin air, his outreached hand closing on the bells at the man's waist. It was a camouflage technique. A high-level one at that. The standard technique taught at the academy was easily seen through if the user made even the smallest movement, but Daishi had managed to get close to his target undetected, and now he was going to get a bell.

Yamato Sensei caught Daishi's wrist at the very last moment, just as his fingertips grazed one of the little metal spheres, and he flung the boy at Sekka, who had just appeared around the mud wall. Together, they were knocked into the stream, sinking below its surface with a splash.

Reito realized then that they still had a chance. Daishi had used Sekka's flashy Jutsu as a distraction. Working with her may not have been his intention, but it amounted to the same thing. If they attacked together, planned or not, they might be able to create an opening for one of them to get a bell, and in doing so, demonstrate a modicum of the teamwork Yamato Sensei was surely looking for. Reito would support his teammates whether they liked it or not.

He ran forward, extending a hand to Daishi, who had emerged from the water coughing and spluttering. The boy took Reito's hand gratefully and climbed over the bank, but Sekka shot out of the stream unaided like a salmon heading home. She flipped over Yamato Sensei, putting his back to the water, landing while weaving Hand Seals.

In response, the man thrust out his hand, and a narrow length of brown...something extended from his palm. Reito threw a pair of shurikens to sever the substance before it reached the girl, but they merely sunk into it with two distinct thuds, and it snaked tightly around Sekka. She was quickly bound from her shoulders to her knees, preventing her from completing her Jutsu's activation sequence.

If Reito didn't know better, he could have sworn the material was wood, but that wasn't possible. Or was it? Just then, his confusion increased when a second Sekka emerged from the stream behind the teacher. He looked back at her detained twin, who was now a watery, human-shaped mass.

"The Water Clone Jutsu?" Yamato Sensei asked in astonishment.

"Water Style (Suiton): Great Cannonball (Taihōdan no) Jutsu!" the real Sekka commanded from above. A mud wall wouldn't protect Yamato Sensei this time, even if he turned in time, not at this angle.

For good measure, Reito launched himself into the air and tossed his remaining shurikens in a complicated omnidirectional pattern that even a Jonin would have trouble avoiding. Daishi saw this and followed up with a kunai. Yamato Sensei had no escape route.

He didn't turn, though. At the last moment, he brought his hands together and quickly formed the Rat, Dog, and Tiger Seals, uttering, "Wood Style (Mokuton): Wood Locking Wall (Mokujōheki no) Jutsu." Roots erupted from the soil, morphed, and enclosed the man in a protective wooden dome. Somehow, he really was using techniques that created wood.

An instant later, their weapons sunk into the dome and Sekka's destructive technique had no effect but to shower them all in its spray. She wasn't giving up, though. Despite panting heavily once she landed, she weaved more signs, then uttered, "Water Style (Suiton): Surface Slicer (Mizu Kamikiri no) Jutsu!"

A fresh jet of water from Sekka's mouth was fired at the ground, where it gathered for a moment before shooting across the clearing, traveling over the grass like the dorsal fin of a shark carving through the sea. A second later, it impacted with the wooden dome and sawed it clean in two.

Once again, Reito found himself concerned for their instructor, but just as before, he needn't have been worried. When Sekka suddenly yelped and was pulled down into the earth, buried up to her neck, her face scarlet with embarrassment, he realized Yamato Sensei was just fine. He must have tunneled out of his dome before Sekka's attack landed.

"Sekka!" Reito called out as the man burst out of the ground like a rabbit from its warren. "I'm going to engage him. You dig Sekka out," he told Daishi while amassing Chakra. He dashed forward, ready for full combat. He couldn't keep Yamato Sensei busy long, but maybe all his sparring practice would pay off and allow them to regroup.

Reito quickly realized that exchanging blows with the Jonin was a hopeless task. Even while pushing his Chakra output to its absolute maximum, moving with more agility and power than he had ever attempted, he simply wasn't skilled enough to pressure the man like Sekka had with her unusual fighting style. All of his moves were easily countered. Kakashi Sensei could do that with one hand tied behind his back, after all. Still, so long as it bought a little time for Daishi to... Daishi!

The boy had melted out of thin air behind Yamato Sensei, making another grab for the bells. Meanwhile, Sekka's head was still protruding from the earth nearby, looking positively furious as she futilely dug with her chin. What was Daishi thinking? He was supposed to be helping her.

The bells jingled, but their instructor reacted in time, swinging Daishi around by his wrist again, sending him careening into Reito.

Reito hit the floor hard, winded thanks to Daishi landing on top of him. He was angry and about to express it when he noticed Daishi's expression. The boy was red-faced with shame.

"I'm sorry, Reito," he mumbled, his eyes averted as he tried to catch his breath.

Deciding it wasn't worth arguing about, not when Daishi looked appropriately contrite, and not with such little time left, Reito held his tongue. He got to his feet and pulled Daishi to his, sparing a glance in Sekka's direction. She was no closer to freeing herself, which seemed rich considering her comment to Reito when he had been in her position.

"It looks like time's about up," Yamato Sensei declared with a sigh of disappointment as he retrieved the alarm clock. He held it out for them to see.

It was true. They had only seconds remaining until the nine o'clock deadline. Even if Sekka hadn't still been buried, there was no time for a final round. They were out of time and out of Chakra.

There was only one thing Reito could think of that might help them now. He could be wrong about it, of course. The rules of the test may have changed over the years, and his idea, if it worked, could make him the only one among his group to fail, but he had to risk it. He gathered his remaining Chakra, extended his hand, and reached out with his mind.

Yamato Sensei reacted to the movement instinctively, crossing his arms over his chest, not perceiving Reito's true intention until it was too late. When the bells chimed, he made to grab them, but Reito used his odd ability to keep the man's hand at bay while he snatched the bells from his waist.

The two silver spheres zoomed through the air and into Reito's open palm, their chimes now muffled by the ringing alarm clock. For a moment, he was tempted to hold onto them, but that wasn't likely to earn a pass for him or his team. Instead, he forcefully pressed one into Daishi's limp hand, then walked over to the buried girl and hung the red string of the other on her hairpin.

"How did you...? What are you...? Why?" Sekka asked, her confused face free of her usual frown.

"Because we're teammates," Reito said simply, his voice strained. Then, his vision dimmed, and he keeled over.

***

When Reito awoke, taking in the familiar sight of a hospital room, there was a surreal, fleeting moment where he wondered whether it had all been a dream. For an instant, he allowed himself to believe that his return to Konoha hadn't included a five-year gap, that the two figures present were those of Kazuki and Yuji, and that he was waking for the first time following their confrontation with Akatsuki.

"Finally!" a female voice spoke, snapping him out of his reverie.

Focusing his eyes, Reito saw Daishi sitting in a chair at his bedside, and Sekka leaning against the far wall with her arms crossed. "Oh, it's you," he said, comprehension dawning.

Sekka's eyes flashed murderously. "Not by choice!" she snapped.

Reito shot up. "What happened?" he asked with urgency.

"You passed out. Chakra fatigue," Daishi murmured absently, his eyes fixed on the window opposite.

"No, I mean the test! What happened with the test? Did we pass?"

"We don't know!" Sekka responded angrily. "Yamato Sensei said we had to wait until you woke up and that we had to wait with you! You've been napping for almost an hour. Now that you're awake, you can explain why you gave us the bells and how you did—"

Just then, Yamato Sensei entered the room. "Ah, Reito, I see the restorative worked! I didn't think you would be out for long," he said brightly, placing his hands on his hips.

Sekka's smirk indicated that she thought an hour had been quite long enough. "So? Tell us, are you passing us or not?" she demanded.

The man ignored her tone and explained, "I just informed the Hokage of my decision...to pass all three of you!"

Reito, Daishi, and Sekka's eyebrows shot up as one. They passed! Reito couldn't believe it.

"However," their instructor started, adopting a serious expression. "It was a very close call. I was not impressed with your overall performance."

Reito gulped.

"One of you knows this already and was forbidden to share it, but the point of this exam was to demonstrate your ability to work as a unit! You either pass or fail together. It's the very reason why you were assigned teammates!" the man explained sternly.

Daishi lowered his head into his collar. Sekka looked crestfallen.

"Sekka, you demonstrated skills far beyond the average academy graduate, but when facing a stronger opponent, you cannot rely solely on your own power. You had ample time to come to this conclusion before our final skirmish!"

"So, why were there only two bells?" Sekka protested.

"Firstly, to test your ability to detect misinformation. Secondly, to see whether you would prioritize yourself over your teammates. You failed on both counts. Your unwillingness to cooperate almost cost you all Genin status!"

The girl's cheeks flushed scarlet, and she averted her eyes.

"Daishi," Yamato Sensei continued, "you employed concealment techniques, including the Akamine Clan's stealth Jutsu, to great effect. You managed to stay undetected for a considerable period and came very close to taking a bell. However, as you should now understand, taking a bell was not the goal of this exercise. Instead of working with your teammates, you took advantage of them."

Daishi's head practically disappeared into his collar, withdrawing like that of a turtle.

When Yamato Sensei turned his way, Reito braced himself. "Reito, your records indicated you had high analytical ability, but you allowed emotional turmoil to cloud your judgment," the man chastised. "You failed to detect a low-level Genjutsu, came to the exam insufficiently equipped, and employed a risky, Chakra-consuming Jutsu to achieve your goal. In the field, use of such a technique would leave you and your teammates vulnerable."

A deafening silence fell upon the room. After a few seconds, Reito voiced apprehensively, "So...why have you passed us? It doesn't sound like you want to."

Yamato Sensei sighed. "Despite your failings, each of you has considerable individual skill, and in the end, whether you intended to or not, you demonstrated your potential to function as a unit. Sekka was able to pressure me, Reito provided support, and Daishi showed perfect timing. Largely, though, your passing is down to Reito's final act."

Reito blanched at this.

"I'm sure you two must realize now," the man addressed Daishi and Sekka, "but with his unique Jutsu, he could potentially have taken a bell from me much sooner, long before his Chakra had been depleted. He resisted doing so in order to work with you."

"That's because he already knew what the test was about," Sekka sulked.

"Wrong, Sekka," Yamato Sensei corrected. "The test Reito underwent previously was very different. He may have suspected the rules would be similar, but he had no more information than you to go by. He chose to attempt to coordinate with the pair of you, and he chose to give you the bells, risking his future on the chance that his theory was correct. He put the team's interests ahead of his own."

"I apologize," said Daishi regretfully. "I wanted to work together. I should have. I'll do better."

Sekka turned up her nose, clearly not about to follow suit. "So, we passed, then? We're Genin?" she asked.

"Yes," Yamato Sensei confirmed, "but you will be operating together as a team, so you need to start acting like one. I will be watching."

Reito didn't like the sound of that.

"Tomorrow, I will be presenting you to the Hokage at a brief ceremony, and you will be assigned your first mission," Yamato Sensei explained. "Before that, we have two things to take care of. Firstly, I'm told there is already a Team Five in rotation, so we need to assign you a new designation. The other passing teams have been decided, so taking them into account as well as the other current Genin teams, the numbers available are two, four, and eigh—"

"Four!" Reito ejaculated, the word leaving his mouth before he knew it. The idea of adopting his former team's designation just felt right, like a way to honor Amaya Sensei and his friends in some small way. "Err, sorry. I mean, if it's okay with Daishi and Sekka, can we be Team Four?"

Yamato Sensei looked to each of them for an answer. Daishi nodded his approval. Sekka opened her mouth object, either because of the unlucky number or her dislike of Reito, but ultimately shrugged.

Reito took this a conciliatory gesture on her part and smiled warmly at her, to which she rolled her eyes. Despite this, his smile widened when it occurred to him that Haru's team number of Three was not one of the options available to choose from. They must have passed too! Of course, if that was true, it meant Akio's Team One had as well, which was a less favorable outcome.

"Right, well, in that case, congratulations on your promotion to Genin, Team Four!" said the teacher.

Daishi's shoulders relaxed as he appeared to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What was the other thing we need to take care of, Sensei?" asked Reito.

"Ah, yes. Something extremely important," the man replied enigmatically, causing Daishi to tense up again, and Sekka to narrow her eyes. "Breakfast!"

-

Reito has regained his Genin Status! How will he and his teammates operate together as the newly dubbed Team Four? What's next for them? How will others react to their promotion? Find out next time, on the SEASON FINALE of Blank Slate: Naruto Blank Generation!

FUN FACT: Of the eight teams from Reito's class, Team One, Team Three, and Team Five passed the final exam. Of the failing five teams, the numbers two, four, and eight were available as replacement designations for Team Five, indicating that there is an existing Genin Team Five, Team Six, and Team Seven.