Kisei stood patiently as he waited for the race to begin. It must’ve been an odd sight to the Kumogakure civilians. To have made a spectacle of these exams and to have it encroach on their everyday lives. He supposed it might have been exciting for them, seeing all these ninja here. But the thought puzzled Kisei. These exams were basically a military test, in this world the military and ninja organizations were essentially one and the same. So perhaps he was overthinking this a tiny bit. Either way it wouldn’t change anything.

Kisei was going to win this race.

“Finally, I was wondering when they were going to show up.” mumbled the Ushinatta as the last few stragglers walked up to in their starting positions. One, two, three, four…. Kisei counting. Totaling his competitors to seven. A smaller group than he would have expected but then again this specific test was later in the others. A couple of races were already held, they must be closing up by now. He flourished the umbrella to his right hand, adjusting the pinwheel strapped to his back with cloth. Kisei was more than prepared for this test. The proctor was given the signal and they brought their hand up. I gripped my weapon, tensing my body. Then, like a clock chiming the hour, their hand was brought down.

Instantly I spun my whole body counter clockwise, charging my chakra system with wind then expelling it. The effect was immediate. As I was in the middle of the line both of my competition to my sides were thrown away from me, bumping into those next to them and so on until I was the only one left standing. Instantly I raised my umbrella, aiming for directly in front of me, and I charged forward. Bursting with a strong kick from my left foot my right was next to lead.

But it caught on something. His movement was not altered or deterred, however…

“Hidden senbon!?” Kisei blinked in surprise. He opened his umbrella and pulled in close to him. The weapons master sighed, relieved that he hadn’t come to harm. When he turned back he cursed and started sprinting forward once more. While the sebon attack had failed he realized that it had cost him a large amount of time, as his competitors were already getting to their feet. The Ushinatta hadn’t counted on a sneak attack like that. Though it had made perfect sense, attack the opponent when they least expect it, so why not at the very start of the race. Any who were too slow to dodge would be eliminated by the numerous senbon. Luckily Kisei was prepared.

The streets laid out before him appeared bare but he knew better than that. Pulling his umbrella close and pressed against his stomach he aimed, and fired! The instant he pulled the trigger a massive orb of chakra flew out the end of the umbrella. Whatever material they were using must have been extremely low quality because although he heard the snap, the crackling of electrified wire shorting out, and saw the senbon and kunai shooting from the alleyways the sphere just continued to fly before ultimately dissipating on its own. “Wow, they really lowered their standards.” Kisei muttered to himself before continuing his run.

The rest of the race was rather simple. A little dodging here, raise the umbrella over here, smack other racers down there. Kisei was absolutely ruthless today. Not taking any chances. Kisei squinted forward as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Oh very clever. They townspeople had arranged all their shop stands in a massive wall. Painting arrows to at the sides to signify that the race was continuing. So a tiny obstacle course eh? Easily arranged. As he approached the conglomerate of wood and cloth he leaped up into the air. A beat. Then he soared up a second time, pushing wind affiliated chakra from the bottom half of his body. Kisei got a decent view above the stand, and the finish line that lay behind it. With his right hand he gripped his umbrella tight while with his left he yanked the pinwheel out of the bindings on his back. Flicking the switch on as he did so. He threw the pinwheel forward, the bladed wheel shooting towards the wood and into the stacks. Securely jamming itself into the works as he pulled himself on top of the wood.

He was so close, it was right in front of him. Kisei stomped forward and the ground in front of him collapsed. Instant panic shook his system, reminding him of the exhaustion his body was experiencing. Creating an impressive gap between him and the finish line. He fell into it as expected but it wasn’t the end for him. As he descended to the bottom of the pit he channeled chakra into the soles of his boots, the scent of burning leather and rubber disorientating him but he pushed on. Finding a solid grip on wall. “Thank the ninja for created this wall walking technique.” He whispered to himself as he ascended upwards from the sand pit trap.

As he leaped out of the sand trap his feet landed right over the finish line. The rest was a blur, be he could remember just barely making it before the time expired.



900/750
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