Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy

 

The testing room was completely silent, the only sound heard was the head proctor's, Kitsuchi's burly voice

None wished to miss a single detail of the exam rules, and the man himself stated he'd only explain them once. Anyone who missed a vital clue or a particular point would be out of luck

"What lies before you now is a written exam containing a set number of questions. You've thirty minutes to finish it, along with the other half of the exam" Kitsuchi explained

"What do you mean by other?" asked a genin as he raised his hand

"Exactly what it means, the First Exam is composed of two different parts. Once you've completed the papers in front of you, you'll begin the second part of the test. Which awaits you past these doors behind me"

"And what is the second part exactly?"

"Kekeke...once inside, you'll find out" Kitsuchi teased with a ominous grin

Many starting gossiping amongst themselves in response to this revelation

Countless theories spread amongst crowd as the examinees tried to ascertain exactly what they'd expect upon entering the two large doors situated behind Kitsuchi

{Shit...I thought it was strange when I didn't spot any sentinels! There's no one here to monitor us for cheating during the test. This won't be like the one I read about in the Manga!} Even Rei held worrisome thoughts of his own...

"I'll give you a hint. After the first ten minutes, if you really wanna pass, I highly recommend you and your squad be finished with those papers. As long as those exams sheets have even one answer filled, you're qualified to waltz through one of these doors. However, be prepared to risk everything you hold dear"

"Proctor. About those doors...do they offer the same test? Or are they different?"

"I'll leave that up to your imagination"

CLAMOR!

The crowd grew even more agitated, and frustrated at Kitsuchi's ambiguity, but the latter cared little for the glares of dissatisfaction from this group he considered to be...a bunch of ignorant whelps

Casually continuing with his explanation

"One last thing! Choice will always remain in your hands. The choice to take the exam, the choice to progress further, or the choice to get up and go back the way you came. After all, there's always next year"

Eyes shifted left and right as those present wondered which door they should pick. Some silently regretted coming here, reflecting upon their initial arrival at the front desk...

For each and every squad present that registered, had also signed a death waiver

A few got up from their seats and left the room, giving up on going any further. Believing life was far more important than "honor and glory"

{So many have remained...hundreds of them. Waiting any longer isn't going get anywhere, it's time to start} Kitsuchi understood

Once the noise came to end, Kitsuchi took out a stop watch and instructed everyone to begin once gave his approval

Rei whispered to his team "Guys, just focus on answering what you can. If there's a problem you're having trouble with, ignore it. We'll leave together"

Tai and Suzu nodded subtly nodded in response

"And...BEGIN!!"

FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!

One by one, the sound of papers flipping over echoed in the room, everyone went to work, frantically filling out as many "answer boxes" on the written test as they could

The pressure was easily felt, the sound of Kitsuchi's stop-watch ticking only reminded them of what little time they had. In order to succeed, every minute, every second, every moment was invaluable

But not all were intimidated...

{Though complicated for some, I can easily finish this in less than five minutes. Still, 'Only one answer is necessary'...they're not putting much emphasis on the written exam...but that could be trap in itself. He said it'd be best we finish before ten minutes pass to gain an advantage during the second part...} Rei glanced at the doors

In this world, there's always a hidden meaning. The crucial factor this engineer from another world committed to his memory the moment he began his journey

Answering question after question, he compartmentalized and focused on what he could do now, rather than dwell on the unknown

{That should do it. Strange, most of these questions leaned towards a scientific edge, than a ninja one...though the line between both is very thin. Oh...looks like Tai and Suzu have finished as well, nice, only six minutes have passed since we began. We've plenty of time for the unknown second part}

"It looks like some of the others have already left" Tai noted

"Yeah, let's get a move on" Suzu was the first to leave her seat

The trio got up and left their exam sheets at the desk in front of Kitsuchi, the man in question directed them to choose of the two doors to enter

Both were completely identical, but they knew there was no time to waste on deciding. After a moment of deliberation, Team Tango entered the door on the right, leaving the room

 

♦♦♦

 

The team scampered along a narrow hallway that continued to descend downwards, 

"At this point, we're definitely several feet underground. What exactly is this other part of test?" Rei wondered

"No clue, but I think I can see a door!" Suzu exclaimed

"Let's go!"

CREAK!

After checking for any booby traps, Tai opened the door

"H-Huh...? What is this? Where is everybody?"

"Somethings off..."

"You're right. There were more than few who left before us, and went through the same door, how are we the only ones here?"

The Genin found themselves inside a small white cubic room, nearly empty. The only thing inside was a metal desk and what appeared to be an oxygen tank with a single rebreather mask attached to it by a rubber tube

On the ceiling, light shined through two window-shaped openings fastened with metal bars, suitable for a prison cell window

Before they could elaborate further, a voice that sounded like a recording emerged from above, outside the room

"[Welcome to the final part of your exam. To pass this test, the objective is simple...escape this room within the remaining allotted time. NOTE, use of Ninjutsu is ill advised]"

"H-Huh? That's it? Easy, we'll just leave the way we-?! What the hell?!"

"What's wrong Tai?! What--ah!"

"Shit...they got us"

Turning around, they were met with shock upon discovering the door leading inside had seemingly disappeared, as if it was never there to begin with

Now, Team Tango was trapped inside with no way out

"Okay, they said allotted time, and Kitsuchi stated the entire exam had a thirty minute time frame. We finished the first part in six minutes, and it's been about two and half since we've arrived. Now, how do we get out. Suggestions?" Rei asked

"Let's try the ceiling. Those two barred openings on the ceiling might work if climb up and cut them with blades" Tai readied himself to run upwards on the wall, and reach the window

"Hold on, that seems a little too obvious for--TAI!"

It was too late for Rei to say anything, as Tai already began running, but when he tried to scale the wall...

"See, piece of cak--huh? W-Whoa! OH CRAP!"

BAM!

He fell right off, landing on his head

"O-Owww! That freaking hurt...what the hell?!"

"Are you alright?" Suzu helped him up

Rei walked past them and placed his right hand on the wall, closing his eyes while concentrating

{This chakra...so that's it} "Guys! This wall--no, this room...it's made from minerals unique to the Land of Earth. Even more, I can feel Tai's chakra pulsing through the wall"

"E-Eh? Why would my chakra be inside the wall?"

"When you tried to scale it with chakra, the wall reacted to the energy you kneaded within your feet, disturbing the adhesive effect, hence you falling off. Be careful using chakra from this point onwards, who knows what'll happen"

"What?! How is that fair?!"

"Guess this is what they meant by avoiding the use of Ninjutsu. We're probably not supposed to escape through the barred windows on the ceiling right? When you think about it, that solution is too obvious" Suzu accurately perceived

"Right. It wouldn't make sense to make a test about escaping, and then place the exit in plain view. It doesn't make any sense"

"So that means...the exit in this room is somewhere else. And with this strange material everywhere...Ninjutsu isn't on the table" Tai managed to grasp the room's true nature

"Let's search this room. Tai study that desk in the corner, there's definitely a reason why it was placed there" Suzu advised

"On it...oof! Wow!"

"What?"

"It's just--I thought this desk might be for climbing or something but...it's insanely heavy. Dense too, hold on a sec"

Tai took out a kunai from his pouch and struck the desk, but when he did...

CLANK!

"?!"

"Well damn. It's really tough"

...the kunai blade shattered into pieces the instant it came into contact

"An extremely sturdy desk, an oxygen tank, and a room with no doors that also reacts to chakra in strange ways...and we're supposed to escape? We're definitely not in the academy anymore" Tai mused

The pair continued to survey the room, searching every nook and cranny available

Rei, still standing where he was, placed his other free hand on the wall in an attempt to cautiously study any reactions it might have with his own chakra

Despite the situation, he couldn't hold back his scientific curiosity for this material, as it was unlike anything he's ever encountered since arriving in this world

{As expected of the Land of Earth. The unique structure of the wall material really does have a unique reaction whenever chakra comes into contact with it. I'm not even trying, and I can feel the surface becoming...warmer?}

DRIP!

"Hm? Did someone hear that? It sounded like--ah!"

"These twisted bastards..."

"W-Wait...you mean they're actually gonna-?!"

"It's exactly so Tai"

SPLOOSH!

As if things couldn't be worse, water started to flow from the openings on the ceiling

 

 

 

"At this rate, this entire room will be filled water in no time..."