Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

'Hoh?' Hitomi was a little surprised, 'That brat was hiding his skill with the Body Flicker Jutsu and Fire Release. He's fast.'

Although Suguru was fast, it wasn't enough to outrun an enraged Kuromaru. Furthermore, even if Suguru could escape by himself, his teammates would inevitably get caught.

'Still, they're showing impressive teamwork,'

Compared to the famous bell test, Hitomi preferred creating team cohesion through the desperation of evading pursuit. Mutual trust would easily be created when each member protects the others from a sure-capture.

It also helped that Kuromaru was an absolute unit of a dog. In fact, even Hitomi sometimes wondered if Kuromaru was even a dog in the first place. He was absolutely massive — the biggest of his kind raised by the Inuzuka clan.

It was more apt to call Kuromaru a tamed beast instead of a pet.

Hearing her genins' yells in the forest, Hitomi sat down and made some tea. She was enjoying their torment. Kuromaru was also having fun, it seemed. His howls were clear signs that he was actually enjoying this.

'Enraged? More like excited.' Hitomi cackled.

***

While Hitomi leisurely brewed tea, the three genin had various cuts and bruises appearing on their bodies. Kuromaru's rough games had battered them for more than two hours already.

They were exhausted and desperate.

Suguru and Yumiko's chakra reserves were already low, and Isao had used up half of his own. 

They still weren't able to pin the beast down, forced to run away in a hurry after every attempt.

"Just a few more minutes," Yumiko breathed. "Does that guy not get tired?"

She scrambled to her feet just as Kuromaru dove to her location from high above the trees.

"That's a jounin-level ninja dog for you," Isao was also breathless as he dodged Kuromaru's subsequent pounce. Another cut appeared on his arm, tearing apart his sleeve.

"..." Suguru stayed silent as he dreaded every ounce of wasted energy he would spend talking.

The last few minutes passed by at a snail's pace. Each genin could feel their vision blurring from the exhaustion as they dragged each other out of harm's way, time and time again. They already knew they were being toyed with but had no way to fight back.

All they could do was create smoke screens with steam, annoy Kuromaru with Genjutsu attempts, and tie wires around his paws. Yet none of these techniques were sure-fire ways to keep stalling.

Kuromaru was too strong, too fast, and too smart.

Finally—

"That's enough! Kuromaru, come here!" A roar resounded from the center of Training Ground 24.

Hearing this voice, the three genin collapsed where they stood, barely able to breathe properly. Someone then emerged from the bushes.

—Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Wonderfully done, you three. You're the first genin squad to have passed my test in quite a while. Three different squads had failed before you lot. You're lucky." Hitomi snickered, "Come back here tomorrow morning at six. We need to work on a few things before we do missions."

Upon hearing Hitomi's confirmation that he passed, Suguru passed out with a hearty—

—Thud.

And he wasn't the only one.

***

Waking up, Isao felt his bones creak and his muscles groan. He struggled to get up. His genin squadmates, Suguru and Yumiko were still out cold since he had access to a much larger chakra pool than them.

Suguru stirred shortly after Isao. Yumiko woke up to his groans.

But the sun was already setting.

—Rustle.

"Oh, you're all awake. Finally. I've healed your wounds, but your bodies are not in good shape. We're going to be working on that starting tomorrow." Hitomi appeared with Kuromaru at her side. In Kuromaru's mouth were boxes of packed lunch hanging from a small blanket.

"Here, I got ya'll some dinner."

—Woof!

Kuromaru leaped off the tree and placed the packed lunch boxes on the ground.

Sluggishly opening the boxes, the three genin perceived the tantalizing scent of roast beef. Their mouths began to water.

"D-Did you cook this, Hitomi-sensei?" Yumiko swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"That I did," Hitomi proudly said. "Now, eat! You need enough protein to help you grow!" 

So, the three kids happily began eating. The food was so good that they completely forgot about their exhaustion, becoming energized by the softness of each slice of meat. Together with a bowl of rice and the vegetables that Hitomi had hand-picked from her garden, they had a very balanced meal.

When they were done, they let out a collective sigh.

"Thank you for the food, Hitomi-sensei," Suguru was the first to express gratitude. 

"Thank you, sensei~" Yumiko was next.

"The food was great. Thank you," And finally, Isao.

Nod. Hitomi was happy that the kids seemed to enjoy her cooking. However, a devious grin soon replaced her gentle smile.

"If you can still say those words after tomorrow's training, then I'll be happy to cook more."

***

The next day swiftly arrived, and hell was what awaited the kids. Another round of pursuit under Kuromaru's deadly duress had them both physically and mentally exhausted. Suguru had even opted to take one of his Energy Pills just to stay conscious throughout the session.

Although his training cemented their team's dynamics, their complaints grew with each passing moment. When the trio had the same training on the third, fourth, and fifth days, they felt like throwing up all the good food that they had been served.

It wasn't worth it!

No... maybe it was.

Each day, Hitomi cooked more and more. A growth that complemented their exertions for the day. Every day, the kids would eat until they couldn't anymore. Soon, Hitomi was serving miniature feasts.

Yet, the kids still ate it all, because their survival hinged on whether they could recuperate fast enough for the next day's pursuit.

Protein was a much-needed resource.

If not for the added fact that they could feel themselves rapidly getting better, the genins wouldn't have survived. Their instincts were sharpened and honed, their speed and agility heightened, and their raw senses became more encompassing.

They were improving by leaps and bounds — the same leaps and bounds that kept them away from Kuromaru's maws.

Finally, on the ninth day of this gruesome, hellish training, there was a shift in the battlefield.

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