Training Ground 11 was nothing like the others.
No cheerful paint lines or student dummies. No friendly instructors waiting with clipboards. Just a ring of silent trees and a clearing that looked more like a battleground than a lesson space.
I arrived five minutes early.
The clearing was empty.
Then—without a sound—three masked figures stepped out from the treeline.
ANBU.
My spine straightened instinctively. Their chakra signatures were dense, controlled, and razor-sharp. Like a wall of knives wrapped in silence.
One wore a dog mask.
Another had a bear.
The last, a weasel with red ink markings.
It was the weasel-masked one who spoke.
> "Nara Aiko. Age: 8. Student of the Academy. Not yet graduated.
Yet you executed battlefield tactics during an ambush. Coordinated with allies.
And exhibited high-level chakra control and early mastery of clan jutsu."
I didn't respond.
He tilted his head.
> "Explain yourself."
---
I took a breath.
"I am a Nara. Tactics are part of our training."
"Not at that level."
Silence stretched. The dog-masked one shifted slightly. Watching. Measuring.
I chose my next words carefully.
"I... read ahead. My father has scrolls. I've been training in secret. It's not uncommon for clan children to develop early."
It was a calculated lie—truth wrapped in enough padding to be believable.
The weasel nodded once. "Then prove it."
---
A scroll was tossed at my feet.
I caught it mid-air.
It opened to reveal a layout of a small mock village. Houses, walls, guards, escape points.
> "In this simulation," the bear-masked ANBU said, "you are to extract a captured comrade without alerting enemy forces. You have fifteen minutes to plan. Three to execute."
> "Failure will be treated as real-world consequences."
Meaning: if I tripped a trap or missed a detail, they wouldn't hold back.
So that's how this was going to go.
---
I dropped into a crouch, studying the map. My mind slipped into overdrive.
> _The west wall is unguarded, but the incline is too steep—slows movement.
The north watchtower has poor visibility from under the tree canopy.
Enemy blind spots overlap near the central courtyard at intervals of 22 seconds.
One patrol loops wide. One cuts in sharply.
There. That's the gap._
I stood. "Ready."
---
The bear-masked ANBU blinked once. "You still have ten minutes of prep."
"I don't need them."
A pause. Then a nod.
---
They moved me into the testing zone.
It was an actual mock village tucked into the woods, made of bamboo structures and soft walls. No traps, no genjutsu—just field layout and pressure.
I dropped to all fours and moved through the underbrush, slow and silent.
At the first corner, I used Shadow Possession to feel the ground.
Two signatures nearby.
I waited. Counted. Slipped through.
I scaled a roof silently, avoided broken tiles, then slipped behind a rain barrel just as two "enemy" ninja walked by.
So far, so good.
---
My "comrade" was located in the central storage shack.
I slithered my shadow beneath the door to confirm—yes, someone was in there. A training dummy with a flaring chakra beacon to simulate a presence.
Two guards nearby.
I moved.
One shadow reached out, touched the first. He froze.
The other turned—too late. I struck with a quick jab of a training kunai to his side. Non-lethal. Controlled.
Entered. Hoisted the dummy onto my back.
Slipped out.
---
At the edge of the mock village, just before I crossed the exit line, I heard a voice.
"You left a trail."
I spun around.
The weasel-masked ANBU stood in my path.
No sound. No chakra spike. Just there.
"Lesson one," he said. "Never assume victory."
He struck—fast.
I barely deflected. My feet skidded across the dirt.
He pressed again. His movements were precise, testing. He was gauging reaction, adaptability, instinct.
I moved low, swept his feet, activated my jutsu.
Shadow Possession Jutsu.
It shot forward. He jumped—
But my second shadow was already waiting, arcing from behind a tree.
He froze.
Caught.
Only for a second. But enough.
---
He raised a hand. "Simulation: complete."
---
Back in the clearing, I stood across from them again.
Sweating. Breathing hard.
The dog-masked ANBU stepped forward.
> "Clever use of bait and blind spots. Double shadow setup was... unexpected."
The weasel-masked one nodded. "You're unpredictable. That's useful. But dangerous."
The bear crossed her arms. "Why do you want to become a shinobi?"
The question hit like a kunai.
I knew the answer they wanted.
Loyalty. Service. Glory for the village.
Instead, I said:
"Because if I don't, people will die who don't deserve to."
They were silent for a long time.
Then the weasel-mask spoke again.
> "The Hokage will be informed.
You will return to the Academy.
But you are now flagged for future observation.
Until then, remember this:
Eyes are always watching. Especially the ones you never see."
Then they disappeared.
---
I stood alone in the clearing, heart pounding in my ears.
I had passed.
But I had also been marked.
I was no longer just a prodigy. No longer just a girl with good instincts.
Now I was a potential asset. Or a future threat.
And that line? In Konoha, it changed depending on who was holding the leash.
---
I returned home to find a familiar figure waiting at the Nara gate.
My father.
Shikaku Nara.
He lit a cigarette as I approached, his eyes half-lidded but sharp behind the smoke.
"You were at Ground 11," he said.
I didn't answer.
He looked up at the clouds. "You know, most kids get scouted after graduation. You just couldn't be normal, could you?"
"I didn't ask for any of this."
"No. But you walked into it anyway." He flicked the ash off his cigarette. "You should be careful. ANBU doesn't play by rules. And neither does Danzo."
That name.
I swallowed. "You think it was Root?"
"I think there are too many pieces on the board, and some of them are starting to notice you. That's enough reason to worry."
---
Later, in the quiet of my room, I pulled out the mission map again.
I traced the path I took. The bait. The counterattack.
I should've felt proud.
But instead, all I felt was fire in my veins.
Not fear. Not even pressure.
Just readiness.
Because this world wasn't going to protect me.
I had to shape it before it shaped me.
And I wouldn't let the shadows use me.
I would master them.