The smoke billowed and swirled, taking on a myriad of shapes before settling into a form. As the mist began to clear, silhouettes appeared.
As the misty training ground slowly unveiled the scene, a pack of wolves materialized from the dissipating smoke summoned by Riku's jutsu. The ethereal mist clung to the majestic creatures, emphasizing their otherworldly presence.
The wolves stood in a formation, their fur a mix of shades blending seamlessly with the mist. Their eyes, gleaming with intelligence and an instinctual ferocity, surveyed the surroundings as if they were attuned to the very essence of the misty wilderness.
The alpha wolf, slightly larger than the others, bore markings that seemed to shimmer in the diffused light. Its eyes locked onto Riku, a silent acknowledgement of their shared purpose. The rest of the pack, arranged in a disciplined manner, awaited the command from their summoner.
"Okami," Riku began, "I need your pack to help me out with something."
"What is it Riku?" Okami, the alpha wolf asked.
"I got new genins, so it is the usual test. Just test them a little bit."
"For how long?"
"Half a day. But give them breaks in between."
Okami, with a dignified nod, acknowledged Riku's command. He released a low, almost imperceptible, growl to his pack who were eager for the challenge.
Riku observed the wolves with a sense of satisfaction. He had summoned not just a challenge for Team 15 but an ally that would help him test their teamwork, strategy, and adaptability.
As the pack of wolves left, Riku wondered,
"What to do next? I'll leave Okama and his pack to have some fun."
Riku decided to leave the training ground temporarily. As he disappeared, he contemplated the unfolding scenario. It was going to be a long day for his genins.
=====
The first six hours in Training Ground 51 were a relentless gauntlet for the team. The forested landscape had transformed into a battleground where the summoned pack of wolves orchestrated a relentless series of assaults.
Each of the three genins found themselves constantly on the move, defending their stones against the cunning predators.
'What are they? As far as I know, they shouldn't be animals in Konoha's training grounds, let alone Wolves!' Renjiro thought as he had three wolves hot on his tail.
'The only possible explanation is there might be from the Inuzuka Clan that Riku commissioned for their torture, or they might be Riku's summons. Knowing the Inuzuka clan, the latter is probably the case.'
Renjiro stopped and turned to face the wolves chasing them, he made the Tiger hand sign and performed the great fireball jutsu. Immediately he released the flaming ball, Renjiro followed it up with the rat sign and the air around the fireball began to burst amplifying the exploding aftermath.
'I need to distract them again.'
Renjiro made five clones from the clone jutsu. The clones all scattered in different directions.
This was what Renjiro had been doing the last couple of hours. When they first decided to split up, Renjiro diminished his chakra signature, hoping that Riku would not find him.
Unfortunately for him, the wolves who had started attacking found him with the help of their keen sense of smell. They immediately began attacking Renjiro.
Renjiro utilised his Sharingan to its fullest extent in a bid to form some sort of resistance against the attacks. His every step was calculated, and his eyes darted between the shadows, anticipating the next attack. His kunai and shuriken flew with precision, keeping the wolves at bay.
After some time, Renjiro realised that what he was doing was pointless as the wolves were able to form clones. He could not identify what type of clones they were since he had only been exposed to the normal clone jutsu.
Since fighting was futile, he opted to escape the chase. He would run then when he sensed them approaching, he would use a jutsu and clones to distract them.
It was taking a toll on his chakra reserves because they always found him, so he was always using chakra either through the jutsus or by reinforcing his physical capabilities.
'I wonder how many teams passed this torturous test.'
Elsewhere, Hiro and Aiko were facing the same fate. However, Hiro had the short end of the stick as Aiko used her genjutsu skills to escape the wolves' pursuit.
"I should have listened to Renjiro's plan," Hiro rued.
As the wolves relentlessly pressed their attacks, Hiro began to regret the decision to split up. His movements became defensive, trying to fend off the agile predators without leaving himself vulnerable.
After around eight hours of relentless battles with the summoned pack of wolves, Riku Senju, with a cunning smile, decided it was time to return to the training ground. The forested training ground, now marked by signs of the intense skirmishes, awaited the next phase of the challenge.
As Riku reappeared, he casually unsummoned Okami and his pack, dissolving the presence of the formidable wolves. The absence of the relentless attackers gave the genins a momentary sense of relief.
Riku stretched and then, with a hint of determination in his eyes, he declared, "Time to get serious."
Riku initiated the next phase of his assessment, he wanted to engage each member of the team individually. He made three shadow clones. The shadow clones transformed and took the appearance of the three genins.
'Let's see how good they are.'
=====
'Haaaa!' Renjiro heaved as he finally had a moment of respite as the wolves chasing him disappeared.
'It seems that Riku cancelled the summons. Although it's great for me, he must be planning something.'
Renjiro sat in the lotus position and activated his chakra field before he began his meditation. He had to regain as much chakra as he could before Riku put his plans into place.
After a while, Renjiro's instincts screamed at him and he twisted his body. Right as he did, a kunai grazed his arm. Looking at the direction it came from, lo and behold he saw himself.
"Who are you?"
"You conscious."
'It's definitely Riku.' Renjiro thought as he dodged more kunais heading his way.
After the kunais, the clone to the initiative and attacked Renjiro by launching a kick towards his abdomen. Renjiro evaded it and returned one to the clone.
'Hmm.... It's probably a shadow clone. It probably has more chakra than I do.'
With that, Renjiro activated his Sharingan and the fight ensued with an exchange of attacks.
'What's the point of all this!'
Soon enough, the exchange started becoming annoying for Renjiro. When he activated his Sharingan, he had expected a tough fight since Riku was a jounin. Instead, he got the most annoying thing.
The clone matched all his attacks. It was funny how he was the one with the Sharingan, but it was his movements being read. Even when he resorted to ninjutsu, the clone he was fighting replicated the same jutsus towards him.
'I knew pushing off learning the Sharingan Genjutsu would come to bite me in the ass. Although he is a Senju, at least that would be something that the clone wouldn't copy.'
The only silver lining to this was that His teammates were experiencing the same misfortune. Hiro was also annoyed at how his clone was copying both his taijutsu and bukijutsu skills while Aiko had the worst of it since the genjutsu she was experiencing was more potent than the one she used.
Riku wanted to test the various fields that the genins had prospered in. He also wanted to know how they would react to pressure which was an important metric for their performance on the field.
What annoyed Renjiro and the rest of Team 15, besides the fact that Riku was perfectly fighting them using their preconceived strengths, was that he was doing all this looking like them.
He had used the transformation jutsu to turn to whoever he was fighting against. It was basically like fighting yourself. Which was really frustrating, to the genins that is, Riku was enjoying getting on their nerves.
After what seemed like an eternity, Riku concluded his little 'data collection exercise'. With a satisfied nod, he resummoned Okami and his pack back, releasing Team 15 from the relentless one-on-one engagements to a more constant one.
The wolves, appearing once again on the battlefield, added an additional layer of complexity to the test's final phase.
Renjiro decided it was time to change the tide of the battle. Activating his chakra field, he quickly tracked down his teammates, who were scattered throughout the forested training ground.
After locating them, Renjiro conveyed his plan,
"This is getting us nowhere. We need to work together to fend off these wolves. We've been through enough, and it is getting dark."
After what they had been through the last fifteen hours, plus the fact that it was getting dark, Aiko and Hiro didn't have any other option as their chakra reserves were dwindling.
Without any solder pills or time to meditate, the situation was only bound to get worse.
The trio, now working as a cohesive unit, faced the wolves with synchronized movements and coordinated attacks. It was amazing what being at the end of your ropes could do to someone.
As the team, now working seamlessly together, faced the wolves in a united front, Riku Senju appeared with a satisfied smile. With a wave of his hand, Riku called off the summoned wolves, dispelling them into the training ground.
"You've done well, Team 15," Riku commended, his eyes reflecting pride in the young shinobi. "You've passed the test."
=====
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