Sinoca woke up before the sun woke up. She was still tired but wanted to get some water. As she made her way to the kitchen, she noticed she didn't hear Inamaru's snoring. Normally, his loud snoring would echo throughout the inn. Sinoca got curious and looked around the inn for Inamaru. First she knocked on his door. When there was no answer, she opened it and saw that it was empty. Getting slightly concerned, Sinoca starts to search the outskirts of the inn. Still, Sinoca could not find Inamaru anywhere. She thinks back to what might happen, then she starts to think back to the last few conversations they've had together, wondering if there is something she may be able to know. The only thing that came to mind was when she told him about the knights exam. She thought to herself that if he went there, there would be trouble, as she started to check the area just in case.
Back at the mountain, Inamaru was standing over the soldier who he had just killed. He was staring at the general, who was unphased. The other soldiers were starting to feel intimidated and even fearful. Some of the soldiers began to lose heart. The knights whispered in the general's ear, he nodded, and they went back to their places.
"Perhaps I was a bit ambitious, asking you to take him on alone," the general said. "The next time, I want two of you to fight him together. So, who's first?" Inamaru looked around at the group surrounding him. The soldiers were still hesitating. "Do you guys want to be knights or not?! If not, go home right now, and leave this to the real warriors!" Inamaru stayed on guard. Many of the soldiers looked at one another. Finally, two of them walked forward. They fist bumped before being ready to fight. One soldier had twin short blades while the other fought with a staff. They walked on either side of Inamaru ready to attack. The one with the blades charged in first. The soldiers were attacking with both blades, but Inamaru blocked the blades with his claws. The soldier with the staff charged in attacking Inamaru from behind. Inamaru blocked the strikes with his arms. It hurt more than he thought it would, but he had to block with his arms while blocking the blades with his claws. With both soldiers attacking at the same time, Inamaru couldn't block every strike, so he started to dodge as well. Both fighters were coming at him so fast that Inamaru didn't have an opportunity to counter. Inamaru blocked as long as he could, but he was being hit little by little. Inamaru continued to fight, but he was being worn down. He blocked the last two blades, then was nailed in the back with the staff. As he hit the ground, Inamaru swept the leg of the soldier. The other soldier attempted to attack but Inamaru did a good job blocking. As he started to regain his footing, Inamaru started to push the soldier back, eventually knocking the soldier to the ground. As he was about to follow up, the soldier with the staff was backing up and used his staff to trip Imamaru. The soldier tried to slam him again with the staff, but Inamaru opened his mouth and a bit down hard, breaking the staff. The other soldier tried to capitalize, but Inamaru blocked with it arm, slowing the blade to pierce it. He let out a loud howl in pain, but he managed to rip the blade away from the soldier before biting him in the shoulder. As the solder fell to the ground, the other soldier picked up the dropped blade, and attacked Inamaru with it. Inamaru blocked every slash before piercing the soldier in the chest. He then flung the killed soldier's body in front of the general. The general smirked.
"Clearly, this group is not ready," the general said. "You guys stay back." The general then turned to his knights. "Show them how it's done." Both knights nodded. One of them began to walk forward, drowning his blade. Inamaru pulled the blade from his arm and winded it up. The two ran towards each other. The blades met, but after the first clash, Inamaru underestimated the ability of the knight. The speed of his blade was much faster than anticipated. Inamaru, on the other hand, was not used to using a sword. As they were fighting, he was too slow to keep up. With no kite at all, the knight was able to disarm the Blade from Inamaru. The knight continued his pursuit. Inamaru was using his claws to block, but he was having trouble with the speed of the knight. He was constantly retreating.
"Watch the fight closely soldiers," the general said, "pay attention to his moves. This is how a knight fights. This is the level you aspire to be at. Oh, and the best he's fighting, it's just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to be one of us, you have to raise your level, because what I saw today will get you killed." The remaining soldiers watched in amazement as the knight was winning the fight. Inamaru was confused as to how the gap between the soldiers and the knights could be so vast. It was the first time he started to recognize just how daunting this task of theirs truly was. Still, he continued to fight, the best he could. The knight may have been faster, but aside from his blade, he couldn't hurt Inamaru. So Inamaru decided only to focus on the Blade. He let out a ferocious roar as he charged in. Letting the knight attack, blocking the blade repeatedly. The fight was turned on its head as Inamaru was now pushing the knight back. On the surface, the fight looked to be going the same, as the knight was the only one landing hits. So the soldiers didn't notice, but the general did.
"Get him out of there," the general said to the other knight. The knight nodded and picked up his spear, charging right for Inamaru. Suddenly, Sinoca appears, and slashes the knight across the torso, killing him.