Jun realized with surprise that it was an Uchiha team that fell into their traps. Fujitaro wasn’t among them. Jun didn’t recognize any of the genins. He concluded they must be from the Police. They were all in a bad state. They were two boys and one girl. The girl seemed to be the youngest. They were all older than Jun and his comrades.

The oldest of the group had some part of his face burned and was moving like he suffered from some broken ribs. The other boy had a few cuts on his face and a split lip. The girl had bandages on both arms and around her head. They must have fought with other teams before. Some of their injuries weren’t from Team 14 traps. The Uchihas were dazed. Their clothes were scorched. They were barely able to stand.

“Things would be easier if you just hand over your tokens,” Natsumi said.

“The Uchihas aren’t so weak to just give in to you.” The older one said.

“You are in no condition to defeat us. Also, I know another team is after you. You are not able to fight them either.” Jun added.

The three Uchihas stiffened. But their leader shook his head stubbornly and activated his Sharingan.

“We can do it.”

There was no point in talking further. Team 14 rushed forward. Their opponents were exhausted but didn’t give in easily. They had the Sharingan. Susumu’s Genjutsus were useless. They saw through Natsumi’s shuriken techniques. However, their eyes weren’t all-powerful. Natsumi fought the guy with the fractured ribs with Taijutsu. His injuries prevented him from moving as he wanted. Jun cast Raiton Jutsus to corner his opponent. Susumu pretended to retreat and ingeniously led the girl into a trap.

She was thrown into the air and landed violently on the ground. She passed out. The oldest guy couldn’t keep defending Natsumi’s blows and received a heavy kick in his ribs. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain. The last one surrendered. Jun had him cornered. He had no other choice but to give up. They possessed five tokens in total. Natsumi gave them to Jun who put them away. That’s an additional fifty points.

“You talked so big and only had that many points?” Jun said to the leader.

“Go to hell.”

“Maybe they got robbed, and then they were lucky enough to come across a team that was weaker than them. They took the opportunity and stole their tokens.” Susumu said.

Judging by the furious looks of the two conscious Uchihas, he wasn’t far from the truth.

“Should we tie them up?” Natsumi asked.

“No. They are shinobis from Konoha; we’re not going to leave them defenseless against others.” Jun said categorically.

The older guy spat on the ground. His companion looked shocked.

“We don’t need your pity, half-blood bastard.”

Jun remained calm. It wasn’t the first time he had been insulted. And coming from an Uchiha he had defeated, it didn’t carry any weight.

“More teams are coming this way. We should hurry and go. We’re not too far away from the finish line. Also, the team chasing them may be waiting at the exit of this gorge.” Jun explained to his comrades.

His teammates nodded. He turned his back to the Uchihas on the ground and disappeared using the Shunshin no Jutsu. His comrades did the same. The Uchiha vociferated more insults. Jun heard them but didn’t turn back. He had no time to waste on such provocations.

Team 14 headed straight for the exit. They would have reached it in thirty minutes during daylight. However, their progression was slowed down at night time. The darkness made things more challenging. Jun switched his chakra to the Sensor type. The team chasing the Uchihas wasn’t fast enough to cut them off, but they weren’t far behind. The Konoha genins had a chance to outrun them. But there was a slim chance of them catching up.

Without slowing down, Jun took out two tokens from his pouch. He had fifteen left, enough for his team to validate the test. He threw both tokens to Susumu.

“Can you use a Genjutsu to make them become fifteen tokens instead of two?” He asked Susumu.

“Of course. You know that modifying someone’s perception of a real object is easier than creating a new reality from scratch. Do you want our opponents to believe that is all we’ve accumulated?”

Jun nodded, pleased to see his teammate catch on so quickly. Susumu also smiled and put the tokens in his pocket. They wouldn’t need to implement this plan if they made it to the exit before their pursuers caught up to them. He wanted to avoid another fight. It had been a long day. They had fought a few times; the stress on their bodies and minds wasn’t negligible. Fatigue was settling in as well. They may not win their next confrontation.

He had been confident, entering the exam. But after the fight with the Kumo team, he realized he might not be as strong as he thought. Perhaps it was too early for him to become a chunin. Maybe his team was not strong enough. There was still room for improvement.

Jun abandoned his train of thoughts when he sensed three chakra signatures. He frowned and silently cursed. Their pursuers were on their tails. He picked up the pace. The others followed. They leaped from rock to rock. Stones rolled under their feet. They had to remain focused and not take clumsy steps. Their footing wasn’t the best. The team behind was gaining ground.

The Konoha genins saw a small hut on a cliff. There was a path along the rocks, allowing them to leave the gorge. Jun sensed the chakra of several people around the hut. There were also three people waiting for them at the end of the path. He slowed down.

Fujitaro Uchiha suddenly jumped out from behind a rock with a roar. Jun let out a surprising sound and kicked him hard in the stomach, forcing him back. It was an ambush.

“Dammit! Just before the finish line…” Susumu commented.

Fujitaro gave him a weird smile. His two teammates, both Uchihas, joined him to block the path of Team 14. One had his hair tied in a bun, and the other carried a short sword on his belt.

“Everyone must go through here to reach the exit. It’s the perfect place for an ambush.”

Jun almost cursed him.

Their pursers were only minutes away. Was it better to drag out things here and wait for them to arrive with the hope they would deal with the Uchihas? No, it was too risky. They would probably wait for the victor and then attack to steal the tokens. Jun was thinking of the best way to get out of the situation. His gaze fell on Fujitaro. It was hard to notice it in the dark, but his clothes were a bit torn and dirty. There were also a few bruises on his elbows and chin. His companions were in the same state. Jun realized they probably fought other teams before.

“Are you sure you were ambushing people or just hiding?” Jun provoked.

“We defeated a team,” Fujitaro replied.

“Probably one of the weakest teams in this round. Otherwise, they would have obtained more than enough tokens for you guys to get out of this canyon already…”

“We’re only missing a few.” The Uchiha spat out.

Jun stepped aside to get between Susumu and the Uchihas. Susumu shifted away. He understood Jun’s strategy. He clutched the pouch around his belt protectively. The gaze of their opponents fell on him. Natsumi slightly stepped aside, clearing a path for her comrades. Jun sensed that their pursuers weren’t far away now. There should be there in seconds. The other shinobis can probably feel them coming as well.

Jun leaped forward as if trying to break away from the Uchihas’s entrapment. His teammates followed him. The Uchihas didn’t let them get away. One guy blocked Natsumi’s way. The one with the sword attacked Jun. Fujitaro rushed toward Susumu. He was smiling, thinking the tokens were already in his hands. He knew Susumu from their time at the Academy and was aware that Taijutsu wasn’t his forte. He knew the genin excelled in Genjutsu, but he wasn’t worried. He was an Uchiha; he believed no one could surprise him with Genjutsu.

Susumu also knew Fujitaro. He was aware of his strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.

He knew the Uchiha would come after him believing he had the tokens. Fujitaro focused on Susumu’s pouch. He tried to cut it from his opponent’s belt with his kunai. Susumu had anticipated his move. He dodged in a way to have the kunai ripped open his pouch. Fifteen tokens fell on the ground.

“No! The Tokens!” Susumu cried dramatically as he jumped back to avoid another strike.

Jun and Natsumi pushed back their opponents. The Uchihas converged to the tokens blocking Team 14 from retrieving them. Susumu and the others took advantage of the fact that no one was obstructing the path to the finish line and rushed toward the exit.

Their timing was perfect. The team who had been on their tails emerged from the night and converged on the Uchihas who had yet to comprehend what was happening. Jun glanced over his shoulders. It was a team from Kusa. Uchihas and Kusa genins threw themselves on the tokens on the floor, and a fight broke out.

Team 14 was already halfway up the cliff when Susumu’s Genjutsu shattered. The trick was revealed. The Uchihas and the genins from Kusa had ugly expressions on their faces. It was too late. The culprits were already out of reach. They crossed the finish line, grinning like kids. They stopped before a jonin who was standing near a table.

“Your tokens?”

Jun immediately took them out from his pouch and put them on the table. The jonin glanced at them before nodding.

“Congratulations on passing the second round!”