Chapter 135

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"So," Bull says, perched on a tree branch and watching their hapless trainees run themselves into the ground. They've got a good batch this time, no complainers, no slackers – say what you want about Tsunade, but the woman knows how to put her ninja where they need to be and make them want to be there. "Number Four. Returner or recycler?"

The trainees don't have code names, but they have to differentiate between them somehow. The kunoichi in question is lagging slightly, muscles trembling with strain, but she's still going with sheer grit and determination.

Magpie hums. "Recycler," they decide. "Probably medically failed out. Low stamina is probably from injury. She recovers quickly between tasks."

Which is interesting. Could be natural, could be a bloodlimit, could be a technique. Could be she's faking exhaustion in the first place – but he doesn't think so. They push the trainees hard and he's pretty damn familiar with the physical signs of exhaustion and judging when someone else has hit them. Could be Magpie is right and she's just warming back up from being off the field for a while.

"She nails the teamwork tests," Bull says, which is his only real counterpoint for the argument that Four could be an ex-ANBU come back. Technically they're not supposed to know when it happens, not supposed to know anything about their trainees, but it's pretty easy to tell when someone is suspiciously familiar with the training program.

"Not the code or the signs though," Magpie points out in turn. "Owl does the teamwork stuff first. And Rat does the bookwork last; she thinks the physical challenge makes more of them fail than learning the rules. Could have been through with either group."

He concedes the point. "Two is going to fail," he offers, instead which sparks a whole different argument.