"Calm your mind. Run through the Yamanaka clan's meditation method again — let your heart settle." Ino gave her second daughter something to do.
She wasn't asking her to be like Jiren, squeezing every half-minute into stolen moments of meditation. But at least take it seriously, would you? There was still a second round of fighting ahead, and this was no ordinary ninja sparring session.
"Fine..." The girl pouted, stole one last look at Ino's cute girl form, then hurriedly shut her eyes and evened out her breathing.
The Yamanaka clan's original tradition had amounted to only three or four lines of mental energy regulation — shallow stuff, barely a foundation. Ino had overhauled it wholesale, and it had since grown into a complete training system. Compared horizontally, it still couldn't hold a candle to Ultra Instinct, but it was nonetheless a first-rate path toward godhood in its own right.
Kale's breathing rose and fell at a particular rhythm, and she gradually drifted into a state where self and world dissolved into one. Only then did Ino turn her attention toward the examination hall.
This exam truly hadn't been designed by Kuronoa. It was Time itself setting the questions for the competitors.
Ino had trained relentlessly for three years, and her comprehension of Time had climbed to a level far above what it once was. She studied the temporal energy now enveloping all nine examination chambers.
Lead-grey. Misty. Suffused with cold — that was how she understood Time.
She still wouldn't dare claim she understood Time, let alone that she could control it.
From what she'd briefly sensed just now, Aeos's understanding of Time seemed to take the form of something crystalline, granular — a lattice-like structure. Kuronoa, on the other hand, appeared to conceive of Time as something mercurial, like liquid silver.
Three Supreme Kais, three completely different understandings.
The viewing stands were utterly silent. No one spoke. Ino quietly closed her own eyes as well, and with her mind reached out to commune with the Time Nest — this peculiar, singular structure.
"Nest" was almost a misnomer. It felt more like a Time Nexus woven from the roots and stems of some vast living thing — branching in every direction, boundless and endless. Silver-white rootlets connected to the timelines of the multiverses, regulating the flow of time in each, while channeling ever more Time Power to converge here within the Time Nest.
Even at her current level, Ino couldn't make out the full shape of the Time Nest. Faint wisps of white mist drifted across her vision at irregular intervals, obscuring her sight. She could only tell that the space was immense — vaster than the Sacred World of the Kai that Shin had built by merging five Supreme Kais' domains, by a factor of ten thousand.
The Time Nest had no concept of time. By the moment Future Trunks drew out his long sword and wiped it down for the sixth time, No. 16 was the first to walk out of the examination hall.
The android — modeled after Dr. Gero's son — was as composed as ever. Meeting Ino's expectant gaze, he gave a calm nod. "Passing shouldn't be a problem."
Ino: "..."
She had nothing to say to that. All she could do was stick out a thumb in approval.
The first round — the written theory exam — was scored by taking the average of a team's three competitors. If all three passed, the average would certainly pass as well.
Coming out slightly after No. 16 was Xiaofang — a member of the Time Patrol under the current Supreme Kai of Time, and Son Goku's granddaughter. She had walked into the exam hall full of energy and enthusiasm; she emerged looking deflated and gloomy, face creased with worry. There was no need to ask — she clearly hadn't done well.
Had she passed? At this moment, not even Kuronoa, let alone Ino, could peek ahead at the timeline. None of the three Supreme Kais knew the result. Everything would have to be adjudicated by Time itself.
After Xiaofang came three Gohans.
All three had emerged at roughly the same time.
Black-clothed Son Gohan, Future Son Gohan, and the Time Patrol's Son Gohan — each one more grave-faced than the last.
Whatever camp a Gohan belonged to, the personality was the same: even-tempered, unhurried. When the three of them came out together and looked at each other, they all broke into a wry smile at exactly the same moment.
"How did it go?" Ino asked Future Son Gohan.
"Lord Supreme Kai, I... I don't think it went well." Future Son Gohan lowered his head, feeling as though he'd let down her trust in him.
"It's alright. From the look of things..." Ino glanced over at the other two Gohans. The Time Patrol one had pulled out a book and was cross-referencing answers with an anxious flipping of pages. Black-clothed Son Gohan had settled by himself to one side, sitting with his eyes closed — but his furrowed brow made it plain enough that he wasn't feeling confident either.
"You three Gohans... probably all scored about the same. If one of you failed, chances are all of you failed."
Future Son Gohan wasn't sure whether that was meant to be comforting or not. He gave a small smile, then quietly sought out No. 16 to compare answers.
Before long, Black-clothed Piccolo from Aeos's side also walked out. Ino watched him give Black-clothed Son Gohan a nod and guessed this one was at least somewhat confident.
Black-clothed Son Gohan. Black-clothed Piccolo.
Time Patrol's Son Gohan and Xiaofang.
Future Son Gohan and No. 16 on Ino's side.
Two competitors had emerged from each of the three factions.
Still inside the examination hall were the two Supreme Kais of Time — past and present — and Sakura...
Ino asked No. 16 about the exam and learned the question paper had been extraordinarily long. No. 16 had simply written down everything he knew — for him, it was binary: either he knew it or he didn't. There was no third option, no reason to double-check. Finished writing, he walked out.
Future Son Gohan, on the other hand, had made a wild stab at the harder questions — writing whatever came to mind. Whether any of it was right? No idea.
Ino's rough estimate: the three Gohans and Xiaofang had all failed; No. 16 and Black-clothed Piccolo had passed. The real question now hinged on those three still inside.
She waited for an indeterminate length of time. By the moment Future Trunks wiped his long sword for the eleventh time, a slightly tired-looking figure in a golden hat — the big cute girl — stepped out of the examination hall.
One glance at her face told Ino everything: steady as a rock. Passing should be no issue at all. Even if one of her teammates had failed, Aeos's high score alone could pull the average up.
After her came Kuronoa. Last to walk out of the examination hall was Sakura.
Compared to the two Supreme Kais wielding God Power, Sakura — an ordinary mortal — was by far the most exhausted. Her spiritual power and physical stamina had been nearly depleted to the dregs.
The exam was over. The three Supreme Kais' ability to observe the timelines had largely recovered, and all three closed their eyes to await the final results.
Kuronoa's expression was tranquil. She studied Sakura for a moment, then turned to Ino with measured deliberation: "Truly remarkable — that a mortal could command such a breadth of knowledge. If you fail to claim the position, would you allow me to recruit this lady into my Time Patrol?"
Ino's expression turned thoroughly incredulous. "Is the Supreme Kai of Time joking? Do you have any idea what Sakura means to me? She is my closest friend since childhood — my dearest sister, as good as my own flesh and blood. And you're trying to poach her right to my face?"
Sakura, standing off to the side, rolled her eyes. Flesh and blood? Sister? You weren't saying any of that when you were fleecing me for money! Go on, keep talking — I want to see exactly what price you put on my head this time.
"Ha ha ha ha——!" Ino planted her fists on her hips and threw her head back with a theatrical laugh.
She certainly wasn't going to "raise the price" in front of Sakura. In her own estimation, if she didn't end up becoming Supreme Kai of Time, having Sakura take a clerical position under Kuronoa would actually be a perfectly decent arrangement.
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