TO NEW BEGINNINGS [ 12 ]
[ Moments later… ]
[ JINICHI WATARU ]
The academy courtyard was suffocatingly packed, a sea of freshly minted Genin standing shoulder-to-shoulder under the bright afternoon sun. All around me, kids were adjusting their brand-new forehead protectors, the polished metal plates reflecting the light like tiny mirrors. We were all gathered tightly around the grand wooden podium where the Third Hokage stood, his ceremonial robes draped elegantly over his frame as he looked down at us with a practiced, grandfatherly warmth.
"Congratulations to you all," Lord Third's voice boomed, carrying an undeniable weight that easily commanded the attention of the crowd.
"From this day forward, you are no longer mere students. You are the shield and the sword of the Hidden Leaf. Remember the Will of Fire that binds us together; the village is your family, and it is the sacred duty of the old leaves to burn brightly so that the new leaves may flourish in the warmth of the flame."
I listened from the middle of the crowd, keeping my expression entirely flat as everyone else cheered enthusiastically around me.
'Truly effective propaganda, it really strengthens the brainwashing they've been doing to us from a young age.'
The speech was brilliant, highly effective state propaganda, masterfully designed to plant the seeds of absolute, self-sacrificing loyalty into the minds of impressionable young children. It was fascinating to watch it work in real-time, seeing the eyes of the kids around me light up with a fierce, naive determination to die for the village. Well some kids.
The Hokage smiled softly at the rising cheers, raising a weathered hand to gently calm the crowd before delivering the final administrative directive.
"Go home today and celebrate this milestone with your loved ones. But remember, your journey has only just begun. I expect every single one of you to return to the academy next week Monday, bright and early. That is when you will officially be assigned to your three-man squads and meet your Jonin instructors."
With those final words, the assembly was dismissed, and the crowd dissipated into a chaotic mess of proud parents hugging their children. I lingered back for a few moments, watching the vibrant celebration.
!
I noticed a downcast blonde sitting under a tree on a swing, his expression was downcast and lonely, it was filled with disappointment and great longing, perhaps a longing for parents, one that he knew wouldn't be filled by the very villagers who scorn him.
Some kids noticed him too, but they were quickly redirected away from him by their parents.
A pang of guilt felt flashed through my chest, but simmered down as quickly as it came.
Sensing my stare, Naruto looked at me, his eyes meeting mine, blue eyes meeting blue eyes.
'Sigh…'
I walked towards him.
!!!
a few onlookers were surprised by this, some parents thinking of stopping me from approaching him but they hesitate.
Step, step, step, step
He looks at me confused.
"Don't give up." I mutter to him, leaving before he can get a chance to reply. At this point in time my action has drawn the attention of some onlookers, but I don't care.
Then I walk through the iron gates of the academy.
'if he gives up I won't get to fight him in the Chunin exams, and we can't have that, can we?'
By the time I made it into the street of my apartment, the afternoon had already bled into a deep, heavy twilight, casting long, purple shadows across the stone paths.
A sudden, sharp shift in the air made me halt in my tracks. From the direction of the Hokage monument, a muffled commotion echoed through the evening, followed immediately by the rapid, rhythmic scraping of sandals against clay tiles. I looked up just in time to see a blur of dark shadows leaping fluidly from roof to roof, their flak jackets cutting through the dim light as they moved with frantic urgency.
'And so, it begins,' I thought to himself, my eyes tracking the path of the group of Chunin. There was no mistaking the timing of this sudden panic. Naruto had just stolen the Sacred Scroll of Seals from the Hokage residence, signalling the official kick-off of the canon timeline. Part of me felt a sudden, nervous pull to follow the trail, to catch a glimpse of the legendary multi-shadow clone confrontation in the woods.
'No way. Getting involved in a high-stakes treason incident right after I'm already on the Hokage's radar is a death wish. Iruka and Naruto have this handled exactly the way history intended.'
Turning my back on the distant shouts, I kept my head low and walked the remaining distance to my apartment, locking the heavy front door securely behind me.
I slumped onto the edge of my mattress, letting out a long, exhausted sigh as the quiet safety of the room enveloped me. Closing my eyes, I mentally called out to the quest board.
'Quest board'.
******************************************************************
[ QUEST BOARD ]
[ MISSION QUESTS ]
■ [ WEEKLY QUEST ]
[ QUEST ISSUED: THE THRESHOLD OF MEDIOCRITY]
[Objective] - Pass the Academy Graduation Exam. Condition: Calibrate your final graduation score to land strictly between 50% and 80%.
[Reward] -Tiered based on performance. Higher percentages yield superior stat points and rare skill scrolls.
50% to 60% - +10 stat points, 200k exp, Shinobi uniform. 60% to 70% - + 20 stat points, 400k exp, Shinobi uniform. 70% to 80% - + 40 stat points, 800k exp, Weapon.
WARNING: Achieving a score approaching or exceeding 80% will drastically escalate the level of scrutiny you receive from Konoha's high command (Sandaime Hokage, Iruka, the the Great clans, and Danzo Shimura). A sudden, massive spike in your academic metrics will result in immediate, hostile interrogation regarding your anomalous growth.
[Penalty] — failure of final exam.
[ QUEST COMPLETED ] – 68 %
■ [ DAILY QUEST ]
[Quest: Path to Evolution]
Player must finish all the workouts listed below before the end of the day.
Push-ups [ 0/ 100 ] Sit-ups [ 0/ 100 ] Squats [ 0/ 100 ]
*********************************************************
[Rewards] — + 500,000 Exp, 5 stat points, recovery pill.
[Penalty] — -5 stats reduction on a random stat.
*********************************************************
[ QUEST COMPLETED ]
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
[STATUS]
[Name] — Jinichi Wataru
[Level] — 15
[Exp Bar] — 490,400 / 819,200
[STATS]
Strength — 17 [Mid Genin]
Constitution — 22 [Mid Genin]
Speed — 22 [Mid Genin]
Dexterity — 16 [Mid Genin]
Intelligence — 20 [Mid Genin]
Chakra Capacity — 15 [Mid Genin]
[Stat Points] — 45
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
[Skills]
Transformation jutsu [ Lv 10 ] Clone jutsu [ Lv 10 ] Spinjitzu [ Lv 6 ] Image Training [Lvl 12] Metal [ Lv 16 ] Chakra Augmentation [Lvl 8] Scan [ Lv 4 ]
● Substiution jutsu [ Lv 12 ]
● Shurikenjutsu [ Lv 20 ]
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
'Inventory'
[*POOF*]
[ INVENTORY]
Recovery pills X 3 Shinobi uniform.
I clicked the Uniform icon and it appeared before me.
[ * POOF* ]
taking a look at the shinobi gear, a grin crawls onto my face.
'Now this I can work with.'
[ HIRUZEN SARUTOBI ]
The atmosphere inside my office was thick and heavy, the aromatic smoke from my pipe drifting lazily toward the ceiling like a shroud. Gathered before my grand wooden desk were the elite Jonin forces of the Hidden Leaf, their faces grim and focused as I concluded the final, comprehensive briefing regarding the new Genin roster assignments.
"The standard placements are officially locked in." I rasped, leaning back in my chair. "Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai... you all know your assignments. Dismissed."
With respectful bows, the elite shinobi turned on their heels, the sound of their sandals clicking softly against the floorboards as they filed out of the room. "Wait," I called out quietly, my voice cutting through the shuffling movement.
"Not all of you. You stay back for a moment."
The specific instructor I addressed halted, letting the rest of the Jonin pass before the heavy oak doors clicked shut behind them. He turned back toward my desk, shifting his weight onto one hip with a slouched, perpetually tired posture that suggested standing straight required entirely too much effort. His dark hair was pulled back tightly into a high, spiky ponytail that resembled the top of a pineapple, casting a sharp shadow over his intensely sharp, unbothered features. He let out a soft, characteristically lazy sigh, resting his hands loosely in his pockets.
"Is there a problem with the roster, Lord Third?" he asked, his voice smooth but thoroughly laced with a lingering sense of boredom.
"I was under the distinct impression that I was off duty for this particular graduation cycle."
I allowed a faint, knowing smile to touch my lips as I took a slow drag from my pipe, exhaling a plume of grey smoke into the space between us.
"There has been a change of plans due to the events that occurred over the last forty-eight hours," I explained, sliding a fresh stack of three individual student files across the polished mahogany table.
"I have made a highly irregular, last-minute addition to the graduation roster. I am officially forming Team 13, and I want you to lead it."
The spiky-haired Jonin stepped forward, his lazy demeanour sharpening by a fraction as he picked up the documents, his dark eyes scanning the names with an analytical speed that belied his relaxed appearance.
"Team 13... that's a bit troublesome," he murmured, his brow furrowing slightly as his fingers turned the pages.
"Let's see here... Aoi, a remarkably capable young kunoichi with stellar marks. Kisuke, a solid, highly dependable tactical mind. And... Jinichi Wataru."
He paused on the final page, his eyes locking onto the photograph attached to the civilian boy's profile.
"Ah. The boy from the clinic reports," he noted, a flash of genuine interest breaking through his bored expression. "The one who managed to recreate a crude, high-velocity taijutsu kata during his practical spar. The academy rumours have been quite loud about him."
"Precisely," I replied, my expression turning entirely serious as I rested my elbows on the desk.
"That is exactly why I am placing them under your care. I need an instructor who possesses not only a brilliant, unmatched analytical intellect, but the specific temperament required to guide these three unique individuals. They are raw, undisciplined, and in Jinichi's case, harbouring a very dangerous, volatile weight."
The Jonin tilted his head, a dry, humoured smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he looked back up at me.
"So, you want me to babysit a potential prodigy and keep him from blowing up the village? Sounds like an awful lot of work."
"I want you to act as a deterent, and more importantly, his guide." I corrected him firmly, my voice dropping to a low whisper.
"I need you to closely observe him during your exercises. Understand the true nature of his combat intuition. The Hyuga clan are already moving aggressively in the shadows, launching their own private investigations into his lineage. I need someone I trust to stand between those traditionalists and this boy should their paranoia get the better of them."
The mysterious instructor stared down at Jinichi's file for a long, silent moment, the lazy veneer completely evaporating to reveal the formidable, razor-sharp military strategist hidden beneath. He tapped the edge of the paper against his palm before sliding it securely into his vest pocket.
"A civilian kid pulling off a watered-down version of a clan jutsu through raw trial-and-error... what a hassle. Fine, Lord Third. I'll take the team."
He offered me a respectful nod, his slouched, relaxed posture returning instantly as he turned toward the exit, already grumbling under his breath about the tragic loss of his afternoon nap.
Alone once more in the quiet room, I turned my chair back toward the massive window, the pale silver moonlight illuminating the desktop. My eyes drifted down to the lone administrative folder remaining on the center of the table. The bold ink at the top read Jinichi Wataru, the boy's stoic, determined gaze staring back up at me from the photograph. I took one final drag from my pipe, watching the smoke plume gently against the cold glass, wondering just what kind of future this new generation would forge.