After jogging along muddy paths for a while, Tekai, Zinnia and Clair finally made their exit from the Dragons Den.
It was just in time too, because as they left, the sun was just beginning to creep up on the horizon.
Outside of the cavern, Tekai spotted a pair of guards, and no one else.
It was as if everyone had packed up, and gone somewhere else. Which, come to think of it, made sense. Who would want to wait around all night for some kids to emerge?
"So you made it. Good. Come to the meeting hall in Blackthorn castle, and accept your reward." Lance emerged from the shadows, and swept past them, disappearing in a flash of movement.
Tekai blinked, and his older brother was gone.
"Lance is so cool! I can't wait to fight with him some day!" Zinnia clenched her eyes, and had sparkles in her eyes.
"Hmph. If anyone is having Lance, it's me." Clair crossed her arms and snorted.
"Oh yeah?!" Zinnia cocked her arm back, and looked like she was ready to throw hands.
"Alright, it's too early in the morning to hear you two arguing. Let's just go to the castle and get this over with." Tekai sighed.
Taking the lead, Tekai ignored the catfighting going on behind him, and made the short walk from the shrine surrounding the Dragons Den to the castle.
Situated atop a large hill, the castle was a tall 8 story tower-like pagoda. The fortress had sloped walls, and intricate paths leading up to it. The materials were made of teakwood, which had chakra dampening capabilities. Walking on these walls, for example, was impossible, and they could easily block C-rank ninjutsu.
From this height, Tekai had a good look over the entire city.
Located on the northeastern tip of the country, Blackthorn City was the nation's capital, and was a thriving port town with a population in the tens of thousands.
To the southwest sat a massive body of water. It was the Lake of Rage. It served as the primary food source for Blackthorn, and its connecting rivers linked the Land of Dragons to Rain, Fire, and Stone, promoting trade.
Taking a deep breath, Tekai enjoyed the sights of the ocean, the city, and the lake. It was truly a wonderful sight.
"Come on, shiny, the doors are closing!" Zinnia called from the entrance to the castle.
Blinking his eyes, Tekai realized he had lost himself in the moment, and ran to catch up.
Slipping into the castle, Tekai found himself in a large palatial sized great hall. Giant beams held up the ceiling, and a royal azure-purple carpet trimmed with gold highlights led to the back of the building.
In the middle of the carpet, a line had formed from the contestants that had participated in last night's trial.
Tekai only counted 17. Meaning 7 children likely died within that cavern.
It was a grim wake up call as to the brutality of the Naruto world. If the Ryu Clan was willing to put up with those kinds of losses all to foster a keen sense of survival in their children, then it made Tekai wonder, what did the other villages and clans do to their young to make sure they were battle ready?
In canon, Fugaku took his 5-7 year old son, Itachi to an active war zone. In Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist, they made their academy students kill another student to graduate. Hell, Danzo had his Root members kill their best friends as a right of passage!
It was sick, and absolutely mental, but this was the world Tekai found himself in.
Shaking his head, he continued to look around the room.
At the back, there was a raised dias, and a throne where his grandpa sat. To his side, the two elders rested upon a pair of cushions.
On a slightly lower platform, there were four more thrones, and three of them were occupied. This group was fittingly known as the Elite Four.
Uncle Borah, alongside an old man who looked like Drake from Hoenn, and the creepy Auntie from earlier were all seated up there.
Below them, were a further 8 simple looking seats which represented the Regional Governors-aka Gym Leaders-that oversaw the major cities within the nation. Each of these seats were empty, save for the seat demarcating Blackthorn's representative.
That seat was filled by Lance.
Finally, the raised platform evened out with the floor, and two lines of people covered both sides of the carpet.
Each of the people who stood in line wore a token somewhere on their body that denoted their rank. These tokens highly resembled the badges from the games in appearance.
The left line were all officials directly blood related, or married in to the Ryu Clan. On the right side were officials that proved their merit, and had been promoted for their service.
Amongst the officials on the right side, they were predominantly occupied by the three clans that the Ryu had dominated during the Warring States Period.
They were the:
Karasarisu. They were famous for crafting Silk Armor/silken goods & their raising of silcoon as their signature Pokémon. This clan was the #1 economic giant of the nation, and funded much of the Ryu's war efforts. Dressed in fine clothes, the members of this clan flaunted their wealth every chance they got.
Ohrot. They grew chakra laden teakwood trees, and were famed construction workers. Their signature Pokémon was trevenant. Structures built to resist jutsu are their forte, and the ghostly nature of these tree specialists made them the perfect defensive, ambush driven guardians. Often acting in a reserved manner, no one ever saw their true faces, as they wore tiki style masks at all times.
Hellgar. They had no viable economic base, but often acted as the Ryu's fist, and attack dog. Their signature Pokémon was houndoom. The dark/fire nature of their bloodline made them excellent warriors against genjutsu/psychic practitioners, and countered the ice users that threatened Dragon types. This clan was aggressive, bloodthirsty, and were notorious for inflicting pain upon their enemies for the pleasure of it, yet were an integral part in national security.
Needless to say, tempers often flared between these groups, and it was up to the proud tyrants of the Ryu Clan to force them into cooperation.
Amongst these representatives, there were four ranks, each one being equivalent to a rank from a ninja village.
First Grade could be said to be the equivalent of Jonin in terms of power/prestige.
Second Grade = Special Jonin
Third Grade = Chunin
Fourth Grade = Genin
For Tekai, this was his first time attending an assembly, but he had learnt all of this knowledge from the scrolls. Thankfully, the mighty power of books proved themselves useful once again.
Among all of the attendees, Uncle Borah was a curious fellow.
As much as Tekai wanted to be surprised by Uncle Borah occupying a higher seat in the family government, he wasn't all too shocked. Mysterious drunk middle aged men who knew secrets, and were incredibly strong typically occupied such roles in anime worlds like this.
No, what really amazed him was the presence of her.
At the very front of the First Grade line on the left side was Cynthia, the famous Champion from the Diamond and Pearl games.
'Cynthia is also a member of the Ryu Clan?!' Tekai's eyes bugged out as he recalled some difficult matches against her when he was a boy on Earth.
'Fight! Conquer! Mate!' Gil "helpfully" gave his typical advice.
For once, Tekai almost gave half a listen to what Gil was saying when it came to members of the opposite sex. Unlike Clair and Zinnia, Cynthia was a fully developed woman! She must be somewhere between 18-22, and it showed.
Tekai openly stared at the cold, cool, and collected blonde.
Upon witnessing so many Dragon users from the games in his clan, Tekai knew that they were absolutely stacked with talent. However, by this logic, he wondered if Ground specialists like Brock would be in Iwa, or if famous Fire type trainers like Flannery would be in Konoha!
It was a stunning thought to imagine. He always knew that there were people from Pokémon in this world, but why should it be limited to his town?
While Tekai was lost in thought, his naked blank stare must have become apparent, because Cynthia began to stare back at him.
Tekai maintained eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time until he felt a rough tug on his arm pulling him forward. Blinking his eyes, Tekai followed after Zinnia, lest he get left behind, and created a gap in the line.
Shaking his head, Tekai took a deep breath to center himself, then resumed his inner monologue, and observation of the great hall.
The higher ranked people stood closer to the dias, whereas the lowest were at the back near the entrance.
Then, there were the foreign guests, and others who had come to visit for the Egg Ceremony. They were at the front entrance of the hall, near where Tekai had arrived.
As Tekai was at the very back of the line, he got a good view of what was going on up front.
The kids would step forward, they would be handed a token, some money, and a scroll. Afterwards, the children began to form a row off on an unoccupied portion of the hall.
Among the guests, Team Hiruzen, or as they had recently been dubbed, the Legendary Sannin, were the object of many rumors and not so hushed whispers.
The Second War had come to an end not too long ago, and after the epic clash with Hanzo, they were the talk of the town.
Based upon recent history, and Jiaraiya's youth, Tekai figured that Minato was probably around graduation age, at about 10. He didn't know what it was with Japan and 10 year old geniuses, but Tekai hoped he never had to fight those monstrous 10 y/o protagonists.
It was a sort of frightening prospect, but there were so many absolutely bonkers things in this world, Minato was the least of his worries. Hell, with his current strength, some no name Jonin could sneeze on him, and he'd die.
He thought it was better to focus up and stay in his own lane. It was as Uncle Borah always said. The older a Ryu was, the spicier the dragon. Most Dragon types were weak early, but absolute beasts at higher levels once they evolved. Tekai just had to focus on surviving, he was sure to become powerful so long as he kept up the hard work.
'Ah, spicy~.' Tekai found himself smiling like a goof as he fondly recalled the times he had spent together with his Uncle.
"Ahem. Tekai Tatsushiro, do you think this important ritual is for your amusement?" An old voice coughed.
Looking up, Tekai found that the line had ended, and he had been idling an uncomfortable distance away from the raised dias.
"Apologies, Clan Lord, elders, I was lost ruminating in the wisdom of the ancestors." Tekai lied with something he hoped would cut him some slack.
"Hoh? So it was you who caused the disturbance?" Grandpa Tatsushiro rubbed his bushy goatee, and looked at Tekai slightly playfully.
Tekai wanted to smile at the old man, but the creepy Auntie sitting on the dias just below him gave Tekai a look.
"Ah ha. I meant no disrespect to the Ryu Clan. Tekai Tatsushiro, reporting for duty." Tekai cupped his hands, and bowed.
"Hrm. Congratulations, Tekai, you are now officially recognized as an adult of the Ryu Clan. Take this token, and inject your chakra into it. With it, you are now a Fourth Grade Official, and will be afforded housing, pay, and library access commensurate with your rank. Ordinarily, the trial participants are allowed to have some input on their sensei, but as you were the last to leave the Dragons Den, the choice has been made for you. Accept this summons!" Grandpa Tatsushiro explained.
A masked aid standing to his grandpa's side emerged from the shadows-much to Tekai's surprise-and handed him a token, a scroll, and a sack full of silver coins.
Tekai bowed to his grandfather, nodded at the shinobi and the elders, then moved to stand with the rest of the 'graduates.'
Zinnia was trying to get his attention, but Tekai ignored her. He had never been to this part of the Egg Ceremony, and wondered what came next.
Clapping his hands, Grandpa Tatsushiro raised his voice to be heard across the hall.
"The Egg Ceremony is completed. Please, guests from afar, we invite you to share in our success." Grandpa Tatsushiro gestured towards Tekai and the group of children.
On his signal, it was as if a dam had burst, and the group of merchants, ninja, samurai, and other dignitaries all rushed the recent graduates as if they were superstars.
"I am a Special Jonin from Iwa, I will act as your bodyguard for 1 year for a Black Apricorn!" One man ran up.
"What weak behavior, I am a traveling ronin, and I will swear my service to you for a Black Apricorn, and fair employment!" A sword wielding man called out.
"You are in your 20's, and still as strong as a Genin, who would want you, ronin, when I am offering 500,000 ryo per fruit!" A merchant butted in.
"I have a blastoise egg I'm willing to trade." A man wearing a Kiri headband calmly interjected.
Various peoples shouted out their skills, or items that they were willing to trade in exchange for the Black Apricorns.
The noise, and sudden outbursts shocked Tekai.
These people were offering truly outrageous things.
The money proposed by the merchant was the equivalent to a high paying A-rank mission. For reference, the base pay for an A-rank mission was 100k, a house in the noble quarter of Blackthorn cost 1-5 million ryo, and a simple bowl of noodles could be purchased for less than 5.
To put things even further into perspective, Tekai's annual salary that he had just been paid amounted to 50,000 ryo.
The truly astounding offer though, was the blastoise egg. From his studies, Tekai learnt that the 'starter Pokémon' of each region were highly regulated, and considered national treasures. It would be like if someone in the Ryu Clan tried pawning off a dratini egg. It was tantamount to treason!
Most people upon hearing the masked ninja's offer, shied away from him, and a few even eyed him hungrily, interested in cashing in a potential missing nin.
All this told Tekai that people were very interested in either extending their manhood, or using the fruit for its anti-yin properties. It was known to heal those trapped in genjutsu, act as a natural tonic against poisons, and cure people afflicted by Ghost type damage. That was including the small physical boost to all other areas, and the unique properties it held as a pokeball.
In short, he had a pair of extremely valuable items dangling in his pocket.
Observing the children beginning to exchange their Black Apricorns for goods and services, Tekai began thinking up what he wanted.
The two things he wanted were ninjutsu, and a chakra weapon.
First up, what ninjutsu interested him that he could make an exchange for?
Having spent most of his second life training only one technique, he was a little disappointed he didn't know the low-key OP skill known as the Body Replacement Technique.
But that isn't what he would trade the fruit for, because it was such a wide spread jutsu across the villages, that he could probably just ask for it from the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls, buy it, or search his own clan's library.
No, what he wanted was something that could increase his training or power.
He wanted either the Shadow Clone jutsu, or the Eight Gates.
Either technique would go a far way in upping his power.
Obtaining Shadow Clones theoretically shouldn't be too difficult. A lot of people incorrectly assume it is a forbidden technique, when in reality, it was Multi Shadow Clone jutsu that was in the scroll that Naruto stole at the beginning of the series.
The basic Shadow Clone technique was something even ninja from other Hidden Villages had learned. Tekai was optimistic he could get his hands on it.
He didn't think he would use the Shadow Clones offensively much-at least not until his chakra reserves increased-and primarily wanted to make one or two at a time at most, so that he could further limit test the Dragon Dance. Recalling his ancestor's warning, it seemed that exercising a little caution might be in order. After all, it sounded a lot like the Dragon Dance pulled in nature chakra, aka, senjutsu. Having a degree of separation during training via Shadow Clones just seemed like the wise thing to do.
The other technique he was interested in was the Eight Gates. Anyone who knew Naruto knew how OP that skill was. It allowed Guy, someone with no bloodline or clan, to become a top tier threat. It was a skill that saw one Genin defeat the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!
The Eight Gates were extremely versatile, and with Tekai's kekkei genkai greatly enhancing his baseline physical attributes + the Dragon Dance and Dragon type chakra, he theorized the combined abilities would be extremely broken.
Next on the list of things we wanted to trade for, was a chakra weapon.
Tekai had seen how the marowak channeled the Dragon Rage into his club, as well as how he used the weapon as a focus to launch a ranged attack.
As someone who was currently lacking in the ranged department, the ability to transmit Dragon type flames through a weapon sounded pretty fucking metal.
In fact, among the foreigners, he saw a bald, middle aged monk who was offering a wooden staff up for trade. It was purportedly capable of blocking sword strikes, and channeling chakra.
It was an ideal weapon for Tekai, because he had no idea how to use something like a sword, and BIG STICK was a good weapon to utilize his above average strength.
True, it could lose out to the speed of a kunai, but the stick would give him range, and leverage. Even if he was caught somewhere narrow like a hallway or in a forest, he was willing to bet he could just smash his way through.
Chakra weapons were seriously powerful, and so was Dragon nature chakra. Adding unstoppable force to a blunt weapon was like adding missiles to an airplane. It just made sense.
Ultimately, he had to make a choice, and see what he could afford. After all, he only had two Black Apricorns.
'Decisions, decisions. The stick will significantly add to my immediate combat power. Which, if I am to go out on missions, and enter the wild, would be very important for survival. On the other hand, Shadow Clones, and the Eight Inner Gates are both very important for long term growth. Hmmm. Well, who says I can't get them all?' Tekai was tapping his chin in thought, then a shark-like grin spread across his face.
Approaching Team Hiruzen, Tekai saw that Tsunade was the face of the group, and was handling all diplomatic enquiries much more patiently than 5th Hokage Tsunade ever would. She could be viable for a trade, and Tekai was sure he could win a bet against the notoriously bad gambler for one hell of a deal, but he'd rather not do something so high profile.
Achieving the reputation for beating the up and coming 'Princess' of the Senju was not something Tekai was prepared for. That lady had some real scary fanboys, and he'd rather not become the target of every Leaf shinobi given his current strength.
Moving on, Tekai saw Orochimaru leaning on a pillar in the shade, and soaking in the atmosphere with a disinterested look. But Tekai knew that the snake would be ready to murder anyone in this building at the twitch of a finger. Best to avoid the creepy unhealthily pale man who had a penchant for experimenting on little boys.
Off to the side, Jiraiya was moping alone, by himself, as no one had traded a Black Apricorn with him.
Smiling to himself, Tekai found the perfect person who might desire some ah, male enhancement.
Target acquired.