It's a good thing Tobio didn't have any real friends, only acquaintances. Otherwise, someone might have realized that something was different about him. Another positive?
He wasn't bothered when he stayed behind after school to use the training grounds for their intended purpose, and to get a better idea of what he was actually capable of. While Tobio had a pretty good idea of the boundaries of his new capabilities, just based off the description of the perk alone, he didn't know. There was a wild gulf between having a gut feeling, and seeing for sure.
Now, he knew. And it was such a qualitative jump that he wasn't sure how to handle it.
Like any child training to be a shinobi, he'd punched wooden posts at one point or another. It was practically a rite of passage to pound your fists against the nearest tree, realize that it was absurd to be a taijutsu specialist, and then decide to something more sensible with the vast array of chakra-borne abilities every ninja had access to. Tobio was no different, just by a short skim of his memories from before.
The difference now though, was when he punched a tree he didn't scrape his knuckles. There was a shudder up the trunk of wood, as splinters and chunks went flying from his blows. This wasn't even chakra enhanced, like some people could manage with the right chakra control. Just pure, undiluted strength.
While he wouldn't say he was more agile, he had much more muscle power to pump into rapid movements. Something like running ps was easier, at least on the straights, though Tobio did notice he had a little trouble with the dexterity side of the equation. Whether that was just something he was stuck with or something he could work on, well, he'd use the next few weeks to find out.
It wasn't just a matter of taking the time to familiarize himself with his new strength and speed, though. The other part came from trying to figure out how to pull his punches, so he didn't accidentally pulp someone during a friendly sparring match. Moderating his strength felt a lot harder than going all out, but it was doable…
…Even if it did result in a lot of broken trees from his training exercises. If he wasn't so broke, maybe buying some weighted seals wouldn't be a bad idea. And, like most Naruto fans, the mental image of pulling off his weights to reveal how strong he was could be appealing.
Overall, while Tobio knew for a fact that he wasn't the most skilled fighter that'd be at the exams. But when it came to raw physical attributes…he'd dominate the rest of the competition by a country mile. Unless Choji used one of his Cn jutsu, he had taken the title of THE STRONGEST, at least in his year.
But if he fought Rock Lee, he was pretty sure that the boy would still beat the shit out of him with ease.
There weren't any other major physiological quibbles of note, either. Maybe someone might say Tobio had more of a preference for walking by bars and smelling that sweet, sweet nectar they weren't allowing him to drink(yet), but there were no other stranger urges either. Briefly, he entertained the thought of even telling an authority figure like Iruka about his new bloodline…
Then, he strangled that impulse in the crib immediately. It didn't fail to cross his mind that eventually, it'd be out in the open. But here and now, he was too weak, too exposed, and too bereft of any real support structure to really make any real decisions about his life. And, honestly, it'd be easier said than done to even prove he had one at the moment.
In no time at all, two weeks of experimentation and exercises passed. It was the day of the exam, and just about every student was vibrating with excitement. That said, he wasn't as excited for the first of the tests.
"Alright everyone, settle down and into your seats," Iruka spoke, projecting his voice across the css. "We'll be handling the written exam first. Pencils out, and feel free to start once I hand out the exams. As always, no cheating, and anyone caught cheating will be summarily failed. Any questions?"
There weren't any, as people began to lock in for the examination, Tobio no different from the bunch. It would have been nice if he was smart, or at least had something boosting his intelligence…but honestly, his knowledge would be enough to get an okay result here.
Some of the questions were simple, historical facts that just about everyone should know. Who founded the vilge(Senju Hashirama), who was the fourth Hokage(Namikaze Minato), and things like that. However, when they started to break into the territory of inquiring about the given financial geopolitics of the Land of Fire's exports, that was where he had to make his best guess and pray for a good result.
It was the same situation for the math section. Sure, he could sort of figure out how to find x for some of the basic equations. But if you sat him down and threatened him with death to solve some of those polynomials...
Well, he'd best prepare to just fucking die.
When the test came to a close, he was perhaps not the most confident in his answers to some of the trickier questions. However, Tobio was fairly sure that he'd enjoy the next batch of the graduation exam's evaluation battery far more.
Leaving the room where some stragglers were still smashing their heads against their tests, he was tasked to wait until it was his turn to head into one of the other exam rooms. This one, where three proctors sat at a table, looking expectantly at him.
One them being…Mizuki, of all people.
"Nakamura-kun, are you ready to take the ninjutsu evaluation?" Mizuki smiled over at him warmly, and if he didn't already know what a scumbag this guy was, Tobio might have believed that he meant him well.
Knowing what he was? It felt good to know that he was about to get the shit beaten out of him ter that night.
"I'm about as ready as I could hope for," he agreed, nodding slowly. "Can I pick what we start off with?"
Mizuki shrugged. "If that makes you feel better, sure."
With that in mind, Tobio didn't see a point in quibbling any harder. For his part, he decided to start with the easiest out of the bunch: The Transformation Technique.
Overall, the Henge was a pretty simple if versatile jutsu. Allowing the user to transform, it effectively created a shell of chakra around the subject, allowing them to transform into different people for disguises and deception. Though if you were really good at it, supposedly you could pull off transforming into stuff like kunai, or other inanimate objects. Was Tobio that good?
No.
That was why he just defaulted to the safe option, and transformed into a copy of Mizuki. He'd seen the man enough to have a somewhat detailed mental model of him in his brain, but not a perfect one. Something the proctors were happy to point out, criticizing the myriad little fws that were evident in the disguise to their trained eyes. While most ninja might not be the terrifying powerhouses like Elite Jōnin, they did have other skillsets to bring to the table, and this was a firm reminder of that fact as they tore his disguise to pieces…even if it was still a passing grade.
In comparison, their criticisms on his Clone Technique were a lot more reserved. Maybe it was because his clone was actually kind of good, since he was just making a copy of himself. Tobio could only effectively make one clone at a time, though, and certainly not one as programmed as complex as Sakura's. Unlike her, he just didn't have control over his chakra for it.
Bringing up the st jutsu, he'd freely admit that the Substitution just…wasn't for him. Oh, it was definitely a useful jutsu, but the mental gymnastics that he had to do in order to make it work was painful. It took an embarrassing amount of time before he could swap with the log they had specifically for Genin to use, swapping pces with a puff of smoke.
"…Well, I can say that while your scores may not be the highest, you certainly passed," Mizuki slowly nodded. "Do you need a rest, or are you prepared for the physical portion of the evaluations?"
Oh thank Kami, he could hit something.
"I'm ready for the spars, Mizuki-sensei," he nodded, grinning broadly. "I think I'll do really well there."
"If you say so," he shrugged. "You're free to go. Down the hall, to the right and out the doors to the sparring rings."
With a pep in his step, he practically bolted out the door. Where academics was perhaps not his specialty, hopefully, he wouldn't entirely embarrass himself in the tests to come.
In the abstract, he knew that it probably wasn't good to get this excited about fighting a bunch of children. Then he realized that technically, he too was a child, and whatever guilt that was threatening to bubble up evaporated immediately. Whatever he might have felt about the matter, the world of shinobi was not a fair one.
Until two weeks ago, Tobio would have been easy prey for any of them to beat the stuffing out of him, and run ps around their civilian peers. Even the ones like Shikamaru had the advantage of being subject to some degree of training from professionals in the field. Everyone else had to make do, and Tobio was no different.
Ultimately, what was about to happen was just a reversion of the normal order of events. Most civilian kids were knocked out of the sparring portion of the exam retively early, and only the fact that they were gender segregated kept some outliers like Sakura in the running at all, with her pitiful amount of physical conditioning.
It was just patently unfair for him to get paired with anyone else, as he was now. Poor Iruka-sensei just didn't know that yet. If he did, he probably wouldn't have pitted Kiba against him.
"I want a good, clean fight," Iruka spoke, gncing between the two of them carefully. "Are you both ready?"
"I'm ready," Kiba grinned, fshing canines toward Tobio, as he flexed his hands into cws. "No offense, man, but this is going to be a quick match."
Understandably, Tobio nodded in agreement. "I agree. It's just us fighting, right? I wouldn't want Akamaru involved for what's about to happen."
Entirely misunderstanding his opponent, Kiba chuckled, nodding over toward him. "Yeah, he's sitting on the sidelines. Now, are we gonna fight, or are you gonna keep buying time?"
A little snort escaped Tobio, as the two of them made their way to either side of the circle, making the appropriate seals with their hands. That was how every spar began, one to begin, and one to acknowledge that there were no hard feelings. Even if that wasn't always true for the given people involved, as evidenced by the long antagonism between Naruto and Sasuke.
"One…" Iruka began, and Kiba started to rock on the balls of his feet, electric tension running through his body.
"Two…" For his part, Tobio shifted, rolling his neck in a tight circle, and letting out a low exhale, eyes on the Inuzuka in front of him.
"Three!" And then the two of them were moving.
In the entirety of Iruka's css, there were a couple of physical powerhouses. Sasuke was without a doubt the most skilled, dominating the spars with his unyielding discipline and technique. Naruto, while cking in conventional skill, was surprisingly talented at coming at his opponents from unexpected angles and had limitless stamina. Choji was an Akimichi, and thus the fact that he could potentially y out most of his fellow students was a given.
By comparison, Kiba was somewhere in the middle of those three extremes. Not the most skilled, or the strongest, or the one with the stamina to go the distance. But that generalist approach had proved well suited to maintaining a top spot, comfortably under Sasuke, as one of the hand-to-hand talents of their year.
Which made it such a surprise when he didn't immediately dominate the momentum of the spar from the outset.
Kiba came in fast, with an overhead strike, hands curled up into cws. Dangerous for most of the fighters in the css, and enough to put almost any of their cssmates on the backfoot immediately. Two weeks ago, it would have been enough to have Tobio on the defensive. Now?
When they met in the middle of the ring, Kiba found his momentum stopped in its tracks by the ponytailed civilian, as he caught his wrist with one hand. Eyes wide with shock and surprise, he wasn't quite fast enough to disengage, let alone fast enough to stop the savage punch to his gut that came directly after.
Tobio's strike was restrained, rather reserved compared to the tree-shattering blows that he could dole out if needed. But it was still strong enough to lift Kiba a few inches off of the ground, as the air was vacated from his lungs, and he staggered back, wrenching out of Tobio's grip.
Coughing, the Inuzuka gave his opponent a careful, gauging look, an expression halfway between a grimace and a grin spreading across his features. "D-Damn, Nakamura," he coughed, swallowing thickly. "When you'd learn to hit like that?"
"Well," Tobio smirked. "Just figured I ought to stop holding back for our little spars. I wouldn't want to give you anything other than my best, y'know?"
There was something about that notion that tickled at Kiba's sensibilities. Maybe it was just the idea that this whole time, Tobio had been holding back. For how long, though? Years? Months? Less time? Was he always this strong, or was it just a bluff, a fluke?
Even worse, though? It was that smirk. That utterly cocky smirk, that made his own anger fre up, grimace turning into a snarl of his own. "Guess I'd better return the favor…"
And then he was unching himself at Nakamura.
Cws whisked through the air, rapid strikes that by all accounts should have been ying into his opponent. Any of the instructors could see that objectively, Kiba was the more skilled one. But that was a small soce in the face of the practical strength and speed that Tobio was bringing to the table. It didn't matter if Kiba was a veritable wunderkind with his Cn's martial arts style, if he couldn't even hit Tobio with them.
There was nothing special about the way he moved. Any of the proctors and staff on call to supervise the spars could see that much, even if Tobio was moving at an impressive speed. His parries and dodges were, at best, brutish and simplistic. But in their line of work, it didn't matter if a given trick wasn't pretty if it was good enough.
The cnless orphan in front of them was good enough.
For each strike that almost nded from Kiba, his opponent was quick to capitalize on them. They were punches that, if at a more manageable speed, the Inuzuka would have certainly been able to dodge. His body was even reacting before his conscious mind was aware of it, keen to twist out of the way of danger on an atavistic level. But all too often it was too te, and he was rocked with powerful blows that had him staggering back.
After a few exchanges of this, with Tobio no worse for wear, the same couldn't be said about Kiba. Breathing hard and favoring his right side, the shaggy-haired brunette grimaced before moving to dart in again. And Tobio moved to intercept him again, until Iruka called out.
"Stop!" The instructor yelled, gncing between the two boys briefly. "…We're calling it there. Winner, Nakamura Tobio."
More than a few of their peers had stopped at this point, whatever chatting or talking they'd been doing up to this point. Many of them were looking shocked at the results of the match, or were peering at Tobio, like he was some new kind of discovered species. They might have been expecting upsets, but someone who had handily hung around the midpoint of the css rankings in spars beating someone near the top was not what they'd expected.
For his part, Tobio did the seal of reconciliation, bowing over to Kiba gracefully. "Thanks for the spar, Inuzuka-san," he spoke, beaming all the while. "I learned quite a bit!"
It looked like it cost Kiba something to return the sentiment and gesture, as they cleared the space for the next fighters. But what was evident was the fact that in the subsequent fights for the physical evaluation, people were taking him seriously now. Not that it helped them win against him.
Throughout the next few spars, Tobio could feel that something was genuinely beginning to click for him. Where he'd assumed there was a ck of dexterity, it was more like that in reality, he was simply just unfamiliar with using his new physical capabilities in combat. It was something that he hadn't realized at the time, but there was a big gulf between getting practical combat experience and simply doing drills and kata.
That being said, it didn't mean that he was too surprised when his new capabilities hadn't gone unnoticed by the instructors. Nor was he all that surprised when they decided to pair him up with someone who was a little more capable of handing him a challenge.
"Nakamura Tobio and Uchiha Sasuke, please step into the ring."
Was he expecting to fight the king crash out today? Not particurly? But Tobio would have been lying if he said that he wasn't a little excited to pit his skills against the kid. It was one thing to know that you were strong in the abstract and pit yourself against people you'd put on a pedestal before. That realization had mollified at least some of his concerns, for being dumped into this new, unforgiving world.
Even so…there was an even greater part of himself that he wanted to test. To see what his limits looked like, and if he could push even further beyond them. At this point in the story, who was an even more insurmountable peak than Sasuke?
Those dark, murky eyes were staring out at Tobio from across the ring, as the two boys made their seals. Gauging, evaluating, and unlike Kiba? He could tell that the st loyal Uchiha was going to take him seriously from the outset. This would be a hard fight…
So why did he feel so excited by that prospect?
Giving himself some Oni blood might have had some deeper psychological consequences than he would have thought at first blush. Too te to regret it now, though.
Moving into their own stances, Tobio's was loose, and a little sloppy compared to the ideal of the standard taijutsu form taught to all students at the academy. In contrast, Sasuke's was crisp, locked in from countless hours spent practicing kata. But in the end, the only thing that mattered was results.
Both of them were barely listening to Iruka as he started the countdown for the match. Or the cloying cries of Sasuke's fangirls, as they cheered him on. Though, it was a little nice to have Naruto as quite possibly the sole voice cheering him on at the other side.
"Kick the teme's ass, Tobio!"
Kiba wasn't even immune to getting involved, howling out his own cheer. "If you don't beat him after beating me, I'm gonna be pissed!"
"One…two…three! Begin!" The moment Iruka started the spar, they blurred into motion.
This time around, Tobio moved to close the distance, leaning into his blistering speed in the confines of the circle. If Sasuke was going to do him the courtesy of taking him seriously, well, he'd return the favor. With fists raised, he threw an exploratory jab with his left hand, guarding with his right.
Much to his surprise, the raven-haired chuuni was faster than he'd initially expected. Leaning narrowly out of the way, he retaliated with a blisteringly fast punch to the ribs. If Tobio was anyone else, he would have been gasping for air and staggering from the sheer force behind the strike. As it was now, he figured that it might leave a very, very light bruise.
Whether it was the solidity of Tobio's body, or the ck of reaction from the mixed-blood, it was enough to make Sasuke immediately disengage. The two of them circled each other, eyes careful and looking for weaknesses in each other's stance, posture, whatever would give them the biggest advantage in the cshes to come. And unsurprisingly, it was Sasuke who found them first.
When Tobio went in for a lunging grab, he only ended up catching air. Meanwhile, his opponent nimbly rolled to the side once more, springing up onto his feet and immediately going on the offensive. There was no reticence or mercy in Sasuke's strikes, as he smmed his fists into Tobio's back, the dull, painful impacts recognizable in the back of his mind.
Enough to put someone like him down, though? Unlikely.
The exchange wasn't pretty, but it was long, long enough to make a few things evident. It didn't matter how much Sasuke wailed on Tobio, of when he was being worn down by those few, powerful strikes that nded from his opponent. For every three punches to his chest, two kicks to his legs, every solid strike from Tobio was enough to stagger him a little bit more.
Right up until at st, the incumbent challenger managed to grab a hold of Sasuke's wrist. And this time there was nowhere he could flee. The notion of wailing on him, physically destroying Sasuke, certainly came to mind. A very uncharitable part of his mind was strongly considering it.
But ultimately, the smarter option won out.
Twisting his hips for leverage, he used the grip on his wrist to swing, effectively throwing the dark-eyed twelve-year-old like a sack of potatoes bodily out of the sparring circle. A ring out wasn't as fshy, but in the end, a win was a win.
Made evident by the explosion of noise that came from all around. He couldn't even figure out what everyone was saying, though, beyond the cries of Sasuke's fangirls, the riotuous cheer of the boys, and Iruka's voice coming in crisp and clear over everyone else.
"Win…Nakamura Tobio!"
Sweating, heaving, and more than a little bruised, the grin that split across his lips was a genuine one. Even if he'd barely managed to keep his hands on Sasuke all the while, it was worth the effort. Especially when something new popped up in his vision.
[HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED: SLEEPING DRAGON.]
[DEFEAT THE TOP PRODIGY OF THE ACADEMY.]
[1x MINOR DOMINION PERK ROLL. ROLL PERK NOW?]?
He had known about the first quest, given that he had been preparing for it. But the second was something that he hadn't been prepared for at all, and wasn't expecting in the slightest. Still, he hadn't been expecting the second quest at all. In hindsight though, it made sense.
Sasuke was basically Mt. Tai for the various academy-aged kids of this generation. He was an insurmountable peak of talent, someone who likely still would be rookie of the year, even with his defeat in the sparring rings, because his skill with ninjutsu and academics were just that good. But to see him defeated after years of dominance…
Well, it wasn't as if it'd been easy for Tobio to accomplish. Even when his physicality was on another level than the prodigy he'd beaten, Sasuke still nearly won their spar just based on pure skill alone.
Another reminder that while the orphan was strong, he wasn't the strongest. Not yet, anyway.
For now, he held off on rolling his perk. If it was anything like Mixed Blood, being behind closed doors would be for the best. He was curious as to why the graduation quest hadn't quite finished yet, but the best guess there was because it hadn't technically gone through yet. Whether or not that was a reasonable assumption, who could say?
Sasuke, for his part, stared over at Tobio, jaw clenched and something indecipherable in his eyes. He didn't say anything, though, merely stalking away out of sight. Truthfully, Tobio didn't even know where to begin with the basket of neuroses that the Uchiha was dealing with, and admittedly, he had his own concerns to deal with.
Trying to make nice with Sasuke was rather low on his list of priorities.
The sparring wound down after that, partially due to the graduation evaluations coming to a close. But mostly that everyone who still needed to be tested had been tested. Some of the instructors were going very discreetly to various students, though, and speaking with them.
"May I speak to you for a moment, Tobio…?"
Having been a little distracted by the st few fights, he startled at Mizuki's approach, who smiled down at him. "I've got some good news. If you're interested, we're saving ourselves the trouble of sending out postage with some preliminary results on the exams."
"That quick?" He was genuinely surprised, too, eyebrows raised high.
"Well, the hardest part to grade is the written exam, but we're all old hand at that," Mizuki admitted, shrugging softly. "What I can say, is that you should show up in a few days to get your Hitai-ate. With your scores, you've definitely passed."
Truthfully, he was a little surprised that he'd been graded that quickly. "I would have thought my other grades would have been middling."
The light-haired Chūnin readily nodded. "They were. Your written portion was passable, and your ninjutsu could have done with some improvement, as did your shurikenjutsu earlier in the day. That being said, dominating the fights went a long way to bolstering your scores and value."
Gncing down at him, those bright eyes focused on Tobio keenly. "If there's nothing else, remember this much, Nakamura-kun. In this world, no matter what pretenses that we shinobi may put up otherwise, power will always come first. Forget everything else we've ever taught you, if it means you remember that lesson."
Coming from a literal Orochimaru spy, he was going to take that advice with a grain of salt. "Thank you, sensei," Tobio nodded, smiling thinly. "I'll do my best to take it into account."
Reaching out and patting him on the shoulder, Mizuki ambled off. Likely to go tell someone they'd passed, or that they failed. For his end of things, though, the day was over for Tobio. When they were finished with their evaluation, they were free to leave…and he had a roll burning in his pocket, just waiting to be unwrapped.
It didn't take all that long for him to get home, either, what with that incentive putting some pep into his step. Settled onto his bed once again, there probably wasn't a better time to pull the trigger on his new perk. So, with some reticence, Tobio reached out and let that spiritual void inside of himself activate. There was that familiar flood of power and potential that surged forth in the back of his mind, as a new array of options id themselves before him.
Worn TrenchcoatDC OccultA worn trench coat with pockets that seem to be able to store an impossible amount of things. An iconic item for some of the more modern magical types, whether working as a magical detective or an arcane conman, this coat will help you do it in style. May or may not come with an invitation to join the Trenchcoat Brigade.Sylvan RiverseedCradleA natural bance of fire water, air, earth, life death madra creates sylvan riverseeds. These small blue creatures passively generate vital aura and can cleanse damage to madra channels but may learn more tricks if one was to give it more madra to grow.I've Got A Bad Feeling About ThisArcaneThe hairs rising on the back of your neck, that feeling of being watched - you've learned to heed these gut-level warnings, and they've rarely steered you wrong. You have a kind of intuitive sense for imminent danger which will warn you of stalkers, surprise attacks or people tailing you, or less human dangers like a rusty catwalk or a pnted bomb. You won't know exactly what the danger is, but you'll know to look out for it.None of these were the same paradigm shift that Mixed Blood was. That was clear. But that didn't mean they were terrible, just that his standards had begun with an impossibly high bar to clear. In the end, though, he could only pick one, and only one. And he knew he'd regret whatever he didn't end up picking.
