As he stands there the whole room is silent for a while. After watching a four-year-old brutally beat someone with a Kekkei Genkai for over ten minutes, their entire worldview has changed.

The instructors face looks horrible as he stares a the boy standing on the pool of blood. All he wanted to do was show that a student he trained was better than this special student, but now his best student is dead. If he put her against anyone else, she would have won for sure.

From that slash, Zitsu's Taijutsu leveled up to 11 and brought his level to 7. He noticed that once it got to five levels per level up it stopped increasing. Unsure of what to do with the perk point, he saves it for now.

Taking a deep breath he looks up at instructor Anzai.

Seeing the child's gaze he opens his mouth "Winner Zitsukani" his voice sounds dull and lifeless.

Zitsu sheaths his sword and walks up the stairs. What used to be a room of over twenty-nine people has been reduced to fifteen.

Anzai looks at all the kids in the room, some more well off than others. "You all have passed the Academies graduation test. From this moment on you may say with pride that you are shinobi, you are ninja!" He slowly lifts his hand and points at each one of them.

"A ninja's job is to do missions for his village, to protect his village, and die for his village. With the passage of time, your names will be forgotten, but Kirigakure will stand."

He turns around and heads for the door. "Some of you may have lost friends and loved ones here today, but from this moment on, we are all on the same team." As his words fade he walks out the door.

Everyone looks at each other for a while, unsure of what to do.

Not wanting to waste time Zitsu is the first to make a move.

Everyone watches the four-year-old walk through the door before they finally make a move.

As the fourteen of them arrive at the entrance of the academy they see Taketa standing by his desk, a desk proudly displaying fourteen Kiri headbands.

"Hisashi, Aeko, Tokutomi, Manobu, Renzo, Ninsei, Kinji, Uka, Yokkako, Koume, Saburo, Renjiro, Yasutake, and Zitsukani." He calls out each name, ten boys, and four girls.

"Here are your Ninja headbands, they represent you and will follow you for life. The moment you pick it up you will live as a Kiri ninja, and die as a Kiri ninja." His eyes scan all fourteen.

Everyone had a serious face, even those with serious wound hid their pain. Stepping forward they all grabbed a headband.

Holding his headband he realizes it's too big for his head. For years he wanted to wear a real ninja headband and be apart of a village, and now that he has finally got one he can't even put it on his head. Gripping the ends he ties it around his neck to wear as a necklace because it's even too big to tie around his arms.

Feeling proud of himself he stands a little more straight.

As everyone is putting on or holding their headbands five people walk in. All five are dressed in white gowns and hats with the Kiri symbol.

"Because some of you are seriously hurt the academy asked a medical team to take a break from their busy schedule to come and check you out" Taketa points at the medical staff.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Because this has nothing to do with him Zitsu leaves the academy. Looking at the civilians move through the mist he realizes what little contact he's had with the world at large. But even if he wanted to go shopping or out to eat, he lacks the money. Shaking his head he begins the long walk back to the isolated training ground, hoping to see Mei.

While walking he finally looked at his status.

Level 7

[Health 110/110]

[Chakra 55/276]

[Stamina 118/129]

[60 Points]

[PP 1]

[Taijutsu 11, Ninjutsu 14, Genjutsu 0]

[Ninjutsu cost reduced by 10%]

If he put the point in ninjutsu the only thing he can do is unlock another nature release, which is pointless for now. Or he can wait till he gets Ninjutsu to 20 and unlocks [Increased Ninjutsu power by 2%], but the levels are getting harder to increase. To level from 14 to 15 he needs as much experience as the last four levels.

Putting it in Genjutsu would be useless for now as he hasn't practiced yin release at all, and any Genjutsu he cast will be worthless. With no better option, he puts the perk into Taijutsu, unlocking the first level and reducing his stamina consumption by 5%. He doesn't see the point in decreasing something he never runs out of, but now that he's put in one point he can use his next perk point on the second tier, [Increases damage with melee weapons by 5%] 0/3

As he arrives back on the plateau he actually sees Mei sitting on the rock again. His eyes light up as he runs over.

"You didn't let me down." A smile blooms on her face. "While you were away, I got a mission. The danger is low, so if you want I can bring you with me."

His brows lift slightly "What's the mission?"

"The Mizukage no longer want clans to independently run islands, and wants them all to fall under Kiri. My mission is to go to one of those clans as a delegate of sorts. If they join us it's great." She slowly shakes her head "But if they refuse, they will be marked for extermination."

"Are you the one exterminating?" he slowly looks her up and down, how is this not dangerous?

She nods "It's a small clan, so it should be alright."

Zitsu thinks for a bit before he looks up at her "When do we leave?"

"Now, that's why I'm waiting here for you." She stands up from the block.

"Can I go tell my mom first?" Zitsu panics a bit.

Seeing his face Mei smiles and sits back down. "Don't take to long, we have a ship to catch."

Nodding his head he turns around and runs vigorously towards the apartment. The first thing he does is go to the third floor and into the extra room. He learned from last time and unlocked the door before he released his clones. Walking inside he crosses his fingers.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu"

[Chakra 27/276]

He divides his chakra in half and makes one clone.

"Regen chakra, make more clones, same as last time!" Finishing his words he slams the door and runs.

The clone stands there shaking its head. "How many times does it take for him to remember we know what he's thinking when he creates us?" Walking over it locks the door before sitting down to regen chakra.

Running down to the second floor he opens the door to his apartment. He sees his mom inside cleaning.

"Mom I passed!"

Her eyes light up as she stops what she was doing. She immediately runs over and gives him a hug. "My baby is a ninja now" a smile finally returns to her face as the anxiety she felt all day is gone.

"Mom I'm going on a mission with instructor Mei, we may be gone a couple days."

His mom begins rubbing his little face with her thumbs, looking at the headband around his neck. "Your mom's not stupid, she knows ninjas go on missions. Remember to do everything your instructor says and be safe." She gives him another hug.

Hugging his mother for a few seconds she pushes him away.

"Go, I can tell you're in a hurry." She smiles lovingly as she pushes him towards the door.

Zitsu nods his head as he walks towards the door, looking back to see his mom sending him off with a smile. His heart fills with warmth. Even if he has to walk down a trail of blood, his mother will still look at him with a smile on her face. Taking a breath he exits the apartment.

Breaking into a full sprint he runs towards Mei, feeling the full effects of 5% reduced stamina cost.

Seeing Zitsu running over she stands up. "I really need to teach you body flicker." She shakes her head "You really promoted too fast, but becoming a Genin sooner rather than later is a good thing."

Zitsu nods his head, unsure how he should answer her question. Body flicker? His control is improving rapidly, so learning it shouldn't be hard, but not getting hurt while using it is a different story.

"We have to head towards the docks, the boat ride will take a day and a half." She begins sauntering off.

Watching her walk away a smile forms on his face. With his clones here practicing he can go on his first mission without worry of losing out on training time.

Not wanting her to get too far away, he chases after her.