Chap.12 Evaluation

It was as if an arrow suddenly struck his knee out of nowhere!

[As the host can read for himself, this is specifically a hidden achievement system. The System was instructed by Rob not to say anything until the first one is accomplished.]

"Then show me the list of pending achievements and their rewards!" Tony asked excitedly.

[No, then they wouldn't be hidden anymore. Rob was very clear about that.]

Tony clucked his tongue at the denial, but the logic was flawless to exploit. Still, it was interesting to know that such a function was there. He only hoped that there would be no achievements like walking ten million steps, he couldn't stand achievements whose only function was to burn time for the most completists, without giving them the well-deserved spiritual consolation upon achieving them.

Several minutes later, everyone had three snake skewers in each hand and Akamaru was enjoying a buffet of eating whatever was left. Since the snake was fully cooked and he was a ninja dog, there was no problem in his diet. Kiba reassured Tony about it.

—Since you've passed and we're all more comfortable, I think we should start with the introductions —Anko said— As I already told you, I'm Anko Mitarashi. I will be your instructor of the now team eight, I like dango, drinking and I am single. If anyone has anything to say about the latter, he can get up and start digging his own grave," she said with a not-so-sincere smile.

—I am Kiba and this is Akamaru, we are, obviously, from the Inuzuka clan. We like meat and have a keen nose that will come in handy for tracking. I am good at taijutsu and I have the ninjutsus of my clan.

—I'm Hinata, from the main branch of the Hyuga clan —she introduced herself later— I like zenzai rolls and cinnamon, I don't like seafood very much. I have a hobby of pressing flowers. My Byakugan will be very useful to keep an eye on the surroundings and I practice the gentle fist of the clan.

"I'm Tony and I was adopted by the Akimichi clan a few years ago. I really like to eat and I'm good at cooking, I don't like insects. I can guarantee that even if we get lost on an island in the middle of the sea or in the desert dunes, no one will go hungry thanks to my unique jutsu. I'm good at ninjutsu, I know how to use genjutsu, and I'm a sensor ninja.

"Okay, let's move on to your test evaluations," Anko declared as she took another bite of the best meat she had ever eaten. "I'll start with Kiba and the furry ball." You are the worst of the three. Your timing with your dog is good, but your fighting mode reveals that you rely on each other too much. To which one of the two was knocked out, the other can only act passively and awkwardly. In this test, it is no exaggeration that Akamaru has been more helpful than you. We'll fix that by practicing teamwork with everyone.

She then turned to Hinata, who cringed a little at the look on her face.

"Your performance has been better. You carried out the orders because you well understood the importance of your role. You talked to your partner and tried to collaborate to make each other's task easier. But at the moment of attacking, you hesitated. You also took a hit for letting your guard down while attacking. It was only a moment, but that moment could have cost you or one of your companions your life —Anko's gaze averted and she looked up— A burden on your conscience that she doubted you would like to bear —she lowered her head to go back to looking at her— I've seen your movements, I don't know much about the soft fist of your clan, but I can see that you have a good base to work with.

Lastly, and most importantly, it's me, Tony!

—You stood out as the leader almost immediately and the others did not doubt your instructions, which saves us a lot of work and headache. Your techniques are... weird as hell, but creative, I must give you that. It can bring a useful and unnerving wow factor. You also seem to have a lot more chakra than is usual for your age and your control over it is almost as good as Hinata's, who is a Hyuga. You are the most flexible of the three, but your weak point is too obvious.

-Which? Tony asked intrigued. He was pretty sure that he had achieved a good performance in all fields, satisfactory to say the least.

"You unconsciously avoid melee," Anko pointed out mercilessly. "During the test, everyone touched the snake at one point or another, but not you." You only attacked from the safety of distance and although I can understand that your style seems to be focused on medium and long distance, it is no excuse for such a big flaw. Any enemy that manages to sneak up on you or evade your attacks will kill you in one move.

Tony tried to open his mouth to refute, but found that he couldn't. Although his physical training was good, it was true that the only reason he managed to beat Lee was because of the motivation of the mission reward at the time. The truth was that he only met the standards that were asked of him, but personally he preferred to use chakra or his devil fruit before having to use taijutsu.

"And what do you propose?" Tony asked somewhat depressed at the sudden truth.

—Choose a weapon and try to master it while finding a compatible style with the current one —Anko told him— The kunai can save you from a tight spot, but there are better weapons for close combat. Swords, chakrams, spears, hammers, just pick one you feel relatively good with and I'll try to find you someone who can teach you how to use it.

"What weapons do you use?" Tony asked pointedly.

The rest of the team stopped their jaws and looked at Anko interested in the answer. They fought a snake, but they haven't seen what their sensei's fighting style is.

"I'm good with poison, genjutsu, fire techniques and snakes," Anko revealed without much mystery before the direct question. There was no point in hiding it for him, since the brats would end up finding out sooner or later.

"Do you use not only snakes, but also poisons?" Tony tried to sound intrigued. "Could you teach me about it?"

This time it was Anko's turn to stop chewing and she turned to look at him.

"Do you want to learn about poisons and make a pact with snakes?" She asked surprised. It was the first time since Orochimaru left the village that someone was interested in those two topics at the same time, to hell if she wasn't shocked inside right now.

"And crafting antidotes and genjutsu too if possible," Tony added quickly.

-Why? Anko asked getting serious.

—I need to be prepared if someone does something to my food —Tony answered with a solemn tone, full of seriousness and steely determination— Food is my strong point and I want it to be in all its forms, I want to get to the point where that no one would dare to do anything because they know it will be useless. The genjutsu can come in handy later on and of the summon contracts I'm aware of, snakes seem the most useful.

- What contracts do you know?

"Only the legendary Sannin." Tony looked down as if he remembered. "Slugs, snakes, and toads." I don't like bugs so slugs are ruled out and between the remaining two I think snakes are better. I heard that the price for hiring them is to feed them and that will not be a problem in my case.

—I see —Anko stared at Tony for a while in silence before taking a bite again and speaking— First find yourself a weapon and then we can investigate the antidotes and the genjutsu. I want to see what you are capable of, putting too much on your plate would be counterproductive.

Tony nodded but inside he was disappointed. Not because of the poison, but because of not getting the contract with the snakes on the spot, which was his main goal, as understandable as Anko's doubts are. He just needed to sign in and in the future he would at least have a chance to access sage mode.

Apparently he will have to be patient.

"Should I have saved some meat for the clan?" —Tony mused as he looked at the remaining meat— It doesn't matter, let's leave the rest for Anko-sensei, it's his summoning after all.

It wasn't that he was lazy enough to carry the remains, not at all.