Chapter 56
Join my Patre@n at patreon.com/JoshRichie2 for Vol 3... 100+ Chapters ahead.}
...
Title: Graduation and Meeting
...
In a well decorated room, a young man and lady could be seen standing, facing eachother. The lady had a dutiful expression as she tidied up the young man.
The young man had a casual aura around him and a smile that could melt the heart of the most cold hearted woman, but this smile was only ever seen on him when he looked at the woman in front of him.
"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Shun said to the lady, Hinami.
Hinami shook her head and said. "Yes, j know but as a leader, you have to look like one. With me here, you have no leeway to mess around as you did in the past."
Her expression and words carried a will that shouldn't be violated no matter what. Shun chuckled and pulled her in and kissed her on the lips.
"C'mon, this is the fifth time I'm attending the graduation ceremony of our young warriors, I know how to handle myself." Shun whispered to her as he hugged her tight.
"Mm, but you have a meeting with the Zero squad members after that. You also have to meet the new recruits, you can't look careless in front of them." Hinami said in a muffled voice from Shun's chest.
"Ehh... But this.. aren't you being aittle too ceremonious today?"
"Humph. I don't care what you say but you will do as I've said, or else..." Hinami said with a serious face that would normally make anyone who knew her oiss their pants, but Shun chuckled and gave her a peck on the lips.
"Alright, you do you." He said and spread his arms wide, allowing her to dress him as she saw fit.
...
The huge island of the Tengoku clan housed many clans that were subservient to the Tengoku clan in exchange for protection as well as development.
Over the years, many small clans had fled from far and wide just to housed by the Tengoku clan, and the Tengoku clan, following the ancient teachings of their clan, never turned their back in any of these clan that needed their protection.
There were certain laws put in place though, to protect the interests of the clans, such as; intermarriage being forbidden and all individuals with access to chakra must register into the force of the island.
This wasn't done for free however. People who registered were given enormous amount of money for every task they complete, and in cases where there is an occurrence of death, the family of the victims are rewarded with the individuals worth.
Your worth was determined by the rank you have. Stars were used to determine ones rank, from Iron, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Black.
Iron being the students, Copper being the graduate all the way to Diamond being the members of the Zero Squad and Black being the 'Kage'
This system was established by Shun years ago to better facilitate the Shinobi system Tobirama would be introducing in the future.
As for the method to determine ones rank, Shun invented a seal that could determine ones strength, both physical and Chakra wise.
Not that the Shinobi system was flawed, but Shun didn't see the need for exams and conditions before one was promoted.
The Shinobi system was based on ones loyalty and dedication to the village, where a chunin had to be voted in by the people on too after a proper review of the background.
That's well and good as they're were ninjas and valued their privacy but now? No one cares about that, if you're a spy, you'd be discovered as soon as you step into the core area of the Island so there was nothing to fear.
*
When it comes to the Steele, it determines one chakra, level of control and then physical strength.
This is so, individuals like the Senju, Uzumaki or even future Jinchuriki wouldn't have an easy way up the ladder.
Individually, your level of expertise in Jutsus was all in you.
As a wise man once said, it's better to have and train a single technique a thousand times than to have a thousand techniques.
Today saw the completion of academic year and as usual, the young ones would decide which area they would like to major in.
Be it Ninjutsus, Genjutsu, Bukijutsu, Fuinjutsu, or Iryōjustu, they were all available for students. As for the purpose of the Zero squad, it was to egg them to aspire for greater heights, however, the Zero squad was actually here to scout potential members.
These potential members would be given missions with certain criteria of which his or her every action would be monitored for a total of three years, after which they would then be tended a formal invitation.
This system was also introduced by Shun so that certain assignment would have certain people for it.
As for why there is an urgent need for new members, it was simply because every Squad zero member was only allowed to have nine other subordinate under them.
Captain of Squad 0 had numbers 1-9
Captain of squad 1 had numbers 10-19
Captain of squad 2 had numbers 20-29
And so on. So in total, there were 100 members in the Black Ops.
This method was meant to select quality over quantity With the members all having Jounin level strength while the captains were all Kage level with Chakra between 70k -100 units.
*
In the open area of the Academy Compound, a multitude of people could be seen standing around with excitement. The graduating class were properly arranged at one corner of the field while the remaining area was filled with either family or friends.
On a raised Podium front of the academy an small sound of an explosion was heard and out of nowhere Shun appeared with his nine captains standing behind him.
Each captain had snow white Haori over their usual wear while Shun had a black coloured one adorned with multiple colours to form flowers. {A/N: Think of the Captain Haoris from Bleach.}
This was their ceremonial gait and they all had an imposing aura attached to them.
The Captian of the First Squad, Hinami, Second Squad, Fujirawa Chinioke, Third Squad, Kazuma Ishin, Fourth Squad, Tengoku Mikoto, Fifth Squad, Yoruichi Tsubachi, Sixth Squad, Aburame Itsu, Seventh Squad, Toshiba Kuro, Eighth Squad, Kageno Shibai and Ninth Squad, Omoi Yuri.
Four Females five Males with only one being a Tengen/1\.
Toshiba, Kageno and Yuri were the only captains without subordinates as their requirements were rather harsh, but Shun knew it was all an excuse to kaze around every once in a while.
While the crowd were shouting in excitement at seeing their respective Sonchō and captains Shun was also smiling and observing the crowd below.
Taking a deep breath, he used his chakra to extend his voice to reach everyone in the crowd.
"I'm filled with immense joy this very day just seeing the smiles on the faces of all of you gathered here today." Shun said and paused to look around again.
"The world outside this island is filled with war, chaos, anarchy and deaths, but in here, everyone is able to close their eyes at night and sleep peacefully without the fear of impending doom and for that, I am glad."
"This is possible due to the sacrifices our privileged brothers and sisters make daily to ensure that our borders aren't breached by any invaders. They fight, and due for this peace we all enjoy today.. and I'm deeply saddened to tell you that just the day before we lost a whole legion of proud warriors, may we observe a moment of silence for them..." Shun said and closed his eye solemnly.
The entire crowd also quieted down and gave a little prayer for the departed souls.
"We'll be laying them to rest properly in a week's time after their close ones have been identified, proper arrangements will be made thereafter."
"On a more happy note, today, we are here to bear witness to the moment our young sprouts bloom into their full glory and step into the world as adults. From this day forth, they decide on the path they'll will grow. They become the protectors of this great island like the predecessors before them."
"From this day, we will welcome a new era of flourishing youth and as the head of this great village, nothing could ever make me prouder than seeing our children grow to their full potential." Looking toward the young 12-13 year old kids standing neatly at the front, he continued. "On that note, I'm going to tell you to grow at your own pace. The sun and moon have their stipulated time of activity, don't let what others say influence your path. If you think you're in the right path, keep going, whatever obstacle you face will clear of it own volition, but that is only if you're focused and determined."
"There's a popular saying among the Tengoku clan, 'Be it the eye of the Uchiha or the Vitality of the Senju, we still reign supreme'. This saying is meant to place our talent at a certain level above them, but that saying also has a second part, which is, 'But the hardwork and will of an Uchiha trumps the domain of the heavens.'" Shun said and chuckled at the absurdity of that saying.
"This quote was meant to tell us that our sister clans have the potential to reach a stage we can never hope to reach with hardwork. Why am I saying this? Simple, the road ahead will be filled with strife, hardships, terrors, death, betrayals and many more, but only those who know what they want will ever reach the peak."
"As for what the peak is? Even I have no idea, I just know that ones hardwork would never betray them. The world may betray you, your friends, family partner, weapon, they can all betray you, but the effort you put into something will never betray you."
"So, as the Head of this village, I warmly and properly welcome you to the world and I leave you with one last advice, One who places his hand on a cart and looks back isn't worthy to be a warrior. Have a good day." Shun said and then turned around and fizzled out of existence.
After that, the various captains gave a short speech to the students while also hinting that they'll be watching with rapt attention at how they'll progress while also mentioning that only a few would be choosen from the many.
After that, the captains took turns to give every graduating student a Copper badge signifying their promotion from the normal class to the working warrior class.
The event ended with the students showing their badges off to the Kouhais and families.
One had to know that the amount of money a copper rank warrior makes in a mission could feed a normal family for more than a month.
This meant that every family with even a copper ranked warrior, is set for life if the warrior doesn't die unexpectedly.
Just as this country was peaceful, life here was both pleasant and hard at the same time, those with money had easier time while those without had to work for their daily bread.
The good thing was that there was always something to do to make money.
*
"I feel like only half of this 1200 graduate will make it to the next rank." Mikoto Tengoku, the captaiiof the medical squad said as they walked toward the meeting room.
"Hmm? I actually thought at least 20 percent of them would make it to the next rank, you're actually so merciful in your assessment, as expected form your clan." Yuri, the only lady captain without subordinates said.
The other captains also said their own estimated amount of graduate who would be able to move to the next rank.
"You guys think too much. Shun doesn't need them all to be promoted, a certain few is all that he needs, the others will know what to do when they see their fellow classmates stand at a stage higher than them one day." Hinami said cooly as she walked in front.
This shut them all up as they knew how close the relationship between this lady with the weird eyes and the Sonchō.
Of all the captains, only Mikoto was able to behave normally around her. For some reason, she could always feel like Hinami would never bring her any form of harm.
Also, they've all had their assess handed to them during their weekly training. Even the most hor headed captain among them, Yoruichi gave her the maximum respect due to the beating she had received on multiple occasions.
"You all just need to train capable subordinate, I'm sorry for you losses but you all need to fill in the void created by those deaths and continue with your duty. You three, you better take your jobs seriously, Shun may be kind and flexible but even rubber has a breaking point." Hinami said as she glanced at the three captains yet to form a squad.
These captions chuckled nervously and averted their gazes as they walked.
Soon they reached the door of a room and walked in only to see Shun already sorted waiting for them.
"Sonchō," they all greeted to which Shun nodded and said with a serious tone, "we don't have much time to waste, get sorted and give me a debrief of last months happenings. Also, I want to know what or who caused the deaths of my people."
*****
/1\: I'll be using Tengen as a way to classify the Tengoku clan members. Something like "A Senju" or "An Uzumaki" or "An Uchiha." Tengen would be used for the Tengoku clan members
As for the pictures above, take that as a reference of how the Tengoku island looks.
Buildings designed in both Japanese and Chinese designs and flowers to make the place more beautiful.