002: A World Of Pain and Desperation

It was a world of pain for the three potential Genins, all of them being beaten in a unique way. "Come on, Nao, is something wrong? There must be something wrong with you. Come on, take a break for today and come back tomorrow. I'm sure this is just bad luck," the clone said as he pummeled Nao to the ground.

"T-TAKE THIS!" Nao surrounded her blade with all the chakra she had left. It shined brightly as she rushed at the clone. "T-take this, you bastard!" Nao screamed as she swung at him. Her left eye was badly damaged while she couldn't see in her right. Due to the injury, her attack hit air. "Pity," the clone muttered before knocking her out. "If I were your father, I would be disappointed," Akagi's mud clone repeated. Anything Akiyama attempted was met with a nasty punch or kick, not allowing him to breathe.

"H-hey, I-I give! I give!" Akiyama put his hands up, but Akagi simply knocked him out once more. "Pathetic," Akagi's clone whispered before Akiyama lost consciousness.

"Ah, not bad, kid," Akagi's clone said, dodging Kiruma's kunai strikes. "You might make Chunin one day and transform into an academy teacher. Don't worry, it's not too bad. It's just that you're… average." Akagi's clone repeated this as Kiruma's strikes grew more rash, more predictable, and far more animal-like. "Calm down. What's wrong with being average?" Akagi's clone finished Kiruma off by punching his nose, breaking it, and then kicking his face, finally knocking him out.

"Hmm… guess I'll wait a little," Akagi's clone said as he walked away. Kiruma stood up, his nose bleeding and his breaths ragged. "He purposely held back… bastard," Kiruma whispered as he weakly walked to the other two who were both down. "Wake up, guys… come on, guys!" Kiruma urged, but to no avail.

"Urgh… I should be figuring out the question… wait… I… passed?"

Half an hour later, Akagi grew impatient, his foot tapping the ground. His clone waited for the other three to come back, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Fine, I'll go take care of the three brats myself. Urgh… I expected more," he grumbled. As he walked to where he knocked the three out, his clone disappeared into mud, and he walked up to see the three still passed out. "You fucking idi—" It was too late; he had fallen into the executioner's trap and wasn't being spared. "RAGH!" Nao appeared under Akiyama's 'body,' trying to stab Akagi, but he simply dodged. "Smart move, but with your speed, I would have more trouble with a civilian—"

It felt like a hammer hit his spine. As he looked back, he saw Akiyama using Earth Style: Fist of Stone, which allowed him to coat his arms with stone and hit like a hammer. Akiyama tried to punch again, but Akagi simply sidestepped. He feinted an attack, making Akiyama panic, but he didn't move. Instead, he let Akagi's fist hit him as he grabbed his arm, keeping it in place.

"H-huh?" Akagi was shocked when he heard the voice behind him. "Sensei, the answer is:" Akagi turned around to see Kiruma bleeding from his nose. The blood had already reached his feet and wasn't stopping anytime soon, yet he was still standing, holding up a napkin. "I saw you using the handkerchief a lot of times; you must really like it. But the only way to save it now is to rush out of Akiyama's powerful grip. If you notice, his right hand is holding the headband. What will you choose, sensei? Will you keep your pride or become desperate?"

As Kiruma dropped, Akagi rushed for the handkerchief, which held something important to him. As he caught it before it fell, he noticed his headband was missing, as expected. He smirked. "Kids… you three truly are desperate… you all pass!"

(Flashback an hour and 20 minutes)

Kiruma kept shaking the bodies of Akiyama and Nao. They were both beaten up badly but seemed to be waking up. "U-urgh, what the… what happened?" Akiyama slowly got up and clutched his head in pain. Nao wasn't so calm. "T-the fuck?!... Urgh, how could I be beaten… by a clone!"

Kiruma put his hand on her shoulder. "Fret not, I found the answer." The two looked at him—Akiyama in awe and Nao in suspicion. "The answer is desperation… humans who are desperate to win would do anything… rape, murder, betrayal. None of these are out of the question. In fact, desperation is not different than motivation sometimes. I can't explain it well, but just listen to me. We have to show sensei our desperation, so let's make a plan."

But Kiruma was cut off by the feisty girl. "Hell no!"

"W-what? Why?" Akiyama asked, confused.

"W-why should we? He's a civilian. We are clan children, we are above him, we are superior to him. We should do our own thing."

Kiruma kept his focused stare on Nao. "Look, just this once, cooperate with me. I promise nothing like this will happen ever again."

But Nao refused to listen. As she was about to punch Kiruma, Akiyama tried to stop her but didn't do much as Nao hit Kiruma. He stood his ground but accepted the punch. "Please listen," he said while groaning. But Nao continued her beatdown of the already injured Shinobi while Akiyama stood staring in pity.

"W-what are you doing? Help me!" Kiruma demanded.

"O-oh, s-sorry!" Akiyama said as he pulled Nao back. "Look, N-Nao, c-calm down, alright!" Akiyama said, barely keeping his hold on her.

"N-not until I—" "GODDAMMIT, LISTEN TO ME!" Kiruma shouted, and Nao calmed down. "We are in no situation to be choosers. You know the saying: Beggars can't be choosers? Well, it applies here too. If we don't cooperate, we won't reach our goal. That includes you too, Akiyama. Stop being so weak-minded and pathetic. And that, at foremost, goes for me, the weakest here. I have to be the one taking the most hits, the most damage. That's just how it works. The weak have one advantage over the strong: Desperation, the little fear of failing that pushes us to the limits. The difference between aliens and humans is desperation. No matter what, humans shall do anything to ensure their survival while aliens will see they can't win and accept their loss. Will we accept our loss? We aren't alien, we are human! We are all weak, some weaker than others, but in the end, right here, right now, Akagi-sensei is the alien, and we are the humans. So we have to be desperate. So let's cooperate, let's fight together, and let's go past our worldview and our self-imposed rules!"

As Akiyama explained the story to Akagi, he just nodded and seemed impressed. "Good thinking, you all. I see you guys abandoned your weaknesses and put them on again." Before anyone interrupted him, he walked off. "Wear your headband proudly; you are now Genin. Meet up here again at eight in the morning. We will remove the weaknesses and give you all the privilege of an alien. That's our long-term goal for the next couple of years. I wish you all the best of luck!"