Shinobi Training Institution
Fuinjutsu was a really difficult subject for Takeru. Even with the continuous usage of shadow clones he was progressing much slower than to his liking. Toru had already taught all he knew about fuinjutsu to him and now he was learning from the fuinjutsu book in his possession. Takeru had already learned a few seals. From Toru he learned how to make storage seals and exploding tags and how to use them efficiently. From the book he leaned to make, use and bypass restriction seal and silencing seal with high proficiency. Takeru was now learning the gravity seal which he found very difficult. Although he predicted that he could learn it in a couple of weeks. Takeru had already mastered calligraphy. He now used his calligraphy skills to the fullest when using fuinjutsu. Although he could currently only use brush and ink to write seals, his target was to make seals using only chakra strings.
After Tobirama had taught Takeru the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he strictly prohibited him from using it too much and told him about the drawbacks of this technique which ranged from mild headache to death due to chakra exhaustion. Tobirama did not know about Takeru's mastery over this technique and that is why he gave Takeru the challenge of graduating the Institution within a year. If Tobirama knew that Takeru was far more skilled in shadow clones than even him. He would not have given Takeru that challenge. Takeru used shadow clones to their full potential and after 1 week, he had completely read and memorized everything he could from the Leaf Village Public Library.
Toru and Akane discussed among themselves and they realised how much distance had appeared between Takeru and them. They were sad and they did their utmost to change their behaviour and views towards shinobis. Takeru was shocked, when his mother Akane told him that she would teach him shurikenjutsu and kunai handling. Although he was gradually learning those with the process of trial and error. Having someone to teach him, would really cut down the time he needed to master the techniques . He would not have to correct his moves every single time to perfect his throws. So, Akane started teaching him daily, how to properly throw a shuriken, how to use it as a diversion or misdirection, how to alter a shuriken's path by hitting it with another shuriken, how to handle a kunai properly, best ways to use kunai in a fight. She even brought some senbon needles and taught him how to properly use and handle senbons. Takeru's talent amazed her. He learned things in a hour what others would take at least a week to learn. Akane finally realised how much their son had hidden from them, and she was distraught about it. She vowed that she would never let her prejudice towards shinobi to come between her family ever again.
It had been a week since Toru submitted the application form to the Hokage. Two days ago a courier-nin delivered a letter to them. The letter wrote that Takeru had formerly been accepted into the Institution and the new classes would begin two days after. So, today the Yamamoto family were walking towards the Institution in the morning. The building was situated behind the Hokage Tower and was one of the newer buildings in that area. It was quite near their house, so it did not take much time. Soon, they reached the building and saw many families there. Parents, fathers, mothers, other family and clan members standing in front of the gate of the building with their children and kids. The gate opened after sometime and the Yamamotos went in with the crowd. They were all asked to stand in the small training area in front of the building. A small podium was erected there.
A few moments later Hashirama Senju, the Hokage appeared on the podium and everyone cheered. The Hokage was extremely popular with the citizens of the village. The God of Shinobi was the not only the most powerful shinobi of this village but also the most charismatic one. The man oozed power and prestige and his mere presence demanded respect from others. The Hokage was the face of the Hidden Leaf Village and he was like father and protector to each and every single one of the villagers.
The Hokage went to the front of the podium and said to all the listeners, "Hello, everyone. My name is Hashirama Senju. I would like to say a few words to you all. All of you came here to learn and grow, to make yourself better, to be the best you could be, but have you wondered why? Many of you have different goals, to either make your parents proud of you or to have people acknowledge you. Some might even want to be a hero, to protect your family and friends. I commend on your goals. But I want you to have another goal. It is to protect the village. Our village was established with only one goal in mind, to bring peace in our world of violence, to let children and kids your age laugh, play, enjoy their childhood without the fear of wars or conflicts. It is the reason we all can have hope. It is the reason we are all here. It is the reason why we must fight to protect the peace. It is the reason why we must protect our village, our home. Every single person in this village, be it your parents, your clan members, your friends, the people of the neighborhood, the citizens, everyone in this village is what we must protect. The Hidden Leaf is not the land it occupies, it is not the clans or families that live here, it is not me. It is the people. Without the people there is no Hidden Leaf. Do not see it as a mere village. See it as a one big family, your family. You, your parents, your friends, everyone you know is in this family. And we must always do our very best to fight for our family, to protect our family. I wish everyone who is starting their first step to greatness today in this Institution the best of luck. May the hope always stay with you. May the eternal fire that burns in all of our hearts lighten up the fire within you. You are the legacy of this village. You are the fire that will kindle the leaves and protect them. You are branches of the tree that is Hidden Leaf. With that said I will take my leave and wish all of you success in your future endeavours. Thank you". The Hokage left after giving a small and passionate speech. The crowd was cheering and applauding.
A man came out of the building and asked all of the children who wish to join, to form a line. All of them followed and formed a line. Takeru also joined them in the line. The parents and clan members of the children saw them off. Toru entered the building and went to the teacher's lounge in the Institution. Akane left for the hospital. The line was slowly shortening and kids went into the building in droves. Soon, it was his turn. The man took out his file and checked for any discrepancies. Then he handed Takeru a small booklet containing the curriculum of the Institution and told him his class number.
The curriculum spanned for 5 years in total. It included teaching how to read, write, language, basic mathematics, science, history, geography and physical activities in the first year. In the second year chakra theory and shinobi rules and code of conduct were added and were given more focus. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu and shinobi tools training began from the third year onwards. There were three types of classes in the Institution throughout the 5 years of curriculum. The A-rank class was for clan heirs, children of prestigious backgrounds and seeded, talented children with the sure prospect of becoming shinobis. The B-rank class was for regular civilians and normal citizens. Lastly the C-rank class was for children applying for non-shinobi courses.
Takeru was placed in class 1-B. Takeru found the classroom following map given in the booklet. He entered the room only to find other childrem shouting, running and playing around. The room was large with a high ceiling. The blackboard in the front of the room was also huge. In front of the blackboard was a podium, situated far from the students' desks and put in a position where the teacher could view everyone at once. Takeru calmly went to find himself a seat. He found one at the back of the room on the left side beside a window. Takeru sat in his seat and read the booklet in the cacophony of sounds. Soon, a man came into the classroom and the children stopped the ruckus. The man wore a grey high collared combat vest with black pants. He had black, spiky hair and had black sunglasses that covered his eyes. The man stood on the podium and addressed the class.
"Welcome, everyone. My name is Shin Aburame. You can call me Shin-sensei, Aburame-sensei or Instructor Shin. I will be your class teacher for this year. We will be learning how to read, write and some basic subjects. I hope you all brought notebooks and writing tools. Before I start the class, I would like all of you to introduce yourself to the class. We will start from the front. You first, introduce yourself." - the instructor asked.
"Hello, my name is…", each and every student started introducing themselves. Soon, it was Takeru's turn. The instructor asked him for his introduction. Takeru stood up coolly, "Hello, my name is Takeru Yamamoto. My dream is to be strong to protect my family, friends and the village. I hope we all can get along". After the introductions were over, the class started.
The instructor taught them all how to read and write very slowly, diligently and with care. Every student was having fun due to Aburame-sensei's antics, all but Takeru. Takeru was bored. He could write and read far better than an adult now. He knew he could have just gone to the instructor to ask about him skipping a year or so. But it would be disrespectful to do so on the first day. Takeru would have to wait a few days to completely master the first and second year courses and then ask for his promotion to higher classes. The day soon ended with the class ending for today. Takeru with all other kids went out of the institution. Toru was still teaching other classes. Akane came to bring Takeru to the house. She asked him about how his days went. Takeru replied casually that it was fun but boring. Akane understood that Takeru was much more mature than kids his age and was much further than them in studies. He asked for some money from his mother and went out to find a bookstore. He bought all the necessary books for his studies and came home. Takeru came home to see his shadow clones working on fuinjutsu. He nearly figured out the gravity seal. Takeru read and memorized each every book using his shadow clones.
It was a new week. Today Takeru was going to ask his instructor if he could skip a year or two. The class started as usual with Takeru being bored out of his mind. After the class ended Takeru waited until all kids went out of the room leaving only the instructor and him. He went to the instructor and asked, " Aburame-sensei, can I ask you something?".
"Oh, it is you, Takeru. Yes, ask away." - the instructor replied.
"Can I skip classes please?"
"Oh, and why would you want to do that?"
"You see, I do not mean to sound rude but I already know all about the first and the second year classes. I learned those from my parents and the books. I already know how to read, write and all about the basic subjects. I also know about chakra theory, shinobi rules and code of conduct fully. I can also use chakra and know a few jutsus. That is why I would like if you could grant me permission to move up a year or two. Please forgive me if I said anything out of bounds."
"Well, it has happened before but not from this section of yours. How about this, I will talk to the other teachers about your problem today and let you know our decision tomorrow. But know this, for you to move up years you would have to take an exam first before anything else. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand, sensei. I would do my very best in the exams."
"Do not worry, some children have the same problem you have. You are not the first. Now go home and study well. The exam will likely be held tomorrow."
"I will do that. Thank you sensei."
"It is alright. Now go."
Takeru went out happily as he could finally be free from the torture he received for a week. He went home to review the study materials. Toru and Akane came home that evening and after hearing their son they just smiled as they knew that Takeru was well ahead of his peers. Toru, as an instructor in the institution also knew about his son's request to skip years. He as his father fully agreed to his son's request and told the other teachers that Takeru would take the test tomorrow.
The next day came and Takeru went to the institution. As he was entering the building, Aburame-sensei called him out and said to him that his proposal to move up classes was accepted but he would have to take the test for that to happen. Takeru agreed and Aburame-sensei took him to an empty classroom. There were two other instructors in that room. After a giving a short introduction of Takeru to the instructors, Aburame-sensei soon went out of the room leaving the three. One instructor asked him why he wanted to move up classes.
Takeru answered that he already completed all the courses of the first and second year and he wished to learn more. The other instructor gave him a question paper and some answer sheets and told him to finish the test within the time limit of 3 hours. The exam started and ended far too soon as Takeru completed the test in a record time. He blazed through the questions which were far too easy for him and finished the test in just 10 minutes. Then he gave his answer sheets to the instructor. The two instructors' eyes widened as they checked the sheets. All of the questions were answered correctly even the few complicated moral questions, which should be practically impossible for a kid of Takeru's age. They could not even negate 1 mark without being unreasonable. They sighed and marked his answer sheets. Takeru scored a full marks on the written exam.
The two instructors calmed down in a few moment and told him to follow them. The three soon came to the training area in front of the building. There was an obstacle course in the side of the area. The instructor told Takeru that this will be the final test, an obstacle course test. He would have to finish the obstacle course while one of the instructors would throw wooden, blunted training kunai and shuriken at him. The time limit was 5 minutes. Takeru got ready in a sprinting pose. The instructor whistled and the test started and ended in a few moments. In just 30 seconds Takeru nearly flew through the obstacle course like there were not any obstacles.
The instructor throwing kunais and shurikens tried his hardest to hit Takeru but could not do so no matter how hard he tried. The instructor was dumbstruck at this situation, it was like this kid had eyes everywhere around his body. He surely was not a Hyuga but this kids movements and instincts were even sharper than a well made katana. Takeru reached the finish line and waited for the judgement of these two instructors. The two men looked at each other's eyes for a few moments with only one thought in their mind, 'This kid is a freaking monster'. The lead instructor gave Takeru marks according to his performance which was the maximum he could possibly give. As Takeru was not hit by any of the kunais or shurikens a single time during his run and completed the obstacle course in a record time of 30 seconds, he was given full marks in the practical exam too. One of the instructors went into the building with Takeru's scoresheets and the other one came to Takeru, congratulated him for passing with such good results and told him to that from tomorrow onwards he will be attending the class 3-A. He also gave Takeru a list of books and the complete course of the third year classes.
Takeru went home that day skipping in joy. After his parents returned, he told them about him passing the tests with flying colours. Toru and Akane showered him with love. Akane made a small feast for her son and specially made Takeru's favourite riceballs. Toru was also proud of him and promised him that he would increase the intensity of his training so he could catch up to the older kids in senior classes.
That night Takeru finally figured out the gravity seal completely. The seal worked on anything physical, be it humans, animals, plants, rocks or sand. It worked on any living being or objects. The seal had a definite sphere of influence which could be increased or decreased by the user. The seal would also work on specific beings or objects, altering the gravity of the said thing or lifeform only without influencing the environment. Takeru used his shadow clones to master the seal that night using it on various objects first, then he used the seal on his clones and found that it worked fine.
Takeru found an altering and limiting seal in the book which was easy enough to learn and made a project to combine the three seals, the restriction seal, the gravity seal and the alter and limit seal into one seal. He found that although these three seals were seperately only low-to-mid level seals. The combination of these three could become a high level one. Takeru theorised that he could even apply the seal to himself for training purposes. He now just needed a seal that disrupts the chakra flow, a seal that prevents someone from accessing their chakra and a tracking seal to combine with the previous three seals and he could theoretically create a single seal that would entrap, bound and completely neutralize any enemy he would apply the seal to. Takeru was happy with his progress but he knew that he could not slack off. The world would slowly descend into a new phase of wars soon and only by growing strong enough he would be able to face the challenges that would show up in the future.