Graduation

This had been the day Goku was waiting for, for quite some time now. He had a grin plastered over his face for a majority of the day. With all the training he had gotten over the last few years, he had no fears of failing any of exams, and only good times to look forward to.

All the other children in his class seemed to be some what nervous, and Goku came strolling in with an air of confidence. It was the life he trained for and nothing could shake him at this point. Some of the other students caught air of this and frowned, and mumurs spread around the classroom quickly about the 'cocky monkey.' It even got back to Goku, but he didn't pay it any mind; still keeping the smile on his face throughout all the insults his jealous class mates threw at him.

He had very few friends in the class, but the ones he did have; they got along great! There were three others not including himself that usually stuck together throughout all of their years in the academy. The first kid he had ever met was a boy named Krillin, who despite his young age, was completely bald, and had six dots on his forehead. Goku could say that Krillin was his best friend in the academy, because they had been through all kinds of shenanigans together. His other friend being a somewhat shy boy named Omoi, he had very short and white spiky hair. He always kept a lollipop in his mouth, and his personality never failed to enterain Goku. The last member of their psuedo-squad was a child originally from Kirigakure, who they simply called 'Kiri.' His real name was unknown, often going by 'N' to students outside of his friend group. Despite his mysterious history, he was a happy person with blonde hair and brown eyes.

That group of friends were known as slackers to a certain degree. The whole class knew they could be doing way better than they let on, but all they did was goof around during class. They weren't necessarily at the top of the class, but no where near the bottom. All four of them held a strong position within the general rankings of the top ten academy students in the class. Goku was closest to the top, coming in at #4, Omoi following closely behind at #5, Krillin was #7, and 'Kiri' or N was on the tail end at #10. When it came to the specific rankings, they all placed differently in the class, but held good overall scores.

Today was the day they decided to excel for once and get the hell out of the academy. There were two exams for them to take, one being written, and the other a practical exam to test the skills they had learned during their many years of training. Every one in the group of friends was calm and collected, except for Omoi, but only to a certain degree. A bead of sweat could be seen rolling down his face, as he thought about all of the possible outcomes of him failing this test. His parents would be infuriated. He let out a quiet sigh.

The attention of the whole class was brought to the front of the classroom. A man quietly started writing on the chalkboard, and when he turned around; he was honestly surprised he had gotten their attention that easily. He had smooth brown skin and spiky black hair with white highlights throughout the top portion of his head. He had a trimmed mustache and goatee, but he didn't look much older than the kids he was teaching. "I'm surprised you kids actually quieted down, but I'm sure you want to get out of here as bad as I do." He pointed at the board, "The first part will be the written exam."

Goku raised his hand, "How long will we have to take it, Baka-sensei?"

The newly dubbed Baka-sensei smiled, "You all will have thirty-minutes to complete the test. The questions range from World History to real life situations that might require some critical thinking. I hope you're ready." The man picked up a stack of tests from his desk and began passing them out to all his students. Once every student had a test, he smiled, "You may now all begin."

True to his word, he gave the students thirty minutes to complete their exams. Some of the more academically inclined students buzzed through the test quickly and with ease, while others struggled to answer the many questions on the test. Goku wasn't the brightest kid when it came to testing, but simply glided through the test; filling in whatever he thought was right. Omoi spent a lot of time on each question and ran the risk of not finishing on time. Krillin and N were doing well, pacing themselves and answered the questions the best they could. When the bell sounded and the test was deemed over, everyone's head shot up and they dropped their pencils. Only a few completely finished their written exam when they handed them in.

They would be told their test scores later, and they immediately moved into the next and final phase of the exams. All thirty-one students lined up to be tested in the basic skills and techniques taught to them during their academy days. Everyone seemed to be doing well, and this part of the exam went by faster than anticipated. Goku excelled in all parts of the test, and his extra training showed. Omoi and N did just as good, while Krillin struggled with certain aspects, but still did well. As for some others; who struggled to do everything, weren't looking too bright compared to their classmates.

Once the exam was declared over, and the instructor left the room to compile all the results with the rest of the teachers; the students began conversing among themselves. The four friends came together and gave each other high fives, all assuming that they did well.

"Goku-kun, you're amazing!" N and Goku fist bumped each other, "I honestly didn't expect you to do that well."

"I've been training extra hard!" Goku pointed his thumb toward his chest and grinned, "I couldn't do anything less than awesome today. You guys did great too!"

Omoi scratched the back of his head, "They say there's still one more test once you're with your Jounin sensei... What if I fail that and get sent back to the academy?" The boy groaned at the thought of that happening but got flicked on the nose by Krillin.

"You sound crazy, there's no way you would fail," Krillin grinned at his friend Omoi before fist bumping with him. That seemed to be a common thing between the group of friends, all of them smiling at each other.

The kids continued to talk about the future, and being a ninja. It was all so exciting and happening so fast. They would no longer be normal kids, and even be considered adults at a young age, so they could fight for their country and do missions that would better the village as a whole. Goku was nearly bubbling over with excitement at the thought of earning money and leaving the village.

Silence washed over the room as the proctor returned to the room with the results. Not everyone in the class was so sure of themselves as the four friends had been. They all stared at the man, waiting to hear what their future would entail. He smiled lightly, ready to break the silence. "I'm proud to announce that for the first time in history, all thirty one academy students have passed both graduation exams, and will move on to the next part of becoming a ninja." Two more ninja entered the room with boxes full of headbands, "I, Takeshi Baka, now pronounce all of as official genin of Kumogakure no Sato."

One of the men carrying the boxes snickered, "Ha, Baka." He said to himself, which in response got a stern glance from Takeshi. "Couldn't help it dude," He still managed to laugh to himself. The man ripped open the box with a kunai and started handing out the differently styles of head bands to the kids walking up to retrieve them.

Goku walked up and got a smaller, black head band that he intended on tying around his right arm. He was struggling at first, but a girl instantly glided up to his side and smiled.

"Let me help you out, Goku-kun," She tied the arm-band around Goku's right arm like he wanted. The girl offered a smile to Goku, "My name is Chi-Chi by the way." The alien boy was at a loss for words, and simply gave her a goofy grin back. She had tied up black hair, and wore a blue and red top with a matching skirt, with a red waist band, and matching arm bands.

Goku gained his composure and smiled at the girl, "T-Thanks, Chi-Chi." The boy ran a hand through his hair, which was currently tied up in a pony-tail, and held together by bands with large red ornaments on them. According to his adoptive mother, it was 'cute,' and he didn't like arguing with the woman unless he wanted a brand new bruise on his body.

"I'm going to do you one more favor," The girl grabbed the hair band from Goku's head and replaced it with one of her own. It was black and almost unnoticeable, "You look like a little girl with that in your hair, no one would ever take you serious." She cupped Goku's cheek and smiled, "But you're still kinda cute either way." With that statement, the girl walked off once their sensei was ready to start naming off the squads.

Goku was in stuck in a state of shock. Throughout his many years during the academy, no girl had ever treated him that way, and he had no idea what to do. Was that his girlfriend now? 'No. No,' The boy shook his head and placed his palm against his temple. He calmed down and decided to listen in.

The man went through nearly all the squads, and Goku still hadn't heard his name called. Krillin and Chi-Chi were grouped together, while Omoi had been paired with a girl named Karui, and N was paired with a quiet girl who he swore he had never seen before. Everyone was starting to file out the room to go meet their jounin instructor, and his friends said bye to him. It got to the point, to where the only two people left were Goku and Takeshi Baka.

"Son Goku, you won't be paired with anyone."

. . .

(Buffet, Kumogakure)

To say the least, K was an irritated man right now. He had been outside the village for quite some time, was called back because of a 'important mission.' He leaned back in the booth and frowned slightly after being brought back to Kumogakure under false pretenses. He rolled his eyes as the man before him was trying to reason with him. The man cut him off mid-sentence, "If it's so important.. Why can't you do it, sensei?"

The man before him had on a fox mask, and long silver hair, "I've been called upon to work outside the village, and I've taught the boy every thing I can." A smile crossed his face upon receiving a blank stare from the shinobi K. His onyx colored eyes were locked on his mask, while his arms were folded over each other. "Another reason being that I'm technically not a jounin, while you are."

K was mad for several reasons, even if his outward expression didn't accurately show that. His expression was blank, but he was just about ready to kill Son Gohan for trying to joke around and mock him during their meeting. They met a restaurant, which infuriated him, because he knew the man wouldn't take his mask off to eat, and K himself stated he didn't have an appetite after returning, but there was still a platter of food sitting before each of them. Secondly, he was brought here to discuss his new 'S-Rank' mission, but it was failed to mention that it involved the alien child, and his upbringing as a shinobi. Most Jounin would be ecstatic to take on Goku as a student, all of them begging to have him on their team, but K was a special case, and he didn't really care for the idea.

"It at least pays well," He tried to reason with K, "And Goku is a bright pupil. He could end up being one of the greatest shinobi ever if he's guided down the right path. Don't you want a hand in his development?"

"No," K stated flatly before sliding out of the booth and turned his back on Son Gohan. He wasted no time getting the hell out of the Buffet restaurant. The man quietly joined the bustling village hidden in the clouds, as he tried to navigate his way out of the market district so he could go home, but as expected, he was being followed by a persistent Son Gohan. He stopped and turned slightly, "Was I not clear enough for you?"

"I guess not," Gohan stopped before K, "We chose you for a reason though, and I won't let you slip away that easily."

"Even though I've made it clear I had zero interest in doing it?" K had now fully turned to face Son Gohan with a scowl across his face. Money, power, and a chance at shaping history held no interest to the man, and he tried to make that clear when he spoke with Gohan, but the old man wouldn't let him leave.

"If nothing we have to offer interests you, why are you even a shinobi?" Gohan questioned as he took a step closer to K. The man stated earlier he had no interest in money, power, or changing the world. It confused him to no end, but he assumed the man was simply doing it to end the conversation and get Gohan off of his back, but it wasn't that easy.

"The simple things don't impress me," K's voice had no energy to it, and Gohan was disturbed by it. "Money, power, and fame. None of that impresses me, I just want to die without regrets, and see everything the Earth and beyond has to offer. I knew being a civilian, I wouldn't be able to accomplish a lot of my own personal goals, so this is the route I chose to take." The man ended it there, having said too much for his liking.

"So why not take on a young apprentice, who only wants the same?" Gohan asked, and his voice indicated that he was pleading at this point.

"Because I don't want a mere child slowing me down," K knew the response he would get, so he decided cover the holes he left open. "No matter how skilled and powerful he might be, he doesn't have the experience to accompany me anywhere. He would only hinder me in the long run." There were other underlying reasons that he didn't feel the need to share, and he simply turned his back on Gohan once more and continued on his way home.

"How about this," Gohan's tone changed completely. He was no longer begging the man to teach his adoptive son, rather bargaining with him. "You can throw Goku any test you can possibly think of, and if he passes; then you have to take him under your wing."

"If he fails?"

"I'll teach you something new," Gohan had once been K's sensei quite some time ago, but he still didn't teach him everything he knew. There were things that K still wanted to know from the old man, since he was wiser than what he let on, and this served as the perfect chance.

"I'll consider it," K said before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Gohan smirked lightly, his offer had worked.

. . .

(Mabui's House)

When the front door of her home opened and she saw the newly minted Genin walk in, she was confused to say the least. The woman wasn't expecting him home for a few hours, and certainly hadn't expected him to be wearing such a sad facial expression. She instantly set her book down on the table and walked up to Goku, "What's the matter, Goku-kun?" The woman crouched down and looked him in the eyes, and he looked away.

"Stupid Takeshi-baka didn't want to pair me with anyone, and I don't even have a sensei!" The boy wasn't calling Takeshi by his actual name either. Goku pouted, "How am I even a Genin without a sensei!? Did they not want to teach me or something!?" He was now looking right at his mother, nearly demanding an answer from her, but she said nothing.

She looked down and frowned, "Goku, it's not that." Mabui tried to explain in the best way possible, "But you're no normal shinobi, I hope you know. They couldn't let just anyone handle you," She patted the boy on the head. "This little mix up will be sorted before you know it." Mabui was going to make sure of it, because she knew who his sensei was, and apparently Gohan was failing to get on his student's good side, but the moment she was about to go and do something about it; there was a knock on the front door.

Mabui went to open it, and Goku stood behind her to see who it was. When she swung the door open, she was surprised to see one of the village's anbu, who was wearing a dog mask standing in the door way, "Son Goku," his voice was deep and resonated throughout the whole house. "You have been summoned to CORRIDOR K for your Genin testing." He reached into his pocket and gave Mabui a card before dispelling in a cloud of smoke.

The woman in turn gave the card to Goku, "I told you," She smiled, and he smiled back.

Before even reading anything on the info card, Goku took off and ran back toward the village. He was even more excited than before, and guessing a bunch of possibilities that might come with him visiting 'CORRIDOR K.' The thoughts only further energized him, and he took off with a burst of speed toward the village.

. . .

(Outside of CORRIDOR K)

This place was nothing like Goku had ever seen before, however, like most buildings in Kumogakure; it was built into the mountains. It was located in one of the most secluded places he had seen in Kumo. The windows were completely black, and Goku couldn't see through them. His eyes traced the building, looking for other oddities that he could use to help find the entrance. His attention was brought to the multiple ANBU members that lurking around the area.

The ones that were outside the building seemed to be just lurking randomly, almost moving without a purpose. Goku truly focused for once, and noticed at least one masked shinobi moving like he knew what he was doing. It was the same man that popped up on his doorstep. The boy immeadieatly gave chase, "Hey, do you know where the entrance is?" Goku furrowed his brow when he got no response and continued to run after the mysterious ANBU member. Surprisingly to Goku, the man actually started running away from him. From there he knew something was up.

Goku instantly started picking up the pace, trying to close the distance between them, but he lost sight of the man. He had slipped inside of a door, but Goku wasted no time launching himself forward and kicking said door right off of its hinges. He was breathing heavily once he had finally got inside, and was angered to see that the ANBU member he was trailing had completely disappeared within the corridor.

The place truly lived up to its name. Goku stood there confused as to what to do next, for there were an endless amount of doors in the long hall way. He knew not to go running into random rooms looking for the man he was chasing, so he decided to take the smart rout, and try to track down his chakra signature.

Throughout his many years, Son Gohan always applauded Goku's natural talent for being able to feel out other people's energy and remember it. The boy closed his eyes and tried to feel out the chakra he had just encountered, and was utterly surprised by the results he received.

He was only looking for one chakra signature, but instead found thirty of the exact same chakra. None of them were stronger or weaker than each other, and Goku didn't know which one was the original. They were all spread out throughout the corridor, in all of the rooms he could possibly go in. Only one would house the original, or source of the clones. The boy quietly groaned at this realization, but let a smile creep onto his face, "I know what you're trying to pull! Stop hiding like a girl and show yourself!"

The same booming voice began to fill the hallway, "Son Goku, that's no way to talk to your sensei." Where the voice was coming from was unknown, but it certainly startled Goku, and made him mad that he claimed to be his new teacher. "However, I will only go through with being your teacher if you pass my special test. Should you fail, you'll be sent back to the academy, or even worse; dropped from the program entirely." The voice laughed at the thought of Goku failing, and watching Goku impatiently look around so he could find the source.

"There's no way I'm going back, I'm going to kick you and your test's ass!" Goku shouted triumphantly.

"The test is simple," The voice explained. "You are to find me, the original. If you cannot fight your way through my special team, and get to me; you fail."

Goku nodded and drew a kunai from his weapons pouch, "You can throw as many of your pansy ass flunkies at me as you want you, I'll take 'em all down!"

"Good," The deep voice was pleased so far from what it heard from Goku. "You can begin."

The alien boy instantly used his sensory techniques to feel where none of the enemies were located. From what he could tell, none of them cared enough to mask their chakra, so he immediately rushed to one of the empty rooms so he could tried to get the upper hand on one of them.

Once he got inside, he realized that all of the rooms were connected. The room he was in was a small bedroom, with a dresser, nightstand, and of course a bed. There was a door on the other side of the room that connected it to the next room. When he got inside, he noticed that the chakra signatures were starting to move, and they were as close as the next room.

There were only two ANBU clones moving toward him, and he already had his kunai drawn. They quietly moved into the bedroom that Goku was in and there was a slight standoff. Neither of them knew about each other skills, so who ever made the first move would dictate the pace of the battle. The boy furrowed his brow before using his free hand to draw some shuriken and throw them quickly just to see how they would react.

Both ninja drew kunai quickly and blocked the throwing stars, before one of them leapt forward to engage Goku. They exchanged blows with their kunai, but Goku parried with a strong push, and quickly shifted to taijutsu, as he spun like a windmill and kicked the ninja in his side. Goku flipped while he was in the air, he then threw the kunai he still had in his hand and it planted firmly in the 'ANBU's' chest. He smiled when the clone popped and the other was now rushing him as he was getting ready to land.

The boy flipped backward and pushed off the ground with his hand to put distance between them. This clone seemed smarter than the other, still combating Goku with his kunai, but he made slight changes as to how he attacked. His strikes were clear and concise, and barely gave Goku a chance to attack; just evade. Goku decided to gamble and use his height compared to the clone's advantage and ducked from one of his kunai swings, grabbing the man's wrist in the process. The boy got low and swept the ANBU clone off his feet, before releasing his grip and jumping into the air.

The clone tried to jump back up, but Goku was clear to pin it back down with four more shuriken from his collection. With it being a direct hit, the clone popped from the impact. Goku made a mental note that they weren't that durable. He assumed that it was that way on purpose, and quickly went to retrieve his shuriken and kunai so he could reuse them.

"Two down.. 28 to go, wait, 27? Shit, I don't know," The boy shook his head and quietly readied himself for more.

With his small bout, he had attracted the attention of more of the clones. They were all starting to move toward his direction. With his mental note of how easy they were to pop, he decided he would take them out en masse compared to the one on one method they seemed to prefer.

Goku left the room he was in and moved on to the next, it was bigger, and had more open space. There were couches and a book shelf around the room, which he chalked up to be a living room, but it gave him more than enough room to take on an army of clones trying to kill him. He drew his lone kunai back out once he felt said army starting to move toward him.

There was at least twenty of them this time, compared the mere two that approached him first. Five of them immediately burst into the room and charged at him. All of them fought differently, some with kunai, others tried to range themselves, and then there were some simply trying to knock Goku out with their fists. The boy was quite elusive much to their dismay, and doing quite well at quickly dispelling some of them.

Goku was quickly stabbing vital points, sweeping them off their feet, and throwing shurikens all around the room. He flipped out of the way of a more melee oriented clone swinging crazily with his kunai. They were starting to overwhelm him, and one of the clones had actually gotten the drop on Goku.

From across the room came the clone sprinting, he leaped into the air and let his chakra flow freely through his right arm, and it began crackling with electricity. He cocked his arm back and tried to smash his lightning covered fist into Goku, "Rai-ken (Fist of Lightning)!" Goku narrowly dodged the fist intended for him, and had to roll out of the way of another attacker. He had a chance to see what the outcome of that hit was, and there was a crater in the ground.

The boy gasped as the clone simply ripped his fist out of the ground, and it was still crackling with electricity. Goku was still engaged with another one of the clones, and still saw through the side of his eye as it tried to charge at him again. The only clone to use ninjutsu thrust his fist forward, once again trying to catch Goku off guard, but the boy grabbed his opponent by the arm and flung him right into his oncoming attacker.

He was satisfied when both clones dispelled themselves as they accepted defeat. Goku was far from done though, ten clones from this horde still remaining and ready to fight him. He grit his teeth, now knowing that these clones could use ninjutsu even though he was taught otherwise, "What the hell are you guys!?" Normal clones were just used as a distraction, while these fought with him, and actually existed to a certain extent.

The boy decided to take the iniative and close the distance between him and remainder of the clones. They were obviously weak, but they had numbers on their side. He withdrew the last of shuriken and threw them through the crowd of clones, only managing to get two of them to pop from being unprepared. The rest wasted no time and tried to pounce on him.

Goku quickly rolled out of the way and ended up next the book shelf. Oddly enough he started taking the books off the shelves, and pumped them up with his own chakra before throwing them off like they were shuriken, "I knew these oversized blocks would be useful one day," Two more clones were taken down after being hit in the gut with an encyclopedia.

He smiled before all six of them charged at him at full speed. Goku got into a fighting stance, and the first clone to leap out received an open palm strike to the chest from the boy. It popped instantly, and the remaining five surrounded Goku. His eyes moved quickly, trying to find a way out of his delimma. One of the clones charged at him from behind, but he was quicker in his attack; the boy thrust his elbow backward and connected with the clone's gut, and he dispelled it by pivoting on his foot and delivering a mean uppercut to his jaw.

The clone popped, and the rest moved in to assault Goku. One threw a misguided punch, which Goku easily evaded, and grabbed the back of the man's shirt. With all of his might, Goku slammed the clone into the ground causing it to dispell. He quickly twisted his body to face another oncoming clone. The boy charged his fist with chakra for a brief moment before punching the clone directly in the gut, and his chakra exploding outward. Having grown accustomed to the exploding clones, he moved through the smoke and caught the other off gaurd with a powerful kick, and knocked him onto the ground. That left one last clone, both of them stood there in silence, and the clone made the first move.

It pumped chakra into its arm and thrust it forward, but Goku parried and pushed it backward. The boy rushed forward and kicked his leg out trying to connect with the chest, and it slammed him into the ground. It drew a kunai and tried to stab down, but Goku reacted in a split second by catching it between his hands. The clone drew Goku's blood, but it didn't affect the boy, as he kicked his feet out and got the clone to jump back.

This last clone was extremely intelligent for some reason, and way more resilient. Goku groaned and wiped the blood on his pants leg, "Mabui-chan's going to kill me," He mumbled to himself. One would think that would be the last of his concerns right now, but that was Goku. He had no weapons left, so he had nothing but his fists to defend himself.

The boy ran directly at the clone and let his chakra flow freely. It became visible in the air, like an eletric blue aura radiating around him. The boy had almost become a blue blur to the clone. He cocked his arm back, "Take this you chump!" He thrust it forward at the clone, who tried to block his powerful punch, but the force behind this attack itself sent the clone crashing into the wall, and 'poofing' out of existence. He buckled over from exhaustion, "I still don't know what to call that one," He said to himself tiredly, as he slowly regained his energy.

He decided to feel out the energy one last time, and his eyes widened. There was one large chakra signature, and still five others that were the same level he had been fighting. Goku honed in on the large signature, and it was at the end of the corridor. The boy immediately burst of the room and back into the main hall way. He started sprinting down the hall, full of excitement. Goku was getting way closer to meeting his actual sensei and not some random clone trying to kill him.

As he neared the end of the hall, there was large set of double doors that led to the biggest room in the corridor. A clone instantly poofed into existence right before it to prevent Goku from going any further, but he wasn't trying to waste anymore time. The boy streamed his chakra to his foot and leapt off of it with an enhanced burst of speed, before kicking his leg out and pushing the clone straight through the set of double doors, and effectively knocking them down.

He was absolutely irritated, and it was seen when he burst into the room breathing heavily and ready to shout. The room he entered was an empty white space, but no one was in sight. The boy yelled out, "I'm done playing games, show yourself!" His attention was brought to the ceiling of the room. The man he had been looking for this whole time was standing upside down, and looking down on Goku.

He wore the same dog mask the rest of the cloned ANBU wore. The man was clad in all black, and flak jacket that stopped at his mid-riff. He laughed lightly when Goku voiced his frustration. The room was filled with silence after that, and he let the mask concealing his face fall off and break against the tiled floor. It revealed an oddly stoic face, as his onyx eyes locked onto Goku. He smiled ever so slightly.

"Come down here and face me, right now!" Goku stomped his foot against the ground. The man gave him no response to his initial demand, "I said right NOW!"

"It's nice to finally meet you too, Son Goku."

. . .

Next Chapter: The Limitless K