It's the oddest thing. I've been making my feathers for… ever, it feels like. Yet no one has ever considered that they might be more than just embroidery on fabric. No one has ever noticed that when I jump off of a building or a bridge or a very large cliff, I fly my way down.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that the only people who know that I can even glide, much less fly, are the ANBU, and through them the Hokage; Shino Aburame, and his father, Shibi-sama; and my sisters, who have watched me figure out how to make the seals I needed.
I was raised, trained- born into a clan of shinobi who embody the ideal of stealth. The Yamanka clan are Boars to our Sheep- blunt force to our working on the subtlety of nature. I compare the Iga clan to the Yamanka for a reason. The Yamanka, Nara, and Akimichi clans have been together for a long, long time; the Akimichi were originally samurai, the Nara were hunters, priests, and merchants in the service of the Akimichi, and the Yamanka generally made up the ranks of their household servants, their farmers, and their personal ninja.
The Iga clan has never, ever gained a reputation for being ninjas. The other clans of Konoha have. The reason for this being- the Iga clan has always been a ninja clan. In times of peace, the clan flourishes; in times of war, the clan hides. The other Clans don't understand us Iga. But then again, how could they? They were born of mercenaries and samurai- sellswords and men of blood. The Iga were born of farmers and serfs, slaves and bastards. We are below all notice, and our history is one of rumor and lies.
The history that Mother left for us is one she got as her own mother lay dying, the cold grip of the Shinigami pulling all sense and reason from her before her last breath could leave. There is no guarantee that what we know is what is true. What is true, however, is this: it is an Iga's lot in life to endure. The reason no Iga has ever been known is not so much we lack in skill- we are, all of us, skilled- but that as individual shinobi, we endure our Clan's Laws and the directives of our masters without fail; we endure trials and calamities that would sunder lesser clans in twain. The Koga obey- the Iga endure.
If I want to go find more sheep for our flock's weakening bloodlines, by Clan Law I must be a jonin in good standing with my Clan and my Village should I be bound to one. I must not be the Heir, nor an Elder of the Clan, nor the Brewer, nor the Keeper of the Tomes. Until I have returned with the newblood, I cannot take the title of Shepherd of the Blood.
My Jacket is as complete as I can make it without knowing the full secrets of the Sheep. Secrets which can only be told to the Shepherd. I cannot be the Shepherd without bringing newblood sheep to the flock. I cannot leave to get newblood without being a jonin.
Therefore, my only course of action is to succeed at the Exams, and ask my sister to request a mission for me, specifically.
Thankfully, she already knows what I want for becoming a Jonin.