Chapter 4
Two days had come and gone for Shinji sato. Which is how he found himself at the tsuchikage mansion at 7:30 in the morning, knocking on the tsuchikage's office door.
"Enter." the voice beckoned him inside to which he strained his tiny legs to reach the door handle and opened it up.
"Morning gramps!" Shinji called out with a loud voice causing the old man to be startled and sending a stack of papers over the edge of his table.
"NO! THAT WAS AN ENTIRE NIGHT!" Onokis face reflected true heartbreak in that moment and Shinji couldn't help the chuckle escape his mouth.
Onoki grew irritated and formed a tick mark on his head, "Oh you think this is funny, youngster?!"
"A little, yea." the boy replied in between laughs. He continued laughing but moved forward to help pick up the mess he caused. Shinji picked up the last page off the ground and looked it over before handing it back. Over a simple glance Shinji could tell it was an order form for a new material to have new uniforms made out of and just how much of it the village would need.
Shinji inwardly shrugged before placing the last paper on the top of the stack before sitting in a nearby chair to wait for Oni's arrival.
"Hey gramps, I gotta question." Shinji suddenly asked the increasingly agitated kage.
"What is it brat?" he answered with a grumble before looking at the boy.
Shinji moved to a nearby wall that housed a multitude of photographs of many people. At the very top of the pictures were three portraits, seemingly to be all of the kage of Iwagakure. But underneath that was where his questions lie.
"Who are these guys?" he pointed with his thumb as he looked at Onoki. Onoki looked at the pictures himself and his face slightly dropped. In the first picture, it was a younger Onoki with a red haired man to his left and a really tall teenager with red armor to his right.
The elder kage walked next to the boy and began his explanation. "The one on the left is roshi. A sheer genius with taijutsu even at such a young age, to my right is his protege, Han." Onoki went quiet for a moment after mentioning Han but Shinji didn't ask.
There was another knock at the door, to which Onoki bid them entry. The door opened to reveal the same man Onoki was so quiet about, Han. However, he was much different in the picture.
'Holy fuck! He's built like a damn mountain!' Han was different than in his picture with Onoki and roshi. He was far taller, seven feet if Shinji had to guess, his armor was scarred and damaged in some places and he wore a large red hat and mask now. The most intriguing aspect of the man's armor was the mini steam engine on his back that made the room grow warmer simply from his presence.
"Lord Tsuchikage, I've returned from my mission to Kiri." the deep baritone voice echoed through the room. Han looked down at the child and squinted his eyes but soon disregarded him.
"Welcome back Han. I trust our business there went well?" Onoki regarded his old friend. His only response was the narrowing of Hans eyes and a grumble he heard too often. Checking the nearby clock on the wall, and then remembering the literal three-year old in the room, Onoki was reminded of the test that started in a few minutes.
"I expect a full report at the end of the day. In the meantime you've earned yourself some rest Han." In return, Han bowed in thanks and promptly left the room, but not without one last glance at the child who was still looking at him with awe on his face.
Upon the door closing, "That guy was awesome!" Onoki could see the stars in Shinji's eyes and let a smirk show. 'I wonder if he understands what a jinchuriki is. Perhaps a pre-test of sorts is in order.'
"Tell me Shinji, in your studies, have you encountered the term 'Jinchuuriki' before?" Onoki asked the child with a raised eyebrow.
Shinji put his hand on his chin in thought, and then remembered one of the chapters he was reading before he fell asleep last night. "Yea i remember it from last night, uh something about 'the power of human sacrifice'."
Onoki was a little disappointed at Shinji's answer, he thought he would have dug a little deeper into the true meaning, he was going to explain, however was cut off by Shinji himself.
"So pretty much it's like how a sealing scroll works, right? Except jinchuriki is specifically in regards to tailed beasts and sealing them within people. So yea, a jinchuriki is just a dude with a tailed beast stuffed into them." Shinji's smug smile at the oversimplification of a jinchuriki was not lost on Onoki.
'That little brat. Still, I am impressed, I must say. Not only was he able to learn the topic, but apply it in a manner that works best for him. A natural student it seems.' Onoki regarded Shinji, before nodding, "Well done brat. Now, let's start making our way to the exam ground."
'Finally! Just wait, gramps, you ain't seen nothin yet.'
—-
It was a short walk from the Tsuchikage manor to the open area of land which was in essence, a slightly modified training ground. The only modification being a table and chair which made the whole ordeal look ridiculous.
'No expenses paid for the future of my education I see' Shinji thought to himself. As he approached the table. Onoki stood a few feet in front of him and began to say, "Shinji Sato, you will soon begin your entrance exam into the academy. I hope you studied well as we are beginning with the written portion." Suddenly, a whooshing sound was heard before a familiar demon masked shinobi arrived.
"Welcome to the party Oni, ready to see me kick this exam's ass?" Shinji spoke proudly to his recommender.
"Watch your mouth, you're in the presence of the Tsuchikage." Oni was indeed angered by Shinji's disregard for saving that language for a less…professional company. "Regardless of your filthy mouth, I wish you luck."
Oni approached the table Shinji was sitting at, and placed a paper on top of it face down, "When I say begin, you will have fifteen minutes to complete the test. If I catch you cheating, that will result in an automatic failure, so don't even try."
'Wow he seriously thinks I need to cheat for something like this. I'm a little offended.' Shinji nodded in return and grabbed a pencil from his bag. Oni stood back from the table, "And Begin!"
Shinji flipped the paper over, wrote down his name at the top of the page and scanned through the test. He wanted to start laughing at how ridiculously easy this was. 'I suppose all of that studying paid off'. Shinji blazed through the exam with eleven minutes remaining, with the majority of time spent reading the questions to make sure he was answering them correctly.
"Sensei Oni I finished." Came the sing-song voice of the cocky child waving the paper proudly.
"Very well brat, this concludes your theoretical portion of the exam. Now onto the physical portion." Oni would proceed to give Shinji instructions on laps, a series of pushups and situps and other various exercises that Shinji did to warm up for his training sessions.
Suffice to say, the physical portion went by very quickly as did the subsequent practical exam. The practical exam consisted of kunai and shuriken throwing, and testing Shinji's understanding of chakra control. His control was lacking, but it was enough to channel chakra into a sheet of paper.
"Gotta say brat, you did well." Oni commented upon the appearance of Shinji. Shinji had a minor gleam of sweat upon his skin and a smug grin.
"Was there ever really any doubt?" Shinji responded, to which Oni merely sighed.
"Hopefully the academy will teach you humility." He said tiredly that caused Shinji to break into a laughing fit.
"Doubtful." the young boy said after his laugh. "So gramps, how did I do? Can I start next year?" Shinji asked, looking at the village leader. Onoki was going over Shinji's theoretical exam and noticed the particular interest the boy had in the sciences. Subjects like language and history were lacking, but in terms of scientific prowess, Shinji Sato excelled. It was a little alarming for Onoki, to see how not only this child gained the approval and recommendation of Oni, his ANBU commander, but actually lived up to the cockiness he had shown so far. Did he have a genius on his hands? Ones the likes of which Iwagakure had never seen before?
The only shinobi to even have remotely been considered a genius of his time would perhaps be Han and to this day Onoki had yet to find another such shinobi. He would not take this new opportunity to strengthen his village lightly.
"Hm. Well Oni, it appears we have a new student on our hands for the academy. Shinji Sato, as of this moment I hereby enroll you into next year's class of the academy." Onoki said with a resolute tone.
The instant the words came out of Onokis mouth, a wave of pride washed over Shinji. It was a new feeling for him, true pride in his work and effort to get where he is. His former life as a witcher was not one that allowed for emotions such as pride. It was as simple as getting hired, doing the job, and getting paid, that was it. No heights to strive for nor achievements to be had, simply the job.
After months of hard work, the realization came with Onokis words, in this world, there is always the next level, a new height to achieve and a new level of power. 'I could get used to this.' "Thanks gramps, and Oni, don't think i forgot our deal, six months." Oni's only reply was a simple nod as Shinji ran off, presumably back to his home.
"You see something in him, don't you sir?" Oni asked his leader
"It would be foolish if I neglected his talent, and besides, you see it too." Onoki said to his commander. Oni knew what the village leader was speaking of, the same thing he noticed on the day he met Shinji for the first time. His eyes, the eyes of someone who has seen the horrors of war, of someone who stared into the void and didn't look away.
The question still remained, just who was Shinji Sato and what was he capable of?
