-3- Sects and Kages
'Mom's going to kill me,' Renji thought as he took the left heading towards the ninja academy.
It was a much larger building than the civilian academy; it was made of dark stone and deep brown wood.
There was a group of a couple thousand kids waiting in front of the academy. Some looked excited, while others were nervous.
Renji walked into the crowd and tried to blend right in, not wanting to cause a scene. He didn't know if one of his parent's friends were somewhere around here, and he didn't want to get ratted on before he even had a chance to join the academy.
He was hoping he could go the entire school year without his parents figuring it out. By then, it would be too late to switch schools unless he failed out, and he didn't know if he had any talent. But being a Namikaze and a Uzumaki, he had to be at least a little talented.
"Hey kid, I've never seen you before. What's your name?" The voice came from a boy with jet-black hair, flanked by a group of ten others. They approached Renji, curiosity in their eyes.
"My name's Renji Namikaze," he replied, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Oh, you're a Namikaze," another boy chimed in. "Who are your parents? Which sect are they in?"
"Uh, sect?" Renji echoed, confusion furrowing his brow. "What's a sect?"
The first boy let out a short laugh. "You don't even know what a sect is," he scoffed, turning to leave. Over his shoulder, he added, "Just another civilian thinking they can become a shinobi. Let's go."
Renji frowned, then thought, 'What an obnoxious little brat.'
He then noticed the Uchiha crest on the back of the kid's jacket. 'Of course, the Uchiha kid would be causing problems.'
"Hey, do you really not know what a sect is?" a boy with brown hair asked, his curiosity evident.
"No, I really don't. My parents own a restaurant, so I don't think they are in any sect," Renji said. He knew what a sect was from his time on Earth, but he couldn't recall there being sects in Naruto, so he was confused.
"Well, in the Obsidian Hand, there are 5 sects: the Eyes, the Blades, the Faces, the Shields, and the Minds. After we graduate from the academy, we have to join one of the sects, but you have to be picked. If you're not selected, you aren't allowed to be a ninja anymore and have to become a civilian," the boy explained, his tone serious.
"Oh, really? Thanks. How do you get selected?" Renji asked, his interest piqued.
"After each final exam starting after year 3, students can choose to enter this big event where the council sends captains to select from the students. If you get selected by one of the captains, you can join their sect, and if you get selected by multiple, you can pick which sect you want to join. But like I said before, after you graduate, you get one last chance to be picked, and if you aren't, you have to become a civilian." the boy said, the weight of the information sinking in.
"Oh, okay, I see. What do each of these sects do?" Renji asked, eager to understand more.
"Well…" the boy began but was cut off by one of the teachers from the academy.
"Everyone listen up! I want you to create ten single-file lines and come up here to answer a few questions," the teacher said.
The students scrambled to obey, forming lines with practiced efficiency. Renji followed the boy ahead of him, blending into the orderly chaos.
"So, what were you saying?" Renji whispered, leaning closer.
"Oh yeah, the Eyes are basically the scouts. They—" he was cut off again.
"Everyone be quiet!" the same teacher yelled.
"Next."
Everyone quieted down, and slowly the line started to move forward.
Before long, the boy in front of Renji was next in line.
"Next."
The boy stepped forward. Renji noticed a crest on his shirt but couldn't place it.
"Name?" the teacher asked, his tone brisk.
"Nobu Kaji," the boy replied confidently.
"Okay, are you only a Kaji or do you have another family name as well?"
"Just a Kaji," Nobu answered, pride evident in his voice.
"Who are your parents, and are they ninjas of the Obsidian Hand?"
"Yes, my parents are Nagase and Ume Kaji, and they are both in the Minds sect."
"Good. I'm assuming they are originally from the Kingdom of the Hidden Flame?"
"Yes, sir. They defected about 20 years ago."
"And lastly, have you unlocked your chakra?"
"Yes sir."
"Alright," the teacher then handed Nobu a number and said, "Pin this on your shirt."
"Next."
Renji stepped forward, feeling the teacher's sharp gaze.
"Name?"
"Renji Namikaze," Renji calmly said.
"Are you also an Uzamaki?" the teacher asked, noting the crest on Renji's shirt. "Anything else?"
"Just a Namikaze and Uzumaki, sir."
"Who are your parents, and are they ninjas of the Obsidian Hand?"
"My parents are Kenshin and Naomi Namikaze, and no, they own a ramen shop."
"Oh, okay, I see. Where are they from, and why did they join?"
"They are from the Empire of Whirling Tides, and I'm not sure." He lied; he knew the reason they joined but didn't want to say it.
"Okay, I'll let it slide, but you better be on your best behavior and show your loyalty, or you will be kicked out."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, I'm assuming you haven't unlocked your chakra?"
"No sir, I haven't"
"Ok, next," the teacher said as he handed him a number.
Renji walked over past the teacher toward Nobu and the other kids who were off in the distance.
After walking to Nobu, he told him what the teacher said and asked, "Why would they kick me out? Don't they want more ninjas?"
"Of course, they want all the ninjas they can get, but they don't want you if you aren't loyal. So most of the time, they give the kids whose parents aren't in one of the sects a harder time to join. Just make sure you show your full loyalty and don't mess up, and there shouldn't be a problem," Nobu said.
"Okay, I can do that," he said, while thinking, 'That shouldn't be too hard, just act brainwashed.'
Nobu nodded, then continued, "Alright, where were we? Oh yeah, the sects. The Eyes are basically the scouts of the Hand. They gather information, do surveillance, and espionage."
"Next is the Blades. They do the dirty work of the Hand. They assassinate, sabotage, and do covert operations. This is the most sought-after sect because they get to leave and have free rein the most out of all the sects, but they also have the highest mortality rate."
"Then there's the Faces. They manage our diplomacy internally and externally by manipulation and undercover agents."
"Next are the Shields. They maintain internal order, guard the entrances to the mystic realm, and are basically our army."
"And last but not least are the Minds. This is where my parents work. They develop all of our strategies and operations and do the coordinating between sects."
"Each sect has one leader who sits on the council with the Grandmaster, and each member of the council is a kage-level ninja. Of course, the Grandmaster is the strongest."
"As you should know, the Grandmaster is a Lava Apex Kage at Black Diamond rank, the Eyes leader is a Clone Elite Kage at Diamond rank, the Blades leader is a Lightning Elite Kage at Diamond rank, the Faces leader is a Wind Kage at Platinum rank, the Shields leader is an Earth Elite Kage Diamond rank, and the Minds leader is a Shadow Elite Kage at Platinum rank," Nobu explained.
Renji was a little confused, so he asked, "A Lava Apex Kage… a Lightning Elite Kage… a Diamond and Platinum rank… what even is that… what about a Hokage and a Kazekage?"
Nobu's eyes widened in surprise. "A what?" he replied, tilting his head in confusion.
"How do you name the Kages? Is there a certain process?" Renji asked.
"Yes," Nobu replied, nodding. "Whatever the Kage specializes in is the type of Kage they are. So, if they specialize in fire, they are a Fire Kage. If they specialize in wind, they are a Wind Kage, and so on."
"And Apex Kage and Elite Kage are just the rank of Kage. An Apex is the strongest, and an Elite is the second strongest."
"Oh, okay, I see." Renji was surprised by the difference from the show, but he had to remind himself he was in an alternate Naruto world, so things were bound to be a little different.
"And what about the Diamond and Platinum ranks," Renji asked.
"Oh, that I guess you wouldn't know, but that is a part of body tempering. There are 7 total levels. It starts at Bronze and ends at Black Diamond." Nobu explained
"So, we have six Kages. How are we not ruling the world already?" he asked, half-joking.
Nobu laughed heartily. "Well, first, we have a couple more Kages, but they are all older and retired from the council. And rumors are we have a couple of young Kages in secret as well."
"But we don't have even close to the amount as the empires do. I heard that just recently the Empire of Sacred Trees' Senju clan was forced to bring out their 17th Kage because of a sneak attack on a mission. And that's not even including the other four big clans: the Hatake, Kaze, Doton, and Kinzoku clans from the Sacred Trees. They have to have at least 70 Kage-level ninjas combined with the Senju clan, and that's just publicly."
"Are you for real? How do they have so many?" he asked in amazement while thinking, 'How big is this world?'
"Yeah, I'm for real. My dad told me, and he wouldn't lie about something like that, but most of the kages are just a bunch of old farts that never leave the empire."
"Do you know how many people are on this planet?" Renji asked, his curiosity piqued.
"I'm not sure, but a couple tens of billions at least. And I'm not even thinking about the clans that somehow survive on the other side of the planet on the Beast Continent," Nobu Replied.
Before Renji could ask any more questions, one of the teachers walked over and announced, "Alright, line up! It's time for the test to start!"
***
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