บท 3: Training Facility (I)
~~Timeskip~~ (One year)
Just like that, another year passed by, though nothing notable happened in Kumo even though the war between Kumo and Iwa was starting to pick up the pace, though for the time being, Kumo forces were handling the fight pretty well, but the situation could change any moment as I believed the five Great Shinobi Villages were simply checking the waters.
I stared at myself in the mirror and a figure with black spiky hair and electric blue eyes stared back at me… I don't want to sound narcissistic, but for a four year old, I looked good. Just like every other child in the orphanage, I have lost my baby fat long ago even though none of us had started training. It seems like Chakra basically enhances our bodies to the most optimum state.
After some time, I walked out of my room with a small backpack on my shoulder. Today was my last day in the orphanage and to be honest… It's funny how quickly the time passes. Now that I look back, it feels like only yesterday I arrived in this orphanage… I internally sighed as I finally stepped into the kitchen. A complicated look appeared on my face as I noticed N, preparing our food.
A year ago, when I didn't show off the kunai to the other children, she decided to take matters into her own hands and the next day after I received the kunai from her, she revealed the existence of the kunai to the rest of the children… Then all of a sudden, I became the center of attention and a target of jealousy. Not that I cared much since I was in my late twenties if I combined both of my lives.
On that day, I realized that even though N loved taking care of children, if she had to choose between Kumo and us, she would choose Kumo every single time…
"You are late" N stated as I plopped down in an empty seat after putting down my bag.
"Yes, I was so excited that I didn't sleep well last night" I easily lied before I yawned and N simply hummed noncommittally before she turned back toward the pot. Most of the kids of my age were already here and all of them looked quite excited. Even Mira and Jira were looking pretty excited.
Soon, the rest of the children arrived too and N started to serve us the food, straight from the pot. Today, she didn't ask for anyone's help and served the food on her own. The orphanage was back at full capacity, but once again, it was going to become empty since all the kids of my age were going to leave for the Training Facility.
To be honest, I was feeling quite nervous… I was going to be taken into an unknown place along with all the orphans of my age to be trained into killers, of course, I would be nervous. If it was an academy like in Konoha, then I would not be this nervous, but the Training Facility sounded more like a place where Danzo would train his Roots.
I hope they were only going to use verbal brainwashing and not drug-induced or physiological brainwashing. Considering how insane and eccentric some ninjas were, I was really really worried, and considering the fact that I am an orphan, I was even more worried… I can only hope for the best as I don't have any other choice otherwise.
If I really want to survive in this grim-dark world, I have to write my own Fate with my own hands…
Uh… That might have been a bit cheesy, but I meant what I said. Soon a Kumo team, consisting of three genins, arrived at the orphanage to escort us to the Training Facility. Usually, a Jonin would also accompany the genin trio, but right now, most of the Jonins were occupied due to the War and they couldn't be bothered for a simple escorting task inside the village.
For some of the kids, this was the first time they were leaving the premises of the orphanage, so they were pretty excited to see Kumogakura in all of its glory, and the genins didn't mind answering anyone's question, but as soon as we entered the Shinobi district, they clamped up and stopped answering anyone's questions.
'Maybe, they aren't allowed to reveal anything to us' I mused internally. After all, we were still civilians and how militaristic Kumo was, they would never reveal Shinobi matters to some civilians. Now, someone might say how does it matter since we were going to become Shinobi either way, but at this moment, we were civilians and we were going to remain civilians until we graduated from the Training Facility.
"This is the Training Facility" One of the genins stated while pointing toward the massive building in front of us. Just like the other buildings in Kumo, the Training Facility was also built around a mountain tip, and the mountain was probably the second-tallest mountain in Kumo followed by the Raikage Tower.
"Genins, hand me your mission scroll" An eerie voice spoke up all of a sudden and I felt chills run down my spine. I didn't even notice him arrive. I slowly turned around toward the direction of the voice, only to find a grim-looking man, but what intrigued me were his eyes. His eyes didn't seem to have any sort of life left in them. "I will take it from here" The man added after a small pause.
The genins dutifully handed him their mission scroll without saying anything. The man took out a stamp and placed it on the scroll before handing over the scroll back to the genins. Then the man turned toward us… He was sporting a wicked scar along his jawline and some of the children shuddered at the sight. "You brats, follow me and don't fall behind. I hate waiting" The man said in an indifferent tone before he turned around on his heel and started to walk away without bothering to give us another look.
Some of the children looked at each other nervously, but I don't think that man likes to wait, so I started to walk even though I was starting to feel really nervous. I knew my palms were already sweating, but I simply clutched my hands tightly and started to strode forward. Following my example, the children also started to walk toward the Training Facility. After crossing through a massive pair of steel doors, we found ourselves standing inside a massive hall and the man from before standing in front of us with a dead look in his eyes.
"I am Jonin Shinda Me, but all of you will call me, sir. Is that understood?" The man asked but nobody answered him. "Is that understood?" The man repeated his question, but this time, his voice was chilling and there was a certain edge in his voice.
"Yes, sir!" All of us screamed, and even though all of us were not in sync, I don't think Shinda was going to mind. As expected, the man didn't show any outward reaction.
"From now on, this is going to be your new home for the next six years. There are two dorms, one for the boys and the other for the girls. Locating the dorms is going to be your first task, but you may skip it if you want to sleep here. Your second task is to locate the cafeteria, but once again, you may skip it if you don't want to eat anything. That's all for today, but you must report here by 4 am tomorrow or else you will be punished" Shinda stated blandly before turning around.
He started to leave, but then all of a sudden he stopped and turned around. "Oh, and all of you are free to visit the library" The man added before he resumed walking and then all of us finally breathed out a sigh in relief. I didn't even notice that I was holding my breath… Shinda's presence was so intense and overbearing that I felt like I was standing in front of a hungry predator.
Is this what a true Shinobi is like?
But I never felt like this around N Onee-san… Is this Shinda Me better than N Onee-san? No, that's not right, N Onee-san is supposed to be an elite. I think she is simply better at hiding her true nature… I was broken out of my musings when an argument broke out. I turned only to find the perpetrators to be Jira and our resident bully, Itawa. Well, I can't call him a bully since he never managed to bully anyone under N Onee-san's watchful eyes.
Though I wonder why N Onee-san always prevented any sort of bullying in the orphanage… Considering her mission, I would have thought she would have allowed bullying to run rampant, but that was not what she did. She did the complete opposite… Maybe, someday I will find my answer… Anyway, I had other important things to deal with, like breaking up a fight, finding our cafeteria or dining hall, and finally, finding the boys' dorms…
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