Waking up bright and early in the morning, he was practically vibrating at the seams to get up and out there by this point. It was definitely a difference from his more sluggish, nguid awakenings. Whether that was attributable to his Origin, or just him being excited, was up in the air.

  Making his way over to Training Ground Four, he was more than a little surprised to see that he wasn't the first one present. That dubious honor went to Ami, as she gnced over at his approach.

  "Good, you're here. I was hoping you'd be earlier, but I'll settle for this."

  Both of his eyebrows rose at those words, lips pursing together briefly. "It's not like I'm te or anything, Ami," he frowned. "When you'd even get here?"

  "Twenty minutes ago," she huffed, preening at the opportunity to flex. "Early is on time, on time is te, and te is unacceptable."

  "What fortune cookie did you pull that one out of?"

  Sniffing, Ami gnced away. "It's just something they espoused in our kunoichi csses. I suppose it's forgivable you wouldn't be familiar with the lessons in those."

  Tobio's mind tumbled for a bit, until he remembered what she was even talking about. There were a subset of csses in the academy exclusively for kunoichi, on things like flower arrangements, comportment, etc. Boys got something simir, but not for as long as the girls did.

  The male side of things was something of an awkward sexual education talk, given by shinobi who wanted to be anywhere else than in that room with them. Some ninja, at least male ones, did in fact engage in seduction missions, or ran the risk of sexual assault. It wasn't something the Tobio before would have been able to read between the lines on, yet now he could recognize what they'd been dancing around in those csses.

  For girls, he had to assume some of the educational content was more tailored toward them. The dangers a female shinobi, especially one from a Cn with their generations of genetic pruning and adaptions, were more potent. Not that anyone liked to talk about it; it was just tacitly accepted that certain hidden vilges would try to kidnap those women to get bloodlines into their vilges.

  The theme was front and center in the story, considering Kumogakure almost kidnapped Hinata. They certainly weren't doing it for her benefit, and while the byakugan was an inferior doujutsu to the sharingan, any doujutsu was better than none.

  "Were those lessons as off-color as the talks we got?" Tobio inquired, genuinely curious.

  For a few moments the purple-haired girl watched him, before shrugging her shoulders softly. "It depends. Kunoichi are more commonly tasked out not just for seduction missions but specifically infiltration missions. Or, being a bodyguard in a pce where a normal, overt samurai or ninja would be too conspicuous."

  "Can you give me an example?"

  A thoughtful expression came over her face, as she considered the question. "One of the teachers pyed the part of a dy in waiting to a lord's wife, who was worried about an assassination attempt from one of her husband's concubines."

  That was more complex than he'd imagined, and the notion of infiltrating like that seemed challenging. Some shinobi could flit between roles and faces with ease. "What ended up happening with her?"

  "She pyed along, performed her role, and did some digging with the rest of her team. It turned out that the lord's noninheriting brother was behind the assassination plot and not the concubine. He was executed, and everyone went home happy." She paused. "Well, except for the uncle. He lost his head."

  That got a bark of ughter from him, as he huffed softly. "Is that what you're interested in specializing in?"

  "I don't have the chakra reserves for being a ninjutsu specialist," she freely admitted. "Maybe I could pick up a weapon, but if we pass this test today, the thing I'm most interested in is developing into an infiltration specialist. Maybe picking up Kanden-sensei's skill in trapmaking and seals?"

  Neither of those were bad things. The main story of Naruto skewed things toward the punch-wizard end of the spectrum, which Tobio thought gave people an unfair expectation of what every ninja was supposed to be able to do. Not everyone was supposed to be able to defoliate a forest at the drop of a hat to be a good ninja.

  "S'not for me, but I can see the appeal," Tobio nodded. "I like to deal with my problems head on."

  Their conversation would have continued for a little longer, but at that point they could see Hibachi coming down the road. The boy looked a little tired, though the same could be said of all of them.

  "Yo," the kid greeted, raising his chin up at the two of them. "You guys ready for this?"

  "We should be asking you that," Ami chirped, looking a little peeved. "Only arriving with a couple of minutes to spare…"

  He shrugged. "I needed my beauty rest, and we're all here, aren't we? And right on time."

  "That's what's important, more than anything else," Tobio spoke, gncing between the two of them carefully. "We should definitely prepare for whatever twists Tekuno's got in mind for us, too."

  Hibachi gasped, eyes wide. "You really think a Jōnin would go and mislead a bunch of Genin like us?"

  The three of them stared at each other for a few moments, before the silence cracked with ughter. A satisfied chuckle from Hibachi, a snort Ami, and a honest bark from Tobio.

  "You had me going there for a second," Tobio smiled. "Like you really believed that shit."

  Hibachi sighed, looking gratified with the praise. "It's a gift. But seriously, what do you think he'll have in mind for this test?"

  Ami huffed softly, turning her eyes over to the training grounds next to them. "Based on what he's told us so far, I'd be amazed if the path wasn't trapped to hell and back."

  "That's right!"

  This time, Ami, Hibachi, and Tobio jumped unanimously as their souls left their bodies from fright. Standing behind them, while none of them had even noticed him, was Tekuno. He was wearing an easy smile on his face, friendly as could be. Even so, Tobio wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to the feeling of being completely and utterly outcssed by someone like this.

  His potential sensei wasn't even a stealth specialist. Was this just the power of your typical Jōnin? Their name transted quite literally to Elite Ninja, so it'd be more abnormal if the man wasn't out so capable in his own right. For all of the strength and abilities he'd gained so far…it was clear to fresh Genin that he still had a long way to go.

  Well, at least he had a peak to climb toward now. A goal to strive to overcome.

  "You almost sent me straight to the Pure Lands, sneaking up like that!" Hibachi yelled, still breathing a little hard.

  Shamelessly, Tekuno shrugged. "Consider it some situational awareness training for free. If you pass the test today, you should expect lots of that in the future."

  "Anyway, we should get this show on the road. That," the Jōnin pointed over to the forest, "Is training ground four. I have pced a vast array of traps throughout the given area, and will be lightly hunting you as you hike through the trees."

  "Lightly hunting? Is that a thing?" Ami asked, a touch of concern in her voice.

  "It is when I do it," Tekuno nodded, looking excited. Reaching into his pocket, he unfolded a very simple map of the local area, passing it to the three kids. "All you have to do is make it to the trail's end by evening, and you're set."

  "And if we don't?" Tobio inquired.

  The Jōnin shrugged. "Then unfortunately, you've failed, and I will wish you the best of luck in your career in the General Forces. You three can give up now, if you so wish. There's no shame in working in the General Forces."

  For all sorts of reasons, that wasn't an option. The ck of access to dedicated training assets was one reason, but joining them was basically equivalent to becoming fodder. That was how Tobio looked at the situation on his end of things, anyway.

  "We're staying," Tobio firmly but insistently spoke, gncing at the other two Genin there with him. "I've never met a challenge I wanted to back down from, and I don't intend on starting now."

  Ami was swallowed nervously, yet even still gave an excited smile. "How could I go back home and say I didn't even try to get onto this team?"

  Even Hibachi got in on it, closing his eyes and rubbing his head through his hat. "These two would never let me hear the end of it if I gave up now. So I'm in."

  "I appreciate the spirit! We'll see if you can live up to those lofty ambitions, hmm?" With a shimmer of air, he left the three of them alone there.

  They had a map, a dream, and no real pn. Tobio thought that just might be enough to succeed.

  The three of them had advantages and disadvantages—nothing too egregious on the surface, but something he suspected would bring wildly different results depending on who led their squad.

  Tobio could understand that while he was the physical powerhouse, his current tactics mostly revolved around just that. His faith in his ability to power through most Genin-level threats physically. Anything more complex was where his skillset would leave something to be desired.

  Meanwhile, Hibachi didn't quite inspire the same level of confidence. Not on the surface, anyway. He was reasonably sure that Hibachi was much more perceptive than he wanted to appear at first gnce. In their line of work, appearing understated but really knowing what was going on was a benefit, not a detriment.

  And stly, Ami felt as if she had the most academic intelligence out of the three of them. That wasn't a bad skill set to have, either. Someone could raise a solid point of how that would transte to practical knowledge, and Tobio wasn't sure if that was being fair to her or not.

  Ultimately, he didn't know if any of them had the juice to be the leader. Not yet, anyway. But there were things that each of them was good at, or would bound to be better at, than the others. That meant that setting up something more colborative might be the ideal position to take.

  "I think instead of any one of us taking charge, we should split the difference," Tobio suggested, looking between the two of them seriously. "None of us have any real leadership experience."

  "What, you think I couldn't do it?" Ami asked, puffing herself up in a little bit of indignation.

  Hibachi rolled his eyes at those words, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "And what makes you think we'd even want to take orders from you?"

  "Big talk for someone who was almost te, Tanuki-eyes."

  Clearing his throat, Tobio snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Hey, hey! We need to work together for this, alright? Let's start easy, and expin what each of us can do."

  Jutting a thumb back at himself, he fshed the two of them a grin. "Right now I don't know any jutsu beyond those we're taught at the academy. But I'm by far the strongest and fastest one present. I should bring up the front, just to trigger any traps first, because I can be the one to walk them off."

  Both of them nodded at those words, seeing the sensibility in them readily enough. "If you're eager to walk right into danger, who am I to stop you?" Hibachi smirked. "I'm more than capable of keeping an eye out for the traps. Though Tekuno is a full-on Jōnin. If he lets me see him, or any snares, it's because he wants us to see them."

  That was something Tobio hadn't even considered. In hindsight, he felt like it was kind of obvious. Of course Tekuno would be moderating himself to their level. It'd be insane to expect three freshly graduated Genin to keep up with a Jōnin like that, unless they were prodigies of prodigies, like Kakashi or Itachi.

  "In terms of capabilities, I'm not much better with jutsu," Hibachi admitted. "The only other one I know is the Rope Escape Technique."

  …Something to add to the list of things Tobio wanted to learn eventually. It sounded useful. Honestly, rounding out his capabilities in that regard was just a smart idea. A goal to strive toward in the future. Apparently, his mysterious system felt like it was a worthwhile endeavor too, as it offered some new quests in his vision.

  [NEW QUEST: LEARN TEN D-RANK JUTSU.][REWARD: 1x MINOR ERUDITION PERK ROLL.]

  [NEW QUEST: LEARN TEN C-RANK JUTSU.][REWARD: 1x MODERATE ERUDITION PERK ROLL.]

  [NEW QUEST: LEARN TEN B-RANK JUTSU.][REWARD: 1x MODERATE ERUDITION PERK ROLL.]

  [NEW QUEST: LEARN TEN A-RANK JUTSU.][REWARD: 1x MAJOR ERUDITION PERK ROLL.]

  [NEW QUEST: CREATE AN S-RANK JUTSU.][REWARD: 1x PEAK ARTIFICE PERK ROLL.]?

  "I know how to read maps, and can find us the shortest route to the end of the trail," Ami pitched in. "And I know the most common kinds of traps they teach in the academy. This approach might not work, but it isn't awful."

  "There's still time for this to end in tears," Hibachi quipped. "I'm sure it won't be as simple as Tekuno's making it out to be. But at the very least, we might as well try."

  With that pn set into stone, it was just a matter of actually getting started on the given hike.

  How much trouble could Tekuno have really set up in advance?

  Tekuno, in fact, did have time to set up quite a lot of bullshit.

  It shouldn't have come as a surprise to Tobio that the highly trained expert, in his field of expertise, had time to set things up. A day, maybe even days, depending on how long he knew in advance he was going to be testing the three of them. The real kicker was learning precisely what a trapmaker could do when they had free reign to control the environment.

  THE TREES WERE SPEAKING IN NINJA WIRE AND FūINJUTSU.

  God, he knew he would just have nightmares about this day. It'd be the sort of awful, no-good formative memory people talked about wistfully decades past the event.

  "Oh, Tobio, you remember when we were trapped in the forest that our sensei rigged to the gills with explosive tags, snares, tripwires, pitfalls, quicksand, and whatever else he could think of? Good times."

  Tobio would have thought I've Got A Bad Feeling About This would have proven a little more useful. Except no, it was working as intended. The moment they took more than a few steps into the training grounds, he was painfully, bring aware that there was danger all around him. But the perk didn't tell him where that danger was coming from, just that it existed.

  Innocently, the Oni-blooded kid was about to step forward right before Hibachi lunged to grab his shoulder. "Wait!"

  Stopping, foot raised and about to come down, Tobio squinted at the other boy. "What?"

  Wordlessly, he pointed down at a spot near some roots. Looped underneath a jutting tree root was the faintest glint of a snare, just waiting to be tugged and tightened. Following it up, they could all have a pretty good view of the camoufged net that was waiting to fall onto them.

  Swallowing thickly, he gently lifted his foot up, and took a step back. "Alright," Tobio nodded, gingerly gncing all around the forest. Which took a much more menacing tint, now that he could do nothing but feel the sensation of danger from around him. "Thanks for that."

  The next two hours were an exercise in Hibachi's sheer, unrelenting observational skills. It wasn't as if he was doing anything incredible, but he was saving them from getting tripped up from the most obvious traps and spotting some of the trickier ones too. A particurly diabolical example that Ami had almost gotten caught in a pitfall, which had a low-yield explosive tag inside of it, which would have unched her upward into another net trap.

  That was when Tobio realized that his possible new sensei might have a few screws loose. What did a man have to go through to think of stuff like this? Maybe it was just a matter of creativity, though, and where Tobio cked it, Tekuno had it in spades.

  Ami wasn't entirely as observant as Hibachi, yet that didn't mean her aid to the situation wasn't just as important. In some ways, it might have been the most important.

  "Given where he's pced snares before, I'm pretty sure there's going to be a few more over…there, and there…" Ami idly commented, squinting and pointing at different spots in their path above the trail, or on the ground level. "And I think there's a pitfall coming up, so watch your step."

  If Tobio had to guess, she was putting together where the traps had been id before, and making educational guesses based off that knowledge. He couldn't have done it, not without her prior knowledge of the art. Which made it all the more impressive.

  Compared to his teammates, he wouldn't call his callouts all that impressive. No, where Tobio's talents id was his complete and utter physicality when dodging the trickiest things that neither Hibachi nor Ami could see. It was nice to feel needed, even if it was a bit of a brutish application of his abilities.

  Then again, he'd made himself into a brute by choice. Why not py into it by that point?

  There were things that he could do that neither of his companions were capable of. It was when Hibachi triggered a trap all three of them missed, stepping on a stick that was secretly a disguised lever, that fact clicked for him. All of them briefly froze when they heard something snap, wildly looking around to try and figure out what it was.

  Bright side? It didn't take them long.

  Bad side? It was a sizable pnk of wood that was released from its hold above them, somehow hidden from sight with other foliage.

  Nothing that would have killed Hibachi, unless it was so unfortunate to hit him in the head. But the blocky, short, carved block on a rope was perhaps enough to break bones or leave a nasty bruise. He was going to get out of the way in time, either, with how rapidly it was coming in.

  So naturally, Tobio was there to intercept it.

  There wasn't any artfulness to his movements, or anything particurly complex about it. Just the simple fact that Hibachi couldn't take a hit like that…but he could. So, he stepped forward, reared his fist back, and punched.

  Briefly, he got a taste of that warm sensation across his body, almost like when he'd gotten his Origin for the first time. As the wood impacted his fist, there was a singur pleasure in feeling splinters and fragments give way underneath his stupidly high strength.

  The sound of something shattering under his might was nice, as the pnk was smacked out of the way readily. For a few brief seconds, the three of them gnced around worriedly, as if any more traps were about to be triggered. But after a few seconds, they rexed, as it was clear nothing was going to be triggered.

  "…Thanks," Hibachi mumbled, gncing around, as he rolled his shoulders.

  "Just returning the favor," Tobio grinned, toothy and wide. "Now, c'mon. Let's get the hell out of this forest. This pce is awful."

  That much they could all agree about in unison as the group continued on. Judging by their map, it wasn't as if they were that far off from the given end point of the exam. Honestly, more time had been taken by the fact they needed to move slow and methodically through the given territory than going on a beeline straight to their destination.

  And right when things were going good, that danger sense of his fred even harder than before. It made his eyes widen, as terror threatened to overtake him, as Tobio began to look wildly around.

  "Hey man, what's up wit-" Hibachi started, both him and Ami turning to look toward the ponytailed boy. Only to find themselves gripped by the shoulder, and yanked closer.

  …Narrowly dodging the nimbly thrown bolo that instead twisted around a tree.

  "Tch."

  Looking up, the three of them could see the familiar, bulky visage of Tekuno sitting in a nearby tree, bolos in one hand, and a distressingly rge crossbow in the other. "Well, guess I'll be doing this the hard way…"

  With a sigh, the man pulled himself up, as the three Genin tensed below him. He said he'd be hunting them, after all, and apparently their decent performance meant now.

  How nice.The smart thing to do would be to flee. In his heart of hearts, Tobio understood that it was the logical, smart thing to do in a situation like this. It wasn't as if they'd be able to actively fight against the man, let alone win. Time and time again, he'd proven that much, effortlessly sneaking up on the trio, vanishing from sight…

  He was in an entirely different tier, even with the advantages that Tobio brought to the table. Ami and Hibachi were just about prepared to bolt at the sight of him, damn what may, and whatever traps they'd run into. Even so.

  Even so.

  That cursed blood of his was roaring for a fight. What was it about these hopeless odds that made his body heat up, his pupils dite, his heart race all the faster? For as long as Tobio had been in this new world, this new body, he'd wanted a challenge.

  And now someone had thrown down the gauntlet. That part of him, the instinctive, bestial bloodline that y in his veins, rose to meet the challenge.

  "Hibachi, Ami."

  The two of them turned to look at him, his back turned toward them, as he looked up at the Jōnin in the tree. They could only see the stiffness of his posture, the way his hands became trembling fists. From their perspective, all the signs of fear.

  Only Tekuno could see the way his dark eyes gleamed, flickering with the briefest glint of firelight. Or the smile on his face, just shy of feral. The Jōnin saw the challenge in his gaze and returned it in kind.

  "You two…get to the end of the trail," Tobio ground off, trying to keep himself from lunging forward right then and there. "I'll be right behind you."

  Ami gasped. "What are you talking about?! You can't beat him, he's a Jōnin!"

  That got a rueful chuckle from Tobio. "I don't need to beat him. I just need to buy you two time." It was even true. He could run as fast as light cavalry, so when it came time for himself to flee, he thoroughly pnned on booking it.

  But until then, why not enjoy the fight a little?

  "Big words from a fresh Genin," Tekuno smirked. "Let's see if you can follow through."

  With a blisteringly fast motion, he whipped a bolo at Tobio, enough to make the boy immediately bolt to the other way. Away from Hibachi and Ami. That was the pn, so why did his chest feel like a hare was trying to break out?

  Throwing a look over his shoulder, he only caught a glimpse of the two of them. That, and the sight of Tekuno jumping through the trees after him.

  The things he did for people he was tentatively willing to think of as friends…

  Whatever train of thought that he had in mind was thoroughly, very much derailed before long. The number of crossbow bolts that he was ducking out of the way of, tended to get a little distracting. Bobbing and weaving with a much easier time than he'd expected, it was confusing why Tekuno was going so easy on him.

  At least, it was right up until he saw the tags hanging on the end of one, a few feet away from his body, and embedded in a tree.

  "…Shit."

  The explosion didn't even hurt that badly. It was the fact that his eyes were slightly blinded, that kind of irked him. Maybe the worrying sensation of rustling wind, that heralded the sheer force he'd been blow away from the explosion by. Someone might even be charitable, and say that the dull throb of pain against his chest could also be something that pissed Tobio off.

  …Okay, he was getting his ass beat.

  Smming against a wooden tree, a few leaves fell from his impact, as he slid down the trunk brusquely. Enough to perhaps knock out a normal Genin. Oni sturdiness was carrying Tobio pretty hard here, as the white in his vision cleared up, and he blinked.

  His forehead was…bleeding, maybe? Not enough to stop him, but the feeling of blood running down his face was so incongruous it threw him for a loop for a few seconds. Tekuno wasn't in the trees anymore. In fact, the Jōnin had stowed away his crossbow, and had his bos at his side, instead having picked up what could only be described as a studded baseball bat.

  No, that wasn't what they were called. They were a…kanabō, right? Something about the sight of it tickled a very special part of his brain, the longer he stared at it, as the Jōnin approached, twirling it with one hand.

  A weapon with no finesse, no greater purpose, no artistry. Just destruction. It seemed like Tobio was learning all sorts of things about himself today.

  "Still alive?" Tekuno inquired, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side. "You're able to take a beating. More than your file said."

  Getting to his feet, he gave the older man a grin that the Genin wasn't entirely sure he felt. "I can do this all day."

  That was a lie. Standing upright, his ribs felt like they'd creaked slightly just from the sudden motion. But his blood, viscera, and muscles were still roaring to go.

  Which meant he could still fight.

  Narrowing his eyes, Tekuno shrugged. "We'll see about that." And then, he was rushing forward, bringing the kanabō down in an overhead swing. Ducking to the side, he still felt the rush of air as the weapon impacted against the ground, kicking up earth as it did so.

  All the while smiling like an idiot, as he tried to rush in and throw some punches at Tekuno. He might as well have been trying to hit the wind. Far faster than a man of his size ought to have been able to move, the Jōnin ducked and weaved, his eyes locked onto Tobio's all the while.

  Lifting up his kanabō, Tekuno looked to be going for another overhead swing, and Tobio prepared to dodge again. Which was probably what made it so easy for the kid to be kicked by a suddenly raising leg, sending him flying back.

  "Like I said before," Tekuno tittered, "Situational awareness is key."

  "Thanks for the mid-ass beating lesson, sensei!"

  This was…not going well for him. At this point, even his Oni-blood had to acknowledge that he'd met the superior foe. What to do in a situation like that…?

  Do what most Oni did, and flee.

  If Ami and Hibachi weren't in a safe zone after all of that, he would be furious. "Nice as this was, I think we should bring things to a close."

  "Exactly my thoughts! Let's see if you'll be able to escape me when I'm actually trying."

  Damn dude, didn't have to burn him like that.

  Tobio grunted, not even bothering to waste his breath as he kicked off, and engage his real speed. It wasn't pretty, or nice, or even all that clean. There weren't any nimble, acrobatic moves, as he turned around to flee, weaving through trees.

  Nothing but explosive movement was left in his wake, as he didn't even bother to try and avoid traps. Just trigger them, move faster than they could capture him, and hope that they hindered Tekuno more than they hurt him. He wasn't holding his breath on that, though.

  The sound of a crossbow working behind him, and the whistle of bolts flying his way, justified that notion.

  From there it was a cat-and-mouse game, weaving through the branches and traps, as he did his best to try and get closer to the trail's end. He was almost there, so close he could practically taste it. At the edge of the forest, almost to the clearing that was their destination.

  Which was when he made his key, critical mistake.

  Right at the edge of the clearing, steps away, was a trap. It was well-hidden, but not something impossible for him to have noticed. He could recognize that much, the moment his foot hit the tripwire and he wanted to curse as he was hit with a weighted net from above.

  The spikes that dug into the dirt were the real problem, not the net itself, as he struggled underneath it. Getting leverage to tear at the reinforced struggle was a problem, and one he didn't have a lot of time to solve. Not as he heard Tekuno actively coming that way.

  Was this how it ended? Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory?

  "Right at the finish line, you idiot?!"

  Looking up, he saw Ami and Hibachi, darting toward him, to help him with the net, practically pulling the spikes holding him against the ground up. Well, trying to, but between the three of them working, it was a much easier proposition.

  "Did you win?" Hibachi asked, and Tobio didn't even need to look at him to hear the smirk in his voice.

  "…I mean, what does winning mean, really?"

  "So no," the beanie-headed Genin sighed.

  "No."

  With their help, he was lifted up and off the ground. Right in time, as he saw Tekuno coming at them out of the corner of his eye. Blood turning cold, as Ami and Hibachi saw him too, and began to hurriedly yank him into the clearing.

  It felt ominous, tense, as the three of them stood there, while Tekuno gingerly walked in, fixing them with another piercing stare…until his expression cleared like a cloudy day. Then, he was all smiles.

  "Congratutions! You've passed!"

  "…Really?"

  "Oh yeah," the man nodded. "If you hadn't gone back for Tobio, I would have failed you on that, though. You either succeed together or fail apart, in teams like this."

  "The bonds of friendship and loyalty fostered from here on out will be lifelong. Anyone who would leave their teammates behind are trash, unless there is truly no other option."

  …Well, he wouldn't be that angry with the win.

  For a few seconds, the three of them were speechless. Until Ami and Hibachi showed their age, as the threw their arms in the air and cheered. Hell, it was infectious enough for Tobio to even do the same.

  "Hell yeah!" Hibachi roared.

  "You guys were even useful!" Ami added.

  All Tekuno could do was give them a smile, as he began to stow away his weapons into sealing scrolls. "Well, I'm happy to officially accept the lot of you as Team Eleven. But I imagine you're all tired for the day, and tuckered out. How about we get some barbecue on me?"

  Already, he wasn't sure if this day could get any better.

  The group of them weren't even remotely hesitant to get out of the training grounds. Thankfully, with Tekuno guiding them out of a narrow, thin band that was free of traps, they made it out in significantly shorter time. Before long, they were out in the town once again, and getting seated at a reserved table for lunch.

  Tobio got to eat a truly impressive amount of ribs, while Ami and Hibachi were far more reserved. But everyone was happy and stuffed with food by the end of it, so that made it better.

  "As much as I'd like to get started, we can properly pn tomorrow. For now…you three have the rest of the day off," Tekuno expined. "Meet me at the training grounds, bright and early in the morning, understood?"

  A chorus of "Yes sir!" chirped out, with the three of them officially dismissed for the day. Their sensei vanished from sight, leaving the three of them alone once again.

  The day's exhaustion, though, even if it was barely past noon, was starting to catch up to them. Running, hiking, fighting, and staying on full awareness for hours on end…it wore on a person. More than he would have ever thought, if he hadn't experienced it himself.

  "…I'm still a little surprised we managed to pass the test," Hibachi admitted.

  Ami sniffed. "Of course we passed. You had me on your team."

  "Alright Princess, don't get a big head," Tobio quipped, rolling his eyes at her. "Then again, I guess you were pretty useful with figuring out where he'd pced those traps."

  Hibachi held up a hand, smiling impishly. "Woah, woah, don't give her too much credit, otherwise we'll never hear the end of it."

  "You…you boys!" Ami excimed, face flushed as she puffed up. "Gods, you're insufferable! Both of you!" With the kind of haughty anger they'd been expecting, she began to stomp off, as Hibachi and Tobio shared a ugh.

  "See you tomorrow!" The beanie-headed Genin yelled after her, which only made the girl stomp away even quicker.

  They may have had a little too much fun there. Once she was out of earshot, Tobio turned to Hibachi, an eyebrow raised. "Think she'll be sore tomorrow?"

  "Nah, she just gets her feathers ruffled easily," the brunette insisted. "Ready to actually be a ninja?"

  "Was there any doubt? Someone's gotta be the brick wall between you two and the real danger."

  A little chuckle rolled out of Hibachi, as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah, you're not wrong about that. Stay out of trouble, Tobio. You're almost funny. It would have been a shame if Kanden-sensei had blown you up."

  Starting to walk off, Hibachi left him with a zy wave over his shoulder. He was alone, bruised, tired, but satisfied in a way that was difficult to put to words. A good fight, some possible new friends, and progress made toward your goals. Was there anything better?

  No, wait, there was.

  [QUEST COMPLETED: ACQUIRE A SENSEI!]

  [REWARD: 1x MINOR MIGHT PERK ROLL.]?

  If there was ever any incentive for him to rush home, that was it. Making his way back to his apartment, he eagerly locked the door behind him, plopped onto his bed, and started up the rolls.

  As usual, the same sensation of that void inside of himself filled with potential sprang forth. But this time, the abilities listed were definitely a little weird.

  CalciumDark Souls 1Muscles can be trained through exercise, and minds can be developed with rigorous study, but it matters little if the frame that hosts them is broken down. On purchase, your bones become especially strong and resilient and repair far faster than normal. Unlike normal bones which need to be set just right and become weaker when broken, yours heal perfectly. Even if you were sin, your skeleton would persist far longer than any others, continuing to repair and maintain itself as long as it stays mostly intact.Dipping WeaponsBaldur's Gate 3You can dip any weapon in your hands to any kind of harmful surface. When dipped this way, for a time that increases with your dipping duration (1 hours of duration per 6 seconds dipped, capped at 24 hours), they will deal the extra damage according to type of surface they were subjected to. Dipping in burning fire? Fire damage. Dipping in caustic liquids? Acid damage. And so on... Your weapon will gain resilience to that element to prevent harm to it, if you are actively and intentionally attempting to dip your weapon.Golden AppleFinal Fantasy IVAn apple with a golden sheen. Increases your health and vitality by a small amount when eaten. You find a new one every month.Well, if nothing else, he wasn't cking for good options. It was just a shame he had to pick between them.

  Breaking down the perks was retively easy this time around.

  As much as he liked Dipping Weapons, and it hurt him to turn away from anything from Baldur's Gate 3, he recognized that it just wasn't good enough to take. Useful as a utility power, but there were existing jutsu that did something simir. If memory served, Asuma could do some sort of elemental effect with his given knives, and Sasuke did lightning on his sword.

  So that meant there was already a method to deal with damage elementally. He wasn't inclined to just get something that was a little more awkward, to do things that already existed. Thus, it was discarded in favor of looking at the other perks.

  Golden Apple was almost the one he took in instinct. It was objectively good. Even if he couldn't benefit from it due to diminishing returns at a certain point, Tobio felt that other people could also benefit to a certain degree from it. That being said, even if it was good, that didn't mean he wanted to grab it.

  Sometimes, there was the smart choice, and sometimes, there was the choice that made him feel good. That was something that Tobio was learning, and even if he wasn't always going to do something suboptimal…sometimes he wanted to treat himself.

  Which was precisely the option that Calcium represented.

  It did one thing, but it did it well. All across his body, his bones would be remade. Two-hundred and six bones, most of them in the hands and feet, would be turned far more resilient than anyone could ever dream of. If he was sin, his skeleton would repair itself and persist for far longer than anyone could dream of.

  Objectively, it was one of the most significant fundamental boosts in his durability that he could have possibly achieved. Just knowing that the hits he'd taken today would have only affected the meat, and nothing else, made him drift toward it. Tobio knew that if he let it go…he wouldn't be satisfied.

  And with that in mind, he sighed, and accepted the perk. For a few brief seconds, there was nothing as the words vanished, but he knew that in order for his bones to be improved, they'd need to be remade.

  Then, the pain finally began.

  Amid that haze of agony, his skeleton felt like it was on fire. What he did to himself for power could have given a Young Master in some Xianxia setting an aneurysm. Slowly but surely, though, he could feel the effects of Calcium settling over his body.

  Cell by cell, the parts of his body that were fundamentally weak were turned into something unyielding. A force that would not break, no matter what. Sweat, hot, and oh so aching, when it was over he looked down at himself. Instinctively, Tobio knew that on some level, his body had been refined to something even more unkilble than before.

  And, some hours had passed, judging by the light streaming in from his window. He was hungry all over again.

  With a huff, he climbed off his bed and went to get something to eat. He figured he'd need the fuel with whatever training his new sensei would have in mind and the missions they'd be going on.

  For now? He'd enjoy the feeling of improving once more and getting some rest.