Running Towards Genin (3)

The Genin Exams were finally here. He wasn't going to lie; he felt as if he wouldn't have been able to do it if Ryūka wasn't there to guide him. Well, he would've, but not as proficient and quick as it had been. He calmly walked into class. It would be unprofessional to show the amount of excitement he felt right now like the rest of his classmates.

They were all riled up, happy to finally become a ninja. Morbidly, he thought about how they would probably die on their first mission. A  D-Ranked mission, possibly a C-Ranked one if he was acting kind.

He sat down at his desk and fiddled with his pencil. He wondered if he would be able to talk personally to the current Raikage. Would it all be business? Was he even able to talk to the Raikage without being decapitated? Was the current Kage cruel? Who was the current Kage anyway!?

He shook his head, clearing away those thoughts. He would deal with it as it came. Hopefully, he wouldn't die because of negligence.

Alas, the Raikage was busy at a meeting of all the major village leaders. The man proctoring the exams was but a regular chuunin, a blue headband with the symbol of Kumogakure clashing against his shoulder length brown hair. His dull brown eyes scanned a list of students in front of him as his feet were kicked up onto the desk. Let’s change it up a bit for this batch. Instead of starting at the top of an alphabetical list, the man chose to start from the very bottom. Surprise surprise, a boy named Zyxis was at the tail end of the paper, a name which would always be fated to be the caboose of the alphabet. However, he bore no last name. Odd.

But never to fear, as the proctor was rather fond of nicknames, particularly ironic ones. “Zyxis Saisho,” he said aloud, with ‘saisho’ meaning ‘first’ in Japanese, to a rowdy class, his commanding voice causing the scattered conversation to die out. “Report to the front of the class.” Assuming he did so, the proctor would merely inform him of his task, “Perform the clone jutsu and transformation technique to the best of your ability.”

(in 800 words)

It took all of the boy's willpower to repress a frown. He wasn't per say angry, just disappointed. But still, the man in front of them was a Chuunin, and he worked hard to get there. It would be rude to groan or cry when he called on his name. No matter how much he wanted to talk to and see the Kage.

He jumped up from his seat and walked to the front of the class, right next to the Chuunin. He looked over the classroom and lightly smiled.

"Hello and good morning everybody. My name is Zyxis. Today I will be performing the Clone and Transformation technique to earn myself a position as a Genin and earn my Kumogakure no Sato Headband. Thank you very much." He bowed at the end of his little introduction.

Going through the hand seals was a breeze. 

Just like he had done with Ryūka, he ran a small story throughout his head to remember the hand seals. Ram, Snake, and Tiger. In a split-second, he had run through the hand seals and performed the jutsu.

Two clones appeared directly to his left and right without any sign of smoke. He nodded towards the class and dispelled both of them. Onto the next.

Dog, Boar, and then Ram. The story rolled through his head, and he performed the jutsu once again flawlessly. He had thought a lot about what he wanted to do when he did the transformation. He was up for an extended amount of time last night just thinking about it.

His mother and father? No, they were too obvious of a pick. Maybe Ryūka, but that seemed too much. He enjoyed the boy's company and was happy with their discussions, but he didn't idolize him or love him. Royalty was cool, but once again, not a big life-changing decision.

More people would probably recognize him though since he was a Jounin. His eyes scanned the classroom, but he instantly felt disdain. He didn't want to transform into anybody like them. 

An obvious choice would be the Raikage, but he didn't know what he looked like. If he had shown up today, he would've liked to try and see if he could replicate his looks, a test of his transformation skills. 

That could still apply to the Chuunin to his right, but he looked simple; like every other simple Chuunin in villages. He meant that in a kind way.

He could turn into the opposite of him. Chubby, brown-skinned, emerald-green eyed guy. He'd call him Yzxis. All the ideas he bounces around his head stop in less than three seconds. Zyxis knew who he wanted to be.

In a poof of smoke, he appeared as an older version of himself. He was taller now, about 6'5". He had a broader chin, and his hair stopped at his shoulders. It seemed as if his eyes only got darker, signaling maturity. His lithe body had only grown slightly bigger, condensed tissue packed upon rows of compressed muscle.

As soon as the class went quiet and the transformation got it's point across, he let it go, changing back to his prepubescent self. He looked around the class and cleared his throat.

"Clone Techniques are used remarkably well to try and distract your enemy. The jutsu mostly depends on your level of cleverness. If you stand in the open and create clones, then the jutsu can't be used to its full potential. If you use it in a smoke screen, then you're getting somewhere."

"When the enemies don't know which one you are it allows for many attacks. The best course-of-action in that situation is a fatal attack. This jutsu has two weaknesses. They're intangible clones, unlike the solid Shadow Clones, and they also don't cast a shadow. If your enemy is insightful at all, they'll see the lack of shadow and know which one to attack. Leading yourself into a trap." 

"That's why you should either master the jutsu or learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Although, it is a good jutsu to learn for Academy Students like us who are just flexing our chakra."

He took a breath before he continued with the other jutsu.

"The Transformation Technique can be used in multiple situations. If you intend to go undercover, freak out your opponent with a grotesque form, or even take a position as someone you aren't. Once again it's weaknesses is that it's intangible and mostly everybody knows it, which makes it less effective against almost any shinobi."

He bowed once again. "Thank you for your time. I hope you all have a wonderful day."

Zyxis went and sat back down at his desk. He stifled a groan. He realized that he would have to wait for the other students to pass. Being called first wasn't the worst. You got it over with, right? But it was far from being the best.

WC: 818

Zyxis was happy that he didn't have to wait to leave. He walked into the next room and saw the headbands. He didn't want one too shiny, the glint could give away his position. He picked an older looking black one and wrapped it around his neck.

Next goal of Zyxis'? Chuunin.

Claiming Genin Rank

Claiming 15 Stats

Claiming Taijutsu Spec

Approved. From now on can you put your claims in [brackets?]