The Age of Giant Mechs

That evening, in the yard of his home in the Nara Compound, Tsukimi took stock of what he had gained that day.

First, he had gained combat experience. There was a reason fighting experts made you stronger: his match with Kakashi had taught him more than his previous four or five matches combined.

And then there was the most important gain of all—the Shadowkhan!

Ninja Tribe (37%)

Samurai Tribe (35%)

Troll Tribe (35%)

Tsukimi channeled his chakra, and the shadows began to surge. A moment later, fifty-two dark figures appeared silently in the yard, waiting for his orders.

All three tribes had gained ten percent of progress. Kakashi really lived up to his reputation as Konoha's genius technician. I'm picking you again next time!

He had also gotten a clearer sense of his own strength. He was solidly at elite Genin level, and with the Shadowkhan surrounding and pinning down an opponent, he could hold his own against a Chunin head-on.

More importantly, he had gone to see Shikaku on his way back and asked him to check his chakra reserves. That damned Tara Mask showed the Shadowkhan's progress but offered no other status panel, so Tsukimi had no way to judge his chakra reserves himself.

The result was delightful. Compared to an elite Jonin, Tsukimi already had half as much chakra!

Heh, half a Kakashi! The Ninja Academy really is the place to be. I've got to attend more classes. Look how much faster the Shadowkhan are unlocking—the results speak for themselves!

The days passed steadily. Besides attending classes, training, fighting, and cultivating to unlock the Shadowkhan, Tsukimi invited Kakashi to practice swordsmanship with him.

Tsukimi still remembered the resentment in Kakashi's dead-fish eyes when he saw his swordsmanship. He had looked like he had seen a ghost.

A midnight vengeful spirit—the white-haired edition!

More than a month passed like that. One morning, the school was as noisy as ever. Before Tsukimi even entered the classroom, he heard Obito wailing.

"That bastard Kakashi applied for early graduation!" Obito's voice rang through the classroom. Rin, sitting beside him, handed him a rice ball.

"Eat up. Kakashi really is strong. With his abilities, it makes sense for him to graduate early."

Obito took the rice ball and bit into it hard. "If that smug Kakashi can graduate early, I can't lose to him! I'm going to ask Mr. Murakami to let me graduate early too!"

Asuma turned around from the front row. "Try winning today's practical combat class first."

"You bastard, Asuma! Who are you looking down on?"

Tsukimi glanced at Kakashi's seat. Sure enough, the little white-haired guy was nowhere to be seen. It looked like he had chosen to graduate early, just as he had in the original story.

Obito and Asuma were about to come to blows, with Rin trying to calm them down, when she turned and spotted Tsukimi entering the classroom.

"Tsukimi, you're here?"

At Rin's words, Obito and Asuma stopped fighting and looked toward the door. Then they got up, flanked Tsukimi, and started asking questions.

"Tsukimi, Kakashi applied to Mr. Murakami for early graduation today. What about you? Are you going to graduate early too?"

"Yeah, Tsukimi. If smug Kakashi can do it, you definitely can."

Before Tsukimi could answer, the classroom suddenly fell silent. Sensing something, he turned toward the door. Kakashi stood there, watching him expectantly.

"Tsukimi, I've already submitted my application for early graduation to the Third Hokage. With our abilities, there's no point staying in school. We can only improve by taking on missions. Want to come with me?"

When Kakashi finished speaking, everyone looked at Tsukimi and waited for his answer.

Tsukimi smiled gently at Kakashi's invitation and shook his head. "I'm not graduating yet. There's still something I need to do here."

This time, Tsukimi was telling Kakashi the truth. The night he first beat Kakashi, he had taken stock of his gains and noticed a problem: he had no way to deal with enormous enemies. More precisely, he lacked large-area techniques. Because the individual Shadowkhan weren't strong enough, he could only use them to harry, pin down, and restrain opponents.

As he pondered the problem, an idea surfaced: Susanoo. The age of giant tattoos had yet to arrive. Giant mechs were still the answer.

The Shadowkhan and Susanoo were essentially the same thing: energy given physical form. The difference lay in the source. One was shadow made solid, while the other was Yin Release Chakra made solid.

Differences in volume and purity weren't important. Once he understood the principle, he could make up for them when his chakra reserves grew.

But Tsukimi merely used chakra to command the Shadowkhan; he didn't control the shadows themselves. The Tara Mask spared him the work of giving them physical form, but that was precisely why he understood so little about the process.

So Tsukimi's goal was simple. While he remained at school, he would keep fighting to unlock the tribes while studying the Nara clan's insights into Yin Release and using the Shadowkhan to investigate how to give Yin Release Chakra physical form.

Coach, I want to pilot a giant mech so badly!

After Kakashi left, practical combat class went on as usual. This time, Tsukimi was paired with Obito. Tsukimi summoned ten Shadowkhan, and the match ended in less than ten seconds.

Obito focused on the eight in front of him and tried to force his way through. The other two circled behind him and pinned his arms and legs. Even as he lay on the ground, he shouted, "Tsukimi, that was way too sneaky! This one doesn't count. Let's go again!"

Tsukimi's mouth twitched. They didn't call Obito an idiot for nothing. Could anyone believe this guy would one day control the Ten-Tails and become a second Six Paths?

You had to hand it to old Madara—he sure had an eye for people!

Takashi Murakami stood to the side, taking notes. "Obito, watch your feet," he said casually.

Tsukimi dismissed the Shadowkhan. Obito stood up, rubbing his shoulder, and kept muttering, "Just wait till I learn Fire Release."

Tsukimi faced several more opponents. It was an elite class, but the gap between them and Konoha's future four great Jonin was still huge. Most of his opponents lost before they even saw what had happened.

As Tsukimi walked back to the group, he noticed Obito and Asuma gesturing with Might Guy on the other side of the field. Might Guy seemed to be explaining how to put power into a particular taijutsu move, and the two were copying him.

After a while, the three stopped talking. Obito and Asuma huddled together and whispered for ages before walking over with their arms around each other's shoulders. They spoke to Tsukimi without the slightest hesitation.

"Hey, Tsukimi! Asuma and I found out you practice taijutsu with Might Guy every day. That's so underhanded!"

"Exactly! You've already got that powerful shadow technique, and now you're training taijutsu with Might Guy too. You're taking all the advantages for yourself!"

Tsukimi looked at them with interest. "So what do you want to do about it?"

The two exchanged a glance, then each grabbed one of Tsukimi's arms. Obito lowered his voice and spoke with a wheedling smile. "Can I join you? I want to train with you too!"

Asuma looked a little embarrassed and flushed, but he spoke up anyway. "That's right, Tsukimi. We want to train with you."

"Sure. But I'm warning you, training is hard. If either of you quits halfway through, I won't go easy on you!" Tsukimi gave them a look that promised trouble.

Heh. Now that you're in my hands, you're in for it!

Obito and Asuma shivered and exchanged a glance. Then they gritted their teeth and agreed. They were willing to do anything to surpass Kakashi and catch up with Tsukimi.