(Konoha File Room)
Chunin Instructor Ito moved through the dimly lit corridors of the training center's administrative wing with a sense of grim purpose. The weight of the sabotaged uniforms in his bag felt heavier than any rucksack. This wasn't just a prank; it was a conspiracy, and he was walking right into the middle of it.
He entered the vast file room, the air thick with the scent of aging paper. He needed proof, a pattern. He pulled out his own class notes from years past, looking for other promising students who had started strong in the remedial program only to mysteriously wash out. He found three names. With those in hand, he began searching the official records.
He looked for the first file, a talented boy from two years prior. It wasn't there. He searched again. Nothing. Puzzled, he checked the graduation list for that year. The boy's name had been scrubbed clean. It was as if he had never existed.
A cold dread washed over Ito. This was deeper and darker than he had imagined. This wasn't just about sabotaging students; it was about erasing them.
He was so engrossed in his search that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him until it was too late.
"Looking for something, Ito-san?" a voice asked, deceptively pleasant.
Ito spun around, his hand instinctively reaching for a kunai. A man stood there, an administrator he recognized from the Hokage's tower, Koga. The man's smile didn't reach his eyes. Before Ito could react, another figure emerged from the shadows of the stacks. The last thing Ito saw was the glint of steel.
(1st Person - Judai's POV)
"Never do that again, Judai."
The new instructor, a man we hadn't seen before, glared at me. It took several minutes for my vision to return to normal after I'd shown him my "best" chakra output. The guy looked rattled. I managed to hide a smirk. It was the first time in months I'd felt even a flicker of my old self.
This new phase of training was focused on chakra control. Finally, something other than endless pushups. The first exercise was wall-climbing. I watched as Machi and a few others got the hang of it almost immediately, their feet sticking to the vertical surface like magnets.
My turn was… less impressive.
"Way too much chakra, Judai!" the instructor growled after my tenth attempt ended with me launching myself backward off the wall. I kept dialing it back, bit by bit, until finally, my foot stuck. The feeling of success was so new it was almost jarring.
The instructor, surprisingly, was a decent teacher. He was gruff and impatient, but he knew his stuff. By the end of the next day, everyone in the class had managed to walk up and down the walls. Machi, showing off, was even doing it backward. I just managed not to fall.
As we were packing up, the instructor called out to me. "Judai, one of the other instructors wishes to discuss your failings as a ninja with you after today's training session." He then looked at Machi. "Haruno, there will be no need for you to wait for him today. Unless you have a pressing need for more pushups."
"Yes, Sir," we both replied.
I watched Machi trudge off, a knot of unease tightening in my stomach. This felt off. Ito was supposed to be our instructor. Who was this other guy? I sat down on a training post to wait. Maybe this is the contact the Old Man was hoping for, I thought, trying to quell my anxiety.
I heard the door open. "Judai, come with me."
It was the first instructor. The one who had called me "Whiskers" for three months straight. I never did learn his name. I rose and followed him to an office I'd never been in before. He had me sit in a chair facing away from the door.
"Wait here, Judai. Don't turn around."
I heard a door across the hall open and close, then the office door closed behind me. There were two people in the room now. The air grew heavy.
A voice, smooth and cold, spoke from behind me. "Judai, we have a problem to deal with. It seems you are up to the task for us. Right now, you are on the cusp of failing out of our little program, along with your little friend."
My blood ran cold.
"Your discipline problems have all been documented and will count against you when the final scores are tallied. If you decide to help us with our problem, however… those records will disappear."
I kept my voice as steady as I could. "What if I choose not to help, Sir?"
The voice chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "Then we will have no choice but to apply those records in full force, ensuring both you and your little friend, Maki, fail. You know what failure would bring for each of you, don't you? Yes, we know you still call her 'Maki-chan' when you are alone."
The man's voice dropped, becoming silky and venomous. "Imagine poor little Maki-chan being sent out as a conscript. Her first night being auctioned off to the highest bidder as a prostitute. That man taking her in various disgusting ways before tossing her to the rest of his men."
Judai's face paled, his palms going numb, but his chakra exploded. His eyes went blank, devoid of any warmth. With him having the urge to kill this man, now sure he could do it. And right now this man was begging to die.
If you're wondering what a conscript is, it's the military forces that answer directly to the daimyo as opposed to the Hokage. Normal professional soldiers who have no chakra but want to fight are sent their to be trained as samurai. But in the capital you wouldn't be able to join the ranks if you came from a poor background or lacked prior skill. Conscripts are basically slave labor in the capital. But often times it is what it sounds like, a punishment for the worst of individuals that have no protection. Or people that offended the nobility. In short, it's where people go to become the playthings of the rich. Few conscripts survive their terms of conscription. If you're sent there, it would be a horrible and short life."
Many think Naruto is this fun hero-based world that allowed people to punch hard like Rock lee. Or spam chakra out like you had infinite spells like Naruto. But it's more like how Neji described it. A cage. Heck, his clan ran on slavery in broad daylight and told them to do it with a smile. You're either born talented or worked your whole life just to be overshadowed by that 12-year-old brat Boruto. The only civilians you see do well are the highest level of talent in a particular field or get one shot.
I wasn't talented in my previous life as a deadbeat dropout out college student. But still I thought things would be great here, I'd get chakra, learn flashy jutsu, make a harem. Heck maybe become hokage. But I failed and ended up as genin cannon fodder with my childhood best friend. So I came back for a second time around to save her. Just to end up here where this reality is now possible.
To think people turn away from this part of the world. Ninja are not heroes; they're not allowed to be idealistic fools like Naruto. We can't all be the reincarnation of God. No most ninja are just trained assassins that act like ANBU. The division with the highest kill count of defenseless women and children.
Clan children got to avoid this part of the shinobi world as this allowed them to keep a bright aspect of their home, so they don't go running around trying to change it as they actually had the potential and political power to do it.
But as for civilians? What do you expect, daimyo's were apart of Japan back when samurai were lawless military where the rich could do whatever they want and get away with it. Even forcing the victims to bow their head for forgiveness as if they committed the crime.
And now I'm somehow facing this new reality.
The reality were some piss-ant Chunin can talk to me like this and get away with it.
This village is controlled by the Hokage and elders. I have no backing or support, and Maki is a foreigner from a civilian background. What power do I have to go against them? They could do whatever they want with us.
I doubt being a conscript is on the table, but I need to answer how they want for now.
Judai's fist clenched involuntarily as the man so casually talked for a few more minutes about the treatment that would await Maki. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. With soulless eyes, he looked at the man, "What would I need to do?"
Judai slowly walked back toward his apartment. He did not know what he should do. If he rejected the mission, Maki-chan would be sent out as a conscript or comfort kunoichi. Visions of Maki-chan being cruelly treated and assaulted danced in front of his eyes. The thought of it just made his chest hurt. She was a loudmouth that could even make a sailor blush from her words. She punched him a lot, sure. But he couldn't allow them to do this to her. He'd do anything to save her.