The morning sun filtered through the tall trees of Training Ground 57 as Akira strolled alongside Shimura Toguro. Tucking his hands comfortably into his pockets, Akira observed two older boys standing near a central wooden post.
Both were around fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing proud, self-important smirks. From their clothing and family crests, Akira instantly recognized their lineage—one bore the mark of the Utatane clan, while the other belonged to the Mitokado family.
As Toguro and Akira approached, the two older Genin sized Akira up with heavy condescension.
"Is this the kid?" the Mitokado boy sneered, leaning casually against a wooden post. "Looks pretty soft. Our last teammate was some civilian deadweight who couldn't even survive a couple of paper bomb traps. Let's see if a bloodline brat actually lasts any longer."
The Utatane boy let out a loud, mocking laugh. "Don't count on it. Being born into a major clan doesn't mean you've got what it takes on real missions."
Akira blinked, resting his chin in his hand as an amused smile touched his lips. 'Wow,' he thought to himself. 'Their arrogance puts even the Uchiha and Hyūga elders to shame. Is this what happens when you're related to the village advisors?'
"Alright, stow it, both of you," Toguro barked, stepping between them, though his own expression remained smug. "Let's get formal introductions out of the way first. I'll go first."
Toguro puffed out his chest proudly. "I am Shimura Toguro, your team leader. My specialties are Wind Release Ninjutsu and high-speed Taijutsu. I am proud to carry the legacy of the Shimura clan, and my goal is to become a great shinobi and political figure, just like Lord Danzō Shimura."
The Utatane boy stepped forward next, puffing out his chest in a similar fashion. "I'm Utatane Ren. I specialize in Medical Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. My goal is simple—to become a high-ranking political advisor to the Hokage, just like Lady Koharu Utatane!"
The Mitokado boy smirked, crossing his arms. "And I am Mitokado Kōta. I'm a sensory specialist and an expert with ninja tools. My goal is the same—to serve as a top advisor to the village leadership, just like Lord Homura Mitokado."
With all three eyes turning toward him, Akira offered a pleasant, easygoing smile.
"I'm Hyūga Akira," he said lightly. "I specialize in Taijutsu, standard Ninjutsu, and I have the Byakugan. As for what I like... I'd rather keep that private. What I dislike... well, I don't really know much about that either. And as for my goal? I don't really have one right now."
Silence fell over the training ground. Toguro blinked, looking thoroughly bewildered by the completely noncommittal answer, though he ultimately let it slide with a grunt.
Mitokado Kōta, however, flushed dark red with anger. "What kind of half-assed answer is that?!" he snapped, taking an aggressive step toward Akira. "Listen here, brat! You're talking to your seniors! You need to show some damn respect!"
Akira didn't even look at him. He simply tilted his head back, staring up at a fluffy, bird-shaped cloud drifting lazily across the blue sky.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Kōta yelled, his temper boiling over. He reached out with a wide, angry hand, intending to grab Akira roughly by his collar and pull him down to eye level.
Akira didn't panic. He didn't even break his easy smile.
As Kōta's fingers came within an inch of his shirt, Akira shifted his weight by a mere fraction of an inch, ducking fluidly under the reach. Before anyone could process the movement, Akira's two fingers darted out like a striking viper, tapping a specific, high-density chakra point right on Kōta's chest.
Tap.
A precise burst of localized chakra tore through Kōta's system, disrupting his nervous flow instantly. Kōta's eyes rolled back into his head, his body locking up completely before collapsing onto the grass with a heavy thud. White foam began trickling steadily out of the side of his mouth as he twitched once and went completely still.
Utatane Ren gasped, instantly leaping backward into a defensive stance, his hands reaching for his kunai pouch. Toguro's eyes widened in shock, dropping into a low combat stance as he barked at Akira.
"What the hell did you just do, brat?!" Toguro yelled, his hand hovering over his weapon holster.
Akira immediately raised both hands in the air, a look of pure, innocent panic washing over his young face.
"I-I'm so sorry, Captain!" Akira stammered, putting on a convincingly nervous, wide-eyed expression. "It was an accident! He lunged at me so suddenly, I... I panicked and my hands just moved on their own! I really didn't expect a senior member of the Mitokado clan to be that frail... I barely touched him!"
Toguro stood frozen, completely dumbfounded by the explanation. Looking at Akira's young, anxious face and then down at Kōta foaming on the ground, Toguro actually hesitated. 'Did the kid really just get spooked and react on instinct? But hitting a vital chakra point like that...'
While Toguro was processing the situation, Utatane Ren was practically vibrating with rage.
"You little bastard!" Ren roared, completely convinced that Akira had intentionally humiliated his friend. "You think you can embarrass us like this?!"
Ignoring Toguro's order to stand down, Ren whipped a kunai out of his pouch and charged recklessly at Akira, aiming the glinting steel straight for the boy's shoulder.
"Ren, wait—!" Toguro shouted, reaching out to stop him.
He was too late.
Before Ren's kunai could even get close to Akira's clothes, the "nervous" look on the boy's face vanished entirely.
In a blur of speed that left a literal slipstream in the air, Akira stepped inside Ren's guard. Without even drawing a weapon, Akira planted his pivot foot and delivered a lightning-fast, brutal sidekick directly into Ren's ribs.
BOOM!
A heavy shockwave echoed through the clearing. Ren's breath was instantly blasted out of his lungs in a crimson spray. His body flew backward like a cannonball, blasting through thirty feet of open air before slamming violently into the trunk of a massive oak tree. The wood cracked loudly under the impact, and Ren slid down to the roots, unconscious before he even hit the dirt.
A cold bead of sweat trickled down Toguro's temple.
Having watched the second attack clearly, Toguro realized with terrifying clarity: the kid hadn't been panicking at all. He had deliberately baited both of them, executed high-level counterattacks in the blink of an eye, and completely neutralized two older Genin without taking a single scratch.
Worse, Toguro couldn't even reprimand or punish him. Both Genin had initiated physical attacks against a teammate first. Admitting that two senior clan members got instantly wiped out by a fresh Academy graduate would be an absolute disgrace to the Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado names.
Akira dropped his leg back to the grass, his relaxed, easygoing smile snapping back into place as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
He looked down at his two unconscious teammates with mild, polite concern, then turned his gaze toward his frozen team leader.
"Well, Captain Toguro," Akira said in a completely harmless, sweet voice. "I think you should probably take them to the hospital. We won't be able to do any missions with just the two of us today anyway. Please tell them I'm deeply sorry for my overreaction—I was just a little anxious from their sudden moves."
Akira bowed politely, then dusted off his sleeves. "I'll see you tomorrow at this same time for our first assignment, Captain."
Without waiting for a response, Akira casually turned on his heel, tucked his hands back into his pockets, and strolled away down the sunlit path toward the village.
Toguro stood frozen in the middle of the training ground for a long, quiet minute. Reaching up with a trembling hand, he wiped a sheet of cold sweat from his forehead.
'Nervous? Anxious?!' Toguro screamed internally, staring at the shattered tree trunk and his foaming squad members. 'That Hyūga brat is an absolute monster! Why in the world did the elders assign a kid like that to my squad?!'
With a heavy, miserable groan, Toguro walked over, slung both Utatane Ren and Mitokado Kōta over his shoulders, and began sprinting toward the Konoha Hospital.