Naruto : a hero's journey

Satoru stood in the stadium, surrounded by 37 other students, all waiting anxiously for the tournament to begin. The atmosphere was thick with excitement and nervous energy. Some students exchanged determined glances, while others whispered among themselves.

The principal of the academy stepped forward to address the crowd. His voice echoed across the stadium, silencing the murmurs. "Welcome, everyone, to this year's tournament. As you know, only the strongest will rise to the top. This year, however, we're making things a little different."

The principal continued, "The top six strongest students have been selected based on their performance throughout the year. These six will be kept separate from the rest of the students for the first tournament. The remaining 32 will compete, and the two finalists from that round will join the top six for a second tournament."

Keiko, who was sitting in the stands, furrowed her brow and whispered to Hiten, "This wasn't how it worked when I participated."

Hiten, leaning back with a thoughtful expression, replied, "Maybe they want to spice things up this year. It might be a way to push the students harder."

The crowd buzzed with interest at the new format. The principal began announcing the names of the top six, and with each name, the crowd's murmurs grew louder.

"First, Sakumo Hatake!"

Sakumo, calm and composed, stepped forward. His reputation as the strongest was well-known.

"Second, Tatsuo!"

Tatsuo grinned confidently, giving Satoru a small nod.

"Third, Nawaki Senju!"

The young Senju's name was no surprise, his lineage alone marked him as a natural talent.

"Fourth, Tsume Inuzuka!"

Tsume smirked, her feral energy radiating as she stood alongside the others.

"Fifth, Satoru!"

Satoru stepped forward, his eyes scanning the crowd briefly. He felt a slight sense of pride but didn't let it show. He was already thinking about the next step.

"And finally, Might Dai!"

Dai beamed with enthusiasm, shouting something, which earned him a few chuckles from the crowd, His spirit was undeniable.

As the top six gathered, the rest of the students looked on with a mix of admiration and jealousy. They knew they had to fight hard for those two spots. Meanwhile, Satoru's mind was already running through strategies. 'Sakumo will be tough... Tatsuo too, and Nawaki... I can't underestimate anyone.'

The tournament was just beginning, and with these changes, it promised to be even more intense than before.

The principal's next announcement sent shockwaves through the stadium.

"Ninjutsu is allowed."

A moment of stunned silence followed. No one had anticipated that ninjutsu would be permitted in the tournament. Gasps spread throughout the crowd, and several students exchanged uneasy glances.

On the field, many clan children began smirking. For them, this was a clear advantage. With their family training and clan techniques, they could overpower most of the civilian students.

Tatsuo glanced at Satoru and grinned, cracking his knuckles, clearly eager to test his limits in this new environment. Sakumo, too, showed little reaction, though his calm demeanor seemed even more intense as he stood with his hands in his pockets, calculating his next move.

The civilian students, on the other hand, looked visibly shaken. Whispers began spreading among them. Ninjutsu? Many of them had only learnt basic techniques, and now they had to face clan children who were much more adept at using chakra.

The morale among them took a noticeable dip, and some of them looked pale, unsure if they could keep up in this suddenly heightened competition.

The principal, unfazed by the reaction, continued, "Now, I want all participants to head to the waiting area. The tournament begins immediately. The first match will be Chosuke Akimichi versus Taro."

The students began shuffling off the field, still processing the implications of the principal's announcement. Satoru glanced over at Chosuke, the large Akimichi boy, who wore a relaxed look on his face. Beside him, Taro, a smaller civilian boy, looked nervous, clearly trying to muster up some courage.

---

The boy looked at chosuke while holding a kunai,

Chosuke grabbed his staff and rushed to him, swinging towards the boy's head.

The boy jumped to the side and threw shuriken at chosuke,

Chosuke deflected the shuriken and made one of them go back to the boy, landing right near his neck.

He removed the shuriken from his clothes and ran off to evade chosuke, just have him land on top off him. Feeling like he would be crushed any minute the boy instantly gave up.

The match between Chosuke and Taro was over quickly, with Chosuke securing an easy win. Satoru sat back, uninterested as more matches followed, none of them catching his attention.

'Same old tactics,' he thought, eyes half-closed as students tried to outdo each other with flashy jutsu and over-eager strikes.

But finally, the last match of the first round was announced.

"Kaito versus Reiko," the principal's voice echoed across the arena. Satoru's attention was drawn when a boy named Kaito stepped forward, gripping a metal katana tightly in his hand.

The crowd murmured as they noticed the weapon.

The match between Kaito and the girl had barely begun when the principal stepped in. "Kaito, real katanas are not allowed. You either put it away or face disqualification."

Kaito, standing tall in the center of the arena, didn't flinch. His grip tightened around the metal katana in his hand as he looked around the stadium,

"Are you kidding me? This tournament is rigged from the start!"

The audience fell silent, all eyes now on Kaito.

"The clan kids can use all the jutsu their parents have drilled into them since they could walk!" Kaito shouted, "They can throw fireballs, summon beasts, manipulate their bodies, and we're just supposed to stand there and take it? But the moment I, an orphan, pick up a sword to even the odds, suddenly it's a problem? Suddenly it's against the rules? How is that fair?"

Some civilians nodded in agreement, murmuring among themselves. Others remained silent, unsure of where this rebellion would lead.

Kaito wasn't done. "This isn't a fair fight! They have bloodline limits, centuries of family techniques, and we've got nothing. We had to teach ourselves, scrap together what we could. And now you want to take away the one weapon I have? Why? Because it's not 'safe' for them?"

"The rules—"

"Screw the rules!" Kaito interrupted, stepping forward. "The rules are meant to keep people like me down, and everyone knows it!"

The audience began to stir more, with murmurs growing louder, and a few voices shouted in support of Kaito. "Let him fight!" "Fair's fair!" "Why should the clan kids get special treatment?"

The principal, realizing he was losing control of the situation, hesitated. He couldn't outright deny Kaito now, not with the crowd already on edge.

He sighed and gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. Kaito, you may use your katana. But understand this—any fatal injuries will result in immediate disqualification."

A triumphant grin spread across Kaito's face. "I don't need to kill anyone. I just need to prove I'm as good as any clan kid."

The audience erupted in applause and shouts, the civilians cheering for Kaito's defiance.

Reiko opened some scrolls , causing many dolls to emerge out. Kaito looked at this and thought 'dolls? Probably a puppet user.'

She started attaching chakra strings to the dolls and performed some hand seals.

Kaito rushed to attack her and stop her from completing the seals, he swung his sword on her, but it was blocked by a teddy bear like doll.

Kaito kicked the doll away just to have a volley of shuriken heading towards him.

He saw the dolls throw shurikens at him, he thought 'their accuracy is horrible, I can move past them easily.'

He dodged the shuriken effortlessly and closed the distance, another doll which was dressed like a girl, jumped on top of him.

He slashed the doll cutting it easily. The second doll which was the dressed like a boy, landed a punch square on his jaw. Kaito grabbed the doll and threw it towards the teddy bear doll, keeping it busy.

Kaito again moved closer to Reiko and slashed her, she evaded it barely causing the sword to hit the ground making dust fly everywhere.

She made the two remaining dolls to approach him, but their attacked completely missed the target.

'Can she not control her dolls if she can't see them? Why were they so far off? Their attacks missed completely.'

The dust around Kaito settled and Reiko saw him holding a smoke bomb.

The smoke spread throughout the battleground, she was unable to track him and when the dust settled he had his sword against his neck.

Reiko had lost the battle.

---

With the first round over, the students were given a day recharge before the next round. Satoru left the arena, uninterested in lingering around, and headed to meet up with Hiten. His mind was already set on training.

He found Hiten near academy gates, his arms crossed, eyes scanning the ground as if lost in thought. "You're here," Hiten said, sensing Satoru's arrival.

"Of course,"

Hiten turned to face him, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "I've got some news. I've mastered the first tomoe of my Sharingan since we last met."

Satoru raised an eyebrow, impressed. "So you're moving ahead fast, huh? That's good. Think you can help me refine my chakra augmentation and flow?"

Hiten nodded. "Yeah, I can help with that. With the progress I've made on my Sharingan, I can see the subtleties in chakra control more clearly now."

The two sparred lightly, working on their forms and control, while Hiten pointed out areas where Satoru could fine-tune his movements.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo made his way to a small ramen stand, the smell of broth and spices luring him in. He spotted Chosuke Akimichi, the victor of the earlier match, already seated and eating a large bowl of ramen. Tatsuo smiled and greeted him before ordering his own bowl.

Chosuke glanced up, recognizing Tatsuo as one of the top six in the tournament. "Hey, you're Tatsuo, right?" he asked, mouth full of noodles. "One of the big shots?"

Tatsuo chuckled, taking a seat beside him. "I wouldn't say that, but yeah, I'm in the top six."

Chosuke leaned in, his eyes narrowing as he set down his chopsticks. "Do you know the guy who wore shorts? He's in your group, I think."

Tatsuo paused, trying to figure out who he meant. "Satoru or Nawaki? They both wore shorts."

"The one who's pulling off illusions in class," Chosuke clarified, his tone excited.

Tatsuo nodded, finally understanding. "Ah, that's Satoru. He's pretty good with it."

Chosuke grinned. "Satoru, huh? He seems strong. I've been watching him, and I think I'll aim to beat him. He could be my rival in this tournament."

Tatsuo smiled, amused by Chosuke's declaration. "Good luck with that. Satoru's not an easy opponent, but I'd like to see how it goes."

The next round of the tournament began the following day. The excitement that had filled the air during the first round had dwindled. Most of the matches were lackluster, with only Chosuke and Kaito managing to stir the crowd. Satoru, uninterested in watching the rest, left halfway through the tournament with Hiten to continue his training.

The week passed by quickly as the remaining rounds played out. Chosuke and Kaito consistently stood out, winning their respective matches. By the end of the week, the finalists were decided: Chosuke and Kaito.

Now, it was time for the top six to rejoin the tournament. The eight competitors, including the two finalists, would face off in another tournament, and the excitement in the arena reignited as the matchups were announced.

"Sakumo Hatake versus Tsume Inuzuka," the principal's voice echoed through the stadium.

"Tatsuo versus Kaito," followed next, drawing gasps from the crowd, especially considering Kaito's aggressive attitude in previous rounds.

"Nawaki Senju versus Might Dai," the match seemed balanced on paper, though everyone knew Nawaki's lineage would make him a tough competitor.

Finally, "Chosuke Akimichi versus Satoru."

Satoru stood, his gaze fixed ahead. Chosuke, who had openly declared his interest in facing Satoru, nodded at him from across the field.