Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Graduation
"Alright, for your first test: Fight that puppet over there using only taijutsu. We purposely placed a weak spot on it so that when you hit it, the puppet will be disassembled. Your goal is to find that weak spot in the shortest amount of time you can. No weapons are allowed." - (Judge 1) said and pointed at the human-like puppet.
….
Gaara walked closer to the puppet but suddenly it moved and attacked him. He jumped backwards and then engaged the puppet in taijutsu.
For him, the puppet is moving in slow motion. He could easily destroy it with one hit but he chose not to since his goal is to find the weak spot.
During his training, Rasa didn't just train him in ninjutsu but also taijutsu. In addition to that, he constantly trained his body to the limit and healed it with his medical ninjutsu. Increasing his body capabilities and chakra control at the same time.
Gaara attacked the puppet with different combinations of kicks, punches, elbows and knees in succession to see what spot it protected the most. After 5 seconds, Gaara gave a hard side kick to the left chest of the puppet and it suddenly exploded.
The judges were impressed by how fast he did it and proceeded to score him on their board.
In reality, the moment he saw the puppet, Gaara was able to scan its whole body with only his eyes and found the weak spot in no time. It's one of the things Rasa taught him, to observe his opponent before engaging in battle.
"Next: Perform the highest rank of attack type ninjutsu you could do. It doesn't matter what it is. Target that dummy over there. It's made out of hard material so make sure to give it your all." - (Judge 2)
Gaara formed a half tiger seal on his left hand as he extended his right arm and aimed his index and middle fingers on the target. Second later, a marble sized bluish electric ball formed on the tip of his fingers and was shot towards the target like a laser beam.
"I-Incredible. Is that an original jutsu?" - (Judge 2) asked in disbelief to which Gaara replied with a nod.
"Based on what I sensed on the amount of chakra you used and the control needed to make that lightning chakra into a compressed ball, that jutsu should be a B rank or above." - (Judge 2)
The judges looked at each other and wrote Gaara's score.
"For your last test: We will put you under a Mid-C rank genjutsu. We will score you depending on how fast you can release it. We won't say when, so be ready." - (Judge 3)
The moment the judge said the last word, Gaara felt a foreign chakra trying to enter his body. He pulsated his chakra so fast that even the sensor judge had a hard time noticing it.
"U-uh, the genjutsu didn't even have time to enter his system." - (Judge 3)
The judges talked for a moment and returned their attention to Gaara.
"Congratulations, you passed. Here's your head band. Before you go home, go to room 2-1 on the second floor and fill up the paper that the teacher will give you. And don't be absent tomorrow, your teacher will announce your team." - (Judge 2) picked a headband on the table beside him and gave it to Gaara.
Gaara took the head band and wrapped it around his left arm. After that, he went to the room he was ordered to.
…
–Academy gate–
"Congratulations, you're a shinobi now." - (Gaara)
"Hehe, thanks. Congratulations to you too. Anyway, I will be going now. My mom prepared something for me, do you want to come?" - (Shinsuki)
"Sorry, I have things to do. Maybe next time." - (Gaara)
"Okay, see you." - (Shinsuki) said and ran to her house.
'The tests didn't have any specific passing scores, all they asked us to do was to give it our all. And the paper we filled up was all about self evaluation. It looks like this graduation test was not to see if we are capable of being a shinobi, but to evaluate our aptitude and strength to see where we will be deployed in the battlefield.' - (Gaara)
After that, Gaara went straight to his home to prepare something with the help of Shukaku.
In the past, Gaara asked Shukaku about his mindscape. Shukaku said that it's a dimension between the living and the dead to which Gaara's seal is the gate. It's basically a real thing, not just an imagination. Gaara was confused as to why he wasn't affected by Shukaku's attacks if it was real. Shukaku replied that it's probably because of the seal that he was always pulled out before an attack even hits him, a protective measure to avoid death. Unless he broke the seal and he was in his mindscape, Shukaku can kill him.
–2 days later, On the meeting point far outside the village–
You could see 7 people gathered here. They wore the same formal attire but different color schemes. They are the council members of Suna, retired shinobis who served for more than a decade.
Suddenly, a person in complete black clothing covering his whole body including his face appeared. He is quite tall and lean, carrying a medium-sized scroll vertically on his back.
"The code?" - (Hizuchi)
The person in black did a series of sign language. This is the code that only the 8 of them know.
After seeing this, Hizuchi nodded.
"Let's go, before anyone sees us." - (Hizuchi) said and all of them ran towards the daimyo's palace.
The said person in black is Gaara. He's the only guard they have because they feared that their plan might get out if they informed more people.
He used <<transformation jutsu>> to change his appearance a bit. He also masked his chakra signature, a jutsu he perfected without Rasa knowing. As for his sand, it was inside the scroll. It's actually a container with an appearance of a scroll to store his sand.
And before he left his house, he created a sand clone, his version of Hashirama's wood clone. This clone can take Rasa without a problem and can relay messages to the original body using the same jutsu he used to scout the location when he first met Hizuchi, which he now called <<spooky action at a distance jutsu>>. A jutsu that allows him to track, see and hear everything it attaches to. He can literally exchange information with his clone in real-time like that of rinnegan.
While they were running, they encountered a shinobi on their way. Gaara could feel that this person is quite strong, probably an elite jonin.
The shinobi stopped and gestured to them to stop as well.
"State your business." - (Hizuchi)
The mysterious shinobi looked at each of them. He's currently scanning to see if they match the description he was given.
"I am one of the guards of Daimyo-sama. I was sent here to give something to you." - (Man) said and pulled a small scroll on his holster. Gaara took the scroll and the man left immediately after that.
Gaara checked it and concluded that it was safe and gave it to Hizuchi.
"What does it say?" - (Member 3)
"U-Uh… T-That fool!" - (Hizuchi)
Hizuchi looked at everyone and read its content.
….
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone