The toil, sweat and stress had all finally paid off. From his most frequented place in the village of Iwagakure, Toru looked out over the rocky cityscape kissed by the beaming sun that he called home. With both of the teen's fists clenched firmly, a slight smile etched its way onto his face. This rugged-looking, yet proud and powerful village would become a better place, bit by bit, and now he would be helping it as well. But most importantly, the fresh new Genin could finally make a start on his goal - becoming a strong and respectable ninja.

It had been a week since graduation from Iwa's Ninja Academy, and a lot of the graduates from Toru's class had already celebrated with parents - food, festivities, and congratulations were in order all around Iwa.

Toru however, had no such plans the day he officially became a Genin. The day of graduation was indeed important, but it was also the day that he would make an eternal vow with himself - the wish his deceased Mother wanted from him - to become as strong as he possibly could, no matter what he did. A very open request from a woman who was so set on putting her son on the straight-and-narrow. Toru could really do anything he wanted, so long as he could show some definition of strength - phyiscal, mental, emotional, he was sure that she would be happy. However, it was the dazzling displays of the Yumi Yamamoto’s blazing Ninjitsu and rock-solid determination that had inspired Toru to take up becoming a ninja.

On the day of graduation, Toru made his way back home with his brand new forehead protector gripped firmly in hand. His Father, Haga, was expecting him. For the rest of the day with Toru’s help he was going to help make his promise more than just a simple vow. Over the next few hours, Haga worked away at the metal plate of the bare forehead protector, making it small enough for it to be affixed to the top of Toru’s right glove. The next day Haga set to work on tattooing the mark of his Clan, the Nekomotze, onto Toru’s left hand – whilst Haga had taken up blacksmithing, it Toru who was going to take the blood of the once feral ninjas and carry it into his own fighting style. On Toru’s right hand was the mighty logo of Iwagakure, the mark of a ninja and the memories of the woman that had inspired him to become strong through the same path she took. On his right was the mark of his Clan, passed onto him from strong, patient Father. The will of Yumi and Haga would stay permanently with Toru, in his heart, on his back, and in his fists.

And with these marks emblazoned on his two fists, the focused eyes of the fresh-faced ninja darted around to begin his quest for strength. Down in the streets he could just manage to make out the roaring bazaar. If anyone needed proof that Iwa was more than just 'a pile of rubble' as he heard a tourist once say, he would point them towards that marketplace. Hundreds and thousands of stalls bursting with a variety of wares - colourful, ripe and glistening fruits, sparkling ores from the deepest stretches of nearby mines, and beautiful cloths of varying earthen tones. Somewhere out there his Father was selling some of the most eyecatching craft of bangles and bracelets for those with a good eye for quality, and some of the most solid and powerful weapons for ninjas looking for a bit more edge to their bukijutsu. Eventually, Toru would come back home and visit to tell him of the good news, but of course, the newbie-ninja's priorities came first.

Glancing over more of the view of the landscape, Toru set his sights on a special arrangement of rocks, that would to any mere outsider seem like another part of the walls that Iwagakure were carved into. However the people of Iwa, the ninjas mostly, knew it was much more than just a rock formation. His brow furrowing with confidence and an energetic nod confirmed Toru's decision, as he started to sprint down the pathway that took him up to the Cliffside. Spying a roof within a safe distance, Toru jumped off of the pathway to land on it. As he fell, he braced to land, grabbing a hand onto his bandanna as the wind almost blew it off. Bending his legs as his feet met the slates of the roof to ease his fall, he continued to run across the canopies of Iwa, jumping from roof to roof as he made his way to the coliseum, and he knew this would be the first of many visits – his goal? Training.

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