The Test

Mizuki got relatively nervous upon hearing Duy talking about putting his will to the test.

It is true that he wanted to stay with his friends as they all became ninja, and he thought that being a ninja would be pretty cool.

Although, his will was not nearly as powerful as some of the other people in this universe.

He was not bullied as a child nor shunned by the entire village or did he have anything to prove to anyone.

Honestly, most of what he was doing so far was talking out of his ass.

Regardless, time waits for no man and so Mizuki sighed to himself before looking at Duy with a newfound resolution.

Mizuki: {Well, might as well go all the way. Fuck it, No pain no gain, lets do this!}

Duy began to have a light smirk on his face as he saw the resolution in the boy's eyes.

Duy: "Good, so you are finally ready"

Mizuki: "Yes sir!"

Hearing this, Duy turned to face his son and kneeled down to be at eye level with his son before whispering something in his ear.

Duy: "Alright, Guy can you leave for a second I need to talk to Mizuki for a second, in the meantime, how about you practice those exercise we worked on the other day?"

Guy: "Yes Dad!"

After waiting for Guy to get away, Duy than turned to face his prospective student with a newfound glare in his eyes.

Duy simply proposed that Mizuki would only need to take a singular test in order to become his student.

Duy: "Test One of One: Strength"

Duy announced the test with great energy, clearly having fun at the expense of our MC's soon to be torture.

Duy than took Mizuki too a boulder that was nearby.

Duy: "Break it with your bare fists. No tools or jutsu allowed, but you are allowed to use your chakra to enhance your strikes."

Mizuki sighed slightly, as he knew that he was incapable of the feat, although he would be damned if he did not try.

His first punch caused only a slight crack along the boulder, only a few inches in each direction. although

Although, it also rewarded efforts through some light bruising along Mizuki's fist.

So, Mizuki, realizing what he had to do, hit the boulder again.

And again.

And again.

Half an hour later, Mizuki's fists were covered in bruises and blisters, some of which had burst and caused portions of his hands to be soaked in his own blood.

Although any spectator would be horrified at what Mizuki was doing, he still continued, without breaking his rhythm in the least.

After what felt like an eternity to the boy, Mizuki was no closer to finishing his task than when he started.

The boulder now had a slight crater around half a foot deep around where Mizuki was punching, although this was but a drop in the ocean compared to what remained of the boulder.

Mizuki's blood ended up splattering over the crater, causing the boy to wince slightly as he fought through the pain and continued his punches.

However, the boy had a saving grace when he heard a voice behind him give a command.

Dai: "Stop"

Mizuki didn't need to be told to do this twice. His hands were probably broken in several places and would take weeks, if not months to fully heal.

Mizuki though, was hoping that his hypothesis that he developed was right, he believed that Duy was not going to test his strength like he said he would.

Duy himself could not perform ninjutsu and was known as "the eternal genin" so he clearly had a less than conventional view about strength.

Instead, Mizuki believed that what Duy was testing was his willpower. If Mizuki would persevere under seemingly impossible tasks and complete them with his all.

Duy: "You Pass"

Mizuki: "What?"

Mizuki needed to try his utmost to force a look of surprise on his face as Duy announced that he could officially become his student.

Duy: "I might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but I'm not stupid."

Duy: "It's obvious that you knew the real point behind the test after a little bit."

Duy: "But to be honest, I don't really care. It's not ideal, but your willpower still did carry you through it."

Mizuki: "Y-Y-Yes Sir!"

Duy: "Now, go to the konoha hospital, god knows your hands need to be treated"

After giving his new master a quick goodbye, Mizuki left as soon as he possibly could in order to get to the hospital.

It would probably take the remainder of his cash, but Mizuki was confident in holding out until the end of the week for payday.

As he got to the hospital and checked himself in, the Nurse was clearly horrified by the fact that these wounds were on a child that was still in the academy.

It took roughly thirty minutes for the nurse to clean up Mizuki's wounds and he was told to restrain from physical activity for the next few weeks.

Meanwhilst, Mizuki Was cursing like a sailor in his head, in order to disinfect the wounds Mizuki's hands were lathered in rubbing alcohol, causing his already painful hands to feel as if they had been doused in gasoline and then lit on fire.

There was a service where the hospital could treat his injuries virtually instantly, although that service was reserved for those who had their lives in danger or had plenty of cash, neither of which Mizuki had.

Mizuki sighed to himself in disappointment, this injury would set back his training schedule by quite a bit. And Mizuki did not want to fall behind Obito and Shisui, or even Guy.

Just as he was about to leave however, he saw the doctor rush back in and began to frantically apologize before using his ninjutsu to instantly heal his hands, much to Mizuki's confusion.

So, being curious, Mizuki went to the counter at the hospital's main lobby to find out what was going on.

And yet Mizuki was in shock as when he approached the counter he was stopped by a middle aged man with brown hair which was starting to turn white, with a pipe in his mouth.

The man was wearing a long red robe with a shorter white robe on top and was wearing the iconic hat that so many people desired.

The proffesor.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.