ANBU Training Milestone (Tennin Milestone)

"I know that many of you have heard the rumors coming in so I will just confirm it for you... Yes, this training program is hell. If any of you have any doubts about joining this program, leave now. This will be your last chance to leave with any sense of your sanity or identity intact. This program has a 30% success rate - every year, without fail. That means that seven out of every ten of you will either die or be dismissed for... medical reasons." The men and women in the stone room watched the training sergeant with stony expressions. Tennin's face mirrored theirs, though he could see through their facade. Half of them had to be terrified of the journey they were embarking on. He knew he certainly was. He had heard of the horror stories: trainees losing limbs during acrobatics exercises, trainees becoming mentally unstable during torture resistance training, trainees who completed the training at the cost of their personality and interests, etc. As good as the pay was for these types of jobs, Tennin could not help but think that the program's high cost outweighed its short run benefits. Yet, as a middle of the road shinobi, he could not afford to at least take a chance with the ANBU Corps, which offered pretty attractive opportunities for promotion further down a shinobi's career. Tennin looked around the room and figured that the other trainees were thinking the exact same thing.

The training sergeant, satisfied with the grim silence, nodded his head, "Good. Now that that is understood, we will begin training. The training sequence will go on over the course of the next four months. You will be broken up into ten teams of two and given an ID number. You are responsible for making sure that your partner's water pack is filled (he raised a small pouch), his weapon's pouch is well-stocked (he lifted a pouch), his rations are stocked, his uniform is clean, and his health is in good condition. If your partner fails to meet any of these conditions, you will be punished. If either of you are late to training or Mess, you will be punished. If you are out past curfew, you will be punished. If you talk out of turn, punished. If you fail to address me correctly, punished. You will do as I say or you will rue the day that you signed up for the ANBU Corps, is that understood?" The trainees stood at once and saluted, "Yes, training sergeant, sir!" The sergeant nodded, "Good. You are dismissed."

"Oi, you're late."

Tennin rubbed the crust out of his eyes as turned over in his stale cot. Hovering over him was a tall, purple-haired kunoichi with an expression as mean as he was exhausted. The kunoichi was already dressed in the ANBU training garb that they had been provided by the training sergeant the previous day: a black long sleeve shirt, cargo shorts, and a weapons pouch. She looked menacing and impatient, her arms crossed as she waited for his reply.

"Um... Who exactly are you?"

The kunoichi scoffed at Tennin's question, choosing instead to hurl his uniform and pouches onto bed. She obviously was not surprised by the question, her expectations having been severely lowered because of his tardiness. Tennin could not care less; as far as he was concerned, she was just another trainee who he would have to...

"Hey, are you my teammate?"

The kunoichi's purple hair shook in astonishment, "You mean to tell me that it took you this long to figure out? Kami, I am so screwed..." She approached his bed firmly, her eyes giving away how little she thought of him. "Listen. I am Satetsu Misune. I do not have the time or patience for incompetence. Whichever way you choose to fail this training is up to you. Insofar as your morning routine is tied to my progress, however, I will lay some ground rules. You will be up on time. You will be dressed and equipped. Every morning, I will come to make sure that you are presentable enough to prevent my own punishment. After that, you are on your own: do not talk to me and do not engage with me. I am royalty and you are clearly scum. Understood?"

Tennin shrugged as he threw on his shirt. In a strange way, this Misune character sounded a lot like their training sergeant... There was no cause for surprise there though, since shinobi royalty almost always talked down to commoners like that. Fortunately for him, she was prissy enough that he wouldn't have to worry about her upkeep. He didn't mind keeping out of her way either. She gave off bad vibes. He gave her a conciliatory grunt and waved her away. "Good. I will be waiting outside. Get dressed quickly."

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"Your mission is simple. You and your teammate will spend a week in the Mountains of Howori, conducting a geological survey of the area. There is a rare mineral called Moonstone there that the Kazekage wants further researched. There is reason to believe that the stone makes it easier to control nature energy; I'm sure that you can imagine the military applications on your own. Each team has been given a scroll detailing the rock's properties. Any questions?"

Tennin facepalmed as the training sergeant spoke; here he thought he was free of crazy-psycho-Satetsu-lady and now he will have to spend a full week with her?! Not only that, but they would have to spend time digging up stupid rocks! There had to be a catch to all this; it was ANBU training after all... "Yeah, I have one... Why are we doing this in teams? I mean, this sounds like the kind of thing that three chuunin could do in a day."

The training sergeant nodded, "You're right. The reason we have ten chuunin teams doing this task is pretty straightforward, really. There is a tribe of mountain trolls that live in these mountains that supposedly worship these stones like gods. If there are no more questions, you should all prepare to leave at once."