14. Little prodigy

In the end Tomoka’s parents decided to teach her the basics. The clone jutsu, transformation jutsu as well as some taijutsu. What they didn’t expect was for Tomoka to be proficient enough in the two jutsus to do them in her first try. Not only that but the clone she made was a perfect clone. The transformation was also perfectly made. 

The reason behind Tomoka’s success was her developed mind. Unlike a normal kid she is able to put her entire concentration on the task at hand. Not to mention that her constant self training has improved her concentration even further. Another important factor needed for both jutsus was imagination.

How the jutsus work is by bringing the mental image the user has to reality. If the image is realistic and clear, so will be the end product. Tomoka, who was an avid anime, manga and novel lover, had that aspect covered with ease. Not to mention that she was also skilled in painting. 

The taijutsu training on the other hand didn’t go as well. She performed admirably. Her body is way stronger than that of a normal four year old kid. However, her actual combat skill was none existent. The end result was her parents wiping the floor with her. What surprised her parents was her determination and stamina. 

Tomoka was punched and kicked down to the ground over and over again. Each time she stood up and fought again. Of course her parents were pulling their punches, they didn’t want to hurt her after all. Nonetheless the constant beatings should be painful enough to deter such a young kid.  

It didn’t matter for little Tomoka. Once again her distorted sense of pain came to play. She could feel the pain but for her it was nothing but a warning. They way her body told her it had been hit. She could easily ignore the pain and learn from it. 

She stood up only to be put down again. Each time she could last a second longer on her feet. Each time her form improved ever so slightly. Her improvement was visible to the naked eye. What would normally take days of training took her hours. Her parents were well impressed with her. The title of genius and prodigy solidified in their mind.  

They spent the entire day training, going well into the evening. By the end of it everyone was winded and breathing hard. Himiko and Nagi could only attribute Tomoka’s monstrous stamina to her Uzumaki blood. If they knew what she had put her body through to get that stamina they would have fainted. 

The day came to its end and so everyone went to sleep. Or at least it should have been like that. Tomoka continued to be awake well into the night while meditating. For some reason she couldn’t understand her need for sleep steadily decreased with the years. As of now she only needed four hours of sleep to feel refreshed. 

Once again 682’s adaptability was showing itself. Her body was in a constant state of change as the lizard's genetics attempted to improve her in any way possible. Sleep for that matter was a defect that needed correcting. So much time wasted doing nothing. Because of this her nervous system had been changing in such a way that her need for sleep was steadily being reduced.

If this pattern continued by the age of eight she would only need two hours and then by twelve only one and so on. Anyway, Tomoka didn’t complain. Having more time to train even if it was only by meditating was a boon she would accept. 

Her goal as of now is to graduate from the academy and become a proper genin. At that point she would already be considered an adult. This would mean she would regain some of her freedom.

She really missed her freedom. Without it she could not use all her knowledge from her past life. After all, she couldn't just build a lab inside the house without her parents noticing. Her plan was to find a cave or something after graduation and make a base there. 

Either way those dreams were far away. She wouldn’t be going to the academy for another four years. After that she would have to spend three in the academy. Even after graduation she wouldn’t be completely free as she would have to do missions with her team. 

She would only be truly free when she became a chunin at which point she could only take missions when she wanted or when they were specifically given to her which wouldn’t be often.    

She continued to be lost in thought and planning for the next few hours before going to bed. Tomorrow will be a new day. An interesting day of training and growing stronger.