The grav-jet touched down at the facility once more. Bob opened up the cockpit door and grimaced. That would be a cleanup. Who knew ninjas could get motion-sickness?

Bob sighed and grabbed a rag, then untied Kiyosuke. Kiyosuke glared at him with all his might.

“What, never rode on a plane before?”

“You…”

Bob handed him the rag. He turned and nodded his head towards Nana. The girl was holding her stomach and swaying from side to side.

“I’m sorry, Miss Ueno. That must have been uncomfortable.”

“N-No, it’s fine…Bob-sama.”

“I’ll show you your quarters, you both can clean up and take a rest there.”

“...Where are we?”

“Your new home base. More generally, the United States of America.”

Kiyosuke blinked.

“Wha…how? It’s only been a few hours, how is that possible?”

Bob smirked.

“Welcome to the world, kid. There’s a lot for you to learn.”

Cikizwa was waiting for them at the bottom of the exit ramp.

“Welcome back, Bob.”

“Cikizwa, how’s everything on this end?”

“Good, construction is on schedule, final touches should be ready soon. I see you were…successful? Wait, two of them?!”

Bob just shook his head and let out a sigh.

Cikizwa raised an eyebrow and turned to the pair stumbling down the ramp.

“This is Ms. Mzolisa. She’s in charge when I’m not around.”

“Hello, nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”

“...Ueno Nana…nice to meet you…Mzolisa-sama”

Cikizwa shook her hand and then turned to Kiyosuke, who just eyed her for a second.

“Amano Kiyosuke.”

And then looked away, arms crossed.

Cikizwa dropped her hand and turned to Bob.

“Not a friendly sort, I take it?”

Bob just let out a sigh.

“Let’s just show them their rooms.”

The three walked down to the living quarters. Upon opening the door to the common space, they found Elise standing in the corner.

“...oh….there’s another…”

Bob closed his eyes. He didn’t hear any whispers. None at all.

Elise marched over as they entered the room.

“Mission report: This unit is fully refueled and rested, Commander Bob. No abnormal occurrences detected. Elise awaiting orders.”

“...Elise, did you stand there the entire time I was gone?”

“Answer: No, Commander Bob. This unit spent 10 minutes and 48.5 seconds preparing and ingesting organic fuel, then entered standby-sentry mode as ordered.”

Bob held his head and sighed.

“Well whatever, come introduce yourself. This is Amano Kiyosuke and Ueno Nana, you’ll all be working together. You two, this is Elise.”

“Greeting: Hello, this unit is designated NSLICE-000P, colloquial designation ‘Elise’. It is nice to meet you.”

“...nice to meet you.”

Elise and Nana shook hands. Elise then turned to Kiyosuke, holding out her hand. Kiyosuke huffed, crossing his arms and turning his head.

“...just stay out of my way, or I’ll kill you.”

“Warning Observation: Potential hostile detected. Requesting permission to engage.”

Bob let out a sigh.

“Denied. Don’t mind him, he had a rough flight.”

Bob hummed and rubbed his chin.

“Actually, this might be a good opportunity. Cikizwa, are the training facilities ready?”

Cikizwa nodded.

“The more specialized stuff needs work but the general facilities are open.”

Bob smiled and turned to Kiyosuke.

“How’d you like a spar then?”

Kiyosuke raised an eyebrow.

“With you?”

“With her.”

Kiyosuke turned to Elise and scoffed.

“With a child? That’s hardly a spar.”

“Then it should be easy.”

“...don’t blame me for what happens.”

“I’ll show you to the training facility, right this way.”

As Cikizwa led Kiyosuke out of the room, Bob turned to Elise.

“Elise, come here please.”

“Affirmative.”

Elise walked over to him, and Bob leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Listen closely…”

Kiyosuke and Elise stood in a large empty room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of metal tiles. Bob, Cikizwa, and Nana stood in an observation deck overlooking the room, watching the pair. Nana fidgeted about.

“Um…Bob-sama…sir?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Are you…sure about this?”

“Yes.”

“It’s just…Amano-san is the best in our class…aren’t you worried that girl might get hurt?”

The edge of Bob’s mouth curled up.

“Not one bit. Watch closely, Miss Ueno. You’re about to learn how big the world really is.”

Bob leaned towards a mic.

“There will be a countdown, and then a buzzer. Begin at the buzzer. Remember that this is a friendly spar, seriously injuring or killing your opponent are not permitted. Do you both understand?”

“Acknowledgement: Engagement parameters set.”

“...I understand.”

“Then, get ready.”

Kiyosuke narrowed his stance, gripping the katana at his waist. Elise activated her combat mode, her core humming and her helmet covering the human half of her head. The countdown began.

3.

2.

1.

Kiyosuke vanished as the buzzer sounded. Elise held out one hand to her side.

“Gravity Transfer activated.”

BAM!

Kiyosuke slammed face first into the far wall behind her. Back in the observation deck Nana jumped.

“W-What happened? W-What was that?”

Bob pointed towards Elise.

“Do you see that purple glow?”

Nana nodded her head.

“Elise can manipulate gravitational fields.”

“Um…I’m sorry, Bob-sama, but I do not know what gravitational fields are. Please forgive my incompetence.”

Bob let out a sigh. Right. Broke, isolated ninjas who spend all their time teaching children to kill.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll bring you up to speed. In simpler terms, she can make things heavier or lighter.”

“I-I see.”

“So what happens if a shinobi moving as fast as they can suddenly becomes a lot lighter?”

Nana furrowed her brow for a second before her eyes widened.

“T-They can move faster?”

Bob smiled at her.

“Exactly.”

Back in the training room, Kiyosuke groaned and stumbled forward off the wall, but Elise was already in front of him.

“Gravity Transfer activated.”

And he slammed to the ground. He tried to lift himself up, but his arms trembled and then collapsed.

“What…What is this?!”

“Observation: You are no longer capable of motion. Recommendation: Please initiate surrender protocols.”

Kiyosuke’s face twisted into a snarl.

“I’ll never surrender.”

“Acknowledged. Resuming combat.”

Elise pulled back her fist, and swung it towards Kiyosuke’s face.

“Stop.”

Her fist stopped mere inches from Kiyosuke’s face. Bob walked into the room, Nana following behind him.

“This fight is over.”

“I haven’t lost yet!”

Bob let out a sigh.

“Do you want her to beat you unconscious while you lie helpless on the floor?”

Kiyosuke just grit his teeth.

“Look kid. This is exactly why you left your village, right? You wanted to grow stronger. And to grow stronger, you need to meet people who are stronger, and lose to them.”

Bob knelt down, looking him in the eye.

“So take your loss. Embrace defeat. Learn from it. Grow stronger through it. That’s what you asked for. And if you can’t do that, then you’ll never gain the power you want.”

Kiyosuke clenched his teeth, but then looked down.

“...I surrender.”

“Acknowledgement: Surrender received. Canceling Gravity Transfer. Disengaging combat mode.”

Kiyosuke stood to his feet. Bob nodded.

“Now, why did you lose?”

“...she used some kind of trick.”

“You’re a shinobi. Tricks are the point. I’m not asking what she did to beat you. I’m asking what mistake did you make?”

“...I underestimated her.”

Bob nodded.

“What did you think of her?”

“...a kid in a suit of armor.”

“Want to know what she actually is? The superweapon of a global organization. And you ran straight at her.”

Kiyosuke looked down.

“Rule number 1: do not judge by appearance. Ever. This world is wider than you know. This is just a taste of what you might encounter. So always keep your cool, and keep your distance until you know what you’re dealing with.”

“And remember kid, power isn’t being stronger or faster than someone. Power is being the one standing at the end. Don’t figure out how to be more powerful than someone. Figure out how to take them down with the power you already have.”

Bob turned around, Nana was just staring at Kiyosuke with eyes wide open.

“S-She beat Kiyosuke…s-she’s really strong…”

She hung her head.

“Miss Ueno.”

“Y-Yes, Bob-sama!”

“That lesson is for you as well.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Power isn’t about being strong or fast or having great abilities. It’s about what you do with what you have.”

“Y-Yes! Thank you for your guidance, Bob-sama!”

Bob let out a sigh. Well, they’d have time to work out the kinks once the full team was gathered.

“All of you, return to your quarters.”

Bob walked over to Cikizwa.

“Well he seems fun.”

“...you’re the one who agreed to take on a problem child.”

Cikizwa looked away.

“R-Right…um…anyways! I checked out that lead in Marrakech. I think it’s a hit, she’s definitely legit.”

Bob took a look at the tablet Cikizwa handed him and raised an eyebrow.

“Another kid? We’re not building a daycare for troubled youths, Cikizwa.”

Cikizwa shrugged.

“People with potential and without prior loyalties. That cuts the list pretty sharply, you know? Most people with proven potential either have commitments or refuse to make any. Besides, it worked for Aurora Legion, didn’t it?”

Bob just let out a sigh.

In the busy markets of Marrakech, a teenager sat at a low table. They had short brown hair with red eyes, and a simple shirt and shorts on. Sitting across from the table was a large man, flanked by two others. He stared down at the table, or rather, the three cups laying upside down on top of it. The teenager smirked at him. Eventually, he pointed to the cup on the right.

“Oh, so sorry, but it looks like you lost!”

The teen picked up the right cup, revealing nothing.

“GRAH! I’ve had enough of this!”

The man stood up, grabbing the teen’s collar.

“You’re definitely cheating! I bet there’s not even a stone!”

The teen simply shrugged.

“Go ahead and check the others if you want.”

The man glared at the teen but let them down and then picked up the other cups. Under the left cup was a green stone. The teen simply smirked and held out a hand.

The man slammed a couple of coins into the outstretched hand and then stormed off.

Bob watched from across the street, stepping forward as the men walked off. This time he was dressed casually, with just a pair of sunglasses over his eyes.

“Saydaa Abdulzaid?”

The teen’s eyes narrowed.

“How did you…”

“I have a job for you.”

“Buzz off, creep. I have a job and I prefer it to what you’re probably offering. Now get out of my face before you get hurt.”

Bob pulled out a briefcase and sat in front of the table.

“Then how about a wager?”

“Get lost alrea…”

Saydaa’s jaw dropped open as Bob opened the briefcase.

A briefcase filled with bills.

“T-They’re not real. Y-You can’t fool me.”

Bob smirked slightly.

“Want to find out? Five rounds, your usual game. You win any one of them, and the case is yours. You lose all five, and you work for me.”

Saydaa furrowed her brow. She looked at Bob, trying not to sneak glances at the case.

“You serious?”

“I’m always serious.”

Saydaa’s face loosened, then twisted into a smirk.

“You’re on.”

Bob and Saydaa smiled at each other, the same thought running through both their heads.

Hook, line, and sucker.