The morning after the burial rites, Tobi was getting ready for his training session with Gbobi. He was in his room packing his bag. After he finished packing, he left his room for the backyard, greeting his mother, Soroyi, on his way out. "Good morning, mother,"
"Good morning, my son. How was your night? How are you feeling now?" Soroyi returned his greetings
"I am fine and well. I can't wait to start my training. Hehe," Tobi said with a broad smile written on his face.
"Alright. Good luck with your training. See you later,"
"Yes, mother,"
Even though Tobi had made up his mind to become a warrior and avenge his sister, he still had not adapted fully to living without her. Nonetheless, he was holding up, and here he was about to go through the training that would get him set for the journey ahead.
The backyard was a training ground with a large space of 2 acres of land. The backyard led into the thick forest. At the very centre of this mass of land, 15 logs of wood with a diameter of 5 centimetres wide and 200 centimetres long were fixed to the ground in an alternating order forming a circular polygon. Each log had an equal space of 65 centimetres from one other.
Gbobi was already in the backyard preparing things for the training. He was dressed in his usual fashion- black kimono, black blindfold, black gloves and hand, black socks, black inner wears and black sandals, which contrasted with his long, thick and white hair that extended to the middle of his back. Tobi was still always amazed at the mere fact that his father could go around with his eyes blindfolded.
"Father, why are your eyes blindfolded always, and why do you always dress in this manner?" Tobi asked with curiosity.
Gbobi smiled at Tobi's question. "Haha, you would know when the time is right. Now is the time for you to train. Are you ready?!"
"Yes. Bring it on!" Tobi was fired up for his training. Gbobi motioned for Tobi to sit. Tobi was surprised he was asked to sit. He thought he would start learning some moves right away, but he was told to sit, which he later did.
"In this training, there are three fundamental parts- Knowledge and Information Analysis, Physical Training and Mental Training. Knowledge and information analysis would require analysing every bit of information you acquire within a short range of time. Physical training, as the name suggests, is training to fight with your body, techniques, survival skills and weapons, maybe. Mental training is the training of the mind. With a frail mind, you would not last in the world of warriors. Do you understand all that I just said?"
"Yes, Father,"
"Good. In the world of warriors, there are ranks and rules. The strongest warriors are ranked S+, with the weakest warriors ranked D. The S+ warriors are the Grand Commanders of The Army and The Special Forces. The S-rank warriors are the District Commanders, A+ - A ranks are the Captains, and B ranks are given the title of Vice Captain. The C and D ranks are called the Frontiers." Gbobi paused, then continued. "To every good side, there is a bad one. There are warriors called Fugitives. These are former warriors who had breached the rules guiding a warrior. They are all listed in the Book of Fugitives."
"What are the rules guiding a warrior?" Tobi asked.
"The hallmark rule is not to kill your fellow warriors or unarmed citizens; so far, he is not a fugitive," Gbobi replied.
"Hmm. Why would someone break this rule? I wonder," Tobi thought to himself.
"Now, to become a warrior, you must take the Warrior Selection Evaluation and get selected by the district commanders. Only then can you become a warrior,"
"An examination? Aren't there other ways to become a warrior?" Tobi asked with a faint frown on his face.
"No. No other ways. Except outside Sanemi, plus it is impossible to be a warrior in a country you are not from. No more questions,"
"Yes, Father." Gbobi gestured for Tobi to rise, signalling the start of the training. Tobi was excited and nervous. He knew this was it.
Gbobi stood up from his seat and started walking around Tobi. "As a warrior, there are basic requirements – Stamina, Strength, Speed, Skill and Power—the 4SP. As a Shirin, power is already a part of you. You were born with latent abundant power. You are going to undergo a series of training for the next one to two years on these requirements."
Tobi was surprised at the amount of time he would be using to train. He expected a shorter amount of time. "One to two years, is that not too long? Why not six months or less? How would I be able to fulfil my goal if I keep wasting more time?!"
Gbobi became furious at Tobi's reaction to the time length. "You can not become strong overnight or in "six months". You train for years. The strongest warriors trained for many years to be stronger than anyone. Do you think your journey is full of roses? Off that light and get yourself out of that delusion."
And then, Tobi's training began. His first task was on stamina. He was to do 1000 pushups, run ten laps of 450 metres, push a boulder weighing 50 tons for 10 minutes and punch a solid brick wall 215 centimetres high, 169 centimetres wide and 50 centimetres long. The wall weighed 40 tons.
Tobi was shocked at the sight of this regime, but he had to do this for his mission. He had wanted to quit multiple times as he was always failing each task. The tasks took a heavy toll on him. Still, he continued with the training regimen. By the third month, he was only able to do 300 pushups and run a half lap of 300 metres, and He could neither push the boulder nor break the wall. His hands had become sore and red, but he kept pushing.
This month, Gbobi delivered a blow on Tobi. "As from now on till you complete these tasks, there will be no form of food for you. Only water and when I see fit." These statements were hard for Tobi to digest. "What sort of rule is that? Do you want me dead?"
"You signed up for my training, lad. You better die now or die later." Gbobi said and left Tobi to continue his training.
It was hellish for Tobi that month. He kept repeating the tasks of hunger and thirst. He only had water twice a day. Not that it was ever enough. He only had the chance to eat an average of once per week. There are weeks he'd go without food. He wanted to die. He wanted to quit. He wanted to run, but he kept reliving himself of Bola and his mission. He couldn't stop. He needed to become strong. This continued till the seventh month of his training.
In the seventh month, he had already completed most of the tasks in the regimen. He could now do over 1000 pushups, even up to 2000. He could run ten laps of 450 metres and push the 50-ton boulder for 10 minutes. He had grown, but he could not break the brick wall by punching. He kept at that task for the next two weeks daily, reeling in a total of about 2500 punches per day. Still, the wall seemed as if nothing had instructed it. It was impenetrable for Tobi.
"What the hell is happening? Why can't I break it? Why is it so hard? Is there no other way?" Tobi was frustrated and tired of repeating the same tasks with no results to show for it. Not even a scratch had been made on the wall in two weeks. Tobi continued for the next two weeks, punching as hard and finding ways to break the wall.
During the eight-month of his training. "2498, 2499, 2500, 2501, 2502, 2503, 2505, 250-, heh?" The brick wall made a cracking noise before it started breaking into pieces. He had done it. He has finally completed the regimen.
Tobi ran to where his father was with a happy and fulfilled smile panting and shouting. " Father, father, I did it. The wall is down. I finally broke it."
"Finally, took you long enough. I was about to switch up the difficulty. Hahaha." Gbobi said as he laughed.
"That was already high a difficulty. Any more, and I could have died. Can I get some food now? I am hungry."
Gbobi continued to laugh as he saw Tobi munch on the food like a kid who had been starved for months. Well, he had been starved for months. Gbobi permitted him to rest after having his shower. Tobi had never had a more refreshing sleep than he had that night.
The next morning. Another day of training. No breaks. No stop until he was ready to take the exams. Gbobi told him new tasks. It had neither push-ups, running, pushing or punching. He would only be jogging around the compound. "Easy. Why jogging, though?" Tobi thought to himself. He was able to run 450 metres ten times now. What is the importance of jogging around the compound again? As if he was being read, Gbobi answered the question he had in his mind.
"You were not thinking you would just be jogging, right?" Gbobi chuckled. "Well, you will,"
"Wait, what? Is this serious?" Tobi asked, surprised at his father's words.
Gbobi laughed again before speaking. This time his expression became less jovial. "Yes, you would only be jogging. You will be jogging around the compound every day: no stops, no breaks, no rest. No food. Even in the rain. For the next two weeks. You will be jogging non-stop. Your task starts now!"
Tobi could not believe his ears. He had just finished an "impossible" regimen, now another of these life-threatening tasks. He was bewildered at the mere fact that the compound was 4.3 acres in size. "There is no rest for the weak," he thought to himself as he started his task.
Tobi had been jogging for three days now, and it was telling on his young body. He had gotten tired, but he wasn't ready to stop. Normally, he had a goal to achieve. He kept pushing. He has been subjected to a series of tasks that wrecked his limits before, but he was merely holding up. His body was not well rested, and it lacked food. By noon of the fourth day of jogging, he collapsed to the ground. He had reached his limits.
Gbobi came out after sensing that Tobi had collapsed. He took him and brought him to rest inside the house.