*AN: I appologize for the wait. Finals are coming up soon and I've been studying like crazy. I'll go ahead and update twice as an apology.*
"Where the hell is that bastard?!" Mika demanded from the center of the training room as I got back to the doorway of the training room, a bag in my hand. With a grin, I drew a kunai and body flickered behind her, placing it at her throat.
"Right here." I said smugly.
She froze, and I continued grinning as I put the kunai away and walked in front of the four remaining samurai, throwing the bag in front of them with a loud clang! just as Fu entered. I grinned.
"You're right on time." I said. "I need your help with something."
She glanced at the samurai and then back at me. "Alright?"
I motioned to the empty space beside me, and she took the cue and walked on over as I turned back to the samurai.
"Take your armor and swords off and put them behind you." I ordered. "Primarily, you've been training in countering Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Now, let's see how you react when you're faced with a ninja's best friend: kunai." I motioned to the bag at their feet. "Each one of you take six kunai. I don't care how you hold them, just grab them as soon as you're done with your armor."
"This is stupid." Mika muttered. "Seriously. No samurai would be caught dead without their sword."
I smirked. "Well, then how do you explain me giving your sword back to you?"
She went red.
I pulled my katana out, still sheathed, and set it on the ground next to the bag before pulling two kunai of my own and walking towards the center of the training ground.
"Fu, please send kunak after me. To prevent our samurai guests from calling foul, I won't use my Sharingan."
Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
I snorted at her concern. "The Sharingan is a weapon. Just because I don't use it doesn't mean I'm helpless. Now, ATTACK ME!"
I hadn't expected how fast the kunai came, and I dropped and rolled before bringing the kunai around, to counter the flying blades. I didn't stay in one spot, always remained a moving target, and presented as little of myself as a target as possible. I avoided the kunai that I could and blocked the ones I couldn't. By the time Fu stopped, the ground around me was littered with the kunai she had thrown and my kunai were almost destroyed, but save for a few shallow cuts, I was fine.
I tossed the broken kunai to the side and walked back to the samurai. "I mean, you could always try to counter that with your sword, but I wouldn't recommend it. You could always trust in your armor to protect you, but I guarantee you, if a ninja is using lightning or wind chakra to enhance their kunai or shuriken, those weapons will cut through your armor like butter."
"Okay, ninja, but you've been playing with those little knives your entire life. We're used to our swords." One of the samurai pointed out. I simply raised an eyebrow.
"For the record, I use my katana more than I use kunai. Plus, you guys kinda suck with your swords from what I've seen." I grinned when that comment got the four of them to bristle. "Alright, alright, you're decent. However, when you find an opponent, like say, me or the Akatsuki, that simply weapon techniques don't work with, you guys are dead. You need more skills in your repertoire if you want the samurai to survive."
"What do you suggest?" Mika asked, every word sounding like it was being ripped from her forcibly. I smirked and picked up another kunai, holding it out.
"While shuriken are widely used, a kunai is a ninja's favorite weapon. It can be used in a variety of ways, from throwing to hand-to-hand combat. We also attach paper bombs to them, causing destruction in enemy ranks. They're quicker than a sword, but you have to be closer to use them. You guys are gonna train with them until you're as comfortable with them as with your own blades. That way, if anyone slips past your guard when you're using a longer weapon, you will be ready for them. Honestly, who will expect a samurai, who usually recoils when a ninja gets past his longer weapon, to instead leap forward with a kunai as well?"
This time I got grins and chuckles from the other three samurai as they imagined the look on a ninja's face when the tables were turned. Mika, while she gave the ghost of a smirk, looked deep in thought.
"Alright. Fu, if you could set up training dummies? Samurai, your first task is to use the six kunai you have to hit the target. As soon as you have acceptable accuracy, then I'll teach you how to surprise the fuck out of a ninja." I looked at Mika. "As for you, I presume you have another question."
"I'm wondering what you get out of all of this." She admitted.
"I already told you-"
"The truth." Fu said as she walked up to us. "I can tell when you're lying."
I was very, very confused. "Wait, what? How?"
She simply smiled, and I sighed. "Fine. The truth." I turned and crossed my arms, looking at where the other three samurai were practicing, one of Fu's shadow clones showing them how to properly throw a kunai.
"Long ago," I began, "there was a disagreement of how to use chakra. Two factions, the samurai and the shinobi, were born. The samurai uphold honor and loyalty above all, and the shinobi value, quite honestly, winning. Despite the samurai's indomitable spirit and unquestionable skill with a blade, they remain in the Land of Iron, primarily. This is because the shinobi don't rely on weapon skills alone." I sighed. "I didn't lie before. I want revolution. The shinobi created a cycle of hatred, beginning with Indra and Asura. However, if the samurai were in charge, we would be weak, and anyone who discovered the ninja arts would be able to overthrow an entire country. Quite honestly, if the Akatsuki decided to attack the samurai, you guys wouldn't stand a chance." I continued watching the samurai training. Unseen by me, Mika moved to ask a question, but Fu silenced her with a quick gesture.
"I want to see the ninja remember honor." I finally said. "I want this world to be built anew, and to see the samurai lose the stick that is up their asses and realize that, while you were practicing your traditions, the world changed. But, most of all, I want both the samurai and the shinobi to realize that the ends don't justify the means, and that they can't just turn away when they see evil rise up. Please believe me when I say that I truly wanted this without a war, but that is impossible now. The Akatsuki will bring us a war whether we want one or not, and the casualties from it will be uncountable if things remain the way they are. Our only chance is to deny them the tailed beasts and force their hand before they are ready. Also…"
I turned and have the two of them an even look. "I'm sick of standing on the sidelines and watching those I care about most in this world die. I'm sick of jinchuriki being treated like filth, and watching those who deserve to live the most die, and those who deserve to die the most live."
With that, I walked over to the samurai to teach them how to throw two kunai in succession. Who knows? These guys may even live long enough to prove me right.
... ... ...
"I think I understand why you follow him, now." Mika grudgingly admitted. "It's hard to listen to that kind of shit and disagree with him."
Fu gave her a smile. "Plus, he actually does care about those around him, even if he does act like a bastard, sometimes. Sepi says that he can't help it, and being an emo and a bastard is just him being an Uchiha."
Mika gave a pained sigh. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask. Care to help me with these damn knives, now?"
Fu thought about it. "Under one condition."
Mika pinched the bridge of her nose. "What?" She snapped, only to blink in surprise when Fu held out a hand.
"Be my friend." She said with a large grin.
"That's...it?" Mika asked, confused.
"Yep." Fu beamed at her.
"Um...alright, then." Mika said, holding out her own hand, only to be surprised again when Fu grabbed it and pulled the samurai close for a hug.
"Alright! Let's get you to being a kunai master!" Fu declared with a fist shooting into the air before striding over to the targets.
"I'm gonna regret this, I just know it." Mika muttered, following her.
Three days later.
"I'm starting to understand how Iruka-sensei felt." I muttered as I inspected the kunai that had richotted off the target and at my face before looking at the samurai. "How the hell did you do that?"
The one responsible looked away, embarrassed. "I was bored and tried to hit his kunai out of the air." He gestured to the guy near him. "It didn't work." He added, rather unhelpfully.
"No shit." I replied. "Wait, you tried to hit it out of mid-air?"
"Um, yes?"
"Fu, start practicing with him on that, in a space as far away from me as possible." I said, and she grinned back at me and threw me a mock salute.
"Aye aye, captain!" She declared, and I sighed, grinning despite of myself.
"Any particular reason why only he gets to learn it?" Mika asked, and I nodded.
"Keep practicing, and I'll tell you." I said, and she picked up another kunai and threw it. "You see, ninja are only taught the basics going through the Academy, but even there you see a clear distinction between our talents. For example, some ninja come from clans, where they have secret jutsus of their own. Some have Kekkei Genkai, or bloodline abilities. Even with those factors aside, ninja naturally specialize in one of four main areas: Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Kenjutsu. However, ninja specialize in many other areas, like the Sand's Puppet Corps or the Explosion Corps of the Stone. To ninja, our skills are like a river. Where our talents naturally lead us is where we will be the strongest. Specialties are often discovered by people being bored or seeking a challenge, so we encourage ingenuity. You'll find that you'll end up sharing jutsus with among yourselves, and that will strengthen your group as a whole. Despite that, your individual skills will be vastly different, but that just means that the more of you there are, the more adaptable you'll become, which will increase the situations you get into and still make it out alive."
Some time during my little infomercial, they had all stopped practicing and were listening intently. "So, when the others get back…" One of them said.
"It's likely that they'll have picked up other skills while they were out, and a spar between any two of you will be that much more interesting." I said with a grin. "I promise you guys this: You keep the code of the samurai in your hearts, as well as your training with a blade, while combining them with the skills of a ninja, you'll become a warrior unlike anything that this world has ever seen."