๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ
"Starting today, you three fresh-faced genin will be working under me. So get along, and we'll all have a much better time. I shouldn't need to tell you the importance of teamwork, but you will learn it first-hand soon enough, or you will be kicked back to the Academy. I won't allow children who can't cooperate to endanger the entire team." The man in his thirties declared quietly, his blue eyes as tranquil as a lake.
Kazuya Koga. He had been assigned as the three new graduates' jonin supervisor, the leader of Team 5. Although his eyes reflected a clear calmness and easygoing nature, that did not reflect his appearance. His flak jacket looked as if it were brand new, his broad jawline had not a single hair or an ounce of stubble, and the fine brown hair on his head was perfectly combed backward. Overall, one could only describe his appearance as immaculate; even his pale skin only added to his carefully groomed look.
Three genin sat at different spots in front of the jonin.
"Sir, do we really need both an Uchiha and Hyuga on this team? My eyes are more than good enough," said the boy sitting directly in front of Kazuya, with his legs crossed.
He was a tall, lean boy with flowing chestnut hair and a daintily small, rounded face. His pure white eyes were like a void that seemed to draw you in, allowing him time to analyze and defeat you before you knew it. Cream-colored shirt and shorts allowed him ease of movement while his headband was firmly secured over his forehead, concealing the cursed seal beneath.
Hikaru merely glanced at the boy with boredom before he gazed back up at the sky, stroking the hilt of his blade as if it were his own child. While it had only been a few years, his body had grown quite a bit since when he first enrolled in the Academy. He had gotten taller for one, his eyes had narrowed further, and his jawline had become slightly more prominent, but most of all, his body exuded a sense of physical strength that it hadn't before.
He sat with his legs sprawled out in front of him, furthest away from Kazuya, to the right side.
"I don't see any issue with having two members of outstanding clans in our team. Besides, I don't believe Hikaru has awakened his sharingan yet, so there is no issue of redundancy."
The Hyuga's eyes looked at the uncaring Hikaru with pity as his mouth formed into a slight sneer. There was a reason why the Hyuga clan was the strongest in the village. Every single member already possessed the legendary byakugan from birth, as opposed to the Uchiha clan, where gaining their bloodline ability was pure luck.
"Now, with that question out of the way, let's move on to my questions. I want you all to tell me three things about yourselves. Your names, your likes, and dislikes, and finally your dreams."
Finishing his sentence, he chuckled and rubbed his head, "Well, I guess those were four things."
The three genin shared a glance that seemed to ask the same question, '๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ?'
"Hmm, how about you go first?" He pointed a finger at the girl sitting to his left, with her knees up against her chest and a grin on her face.
She was a girl of moderate height, with bright orange hair formed into pigtails and a plump face that concealed the sharpness of her facial features. She emitted a friendly aura with light brown eyes that sparkled with curiosity and warmth. She wore an orange jacket with short sleeves on top of a white shirt with dark blue shorts and her headband, which was placed on the left side of her waist.
"Ah, me? Okay. Well, my name's Anzu Hirabayashi. Nice to meetcha." She gave a small wave to the three others looking at her before using the wave motion to move it into her chin to prop it up. "Hmm, I like reading, oh and training can be pretty fun, too! As for my dislikesโฆ Rude people for sure, anddd garlic?" She quirked her head as if asking the others if that was correct before shaking it and continuing. "As for my dreamโฆ I want to become Lady Tsunade's apprentice!"
The arrogant, white-eyed genin nodded his head slightly; after all, a person should know their place in life. For most people, even becoming the great Sannin's apprentice would be a tall task, but it was still a realistic goal one could strive for. As such, it showed that the girl didn't have her head in the clouds like many young genin would when staking their dreams. He had worried her dream was something as ridiculous as being as great as Lady Tsunade, but fortunately, she understood her place.
"Very good. I'm sure with enough hard work and perseverance, you have a good chance of achieving your dream!" Kazuya smiled at his student's answer before nodding towards the Hyuga boy, "Now, your turn to talk."
The boy began to speak straight away, without any need to ponder his words. "My name is Ren Hyuga. I like order, competence, and strength," he glanced at Anzu, Kazuya, and Hikaru in turn. "As for my dislikes, they are the opposite of my likes. Anything that gets in the way of my progress as a shinobi or our missions." He unconsciously touched his forehead, stopping for a second, "My dream is to serve the Hyuga clan until death."
"Hmm. Thank you. I'm sure with that attitude you will do just that." The jonin inwardly sighed, disappointed by the boy's limited dream, as well as the conditions that didn't allow for him to have any other dream.
Kazuya then turned his head towards the final genin of his team, along with everyone else.
"It's my turn, I see." The Uchiha lazily stretched his arms, finally separating from his tanto hilt.
"Hikaru Uchiha is the name." ๐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. "I like the ideals of the village; I dislike those who stand against our great village. My dream? Is to serve Konoha in the best way possible." He bowed his head slightly towards his superior.
Surprise flickered across Ren's face while Anzu only cocked her head curiously, and Kazuya smiled warmly. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฅ๐ด.
Two hands clapped together, forcing everyone's attention back towards Kazuya. "Okay, now that introductions are all done, let's go eat. I've already reserved a table at Yakiniku Q for us."
All three genin shrugged their shoulders, having no desire to pass up on free food and their supervisor's generosity. But, most importantly, they all understood the necessity of building a rapport with one another.
As they all walked together, it was Anzu who tried to start up various conversations.
"Sooo, how is it, being a member of the mighty Uchiha clan?"
Hikaru studied the girl briefly before replying. "Truthfully, I don't spend much time with the clan as a whole or its members. The only Uchiha I consistently meet are my mother and a former classmate, Obito Uchiha."
"Tch. Has the Uchiha clan fallen so low that even its members no longer pay respects to it?" Ren's face contorted in disgust at the very idea.
The Uchiha simply shook his head, "Well, the Uchiha clan doesn't feel the need to enslave its members, so we are not so innately bound to it. Would you mock the Senju clan for all but disappearing due to its assimilation into the village?"
"Youโฆ!" The Hyuga's eyes suddenly transformed as he heaved with anger.
๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ต ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ.
"Oh yeah, now that you say it, the Senju clan has all but dissolvedโฆ." Then, oblivious to her teammates' quarrel, the girl put a finger to her chin, "Other than Lady Tsunade, I can't think of anyone who proudly bears the Senju nameโฆ."
"Ah, well, as the founders of our village, isn't that natural? The Senju clan has put their money where their mouth is and led by example by placing the village above their own clan's pride." Kazuya interjected.
"Exactly. We Uchiha are simply following the great Senju clan's example; as the founders of the village, it is only natural that we should also do the same." Hikaru smirked slightly, knowing that the Hyuga would understand his implication, that the Hyuga clan was the pathetic one.
Truthfully, he didn't care much for these childish clan squabbles, but that didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy firing back at someone who provoked him.
Ren's body heaved as he struggled to contain his indignation.
Done tormenting the poor boy, he turned his head away and continued walking with indifference.
However, this outward appearance was in sharp contrast to what was happening within him; with every step he took, he cycled chakra through his body, molding a part of it and then untangling it, allowing it to flow back along with the rest of his chakra. He had done this so often the past several years that it was now second nature to him, and he could do so without any conscious effort.
"Oh, but what about you, Ren? How is it being a member of the illustrious Hyuga clan?"
Although he had already deactivated his byakugan and calmed down, he still couldn't help but take offense to the girl's different descriptions of both his and Hikaru's clans.
"It is a great honor. Every single member has great respect for our ancestors, history, and traditions. If the clan is strong, then the village is strong; that is our mentality." He couldn't help but form a small smile at the thought of the Hyuga clan still standing tall after all these years while greater clans like the Senju disappeared into the history books.
"I'm sure it is quite the honor indeed," an annoying voice wiped the smile off of Ren's face. "But that byakugan of yours sure is impressive; I'm sure it will be of great benefit to us during missions. I can only hope that you feel generous enough to shoulder the burden until I awaken my own sharingan." Saying this, the Uchiha bowed his head towards Ren.
๐๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ? However, Ren did not let such thoughts show; instead, he replied kindly."Of course, it is the responsibility of those with power to shoulder the burdens that those without cannot."
"Thanks! I'll be counting on you too, Ren! I'm not too strong, but I have my own skills to add to the team." Anzu's cheery voice chimed in.
Like that, the group chattered meaninglessly until they reached the restaurant. Strangely, the popular tourist destination was all but deserted.
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ช๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ. It was as if a dark cloud hung above Konoha. Shinobi went on about their business with perpetually grim faces, the few tourists and visitors from other lands similarly seemed to be in low spirits, and the usually bustling marketplaces had dried up like a lake during a drought.
The village was almost as it was during Hikaru's childhood.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ช ๐๐ข๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด. Thinking this, Hikaru only felt himself become more determined than before.
Seating themselves, everyone made sure to properly cook their meats on the brazier before doing anything else.
"I'm curious, sir. Do you not want to see or test our combat skills?"
Turning a skewer of meat over, the jonin casually replied. "Not right now. Most important is teamwork; without that, nothing else can flow. Maybe after we've completed a few missions together."
Hikaru gulped down a slice of pork, "Of course. I doubt we'll be fighting straight away, anyhow."
"Hmm, I heard that tensions were heating up across the different nations. What if there's war? Will we have to fight against other villages?" Sprinkling some spices on her meat, Anzu's eyes never left the grill.
Ren nodded. He had also heard such things from his clan, that the outbreak of another war was very likely and that the village elders were already making preparations.
"Wellโฆ" Kazuya shifted uncomfortably. Lying to his students during their first meeting would not be very good at building trust. "It's true that things are not looking good right now. But that's none of your business at the moment. You are just genin, so you don't have to worry about anything else but carrying out the missions given to you. Okay?"
The three mutely agreed.
"Anyway, I hear your mother is quite the splendid shinobi, Hikaru." Saying this, Kazuya offered a smile to his dark-eyed student.
Swallowing his food, the boy in question arced an eyebrow towards his superior, refusing to reply immediately.
The other two genin also turned their gazes on Kazuya with a mixture of disbelief and disgust.
Waving his hands, he quickly tried to correct their misunderstandings. "No, no, I just mean to say that she is rather well-known for her talent and wasโฆ uh, trying to get to know Hikaru through a common interest."
Their gazes intensified and only turned more frosty.
"No, no, not interest. Justโฆ Ughhhโฆ" The man slumped his shoulders as his efforts to change the topic backfired miserably.
"Sir, your food is burning." Hikaru pointed out disinterestedly.
"Ah!" Their seemingly not-so-reliable supervisor hurriedly tried to save his meat from burning.
Hikaru stopped paying any attention and instead focused on the girl beside him, "So, what are your skills? You mentioned them before but didn't go into any detail."
Interested in this conversation, Ren also stopped paying attention to their jonin supervisor and stared at Anzu.
With the sudden attention of both her squadmates, the girl became a little bit embarrassed, "W-Well, I can perform basic medical ninjutsu as well as everything else needed to pass the graduation exam, but I'm also well-versed in poisons."
"Ah, of course. You want to be Lady Tsunade's apprentice, so that makes sense. Still, it's quite impressive to already have learned even any medical ninjutsu at your age."
Nodding his head in agreement, Ren also spoke, "Yes, it seems you will be an invaluable member of the team with those skills."
"T-thank you!" Flushed from the praise, she quickly sought to shift their attention elsewhere. "What about you, Hikaru? What are your skills?"
The boy sighed painfully, making the girl panic, thinking she did something wrong in her haste to change the topic.
"Well, the truth is, as you already know, that I've yet to awaken my sharingan."
"Sure, but I'm sure you've still-"
"Which means I'll be of less use than our friend Ren; however, I am not without skills. As you might've guessed by my blade, I practice kenjutsu and have become quite proficient with it, if I do say so myself. Additionally, I can enhance my physical abilities by focusing chakra into specific limbs." For emphasis, Hikaru lifted Anzu with one hand, holding her in the air without any struggle. Naturally, she yelped, surprised by her teammate's sudden movement and being forced into the air by him.
Putting her down, the boy smiled as Anzu glowered at him for his demonstration. "I also have developed a few jutsu of my own, rudimentary as they are. Unfortunately, it seems that we're a bit of an unbalanced team, what with two mid-to-short range fighters and a support member." He then looked towards the Hyuga, "Assuming that my guess is right and you aren't some strange Hyuga who defies expectations and instead prefers to fight at long-range?"
Ren shook his head, "No, it is as you say. I am a short-range fighter like yourself. I shouldn't have to describe in-depth the abilities afforded to me by my byakugan. Beyond my eyes and taijutsu, I don't have much to offer, I'm afraid." He then glanced back at their supervisor, who was carefully cooking some new slices of beef.
"What about you, sir? Can you tell us your abilities?"
Shifting his eyes away from his food, the jonin grinned at his students, "Why I also happen to specialize in short-range fighting!"
The three genin inwardly groaned, but their displeasure was apparent on their faces.
"Why else do you think they would place you on a team under me?" He picked up his meat, inspecting it briefly before being satisfied by its appearance and eating it.
"Of course, that isn't to say that I lack ranged abilities," he said, chewing his food. "I also specialize in genjutsu and have several useful lightning-based jutsu at my disposal. Don't you worry! You're in good hands!" He pumped his chest proudly.
Unfortunately, the reaction from his students was less enthusiastic than he might have hoped.