Team 3's next two months were spent in intense training with Fugaku. Oh and D-Rank missions, far too D-ranks for anyone's many for anyone's liking. Their new teacher was initially somewhat distant to his new students, but quickly warmed up to them.
The primary focus of their training was improving chakra control, and getting Takanome and Shodo started on Nature transformation. Although their affinities of wind and water respectively didn't match up with Fugaku's mastery of earth, lightning and fire, the Uchiha has copied enough techniques over the years to have plenty to show them.
However, another somewhat unorthodox training method Fugaku used was his strong focus on mediation, with them spending at least two hours doing so each day, much to Heiko's very vocal annoyance.
However, the more they trained the harder Takanome found it to mediate. It seemed that whenever he reached a proper trance, body completely still, he began to feel somewhat strange. It always disappeared after a moment or two, but it was still frustrating. Takanome mentioned it to Fugaku after a particularly strong episode had left him feeling queasy, and his sensei had looked at him with an expression he couldn't place.
"Takanome, do me a favour. If you ever feel the way for more than a few seconds, move your body. It doesn't matter how slight, you can even just twitch your pinky toe. Just don't stay still, got it?" Fugaku's voice was deadly serious and Takanome could only nod in response.
It was also during this time that Takanome discovered what exactly was wrong with Shodo's chakra network, when Fugaku asked her to elaborate on the brief explanation in her file during one of their post-training stretches.
"When I was very young, I got extremely sick. As in, on the edge of death sick. I eventually recovered, but the illness had stunted the growth of my chakra network. I'd wanted to be a ninja, but it seemed as though that dream had been taken from me. That was, until I found a book on sealing in the Library. So after teaching myself fuinjutsu, I inscribed chakra storage seals onto my body over a couple of my inner gates to act as "extensions" to my chakra system." Shodo explained, much to her teammates interest.
"Shodo, you did this unsupervised and without consulting a sealing expert at the age of….?" It was difficult to tell if Fugaku's tone was one of praise or worry.
"I was 9 at the time," she replied, seemingly not thinking much of it.
"Damn girl, are you sure you're not an Uzumaki?" Heiko's statement echoed what the others were thinking. Did Heiko's even realise how impressive what she had done was?
"Positive."
"Well next time you decide to do something that ambitious, let me know and I'll get you in touch with a sealing expert." Fugaku said,
"Who? If you don't mind me asking sensei?"
"Well considering my own sensei, my best friend, and my wife's best friend are three of the best sealers in Konoha, I'd say I'm spoiled for choice." The three genin nodded, before they replayed that sentence once more in their heads.
"You're married!" Heiko exclaimed, although Takanome was more interested in who the unarmed parties might be. He had some suspicious on who Fugaku's sensei was, and he very much hoped he was right.
"Happily for the last 3 years. I'm actually seeing the three sealers in about an hour for dinner, so I need to be on my way." He slowly rose from his cossack and turned to leave the training ground.
"Wait sensei! Can you show them this when you see them! I need feedback on it, they'll know what it is." Heiko dashed over to where she had left her satchel against a tree at the edge of the clearing. She rummaged around inside for a short while before returning with a sealing tag inside an envelope.
"Not an issue Heiko. I'll see you three tomorrow morning, usual time." With a wave Fugaku body flicked away, arriving at the edge of the Uchiha compound. He strolled his way through the collection of houses, giving a wave or sharing a quick conversation with various members of his clan, before arriving at the Head's House.
"I'm home!" he called as he walked in the door, removing his shoes and stepping into the empty living room.
"I'm in my office!" Mikoto called from down the hall, followed a moment later by the sound of Itachi's racing down the hallway as fast as his three year old legs could carry him. A quick hugging session later, Fugaku carried his son back down the hallway to the Clan Head's office. Mikoto had temporarily suspended herself from active duty, instead opting to focus on both raising Itachi, and stopping the clan from falling apart in the middle of a war.
"How was your day?" Mikoto asked, glancing up from the paperwork she and two shadow clones were currently doing, the original's Sharingan deactivating as Fugaku leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Fine, my students are quickly becoming more and more of a headache."
"Oh dear, Heiko giving you lip again?"
"Actually no, in fact, Heiko stressed me out the least today."
"Really? The other two don't seem like the type to talk back."
"Oh they aren't, it's something else. I'll explain at dinner."
"Sure, speaking of which, I'm going to go shower and change. Is your dad still good for tonight?"
"Honey, I'm pretty sure my father would rather watch the village burn down than miss out on babysitting Itachi."
"I don't want the village to burn down," Itachi interrupted quietly, his arms tightening around Fugaku's neck.
"Neither do we Itachi," Mikoto confirmed, before leaving the room. The other two members of the family swiftly followed, although they headed in the opposite direction down the hallway. The two played in the living room for a short while, before Fugaku subbed out to go get changed when Mikoto reappeared.
A few minutes later, three sharp knocks echoed on the door, Fugaku opening it to reveal the smiling form of Kagami Uchiha. The three adults chatted for a bit, before leaving behind the living legend to fuss over his grandson.
As the two of them emerged into the cold evening air, Mikoto glanced over at her husband, a grin splitting her face.
"I feel like I need to stretch my legs a bit, race you to the restaurant?" she suggested, trying to stretch out the tightness from sitting at a desk all day.
"Sure, we're running a little late anyway." If they moved at civilian speeds, it would take them around 30 mins to walk to the restaurant. But these two were anything but civilians.
"On my mark, three two one… go!" Two sets of glowing red eyes pierced the cool evening air, as a pair of Jonin shot through the streets of Konoha, their passing only betrayed by a rush of wind. Fugaku initially managed to pull ahead, until Mikoto really put the gas on, sending bursts of flame backwards from her hands to propel her. They arrived at the restaurant only slightly out of breath, Mikoto pumping her fist in celebration.
As they made their way inside, their were directed to a private room at the back of the establishment, where Jiraiya, Kushina and Minato were already waiting. Pleasantries were exchanged, drinks were poured and food was ordered. When it arrived, the topic of conversation shifted to Minato's genin team.
"I'm thinking of recommending Kakashi for Jonin," Minato mused, as he nibbled on some rice.
"Really? How old's the kid now?" Jiraiya asked, words slurring slightly due to the abundance of sake he had consumed.
"13, even though he acts like he's 30. He's certainly got the skills for it."
"Maybe wait a little longer Minato, but broach the idea at the next jonin council meeting?" Mikoto suggested, to which the rest of the table agreed. Well, considering a bit less than half of the Jonin council was currently in the room, waiting was a bit of a moot point.
"In any case, I wanna hear about Fugaku's team. I'm still pretty gobsmacked Hiruzen managed to saddle you with teaching, injured or not." Kushina managed to get all this across even with a full mouth, much to her friend's amusement.
"To be honest, I've actually been quite impressed. They were already some of the most talented genin I've seen, and these last couple of weeks have been really good for them."
"I'm not surprised that Riku's daughter would be so impressive, but the other two as well? Lucky you." Jiraiya commented, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Heiko is definitely the most generally skilled, but it seems as though Takanome and Shodo might possess some highly useful specialities.
"Takanome is an archer right? I remember seeing him with a bow when I rescued them."
"He is, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm reasonably sure the kid is accidently taking in nature energy during our mediation sessions."
"Ha ha, very funny Fugaku." Jiraiya smile morphed into an expression of shock when he realised his former student wasn't joking.
"What the hell, you're telling me this kid's taking in nature energy accidently?"
"Yes."
"Have you tested his sensitivity?" Minato questioned, also surprised at this claim.
"Well you;ve seemingly forgoten that I can't, I have not. Perhaps our two squads can meet up tomorrow and you could do it then..."
"Sure, I'll bring mine over to training ground 25 tomorrow morning."
"Damn Fugaku, you might have a natural sage on your hands. Let me know how it works out tomorrow."
"I will."
"And Shodo? You mentioned she had a specialised skill as well." Kushina commented,
Fugaku explained Shodo extreme natural talent for sealing, much to the shock of the assembled Jonin. Minato actually had to reach over and close Kushina mouth to stop it from hanging open.
"Oh she also gave me this, I took a look at it earlier but couldn't make much sense of it, she said you three should be able to figure it out, wanted feedback on it." He pulled the seal Shodo had given him out of his pocket and slid it across the table, and the three sealing masters began to inspect it, mumbling amongst themselves as Kushina traced the design with her finger. After about a minute of whispered discussion, Jiraiya looked up at Fugaku.
"Fugaku, your student has managed to construct what looks like an automatic chakra filter and attach it to a viable universal chakra bridge."
"That… is extremely impressive. That could have serious applications in medical ninjutsu, couldn't it?"
"Yes, it basically does away with the need for the mystical palm technique, you could basically just pump chakra into the seal and convert it to yang chakra..." Jiraiya began to explain, before Mikoto's eyes widened, as though a Ryo coin has just dropped in her head.
"Couldn't you also draw it onto your body and use it to apply a nature transformation you don't have control over?" Kushina immediately shook her head in response.
"The seal isn't stable enough to cope with the volatile chakra channeling present in combat, as it requires a very specific flow rate in order to work, and seal drawn directly onto the body can be destabilised by movement of the skin or injury. But theoretically if you stabilize it sufficiently, yes it could be used for that purpose." Fugaku was always struck at how Kushina's whole demeanour seemed to change whenever she got onto the topic of sealing, her bubbly disposition and verbal tics draining away into a calm and focused sealing master, likely the most adept in the world.
"I might have to swing past your training sometime and check out these students myself. Unfortunately, I'm heading out for a mission tomorrow morning. I'll let you know when I get back." Jiraiya said, the Toad Sage having seemingly been sobered up by his shock. He glanced around the room for a moment, his good mood temporarily vanishing.
"One more thing Fugaku, how has is your understanding of your new ability progressing?"
Fugaku merely smiled, his eyes morphing into a swirling vortex of black and red.
A/N: Hey everyone, it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry for the long wait, had a lot of irl stuff going on and kinda lost my inspiration for this fic. But I've got it back now, so expect more content in the near future. Also sorry for this pretty exposition filled chapter, but stuff will pick up soon, but I quite enjoyed doing a bit of fluff. If you've got any suggestions or criticisms, don't hesitate to review. I'm also looking for a beta reader, so if you're interested and don't mind being me bouncing ideas off you, pm me!
Thanks again!
Unicorn out