Fugaku had a surprise waiting for Team 3 the next morning at training, in the form of Team 7 and Minato.
"Good morning Team 3, today we are going to be running joint exercises with Team 7. You'll be doing some one on one sparring. Team 7 are more experienced than you, so be open to their advice, but don't hesitate to give some in return. A good ninja can always learn something from any opponent. Minato and I will be doing some training of our own, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask." Fugaku explained, before he and Minato moved over to the other side of the clearing. Takanome ended up being paired with Obito, and the two took their places in one of the sparring rings that littered the training ground. They started slowly moving through some traditional warm up kata at the older ninja's suggestion. They continued like this in silence for a few minutes, before Obito spoke up.
"So Takanome, how's your training been going? Glad you guys found a sensei, especially one as good as Fugaku." Takanome was somewhat surprised at Obito's attempt to make conversation in the middle of a sparring match, but he appreciated that his opponent was making an effort to try to form a connection. Seemed to be more than Kakashi was doing with Heiko, that was for sure.
"It has been going quite well Obito, thank you asking. Fugaku is indeed an excellent Sensei, his training has been highly comprehensive, especially in the field of ninjutsu. I've made some good progress on my use of Wind Style recently in particular."
"Great! But I thought Hyuga usually refrained from using nature transformation?" Takanome cringed slightly at this question, remembering how angry Himura had been when Takanome had broached the subject at dinner one evening. It had taken the efforts of both of the clan head's children to talk him down from outlawing Takanome from continuing his training in nature transformation.
"That is the case, but personally, and do not tell anyone I said this, I find the Hyuga clan's customs on what clan members can and cannot learn to be idiotic. The Byakugan is one of the most potent tools any ninja could possess, yet it's potential is squandered by limiting its use to purely the gentle fist. Like how would you feel if you were told that you could only use your Sharingan to gain better perception, and not copy jutsu?" Anger crept into Takanome's voice as he went on, years of anger at the structure of the Hyuga clan starting to break through his carefully constructed filters. Obito just dropped his head slightly, a pained smile breaking his face as they continued their movements.
"Well considering I don't have a Sharingan yet, it wouldn't really affect me, but I can see why it would make you so angry." Takanome went pale as he realised that he'd accidently hit what seemed to be a sore point.
"I apologise profusely Obito, I didn't realise…" he stopped as Obito held up a hand, his usual grin having returned.
"Don't worry about it, my time will come soon enough. Plus, I made Chunin without it, so that says good things about me right? Anyway, you can make up for insulting me by showing off some of that Wind Style." The ghost of a smile crept back onto Takanome's face as they broke off their kata and adopted positions at either end of the sparring ring.
Takanome was the first to make a move, dashing forward with his palms outstretched, aiming to end the match with a few decisive strikes. Obito leaped backwards, not wanting to engage a Hyuga in close quarters while they were still fresh. However, Takanome had been counting on this, and flashed through a few quick hands seals, before clapping his hands together.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!" he yelled, the focused blast of air he generated aiming to knock Obito out of the ring while he couldn't brace himself using the ground. The Uchiha responded with a quick blast of flame from his mouth, using the kickback to launch himself over the malicious current of wind. The two elements mixed together, creating a fireball that blinded Takanome. He instinctively activated his Byakugan, just in time to spot the gleaming shapes of a trio of kunai approaching him from the front. Three precise gentle fist strikes knocked the projectiles from the air.
Takanome was then forced to spin around, as Obito leaped up out of the smoke cloud and over his head, landing behind him, the Uchiha's hands deftly weaving a series of well practiced signs.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!" Obito's yell was quickly drowned out by the roar of the inferno he had summoned, the stream of flames quickly bearing down on Takanome. The Hyuga pushed his chakra to his feet, using a burst of wind to leap over the oncoming blaze, drawing his bow mid-air. He nocked an arrow at the zenith of his jump, aiming for only a moment before letting it fly, the storage seal on its head glowing brightly. Obito cartwheeled out of the way of the projectile, but was cut by the blades of wind that erupted from the arrowhead upon impact with the ground. He let out a short yelp as he landed back on his feet, giving himself as split second once over.
The attack had barely cut his clothes, but it had been completely unexpected, leaving him a little flustered. Now was one of the many times where he really wished his Sharingan would just manifest already, being able to see chakra was an invaluable skill against an unknown opponent. He didn't hesitate for more than a moment however, drawing another kunai as he dashed towards Takanome's projected landing point, the younger ninja slinging his bow back over his shoulder as he approached the ground.
Obito slashed at Takanome as he began to roll into his landing, slicing his left arm with a long thin cut, the blood from the wound staining his opponent's white jacket. Takanome winced, and tried to back off, but Obito was relentless, drawing a second kunai to create a constant wall of slashing attacks that he could only dodge for fear of injuring his hands.
As they entered into a rhythm of attack and dodge, Takanome began to search for an opening in Obito's offence, any tiny chink his onslaught of strikes. He pushed his perspective out, seeking any advantage he could find.
There!
As the Uchiha brought his left arm down for an overhead attack, his right moved back due to the pivoting of his body to increase his reach. Takanome took the opening, weaving past the overhead strike and moving in to disable Obito's arm with a gentle fist strike to his shoulder. His blow was anticipated however, and Obito reversed his grip on the left kunai, aiming to plunge it into Takanome's back as he brought it towards himself. Takanome saw this with his Byakugan, and abandoned his attack in an attempt to dodge Obito's own.
However, before he could, his vision was instantly taken over by a flash of bright green, and his whole body seized up, before dropping to the ground as he went limp. Takanome gasped for breath as he regained control of his muscles, which quickly morphed into a coughing fit, as he rolled over onto his back.
"Takanome! You okay? What happened?" Obito's tone was one of genuine concern, as he dropped to his knees beside his comrade. He flinched as he felt a hand of his back, looking back to see Minato standing over him, the man's eyes yellow with slitted pupils. Fugaku moved out from behind his old teammate, and reached down to help his own student up.
Takanome took the outstretched hand and pulled himself up, dusting the dirt off from himself. He glanced over at Minato, feeling a strange sort of… presence emanating from the Jonin, a feeling only exacerbated by his strange eyes and markings. A moment later they faded, and the presence disappearing along with it. The blond grinned sheepishly at Takanome, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.
"Sorry about that Takanome, I was just testing your senjutsu sensitivity. I didn't expect you to react so violently."
"Senjutsu? What's that sensei?" Obito asked, racking his brains for any information on this mysterious jutsu type.
"Nothing you need to worry about Obito. How about we let Minato and Takanome chat for a bit, and I'll teach you the Phoenix Flower?" Fugaku suggested, knowing full well that enticing his distant cousin with a new technique would draw his interest away.
"Seriously! Of course, let's go!" The two Uchiha moved to the other side of the training ground, away from the where the other pairs were still sparring normally, seemingly having not noticed the interruption.
"So what exactly happened there Sensei? And what were those weird markings on your face?" Takanome asked, having never heard of anything like it.
"Take a seat, this might take a while to explain." The blond jonin gestured to the ground, and the two of them sunk into a cross legged position. Minato seemed to think for a moment, as if trying to decode a complex cypher in his mind. After a moment he looked Takanome in the eye, and pushed the young genin onto the first step in a long path.
"Do you understand the components of chakra?"
"Of course, it's a mix of the body's spiritual and physical energy."
"Correct. Sage Chakra is when a ninja introduces a third component into the mix, that being natural energy."
"Natural energy? What's that?" Takanome was becoming insatiably curious, as a whole new world opened up before him.
"The life energy of nature, that flows all around us, in the sea, the sky, the grass, the ground, everywhere there is life, there is nature energy. If one can learn to take in this natural energy, you can add it to your internal chakra mix, creating sage chakra, which can be used for senjutsu techniques. Unfortunately, this ability is extremely difficult, and only a handful of ninja in history have been able to do so."
"Why are you telling me this?" Of course Takanome had his suspicions, but he wanted to confirm them before he got his hopes up.
"It seems you have the gift Takanome, and judging by how strongly you reacted to my Sage Pulse, I'd say you're going to be pretty gosh darn good at it." Takanome's face broke out into a wide grin, one he made no effort to suppress. As dozens of questions tumbled over in his head, his training brought one to the forefront. Whenever a ninja gains a new advantage or ability, they must make the utmost effort to understand exactly what it could do.
"What are the benefits to using senjutsu sensei?" he asked, now somewhat reining in his enthusiasm for fear of acting unprofessional.
"Well the main benefit is the technique you saw me do earlier, that being Sage Mode. Sage Mode occurs when one's ratio of natural energy to their physical and spiritual energy is perfect. It results in a dramatic increase in all physical attributes, especially physical strength and sensory perception. In addition, all of a user's regular jutsu are granted a senjutsu "boost" of sorts, giving them far beyond their regular power."
Minato continued to explain the intricacies of the sage arts, Takanome listening in total rapture, only occasionally interrupting to ask questions. By the time he had reached the end of the explanation, the other pairs had finished their sparring matches and swapped partners, while Fugaku and Obito continued to practice fire jutsu at the other end of the training ground, Obito seemingly having begun to use the Phoenix Flower technique. One major question still held center stage in Takanome's brain.
"Can you teach me how to use senjutsu Sensei?"
"No." With that single word, all of the joy and enthusiasm built up over half an hour rushed out of Takanome, leaving him to slump into a depressive state.
"But, you can probably find someone else who can teach you how." Takanome perked back up at that, but confusion was once more the dominant emotion in his mind.
"But I thought you said only a handful of other ninja in history had gained the ability?"
"Exactly, ninja. Almost every single human sage learnt how to use their abilities from one of the summoning animal clans, to whom senjutsu comes as easily as breathing. You simply have to find a clan willing to accept you as a Summoner, and eventually as a student of their sage arts."
"But how can I do that when Hyuga are outlawed from using summons?"
"Well Takanome, you're just going to have to choose what is more important to you, the traditions of your clan, or your future as a ninja, and with it the future of this village. Jiraiya-sensei and I are the only two living sages I know of, and to be perfectly honest, we both find the ability difficult to apply in combat. You have the potential to use the ability to its fullest, and a shinobi of that caliber would be an immense asset to the Hidden Leaf."
Takanome struggled with this idea as Minato walked over to the sparring Genin and Chunin, leaving the Hyuga to grapple with the direction of his future. He'd have to consult with Hizashi and Hiashi… no their opinions would be far too biased. The same would be true for Fugaku, albeit in the opposite direction. He didn't have anyone to turn so it seemed. He glanced up to see Shodo blasting Kakashi with a stream of water, while Rin showed Heiko the basics of the Mystical Palm technique on the other side of the training ground.
Takanome sighed, but a smile soon returned to his face. He did have someone to talk to. Two someones in fact.
About 3 hours later, the ninja ceased training in favour of a short lunch break. The eight of them formed a circle, the two Jonin recalling their escapades as young students under Jiraiya for the group's entertainment. After one particularly interesting story about two pots of glue, a squad of enemy ninja and three kilograms of high explosives, Shodo broached a subject that had been bugging her since they first met Team 7.
"Minato-sensei, you never did explain how you saved us from those Stone ninja."
"Yeah how did you do that?" Heiko asked, equally puzzled about the situation. Minato grinned, and pulled one of the strange kunai he used from his belt pouch.
"The technique I use is known as the Flying Thunder God jutsu. It was initially developed during the Warring States period by Tobirama Senju, as a countermeasure to the Sharingan. It allows the user to place special seals on any solid surface and later teleport to the immediate vicinity of that seal. Personally, I mostly apply seals to these kunai." He raised the handle up for them to see. Shodo's eyes lit up as she inspected the intricate formula, simultaneously in awe and puzzled as she tried to discern the tiny script built into the characters of the seal.
After a while of holding it up, Minato just dropped the kunai into Shodo's lap. She looked up in surprise, moving to give him the weapon back. The Jonin raised his hand in response.
"Keep it. Lord Second intentionally made the formula harder to decipher. He also told Lord Third before he died that if any Leaf ninja could figure out how it worked, they were welcome to the technique. You can request a copy of his original seal from the Konoha Library in addition to studying my own. Although, don't expect to make quick progress, this is an extremely difficult technique after all."
Shodo mumbled a quick thanks, now seemingly blind and deaf to anything but the challenge in front of her. The continued noise from around her faded away, brain tumbling over itself as she examined the linework of the seal.
Just as they finished lunch, Minato, Fugaku and Kakashi's heads jerked up, their hands moving towards their weapons. A moment later, an ANBU operative body-flickered into the training ground, coming to rest in a kneeling pose in front of the two Jonin. The symbol on his shoulder identified him as a member of the Hokage's bodyguard, which put the group on edge. It was highly unusual for them to be see out of the man's immediate presence, except in emergencies.
"The Hokage requires your presence, Jonin Namikaze, Jonin Uchiha. Preferably as soon as possible," the ninja's cat mask distorted their voice, but that didn't stop the message from coming across loud and clear. Hiruzen needed them urgently. The Two Jonin snapped perfect salutes as the ANBU vanished.
Minato and Fugaku exchanged a flurry of small hand gestures, their faces betraying minute hints of confusion and worry, before turning to face their students. The Uchiha addressed the two teams, his voice bereft of the mirth it had held minutes earlier.
"We are needed elsewhere. Your time is your own until the end of the day, do us both a favour and use it productively." The Genin and Chunin nodded in acknowledgement, all of them somewhat confused as to what was going on. Fugaku placed a hand on Minato's shoulder, the pair winking out of existence. A moment later Heiko turned to the rest of the group, her usual grin once more afixed to her face.
"Sooooo, what's people's plans," she asked, and the words had barely left her mouth before Shodo answered with a mumble.
"Library." And with that, the auburn haired girl jetted off in the direction of the Konoha Library.
"I will join her. I need to do some research on a specific topic." Takanome said as he took off after Shodo, although with a little less single mindedness.
"Well I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind helping me out with some clan stuff, so catch you later team 7!" Heiko disappeared with a wave, leaving the 3 Chunin alone.
"Gonna swing by the hospital, see if they need any help. You two don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone okay?"
"See yah Rin!" Obito yelled as the brunette left the clearing, Kakashi merely giving a small wave. The two rivals glanced at each other, tension filling the air.
"Wanna spar?" Obito asked, his tone of voice telling Kakashi that the Uchiha expected rejection, and he very nearly did brush him off. But Kakashi thought back to how much Obito had been improving recently. Plus, he seemed to be in top condition today, if what he had seen earlier this morning was anything to go off.
"Sure. First to three contacts wins?"
"Another time then… Wait what? I mean, okay yeah, let's go!"
Minato and Fugaku arrived outside the Hokage's office to find the Sanin standing in a tight circle, talking quietly amongst themselves. Jiraiya broke off from the group to walk over to his former students, leaving Tsunade and Orochimaru to continue the conversation.
"Sensei, do you have any idea of what's going on?" Minato asked, to which Jiraiya nodded, an unusually serious expression covering his face..
"I had an extremely strong suspicion, that has been confirmed by your arrival my wonderful students. However! I cannot speak of it until we get inside, the old man will explain." It was at that moment that Hirzuen's call of "Enter" came from within the office, the five Jonin admitting themselves to find the Hokage sitting at his desk, a heavily inked scroll open in front of him.
"Follow me," he said, directing the party to one of the side rooms of the office, a small meeting room usually used for greeting foreign dignitaries. As they sat down at the table, Hiruzen clapped his hands twice, extremely strong privacy seals flickering to life along the walls and ceiling. He glanced at his former students before fixing his gaze on Minato and Fugaku.
"I am sure you are wondering why exactly I asked you here. To put it simply, you two have been recommended to attend an S-class exam."
"An S-class exam? But there is no exam for that title, it is either applied to extremely dangerous rouge nin, or gained by loyal ninja through international respect." Fugaku responded, Minato nodding in agreement.
"It seems as though your students have forgotten that the ninja world is one full of lies and half truths Jiraiya." Orochimaru commented, his eyes gleaming with mirth.
"Indeed, although to be fair, we didn't see through this lie either."
"He's got you there." Tsunade's comment earned her a glare from the snake summoner.
"Hold on, what exactly does Lord Orochimaru mean Lord Third? Is there more to the S-class title than we thought?" Minato questioned, still puzzled by the Sanin's words
"Indeed. The true nature of the S-class title was born in the First Treaty of Iron, as laid out by the second generation of Kage. The idea was masterminded by Tobirama-sensei, who aimed to use it as a mechanism for defence against threats to the continent as a whole, and as a way for the villages to gain additional funding from their Daimyos." Hiruzen paused for a moment as he considered how to properly continue his explanation.
"Every 7 years the Ninja villages send in recommendations to their Daimyo for S-class promotions. If enough get approved, the candidates are taken to a secret facility high in the Mountains of Iron to be evaluated by the 5 Kage. The Daimyo then reward their villages based on what percentage of candidates pass, encouraging them to only submit recommendations for those they know have an extremely high chance of passing. A ninja can only be recommended by at least 1 already S-class ninja, preferably not their own Kage, although additional recommendations increase the likelihood of approval."
"I see, so I would assume we have been recommended?" Minato replied, still reeling slightly from the fact that such an immense secret had been kept from the vast majority of ninja. Although, it made sense that the elite of the elite could pull off such an impressive feat.
"Indeed, each S-ranked ninja can recommend up to two other ninja per cycle, and the three of us recommended the both of you." Jiraiya gave his former students a big smile, much to the exasperation of his old teammates.
"Thank you very much, all three of you," Fugaku said, and both he and Minato rose to their feet in order to bow to the Sanin.
"So when are the exams, what are the logistics surrounding them?" Minato asked as they sat back down.
"The exams are scheduled for 2 months from now, and the event will be disguised as Peace talks for the war, although I will make an actual attempt to try and quell the fighting. You two will accompany me as my "guards," and you will be reviewed once we reach there. In regards to your teams, I have put forward the idea of masking the S-class exams with a Chunin exam in the land of iron, which your team may attend if you wish Fugaku. Minato, unfortunately your team will have to stay behind because they are Chunin already, so they will have to function without your supervision. Any other questions?"
"No sir," the candidates chorused. Following that, the group discussed a few more less important topics relating to the war effort, before Hiruzen stood, indicating that they all do so as well.
"In that case, you are dismissed. If you have any further questions, contact any one of us. Otherwise, do not speak of this to anyone who is not themselves an S-class ninja." With a wave of the Hokage's hand, the assembled Jonin vanished from the room. Hiruzen went back to his desk, staring at the message that had been deposited on his desk by a tiny chameleon just before the message from the Land of Iron about the S-rank exams. The characters at the top had been what truly shocked him, as he had never seen anything like this since he became Hokage over 30 years ago.
Request to Join the Hidden Leaf Village
A/N: Well I wonder who that could be? In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed the longest chapter yet, even if it was a bit worldbuilding/dialogue heavy. The whole S-rank exams thing was originally a lot more convoluted (like I'm talking sealing robots and soul binding), but with some help from the r/NarutoFanfiction discord, I've trimmed it down to its current state. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review!
Unicorn out!
P.S Still looking for a Beta Reader, pm if you're interested.