CHAPTER 15

Chapter Summary: Suzuki Hiroshi tries the Air Scrawling technique. He thinks about a dilemma he is in. He resolves to be a Jinchuriki. He helps in training Team Minato on team tactics. He talks about jutsu creation with Team Minato. He reunites with forgotten classmates and realizes how closed-off he actually was.

A week after perfecting my Water Release: Torrent Arsenal, I was with Kushina-shishou to try out the Air Scrawling technique we got from the Vault of Scrolls.

"Are you sure you want to try it now? We could still do some further research on it." Kushina-shishou said with concern lacing her tone.

Ever since I started extensively studying the Air Scrawling, Kushina-shishou was being such a worrywart. I reassured her that it just cost a lot more chakra than I had hoped. It didn't alleviate her worries at all, though. It's probably because the technique was found alongside other techniques that had questionable effects.

"It's really okay, shishou! I studied it for a week now. I won't be able to know if it is dangerous or usable if I'm not going to use it.", I said with a little frustration.

She sighed. "Okay. But if something goes wrong or if you feel like something will go wrong, stop it immediately."

I nodded.

I fixed my attention on what I was doing. Chakra travelled down my arms and trickled into my fingertips. I formed the outline of the seal into the air with my chakra. The seal was starting to fall apart before it was even completed so I reinforced it with Yin-Natured Chakra. As the seal formed with the help of the Yin Chakra, the seal was completed and I released it into the tree in front of me.

"Fuin: Sajo Sabaku!"

Chains of light came out of the seal floating in the air. The chains rushed toward the tree and wrapped around it, incapacitating it if it were an enemy.

Although the first attempt was successful, I was quite dissatisfied with it. I drained a quarter of my reserves for that to work. I could try to remodify it but I don't think it'll be worth it.

Since this was a bust, I might have just work on another technique. Thankfully, I could use the Air Scrawling as a guide or base so I don't carelessly grasp around the dark.

Kushina-shishou came to me with a worry.

"Are you fine? Do you still feel okay? Should I help you to the hospital now?", she asked continuously.

I just shook my head at her words and antics.

"No. I'm fine. As you saw, the attempt on the technique was successful. The only problem is it drains a lot of my chakra. Even if I could get it to work instantaneously, I don't think it would be combat effective enough to use as a trump card."

Kushina-shishou sighed at what I said.

"Oh. That's too bad then. But, I'm sure you could create a technique that would suit you. Since we have the Air Scrawling, maybe we could refurbish it?", she tried to console me.

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. If it's jutsu, I should be able to crack it. I never give up on jutsu."

Never.

Although I still had the energy to continue training on fuinjutsu, Kushina-nee-san thought it best for me to just have the rest of the day to myself. I was sure that she was being considerate for how the technique I needed didn't work out as well as I wanted it to.

And I may look like I was devoid of all life.

I was aimlessly walking through the village as I contemplated on my problems.

It wasn't as if it was the end of the world really. It was just, because of the drain of chakra, I realized that there will be many techniques I won't be able to perform because of my chakra reserves.

Currently, my chakra reserves have been staying at low-jonin. I thought it would have grown so much more considering that it suddenly shot up a while ago but I guess it was a one-time thing. I asked for advice on how it would look like when I grow up and the medic-nin said that, at best, I would only reach high-jonin chakra reserves by the time I reach my prime if the current rate of growth of my chakra reserves persists. I also asked if my chakra reserve's growth could be improved however, they said it would only stress out my still young chakra coils and cause irreparable damage. I could do it later, yes, but by then it wouldn't help much anymore.

Don't get me wrong. High-jonin reserves in my prime is already good but, I wanted to do all types of jutsu; even the most chakra-taxing ones. And given the events that were going to happen based on my past life's memories, I needed all the chakra that I could have.

So, in my free time, I searched for artificial ways to increase my chakra reserves. There wasn't much really. Most of the materials I read through required genetical and biological intervention which wasn't even all that safe and proven. It would be a shame if I risked my own life for something so unsure.

There was one way, though, that I seriously considered – being a Jinchuriki.

And currently, there was one of them in very close proximity. In the event that the original events happen here, I could at least convince Minato-sensei to seal the Yin-half of the Kyuubi into me rather than carry it with him to the Shinigami's stomach. Of course, this is a long shot since I'll try my best for that not to happen but I wanted to cover all my bases for this so, I considered it.

Once I thought of this, I beelined my way to the Hokage's Tower.

HOKAGE's OFFICE

"You want to be the Kyuubi's next Jinchuriki?! Are you out of your mind?!", the Hokage yelled.

The whole village would have had heard that if not for the privacy seals.

"Only in the event that something happens to Kushina-nee-san. There isn't any more Uzumaki within the village aside from her and so, if something ever does happen, wouldn't it be best to have someone in line and ready for the job? And who else suitable than someone from the sister clan of the Uzumaki, right? I mean the Uzumaki may have the best physique but the Senju were the second. I'd be a good candidate if something ever does happen."

The Hokage shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Oh, I think I'll be able to get through at some point.

"And what do you think would happen? What prompted you into saying this? Is this because of your fascination of the Bijuu? You do know that although they may be their own beings, it doesn't change the fact that they're dangerous.", he asked.

Saying that I just wanted chakra was true but would make me seem so power-hungry so I came up with a lame excuse to deflect.

"Would you believe it if I said that I dreamt of the village being destroyed by a rampaging Kyuubi because someone hurt Kushina-nee-san?"

At my excuse, he sighed. He then took his time to look at me and seeing that I wasn't taking back anything that I had said. He closed his eyes, shook his head as if he had no choice, and sighed again.

I mean it was partly true.

"Fine. I will permit it. You'll be the first choice as the next Jinchuriki. It's not as if something would happen to Kushina so early in her life anyway and by the time she is ready to pass on the mantle, you'd be too old to even be considered for the job. I'll only be accepting your suggestion as the next container so that we won't be blindsided in the off chance that your dream would really happen."

At that, I nodded.

Later in the day, I went to see Team Minato. They seemed to be stepping up their training. If before they were mostly on taijutsu, now they were expansively focusing on ninjutsu as Minato-sensei deemed them to be ready.

At first, I wondered why I was permitted to train in ninjutsu when my taijutsu still sucked before. Minato-sensei reasoned that my high water affinity and perfect chakra control was more than enough reason to have started me immediately.

I was told there were little accidents on Team Minato's first official team training with ninjutsu involved. Obito may have singed Rin-chan's hair, Kakashi might have not judged correctly about how uncoordinated they were and accidentally shocked Obito with lightning, and Rin may have not even tried out offensive ninjutsu because of the two preceding incidents.

They were getting better, though, as I am currently seeing them coordinating to fight Minato-sensei. They seemed very determined to take him down as they just ignored my arrival.

I sat down to watch them but sighed at their actions as time went by. They sucked.

Kakashi may be a genius and prodigy but that's when he's alone. Working with a team, for him, was very awkward considering that he hasn't put in any proper attack yet. He's also glaring at Obito every chance he gets.

That's only because Obito didn't know how to coordinate as well. He deemed it useful to just rush in without even making sure that his team was following his lead.

Rin was by far the most stable. She was keeping her distance as per her duty as a medic-nin but she was sensible enough to help the team by throwing kunai and shuriken at every possible moment to the best of her ability.

Minato-sensei seemed to be just playing with them, dodging everything they give him.

I shook my head in disappointment again. They really sucked.

I might not be the perfect team player, I did know how to coordinate attacks. I also knew when were the best chances to sneak in an attack. And all this was learned through experience in the battlefield.

Maybe they just need something like that?

I flared my chakra and ran to them while shooting out Water Bullets from my mouth. They saw this and quickly dodged.

"Hey! What was that?! We were training!", Obito complained.

"Sorry. I just got really bored and infuriated at your teamwork.", having said words that soured their faces, I turned to Minato-sensei. "Can I join in for a bit on your side? I could show them how to properly support teammates."

Minato-sensei's eyes brightened.

"That's good! I did hear teams wanted you with them because of your support skills. It would be perfect if you could show them how it's done."

I nodded and we all went for our fighting stance. It seems that Team Minato was angry at my boasting as they focused more than ever. Even the sweet Rin-chan made a face that might have screamed for my blood.

We began when Minato-sensei signaled to start.

Obito, as usual, charged towards Minato-sensei without coordinating with Kakashi. I shot Water Bullets to keep him away from my teammate while he rushed for Kakashi.

Kakashi and Minato-sensei entangled in a taijutsu battle. Obito saw this and tried to help Kakashi but I shot him with a few Water Bullets to keep him from interfering. Seeing as how he couldn't join them without dealing with me, he rushed to me. I kept him away from me with a Water Wall.

Seeing as how I was being attacked, Minato-sensei stopped his bout with Kakashi and ran to protect me from Obito. While he was doing that, I shot Water Bullets towards Kakashi so that he wouldn't be able to follow my teammate.

The same pattern repeated for a while until Obito finally had enough and talked out strategy with Rin and Kakashi.

They huddled together and Minato-sensei had the chance to talk to me.

"You're very good as a support, Hiro-kun! It was comfortable to fight with you watching my back."

"You're not too bad yourself, Minato-sensei. I guess it's to be expected, though, seeing as you're a Jonin."

"Exactly, I'm a Jonin and have had gathered experience over time. Although your support skills aren't perfect yet, you do have the initiative and intelligence to make up for the slightly lacking skills-", he was interrupted when Obito shot us Great Fireball Jutsu.

I protected us with a Water Wall and the two jutsus collided to create steam. Minato-sensei and I used it as cover to rush towards the team. The steam cleared revealing to Team Minato that we had closed in on them. Kakashi raised a Mud Wall for them to buy time to gain some distance. I let Water Bullets pursue them while Minato-sensei sped through to them. Rin-chan finally gained a chance while I was shooting Water Bullets to throw several kunai towards Minato-sensei.

A little startled at the sudden volley of kunai, Minato-sensei stopped on his tracks to dodge them. Seeing that he had it handled, I continued shooting Water Bullets only this time I was trying to lure Obito and Kakashi to closer and closer to each other. I deemed them close enough and suddenly shot out a small Water Dragon from my mouth. It would have been a problem if I wasn't sure they could survive it with minimal damage.

I was right in assuming their course of action as I saw Kakashi completely dodge it while Obito was incapacitated having slightly brushed with the technique. I trusted Minato-sensei to deal with Kakashi while I sped up to Rin.

I used the Air Scrawling technique to bring out a miniature seal and activate it.

"Fuin: Sajo Sabaku!", I chanted the technique.

Chains of light shot out of the seal and wrapped around Rin-chan. Considering that the low-powered seal was my embarrassing attempt at trying to make the Air Scrawling work, it wouldn't hold Rin-chan for long.

Minato-sensei finished up his fight with Kakashi and we won.

Later, the Team analyzed how they performed. They accepted that they didn't function at full potential because they didn't work together well but they argued that the last plan was their best attempt against us. We agreed.

Having seen his team work so well together, Minato-sensei nodded and ended the training for the day.

While Minato-sensei left for something he called 'urgent business', the rest of the team and I went out for some dango.

While we were walking, we talked about my jutsu creation and their troubles.

"Would it be okay if I ask you to help me in creating a jutsu?", Obito asked me.

"Oh? Already trying for something higher, Obito? I thought you were changing for the better.", I teased.

His face went red from embarrassment as I mentioned his changing mindset.

"Hey, it's not that! It's just that Minato-sensei has his Flying Thunder God Jutsu and Kakashi has his family's sword techniques and they use it in their battles all the time. I was just hoping to create a jutsu that would help me while fighting. Sure, I have the Great Fireball, but it's not like I could use it in every situation."

"Oh. You're saying you want to create a jutsu that could be deeply incorporated with your fighting style? That's actually pretty sensible.", I said as I showed Obito an impressed look.

"It is quite alarming that Obito is thinking so much these days.", Kakashi teased Obito as well.

Obito sighed.

"You guys… I don't even know if you're complimenting me or insulting me.", he helplessly said.

Rin-chan chuckled at our skit.

I thought about what kind of jutsu would best fit Obito and I couldn't really think of any.

In my past life's memories, future Obito would be using his Mangekyo Sharingan's ability as his main combat style's crutch. His moves are wide and powerful. If he can't dodge, he uses his Kamui to phase through any attack that might hurt him. He was a pain in the butt. It was probably the best jutsu that would supplement his combat style and capabilities.

Not being able to think of anything, I just nodded at his request.

"Okay. I can help you with that. Just tell me about your plans. Oh, while you're thinking about a jutsu, it would be nice if you try thinking how the Sharingan will affect your fighting style as well. You'll awaken it sooner or later so if you plan on incorporating a jutsu into your fighting style, think about how the Sharingan would fit in as well.", I suggested.

He looked thoughtful for a while but eventually nodded.

I then remembered that I had finished another jutsu. I took out a scroll and gave it to Rin-chan.

"Oh! Rin-chan! I forgot to give this to you at the training grounds. It's the medical jutsu that lets you attack. The one I told you that I'd make months ago. I perfected it already. I call it [Medical Art, Water Release: Water Mantis]."

Rin-chan was delighted.

"Thank you, Hiro-kun!", she said.

Before I forgot, I also offered Kakashi help in creating a jutsu. He just said he would see me if he needed my help.

DANGO SHOP

There were only a few people in the shop so we were able to sit on a table for four.

We were eating some dango while talking about small things when a black-haired beauty came up to us. She had ruby-red eyes. Trailing behind her was another girl.

"Oh! See, Anko? I was right! It's Rin-chan and Obito-kun!", the black haired beauty said. I finally recognized her as Yuhi Kurenai.

"So what? Why do we need to talk to them?", the other girl, who was Mitarashi Anko, said with a bored tone.

Oh… right. I haven't really thought of them since I became a genin. I did hear Rin met up with some of our classmates occasionally.

Now that I think about it, all I really did since I became a genin was to train and go on missions. I haven't thought of anything else other than prepare for the future as best as I could and change it for the better.

I thought back to the time I vowed to live my life with vigor and soul. Was I really living for the past months? I might have a future to worry about but I also have a present to take care of. Besides, the present shapes the future. Maybe while I have fun socializing, I could affect other people's futures for the better.

They did idle talk for a while like asking how they have been and what they were working on.

Thankfully, they stopped talking as they noticed the two other people that they didn't recognize.

"Oh? And who are these with you?", Kurenai asked Rin-chan then turned to us. "Sorry. I was just so excited to see them again after a few months.", she apologized to us.

Rin-chan was shocked at Kurenai not recognizing us.

"Kurenai-chan! Don't you remember them? The one with the half-mask is Hatake Kakashi, our teammate. He was in the same class as us on the first year but he graduated early!", she seemed to remember as she yelped while Rin-chan continued. "The other one is someone from our class as well but he always kept to himself in a corner. He's Suzuki Hiroshi."

I smiled lazily and nodded as Rin said my name.

Kurenai's eyes went wide.

"Hiroshi-kun? Oh my Kami! You've changed so much that I couldn't recognize you anymore! Oh! Anyway, this is so great. Since everyone is here, I could tell you altogether. Our class is having a get-together before we get deployed-"

I immediately reacted as she said 'deployed'. The others also had their own reactions but I was only looking at Kurenai.

"Wait. Deployed? You're getting deployed? Why? I thought the war on the borders was starting to die down?", I asked with trepidation.

Kurenai seemed to be surprised that we didn't know.

"It's not just us that's being deployed. All of us are. Didn't you know? Ahhh. I guess you shouldn't have yet. We were just told by our sensei a while ago as well. Kiri and Kumo have joined in the conflict. It's an all-out war now."

I knew this was coming but shit. We just wanted some dango today.