Chapter 10: Two Bells and a Dream
Arashi dropped to one knee, dodging a training kunai aimed at his chest, but before he could fully get his bearings, he launched himself to his left, narrowly dodging Kochi's extended foot. He heard a crunch as Kochi's foot impacted the tree that was previously behind with a thud, sending wooden splinters everywhere. Rolling out of the way and then further jumping back to gain distance, Arashi took a breath and assessed.
Something was wrong. Kochi should have been farther away judging by the sound of her footsteps when she had thrown the kunai. He should have had time to throw his own in retaliation before she got close. He heard a snapping of a twig a good twenty feet behind him before he heard the kunai whizzing towards him. Another noise 15 feet away brought his attention back. Arashi turned just in time to deflect another incoming kunai with his katana but just as he felt the kunai impact his blade, through his extended arms he saw Kochi's smile as she implanted her knee in his stomach driving the air out of his lungs and sending him tumbling back.
Arashi re-gained his footing and leaped into the trees to gain distance and think. Kochi was fast, but not faster than him. She had to be using a genjutsu to mess with his hearing.
Both of them had taken Ishino sensei's advice on expanding their skill sets. Kochi always excelled at close range. She was agile and quiet, always finding a hole in your guard to slip in and exploit. But she had a small chakra pool and below-average physical strength. So, she focused on simple genjutsus that could be used quickly and with minimal chakra cost. She also was getting proficient in using the tanto. She had elected to carry two, but primarily only used one at a time. The tanto was perfect for her style. It allowed her to get up close and personal and the shorter blade enabled her to use it even when sliding inside an opponent's guard, where a full swing with a longer sword would be restricted.
"Kai," Arashi whispered as he emitted chakra in a small but sudden wave from his core, expelling the foreign chakra from his system.
Even though Arashi had been used as a test subject many times and was familiar with the feel of her chakra, Kochi still managed to sneak them into spars. She didn't use the more elaborate genjutsus described in the books that subjected the target to sights of horrors or played on their worst nightmares. No, Kochi's were more subtle. Slight tweaks to the target's five senses were often enough to get the upper hand. A fake sound behind him, a slight change in the perceived speed of a kunai. These are the genjutsu Kochi employed.
Arashi sheathed his sword, freeing up his hands for hand signs. A slight rustle of leaves to his left alerted him to Kochi's presence. Thinking he was still under her genjutsu, she must have been moving with speed over stealth. Arashi delayed his reaction, pretending to still be under her jutsu. With his back turned to her, he rushed through the hand signs, gathered chakra in his lungs, and took a large breath. Then, just as the hairs on the back of his neck raised in alarm, he turned and expelled his Wind-Style Gale Breath from his mouth. A powerful gust of focused wind exploded out, catching Kochi by surprise and sending her tumbling head over heels down to the forest floor below. Stunned and with the wind knocked out of her, Arashi dropped down and pressed his advantage.
Kochi had just enough time to pull out her training tanto before Arashi attacked with his katana. Using the reach advantage the katana gave over Kochi's weapon, he pressed her backward with an unrelenting barrage of slashes. Arashi rotated in slashes from all directions to tire her out into making a mistake.
Obviously out of breath and still dazed, Kochi made a sloppy thrust forward. Arashi quickly rotated his wrists and brought the dulled blade down on Kochi's knuckles, causing her hand to spasm in pain and drop the blade. Without hesitation, Arashi twisted his wrists again and slashed upward, stopping the blade just short of Kochi's neck.
Arashi met Kochi's scowl with a smirk. "That makes the score 3 to 2 for me today. You owe me some dango."
"Yea yea. Fine, but was the hit on my knuckles necessary?" Kochi said as she rubbed the pain out of her tender knuckles.
"It is when you get sloppy and drop your form. In a real fight, you'd have lost your hand."
Kochi sighed. "Let's just take a break."
Arashi followed Kochi over to a large tree and sat down next to her with his back against the trunk.
Arashi had also followed Ishino Sensei's advice and had trained with the katana, as well as focusing on ninjutsu. His larger than average chakra reserves and relatively good control helped him to master the academy three ninjutsu relatively quickly. It also gave the teacher's confidence to provide him with scrolls on some basic elemental ninjutsu. Clan students typically had their clan techniques that they would train in once mastering the academy three. But students with civilian backgrounds often did not have access to that knowledge, so the academy had scrolls composed of lower-difficulty elemental ninjutsu that they could loan to students if they showed they were ready for the more dangerous techniques.
Arashi found out about his wind nature while still in Ishino sensei's class. Wind style was rare in the leaf, and thus it was the style the academy had the least amount of information on. But thankfully, they had enough to keep him busy. However, once he mastered the basics, he would have to look for a specialist in the village or start experimenting and creating some of his own. Despite that, he was excited when he found out about his elemental nature. Wind style would pair well with his katana and fighting style. He has already found ways to increase his cutting power and to create distance between himself and his opponent.
Arashi turned his attention back to Kochi, who was rummaging through her kunai pouch.
"You excited about tomorrow?" He asked while giving Kochi a small shoulder bump.
"I have mixed feelings," Kochi said, then paused. "I'm happy with the progress we have made and to be done with the academy."
"But?" Arashi responded with a raised eyebrow.
Kochi stopped counting the kunai left in her pouch and turned to meet Arashi's eyes. "What if they don't put us on the same team?"
Arashi sighed and leaned his head back against the tree and gazed up. A gentle breeze passed through the trees above, causing leaves to descend around them.
"We've done everything we can. Since being moved up a year ago, we've shown them we work well together on the team challenges. We could even beat some duos composed of higher ranked students despite them being older and having one more year of academy experience."
Kochi didn't respond. Instead, she continued her task of checking her weapons pouch.
"But even if we get split up, I'm confident both of us will adapt. I mean, look how much we improved this year alone. We started the year off in the bottom third of the new class and ended in the top third. You're probably the best genjutsu user in the class when it comes to successfully using it in combat, and you're still very competitive in taijutsu despite being younger and smaller than the rest in the class." Arashi bumped her shoulder again, getting a smile from Kochi.
"You always know what to say," Kochi said while reciprocating the bump.
"Someone has to bring you out of your thoughts. I'm happy to be the one to carry this great burden."
Kochi snorted next to him, trying to suppress a giggle.
"Alright, I'm going to head home and prepare my gear for tomorrow. You coming?" Kochi said as she closed her kunai pouch and stood up.
"Na, I'm going to work on a couple more things here and then head back later. I'll see you tomorrow morning in the classroom."
"Ok, see you tomorrow." Kochi turned and then leaped away.
Arashi watched her go and then returned his gaze to the trees above.
They have come far. He was singing Kochi praise moments before, but his advancements startled him sometimes. His taijutsu and kenjutsu improved rapidly because of his constant sparing with Kochi and Kushina. But the biggest surprise was his ninjutsu. The ease with which he picked up wind style was perplexing to him. Their sensei had said wind was often the hardest to control and learn. Despite being everywhere, it was the most formless of all the elements. Water is formless, able to adapt and take the shape of its container. But you could contain it. The air was much harder to contain. Easy to form but hard to restrain. It leaked out, always trying to escape from its restrictions. The scrolls all stressed this, always emphasizing the intense concentration needed to keep the wind style in the intended form or shape. If failed, then the technique would lose all its power.
Arashi brought his hands together and formed two simple hand signs used in many wind-style jutsu. He then extended his right hand and surrounded it with chakra, slowly bringing out the wind natured chakra he formed using the hand signs moments before. Arashi twisted his hand back and forth, observing the thin layer of wind chakra surrounding his hand. He could feel a soft breeze emanating from it, lapping at the hairs on his arm.
While the books stressed the intense concentration needed to restrain the wind chakra from escaping, he found it easy.
Arashi whipped his arm and hand outward, at the same time releasing his hold on the chakra. The wind chakra leaped from his hand and traveled several feet away before it broke apart and dissolved into the surrounding air.
With the pace of his progress, he was confident had they given him another year, he could have been very close to the top of the class. The clan students still gave him trouble, especially the Hyuga and Uchiha. The former in particular were almost impossible to beat in a taijutsu match. But he was closing the gap.
The one person he just couldn't keep up with was Minato. He was an unattainable target, a reality check whenever Arashi got cocky. Every time he took a major step forward, Minato took two steps. When they released the final class standings last week after the graduation test, Arashi and Kochi were both proud of their achievement. But Minato had dominated virtually every category, comfortably in first place. Arashi even heard that it was the highest score in the academy's history.
After their initial meeting in front of their new class on day one, they had mostly kept to themselves. The only significant interactions Arashi had with Minato were the hand full of times they sparred in class. The vast majority of which went squarely in Minato's favor. Arashi had scored a couple of points against him but never beat him in a spar. Never even came close.
Minato was a terrifying opponent. Not because he was visually intimidating. On the contrary, Minato looked relatively unassuming and was very polite to everyone. But as soon as the spar began, it always felt like Arashi was on borrowed time. Every movement, every strategy, every strike always ended in defeat. It felt like an inevitability that Minato would win. Most other students would give up mid fight. It didn't matter if they changed their style or practiced until they dropped. Minato always won.
He had heard of those special few. Natural-born geniuses. Ninja that were so powerful it was almost certain death if you were unlucky enough to encounter them in the field. A lot of things could happen, but he was certain if Minato survived his first couple of years as a ninja that he would become one of those killers. Arashi just hoped he had learned enough from watching Minato this past year to help keep him and Kochi alive.
A stray ray of sunlight hit his eyes, alerting him of the time. It would be dark soon and if he was to get to the mail station before closure, he would have to hurry.
Arashi slipped his hand into his backpack and pulled out the folded envelope with the Tekan orphanage address on the front. He hadn't sent one in a while. After never getting a response, he started sending them less and less. But this one was important. He was finally going to become a ninja, and he felt Amaya should know.
Arashi brought the envelope to his mouth and licked the adhesive to seal the letter.
"Amaya, I'm not sure if you're getting these letters, but please be safe. When I can, I will come for you." Arashi whispered as he put the envelope back into his backpack and pushed himself up. Glancing at the sun, Arashi realized he had less time than he thought. He would have to sprint to the mail office if he was going to make it in time. A perfect opportunity to practice his new technique.
Minato landed on the roof of his small two-bedroom home with a quiet thud. Judging by the smell coming out of the window, his mother was most likely grilling fish again. Fish was Minato's least favorite meal, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that, due to it often being the only protein they could afford.
Minato dropped to his windowsill, activated the hidden seal under the overhanging rain gutter, he quietly slid open the now unlocked window. The seal was a new design that he came up with. The seal under the rain gutter was linked to a matching seal inside his room that controlled the locking mechanism on his window. He had designed this seal almost a year ago once he noticed himself entering and exiting the house via his window more and more often in an attempt to dodge awkward conversations with his mother.
Ever since telling her the news about graduating early, things have been awkward. It was no surprise to Minato that she was against him becoming a ninja, but in the past; she had always been much more understanding of his dream to follow in his late father's footsteps.
Unlike his father, Mitsuno Namikaze was not a ninja. She was from a family of farmers situated near the land of fire's capital. She met Minato's father when he was in the capital on a prolonged rotational deployment near the end of the first shinobi world war. Falling in love during his deployment, they had gotten married, and she moved to the Leaf Village with him when his deployment ended breaking ties with her family in the process.
When Minato broke the news to her one year ago, she froze and then collapsed to the ground, dropping a bowl of Miso soup. Minato had rushed to her side, trying to shake her out of her mental state, but to no avail. She just kept muttering, "not you too. Not you too."
Since then, things have been awkward. Conversations dye out due to Minato not having anything to talk about other than ninja training. And when ninja topics inevitably came up, his mother's expression always grew pale and distant.
Minato plopped down on his bed and leaned back, enjoying the soft bed after another hard day of training. Tomorrow was the day. The day they would assign him to a genin team and officially begin his ninja life.
Minato raised his hand and rubbed his thumb over the callouses. To a noble, calloused hands were a sign of the lesser class. But to a ninja, it was a way of life. The callouses are proof of a life filled with hardships and training. Minato smiled and clenched his fist, trying to contain his excitement. To him, the callouses were a testament to his hard work and a link to his father.
He was ready to show the village what he could do.
Arashi sat at the back of the classroom in his usual spot. With his chair leaning against the wall teetering on its two back legs he watched the last of the class file in.
"The anticipation is killing me. I barely got any sleep last night." Said the hunched-over form of Kochi. She had her arms crossed on the table and her head resting on top. Her long black hair pooled around her arms. Between her long bangs, Arashi could make out two bright green eyes staring back at him, a weird mix of tiredness, nerves, and annoyance permeating through those ever-captivating green pools.
Arashi snickered and smiled back. He hadn't slept well either. After dropping the letter off, he ended up roaming the streets for another hour, lost in his head. When he finally got back to the dorm, he was still wide awake and fidgety. No amount of packing, unpacking, checking his equipment, and then repacking could calm his nerves. He may not know who his future teammates or sensei will be, but he knew the exact number of inches on the role of ninja wire in his backpack. He had sharpened his katana painstakingly as well, but then wasn't sure if he should bring the training one or lethal one. So, he ended up bringing both. He strapped the training one to the side of his backpack and then sealed the sharp one in a sealing scroll.
Thirty students ended up passing the graduation tests from class 1A. That meant if everyone got assigned to the standard genin team, ten teams would come from this class alone. Much higher than normal, but the village had loosened the graduation requirements to meet its needed numbers. He highly doubted all the students would be assigned to a jonin sensei. Most likely, the bottom fourth would be sent straight to the genin corps. At least that's what he heard from the previous year's graduating classes. There just wasn't enough jonin for the increased number of students.
"Quiet down, quiet down, everyone." Their sensei said from the front of the room.
By how quickly the room went silent, Arashi and Kochi weren't the only anxious ones.
"First, I would like to congratulate every single one of you on making it this far. Each one of you has proven not only to the village but to yourself that you are capable of being a ninja." Their sensei said as he grabbed a large box from the ground next to him. Reaching inside, he pulled out a shining leaf headband.
"This right here is proof of that. Proof of all your hard work and the trust you've earned from this village. But with this comes an entirely new world of responsibilities." He said as he continued up the aisle, passing out headbands to each table of eagerly waiting new ninja.
"You are a genin now. No longer can you observe from the sidelines. You now share the weight of this village on your shoulders. Every single person in this village is under your care. The shop keepers in the market, the carpenters that built your home, the children in the playground. You all play a role in keeping them safe, in keeping this village standing, in keeping the will of fire burning for one more day."
Their sensei finally reached the back of the class and slid two headbands across the table to Kochi and him. He then turned and started walking back to the front.
"Remember this every time you tie the knot on your headband, when you feel the cold steel of the metal rivets on your forehead. You are a leaf ninja, and your work has only just begun."
Arashi looked over and caught Kochi eyeing her headband. Her hands held each fabric strip tightly, her eyes glistening with a smile on her face. He could only begin to imagine what she was feeling. She was now a ninja, like her parents were before her.
Arashi looked at his own headband, his reflection staring back at him from the gleaming polished surface. Light blue eyes stared back, framed by the odd strand of his dark blue hair. This was it; this was why he had come to the Leaf. To become a ninja, to become someone. But as their sensei said, it was only the beginning. Taking a large breath, Arashi raised his headband to his forehead and tied it tight.
A hand squeezing his arm knocked him out of his thoughts. He looked over to meet Kochi's eyes.
"Hey, he started going through the teams. He just said team one and two. Neither of us are in them." She whispered.
Arashi waited with bated breath as the next couple of team rosters were announced. None of them contained him or Kochi.
"Team seven will be Kochi Sanayoshi, Arashi," a sharp excited inhale escaped Kochi, and she excitedly shook his arm.
"We're on the same team!" Kochi exclaimed, a bit too loudly. Arashi smiled while trying to calm her down.
"and Minato Namikaze."
Both of them froze immediately. Neither of them had given much thought to who else would be on their team if they were indeed put on the same team. To them, it never mattered, as long as they were together. But this, they did not expect.
Arashi tore his gaze away from Kochi's surprised face and glanced over to the window seat that Minato always occupied.
Judging by Minato's face, Arashi wasn't the only one surprised.
Arashi quickly pulled himself together and gave Minato a nod.
"Team Seven. If you're done staring into each other souls, your sensei will meet you at training ground three in twenty minutes."
"Sorry sensei!" Arashi embarrassingly responded as he grabbed his backpack and pushed Kochi out into the Aisle. As they passed Minato's table, he joined their procession and followed them out of the academy.
Once outside, they paused near the single swing set.
"Out of all the team compositions. This was the one I least expected." Minato said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yea, definitely did not see this coming," Arashi responded, shaking his head in agreement.
"I expected you two to be on the same team. But I never thought they would put all three of the younger students on one team. I was certain they would put me with two older students and the same deal with your third teammate. But I can't say I'm disappointed." Minato paused and then continued, "from what I've seen of you two, this should be an interesting team composition. From a high level, we appear to be pretty versatile and our skills complement each other."
Arashi could only nod in agreement. He knew he and Kochi worked well together, and their abilities complemented each other. But for Minato to make the same connection and then include his own abilities into the mix was impressive.
"We should start heading to training ground three. If we get there early, maybe we can continue the conversation." Kochi said beside him.
"Sounds good. Let's get going." Arashi stated.
After a couple of minutes leaping across rooftops, they arrived at training ground three. Arashi had yet to use this training ground. They regulated him to the academy-sanctioned training grounds. What greeted them was a flat clearing bordered by trees on three sides and a small creek on the fourth. In the clearing, there was a singular large tree and three thick posts.
They gravitated to the large tree. Finding a pleasant spot in the shade provided they all sat down. Arashi unslung his backpack and leaned his back against the thick trunk. If he had to guess, they had at least 10 minutes until their sensei was supposed to arrive.
Kochi plopped down next to him, her shoulder bumping his as she leaned back against the tree. Minato sat down a couple of feet in front of them and awkwardly started picking at the grass in front of him.
Just before he was about to ask Minato a question to break the ice, a presence above them made themselves known. All three of their heads shot up in surprise.
Crouched on a branch a mere six feet above their heads was a man with long white spikey hair and a green flak jacket around his torso. He smiled amusingly down at them and raised his hand in greeting.
How did he get there without any of them noticing him? Arashi thought to himself as he jumped to his feet with the others.
"I can't believe it! You're one of the legendary…" Minato yelled excitedly from behind him before he got cut off by the man in the tree.
"Hold it, kid. Don't ruin my intro." The man said as he dropped to the ground, slamming his hand to the dirt, causing a plume of smoke to erupt.
Arashi and the others scrambled backward in surprise and swatted the smoke from their eyes.
As the smoke dissipated, it revealed the stranger standing on top of an armored toad. His head rocked back and forth, swinging his long white hair in a circle.
"Behold! Your new Jonin sensei. A man feared by his enemies and loved by the beauties! I am Jiraiya, the legendary toad sage!"
Silence.
Arashi's mind was blank. No thoughts came forward to drive him into action. He looked to his right and saw Kochi in a similar state, her eyes wide in disbelief or confusion. Perhaps a mixture of both. Arashi couldn't tell. To his right, Minato was silent, mouth agape and a twinkle in his eyes.
"Uhhh. Looks like I'm going to have to work on that." The man, now known as Jiraiya, awkwardly stated as he de-summoned the toad and dropped to the floor.
"I thought it was great!" Minato excitedly said from behind Arashi.
A small whine is all that escaped Kochi from her still frozen state.
The man shrugged and leaned against the tree. "Eh, I've got plenty of time to perfect it." He said as he beckoned the three of them closer and pointed to the floor for them to sit.
"Anyway. Let's get to know each other. Blonde you first. Tell us a little about yourself. Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. That sort of stuff. Go!"
Minato stumbled into action. "My name is Minato Namikaze. I enjoy training and reading about seals. I dislike lazy people. And my dream for the future is to become Hokage!" He stammered and embarrassingly scratched the back of his head as a red blush spread over his face.
"Nice! Another person interested in seals. I can teach you a lot, kid. Seals will come in handy if the hat is your goal. Alright, you next girl." Jiraiya pointed at Kochi.
"My name is Kochi Sanayoshi. I like learning new techniques with Arashi and making him buy me dango when I win a spar. I hate waking up early and mornings in general. And my dream is to serve the village well and protect the ideals my parents died for."
Jiraiya nodded solemnly, his hand rubbed his chin making him appear in deep thought.
"A truly worthwhile goal, my dear little student," Jiraiya responded, but then winked at Kochi. "Also, how do I get in on this dango situation?" he said with a smile, getting a small giggle from Kochi.
Arashi could already feel his wallet getting lighter.
"Blue boy, you're next."
Arashi was startled back to the present and turned his attention back to the large man in front of him.
"My name is Arashi. I like hanging out with my friends, Kochi and Kushina. I dislike it when people disrespect foreigners. My dream is to protect my friends and explore the world as much as I can."
"A worthy dream!" Jiraiya exclaimed, but then started pointing his finger between Arashi and Kochi. "I have to ask. Are you two a thing?"
Blood rushed to Arashi's face, and a surprised cough sounded from Kochi next to him.
"Ahh, who am I kidding. You're all too young for that. Just friends it is. I just needed to make sure, it could affect team dynamic or something." Jiraiya stepped in with an amused tone to disrupt the awkwardness.
"Anyway. For our first activity, I've got a task for the three of you." Jiraiya stated as he pulled out two bells from one of the many pockets on his flak jacket.
"Each of you will come at me with everything you've got to take a bell. If you don't get a bell by 2 pm, I will drop you from the team and send you back to the academy." Jiraiya said so nonchalantly that Arashi almost missed the detail of getting dropped.
"A true shame that at least one of you will be dropped. From your reports, it looked like this could have been a great team. But it is what it is." Their new sensei said, shaking his head.
Arashi quickly stole a glance at Kochi and saw worry plastered on her face. All that hard work these past four years. All that extra training after class, just for their sensei to tell them they could be sent back to the academy if they failed this one test.
Absolutely not. He couldn't let that happen.
"Well, let's not delay the inevitable any further. On my count, I want you three to come at me with everything you got. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, I guarantee you will be back at the academy with the other failures."
"Three."
Arashi stood up and nodded to Kochi. They would do this together. Like always. He reached into his bag and unsealed his sharpened katana.
"Two."
He and Kochi started backing away. A direct fight in the open would not work against a Jonin. They had to come up with a plan. To his other side, it looked like Minato had come to the same realization. He too backed away from their sensei, but in a separate direction from him and Kochi.
"One."
He and Kochi leaped away into the surrounding forest. Once they were well clear of the clearing, Arashi landed on a branch and raised his hand, signaling Kochi to stop. She landed above him quietly, not a single leaf out of place.
"What's the plan?" she whispered from above.
This didn't bode well for them. Taking a bell from one of the legendary Sanin would not be trivial. Hell, he was pretty sure it was impossible. Even with his and Kochi's years of training together, he didn't think they could put a scratch on Jiraiya.
"This task seems impossible. It doesn't make sense. He's already read our files; he knows our abilities. Unless he's just trying to figure out the skills, we haven't shown the academy teachers. It just makes little sense."
"And why only two bells? If he's just trying to figure out how strong we are, why limit the bells? Maybe all three of us would be strong enough to get one." Kochi said softly.
The soft rustle of incoming kunai punching through leaves cut their conversation short. Arashi brought his katana up to block the incoming kunai and deflected it to the side. He heard Kochi do the same above and with a quick cautionary glance; he made eye contact with Kochi and nodded.
The conversation would have to wait.
A blur to his left on the branch was the only warning he got of Jiraiya's sudden presence. Arashi twisted and brought his katana up in defense. A sharp clang rang out as he caught Jiraiya's kunai slash on the broad edge of his sword. His arm buckled slightly under the force as he felt what must have only been a fragment of man's full strength.
Before Arashi could counter, Jiraiya rotated and swung out his leg. His shin smashed into Arashi's side on his ribs and sent him flying off the branch and toward the ground.
Hitting the ground with a thud, Arashi scrambled towards his dropped katana. The kick and hard landing had driven the air out of his lungs. He heard the clang of steel above in the tree and then the distinct explosion of a smoke bomb. Just as he grabbed his sword, Kochi appeared next to him and wrapped her arm under his.
"We gotta go. Now!" she yelled as she sprinted forward, dragging him along until he could regain his senses.
"You're never going to get a bell if all you do is run!" Jiraiya's voice mockingly rang out behind them as they sprinted away.
A dull, painful throb pulsed out of his side with every landing on a branch. Nothing was broken, but he would have a bruise come tomorrow.
Coming to a stop in a thicket, Arashi felt Kochi's fingers grip the hem of his shirt and lift. She ran her hand softly over his already reddening ribs.
"Nothing's broken, Kochi. Just got the wind knocked out of me."
"Ok, just checking. It looked like a hard kick from above, the way it launched you off the branch."
"He's so fast. I barely saw him in time to block his slash. But I had no time to react to his kick. It was in my side before I registered the movement." He winced through his clenched teeth.
"If we weren't sure before, that engagement just confirmed it. This task is impossible. There must be another goal than just getting the bells." Kochi whispered as she pulled her hands out from under his shirt.
Arashi stood up and singled to her to do the same. "We can't stay still. I've got an idea. Let's plan on the move."
Leaping back into the trees, he turned back to see Kochi following close behind.
"Remember what Minato said to us back in front of the academy? He thought our skills complemented each other's."
"So what?"
"And Jiraiya mentioned from the reports it looked like this could have been a good team."
"Arashi, now's not the time to play riddles. Get to the point."
"We need to find Minato. If my hunch is right, then all three of us need to work together. If it's wrong and Minato attacks us to eliminate competition, then it doesn't matter. We aren't getting those bells with just the two of us, anyway."
"You think the bells two bells were just a distraction from the actual point of the test?"
"Yes."
"See underneath the underneath like our teachers always said, huh?"
"Exactly. Two people have already commented on how good our team composition looks on paper. It would be a waste to break us up."
"Alright, I'm behind this. Where do we find Minato?" Kochi asked as she landed next to him on a branch.
An explosion sounded off close by. From the direction, Arashi guessed it was near the edge of the clearing.
"Looks like he went after Minato. Let's go."
Kochi nodded, and they set off at full speed towards the sound of conflict.
The clang of kunai and explosive tags grew louder as they sprinted closer. Then it stopped.
"Do you think he got Minato?"
"That or Minato disengaged."
Just then, a blond blur to his right caught his attention. "Kochi over here!" Arashi sounded as he changed direction to catch up to Minato.
Rushing through the undergrowth, Arashi and Kochi quickly caught up to their blonde teammate just in time to see Jiraiya body flicker in front of Minato to implant his knee in his stomach and send him crashing against a tree.
"You're fast kid, and quick thinking. But I've got power and experience over you in spades." Jiraiya said as he slowly closed the gap between him and Minato, who was struggling to stand up.
"Kochi, use a genjutsu to distract him and buy me any time you can. I'll grab Minato."
"He'll probably feel it, though."
"Doesn't matter, anything to grab his attention."
"Ok." Kochi nodded in understanding and started forming the seals for the auditory genjutsu she had used on him yesterday in their training spar.
Arashi didn't wait, he knew the timing of her jutsu. He'd experienced it hundreds of times. Pulling a kunai out, he tied a smoke bomb to the kunai and rushed forward. At this moment Kochi's jutsu should just have started, her chakra entering Jiraiya's system delaying his hearing by just enough to give him an edge.
Arashi flung the kunai, the small fuse on the smoke bomb lit and timed perfectly to explode on impact. As the kunai got close, he saw Jiraiya notice its presence slower than Arashi would have expected a jonin too. The man sidestepped and let the kunai pass harmlessly by him and imbed itself into the earth between him and Minato. A small hiss of the fuse burning its last fuel caught Jiraiya's attention just as the smoke bomb exploded, engulfing him and Minato in a thick grey cloud of smoke.
Without hesitating, Arashi threw another kunai at Jiraiya's last known position to further distract him and dove into the smoke towards Minato.
In his haste, Arashi collided with something moving, something that felt roughly the size of Minato. He wrapped his arms around it and kicked off the ground, sending them both out of the smoke. With his eyes still closed and watering from the smoke, his back hit the ground and they skidded to a halt. A fist crashed into his already bruised ribs, knocking the breath out of him.
"It's me!" He yelled as an elbow rained down on the side of his face, snapping his head to the right.
"Minato, it's us! You're hitting Arashi." A feminine voice yelled next to them, the sound of feet impacting the soil next to his head signaling Kochi's arrival.
"No time to talk. Just trust us. We need to run!" she said next to them.
The weight on his chest lifted and a pair of hands grabbed his arm to help him up. Rubbing the smoke out of his eyes, Arashi's watery vision cleared, and he sprinted following Kochi's guiding tugs. The sound of heavy breathing to his side let him know Minato was following.
"Sorry about hitting you. I thought you were attacking me." Minato guiltily replied next to him.
"It's fine. Let's just get some distance first." Arashi winced out between gritted teeth. He was definitely going to need ice on his ribs after this.
After a minute of sprinting at full speed through the brush, Kochi in front raised her fist to signal them to stop. Arashi skidded to a halt behind her and saw her conceal a hand behind her back as she turned to face them. Minato halted several feet away, obviously still doubtful of their intentions.
"Minato, you must have noticed that this test at face value is impossible. You fought him; you know just how far ahead he is in strength."
Still untrusting, Minato squinted his eyes and gave Arashi a brief nod in agreement.
"Tell us what you think is the true purpose, then? Is he just trying to get out of leading a genin team, or do you think there is a catch?"
"The bells aren't the goal, they're the distraction."
"How so?" Arashi asked, trying to confirm his suspicion that Minato had come to the same conclusion as him.
Minato's shoulders relaxed. "The bells are meant to pit us against each other to see if we can see past the deception. He wants to see if we put the team over our selfish desires. I believe we have to work together to take him on."
Arashi nodded towards Kochi, signaling her to cancel the genjutsu she had ready in case Minato attacked them. He then turned back to Minato. "We think the same way. He mentioned at the start he thought this was a good team composition and so did you. There's no reason to break this team up unless we can't work together."
Minato smiled and nodded back. "I'm glad you two agree. I wasn't looking forward to fighting the pair of you." He then crouched and grabbed a twig. "So let's get to planning." He said as he sketched a rough layout of the training ground into the dirt.
"Kochi, your strength is genjutsu, right?"
"Yes, and quick engagements when gaps present themselves. But I won't be of much help if I'm up close for too long."
"I don't think any of us will be. He's too strong. I'm thinking we attack in pairs while the other stays at a distance, providing support until they need to swap in to change up the dynamic." Minato said while drawing a mockup of the switch in the dirt.
"Which pair starts?" Arashi asked.
"Me and you, I think, are best to start. With your sword and my speed, we should be able to buy some time to analyze him. Kochi can weave her genjutsus while we distract him. That way he's under her jutsu from the start."
"How do we know who to switch out with?" Kochi asked. She was crouched down as well, carefully analyzing the mockup Minato had drawn.
"That will have to be dynamic. It's impossible to predict who will need help." Arashi cut in.
"I agree. Either the person not at close range will have to make a judgment call or one of the two up close will have to call the switch." Minato stated, drawing the last arrow into the dirt.
"One thing Minato. I know about your speed and taijutsu skills, but what about ninjutsu? We couldn't use those in the academy spars." Arashi asked. If this had any chance of working, he had to know what to work around or dodge if a stray jutsu blasted his way.
"Lighting. I know several ranged and close-ranged lighting style techniques. Also, some explosive seals, but I don't think those will work here." He said and then paused with his finger on his chin in contemplation. "How about you?"
"Wind is my strength. And same as you, I know a couple ranged and close-range jutsu."
Silence encompassed the group as they mauled over the plan. It was loose, but that's all they could do with no experience working together. It would have to do.
"Where do you think he is?" Kochi asked.
As if in response to her question, a gust of wind tore through the trees towards them, whipping up fallen branches and small rocks. Arashi ducked behind the nearest tree to get out of the way of flying projectiles. Looked like they would have to implement their plan quicker than expected.
"Arashi, let's go!" Minato yelled from behind another tree. Arashi looked to Kochi and nodded to her, signaling to get ready. He then sprinted around the tree to keep pace with Minato.
Sprinting toward the wind source, Arashi pulled out his katana, ready for battle. It wasn't long until they saw Jiraiya ducking in and out from behind trees, flinging kunai and shuriken at him and Minato. Arashi easily blocked the first couple with a flick of his sword. From the corner of his eye, he saw Minato swing left to engage Jiraiya from the side. Arashi kept on straight ahead. With his left hand, he retaliated and threw his kunai aiming to distract one of Jiraiya's hands as he came into sword range.
Covering the last distance in a mad dash, Arashi slid low and engaged Jiraiya with a brutal upward slash. The man tilted back just enough so that his sword passed inches from his body, then with a quickness, a large man like him shouldn't have. He crouched down and spun, swinging his leg out, trying to sweep Arashi's feet from under him. Arashi jumped just enough to clear Jiraiya's leg but quickly realized it was the wrong move as Jiraiya's body continued twisting and contorting as he shifted his weight and lashed out with his other leg at a higher angle to catch Arashi in the ribs.
A kunai appeared from Jiraiya's left side, forcing him to halt his kick mid-swing. He planted his foot onto the ground and leaped back, dodging the kunai that must have come from Minato. Just as their sensei's feet hit the ground, Minato appeared by the man's side, one of his hands crackling with lighting chakra. Minato lashed out, trying to grab Jiraiya's leg to shock him, but the man was too quick. His large hand came down in a blur and grabbed Minato's outstretched arm behind the wrist, halting Minato's attack. With a small rotation, Jiraiya tossed Minato back into the trees like a sack of rice.
Arashi brought his hands together in a blur and formed the hand signs for his Wind Style Sword Slash jutsu. With his sword still in his right hand, he pumped wind-style chakra into the sword. Then he slashed diagonally with the now wind-covered sword. Just as he completed his slash, he released the chakra. Like a rubber band snapping releasing the tension, a sharp thin line of wind flung from his katana and raced toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya dropped his hands to the ground and yelled, "Earth Style Mud Wall Jutsu!" A wall of earth splintered out of the ground, blocking Arashi's attack. The wind slash broke upon the wall, leaving a six-foot slash diagonally across the newly formed wall.
"Well well well. Wind style, lighting style, and a genjutsu disrupting my hearing. I'm starting to like you guys." An amused voice said from behind the wall.
This guy was no joke. Kochi often managed to fool the academy teachers with her genjutsu. Yet he caught on in the middle of battle while batting away both his and Minato's attacks like nothing.
Arashi dashed forward and swung wide around the wall. As he rounded the earth structure, he saw Jiraiya smiling at him as he raised a kunai to block Arashi's incoming attack. Just then two kunai burst out of a bush, ninja wire strung between them charged with blue lighting. The kunai embedded into the wall and the ninja wire pinned Jiraiya against the earth structure, electrocuting him.
Poof
Jiraiya's body erupted into smoke, revealing a wooden log getting charred black from Minato's lighting chakra.
"Most students think the academy three jutsu are nothing special. Mere beginner jutsu to be thrown to the side in favor of more flashy techniques." A voice said to Arashi's right. His head snapped in that direction to see Jiraiya calmly walking out of a thicket with a kunai held to Kochi's throat. "But as you can see. Once mastered, the Substitution Jutsu can be cast almost immediately and not only used to dodge an attack but to move you closer to an adversary."
Arashi readied his katana. He needed to break Kochi out of his grasp.
"That enough. Lower your weapons. The test is over." Jiraiya said as he pocketed his kunai and let Kochi free. Once free, she immediately dashed to Arashi's side.
"Minato, you can come down from the tree."
A sigh and a thud of feet hitting the ground behind Arashi let him know Minato had joined them in the small clearing.
Arashi sheathed his katana and lined up with Kochi and Minato as Jiraiya approached. He didn't know if they were right or had failed.
"You three failed to even touch a bell. Despite your above average academy skills and one of you having the highest academy score the village has ever seen." Jiraiya said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"But sensei, the bells weren't the true goal, were they?" Minato pleaded next to him. Arashi nodded his head in agreement.
"Grabbing a bell from you was always impossible. They were just a distraction." He quickly added, hoping their argument may help their case.
Jiraiya laughed. "Arashi, you're too young to use the word impossible. Nothing is impossible. But yes, you are right that the bells weren't the true goal." Jiraiya said as he reached forward and placed his hand on Arashi's head and fondly tussled his hair. "And I was very glad to see you three worked through the deception."
The dread in his stomach immediately disappeared at Jiraiya's gentle tussle of his hair and comment.
"Skill, hard work, and determination are not enough to make one a successful ninja or to protect this village. I read all your files. I knew you three had the skills to be ninja, but I needed to make sure this team would work beyond the technicalities on paper. I am very glad to see the reports didn't lie." Their sensei said seriously. "All three of you pass. I am proud to call you three my students."
Arashi looked back at Kochi and saw her smiling at him. They had done it.
His gaze then turned to Minato. Minato smiled back and gave Arashi a thumbs up, but then his face suddenly reddened as a gurgle emitted from his stomach.
A deep laugh bubbled up from Jiraiya. Arashi could feel the vibrations through the man's hand that was still on his head.
"Looks like blonde is hungry. How about we get some lunch as a team, huh? Foods me."
"Yes sensei!" All three of them immediately chirped.
"I have a feeling this team is going to be a lot of fun," Jiraiya said as he turned and led them back to the village center.
Arc 2: End
Author's Note 2/12/2022
Hi everyone! Chapter 10 is finally complete. This one took a bit longer because I got distracted by the other story I started. But finally, Arashi and Kochi have graduated!
Do you guys like the mid-chapter changes in pov? I fully intend to keep writing segments from other characters' perspectives other than Arashi's. I think it's fun and I get to develop my version of these characters. I'm just not sure if I should continue doing it mid-chapter or make them separate chapters.
For character development on canon characters, I intend to try to keep personalities as close to canon as possible. But for example, Minato and Kushina don't have a lot of screen time, so I will have to take some creative liberties in flushing them out.
Another time skip of one year. Time to get this plot moving.
Also, Jiraiya! He should be both very fun and extremely hard to write. This is early Jiraiya and his first team and students. So, he's going to make mistakes and develop as a teacher. After some research, I've found that in canon Minato and Minato's team must have been Jiraiya's first students. Yahiko, Nagato and Konan must have been trained after Jiraiya trained Minato. Maybe when Minato reached chunin, and the team broke up or his canon teammates died . This wasn't explicitly stated, but it's what I'm going with.
Feel free to check out the other story I started. It's called The Wind Walker.
Character ages:
Arashi: 11
Kochi: 11
Kushina: 10
Minato: 10