Academy Days
The Academy was not as exciting as Hansuke hoped.
Each day he and his sister would arrive at seven in the morning, carrying their lunches and supplies. The first half of the day consisted of learning regular subjects, like mathematics, reading, writing, science, etc. However, each of these subjects had some ninja-context. For example, they would learn geometry by calculating the trajectory of a thrown kunai and multiplication by calculating how many clones a certain number of ninjas would make. They would also learn the details of the entire continent: the Great Five Shinobi Nations and the surrounding regions, alliances between them, frequent hostilities and such. For instance, they learned that Konoha currently had alliances with Suna-which was the capital of Kaze no Kuni-and Kusa, the capital of one of the lesser nations. They also learned each country's borders, along with popular landmarks.
Hansuke found this section of the day to be extremely dull, though he had a suspicion it would be useful in some capacity. Because of that, he made sure to pay attention. Definitely not because Kushina threatened to crush him like a tomato. That would be absurd.
After that, they would have lunch. Hansuke would stick with his sister and a few others, notably Obito. The young Uchiha would always show up late to class, usually spouting off some excuse, such as "I was helping an old lady cross the street." or "I was taking an injured kitten to the vet." Most people didn't seem to believe the boy and he would always be in detention because of his tardiness. Because of that, all their peers thought he was just a troublemaker and avoided associating with him, except for Hansuke, his sister, and the girl with purple markings, Rin. For some reason, Hansuke and Rin always seemed to believe him, while Chizue just befriended him by osmosis. The four of them made a tight-knit group, spending most of their free time together.
After lunch, they would start learning subjects more suitable for shinobis: taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. During their taijutsu class, they would be assigned to do physical activities: running laps around a certain area, doing push-ups and sit-ups, and some yoga to keep them flexible. After that, they would line up and practice some forms of the basic Academy Taijutsu. Hitsumaru, one of the two teachers that they had, would be watching them. He was a calm lethargic individual, which contrasted the discipline that he taught. Even then, he would accurately and bluntly tell them exactly what they were doing wrong without fail. When asked to elaborate, the man would go in much more depth, often times more than they even asked for. Yet, they would all soak in his explanations like little human sponges.
Hansuke was pretty average at the taijutsu section. His stamina was pretty good and when it came to the forms, he was exceptional. However, when pushed into a spar, he almost always fell short. For some reason, right when victory would be in his grasp, he would make some mistake and the match would be lost. He was getting better though, even if the improvements weren't all that noticeable.
His strikes had very little strength behind them, but since he was only a child that was a given. His peers faced the same problem, with the exception of Kakashi and Guy. Those two were monsters of their own. During the first couple of sessions, Kakashi would just take down each of his sparring partners, dissecting each of their moves like a medic-nin with chakra scalpels. The only person who stood a chance was Guy, sparking a rivalry between the two. Though Kakashi tried to act like it was one-sided, the twitch of his eyebrows and exasperated sighs proved otherwise.
Chizue had much better success at the sparring sessions. She had just as much stamina as her brother,but unlike him she didn't flounder during the practice battle. Whenever she saw an opportunity, she would pounce on it, winning match after match. She would move with a certain fluidity, dodging attacks before countering them. Her defensive fighting style would sometimes even push Guy, though that was until he got excited. After that, the match was practically over. Still, she was easily the top kunoichi-to-be in that area.
After that they would be called back in for ninjutsu class. Ninjutsu class was where they learned about different ninja techniques and specializations. This was also where they learned about ninja weapons, such as shuriken, kunai, and senbon. They also learned about setting traps using ninja wire, explosion tags and the aforementioned weapons. Most importantly, the ninjutsu class taught them how to mold chakra. The first couple of classes Genko-sensei would explain what exactly chakra was, its origins, and the different ways it was released. She would also explain nature transformations to them, though she didn't really elaborate on that particular subject.
"Ask your parents or your jounin sensei if you manage to succeed in this academy." she said nonchalantly before moving on to something else. Hansuke wondered what she meant with "if".
Once all the introductory sessions were done, they actually began learning how to mold their chakra. Genko-sensei ordered them to line up. One by one, she would press a hand on their hair before telling them, "Right." or "Left."
"What was that about, Genko-sensei?" Kurenai asked.
"When molding chakra, it's best if you try molding it in the shape of a sphere. To do that, you have to spin it around repeatedly. The best way to do this is the direction that your hair grows."
After that, they would all attempt to do it. Some of them got it down pretty quickly, Kakashi being one of them. To be honest, the white-haired boy seemed to excel at everything asked of him, while the rest of them struggled. Guy was even having problems. Surprisingly, Rin also got it down pretty quickly as well as the blonde-haired Kouichi.
"Yeah boy!" he exclaimed, which earned him some glares. The boy immediately shrunk down, aware of the suddenly hostile atmosphere.
"Come on, students, there's no need for any of that. Some people just have an easier time in the beginning." Genko-sensei said.
"Yes, sensei." the children chorused before continuing with their practice.
By the end of that class session, only half of the class ended up able to mold their chakra. Genko-sensei didn't seem all that surprised.
"It was never gonna take only one day." she said before dismissing the class.
The third ninja art was a lot more dull for Hansuke. They were taught that genjutsu was the art of illusions, a disruption to the chakra network of a target, an action that would cause a person to hallucinate. They were never shown how to create genjutsu, just the telling signs that they were placed under an illusion. Heck, at first they weren't even shown how to dispel one.
"You'll learn how to do that when you can use chakra as if you were breathing." Genko-sensei explained.
For their early tenure at the Academy, the genjutsu course was easily the most boring class, though the girl with weird red eyes seemed to find the class interesting. She would fire off inquiries like it was a game of 20 questions. Hansuke, on the other hand, found himself falling asleep in that class on a consistent basis. Even Chizue found herself struggling to ward off her slumber, though she succeeded in staying awake more often than not. Each day, Genko-sensei would bark at Hansuke to wake up before making him stay for detention.
At least he had Obito to keep him company.
After the genjutsu course, they would have a free period where they were told to work on any technique or school work that they believed they needed extra practice with. They would practice things like kunai and shuriken throwing, molding chakra, and would participate in extra sparring sessions all under the watchful eye of their teachers.
After the free period, the female students would be ushered into a separate classroom where they were taught subjects exclusive for kunoichi. They learned ikebana and studied different cultures: their mannerisms, cuisines, and the like. Meanwhile, the boys would have a little study hall, where they would do their homework for the day. The one thing that both genders were taught were the Shinobi Rules, which numbered twenty-five in total.
After that, most of the students would be dismissed, except the ones who were given detention. For Obito and Hansuke, they would spend an extra half hour in their classroom cleaning the desks, floorboards, and blackboard. Once they were done with their punishment, they would be allowed to leave.
Once they exited the building, the two boys would find Chizue and Rin chatting, playing, or training in the Academy yard. The four of them would depart together before splitting off to their residences.
Each day at the academy followed this sort of schedule, the only things changing being the daily lessons they were being taught. Once the entire class became able to mold their chakra properly, Genko-sensei began instructing them on the concept of chakra control. They began practicing moving their chakra to specific points on their body, which proved to be much easier than it seemed.
"When executing techniques," Genko-sensei explained, "a certain amount of chakra must be spent. The amount of chakra depends on a lot of factors: what rank the jutsu is, what chakra affinity the jutsu is compared to your own, et cetera; these are factors you have no control over. There are two factors that you do have control over, however: chakra output and practice."
"What do you mean by that, sensei?" Obito asked.
"While you're molding chakra to perform a technique, what you may not notice is that some chakra leaks out. This leakage doesn't go into carrying out the jutsu and is thus wasted. One way to help curb this is to improve your chakra control."
"And how do we do that?" Asuma asked.
"I'm glad you asked." their instructor responded. She thrusted her hand into her pocket before pulling out a small plastic bag filled with leaves. She then began walking around the room, handing each student a leaf.
"I want you to make that leaf stick on your skin using chakra."
And with that command, the students began working on that assignment, a quiet chatter beginning to surround the room. To begin, Hansuke concentrated some chakra onto the hand with the leaf before trying to move it around. To his surprise, the leaf remained fixed. He cracked a smile, which turned out to be a mistake as the leaf immediately slid out of his palm.
"Dang," he said before lifting it from the ground. As he did so, he noticed his twin doing the same, "Having trouble, Chi?"
"Yeah," she replied, "I was about to call sensei over when it just fell."
Just then the room became completely silent. Hansuke looked around in confusion. All the other students were fixated on a certain white-haired boy, who was sticking five leaves in each hand and two leaves on his forehead. The expression on his face was calm, as if he was reclining in his chair.
"Showoff." Hansuke heard Obito mutter under his breath.
"Right?" the Uzumaki agreed, "He only needed to do one leaf."
"Well done, Hatake." Genko-sensei said, "Stay after class for me, will you?"
The boy nodded-the leaves remained in place somehow-before releasing the leaves from his thrall, picking them up from the floor and handing it to the teacher.
"The rest of you, continue. No need to rush." she said.
The other students heeded her order.
One evening during their first year at the Academy, the twins arrived home to find Kushina waiting for them. By now, she was wearing a green flak jacket over a short-sleeved shirt and blue shorts that fell a little past her knees. Her hitai-ite was wrapped around her forehead like a headband, keeping stray hairs from covering her eyes. A couple weeks prior, Kushina was absent from home for nearly a full week, though they were totally prepared beforehand. The teenager made a week's worth of meals before her departure.
"Took you guys long enough," she said with a wide smile.
"Hey, Kushina-nee!" Hansuke cheered, quickly pulling off his sandals before tackling the teenager with a hug. Chizue calmly put both their shoes on the rack before joining them.
"How was your day at school?" Kushina asked as she embraced the two of them.
"It was okay." Chizue said.
"Such a boring answer." she teased, "Try again."
"Same thing, different day."
"Hey, hey, nee-chan! Aren't you supposed to be doing some missions?" Hansuke asked. Usually she wasn't done until almost sunset.
"I finished them early." she said, "It was so easy!"
"What mission did you do?" Chizue asked.
"Oh, you know. The usual." she waved off. Chizue pouted at the non-answer. Kushina smirked, rustling the girl's long red hair. "Anyway, since we're all here, let's go!"
Before the twins could ask 'Where to?', the teen began pulling them out of the apartment. She continued marching down the street, leading the two kids by the hand, something that had the passerby looking at the group questionably. All the while, Hansuke was barking at her and Chizue used her spare hand to cover her blushing face.
Before long, they were standing at a mostly empty training field, the only occupants being a couple of kids, a yellow-haired teenager, and an older gentleman with white hair and red markings. The intergenerational duo were in the middle of a taijutsu spar, which the older fellow seemed to be dominating. Kushina walked towards them, the two children still in tow.
"Minato-kun! Jiraiya!" she called. The two partners ceased their spar and turned to the origin of the voice.
"Kushina-chan." the young man said with a smile.
"What? No honorifics for me?" the older man said dryly.
"Of course not." Kushina said without remorse or hesitation. Jiraiya visibly deflated from the barb. "You guys finished training?"
"Depends." Jiraiya said before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Minato's eyes widened, looking around frantically to where the man could've gone. With a second puff of smoke, Jiraiya reappeared behind the teen, a kunai at his throat.
"Do you yield, Minato?" he said with a devilish grin.
"That was dirty, Jiraiya-sensei." Minato said with a sheepish grin, his arms raised to the heavens.
"We're ninjas. Ninjas fight dirty." the man said, before pulling away the weapon and placing it back in his pack, "So, who are the brats you got there?"
"Oh, this is Hansuke and Chizue. They're my brother and sister."
"I didn't know you had siblings." Minato said.
"They came from Whirlpool after it….you know." Kushina said, a saddened expression appearing on her face. The blonde immediately bristled from the implication.
"Ah, sorry, Kushina. I didn't mean to bring it up."
The five of them stood in silence for a couple seconds before Jiraiya decided to spare them from the awkwardness.
"So, why'd you bring them here?" he said, pinching the twins' cheeks with a hand each. Hansuke swatted at the man's hand.
Kushina's mood immediately brightened, "Since they're Uzumakis, I wanted them to get an early start on the art of fuinjutsu."
"And why don't you teach them?" he asked.
"Oh I will, but if I'm not home because of a mission, I want you to teach them in my place."
"Ooh, interesting. Quick question: what do I get out of this?"
"My gratitude." Kushina replied with a tense smile.
"Eh. Got anything else?"
"A favor in return." the girl tried again, this time glaring at the white-haired Sannin.
"Getting warmer."
Kushina sighed, "A couple of free meals."
"Great!" Jiraiya said enthusiastically. He extended his hand and Kushina shook it with a gloomy expression on her face.
"Aw, don't look so glum, chum." the Sannin said before rubbing his hands together, "Time to get these kids started."
It was a quarter through their first year in the academy when Kakashi abruptly disappeared.
The first day, the class barely noticed (the only exception being Guy, who looked a bit dismayed at the absence of his rival). The second day, most of the class wondered what the problem was. By the third, most of the class was hoping for the boy's safe return. It was also on the third day that Guy asked.
"Sensei, do you know what happened to Kakashi?" The answer they received was shocking.
Kakashi was put into the more advanced classes. All he needed to learn were some ninjutsu techniques and he would be allowed to take the graduation exam. If he executed the techniques properly, he would become a genin.
Hansuke, like the rest of his class, was genuinely surprised by the revelation. Yeah, the boy was talented, but to make the Academy moot was something else entirely.
Refusing to be surpassed by his rival, Guy began training excessively. Even after the school day was over, many of his peers would find him performing exercises around the village. Each time, he would try to coerce some of his colleagues, saying something like, "Join me in the springtime of youth!" One time Hansuke decided to take him up on that offer (Chizue decided to go along with him as always). They must've sweat a literal gallon by the time they got home.
Obito also strived to better himself, though his approach was more subdued. The Uchiha would spend whatever free time he had practicing the skills he learned. He would perform drills during the free period: entering spars, practicing throwing weapons, using the Leaf Concentration exercise. He would even continue these drills during detention. This aggravated Hansuke, who had to pick up some of the boy's chores.
"Maybe you should practice at home." he said one afternoon before letting out a long series of croaking coughs. He was currently dusting off the chalk erasers and accidentally inhaled some of the residue.
Obito didn't answer.
"Hey, Obi-kun." Hansuke said, poking him in the cheek with a chalk-covered finger.
"Huh? What?"
"Why don't you practice at home?" he asked again.
"Oh, yeah. Lemme just ask my grandma to train me." the Uchiha said sarcastically.
"That's the spirit." Hansuke said, not catching the snark in the remark.
Obito sighed, "Hansuke, my grandma's almost seventy."
"She can still give you some pointers." the Uzumaki replied.
"Maybe, but I don't want to bother her too much."
"Well, what about your parents?"
"Never met mine." Obito answered, a twinge of sadness in his posture.
"Ah." Hansuke said, "Sorry to hear that."
Obito nodded.
"What about your clan then?" Hansuke continued, "I mean, the Uchiha clan is legendary!"
"Yeah, they're legendary," Obito said, "Legendary bastards."
"What do you mean? Don't they have that magic eye thingy? The Sharingma'am?"
Obito chuckled. "Sharingan?"
"That's the one."
"Yeah, we do have that. You're right. I'll ask some of them to help me."
"Cool. Now, let's get to work!" Hansuke said, tossing some erasers at the Uchiha.
Fuinjutsu was a lot of things. Weird, difficult, and absolutely fascinating. The way Kushina described it was that it could do absolutely anything, provided that you know what you're doing. The only boundaries that the sealing arts had was your ink, your implementations, and your imagination.
One more adjective that could be used to describe fuinjutsu was dangerous.
If a practitioner of the sealing arts was not careful, they could end up causing substantial harm to themselves, others, and/or their surroundings. One misplaced stroke could completely destroy the integrity of the seal. Seals that should work would become duds and that's if they were lucky. Oftentimes a faulty seal would reverse the function onto the user: an explosive tag would literally blow up in their face, a storage seal would trap them in paper instead of trapping something or someone else. A fuinjutsu user should always exercise caution.
Kushina knew these lessons well, being taught fuinjutsu at a young age herself. She bestowed these lessons onto her charges just as she learned them: by having them perfect their calligraphy first. The twins spent each day after school with a brush in one hand and a large wooden tablet in the other. The wooden tablet was a tool to help beginners of the art execute it on an easily cleaned surface. They would write certain phrases or make certain symbols in black ink as clear and neat as possible. After that, the teenager would examine their work. If it was perfect, then they would wipe it and write down another phrase. If it wasn't, they would receive a rap on the fingers and told to repeat it. Kushina was authoritarian when it came to their brush work, tsking and groaning when even the smallest infractions were made. And given how she described fuinjutsu accidents, the twins understood why.
Hansuke seemed to take the fuinjutsu lessons like fish to water. After the first couple of mistakes, he began drawing down the phrases impeccably. Soon, he began writing them down swiftly while maintaining his exemplary work.
Chizue, on the other hand, was like a stick in the mud. She was constantly corrected by Kushina and her improvements were much slower than her brother. A month after they started these lessons, her brother was starting to write on scrolls while she was still stuck with the tablets.
Kushina was a little confused by this. When she first started her fuinjutsu training, she was able to improve by leaps and bounds, just as Hansuke has been. Most Uzumaki children took to the art swiftly, as if they were born to do it. She'd never seen someone of their lineage struggle so much. However, the teenager didn't berate the girl. She just spent some extra time watching over her, which Chizue appreciated.
After ninety of their daily sessions (most of them with Kushina, though Jiraiya often appeared to help), Hansuke managed to make his first explosive tag. Kushina was ecstatic, showering the boy with praises. The trio immediately went to a training ground to test the seal out. With a loud boom and a shower of debris, they found that it was a success.
Meanwhile, Chizue just started writing with scrolls. While before she looked on with awe, now she watched her brother, irritation and envy in her eyes. She didn't know why she felt so jealous of her brother's success, but the feeling was there and she couldn't stomach it. She did her best in stamping the emotion down, but then Hansuke would accomplish another feat and it would come slithering up again.
At the end of one particularly tiring session, Hansuke made a teasing comment.
"Still struggling, Chi?" he said with a smarmy grin, "C'mon. It's easy!"
Her frustrations boiled over and in a pit of jealousy, she punched her twin on the back of his head.
"Shut up!" she said.
Hansuke just laughed, a hand on the area he was struck.
Chizue gritted her teeth. She would've said a rather scathing remark but then Kushina decided to pull her away.
"What's up with you?" the teen asked when they entered their shared room.
Chizue didn't respond.
"Is this about your fuinjutsu training?"
The girl nodded.
Kushina sighed, "Different people progress at different rates, y'know."
"But I've barely progressed at all!" she said with a scowl. She crossed her arms and if it weren't for the circumstances, Kushina would've squealed. The girl looked adorable.
"Some people are just more talented at different things. You're better than him at all the Academy studies. You're also better than a majority of your peers at fuinjutsu, y'know."
Chizue nodded, her scowl disappearing, "They don't teach sealing at school."
"See?"
Chizue realized that Kushina was right. She usually was the one who excelled at their ninja disciplines. She trumped him in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu theory. Hansuke never appeared to be bothered by this, in fact he continuously cheered her on, even if he was on the opposite side of a spar. He was her most ardent supporter. He even gave her some pointers on her brush work, advice that often proved fruitful.
"Sorry, nee-chan."
"It's no problem, but you should apologize to Hansuke instead." The teenager said before rustling the little girl's hair.
She did exactly that.
Their second year at the Academy came and went with little to no incidents. Their studies began steering away from theory and more into practice. The three disciplines started to bleed together. They would start implementing weapons in their taijutsu class, throwing rubber kunai and shuriken at each other as they sparred. They were finally learning how to dispel genjutsus; sure, the illusions were pretty noticeable and easy to break, but it was a step in the right direction.
One of the biggest changes, however, was that they were finally being taught the three jutsu required to graduate the Academy. The Academy Three, as they were known as, were all E-rank jutsus, techniques that would be second-nature to shinobis. They were the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Henge no Jutsu.
Although each technique was of the lowest tier, to most of the students they were extremely difficult to execute. Because of this, the instructors introduced it to them as early as possible. Each technique had its merits, though each had varying levels of viability.
"Kawarimi no Jutsu allows you to replace yourself with an object or person when in a pinch," Genko-sensei explained. She slowly made a number of hand seals: Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog. With a puff of smoke, she disappeared and in her place stood Asuma.
"Huh?" he said, his toothpick falling out of his gaping mouth. All the students glanced at his seat and found their instructor sitting there, her feet on the desk.
"It's one of the simplest, yet most essential techniques that you'll ever use." she said with a wide smile. Asuma hmphed at that, picking up his toothpick from the grund and popping it back into his mouth. Some of the girls were disgusted by that, including Genko.
"Ew." she said, "Anyway, another technique that will prove invaluable for you is the Henge no Jutsu." She made another set of hand seals: Dog, Boar, Ram. Another puff of smoke appeared around her and in her place was Asuma again. They all turned to the front of the class, but instead of the teacher they saw another Asuma.
"Whoa!" Hansuke exclaimed, "That's wicked!"
"Henge no Jutsu allows you to impersonate a person, animal, plant, and even objects, though those are the hardest to impersonate." the Asuma who sat on the desk said. A puff of smoke appeared around him and Genko-sensei was there again before she rose from the seat and Asuma returned to his desk.
When she returned to the front of the class, Genko continued. "The last technique you need to learn to graduate is the Bunshin no Jutsu." Once again, she wove through some hand signs: Ram, Snake, Tiger. With a surge of chakra, an explosion of fog appeared next to her. Once the haze dissipated, an identical duplicate of their teacher right next to her.
"The Bunshin no Jutsu allows you to make a copy of yourself." she said, "This is useful to distract your enemies."
Hansuke found the technique very familiar. 'Hey! That's the jutsu the Old Man used!"
"What old man?" Genko asked quizzically.
"The Hokage!" he said.
"Hansuke, what did I tell you about calling him that?" she asked, a stern expression on her face.
"Uh...I don't remember." he said with a sheepish grin.
"What I told you was to refer to him as Hokage-sama." she said, "Regardless, I doubt the Hokage would use such a simple technique."
"What do you mean, sensei?" Chizue said, raising her hand, "He made a copy just like you did."
"The Bunshin no Jutsu is not nearly as viable as the other two techniques." she explained, "Firstly, the clone is not solid in the slightest." To demonstrate this, she shoved a fist straight into her replica's face. It passed through seamlessly, as if it was made of air instead of flesh and bone. Meanwhile, the clone made the exact same movement, though it punched the air to its right. "Secondly, the Bunshin will always mimic the original's movements. It can't do anything of its own accord."
"Oh." the twins said simultaneously.
"It's still a solid technique, but there are more practical clone techniques out there, ones that don't have the same setback as the basic Bunshin." she said. She then made a new seal: perpendicularly crossing her index and middle fingers. Another clone appeared on her left. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."
"Let's see: Rin." the instructor said, "Come here."
The brown-haired girl rose from her chair and walked towards the front of the class.
"Now, I want you to hit the new clone." she requested.
"Okay." the student said. She threw a punch at the clone. To everyone's surprise, the clone caught the punch. They glanced at the original, but she was standing still.
"As you can see,this clone is solid and could act of its own free will." The clone quickly spun the girl around, pinning her arm around her back.
"It can attack as if it were the real thing." Genko explained. The clone then released Rin. The girl rubbed the arm that was pinned. The teacher then sent an absolute haymaker at the clone. This time the clone didn't defend itself. It was struck in the face so hard that it was sent across the room before dispelling.
"When hurt, it dispels." she said, "This is probably the technique that you witnessed the Hokage using, Hansuke."
"If that is so much better than the other Bunshin, why aren't we taught this one?" Genma asked.
"For one simple reason: the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu evenly splits your chakra with each clone that you create," she explained, "If you used too many clones, you would most likely collapse from chakra exhaustion immediately. That wouldn't be pleasant."
"But that can't be the only other clone technique, right?" Kurenai asked, her red eyes glowing in the afternoon light.
"Well, using Bunshin no Jutsu would be a good way to familiarize you with this type of technique." Geno replied, "If they can make a regular clone, then learning any other clone technique would be extremely easy as long as they have the ability to use it safely."
"Alright." the black-haired girl said.
"Aw, but I want to learn the better clone, don'cha know?" Hansuke whined.
"Enough of that!" the teacher barked, "It's too dangerous for you." She sighed before muttering, "That's what I get for showing advanced jutsu to children."
One October day of their second year at the Academy, Might Guy was missing from class. Everybody immediately noticed the loud, jumpsuit-clad boy's absence, but nobody thought anything of it. They just assumed he was ill that day, which was uncharacteristic, but even the most youthful of students is allowed a reprieve. However, they were all wrong. Guy was not sick that day, because he appeared during their lunch period. To be more specific, he slammed open the cafeteria door with an outstretched leg and shouted: "Dynamic Entry!"
Everyone immediately turned to their arriving peer before noticing that he was now wearing a new ornament: a Leaf hitai-ite attached to a red cloth which was wrapped around his waist like a belt.
"What the hell?!" Obito exclaimed, "Freaking Guy graduated?!"
"Indeed!" the boy replied, "I just passed the Academy exam! I wanted to thank all of you for your time. I hope to see you all in the field someday."
He then immediately exited the room, presumably heading home.
"Good riddance," Genma said from a corner of the room, "Now he's someone else's problem."
Hansuke looked on, impressed by his classmate. Since being introduced to the Academy Three, the Uzumaki made little headway into the execution of the techniques. He was too focused on his fuinjutsu training at home. He successfully made storage seals of the simpler variety, storing objects into a small scroll. He was currently trying to make storage seals that would allow him to store living constructs safely, though that was a bit more difficult. He was also beginning to experiment with different types of barrier seals. Once he managed to make a barrier that blocked anyone from entering his room, but an angry yet proud Kushina ordered him to take it down
Unlike his Academy studies, fuinjutsu was really fun to practice, but he knew it would need to take a back seat if he wanted to graduate early.
Chizue, on the other hand, was making some real progress on the three jutsus. One day after Hansuke left school, he found that she wasn't outside waiting for him. He asked Rin about her whereabouts.
"Oh, she just rushed home. Said she had something to do." the girl said with a grin. Hansuke was confused and a little nervous. By now, it was like an unspoken law that the four of them would go home together.
"Alright," he said, "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a nice day."
He rushed home and found the apartment unlocked. He opened the door, only to find that she wasn't there. Kushina was standing in the kitchen by herself, overlooking the stove. There was nothing really cooking, though.
"Hey, Kushina-nee. Did Chi come home?"
The teenager turned around with a confused expression, "No. Doesn't she usually come with you?"
"Yeah, but she wasn't outside and my friend said she left." Hansuke replied.
Suddenly, smoke erupted from around Kushina and in her place stood Chizue.
"Gotcha!" she said with a devilish smile.
Hansuke gasped, "Whoa!"
Chizue giggled at his surprised reaction. "I finally got Henge down."
"How did you do it?" he asked.
"Practice. Lots and lots of practice." she said, "I've been doing it for a while, but they were all pretty bad."
"Well, one down, two to go." he said with a wide smile.
"Yep." she said with a nod, "Kawarimi is a bit more difficult though. Like how're we supposed to swap places with something? It's way too fast."
"Practice, I guess." Hansuke said, "Lots and lots of practice."
Days stretched into weeks, which stretched into months. The twins were eight years of age when it happened.
The entire class was outside. It was their free period, which meant they could do whatever they wanted. Some of the boys paired off into spars and some of the girls were practicing their weapons throwing. Hansuke was currently sparring with Genma, while Hitsumaru-sensei officiated. Obito was practicing the Bunshin technique with Rin doing the same.
Chizue managed to get the Kawarimi down the week prior, though it was far from perfect. However, creating a Bunshin was proving to be much harder than she thought. She managed to do it on her first try, but the replica would be a shoddy, sickly looking gremlin that would dispel quickly. She practiced it more and more but her latest attempt still looked terrible, so she decided to work on something else.
She was standing completely still, in the middle of doing the Leaf Concentration exercise for what seemed like the millionth time. Each of her fingers and elbows had a leaf sticking to it, with one sticking on her forehead as well. Her eyes were closed in concentration when suddenly she saw it.
Blue wisps of flame-like constructs appeared in the void around her. Some were a bit bigger than others, while some were less radiant and condensed.
'What the-' she thought. Her eyes snapped open and she was back in the school yard. All the leaves that clung to her fell. She picked them back up and stuck them back to their places. Everyone was still doing their drills. She breathed in and out over and over again before she closed her eyes once again, thinking it was her imagination, but soon enough she was treated to the same vision. Some of the flames would move this way and that, while others would remain relatively still. Some of the flames seemed to split in two, though one of the divisors would be much fainter than the other.
Chizue immediately opened her eyes and glanced around. She was treated to the same scene, though now Obito and Rin managed to create some clones, though the duplicates looked a bit pale. She spotted Genko-sensei walking around the area, observing all their work.
'What's going on?' she thought. She raised her hand. Genko-sensei noticed and walked towards her.
"Yeah?"
"I was just practicing with the leaves," Chizue said, gesturing at the fallen foliage, "but when I closed my eyes, I saw a bunch of fire."
"Wow. You managed to fall asleep standing up. That's quite a feat."
"I wasn't asleep!" Chizue exclaimed.
"Is that so? Hmmm." the instructor said, a finger on her lips, "Okay. Repeat what you were doing before."
Chizue grabbed the leaves and began sticking them on to her elbows, fingers, and forehead.
"You've really come along with the leaf exercise, haven't you?" she commended.
"Yes, sensei." Chizue said. She slowly closed her eyes. After a couple of seconds, the blue flames reappeared, though now one of the more vigorous embers was now extremely close. She could feel the flame pulse in front of her but didn't feel any heat, instead a low hum was emanating from it.
"Now, tell me what you see." Genko said.
"The fires are back, but now one of the bigger ones is right in front of me."
"How many of them can you see?" the teacher asked.
The girl counted mentally before saying, "Around twenty? Why?"
"Hm. Give me a moment." Genko replied. Then, the large flame in front of her started to move, walking towards an equally sized one that was a little ways off. After a couple seconds, it started moving towards her again.
"Come with me." Genko ordered.
"Am I in trouble?" Chizue asked nervously.
"Of course not." her teacher said, "You've done nothing wrong. I just want to discuss something with you."
"Oh. Okay." Chizue released the leaves and opened her eyes. Genko nodded and they began walking back to the building.
Once they reached the classroom, Genko sat at her desk and motioned Chizue to stand in front of her.
"So, has what you saw happen before?"
"No, Genko-sensei." Chizue said, "Today's the first time. Do you know what that was?"
"I might." the teacher answered, "Do you know what a sensor is?"
Chizue shook her head.
"I'm pretty sure I went over it in class." Genko chided.
"Sorry, sensei. I must've forgotten that lesson." Chizue said with a bow.
"A sensor is a shinobi that is able to detect others through their chakra." the chunin explained, "Most trained ninja can sense someone at a certain range, but sensors are capable of distinguishing someone from a farther distance."
"So I'm a sensor?"
"From what you described, it's very likely. On an unrelated note, how far have you gotten on the Academy Three?"
"I have the Henge down. I'm able to do the Kawarimi though it's still a little shaky. The Bunshin though is a wash." Chizue answered.
"Show me all three right now." Genko requested.
Chizue stepped back a little bit. She flashed through some hand seals: 'Henge no Jutsu'. A replica of her teacher appeared in her stead.
"Perfect." Chizue released the technique. "Next."
Chizue made another series of signs: 'Kawarimi no Jutsu'. The two of them swapped places, though Chizue was still standing. Genko fell to the ground, as now there was no chair to support her weight. Chizue rushed to her fallen teacher, muttering apologies. Genko waved her off.
"Serviceable." the teacher said rubbing her behind before going to her seat again. "Now, let's see your Bunshin attempt."
"I really doubt I got it, sensei."
"Humor me." She said.
Chizue sagged in resignation before going through some hand signs: 'Bunshin no Jutsu'. A single clone appeared, though calling it that would be generous. It was unbelievably thin and a bit discolored. However, it stood firm.
"I see." Genko said, "Dispel it and make three clones."
"But-"
"Just do it."
Chizue huffed before doing as she was told. She expected the clones to be even worse, but instead they turned out perfectly. To test it, Chizue made some hand signs without molding chakra and the duplicates did the same.
"Looks like you have them down." Genko said with a smirk. "We'll call this a practice session. I'll give you the full test again two days from now and if you do as well as you did today, you'll be getting your headband."
"I'll graduate early?" Chizue questioned.
"Yes, but you'll have to hit the books. The written exam is just as important as the practical one. If you fail that, then you won't graduate. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sensei. Thanks for the help." Chizue said before walking back outside.
'I should report this to Father.' Genko thought with a grin, 'Looks like one of the Uzumakis is a sensor.'
Two day later, Hansuke and Chizue walked into the building, each carrying a scroll on their back. After Hansuke managed to get storage scrolls down, the two of them have foregone carrying bags and instead began storing all their supplies in a scroll.
When they entered the classroom, the two of them walked towards their seat, but they didn't get that far.
"Chizue." Genko called before pointing towards the door.
Hansuke looked puzzled and Chizue nodded, exiting the room.
"Hey, Genko-sensei! Why'd you send Chizue out?!" Hansuke asked.
"She knows why." she replied cryptically, before starting the lesson, "Anyways…."
A couple of hours passed and Chizue still didn't return. Hansuke was getting a bit anxious. 'Did Chizue do something to get sent out?' he thought, 'Kushina-nee's gonna be pissed when she finds out!' Hansuke never got sent out during class. Yeah, he sometimes got berated for speaking out of turn or sent to detention for falling asleep during class, but he was never kicked out. If his sister didn't come back after lunch, He was going to ask Genko-sensei what happened.
But when he walked into the cafeteria with his bento box, he found Chizue already there, chatting it up with Obito, Rin, and a couple of others. There was a blue-clothed hitai-ite tied around her neck.
She noticed him enter the large room and waved at him, smiling. He immediately rushed towards the group, sitting at the table before setting his food down.
"Hey, Chi!" he exclaimed, "You graduated?"
His sister nodded. "I took the test earlier today."
"That's why sensei sent you out!"Hansuke said, slapping his forehead, "I thought you were in trouble!"
She giggled.
"You're going home after lunch, right?" Obito asked.
"Yep," she replied, "I have to come back tomorrow to meet my Jonin sensei."
"Do you know who it'll be?" Rin asked.
"No clue."
"Maybe it'll be Min-kun." Hansuke said, "He told me he had an apprentice."
"Hm." Chizue said, shoveling rice into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before continuing, "I doubt it, though. He probably has a full team by now."
"Nuh-uh!" Hansuke replied, "I just asked him last week. There's no way that he got two new students."
"I dunno." Chizue said before scarfing down the last of her lunch, "We'll see." She rose from the seat. "Well, I'll see you guys later."
Chizue left the room, leaving the Academy and her friends behind.