Chapter 26 – Academy Life II
"Talk"
'Think'
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei. So…yeah.
A/N: Over 3000 views! Thank you readers. Thank you also to Cannon 09 for your support.
Academy
"Can I sit with you guys" asked Sasuke to Naruto, Noriko and Hinata during break.
"Why aren't you sitting with your normal crews?" asked Noriko, curiously. Since the first day, Naruto, Noriko and Hinata sat together while Sasuke normally on his own, or surrounded by his admirers.
"They are making me uncomfortable. The kept making sad face, patting me, and look at me as if I'm about to cry or collapse…I don't know" complained Sasuke "So, can I sit here?"
Naruto and Noriko looked at each other before they broke into a grin.
"Sure, you can sit here, Sasuke" said Naruto while patting Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah" said Noriko in a sad tone "Are you sure you okay? I think Hinata got tissues for you?"
Hinata giggled while Sasuke grunted "Hmpf".
Playground
Naruto was playing with Konohamaru while Noriko was sitting on the bench with Sandaime when she asked "Sandaime-ojiisan, why academy curriculum was designed as it is?"
"Why are you asking that?" asked Sandaime, surprised.
"Curious" answered Noriko with a grin "I mean, so far what we've been taught is basic stuffs including Henge no Jutsu, Kawarimi no Jutsu and Bunshin no Jutsu, why those three?"
"Are you sure you want to listen to a history lecture from an old man?"
"I wouldn't asked if I don't want to" answered Noriko cheekily.
"Well, when Konoha was established by the Senju and Uchiha, many clans that joined Konoha was those with Hiden Jutsu such as Aburame, Akimichi, Hyūga, Nara and Yamanaka because these techniques cannot be copied by the Sharingan. In those days, shinobi came exclusively from ninja clans. However, with the formation of Hidden Village such as Konohagakure and Sunagakure, more and more civilian wants to be shinobi"
"With the ongoing wars, Nidaime saw the wisdom of having shinobi from ninja clans as well as civilian families, so he built an academy where young children can be taught and prepared for a shinobi life. Training civilian to become shinobi is one of the reason why Konoha remained one of the strongest Hidden Village. For example, the Hatakes were hailed as geniuses but they came from family of farmers"
"When it came to courses, Konohagakure opted for basic courses as they are the foundation of many jutsus, and their chakra requirements were low. Additionally, children in general tend to have low amount of chakra."
"For example, bunshin was based on projecting your chakra outwards to create an image to confuse your opponents while kawarimi was based on fast movement and awareness of your environment. Combining these two, your uncle has created a jutsu that was unique to him, which he was famous for"
"Really?!" asked a thrilled Noriko.
"Haha, I guess he didn't tell you, ooops, old man mistake" laughed Hiruzen "Moving on, henge requires chakra control and focus. If you can't focus during fight, you'll die. If you waste chakra, you might ended up with chakra depletion and if not treated immediately, you can die since you basically cannot move"
"The same goes for taijutsu. The basic moves were taught but if you want, you can add knives, tantō, sword, kunai, anything to your moves. Most shinobi, once they are familiar with the basics, they move on and specialize in one thing while some others specialize in many things"
"Which one's better?"
"I don't think there is a right answer to that. It depends on the situation; if fighting many opponents, then knowing varied jutsus comes in handy; if gathering information, stealth, acting, lying and reading people is important, so need to be knowledgeable in human physiology"
"Are all academies the same?"
"Not really, I know Sunagakure focused on training strong shinobi, meaning they train to specialize since Academy, not after Academy as we do it here. The good thing is that, their genins are really strong when fighting theirs strengths, but take that away, they kind of…not so great" said Hiruzen diplomatically, remembering the ass-kicking he gave to a team of puppeteers once their puppets were destroyed.
"Owh" said Noriko, she stood up and bowed "Thank you Sandaime-ojiisan"
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled "Hmmm…maybe I should give lecture at the Academy"
On the way back home, Noriko told Naruto what she has learned.
"Ummm…why are you telling me, Noriko?"
"I want to propose new sparring challenges. One, Henge sparring, the first to lose his or her Henge lose. Two, Kawarimi sparring, no blocking, no evading, just attack and Kawarimi. Three, Bunshin sparring, same as kawarimi but use bunshin instead"
"That sound fun! Come, let's try it at home" said Naruto while running and dragging Noriko.
Since that day, Shizuka was horrified at the amount of injuries they've inflicted at each other. Luckily, the Kyūbi healed them although Naruto appeared to heal twice faster than Noriko which Shizuka attributed to Uzumaki's bloodline.
An Experiment
"Ready?" asked Noriko.
"Yes" answered Naruto, grimly while Shizuka was watching nearby.
Noriko focused her chakra on her fingertips, Byakugan activated, and she hit Naruto's tenketsu.
"OWWWWW!" yelled Naruto.
"Wait, let me see. Try chanelling some chakra…nope, no flow…owh, so this is Jūken" said Noriko "Try chanelling more, some more…I can see a few trickled in, can increase some more?"
"ITS PAINFUL YOU KNOW!" yelled Naruto.
"Hehe…come, I'll treat you to ramen as promised" said Noriko.
"And you agreed to spar with your dōjutsu" mumbled Naruto.
"Fine, fine, just don't cry when I beat you…again" teased Noriko.
End Chapter 26
A/N: Some history and theory about jutsu are purely my speculation.
Bunshin no Jutsu – Clone Technique
Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique
Hiden Jutsu – Clan Technique
Jūken – Gentle Fist
Kawarimi no Jutsu – Body Replacement Technique
Ojiisan – grandfather
Tenketsu – chakra point