-Chapter Four: Team Ronin-
"Bastard!!"
Ryokumaru hit the floor hard and spit out the blood that was in his mouth, before whipping the blood on the side of his lip with his hand. He looked fiercely up at the boys before him. There were three, and two were big, at least bigger then Ryokumaru was, with one a little bit more moderately built. He was the one who had just decked Ryokumaru.
"It isn't my fault that you didn't become Genin!!" Ryokumaru yelled. It was a little hard to see out of his left eye where he had been punched.
"Shut up dobe!! I'm 2nd out of 18!!"
"Yeah! We're 7th and 6th!!" shouted one of the other boys.
The first boy spoke again. "There is no way that we lost to someone like you, 18th out of 18!! The test had to have been ridged, or you did something dishonest to pass!"
"I already told you I passed on my own!!" Ryokumaru tried to stand again. The speaking boy gritted his teeth and kicked him in the side before he could accomplish this.
"My family needs the money! You come from a rich clan, you would never understand!" The boy's eyes started to tear. He moved in to attack the still prone Ryokumaru.
His fist was blocked. Standing in front of the boy was a blonde haired, blue eyed Genin. He quickly extended a kunai and pointed it at the forehead of the attacking boy.
"Minato…" He spoke, his eyes narrowing at the kunai pointed at him.
Ryokumaru looked up at his companion in awe.
"Why is he here?" Was all he could think.
The two who had been watching now took steps forward at the blonde, but a ninja quickly appeared between them, grabbed both of their heads, and smashed them together. The boys dropped like rocks.
"What do you think your doing, Amida-kun." Minato spoke with a cold whisper. He removed the weapon pointed at the boy.
Amida looked behind him at both of his allies down, and saw the person responsible leaning against a wall.
"Katsu…" Was his next whisper.
"Please do not take this personally, Amida-kun, but we cannot tolerate our team mate being attacked as such." Minato carried on.
Amida saw that Minato had let his guard down, and Katsu was barely paying attention. He looked down, and whipped his eyes. "What do either of you know?!" With that he clenched his hand into a fist and shoved it at Minato.
The blonde's facial expression didn't change and he took a quick step back, grabbed the boy's arm at the elbow with one hand, and the wrist with the other. In one quick motion, he snapped the boy's arm, causing the elbow to bend in the wrong way. The boy's eyes shot open and he started to shout a cry of pain.
Wham.
Katsu was right behind him, and landed a chop to the boy's neck, making him drop unconscious.
"Minato-san, you really went over board." Katsu spoke, before looking over to the still shocked Ryokumaru. "Besides, we should let him fight his own fights."
Minato gave Ryokumaru a hand and helped him up. The boy had a black eye and other small cuts and bruises on him.
"I can't watch a team mate become injured without doing anything, Katsu-kun."
Ryokumaru didn't look very relieved, almost angry. "I didn't ask for your help Minato! Same goes for you Katsu! That boy didn't deserve that!!" Ryokumaru looked at the unconscious boy's broken arm. It would have high medical bills, and if what the boy said was true…
"Ryo-kun, you are becoming emotional over this. Yes, the boy did indeed have a Story, yet so does everyone else in the world. It was either his Story or yours," Minato's facial expression remained cold, "We're ninja, not idealists. Now let us go and find you some band-aids."
Minato began walking out of the ally way where all had conspired. Katsu followed closely behind him. Ryokumaru was left standing looking at the three unconscious boys.
"Sure, they were blowing things out of proportions, but did Katsu and Minato really have to beat them up? And it isn't like my clan is that rich or anything…I know that I shouldn't have anything to do with it, yet I can't help but feel sorry for them."
Ryokumaru turned around and decided to catch up with his team.
-Ninja Academy, Two Hours Later-
Jiraiya was sprawled out on the desk at the front of the classroom. Ryokumaru, Minato, and Katsu all had different seats in different parts of the almost empty room. The three were reading text books, bar a little boredom. It was, of course, the quietest time the group had had together yet.
Ryokumaru groaned, and let his head hit the table his book was on. He had several small bandages on him, with neatly applied ointment via help from Katsu and Minato.
Katsu looked somewhat uninterested, reading the book on his lap while leaning back in his chair. His katana, as always, was set nearby.
Minato seemed constant, a slight smile on his innocent face. He appeared to be vividly reading.
"Minato-san." Katsu called, not looking up from his book.
"Yes, Katsu-kun?" Minato followed suit.
"You're fed up with this, aren't you?" Katsu stated, seeing strait into Minato's emotions.
"Yes, Katsu-kun." Minato sighed.
"He's not the only one…" Ryokumaru piped.
Katsu put his book down and stood, facing the raised yet prone form of Jiraiya on the desk.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what we are studying is merely slightly more difficult then what we have already accomplished before becoming Genin." He made a gesture to his forehead protector, which all the men in the room religiously wore. "Shouldn't we be out training?"
Jiraiya sighed from his half-sleep.
"Studying is a very important part of being a ninja." He itched his nose and yawned. "You'll never get away from it, so you better get used to doing it."
Katsu crinkled his brow in a frustrated manor. "But this isn't helping us learn anything! This is only telling us how to fight, actually training is definitely superior."
Minato looked up. "I also agree with Katsu-kun."
"Yeah! This is completely boring! I wanna get to doin' a mission!!" Ryokumaru was quick to exclaim, looking about as annoyed as Katsu.
Jiraiya sighed and sat up, and faced his students. "Look, all things are best with moderation. Sure, training is useful, and we'll get to it, but for one hour a day, you are going to be studying. A ninja always has to review the basics. Besides, what good is training if you can't have some insight? If you all want to go outside and kick a damn log five-hundred times, go ahead, but it isn't going to make you a better ninja."
Katsu sighed and let his irritation fade. "I understand, Jiraiya-sensei." He sat back down and resumed his reading, along with Minato.
"But…what about a mission, Jiraiya?" Ryokumaru asked.
"Well, actually, I've already turned in our team folder, so we should already be in the system. I was planning on going down today. But, after you guys finish your hour of reading, I have some sort quizzes for you. Once all of you pass them, we can move to the next part of our morning activities."
"Quizzes! What for!"
"To make sure you actually learned something, Ryo-chan, and didn't just pretend to read or sleep the whole time."
Ryokumaru sweat dropped.
"Look, let's get this strait, right now you are all my students, and this is the training routine that we'll do everyday so long as possible. Study in the morning for an hour, go out on the field and test out what you've learned for another hour, and then we're going to exercise for one final hour."
"Exercise!" Ryokumaru burst, again.
"Yeah Ryo-chan, keeping your body healthy is important for being a ninja. But anyways, after those three hours are over, we'll go and do a mission. Now, I haven't done a D-Rank mission in a while, but since we'll be done with our training routine at 10:00, we should finish our mission around 4:00 to 5:00."
"D-Rank mission are that short...?" Ryokumaru stated the obvious, again.
"And then after that you all can pretty much hang out for the rest of the day." Jiraiya shrugged.
"Sora-neechan likes me home at 8:00." Minato stated.
"Yeah, kaasan likes me home the same time." Ryokumaru nodded.
Jiraiya laid himself back down. "Same for you, Kat-chan?"
Katsu didn't say anything.
"Right, well, get back to work, you all get your test in ten minutes, so I hope your well read up."
Katsu put his book down. "Finished."
Minato was still smiling. "I'm on my fourth time around."
Jiraiya turned his head to Ryokumaru who looked frantic.
"Okay so I'm just starting!!"
The other three burst out laughing.
-Training Grounds, 45 Minutes Later-
Jiraiya was standing before his three pupils. Katsu had this sword strapped to his back, as always, and stood with his arms crossed. Minato had his eternal smile, and Ryokumaru just looked bored.
"Okay, due to the fact that somebody failed the test three times, we're not going to have time to do much today. I figure that a quickie analysis of your skills should be enough."
Ryokumaru grumbled at the mention of someone failing the test so many times.
"So, just for starters, I've read your reports from the academy, so I think I have an okay understanding of how good you all are. But, I'm curious as to a few things. For starters, Chakra and Stamina capacity."
Minato and Katsu followed along easy, Ryokumaru, not so much.
"Well, how about a Bushin no Jutsu? That's pretty simple, all of you just release a bit of chakra and let me see how it goes."
All boys nodded, and made hand seals, Katsu's exceptionally fast, Minato's exceptionally slow, and Ryokumaru's exceptionally bad.
"BUSHIN NO JUTSU!" All boys shouted, at after a large puff of smoke passed, Jiraiya made his observations.
Katsu had five copies of himself. Ryokumaru on the other hand, had only one, which Jiraiya had a hard time noticing due Minato's crowd of ten. Katsu and clones all looked slightly surprised at Minato's group, while both Ryokumarus looked utterly shocked.
A moment later all three released the jutsu and the clones faded.
"Minato! How did you make so many clones!" Ryokumaru was the first to notice.
"It's because," Jiraiya went on to answer for him, "He has excellent chakra control."
Ryokumaru looked clueless. "Chakra…control…?"
Katsu sighed along with Jiraiya. "Oh boy, you really just didn't listen to the basics did you, Ryo-chan? Kat-chan, explain it to him, will you?"
Minato looked somewhat pleased with himself, but stayed quiet.
Katsu spoke the bewildered Ryokumaru. "It's simple. Chakra is the Spirit-Force mixed inside of your body, which is obvious. Creating it is the key. Chakra is made from Stamina, which is your Life-Force. When releasing the seals of a jutsu, you transform your Life-Force, Stamina, into Spirit-Force, or Chakra. Then, after the Chakra is acquired, you release it into the effect of the jutsu." Katsu explained this carefully.
"Sure he may be a complete idiot, but if we're ever going to do anything about that we need to help him learn. We are stuck with him on our team after all. I'm sure Minato-san's thinking the same thing." Katsu thought to himself, taking a brief glance at Minato.
"So, Minato used more Chakra then me and Katsu." Ryokumaru declared, targeted to Jiraiya, who shook his head.
"No, the three of you used the same amount of Chakra." Ryokumaru looked utterly confused. "Let me explain this one. The three of you have some differences in how you use Chakra. As an example, when Mina-chan mixes his Stamina into Chakra, he transfers the exact amount he needs, and after such, completely uses the Chakra in his system on the spot, therefore none is wasted."
Ryokumaru nodded.
"Kat-chan here actually transfers too much Life-Force into Spirit-Force when making Chakra, but he makes up for it by using the exact amount. You on the other hand, Ryo-chan, waste way too much Stamina and don't use your Chakra effectively. Simply put, you waste most of the Chakra you create."
"What? Why should that matter? I'd still have extra Chakra in my system, so I could use it for later!"
Katsu actually sighed at this, Minato still patient through the conversation.
"Ryo-chan, if that were true, then hand seals would be worthless. Any ninja could just transfer however much Stamina into Chakra before a battle or anything and just use their 'reserves.' It doesn't work like this. The difference is Spirit-Force decreases at such a rapid rate, that it'll disappear almost instantly. When using a jutsu, the Chakra that you create is used on the spot, and if isn't used, it dissipates."
Ryokumaru was beginning to understand now.
Jiraiya continued. "Humans naturally regain Stamina by eating, breathing, and resting. Chakra however must be made from Stamina because humans don't naturally make it—"
Minato perked his head up and seemed to be in thought, but didn't interrupt.
"—which is what makes us ninja special, being able to create Chakra from our Stamina. Normal people cannot do this."
There was a pause. "I think I understand now. Thank you, Jiraiya…Jiraiya-sensei." Ryokumaru turned his head to face the dark haired boy before he finished. "Thank you, Katsu."
"If you really wanted to thank me, you'd stop referring to me so familiarly." Katsu responded coldly.
Ryokumaru gave a large smile. "Why would I do something so silly like that? We're a team! We're almost like family, and we'll be together for the rest of our careers!"
"Actually, he's somewhat right," Jiraiya added, "I had about the same team for almost all of my missions."
"Whatever…" was Katsu's quiet response. This got a giggle out of Minato, which in turn received a sharp look from Katsu.
Jiraiya guided them back on subject. "Minato, you have great Chakra control. However, in order to be able to focus as such, it takes you longer to do the hand seals. I want you to practice doing them faster, like Kat-chan, even if it wastes more Stamina then it has to. Sometimes speed is more important, and at your level, I think it's optimal."
"But what if I have enough time to use my Chakra control to its extent, such as a target unaware of my position." Minato questioned.
"Then by all means, do so. Just let me know when you see one of those." Jiraiya smirked, and Minato stuck his tongue out.
Ryokumaru laughed, and even Katsu chuckled.
Katsu was the first to put everyone back on track. "So, is there anything else you were wondering, Jiraiya-sensei?"
Jiraiya thought about it for a moment, before nodding, and pulling out what looked like three small pieces of paper.
"This is something you all may not be familiar with. A ninja's Chakra has something called a nature, which is the element it matches with. Most ninja don't show any elemental advantages until Chuunin level, and some don't ever show them at all."
Jiraiya handed one piece of paper to all of them.
"Ha! This is where I'm ahead of those two! All people of the Rokku clan have a strong Earth nature affinity! I bet neither of them even have one yet!" Ryokumaru thought to himself as he took the paper.
"There are five primary natures which one can have: Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water, and Earth. Those pieces of paper are made from old trees created by the Shodai Hokage, so they will easily react to the slightest bit of Chakra. Simply channel a small amount of Chakra into them."
All three students nodded, and did so.
Ryokumaru smirked as his paper turned into a fine dust in the palm of his head.
"Yeah, I'd like to see what those two are—"
A small, brief yet quick breeze erupted from Katsu's hand and blew the dust from Ryokumaru's hand. The tan boy looked over to see that the purple garbed boy had broken his piece of paper strait in half, which he promptly tossed the remains over his shoulder.
Everyone turned to see the last boy release his Chakra nature.
The card he held instantly crumpled.
"So…they all have natures too…figures I wouldn't be ahead." Ryokumaru sighed.
"What does this mean, Jiraiya-sensei?"
"It means, Mina-chan, that you have Lightning nature Chakra, which is quite rare in a Genin. Actually, all of you have a Chakra nature, I'm quite impressed." Jiraiya smiled.
He put his hand on Katsu's head. "Kat-cha, you have Wind nature Chakra." He moved over before putting his hand on Ryokumaru's head. "And you, Ryo-cha, have Earth nature Chakra, as you probably knew." He removed his hand and stepped back.
"So…I'm Wind…" Katsu said out loud, seeming to ponder this, maybe slightly surprised.
"And I'm Lightning." Minato concluded.
Jiraiya continued his lecture, "Every Chakra nature has another nature they are strong against, and a nature they are weak against. Water is strong against Fire, which is strong against Wind, that is strong against Thunder, that in turn is strong against Earth, which is finally effective against Water." He looked all of his students in the eyes.
"Basically, Ryo-chan, Mina-chan has the better of your Chakra natures, and Mina-chan, Kat-chan is practically your worst enemy. Kat-chan, no one here has a nature that can defeat yours."
Katsu smiled at this, seeming to be amused by his nature. Ryokumaru on the other hand looked somewhat depressed that he was on the 'bottom' of the totem again.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what are your Chakra natures? You're a Jonin, surely you have more then one." Minato asked sincerely.
"It's a secret!" Minato gave a huge grin, causing Minato to actually frown, and Katsu to roll his eyes.
"Now, I have one last thing to say to you all," Jiraiya continued. "Jutsu are very dangerous."
"Of course they are, Jiraiya-sensei! There are many powerful jutsu out there and people who have affinities effective against yours, you have to be careful." Ryokumaru finished saying for Jiraiya, who shook his head.
"Actually that isn't what I was going to say. The reason you have to be careful of jutsu is…because even your own most power techniques can kill you." The students looked slightly confused.
"Making and using Chakra drains your Stamina, so you're Life-Force. This will eventually recover, but it won't in the middle of a battle. The more you use a jutsu, the less you'll be able to fight, and the more of an advantage your enemy will have on you. Only use techniques when you need to, and carefully plan them out. The most important way to make sure that you stay alive in combat however is—"
He paused for effect, his tone serious.
"—to make sure you have friends to watch your back." He ended his speech in a smile, which affected the rest of his students. "Now I think we'll skip exercise and a mission for today, so why don't you all go home and rest, tomorrow will be tough."
After dismissing his students, Katsu and Ryokumaru promptly left. Minato, however, stayed behind.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I have a question." He asked.
"Sure thing, what's up, Mina-chan?"
"Well, you said that humans didn't normally make Spirit-Force…well, what about something that could? What sort of creature would that be?"
Jiraiya paused, astonished at Minato's statement, but mostly his inability to answer the question. "Well, I really don't know, Mina-chan, but if such a creature did exist, they'd be one HELL of a demon!"
-End Chapter Four-
Thank you for reading! Please comment and review.
Preview - Chapter Five: A Clash of Stories