Chapter 3: You Can Call Me Sensei
I stared at Kakashi for a few seconds. He looked like a regular guy. He was just a little taller than me and Sasuke; he didn't look much bigger than us either. He also looked pretty laid back. He didn't seem serious looking, and his left eye looked kind of lazy. Except for his right eye having a patch on it, he really did seem like your average guy. Is he really a ninja?
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." I jumped and looked at him. I pointed to myself. "Yes, you. I know you're critiquing me. It shows off on your idiotic face." Hey! My face isn't idiotic! Before I could retort, a cool hand slid against my mouth.
"Sorry, this idiot tends to do, say, and think simple-minded things." Hey! Why's Sasuke against me too!? Kakashi turned and walked back into the high school. We quickly followed him and watched the gate close all by itself. Turning, I eyed everything there was to see about Yuniti High School. My jaw dropped.
The entire campus was made from stone and wood. The biggest building was a huge stone dome with circle windows here and there. There were these covered walkways made from wood that traveled from the biggest building to six other buildings. They were weren't as big, but they were still huge. There were other buildings branching from those and small areas to lounge on the campus. There were oriental street lamps that illuminated the entire campus. Going deeper into the place, you can see places to train and practice.
It was all so amazing.
But it was so not amazing too!
All the buildings looked abandoned. The stone walls were a faded color, and the wood was either rotten or broken in places. Weeds grew through every crack you could see, and some of the lamps didn't even turn on. Others flickered on and off constantly. It was a total dump!
"I see that look on your face again." I turned to Kakashi, who only sighed. "Come with me. I'll explain." We all walked towards the largest building. It stood tall with sturdy wooden door as its entrance. When we were inside, Kakashi directed us to the side and to a lounging area. I looked back at the center of the room. There was another big door with locks on it. Where does that lead? Sasuke sat on and couch, so I did too. We placed our stuff on the sides and got comfortable. Kakashi sat on the couch across from us and placed his book in front of him. What's up with the book? "Where should I begin?" Sasuke beat me to the punch.
"You can start by explaining why this place looks like a complete wreck." Well, I probably would've said worse...
"You boys know of the Harō, correct?" We nodded. "Well, it starts with that. I'm sure you know how it started."
"Everyone does, duh!" I cut in and started to explain. At least I know this much. "The Harō was made to stop all wars. We had too many back then, so our great leaders made the Harō to stop them. Thanks to the help of ninja, of course!" Kakashi nodded and flipped a page in his book.
"I'm surprised someone of your generation knew ninja helped establish the Harō. You're correct." I beamed a little. "But, you're also not correct." I frowned. "The Harō had another purpose besides stopping war. Any of you know?" Huh? I looked at Sasuke. He shook his head, so we looked back at Kakashi. He paused and turned a page in his book. "It's other purpose was to make ninja unnecessary." I jumped from my seat.
"What!?" I can't believe that! Why would that happen? "How come!?" Kakashi looked closely at a page in his book.
"To stop war, of course. That was their reason. No ninja means no war, or at least, that's what they wanted you to think."
"They? Who is "they"?" Sasuke asked.
"Back then, the leaders of our land, the founders of the Harō were ninja. They wanted to create peace and structure, but something happened. I'm not quite sure on the details myself, but they all lost political power. Soon, these new leaders rose up and took over. They took credit for making the Harō and were the false gems of the public eye. Tell me, who is the leader, the Hokage, of the Leaf Village?"
"Danzo," I answered. A look of disgust crossed my face. Saying his name made me want to puke. "He's all smiles and claims war and fighting is wrong. I hate him. He looks so fake, and it makes me mad."
"He too is one of them. Taking the credit for the Harō after all these years and making ninja look like the cause instead of the solution. It also makes ninja look like laughingstocks, so as you can see, the school remains abandoned." A growl rippled inside my throat, and Kakashi looked at me.
"Sorry. It's just as I said. I hate him so much." Sasuke had been sitting quiet before but began speaking again.
"So, what your saying is that that this school is abandoned because our corrupt political leaders abused the power of the Harō and made ninja completely unnecessary?" Kakashi nodded. A look of pure disgust crossed Sasuke's usually neutral face. "Those assholes." I looked at Kakahsi, who was siting calm and quiet.
"Why'd you stay, Kakashi?" He looked up at me. "If the art of being a ninja was really abandoned, the no one would need to stay in the school. Why'd you stay here?" He stared at me for couple seconds with his one eye before speaking.
"I swore my loyalty to being a ninja. I wanted to teach future generations the way of the shinobi and prided myself in doing just so. Besides, I made a promise to someone. I can't just leave. Not yet." I stared at Kakashi in complete admiration. Even after the Harō destroyed all his hopes and dreams, he stayed here to teach the future generation. I clenched my fists.
"I'll do it then!" I placed my hand to my chest and looked Kakashi in the eye. "I'll help you! We'll turn this school into the best ninja school in all the lands, and everyone will want to come here! Count on that!" Kakashi looked up at me before returning to his book.
"Wow. You really do say things without thinking." I flinched. Geh, why does love putting me down so much!? Sasuke agreed and stood up too.
"Told you so." I moaned. Not him too! I started bickering with Sasuke while Kakashi stood up.
"Alright, you too. That's enough." We stopped and looked at him. "Anyway, what are your names?" I said mine before Sasuke.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" Kakashi narrowed his left eye.
"When you take out the "Uzu-", your name is literally "narutomaki". Your name is literally a type of fish cake. Unbelievable." I hung my head. Why did he have to mention that? I tried avoiding that so hard when I was younger. He turned to Sasuke. "You have a more appealing name, I hope."
"Sasuke Uchiha." I picked up my head just in time to see Kakashi's eye widen.
"Uchiha?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.
"Problem?" They stared at each other for a few moments. Uh, what's going on? What's wrong with Sasuke's name? Kakashi sighed, and his lazy look returned.
"I only hope not. Well then, follow me." Kakashi walked towards the center of the room. I began to follow and looked back at Sasuke.
"Are you okay?" He stared at Kakashi's back before budging. He walked past me and muttered.
"I'm fine." I frowned as he walked past me. His back looked tense, and he walked stiffly. What's going on? Is Sasuke's name that strange? "Naruto! Hurry up!" I jumped and dashed towards them. We were in front of the large door with locks. Kakashi placed his palm against the wood. A clicked sounded, and all the locks undid themselves one by one. I gaped. How did he do that? Was that some ninja trick!? Before I could ask, the door creeped open, and a long, dark hallway appeared. We walked through the darkness. A banging noise rang behind me, and I looked back to see the door was closed. The hallway went on for a while until I saw light at the end. Quickly, I ran ahead into the light. I was blinded for a moment and looked around. No way.
We were in an arena. It was a circular battlefield. The walls were tall and made from concrete. At the top, there was a seating area for people to come and watch, and there was a circular overhang to provide shade for them. There was everything in the battlefield. The ground was a cool, earth, and there was a small pond in one section. There were patches of grass everywhere and a handful of trees too. I walked to the very center and looked up. The arena had no roof; it was just a giant skylight. The moon stood in the very middle of the sky, illuminating everything. Taking everything in, I looked back at Kakashi and Sasuke entering. Sasuke's eyes widened as he wandered farther in and looked at everything.
"Welcome to the Yuniti Arena," Kakashi explained. "This is where students would have major battling exams and fights. Winning these fights were important in maintaining not only your grade but your status here. It used to be such a big event." Kakashi walked away from Sasuke and me. We exchanged looks. What's going on?
"Kakashi?" Sasuke spoke out at him. He turned around and faced us again. "Why are we here?" Kakashi put away his book.
"To fight me, of course." I gaped at him.
"W-Wait! For real!? You want us to fight you!?" Kakashi turned to me and nodded.
"That's correct. I don't expect you to win, but I expect some show of strength. If you and Sasuke can show me some true strength, I'll consider teaching you." I smirked and cracked my knuckles.
"Alright then! Let's do this!" There's no way I'm gonna back down. My future to become Hokage is riding on this! I'll take whatever he gives us! I turned to Sasuke, and he nodded. We spread ourselves on opposite sides of Kakashi and braced ourselves. Kakashi only stood there. I leapt forward but was held back. What? A arm wrapped around my neck, and the sharp-feeling of a knife touched my back. Kakashi sighed.
"I didn't say "go" yet." Sasuke gave me a tired look while Kakashi held on to me. "Okay? Go!" Reaching into my back pocket, I quickly brought out my knife and swung behind me, but Kakashi was gone. Cursing, I looked around and spotted him standing near the pond area. Sasuke leapt forward and dashed at him. He swiftly brought out his sword and slashed the area near Kakashi. Kakashi dodged, and while in midair, he tossed out small, four-star tipped shuriken. Sasuke looked up too late and only dodged a few. The rest shredded his right jacket arm. He clutched his arm in pain.
"Sasuke!" Sasuke looked at me.
"I'm fine! You go try and get him!" He sounded okay, so I nodded. I ran ahead and caught a few shuriken that fell on the ground. I slid them in my jacket pocket and chased after Kakashi. For an old guy, he sure moved fast. He was leaping from tree to tree, mocking us. After a long time of being evaded, my breath hitched, and the feeling of tiredness filled my legs. I could feel the sweat sticking my back to my shirt. This must be what exhaustion feels like. I stopped to catch my breath. Kakashi looked over at me from a tree on the right side of the arena.
"Tired? Want to quit? I find that fine. Running around helpless while your comrade is down is exhausting." I looked back at Sasuke. He was on one knee, huffing, clenching his arm. A look of sheer pain was etched in his face. "Since it was his dominant arm, a wound like that will hurt for a while, especially for a sword-wielder like him." I grounded my teeth. "So, I'll ask again. Want to quit?" I looked at the ground and clenched my fist.
"No way! I will never quit! Becoming a ninja is everything to me. There's no way I'll give up my dream!" On that last part, I jumped up and threw the shuriken. They spun out of my hand and whirled towards Kakashi. He leapt out of the way easily, giving me a bored look. I smirked. Here it comes!
"Go, Sasuke!" Kakashi's left eye widened, and when he when to look behind him, it was too late. Sasuke had already jumped behind him and aimed his sword at the back of Kakashi's neck.
It turns out that Sasuke can use his right and his left hand to battle.
I quickly dashed forward and placed my knife at the base of Kakashi's neck. "Well. How about that!? Still think I'm gonna quit!?" Kakashi looked into my eyes and sighed. Suddenly, a popping sound rang and smoke filled the air. W-What!? Did he just explode!? When the smoke cleared, I saw Sasuke and looked down onto what we were aiming our weapons at.
It was a log. We were aiming our weapons at a log. It was fairly big and stood at a right height to meet our blades. The words "I am Kakashi." were were written on a piece of paper attached to it. My jaw dropped.
WHAT THE HELL!?
Quickly, I turned around and saw Kakashi strolling towards the exit. This can't be right! I've read about this before... It's called something...
"Sub-Substitution Jutsu!?" I guessed. Kakashi looked back and nodded. What!? That's so cheap! How dare he! Substitution Jutsu is some type of ninja trick where you switch your body with something else. I can't believe he did that though! "Hey! Where are you going!?" Kakashi took out his book and was reading again. What's with the damn book!?
"I'm going to clean up around the school. Need to get ready for teaching again." I blinked. Wait. Does this mean what I think it means!? Kakashi looked up at me. "Oh, and from now on, you can call me Sensei."