-A/N-

I've noticed the past few chapters have spelling and grammar errors, which is unacceptable in the amount I made lately. I'm going to work diligently to make certain that will not be an issue. The goal is to read this note and assume I'm crazy because there were no such errors. (update magic hax)

[readers thoughts] "stfu and get to the story!" [Me] "yes sir...or mam!"

Chapter 26: Shattering Expectations

Akiko stretched, feeling much more limber. In fact, she noted that she was more flexible than before. She hopped a couple of times, feeling pretty good. As she departed, she paced herself into a jog. To her surprise, she was way ahead of her normal time. "Huh, not breaking a sweat this way. I must have gotten faster." With that thought, she sprinted towards their training field. As she watched the trees wiz by, she noted that her top speed had increased by a good deal.

As she arrived on the chilly morning, she wiped her head, seeing Isami ahead. "Yo, Akiko. Still hard to call you that."

She continued to do more stretches. "What brings you out here? Couldn't avoid life without bothering me more?"

Isami laughed, reaching in his pocket. "I've got to check your stats and natures. That way, we can officially get you in the system." Akiko shrugged, doing as he said. As she channeled chakra into the affinity slip, the paper became crinkled and soggy, but lit up in sparks. He pulled back. "What do you know; you have the ability to use Lili's storm release."

She rubbed her chin. "That is interesting. This technique really did work exactly as we'd hoped." As she channeled her chakra into the stat card, she crossed her arms. "Already figured out I was faster, but it also looks like I'm definitely more fragile like this. I'm gonna have to fix that and learn how to actually use taijutsu without gentle fist. Guess after that I'll move on to solidifying my ninja tools and genjutsu."

Isami tucked them away, rubbing his head. "You're not stuck like that, you know? You could really stay just the way you are and be fine, since you're still rated pretty high. In fact, since the stats haven't become hindered that much, you can hold onto your Tokubetsu Jonin title."

His sister waved him off. "Nonsense. There's nothing to be gained from slacking off."

Isami shrugged. "I suppose you're right about that." He scratched his cheek, feeling the subject die off. "So, you gonna wish me luck today? I'm about to get in the fight of my life."

Akiko turned away. "It was nice knowing you."

Isami deflated. "Gee, thanks. Feels good to know how much you care."

She turned back to him with a grin. "You can get him; I'm sure of it. If you're an Uzumaki, you don't stop until your body can't move." Isami grinned back before vanishing. She continued on her stretches. "Teruya Akiko. Teruya Akiko. Teruya…" She told herself over and over to grind the name into her brain.

"Are you amused?" Akiko jumped back, seeing Lili. The girl tapped her foot. "So, you appear to be feeling better. What did you find out?"

Akiko shrugged her off. "I've got to make this body tougher and better in hand-to-hand." Her eyes drifted to Lili's with a playful scheme. "Oh, and apparently I can use the storm release."

Lili dropped her arms. "What!" Before she flared up, she flipped her hair out. "It's some technique you developed, but you probably couldn't learn it even if you tried."

Akiko crossed her arms. "Yeah? Wouldn't know unless I tried, but that's up to you, isn't it?" She walked over to her, giving her a look. "Have you even figured out the rasengan yet?"

Lili stood tall. "As a matter of fact…" Lili reached her hand out, taking some time to gather the swirling chakra into a ball. "Well?"

Akiko judged it carefully before wiggling her hand, signaling she'd seen better. "You could compact it a bit more...and you are taking too long to from it." Akiko stuck her hand out, forming the rasengan in half a second. "See? Try to do it like that."

Lili pulled back. "W-well of course I could do it faster and tighter. I just…didn't want you to feel bad…yeah!"

Akiko shook her head, but quickly pushed Lili out of the way. "Look out!"

Inora went flying by with a tight rasengan herself. "Aww, that would've been so fun! Oh well."

Akiko pointed at the girl. "Am I going to regret teaching you that? Be careful!"

Datsu jumped into the scene! "Yoooo!" Within a moment, he formed a rasengan in each hand and started plowing through trees and chunks of earth. "This is awesome!"

Lili shook her head. "I regret it for you."

"Datsu!" Akiko stopped him from destroying anymore of the field. With her arms crossed, she continued. "That's pretty impressive. You can make a rasengan pretty quickly, and it looks as good as mine already. How?"

Datsu rubbed his nose. "Glad you asked." The boy cleared his throat. "You're looking at the Hokage's number one disciple, that's how!"

Lili pulled back. "No way! The Hokage chose you?"

Inora and Akiko shook their heads. "You're both idiots."

Datsu turned to Akiko. "Well…what do we do now?"

Akiko rubbed her chin. "Honestly, I'm impressed you guys could pull that off in a day. That being said…" After a brief thought, she nodded her head. "Right. Lili and I are going to try to request training from Takeshi's mom. I think Inora should help you with genjutsu defense. If Takeshi's dad were here, I'd try to get him to help, but that might be pushing it."

Lili stopped her. "What are you planning? How is the Uchiha's mother going to help?"

Akiko seemed nauseous. "I think it's better I don't answer that. She's got a proven method of making you tougher though."

Datsu piped up. "Hey, that sounds more up my alley. Why not let me skip this and do that?"

Inora shook her head. "No way. Both you and Lili have sub-par genjutsu defense. You almost lost our match thanks to that. If you're caught in the field defenseless, you're as good as dead."

Akiko agreed quickly. "That's exactly correct. I'm hoping to learn from the best we can before leaving the village. I believe Takeshi's mother is the only person out there who can make someone tough in a short time frame." She turned to Lili. "Come on, she's pretty nice…generally" Lili shrugged.

-In Isami's Office-

"Welcome to my humble abode." He pointed to the massive training area. "Besides Yuuki, you're the only other person to step foot inside."

Sasuke grunted, going through all the details. What's with this guy? He's nothing like Naruto was. "Enough of this, let's just get to it." The Uchiha crossed his arms with a smirk. "Also, not a bad idea transporting me to an unknown location. Guess it wouldn't behoove me to accidentally kill you."

Isami led him out to the middle, doing a quick stretch. He placed black tape under his eyes and fidgeted around with his kunai until he was satisfied. "I'm aware that I'm the kind of person you find the most annoying in this world." Sasuke cracked his knuckles, eager to start. Isami brightened up. "As you'd imagine, there's a good reason to this fight. I don't know if it's going to help anything, but I at least need to prove to you why I'm rated so highly in this village."

Sasuke scoffed. "Cut the crap. I know you're not just some clown, ignorant in the ways of this world. However, I intend on showing you just how wide the gap is between you and I." The Uchiha let his sharingan shine.

Isami sighed, stretching his arm before finally settling into a battle stance. "I know this is gonna be a pain to start out with, but I'm going to tell you right now." Sasuke eyed him in annoyance as Isami readied his family's trademark seal. "Hitomi and I both moved in with Kochi. On top of that, I've been dating her for six years, and we're tired of hiding it."

Sasuke paused mentally, hardly digesting what he was saying. Six years? But… The more the memories culled up, the more he really saw all the pieces fall together. You can't be...Naruto's knucklehead clown for a son? The Uchiha's face snarled in anger. "Son of a bitch." Within a flash, Sasuke had jolted forward.

The sword impaled Isami moments after he summoned a clone, but to Sasuke's surprise, where Isami just was hissed in electricity and Sasuke was forced to dodge a water jutsu. Isami took the window to produce five clones. Sasuke ticked in his head. How the hell did he do that? The window was impossible for a substitution.

"Ah, figures I wouldn't get a hit in that easy." Isami ran in to attack from several angles, fluently rolling forward.

Sasuke scoffed. With a flash of his mangekyo sharingan, he cast his genjutsu. "This is the difference-" Before he knew what hit him, Sasuke was launched back by an empty palm thrust, followed up by several collaboration jutsus. Sasuke flashed his susanoo armor to void out the attacks before landing on his feet. Sasuke stood tall, looking over the boy. How did he prevent the genjutsu without any effort? What is this?

Isami stopped, rubbing his head. "Ah, susanoo already. You're really not gonna cut me any slack, huh?" With a quick few snaps, Sasuke could see the real Isami instantaneously switching between his shadow clones.

The Uchiha scoffed, using the susanoo's arrows to blow holes all over the place, tracking him down. Once he found his opening, Sasuke jumped out of his susanoo with his charged blade headed straight at Isami's face. The young Uzumaki tilted his head as a strong wind chakra moved the blade up to slice the black tape. To his astonishment, fire poured out and ignited with the wind to explode. Sasuke was sent flying. "Heavenly spin: Auger!" The Uchiha was blasted back forward to the ground, bouncing off a few meters.

Sasuke rose to his feet, feeling his left arm burnt and his cloths already torn up from the maneuver. He remained calm, looking over his opponent and his now four clones. "It would appear I've underestimated you. That's some technique you have there with those shadow clones."

Isami pumped his fist. "I'd be lying if I were to say it was simple. You're defenses are as sound as I expected to."

Sasuke smirked, activating the rinnegan. "Your chakra is already dwindling. How about it? Can you keep me entertained for a minute?" Sasuke used a swift earth jutsu at Isami, who countered it with a lightning aura. In that moment, the Uchiha instantly used a powerful wind jutsu. In the split second, Isami continued through it using a powerful fire aura.

As he pressed through the wind, he leapt forward. "Doton: Heavenly Auger!" Shit! Sasuke canceled his jutsu, leaping up. As he did, he parried several kunai and shielded himself with stone skin from one of Isami's incoming water jutsus.

As a follow through, Sasuke quickly raised his hand. "Enough: Chidori burst!" The area was quickly lit with crackling lightning, but Isami continued through it with a dense wind chakra aura and pressed him in a gentle fist battle. In a moment, two clones joined in, effectively parrying Sasuke's sword while he avoided Isami's attacks. Given the slightest opening, Sasuke managed to kick Isami away and use that opening to destroy the clones. As he landed, a rain of kunai showered the area. Sasuke avoided them, but was forced into summoning his susanoo as they all let off the hiss of explosive tags.

The massive chain reaction tore open a crater in the ground and managed to push Sasuke back. The man let the aura fade away, feeling a slight loss of breath. Isami himself breathed heavy. "Whew, What a handful. Looks like my chakra really is pretty low."

The Uchiha put a hand on his hip. "You…You're really not what I expected. Naruto's the only one who's made it away from my rinnegan like that." Sasuke loomed into his thoughts. To be this well prepared to fight me…he's dead serious about me acknowledging him. Sasuke let his hand dip down, ready for more. "You're fighting ability is commendable, but you're far too quick to drain your chakra. Those clones can't help you much more either. You can give up now."

Isami looked at his two clones, rubbing his head. "Yeah, guess you're right." He dispelled the clones, still knowing his chakra wasn't of much use at the moment. "However, you'll have to excuse me for refusing. Our family never knows when to call it quits." Sasuke scoffed in amusement, readying his blade. Isami bolted off towards him. "Ah, how could I forget?"

Isami placed two fingers on his forearm, causing a burst of chakra. Sasuke pulled back in shock. The hell? With more clones added, Sasuke was pressed into a constant defensive struggle to avoid seamless taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and ninjutsu onslaught. He's really trying to drain my chakra by keeping susanoo out. I can't afford to allow this to continue, his chakra is completely full again! With a quick blast, Sasuke flexed his susanoo to knock away in opening. "Chibaku Tensei!" With a clap of his hands, the ground quickly began to smash into a ball that rapidly grew.

"Shit!" Isami couldn't resist the pull enough and was dragged into it, getting smashed by chunks of earth. Sasuke gritted his teeth, feeling his chakra rapidly sink. In that instant, the Uchiha was jabbed in the back. He forced out his susanoo before crouching down in fatigue. Isami was sent flying to the ground, battered all over.

"You…" Sasuke turned to the Uzumaki, who pushed up to a knee, healing himself. With a flash of the sharingan, black flame coated Isami. Better use what I have left to get amaterasu off him. To Sasuke's astonishment, the black flames were swept into the other piece of black tape. Sasuke couldn't keep his jaw shut.

Isami vomited up blood. "Nice…try. You're stuck with me for now…" Isami fell over, passed out.

The Uchiha looked himself over. "Man, what a mess I am. Can't even fight a kid these days." Sasuke clenched his hands. "Still, he got me down to about a fifteen percent of my chakra. If it weren't for that Chibaku Tensei, he might have done even better." Sasuke walked over to him, kicking him a couple times. "Hey, don't die on me. You need to get me out of here."

Isami rolled over, forcing himself up. "I hear you." Isami channeled chakra into his fingers and slammed them into his chest. His wounds rapidly healed, but Isami cringed and growled in pain. After a moment, he picked himself up and dusted himself off. "Man, I hate doing that." The young Uzumaki strolled over to his office, sitting in the chair writing. Sasuke followed him, glaring while tapping his foot. Isami sighed. "Just give me a minute to get some chakra back. I'd imagine you want to talk, right?"

The Uchiha scoffed, taking a seat himself. "You Uzumaki sure are a nuisance, you know that?"

Isami leaned back, setting down the pen. "Yeah, I suppose that's fair to say. Listen, about Hitomi."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Don't even bother me with that. If you're that serious about it, I don't have anything to say either way about it. Do what you want."

Isami's eyes brightened as he nearly fell out of his seat. "Are you serious? I mean, I know I'm the worst in your eyes. Not to mention, I am my father's son. There's no way you could be fine with it just like that!"

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Watch me." With a look to the side, he continued. "You may act like a moron, but I've never seen the likes of you in combat. That's saying a lot. Couple that with your library and research…" Sasuke stared back at him. "You're not the type of person I hate the most." Isami started to grin, making Sasuke smirk. "Just don't go thinking you're my favorite type of person...far from it."

Isami rubbed his head. "Well, it didn't really go according to plan, but then again, I didn't have that great of a game plan against Chibaku Tensei."

Sasuke became serious. "Your fuuinjutsu…how the hell did you get it to that level? How were you able to switch instantaneously between your clones?"

Isami crossed his arms behind his head with one eye open. "I'm a natural at it. Apparently my late grandmother was as well, and you know what they say about skipped generations." Sasuke appeared unsatisfied, causing Isami to nod. "Those books aren't just for show either. I worked my ass off." The man leaned forward, rolling back his sleeve. "This one here I used to seal a full dose of my chakra into. Took me forever to figure out." He showed his palm. "This one's interesting; it's designed like a linked grouping between things that share the mark. Just by both parties channeling identical chakra into it, the two parties switch places in space/time." Isami peeled the other undamaged tape off his cheek. "And in this, I developed a seal to seal away the flames of amaterasu. It's obviously never been tested, but it would appear I was lucky enough." Isami finally popped out a thin contact. "And despite the byakugan's natural genjutsu barrier, I developed a seal in the lens to prevent eyesight genjutsu." Isami nodded, satisfied with his own analysis. "I say, there's nothing that can't be reverse engineered with the right amount of information." He pointed to his chest. "Obviously, the recover seal is nice. Useless in battle if I have to resort to it, but nice in the event of a close call."

Sasuke rested his chin in his hand in contemplation. "Who would have thought." The Uchiha brooded slightly. Even with all I know on the matter, that's still over my head. "In any case, are you able to bring us back yet?"

Isami calculated his chakra. "Hmm…no, but…" He rolled his sleeve up, replenishing all his chakra once more. "I forgot about that one I guess!"

Sasuke face-palmed. "God I hate your family." With that, the two departed in a flash.

OoOo

Naruto had just finished his lunch and prepared to leave when Isami and Sasuke appeared on the dining room table. Naruto jumped back. "Isami! How many times do I have to tell you! Stop putting the thunder god seals in stupid places!" After a second, he noted Sasuke's condition. "What the…"

Sasuke jumped off the table, walking to the door. "I'm not in the mood right now, Naruto."

The Hokage looked back to his son in shock. "Did…did you two fight?" Naruto scrunched his face. "You two fought without me!?"

Isami rubbed his head. "It was a bit personal."

Naruto grabbed his son around the shoulder in a whisper. "Hey, why was his arm burnt and his clothes torn. Did you actually win or something?"

Isami shook his head. "Not exactly. I'd liken it towards me losing into somewhat of a draw, which is obviously a win."

Naruto gained some distance from his son with a grin. "Well, how about that! I was sure that he wouldn't hesitate to kill you. You look beat up, but surprisingly in good shape!"

Isami laughed heartily. "And wouldn't you believe it, but that's after I told him Hitomi and I had been dating for six years."

Hinata entered the room with a gasp. "What?!"

Isami tightened his shoulders. "Right, I guess I forgot to mention that to you two first."

Naruto stared slack jawed at his son. "And he still didn't kill you!?" Naruto grumbled, biting his thumb. "Shoot, and I could have acted all upset and sparred with Hitomi. Damn you, Sasuke!"

-Uchiha Household-

Akiko and Lili were both floored as Sakura pulled back. "You know, you're pretty much the first ones to volunteer for this."

Akiko pushed herself into a sitting position. "Is it too late to regret it? This is torture."

Lili followed suit. "I didn't volunteer for shit!"

Sakura raised her fist. "It's too late for that! Once I start this process, you have to see it through. You'll be glad you did."

"Sakura!" Sasuke opened the door, slouching down. "A little hand here?"

The pink-haired mother looked to him and looked back the girls. "I suppose you've earned a break. Take fifteen." She rushed over to her husband with a sigh. "Honestly, do you two ever learn? I'm surprised Naruto isn't here begging for my help too. How'd you get burnt so badly?"

Sasuke just grunted in response. As if on cue, Hitomi showed herself. "Dad!" She was careful not to rouse suspicion. "Uh, how'd it go?"

The Uchiha closed his eyes. "I'd say I won, but it really was more of a draw."

Hitomi leaned back in shock as Sakura shook her head. "That's what you always say."

His daughter crossed her arms. "Are you mad?"

The Uchiha looked at her and grunted. "Furious, but in the end I'm fine. Go do what you want."

Hitomi beamed up, nodded heavily. "Thank you. And, uh, I'm sure you'll beat Naruto unscathed next time."

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, whatever."

Hitomi left quickly and Akiko's eyes glued open. Lili nudged in. "You know something. What is it?"

She turned to her quietly. "It's about Takeshi's dad. Hang on a minute." Akiko stood quickly, rushing passed Sakura. Lili rolled her eyes, laying back. "I'll be back in a couple minutes, I promise. I forgot something at home!"

Sakura reached out, but she was already out the door. With that, she crossed her arms and stared at her husband. "Alright, you want to tell me who you really fought? Naruto wouldn't be able to catch you off guard with a fire jutsu out his ass, none the less hit you with one that well."

Sasuke cursed under his breath. "It was Isami this time. Never seen anything like it."

Sakura stopped what she was doing. "Isami! Shut up, he's not all talk?"

The Uchiha sighed heavily. "He's not the person I thought he was, so that's why I told them to do whatever. I don't care anymore. Apparently he's been dating Hitomi since their academy days."

Sakura continued her shocked stare. "Wow…"

Sasuke piped up. "Yeah…"

OoOo

Both Akiko and Hitomi burst through the door, seeing her brother lounging at the table with his parents. The two girls stared in shock at his relatively good condition. Isami glanced over. "Yo. What up?"

Hitomi ran over, looking him over. "Don't you 'what up' me, I didn't think you were serious about fighting my dad. You knew that he hated you!"

Akiko chimed in. "Wait just a minute, why are you looking in better shape than he was?"

Isami griped around. "Man, I can't get any slack around here." Isami pointed to his chest. "I told you, I keep a hundred aces up my sleeve. Besides, I'm pretty good at healing my own injuries, so don't worry about it."

Hitomi jumped back, remembering his parents were right there. "Oh…uh, kinda forgot you were there."

Naruto leaned back. "No big deal. I had my suspicions about you two, but six years…you must've really hit it off somehow."

Hitomi blushed slightly as Hinata nodded. "You really should have said something sooner, but Isami explained the situation pretty well." Hinata put a hand on Naruto. "I think it's pretty amazing Isami would go to that extent to prove himself, don't you think?"

Akiko stepped in, crossing her arms. "Don't flatter him too much. That kind of praise will go straight to his head and he won't let it go."

Isami jumped up with excitement. "Forget about that! I just won the duel of acceptance against Uchiha Sasuke! I'm on fire!"

Naruto put his thumbs up. "Nice title for the match!"

Hinata sighed slightly. "Oh dear…"

Akiko looked over to Hitomi, who was chuckling at him. She gave her a nudge, gaining her attention. "Hey, congratulations. I never in a million years thought your dad would warm up to Isami."

Hitomi crouched down slightly. "Tell me about it."

OoOo

Akiko ran back into the field, ready to go. "Alright, I'm ba-" With a hard smash, Sakura pulverized her twenty meters away.

Sasuke kept his arms crossed. "You know, I think you enjoy that a little too much."

Sakura turned her fist to him. "If you ask me, you could use a bit more of this yourself, getting torn up like that."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, drawing his sword. "Please. This training is much more effective with me, not on me."

Lili and Akiko shivered. The lightning ninja turned to her. "I hate you. Why did this sound like a good idea?"

She turned to her. "If you're stupid body wasn't so weak, I wouldn't have to do this. Hate yourself!"

OoOoOoOo

Takeshi finished his workout ahead of the group and already looped around for the rest. He eventually ran over to Chojiko, Trailing the group. "How you holding up?"

The man was out of breath, doing his best after running his tenth mile. "I…think…I'm…dying…"

Tegun came up shortly after. "That's the spirit! Just twenty more miles to go!"

Nagi wasn't far off. "Indeed, it will be difficult for you to gain speed at first, but I'm sure you can do it."

After a moment, Kobi showed up to. "Just give me some time, I'll manage to beat you guys soon enough."

Right behind him, Tsumi butted in. "After how much you make me slack off in my running, you better."

Chojiko let out a gasp. "Seriously, you guys mind giving me space? Why don't you go catch up to Shitto? He's not much faster." Chojiko gasped harder for air after that.

Tsumi pumped her fist. "Alright! Judging by his speed stat, he should only be two miles away. I'll race everyone there!"

Within a moment, the group of speedsters took off, leaving Chojiko in the dust. The boy cursed to himself. "Bastards. They don't know how demoralizing that is."

OoOo

Takeshi, Tsumi, and Tegun finished in what seemed like a photo finish. Nagi wasn't far behind, and Kobi trailed in thirty seconds later. "Damn it, man! You guys really are something."

Shitto felt more sweat drop. "Damn. Why? I'm being used as a finishing line to people who've already run quadruple the distance I have."

Tegun began pushing Shitto from behind. "There you go! Faster every day! Stronger every day! Win every day!"

Tsumi shook her head. "Man, you're like a personal trainer Tegun!"

The lightning ninja laughed heartily. "Nah, I have to tell myself that every day or I'll slack off like I used to. After so long, it just becomes a habit."

"Well said! That is the power of youth!" The group jolted, seeing Rock Lee running on his hands. "When I was your age, I wouldn't rest until I ran a hundred miles. If I failed, I had to run a thousand! If I failed that, I'd run ten thousand!"

Kobi let out a sweat. "Sensei, are you drunk again?"

The group awkwardly stared at each other before he flipped up on his feet. "My goodness, look at the time! I'm late to running practice!" Within a flash, Lee was well out of their sight.

The group deflated. "Does he know how demoralizing that is?"

Takeshi pumped his fist. "Alright, final round! Let's see who can make it to the finish now!"

Kobi jumped out in front. "Ready, set, go!"

The others chased after him as Tsumi caught up to him. "Nice try, you big cheater!"

Shitto continued on his pace, brooding. "Damn. Alone again."

OoOoOoOo

Team Hitomi finally met up at The Uzumaki's house. It was mid-afternoon and the teens were wiped. Inora slouched back on the comfy couch. "Man that was so exhausting and boring!"

Datsu continued to rub his head and pick at his bandages. "You tried to explode my head three times and were making my arms and legs into balloons! You're a torturer!"

Inora shrugged him off. "At least you stopped impaling yourself after the first ten rounds." Inora peeked an eye open, now shifting to the two passed out on the ground. "Oi, no quip Akiko? The hell were you two even doing?"

Datsu leaned in after the two made marginal grunts in response. "I heard from Takeshi his mother's training is pretty brutal. On top of that, I saw his dad glaring at them as they were leaving."

Lili finally sat up, kicking the door mat of a girl next to her. "Get over it already…"

Akiko forced herself up, rubbing her hair. "I was about to say the same to you. We've got a lot more day to work with." The new blond yawned. "Just as soon as I finish a power nap."

Inora stuck her tongue out, laying back. "For you to say something like that, I don't think I want to know what that training is like." The Akamichi stretched her arms around before standing up straight. "Well, if that's all for now, I'm going to borrow Datsu again."

Datsu crossed his arms. "What makes you think that I'm going to let you assault my brain more?"

The girl shrugged as she passed. "Fine, go cry about your brain some more. It doesn't even have nerves to feel pain, so what's the big deal?"

The River ninja gritted his teeth before sighing. "Whatever. And quit acting like you can 'borrow' me. I do what I want!" Datsu jumped up, following the girl.

Akiko rolled her head over to Inora. "And what are we planning on doing to be productive, now?"

She smirked, walking out the door. "Oh, it's really not that far off from what you're doing. It'll help me get tougher."

Lili rolled her eyes. "I'm soo sure. Just don't embarrass me when we get to my village and you're the weakest one."

Datsu scratched his head. "Enough of this already! We should be training, not griping!" The young man shoved Inora out the door before they could get into an argument.

Lili crossed her arms, looking over to Akiko. "Well, we have a few hours and you should have plenty of chakra, right?"

Akiko stretched her arms. "Yeah, too much. I need to have it drained pretty low before we call it a day."

The older girl scoffed in response. "If what you say about chakra is true, then that's already obvious. You need to start learning to fight like a lightning ninja."

The girl tilted her head at Lili. "Are you implying you all fight the same? Cuz you don't. Literally no example has been shown to me to indicate that."

Lili flustered up in annoyance. "Don't you get it? Right now, you are covering as my non-existent sister! If you don't fight like me and use all of 'Yuuki's' moves, they'll be able to piece it together or at least raise a red flag!"

Akiko crossed her arms. "No offense, but aside from your storm release, there's not much for you to really 'teach'. It'll be hard enough learning a taijutsu form that isn't my gentle fist, but otherwise I'm not in the worst shape."

Lili puffed up her cheeks. "We're going outside to train, that's that." Akiko shook her head, confused by what Lili was trying to say.

-Team Seven Field-

"No way! Why would I agree to something like that?" Datsu crossed his arms, looking away.

Inora tilted her head. "I don't get it. This is a challenge for you, right? You should be all over it."

Datsu shook his hands out. "Don't give me that crap! It's humiliating and is way more than I signed up for!"

Inora scoffed, leaning against a tree. Breathing in, she relaxed to a seated position. "I just really want to get over it, that's all." The man listened to her out of the corner of his ear. "It's stupid really. Even though I can take a hit or two, I'm absolutely terrified at the thought of my bones breaking in a fight. Even Chojiko would be more willing to take a hit than I would. I'm just too fragile."

Datsu rubbed his head, clearly agitated. "Man, you really have some problems." The girl slouched, crossing her arms. Datsu sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Honestly, your perception of reality is all wrong." He punched his palm before grinning. "Alright, just this one time. I'll show you just how strong you can be."

Inora jumped up in shock. "Really? I mean, I've never tried it with anyone but my brother."

Datsu let out a sweat. "Let's just get this outta the way already! It's hard to change your mind after saying something cool, but I'm about to."

Inora perked up. "Thanks Datsu. I wasn't going to force it on you, but it really helps me out." She raised both arms forward, taking in a breath. "Shintenshin no jutsu!"

Datsu felt his vision slip out before slowly regaining his eyesight. He then lifted his hands, clenching them in shock. "This just does not feel right." Inora's body responded to everyone of his movements. On top of all that, he even spoke with her voice.

He looked over to see himself feeling his muscles. "I'll admit, it's weird to me since you aren't Chojiko. However, you'll get used to it."

Datsu went to cross his arms, but feeling her chest, he awkwardly dropped his arms to the side. "Can we just get this over with? I'm only helping you because you need it."

Inora snickered, crossing her arms. "Fine, fine. I guess it's hard on guys, after all." She regained a serious demeanor. "As I said before: Taijutsu only. Judging by how tough your body is, you're going to get creamed."

Datsu dipped down in a powerful looking stance. "Nonsense. Seeing myself as an opponent is more than exciting enough for me. I'm going to win this match!"

Inora pulled back. "Idiot. It's not even about winning." Inora readied herself before feeling astonished. I've never seen my face look that determined before. She smirked. "Keep confident while you can!" Datsu leapt forward with a superman punch, making Inora flinch slightly to evade it. However, Datsu's body was not as flexible as hers. Oh shi- As the punch made contact with her, it felt like a playful nudge more than an attack. Inora looked back at her body.

"Shit!" Datsu was holding her hand, blowing on the throbbing pain. Finally, he pointed at her. "How were you able to hit me so hard before, yet now you're made of glass?"

Inora shook her head. "Jeez, I told you strictly taijutsu. I was using my clan's calorie burning technique before. I'm normally not as durable or strong." She crossed her arms. "I told you."

Datsu stared at the girls fragile arms before clenching them. Weakness is just an excuse. I've been down this road once, there's no reason I can't do it twice. He looked up with fire in his eyes. "Are you going to yak or are you going to fight? Pain means nothing to me!"

Inora straightened her face. That's what he thinks, but just wait. He's in that frail, weak body. She pressed the attack, swinging Datsu's arms as hard as she could. Datsu was doing his best to endure the attacks, but Inora's arms were caving under the power. Finally, a blow to the face knocked through and Datsu was kicked firmly to the ground. Inora pulled back. "How weak."

Before she knew what hit her, Datsu agilely pushed himself off the ground and put Inora's entire body into a punch. Surprisingly, Inora felt it strike the solar plexus and staggered her into taking a strong kick to the face. Inora fell in shock, feeling the pain on her jaw. She looked back to herself in shock. Datsu spit blood out of her mouth with a grin. "You assume I was always so tough. That's why I agreed to help you." Datsu stretched her arms out. "Calling someone weak is pathetic. It shows just how insecure you are about your fear of being weak." He returned to a battle ready position. "Remember how your face looks right now. This is the face of someone who stood up to pain and weakness and defeated it."

Inora rose to her feet, squaring Datsu up. For him to take attacks like that in my body and still be fine. She clenched her hands, looking down. Maybe it isn't my body that's weak. Datsu took the opening to kick himself in the nuts. Inora's eyes shot open and Datsu's body naturally went to the floor in a gut ripping pain that wouldn't go away. "WHY!"

Datsu rubbed his nose. "As a man, that was the dirtiest thing I could've done, but there. There's no such thing as a body without weakness. However, you can tell your body when something truly hurts and when it needs to suck it up."

Inora continued to roll around. "Bastard, I was already thinking that!"

Datsu sweat, rubbing his head. "Oh…"

OoOoOoOo

Lili tapped her foot, still waiting for Akiko to execute the jutsu. "No, that's not it at all."

Akiko blandly stared back. "You've barely told me anything. How am I supposed to know how to do something I know nothing about."

The lightning ninja rested her chin on her hand. "Well, I don't know. Maybe you just aren't cut out for it."

The girl crossed her arms, looking away. "This is hard enough with me being a different person. If you're going to half-ass teach me how to use jutsu with one hand then just leave."

The girl pulled back. "I…" She felt her head dip. "Sorry." Akiko raised an eyebrow at the response. Lili kicked a nearby rock before continuing. "It's hard to have someone so strong as to outclass me need my help. I had a lot of plans on how to defeat you, and now you're not even you."

She sighed, dropping her arms. "Lili, I don't know what to say either. I had a friend a lot like you not long ago. She was my bitter rival; one that I would've loved nothing more than wipe the floor with."

The girl continued to shuffle around. "You're talking about that Noriko girl, aren't you?" Lili tightened up. "Not that I care, but what changed?"

Akiko nodded her head. "We fought. It was ugly. There was a high chance of her killing me. She saw something change in me that intimidated her, so she became reckless." Akiko pointed a thumb in her chest. "However, I still out-maneuvered her. That girl never showed her true feelings, but right there, she let it all out. She was strong, but her sense of superiority drove others away and made her feel invisible."

Lili stopped in her tracks, keeping her head turned so Akiko couldn't see the look in her eyes. "This person…do you think she would help you become stronger just to try to beat you later?"

Akiko chuckled. "She already did." Lili turned. "She's the one who taught me how to wield a blade, and taught me how to refine wind chakra." Akiko scratched her head. "She really didn't cut me any slack, either. That's the way I learn best though."

Lili nodded. "Fine. This is the way it has to be though. I'm proud of my family's storm release. You aren't Yuuki anymore, you got that? As awkward as it is, you are a Teruya. I am you're older sister now, and Teruya's respect what their older relatives have to say." Akiko crossed her arms, nodding her on. "First rule as a Teruya: Never allow anyone to defeat you, especially yourself."

Akiko tilted her head. "Isn't that pretty much 'Never give up.'?"

Lili shook her hand. "No, no, no! Saying it this way sounds more refined!" She flipped her hair, thrusting out two fingers. "Rule number two: Command respect. Take your weakness and make it your strength."

Akiko sighed. "Anymore 'rules' I need to worry about?"

Lili pulled back at the audacity. "Sarcastic tone aside, there's plenty more. Luckily, you only need the third rule for now: If you can't do it, change until you can. If you can do it, change until you can perfectly do it."

Akiko put her hands out to the side. "That one's got merit to it. Does this mean we're going to start actually learning?"

Lili puffed her cheeks. "As my sister, you better have those memorized. Rules may not be as important to Yuuki, but our family is rather famous for diligence and discipline."

Akiko smiled before walking towards her. "I understand." She put her hand under her chin, as if to mimic a similar pose of Lili's. "As a Teruya, this is just one small obstacle I shall overcome to being the greatest."

Lili perked up. "Well, at least you can act the part." Lili closed her eyes, demonstrating a water jutsu with her left hand. "Water jutsus seem to be more up your ally, so we'll lead with how I learned. Water is stubborn. Ever fluent in its path, it never rest until it's given back to the earth." Lili's left hand gracefully flowed around. "You're no doubt aware of this concept, so Imagine your left arm as the only faucet for which it can escape."

Akiko nodded, mimicking the image in her head. She let herself remember the thought of using a water jutsu and until she felt the image solidify. "This is all well and good, but it won't help me use the jutsus themselves, correct?"

Lili nodded. "Indeed. You already know many water jutsus, so consider the one you're most comfortable with. Let the hand seals come naturally to your hand and see what you can do. In principle, you'll manage to find a balance in the seals and make them flow well with a single hand." Akiko did as she commanded, feeling the water vortex technique. Lili added, "Feel it with your body. Think less about how to do it and just make it happen."

Akiko felt her mind loosen and entered a trance on the image. As if it were natural, Akiko let out the jutsu. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" To her astonishment, the water vortex was let out, albeit not quite up to par. Akiko opened her eyes. "Whoa, no way!"

Lili dropped some of her composure. "What the…it took me weeks to get a result like that!" Lili turned away. "Just figures."

Akiko put her hand on Lili's shoulder. "I've practiced that technique more than any other ninjutsu. Lili, that was an amazing tutorial!"

Her faced reddened at the compliment. "No tutorial in the world can produce results like that without the talent."

Akiko shook her head. "No, you made that incredibly intuitive. Why didn't you lead off with that method before?"

Lili pulled away. "It's embarrassing, that's why. My father never had to do any of that. He was always naturally able to pull it off. I had to train through months of frustration in order to find a method that worked for me."

Akiko nodded, rubbing her chin. "Maybe it won't be all that difficult to act like siblings then. This thought flow is precisely how I like to envision my techniques!"

Lili let her face show shock before shaking it into a smirk. "Well, don't get too cocky then. You need to replicate the effect on all your water and lightning jutsu before you can move onto the storm release. Then, we can stand on the same level."

Akiko smirked back, putting her hands on her hips. "I look forward to it." The wind swept in slightly as the two showed understanding towards one another. "I know it isn't easy to share your own methods and techniques to a rival, but I promise not to sully them with mediocre results."

"No." Lili turned her back to Akiko. "I'm not sharing anything with my rival at the moment. I'm sharing information with a Teruya."

Akiko laughed slightly. "As expected. Now, if you'll excuse me: Rule number one is calling. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" She generated thirty clones and immediately went to work. "I hope you don't mind if I expedite the process a little."

Lili flipped her hair, creating shadow clones herself. "Don't think I'll let you get ahead of me anymore. I'm going to use the rasengan better than anyone ever could."

Akiko grinned energetically. "Now this is more like it. May the best Teruya win!"

OoOoOoOo

Isami finished his tour of his hideout with Naruto and Hitomi. Naruto smirked, leaning against the wall in his office. "I'll be honest; this is more of what I expected Yuuki to end up doing. However, you seem to be full of surprises, just like your old man."

Hitomi shrugged her shoulders. "I was expecting something more controversial." She leaned forward on his desk. "Why'd it take you so long to show me this?"

The man leaned back in his chair with a tedious look on his face. "There are some things you just want to keep private. When I'm here, I like to fully immerse myself in the task at hand." He shifted his eyes over to hers. "Not that I'd expect anyone to run on about my private research, but if word got out, that would leave me with less of an advantage. Shattering others perception of what they consider to be fact is one of my favorite pass times."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "Would you mind answering the question? Why now?" You know what, this reminds me of a human I once ran into. His name was…ah, what was it… Naruto scrunched his face. 'Not now, old man! I'm in the middle of-' The fox snorted. Aha! It was Son Goku…No, that's not right…maybe Yamada? Naruto clinched his head. 'Those names aren't even close!' The two watched him questionably.

Isami sat up straight. "That's obvious. I already had my fight with Sasuke-san. With that key victory, there's no reason to hide this place from those that need it." He wrapped a finger around his chin. "If you give me some time, I could probably whip up a seal to allow access to the area."

Hitomi sighed. "Lot of good that's gonna do a lot of us."

Naruto stuck his head down in thought. "Actually, that would be a great idea. I know Shikamaru would upkeep it well, and we could use whatever resources we could spare."

Isami nodded. "Done. I'll need the chakra signatures for everyone needing access." Isami continued scribbling onto paper.

The Hokage pushed off the wall. "I've underestimated you kids." With a grin, he continued. "And I had a pretty high opinion of you to begin with! What are you doing now?"

Isami raised the paper, showing a poorly drawn picture of his father against the wall. "Sorry, I was just trying to keep myself entertained."

Hitomi planted a palm against her face as Naruto sighed. "You draw like a four-year old."

The man simply crossed his arms. "Those who can't appreciate art in its raw form have no right to a critique. Now, who wants a portrait picture?"

The two looked at each other with unease. Naruto rubbed his head. "I would, but I have…hokage errands to run. Important stuff."

Hitomi jolted, pointing a finger. "I've got a team to manage. Sorry."

Isami looked back to them, clearly not paying attention. "What are you two going on about again?" He now lifted a finger. "Wanna hear one of my latest breakthroughs? I was just pondering on an idea involving molecular distortion." Isami shifted his eyes around. "What do you call it when the fire scared the water into giving up its oxygen?" Naruto and the girl shrugged. Isami smirked. "Molecular extortion." Neither of the two laughed, making Isami return to his thoughts. "Was it the delivery? Hmm, it can't be the pun itself..."

Hitomi slammed the table. "Stop making stupid puns and bring us back already!"

-Late Afternoon, Team Seven Field-

Akiko and Lili arrived, seeing Inora laying down, trying to keep herself from feeling so sore. Akiko was quick to interrogate. "I see you've been busy."

Datsu remained seated with his eyes closed. "She's fine. A little pain is nothing."

Inora shot up. "You make it sound like you are incapable of feeling pain! This is way worse than I thought it'd be!"

Lili rolled her eyes. "I'm not even going to ask what you've been doing."

Hotaru and Hitomi showed up at this point. Hitomi put her hands on her hips. "Would you look at that. You're all actually still at it, huh?"

Hotaru rubbed her chin. "So I was wrong. Us lounging around the past couple days didn't encourage them to slack." Hitomi tried to muffle the woman, grinning innocently at the teens.

"It's not like we really need to be under surveillance anyways." Akiko crossed her arms. "What you two choose to do with your time is irrelevant. We're the ones who need to get rounded off."

Hotaru frowned. "That makes me feel even less significant." She looked over to her student with slight confidence. "You still want my advice, right Lili?"

The girl threw out a distant gaze. "I'd consider it if your advice had gotten us to the finals in the Chunin exams."

Hotaru reached her hand forward, as if her student was slowly drifting away. "Ah, that's not fair! I told you not to fight team seven, remember? I even gave you an elaborate breakdown of what would happen had you two fought!"

Lili sweat slightly. "No offense, but I don't even think Hoshido was listening." Hotaru felt the words like a dagger through the chest, dropping her head.

Hitomi shifted her eyes between the group. She pointed towards Inora. "Toughness exercise, right?"

The girl nodded quickly. "It was a bit rougher than I expected."

Hitomi rubbed her chin, proceeding to shuffle through the stat cards. "In times like this, someone's got to lay out a team goal. We can be more efficient about things if both Hotaru and I are involved." Hitomi sketched out a quick schedule. "If you two would take Inora with you for the remainder of the week to train with my parents, I'll take care of Datsu's lack of Kenjutsu. That will be dawn to afternoon. Then, meet up with us because you're all not that great at handling tools. The remainder of the afternoon will be handling taijutsu and speed. After that, we'll leave up to you on what to do."

Akiko nodded, adding extra information. "If I may add, training with shadow clones would be the smartest route to take when it comes to everything but the toughness training. As per my calculations, you need fifty-thousand in the chakra pool to train with two-hundred clones comfortably. Using that math, Datsu can use up to eighty and the rest of us around sixty. So, if we all train with thirty shadow clones a day, we should be able to make a lot of progress in five days."

Hotaru rubbed her chin. "Not that I fully grasp it, but if they help that much, why not utilize the maximum number?"

Hitomi agreed with Akiko. "The problem with shadow clones is that they can be deceivingly troublesome to the user. Even Yuuki felt a lot of strain after training with this 'maximum' number of clones for a short stretch of time. Keeping it well under the limit will help us train longer and smarter with our chakra."

Hotaru tilted her head. "I see. Why do you need to train with them again?"

Akiko sighed, preparing to explain the concept once again. "The original caster of a shadow clone retains all the knowledge and experience of the clone. Using this concept, you can do the math. One day of training with thirty clones is the equivalent of training for one month normally. Five days this way gets five months of training in before we begin our mission. Doing this will also drain our chakra, which if the theory Isami made holds true, will help increase our chakra pools, albeit in rather small amounts."

Hotaru rubbed her chin. "Fascinating." They could see her mind racing into an elaborate scheme ending in tragedy.

Hitomi patted her on the back. "Hey, snap out of it! You're going to be helping with the tools portion of the training after all!"

Hotaru shook her head. "Right, sorry."

Hitomi took a glance at her peers stat card with a straight face. "You know, you better keep rounding yourself off too. If they train like I think they will, they'll be ready to give you a run for your money."

Hotaru jerked away at the realization. "Ah, you might be right! I'll have to round my stats to ten in the next few months."

Hitomi dropped her chin in consideration. "Now that I know your magic math number on shadow clones, maybe I'll finally be able to round off my stats to twelve."

The group dropped their jaws, Akiko pointing towards her. "You're that much stronger than us?" Hitomi stuck her tongue out, drawing out her stat card and displaying it proudly. Akiko let out a sweat. "You're average is twelve…that's not that far off from Isami!"

Hitomi raised a fist. "Damn right! I'm not going to let that bastard stay ahead of me for that much longer!" The Uchiha perked up significantly. "If your method holds, we'll be a generation stronger than we were today by the time eighteen months is up!"

Inora and Lili looked at each other with an indifferent face. The Akamichi leaned in. "I'll believe this when I see it."

OoOoOoOo

Takeshi practically passed out he was so exhausted. Isami crossed his arms with a grin, finally having the last of his recruits go down. He scanned over the others laying in defeat at his training method. "Good news! You all have a long way to go!" Takeshi picked up his chin to glare at him, making Isami sigh. "My training regime might be extreme to everyone, but it looks like Hitomi's group is too cool for it."

Kobi pushed himself to a seated position. "To take all the Chunin Exam participants down with just a training method…how could that be possible?"

Isami laughed heartily. "It's a little secret of mine. It's a shame only a handful of you are coming along with us to Suna. I'd make you all into manly men!"

Tsumi jumped up and crossed her arms. "And what about the women? Besides, you're not even that manly!"

Isami crossed his arms. "I have no retort. You'll just have to settle for being a manly woman. Like Yuuki is sometimes!"

Shikamira couldn't help but bust out with a laugh. "Wow…I'd kill you if you were my brother."

Isami gave her a thumbs up. "That's the spirit! You're on your way!"

Shikamira grimaced. "Damn. Walked right into that one."

Tegun finished catching his breath, continuing to watch his peers. Leaf ninja really are the real deal. To be so upbeat and energetic after this bizarre training method, and just the training method itself…What an interesting atmosphere. Tegun slapped Shitto on the back really hard with a hearty laugh. "That's the spirit!"

Shitto remained on the ground. Damn. Right as I was going to speak. Shitto shifted his eyes to Tegun. He's too formidable. I must train harder.

Isami pumped his fist. "Listen up everyone! Yuuki and/or Akiko's group are going to keep busting their asses trying to become the strongest of the groups. This is everyone's chance to finally stick it to her and rub it in her smug face. I won't rest until every one of you can defeat me in a fight!"

The combine teams of ninja pumped their hands, inspired by the man. Naruto and Sasuke both watched from a distance. Naruto nodded. "I guess you really aren't joking around."

The Uchiha scoffed. "I don't joke. These kids are far stronger than they are showing. If we're not more careful, they might actually be able to surpass us."

Naruto stuck his tongue out. "You're the only one who really cares about that, bastard!"

The Uchiha flashed his sharingan. "As if…I'll bet you anything that Isami would have actually defeated you had you two fought!"

Naruto squared him up, continuing the fight as they departed the scene.

-End-

A/N

There it is, Isami's front has been revealed. Sasuke would have done significantly better against Isami had Isami not had 5+ years to prepare for the fight. Also, Sasuke was not operating to kill and initially underestimated Isami. The world of fuuinjutsu is a game changer in both the series and in principle, but only for those who were able to master it. It's true strength is hidden until the wielder chooses to let it be known: the only style I felt suited for Isami.

The real training is mostly handled in this chapter, also showing some of the key bonds that are going to be made between characters.

Next Chapter: We're going to see the heroes of the story off, and I don't think it'll take them long to understand what the reality of the world is like...Also, just what is Hell's Phoenix up to lately?