You know, you'd think after my first time breaking into the academy, it'd be enough right? Nope! I'm doing it again. 'I'm a fucking idiot. But this is needed for my plans to actually work.' I crawled through a familiar vent as I thought that.

I kicked open the vent this time and put my hands in the ram seal, "Lightning clone jutsu," Three more me's appeared, "Alright, you three know what to do," My clones were to look for anything of importance, mainly staff meetings. The more they could get, the better.

I sat in the principal's office. 'I'm starting to really regret my life choices.' I was a fucking idiot. My plan could have been much simpler and more effective if I just cut the middleman. I only needed to kill a minimal amount of people and not well into the hundreds.

I still had a few things left to do though. I looked at my clones as they were searching. 'I need to convince them all to join me, Finish my training, and get an idea of where we can fuck off too after we're gone.' The hard part was the first thing. I had two months left... there hadn't been a good enough time to sneak into the academy before now so I had to wait for two months... In that time I got to know Himiko and Sanemi better.

Himiko loved to fight and to play physical games like tag. She was a bit mentally disturbed due to her parents sucking and trying to force her to like Yagura and the idea of murdering those who had bloodlines. And just people in general from an young age. It only partially succeeded from my personal observation.

Sanemi also loved to fight. He liked to tell stories about just random things and he liked to have people around him. He has a strong sense of loyalty because his parents gave him up to an orphanage when he was little. He will protect those whom he loves fiercely. 'Kaina learned that one the hard way when she picked on Choujuro.' That was a beautiful day. The amount of curse words in Sanemi's vocabulary was just a sight to behold.

Ultimately, both were my friends and good people. So I wanted to sway them over to my side. I also have all but confirmed Choujuro's dislike for Yagura when Yagura went on another propaganda campaign and Choujuro was complaining about it. 'His backbone really shows itself when it's something he cares about.'

We all needed to get out of here and I'd ensure it. 'Thats why I need to find what I need.' I started to sift through files myself, taking some information the principal had on jutsu and elemental affinities. 'This is useful and all but not what I need.' I continued to sift through the files until a clone came up to me.

I looked at the clone, "Do you have it?" I hoped he did. That would be fantastic. I noticed I had more chakra then before so two of the clones were gone. This meant either they popped or they committed clonicide. Hopefully the latter.

The clone nodded, "Yeah, it was in the admins office. A pain to get inside without breaking anything but we've got it. The other two popped themselves by the way," The clone then saluted and punched itself in the face. It exploded in a small burst of lightning.

I grinned, "You will be remembered my clone," I then took a look at the files. All for the next staff meetings. 'Next one is tomorrow, one next week, another the month after. Ah the final one is a day before graduation day, at Six am. Perfect.'

Okay this would make my plan much more smooth and as close as possible to before. I also had another more detailed map of the academy made up already.

[Cartography level five:

Increases the quality of drawn maps by 25%]

Constant grinding really was good eh? Anyways I had what I needed. I could leave now, "Lightning clone jutsu," I made a single clone who picked up the papers and left to take them back to their rightful home. I had all the information I needed.

I hopped back into the vent, putting the vent cover back in place as I re-entered. 'Its been fun but now its time to go.'

"Hey Kukui we've been meaning to talk to you about something," I looked up and saw Sanemi as I was leaving the academy. We hadn't had any plans on meeting up today right? Plus Choujuro was sick so he couldn't even come and train too much.

Himiko appeared next to Sanemi, "Yeah its very important," They were oddly serious... Did they find me out? Were they selling me out? What was going to happen? I could probably get away from them both if I was weightless but I didn't know if they'd give me time to take off my arm and leg bands. 'Thanks sensei...'

I didn't let my suspicion show as I nodded, "Okay what do you want to talk about?" Hopefully it was just something like they needed me to get stronger so they had a worthy rival or something... 'I really don't want to have to lose them as friends...' I probably could hold them off for a little bit.

"First we need to go to our training spot," Sanemi said whilst looking around. Ah one of those conversations. One others can't hear. I looked around and saw nobody was looking at us or even trying to hear our conversation.

I nodded, "Okay," I began following them. They were whispering to each other something. They had a look of worry on their faces.

Soon we reached our training spot. And in record time too. No words were spoken to me during this time. I was starting to feel a sense of dread in my gut... 'Do I need to run?' Running probably could buy me some distance to take off my weights. 'I'd be a lot faster with them off than on.' Running plus me weightless was basically me on the level off I think weighted Lee in the Chuunin exams? Not too sure.

Sanemi and Himiko sat down and I looked at them, "So what do you want to talk about?" I could feel my heart beating in my chest rapidly.

Himiko sighed and looked at me with her eyes wide open, She made a hand seal, "Ketseryugan!" Her eyes turned blood red, "Me and Sanemi want out of Kiri... I don't want to be oppressed anymore and Sanemi wants to be free... You and Choujuro are our friends. We want you to come with us..."

'Okay this is a plot twist and a half... She's a Chinoike?' My jaw was hanging slack and Sanemi saw this and he sighed, "We wanted to do this separately just so in case you didn't want to join us we could genjutsu you. We thought we should be honest... So Kukui what'll it be?"

I grabbed a scroll from in my pocket and put in on the ground. They looked on in curiosity, I unsealed my maps and explosive tags, "...I've been planning to do that too... I was going to ask you, Himiko, and Choujuro to join me soon..."

Silence. You could drop a pin and it'd be heard. Both were shocked. Then Himiko took a look at my plans, "Your... planning to blow up the academy?"

Sanemi was knocked out of his thoughts, "You wanted to escape too?"

I nodded, "Yeah... If I'm leaving I want to leave a boom. Do something to piss off Yagura and help Kiri lose the rebellion," Himiko's smile stretched a smile wide at that, "And you know when I stopped being a slacker yeah?" Sanemi nodded, "Thats when I started planning. I've snuck into the academy, gotten plans, made a map. All I had left to do was plan an escape route. I even have a counter for the Hunter nin,"

This time they went slack-jawed. Sanemi then broke out into a smile, "Hahahaha! See Himiko! He's on our side. He even has a way to fuck over Yagura and Evade Hunter nin!" He then looked at me, "So tell us what that is please!"

I grinned. 'This was far easier than I thought... it looks like all we need to do is tell Choujuro and we'll be good.' My plan was simple, "Clones. Lots and lots of clones," At their looks of confusion I decided to elaborate, "Well if we make lets say ten clones each, then the hunter nin would be more spread out or they'd follow one path. If its the former we can overpower them with numbers." I hoped I could make at least ten clones by the time my plan begun...

Himiko grinned, "Simple but effective! Now... how are we going to tell Choujuro and try to convince him to join us?"

"All we need to do is just say it and he's coming with us... If him complaining about Yagura's propaganda campaign was any indicator then he's gonna happily agree," Sanemi nodded in agreement with my words... Now all we needed to do was tell Choujuro.

[Choujuro]

Choujuro didn't know what to think. All the information had been laid out in front of him. A) All of his friends wanted to escape Kiri. B) Kukui had a plan to not only blow up the academy but set Kiri back by at least two years due to Academy teachers not being easy to train or available. C) They wanted him to join them. And D) Himiko was part of the legendary Chinoike clan which should be somewhere in the valley of hell. But that wasn't nearly as important as C.

Choujuro almost felt like shedding a tear. 'They really want me to come with them!' They were truly his friends, "How can I refuse... I want to leave too," Choujuro saw the smiles on their faces light up which only made him feel better.

Himiko hugged him right away, "I knew you'd join us, buddy! Now we only need to wait and we can get out of here!"

Sanemi smirked, "Yeah... Thanks to Mr. Stealthy here we've got plans and a way to evade hunter nin," Sanemi seemed really happy about that point especially. To be fair, Choujuro was too. The Hunter-nin were made to stop defectors.

Kukui bashfully rubbed the back of his head, "I'm sure anyone could have done it. I just chose the right time and probably got lucky," Choujuro felt that was just a lie. Sure they were all shinobi in training but it takes courage to break into a shinobi academy! And Kukui did it twice.

Choujuro shook his head, "You snuck into the academy twice! Nobody else would have done that," Kukui had to be the bravest person he knew. None of the other students in their class would sneak into the academy, not once but twice!

Himiko nodded, "Yeah! You are either the bravest or stupidest person I know,"

Sanemi grinned, "Definitely stupidest,"

Kukui slumped to the ground, "I'm being bullied..." As soon as he finished that he stood back up again, "Alright, enough about me being an idiot. We need to finalize our plans... I've already made most of them prior..." The 'To the clusterfuck that is today' was left unsaid and everyone knew it, "So all that's left for us to do is figure out what we actually need to do once we leave the village,"

Oh yeah... there was still a bit left they needed to do before they could actually leave Kirigakure. Himiko hummed, "Well what would be the place we'd be least likely to go to?" Good question... Obvious things would be the land of fire, land of lightning, land of tea, or some of the smaller islands out of the land of water.

Kukui tapped a piece of paper likely thinking, "Well... Obviously any of the other five great lands are out. They'd be too obvious and some would either steal you Himiko for your eyes or kill us because they can. Some of the smaller lands are out like the hidden grass. But they're out too because they're allied with Konoha... There is Takigakure but its the most hidden village so we can't find it," He looked at Sanemi, Himiko and Choujuro then, "Sadly our best option might be staying in the land of water,"

Sanemi narrowed his eyes, "Your saying there's literally no other place the Hunter-nin wouldn't look for us at?"

Kukui shook his head, "No. Its just that everywhere else is either too hidden, Not hidden enough because Kiri really doesn't want the outside world to know what the fuck's going on, or too far away. The last place they'd actually expect us to be in is some small town close bye. Plus if we want to continue to piss off Yagura we kinda need to be in the land of water,"

Choujuro nodded, "Yeah..." An idea came to Choujuro then, "Wait what about the hidden whirlpool village?"

Sanemi shook his head, "I'd much rather not go anywhere near the land of the devils thank you very much, dead or not they likely laid some traps we'd set off,"

Kukui nodded, "He's right. The place is likely trapped to hell and if the legends are true than the traps aren't going to be anything like a glitter bomb,"

Himiko whimpered at that. 'Oh yeah... she thinks her glitter bombs are the best...' They were though! "So that means we stay and fight right?"

Kukui nodded and Sanemi sighed, "So I guess this means we'll be fighting a four man war against the fucker,"

Everyone else nodded.

'Well... I'm up for it...'

[Kukui Tanku]

I took a good look at my stats and felt a surge of pride well up in me. I was proud of them. The pre graduation tests were in a few days and I wanted to pass them with flying colors. And if my stats were any indicator then I'd pass.

[Name: Kukui Tanku

Age: 10

Title: Academy student of Kiri

Chakra: 95/95

Stamina: 95/95

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 17

Constitution: 19

Chakra: 7.5

Chakra control: C]

In just a few months my stats were this high. Admittedly if I had more time like if I was born in konoha for example, I'd be having a much easier time without pressure from both a kage and the world to be better and to master a fucking elemental affinity in a year but it wasn't too bad.

I was so close being able to do the first stage of lightning manipulation perfectly. Like, there was only just an iota of stuff that was being burnt off the leaf now. But I was still missing something. Although it wasn't too bad I suppose. 'Sensei promised to teach those who passed the pre graduation tests and I intend to pass them.' The graduation tests were going to be much harder but the pre-grad tests were like a measuring stick. To see how far one had left to go.

It was nice of Yagura to give us all this, to be honest. He was basically giving us just over a month and a week to prepare. 'I still can't believe its been almost eight months already...' Time truly flied by. In these eight months, I made friends, seen the bodies of countless Kaguya clan members, and I've learned how to become a mini ninja wizard.

It was still surreal to think about to be honest. So I decided to not think about it. 'Well, I guess its time to try lightning release training again...' I wanted to get it done before next week. It had been a long few months, trying to learn it but I thought that that was finally the time for me to finish it. 'It wouldn't do for me to be the only one of us four to not have an element.' There were two waters, a wind, and a lightning in our group of four. Himiko and Choujuro with water, Sanemi with wind, and me with lightning. They had all mastered stage one of their elemental affinities with Choujuro coming close to mastering the second.

I couldn't be left behind. 'I won't. I need to be strong enough to keep up with them once we leave Kirigakure.' I grabbed a leaf and began channeling lightning chakra into it, slowly, I needed to get this right soon. The ball began to crumple slowly and surely, none of the edges tearing or burning. A good start.

I poured more lightning chakra into the leaf and it crumpled into a ball. I inspected it for a second and I felt a smile come onto my face. It was beautiful.

[Lightning manipulation has leveled up]

[Quest complete: Fledgling lightning master

Rewards: Perk: Fledgling lightning master: When using a lightning related skill: EXP gained is 15% higher]

My smile only stretched wider upon seeing this. So I had quests after all! Nice... 'Perks too apparently...' This perk was going to be a massive help when I grinded lightning jutsu!

I looked up. 'I have a week left. Lets see how much I can do within the week.' The tests were going to be hard for sure. And they likely involved fighting somehow... I'd need some utility if I was going to win. Well... first I'd get my ass beat for being a thief and then I'd train my ass off for a week!

So this chapter is shorter. I figured it shouldn't overstay its welcome and it didn't. It gets the job done and the final plans for the MC and his merry band of misfits is revealed somewhat. Where they go will be up for debate... Anyways, Yes Himiko is a Chinoike, Some decided to leave the valley of hell and became her family whom oppressed their heritage slowly until they just decided to full on hate it. Himiko's backstory will be revealed in later chapters. So will Sanemi's.

Anyway hopefully you enjoyed the chapter! I'll see you all next week and have a good day everyone!

Again I just realized that the friendships between the four might have progressed too quickly. So I planned some moments in the next arc for it to make sense. So... Yeah. Also Kukui wank seem a bit high so I'm going to have to fix that soon... eh arc three can do that. Well see y'all friday.