III - The Kirin's Roar
I inhaled steadily as I relaxed in my seat. Today's training session was frankly, quite disappointing. The three I had chosen had not grown into the fierce, earth shattering S-ranks that they would once be. They were mere children, still young and unexperienced in the true world of shinobi. Our little breakfast afterwards was a treat, and a political concession to Fugaku, in the hopes of being able to have a stable dialogue with the Uchiha in the future.
I returned my attention to the trio sitting in front of me in the center of Training Ground 3. This was where the Sannin were trained, and where Team Minato was as well, plus in the distant future Team Kakashi. Now all I had to do was teach them.
"I can not teach all of you in one sitting, so I will divide my attention between you three. Kakashi today, then Gai, and finally Tenzo. We will do team-training in the morning and then switch to individual after lunch. Missions will be introduced only when I feel satisfied with your progress."
Gai pauses, before exclaiming, "Sensei! What will you be teaching us?"
"I shall teach you how to be a true shinobi. How to use jutsu, how to create them, and most importantly, how to kill." My voice was detached, and I slipped into the old Danzo's persona.
"Lord Danzo, what shall the others do while you do one on one training?" Tenzo is always the inquisitive one.
"You shall complete exercises given to you by myself. For today, familiarize yourself with the basics of seal-craft." I raise my hand, and with a rapid hand-seal two books poof into my hand. "I shall quiz you in a week's time on the first chapter."
Gai nods, as does Tenzo. Kakashi fixes me with a glare, and follows my Shunshin. "I must ask Kakashi-kun, what would you like to learn?"
"You know what I want." The gleam in his eyes shows that perfectly.
"Serve Konaha, and that information shall yours. For today, let us work on your elemental Jutsu."
Kakashi frowns. "I have my Sharingan. I don't need teaching- I know how to create jutsus."
"Do not be so foolish boy. You squander the potential of that eye, and you know it." Kakashi flinches, and I shake my head as I seal away my cane. "Your affinity is lightning, so today we will create a new Raiton jutsu."
He scoffs at me. "Creating a jutsu takes a long time- you can't do it in one day."
I chuckle. "Lightning is the embodiment of the thunder, it cuts and pierces. It is the essence of speed; but I'm sure you already know that?" At his nod, I continue. "But we shall not focus on Raiton now. Instead let of focus on Katon."
"Katon?"
"In ancient times, tribes would burn great pyres in order to call for the rain clouds. What is superstition is actually fact- by using Katon's properties of ash and flame along with Raiton one is able to harness the very power of rain."
Kakashi's eyes narrow. "Then you would have a good source for using large scale Raiton or Futon attacks, along with Suiton."
"Correct. No wonder you are a prodigy- but we shall start simply. Have you learned the Water Clone, or Ash Clone?"
"I know the water clone and shadow one." My eye widens at that. Kakashi is only 17 years old and has enough chakra to make one?
"Create the shadow one then." Kakashi hand flips into a cross and I can see a clone of him appear. My sensory abilities allow me to sense it has nearly chunin level chakra reserves- enough for our uses. "Now then, listen carefully. You will use Katon to create ash and smoke in the air, and then Suiton to wrap water around them."
"I thought only Lord Second could do such a feat?" I smile at that, Kakashi was not foolish enough to blindly follow my instructions.
"Instead, use this." I hand him a three-pronged kunai, and take some pleasure in the way he flinches.
"W-what is this?" He fingers it, before his hand hovers over the grip. "Storage seals...? Is it for the water?"
"Correct once more. Your number one weakness are your low chakra reserves- reserves which you will need to use for your Sharingan. You will launch this kunai using a Raiton chakra flow and then your shadow clone will cast the Katon. Afterwards, the both of you must use Suiton and Raiton to generate the lightning." I smile slowly, before continuing. "If you want to become better at this, I recommend training all of your elemental affinities, and practicing one handed seals."
My hands then blitz through a cross, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and a single clone appears next to me. "Katon: Great Fireball!" it declares, before I launch my own kunai into the air. The water is infused with some of my blood, allowing me to use my chakra around it to perform Suiton.
This was a jutsu that I created today, before arriving here. Molding water around smoke using chakra as an speed booster to form clouds- I grinned as I gazed at the sky. "Suiton: Rain Dance!" Rain started to descend and pitter on the ground around us, and I could see Kakashi's surprise that the jutsu worked.
"The Nidaime was able to pull water out of the air, yes. But I too am able to do the same, am I not?" I watch Kakashi's dumbfounded face and can't help but grin inwardly. The expression fades away quickly, replaced with determination.
"If chakra created this weather, then I would have to erase it." I can see him thinking, and I feel pride in my chest. Kakashi might not have any blood limits, but he is amazing at analyzing jutsus and tactics against Ninjutsu favoring foes. He looks at the cloudy sky, and looks at the ground. "A Futon could blow away these clouds, followed by a..."
He pauses, and I can see he is stuck. A Futon jutsu would be a waste of chakra, especially considering the fact that my own jutsu is over- it merely created the conditions necessary for rain, and helped the new weather along. A Katon would merely increase the humidity, and I can see Kakashi has reached the answer.
"To stop it, you have to take the moisture out of the air to end the rain. It won't happen unless..." He looks at me, and I smile at him.
"Are you Lord Second, Kakashi? Do you posses such skill?" The boy shakes his head, before molding his chakra. He throws his own kunai, and I can see his hands flow through handseals. His element isn't Suiton, so there is no point in creating water when he could carry it in seals. Snake, Bird, Dragon, Snake.
Dragon and snake are both aligned with Suiton and Raiton, but Bird is fully aligned with Fuiton. The seals are easy enough for me to understand thanks to Danzo's personal research. The starting seal is to mold the chakra of the water, but at the same time manipulate the lightning running through it to gather enough energy. Bird creates the air force required, while Dragon is the invocation- it is the "breath" attack trigger. Snake completes the sequence, except it is rendered only for Raiton- Dragon-Snake while Kakashi uses lightning natured chakra would naturally release a lightning strike at range.
Handseals are truly fasinating, and act more as a guide to a shinobi's mind- they are the commands. Of course you could try doing it without any signs, but then you would have to think of all the details yourself. What element, what shape- which gets tricky when creating higher tier Jutsus.
"Raiton: Dragon's Breath!" A single bolt of lightning falls from the sky at a high speed and ignites a tree nearby. It is a weak attack, and easily dodged. It also takes far too much time to charge up, and I can see Kakashi's frustration.
"The lightning is fast, but you must make the speed of it faster. This is a jutsu you will use at distance- it comes not from you, but from the very heavens. I would add a Dog seal to the beginning, to ease the formation of the cloud, and allow the lightning more control."
Kakashi pauses, and feels his chakra. "This jutsu works during the rain only- it would give an advantage to Suiton users."
"Yet water is merely another medium for lightning- but it is also an impregnable shield against it." I can see that I lost the Hatake, and smile. Science for the win- water only conducts electricity because of the impurities and minerals present in it. I press my hand to my side, and roar. "Suiton: Water Shield!" while I channel some basic water manipulation to purify the water of everything.
"Go ahead, Kakashi." The boy glares, before raising his hands.
"Raiton: Jolt!" A low level Raiton Jutsu, according to my memories. The electricity does not go through the water, and doesn't even touch me. It is completely nullified. Of course, at higher levels, this defense won't be as effective but I have to teach Kakashi how to hinder opposing Raiton users in rainy environments.
"No wonder Raiton is effective against Doton..." Kakashi mutters.
I gaze at him, and then sigh. "Your talent is prodigious, and you have plenty of potential. Your task now is to enhance this Raiton jutsu in which way you see the best, and then see how to build up on the concepts I showed you today. I expect results in a week."
He nods slowly, and I can see the countless thoughts flashing through his mind.
I enter the orphanage slowly, and motion to the Matron. She looks shocked to see me, and lets me pass. There are countless young babies, orphaned from the Kyuubi attack merely two years ago, but each one of them has potential to become a true Shinobi. Is it cruel?
Yes, it is. But they will have a better life, filled with more resources than trying to struggle through the Clan-dominated Academy, and end up as a career Chunin. It is a cruel system, but such is the way of Konaha. Not everyone can be an A ranked shinobi, and there simply is not enough resources for them all.
The future of ROOT is in this room. A group of elite shinobi, adorned with a new name.
I smirk as my eyes shift towards the new mask in my hand.
A Skull gazes back.