Pre-Academy Arc: Might

Kakashi had been unfairly harsh to the kid they didn't even know. Yuina had been too surprised by his words to say anything at the time. In hindsight, she still didn't know what she would have said. She may have gone along with the whole ninja thing, but that didn't mean she went around encouraging others to become one. It was probably even in the kid's best interest to not become one.

It wasn't odd, though. Everything down to children's games was ninja related.

The Eternal Genin, Dai, was someone she had only heard of in passing. People mocked him, but staying a genin honestly didn't sound all that bad to her. Weren't low ranks meant for mundane tasks? Lower-risk. It was probably why people mocked it. It didn't offer opportunities for 'glory'. Dai seemed to take it all in stride. He had the mentality that no job was too menial was an outstanding characteristic to have.

Much better than those fawning over how many people someone was capable of killing.

Could they not see the irony of fearing others easily capable of mass murder while praising the people on 'their side' committing the same acts?

Though, that duality may have been the reason Konoha came to be. Focus the attention outward to build unity within.

Trust was harder to build with yesterday's enemies.

"Tou-chan." She wrapped her arms around Sakumo's legs. A hug to help stabilize her through her inner turmoil.

"Yes, Yuina."

She hugged him tighter as she rubbed her face against his leg. This world was real. She could feel. She soothed herself before releasing him. She had come to him for another reason. "I was looking into Konoha's history and I came across a passage about the First Hokage. It said he captured several of the Tailed Beasts." There were disagreements about the reasons and impact of such actions. People popularized it was meant to stabilize relations with other nations, but Yuina doubted it. It never prevented two Great Wars from breaking out. Conflicts continued. Considering they were sold, it was more likely Konoha needed the funds to develop. Money could buy a fair number of solutions.

"With his trademark Wood Release they say," said Sakumo drawing upon what he had learned of that period.

Yuina held her questions about Wood Release. No one ever held the answers of that discussion anyhow. "But what are the Tailed Beasts?"

It was a question Sakumo didn't expect. He tried to think about where she was going with this.

Yuina continues, "Some sources claim them as Chakra Monsters, but I'm confused. Are they beasts with an incomprehensible amount of chakra or are they chakra manifestations taking shapes of creatures?" She had been told everything possessed chakra, so it confused her. Could chakra clump itself together to create a physical form of its own? The term monster inferred that there was something disastrous about them, but then did they have minds of their own or were they reckless forces like natural disasters? Either way, the phrasing implied the amount of chakra they possessed was dauntingly large.

"I've thankfully never had to fight one." The closest experience Sakumo had was witnessing an incident from afar. "But they say Tailed Beasts are pure chakra. Unlike us who have a chakra system alongside organs, they only have chakra. They cannot die, but it also means they are incapable of intelligence."

"Is that why they were sealed?" For prevention? For control?" For power? Why could chakra even form in such a way? She couldn't research what she couldn't observe, so her more intricate questions might forever be unanswered, and it wasn't like she could talk to a bound of chakra even if she were to encounter one.

Chakra was a limited resource, so she could understand why someone may want a reliable source to draw from, but wouldn't that mean people needed a better understanding of chakra to access it?

"They're tools now."

The Tailed Beasts or the people they were sealed in? Yuina didn't have the heart to ask. Her main question had already been answered, anyway. "I'm going to return the book to the library."

"I'll come with you."

Yuina shook her head. "It's okay. You should stay. Kashi-chan is pushing himself training again. He's more likely to need you than me." She would miss the one-on-one time, but she didn't want to come home to Kakashi needing some kind of medical attention.

She grabbed the book and steeled herself as she left the house.

"Good evening, Toji-san."

"You're back already?" He said that all too often. She got it. She had a cheat learning how to read, but he didn't have to act surprised so often.

"I want to return this."

He processed the book as she went into the library. It wasn't large. Given the expenses, it was a miracle there were as many books as there were. She wondered who the library was even targeted towards. It truly was an average library. No hidden secrets to catch the attention of ninja looking to improve, nor trade secrets that merchants would want to exploit. Not that they were likely to check here anyhow. Most knowledge came from family and friends. Well, it served its purpose. Books on anatomy and history were enough. Though she found the fiction to be lacking, even if there were a few gems.

Yuina's eyes scanned the shelves for something of benefit or of interest. Her fingers trailed over the books about the outside world. Many of the books contradicted each other, yet it was her only real insight to the rest of the Land of Fire and even other nations. A few core traits existed, but it wasn't good at determining what life was like.

She continued down the aisle and stopped when she found a book dedicated to the First Great War. She pulled it off the shelf. She then went back to the annals' section and grabbed the next book in the series she needed. "One more." She picked up a book that had a kanji she was unsure how to read. The radicals could help guide her, but they could only do so much.

Some kind of medical book? Perhaps in a roundabout way. Yuina flipped through the pages, trying to get a vague idea of the contents. It was an old book, or she hoped the state of medicine was better than what she was seeing. Pharmacology hadn't been her concentration, but she had dabbled in certifications and courses. It was hard enough to get a permanent position for the jobs she wanted, and pharmacology always needed more hands. The book more so concentrated on endemic conditions and failures for cures. She flipped through more pages. It was like if Earth went back 200 years. It was too bad. These had vaccines on earth, but while she knew how to administer a needle immunology wasn't her area of practice. Though, it couldn't hurt to read it.

Yuina approached the desk.

"Find what you want already?"

"Toji-san, could you tell me what this kanji means?"

"Of course! Let me see…um…ah…" His posture stiffened. Someone else entered the library. "Kana, this one needs help with a Kanji."

"I'm sure you can figure it out yourself." Kana approached and took the book. "Which one?" She froze herself, looking at the title, displeased with the use of hyogai. It was like someone wanted the book to be purposely hard to read. Someone would need an excellent education to read it, which eliminated those who took general education. She looked down at Yuina. "Are you picking this up for someone?"

"I'd like to read it."

"Maybe you should start with something easier." Toji quickly sliced his hand horizontally, repeatedly signaling her to stop speaking.

"It's fine if you can't read it either." Yuina would find out another time. She couldn't blame them. It was weird for her, too. It was probably some jargon she didn't know.

She could hear Toji's words as she left with the books. "Hope to see you again soon!" His usually relaxed tone was now a stressed customer service tone. Weird.

Yuina continued on her path home when she watched a familiar boy in green faceplant into the ground.

As she approached, she could hear his loud panting. He likely fell from exhaustion.

"Need help up? The bench is probably better than the middle of the street." Yuina had her hand extended down towards him.

"Urg. Since I didn't reach my goal, I shall start again from zero. Yosh!" The boy jumped up on his feet on his own, so Yuina brought her hand back to her side. She could see his body waver and wondered how long before he eventually passed out instead of collapsing. "It's you! You're Kakashi's sister, right?"

Sakumo had introduced them, but the boy only remembered Kakashi's name. Rivalry? Well, Kakashi had spoken poorly about him to him, so a bit of pushback was to be expected.

"My name is Hatake Yuina. Yes, Kakashi is my brother. Your name? I only know your dad's."

The boy raised his fists, ready to fight. Was it because she was related to Kakashi?

"What about my dad?!"

Oh. "I only meant that I know your dad's name is Dai, and don't know yours."

It was rare for Gai to hear someone speak his father's name without pitying him or without making mocking tones – if they said it at all. His nickname was infamous, after all. "I'm Maito Gai so you better remember it!"

Dai and Gai. Once again, this city sized village was proving their oh so creative naming capabilities. '

Yuina nodded. "I'm sorry about Kakashi." She couldn't really apologize on his behalf, but maybe she could smooth things over. Even if they couldn't be friends, she didn't want him making enemies. "He's not very good at talking to others. That can sometimes make him sound condescending or mean, but he doesn't mean it as a personal attack." At least she didn't think he did. Kakashi was to the point and stated things as he saw them. He didn't seem to understand the nuance of language yet or how others might interpret his words.

"One day I'll show Kakashi just how strong I can be!"

Gai might have been as single-mindedly dense as Kakashi.

She didn't think much of it before, but perhaps Sakumo had been right that the two might get along.

"Good luck on that endeavor." Wait, no! Wishing him luck meant wishing he'd be a ninja. That wasn't what she meant. Urg. How was one supposed to be supportive of goals in this world when so many wanted to be child soldiers?

Gai grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "Just you watch!"

She was going to go home before she said anything else that would send her into an existential crisis.