Welcome back! Here's to another excellent reading experience!

jingerr: Yes! That's the whole point at the moment. He is emulating Kakashi. But fear not! He will grow out of it eventually. He won't reach his apex while merely copying someone else.

It turns out making a storage seal bigger does not increase the space inside. Its just a waste of paper. Several thousand ryo of paper. He would have to do something a bit different.

Layering storage seals!

By layering a storage seal, the space inside increased by a factor of two. The problem was that each time you layer any seal, the room for connections and linkages shrinks dramatically. Currently, he had a magnifying glass held up to his eye and his brush barely moving as he finished the last link. He really hoped this would work. He had no idea if he would face Gaara, but it would be worth the preparation if he did.

After the last link, he backed away, admiring his work. The scroll was about the size of the summoning contract for the Lizards. It was red on the outside with a green trim. He nodded in satisfaction. He pulled out a kunai and tossed it onto the paper. He crouched down, putting a hand on it. He pulsed his chakra.

The kunai disappeared! Perfect!

Doing it again, he recovered the kunai.

Amazing work on his part. It didn't blow up and erase the training ground from this plane of being.

"You think that this will counter the red-haired boy...Gaara?" He heard Qask say from behind him.

Takai nodded resolutely. "Its pretty much my only hope. If it doesn't work, I'll have to call the match. I don't have the durability of Lee."

"Understandable. What do you plan for the Lee boy?"

"Genjutsu. Its his biggest weakness since he is incapable of breaking any decent Genjutsu as far as I can tell." Takai said, beginning the long and annoying task of rolling the scroll up. "It might be worthwhile to get it on him before the match even starts. I don't know if that's cheating or not though."

Qask grunted. "Shinobi, cheat, lie, steal, and murder all the time to get their way. I think it would be quite clever to do something like that."

"Fair enough I suppose. However, I don't think I'd like to take the risk." Takai replied absently, ensuring the scroll was rolled up tightly before tying the straps holding it and picking it up by the sling. He put it over his shoulders. "Pretty heavy." He said, popping his neck. "So, jutsu?"

Qask nodded. "Yes, some jutsu unique to our summoners. Due to our varied biology, we have numerous jutsu under our collective belts."

The lizard's hands shot up, performing the Boar, Dog, and finally the Ox hand signs. Takai watched as the reptile's scales appeared to be far more pronounced. "This is one of our more basic jutsu, Lizard Art: Hardening Scales."

Takai tilted his head. "How am I supposed to use that? I sort of lack scales."

Qask nodded. "You do. The jutsu will instead enlarge parts of your skin in a scale-like pattern, then harden them. Weapons not enhanced by chakra are incapable of cutting through this jutsu. It also assists in dealing with blunt force. Fortunately, it does not reduce mobility."

Takai hummed. "What do you mean enhanced by chakra?"

Qask reached forwards, gesturing with his fingers in a 'give me' motion. Takai pulled out a kunai, handing it to the lizard.

"Observe, Summoner." He said, waiting for Takai to activate his Sharingan.

Once done, Qask looked at the kunai, his grip appeared to tighten as he circulated chakra in his body. A moment later and the kunai was surrounded by wispy blue flame but without the heat that had electricity crackling up and down the tool. Qask then threw the tool into the ground. Instead of embedding itself an inch or two into the soil, it went so far Takai couldn't even see it in the hole!

"That's...incredible. Its also so simple! Why don't more people use this?" Takai exclaimed.

"The practice required. It only looks easy when I perform it because I trained this action." Qask explained.

That made sense, but still! It seemed so useful!

"I'm guessing its Lightning Release?" Takai said.

"Precisely.'

"I haven't trained Lightning Release at all yet. I know Fire Release and Water Release pretty well, and I am in the process of training Earth Release and Wind Release." Takai informed Qask.

"Progress is progress none the less." Qask said sagely.

"I suppose you aren't wrong."

"I rarely am." The lizard said.

"Anyway, can you release that scales jutsu and perform it again? I need to copy it." Takai requested. Qask released the jutsu, his scales returning to normal. He then performed the hand signs once more.

"There are a few of our jutsu like this." His scales promptly became pronounced once more.

Takai raised his eyebrow. "So, that's how you do it. Fascinating." One pushes chakra to the skin then the hand signs helped you shape it into scales. Takai performed the hand signs himself.

"Lizard Art: Hardening Scales!" He declared. He watched in amazement as lines on his skin formed in the shape of scales, then his skin gained a rough texture before the scales showing up. They were all still the color of his skin. "This is great!" He said.

"Good. Now, pull out a kunai and try to slit your wrist." Qask said calmly, his jutsu off again.

Takai stopped. "Wha?"

"If you did it right, the blade will glance off your body. If you did it wrong, you have a slit wrist."

"Its a test..? Why do I have to slit my wrist? Why not just poke myself with a needle?"

"There is no risk. There is nothing like 'a trial by fire' as it were." He explained.

Fair enough. He couldn't deny that.

He reached down and retrieved a kunai from his holster and brought it to his wrist. He slowly pressed it to his wrist. He took a deep breath before slashing his wrist.

Nothing! Not even a mark!

The kunai on the other hand...

"The edge is completely destroyed." He observed.

"Yes. The jutsu destroys any edge not reinforced by Earth Release."

Takai tossed the kunai over his shoulder.

"Right, what else is there to learn?"

Qask seemingly smirked before performing the Ox, Dog, and Tori hand signs. "Lizard Art: Lizard Transformation."

A poof of smoke went up and when it cleared away a knight anole that shared coloration with Qask was sitting on the ground, looking up at him expectantly. It was about two feet long and was visibly muscular. It also had a Konoha headband hung from its neck. Takai glanced around briefly.

"Qask?"

"Yes. This is an ability members of our clan possess. The species varies. As you can see, I am a giant knight anole."

Takai quirked his eyebrow. "This is pretty cool, but how is this useful?"

"Watch and learn, Summoner. Lift me up to your shoulder. The one you prefer." Takai bent down and put a hand under the middle of Qask and another for his back feet to stand on. He lifted the lizard to his right shoulder. Qask wiggled out of his grasp and perched on his shoulder. He felt the lizard channel chakra into his shirt to anchor himself.

"Perform a water jutsu in a continuous jet please." Qask requested.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Takai joked as he performed some hand signs. "Water Release: Water Bullet." He leaned forwards marginally and a torrent of water flew out from in front of his mouth. The water rapidly dug a trench into the ground and was continuing on. Putting out this much water was taxing.

"Lizard Art: Cooperation Jutsu: Typhoon." Qask said as he opened his mouth. Gale force winds shot out from his mouth, dragging Takai's jutsu up and rapidly spinning. The water rose about sixty feet into the air and being about twenty feet wide. It was a swirling vortex of water. It began to gather debris, winds clawing at Takai's clothes and the surrounding plant life.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Bolt." The lizard said, holding up a clawed foot. electricity crackled around it for a moment before it discharged so fast not even Takai's Sharingan could keep track of it. He only saw an after-image of it. The crackling lightning swirled around inside of the watery vortex, bolts shooting off in random directions, scorching the ground black.

"Now, take control of the jutsu and send it away."

Yeah, take control of a tornado. No biggie.

It was definitely a biggie! How could he be so casual about this?!

"YOU ARE AWARE THAT'S A TORNADO, RIGHT?" Takai yelled, yelping and jumping to the side as a bolt of lightning struck where he had been previously standing.

"I am aware. You have some mastery over Water Release, yes? Feel the air. It is positively saturated with water. Follow that back to the jutsu. By sending out your chakra, you can assume control over both the water in the air and the tornado."

He made it sound so simple.

Maybe it would work?

He squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on his chakra. He began to let it out of his body, feeling the air around him. The lizard was right. He could feel the water soaking the air. It all led back to that monster of an attack they made. He slowly but surely followed the droplets to the swirling vortex. The feeling of his chakra entering the mass of water was interesting to say the least. It felt like suddenly having his senses dialed up to eleven. It was like being unable to experience tactile sensation, then suddenly being able to feel everything down to the microscopic level.

"HOLY-" He felt everything in and about the water within the jutsu. He could feel the objects floating within, the lightning crackling through, and the wind keeping the water aloft.

He nearly lost focus as the feeling set in, so, he did his best.

He pushed with all his might.

It was like holding against an unbearable weight. The crushing sensation of barely staying alive under pressure.

But it was then that the tornado moved.

The massive vortex suddenly shot off into the trees, tearing the mighty plants up and tossing them around like a toddler does with blocks. Huge oaks were torn to splinters and flung around like nothing.

He jumped as the jutsu combination destabilized and exploded. A giant mushroom cloud of water shot into the air, throwing electrified water all over the training ground. He narrowly avoided getting splashed with some careful steps. That jutsu was quite tiring. He used a lot of chakra to power that jutsu. He had roughly a tenth of his total reserves left over. Time to take a break.

He greedily devoured the ramen before him. He finished the large bowl in about two minutes. His summon wasn't far behind. Takai paid for another two. Teuchi just watched as the pair tore through his cooking with gusto. "So, you going to explain the lizard-man at my stand, Takai?"

"Summon." He said in-between bites. Teuchi just turned around, looking intently at a simmering pot, mumbling to himself while glancing at a collection of spices to the right of it. Ayame said nothing as she wiped down the counter and made things orderly. Once Qask finished his second bowl, he leaned back, stretching out a bit. "So, your exam is five days from now?"

Takai nodded, busy stuffing his face.

"That is plenty of time. We can fit more training in before it truly starts. I think you may want to become familiar with a weapon." Qask mused.

Takai grunted in response, slurping up the last of the ramen. It may not be healthy, but food like that was amazing for regenerating chakra. "I already have a weapon I wish to become proficient with." He said, tossing some more bills onto the counter before getting up and leaving. He always tipped quite generously at Teuchi's.

"What weapon?" Qask drew a lot of stares as he walked through the village with Takai. "One that I took from my first C-rank mission. A bandit had it. I took a liking to it."

"Where is it?"

"In a storage seal in my home. I'll need to get it out." He said, kicking a stone down the street.

As soon as the duo stepped into the Uchiha district, Qask scrunched up his nose. "This place reeks of old death."

Takai nodded. "There was a massacre here a few years ago. Five I believe."

"That would explain it."

It was later in the afternoon now. Around three. He could almost envision people bustling around in the district, making business deals and going about their days. He was related to all of them. What would have happened if his parents lived? Would he have known his blood relations sooner? Maybe he could have made friends here? Of course, he would have been killed in the massacre but...

Without realizing, he had stopped in the middle of the road, staring dead-ahead with a thousand-yard-stare.

Takai jerked back to reality to the sight of Qask shaking him by the shoulders. "-mmoner? Are you alright? What is causing you distress?"

He slowly grasped Qask's hands and removed them from his shoulders. "Its all good. I'm fine."

Qask shot him a look of what seemed to be concern, but didn't press.

They walked in silence once more until they reached Takai's house.

Takai arrived at his door. It was still broken from Naruto beating it in. Qask looked curiously as he stepped over the door. Takai walked upstairs to find his assorted storage seals. The room at the end of the hall with all his Fuinjutsu items. Takai spent awhile shuffling through the box, pulling out books and tools. Eventually, he found the right one.

"Got it!" He said, holding it above his head.

"What is it?" Qask questioned from the corner.

"A morningstar. A two-handed mace of sorts." He set the seal down and pulsed chakra through it. His weapon appeared in a puff of smoke. He snatched up the beautiful weapon. Even though it was probably a good thirty pounds, it felt like a feather in Takai's hands. He twirled it in his fingers for a moment, giving it a quick test swing. He grinned madly. "Amazing."

"I'll admit, such weapons are not common for shinobi. I wouldn't place this as a weapon of your profession." Qask said, examining the weapon. "What is the metal quality?"

"Given that its a bandit's weapon, I would say its regular old steel, albeit likely from a master given the intricacy." Takai replied absently, shifting his grip on the shaft to find the best place for his hands. He had a lot of room given that it was about four feet long or so. "I'll have to have a smith reforge it with quality materials if I want any sort of decent and durable weapon. I really want to get it in some sort of chakra metal just to have it be that extra bit strong, but that would cost a fortune." H said sadly.

"It would still work. It is a weapon. It will not just shatter at first contact you know." Qask said, a suspicious look on his face. "You believed it would be totally destroyed the first time you used it, did you not?"

"Uh...maybe?" Takai said.

"Well, either way, if this is what you choose, you should at least learn some basic strikes. It will be useful then. Using something like this is vastly different from your gardening tools."

Takai raised an eyebrow. "Gardening tools?"

Qask smirked. "Yes. The kunai was originally intended to be a gardening tool. It was shinobi who weaponized it." He shared.

Takai pursed his lips. "I blame human nature."

Qask snorted. "Indeed. You are a destructive bunch."

Using a weapon bigger than a kunai was definitely different.

Qask showed him a few basic swings. They were taking advantage of the weapon's weight. A lot of spinning motions and large wind-ups. His oblique muscles were burning like crazy. He didn't even know there were muscles there!

"Remember, with a weapon like this, you rely on crushing blows. With a sword, an opponent may need multiple good slices to kill you. You only need one or two crushing blows to the head or torso to end someone's life." Qask said, watching Takai swing the weapon into the tree. The poor plant was heavily dented on both sides. Splinters littered the ground around them.

Qask hummed a slow tune as Takai finished striking the tree. "Unfortunately, I am no master at any sort of martial art involving weaponry. However, I strongly recommend that you pick a blade for your weapon of choice."

Takai tilted his head. "I'll consider that. But for now, I'll use this." He accented his words by holding up the morningstar.

"It is your choice, but I have observed blades to be more versatile." Qask said.

Takai put down his weapon and began cool-down stretches. "I could see how. I'll look into obtaining a blade, but for now, I'm sticking with the morningstar."

Qask simply nodded. The lizard looked up into the sky. "I have been gone for awhile. I must return to my clan. Until next time, Summoner." Qask said before releasing himself from the jutsu.

Takai finished his stretches alone, thinking hard. What's something he's neglected for awhile?

He was silent in thought for several minutes.

Oh, right! Fuinjutsu!

And he had an idea.

Takai looked at the seal he just made. He hadn't named it just yet. It took the rest of the day to carve the seal into the shaft of the weapon. It was a storage seal surrounded a seal to alter the dimensions of the storage seal. He was hoping to put a chakra network into the weapon.

He hoped that by putting one into the weapon, it would increase the potency of any chakra pumped through it.

Takai created a shadow clone quickly. He felt light-headed for a second, but it passed. He still had to regenerate his chakra. The clone grabbed his weapon and leapt through the window out towards the forests within the Uchiha District. He was feeling good about this. It should work just fine! He began cleaning up the room. Many attempts and seal blueprints were scattered around the room. He looked at one.

"Worthless." He said, crumpling it up and tossing it into the corner. It was a large pile of failed attempts.

Now, what to do next-

KABOOM

Takai jumped as the explosion occurred. That didn't sound very good. Memories of his clone came to him.

He pumped his chakra through the seal and...dead.

Well shit.

He really liked that thing.

It was disappointing, but a learning experience. He wouldn't deny learning. Now, what went wrong?

Ah, right. Must have been the shaping seals. He was no master at those. He also didn't know exactly how they worked. If Takai had to guess, he pretty much created a paradox of some sort. Those tended to happen with seals.

Sighing, he grabbed another piece of paper and a brush. What now?

It had to be a storage seal of some sort. That much he was sure of. But what after that? Perhaps...

He drew a storage seal.

The chakra pathways looked kind of like tubes. Maybe what he needed was...

...an open storage seal?

That was an over-simplification of the highest degree. Storage seals themselves could not be open. What he would need to do is create an entirely brand new and unique seal.

Or maybe he could put pathways in a weapon, then seals into said pathways.

But that wouldn't work either. A pathway like that would be on the microscopic level. No way would any seal of any kind fit.

So he was back to an open seal. It would need a "gateway" of sorts to bridge the storage seal to the weapon. That would be a paradox in of itself because it would be in his world, but also the storage seal at the same time.

He went to draw, but half-way through, he blinked. "That's stupid."

Why not simply have a chakra absorption seal hooked to a storage seal? His clone learned of it during its studies. His head got a brief phantom pain at the thought of his seizure.

He drew the chakra absorption seal around the storage seal. He then connected them. It wasn't difficult.

Now...where was Naruto?

Takai pounded on Naruto's door. "Get up! I need you for an experiment!"

He heard a groan from within the apartment.

"C'mon! Its for a jutsu!" He lied.

Within a second he heard the lock click and the door swing open. "Jutsu?!"

Takai eye-smiled. "Nope! A seal!"

Naruto groaned. "You bastard..." He was in his orange pajamas and his blue nightcap.

"Make a shadow clone please." Takai asked.

Naruto scowled as he created a shadow clone who shared his mood. "You happy now?"

Takai grabbed Naruto's hand, holding it between his two. "Yes! Thank you so much. I knew there was a reason I picked you as my best friend. You're always there for me!" He said, shaking his hand.

Naruto stared for a moment. "Oh- uh...thanks. I didn't know that you felt that way. You make me feel so valued." He said, silly expression on his face. Successfully sweet-talked. Takai then turned on his heel and started walking off, shadow clone in tow. Now, it was time to test his seal!

"What?" Naruto's clone said, holding the seal matrix Takai made earlier.

"It absorbs chakra." Takai repeated.

Naruto tilted his head. "I don't feel anything." He shook the paper.

Takai pursed his lips. He forgot Naruto had monstrous reserves. What would make it absorb chakra faster? Layering the chakra Absorption Seal could cause it to draw in chakra faster. By a factor of what though, he had absolutely zero idea.

If it worked to fast, the blade would pretty much insta-kill anything it touched. What if he needed to capture someone?

Gah! This was so complicated!

But the desire to create this seal was intoxicating.

Takai absentmindedly grabbed the paper from Naruto. The paper felt warm. Hm. It seems having a suitable medium for the seal was also required. It should be fine for now though.

The clone dropped the paper like it was fire. "Damn! My chakra felt weird!" He nursed his hand as if it lost feeling.

Takai's eyes lit up. It took a storage and four chakra absorption seals. Each absorption seal seemed to increase the rate by about a factor of three. Now that he had the chakra in the storage seal, what now? Perhaps he should try releasing it?

"Make a clone and head out to the woods. Once you're far enough away from the buildings, pulse your chakra through the seal." The clone formed the clone seal. A second Naruto popped out in a puff of smoke. Takai looked between them. "Whose the original?"

The original raised his hand. "Take this please." He said, kicking the paper towards him.

The clone bent down, muttering about being used as a guinea pig before jumping out the window. It was night out now. Probably one hour after midnight. Takai hummed as he thought about his next move. This just proved that storage seals could store raw chakra. So, now he had to some how create chakra pathways within a weapon. From there, he would have to find a way to connect them to the wielder while using it. And also disconnect it when let go of. What a pain.

KABOOM

Takai flinched at the loud sound. The clone cringed as he got the memories. "The chakra cooked him to ashes...I think I saw death..." He said, hands holding his chest and a horrified look on his face. He was probably fine...right?

Whatever.

So, releasing all that chakra all at once is dangerous. Anyone could get a hand on his weapon and activate the storage seal, killing him. Lock the storage seal. Easy. He would have to draw four arcs centered around the storage seal with gaps suitable enough for connecting the seal to the Chakra Absorption seal. From there, he would put the kanji for "lock" centered just above each arc. It would have to be modified slightly, elongating it a bit.

He just made it sound easy. In reality, it took him an hour of sitting still to do.

That was after he created a new seal. Kami, this all took forever. At least since he did it once, he could do it much faster.

There, now it should be stuck closed. Now, the chakra Absorption Seal wouldn't activate until he actively pumped chakra into it. He needed to decide what else to do. Ah, what the hell. It should be alright. He would have to make a new one later.

Takai turned to his right, his neck and back popping quite loudly. "Make a clone, then go test this in the woods. Once you're done, burn the paper."

The clone sagged, doing as it was told.

Takai sat, hunched over this new paper, waiting for the inevitable boom. Now he had to devise a way to use the chakra inside. He could create two one-way paths. One to allow chakra out, and one to absorb chakra using the blade as a medium. From there, he would need to make it so the blade can't absorb its own chakra. That's an easy fix. An Identification Seal keyed to the Absorption Seal itself.

What else?

Right. Something to make sure it isn't constantly leaking chakra. Identification Seal keyed to his chakra followed by a seal to lock the outflow of chakra as well as something to ensure it turns off when not being used. Okay. Alright.

Now, on to work-

KABOOM

He heard the clone shudder in horror as the memories came in. Takai had a good idea of what happened.

It was noon. He hadn't slept at all. He was also supposed to go meet with the Hokage's shadow clone for training, but he couldn't drag himself away from his project. A maniacal grin was fixed to his face as he finished the seal on paper. It was an absolute work of art! He didn't want to name it yet though, he had to check if it worked, and for that, he needed a weapon.

His ears perked up as he heard a knock on his front wall. His door was still broken.

"Yeah?" He called out.

"May I come in, Takai?" He heard the Hokage's clone ask.

"Sure! I'm upstairs at the end of the hall!" Takai yelled, returning to his work.

A few moments later and he heard the Hokage's footsteps directly behind him. They stopped just inside of the room. He was taking in the sight of the crumpled papers, a hunched over Takai, countless seals that had scribbles on them to render them inert, and a seemingly traumatized Naruto shadow clone. He took it all in stride.

"Needed a guinea pig?" The clone joked, pointing at the shadow clone who was rocking back in forth in the corner opposite of the paper pile corner.

Takai grunted, just a few more strokes.

He heard the Hokage step closer, looking over his shoulder. His eyes took in the seal Takai was drawing. His aged eyes widened fractionally. 'Such progress. Maybe he'll surpass you one day, Minato. Perhaps it would do to have Jiraiya coach him?'

The clone watched silently as Takai finished. Takai tossed his brush away, waiting for the ink to dry. "So, what are you creating?" The clone knew the moment he saw the seal, but he wanted to see how much Takai understood.

"A seal to put on a weapon. Its supposed to absorb, store, and discharge chakra as the user wishes." Takai said.

The clone noticed several places where Takai could improve the seal and optimize it, but it was certainly amazing so far. "It looks quite good. Good luck."

He straightened. "I can see you're busy. I'll cancel training for today and come back to check on you tomorrow." The clone promptly dispelled himself.

The ink was dry! Takai snatched up the paper, closely examining it. It was beautiful. Unfortunately the discharge of chakra wouldn't work very well on paper, he would need to find a weapon and etch it into the weapon. He thought for a moment. Probably the tang of a katana. That way it was hidden from view.

Takai pushed himself up, stretching. After he was done, he grabbed the seal and his tools. He then went out the window. The Naruto clone breathed a sigh of relief, dispelling itself.

It was time to go buy a katana.

He bought a maintenance kit with the sword. It included the tiny hammer and punch required to remove the meguki, the peg that kept the tsuka, the hilt, on the tang. It took a while to tap the thing out. He caught it and set it aside. From there, everything slid off. He was sure to not lose anything.

Takai grabbed a burin, a tool commonly used to etch things into metal. He grabbed in his hand, holding it the way the shop owner showed him, and got into a comfortable position, blade resting on the floor. He lined up the burin and slowly began to carve the seal into the tang. Oh, how much this sucked. He wasn't used to such a motion. He nearly messed up several times. Takai would have been supremely upset if he ruined this sword. He would have to go all the way back to the shop to buy a new one.

Hours came and went and he was only done with the three storage seals. That was okay, he had time. He probably should rest his mind for awhile.

He set down his tool, slowly and stiffly pushing himself up. Takai hummed as he turned on his heel and walked down the hall and downstairs. He took a left and walked into his kitchen. He was quite hungry. Takai grabbed cereal off his fridge and milk out of the fridge. He reached up into a cupboard, grabbing a bowl. He combined the three, producing a bowl of cereal. He admired the wheat flakes. He opened a drawer and grabbed a spoon. He began shoveling the food into his mouth. He hadn't eaten for a long time. Going off of the light outside, it was about four hours after noon.

Peachy.

Maybe he should go find some leisure activity to do. Yeah, why not? But what to do? Who hadn't he talked to in awhile?

His mind blanked. He didn't know many of his classmates very well. He supposed he was sort of friends with Hinata, but he didn't know where she was. Maybe she was training? Unlikely. She was probably stalking Naruto. So, where was he? He still didn't know.

Takai sighed as he started walking out his house. Time to go searching.

An hour. An hour of searching, but he finally found Naruto training in a clearing. It seemed that Jiraiya of the Sannin was instructing him on something.

Oh well, he didn't want to interrupt. He started looking around for Hinata from his position in the tree. Takai glanced down and-

Jiraiya was making eye-contact with him.

Takai eye-smiled, giving the man a mocking salute. The Sannin scowled at him.

His one eye went back to scanning the treeline and-

There!

Hinata was hiding behind a tree, looking intently at Naruto. Jiraiya looked back at Hinata. She shifted but didn't leave. The Sannin eventually shrugged and returned his attention to Naruto. Takai on the other hand, was moving through the trees, silent as, well, a ninja.

He ended up above Hinata. She didn't even have her Byakugan on to keep training! If she was going to slack off, she could at least train he eyes. The thought of the wasted time made him uncomfortable. Ah whatever, time to get her attention. He pumped chakra to his feet and started walking on the branch above Hinata, ending up upside-down. His head was directly next to hers. Her awareness sucked.

"So, Naruto-watching, are we?" He asked jokingly. Hinata jumped, making some sort of squeaking sound.

"T-takai-san!" She exclaimed, holding her beating heart. Her face was nearly fully flushed red.

"Yep, me." Takai said, pointing at himself.

Hinata glanced at Naruto. "What are you doing here?" She said quietly. If he hadn't been actively listening, he wouldn't have caught it.

Takai shrugged. "Nothing better to do. Figured you'd be where Naruto was."

He watched Hinata wince. "Y-you know about m-my activities?" She said slowly, avoiding his eyes.

"Yeah. I do. I think its funny that he still doesn't realize." He said nonchalantly.

"Ah." She said simply, drawing into herself.

"So, want to spar a bit? I'm sure you could use the practice. Who knows? Maybe Naruto will notice." He drew out his words a bit towards the end. She perked up instantly, eyes full of hope.

"Would he?" Her face fell again. "I'm just a weak nobody."

Takai tilted his head. "So? Change that."

Her face morphed into confusion. "Wha?"

"You heard me. Change. It. If you aren't happy, fix it." He said, crossing his arms.

That's that guys! Pretty satisfied with this chapter. Don't worry, Takai won't be making some overpowered sword just yet. It took me multiple hours to come up with semi-coherent bullshit to slap together for the seals. Curse you Kishimoto for not giving us more to work with! I think I did an okay job though.

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