[Mei Terumi]

Good news often didn't come to Kirigakure's rebellion. The last piece of good news was a few months ago when Kisame Hoshigaki defected. The last piece of good news before that was when Ito Kaguya was saved by Kushimaru. The Kaguya clan could be revived eventually. And that was good. But those were the only pieces of good news in the last three years. Good news didn't come often. Most of the time it was usually depressing news. Like prisoners being rescued or their own being taken into Yagura's concentration camps.

So hearing Kirigakure's factory for child soldiers was destroyed was weird and very welcome.

Kirigakure's academy was notorious for churning out the strongest genin overall. Monsters like Kushimaru and Mangetsu went through the academy in only a year. Genin quickly became chunin and got more experience. More soldiers were created by those chunin passing down their experience to genin when theY couldn't get a jonin sensei. Often times, Sensei were rare to come across. Both for the academy and for genin. So chunin in wartimes or in general often took over and used their experience to teach genin. Thats how Kirigakure had so many forces at the moment.

So whilst a whole platoon of Chunin weren't blown up, the academy was. And that was even better. Since there'd be no more soldiers churned out until Academy sensei were trained and chosen. This meant the rebellion could actually make a dent in Kiri's forces. And maybe pull off some other operations as well.

Yagura was a paranoid person. When things like this happened(and they rarely did) Yagura had a majority of his soldiers consolidate in Kirigakure's core. To protect him of course. As long as the head survived then the body could regenerate. But this left a hole in other places. Mainly the prisons and concentration camps as they'd be left to starve anyways. They'd have ample time too as times like this lasted for at least a month until the coast looked clear enough for him to come out of his shell.

But this gave the rebellion a golden opportunity.

"Ao gather Mangetsu and Urahara!" Mei called out. A plan was forming in her head. Currently, Yagura's paranoia was reaching an all time high. So most places were left unguarded. Her two best Shinobi on hand were needed for this. Kushimaru was with Ito doing something. Something about finding some brats that Ito wanted to find(That just meant Ito wanted something and Kushimaru didn't have the heart to deny her it.) So Urahara was his replacement.

He was better at stealth anyways. Ao nodded and shunshined to find the two she asked for. They'd be easy to find. Those two either played darts or trained Suigetsu and Mito in their respective clans Hiden jutsu. Sometimes both depending how stupid they were feeling that day.

Soon the two came back with Ao, "Hey boss lady, what do ya need?" Urahara waved. Urahara was a young man of about twenty years of age. He wore a fire red cloak with the standard attire for Kiri anbu under it. Minus the mask of course. He had a headband with a slash in it, implying he was a missing nin(to be reinstated once they won the war. Mei had faith that'd happen after all) He wore a perpetual grin on his face.

Mangetsu waved too, "Yeah what do you need us for today? Some special mission?" Mangetsu was a young man of about seventeen years of age, ten years older than his brother. He wore an outfit which consisted of a black, sleeveless shirt, light-purple-coloured pants and striped leg-warmers. He also had a perpetual grin on his face which was to inspire confidence in others.

Mei nodded, "I'm sure you've heard of the news our spy has brought us,"

Mangetsu's grin turned into a light smile, "Yeah, I'm sure Ameyuri's happy about that one. Personally I'm happy about it. Other than the whole part where this helps our cause, this is pretty sweet, that prick Kenka was a shitty dude outside of his bigotry anyways. And everyone else sucked too,"

Urahara nodded, "Yeah, especially Kekumaru." Mangetsu nodded at his friends words, "So when are we gonna dance on their corpses," Urahara really hated Kekumaru. Mei had no idea why but she was sure whomever caused the man's death would get a bouquet of flowers and some chocolate as a thank you gift.

Mei sighed, "Whilst I agree they suck that is not what we're talking about today. I'm giving you a very important mission. We need our lead lightning user that isn't Ameyuri back along with our lead earth release user and medic back. Ameyuri's sickness is sadly progressing so we need a back up for our plan and another Yagura deterrent and we need our medic back for obvious reasons,"

The duo's backs straightened right away, "We understand the mission," Mangetsu's grin was no longer there and he looked dead serious. Good.

Urahara nodded, "We do. We know which camp their in correct?"

Mei handed them a map, "Camp coral," Yagura's names really weren't creative at all, " We have no idea where in there though. Thats why you two are needed. Your goal is too liberate as many of our allies as you can. But the main objective is retrieving Seiki and Yami. Are the parameters clear?"

Mangetsu and Urahara nodded, "Crystal,"

Mei saw they were serious and nodded, "Good. Now go," The duo shunshined away and Ao looked at her, "Yes Ao?"

Ao looked at where the duo once was, "Do you think it was wise to send just them?"

Mei nodded, "They are the two best people we have when it comes to stealth. They'll do just fine,"

Ao nodded and stayed silent.

[Kokushibo Hozuki]

Kokushibo had finally made it. After dozens of hours he had made it Suika village. The trek had been surprisingly easy. No lightning chakra except for that one douche bandit who had shinobi training. But he had killed him and rested up for a bit because getting shocked tended to leave him out of it for a few hours. Sometimes up to a day depending how badly he was shocked.

But luckily for him other than that one little mishap the trip to Suika had went swimmingly. No bandits, No shinobi, no lightning chakra, no clowns trying to seduce him into giving away his entire lively hood. God that mission was a weird one. Pirates were weird. Most had weird names too. That Buggy bastard was probably a bloodline user too.

Suika was known for many things. Mainly seafood, sweets, and it being one of the few places in the land of water with a vast forest. But it also was known for its hotels being cheap for traveling shinobi. It was both perfect for missing nin and not perfect due to how close it was to Kirigakure.

So it was quite obvious for the bastards who killed his friends to come here. if they didn't stay here they'd likely go to Hako village which was known as the second biggest shinobi village in the land of water. Perfect for training shinobi. It was also where the daimyo had his personal shinobi shipped from. Something about not wanting to poach from Yagura-sama's forces.

Kokushibo gripped his sword. Michikatsu was his best friend. He'd need to avenge him here. He'd tear this place apart if need be to find those bastards. But that'd likely not be the case. He had their chakra scent. He'd find them in a day at most.

His chakra sensing was weird. Once he had a feel for how the chakra worked, he could sense if it was close by. Currently it wasn't so they were in another part of the village or they were no longer in Suika. That option was one Kokushibo didn't want to think about.

But they still had to be resting right? It was a long trip from Kirigakure to Suika if you didn't have a lot of stamina and from the information he had they likely didn't. The only reason they were able to evade him for so long was because they had a vast headstart.

So the bastards had to be close by still. Resting, training, learning. Kokushibo couldn't allow them to get stronger. Especially if one of them was a lightning release user. If they knew chakra flow or any jutsu that was too fast for him to dodge, he'd be toast.

But Kokushibo couldn't battle them now couldn't he? He needed time to rest and recuperate. Besides that one break when he was shocked, he didn't have any breaks so he was pretty spent. And he couldn't fight these bastards without being at full strength couldn't he?

The chances of them winning would be significantly higher if he was tired. And he didn't want to disappoint Yagura-sama or his friends. So he needed to be well rested and strong. So maybe he should treat himself to a meal and get some souvenirs for his girlfriend?

Yeah that sounded like an amazing idea.

Kokushibo pat himself on the back for the amazing thought process. The matter was settled. He'd rest, get some grub, and then go get some stuff for his girl friend and then sleep for a bit. Then he could get his revenge against his friends killers.

Now the question was where'd he go and what would he eat?

[Kukui Tanku]

"Now you've got to ease your chakra into it. Like a gentle touch rather than a rough and fast grip. That comes when your proficient enough to actually use Chakra flow," Sanemi coached from the side. He was teaching me and Himiko how to use chakra flow. Although I wasn't sure how it'd be useful for Himiko and her water affinity.

I tried following Sanemi's instructions but I simply couldn't... I wasn't nearly as talented when it came to elemental chakra as Sanemi or Choujuro. They were much better at this stuff whilst I was better at trickery, blades, and non elemental chakra. Himiko was a jack of all trades. Good at everything but not the best.

I sighed as I failed to infuse my blade with lightning chakra, "Damnit. I suck at this," I was only trying with one blade as I imagined trying with two blades would suck. Especially when they weren't chakra conductive. If these were I imagined I'd be having a peachy time with this, "I really suck at this,"

Sanemi put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Hey its okay Kukui, not everyone can get it instantly like I did," Okay Mr. Prodigy in wind chakra. If Sanemi had the shadow clone trick at his disposal he'd be unstoppable. So would Choujuro now that I think about it.

Choujuro looked over from where he was practicing his swinging his sword, "Yeah! Not everyone is good at chakra flow! Not many people know it, even in the land of water!" Yeah that helped. I had the gamer(Albiet a nerfed one) and I still couldn't do this shit. Maybe I needed something else? Something extra to help.

I sighed again, "I know but it kinda sucks you know, Not being able to get this down. I feel weak," Useless. I felt like shit because I knew if someone attacked us I knew I'd need to be protected. How could I do anything like this? How could I kill Obito? "You and Sanemi are prodigies at damn near everything. Including elemental chakra," I was talented too. But not nearly as much as them, "Himiko has her Ketseryugan, her dagger proficiany, and her stealth abilities," Meanwhile what did I have? "I have nothing. I know I'm not bad at chakra or the shinobi arts as a whole but I'm just weak," I looked down as lightning crackled in my other hand.

"You know, with that attitude you are pathetic," I looked up again and saw Himiko looking at me, "So what we have cool shit, you do too. Your good at using duel swords and you can walk up walls and shit. You did that instantly or was that a lie? I doubt it. You suck at elemental shit now but you just need to put your mind to it and you can do it. You learned how to manipulate lightning in less than a year when it normally should take three. Stop with that pity party,"

That felt like a slap to the face... But... Was I having a pity party? Sanemi nodded and shook me, "Yeah dude. You. Don't. Suck. " I looked up at him, "I understand you feel weak and shit but come on dude. We can't have you feeling like this. You'll never become stronger or learn chakra flow at this rate. So cheer up and we can try again later,"

They had a point... If I kept pitying myself for sucking so much after only less than a year then why should I continue to be stronger? Power came to those who worked for it. Who were grateful to it and for it. I had power after nine months or so of training. I wasn't the strongest but I was still really good for having nine months of training. Or I liked to think so.

I looked up at Choujuro, "Y-yeah their right! You don't suck at all Kukui Like Himiko said you have your own things your good at! And your even a chakra sensor, albiet a weak one but I'm sure you could get better with training! So don't get so glum!" Ironic coming from him. But he did have a point.

I honestly forgot I was a sensor with how little I used it. I began stretching out my senses, might as well train it to see if I could improve it. If I could then that'd be great. Being a chakra sensor was a great thing to be. Especially if you were me and had someone to kill in mind.

I sighed and smiled slightly. My friends did have a point. Maybe I shouldn't feel bad and give myself time to grow. I needed some rest probably. The last nine months of my life had been stressful. Very stressful, "Alright. I'll stop. But can't we take a break, I feel like getting some mint Mochi again," Seeing the disgust on Sanemi's face made me smile.

I felt better now.

[Name: Kukui Tanku

Age: 10

Title: Defector of Kiri

Chakra: 110/110

Stamina: 110/110

Strength: 20

Dexterity: 21

Constitution: 22

Chakra: 11

Chakra control: C]

My stats hadn't increased much over the last month. I've mostly focused on skills like Lightning release or Kenjutsu. But I was proud of my stats so far. Maybe I needed to get heavier weights though. The ones I was wearing now felt light. I'd need to up them to fifteen soon. I'm sure I could find some weights somewhere in Suika. If not then the next place we went too. Speaking of, "So do you think Hako would be a good place to go next?" Himiko and Sanemi were out sampling some Seafood so we were trying to plan our next move.

Choujuro nodded and put a bandaid over his leg, he was still recovering from his and Sanemi's spar. He won but Sanemi got a good cut in., "It would be ideal, Hako is where the Daimyo gets his personal shinobi trained at after all. So we could train there,"

I grinned, "Good. We can find some weights there and maybe see if there's a shinobi library there," Shinobi libraries were unofficial places where missing-nin gather and share knowledge. I learned that whilst in a shop, getting Mochi. The conversation seemed interesting so I just used chakra enhanced hearing.

Choujuro finished patching himself up, "Maybe we can find a sensei there and see if they'll teach us a bit," That would be extremely fortunate. But they'd have to know water, wind, and lightning release to be useful to us. Sure they could teach us other things but we'd need something more useful at the moment to help us.

I hummed and nodded, "Yeah that'd be nice but they'd need to be skilled in swordsmanship or know a lot about elemental jutsu to help us," Currently there wasn't much helpful things outside of those two that would be useful to us short term. Maybe a fuinjutsu master that could teach one of us would be useful but other than that I didn't see anyone being useful.

There was also the matter of finding someone willing to help us.

Choujuro sighed, "Yeah that'd be tough. Not to mention someone would have to be willing to train us. Not only that but they'd need to be willing to train four people at once,"

I blankly looked at Choujuro, "So Hako's library would be our best bet?"

Choujuro nodded, "Yep,"

"Great,"

Well this was a short chapter. Originally I had planned for it to be longer wordcount wise but I decided to just not force anything and to see where my muse led me. It led me here and now here we are having this conversation. Initially I thought I wouldn't have fun writing this chapter but I did have plenty of fun tbh. I always like writing Kiri world building and I love writing bonding moments between Kukui, Choujuro, Himiko, and Sanemi.

I also planned for a Jiraya POV showing more of him and his adventures in Kiri or him reporting to Hiruzen to get Konoha involved in Kiri's shit but I decided not too because I want to save that for a later chapter. And I kinda don't want the spot light being taken from this plotline.

Anyways see y'all in another six days!

- tobi