[Kukui Tanku]

"Lower yourself a bit more. Hold your sword with both of your hands." I looked at Hanabi as she gripped my Tanto. She quickly settled into the correct stance. "Good, you're a fast learner it seems." I smiled, "Good job."

"Thank you Sensei." Hanabi had a small smile on her face. She looked intently at my Tanto. I was not about to shell money on another sword unless she was going to actually use Kenjutsu actively. "What do I do next?" Hanabi was being taught in the same way I was.

I grinned, "Well I want that stance to become instinct to you. So for the next five minutes I want you to hold that stance. Study it. Feel it. Let it become muscle memory." Obviously Muscle Memory didn't come in five minutes. Although this was a great start.

Hanabi nodded, "Alright Sensei." Hanabi began to hold the blade in place. "I will commit this stance to memory." Hanabi was pretty much what I expected from a Hyuuga child. Formal and rigid but not overly so. I was half tempted to introduce her to Naruto just to spite Hiashi for the crime that is the caged bird seal but I won't for my safety.

I sat down and looked at the sky. 'Life is weird.' I was teaching the child of the clan head of the Hyuuga clan. That was something I never thought I'd be able to say but here I am. I wonder how good Hanabi will be with Kenjutsu. She could be really great or terrible. I needed to see in a spar first.

Soon enough five minutes passed and I looked back at Hanabi who looked tired. Holding up something without moving got tiring quickly. I knew that personally. "Alright, you can take a quick break." With a sigh of relief Hanabi sat down. "We'll be going over the rest of the day whilst your muscles recover. Any questions?" Like Tenten did for me I'd train Hanabi into the ground until she could beat me.

"What will you have me do to prepare for the rest of today's lesson?" Hanabi asked with a tilt of her head. "What will we be doing for the rest of the day actually?" I pulled out a notebook. "Really? A notebook?" I liked to be prepared.

I chuckled, "I like preparation I guess. I figured I'd need this yesterday so I made it quickly. Since your a Hyuuga you rely on the rigid style of the Gentle Fist which from my observations and experience." Multiple spars with Hinata helped a lot. "It's based on the rigidity of Earth which means those with a more fluid and swift style can counter you if they get in close. However unlikely that is." Hanabi was staying quiet which was nice. "So to counteract that we're going to be shaping your Kenjutsu style to be fluid and quick like mine. To do that I'm going to have you learn from the best teacher."

Hanabi's eyes lit up, "Really? Who?" Ah the young and innocent. Believing the best teacher was a person. No no no. "Sensei, you're starting to scare me." I chuckled.

I stood up and unsealed a wooden sword. These training swords were much cheaper than normal ones but it was better to get the feel of a real one than a false one in my eyes. You could easily use your blade with the sheath on for training instead. Much more accurate results occur that way. "Pain is the best teacher Hanabi. I'm going to spar with you and point out your mistakes after each spar."

Hanabi didn't even flinch and that honestly worried me, "Oh that sounds a lot like the methods father uses when I spar with my sister." Okay, really worrying... I might need to do something to get Hiruzen's help. "Are you going to be sparing with me personally or are you going to find someone else?"

'Note to self. Look more into Hyuuga clan stuff.' There wasn't much in canon to go off of. Only the stuff with the caged bird seal and- oh fuck Hanabi might get the caged bird seal. 'Alright look into Juinjutsu as well.' I then looked at Hanabi and smiled, "Yes we are. I could go get a friend but they are a bit meaner than me when it comes to training."

Hanabi nodded, "Okay Sensei. So are we going to continue now?' I nodded. "Alright Sensei." I was going to make this child the strongest I could make her and the most gremlin-like I can. I hated it when people abused children... Knowing what Hiashi is doing is making me feel like doing something. I'd love to know more but I'm not really in a position to know more.

I stood up and Hanabi did as well. "First I'd like to see how you swing the tanto. Would you please swing it?" Hanabi nodded and swung the sword after falling into the stance I showed her earlier. "Alright, good. Now we can truly begin. Good luck and I will go easy on you."

Hanabi nodded, "Okay Sensei." She then stopped looking like she was about to attack. "Wait. Can I use my Byakugan or not?" Ah yes. She was going to try to use the gentle fist through the Tanto. I wondered how that would go.

I shrugged as I settled into a perfect stance. "Sure. Go all out with the thing. If you land a hit on me I'll teach you a cool jutsu." Like all kids at the mention of jutsu her eyes lit up. 'Works every time.' Hanabi wouldn't be able to land a hit. I just knew it.

Hanabi grinned which was a bit unnerving at first but I liked it. It was much nicer than seeing a completely blank or serious face on a child. "I'll land a hit on you for sure Sensei." Progress was progress. I'd take anything. Even a monotone voice.

"Good." I stood firmly in place. "Now come at me with the intent to kill. Trust me you're gonna need to do that."

Hanabi nodded and began running at me.

"So, you think you're prepared enough for the tests tomorrow?" Mika asked as we walked. No real destination in particular. Just walking since Tenten and Naruto were hanging out alone today. Mika and I both agreed to not be the Third and Fourth wheels.

I shrugged, "It'll be tough but I'm confident I can pass whatever they throw at me." The test had to be really hard if it was going to allow early grads. "I think Naruto will pass too. If only out of sheer spite alone." Naruto would pass for sure. It wasn't even a question. He may get a low score in any written tests though.

Mika nodded, "He'll get second best in Taijutsu for sure." Mika then looked like she remembered something, "Oh yeah do you still plan on working on that Genjutsu seal?" Oh yeah. I still had to get started on that... Along with other things. The Genjutsu seal was up there on my priorities list. Along with the Medical seal.

I shrugged. I hadn't had a lot of time unfortunately, "Yeah but not now. Although I'd love to learn how Genjutsu works in better detail. The academy never really went into it much other than how to break one." Maybe I should have asked Kurenai for some pointers during that class. That would have been a great idea.

Mika grinned, "Well I know someone who knows a lot about Genjutsu!" That was great to hear. "They offered to teach me but I've never really been interested. I'm sure he'd love to teach you though!" Who could it be? Probably an Uchiha. I wondered if it'd be one of those filler characters Uchiha that lived somehow.

I grinned, "Really? That sounds great!" I was excited to explore Genjutsu and how it worked just to apply it to Fuinjutsu. I'd be the worst to fight in Taijutsu. Or in general really. I probably could take down most opponents with surprise genjutsu with a punch or a kick. God that'd be devious... "Maybe I can get the seal done soon and use it in Taijutsu fights!"

Mika chuckled, "You are one evil person, Kukui. Yep my brother's gonna like you for sure." Brother? I didn't know she had a brother... It just never came up actually. Her brother must be a shinobi or something. "Ever heard of Shunshin no Shisui?"

Why am I not surprised?

I nodded. 'He might be alive... He also might be Mika's brother... He definitely is. Mika wouldn't have asked otherwise. "Yeah. He was one of the strongest Uchiha ever to have lived." History class went over him a few times. He was noted to be a kind dude and one of Konoha's youngest S-ranks. "He was one of the Uchiha's three S-rank ninjas before he died. He made the Shunshin his personal jutsu and he was Konoha's best Genjutsu user.,"

Mika's grin was telling. "He's not dead!" Mika's grin only grew, "Brother was saved by the Sandaime. Itachi tried to kill him but was stopped before he could." We were in the Uchiha district now. I just realized that. It was mostly empty looking. "C'mon. Follow me!"

Mika grabbed my hand and suddenly we were in front of a house. I took a second to reorientate myself. 'Damn Shunshin... I guess I know why she knows it now though.' I groaned, "A warning next time, please." Shunshinning without being prepared was an experience to say the least.

Mika laughed before scratching her arm, "Yeah sorry about that. I guess I just got excited. My brother loves visitors and only two people ever see him these days. So someone new and seeing how he reacts is always something I'd be excited about."

...Fair enough. I rubbed some dust off of my shirt, "Okay then fair enough."

"Alright let's go. This time prepare yourself." I quickly did so as I was grabbed and we suddenly were somewhere else. Shunshin is bullshit.

"Mika? Who's this?" I opened my eyes to see a sickly looking man with short unkempt black hair and black eyes. The man seemed to be sporting a huge grin though... Had Danzo not taken his eyes in this timeline? Or was he given a transplant?

Mika quickly hugged the man. "This is my friend, Kukui! He wanted to know more about Genjutsu so I figured to take him to you! You get another visitor too!" At this point I felt like I was intruding on something... It almost looked like she was crushing the man to death at the moment.

Shisui chuckled before looking at me and then back at Mika, "Well I'm sure you could have gone to someone else but thanks for bringing him to me. You know how happy I am to see people. Hiruzen-sama doesn't visit as much anymore." Note to self. Remind Hiruzen to come see Shisui more. The man then looked back at me. "So what do you need to know?"

I unsealed a notebook. "Everything." At the man's curious expression I decided to elaborate. "I want to know exactly how to use Genjutsu so I can make a seal out of it. A way to genjutsu someone without hand seals would be the biggest middle finger I can give to someone in a taijutsu fight and I wanna do that." I noticed Mika went to go stand to the side. She was watching Shisui Intently.

The legendary shinobi nodded, "So you wanna make a genjutsu seal? How versed are you in Fuinjutsu?" Shisui sat forward and looked at me. Waiting for an answer.

I grinned, "I'm up to level three. Working on getting up to level four but I can do a few level five seals. I even made one!" I'd forever brag about me doing this at eleven. Fuck anyone and everyone who doubted me. This shit was hard.

Shisui's eyebrows raised. "Show me. I wanna get an idea of who I'm working with... Actually, no. I know nothing about Fuinjutsu. What does the seal you made do?" He was thinking.

I put down my notebook and unsealed a pair of gloves. "They allow me to store and shape chakra without hand seals." The man's eyebrows raised further. "I have a fire affinity unfortunately so it's not as good as an earth could have been."

"An earth affinity would make that seal really overpowered. Okay you seem like you won't kill yourself with Fuinjutsu. Good. So you wanna hear the long and boring explanation on genjutsu or just cliff notes?" Cliff Notes were something I would like normally but I fully intended to take advantage of this situation.

I grabbed my notebook. "I will happily sit here until next week if need be. Please give me the long and boring version." Any opportunity to learn was one I was going to take and use to its fullest extent. This had been my biggest one ever.

Shisui grinned, "Well that's great because that means I get to explain it to Mika indirectly too! Maybe it'll spark an interest in her." "Never!" "Maybe." Shisui chuckled. "Alright a genjutsu is created when a person controls the chakra flow of another's brain, affecting their five senses. That's the gist of it. But it's a bit more complicated than that. You have to use the more spiritually inclined part of your chakra to take control of a specific part of the brain for different effects." Shisui took a drink of water. "To be able to control the target's brain you have to manipulate your chakra in a way that will send it toward the target's brain. Sound and Sight Genjutsu are the most common and some of the most dangerous variations of Genjutsu but Touch Genjutsu is also something that can be done. Once you got your targets brain under your control you can manipulate what they see."

I finished writing that down. 'So pretty much like puppetry but with extra steps.' That's what Genjutsu sounded like to me. "Interesting. I assume that's just the tip of the iceberg." There was more for sure.

Shisui nodded, "Yeah but that's the general gist of it using the long explanation. Wanna hear more right now or nah?"

I shook my head, "No but thank you though. This information is massively helpful..." Now that had only taken a few minutes... I kinda wanted to talk to the man more, "If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a question." I always had been curious about the man's title. How did he get it exactly? And when? The history books didn't go into much detail on the name.

Shisui looked curious. "Sure! As long as it isn't anything personal I can answer." Fair enough. I wondered if the title was personal though. Hopefully not.

I grinned. "I've always been curious on how you got the title Shunshin no Shisui. You are probably the only S-rank in history that doesn't have that much documented about them and you always sounded like one of the stronger ones." Shisui had the Mangekyo too. He was an S-rank even without them.

Shisui rubbed the back of his head, "Well I wouldn't say I'm one of the stronger S-ranks. I'm crippled and dead to the world unfortunately." Crippled. "To answer your question, A good thirty or so Kiri-nin and I had a bit of fun and went back to Yagura terrified."

"Crippled..." I muttered. Okay so now I knew why he wasn't kicking ass as a shinobi at the moment. " Couldn't the Hokage find someone to heal you?" He couldn't have been too cowardly to not call Tsunade right? Shisui was an S-rank. One of the best there was.

Shisui sighed, "I wish. But thanks to certain things." Danzo was left unsaid. "Me being "Alive" Again wouldn't work out too well. Not only that but the only woman who can heal me is currently out of Konoha and she doesn't wanna come back." Oh Tsunade... I wonder if I can get a mission and coincidentally find her. I know her fear of blood so I should be able to at least talk to her.

"That sounds terrible..." I looked down. "I'm guessing only Tsunade Senju can heal you..." I looked back up at Shisui who nodded. "You don't deserve this. You're like 20?" Shisui chuckled at that. "Okay grandpa. Great response."

"If I'm a Grandpa does that mean I can go outside in a wheelchair and shout at kids to get off my lawn?" Shisui had a glimmer in his eye, "And you're right on the money! Shunshin no Shisui has officially entered his twilight years!" There was an undertone of sadness there. I noticed Mika getting ready to move.

I only have known the man for like half an hour and I truly wanted to go drag Tsunade back to Konoha just to heal Shisui. "Sure. But now you have to eat from a straw." I laughed at the man's face. Priceless.

"I'll keep that in mind." Shisui then laid back down and yawned. "Man it must be getting late. It was nice talking to you. Also Mika thanks for bringing him it's nice having real visitors for once. Shadow clones are really boring." Now that was just... sad. "I guess I might as well get some shut eye. Come back and visit sometime, okay."

I grinned, "Gladly."

[New Skill Unlocked: Flame Seal]

[Flame Seal lvl 1:

Seal that stores fire chakra to be used in a one time powerful and precise attack or multiple smaller, cost effective, and creative attacks

Cost: 135 chakra points

Capacity: 0/400 chakra points.

Creator bonus: lvl's up 20% faster ]

'The beginning of an Era.' I had some time tonight. It was the night before the exams. I decided to assemble my seals a few hours ago and fill them with chakra. They were full at the moment and on my gloves. I now had access to sealless jutsu. Multiple sealless jutsu. I was effectively a firebender.

I looked at the endless starry sky and let out a drop of the firepower I now possessed. A small flame appeared on my finger. I grinned. "All those months of hard work. Over a thousand hours of research and practice. All for this. All for a way to be strong. I had a system sure but it wasn't anything as good as being a Jinchurriki or having a Kekkei Genkai. But this? With my seals and ideas... I could level the playing field.

'Like a star in the endless void of space.' I looked up as I deactivated the seal on my hand. No need to waste chakra. Almost a year at this point. That's how long I've been in this world. There was so much more I wished I could do. So much I wanted to do. But it had only been like eleven months or so. I could do so much more as a shinobi. 'To think that a year or so ago I was confined to a hospital bed... Now I'm strong enough to wipe out a small town... probably... and I'm healthier than a horse.'

I almost chuckled. I had forgotten a lot from my past life. My name and face mainly. I wasn't him anymore. I was now Kukui Tanku. I long since accepted that... My life as Kukui had been far better than it ever was as the old me. I had friends who cared. The Superpowers I always dreamed of. And I had the potential to be a hero. Not the protagonist but one of them maybe.

Life here wasn't sunshine and rainbows. I know that. I had the high possibility of going out into a world where I had to kill. I could do my best to incapacitate but I'd have to do it eventually. The people in this world could be as bad, if not worse, than the people of my old world. And the worst part? Technology was roughly around the level of the seventies. And there weren't a lot of good bands. Yes music existed here and most of it unfortunately sucked.

I sat up and looked at my hand. 'Even with the things that suck here. I still like this place more.' I activated my left flame seal once more and drew an eight in the air with the flame. It quickly dissipated. "Power feels nice." I then collapsed to the grass once more and looked up at the wonderful sky. "To the first step in becoming truly powerful." I raised a hand into the air.

I felt like seeing what my flame seal could exactly do. But now wasn't the right time. I didn't want a repeat of what happened with Kakashi. Actually that was the best case scenario. I still wanted to see how the power in my hands felt. I wanted to see what I could do with it.

But I really didn't want to get murked by accident.

I liked being alive more than I was excited. I could test later with people around me. No way in hell would that go wrong... That was foreshadowing wasn't it? Something bad was gonna happen. Knowing my luck it would and it wouldn't be pretty.

'Just enjoy the moment Kukui.' Ruining the night for myself would be terrible. I wanted to have a good time. One where I could easily just lose track of time. 'Maybe I should meditate too... Now would be a perfect time.'

Meditation was stuck on level 9 for so long. It was dumb.

But it could mean something. I unfortunately didn't know. Maybe Senjutsu? That required lots of meditation. So perhaps tapping into it would give the final level. Yeah on second thought... Meditating here and now sounded like a terrible idea.

I fucked around with dangerous stuff all the time but at the very least I did it in a way that wouldn't kill me nine out of ten times. Senjutsu was dangerous. Like really dangerous. I wasn't willing to mess with it unless I had an elder summon teaching me.

'I guess it's time to go home.' I stood up and looked at my flame seal once more. "I'll fuck around with you sometime this week. For now I have to worry about the tests tomorrow." I needed to be ready. "I might become a shinobi after tomorrow... It's insane to think that I've come full circle. Worrying about exams now? Who would have thought."

I would be the best I could be. The academy was the first step. This was the second one.

Today was the day.

I felt my heartbeat in my chest. I could feel how fast it was going. I was nervous. If not outwardly then I was on the inside. I sat down on the now familiar seat in the academy and sighed. I managed to get seven hours of sleep thankfully.

We were waiting for Iruka and presumably anyone else who may come to proctor the test. I didn't know how long they would take. They weren't even here yet. That or they were suppressing their chakra really well. Likely the latter. They could be here any time.

I knew there was likely going to be a written test, a taijutsu test, and a ninjutsu test. Although Canon had already been given the middle finger at this point and time. Not completely but enough to where it still stung. But I could take advantage of my situation.

That wasn't the point right now.

Right now I need to focus on what was important today. The tests. I suddenly felt a chakra spike. "Everyone quiet down." Quickly everyone who was talking shut up just before Iruka and two other chuunin entered the room. Being a sensor made me the watchdog. Oh joy.

Iruka had a smile on his face, "Ah peace and quiet. Just like I always wanted." He then settled into a sterner expression. "Alright everyone, today is the day of the End of Term tests. We will be having four tests today. A Written test, an obstacle course, a taijutsu test, and a genjutsu test." I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But I still was.

I quickly saw Sakura raise her hand before I could. "What about Ninjutsu? Isn't it usually a Ninjutsu test at the end of year five and up?" That wasn't what I was going to ask but hey I now knew this year was different. I should have guessed that from the moment I arrived here but oh well.

"Well," Iruka reached his desk, "This year is a bit different. We've decided that in order to pass, Knowing the academy three as much as it would help, they aren't needed to be a shinobi. We are here to evaluate your skills in the other categories so we can see how far along you are as Shinobi."

That made sense actually. Well then Naruto's probably really happy right now.

Sakura nodded, "Alright Sensei. Thank you,"

Suddenly papers appeared on our desks. "Alright class. I suppose it's time we start the first test. The Written test. Get ready everyone because this is going to be the hardest test you've taken in the last five years,"

I heard at least. three groans at that.

Yeah I wasn't excited either but it had to be done.

"Now without further to do. Begin!"

So yeah this is the last chapter before the exams. Now lets recap! Kukui training Hanabi in Kenjutsu the same way he was. But with less abuse. Hiashi is more or less the same as canon here so nothing really worse than the usual for the worst parent in Konoha. Yes I firmly believe that Fugaku was better. Anyways Kukui is probably gonna get involved in Hyuuga matters at some point. When he does I hope Hiashi is ready because that Kukui isn't gonna be just a genin. And he is going to make Hanabi into a little shit that doesn't need the gentle fist.

Next we have Kukui meeting Shisui and learning about Genjutsu. Originally I had this split into two parts. One with Mika telling Kukui about Shisui and taking him to the man and the next with the two talking. I then decided that it'd be better to keep it as one and did it like that. Now I'm not going to lie to anyone. Shisui is one of my favorite characters in Naruto. Yes he had like 20 minutes of screentime but I loved all 20 minutes of screentime he had. So he's gonna appear quite a bit here.

Then we have Kukui just doing whatever after completing the flame seal. This was not apart of the original chapter plan. The original chapter plan was Kukui training Hanabi, Mika talking about Shisui and convincing Kukui to come with her to see the man, Kukui and Shisui's meeting, and then the beginning of the exams. Since I had three parts only this chapter I added it in. I like how it turned out. It subtly points to a trait of Kukui's that needs to be bitten in the ass. Overconfidence. A flaw that could get him killed if it grows enough.

Last we have my least favorite part of this chapter. The exams. Now I didn't write the written test because thats just boring. But I wrote the beginning of the tests just before the written exams. Again not my favorite part of the chapter.

Overall I really like this chapter for the most part.

Anyways see y'all in another six days or so for you! If I release a chapter every six days you'll see this in... 64? days? I don't know if that math is correct but oh well.

Sidenote: We're over 50k words in at this point. Nice. Second Sidenote: Sorry for being late everyone. I slept in yesterday and forgot to release the chapter.

- Tobi