Why am I still here? Honest question.
Why am I still here?
The whole room had been cleared out already. One by one their sensei had taken each team out of the classroom. There was plenty of uproar to be found.
I glared at Kushina and Minato when they came in, who avoided my line of sight as much as possible. I still resented them for what they did. (I am not a baseball bat!)
I shivered when Orochimaru solemnly came to collect his team. He didn't say a word, just gestured for them to come.
Even Torune got taken by her sensei already. He seemed nice, if plain.
It's been thirty minutes since the last sensei came. Shiromaru fell asleep by the 15 mark. Where is this woman?! Seriously I'm getting annoyed. Not really because of the boredom, but because of the staredown.
Ayame's gaze sent little electricity sparks at the person sitting next to me, who happily returned them right back.
Uchiha Tetsuo seemed just as focused on keeping up the match. I don't think he even knows why Ayame is mad at him. The tension just keeps getting higher. It's suffocating.
Sparkle, sparkle.
Okay. Enough.
"Alright!" They both jumped. "Ayame, can I talk to you for a sec?" I took her wrist and walked outside the classroom. The weird sensei, who was asleep by this point, did nothing to stop me. I took her around the corner and closed the door.
"So?"
"So what?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, we're playing this game?"
"You don't recognize him?!"
"Irrelevant matters do not get the decency of object permanence from me."
She put her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you start talking." Since our time in the forest she's been getting more and more ill-tempered with me and it's starting to grind on my nerves.
"He was with Asuma! In the Fight!" She capitalized it, not me.
Figures it would be something like this. "He's not with Asuma anymore, now is he? He's on our team now. That means you get along with him."
"I disagree!" She pointed valiantly to the heavens. For what, I'm not sure. "And he's an Uchiha! They're all stuck up anyways! Who wants to go deal with them!?" I'm pretty sure he heard that. We're not that far away from the classroom.
But that's already a problem, huh? The Uchiha thing. To be honest I haven't paid much attention to inter-clan politics, so busy caught up in just my own. But the Uchiha's reputation already isn't great. Fantastic.
First things first, "Ayame, if you don't go back in that room and play nice with him, I'm not giving you any of the takoyaki I brought!" Her eyes lasered onto the bag I brought with me. The food was getting cold right about now, since we were waiting so long, but Ayame's never been known to pass up on food.
"Okay, okay! I'll get along with him! Just give me the food." Her arms extended before she finished talking to my bag. I dodged her efforts valiantly.
"Nuh-uh. Nope. First, you go into that classroom and introduce yourself. Then, food." I don't know why it took me so long to figure out how to get along with people. I hang out with children. Just treat them like children. I know. Revelation, right?
She started salivating. Eww. She seemed to catch herself, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Alright! I'll go in there! Watch! It'll be the greatest introduction ever!"
"That's what I'm counting on."
She rushed back into the classroom and stood on top of Tetsuo's desk. "Hey you! My name is Sarutobi Ayame! And I'm going to be the next Sarutobi Clan Head, don't forget!" Why did that sound so familiar?
Tetsuo for his part looked entirely bemused. Staring match forgotten, he introduced himself normally. "Umm. I'm Uchiha Tetsuo. I like ducks." He said, quite lamely.
Ayame glared at him for a few more seconds, and then acquiesced. "Hmph!"
Eh. Adequate. I held up my arm with the bag. And lo and behold, the bag was gone. I walked up to the confused boy, sitting back next to him.
In the background you could hear her devouring the poor takoyaki. "Sorry about that. She just gets like that sometimes." I apologized with what I hope was a disarming smile. His long hair slightly obfuscated his responding smile, reminding me a bit of that one Japanese movie where the girl comes out of the tv. The only difference was this guy's hair looked to be meticulously taken care of.
"It's okay. I'm Uchiha Tetsuo. I like ducks." His lone red and white earring dangled from his ear. It had an interesting crystal-like design.
"I heard." He wore the classic Uchiha turtleneck design in black, with standard ninja pants like mine matching it. A tantou was attached to his hip. Everything, including his tantou, had the Uchiha clan symbol on it. I was surprised it wasn't on his forehead too.
Haahh. This team's gonna be a piece of work, I can already tell. "Do you know when our sensei's coming for us?" He asked demurely.
"I don't think they're going to." I had conjectures as to why, but nothing solid yet.
"Then what are we gonna do?" Ayame asked, having finished her food. I held out a napkin I kept in my pocket. She took it and wiped her mouth with it.
"Seek her out ourselves." And I really didn't want to, knowing the people I would have to talk to to find out, but I really had no other choice. "Don't worry, I have a plan."
We jumped through the trees of Training Ground 4, keeping an eye out for one particular person.
It didn't take long to track down the scent, one I was more than familiar with by now. I just wish it didn't have to lead me to him.
"Hey Ayame! Arata.. What are you doing here?" Anko asked. They were just about to leave the training grounds, Hayama and some other girl picking up stray kunai and shuriken, the person I was looking for watching them.
"We're here to see your sensei." I answered.
Ayame jumped. "Oh that makes sense! You get one sannin to get you the other!" She said, like it was that easy. Not that I could blame her. I was praying that it was going to be.
Anko jumped with her. "Orochimaru-sensei's great! We had a test today and he said we all pass with flying colors!" She exclaimed jovially. I could see some scuff marks and dirt on her clothes, but nothing terrible thank Kami. So does that mean they had their Jounin test already? I'm not supposed to know about that yet, right?
Due to the commotion, he, having heard us, walked up to us. "So Tsunade's students decided to grace us with their presence." He said offhandedly.
It was strange. For all intents and purposes, he looked... normal. He was wearing the standard jounin vest, hitai-ate tied around his forehead. Aside from what I hoped was face paint there wasn't really anything you could find threatening about him. Even his slitted eyes seemed more bored then callous.
I still found myself freezing up. "Ah— I—" I fumbled. What would he do to me if he found out what I knew? About him? About the future? About everything! Did he start experimenting on orphans yet?! I have no idea! I was scared, and afraid. And I know those are synonyms but I don'tparticularlyfindmyselfcaringathtemomentthankyou!AndI—
"We need your help Orochimaru-sama! We can't find Tsunade-sensei anywhere!" Ayame said, coming to my rescue. Orochimaru tilted his head lazily. In the background you could see Hayama waving at us. I couldn't wave back. Birds fucking chirped in the trees!
What is with the tranquility of this moment! He's an S-rank criminal for Kami's sake!
"Tsunade didn't come for you? Typical." He rolled his eyes. "Since she does not have the decency to grant you her time, I'll impart to you her location for you."
"Yeeeeh!" Ayame celebrated.
"You'll find her at the Senju compound."
It didn't take long to find the place. I had been here once, for a funeral for my grandfather. He had died in the Second War. Despite marrying into the Inuzuka clan he still had strong ties with the Senju and wished to be buried here. Mom hadn't been there, still cleaning up after the conflict. She was devastated.
Only a few Senju still lived here. Most of the ones that survived the wars married into other ninja clans, attempting to ingratiate themselves with the Leaf. Clever strategy. Though some people say the Senju were just into exotic.
Though funny, I believe different. The fastest way to foster political ties was marriage after all. If everyone is married to each other it becomes a whole lot harder to cut ties with each other. Everyone would be each other's extended family. Not just some state propaganda, but actual blood ties. Especially in the shinobi sphere family means everything. Konoha was just over four decades old, but everyone treated it as if it had always been there already. Even the elders that lived well before the current era act like the Warring Clans Era was a long, long time ago. To be fair, a lot's happened since then and the world has changed dramatically. Kind of how like comparing Europe before and after both world wars would be.
The few people that were outside hauntingly empty buildings gave us a wide berth, some of them giving us nasty looks. Nothing new here.
My two tagalongs thought differently though, and I could feel their tension ramping up every time some old lady gave us the stink eye from her veranda.
"Guys. We're in the Senju compound, not the Hyuuga one. Calm down."
Eventually we got to the building we needed to be at. It was nice. Very traditional. Calming. The whole place had that kind of effect, despite the lack of people. A certain zen that reminded me of visiting a shrine in the middle of the mountains in Kyoto.
Suddenly, someone ran out of the house at breakneck speeds, a full sake bottle almost hitting him across the head on the way out.
"Get back here, you fuck nugget! You're not going anywhere 'till you learn who really makes the money around here!" Laughter came out from the now open sliding doors, along with the smell of alcohol. Oh goody.
"Give it up Tsunade! He's a goner!" A guy's voice belted out between cackles.
"I'll make him a goner! Next time I see him I'll—"
"Aaaaah don't worry about itt. He'll come back soon enough! If he knows what's good for him!" More laughter.
I looked back to my teammates. They looked just as bewildered as I felt.
I'm not leading them in there. Children in what I expect that environment to be is a horrible idea. Not that I have much more experience navigating this stuff. I was barely of age Before. But them? Absolutely not. I didn't want to assume, but I'm pretty sure I'm also the only one with any training in infiltration.
I took a still sleeping Shiromaru off my head and handed him to Tetsuo. "Here. Make sure he doesn't run off somewhere. I'm going in alone. If I need backup, you'll hear it." I made pointed eye contact with Ayame. I didn't have much rapport yet with Tetsuo, but Ayame I had plenty of time with to establish distress signals.
"Good luck!" Ayame said.
Tetsuo wasn't so blasé. "Wait! You can't just go in on your own! What if something happens!?"
Ayame waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Arata always knows what to do." I don't know if I should be happy or scared that she has that much trust in me. Tetsuo frowned.
Regardless, I went through the hand signs for the transformation jutsu and boldly walked my way in. I don't know if this is open invite or not, but I have a feeling I don't think they'll care much.
The form I went with was off some random chuunin from the street I saw once, vest and all. Handsome, but not too handsome. Not particularly imposing in figure either. No clan or other distinctions. Perfectly anonymous drinking-age fella.
My legs stood taller, my hair black and longer, my eyes slightly slanted. No tells, aside from the chakra running through the transformation to mark any difference from reality.
Perfect.
The first thing to hit me when I walked through the sliding doors was the stench of smoke. Opium smoke. Someone smuggled drugs in. That changes things a bit.
Unsurprisingly, most drugs are very much forbidden for recreational use in Konoha, the only ones brave enough to traffick it being only the hardest of yakuza. And they don't usually get past the gates.
But Tsunade could.
I take the time to process the strange flub of anger I feel. (Doesn't she know how dangerous those can be?! Ever heard of the Opium Wars!?) I was going to need every ounce of control I could get.
I walked in confidently. Made sure to make no eye contact with anyone but Tsunade. I smirked for flair points. Setting up a personality was just as important as the physical transformation.
"Ho ho! And who's this?!" One of the middle aged men asked. I sat down next to a foul smelling bearded guy and a wiry fella.
The demographics were pretty consistent here. Middle aged guys, with too much to drink. Cross faded, some of them.
There was one career genin though, sitting on the opposite side of me. Consequently, he was also one of the most out of it people here, making this all the easier.
"Deal me in. I got a few hours to spare." Really hope that sounded right. I flashed the pocket money Shizuka had given me for ice cream. I was looking forward to that ice cream, too. Damn.
"Ah! A fellow connoisseur! Yes, yes! Won't be hard winning more than what ya brought today!" The same guy who remarked at my entrance threw me some chips and cards. Poker then? Or what passes for poker here. This isn't exactly something I studied. Bluffing it is then. I only really needed a few minutes.
They easily returned to raucously talking among themselves, much to my delight. They went the rounds. Most people called, but I folded. He was right. The pot was big, and I barely had enough to be doing anything at all.
"So. You're the ring leader 'round here, eh?" I poked my words to Tsunade, who was sitting directly opposite of me. Her appearance didn't differ one bit from canon, down to her appearance. She still had that same green jacket with the kanji 賭 for gamble on it.
In response, she drank a whole wine bottle in her hand. Straight. The whole thing. "Damn right." She burped. Oh boy, this is gonna be a whole lot more work than I thought. "Hey! Someone hand the new guy a drink! He's too sober for this game!"
Oh absolutely not. I am not subjecting this 7 year-old body to any type of alcohol, thank-you-very-much-have-a-nice-day. Inwardly, I seethed.
Outwardly, I just smiled. Looks like I'm gonna be pretend-drinking for a bit. And somehow it's not the first time.
? P.O.V.
"How long do you think this standoff's gonna last?" some Yamanaka guy asked.
"I don't know. For however long it takes for taichou to figure out a strategy with the other taichou's." Random Sarutobi shared, making himself more comfortable in the makeshift bedding he arranged out of dead leaves.
"If you ask me we should just go in swinging! Catch em' off guard and then strike!" Other random Inuzuka yowled. His dog yowled with him.
"And then risk making the wrong move at the wrong time? No. I suggest we just wait for news from the West line like we've been told to do." I said. I tucked my hair back for the third time since this dumb conversation started. The topic was putting me on edge. Even more on edge.
"And what's that news gonna be? 'Oh nooo! We're all dead because we did nothinggg!'" A bored Uchiha said, hanging off a tree by his knee caps.
"Hey! That's not the way we talk about our own comrades!" Yamanaka guy spoke up.
"Don't care! We haven't done any actual fighting in a whole fuckin' month! Don't you think that's weird?! Something's bound to be happening right about now."
"Or we're just stalling. Waiting for the right opportunity to attack." I added. I tucked my hair back for the fourth time. It's an easy tell, and I really shouldn't be feeding it like this.
"Orrrrr they're giving Rock a perfect opportunity to ally with Cloud and then kill us all." Uchiha retorted.
I tried to find a good way to refute that. "Or we choose the option of not questioning direct orders?"
Uchiha shrugged, and moved on to another topic, eager to soothe his crushing boredom.
"So, any of you know what's going on between…"
RED.
RED.
ONLY.
RED.
"Yeah, she's got nothing, boss." I took my hand off from the Leaf ninja's head, giving Daiki an apologetic look. He had gone through great pains taking her alive after all.
"Roushi's not gonna be happy about that." Boss grimaced.
"I don't know about you, but I'd be more worried about Konoha's response. A whole platoon up and gone? That'll move them into action if nothing else." Daiki said, lightly massaging his shoulder wound.
"About time. I don't think we can take much more of this "stalling" business." I said. Aside from the occasional ambush or scout there wasn't much going on. A war of attrition against the Leaf is only feasible in the short-term. And a full out battle? Unlike some people, I wasn't arrogant enough to believe we could come out on top there. "What's the word on Cloud?"
Boss shrugged. "Nothing yet. I suspect that's gonna change soon too." There's no way they wouldn't want to take Hot Water back. The mines alone are incentive enough.
"Let's hope so."
Arata P.O.V.
It had been a good half hour now, and I still didn't have a plan on what to do. Yeeeh. Okay. Quick recap: somehow I'm going to need to convince her to teach us. If I remember correctly Dan just died a few years ago. The necklace around her neck confirms as much. Doesn't that mean she would have left Konoha already? So she's also a potential flight risk. Great. Though looking at her now…
She was properly shot, her sentences were slurring and she wasn't making much sense anymore. The only other person in the room that could be a threat to me passed out drunk a while ago. People are barely pretending to play the game either. If they did they would have noticed my money ran out ten minutes ago. So what do?
Well. Tsume says the simplest plan is always the best one. Tetsuo and Ayame are probably getting worried right about now too. I should really get a move on.
I sneakily went through the hand signs, the fairly distinct movements hidden behind my still full cup of sake.
Bestial Illusion: Anxiety's Jaw
I channeled all the Killing Intent I could into the air.
So much prey. So little time. I'll get my hands on each and every one of them and tear their throats out, watching and waiting as they bleed to death! Rolling in the remnants of their organs I will relish the kill as they each watch the other fall in powerless surrender to my fangs!
*Ahem!* Or something like that.
By the time I got my bearings again everyone had fled the scene, some leaving shoes behind in their haste. The passed out genin was still there, but that was a non-issue.
Tsunade had seemingly sobered up a bit by the display, amber eyes fixed on mine.
"Did sensei shend you? I tolhd him I wasn doin' it."
I dispelled the transformation on me. Surprise. "I sent myself."
"You are?"
"You haven't even read our files?" Really?
"Oh you're one of the genn I was 'posed to babysit."
"Feels more like I'm babysitting you now."
"Wa waz that!?" I crossed my arms. I could feel her chakra bubbling just beneath the surface, a reminder of just who I was dealing with.
But I didn't give a fuck. "The way I see it right now, I'm the one trying to be the adult here, and you're the petulant child hiding from her responsibilities."
She flicked her finger, and just the force of that was enough to tear through the floorboards and the stairs behind me. It would have shredded me too, if she didn't aim for the illusion I had set up beforehand.
Ayame and Tetsuo flew into the room with kunai out, ready for a fight.
"What? What happened!?" Tetsuo looked around in panic. Ayame's eyes searched for my position.
"I thought I told y'all to wait for my signal?" I revealed myself a little to the left of them, completely fine.
"The room broke!" Tetsuo shouted.
"You took too long!" Ayame added. Eh fair.
Shiromaru had obviously woken up by now, and walked up to me.
'Status?' He asked. I shared the mind pictures. 'Does this mean we have to fight?'
'Maybe? Get ready anyways.'
Tsunade groaned. "More of em's? Ugh." She didn't look at all remorseful; she had just tried to assault me.
Ayame put her arms down. "Hey look Arata! It's Tsunade-sensei! I found her!"
"You sure did." Shiromaru responded for me.
Suddenly, a set of senbon shot out at us, followed by a cloud of purple smoke.
The senbon missed us, and Ayame wasted no time calling out orders.
"Arata! Rou!" Aaaand we're doing this.
Tigeroxdograbbitsnake
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Release: Ash Cloud Technique!"
A strong push of wind forced the smoke out of the building. Just as the purple smoke cleared, piles of dust and ash instead covered the room.
"Bestial Illusion: Doddering Haze!"
And now for de coup de grâce!
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
A part of the room where the assailant presumably was lit up in fire.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A great torrent of water utterly engulfed the room, instantly quenching the fire and pushing us all out of the building and out into the open.
Thankfully everyone was okay, laying down soaked in the grass next to me. Although, what just happened? I was on autopilot for a good few seconds there.
Tsunade walked out of the now-wrecked sliding door, holding up some black haired girl by her collar. The other hand was glowing green, focused around her temple. "Shizune, what was that?"
The girl, who couldn't be more than 2 years older than us pouted. "They were attacking you, Tsunade-shishou!"
Tsunade sighed loudly. "I had that situation under control. They're just genin." She unceremoniously dropped her, turning around to head back in.
"Hey! What just happened?!" Ayame asked.
"Tsunade! Don't ignore us! We're not done here!" I called out. She kept walking, her pace not slowing in the slightest. "Stop running from your problems, you coward!"
She stopped. I stood up, water droplets dripping down from my drenched clothing. "You know, at first I couldn't believe my ears. Tsunade of the Sannin, refusing to serve because of some boyfriend that died years ago? Unbelievable."
Instantly, the ground before us shattered, and Tsunade was in front of me, close enough to butt heads. "What the fuck do you know about that!?"
Shizuka, Hanako, my entire fucking life— "More than you cared to know." My body instinctively went through the Four Legs, my teeth sharpening to fangs. "Everybody in this gods-damned village knows more about it than you do! They all chose to move on! All of us! We're still fighting! Why?! Because we believe in something! Because we want to protect something! Not all of us have the luxury of getting to sit around and mope!" If I don't do anything, potentially thousands of people could die, including everyone closest to me. I needed to move on, and I needed to do it now.
She grabbed me by my collar, lifting me up to her height. "You're just a measly genin who doesn't know shit. You're not worthy of being trained by me, so why the hell should I bother?!" She threw me into a nearby tree.
AH! Fuck, that hurts!
But I wasn't done! "You think we're not worthy!? You wanna bet on that you fucking degenerate?!"
"Haah?" Her scowl turned into a disbelieving glower. "You think you can even be considered to train with me?! My student's students study for years to even be considered for a position!" That may very well be true. In my own world most people would end lives for the opportunity to study with the equivalent of someone like Tsunade. It's like being personally taught by Einstein, or Isaac Newton or something. Sadly, we really didn't have a choice. The jounin-sensei you got assigned to was the one you got. There was no discussion. If they didn't take you on, you'd be sent to the genin corps. It was that simple.
I couldn't be sent to the genin corps, not with an opportunity like this. And for that matter Ayame couldn't either. We would never get anywhere with that. Ayame would run out of the contest for Heirship immediately. Me? Getting close enough to even think about implementing plans for what's ahead would be a pipe dream. This was my only chance. It was now or never.
I would take whatever advantage I could get. "And the girl next to you? What did she do?!"
Everyone's faces immediately turned to the little girl on the ground. Shizune started fidgeting. "She—she still went through an accelerated one-year crash course to begin to learn anything in addition to taking a comprehensive test on the entire list of material!"
"Then let's make a bet. If we can pass the same test in six months, you'll train us. No gimmicks, no ifs ands or buts."
She was sizing me up. Seeing if I was legit. This was it, the make or break moment. "Three months. And if you lose, you would be ready to accommodate?"
"Whatever you want. Money, sway, I'll make it a reality. My sister's Clan Heir. I have leeway." I didn't really. Not with the current political situation in the clan, but she didn't know that.
She put one hand on her hip. "Really? A man's words should never be taken back."
I never go back on my word! That's my Nindo! My ninja way! "I've never been more serious about anything in my life." I dared her to try to challenge me on that.
We didn't break eye contact for what felt like an hour. In reality it was probably more like 30 seconds.
Then, she suddenly broke it. "And you two, you agree with everything he said just now?" Shit. I completely forgot about them in the equation.
Ayame instantly stood up and pointed a finger at her. "Your stupid course is toast! I will become Clan Head, and you won't stop me!"
"And the Uchiha?"
Just like with Shizune, all eyes were on him. His were on the ground, obscured by the hair in his face.
He was trembling.
"Onee-chan wouldn't want me to fail. Onee-chan would want me to become strong. I can't become strong without a jounin-sensei." His head swished upwards, an intensity in his features I hadn't seen from him all day. "You're not gonna stop me from making Onee-chan proud!" A manic grin split the severity in his face. "Prepare yourself, cause I'm all fired up!"
The air around us swung with the declaration. "Heh. Alright, you brats got yourself a deal." She walked back into the house, then came back out with a scroll, which she tossed at me. "That's a list of all the course material and the references you'll need. I will see you three here again three months from now, and I expect you to fail." She picked up Shizune by her collar again, and vanished inside the house.
Don't bet on it. "We'll see about that."
Hook. Line. Sinker.
I win.
Orochimaru P.O.V.
Thirty four. Only thirty four.
Thirty four unconscious criminals, sent to my lab. Less than half of my usual quota. Millions of ryo spent on D and C-rank missions, processing fees, bribes and seals.
And he only gave me thirty four.
This is supposed to be my reward for telling tiny little brats which end of the kunai is the sharpest? For four hours?!
On top of it, I barely have time to run Youou trials on them before I have to come to that damned training field to repeat the same thrice damned exercises again and again!
It's like children don't know how to learn! Can you not be taught and stay taught!?
How many times do I need to tell you your conduction balances are unweighted for you to understand how to fix a simple sword technique?!
The worst element of this disaster is I can't trust any of my assistants to run them either. At this point I am convinced at least half of them report to the Hokage before me, and at least one of them is Root. There's too high a risk factor for interference and information to leak out.
To top it all off, the only other person I could trust to aid me is most likely in a drunken stupor at the moment. Magnificent.
No time. No resources. No allies.
I did the trials regardless.
After eight hours, I completed Phase One of the Youou Separation Trials. Separating the volatile element from the subject's chakra is usually nearly impossible without killing them, but isolating it for further study is. The problem is that it requires too much time to properly set up and maintain, as well as a slew of seals, half of which I had to invent myself.
By the end of it, thirty four unconscious criminals were covered in inked paper, tethered to the ground, an extended knockout seal on their heads keeping them from waking.
After sitting down and finishing the profile of my thirty-second patient, the door of my lab opened and light peeked in through the dimly lit hall.
My personal lab was kept unpretentious, for smaller and more intimate projects. As of now I barely had enough space to keep my other equipment in here, nevermind the subjects. In that regard I guess I should be thankful sensei decided to cut my serving down.
Che. "How did you get in here, Aimi?" I asked the tiny little girl at the door.
I try to keep the resentment off my face every time I lay eyes on her. She was practically designed to capture my interest, and sensei knows that.
A Hyuuga, with a Kaguya father, she has already shown the ability to both use the Shikotsumyaku and Byakugan simultaneously with no side-effects.
A medical anomaly.
I would know, having been called in to aid in treatment for similar cases of kekkei genkai crosses. Not many of them lasted until adulthood, let alone be able to use jutsu.
Using both bloodlines at the same time is the same thing as having a second brain grow out of your foot and having it work perfectly in tandem with the one in your head, while it did backflips.
Impossible.
And yet she exists.
I turned my chair to face her. Pupil-less eyes glared through the curtain of white hair she sported. "You're my sensei, right?"
Of course. Sensei's plants must have given her the green light. Who else?
"Then let me ask a more relevant question. Why are you here?"
I could tell from here she was shaking, the scent of fear stronger than I've smelt in quite a while.
She was the wariest of the three when I came to pick her up at first. Aside from my visage, children here usually don't have reason to fear me as much as she seems to. Maybe she's heard some exaggerated war stories from Rain or similar. Or perhaps from Mount Tomoru. Or the battle of Honryu Pass? Jiraiya did say I wasn't supposed to enjoy that.
"I came to ask you to train me. In sealing."
Well isn't that a surprise? Although..
My eyes trained themselves on her forehead, the standard hitai-ate covering up what was undoubtedly the Caged Bird Seal. Quite archaic, but rudimentarily effective, I suppose.
She tensed as she noticed my gaze. "You understand the risks involved, do you not?" If it was discovered she was trying to mess with her own seal, well. That would be a clan matter, something the village couldn't interfere with. With luck, the only consequence would be death. With luck.
She made no effort to hide her shaking now. "Yes. But I need to learn. I have to." She turned her gaze down. "Not just for me, but for others." She was planning to free the entire clan? Ambitious.
But what's in it for me? To be fair, I didn't really have to think about why she would be useful, it's been on my conscious thought stream the entire day. I need a loyal assistant. What better than my own student?
"I will train you in sealing." Her eyes darted back up to mine in hope. "On one condition." I signaled her to come closer, which she did after a bit of hesitation. Once she noticed the subjects I handed her the clipboard. "You help me with my experiments. No questions asked, no people told. Do you understand?" All shaking stopped as she tensed. A deer in headlights couldn't accurately describe her current state.
"I'm not running experiments on Konoha citizens, orphans or not." The fire that stirred between her eyes came back, and her chakra readied for combat. How interesting.
"Naturally. These are extradited criminals, or bandits from leftover interrogations and so on. If I'm lucky I get the occasional enemy-nin or nuke-nin." She really thought I would run experiments on our own forces? I run through these way too fast for that to be expedient in any capacity.
It would explain her trepidation if she thought I was including random people from Konoha in my testing pool. She would have to get over this consternation if she were to work with me, however.
"Then—Then I'll do it."
I smiled. "Excellent." Maybe I would get something out of teaching after all.
A/N. Sorry it's been a while. Life comes at ya fast, and the last few months were rockets. Back in the Netherlands, so that's a thing.
Really hope y'all are ready for this arc! Even if it'll probably take like a year to complete...
Revised 12/13/2021. My God this chapter needed a lot of work. Wow. Can't believe I let myself go like this lol.