Oe Fudoki was a top ranked saboteur in Iwagakure no Sato—exactly the kind of man that the jonin commander loathed to take out of the upper-ranked mission rotation, even in peacetime. But training the new generation was important, and they tried to allocate one elite jonin to the sensei pool per year, unless they really, really couldn't afford to.

Fudoki himself wasn't entirely displeased by the arrangement. He suffered more than anyone from the staffing shortage his division faced, and even though it would be many years before he could reliably trust his genin with any mission remotely resembling those he consistently took, he knew that the best time to plant a tree was ten years ago, and the second best time was today.

Then he met his team, and he had no idea what to think. His first impression was that the academy was trying to force three talented genin into a mold they didn't fit in. Tomori Aki was a ninjutsu and taijutsu prodigy that would make a well-rounded "Problem Solver" jonin. Someone you could send into tumultuous situations with too many variables, and sleep easy at night because you knew that, somehow, he'd get the job done. Pigeon-holing him into sabotage seemed like a waste.

Then there was Ichikawa Hanabi. Personally, Fudoki liked the kid. She was precocious, incendiary, and funny all around—a breath of fresh air amongst all the stuffy, serious jonin he usually associated with. But that personality was the exact reason he thought she wouldn't be a great saboteur. His field required an extreme degree of patience, even more so than other shinobi disciplines, which he thought would cause her to combust. Perhaps literally.

Teramoto Tsuga was the only person who seemed like they fit. The kid was as close to a ghost as you could get; faceless, even amongst their close-knit academy batch. But their theoretical skill, stealth specialization, and their knowledge of poisons made them the clear choice to round out the top squad that had been gifted to him.

As time went on, Fudoki's opinions on his other genin changed. Aki adapted to his role well, absorbing his teachings like a sponge. Yes, he could be gifted in other areas, but what the village needed right now was saboteurs, so he might as well work under Fudoki. And for all of her quirks, Hanabi pulled through when it counted and then some. If the situation called for it, her strong personality disappeared, she stopped butting heads with Aki—the officially-recognized team leader out of the genin—and channeled her prodigious skill with deadly focus.

In fact, though he stated the opposite for comedic effect, she was actually his favorite. The chaos she sewed was entertaining, most of the time, and while Aki could use lightning style, Hanabi was far more talented with Fudoki's brand of ninjutsu. One day, he'd even pass his original techniques on to her.

Additionally, she possessed one particular skill that was a great asset to any ninja, but saboteurs in particular. She was uncommonly gifted at reading people. She could clock someone's mood and personality at an impressive distance, and she was merciless in her exploitation of that.

So when he told his team the identity of their opponents for the day, and she started cackling immediately, he had no idea what to think. Especially when, despite her mirth, she started tightening all the straps on her gear; a tell that she was expecting a real fight.

"Am I missing something?" Fudoki asked Aki with a raised eyebrow.

"We know someone on Team Tsuchibokori," he revealed, sharing a glance with Tsuga. "This might be a difficult challenge."

"They're a newly formed team," he pointed out, intrigued by the wariness. It was warranted; he didn't know much about its members, but they wouldn't assign just anyone to Tsuchibokori no Biwa. "You have years on them."

"No, we can't underestimate them," Hanabi said, still laughing. "She will have made up those years by now. If she hasn't, I'll be disappointed. I might have to revoke my claim as her senpai."

Senpai? If there was one thing Fudoki knew about his student, it was that she was very possessive. You didn't touch her things, her food or her people. And those in the last category she didn't lay claim to easily.

"This will be traumatizing," Tsuga muttered, and Aki nodded.

"You don't like this girl?" Fudoki asked, his curiosity certainly roused.

"She's tolerable on her own," Aki said. "But she and Ichikawa-san bring out the worst in each other. Both are too competitive and proud. Their personalities are the same. And, unfortunately, so is their skill."

Ichikawa Hanabi was already a prodigy like few he'd ever encountered. In fact, the only other one comparable at this age was also on his team. So claiming they had equivalent skill was saying something. He'd already had an inkling there was someone like that on this team, however. Both from the rumors, and from what Tsuchibokori no Biwa told him when he arranged this joint training match.

I'm in need of a genin team who can truly outclass them, the Tsuchikage's son had said. And from what I've heard, yours is the only team that I'm confident can deliver.

A flattering sentiment, coming from that man. There were other, probably better jonin-led out-of-the-academy teams in Iwa, but they all had chunin on them. Fudoki gathered that the (on paper) equal rank was important to light a fire under Team Tsuchibokori, but it was misleading. Every member of his team was solidly chunin rank in terms of skill. However, promotion did not come easily in Iwagakure. Team Oe simply hadn't been put in a situation that merited it yet. Those were hard to come by outside of war.

But if Tsuchibokori no Biwa recognized the skill of Fudoki's team, what did that statement say about the abilities of his own?

He understood the moment he laid eyes on them. On her specifically. Her looks were distinctive, and she carried herself with a degree of confidence that transcended cockiness. He could even begin to feel her presence, which indicated that her chakra capacity must have been outrageous for her age.

But what caught his attention the most was her bandages. A burgundy band around her neck capped them off, so she was missing the distinctive head wrap that should accompany it. But her brown vest was unbuttoned, and he could see the diagonal weave around her right shoulder. It was tight and neat. Too neat. And it had the signature X right above the waist wrap, which in itself was perfectly parallel.

His eyes snapped up to Biwa's, but all he could get out of the man was a sharp nod in greeting.

"Sensei," the girl groused, her voice hoarse but strong and tempered. "Why did you have to invite the old hag?"

"Oi chibi," Hanabi protested, her grin sharp. "My ears must be deceiving me. Is that really how you address me after all this time?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if you're going deaf at your advanced age," she shot back, but there was a teasing glint in her eye.

"I wasn't aware that fifteen qualified as old," Hanabi mused, mischievous eyes turning back to Fudoki's. "Sensei, that must make you positively ancient."

"Our sensei are venerable," the girl said casually, and Fudoki appreciated that she at least had some decorum. Unlike his own student. "You're just a trashy bitch who doesn't know how to act her age."

…He stood corrected.

Hanabi barked out a laugh, as the two boys of Team Tsuchibokori shared a confused look.

"Ah, I remember when you were too afraid to swear. You were so much cuter back then."

"And I was still better than you were. I recall you challenging me on my very first day in the academy, and losing embarrassingly in front of all the kunoichi in your class."

"Everybody was too caught off-guard by your freakiness to hold it against me," she returned. "That's the last time I underestimated you."

"Good," the girl said, and Fudoki was shocked to feel killing intent begin to seep out of her. "People have died for less of an insult."

Hanabi was never one to be outdone. Though the genin had barely let out more than a few wisps, she flared hers at full force, to the surprise and visible discomfort of the rest of Team Tsuchibokori. It was impressive for her age and reflected her chakra signature, carrying with it a sharp, metallic tingle Fudoki could feel in his teeth.

The girl smirked, not recoiling in the slightest.

"Cute," she said patronizingly, and Fudoki's senses exploded.

Killing intent was a projection of will, and that wasn't the killing intent of a child. It bore a complexity of someone much older, someone who had suffered something far less simple than electrocution. This girl felt heavy. All-consuming. And it bore a unique characteristic. Under it, Fudoki had a hard time breathing, literally. It was like his lungs were being held by a vice. He was a jonin, of course, so it was trivial for him to shrug off. But others wouldn't have such an easy time of it.

Who the fuck was this kid?

"Imai," Tsuchibokori no Biwa finally deigned to intercede, and it spoke to either their unexpectedly close relationship or her sheer gall that she turned an annoyed gaze upon him. "Don't waste your chakra. You're going to need it."

Team Oe held up against the attack well. But there were tells that he could see, tells that wouldn't be so obvious to anyone who wasn't as familiar with the trio of teens. Most of Tsuga's face was covered by a mask, but there was no hiding their defensive posture. Aki, outwardly relaxed, held his hand together near his waist, primed for weaving signs. And though Hanabi's posture screamed unaffected, mocking even, the sunlight caught the slightest glint of perspiration on her neck.

"I intended for this to be a team battle. Three on three," Tsuchibokori no Biwa said. "Is that agreeable, Oe-san?"

"Of course," he replied, the smirk on his face not fabricated in the least. He hadn't expected this little excursion to be nearly as entertaining as it was already turning out to be. "Ground rules?"

"Eh, don't leave the training ground," the Tsuchikage's son said. "I want to observe each of your performances. Everything else should go without saying, but Imai. I expect you to remember that this is a friendly spar, and conduct yourself accordingly."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off. "There'll still be a training ground when I'm through. I'll dial it back."

"Oi, no you will not," Hanabi said, seemingly insulted. Tsuchibokori turned his baleful gaze upon her, and she seemed to remember who she was talking to. Her face became apologetic.

"I don't care about the training ground," Biwa said. "We have people to fix it. I care about you not killing your fellow genin."

"Eh? Why worry about that? Sensei, don't tell me you didn't do your research," the girl, Imai, teased. "And here I thought you picked this team for a reason."

"Spit it out, you annoyance," Tsuchibokori griped.

"She's an Ichikawa," she said. "An offshoot of the Bakuhatsu. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

The fucking audacity.

"Well, I'll be," the Tsuchikage's son mused, and Fudoki guessed he actually must be used to it. "I guess all bets are off, then. Don't maim the others."

"Hai, sensei." The grin she fixed on Hanabi was downright predatory. "I don't usually get a sandbag to play with. I'm going to enjoy this."

Trash talk out of the way, the two teams split up to plan. Fudoki listened closely to his team, curious about their plan.

"Though I don't like to assume, I think it's a safe bet that Tsuchibokori no Biwa would only be assigned to lead a team with a Frontal Assault specialization," Aki said. "I think we should expect collaborative techniques. If we can pick them apart, that would likely render most of their training as genin null."

Team Oe could fight side by side, but it wasn't a focus of theirs. Sabotage usually entailed team members fulfilling their roles separately, so Fudoki spent much more time hammering individual skills into his students.

"Wow you actually called a plan that wasn't boring for once," Hanabi jeered. "Good. Then I'm going to take on my cute little kouhai. She's gotten too big for her britches, and as her senpai, it's my duty to teach her manners."

Aki knew better than to argue with his teammate when she got this way.

"Fine. My gut tells me the more muscular boy," Fudoki had recognized him as Yuudai's boy, "is the team leader—I'll take him on. That leaves the other one to you, Teramoto-san."

Their masked teammate nodded, offering as much input as they usually did.

"We need to take out the two of them quickly to support Hanabi. Yes, I'm sure you can take her." He cut off his teammate's protest with a long-suffering groan. "But you don't want to look like a fool in front of Tsuchibokori no Biwa, do you? This needs to be technically perfect."

There was a right and a wrong way to conduct yourself in a fight. The right way was to take out the weaker members quickly and gang up on those who remained. This may be a practice match, but they weren't here to have fun. Hanabi would have to challenge Imai on her own time if she wanted a real one on one.

"Watch out for her taijutsu," Aki warned both of his teammates. "Her chakra enhancement outclassed ours back in the academy, and I can't imagine it's gotten any worse."

Not only did she know chakra enhancement, but it outclassed theirs? All those years ago?

"And remember her strong earth affinity. In fact, beware any jutsu she uses. I expect perfection from all of them."

"Right, watch out for her taijutsu and her ninjutsu," Hanabi said with an eye roll. "Thanks for the vague advice. I was planning on just letting her punches and jutsu connect, so I guess I'll reconsider." She grew serious. "But there's another thing I know about her. You need to keep an eye out for seals."

Okay, well that was just outrageous.

"Seals?" Aki asked. "What seals?"

"I don't know exactly," she said. "All I know is that she's the best demolitions crafter in the village. She has more exploding tag variants to her name than sensei has jutsu. So if she pulls out a tag, don't expect it to behave normally."

Fudoki was dying to know her source for that bit of information. He could use context—an Ichikawa with connections to the Explosion Corps would be an authority on such matters. But one didn't throw around terms like "the best" lightly. If Hanabi heard her called such by someone in the Explosion Corps…well, the claim might just be accurate. And wasn't that terrifying?

Grilling his student would have to wait. Soon, the two teams were squaring off against one another on opposite sides of the training ground, and Fudoki joined his fellow sensei.

"I'm very intrigued by this matchup," he said, seizing the opportunity to foster camaraderie with Iwa's closest thing to a prince. "My team has done nothing but sing your student's praises."

Biwa grunted. "I hadn't realized they knew each other."

"I didn't either, not until I told them who they'd be fighting. They're wary of her. That's typical for Aki and Tsuga—they're cautious people. But not Hanabi. Never Hanabi."

There was a question there, but Fudoki didn't want to overstep his bounds and ask outright. He hoped Biwa would volunteer some more information, but was disappointed.

"I can partly see why after feeling that killing intent," Fudoki continued after only the briefest pause. "A characteristic from one so young. She must have had a rough childhood."

"She nearly died from asphyxiation at a young age," Biwa said, and Fudoki stifled a smile at his victory. "I believe she remembers it well."

"And her chakra is impressive too," Fudoki noted.

"For her age, I've never met anyone with greater."

Damn. That was…really something.

"My team intends to pick apart their teamwork and engage them one on one," Fudoki said. "Do you think it will work?"

"Probably. Though what happens once they reach that stage…we'll just have to wait and see."

Yuudai's son made the first move, flying through hand seals with practiced ease and slamming them into the ground. Aki tried to intercept, but was forced to abort by an even quicker Stone Pistol shot from Imai that grew from the size of a pebble to the size of its caster herself. Fudoki would have condemned the move for its chakra expense if it was any other genin, but he couldn't find any fault since it was her.

The ground caved inward quickly as the boy's Antlion Trap developed at an impressive rate, and team Oe was forced to give ground. They hadn't been pitted against this jutsu before.

"Hanabi," Aki cued, his voice calm and measured, and the girl grinned, spinning through hand seals of her own. That was the thing about those two—normally, they fought like cats and dogs, but in the heat of battle, Fudoki had never met two people more in sync.

The kunoichi cast her own arena trap; Raiton: Amigumo no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Spider Web Technique), and a web of electricity spread across the ground, disrupting the Doton technique and causing it to stall. Fudoki hoped they realized that their opponent could reactivate it much more quickly now that the infrastructure was in place.

The third member of Team Tsuchibokori used his own elemental counter, neutralizing Hanabi's arena trap with a wind jutsu, but the three members of Team Oe were already sprinting around the perimeter of the pit, the two prodigies quickly outstripping their teammate.

Water jutsu were expensive in this dry environment, but their opponents were clustered so closely together that it would be worth the cost. Both fire and wind were too impermanent and easily blocked, so Fudoki applauded Aki's train of thought as he fired Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave) in an arc at Team Tsuchibokori. At least, since his teammate was beside him to stealthily tack on Raiton: Musabetsu Denryū (Lightning Style: Indiscriminate Current).

Water/Lightning jutsu combinations were dangerous. The most obvious reason being that material water carried dangerous material electricity well, but less intuitive was its elemental relationship. Doton users would be tempted to use an Earth Style defense, which would be strong against water, and that would be their last mistake, as the Raiton coursing through the combo would cause it to fail.

Masked by the roar of the water, it was near impossible to hear or see Hanabi's technique, so it stood to reason that the trio would block and be punished for it. Bar that, they might separate, dodging in different directions, which was also to his team's favor. The last thing Fudoki expected was for Imai to chuck a freaking exploding tag at it.

The combination ninjutsu detonated, sending a spray of electrified water droplets in every direction. Some doubtlessly fell upon team Tsuchibokori, but they barely even flinched.

These kids are insane. Fudoki was impressed.

Any appreciation was cut off when—even though he was one hundred percent certain he didn't see Imai mold seals—hands began to reach up out of the ground, attempting to grab his team. Rock clones, he recognized, and so did his students. All bearing the face of Team Tsuchibokori's kunoichi. Hanabi's grin turned positively feral as she flipped through her own signs and activated her signature jutsu.

Raiton: Musabori Kuu Kōtei no Jutsu (Lightning Style: Devouring Emperor) was classified as a forbidden technique the moment the girl invented it. It was more dangerous to the caster than its victims; the jutsu weaponized electrical blowback, which was typically something that was avoided by Raiton users at all costs. If they were to be injured by their own techniques, blowback resulting from a lack of control was always the culprit. But, thanks to Hanabi's bloodline, she could shrug off the effects of her own jutsu and wield it to devastating effect.

Hands curled into claws, Hanabi tore into every clone in front of her. But somehow, their numbers seemed endless. Fudoki couldn't understand it. Rock clones formed underneath the caster, and his team was still far away from Imai. More advanced Doton clones could move underground, but not these. And Fudoki would have sensed them if they had been formed before the exercise began.

Then, his chakra sense flared, and his gaze shot towards a new cluster of clones as they surfaced. He almost instinctively cried out to his team in warning, but he didn't need to. His students all sensed what was inside of the clones. They were caught at the rim of the so far inactive Antlion Trap, and they were surrounded by explosives. There was nothing for Aki and Tsuga to do but jump into the bowl for safety.

Hanabi had said not to expect any seals Imai used to behave normally, and her intuition seemed to be correct. What the girl stuffed in those clones was no standard-issue exploding tag. Hanabi could absorb explosions, so she remained up top and in a position to cover her vulnerable teammates. But Imai anticipated this, and chose her variant with impressive foresight. It detonated outward, in the opposite direction of Team Oe, and the explosion itself wasn't the attack. It was propulsion. The clones' shattered bodies slammed into Hanabi, and though the girl's bloodline allowed her to resist damage, she was still pushed into the pit with her teammates.

Which immediately came alive as Yuudai's son reactivated the jutsu. The sandy walls began to rush inward as the trap expanded, rendering escape almost impossible and pushing them towards the center.

Meanwhile, the third member of Team Tsuchibokori also began to run through hand seals. Due to perspective, Oe's team couldn't see it, but he reckoned they felt it. Or they would soon.

"That's quite the punishing combination," Oe mused to his senior.

"The brats are merciless," Biwa agreed, shooting Fudoki a side eye. "This isn't it, right?"

Fudoki smiled. "No."

"Good."

Tsuga, more in tune with their own body than either Hanabi or Aki, caught on first. They wrenched their arm out of the sand they were sinking into and threw a smoke bomb into the air where it exploded, filling the basin with a dense smog. The third Tsuchibokori t'ched in annoyance, and that was enough for his teammates to figure out that the genjutsu had been broken.

Team Tsuchibokori didn't get any reprieve as, despite their favorable position, they were put on the defensive. Hanabi and Aki, obscured by smoke, cast rounds of Raiton: Ikazuchiryū no Me no Jutsu (Lightning Style: Thunder Dragon's Eye Technique); a bullet technique with niche uses. The relatively slow-moving projectile created arcs of electricity that autonomously targeted protrusions (like people), but those additional strikes would expend the chakra fueling the main body far more quickly. Since there was a relatively short distance between the teams—they were just at differing heights—this was the perfect circumstance for its usage.

Their only defensive option was to rely on their teammate's Fūton: Daitoppa no Jutsu (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough), so that's what they did. Of course, that was something that Aki mercilessly exploited with his own Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique).

That, fed by the sustained wind technique, could have ended the match right there, but Imai once again demonstrated her quick thinking and reflexes. She flipped through her own seals and let loose her own Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave). Fudoki was disappointed on behalf of his students, but wouldn't have paid the move much additional attention if not for his fellow sensei.

Kamizuru Biwa had been casually leaning against a boulder, observing the fight with flinty eyes. As soon as that water left his student lips, he jolted upright.

"What?" he thundered, lips pulling back in a snarl.

"Is something wrong?" Fudoki asked, pulling his eyes away from the bowl of soup formed out of Yuudai's son's Antlion Trap. "It seemed like a well executed technique."

"That's the problem," Biwa said, scowling at his kunoichi. The attacks had cut off as Team Tsuchibokori were forced away from the edge, and it didn't take a genius to figure out Team Oe was about to break free. "Imai doesn't know that technique. She doesn't know any water style jutsu!"

Fudoki frowned. "You think someone taught it to her without approval?"

"If they did, she wouldn't use it freely here," Biwa said, coldly. "No. I don't even think she's seen that technique before. Not until a few minutes ago, when your student used it."

Fudoki didn't even have time to process what that meant before Biwa let out a groan.

"Instant jutsu learning. This is what they meant. She a damned fucking Uchiha without the eyes! Kami, now I have to worry about keeping her from seeing peoples' damned hand seals?"

"Whoah, whoah," Fudoki interjected, catching on. "You're saying she can learn jutsu just by knowing the hand seals? How is that possible?"

"You don't understand. That kid knows chakra. She knows it better than you and I can comprehend. Hand seals to her are like an essay explanation on how a technique works. She doesn't need anything else. I don't even know why this is a surprise to me."

Probably because he couldn't even imagine anyone having such an astounding ability. An Uchiha without the eyes.

"I've seen it before," Biwa muttered. "Seen her scan a jutsu scroll and use the technique on it near perfectly on the first go ahead. But that was a scroll! With pictures, and explanations! I thought she'd need at least something else!"

Fudoki understood why his fellow sensei was upset with this development. He was dealing with something similar, albeit to a lesser degree. Aki was also a genius when it came to chakra. It wasn't nearly instant, but he had gotten to the point where he could reverse engineer jutsu he'd heard of, so long as they bore great similarities to jutsu he already knew. Nothing complicated, but he knew bullet techniques for every element now, even though he only acquisitioned one from the archives personally.

"You're worried that, if she knows too many jutsu, she'll misuse them."

He nodded. "Only a fool brings into battle a weapon they don't know how to use."

Jutsu were dangerous, and all of them had their quirks. The Antlion Trap that gave Oe's students trouble, for example, could easily backfire on an Iwa shinobi's allies, as it could suck in and disable the use of the Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Style: Hiding Like A Mole Technique). Due to the Subjugation Principle, no one could mold the chakra of another person, so it was impossible to manipulate an arena so saturated in the chakra of another. If someone misused this jutsu in a tense situation, they could trap their allies, either killing them directly or leaving them prone for their enemies.

"At least the girl has a good head on her shoulders," Fudoki said, trying to be optimistic. "Will she declare it if she picks up a jutsu, at least?"

"Oh, she better," Biwa said dangerously, watching his students' formation fall apart. "I'll have a talk with her. I might have to become more involved in her education."

Though his face remained outwardly blank as he watched Imai engage Hanabi—matching his older and more experienced student's speed—the statement horrified Fudoki. This was what she was capable of without Tsuchibokori no Biwa's full involvement in her education?

He noticed something strange.

"She seems distracted," Fudoki noted. He could read it in her eyes.

"You're right," said Biwa, having regained his composure. "I wonder what that's about."

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

Despite our competitiveness, Hanabi and I had never actually fought one another. I didn't "hang out" with her after school, and the academy never gave us the time or opportunity to pit against one another. Sure, I knew what she was capable of: chakra enhancement, Raiton techniques, an instinctive taijutsu style that let her run circles around nearly everyone she faced. But, for the most part, those were things I only learned about secondhand.

That wasn't my only problem. I'd barely seen Hanabi since she graduated, and she's grown since then. A lot.

What I mean to say is that Hanabi has boobs now. And they've sent me into a crisis.

"You've gotten really tough, haven't you my little kohai?" Hanabi said with a fierce grin as she booted another clone of mine with a lightning-wreathed kick. She had some nin-taijutsu thing going on, which was really interesting because, by all accounts, only the Raikage held the secret to such Raiton techniques. They had a tendency to punish the user more so than the enemy.

"But you're still quite weak to lightning."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm working on it," I grumbled, though I was in the midst of a Tosshin so I wasn't sure if she heard me. The jutsu not only got me out of her grasp, but it also sent the object I replaced with hurtling towards her with extreme speed.

That object was the arm of a destroyed clone, which contained an explosive tag. This is what you call arena prep.

Of course, the resulting boom barely slowed Hanabi down. It did kick up enough dust, though, for me to snipe her with a Iwadeppō bullet that grew to half my size. Something else that should have fucked her up, but didn't; her bloodline also mitigated kinetic energy. Hacks.

Stone still had mass though, so she did go down. But in a controlled fashion born from experience. Falling backwards, she executed more hand seals in the time it took for her to hit the ground, reactivating what seemed to be her signature technique. She met the dirt in a roll, popping back up with a kunai from her pouch that she threw with deadly speed. I knew better than to block it—it was doubtlessly electrified—but there was no time for hand seals and I barely twitched out of the way in time.

Though I could probably hit harder, her taijutsu and her bloodline gave her the edge in close combat. If I wanted to land something, I needed to make it count. And I probably needed to make it sharp. But not lethal.

How the fuck was I going to do this?

From the inventory ports by my wrists, I summoned shuriken after shuriken, throwing a barrage in quick succession. Hanabi lived by an offense-is-the-best-defense philosophy. She attacked and kept up the pressure. But she relied solely on her bloodline to protect her. She didn't possess any defensive ninjutsu, which was unusual for an Iwa nin. But there was a good reason: Hanabi was shit with earth release.

It wasn't quite as bad as me with lightning, but she couldn't use any earth release jutsu past Doton: Dojō. She couldn't even pull off the Moguragakure, meaning she failed that segment of the academy exams.

So what did she do when confronted by a veritable wall of sharp metal? She pounded her chest—gah, her chest!

The volatile Raiton chakra coating her reacted with each hit against itself, creating pulses of pure force that knocked away my weapons, and I finally understood her bootleg chakra armor. The Raikage's jutsu was impressive because it was not only extremely effective, but safe for the user. Hanabi's wasn't safe at all, and that was the point. Its danger was its selling point for Hanabi who could resist its effects.

Fucking bloodlines.

There's a good chance that if I just kept up a little longer, I would be able to outlast her. But, though they were quite deep, my supplies of ammunition weren't bottomless, so I decided to quit while I'm ahead. For now. Instead, I quickly loosened my bandages—the red ones—letting them dangle all the way to the ground.

"You're really annoying, you know that?" I said to Hanabi, who was circling me.

"So I've been told," she said, smirk still emblazoned. I was struck with a strong desire to knock it off her face. "How are you going to beat an opponent you can't touch, my cute little Kohai? An opponent who can withstand anything you throw at her?"

The volatile electricity surrounding her crackled and popped aggressively to punctuate her claims. I took a deep breath.

Then I blurred towards her.

Her condescension turned to shock as I punched her in the stomach with as much force as the Tosshin could generate. Hanabi was thrown back—though not as far as she should have been—clutching her stomach and spluttering. I think I caught her mid breath, and knocked the wind out of her. She might be able to reduce external damage, but her organs were just like a normal human's. I think.

I wasn't unscathed either. My hand stung badly; the bandages around my knuckles had been visibly singed by the electricity. I shook it out absentmindedly, but the pain didn't go away. Still, compared to what I'd endured in the past, it was nothing.

"I can't hit you?" I scoffed. "Who decided that? You think your little jutsu is a deterrent? For me? I'll admit, you had me going for a minute. But if that's all the bite it packs, then I don't see any cause to be worried."

Hanabi let out an incredulous chuckle. "You're insane. Usually, if people hit me with my Devouring Emperor active, they start screaming."

"I'm not crazy, I'm just built different," I declared. This was why people said that Hanabi and I brought out the worst in each other. We loathed to feel inferior, especially to one another. This resulted in any humility we had being thrown out the window.

"Built better. Cope or cry about it."

My posturing served a double purpose. It gave me time to stimulate my Seimon (Gate of Life), Flash-Flooding my fists with Yang-skewed chakra. The pain already present in my hand only made it easier to call forth. Over the years, I had optimized the process, widening the gate's valve and allowing Yang chakra to exit it more smoothly and quickly. It wasn't to heal me—that process was much too slow to get anywhere before the fight's conclusion. However, I had found that channeling it through my skin, like I would for chakra sticking, gave me added resistance. I hadn't had the means yet to test it thoroughly, but it kinda felt like I was wearing boxing gloves.

She regulated her breathing, regaining that stupid smirk.

"No, you're definitely crazy," she said, and I shivered at her tone of voice. "But don't worry. I like that in a woman."

Oh fuck no. No, no, no. Fuck Hanabi, and fuck this body. People in reincarnation fics joked about having to go through puberty again, but this wasn't fucking funny at all. My mind and my body were not on the same page, and it's making me want to throw myself in a volcano.

I responded like any well-adjusted person would. With violence. Armor in place, I launched into a shunshin, planting combination explosives/golem seeds under my feet as I got close enough. Shuriken appeared in my hands and I threw two handfuls towards my opponent, pretending to not care where they landed. Then I Kawarimi'd with one of my clones, rubberbanding back to where I was moments ago, hands flying to cover my ears.

"Mark!" I called in warning to any of my teammates who might be nearby (though they seemed to have been corralled far away), scrunching my eyes shut as hard as I could. It still wasn't enough, but I fared much better than Hanabi, whose scream trailed right behind the BOOM of my flashbang. Explosion immunity didn't really help against that.

I quickly rush-replaced myself again with the now-shattered leg of the same clone, which had been flung off to the side. Hanabi, reeling from the assault on her sensory organs, still had the presence of mind to listen to her active chakra sense, lashing out with a clawed hand that I knew could rip right through flesh and bone. I slid under the wild swing and slammed my hands to the ground, casting Hiding Like A Mole to soften the earth. Iwao might have been able to do this whole routine by himself, but I had to rely on the help of a clone, patiently waiting underground, to execute the Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique). It dragged the disoriented Hanabi up to her waist before she caught on to what was going on and released a pulse of Raiton chakra (nature transformation, not even a jutsu) to disable the technique.

But I wasn't done. Preying on her discombobulation and her partial immobilization, I came at her from behind, launching a brutal, Flash-Flooded sandal to the back of her head. Impressively, she still blocked it, but poorly. And with my chakra technique, I could easily shake off the electricity.

Before I could kick her more while she was down, she flashed through hand seals that I couldn't see, and the world lit up with lightning. I don't know how, considering the ground was natural and not an earthen chakra construct, but Hanabi's confines gave way. She leapt away from my next blow, and we exchanged a furious bout of taijutsu. I had the upper-hand; her sight hadn't nearly recovered yet, but her strikes were wild and unpredictable, and I still took some damage from each strike I landed. We seemed to be at a stalemate.

Until I stabbed her in the shoulder from behind.

"Mother fucker!" she shouted, twisting away to launch an indiscriminate lightning jutsu in my direction. All I could do was retreat, but that wasn't the best thing for Hanabi either because, even though my hands weren't anywhere near the weapon, I hadn't let go. The shuriken was yanked downward viciously, dragging the stab into a slash.

"How the fuck?" she yelped, feeling around the injury. Because of its location, it would be hard to see even if her eyesight was normal. "There wasn't a clone!"

But there was something far more subtle. I channeled chakra sticking through the end of my red bandage, snagging a shuriken that I had carefully thrown into position earlier and swinging the weighted end around her body. The dyed cloth wrapped around her torso, connecting from an angle she couldn't expect.

"You skill-issued," I said blandly, trying to keep the heaving breaths out of my voice. I had used a lot of jutsu, and a lot of seals that cost just as much chakra, if not more, to activate. "Don't blame me for that."

She didn't deign to respond.

"You know how to treat a girl rough, chibi" she said, shaking away the pounding I knew from experience she felt in her head. I shuddered, responding with an attempt to sweep her feet from under her. She jumped my leg, eyes closed as she fell back entirely on her chakra sense.

Despite everything I've hit her with, she hasn't taken much real damage, thanks to her bloodline. However, I hadn't either. I'd used more chakra, but from observing her physical condition, I estimated that, percentage wise, we had about the same amount left in the tank. This was going to take a long time.

I was so absorbed in our individual matchup, I forgot I had other factors to consider. Until a needle buried itself in the meat of my calf.

"Tsuga, you bitch!" I screamed, looking over my shoulder to see Hanabi's most innocuous teammate standing over an unconscious Daigo, blowgun raised to their lips. I immediately formed seals and stamped my good leg, raising an Instant Tent to cover me as I turned my attention to my injury. It was already beginning to grow numb, and twitch.

I can't believe I got through an entire conflict with the Suna Puppet Corps untouched by poison, just to get tagged by a genin back home. This is embarrassing.

Hanabi reminded me just why I'd been so distracted.

"I had her!" she all but whined, before bursting through the wall of my tent with lightning on her fingertips.

I barely heard the answering reminder of "technically perfect, Ichikawa-san," before my head dipped under the surface of the ground, escaping with the Moguragakure no Jutsu before the rubble had the chance to fall.

Unfortunately, I wasn't safe underground. I felt another presence, and I was forced up as the earth around me changed consistency as viscous mud I had no control over seeped through the fine sand of my jutsu and erupted upwards. Filthy and spluttering, I was chucked into open air, only to be met with a streak of light to my chest. If not for the Yang armor I thankfully didn't have to direct far from the Gate of Life, that would have probably taken me out of the fight.

Aki, who was also finished with Iwao, said as much.

"I don't know how you remained conscious after that," he said. "But you should just stay down. You're outnumbered."

I breathed heavily. "Outnumbered? Heh." Not sure why, I broke into a fit of laughter that would later be described to me as a sound of pure insanity. It put my three opponents on edge. For some reason, their eyes twitched upwards, as if there was something hovering above me.

"I might be outnumbered," I said through a fit of giggles, channeling my favorite firebender. "But you're clearly outmatched."

I clapped my hands together into a Mi (Snake) seal, and the earth below my feet groaned. Warily, Team Oe spread out, naively thinking that what was coming couldn't hit them all no matter how far apart they were. They could easily feel the two massive chakra buildups below my feet.

But just as the ground began to crack, Biwa-sensei appeared behind me, laying a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"Disable them, now," he snapped, his voice piercing the haze—oh, right. I was poisoned. I quickly did as ordered, and the rumbling stopped.

"Didn't you promise to dial it back?" he bemoaned. "That could have seriously injured Tomori-san and Teramoto-san. And your teammates are in range, for Kami's sake!"

"Ah, gomen, sensei. I got caught up in the moment," I said, swaying a little. "But I knew you'd protect whoever needed it."

He noticed my odd behavior and put the pieces together instantly.

"Let this be a lesson for you, Teramoto-san," he addressed Team Oe's poison specialist. "There are certain people out there that you really, really don't want to remove the inhibitions of. Do you have an antidote?"

"It will resolve quickly," came the slightly sheepish reply.

"Wait, does this mean I lost?" I realized, unhappily.

"Yes, you obtuse child," Biwa-sensei said. "You lost."

Damnit. Hanabi was never going to let me live this down.

- - - { ワナビー } - - -

AN: Welp, here it is! Hopefully, it was worth the wait. It's nearly two chapters long, and it took a bit of brainpower to write, so please let me know what you think.

Last chapter, when I told you when I was gonna release this one, I didn't realize that I had chosen the story's one year anniversary! I swear, that was a complete accident. Special chapter for a special day. But anyway, Happy One Year of this fic! Time really flies.

Thank you so much for supporting this fic after all this time. I know a lot of you, especially frequent commentators, have been around since the very beginning, and that really means a lot to me. Meaningful validation as a writer is hard to come by, but with every notification I get that someone reviewed, followed, favorited, kudo'd, or whatever, my belief in myself has only gotten stronger. So I can't tell you how grateful I am for your continued support.

This fic has had a lot of ups and downs. It started as little more than a stream of consciousness and extended rambles about chakra theory, so I know the quality and the pacing, especially at the beginning, was suboptimal. I had the story planned out, but I wasn't approaching this like I would a book. I had landmarks within the story to reach, important details to check off, but I didn't really put much thought into how to get to each one.

But eventually, I realized how much this story was beginning to mean to people, and I decided that I needed to honor the time I've spent on this, and the time you've gifted me in reading it. This deserved my full effort. I'm sure you all noticed a shift somewhere down the line.

Now, I'm working with my beta's to go back and edit what's already been written, to hopefully match the quality of the beginning to what I'm currently putting out. My goal is to make the academy shorter and less directionless, and put more of a focus on developing Kasaiki and other significant characters. If you have any feedback to share that may aid us in this endeavor, please do not hesitate to share it. General or nitpicky, I welcome it all.

I'll forgo the shameless plug this time. I hope you all have a fantastic week and a half. To get back to my Sunday uploads, the next chapter will be released on the 11th. See you then!