Happy new years! It's been a bit! This chapter is the first part of the newest arc, and I am once again trying to set up different plot points. Much of the content in the chapters is stuff I felt I had to cover, so hopefully I can move on with plot points after this chapter. In the meantime, I have also edited chapter 7, 8, and 9, so if you want you can check that out. I have also specifically edited the argument with Anko on chapter 11, because I did not like how I handled it originally. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
By the way, when it comes to an upload schedule, I probably won't be able to speed up my rate very much. I spend most of my time studying, working and going to school, among assignments, so anytime I upload a chapter it's because I squeezed some free time out from my schedule, so I'm sorry if anyone's disappointed. That being said, I'll see what I can do about getting a chapter out every few months at least.
To be honest, I'm shocked we're at chapter 17. Still feels like I'm writing chapter 5 or something lol
This fic does have a discord server now, although it's basically empty at the moment. If you are interested in joining, you can join through this link/code:
/uDyCFFxB2X
—-
12:00 p.m., 28th of July, 1bNb
Politically, a lot happened in the last six-odd weeks, the most significant of which occurred near the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. The war wasn't the first of its kind, but its scale was absolutely massive, spanning across the entire continent and involving every Great Nation, most minor nations, and taking the lives of more than ten thousand shinobi, alongside hundreds of thousands of civilians, mostly hailing from minor nations.
After Team Minato, led by Kakashi, failed to demolish the Kannabi bridge, Minato tirelessly took it upon himself to finish the mission, which ultimately turned the tide of the war. With an army of one thousand Iwa-nin retreating, and a key supply hub for the rest of their offense into the Land of Fire destroyed, the Land of Earth was wide open.
As talks of an armistice were raised, Iwagakure and Earth, the nominal losers of the war, fretted over the reparations that would surely follow their capitulation. The expectation was that the defeated would take full responsibility for the devastation caused. The fear of punitive action was what kept both sides from surrendering for so long in the first place, and the war was now over.
That's why Sarutobi Hiruzen's decision to pursue a policy of reconciliation shocked the world. He opted to not impose any punitive action on the losers of the war. It was an unprecedented move and was met with widespread frustration across the village and the Land of Fire. The Third Hokage's rationale was simple: if Iwagakure did not hold any grudges, there would be a smaller likelihood of a future war. I agreed with the Hokage's rationale, but it was a little too late for them to not hold grudges.
Of course, not everyone agreed with him, and to put dissatisfaction to rest, the long-suffering Sandaime Hokage decided to pass on the mantle of Hokage. The decision seemed to quell most of the unrest, and while there was an air of bitterness for weeks following the armistice, that unrest gradually turned to anticipation. Who was going to be the next Hokage?
Many figured Orochimaru or Jiraiya of the Sannin to take the hat. Others favored Nara Shikaku, the Jounin Commander, or even Uchiha Fugaku, whose exploits against Kumogakure and the Bloody Mist dubbed him the 'Wicked Eye'. Contrary to the expectations of many, Namikaze Minato was declared as the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure just weeks after the armistice was signed, despite his young age.
Things were going as expected now, but I knew it wouldn't be long before the new result of Kannabi bridge would change canon. My notebook was basically complete, and I had already given it a read with my Sharingan to make sure I remembered everything, and I decided to get myself a notebook and fill it with any theorized 'butterfly effects' that I could come up with.
Leading up to the inauguration of Namikaze Minato, a lot more happened. About two days after I visited Rin, Obito woke up from his short coma, and despite all of my expectations, the boy hadn't changed nearly as significantly as his canon self. Of course, having gone through a deadly mission with his teammates and unlocking the Sharingan had affected him and surely changed him for good, but Uchiha Obito was still the same boy as before. He was still a proud shinobi of Konoha, who would protect his friends at all costs.
Obito's bout of unconsciousness was swift. He woke up 50 hours after his treatment, and due to Rin's skill with Iryo-ninjutsu, his recovery was relatively short. He only stayed in the hospital for a week to ensure he recovered his stamina and lost blood. Rin had applied stitches to his wound mere hours after the fact, so his injury was healing nicely, though he would be left with a long, nasty scar across stomach after everything settled.
He followed the hospital and Rin's directions, slowly adding more and more training as he recovered, and one month after the mission at Kannabi Bridge, Uchiha Obito was back at full strength.
The ones who had changed were Rin, and apparently Kakashi.
Kakashi's injuries were more severe, as he didn't have immediate access to treatment, and he lost a similarly large volume of blood. Along with mild chakra exhaustion, he was about an hour from bleeding out, and with flesh wounds all over his body, his recovery marginally more grueling. He woke up on the same day as Obito, and after a lengthy twelve-day period of recovery, he was discharged with strict orders to take it easy. He wasn't to begin any training until his check-up at the hospital three days after that. Despite everything, Kakashi was able to make a full recovery, and recovered all of his strength mere days after Obito had.
During that time, Rin began training under a Senju Iryo-nin I have yet to get to know. Obito didn't know much about them either, apart from the fact that she was a woman. With Minato busy preparing for his duties as Hokage, the team were left to their own devices, giving Obito and Kakashi plenty of time to recover, and Rin enough time to devote herself to her apprenticeship.
Team Minato had recovered well.
Today was a historical day – the inauguration of the Fourth Hokage. After almost thirty years under Sarutobi Hiruzen's leadership, the hat was to be passed on to a new, promising successor. Most shinobi, barring those on long-term or exceedingly important missions, were present in the village to witness it.
I decided to swing by Obito's house and grab him so we could watch his Sensei's big moment together. I couldn't locate Gai prior to today, so Obito was my only option. My greatest guess was that Gai was busy bothering Kakashi to hang out with him. By the time I arrived, Rin was already patiently waiting outside of the boy's door, humming to herself. It seems that I had the right idea assuming Obito would take his time getting ready. Despite everything, he still finds his own ways to be late.
Rin's gaze found me as I approached, her passive expression turning into a pleasant smile. "You're waiting for him as well?" I asked, "I figured Obito would take his time, but to think he's making you wait," I said with disbelief. She shook her head, "I don't mind waiting. I haven't seen him for almost a week by now!" she explained with a candid smile.
I chuckled, "Well, if it's all the same with you…" I approached the door, knocking loudly, "Are you still getting ready, Obito!? You're making two people wait now!" I shouted, unable to keep the smile out of my voice. I heard some scrambling from the other side of the door, "I'm coming! Just a second!" he responded hurriedly. I turned my head to Rin, "How have you been? I haven't seen you since… since Obito woke up, I think." I asked to pass the time.
Looking at Rin, I could see some differences. Her typical long-sleeved black top and apron-skirt was replaced by a more loose, white top with a chin-high collar, a Senju emblem embedded in the left side of her chest. She wore standard-issue plain black shinobi pants. She had ditched her outfit for what I thought was a uniform for the Senju Medic Corps. She had slight eye bags, indicating a small amount of lost sleep, but otherwise looked bright and healthy.
She scratched her cheek, "My mentor came to meet me a few days after Obito woke up. Miyako-shishou is a very quiet person, but she's very serious about Iryo-ninjutsu. I thought she would test my skills to make sure I was up to par, but she started interrogating me instead. I was asked some strange questions, but she was satisfied with what I said and agreed to be my mentor." she recounted, thinking back with a grin.
The name Senju Miyako didn't remind me of anyone, so she was probably still alive because of Senju Nawaki's Medic Corps. "What have you been learning with her?" I asked, intrigued by this so-called Miyako. Rin gave me a nervous smile, "Well, she's quiet, but also very intense. She has a strong belief in an Iryo-nin's duties. Apparently, I already have a good foundation, so we're going to work on my efficiency. Things like keeping my calm under stress, healing injuries at a faster rate while maintaining high quality. Shishou's speciality is poison neutralization, so we dedicate some time to that as well," her eyes sparkled, "She synthesizes her own poison, Daisuke-kun, isn't that exciting?"
I nodded hesitantly, considering the personality of someone who makes their own poison. Rin's mentor sounded like a handful, but I could tell through her tone and expression that she admired her stoic mentor a great deal. Before I could respond, Obito busted through the door, suited up in his regular shinobi outfit, bar his goggles. "I'm ready! Let's go!" he exclaimed, double-taking as he saw me, "Daisuke? I could've sworn you'd be with Gai," he said to himself.
I shrugged, "He's nowhere to be found, sadly," I said dramatically, before rounding in on Obito's face, staring at his forehead protector, "Hey, where are your goggles?" The boy put his hand up to touch his forehead protector, "I dunno. It must've fallen in the last mission," he frowned, facing Rin, "Do you remember if I had it when we got to the hospital?"
Rin squinted her eyes, "...No? I don't think so," Obito grunted in confirmation, "Well, there you have it," he responded casually, as we began making our way from his apartment. The official inauguration was being held around the Hokage tower. "D'ya think you'll get another pair?" I asked offhandedly, prompting a grin from the boy, "Yuh-huh. I wouldn't be Uchiha Obito without goggles. Maybe I'll get some that'll compliment the red of my Sharingan," he bragged, pointing at his eyes with his thumb.
We continued making idle conversation as we approached the Hokage tower. A crowd surrounded the tower, eagerly chatting away, waiting for the man of the hour. There were more people than I had ever seen in one place before, and the atmosphere radiated with a bright excitement, in contrast to the tension that shrouded the village just weeks ago. Minato was meant to come before the crowd at around one o'clock, and we barely arrived three minutes before, courtesy of Obito, the scoundrel.
Atop the Hokage tower, stood Namikaze Minato and Sarutobi Hiruzen. The two faced the crowd, the older of the two giving a speech to the gathering of shinobi. Surrounding the two Hokage, stood the village's various clan leaders. From the distance, I saw who I believed to be Fugaku, Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza, among several other clan leaders who I couldn't seem to recognize. Tsume-sensei was also there, paying rapt attention to the speech from where she stood behind the Third and Fourth. The Hokage's advisors, whose names I had never bothered to learn, stood amongst the clan heads. Noticeably, Shimura Danzo was nowhere to be seen, perhaps bitter of Minato being appointed the position of Hokage rather than his candidate, Orochimaru. I knew the snake was not going to become the Hokage, but it was still relieving to have confirmation in person.
By the end of the speech, Hiruzen faced Minato, lowering his hat and offering it to the younger man. He put it on his head, and faced his audience atop the tower, swearing that he would protect the village even if it cost him his life. Those lines were a bad omen in canon, but Minato and Kushina wouldn't share the same fate as their canon counterparts.
Stepping towards the edge of the tower, he presented himself to the crowd, a charismatic smile spreading across his face. It was at that moment that I realized why Minato was such a popular Hokage. A war hero responsible for putting an end to the war, with a gentle, yet comforting face, capable of putting anybody's worries to rest. He was charismatic enough to speak to crowds and officials alike. At that moment, he wasn't just the Yellow Flash – he was Konohagakure's pride and joy, the Fourth Hokage. As he looked down upon the crowd a ray of light seemingly came from the heavens, shining upon him. His features were illuminated, presenting the new Hokage with a profound glory.
I watched, awestruck, at the inauguration of the new Hokage, taking in his proclamation. I wasn't obsessed with Konoha like many of my fellow shinobi, but I would be lying if I said the moment didn't stir patriotic feelings within me. In the corner of my vision, Obito grumbled, "It's like he was made to be Hokage!" he complained, "Now I can't even be jealous that he made it first!"
I nodded, "Yeah. I wonder if the previous Hokage had ceremonies this moving." Rin hummed in thought, "Maybe it's my bias speaking, but I don't think Sensei's could be topped. The Fourth Hokage might just change the world – that's the kind of feeling he's trying to project to all of us." she said, extremely genuine. I couldn't help but mentally agree, despite the doubts lingering in my mind. The overwhelming sense of a new era befell everyone in attendance. Whether this new era would be a good or bad thing, well, that depended on the person.
I could imagine two bitter men in a foul mood, their days ruined.
The three of us were caught in an admiring silence for a few moments before I perked up. "Hey, does this mean that Team Minato is disbanded?" I wondered, my gaze going back and forth between them. Obito nodded slowly, "I think so," he confirmed, "We'll still get missions, but not as a team. Rin and Kakashi are busy with their stuff anyways, so it's probably good timing," he shrugged.
I blinked, "Kakashi?" I asked. I hadn't heard much of Kakashi since Kannabi. "I know that Rin's got that apprenticeship, but what has Kakashi been up to?" I tried to remember what he was doing around this time in canon. At this point, he was being inducted into ANBU, if I remembered correctly. If that was the case, Obito and Rin probably didn't know about the specifics of it. The two teammates looked between each other before nodding, and Rin's lips parted in a bright grin.
"The last mission has changed Kakashi a little," she explained, "He's still reserved and stern at times, but he isn't…" she paused, searching for the right word, before Obito interrupted her, "As much of an asshole," he supplemented, receiving a slap to the back of his head for his efforts. "Ugh, fine–!" he cried out in pain, eventually sighing, "He isn't as cold anymore. In training, he actually gives me pointers now. He hasn't called me a failure since the mission!" he explained, prompting Rin to continue.
"I don't know why he changed, but he's suddenly gained an interest in politics and diplomacy. He's always off training or studying, and he's been asking Sensei for a mentor incessantly. He told me he wants to make a difference. I'm not sure what he meant, but it looks like Kakashi is trying to become something of an aid to the Hokage." she explained deliberately, as if she wasn't completely sure of what she was saying. Her confusion was something I could relate with, though.
Hatake Kakashi… as an advisor? I was sure he was supposed to be assigned a position in ANBU, but this news shocked me. A version of Kakashi not overwhelmed by grief… would opt for this path? The mission clearly had a profound effect on him, considering the words of his teammates, but it was hard to conceive the battle-hardened child prodigy as a diplomat.
What kind of epiphany did he have to change so much?
I stared for a moment, "Wow," I breathed out. Obito cracked a small smile, "Yeah, wow. I had the same reaction, but he's serious about it. He's a more genuine person than before." he said seriously.
Team Minato had changed a lot. Just two months ago, and Obito would've growled at any mention of Kakashi. Rin would have shied away from any opportunity to branch out and put herself out there, and Kakashi would have abandoned his comrades. The success that came from my intervention spread a pleasant warmth in my chest, filling me with confidence. Maybe I was capable of making a difference. Of saving my family.
As the crowd slowly died down and the ceremony ended, people began clearing out from the area. The pubs and bars were sure to be at full capacity tonight, but there wouldn't be large-scale celebration until then. The inauguration ceremony was just that – a ceremony, so there was little reason to stay to celebrate too much in front of the Hokage tower. After some more conversation and catch-up, we decided to part ways. I was working on something special, and I was on the cusp of getting it right.
Before we left, I remembered something. It seemed distant by now, but it was something I mentioned just under three months ago. "Obito, Rin," I said, deciding to use Rin's first name, "Remember when we talked about a group spar at that dango place?" I asked. Obito hummed, "Oh at Kobayashi's? I remember! You wanted to make a tradition out of sparring or something. It feels like it's been ages!" he laughed, echoing my thoughts. I nodded, laughing along, "Yeah. Well, I'm gonna invite everyone to make good on that promise next week. We'll meet at Training Grounds 19 at around 2 in the afternoon. Invite anyone you want." I continued, looking at the two.
Rin frowned, "I'm not sure if I'll have the time, but I'll cheer you guys on in spirit, okay?" she said, reassuring me. "Fair enough. What about you, Obito?" I asked, panning over to the young Uchiha. "I'm not as busy as Rin or Bakakashi, so I can make it unless I'm on a mission." Obito confirmed, before smirking, seemingly remembering something, "Hey, didn't you say you'd shut me up or something? You'll regret saying that, you brat! I have the Sharingan now!" he gloated, activating them to make his point and gazing at me with his now red eyes.
I kept my expression innocent as my own eyes produced a bright red shine, rapidly spinning to form two black tomoe. "Oh, me too," I smiled. Obito sighed as he shook his head, "Somehow, I'm not surprised," he groaned, unable to keep a grin from forming on his face.
—-
The weeks leading up to the 28th of July, 1bNb
After the mission at Utahime, my teammates and I went through more training than we had ever been through before. Tsume-sensei, who had decided to make us stronger (or kill us, I wasn't sure), had been as unrelenting as she had promised. She really had let us off easy on the first day, because every day after that, we also trained to cover our self-identified weaknesses, as she asked of us. For Iruka, who lacked physical conditioning and a specific specialty, he honed his genjutsu and did extra conditioning on his own. For Shimada, who also lacked sufficient physical conditioning and had problems in close quarters, she did much of the same as Iruka, minus the genjutsu training.
As for my own weaknesses, I was a little lost. At first, I was convinced that it was my taijutsu that had problems; my style seemed to lack offensiveness and decisiveness. I presented that conclusion to Tsume-sensei, and she actually disagreed. She argued that the problem would sort itself out as I gained more experience, and as for my physical conditioning, she assured me that I was already near the top for my age group.
The conversation had left me stumped, because obviously I had weaknesses. No one, except maybe Senju Hashirama himself, had zero weaknesses, and I didn't fancy myself the God of Shinobi. I felt like I was hitting a wall, where I had no direct route to grow stronger besides more conditioning. After almost two weeks of continuing my training with little real direction, I decided to ask those around me what they thought of my progress and weaknesses. The results… were eye-opening.
"Not that it matters much against me, but for a Genin who uses so much ninjutsu, you're pretty slow with your hand seals."
"While I do not wish to offend you, Daisuke-kun, those fingers of yours are awfully sluggish!"
"Sometimes I think to myself that you're better off using just taijutsu. With your slow hand seals, it's not hard to interrupt you. As a kenjutsu user, it's a good opportunity on my end."
"I always know what jutsu you're gonna use!"
"I'm gonna be brutally honest; yer hands're slow as fuck."
My biggest weakness as a self-proclaimed ninjutsu specialist had been hand seals, or more specifically, the speed at which I could form them. I was semi-conscious of the problem since I had started learning to be a shinobi, but ever since I finished my first year of the academy, I had unknowingly pushed it aside.
Neglect didn't seem to be the problem, though. During my years and years of training I had done thus far, I never failed to practice my drills in hand seals. I did them thoroughly. It was part of the reason why the issue wasn't on my mind, it was because I was diligent in my training. I ended up talking to Gai and my parents, the three people who would be most knowledgeable about my progress throughout the years, and they told me that from the point I had fully committed all hand seals to memory until now, I hadn't made much progress in hand speed or dexterity.
The skill wasn't on the forefront, but years of work had gone into it nonetheless. Initially, I grumbled and whined to myself about it, before deciding to actually do something about it. Naturally, addressing the weakness meant hyperfocusing on my hand seal drills. I worked on it for the first few days after I acknowledged the weakness. Hours of repetitive hand seals, focusing especially on consecutive seals and long drills. I did the drills at home and at my team training, and while I seemed to be making progress, it was clear that I would have to work on it for a long time to reach a more acceptable level.
On our journey to cover for our weaknesses, Tsume-sensei had us not only work on the weaknesses on an individual basis, but also through sparring. Iruka's genjutsu needed work? Then he'd use it until his chakra ran dry. Shimada had troubles in close quarters? Let's just say she became well acquainted with our Sensei's fists. My hands' dexterity needed work? I was only allowed to use ninjutsu (which helped to steadily grow my chakra reserves). With these methods, we were not only quickly growing stronger, but we were also getting used to fighting at a disadvantage.
The three of us were rapidly improving. Iruka and Shimada grew used to their weights, and kept them on outside of training as well. I also grew used to the 40 kilos Sensei had assigned to me, and I added more weight shortly afterwards. The presence of chakra affects the speed at which people grow stronger, because the rate we improved at was physically impossible back on Earth. Clearly, chakra was boosting the human body's natural adaptivity. Though I was going to eventually put on 60 kilos of training weights, Sensei mentioned we wouldn't go much further than that for a while. Supposedly, it wasn't healthy for children our age to go above a certain range. If we could move around normally with an extra person's worth of weight on us, we were approaching Chuunin level in terms of pure conditioning. Now that our bodies were reaching that threshold, we would focus more and more on skills, rather than strength.
One day in mid July, something Tsume-sensei told me gave me a spark of inspiration. During another ninjutsu-only spar, I was approached by her as I rested on the ground. As always, the spar left my chakra reserves in a pitiful state, hovering between the vague line of chakra exhaustion.
What she told me was simple. It was logical advice based on what she knew of my skills and what she observed from my spars.
"If yer seals're still too slow, ya can just stop usin 'em. Like with yer Substitution."
My first instinct was to argue that it wasn't possible. That the Academy 3 were an exception because of their simplicity, and how little chakra each jutsu took to use. Then I realized – why would it be impossible? I could omit one hand seal on the Hidden Mole jutsu, so why couldn't I simply omit every seal? There was no rule stating a jutsu needed to be casted with a hand seal. The Rasengan didn't use a single seal. Hand seals are a shortcut for insufficiencies in chakra control, shape manipulation and nature manipulation.
They altered the way your chakra flowed to make it so jutsu were easier to use. With each seal, the flow of your chakra changed until it reached the desired flow to perform a jutsu. An average newbie who would use a jutsu for the first time needed the aid of hand seals to familiarize themselves with the jutsu and their casting. Hand seals were difficult for me to form quickly, sure, but once they were formed, my chakra was altered like anybody else's. The next step was chakra control, which is my greatest strength. Theoretically, I am familiar with the flow of my chakra as I cast a jutsu. It's all I had been doing for the last few wells.
Technically, if I could control my chakra's flow without the aid of hand seals, I wouldn't need to form hand seals. Initially, it might take me several seconds, but if I became used to it, then it would be worthwhile. It followed a similar idea to modifying existing jutsu. Take the Earth clone, which can't cast jutsu properly. Vaguely speaking, a non-shadow clone's capabilities are dictated by chakra spent, skill in nature transformation and chakra control. It was possible for me to create Earth Clones that were more sturdy or could use jutsu, but with my current skill, it was difficult to do so unless I took several seconds to concentrate, which made making such a clone a liability in combat. If that concentration became second nature to me, then it would prove to be useful
The next step was to try it out, and I decided on the Hidden Mole jutsu, because I could already omit one seal. The jutsu used two hand seals, each for a different purpose. The first hand seal, the Snake seal, also the first hand seal in the Fireball jutsu, relaxed the flow of one's chakra, making it more easily malleable. I could omit that first seal already because I could manipulate my chakra flow to a fair point already.
The second hand seal, Tiger, is often used to aid in one's chakra nature transformation. It wasn't tied strictly to a single element, because it aided one in the condensation of chakra, which was why it was commonly associated with Earth and Fire release. Considering I still needed to use the hand seal, I needed more refined skill in nature transformation.
So over several days, I focused on nature transformation with Earth Release. I formed walls with differing properties, such as size, density, hardness and design. I made the ground soft with Earth Release, and worked on closely controlling the extent of said softness. At first I used the Tiger seal, but as days passed, I practiced doing that same softening without a hand seal, and gradually stopped using the Tiger seal. Using my Earth clones or my Stone Pistol jutsu, I focused on changing the properties of each jutsu as much as I could to familiarize myself with each technique's flow of chakra and formation.
In the same week, I revisited the Hidden Mole jutsu, resolved to cast it without a hand seal. I stood with my arms at my side, and resisted the feeling to bring them together and form a seal. Breathing in, I focused on my chakra, coils and my tenketsu, tightening my hold on everything, feeling the flow of it grow more controlled. Without much effort, I furthered my concentration, emulating the effects of the Snake seal. I spread my chakra around my body evenly to loosen its saturation, and began to allow it to seep into the tenketsu in my feet. The Hidden Mole jutsu was cast through the feet in most cases to allow one to slip into the earth without resistance.
Then, I focused on the function of the Tiger seal. The most difficult part of nature transformation for most people comes with either its potency or control. A week ago, I could transform Earth Release chakra without too much of a problem, but without hand seals, it was difficult to transform a significant amount. After so much practice with Earth Release chakra, that fact was bound to have changed.
With a breath, I transformed my chakra into Earth Release chakra, pushing myself to make enough of it without forming a seal. The process came with less resistance than I thought, as I realized I already had enough of it gathered to use the jutsu. Carefully flowing it towards my feet, I let more Earth Release chakra form, feeding onto the chakra-saturated tenketsu in my feet and legs. With a sharp grunt, I pushed it into the earth as I had done hundreds of times before, carefully softening ground under my feet, not only ensuring sufficient softness, but also sufficient depth.
Before I could collect my thoughts, I slipped into the ground, the softened dirt surrounding me as I nearly lost balance. As I took the time to process what had happened, I abruptly realized that I had succeeded in omitting the hand seals of the Hidden Mole jutsu. The technique felt the same as it always had – I have used the technique for years, after all – and despite having casted it without hand seals, it felt as familiar as ever. The jutsu nearly fell apart around me as excitement seized me, causing my control to falter. Before I trapped myself in dirt, I decided it was time to get out of the ground.
With a pulse of chakra around my body, I slipped back up, landing on my feet with a bit of a stumble. An exhilarated grin split my face as I laughed to myself, relishing in the success. I stared at my hands, a little shaky from the adrenaline. Sure, it would take some more practice to do it with the same ease as with hand seals, but it meant that my thought process was correct, and that it was possible to omit hand seals, provided I had the chakra control and proficiency in nature transformation required.
Going from one seal to no seals wasn't necessarily a huge jump, but it proved that it would be possible to do other jutsu without hand seals as well. If I had that kind of mastery over my arsenal of jutsu, I could not only eliminate a weakness of mine, but it would also turn into a strength. How many shinobi could cast ninjutsu without the use of hand seals? As far as I could remember from canon, not a lot. I really had to thank Tsume-sensei for pushing us to correct our weaknesses.
Now, how far could I take this?
—-
August 4th 1bNb
A week after Minato's ascendence to Hokage, a group of Chuunin and Genin met together in Training Grounds 22 for a group sparring exercise. The rules and terms of the spars weren't set until today, and it was decided that we wouldn't follow a strict structure when it came to our bouts. Most of us agreed that following a set amount of fights, with a set amount of combatants was too limited, so if somebody wanted to challenge another person, they could fight if they wanted to, and if we wanted to fight in specific groupings against each other, we would simply do just that. There was little need to overcomplicate things – we were here for combat experience, after all, and in the career or a shinobi, you never know what kind of situation you'll face, whether it is a one on one battle or a non-linear fight with an uneven number of fighters on each side.
Now setting up the day was a little more complicated. Previously, we agreed to organizing this little 'club' a few months back, but no one had stuck their head out and gotten the ball rolling. Because of that, when I was reminded of the idea back on the 28th of July, I ran around the village like a headless chicken in between my training, looking for everyone I knew and inviting them to join us.
Out of everyone I could get a hold of, Hayate, Gai, Iruka, Obito, Aoba, and even Genma, who Gai brought along, showed up. Shiranui Genma wasn't somebody I had met before, but I remembered him as part of Minato's Guard Platoon, which meant that he must be pretty good. It was unusual to not see Aoba together with Raido, but Aoba explained that he was caught up with something and intended to arrive when he could.
Despite my pestering, I could not convince Shimada to participate, either. The two of us still weren't on the greatest terms, but since the argument we had after the mission at Utahime, the Nara girl didn't outright dismiss me anymore. We weren't friends, but she didn't brush me off anymore. Rather than ignore me, we began exchanging pointers and advice during training, and while we still bickered from time to time, a serious argument hadn't broken out. To me, it felt like she was treating our status as teammates more seriously, which filled me with hope for the future of our team. The fact that it took surviving a dangerous mission together and a loud argument to change things between us was disappointing on both ends, but at least things between us had started to change at all. Maybe one day we could get along better as teammates.
Back to the present, I found myself facing off against Gai and Genma with Hayate and Iruka on my side. The idea was brought up by Iruka in an attempt to make a balanced match-up. Genma and Gai were both Chuunin, and they had about 3 years on us, so on an individual scale, they had the advantage. The difference was made by having three Genin on our side, making the fight a three-on-two battle.
I took stock of my surroundings. Around the training grounds, the remaining two, Obito and Aoba, were having their own spar. I caught a glimpse of Obito retreating from a swarm of crows against, red eyes rapidly taking in their surroundings, a competitive grin splitting his face. He seemed to be having fun.
Looking back at our own situation, the area we were about to fight in was relatively flat without any major obstructions, which I frowned at. An environment like this was perfect for Gai, where his vision and path would be unimpeded. Another advantage our opponents had on us was Shiranui Genma's unknown capabilities, which meant we would have to keep our eyes out for anything unexpected. My gaze fell to my arms and legs, deciding in the moment to keep the weights on. I wasn't fully used to these weights yet, but I knew for a fact Gai wasn't used to his either – the monster never let himself get used to his.
I faced forward, peering at our opponents. "No potentially lethal attacks, and unconsciousness or surrender means that the person is out, and since we are avoiding lethal hits, real weapons can be used. Does that sound good?" I shouted loud enough for the two to hear us. I watched as the two shared a glance, discussing the matter amongst themselves before making a thumbs up.
Hayate glanced at me and smirked, "You really want to win, don't you?" he said, brandishing his katana, the steel glinting brilliantly off the sunlight. I shook my head good naturedly, "Not necessarily – we all need to get used to facing off against real weapons. We aren't in the Academy anymore." I defended myself with a smile. The truth was that the prospect of seeing Hayate in action with a sharp blade instead of a dull bokken for the first time was too exciting to pass up.
Iruka tapped my shoulder, "So, any plans? You are most familiar with Maito-san, so I hope you can give us some advice," he asked without wasting any time. I thought of what I should warn them of. Gai wasn't someone who was easy to trick, despite his way of speaking and enthusiasm, he wasn't stupid or single-minded. He wasn't someone most in our age range could overwhelm physically, and he was extremely tough. The problem was that I didn't know how good Genma was, and I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to split ourselves up or fight as a unit.
I pitched the bridge of my nose as I compiled my thoughts, "Don't fight Gai on your own – imagine an elephant charging you, that's how it feels to receive one of his attacks. I'm most used to fighting him, so I could hold him off for a little while, but the success of that plan depends on whether the two of you can beat Shiranui-san, whose capabilities aren't known to us yet," I commented, before resolutely pumping my fist, "We should ward off Gai as a group, and keep him at a distance. That way we can buy time to figure out how Shiranui-san fights." I suggested.
Hayate and Iruka regarded me thoughtfully for a moment, before Iruka spoke, "It sounds like a solid plan, but its success depends on their aggressiveness." he criticized, "Let's see how they act. With your ninjutsu, you might be able to force Shiranui to reveal his hand." he said curtly, dropping into his stance.
Hayate lowered himself into a kenjutsu stance a moment later, his katana held in front of him steadily. "No point in overthinking, right? It's not like we're helpless," he said, taking a composed breath. I found myself chuckling, before I adopted my own taijutsu stance, "Right." I agreed, my vision sharpening as I felt a familiar burning in my eyes.
As soon as Gai noticed we were ready, he threw a kunai into the air. The five of us watched the falling kunai, holding our breath, before it hit the ground with a sharp thunk.
In that same instant, a green blur shot at us. Following the movement with my eyes, I threw myself at Gai an instant later, raising my arm to block the flying kick he had aimed at Iruka and Hayate. I met eyes with him, as we exchanged competitive grins. Even through the throbbing pain on my forearm, I felt excited to test myself against Gai, especially now that I had access to the Sharingan.
Using the Sharingan, I could still distinctly recall everything my eyes had seen in Utahime, but instead of feeling myself grow weaker, more hesitant, more terrified, I grit my teeth and let the pain from Gai's kick distract me from those memories. If I'm never gonna lose those memories, there is no reason to let it control my actions.
I owed at least that much to that man I had murdered.
I thrust my arm forward, attempting to shove Gai away and create some distance. My eyes spun, and I found myself ducking involuntarily as Gai's left leg sailed over me, where my head was less than a second before. The Chuunin landed at the same time I got up, as we mirrored each other, throwing our right arms out in a punch without a thought. I could tell Gai's attack would get me first after a glance, an observation made possible with the foresight provided by my eyes.
Instead of retreating, I leaned into my punch, swaying my head just enough for his fist to graze my cheek. A moment later, Gai's head shot back as my fist cleanly planted itself into the side of his head. As I primed my left for a follow up, he snapped back into action, even faster than before, seemingly brushing off my counterpunch.
I widened my eyes as he parried my next attack with ease. My eyes gave me a clear image of the next moment; his leg blurred forward in a front kick that I was helpless to stop in time. Air rushed out my lungs the instant I was hit as I was blown backwards.
I raised my guard as I gasped. Gai locked eyes with me, excitement coloring his features. "That Sharingan of yours is quite impressive!" he wiped blood from his lips, "However, it seems like you have not yet mastered it! Allow me to lend my assistance!" he offered graciously, in contrast to the beating he was promising.
The Sharingan alone wasn't going to allow me to face Gai on my own. The foresight and precision it offered me provided me with an advantage, but it didn't mean I could easily contend with a physically superior opponent. Given more than a few minutes, cracks would appear in my endurance.
Seconds had passed since the start of the fight. Hayate and Iruka both hadn't expected such a quick start, and hadn't intervened in that initial clash as a result. "I can't take him in a one on one," I said, harshly breathing, "I don't think that first plan will work very well."
Hayate nodded, "I've got your back." he said, before Iruka clicked his tongue, "Shiranui has disappeared." he informed us with a frown, looking around frantically. Shit. An unaccounted for Chuunin was bad news. Before I could think of what to do, Gai's figure darted at us for the second time.
I braced myself, preparing to receive his attack again, but instead of flying to our location, he crashed into the ground two meters away from us, grunting as he created a small crater in the ground. As I frowned in confusion, he rose without much effort, his hands beginning to form a tiger seal. A moment later, chakra flew out and dissipated from his head. Iruka had gotten him with a genjutsu.
As his hands still held a tiger seal, I raced towards him with Hayate by my side. My right leg swung, forming an arc, as Hayate swung his sword from the left. A dual-pronged attack raced towards Gai. I twitched as the ground under me parted, Genma suddenly thrusting a kunai up at me. Relieved that I had the Sharingan, I slammed my right foot down harshly, killing my momentum and grabbing my own kunai. With a fraction of a second to spare, the blades met with a high-pitched screech, sparkings flying through the air as steel met steel.
Suddenly, Hayate and I were separated
I cursed to myself as I kicked at Genma's rapidly emerging head, which he skillfully evaded by abandoning the clash between our kunai and swaying his whole body to the side. He fully emerged from the ground as I threw my kunai at him to force him to dodge. A senbon spat by Genma impacted the kunai, deflecting it off its intended course as it dropped to the ground fruitlessly.
A kunai stopped by a senbon? Could people even do that?
I mimicked Gai's speed as I dashed towards Genma, spinning my body to avoid another senbon. I appeared in his face, my side facing him as I put my momentum into a spinning backhand. My attack was blocked as he budged a few centimeters, weathering the attack efficiently. He was used to dealing with this kind of force. At point blank range, I barely swayed back to avoid another senbon aimed at my neck, before I swept his legs from under him. On the ground now, I aimed punch after punch at him in his prone position, but he was able to roll away from the blows, and regained his footing after I attempted a final stomp. He jumped away as he got up to make distance.
Genma wasn't as good as Gai at hand-to-hand combat, but he knew how to hold his own against opponents like Gai, who was his teammate. If I didn't have the Sharingan, he would probably be a little better than me, if physicially inferior. On top of his solid skills in taijutsu, I had no idea how good his ninjutsu was. Presumably, he used the Hidden Mole jutsu to interrupt my attack on Gai, and he kept shooting off senbon after senbon at me. I had to assume they were coated in poison, or that they were being aimed at areas that would disable my movement.
I peaked over my shoulder, hoping to catch a glance at Hayate's fight with Gai. I couldn't tell who was winning, but Iruka had joined Hayate and they seemed to be holding their own as I glanced in their direction, so I felt confident enough to focus on Genma.
"I see that you're used to fighting Gai," I commented with a smile. Genma shook his head, smiling as well, "And you fight too much like him. I was hoping that fighting against a Genin wouldn't be so much trouble." he said, tightening his bandana with an exaggerated sigh. "Say, how about we step away from taijutsu for a moment? I do enough of that with my team as it is." he asked offhandedly.
Considering Akimichi Chouza was his sensei, and Maito Gai was one of his teammates, I could almost understand his plight. His request, however, was intriguing. I had never had a ninjutsu battle against a Chuunin.
I grinned, "Sounds good," I agreed, my hands making seals without pause. Having an opportunity to use ninjutsu from a distance wasn't always going to happen to me. Not until I could omit more seals, at least.
I held my chara together carefully, spreading it through my body evenly to compose its flow, simulating the effect of the snake seal. Since last week, I had been practicing to make omitting those seals more and more natural. If I could omit the snake seal in the Hidden Mole jutsu, why couldn't I do so on other ninjutsu?
Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger, I signed, omitting the first Snake seal, before I spat out a Fireball triple my size. I watched the Fireball I created roar towards him at top speed, the residual heat making me sweat even from my distance. Genma's eyes widened a smidge, but he sprung himself out of the way without much effort.
I hadn't used the Fireball jutsu to attack him, though. If he was so focused on the blazing death approaching him, he was less likely to notice my next move. It was a diversion. As the searing heat from my jutsu roared towards Genma, I slipped into the ground, leaving an idle clone above me.
Digging through the ground, I silently hoped that Genma wasn't a sensory-type. Thanks to the Sharingan, I was able to look upwards to find a higher concentration of chakra, which would presumably be Genma. I shot up from the ground, overcharging chakra in my feet to shoot me through the earth quicker. In an instant, I was behind Genma, the tip of my kunai pressing itself into Genma's back.
"Do you yield?" I asked, before realizing something was wrong. From underground, it was harder to tell whether the mass of chakra I saw was a person, but above ground, that was another story. My knife was pressed against… something that looked like Genma's back. I strained my eyes, ripping away the illusionary genjutsu Genma had created, revealing a pile of rocks. The illusion took less than a second to tear away, but that time wasn't enough. I was ready to bolt when I felt cold steel on my neck.
"Do you?" Genma asked back, his own kunai pressing against my neck.
Woah.
"Yeah," I sighed, deactivating my Sharingan. "You totally tricked me there," I laughed, as I turned to face him. "Hey, don't discount yourself too much. If you were more used to those eyes of yours, things could've gone differently." Genma peered at his twitching hand with a slight frown. "Seriously, Gai's made you into a beast. I don't think I would've won if it were a taijutsu bout." he admitted, turning to face the ongoing fight between Hayate, Iruka and Gai. I shook my head, "No way. You'd get the jump on me eventually," I shot back, before turning to watch as well. "You're as humble as Gai says," he laughed, an amused grin on his face.
I nudged him with my elbow, "Hey, you won't jump in, right?" I asked, noticing Hayate and Iruka's struggling. With two opponents, one of whom using a katana, Gai was technically at a disadvantage, but I could tell the two were reaching their limits. Iruka had grown physically stronger and wasn't quite out of his depth, but with Gai being aware of his genjutsu, he was limited to supporting Hayate as the main combatant. Iruka's biggest weapon had essentially been sealed off.
Genma thought for a moment, "Nah. It would be overkill," he made a face, "No offense." he said, correcting himself. "None taken. We're all quite aware that we need to catch up. I don't think they would challenge that claim." I responded offhandedly, as we settled into a silence, watching the rest of the fight.
After some back and forth between the two Genin and the Chuunin, it was clear that both Iruka and Hayate were moving at their limits and starting to slow down. Hayate slashes having previously been near misses, nicks and grazes gradually began to slice harmlessly through the air, and Iruka was becoming less and less capable of capitalizing on openings. The limiting factor for the two was stamina and endurance, which Gai seemingly boasted an unlimited reserve of. He hadn't slowed down for even a second throughout the entire battle, because the two could not push him to fight at his very best.
Gai was wearing weights and was still holding back on them.
In a final gasp of effort, the two threw out their last competent attacks at the Green Beast, before the two couldn't maintain the same precision and effectiveness as before. In an instant, Gai grew satisfied with the bout, upping his speed another notch. Before they could react, the both of them were on the ground, wheezing and panting to catch their breaths, clutching their stomachs.
Ugh, body blows. I could almost feel their pain.
The two of us made our way to our fallen brethren. Truly, it was a shame they had to fight against Gai, but the two of them were surprisingly well-coordinated. Because Hayate was using his katana, his strikes couldn't be blocked without a kunai or another weapon, so I'm sure Gai was pushed more than he looked to be. Iruka provided great support as well, despite being a more well-rounded fighter, compared to Gai's hyperfocus on taijutsu and Hayate's focus on kenjutsu.
"Good fight, right?" I asked sarcastically, a smile creeping up to my face as the two groaned in unison. Something about seeing others getting the Gai treatment always gave me a sense of satisfaction. Gai flexed his biceps as he laughed heartily, "Hayate-kun and Iruka-kun were a spectacular duo! They fought valiantly to the end, despite their opponent!" He forced the two on their feet, latching onto their hands and lugging them up. They yelped as they stumbled around, almost falling again. "You may have suffered defeat today, but your loss shall serve to fuel the spirits of your Youth! If this sparring is to become a common occurrence as Daisuke-kun suggests, then it will not be long until your labor bears fruit! Train well, for next time we spar, the tide of our battle may yet change!" he announced with fire in his eyes.
A grin spread across my face as I admired his display of sportsmanship. Gai was seriously the best. "You're so lucky to be on his team, Shiranui-san," I said, expecting a 'Yeah', or an 'Of course', but he sighed instead. I made a double-take as he opened his mouth, "How long have you been training with him?" he asked, making me think for a second. When did I meet him again? When I was 3, or 4, maybe? "I dunno, like 6 or 7 years, maybe?" I responded without much thought.
Genma raised his eyebrows, "...and how old are you?" he asked again, causing me to frown. What's he getting at? "I'm 10," I responded. He facepalmed, before peeking at me from his covered face. "More than half of your life… No wonder you're his mini-me." Guh. I had always found Gai's authenticity to be endearing, but I wonder when I started to enjoy the insane training we went through, or the constant sparring matches we had. I wonder if being friends with Gai has changed me in any way I didn't realize?
Eh, whatever. I waved Genma off, "Meh. You're just jealous of his Youth," I said, shrugging. He grinned in response, shaking his head, "Hah. You're too far-gone now." he said, before turning himself to the rest of us five. "What now? We could change up the pairings and go again after you two have rested a little, or wait for Obito-san and Aoba-san to finish up." he suggested, watching the two of them fight.
I turned my head to watch Obito and Aoba's match finish up, when I caught two figures approaching. Brown spiky hair clued me into the fact that it was Raido. I hadn't seen him in months, and during that time he had a growth spurt, standing a good few inches higher than I remembered. Next to him was someone who I hadn't expected to see, a girl with violet hair in a fanned out ponytail. It was Anko.
Is this what Raido was late for, to bring Anko to our sparring? I didn't mind if she was here, but I was caught off guard by her arrival. After everything I said to her about Orochimaru, after everything that went down at Utahime, I didn't think I would interact with her for a long time, or rather, I didn't think she would be the one to see me. I was reminded of Anko's expression as we returned to the village. Back then, I was dealing with a lot, but I still found her blank staring and lack of aggression unusual.
I locked eyes with Anko as she approached. I wasn't the best at reading others, but something about her eyes told me that she had come for a very specific reason. They held resolve, an unflinching determination. The pair eventually reached the five of us, Raido waving his arm in greeting. "Looks like you guys have been busy," he said, his eyes panning to each of us. He pointed his thumb at Anko, "I'm sorry for being late. I practically had to search the whole village to find her. She can be slippery when she wants to be."
Had Anko told Raido or Aoba about the conversation I had with her? Did he know that the two of us were on bad terms and brought her here anyways, or was it an innocent coincidence? No matter which one was the case, it was clear that Anko had come of her own volition. She wasn't dragged to talk about her feelings – her expression told me that she had decided to come here by herself.
"Daisuke," she suddenly spoke, ignoring Raido's comment, "I want to talk to you, alone." Anko demanded sharply, her gaze piercing me as she waited for my answer, her expression practically daring me to refuse. Sensing the tension, Iruka nervously smiled, "...Mitarashi-" he said, before I cut him off. "Alright, lead the way."
My falling out with Anko wasn't something that was ever outright known, though I could imagine that Iruka had made his own assumptions in the last mission. The group watched us with puzzled expressions as we made our way to a separate part of the Training Grounds, away from the rest of them.
I was not thrilled to have this chat.
—-
Right, so originally this chapter was going to be like quite a bit longer but I split it up in two instead, or else we would have a crazy chapter in terms of length. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think of the fights/pacing as well. I'll try to speed up the pacing if you think it's slow!
I realize that the actual content of the chapter isn't too big, with 3 "scenes", but the word count is kinda high, so I opted to instead split it up… The next chapter is actually already done as of the release of this chapter, but I'm gonna hold on to it for a few days before putting it up