Chapter edited on the 20th of September 2024
—-
I stared dispassionately at the rapidly moving ground, slung over Gai's shoulder. I didn't even bother to struggle. The excited boy hadn't even waited a moment before kidnapping me from right in front of the academy, and running off with me. WIthout even getting the chance to say a word, I was already being taken.
The only reason for his excitement that I could think of was probably some form of training, but I don't think he would've bothered to grab me right away. I expect to once again bear witness to another one of Gai's challenges to Kakashi. The goofball had been getting stronger at an exponential rate, and was once again running off to his moody rival to test his skills out, and perhaps even win.
Gai must have been really sure of his chances this time around, since he doesn't always take me along with him.
I had already been taken to plenty of their spars, and while I enjoyed the opportunity of getting to know Team Minato better, and to watch Gai and Kakashi go at it, it was still disheartening to see Gai lose each time, and despite Gai's obvious strength and skillfulness, Kakashi's attitude never changed. He was rude, dismissive and disrespectful after every one of their bouts.
Truthfully, I didn't have anything against Kakashi, but he was still a huge dickhead. The silver-haired boy obviously didn't hate Gai, or anything, but he also didn't respect him, and if Gai didn't defeat Kakashi in any duels, that same mindset would persist.
It's true that technically the tally was 1-27 in Kakashi's favor, meaning Gai had won before, but when I asked Gai about that one victory, he explained that he only won at the time because Kakashi had been exhausted. His body was weak after excessive training, and his chakra reserves were close to their limits. Obviously, the prodigy Hatake Kakashi would never turn down a proper challenge, which resulted in his defeat.
In other words, the only time Gai had defeated Kakashi had been a fluke.
It was still an era where Gai and Kakashi only competed through sparring, much unlike their silly races or eating competitions from their adulthoods. Of course, the natural genius Kakashi would remain more skilled than Gai and would continue to win fights for a while, but Gai had his own strengths.
"Gai?" I asked, tapping his shoulder, "Are you going to challenge Hatake-san to a spar today?" he smiled up at me, "You have a sharp mind, my dear friend! Yes! Today is the day where I defeat my eternal rival!" he confirmed, still racing me towards Team Minato's assigned training grounds.
"Does it have to be a spar, though?" he tilted his head, confused at what I meant, "Y'know, like a competition to see who's physically stronger, or who has better aim throwing kunai? Something that focuses on your individual strengths." I elaborated.
He stared at me thoughtfully, "I don't see how that would be very helpful…" he hummed before I cut in. "I think it would be very helpful, Gai," I disagreed, "It would be useful in identifying your strengths and weaknesses. Sparring is a great way to gain combat experience, but not every mission is about fighting. It would be a good way to diversify and balance your skills." I explained with a thoughtful tone.
He thought about it for a moment before nodding, "That does make sense," he agreed, before perking up to continue, "Seeing as you brought it up, perhaps you should be the one pick the object of our competition for today!" he declared with a wide grin.
As much as I was certain of Gai's skills as a shinobi, it didn't take a genius to realize that Kakashi was superior to Gai in most shinobi skills. Aim, precision, prowess with jutsu, chakra control, intelligence, Kakashi was more skillful in many ways.
One of the only things Gai was better at would likely be their physicalities. Kakashi wasn't physically weak, or anything, but physical prowess was the focal point of Gai's regimen. It meant the options to ensure Gai actually won were activities like endurance challenges, rock climbing, arm wrestling, among many others. Gai could probably out-eat Kakashi in an eating competition as well, but it probably wouldn't earn Kakashi's respect.
I would kill to see it, though.
My thoughts were interrupted by our arrival to the training ground, where we would once again interrupt the silver haired genius's team in question noticed our approach each with differing reactions. Surprise, amusement, frustration and annoyance. Gai dropped me and then rushed off to his rival as I scrambled to keep up with his mad dash, not expecting him to immediately dart.
Obito was the first one to say anything, "What're you doing here again, you weirdo!?" he demanded, pointing at Gai accusingly. "Why, to challenge my esteemed rival once again, of course!" Gai replied with a thumbs up, flashing his pearly whites.
"You lose all the time, so what's the point of even coming?!" Obito shrieked rudely. Before Rin had a chance to scold him for being mean, I cut in. "Experience, growth, reflection, camaraderie, amongst other things," I answered him, much to his annoyance, "And besides, Gai is going to win today, because I propose a different challenge… a race." I announced triumphantly.
Team Minato eyed me with confusion, before Kakashi spoke, "Why would I do anything but spar him," he asked me with narrowed eyes, pointing at Gai with this thumb, "and what makes you think that I would race him?" He shook his head as if I were stupid. Gai frowned at me in disappointment. Little did he know, there was an easy way to convince this version of Kakashi to do something so 'trivial'. I winked at him before turning over to the young prodigy.
"Hatake-san, If you can't beat Gai in a race, why not just say it? No shame in sharing our weaknesses, you know? It's a learning experience." I said with a wicked smile, disguised by an innocent tone. I watched in glee as Kakashi's eye involuntarily twitched. One more push.
Minato smiled knowingly before wiping his expression clear. He's on board. I knew I could count on you, Minato! "Now, now, Kakashi. We're all aware that Gai-kun is slowly outpacing you. I understand you may feel insecure, so how about you skip his challenge this time?" he said all too kindly.. The boy shook in anger, probably hiding an annoyed growl. "Fine!" he grumbled, stomping off towards Gai. They began discussing the terms for their race.
Rin looked at me, shocked, "How did you do that? Kakashi-kun hardly ever listens to others,". She asked. I shrugged playfully, "I wasn't completely sure if he would budge, but considering how proud and arrogant he is, I assumed he wouldn't take kindly to having his strength questioned." I smiled through my explanation, looking out towards Kakashi and Gai.
Obito was still frustrated. "That's all good and everything, but why bother 'tricking' that Bakakashi into any kind of challenge? I hate to admit it, but he's a genius. I've never seen him lose to anybody other than Minato-sensei." he grumbled with disbelief.
I shook my head, "This one won't be the same," I commented with confidence. Obito regarded me with surprise, "What, why? He hasn't ever actually beaten him, so why would this time be different?" he scoffed with his arms crossed.
"Don't you think I might know more about Gai's capabilities than you?" I asked, playfully tilting my head. "Listen, Kakashi's my teammate, I would know," he said, slightly frustrated. "Well," I started, "If you're so confident, do you wanna bet on it?" I narrowed my eyes challengingly.
He scoffed again, "What could you possibly wager? You aren't even a genin,"
I crossed my arms in thought, "I don't know, maybe something you've been having trouble with," I hummed mockingly, "I could help you master water-walking." I offered with a grin. Obito's eyes widened as his mouth opened in shock, "Wha–! Who told you that?!" he asked, demanding an answer.
"Nohara-san." I deadpanned, pointing at her shamelessly, "She's a gossip," I explained with a neutral expression. Rin recoiled, not expecting to be ratted out. I had come along with Gai to witness two of his other bouts since his 23rd loss t o Kakashi, and Rin had been the easiest to chat with. She lacked Obito's… Obito-ness, and was less daunting to approach than Minato. During that time, she accidentally let it slip that Obito was struggling recently with water-walking, citing his impatience. She had asked me to not bring it up to Obito, but it was valuable information for me.
Obito's head whipped towards Rin, "Rin! You told him–?!" he asked, face flushed. Rin waved her hands frantically, "I didn't mean to!" I chuckled, "Don't worry, Obito-san. I'm not making fun of you. I'll say it again, if you win, I'll help you get water-walking down, and if I win, you'll teach me a Fire Release technique or two" I said.
It was an opportunity to learn some more ninjutsu. Obito wasn't necessarily weaker than me, in fact, he could probably defeat me without much trouble, but from what I learned from Rin, his foundations were off, and he had problems with things like control. My offer to help him with his control, it was basically the only thing I could offer him in a wager.
He sputtered, glaring at me, "T-There's no way a brat like you knows how to water-walk! You're too young!" he pointed at my accusingly. I shrugged, as if unaffected, "Try me," My lips spread into an evil smirk, "Chakra control is my specialty, and besides, if I can't prove that I can water-walk, you could just not uphold your end of the wager," I explained, meeting his glare.
He regarded me carefully, face red. I had clearly wounded his pride a little with my words. I stuck my hand out, smiling at Obito innocently, "So, deal?" I asked. He grumbled before shaking my hand a little too hard, "Deal!" he agreed reluctantly.
Obito's agreement to my terms was more likely linked to the fact that Kakashi was more likely to win in his eyes. Gai's victory wasn't a guarantee, far from it, so the wager now rested on my best friend's shoulders.
From the distance, the two rivals had begun to walk to a specific location, Kakashi drawing a line with his foot. The terms had been set. They both got into position, before Minato was ushered over to make a count. They lowered themselves, preparing to sprint. He threw a kunai up into the air, the 6 of us carefully watching it fall to the ground. The moment it stabbed into the grass, their bodies blurred forward, dust scattering into the air as they blitzed past.
The race was over in seconds. The distance was very short – about 150 meters. It was a tiny distance for two gifted shinobi. The two had decided on a shorter sprint-like race. We watched with intense focus to be sure of who would win, but our focus was hardly necessary, because the winner won by a very obvious quarter second margin.
For human races, a quarter second wasn't too big a difference, nothing to write home about, but for shinobi, it was quite staggering.
And the victor by that staggering margin was Konohagakure's Sublime Green Beast of Prey, Maito Gai.
As soon as the race ended, I made deliberate eye contact with my defeated foe. Sweet victory. Gai's victory was more satisfying than I expected, and I watched with glee as he celebrated enthusiastically from a distance.
"So," I began, tone triumphant, "when are you free?" I asked, ignoring Minato's soft chuckle.
—-
Turns out that Uchiha Obito did not, in fact, have a lot of free time. His days were filled with team training, and in some scenarios, Team Minato even trained into the early evening. Their work ethic was impressive. Obito and I managed to work out that I would hang around them during one of their evening team training sessions, and link up with Obito afterwards.
Rin and Minato didn't mind my presence, the two were generally kind people, after all, but Kakashi seemed irritated at my presence. Despite that, he never verbally complained about me being there. His irritation seemed unwarranted to me, because I hadn't hijacked their shared training or anything. I kept to myself until their own collaborative training ended.
The only person who I inconvenienced was Obito himself, as promised by the bet. During the time Team Minato was doing their own training, I kept myself busy with independent training. Gai had given me a verbal checklist of things he thought I needed to work on, and I had my own skills I felt I needed to develop, such as my Earth Release.
The last thing I wanted was to disappoint Tou-san, and despite his absence, I still felt motivated to follow his lead. I wanted to impress him – to be a son he could be proud of. The two jutsus that I had been imparted with were not difficult to perform as an amateur, but mastery of these techniques, especially the Mud Wall, would prove more difficult.
The Hidden Mole jutsu was easy enough, being one of the lowest ranked Earth Release jutsus. Hand seals exist to guide and hone our chakra, which offers a shortcut in nature transformation and chakra control, but if a shinobi was skilled enough with the jutsu, it was possible to omit hand seals. The Hidden Mole jutsu, a simple jutsu, only required two hand seals, and from previous practice, I became able to omit one of the two.
So, with my plan formulated, I threw myself into my own regimen. Emptying my chakra reserves before training with Obito was a bad idea, so I stuck to physical training, recalling Gai's feedback. I had a few hours to burn, so being thorough with the regimen would serve me well. Another consideration is that Earth Release jutsu consumes a relatively low amount of chakra as long as the user made few changes to the earth they manipulated, so as I transition into practicing with my Earth Release, my chakra reserves wouldn't deplete.
So as I trained my body, I thought of a good way to practice my nature manipulation and chakra control. My level of chakra control was already at a high level for my age, and now it was important to find creative ideas that I could use to hone my control. Water-walking was already natural to me, and I had few ideas on how to continue progressing on that front. The Canon didn't exactly expand upon chakra control exercises, so I had little inspiration to draw off of.
I ended up asking Kaa-san about her own methods that she used to improve her chakra control. Apparently, she didn't have the problem of running out of effective chakra control exercises when she was my age. After some thought, she recommended I manipulate my chakra to an unnecessary degree. The instructions didn't make much sense to me at first, but I kind of figured out what she meant. Carving a perfect cube out of earth wasn't a very difficult feat, but carving a flower shape out of earth, now that required control.
That thought process brought me to the current situation, where I sat in seiza, creating Mud Wall after Mud Wall, focusing on specific designs and shapes to challenge my control. It came more naturally than expected, the idle hum of chakra eagerly dancing under my skin, ready to be harnessed at a moment's notice. Something I noticed about progressing chakra control was that progress snowballed, at least in my experience. It was an exciting prospect.
As I grew more and more used to the exercise, the shapes and designs that came with my Mud Walls grew from simpler designs like spikes, spheres, and waves to more complicated designs, like a Konoha headband, to even writing. The Mud Walls I brought up varied in size, width and distance from me, and I eventually found myself enjoying the exercise to a great degree.
After a while, I was snapped out of my concentration by Obito roughly slapping my head. I looked back and up towards him, blinking like a moron. I had quickly grown absorbed by the task at hand, and now a large number of walls riddled the area around me. An innocent smile bloomed on my face.
I looked up to see Obito and Rin. Their training had seemingly ended already, with Minato and Kakashi nowhere to be found. Rin, like the angel she was, decided to stay back to encourage Obito. The boy in question shook his head at me, "What're you even doing?" he asked irritably. I had forgotten about the original reason I came: to learn Fire Release jutsu with Obito. I shrugged, "Uhmm," I looked back and forth from my creations, still dazed, "I guess you can call this practice?" I responded.
Rin hummed in awe, eyes sparkling, "Wow, you made all these? They are all so…" she paused as her gaze passed over a certain Mud Wall's design featuring Kakashi with buck teeth, "... unique?" she murmured, still bravely attempting to compliment me.
Obito sighed in disbelief as he pointed at a specific Wall, "This," he began, "is what you call practice?!" The Mud Wall in question was a particularly beautiful creation of mine that read a truly elegant message saying 'Obito's an idiot!' formed in bubbly text. Hey, I remember that one! I held my hands up with a barely contained smile, "Okay, I admit that I started getting bored around this point…"
Rin went around, looking at each design like it was an art gallery, chuckling as she passed by certain designs. Clearly, she recognized art when she saw it. Obito should learn from her example and recognize true culture. Who doesn't like buck-toothed Kakashi?
Obito mumbled under his breath before regaining his wit. He faced me, smirking. "Enough of with lame Earth Release. I'm sure you're dying to learn a real jutsu or two!" he declared, high and mighty.
"Yes, Obito-sensei!" I chirped jokingly. "Sensei? Don't call me that, you stupid runt!" he shot back.
"Hmm, what about… Obito-senpai?" I asked innocently.
"No!" he refused.
"Obito-sama?"
"Absolutely not!"
"How about just Shishou, then?"
"Just call me Obito, damn it!" he snapped, his face bright red from all of the titles I tried dumping on him. I don't see the problem with a fun little endearing nickname. "If you insist, Obito-sensei!" I quipped with an easy grin.
"You know what?!" he shouted out in anger. "Watch and learn!" His hands flipped through the Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Rabbit-Tiger seals, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" he shouted, his chest expanding before numerous torso-sized fireballs flew out from his mouth.
I watched in horror as the fireballs sailed violently towards my beautiful Mud Walls, carefully missing Rin. As they trailed by, I could feel their immense heat on my face. Despite Obito appearing to lack a lot of skill, his Fire Release was beautiful. The Mud Walls couldn't withstand the fireballs, and as they were destroyed, I could feel a second wave of heat impact my body. Ninjutsu, it was more impressive than I thought.
I thought it was possible to make Mud Walls capable of withstanding Obito's Phoenix Flower Jutsu, but it was impossible to do that while maintaining complicated designs and shapes. I secretly vowed to make an indestructible Mud Wall with plenty of slander as revenge for Obito's wrongdoings.
"What do you think of that?!" he asked me smugly. I scowled at him, "While I appreciate the demonstration, you destroyed over half of my walls! Do you have no respect for art?!" I demanded in offense. Obito was about to argue back before Rin appeared. "That's right! How could you destroy all of Daisuke-kun's... interesting art pieces?" she scolded, shaking her head. 'Interesting' seems excessive, but I'm glad she took my side!
"Fine, let's just get this stupid lesson over with!" he told me, calming down at Rin's presence. Kinda funny. "That's true, we've already wasted a few minutes." I agreed, nodding my head seriously this time. It was all Obito's fault for being so easy to rile up. He looked at me up and down. "Do you remember the hand seals that I used earlier?" he asked. I nodded back at him. "That's good." he hummed to himself, before continuing.
"The Phoenix Flower Jutsu is not actually very different from the Fireball Jutsu, just go through the hand seals and let fire build up in you chest like a normal Fireball Jutsu, except you'll find that the combination of hand seals shapes the chakra in a way to easier to pause between each breath and separate the fireball into several smaller ones." he paused to think of a way to describe it, "So it won't burn anything, or cause too much buildup in your chest." he explained.
I was under the impression that the two techniques were linked in some way, and Obito's explanation confirmed my suspicion. It seems that the main difference lies with the compression of the Fire Release chakra in the stomach, as well as proper management of the increased pressure in your chest. I would have to try it first to make sure.
"Okay…" I mumbled in response, flipping through each hand seal. With each seal, I felt the familiar sensation of chakra gathering in my chest and stomach. He was right – the build up of Fire Release chakra greatly resembled that of the Fireball jutsu, but noticeably, there was less overall chakra concentrated in comparison, the heat more dispersed and ready to separate. It was like comparing kinetic sand and Play Dough.
"Good luck!" Rin announced, beaming at both me and Obito. I shot her a smile as I got ready.
"Here goes, Obito-sensei!" I declared with enthusiasm. "Don't call me that!" he shouted back in defiance. Hehe. Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, I exclaimed internally. As I prepared to exhale, I made sure to narrow my mouth, exhaling in parts rather than all at once. It reminded me of blowing donuts with smoke.
Ooooh, I should try that! Defeating someone with a Fire Donut jutsu sounded hilarious. Like Gotenks' Galactic Donuts.
As the thought crossed my mind, a number of fireballs flew out of my mouth, the heat even closer than when I observed Obito's demonstration of the technique. The fireballs were noticeably wilder than Obito's, lacking the same precision he had, and they were clearly smaller. He had more experience with the jutsu. I watched the technique rage onwards before slowing down and dissipating in the air before it hit anything.
That's a relief. I would rather not accidentally cause a local forest fire.
I breathed out ecstatically, a wide grin splitting my face. "How was that?!" I exclaimed, not to anyone specifically. My gaze panned over to Rin and Obito. "On the first try?!" yelped Obito, shocked at my success. Rin's eyes were wide, "That was incredible!" she said. Truthfully, I didn't think it would take a single attempt either, but it seemed that skill in the Fireball jutsu carried over to the Phoenix Flower jutsu. Despite that, the fact that I had managed it so quickly had evidently excited me.
As I recounted the feeling of casting the jutsu, I noticed Obito's expression. It was one of frustration, his hands clenched at his sides, and his eyes glaring holes into the ground. He was frustrated that I had learned so quickly. He was comparing himself to me, and beating himself up over it.
I didn't like that expression on him.
"Well' I'm satisfied for now. Do you want to work on water walking now?" Obito snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at me, confusedly. "I lost the bet," he shot back silently. "You did," I responded with a smile, "I figured if I help you out, you'll teach me another one." I said with a shrug. Rin smiled at me almost gratefully, before turning to Obito, "It sounds like a good trade off." she said to the boy.
Obito's expression shifted to one of embarrassment and anger. "I… why do you want to help me? You're pitying me, aren't you? I don't need your help." Obito said quietly, fists shaking by his side. I shook my head, "That's not why I want to help you out," I explained, "you're going to be the Hokage, Obito." said, completely sure of my words. "I'm rooting for you, you know? Is it bad to want to help you out?"
Obito's onyx eyes widened minutely, before shining with hope.
I wasn't lying to Obito. I wasn't placing false hope in the boy. The Obito I knew from canon was idealistic and naive, but kind. He wasn't very skilled, but he worked hard. As he grows up, he's going to become stronger. When he awakens his Sharingan, he'll be one of a kind. If there's anyone who'll succeed the Fourth Hokage, it'll be Obito. As long as he isn't kidnapped by Madara, he's a sure bet.
The Hokage of Konoha have always been chosen through nepotism. The first two were Senju, and the Third is a student of one of them. It was obvious that since Madara's defection and the creation of the police force, Konoha has avoided an Uchiha Hokage, but if there's anyone who can bridge that gap, it's Obito. He's the student of the soon-to-be Fourth, and he has never been close to the clan. In my eyes, he's the only Uchiha that they would allow to become Hokage.
An Uchiha Hokage could also stop the Massacre and indirectly keep my family from being killed.
Obito shook his head, and flashed a cocky grin,"That's right! You're right!" Obito shouted, "I'm going to be the Hokage! Don't think you're better than me just because you can water walk! I'll catch up in an instant!" he declared, running off to the distance towards the pond in the area.
Rin and I rushed to catch up to him after his enthusiastic charge. "Thank you for saying that," she said, smiling softly. "This is the Obito I like the most," she said fondly, "The one who never gives up. The one whose smile is the brightest around." I snorted in response, "The one who's unreasonably cocky," I joked, eliciting a chuckle from her. "That's true. He'll have to kick that habit someday," she remarked. "Not if he gets strong enough to back that attitude up. I do think he can do it, Nohara-san."
Her grin widened, "Me too." she said fondly.
Eventually, we caught up to Obito, who was already trying to do it without any guidance. As he stuck his feet in the water, he could stay afloat for a short while, albeit with water up to his knees, but after less than a minute, he began sinking. The scene was chaotic. As he began sinking, he overcorrected himself and overcharged his feet with chakra, blasting him upwards and out of the water. He flipped twice in the air before belly flopping back into the pond.
I walked over to where Obito swam, swearing up a storm. "I think it's better if you come closer to shallow water, that way there will be less movement. You should start with still water." I explained with an amused smirk. He sighed, "You're the boss," he said, following me closer to the coast of the pond. As we made it to the shallow bit, I realized I forgot to ask him something. "Obito, you can do tree-walking, right?" I asked, eliciting a scowl from him, "What?! Of course I can, what do you think I am!?" he sputtered indignantly.
"That's good. I think I know where you're going wrong," I said thoughtfully. Obito narrowed his eyes, "You do? What am I doing wrong?" he asked, more attentive than before. I hummed, thinking of how to put it, "I think you're copying the process of tree-walking too much, but that's not a good idea. Water and wood are fundamentally different; they aren't even in the same state. You have to account for how water is," I explained, watching Obito's expression grow more confused. I sighed, "Look, this time, you have to be more delicate. The amount of chakra you apply to your feet with tree-walking is too little for water-walking, that's why your legs are slipping into the water. Try experimenting with your fingers or with one foot at a time, and get used to how you should spread the chakra out. If you apply it too evenly, you'll just bounce. Water is weird. Try to focus on your toes and soles of your feet, and make sure the spread of chakra is thick enough without being so condensed so you don't overcharge it. Oh, and don't panic like you did before." I finished.
My own experience with water-walking showed me that the properties of water had to be taken into careful consideration. Water isn't solid, so the chakra's main focus isn't sticking to the solid, but keeping creating an adequate barrier against the water. People aren't light enough to stand on water, that won't change no matter what, and that's the secret to water walking. Your chakra has to bear that weight. It's the same reason why ripples and splashes disrupt water-walking if the person hasn't mastered it. The ripple will disrupt the layer of chakra, and when the person's equilibrium is shot, they will either slip and fall into the water as if they had tripped or simply sink.
Obito regarded me with mild surprise, "You know a lot about this stuff, don't you?" he said before smiling, "I'll try again!" he shouted, punching his empty palm. He ran off towards the shallow bit of the pond, touching the water with his hand experimentally.
I walked back and sat next to Rin. "Why don't you go and learn with him?" I asked. She laughed, shaking her head, "Oh, I can water-walk already." I blinked in surprise. I thought she didn't know how to do it because… "Why haven't you taught Obito how to do this already, then? You guys are good friends," I wondered.
Rin smiled sheepishly, a blush coloring her face, "It's kind of embarrassing, but I'm not really good at teaching anything. Whenever I tried, I couldn't really put any explanation in words. Obito grew frustrated quickly, as you might expect. We both realized he would figure it out faster without my help." she explained sheepishly, scratching her cheek.
"Oh, so you're that type of smart," I deadpanned.
Rin laughed, a smidge self-deprecatingly. "You're right. You are very good at explaining things, Daisuke-kun. Compared to you, I am no good at helping Obito." she sighed. I stood up suddenly, "The two of you get too gloomy too fast. Don't you realize how much you help Obito? If you weren't his friend, I wonder how far his motivation would go. You give him hope." I looked at Rin pointedly, "So you please keep watching him," I finished.
Obito ended up making marketable progress with water-walking that evening. After about an hour of experimenting with a layer of chakra on his hands and eventually on his feet, he stood up and hesitantly stepped with one foot onto the water. As his foot hit the water, it sank for a few centimeters, before stabilizing. His eyes shot open as he looked back at a beaming Rin, wonder what to do next. After some encouraging words, he brought his second foot onto the water. His second foot began sinking like this first, but when it began sinking deeper than this first one and not stabilizing, he began to panic. The water around his feet began to rumble, but before he inevitably fell over, a determined grunt exited his mouth. He bared his teeth in exertion as the rumbling stopped, and a moment later, he stood on the water proudly, a few centimeters shorter.
From there his progress became better and better. Water-walking, however, was not an exercise for someone to master in a day. I hadn't fully mastered it in a day either. By the end of the evening, he grew comfortable with standing atop the water, his feet no longer sinking into it, but taking steps was more difficult. He could manage walking, albeit slowly.
It was getting late, and it was getting cold. Team Minato's training was already somewhat late today, and it was already dark out. Luckily, Rin had the foresight to suggest we make a campfire since Obito would be getting cold from being submerged so much. After a few more minutes of practice, he finally agreed to come out and huddle around the fire so he wouldn't get sick.
The three of us sat around a campfire, enjoying the heat. Neither me or Rin had gotten submerged, but we were cold anyways, and after an hour of carefree chatting, it was time to go home.
"Do we have to go home already? My clothes are still damp!" Obito whined, watching the fire longingly. I smirked, "You should've taken your clothes off before pulling off that incredible stunt in the water, then." my fingers twirled, mimicking his flop. "Two flips, Obito. That's impressive! And a belly-flop to boot! That must've hurt – your resilience is an inspiration" I exclaimed excitedly, mocking him. Obito slapped my shoulder, "Shut up, boy-wonder! I know you've already missed your bed-time, so don't get cheeky!" he jeered with false-bravado.
Rin facepalmed, "Why does this always happen…?" she muttered, before turning to face the both of us, "Couldn't you guys just say 'Today was fun' or 'Thank you for the help'?" I blinked, before a genuine smile tugged at my lips, "You know what, you're right. Today was fun." I agreed. Obito cleared his throat, "Thank you for helping me out today, Daisuke." he admitted, a faint pink coloring his cheeks. My smile dropped for a moment, not expecting the boy to be so honest, before I grinned back, "Don't worry about it," I said, before hastily correcting myself, "actually, do worry about it. You owe me another Fire Release jutsu." I said sheepishly.
The young Uchiha chuckled, not expecting the backtrack.
"Fine with me."
—-
Months past, and Tou-san was unable make it in time for my birthday. As things are, he might not see Izumi's birthday, either. Since Tou-san's last been home, several months have passed. I've been really worried about him. Kaa-san and Gai tell me that a long deployment during war isn't unusual, but I can't shake the worry. Gai's dad hasn't been home for a while, either. The Third Great Shinobi War just takes and takes, and doesn't give back.
Each of the Elemental Nation's forces are shrinking fast. Every front is stretched thin, shinobi and resources becoming more and more sparse, meaning that each side will start preparing risky strategies in order to bring about a favorable end to the way. It's this desperation that will lead to the Kannabi bridge mission. With the current cost that the war has brought, it would take a significant defeat for any of the Hidden Villages to sign a peace that isn't advantageous.
The effects of the war were slowly hitting the village. With the war restricting trade and supply, prices were rising. In an effort to churn out more skilled shinobi, most of our breaks were being cut, and because of that, we were stuck in class in July. In Fire Country heat. Without air conditioning or cooling of any kind.
I think I might be dying.
"AHHHH!" Anko screamed in anger during our lunch break, "I can't handle this damn heat anymore!" and just like that, she ran outside. I should probably join her, the inside of this building is like hell. "I'm going out to the yard, too." Hayate apathetically mumbled, slowly striding towards the door like a zombie. "I'll join you in a sec," I informed him. He did a thumbs up without turning around.
As I was walking out, Iruka came towards me as well, waving. "Umino-san," I remarked, "What's up?" I asked. "We've talked about this, it's 'Iruka' to you, Daisuke-san." he corrected incredulously. "Not much. I just wanted to chat" he responded.
Iruka and I started talking sometimes since the start of our second year here. I know Iruka as a genuinely good person so I had no problems with it. We were on good terms. "Fair enough. We haven't spoken in a second." I responded back.
The two of us slowly paced towards the yard together. "Seriously, this heat is killing me!" he complained, stating the obvious. "I know, right? They say it's gonna reach 42 degrees by 12 o' clock…" I mumbled pathetically, "Is it too much to ask for some milder weather?" I whined with my arms raised as if to question god.
Iruka chuckled before shaking his head, "How am I supposed to practice the Academy 3 like this?" he groaned, "I can't even concentrate," he explained. I hummed for a second, "Here's a thought. Run over to a pond at some training ground and take a dip." I recommended it to him. He nodded, "Oh, good idea," he admitted, "You don't seem too bothered. How is your Academy 3 coming along?" he asked, tilting his head.
I smirked, puffing out my chest, "Wellll, I already know them~!" Iruka gazed at me, mildly surprised, "Eh, really? This kinda stuff comes easily to you, doesn't it? I'm jealous." I let myself gloat as a smile spread across my face. "Well, you could say that I have a knack for ninjutsu…" My cocky smile changed into a genuine grin. "Oh, I know! Why don't you come over sometime and I can help you with whichever one you still have problems with, Iruka-san?"
"Sounds good!" he beamed, only for his expression to change into a sheepish smile, "... only if there's a pond like you said. It's too damn hot!" I sighed, overdramatically hunching over, "You can say that again…" I huffed in agreement.
As we sat outside, feeling sorry for ourselves, a familiar voice boomed right by the two of us, startling me,"Bunch of lazy asses, you lot!" accused the voice. It was a classmate, but I couldn't put my finger on who just by the voice Iruka. I turned around to see the smirking face of… Nara Shimada?
"Huh?" the two of us breathed out.
She clicked her tongue, "You heard me, you pansy asses! It's like being back at the compound! Stop complaining and act like a shinobi, damn it!" she ranted, pointing at us and stepping forward aggressively. "P-pansy asses?" Iruka stuttered, wondering what she meant.
"We can't complain about the weather? We aren't even shinobi yet," I defended myself with scrunched eyebrows."Boys are all the same! You can't even handle the smallest inconvenience! Aren't you supposed to be tough?!" she yelled, ignoring what I said. She was genuinely angry.
What is she on about?
Before I could ask what she meant, she ran off, leaving the two of us very confused. "What the heck?" Iruka wondered, staring at her as she ran to harass another group. "Is that her hobby or something?" he asked out loud. I narrowed my eyes as she ran off to a third group of classmates, kicking up dust behind her. "Maybe she has something to prove…?" I guessed, before letting it go. After a short moment, we returned back to class to suffer in the heat..
Shimada Nara is a strange one.
—-
Izumi and I were out in the village to celebrate. Celebrate what, you may ask? Well, it was Izumi's birthday. Her third birthday, to be exact.
Normally Kaa-san would be out with us, but she asked me to take Izumi out for about 3 hours. She didn't have time to make the cake the day before, so now she needed to scramble and make a cake worthy of her Izumi.
Unfortunately, I knew Izumi was going to absolutely gorge herself on her birthday cake, meaning I couldn't take her to get dango. I've been taking her to get dango pretty often now, and she hadn't spilled the beans to Kaa-san. She's a smart kid, that's for sure. Most kids are way smarter than kids on Earth, though, so I'm guessing it has to do with the presence off chakra.
We spent the time idly wandering around Konoha without anything to do, except for telling stories, of course. She's gonna know so many stories from Earth. I wonder what kids her age will think of her.
The outing was very relaxing, especially considering what my day-to-day life normally consists of. I've been training hard since I was 4 years old for hours every day. I don't regret it, but I sometimes long for a bit more free time. Despite that, every time I see Kaa-san, Izumi, Tou-san, or even Gai, I get reminded of what I'm training for.
Ultimately, the world would get a happy ending, so maybe it was selfish to try to change anything, but the thought of me being selfish isn't nearly enough for me to put off doing anything, especially with my family's life in the balance. If I can save Obito from his life of pain, I would not only potentially save the Uchiha, but I would also save so many others. Rin won't kill herself, Gai won't be forced to open the Eighth Gate.
Izumi won't be murdered.
Any lives others I could save along the way would be a bonus. And to ensure everyone stays safe even after things have changed too much, I need to aim for the bigger picture. I need to think of the likes of Jiraiya, Nagato and Naruto.
Peace is the only way to have any certainty in the safety of my loved ones.
"What happent next?" Izumi asked all too seriously, considering what she was asking about in the first place. "Then Squidward threw the pizza at his face and told him that it was 'on the house'!" I answered enthusiastically. She was in awe.
"Squidward's a good guy…" she whispered to herself, as if it were a revelation. "Nii-chan, Whatz pi-tsuh?" I blinked in surprise. Had I really told her a story about pizza delivery without telling her what pizza is in the first place? "It's this amazingly good food where I came from! It's like bread covered in tomato sauce, cheese and toppings that you choose."
"I hate tomatoes!" she declared with a pout. I grinned, amused. "I also hated them when I was younger, but the tomato sauce tastes better than tomatoes." I reasoned with her, patting her head. "One day I'll make it for all of us!" I promised with excitement. I'll have to invite Gai to try it, too. "Kay, nii-chan!" She agreed easily, despite her dislike of tomatoes. I think I've turned her into a glutton after so long.
After a moment of comfortable silence, Izumi gazed at me, "Nii-chan, you don' come from here?" Izumi asked, curiously tilting her head. Right. I just said 'where I'm from' to her. I've been offhandedly mentioning it since I've started telling her stories. Maybe I should tell somebody.
Out of anybody to tell, Izumi was probably the only one who makes any sense, because she's speaking English already, and when she's older, she'll definitely ask about the strange tongue we are speaking in all the time.
I brought my finger up to my chin, "Well, I am from Konoha, but… before I was Daisuke, I was somebody else." I explained. Her expression grew more confused, "Somebdey else?" she asked. I nodded, "Yeah. I lived another life before I was Daisuke. I lived somewhere reaaaally far, and it was a much different place." I explained, spreading my hands wide.
Izumi hummed, supposedly in deep thought, "'S that why we talk different?" she asked. I grinned, "If anything, I think it's weird that there isn't more than one language here," I chuckled, before continuing, "But yeah, you're right Where I'm from, there are so many people, that there are, like, a million different ways to speak. The way we are talking is called English." I elaborated. She kept looking at me, as if I had anything else to say, before shrugging. "Tha's weird." she said simply, making me snort. "I guess it is weird,"
We continued to walk for a bit, before I turned my head to Izumi again, "Don't tell anybody about it, okay Izumi?" She narrowed her eyes, unaware of how goofy she looked, "How'bout Kaa-chan 'n Otou-chan?" she asked. I frowned, "I'll tell them myself eventually, so…"
The thought of Kaa-san and Tou-san looking at me like a stranger sent chills down my spine. I didn't want that. I shouldn't lie to them, I know that, but after everything I've come to love in the world, even the chance of losing part of it makes me uneasy. Maybe I'll come clean one day to them one day, but today isn't that day.
Maybe that day won't ever come.
My sister considered it for a moment, "Mmmm," she hummed, "Okay, but I want dango!" I chuckled at what she considered a bribe, patting her head, "Of course!" I agreed, "but not right now!" I added, taking it back instantly. She puffed up her cheeks in a bout, glaring at me. "It'll be soon, though, I promise! Just not today!" I said with raised hands in an attempt to placate her. Kaa-san would kill me if Izumi couldn't eat the cake she's making.
After that somewhat bizarre conversation, we began heading home. Kaa-san would be done in about 45 minutes, so we took the long way home. On a familiar street, we walked by a tea shop, where two shinobi sat together. I'm not one to pay special attention to conversations around me, but that behavior was slowly being overwritten by my Academy training. At that moment, I couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"Didya hear?" a shinobi casually began talking to another fellow shinobi, "Princess Tsunade is returning to the hospitals." he said, sounding relieved. The second shinobi raised an eyebrow, "Really? I heard that she retired from medical work for good." his friend answered, intrigued by the news.
He leaned in, "That's what I thought, but something has changed. With how the war's going, Senju Nawaki-sama, her brother, talked her into coming out of retirement and working in the Senju Medical Corps again." he explained with a grin. "With her back, we might just beat back those Iwa bastards!"
I barely kept myself from staring at them. Did they say Tsunade? She left Konoha, suffering from hemophobia, and now she was back early… because of Senju Nawaki? He's supposed to be dead. And what's this about the Senju Medical Corps? I haven't done anything to change canon yet, so why has anything changed? Nawaki's death is supposed to happen before my birth, so what's changed? Is there something I'm missing?
What the hell is going on?
"Wuts wrong?" Izumi asked me worriedly. No time for this. I'll think about it when I get home. I looked down at her and put on a smile. "Oh, sorry Izumi, nothing's wrong… Let's just go home. Kaa-chan's gonna be worried sick!"
—-
After getting home, we had a normal birthday celebration. Kaa-san ended up making some kind of variation of a shortcake with blueberries, one of Izumi's favorite fruits. It was a dessert filled with love. With no sign of Tou-san, we avoided the subject and just enjoyed her birthday.
And a few days after the celebration, I got around to asking Kaa-san about Tsunade, citing Academy lessons for my curiosity. She told me about the legendary Kunoichi Tsunade. She told me things I knew, like about how her team were named the Legendary Sannin, and how she was a revolutionary Iryo-nin. Afterwards, she supposedly disappeared from active service by the end of the Second Great Shinobi War. So far, it matched up with what I knew from canon.
But Senju Nawaki was alive for whatever reason. The shinobi back there, they had addressed him as Senju Nawaki-sama. He was likely a big deal. I asked Kaa-san about him as well, and she had a lot to say. During the last war, Nawaki managed survived an ambush through sheer luck. The fact was recorded by Orochimaru of the Sannin himself. As a result of the ambush, though, he was severely injured and maimed, which was grounds for him to retire from active duty. Apparently, he became more known and influential during this time, having taken on the role of the head of the Senju clan and occasionally an advisor to the Hokage. He even got married to an Uzumaki woman whose name I don't recognize.
It was his survival that kept Tsunade in the village. That was my guess, at least. He was still around – she still had someone she cared deeply about. Katou Dan's death likely gave her hemophobia, but she still had a loved one in Konoha.
What that meant to me is that somehow, Nawaki managed to survive that explosion that had killed him in canon. Did Orochimaru warn him in time? Did a third party save him? It was hard to tell for sure. What this meant to me, though, was that not everything would be predictable from here on out. What else could be different? In the end, it didn't matter too much. The canon historical events will play out differently soon enough.
There will be many unexpected changes to come, so what if a few are a little earlier?
—-
Uchiha Hazuki POV
I met Kichiro for the first time in the academy, but I guess we didn't ever talk to each other at the time. Just like any other Uchiha, I was under pressure to perform well and they preferred if I wouldn't waste my time on "trivial matters" such as hanging out with friends.
The big pressure was mostly because of okaa-sama. She became so harsh after Otou-sama passed away on this crazy dangerous mission. Even as an Uchiha, Otou-sama was kind and cheerful. I suppose I took after him quite a bit. And to Okaa-sama's mourning mind, he died because of his inherent kindness.
I had to suppress my nature in the academy and at home, and Okaa-sama wanted nothing but perfection. It didn't help that I wasn't naturally talented or motivated. It was a real struggle.
But meeting Kichiro changed everything.
I was assigned to Kichiro's team with Takeshi-kun and Kobayashi-sensei. Our sensei wasn't a very good teacher or leader, having already lost his two previous teams in action, he simply didn't have the energy or desire to become part of the team on an emotional level.
But Kichiro, he was like the glue that held our team together. He was strong, professional, and smart, but most of all he was compassionate and kind. He was always there for us, you know? To talk about our problems, lead personal training and connect as friends.
It was with him that I opened up and acted like myself for the first time in 5 years since Otou-sama died. It wasn't long before I'd fallen in love with him. He was the one to save me from the twisted stoicism Okaa-sama pushed onto me.
This love never waned, not even when Takeshi-kun and Kobayashi-sensei died during a fatal mission, not when we were mourning them, and not when we made the choice to retire together.
I have zero regrets about confessing my love to Kichiro, even though it caused a lot of drama with the clan, even though Okaa-sama disowned me, and even though we couldn't legally get married. Why? Because our love brought our adorable little Daisuke-chan and Izumi-chan into this world!
They are seriously the cutest little things ever! I mean, it's no surprise because Kichiro and I made them, right? I love them more than anything in the whole wide world!
But, you know, there's something I can't quite put my finger on about Daisuke.
He takes after both Kichiro and I, you know already, kind, cheerful, and smart! Not to toot my own horn, of course!
But we're a little worried about him. We don't know where it came from, but it feels like he has this weird sense of responsibility towards the village, is what I think. He has an overwhelming desire to be a shinobi. It's not our place to stop him, but the amount he trains is nearly desperate.
And it's not just that, he's too mature for his age, like not just intelligent but wise beyond his years. Kichiro told me about a time where he tried to get him to vent about the war, almost telling him to let it out. Despite what seems like a childlike demeanor, he understands what it means to be a shinobi and the death it might bring.
He knows things we've never taught him, like food recipes that have no origins. He's even found another way to speak. It's unprecedented. It's strange. I've never heard of anybody using a different way of speaking, except for code.
At first I thought he was just making funny noises to make his little sister laugh at him. And it was cute, you know, hearing those weird sounds he made. I quickly realized I was wrong about it being gibberish. He kept speaking this strange language to Izumi, the sound of it becoming something I heard whenever his sister was around him. It wasn't long until she picked up his habit and began speaking it back to him.
He has a journal that I've peaked at out of curiosity, all with strange inscriptions I don't recognize at all. They aren't random inscriptions, though, because my Sharingan can see a pattern in the texts. The inscriptions were most likely a way to write in the tongue he had created, and despite a fair bit of effort on my end, I had no way to decipher it.
Sometimes, I feel like I know Daisuke so well, like he's my mini-me, but then there are moments where I feel like I've never met him, and that scares me. It scares me whenever he has this super serious look too calculating to belong to a child. It scares me when he declares that he'll become a shinobi with this crazy determination that I've barely seen in adults. It scares me whenever I ask him about any of this, and he just looks away guiltily and doesn't say a word.
He can't lie to me, and he knows it. His solution is to not answer me.
But nothing scares me more than the chance of my little Daisuke being sent off to war, maybe to never come back. I'm scared of the fact that after tomorrow, he will officially be a shinobi. Even though he's so young, he turned nine not long ago, and I'm scared I could one day never hear his enthusiastic greeting or see his radiant smile ever again.
The war has taken Kichiro to the frontlines, and it might just take Daisuke-chan, too.
—-
One year later - 12th of April, 1bNb (before Naruto's birth)
"Substitution Jutsu!" I announced to my Chuunin examiner. Without hand seals, I switched places with a book I had thrown into the air. I made sure that prior to our graduation, I mastered each of the Academy 3 to the point where I could omit their hand seals. Well I hadn't quite gotten good enough at the transformation jutsu to use it without a seal, but that didn't matter as much as the other two.
"Well then, Daisuke-kun, it looks like you've passed." The other Chuunin examiner said neutrally. Hell yeah! Hayashi-sensei, a man who I'll seldom see after tomorrow, gave me a small smile, "You've come a long way, Daisuke. Congratulations." Hayashi-sensei, the other examiner, said fondly, ushering me forward. We weren't very close, but all teachers must've had a special sentimental connection to their students after a while. "Thank you, sensei." I replied back, smiling right back at him.
"With this," Hayashi-sensei reached out his hand, my headband sitting there neatly folded, "you will become a shinobi of Konohagakure and carry on the Will of Fire. I wish you the best of luck out there." Hayashi-sensei lowered his head in a shallow bow and I walked towards the door, the proof of my status as a shinobi tied around my head. "Come back to your homeroom tomorrow morning at 7 am for team assignments." He reminded me, eliciting a curt nod from myself.
The years I spent at the Academy had blown by in an instant. I had grown quite fond of the routine I managed to build up over the years, but now it was all over. I was officially a Genin as of today… If I pass whatever exam I'll be having with the Jounin I'll be assigned to.
I spent the past year and some honing much of what I knew already. I improved my skill in Nature Manipulation, chakra control, taijutsu and bukijutsu for the most part, along with becoming physically stronger over time. As promised, Obito taught me another Fire Release, jutsu, which was Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, a very potent and yet exhausting technique. Even with my higher-than-average chakra reserves, I could only cast it once and then fall into mild chakra exhaustion, so it wasn't an option to use in a spar or a fight. Obito mastered water-walking after only three weeks, which was a quick turn from before.
On top of that, Obito, Gai and Rin managed to become Chuunin, along with much of the rest of their age group, just as I remembered in Canon. The Chuunin Exams were an internal affair, as it was in the midst of war, and the majority of Genin who reached the second stage were promoted to Chuunin. The village didn't comment on the high number of promotions, but it was obvious that they were short on Chuunin. Legally, Genin had restrictions when it came to receiving missions above C-ranked, courtesy of the Third Hokage.
A little under a month ago, I turned 10 years old, and Izumi turned into a 5 year old back in August. We were both steadily growing up.
I wonder what my team assignment will be? Some team assignments will be chosen by village politics while others are chosen through grade balance, and since I'm not involved in any politics, I should be paired up with people to even out my score.
I wasn't the rookie of the year, that title belongs to Hyuuga Momoku, but I was placed 3rd in the class, so I would probably end up with people who scored lower than me. It didn't bother me, though, since even Konoha's hero, Uzumaki Naruto, was dead last. Who knows what kind of hidden talent could come from a deadlast?
Or maybe that's an unfair comparison. Naruto's the protagonist.
I walked out to see Hayate and Anko showing each other their headbands. I tried to keep my cool but I had been eagerly awaiting my headband since I was like 4, so as soon as I saw the two of my friends showing them off, I ran up to them with unveiled excitement.. "Congratulations you guys!" I praised them as I approached. "You too, man!" Hayate responded, more energetic than usual because of our graduation. "Not suprisin' that you passed, Daisuke, you're a big ole nerd!" she chuckled, slapping my back. "Is that an insult or a compliment?" I deadpanned, but couldn't help the slight tilt to the corner of my mouth.
I might be put on a team with these two, considering their grade levels would balance out mine. Anko had poor test scores but great practical scores, and Hayate had slightly better than average of each of these scores.
No use thinking too much about it, I just hope I don't get paired up with anybody too weird. Or rude.
—-
"You're going to meet your team today, right honey?" Kaa-san asked, handing me a plate of a special celebratory breakfast she had decided to make for me. She didn't usually make anything too complicated for breakfast, but today she made a strange Japanese-looking variety of a pancake. She smiled sweetly at me, "Make sure to bring at least one of them home sometime soon, okay? Teammates are your second family!" I nodded in agreement. That's right, team members have very close bonds. It would be a waste to not make friends with them.
"You're a ninja now, nii-chan!" Izumi beamed at me excitedly in Japanese for once. "How do you feel? How is it like to be a ninja!?" she asked, her excitement growing as she practically jumped up and down. I patted her head. "We aren't ninjas, okay? We are shinobi." I corrected her, my index finger pointing up. "'Kay," she ignored me dutifully, before perking up, "Hey, you hafta tell me a ninja story soon!"
I finished my breakfast and started getting ready. It was bittersweet since Tou-san couldn't be here to congratulate me on graduating, but I would manage. He just needs to get home safe. That's all I want from him.
I got to the door, my proud family coming with me to see me off. "Get along with your new teammates, okay? And stay safe." kaa-san wished me off tearfully. "Don't you think you're overreacting?" I asked. She shook her head, "Nuh uh. Don't be like that, Daisuke-chan. Overreacting is my right as a mother!" she shot back playfully. Her similar to my mother back on Earth stung a little.
I bent down a little to say goodbye to Izumi. "D'ya think you'll find Otou-chan?" she asked innocently. I shook my head gently, "I don't think so. Tou-chan's off somewhere else, okay? I bet he'll be home soon, though!"
Izumi frowned, "I wanna see Otou-chan again," she said sadly. It was heartbreaking. Kaa-san bent down as well, "I know, but he's off protecting us, okay? He'll be back in no time." she said, comforting the girl with a brave smile. She looked down, "Really?" she muttered.
Kaa-san hugged her tightly, "Really." she confirmed.
Kaa-san then got up and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "I know it's just gonna be D-ranked and maybe a test, but be careful. Seriously. Or I will kill your sensei!" she threatened with a coy smile, "My sensei? Not me?" I responded, and she nodded exaggeratedly before letting me go. I stepped out.
"Kaa-chan, Izumi, I'm heading out!" I announced, waving back at them.
Well, time to see who I'll be spending the foreseeable future with on a team.
—-
"Team 1, Gekko Hayate, Takahashi Tokara and Takehaya Kiruko, led by Aburame Shibi." Hayate frowned at me, head shaking while walking off with his new teammates. I saluted him as he paced melancholically to the door.
"Team 2, Mitarashi Anko, Hikaru Kamiki, and Hyuuga Momoku, led by Orochimaru." I blanched upon hearing the name that I'd completely forgotten about during all my worrying. Well I hadn't exactly forgotten about Orochimaru, but to think I didn't connect the dots when considering the possibility of me and Anko being on the same team. For fuck's sake.
I had to find a way to warn Anko about what he would do, but that can come a little later. I think I have at least two years to do that. I took a deep breath.
"Team 3, Uchiha Shodo, Uzuki Yugao, and Akiha Rumiho, led by Uchiha Mikoto." I didn't know she had led a team.
"Team 4, Uchiha Daisuke," Oooooh, who am I paired with…? "Umino Iruka," That's great! I'm already friends with him! He also has the potential to become a Chuunin, which is great.
"..., and Nara Shimada, led by Inuzuka Tsume."
I shouldn't have jinxed myself.
I got up and went to meet Iruka. At least he would be something of a saving grace. "Hey, Daisuke-san, I'm looking forward to working with you on a team." he greeted me pleasantly as we met by the door. "Likewise, Iruka-san!" I responded
We paced out behind our new sensei, Inuzuka Tsume and our other teammate. Who hated us. Yay or nay? Probably nay. I can't imagine the Matriarch of the Inuzuka clan to be a bad sensei, though.
"...Ikeda Ozaki, Nagatsuki Tapp…-" I heard Hayashi-sensei's voice get quieter as we made our way closer to the academy's exit.
"I wonder what our new sensei's like." Iruka hummed as we watched Shimada try and fail to make small talk with her. I smiled, as I jokingly said, "Hopefully she's not like Shi-"
"Quit'cher gossiping already, you stupid brats!" our feral teacher snapped, turning around to scowl at us, "Move any slower and I'll send you back to the academy myself!" Then she darted off in the direction of one of the training grounds.
Iruka and I scrambled to chase her as our Nara teammate stuck her tongue out at us. I shot her the stink eye. The direction our sensei went was probably towards… training grounds 11. This was probably a test for how fast we could travel in a pinch. I pushed chakra into my legs, bouncing off of rooftops to make it there as soon as I could, teammates right behind me.
I made it to where Inuzuka-sensei was a little faster than Iruka and Shimada, who arrived about 30 seconds after I did.
Sensei was staring at us angrily, vein bulging on her forehead. "Why do I have to take care of a buncha brats…?" she mumbled to herself barely loud enough for us to hear. She sighed and then straightened up.
"Listen up, I din' wanta be a Jounin sensei, but Hokage-sama was adamant that we didn't have enough available Jounin, so even a Tokubetsu Jounin like me works." she pinched the bridge of her nose. "In other words, you brats had better not gimme a reason to fail alla ya!"
"Yes, Inuzuka-sensei!" We all enthusiastically chorused. "Don't call me 'Inuzuka-sensei'! Teammates can't be so damn formal! Call me Tsume-sensei!" she corrected, fist clenched in front of his chest as a warning.
"Yes, Tsume-sensei!" we parroted.
"Let's start by introducing ourselves." she nodded her head before pointing to Shimada. "You go first, Punk Princess." Shimada pointed to herself as if to ask 'Me?!' before begrudgingly accepting it at Tsume-sensei's glare.
I raised my hand. "Sensei, what do you mean by introducing ourselves?" She rolled her eyes and waved her hand at me. "Just tell us anything yer okay with us hearing." Shimada perked up.
"I'm Nara Shimada, 11 years old. I like to train and eat! I hate lazy people and boys. I can throw shuriken and kunai really good! I'm gonna become the first female Hokage!"
"Sure, sure." she said dismissively, much to my spikey haired teammates dismay. She pointed at Iruka. "You next, Mop head." she said apathetically before mumbling berratingly about the ratio of ponytails on this team.
Iruka grabbed his hair sheepishly before speaking up, "I'm Umino Iruka, I'm almost 11 years old. I like to read and study. I guess I don't specialize in anything yet. My goal… I want to serve the village to the best of my abilities."
"Pretty normal…" she hummed thoughtfully. "Now what about you," she narrowed her eyes at me before they lit up with an idea, "...Blue noodle!" She giggled to herself the dumb sounding nickname seemingly greatly amusing her.
B-blue noodle? Was she referring to my eye color? What kind of nickname is noddle? My hair may be a bit messy, but-! "Outrageous nickname aside," I breathed out before tensing at the sound of a knuckle crack. "My apologies, Tsume-sensei." I said unblinkingly. Better watch my step-!
"My name is Uchiha Daisuke, I'm 10 years old. I like to spend time with my family and exercise. Oh, and I love sweets! I specialize in chakra control and ninjutsu. My goal…" I exhaled through my nose, "is to bring about peace."
She gazed stoically at me before smirking. "Flashy! I like it." Then she looked between the three of us. "You lot mighta gotten confused when I said I'd send'ja back to the academy, but it's true. I have the right, despite pressure from the Hokage, to fail all of you as Genin."
She stomped her foot on the ground and grinned wickedly at us. "All of you, meet me here at 7 o'clock tomorrow and don't you dare be late! Bring your A-game or I might hafta fail ya!"
Shimada pointed at sensei, standing up suddenly. "What about you, sensei? Introduce yourself, too!" Tsume-sensei's smile widened. "No use wasting my time on introductions if ya don't pass!" she taunted, "If you actually pass, then we can get to know each other!"
Before any of us could get another word in, she shunshined away.
She seems… difficult.
—-
Summary of changes made with the edit:
I made the dialogue a bit more readable, along with some of the language used. Hopefully it's less cringe
In the original, Daisuke goes to 'warn' obito and rin about kakashi potentially abandoning them. I've removed it, as it's a badly handled scene and it has no real plot significance in the future
I added a date for the ending scenes, because I actually messed up with the timing of where we're at I'll be looking through future chapters to try to fix the discrepancy, but if you catch something odd, that might be why
The edit of the chapter actually took me a fair bit of time, all things considered. The Obito and Rin scenes were the difficult bits, because I really made some cringe the first time around. I also took a lot of time rewriting the Izumi and Daisuke bit. If anyone is a returning reader for whatever reason, let me know if you liked it.
.
Some of you guys who are more attentive may have noticed that Hayate should have been put on a team with Ibiki. That's an oversight on my part, I didn't do enough research during the start of the academy arc. Instead, I just used a random civilian to fill up the team, that civilian will die early on and Ibiki, who would have lost his team in this version, is assigned to Hayate's team to fill out the numbers.
I've used lots of random civilian names for team members that were never given to us, and you may recognize some of them. Be careful about googling some of the names, as there are some spoilers for some manga there.
This chapter was long because as I said last chapter, I want to get the academy arc finished asap. I don't like fics that drag on the academy section for a really long time, the pacing feels bad. Every event that is interesting or canon divergent starts now, except for a specific canon divergent event that has already happened which will be revealed in time.
In case you are wondering why Nawaki is alive, there is one major canon divergence that has spawned and will spawn a whole host of differences from the main timeline.