《Naruto: Paper Lantern》


 Ch 1

    ¡°Huh, That looks like a paper bomb.¡± I chuckled to myself before it exploded. I must have blacked out because the next thing I know I¡¯m flat on my back staring at the ceiling and there¡¯s ringing in my ears along with the sounds of my coworkers screaming in my office. After a few pathetic attempts, I finally managed to stand up. My face is stinging and the calm and peaceful office I¡¯m so used to is gone replaced with ruined wallpaper, overturned desks, and shattered lights.


    I see a bunch of the other office workers running to the stairs and elevators trying to escape the building not caring about the others they are shoving behind but I walk towards the main conference room. The stairs will be too crowded and I want to see what is happening outside before I leave. The conference room always had the best view and when I got there, it still did. The room had been hit and the windows were shattered along with a large portion of the wall with it, letting the wind flow in and rustling the scattered paperwork around in the air.


    As I stepped into the room I saw a giant burning American flag floating down past what was left of the window and New York City being invaded. Ninjas were jumping from light polls and the sides of buildings, slaughtering anyone they could see.Gun shots were ringing out as New York¡¯s finest tried to stem the tide but were clearly being overrun.


    From where I was standing I could see ninjas wearing red and brown climbing and entering buildings followed by more screaming after. Before I could check to see if any ninjas were climbing my building a man popped his head up from over the edge startling me and making me trip over myself. The ninja with a wide grin walked in like climbing a skyscraper was the easiest thing in the world to him.


    He was dressed in a red cloth shirt and pants with a brown flak jacket. On his forehead was a bandana with a metal plate on it. Etched into the metal plate was a picture of what looked like rocks or a mountain.


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    If it wasn¡¯t for the ringing in my ears and the constant stinging pain all over my body, I would have thought this was a dream because I recognized what this man was dressed as. ¡°Y-you¡¯re a stone ninja,¡± I said gesturing to his forehead. The man saw me pointing at his forehead and gestured with his thumb towards it. He said something in a language I didn¡¯t recognize with an arrogant grin on his face.


    The Stone Ninja reached out to me on the floor and offered me his hand. I looked at it and then at him confused but he just gestured to hurry up and to take it. Not thinking I reached out and grabbed his hand.


    Before I realized what was happening I was pulled up onto my feet and the next moment felt a thump in my chest. The man had pulled me up with one hand and buried a kunai into my heart with the other. I looked down to see the handle of the knife sticking out of me with a red splotch on my white dress shirt growing bigger by the second.


    The man''s face sneered at me as he grabbed my throat and brought me outside of the building. We were nine stories up and my feet were dangling in midair. The man said something to me that I couldn¡¯t understand but I guessed he was asking me if I had any last words. I wanted to grab the man''s arms and pry him off of me but my limbs were already running out of strength. I looked him up and down and said the first thing that came to mind. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m about to be killed by a guy wearing a fanny pack and sandals.¡±


    From the look on the mans face I could tell that he didn¡¯t understand me but could guess I didn¡¯t say anything nice. With a click of his tongue, he moved to chuck me and terrorize someone else but a gunshot that was closer than the rest rang out and the man''s head snapped back.


    I saw a hole appear on his forehead protector and slowly start to leak blood. The man and I looked at each other in surprise before his eyes glazed over and rolled to the back of his head. The man leaned forward with my neck still in his iron-like grasp and fell with me outside the window.


    The world rushed passed me as I fell. My vision dimmed as the ground came closer and closer to meet me. While I fell I saw more and more of the city. Helicopters spinning out of control, S.W.A.T officers gunning down stone ninjas just to have another sneak up behind them and pierce them with their sword.


    Off into the distance I could see a giant gorilla cloaked in lava climbing the Statue of Liberty. The statue slowly melted from the heat and the gorilla roared in triumph as it got on top. Before I could witness any more of the demise of the greatest city in the world the pavement caught up to me and I became one with the void.

 Ch 2

    A shinobi''s greatest ally is the darkness. An excuse I wished I had come up with when I was programming back in my previous life. My ¡°office¡± was dark as I had kept the lights off and the blinds closed all day affectively turning my apartment into a cave. The only light source was a single bulb over the stove in the kitchen.


    In my defense, my eyes where closed as I focused on channeling Chakra through the prosthetic limb. The clicking of mechanical joints sounding random to anyone listening to it but myself. The fingers of the arm I held going through motions as I muttered to myself naming the signs.


    I could have easily spent hours working alone in the darkness with only a marginal benefit but the approach of a familiar Chakra signature disrupted my focus. Surprised by who it was I defaulted to the military signal I used during the war and chastised myself for using it. The war had ended two years ago despite what the Cloud village said and if my meta knowledge was still good the fourth great ninja war was still nearly two decades away.


    I received the Chakra response and walked to the door. Careful not to step on the piles of paperwork I had scattered on the floor I opened the door and used my hand to shield my eyes from the mourning sun. In my doorway was one of the most important ninjas in all of Shinobi history.


    ¡°If you have come to me because your pee burns, then go to a clinic,¡± I said while walking back inside leaving the door open.


    ¡°Don¡¯t greet me like that, Is that any way to treat a man such as I,¡± Jiraiya said entering my home without closing the door behind him. With a minor thought, I manipulated one of the many bandages wrapped around my body to reach across the room and close the door.¡°Oh, I barely felt you do that,¡± Jiraiya said commenting on my Chakra control.


    ¡°Thank you, but a compliment so early makes me think you want something. Also, don¡¯t step on anything important.¡± I said gesturing to the documents on the floor and every flat surface within a twelve-foot radius of my desk.


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    ¡°Which of these is important?¡± Jiraiya asked reasonably.


    Taking a few seconds to look at and categorize all of the paperwork I huffed and freed a dozen bandages from my person and had them seek out all the paperwork. As if they were made of duct tape they stuck to their targets just to pull them along to another. Within a handful of seconds, my office which looked like a crime scene from a violent robbery now was neat and tidy.


    The only evidence of the previous state of my office was the desk that still had a prostatic arm on it and the look of genuine respect on Jiraiya¡¯s face. ¡°I don¡¯t think even Tsunade could perform the same feat as fast.¡± He said with a nod. While nodding his head he noticed the arm on my desk. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°This, it¡¯s a prosthetic arm made by puppet master Chiyo. She lent me it to study.¡± The arm in question was now revealed in the bright mourning light thanks to my opening some of the blinds in the room was as pale as ivory and was a beautiful work of art as well as a dangerous weapon for war.


    ¡°Hmm, Anything good so far,¡± Jiraiya said feigning interest in my work to avoid the real topic he wished to discuss.


    ¡°Yes actually.¡± Taking any opportunity to discuss my work. ¡°The idea of this thing is to replace a shinobis arm, or more precisely his fingers so that they can perform the hand signs to perform a jutsu,¡± I said channeling Chakra through the prosthetic limb to perform the motions of Dragon, horse, and ox in a second. Those signs being more complicated for academy students to learn.


    ¡°I can see how that¡¯s useful.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well I¡¯m trying to make it more of a preprogrammed set of hand signs like how I use fuinjutsu to speed up the process of casting a jutsu.¡± I activated the program I had been working on before Jiraiya entered and the hand rapidly performed all 12 hand signs in the same time it took to perform the previous three.


    Jiraiya visibly winced at the imagined pain on not just the user''s fingers if someone tried to do hand signs that fast but on their Chakra network being forced to accommodate such rapid changes. ¡°As you can probably guess, I have had setbacks on my research, but also a somewhat steady amount of progress.¡±


    ¡°Impressive.¡± Jiraiya nodded his head in a way that I could tell he wanted to bring up the subject he originally wished to discuss. ¡°I came here to check up on you. You are the first ever long-term ambassador we have had and wanted to see your progress with my own eyes.¡±


    I nodded in understanding as I made my way to the screen doors off to the side of my office. Opening them led to the spacious balcony with a large table and a half dozen chairs lined around it overlooking the sand village. ¡°I like to believe I have had a positive impact,¡± I said looking out at the giant yet gently flowing waterfall leading to a lake at the center of the oasis surrounded with lush greenery that was the village hidden in the sand.

 Ch 3

    Jiraiya stood on the patio and stared out at the Sand Village. With a big breath he let out a sigh and a smile crept onto his face. ¡°It¡¯s been a few years since I¡¯ve been here, but to think a place could change like this in such a short time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lord Jiraiya.¡± I bowed respectfully, taking the compliment to heart.


    Jiraiya looked at me with his grin getting even wider. ¡°Lord now? What¡¯s with the change of heart.¡±


    ¡°Well I mean you just said you came here for a progress report. I have played enough of the political game to know when to kiss up during performance reviews.¡±


    Jiraiya was shocked into silence before erupting into laughter. ¡°To think the number one rebellious ninja would ever say something like that. I¡¯m telling Orochimaru you said that when I get back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll deny it till my last breath,¡± I responded which earned another burst of laughter from the toad sage.¡°Speaking of, how is the snake charmer doing? Still cooped up in his lab.¡±


    ¡°Last I heard he was. From what I understand, much like you, he¡¯s trying to come up with a way to regrow limbs. He pestered Minato for access to the first¡¯s blood but was denied. Since then he has been taking every free mission to the capital he can get his hands on.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see. Well if anything the man is persistent.¡± I shrugged. Noticing Jiraiya¡¯s eyes wandering to one of the streets below I looked over the railing and discovered what had stolen the man¡¯s attention. A trio of civilian women wearing bathing suits and a few towels were making their way down the street.


    ¡°You know I¡¯ve been cooped up in here myself. Perhaps we should catch up while walking about the town? The lake has a beach that seems to be popular.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yes, yes. I always knew you had a good head on your shoulders. A splendid ideal.¡± With that, Jiraiya leaped over the railing and made his way towards the beach with myself following along.


    Subconsciously I began trailing behind Jiraiya the same way I would follow a guard escort back in the war. Just far enough away that if he triggered an ambush I would have time to take up a defense and decide my action, while not so far that we could be separated easily if we wanted to stick together.


    Once again I chastised myself for falling into old habits. As an ambassador, it¡¯s embarrassing acting the way I do. How can I preach for peace and prosperity while I¡¯m acting like I¡¯m expecting a fight any second? If I can notice my actions, then other shinobi can too.


    ¡°Hatake!¡±I had to end my chastising short as Jiraiya was ambushed and I had to take my time and decide how I was going to act. Out of the shadows, a blur rushed out and pounced on Jiraiya. Leaping into the air the attacker delivered a rapid rain of kicks at the man who blocked them with one of his arms while reaching for a kunai with the other. One of the kicks was pushed back by Jiraiya and the assailant was flung away.


    Before she even touched the ground, the woman sent out half a dozen senbon towards the toad sage. Using his Kunai, Jiraiya deflected all of the needles towards the ground in between the two. I had placed myself nine feet behind and three feet to the right of the man. I thought about attempting to defuse the situation but the chakra source I recognized rushing to the side of the old lady told me that the effort would be unnecessary.


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    ¡°Elder Chiyo! That''s enough, he isn¡¯t even Hatake.¡± A young woman said making herself known. Chiyo herself was wearing her usual robes along with a scowl in Jiraiya¡¯s direction.


    The young woman with a toddler in each hand and a backpack with beach supplies sticking out of it came from around the corner. I decided it was best to skip past the awkward stare-down between Jiraiya and Chiyo and just greet the young mother. ¡°Good afternoon Karura. You look as beautiful as always.¡±


    ¡°Oh quit it you flirt. I look awful.¡± Karura said with her short hair a mess and mysterious stains on her blouse. ¡°Here, hold.¡± The wife of the Kazekage said as she thrusted the prince and princess of the sand village into my arms while she reached into the backpack she was holding and pulled out a brush.


    ¡°Karura! Don¡¯t just hand them over to the leaf ninja!¡± Chiyo barked in outrage.


    ¡°Oh relax, It¡¯s only Amon.¡± Karura spat back as she quickly brushed her hair with practiced ease.


    ¡°The ¡°Only¡± part was not necessary to say,¡± I muttered under my breath. Everyone heard but ignored my comment as they focused on their own actions. Karura tried to scrub the stain from her shirt to no avail and huffed. Turning to me she pointed to the stain and I resolved myself to my fait. With both of my hands full I uncoiled one of the bandages I had wrapped around my body, controlling it to reach into my side pack and brought out one of the Cleaning Tags I had stored inside. Placing it on Karura I activated it and watched as a small wave of water flowed from the tag and down and across her shirt taking all the stains and dirt along with it.


    ¡°Oh, thank you, Amon, You are a lifesaver.¡± Karura turned to Chiyo with a look that can only be described as unimpressed. ¡°Why can¡¯t you do anything like that?¡±


    ¡°I would never waste my time working on something as pointless as that.¡±


    ¡°No, you waste your time jumping out of windows and attacking people like a crazed banshee. Flinging poisoned needles in the middle of the street at an esteemed guest, and a war hero from an allied village. Yes, I see that your schedule is packed.Speaking of poison needles.¡± Karura looked at the senbon still sticking out of the ground and then back at Chiyo, then back at the senbon, then back at the old woman whose scowl was getting deeper by the second.


    Picking up on the not-subtle hint, Chiyo clicked her tongue and used chakra strings to retrieve the needles from the ground and hid them up her sleeves. Karura turned to Jiraiya and bowed her head politely. ¡°Lord Jiraiya, it is a pleasure and an honor to have someone as great as you visit our village. I apologize for the actions of Grany Chiyo. With her outrageous old age and the fumes of her subpar poisons she peddles, her mind has left her many decades ago.¡± Karura said with false sincerity. Chiyo on the other hand looked like she was using all of her willpower to bite back a response, thankfully Karura moved on, ¡°If I might ask, what brought someone as great and well respected as you to our village?¡±


    Jiraiya puffed up his chest ¡°Weeelllll as a Lord of the land of fire, I wanted to make sure you were treaty my poor friend Amon here well and make sure he wasn¡¯t slacking off.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, We love Amon. He and Chiyo work on boring stuff all the time. If Amon wasn¡¯t around, I would be stuck with the old hag.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Chiyo with a cold look of death continued to stare daggers at the back of Karura¡¯s head while the woman herself pretended not to notice the puppet slash poison master radiating killing intent behind her.


    ¡°Now forgive me if this is embarrassing but your name is the same as the author of a book I have been reading. Is it true that you wrote Make-out Paradise?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. During my many travels, inspiration struck and I knew I needed to write. In a way, the story wrote itself and I was just the vessel used to bring it into the world.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. My girlfriends and I love your book.¡±


    ¡°You do¡­they do?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, Because of the war many of are villages'' gallant and young husbands were lost. All the time I constantly hear from poor and lonely young widows that your book is the only thing that brings them comfort at night.¡±


    ¡°Really now? I am happy to know that I can bring some joy to those who most need it.¡±


    ¡°Me and sadly Chiyo as well, were going to the beach. I¡¯m sure the other girls would squeal in delight at the chance to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, what a coincidence Jiraiya and I were going to the beach to stare at women like two creeps.¡±


    Jiraiya turned to me with hate and panic in his eyes but Karura quickly relieved his fears. ¡°Oh research for your next book? Please allow me to be your guide. I know the best places to kick back and enjoy the sights.¡± Karura wrapped her arms around Jiraiya¡¯s and started walking with him towards where I new a lot of the single moms hanged out at. ¡°Ever since Amon and my husband installed the lake, the women can hardly keep their clothes on in this village. I would suspect that was half the reason they did it if they weren¡¯t always in their office working on who knows what.¡±


    Jiraiya was pulled by Karura towards the beach with the biggest grin on his face while Karura looked proud of herself. As the two walked I and Chiyo were left holding the literal bag and two toddlers in the middle of the street. Both of us looked at each other and with a sigh of resignation followed the two.

 Ch 4

    Karura played with Temari and Kankur¨­ while Chiyo went to talk to some older people at the picnic tables. Jiraiya quickly found himself surrounded by women as he regaled them with tales of his adventures. The Leaf village had a policy that once a publicly offered mission had been completed, unless otherwise stated the shinobi is allowed to talk about it with anyone they want. The rules used to be stricter but Shinobi discussing missions with their families and an attempt to look more friendly to the public at the end of the day won out in hopes of driving up revenue.


    Most of Jiraiya¡¯s stories were about bodyguard missions. Guarding a princess from assassins, protecting a wealthy merchant from mountain bandits, preventing a spy from infiltrating a fancy party. It was fun watching how Jiraiya changed his tales to better suit the tastes of his audience.


    Listening to Jiraiya while I scanned the horizon made me take stock in my own stories I could tell. The fact that I was a reincarnated IT worker from another world was interesting, to say the least, but was also something I long ago decided to keep to myself. I turned 25 just last month making it that I had lived longer in this world than my last.


    Early in my childhood, I wrote down as much as I thought useful from my previous life. As much as I could remember about the Naruto manga, technology, and fan theories, but I regretted not writing down more. I wish I had written about culture and my own life. Names of the people important to me, places I had been to, and wish I could have gone. The smells, sounds, and tastes from my former life.


    Every once in a while I¡¯m walking down the street or in my office, lying down for bed and it hits me, for just a moment I can recall a feeling of something innocuous. New car smell, the taste of New York pizza, the sound of a bat hitting a baseball. Out of the blue, it hits me like a truck and just as quickly fades away. I try to grab hold but like cupping water in my hands, it only delays the inevitable.


    When I discovered what had happened to me and the world I was now living in, I freaked out a little. Thankfully a weird kid at an orphanage is not an unusual sight. Chakra came easily to me letting me get private housing in the village. Spending my whole previous life without chakra just to be sent to a world bathed in the stuff made chakra obvious to me.


    ¡°Keep making a face like that young man and you are going to look older than me,¡± Chiyo said as she sat down besides me on a beach recliner.


    ¡°Sorry, thinking about¡­stuff. Weren¡¯t you talking to your friends?¡±


    ¡°Friends! Those old bags of bones? I can¡¯t stand the guts of half of them, No when you¡¯re my age it¡¯s basically just roll call on who''s still alive and kicking. Can¡¯t really talk to any of them for too long. Any topic we come up with has been discussed to death and we are too old and stubborn to change our minds on anything meaningful.¡±


    Chiyo leaned back on the recliner and let out a sigh of relief. Without looking at me she told me to make shade for her so I cast an earth jutsu to make a Minecraft-inspired beach umbrella. ¡°Karura is right, you do have useful tricks up your sleeves. So you going to talk to me about the ¡°stuff¡± you were thinking about or are we just going to sit here in awkward silence?¡±


    With a huff, I spoke ¡°I was thinking about regrets.¡±


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    ¡°Ahh, Yes, Any shinobi worth their headband got plenty of those lying around. Anything specific or just life in general?¡±


    ¡°General mostly. If I can point out one thing¡­I don¡¯t think I¡¯m as strong as I should be. In the past¡­I was too weak to make a real notable difference. Theirs a saying called the butterfly effect. That even something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings can eventually make a hurricane.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re wondering where¡¯s your hurricane?¡± Chiyo says as she waves at the beach and surrounding greenery.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I was bragging about this to Jiraiya earlier. I was just moping I didn¡¯t get my ¡°Hurricane¡± sooner. A lot of¡­A lot of people would still be here if¡­if a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I can see that.¡± The silence loomed over the both of us for a few moments before Chiyo started again. ¡°When you first came to this village two years ago, I confronted you. I asked what you hope to accomplish being in this village. Do you remember what you responded with?¡±


    ¡°I remember you being a fair bit ruder than what you just described.¡±


    ¡°Minor details, You responded with that you wanted to see what could be accomplished if two villages set aside their disagreements and used our ability to harness the power of chakra to create, rather than destroy. That was the goal you set out to accomplish, and look at where we are now. Back then I thought you were a naive fool but in two short years and one ugly family dispute you helped rectify, I know now I was a fool for doubting you.¡±


    Chiyo leaned up from her seat and looked at me. ¡°You share that same dream many shinobi have. The wish to grow stronger but unlike most who wish to protect or destroy you wish to create. You should be proud of what you have accomplished. Regrets come with the headband but don¡¯t let them drown you. Focusing on the regrets diminishes your accomplishments and lessens the importance of the people you help. As medical ninja, we have both saved hundreds of people but we rarely think about the lives that are here but the ones we lost.¡±


    Taking a moment to let Chiyo¡¯s words sink in I nodded my head, ¡°Thank you, It means a lot to hear you say that.¡± My mood improved a little as I looked at the smiling villagers walking around under the desert sun without a care in the world. Shops had opened around the lake selling beach supplies and ice cream. It was still a ninja village but a lot of the underlying darkness that used to loom over people receded into the shadows.


    My good mood also receded when I spotted the hurried-looking messenger making a quick pace towards Jiraiya¡¯s and my direction. The man''s pace was a brisk power walk but the shinobi looked like he wanted to go faster but the crowd hindered him. A quick guess told me that something had happened and I was to be told immediately but the fact he didn¡¯t have guards with him nor was he running says that I wasn¡¯t in trouble nor was there an emergency. I¡¯m the ambassador of the Leaf Village, a fuinjutsu expert, and an above-average medical ninja. Either something has happened in the Leaf Village, or perhaps a barrier issue has popped up and my knowledge is needed.


    I waved down Jiraiya who reluctantly untangled his arms from so newly disappointed ladies and moved to intercept the messenger. ¡°The Kazekage has sent me to escort you and Lord Jiraiya to his office, there has been an incident.¡± The man said with a grim look painted on his face.


    ¡°Any details, Should I bring anything?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best you hear it from the Kazekage.¡±


    Jiraiya walked up behind me ¡°Something happened?¡±


    ¡°Still finding out, we need to go with this guy to the Kazekage office.¡±


    Jiraiya looked the sand shinobi up and down before responding.¡°Well, let¡¯s not keep the man waiting.¡±


    ***


    I wanted to speak, shout, do anything but I just stood in the Kazekage office like a statue. I¡¯ve spent 25 years in this world, trying to make an impact. The biggest tragedy in Naruto. The event that kicks off the fates of countless shinobi, so many lives have been lost and will be lost because of this, and I failed to stop it.


    I wasn¡¯t even in the village when it happened. I chose to come to the Sand knowing that this could happen. Minato shook my hand and looked me in the eye and wished me good luck at the gates of the village before he was coronated.


    Rasa stared at me with an expression that gave nothing away while my mind went a mile a minute. My brain flooded with ideas of ways I could have prevented this from happening but another voice in my head shouted, saying I needed to do something, to stop gawking and to take action.


    I turned to Jiraiya who I could tell, mentally, was in another place. I put my hand on his shoulder and spoke before I even knew what I was going to say. ¡°Give me two hours to pack up, I¡¯ll have us home by nightfall.¡± Jiraiya made a sound of acknowledgment as I left the office.


    As I closed the door I knew I should have thanked Rasa for the news and asked to leave not just the office but the village itself but my mind was too busy. I tried to distract myself with the logistics of packing up my apartment slash office but the news kept hitting me like ocean waves. I failed, The nine tails escaped its seal, and Minato, the fourth hokage died defending the village.

 Ch 5

    ¡°When can we expect you back sir?¡± Buta asked. He was a rotund man with a mustache shaped like tusks. He wore a fez hat and clothes that allowed the breeze to flow in. Currently, he was doing all he could to keep up with my already mild pace.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hold your breath. If the damage is as bad as I think it is, every somewhat competent medic, doctor, medicine man, shaman, and anyone who has ever used a bandaid on someone else is going to go to the village. If not from the goodness of their heart, then to show off their skill.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I should take my business elsewhere then?¡±


    ¡®Ahh yes, as subtle as one would expect from a man of his size.¡¯ I thought to myself. One of the biggest tragedies in the ninja world''s history and he¡¯s still counting coins. As the two of us approached the main village gate, I could see Jiraiya and Chiyo talking. As far as I could tell she was giving her condolences to the man.


    ¡°Business elsewhere? You looking to dodge the competition, maybe find a small settlement to monopolize?¡±


    ¡°Competition?¡± The man perked his head up. I swear I saw his nose wiggle like a pig''s snout that just caught the scent of food. What do you mean?


    ¡°Well, you ship and sell food and medical goods, in that order, between the land of wind and fire.¡± Buta nodded his head, paying attention. ¡°But you also sell luxury and miscellaneous goods. Not as much, you have had a problem securing consistent buyers in the past.¡±


    I stopped walking, already at my destination. A giant 14 by 10 carpet with a handful of wooden crates placed evenly on it. I turned to the man who was doing calculations in his head, but to make sure he didn¡¯t come up with the wrong conclusion and the fact I was on a short timetable, I just gave him the answer I wanted him to have.


    ¡°The Leaf villages back up food storages have either been destroyed or tapped empty, the war wasn¡¯t that long ago. The same can be said for our medicine.¡±


    ¡°Yes I see that, but there are plenty of food and medicine merchants in the leaf village. Food, medicine, and lumber are the land of fire''s biggest exports. There are plenty of merchants that will get to the Leaf faster than me.¡±


    ¡°But not luxury or miscellaneous.¡±


    ¡°Your village is a war zone. What is a survivor going to do with a gold necklace?¡±


    ¡°It will take you roughly a week to get to the Leaf if you leave here tomorrow. The first thing my village is going to do is make sure everybody is healthy and fed. The second thing is to deal with the damages. Houses were destroyed. My whole village just saw their life flash before their eyes, some of them are now homeless. But funerals will be held and houses will be reconstructed, and people are going to want to buy things to fill up those houses, not need, want. They won¡¯t want to use the hand-me-downs from their dead neighbor. All that money that they have been saving for a rainy day, well there was just a downpour. Responsible spending is about to be flung out a window.¡±


    ¡°But what about the established companies, Won¡¯t your people just go to them?¡±


    ¡°They will, but they won¡¯t have the merchandise to support the rise of new customers that they are going to be flooded with. This means they¡¯re going to raise prices on the stock they have which is going to be fine with their prior and loyal customers, but not new ones. The luxury goods companies are about to raise their prices on a village that just went through a disaster.¡±


    Buta looked like he just saw behind the veil of the universe. He would get to the conclusion I want in a few minutes but I might as well lead him to port. ¡°Who has luxuryand miscellaneous merchandise lying around collecting dust and cobwebs that could make it to the Leaf faster than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°I could sell to not just your people but the established companies as well. All my back stock could be gone by the end of the month.¡±


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    ¡°I would move on this before the Hot-Spring merchants do,¡± I said turning away. Buta had a bad deal with a few Hot-Spring merchants in the past and would love to get one over on them. I could hear Buta¡¯s feet stomp on the ground as he jogged back inside the village.


    Jiraiya, seeing the Christmas ornament-shaped man jog off stepped on the carpet and took a seat on one of the wood crates. ¡°You ready?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just some last-minute dealings I had to deal with. Office and apartment are packed, staff is paid with a three-month severance, and my merchant friend is about to pay out the nose for Sand shinobi to guard his cargo as he practically brings everything he owns to our village.¡±


    Jiraiya nodded but kept looking down. Neither of us would make good conversational partners for this trip so I just activated the seals on the carpet. Without a sound and barely any disturbance on the surrounding sand the carpet lifted from the ground and took off towards the Leaf village.


    ***


    I would love to say I had a flying carpet but it was more along the lines of a carpet that falls upwards, slowly. Thanks to Fujitsu I could use a water-down version of gravity release. I needed a large carpet if I wanted to fly, especially with other people, but soaring through the sky made all the sleepless nights worth it.


    Thanks to my carpet, a journey that would have taken two or three days only took us eight hours. We managed to get back during sunset. From above we could see fires being lit. The wall surrounding the village had a massive hole in it with construction crews lighting torches around it, preparing to work through the night. Jiraiya asked to be left off at the Hokage¡¯s Tower. We passed the hill of debris and saw the boulders and shattered buildings littering the village.


    Jiraiya leaped off once I was near the tower and I made my way to the hospital. Landing on the roof and placing a ward around my stuff, I quickly made my way inside. It didn¡¯t take me long before recognized somebody I knew.


    ¡°Kuriki, it¡¯s me, I¡¯m back, Who needs help?¡± Kuriki had long Lime green hair and a small button nose. Last I remember she used her hair to hide the fact she lost an ear during the war. By now she must have grown it back but kept the hair cut.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be in the Sand Village?¡± Kuriki said pushing a bed with a sleeping patient from intensive care to the acute care ward.


    ¡°No, I should be here, helping. Who needs my help, whose been active the longest and needs a break.¡±


    ¡°Captain Kurochiku, he had just finished a back-to-back 12-hour shift before the attack. Now he is doing surgery in the theater.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wash up and send him to bed,¡± I said as I quickened my pace to the theater. Throwing on medical scrubs and washing my hands I entered.


    ¡°Kurochiku, get ready to switch with me,¡± I said making my way to the table. On it was a small girl with a rebar pole sticking out of her stomach.


    ¡°Wow, we must be in trouble if they called you back Amon. Is Tsunade behind too?¡± Kurochiku said as he moved over to let me see what he was doing. It looked worse than it really was. The rebar hadn¡¯t hit anything major but the small girls'' size made the damage more serious from the blood loss alone.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s at home, asleep. Speaking of, go home. There will be plenty of sick people tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t, the fox destroyed it. I¡¯m lucky to be alive.¡±


    ¡°Family?¡±


    ¡°Parents live on the other side of the village. My brother is out on a mission.¡±


    ¡°Wife, kids?¡±


    ¡°Now you sound like my mother.¡±


    ¡°Welp, Kuriki snitched you out so go find a bed somewhere.¡±


    Captain Kurochiku clicked his tongue mentally marking down the name of the nurse. ¡°Fine but first make more of your preservation tags. We used them up.¡±


    With a hand sign, I made two shadow clones to guide Kurochiku out as I took his place. The girl was stable, Just had to cut the poll, pull it out, and stitch her up. One of my clones went to the ICU and started to use the medical preservation ninjutsu I created during the war.


    The idea was to make a simple medical ninjutsu almost any medic ninja could use to keep people alive long enough to get proper help later. The medical ninjutsu version of a band-aid and an ice pack. With proper use, it could extend the life of a patient by 3x.


    The tags were not as good but if you could use a paper bomb you could use the preservation tag. One of my proudest achievements that took me arguing with the village elders till my face turned blue to get it implemented. The side effect of the tag was that it put the subject to sleep and out of the fight. They argued that if a ninja was hurt and put to sleep by a teammate then were attacked. The incapacitated ninja could be easily killed or ¡°worse¡±, captured by an enemy ninja.


    It took me longer than I liked to admit to discovering the real reason they didn¡¯t like it. It was because of money. The tags could become popular and I could hold a monopoly on the market. Only after I gave other medical ninjas the design of the seal and they started to make some of their own did they relent.


    My other clone started making the tags and handed them out to the nurse. Slowly the nurse took over and started sending doctors home to rest. Any doctor who had been in the hospital for over 24 hours was to be sent home while the rest was to use the tags to buy time for the doctors to rest.


    Thanks to the tags we managed to save some lives and livelihoods. One of the patients was a young Leaf Kunoichi who had a mangled arm. Because her life was not in immediate danger, she was marked as a low priority. Her teammates, one missing an eye while the other had an ugly-looking scar across his face were trying to get her help but were rebuffed every time. Finally seeing that the girl could lose the arm if not treated I quickly put the arm in place so that it could heal in a way naturally that she could still use it, then put her to sleep to have someone else come and fix the rest later.


    The night passed and the doctors who had gotten some sleep started coming back. By the following afternoon, the hospital was back to normal. I had a clone walk the halls manning the low-priority cases and another work on making more tags for the hospital to store up.


    I managed to leave the hospital by late afternoon, just 4 hours shy of a full day. I called my flying carpet to me and flew to my small apartment I kept at the edge of the village just to find out it-to was destroyed in the fox attack. I sighed to myself, in the future, I was going to have to be one of Butas customers.

 Ch 6

    One of the unsung benefits of working yourself to exhaustion is the peaceful sleep it gives you. One second you¡¯re worrying about this and that and then boom¡­out like a light. I thought maybe I would have had bad dreams or would be uncomfortable while sleeping on some wooden boxes after years of enjoying a nice, Fujitsu-enhanced bed, but nope.


    It was because of the deep sleep I was in, that I didn¡¯t realize I had a guest paying me a visit until he was directly over me. Snapping my eyes open before I even consciously knew why, I saw a man with spiky white hair looking down at me. He had a strong build to him with a blue shirt and brown pants and jacket silhouetted by the dawns light.


    ¡°Good morning sensei. Welcome to my home, please come in. Can I fix you some breakfast?¡± I said as I got up from my improvised bedding which was just wooden boxes and my rolled-up carpet acting as a pillow. The older man looked at me and made a show of turning around and stared at the paw-shaped crater that used to be my apartment.


    ¡°My apartment building is currently undergoing some renovations. Going for a less is more approach. It¡¯s all the rage nowadays. The whole village is doing it.¡±


    ¡°Always the comedian huh? I hope you didn¡¯t make these kinds of jokes when you where stationed in the Sand.¡±


    ¡°No, I was much less tactful. Speaking of, they have declared war and are about to attack us any second now.¡±


    ¡°You and Fugaku couldn¡¯t be more different if you tried. Sometimes I feel like I promoted you to Chunin too fast.¡±


    ¡°Yes but then you would have been stuck with me and my bad jokes longer. Plus back then the Legendary white fang of the Leaf was stuck on babysitting duty. Time you spend¡¯t teaching us how to not die, you could have spend on terrorizing the enemies of the Village. ¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well I¡¯m glad you aren¡¯t dead yet. I came here because Hiruzen wanted to talk with you. He¡¯s still at the Sarutobi compound. Your flying carpet still works?¡±


    ¡°It does, but could you do me a favor first?¡±


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    ***


    ¡°Alright, and that¡¯s the last of it,¡± I said dropping my crates off in the Hatake clan storage room. The room was mostly empty except for some old boxes of clothes in the corner but now had a small hill of my stuff in the smack dab middle of the room. I could have packed it better but this was only temporary, I would move it later.


    ¡°You done?¡± Sakumo said laying on my flying carpet, not even offering to help.


    ¡°Yes, all my and a few other people''s earthly possessions are now under your care and protection. Do you feel that you are capable and worthy of being the guardian of such worldly treasures?¡±


    ¡°Will you knock it off? When the Hokage asks to see you, it¡¯s best not to keep him waiting.¡± Sakumo lectured as I had the carpet move towards the Sarutobi compound. Before it got too high up, I leaped on and took a seat next to the lounging man.


    ¡°Well now that I have a bit of a break from hospital duties, Care on filling me in on the current events?¡±


    ¡°Minato and Kushina are dead,¡± Sakumo said and waited a moment to let the news sink in. A few seconds went by but we didn¡¯t have time to linger too long. ¡°The circumstances around their deaths are a S-Class secret so I can¡¯t fill you in but this next part involves you a little. Nashi Uzumaki, the young woman you picked up from the Grass Village. She just became a lot more important overnight.¡±


    It took me a moment to follow along. After the war, I was given a little bit of freedom to pick and choose my missions and got an opportunity I was waiting for. One day an A-Level mission came up that I was uniquely suited for. The village hidden in the Grass had their shinobi bouncing back from injuries much faster than they had any right to and without any noticeable side effects.


    Thanks to the mummy-like bandages I always had wrapped around my body as well as my face I was able to hide the joy at finally managing to get a lead on Karin. I had kept my ear to the ground in the past but could never get a clue to her whereabouts. I had to stop myself from leaping into the air and clicking my heels together.


    Sneaking into the Grass village was so easy I had half a mind to think it was some sort of elaborate trap meant for me. It was not. With a simple disguise and paperwork that could handle above-average scrutiny, I practically stumbled upon the young Uzumaki woman. The only problem was that it wasn¡¯t Karin but her mother. Karin hadn¡¯t been born yet and with my actions would likely never be.


    I was so taken aback I wanted to retreat and come up with some kind of plan but I had an opportunity and still riding the high from my accomplishments from the war, I took a chance. Moving quickly I forged some documents and with the attitude of a halfway important shinobi who was put upon with a task that he believed was beneath him, I made my move.


    Barging in I started giving orders. Flashed some paperwork, threw some insults, and asked leading questions and within 15 minutes I had more than a few glares pointed my way but also a frazzled-looking woman I discovered was named Nashi Uzumaki standing in front of me packed and ready to travel. By the time the Grass Village discovered my trickery, I was already inside the fire country.


    I told Nashi after we crossed the border what was going on and at first, she was scared, Seeing I had just kidnapped her but after a while, she simmered down and when we got to the Leaf village Kushina stuck to the woman like glue.


    At the time I just patted myself on the back on a job well done but now thinking about it, Naruto has ¡°Family¡± inside the village. He isn¡¯t alone. As if hearing my thoughts Sakumo spoke ¡°Nashi Uzumaki is the legal guardian of the new nine-tails jinchuriki.¡±

 Ch 7

    The Sarutobi compound reeked of tobacco smoke. I landed near the gates, avoiding the earful I would have heard if I entered from above. Rolling up the carpet I flung it over my back and had my bandages secure it to me. Sakumo waited for me to pack up and guided me in.


    I had been to the Sarutobi estate a few times in the past when I was a kid, but the place had changed since. Back when I was here, there was five homes and a warehouse with a small training yard for the purpose of performing katas and meditating.


    Now two of the homes had been replaced and merged with the yard. I wish I could recall whose homes those were but the names escaped me. I continued walking towards the main house but Sakumo shook his head and lead me to a smaller house off to the side.


    Opening the door I grimaced as a literal smoke cloud flowed from the entryway. Walking in I saw Hiruzen sitting on a couch with scattered paperwork on the coffee table and using his crystal ball. From the angle I was at I could see he was monitoring the construction teams. Two men had just brought out the body of a man who looked like he had been crushed to death.


    ¡°Shinku Y¨±hi has been missing since the attack. One of the Hyugas found him ten minutes ago. He was trying to save a young boy but¡­¡± Hiruzen stopped talking and turned the crystal ball off.


    For the first time Hiruzen looked at me and smiled the best he could manage. ¡°Amon, It¡¯s nice to see you again. I wish it could have been under better circumstances but glad to see you are alright.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lord Third.¡±


    The room went silent and I went to sit on the couch opposite Hiruzen, Sakumo sat on a plush chair in between the two of us. Hiruzen¡¯s face was unreadable as he looked down at nothing. Minato¡¯s death was still raw with everybody here.


    Before everyone could just keep their heads down and focus on the work in front of them, but now that a few days have gone by the shock was wherein off. I decided it was best to try to power through the best I could. ¡°Well working backwards. The hospital is mostly fine now. At the end of the day, it¡¯s a hospital, somebody is having the worst day of their life right now but that¡¯s the same old, same old.¡±


    I got noddes from both of them but not much else so I continued. ¡°The Sand Village is doing fine, Scratch that they¡¯re doing more than fine. I dare say good. You wanted to speak with me about possible future actions they will take, After current events.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Hiruzen finally spoke after taking another long puff from his pipe. ¡°The village will be seen as weak after the nine-tails attack. Minato stationed you in the Sand. How do you think their village will respond?¡±


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    Taking a deep breath and rolling my shoulders I answered. ¡°Well, the first thing they''re going to do is try to obscure their actions from us. I left the Sand the moment I heard what happened, They didn¡¯t kick us out and would let me back in if we asked but they will use this time to make a game plan.¡±


    ¡°The Kazekage is a shinobi through and through. He will always try to hide his actions to the best of his ability and strike when he feels like he can reach his goal. Rasa¡¯s goal is to make his village powerful and he believes military accomplishments are how he¡¯s going to reach that.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you say that about every Kage?¡± Sakumo added unhelpfully.


    ¡°Well, can you say that about the first through fourth?¡± I said gesturing to the third. ¡°Every Hokages goal more or less has been about peace and protection. The current Mizukage is trying to unify his people and shake off the bloodthirsty reputation that their previous Mizukage worked so hard to cultivate.¡±


    ¡°We are in danger of getting off-topic. You think Rasa will try for military action?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t think he will attack us. The man¡¯s had a chip on his shoulder since before the war. He got his seat because his predecessor was assassinated by Sasori and has been looking for a chance to show off.¡±


    Hiruzen smiled when I said that.¡°I heard you had a hand in arresting the fallen puppeteer.¡±


    ¡°I did, and Rasa has been annoyed with me since.¡±


    ¡°Annoyed, Amon, what did you do?¡± Sakumo said like a parent just receiving news about their child¡¯s antics at school.


    I waved my hands defensively ¡°When I was at the Sand, I got a tip of Sasori¡¯s location. It was clearly a trap. Sasori wanted to kill the student of the man who killed his parents so he tried to lure me out for an ambush.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±Sakumo had a guilty look on his face so I continued past it.


    ¡°Even tho it was a trap, the man is an S-class criminal of an allied nation so I decided to spring it.¡±


    ¡°But?¡± Hiruzen chipped in.


    ¡°But with more than what he was expecting. Before I left I recruited puppet master Chiyo, the man''s grandmother. Just enough strength to capture the man but not enough to scare him off.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I see the problem.¡±


    ¡°Problem? I mean I guess bringing a man¡¯s grandmother to a fight about avenging his parents is weird.¡±


    ¡°Amon didn¡¯t ask for permission first.¡± Hiruzen correctly guessed. ¡°Rasa looks weak in the eyes of his people. Sasori was a traitor to his village but also a war hero in the previous war. Rasa never got a chance to fight and earn himself any accolades. Having a Leaf ninja, The student of the man who killed many of their people, and a famous and well-respected member of their village, Chiyo, whose own son was killed by you Sakumo, working together to bring a fallen hero to justice.¡± Hiruzen paused to take a puff and blew the smoke up to the ceiling. ¡°It strengthened the ties between the Sand and Leaf¡¯s people, but in doing so made it look like Rasa couldn¡¯t do it himself.¡±


    ¡°Were you not able to do anything to let Rasa save face?¡±


    I was about to respond but Hiruzen beat me to it. ¡°That was the goal. The Wind daimyo has been disappointed in the Sand Village and their Kazakage¡¯s results in the past. It is not unheard of for hidden villages to be decommissioned. That was one of your selling points to me and the other elders when you requested the assignment.¡±


    Sakumo reared back like he was struck and looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. I felt the need to justify myself but Hiruzen continued. ¡°Rasa is going to do something to get the daimyo¡¯s attention.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My guess, in the coming weeks the Sand will announce their condolences. They will say how sad they are that their strongest ally has been so badly weakened and as are ally they will do all they can to help. Send some second-hand medical supplies and anything else that will make them look good. Claim they sent twice as much as they did, and then they will offer to pick up the slack. Rasa will tell his daimyo that we are too weak to rely on and that any mission that he would have sent our way should be sent to the Sand instead. If we are unlucky, he will do the same for the fire daimyo but personally, I don¡¯t think Rasa is daring enough to think of that.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, a problem, but one that can be mitigated. However, the sand village is not the only reason I called you here today.¡± And with that, the door opened, and in walked one of the most hated characters in Naruto. ¡°Danzo, glad you were able to find time in your schedule to join us.¡± Hiruzen greeted, and I knew this meeting was about to get aggravating.

 Ch 8

    Danzo had one of his guards with him. Most of the time guests aren¡¯t allowed guard escorts when entering a clan home let alone the acting Hokage''s home but 12 years ago Danzo barely survived an assassination attempt. Ever since he¡¯s milked that to have personal guards with him all the time.


    Danzos guard scanned the area for threats like they would be able to do anything while in Hiruzen''s presence. They wore a bear mask and had a large frame to them but other than that seemed unimpressive. I stood up and bowed to Danzo which he ignored and sat at the plush chair opposite of Sakumo, deliberately not looking at anyone.


    ¡°I see Amon has stopped wasting his time in the sand and has come home.¡±


    I bit back a response, already feeling the looks of disappointment I would get from Hiruzen and Sakumo if I responded.


    ¡°Danzo, the council agreed with Amon¡¯s proposal to have an embassy at the Sand village. It was Lord Fourth''s first act when he took office.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t help but imagine that Lord Fourth would still be here today if one of our village''s most competent Fujitsu experts had stayed instead of taking up landscaping in the desert.¡±


    ¡°Well, then it was a good thing you were still here.¡± I regretted saying it the moment it left my lips. I just insulted not just everyone in this room but this village with that comeback. Before I could apologize to the others, Danzo slammed his cane into the ground and Bear Mask made a move to draw his sword. With a flick of my wrist, I detached a bandage from my arm and made it fly towards the man. Before he could react, the bandage wrapped itself around the handle and sheath of the blade, locking it in place.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, do you forget where you are,¡± Sakumo shouted. Hiruzan was still inhaling from his pipe but I could tell he was getting ready to step in if me and Danzo had continued.


    ¡°Control your student''s tongue Sakumo, or I will.¡± Danzo threatened.


    ¡°Everybody, You are angry and tired. Tempers are flaring up. We will have plenty of time later to go over what if¡¯s.¡± Hiruzan rested his pipe on the table and stood up. Walking Hiruzan opened the back door to the room and went in to roll out a baby in its carriage. ¡°I talked to Jiraiya but he suggested to get your opinion, Amon.¡±


    I stood up knowing who I would see inside. He was so small but his spiky yellow hair was a dead giveaway. ¡°Hey there little man. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°His name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki,¡± Hiruzan said with pride and warmth in his voice.


    I paused letting the name sink in being the first time I heard it said out loud since being reincarnated. ¡°Minato¡­Minato named his son, Fish Cake Swirl?¡±


    Sakumo let out a sound that he covered up with a cough. Hiruzan stammered a response. ¡°I¡­no, no Minato named him after the main character of Jiraiya¡¯s book.¡±


    ¡°Jiraiya¡¯s book? Jiraiya¡¯s smut book? Minato named his son after the protagonist of an erotic fiction novel?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it like that.¡±


    ¡°Did Kushina know?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­she knew¡±


    ¡°Did she?¡±


    ¡°She knew it was the main character of a¡­popular book that¡­Jiraiya wrote.¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t know what kind of book it was, did she?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say off the top of my head if she knew or not. She was in the house with a copy of the book. She could have read the book¡­at some point.¡±


    I looked up to the ceiling, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Kushina. It could have been worse, he¡¯s name could have been Johnny Sins.¡±


    ¡°Look we are missing the point. Could you give the boy a check-up to make sure he¡¯s healthy?¡±


    I focused on Naruto, my mind going a million miles a second. Everything that has happened and will in the future. How am I supposed to react to the boy who is basically the center of the universe?


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    Doing a deep scan with my mystical palm jutsu I noted everything I could down. With an apology, I took Sakumo¡¯s seat and carefully, I took Naruto from his crib and sat down with him in my arms. Everyone remained silent as I brought out a notebook and started drawing out Naruto¡¯s chakra network.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Hiruzan asked curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out if there has been any long-term damage too little Naruto here¡¯s chakra pathways. I¡¯m not a Hy¨±ga, I can¡¯t just look and see but slowly and very, very carefully feel my way through. Minato shoved half the nine-tails into a baby, there was some¡­ strain.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Danzo said accusatively.


    ¡°I was friends with Kushina and studied under Mito Uzumaki. I know the nine-tailed chakra. There is roughly only half of what there should be in the boy.¡±


    ¡°What happened to the other half?¡± Sakumo asked alarmed.


    ¡°Sealed in a different host,¡± Hiruzan answered quickly, giving Sakumo a look to not ask about it.


    After taking another moment to make sure I had everything right I returned Naruto to his crib. Walking back to my notes I used my chakra control to move the ink from my pen and folded the paper to make a paper doll with a 3d render of Naruto¡¯s chakra network.


    ¡°Like I said before, the boy has gone through the wringer when it comes to chakra. I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s damage but.¡±


    ¡°The fox has affected him?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Naruto is going to have a hard time not pumping too much chakra into Jutsus. Think about pipes and water, Your network is the pipes while your chakra is the water. For the average person you can regulate the water pressure to pump water through the pipes to get to where it needs to be. Naruto has tunnels instead of pipes and sewage instead of water.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡± Danzo glared.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to have an uphill battle when it comes to chakra control and performing Jutsus. At least in the beginning.¡±


    ¡°Tch, Minato crippled his son. Hiruzan you need to entrust the boy to me.¡± Danzo demanded.


    I reacted before I knew it and stepped towards Danzo. His guard stepped in front to block my path and reached for his sword my bandage was still restraining. The man tried to draw the blade but it barely budged. With a pulse of my chakra, I gave the bandage a command. The cloth bandage coiled tighter and one moment the sword that was whole but restrained in its sheath shattered from the pressure. The room remained silent as the sword fragments raddled down to the bottom of its sheath.


    ¡°Amon, sit down,¡± Hiruzan said staring me down. With a huff and a nod, I sat back down, watching me Hiruzan turned his attention towards Danzo. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Hiruzan don¡¯t be a fool. The boy needs to be trained and made loyal. Our enemies won¡¯t just sit by and let our weakness go unanswered.¡±


    ¡°Minato asked me to look after his son. I won¡¯t let the hero who sacrificed his life for this village have his son be used as a weapon.¡±


    ¡°The boy became a weapon the moment Minato made his son the nine-tails jinchuriki.¡±


    ¡°The answer is no Danzo, not him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a cripple. We can¡¯t just leave him in the hands of an outsider.¡±


    ¡°If you are referring to Nashi Uzumaki, she is currently helping deliver one of the Damios court officials children as we speak,¡± Jiraiya spoke entering the room. ¡°I just got a message from Orochimaru. He¡¯s guarding the location in the capital in light of recent events.¡± Jiraiya saw me sitting in the chair in a bad mood and asked. ¡°What did Amon do?¡±


    ¡°He insulted me and attacked my guard.¡± Danzo let out with malice dripping from his voice.


    ¡°Ahh, so nothing new.¡± Jiraiya said with a smirk.


    ¡°Danzo wants to make Minato¡¯s son a member of Root.¡± Sakumo filled in.


    ¡°Yeah, that will do it. If needed I can take care of the boy, at least till Nashi returns from the capital.¡±


    ¡°No, your spy network is too important to put on hold, especially now. We need to know the actions of the other villages. We will table the discussion of what to do with Naruto. The other villages, have any claimed responsibility for the attack yet?¡±


    ¡°No, they seemed just as surprised as us.¡±


    ¡°I already told you Hiruzan, there is only one group capable of doing this. It was the Uchiha.¡±


    ¡°You know who carried out the attack?¡± I asked knowing he didn¡¯t.


    Danzo glared at me but took the bait anyway. ¡°It could only be the Uchihas, They have never forgiven the Leaf for the death of Madara.¡± Hiruzan sighed, clearly not hearing this for the first time. ¡°They attacked the village because they are jealous that Minato was made Hokage instead of Fugaku Uchiha.¡±


    ¡°You are claiming Fugaku Uchiha assassinated Minato Namikaze?¡±


    ¡°He is the only one in the village who could have.¡±


    ¡°Could he, you think he is so strong.¡±


    ¡°H-He wouldn¡¯t have to be. The fourth¡¯s guard was down.¡±


    I stared at Danzo for a moment then I turned my head towards Hiruzan. ¡°Lord Third, I¡¯m sorry to be so rude but could I see the protection details Lord Fourth made for his son''s birth.¡± Hiruzan slid a file that was already on the table to me. Opening it I skimmed the contents. ¡°And Lord Danzo, do you have any proof of this?¡±


    "Fugaku is the head of the Leaf''s military police. He can cover his trail.¡± He said as I kept skimming. The rest of the room was quiet which was telling. Jiraiya doesn¡¯t know and can¡¯t think of an alternative, Hiruzan is tired of arguing with Danzo and just wants the matter done with, and Sakumo is remaining silent to avoid being accused of being biased.


    ¡°Just so I can get this right in my own head. You believe Fugaku Uchiha managed to One.) discover the secret location where Kushina was giving birth. Two.) managed to kill the guards and get the jump on Lord Fourth in a way that he would not detect nor be able to escape from. Three.) Then took control of the nine tails and summoned it inside the village to go on a rampage.


    ¡°The Fourth escaped the initial assault.¡±


    ¡°But didn¡¯t get help nor tell or leave a clue to Fugaku¡¯s betrayal.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to mock me, Amon?¡±


    "I¡¯m trying to understand the events of the biggest tragedy that has ever befallen this village. A tragedy you Danzo, without any evidence, have accused the head of a founding clan of this village. May I ask where does Fugaku claims he was during the attack?¡±


    ¡°He was seen helping civilians escape to the shelters.¡±


    ¡°Did you see him?"


    ¡°I-I saw someone who looked like him during the attack.¡±


    ¡°Looks like? You think it was an imposter?¡±


    ¡°It would be easy for a Uchiha to disguise himself as Fugaku.¡±


    ¡°A conspiracy now?!¡±


    ¡°Amon,¡± Hirazen said with warning in his voice.


    ¡°My apologies, I¡¯m just trying to understand. Danzo, you are completely right. It is possible for a Uchiha to disguise themselves well enough to fool you. I mean you were busy at the time, ordering Root to evacuate civilians to the shelters. It says so in this file here.¡±


    I waved the file in the air and opened it to read. ¡°Oh my apologies, I¡¯m such a fool. I was reading Fugaku¡¯s actions during the attack, you were, hold on let me read here. You ordered your men outside the village during the attack? Well, that can¡¯t be right.¡±


    ¡°Root received intel of a possible threat to the village.¡±


    ¡°So you ordered your men to leave the village?¡±


    ¡°To preemptively stop the attack!¡±


    "And masterfully done I might add.¡±


    Hirazen signaled Jiraiya .¡°Alright, love birds. Clearly letting you two in the same room together was a mistake. Amon, Wait outside. We will discuss your disrespectful attitude to a village elder when you come back.¡± The man stepped in.


    Jiraiya grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the office.

 Ch 9

    I wish I could say I spent my time out doing something productive but while the others continued having their meeting, I just went over the conversation I had with the others and acknowledged that Naruto had finally been born. When I came to this world I thought I would be born in the same generation as the protagonist but instead, I got his father. Thanks to that, most of my meta-knowledge was pointless.


    Even now because of my actions, I still can¡¯t reliably use it. I managed to save Kakashi¡¯s father, and Karin¡¯s mom tho I can¡¯t tell if Karin will even be born now. The Sand village is thriving and should not attack the leaf while Sasori is in prison for his crimes against the Sand.


    The final big thing I have changed from canon and the reason I could propose going to the Sand village mostly alone as an ambassador was my crowning achievement during the third great ninja war. Altho it was mostly luck and half the job was done for me when I got there, I did manage to make the best out of a bad situation. I just wish my biggest accomplishment wasn¡¯t because of how good I am at killing.


    The door flung open and an angry-looking Danzo came outside along with Hirazen and Bear Mask. Hirazen reached towards the cloth I wrapped around Bear Mask''s sword and with only a little bit of effort tore it off. Holding the ripped bandage Hirazen signaled me over.


    ¡°Amon apologize for your rude remarks against Elder Danzo.¡±


    I gave a bow of my head and did as ordered ¡°My apologies Elder Danzo. I spoke out of turn and made you feel mocked. I can only give the excuse that I am still exhausted from my travels and work at the hospital. My temper was short and I shouldn¡¯t have pointed my frustrations towards you. ¡±


    I looked towards Hirazen to see if that was good enough and he nodded his head. I didn¡¯t get the chance to see how Danzo took the apology as he never stopped walking giving me no mind. With a shrug, I followed Hirazen inside the office.


    Hirazen entered and went towards his seat passing Jiraiya who was looking over Sakumo¡¯s shoulder, admiring the infant. Sakumo was holding Naruto while feeding him with a bottle.¡°Amon, I am disappointed with your and Danzo¡¯s interaction during this meeting. I know you have always mistrusted the man but I have known him all my life. Danzo has and will always act in the best self-interest of the village.¡±


    Hirazen Looked at me and I turned my attention to Sakumo and Naruto then back to Hirazan who sighed in frustration. ¡°I will not say the man is perfect, Danzo has made mistakes in the past and has received his punishments for it, just like you young man.¡± I waved my hands in surrender and Hirazen moved on. ¡°Because of the Nine-tails attack, I believe it will be best for someone from the Damios court to take over the duties of ambassador to the Sand.¡±


    ¡°The Damios court, I know they have been sniffing around but wouldn¡¯t someone from the Leaf be better?¡±


    ¡°Under different circumstances, I would agree with you, but everyone is talking about how we need to avoid the appearance of weakness but at the end of the day, the village has been weakened. We still have plenty of fight in us but the village can¡¯t handle another war.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help to feel like I¡¯m being demoted, did me getting under Danzo¡¯s skin really undo my past accomplishments?¡±


    ¡°No, but everyone in this room knows that you Amon have always had opinions that rubbed people the wrong way.¡±


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    ¡°Are we talking about how I advocated for the village to step in when it comes to the treatment of the Hy¨±ga clans branch family?¡±


    ¡°One of the many times you have spoken out of line,¡± Hirazen said with a look that told me he did not want to have this argument again.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to apologize for fighting for the freedom of my fellow shinobi.¡±


    Hirazen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Before he could speak again Sakumo decided to cut in. ¡°No need to be so defensive, No one is asking you to Amon, we are just pointing out your track record when it comes to the Clans of the village.¡± I opened my mouth to argue but Sakumo waved me off. ¡°Every clan in this village has done things they are not proud of. Every clan has bad blood with another to some extent, even the ally ones. We could easily waste a day talking about it and trust me I have in the past.¡±


    Sakumo gave Naruto to Jiraiya and got up from his seat. Pulling out a scroll from his shirt he opened it. ¡°50,000,000 Ryo, that is your current bounty. I¡¯m hoping that is from the other nations and not from people in ours but I fear the truth would disappoint me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it had gotten so high.¡±


    ¡°50,000,000. Did I hear that right?¡± Jiraiya spoke up, thinking about the amount on my head.


    ¡°Young Amon here has earned every Ryo,¡± Hirazen said, back to smoking his pipe. He was looking over a file I just now realized had a picture of my non-bandaged wrapped face on it. I kept bandages wrapped around my whole body during the war in case of assassins then when I went to the Sand for the same reason. In the picture, my brown hair was kept short and my face was muscular but clean-shaven.


    ¡°During his time in the academy, Amon studied Fujitsu under Mito Uzumaki, then became one of Sakumo here¡¯s Genin pupils along with Fugaku, and my daughter Asuna.¡±


    Jiraiya nodded his head ¡°Yes, I can see your point. Plus being one of the 12 guarding ninjas added a lot to it I imagine.¡±


    ¡°My head will make someone rich one day. Great for that guy, but I don¡¯t think anyone in the village will try to take it.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why else Amon¡¯s head is worth so much Jiraiya?¡± Hirazen ignored me and kept going.


    ¡°No sensei, please tell me more about the riches I could gain.¡± Jiraiya played it up.


    Hirazen stroked his beard and I rolled my eyes.¡°Well, Amon was not just a member of the Damios guard but also his chief medical officer. If anyone in Damio¡¯s court so much as got a scratch, they would go to Amon. No matter how late at night or minor the injury they knew they could count on him.¡±


    ¡°Well, that sounds like a lot of work, good thing he only had to spend four years there.¡±


    ¡°No no Jiraiya, Amon spent eight. Damio was so impressed with Amon¡¯s skill, that he was going to keep him in the capital for the rest of Amon¡¯s military service. I practically had to kidnap Amon before the war started.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yes, it¡¯s coming back to me now.¡± Jiraiya dramatically massaged his head. ¡°Yes, Orochimaru mentioned something about Amon. Claimed he was competent and useful but too soft-hearted.¡±


    ¡°Orochimaru said that about Amon?¡± Sakumo clapped my shoulder like a friend who was going to ask for money but wanted to butter me up first. ¡°I can¡¯t recall a time Orochimaru has ever said something as nice as that about you Jiraiya.¡±


    Jiraiya who was busy preening to himself snapped his attention to Sakumo with a frown. ¡°Yeah well, Orochimaru had Amon stationed as the head of the biggest field hospital in the war. A field hospital that never once was infiltrated by an enemy ninja. Despite their many attempts.¡±


    ¡°At the time Kish¨­, the Leaf Villages T.I.F head spoke highly of you Amon. You are responsible for single-handedly capturing over two hundred enemy shinobi. You were so good at capturing enemy ninjas, that along with Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Minato Namikaze, The enemy villages gave out a flee-on-sight order for you, Giving you the nickname Amon the Paper Lantern. An order that was ignored and cost the Mist Village to lose the war.¡±


    ¡°I went out to try and retrieve Might Duy''s body,¡± I said out of reflex. This subject came up more than I liked.


    ¡°Yes, you and Duy¡¯s son¡¯s team both had the same story. Guy and his team were sent out on a simple resupply mission where they were ambushed by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Might Duy, hearing rumors of their sightings in the area went to look for his son. Duy decided to sacrifice himself to buy time for his son to escape. Might Guy ran, pushed himself harder than ever before, and ran towards your hospital, ignoring all the safety procedures to prevent others from following, he ran.¡±


    Hirazen took a puff from his pipe and Sakumo took a seat next to him. All the earlier mirth was gone as we all thought about the war. Hirazen looked at me but not as the friendly ninja professor everyone in the village knows him as but as the Third Hokage, Leader of the most powerful of the five great ninja villages. ¡°You detected the incursion and confronted the intruder. Once you found out what happened, you went to recover the body. At which point you discovered the remaining four swordsmen. You and they fought. You won. You retrieved a mortally wounded Duy so he could pass on his last words to his son. Secured the seven corpses and took their swords. A week later I was able to negotiate for the mist village''s surrender and got reparations from them in exchange for the return of the swordsmen and their swords.¡±


    The room went silent and the atmosphere got heavy. Taking a deep breath Hirazen looked at Sakumo and Jiraiya who both nodded their heads.¡°Amon, have you ever considered yourself as a candidate to become the next Hokage.¡±

 Ch 10

    One more deviation from canon. Hiruzen is meant to be the Third Hokage until he is killed by Orochimaru roughly 12 years from now. The fact that I¡¯m being asked this is a sign that my actions have affected canon, although in a bad way or a good way is still up in the air.


    ¡°Amon, Did you hear me?¡± Hiruzen asked.


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    ¡°You have been staring at nothing for a second there. Did the question shock you so much?¡±


    ¡°My pupil was expecting a scolding. You have seemed to have caught him flat-footed Hiruzen.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lord Third. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Are you telling me, that you have never had any dreams about leading the village?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± Hiruzen looked at me unimpressed. ¡°I just, I just never thought I would even get the chance. I was classmates and rivals with Minato. I studied Fujitsu along with Kushina under Mito and was teammates with Fugaku. To say nothing of working under lord Orochimaru. Hokage was always a dream claimed by another.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I can see your point. Well, don¡¯t fret too much. I wish to hear your input about the idea.¡±


    ¡°My input, well I mean, you said it yourself, the powers that be in the village don¡¯t exactly like me much.¡±


    ¡°True to a point, but mostly because of your outspoken beliefs you had when you were younger¡­and still have now. But you were in the capital for eight years, the war front for two, and the Sand for another two. You joined the guardians around thirteen years old. You have spent half your life, outside the village, and now most of the village only knows about you by reputation. Mostly the good, some of the bad.¡±


    ¡°The bad could be explained away with youthful indiscretion.¡± Sakumo chipped in. ¡°Look at Jiraiya. Now he is known as the Toad Sage, but when he was younger the whole village thought of him as nothing but a pervert.¡±


    ¡°Well, I am glad I could be of use as an example of a successful underdog.¡± Jiraiya pouted in his seat before he looked at me. ¡°I know for a fact, that if Minato were here, he would recommend you. Even though you threw your support behind Fugaku to become the Fourth Hokage.¡±


    ¡°It was a hard decision between the two, but Minato¡¯s accomplishments during the war and the respect he earned from both those in the village and out, no Minato had a mountains worth of achievements that just couldn¡¯t be ignored.¡± Hiruzen looked at baby Naruto.¡°I do wish to ask three questions before we go any further. The same questions I asked Minato when I talked to him. Amon do you believe you would make a good Hokage, Do you believe you are strong enough to protect the village, What does the will of fire mean to you?¡±


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    I stood in the room staring at the three men and the baby. I was not expecting this line of questioning when I entered the room and felt the need to buy time to think. ¡°You asked Minato these questions? Seeing how he must have passed, may I ask what his answers were?¡± I asked as I walked towards the window. The faces of the Hokage monument could be seen looking down on the whole village.


    ¡°You may not, Minato gave me his honest answers and I would like to hear yours.¡±


    ¡°Come on Amon, Don¡¯t cheat.¡± Sakumo scolded


    ¡°Not cheating, just you know, doing some impromptu research during the test.¡±My mind raced, do I even deserve to be in this room let alone be a candidate? ¡°Well, I feel the need to answer the first unasked question. Do I think my face would look good chiseled into a mountain? That is a resounding yes.¡±


    I took a breath, I could stall no longer. I would just have to answer the questions to the best of my ability. No IGN gamer guide for me. ¡°First question, would I be a good Hokage? Although I will not say if I can see into the future or not, I believe my track record as the head of the medical field base during the war and as the ambassador to the Sand Village in recent years can speak on my behalf. I believe the saying goes, ¡®If you wish to see into the future, one just needs to look towards the past,¡¯¡±.


    Jiraiya nodded at that and I could tell he was saving that quote for later. ¡°I do not wish to believe I would be a good Hokage or not. All I can do is use the information I have and make the best decisions I can. It will be up to others to decide if I have done ¡®good¡¯ or not.¡±


    ¡°The second question you asked was if I believe I can protect the village. My answer is that I have already protected this village. I have fought, killed, and captured for this village. If you are asking if I could do it alone, then no. I have always had the help of others whenever I have gone to battle. If not in body then in spirit. The Leaf Village¡¯s flat jacket has an interesting addition to it that no other village has on theirs, and that is the symbol of another village on it. No leaf Shinobi fights alone in this village, not even the Hokage.¡±


    I made sure to look Hiruzen in the eye when I answered the next question. Right now the Third Hokage is the longest-raining Hokage and needs to trust me. He will one day sit down in his home and not know all the comings and goings in the village. The difference between being the man everyone goes to, to then being kept in the dark, relying on others to keep what he has protected for decades safe, It would be easier to ask for his daughter''s hand in marriage than to try and convince him that I can carry the torch.


    ¡°The will of fire is a funeral pyre.¡±


    ¡°A, watch what you say.¡± Jiraiya snapped. I have never seen the man angry before and I for a brief moment, joined a club that doesn¡¯t have many living members in it.


    Jiraiya looked like he wanted to say more but  Hiruzen waved him off. ¡°Let him speak. Amon, please explain.¡±


    ¡°This village was made by the combined efforts of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Both were boys when they first met but both had been to more funerals than most will ever go to in a lifetime. They quickly became friends and when the parents discovered the identity of the son''s playmate they decided to wait and ambush the other. Both the boys decided to ignore their clan wish¡¯s and secretly worn the other of their father''s plan. Both lost their brothers in the following wars and decided that they didn¡¯t want to follow in their father''s footsteps. They decided to reach out and grasp the hands of the other. For the chance of a better future, if not for them, then for the ones who will come after.¡±


    I had to take a break and drink a glass of water. Bringing up Madara, the traitor to the village, the man who used the nine tails to attack and attempted to kill the first Hokage. Maybe the timing could be better on that but I have to push through.


    ¡°Sadly Madara Uchiha failed. He could never get over his brother''s death and held resentment. Both of them make good examples of Hashirama having the will of fire, and Madara, who tried but failed to hold on to it. The promise we all make to fight, grow stronger, keep those close to us safe, and to make it so that others won¡¯t have to face the same tragedies that we face. If we fail, if the future generations must face new threats that we could not foresee, or old threats that still loom. That they will never face them alone.¡±


    ¡°That is what the will of fire means to me, and my answer to your first question is now yes. I now consider myself to be a candidate to become the next Hokage. ¡±

 Ch 11

    The Library was practically my second home when I was attending the academy.When I reincarnated and realized what world I ended up in, I buried my nose in all the books and scrolls I could access. Some were easier to get than others, but I knew my best advantage in this world was not my meta knowledge but my mind.


    I stood in the center of the room, reminiscing about all the time I spent studying subjects I knew from my previous life and subjects that were completely new to me. Technology varied greatly depending on which nation and region you were in. Sometimes, the tech level was in the 1970s, and others, it was in the 1870s. Money and knowledge played the biggest factor in what kind of tech you should expect when going somewhere.


    Thankfully, the ninja school was the 1940s-50s tech. The assembly hall had a black-and-white TV, but Radios were mostly used instead. A chime came out of the speaker on the wall, notifying the kids who were waiting for school to start that the front doors were now open.


    The kids moved silently through the courtyard. Internally, I wanted to make a joke about ninja schools with quiet students, but the look in the kids'' eyes made it difficult to find any humor in the situation. Every single one of them either lost someone last month or was friends with someone who did. Leaving the library, I made my way to the hall for the Thirds'' speech.


    The kids were lining up in rows when I got there, already having put their bags and supplies away in lockers. Hirazen¡¯s shadow clone was covertly looking over the speech he was about to give. He had given the same speech every year for decades, but Minato had given it for the past two years, so I had to guess Hirazen was refreshing himself. If he fumbled a speech, he could look like age was getting to him, and everything the Leaf village did and will do needed to show strength.


    Some of the academy¡¯s staff were on the stage talking amongst themselves. I greeted them, and some commented about my new outfit, which I laughed off. I wore the normal Leaf Flak jacket with loose cotton pants, tactical gloves, and arm guards. My leaf headband was on an elastic head and ear warmer. I would have looked like any leaf shinobi if not for two things. One, I was completely covered in combat-grade bandages. From my head to my toes, which were in normal sandals. Second was the sash I wore on my waist, which had the kanji of fire and wind next to each other. One represents that I am a former guard to the Fire Domiayo, and the other depicts me as the now former ambassador to the sand village.


    If I saw anyone else wearing this outfit, I would have sworn they were cosplayingJoshua Graham from Fallout. ¡°You okay, Amon?¡± One of the instructors asked me with fake sympathy. ¡°Did you spend too much time in the village hidden in the sand castle? You should have used sunscreen.¡± The teachers laughed.


    ¡°Do you keep buying new bandages or wash those?¡±


    ¡°Do you wear clothes under the bandages?¡±


    Even Hirazen took time to comment. ¡°Thank goodness Amon is so proficient with Chakra control. Imagine wrapping all those individually.¡±


    The others smirked, but we had to cut the discussion about my outfit short as the parents gathered in the back of the room. Half of the parents were affiliated with some of the big clans.Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Uchia were the main clans with kids joining this year. It was not lost on me that it was the clans with a focus on Taijutsu that were here. Many clan ninjas not only died normally in battle but were assassinated by another village ninja. Ninjas who focused on Taijutsu had a better chance of surviving attempts on their lives.


    I snapped my focus to Hirzen, who gave the same speech he delivered when I was in school, and I was equally bored with it as I was hearing it the first time. ¡°Something, something will of fire. Be good little child soldiers and fight for the Leaf Village/ Land of Fire/ Fire Domiayo.¡±


    Honestly, after being back in the Leaf Village for five months, I was getting stir-crazy and cranky. After the meeting with the Third, many things changed, and at the same time, nothing changed. I needed to give a speech after Hirzen, but even though I had practiced, I was still nervous. It was not about public speaking; yell your orders at enough people, and you can cure your stage fright. It was the reactions from the clans.


    To be named Hokage, you officially needed support from three groups. First was the Fire Domiayo. As a former member of the Twelve Guardians, I was confident getting his endorsement would not be a problem.


    The second was the Jonin Council. The Jonin Council was a fancy name for a bunch of Jonin who would vote for who they wanted as the next Hokage. Basically, as long as I¡¯m strong and somewhat popular, they won¡¯t be a big issue.


    Nope, my biggest hurdle would be the Village Elders. Seeing Danzo and Hirzen¡¯s former teammates where on the council, that was a tall order, but we had a broad plan for that. Step one to the plan was here at the Ninja Academy.


    ¡°Now, I know you are all eager to get to your classes and learn to become fine shinobi, but before you head off, I would like to introduce one of the finest ninjas we have in our village. Mr. Amon would like to share a few words with you.¡± Hirzen spoke, snapping me from my thoughts. I thanked him, bowed towards the Third in a sign of respect, and stood at the front of the stage. The crowd of children looked at me with glazed eyes of boredom, while the parents looked confused and curious.


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    ¡°Hello, Leaf Ninja Academy students. As Lord Third just said, I¡¯m Amon, and I will be a guest instructor for the fifth-year students. The reason for that is because of recent events. It has been decided that the fifth-year students will have a more streamlined education for the rest of this year and more opportunities to show their growth. With my help, we hope the students will grow and prove that they are not just capable of being shinobis but are willing to take that next step and join in defense of the village as newly graduated ninjas them selfs.¡±


    I tried my best not to have my distaste for what I was saying show on my face. ¡°Hey, kids, a bunch of ninjas died, so we need new cannon fodder. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll help teach you a few tricks in the hope of keeping you alive and useful for a few extra seconds.¡± I sarcastically commentated in my head as I talked.


    I didn¡¯t get to see it, but from what I heard from Sakumo, Hirzen had to nearly shout at Danzo in the village elders meeting to get me into the academy. The arguments against me teaching were twofold: one, I was already too busy working in the hospital and checking on the wards of the village to waste my time teaching, and two, with my past rebellious nature, I might rub off on the new youthful minds and bring forth a generation of delinquents.


    Hirzen used Tsunade¡¯s name and brought up that my skills in chakra control, medical ninjutsu, and ninjutsu were all skills that, if they were taught to the students, even partially, would increase their chances of survival greatly. Tsunade requested that every ninja team have a medical ninja in them, and her idea was shot down for being too costly, but Hirzen managed to argue that it would be a shame to teach basic medical and funijutsu skills to young shinobi just to have them die in battle, but more costly if we lost shinobi because we didn¡¯t teach the new generation these skills.


    That meeting was three months ago, so I guessed I wasn¡¯t going to see her again for a while. She didn¡¯t even return to the village to pay her respects during the funeral, so I couldn¡¯t be that surprised.


    While I gave the speech to the kids who were already starting to lose interest in me, I gave my signal to Hirzen, who went to talk to the parents. I could see some of the shinobi parents catching on to what I was doing, but the ones who didn¡¯t trust me and would have moved to stop me didn¡¯t want to cross the Third. If they noticed what I was doing, that meant the Third knew as well and had already given his permission to proceed.


    The hallucinogenic smoke tags I hid on the rafters above the lined-up children trickled out the heavy smoke and slowly draped over the kids. In the back, I could see Hirzen give his consent to a few parents, and they went to retrieve their kids. The Aburame, Inuzuka, and Hy¨±ga clans pulled their kids away from the assembly. Aburame clan pulling out made the most sense, seeing their kids had a higher chance of getting a bad side effect from genjutsu like mine. An argument could be made for the Inuzuka clan for pulling their kids out, seeing forming a bond with their animal companion was a big part of their time in the academy, and my genjutsu could put that in harm''s way, although only to a small degree.


    The Hy¨±ga clan had no real excuse I could think of for pulling their kids from the genjutsu other than the fact that it was me doing it. Most people in the village had forgotten that I spoke out against the Hy¨±ga clan family branch system, but it appears that the clan elders'' memory was not as short as Hirzen had hoped. I stood there stealthily casting the genjutsu while the parents collected their offspring. A slight tap and a pulse of chakra were all that it took to break my hold, and the gas effect was a mild one. Ten minutes in fresh air and all traces of the effect would be gone.


    About a dozen kids were taken from the hall, but I still had to focus on the over one hundred students remaining. From the perspective of the Academy students, the rest of the world should have faded away, and all their focus would be on me. My speech transitioned from the wonderful opportunities they had in front of them and how great the Leaf Village was to a history lesson that acted as a review of things the kids had already been taught during their previous four years of study.


    With the help of the smoke and my genjutsu, I was able to cover a month''s worth of history reviewing in just over an hour. My method would not help with traditional ninja studies, but for academia, it was practically rocket fuel. By the end of the year, no matter what else happens, this year''s fifth-year class will be the best academically taught class this school has ever had.


    Hirzen, along with most of the other parents, had left before I was done. The civilian parents had work, and at the end of the day, the children¡¯s lives were out of their hands the moment they signed up to join the academy. The clan-backed ninja would go and complain to their clan heads if they wished to lodge a complaint against me, which left the clan-less shinobies who were worried about their children.


    ¡°Thank you for waiting,¡± I whispered to the group. It was a cheap trick, the kids where so out of it, a marching band could stomp around them playing at full blast and the kids would barely notice but if I whispered towards the parents they would naturally whisper back and it was difficult to be angry at someone and whisper at the same time.


    ¡°Next time, warn us before you decide to ruphy our kids.¡± One of the parents whispered angrily through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Okay, first, I did the exact opposite of Rohypnol. Rohypnol makes it difficult to remember what happened under its effects. My Jutsu has made it so your kids will not only remember today''s lesson but learn and grow from it. Second, the moment you signed your kids up to the academy, you lost your right to dictate the school''s curriculum. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure I was going to be able to do a mass genjutsu like that for as long as I did.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know you were going to cast a mass genjutsu?¡± One of the parents asked curiously.


    ¡°The gas I used is not that hard to make, but the components are prioritized for medical aid instead of a study aid,¡± I answered, and the man nodded his head in understanding. The kids will remain asleep for the next hour after they have lunch and do physical education.¡±


    ¡°Physical education? Can¡¯t you teach everything like you just did to them?¡±


    ¡°I can, in a way, but the reasons why I shouldn¡¯t are numerous, and I¡¯m too tired to get into all of them. Long explanation short, it¡¯s a bad idea. ¡±


    ¡°Any other surprises waiting for us? You going to start chopping off limbs?¡± One of the tougher-looking parents grunted. ¡°You are already shorting their training. Maybe we should skip to the part where they turn into walking kunai.¡±


    ¡°We prefer to say accelerating their training and giving students more opportunities to demonstrate their readiness.¡±


    ¡°You''re throwing kunai fresh from the forge. How many of our children are going to die because they were given a headband before they were ready.¡±


    ¡°Zero,¡± I answered curtly. ¡°No one is giving a headband; you don¡¯t win one in a pachinko machine or get one as a prize with a box of cereal. I will be training the fifth years to get them ready to graduate along with the sixths. Not a handful of overworked chunin who use teaching duty as a vacation, but me, a jonin who is a former member of the guarding twelve and ambassador to the hidden sand.¡±


    I took a few steps back to ensure I could look at all the parents and spoke. ¡°I have protected the ruler of this country, I have fought alongside Shinobi, who will go down as legends in the history books, and I have been the end of other legendary enemy Shinobi. I know the skills needed to not just survive in the ninja world but to thrive in it. I promise you, the fifth-year students will not be lacking anything and will grow better and shine brighter than you could have ever imagined¡±.

 Ch 12

    I was of two minds about what I was doing with the children at the academy. On the one hand, I had seen tremendous growth in their academic lives. A little over a week had gone by, and I suspect the fifth years were approaching where they would have been by the end of the year academically speaking, but I haven¡¯t noticed any big side effects yet.


    Not seeing any glaring side effects scared me more than anything. I had used this teaching method a handful of times in the past, but only on single pupils, not whole classrooms. If there was a glaring side effect to my genjutsu, I could come up with a countermeasure and minimize the negative aspects of it to a more manageable degree, but not knowing meant my hands were tied. I can¡¯t begin to fix a problem if I don¡¯t even know if there is one.


    I made the mistake of asking Orochimaru for his opinion, and I don¡¯t know what I was expecting. He could not have cared less about the safety of the children and encouraged me to push the jutsu and the students to the limits with the idea that if something was wrong, we would find out sooner rather than later. I wanted to end my genjutsu teaching method at that very moment, but of course, Danzo complained to the council and clan heads. While talking to them, he both claimed I was recklessly risking the lives and futures of the next generation of shinobi in the village and, at the same time, argued that we couldn¡¯t stop and must move forward with my method for the safety and prosperity of the village.


    I wanted to yank my hair out, listening to him speak. He made it so that if I were successful, he would say it was just luck on my part and that my reckless actions endangered the kids, but if I failed, it would all be my fault and that he had tried to warn us, but everyone else was blinded by greed. Dam if I do, dam if I don¡¯t.


    I sat in my office at the hospital reading a book on child-rearing. The most recent one I had bought from a traveling merchant who claimed the book was from the land of water. I had already read all the ones in the village I could easily get my hands on. Half the information was basic information, and a quarter of it was actively wrong, but I could not disproof the small tidbits of new information that were interesting. The information was skewed with the idea that the children raised by the person reading the book would be fishermen or adjacent fields and were raising the child with that goal in mind. Some interesting aspects but not anything actively useful.


    The main reason I read the book was to cure my boredom while waiting. I had a meeting booked, but many of the chunin and joiners I talked to had a terrible habit of keeping me waiting. If they booked a meeting with me, they would get to my office on time and try to keep things brief and professional. Not staying any longer than they had to and finding an excuse to leave once they got what they wanted. When I booked a meeting with them, they took their time, made a halfhearted excuse, and put just enough effort into satisfying me. I suspected I knew the cause, but I didn¡¯t want to say it, which left me in my office waiting for my appointment, which was already coming to 15 minutes past when we were scheduled to start.


    A knock came from my door roughly just before the 15-minute mark, likely on purpose by the one on the other side of the door.


    ¡°Enter.¡±


    The door creaked open, revealing a join with a sheepish expression on his face. ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting, Amon. I was training my students, and the time escaped me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no problem at all. I¡¯m glad you are safe. Was there a reason you wanted to make this appointment with me?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what do you mean? You called me for this meeting.¡±


    ¡°I did!? I¡¯m sorry, but my schedule is a little hectic right now. Could you remind me what your name was again?¡± The man''s face twitched in annoyance. It was a little petty of me to pretend I forgot what the meeting was about and potentially counterproductive, but I felt I could get away with it.


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    ¡°Y¨±ki Minazuki, A Jonin who¡¯s currently training a team.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, my apologies. Sorry, I have been busy with¡­well, what haven¡¯t I been doing? I wanted to pick your brain a little about the experiences you have had as a teacher to a Genin team. The team you are working with now is not your first right. ¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes and no. My team has had members come and go over the years. Some fell in battle while others I deemed not ready to be a ninja, and I sent them back to the academy. ¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that is a rare quality in a teacher.¡±


    ¡°Is it, In what way?¡±


    ¡°Well, brave, obviously. Most ninjas in your position would just ignore the shortcomings of your students because they simply don¡¯t care or try to save face for the academy or themself and just teach their students what they lack or teach around their shortcomings.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ah, yes. Some of my students in the past were just not ready to have a headband yet. No one hates it more than me, but there was nothing to be done.¡±


    ¡°I have to say I¡¯m impressed. Many people claim they understand and represent the values of the village, but you walk the walk. One of this village''s main founding principles was to avoid children dying in war and the fact that you could see that is worthy of praise. These kids, who sadly are just not ready for shinobi life, are not just a danger to themselves but to the village and to others who rely on them.¡±


    I noticed Y¨±ki getting increasingly uncomfortable and annoyed while I was talking, but I thought he just didn¡¯t take compliments well. ¡°I have to say, if Sakumo sensei had been as strict with me as I suspect you are with your students, I doubt I would have made it.¡±


    ¡°Probably not.¡± He laughed nervously with a hit of malice in his voice.


    ¡°Well, I wanted to pick your brain a little; tell me, what would you consider to be red flags others might miss when raising a young Shinobi?¡±


    ¡°Arrogance for starters. If one of my students thinks he knows everything, it is bad for the team dynamics.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, Okay.¡± I nodded my head and started writing down notes in a notepad. ¡°Arrogance, could you elaborate on that a little? An example would help.¡±


    ¡°Making decisions for others and claiming they did something for their team''s benefit. Even when others didn¡¯t ask them to and failed a mission because of it .¡±


    ¡°Hmm, and just to be clear, you didn¡¯t send your students back to the academy because they failed a mission but because they¡­disagreed with a teammate.¡±


    ¡°Arrogant, and they lacked maturity. They thought they were better than others because they got lucky a few times.¡±


    ¡°Team synergy, lack of personal maturity,and overestimating their own skill.¡± I wrought down. ¡°Apologies, but could these qualities not have been worked out by taking your students on a few low-tier missions? I mean, there''s a reason why we give warehouse organizing and just running large errands as missions in the first place.¡±


    ¡°It runs deeper than that. They don¡¯t understand the first thing about being a ninja. They make rash decisions based only on what they believe in and step on everybody¡¯s toes while they do it. Someone needed to take them down a peg.¡±


    ¡°The ninja thing can be taught at the academy, but you are not confident in your ability to instruct them on simple ninja knowledge. Also the toe thing and down a peg part I feel like could be resolved with a few team training days.¡±


    ¡°Being so arrogant that they don¡¯t even remember people.¡±


    ¡°This Arrogant thing is a big hang-up with you. Do you think it has something to do with the school curriculum?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember me at all?¡±


    I took a moment to look up from my notes and saw Minazuki glaring at me, looking like he was about to lunge. ¡°Is this about just now? I promise I am a busy man. The village has me spread thin. If I offended you, I promise I meant nothing by it.¡± I lied, though it was weird he was so upset by me pretending I forgot I scheduled a meeting.


    ¡°You attacked me and my teammates while we were unarmed, and now you claim you don¡¯t even recognize me.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? I haven¡¯t even been in the village for any real length of time for years. When would I have the chance to attack anybody.¡±


    ¡°Before the war, you jumped me and my teammates and got away with it just because you got lucky and managed to become a guardian.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s simply not possible. The only time I was ever in a serious fight with a group of Leaf shinobi was when¡­¡± It finally clicked with me what was going on. Although I don¡¯t recognize Minazuki specifically, there was only one time he could be referring to.¡°¡­you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, now you remember, we were minding our own business, and you-ack.¡± Minazuki failed to complete his sentence with my hand wrapped around his throat. Lifting him from the chair, I threw him through the closed door, shattering it. His body slammed against the wall in the hallway.


    ¡°Minazuki, you pathetic excuse of a ninja. The fact that you still have that headband is an insult to all who came before you. I have half a mind to take it from you now, but it is not my place to make such decisions.¡± Minazuki tried to stand up but could only manage to get on his hands and knees. I lost my temper and used too much strength. ¡°Get out of my hospital through a door before I send you out through a wall.¡±


    Minazuki crawled/stumbled away, clinging to the wall for support. As he slinked away, I noticed the patients and hospital staff staring at me with shocked expressions on their faces. ¡°He was late to our appointment,¡± I explained. As one, they all looked at the clocks in the room to check the time.


    ¡°Sigh, Amon, you must work on your bedside manner.¡± A voice behind me said this, and I recognized it immediately. Turning around, I found my old teammate and now Uchiha clan head, Fugaku. Standing just behind him, looking around his father''s leg with a curious expression on his face, was his son, Itachi.

 Ch 13

    11 years ago.


    ¡°Man, this sucks. Going on a mission with Hatake was supposed to be good for my career. Now, because he wasn¡¯t prepared to make hard decisions, I will need to do another year, if not two, on guard duty on the border. ¡±


    Five-leaf ninjas were sitting around a bar, holding drinks and commiserating with one another. The bar was empty besides the ninjas and the bar owner, who was behind the counter writing down his inventory on a notepad, occasionally flipping back and forth to specific pages while checking out the contents of the bottles on the shelves.


    ¡°I¡¯m just hoping I get the land of Tea Boarder. I got family over there that I can visit.¡±


    ¡°Fat chance! With our luck, we are going to the Wind Border. The third will pair us up with Hatake again and give us ¡°the chance to reclaim our honor¡± by kicking sand for a few years or something equally as stupid.¡±


    Groans of displeasure escaped the men as they drank. Minazuki drank his glass empty and looked at the bottom of it disappointedly. While looking through the glass, he could see his teammate, and half the reason he was in trouble in the first place, was sitting at the counter, staring at his own still-full drink. ¡°Hey? Why aren¡¯t you drinking? Afraid you are going to get poisoned again? Bartender, my friend, questions your sincerity. Give us another round on the house to prove they aren¡¯t drugged.¡±


    ¡°I already gave you guys a round on the house when you came in. Wrap up your pity party; we are closing soon.¡± The short, balding man muttered.


    ¡°Yo, that''s not fair. Purple, tell him that¡¯s not fair.¡±


    The man with short purple spiky hair still looked at his drink while he whispered under his breath, ¡°Not fair.¡±


    ¡°See, see, get us more drinks. I¡¯m thirsty.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Purple muttered.


    Minazuki scuffed at Purple and turned his back on him. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we are already up the creek. Might as well drink from it.¡±


    ¡°I got a promotion,¡± Purple said.


    ¡°Hmm, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°The old man gave me a promotion; I¡¯m joining Anbu.¡±


    One of the other ninjas heard Purple this time and looked at him. ¡°What are you talking about? Promotion? You are half the reason why we are in this mess.¡±


    ¡°The guy told me it wasn¡¯t my fault. Anybody could have been stunned by that stone ninja bee. He said¡­ I¡¯m not going to the border like you guys. I¡¯m staying in the village.¡±


    ¡°Promotion? Anbu? All you did was get stung by a bumblebee and drag the rest of us down.¡±


    ¡°He said I risked my life for the village and if I changed my statement. If I said, I was willing to die for the "sake of the village," If¡­If Sukomo saved me against my wishes, I would be rewarded. I found out I got the promotion a few hours ago.¡±


    The other four were stunned until, as one, they started laughing. ¡°Man, that¡¯s cold.¡± ¡°Way to fail into success.¡± ¡°Careful, they''re going to make you Hokage at this pace.¡± ¡°You pinned all the blame on Hatake; he¡¯s going to turn as white as his hair.¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to have to sell his sword to keep his kid in school.¡± ¡°Yo yo, I have some savings; I could always use a good blade. Maybe I will teach Sakumo how to finally use the bloody thing.¡± More laughter echoed through the bar while the owner watched them with a blank look on his face before handing the ninjas more drinks.


    While they drank, the bell placed above the door rang as it was opened. ¡°Sorry, sir, the bar is closed. We aren¡¯t taking any more customers.¡± The door closed, but footsteps could be heard walking towards the open area from the entryway. ¡°Sir, bars closed. Come¡­back¡­later.¡±


    The owner stared at the boy who entered and what was all over him. Amon was covered in blood, and his face rapidly changed from expression to expression. Anger, sadness, shock, disgust, till it finally settled with a big grin painted on his face and a mean look in his eye. ¡°Well, gentlemen, I heard we got a reason to celebrate,¡± Amon said as he approached the bar. ¡°You guys are never going to believe this; I mean, given a hundred guesses, no, no, given a thousand guesses, you would never get it. I also have a reason to celebrate tonight.¡±


    ¡°Amon, I thought you would be in the capital. Doesn¡¯t the Daimy¨­ need you to rub his feet while you kiss his booboo¡¯s away.¡± One of the ninjas tried to joke but was put off by all the blood covering Amon, still dripping off his clothes.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Amon laughed in a way that never got close to his eyes. ¡°Ouch, good one. I guess I know which of you guys is the funny one. No, I took some time off. I got a letter in the mail recently. You see, I heard a mission my teacher went on went bad, and being the good student I am, I returned to the village. When Kakashi was born, that¡¯s the name of Sakumo''s son, in case you¡¯re wondering. When he was born, there¡­ was a lot of drama going around at the time, but one thing happened that changed my life. It''s one of those moments when you realize¡­you are real. That people love you and trust you. It''s one of those found family moments that pull on your heartstrings. Sakumo and his wife made me Kakashi''s godfather.¡±


    Amon sat on the bar stool next to the purple-haired ninja in the middle of the group. Minazuki looked at the others, confused, and then back at Amon, who was staring at Purple. ¡°That¡¯s great, but isn¡¯t it a bit late to celebrate?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, oh no, I¡¯m not celebrating that specifically. You see, I managed to return from the capital in the nick of time. When I entered the Hatake clan house, I smelled iron in the air. I found my teacher in a puddle of his own blood with his sword sticking out of him.¡±


    ¡°What! That¡¯s not possible.¡± The others shouted in outrage. Purple turned his head to face Amon in surprise, noticing that Amon hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off him once since entering. ¡°Why are you celebrating.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because I¡¯m not going to be a father, obviously. Fourteen is way too young for parenthood, if you ask me. This?¡± Amon pointed towards the blood he was drenched in. ¡°I¡¯m a disgusting mess right now because I managed to save the life of the legendary White Fang of the leaf from his own blade. Now, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Amon reached over and caused Purple to flinch. ¡°Oh shh, not yet.¡± Amon grabbed the filled drink before the man and pulled it over to himself. With a quick breath to get himself ready, he brought the glass to his lips and downed the drink in one go.


    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you a little young to be drinking like that?¡±


    Taking a big breath of air, Amon finally turned away from the purple-haired man to stare at the ninja who asked the question: ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. What kinda animal starts a bar fight sober?¡± With that said, Amon turned and violently smashed the now-empty glass across Purple''s face, sending him off the stool and onto the ground.


    Minazuki lunged and grabbed Amon''s left shoulder with his right hand from behind, but Amon spun right and delivered a left hook toward the taller man''s kidneys. Flinching from the powerful blow, Minazuki ducked down, letting Amon quickly snake his left hand towards him, grab the collar of his flat jacket, and yank down towards Amon''s oncoming uppercut, which rocked Minazuki''s head backward.


    Amon leaped and went to deliver a merciless elbow strike on Minazuki''s upward-looking face, but a glass thrown by another one of the ninjas made Amon have to block or take a glass to the face. Turning the strike to a block, he managed to see the follow-up attack coming and dodged away from the bar counter.


    One of the leaf ninjas tried to kick Amon towards the counter, which would have sent him crashing into the bottles on the wall, but thanks to the dodge, the man kicked nothing but air. Amon went in to capitalize on the miss, but another of the man''s teammates got behind Amon and tried to sweep his leg.


    Out of reflex, Amon shot out one of the bandages from his arm toward the ceiling and made it stick using his chakra. Pulling hard and leaping simultaneously, Amon backflipped in place over the man''s attack and landed before charging the man he was aiming at before while leaving a bandage from his leg attached to the ground. The man who tried to sweep his leg saw the two bandages attached to the floor and ceiling and dodged both of them while pursuing Amon, trying to attack him from behind again.


    ¡°Trap!¡± one of the three leaf ninjas left standing with both Purple and Minazuki not getting back up shouted. The man wasn¡¯t certain what his teammate was talking about. He didn¡¯t trip on the bandage on the ground, which, even though he didn¡¯t know Amon that well, he knew was a dirty trick Amon used in some of the tournament fights he was in when against faster opponents.


    Despite not knowing what trap his teammate was talking about, he put his guard up just from his experience in the field, and it saved him from a devastating blow. While Amon purposefully didn¡¯t look at the man behind him, Amon still used his bandages attached to the floor and ceiling to slingshot himself towards the man behind him with a kick. The ninja caught the kick with both of his arms and even though he was flung back from the blow, he still managed to stay upright.


    Clicking his tongue, Amon found himself in a bad spot as the other two leaf ninjas made a triangle formation around him and pressed the attack while their teammate was still trying to get the feeling back in his hands.


    Amon re-spooled his bandages around his arm and leg while blocking and dodging the punches and kicks from the three ninjas. Sadly, of all Amon''s skills, he was never talented in hand-to-hand combat. While Amon studied fuinjutsu and medical ninjutsu, the three older men had more field experience and barely ever wasted a day of training in those fields; instead, they focused on taijutsu.


    More and more of their blows landed, and Amon ran out of tricks he was willing to use in a bar fight he started. Thinking fast, there was only one trick that came to mind, and he had to hope the architecture of this building was sturdier than it looked.


    Rapidly, Amon started releasing the bandages that were padding the blows he was taking and made them fall off him in big loops while shooting strands out and grabbing loose furniture from the bar. He then started flinging them at the ninja to distract them and make himself look desperate and panicking.


    As he hoped they would do, they started grabbing and pulling on the bandages to stop Amon from throwing stuff at them while trying to restrain his movements. The ninja who tried to sweep Amon''s legs and blocked the sling-shot kick still had numb hands and preferred using his legs in a fight. Instead of the others who grabbed on with their arms, he purposely used his leg to wrap around a bandage and yanked Amon over to him to deliver a harsh knee strike to his stomach.


    For all of their skills and talent, none of the three Leaf ninjas was particularly heavy. A ninja''s lifestyle was more on sharp and lethal hits than brawls, and Amon intended to punish them for that life choice. Leaping into the air, he got over a support beam holding up the roof, landed back on the ground, and yanked on the bandages connecting him to the other three.


    The force managed to lift them from the ground by a few feet for a second, and if gravity had been allowed to, it would have naturally pulled them back to the ground, but Amon made the bandages connecting the four of them immediately after his landing connect to the furniture of the room he was using as projectiles just a few seconds ago, turning the three leaf ninjas into his new and very misshapen punching bag as they dangled from the rafter.


    The three tried to free themselves with the kunai they kept on their person at all times, but Amon never let them have the chance as he rushed in. Heavy blow after blow, Amon punched repeatedly like he was working out at the gym and practicing his routine. They tried to block and cut themselves free, but for all the teamwork they had shown before, clearly, this was a new experience for them as they got in each other''s way while Amon punched them repeatedly in vital areas. They could only offer a token resistance as they didn¡¯t know if they should keep fighting him, block his incoming blows, or try to escape.


    Teeth flew out, and their ribs cracked as Amons'' blows kept landing. After a minute of his assault, the three switched to defense as they protected their most injured areas. Groans escaped their lips as the impact of his attacks got through their guard.


    Amon was so focused on his attacks that he didn¡¯t recognize somebody was shouting his name until a hand grabbed Amon''s shoulder and yanked him around. Amon went for a swing, thinking it was one of the other two he took out early on when a pair of Sharingan looked back at him. The next thing he knew, he was lying in a cot staring at the ceiling of a jail cell.

 Ch 14

    ¡°Fugaku?! Who let you out of the Uchiha compound?¡±


    ¡°Amon, I came to schedule an appointment to see you. Do you have time now?¡± Fugaku said, staring at the dent in the wall I had just made.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, come on in.¡± I invited them into my office, stepping over door fragments. Grabbing a privacy curtain from one of the rooms, I used it to replace my door. Placing my hand on the stone on the door frame, I used my chakra control to inscribe a seal to ward off sound from entering or leaving the room.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s always good to catch up with my teammate, and you seemed to have brought a plus one. Please introduce the young man.¡±


    ¡°This is my son, Itachi. I am very proud of him. Itachi, so hello.¡±


    ¡°Hello, mister Amon.¡± Itachi said as he gave a bow.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s adorable. I bet he is going to break a lot of ladies'' hearts in the future.¡±


    ¡°As aspected of the future head of our clan. He¡¯s already skilled in the shinobi arts and is capable of performing the ¡°Fire Ball jutsu.¡±¡±


    ¡°Is that so? If I can recall, that¡¯s a pretty important milestone for the Uchia clan.¡±


    ¡°It is, so much so that Itachi has shown interest in graduating early.¡±


    ¡°Early? Well, that is a nice goal to have. Kids usually enter the academy at the age of six and go to around twelve. This year, it has been ¡°Streamed line¡± to give students more "opportunities" for advancement. What year are you in right now, Itachi?¡±


    ¡°First year, sir.¡± He responded quickly.


    ¡°Age?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Seven.¡±


    ¡°The fireball technique by age seven. Most kids can¡¯t perform an E-rank ninjutsu at your age, let alone an elemental C-rank. You must have worked very hard.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he has. Although he hasn¡¯t awakened his Sharingan yet, I imagine it¡¯s just a matter of time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I believe you are right, Fugaku. Taijutsu and Genjutsu?¡±


    ¡°No, Uchiah, who isn¡¯t already a chuinin rank, is his equal.¡± Fugaku blustered.


    ¡°I won¡¯t even ask about Shurikenjutsu. How many years are you thinking of leaping? I would hate to miss the opportunity to get to know you better. ¡±I smiled, asking Itachi.


    ¡°Well, that is the reason why I brought Itachi here today,¡± Fugaku answered. ¡°The other clan heads and I know about the task Hirazen gave you.¡±


    ¡°Do you now? Please do tell, I would love a reminder.¡±


    Fugaku glared at me but answered the question anyway. ¡°You were offered the position of kage, but to show your commitment and what growth you would bring to the village, you are to get three shinobi from academy graduate to chunin rank in two years. It is a steep challenge, but if you accomplish it, it will show how prosperous the village could be under your leadership.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°That is one of the things I need to accomplish, yes,¡± I confirmed.


    ¡°I want Itachi to be on your team.¡± I sat silently, looking at my desk and fiddling with some papers. Fugaku waited a few seconds for me to respond, and seeing I didn¡¯t, he kept going. Itachi is incredibly talented. If he were to join your team, I guarantee he would make it.


    ¡°Remind me of your age again, Itachi.¡±


    Itachi was about to answer, but Fugaku spoke over him. ¡°He is only seven, but I know he can make it. If you saw what my son is capable of, you would believe the same.¡±


    ¡°Concerned? What is there to be concerned about? The third has given you a task that, although steep, is technically doable.¡±


    ¡°True, but the end goal is not as important as how I accomplish it.¡±


    ¡°How? The mission is the mission. You accomplish it any way you can.¡±


    ¡°Let me ask you something. Why are you here today? I mean in my office, talking to me. Offering me to teach and guide your son.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to tell you. He doesn¡¯t need much guidance. Leave Itachi¡¯s training to me, and he will be a chunin.¡±


    I let out a sigh and stood up while grabbing my wallet.¡°What do clouds taste like?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Fugaku responded.


    ¡°Not asking you silly. Itachi, What do clouds taste like?¡±


    Itachi looked at his father, but he stared at me, so Itachi shrugged. ¡°Water,¡±


    ¡°Hmm, What¡¯s your favorite color?¡±


    ¡°Amon, I fail to see how that¡¯s important.¡±


    ¡°Say¡¯s the guy whose favorite color is bright pink.¡±


    ¡°That is not my favorite color!¡± Fugaku expressed quickly.


    ¡°Itachi, What¡¯s your favorite color?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­orange.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°My father''s cat summons fur is orange.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, you are too precious. I have a mission for you. Are you ready to hear it?¡± Itachi looked at me and then back at his father, who gave a hesitant nod.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± He said with steadfast determination.


    ¡°I am hungry. I need you to buy me a snack from the vending machine out in the hall. I don¡¯t know what I want, so I need you to first go to the children''s wing of the hospital and gather information on what is the best snack. Get one each of the top three snacks to determine what I should get in the future.¡±


    ¡°That is the mission. Do you think you can handle it?¡±


    Itachi looked at his father, who rolled his eyes and waved him away. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Itachi hopped from his seat and made his way to the curtain, turned around, bowed respectfully, and left the room.


    Fugaku pointed towards where Itchai left. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±


    ¡°Did you know that was his favorite color?¡±


    ¡°What does it matter?¡±


    ¡°The color? A little, you know or not, a little bit more.¡±


    ¡°Amon, is there something you want to say to me?¡±


    I looked at where Itachi had left. ¡°You don¡¯t want me to be Itchai''s teacher.¡±


    ¡°Yes I do, It¡¯s why I came here today.¡±


    ¡°I sadly believe that¡¯s why you came to see me today. You don¡¯t want him to be my student, you want a favor from the future hokage.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Fugaku was quiet for a few moments. ¡°The other clans don¡¯t like you.¡±


    "The Hyuga clan doesn¡¯t like me.¡±


    ¡°They have power.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Enough to slow me down, but not stop.¡±


    ¡°They just have to slow you down to stop you.¡±


    ¡°Do you honestly believe I can¡¯t get three academy graduates in two years to chunin rank? Also, the clock doesn¡¯t start till after this year''s graduates.¡±


    With a huff, Fugaku got up from his seat. ¡°I came here today as a friend and father to help you.¡±


    ¡°You came here as nothing but as clan head trying to earn favor with a Hokage hopeful.¡±


    Fugaku clicked his tongue while rolling his eyes. ¡°You know I forgot about how irritating you could be.¡±


    ¡°Glad I could refresh your memory. Now, go buy your son his favorite food for completing his first mission.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me how I should raise my son!¡± Fugaku snapped at me.


    ¡°Raise your son, raise your son? How about you start raising your son? I can already tell that kid is strong, but he''s not a child as much as a small shinobie. You are not raising a son; you are forging a weapon. You are not a father, Fugaku; you''re a blacksmith.¡±


    Out of rage, Fugaku¡¯s eyes turned crimson, and out of reflex, I covered my eyes with my bandages and activated the sonar seal to still see. We stood there for a few moments. I broke first. "Come in, Itachi. What did you get me?"


    Itachi parted the curtain and came in with three bags of potato chips. I looked at Itachi questionably until it clicked. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of Akimichi kids in the children¡¯s wing, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    Itachi nodded his head. ¡°They had many opinions.¡±


    ***


    Fugaku walked with his son down the street in the village. With his stern expression he spoke. ¡°Itachi, you did well today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Father,¡± Itachi responded.


    Silence followed as they walked. ¡°We are going to celebrate. What do you want to eat?¡±


    Itachi walked alongside his father, thinking about the question until he answered. ¡°Onigiri.¡±


    Fugaku nodded in approval. ¡°Yes, good.¡± They kept walking while Fugaku kept an eye out for a good place to find Onigiri. ¡°Is there a place specifically you want?¡±


    Again, Itachi took the time to think about his answer. ¡°No.¡±


    Fugaku kept walking, thinking about all the places he knew of that served Onigiri and when Itachi ate it. He remembered that his wife would make some before he went to work for lunch and before training. ¡°What filling?¡±


    Once again, Itachi spent half a minute thinking about it. Cicadas chirped as they walked past people on the street, ¡°Seaweed.¡±


    Fugaku kept walking; years spent as a shinobi did not show his reaction, but Itachi still noticed that his father reacted to the information. ¡°Seaweed?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Not pork or red bean.¡±


    ¡°They are fine¡­¡± the two kept walking. ¡°Should I choose differently?¡±


    ¡°No, you can have seaweed.¡± Fugaku raked his mind about his son''s eating habits. Countless dinners in silence. ¡°You don¡¯t like red peppers.¡±


    Itachi looked at his father. ¡°Should I?¡±


    ¡°No, just noting that you pick the red peppers from your food when we eat dinner.¡±


    The two walked home while looking out for a stall that served Onigiri.

 Ch 15

    I was wrapping up teaching my class when instructor Idomizu waved for me outside. ¡°Alright, class, we will end the lesson here now. Great job keeping up. I know this is a lot to go over, but I think you guys are doing well.¡±


    The students let out relieved sighs as they finally got to stop listening to such a boring lecture. I had been spreading out the use of the genjutsu teaching method to not cause, or at least mitigate, any problems. The kids knew that we would go for P.E. now and had already made their way to wait by the door.


    Escorting them to the field, we walked through the school halls. The kids bobbed their heads up and down left and right, looking around as we walked. When I finally made it to the door outside, I stopped and waited for the kids. ¡°Okay, let''s go for one of the kunoichi today. Muta Aburame, How many scarecrow dolls did you see?¡±


    ¡°Three sensei: One at the end of the hall when we first started walking, the second on top of the lockers when we were walking by, and the third by the trash can.¡± The girl answered quietly.


    ¡°What!?¡± One of the boys shouted. ¡°I didn¡¯t see that first one. You''re lying!¡±


    Muta flinched at the loud noise and got flustered. ¡°Am not.¡±


    Discontent rose among the students. ¡°She¡¯s not lying. Aburame answered the question correctly. I placed a doll at the opposite end of the hall, where we would see if you guys were paying attention.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cheating. We should keep a lookout while we walk to the field. That doll was not on the way.¡±


    ¡°The doll was not on the way, that is correct, but the idea is that you need to keep an eye on your surroundings when you travel.¡± I coughed to clear my throat and begone my lecture. ¡°If the classroom represents the village and the field is the location for your mission. It would be best if you kept an eye out for any suspicious people. If the enemy thought you would leave the village and turn left but spotted you turning right. Then your enemy knows they need to prepare a trap for you in that direction.¡± The kids responded with huffs and eye rolls, but they needed to learn this lesson in the academy instead of on a mission. I turned my head to stare at the Aburame girl. ¡°Well done. Because of your attention to detail. You were able to help keep your comrades safe. Good job.¡± The girl suddenly became bashful at the attention and muttered thanks under her breath.


    I opened the door and allowed the students to spread out to the field and started talking with their friends. I went to Idomizu, who was waiting for me while watching his students. ¡°You sure took your time.¡± He answered


    ¡°Just making sure the kids stretch their legs and get the sleep out of their eyes. My lessons can be on the boring side sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Now that you are here, we can start on what was decided during this mourning. HEY! Gather around, we¡¯re starting.¡± The kids gathered around the sparing circle with a bit of confusion written on their faces.


    ¡°sensei, why are the little kids here? They''re in the wrong place.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t little. You are just a year older than us.¡±


    ¡°Quiet. We are having a joint sparring lesson today.¡± Idomizu answered but gave no sign of clarifying, so I stepped in.


    ¡°Look around you. Chances are you are going to be on a team with a schoolmate here when you graduate. It¡¯s best you guys get to know each other now, then later.¡± Some of the kids nodded in understating but I could tell Idomizu was annoyed. He believed ninjas should follow orders and not question why, A mindset that tells me that Idomizu will most likely never make it out of Chunin rank.


    ¡°Enough stalling. Form a circle, and I will pick out the first duo.¡± Idomizu and I proceeded to spend the rest of the school day paring up students to spar with each other. It''s safe to say my fifth years were dominated by the sixth years. Idomizu would get a smirk on his face when a sixth year would beat a fifth year and mark down when a fifth year would beat a sixth. I had a feeling that I knew what was going on and ignored it.


    By the end of the day, my students were exhausted and beaten up. Idomizu took his kids to jog around the field, and on another day, I would take my students to do the same, especially when they were exhausted and beaten. However, the looks in their eyes told me their morale was low after their performance and that they needed a different activity.


    ¡°Woof, well, I see I won¡¯t have to spend much time teaching you guys humility. If I might ask everyone here, what lessons did you take away from that?¡± There was some grumbling, and one of the smart mouth students responded with ¡°humility,¡± while another said they learned ¡°what dirt tastes like,¡± which got a chuckle from some.


    ¡°Okay, let me ask you another question. During your matches, did any of you think that the spar was unfair.¡± I received many sarcastic answers and complaints. ¡°I see, I see. Another question then. I want you to think about this. What did you wish you had during your spar that would have made the fight fair or, better yet, given you the advantage?¡±


    That question took the kids longer to answer, a lot of ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± And ¡°Nothings.¡± But eventually, I got them thinking. ¡°They were a year older than us.¡± ¡°He was bigger than me.¡± ¡°Better trained.¡± After some coaxing, I got them to tell me more specifics. ¡°Stronger,¡± ¡°Faster,¡± and ¡°cool moves.¡± After that I got them going, ¡°He kept messing with my feet¡±, ¡°When she blocked my punch, I lost my balance¡±, ¡°It was one hit after another, I could never fight back.¡±


    After these statements, other students started criticizing each other, which I jumped on and changed to constructive criticism: ¡°Perhaps your footwork needs practice.¡± ¡°Keep in mind your balance when you deliver strikes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to make space between you two; get your opponent to exhaust themselves.¡±


    Finally, it got to one of the more awkward problems. ¡°They were a clan kid.¡±, ¡°His older brother teaches him cool moves.¡± ¡°They are just born better¡±. A problem I had growing up.


    ¡°I was the same at your age. They have such cool moves and get so much help. They learn tricks and tips from seniors. Ancient, secret techniques. Passed down in their powerful clans¡­Don¡¯t you think they are so cool? Aren¡¯t you happy that they live in the same village as you?¡± Some kids shrugged, and others rolled their eyes. ¡°But¡­if I might ask¡­how do you think they do that?¡± I got a lot of questionable looks.


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°That''s good; we shouldn¡¯t ask them directly. It would be very rude¡­¡± I paused momentarily, allowing the kids'' anticipation to build up. ¡°But, we are allowed to think about it, right?¡± I smiled to myself. These kids were about to discover why so many clans were not my biggest fans.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ***


    The school had ended half an hour ago, and Idomizu was preparing to leave while bringing home papers to grade. Looking outside, he noticed a crowd of parents still waiting for the kids to depart class. Taking a second look, he realized they were the civilian parents of the fifth years.


    Idomizu didn¡¯t hear anyone in Amon''s class, so he went back towards the field. There, he found Amon in front of some large earth dais. He was moving his hands like he was performing a puppet show, which had his students enthralled. Off towards the tree line, the shinobi parents were watching their kids, and a clone of Amon was speaking with them.


    Heading over, Idomizu looked to check to see what Amon was doing with the kids. It looked like two miniature leaf shinobi fighting, no sparing in an arena with the kids dictating what the mini ninjas should do.


    Making his way closer to the parents, Idomizu could start to hear what they were discussing. In Amon fashion, people were upset with him. ¡°This is highly insulting, instructor Amon.¡± One of the parents, a chunin like Idomizu himself, spoke out. Many of the parents had faces of disinterest about the events that were transpiring, and many focused on their children or having minor discussions with another parent.


    ¡°I understand that nobody enjoys have that actions put under a micro scope, but I¡¯m an instructor at the academy, I¡¯m instructing.¡±


    ¡°You are prying into the secrets of your-¡±


    ¡°Careful how you finish that sentence before I make you prove it.¡±


    ¡°What seems to be the problem here?¡± Idomizu cut in.


    ¡°Amon is discussing ways to attack his fellow villager.¡± The shinobie accused.


    Idomizu looked towards Amon, who shrugged. ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you are boarding of treasonous actions? You are basically discussing the best way of attacking the village.¡± Idomizu''s comments grabbed the attention of the other parents, but Idomizu couldn¡¯t decipher the looks they were giving him. They were all flat like they were trying to hide their reactions, so they put a blank look on their faces, but they all kept their eyes on the three now.


    ¡°Meh, not really. I don¡¯t see how this is much different from what you and the other instructors pushed for yesterday.¡±


    ¡°The student curriculum changed?¡± The chunin parent asked.


    Amon went to answer, but Idomizu already had an excuse ready. ¡°It was decided that fifth and sixth years should spar against one another every month, just so that if we pair students up into teams of mix-and-match years, they won¡¯t be complete strangers to one another.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I agreed to it. It widens the view of the students who might be too comfortable with fighting one another. Right now, I¡¯m going over not only the spars they just had with their fellow students but am crowed sourcing ideas on what a common ninja should do when faced against the village''s strongest.¡±


    ¡°You''re discussing how to defeat your fellow shinobi. Also, aren¡¯t you being a little too ahead of yourself? You, you, discussing how to defeat your fellow shinobie? Aren¡¯t you just a medical ninja?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The parent from before chipped in. ¡°Your nickname is ¡°Paper Lantern.¡± What kinda name even is that?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I mean, I am a jonin.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but a Medical Jonin.¡± Idomizu retorted.


    ¡°Nope, Jonin Jonin. It''s not medical or special, just Jonin. Also, you two are upset with me because I¡¯m discussing something you think is inappropriate or that I¡¯m too weak even to discuss the topic. Also, I said this when I came over here, but I¡¯ll repeat myself. I¡¯m just a mud clone. My real body won¡¯t remember this conversation.¡±


    The other parents looked more amused by the discussion than anything else but didn¡¯t step in to stop what was happening.


    ¡°Well, I will concede your point; in my opinion, Taijutsu and chakra capacity are my two weakest aspects. I understand your lack of faith in me. If given the opportunity, I would love to cure you of your fears. Would the both of you like to test my capability now, and if so, in which way?¡±


    ¡°We will discuss this with your real version.¡± The parent chunin said.


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± Amon responded before walking alongside the two. Watching the miniatures spar, the kids yelled about how the shinobies should move and what attacks to perform while Amon pointed out the dangers and problems each would face if the fight continued.


    ¡°Amon!¡± Idomizu shouted over the crowd of kids, which finally grabbed their attention.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Amon responded, taking a look at his mud clone, walking up behind the two.


    ¡°This parent and I wish to see a demonstration of your Taijutsu skills personally,¡± Idomizu said, the parent in question smirking behind him.


    Amon stage whispered towards his clone. ¡°What did I do this time?¡± ¡°They accused you of acting like a traitor and being weak.¡± Everyone in the field, the parents at the tree line and Hirazen in his office watching the events unfold, grimaced at Amon¡¯s mud clone''s blatant description. ¡°Again?! For what?!¡±


    ¡°Again?¡± Idomizu and others asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it happens every once in a while. What was it this time?¡± Amon''s mud clone pointed towards the miniatures who were paused in movement. ¡°Really?¡± Amon looked at the miniature, the two chunin, and back at the miniatures. ¡°Alright.¡± Amon said as he walked toward the academy¡¯s sparing circle. Although fine for children, the circle was more than a bit tight for three grown men. ¡°You two try to beat me up while I try not to get beaten up.¡± The two chunin looked at each other and then back at Amon. ¡°Not the most creative game in the world I know, but over the years, I¡¯ve gotten pretty good at it.¡±


    The two chunin looked at one another and then approached Amon, who already stood on the side of the sparring arena while making the seal of confrontation. ¡°We will go until both of you are content with my Taijutsu skill, or I surrender. Is that good for the both of you?¡±


    Idomizu looked towards the other chunin and nodded as they stepped into the arena. ¡°That¡¯s fine with us,¡± Idomizu said while they made the seal. Amon''s mud clone came to the outside of the arena. The circle''s diameter, only ten feet, made it a pretty small space. The smallest sparing arena outside the academy that saw regular use was thirty. The two chunin felt uncomfortable fighting in such close quarters but didn¡¯t want to lose face in front of everyone. Amon¡¯s mud clone raises his hand to signal both parties to get ready. After all three shinobi were in the circle and had the sign for confrontation up, the clone dropped his arm, starting the fight.


    Idomizu and the parent struck fast, one aiming for Amon''s head while the other his gut. Many ninjas in the village practiced the saying, ¡°He who strikes first strikes last.¡± Amon took two steps on his ten o''clock, just to the side of Idomizu¡¯s attack, while keeping his own textbook fighting stance up and ready to strike.


    After missing, Idomizu and the parent tried to recover from their strike, but because of the small size of the arena, they found it difficult not to get in each other''s way. They tried to get ready for Amon''s counterattack, but it never came, as he only repositioned himself with his guard still up and his stance still the textbook-ready stance for combat. The two tried again to attack him at the same time, but the result was the same.


    Every time Idomizu and the other Chunin attacked, together or separately, Amon dodged the strikes, moving around the arena deliberately and consistently with one foot on the ground. Amon¡¯s posture was always straight, guard up, and with steady breathing, and rarely did either of the Chunin ever leave his line of sight.


    The only times one of the two would get behind Amon was when they started using basic rather than advanced team tactics. Advanced tactics work best in larger areas and with other Justsu. They wouldn''t work with only Taijutsu and in such a small space.


    Even when the two chunin discovered this fact, neither could still land a hit on Amon. He wasn¡¯t going faster then the two, if anything, Amon was moving slower than the both of them. Anyone watching the fight would discover the simple conclusion. Amon would just be where the other two weren¡¯t. When the two move, a moment later, Amon would easily move to an empty space. Once they stopped to reposition themselves, Amon moved closer towards the circle''s center and waited for the two there.


    This continued for over ten minutes. The two Chunin began to run out of breath. Ten minutes of sparring was longer than either of the Chunin was used to.


    In the ninja world, most fights to the death would usually end before ten minutes, as shinobi aimed for quick and lethal strikes. Instead, Amon carefully and deliberately did not throw a single punch or kick and stayed in a ready stance the whole time.


    Before the two could try again, Amon spoke up. ¡°I am sorry, gentlemen. If I haven¡¯t convinced you two now that I am proficient in teaching Taijutsu, then there is not much I can do. I have to get ready to head to the hospital. Would the two of you mind if we leave things like this today?¡± Amon''s mud clone, who had gotten bored and was lying on the ground, got back up in a hurray. ¡°Instructor Amon has conceded the match. Defeat by forfeit.¡± Amon turned to face the students who had also sat on the ground to watch the match, all with surprised expressions from the match outcome. ¡°Well, that was fun, kids. Make sure to get a good night''s rest, and I will see you guys tomorrow.¡±


    With a wave towards the parents, who were watching from the tree line, and a bow towards the two chunin, Amon made a hand sign and spoke, ¡°Release.¡± With a puff of smoke, his shadow clone disappeared, and the mud clone merged back with the earth, leaving the two-winded chunin standing alone in the circle with everybody staring at them.

 Ch 16

    With a knock at my new door, a civilian nurse poked her head in. ¡°Doctor Amon, Kengo Uchiha, and his son Shisui Uchiha are here to see you for his consultation.¡±


    I lifted my head from the sticks and papers I was working on. ¡°Oh yes, please let them in,¡± I said, getting up to greet them. A mud clone of mine was still in the corner working, and I wondered if I should disperse him when a commotion outside took my attention.


    ¡°I can do it myself. Get your hands off me.¡±


    Deciding to take a look, I saw a young man, I would guess in his early teens, and an adult man missing a leg standing in the hall. The nurse from before, along with the boy I assumed was Shisui, looked like they were trying to help Kengo, who had his back to me.


    Kengo used his cane to swing at the two, and I saw Shisui¡¯s reflexes kick in and move the nurse out of the way. Kengo, whose swing hit nothing but air, was caught off balance as his peg leg slipped from under him. Shisui tried to help, but with his arms still holding the nurse and Kengo¡¯s cane in the way, I stepped in.


    With two bandages, I used one to catch the man under the armpit while I used the other to reposition the peg leg. Before the man knew what had happened, I turned him around to face me. Staring back at me were a pair of ruby-three-tomoe sharingan eyes, showing me a storm of emotions.


    ¡°Hello Kengo, nice to see you again.¡±


    ¡°Amon, I don¡¯t need any of your help,¡± Kengo said with the face of a man who didn¡¯t know how he should feel.


    ¡°If so, then your consultation will be done in a flash. Come on in so we can argue about your health.¡± With a tongue click, he shook off my grasp and made his way to the office. I turned to Shisui and spoke, ¡°By the way, son, you can¡¯t keep her. She belongs to the hospital.¡± My comment earned me a chuckle from Kengo and a confused look from Shisui, who looked down and realized he was still holding onto an embarrassed-looking nurse. I turned and followed Kengo into my office while Shisui apologized to the young lady.


    Walking in, I went to my seat while Kengo stood in the center of the room, staring at my clone, who was still working away. ¡°I always knew you liked to keep to yourself, Amon, but isn¡¯t this a bit much.¡±


    ¡°Are you and I about to fight, or have you finally discovered my masculine charm?¡± I said, sitting down. Kengo looked at me, confused by my comment. ¡°Your Sharingan is still active.¡±


    With a glare either at me or himself, he closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, he had his usual black eyes.


    ¡°Great, well done. Now, if you could take a seat, I know you Uchiha¡¯s like to look down on others, but I would appreciate it if it was just metaphorically speaking¡±.


    ¡°One of these days, Amon, someone is going to cure you of your smart mouth.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my money is on Danzo or Fugaku. Who do you think?¡± With a grunt, Kengo sat down, his son taking a seat beside him. Giving them a moment to settle down, I spoke, ¡°So, what seems to be the issue?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing wrong with me.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to point out the peg leg or not?¡±


    ¡°Please, Mr.Amon, treat my father with more respect,¡± Shisui spoke up.


    I looked over to Shisui, who bowed his head with his request and sighed. ¡°You are Shisui Uchiha of the body flicker, correct?¡± Shisui nodded his head in confirmation. Well, I know your father too well to treat him respectfully, but I will try to be more patient with him if that works for you.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°It¡¯s all I can ask, Thank you.¡±


    ¡°The leg is fine,¡± Kengo said.


    ¡°He¡¯s having a hard time sleeping. He keeps waking up at night and sometimes-.¡±


    ¡°Shisui!¡± Kengo barked in anger, staring at his son, who looked away. ¡°Coming here was a mistake.¡±


    Kengo moved to get up, so I needed to take action. I slammed my hand on the desk, grabbing both of their attention. Looking at Kengo gave me my second symptom: ¡°Do you have a hard time remembering things, and when was the last time you used Ninjutsu?¡±


    Kengo said nothing, but Shisui answered, "Yes, he forgets stuff all the time, and I don¡¯t know when he last used a Ninjutsu.¡±


    ¡°Before I lost my leg. There''s no need to use any since then.¡±


    ¡°Do you believe that?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? You going to blame us for the fox¡¯s attack, too?¡±


    ¡°Do you feel like you are safe?¡±


    ¡°Is that a threat?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no,¡± I say, turning towards Shisui. ¡°Welp, I know what¡¯s wrong with your father.¡±


    ¡°Really?! That fast? What is it? Please tell me!¡± Shisui asked with hope burning in his eyes.


    ¡°For starters, he has a bad personality,¡± I stated matter of factly.


    ¡°Mr.Amon.¡± Shisui pouted at me while Kengo just scuffed and rolled his eyes but didn¡¯t deny or insist he was fine.


    ¡°I said I would treat your father with more patience. I could have used harsher language, but I chose not to. His personality could be fixed with enough impacts to the face administered by a professional; however, I will have to do trial and error to discover the right dosage.¡±


    ¡°One of these days, Amon.¡±


    "The second and third thing wrong with your father is that he has PTSD and venous chakra disease.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, what¡¯s ¡°venous chakra disease¡±?¡± Shisui asked with genuine concern.


    ¡°I swear, Amon If you are making another joke.¡±


    ¡°Your father is generating extra chakra because he subconsciously feels he is still in a fight-or-flight situation and has nowhere to put the excess amount. That¡¯s why he keeps turning on his Sharingan,¡± I said as I pointed at Kengo, whose Sharingan had activated again. Kengo closed his eyes and, with a noticeable struggle, opened them to reveal his normal eyes.


    ¡°Um¡­okay, Is there medicine for this? How much is it? I can scrape together some funds.¡±


    ¡°There is a pill that will mask the symptoms, but I have a more fun way to solve this. Follow me.¡± I spoke, getting up and heading out of the room. I lead the two to the roof. I moved a bunch of drying linen out of the way using my chakra strings. ¡°You two, opposite sides.¡± I pointed towards the area I cleared out. It shows how long their military careers have been and how quickly they both knew what I meant and took their places about twenty feet from each other. ¡°Fireball, C-rank.¡±


    Shisui looked unsure, but seeing his father begrudgingly following my command, he did so as well. Making the hand signs simultaneously, they both performed the fireball jutsu towards one another, and even though it was the same jutsu, and they were a father and son performing it, the difference between the two was obvious.


    Shisui¡¯s was a textbook example of the jutsu. Given his reputation, it was clear he was holding back, but even so, the flames were a brilliant orange, steady burn,  and a powerful force.


    In contrast, Shisui¡¯s father¡¯s fireball starts strong, telling of years of practice and use in battle, but the compliments end there as the differences quickly begin to show. The flames burned with a sickly yellow look to them; chakra flowed stuttering to perform the jutsu. The impact of it was flimsy.


    If Shisui¡¯s jutsu was a roaring flame, then Kengo¡¯s was a shouting spark. Kengo tried to hang on, but performing the jutsu was too much for him. The two fireballs clashed in the air and pushed against one another briefly, but Kengo''s buckled under Shisui¡¯s pressure.


    Shisui tried to cut off his jutsu in time, but even with his own sharingan active, he couldn¡¯t predict Kengo¡¯s sudden collapse. I moved to intervene. I used my bandaged, wrapped body to shoulder check, not Kengo but his jutsu, dispersing it with my impact while I cloaked my hand in chakra. I took control of Shisui¡¯s fireball jutsu and batted it upwards to avoid causing any damage to the surroundings.


    With the dispersing of Shisui¡¯s jutsu, I was rewarded with his shocked face and the clicking of a tongue from Kengo. ¡°What an unreasonable amount of chakra control.¡±


    I moved back to where I was standing before while calling out, ¡°Round two, Shisui, try not to cook your father, Kengo¡­do better.¡± After a moment for the two to settle, they tried again, Shisui¡¯s being noticeably smaller while Kengo¡¯s getting bigger. They did it a few more times, and every time, Kengo would improve as he shook off the rust. The chakra paths in his body did what he trained them to do. By the end, the two looked tired, but both father and son were performing the jutsu at the same level as Shisui was at the start.


    I signaled the two to stop and walked over to Kengo. ¡°Well, how do you feel.¡±


    ¡°Tired and sweaty¡­but better. The only way I can describe it is after stretching my muscles, which I didn¡¯t know needed stretching.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yes. This month, every day or two, I want you to perform the jutsu¡¯s you know and feel comfortable with. Try your best to get back to where you were before the war. I want you to make notes for yourself about where you were, where you are now, and the progress you have made. I¡¯ll schedule another appointment at the same time next month.¡±


    ¡°Will that fix the problem?¡±


    ¡°If you follow my instructions, it should either solve the problem or at least greatly diminish it. Contact me if the problem gets worse. Then we will have to run a test to narrow down what the problem is and take steps to resolve it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, fine.¡± Was all Kengo said as he made to leave. Shisui bowed and offered his thanks. I cleaned up after the two and made to put the hospital linen back in place until I realized they were all more than dry. I quickly folded them all and turned them in at the nurse''s station.

 Ch 17

    I walked the halls of the Hokage building and approached the conference room. Today was an important day, and I needed to keep myself focused on the task at hand. The meeting was going to start in less than ten minutes, and I would often arrive early to double-check that I had everything I needed. However, a last-minute emergency kept me in the hospital longer than I would have liked.


    I didn¡¯t find out much about what happened, but an Aburame kid got a few bones broken during a rough training session and fell unconscious due to chakra exhaustion. One of those issues would not have been a problem. Still, both happening to a young Genin caused some trouble as the bug colony living inside the boy got unsettled due to the breakages, and the boy being unconscious meant he couldn¡¯t settle them down. Adding the fact that his body was too low on chakra to keep the bugs happy just compounded the problem.


    We finally just had to cull his bugs so that I could mend the breaks, but a lot of the critters were already eating the boy alive from the inside, trying to feast on his chakra. A small problem for any other ninja that would have taken two weeks of rest and relaxation will now cost the kid roughly two months. Not only is there a need to recover the damages, but also to rebuild the colony''s population. The kid was still unconscious by the time I left, but a specialist from the clan took over his case.


    Turning a corner, I spotted two Leaf Jonins I recognized chatting with one another right outside of the conference. ¡°Yo, if Dekai is here before me, I must be late. Is the meeting even still going?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha, Amon,¡± Dekai said sarcastically. ¡°I will have you know the meeting hasn¡¯t even started yet, and I heard Lord Third might not even make it.¡±


    The shinobi Dekai was talking with spat out his gum and placed it behind the metal of his headband. ¡°Last minute meeting with the village elders. Don¡¯t know what about.¡±


    ¡°Is that right? What¡¯s the rule about classrooms without the teacher present? After 15 minutes, we are allowed to leave.¡±


    ¡°You know, the fact that you''re teaching at the academy while making jokes like that makes me worried about the quality of the students who are about to graduate,¡± Dekai said, shaking his head. ¡°Hey, Mimura, I¡¯ll catch up with you, but is it cool if I talk to Amon for a minute before everything starts?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I need to talk to Shirakumo anyway. Catch you two inside.¡± Mimura waved goodbye to us as he entered.


    The moment the door closed, Dekai spoke. ¡°When was the last time you touched base with Kakashi?¡±


    ¡°Oh, this isn¡¯t going to be good since before I returned to the village. He has thrown himself into Anbu''s work since I¡¯ve been back. He¡¯s an outdoor cat. I try not to smother him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, consider smothering him a little. I went out on a mission with him. It wasn¡¯t a nice mission-¡± Dekai said in code, as it was most likely an Anbu mission. If I had to guess, assassination would be significant enough for Dekai and Kakashi to be on. ¡°-But we did have some free time. I tried to talk with him but¡­ well¡­ you know.¡±


    ¡°Kakashi acted like Kakashi?¡±


    ¡°More so than usual. He was doing better, but after the attack, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know, I should. I have a thousand things on my plate right now. About to be a thousand and three,¡± I said, gesturing towards the conference room, to which Dekai gave a sympathetic nod. ¡°I see about cobbling together some of my free time to track him down. How bad are we talking?¡±


    Dekai shrugged his shoulders. ¡°He¡¯s got an excuse with the kinda missions he¡¯s been grabbing nonstop, but I mean¡­well¡­ you know, he¡¯s Kakashi.¡±


    ¡°Well, that is a condition he has often suffered from in the past. I¡¯ll do what I can, but medical science has only gone so far,¡± I said with false sympathy. I made sure to play up my body language to show I was joking. With my face wrapped in bandages, it was hard for people to tell I was kidding.


    Dekai scoffed at my joke. ¡°Well, we do what we can when we can.¡± Silence fell between us as we stood in the hallway, unsure how to continue the conversation. Because of the ANBU missions he¡¯s been going on and me with the medical information, that doesn¡¯t make for good small talk. ¡°I was talking to Mimura before you arrived.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw; still trying to kick that smoking habit.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, well¡­ you know.¡±


    ¡°Always good to try to stay healthy when you can.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­but he and I were talking about how he has fire and lightning, and I have fire and water-¡±


    ¡°And Shirakumo has fire and air.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and you have fire and earth.¡± Dekai smiled, pointing it out.


    ¡°I am not great at fire.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Dekai said with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Yep. I can do a little, but it¡¯s nothing to write home about.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ then¡­ you know.¡±


    ¡°Ying and Yang affinities.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I mean, yeah, that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°And earth, obviously.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, and earth.¡±


    Dekai and I stayed in awkward silence for a little longer in the hall. ¡°I mean, nothing is stopping us from going inside to take a seat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you''re right. Let¡¯s see what the future holds,¡± Dekai said as he opened the door for me.


    There were about a dozen shinobi sitting on pillows scattered around the room. Most of the time, everybody would be standing around. Still, the Hokage not being here made everyone much more relaxed¡ªthey were going over scrolls with the pictures of the upcoming academy graduates on them. I also had files on my person of the students on me but on paper instead of scrolls like everybody else was using. Paper was used more in the medical field, and my previous life made me biased in using it instead of acting like everyone else.


    Off to one side of the room was a long table with stiff-looking wooden chairs. I shot a bandage on my arm to one of the unoccupied pillows and flung it back to my open hand as I walked to an open seat. Nodding to Shirakumo and Mimura, I took a seat after putting the pillow down on it first.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Half the room was opened to the outside, allowing for fresh air and, if needed, easy access inside and outside of the room. The room was used to assign missions that were low-ranking and public knowledge. The room''s openness was meant to show many things: strength, transparency, and acceptance. I had mixed feelings about using this room for the meeting. On the one hand, the information was personal and somewhat secret; on the other hand, it was not that big of a secret and was meant to show off to anyone watching. It wouldn¡¯t take much effort to discover the information being discussed here, and it was information we would want to tell people anyway. In a world of cloaks and daggers, not everything had to be kept secret.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m late. Dekai was confessing his love for me. What did I miss?¡± I couldn¡¯t see him behind me, but I assumed Dekai was rolling his eyes at my question.


    ¡°Well, as long as you let him down gently.¡± Shirakumo played along, to Dekai¡¯s annoyance. ¡°Blake and Salem are going to moderate the meeting.¡±


    As if summoned, the doors flung open, causing a barely noticeable flinch in the resident ninjas. ¡°Did someone talk about the number one most lovie dovie couple in all of Konoha?¡± Salem said as he and his wife both stroked a pose at the entrance.


    ¡°Now that we are here, all paperwork and administrative problems stand no chance against our combined might.¡± Blake finished by pushing up her glasses that, once she took her fingers away, slid back down her nose.


    With their entrance, the rest of the shinobi in the room let out an exhausted sigh at their antics, except Amon, who golf clapped quietly on the other side of the room. ¡°Thank goodness you two are here. Now we can get started.¡±


    ¡°Slow down Amon. We first need to make sure everybody who is needed is here if they were requested to provide additional information.¡±


    ¡°Then we need everybody to have the files needed for each student.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. All very important indeed. Dekai, Shirakumo, Mimura, and myself are here. A bunch of the teachers at the academy and other Jonin sensei¡¯s are here as well, I assume everybody has copies of the information they need and if they don¡¯t, are to stubborn to admit it. Now, with that out of the way.¡± I clapped my hands together. ¡°Let''s divide up the kids and decide who teaches who makes a new generation of heartless killers¡­I mean brave young men and women who will carry the will of fire and defend our nation.¡±


    My words upset my loyal colleagues, but seeing they also didn¡¯t want to be here any longer than they had to and knew the kind of ninja I was referring to, they kept silent. ¡°Yes, well, I understand your enthusiasm. If there are no complaints, then I see no problem proceeding.¡± Blake chimes in and turns to speak with the rest of the room. ¡°As Amon said. Four new teams led by our esteemed Jonin are here. Today, we will be assigning them new graduates from the academy.¡±


    ¡°Records show that, with the fifth years included, and students that were rolled back from the previous year''s team assignments, number around 120 unassigned Genin.¡±


    ¡°One hundred and twenty! Why so few?¡± I proclaimed in shock. If kids were going to be assigned the way I think they were, the number of new Genin staying in the village would be about to dwindle.


    ¡°You were not here for this, Mr. Amon, but after Lord Fourth took office, In what I assume was an effort to gain financial resources, as well as other reasons, allowed Leaf ninjas to buy out the rest of their tours if they served in a combat capacity during the war.¡±


    Salem''s words took a second to hit me, but then I got it. ¡°And he didn¡¯t put an end date on the offer.¡± Well, that explains our manpower issue. If I was an underperforming Genin who still had hopes for a military career, then one night, a giant fox giving off a tsunami of bad vibes destroyed my house. I would be inspired to have a career change. With a bunch of new vacancies opening up, any Genin who had average talent was already scouted and assigned to a long-term position. If a Genin was still in the school system at this point, there was something wrong with them. Either ridiculously weak and still too stubborn to quit being a Leaf shinobi or were blacklisted for one reason or another.


    ¡°The capitol, as always, has requested half of this year''s Genin to be assigned to the capitol, where-¡±


    ¡°Where they will be given out and traded like party favors to a bunch of lords and ladies.¡± I interrupted Blake to share my commentary with the rest of the room.


    ¡°Where they will be assigned more specific instruction there as needed.¡± Blake continued where she left off.


    ¡°Plus, this is the first wave of ¡°new¡± Genin since the nine tail incident, for the nation''s security and to dissuade any other nation from getting any ideas. I am going to guess half of the remaining graduates will be sent to the border forts. Meaning that the amount of new blood that is going to remain in the village, numbers around 30 realistically.¡±


    The room remained silent. I was speaking out of line and could be seen as disrespectful, but no one wanted to call me out on it because what I was saying was true. People always saying that we were running low on manpower, but this proves it. Before, I was reluctant about the fifth years being pushed to graduate early, but now I see Sarutobi¡¯s point. The land of fire was large, and we had a bunch of easy targets we needed to protect¡ªa noble here, a hole in our defenses there, unguarded farmlands beckoning bandits to pillage them, or at least someone pretending to be a bandit. The village''s ninjas were stretched far too thin.


    With the way the system went, the cream of the crop will stay in the village while the capital gets the below-average Genin. Seeing that, along with myself, there are four Jonin taking students this year, nearly half the new graduates will be earmarked, leaving 18 Genin to other departments. I don¡¯t know about the different departments, but the Medical Ninja unit would love to get their hands on 20 new Genin by themselves. The fact is that the rest of the village has to fight over only 18 Genin.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s no use morning are circumstances. Lets get to work, where should we start.¡± Shirakumo spoke up to the silent room. Much like myself, everybody else was doing the math in their heads.


    I grimaced as the thought occurred to me that some of the others would see this as a competition. With so few candidate spots open, everybody here needs to focus on quality over quantity. I could already see some people earmarking a few pictures. There was going to be some arguing, and Blake and Salem were going to have their work cut out for them.


    ¡°First things first. We believe assigning the first 60 Genin to the capital would be best. If this meeting takes long, we can at least know who we will be dispatched to the capital by the end of the day.¡±


    I nodded my head. We could be missing out on some late bloomers or some diamonds in the rough, but at this point, we will have to take it on the chin and move on. As someone who has spent years at the capital, I know it wasn¡¯t the end for the newbies; it was just a setback.


    Everyone proceeded to go over and just called out the weakest Genin they saw and tried to depict them in the most politicly correct way to say that their skills where ¡°Lacking¡±, and ¡°Needs refinement¡±. In my head, I kept trying not to think that we were not just discarding the runts of a litter, but it wasn''t easy. I recognized a few faces working at the academy; thankfully, none of the students assigned to the capital were from my fifth year, but I doubt my luck will last through the border fort selection.


    After 90 minutes, the deed was done. After a quick review and a last chance to replace a name on the list, Blake took the list to Sarutobi¡¯s office for approval. With that task behind us, the mood lifted in the room a little.


    The Border forts were going to be easier. For one, the list was only half as long, but it wasn¡¯t an assignment with the same negative stigma attached to it. Because of their placement and staff, A Genin might even choose to be placed in one of the forts. Close to other villages meant that there were skirmishes, even in peace and boarding ¡°Allied¡± villages. Plus, towns in the areas were not bad because of trade from foreign lands.


    The best way to think of a border fort was as a minuter hidden village. It is not as strong as an average minor hidden village, but it is not much weaker either. Because of the constant patrols and skirmishes, many Anbu ninjas came from border forts, which were the most high-risk but also high-reward assignments.


    Over half of my fifth years were selected for the border forts. It hurt a little, but it was fair. Other than the obvious, no glaring side effects showed up from my genjutsu teaching method. Mental exhaustion leads to difficulty waking up in the mourning and difficulty remembering the more minor details if the information I provide is never brought up again after it was taught. There was some difficulty for the students to go from me teaching with genjutsu and then straight to sparing. They found it difficult to focus on the spar and then remember what was taught, but a break before a spar for lunch or just simple stretching and exercise fixed the issue.


    Sadly, no matter how excellent the genjutsu teaching method is, I have deliberately used it only for traditional academic studies. The fifth years did great with that aspect of the student curriculum, so great that by the end, the students didn¡¯t just finish the sixth year''s studies but also could catch up with the civilian schools of the same year. If Sarutobi approves of the method, the academy would lower the time spent on academic studies towards the last two years and focus more on physical skills and chakra refinement. At the end of the day, physical skills, chakra refinement, and sparing were the areas that the sixth years held the edge in. A difference in a year of growth between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old, plus more experience in all the traditional ninja fields, made it on average, sixth years would win more competitions.


    Once the border fort ninjas were assigned, Blake took the names to Sarutobi¡¯s office again. When she returned, she informed everybody that the Third Hokage would review the two lists and then join the rest of the meeting; until then, we would be taking a break. In the end, 20 of my students would be staying in the village while only 10 of the sixth years. I tried not to feel too smug about the prospect; there were plenty of reasons for there being so few sixth years, a big one being that many students in the school chose to graduate early when given a chance. Itachi was with a team already and going on missions.


    Getting up and stretching my back, I chatted with the other Jonin sensei. Mimura, chewing his gum that smelled like a fresh stick, brought up lunch. Knowing that I had my Fuinjutsu money, they brought up how they hadn¡¯t had sushi in a while and how it sure would be nice. How ¡°one ninja here¡± was a fancy medical ninja who was stationed in a medical camp for most of the war and then got sent to a foreign village where he received special treatment and hanged with girls by the beach, While three other ninjas had to fight bloody life and death battles and barely received fair compensation. Taking the hint, I offered to cover lunch where the other three said that I didn¡¯t have to, but if I was going to be so insistent about the whole thing, then they guessed it was fine. I gathered my files and notes and handed them to Dekai to hold for me. Telling the 3 I would meet them at the restaurant, I dispersed my shadow clone.


    At the Hatake estates, Sakumo was sitting on his porch while reading a book and listening to some music from the radio. Sipping from a large glass of lemonade, he could hear Amon in the training room; the room itself was pitch black and impossible to see into, but you could hear the creaking of floorboards and the impacts of the punching bag.


    While enjoying himself, he heard the pause in Amon''s actions and guessed the cause. Grabbing a spare glass of lemonade, he walked over and entered. The light from the doorway barely made a dent in the darkness. Years after retirement,t Sakumo¡¯s eyes were still strong enough to see the outline of Amon¡¯s true form.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget what you look like under your bandages, but I guess that¡¯s half the point. How was the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Long, I can feel a headache coming along. An Aburame kid got hurt, difficult to treat the people of his clan. Oh yeah, Kakashi is acting up. Do you want to talk to him, or should I?¡± I said as I extended a chakra thread to the bandages I had drying outside to come to me and coil around my body.


    ¡°You talked to Kakashi?¡±


    ¡°No, but Dekai did, and he suggested I smother him with love and affection. I am thinking about doing it, but I don¡¯t want my face clawed off.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yes, he gets that from his mother. I personally love being smothered with affection.¡± Silence fell as Sakumo thought it over. While Sakumo thought about it, Amon released one of his bandages to collect his uniform from the rack and the glass of lemonade from Sakumo¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with him, invite him over for dinner. I¡¯m sure we can find something to talk about.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit; I¡¯m going to lunch. I¡¯ll pick you up some sushi.¡± Amon said while he finished the lemonade, he performed a self-cleaning jutsu to eliminate the smell of his workout.


    ¡°Could you turn the room back to normal? I don¡¯t want to forget and bring something fragile inside.¡± Sakumo said pointing behind Amon.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to get some exercise in today?¡±


    Sakumo took a lemon slice from the glass and tossed it inside. The moment it passed a threshold, the lemon slice stopped flying and splattered on the floor. The slice didn¡¯t even leave much of a mess, as the droplets didn¡¯t even jump in the air. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a pancake.¡±


    Amon turned around and flung four bandages into the pitched-black room. A moment later, the room began to light up in both meanings of the word. With the veil of darkness lifted, the room looked like a typical gym with a punching bag in the center. Amon handed Sakumo some pieces of paper, saying, "In case you change your mind." The two left the room, each going their separate ways. Sakumo went back to his porch and sat down. Looking at the parchments Amon had handed him, he scuffed and returned to his book while placing the papers on the table beside him. On them, it read 50XG.

 Ch 18

    ¡°You called this meeting Hiruzen?¡± Shikaku Nara said as he entered. Looking around, he noticed many notable clan heads were in attendance. As usual, Nara sat beside the clan leads of Yamanaka and Akimichi.


    ¡°Hmm, oh yes, thank you, Shikaku, for joining us. I don¡¯t want to waste too much time with everyone here, so if anyone here you think should be here but isn¡¯t, please feel free to inform them of the contents of this meeting.¡± Hiruzen turned away from discussing with one of his aids and addressed the room. Some troubling news has come across my desk this mourning, and after discussing it with the village elders, I am ready to proceed.¡±


    The room had nothing but trained shinobi in it; even the aids to the Hokage and clan heads were at a minimal chunin rank with years of experience, but even so, the wave of discomfort traveled around the room. For the Hokage to feel the need to discuss with the village elders and then the clan heads of the village today could affect the village''s future.


    ¡°Several days ago, Sunagakure launched ships from the Demon Desert towards the Land of Tea. Unconfirmed reports show they have also increased security along the borders of the more minor villages. Once they made landfall, their shinobi made to secure several small villages along their coastline.¡±


    ¡°Are they trying to start another war!?¡± One of the more minor clans representatives spoke up.


    ¡°I sent a message to their Kazekage, but he has yet to respond. A lord of the land of wind claimed it was not an invasion but just a few ninjas going on publicly funded missions in the land of tea at the same time.¡±


    There were some audible scuffs in the room at that response, to which Hiruzen nodded. ¡°Our spies claim that a minor session war has broken out in the Land of Tea, and members have recruited ninjas from the Sand Village while the other side has recruited from the mist.¡±


    Shikaku raised his hand to speak, which Hiruzen allowed. ¡°If you have spoken with the elders, then I assume we have already chosen how we are going to react?¡±


    ¡°As of now, we have decided to allow things to play out more. The Nine-tails attack is still too fresh; we are still recovering from the war, and I¡¯m not eager to start another. The Sand Village didn¡¯t lose too much from the previous war and is making a move to obtain more resources for themselves. In the coming months I will be sending teams to sheer up are relationships with the minor villages, until then I believe the best course of action is to hold back and regroup.¡± Hiruzen¡¯s words were met with grim faces but nods nonetheless.


    Shikaku looked around the room and noticed an absence that should be there, so he raised his hand again. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Amon be here? Doesn¡¯t he have the most knowledge about the workings of the Sand Village?¡±


    Some of the Hyuga clan members grumbled at Amon¡¯s name being mentioned. ¡°He is currently working with other Jonin on assigning Genin this cycle. After this meeting, I will join them in the final part of assigning Jonin team leaders.¡±


    Shikaku leaned back in his chair. Amon is going to be leading a Genin team. Technically, Amon was the head of a medical base during the war, was the ambassador to the Sand Village, and has been teaching at the academy for the last few months, but even so.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Are we still sure Amon has the temperament for such a position?¡± A member of the Hyuga clan spoke up. ¡°He has always caused trouble; Amon was the ambassador to the Sand, and yet now they are taking aggressive action in our backyard. Not to mention his past actions. Attacking fellow leaf ninja, he ¡°expresses his opinion¡± on matters that don¡¯t concern him.¡±


    ¡°There have also been complaints from the parents, such as using genjutsu on his students, keeping them after school, and teaching them ¡°Silly things.¡± I know he¡¯s studied under the White Fang, but do we trust him with the future of the village?¡±


    ¡°People are saying that he has been scheming with the Uchiha. Where was he when the nine tails attacked?¡±


    Once the Hyuga clan representative finished talking, a flood of complaints came swarming in. Shikaku could not help but remember when Hatake failed his mission. Over the course of a few days, anyone and everyone who had a complaint about the man came out of the woodwork to voice their grievances about him.


    Hiruzen smoked his pipe while waiting them out. Shikaku had seen this before; either Hiruzen would wait for everyone to run out of steam, then work on de-escalating everyone. Or, and the more likely outcome, He will purposely show a serene expression for a minute and then snap into an even more enraged state than everyone else. He will start yelling about how you are acting like a child, followed by a lecture either about the person in question, Hiruzen''s own interactions with the person, or a historical person or event. He will give you the impression that he is wiser than you and is trying to teach you an important lesson.


    ¡°He really does love that professor nickname,¡± Shikaku muttered under his breath while the room still aired their complaints. Hiruzen has always been self-conscious about his leadership skills. The best way Shikaku has found to deal with the man is to passionately voice a complaint and then provide a reasonable solution to the problem.


    ¡°ENOUGH! You are all complaining like children who have dropped their ice cream. Amon has proven himself time and time again. He had the trust of the Daimyo when he was appointed as a member of the guardian twelve, MY trust when I sent him to lead a medical base on the frontlines of the war, and Namikaze¡¯s trust when he appointed Amon as Ambassador.¡± The room went quiet at Hiruzen''s words.


    ¡°Well?¡± Hiruzen growled. ¡°Anyone else have woes about Amon they feel the need to get off their chest, Nara, any complaints with Amon?¡±


    The Shikaku in question was lost in his own head and took a second to realize his opinion was asked for. ¡°Hmm, I think he is a bit emotionally distant and enjoys going against the status quo, but other than that, he¡¯s fine.¡± Shikaku shrugged. Hiruzen¡¯s eye twitched in anger while everyone else rolled theirs.


    Something had been nagging at Shikaku''s mind since he walked in. Looking at the people in the room and studying their faces, it finally clicked. ¡°Where¡¯s Hizashi?¡±


    ¡°What, I don¡¯t know. Nobody could find him, so I was sent instead. I will relay everything to clan head Hiashi once I return.¡± The Hyuga Shikaku didn¡¯t know the name of said. Hizashi would lousily come to meetings like this as the head of the branch family, while Hiashi would stay in the Hyuga compound to deal with intern affairs. This meeting had been going along for a while, but Shikaku was late tending to the deer on his estate. A ninja should have found Hizashi by now, and he should have been here to show respect to the Hokage. Shikaku could only think he wasn¡¯t here because he had not wanted to be.


    ¡°Why?¡± Shikaku said under his breath. ¡°Why not here? Why today?¡± Shikaku shot up from his seat before the thought could ultimately form in his head, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. ¡°My apologies, lord. Third, something has come up; may I take my leave.¡±


    With Hiruzen¡¯s permission, Shikaku bolted from the room. Behind him, he could hear chuckling, probably about when nature calls. However, Shikaku was busy praying he was wrong, that he was overthinking things, and that he was just paranoid. He hoped it was just a coincidence that they were both missing.


    Shikaku leaped from building to building toward the Hatake residence. Sakumo mentioned that Amon hadn¡¯t gotten his place yet and had taken over his dojo. Once Shikaku arrived just outside the property, he breathed out a sigh of relief. He could see Amon entering from the street, holding what looked like leftovers from a nice restaurant.


    Shikaku was ready to turn around and head back when he saw the last person he wanted to see. Hizashi had been waiting for Amon to return. Hiding in the shadows on a roof across the street, Shikaku watched Hizashi Hyuga emerge from an alleyway and follow Amon into the courtyard. Shikaku decides to stay hidden to give both parties the benefit of the doubt on what is about to happen.


    Amon dropped off the leftovers on a railing in front of a rocking chair on a patio and turned to face Hizashi. ¡°You know, it¡¯s hard to imagine that you could get lost. The Byakugan is great for finding your way home, but yet here you are. If you need help, I can draw you a map.¡±


    Hizashi took on the genital fist combat stance, which is famous for its use by the Hyuga. ¡°You can not be allowed to become the Hokage.¡±

 Ch 19

    Shikaku reviewed the day''s events in his head. He would prefer to pace around the room and maybe springboard ideas with his wife or at least discuss things with Inoichi and Ch¨­za, but even doing so wouldn''t change the outcome much. At the end of the day, he will do his best to be honest with Hiruzen.


    Shikaku stopped himself from looking at the Hyuga clan head sitting just a few feet from him on the couch in the Sarutobi clan''s private office. The Crystal ball in the corner of the room twinkled a reflection of the lamps outside. Even though it was dark, Shikaku could still make out the fourth Hokage¡¯s chin in the distance from where he was seated.


    The door opened, and both stood up to show respect to the Third Hokage. They had to wait a second as even though Shikaku could not sense them, he still knew the Anbu would sweep the room and give the others the all-clear. After a brief pause, Hiruzen entered his private office.


    ¡°Lord Third, this is an outrage. The Hyuga clan will not sit idle while the criminal remains at large. Our clan demands justice and reparations for Amon¡¯s actions.¡± Hiashi said, skipping past all pleasantries. Shikaku had to comment in his head that until just a moment ago, Hiashi was, in fact, sitting down waiting to be seen, undercutting his words a little. Hiashi spoke the words, but they were most certainly written up prior to this meeting.


    When did the lines get written down? Did the Hyuga clan have this plan out weeks ago, or was this designed earlier today? If Shikaku had to guess, Hiashi worked on this statement while on his way here with his aids still waiting outside. It was a bold move, using the family name in the hopes of throwing some political weight around.


    The strategy would usually work for Hiruzen. Justice, family, and political power are all big and intimidating words to the third Hokage. If Shikaku hadn¡¯t seen what had happened with his own eyes, he could have believed Amon lost his temper in a dispute and attacked Hizashi out of rage.


    However, Shikaku did see what had happened, at least a little, and had already given a brief description to the Hokage. Everyone always talks about the Uchiha''s arrogance, and it is true that many Uchiha suffer from that character flaw. Still, anyone who had spent a long period in the Leaf village would discover that the Hyuga clan was just as bad but hid it with rigorous social etiquette.


    Hiashi is only working with a partial picture and is trying to follow a plan designed in advance. Because of the Byakugon, the Hyuga clan is spoiled when it comes to gathering intel, making them sloppy when collecting information in traditional ways. Not once did an aid come in to deliver information while Hiashi waited for Hiruzen.


    Lack of intel and working off an outdated plan while not even attempting to gather additional information. Hiashi has the rank of Jonin in the village, but it is mainly ceremonial; the man himself hadn¡¯t gone on as many missions as one would expect of his rank and the lack of experience shows. Special Jonin, who specialized in taijutsu, was the more accurate rank of Hiashi''s abilities in Shikaku¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°Hiashi, could you please wait outside for a moment? I wish to go over things with clan head Nara. We will discuss things after.¡± Hiruzen said while not even looking at Hiashi.


    Shikaku nearly blanched at his words. Hiashi paused, not expecting that response, but after a moment, he finally wised up. Bowing, he said his goodbyes and left the room.


    Looking at his face, Shikaku could recognize Hiruzen¡¯s expression, and after today, Shikaku expected Hiashi would learn it too. Hiruzen had that look when he was furious about something but needed to hide it.


    Whenever Shikaku saw that look, he knew Hiruzen would not attend any more meetings that day. For the next few days, Biwako would make some unflattering comments about certain people and places. Now that she was gone, Hiruzen would have to bottle up his emotions or find someone else to vent them to.


    ¡°Shikaku, I would like you to please go over what you saw again for me,¡± Hiruzen said in a measured tone.


    Shikaku sighed, knowing he was about to not help with the lousy mood Hiruzen was already in. ¡°There is not too much else I can add. Did you have the chance to go over things with Amon while assigning teams?¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Yes, it went better than expected, but Amon was still unhappy with the outcome. But the incident at the Hatka home first. We¡¯ll talk about the teams second.¡± Shikaku stopped himself from barking out a laugh while pretending to clear his throat. The Hyuga clan head would be waiting outside for longer than expected.


    ¡°As I said before, One punch,¡± Shikaku said, pausing after he told it to ensure he wasn¡¯t misheard. ¡°Amon defeated Hizashi Hyuga with one punch. Amon came back from lunch, Hizashi followed him inside Hatka estate, Amon made a few jokes,¡± Hiruzen rolled his eyes at that. ¡°Hizashi made his intentions clear, saying, ¡°You can not be allowed to become the Hokage.¡± Amon taunted the man, Hizashi moved to strike while at the same time Amon did that dust cloud trick of his that partially obscured my vision. I could tell Hizashi moved to strike Amon¡¯s heart, but before the move landed, Amon hit Hizashi with an uppercut while at the same time wrapping Hizashi''s head in bandages. The impression I got from watching Hizashi flying through the air was that he was unconscious and that Amon was treating him with the mystic palm technique before the man''s body had even hit the ground. I moved in after that. Amon wasn¡¯t surprised to see me and claimed he was having a quick sparring match with a fellow Leaf ninja. Hizashi managed to wake up a few seconds after that, looking dazed and unable to walk alone. You know the rest.¡±


    Hiruzen reached for and lit his pipe, ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Shikaku said nothing to his comment, and the two just sat there in silence for a few moments, both thinking about the events that transpired. ¡°I don¡¯t want to speak negatively about Amon''s skills, but not even my students can perform such a feat, and I¡¯m unsure if I could either. If it were a normal Jonin, then I would say perhaps, but the Hyuga clan prides itself in their taijutsu. The sheer number of ninjas in history I think that are capable of such a feat is low.¡±


    ¡°You did decide to back him as your successor as Hokage; could lord fourth perform such an act?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, defeating a Hyuga Jonin with one strike. Perhaps, but he would hav-¡± Hiruzen stopped talking as realization flashed across his face. ¡°Amon, you wouldn''t.¡± This was a new look on Hiruzen¡¯s face that Shikaku didn¡¯t recognize. Trying to figure out this new expression, Shikaku was caught off guard by the Third Hokage''s order. ¡°All ANBU, leave my office and patrol my estate, take Hiashi aids with you, and send the man in.¡±


    After a second of hesitation, the ANBU revealed themselves, and four men wearing animal masks left the room. Once they left the room, Shikaku heard some discussion outside shortly before Hiashi reentered the room. ¡°Lord third, As a clan leader and as a father, I-¡±


    ¡°You sent Hizashi to kill Amon.¡±


    Hiashi was taken aback by the blunt statement and looked at Shikaku, whose expression remained stiff, not to show anything. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what the Nara clan head has told you, but-¡±


    ¡°HE told me the truth. What are YOU going to tell me?¡±


    Hiashi remained silent. Shikaku could not read the Hyuga''s face, but he was more concerned about Hiruzen¡¯s words and actions. Hiruzen legitimately asked the man a question, not setting a verbal trap but trying to discover the truth.


    Finally, Hiashi swallowed his resolve and said, ¡°Appointing Amon as the next Hokage is a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Did you order Hizashi to kill Amon?¡± Hiruzen asked like he was looking for something.


    With a pause, Hiashi answered, ¡°¡­yes.¡±


    ¡°Would he have followed through with the order?¡±


    Hiashi was once again taken aback by the question, from what Shikaku would have guessed, for multiple reasons. Hiashi just admitted to plotting the death of not only a fellow Leaf ninja but the candidate for the next head of the village.¡°Of course, my brother is loyal to the clan.¡±


    ¡°He would follow your command to kill Amon, and he offered no resistance to your order.¡±


    Hiashi scoffed. ¡°My brother doesn¡¯t love our clan''s branch system but understands its importance. He dislikes Amon more than I, being told by an outsider that his sacrifice for his clan is wrong by a classless upstart. The only thing he was reluctant about was the possibility that the clan would get in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Your brother was right, but more than the both of you would think.¡±


    Hiashi puffed up his chest. ¡°Now, Hiruzen, this village needs my clan.¡±


    Both Shikaku and Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at Hiashi¡¯s not-so-veiled threat. In all his years, Shikaku had never heard the Hyuga clan give anything but their full backing behind the leaf village. There was the occasional argument here and there, but nothing like this.


    ¡°Hmm, Shikaku, please tell the Hyuga clan head what you saw earlier today.¡±


    Once again, Shikaku retold what he witnessed; Hiashi did well at hiding his reactions until he heard about his brother''s swift, one-sided defeat. ¡°That is impossible. My brother would never lose in such a manner.¡±


    Hiruzen spoke up. ¡°Could you defeat your brother with such ease?¡±


    Hiashi paused for a moment. The strength between the two brothers was a taboo topic in the village, and many believed that Hizashi was secretly the stronger of the two. A believe Shikaku shared himself before today, but now he was uncertain.


    ¡°My victory under normal circumstances would not be as one-sided.¡±


    Hiruzen let out a sigh as he leaned back on his chair. ¡°Normal circumstances?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, my brother is strong, but at the end of the day, I am a member of the main branch.¡±


    ¡°If you were in Amon''s position, How would you defeat your brother?¡±


    ¡°If my brother ever raised his hand against me, I would activate the Caged Bird seal and-¡±


    ¡°You would activate the seal and then strike to incapacitate.¡± Hiruzen finished.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Hiashi said, looking at Hiruzen, who said nothing. All three men stayed silent, and both Shikaku and Hiashi realized Hiruzen''s accusation at the same time. ¡°No.¡± Hiashi protested not against anyone in particular but the situation itself.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. Amon''s able to activate the Cage Bird seal.¡±

 Ch 20

    Iemitsu stood at the front gate of the Hatake estate, wondering if he should knock on the door or not. He had a plain face with spiked light brown hair and a Leaf headband on his forehead. His teacher told him at the academy that his new sensei would meet him at the Hatake estate, but he didn¡¯t know what that meant. Too many possibilities ran through his mind.


    Was his teacher in the estate, or was it used as a landmark so he knew where to go, and his teacher would meet him in the area? The Hatake estate was the home of the legendary White Fang and his son. Would one of them be his teacher?


    Iemitsu doubted that, as the White Fang had retired years ago and was also a great shinobie. Iemitsu was nowhere close to being worthy of being a student of a man such as him, but then there was his son. Iemitsu hoped the son wasn¡¯t his teacher. He couldn¡¯t remember the name of the man but remembered that the man was young and also a genius. If the son of the White Fang were his teacher, people would have way too high expectations of him.


    If his teacher was not either of the Hatakes and his teacher was not inside the estate and instead was just using it as a landmark to meet up at. Iemitsu would look ungrateful and arrogant, as if he deserved to be taught by such legendary shinobi, and people would think he was disappointed by not getting either of the two.


    ¡°I only have one chance at this,¡± Iemitsu whispered to himself. He only got one first impression with his new sensei and team leader. If he blows this, It could be really bad. To knock or not to knock? If he does knock, how loud of a knock should it be? If he knocked loudly, then he could look like he was boasting. ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t do that.¡± A soft knock, it''s definitely a soft knock. If he does soft, then if someone answers the door, he could introduce himself and relay the instructions he got from his teacher. If he were going to be a student of one of the Hatakes, they would welcome him in. If not, he could quickly apologize, move away from the door, and wait patiently for his team leader to show up, hoping no one thought he was expecting to be taught by the Hatakes. It''s a perfect plan.


    With a nod, he resolved himself to act. Raising his hand, he clenched it into a fist and lightly tapped on the door three times. WAIT, tapped? No, no, he was supposed to have knocked on the door, not tap on it. Iemitsu barely made any noise with his door tapping. How would anyone hear him tapping on a door if he could barely hear it himself?


    Iemitsu went and tried again before he stopped himself. This was a house with a minimum of two great ninjas in it. They could have heard him tap on the door and could be on their way to answer it right now. If he knocked louder than before, people would think he was being impatient, a quality that could get you killed on the battlefield. His first impression could be ruined if he knocks now.


    If a great ninja from the Hatake clan is going to answer this door, Iemitsu should bow to show respect. Does he bow now or later? If he bows too late, then it would look like he¡¯s only bowing because he is obligated to; too early, and he bows his head to everybody, making him look weak and disrespecting the honor of Leaf ninjas everywhere.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    WAIT, sometimes ninja senseis would test their students in elaborate ways. Could this be a test? Has Iemitsu already failed the test? Was he not supposed to knock on the door? He was told ¡°at the Hatake estate,¡± not inside the estate. Does it look like he can¡¯t follow simple instructions? What point in having a ninja who can¡¯t handle simple instructions?


    Iemitsu could feel his stomach turning. He was going to throw up if this went on for much longer. His future teacher could be watching him right now and shaking his head in disappointment for failing such a simple test.


    ¡°Yo Iemitsu, how is it going?¡±


    ¡°I have failed!¡± Iemitsu wined.


    ¡°What, I thought you passed? You even have a headband.¡± The girl with long, curly pink hair said in alarm.


    ¡°I passed the graduation test only to fail the secret test sensei has set for me,¡± Iemitsu said, now on his knees, pounding his fist into the dirt.


    ¡°Do you know who our sensei is?¡±


    ¡°No, but I bet they are already disappointed in me. I have already let them down.¡± Iemitsu was getting close to crying right there on the road at this point but turned his head to the girl. ¡°Wait, Rei, why are you here? Oh my god, did they know I was going to fail and have already set you to escort me back to the academy?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, no. I think we are going to be teammates. Please take care of me.¡± The girl replied with a generous and kind smile.


    ¡°Rei, you would still have me as your teammate?¡± Iemitsu said, wiping away the tears threatening to appear on his face. ¡°I¡¯m so lucky to have such a kind and beautiful teammate like yourself.¡±


    ¡°Pathetic!¡± A shout came from an alleyway opposite from which Rei came.


    Iemitsu spun around, recognizing the voice. ¡°Oh no,¡± he said aloud.


    ¡°Oh yes, I saw everything. And to think you call yourself a Leaf ninja.¡± Said the short blond girl with twin hair buns in the shape of cute animal ears. Iemitsu was frozen in terror as the girl glared at him from the alleyway. ¡°I saw you slam your fist on the gate. You were way too loud. You are going to wake up the whole village.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. I was too light. It was more of a tap, a light tap, a gentle tap.¡±


    ¡°A TAP! You called that a TAP! Any harder, and you would have knocked the gates off its hinges.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to Moko. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Are you claiming you didn¡¯t? Are you trying to gaslight me?¡± Moko said as she stomped over to Iemitsu and grabbed his shirt collar.


    ¡°No,¡± Iemitsu said while on his knees, looking like he was going to cry.


    Moko started to shake Iemitsu violently. ¡°Saying you aren¡¯t gaslighting me is gaslighting you manipulative womanizing bastard. Have you know shame?¡±


    ¡°I have shame, I have shame.¡± Iemitsu pleaded, with the short girl.


    While Moko was strangling Iemitsu and Rei watched her two teammates, the gate opened up to reveal Amon standing there stretching, causing the three to turn their heads to him.


    ¡°Hmm, oh, was that today? Hello, I believe you three are my students starting now. Nice to meet you, team five. Let''s get along,¡± Amon stepped to the side and welcomed them into the estate. ¡°Shall we start?¡±


    The newly created team 5 looked at one another and, in unison, stood up and bowed to their teacher. ¡°Yes, Sensei!¡±

 Ch 21

    ¡°Please take a seat. These are the nice and expensive pillows that I never get the chance to use.¡± I throw three large pillows at the kids as we walk into the dojo who all manage to catch it. Iemitsu and Moko catch the pillow by allowing it to hit them and then stop it from falling with both their arms outstretched. Rei, while keeping her side facing me, outstretches her hand while reaching out to the pillow while still flying to her and, with feet shoulder length apart, snatches it from the air.


    ¡°Wow, these are really soft and feel nice,¡± Moko says, rubbing the pillow against her face.


    ¡°These aren¡¯t silk, are they?¡± Iemitsu says with a hint of panic in his voice.


    ¡°No, no, just finely treated wood fiber. The Aburame clan makes amazing silk, and I would love to buy some of their products, but it''s also expensive stuff. You will only find Aburame clan members or wealthy ninjas wearing them.¡±


    Rei just looked at the pillow while squishing it in her hands to see how soft and comfortable it was. ¡°You don¡¯t use these pillows often?¡± She asked curiously.


    ¡°Nope, please sit next to each other,¡± I tell the three while I sit a little away from them. The dojo¡¯s lights aren¡¯t on, but the nature lighting is poking its way in, illuminating the room. ¡°Kakashi isn¡¯t much of a homebody, always out on this mission, doing this or that,¡± I say, waving my hands through the air and getting a smile out of the three while they take a seat. ¡°And Sakumo hates to come in here.¡±


    I stare at three bright, innocent, and happy faces. ¡°Now, kids, I¡¯m sorry to say this, but I have some bad news that I feel like you deserve to know.¡± The kids seemed concerned but were paying attention. ¡°Even though you have graduated from the academy, I am going to test you to see if you are a good fit to become my students.¡±


    ¡°Umm sensie, whats the test.¡± Iemitsu speaks up while Moko nods her head, and Rei seems to lean forward a little.


    ¡°Well, are you guys ready to hear it?¡± I say, leaning in myself like I¡¯m about to reveal a secret. I watch as they nod their heads. ¡°If you think you can handle it. The test is: I want you to tell me your name and why you want to be a ninja?¡±


    The room is silent as I and the three stay seated. ¡°I know, I know. It seems unfair to ask you such a big and personal question.¡± The three of them are still silent, blood draining from their faces. ¡°To be honest, I was going to skip the whole testing thing, but Sakumo insisted on it, and this was all his idea, so you three can blame him.¡±


    Iemitsu managed to gulp back some of his saliva, but the other two remained frozen stiff. ¡°He told me first that it is a matter of tradition, but he quickly gave up on that line of attack on me. Traditions are fun and all, and they do provide a sense of community and camaraderie but can also make you stagnant if you aren¡¯t careful.¡± From inside the dojo, birds could be heard chirping to one another, and a steady breeze flowed from the windows. ¡°But my teacher knows me well, and when I was his student, he asked me a similar question¡­¡± The kids remained still. ¡°¡­Well, not in the same way. He was both better and worse than me. He waited until the second day to perform this test. It''s a shame to say I was the last to pass it. Both of my teammates were clan kids, so they naturally grew up with this. I, on the other hand, the question he asked back then¡­Even today I still don¡¯t like giving a honest answer to. Every time I answer it, I feel dirty.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The kids remained comfortably seated on the pillow. ¡°Sakumo told me the test is for your benefit as well as mine. If you can¡¯t pass this test, it might be best for us to take appropriate actions now rather than find out later. I thought about it and decided that he was right. I can train you to be a proper ninja all day, but you still have to ask yourself, ¡°Do you want to do this?¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t pass this test, I will send the three of you back. It¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. No one has the right to judge you. Most ninjas can, and I mean this with no pun intended, but ¡°Miss the forest for the trees.¡± I¡¯ll tell you right now: you don¡¯t have to be a ninja. After today, you can hand me your headband, and I¡¯ll take care of the rest. There are other jobs out there. There are more ways to survive and even thrive. Ninjas don¡¯t even make that much money, all things considered.¡±


    I look at the three unmoving kids, still frozen. ¡°I know, you three don¡¯t believe me, and I¡¯m not talking about rice farming. There are jobs outside the Leaf village that would be more than happy to have you. Lumberjack, Miner, Researcher, or maybe just a plane Explorer. The world is never as small as we like to think it is.¡±


    I paused my rambling to give the kids time to process the information, then decided to help them a little. ¡°I find labeling things like emotions and feelings helps me understand and control them better. In case the three of you haven¡¯t put a name to it yet, what you''re feeling right now is ¡®Killing Intent.¡¯ That¡¯s why you can¡¯t move right now.¡±


    A shiver ran through their spines like they finally understood what was happening. ¡°To pass the test, all you have to do is answer the question: What is your name, and why do you want to be a ninja?¡± I look outside the window at the clear blue sky. ¡°I¡¯ll take your silence as answer enough by nightfall, or you can surrender early. I¡¯ll also stop once you faint, but this is an important test for both of us. If you are this frozen in fear from this little ¡®Killing Intent¡¯, then it¡¯s best you reevaluate your decision in coming here today, or even being a ninja altogether.¡±


    The silence of the three was finally broken when Iemitsu leaned forward and threw up on the floor. He placed his hands on the ground around the mess he just made and, with snot and tears pouring out of him, started to hyperventilate. The girls could see him from the corners of their eyes but were still frozen in terror. The sound of sobs, burbs, and hiccups escaped the boy.I was doing an inventory in my head and commenting to the three that Kakashi has spare clothes in the house that I can fetch them once this is all over so that they don¡¯t have to walk home with those clothes if they don¡¯t want to when I saw the boy reach out and grab the hands of his teammates. From the reaction of the girls, I could tell that they didn¡¯t notice as they were solely focused on me.


    Iemitsu rocked back and forth and forced himself to look at me. He started to open and close his mouth, but words wouldn¡¯t come out. The fear and frustration were written all over his face. He squeezed the girl''s hands harder, and I could tell that they finally noticed his state. Realization hit the two girls at roughly the same time as they had just recalled the past events that they had ignored entirely a moment ago.


    ¡°I-I¡­¡± Iemitsu tried to get the words out, grabbing the girl''s attention. They were starting to spasm and were going to join him soon in dirtying the dojo floor with their vomit, but their eyes were glued to the boy. Was he going to surrender, giving them an excuse to surrender? Was he going to throw up again, giving them an excuse to throw up? ¡°I-I¡¯m Iemitsu. And I don¡¯t want to be alone anymore.¡±


    The girls kept looking at Iemitsu, who had lowered his head and closed his eyes tightly. ¡°I-¡± Moko was about to say something but stoped herself and shut her mouth. Gagging noises came out of her. For a few seconds, she remained still. ¡°Moko.¡± She clapt shut again and took a few more seconds. ¡°Family.¡± And with that, she let out a huge sigh as I relieved the pressure on her.


    Rei was the last one left and was staring at the two; both of them were doing better now that I no longer had ''Killing Intent'' on them, and she could see this easing her fears a little. She looked at me, and she tried to talk but was still suffering. Again, she tried to mouth words over and over again and closed her eyes. After some time, the words were forced out of her mouth. ¡°I want to kill the Nine-tail Fox!¡±

 Ch 22

    ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± Rei said as she took her shoes off.


    ¡°In here!¡± Her brother shouted back. Rei walked into the kitchen to the sight of Gem wearing a frilly pink apron and a serious expression, looking at the stove. Peaking over his shoulder, she could see him carefully trying to center an egg yoke in a hole in a slice of bread. The hole was cut out in the shape of a flower. ¡°Did you meet your teammates?¡± He says without taking his eyes off the egg.


    ¡°Yup, Iemitsu and Moko.¡± Gem¡¯s face contorts with confusion, trying to picture who the two are until Rei helps her brother. ¡°They were first and second place in academic tests.¡±


    Gem plates the egg and bread slice and hands it to his sister while he eats a small flower-shaped piece of bread. ¡°You got sixth place in sparring, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Gem stares at the floor, thinking, his eyes darting around. ¡°Two academic types. You are good at sparring, but¡­Who¡¯s the team leader?¡±


    ¡°Our sensei is Amon,¡± Rei says with her mouth full.


    ¡°The Paper Lantern! Yeah¡­I heard he would be getting a team. We''ll at least you will be safe.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel that safe.¡± Rei comments. She still remembers the ¡°Test¡± she just went through.


    ¡°I guess he will be focusing on medical and fuinjutsu. Shame, I don¡¯t think your strengths lean to those fields.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m plenty good at that medical stuff. Princess Tsunade is good at stuff like that, right.¡±


    ¡°Best in the world, but I heard Amon¡¯s not bad either. Hopefully, you can learn that stuff. When do you guys meet next?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Careful, he will most likely test you guys. Try to go over some first aid notes from school tonight.¡± Gem said as he turned around to make more food.


    ¡°We already took a test today.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± He said, not looking forward to hearing how bad she did on an academically heavy test. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he probably was just seeing where you guys were, baseline speaking.¡±


    ¡°The questions were simple, but¡­he gave off something called ¡®killing intent.¡¯ It was difficult, and I could barely move.¡±


    ¡°But you passed, or are you returning to the academy?¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°I passed. I had to tell him why I wanted to become a ninja.¡±


    ¡°Ah, did you say you wanted to take after your parents, Or maybe you super cool older brother?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as you passed.¡± Gem talked about how his own team was doing, but Rei was looking at a picture frame on the wall with herself, her brother, and her parents posing in front of their house. Her parents¡¯ dented and scratched headbands were in a frame next to them, and even though she had cleaned them multiple times, she felt like she could still see specks of blood on them.


    =====


    I was working in the courtyard of the Hatake estate. Drawing on the ground with a stick, some math problems with a bunch of paper and sticks scattered on the ground all around me. ¡°I really should just leave this to a mud clone to solve.¡±


    ¡°Why is my father looking for me?¡± A voice spoke to me from behind.


    ¡°If you are trying to scare me by sneaking up on me, then I am afraid I will disappoint you. Your father trained me too well.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t sense me.¡±


    ¡°True, but you father would sneak up on us all the time when we where a team, my bandages help me keep a good poker face.¡±


    Kakashi emerged from the shadows in his Anbu uniform. He made for an intimidating figure, and I couldn¡¯t help but think about how this was the last thing many people saw. ¡°Why is my father looking for me?¡±


    ¡°To talk.¡±


    ¡°About.¡±


    ¡°The weather.¡± Kakashi doesn¡¯t respond as he looks at me with his fox mask. I can¡¯t see his face, but I know he is doing that dead fish-like expression of his. ¡°I imagine he would also talk to you about other stuff. If I had to guess, emotions and teamwork.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m doing fine.¡± He says while he himself remains as still as a statue.


    ¡°Really, that¡¯s great to hear. I thought you would be upset with how your teammates are all dead, one of them by your own hand.¡±


    ¡°Tch,¡± Kakashi clicked his tongue at my crass words, but I didn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°I was worried that you would lash out at people and throw yourself into your work. But I didn¡¯t know you were ¡°Fine.¡± Next time you go to their graves, make sure and tell them that.¡±


    ¡°You and Dad don¡¯t need to talk to me.¡±


    ¡° ¡°Need¡±, no, want to? Yes. I would love the chance to talk to my favorite godson about¡­stuff, maybe about the weather.¡± I said, leaning closer to him. Kakashi took a step away and turned his head. Where a cold-blooded killer once stood now was just a teenage boy who is having a hard time adjusting to everything happening around him. I leaned back, giving him some room. ¡°Ask me what I¡¯m working on.¡±


    ¡°Huff, do I have to?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ask.¡±


    Kakashi''s shoulders slumped in defeat. ¡°What are you working on?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know if I should tell you, it¡¯s kinda a secret.¡± The glare I imagine I¡¯m getting puts a smile on my equally hidden face. ¡°But if you are going to shamelessly beg, then I can¡¯t deny you.¡± I turn to gesture to the scattered paper and twigs, ¡°The village''s 50th anniversary is coming up, and I¡¯m working on performing a show for everybody. But no peaking. I¡¯m not done planning yet and have to do some difficult math problems.¡±


    ¡°There, we talked. I have work I need to do. Can I go now?¡±


    ¡°No, your dad is coming back with fish. We can make him nervous about how much he caught with you being here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡±


    ¡°Then you can watch me and your dad eat while you stare at us. Come on, we can ask you about work, which you will answer that you can¡¯t answer. Then I will have free rain to talk about my new students and why the dojo smells like vomit.¡±


    The gate opened to reveal Sakumo entering with two large fish over his shoulder. ¡°Why is their paper scattered on the ground? Stop making such a mess, Amon.¡± Sakumo finally notices his son standing behind me. ¡°Oh Kakashi, I didn¡¯t know you where coming, are you staying for dinner. I can go to the store and pick up another.¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t stay too long. He will have to eat fast. You know how demanding Anbu''s life is.¡± Kakashi spun his head towards me and glared. I whispered to him, ¡°If you are going to keep glaring at people, maybe lose that mask. It makes it hard to tell.¡±


    With a huff, Kakashi stayed for a quick dinner, which he didn¡¯t leave until I made him promise to return to have dinner with us again.

 Ch 23

    ¡°Okay, kids. Now that you have had time to rest and recover from yesterday''s test, are you ready to be taught some super cool jutsus and techniques to take the world by storm?¡± I said, letting my smile creep into my voice towards the end. The three nodded their heads eagerly.


    ¡°Hmm, okay, well, today we are going to go over the schedule a little. At the academy, you spent 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, learning and training. I plan on only doing 5 hours a day, 5 days a week with you guys. I can¡¯t give you any more than that because of my other responsibilities.¡±


    Rei raised her hand. ¡°Amon sensei, My brother only spent 2 to 4 hours a day training when he was on a team.¡± She and the others where kneeling on pillows inside the dojo while I stood, I was to comfortable standing and giving lectures. I will have to change my teaching method soon, but for now, standing up and lecturing would have to be done.


    I nodded my head. ¡°Yes, I suspected as much. I will tell you this now before we get too far ahead. I will be training you differently than other ninjas.¡±


    ¡°Why,¡± Moko asked so earnestly that she forgot to raise her hand.


    ¡°Make sure to raise your hand if you have a question, but I will answer your question with a question of my own. Before the founding of the academy system and the villages, how and why did you think little ninjas like yourself were trained?¡±


    The trio looked at one another, and Iemitsu nervously raised his hand, and I nodded to let him answer. ¡°Before villages, it was mainly clans training themselves to keep their family safe.¡±


    I clapped to show that he gave a good answer which made the boy smile, a little positive reinforcement goes a long way. ¡°A good answer, and close to the truth as well. Tomorrow night is the 50th anniversary of the village''s founding. Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t ask who the founding clans are, ¡± A sigh of relief escaped the three students as I rolled my eyes and mentally patted myself on the back about predicting their lack of memory. ¡°But roughly 30 to 40% of the village population today is made out of or where a vassal to one of the founding clans.¡±


    ¡°Have we lost that many?!¡± Moko shouted in surprise. She did not raise her hand.


    ¡°Raise your hand if you have a question, but no, we have not lost 60 to 70% of the clan population. That would be horrifying, and every clan would consider abandoning the village if they lost that many family members. No, much of the village population is comprised of non-combatants who joined after the village''s founding.


    ¡°The way ninjas were trained before the village creation was by an apprentice system. An older family member would take a younger one under their wing and teach them the ropes. This system has its pros and cons. One of the dangers and cons is if combat is required. Many clan kids who were younger than you three died because their teacher dragged their apprentice around all over the place and eventually got hurt. To avoid that from happening, we now use the academy system to train you in the basics and weed out those unsuitable for shinobi life.¡±


    ¡°You said that you are going to be different,¡± Moko said, then realized she didn¡¯t raise her hand and quickly shot her hand up. ¡°Are you going to start taking us on missions?¡±


    I gave a look which made her sheepishly look down and mutter an apology. ¡°I will be taking you out on missions eventually, but I have no plans to do it so soon. If you guys are bad on money, I will have you work at the hospital for extra cash, but I will be focusing on training you for the time we have. I will be different in many ways, but the main time sink is focusing on recovery.¡±


    ¡°Re-¡± Moko shot her hand up and stopped talking.


    ¡°Yes, Moko, do you have a question?¡±


    ¡°Recovery sir?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the reason Rei¡¯s brother only did 2 to 4 hours was because after that amount of time, you are supposed to recover. However, most people don¡¯t spend that time recovering; instead, they do other things like errands, chores, or having fun. Recovery is just as important as training.¡± The kids wanted to roll their eyes, but I pressed on.


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    ¡°The days are going to look like this: first is warm-ups, followed by katas, then jutsu practice, sparring, chakra control exercises, and finally, basic education.¡±


    Moko wanted to shout but instead raised her hand, and I called on her. ¡°More school stuff, why? I thought we were done.¡±


    ¡°Other Jonin senseis will almost certainly agree with you, but education is important to me. The finest weapon a warrior has in their arsenal is their mind. I will not allow you to let yours rot away in your skull.¡±


    Even though two of my students got high marks in academic knowledge back at the academy, none seemed excited about returning to civilian lessons. ¡°Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, would you guys like me to teach you one of the most powerful jutsu ever?¡± Hope filled their eyes as they looked at me. I pulled out three seal tags and tossed them at my students. They flinched seeing the tags as they looked similar to explosive tags, seeing how slow their reaction time is, I made a mental note to work on reflex training in the future.


    The three grabbed their individual tags and looked at them. ¡°This is a pre-made jutsu tag. If you funnel chakra into the tag, it will act as a replacement for hand signs and help you perform the jutsu.¡±


    Iemitsu raised his hand. ¡°Which jutsu is it.¡±


    ¡°The B rank Shadow Clone jutsu!¡± A look of disappointment appeared on all three faces. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, don¡¯t give me that look. After a lifetime of research, I¡¯ll let you know that the Shadow Clone Jutsu is one of the strongest utility jutsu there is. Rivaling even the late great Fourth Hokage teleportation technique.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s like¡­the scouting jutsu. Even my brother has this one.¡±


    ¡°Okay, teleportation is also a ¡°Scouting¡± jutsu,¡± I said, doing air quotes with my fingers. ¡°Two, your brother is lucky to have gotten access to a B-rank jutsu like this. I wasn¡¯t allowed to get access to this bad boy until I was accepted as a member of the Guardian Twelve, and even then, I had to make the argument that a jutsu like this would help me be a better guard.¡±


    Even with my passionate defense, they still didn¡¯t seem impressed. If they only knew the hurdles I had to go through to get my hands on this legendary jutsu, they would be worshipping the ground I walk on. ¡°Just run your chakra through the seal as you would with a paper bomb,¡± I ordered my three ungrateful students.


    They begrudgingly followed my instructions and started to run their chakra through the seal. It took a few minutes, and unlike paper bombs, the shadow clone seal was more complicated. The Shadow Clone Jutsu is one of the least complex jutsu to perform, which is why I was able to make a paper seal for it. I could only shorten the casting time for other, more complicated jutsus with the same method.


    With a pop, Rei was first, and a second, she came into life. ¡°Hey! I did¡­¡± She was as far as she got when a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her, and with another pop, her clone disappeared as she hit the floor unconscious. I took a few steps closer to make sure she was alright.


    ¡°Ehh, what happened to her?¡±


    ¡°The same that is likely going to happen to you. The Shadow Clone jutsu is an amazing jutsu, but it has two to three drawbacks. The reason your teammate fainted just now and why it¡¯s a B-Rank jutsu is one of them. The jutsu doesn¡¯t actively take an arbitrary amount of chakra from the one that performs it like other jutsus. Instead, it evenly splits the amount of charka the performer has among the clones. Rei just had her chakra pool divided by two, seeing Rei became a Genin literally yesterday. Her chakra pool went too low, too fast, and she fainted.¡±


    ¡°Should we be doing this? It seems kinda dangerous.¡±


    ¡°It is ¡°kinda dangerous,¡± but no more than practicing any jutsu right now at your level.¡± What I was afraid of was starting to happen. After seeing their teammate collapse, the other two became reluctant to perform the jutsu. I could wait for the girl to get better and show her off to her friends to prove that there was nothing to worry about, but this was why I performed the test on them in the first place. ¡°This is just one of the many ¡°kinda dangerous¡± things you will be doing. I love this jutsu for you guys because, unlike other jutsu, this will divide your charka equally. In theory, this is as scary as it¡¯s going to get, the first time you perform it, is going to be the single biggest jutsus you have ever perform, and with few exceptions will ever perform with regards to your chakra pool.¡±


    The two looked at each other, and Iemitsu looked back at the seal in his hand. Without further hesitation, he returned to channeling his chakra into the paper seal. After a minute, Rei woke up, and I told her to rest for a few minutes. As I suspected, Moko¡¯s determination returned, seeing Rei was safe.


    Despite his head start, Moko performed the jutsu before him and fainted like Rei. Seeing this, Iemitsu doubled his effort and, before Moko woke up, managed to make a clone of himself. Unlike the other two, he didn¡¯t faint, and I managed to tell him how to release the clone and, more importantly, regain most of the chakra he used to make it.


    ¡°Is that it? I feel exhausted.¡± Moko commented after she recovered.


    ¡°No, today will be a little different from future days, but the exhaustion is half the point. Two of the biggest advantages a shinobi has on other people, including other shinobi, are A large chakra pool, and two chakra control. The best way to train both of those is what we are doing right now.¡±


    ¡°We can get a large chakra pool with this,¡± Iemitsu asked.


    ¡°Yes, your chakra is like a muscle. If you regularly perform Large, impressive, and flashy jutsus. Your chakra pool will get bigger. If you regularly practice small amounts of chakra control. Your control will get better. However, chakra control is harder to practice the larger your chakra pool is.¡±


    ¡°But with the Shadow clone cutting our pools in half, we can practice easier.¡±


    ¡°While training ourselves to have larger chakra pools.¡±Iemitsu and Moko realized.


    ¡°That¡¯s cool and all, but if it¡¯s that easy, why doesn¡¯t everyone do this?¡±


    ¡°They can and they can¡¯t. First, like I said before, Getting your hands on the Shadow clone jutsu is difficult. It¡¯s a jutsu exclusive to the Leaf village, rarely ever seen performed by foreign shinobi. Second, as you have seen today, it is a dangerous jutsu to perform. You can die of chakra exhaustion. It¡¯s rare, I can count on one hand of people I have heard of that have died of it, and all of those where in the heat of battle with other injuries compounding the problem. But I am here, Princess Tsunade Senju is the greatest medical ninja in all of the shinobei world, but when it comes to treating chakra exhaustion. I am the best.¡±

 Ch 24

    Standing atop the Hokage monument, I smiled and briefly talked with a few of the partygoers. The streets of the village down below were relatively tame. The 50th anniversary was originally going to be a bigger celebration, but the scars from the Nine-Tails attack were still felt even though they were no longer visible. The Third worked with the merchant union to get Main Street to have a few more stalls and even hired a famous circus from the Crescent Moon kingdom to perform just outside the village walls, but the streets were not any busier than usual. It¡¯s hard to order people to be happy and to have a good time.


    ¡°Amon, So glad to see you. What is it you got there.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, Lord Third.¡± Hiruzen walks towards me, but I don¡¯t see any guards with him. If I had to guess, he sent most of them away to ¡°Guard¡± some booths and food stands while the rest guarded him from a distance. ¡°This is a freeze plate. I¡¯m making ice cream rolls for everybody. Would you like some?¡±


    ¡°Is it any good?¡± Hiruzen says, looking at my table and stroking his beard. My Ice cream station had some assorted ingredients I had prepared for the party in small clay urns.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty popular,¡± I said, lowering my voice not to hide my words but to be respectful to those at the celebration. ¡°Many Shinobi like being able to see their food being prepared in front of them.¡±


    He nods his head in understanding, ¡°I see, then yes, whip me up what ever it is that you think I would like.¡±


    ¡°Putting a lot of faith in me. If I had to guess, even though you smoke a lot, I would say you have a more sophisticated palette. I think a nice Matcha flavor ice cream roll is right up your alley.¡±


    I grab a pitcher of water and pour some on top of the plate while pitching out portions of powders from the urns. Milk and heavy cream powder are first, followed by sugar, and then the Matcha. I mix the water with the powders, not using my hands but with chakra control, manipulating the water and making it ebb and flow. The ice cream begins to take shape as I press the mixture into the cold surface of the plate while incorporating air from the surroundings.


    ¡°Impressive utilization of chakra control, Amon. And now that I¡¯m looking at it, this was the Luxury field meals you pitched to the elders during the war, am I right.¡±


    ¡°The same, and in my defense, the product did work as intended.¡±


    Hiruzen Let out a reserved laugh. ¡°The number one rebellious ninja is always creating unique problems. Remind me, what was it that got the elders so riled up?¡±


    A huff escaped my lips as I worked. ¡°The ice cream in a bag, along with a bunch of the dehydrated ready meals I sold to shinobi, were meant to go to supply stations. I worked with the medical, supplies, and intelligence units. The meals were meant for them. But it was popular with everybody. The food pills can stop you from feeling hungry temporarily, but that doesn¡¯t mean good food isn¡¯t missed. So there was reselling here and there and ninjas are ninjas, What they can¡¯t buy, they obtain under different means.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I remember now. But there was one big Incident that occurred during those meals, right? ¡±


    ¡°After a few issues, the bag meals were banned outright. No more hot and ready quick meals while in the field, no more ice cream in a bag. They were all confiscated. Now, the next part was not my fault. I was already heading to the medical base at the time.


    Because the intelligence units had access to so many prisoners and good, easy meals, they themselves weren¡¯t allowed to eat. They started trading the meals to the prisoners for more advanced, less easy-to-get information. Many shinobi did not like the idea of enemy shinobi prisoners eating better than themselves.¡±


    I finished the ice cream roll for Hiruzen. I placed one large five-by-three green roll in a paper bowl. ¡°Thank you, it looks delicious. When are you heading up for the show?¡±


    ¡°Well, originally, I thought about being a nice crescendo for the evening. But do you think I should start early? Try to entice more villagers to be more festive.¡±


    ¡°I think that would be for the best. I was hoping the circus I paid for in advance would have done the job, but it would be nice if you could give another nudge in the right direction.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯ll hop right to it, Lord Hokage.¡± With that, I manipulated the clay in the urns and resealed them so that they were airtight. Then, once that was done, I took out my flying carpet and departed to the sky above the village.


    ¡°Oh, Amon left. I was hoping to talk with him.¡± A voice spoke up behind Hiruzen, Turning around he saw a man he vaguely recognized.


    ¡°Morino right, you are the new addition to the intelligence force.¡± Morino was a tall young man in a basic chunin garb, on his right cheek was a long scar adding a dangers air to an already serious looking face.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Third, it is an honor to be recognized by someone as great as you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I like to keep an eye on promising talents. What was it that you wished to speak with Amon about.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little embarrassing, but the other shinobi in the intelligence force always sing Amon¡¯s praise. I was hoping to learn how he managed such a feat.¡±


    ¡°Hoping to fit in with your new colleagues, maybe steal a trick or two?¡±


    Morino scratched the back of his head shyly. ¡°To be honest, yes, I¡¯m new to my division, and even though people say I have a talent for it, I would love the chance to pick the brain of others like him.¡±


    ¡°Amon will be back in roughly ten to fifteen minutes. In the meantime, I might be able to answer some of your questions.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t dream of wasting your time, Lord Third.¡±


    ¡°No waste at all. They don¡¯t call me the ninja professor for nothing. Your question was why he was so popular with the intelligence force, correct?¡±


    ¡°Um, Yes, Please.¡±


    ¡°Well, before the war, Amon already had some fame and a little infamy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I heard of some of the rumors.¡±


    ¡°Best not to dwell too much on those. No, Amon got popular once he got back from the capital.¡±


    ¡°He came back right before the war?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I went to the capital myself to retrieve him.¡±


    ¡°You did?¡±


    Hiruzen barked out a laugh. ¡°The daimyo was not inclined to let him go. Amon made a mistake in his youth. To make up for it, he was employed by the daimyo and was a part of his guardian twelve for years. I can¡¯t recall how long specifically, but it was long.¡±


    ¡°You pulled Amon from the daimyo¡¯s protection detail. I can¡¯t imagine he was eager about that.¡±


    ¡°No, he was not, but the war was on the horizon, and even the daimyo realized Amon''s talents were used elsewhere. So he came home and got straight to work. Amon has the nickname of the Paper Lantern, you where in the war, you should no why.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Amon used paper lanterns for long-range communication with ninjas who were out in the field.¡±


    ¡°Oh they where used for munch more than that, you where only a genin back then. It was the enemy villages that gave Amon that nickname because they didn¡¯t know what he was doing before. Amon had a name that was making the rounds at the start of the story: Amon, the abductor. Before the war started, many rival villages sent the less advanced shinobi out to scout ahead. A decision they learned to regret. With Amons flying carpet, bandages, and stasis tags, often many genin would go out on a scouting mission, blink, and from their perspective, woke up on a steal chair with one of your colleagues standing in front of them. I can¡¯t recall the exact numbers, but I know before the end of the war, Amon was responsible for the most enemy combatants captured, and second and third places combined did not match him.¡±


    ¡°Wow, no wonder he is so like, but¡­ low-ranking ninja.¡±


    ¡°Yes, because of Amon''s actions, we were not only able to get a lot of information about the enemy villages but denied them information as well. But that was not the best part, Amon didn¡¯t want to fight such young shinobi on the battlefield, that is why he removed so many form the war at the start. Later in the war, we started using the captured shinobi as bargaining chips for our own captured people. It incentivized other villages to capture our people rather than killing them so that they could trade with us later.¡±


    Before Morino could ask any more questions, he spotted lights starting to appear in the night sky. It started with one, then two, four, and soon dozens, and eventually hundreds of lights bobbing and weaving high above. Morino recognized them, but this was the first time he saw them so close. They always danced over the far and distant battlefield. Seeing them now causes a mixture of emotions, on one hand they where beautiful and inspired a sense of wonder upon anyone who gazes on them, but on the other hand, it reminded him of the war.


    Suddenly, the lights began to move like they were being pulled by a string in one direction and began to form a train. Slowly, the lights separated and formed a constellation of the Senju clan''s symbol. Morino could hear people clapping at the performance.


    The clapping slowed down when the constellation changed to the Uchiha¡¯s fan. Some lanterns circled the fan just like with the Senju¡¯s symbol. After that was Uzumaki Whirlpool, and then it went down the major founding clans. More and more people went outside to check out the display of lights.


    The lights took the form of the major clans of the village and then the Leaf symbol for the village. With that, Amon dispersed the lanterns across the sky and slowly began to reel them back into the Hokage monument. Morino saw Amon touch down a little ways away from the rest of the partygoers and made his way to him. Before he could open his mouth to great Amon, a hand grasped his shoulder.


    ¡°Apologizes, but I wish to discus some matters with Mr.Amon, you don¡¯t mind do you.¡±


    Morino turned to face who had grabbed his shoulder and froze in place. ¡°Um, no, of course. Go right ahead. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± With that, Morino decided to go elsewhere; he could always book an appointment with Amon later.


    I landed my flying carpet and used the chakra strings to pull the lanterns back in. Hopefully, I can use these lanterns next year. The show was fine for a first live performance, but next year, I will definitely put up a more impressive show.


    ¡°Amon, well done. What a lovely spectacle. It is always nice seeing such unique usages for chakra.¡±


    I turned around and saw who was speaking. ¡°Orochimaru, Long time, no see. If you liked that, then I have to ask. How do you feel about ice cream?¡±

 Ch 25

    As Orochimaru and I walked in the dark and spooky woods, I remembered all the terrible things he did in the original canon. Assassination, illegal experimentation, betraying comrades- the man did it all with a smirk on his face. I like to think that my presence in this world has changed him for the better, but I was so weak for so long that I¡¯m not sure I have made a big enough impact or not. During the Third Ninja War, I served under his command and interacted a little, but other than his teammates, Orochimaru had never gotten that close with anyone I can remember.


    ¡°This is far enough,¡± Orochimaru said as he came to a stop. ¡°The festivities should be ramping up thanks to your little dancing lanterns. Hiruzen should be overjoyed with you. Maybe the money he spent on that ridiculous circus of his won¡¯t go to complete waste.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, Orochimaru, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t enjoy the circus. Stale popcorn, loud noises, animal abuse- what is there not to love?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, that humor of yours, can¡¯t say I missed it very much.¡± Orochimaru delivered with dry snark.


    ¡°You were never that forthcoming with your feelings. An unfortunate side effect of many war orphans turned child soldiers.¡±


    ¡°No need to be so nervous, Amon. I didn¡¯t drag you out here to kill you. I wished to ask you about your new students.¡±


    ¡°Them? They are okay, I guess. About what I expected.¡±


    ¡°As you expected?¡±


    ¡°I was never going to be assigned any of the clan-affiliated kids. My speaking out against the Hyugas treatment of their own people, even if individuals amongst the other clans agreed with me, it made me a pariah amongst the village, that and all the new genin who exceed in traditional ninja arts would be paired up with the clan kids in the hopes of befriending and recruiting new talents, or at the very least using them as protecters for their own.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t think Danzo had something to do with who you received as your students.¡±


    ¡°He most certainly did. I just don¡¯t believe that his actions made any significant impact.¡±


    ¡°Be careful about underestimating that man.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, why? Do you think he placed a spy among my students?¡±


    Orochimaru looks a little surprised at my question. ¡°What makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t. Only one of my students is a relative to a shinobie in the village, and he works for you. I¡¯m guessing Danzo has asked you to gather information about me, seeing I have been purposely training my students out of the public eye. Did Danzo hit you with the ¡°For the good of the village¡± line yet?¡± He loves that line. I can''t wait for the day I get to use that line against him.


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    ¡°He won¡¯t have to. He will go to Gem Miyata and offer him a deal just to ask his sister a question.¡±


    ¡°But the fact that you and I are talking means you want the deal first.¡±


    ¡°I want many things. The first thing I want is what Danzo is going to learn when he investigates your training.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well, the first thing he¡¯s going to learn about is that I am teaching them the Shadow Clone jutsu.¡±


    Orochimaru¡¯s eyes flashed with recognition at that. ¡°That''s a bit ambitious for new graduates.¡±


    ¡°It is, but one, A useful technique to learn, two, something I and my ¡°arrogant mind set¡± would do.¡±


    ¡°You think Danzo would use that against you?¡±


    ¡°I know he would want to, but he is patient enough to hold on to that. He would wait for a bunch of my trouble-making actions to pile up and then suddenly act like a concerned citizen who just discovered a vast conspiracy and attempt to lay out my dirty laundry for all to see. ¡°Amon is at it again. He recklessly endangers the lives of his students for his own gain. How can we sit back and allow the village''s future to be in such hands?¡± I said, imitating Danzo¡¯s public speaking voice.


    ¡°You taught them the Shadow Clone justus to accomplish more than just annoy Danzo,¡± Orochimaru said, not asking a question.


    ¡°I did. They get to learn a ¡°Cool¡± jutsu right off the bat. Helps with morale; it forces their chakra pools to expand when they use such a taxing jutsu. And after they have exhausted them selfs, chakra control practice works a lot better.¡±


    Orochimaru studies my face. A difficult act seeing I¡¯m always wrapped up like a mummy. ¡°You are hiding things.¡±


    ¡°I am. I haven¡¯t told you even half of the plans I have for my students, but if any of my students were questioned, these are the facts that they would know. If Danzo investigates, these are the things that he will discover. Now you can go to him with all of these juicy secrets. He won¡¯t be satisfied with just this, but unless he believes he has me dead to rights, he will never be happy, and I don¡¯t have the time to make up evidence to send him on a wild goose chase.¡±


    After a moment of staring at me, Orochimaru lifted his hands in mock surrender. ¡°Fine, fine, Danzo shouldn¡¯t be too suspicious of your actions, and you are right that the information you provide wouldn¡¯t be enough for Danzo to use against you. At most, he will try to blackmail you a little about it. It goes without saying that no matter what deal you make with him not to spill your secrets, he will try to use the fact that you are teaching the Shadow Clone jutsu to such young students against you when it comes to you becoming Hokage.¡±


    ¡°The other reason I brought you out here is to talk to you about your godson.¡± That piqued my interest. The young Hatake is currently on a mission in the Land of Snow. The Kazahana family is in an internal power struggle, and I suspect we are going to see a new ruler taking the crown soon.


    ¡°That is interesting. Do you think my godson¡¯s life is in danger?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that dangerous, but he is in over his head. The people of that land have begun using an interesting technology. A way to neutralize foreign chakra, they plan to use it as armor.¡±


    ¡°If what you say is true, then that could change the shinobie world. Have you discussed this matter with Lord Third? Collecting samples of such a thing should be a high priority.¡±


    ¡°Sarutobi sensie know about it. He sent Hatake to save the king and princess while Danzo¡¯s people would be in charge of gathering more information. But while I was doing my own research on the matter, I discovered a secret of the Kazahana family. Let me ask you, little Amon. What do you know about Dark Chakra?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±


    ¡°Not surprising. Hashirama banned its teaching in the village. Our government does not officially recognize it. But it is incredibly powerful. During the second shinobi world war, the village was attacked by the village hidden in the sky. A big secret to their power was something called Dark Chakra. A piece of a larger puzzle I have been working on for years.¡±


    ¡°There are three special kinds of Chakra in the world other than the basic elemental nature Chakra and Yin and Yang. There is Nature Chakra, which is found all around us, and my teammates and I use this kind of Chakra. There is another used by ninja monks I call Divinity Chakra, and then there¡¯s finally Dark Chakra.¡±


    ¡°Interesting stuff, but why tell me this?¡±


    ¡°Because Sarutobi sensie is going to send you and your students to begin peace talks with the village hidden in the snow after their current king is killed. When you get there, I believe you will be capable of learning the secrets of the Kazahana family and their connection to Dark Chakra.¡±

 Ch 26

    I miss many of the creature comforts from my previous life. I would watch T.V. all the time, and one particularly popular show was Law and Order. There was always a new season, and I could keep it playing in the background while I worked out and did chores around the house. They have radio shows here, but they don¡¯t scratch the same itch.


    One of the secrets to the show''s success was that they would take ideas from the news and make an episode based on current events. It was a good plan for a T.V. show, but a better plan for D.N.D or what I was calling Dangerous Ninja Decisions for my students. I read over public ninja records of missions and what transpired, then take the interesting ones, maybe merge some together, and then make a little mini-campaign for my students to play slash study during their cooldown period. It forced them to think not just about what they would do but also about what others would do with different resources in dangerous missions.


    This would help with working with teams of other ninjas but also predict enemy actions. The big problem I¡¯m currently facing with my students is a lack of field experience. I was busy inside the village and couldn¡¯t leave too often. If what Orochimaru said was true, I would have to take my team with me on a potentially dangerous mission, and there was no replacing field experience; this was the best I could come up with.


    A knock on my door took me out of my musings, and I sent a string of chakra to open it. ¡°Amon, I am here for¡­ What have you done to this office.¡± Kengo Uchiha said as he entered. My office was a little cluttered with public mission reports and other paperwork scattered on every surface.


    ¡°Oh, sorry, could you give me a moment to pick up?¡± I grab a few vanilla folders and quickly mark the differences between them. Using more strings, I brought the scattered paperwork from across the room to me and sorted them. Kengo came across the room and sat himself down, and grabbed one of the reports from my desk.


    ¡°These are mission reports. Why are you wasting your time on this?¡±


    ¡°You know it¡¯s no wonder why Fugaku is the clan head and not you,¡± I said back dryly. Kengo glared at me as I put the rest of the reports away. ¡°It¡¯s for my students. I run scenarios with them based on these reports.¡±


    Kengo looked at me, then down to the report in his hand. ¡°You are coddling those kids too much. How many missions have you taken them out on?¡± I pause to think about my answer but am stopped. ¡°The fact that you have to think about it is answer enough. I understand that you don¡¯t like the ways Uchihas train are young, but try not to throw the baby out with the bath water.¡±


    ¡°I know there is no replacing true field experience. This was the best I could come up with.¡±


    ¡°I hope your lying, if not then this village is doomed if you become the next Hokage.¡±


    With an annoyed huff, I ask him the question he wants me to ask: ¡°Oh great, an Uchiha with an opinion. Your clan is so famous for keeping their opinions to themselves. What would you have me do?¡±


    Kengo glares at me for a minute before opening his mouth to answer. ¡°It doesn¡¯t surprise me that you can¡¯t think of the solution to your problem. You have hopped from one long-term mission to another. One thing I noticed is that none of those reports you had flying around here were from the police.¡±


    ¡°No, they weren¡¯t. I am training them to get ready to leave the village with me on missions, not join the police force.¡±


    ¡°You want to keep them safe inside the village walls with you as long as possible while trying to toughen them up. Your years working as a bodyguard and a medic are working against you. Request that Fugaku allow your students to tag along with his people when they go on patrol. You almost certainly are training them in chakra control and the rest of the basics. This should cover the rest of the weaknesses in their training.¡±


    I paused my snarky response; the man was right. It kept the kids inside the walls while giving them a chance to stretch their legs as shinobi. ¡°Would Fugaku okay that?¡±


    ¡°He was your teammate. Your guess is just as good as mine. Any other shinobi team would make it seem like an insult or an attempt to succeed them and take over, but you should make your intentions clear. Plus, I¡¯m sure you would be able to stoke the ego of the ¡®opinionated¡¯ Uchiha clan.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well, that¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯ll make a request with his office tomorrow, but today, we are here for you. First, how¡¯s the leg?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± the man answered curtly. After no response from me, he spoke with a little more detail: ¡°It is¡­better than it was before, and my memory recently improved. I didn¡¯t realize it was a problem until it was gone, but I was having a hard time keeping track of things. Names, faces, who¡¯s dead and who isn¡¯t. One of our clan members died a little while back, and I had to pretend.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Pretend about?¡±


    ¡°I-I thought he was already dead; I thought the kid died years ago. I already wrote him off, but he had been alive. My wife reminded me that we even attended a party and talked with them briefly. I feel like an outsider in my own district.¡±


    ¡°But your memory is improving?¡± I said, taking note of his symptoms.


    ¡°Yes, absolutely, yes. I didn¡¯t realize all the little things I was doing to make up for it. I deliberately avoided talking about specific people and dates. I didn¡¯t lose anything; my wife keeps everything in order around the house for that to happen, but for clan meetings, I would forget we had them scheduled and not be prepared when I went, forgetting topics, topics that were secret and couldn¡¯t be talked about to freely, I had to be careful when the topic would resurface in the meeting and pretend I knew what they where talking about. I was just losing time, plain and simple. I felt like someone else was living my life when I wasn¡¯t looking, and I was joining conversations halfway through.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, and tell me more about these secret meetings, Plotting my demise?¡±


    ¡°Drawing straws on who gets to deliver the finishing blow. But that aside, I don¡¯t have to pretend around my people as much.¡±


    ¡°As much or at all?¡±


    ¡°As much. I have been practicing more and more, but my son has been out on missions more often than not lately, making up for his father''s absence on the battlefield, trying to feed a family by himself.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think we can solve two problems at once. I still have time before the third decides what to do with me. Do you think I should talk to Fugaku about having you escort my students on low-priority patrol around the village? Little more than a walk around the neighborhood for a man like yourself.¡±


    ¡°The pay would be awful.¡±


    ¡°Just a job that would cover a day''s ration for you, the wife, and my students. Fugaku should have enough in his budget for that. The village isn¡¯t lacking money, but manpower. The Uchiha clan likes its monopoly on village security; with you, they can still keep it.¡±


    ¡°I guess Fugaku shouldn¡¯t have that big of a problem with it. The only problem I see is my leg, Going on long patrol¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°I have been thinking about that. As you know, I was stationed in the Sand Village for a time, and one of the things I studied while I was out there was their prosthetics. The puppet users would make theirs like living art. As beautiful as they are deadly.¡±


    ¡°And as deadly to my wallet as they are beautiful. What¡¯s your point? The Uchiha clan is financially secure but a Sand Village prosthetic. It would cost an arm and a leg to cover the cost of replacing only one of them. And that¡¯s just staring price, Let¡¯s not even talk about maintenance.¡±


    ¡°Actually lets talk about both, What if I had a cheaper solution.¡±


    ¡°What if it rained cats and dogs? There is no way the Sand Village lets you study how to replicate their prosthetics for cheaper.¡±


    ¡°I found a workaround. It will take some time, and I must ask, How good are you at chakra control?¡±


    Kengo glared at me, and once I told him the plan, he hesitated. Uchiha''s is kinda good at chakra control. When they use their Sharingan, Uchiha''s can see chakra and can even detect irregularities in chakra flow, though not as effectively as the Byakugan, it still allows them to learn Jutsus much faster than none users. The only problem with this is that if they can¡¯t see someone else when learning unique Jutsus, it becomes difficult. The Uchiha¡¯s never had to deal with this problem because of constant fighting in their history. Good Jutsus that are effective in combat show up in combat, but if the Jutsu is new, different, and unique to the individual, take puppeteering, for example. You, one, need to see the puppeteer, and two, have a puppet to use. If a Sharingan user has both, no problem, but one or neither, then things get more complicated.


    After several hours, and because of the stubborn pride the Uchiha''s are so famous for, I managed to help Kengo through the process. Finally, hours after I was supposed to be done for the day and Kengo should have been sitting down with his family eating dinner, we finally did it.


    Kengo detected his son''s approach and opened my office door to let his son in.


    ¡°Dad, Amon.¡± Shisui bowed at me, which I reciprocated. ¡°Mom sent me to fetch you for dinner.¡±


    ¡°Then go and fetch her! We are celebrating tonight!¡± Kengo proclaimed.


    Shisui had an awkward look on his face, but I swooped in to save the young man. ¡°My treat. Thanks to your father''s help, I had a breakthrough on an independent project I have been working on. With his future support, I hope to help the lives of many shinobi in our village.¡± I said, gathering my things. ¡°Yakiniku Q is a personal favorite of mine; any objections?¡±


    ¡°Go fetch your mother and meet us there.¡±


    Shisui looked between the both of us, happy about our good moods but still confused as to why.¡°Um, can I tell Mom what specifically we are celebrating?¡±


    Kengo threw his hands in the air and had a sarcastic, angry look on his face, and turned to me. ¡°And he calls himself a shinobie. A Sharingan possessing Jonin he is, can you believe it.¡±


    ¡°Standers must be dropping.¡± I played along.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry for my ignorance; I will strive to do better in the future; now, would you please educate me on why we are celebrating,¡± Shisui spoke.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s no fun if he¡¯s going to be polite about the whole thing. You sure he¡¯s yours, pretty sure he has  your neighbor''s eyes.¡± My comment earned me a dirty look from both of them.


    ¡°Huff, Shisui, look,¡± Kengo said, lifting up his pants leg.


    Shisui looked and stared. What should have been a peg leg connected to a shoe now was a healthy-looking normal leg. Surprised, Shisui activated his Sharingan and saw¡­a normal leg. No difference.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°A special kind of shadow clone jutsiu. It''s a mirror of his other leg. Still working out the fine details, but it''s functional.¡±


    ¡°The trick Amon used was something called a sender and receiver seal. My leg can transfer information it¡¯s feeling to a seal attached to me.¡± He lifted his pants leg higher, and two glyphs were right next to each other. One is attached to the chakra-made limb, and the other is right above it on Kengo¡¯s thigh. ¡°It¡¯s not just a dense peg leg. I can send commands to my foot and feel the ground underneath me. I can even channel chakra through it.¡± He demonstrated this by rolling his ankle in the air and showing the bottom of his shoe, which, with Shisui Sharingan active, he could see chakra coming out of it.


    ¡°This is¡­ this is amazing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we are celebrating tonight. Now grab your mother and meet us at the restaurant, or I will do it,¡± Kengo said with a warm smile on his face.