23 Accelerated Curriculum
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction based on multiple existing anime/manga series. The characters and settings used in this story belong to their respective owners and creators, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to infringe upon any existing intellectual property. I do not own any of the original works that inspired this fanfiction, and I fully support the original creators and their works.
-Story Start-
-Third Person POV-
Mission Assignment Desk.
Well, it is not quite accurate to term it as such.
In actuality, it is comprised of a large hall-sized room that has multitudes of desks with papers that request Shinobi for certain tasks.
These tasks are then filtered by career Chunin and are assigned proper ranking depending on the parameters and the actual request itself.
Most of the time, the clients know what "Rank" their request will be so they provide the correct payment up front.
In other cases, the Chunin has to negotiate and reason with the client on why the request has to include payment due to its difficulty, or else they'd have to completely reject the request.
Here, our group of misfits gathered for their very first Shinobi assignment.
Sasuke, stoic as always, folded his arms as he was leaning on the wall.
Naruto, practically jumped in place as he bragged to Iruka about their win against Kakashi, Iruka who was oddly present at the Mission Assignment Desk
Finally, there was Akira, his expression amused yet reluctant.
Reluctant of what exactly?
They were going on their first Shinobi Mission, after all!
Hurray!
Hurray!
-Akira POV-
"Hurray!" Naruto cheered.
I shook my head, standing next to Sasuke, my gaze fixed on Naruto. "Hurray not. We're probably grocery shopping for some old lady or something."
Naruto shot me an unconvinced look, emphasizing his headband with pride. "Nah~ You're messing with me, Akira! We're cool ninjas now! We don't do stuff like that. Right, Jiji?!" He turned to the Hokage, who was oddly present.
Well, maybe "odd" isn't the right word.
I assumed the Hokage was here to motivate the new generation of eager and promising Genin.
Probably.
Give it a few missions, and we'd likely be taking assignments straight from some depressed career Chunin. As far as I knew, only A-rank and above assignments required the Hokage's direct involvement. Or high-priority B ranks.
A cracked smile appeared on Hiruzen's face as he replied, "Naruto, you are still inexperienced! I promise that soon you'll be doin-"
"WHAAAAT!?" Naruto roared, his face twisted into a snarl.
Thankfully, I was at a safe distance, sparing my ears from bleeding.
Unfortunately, Iruka wasn't so lucky, caught within Naruto's natural Sound Jutsu strike range.
As for his excellence Lord Hokage? Well, being a bit old, his hearing was sufficiently impaired for this occasion.
"SHUT UP NARUTO! STOP WHINING! YOUR TEAM'S ON ACCELERATED CURRICULUM ANYWAY!" Iruka used Big Head jutsu as he yelled back at Naruto, traces of blood leaking from his ear thanks to Naruto's prior screech.
Accelerated Curriculum? That must be what the old coots and I talked about, sort of.
Odd way of phrasing it, but it should be interesting...
It seemed I wasn't the only one catching on, as Sasuke's eyes narrowed at Iruka, and Naruto vocalized his interest, "Accelerated Curry what?"
Nevermind...
I'm pretty sure my facepalm echoed into the next room.
The sound of Kakashi appearing beside Naruto, patting his spiky blonde hair, caught my attention.
Pretty punctual.
Only fifteen minutes late.
Much to Naruto's dismay, Kakashi continued patting as he replied with an easygoing and nonchalant, "Accelerated Curriculum. It means the Village recognizes Team 7 as exceptional, and therefore, will assign you fewer D Ranks initially, and more C Ranks. To put it simply so you could understand."
Hiruzen nodded, exhaling smoke from his pipe at Naruto's surprised expression. "Indeed, in this case, Team 7 will be doing only a single D-rank mission to evaluate your methodology. Should you do well, I'll be sending you straight into C-ranks."
Straight into C-Ranks, huh?
Well, I'm fine as long as they are actual C Ranks.
And not a bona fide A-Rank like their show counterparts had gotten.
Land Of Waves? Not my problem... Hopefully.
...Did I jinx myself?
Naruto chimed in, "Methodo what?"
Sasuke responded curtly, "How we complete the mission, Dobe."
As we all processed the information, I couldn't help but ask, "How would D ranks evaluate our methodology exactly? Aren't they pretty much menial duties like grocery shopping, babysitting, construction, etc...?"
At that, Hiruzen smirked, much to both Iruka's and Kakashi's distress. "A great question, Akira. One I cannot answer. But, just be sure to do your best, kids." He smiled a warm, grandfatherly smile at the end.
Naruto smiled broadly, pointing a finger at himself. "You betcha, old man! Keep that seat warm for me!"
Hiruzen smiled warmly at Naruto, then turned to Kakashi, gesturing for him to approach.
Kakashi's steps echoed on the wooden floor as he reached Hiruzen and Iruka. Iruka took out a camera from his pouch and handed it over to Kakashi.
Hiruzen started, "As you know, Team 7 must be registered before beginning your missions. Take a picture with your team."
He took out a scroll with a large D-rank marking on it, handing it over to Kakashi. "And go ahead and complete this assignment; we'll take care of the rest of the registry and payment ourselves."
Kakashi gave it a quick read, an enigmatic emotion escaping him as he mumbled, "Catching Tora, huh?"
I replied, grabbing the scroll from Kakashi's hands, a picture of some ribbon-wearing chubby cat embedded on the paper. "Catching the Fire Daimyo Wife's cat? Shouldn't be too hard."
Sasuke took a look as well and commented with a shake of his head, "What a waste of time..."
"Just a dumb cat! We can get it easy peasy!" Naruto stated confidently.
Kakashi chuckled with a touch of mischief, "I wouldn't be so sure..."
-Scene Change-
Well, it wasn't easy peasy per se.
But it was pretty quick, taking roughly an hour thanks to our... Talents.
In a secluded corner of a park, sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting an array of shadows on the vibrant greenery.
A multitude of Whiskers, Narutos, Noc, and Mir mixed together, creating a kaleidoscope of White, Yellow, Black, and a hint of Green from Level 1 Jeff, having caught Tora with his outstretched tongue.
A few bewildered civilians who were having a leisurely walk through the park quickly ran away, mumbling "Shinobi Shenanigans again."
Sasuke and I, who sat leisurely on a building a decent distance away as we let Naruto and my Shikigami do the labor got a report from Naruto on the comms, "We got the cat!"
"Good, let's go Sasuke." I got up, stretching myself from the prolonged sitting.
"Hn." He grunted his agreement as we hopped from building to building towards the park where Tora was caught.
Amidst the sea of Whiskers, I quickly relayed the information as Naruto dispelled his clones. Ensuring Kakashi was tuned in through the comms, I exclaimed, "Did you hear that, Kakashi-sensei? We're done!"
Our collective arrival and my report were the cue for Kakashi to appear before us as he scratched behind his head, his other hand holding his Smut book, "Mah, I was kinda hoping you'd take your time."
Well...
Catching a poor cat, in a safe environment where I can use Level 1 Shikigami that are already public knowledge is easy pickings really.
Noc, Mir as well as the whole army of Whiskers to scour and Jeff to safely capture made it easy.
Not mentioning the sea of Narutos that nearly matched the number of Whiskers as he assisted in the search.
Yeah, Sasuke really went all out there - top-notch contribution.
Pfft.
Not that he seemed particularly bothered by it, his indifference a familiar trait.
'Thanks for the hard work you guys, Jeff you stay.' I dismissed Whiskers, Noc, and Mir, keeping Jeff who held Tora in his mouth, as it uselessly struggled and hissed.
"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Very unpleasant to hear.
"Now's a good time as any." Kakashi shrugged, placing his book in his pocket as he took out the camera he had been given.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Kakashi created a single clone.
"HEY! THAT'S MY JUTSU." Naruto pointed, completely insulted at Kakashi.
"He used it against us yesterday. Please work on your memory." I responded tiredly and honestly.
Which is pretty funny, coming from me.
My memory may not be great.
But Naruto's is akin to a goldfish.
...I had heard great Taijutsu Masters also suffer from this memory problem.
Kakashi approached us, his tone eager "Gather around my cute ducklings for our Team 7 picture!"
"HURRAY!" Naruto complied easily enough, yelling out.
"Shut up. Dobe." Sasuke sent a seething glare at Naruto, who had yelled in his ear.
"HUH?! DON'T ACT ALL SMUG! YOU DID NOTHING THIS MISSION!" Naruto glared back at Sasuke, barring his teeth.
Oh, for fucks sake.
"Seriously, can't you two find something else to argue about for once? My ears are getting damn tired of the same complaints." I grumbled.
A hopeless request...
I then shook my head as I directed my attention to Kakashi, "Alright, Kakashi-sensei, let's get this picture quick before they get in a brawl," I said with a cracked smile pointing at my dear teammates, meeting the lone eye of Kakashi.
He nodded as he gripped the heads of Sasuke and Naruto tightly, and brought them closer to him as I approached the middle spot in front of Kakashi.
Each time Naruto and Sasuke growled at each other, Kakashi increased his grip on their heads, judging by their pained expressions every other second.
I gave a thumbs-up to pose for the picture, whilst Naruto and Sasuke avoided eye contact but kept a snarl and a scowl respectively on their faces, while Kakashi and I had cracked smiles on our faces, well Kakashi's cracked smile through his mask.
A click and a flash came from Clone Kakashi, as our official Team 7 Picture was taken.
If one were to take a closer look, in the distance from Naruto's right shoulder stood Jeff, puffing out his chest proudly as he held a hissing cat in his mouth.
Classic Jeff, sneaky bastard.
-Scene Change-
Back in the Mission Assignment Desk.
"Oh my! Thank you for bringing back my dear Tora!" Madam Shijimi rubbed Tora with her face.
Much to its suffering.
"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" It let out a screech of agony.
Mhm, I can only sympathize. Poor cat.
Of course, I didn't say that.
"Much obliged, Madam." Kakashi nodded at her stoically as she handed the money to Iruka who sat beside Hiruzen.
She waved us goodbye, and we all waved back.
Except for Naruto and I.
Why?
Because my hands were busy with keeping Naruto's honest to-a-fault mouth shut from saying anything unnecessary to the Wife of our highest-paying client.
Who was struggling with my grip, only to bite my hand to free himself.
"FREEDOM!" He yelled as he rolled himself away from me, luckily the coast was clear from Madam Shinji so he could say whatever he wanted.
EXCEPT BITING MY DAMN HAND!
"THAT HURT YOU DUMBASS! WHY ARE YOUR CANINES SO SHARP?! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" I grabbed my hand, glaring at the painful bite mark he left.
Look, I know it seems hypocritical of me to complain about Naruto and Sasuke's petty arguments.
But this was justifiable!
Why the fuck did he bite me just now?!
"I COULDN'T MOVE DATTEBAYO! YOU ASKED FOR IT AKIRA-TEME!" Naruto snarled back, Sasuke for once enjoying the backseat this time, as he smiled smugly at his little corner over there.
I approached, a hint of threat, "THAT'S BECAUSE YOU LACK COMMON SENSE! YOU WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY GIVEN LORD HOKAGE A HEADACHE AND AN EMBARRASEMENT!"
"I ALREADY DO! BELIEVE IT! AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!" Naruto replied clashing his head with mine, our faces extremely close.
"Settle down, kid-" Kakashi tried to pacify, as Iruka and Hiruzen observed the exchange tiredly.
"WATCH THIS! SEXY JUTSU!" Naruto made the hand sign for Transformation Jutsu, and I backed off immediately.
Smoke cleared to reveal... A Female and... Ahem, mature-looking Naruto.
"Hey there~" She? purred.
It was then, that Iruka, Hiruzen, Kakashi, and even... Sasuke?!
Got nosebleeds.
Me?
I was confused.
I mean, it's not ba-
Nope.
Not going into that rabbit hole.
I slapped the Female Naruto, like a pimp and brought him out of his sexuality-questioning transformation.
"WHA? YOU'RE IMMUNE?!" Naruto backed off to the wall as he looked at me in shock as if I was some Eldritch Abomination.
Well, I'm not, but I sure can summon one.
Ahem!
Recuperating from his nosebleed and minor heart attack, Hiruzen brought attention back to himself with a cough, sending Naruto a warning glare to which he chuckled sheepishly then directed his gaze onto all of us, "You've completed the Mission much faster than I had anticipated. Well done, Kakashi any complaints? Are they ready?"
Kakashi shrugged, "Sure, they are above D-ranks"
To my surprise, he responded with his honest opinion.
But, all of us knew that.
Especially the overconfident Naruto - Judging by his eager agreement to Kakashi's statement.
Nodding, Hiruzen continued, his tone serious as he explained, causing all of us to mirror his seriousness, "Team 7. You will be having a Week of downtime while I select a proper C-Rank mission for you. During this week, you will be meeting Daily with Kakashi to be trained." He sent a warning look at Kakashi, "Properly trained." He emphasized.
Kakashi sighed.
"Am I clear, Team 7?" Hiruzen asked.
"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Naruto raised his fist in the sky, flashing a toothy and confident grin.
Sasuke smirked, pleased at the rightful treatment of us, "Hn."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." I gave a formal bow out of reflex.
Iruka smiled at us, "Good luck boys, you can go now."
We all nodded, as Kakashi gave a nod to Hiruzen and we followed suit as he walked out of the room.
It was then Sasuke asked a critical question of Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensei, why is Lord Hokage himself selecting a mission for us? Wouldn't any C Rank be fine?"
Naruto quickly answered the question for Sasuke, "It's because we're awesome!" He proudly declared as he put his hands on his waist, chest puffed out and a dumb expression on his face.
Kakashi responded to Sasuke's question as we walked out of the building, noon having not yet arrived judging by the position of the sun, "Mah, who knows? But more importantly, our training begins officially tomorrow so be sure to rest properly!" He eye smiled.
"But the day's just started! We can train right no-" Naruto, having understood that Kakashi was making his exit, complained.
"I'm afraid I'm still recuperating from yesterday's injuries. My broken fingers fill me with agony! See you tomorrow at Training Ground Three at 8:00 AM Sharp!"
Only to be interrupted by Kakashi disappearing in a swirl of leaves as he made his exit and reasoning, completely disregarding Naruto's reasonable request so he could "recuperate".
He looked fine to me...
"Accelerated Curriculum my ass. He's not taking this seriously, not even one bit." I deadpanned at where Kakashi stood but a moment ago.
"Mhm." Sasuke nodded
"BAKAKASHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Naruto yelled out dramatically as he dropped to his knees, his voice echoed throughout the village, scaring the onlookers.
-Scene Change-
Well, this wasn't the next day, but rather just an hour after Kakashi left us to our devices.
It's me, Naruto, and Sasuke in a forest.
More accurately, the Nara forest - Specifically in a privately owned area that belongs to the Clan Head.
Uncle, and by extension, me and Shikamaru.
Ah...
This place has seen better days.
A deep hole with a large tunnel was dug at its side.
An open area that once held trees that were knocked down by Solid.
A miniature lake courtesy of Dumbo.
Scars from explosions courtesy of explosive tags I had practiced drawing.
Small Barrier seals I had been recently practicing with as well.
Which really has no use to me, as I can get in and out of barriers by moving through Shadows.
The only usage is-
"Oi, Akira! Quit daydreaming and let's get to training! I don't want a tour of your damn forest! I've been here before!" Naruto complained as he ran up in front of me, stopping me from my casual pace.
"We're here." I pointed behind him, at a particularly large tree.
Sasuke seemed to understand my intention as he stated skeptically, "This is useless to me."
Naruto nodded vigorously, giving Sasuke and me a look as if we were stupid, "Of course, it's useless Sasuke! It's a tree!"
I gave them an amused look as I approached the tree, "Lord First would be insulted... Anyway."
I pointed at Sasuke, "To you, it is. But our teammate is lacking this fundamental skill that is questionably not being taught in the Academy, we'll show him the ropes and I'll spar with you while he figures that out."
Unfortunately, my Jutsu repertoire is rather specialized and pretty much lacking for Sasuke, as his Chakra Nature isn't Water like mine, nor are my Genjutsu anything flashy besides minor yet useful illusions for my Shikigami.
The best I can do for him is spar.
As they say, experience is the best teacher.
I then pointed at Naruto, "Naruto. Use that... Shakra thing and try and direct it on your feet. If you do it right, it should look something like..." I proceeded to walk on the tree, standing in clear defiance of gravity, "This." I then stood upside down hanging from a tree branch, "Or even this."
Opting to botch the theoretical knowledge when dealing with Naruto and speak his "Naruto" language to try and teach him.
"Woah... Always wondered how they did that!" Naruto was completely befuddled that he was learning this skill.
Who are "They"?
Most probably the ANBU he had attached to him his whole life until now.
Speaking of which, my dear Jonin Guard Haruki has been laid off now that I'm officially Genin.
Congratulations to him honestly, it's an incredibly boring job that I wouldn't wish on anyone else.
...Did I jinx myself again?
My attention was grabbed by the sound of wood cracking and Naruto falling from the tree, an imprint of his foot embedded on the wide bark of the large tree.
"Ah damn it!" Naruto yelled as he fell from the tree.
I turned to look at him as he caught himself from an embarrassing fall, "Hmm... Around 15 Feet on your first try. Not bad. You put a little too much Chakra in your feet."
Naruto turned to look at me skeptically, "I thought you meant Shakra?!"
"Oh for the love of... Yes, Naruto. I meant Shakra."
Patience is a skill I have yet to master.
Sometimes, Naruto can prove to be more infuriating than Makoto.
And Makoto tries to be.
Naruto just has it naturally.
I turned to look at Sasuke who had been glaring on my back, "Look, it'll take a while to explain this to Naruto. Apparently. Since you are so eager for training, deal with these guys until Naruto makes somewhat of a sense in Tree Walking. You've been wondering about them anyway haven't you?"
Making the Shadowgraphic Handsign of a Dog Head, I muttered, "Divine Dogs."
Overloading their Chakra once, I summoned their 'Level 2' variant.
Liquid Shadows moved to quickly form Noc and Mir once again.
"They are stronger than earlier, but not like that time against Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke noted.
He then nodded. "I am curious. Can you explain?" Sasuke's interest in my true strength shone through the undertone of that statement.
"Yeah! Like that big bird you made!" Naruto agreed eagerly as he dropped from the tree, having placed too little Chakra this time.
"More Shakra next time Naruto. And, well, I don't mind explaining. As you know my Kekkei Genkai is called the "Eight Shadows", only four shadows have been revealed to the public thus far. But that's not all-"
"Strengthening them was never mentioned," Sasuke confirmed.
Well, the Yamanaka and Akimichi also know, but semantics.
I clicked my fingers and nodded, "Exactly. But there's more to it."
From there, I revealed to my teammates information that would have been revealed soon regardless.
All my other Eight Shadows, strengthening them.
And the relatively new capability of fusing them.
On top of elaborating on my Shadow Movement - Though they already knew about that.
Of course, all that was dumbed down to Naruto's understanding level - So I never implied as to the political reasoning behind these things and why they were only subtly revealed, etc...
Of course, Sasuke understood the implications himself, thoroughly impressed with the Kekkei Genkai.
Thank you Smug Uchiha for your approval.
Naruto just thought it was cool and called it a day, wanting to ride on Nue's back so he could fly again.
We then proceeded on with Noc and Mir sparing with Sasuke, Naruto and I trying to get him to climb a tree with steady progress.
Then I moved on to sparing Sasuke with his Sharingan myself.
Trying to think of ways to deal with it besides overwhelming and blitzing him.
Which is admittedly easy when I almost always can get a numbers advantage whenever I please, while my Taijutsu is much greater than his own.
But he's improving, it's visible in front of me.
As he copies my attacks and feints.
Albeit at a lower level but still.
This continued until evening when the sun began to set and we were all sweaty and tired.
Our Chakra has run low, Naruto notwithstanding.
Realizing the day had taken its toll, and with the training session coming to an end, I invited Naruto and Sasuke to join me for dinner at my place.
Unfortunately, they had other plans and declined, heading home for the evening.'
Yes, to my surprise Naruto had plans.
With who?
None of my business I guess.
Thus, we bid each other goodbye.
-Scene Change-
"I'm home!" I announced in relief after I opened the front door with a creak.
Relief that I'm home cause this has been a long day.
"Good! I need help with the dishes after you take a bath!" The accursed Banshee gave me a warm welcome as her voice rang from the Kitchen.
Not to be an ungrateful son, but a chore isn't the warmest welcome.
Unfortunately, this is a mandatory quest, or else I suffer the consequences.
Which doesn't mean I can't complain about it.
I sigh as I make my way toward the kitchen, "No problem. But hadn't Shikamaru come back yet?"
Asuma is a pretty lax guy, evident by the fact that yesterday's test for them was simply introductions in Yakiniku.
Leisurely introducing each other as they chowed down on some top-notch meat.
He even paid their bill!
...Yes, that was it.
Clearly, Asuma had no choice but to let them pass.
But he still opted to not even test them one bit.
I wonder how Lord Hokage feels about that one?
However, those evaluation papers are practically useless when your Shinobi are loyal to a fault.
Unless you get accepted into the ANBU or your Jonin Sensei suddenly dies and you need a new one.
I passed by the living room and got the answer to my question.
A groggy Shikamaru on the couch.
Yet, the question remained.
Why must the grimy, tired, stinky Akira have to do the dishes I wonder?
"What's got you so tired Shika?" I approached getting a closer look at him.
Hand on his belly, a twisted expression.
"Mhm... You're sick," I stated.
Shikamaru snarked back with a pained voice, "Gee, I wonder what clued you in?"
I tilted my head at him, my expression curious, "You seem to feel decent enough for banter... Did you overeat or something? That's usually Choji's problem, not yours."
Shikamaru shook his head, "I have no idea, we ate at Yakiniku... Maybe food poisoning which is unlikely, or a bad reaction from some of the foods I ate."
True, that would be pretty off, considering he's eaten at a highly-regarded establishment.
Well, if the genius is clueless then so am I.
There are days like these as well, where you get sick or have some weird pain in some weird spot and it disappears in like a day or two.
It's something that happens in this world regardless of Chakra.
I approached and patted his pineapple hair much to his displeasure, with a sympathizing tone, "I hope you get well. Worst comes to worst I'll get a pill from Yukiko just for you."
"You want me dead," Shikamaru concluded.
"Not yet." I corrected.
"AKIRA QUIT DAWDLING AROUND! GO TAKE A BATH ALREADY!" A screech echoed through the whole house.
"Yes Ma'am!" I shouted back to pacify the beast, as I made my way to heat up the bath.
-Time Skip-
The next day, we returned to Training Ground Three.
Of course, I arrived at 9:30 AM.
Apparently, when I arrived, Naruto and Sasuke were already engaged in a friendly spar, evident from the sight of their distant figures amidst an army of Shadow Clones and a large fireball puffing out.
Approaching them leisurely, they paused momentarily, acknowledging my presence. Naruto was lifted by Sasuke, his Sharingan blazing, poised to lay down Naruto.
At my distraction, Naruto took the opportunity to... Kick Sasuke in the Uchiha's.
Causing him to drop to his knees in utter pain, while Naruto was let go from the hold, his smirk victorious.
"HRRRRR" Sasuke choked out, weakly, his voice squeaky.
"Naruto Uzumaki! Has done it again! Take that Teme!" He pointed at Sasuke in pride.
I shook my head, "With that, Naruto, you are definitely the "Teme" in this arrangement."
He waved me off, as he puffed out his chest in pride, reminding me oddly of Jeff.
Approaching Sasuke, my tone sympathetic and lecturing "My sympathies. Although obvious, you should always protect that area. Never did I expect Naruto to go so low as to strike you there at an opportunity, but Shinobi fights are unpredictable." I shrugged.
"Believe it! BAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!" Naruto laughed like a hyena as he pointed at Sasuke who was teared up from the dirty strike.
Mhm.
Definitely kicking Naruto in the Uzumaki's when possible.
Not me though.
Naruto is definitely on Sasuke's Vengeance List, being a close second to Itachi himself in terms of priority.
Clapping once, I started, "So... How long have you guys been here?"
Sasuke wasn't really in the condition to answer, so Naruto did as he paused his laughter to respond, "Ergh... I just got here like 20 minutes ago. I think? Sasuke was here for almost an hour." He pointed at Sasuke.
I reached out to pat Sasuke's back as he remained bent over in pain, "My sympathies. As eager as we are to train as well, you need to understand that Kakashi-sensei would arrive at least an hour and a half late."
Though, he has been hiding in that distant tree over there ever since I got here.
He wasn't really trying to hide himself.
...Is he waving at me?
Anywho.
Sasuke has been taking way too many losses these past few days.
Enough to get his second Tomoe I'd bet!
Before he responded to me, his blazing Sharingan pierced through Naruto, as he felt a chill go down his spine, "Y-You'll get that back a hundredfold, Dobe!" Sasuke promised with a growl.
'A HUNDRED FOLD?!' Naruto screamed in his mind.
Naruto chuckled sheepishly, "Hahaha! My bad Sasuke, we're friends, aren't we?"
Ah, he's here, always the master of inserting himself into a conversation.
"Friends don't usually kick each other in the genitals, Naruto." Kakashi arrived behind us.
Good thing my Steely behind was always ready for any unprompted Kakashi violation.
...Odd thought, I should get checked out.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto roared out at Kakashi as he turned around.
Kakashi nodded, his words were apologetic, yet his tone was easygoing as always, "Ah, sorry. A spandex-wearing Jonin tried to duel me in rock paper scissors and I-"
"CUT THE CRAP!" Naruto retaliated, whilst Sasuke who slowly got back up and recovered from his grave injury flashed an unconvinced glare at Kakashi.
Actually, that might have happened, but that wasn't the reason he was late.
Taking out his smut book, getting us frustrated at his uncaring attitude as he started, with a heavy sigh as if he hadn't wanted any part of this, "Now... Let's get to your training. Take a seat."
He gestured to the grassy ground, Naruto now a ball of excitement eagerly plopped down on the grass, a cheerful grin on his face.
Sasuke had an excited smirk - Not too different than his regular smirk.
His facial muscles don't move that much.
As for me, I was curious as to what he could teach me, honestly.
Personally, I think I'm at a level where it'd be difficult to be taught anything to further my current skills except actual on-field experience.
Maybe things I'm not specialized in.
Like Lightning Style or something.
But I'll keep an open mind, he isn't Kakashi Hatake for nothing.
...I hope.
He's not exactly well known as a Good Sensei - His record of students amounts to a rough estimate of Zero.
For better or worse, I'll discover firsthand I guess.
Nodding, Kakashi pointed at Naruto, a lone eye fixed on him as he dissected him with an even tone, his glance occasionally reading a line from his Smut masterpiece, "Naruto, your fighting style resembles that of a wild animal. You're completely disregarding the Konoha Standard Taijutsu form and relying solely on instinct. This impulsiveness stems from your brash nature and lack of self-control."
It was a second later that Naruto had pulled his sleeves and got up to try and clobber Kakashi.
It was another second after that I had to pull him down and shove a kunai in his mouth to chew on, so he wouldn't give me another bite mark.
Kakashi nodded sagely, "See what I mean?"
"We all know Naruto's fuse is shorter than he is. Please get to the point Kakashi-sensei," I commented neutrally
At my comment, Naruto's teeth gritted the Kunai harder as his struggle was boosted by the power of his rage.
...Maybe I should let this rabid dog maul Kakashi rather than protect him from it?
Sasuke, losing his patience mumbled, "Yes. Get to the point..."
Kakashi's tone echoed amusement, "My point is, that's what Naruto and I will be working on."
Sasuke quickly pointed at himself, his inquisitive glare practically melting Kakashi.
Kakashi pocketed his Smut Book, as he proceeded to make a handsign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three Kakashis appeared out of the smoke, each one in front of us.
A clone for each of us?
...He's exerting a considerable amount of effort more than I had anticipated from him.
The Kakashi in front of Naruto clapped, his tone goofy, "Alright, Naruto! Let's go, we're splitting up. Akira, release the Naruto." He pointed at me.
I steadily removed myself from Naruto, who bit the air, echoing the vocal sound of his teeth clashing together.
Wouldn't want another one of those on my skin.
No sir.
Nodding, pleased, Kakashi gestured Naruto to follow, who got up and did so, his excitement subdued because he'd rather glare at me menacingly.
"Behave yourself next time!" I shouted to the disappearing pair.
"ANOTHER PAINT PRANK FOR YOU! AKIRA-TEME!" He yelled back.
Oh, he hadn't got the balls.
"I DARE YOU. YOU WON'T!" I challenged him
"YOU'LL SEE! I NEVER GO BACK ON MY WORD DATTEBAYO!" Naruto confidently retorted.
Dug his own grave I see.
Both Kakashi clones gave me a look, as the one in front of Sasuke explained, "Okay... Sasuke, your bases are almost perfect... But too low of a level - To elevate them we'll build on what you have and add on to it. Specifically utilizing the Sharingan and mastering it."
Sasuke snorted in amusement, the irony not having escaped him, 'A non-Uchiha teaching a Uchiha how to use the Sharingan.'
The Kakashi partnered with Sasuke and gestured for him to follow, deciding to go and train while standing on the river.
Gotta say, efficient, by training his control at the same time.
Hold up.
How did he know Sasuke learned water walking?
...Creepy.
The Kakashi in front of me pointed at me, his lone eye narrowed at me as a serious atmosphere suddenly enveloped us, "Akira..."
"Yeah...?" I tilted my head, incredibly confused.
A moment of tense silence crosses us both by until Kakashi breaks the silence with an awkward tone, "Mhm... I got nothing."
The doubt on my face couldn't have been more obvious, "Uh... What do you mean, "I got nothing"?"
He shrugged, "I got nothing to teach you, at least right now. You've clearly been trained by the Nara's Jonin. Elders even?"
My eyes narrowed at him, and I ignored his rather correct observation to respond to his statement, "Got nothing to teach, or don't want to teach?"
Although I expected him to not have much that he could probably teach me.
But nothing?
I refuse to believe he can't teach me ANYTHING.
Kakashi nodded, "Yes."
YES, WHAT?!
...
I see how it is.
"So... What are we going to do then?" I calmed myself as I inquired in a composed tone.
"Although I cannot teach you anything at the moment, what you clearly lack despite your training is experience. So that's why you'll be sparing with me." Kakashi added, much to my relief.
I nodded, my tone now pleased, "Okay, that would be nice."
More or less how I had been with Makoto, sounds good.
Though, a spar?
"You're not a clone, right?" I asked, my tone slightly skeptical and concerned.
There's no way he can beat me with just a shadow clone...
Right?
Kakashi shook his head, scratching behind his spiky hair, "Mah, I'm not that good. You're Kekkei Genkai is a bad matchup for Shadow Clones. I'll refrain from using my Sharingan."
Oh, thank God.
"You don't mind if I experiment with my Kekkei Genkai, Kakashi-sensei? I'd appreciate feedback on weaknesses and such. Of course, please don't kill them." I posed a question suddenly.
Kakashi nodded matter-of-factly.
At least he's on board.
"Start!" He signaled once he was a distance away from me in the open glade.
I took a deep breath as I concentrated on my Chakra and focused on controlling its flow.
I carefully yet swiftly weaved the Shadowgraphic hand sign of wings, not taking any manual control of the Chakra Drain, and then proceeded to form the Shadowgraphic hand sign of an Elephant Head, extremely careful in controlling how much Chakra was drained.
Then... I let go, and the Fusion was complete.
Shikigami Fusion.
By far, the most complicated facet of the Ten Shadow Technique, yet the one with the most potential I believe.
I have dozens of papers on just this one ability.
Shikigami Fusion follows a simple formula I had made straight from my notebook:
Base Shikigami + 2nd Shikigami's Features = Fused Shikigami.
When you want to use more than one:
Base Shikigami + 2nd Shikigami's Features + 3rd Shikigami's Features + ... = Fused Shikigami.
Pretty straightforward, right?
NOT!
The problem arises when I have to consider what exactly I want my fused Shikigami to be, and what its cost will be.
What the formula means when I wrote "Features" are either physical Features of a specific Shikigami, like Whisker's long ears, or Ability Features like Dumbo's Water Pressure Trunk.
The more Features I shove onto my Base Shikigami from other Shikigami, the more Chakra it costs.
More Chakra = More Taken Features.
The taken features can be regulated through my favorite measurable metric!
BLOODY IMAGINATION!
Ahem!
However, the problem also comes into play when we speak about unnecessary features especially when they cost me extra Chakra.
How exactly would Dumbo with Level 1 Nue's wings fly?
Exactly.
He wouldn't, it'd be a waste of Chakra.
Now, how about a Nue with Dumbo's Trunk to create a powerful wave of water and lightning?
Ah... Now that sounds useful.
And that is the very first Shikigami Fusion I had managed to create.
One of the only three by the way.
Why has this been so difficult even with all those?
The fact that I have to regulate just the right amount of Chakra to get the Fusion I want.
Most of my initial attempts before I got a feel for these three fusions ended up as some Eldritch Abominations.
How?
Well, because of what I term the "Autocomplete System".
Or my disturbing subconscious according to Shikamaru's theory.
Unlike the regular Shikigami where having too little Chakra results in absolutely nothing when I attempt a summon, allegedly.
Here, when I start fusing them, I can place as much and as little Chakra as I want as long as I exceed the Base Shikigami's cost.
The problem then is this - if I try and fuse Nue and Divine Dogs, providing the complete cost of summoning Divine Dogs.
It wouldn't be a perfect fusion between the two.
No, no no.
It couldn't be that simple.
It'd be an amalgamated Nue with eight extra limbs and two dog heads... Yeah.
Regardless of how I imagined the fusion to go.
A waste of Chakra and basically nightmare fuel.
So, the solution is to carefully control how much Divine Dog I want to be fused into Nue, taking careful control of how much Chakra that costs, making sure it's less than the cost of Divine Dogs, and having a clear image of the features to be fused into her.
Of course, to make it even more fun for me, each feature, like head, ability, limb, fur, etc... Has an appointed and set Chakra Cost I can only get a feel for, not measure.
The Autocomplete System, a big "Fuck you" to my face pretty much, comes into play when I provide more Chakra than necessary for a Fusion.
Let's assume I want to fuse Dumbo's Water Pressure Trunk into Nue.
That intended Fusion, ideally, costs 1000 Chakra on the dot.
What if I give it 1100 Chakra?
Then...
A random extra thing comes out.
Nue gets the trunk, sure.
But that extra leg wasn't on the menu.
Nor was that third eye that suddenly appeared on her wing, disturbing as that is.
Mhm, fun.
As a final universal "Fuck you", after the fusion is complete, the Chakra cost for the fused Shikigami is then multiplied by around 1.5 times.
Don't get me started on the fact that not all Shikigami are compatible to fuse with each other.
Guess what's the solution to the problem of lacking compatibility for a desired fusion?
MORE CHAKRA!
By the by, Nue is interestingly compatible with every Shikigami I have right now, as long as it is the Base Shikigami.
Now, this may sound like a horrible ability.
And it is.
Here are some fun facts about it:
(1) Infinite potential with enough practice.
(2) The Fused Shikigami can be killed and I won't lose its components - The Fused Shikigami has no personality, it's like an AI that listens to commands.
(3) With the correct fusions and situations, it may be better than a leveled-up variant.
(4) If they can be leveled up - To be tested, this could potentially be broken.
(5) Unfortunately, the Shikigami used for the Fusion cannot be summoned as long as the fused product is running around.
And so... The result of my practiced fusion was...
Liquid shadows swiftly coalesced into a Level 1 Nue, seamlessly integrating Dumbo's Trunk.
I meticulously adjusted its size, focusing on the "Water Pressure" feature.
The fusion process, a culmination of two months of practice, finally manifested successfully.
I don't care that it's ugly!
It's practical and perfect for me!
Kakashi hummed, "Huh, you gave it a trunk"
"Sure did." I cracked my neck, weaving the Shadowgraphic hand sign of a Dog.
"Divine Dogs," I mumbled.
Overloading the Chakra twice to summon the Level 3 Noc and Mir duo.
'Nue will strike at Kakashi, split up, and strike his possible escape routes.' I ordered
At that, Nue sprayed an ungodly amount of water from her trunk at Kakashi's location, wings sparking with lightning.
I ran towards Kakashi at max speed, meeting him head-on, a sharp clang echoed as my Kunai met Kakashi's.
The water was not far away from us as Nue had now released lightning upon it, making it a bad idea to make contact.
Swiftly, I plunged into the shadows, anticipating Kakashi's evasion from the electrified water unleashed by Nue.
The initiation of our sparring session signaled the commencement of Team 7's intense week-long training.
...Hopefully intense, Kakashi is pretty hard to get a grasp of.
To Be Continued!
-Omake Start-
Title - Akira's Notes 1 (Canon)
-Third Person POV-
Deep in the recesses of Akira's unorganized Shadow Storage.
Lay many things.
From illegal substances for the purpose of dispatching fellow men.
To... Bricks?
Ahem!
But here, we gather to focus on Akira's more research-oriented equipment.
Namely, Books and Notebooks.
Like:
Fuinjutsu for Dummies - Volume 1.
Barrier Techniques To Hide From Your Wife - Volume 3.
And...
Icha Icha Innocence!
...Wait, how'd that get in there?
Woah, is that a limited edition?
Cut!
Cut!
***********************************************
Ahem!
Akira's Notebooks:
*Notes are written with brackets - ()*
(Akira! Remember to write with a Pencil!)
Title: Kekkei Genkai Notes:
↓
Ten Shadows Shikigami:
↓
-Tamed-
↓
(1) Divine Dogs - Noc and Mir
Known Levels - 1 > 2 > 3 > ? >>> Max Level?
Details...
(2) Toad - Jeff.
Known Levels - 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > ? >>> Max Level?
Details...
(3) Rabbit Escape - Whiskers
Known Levels - 1 > 2 > ? >>> Max Level?
Details...
(4) Nue - Nue
Known Levels - 1 > 2 > 3 (Lasts 5 Minutes) > 4 (Assumed Sukuna's Nue?) >>> Max Level?
Details...
(5) Great Serpent - Solid
Known Levels - 1 > 2 > 3 (Pretty underwhelming upgrade) > ? >>> Max Level?
Details...
(6) Max Elephant - Dumbo
Known Levels - 1 > 2 (Sukuna used) > ? >>> Max Level?
Details...
(7) Piercing Ox - Beeflejuice (NEW!)
Known Levels - 1 >? >>> Max Level
Details... (UPDATE SOON!)
-Untamed-
↓
(8) Tiger Funeral - Tame Pre Chunin Exams (Don't forget! Make sure two Jonin are there as well so that slimy old coot won't chew ya out.)
Details...
(9) Round Deer - TAME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Details...
(10) Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga - I have absolutely no clue how to deal with this one just yet...
Details...
-Omake End-
-Author Note Start-
Yo, you wonderful people!
Here's the new chapter! Once again!
This has been a rather goofy chapter, but necessary cause we'll be getting to serious stuff very soon.
By very soon, I mean the next chapter is their C-Rank.
Don't worry, I'm not delaying that.
Hope it was enjoyable and up to quality and stuff, and made sense of course.
I'd like to take this chance to give a fair warning once again - Canon will be majorly derailed.
Some events will stay relatively the same, some won't.
Don't expect Akira to cruise by events he knows will happen.
if it makes sense for Akira to keep an event as is, he will.
if it doesn't, then he will try and change it as logically sound as he can muster. (He ain't a genius people)
Thus, I'd also appreciate your opinion on the "Accelerated Curriculum" they have going on, and Kakashi actually training them.
Ahem!
Opinions on the Shikigami Fusion System anyone? Hope you like it! And that the explanation wasn't too overwhelming, I wanted it to be as detailed as possible.
Finally, hope I've done the Canon characters justice - Specifically Team 7.
They'll be vital people after all, and I'd be absolutely ashamed to make them one-dimensional or something.
Except for Sakura (not a member of this team 7 but ya know) - She's getting a BurgerNoTomatoes makeover.
No, she isn't getting fat, but you'll see what I mean later on.
(Not making her overtly out of character, calm your horses.)
As for the votes on movie content, I have decided what will be my move.
So you'll have to see in the story :P
Thanks for the votes by the way! Appreciate it!
-Down here is the copy paste stuff-
As always people! If you see any inconsistencies, wrong information, Illogical statements, etc... Notify me, please! I'll fix it ASAP! And or explain it later on in case I had planned to make it vague in the first place.
Also, all comments, reviews, constructive criticism and so on Are much appreciated! I especially love Constructive criticism because it allows me to improve the story in real time! I try my best to follow your advice!
I enjoy responding to you all! So do send them comments! Also, ideas are also welcome! I'm not that creative so assistance from you guys is always nice! Yup!
I hope you lovely people have a fantastic rest of the day/week. And I'll see you in a week's time or so :P
The world's largest desert is not the Sahara but Antarctica. While often associated with ice and snow, a desert is technically defined by its low rainfall, and Antarctica fits this criterion. Here's this week's random fact.
-Author Note End-
