5 Curse of Ice (Part 2)

After Abe-sensei had asked him if he was ready to practice the normal way of performing water jutsu, he went to his office to get something for their lesson leaving Hayase alone with his thoughts.

Dread still at the edges of his mind at reattempting the water bullet jutsu that had nearly exploded his lungs, Hayase decided to not waste time and perform his version of the leaf kata while he centered himself. Nervously awaiting Abe-sensei's instructions, Hayase recalled what he knew of chakra nature transformation. In the anime, only Naruto's training with the wind affinity was shown and it stood in stark contrast to the scene of other characters learning elemental jutsu (like Uchiha with the fire style: fireball jutsu).

'While Naruto seemed to follow the method that Abe described - specifically practicing the nature change first, other training arcs like Sasuke learning the Chidori [AN: his first lightning release] simply involved performing the same jutsu over and over,' thought Hayase, 'why wouldn't Abe-sensei just take that approach with me? It's not like I'm trying to invent a... wait... could that be it? Does he think I should create my own water jutsu in the future?'

Feeling his movements become stiff as he got distracted by the thought, Hayase tried to grasp at the feeling he occasion got while fighting. The feeling of focus and flexibility, the feeling of being like water. Floating through his moves, Hayase continued his thoughts, 'With my water bending, maybe it does make sense to create new jutsu rather than reuse old ones. I don't need the jutsu to control the direction of the water. Creating water or empowering it with chakra would be nice though.'

Coming to a staggered stance while appearing to block an invisible opponent, Hayase strike out with the rapidity that he built in the previous weeks sparing with Guy and training with the Might duo. Although not a massive improvement in raw power, his technique had been hammered into shape as well. To avoid having his bending disrupted again in the future, Hayase had prioritized his physical agility and bending speed as much as he could.

***Flash Back***

One evening when Might Duy was out on a mission, Guy and Hayase could be found at the Might residence. While Guy performed handstand pushups, Hayase attempted to match his pace with normal push-ups.

"297.. 298... 299... 300..." huffed Hayase as he rolled over. Drenched in sweat, he said, "I don't know how you do some many..."

Still upside-down, Guy begins to say, "It's all about yo-" only to lose balance after trying to give a thumbs up with one of the hands holding him up!

After Guy emerges from a cloud of dust, the boys make eye contact and burst out laughing. "Hahaha, I guess I need to add one-armed hand-stand push-ups to our workouts!"

"Sounds about right haha, I guess I'll need to work towards the normal one-armed push-ups then. If I don't reply with my own thumbs up, what kind of friend would I be?" Hayase joked.

With a smile that trailed into something more somber, Guy replied, "Thanks Hayase... It's nice having someone to train with when Tousan is away. Ever since the war began, his missions have been getting longer and longer.."

"Don't worry Guy, I'm sure he'll come home soon. Your Tousan is strong and, if anyone was going to run extra fast to get home sooner, it's Duy-san!" replied Hayase, sensing Guy's nerves as he thought 'As resilient as Guy seems, we're both just kids. How many shinobi's children are staying up at night during this war praying to Kami that their parents return? It's no wonder that 'peace' motivated the shinobi world's antagonists.'

Trying to distract Guy, Hayase said with a smile, "Besides, we get to spar as much as we want when your Tousan isn't here! So we should take advantage of it while we can! Want to get started?"

"Yes! The usual rules?" replied Guy excited at the prospect.

Hearing Guy's question, Hayase nodded. The usual rules had come to mean the rules from the first spar. Ninjutsu is allowed, no weapons, and restricted fighting area. When Guy first started asking to fight again under these rules, Hayase felt a little bad. Wasn't it unfair? Unfortunately, getting his ass kicked quickly dissuaded him from that idea.

Guy used the spars to gain experience against an opponent with ranged abilities and close combat abilities. Meanwhile, Hayase was forced to adapt to fighting someone physically superior.

Standing opposite of each other, each boy waited for the other to twitch or otherwise move to signal the start of the spar. When Guy shot forward, Hayase summoned water from his gourd and then supplemented it with water from the air.

To keep up with Guy's speed, Hayase had adopted, for now, a long-distance style modeled on what he remembered of the pro-bending in Legend of Korra. With quick punches, he sent out bursts of water. Each one forced Guy to weave as he got closer. Unlike in the first match, Hayase used less water with each burst, but he put more force into each of them.

Following a familiar pattern by now, Guy closed the last few yards with a powerful kick forcing Hayase to sidestep the kick and block Guy's follow kick from a weakened position. However, now well practiced in recovering his water mid-fight, Hayase covered an arm in water in preparation.

Knowing better than to give Hayase time to prepare or create distance, Guy launches a jab toward Hayase! Dodging to the side, Hayase has the water ready. Just as a right hook from Guy closed in, Hayase extended the water out from his arm and grabbed the hook (almost like a short tentacle). Using the water's grip on Guy's arm, Hayase pulled him forward into a knee to the gut.

"Gah! Looks like it's your point Hayase! 21-7, your taijutsu has improved greatly since we first started," wheezed Guy cradling his stomach.

"Thanks.. hah... it's tiring keeping up with you though."

The boys had started keeping track of who landed the first real unblocked hit in their short spars. Although both of them wanted to extend the sparring sessions, Duy had made them promise to minimize injuries so they could focus on getting stronger and improving their skills. Instead of long spars, they decided to simply spar multiple times with a variety of different rules to feel like they weren't breaking the promise to Duy-san.

***Exit Flash Back***

Reflecting back on his spars with Guy, Hayase could feel the difference in his taijutsu and water bending. Using his water bending in combat had become more natural for him and he had started shoring up weaknesses like recovering the water or giving the water more stopping power. Even the combinations between taijutsu and bending were a way to help him hit harder.

Besides the improvement in raw power though, Hayase could also feel his connection with water slowly growing closer the more he practiced his bending. Although it wasn't a massive change, Hayase could see the growth in his efforts to pull water from the air. Resonating with water vapor that he couldn't see forced him to simultaneously resonate his chakra at a higher frequency and reach out with his senses for the water.

In talking to Abe-sensei before, Hayase mentioned that his connection to water felt almost spiritual. "When I first controlled water, it was almost like it was responding to my emotions or will, not some desire to control it," he remembered trying to explain. At the time, Abe had mentioned that it was quite common for chakra to react to emotions.

In fact, Abe lectured, "Some historians of jutsu believe that many early rudimentary jutsu may have been guided by emotions, but being over-reliant on a particular mental state proved a fatal flaw for ninja that needs to be ready for battle at a moment's notice." [AN: To be clear, this is some lore that I'm introducing to flesh out the shinobi world's development].

Continuing, Abe had said, "If your ability is at all similar, then you would do well to practice meditation... most shinobi don't have the patience for it until they're much older or after they've seen combat, but I think you ought to meditate on this connection with water for a few weeks and see if you notice anything."

Although Hayase had followed Abe's guidance, the meditation didn't prove as beneficial as he might have hoped. Unlike when he was actively water bending, resonating his chakra with water while staying still was more difficult. Sitting in the clearing near his apartment at dusk, Hayase meditated each night before bed. Mostly, the meditative moments let him hone in on the specific feeling of his chakra resonating with water.

The hum of his chakra seemed to sing to him in these moments bringing him small insights... nothing major. Whether it was his active imagination or real insights, the insights usually came in the form of half-thoughts or half-images, typically related to bodies of water. For example, once he found his thoughts drifting to that day's spar with Guy, only to find himself comparing his taijutsu to a stream winding through a forest, its path shaped by rocks and hills. Not much of an insight, but it forced Hayase to consider how he might create a taijutsu style that is flexible and yet also powerful enough to cut its own path.

"Hayase! Let's get to it!" said Abe-sense suddenly returning. Ceasing his kata, Hayase nodded although he found himself wondering, 'Why was Abe-sensei gone so long? It shouldn't have taken so long for him to get to his office and back.'

Putting the thought to the back of his mind, however, Hayase reminded himself that his sensei could have simply been testing him to see if he would train in his absence or get more nervous. 'Yep that's probably it,' thought Hayase hopefully.

"Alright, so first off, I requested the usage of chakra paper to confirm your affinities. Next, I'll talk you through how you will be practicing the water nature change. Any questions?"

"Sensei, why do you need to check my affinity? Don't we already know that my affinity is water?" replied Hayase, immediately perplexed by the added step.

"Well... Hayase, while you certainly have an affinity for water, the other skills that you've demonstrated have raised questions regarding whether you might have other affinities" replied Abe-sensei. "Between the steam and ice, that would normally suggest three elemental affinities which would be quite rare," continued Abe.

Pulling out the small piece of eggshell white paper, Abe gestured for Hayase to take it. "Place this on your hand and release some chakra into it. You're lucky that the dean approved my request to test your affinity, chakra induction paper is usually way overpriced because of how fragile it is, all that it takes is a little too much chakra exposure, and whoosh a whole shipment will be gone. That's why the escort missions are usually reserved for jonin. One too many a team of genin has used a wide-scale jutsu without thinking about the fragile cargo."

"Thanks, Abe-sensei..." replied Hayase, grasping the paper tenderly. Rough to the touch like papyrus, chakra paper had a subtle veinlike structure to it. As Hayase directed the chakra to his palm, he quickly felt his 'water sense' flare up as the paper disintegrated into a small puddle of water.

"Hmm... just an affinity for water it seems. You never seem to provide any easy answers, do you Hayase?" stated Abe, now becoming used to the almost never-ending surprises that Hayase threw his way.

"So this means my ice isn't related to wind release?" inquired Hayase while inwardly thinking, 'I guess this isn't a huge surprise... I've never felt any connection to the wind or air.' While the ice kekkei genkai of the shinobi world was understood to create ice through the mixing of two elemental natures, Hayase suspected that his ice bending resulted from a more direct form of temperature control based on his ability to control water molecules.

"It's hard to know... our typical understanding of chakra theory tells us that the wind nature is necessary to freeze the water. That's how ninjas sometimes imitate ice jutsu by combining water and wind jutsu," replied Abe-sensei, "Regardless let's get to practice! Although I may not have the water affinity myself, the academy has spent years trying to determine the safest ways for students to be introduced to elemental jutsu. Depending on the affinity, there are different exercises that you can do to become familiar with the nature change. For water, it is actually rather simple...

Sitting cross-legged to demonstrate, Abe-sensei cupped his hands together and extended them out in front of him. "Unlike fire which might burn you, or wind that is invisible, transforming your chakra into water is actually rather safe, outside of your body," he added with a pointed look in Hayase's direction, "With your hands like this, direct chakra to your hands, try to imbue it with the properties of water and then expel it slowly... if it works, it should pool slowly in your palms"

"That's it? How do I mold it into water?" replied Hayase skeptically.

"Oh there's more, but the details for how YOU specifically will need to manipulate are more of an art than science... there are recommendations like trying to give your chakra the viscosity of water, but the recommendations are just lists of what ideas have worked for past shinobi trying to get their chakra to imitate water." replied Abe with a knowing laugh before continuing, "In my case, I found success with my wind affinity by focusing on the lightness of air, but I know others whose nature change was more closely related to the cutting force of the wind."

Excited, Hayase said, "So once I figure out what method works for me, then I'll be set!" Only to hear, Abe quickly stated, "Oh Kami no, that's just the beginning. You'll need to master it to the point that it is almost second nature to you, and then you need to work on how much chakra you can convert to water nature chakra in one go."

"Ugh Abe-sensei, how long will this all take? Will I be able to finish this training before I graduate?" said Hayase with a look of worry on his face.

At Hayase's question, Abe paused for a moment - stalling in thought - before saying with a sigh, "In your time at the academy, you can't hope to 'master' these techniques. Even chunin with a focus on elemental jutsu continually try to improve the quantity of chakra that they can convert to their affinity. Without the ability to quickly convert a large amount of chakra to your affinity, many shinobi who have enough chakra are simply unable to perform higher-level elemental jutsu."

"I had no idea..." muttered Hayase while thinking, 'it looks like becoming stronger is even tougher than I thought,' before deciding to ask, "What about people with smaller reserves though?"

"Jeez kid, final question alright... The simple answer is that of course it still matters, but for a slightly different reason. Similar to how chakra control can prevent the wasting of unnecessary chakra in ninjutsu, your skill in nature change decides how much chakra is wasted when you convert the chakra into water in your case." replied Abe, "Enough of chatting though, get practicing... there's only a little bit of time left in our session and I'd like to see you at least try."

"Yes Sensei," replied Hayase as he assumed the posture. With his hands cupped, he closed his eyes and tried to direct his chakra to his hands like he would if it was the leaf exercise. Once the chakra was in place, he wondered, 'now what... should just imagine the chakra is a river, should I try to manipulate its density or something, what does water feel like?'

Suddenly, he realized! 'Wait, I'm such an idiot! Nobody knows what water feels like better than me! If my chakra takes on the properties of water, then my water sense should kick in, right?' he thought hopefully.

With that theory in mind, Hayase began trying out dozens of ideas while keeping track of the feedback from his water sense. Even without letting the water leave his body, he could tell if he was moving in the right direction! Narrating his efforts, he thought, 'Imagining that my chakra is wet... no reaction. Imagining that my chakra is water... no reaction. Damn, imagination isn't enough.'

Undeterred that it wasn't as easy as imagining the element, Hayase recalled that his sensei had mentioned the viscosity of water. With that in mind, he tried, 'Alright let's slow my chakra down... Right now, it's too fast and erratic to be like water.' As the chakra in his hand slowed, Hayase felt a momentary reaction from his water sense, but it quickly faded. Clearly, he was headed in the correct direction, however.

Trying to recapture that feeling, Hayase reached out to the water around him... 'water takes on so many forms, but is it ultimately about it being a liquid?' he wondered, 'wind is a gas, earth is a solid, fire is a reaction, and lightning is a plasma... maybe it's less about the viscosity and more about how I was moving my chakra. When I slowed down, maybe it become more similar to water!'

Inspiration in hand, Hayase tried to control the chakra in his hand to move cohesively and flow like it would if it was water. In more ways than one, he felt reminded of his water bending. Movements linked to elements only this time internally... 'Maybe this is what Abe-sensei meant by an art.' he thought slowly getting a feel for how to move the chakra in his hands how he liked.

With a flash of his water sense here and there, he could feel that he was slowly getting closer to the chakra molding that would work for me. The only thing holding him back was his chakra control and his familiarity with moving chakra in this way. Unfortunately, the leaf exercise only emphasized relatively static chakra control with the occasional adjustment to withstand the breeze.

Controlling chakra in intricate and dynamic ways was a new experience for Hayase and he hoped that he could quickly figure out this new skill. Most of all, the unexpected boon of his water sense in the training left him less afraid of what would come after his nature transformation skill got to a sufficient level: the water bullet jutsu!

Breaking him from his thoughts, Abe gruffly mocked, "well kid, do you plan on trying to create any water today? Or are you just gonna sit with your hands out like a beggar? Your next class session will begin soon!"

Distracted by the sudden interruption, Hayase turns red at how ridiculous he must look. Not one to be looked down on, Hayase decides to give it his best shot. Chakra in hand, he directed it to flow as best he could - which triggered his water sense erratically- and sent it up through the skin of his palm. A slight tingling sensation pervaded his palms like they had fallen asleep for a moment before his hand become covered in condensation. While most of the chakra drifted off into the atmosphere, some that had caught his water sense right before emerging clung to his palms as water.

With a half-smile at his seemingly meager achievement, Hayase looked up at his sensei and said, with his focus still strained, "Could a beggar have done this?"

Eyeing the boy's palms, Abe was about to reply before the bell signaling the next class session rang.

***Abe POV***

Before Abe could say anything, Hayase had wiped off his palms and run off to his medical-nin class. When he had joked about the boy's progress, he had meant to spur him to practice in his free time. Instead, he got to witness something surprising.

'Surprise after surprise, his affinity for water is really no joke...' thought Abe before body flickering back to the academy building. Once inside, he reported to Dean Sarutobi. Although Abe felt unease about his constant reporting on Hayase's progress, he knew that he had little choice in the matter as a shinobi. Regardless, Abe found himself thinking, 'All this attention on a young child seems unnecessary, they've already given him special treatment with their tutoring session. What more could they do?'

But.. when he pondered the answer to his own question, Abe preferred not to think about it. In his own years at the academy, they were a few students that had supposedly 'graduated early,' but he never bought it. 'Mei and Toji, they were skilled but not geniuses. They would never have voluntarily graduated early, not when they still had so much to learn at the academy,' thought Abe.

Since coming back to the academy for his leave from the battlefield, Abe had tried not to dwell on that side of the academy. Working with his class and Hayase had let him feel like he was making a positive impact on the village. Lately, the weekly reports to the dean had started to put a sour twist on that sweet frame of mind.

Arriving at the Dean's office, Abe knocked twice. "Please enter Abe-san, you're a few minutes late?" said the Dean, prodding gently.

"Apologies sir, Hayase began his nature transformation practice today and I suppose I become lost in my thoughts on the way over," replied the chunin.

"Oh, and what was so riveting about the practice that it so enraptured your mind?"

Pausing to find his words, Abe replied, "He managed to produce some water in his session sir, with the practice technique that you expressly asked that I give him. Dean Sarutobi, might I ask? why did you have me teach young Hayase with that technique rather than the typical practice technique for water jutsu."[AN: The true standard one involves producing water in your mouth first. Apologies for the deception]

"Hah, it's impressive that he managed it on his first day... The reason is nothing special really. After talking with a few higher-ups about a potential water affinity genius, they both suggested this as a potential test," said the Dean, his face somewhat grim before going on to say, "Besides, it has the added benefit of avoiding the young Hayase's trauma so it seemed to be of mutual benefit, didn't it?"

'A test... from the village higher-ups? Not many have authority over the Academy Dean's actions' worried Abe as he was reminded of his classmates' early graduation.

"What does his success today mean for his time at the academy?" asked Abe before firmly following up with, "As his sensei, I want to make sure that he gets every opportunity to be properly prepared before seeing combat."

" Abe... As a fellow sensei, I admire your commitment to your students," said Dean Sarutobi with a faint smile, "It is the sort of attitude that I wish more in the village had. Unfortunately, in war, such values tend to be dismissed as weak-willed. Hayase, like students before him, has been deemed useful to the war effort. Whether he will be allowed to finish his remaining class years is yet to be decided..."

Slumped into his chair, Abe could see the weight of the dean's burdens pulling at him. His shoulders seemed to hang lowered the more he spoke and wrinkles grew deeper.

Weighed down treated still, the Dean grunted, "Later today, I will be meeting with village leaders to discuss how the academy can better support the war effort. This will be the third time since the war began that I've faced demands to reduce the number of academy years from 3 to 2. Kami, some elders even want me to start lowering the entry age to 3 years old!" On the last note, he slammed his hand on his desk sending dust into the air.

"..." Silently, Abe stood unsure of what to say. 'There has got to be some way to help him,' he thought as he racked his mind.

"Ice... His trouble with ice. Sir, you can't let them send him to the battlefield before he can use it without having panic attacks!" Abe said abruptly, "Surely, that is proof enough that he isn't mentally prepared for the war!"

"That kind of argument may work for us Abe, but I'm less sure how others will respond. No student is ever mentally prepared for war... Not me... not you... not Hayase..., but perhaps it could buy him some time. I'll try mentioning it in the meeting. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed Abe-san." replied Dean Sarutobi with a sigh.

Although Abe wanted to say more, he knew better than to go against a direct order so he left the office and decided to wait by the academy gates.

*** Dean Sarutobi POV***

'Abe Tano, he cares deeply for students,' Kona Sarutobi found himself thinking. In his years as the dean, he had seen all sorts of senseis: lazy ones, clever ones, and narcissistic ones. Most had one thing in common though, they quickly become bored with teaching students. Sure teaching was a nice break from combat, but most shinobi became antsy when they started to feel themselves losing their edge, that battle readiness honed from constant threat.

'Whether it's because of losing his teammates or something else, he has kept his edge razor-sharp even in the village. Only he has turned it towards his students' protection,' thought Dean Sarutobi, 'the war always comes home with us all in some form I suppose... he'll make a good sensei.'

***Hours Later***

The academy had long since closed and most students were now home with their families preparing for dinner. At this time in one small corner of Konoha, Hayase and Guy trained in the Might residence's yard. Each motivated by their own goals but united in their hard work, neither boy knew about a meeting taking place on the other side of the village.

In the Hokage tower, village leaders gathered to discuss the war. With mounting causalities on the front with Iwa, additional action would be needed to shore up Konoha's military might.

As Dean Sarutobi approached the tower, he could see a dozen anbu positioned conspicuously around the building. 'Heh, if they are this many showing themselves, then they are at least twice anbu as many hidden inside. Putting on quite the show of power tonight...' thought the Dean and he entered the building.

Inside the meeting, Dean Kono Sarutobi found himself seated at the table along with another dozen or so of Konoha's leaders. His seat was between the barrier team leader, an old night owl named Fuzu, and a squirrelly representative from Jiraiya's contingent on the Iwa front. Across from him was an empty seat, but he knew that it was reserved for Danzo.. it always was his seat.

After a few minutes of tense waiting, Hiruzen finally entered the room... with Danzo in lock-step beside him. 'Always the odd pair weren't they?' thought Dean Sarutobi.

Without sitting, Hiruzen declared, "We will keep this meeting swift and efficient. Our enemies won't be hesitant to use any delays against us, understood?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the room replied in unison.

Laying out the situation, the Hokage explained, "Despite some recent successes on the front with Iwa, our ability to supply our front line has been targeted in more ways than one. As such, the village needs to make preparations. Protecting supply lines running through Ame and Kusa will require more genin assignments soon. Furthermore, mitigating damage to our food supplies will require additional missions to seize supplies from other villages and having genin assist our civilians in replanting razed crops. With the war progressing slower than we would like, we need to be prepared for the long haul."

Pausing to gauge the room's reaction, Hiruzen continued, "As such, all non-essential personnel will need to be prepared to be sent to the front lines or related missions, food supplies within the village will need to be tightly rationed, and initiatives were taken to fill the gaps left by our rising loses. Everyone here will be responsible for some component of this effort, any questions?"

As the academy dean, Kono had attended similar meetings for years. He knew better than to ask the first question, but unfortunately, so did most others in this meeting. Sensing that the opportunity to openly question the new orders slipping, Kono interjected, "Lord Hokage, I understand the need to make up for the casualties that we've suffered, but how specifically can we really be expected to do that? Students can only learn so fast and sending them to battle before they're ready only robs Konoha of future strength."

"Ah Kono, as expected, you are always one to look out for the children," replied the Hokage, "Do not worry... For now, we think it is just appropriate to open admission up to younger children. As of yet, things are not so desperate that I would ever suggest risking our village's future generations."

'Yet.." thought Kono inwardly with frustration, 'Danzo is starting to get to him.'

Beside Hiruzen, Danzo who had remained quiet until now spoke, "We are currently working on 'other' ways of filling the gaps. For now, all you need to know is that genin serving in bureaucratic positions within the village will largely be diverted." The ambiguity around Danzo's words set the room on edge. If secrets were like currency among shinobi, then Danzo was a rich man indeed.

Speculations ran wild through everyone's minds, some wondered if some sort of trap was being planned. Others wondered if Konoha planned to bring another village into their fight with Iwa. Relations with Ame had been on-and-off for years, but their support could be invaluable against Iwa because Konoha's forces had to pass through Ame to reach Iwa.

Before any further interruptions, the Hiruzen declared, "Each of you will receive more detailed instructions the next day with specific actions for your departments and teams. Dismissed!"

"Yes Lord Hokage!" replied the crowd.

"Except you, Kono. Stay behind for a moment.." said Hiruzen as Kono began to stand up.

After the room had emptied, only Hiruzen, Danzo, and Kono remained.

"How are things at the academy?" asked Hiruzen, "Based on your reports, it seems that some of the students are doing quite well. An early graduate, a taijutsu specialist, and the water jutsu boy."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. It seems that this batch of students is doing quite well. Young Hayase appears to have successfully used the nature transformation practice which you both graciously suggested." replied Kono, trying his best to be polite.

"Wonderful. It's good that the added difficulty didn't impede his progress," replied Hiruzen.

At that, Danzo said, "It is as I suspected, he is a water jutsu talent like Tobirama-sensei and he has some sort of kekkei genkai that allows him to control ice as well... This boy shouldn't waste any more time at the academy. Allow me to induct him into my ranks!"

"Hah, Danzo is always so passionate..." replied Hiruzen, "Kono, when will the boy be ready?"

"Hokage-Sama, I'm sorry... I don't think young Hayase is ready yet. Perhaps after he has overcome the mental trauma preventing him from using his ice ability properly. Until then, I think he may be more of a liability than an asset on the battlefield," cautiously answered the dean.

"Hmm.. that is unfortunate. Perhaps we'll need to expedite that process, I can request some assistance from the Yamanaka clan. Compared to their usual patients, I'm sure one would welcome the change of pace." thought Hiruzen aloud.

Meanwhile, Danzo muttered something about weakness and emotions, but then he said, "If the boy is strong enough to go to war, then he should go to war. Ice or not. We can talk about this later Hiruzen, I have other things to attend to. Whenever the boy leaves the academy, I have uses for him in this war."

Before Danzo exits, however, he turns to Kono and says, "Kono, it's not as if I have nothing to offer the boy either... You might be surprised how useful some of the records at my disposal could be to him. The land of fire may have a few clans specializing in water jutsu or related kekkei genkai, but that doesn't mean we lack records on the abilities of our enemies."

And with that, the door slammed shut leaving Hiruzen and Kono alone if you ignore the ever-present anbu leaking in the background.

"Kono, I understand your desire to let all students have their full time at the academy," said Hiruzen, "It is too soon to make a final decision in my opinion. Continue reporting on his progress and we can re-discuss his fate in a few months. Understood?"

"Thank you Hiruzen,' replied Kono, satisfied with having at least bought some time.