396I dodged the grasping hand only to find that Akiko had used the attack to hide a punch.
It slammed into my gut despite my attempts to harden up or block her. I felt myself getting lifted off my feet before hitting the ground with a roll. When I stood Akiko waved at me to stand down, having given enough of a lesson for the moment.
I had a moment of pride at how she shook out her hand from punching me, until the various aches and pains across my body caught up.
I collapsed like a puppet whose puppeteer just got killed.
"So, what have we learned today?" said Akiko with the fakest sugary sweet tone she could muster.
If you were just listening to her words you'd think her a kindly angel.
If you only cared about her looks she'd be a beauty that would make you lower your guard.
I knew better.
I looked into her eyes and saw the unfathomable rage that lurked in the depths of those blue orbs. They glinted harsher than an icy landscape and promised a lot more pain and suffering in my future.
She still hadn't forgiven me for getting into a fight with the Kaguya kids and that Tokubetsu Jonin just a day after returning to Kiri.
It had been two days since then and she still had me meeting her at the crack of dawn for a training session that lasted until I was beaten and exhausted.
I liked to think my endurance and ability to stand up almost immediately after being brutalised impressed her but that might be the multiple concussions she gave me talking.
I coughed, bringing up the blood that had filled my throat from that last hit before spitting it out to the side. I was already flooding my body with chakra aligned with the healing palm. If nothing else, these sessions had made my taijutsu and internal healing jutsu much stronger.
I'd learned to align my chakra with that of the Mystic palm and let it ebb and flow through the natural pathways of my body, seeking out and healing the aches and pains. That said, nudging broken bones and torn muscles back into a semblance of wholeness with chakra drew small winces of pain. Worse still, it felt like Akiko had stopped holding back when she'd noticed I could deal with being savaged.
I worked my mouth, aware that I still needed to answer her question. I grunted out a hoarse, "That my sensei is a kind and beautiful woman of unfathomable patience?" I said with the dryness of the Suna desert.
Akiko walked up to me and prodded my cheek. "Flatteries—while expected and required—will not get you anywhere, just so you know."
"Damn," I said, showing a smile that I knew was a little more crooked than usual.
Akiko snorted. "Alright, if you want to feed me that drivel you might as well tell someone else why you did what you did."
When I tried to refute this she shot me a look of pure scorn—which immediately shut my mouth.
Her nostrils flared in annoyance. "I did not just enter the Academy, brat. I'm not a naive idiot. I'm a Jonin. You saying shit like 'I didn't stop to think about it' doesn't fly with me and is in fact why I've been beating you up for the last two days in the name of training."
She glared at me. "So, why did you do it?" she said and I knew I'd need to give her a truth she could accept.
I worked my jaw into its proper place and grimaced before exhaling in relief as I felt most of the pain vanish. "I wanted to test myself," I said, realising how true the words were as they left my mouth.
Damn, if that wasn't the edgiest and most cringey thing.
It felt like I was copying Sasuke.
He said something like that in… the future, right?
I pushed that thought aside as Akiko looked me up and down. "You've been sparring with veterans and fighting people from Konoha. You had things rough for a while there with the various fights we got into. You've certainly picked up a trick or two during the mission in Suna but you had no way to compare yourself to those around you," she mused, summarising what I'd said.
I blinked, realising she'd known all of this. So why had she… ah, she wanted me to say it.
I must have revealed something as she chuckled at me. "You're smart, Matsu, but you're still such a kid," she said.
I huffed at her, annoyed, but mostly due to how true they were in my case. It had been shortsighted… in a way.
I worked my jaw, not out of any need to move any bones into place but to give myself time to think. "I don't believe it was that bad a move to make," I said, making sure my words didn't come out as a whine. I already felt like pouting so I needed to make sure I didn't let myself become overly emotional.
I needed to think things through more logically. The last few days—if not weeks—had seen me simply acting, certainly with an eye out for danger but not a long-term view. There was still too much I didn't know about the world, or more specifically Kiri.
"Akiko, I know that I need to know more about… well, everything, but I think not doing what I did would have been a mistake."
When Akiko didn't speak up I continued. "I… My actions during the graduation, they were too big, too different for me to simply fade into the background again. Honestly, I think trying to lay low right now might be the worst thing I could do. That would just make it easier for people to quietly do away with me. I need to have a presence, I need to have people that want me around, even if it's just to fight me. The Kaguya, for all their aggression, they have honour, or their own form of it."
Akiko snorted. "Don't fall for any thoughts of honour. They had traditions and rules," she said, slathering the second word with so much contempt it dripped, "but don't think that if the situation called for it they wouldn't cast those aside." She then levelled a finger at me. "You also had no idea about said rules, you merely barged in like some guppy diving into an eel's nest. You getting devoured should have been the outcome."
She prodded my head. "You. Got. Lucky."
I swallowed and nodded, feeling an acidic taste on my tongue. "I did," I said, admitting that she was right on that point.
Akiko leaned her head into her palm and watched me. "But you're still not regretting what you did, are you? You still want to mess with the clans eh?"
"I want…" I took a moment to think about what I wanted. Truly. The clans were a problem but they weren't the solution. "What I want will involve the clans but they're just a stepping stone that I haven't worked out yet," I said.
Akiko barked out a surprised laugh. "A stepping stone? Ha! You must think swimming with sharks is easy eh kid?"
I shrugged and smiled when the move didn't elicit any pain. "I've had to do it a time or two before to hunt them, so the metaphor doesn't hold up so well," I said.
Akiko smirked. "Normal sharks are only threats to civilians, Matsu."
She leaned forward. "Remember this and remember it well, the ocean is vast and deeper than people realise. There are plenty of monsters down there and that's before we start getting into people like the Suikazan family."
"Who?" I asked, feeling a memory stir at the name.
"They're not an outright clan, but they are very well-regarded due to their patriarch discovering and signing with the shark clan summons."
I blinked in surprise. "I think I've heard of them," I said, fishing for more information.
Akiko smirked, "You won't have heard much I'd think. They only just got raised up a few weeks ago. Lord Mizukage has… bequeathed them a place within the Seven Swordsmen as a sign of his favour," she said, a frown flickering over her face as she spoke of them.
I frowned, considering her words and what I knew of the blades as well as the Suikazan—or more specifically Fuguki Suikazan.
"They have a place for the Samehada blade don't they?" I asked.
Akiko nodded and awarded me a smile. "That blade is one of the toughest to use due to the demands it places upon the wielder. There's a persistent rumour that the blade has some form of intelligence. Like that of a dog."
She raised a finger at me. "I usually don't read too much into rumours but this one has persisted long enough to have some nugget of truth, or consistent misinformation being spread around," she said.
I merely nodded, knowing that it was mostly true but aware how that wasn't going to be accepted without some more credence. Akiko shook her head. "Regardless, we're getting off topic, you're being ambitious which is… not a bad thing but know when to duck your head for a bit yeah?"
When I nodded easily she sighed. "That was too easy, I feel like I need to smack you around some more to make the lesson stick." She pinched the bridge of her nose before exhaling and looking down at me. "Damn me and my curiosity, but what is it that you want, kid? Do you want to make Jonin? Or recreate the Uzumaki clan in Kiri so you can have a bunch of ladies fawning all over you?"
I shot her a confused look but shook my head and decided to leave that comment for later examination.
But, if she was going to give me the opening…
Well, time to see how far I could go with Akiko as my sensei.
"I want to be Mizukage," I declared, making sure to speak each word clearly, like I was etching it into steel with my will alone.
There, I had put it out into the world.
For a moment, I felt a little like another kid with a dream that seemed so distant but, at the same time, so very possible.
I grinned at the comparison. First Sasuke, then Naruto?
Not such a bad change. It wasn't as cringe to say as "testing myself" at least.
"Why would you want that thrice be damned position?" Akiko asked, her eyes boring holes into the side of my head.
I smiled and waved a hand around. "Kiri… it doesn't offer people enough chances to be more. It's like a beast that has bitten into its own tail and now just thrashes around. It hurts from how it continues to devour itself but it doesn't know how to let go and point itself outward. It can thrash and roll around, but those are just for show. Kiri… could be more," I said, knowing my words to be true.
Akiko continued to stare at me for a long minute. Then she tilted her head. "You want Kiri to be better? So what? You want to make Kiri Great?" she said.
I shuddered, my mind recalling how often that phrase had been used for other nations in my past life. No, just no.
"No, not great, just better, I want to set up a foundation that will continue long after I am gone."
I waved a hand. "Greatness is a trap that implies peaks and pits. I want Kiri to strive to be better, I want to start a process of enlightenment that will continue to be sought by future generations."
I sat up and smiled at her. "I need your help, sensei," I said earnestly.
Her blue eyes stared into my red. Her gaze scoured my soul for any deceit, I felt her chakra fluctuate and my smile only grew.
Huh, she felt so convinced she was checking herself for genjutsu.
"I don't know any genjutsu to elicit emotions, are there some out there?" I asked curiously.
She nodded, still looking at me thoughtfully.
She continued to stay quiet and I felt the urge to fidget grow. Still, I just kept holding her gaze, knowing how important this would be.
Eventually, she shook her head. "You're a ridiculous kid. Who comes out and just says it like that?"
I just smiled back at her. Akiko rubbed her forehead. "I don't even know what to say. I'm suddenly feeling so drained from beating you up more than I should. I don't even…" she waved a hand at me. "How am I supposed to deal with that sort of statement?"
"You could offer to help me," I suggested and she chopped the top of my head with her hand lightly.
"You just think you're so cute," she said with a growl. Then she slumped onto the ground like she had no bones. "You talk about becoming Mizukage but do you even understand how impossible that is?"
"It isn't," I replied instantly.
She shot me an annoyed look before sitting up. "Matsu! You might be able to smack around some Genin but you get the shit kicked out of you by most of the true Chunin. I know you were holding back but the gimmick of opening the gates isn't something you can rely on all the time!"
"So I'll learn different methods. I'll get stronger," I said back obstinately.
"You need way better situational awareness than what carried you through the academy. The ANBU and hunter nin you faced then were the rookies trying to get in not the pros," she argued.
"Can you help with that? Or do you know someone?" I asked earnestly.
She groaned. "Matsu! You need…" she trailed off. "You've been building towards this for years haven't you?" Her eyes darted about as she began connecting the dots of my actions back in the academy till now. Heck, even my actions at the Kaguya compound had served its own purpose.
It had helped build a legend around me. Who did things like this? Someone that wanted more, someone that—step by step—was going to grow.
I needed to rise to the top.
Just like a Shounen character.
I nodded. "Yeah, I knew I needed help. I knew what I needed to build towards when I set my heart on saving my classmates," I said.
I'd always known, but I'd never spoken it out loud. Graduation was a big step that I needed to clear before I felt I could dream for more.
But I'd done it, so why not? Why not aim higher than any kid born in the slums had in this life? Why not become the ruler of a nation? The path forward was murky and full of traps but there were methods to get through. I just needed to work for it.
Akiko stared at me as my actions started to click together.
With my goal stated, they became all too obvious in their intent.
I shrugged. "I couldn't be sure of the clans. I can't offer them anything they want, not at the moment, but I can still build up a support base. There are plenty of people and kids that get crushed by the way the system is set up at the moment." I leaned towards her. "You are still one of them. Practically anyone that was on that front with me was," I said.
"You…" She blinked and barked a laugh only to then let it out in a fit of giggles. "You're insane."
"I'll take that as a compliment 'cause sanity? The kind that Kiri values? It's not worth my time. I've seen their normal and I'm not impressed," I said.
Akiko stared at me again and this time she seemed to be able to glimpse at the real me. She nodded slowly. "Fuck it, I'm being crazy buying into this but you did give me a face again, so why not?"
"Why not indeed," I said.
I decided then and there to open up to her.
Not about everything, of course.
I wouldn't share that I had a Hyuga eyeball stored away in one of the only storage scrolls I possessed. I wouldn't share my insight into canon. Nor would I share how I'd formed a pseudo spy network with the women in the red light district. That and a handful of other secrets.
I knew to hold things in reserve. After all, the academy—as horrible as it was—ingrained that lesson into me.
That being said, I still gave her my overarching plan of building up the graduating class to make them stronger shinobi who looked up to me. How I'd built up my skills with iryoninjutsu obsessively to the point that I could heal her face.
"Well, thanks for that," she said before frowning and narrowing her eyes. "So I was a step in your plan?" She nudged me with a finger and I grinned innocently.
"It was up to you to offer me an apprenticeship, so thanks for being an amazing sensei! The sensei for a future Mizukage that will have their name recorded throughout history even!" I boasted, laying it on thick for her.
She rolled her eyes and huffed. "A sensei that is still going to be overworked keeping her idiot apprentice alive."
"Hahaha, I'm sure you're exaggerating," I said, only to get a glare from her.
I ignored that and decided to list out some of my goals to help achieve my dream. "Hopefully I can work on other things with my iryoninjutsu to make me more… acceptable and attractive as an option for others."
When Akikio didn't speak but merely gestured for me to go on I smiled. "How would you feel knowing there was a way to relax your hips even more during birth? Lots of kunoichi are at risk during birth, no? If I can work out a jutsu for that—"
Akiko raised a hand. "You'd have a lot of kunoichi looking to keep you safe and at home. That and your scar removal jutsu… yeah those would earn you some political goodwill."
"Which I plan to give away," I said.
Akiko stared at me. I coughed. "Eventually," I amended.
She nodded slowly. "Better, don't just give away what makes you special. No one, and I mean no one, respects a pushover."
She eyed me again. "You're already scary good at iryoninjutsu. I've been asking around about what you do. Usually, it takes at least a decade to get a medic up to your skill, so you must have a good feel for the human body. I'm not sure how many people have realised that though so don't make too many waves just yet."
I bounced my head up and down quickly to show that I got the message. As for the decade comment? I hadn't known that was the case. Maybe that was why Chunin En had been so cocky? Then again it wasn't until I stole the eyeball from him that he got in any actual trouble.
As for how good I was? Well, perhaps knowing anatomy and how the body worked thanks to information from my previous life had more impact than I'd realised.
I hummed, toying with another idea I'd had. "So trying to create limb regeneration might be too much?" I asked."
Akiko sighed. "You… Well I already realised you dreamed big but… yeah, sort that out but keep it to yourself until we get you strong enough to manage the attention you'll bring your way. Do that and you might survive to actually devour the political capital you'd get from returning retired shinobi to the field instead of starting a feeding frenzy."
Akiko scratched her chin in thought. "Won't be a lot of them 'cause of how they usually go out after losing an arm or leg, but you'd give them a better chance. You can't just get strong politically either, otherwise you'll be taken out by some nobody."
I made a noise of understanding. "True, the ideal situation is where I make it so that me not being in power? Everyone loses." Which was saying something. Still, it made sense to me, the trick would just be copying one of the greatest fictional dictators in existence, but then again there were worse role models to have than the Patrician.
Akiko frowned for a second. "Huh, yeah tying a lot of interests to you would work if you can finagle it, but I wasn't wrong about you needing to be better at taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Your situational awareness and planning need work. You need to be able to manage teams on a small and large scale as well."
"I need fuinjutsu," I said seriously.
"Why?" Akiko asked.
Hmmm, now that was a loaded question. Should I mention the practicality of sealing scrolls? Or how it could be used to seal Demons? Or better yet, warp time and space?
"Fuinjutsu…" I said tentatively. "It offers a lot of potential beyond jutsu storage and explosive seals. I have Uzumaki blood as you stated. I need to tap on that. If there's anything latent—"
"It's not latent," Akiko said, cutting over me. "It's just their… method of teaching fuinjutsu was better and more in-depth. We could never get anything on how they did it beyond being better teachers."
Akiko drummed her fingers on her thigh. "I can look into getting my hands on some primers. I'm not familiar with fuinjutsu but there are other favours I can trade, or I can offer your services if you work on your healing."
"That's very doable." I smiled. "Oh, and two more things?"
Akiko snorted. "Of course, it's not just one, greedy brat. What is it?"
"I need help training my friends, and I need… like a couple thousand water balloons."
Akiko rubbed her forehead. "You better learn how to deal with grey hairs and wrinkles, kid," she said.
I nodded, knowing they'd be fairly easy to work out compared to other medical jutsu.
Akiko threw up her hands. "I'm not sure I want to know about why you need a thousand water balloons but you should be able to get a merchant for that, or just wait until we're at some festival other nations like to run," she said. "As for the other brats? I'll look in on them. For now however, I think I need to wrap my head around this and you need to get out of Kiri again, so we're going to get a mission and we're going to get you away from prying eyes and ears."
I nodded, accepting this as good. It wasn't ideal but it was good. I'd caused some waves—enough to be recalled and built on my legend.
Now, I just needed to keep up my progress.
"A mission would be another way to test my…" I coughed, "I mean! To hone my skills!"
Akiko shot me a look that told me she was weirded out but I just chuckled and rubbed the back of my head.
"Just… be at your little training camp tomorrow," she said with a defeated air.
I bounced up and jogged away feeling excited. A mission! Technically my first one! Going off to war didn't count… although in a way it was a lot of missions wrapped up into one. I jogged along for a while longer before slowing.
Would that mean I'd face some random missing nin? Or rescue a princess?
I grinned. If Naruto could do it, so could I!
I jogged back to the Okiya feeling oddly much lighter having shared my goal with Akiko.
The return from Suna hadn't been as smooth as I might have liked but I was certainly feeling like I was making progress.
Before my talk with Akiko, I hadn't felt like she was really all that invested. Her turning up to have my back against Gantu Kaguya had been a very welcome surprise.
Her kicking my backside for two days afterwards? Less enjoyable, but still good training for all the pain she delivered.
Her sticking around after I'd unveiled my dream? That was a huge win in my book.
I hummed in thought. She knew what I wanted and I knew a lot thanks to hanging out with her in the Suna desert for weeks—especially in the caverns that passed as bases—but I felt like I needed to get to know her more, especially with her accepting my dream.
Ah, she was probably going to have a lot of headaches coming her way now. I really would need to learn how to fix wrinkles and grey hairs.
I paused at the back door of the Okiya before turning towards one of the lady's room. "Can I practise on you for a Wrinkle removal jutsu?" I asked.
Around me, numerous doors opened signalling that I'd been a touch too loud with my words. The ladies shot out with wild looks in their eyes only for the madam to appear at the end of the hall.
"Nobody move!" she roared like a tiny lion.
The ladies froze, as if a Yuki ninjutsu specialist had cast them in ice.
The Madam marched up to me and nodded. "You can practise with me first!" she said, presenting her own face.
The ladies behind her fell onto the floor with a heavy thump in disbelief and I chuckled before realising that she was serious.
Ah, at this rate I'd need to learn Tsunade's longevity jutsu.
Best I not mention that for a long, long while.
In the morning I opened my eyes and found Shoto poking me with a smirk. "You're dead," he said with a shit-eating grin.
I huffed at him. "Seriously? Do you want me to start sneaking in while you're asleep? Where does it end?"
"When you give up and I win!" he said childishly.
I narrowed my eyes, well far be it from me to back off from a challenge. "Sleep with one eye open," I said dramatically.
"I'll sleep with both of them open!" he declared.
Shoto and I stared at each other for a moment before we burst out laughing.
"How freaky would that be?" he said with a laugh as he pulled his eyelids back and leered at me.
"Stop that you weirdo! It's bad enough I wake up to your ugly mug!" I said, sitting up and pushing him away properly. He rolled over himself and popped up onto his feet.
A soft snoring had us both pausing and looking over at Rei—who was snuggling up to a pillow and chewing on the top of it.
"Must be a good dream," I said fondly and Shoto grinned, though both of us could only frown as Rei started to whimper as she rolled around, tangling herself in her own sheets.
Shoto stood, moving over to her with a fixed expression as quietly as he could. For a moment, I thought he was about to prank Rei, only for his hands to adjust the blankets she'd gotten tangled in. She soon settled down with a much more relaxed smile.
I huffed and nudged Shoto out into the receiving yard where I had spent years running through basic strength and agility drills. Shoto copied me and as we trained we threw kunai at each other, starting from a slow lob to a faster and faster throw until the kunai was hurtling through the air and we had to work at catching it before it hit the wall behind us.
When I started to get too aggressive with my throws Shoto twitched his hand into and then out of the path of the kunai resulting in the blade slamming into the wall with a thunk.
"Don't do that! The Madam will get mad if I scuff up the walls!" I said firmly, holding in my smile.
"What? You want me to let it hit?" he said incredulously.
I shrugged. "I mean, I can heal you up? I can't fix the wall as easily," I said.
Shoto stared at me before snorting when I let my lips twitch to show I was joking.
"Brats! Did you damage my wall?" shouted the Madam as she spotted us standing next to the wall.
I adopted an innocent expression. "Nope! That was there when we got here! I think I saw Kana playing with knives," I said, deliberately going for the most outrageous lie I could. Kana was a sweetie who abhorred violence and would never do this.
The Madam knew this and so she stared at me with a look so drenched in doubt that it flowed off her and threatened to sweep me away. I just beamed back while channelling my innocence.
The Madam eventually snorted. "At least your deception skills haven't faltered for all that you've been beating up other idiots," she said, waving a hand and dismissing us.
The kunai in the wall vanished as Shoto and I got out of there. "Breakfast?" I asked Shoto, leading him out of the Okiya and into the red light district main street.
"Can't have it back there?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nah, I want to get in some more training today. My Sensei is coming around to the training ground and is going to take me on a mission 'cause of how good I've been," I said.
I could feel the growing doubt of Shoto's gaze boring into me but ignored it.
"I think surviving a war front has made you entirely too cocky," he said.
I nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right," I said as I got us some steamed pork buns to break our fast.
When I arrived at the training ground I was surprised to find Akiko already there, eating her way through a rice bowl while observing Sharkbait getting absolutely demolished by Himeko Kaguya. Her bones flashed out, stabbing and slashing while Akiko watched on. She took her time eating the rice, savouring it with a half-lidded stare of one that wasn't entirely awake.
I knew that was a lie. I'd seen her on multiple occasions go from relaxed and calm to sudden intense violence. I had too much firsthand experience to ever dismiss her.
I approached Akiko, pausing at her side but she ignored me, her gaze locked upon the fight.
Or rather multiple fights as Sharkbait despite getting knocked off his feet and put into kill positions five times in the space of as many minutes stood back up each time and demanded another spar.
"He's got a fire under him, doesn't he?" I said to Shoto who grunted.
"Everyone's been a bit more upbeat since you got back and showed off against Kitoma," he said, scratching his chin. "Probably see everyone else filter in soon."
Sure enough, Sayuki was next to arrive and while she gave us a long look, or more specifically she gave Akiko a look, she only nodded and moved into a kata to warm up before practising her ninjutsu. Others followed after her.
When Akiko finished her bowl of rice she smacked her lips. "Right, I think that is enough watching you kiddies thrash at each other," she said aloud before her hands blurred and both the bowl and the chopsticks flew into the melee.
Himeko's bones snapped down the middle while the bowl slammed into Sharkbait's head knocking him off his feet with a loud "Bwuh?"
He landed and rolled over before sitting up cluelessly. Himeko for her part turned a murderous gaze upon Akiko only to wilt as she noticed that it was a Jonin watching her.
"How many katas has the green-haired girl completed?" Akiko said suddenly. When Himeko blinked at the odd jump in topics Akiko just sighed and shook her head. She waved at them both.
"You brats need to work on your situational awareness." She indicated all the other kids that were about.
"We're not samurai, if there is a chance that someone else is going to interfere with your fight or try and blindside you, you need to know about it. Not all fights will happen on open plains or deserts, but even then you need to keep your senses peeled in case the situation changes. Spars like this need more than just what was in the academy where you pushed each other around. Throw jutsu, kunai or even another foe at each other occasionally!" Akiko barked.
The kids blinked dumbly at her, not expecting that from her. I also stared, rather surprised that she was jumping into the role I'd suggested so wholeheartedly.
Akiko turned her attention to me. "Matsu! How many people are there in a radius of fifty meters to us?"
"Nineteen?" I said, earning a glare. I immediately straightened up. "There are nineteen!" I shouted back at her.
She nodded and turned to look to the side where I knew Hanzo and Dende were lurking, watching the training field. "You pair! Get in here and start running some drills for these brats! Teach them some shit!" she said as she stood up.
She pointed at Himeko and Sharkbait. "You two have some spunk. I like that, both of you are coming with me and Matsu on a mission I got us. Get your gear together and be at the wharf within the hour!" she ordered.
I blinked in surprise. "Eh?" I asked. This… wasn't going how I expected things to go. "You can just requisition them like that?" I asked.
Akiko snorted. "I'll have Chunin Dende file the report for me that I've taken them under my command for this mission."
I nodded slowly. From what I'd learnt the administration had a centralised structure, where shinobi were tracked for what missions they were assigned. Anyone that was not underneath a superior officer on assignment or apprenticeship, such as the civilian kids, were expected to report to the administration building every second day at least to see if there was anything that they were required to do. If they wanted they could ask for missions but just showing your faces was required.
Failing that, a shinobi would be dispatched to check in on you for why you failed to report. Simply undergoing extended training was not accepted until you were a chunin according to what I learned. Chunin only needed to report in every week for a potential mission. Jonin got even more leeway with shinobi of this rank only needing to report in every month or by special summons from the Mizukage.
At least that was how it had been when Kirigakure hadn't been at war. People were holding their breath or assuming that it would return to how it had been. I suspected the time frames would be shortened with the amount of shinobi that we'd lost during the war.
I looked over at Sharkbait and Himeko who both looked pleased at the news they'd been "specially selected".
I edged closer to my Jonin sensei as Dende and Hito poised in front of the other kids, gathering them close to get them to listen to their "vaunted wisdom".
"I wasn't expecting you to actually take my request seriously," I whispered.
Akiko snorted. "I had a long think about it yesterday, and… it's not a terrible idea. If you can't make friends with the established powers, just build your own. I might be from a shinobi family but I remember how things were having to curry favour to get stronger."
I frowned. "I thought that you weren't part of a clan's… adoptees," I said carefully.
Akiko smirked. "I was, as were some other people. Ever heard of the Hanatora Clan?"
I shook my head. They had never been mentioned in canon, nor at the academy. Akiko gave me a smile. "They had enough political influence to grow themselves a power base and claim some shinobi. They used to be attached to the Hozuki but then they got uppity several years ago. They got assigned to various war fronts early on, but none of us who were 'loyal' to them got assigned to those. At least not any of us that could make a difference anyway," she said flatly.
"You don't sound like you cared all that much? They would have had to back you up for you to reach the rank of Jonin, no?"
"Yeah and for that they took other things," she said with a tone that made me drop that line of questioning.
I didn't need to know what a young, attractive kunoichi might have been ordered to do. Even in my old life, such imbalances in power weren't known to result in moral acts.
"That sucks, and it sounds like we're better off with them being dead," I said instead.
Akiko blinked and glanced at me. "... yeah we are," she said, eying me up and down.
"Something the matter?" I asked.
"Just… wasn't expecting that response. Most people… never mind," she said, still looking at me thoughtfully. She ran a hand over her face. "For a while, I thought it was the best thing ever to get the scar. Kept them away for a while. It wasn't until they were gone that I wished I could fix it," she admitted.
She shot me a smirk. "Still, I like what you're trying to chart a course to. I've been sort of floating around, so having a goal? It's kinda nice," she said. "Just be ready for some pushback. This is…" She shook her head. "Sorry, I forgot you already know how things go in Kiri. If you want something, blood usually gets spilled regardless of your intentions."
I nodded slowly, unsure if she meant how I'd had to "kill" Rei in front of everyone, or if she was talking about my former instructor, Geta, who could have left things alone only for me to cut him down.
She probably meant both.
"So, a mission?" I said, feeling pleased that so many things were coming together for me and mine.
Akiko reached into a pocket on the side of her pants and pulled out a scroll, only to shake her head and pull out another one. "Ignore that one, that's just a mission for you and I," she said. "We'll discuss that later," she added. The second scroll she pulled out got opened with a flick of her wrist. "I got us a C-rank."
"No D-rank missions for us?" I said jokingly.
"I'm not going to punish you with that shit. You need field work, not working a foundry or cleaning up blood pools around the favoured bars in Kiri," she said.
I held my tongue. I shouldn't be surprised that the D-rank missions in Kiri were more than a little different from what Naruto and his friends had to endure. Kiri wasn't Konoha, after all.
"We're going to be escorting a Geisha through the Land of Vegetables. They're doing their grand procession and are looking to get a rich man to bid for them. I assume you're familiar with how these things go?" she said.
I nodded. "Usually they hire much weaker guards, though? Usually some strong-looking men, not shinobi?" I said.
"Hmmm good to see you noticed the potential snag. That's in the mission scroll though. Here, read it," she said, tossing it to me.
I caught the scroll, unrolling it to find a rather interesting form. Perhaps this could be called the spiritual predecessor of a bureaucratic tick sheet that one could do when performing taxes with if different questions were asked.
As it turned out, the woman hiring us had links with a local noble—given that she was the daughter of a notable Geisha herself. The Madam in charge of the Okiya was hoping that offering a nobleman's daughter would entice rivals to bid higher. Sadly this had caused the noble in question to seek to subtly "cleanse" the stain on his honour by hiring some men to take out the woman.
"So look after one Yumi until she gets a buyer for her event and hopefully for herself, a powerful enough backer to stop Lord Edo from killing her," I summarised.
Akiko nodded. "There's the chance of this being a bit more political. We don't want to just kill Lord Edo either as he has a history with us, albeit rarely."
"Meaning we might be what… paid off, or is this meant to be a tool that entices him to buy our services before others can?" I asked.
Akiko nodded. "Good boy, also keep in mind that if Yumi is his daughter we'll be potentially giving another noble a reason to claim his lands—which might drum up more work for us depending on how things play out."
I shook my head, realising just how mercenary that line of thought was. It was morally dark, but in terms of making sure you kept things teetering, you would create your own future work.
It was a cold cool calculus that made all too much sense.
I nodded and Akiko flicked her fingers at me. "Go get your gear, Vegetables is a fairly temperate nation all told with some forests. For the duration of the mission, it should be warming up, so keep light gear but take precautions," she said.
I darted back to the Okiya myself before pausing and stepping in on the Madam. "Out of curiosity, and not at all related to what I'm doing, do you have any friends in the Land of Vegetables?" I asked.
The Madam grinned at me. "I'm old, what do you think?"
I scratched my chin in faux thought. "Didn't you once say all old people know each other?"
She smirked and began rattling off a list of people that she'd "known" in her time. Merchants and nobles and samurai. She gushed about them for almost an hour before I cut her off. I turned to go only to consider the other question. "How likely would a Madam be to baby trap a noble?"
"Depends on the noble," said the Madam with a glint in her eyes.
I nodded, aware of my own existence and what that had done to benefit this Okiya and its neighbouring friendly businesses.
Sometimes, people gambled.
And, those gambits were sometimes people's lives.
I returned to the training ground to find Himeko and Sharkbait waiting with Akiko. Sharkbait and Himeko had their packs out and were being taught how to pack smart for a trip under Dende's supervision while Akiko watched on with a small smile.
Huh, she liked delegating, didn't she?
As I crept closer, Akiko shifted slightly only to turn her head a moment later. She gave me a narrow-eyed look. "Don't ever be late again, I detest people who are late," she growled.
I nodded seriously, repressing the urge to laugh at the accidental comparison I'd made.
Huh, I had healing abilities, which already made me similar to Sakura. I wanted to be Mizukage which was like Naruto, I'd sought to test myself… and now I was late.
I could tick off my accidental comparisons to Team Seven Bingo just like that.
Our group of four made our way to the wharf once the other two's packs were made up to Akiko's satisfaction. I couldn't wait until we had storage scrolls to do away with the inconvenience of carrying packs.
Sadly, scrolls—as I'd learned—were tough to get your hands on. I wasn't about to empty the one I had on me for a mere backpack either.
When we reached our ship to the Land of Vegetables, we were able to stow our gear and loiter around, waiting. I spent the time idly talking with Sharkbait and trying to drag Himeko in only to get a grunt or two from her. We both stood by the railing of the ship looking at the sailors mingling with shinobi and fishermen. I felt out the various chakra sources and found that only a few seemed equal to Akiko.
"Casting away!" called the captain.
The sailors began working over the boat and within a few minutes, the ship had cast off and was starting to inch towards open water.
The ship began to pick up speed only for a snarl to sound out from the dock.
"Make way! I'm coming in!" barked a voice that sounded like it was trying to come across as tough rather than being tough naturally. The timbre was all wrong to be natural. I frowned. I'd sensed the slightly larger chakra source approaching but hadn't expected it to be associated with us.
A larger form blurred across the water, ignoring physics like all Shinobi could before leaping up onto the deck. When they straightened the first thing I noticed was the sword attached to their back. The man rested a hand idly on it while surveying us, evaluating if we were threats or not. Dark eyes flicked up and down as I looked him back over.
Apart from the Shibuki blade on his back, the man was rather unremarkable. He was of average height, build and appearance with a scruffy cast to his features. He obviously didn't take care of himself or have someone to nag him about it. He tugged at his Jonin vest to secure the bag on his hip.
The newcomer scowled when he noticed me assessing him but then scoffed, dismissing me and my friends.
The sailors got an even shorter look-over, only for him to pause when he locked eyes on Akiko and her Jonin vest.
"I'm conscripting you for a mission!" he said firmly.
"Ho? Is this a priority mission?" Akiko said, leaning forward.
Hideo Munashi, the current wielder of Shibuki the exploding blade, nodded. "Got a target that we will be looking for in the Land of Vegetables. I need your eyes. If you find the target you are to inform me, that there may be secondary targets to capture or… deny to enemies."
"What's our cut?" said Akiko, not letting her gaze drop from Hideo.
"Cut?! I'm giving you orders—" Hideo began to shout.
"And I'm not some wet behind the ears Genin. Don't try to shaft me, Hideo. You know as well as I do that if you're drawing in others it's an admission that you need us. Therefore you give up some of the pay that the Mizukage offered," she said sternly.
Hideo glared at Akiko but she met his gaze without flinching.
Sharkbait shifted slightly, getting ready to move. I put a hand on his arm to signal he needed to calm down. He did so after a moment and I continued to watch as my sensei had a staring contest with one of the Seven Swordsmen.
"Twenty percent if you actually end up helping out," he grounded out. "You're bringing brats!" he said, waving a hand towards my group.
"Thirty," said Akiko, "I'm a Jonin and Matsu, one of those brats—as you called them—is a Chunin," she said with a smirk.
Hideo glanced back at me, his eyes lingering on my chunin vest. He glared at me like I had been the one to push up the negotiations. He worked his mouth back and forth. "Very well, but all of them answer to me!"
Akiko nodded, turning her eyes upon Sharkbait, Himeko and I. "You three, meet Hideo Munashi, Swordsman of the Mist."
"One of the Seven!" he said fiercely. He then turned on us. "And you will refer to me as Lord! Or I will gut you!" he snarled at us.
Akiko smirked, obviously being excluded from that requirement. Interesting, a Jonin didn't need to give one of the Seven lip service. I hadn't known that.
I nodded, causing Sharkbait to copy me. Himeko clicked her tongue but twitched in an approximation of what could charitably be called a nod.
Hideo took a moment to consider if that was good enough before scoffing and marching into the captain's quarters and claiming them for himself.
The captain sighed forlornly. It seemed he'd held out hope of sleeping in his own bed when Akiko had chosen to bunk with the rest of us in the hull.
I chuckled to myself.
Alright, now it was getting scary. I'd not only completed a Team Seven Bingo, but now I had a Swordsman of the Mist as a part of my first C-rank.
Talk about scary coincidences.
I couldn't help myself at the frisson of excitement that ran through me. Once more I was leaving Kiri, but this time things seemed so much better for me and mine.
When we broke through the misty bank surrounding the Village I allowed myself to sit in the sun and relish the feeling of knowing I was making serious progress.
I reached into the bag I'd filled in between Akiko's "lessons" over the last few days and pulled out a small balloon.
No time like the present, I thought as I tried to work my chakra into multiple directions while within the palm of my hand. When the ball twitched violently instead of exploding, I felt a sigh bubbling up.
Damn, of course, it wasn't going to be that easy.
I paused as I recalled that the second phase of learning this jutsu would require a rubber ball.
Where the hell was I supposed to get one of those in this time period?
I shrugged and returned to what I was doing. Let's just cross that bridge when I got to it. I was already in a better place than the last time I'd left, after all.
I smiled, focusing on the first phase of training to master the Rasengan.
Screw Minato, I was going to be the one known for having this just as my signature jutsu.
A.N. Thanks go to all my pat-reons for your support! For those interested Pat-reon just reached Chapter 33!
Thanks also go to Fakerdakerhahaha from SB for doing an in-depth edit for this chapter!
If I'm doing it for HE I might as well do it for RR.
Matsu - The MC. Born in an Okiya—read high-end brothel/geisha house—Is Uzumaki blooded in chakra and appearance. An SI trying to make Kiri less shit.
Shoto - a scout Matsu met in the Academy. Both of them have each other's backs. Very loyal. Small and wiry.
Rei - An academy girl who wasn't aggressive enough for the current model of shinobi. To the rest of Kiri, she's dead. Currently training to become a Madam with a huge web of spies with various Geisha/Okiyas throughout the world.
The Madam - Owner and manager of the Okiya. Deals with Matsu's antics and acts as the granny as much as she can for girls in rough situations… and Matsu. Announces that she got more grey hair when he was born. The ladies tease that it was when he left for war instead.
Akiko - a Jonin who has had her face healed from horrific scars. Former clan supporter. Matsu's Sensei and unsure of the wisdom of this move.
Sayuki - the new leader of the Civilian kids while Matsu is away from them. Otherwise acts as the 2IC. Ranked Genin
Dende - A friend Matsu made on the Suna war front. Ranked Chunin
Hito - A friend Matsu made on the Suna war front. Ranked Chunin
Hanzo - A friend Matsu made on the Suna war front. Ranked Chunin
Kitoma - The strongest Kaguya in Matsu's year at the academy. Ranked Genin
Gantu - Kitoma's father. Tk Jonin of the Kaguya clan
Chunin En - Dead. Medic - was extremely petty. Plucked a set of eyeballs from a Hyuga
Hideo Munashi - the wielder of Shibuki, the exploding sword of the Seven great swords. A bit of a chip on his shoulder.