The Narrow Path Walked

In the still of the night, after a rigorous training session, Daimaru leaned against the window, gazing at the moon bathed in the night breeze. He picked up the bottle of external medicine Sayuri had given him and unwound the bandages around his hands, revealing palms laced with fine scars.

His right hand pointed toward the crescent moon in the sky, while his left hand formed seals, concentrating chakra in the palm of his right hand. A spiral of wind chakra shot forward, creating a shimmering array of wind blades that clinked against each other like steel on steel.

The wind blades flared and faded, and fresh, bleeding cuts appeared from his wrist to his fingertips. The sudden pain made Daimaru's extended hand quiver involuntarily.

"Still can't control it completely, but it's got practical value now!"

This was when Sayuri's external medicine came in handy. He carefully applied the ointment to his wounds, and a soothing coolness spread throughout his body.

"High-grade stuff really is extraordinary."

With such quality aid, he could accelerate his Wind Release practice.

"Did Miss Sayuri give me this external medicine by coincidence, or did she uncover my secret?"

The path of a ninja can be tedious at times, requiring relentless accumulation and a resolve to endure loneliness and pain. The scars on his hands were proof of Daimaru's past efforts.

"Ah, Wind Release specialty..."

Daimaru's expression turned wistful.

Years ago, when he discovered his chakra was wind-aligned, he was overjoyed, thinking his time had finally come. Rasengan, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, all powerful techniques—if he mastered them, he'd be unstoppable.

He soon realized he was being naive.

A Sunagakure Genin using the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's signature jutsu would be asking for trouble. Konoha wouldn't stand for it, and Sunagakure's Anbu would have questions.

Moreover, Rasengan wasn't a good fit for Daimaru. Rasengan and Chidori were piercing, offensive jutsu—without the Sharingan like Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha or Minato's unmatched reflexes, they were either ineffective or left the user open to counterattack.

Naruto Uzumaki used Rasengan with a shadow clone strategy, overwhelming opponents with numbers. Jiraiya's Rasengan rarely hit an opponent of equal strength; it was mainly used to overpower weaker foes.

As for Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Daimaru didn't dare consider it. Naruto, with the Uzumaki clan's vitality and the Nine-Tails' chakra regeneration, nearly crippled himself using it. Daimaru, with his lesser stature, definitely shouldn't attempt it.

Learning Sage Mode and using Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken would allow for long-range attacks, but as a Sand shinobi, Sage Mode was out of reach.

Years as a Genin, and all Daimaru learned was a bit of sand manipulation from his sensei, Satetsu. Sunagakure had its share of Wind Release experts—Maki was a notable one, but she was the teacher of the Fourth Kazekage's three children and had no connection to Daimaru.

In the end, he could only rely on himself.

He'd diligently practiced wind chakra nature transformation for nearly four years, becoming proficient. With the leaf-cutting method as a guide—simple and effective—it just required time and patience to accumulate insight.

For form manipulation, he had to explore on his own. The scarred hands were just part of the price for his self-developed jutsu.

Puppetry and sand manipulation would be his standard combat techniques, while Wind Release would remain his hidden ace.

...

Three days later, an irate Sayuri cornered Daimaru at his apartment door.

"Miss Sayuri, I've done what I promised, and you got what you wanted. Why are you still giving me trouble?"

"You big liar, you've conned me! Give me back my medicine..."

"That's not possible. We settled the deal; the medicine is mine now."

"But you didn't tell me Zairo didn't qualify for the Chunin Exams!"

"That's not my problem. You didn't ask at the time."

Indeed, they had agreed on a mere Genin to fill the ranks.

The next day, Daimaru introduced Sayuri to Yoru, and then to Zairo. Although the atmosphere was tense, Zairo, eager for recognition, accepted the harsh terms of the Sayuri and Sanae sisters.

With graduation season two months away, a few retests smoothly secured Zairo's Genin status, and he joined Sayuri's team.

The team leader, appointed by Sayuri's father's faction, was there to nurture both Sayuri and Sanae.

However, Zairo ran into significant trouble regarding his eligibility for the Chunin Exams. Genin needed to complete a certain number of missions to qualify.

Leaf Village Genin required eight missions, while Sand Village demanded ten. Zairo, freshly minted as a ninja, had completed none—meaning Sayuri's team had to tirelessly finish at least ten missions in a few months, ensuring a flawless record to recommend Zairo for the exams.

Sayuri was displeased; low-level missions were dull, and the meager rewards held little appeal for her. Why would she bother with tiresome D-rank tasks?

"What now? Too late to change anything."

If it weren't for Daimaru's careless suggestion, Sayuri wouldn't be in such a predicament.

"What you need to do now is grab every D-rank mission you can that doesn't waste time, to boost Zairo's mission count."

"With less than two months left..."

The traditional Chunin Exam time for Sunagakure was late May. Any later, and the desert heat would be too intense for Genin to compete.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

Daimaru advised patiently.

Time would be sufficient. Soon, Konoha would invite Sunagakure to a joint Chunin Exam set for July 1st, giving them an extra month and a half beyond Sayuri's expectation.

Without mishaps, they could complete ten D-rank missions in time.

"That's all we can do, then."

Sayuri left sullenly to contact her teammates and instructor.

The Otofū team also had a series of large-scale missions to complete.

The northern border fortress was changing guard, and Otofū would join the supply escort to the north and remain there for patrol assignments from the local commander, with a two-month deadline.

By the time they returned to Sunagakure, the Chunin Exams would be just around the corner.