7 Pebbles and Stones Roll Down a Mountain

Pebbles and Stones Roll Down a Mountain

__________

Another two months passed by in the blink of an eye, as my repertoire of skills rapidly advanced. My daily spars with Sho, Hisoka, and Katsuo, or the 'tea house trio' as I'd taken to calling them in my head, had allowed me to quickly rise to the higher end of my class' Taijutsu rankings. Additionally, my nightly meditations and the class-hours I spent on chakra control exercises had pushed me to the front of the pack in another one of the class subjects. As things stood my worst subject was Bukijutsu, where I was only slightly above average.

I had started focusing more and more on building up the skills required to advance to genin. Sora's team had been incredibly valuable in this regard; their notebooks had allowed me to form a list of goals, and on their off days they were generally willing to give me a few pointers as they trained.

__________

"So explain it to me again, what you're doing," Kou requested. I stood before him, drenched but mostly unbothered by the fact.

"I'm basically trying to do the same thing as when I tree walk, just with more chakra," I explained, prompting Kou to shake his head.

"Nah, man, you can't do it like that," he responded. "So when you're tree walking, you feel like you're grabbing on to the tree, right?" he asked. I gave him an affirmative nod. "Alright so," Kou continued, "you can't really do the same thing with water walking. You gotta, like, pull it all together and make it," he trailed off, pausing in search of a way to explain himself. "Umm, sticky? Bouncy maybe? I 'unno, but it just feels different," he finished.

I chuckled at his explanation. Kou wasn't the best teacher, but Sora and Saki were both off being drilled by Kayo-sensei to please the teacher's sadistic needs. Kou was enthusiastic though, and I caught the general gist of what he was trying to say.

"Alright, I think I get it," I said, heading back over to the shore. Water walking was a chakra control exercise, like tree walking. From Kou's explanation, it sounded like I needed to reach out with my chakra and increase the water pressure beneath my feet. My previous approach had been essentially just an extension of tree-walking, but spread out wider. I was latching onto a broad surface of water in order to create more surface area for buoyancy, but Kou's explanation indicated that I needed to work in a different direction.

I placed my foot on the water and got to work. After a few minutes of testing out different approaches, I understood what Kou meant. It was impossible to latch on to the water effectively with one's chakra, at least without mastering nature transformation. Instead, by forming a bubble around the water and pulling it towards my foot, it took on a jelly-like consistency and propped up my leg.

I tried standing up. I succeeded in staying upright for a few seconds, but the water rapidly lost form and I plunged right back into the pool.

"Yeah that's it, I think you got it that time," Kou praised.

After several dozen more attempts, I finally managed to stay up on the water indefinitely.

"I can't believe you figured it out in a day," Kou said disbelievingly. I smiled up at him proudly.

"My chakra control is really good," I boasted. Kou hummed in agreement, having seen proof already.

"How long have you been practicing?" he asked. "I don't think I even knew what chakra control was when I was four," he explained. I thought back.

"My mom got me started when I was a little older than one," I replied. The memory set off a pang of grief, breaking my concentration. I immediately fell into the water.

Kou fished me out, looking at me apologetically. He had likely guessed that speaking of my mother brought up certain memories. He knew about my parents' fate, as it wasn't exactly a secret, but he couldn't really sympathize; as a result, he just ended up feeling sorry for me .

"No wonder they call you a prodigy," Kou remarked, ignoring what had just happened. I smiled at him, grateful for his tactfulness even if I didn't like his words.

"I just work for it," I said neutrally. I had become slightly more comfortable with the praise I received in recent months. It was nice to receive some recognition for my efforts, but I felt like a sixteen-year-old receiving praise for feats a below-average twelve year old could accomplish. It wasn't exactly rational, since physically I was still four, but emotion was never meant to be rational.

"You suck at taking compliments," Kou said matter-of-factly, abandoning some of his prior tact. I laughed alongside him.

I spent the rest of the afternoon continuing to practice with the older genin.

__________

"Kimoto Kazuo and Niwa Mitsuo, ring one!" Juro announced to the class, drawing the attention of most of the students. There was now only about a month remaining until the end of the semester, but Mitsuo had established himself as the undisputed number one in terms of Taijutsu. Another student, Sato Yoshito, had been the undisputed number two given that the only student he had lost against was Mitsuo.

That had all changed two days ago, when I beat Yoshito three times in a row, taking away the number two spot. Today I would make my bid for first place. We took our places in the ring.

"Start!" Juro shouted.

I immediately blitzed the older boy. I shot forward in a burst of chakra-enhanced speed, and using my small stature I stepped right into his guard and aimed a punch at his stomach.

He deftly parried it to the side, and launched an elbow at my head. I flowed under it, stepping behind him and spinning around with a side-kick aimed at his waist.

He spun with me, catching my leg in a steady grip, and used it to throw me at the edge of the ring. I latched onto the ground by channeling chakra through my hands and feet, and skidded to a halt right before the edge.

I shot forward again, this time building up momentum to throw a spinning ax-kick directly at his left shoulder. Not expecting the bold move, he was forced to block the powerful blow with his forearms, and winced slightly in pain.

Unfortunately, he had a quick counter. He leaned back with my blow, and used the momentum to launch a high kick at my back. I tried to shift to the side to avoid the blow, but it landed on my shoulder, sending me spinning.

I spread out my arms and legs to stop the spin, landing on the ground, but Mitsuo took full advantage of the opening and brought his heel down on the back of my head.

My face hit the dirt in a daze, and by the time my bearings returned Mitsuo had me in a lock.

"Winner, ring one, Niwa Mitsuo!" Juro announced. Mitsuo leaped off immediately and helped me up while forming the sign of reconciliation.

"You gave me a better fight than anyone but Yoshito," Mitsuo praised. I gave him a polite nod, but my head was still going over the previous match. Juro would surely pair the two of us together again today. After a few minutes, I had formed an idea.

"Kimoto Kazuo and Niwa Mitsuo, ring one!" Juro announced again after a few matches. It was inevitable, since pairing us up with anyone else wouldn't really be helpful.

"Start!"

This time I didn't approach, instead taking a defensive stance. Mitsuo's forte seemed to be counterattacking, so I planned on not giving him the chance.

Not wanting to let the spar go on for too long, Mitsuo took the initiative. He didn't shoot forward like I had, instead, he advanced slowly and deliberately, watching me every step of the way.

There were a couple of openings in his guard, but the last time I had tried to take advantage he had been fully prepared. Instead, I channeled far more chakra than normal into my body, and jumped with a straight punch right at his perfectly guarded face.

The boy was left gobsmacked, not expecting someone to do something so stupid. For that reason, it worked. His arms came up instinctively, blocking my punch, but the sheer amount of force I had committed still jarred his head and left him dazed. I didn't offer him a moment to recover, swinging my other hand in an arc to wrap around his head, and shooting my knee forward into his unguarded chest.

The blow to his solar-plexus stopped his breath, and my weight on his head brought him far enough off-balance to bring him to the ground. We both landed harshly, but I was essentially seated on his chest. The impact knocked away his breath again, and I tapped my fist against his neck. Had it been an actual blow, it would have crushed his windpipe and killed him.

"Winner, ring one, Kimoto Kazuo!" Juro announced. A hush had fallen over the class. Mitsuo had yet to lose a single spar this year, and he had just been defeated by a boy four years his junior. I helped Mitsuo to his feet. He gave me an overjoyed grin.

"Damn! You fight dirty kid, I never expected that!" he said excitedly. "The next one's mine though," he added, and his grin turned slightly predatory.

"Not a chance," I said resolutely. Winning the next spar would cement my position at the top of the class.

'Like hell the next one's yours,' I said in my head, already coming up with another trick. I would fight with everything in my tank and more.

About half an hour later, for the third and final time today, Juro announced our names again.

Mitsuo and I stared at one another across the ring, fire burning in our eyes. We took our stances.

"Start!" came the teachers shout.

Neither of us waited; we both shot forward. Mitsuo came at me with an elbow ready for my forehead, expecting me to step into his guard.

I anticipated his attack, and dropped to the ground in a slide. My small stature let me pass between his legs, just barely brushing his pants with my shoulders. I grabbed the ground and leaped at his back. He reacted immediately, spinning to catch any blow I offered.

I flashed through hand-signs, ending with the tiger. His eyes widened comically, and he immediately ducked for cover.

I flipped in the air and brought an ax-kick down on his head. His face mimicked mine from the first spar, hitting the dirt with a thump. I landed on his back and wrapped my legs around his shoulders, locking my feet in his armpits, while snaking my arm around his throat.

I cranked and his face turned pink.

"Winner, ring one, Kimoto Kazuo!" Juro announced.

A few cheers came from the onlooking students, but the majority stayed silent in either shock or jealousy.

"Dude, not cool," Mitsuo groaned as I got off him. "I totally thought you were gonna roast me!" he exclaimed. I grinned proudly.

Ninjutsu were explicitly disallowed in academy Taijutsu spars; however, there had been several cases of students getting too hot-blooded and ignoring the rules. I probably wasn't the first to use the tactic, and certainly wouldn't be the last, but when it was used infrequently enough misdirection worked wonders.

"Ha!" I exclaimed. "I was counting on it," I said. He sighed before groaning in disappointment.

"Ugh I totally should have known," he complained. I didn't blame him; it was a cheap trick. The only issue was that most of us didn't have enough experience to see such things coming.

"At least no one can catch you with it again," I offered. He nodded, but his spirits would probably stay down for a while longer.

"I guess," he mumbled.

__________

"Juro-sensei, do you have a moment?" I asked after the end of class. He looked up at me from his stack of papers.

"Certainly, how can I help you Kazuo?" he asked. I steeled myself and waited for the last student to trickle out of the room.

"I was hoping to talk to you about advancing to the graduating class next semester," I answered. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Now why would you propose something like that?" he questioned. He probably had a good idea of what I would say, but wanted to ensure I was serious about my request. Fortunately, I had spent several days preparing for this conversation.

"Well," I started. "I don't believe staying in this class much longer will be good for my development," I explained. He gestured for me to continue. "You know I'm well ahead of the class in academics, but I've actually finished the syllabus for even the graduating class. In terms of ninjutsu, I can quite easily perform the basic three, and I've completed even the last of the academy chakra control exercises," I continued, pausing for a breath. Juro cut in here.

"You can water walk?" he asked. I nodded in affirmation and he gave me an impressed look.

"Yes, I managed to mostly master it yesterday when working with miss Tada Kayo's genin team," I explained. That earned me a sharper look. Jōnin did not take teams easily, and it was unheard of for an academy student to be allowed to train with them. I was being a bit misleading, since Kayo-sensei never really trained me, but what Juro didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Continuing, I have now reached the top of the class in Taijutsu, and at the rate with which I'm improving it will soon be stifling to not have any more skilled sparring partners. The only field where I don't excel is Bukijutsu, but the academy is barely necessary for its practice," I finished.

Juro burst out laughing.

I scowled.

"Sorry, sorry," he waved off. "Kazuo, you're way too serious, you know that?" he asked rhetorically. He burst into a new set of laughs.

"I'm sorry!" exclaimed, calming down. "But your voice and your words," he paused, "they just don't match," he finished off with a set of chuckles. I groaned in dismay.

"I can't help being four," I told him plainly.

"I'm well aware, Kazuo," he replied. He then sobered up. "Unfortunately, I cannot in good conscience allow a four-year-old into the graduating class," he said. My temper flared slightly, and I opened my mouth to argue. He held up a hand.

"Allow me to finish," he said. I bit back my reply. "I would ordinarily never entertain the notion, but most of what you said is right. Spending the next semester in this class just won't help you, but being tossed into the Shinobi forces so quickly also won't help you," he explained. He seemed like he had more to say so I held back my arguments.

"Almost all students spend at least two years with the same class. They make friends, develop relationships, and gather allies in their classes. Once they graduate, they have the beginnings of a network to rely on and work with. I don't know what you do outside of class, but from what I've seen you have none of that," he surmised. I grit my teeth. I couldn't blame the man, as he brought up a very good point. I might have claimed to work with a genin team, but I could easily be lying. It didn't help that I actually was exaggerating things.

"I will offer you a compromise," he continued. I perked up at that. "If you can get a Jōnin, or even a Tokūbetsu Jōnin to vouch for you before the end of the semester, I'll allow you to move up," he explained.

I narrowed my eyes at the man. Ordinarily it would have been an impossible challenge. The village boasted a population of over a hundred thousand, the vast majority of which were shinobi. Out of those, only around fifteen hundred were Tokūbetsu Jōnin, and only around five hundred were Jōnin. To make matters worse, the vast majority of those elite shinobi were out of the village due to the war.

An orphan academy student simply couldn't be expected to have such connections, but I wasn't an ordinary orphan. When I found out just how elite Jōnin actually were, I understood why important figures like Shibuki and Suien were so closely connected to my family. To be born from two Jōnin was the same as being born into the top fraction of the 'one-percent.' Knowing my advantages, I accepted my teacher's terms.

"Alright, I'll do it," I accepted after thinking over things for a few minutes. He seemed slightly surprised at my acquiescence. He may have even been willing to make some concessions if I had argued, but I had a plan of action and a set of resources that might not work if he changed the challenge.

"Very well," Juro said. "Make sure to get the endorsement before the semester exams. I can't move you up if you don't sit the upper class' exams," he explained.

"Got it," I replied. "Thank you Juro-sensei," I offered.

"It's no problem, Kazuo," he responded.

I quickly left the room. After all, my plan was time-sensitive.

__________

My first stop was Training Ground 86: the training ground assigned to Team Kayo.

"Kayo-sensei!" I shouted as I arrived, making a beeline for the woman. All four of the occupants watched me in shock. I was a frequent visitor to the training grounds, but I normally waited off to the side, training on my own until someone else was free. I had never purposefully interrupted their training.

"What's up, brat?" she asked curiously.

"I need to ask a favor," I explained before bowing. "I'm really sorry for interrupting," I apologized. She snorted and waved me off.

"Don't worry about it," she said. I knew she wouldn't care, otherwise I would have never done it. "So what do you need?" she asked.

I offered just a summary of my conversation with Juro.

"Damn," she said with a whistle when I finished. "I knew you were getting good, but not that good. You're a little freak aren't you?" she questioned rhetorically. If I hadn't known her I would have been offended, but I knew she held no malice in her words.

"So can you help?" I asked. The fearsome kunoichi sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry little man," she said. "I know what the guy wants to do," she revealed. "The only way you're going to get moved up is if there's someone waiting for you with an apprenticeship. I've already got these three idiots, I can't take one more," she explained, ignoring Sora's shout of indignation.

I nodded in understanding, having expected something along those lines. She had been my first choice, but only because I had a number of reservations regarding my second.

"It's no problem, Kayo-sensei," I responded, accepting her rejection gracefully. "I've gotta run now though, I have a backup plan," I explained. The woman gave me a laugh.

"Of course you do," she said. "Say hi to the old swordfish for me!" she called as I left.

__________

My backup plan took me to the main administrative offices of the Land of Waterfalls' armed forces. I walked through the corridors, greeting a few familiar faces, until I reached a large office.

"Hi miss Yoshie," I greeted the pretty young woman who sat at the front desk. Her hair was tied back, forming a dark-grey ponytail, and her small eyes complemented her delicate features perfectly. She resembled Sora in many ways: just more feminine and with dark-grey hair instead of Sora's raven-black.

"Hi Kazuo!" she greeted happily. "I never see you here, what brings you around?" she asked.

"I was wondering if the General was in," I informed. She chuckled slightly.

"Don't be so formal, you'll make him sad," she said. She wheeled over to the door by her desk, revealing why she was stuck in an administrative position. Both of her legs were missing.

"Uncle," she called, cracking open the door. "You've got a visitor I think you'll be happy to see," she explained in a sing-song voice.

"Is that so?" a gruff voice asked from in the room. "Well, what're you waiting for girl! Let him in," he instructed.

I entered the room and watched as an exhausted-looking man sifted through papers. He had a large mane of spiky dark-grey hair, matching the girl at the front desk, and beady brown eyes that gave him a stern visage. His chin was adorned with a goatee, and a bandana covered his forehead. His tired eyes brightened as they saw me.

"Little Kimoto!" he said happily. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"Hi Uncle Suien," I greeted, "I've been doing really well," I informed him. "I'm guessing you've been really busy?" I remarked, looking around the cluttered room.

This was Sora's father, one of the top five generals in the Land of Waterfalls. Our military had an intricate hierarchy, which was slightly different from the five major nation-states on our continent. At the top of the nation-state sat the Daimyō, who I had learned was none other than Shibuki. In the lands which held the Five Great Villages, the Daimyō would command his own force of samurai, but in the Land of Waterfalls the Daimyō instead directly presided over the shinobi village.

Directly below Shibuki was the Council of Village Elders: a group of widely respected and beloved retired shinobi, and the Jōnin Commander: a man who's advanced age would likely see him move to the Council within the next few years. The Jōnin Commander, sometimes called the Marshal, directly commanded the village's five Army Generals. Suien was one of these Army Generals. The Army Generals then commanded around ten Divisional Generals, who in turn commanded around ten Brigade Generals.

My parents had met as Brigade Generals when they had both been assigned to Suien's Division. Suien's division had led the charge against the 'Great Beast' on the night of the attack, and he had been the only one to survive. Rather than granting him a new Division, Suien had been moved up to fill the rank of an Army General who had died.

As such, I was the only child of the only Division Suien had ever commanded. To say he was extremely fond of me would be an understatement. He doted on me almost as much as his own son, and that meant a lot given the sheer number of Hana's complaints regarding how he spoiled their child.

Unfortunately, given that we were in the middle of a war, he was also extremely busy. That meant I felt extremely guilty over the prospect of saddling him with additional work, but not as much as I hated the prospect of spending an extra year in the academy.

"I'm really sorry about this, uncle, but I was hoping you could do me a favor," I asked. Naturally, he turned to look at me indulgently.

"Anything, Kazuo," he replied.

'That's exactly why I don't like asking you things,' I mentally whined.

I explained Juro's compromise to the man. As I finished, the tiredness had once again entered his eyes. He laughed lightly.

"In some ways, you're nothing like your parents, y'know?" he said wistfully. I stood in silence for a while as he reminisced.

"Your father was an idiot," he said plainly. "He was a great tactician, and great at thinking on the field, but still an idiot," he said with a laugh. "Your mother, on the other hand, was only an idiot when it came to him," he continued. "She was cool-headed as hell most of the time, but the second he came around her brain cells all died."

I smiled at the scene he described. From what I remembered, I could very clearly see where he was coming from.

"You, on the other hand," he said, turning to face me. "You're way too damn smart," he said with a sigh. "You have no idea how badly I want to send you home. Tell you to go back to Akari, sit you down with a bunch of toys, and keep you like that for years," he admitted. He drew off into a pause again, and I refrained from cutting in.

"That's the part of me that's Koji and Sayuri's friend," he added with a smile, then suddenly his face hardened. "There's another part of me though. The part of me that commands thousands of shinobi and willingly sends them to their death for the safety of the Land of Waterfalls," he explained harshly, looking me right in the eye.

"That part of me wants to shove you right into the forces. Build you up into the next Kakuzu through blood, pain, and suffering, and hand you to Shibuki to make you the next leader of this military," he growled, self-loathing clearly visible in his eyes. "The sad thing is that you'd probably be happy about it, wouldn't you?" he asked rhetorically. It pained me that he was right.

"Your teacher's a smart guy," he said, calming down, "but there's a reason he's just a Chūnin, if he had looked into who your parents are he probably would have realized how easy this would be for you," he remarked. I had come to essentially the same conclusion.

"I'll get you your endorsement," he acquiesced, and I breathed a sigh of relief; halfway through his speech I had gotten doubtful. "But you won't be putting a foot outside this village until I think you're ready, got it?" he continued. I nodded immediately.

"Yes sir!" I shouted in affirmative, saluting. A small smile returned to Suien's face.

"Yeah, stay like that, kid," he said with a laugh. "I'm not joking though," he said a little more seriously." I didn't joke around when I answered this time.

"I understand uncle, I just can't bear to be in the academy any longer. It's a waste of my time and we all know it," I explained, reiterating what we both already knew.

"Yeah, I know," he admitted grudgingly, "but I don't have to like it," he finished. "Now get out of my office, you pissed me off," he dismissed, still shaking his head fondly. I dashed forward and gave him a small hug before rushing out.

"Alright, bye Uncle! And thank you!" I shouted as I closed the door.

"Any time kid," he responded, voice muffled through the door. I cracked it open again.

"By the way, Kayo-sensei says hi!" I shouted. Suien just gave a small laugh in response, so I closed the door for the last time.

"Thanks, Yoshie," I offered to the girl at the desk as I walked out. She smiled happily at me.

"Certainly, Kazuo," she answered. "Come around more often, okay?" she asked.

"I'll try," I offered with a nod, before walking off to the Lake of Heroes.

There was no better way to celebrate than with a swim.