Graduation

-2489 words-

[Year 45, Kazekage Office]

Inside the kage office, A tall man with dark-blue hair was reading a report from the academy with interest. His narrow yellow eyes sweeping across the text written in front of him. After all, it's not everyday that an academy student manages to replicate the Magnet Release, especially to the extent where he could manipulate his own unique element in the form of Gold Dust.

Ryushi, the Third and current reigning Kazekage, could only chuckle in mirth and amusement. It took him years to be able to create his Iron Sand technique from studying the way the 1 Tailed Tanuki manipulates sand, and here comes a genius that is able to do so at 7 years of age. The boy could grow to be much more powerful than he was. Especially considering gold is much denser than iron.

But what amazes him even more is the actual amount of talent that exists in the next generation of shinobi. There's not just one, not two, but three young academy students that show potential to become the greatest shinobi that Sunagakure will ever produce.

Sabaku no Rasa. Souei Matsuri. Rukia Hoku.

However, the young Kazekage knows exactly just how dangerous the label of a genius could be. There are plenty of people throughout the years that possess just as much talent as they did, but failed to reach their true potential due to early deaths, sabotage, the loss of motivation, or even incompetent trainers.

That brought him back to the idea he had to nurture these young talents as soon as possible. The idea of an early graduation. Truly their growth will be hampered if they stayed within the academy, however it's not as if they have nothing else to learn. Making them go to the field too soon could be dangerous after all.

Ryushi folded his hands in thought, perhaps he's been thinking this the wrong way. Yes, they needed to graduate early for their skills to bloom. But it doesn't necessarily have to be now.

There's nothing wrong in letting them nurture their relationships first before they become soldiers. What they truly need is an efficient teacher that is able to bring out their individual talents.

He then nodded as the beginnings of a plan started to form in his mind. Looks like it's time to call 'The Centipede' back from active duty in the field. He has a better position for the man to fill. One that involves teaching.

The world of Ninja is currently at peace. But the Third Kazekage had no illusions that the peace would actually last. The promises each kage made are worth nothing more than the paper they were written on. That doesn't mean he should remain paranoid and force children to a life of murder and deceit.

After all, before they were shinobi, they were children of Suna. And it is his job to take care of them.

— Marionette of Suna —

Souei jumped over a rock as he ran around a clearing just a little ways away from the Matsuri mansion. There was a natural obstacle course in the area that he used regularly for practice. He continued to do his best as he weaved out of any of the rock pillars and willow trees that fill the course. He huffed a little as he stopped and tried to catch his breath. He had been running at full speed for about half an hour, which most people would probably find impressive for a seven year old.

After a considerable amount of time resting, he then plucked one of the leaves from a nearby tree and placed it on the side of his face. He then proceeded to regulate his chakra to make it stick just like how Aunt Chiyo showed him. Once he succeeded, Souei then kept adding more and more to the point where more than 40 leaves were stuck to his body. His chakra control is something he's very proud of. Especially considering it's a very important skill for budding puppeteers to have.

His studies with Aunt Chiyo have also carried on to the point where she's training him in the more intricate uses of chakra strings. Since his threads are solid, techniques that are usually impossible for chakra strings to do could now be realized. Even his uncle Ebizo was amazed at how quickly he improved.

After getting enough rest, Souei then looked to the large boulder that's sitting in the middle of the clearing. It was around 4 times his size and was surprisingly perfectly circular. He held out an arm as his hand lay on the rough stone. He grinned before taking a few steps back. He then outstretched his index finger as a thin white thread appeared extending from his finger. The string then grew to the length of a meter before he swiped his finger towards the boulder, intending on cutting it in half. However, the string barely scratched the surface of the rock before it got repelled.

"Dammit." Souei sighed. "Looks like I'm not ready for this yet."

"Woah, that was pretty cool!" A bubbly voice exclaimed as a girl came out from behind a tree. She had dark brown hair that came down to her chin. Brown eyes a shade lighter and straight eyebrows. Her distinct feature however, was the blue arrow shaped tattoo on her forehead. She currently had a bright smile on her face and her hands folded behind her back.

"Who are you?" Souei asked with a slight threatening tone.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to spy on you or anything, I was just in the area when I felt your presence and was curious to see what you were doing. My name is Rukia by the way. Rukia Hoku. It's nice to meet you!" She said, introducing herself with a wave.

"It's…nice to meet you too. I'm Souei Matsuri. Did you say your name was Hoku? As in, the Hoku clan?"

This was the first time Souei had seen a member of the clan up close. Souei has met a few high-ranking members of the clan from the political gatherings he was forced to attend by his Aunt. But he never actually talked to any of them. From what Souei remembers from Uncle Ebizo's history lessons, the Hoku clan is a matriarchal clan known to produce medical ninja for Sunagakure. A distinct trait of their clan is that every clan member has a tattoo of an arrow on their forehead.

"That's right! And you're Souei Matsuri, from the same clan as Lady Chiyo!"

"Lady Chiyo? You mean my aunt?" I asked bewildered.

"Yep! Lady Chiyo is my idol! I hope to be a kunoichi as impressive as her one day." She said with a light smile and eyes twinkling in determination. The sight of it made me give a smile of my own. Aiming to reach the level of my aunt is a fine goal indeed.

"So have you also been training to be a ninja since you were young?"

"That's right! I started when I was around 5. My family has been helping me practice ever since I unlocked my chakra. I only did basic exercises then but they're starting on a little bit of the advanced stuff nowadays."

"That's pretty impressive." Souei nodded before a thought came to him about something she said earlier. "Hey, just now you said something about feeling my presence. What do you mean by that?"

She tilted her head in thought. "I actually don't really get it myself, but my parents called me a natural sensor or something. I can feel people or things around me. But the range isn't all that big yet so I'm pretty bummed out. They said that it'll grow the older I get so I didn't put much thought into it."

"That sounds like a nifty ability to have." Souei was a little intrigued by her sensory skills and was about to ask her more questions when Rukia asked a question of her own.

"So what about that string you did earlier? Is it like chakra strings or something. My parents showed it to me once, but I wasn't really comfortable in using it."

"Oh, this is…" He proceeded to tell her about how he unlocked the supposedly lost Bloodline of the Matsuri clan. He didn't delve too deep on what he could do with it though. They just met after all.

"Woah, that's amazing! So you wanna be a puppeteer?" She asked curiously.

"That's the goal, but who knows. I might branch out my shinobi techniques here and there."

Rukia nodded at Souei's words. "Ne Souei, you're also in class A in the academy right? Let's have lunch together!"

"Sure thing. Is it fine if I invite Rasa?" Souei asked. 'She said `also in class A`. So we've been classmates for about two years and I never noticed her? Yikes.'

"Of course! The more the merrier!"

They continued to talk for a couple hours about all kinds of topics. Only when the sun began to come down did they stop since both knew they had better get home before their families got worried.

Saying goodbye, the two new friends made their way home.

— Marionette of Suna —

Souei walked into the Matsuri clan compound and slipped his sandals off before making his way into the living room.

Arriving inside, he saw his aunt sitting by the table reading a book. She immediately looked up as soon as he entered the room.

"Hello, Souei. How was your day?" She asked with a motherly smile.

"It was fine, Aunt Chiyo. I just practiced with my threads a little today." He said as he sat on the opposite side of the table after giving her aunt a kiss on the cheek.

"Oho, did you make any progress?" Aunt Chiyo asked in open curiosity. After all, it was a long lost Kekkei Genkai of their clan and as current head, it was responsibility to know all she could about it.

"Not much. I'm trying to figure out a way to make it sharper and stronger. Right now, they always snap when I use them to cut harder objects."

"Hmm, I'm sure you'll figure it out." She encouraged.

"I am getting better at it at least. I can now extend them up to two meters if I focus and they handle more weight, so I am improving." Souei sighs as he leaned back into the chair he's sitting in.

"I'm glad to hear it. How is the academy?"

"Academy's fine, if not a little boring. Oh and that reminds me, I also made a new friend today."

He said as he stared outside through the large window on the edge of the room, not seeing his aunt look at him in surprise.

"Really?" She asked, barely concealing her joy. Souei has always been a little more mature than most children his age, and that caused him to not have any friends outside the clan. Aside from Rasa, of course. So hearing this is great news for the elderly ninja. "May I ask who?"

"Her name is Rukia Hoku. She's also in my class in the academy."

"Oh that is wonderful, Souei. I hope to meet her soon." She said as she smiled at her nephew.

"She also said you're her idol. That her goal in life is to become a shinobi just like you." Souei informed her.

"Did she now?" Chiyo chuckled in amusement. "Well that just makes me want to meet her even more."

"That'd be good, yeah. I think you'll like her." He said, giving her a smile. Soon enough, Souei retired to his room, feeling tired as all the fatigue of the day forced him to a blissful sleep.

— Marionette of Suna —

[Year 47]

Two years have passed since the day he met Rukia and since then, the three of them became an inseparable group.

Souei introduced Rukia to Rasa after that first meeting and although there was a slightly awkward phase, the bubbly and extroverted Rukia managed to befriend Rasa. Even if that guy is a major stick in the mud.

They often meet up after academy lessons and would always train or spar with one another to help each other improve. He was genuinely surprised to see that Rukia could actually keep up with him and Rasa. Her title as Suna's third prodigy was well deserved in his opinion. She was apparently a genius in chakra control, already capable of sticking to even harder and stronger materials like rocks and pebbles across her body instead of the usual leaf sticking exercise.

She was already receiving med-nin training from her family as well. Which is probably where the advanced chakra control came from. The three of them were currently seated in an empty room, waiting for their Jonin sensei to arrive.

Earlier that month, Souei, Rasa, and Rukia applied for early graduation. The three believe themselves ready since there was nothing else to learn from the academy. Luckily, their applications were accepted by the Kazekage and they soon did the graduation exams with the older academy students.

For the three geniuses however, the exam proved much too easy and they all found themselves graduating. It was decided by the council that the three of them will form their own three-man cell team without getting separated since they already know each other. After a week of celebrating with friends and family, it was time for them to meet their Jonin sensei.

They were engaging in small talk when a man entered the room they were currently residing in. He had medium length black hair with a tuft of white hair at the base of his head that covered his Sunagakure Headband. He had lazy dark coloured eyes with bags under them. He was wearing a black cloak over a red high collared undershirt and pants.

What was pretty bizarre however, was the gigantic centipede puppet that coiled around his body. The puppet''s head was resting on the man's shoulder, eyes watching the three genin.

The man eyed Souei, Rukia, and Rasa for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes.

"My name is Ishito Kazoku. I will be your Jonin sensei."

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Hey folks!

Another chapter for Marionette! Some new characters introduced here. Ones I'm pretty excited to finally bring into fruition.

I took inspiration for Rukia's clan from the Hōki Family that appeared in the Gaara Hiden novels and the Airbenders from Avatar.

I also named the Third Kazekage Ryushi cause he's unnamed in Canon.

Ishito's picture by Tsurugami on DeviantArt

Rukia's picture by Caro-Oliveria in DeviantArt

Next chapter will probably involve genin exams. We'll see.

For advanced chapters, Head on to my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get between 4 or 10 chapters ahead along with a few other benefits.

P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle

(Remove the spaces)

That's all for today's notes.

Cheers!