Chapter 14: Team Training and Genin Privileges

It was already late at night when Tekku opened the door to his apartment, finally allowing himself to breathe properly. Switching on the lights, one detail on his person revealed itself. He was severely bruised, and with every step he took, a slight moan of pain escaped him. All the genin wanted right now was to crash on his bed and rest from the torture of the day.

The day started like any other for the past four weeks since his team passed Inoichi-sensei's genin test. His team would meet every day at Training Ground 10. He woke up a couple of hours earlier than the meeting time to engage in some secret training. He focused mainly on his Chakra Control, particularly String Manipulation and Puppet Control. He had recently figured out how to control two puppets at the same time.

Puppetry was a complex art that required intense concentration. Initially, Tekku could only manipulate one puppet, but now he could use two Crash Test Dummies simultaneously. Currently, he was trying to learn how to control three, specifically two puppets with one hand. Controlling one puppet with each hand wasn't that hard, but having more than one per hand proved to be a bottleneck and much more challenging.

Tekku had stopped his morning milk delivery job and instead jogged to the training ground every day. He would begin his early training before his team arrived, following the schedule designed by Inoichi-sensei. They would engage in physical workouts during team training, sparring against each other, Inoichi-sensei, or other skilled opponents. This variety allowed him to fight against others on his level and those beyond it, honing his fighting skills.

Inoichi believed it was important for them not to neglect their Taijutsu skills. He particularly focused on Tekku, who was walking the path of a Puppet User. This specialization had a well-known weakness — puppet users themselves were often weak and easy to take out if one could bypass their puppets. Inoichi, having a similar situation with his specialization in mind techniques, understood the importance of not neglecting other skills. Therefore, he ensured that Tekku followed this advice and constantly improved his Taijutsu. For the first four weeks of their time together, they worked on developing their unique Taijutsu styles, incorporating some of the more advanced techniques.

Hana focused on a style that revolved around fighting with her Ninken, incorporating various Inuzuka Clan techniques. Meanwhile, Haruto developed a style that allowed him to quickly switch between Kenjutsu and Taijutsu, with compatible moves for each. As for Tekku, his style leaned towards the defensive side, focusing on either quickly incapacitating his opponent or creating distance to exploit opportunities for puppetry, traps, or jutsu.

After several sparring sessions with the team, Inoichi-sensei would take them on a D-ranked mission to the Hokage's Office once a week. Tekku was already familiar with these missions from the anime and manga, and he wasn't particularly excited about them. However, they paid better than his simple delivery job.

D-rank missions, or "chores" as Tekku preferred to call them, served as a way for genin to learn the principles required for higher-ranked missions without significant risk. They focused on teamwork, formations, and various shinobi protocols. These missions also played a role in boosting Konoha's economy, as shinobi could complete heavy tasks more efficiently than regular civilians due to their enhanced bodies. Instead of hiring a team of carpenters or similar workers, they could call upon a genin team to complete the job faster and at a lower cost. Additionally, these missions helped bridge the gap between shinobi and civilians, making the former more approachable. While they served their purpose, they could be annoying.

On days without missions, they would spend the afternoon learning something new, practicing Chakra Control, or engaging in team exercises. Inoichi-sensei decided they would only take a C-ranked mission once he determined they were ready. One of his requirements was for them to have a decent level of proficiency in Tree Walking and Water Walking. Tekku already possessed these skills, but the other two still struggled with Water Walking. Sundays and Wednesdays were free days when they had no meetings and could do as they pleased.

Tekku managed to convince Inoichi to teach him about poisons on Wednesdays, as it was a complex and scientific topic outside the scope of their regular training. In exchange, he had to help out at the Yamanaka Flower Shop on those days, where Inoichi would provide instruction. The shop not only sold flowers but also herbs and poisonous plants for shinobi.

Their late afternoons were free for them to use as they wished. This was when Tekku would often spend time in the Shinobi Library, located in the administrative section of the Academy, where the Hokage's office was also situated. Once a month, a shinobi could request a free jutsu from the library. For additional jutsus, a corresponding fee had to be paid. Genin could only request D-rank jutsus, while chunin could request C-rank jutsus, and jonin could request B-rank jutsus. A-rank and higher jutsus had to be directly requested from the administrative desk or the Hokage, with approval required from the jonin commander, the Hokage, an elder, or the ANBU commander, depending on the jutsu and the requesting ninja.

The first jutsu Tekku requested was the Shunshin no Jutsu or Body Flicker Technique, a jutsu that allowed him to move at high speeds. However, he soon realized it was difficult to use in combat, especially without a Sharingan. Nonetheless, he could still use it to create distance between himself and his opponent. The most important aspect of that jutsu was that it saved a lot of walking distance.

However, jutsu were not the only things available in the library. It also provided free information based on the ninja's rank. For example, every shinobi could access a copy of the current version of the Bingo Book free of charge. Additionally, there was information on basic Konoha tactics, more in-depth information on other villages beyond the basics taught in the Academy, the different Konoha codes used (such as the standard signing language), jutsu theory (much of which was contributed by the Third Hokage but not exclusively), and even an intermediate version of the Fuinjutsu book set written by Jiraiya.

Apart from the Bingo Book, Tekku wasn't allowed to receive a copy of anything as a genin and had to read all the books in the library. This task took him quite a bit of time, even though he spent almost every day there. He hadn't even reached halfway through all the Genin-level information. The books he was most excited about were the four more advanced Fuinjutsu books belonging to the intermediate set.

The first book expanded on the basics and was quite theoretical. It introduced the concept of multilayered seals, which contained more seal information in each character. Tekku remembered the evil sealing method from the canon where Kakashi wrote numerous sealing inscriptions onto Sasuke's body to seal the Curse Mark, compressing them into a simple seal surrounding the Curse Mark. This was an example of a multilayered seal, which was common for most advanced seals.

In the second book, Jiraiya branched out and introduced the concept of Barrier Jutsu, which combined Fuinjutsu and Ninjutsu. However, he mostly focused on the Fuinjutsu aspect, introducing a few different Barrier Seals.

The third book covered Elemental Sealing, introducing techniques like the Fire Sealing Method that Jiraiya used in the canon to seal away the black flames of Amaterasu. These techniques for each element were more advanced and required a solid understanding of Ninjutsu theory in addition to Fuinjutsu. The Ninjutsu theory section of the library was helpful in this regard.

Last but not least, the fourth book introduced several more advanced seals that required knowledge from the previous six books, including the fundamental ones. These seals allowed for the development of various useful techniques, such as the Evil Sealing Method, Chakra Suppression Seals, advanced Storage Seals, and more.

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