4 Chapter 4

"You're so lucky."

"Yup, but I think I deserve this." I chuckled as I put my clothes into the dresser within my new extravagant room.

Seriously, Hashirama didn't hold back.

Kuzan was here at the Senju main house helping me move what little I had into my new room.

"You better not forget about us." He frowned as he folded one of my pants neatly before placing it in its designated drawer.

"Of course not, I'll be sure to visit tons, and you're more than welcome to come over whenever you want." I smiled at the boy. That seemed to lift his spirits as a grin of his own formed.

"Good."

I have only told Mama Reiko and thus the rest of the orphanage kids about my little name change and what that meant for me. I didn't know how the others would react, but I couldn't wait to rub it in the face of Satsuki.

…Why am I looking forward to having a dick measuring contest with a child?

"Mama Reiko said this compound has a lot of powerful jutsu inside the library, can I learn some?!" Kuzan asked, hands clasped together. "Pretty please?"

"Sorry, I'm not permitted to go into the library yet." I frowned.

Kuzan groaned and dropped his head in disappointment. Once we finished packing away my stuff, we said our goodbyes as he made his way back to the orphanage. As I watched his fading form, I fell into thought.

According to Hiruzen, the Senju worked by a system when it came to accessing the library. Only the head of the clan could allow people in and have them choose what sections they could study from. I would have thought that since I'm the current head that would give me complete freedom, but Hiruzen said that until I become a genin the head title wouldn't actually be put into place.

Which makes sense even though it's completely disappointing. Within the library is a personal section labeled 'The Path to Nature's Perfect Creations'. Hiruzen basically said it's where everything I needed to know about wood style would be located.

However, using my foreknowledge of Naruto, I realized that such a name delves deeper than simple wood style.

I believe that within that section I will find the key to Hashirama's sage mode.

It's really complicated to explain, but wood style requires nature energy to use and give life to the creations, meaning it requires yin and yang chakra natures as well. To create something from nothing is the basis of Yin chakra, and to give life to that creation is Yang.

To use wood style, one must use both yin and yang release. Which means yin and yang are what make up nature itself.

That would explain how Hashirama was capable of using sage mode with no mentioned teacher or summon. His body, much like mine, is a living breathing vessel of yin and yang chakra.

With years of training I too can unlock sage mode. However I don't want to make the same mistake Hashirama did. There was no confirmed cause of death stated for Hashirama Senju, but it is widely believed after his battle with Madara, he became a former shell of himself in terms of his strength and he was speculated to have died in war or of old age.

The latter is a lot worse.

I cannot be certain, but going off of what I've learned thus far, and in my past life, I can only assume that during his fight with Madara, his body took too much damage, while also taking in too much natural energy. To exhaust one's own body in such a little amount of time would bear devastating consequences. Even if he was a different breed of a man, he was still a man, and overdoing it must have permanently damaged him.

If it is true that he died of old age, it would mean that the consequences of absorbing too much natural energy are absolutely drastic in my current state.

My frown increased as I felt the leaf I had been balancing on my forehead fall off.

Just a little under twenty minutes. Not good enough. I picked up the leaf and crushed it. If I wanted to be anywhere near Hashirama, then I would need to pick up the pace of my training. At my age he was already fighting Uchiha daily with his life on the line.

I went into the clan's armory and grabbed a kunai. The metal felt heavy. This was my first time actually holding a real kunai. My gaze hardened as I marched outside with confident steps and walked to the compound's training ground. Once there I looked at the mighty oak tree that stood tall.

I closed my eyes and controlled my breathing. With slight flickers of my chakra, I maneuvered it to my feet and kept the flow gentle so I wouldn't stick to the ground.

My eyes shot open and I rushed the tree full speed before my feet made contact. I made it three steps up before I felt myself loose the stick and marked my progress before I began my descent.

Again.

I repeated the same charge and got the same result, going three steps up before having to mark my progress.

Again!

I shot forward, my feet pushing a bit too hard against the bark but I didn't let the bad start ruin my attempt, I quickly took another step, then another, then another before I marked my progress.

A new recond.

Again!

—

I rested my head against the table and fought the urge to close my eyes and drift off, which didn't go unnoticed by the two girls sitting next to me.

"Lei, what's wrong?" Naruko asked as she poked my head a few times.

"Just did a bit of training last night."

Understatement of the fucking year! I had spent all day and night trying to get down the tree climbing exercise!

I had made it about a fifth up the tree, or about seven steps before I called it quits. When I looked at the time I realized it was already morning, and more than that, I was running late for the academy.

Which means I got literally no sleep.

"Did the leaf training exercise tire you out that much?" Naruko asked with a confused groan.

Hinata looked at me like I was a puppy that needed cuddles to sleep or some shit. Which didn't do anything good for my pride.

"Nope, I started the next part of chakra control training." I sighed as I took the leaf. I let the leaf I was balancing on my forehead fall.

Naruko's eyes sparkled as she too let the leaf fall. Her legs shooting her out of her seat and into my face. Her actions were so sudden that it startled poor Hinata who's leaf also fell off her forehead.

"Oooh what is it?! Tell me, tell me!" She urged, shaking me. The rest of the class noticed the blonde's antics and started staring at us.

I karate chopped the girl on the top of her head and gave her a frown.

"You can't even keep the leaf on your forehead for more than five minutes, why would I tell you about the next step?"

"Cause I'll be better at that one, ya'know?" She rubbed her head, smirking all the while.

"It's like ten times harder, so I doubt that." I crossed my arms, my frown deepening.

"Why don't you tell me then?"

I paused as I looked in front of us, Naruko and Hinata also turning to see the nonchalant face of Satsuki.

"No." Was my curt response.

Satsuki almost fell out of her seat when she processed my words, a small blush of anger adorning her face.

"Why not?!"

"Cause I don't wanna?" I asked, although it wasn't actually a question. "Don't you have a whole clan of shinobi to teach you?"

Satsuki looked down, her hands gripping her black shorts.

"Father says I'm not ready yet." She whispered.

"Then you're not ready." I shrugged. "Sucks to suck."

Her anger bubbled and I knew I was in for it.

"You're just a damn clanless orphan, teaching your betters should be an honor!"

Jeez that ego is out of control.

"Nuh uh!" I grinned, shaking my head. She gave me a dumb founded face as the rest of the class took notice.

"Of course I'm right! Clan kids are more important than clanless kids, which means we are your betters, and we should be treated better!"

"Nuh uh!"

"What I am saying is fact!"

"Prove it." My grin grew.

The girl opened her mouth, stuttering up a storm before raising her hand in a tiger seal.

"A mighty child of the Uchiha clan cannot lose to some clanless orphan, that should be all the proof I need!" Satsuki growled.

As funny as I find this, I still doubt I could take her, she has been training since she came out of the womb, while I just started a year ago and don't even have any jutsu under my sleeve.

"Nah I'm good, wouldn't want to repeat history and all that."

"Repeat history? Are you referring to when I knocked you off your feet?" She smirked.

I set myself up for that…

"No, I was thinking more…distant history. When our two clans used to fight daily."

"You're a clanless orphan, don't spew lies!"

"Am I though?" I asked, my grin growing to shit eating proportions.

I honestly didn't want to reveal my card until later, but she's kicking my ass in this game of verbal back and forth and I have my pride damnit!

I opened the window beside me and jumped out, landing on the dirt of the academy ground. Satsuki looked down from her window. I signaled for her to follow and follow she did. Naruko, and Hinata also jumped out. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji all leaned against the window and observed. I also noticed the dog boy watching.

But who really cares about him?

"Hurry up then, show us you're not all talk!" Satsuki rushed with an impatient frown.

"Tsk tsk tsk!" I wagged my finger at Satsuki before pointing at her. "You really shouldn't rush people, though, ask and you shall receive!"

I clasped my hands together as if in prayer and started infusing my chakra.

At first nothing happened which definitely amused Satsuki, but then I felt that same familiar energy blossoming below me.

"Wood Style: Blossoming Saplings!" I announced, earning surprised gasps as the saplings began to grow out of the ground.

That totally isn't actually a jutsu, I just thought it would sound cooler if I said some random shit.

"W-What? Wood style is a kekkei genkai exclusive to L-Lord Hashirama…" Satsuki whispered in shock.

"Well, it was…until I was born. Allow me to introduce myself, honorable Lady Uchiha. I am Lei Senju, and the second known wood style wielder in history."

Well there's Ashura as well, but they don't know about him.

"What!? Wood Style!? The element that built this very village!?" Sakura, who had been listening in from her seat before bolting towards the window, asked in shock.

Ino and Choji seemed to finally understand just what was going on as their eyes widened before staring at my smirking face.

"I always knew something was up with him, how troublesome." Shikamaru sighed after getting over his initial shock.

It's honestly a bit concerning that he suspected something.

"I don't get it." Naruko frowned.

Of fucking course she doesn't.

"You don't need to understand right now, Naruko. This little demonstration was for Satsuki." I shrugged, running to the wall of the academy and taking a couple of steps on it to reach the top. My face cringed in as my already depleted chakra coils screamed at me to stop.

"I hope we won't have any more problems, Satsuki."

The girl didn't say a word, still processing all that had occurred.

Dick measuring contest complete.

"Alright kids, take your seats and pay attention."

Satsuki, Naruko, and Hinata all hopped back through the window, the former staring at me as she hesitantly sat down, my smug look remained locked on her until she turned around to listen to Kaito-sensei who was eyeing us with a raised eyebrow.

Instead of listening to the class as usual, I decided to put my head down and get some much needed shut eye.

—

"L-Lei, w-wake up." The familiar voice of Hinata graced my ears. I cracked open an eye to see her standing by me, Naruko and the rest of the class were gone, it was just us.

"How long was I out?" I groaned as I rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"C-Classes ended t-two hours ago." She stuttered.

I was asleep for the entire day!?

"Wait, why are you still here?"

"W-Well, Naruko and I t-tried to w-wake you up…s-she left b-but I k-kept trying." She explained.

We gotta do something about that stuttering of hers…

"You've been waiting two hours for me to wake up?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Her awkward squirming gave me all the answers I needed. "I see, sorry about that. Let's get out of here."

The timid girl nodded slowly and we left the classroom. I couldn't help but feel bad, she waited two hours for me in a quiet classroom when she could have spent that time playing with the others.

I'll make it up to her later.

We left the academy grounds and started making our way towards the Hyuga compound. Walking her home was the least I could do after all.

As we walked, I noticed a group of men eyeing the villagers. On the back of one of the men was the Uchiha clan symbol.

I guess it's about that time huh?

They definitely are more agitated than usual. If I remember correctly Itachi slaughtered the clan and stopped the coup d'etat at the age of thirteen. He's five years older than Satsuki which means he should be eleven right now. So the Uchiha massacre is less than two short years away.

One of the men turned his glare on me, his eyes softened the slightest bit before sharpening in bitter determination. They are so upset they aren't even trying to hide it.

Their anger, Danzo's greed, Obito's manipulation and the inaction of Hiruzen would be their downfall.

The rest of the walk to Hinata's home was more solemn, though I'm certain I was the only one that felt that way.

"So this is your house." I observed.

The Hyuga's main house was pretty big. Not bigger than the Senju's main house, but damn if it ain't close.

"M-Mhm." She hummed in approval, all the while twiddling with her thumbs.

The way she acts I'd think she had a crush on me, if I wasn't living in the body of a six year old. No matter how hard I try, I can't even find older women 'truly attractive or arousing' yet. My lack of testosterone forbids it. I'm sure all the kids in our year feel the same as of right now.

I believe she just looks up to Naruko and I for helping her.

"Hinata."

We both turned to see a man with long black hair and white eyes no different than Hinata's. Hiashi Hyuga if my memory serves me true.

Hinata hurriedly rushed to her father's side. Hiashi eyed the girl for a few moments before looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"Who might you be, child?" He asked in a chilly tone.

I bowed to the man, showing him the proper respect necessary when addressing a clan head.

"I am Hinata's friend from the academy. My name is Lei Senju, it is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Hiashi."

I raised my head and relished in his taken aback expression and had to fight down my urge to smirk. He realized quickly just what face he was making and coughed into his hand before addressing me again.

"I have heard of you, Senju child. My clan and I had believed only Lady Tsunade remained in regards to your clan. It brings not only myself and my clan, but the entire village great joy to bear witness to another Senju." He gave me a slight bow which did surprise me before I realized just what he was doing.

He's kissing ass.

He knows I'm going to be the next Head of the Senju clan and is using that to his advantage by getting on my good side.

I doubt the old man mentioned my kekkei genkai to anyone since giving that information wouldn't bear any fruit quite yet…dumb move on my part to reveal it.

I don't see a reason as to why he wouldn't speak about my family tree though. A Senju from the main line, a descendant of Hashirama and a child related to Hashirama. Me becoming very powerful is not a question, but a guaranteed reality.

"Are you a friend of Hinata's?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, we sit at the same table in class, and play together a lot after." I answered after a moment.

The man's lips twitched upwards minutely. "Oh, that is most wonderful. I do hope you both continue to get along."

"As do I, it was nice meeting you, Lord Hiashi." I bowed once more before looking at Hinata and giving her a grin. "See ya later, Hinata."

"B-Bye, Lei."

And just like that I started making my way out of the Hyuga compound. My grin is growing just a bit.

I can't be one hundred percent certain of his intentions, but judging how Hiashi acted in the anime, upholding the power of the main family means a great deal for him. What better way to strengthen your family then by having someone bearing the blood of Lord's First and Second flowing through their veins.

I couldn't confirm that to be his thought process, but I would bet money on it. Not that it matters right now anyways.

—

Lying on the cold bark I looked up at the night sky, my chest rising and falling quickly as I struggled to catch my breath.

I did it…

I FUCKING DID IT!

If I could stand right now I'd be dancing!

A month. That's how long I've spent running up this godforsaken tree. Finally…I finally managed to reach the top.

"No fair!" Naruko shouted from the base of the tree. Hinata stood beside her timidly, but I could see the proud smile on her face.

"W-What do you m-mean no fair?" I questioned through painful breaths.

Naruko crossed her arms and turned her head away. Hinata started talking to Naruko, but with the height I was at, and the softness of her voice, I wouldn't even dream of hearing her.

Around the two week mark of my tree walking training Naruko had finally gotten through to me. Her constant begging pissed me off, so I allowed her to tag along. Hinata on the other hand was someone I invited to make up for that time she stayed with me after class. They both had practiced tree walking with me, at this point Naruko could make it up about eight to ten steps or roughly a tenth of the tree before she fell, and Hinata could make it up halfway.

Which didn't surprise me that Hinata was a fast learner, Hyuga naturally have the greatest chakra control of all the clans within the village, and Naruko probably has the worst unfocused chakra control of everyone in the village. What we can do in our sleep, she must strain herself to complete.

I dropped down to the base of the tree and gave Naruko a cheeky grin as she stuck her tongue out at me. I reached out and put my hand on my troublesome, yet adorable friend's head.

"Don't worry, Naruko, one day you'll be as cool as me." I announced as I twirled the kunai in my other hand.

"I'm already cooler than you, I don't want to get less cool!" She whined, but did nothing to remove my hand from her head.

"Of course, of course. Our resident knucklehead is the coolest, right Hinata?" I chuckled, looking at the white eyed girl who nodded slowly before averting her gaze to the ground.

I've been trying to fix her confidence, it's been…a work in progress.

"Argh! Just you wait, I'll get to the top of that tree!" Naruko declared, snatching the kunai from my hands and running up the tree.

"I-I'll do my best too!" Hinata added, rushing up with the kunai I had lent her.

Hey, she only stuttered once there, progress is progress. Nodding to myself, I made my way towards the pond within the Senju compound.

The next step of my training is water walking which shouldn't actually be too hard all things considered. Judging by the fact Naruto learned it anywhere between three to twenty one days in the show, I'm sure with my underdeveloped chakra coils, I can learn it within a month and get started on elemental manipulation training.

When I reached the pond, I wasted no time stepping onto the water. My foot made contact but it felt weird. As I put the other foot on, I wobbled quite a bit before steadying myself.

It felt like I was trying to walk on a flexible pool cover. A lot easier than I assumed, but would take some time to master, though I don't see myself getting wet anytime soon.

—

"Check him out, you guys have to admit he's the coolest isn't he!"

"I don't know about cool, but he sure is cute!" Ino cooed, petting the goodest of boy's head.

"Congratulations, Kiba. With this pup we can finally say that your existence holds some worth." I snorted.

"Hey! I'm important!" Kiba shot back with a glare.

"ARF!" Akamaru added helpfully.

"All that barking is gonna be a drag." Shikamaru banged his head on his desk for the fifth time.

Kiba was standing in front of Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru's table while the rest of the class watched.

"He's cute, but he loses points. Since he's your dog." Naruko grinned."

"You two are so annoying!" Kiba shouted.

"And you're loud." I chuckled, not missing a beat.

A year and a half has passed since I've mastered tree walking. All of us are a little over a month into our third year of the academy, making us eight years old. During that time I've mastered water walking and started training in elemental manipulation for my two natures, earth and water. I've been mainly focusing on water, because becoming as strong as Tobirama in regards to water release sounds like a wet dream.

Hehe.

Hiruzen let me go into the library to take out some earth and water style jutsu, but wouldn't let me advance beyond C rank jutsu. Which is more than enough for right now. I've been trying to reach the level of nature mastery where I can create water droplets from the air itself, or bend and twist the earth as I please with a single hand seal. Something like that is a kage level feat, but Tobirama could do much more than that, and I'm sure Hiruzen can do so as well with fire release.

I don't know quite how far I am regarding the mastery of my chakra natures, but I am certain it surpasses that of a normal genin, while not quite meeting the criteria for chunin.

Everyone was already in class with the exception of Satsuki and Sensei, but we didn't expect the former to come today-

The door to the classroom slid open and shocked expressions filled everyone's faces as Satsuki walked into the room. Her steps, small and her head down. She didn't look at anyone, didn't say a word, she simply walked to her seat and sat down.

A week ago Itachi went through with his mission to massacre the entire Uchiha clan. The entire village was informed the very next day. Satsuki hadn't been in class since.

No one said a word, all eyes were on her as she kept to herself. Her hair showered her face from our view.

I had considered stopping the massacre from happening. To go to Hiruzen and try and find some way to interrupt it or at the very least delay it. However the damage was done the moment Danzo killed Shisui. Even if I somehow attempted to stop it earlier, I would be questioned or even considered a spy for knowing more than any small child should.

Too many unknowns and risks. A helpless tragedy. A canon event as one would call it.

"Good morning class." Iruka greeted loudly as he walked through the door. Kaito-sensei had resigned at the beginning of our third year, and ever since Iruka has been our sensei.

""Good morning Iruka-sensei."" Everyone chorused.

"Let's get right into attendance and then we can begin homeroom."

Iruka went down the list, calling everyone's names. When he reached Satsuki, it damn near broke my heart how quiet her voice was. It was so quiet I doubt Iruka even heard her, but he still marked her present and kept it pushing.

All our fighting aside, she was just a kid and her whole family was killed brutally. If Itachi was anything like canon, then he made her watch as he killed their family over and over again.

That's unbelievably fucked on so many levels.

As homeroom started, I came to the realization that it was boring, just like the day before, and the day before that. We went over the basic curriculum for a few hours before we split up to attend our first elective. For the girls it was Kunoichi 101, and for the guys it varied depending on what we chose.

I for one chose Assault Operations and Body Conditioning 101 as my courses. There were plenty of other options, but I felt as though they would benefit me the most in the future.

As I walked into the assault ops class, I found myself in a room of kids at least a year older than me, with some kids even being in their last year of the academy.

That's because this class was considered a harder course when compared to the others. Not a single person in my homeroom chose this class as their elective.

Which means they're already behind, barring the clan kids.

The assault ops class basically went into loud infiltration, appropriate tactics to cripple or kill targets, attacks that would get the enemies attention, and strategies to take down an even stronger enemy shinobi. Basically it was shit you needed to know if you wanted to make an impact on the battlefield.

I walked over and took my seat next to a slightly older woman who I had recognized and chose to sit next to on the first day.

"You're a bit late aren't you, Lei." The older girl smirked, her index finger tapping my arm lightly.

"I'm always late to this class, Tenten."

The older girl gave me a little pout, but the smirk was still clear as day.

"I struggle to comprehend how you can possibly be related to Lady Tsunade." She snorted, her attention slipping onto our sensei as he walked into the class.

"You're telling me."

The moment I told Tenten my name, she immediately began pestering me about Tsunade. Everything from if I know her personally, to if she was coming back to the village any time soon, even outright asking me if she can borrow her notes that reside in the Senju compound library.

That last part was forbidden by Lord Third himself, and I'd only be able to do such a thing when I became genin.

"In today's class you'll all be learning a D rank jutsu. Don't be misled by its rank. It is a very useful technique and one that could possibly save your life or the lives of your comrades. Left unsaid is the usefulness that it provides in day to day life. The Body Flicker Technique." Tamaku-sensei announced.

I had to resist the urge to jump in joy! From the nonchalant looks on everyone else's faces' I can tell they don't quite understand just how useful this jutsu is. Someone with fairly decent use of it could teleport across the battlefield with ease and engage different enemies quickly.

While someone with unparalleled mastery like Shisui Uchiha could use it so well that he left afterimages that were practically solid. He was so skilled and fast with the jutsu that the enemies he fought went as far as to mistake them for shadow clones.

Such a thing could be incredibly useful to me, especially if I create wood clones that can also use it. Hundreds of afterimages being left behind. I'd basically become a shinobi with the combined skills of Hashirama, Shisui, and Naruto. I'd be a one man army!

I had tried learning it around half a year ago, but simply didn't understand how to work it. When moving at that speed, things get rather disorienting and I didn't get a chance to ask Hiruzen for advice since he was dealing with the whole 'The Uchiha are planning a coup! Let me leave it up to Danzo.' bullshit.

"Follow me outside and we'll get started." Our sensei ordered and the rest of the students reluctantly followed, meanwhile I was hopping like a kid on crack.

When we reached the academy training grounds our sensei watched as we filed in close before beginning his demonstration.

"Many of you in the graduating class this year might already know this jutsu, but for those of you that don't, the hand seal required for this jutsu is a lone tiger seal. Depending on how you allow your chakra to flow within your body while using this jutsu, will determine how your body flicker looks and how far you go." He explained, raising his hand in the tiger seal. He expelled a large amount of chakra out of himself and disappeared in a mass of leaves.

The class scanned the grounds looking for him, but my eyes were firmly locked on the grinning man sitting on top of the academy building. He noticed my gaze and his grin grew larger. He repeated the hand seal and appeared back in where he had been before.

"That was me exuding more chakra into the jutsu. It helps as a mask for where you're going to appear and confuses your target." Tamaku-sensei explained.

Also it looks cool.

"If you put less chakra into it." The man disappeared and reappeared a few feet away from where he was standing. "You end up with minimal movement, but even that much of a distance can make the difference in life and death."

All the kids in the class had begun seeing the usefulness of the jutsu now, and like the kids they are, wanted to try their hand at it.

"Any questions?" The older man asked.

I threw my hand up before he had even finished asking.

"I assumed you had something to ask, go ahead, Lei." He chuckled.

The rest of the class looked at me like I was the biggest asshole on the planet. Probably because I always ask questions.

"I have a few…more than a few questions. First of all, when you teleport further away, how do you know where you're going to end up?"

Sensei looked up in thought as he pondered my question. "Well, you don't. It's more like you get a feel for it. Think of the chakra tuning stage as pulling back the strings of a bow. The further you pull it back, the further you go, and the opposite applies as well. It's something you'll all come to figure out through experience with the technique."

That already clears up so much!

"My second question, can you use the short range teleportation in fast succession?"

"It's possible, but difficult. To use it in fast succession would require one to have a resistance to high speed movement. Using it too much would leave you nauseous, lightheaded, or just outright knock you out if your body and mind aren't adapted to handle such high speeds." He hummed.

I figured as much.

"Lastly, is it possible to move so fast with the jutsu that afterimages are left behind?" I queried while scratching the back of my head.

Judging by how sensei's eyes narrowed, I feel as though I may have been a bit too specific. Maybe I should have worded my question a bit differently.

His gaze bore into my own for what felt like minutes. Then-

He started laughing.

"Haha! I hadn't expected a question like that out of an eight year old, it seems like someone got his hands on an outdated copy of the bingo book."

I nervously chuckled along with him, Tenten elbowed me in the ribs and gave me a questioning look, but I ignored her. I damn near shit myself thinking he'd react worse about me knowing about Shisui. A dead shinobi who disappeared off the face of the earth without a trace, and one I should know nothing about.

I realize it's just paranoia, but in a world of shinobi, to be paranoid means to be watching and expecting the worst always. Which might just save my life.

…God I miss smoking away my problems.

"It's fine, Lei. I'm not going to punish you for having an outdated bingo book, although I would ask you to get rid of it. Academy students aren't allowed to have them for a reason." He scolded lightly before resuming his smile. "Although to answer your question, yes. It is very possible. However such a thing would require a resistance to speed nigh unheard of, as well as the visual prowess of a sharingan to be able to actually see where you're going and react at such a speed. Even with the sharingan, the man you were referring to, Shisui Uchiha was in a league of his own. An unparalleled genius in regard to all fields he took place in. I doubt anyone will ever be able to match his proficiency in this jutsu."

I gave a slow understanding nod and he seemed satisfied with that much.

"Any more questions?"

When no one answered, he sent us on our way to practice by ourselves.

Sensei's explanation helped a lot, and I found myself being able to flicker three times in fast succession although it would leave me dizzy, and I was still nowhere near the speed of Shisui. Any competent chunin would be able to read my moves with ease, hell even some genin probably could.

Which means I need to practice this on my own time a lot. If I start building up a resistance to high speeds now, I might be unaffected by such speeds by the time shippuden starts. Hell, I can even ask the old man about the Flying Raijin, although in a more lowkey way.

If I do that, I definitely have to rope Naruko into it. Naruto in the anime simply didn't use his father's speed enough. If he had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique before the start of shippuden, he would have been a beast!

When class ended, I made my way to my next class after saying my goodbyes to Tenten.

Body Conditioning. My favorite class thus far.

The only class I truly enjoyed.

"Another young child has arrived! The flames of youth burn brightly within this class! To be here so early means the fires of passion ignite with burning intensity!" A man wearing a jonin flak jacket, green jumpsuit, and orange leg warmers shouted with power. His strong jawline, bowl cut, and comically bushy eyebrows.

"Take a seat, young leaf! Let us begin this youthful class." Might Guy ordered, giving me his signature shiny grin and a thumbs up.

"Yes, sensei!" I bowed slightly before rushing to my seat.

As I took my seat next to another familiar child, a few more kids walked into the class.

"Another young-"

He makes that crazy announcement every time someone walks into the class. It's honestly hilarious, and I'm loving the energy he's leaking off of him.

Pause.

I was surprised to see Might Guy as the Body Conditioning teacher on the first day, but then I recalled that he's a normal jonin that just takes missions right now, even if he is one of the strongest people in the village. Plus teaching the youth was sort of his whole schtick.

He's not always our teacher, he's in class most days, but we aren't surprised when a chunin substitute fills his place for a few days whenever he's out on missions or personally requested.

Since that surprisingly happens a lot.

"Are you ready to begin our youthful day of training?" The boy next to me asked, lacking a lot of the luster that his future sensei currently has.

"Of course, Lee. To push your body to its very limits, that's what separates splendid shinobi from ordinary mooks." I answered, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him an encouraging smile.

"Then we will see who works harder!" Lee shouted as he erupted from his seat.

There he is!

"That's the spirit, Lee! Push yourself to the edge, and once you're there jump over it!" Guy added with passion.

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei-"

"Can you both stop!" Naruko who just entered the classroom shouted. Hinata walked in behind her.

Of course we all couldn't take our first elective together since they both have a required course, but we decided we could all take body conditioning together, since it would only benefit us.

"Naruko! You have arrived! Let us engage in passionate competition! Let the sweat from our foreheads shine brightly upon our burning youth!" Lee shouted, holding out a fistbump to Naruko who ignored him and sat beside me.

I chuckled and stood up offering Hinata my seat which she gratefully accepted. We wouldn't be here for long. Body conditioning always takes place outside, this is just the meet up phase of the class.

As everyone entered the class, Guy took attendance before leading us outside.

"You all know the drill, let your passion burn! One hundred pushups, one hundred sit ups, and twenty laps around the track! If you finish early, let your youth shine and Go. Until. You. Drop!"

""Youth!"" The entire class shouted as Guy had ordered us to do when the year began.

We all dropped down instantly, banging out the pushups. Unsurprisingly, Naruko was the first one done, followed by myself, and then Kiba who was also in the class. Sit ups went about the same, and as we began running, that's when I started to take over.

Naruko, as physically gifted as she is, doesn't quite know what pacing is. So she starts off with a mad sprint and grows tired by the fifth lap. While the rest of the class keeps a decent pace and finishes at the beat of their own drum.

It's why she always ends up finishing the exercise last, which hurts my heart a bit since she should finish first. I've tried to talk to her about it, but she's still a knucklehead.

Since I was the first one to finish, as always, I made sure to do a few extra laps running with Naruko.

That crackhead Senju stamina is something else I tell ya.

"Another youthful day in the books! Show me the same youth tomorrow and the day after, continue burning bright so that you may inspire the green leaves that grow in behind you!"

""Youth!""

—

Once classes had ended for the day, I returned home with Naruko and Hinata in tow and got right back to training. Since they couldn't take the Assault ops class with me, I decided to teach them The Body Flicker Technique. A poor decision in hindsight. While Hinata got it down quickly, Naruko ended up on the other side of the village when she tried it.

The second time around she got sent to the other side of the compound. Her chakra control is a lot better now since she has mastered both tree walking and water walking, but she can't really subconsciously mold her chakra yet due to the Kyuubi. If she didn't have Kurama inside of her, I'm certain her chakra control would surpass mine by leagues and bounds.

Once they were satisfied with it, they started their own elemental manipulation training. Naruko's chakra nature being wind, and Hinata's being lightning. It was the next step in their chakra control training, so they took it quite seriously.

I however wasn't working on that. In my hand was a brush and in my lap a wooden board with a piece of chakra paper on it. I had taken up practicing my calligraphy so that I could make seals.

My reasoning for this wasn't to have Lord Fourth's super overpowered jutsu even if I wouldn't mind having it.

No, it was to create weight seals.

Not just any weight seals, but ones that would put no prolific strain on the body. Strain was necessary for breaking down muscles so new stronger muscles could repair the damage, but excess strain that would damage the muscles more than they needed to would stunt one's growth and slow their progress.

The seals I wish to create would be able to not only break down the muscles, but also repair them as soon as possible.

However such a thing is quite a ways off. I doubt I'd be able to even truly develop the final version of my weight seals until after Tsunade returns to the village. Though I'm sure until then I could just make normal weight seals that increase the weight of my body without affecting the terrain and environment.

"That looks so boring." Naruko imputed from my right. Her lips twitched downwards as she looked at the kanji on the chakra paper in front of me.

"It is, but it will pay off." I shrugged, continuing to put brush to paper and applying delicate strokes.

"Huh, how so?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Well, what I'm working on is called calligraphy. Calligraphy is very important to Fuinjutsu, or the sealing arts. The sealing arts can be very powerful if one manages to become a seal master."

"Oh! How powerful are we talking!?"

That seemed to get her attention.

"Well, to put it into perspective, all of the hokage ever were seal masters, with Lord Second's, and later Lord Fourth's famous Flying Thunder God Technique being the strongest of them all." I explained with a grin.

Both Naruko and Hinata's eyes sparkled as they imagined such a power.

"Teach me! Right now!" Naruko shouted right in my face, with Hinata at my left nodding rapidly.

I hadn't actually expected Hinata to be interested, but this cannot end up being a bad thing.

"As you said before, it's incredibly boring. So boring that you'll want to fall asl-"

"I don't care, teach me." The blue eyed girl cut me off.

Good, she's motivated!

"Alright, wait here." I said, putting the wooden board and chakra paper on the ground and walking into the Senju compound.

I had bought an extra brush and several sheets containing kanji that Naruko could copy, although I didn't expect Hinata to be interested so I didn't get her any…

Eh, she can just use mine for the day.

I grabbed everything and started making my way back outside-

"Where is he?!"

"Why do you want to know? Get lost!"

"C-Calm down."

When I got back outside, I saw Naruko standing with her hands on her hips, Hinata hiding slightly behind her, and in front of them stood Satsuki Uchiha. Her eyes locked onto me and narrowed.

"Nevermind, I found him. Move out of my way, loser."

"Who are you calling a loser!?" Naruko growled, her hands coming up into a bird hand seal.

"Calm down, Naruko." I ordered as I stepped down from the raised porch of the main house and made my way over to them.

"Why!? She just barged into your compound like she owns the place!"

"Let's see what she wants. I have no reason to turn her away just as I have no reason to hear her out."

"Then just-" She started before I cut her off.

"However I chose to hear her out."

I looked at the black haired, onyx eyed girl who matched my gaze and doubled it with sheer intensity.

"What do you want, Satsuki?"

"I want you to train me!" She demanded.