Chapter Twenty- Are You Serious?

The man reappeared before me, I quickly looked him over only to click my tongue in response. I gave away two of my surprises to take the sleeve off his left arm and lightly burn the same forearm.

"One-handed seals and chakra flow? You are no genin boy" The Suna Anbu spoke surprising me, not just at the fact he figured out my one-handed seals but the way his voice sounded. A metallic robotic muffle that masked what I would've guessed his actual voice sounded like.

"Surprised you feel like talking, if so do you mind telling me who leaked Sakumo Senseis orders? Would make my life a lot easier after I kill you" I said with a smirk and a boatload of false confidence. A seasoned Suna jonin against a barely teenage Leaf genin, I should lose this battle nine times out of ten. 'I'll just have to find that tenth scenario' 

"Hm" The man just hummed at my bravado before cracking his neck and appearing next to me a moment later in a burst of speed.

Stuck on the balls of my feet I quickly raised my blade to the side and used my other forearm as support. His blow hit heavy but it also sent me flying away from him which was my main goal, mid-air I had managed to complete the seal.

An explosion of smoke appeared next to me, my clone materialized and smoothly began to take action.

The man charged forward intent on taking the clone out before it could even get started and well I couldn't allow that.

The fact remained that I was significantly slower than the man and to even cut him off I'd need to use a half-made jutsu.

I activated the body flicker justu, quickly canceling it after the initial burst I flew forward as I re-engaged the jutsu. 'Continuous flicker!

It took three more bursts before I barely managed to reach the man who was within sword length of my clone who had just finished the half cross seal and drew his own sword.

I barely made it in front of the shocked man as I countered his strike, a storm of sparks re-alit my flaming sword just moments before an explosion of smoke happened behind me. Covering us both and giving my clones as well as myself a chance to safely disengage.

In those few moments, all three of us acted in harmony and threw four kunai each into the sky.

It was a risk I had to take but I soon paid for it as a foot smashed into my jaw. Luckily that was a clone and it popped moments before a dozen explosive kunai lit up the sky. I prayed as it was a shot in the dark that the encampment would investigate it.

The man disengaged from us in a flicker as he noticed my intention. He appeared a hundred feet away as he looked up to the sky and tilted his head. Almost as if he had realized he'd been had.

Still, it was entirely possible the encampment might gloss over the explosions and the man surely had time to retreat or even try to kill me as fast as possible. But I felt confident in at least avoiding him for half an hour or more.

"I've got say….. I have never been as impressed as I am right now.." The man spoke as the robotic sound of his voice began to disappear. "Easily, chunin. No maybe even Tokubetsu Jonin with a little more combat experience and polish….." The man continued as the robotic sound of his voice disappeared.

It took me less than a moment to recognize that voice. "Sakumo sensei you absolute di…!" Before I could finish my sentence he appeared next to me in a crack of thunder and smacked the top of my head. Causing me to bite my tongue and my already building rage to skyrocket.

I took a swipe at him in principle but I was shocked when he caught it, my flaming sword held in his palm as if it was a toy. "You done?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as I noticed a large amount of chakra he had gathered in his palm to be able to catch my blade.

"Yeah…." I said as my eyebrow began twitching as I took back my sword, cut off the flow of chakra, and sheathed the beautiful sword.

Name: T****k* Bl**e 

Type: Weapon

(Passive) Effect: Any chakra pushed into the blade will automatically be attuned with the power of fire.

Effect:?????????

'The hell? What kind of useless information is this?' I was perturbed and now distracted from Sakumo's horrible teaching practice. 'Whatever, no reason to get mad over nothing, I'll just have to ask Uncle when I return to the village.'

-

{Hidden Quest)

The Family Sword

Objective: Discover everything you can about the mysterious sword that now rests on your hip.

Reward: ???,???,???

-

'I guess I had spoken too soon. 'New paths will open up for you, once you can truly see' huh? But I really didn't have much to go off of. One avenue I could go with would be to ask for help from somebody from either the Nara clan or the Leafs intel division. Surely they could break the code with what letters I did have now, to at least complete the name for me…..Hmm, I do have an acquaintance from the academy, what was his name….. Nuraka Nara?' It was at the remembrance of one of my classmates that I realized I had been spaced out for an indefinite amount of time.

"Are you ready for my evaluation?" Sakumo asked with a small smile, though I did notice a twitch of annoyance at the fact I completely disregarded him. Decided to bow out I simply nodded.

"Below average chunin speed, strength is negligible. Reaction time and battle sense are jonin level due to the Sharingan reaching its last stage." He began as he took out a notepad and began writing it. I almost interrupted him at such an unfair assessment when he continued. "Insane growth speed most likely due to a combination of shadow clones and a lot of hard work and talent"

'Hmmm, don't forget the invisible scroll that follows me around and tells me to kill people.'

"One-handed seals on any jutsu C-rank and under with one exception being the B-rank shadow clone jutsu most likely because said B-rank ninjutsu has a single seal activation. Immesurable ninjutsu talent." Sensei continued as I began to get a bad feeling for some reason.

"Taijutsu is negligible but due to Sharingan at least chunin level. Kenjutsu along with the ability of chakra flow shows yet again an Immeasurable talent in Kenjutsu." At this, Sakumo paused to look up at me and judge my reaction, which was completely frozen.

"Finally and most worth noting. A sloppy variation of the body flicker jutsu that seems to make said shinobi as fast as a season jonin, albeit it is an incomplete jutsu. Leading me to believe that it could become a lower S-rank movement ability with the proper guidance" With that Sakumo had finished, and as the pencil dropped down to finish the final period the entire pencil erupted. Whether it was an infusion of lightning release or just brute strength, well that didn't matter because Sakumo was looking at me like a hawk.

'How could he tell that much from a few clashes? We didn't even fight for three minutes' I was left shocked and slightly scared. This was not the same young teenager I saw in the past 'genjutsu', that much was obvious. But what could happen to change him that much in four years?

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" He asked and I realized I was made. Either he suspected I had some kind of outside help which was true for the most part or I honestly wouldn't know.

"Not really..." I answered as I really felt I had nothing to hide. Everything that had to do with the scroll was invisible or in my inventory, well except my earring but that would easily be glanced over.

Sakumo continued to stare me down before he simply shrugged and reopened the notebook. A new pencil appeared in his hand as he jotted down a few lines that left me curious. 

"What's that for Sakumo sensei?" I asked as my curiosity got the best of me.

"Just my official petition for your Chunin evaluation," Sakumo said as he turned the notebook around that had an official-looking file on the front, leaving me in a cold sweat. 'Fuck.... I definitely don't want the village let alone anyone to know any of that. Especially Lord Third, how am I supposed to kill a man that knows everything I can do?'

"Could you redact that Sensei?" I asked after a few moments of contemplation, at my request, the pencil was again obliterated. 'How many does he have?'

"Hmmm, you would like me to withhold information from the village Tometsu?" Sakumo asked as he smirked down at me and I realized I had been played.

"Fine, ask whatever you want. And don't think I won't tell Miss Hatake about your questionable training program" I said in a childish rage as it was the only thing I had on the man, it was still too early to use the dirt I had on him after all.

His smirk disappeared as he narrowed his eyes at me. 

"Let's start with the sword, where'd you get it? It's obviously not ordinary and I have a feeling it has something to do with your new ability to use chakra flow." Sakumo asked as he took a seat on a boulder in the sand.

"Some family heirloom from the warring states period, my uncle gave it to me." I said with a shrug, Sakumo's eyes slightly narrowed at that but I continued. "Uncle Koshu gave it to me so ask him. But yes, it grants the ability to use a fire-natured chakra flow." That seemed to give him pause as he sat silently to contemplate that for a moment.

P.O.V Change- Sakumo Hatake

If I knew Toketsu Sensei's child would be such a prodigy... I should've checked sooner at least. I had barely known the boy for more than a few weeks before I sent him to the battlefield. His growth in and of itself is was troubling and I would be a fool to send my real evaluation to the village.

With an evaluation like this before even a year had passed since he graduated from the academy? The boy would be pulled into anbu before I could even blink or worse called to fight under Lord Third and Danzo on the Lightning front. My claim of his apprenticeship be damned.

"Here," I said as I handed him the actual evaluation, I would be clear to give him his chunnin vest within the week.

The kid took it with surprise as he looked it over and nodded in thanks. Why he wanted this I didn't need to ask as if his uncle was anything like his brother well, let's just say he has probably taught Tometsu everything Toketsu Sensei taught me about the village. As a shinobi, it was better to keep your cards close to your chest for as long as you could.

"Let's go, you have to meet the frontline commander," I said as I decided to do what I usually would've tried to put off for as long as possible, put the kid in the thick of it. 

"Wait that's it? Just my sword?" The kid asked as I decided then to ruffle his hair and chuckle. I cared little as to how he grew so fast just that he had. It was a good thing as he didn't need me to hold his hand much further.

 All he would need me for from this point on would be nature transformation training, jutsu creation training, kenjutsu training, and basic shinobi life advice. Most of that I couldn't do as the commander of the army, not even with clones. That would have to wait till either Lady Tsunade returns or the war ends.

But he had a lot to learn from actual combat that I couldn't teach him. That edge is something that could only be honed and not taught. The power of a shinobi is the ability to kill effectively, something that can't be taught by simply training.

"Tometsu, you're a shinobi. Keep everything close to your chest" I said as the kid slapped my hand away.

"Yeah yeah, fucking weirdo" The kid quipped and I sighed as I smacked the back of his head in a smooth motion. 'This kid is nothing like sensei'