Let's play a game.

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A/N:

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Name: Yagura Karatachi

Title: Fourth Mizukage

Affiliation: Kirigakure (Bloody Mist Era)

Age: Unknown

(I can't find it. So, if you know pls tell)

Mastered Natures: Water, Wind

Nature Affinity: Water

Kekkei Genkai: N/A

Tailed Beast: Three-Tails (Isobu, Perfect Jinchuriki)

Summon: N/A

Level: Kage (Mizukage)

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LET THE CHAPTER BEGIN

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"Do you guys live under a rock or something? Aki is the one who ended the war." Kaito suddenly started to defend his friend.

"I know. But it's still super hard to believe" Sayuri replied with her own point, "And they also started the war for him. I wasn't expecting him to be a Jonin so soon."

"So?" Ryuu coldly snorted at Kaito

"What do you mean by so? Aki is really strong otherwise his words won't end the war, he won't slow you down one bit, you will be having a hard time keeping up."

"…" Aki felt speechless while getting ignored, 'At least there is someone up to date with the news'

"You should be grateful we have him on our team," Kaito continued, sending Ryuu a pointed look. "Stop acting like an emo kid and just accept it."

"Alright, enough talk." Aki sighed when he felt like they were done arguing. "Let's head to the training ground."

They followed him to the training ground. Aki did not take them to an arena top of the peaks, no he took them near a valley where trees, bushes, and other forest terrain could be found.

Once they were there Aki took out a bucket filled with liquid paint from his storage scroll. A grin formed over his face as he set it down, "Let's play a game"

"Yeah," Kaito shouted in excitement hearing the word 'game'.

Sayuri looked at Aki in confusion and Ryuu just snorted.

Aki continued, "The rules are simple: dip one hand in the paint and try to tag me.

If any of you manage to touch me in the next three hours, you win. And I'll accept one request from the winner, no questions asked."

"Deal?" Aki looked at the three while grinning.

"Deal" Kaito replied immediately while Sayuri nodded and Ryuu looked at it with interest nodding reluctantly.

'I'll ask to be free to train on my own' Ryuu already had a request in his mind.

Ryuu thought that even if Aki was a genius there is no way a child like him train someone else well. He was already aware of what most geniuses say when you ask how you did it.

"I just did it" or something of the sort is the usual reply, sometimes those people aren't even aware of it themselves.

Aki wasn't aware of what was cooking in Ryuu's mind or he would just punch this kid in the face.

"Ready?" Aki asked them once each of them dipped their hands in the colored liquid, "Let's begin"

Aki stood still as the trio hesitated, sizing him up. He could easily go out of reach or boost his speed with LCM, but that wouldn't be so fun. 'I'll only use body flicker and flash step'

Aki mentally limited his movement to basic speed techniques.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Three kunai came at him flying, Sayuri was the one who made the first move. Aki easily avoided them predicting their trajectory. He didn't even need Byakugan to predict.

Aki made minimal movements when dodging the incoming projectiles, he made dodging look elegant.

'Kids are just slow and simple'

The kunai hit the tree behind him and they were dipped in color the tree was bleeding red where they hit.

"Nice idea! Sayuri, keep it coming" Aki complemented the approach, "I didn't say you couldn't dip your weapons, one point to you for catching that early."

Sayuri felt disappointed as she wasn't able to catch Aki off guard.

Kaito and Ryuu exchanged quick glances, realizing they'd need to get creative. Ryuu, though outwardly calm, was already calculating his next move.

"Let's split up," Ryuu muttered under his breath, eyes sharp. "We can't tag him head-on."

"Good call," Sayuri agreed. "I'll keep the pressure with ranged attacks."

Kaito, ever the ball of energy, nodded and dashed off, circling around the trees to try and flank Aki.

Aki stood calmly, hands in his pockets, sensing their movements through the chakra signatures he had already locked onto.

Even as they moved through the trees and bushes, trying to gain some advantage, Aki could feel their every position. He smiled. 'This will be fun. Let's see how long they can last.'

Sayuri launched another volley of kunai, but this time she mixed in shuriken as well, increasing the number of projectiles. Aki dodged with smooth, almost lazy motions, his body flickering from spot to spot. It was effortless.

Meanwhile, Kaito appeared from behind, moving in a blur, trying to catch Aki off guard. But before Kaito could even get close, Aki vanished, reappearing behind a tree with a playful chuckle. "Close, but not close enough."

"Damn it!" Kaito cursed, his hand missing Aki by inches.

Ryuu, watching this from his position in the trees, suppressed a chuckle. He knew brute force wouldn't cut it. Kaito's always too reckless.

He crouched silently on a high branch, focusing lightning chakra into his fingertips. Ryuu didn't need to rush in like an idiot.

Let's see how he handles this.

'A ninjutsu, huh?' Aki sensed the buildup of chakra in Ryuu's fingertips even before the attack came. His ability to feel the sudden surge of electricity gave him ample time to prepare.

"Lightning Release: Arc Beam!"

From Ryuu's fingers shot a narrow but intense beam of lightning, aimed directly at Aki's torso. The beam sliced through branches in its path with a sizzling hiss.

Aki smirked, already knowing where the attack was coming from. He flickered to the side in a blur, the beam passing by him harmlessly, scorching the ground where he had just stood.

"Whoa," Aki glanced up toward Ryuu, impressed. "A C-rank lightning jutsu? Not bad, Ryuu."

Ryuu didn't respond, his eyes locked on Aki like a predator eyeing its prey. I knew it wouldn't hit, but now you know I'm serious.

Sayuri, noticing Ryuu's jutsu, threw more kunai, trying to keep Aki moving. Kaito, who had finally gotten into position, charged again from another angle.

But Aki flickered away effortlessly once more, looking a bit too lazy.

'They're working together better than I expected,' Aki noted, still grinning. 'But they'll need more than teamwork to catch me.'

Ryuu remained hidden in the trees, unfazed. He knew Aki was just testing them, but he also knew how to force his hand.

As Aki danced around the clearing, dodging the kunai and shuriken with minimal effort, Ryuu formed another series of quick hand seals.

It's time to pin him down.

"Lightning Release: Conductive Net!"

From Ryuu's outstretched hands, thin strands of lightning chakra spread out in a wide, net-like formation. He threw the net with precision, angling it to intersect with Aki's path as he dodged another kunai barrage from Sayuri.

Aki felt the net before he even saw it. The faint hum of electric chakra lines spreading through the air was impossible to miss with his sensory abilities. He grinned, always impressed by Ryuu's analytical thinking. 'Smart move, trying to restrict my movement.'

The shimmering lightning net descended toward Aki as he dodged the kunai. Crafty, he thought. He flickered to the side, but the net followed, its conductive threads homing in on him as they crackled with electricity.

Aki smirked, but he didn't panic. "Nice try, Ryuu."

Just before the net could entangle him, Aki used Flash Step to disappear in a blur, reappearing a short distance away. The net hit the ground with a sizzle, sending sparks flying.

Ryuu clicked his tongue in frustration, though his face remained impassive. He's faster than I thought, even with that net.

"You're better than I expected," Aki called out, brushing off his clothes as if nothing had happened. "But you'll have to do better than that."

Ryuu's confidence didn't waver. He knew he couldn't overwhelm Aki with pure force. But that's fine. I'm not done yet.

Kaito and Sayuri regrouped near Ryuu, both of them panting from the effort. "Man, this guy's on a whole different level," Kaito said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, he's not even breaking a sweat," Sayuri agreed.

Ryuu was still as focused as ever. He was already calculating what and how to tackle Aki. He had realized Aki was only focusing on dodging their projectiles or techniques as if he never took them seriously.

'How dare him… Are you flexing you're a jonin?' Ryuu snorted again.

Ryuu, Sayuri, and Kaito moved in again. Using better combinations than before, Sayuri was best at projectiles among them she was the fastest at throwing weapons in their class.

Kaito was a bit too straightforward with mastery over taijutsu and basic jutsu taught in the academy. Ryuu was from a clan so he knew some ninjutsu and he was overall better than his teammates.

The game went on for an entire three hours with none of them even getting close to touching Aki.

Even Sayuri, who only dipped her weapons and kept her clothes clean most of the time, now had painted over them.

"Time's up," Aki declared, landing gracefully on the ground and watching as the three kids came to a halt, visibly frustrated.

"I'm curious what you all wanted to ask if you won." He chuckled, seeing their disappointed faces as they slumped to the ground, catching their breath.

Reaching into his storage scroll, Aki pulled out some pre-prepared meat and casually began setting up a barbecue. "Well, it's not all bad. At least I get to reward you with some food."

Ryuu didn't hesitate to speak his mind, his face still serious. "I was going to ask if I could be excused from your training."

Aki raised an eyebrow at that, smirking. "I figured as much."

Kaito scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I was going to ask for more games during training," he said, slightly embarrassed.

Sayuri rolled her eyes at Kaito's response. "Idiot," she muttered under her breath before crossing her arms and offering a coy smile. "As for me... my request is a secret."

The smell of the cooking meat began to fill the air, and the kids' stomachs growled in unison. Despite their earlier frustration, the tantalizing aroma quickly shifted the mood.

"Here," Aki said, handing each of them a plate of perfectly grilled meat. "You earned it. Besides, I'm not the type of Jonin to starve my team."

As they started to eat, Ryuu couldn't help but reflect on the challenge. Despite his confidence in his abilities, he hadn't come close to tagging Aki.

He bit into the meat, chewing thoughtfully. "How do you do it?" he asked between bites, looking up at Aki. "You barely even tried."

"Not much of a secret in that" Aki smiled at the question, but just as Ryuu was expecting 'I can just do it' feeling disappointed, Aki's words continued, "Practice is the mother of it all"

"Keep practicing the movement speed jutsu and your footwork, which is slightly more important, you'll get there one day"

Aki felt like Ryuu might not get it yet so he continued, "There is this ninja in Konoha I'm trying to imitate and to tell you the truth he's still better at body flicker technique"

'Aki's trying to imitate someone?' after all the moves he had seen today he found it hard to believe there was someone better, someone even Aki looked up to.

The humility in Aki's words left Ryuu stunned, and for the first time, Ryuu realized that the journey to mastery wasn't a straight line, even for those at Aki's level.