Chapter 47

— Well, to help someone — let's use your Sensei as an example — without opening their skull, you need to understand how they think and what makes the notes of their soul resonate, — I shrugged. — And that's not as simple as it might seem, even for close friends. Besides, we're all different, so the approach should vary. What works for women often doesn't work for men.

— Huh? — Seeing the puzzled expression on the Genin's face, I sighed.

— To put it simply, you probably wouldn't want to hug and comfort a guy, letting him cry on your shoulder or share a bed with him, not to mention something more intimate, even though it's a very effective method for a fighter who has lost loved ones.

— O-o-oh! — Toga's face flushed as he grasped the idea.

— Yes, I'm speaking from personal experience, — I smirked, reading his face for the next question. — But that's just a small part of it. Every person breaks down differently, and often they just can't understand or accept the help offered.

And that's putting it mildly — thinking back on how many mental issues there were in the previous world, in addition to physical ones, it's disheartening. Here, the breakdowns are almost always due to the same reason, inevitable in the world of shinobi — the excess of death around. And if any of Okuno's Genin were to die again, I don't think she would be able to stay on the edge of the abyss.

***

We woke the Genin before the sun rose and it was fully light. After a quick breakfast of rations and hot tea from a makeshift campfire, it was time for training — moving through the sand. Even for chakra users, running on sand is quite difficult and exhausting. That's why the shinobi of Sunagakure no Sato use techniques similar to walking on water for this purpose.

Of course, comparing liquid and sand is somewhat imprudent, but from a practical standpoint, sand grains are just less willing to shift underfoot than water. Therefore, already familiar with two types of this technique, the Genin mastered the new mode of movement in about two hours.

However, with my good chakra control, I managed it in ten minutes, and the other companions didn't even need to try — two-thirds of the Jonin had successfully fought against Sunagakure no Sato in the recently concluded war.

By the way, as cautious inquiries revealed, Sakumo had only made a symbolic appearance on this front, and then fought a bit with Iwa, defended his home village, and looked after Kushina and a few other young ones. So, there's no need to expect the intensely negative attitude towards the Hatake leader as seen in the canon.

In fact, he was assigned to our group as a mentor precisely because all the other top fighters had already "become familiar" to the surviving Sunagakure shinobi, including not only the Hokage and his students but even Danzo. We can only hope that this calculation will prove to be effective and they won't cause us too much trouble.

As soon as the Genin became more or less confident in moving across unfamiliar terrain without stumbling on every third step, the group proceeded deeper into the Land of Wind, not particularly fast but methodically covering the distance between us and the recently hostile village where the first joint Chunin Exam is taking place.

It's not that I'm interested in the skirmishes of youngsters, but all five Kage of the major villages will be present at this exam, and I'd like to get a closer look at them. It's rather embarrassing to admit, but I've never seen my own Kage with my own eyes, unlike Danzo.

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