The Unrelenting Teacher (4)
"We did it!" Shizune gasps while keeping her head lowered for some strange reason. Although sweat drenched her clothes, like others, it doesn't even take an expert to notice looks of guilt being more prominent on Shizune at times when compared to her other two teammates but the 'guilt' seemed to be shared.
"Oh, well done," Kai smiles and ruffles her hair, "You three are really excited about the competition today, huh? That's the spirit~!"
His jovial tone and sincere smirk only made the pang of guilt in the trio's hearts more intense but as if not seeing it, Kai really lays it down, "This is some good work. You three are adapting to the weights way quicker than I expected. We have a bit more time. I will hand in the mission report while you three can get changed and meet me in the Senju Compound's Training Ground D, alright?"
"Yes... Sensei," Kurenai avoids Kai's gaze and nods before being the first to leave as Shizune and Konan follow the suit. As they leave, Kai narrows his gaze and heaves a deep sigh.
'Do they really think I'm just a hot bimbo without any brains?' Kai groans internally but he knows better. Now isn't the time to speak about it.
---
"I think... Sensei didn't notice it. Good work, Konan..." While Kurenai should have been happy, the sense of guilt gnawing at her is more prominent and the same is the case for Konan who should be happy to have 'bested' Kai but hung her head in shame.
"Yeah..." The bluenette remarks in a sullen tone.
"Sensei was really happy that we managed to complete the missions so quickly," Shizune looks conflicted. A part of her is definitely happy for this recognition but the sweet taste turns into bitterness when she is aware of how she and her teams managed to accomplish this achievement.
"We... will switch to actual weights after winning the competition!" Kurenai nods and grows more determined. They had already picked a lane. They must stick to it until they provide definite results.
"Of course," Konan looks up and grows more confident. With how they are training constantly, they should be better than most, right? Especially other Genins their age. Without the ankle weights, they are not only quicker but stronger, too.
The trio disperses after a while and in half-hour, they regather in front of the Senju Manor to meet with Konan. Shizune is still a bit intimidated every time she enters the Senju Compound after her previous situation where she was controlled by Dan but other Senju members were simply quick to throw away their most obvious suspicion once Tsunade spoke up for Shizune after the ambush.
Team 6 meets with Kai soon after and then observes the other team gathered in the training ground alongside three glorious figures who made a tremendous reputation for themselves during the Second Shinobi War— Tsunade Senju, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.
The Legendary Sannins!
Aside from them, other teams soon appear. Team Mikoto, Team Minato, and Team Nawaki.
"Finally everyone's here," Mikoto smiles as Tsunade shot the girl a silent glare. Team Mikoto only had Yahiko and Anya as a team for the moment with their prodigious chunin being 'forced' to take a leave. Kakashi, of course, would not miss it so he sat quietly in the distance but it was clear he had no intention of opposing Mikoto's order for a sensation of victory. He would have chased after it but these three days with Kai and others helped the boy more than he could imagine at this point.
Team Nawaki consisting of Asuma Sarutobi, Hikari Aburame, and Kinju Uchiha walked beside Orochimaru as Nawaki greets his Sensei with a wide smile, "Sensei, it's great to see you!"
"Likewise, Nawaki-Kun," Orochimaru speaks with the usual rasp in her tone as her slitted gaze falls over his team and she mentally evaluates them as invasively as she could. "Hmm, you're teaching them well," she compliments and Nawaki shrugs, "More like they aren't rebellious instead of that one."
He points at the dark-haired genin with a prominently broad nose as the Uchiha instantly whines, "Come on, Sensei! It ain't rebelling if all I did was state the facts. Right? You got my back, Hikari? This competition seems like a waste of time."
The female Aburame clansman adjusts her glasses and speaks somberly, "If you are intending to make a fool of yourself in front of the three Sannins then do not drag me in."
"Exactly," Asuma smirks, "Dad even said that out of the three Orochimaru-san is the quickest to judge others."
Nawaki's lips twitch as Orochimaru smiles, "Sensei Hiruzen understands me well. And this competition is indeed a waste of time."
"Hey, come on," Jiraiya scoffs in distance, "This isn't a waste of time. This is a great opportunity!"
"Let's just get on with it. We aren't kids, you know," Tsunade sighs, "We have four teams. Two of my disciples got a team, one from Jiraiya and one from Orochimaru but all four will compete in Nin, Gen, and Taijutsu. We pick the members randomly using chits. For the kids, it's just experience. And we three are already clear on the terms of the bet."
Jiraiya and Orochimaru nod while Kai and Mikoto look at each other.
This did bring back some memories but the competition this time feels a lot more... simple. At least, that's what Kai thought so.
'After all... a competition without my glorious self in it... sigh,' He shakes his head internally but as things are, this is Jiraiya's last-minute tactic to have Tsunade and Orochimaru in a team for his next mission. After taking the role of matriarch, Tsunade cannot be ordered to take any missions if it isn't the time of war and Orochimaru can most definitely use the excuse of just returning from the mission and in need of rest to evade the mission.
After all, Orochimaru is also instilled as one of the working researchers on Fukushu and Cerberus. Unless it's an S-ranked mission, she has the full authority to accept the missions she desires. Of course, Hiruzen could just make it an S-ranked mission and force his disciples together but the Hokage was long past making such simple mistakes. Besides, Jiraiya should be enough to investigate the matter but due to his own intuition, the Toad Sage is more than willing to try and bring two of his previous teammates.
Back to the competition, the first category of competition happened to be Genjutsu. Kurenai Yuhi from Team Kai, Iwashi Tatami from Team Minato, Anya from Team Mikoto, and finally Hikari Aburame from Team Nawaki stepped out.
The order of competition was soon set. The first to compete were Hikari Aburame and Iwashi Tatami.
{A/N: Team Minato consists of the Hokage Guard Platoon and Iwashi is part of it.}
Since the team with the highest number of wins would be considered a winner and not who remained the last one standing, the basic strategy is to stop a single genin from dominating an entire category.
In reality, however, they were genins. And not as talented as Kakashi, either, who happened to be taking a break. This is why Tsunade kept a scowl. Maybe it's her bad luck showing again.
Kakashi could easily dominate any of the three categories but...
'Sakumo just had to disappear... wait... did my bad luck grow that damn much that I cause Sakumo's tragedy JUST to lose this bet?' Tsunade blinked in surprise and shook her head internally, 'Surely not... right?'
Her bodacious self couldn't possibly be a demonic jinx... right?
But she stands alongside Orochimaru and Jiraiya while Mikoto presided over the match.
Hikari used a simple C-ranked Genjutsu while Iwashi was no better. The illusion considered a 'jutsu' for the duo is nothing more than a basic illusion set by the likes of Kai, Nono, and Orochimaru. Heck, even as an Uchiha, Mikoto was more adept in Ninjutsu than Genjutsu meaning that despite having a Dojutsu, her talents may not necessarily align with it.
Their genjutsu is cast simultaneously and being a damn good sensor, Kai instantly notes that the medium of genjutsu is sight. But... Hikari's bug bites her back to reality and regains her chakra control as Iwashi takes a moment longer.
"It's alright," Minato smiles, "You did well, Iwashi. Genjutsu is one of the more complicated systems that take years of experience to fully master."
"Yes... Sensei," Iwashi sighs and scratches his head. The youth is well-known for his elaborate nature as he would follow instructions of a jutsu to the last, minute detail. But as Minato said, it takes many factors such as chakra control and experience to master Genjutsu. The youth also happened to be Team Minato's medic trainee.
While Hikari stood quietly, Kurenai steps out this time with a collected expression. Her body language screams confidence at the moment as the crimson-eyed genin takes her position and waits for Mikoto to start the match. But it's at this moment she feels a momentary pinch above the straps of her open-toed sandals.
"Begin," Mikoto smiles but already knows the result.
Kurenai smiles and forms a few hand seals. While Kai has not taught her genjutsu, her father surely has. Her father is one of the more proficient Genjutsu masters in the village and she soon forms her genjutsu. It's a sight-based genjutsu but...
Nothing happened.
Kurenai's eyelids twitch violently, and she fluctuates her chakra flow before the scene changes.
She is lying on the ground with her gaze following a trail of clouds. The moment she came to be is the moment Mikoto announces, "Hikari won."
Kurenai is still in a daze.
'How?'
She mechanically sits up. Her entire being feels lost. Again, it's hard to understand what happened and at this moment... she realizes her ankles felt too light.
She had not only 'cheated' but she failed spectacularly.
"Well, she's a smart one," Tsunade huffs while Orochimaru shrugs and Jiraiya nods. Even Nawaki is barely able to contain his smile as Mikoto, once again knows the result of this match the moment Anya steps up.
The pinkette loses and shows a similar reaction to Kurenai.
While it is true that a Genin wouldn't be able to dominate an entire category through skills alone...
Hikari did not win using pure skills. She used a trick and had a great result to show for it, earning the bare minimum of recognition from the older shinobi in the training ground.
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Alternate Title: Killing Luck; Tsunade's Bad Luck Could Ruin Otsutsuki Clan; Hidden Talents (1); Failed and Lost!
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A/N: I am well aware there is a slight shift of attention to other characters but there is a reason for it. To build the world around Kai, I not only have to build characters but events, too. But Kai is strong. Dangerously so. He can end major events before they even begin. But I also developed Kai in a manner that he would focus on the process equally as the result so while he wants nothing more than to become the strongest, the mistakes of his past life also give him a reason to love the path to his goals, itself and live a little. And if I have to add other characters in the harem later down the line, I have to develop their natures.
For instance, Tsume was developed early on as Beta to Kai. Mikoto was developed as the first 'goal.' Tsunade is developed as a conflicted fbi warrant. Nono is developed as a fujoshi perv. And Kushina is developed as an opposing force to Kai that doesn't fear to get into heated arguments with him.
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