9

Chapter 9: eight: new growth lumberSummary:

Sometimes, it feels as if we take one step forward, only to take two steps backwards.

Notes:

I've gotten a couple of reviews regarding this SO PAY ATTENTION Y'ALL: Shisui won't show up for a few chapters still. There are a lot of things I want to set up before he and Itachi join the fray so it'll still be awhile. Also, if my maths are correct (and there's a good chance they aren't) Shisui's about three years old right now, so our two favorite Uchihas won't appear until a good chunk of the war has gone and past.

Also, this chapter has gotten way too long so I had to split it. Now that I have a lot of things to cover, the story will move at a slower pace, but hopefully not any less exciting.

I do not own Naruto.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

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Becoming a Hokage 101

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Section Three

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Chapter Eight

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A quick burst of chakra and a mere thought is all it takes for my two chakra natures to mix within my body and surround my left arm, briefly turning grey before it brightens and shines like a white colored metal.

'Gotta keep them away from me, especially Gai. I don't know how the armor would fare against a taijutsu monster like him, but I'm not about to stay to find out.'

Before either of the boys can get close to me, I will my left arm, now made of iron, to rapidly extend as far as it can hoping to hit one of them. The surprise attack gets Genma out of sheer unexpectedness and slams the older boy into a tree. Gai predictably blurs out and reappears above my modified limb, running towards me at a speed my brain can't even begin to process. I can't afford to think about Genma right now.

'Faster, Sarutobi. Faster. All that speed training with Kakashi can't have been for nothing.'

I grit my teeth while my white arm turns back into its original length. A millisecond later, my right leg turns white and extends just like my arm did towards Gai, who is still in the air.

My iron limb connects with his chin just as his foot connects with my cheek, and both of us are sent flying in different directions.

'Turn leg back into normal. Send same quantity of chakra to both legs to reduce impact. Ignore pain on face.'

With both legs made of white iron, they successfully take the brunt of the hit and I watch Gai, who had flipped in the air and landed graciously as if nothing had happened. Next to him, Genma is standing up with a pissed off expression, a bunch of senbon ready on his hands.

'Uh-oh. Abort, abort. Turn legs back to normal. Harden skin. Shift into a defensive position.'

The rain of senbon hits my arms before I finish hardening my skin, but thankfully the rest of my body is now coated with a thin but sturdy layer of white, shiny metal. Another onslaught of senbon, this time from multiple directions, but all they do is hit my hardened skin and fall harmlessly to the ground. Gai chooses that moment to come back in a flurry of limbs and leaves, somehow alternating between attacking Genma and me.

The older boy surprisingly enough manages to stand his ground being slower but stronger than Gai, grinning triumphantly as he manages to hit the other boy with a well-placed senbon on his right wrist, rendering that arm useless.

The three of us stand just looking at each other for a second, tension heavy in the air. Gai is the only one who isn't sweating and panting heavily, not a hint of exhaustion on his focused face. Genma looks the worst, with bruises and splinters from when I slammed him into a tree plus all the hits he took from Gai, although I can't say I'm much better.

'I can't drop the armor now. Genma looks like he's about to murder me, and I can't afford to be hit with one of his senbon. Gai has enough bagage to adjust and work around the arm that's not working, but I can't - not to mention the armor still gives me some kind of protection against his hits. It won't stop it, although it will hurt him at the same time it absorbs part of the impact.'

Still.

Having the armor on (as Tooru had so originally called it) required my full attention and chakra, meaning I couldn't extend my limbs nor sense anything properly, not to mention it was a steady drain on my chakra. Barely a minute had passed since the fight had begun and my muscles were already protesting, my stomach emptying at an alarming rate. I was used to fast-paced spars against Kakashi, but this was just ridiculous.

To keep the armor on I'd have to rely on my taijutsu skills which, frankly, would barely graze Gai. If, instead, I chose to drop it and go back to the heavy offensive with my extended limbs, there was a chance I'd be able to keep Gai away and get Genma with the same technique twice, although that was unlikely.

Neither option looked good.

'Right, well. Plan A is out, as well as plan B. Plan C, you're all I've got left.'

Gai blurs in and out of existence once again, coming straight towards me. I drop the armor and the chakra drain immediately stops, and I use the now available chakra to boost my leg muscles. It wasn't a big quantity and mother had been very clear when she told me not to use it often, but I needed a quick and effective way to put some distance between the three of us.

My legs pushed my body backwards in a big arch just before Gai hit me with one of his punches. The boy disappears once again when another rain of senbon falls where we both were milliseconds ago. Gai still manages two kicks on Genma's face before the older boy gets him with a well-time punch to the gut.

The next few heartbeats were precious and I couldn't waste them.

I sit unceremoniously on the ground in a cross-legged position, both hands touching the earth. This was hands down the quickest way to deal with a problem, but it was also the quickest way to drain my chakra and energy reserves. I had to be fast and precise; in my current state, I had 10 seconds left, tops. After the ten seconds were up, I'd be nearly out of chakra and my muscles would no longer work without more sustenance, and I would be useless.

'Make every second count.'

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, images of the two boys disappearing behind my eyelids.

'Ten.'

As I take a precious second to feel the earth and will it to work with me, my sensor abilities tell me both boys have put even more distance between me and them, their chakra tense.

'Nine.'

I heavily rely on where their chakra signatures are to send an experimental iron column straight from the earth towards them, already feeling the hit on my chakra reserves. Both boys dodge the white metal easily enough, but in my mind's eye, the landscape is mapped out. They can only go so far, and if I have a general location of where they are, they won't be able to land - or dodge in the air.

'Eight.'

They land on opposite sides of the training ground. I sense Gai shifting around, but with my eyes closed I can't tell what he's doing. Genma's chakra feels like it's about to explode inside his body with how tightly and tensely it's swirling.

'Seven.'

With a kind of speed that should be impossible to have, Gai flies in my direction. In my desperation at the fact he took his weights off, column upon column surges in his path in an attempt to slow him down. He merely jumps over them, their heights apparently not bothering him.

'Six.'

An odd shift in the earth makes Gai and I to pause as it makes a groaning sound.

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation technique!"

'Five.'

Gai's chakra is the one that shifts first, becoming mostly muted under the earth. A second later I feel Genma's hands wrap around my ankles and pull me downwards. The sensation is not pleasant, as if you were sinking on mud, but I didn't need to dwell on it because I could still do it.

'Four.'

Genma's chakra signature feels slightly weaker after he used a D-ranked jutsu twice, but it's more than enough for me to know exactly where he is and form a column directly under him. His chakra tenses instantly, but before he can jump out of the way the metal hits him.

'Three.'

I do the same with Gai, but he's out of Genma's hole before the column manages to hit him. Genma's chakra lands somewhere to my right, not exactly out of it but not entirely in it either. He has enough chakra to use a D-rank jutsu twice, or a C-rank one, but his chakra is already trying to compensate for his physical exhaustion. Gai's chakra wavers as I make no move to get out of the hole and I briefly wonder how big of a black bruise he's going to leave on my face.

'Two.'

I give him no time to think. Willing all the chakra I have left, I push two more columns his way, and he's forced back. Genma still manages to catch him with a surprise kick, taking advantage of his momentary distraction with the metal columns.

'One.'

My desperate and last effort creates two massive columns that rise from my sides, effectively killing two birds with one stone: getting me out of the hole before I run out of chakra and trying to catch the boys by surprise one last time. It only works halfway since it successfully gets my entire body above ground once again in an awkward way, leaving my exhausted body in a heap of tangled limbs. By the time the two iron columns reach the boys, I've already run out of chakra and the white metals crumble to nothing.

'Holy hell. I'd forgotten how awful it feels like.'

It's like my body's one heavy, goopy mass of tangled limbs and bones that don't have any support whatsoever. Chakra exhaustion is one thing; exhausting your body as well is something that most ninjas don't ever get to experience, because there is such a thing called stamina. Even if you empty your chakra reserves, you'll still have enough energy (read: food in their stomach) to make up for it and help on your recovery.

Me? I have none of that.

Fuck this shit. What good is a freaking Iron Release if I can't last five minutes in a battle?

'Someone is a bitter little thing.'

And the sad thing is: I am bitter. Even though I was born in circumstances that gave me quite a lot of privileges in this world, a big part of me still resents all the fuss about my yin and yang chakra, and then I feel bad because I shouldn't be bitter, I'm still a clan kid who knows nothing about anything, but then another part of me tells me it's okay to feel frustrated -

See? It's a vicious circle. Nine times out of ten I can handle it with meditation. When I can't, well…

It hasn't gotten so bad I haven't been able to handle it.

(Yet.)

"Youthful Chiyuki! Are you okay?" Suddenly my vision is full of a concerned Gai who is panting, but barely. A corner in my mind catalogs the input my eyes receive - 'he's got a few bruises but he's definitely the winner of this match. Genma and Choza are hovering somewhere to his left but I can't see them clearly. Genma has a sour look on his face but he'll get over the bruises.' - but exhaustion is a bit like anesthesia. I can't answer for myself like this.

"Huh." Is my rather eloquent answer. With the fog in my mind and the weight on my body, there's honestly nothing much I have the energy to say. My stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly, demanding food for the body that's trying to recover.

The next second, Choza-sensei fills my vision with wild hair and a big, proud smile. There's a curious glint in his eyes, but thankfully he doesn't say anything. Instead, he seems to sense that I won't be getting up anytime soon on my own and unceremoniously picks me up, holding me against his chest like a baby. My vision swims a bit with how quickly my point of view changes, but after a couple of lightheaded seconds I can see clearly once again.

Gai is peering up at me with big eyes full of worry, and I mentally slap myself. Not only am I feeling bad for worrying him like that, but I have no doubt I'll be hearing from Kakashi at some point during the next few days. Genma is standing off to the side, nursing his bruises and scowling vaguely in my direction.

'Well, that was a great first impression, Sarutobi.'

"I can see each of you has some interesting and unique abilities. As a team, I can see you'll complement each other well, children."

While he speaks, Choza-sensei sets me down under the shade of the same tree he'd been leaning on, rummaging through his pouch for a few moments before pulling a small brown bag with his clan's symbol. My two teammates approach us as well, but only Gai chooses to sit next to me. A brooding Genma that refuses to look any of us in the eye is a painful reminder that reality for anyone that's not in a clan is much, much harsher. Couple that with the fact that he quite frankly got his ass wiped by kids at least four years younger than him, well.

I can't exactly blame him for sulking.

"Here." Our sensei holds out a maple colored little ball that's very similar-looking to one of those soldier pills, only I'm almost certain they're an exclusive Akimichi recipe. "This will help you recover faster."

I try my best to not insult Choza, but soldier pills are famous for their awful taste, and our sensei barks out a laugh when he sees my expression.

"Don't worry about the taste. Go on."

'Kinda like ripping off a band-aid.' I grab the pill from his hand and put it whole on my mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing before I can have second thoughts.

You know that feeling when you see something dubious looking in your fridge that's definitely been there a while but you think it'll probably be okay if you eat it, and the taste is in a limbo between dry and rotten and just-barely-edible. It's not the worst thing I've eaten but it's not the first thing I'd think of when I'm hungry. Either way it rapidly starts to do its trick as I can slowly but surely feel my energy returning.

"It tastes a lot better than usual soldier pills. Is it a family recipe, sensei?"

During the time it took for me to decide to eat the pill, Choza had managed to wrangle Genma to sit with us in a loose circle. The boy was clearly not in his element, but at least he'd stopped looking like he was about to stomp off.

"Why, it is, Chiyuki. I can't tell you how it's made, but if we'll use it as often as I think we will, I'll always have some ready." Our huge sensei winks at me and I feel my whole face getting red, hating the kind of attention my exhaustion brings.

'I'm definitely hearing about this from three different people at the very least. Yay.'

"Okay, sensei."

Belatedly, I forget I'm not wearing my usual hoodie and overalls combo, which means I can't hide under my clothes like I normally do. I feel my teammates' gaze burning curious holes through my skull, but I determinedly keep my gaze on an innocent looking rock in front of me.

'Feel the wrath of my embarrassment, you stupid rock.'

"Which leads us to the next step in our training slash team bonding time!"

All three of us turn to look at Choza curiously, and I can't help but feel impressed with how well-prepared he is to take care of a bunch of genin in the beginning of a shinobi war.

'Well, it's not like Kakashi was ever any standard…'

Sensei claps once with his big hands to make sure we're paying attention to him, and then he starts.

"Let's begin with you, Genma."

The battered boy sits up just a little straighter, a stubborn glint in his gaze as if daring our sensei to call him out on his loss. Choza sees that, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a little grin, but chooses not to comment on the twelve year old's defiant nature or insecurity hidden behind scowls. Rather, he gives the three of us a big, proud smile, as if he were already a proud father.

"I'm impressed by the skills you already possess. Managing a well-rounded set of ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu is no small feat."I can almost see the way his imaginary hackles stand down, a red hue that reveals his embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "Your plan to cast a genjutsu at the beginning of the spar was a good one, but we'll have to work on how quickly you can do that."

Both Gai and I turn comical eyes to Choza-sensei, neither of us having noticed the genjutsu. Choza turns amused eyes to us and snorts, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I imagined you two didn't notice, given with how quick you were to use brute force… But seeing as you told me about your sensor skills, I'd have thought you'd have at least an inkling of it, Chiyuki."

Shame, horror, and embarrassment flame up from my chest to my face, making me feel hot and uncomfortable all at once. I feel bile rise up my throat and tears sting the back of my eyes, but I don't let either out. A sharp pain alerts me I'm fisting my hands so hard my nails are leaving marks on my palms, but the pain is grounding.

'Now look where your arrogance took you. Figures they'd put you with a sensei who isn't afraid to call you out on your shit, Sarutobi.'

I take a deep, shaky breath, willing my eyes to meet Choza's, but it's difficult. Being called out on something you said you could do only to make a fool out of yourself in front of your teammates is a whole new experience, one that leaves me feeling hot and cold at the same time. It's nothing like being scolded by my mother, or having my father's disappointed gaze directed at me - no, it's completely different. Being scolded by them doesn't leave me feeling mortified and ashamed, perhaps because-

-because you're a fucking clan kid, and everything is automatically made easier for you.

Choza-sensei's heavy hand falls on my head, and I peek up under my eyelashes at him.

'Ah. I kinda miss my bangs now.'

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, Chiyuki. You more than made up for it with your quick thinking and ninjutsu. Listen well, kids; you three are young and fresh out of the academy." A shadow passes on his face, but it's gone as quickly as it came. So people are aware of how young we are. "Your career as ninjas starts now, y'see. Together with your teammates, you'll grow exponentially - but the first step to growth is error."

As he says it, he sweeps his gaze over all of us, making sure we understand what he's trying to say.

"Failure is one's greatest teacher." I mumble, remembering how the Nidaime would write about his brother's Wood Release and how difficult it was at the beginning. Choza-sensei smiles warmly at me, ruffling my hair and no doubt messing up the hairstyle Aunt Hiroko had so neatly put together.

I didn't mind it in the least.

"That's right. If you get things right all the time, what're you gonna do when you make a mistake?"

I nod and he takes his hand off my head, grinning just a tad wider.

"Now, you have a very interesting chakra release, Chiyuki."

Even Genma's gaze turns curious and searching, but Gai is the only one who already knew about it and doesn't seem as surprised. All three males look, however, equal parts hesitant and interested. I turn back to my old habit of shrugging when words fail me, and my mind, unbidden, pictures my mother shaking her head at me.

"Ah, yes. My parents- the clan, they wanted to keep it under wraps for as long as possible." I curse myself for stuttering slightly, but sensei only nods thoughtfully. "We've figured out it's a mix of earth and fire chakra, but I can't use them separately."

"Like the Shodaime." Genma says, and I can't help but flinch. I always knew comparisons would be made but, well. It didn't mean I was prepared for them.

I hum and shrug again, idly picking at the grass.

"Ah, kind of. But my chakra - well, it doesn't work as it should. The seal on my forehead keeps it balanced, but it needs a lot of energy to keep that going, and because of that my stamina is… poor, to put it lightly."

There. Now it's out there in the open for my whole team to see and judge and -

"That is awful, Youthful Chiyuki!" I turn and I swear Gai has tears on his eyes. Genma actually looks kind of… relieved? And sensei is just nodding, as if he knew that all along - which, hell, he might. It's unlikely they dumped the Hokage's troublesome daughter without giving him a heads up.

"Oh, you're actually human like the rest of us." Our oldest teammate blurts out and immediately turns red, as if he can't believe he said that out loud.

'So that's why he looked relieved.'

"I-I mean, don't get me wrong kid-" Genma's speech is interrupted by Choza's booming laugh, which actually makes a few birds fly from the trees.

"Yes, you're quite the interesting bunch. We'll get to that in a minute Genma, I just need to tell Gai here about his performance."

The boy next to me sits impossibly straight, a hint of pride in his eyes. It's obvious he's proud of himself for managing on his own against two opponents using only taijutsu; such a thing has never happened before, and even if I didn't know Gai would become one of the best ninja Konoha ever had, I'd know he had a lot of potential.

"I see you're well on your way to becoming a taijutsu master, Gai. Your speed and stamina are way above average, and I know you've been training with weights on since the beginning of the academy."

Gai nearly puffs out his chest, glowing as if he'd received the highest praise from the daimyo himself. Choza-sensei, however, cuts that tree down before it can grow.

"However, leaning solely on taijutsu against opponents that are on your level is okay, but it won't work against stronger ones. If Chiyuki hadn't interrupted Genma and the genjutsu had been cast, would you have been able to detect it and dispel it?"

Like a withering flower, poor Gai frowns and lowers his head, thoughtfully chewing on his lower lip. Sensei ruffles his hair too, making a good show of pointing out our flaws but encouraging us at the same time.

'Huh. I wonder if the other teams got lucky like this. I know Kakashi's sensei is a good one, but I'm worried about Asuma…'

"It doesn't mean you don't have superb skills - all three of you. We can definitely work around that with individual training schedules for each of you as well as team training and missions." Everyone's ears perk up at that, and I once again admire Choza for how seriously he's taking this. "We have a couple of days to get to know each other and set up a schedule that works for everyone before the missions start, though. Don't get too excited yet, children!"

He laughs again, but it's a warm sound that brings a smile to my lips. I look at the boys and see the same expression in them.

"Right! So let's work like this: we'll take missions 6 out of 7 days a week, and that leaves one day off for you to rest." Gai is about to say something, no doubt about how the Burning Passion of Youth makes rest unnecessary for us, but sensei stops him with a shake of his head. "This is something I'll not give up on. Your bodies are still growing and developing and training too much might hinder that process. You three will take a day off every week, is that clear?"

He's still smiling, but there's clearly the looming threat of the 'or else' behind his easygoing grin. Even though the concept of resting is just as foreign to me as it is for Gai, I nod my head furiously along with the boys. No one wants to get on the receiving side of an Akimichi's wrath.

"Excellent! Where was I? Ah, right. I'll go over individual skills once a week for each, so that leaves three days in which we'll train as a team. Your individual training will be both to hone your skills so you can fight by yourself if needed be and also to work better and better in a team. Missions will take place in the mornings and training will be in the afternoon. Any questions?"

We shake our heads and I can't help but be impressed once again. It's clear he put a lot of thought into this, and I wonder if Asuma's team has a hardworking sensei like ours.

Choza-sensei claps his hands one final time, giving us a bright smile and sending us off on our merry way, briefly telling us to meet in front of the Academy tomorrow at 7 am sharp.

As I head home, I look up and see the sky changing colors, bright blue giving way to a beautiful mix of orange, dark blue and pink. The sight reminds me that nothing in nature blooms all year, and a new sense of determination and strength surges over me. Yeah, I had royally embarrassed myself today, and yes, we are in the middle of a war in a time when many things can go wrong if I don't tread carefully, but having Choza as sensei and strong teammates like Gai and Genma were all things in my favor. My stamina wouldn't be poor forever, and I'm sure sensei is already thinking of carrying more Akimichi soldier pills around for my sake.

'I wonder if it wouldn't be easier if I just stored fat like the Akimichis. That isn't exactly a clan technique, is it?'

As my thoughts once again jump from one place to another, I can't help but smile excitedly.

'You're gonna rock this, Sarutobi.'

"You fainted during team practice today?" I groan internally, counting until 10 in my head and taking a deep breath before I face Kakashi's neutral expression. He's trying hard to appear calm and nonchalant, but it's the forced casualty of his voice and the way he's making an effort to keep his body relaxed tell me he's angrier than he's letting on.

"Did you show up just to yell at me? Please don't." I deadpan, not in the mood for one of his crisis. Kakashi is my best friend and a sweetheart under all those layers, but I couldn't deny that sometimes he was nothing short of overbearing. His left eye twitches, but otherwise keeps his neutral façade as Tooru chooses that exact moment to tumble out in the porch, where Asuma and I were peacefully playing shogi.

"You did what?!" Asuma grumbles at how noisy it's gotten and I agree with him in my head. He'd given me a judging look and a sigh when I told him what happened, but aside from that he hadn't made a fuss over it - and that was one of the reasons why Asuma had won my heart before anyone else. He knew how reckless I could be sometimes, but he also knew that the people around me would never let anything happen. More than that, though, Asuma always trusted me to know better, which I hugely appreciate.

"I didn't faint." I grumble, taking advantage of the fact that my parents were having a clan meeting and couldn't tell me to behave or speak properly.

"Gai said you did." This time I groan loudly and throw myself at Asuma's lap, shogi game obviously over. I feel his warm hand rest over my back, already imagining the small frown he has on his face.

"I thought you knew better than to not take anything Gai says with a grain of salt." Asuma deadpans over my head and I smother a smile against his shirt. I can nearly feel Kakashi's eye roll, his chakra rolling uneasily like Tooru's.

"That's right, tell them Asuma-nii." Said brother huffs out a laugh but keeps silent otherwise, apparently having said his piece. I twist on his lap and he shifts to accommodate the new position, which allows me to look at Tooru and Kakashi properly. "Choza-sensei wanted us to go all out so he could get a feel on what we could do, and that's what I did. I know my limits."

Tooru looks like he's about to say something but then thinks better of it and sits down in front of us with a dramatic sigh. Kakashi hasn't bothered to keep up his calm mask; he know looks like he's about to hit me, but I merely raise my eyebrows challengingly at him. A few heartbeats pass and he drops his gaze, sighing deeply.

"Let's talk about you guys. What kind of people are in your team?" That led to a whole argument regarding who had the worst team, but I thought we all could have done much worse.

"I got Obito on my team." Kakashi all but grumbles, crossing his arms and looking like the pouty seven year old he is. Asuma and I snort at the same time, ignoring Tooru's mumbles of 'what are you? twins?'.

"Yeah, but I know you also got Rin, which yay."

"How do you - no. I don't want to know that."

I muffle another snort against Asuma's shirt, enjoying the way Kakashi's eyes almost roll out of his head. My middle brother shrugs lightly, the motion making my head move up and down.

"I can't complain much, I guess. I got Kurenai and another guy named Ebisu on my team. He's average and kind of weird, but it could be worse."

"And you got Kurenai, which also yay."

"You got Genma on yours." Tooru's voice pipes up from his spot on my left, legs crossed so his left one is dangling off the porch. Absentmindedly, he's poking Kakashi to see if he can get a rise out of the boy. It's a game they played all the time when the silver-haired boy still lived with us: if the genius loses his patience, he loses; if Tooru gets bored, he loses.

"Yeah." I say, not really getting where Tooru was going with that. Genma is two years younger than Tooru, so I imagine the two must have crossed paths at some point during their academy days. My oldest brother shrugs, poking Kakashi with more speed. "What about him?"

"Just keep your eyes open. Let's just say he doesn't like clan kids much." I feel Asuma stiffen slightly under me, and even Kakashi tears his attention away from Tooru's fingers to me.

"Who does?" I ask, baffled that they had taken offence at that. Our clan might be one of the most chill ones, but we were still clan kids and we were raised as such. A lot of other kids didn't like that.

Tooru shakes his head, finally stopping bothering Kakashi and looking at me with an unusually serious face.

"It's not like that, peanut. It's-"

"Regardless of how he feels about Chiyuki, he'll have to at least maintain a cordial relationship with her and protect her since they're teammates. Their sensei wouldn't accept anything less." Kakashi's cool voice interrupts Tooru, although my brother doesn't look bothered by it. He and Kakashi stare at each other for a couple of seconds, him resigned and my friend defiant.

I sense a story behind it, but I don't want to pry into it right now.

"Hey, if push comes to shove, I'll still have Gai as my ninja in shining kunai." I say lightly, trying to lift the mood - and I'm immensely grateful when it works. Both Kakashi and Gai snort incredulously, and soon we're all back to gossiping about Kakashi's teacher, who's supposed to be a candidate for Yondaime Hokage.

In my mind, I make a few mental notes after this mentally exhausting conversation and enjoy the rest of the evening with my most precious boys.

"Good morning, children!" Choza-sensei's voice is extra loud in the quiet hours of the morning, and I try my hardest from flinching. "Are you excited for your first mission?"

Gai booms out a yes, looking just as excited as our sensei. Genma looks half-sleepy and half-interested in the prospect of a mission, but I'd seen Sasakibe-oji working enough times to know that the missions genin got were far from glamorous.

"Very well, then off we go! Until we arrive at our destination, I'll explain how your missions will work, so pay attention and wake up, mhmm?" That gets Genma a little more awake as we start heading west, looking like three ducklings as we follow Choza's big figure.

At this time of the day, the sun isn't too bright or too hot, and a refreshing breeze ruffles my hair gently. In the distance, I can vaguely hear shopkeepers getting their products ready, children going to school, merchants coming and going. It's a small comfort to know that people are still going on with their lives even if the war was announced barely a couple of days ago.

"As you learned in the academy, Konoha is the biggest shinobi village in all the elemental nations. To make sure the system works as it should, the village has nine main departments to help with that. Chiyuki?"

"Administration, Intelligence, Cryptography, Medical Corps, the Military Police Force, the Outposts, Strategy, Tracking, and the village's main force, made of Genin, Chunin and Jounin Corps." I list smoothly without thinking too much about it, the information quickly accessible given who my father is. I don't dare mention ANBU, because that's still something not even I am supposed to know about.

Sensei nods, a small smile on his face. "That's right. All these nine sectors work as one to keep our village strong and healthy, similar to a human body. Therefore, it's essential we learn how each of them works, mhm?"

'Wait a minute.'

Team 7 had done nothing of the sort. Neither had teams 8 or 9, or any of the canon Naruto teams. My memory of particular cases was foggy, but I was absolutely certain none of this happened. Why this? Why now?

'No, this isn't for my own sake - at least, not directly. I'd see how each of the departments work sooner or later, this isn't about possible hokage candidates. There are nine genin teams who graduated this year, and if we're all doing this sort of rotation, it means they want everyone to have a basic grasp of how everything works. But why?'

Choza-sensei continues to chatter on about how each team will rotate between a few weeks in every department, but I can't focus on it.

'They need us to know a little bit of everything. I've never seen this before. It's not like everyone's going to drop dead-'

We all stop in front of a big, gray building just as my thoughts come to their final conclusion.

'They're doing this because people will drop dead. We're at war. They're expecting so many casualties they'll need genin to fill up the village's ranks.'

"Welcome, children, to your first day of D-ranks at the Intelligence Division!"

I'm not sure if it's the sudden realization that Konoha's not as well prepared as I thought it was or the heavy atmosphere the building has, sucking my energy and making my head spin, but the first thing I do is throw up in front of the gates.

Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but if you're gonna be an asshole about it, then just don't bother.

Question: if you were a shinobi, what would be your specialty?

Notes:

I wouldn't say that things are going to more more slowly from now on, because they aren't. It's just that the chapters will be longer so I can fit everything I want to. (maybe I'll have to separate this into two different chapters. Or more. Please bear with me.)

Also, everyone will start to develop their characters more from this chapter onwards. We saw the first of Chiyuki's many breakdowns, and although she might seem like a bit of a drama queen at times (she is), all these things are important for her to learn.