Chapter 11

After my sparring session with the sensei, which I obviously lost, it was the girls' turn. Ayamane and Shiko exchanged glances, trying to say, "You go!" "No, you!"

The sensei folded his arms and continued to watch them. It was clear he didn't want to wait long, so he clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"So, if you're not going to step up yourselves, I'll choose for you," he shrugged.

A coin appeared in his hand, which he showed to all of us, turning it from side to side. It was an old coin, one I'd never seen before. It looked like it was from the Clan Wars era.

"This plus side will be Yamanaka," he said, turning the coin to the other side. "This circle will be Nara. Got it?"

"Yes," the girls replied. "Understood."

The captain tossed the coin high into the air. It gleamed in the sunlight before landing in his palm a moment later. Kiochi-sensei closed his eyes and flipped the coin. Then he looked at it and said:

"Yamanaka. Shiko-chan, it's your turn."

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue and stood up. It was clear she didn't want to go second, but since the coin toss decided, she had to comply.

The captain waved his hand, signaling her to attack. She didn't need to be asked twice. She threw several kunai and shuriken. The sensei didn't even move, deflecting them easily. He didn't even need to try. It was immediately obvious that her skills were nowhere near mine. She moved without chakra, used no techniques, only attempting to bombard him with kunai.

The sensei allowed her to do this, taking no action against her. Intentionally positioning himself as she needed, he gave Shiko the chance to use her clan's technique.

"Mind Body Switch Technique!" she breathed, helping herself to create the technique. Folding her hands in a specific way, she closed one eye as if aiming.

Not noticing any effect, I watched the captain closely to see what he would do. His body froze, and then Yamanaka tried to attack him. But it was clear she lacked speed... or perhaps the technique was meant to work differently.

As soon as she got within range, the captain "came to." He calmly and easily blocked Yamanaka's strike, then very slowly counterattacked. Yamanaka was never strong in taijutsu. If you think about it, she was near the bottom of the clan children in our class and certainly couldn't match a jonin, no matter how hard she tried.

A strike, another strike, a sweep, and Shiko jumped to the side. She almost paid for her attack. The captain calmly approached her and immediately attacked. When he tested me, his speed was much higher and more dangerous. And I didn't hold back my strength either. I think if I had fought her to the death, I would have already killed her.

After a few dozen seconds, Yamanaka was on the ground. Her arm was twisted and held in a firm grip. A kunai was pressed to her neck.

"You're dead," Captain Kiochi said.

He then released her, allowing her to get up and dust herself off. It was clear she wasn't very upset because she knew from the start she couldn't beat a jonin. But there was a slight disappointment because she hoped she could do more.

She sat down next to us to recover. After her, Ayamane stood up, knowing it was her time.

"Ready?" the captain asked her.

"Yes. Absolutely."

She began in a similar manner, throwing kunai along with shuriken. While the kunai flew straight, the shuriken arced, aiming to hit from the side. The captain simply jumped back without even using chakra. With a loud clang, the kunai and shuriken collided in one spot.

Ayamane leaped forward, awkwardly using chakra in her movements. But even so, it was better than attacking without chakra. Sharper and faster movements were better than nothing.

The captain moved towards her. Nara ducked, dodging his punch over her head. At the same time, she formed a concentration seal with her hands, and her shadow darkened slightly. Since her shadow intersected with the captain's shadow, she didn't need to strain too much to use her techniques. At least, that's what I think. I don't yet know all they can do.

The captain froze in place. Nara tried to hit him, but he simply flared his chakra, breaking free from her technique. Then she received a powerful kick. He flipped her in the air, and she landed painfully on a small rock.

"Ouch," she groaned in pain, trying to get up. But it seemed the blow to her head was too strong, and she kept drifting to the side. Sprawled on the ground, she closed her eyes, trying to regain her bearings.

The sensei approached her and extended his hand. It glowed a light green, indicating he knew medical jutsu. Quickly bringing the girl back to consciousness, he waited for her to rejoin us.

"What can I say," he began, folding his arms. "Overall, I expected this level. No one disappointed me... and some even surprised me."

The last part was directed at me. Well, yes, I did show a very good level... perhaps even the best I had ever shown. Besides, I really enjoyed getting a bit of practice even now and testing my skills.

"I already know how to train you," the captain said. "First of all, we need to even out your skills in movement techniques. Then we'll work on teamwork. Tomorrow morning, we'll start our training. For now, you're dismissed."

With that, he simply disappeared. He vanished into thin air, as if he had never been there. We started looking around, but the captain was nowhere to be seen. I wonder if that was just a movement technique or some sort of jutsu? I don't even know because I didn't sense any chakra flare.

"How are you, Ayamane?" I asked the girl.

"My head hurts a bit, but nothing serious," she replied after a moment of thought. "By the way, I didn't know you had some skill in genjutsu and movement techniques at such a level. Why didn't you use them during sparring in class?"

"There was no need," I shrugged. "And it wouldn't have been fair to the other students."

"Hmm," she replied thoughtfully. "By the way, Shiko, do you have any plans?"

"No," the blonde shrugged. "Why?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something," Nara said.

"And with me?" I asked.

"This is girl talk," Nara replied with a smirk.

"Alright," I shrugged and stood up. "Then I won't interfere."

I don't know what they want to talk about, and I'm not particularly interested. They got along quite well during the school year. They couldn't be called best friends, but still... Being from close, allied clans, they couldn't have bad relations with each other.

***

Nara Ayamane and Yamanaka Shiko were sitting in a small café owned by the Akimichi clan. The café was beautiful because everyone in the Akimichi clan believed in harmony. It was also very comfortable, as all Akimichi loved to eat, and comfort was a big part of their lifestyle.

A waitress, not from the Akimichi clan, had already brought them sweet apple juice and then left. If they needed anything, they would call her.

"How's your head?" Shiko asked. "You took a nasty hit."

"The sensei healed it very well," Nara replied after a few seconds of thought. "If it gets worse, I'll go to the clan's medics or to Lady Yoshino. She'll definitely be able to help me."

"That's good," Shiko nodded with a slight smile. "So, what did you want to discuss? You know I don't have much time because I have to report about Suzuki to the clan."

"Same here," Nara said with a smile. "I thought we'd be teamed up with some ordinary non-clan guy who's just decent at taijutsu and techniques, but I didn't think he'd surpass us so much."

"Yeah," Yamanaka nodded. "Did you want to talk about his skills?"

"No," Nara shook her head. "I wanted to discuss something else. As you probably know, feelings often develop within a team. Right?"

"Yeah," Shiko replied, already guessing what the conversation was going to be about.

"So, what if you, or I, or both of us develop feelings for Grandvitara?" Nara asked.

Yamanaka pondered. It was indeed an important and interesting question without an easy answer. Their teammate had so far shown himself in a good light, both as a guy and as a future shinobi, but he must have other interests they didn't know about.

"Yeah," the blonde replied. "Love triangles can be destructive for team dynamics. And poor teamwork increases danger and decreases survival chances for everyone. So, what do you propose?"

"Let's make a pact that neither you nor I will try to build a relationship with Suzuki as long as we're in the same team," Nara suggested.

"And what if Suzuki himself wants to start something?" Yamanaka asked the next important question.

"Then we should include him in the pact," Nara said. "He doesn't seem like the type to get offended easily. I think he'll agree."

"Alright, agreed," Yamanaka said.

Both girls shook hands and smirked at each other. They each understood that this would be better for them as it would allow them to focus on their own development. Each secretly dreamed of becoming a strong kunoichi, on the level of Senju Tsunade... Whether that would be possible was hard to say, as no one knew how their lives would unfold.

Afterward, they paid for their drinks and went their separate ways.

***

The Nara clan district was not large. It couldn't compare in size to the Hyuga and Sarutobi clans, and it could never hope to rival the Uchiha clan. But it existed and was quite profitable.

The clan head's house was located in the center, surrounded by streets lined with the homes of clan members, several small training grounds, and a few shops.

Nara Ayamane returned home, where her parents were already waiting for her.

"How was your day?" her mother asked. She had a prosthetic leg made of iron, having stepped on a mine during the last war, which not only caused the injury but also led to an infection that destroyed her chakra system.

"Not bad," Ayamane replied. "The sensei is strong, and Yamanaka is about as skilled as I thought."

"And what about the boy the clan head mentioned to you?"

"Suzuki? He showed an entirely unexpected side."

"How so?" her mother inquired, turning something in the frying pan. Ayamane caught the familiar scent of fried omelet with bacon—her favorite dish.

"He's better than I thought," Ayamane shrugged.

"That's wonderful," her mother said with slight satisfaction. Like any mother, she worried about her only child. Knowing her teammate was better than expected was reassuring. "By the way, the clan head is waiting for you in the dojo."

"Got it, I'll go right now," Ayamane said.

"Alright. Your favorite omelet will be waiting for you."

"Thanks, mom," Ayamane said with a smile.

She quickly ran to the designated dojo, where a small meeting with the young genin was taking place. All the genin from the Nara clan were there, taking turns reporting to the clan head and his senior members about their first day.

"Good afternoon," she said with a bow. In response, she received smaller bows. It wasn't appropriate for a senior to bow deeply to a junior unless the junior could easily defeat the senior, which was very rare. The last person like that in the Uchiha clan was Uchiha Itachi.

Sitting among the other young members, she listened attentively to the reports. There wasn't much new information, as each had already received details about their future teammates a day before the official assignment. This was one of the privileges available to clans. Since the information was accurate and detailed, nothing new was expected—until it was her turn.

"Most of it was as reported yesterday," she said. "But... the information about Suzuki Grandvitara was incomplete."

"Oh really," the clan head said, surprised. Shikaku Nara, the clan head, sat in his seat, listening intently to the young "saplings." Two scars on the right side of his face became more prominent, showing his surprise. "Tell us. What didn't match."

Other genin also looked at her with interest.

"Suzuki Grandvitara knows one genjutsu and has a decent level of movement techniques," she said briefly and quickly. It was well known that the clan head didn't like long-winded explanations. He preferred specifics.

"And at what level are his movement techniques?" he asked.

"Suzuki can fight while standing on the water's surface without any difficulty," she replied. This caused slight amazement among the experienced shinobi listening to the reports. The clan head rubbed his chin and frowned a bit.

"That means he can also move via the upper routes and fight. Am I right?"

"Yes, clan head," she answered, bowing her head slightly.

"Interesting, interesting," he said.

Such results for a beginning genin aren't extremely rare, but they're not common either. A strong rookie is one who can create techniques and is just starting to learn movement techniques. If a rookie can fight on water and knows genjutsu, he can already be classified as talented. He is far from being a genius. To be considered a genius, a genin must be able to easily defeat chunin and fight on equal terms with jonin. Upon reaching the rank of chunin, a genius should be able to easily defeat most mid-level jonin. Such individuals are more common in large clans and rarer in small ones. The Nara clan has no geniuses, nor do the Yamanaka or Akimichi clans. They have talented genin, but no geniuses.

"Based on what you know, can you conclude that Suzuki Grandvitara will become a chunin on his first try?" Shikaku Nara asked.

"Yes," she answered confidently. "If nothing kills him and he continues to develop like this, he will become a chunin."

"How do you see his development?"

"It's hard to say," she replied after a few seconds of thought. "I don't have enough data for such an analysis."

"Alright," Shikaku Nara accepted the answer and pondered. All the other Nara remained silent at that moment. None of them dared to interrupt the clan head and Chief Strategist of Konoha. Shikaku squinted, looking into the distance, then nodded at some thoughts. "Next."

He looked at the last genin, who had arrived last.

"Ahem," the genin cleared his throat and began his report.

***

In the Yamanaka clan, similar events were taking place. However, since it was smaller in size, the conversation took place not in a dojo but in the clan head's house. Yamanaka Shiko quickly met up with her twin brother Shito, and together they headed to give their report.

Passing by a small greenhouse, they saw the clan head's daughter tending to some flowers. Her mother, the wife of the clan head, was with her. Slipping into the house, they went straight to the office. There were several tables, and genin sat at them with papers containing questions.

Yamanaka Inoichi, the head of the Yamanaka clan, sat on a high stool, sipping a drink from a large mug. He greeted the twins with a friendly nod and waited for them to sit down. Since they were the last ones to arrive, the meeting could begin.

"So, young Yamanaka, how was your day?" Inoichi asked.

"Not bad."

"Good."

"Could have been better."

Such responses came from the genin. Shiko just shrugged. She was contemplating how to report on her teammate, about whom the information had been completely incorrect.

"Shiko," the clan head addressed her. "What do you have to say?"

"Everything was as expected, except for Suzuki Grandvitara," she replied. Some of the genin grimaced, having had their fill of dirt in sparring matches against him during their time at the Shinobi Academy. "He turned out to be even better."

"How much better?" Inoichi asked.

"I didn't know he knew genjutsu and had mastered all three levels of movement techniques," she answered. "He sparred excellently with our sensei on water and in the trees."

"I see," Inoichi nodded. He understood that not all the information they received could be accurate. Nonetheless, he needed to discuss these matters with his best friend from the Nara clan. Shikaku should also know about this talented genin and had probably already included him in his analysis of this year's Academy graduates. "Shito, your turn."

Shiko's twin began to speak, pouring out his emotions quickly. Nobody liked his emotional outbursts, but there was nothing to be done about it without risking his ability to create Yamanaka clan techniques. They had to leave things as they were.