>>6462235

Things fall back into the usual rhythm after you return home from your mission to the Land of Hot Springs. Nothing but boring D rank missions to be found, and none of them are of any particular note.

You did at least have an exciting story to tell your family over dinner the night you returned, though unfortunately your father was the one who got the most excited about it.

"Wow, I haven't seen Omoi in years. Glad to hear he's doing well. Not as well as Kiba though, haha!" Kon laughed after hearing your story. "I'd like to try and meet up with him again, but it would probably be easiest just to wait until he's in town for the Chunin Exams. Speaking of which, they're just a couple of months away! They should be quite exciting this time around."

You ignored your father's pivot in topic and instead focused on hearing what your mother and sister thought of your trip.

"It sounds like Kiba really had a good idea this time. It's a mission I would have loved to go on when I was a Genin." Tenten told you. "Then again, it's only possible now in this era to have a friendly competition with foreign ninja while on a mission. You really should make sure not to forget how lucky you are to be born now, Akio."

"I didn't know you could go on a ninja mission and make new friends." Sae added her own persective. "This just makes being a ninja sound even better! I can't wait to become a Genin too!"

Since you only had D rank missions for the couple of weeks following your return, you had a decent amount of free time. Time you could spend in a few different ways, mainly training or hanging out. You did have time for both, no need to swing entirely one way or the other. As important as training is, no play makes a dull ninja and all that.

>Write in (Choose who if anyone you would like to learn from or train alongside, as well as a person or people if anyone that you would like to hang out with during this time. They can be the same person or people for both situations if you so choose)

>>6462236
Take Kagari to meet up with the old crew (Rikimatsu, Lee, and Mimi). Karasuba too if she doesn't mind training and fucking around with troublemakers.

>>6462249
This is good

We're back!
>>6462236
>>6462249
+1

>>6462249
yeah i think cross-team training in prep for the exams makes sense. all the characters would want to pass the exam individually, and give a good representation of the village.

>>6462249
This plus train our impact chakra flow
You should really mention the new thread in the old one btw I had no clue it was up

>>6462249

It's been too long since you hung out with your old friends. Maybe you can pull double duty and train with them at the same time, be more efficient. While you're at it, you might as well invite your teammates as well. The Chunin exams are coming up, and you're pretty sure every one of you wants to be in top condition so you can make a good showing. It worth asking, at the very least.

"Sure, that sounds like fun." Kagari agrees. You about expected as much, since Mimi is her closest friend, and she hardly needs an excuse to spend more time with her. You thought that maybe Rikimatsu and Lee might have scared her off, but she's got a bit more grit than that. As long as you and Mimi are present, anyway.

"It's not a bad idea. We'll fall into predictable patterns if we only ever train amongst ourselves. Very well, I'll join you all for this training." Karasuba reasons out her own reasons for agreeing, and this one was a little bit of a surprise. You always got the feeling that she wasn't too fond of Rikimatsu and Lee, but even if that is true, it doesn't seem to be impacting her decision.

You call up the old crew and make plans to get together, which you do on a day when neither of your groups has a mission to go on. Before any training can get done, naturally there's a bit of catching up to do.

"Yo! How's it been, my friend?" Rikimatsu naturally greets you first, slapping the hand you'd outstretched for a high five. "Heard you got to go on a pretty interesting mission. I'm jealous. We did manage to go on one C rank mission, but it wasn't all that eventful. Just worked security for a concert, they wanted ninja guards. Aside from a few rowdy fans, wasn't any more involved than a D rank, truth be told. Lee had fun, at least. Apparently she likes the band."

"Hell yeah, it was sick. Got autographs and everything." Lee insists. "If we weren't gonna get a real mission anyway, at least we got one that was a good time."

You start exchanging your experiences with Rikimatsu and Lee regarding your past mission, letting them know all the neat stuff you got up to and making them quite envious in the process.

As you three talk, your teammates have been chatting away with Mimi, who is of course much easier for them to get along with. They're probably talking about much the same thing, so you doubt you're missing out.

Once you've all had your fill of catching up, it's time to get to training. It takes you back to the Academy to do this again, though it has been scarcely over a month. Starting with some light sparring and working your way up, you are able to see both the progress you've made as well as the others. Their team really is just a taijutsu machine though, you end up really pushing your weapon skills in order to keep up.

You also take this opportunity to try and refine your Impact channeling. You do manage to make some improvement, as you can maintain a more focused charge and for longer, though it still isn't perfect.

>>6462648

Between how much you pushed yourself during your mission and this training, you really feel like your Strength and Stamina have improved a notable amount. You're keeping up better with Rikimatsu in those areas than you ever could before.

You also get to see how your other friends have been developing in this time. Lee is the same as ever, just probably even stronger, but you get to see Mimi and Shiromaru perform a more advanced version of Man-Beast Taijutsu than they could before. Though after seeing Kiba Sensei and Akamaru in action, you know she has a long way to go. Rikimatsu has also started learning Fire Release just like your own teammates, so he'll be even more of a force to be reckoned with now. You'll have to make sure not to fall behind.

One day, after you're all sitting around tired from training, you and Rikimatsu are chilling and talking as usual when the topic of your teachers comes up.

"Hinata Sensei is quite a babe, let me tell ya. I'm even over you getting my preferred teammates." Your friend grins as he imagines his Sensei. "A real beauty. Though I did see something that really threw me for a loop. Sensei's got a tattoo right below her neck, I was able to catch a glimpse of it. I didn't take her for the type, so I was surprised. But even more than that, I didn't get a clear look at it, but I think it might be of a sharingan. I know she married in, but damn. Talk about kinky."

"How is she as an actual teacher, though?" You ask, more interested in the kind of training they're getting.

"She seems fine. She's really good at Taijutsu, so we get most of our work done there." Rikimatsu explains. "You've probably noticed that we've all gotten even better at that. She also likes to emphasize the basics, says it'll serve us to have a strong foundation. Another way of saying she doesn't want to actually teach us anything cool yet. What about you guys? How's your teacher so far?"

You think about your opinion of Kiba Sensei.

>A. He's a pretty cool guy, he's already proven that we can rely on him

>B. To tell you the truth, he hasn't even tried to teach us anything yet

>C. I think we need some more time before we can really tell how good of a teacher he is

>D. Write-in

>>6462613
You're right, I should have done that. I'll do it now, just in case. I also have to remember to get the old thread archived before it falls off

>>6462649
>B. To tell you the truth, he hasn't even tried to teach us anything yet

>>6462649
>B. To tell you the truth, he hasn't even tried to teach us anything yet

>>6462649
He offered me one on one training but other than that it seems like his focus is to get us to grow through mission work and make sure we don't die.

>>6462649
>A. He's a pretty cool guy, he's already proven that we can rely on him
I figure, you know, we can say we don't want to be babied and brush any perceived neglect off.

>>6462668
>>6462714

You haven't really had any problems with Kiba Sensei as a person, he's always been the same likable guy you've always known since as far back as you can remember. But he's not just that guy anymore, he's your teacher. And he has been sorely lacking in that role so far.

"To be completely honest... He hasn't even tried to teach us a single thing." You sigh, only more disappointed to have to acknowledge it out loud. "He's basically just our squad leader and that's it. Maybe he just wants us to learn on our own."

"It's possible that he just doesn't see his skillset lining up well with ours as students." Karasuba sits next to you and joins the conversation. "If that's the case, then I'd rather he left us to our own devices than try to force us in a direction that won't mesh well with our talents."

"I don't know, did you guys try asking him?" Rikimatsu suggests. "Maybe he's just absentminded and hasn't thought about it."

"You know dad would totally drop everything to give you some training if you asked for it, come on." Mimi also makes her way into your discussion. "He's been spending a lot of time at home training the next batch of pups, which is important too. Akamaru is retired now, but dad still has half his career left, so he needs a new partner pretty soon."

This is the first you're hearing about that. Though you suppose this is just another one of those big clan things that you thankfully don't have to deal with, since you're not in one.

"Don't take that the wrong way though, he wouldn't take a position as a sensei if he wasn't willing to make time for you guys!" Mimi goes on, vouching for her father. "You know you can rely on him, just give him a chance!"

You and Karasuba exchange a glance. You can both tell that you're thinking the same thing. It's only fair to Kiba Sensei to give him an actual shot.

You have a D rank mission scheduled for the next day, so once you guys finish picking up litter, you breach the topic with your teacher.

"Sensei, are you going to do any teaching, or are you more of a hands off type?" You put it bluntly for him. "Rikimatsu's team is getting instruction from their teacher, but we haven't gotten anything yet."

"Ah... Yeah, that's fair. I've been slacking on that. Sorry, guys. That's just negligence on my part." Kiba admits, scratching the back of his head and looking apologetic. "Even Kakashi Sensei had taught us that by now, so you guys should be able to handle it easily..."

Your teacher walks over to a nearby tree and walks up it, then looks down at the three of you.

"I'm clearing my afternoon, we're gonna train right now. The old standby, walking up walls. Well, trees in this case." Kiba grins. "My team had done this training by now, so I know all three of you talented kids will pull it off pretty quick. Just focus your chakra in your feet, find the right intensity, keep it steady and you'll be good. Should be pretty quick, let's see it."

>>6462994

The three of you do as you're told, and while it takes a while to find the right balance, you do manage to start walking up a tree in a matter of minutes. It's hard to concentrate chakra in the feet, but you have so much experience molding chakra by now that you manage to pull it off without too much trouble.

It seems to be even easier for the girls, as they have special eyes and can actually watch their chakra as they practice, making far more effective adjustments as needed. Quite a nice bonus for them.

Naturally, you having to do things the hard way means you take the longest to get it down, but Kiba Sensei is there the whole time to give you tips. Since the others were doing fine on their own, he focused on you. Telling you exactly when you started using too much chakra and were about to damage the tree and lose your footing, as well as the best way to carry yourself accounting for the new orientation of gravity. It really helped, and you managed to climb to the top of a tree not long after your teammates.

By the time the training is over, the sun has gone down. But you feel like you made a bunch of progress all at once. Like this, you could just walk on the side of the Hokage Monument instead of repelling.

"Very nice, kids. You've all pretty much got it in a single afternoon. I knew you were crazy talented." Your teacher praises you. "Took us all a few days of practice to nail it, even Sasuke the prodigy. But like I said, you've all got a couple more weeks under your belt by now, and that can make all the difference."

The three of you slump down and rest for a bit, tired but proud of yourselves.

"See, I can help train you guys, I know what I'm doing." Kiba insists. "We can move to water walking next, that should be fun. And likely necessary for our next mission. I've signed you guys up to participate in this year's Leaf-Mist joint training exercise. They always ask for a Genin team, so I made sure to get in there and sign us up as soon as I could. I haven't been able to find another good C rank, but this should be plenty enough to keep you guys interested."

As you finish catching your breath, you think over this assignment.

>A. Sounds like fun, we get to travel and meet new people again

>B. A training exercise? This one's even more of a softball than the other mission

>C. I'll trust your judgement Sensei, you know what you're doing after all

>D. Write-in

>>6462996
>A. Sounds like fun, we get to travel and meet new people again

>>6462996
>A. Sounds like fun, we get to travel and meet new people again

>>6462996
>A. Sounds like fun, we get to travel and meet new people again
Welcome back, Laze! Heads up, with the board being as slow as it is, it might be possible to fit multiple missions into a single thread now. Hell, a Quest on Page 10 can remain on Page 10 for quite a while nowadays. It depends on the speed of the board, of course, but that tends to be on the slower side nowadays.

>>6463011
>>6463094
>>6463452

The last mission was good time, and you met a group of pretty neat people from the Cloud. You're not opposed to meeting some more from the Mist, maybe they'll be just as cool.

"Sounds like fun." You respond with a smile. "Travelling abroad again, meeting another village's ninja. It worked last time, why not again?"

"That's precisely my concern. We're due to fall into complacency if this keeps up." Karasuba voices her complaint. "At this rate, I'll be entering the Chunin Exams without ever having been engaged in mortal combat. How am I ever going to push past my limits if I'm never even pushed to them?"

"There's only so much I can do, Karasuba." Kiba sighs, shaking his head. "It's just the way things are these days, we don't have enough dangerous missions to be giving them out to kids anymore. Most people would call that a good thing, you know."

"I think it's a great idea." Kagari puts her opinion out there. "Like this, we can get stronger while also having fun and making some friends... There's no downsides, right?"

"From a perspective that lacks ambition, perhaps." Karasuba glares at her cousin. "You'll never awaken your sharingan if you do nothing but take the easy road. Am I truly going to have to drag you to greatness kicking and screaming?"

"Alright Karasuba, that's enough of that." Your teacher keeps her from going any further. "Lay off of her, alright? People can develop at their own pace, she's not causing problems for anybody."

"Hmph." Karasuba pouts slightly. "A lack of self-esteem will only continue to fester. The cure for it is not to leave it be, but to make accomplishments. You know I'm right Sensei, and it'll be your problem sooner or later. In any case, I will do my best to get what I can out of the joint training exercise."

Karasuba leaves on her own, as Kagari is looking a bit down from the whole thing. You try and cheer her up, then the rest of you also get home for the night.

A few more days pass, and though you've been training, tomorrow is the day you're set to head off to the exercise. Today however, is another person's day to set off. It's been a month, and your father is leaving for the Stone again. It's a rather unremarkable event for you, but your mom and sister have to get in all their hugs and 'I'll miss you's as they always do.

After dealing with them Kon turns to you, and has no illusions that this will be an emotional farewell. Rather, he keeps things quite practical.

"So Akio, next time I see you should be about time for the Chunin Exams." He states the obvious. "You're pretty strong for a Genin as it is, but I know you have pretty high aims. There's someone you want to beat, right?"

You both know exactly who he's talking about. It wasn't exactly a secret, but it still irritates you that the man can read you so easily sometimes.

>>6463457

"I'll just come out and say it. Aotsuchi is absurdly talented. You can't just go in there and wing it and pretend like that will be enough to beat her." Your father states as bluntly as he possibly could. "You need help. I want to see you achieve your goals too, you know. We can get some training in when I get back, try to even the playing field. I've been in that position before, feeling like I can't catch up. The right teacher can make all the difference. Just think about it, okay?"

It's almost a joke how much of a fatherly look and tone of voice he's taking on for this. The fact that he is completely sincere only makes it more annoying.

>A. The nerve of this guy to suggest this while leaving for the Stone. You're never training with him if you can help it

>B. No point in being antagonistic about it right now. Just say you'll think about it

>C. You hate to admit it, but he might have a point. At the very least, you can give it another shot and drop him again if you want to

>D. Write-in

>>6463452
I know, but I figured I might like it better to have threads separated neatly at a distinct point in the story. We'll see how things go from here

>>6463458
>B. No point in being antagonistic about it right now. Just say you'll think about it

>>6463458
>A. The nerve of this guy to suggest this while leaving for the Stone. You're never training with him if you can help it
You think my training without you is just winging it? What makes you a better teacher than Mom and Kiba who actually live here?

>>6463458
>A. The nerve of this guy to suggest this while leaving for the Stone. You're never training with him if you can help it

>>6463458
>C. You hate to admit it, but he might have a point. At the very least, you can give it another shot and drop him again if you want to
This time I want to draw blood

>>6463555
>>6463811

You've just about had it with this man trying to wriggle his way into father-son time. He even has the audacity to try it as he's leaving the damn village.

"You can forget about it. It's not happening." You state unequivocally, your arms crossed and your face stern. "I've got other people to train me that actually live here, I don't need you."

"I see. Well, it's ultimately your choice." Your father responds, disappointed. "If you can take at least one piece of advice though, I'd encourage you to work on your Impact Release then, since you're going to have to do it alone. Trust me when I say it's something you'll need in your arsenal for this matchup in particular."

You stay stone-faced and don't even dignify him with a response. You just wait for him to finally move on, which he eventually does. He gives a final farewell to all of you, then wishes you in particular luck before heading off.

The next day, your team gathers at the village gate to get ready to head to the Land of Water. You won't be the only Leaf ninja going on this training exercise, and you watch as a handful of ninja you don't know arrive to also make the trip. There are however a couple of ninja that you do recognize.

Inoza's parents show up, though his mom seems to be just seeing her husband off rather than joining you. You haven't really interacted with him before, but you know that the man is named Haku, and he's an old friend of your dad and Kiba Sensei. He was actually just mentioned recently, you remember. He's a bit soft looking, you're surprised he's your dad's age, he looks way younger. However on his back he carries an absolutely massive sword, so he's probably jacked under his loose outfit.

Also joining you is a young man with sunglasses, who immediately walks straight towards Karasuba.

"How fortuitous!" He exclaims, putting a hand in front of his face. "We get to go on an excursion together so soon after your graduation, which I regrettably could not attend. Now is the chance for me to witness my beloved little sister in action."

Karasuba sighs, unamused. This is her brother Shizuka. You've seen him a few times, but never really interacted with him. From what you can tell though, he's like an even more dramatic version of her. Must be quite the character.

Last to arrive is a person you've heard about, but not really seen much of. An older man with his Leaf headband angled down over one eye walks up to your sensei and starts to make conversation.

"You were really set on coming along this year, Kiba. Not planning to leave anything for the other Genin squads, are you?"

"Damn right, Sensei." Your teacher laughs. "They can pick through the scraps, I've already been picking out the best missions."

This is Kakashi, the man who taught both your current teacher as well as your father. Also Sasuke.

There's still a few stragglers to wait for, so you have some time to chat somebody up if you want.

>>6463917

>A. The story about the mission they found Haku on caught your interest, but you didn't get much detail. Meet with him properly and then see if you can get his side of the story

>B. Karasuba's brother seems like a pretty fun guy. Go hang out with the siblings

>C. Your Sensei's Sensei seems like a big deal. See if he has any wisdom to impart

>D. Just keep to yourself and be ready to leave

>E. Write-in

Also I only just noticed that someone already archived the last thread for me, thanks for that

>>6463918
>C. Your Sensei's Sensei seems like a big deal. See if he has any wisdom to impart
Remind me, did Kakashi end up being Hokage at all in this timeline?

>>6463918
>C. Your Sensei's Sensei seems like a big deal. See if he has any wisdom to impart

>>6463918
>B. Karasuba's brother seems like a pretty fun guy. Go hang out with the siblings

>>6463966
He did not. It went from Jiraiya to Itachi to Konohamaru

>>6463918
>C. Your Sensei's Sensei seems like a big deal. See if he has any wisdom to impart

God damn it, my computer crashed and I lost everything I wrote as I was almost finished

Fuck it, no post tonight, I've got work in the morning. Sorry guys

>>6463918
>C. Your Sensei's Sensei seems like a big deal. See if he has any wisdom to impart

>>6463966
>>6463985
>>6464294
>>6464573

Kakashi is a name you've heard quite a few times, and not just in the context of being your father's teacher, he's apparently quite famous in his own right. Since you've got some time, it wouldn't hurt to at least ask and see if he has any useful advice to tell you.

Kagari heads over to meet with her cousins, which leaves you to approach your Sensei and his Sensei. Kiba sees you as you approach and waves you over.

"Yo, Akio! Come over and meet the man behind the Three Sages, he's coming along on the training exercise this time."

"Not just coming along, I'm actually in charge of the Leaf contingent this year." The man clarifies. "Konohamaru wanted to come himself, but he's made his own hands full by taking a Genin team."

You stand before Kakashi and give a slight bow as you introduce yourself and make your request.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Akio Karagowa. I've heard a lot about you, Kakashi Sensei. I was hoping you could impart some wisdom on a young Genin like me."

You try to give your most convincing smile.

"So you're Kon's son, huh?" Kakashi looks you up and down again, assessing you. "You seem to take after him quite a lot. You inherited his kekkei genkai too, right?"

Your smile fades a bit, and Kiba butts in already knowing how it is without having to see it.

"Oh don't be saying that, Sensei!" Your teacher laughs. "Akio isn't too keen on his old man, Kon's been complaining how he doesn't want to do any training together."

"Is that right?" Kakashi closes his eye and thinks a bit before addressing you again. "Well then, I do have some advice I could give you, based on that. Though you might not like to hear it."

You insist, and he goes on.

"Your father really was gifted, and he was determined to use those gifts in the best way he could. As a specific example, the defensive jutsu he developed made him an extremely difficult opponent to deal significant damage to. What I'm getting at here is that he's a ninja of a caliber that any ninja with the means would be wise to emulate. And you just so happen to be one of the few with the means. If you want to specifically avoid training with him and using his techniques, that's your choice. But you'll need to go the extra mile to justify it, otherwise you're making yourself weaker than you could be for no reason."

It sounds like he's just saying you should copy your dad's techniques, so you think he might be biased. But you let him continue.

"I'm not saying there's only one way for you to succeed and that it's doing the same thing Kon did. I'm saying that because a successful path already exists, you need to understand it in order to carve another one. For instance, if you don't pursue barrier jutsus like he did, why not? Either you have your own defensive techniques that suffice or you specialize in a style that minimizes your need for them. Something like that."

>>6464752

"If your decision to diverge from your father's path isn't built on anything more than stubborn pride, then it's childishness. And that won't serve you well as a ninja." Kakashi begins to wrap up his thoughts. "I won't tell you to go one way or the other, I just want you to be able to rationalize yourself so that you can properly assess your strengths and weaknesses. That's what allows you to develop into a stronger ninja, knowing where to focus your efforts."

"Between me and Sensei, we know basically everything your dad can do." Kiba pitches in at the end. "It's valuable information for you to know, so you can decide how you want to train."

Your ingratiating smile has disappeared by now, and you think over the advice you've been given.

>A. He's clearly biased, he likes your dad too much. He wants you to learn all his moves. Just thank him and continue doing things your way

>B. He might be on to something, there's a strategy to this that you hadn't considered before. Thank him and start thinking about applying what he said

>C. That was just the kind of wisdom you were looking for, this man can probably tell you exactly what you need to do to become as strong as you're hoping for. Thank him and ask for more instruction sometime

>D. Write-in

>>6464753
>C. That was just the kind of wisdom you were looking for, this man can probably tell you exactly what you need to do to become as strong as you're hoping for. Thank him and ask for more instruction sometime
seems like it'll have to be a character defining moment to be humble to get help from dad...
but at least he now knows that all the serious ninja think he's a pouting brat.

>>6464753
You think I'm proud of only having half a dad? Being part of his weaker second family? It's not pride that makes me want to avoid training with him.

>>6464753
>B. He might be on to something, there's a strategy to this that you hadn't considered before. Thank him and start thinking about applying what he said
We did insist, even though he said we wouldn't like the advice, and it *is* good advice (even if it's a bitter pill to swallow)

>>6464753
>B. He might be on to something, there's a strategy to this that you hadn't considered before. Thank him and start thinking about applying what he said

>>6464846
Nice little (justifiably) edgy response, I like it. +1

Tiebreaker time, first reply decides either B or this >>6464846 write-in

>>6465171
>>6464766

change mine to this
>6464846 write-in

>>6465177

It's honestly pissing you off to be lectured at like this. These guys know the situation, but it's easy for them to tell you to 'get over it' when they aren't the ones living through it. And that bit about pride especially rubbed you the wrong way.

"Pride? You think I'm proud to only have a dad half the time? To be part of his weaker second family?" You don't hold anything back. This isn't the venue you expected to lay everything out, but there's no helping it now. "I'm not avoiding training with him or learning his techniques out of pride. It's because I don't want to be like him!"

Between Kiba and Kakashi you get an eyebrow raise and a pitying look, but neither of them seem particularly taken aback. It's as if this was fully within the realm of their expectations.

"Hey, half a dad is better than none. A lot of previous generations didn't even have that." Your teacher shrugs. "My dad ran out on us, Sensei's dad took his own life, and your grandparents died when Kon was two months old. Don't get me wrong, I get there's some real problems with your situation, but people have made things work with less before."

"My advice wasn't for the sake of resolving your familial issues, Akio." Kakashi gives his reply. "That's something that only you can do in your own time. But wanting so much to not be like your father to the point that you stifle yourself, that's a problem for you as a ninja. Worst case scenario, you'll end up quite unlike your father: In an early grave. The world may be a lot more peaceful now, but it's always a possibility. You may hate him, but if you can't learn to distinguish between your father as a person and as a ninja, and learn from what he's done as the latter, then you're only holding yourself back. That's what I meant by pride. It may make you feel better to do everything as differently from him as you can, but it won't make you a better ninja. And soon enough, you'll have to decide what's actually more important to you."

You don't say anything. You can't think of anything to say. That was a lot they just hit you with, but you still don't feel any better. You might just have to sit with being upset for a while.

The last couple of Leaf ninja that are going on the trip finally arrive, and then Kakashi signals everyone to head out. You're taking the train again, but this time it's straight East. Eventually you reach the coast, and you get your first look at the ocean in your whole life. It's quite a scene. Water as far as the eye can see. Your destination is apparently there, beyond the horizon.

Kiba Sensei doesn't waste any time, and has the three of you practice water walking again. You've had a few days to get a feel for it back in the Leaf, and it's way harder than walking up a solid surface. You did all manage to stay standing for a while on a completely still pond though, so the next step is her on the ocean as the waves roll in.

As the three of you practice, your teacher addresses you with a question.

>>6465215

"So Kakashi Sensei told me a bit about how it's gonna work this year, we're all going to get split up and put into mixed teams of three consisting of shinobi from both of our villages. Gonna help us develop inter-village comradery, so they say." He explains, as the three of you stumble over the tide. "But he can put his finger on the scale a little bit, so I wanted to ask you guys your thoughts. Specifically, if you want to be on a team with another Leaf ninja or if you're okay being on a team with two Mist ninja. It's okay if you don't feel comfortable being out there with only foreign ninja, just let me know so we can make arrangements."

You manage to stand up straight despite the swaying of the water and consider your response.

>A. You don't know about being on a team with two Mist ninja. Ask to be on one of the 2 Leaf teams

>B. You're no wuss. Two Mist ninja just means more interesting people to meet

>C. Put in a request for a specific teammate

>D. Write-in

dropping truth bombs QM

>>6465216
>C. Put in a request for a specific teammate
Kagari
She needs someone she's familiar with, and Karasuba doesn't know how to bring out the best in her yet

Otherwise being on a team with two Mist ninja would be cool

>>6465216
love bratty akio so much <3
>B. You're no wuss. Two Mist ninja just means more interesting people to meet

>>6465216
>B. You're no wuss. Two Mist ninja just means more interesting people to meet
I think if we're always holding Kagari's hand it'll be harder for her to grow

I really don't like the advice Akio is getting. He can make his own techniques just like his dad did. Kon didn't have any examples for how to use his impact chakra. Maybe we need to start planning it out a bit. Could we get a character sheet for Akio sometime?

>>6465216
>D
Can we just suggest to Sensei, as subtly as possible, that he put Kagari with either us or Karasuba - otherwise I don't mind if either way.

File: Kirigakure.png (2.24 MB, 1920x1080)

2.24 MB PNG

>>6465319
>>6465337

You don't need another Leaf ninja holding your hand, the more new people you get to work with, the better. You are a bit worried about Kagari, but you figure that even if she doesn't say anything, Kiba Sensei will know best.

"Put me on a team with two Mist ninja!" You insist, standing tall on the surface of the water as you make your proclamation. "I can handle anything they throw at me."

"You're not gonna be competing against them, ya know." Kiba chuckles a bit at your enthusiasm before waiting to hear from the others.

"I don't really care one way or the other." Karasuba shrugs, stepping casually across the surface of the water. "Put me with whoever is left over, this is just a training exercise at the end of the day."

"I, uh... I'd like to be with another Leaf ninja if that's okay." Kagari stumbles a bit, both over her words and over the waves rolling in. "If it doesn't cause any problems... I'm a bit too nervous to be teamed up with only Mist ninja."

"It's fine, there's no problem with that. It's why I asked in the first place." Your teacher reassures her. "I'll let Kakashi Sensei know what you guys said, and between him and the Mizukage they'll put the teams together once we arrive. Speaking of which..."

Kiba looks past you into the distance, and you turn to see what he's looking at. It's a large ship that seems to headed directly to the port you've all been waiting at for the past few hours.

"That'd be our ride. It should be docking shortly, and once the people on it disembark, it'll be our turn." He explains. "We're spending one night on the ship before we land in the Land of Water, then it's just a few hours of running to get to the Village Hidden in the Mist."

The three of you wrap up your water walking training, all fairly confident in your ability by now. Having to concentrate on it during a fight might make it tough, but you're pretty sure you could still do it.

All fifteen or so Leaf ninja that make up your group board the ship once it starts taking passengers, and you're left with about a day full of nothing to do. It's not too bad though, you relax a bit and watch the ocean from the deck while hanging out with your teammates. None of you know how much you'll need to exert yourselves for the exercise, so you decide to play it safe and conserve your energy.

A few hours after you wake up in the morning, the ship pulls into another port, this one on what is apparently an island, though it was big enough that you couldn't tell it was one from the boat.

Your whole group takes off running and you eventually reach your destination while it's still afternoon. The Village Hidden in the Mist.

It's your first time seeing a ninja village that's not your own, and it's a bit surreal. The architecture is quite distinct, but it still has a mix of traditional aesthetics and modern sensibilities that reminds you of the Leaf.

>>6465673

Kakashi leads everyone to a hotel and gets them checked in for the night before explaining himself.

"We'll be departing for the training exercise tomorrow morning, so feel free to check out the village if you want. Just make sure you don't get into any trouble, or I'll make sure you regret it." He warns. "As for me, I'll be taking Kiba and we're going to meet with the Mizukage. If you need to speak with me, I'll be back later tonight."

A few of the ninja disperse immediately, but most take a while to think over what to do. Getting dropped into another village like this so suddenly is a bit overwhelming, you're no exception to that.

>A. Just wander about the village and see what you come across

>B. Ask Kakashi and Kiba Sensei if you can tag along and meet the Mizukage

>C. Stay in the hotel and prepare yourself to take on whatever the training exercise will ask of you

>D. Write-in

>>6465674
>A. Just wander about the village and see what you come across

>>6465674
>A. Just wander about the village and see what you come across
random encounter time

>>6465674
>A. Just wander about the village and see what you come across
Wonder how the Mist's doing... did they get rid of their old ninja exam that involved killing your classmates, or do they still do that?

>>6465674
>A. Just wander about the village and see what you come across

>>6465674
>A. Just wander about the village and see what you come across

>>6465680
>>6465709
>>6465753
>>6465754
>>6465824

There's no question what you're going to do. You've got a whole new village to see, and only one afternoon to see it. So you get ready to head out, waiting only briefly to see if your teammates want to join you. They very quickly decide to tag along.

Karasuba's brother invites himself to go with Kakashi and Kiba to meet the Mizukage and the rest of the Leaf ninja wander off on their own accord, so it's the three of you going out on the town.

The first thing you notice is that there's a whole lot more hotels than just the one you're staying at. It's actually crazy how many are around, and the most numerous type of business you see in general is restaurants. This all seems to be driven by the fact that a ton of the people you see walking around seem to be tourists. People walking around holding maps or taking pictures. You've seen a few of them in the Leaf, but it seems to be far more common here. You wonder if they'll mostly just from the Land of Water or if people even come from abroad.

As for what tourists would even come here for, you do take note of plenty of entertainment type facilities. Some game halls for gambling or other kinds of activities, some historical sites it looks like. But the biggest draw in your opinion is probably the artsy places. You pass by plenty of theaters and art galleries and such, all of them pretty packed. You even catch a show they're putting on in the middle of a big plaza for anyone to come by and watch, and it's a real theatrical performance, not just a sample to tease people with. Some dramatic noh tragedy about some kind of event in the village's history. You get the feeling that genre may be the village's specialty.

It's a bit funny to watch in the context you're in. A play about an awful and sad thing that happened in what was once known as the Bloody Mist Village, being performed to attract tourists to visit it. They really seem to have turned things around. Even kids as young as you have heard stories about how brutal this village used to be. It's hard to imagine now.

As the three of you watch the play from a distance a couple of young Mist shinobi arrive next to you, probably to take a look at the performance initially, but they soon take note of your group and shift their focus.

You glance over at them. Both of them are boys around your age, one with wavy whitish-blue hair and the other with long brownish red hair. Most notably about their appearance, they both have sharpened teeth and carry pretty distinct weapons. The blue haired one carries a giant sword attached to a roll of explosive tags, and the red haired one carries what looks like a hammer and an axe chained together.

Given the village you're in, you can't help but think of the most famous thing to come out of the Mist village, the Seven Swordsmen. Could these kids your age really be part of that legendary group? It seems far-fetched. After looking you guys over for a bit, they approach.

>>6466032

"Hey, are you all here for the joint training exercise?" The red haired one asks, smiling and being friendly. The blue haired one looks considerably less enthused, you'd even call his expression grumpy. Right off the bat, their dynamic seems to be one leading the other around despite him not wanting any part of it.

>A. Keep things close to your chest. Just say yes and introduce yourselves, stick to the formalities only

>B. Try and be friendly. Introduce yourselves and then compliment their village, you like what you've seen so far

>C. After introducing yourselves, show interest in them specifically. Ask if they really are part of the Seven Swordsmen at their age, see what they're willing to tell you

>D. Write-in

>>6466034
>C. After introducing yourselves, show interest in them specifically. Ask if they really are part of the Seven Swordsmen at their age, see what they're willing to tell you

>>6466032
Fellow weapon lovers...
>B. Try and be friendly. Introduce yourselves and then compliment their village, you like what you've seen so far
>C. After introducing yourselves, show interest in them specifically. Ask if they really are part of the Seven Swordsmen at their age, see what they're willing to tell you
It's okay to let professional demeanour slide a little when it comes to weapons

>>6466034
>>6466244
+1
weapons ftw!

>>6466244
>>6466388

More than anything, you're interested in those weapons they're carrying. If they truly are two of the Seven Swords, you know your mom would be drooling over these, and you're pretty keen on them yourself. Best to try and ingratiate yourself for now.

"That's right. My name's Akio Karagowa." You start, setting the tone for your teammates to hopefully follow.

"I'm... Kagari Uchiha. Nice to meet you." Kagari hesitates only briefly before giving her introduction. She seems to be getting used to it.

"Karasuba Uchiha. And you two are?" Karasuba wastes no time turning the question back around.

"Budou Terumi, at your service!" The red haired one smiles and points to himself with his thumb. "I had no idea that the Uchiha clan specialized in such beauties."

Karasuba sighs again, probably tired of this kind of thing.

"Fugetsu Hozuki." The blue haired one matches Karasuba for enthusiastic introductions, and leaves it at that for now.

"We've only been here for a little bit, but your village is pretty interesting." You get right to schmoozing. "I like it. And those weapons you guys are carrying... They're so distinct that I can't help but wonder... Are they two of the legendary Seven Swords? Are we looking at members of the Seven Swordsmen?"

You seem to have quite successful in talking them up, as not only does Budou's smile widen, but even Fugetsu gets a grin on his face.

"That's right. Our Genin team has been entrusted with three of the Swords, we're the new generation." Budou confirms your theory. "You were quite quick to pick up on that, impressive."

"I'm a bit of a weapons enthusiast myself." You say, shrugging and grinning like you can't help yourself. "I use a bit of a niche weapon, but the Seven Swords are supposedly in their own league."

"You could say that." Fugetsu speaks up. "For something like Kabutowari, the only difference between it and any other axe and hammer chained together is the quality of the craftsmanship."

"Hey now, there's nothing wrong with simplicity." Budou retorts, feeling the need to defend his weapon.

"Shibuki is just a complicated rigging of ninja tools to a sword, so it could theoretically be reproduced, it would just take a lot of trial and error." Fugetsu goes on, ignoring his teammate. "And further still we have the mystic swords like Samehada that can't be replicated at all. It's a pretty wide range even among the Seven Swords."

"What's that about Samehada?" You hear a girl's voice from nearby. You turn to see a very unique looking person. Her skin is jet black for the most part, save for two large white ovals on her temples and her lower jaw down to her chest also being white. She definitely looks like a particular sea creature. Does the Mist have people that just look like this? She's got short black hair that's a bit hard to set apart from her skin color at a glance, and she's a bit taller than you. She's also carrying a sword on her back, this one wrapped in bandages.

>>6466478

The girl walks to join the other two young Mist ninja, carrying a couple of sticks of whole fried fish that she wolfs down like it's nothing.

"Were you talking about me?" She asks, her mouth partially full.

"We're just getting to know some of the Leaf ninja that we'll be training with. These are Akio Karagowa, Kagari Uchiha, and Karasuba Uchiha." Budou explains to the girl before shifting to address your group. "My friends from the Leaf, this is our third squadmate. Shachiko Zakuro. She looks rough, but she's really not that bad."

"Shut up." Shachiko says almost reflexively as she finishes her street food and looks your team over. She stops at your teammates. "Uchiha, huh? You guys have killed a whole lot of Mist ninja over the years. That better mean you two are pretty good."

"You'll find that we are, I assure you." Karasuba responds, defiantly. Kagari makes no such proclamation.

"What a coincidence that we all happened to meet up out here." Budou tries to direct the conversation again. "We have an opportunity to get to know each other a little better, wouldn't you say?"

>A. You are a bit hungry. They could show you a good place for lunch and you could all chat over a meal

>B. It may be a long shot, but try and see if any of them will let you try out their sword

>C. Keep it simple and keep up your current tour of the village

>D. Write-in

>>6466480
>A. You are a bit hungry. They could show you a good place for lunch and you could all chat over a meal

>>6466478
>Karasuba sighs again, probably tired of this kind of thing.
haha
>>6466480
>A. You are a bit hungry. They could show you a good place for lunch and you could all chat over a meal
I was tempted to go for B, but it might seem indecent.

>>6466501
>>6466758

It is pretty much the best thing you could be doing right now save for actually getting to use one of their swords, and that's probably not happening, so you settle.

"How about we talk over lunch?" You suggest. "You could show us what's a good place around here."

Budou is quite enthusiastic about the idea and everyone else is either okay with it or too apathetic to say anything, so it goes forward. The Mist team leads you all to a small sushi place a bit off the beaten path. It's not as packed as the ones you saw on the way here, but still has quite a few people. You all get a big table and order a few things to go around. You try out pretty much all of it and it's pretty good, better than any sushi in the Leaf by a long shot. The sea bream in particular is excellent. Everyone else also seems to enjoy their meal, but none so much as Shachiko. You just saw her eat two whole fish right before this, and she still keeps scarfing down sushi like she's been starving.

"The only Leaf ninja we had met before this is Master Haku." Shachiko claims between eating some sea urchin and tuna. "And he barely counts, right?"

"He wears the Leaf headband, so yeah." Fugetsu replies bluntly. "He was never a Mist ninja anyway, so we can't claim him."

"What do you mean you've met him before?" Karasuba asks. "Has he come for this training before and you met him then?"

"He has, but he comes around more often than that. He's my personal mentor." Shachiko goes on. "He's holding on to one of the Seven Swords, so part of the deal was that he'd train one of the new generation of Swordsmen. That one being me."

"My Master Omoi from the Cloud has a similar thing going on." Budou adds. "The Mist is being pretty generous with their swords, so it's a fair deal, I'd say."

"Hey, we just met him on our last mission!" Kagari speaks up, excited to have something interesting to contribute.

"How about that. Small world, isn't it?" Budou smiles and leans across the table. "It's as if we were meant to meet each other here and- Ow!"

The boy cries out and grabs his hand after Shachiko jabs it with a chopstick.

"Knock it off, what if you're on her team for the training? You're gonna make everything worse." The girl voices her concern, seemingly already making assumptions of the difficulties one would have as Kagari's teammate. She then turns back to you three. "Don't let his attitude fool you, he's pretty strong. Even before taking the slug into account."

"Shachiko! Don't mention that!" Budou insists, as serious as you've seen him yet. "Not only is it a secret, I would personally prefer girls not to come to associate me with as unflattering an animal as slugs. I have an image to maintain."

Fugetsu simply sighs and shakes his head while his teammates argue, slowly eating away at his sushi.

You chat a bit more as you finish up, then watch as Fugetsu foots the bill. His clan must be pretty well off for him to pay it so casually.

>>6466939

After you eat, it's getting to be later in the afternoon. You're not sure you really have time for another activity, so you all instead go to a nearby park and just relax in the grass near a series of impressive giant fountains that are nice to look at.

You'd have time enough to get a good focused conversation in with one of the Mist Genin now if you wanted.

>A. Shachiko is probably the oddest of the bunch here, go see what makes her tick

>B. Fugetsu seems level headed, and he talked about the Seven Swords with little prompting once already

>C. Budou is friendly, but apparently has something else going on. See if you can find out what it is

>D. Write-in

>>6466940
>C. Budou is friendly, but apparently has something else going on. See if you can find out what it is
We might end up fighting these guys, even if it's just to demonstrate the fruit of our training, so any hidden info we can preen would be to our benefit

>>6466940
>A. Shachiko is probably the oddest of the bunch here, go see what makes her tick

>>6466940
>B. Fugetsu seems level headed, and he talked about the Seven Swords with little prompting once already
I just want to know more about the Seven Swords, really.

>>6466940
>B. Fugetsu seems level headed, and he talked about the Seven Swords with little prompting once already

Brutal Monday again, I only just got home from work. No post tonight, I don't have it in me

>>6467253
No worries QM, take it easy!

>>6467101
>>6467142

Fugetsu, the one from earlier that started going on about the Seven Swords. If that was any indication, you could probably get even more out of him if you asked.

Budou and Shachiko gravitate towards the Uchiha cousins, for extremely different reasons, which left you and Fugetsu. He's just chilling by himself with seemingly no intent to engage anyone of his own accord, so it falls to you take initiative.

"Yo, Fugetsu!" You call to the boy as you take a seat across from him. "I was wondering if there's any more you could tell me about the Seven Swords. I was on the hook the whole time you were talking earlier, and I need to know even more."

"That curious, huh?" Fugetsu replies to you without sitting up, still laying flat on the grass. "Alright, I'll fill you in a little bit. All Seven of them are gonna be present tomorrow for the training exercise, so I don't think it could really hurt."

"Let's see, where to start... I guess I could tell you about the other swords first." Fugetsu goes on as you listen intently. "My dad is the current wielder of Nuibari, the Needlesword. It's kind of like Shibuki in that it's a sword combined with a specific type of ninja tool in a synergistic way. You pierce your foe and leave a trail of razor wire through them. It's pretty brutal. My dad has actually mastered all of our swords too, but he kept Nuibari while giving us ours. I can't say for sure why he chose Shibuki for me or Kabutowari for Budou, but Samehada is actually alive. It has a will of its own. Shachiko proved to be very compatible with it, so that's why she got it. There's a few clans with traits like hers that always seem to be favored by Samehada."

A sword that's alive, and even chooses its wielder? The prospect is supremely interesting.

"Kubikiribocho is the one Master Haku wields. It's out on loan to the Leaf Village. I'm sure you've seen it around, right?" Fugetsu asks, and you nod to confirm you have. "Apparently it can reconstitute itself from blood, but I've never seen it. That makes it one of the mystical swords though, I don't know how anyone figured out how to make it do that. Master Omoi's Kiba is similar, it can just make lightning on its own, no jutsu needed from the wielder."

"I know about that one, I fought it." You interject, eager to share your experience. "Omoi used them against us, and we were barely able to fight him off for a while."

"Is that right? Pretty impressive." Fugetsu smirks. "Both of those swords still don't compare to Hiramekarei, though. That's the sword wielded by the Mizukage. It can change its form however the wielder desires, it's whatever shape you want it to be."

Now that sounds like a neat weapon. One that can shapeshift into any weapon you can think of. You wonder if you'll get to see it in action.

You and Fugetsu chat a bit longer about the Seven Swords, and you get a good idea of most of what they're capable of. Or at least, as far as Fugetsu is aware and willing to divulge.

File: Mizukage Chojuro.jpg (30 KB, 736x607)

30 KB JPG

>>6467737

As the sun begins to set, you all say goodbye and go your seperate ways for the night. Your team heads back to the your hotel, and you eat dinner there before heading to your rooms to sleep. In the morning, the entire Leaf contingent heads to the Mizukage's office for an initial briefing on the training exercise.

In the office you see a few Mist ninja standing on the far side by the Mizukage's desk, including the three Genin you met yesterday. Budou and Shachiko wave at you, while Fugetsu's slight hand motion could probably be construed as a wave. Omoi is also here, and he's quite surprised to see you guys again so soon. You wonder what his Genin team is doing right now if he's not with them. Did he hand them off to someone else for the time being?

Behind the desk is the Mizukage himself. He's about your dad's age probably, and he's wearing some sort of glasses-goggles combo. Standing beside him on one side is a much older man with an eyepatch, while on the other side is a man around the Mizukage's age that looks like Fugetsu. You see the needle-like sword on his hip, and consider your suspicion confirmed.

"Welcome, Leaf ninja. I hope the Mist has been properly accommodating." The Mizukage begins once everyone is inside. "Before I get to explaining this year's exercise, I'll go ahead and tell you all that we'll be working in cells of three for the duration. I'll read out the assignments now so that if there are any issues that come up, we can head them off here."

He begins to read out the names of all the ninja taking part in the exercise, and who they'll be teamed up with.

Shachiko ends up with Haku and Kakashi, which she seems to be quite satisfied with. Budou is put with Omoi and Karasuba, which also elicits an excited reaction. Kagari is put on a team with Kiba Sensei and Fugetsu, so you aren't worried about her. She'll be fine.

Almost all the names are read by now, and yours still hasn't come up. Finally, it seems they've come to the last team.

"And for the final cell it will be: Me, Ao, and Akio Karagowa." The Mizukage announces. You're not sure you heard him right, but he turns to address you directly. "Akio, I can reassign you somewhere else if you prefer. This cell could be seen as a bit lopsided, if you don't think you'll get a proper training exercise out of it, let me know right now."

>A. No problem sir, it would be an honor to train on your team

>B. On a team with a kage? This won't work, either they'll do everything or they'll make me do everything

>C. Why did they put you on this team in the first place?

>D. Write-in

>>6467738
>A. No problem sir, it would be an honor to train on your team
(Akio trying to act cool and hide how excited he is)

>>6467738
>A. No problem sir, it would be an honor to train on your team

>>6467738
>A. No problem sir, it would be an honor to train on your team
A Kage plus Ao (cyborg?) training Akio? hell yeah!

>>6467738
>>A. No problem sir, it would be an honor to train on your team

>A. No problem sir, it would be an honor to train on your team
Ayup

>>6467740
>>6467745
>>6467858
>>6467916
>>6467945

You can hardly contain your excitement. Not only are you going to be training with one of the five Kage, that Kage also happens to be a member of the Seven Swordsmen. There's no better situation for a weapon enthusiast to be in.

"There's no issue, sir!" You stand straight and make your affirmation clear. "I'd be honored to train alongside you."

"Good to hear. Alright, let's move on the the briefing." Chojuro says, pressing a button and making a map project onto the wall for everyone to see. It seems to be centered on the area slightly to the East of the Village, with a large circle drawn to encompass part of the island you're on and several small islands out in the sea as well as the surrounding ocean.

"This will be the operational area. All ten cells will be sent out at staggered intervals over the next few hours to start the training here." The Mizukage explains. "Each team will be operating independently, there will be no cooperation nor competition. Everybody's got to get their training in, or we're here for no reason. As for what that training is... Within the operational area, we've set up ten simulated enemy outposts. Each team will have to scout them out without being detected, determine the size of the enemy forces, and whether or not that specific location has your target item. Your team is only allowed to engage the enemy forces at the outpost that houses your team's target item, or you fail the exercise. So until you know, you must retreat rather than engage. Ao will be handing out scrolls to each team with specific mission info, so make sure to read up."

The man with the eyepatch hands out nine scrolls to members of other teams, then keeps hold of one himself.

"The ninja we've set up at the outposts will be using water clones for the simulation, so once you've chosen to engage, those are okay to attack how you please." Chojuro goes on. "Naturally, I would ask you to be careful not to actually attack the real bodies of the ninja making the clones, we're working them hard for all this, they don't deserve that. With that said, we're all ready to go. The teams can start moving out immediately in the order I announced them."

Kakashi, Haku, and Shachiko get to go first, and they don't waste any time. Every ten minutes or so another team gets to leave, until at the end it's just you, the Mizukage, and the old man with the eyepatch as the ninth team heads out.

It's a bit nerve-wracking.

>A. You don't get chances like this often. Try to chat with the Mizukage while you wait

>B. Stay focused on the training. Ask Ao if you can read the scroll for details

>C. Maybe you can manage a bit of both

>D. Write-in

>>6468036
>A. You don't get chances like this often. Try to chat with the Mizukage while you wait

>>6468036
>>B. Stay focused on the training. Ask Ao if you can read the scroll for details

>>6468036
>C. Maybe you can manage a bit of both

>>6468036
>B. Stay focused on the training. Ask Ao if you can read the scroll for details

>>6468036
>C. Maybe you can manage a bit of both

How dedicated are you to the training, first reply picks B or C

>>6468403
B

>>6468404
>>6468403
training montage right now.

>>6468404

As much as you'd like to pick the Mizukage's brain, you figure the most important thing is to focus on the reason you're here. The training. Plus it might give a good impression of you, too. As you wait, you approach the old man with the eye patch.

"May I read through the mission details?" You ask, motioning towards the scroll. "I'd like to be fully informed going in."

"Of course. Here, take them." Ao responds, handing you the scroll. "Chojuro and I put this whole exercise together, so there's really no point in either of us keeping it."

You receive the scroll, then give a slight bow before perusing it. The item your team is meant to retrieve is an orb made of blue glass. The scroll also lists vague descriptions of the ten simulated outposts, but doesn't specify which one your target is. It does however say that yours is relatively lightly guarded. It seems you're meant to use that as your clue as to when to investigate a site more thoroughly.

Looking over the location descriptions and comparing them to the projected map of the entire training area, you start to guess where a few of them may be. About half of the sites are clearly being described as out on on of the small islands off the coast of the main one while the others lean more towards being on the island you're on, though you have no knowledge of the geography here so you can only guess. That's just the feeling you get, though. The operational area wouldn't be the shape that it is if it wasn't being utilized.

You eventually arrive at three decent options. The five sites that are definitely out on the islands are obviously best to all hit in order if you go that way. But they're all the furthest from where you're starting. Meanwhile, three of the descriptions fit more for the coast of the main island, though you could be mistaken. If they were though, they'd all be fairly close together and easy to check at once. Lastly, two of the sites are absolutely on the main island, and not on the coast either. They might be the hardest to locate, but they'd also be the closest to where you are now. If you were to pick a path, you'd probably want to follow one of these three.

Your teammates take note of your concentration, and the Mizukage breaks you out of it shortly before you're planned to leave.

"Been thinking hard, Akio?" He addresses you, grinning. "Come on, it's time for us to head out."

The three of you leave the office, and head East. As you dash away from the village, Ao follows up with you.

"You're the one who needs to get the most out of this training, so we'll let you do some directing." He tells you, before posing the question. "You were studying both the scroll and the map pretty intently, where would you have us go?"

>A. About half the sites are out on the water, we should take the long way and hit all of those

>B. Follow the coast first, there could be three easy sites to check there

>C. Search for the two inland sites before going any further

>D. Write-in

>>6468469
>C. Search for the two inland sites before going any further
If they're harder to find they may be less guarded

>>6468469
>C. Search for the two inland sites before going any further
I have no preference on this one, so I'll vote with anon.

>>6468469
>C. Search for the two inland sites before going any further
It isn’t really time sensitive right? So makes sense to look at the close ones. Surely one of companions has some skill at locating things (it isn’t our forte because the K girls normally do that in our squad)

>>6468549
>>6468756
>>6468872

If it's up to you, then you just have to find a reason and stick with it.

"We might as well start with the two sites that are probably inland." You suggest. "They're the closest to us, and if they're harder to find than the sites on the coast or out at sea, that might be a reason to have them more lightly guarded."

"As fair an assessment as any." Ao responds. "A more experienced ninja with particular skills would probably narrow it down to which sites they have more ability to scope out, but you are too green for that to be very viable. Most of them will be the same as any other as far as you're concerned. Since that's the case, we'll help you out with the investigation.

"Naturally, I'd feel bad making you do everything by yourself." The Mizukage chuckles. "Just make sure you pay close attention, alright? This is the kind of thing you'll need to be able to pull off by yourself once you're a Chunin."

The three of you search the forest once you cross into the operational area, since one of the descriptions mentioned a site being much further West than the others. In a grove shielded on one side by a cliff, you manage to spot a basic wooden structure that definitely looks like it's been put together just for this exercise. You can't see much detail from here, but you're sure you see at least a couple of figures moving around.

Beside you, the old man with the eyepatch focuses just like Kagari does, and you see the same types of veins appear around his covered eye.

"Eight figures, four chakra signatures. So four ninja each making one water clone." Ao states, matter-of-factly. You're pretty sure he has to have the byakugan to pull that off, but you can't imagine how he got it.

"Let's not rely solely on Ao, though." Chojuro insists. "How about we go in and double check? Watch this one, it's a village specialty."

"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

The Mizukage forms a few hand seals, then you watch as a thick mist rolls in. You can barely see anything now, though the same should be true for the ninja posted at the outpost.

Under the cover of the mist, your team inches closer and closer. You split up as you arrive at the outpost itself, with you circling around towards the cliff wall. You catch a glimpse of one of the outpost ninja from your vantage point in a tree, and he's on high alert. It seems he recognizes the Hidden Mist Jutsu. You take note of his appearance, then move on towards the backside of the outpost. There's one ninja posted back there, keeping an eye out for anyone like you that tries to circle around. If you weren't obscured by the mist, he'd surely have seen you.

You fall back with the info on two of them, and meet back up with Ao and the Mizukage. You all cross reference the appearance of the ninja you saw, and determine that Ao was definitely right. But this is as much as you can pull off this easily. To actually get inside the outpost undetected and check the item inside would be much harder.

>>6468888

You don't even know if this counts as lightly guarded. You don't think it necessarily fits, but you can't be sure since this is the only site you've seen so far.

"Let's leave this one for now. We can come back to it later if we have to." The Mizukage suggests. "I think it's important for part of this training to be to try and instill the idea of prioritization in you. We may not be on a time limit, but you should be acting as if we were. And to that end, thoroughly checking every site one by one isn't the way you'd usually do this kind of mission. Let's gather info on another site, then we can compare and start to make real decisions."

You wouldn't dare argue against the Mizukage when he's being so reasonable, so the three of you head out to track down the second site. This one is going to be in a cave near a river. The Mizukage and Ao seem to already know where it is, so they hang back and let you figure it out on your own. It's a bit of a pain, but you do manage to eventually locate it. There's no mistaking it, since the figures of three ninja all sit right at the cave entrance to look around.

"This one was honestly a bit unfair. Look at that, most ninja don't have any way to sneak past them." Ao smirks as he uses his eye to look around again. "So I'll give you another freebie. These three are the water clones of the only ninja on site. Nobody else is in the cave."

It's less than the other location, but only by one ninja. Does that qualify as lightly guarded? But this site is even harder to infiltrate, the cave mouth is so narrow that you doubt you could sneak in. This might actually just end up being the final site left and the last team will know their item has to be here by default.

"Any ideas, Akio?" The Mizukage asks you. "You think we should try sneaking in here, or should we move on?"

>A. This place has fewer guards, it could be the one we need to hit. Let's find a way to sneak in and check on the target

>B. Two data points is still not enough. Let's head out to sea and check all of those out there so we'll be sure to have enough info

>C. No need to stress out, just keep moving down the line and let's check the sites on the coast next

>D. Write-in

>>6468889
>C. No need to stress out, just keep moving down the line and let's check the sites on the coast next

>>6468889
>C. No need to stress out, just keep moving down the line and let's check the sites on the coast next
Yeah, I don't see the point in expending energy if we're not at least pretty sure. It's a tight space, we're not supposed to engage so we might be in a situation where we're cornered and can't fight our way out as well if we mess up sneaking in. I don't see any reason to risk it.

>>6468889
>C. No need to stress out, just keep moving down the line and let's check the sites on the coast next

>>6468889
>>C. No need to stress out, just keep moving down the line and let's check the sites on the coast next

Sorry, I fell asleep instead of posting. Gonna post in the morning if I can, assuming I don't get called into work

>>6469316
Players are making such lukewarm choices it's putting QM to sleep :(

>>6469363
What, you want us to start voting again to ask girls out?

>>6468908
>>6468929
>>6468943
>>6468945

You're only on the second site out of ten. Nothing worth taking a risk over yet. The rules of the exercise make it a bad idea to try, so there's really no reason to.

"Let's keep moving." You tell the Mizukage. "We need more intel before committing too heavily to one place."

"Yes, I'd have done the same." He responds. "Even under the assumption that the mission is time sensitive, it's not a good allocation of time given the odds involved."

You lead the two older men along towards the coast, seeking out the next three outposts. One of them is right out in the open, next to the mouth of a river. And you're pretty sure immediately that this one can't be the one you're looking for. Even from a basic hiding point nearby, without even doing any serious investigation, you see six ninja walking around. And there are surely more you don't see. This site is way too heavily guarded to be the one you're looking for, so the three of you move right on by.

Next is a cove by the sea, and it's a whole lot bigger than the other cave before, so it would be more feasible to sneak in. However, you arrive to find yourself beaten to the punch. Kiba Sensei, Kagari, and Fugetsu are at the site conducting their own reconnaissance operations. Kiba is sniffing things out, Kagari is using her byakugan, and Fugetsu is somehow turning into water and slinking around the area. Between the three of them, they've got some ridiculous scouting potential.

"We aren't allowed to work together, but we can just watch and use their info for ourselves." Chojuro tells you. "No need to work ourselves any harder than we have to."

The other team notices you guys nearby, but continues with their investigation unimpeded. Though Kagari seems a bit unnerved by Ao, probably now that she sees his byakugan. Understandable.

By the end of it, they seem to have come away with the impression that there are five ninja posted here. They also seem to have discovered the item here and it's not the one they're looking for, so they move along. You don't get to hear what that item was, but you doubt this is the site you need. At the very least, you also move on for now.

The last site along the coast is another one that's fairly in the open, this time on the beach. The three of you do your usual hiding and searching and see at least six shinobi again, another heavily guarded area. It seems you didn't get lucky and find your site in the first half. Which means the only thing left to do is head out to sea and search the other five sites.

It's quite a walk out, so you get to it. You've done plenty of practice, so you feel confident as you stride along the surface of the water.

"Nice job." The Mizukage remarks. "We teach water walking as part of the curriculum in the Mist, but trainees from other villages have to pick it up on their own from what I understand."

"Kiba Sensei made sure we had it down before we got here." You explain. "And it's a good thing he did."

>>6469413

It'll take quite a while to walk out to the next site, so it seems like now is the time to chat. At least, that's what your two companions seem to decide.

"You're taking this exercise extremely seriously, Akio. It's good to see." The Mizukage praises you. "I did a bit of training with your father back in the day, alongside Omoi and a few others. He was already one of the heroes of the war at that point, so it's not exactly a fair comparison, but it's good to see his diligence was passed down."

You're never exactly happy to hear that kind of praise, but you let it slide. He's not gonna know anything about your situation, no need to get upset.

"Your mother deserves a mention as well." Ao pitches in. "She saved my life during the war, teleporting me out of headquarters before it was destroyed. She's an incredible kunoichi, and I'm forever grateful."

Now that was a story you hadn't heard about. You knew your mom's teleportation was a big deal, but it's the first time you've heard about its practical use in the field.

>A. The Mizukage means well, and you're sure he has plenty of useful things to tell you if you just ask about swordsmanship and such

>B. Ask the old man for more war stories, Ao is sure to have plenty of them

>C. Stay focused on the mission, just chat enough to remain polite

>D. Write-in

>>6469414
>A. The Mizukage means well, and you're sure he has plenty of useful things to tell you if you just ask about swordsmanship and such

>>6469381
...maybe
>A. The Mizukage means well, and you're sure he has plenty of useful things to tell you if you just ask about swordsmanship and such

>>6469414
>A. The Mizukage means well, and you're sure he has plenty of useful things to tell you if you just ask about swordsmanship and such
maybe have some graciousness when he replies and say he's trying to be a weapon expert like his mom, and then ask for weapon advice (they might even read between the lines about his father but no need to be a brat about it. at least they respect his father - which flows onto us, rather than thinking he is a deadbeat)

>>6469414
>>B. Ask the old man for more war stories, Ao is sure to have plenty of them

>>6469445
>>6469496
>>6469644

Since you've got time, you figure you'll try and drag something out of the Mizukage. You may not like your father, but if the Mizukage liking him makes him also like you, you can live with that. As long as you focus on the right things.

"Lord Mizukage, I was hoping I could ask you about something." You begin.

"Of course, go right ahead." Chojuro responds immediately.

"I'm aiming to be a weapons specialist like my mom, that's where I'm focusing most of my training." You explain. "So since you're one of the Seven Swordsmen and even became Kage , I was hoping I could ask for some advice. How can I take my weapons usage to the highest level?"

"Oh ho, well I'm flattered. The institution of the Seven Swordsmen has been around in our village for a long time, it's honestly only by circumstance that I'm the first to become Mizukage." Chojuro reflexively attempts to humble himself. "Many of the previous swordsmen were even stronger than me, so I'll go ahead and use them as examples. There's really two ways to become a legendary weapon user. Either specialization or generalization. In the generalization camp, we've got Kisame Hoshigaki. He might have been the strongest of the Seven Swordsmen ever, and he did so by having an unmatched compatibility with Samehada. If you manage to find a weapon with very high potential and it matches well with you, then becoming strong is just a matter of course. The potential of you and your weapon become one, and with enough training it's like another arm or leg. I'm lucky enough to wield one of the strongest swords in the world, so that's the path I've chosen. All my training is to push Hiramekarei as far as I can."

"But there's another path, and it's a lot more difficult to pull off. However, the ceiling is even higher." The Mizukage goes on. "For our generalization example, I'll bring up Mangetsu Hozuki. Probably the only Swordsman in recent memory who could have rivaled Kisame. His claim to fame was mastering the use of all Seven Swords. He couldn't use Samehada to the same level as Kisame could, but the versatility it offered him was unmatched. Apparently he could swap between them and carve through battlefields like nobody else. If I'm not mistaken, this is also your mother's style of fighting. Picking the right tool for the right job, then using your particular skills in tandem. Some look at it as the inferior path, one taken by people that don't manage to get their hands on a weapon with high potential. But it's really more like the other way around. It's rare enough to get access to one such weapon, so it's usually the case that doing so cements the idea to specialize in one's head. If you have one weapon that outclasses your others, you'll send more and more time gravitating towards it until you're too far gone to go back to generalizing. Neither path is right or wrong. At the end of the day, the important thing is that you recognize which way you want to go and commit to it."

>>6469675

It's more general advice than you were expecting, but you suppose this isn't exactly a place he can go into the specifics of swordsmanship techniques at the moment. This will have to do.

You hear Chojuro go on a bit more about his philosophy behind this dichotomy, but eventually you reach a small island that you have to check out for an outpost. You do so and find it more guarded than you think you're looking for, and the three of you move along to the next one.

This process goes on, happening three more times before the three of you are headed to the furthest possible site from the main island, still not having found a site more lightly guarded than that cave from earlier. Most likely either it's this next site or you're going all the way back.

The Mizukage just laughs about it, though. "Naturally it would be the last one we check, right? Haha!"

The three of you are walking across the ocean towards a small island in the distance when suddenly a sword and the arm holding it emerge from the sea below the Mizukage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9gdV7WsXPA

It's on a direct path to his vital organs, and he is barely able to deflect it in time to avoid a fatal blow. The sword still stabs him, though luckily on the left side of his abdomen where his only real worry should be blood loss.

In the fraction of a second that this exchange took place, Ao pulled out a kunai and slashed the throat of the ninja as he emerged from the sea. You scarcely have time to react to any of it before you're watching the Mizukage holding his bleeding side and Ao holding the dying assailant.

"Ao..." The ninja manages to cough up a couple final words as he's bleeding from his neck. "You..."

But there's no time to wonder about this one, as several most Mist ninja emerge from the ocean. Now that their surprise attack has failed, they seem to be trying a different approach.

"Chojuro, Akio, get ready!" Ao shouts, tossing the now corpse to sink in the sea. "They're going to be coming for our lives."

The Mizukage takes his sword from his back, but he can only use one half of it. His other arm is busy putting pressure on his wound at the moment. As for you, you pull out your meteor hammer and take up a stance. It's just now hitting you that this is your first time facing down the possibility of death.

>A. You've got a good weapon for crowd control, try and draw as many of them as you can and sweep them

>B. Ao might be your best fighter right now, try and set up for him so he can take these guys out fast

>C. The Mizukage might need a bit of protection, run defense for him

>D. Write-in

>>6469676
>>A. You've got a good weapon for crowd control, try and draw as many of them as you can and sweep them

>>6469676
>A. You've got a good weapon for crowd control, try and draw as many of them as you can and sweep them

So I'm getting called into work at 2PM today, that means I'll be working who knows how late. Just calling it here that there will be no post tonight

>>6469676
>A. You've got a good weapon for crowd control, try and draw as many of them as you can and sweep them
I wonder if this is for real

>>6469676
>A. You've got a good weapon for crowd control, try and draw as many of them as you can and sweep them
the first two attacks went for the two (strong) adults, so I don't think they consider us a threat.

I think drawing the enemies attention is a good middle ground to assist both adults. If they're discounting him as being a weak student then he might get some hits in which at the least will be a distraction

>>6469694
>>6469703
>>6469783
>>6469894

In this situation, with several enemies surrounding you, the best move is to fall back on your weapon's strengths. You start swinging it in small arcs, building up momentum as you watch your adversaries. Most of them seem focused on your teammates, so hopefully that means you can at least serve as a good distraction. You move over in between the enemy ninja and the Mizukage while extending the chain of your weapon to swing in a wider arc, putting some extra power into it to try and catch them off guard with a sudden fast swing.

A couple of them have time to jump back and dodge, but two of them get hit and pushed aside. One of them just got clipped by it, but the other took a hit straight on to the torso, and now he's struggling to stay on the surface of the water while holding his side in pain.

The sight makes you suddenly realize that you're actually doing pretty well with the water walking now, you've kept doing it without even really thinking about it.

Behind you, the Mizukage has jumped after the ninja that dodged your blow, shaping his half sword into a long blade of chakra to extend his reach. He likely wants to fight from a distance while he still has a wound like that to worry about.

Ao is fighting three ninja by himself, and he seems to be doing just fine. He's not as spry as his opponents, but he manages to dodge everything they can throw at him thanks to his byakugan, you assume. They're being extra careful with him, not committing too hard to any particular attack.

You decide to help by putting your plan into motion again, jumping into the middle of the three ninja at a point where Ao has dodged away, then immediately sweeping your hammer in a large arc again. This time you manage to catch all three of them off guard and they all take a decent blow, though none of them are taken down outright. Not by you, at least. Ao jumps in right after the three of them get hit and slashes two of them across the throat again as only one manages to get out of the way in time. This old man is absolutely ruthless.

The Mizukage managed to take out the guy who got clipped by your attack earlier, the chakra blade piercing through him and retracting to let him fall into the sea. He has to keep dodging attacks from the others though, and he looks like he's in quite a bit of pain from having to move around so much with that wound.

The group that started out as eight ninja is now down to half, and the remaining half back up a bit to regain their bearings. They seem to decide that close quarters combat doesn't favor them, and start to weave hand signs.

"Water Release: Water Bullet!"

One of the ninja starts shooting water projectiles at the three of you, forcing you to dodge.

"Water Release: Great Whirlpool Jutsu!"

Two of the remaining ninja team up to form a giant whirlpool in the area, which if it expands much further will almost certainly drag you all to the ocean floor.

>>6470405

"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"

The last one builds up a bunch of water from the surrounding ocean and shoots it towards your group as one huge burst.

You're realizing very quickly that you may be in over your head. These are all skilled adult ninja and more than that, they're in their element. It may take everything you have just to stay alive. Ao and the Mizukage don't back down, so they seem like they should be able to handle this, at least.

>A. Stay light on your feet, keep moving and don't get hit while you wait for an opportunity

>B. You'll be safer with the others, they probably have water jutsu too that they can use to cancel these ones out

>C. Don't let them dictate the flow of the battle, jump in and attack while they're focused on casting their jutsu

>D. Write-in

>>6470406
Reposition away from the path of the ranged attack and disrupt the whirlpool technique with an impact chakra infused strike with the meteor hammer

>>6470469
+1

>>6470406
>>6470469
+1
sure, its kinda a mix between "stay light on your feet" and "don't let them dictate the flow of battle". I feel like he's the one variable in their plan that they couldn't plan ahead for really. every second the enemy spends dealing with his disruptions, then the adults will take advantege

>>6470469
>>6470406
+1

>>6470469
>>6470565
>>6470629
>>6470811

Now that they've broken out the elemental releases, you've got to do something drastic. And you can really only think of one thing you can do to try and step it up to same level they've escalated to. You've got to break out an elemental release of your own.

You've even got an advanced nature transformation to use, the problem is that you don't know any jutsu that use it. The one and only thing you can possibly do with it is try and channel it into your weapon to enhance your strikes. Maybe that will allow you to pull off something big.

You start focusing your chakra into the chain you're holding, trying your best to permeate the whole weapon. As you do so, you make sure to dodge out of the way of the big blast of water. Ao shoots the same jutsu back out to negate it, though he and the Mizukage don't do any more than dodge the rest of the attacks. If your plan can give them an opening, then that's all you can really hope for.

Once you think you've got your weapon as saturated with Impact chakra as you manage, you jump right for the whirlpool. You're only going to get one shot at this, and you need both the right angle and the most possible leverage. You make the biggest, most telegraphed overhead swing you can, putting every last bit of energy you've got into making this hit hard. The hammer slams into the swirling surface of the water and causes a huge displacement, as if a massive rock just fell into the ocean right in front of you. There's so much water everywhere that you honestly can't see anything.

The surface of the water gets so unstable that you actually fall in. Judging from some similar sounds that happen at the same time, you surmise that some of the enemy ninja did, too.

As you tread water until you manage to climb back to the surface, you see Ao and the Mizukage dive in and kill the last of the assailants while they're distracted. Chojuro's transforming half-sword makes quick work of two of them, and Ao goes for his signature throat slice for the others. By the time you climb back up, the fight is over.

There's no time to celebrate though, as the Mizukage about doubles over, holding his side in pain.

"Damn!" He grunts. "I need to patch this up and rest for a minute. Let's get to that island."

He points to the island you were walking to, which is fairly close by now. You're worried, but he manages to make the trip seemingly without any further injury, then finds a large rock to lay on as he uses some gauze from his ninja pouch to treat his wound.

When all is said and done, the Mizukage is left laying on the rock, breathing heavily and seemingly pretty worn out.

Ao has been quiet this whole time, staying alert and keeping a lookout. While you have had nothing better to do than watch. Perhaps you ought to say something.

>>6470812

>A. Ask who those guys were and why they attacked. Should you all have tried to capture one alive to interrogate them?

>B. Is this place even safe to rest? What if there are more of them out here?

>C. Were they only after the Mizukage, or are the other teams all in danger as well?

>D. Write-in

>>6470813
Can we alert anyone outside of the exercise about the attack? Launch an explosive tag into the air and detonate it or something?

>>6470813
>B. Is this place even safe to rest? What if there are more of them out here?
Not really sure what to do here.
>>6470885
Well, if there are more of them out there - it might bring them down on us.

>>6470944
True. Maybe the others have another method

>>6470813
>>C. Were they only after the Mizukage, or are the other teams all in danger as well?

>>6470813
>D. Write-in
>Do we continue on with the training exercise or try to make it back? Either by ourselves or link up with another student group
e.g. what next

I don't think they needed to capture anyone alive because they probably know who the assailants are.

>>6470885
>>6470944
>>6471075
>>6471142

There's a lot of things going through your head, which is understandable given you just experienced your first life and death battle. You're actually pretty well composed, all things considered. In any case, you need some direction, so you start with the questions for the adults.

"What do we do now? Was that all of them, do we just continue the exercise?" You start. "And if it wasn't, are they only after the Mizukage, or are they going to attack the other teams too? Should we try and contact them somehow, or at least head back and meet up with them?"

"Oh, there'll be more where they came from." Ao assures you. "This faction is at least a hundred strong, and I have no doubt they'll be going all out for this operation of theirs."

"Unfortunately... Ugh." Chojuro groans in pain before taking a deep breath and continuing. "We didn't bring radios or anything, and neither of us have a good way to contact anyone. Even just sending up a signal will do more harm than good if they've got that many guys out there... I just hope the other teams stay safe, they might if I'm their focus. However..."

The Mizukage turns his head to look at his older companion. "How did they know we would come here specifically? Rather than attacking us at any of the earlier sites, they waited until we were at the one furthest from everything else. But they wouldn't know that we would come here unless they had details about the exercise..."

"You can save your breath, Chojuro. No need to expound any further." Ao turns to face the Mizukage. "They knew because I told them. I leaked the information and instigated them to make their move. Now that they've all exposed themselves, we can wipe them all out."

"Damn it, Ao..." The Mizukage starts to respond angrily, but winces in pain and holds his side again. "You and your damn old-fashioned ninja ways... We could have negotiated, come to a compromise... This isn't the Blood Mist anymore, we shouldn't be wiping out dissidents as our first resort."

"Nonsense. It would have been a waste of time. I know this because they had a point." Ao retorts. "The village is getting less work because of the peacetime, and ninja that aren't happy with that have no other recourse but to try and fracture the peace. So killing them all means both keeping the peace and giving the work they would have done to our remaining ninja. It's simply the most efficient thing to do. And to be honest, Chojuro..."

"I also wanted this to be a wake-up call. You've been taking being the Mizukage far too lightly." Ao starts scolding his superior. "Lady Mei had true conviction and changed the village, but you've just been leisurely carrying on her work without much thought. You needed this."

"And you'd put our allies and even Genin in danger for that reason?" The Mizukage shoots back.

"It's actually the best time to have done it, we have several extremely strong Leaf ninja here to help us get rid of the rebels." Ao replies.

>>6471193

"You're that confident in them, huh? You better be right." Chojuro sneers at Ao through the pain. "If any of the Genin get hurt from this mess, it'll be your head."

"I'm willing to accept the consequences." Ao insists, before turning to you. "As for what we should be doing, once Chojuro can walk, we should head back and try to meet up with the others. We're sure to get attacked again, and having more hands to deal with it is always the best way to go. I'll keep my eye out for any of the other teams as we go. We're the only one on this island, but I'm sure I saw another team on the last island we passed to get here."

"I should probably stay away from any swordplay once we get going..." The Mizukage groans. "Maybe just stick to jutsu from the back if I can... Until we find someone who can close this wound with healing jutsu."

That was quite a lot to process, but at the end of it all you do have something resembling a plan going forward. There's that at least.

>A. Ao is pretty messed up for having set this whole thing up. Make sure he knows that you don't approve of this

>B. If the Mizukage is going to be avoiding swordplay for the time being, perhaps he'll let you be his sword hand for a while. This could be a chance to get to borrow one of the legendary Seven Swords

>C. It'd be better if you just kept to yourself for now and prepared for the trip back to the main island

>D. Write-in

>>6471194
>>B. If the Mizukage is going to be avoiding swordplay for the time being, perhaps he'll let you be his sword hand for a while. This could be a chance to get to borrow one of the legendary Seven Swords

>>6471194
>B. If the Mizukage is going to be avoiding swordplay for the time being, perhaps he'll let you be his sword hand for a while. This could be a chance to get to borrow one of the legendary Seven Swords

>>6471255
I also think we should be pretty suspicious of Ao. I'm not convinced he isn't just a full on traitor who wants the Mizukage dead, or he may even be motivated to hurt relations between the leaf and the mist to return to the old ways.

Yo Laze I was a big fan of the original and it's top tier in my eyes for you having the dedication to finish it

I would say though that qst is absolutely dead so may be worth migrating just so your guaranteed more input which usually leads to more creative write ins

Either way ill be popping in and reading through so tfr

>>6471318
>complains about low participation
>doesn't participate
lol

>>6471194
>B. If the Mizukage is going to be avoiding swordplay for the time being, perhaps he'll let you be his sword hand for a while. This could be a chance to get to borrow one of the legendary Seven Swords


>>6471262
I take it on face value that he wanted to give the guy a wake up call. If he wanted him dead then he would have done it on the ocean. Kill all witnesses and shift the blame. Messed up setting things in motion but… can’t pass up a chance to try out a legendary sword lol

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>>6471199
>>6471255
>>6471462

It does unnerve you a bit that Ao set this up, and you want to be suspicious. But if he wanted to kill you or the Mizukage, he had the perfect opportunity back on the ocean. In fact, without his help back there, things could have gone a lot worse. So you'll take him at his word for now.

In the meantime, you've got a far more pressing concern. If Chojuro isn't going to be using his sword, if should be available, right? You don't know if this will pan out, but you have to try.

"Lord Mizukage, sir." You step up beside the man and address him. "I have a request to make, if it's alright. If you aren't going to be fighting with Hiramekarei on the way back... Can I borrow it? I would really appreciate the opportunity to try out one of the legendary Seven Swords."

You end your appeal with a bow, though it's a bit awkward to do towards a man that's laying down.

"You want to borrow my swords, huh? Not one to waste an opportunity, are you?" Chojuro starts to laugh a bit, but winces in pain and stops himself. "I suppose if I'm not going to be using them, then it won't be much harm... Alright. This should be good for you, too. Using Hiramekarei is one of the best ways to hone your shape transformation, and I remember from training with your dad how important that is for Impact Release. He could do almost anything with that, it was like he had his own Hiramekarei built in. A lot less efficient use of chakra, of course. You'll see what I mean. Go ahead, try it out."

You reach for the large weapon sitting beside the Mizukage and unwind the bandages from it. Fitting of its title the Twinsword, it is actually two swords that fit together. So you can use it as one big weapon or two smaller ones. You take a moment to get a feel for separating and attaching them. You've used plenty of connected weapons, your meteor hammer most obviously, but having two modes like this is something you'd have to get used to.

"Try pouring chakra into them, then see what kind of shapes you can form." The Mizukage suggests. "You might want to keep it simple at first and then work your way up. Anything complex before you're used to it is just going to tire you out."

You follow the advice and focus to fuel the swords with your chakra. Given the kinds of shapes you saw the Mizukage doing, you thought it would drain you pretty hard, but that's surprisingly not the case. Something about the way these swords work seems to allow them to make a relatively small amount of chakra go a long way. After just a few moments and not too much strain at all, you can coat the swords with a layer of chakra that should form the most basic use of this weapon. From there it gets a bit tricky. Molding chakra that's inside your body is already hard enough, and that's with the help of hand seals. Now you've got no aid and you have to mold externally. You can see the shape of the chakra surrounding the blades bend and warp a bit, but it's difficult to make it do what you want.

>>6471530

As you're finally getting a feel for shaping the chakra, some needles fly out of the trees towards the beach you're on. Ao jumps over and strikes them down, but yells back at you.

"They seem to have been posted on this island too, but they got tired of waiting." He says before using his byakugan to look around. "There's only two of them, so don't panic. I'd rather you stayed back and left them to me than try to use that sword only to get hurt. If you're not feeling confident, just stay there."

The two Mist ninja emerge from the trees following their failed attack, and engage in close quarters combat with Ao. He seems to be holding them off alright, to the point where the Mizukage is only watching intently rather than trying to contribute to the fight.

You consider what you would do were you to join in right here.

>A. See just how big of a weapon you can make, pour as much chakra as you can into them and take a giant swing. If nothing else, it should make for a great distraction that Ao can use

>B. See if you can't try and pick them off from a distance. Form a long spear out of chakra and try to get one of them while staying out of harm's way

>C. It would be better to keep things simple. Just get in the fight normally but now with a chakra coated legendary sword. That should be plenty good enough

>D. Ao's right, no need to put yourself in danger while you're still trying to practice. Just let him handle it

>E. Write-in

>>6471532
>B. See if you can't try and pick them off from a distance. Form a long spear out of chakra and try to get one of them while staying out of harm's way

He’s still a student and these are full ninja so I think it’s prudent to stay ata distance and just be a distraction again. Wading in with justa coated sword seems like a bad idea, and so does using up a lot of chakra

>>6471532
>B. See if you can't try and pick them off from a distance. Form a long spear out of chakra and try to get one of them while staying out of harm's way

>>6471561
+1

Sorry guys, I've got something going on tonight, so I won't be around to make a post