Darkness settled across the land, rain pouring down from the heavens above as he watched the glaive wielding man charge at his Lover, impaling him through the chest with the glimmering weapon and stealing the life of the beautiful young man known as Kimaru Hyuuga. He couldn’t help but fall to his knees and scream out, every ounce of his being wishing to die in his lovers place, but he knew that he couldn’t do such a thing and that he had to press on. He stood up and ran towards the man who had killed his lover, but he was nowhere to be found and he would return to the cold corpse defeated before performing the body destruction jutsu on Kimaru, tears stinging his eyes as he did so.

Time would speed forward. He was standing in the bandit’s camp, preparing for his defection from the village. He flowed like water through the ranks of the bandits, slaying each of them in turn, cutting them down like swine. Once he got to the bandit leader he was prepared to end it all and complete his defection but the man spoke to him of the corruption that drove him to his life and he knew that he would have to kill him and carry on in his place, as his plans were set in stone. As he cut the man in two he was steeled and nothing could deter him from his plans.

Forward again. He was standing in the Tsuchikage’s office meeting the leader of the stone village himself, and another figure whom he hadn’t seen in years. He stood face to face with the brother of his dead lover, Tsuyo Hyuuga, a man who had defected from the village when he had been with Kimaru for a year. He wanted to kill the man on the spot, but instead he would end up making an alliance with him that would prove to be most fruitful and fulfilling.

Move ahead to standing outside of a mountainous structure, the hiding place of one of the world drug trade leaders. He and Tsuyo would enter and cut them all down to a man. He would meticulously pick them apart and burn them alive, relishing in the screams of his victims and the deaths of these men who he had never met, though who had done the world so much wrong. He would destroy them all and then watch as Tsuyo Hyuga would torture and eventually kill the leader to send a message.

He was in Kirigakure no Sato next, standing side by side with the Sannin Yuudai Aisu in a battle against the evil Mizuru. She would attempt to get into his head, but he would not allow her mind games to bother him as the two of them picked her apart. She would eventually retreat at her master’s beck and call, robbing them the chance of finishing off the general of Seven Bells, but little did he know he would end up meeting up with her again shortly.

The titanic battle for the ages was about to begin, staged in Kirigakure no Sato on the blood stained waters. The assumed to be dead Mizukage, the future Raikage, and the Hokage would stand beside him as the three of them worked together to cut down the woman known as Mizuru, and therefore be able to press through to Seven Bells himself and end the war. The water would be drowned in a blood tint that wouldn’t leave for years…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He awoke with a start, sweat pouring down his face as he looked beside him and saw the former Kirigakure no Sato Sannin Strafe Aisu lying beside him. He smiled softly and got out of his bed, moving towards his chest to grab a few items that he would end up using for today. He was supposed to meet his new squad, something that he hadn’t done in a long time. He pulled on his regular clothing, the black strap pants and trench coat overtop of a fishnet shirt and gloves. He pulled on the ANBU armour of his village underneath the coat and wore his Konoha forehead protector around his neck as he always did. He would then strap a pair of swords to his back, not the ones he usually carried on him, but simply a pair of longswords that he could use to test his students in combat. He pulled on his boots and grabbed his mask, sliding it into his bag before heading out to the spot where he would begin training his young students.

His black hair was pulled back into a ponytail with none but a single strand of the raven hair in front of his face, sitting over top of a pair of eye glasses which he really didn’t need to see, but he had become so accustomed to using them, and nobody knew about his Dojutsu…yet… His beard was well trimmed for the first time in a very long time and as he made his way towards the hills, he walked with determination. He was currently in charge of the entire village in the Hokage’s absence and that meant that he had to present himself well. He would not be late and would hope his students wouldn’t be either. As he made his way into the clearing he pulled out his package of cigarettes and put one between his lips, pulling out his silver lighter, which had the Sarutobi Clan symbol on one side and the symbol of the Will of Fire on the other, and lit the smoke, dragging deeply before exhaling. His green eyes would continue to scan the area, wondering which of his students would show up first…

(957/675 Endurence E-1 -> D Complete~ 282 remaining)

Life. It was definitely a strange thing with many highs and many lows. In Kaia~Mai’s case she had recently been taken from an all-time low to an all-time high. She had gone from living in a crate in one of many of the back alleys of Konoha with no one to call a friend let alone family to being taken in by Strafe and adopted: though whether that was one-hundred percent official or not was something she wasn’t quite sure of nor did she care – he was family now, simple really.

To make matters even better she had begun to remember things; tiny little pieces of her past that she hadn’t otherwise been able to see. She still couldn’t remember who had locked her away for however long she was gone but she had been working on it through meditation: when she wasn’t busy training. She figured if perhaps she mediated long enough some more of the pieces of the puzzle would form and she would be able to answer questions without the usual ‘I don’t know’ that had been all she had been able to give for the past while.

Kaia~Mai had indeed been busy recently trying to improve herself: she had motivation now, people to make proud. Of course, you could only train so much or so well alone. Training with someone else or a group of someone’s was far better for progress. You could see that way what you were doing wrong and what you were doing right, and then learn from what you saw other people doing too.

So, with the idea of not wanting to be late Kaia~Mai had tossed a clean outfit on herself: a white tank top with a black short sleeved shirt over top that hung off of one shoulder that had graffiti styled writing on it that said “Courage gives Strength to the Weak”; the sleeves going down to her elbows. A pair of shorts followed this that went down to her knees; white in color. Feet were planted firmly in shinobi sandals; black in color. She was no longer quite as scrawny as she had been now that she was back to eating a proper diet; but she was still only ten years old and rather tiny. Her hair which had grown down just below her shoulders was pulled up into a ponytail; her village headband holding any stray hairs back from getting into her face. The bruises that once covered her were all but faded now; which boosted her confidence as she headed out the door at a dead run – determined not to be late.

She ducked and dodged her way around anyone and anything in her way until finally, she arrived. She came skidding to a stop about six feet away from Mitsuo and gave a respectful bow: respect was just something she had in droves. She smiled brightly; blue eyes shining brightly with anticipation of getting the chance to get even stronger; or learn something awesome.

Word Count: 499

The young Kimura woke up a half an hour earlier than he usually does. The anticipation for this day just couldn't let him slumber for his entire night shift. Walking over to the bathroom, he relieved himself and then washed his hands. He walked downstairs towards the kitchen, where his mother was making breakfast for the family. "Are you ready?" The mother asked. A simple grin came over Koontas face, then a chuckle was let out. "Of course." Most shinobi would be nervous to have the temporary Hokage as their sensei but Koonta was ready for this. He knew he was going to be pushed further than he ever was, from this day on, his life will become much more extraneous but vastly more rewarding. The honor to be a pupil of the Hokage was immense and his father was incredibly proud of him. All of his hard work so far was starting to pay off but Koonta was no where near where he wanted to be in life, where was real dream was. After Koonta ate a small but nourishing breakfast he then started to get dressed for the day.

His polished Konoha headband was always the first item he put on, he praised his headband like a child. Then he proceeded to put on his black shinobi pants which most chunin wear. He then proceeded to put on his leg wraps as he was mentally preparing for the day. Once he was finished, he then put his wraps back on the dresser where he first took them from. A black and white sleeveless shirt button-up and a lifted up collar was Koontas favorite shirt. It allowed him to move freely and when the buttons would unlock during battle, it would show his impressive muscular abdomen. He also loved it because his mother put the Konoha patch on the right shoulder, the Kimura patch on the left shoulder and the 'Will of Fire' patch on the back. He then secured his kunai pouch on his hip and headed towards the door. His mother and father both yelled out "Good luck!" on his way out.

Koonta walked with such grace and quickly made his way to the rendezvous location, he saw a younger women standing next to Mitsuo. Perhaps it was just a little child wanting to talk to the new Hokage. The twelve year old shinobi then walked up to his new sensei standing next to the citizen. He gave a respectful bow. He brought his head back up, and his arms were down the sides of his body, in the 'attention position' they learned in the Academy. "Kimura, Koonta reporting for duty, sir!" His eyes were locked forwards towards his new sensei and he didn't even gaze at the girl standing next to him.

WC: 469

“This is lame.....Even after my flaming motivation, and solid resolve, I still seem to be lacking....In the end a strong will can only do so much”
So spoke the unsatisfied boy, with a displeased tone, he disliked weakness, and now, he was portraying weakness, the thing he curses. Julius wished for power, he did. But he also knew, that this lust for power of his, would bring about his end, he would perish the thought but that, that was no mere thought, that was the truth.

Greed~
Man's undoing, greed had taken the lives of many, and as t is now, it is a plague, the rules over man, and has every soul in its tight grip. Greed equals one's undoing, it's man's nightmare, greed dwelt in every man's heart, and continues to exist there. 


Julius is also infected by greed, not for money, sure, but for power, regardless of the cause, even if it's a noble one, it will push him to the brink, and break him, or maybe he'll triumph and rove powerful, nothing can be assured in the meantime, but the future is sure to unfold what's fold.

Julius continued his training, and from push ups to sit ups, rapidly increasing his strength, not taking a break.

---

He was appointed to a squad, his sensei was war hero of kirigakure-No-Sato, and the leader of the swords saints. The sword saint Mitsuo Sarutobi, a man known for his skills with the sword, a man known for his fearsome power. He was truly excited for such a team, he was teamed up with two under his lead, a female, and a male. to Julius, it was a first time for him to join such a 'team', and hopefully as a team they would act.  Julius was capable of processing multiple things in his head, he would make sure he memorized three things:

1. As sweet as victory may be, should he go against the sword saint alone his chances of winning are zero, trickery is welcomed but not guaranteed for success.
   
2. Defeating the the sword saint as a team in a competition is possible but they must act as a team, and devise a plan ahead.
   
3. This training will help him get to know these people better, it's best to confirm everyone's spec, and abilities before forging ahead, it will help provide ideas for plans and so on.
   

These three things were merely little ideas he had among the ideas stuffed in his brain, Julius was a strategist, before a fighter, a fight with strategy is far better than, running into a loss with no second thought, he wasn't a coward, and is willing to take risks, but there's a fine line between idiocy and courage.

Scratch that, there actually is no line, courage's backbone is idiocy, well. sometimes, it's best to be a fool rather than being a smart cake.

So were his words to himself, but he for one, would gladly jump in a pool of lava for a friend, a true friend. This morning however after yesterday's training he was slightly, cranky, he felt stiff, and weak.
Still the boy's laziness did not get the best of him, and he set out to meet his new team, after running towards their meeting location, a few obstacles would slow down his pace, such as people who needed help in small matters, or punks he took care of. Nothing major.

He smiled as he nearly arrived, and before long, he was there, as he looked at his teammates he smiled and greeted everyone with a half  bow with his hand infront of his abdomen, his handsome face shining with his bright hair, with a clear soft skin that shone porcelain, and a hair that would glow orange under the beautiful sunlight, he casual clothes that would help him move easily, a sleeveless hoodie, and stretch shorts that reached all the way to his knees. And thus, the team was finally complete
Upon reaching he noticed the appearances of the two males, and the female, one was his sensei, the other was his teammate, and the female was obviously his teammate.
The female, a nice slim figure, blonde hair, and blue eyes, she wore a white top, with and a short sleeved shirt hung on her shoulder, that had a quote written on.

The male, a high collar sleeveless white and black shirt, black shinobi pants, jet black hair, traditional shinobi sandals, fair skinned, and had his headband wrapped around his forehead.

Sensei, pulled back pony styled black hair, on top of his head a pair of glasses, well trimmed beard, a smoker? and those glasses were they for weak eyesight, then again they might be a slight handy trick, or an old habit, no one knows. And last but not least his jet black hair.

Interesting was this meeting, each one of them had his own different color, Julius was quite the perceptive one, the male squad mate had an over average yet not a terrible physique and a different stance he was probably a hand to hand, close range fighter, as for the girl she had the same stance and grace to her she was probably similar that, however, remains a guess. His teacher's stance kept him in the dark, a good way to hide your cards, indeed, he was the one and only sword saint. This meeting brings much questions to mind, one of them being: How will they fare together, or, what awaits these four, Julius was intrigued, he finds this meeting to be interesting, and the thought of training under the sword saint, it was truly engaging, excitement, and anticipation perished his cranky mood, and swiped his laziness off of existence, Julius' excitement began burning through his eyes while he kept a calm, and a collected, and an easy going look, paired with a smile.

---

WC:1800
Trained strength from E0 to D0
Trained Speed from E0 to D0
WC left:300

And here they came piling in one at a time. Mitsuo remembered back to the first time he was in a squad, the foolish people he had been paired with that day. He had never heard from either of them since before the Chuunin exams, and had never really felt as though he was in a squad until he was paired up with Ukiyo. The two of them exhibited perfect teamwork and were like a well oiled machine, perfectly timed on their combination attacks, even taking down the previous Hokage in a duel with him. They were as much a cohesive unit as any, and that was part of the reason it had made Mitsuo so sad when he had killed her. He knew that he would probably never experience what it was like to work with someone who complimented you so well again, though he had been wrong before and he was hoping that these students could at least show him a glimpse of that once more.

The first to join them was the young Kaia-Mai, a girl with a troubling past that was clouded with darkness and pain. She didn’t remember much from her past and Mitsuo considered the fact that it could potentially be a blessing that she didn’t. She was such a sweet young girl and that was why he and Strafe had decided to take her in and take care of her. She was a pretty girl with blue eyes and blonde hair and a shirt that made Mitsuo smile when he read it. He patted her on the head when she arrived to her first day on his squad, beaming down at her. “I’m glad you’re here Kaia-Mai, and I’m looking forward to teaching you a thing or two.”

The second who arrived was also young, but this time a young boy. When Mitsuo had left the village, he wasn’t even in the academy yet. He looked towards the young Koonta and saw that he was very energetic and excited to be here. Mitsuo was glad that his students so far seemed quite eager to learn from him. The young Koonta was someone who Mitsuo was looking forward to drawing a more serious side out of, as he seemed like a bright kid and he had done well in the academy. “Well met Koonta, I’m Mitsuo, your new Sensei, and I’m excited to be working with you. Hopefully we can have some fun together, eh?”

The third was clearly the oldest of the three, looking to be only a few years younger than Mitsuo himself. He watched as the cool and calculating Julius walked into the clearing and smiled and bowed uttering a polite greeting to all of them. Mitsuo expected great things from this one, who possessed a similarly analytical mind to his from the reports he had received since his return. He had hand picked his squad, knowing that he and they all had a lot in common and hoping that he would be able to train them all to be better than they would expect to be able to fight. He was happy to learn in his reports that they were all Katon users and each possessed skill in Ninjutsu, as well as physical specializations, which was Mitsuo’s specialty. When Julius finally joined the group, Mitsuo returned the bow and spoke to him. “I’m glad to have you with us today Julius, I expect great things from you.”

Once they were all assembled he finished his cigarette and put it out under his boot, looking towards the sky as the clouds began rolling in. He was hoping for rain, and expecting it, and he had chosen a clearing where the footing wouldn’t be easy to deal with on purpose on this day. There was grass all around him, save for a single stump and a couple of small trees where there would be shade and hiding spots. He sat on the stump and looked forward to his squad, looking each of them in the eye before speaking, his pair of training blades sticking out from the top of his black trenchcoat and the modified ANBU armour that he wore evident from beneath it.

“Now that you’re all here, I guess I’ll give a proper introduction. My name is Mitsuo Hiruzen Sarutobi. I have been the head of Konoha’s ANBU for the past three years, and I have been referred to as the Sword Saint of Konoha for even longer. The past couple of years I have been away from the village on business from the Hokage, and because of that I have been assumed dead, all the while playing a pivotal part in the War of the Seven Bells. At the conclusion of the war, the Hokage summoned me back here so that I might become Lord Commander of the village, and retake my former position in the ANBU once more. I am not trying to intimidate you with my words but know that I am a powerful Shinobi and have earned my reputation for a reason. I do not mess around and the last time I took on a squad their ineptitude nearly lead to the demise of two of them. I trust that you shall not make the same mistakes…

“Today’s session we will not be using chakra or jutsus, we will simply be using the skills that many overlook as important. I do not want to see ninjutsu in today’s session, only your physical prowess. If you do use Ninjutsu I will be forced to take measures, the spar will be ended, and I will request that you be re-entered into the academy, so that you may learn how to properly take orders…” He looked towards all of them and smiled softly once more. “But before we get started, I want to hear a little about each of you. Please introduce yourself and tell me what you hope to achieve through our training and working under me."

(1300/1175 Endurance D -> D-3 Complete~ 125 remaining)

Kaia~Mai’s smile grew as she was patted on the head. She nodded in response to Mitsuo’s words. “I’m looking forward to learning all that I can.”, she responded in a soft but excited voice. There was complete truth behind her words: Kaia~Mai had many reasons why she wanted to get as strong as possible. While most young people like herself strived to one day become Hokage, or to rise up through the ranks to be the best of the best, Kaia~Mai wanted to become stronger because of reasons brought on by her past. Revenge could always be considered a fickle thing but in Kaia~Mai’s case it was because she didn’t want to live in constant fear that whoever had harmed her would one day come back and do it again. She wanted to be able to defend herself and she wanted to be able to one day destroy her attacker so he or she could never harm anyone else again.

Kaia~Mai listened as Mitsuo went on to greet her squad mates: Koonta and Julius. They both looked older than her, and she figured she was going to have to prove her worth; prove that she was more than just a little girl.

When Mitsuo began to speak she listened carefully to every word he spoke; saving them all to memory. “Now that you’re all here, I guess I’ll give a proper introduction. My name is Mitsuo Hiruzen Sarutobi. I have been the head of Konoha’s ANBU for the past three years, and I have been referred to as the Sword Saint of Konoha for even longer. The past couple of years I have been away from the village on business from the Hokage, and because of that I have been assumed dead, all the while playing a pivotal part in the War of the Seven Bells. At the conclusion of the war, the Hokage summoned me back here so that I might become Lord Commander of the village, and retake my former position in the ANBU once more. I am not trying to intimidate you with my words but know that I am a powerful Shinobi and have earned my reputation for a reason. I do not mess around and the last time I took on a squad their ineptitude nearly lead to the demise of two of them. I trust that you shall not make the same mistakes…

“Today’s session we will not be using chakra or jutsus, we will simply be using the skills that many overlook as important. I do not want to see ninjutsu in today’s session, only your physical prowess. If you do use Ninjutsu I will be forced to take measures, the spar will be ended, and I will request that you be re-entered into the academy, so that you may learn how to properly take orders… But before we get started, I want to hear a little about each of you. Please introduce yourself and tell me what you hope to achieve through our training and working under me."

So, they would be sparring eventually? That would truly be interesting. Kaia~Mai wasn’t like normal girls; she wasn’t afraid of being hit and she wasn’t afraid of getting dirty. She found herself quickly looking forward to the chance to get to prove herself this way: even if she lost she would make sure to prove herself regardless.

Figuring she might as well go first because she was the youngest in the group and the only girl she spoke up. “I’m Kaia~Mai Sarutobi.” That was the easy part, but how was she going to put into words what she hoped to achieve? She took a deep breath and continued on, “What I hope to achieve is simple: I wish to become as strong as I can be so that I can keep my own past from repeating itself: and so that I can stop the same thing from happening to anyone else.” She fell silent then, finished speaking. It was as good of an explanation as anyone was going to get for the moment: and it was completely true. She didn’t have big dreams of being Hokage or some other famous shinobi, she dreamed of stopping anyone else from suffering the terrible fate she had.

Word Count: 710 + 499 = 1,209
Speed D – D1: 1,209 / 325
Remaining: 884
Speed D1 – D2: 884 / 400
Remaining: 484
Speed D2 – D3: 450 / 484
Remaining: 34
Reaction Time D – D1: 34 / 325

A test




Pressure




Intimidation




Self control




And finally mental durability, topped with physical abilities.




Perfect for the shinobi's beginning parfait. The man didn't intend intimidation in his words at first, but to show the level of his authority, to show his student that his threat is no mere joke, Julius was prepared both mentally and physically but he even though he surely wouldn't rival the skills of the man before him.




Julius understood full well the difference, and he honestly didn't care about being a shinobi, or returning to the academy, so the pressure on him was merely nothing, he stood with confidence knowing that he wouldn't crack under the pressure, he had his self control in check, but he was worried about his comrades.




Many may overlook his speech, but he said ninjutsu, seeing ninjutsu will force him to take measures, Julius would try to act smart and use bukijutsu, since he did not stat who when he said we, and maybe act dumb and act as if he thought he was one of those people that refer to themselves using plural, but perish the thought Julius, it's time to get serious, was what he thought to himself.




Julius would do the first usual mistake every idiot in the team makes, but intentionally. He would charge right in and aim at his sensei with blunt attacks, no, not to try his luck, but to test his capabilities, his perception, the speed and the timing of his actions and reactions, whether he was a multitasker or not, test them, analyze them, and devise a plan of attack.




And thus, as he stood four meters away from him he would test his sensei's capabilities, not that he doubted them, no, not at all, he merely wanted to know, what was he capable of doing against his teacher, his teacher was for sure someone with exceptional power, and doing anything against him is slightly idiotic, but what can one do, but fight, well there were many things, but to pass this ordeal, it is a must that he tries his hardest, and thus, the show began.







Julius would pick up two small pieces of stone, and throw them as hard as he can towards his sensei as he moved closer in, being three meters away from him, now. He would then 'burst' towards his sensei at a speed that can cross six meters in a single second, with the distance being three meters, he reached his sensei in a matter of point five seconds, attacking him, with both of his fists, a fist that was aimed towards his teacher's chest, and a one aimed towards at his abdomen, the stone and the fist aimed at his chest, were merely a diversion, wanting to test his teacher's perception, was he a multitasker, were his multiple attacks effective?




All of these questions would be answered now,  yes, he'd sacrifice his image and look like a fool, while trying to extract as much info as he needed, should he move back or replace his current position, that would null the chances of him being a multitasker, avoiding a sequence of multiple attacks would be the best option for a person that's incapable of dividing his attention to multiple targets, but for a multitasker such as Julius, blocking all attacks and countering, or just stopping the opponent was the most effective action to preform.




Julius was no fool, every move, every thought, had its solid reasons, he gathers his ideas, calculates the chances, studies each possibility before him, decides which option is the best for the next options to come, or for the current situation, this was his way.




Minutes later

“Ahahaha am sooo sorry sensei I got too excited, despite being the eldest am such an idiot” he apologized rubbing the back of his head with his left arm, and bowing in respect, he truly was sorry, curiosity killed the cat, he reminded himself, but he had to buy each second he could. After the attack he made, he hoped his sensei would not think bad of him, but he had to make sure to devise a plan with whatever time he can buy through words.




When came, his turn he spoke simply “That's truly admirable Kaia-Mai, though, unlike you...I do not find much interest in becoming a shinobi, to be honest I couldn't care less. I only thirst for power, I have no noble goal, or anything heroic on my mind, I would like, to merely protect the people I care for. Live happy, and die happy, I like to help others, and another thing is, my dream to find a dream that's worth dying for, I'm sorry if I disappoint you..As you all know...My name is Julius Visconti Kaneko. I have my responsibilities, and I am the leader of the Kaneko clan... Nothing interesting has happened in my life really, aside from meeting you all.”




That was a lie, he knew so well, he was attacked, he was an elite, and nearly died, he found a fortune worth 7 lifetimes, all of that is irrelevant.




He continued speaking gracefully.




“And that's me, I am a user of Ninjutsu, and I use specialize in Kenjutsu too. My elements are as you all probably know Fire, lightning, wind, and plasma, the fourth state of matter.” and thus, his turn for speaking ended, strangely he actually spoke much more, than he would normally, well there's no harm in being friendly and making friends. He hoped that he did not set a bad example for his friends but surely, the info he gathered will be useful, the time he took talking was not in vein....Either, while he was talking, he would gather the info he collected thus far, and devise a suitable plan for their situation. How will this all turn out, he could only wonder, this meeting is for sure an engaging one.

---

Speed: D0>D3

1300/1300

OoC:

The High Commander of Konohagakure no Kato hadn’t had particularly good luck with training genin in the past, having nearly killed almost every person he had trained. He could think back to his first experience with being a higher ranked ninja training a genin, the first time he had battled Ukiyo Senju and nearly killed her during the Chuunin Exams nearly four years ago, and that had truly sparked a chain of bad experiences for him. He didn’t think that it was because he was a bad teacher; in fact it was quite the opposite as he was teaching his students an extremely important lesson in how to not be complete idiots and protect themselves, or how to listen to their teachers, or something along those lines. He could remember back to Matsu, who had wasted a substitution jutsu and ended up nearly being bisected by Mitsuo’s blade, or the young Aburame and Nara who had similarly wound up in hot water and nearly met the business end of Mitsuo’s weapons by not taking their openings when they should have.

The Sword Saint knew that the fact that he continuously seemed to fail his students had nothing to do with him as a teacher, noting back to others who had studied under him, specifically Aiza, who had gone on to become highly successful ANBU agents in the village, or even Ukiyo who, despite what had ended up happening to her in the end, had become one of the most powerful, dangerous and feared shinobi in the world. Mitsuo had indeed trained her well, but he had never showed her everything that he could do and ultimately in the end she fell to his divine wrath. It was cases like those two that made Mitsuo feel as though he was a truly good teacher and unfortunately for others his no bullshit attitude made it so that he was slightly less caring than he probably could have been, and often a nearly fatal experience was in Mitsuo’s opinion what one needed in order to truly learn a lesson.

The S Rank Sannin of the Leaf and former Missing Ninja, considered to be one of the most dangerous shinobi in the world, was known for his quickness and perception. When word went back to villages of his taking down of Ukiyo Senju, the fact that he had killed her in under a second with one attack would always be remembered and retold, and he had gained a fierce reputation due to this. He knew that it was well deserved; he had stood against the best and come out on top, remembering how he and Ukiyo as genin had taken out the Sannin Takeshi together. He had never been one to put up with insubordination or people not listening to him and as soon as it clicked into his brain that that happened to be exactly was happening he went into a kind of reactionary trance, his S Ranked experience and ability proving to be far too overwhelming as he unleashed his full potential on those who dared to defy him.

He had listened to Kaia-Mai’s words, smiling as his daughter had told him exactly what he had been expecting her to say. He may have intentionally put her onto his squad, but it was only for the best intentions. He truly felt that she would be able to benefit greatly from working under him, and working with others who were similar to the two of them in chakra affinities and specializations. She was truly a sweet girl and Mitsuo was so happy to have her in his life, knowing that besides when Strafe had come to Konoha with him, the day that they had taken her in was probably the happiest day in his life, and probably Strafe’s as well. He patted her on the head once more, the fact that he was still at arm’s reach from his students an important factor playing into what would be about to happen. As soon as he had done this, the oldest of his students whom he had so much hope would be able to lead the other two and be a positive role model had done something that Mitsuo had never expected him to do; he attacked the far superior shinobi without being told to begin sparring and against Mitsuo’s orders, and he caused Mitsuo’s reactionary instinct to kick in. In hindsight he could potentially call it a parental instinct and think that he was protecting Kaia-Mai, who was standing directly beside him when the would be attack was being prepared to launch, and as soon as Mitsuo noticed that the young Julius seemed to have malicious intent, he reacted promptly and accordingly.

As soon as Mitsuo saw that Julius had begun moving towards him to attack he took one simple and quick step towards the boy as Julius had begun to pick up a handful of rocks, Mitsuo’s hand swiftly moving to the sword on the right hand side holster on his back, gripping the handle of his long sword Justice tightly in his hand. As Julius stood up and prepared to throw the stones Mitsuo had already drawn the sword from its scabbard and had begun in one fluid motion and downward strike with the heavy counterweight pommel of the weapon, the arc of the attack bringing the pommel to bear directly in the middle of Julius’s forehead. As the vastly superior shinobi was holding back in nothing but the strength of his blow, and the insanely short distance between the two of them, there would simply be no way for the young Julius to avoid the attack from his sensei, unless he had mastered the techniques of the Yellow Flash, which nobody had seen in the village in centuries, or he was secretly deserving of a much higher rank than he had. Mitsuo would pull the blow in a way that it would not inflict any serious damage, potentially cracking the skull and possibly breaking Julius’s nose, but he applied enough force behind the attack that when it struck Julius would fall to the ground unconscious.

As Mitsuo was beginning to draw Justice he was also pulling his second blade, Retribution, from its spot on his back as well, gliding it out and bringing it to sit directly over his shoulder in a ready to strike position. Were Julius to somehow sidestep or step back with a burst of speed that would need to be far beyond his experience, Mitsuo would be swinging Retribution in an arc to hit him in the side of the head with the flat of the blade in a similar fashion as his previous blow, making it so that he would not kill the younger shinobi or seriously injure him, but the force of the blow would potentially fracture his skill and would absolutely knock him unconscious. Mitsuo mentally sighed to himself, wondering why he had such bad luck with students. He had hoped that this batch would simply be different from the rest, but apparently he had been mistaken in thinking so. As he launched his simultaneous attacks the Sword Saint would already be planning another move ahead in the event that the young genin were somehow by some stretch of the imagination able to avoid his attack, the two weaponed Florentine style being a constant dance of attack and defend, never any point in a battle where you were not both throwing an attack and preparing to defend yourself from an opponent’s blow. Once one of his blows was to land he would simply resheath his weapons, and turn back to his other two students, waiting for Koonta to answer his question and going on as though nothing had happened, though the message would be clear enough; don’t defy the Sword Saint.

(1325+125 = 1450)

Kaia Mai beamed as she was patted on the head again: she truly felt exactly as she had spoken. Becoming Hokage, or an ANBU Captain, or some other high ranked shinobi was all grand and glorious but what Kaia Mai truly wanted to do was to help people like herself. To save people who might be in the position that Kaia Mai had been before her fathers had saved her. Kaia Mai knew first hand what it was like to suffer, what it was like to have to go without and to make hard decisions, to make life or death choices, to have to suffer under and at the hands of others, and she wanted to be able to rescue others from that sort of a horrible position.

And so, with that in mind she had turned her attention from her father and onto her other teammates, curious as to what they hoped to achieve under the guiding hand of their sensei: would they want to be Hokage sometime in the future or perhaps something else entirely? She was eager to find out and to learn more about those she would be working with.

But, what was this? Her oldest teammate had decided to attempt to attack Mitsuo unprovoked and un-ordered. It was one thing to be training or sparring with ones squad or sensei but it was something else entirely to attack, unprovoked, and to attempt to get away with it.

Kaia Mai found herself torn between her feelings as she watched her father use the pummel of one of his swords to knock Julius first on top of his head, and barring he dodged that by some means, the side of his head with the flat edge of another sword. Suddenly it felt like there were several ‘inner’ Kaia’s all exclaiming different things: though the loudest inner voice was going ‘Go, daddy, go!’ in her skull and cheering like some sort of cheerleader with a set of pompoms and a cheerleading uniform with the Konoha leaf symbol on the front of it. Another inner voice looked annoyed: this was the inner voice who had been looking forward to a sparring match. A third one of these inner voices had its mental hands balled into fists, brows lowered together in a look that in itself could kill if looks could accomplish such things: this was the inner voice that was at the front most of her emotions and feelings.

Kaia Mai was agitated; angry really. She was loyal to the very deepest core of her being when it came to Mitsuo or Strafe: they had saved her, they had taken her in and so they deserved the very best loyalty she could give them – and being loyal was just something she was good at. It was loyalty that could not be diminished, that could not be altered, or changed, or swayed. With this loyalty came a protective feeling: Mitsuo was her father now and she had no intentions in losing him or seeing any harm come to him, so having to stand back and watch one of her teammates attack him? Just, no. It caused her hands to ball into fists and the twinkle of happiness in her eyes to dim. A serious expression crossed her face; wiping away the smile that had always seemed plastered there since the day she was saved. It was, all in all, like a mask of happiness being removed and the serious inner part of Kaia Mai that never showed coming to the surface. Her eyes darkened, and her mouth formed a thin straight line; a sign of how serious she took that situation.

She had no intentions of attacking Julius herself – though, had her father not reacted as quickly as he had she would have, if only to attempt to stop him by some means. Still, there was no point in kicking someone while they were down – at least not when it came to a fellow teammate – and so she kept her hands to herself and simply folded her arms across her chest: hiding her hands which were still balled into fists.

She saw the look on Mitsuo’s face and how he seemed to continue on as if nothing had happened even though Julius would have likely been unconscious had those blows hit him. She figured that this was a good example to follow by and took a deep and quiet breath, exhaling slowly as she forced her face to relax back into a more peaceful expression. The deep breathing helped some of her anger, annoyance, and agitation at the situation that had just happened and passed to abate and within a few seconds a smile – though smaller than the one that had been there minutes ago – slipped back onto her face once more.  

Still, she could hear one of the inner voices in her head, picture it as if she were watching a TV, pump its fist into the air and go ‘YEAH! DADDY KICKED ASS!’. It made her happy that only she could hear these inner voices. The usual twinkle appeared once more in her bright blue eyes and her smile became more natural and less forced.

Word Count: 867 + 34 = 901
Reaction Time D – D1: 901 / 325
Remaining: 576
Reaction Time D1 – D2: 576 / 400
Remaining: 176
Reaction D2 – D3: 176 / 450

Total Overall Count: 2110