It was time to pick where he'd left off, time to get back into the habit of things. He'd been slacking off lately, and this would have to change, immediately. As the male trudged through the underbrush, he wiped the sweat off his brow. Even with the sun barely above the horizon, he could tell it was going to be a hot day. His shirt was already soaked, beginning to stick to his back and chest. Thank God he'd taken his father's advice and worn shots on this day; otherwise he'd have to suffer with the worst case of swamp ass.

Coming to rest beside the Naka river, the male plopped down on his ass and folded his legs. Moving slowly, the male removed his shirt; given what was about to happen, the thing would be reduced to ashes, and he happened to like that particular shirt. Tossing it onto a nearby bush, the male settled himself down, placing his hands on his lap with the palms turned down to rest on his thighs. Humming softly to himself, the male began the first part of his training. It was something that he strove to do daily, in order to increase his own mental strength. A body was only as strong as the mind it housed. At least, that's what his father had always said, and it was something that Naota took to heart. After all, the man had never lied to him in his entire life.

As a warm breeze picked up, the male dived into his own mind and sought out his inner sanctuary; which oddly enough took the form of a rose garden this time. It was a weird thing. Every time Naota meditated, his inner sanctuary changed into something different, each a reflection of his current emotions. The last time meditated, it was in the mouth of a volcano that was threatening to erupt. At the time, he'd been angry over losing out a bidding war at the local auction. He'd calmed down quick enough, the image of the volcano being replaced with that of a quiet lake of water.

As his mind wandered through the garden, the male relaxed, allowing himself to take deep, calming breaths...

Spoiler:

Too much work and no play made Kenta even grumpier then normal. Or rather; made him snappish, which came off as grumpy. He was fine, mostly; beyond feeling a bit depressed. Although that was from the sharp pain in his teeth from one of the misfires he'd had while training Water Trumpet. He'd seen a medic in the ANBU med bay first, which had done wonders at first. Seems he really had nearly lost a few teeth from that; joy. The medic had fixed that; but now his jaw bone was inflamed and the soft tissues of his mouth and gums where swollen up fairly good. Kenta being Kenta meant he wasn't going to see another doctor until he couldn't eat or speak; and as he was quite happy drinking protein laced fruit-shakes for a few days and could speak fairly normally; it wasn't happening just yet.

Oh, did that cold water feel good, too. He was deep in the water, letting the light current that kept the bottom of the river clean push him along downstream; gently waving of his body adding a hint of speed to it. Enough so that he'd make it to the designated area mostly on time; if a few minutes late. Oh well; he was the bloody Hokage; Naota wasn't really in much position to say much about it. He was in no rush; hence the swimming versus a quick dash. Time they had in spades; and he abused that fact wonderfully. All to soon however, he had to surface; if not for just air and to make sure he hadn't gone to far downstream. Well, given he could smell the Uchiha in the counter-wind; he must not have. Too back the water near the surface was sun warmed and lost all soothing effect on his sore mouth when he dove below and into an easy breast stroke. Still move comfortable then the hot air, that was for damn sure.

That lasted only a dozen or so meters before he flipped over and switched to a slow back stroke; eyes trained on the shorelines as he looked for a sign of the other male. Clothing strewn about? Ah, there he was. The male flipped upright, floating near the center of the river now, only his eyes and the water darkend blonde of his hair exposed. Hmm... meditating eh? Well... he would need to catch Naota attention somehow. He always could walk over and talk to him...

Nah.

A better idea struck him with a whicked smile perfectly hidden by the clear, but dar, water. Kenta gathered some of his chakra into his feet; allowing it to leak out into the water and almost grab hold of it. Knees where pulled hard towards his chest, body leaning back in the water until he was sitting, before flipping his legs upwards until feet broke the surface. The chakra pulled a very, very large amount of water with it; almost like he'd used a paddle or a cup to fling a wave of water towards the Uchiha. The wave itself was nearly four feet high when it hit the shore, chrashing over him in a wash of freezing cold; compared to the hot air anyway; water that would soak him to the bone.

Spoiler:

Freezing water. Christ, it would snap the male out of his medidtation with enough force to give him a headache. Eyes snapped open, crimson red as his Sharingan appeared within them. The tomoe swirled with Naota's irritation, those eyes locking on the Hokage. The eyes narrowed before a small smile tugged at his mouth. Standing up, he would begin charging his right leg with wind chakra.

The male would step forward and lift the leg, balancing himself on one foot. With a swing of the leg, the chakra would be released in the shape of a cresent sharp enough to part the water to reveal Kenta, but no-where near sharp enough enough to harm him.

"Bastard. What the hell..."

Spoiler:

“What? That's gotta feel better then roasting your own skin.~” He was in a slightly better mood then normal, even with the near oppressive heat. The water rushing back over his body was comforting as well; cool relief a joy. “Or would you rather I dive back under and float on down to the sea?” He could, although no one would enjoy him being gone for... well, about three days, with how the currents in the river was this time of year. Kenta would enjoy it, sure; but no one else really would. “Anyway, why exactly am I here again? You don't need me to be your training dummy; all you have to say is bark, and some Genin would be at your feet barking like a puppy.”

Eyes were narrowed at the Hokage. Naota quite enjoyed the feel of the water on his skin, but he wasnt about to tell Kenta this. Standing up slowly, the male folded his arms across his chest before speaking. "I called you here for a reason, Kenta. I need someone to spar, someone who wont fall over with a heart attack if I look at them. I dont need a pissant Genin." A touch more cruel than usual, but Kenta would hopefully get the point. "Besides. I trust no one else here beyond you and my immediate family." A smirk pullled at the corner of his lips, a glint entering his eyes.

"Would you like there be two people like me in the village?"

Spoiler:

"Che, one of your cousins would have done the trick. Heart attack my ass." With a mostly annoyed sigh, he forced himself to rise to the surface of the water and climb out; still standing upon the river's surface as he spoke again. "I can think of a few that would love the chance to train with an Uchiha." He was at least attempting to be cordial for once; a few good days did wonders for his mind and mood set. "Anyway, just what the heck am I here for exactly? I get you wanna train, but like i said; wouldn't a training dummy or a semi-conscious Genin be just as good?"

He was making a show of ignoring the question of trust. For all the faith he placed in the other; he wasn't exactly sure if he was even capable of placing proper trust in him. Then again, he let Naota babysit his kids on a near daily bases; so he was likely just splitting hairs and being a dick. Par usual, of course. "And no; I would very much rather not have two of you to deal with. I have enough headaches from you. I'm still doing paperwork over you roasting that clan-cousin of yours."

Naota gave a small shrug, eyes rolling. "Would you rather him live, escape, and build an army against us?" The question was retorical; Naota didnt expect an answer from the Kage. In his mind, he did what was right; as the son of the Head of the clan, problems within the clan should be dealt with by the clan. Even so, he understood Kenta's reason for stepping in-- he was the Hokage afterall. Taking a step closer, the male folded his arms across his chest. "Besides, he was a problem. And he was dealt with. Swiftly."

Rolling his shoulders, the male smirked at the Kage. "Also, No. I'm not using a cousin for my training. They're a bit too easy to defeat." The male snorted, looking off. "This curse... is a bit of a blessing. They rely too much on Ninjutsu, while I just bob and weave around them. They refuse to fight me unless they activate thier Sharingan. And even then... it gets messy." Naota glanced at the Kage his eyes holding a flicker of red."One tomoe, two tomoe, or three tomoe... they've all fallen before my fists, Kenta." He offered a small smile. "So please, dont let this go to your head. I want a challenge, dear Kage. And I trust that you will deliver."

Spoiler:

"Like he had a chance in hell of getting a dog to follow him. That boy couldn't have raised an army if he was offering the merc's weight in ryo for every minute of service they gave." The blonde made his way to shore now; moving to lean against a tree trunk. "I wouldn't dream of letting praise from you go to my head." Sarcasm, hah. "Is it a challenge, or someone that can dodge your hits without trying that you need?"

The male rolled his eyes. "I need a training partner, Kenta. As I already said, I need someone who can give me a challenge, without copying my abilities and breaking themselves." As he spoke, the nin began to stretch, rolling his shoulders once more, before leaning back to stretch and crack his spine. Popping sounds filled the air as pressure was released, an audible sigh ringing through the trees. "God, that felt good."

Turning a single eye to the Hokage, he reached into the pouch he carried at his hip and produced a pair of trench knives, Mercy and Innocence. Slipping them onto his fingers with the edges pointed away from each other, the Uchiha smiled at the kage. "What kind of flowers do you want me to bring you while recover in the hospital?" He had no plans on truely hurting the Kage; a few nicks and cuts, just to show that he loved him. Even so, he knew he would be hard pressed to actually hit Kenta. The bastard could move like greased lightning if he wanted to.

Spoiler:

"They break because you hit them in the face, not because they fail as ninja." Well, they did actually fail as ninja usually; not in capability, Uchiha where born to be ninja, but they failed in most other aspects. Yanno, mental stability, loyalty, social skills, etc. He was a little flattered that the mighty Uchiha thought so highly of him, even if he'd never show it. Even less so that the modicum of praise meant more coming from Naota then just about anyone else; with the obvious exception of his little pack. Nothing quite like your own children calling you amazing; or your mate being in awe of what you can do. Although in that instance, the awe was mutual; Michizuka did things with Genjutsu that demolished Kenta's ability to understand.

"You know i'm allergic to flowers.~" Which was bullshit, he just passed that off to keep people from bringing them to him when he was sick. Too many memories tied to the plants... his mother had cultivated a vast garden in her spare time, and his early childhood was spent surrounded by them. Still a bit too painful to be surrounded by them. Oh well, neither here no there. Given the Uchiha had his blades out, it was time to be somewhat serious. Kenta may prefer mid to long range fighting; but that didn't stop him from being devastating at close ranges. He knew Naota would sense the change; the gentle flaring of his chakra that told of the activation; even as his stance shifted to accommodate it. Four Legs Technique, the staple of the Inuzuka. His shoulder's hunched some, feet shifting apart as he shifted his center of gravity lower, hair growing wilder and claws extending. A sharp whistle was all it took to break Yuki out of the shadows she'd been sleeping in; the canine having planned to sleep off this training session. Kenta's reasoning? Naota wanted a challenge, so he'd have to deal with the both of them.

"Ready when you are."

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