Chapter Five (Patreon)

“You three are skilled,” Hatake-sensei said. The sun had not yet risen on Training Ground 15, yet none of the ninjas present showed so much as a hint of exhaustion. “You are well beyond any reasonable expectation of fresh Genin.” Hakuro smiled at that. Even Fuguko had a little smirk. But Jing knew such statements were only prefaces.

“Unfortunately, that’s not enough.” Hatake-sensei fixed them all with a firm stare. “We are at war, and war is not reasonable. If you find yourself facing an enemy-nin, they will not hold back simply because they are Jonin and you are Genin. They will attack to kill and, as you currently are, they will succeed.”

All three Genin gulped. Jing did not wish to die again.

“I have been given five months to get you ready. Apparently that is all the war can spare before I must return to the front lines, bringing you with me. It is a rushed, cramped, and unreasonable schedule. You will adhere to it, or you will be left behind. Death is inexorable, but I will not bring the unable to battle alongside me. Do you accept?”

“Accept what, sensei?” Haruko asked.

“My training.”

“Hai,” Haruko nodded.

“Hai,” Fugaku said.

“Hai,” Jing agreed.

“Good,” Hatake-sensei said. “We will begin with the Three Practices. First, I will teach you the practices, or methods. Second, we will practice those methods. Third, we will put your new skills into practice.

“We will focus on three key elements during your training. The first is teamwork. You all did a good job yesterday, but true teamwork is more than cooperation. It is knowing the ninja beside you and taking them into your heart. To improve this, we will work on combining your abilities, working together, and fighting together. Brainstorming sessions, D-rank missions, and fighting against me or the Chunin teams I select.

“Second, you will all learn stealth. No matter your speciality, stealth is the key element of all ninja. Your strength does not matter if the enemy can sneak up behind you and slit your throat. Third, your specialties. I will let each of you decide what you wish to focus on.”

Hatake-sensei looked them over again. “That is the plan. Are there any questions?” The three Genin shook their heads. “In that case, I will ask each of your planned specialties.”

“I’ll start,” Haruko decided. “I plan to focus on Sensing and Taijutsu. I also wish to learn the bow and arrow, as I believe it would complement my Byakugan well.”

“I can assist with your Taijutsu, and I assume your Clan will be training your Sensing?” Hakuro nodded. “The bow and arrow will be trickier. There are few shinobi skilled in that weapon, and none that live in Konohagakure. I will inquire with the Ronin and Samurai mercenaries. Hua-kun?”

“I wish to continue training my Lightning Release.” Hatake-sensei looked at her for more. Jing bit her lip. On the one hand, the Cranes would be difficult to explain. On the other, being open about them would improve both training and coordination when she was forced to use them. Considering they were at war, it was an easy choice.

“I have a Summoning Contract,” Jing revealed.

“What?” Fugaku asked, his head spinning to look at her.

“Since when?” Haruko demanded.

“Last night,” Jing admitted. “I was transported to the Land of Cranes and told to fight my way up the mountain where their sages rest. I defeated the thirteenth Sage-Aspirant, who agreed to teach me Crane style Taijutsu and basic Medical Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu.”

“I will teach you about Lightning, and ensure you have supplies for your other studies,” Hatake-sensei said after a moment. “Fugaku?”

It took the Uchiha heir a moment to recover from his surprise. “I will train mostly in Clan techniques, though I also wish to learn Medical Ninjutsu.” He looked away at their gazes. “As the next head of the Uchiha Clan I will be expected to lead the Police. Being able to heal injured witnesses is only practical.”

“You will need exceptional chakra control for that,” Hatake-sensei said. “Since you already know Tree Walking, we will work on Water Walking.”

“Once you have mastered that, there’s another practice technique I learned,” Jing jumped in. If she was going to reveal secrets to her team, she might as well reveal them all. Except her reincarnation, of course.

“Oh?” Hatake-sensei remarked. “More difficult than Water Walking?”

“Yes sensei. It is the logical next step. Tree Walking adheres chakra to a solid surface. Water Walking adheres chakra to a liquid surface.” Jing stepped up, then up again, hovering just over her sensei’s head. “I call this Wind Walking.”

*

“Before anything else, one must remember that Fuinjutsu is written,” Jade Plum explained. “The abilities, the symbolism, the power–none of that matters if you cannot write properly. I assume you know the proper way to hold a brush for humans?”

Jing nodded. She certainly hoped she did after three years of writing instructions at the Academy.

“Good,” Jade Plum said. “We will begin with the simplest of Fuinjutsu: explosive tags. A basic explosive tag is a single character, surrounded by guidance. Today, we start with that character.”

Jing reached for her brush. She dipped it into the ink, then–

“Wrong!” Jade Plum’s talons clenched around Jing’s wrist. “The brush must not be oversaturated with ink. Try again.”

Ignoring the scrapes from the talons, Jing obeyed. She left the brush, waiting for the ink to stop dripping–

“Wrong! You waited too long. Try again.”

Jing grit her teeth and tried again. And again, again, again, again . . .

“Wrong!”

Jing groaned aloud at the three-hundred sixty-second failure.

“That’s enough for today,” Jade Plum declared. “We’ll continue tomorrow. For now, take a break. We start with Medical Ninjutsu in thirty minutes.”

*

“How?!” Fugaku demanded, arms crossed as he glared at Hatake-sensei.

“Scent,” the Jonin answered. “Inuzuka are the best at it, but every village has a few sense-enhancing jutsus.”

“Hai, sensei,” Fugaku grumbled.

“And me?” Haruko asked.

“Chakra presence. Any half-decent sensor could feel your Byakugan active. As for Jing, the actual hiding. Either stay somewhere completely hidden or be ready to move when you see something.”

“Hai, sensei.”

“Good. Now, you’ve all been found. You know what comes next.”

Jing grinned. After hours of hiding and waiting, a fight sounded like what the doctor ordered. Even if it was a fight they had no chance of winning.

*

“The name is somewhat misleading,” Jing admitted as she stood before her teammates, a foot off the ground. “I do not walk on the wind, nor do I use Wind chakra. The key element of Wind Walking is visualization. One must see the air, not merely through it. Each cubic centimeter of air is filled with quintillions of molecules, each connected only loosely. To use Wind Walking, you must adhere yourself to these molecules, forcing them into a paper-thin state of rigidity.”

“But how do we know the right amount to use?” Fugaku asked.

“Trial and error.” Jing sighed. “Much like Water Walking, both too much and too little chakra will lead to falling through. Further, there is the mental strain of connecting to so many small points. I would suggest beginning by holding your foot in the air and slowly adhering molecules to its base. Once you can put weight on that foot, you’ll be ready for the next step.”

*

“Since when can you cook?” Haruko demanded.

“It’s a recent thing,” Jing admitted, scooping up a few pieces of orange chicken with her chopsticks. They were in Hatake-sensei’s house, though compound might have been a better word. The Hatake Clan was one of the lesser ones in Konoha, but they were still a Clan. “I didn’t get much time to practice in the orphanage.”

Haruko huffed, and took another bite. Jing hid a smile. So long as her excuses were accepted, she was going to keep cooking for her friends and teammates. Especially since the local cuisine was tragically under-spiced.

“Hua Jing,” Hatake-sensei said a few minutes later, his plate polished off. “You are responsible for cooking on any missions.”

“Hai sensei,” Jing smiled. “If you let me use your kitchen, I can prepare meals for us as well. I’ve almost finished learning the basic Storage Seal.”

“Deal.”

Fugaku nodded along, eagerly adding thirds to his plate. He looked away when Haruko stared at him. “We don’t get food like this at the compound,” he explained. “It’s all very traditional. It’s good, but . . .”

“New is good too,” Hatake-sensei finished with a smile. “I’m glad you’re trying new things, Fugaku-kun. Experiences are what define us. As shinobi, we must endure terrible things. It is important to have good things in our lives as well.”

*

“Ready?”

Fugaku looked at her, then nodded. He lifted his foot. The air shifted against it, distorting as if in the face of great heat. Fugaku shifted, putting his weight on the foot. It held. Carefully, he raised his other foot. He took a step. Then another. Then–

Fugaku fell through the air, landing on crouched legs. He looked over to Jing, eyes wide and grinning. “I did it!”

“You did,” Hatake-sensei cut in. His smile was wide, his eyes turning upwards in an unnatural smile of their own. “I’d say you’re ready for Medical Ninjutsu now. Past ready, truth be told.”

“Really?” Fugaku asked, his grin growing.

“Really,” Hatake-sensei promised. “I’ll ask around for a teacher . . .”

Jing tuned out their conversation, instead focusing on the words that appeared within her mind’s eye.

Hidden Quest Completed: Teach a Jutsu

Reward: 1x Minor Skill Blessing

New Quest: Teach 10 Jutsus

Reward: 1x Minor Skill Blessing

New Quest: Teach 100 Jutsus

Reward: 1x Medium Skill Blessing

New Quest: Teach 1,000 Jutsus

Reward: 1x Major Skill Blessing

New Quest: Teach 10,000 Jutsus

Reward: 1x Exceptional Skill Blessing

Roll.

Minor Skill Blessing

Jack of All Trades

You have novice-level expertise in all basic skills, you can cook, smith, perform medicine, draw, repair, teach, drive, interface, and know most fields of study with basic competence and are fairly talented in those fields. Does not extend to combat skills.

Adept Drawing

You are great at drawing at the level of a seasoned illustrator, you can make very realistic paintings and very stylized ones too. In addition, you draw extremely fast, far faster than someone of your skill level should without suffering from a decrease in quality.

Jack of All Trades, Jing decided immediately. Given the wide variety of missions that a kunoichi was expected to go on, it was simply too useful to pass up.

*

“You’re ready,” Hatake-sensei declared. “Tomorrow we go on our first C-rank mission. There’s a group of bandits that have been attacking merchants near the coast. Meet at the gate at 5 am tomorrow.”