I sloppily deflected a dozen [Water Shuriken] and leaped away to avoid Rina surging out under the water. She’s learned to keep the pressure in our previous spars and so she darted forward, zigzagging with her body kept low.

Chakra spiked behind me and I sucked my teeth. Without bothering to look back or let Rina engage, I cut the flow of chakra to my feet and sank into the lake. Rina, hot on my heels, ran over my submerged head, scarcely dodging Mangetsu’s second flurry of [Water Shuriken] and utterly failing to prevent me from snatching her ankles.

I pulled her underwater but immediately had to suppress the reflex to seal her in a [Water Prison]— as per the conditions of this training session I wasn’t allowed Ninjutsu. Instead I buried my foot in her gut, the blow expelled air from her lungs and forced her to the bottom.

With Rina conveniently out of the way Mangetsu’s chakra swirled through the waters around me. I kicked to the surface but a maelstrom had been hastily formed and was whipping me in and out the water. I caught a glimpse of the child prodigy; he stood atop a mound of sand, panting with his fingers pressed into a handsign and his brows knitted in concentration.

I took a breath and let my body relax, Mangetsu’s jutsu threw me about but the longer I swirled in them the more I understood. Genius or not the young shinobi was still a child and could only manage so much chakra. He’s as stubborn as Lady Megumi cheering him on the side-lines and has given his all in each spar session we’ve had, but this is the third yet today, he’s teetering on chakra exhaustion if he pushes any further.

Like I thought, the swirl petered out enough that I could slap a chakra augmented palm against the turbulent water surface and flip out of it. I whipped my kunai at Mangetsu before I even landed but he didn’t even flinch as it sliced past his cheek— a second later he fell to his knees and his jutsu ended.

“Water Release: Water Whip.”

I felt the techniques five whips latch onto me from the water before I heard Rina’s satisfied whisper. Four surged from different points of the lake to entangle my limbs and Rina held the one snaking around my neck. Like Mangetsu she was liberal with her chakra usage, though this much aggressiveness is new for her— she’s usually a subtle fighter, making use of Hidden in the Mist and Silent Killing even though that rarely gets her any leverage.

Yagura knew her chakra waste was product of the little competition brewing between her and Mangetsu, or rather, her and Lady Megumi. I’ve trained enough times with Rina to know Lady Megumi is top of the list of people she wants to prove wrong.

If I were just myself this would be a good time to concede and congratulate Rina on putting a stop to a Kage-level shinobi. But Yagura isn’t a master of Water Release for nothing, without even channelling him, the innate knowledge of her jutsu’s weakness was apparent to me.

As she tensed her grip and tugged on my head, I sent chakra flowing over my skin. Momentarily placing a sheet of chakra between her whips and my skin the same way I would with water-walking or wall-walking. The result is space to twist and flail with all of Yagura’s surprising strength, my sudden movements tangle the whips against themselves and I wrapped myself into the whip Rina’s personally holding.

Her grip loosened for a moment as she hurriedly revaluates, but it’s too late; I’ve cocooned myself in her whips and with a stronger expulsion of chakra, I’m granted enough space to once again sink under water. I snatched her foot again but this time she’s feisty, kicking and thrashing but locking her limbs underwater is just as easy as it is on land.

After a moment we bop out of the water together with her folded and restrained against me, “I guess we’re done here.” I said, slowly loosening my grip. She groaned and sighed all together as she nodded. I smiled and let her sit up on the water on her own, “Both of you need to be more chakra conscious, maybe you would have gotten me if you had a bit more chakra to cast your jutsu at full strength.”

Rina scoffed, her head hung to the side as she wrung water out her hair, “That was full strength, Yagura-senpai is just too strong.” She pouted.

“Mizukage-sama is going easy on us too.” Mangetsu said, as always his stoic eyes held a glint of awe when set upon me but this time his voice held a sliver of hurt as he clenched a fistful of sand. “I’ll grow up soon, I’ll have enough chakra for a serious spar someday.”

“Of course,” I winked at him, “Speaking of someday, Megumi-dono, how about that tea now!” I yelled out so she’d hear me from the middle of the lake. She waved a fist that turned into a thumbs up after a second and I nodded. “Alright then, go get some snacks you guys, you’ve got to be as hungry as I am after all that.”

I started walking off before either could summon a response, it was late noon, almost evening and I wouldn’t be sharing a table with them. Lady Megumi had a proposal for me, one likely involving Mangetsu and perhaps Rina as well.

This might be the opportunity I’ve been looking for, whatever it is she wanted I was prepared to give in exchange for her clans support on the upcoming Yuki matter. I couldn’t hide Hisako’s crimes or the evidence alluding to some deeper movement within the clan forever, sooner or later Lord Funato would discover it or perhaps even Uncle or it might be someone relatively insignificant who can’t stop themselves from yapping.

Either way, there was yet another storm brewing and I needed to recruit or buy allies. I raised a hand-sign and pulsed my clothes and hair dry with Wind Release as I made my approach. She sat within a gazebo and the table was already set with some snacks and tea from earlier when our spars begun.

She gestured at the quiet, docile servant standing in the corner and they quickly shuffled away with the teapot, earning a confused look from me, “Too good for tea?”

“Not enough sencha.” She chuckled and winked.

I took the lounge couch opposite her and shook my head, “That’s never going away is it?”

Her eyes narrowed with glee, “It’s a good match, who could forget it? Who would want to?”

Here I inhaled and sat up, “I’ve given the marriage proposal all the thought I need and have, Megumi-dono, I’m simply not ready for it and I’m not interested either.”

She doesn’t hide her disappointment, “I expected as much since you took your sweet time, my granddaughter’s not good enough to marry but training her is fine yes?”

I chose my words carefully, “Only when I care to.”

The servant returned and carefully filled my cup with a strong sencha brew, I took a sip and weathered Lady Megumi’s furrowed brows and pursed lip. Then she smiled, “Take Mangetsu under your wing, along with Rina or not but take him, let him learn from you, Yagura, it’s not uncommon for the Mizukage to become sensei as well.”

I continued to sip my tea, it was nice but unlike the rumours it wasn’t my favourite beverage, “Why?”

My deadpan didn’t rattle her resolve, she leaned in, “Mangetsu is a genius, a prodigy of the shinobi arts and even the Hozuki’s Hiden. Mould the potential into proof and he will be an invaluable asset to you, he’s only a child now, his mind is pliable, eager to learn and follow and he’s already well taken with you. I am offering you the Hozuki’s future strongest, if my own granddaughter isn’t worth a bond then surely this?”

Silence stewed for a moment as I drained my cup and set it down, she didn’t look bothered or fazed that I’d just gulped down a near piping hot cup of tea, only interested in the thoughts behind my skull.

“And what’s in it for you? What do you get out of giving me…the future of Hozuki as you claim? Mind you, he’s only a boy, this talent could last perhaps ten more years or even shorter.”

She smirked, eyes twinkling, “Isn’t it obvious? I get a potential Kage-candidate.”