II

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Arc II Chapter 6

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The ardent sun was burning down on Asami who meditated on the grass. She was waiting for her sensei and her remaining team mates to arrive. Neither of them deemed it necessary to show up in time.

 

Asami grumbled. She was angry and even meditation could only do so much to clam her mind. Few were the people below the sun that had the outright impudence to dare to make her wait. But Masasane, Aritame and Yukihiro did. Their impudence was unbelievable.

 

Asami gritted her teeth, but she maintained her composure and continued meditating, focusing on her chakra. Understanding chakra, controlling chakra was of prime importance. Far more important than most shinobi could imagine, because control was everything.

 

Her teachers at the academy emphasised the use of ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, but they failed to grasp the fundamental significance of chakra itself. That day, she realised that the entirety of the academy staff understood next to nothing about the nature of chakra.

 

Iruka thought chakra was some kind of natural energy, always there, always passive and inactive. An energy source you could call upon with a few rudimentary hand seals and a bit of yelling. He was woefully wrong.

 

Without the appropriate control, the execution of jutsu suffered, and it showed. The general chakra control was poor even among professional shinobi. Much wasted chakra. Their jutsu were unfocused, powerless, weak.

 

Chakra was far more than a simple energy source. Chakra was a manifestation of your will, a manifestation of your soul, a manifestation of your very being. It was a stream of unimaginable power that slumbered deep within you. A torrent that needed to be controlled, guided by a strong hand and iron unwavering discipline until it was completely yours.

 

Her purple chakra circulated freely. Her potent reserves electrified the very air, saturating the area with its aura. Her entire body was reinvigorated by her chakra. Her entire body was chakra, and it felt wonderful, exhilarating beyond description. This was power. This was her. This was Asami.

 

Asami recalled her chakra, opening her eyes. They had finally arrived. Two freshly promoted genin and a freshly promoted jonin approached the training ground. They were late.

 

Her eyes narrowed. She wasn't happy, not happy at all. Her friends made her wait for two fucking hours. She only hoped that they had good excuses.

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Asami glared at the latecomers, visibly annoyed, “Tell me, how is it possible that you all three are late.”

 

Masasane scratched his head. “Well, didn't we tell you ...”

 

Asami interrupted her sensei with a furious glare, “Yes, you did, Masasane-sensei, but that doesn't mean that I find your little stories convincing. Aritame claims that he overslept because he was nervous. Yukihiro claims that he got lost on the way. And you, Masasane-sensei, you claim that you were so excited about your first assigned genin team that you mixed up the training ground and took the wrong way.”

 

Asami sighed. “As said, I find your little stories hard to believe.”

 

“But it's true”, Aritame protested, clenching his fists.

 

“True? So you three are really just a bunch of idiots?” Asami redirected her angry stare.

 

Masasane intervened, “Asami-chan, calm down, relax. Don't take everything so personally. Sometimes, unexpected things happen.”

 

“...” Asami frowned, but let it slide.

 

Masasane wore an uneasy smile. “Anyway, time for introductions. Give me your name, and tell me something about you. Your hobbies, your dreams, whatever you want. I will start. I am Karahashi Masasane, and I am your sensei from now. I am not the most experienced jonin Konoha has to offer. In fact, I was only recently promoted. So please, don't be too hard on me.”

 

Masasane scratched his head. “I will work hard and give my best. Promised.”

 

“I am Kira Aritame, and my dream is it to be the greatest Hokage ever!” Aritame shouted with all of his force, and Asami had the misfortune to sit right next to him. Her poor ears. Not only was Aritame obnoxiously loud, but he was also one of these annoying wannabe Hokage types. Asami facepalmed.

 

Shy and timid, Yukihiro continued, “I am Kodama Yukihiro.”

 

“I ...”

 

“I ...”

 

“I ...”

 

Everyone was waiting, and waiting, and waiting, but nothing came and Asami despaired. Another genin who was unfit to serve. How the fuck did Yukihiro even pass the graduation exam? Were Konoha's recruitment standards really that low? Apparently. Everyone was eligible as long as you knew how to die.

 

Asami sighed before noticing that they were all looking at her. It was her turn.

 

She cleared her throat. “As you already know, my name is Minami Asami. My primary hobbies are - redacted - and my dream is - redacted -. I think this should suffice.”

 

Masasane smiled at their little princess. “This was highly ... informative, Asami-chan. But couldn't you tell us a bit more about you?”

 

“No”, Asami replied instantly.

 

“Please, just a little bit ...”

 

“I said no, Masasane-sensei. And no means no.” Asami remained firm.

 

Masasane gave up. “I understand.” This was definitely going to be a difficult team.

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“Anyway, do you know why I have called you here?” Masasane asked.

 

Aritame raised his hand. “Because we are a genin team and need a sensei to go on cool missions?”

 

Masasane nodded. “Yes, Aritame, in part.”

 

“You know, you have already received your forehead protectors, but officially you aren't genin yet. Not yet. To become fully fledged genin, you still need to complete a final test first.“

 

“Then let's do it. Come on! We will make it.” Aritame jumped up and bumped his fist into the sky, but nobody followed him. Neither she, nor Yukihiro were the right type of people for these kinds of sentimentalities.

 

Asami giggled sadistically, enjoying the feeling of blissful schadenfreude.

 

Masasane produced two bells from his pocket, proudly showing them to his students. “Anyway, your task is relatively simple. To pass the test, you just need to claim these two bells from me. You have one hour to do so. If you fail, I will send you back to academy for an extra year. So no pressure.” All friendliness disappeared from Masasane's face. He was serious. At least, he tried to seem so. His acting skills were abysmal. He tried really hard to scare them, but it didn't work on her.

 

Asami rolled her eyes. So this was the infamous bell test she heard so much about ...

 

“Any questions?” Masasane looked around.

 

“...”

 

“No questions? Then the test starts now!” Masasane put some distance between them and waited. Masasane was just standing there, right in front of them, baiting them to attack. It was a trap, a fairly obvious one. Nobody should fall for this old trick, but exceptions existed.

 

Aritame charged, attacking head on and running directly into his demise. He was dispatched pretty easily and kissed the ground. Yukihiro didn't even dare to attack. He was too scared to move.

 

But Yukihiro gathered all his resolve, all his courage, and charged. It didn't end well.

 

Asami shook her head, utterly disappointed. This bell test would take some time, that was fairly obvious.

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