II

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Arc II Chapter 6

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The ardent sun burned down on Asami who meditated on the grass. She was waiting for her sensei and her remaining team mates. They hadn't arrived yet as neither of them deemed it necessary to show 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 dared to make her wait. But Masasane, Aritame and Yukihiro did. They had the impudence.

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 and opened her eyes. They had finally arrived. Two freshly promoted Genin and a Jonin approached the training ground. They were late.

Asami narrowed her eyes. 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. Otherwise, ...

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Asami glared at the latecomers, visibly annoyed, "Tell me, how is it possible that all three of you idiots are late at the same time."

Masasane scratched his head. "Well, didn't we tell you …"

Asami interrupted her sensei with a furious stare," Yes, you did, Masasane-sensei, but that doesn't mean that I find your stories little convincing.“

“Aritame says he overslept because he was nervous. Yukihiro says he got lost on the way. And you, Masasane-sensei, say 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. He clenched 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 can happen."

"Indeed, Masasane-sensei, unexpected things can happen." Asami frowned, but she let it be for now.

Masasane wore an uneasy smile. "Anyway, now we start introductions. Give me your name and tell me something about you. Your hobbies, your dreams, whatever you want.“

“I will make the beginning. I am Karahashi Masasane and your sensei from now. I am certainly 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. I promise.“

"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.

Yukihiro continued. He was shy and timid. "I am Kodama Yukihiro.“

“I …“

“I …“

“I …“

Everyone was waiting, and waiting, and waiting, but nothing came and Asami despaired. Another Genin that 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.

Asami 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 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. To become fully-fledged Genin, you still need to complete a final test first."

"Then let's do it. Come on, team. We will make it." Aritame jumped up and bumped his fist into the sky, but nobody followed him. Neither Asami nor Yukihiro were the right type of people for this kind of sentimentalities.

Asami giggled sadistically, enjoying the feeling of blissful schadenfreude. It wasn't a secret that she didn't like Aritame.

Asami raised her hand. "Sensei, I have a question. It concerns the composition of our team."

"Yes, Asami-chan. What is?"

Asami wasn't amused. Why did everyone chan her? Her mother always said that she was an adorable girl, huggly, cuddly, and lovely when grumpy. But that was years ago.

Asami examined her small hands, her kimono, her hairstyle, her petite stature. Maybe that was the reason.

Asami spoke, "Sensei, Genin teams are normally made to be balanced, right?"

"The strongest graduates of a year are usually paired with the worst to form a more or less balanced team. Weaker and better students are put together into the same team."

"Yes, but what is your point?" Masasane was confused.

"Don't you see the problem, sensei? The quality of our team is dubious. Our future Mr. Hokage was certainly not the best student. Yukihiro was on the lower end as well. And I was an average student at best.“ Probably because she was lazy and tanked a lot of exams to slip under the radar. Nobody needed to know what she capable of.

“As far as I can see, we are practically composed of the leftovers, sensei." Asami crossed her arms and protested.

Asami glanced at her team mates. They were disappointing. She had expected more, to be honest.

Masasane smiled. "Well, there is certainly some truth in your words, Asami-chan But I am sure the Hokage had something in mind when he formed this team. Hopefully."

"Usually, I defer to better judgement, sensei. But even the Hokage is not infallible. Who knows, maybe he had made a mistake?"

Masasane deflected with a smile. “Who knows. But your composition problem won't matter, Asami-chan, if you don't pass my little test."

Masasane produced two bells from his pocket, proudly showing them his students.

"Your task is relatively simple. To pass, you just need to get these two bells from me within the next hour.“

“If you fail, I will send you back to academy for an extra year. So no pressure." Masasane became serious and all friendliness disappeared from his face.

Asami rolled her eyes. His acting skills were abysmal. He tried really hard to scare her, but it didn't work.

"Any questions?"

"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 certain.

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