Third-Person POV

The following day after having talked to Ena, Iroko had met Sasuke on the fields outside of Konoha at 6 am.

"Why weren't you here yesterday?" he asked as soon as Iroko was within earshot.

"Huh? Oh, r-right! Well, you see, I actually had to meet with a friend..."

"You skipped out on training to meet with a friend?" Sasuke looked back at him with his Sharingan activated.

"--so we could go talk to the teammate of my opponent for the next match who had some very important information regarding his Kekkei Genkai!" Iroko blurted out. "And no, I'm not lying, that is actually what happened, you've gotta believe me!" He clapped his hands together and bowed low. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan. "I actually had planned on dismissing you as my student since yesterday but I thought to hear you out if you came today. If your excuse was any worse than that then you would have found yourself training on your own henceforth."

Iroko looked vacantly at the ground, relief washing over him. "Right... Thank you..."

"Nevertheless, if you're planning on doing something like that again, make sure to tell me beforehand."

"Absolutely, totally my mistake, it won't happen again, I swear!!"

Sasuke sighed. "What's that in your hand?"

He was holding a piece of paper, folded in two. "Oh, right! Okay, so after having talked to Ena I went home and started brainstorming ideas on how I could beat Itsuki, based on tactics I had in mind and the information I had on him." He handed the paper to Sasuke who unfolded it and glimpsed at what Iroko had written.

"I wanted to run it by you, so we'd both be on the same page."

"He has two Kekkei Genkai?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, but from what Ena said, he's not as skilled with his Scorch Style as he is with Mineral Style."

"Ena, being his teammate. The girl that lost to the Cloud genin with blond hair."

"I hope that isn't how everyone remembers her from now on," Iroko mumbled.

Sasuke read through the paper some more.

"Well, if he's not as skilled with his Scorch Style then we should focus on his Mineral Style more," he said. "That being said, you seem to want to optimize the Chidori however you can. I warned you already that it's not a jutsu you can casually use, even for someone with your chakra pool."

"I know," said the boy. "I thought about it last night, and even if I was to master the Chidori it wouldn't make up for its weaknesses, weaknesses that Itsuki can catch onto if I use it too much. In fact, after my match against Daito, he'll probably be expecting me to use it. So while I do want to get better at it, that's not gonna be what I use to go toe-to-toe with him."

Sasuke understood immediately. "So you want to create a new jutsu."

"Yeah. Something that'll be a hard-counter to his Mineral Style, that I can use on repeat without him being able to counter it even if he was to grasp how it worked."

"That's triple the work you already have laid out for you," Sasuke objected. "Even jonin struggle to create new ninjutsu. Add onto that you training your already existing skills and with a time limit of only a week, that's bordering on impossible for someone of your caliber, Iroko."

"It doesn't have to be a new-new jutsu," he replied. "It'll still make use of lightning-natured chakra, so we can think of it as like an extension of the Chidori!

"I know it's gonna be the most amount of work I've ever done, but you saw what he can do. I'm nowhere near his level. The way I am now I don't stand a chance at beating him, or Kaz, or Kanbe, or Fumino! (I'm lucky Asami had taken care of Baku) But if I get this, if I do this right, it'll be the first time I can truly feel like their equals. Please, Sasuke-sensei."

A boy that starved for greatness, something Sasuke could empathize with.

Though he would not show it, he was actually impressed with Iroko's ingenuity. He really had thoroughly considered this. When it came down to it, the boy could prove to be thoughtful and innovative in his own right. Combined with his tenacity and the ideals he held onto so closely, perhaps reaching the status of ultimate ninja was within the realm of possibility after all.

He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Strength isn't everything. There's more than one way to be acknowledged."

Iroko felt deflated. "Is that a no?"

"No. I'll help you do this, but we have to go about it smartly, otherwise, you'll run yourself ragged before the day of the Finals. Show me you're ready to take on greater responsibility."

Iroko grinned. "Haha, yeah, alright, Sasuke-sensei, it's a deal!"

"Alright then. Start by showing me your progress so far with the Chidori."

"You got it!" Tiger --> Monkey --> Dragon --> Rat --> Bird --> Ox --> Snake --> Dog --> Tiger --> Monkey

The Chidori exploded in a wave of lighting bolts as the teal-coloured electricity emanated all around his left hand.

"It looks like you've memorized the Hand Seals. That's good," said Sasuke.

With the first hand seal Iroko had performed having been for activating his Flash jutsu, he pelted across the field to the nearest tree and blitzed right past it. The Chidori had dissipated right after but what was left was the bark of the tree having been partly sliced through.

"Aw, man!!" he whined.

"What's wrong? That was a good strike," said Sasuke.

"Yeah, but I wanted to cut through it completely just like you did!"

"That's nothing to worry about it. Since these are your first few times performing a jutsu this strong your chakra control won't be as refined as someone who has more experience with it. With practice, you'll improve. Now, go again."

"Okay!"

Sasuke had Iroko practice the Chidori three more times, giving him pointers and advice on what to work on with each test run. He even had Iroko rush him with it in order to see how he would actually fare with it against someone of a greater body mass than Daito. After a few hours, they eventually decided to take a breather.

"So, about my new jutsu," he said after drinking some water, "I was thinking it would start off like the Chidori, what with all the surge in lightning-natured chakra, but then something would change somewhere that would turn it into like a massive discharge of electricity! Like, I'm talking with a 50-meter range!!"

Sasuke sweatdropped at Iroko's enthusiasm. "An effect like that would be achievable if one was to botch the accumulation of lightning-natured chakra."

A light bulb came on in Iroko's head. He stood up from where he sat and started performing the hand seals for the Chidori again.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"You just said that botching the accumulation of lightning-chakra could create the effect, right? That's what I'm doing!" The Chidori had begun to blaze around his hand.

"Yes but you don't do that on purpose or you'll risk--"

Iroko suddenly halted the accumulation before the Chidori could come to life. What followed after was a mini-explosion of electricity that threw him off his feet and into the air.

"WAAAAAAAGH!!!"

He landed on his head and stayed on the ground curled up as his body spasmed with electric jolts. "Ow..."

"--self-imploding," the Uchiha finished with a sigh. "Are you alright?"

"Ah, no, not really," he shakily got to his feet. "My arm felt like it was about to blow up."

"What did I just say about going about this smartly?" Sasuke deadpanned.

Iroko laughed nervously. "Right, sorry about that..."

"We'll stop there for today. Go home and get some rest."

Iroko protested. "What? No, I'm fine! That was a minor setback, but I'm all good to g--"

"Iroko." Sasuke looked at him sternly.

He let the rest of his words trail off as he sulkily accepted. "Fine..."

"We can double our hours tomorrow to make up for time," said Sasuke, handing him back the paper from earlier. "Just take the rest of today off to make sure you're fine."

As he walked off, Iroko thought to himself: He sure can act like a dad, sometimes.

That evening, Iroko stayed up in his room, thinking about his new jutsu and how exactly he would be able to execute it if at all. Curiously, the more he thought about it the more his mind focused on the accumulation of lightning-natured chakra within his hand.

"I know I was on the right path with that," he spoke to himself, "I was just doing something wrong somewhere... but what?"

The next day, just as Sasuke had said, the two had doubled-down on Iroko's training. They now had only four days and some hours left to make some serious progress.

They spent the entire morning honing Iroko's existing skills aside from the Chidori. From the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu to Chakra Flow to his Lightning Punch technique to even the basics, such as the Substitution and Clone Jutsu. Going into the afternoon, they took a break which gave Iroko a chance to go back into the village and buy some energy snacks.

When they resumed again an hour later, they turned their focus back to the Chidori.

Once again, he had manifested the jutsu and was speeding across the field with it in hand as he sliced through three trees almost at the exact same time.

"Ah, damn it!!" he exasperated. "That's still not good enough!! How can I expect to face Itsuki if that's the best I can do?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And the other competitors?"

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah, and them, too," Iroko looked away awkwardly.

Iroko pretended to be busy with forming the hand seals but Sasuke had decided to press on this further.

"You seem to be gearing a good deal of your energy towards Itsuki," he said.

"Well, yeah, 'cos he's my first opponent," Iroko replied. "If I can't beat him then I can forget about facing Kaz or anyone else."

"You know that's not what I mean. Out of all the other competitors you're only thinking about countermeasures for him. If I had to guess, I'd say your match with him is one you need to happen. Why? Why do you want to face him so much?"

Iroko let his hands fall to the sides before he could finish the hand seals. He rubbed the back of his head as he gave a sigh. The Uchiha continued to look at his student with curiosity, waiting for his answer.

Finally, Iroko looked back at him. "Sasuke-sensei, is it true ... that you were once a part of the Akatsuki?"

It was the first time Iroko had ever seen genuine surprise come over Sasuke's face. Then he turned his head to the side so his bangs would hide his face.

"Who told you about that?"

Crap, did I hit a nerve? "Ah, well, I think they'd rather I didn't say--"

"It was Itsuki, wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah...."

Sasuke then made a sound that crossed between a grunt and a heavily exaggerated sigh. He remained silent for a good long while, making the atmosphere that much more uncomfortable for Iroko.

He's not denying it. Does that mean...? He bowed immediately. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to pry!! Let's just forget I said anything!!"

"No, it's fine, Iroko," he said. "You deserve to know. Obviously, this has something to do with Itsuki and your desire to fight him so I'll answer honestly. Yes, I was once a part of the Akatsuki, back when I had defected from the village."

Iroko was more shocked than anything else. The Sasuke Uchiha that stood before him as a Hero to the Hidden Leaf was in fact a criminal at one point.

"Can I ask why?"

"I had lost my way then. I was blinded by a need for vengeance and it had lead to me joining their cause, all in the hopes that I could exact revenge on the village for what they did to my brother."

"Itachi Uchiha, right?"

"That's right. Due to the growing unrest between the Uchiha and the rest of the Leaf populace, he was forced to make a choice: He could either side with his clan and risk another Ninja War or silence the Uchiha's to prevent such. He made his choice in order to protect me. With that knowledge in mind, I had sworn to destroy the Leaf Village at all costs."

Iroko sat down in the grass. "Seems like the Uchiha's had a lot of problems going for them."

"Part of it was from the distrust to the Uchiha's because they had the ability to control Tailed Beasts, and the other was partly due to the Curse of Hatred," he looked at the boy. "Do you know about that?"

Iroko nodded. "That's what drove Obito Uchiha to control the Nine-Tails and attack the Leaf all those years ago."

"It was something I had succumbed to as well," said Sasuke. "Hatred breeds hatred. I suspect Itsuki was a victim of the Akatsuki's actions, and that's why he felt the need to warn you about me."

"You think so?" Iroko then cast his head down from dejection. "Man, on top of what had happened to his father..."

"What happened to his father?"

Iroko hesitated at first, his eyes darting back and forth for a logical answer. "Okay, I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, so you have to swear to keep it a secret."

"Fair enough," Sasuke obliged. "I've made you keep a secret for me, after all."

So Iroko ended up telling Sasuke about the Miura clan, their practice in eugenics, and the Futten clan double-crossing Itsuki's father. He seemed quite understanding about the matter but had decided to reserve his opinion on it.

"But what does all of this have to do with you?" he asked. "It all seems to be personal matters to the boy."

"Ena's the one that wanted me to reach out to him. She says that what he's doing is self-destructive, and-- well, I believe her, because it happened to me, too! If he keeps on denying that part of himself it'll get him killed! You can't afford to let the past get in the way of your present no matter what happened! Someone has to tell him that, someone that speaks from experience! That's why I'm doing this. I wanna be there for him, just like my sister was for me."

"You know, you and Naruto are a lot alike," said Sasuke.

Iroko's eyes glistened. "Seriously...?"

The Uchiha nodded. "You both put others before yourself, and there's a strength to be found there."

Hearing those words, oddly enough, had reminded him of what Asami had said to him back during their first mission.

"But... every time I saw you... fighting, helping.. protecting people you o..owed nothing to and.. getting back up... even after.. all.. that, it made... it made me realize: You're.. stronger than me."

Perhaps there was a truth to the words that not even he was aware of. Still, the fact that he unintentionally had something in common with Naruto made him incredibly happy.

"However," Sasuke continued, cutting through Iroko's elation, "there's a flaw as to how you're approaching this versus how he did: Within the confines of a tournament, if you really do intend to reach out to Itsuki during your match then it's possible you might have to forfeit your chance at victory."

Iroko gasped at the statement. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"Let's run the scenario in our heads. Say you do manage to convince him to use his Scorch Style. What does that mean for your chances of winning? As things are we only have enough time to create a jutsu that can counter his Mineral Style. He may not be as experienced with Scorch Style but the pure strength of the jutsu is an unknown factor. In helping Itsuki overcome his hatred it's possible you would have given him the power he needs to bypass your new jutsu and win the match.

"My question now is can you live with that? You were aiming for the top spot in the Single-Eliminations, for a chance at recognition. You may lose all that if you decide to save Itsuki. Is that a sacrifice you're willing to make?"

A sacrifice I'm willing to make, huh? I didn't even think about that, he thought on his way into the village after they had continued training for another two hours and eventually took a break.

In the end, Iroko had told Sasuke that he would need more time to consider, but in truth, he did not have any answer whatsoever. Should he save Itsuki, but sacrifice his chance of a lifetime to become recognized by top-tier ninja worldwide? Was it worth it?

Damn it, Sasuke-sensei, why'd you gotta bring this up?!

Just as he was approaching the gate, his ears had picked up on a strange sound from deeper in the woods. It was a strange and uncanny sound that he could not associate an image with, so he decided to go see what was causing it.

FWIIIIP, FWIIIIIP

The closer he got to the sound the more audible it became. It sounded like short quick bursts of something shooting through the air at high speeds. Now his curiosity had been piqued.

The sound lead him to a clearing in the woods where he caught sight of Jin Mitarashi practicing with her cloth. She appeared to be almost dancing in the air as she jumped to and fro, whipping her cloth back and forth like a pouncing snake. She was even able to perform somersaults and backflips, her feet only ever gliding across the ground.

"So cool," he mumbled as he continued to admire her from a bush. But wow, she's actually super close to where me and Sasuke-sensei train. If she's been here the whole time could she have seen us? Well, she's not one to ... talk in general, so even if she had we're probably fine.

He kept staring at her for a moment longer, having been mesmerized by her movements, before finally deciding to leave. She's probably training alone for a reason, he thought. I'll just leave her to it.

Just as he was turning around she was about to try her hand at a complex aerial somersault, which caught Iroko's attention but as he spun back into place his leg had brushed against a thin twig, causing it to snap.

The sound caught Jin's attention but just as quickly had caused her to lose focus. The cloth tangled around her legs and she let out an adorable squeal as her body connected to the ground.

"Oh, crap, Jin!!" Iroko ran out of the bushes to go help her. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

After he got her back on her feet, once again she was unable to make eye contact with him, only staring at the ground.

"Um, thanks," she said.

"Yeah, no worries. I was the one that messed up your concentration anyway. You were probably out here by yourself to get away from people, huh?"

She nodded in agreement. "Mhm."

SILENCE

You could have cut it with a kunai. Jin was someone that Iroko could never connect with because she was always so removed from the rest of the class. He would always catch glimpses of her sitting on a bench outside, reading a book, or writing, always alone. It was only just recently that he saw her starting to hang out with Tensho more often.

But in actuality, he never once had thought of her as weird or stuck-up. Not only did he know what it was like to be ostracized but she was one of the students who had chosen to enter the Ninja Course, and so that was how he knew that she was someone who knew what it is was she wanted regardless of whether or not she was surrounded by others. And for that, she had his respect.

"Sooooo, hey," he began, "I know you didn't mean for anyone to see you, but I've just gotta say it: Those moves of yours were ultimate!!"

Jin seemed taken aback by the compliment.

"I mean I've never seen anyone move in the air like that! You must get a lot of practice at home. Speaking of which, your match with that girl from the Cloud Village kinda took an unexpected turn but I'm guessing that was just because of your genjutsu abilities, amirite?"

The sudden enthusiasm was at first intimidating to her but when she had found the chance to look into his eyes all she could see there was warmth.

Iroko himself had realized he was broaching on a potentially sensitive topic. "You know what, there's no need to answer that. Well, I should probably be on--"

"N-No," she blurted out. "Um, I mean..." She fiddled with her fingers while she tried to find the right words to say, but Iroko was polite and had patiently waited for her.

"Yeah, that was genjutsu," she replied, "and ... I do practice ... a lot."

The blue-streaked boy smiled. "Yeah, that's obvious. How are you feeling about your match, though? Your opponent is Kaz, after all."

She turned her head away again. "I know. That's why I'm training twice as hard. But the thing is..." She held her cloth to her face. "...I don't know if what I'm doing is enough."

That made sense to Iroko. Kazue was incredibly skilled. He and Baku weren't proclaimed the best of their class for no reason. It then occurred to him that he and Jin were basically in the same boat. Both their opponents seemed to far outclass them, and it was likely that those watching thought the same thing. There was probably only a handful of people that believed they stood a chance.

"To tell you the truth," she said, "I'm terrified. I wanna drop out."

Iroko looked at her. "But you won't, will you?"

She shook her head. A small smile began to play on her lips. "Because ... I want to be able to look danger in the face."

Iroko then remembered. Those were the exact words she had said to Kazue right before her match, it was her goal as a shinobi.

That's right, for her it wasn't about winning the match or not, because she would be fighting for something else that, in that moment, mattered to her a lot more than some medal.

"Yeah, our situations are pretty much the same," he said. "The guy I'm up against is pretty scary, too..."

I'm an idiot. Didn't I say I wanted to be a hero? So what kind of hero chooses glory over the welfare of others?

"...but, like you, there's an opportunity for something there that I just can't pass up on. I just wonder ... if I'll be strong enough to get it done."

"Don't worry, we can do it," she suddenly piped up. Despite how soft her voice was, Iroko could detect sincere conviction from it. "No matter how scary the opponent is I'm sure we can find a way."

Who would have thought, that out of all the people Iroko could have bonded with during the course of the Chunin Exams, Jin Mitarashi would have been one of them? Certainly not he, but it came with its own merits. As Iroko thought back to her match, he unexpectedly remembered something her cloth had done to the Cloud-nin's jutsu.

"Jin, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but your Binding Cloth has the ability to absorb ninjutsu, right?"

"Um, yeah, that's right..."

"So by that logic, I wonder if it would also have the ability to store ninjutsu or chakra or something--" Iroko stopped talking.

Jin, whose eyes had widened in shock from his guess, had wondered why he had.

His mouth hung open, and his body tensed up. "Wait a minute." Then he placed a hand over his mouth as if he was in deep thought. And then he gasped and as he did so his eyes gleamed with brilliance. He had just experienced a eureka moment.

"I got it."

"Huh?"

"I GOT IT!!!"

He grabbed Jin by the shoulders. "Jin, you're amazing!!"

"I-I am?!" Her face turned red completely at his comment.

"I have to go now, but you were right, there always will be a way!!" Before he could dash away he remembered: "Oh, and about Kaz, there's not really much info about him I can give you that you wouldn't already know but if there's one thing I know about him that I don't think anyone else does, it's that for some reason he's always hated the fact that I've never given up."

"That you've never given up?"

"Yeah, make of that what you will, I guess. But I know you've got what it takes, anyway. Just keep doing you, you know? Well, good luck and I'll see you on Saturday!!"

The boy must have been anxious to return to Sasuke because he had used his Flash jutsu and had covered a distance of 60 metres in a second.

"You too," she smiled.

While Iroko was gone, Sasuke had taken the chance to turn on his portable radio and tuned in to Konoha FM. That was how he heard about what happened two days ago.

"Okay, and coming up next we've received a bit of shocking news from the Hokage. Apparently, the Edo, a highly successful sushi restaurant, and all of 14th street have been closed off to the general public until further notice. Reporters have reason to believe that this was because just two days ago our shinobi forces had been engaged in a battle of some sort which resulted in the demolishing of one of our old buildings. Thankfully, there were no casualties or injuries but so far the Hokage has made no effort to elaborate on what the cause of these events were..."

Kakashi-sensei--

"SASUKE-SENSEI!!!"

Iroko had pulled up so fast that Sasuke only had a moment to turn off his radio before he was within earshot.

"You still have 20 minutes left. Are you that eager to resume?"

"I've got it, Sasuke-sensei!!"

"Got what?"

"I think I've figured out how I can create my new jutsu!! I had it all wrong: Instead of trying to accumulate lightning-natured chakra and discharging it at the same time, I should've been trying to store it and let it build up over time before discharging it!! That's what I was missing!!"

Sasuke concurred. "You're right, that would work. Where you would have created a disruption between the flow of chakra in the nodes from trying to release it before the jutsu could manifest, you would instead be practically manifesting the jutsu but from inside you. Yeah, that would definitely work."

"Can I try it out right now?"

"Go ahead. We'll start with building up a small amount to gauge how much your body can handle."

Iroko made a movement as if he wanted to start, but then he realized something.

"Uhhh, one small issue," he said.

"What?"

"How exactly do I store up chakra?"

"I see. It looks like we'll have to devote the rest of your time to this."

"That's fine, whatever it takes to save Itsuki."

Sasuke lowered his eyelids. "I assume that means you've made your choice."

"Yeah..." He dropped his smile and became serious. "I mean, don't get me wrong I'm not giving up on my chance of winning, but I think ... I think I wanna be able to look back and be proud of the choices I had made. I wanna be able to try at least. So, yeah, this time I'm a 100% on board. I will do everything within my power to save Itsuki Miura!"

***

The sun was beginning to set by the time Jin had decided to call it day and head home. Packing the Binding Cloth she had used into her satchel, she departed from the woods and walked back into the Leaf.

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but if there's one thing I know about him that I don't think anyone else does, it's that for some reason he's always hated the fact that I've never given up."

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What did he mean by that? I know him and Kazue have been at odds with each other for a while, but could it really have been over something like that? No, maybe not. Those weren't the exact words he had used anyway. He specifically said that Kazue has always hated that about him.

And he also said to make of that what I will.

Make of that what I will...

Jin's home was on the poorer side of the village. She lived with an uncle and aunt that were starting to get up there in age so most household chores were left to her to do, and since they couldn't keep up with the Academy's curriculum Jin always made sure to never make academics something they had to worry about. The tuition fees were hard enough for them to pay as was, it was one of the reasons why she took the Chunin Exams so seriously. If she became a chunin she would be given a higher wage than what the rank of genin gave her so she would be able to contribute more to their finances.

These kinds of things were usually not what most kids her age would have to think about but she had no choice; her uncle and aunt were the only family left that was willing to take care of her.*

"I'm home," Jin announced. "Ojisan? Obasan?"

"Welcome back, Jin! Oh, wait right there, I'm coming to greet you!" That was her aunt. An incredibly short woman who looked to be in her late forties with dark purple hair and eyes, and wrinkle lines beginning to shape her face. She came to the entrance and cupped her niece's face in her hands, beaming. "I'm glad your home. I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" She was surprised because again, due to their financial difficulties, Jin getting a present or being taken out to some outdoor activity was a scarcity.

Her aunt lead her to their living room where she saw a fairly large shopping bag sitting on the couch. "Your uncle and I know you've been working really hard for your Chunin Exams and we had decided to put some money together to get you something to help you."

"Obasan, you shouldn't have--"

"Now, hold on, dear, at least take a look first to see if you'll like it."

Jin was hesitant, but she complied. Opening the bag, she pulled out to her surprise a pair of grey shoes with a high collar, straps, and soles with a smooth surface. Jin couldn't stop staring at it.

"How much did this cost?"

"You don't need to worry about that, dear. What do you think?"

"I- I love it." And she meant it. She was still shocked at the fact that they had taken money and time out of their convenience to get this for her.

"Ah, that makes me happy to hear. Their ninja shoes, you see, and they're supposed to act as supplements to one's own stealth skills, at least that's what the employee at the store told me."

"Obasan, you really shouldn't have..."

"Jin, I need you to know something. You see, we know. We know that you've sacrificed much for our sake, but that's not what we want for you. Your uncle and I may be getting older but that doesn't mean you have to slow down for us. We want you to keep doing the things you want to do. We'll never see them or you as a burden. So all that we ask of you in return for these is to not worry about us and just go do your best!! Promise, dear?"

Jin could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "I will! I promise! Thank you!!"

Never give up... Iroko, I think I get it now!