Chapter 35- Storm Front

Yama and the children went through their schedules as usual for the next couple days. Yama would check on them whatever they were studying and offer a small tidbit here and there, but the kids had pretty much figured out the self study over the past two weeks.

The Academy remained a fairly calm place, away from the hustle and bustle of the village; it was in a lower traffic area and had also avoided the majority of the damage from the nine-tails attack.

However, Thursday afternoon, after school, news finally broke among the general populace that war was on the horizon.

The news spread like wildfire, and clan children and civilian children alike found out at approximately the same time.

Yama, normally a recluse in the Hatake household, was not aware of the situation thanks to Kakashi's normally taciturn demeanor.

However, Yama liked to think that they were starting to get along a little better. He had been trying to pull back a little from the relationship, knowing that he was much more comfortable with Kakashi than Kakashi was with him, and overstepping any boundaries would put a the young shinobi on guard.

In fact, Kakashi had even invited Yama to have dinner with him the previous night, and though Yama had to cook, he still enjoyed the experience. Kakashi was even making small talk.

It was very excitable; he had asked Yama about sparring with Might Guy.

Apparently, Might Guy had told Kakashi a little, but Kakashi wanted some more details, so he brought it up with Yama, who was more than happy to provide said details.

Yama, with the knowledge that he was improving his relationship with Kakashi, got up on Friday morning with a smile on his face.

Kakashi soon put an end to that.

Kakashi invited Yama into the kitchen and sat down at the dining table with the older man.

As soon as Yama sat down, Kakashi spoke to him.

"I am being recalled into active service, and I will no longer be your handler.

Your next handler will find you at the Shinobi Academy after classes. His name is Fume.

He is a formerly retired shinobi, but he has been reactivated. He'll be in charge of you and your activities in the village.

Since I will not be home often, I will allow you to stay in the compound as long as you keep the area clean and don't allow any animals into the actual living spaces.

The courtyard is fine.

I'm also taking my tracking seal off of you. I won't be able to use it, and I expect Fume-san to put a new one on you.

That's it. Good luck with your teaching job."

Yama frowned slightly.

"Does ANBU really need people that badly?"

Kakashi's eyes hardened as he squinted a little at Yama. Kakashi must've let it slip that he was ANBU before this, but he couldn't remember when.

It was mildly concerning, but Yama always treated him like a child. Perhaps when Kakashi got mad about it, he had let slip the employment history.

Must be.

Yama sighed before continuing.

"Sorry, I don't mean it like that.

Please stay safe, Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded once and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Yama alone with his thoughts.

Yama had hoped that he would have a bit longer to spend with the young Kakashi, but circumstance would not allow it.

He felt a slight wave of melancholy roll over him, and though he tried to think of better times, several were dragged to the forefront of his mind.

Kakashi at the memorial stone, Kakashi during Pein's destruction of Konoha, Kakashi at the end.

Yama blinked away unshed tears and prayed that Kakashi would have a better life this time around.

Prayer and action go hand in hand, and Yama prepared to do anything to protect and save his precious people.

After Kakashi left his house, he donned his full ANBU gear, placing his dog mask to cover his face last.

As he walked into ANBU headquarters, the other agents were staring, or the equivalent of staring when it comes to elite ninja.

Kakashi let their gazes slip over him, not bothering him in the least.

He walked up to his commander, who was sitting behind a desk, working on some paperwork.

The larger man, gestured to the chair in front of him.

"Sit, Dog."

So Kakashi did, and the man continued.

"You are one of the few agents completely uninjured from the Nine-Tails attack.

As such, and with several years as a jonin already and with wartime experience, you are hereby promoted to interim team commander.

You will have 7 shinobi, leading a 4 man squad yourself and have command over another 4 man squad as well.

I'm also attaching a trainee to your squad. We have a lot of new recruits, and we will need every one of them."

Kakashi signed, using the ANBU hand signs that every agent had to learn.

Understood.

Bear, the ANBU commander, continued as he handed over a thick file.

"Here are the dossiers on your team. You will be expected to be mission ready within seven days.

They are gathered in meeting room 6-2.

Dismissed."

As Kakashi, or rather Dog, walked away, Bear took a quick peak at the young ninja.

He was looking at the same thing that all the other agents were looking at.

Strapped to the back of Kakashi Hatake, for the first time in years, was the White Light Chakra Saber.

Kakashi walked to the meeting room and instantly cringed as he entered.

One of the Anbu agents had whipped his head towards him in a very distinctive manner.

He had to get the words out as fast as possible.

"Don't use our outside identities, only Masks."

The trainee wearing the turtle mask visibly withered before cheering back up and giving a thumbs up along with words of encouragement.

"Such a hip attitude, Dog. Your flames of youth are most passionate!"

Kakashi's thoughts instantly went to his ANBU mental training.

Even disasters have benefits.

Kakashi internally sighed.

At least he isn't wearing the green jumpsuit for now.

Yama meditated for a little while, clearing his thoughts and recentering himself before making his way to the Academy.

His fugue was mostly gone, but it lingered around the edges of his psyche.

When Yama entered the classroom, 15 minutes before the planned start, he was quite surprised to find his boss Heguri waiting for him.

"Heguri-san, how may I hep you?"

"Yama-sensei, I am told you test your students each Friday?"

"Well this will be the second time, but yes, I do intend to do so moving forward."

"I will be observing your class for today. Please conduct it as usual.

This is not a surveillance or evaluation of your teaching abilities, I am here for other reasons."

"No problem. I'm sure the kids will actually perform better under your attention."

Heguri sighed internally, but his exterior betrayed nothing.

I almost hope its the opposite.

As the children filtered in over the next few minutes, they bowed respectfully to their principal, Heguri, who sat at the back of the classroom, but also politely ignored his presence, as the man was obviously trying to distance himself from any classroom matters.

When all six kids were in their seats and the bell had rung, Yama clapped his hands to gather their attention before speaking.

"Why don't we make today a little extra special?

This morning, instead of just showing me your Basic Three, which we will be turning into a contest, also show me the fruits of your self-study.

After lunch will be the same however."

The kids groaned. They hated sparring with Yama-sensei. The man had enough control to make his punches really hurt without injuring. Sparring him was just asking for a beatdown.

Yama continued as he ignored their frustrations.

"For the Basic Three, I'll have a stopwatch and I'll be testing how fast you can complete all three.

We'll be stringing them together in a sort of usable battlefield combnation.

First, create clones to confuse the opponent, then substitute to displace yourself, and finally transformation to hide your appearance following the substitution.

Any questions?

No, okay, Shimiko-chan, you'll be first."

The young girl, no longer wearing her reflective goggles distinct to the Aburame clan came down to the front of the classroom, almost skipping, giving off a somewhat frivolous air. Her eyes were a warm amber color, somewhere between clay and oak.

As she got to front of the class, she swept her hand through her long dark hair and flipped it over her shoulders.

Yama chuckled.

"A little over the top, but your outward demeanor really has changed. You were good until the hair flip, that was trying to sell it too much."

Shimiko pondered for a moment before nodding her head.

Yama continued.

"Now show me what you can do. I'll start the time as soon as I notice you moving or molding chakra."

Shimiko stood completely motionless at the front of the classroom.

All of a sudden, 6 clones popped into existence, with some medium sized clouds of smoke and a few loud pops.

Yama stopped the watch soon enough and looked down at the time with a wry grin.

Three quarters of a second. Shimiko hadn't even been trying the other few times Yama had seen her 3 basic jutsu. She was incredible.

Akimichi Domaru was lazily staring at the clones with an elbow propped up on the desk, supporting his head. He called out.

"Where's the other 2 jutsu bug-girl? You get a chakra backflow and have to stop?"

The exact same voice the called out from the back of the room.

"Yeah, what the hell? She didn't even do the other 2?

The five students whipped their heads around to stare at the carbon copy of Akimichi Domaru standing in the back of the room, leaning against the back wall.

Yama and Heguri had both noticed the entire sequence, and their thoughts were extremely similar.

Sublimely Skillful.

Heguri was so impressed he thought to himself.

I've got to tell my son about this girl. I hope he can one day be as good as her with the Academy 3.

The other schoolchildren were still trying to figure out what happened, heads swiveling between the two Domarus in the room.

The one at the back of the class dropped the transformation, and Shimiko revealed herself.

Yama smiled warmly at her and invited her back to the front of the class.

"Shimiko-chan, why don't you explain what you did to your classmates here? This is an excellent learning opportunity.

What you did was high-genin level at the minimum."

Shimiko pranced to the front of the room and started talking.

"Even though I can cast clones without smoke clouds, I purposefully overloaded the jutsu in order to create them.

Due to the noise and visual masking, I was able to substitute with a broom at the back of the class.

Right before I substituted, I actually created another clone, this time silently and without smoke.

Since I was leaning against the chalkboard when I cast my jutsus, the broom is also leaning against it, preventing it from falling down.

So then, I had the final clone I created move into my original position, which hid the broom with its body.

Thus it appeared like I only cast the clone jutsu, but in actuality, I already across the classroom and in disguise."

She then undid her clone jutsu, revealing the broom at the front of the class.

Yama clapped his hands and encouraged the rest of the class to give a round of applause as well.

Everyone enthusiastically joined in except Domaru, who was somewhat sullen. He knew that he would be unable to replicate such a feat.

Even so, Domaru volunteered to go next, and while he didn't go for an elaborate scheme like Shimiko did, he still managed to perform all three jutsus in a little under 3 seconds.

Hyuga Hikaru did all three in a similar time.

Tusbaki did hers in 4 seconds, and then Mizuki and Iruka did theirs in about 6 seconds.

All in all, each student was successful.

In the back of the classroom, Heguri was simultaneously proud of their achievements but dreading the inevitable.

Yama then went around the room, and each student showed off their self study results.

Shimiko excused herself since she had been performing research mainly, but the other kids were enthusiastic to show off their gains.

Domaru went first and flared his chakra while mobilizing as much as he could. The people in the room noticed a slight haze surrounding his body.

It was a prodigious showing at his age to have visible effects of chakra surrounding one's body.

Hikaru levitated two leaves on either hand, Mizuki showed off his incomplete shunshin, and Tsubaki showed her burgeoning talents in fire jutsu.

When it got around to Iruka, he actually snorted and refused.

"A ninja never shows his true abilities."

With that, the class broke for lunch before gathering outside next to the central dueling ring.

Heguri was still in background observing, and Yama went up to the ring before calling up each student.

It went as one would expect. Hikaru had the best showing, followed by the other clan children, with Iruka, Mizuki, and Tsubaki tied for last, but still competent.

Heguri took this time to speak up.

"Why don't all of you go practice your weapon throwing for a few minutes while I speak with your sensei?"

The kids dispersed and Heguri sat down on a nearby bench with Yama before continuing.

"How would you evaluate the kids, as compared to genin?"

Yama thought for a few moments before speaking.

"Hikaru is high-genin level thanks to his training with his family. I don't think the Hyuga clan would ever allow one of their to be straight up bad at Taijutsu.

Furthermore, he has been exploring and refining what he knows on the side. He used this spar more as training than as an evaluation, and I know he is more capable than he lets on..

Domaru is physically very strong, and his simple and direct martial arts take advantage of that. Once he learns his clan body expansion techniques, he'll be a high-genin taijutsu at least, though he is only in the middle right now.

Shimiko, she has no natural talents or skills when it comes to taijutsu, but she is extremely solid, and she leverages her intelligence well. She's a very analytical fighter, and I think she will improve a lot over the next few years.

Mizuki is overly aggressive and he fights like he is invincible, but that is useful in its own ways. He is less likely to freeze during battle, and I think he will avoid any hesitation from fear in his first true fight.. Low-genin.

Iruka is the opposite, he fights with fear, and he hesitates a bit too much. That being said, he doesn't make mistakes and avoids most feints. He capitalizes on other's mistakes though. He's low Genin as well.

Tsubaki is not great, but not bad either. Very classical academy taijutsu fighter. She knows what she's doing, but I think she needs extra physical conditioning. She is low-genin, but would improve quickly with physicality. "

Heguri nodded as his fears slowly mounted. The teacher that Yama had taken over from had mentioned that his students were advanced, and Heguri was now confirming it.

The two got up at the same time and walked together and spent a few minutes at each of the children's shuriken ranges.

Heguri then excused himself after asking Yama to gather the students in the classroom for an important announcement.

Yama went to all the fields gathering them up.

Yama and the six ninja-in-training waited in the classroom for about 15 minutes before Heguri came in carrying a wooden box.

The box was obviously old and discolored, but it was sturdy, and smooth with use and age.

He stood at the front of the classroom with a somber look on his face.

"I'm sure that all of you have heard the rumors, and I'm sad to say that I am here to confirm that vast majority of them."

The six kids stiffened in response. Some of them steeled their visage while other had a small hint of fear leak through their amatuer poker faces.

Yama was looking around confused. He was almost divorced from the happening of the village and utterly confused as to what could be going on.

Heguri continued.

"The village is making wartime preparations, and that includes early graduation of the academy.

However, we do not have any Jonin-sensei, so we will be inducting you directly into the genin corps, which I am now the commander of."

Yama's face drained. He didn't remember anything like this happening in the past. He tried to speak up, but Heguri looked at him.

"We will discuss everything after this. However, know for now that I am acting on the orders of the Hokage and nothing will change that.

We will be dispensing with much of the ceremony today due to our situation."

Yama closed his mouth with a look of concern and held his tongue as Heguri continued.

Heguri opened the box in front of him.

"Aburame Shimiko, come forward."

The young girl walked forward with even steps and a face that gave away nothing.

Heguri brought a forehead protector out from the box and handed it over.

"You are now a shinobi of Konoha. Report to the Genin Corp HQ tomorrow morning at 0630."

Shimiko put the hitai-ate on and sat back down at her desk.

Heguri went through the class, one by one, graduating all six, giving the same instructions.

He then turned to Yama.

"Follow me to my office."

And the pair left the room together.

As soon as they closed the classroom door behind them, sounds of celebration and excited chatter broke out.

Heguri settled into his desk in his office at the Shinobi academy. He had cleared his personal possessions from the room and moved them to the Genin Corps HQ the previous day, so the desk was conspicuously empty.

Yama sat in the front of the desk in a visitor's chair and directly asked Heguri.

"Why are they being graduated early? I have a lot more to teach them before they're ready."

Heguri sighed.

"I am under direct orders to institute rolling graduation at the academy before I leave for my new position as the Genin Corps Commander.

It seems like you are unaware of what news has spread in the village so I'll inform you.

Diplomatic channels between all countries have collapsed and we are now preparing for likely war.

Thus, the Academy is changing to accommodate."

Yama shook his head.

"But six kids won't make the difference. If we need people that badly, there are other ways."

Heguri laughed mirthlessly.

"That brings me to my next point.

Here, look at this."

Heguri handed over a scroll which Yama then opened and read.

All combat capable instructors of the Shinobi Academy are hereby, under the order of the Hokage, conscripted as Genin Corps Lieutenants.

They will be commanding teams of multiple squads under the discretion of the Genin Corps Commander. They will also be responsible for their subordinates training.

Yama was gobsmacked as he read the scroll, which was validated with the seal of the Hokage and his signature at the bottom.

Heguri continued.

"You're in the army now.

What was your specialty as a ninja?"

Yama, still processing the situation, responded without thought.

"Heavy Assault."

"That's good, we'll need every combat hardened shinobi we can get to protect the genin.

Moist instructors were in logistics before. You'll have to pick up their slack."

"But I'm not a ninja of Konoha, I don't even have a hitai-ate..."

Heguri frowned.

"I took a quick look at your file and it says you are a retried ninja taking refuge in Konoha.

Well, you're hereby cleared for duty, and we would appreciate your cooperation.

Here is your hitai-ate."

Heguri reached into the wooden box he kept beneath the desk and pulled out another forehead protector.

Yama hesitantly reached out to receive it. As he took it into his hands, he slowly traced the familiar curves of the stylized leaf.

Heguri continued as Yama was somewhat lost in thought.

"Go home early today. Show up at HQ tomorrow at 0600 for assignment."

Yama, lost in memories, wordlessly got up and wandered out the door.

Heguri had a little bit of paperwork left to do for the recent graduates and settled into his desk for the last time.

After about 30 minutes, Fume made his way into the principal's office and called out.

"Oy, Heguri, what are you up to? Got time for an old friend?"

Fume was a lively man in his late thirties with an average appearance besides the fact that he was missing his right arm.

Heguri looked up from his paperwork and was surprised to see his former teammate in his office.

"What brings you here, Fume? I haven't seen you in months..."

Fume waved him off.

"I've been unretired. I heard you're the new Genin Commander?"

"You heard right. The higher-ups decided that I wasn't stressed enough."

Fume laughed loudly as Heguri had a wry grin. The two had a long history and were comfortable in each other's presence.

Fume continued and pulled a scroll out of his pocket.

"I've got an observation mission on one of your instructors."

"Which one?"

"Guy named Yama. Know him?"

"Yeah, I actually conscripted him into the Genin Corps today."

"No shit, are we conscripting teachers now?''

"Sadly, yes."

"Well, I'm supposed to check in on this guy for some reason or another. Probably cause he's a foreigner.

Don't really see a reason to do that if he's under your supervision."

"I agree. You know how the village is with emergency response, sometimes the missions get doubled up."

"Tell me about it."

"Why don't you pass the mission scroll to me and I'll keep tabs on him?"

"Really, Heguri? "

"He'll be my direct report. I don't see the issue."

"You're a life saver, they gave me four more missions the day I came back, and they're all back breakers."

"They never give us a rest huh?"

"Damn right Heguri, damn right. I gotta go, I'll see you around though. I'm still constrained to only village missions because of the whole arm thing."

"i'll see you around."

And with that Fume handed over the mission scroll.

Heguri was in a fairly good mood.

He got to see an old friend, and even better, he was able to help him out.

Fume actually lost his arm on a mission where the two of them were compromised and both almost died.

Heguri felt like he owed Fume more than he could ever repay, and the fact that he could get a mission done for him while the man was busy was convenient.

Heguri looked at the scroll. He had to go by the HQ tonight, he'd read the whole thing once he got there, so he turned to Fume.

"Actually, do you have time for a quick bite to eat"

Fume grinned.

"Always when I've got a mission."

The two laughed and made their way to a nearby restaurant where they caught up for about an hour before going their separate ways.

As soon as Heguri got to HQ, he was swarmed. There was a never ending avalanche of tasks that he had to complete.

It was like a Hydra, every task completed birthed two more.

Even though he was being swarmed by various people clamoring for his attention, he still remembered Fume's mission.

Observation of foreigners was a fairly common mission for Genin, so he figured he could pass the scroll on and have his people handle it.

He turned to one of his assistants.

"Take this scroll. Whatever mission is inside needs to be assigned to the Genin Corps, handle the paperwork for me please."

The middle-aged civilian took the scroll.

"Will do. Is there anything else I can help you with, Commander?"

"Not for now, thank you though."

The assistant quickly walked off with the scroll in her hands, as the group of people vying for Heguri's attention rapidly increased.

The female assistant named Hibiko made her way to her desk before opening the scroll.

She liked the new commander, he was much politer than the previous commanders, and she would know.

She had been an assistant to the Genin Commander for over 20 years, and she knew the ins and outs of the entire force.

She was one of those living libraries where if anyone had an issue, she was the resource they would go to.

And she took great pride in that fact. She was a proud citizen of Konoha, and even though she was a civilian, she served her village with dignity.

So when she got to her desk and unfurled the scroll, she was a little confused by the mission scroll.

She had never seen one like it before, and she was surprised.

It had been a few years since she had seen anything new, so this was a little exciting.

It was seemingly handwritten, which was in and of itself unusual and it contained the following.

Personal Mission from the Office of the Hokage

Observation of citizen known as Yama, who is currently serving as an Academy Instructor.

Pending final evaluation, he is to be observed on a constant basis to evaluate his abilities and motivations.

The subject of observation is to be treated with dignity and respect.

This is not a criminal investigation, and Yama is to be treated as a valuable asset to the village.

Threat Level: 0

Flight Risk: 0

Background: Nothing of Note

Hibiko scrunched her face as she read the mission.

And she couldn't really make heads or tails of it.

The weirdest part was that it was handwritten. The Hokage office must have run out of mission forms or something similar with all the hustle and bustle of the last few days.

That being said, which form would they have used if they didn't run out?

The words were nonstandard, but she got the message clearly enough. Yama was a candidate for an evaluation of some sort.

Besides, who was this Yama fellow?

But then she remembered, Hibiko was working on some new recruit forms this morning, and his name had already popped up. He was one of the conscripted Academy instructors.

She had finished creating his file around lunch time, and it was still waiting to be filed away into the service records.

Hibiko quickly found the file on a nearby table and opened it, seeing if she could figure out what was going on.

As she read through his file, she started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

She confirmed that Yama was an instructor who was just conscripted into the Genin Corps,

However, what was weird was that he was conscripted as a genin, even though he was to be a Lieutenant, while all other instructors were brought in as chuunin.

When she read his skills and evaluation records, the records noted that his skills were possibly Chuunin level or higher in taijutsu and he had many years of experience as a shinobi.

Hibiko thought to herself.

Ah, its a promotional evaluation!

Why didn't they just ask for one of our forms if they ran out?

Those girls at the Hokage tower are so busy, I'll let it slide this time.

I can just transfer the data over myself.

And so, Hibiko took out one of the blank Chuunin Evaluation and Observation forms they had floating around the office and filled it in before putting it into Yama's file.

She then took the original scroll that Heguri had handed over and threw it into the burn bin where all the confidential materials that were to be disposed of went.