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Arc I Chapter 8

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Asami practised another morning session of callisthenics, even when it was already afternoon. It was her habit to sleep longer than necessary, but in her defence, her bed was simply too soft and fluffy to fight the temptation of slumber ...

Her periphery senses reacted. An unknown chakra signature entered her range, heading straight in her direction. The signature was coming closer and closer.

Unidentified chakra signature ... Above average ... High chakra level ... Ninja ... Probably her sensei.

A woman opened the door, entering the garden. The woman was young, in her early twenties, and yet she was a genuine kunoichi. Her metal headband betrayed her upon sight.

Her sensei wore a white sleeveless tunic over her red fishnet. Her black hair was loose, and her eyes possessed a crimson tone.

The woman seemed uncomfortable with the entire situation, visibly nervous. She was fidgeting with her hands, and yet it was her to make the first step and break the ice. “Eh, ...”

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“Eh, ... what are you doing there?” Kurenai offered a weak smile to greet her new student. Clearly, she wasn't the best choice to serve as an instructor. She lacked the necessary experience, and her social skills were also subpar. And yet Kurano had chosen her. Her mother trusted her with her precious little daughter without a second thought.

To be honest, she was tempted to decline the mission, but her heart was unable to reject such a loving and caring mother such as Kurano. In the end, she thus accepted.

“...” Kurenai sighed. She was far too kind for her own good, wasn't she?

And to make matters even worse, Asami was supposed to be a veritable prodigy, a genius in the making. At least, her mother claimed so. Whether her daughter was the real deal, was another question entirely. Only time would tell. She had seen many of these so called prodigies before. Few deserved the title, even fewer fulfilled the expectations that came with it.

Kurenai approached the girl. “What are you doing there?”

Asami tilted her head, oblivious to her own cuteness. “I am doing my daily stretching exercises. I am preparing myself for my lessons with my sensei.”

“Oh, you have a seinsei?” Kurenai smiled.

“Yes, Okaa-san told me that she is supposed to visit me today, but she hasn’t arrived yet ...” Asami crossed her arms like the pampered little princess she was. Her cute pouting face warmed Kurenai’s heart.

Kurenai merely laughed. “Well, I am a bit late, but here I am.”

Asami blinked, playing the part of a cute girl perfectly. “So you are my sensei?” Her eyes sparkled.

Kurenai smiled. ”Yes, I am. My name is Yuhi Kurenai, and I will be your sensei from now on.”

Asami offered a slight bow in return. “Mine is Minami Asami. It's a pleasure to meet you, sensei.”

“...” Kurenai beamed. What a lovely and polite girl. Maybe tutoring her was the right decision, after all. “I am impressed, Asami-chan. The majority of academy students don't show much enthusiasm when it comes to their training, even when training is an integral part of ninja life. But you seem different. Your exercises are admirable. They are a small step, but a step, nevertheless.”

Asami nodded. “I suppose that is true.”

Kurenai continued, “Please tell me, what do you know about ninja in general, Asami-chan?”

Asami tilted her head, contemplating the question for a while. “Very little. I don't know very much, but the impression that I have got so far is that the majority of ninja are beyond incompetent. They are an undisciplined, disorganised, careless, overly cocky bunch, who having nothing better to do than fooling around the whole day long.

They perform strange missions like rescuing cats from treetops and searching for missing pets. They help old ladies with their groceries. They even do house cleaning, weeding, and cooking. I suppose that ninja are not much different from personal servants ...”

“I see, that is a rather interesting view you have, Asami-chan.” Kurenai wore an uneasy smile. Her words cut like obsidian, hurting her professional pride. After so many years of hard training, the girl made her sound like a simple errand girl.

Kurenai regained her composure. “I assume then that you have never received any formal training, right?”

“...” Asami nodded.

“I also assume that you have never heard about the concepts of chakra or jutsu either?”

“...” Asami nodded again, confirming Kurenai’s suspicions. Asami’s family wasn’t related to any clan. Her access to any form of training was thus limited. The girl was a blank slate.

“...” Kurenai sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy task. She would have to start from complete scratch with her.

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Kurenai was a bitch. A sadistic and scrupulous bitch. There was no other explanation. Her training was hellish. Was she trying to kill her, or what? Who did she think she was to treat her like this? She was only a little girl! She was cute, adorable, and cuddly like a doll. She wasn't made for such arduous physical training.

How it was possible that Kurenai could consider her routine gruesome torture sessions perfectly normal was beyond her. Was Kurenai crazy? Probably. No normal child could or should survive this kind of training. She did, but only because she cheated with her chakra.

Behind her always friendly smile, Kurenai was hiding her true nature. In truth, she was an inhumane slave driver without remorse. Her sensei was putting her through a training regime that bordered on insanity. Brutal marches to increase her endurance and stamina. Sparring matches with the sole purpose to make her eat dirt. Impossible target practises.

Running miles, and miles, and miles, and miles with her tiny shoulders were forced to carry a heavy backpack. Stupid endurance. Stupid stamina. Stupid physical strength. Her frail body could be considered rather, rather, rather petite, and that was unlikely to ever change due to the strong Yin component of her chakra.

For now, she was able to compensated for her lack of physical strength with her chakra. She possessed plenty of chakra to spare, but little actual strength. It wasn't the best solution, but it was a solution.

The sparring matches were an equally terrible experience. They typically ended with her kissing the ground. Kurenai was really lucky that her weak body didn't allow her to repay her kindness and give her some of her own medicine.

Her target training meanwhile was more fun. Throwing some knives and metal stars wasn't much of a challenge, even though it was her first time doing it. Kurenai praised her. Apparently, she had a natural talent for using kunai and shuriken. Quite an unexpected turn of events.

Kurenai unearthed talents that she had never known about. Judging by her incredulous look, she had exceeded her expectations by a wide margin. She hit the bull's eye over and over. She never missed, not even once.

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