"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."
After going through the hand signs and kneading his chakra, Tenji expelled it from his mouth. A huge fireball flew through the air and then hit the pond, causing the water to evaporate and steam to rise.
"Wooooow! That was huge!" Sora said, seeing this.
"That's ridiculous. How can you do that better than Naka, who is from the Uchiha Clan?" Toka asked.
"Hm!" The black-haired boy, seeing this, quickly huffed and turned to the side.
"Are you sure you never used this jutsu? I feel like you're lying to us, Uncle," Toka said.
"And you can do it after seeing it only once, too... so cool!" Sora yelled excitedly.
"My brother could do that as well..." Naka muttered.
"I have never used a jutsu in my life. Today was the first time. But this jutsu might as well be useless, unless you're fighting in a cramped room," Tenji said.
"Huh? Why do you say that?" Naka asked. "Are you looking down on the Uchiha Clan?!"
"Unless you use ridiculous amounts of chakra, the jutsu is useless, since I can sidestep it easily and gain the advantage right away. And if you had that much chakra to spare to make the fireball that big, you should use it better," Tenji said.
"Oh yeah? Well, what do you know?! You haven't ever used jutsu!" Naka said angrily.
"Hehe, seems that Naka's Uchiha pride was scratched," Sora smiled.
"Seems like it."
"Talking down on things is easy. Try to create something if you're so good," Naka challenged.
"Create something new...?"
Tenji thought about it. Naka was angry, but his argument had merit. There were a maximum of six hand seals to knead one's chakra for the Fireball Jutsu. Some could use it with less, but that's the standard amount.
Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
From his observations, Tenji realised that Fire Release was commonly affiliated with the Tiger hand seal. And it made sense, the feeling was right there. Tenji smiled bitterly, thinking about his grandson Indra, who came up with this. For a moment, he closed his eyes and went over everything.
The three genin looked at each other in confusion. Naka thought he had won the argument. His Uchiha Pride was evident, and he was very talented, but their fight against Tenji had humbled him. Something few Uchiha appreciated. Toka looked at Tenji, not understanding what he was doing. But he waited for something to happen. Sora was very excited to see the Uncle they met create a new jutsu. For some reason, she didn't doubt that he could do it. After defeating their jonin sensei, Tenji had told them to wait until he woke up before they returned to Konoha.
It was strange to think that Tenji, whom they had fought bitterly half an hour ago, was now talking to them and playing around with jutsus, as if they had known each other for a long time. And yet, that's what happened. Tenji hated the fact that the Hidden Villages employed children, as he understood how traumatic this was. He was gentle with them, and the three felt strangely 'warm' in his presence. Tenji had a calming effect on him, showing genuine concern for them. So they got to talk, and somehow ended up discussing jutsus.
After one minute, Tenji opened his eyes. He went through a series of seven hand signs to mould his chakra. Then, he exhaled and expelled it from his mouth.
Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger → Snake
"Fire Style: Exploding Fireball Jutsu."
Upon contact with the tree, the fireball exploded. The explosion spread around and burnt trees within a radius of 10 meters to ash.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"It's not perfect," Tenji admitted. "The jutsu takes an additional seal to perform. So I suppose I failed. However..."
Tenji rushed through another set of hand seals. The same process: Moulding chakra, inhale and then expel from the mouth. But this time, it was a different jutsu again.
"Fire Style: Flame Scattershot Jutsu."
Tenji generated multiple smaller fireballs at once, forming a barrage of attacks across a wider area. The trees once again started burning, but not as quickly as the jutsu before.
The three genin dropped their jaws. In a matter of minutes, Tenji had created two new fire jutsus and all within roughly the same hand seals. Tenji, meanwhile, smiled amused. This was fun and almost made him forget about his current situation.
"OOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Sora finally exploded with excitement.
She started rushing towards Tenji and jumped up and down, unable to stop herself.
"That was so COOOOOOLLL. Create one for me, PLEASE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!"
Tenji chuckled at her energy. She was a pure child, happy and unburdened... for now.
"Alright, alright. Let me see. What kind of jutsu would you like?" he asked as if you could order this at the restaurant.
"Ummm, a flashy one. One that goes like fwoom and then swish, and then something unexpected happens! And then..."
She went on for a while, but Tenji let her vent all that energy. The other two boys hadn't said anything, still unable to comprehend what they had seen. They were used to Sora's character at this point. When she was finally finished describing her super-duper-awesome-jutsu, as she called it, Tenji nodded, already having an idea.
Tiger → Ox → Tiger → Rat → Bird → Horse
"Water Style: Sea Serpent Jutsu"
Tenji expelled water from his mouth, creating a serpent-shaped stream that circled the group and then shot forward, cutting through several trees.
"Uhhh..." "What the...?!"
"YEESSS!!" Sora shouted.
By adding two additional hand seals, Tenji turned the versatile 'Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu' into a seriously unpredictable and strong jutsu. Ironically, the jutsu somewhat resembled the 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu', which took 40 hand seals. And the one Tenji created, took only 6. Naturally, it was weaker, but it was still impressive.
Sora walked to the pond and started to weave the same hand signs as Tenji had. Her first attempt wasn't very good, and a scoop of water lifted in the air and then dropped again. Undeterred, she continued to go through the hand signs and try to cast the jutsu. Naka tried to slip away without anyone noticing, to practise what he had seen with his Sharingan. That left only Toka.
"You want one as well?" Tenji asked.
"Uhh... yes, please?"
"That jutsu you used during our first encounter wasn't bad. What was it you called it? Earth Flow Spears?"
"Yes. Whabout it?" Toka asked.
"The idea is good. In a group fight, controlling the terrain is an advantage. So your idea was good. I would recommend staying with that one for now and adding new things."
"Like what?"
"Unpredictability. Make the earth spikes move and attack the enemy upwards from different directions. Have the area move in unpredictable patterns," Tenji explained.
"And how would I do that? That would require a lot of chakra, which I don't have right now."
"Yes, but if you practice chakra control further, all you need is imagination, and it should work. Here's my idea," Tenji said.
He did the same hand seals as Toka did to perform 'Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears'. The ground changed right away, and spikes shot upwards. But the spikes looked more robust and bigger than Toka's.
"This was the jutsu you used before. You see, if I jump and perform a jutsu of my own to attack you, it could be rather easily avoided as it is now. That's because everything is stationary. But what if they weren't?"
"Stationary?"
"Yes. Watch," Tenji said and performed a series of hand seals.
The earth spikes started moving. Some of them grew larger, while others grew smaller and retreated into the ground. Tenji tilted his head slightly and then weaved another set of hand seals. The series was longer this time, but when he finished, the effect was immediately visible. The earth spikes started working like a machine, moving up and down at different intervals. Toka observed this with wide eyes. But Tenji wasn't done yet.
"Still not quite there..."
He weaved the hand seals again, adding a few and changing a few others. The earth spikes changed direction, not only moving up and down but sometimes rising diagonally from different angles. The area in front of the two turned into a grinding field of deadly spikes. It looked like a small stone forest that wanted to kill you if you were trapped inside it.
"Let's call it... Earth Style: Spike Forest Jutsu," Tenji said.
"Uhhh... how much... chakra do you use to do this?" Toka asked.
"Not much. But you're, of course, correct; it could be better. Hmm, there might be another cool thing we could add."
"Another?!"
Tenji stopped the jutsu and then went right ahead, weaving a new set of hand seals. The ground didn't shoot up spikes this time; instead, it started to rumble and split into hundreds of smaller plates, which all moved up and down. It was similar to the first version of the spikes, but the distance they moved was much smaller, and they moved faster, making the three genin stumble.
"We could call this, Earth Style: Rumble Ground Jutsu. You could start with this one and then move on to the spike forest. This way you could--"
Tenji suddenly stopped talking. It was as though he came to his senses. Here he was, angry that those with power sent children to war and die, and yet he showed them better ways to do that. He smiled bitterly and sighed. Seeing his reaction, Toka was confused. Sora stopped what she was doing and walked over.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is that the world has changed so much that it trains child soldiers shortly after infancy and sends them to war to die for pointless political manoeuvres. And everyone is okay with it."
"Child soldiers? We're ninja. We train early so we can protect our village," Toka said.
Sora nodded quickly.
"That's what Lord Hokage said. The Will of Fire means everyone protects each other. Even kids."
"The will of fire?"
"Yes. It states that the entire village is like a large family, and we shinobi with the Will of Fire love, believe, cherish, and fight to protect Konoha, as previous generations had done before us," Sora explained.
Tenji exhaled through his nose, a short, humourless breath.
"I see now. Hokage means Fire Shadow... makes sense. So that's what they taught you to call it."
"It's not just words. The Will of Fire is about love for the village. About putting others before yourself. It's a noble goal, and the Hokage is a great man. Greater than you will ever be!" Toka shouted.
"Is it?" Tenji asked calmly. "Or is it truly about love, or about convincing children to accept dying before they've even lived?"
Sora's eyes widened. She seemed genuinely hurt when Tenji said this.
"That's not fair. We choose this. No one forced us."
Tenji tilted his head.
"Did you choose the world you were born into? Did you choose to be trained before you understood what death felt and looked like? Or did adults tell you a story where sacrifice sounded noble enough that you wouldn't question it?"
Toka clenched his fists.
"If we don't fight, others die. That's just how it is," Naka said.
"And who decided that? You? The Hokage? Or people who will never stand where you stand now? If it were about protecting the children and love, why were you sent to fight and die? Who protects you? Why do you have to do this? Why not later on, when you're older?"
Sora swallowed.
"My parents were ninja too... They died on a mission. I don't want anyone to experience what I did, and so I will fight to stop that."
Tenji's expression softened and continued gently.
"I am sorry you had to experience that, and I am sorry that it had to come to that. But going to the battlefield yourself, because your parents died, is not the right way to go about it. Tell me something. When you fall in battle, who benefits from that? Your mother? Your father? You? Or the Hokage that gets shed tears publicly and says your death, while very tragic, was 'necessary' for the good of the village?"
"The Will of Fire means we're family. And it is worth dying for my family," Toka said.
"Then it has failed you," Tenji said quietly. "Families don't send their children to die to further their goals and preserve systems built by cowards."
"But if everyone thought like you… Nothing would protect the village," Naka said.
"No. If everyone thought like me, the village would never need children to protect it. A leader who needs children to fight his wars for him is a failure and should be put down."
"You know nothing!"
They turned around and saw Hanato standing up.
"Sensei!"
"You're alright. Thank goodness."
"Sora used her medical jutsu to heal you," Toka said.
"Did she?" Hanato asked.
"It was nothing. In fact, it was Tenji who helped you after seeing me do it," Sora said.
"Why would you do that?" Hanato asked. "Why help your enemy?"
"Because... you're my kin."