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The dawn in Sunagakure was always a great spectacle: the sky shifting from absolute black to a bloody red, while the night's cold retreated before the heat that would soon crush everything.
Daigo, Sasori, and Shizuka arrived at Training Ground No. 1 just as the first ray of sun touched the dunes. Takumi was already waiting for them, standing in the center of the field, arms crossed, his purple scarf fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.
"You arrived on time," Takumi said in his calm voice. "That's already a point in your favor."
The three genin positioned themselves in front of him in a semicircle. Daigo with his forehead protector on his head, Sasori with his scrolls ready at his waist, Shizuka with her hands in her pockets and her gaze attentive though hidden.
Takumi observed them for a long moment, as if measuring something beyond their bodies.
"Before any mission, I want to know exactly how strong you are. Today there's no theory. No gentle lessons. Today you're facing me—a jōnin. You know what that means, right?"
The three nodded, each seeming more interested in what their sensei was saying.
"Simple rules: three against one. I'll only use taijutsu and basic Fūton. You use everything you want. The goal isn't to beat me. It's to show me what you've got. If you impress me, I'll take you on real missions tomorrow."
He paused.
"Understood?"
"Understood," the three replied in unison.
Takumi smiled faintly. It was the first time they'd seen him smile.
"Then begin."
Daigo was the first to move, with speed far superior to someone his age. He appeared quickly beside Takumi, who followed him with his eyes and blocked Daigo's first punch.
This only made Daigo continue with a spinning kick, which Takumi dodged by stepping back. Then he pulled a shuriken from his pocket and blocked the senbon heading toward his vital points.
Blocking them, Takumi looked left and right, where two human-sized puppets floated, their mouths open after launching the senbon. In the middle of the puppets, Daigo was in position, ready.
"Not bad. Though tricks like that won't make me sweat," Takumi said, looking at both.
Without waiting, the puppets moved as if controlled by a spirit. Swords emerged from their arms and attacked Takumi, who—showing his mastery of the wind element—infused his chakra into his kunai, making it longer and blocking the attacks.
Daigo didn't stop, attacking alongside the puppets. But Takumi, with his other hand, seemed able to counter, preventing any serious hit—though they were enough to force Takumi to move thanks to the power behind them.
Takumi, seeing them all attacking at once, didn't hesitate to form hand seals and open his mouth.
"Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)," Takumi said, and a strong gust of wind sent the two puppets—and Daigo—flying through the air, giving Takumi the space he needed.
Seeing he was free, he didn't forget his last student. His highly alert senses warned him something was coming from behind.
Everything looked normal, but his instincts never betrayed him. So he jumped, changing position, to see the rock behind him sliced in half.
"So that's your clan's bloodline, Shizuka. Quite dangerous," Takumi said, sweating a little. He only knew it was coming thanks to his heightened senses from years of combat.
"I knew it wouldn't work on you, but that doesn't mean I won't try," Shizuka said, her voice seeming to come from everywhere.
Then her low voice was heard.
"Musei Kaze no Yaiba (Whisper Release: Wind Blade)," Shizuka said, and several invisible wind blades shot from different directions toward Takumi, who turned serious.
Sensing the danger, he used one of his defensive techniques that could counter most simple attacks.
"Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Divine Downwind)," Takumi said, and a whirlwind of wind appeared around him, shattering and canceling the invisible wind blades. Takumi stayed hidden inside.
Shizuka just clicked her tongue and disappeared from her previous position, meeting up with Sasori and Daigo.
"It seems my techniques are useless against jōnin. So without distracting him, I don't think I can do anything—and my hand-to-hand wouldn't help either," Shizuka said.
"Same here. My puppets are strong, but every time I get close, he'll push me away with his wind. Though I can distract him," Sasori said.
"There are two ways: we try once more with me and Sasori drawing his attention and you attacking hidden, or we go all out," Daigo asked, eager to go full force.
"He said not to hold back, so I don't mind that idea," Shizuka said.
The two looked at Sasori, who just nodded.
"I'll use all the puppets I can at once—that's five," Sasori said.
They all nodded and started preparing, though Takumi's voice warned them to hurry.
"If that's the best you have, you might as well surrender, and we'll train until I feel you're ready. If not, it's time to show me how strong you are," Takumi shouted into the winds.
The first to emerge was Daigo, from behind the rock. Though this time, something changed: his pink eyes shone much brighter, and a matching pink aura emanated from around him.
Takumi said nothing, just watched curiously.
Also, five puppets emerged. They moved around Takumi, all with swords instead of hands and mouths open, ready to launch poisoned weapons.
"Sensei Takumi, I hope you're ready—because I'm going 100%," Daigo said.
Then he vanished from his spot, so that to anyone watching, they only saw the pink aura moving. Takumi, expecting something, was surprised by Daigo's new speed. He raised his guard to withstand the kick to his chest.
Takumi slid backward, then moved using a substitution jutsu—since the rock he used was sliced in half by an invisible wind blade.
Seeing senbon after senbon heading his way, he started seals, but Daigo interrupted, appearing and attacking again. This time, Takumi—prepared—counterattacked, and the two exchanged punches.
Takumi had to admit Daigo's punches had power—maybe enough to defeat a chūnin—but he wasn't a jōnin for nothing. Using his height and reach advantage, he struck Daigo and pulled away to dodge and block the puppets' attacks.
The fight continued, with the student group using everything they had. Even Daigo considered using the Second Breath, but he wasn't ready to use it normally—it would only be for emergencies—so he stuck with the First.
Takumi was satisfied with their strength and noticed Daigo wasn't attacking recklessly; he seemed to be herding him toward a destined area. He realized when hands from the ground grabbed him.
Burying his body in the sand, leaving only his head exposed. His instincts activated again, knowing Shizuka wouldn't waste the advantage—and Daigo jumped, falling to end the battle with an axe kick.
Seeing the situation, he just smiled and—without any hand seals, since he was trapped—inhaled a large amount of air and released it.
"Fūton: Atsugai (Wind Release: Pressure Damage)"
A massive wind explosion occurred right where Takumi was, pushing everything around him away with the strong winds. The ones who suffered most from the attack were Daigo, who was shot back again—though a rock stopped him, hurting enough to knock him out for a while.
And the others were Sasori's puppets, completely destroyed by the strong winds, leaving him completely disarmed against his sensei's threat.
Shizuka, watching from afar, her eyes widened at the massive jutsu that seemed to have destroyed everything in its path. Maybe she could do something like that in the future.
The wind explosion stopped where Takumi had been, leaving a hole where the blast had blown away all the sand. Pieces of puppet wood and metal were scattered around, but there was no sign of Takumi.
Until applause was heard from the largest rock in the training ground—and there was Takumi, completely clean and perfect, as if nothing had happened.
"That was impressive. You forced my wind clone to use a pretty strong technique to get out of there," Takumi said, looking at his students and seeing Daigo seemingly asleep on the rock he'd crashed into—a bubble coming from his mouth.
"Sensei, that was impressive—and it was just your clone the whole time?" Shizuka asked, approaching.
"That's right. That's why I told you to go all out—there was no chance of anything bad happening," Takumi said, looking at both. Now Sasori approached, staring at his broken puppets.
"Huh? Where's Daigo?" Shizuka asked, looking around until she spotted him sleeping on the rock he'd been slammed into.
The three approached and looked at Daigo with a sweat drop at the situation.
Sasori, not wanting to wait for Daigo to wake up, created a chakra thread that popped Daigo's saliva bubble, waking him.
"Huh? Did the fight end already?" Daigo asked, wiping his face.
"Looks like you had a good nap. It's time for you to go rest," Takumi said, looking at the now-standing Daigo, who stretched, noticing his sore muscles and body.
"Sensei, I think you owe us food for making us fight you. What do you think, guys?" Daigo asked, looking at his teammates.
Both just nodded, staring at Takumi—whose usually serious face showed he couldn't deny the request.
So the four left the training ground for a restaurant Shizuka knew that served the best curry in Sunagakure, made with pumpkins.
They all ate until full. Daigo devoured all the food his stomach needed, leaving Takumi's wallet almost empty from paying—making him swear to himself he'd never pay again.
Everyone left satisfied, and Takumi took the moment to get their attention.
"Tomorrow at first light at the gate—we're leaving for our first C-rank mission," he said, then disappearing in his characteristic shunshin, leaving only the students—who nodded and went their separate ways.
End of chapter