Soon, Friday came to an end and the weekend began.
Like Sen Aburame, in the other day's sparring session, Natsuko Sarutobi faced a background character. Her match was over within the first two moves and it ended, as expected, in Natsuko's victory.
The spars were a good experience for all of them, though. It showed them what a ninja fight would be like up close and personal. Crazy. It's almost like that's what a spar was meant for or something.
Before the kids could get their hands on ninjutsu, however, they were stuck learning whatever it was that the Ninja Academy actually taught them. From what the five could tell, and based on their memories of the past two years–the kids were essentially only taught the three basic jutsu as well as a little bit of Konoha Style Taijutsu.
Why taijutsu wasn't its own class and why it wasn't required for all ninja to learn? Well, that had to do with Clan politics. Basically, since some Noble and Shinobi Clans had their own styles of taijutsu, and they too were required to send their children to the Academy–it would then be mismanagement to force the kids to learn two styles of taijutsu at the same time.
Why couldn't the Academy just filter out the Clan kids? They must be a minority against the grander Konoha population, right?
Who knows.
Either way, there was nothing the five reincarnates could do.
The Konoha Ninja Academy taught the three basic jutsu, plus a little basic taijutsu, as well as ninja tool handling and maintenance and that was largely it. Of course, the students also learned history and math–and they were also taught how to dress minor injuries like lacerations and stab wounds–but that really was it.
Once they graduated and became Genin, it was expected that their assigned Chūnin or Jōnin Squad Captain would further endow them with more education; such as chakra control training, nature transformation training, and subsequent elemental ninjutsu practice.
"We have a year to perfect our chakra control." Natsuko Sarutobi opened with.
It was Saturday. Training Grounds 33.
With the spars behind them, the five young shinobi gathered again to discuss what they could do to get stronger in the meantime. As was aforementioned, they lacked access to essentially all ninjutsu. The only things they could train were the basics.
So that's what today's philosophy meeting was about: the basics.
"We also can't neglect taijutsu. We all know how far Guy went with taijutsu alone; it cannot be ignored." Ando Kaze added.
"That's true." Mori Fūma agreed, "but really, we just need to identify our specialties and then train around those."
"Specialties?" Okuda Tomomori repeated, his eyebrows scrunched.
"She means our talents." Sen Aburame told him.
"I mean, think about it." Mori began. "We know talent matters in this world far more than normal, just look at Naruto's chakra reserves–or let's take Sakura, for example. Naruto was a bad one. Yes, we all know Sakura was useless for pretty much the entirety of the story, but her growth spurts–when she did actually get them–all came from identifying her talents and then maximizing them."
"You mean when she discovered she had an affinity for Yang Release and just all in'ed on Medical Ninjutsu, right?" Ando asked.
"Well, yes, but even there! You said all in. That means Sakura was essentially able to go from Genin all the way to Jōnin by maximizing only one of her talents: Yang Release. If we could do the same–identify what our affinities are now–we could begin our specializations way earlier than everyone else! And honestly, I bet it would be good for our chakra pathways too. The pathways must also grow-up with our bodies, and if we train to work with elemental chakra now–it could only be a good thing!" Mori argued.
"Hmm." Ando paused. "Your logic makes sense, but I really don't see a way for all of us to get a hold of chakra paper. And even if we somehow did, it's not like we have any ninjutsu to learn anyway."
"Actually…" Natsuko interrupted. She rustled within her bag and pulled out an old, furled scroll. "I found these in the cottage my parent's left for me. It's Fire Release and Earth Release."
Mori Fūma immediately snatched the scrolls and revealed them.
"This is perfect!" She said. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
Natsuko awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "Actually, I'm kinda with Ando on this one. I agree that the sooner we identify our talents, the quicker we can progress–but chakra control is the foundation of everything. And chakra itself comes from the body, so in a way taijutsu, or at least physical training, is also the basis of everything. While I think it would be fine to learn one of these ninjutsu, I also think focusing on chakra control is the more important aspect right now."
To prove her point, Natsuko looked around at everyone. "Has anyone here even attempted tree climbing yet? Water walking? Can anyone here materialize chakra threads?"
The four other reincarnates looked at her, blankly. None of them responded. They couldn't. Chakra control to that degree was not a part of any of their memories; they had already discussed it.
Then, Natsuko looked back at Mori Fūma.
"You can learn the ninjutsu first if you want, but I'm not going to even attempt it until I'm confident on turbulent water." She said. "And that goes for everyone. I thought about it the other night, and I think we should share all of our ninjutsu until explicitly told not to."
"What?!!" Ando Kaze beamed. "Are you crazy?!"
Okuda looked between the two. "What's the big deal?" He asked Sen.
"I don't know." Said Sen.
"It's really not that crazy." Natsuko defended.
"For one, we're children. It is semi-expected that we make mistakes fairly often. And for two, if we're ever questioned about it, we just need to give a Will of Fire sob-story; b-b-b-but I-I-I th-thought under the W-Will of F-Fire all of the villagers were family and I th-thought I was supposed to sh-share with my family. I j-just w-wanted to h-help… or something along those lines. Come on. It's full-proof." Natsuko Sarutobi laid out her plan.
"You really think it'll be that easy?" Ando was skepticable.
"It sure made sense to me!" Okuda offered.
"It might not work for B-rank jutsu and above, but for D and C? I think Hiruzen will just see us as odd and will put a stop to it before it gets out of hand, i.e. as we get access to B-rank jutsu." She replied.
"I hope you're right…" Ando responded.
Meanwhile, "Fire Release: Flaming Breath!" Mori stood a good distance away now. She was determined to learn one of the ninjutsu, it seemed.
Unfortunately, as ash and sparks fizzled out before her–it appeared as though it was a long ways away before she could truly breathe fire.
20 Minutes Later.
Mori Fūma laid on the ground in the center of Training Grounds 33. She was defeated. And so soon, at that.
Her performance with the fire ninjutsu: atrocious.
Her performance with the earth ninjutsu: bad?
It certainly was not good. She was no prodigy, the other four were certain of that fact by the end of the twenty minutes. As mentioned, her "Flaming Breath" was no more than the snap of flint and steel. Her Mud Clone, on the other hand, did have a more impactful reaction; in response to Mori's direction, the earth took the shape of a cocoon then stalled. Much better than her show with flames, but good?
That seemed like a stretch.
So after a good ten minutes of lying on the ground and staring up at the sky–at the clouds, at the occasional bird, and at whatever shapes the girl could forge in her mind–Mori Fūma got up, and she joined the others in chakra training.
The Weekend's Goal: Make it up to the top of a tree.
Meanwhile, within the Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers rested lightly upon the rim of his crystal ball. Its surface was cool, and underneath the touch of the Sandaime Hokage's hand, it hummed whilst chakra coursed through it.
At first, he peered with mild curiosity; "What can I find today?" He thought.
Suddenly, the image within the crystal ball wavered, then sharpened, until it revealed a sunlit grove against the backdrop of a sprawling forest. In the forest, five children stood at the bases of tall trees, their faces taught with concentration. Each child placed a foot against the bark–some hesitant, others testing–while chakra flickered to life underneath the soles of their feet.
"Hmm.." Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured. He recognized one of those children. He leaned closer.
A pink-haired boy slipped almost immediately, his sandals scraped uselessly against the trunk before he dropped back to the ground with a frustrated grunt. An Aburame child managed two steps before he lost control and tumbled back down to the ground. The Third Hokage's brow creased, not in disappointment, but in interest. His eyes followed the subtle details–the way their hands clenched when they tried to hold on, the way their breathing stuttered whenever their chakra did.
The kids didn't give up, though.
Again and again, they persevered.
The crystal showed scraped palms, dirt-streaked knees, and clenched teeth. Then, the little Sarutobi girl adjusted her stance and applied her chakra more evenly. Another child closed their eyes for a moment, where they centered themselves, before stepping forward again. Slowly, progress began to show.
Natsuko Sarutobi climbed three steps up. Then four. Sen Aburame reached halfway up the trunk, his feet barely holding on to the same place they last fell. The soundless image depicted through the crystal conveyed determination as clearly as any voice could. Sweat darkened their collars. Their faces were hardened into statues of focus rather than frustration.
A faint smile tugged at the edge of Hiruzen's mouth.
He watched as the blonde boy finally reached a low-hanging branch and laughed in disbelief. He clung to it while the others looked up at him in wide-eyed awe. Instead of jealousy, the other children cheered before turning back towards their own tree with renewed resolve.
"Good." Hiruzen Sarutobi whispered.
By the time the crystal showed all five children off the ground–some higher than others, some trembling but holding on–the curiosity within the Third's eyes had softened to something warmer. Pride settled into his posture, deep and quiet.
These were not prodigies.
Not miracles.
They were children putting in the work that would last them a lifetime.
The crystal ball glowed steadily while the Hokage watched as five children hung from bark and branch alike, each refusing to fall, refusing to fail. Hiruzen Sarutobi's reflection mingled faintly across the surface of the crystal ball–his aged eyes shone as he nodded once, satisfied.
"Perhaps they'll go far." He said to an empty room.
Then, the image flickered, and the scene was gone.