Substitute or die [P]

Nagata followed obediently as he was instructed by the teacher, along with other fellow students. Today, they would be learning the ‘Substitution Jutsu’. That was all the information the instructor had told them in the class. After that, they were told to form a line and follow to the training grounds. This was his first practical class too. They didn’t emphasize much on the theoretical stuff but he understood that it was important. A battle of life and death did require a mind capable of deducing a number of elements to not only survive but also take down the enemy.

They lined up in front of the sensei and stood in silence. It was an obedient class. Specially because sensei was on the crazy side or at least appeared to be. Nagata, like the other students, had heard rumors of his ‘unorthodox’ methods.

”So, we’re learning the substitution jutsu. Here’s how we’re doing it. I’ll show you the handsigns and then you practice it for a while. After that, I’ll pair two of you up and you’ll practice it in a battle-like situation”, said the sensei. Then, as he had said, he made the handsigns and used the jutsu. Poofing from in front of his students and appearing a few meters away. Replacing the him from before with a log, of half his mass, nearby. After the demonstration, he clapped his hands and instructed ”Chop chop everyone. Get to it”. Everyone did as they were told, they began making the handsigns and focusing their chakra to use the jutsu.

Nagata walked a few paces away from his fellow students. He had seen the handsigns, memorized them. He mentally prepared himself, then used the handsigns. In that instant, he saw a butterfly fly by and got distracted. Thereby forgetting to focus his chakra and rendering the handsigns useless. After staring at the butterfly for a little while, he decided to go drink water. Obviously tired from working too hard. The sensei just stood silently in the corner, allowing the students to do as they pleased. It was a relax working and studying environment. Nagata wondered why the rumors were spread like that. ”He isn’t too bad”,he thought to himself nodding as he drank the water.

Before he could get back to repeating what he had done earlier. The sensei returned to the center of the training grounds and clapped his hands; signalling everyone to gather around him. Hearing the clapping, they returned and formed a line in front of him. ”Now then, this is how we’ll be testing it out”, after that sentence the explanation followed. As he explained what he was doing, Nagata realized how true the rumor was. The calm way he had explained the death match and with a smile to top it off. He didn’t care if his students died doing what he had just told them.

As fate would have it, Nagata was the first to be chosen along with another. As instructed, the two stood in front of one another with Kunai in hand, 10 meters apart from each other. They were told that they would have to fling the kunai at each other aimed at a vital point with the intent to kill. After that, they would use the substitution jutsu to avoid it. If not, they would be responsible for the damage dealt. As the sensei had eloquently put it, ”Only the strong survive in Kirigakure. The weak are simply unnecessary”.

He didn’t want to kill anyone but more so, he didn’t want to die. If he had chosen to say no to sensei, what then? Who knew? It was blood mist Kirigakure. They did what they were told. This was the way of Kirigakure.

The students took their places, held their kunai tightly. Sensei yelled ‘start’. They threw their kunai, aiming to cripple or maim the other if not kill, and both made the signs for the substitution jutsu. Nagata and the other student, somehow managed to walk away unscratched. They successfully made it in time, before either Kunai could reach them, and substituted with a nearby log.

And that concluded Nagata’s first day at the Academy.


Word Count: 714.
Stats Gained: 3.

Jutsu Trained: