New Faces

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but the last couple of days Minato was getting a feeling something was going on in Konohagakure no Sato. Were it the new faces he had been seeing here and there or did something change after the Sunagakure invasion? No matter what shifted this change, it was not hard to miss that there was a different atmosphere in the village. If it was for the better or the worse would turn out eventually. The young Uchiha didn’t mind, the more the merrier he thought. New faces could also mean new forces. New people willing to fight for Konohagakure.
 
As he was walking the streets of Konohagakure no Sato and looking around for anything going on, Minato made sure to pay attention to every detail, how little it may be. For as far as the young Genin knew the Hokage still hadn’t returned from the war against Sunagakure which meant they had to be even more cautious than they already were before. With Kinzoku being absent there was more than enough reason to avoid any problems. If those who were still in the village were able to hold the fort maybe the Nazar would deem them ready and worthy for something bigger.
 
Speaking of something new, the young Uchiha was still getting used to his awakened Sharingan. He hadn’t really found the time yet to train his new eyes and the powers they were holding. With things having calmed down a bit Minato thought he could go out and spend some time working and honing his skills. Always looking to improve himself, it was part of his Ninja Way. Grow stronger so that the village can grow stronger together with him. And so Minato had found himself at the Training Grounds, a place where most of the Konohagakure shinobi worked on their skills.

(WC: 310)

It was a nice day in Konoha, the shade of the trees and the cool feeling of the water keeping things from getting overly hot for the shark man. Kaito would be in the training grounds, training his body into a perfect weapon. One doesn’t get his sort of physique without hard work, though to be honest Kaito had been slacking these past few days. He had every intention of making up for his laziness though, and so he would be training extra hard today.

He would be doing basic conditioning, consisting of various body weight exercises starting with a couple hundred push-ups. The first hundred went by almost effortlessly, but as the number climbed Kaito would start to feel the strain on his muscles.

“Don’t be a wuss! You are of a proud and strong lineage! Don’t punk out now!” He would say, trying to amp himself up to power through the pain. Despite the struggle he would complete his set, resting in the soft grass for only a couple of minutes before flipping over to begin doing bicycle crunches. In no time flat Kaito would be up to fifty and counting. He was almost breaking a sweat, but that meant that the training was working. Once he completed his crunches, he would move on to a mile run around the training fields. He would kip up, landing on his feet and stretching a bit more before moving on to a full speed run.

Several shinobi could be seen training, sparring with one another or practicing various jutsus. Kaito didn’t have any such partner at the moment, instead simply focusing on his own training. He wondered where that stupid bald guy he knew was, but he wouldn’t waste too much time on the thought. Several of the Leaf students would give him strange looks, but such was to be expected. He was bigger than most people, not to mention he had blue skin, gills, and mouth full of razor sharp teeth. There was a certain… aura he gave off, not to mention his poor reputation around the village. He liked to fight, both to prove he was superior to his opponent and also to bring honor and pride to his clan and name. Of course, once he became a Genin he was no longer the big fish in the small pond. He now was the small fish in an endless ocean of possibility.

Kaito would continue his run, noticing another Leaf shinobi with a headband. That meant that they weren’t just a student. Perhaps this newcomer would be willing to get some real training it. He looked like a fully grown human male, so while his frame was a bit smaller and lacking he should be able to provide at least a decent work out partner. Who knows, maybe this guy would surprise him.

"Hey, man! I'm Kaito. You lookin' to train, yeah?" He would ask, getting a better look at the dark hair man standing before him. "I'm down to train if you are. Whatcha say?" He would ask with a big, toothy grin that probably looks far more menacing than intended.

The warmth of the sun and the subtle, gentle but yet refreshing breeze touching his skin was a welcome aid in making Minato concentrate and focus on his chakra control. Completely at ease the young Uchiha had no trouble channeling his chakra, feeling the flow throughout his whole body. Once he had completed his preparation he would jump up in a pretty athletic way, a strong mind in a strong body. He couldn't just work on his mind, his body had to be trained as well. He already had quite a muscular build but he wanted to make sure his physique wasn't left behind. Doing a couple of stretches and the young Uchiha had finished warming up.

Once he was ready to start his real workout he would take the time to have a quick look around him before he would finally begin. Surrounded by a lot of other shinobi it looked like he wasn't alone on the Training Grounds. Seeing all those people Minato was glad he wasn't the only one who had planned to improve himself. It was a sign that Konohagakure no Sato was on the right track to become as powerful as it once had been. Through unity everyone would be able to contribute in the growth of the village. And Minato couldn't stay behind, he had to put some effort in as well if he ever wanted to reach his goals.

How interesting the view might have been, it was nothing compared to what came walking towards him. The scenery fell completely short in comparison with the individual making his way to Minato. Coming over was a person with an appearance so strange he had never seen something, or rather someone like this before. Now standing before him was a large and muscular male with a peculiar sense of fashion so it seemed. The blue color of his skin and the saw-shaped nose made Minato think about sharks for some reason. And the longer he stared at the man the more he kept thinking about them. He had run into some strange people in his life but this one took the cake. His appearance might as well be the reason as to why this shark-like individual was all by himself.

Minato wasn't the type to discriminate a person no matter his looks so he decided to hear him out as openminded as he could be. Kaito, as the man introduced himself, would ask the young Uchiha if he was out there looking to train and if so, if he would be willing to train together. Not opposed to this idea Minato would respond to Kaito's question. "Nice to meet you, Kaito. You can call me Minato. What did you have in mind?" The day was destined to turn out quite eventful.

(WC: 466, TWC: 776)

So the dark haired man was called Minato. Simple enough of a name, and easy enough to remember. The shinobi seemed to be on board with the training, or at the very least he wasn't completely opposed to the idea or he wouldn't have asked about what Kaito had in mind. HA! This meant he would likely get in some good training today!

Kaito would look around making sure the academy students weren't in earshot. It was embarrassing enough being in the academy as long as he was, and that last thing he wanted was to get in trouble for punching a little kid in the face for mocking him. "I... uh... I just made Genin." Kaito would say in hushed tones to Minato so that it couldn't be heard by any students. “SO YEAH! HAHA! I’M UP FOR ANYTHING!” He would say in a thunderous shout that could be heard by nearly anybody on the training grounds. Not only was it the man convincing others that he was a capable shinobi, but likely he was also convincing himself of it to make up for his admitting of his own shortcomings to Minato.

He likely managed a few odd looks, but that didn’t matter much. “Yeah, so you got any useful moves? Or like, some effective jutsu you can teach me?” He would ask, wondering if this shinobi was better trained than he was. No, not better trained. More experienced! Yeah, that was what he meant!

“And then maybe get in some light sparring, yeah? That’ll give us a chance to practice what we learned an’ all.” The shark man would offer, hoping he wasn’t going to be completely outclassed here and made to look bad. Couldn’t have that shame following him home. What would his clan say?  Grinning at the Uchiha he would add, “We can push each other to the limits of our abilities.”

“Sound good, Minato?” He would ask, stretching out a bit and bouncing from foot to foot to keep his sweat on even while sitting here idle discussing how to train. He didn’t have time to relax, not even a little during this meeting. His body had to stay in peak condition. PEAK CONDITION!

The shark man hadn’t noticed the angry bald guy watching them all creepy like, which is a real shocker because his shaved head literally gleamed in the sun like some sort of god dang shining beacon. Perhaps he would join in the training festivities and learn a thing or two, bettering himself and both Kaito and Minato. Or maybe he was just some scared punk from some tiny little village in Fire Country that didn’t belong here training with REAL SHINOBI!

wc: 450
twc: 974

An interesting fellow, this Kaito individual. Full of energy yet modest when it came to learning. Slightly embarassed the shark-like figure explained to Minato that it was only recently that he became a Genin. “Nothing to be embarassed about, we’re all here to learn and improve aren’t we?” he said to comfort Kaito. It wasn’t that long ago that Minato graduated so he remembered how it felt coming into this whole new world once you leave the Academy. A lot of new things, a lot to take in. But that’s what makes it so special, so beautiful. “After all, we all have to start somewhere.”
 
Kaito would then start asking if the young Uchiha had anything useful he could show or teach him. Minato started thinking for a moment. Had he already reached a point where he would be able to teach, to help someone else improve? As far as he knew he didn’t possess the set of skills he was hoping for. Hell, he didn’t even know what he wanted his fighting style to be. Not that he wasn’t taking things serious, just that he still had to figure out what to focus on. “Hm, let me see.”
 
Minato started thinking about what he had in his arsenal so far. At this point he was able to learn two different elements, learned a couple of techniques and some basic genjutsu. “Well, I specialize in Ninjutsu with Lightning and Water as my elements. As you can see I also carry a sword I like to swing around but I only learned one interesting Kenjutsu technique. And besides all of that I have taught myself some basic Genjutsu as well.” It was a bit of an explanation of his current skill set, nothing impressive but not too bad for a Genin he thought. “Oh, and recently I awakened my Sharingan, so I’m still trying to get accustomed to it.”
 
The young Uchiha wasn’t sure about Kaito’s own specialty or what exactly he was looking for but maybe he could help nonetheless. “I’m sure we can figure something out” he said with a smile. Minato could notice the presence of someone who had been watching them for a while now. A man with as much hair as an egg would be keeping an eye on what Kaito and Minato were up to. Maybe he was curious, or maybe he wanted to join in on all of the fun, who knew. Minato figured not to think too much about it for now and continue his conversation with Kaito. “Anything particular you’re looking for? Once we worked up a sweat we can try something out and practice what we’ve learned.” Minato himself was already getting motivated because of the positive energy coming from Kaito. With an attitude like that he was sure everything would work out just fine.

(WC: 474, TWC: 1250)

Tanjiro from his perch could hear the louder bits of the two shinobi's conversation. The fish man introduced himself as Kaito, so Tanjiro could finally put a name to the fancy dinner dish.  While the shinobi with raven hair was called Minato. With names for faces, Tanjiro could now follow their conversation much more easily. Kaito seemed to say soothing in hushed tones that Tanjiro could not quite pick up. But was then followed by a boisterous yell of self confidence that felt oddly forced. The two shinobi seem to be discussing their plan for training. Learning some new jutsus perhaps? 

Minato said something about being a ninjutsu specialist. "Intriguing" thought Tanjiro "maybe I could learn something from watching this." But that thought was shot down the moment Minato clarified his elements. But Minato did say something of note, the way he talked about "Awakening his Sharingan" reminded Tanjiro of how he thought of his own Steel release. "I bet this Sharingan has to do something with those eyes." Hopefully if he watched them spar Tanjiro could learn something before he made a fool of himself. He was not one to just spar anyone without knowing a little about them. You would have to disregard the multitude of times Tanjiro has fought someone out of rage to really believe this statement. But when Tanjiro is in the right mind he has the occasional good thought.

Tanjiro decided to let the raven haired shinobi and the fish compadre have their fun. Once they finished up he would let his presence be known. His own antisocial personality made him want to prolong introductions for as long as possible. Plus he needed to limber up before he did any physical activity. No real point in pulling a hamstring and looking at the total fool right from the get go. So Tanjiro headed to a more advantageous location were he could begin his stretches while still getting a good view of the shinobi spar.  

Tanjiro would start his stretches by sitting on the ground and making a V shape with his legs. Then by tucking in his left leg, he would touch his toes and place his nose to his shin. Leaning deep into the stretch he could feel his muscles loosen up with a slight burning sensation. It has been quite some time since Tanjiro has felt this lively. There was something about the atmosphere those two shinobi were producing that made giving a shit seem contagious. So Tanjiro would swap legs and continue the deep stretch. He felt a slight amount of excitement, Tanjiro hoped this training would give him a slight respite from his past memories.

WC. 424

TWC 833

So Minato focused on Ninjutsu techniques. Kaito knew that he wasn’t an expert in regard to ninjutsu, but he knew that his clan were quite adept in the use of water style techniques. It probably wouldn’t be a stretch to think that he too could learn a few of those type of jutsu. Minato also said that he liked to swing around a sword, though it was by no means a focus. Such was understandable, as being a swordsman required a great deal of effort and time. To be one with your weapon… it wasn’t easy even for those that claimed to be weapons masters.
 
“I’ve been training to be a swordsman since I was able to hold a blade. Some might say it’s just in my clan’s nature to be capable with a sword.” He didn’t have any weapons on him, despite stating this. “I know what you are thinking. Why I don’t have a sword on me because I haven’t earned the right to carry my own sword yet. Once I have proven myself worthy in my clan’s eyes I’ll be permitted to do so.” Kaito would cross his arms and nod lightly, accepting of his families traditions.
 
“Maybe if we get some practice swords we can get some swordplay training in sometime. Don’t wanna risk an injury or something.” Kaito would say as he continued to stretch and warm up with some squats. “So you have the sharingan? I guess that means you are an Uchiha, yeah? That is AWESOME! Heard that your clan is full of badasses and helped shape this village. You guys even have your own district!” Kaito zoned out for a moment before returning to the here and now. “Well, it isn’t fair that I know your clan name and you don’t know mine. I’m of the Hoshigake clan.” Whether or not this clan ringed a bell in the mind of the Uchiha standing before him, Kaito’s clan was also prestigious, though perhaps not as much in these lands.
 
 
So it would seem that Minato was a bit of a jack of all trades. He dabbled in various specialties and styles to see what fit him. “You know a little bit of everything, yeah? If you wanna just work on some basics that you think it would be good to know, I can start there. And maybe a few basic water style moves to see if we have the time. Who am I kidding? OF COURSE WE HAVE THE TIME! We can train all day and night if we have to!” The level of energy coming off of Kaito was… particularly high at this very moment. He had every intention of training with and learning as much as he can from Minato Uchiha.


wc: 460
TWC: 1434

Minato listened closely as Kaito explained he himself had been training to be a swordsman for as long as he could remember and the part his clan played in all of it. The fresh Genin mentioned something about being worthy before being allowed to carry his own sword, that was probably one of the many traditions each and every family had. For a second the young Uchiha was imagining multiple sharks hanging out together. That would be quite the view if Kaito's clan consisted of people looking the same. But then again, most clans would have people resembling one another. This was no different for the Uchiha. Or badasses, as Kaito called them.

True, when one were to think about the Uchiha clan more often than not their power would come to mind. Famous for their so called Curse of Hatred, emotions being their source of power and the cause of awakening their Kekkei Genkai. Yes, the Sharingan. The bloodline the Uchiha were so well known for, even feared sometimes. Afraid of their power and what said power would be able to do. Few clans were so famous as the one residing in the Uchiha District. But as the uncle of a certain kid with spidey senses once said, with great power comes great responsibility. And unfortunately not everyone was able to handle the power granted by the Sharingan. But hearing Kaito speak about his clan with much respect made Minato very happy.

"Yep, I'm an Uchiha and proud to be one." Now aware of Minato's clan Kaito decided to share the name of his own clan as well. "Hoshigake huh? That does ring a bell." When he thought back about his clan's history he did remember the mention of a Hoshigake shinobi. He didn't know the specifics of the story or why exactly it was only that single Hoshigake ninja but at least he had heard or read about it. "I remember there was this one Hoshigake shinobi who got along pretty well with an Uchiha over a hundred years ago. If I'm not mistaken your clan isn't originally from these parts, correct?"

Whether or not Kaito decided to answer that question was completely up to him, but for now Minato figured they could drop the clan talk for a bit and focus on the training Kaito was so hyped about. "It's about time we started isn't it?" He would begin thinking what the best approach would be and where to start. Obviously he shouldn't open with a higher ranked technique but rather focus on the basics. He recalled how Kaito told him he specialised in swordsmanship, so he figured it might be best not to start with the heavy stuff that required a lot of chakra. "Hmm, let's see. What's one of the first things that comes to mind when you think about a swordsman? Speed, right? Why don't we start with a technique that helps you out with that?"

Maybe he had already figured out which technique Minato meant, but in the case he didn't the young Uchiha would briefly explain. "So the name might sound familiar but I'm talking about the Body Flicker Technique. It basically is a high speed movement that involves vitalizing your body with chakra to heighten your speed. By using the Body Flicker Technique you can move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. Here, let me show you." Minato would form the required seal, that of the Ram, as he disappeared in a flash, only to reappear besides Kaito. It would probably surprise him at first but he would get the idea.

"Concentrate, surge chakra into your body and form the Ram seal. Once you got the hang of it I'll show you the next one." Minato would give him some time to practice before he would continue with the next step of the training. When he was certain Kaito was ready, he would move on to the second technique he planned on showing. It would be a little different from the one he showed before, but a useful one nonetheless. "This one might fit you like a shoe. A swordsman often uses stealth, hides himself only to strike hard out of nowhere. Well, this technique might just be what you need. It's called the Hidden Mist Technique."

Same as with the Body Flicker Technique, Minato would give a brief explanation. "The mist can be created using water from the surroundings, or you can create the mists yourself, which you would exhale from your mouth. If the mists are made thick enough, they can cancel out the enhanced vision of the Sharingan and Rinnegan, but Sensory types and those with Byakugan hower can still see through the mists. Let me show you." Forming the Tiger seal a mist was being expelled from Minato's mouth, one that quickly began to fill the area they were in. Using his chakra he made it quite thick, surrounding Kaito and making it impossible for him to see. "Now, with my Sharingan I am still able to see bright colors of chakra, where on the other hand you have no idea where I'm at." Dispelling his technique Minato would give Kaito some time to prepare as it was now his turn to give it a go.

"Don't worry, just concentrate and think which steps you have to take. Once you successfully performed this one, I'll show you another technique that will come in handy when facing someone who's an expert in Genjutsu." Minato would take a step back now that the mist was completely gone, giving Kaito some space to try his hand at the Hidden Mist Technique. From the corner of his eye he could still spot the bald stranger who was watching each and every move both Minato and Kaito made. Maybe it would only be a matter of time before he would join the two of them as well, but it would be completely up to him if he decided so.

(WC: 1000, TWC: 2250)