All in a Days Work

The young Yuki was laying in bed, the peace of sleeping wrapping around him like a warm blanket on a cold night. It was early in the morning when Yoi woke up to the sun’s glaring light coming through the window. He slowly sat up, the blankets and sheets falling off his upper body. The burn scars still covered his body from when Calin had burnt him seriously. It still hurt to think about it, but it was easier now. The young Yuki had gone to bed in the pants he was planning on wearing today, so he simply just pulled a light blue shirt on to match with his white pants. There was starting to be a slight chill in the air in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, so Yoi also threw on a white jacket, keeping it unzipped. He slipped on a pair of dark blue sandals and threw a blue scarf around his neck. The Yuki took a few deep breaths to start off the day. There was a slight condensation in his breath, but he liked it that way. Winter was the best season in the white-haired Yuki’s opinion. It was when the world was in its simplest form. Snow created a white blanket across the world, while the warmth indoors created a stark contrast to the outside. It was when people came together and could cherish their friends and family. Many people would always wish for winter to be over, but Yoi tried to see the good parts of winter. People would always say, “Oh, it’s so cold. Oh, I hate walking through the snow. Oh, I hate shoveling snow.” It would always be his biggest debate topic, which was better. Winter, the colder months, or summer, the warmer months. The thing about summer though was that everyone is outside and they’re all separated from each other and there are no real connections being formed. Some said Yoi was biased because he was a Yuki, but he knew he was kind of biased. Well, it didn’t make too much of a difference in his life, so he might as well do something that actually matters. Yoi sat down at his desk, getting to work on an idea he had. It was kind of a hypothetical, but he had been learning Shuriken Shadow Clone and he was testing out an idea about making Shadow Clones of some of his Weapons of Ice. It would be similar to Shuriken Shadow Clone, but what he had been figuring out was that he couldn’t really make Shadow Clones of the larger weapons he made. The young Yuki pulled a sheet of paper from his desk and started taking down notes on what he could possibly do to figures this out. It would be difficult, to say the least. Maybe he would just need more practice with Ice Release technique, but the young Yuki didn’t know at this point. He always felt like he needed more practice with Ice Release jutsu. He never had enough. The white-haired boy listened as is pencil scratched across the paper. He slowly built up frustration, a feeling as if he was going nowhere. Maybe he wasn’t trying hard enough. Maybe he had let all the psychological stress get to him. Maybe he was still caught up about something in his past. Whatever it was, he needed to fix it. It was limiting his growth and he was tired of staying where he was. The young Yuki threw his pencil across the room in a rage. God damn! He never seemed to satisfy his father. He was never good enough, was he? Yoi would never succeed. The enraged boy stood up, his wooden chair flying several feet back and one of the legs splintering into oblivion. He just started kicking the wall, frustrated. He didn’t care if his father heard him. He wasn’t good enough for his father already. The Yuki picked up a handful of wood splinters from the chair, throwing them at the wall as they all landed perfectly in the wall. Yoi ignored the splinters in his hand as he continuously kicked the wall. As Yoi’s rage started to fade, he sank back down on to his base, tears starting to form. Waves of memories crashed over him, like a little fishing boat caught in a tsunami. Yoi closed his eyes and fell asleep again, escaping the hell hole that the world was to him. His room was in a state of great disarray, of course. The Yuki woke again, the blazing sun no longer through visible through his window. He got up in bed, looking at the mess that his room was. Yoi, let out a loud sigh as he realized that he would have to pick it all up. As Yoi laid there in bed, he slowly started to remember what had happened when Calin tortured him. As the memories came to him, Yoi slowly realized that until now he had rejected the memories of those horrible moments. He had never accepted them. Yoi had kept himself busy to the point in which there was no time to think about it. As he continued to lay there, he thought about all those memories. He remembered his screams, the burning feeling of his own blade striking him. The pain that he still couldn’t even grasp. The feeling of not being able to sleep, even though his body was in pain, while they were on the cart. Yoi still didn’t know how he survived. Yoi remembered the hellish feeling of his skin being melted and the noises of bone marrow crackling as it was boiled away. Yoi still didn’t know why he was still alive. He could have died that day. Why didn’t Calin just kill him? Yoi was still mystified by the whole thing, completely confused about what happened. Yoi, Chuta, and Kizaru should be dead. He could have easily died, but for some reason, the three of them were still alive. Yoi looked at the black circle on his right shoulder, where his right arm had been cut off. The Yuki also saw the burn scars covering his body. Looking into the mirror next to him, he saw the circles around his eyes, where his old pair had been boiled and then gouged out. He sighed, as he turned to face his desk. It had almost been a month since that mission ended. They had completed it but they still had physical and mental wounds from it. As Yoi leaned back in his chair, he suddenly remembered the fact that they hadn’t written up a report on what had happened. He quickly picked up a pencil, before putting it down and picking up a pen. If he was writing an official report, he would need to write with a pen. Making sure the ink hadn’t dried, he got a piece of paper and quickly scribbled on it. Since the pen worked, he kept it in his hand, while at the same time crumpling the paper up and tossing it into the wastepaper basket. He pulled out another sheet and started writing up the report on the mission.

To Konohagakure Missions Department,

I do apologize for the late mission report on this. This is on the mission of investigating missing ninja in Tea Country. The cell, which was comprised of, including me (Yoi Y), Kizaru K, and Chuta M. We gathered information about the following:
Are they recruiting?
How many are on the borders of Tea Country?
Can you tell if they are mounting an attack?
Is there evidence of Tea Country involvement?

They are recruiting. We can make an approximation that there are about 15 on the Fire Country and Tea Country border. They don’t seem to be mounting an attack. They are making a point to avoid Konohagakure shinobi. This means they could be amassing force, but most likely they are avoiding Konohagakure forces. They do not seem to be too involved with the Tea Country government. Their leader’s name is Trish or a name that starts with Trish.

Yoi Yuki

As Yoi finished writing that, he pulled out another sheet of paper and wrote up a report on the Missing Ninja, Calin Usuegi. 

To whomever, this may concern in the Konohagakure Government,

It is Yoi Yuki. While on an A-rank mission to gather intelligence about Missing Ninja in Tea Country, the group I was in, which was comprised of me (Yoi Y), Chuta M and Kizaru K, was ambushed. He informed us that his name was Calin Usuegi, then proceeded to torture us. He has a 3-Tomoe Sharingan and abilities with both Ninjutsu and Fire Release. According to accounts from the other eyewitnesses, he used the Great Fire Annihilation jutsu. He seems to be as strong as a Jounin or an ANBU.

Yoi Yuki

Yoi sat there, satisfied with what he had done. He had done some work, even if it was only a little. He gave the letters to a messenger pigeon, as it would carry it off to the government buildings of Konoha. Yoi sighed as he realized that he still wasn’t even a Jounin, yet there were incredibly strong people out there. Yoi stood up, happy with his work. He had finished writing two reports about important things and that felt really good. It was one of those things that he needed to finish and get off his chest. The Yuki let out a deep sigh, one that carried the emotions of satisfaction and relaxation. As he sat there happy with what he had done, his stomach let out a loud grumble. Yoi hadn’t realized how hungry he was until now, but he was starving. The white-haired Yuki swung open his door, the door creaking on its hinges. The Yuki should have oiled that, but that was just one thing on his to-do list. As he stepped it onto the hallway, he let out a sneeze as the dust that was stirred up from the old rug. He would need to fix all the dust in the rug, but first, he needed to answer his growling stomach. The Yuki walked down the hallway, before descending the steps. It was at this point that Yoi took precautions. You see, Yoi’s father, Koroki, was very, very paranoid about intruders. Many a person would that the man had a fond disliking of others, but once you got to know him better, you know it was simply what he used to do for a living. His father had been a talented ninja, to say the very least, and was extremely powerful. Coming from the Yuki clan, which was not the strongest of clans, he was treated as not as strong enough when he was very young. Koroki had developed a strong dislike of others, and when his Uchiha father died when Koroki was 7 and his Sharingan was to be destroyed, Koroki had claimed them as his right. It was quite controversial but through many months of reasoning, trickery, deceitfulness, bargaining, and bribing, Koroki had managed to get his way. Yoi was still mystified that this was a 7-year-old. It was then next year that Koroki entered the academy, and after three months, he graduated and took his Chunnin exam and easily destroyed each of his opponents. Koroki was put into the ANBU at age 10, and become very powerful. However, it was then in which on a mission, he suffered a crippling injury. Koroki had entered a deep and dark depression, but afterward, he had grown to be quite paranoid. He had set traps wherever he lived. Eventually, he had grown older and had children. That’s where Yoi came in. Yoi was currently in charge of managing and setting up the traps upstairs. It was quite annoying, navigating a house where if you made a single wrong step, you would have a kunai cut through your leg or you would be locked in a room as it filled with sleeping gas. Never the less, Yoi grew to be a stronger shinobi because of that and he really had to thank his father for that. It wasn’t fun, but Yoi had realized if it would lead to him being able to defend Konohagakure, better, he was all for it. Well, as Yoi started to descend the stairs. It was stained oak, with the intricate carvings related to older times or rich people. In Yoi’s family’s case, it was mainly the former, but a little bit of the latter. Nothing to think about. His father may have reset the traps recently, so Yoi couldn’t be too careful with new trap locations. The young Yuki kept to the edge of the stairs, avoiding the carpet in the middle. The carpet could hide pressure pads, and also the stairs were more stable at the edges, leaving them less likely to make noise. The white-haired boy had gotten to be a natural at moving this quietly, however, he still made some noise. The Yuki channeled Wind Release chakra into his feet, effectively making his footsteps silent via wind cushioning. Yoi had learned that this jutsu does not counteract the sound made from his armor or weapons, just the sound of his footsteps. Yoi silently crept down the stairs, looking for any threads that would trigger something. He noticed that some of the floorboards were bowing, but the house had been having a moisture problem recently, and speaking of which, Yoi would need to fix that. The Yuki stepped onto the main floor, but one of the bowing floorboards bent, triggering something that flung a block of wood at Yoi’s face, which he barely dodged. Yoi carefully made his way over to the stove, preparing to make himself a meal for the middle of the day, which in Yoi’s case, was his first meal of the day. Looking through the fridge, he found some thick slices of ham, a few slices of bread, and a slice of lasagna. Yoi took a look at the food, making sure it hadn’t expired. The young Yuki noticed that the remaining slices of bread in the loaf would be stale in a few days. The ham seemed just about to be finished, as the Yuki noticed signs of it’s expiring. It was starting to develop, a dull, slimy flesh. The pig product was gaining a touch of gray. It was starting to radiate a funky smell. The ham was losing its salty smell from it’s curing. There signs of mold starting to form, but the young Yuki could just cut those sections out. However, before he started cooking, the Yuki wanted to make some bread. His father had stumbled across the recipe while reading through Yoi’s mother’s old cookbooks, then taught Yoi the recipe. It was a very interesting recipe. It used a Dutch Oven. Not many people that the Yuki knew about these. They were a heavily constructed kettle with a close-fitting lid, used for pot roasts, stews, etc. In Yoi’s case, he used it to make bread. He pulled out a large bowl, laying it on the counter. He grabbed a liquid measuring cup, as well as a set of teaspoon and tablespoon measuring utensils. The Yuki walked around the kitchen to the pantry, pulling down an envelope of yeast, a bag of all-purpose flour, and a bag of whole wheat flour. Once he entered the kitchen with these ingredients, he set them down on the granite countertop before reaching a hand behind him to grab a salt shaker. The white-haired young male made sure to pick up a whisk from the drawer next to him. The Yuki measured out 2 and a quarter cup of all-purpose flour, three-quarters of a cup of whole wheat flour, 1 and a quarter teaspoon of table salt and one half of a teaspoon of dried instant yeast. The Yuki turned the liquid measuring cup over the bowl, it’s contents dumping out. He made sure to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients together. He wanted this loaf of bread to be as close to perfect as possible. It would be for some of his favorite relatives, arriving from River Country in a few days. His relatives that were visiting consisted of one male cousin that was a year younger than Yoi, one female cousin that was three years younger than Yoi, and their parents. The Yuki then measured out three-quarters of a cup of water, dumping it into the bowl. He made sure to thoroughly incorporate the water, making sure there was no flour leftover in the bowl. The Yuki needed the water to dry ingredient ratio to be as close to perfect as possible. After thoroughly incorporating these ingredients together, the Yuki covered the bowl with a towel, and now he would let it sit for eighteen hours. Most people said it was a ridiculously long time, but the Yuki honestly preferred it this way. It allowed the bread to reach its peak. Once the eighteen hours was up, it would be around six in the morning tomorrow. This, of course, meant it was noon right now. But Yoi usually got up at dawn, but with the pleasant winter months moving in, the sun was rising later and later in the day. That meant the Yuki would have to wake up a little before dawn, but that wasn’t a problem for him. When he woke up was mainly based on the time of day, which was purely based on habit. He had become a Genin over the spring and summer months, so to maximize his training time, he woke up when the sun woke up. By now, his body just woke up at the same time by habit. Of course, a sleep cycle would last about ninety to one hundred and ten minutes, or one and a half to a little over two hours. As the Yuki walked away from the countertop, moving to the stove by putting his feet in front of each other across the hardwood floor, a sudden thought went through his head. It was something important he should have to remember initially while in the process of making the dough for his carbohydrate filled loaf of bread. The Yuki swiftly pivoted off of his left foot, turning to face the countertop in which he had just departed from. His back was currently turned to the gas stove, which was inactive and off at the moment, which was safe. The Yuki knew that it was best to keep the gas stove off when he could not see and monitor the status and condition of the flames and gas output. He had once been educated upon this subject the hard way. He had left on the stove, to go out to the garden to retrieve a vegetable, but then forgot what he was doing when he came inside and he had left the stove on. The dinner he had been making was ruined and his father had thoroughly beaten him for it. The ingredients had been quite expensive, which thoroughly displeased his father that he had ruined it. Yoi had had to make it up to his father by training extra hard and of course, working at his father’s ship mill for hours on end. The Yuki had had to work into the wee hours of the night, and for the month that he engaged in the intense labor and activity, he had found his grades slipping. Of course, his father had been annoyed with this, beating Yoi even more thoroughly. Yoi had received a beating or two in his time after returning from his mission. The young Yuki, however, found that this hurt much less. After feeling what real pain felt like, the Yuki had found that his threshold for pain was raised. The minor things that had hurt Yoi in the past seemed to be barely noticeable. Of course, there was still a visible wound. It was just that Yoi felt as if the wounds were much less than they actually were. Well, Yoi exited his deep world of thought and got back to the process at hand. He made his way back to the countertop upon which he had been making his bread. The Yuki swiftly and with great haste pulled the towel off the loaf of bread. He knew the rapid separation between the loaf and towel was key at this point, due to his critical mistake. The mistake he had made was the fact that he had forgotten to apply flour to the base of the bowl and to the top of the loaf. The Yuki pulled out a rubber spatula from a drawer, then proceeded to set it down on the countertop. The Yuki lightly floured the countertop. He had developed a very specific technique to do this quickly and effectively. The white-haired young shinobi grabbed a moderate-sized handful of flour, then making a whipping motion with his hand, floured the countertop. The Yuki picked up the rubber spatula he had set down upon the countertop moments ago and used it to scrape the dough out of the bowl by unsticking itself from the edges. The white-haired youth dumped it out onto the counter and then proceeded to flour the base of the bowl. The Yuki, once again, picked up the dough and dropped it into the bowl with a satisfying plop. The Yuki set out a pan on the stovetop, put some oil on it, then set a slice of ham down upon it. The Yuki got a glass plate and set the slice of lasagna on it as the stove sizzled away. He then walked over to the oven and preheated it. At the same time, the ham was about halfway done, so the Yuki started slicing the bread he found in the fridge. By the time he was done with this, the ham was done and browned on both sides. The Yuki slid that onto a plate to let it cool, then using some of the leftover juices in the pan, laid down a few slices of bread, letting them toast. He flipped them after a few seconds, then took them off the pan after a few more seconds. By then, the oven had finished preheating, so the Yuki put the lasagna in so it would heat up. Yoi then quickly ate through his bread and ham, knowing his lasagna would be done soon. As he finished scrubbing his plate clean, the lasagna was done. He opened the oven to a mouth-watering piece of delight that was the lasagna. Grabbing the hot plate, and grimacing at the heat, Yoi brought the plate over to the table in which he was sitting. The Yuki, channeling a small amount of Ice Release chakra into his entire digestive system to cool it down, dug into the lasagna. The flavors tasted wonderful in his mouth. The cheese, tomato sauce, pasta, and sausage. It all mixed together to create a wonderful taste and mixed in his mouth. As the Yuki ate, he heard the light trotting of footsteps as a specimen moved towards him. The youth smiled as one of his cats, Cali, jumped onto his lap. The Yuki started petting her under her chin, which was her favorite place. Her eyes closed and her purring quickened as she enjoyed his kindness to her. The Yuki’s family has owned cats for years. All of them were female, there were Cali and Cleo, sisters, calico and 10 months, and Nina, 14 years, and brown. All were, adorable, of course. The Yuki loved his family cats and would do anything for them. Cali, who had been sitting down on his lap until now, promptly laid down. Cali was so cute. Yoi finished his lasagna, while at the same time enjoying his time with Cali on his lap. Now that the two young ones were getting older, they got on his lap less and less. Well, the Yuki hastily finished his lasagna and headed out of the house, traveling to the training grounds. He quickly ran through the village, eventually arriving to his destination. Yoi entered the training grounds, as shadows fell over the environment. The sun was then covered up by clouds, blocking some of its light. The Yuki, who had studied weather earlier in his life, noticed that the clouds were those that were going to create rain. The Yuki didn’t mind the rain, as the rain was just a part of life. Anyways, wet clothing was heavier and gave him a better opportunity to train. The Yuki was casually walking over to one of his favorite places to train, as a kunai sailed out of the air and thudded into a tree a few meters in front of him. Yoi turned around and said, “Hello there.” The Yuki knew enough about people to know that taking a calm approach to this would be better, but at the same time, the Yuki was ready to enter combat with this kunai throwing shinobi. He now found himself enough time to look at the boy, and with Yoi’s chakra sensory abilities by using Mind’s Eye of the Kagura. It was a truly powerful technique that Yoi was thankful Tadashi taught him. Yoi could tell that the boy behind him was a powerful shinobi, as he had quite the chakra signature. The shinobi appeared to be dressed in a black t-shirt, red pants, and black sandals. He was also wearing a light blue bowler hat. The boy he was facing said, “Hello. See, the thing is, I’ve already won this battle.” The Yuki was immediately intrigued by this statement as well, it seemed no battle had been initiated. Also, how had he already won?

Yoi responded with, “Well, if you are so confident with your ability to win, why don’t you explain how you’ve won.” The Yuki was trying to convince his opponent to explain his strategy, that way the Yuki could hopefully counter it. His opponent said, “Well, I’ll tell you my main strategy to beat you. Genjutsu.” Yoi immediately tried to break free of the Genjutsu using Mind’s Eye of the Kagura. His attempt was well, unsuccessful. The Yuki looked at his opponent in shock. “What... how did you do that?” The shinobi said, “See, every move here was precisely calculated. That kunai had been polished to the point in which it would reflect behind you letting me see my Three Tomoe Sharingan in my left eye. But the thing is, I’m not born an Uchiha. I was born a Hyuuga. While you were under my Genjutsu, I used a Medical jutsu to read your mind and cripple your movement and also used a gentle fist technique to shut down part of your chakra system, making it near impossible to break out of this Genjutsu. This whole time, of course, my Genjutsu stopped you from feeling any of this.” The Yuki stood there shocked, amazed at what had just transpired. The Yuki had lost a fight in seconds, and he wasn’t even able to do anything about it. The Yuki asked, “Well, why me? And why tell me?” These questions were important. Based on the amount this boy could specialize, the shinobi he was fighting was either a Chunnin or a Jounin. Yoi had never met any Jounin, mostly Chunnin and other Genin. Well, except for Yensung. Yoi had completely forgotten about Yensung, as he had mainly remembered Nekrun healing him. But Yensung was there as well. The Yuki had done a little more digging on the Yensung, and found out his name and who he was. Yensung was a Jounin of Konohagakure. Yoi remembered the power of those two medical ninjas had. They had saved the two boys from almost certain death. The boy responded, “Well, I’ll say this. I saw your Chunnin Exam fights. They were interesting. And I heard about what had happened. So, as you were like me, I figured that I would like to meet you. We both specialize in little niche abilities. Your Ice Release and my Genjutsu. I figured, two boys with different skills sets that are both abnormal, and both who had er, interesting events in missions they had performed. And your mission log did nothing but solidify my belief in your potential. And I have to tell you, good job on continuing after your incident. 3 days after returning, you participated in the Chunnin Exams. Only a few weeks later, you embarked upon an S-rank mission. And only a little afterward, you finished two B-ranks. I have to commend you for your spirit.” The Yuki was taken aback. He didn’t know anyone cared about his achievements that much, but it sure felt nice to know that. Yoi wondered, with the knowledge the boy had on him, how easy was it to gain information as a higher-up in Konoha? Yoi was a little unnerved by this. Maybe next time, he would have to take more precautions with his life. The Yuki said, “May I ask you to release the Genjutsu? I would really like to talk face to face.” The boy said, “I don’t think you’ll like it, but sure thing Yoi.” Yoi noticed no difference, except for a large lack of chakra in his system and the Yuki felt dizzy as he fell to the ground unconscious. Yoi awoke sitting in a chair. He opened his eyes and activated Mind’s Eye of the Kagura once again. He felt the boy’s chakra signature again. Yoi noticed the table in front of him. It had food and drink on it. There was a loaf of bread, rice, and a stew that seemed to contain carrots and meat Yoi did not know of. Yoi looked at the boy before him, and asked, “Where are we?” The Yuki, looking at the food, felt and heard his stomach growl loudly. The Yuki noticed the supposed Hyuuga sit down in front of him, and he said, “It’s my house. Do you like it? While you were unconscious I put together a meal, so we can at least eat, and well, I can tell you want to.” The Yuki suddenly remembered being put unconscious. Yoi had always been slow to gather his thoughts and think about things after sleep. The Yuki sat up a little, now sitting up straight. The Yuki pulled his chair closer to the table and picking up his utensil dug into the food. The rice was well, rice, and the bread was very good. It shared a strange resemblance to his own bread. The Yuki, having finished his rice and noting the similarities in the bread, asked, “I must say this bread is very good. However, it reminds me of my own recipe. Do you think it’s just coincidence, or did we manage to make the same bread recipe for some reason?” 

The Hyuuga looked at him, and let out a heavy sigh. “I just want to make sure. Does your recipe have two and a quarter cups bread flour, three-quarters of a cup of whole wheat flour, one and a quarter teaspoon of salt, one and one third cup water, and half a teaspoon of yeast?” 

The Yuki was extremely puzzled by this. The recipes were IDENTICAL. Yoi asked, “Okay. We have the same recipe. So where did you get yours from? I got my recipe from my father, who got it from his wife. Her name was… Megu Rintigo.” Yoi hesitated before saying the name. His mother had traveled to Haven Country, on a trip to Hoshigakure, before dying on the way there. The Konohagakure police force figured out that she was robbed and killed by bandits a few miles outside of Konoha. 

The Yuki shuddered at the thought, before hearing the Hyuuga respond, “Ahh. Yes. I’ve heard of her. I knew your father when I was younger. He was actually my teacher at the academy. He had passed the recipe on to me before I graduated. We actually haven’t talked much sense, but I think he has been tracking my progress. He might even put a good word in for me if I try and apply to become a member of the ANBU Black Ops.” The Yuki had no idea about this, due to the fact that his father was very introverted. Yoi didn’t even know his father had been a teacher at the academy. There was much that his father kept secret, and Yoi didn’t like that. Yoi finished eating the bread on his plate. 

Moving his plate aside and putting his bowl in front of him, he stirred it around with his spoon and said, “If you don’t mind me asking, what meat is this? I’m curious because I’ve never seen it.” The Yuki took his spoon out of the soup, with only the dark brown broth and a chunk of the meat now resting on his spoon as he blew on it and cooled it. 

The Hyuuga responded with, “I actually hunted the meat myself. It was a bear. Hard to catch, but I really like it.” As Yoi took a bite into the meat, he immediately noticed that it had a slightly sweet taste to it, but it still had the earthiness that you might expect. It had quite a coarse texture, but it was good. 

Yoi said, “Damn, this is good. I didn’t think that the bear meat would be good, but I’ll be damned.” 

The Hyuuga said, “Well, that was my thoughts at first. It was actually your father who showed it to me.” Yoi was taken aback by this. He knew his father had been a ninja, but he had never taken him as the outdoors type. Yoi himself liked the outdoors. The Hyuuga and Yoi eventually finished the meal, with Yoi then saying his goodbyes. 

Yoi, even though he was tired, made his way to the training grounds. A strong shinobi could, even after all the pain, make that final step. A strong shinobi could wake up in excruciating pain, after being mutilated and burned by a missing ninja, and bring his comrades back to safety. Yoi had never stopped regretting every moment of his mission into Tea Country. The group lacked strength and were easily suspect to ambush. They were foolish, naive and downright stupid to have attempted what they did. And boy did they meet their consequences. Yoi was thankful for the kindness of those strangers. They had been on an obscure road, and if they hadn’t been found, they probably would have been eaten by birds, baked in the sun, or even starved to death. Yoi hated himself for all the stupid decisions they had made. Most of the time, when Yoi found himself having a lack of will, he thought back to the Will of Fire. But now, Yoi realized something. The Will of Fire expected a Genin to beat a Jounin. But when a group of Genin couldn’t even defeat a Jounin, what did the Will of Fire mean? Yes, a Konoha ninja could have spirit and drive, but if the Will of Fire was an excuse for shinobi to die, then what good was it? The Will of Fire was simply sending shinobi off to their death. Yoi knew if Calin hadn’t chosen to spare their lives, he would have been killed. Did Konoha seriously say that Yoi should be able to beat him because of his so-called “Will of Fire?” The only powerful fire Yoi had seen was Calin’s. And that was Calin’s own fire. It wasn’t tied to some government-issued statement. Yoi respected the Konoha government. Would he give his life for it? Maybe, depends on this situation. Would he needlessly give his life for them? Hell no. The more Yoi thought about it, the more it seemed true. The Will of Fire was just an excuse to cover up the graves of Konoha’s dead shinobi. It was a way of saying, “They did it for their village.” But did they do it? Or was it the Will of Fire who pushed them to die, which was almost propaganda-like.

Yoi continued walking towards the training grounds. He headed to a specific corner of the training grounds, specifically Training Ground 3. Yoi knew that in this training ground there was the memorial or the shinobi that had died for Konoha. Yoi reached the large black rock that looked similar to a kunai. At the base of it was a long list of names. Too long, in fact. Yoi wondered, how many of these were needlessly sent to their graves because of the Will of Fire? Yoi understood the importance of a united people and a powerful shinobi force. But what good was a shinobi force, when it was needlessly wasted because of things like the Will of Fire? There’s almost no difference between no shinobi force and a shinobi force needlessly dying. Yoi knew that peace across the shinobi world was probably never going to be a thing. But he knew peace within a village was possible. It had been seen before, in a time like Naruto’s. But he believed, the first step to this, was the destruction or abolition of the Will of Fire. Yoi sat down in the dirt, looking at the gravestone in front of him. A small tear rolled down his cheek as he saw his mother’s name. He never knew his mother, but he had stories. Of course, these were from others. He couldn’t feel much remorse due to the fact that he didn’t know her, but he still wondered what life would’ve been like with her. The Yuki sat there, letting himself get lost in thought. He let himself think. He needed it, with all his recent stress as a shinobi.

WC: 6306

[exit]

Claims:

63 Stats:
10 Strength, bringing me to 20 Strength
23 Speed, bringing me to 100 Speed
30 Stamina bringing me to 70 Stamina

Others:
750 to Summoning (750/1000)
1059 to Hyoton Blast finishing mastery for halved handseals (link on stat page)
2063 to Hyoton Blast mastering a second time for no handseals (2063/2750) (link on stat page)
899 to Hollow Ice Bullets brining it up to (1313/1750) (link on stat page)
750 to C-rank Jump (750/1000)
750 to Water Clone (750/1000)
35 words to the void

Approved