The First Meeting

Goro breathes a short and quiet sigh of relief. Luckily for him, no one in this room knows of the significance of the Chinoike clan and its connection to Jashin, nor did they catch on to his lie. Goro knows precisely what's so special about his family, and refuses to share it with this room, remembering how the fear of his clan's power was what had them exterminated. Additionally, he does know of one other surviving member that he knows very well, however, the news of a kage Chinoike is quite surprising to Goro. While it is true that Goro wants to be the Raikage, he also exists to impress Jashin, who is like a father to him in his corrupted and delusional mind. Goro almost presses about the other Chinoike that he was informed about, but stops himself to remain as incognito as he currently stands. He pulls himself from his thoughts as he realizes the rest of the team is looking at him. He puts on a forced smile as he says "Me...? Well... I know some basic water style techniques and just a little bit of medical... B-but that's just because I just started, I'm not falling behind at all, I only left the academy a little bit ago!..." Goro pauses for a moment, almost anticipating the others to laugh. Goro understands that there are many shinobi in the world who are born talented and would already be an Anbu at his age, and he obviously isn't that shinobi, at least, as for now. He continues "But... I do know that medical nin are very important on the battlefield, and considered vital for survival. Having a medical-nin on a team increases their chances of survival by 400 percent!... And water style techniques pair well with someone who is good with lightning style!... Like you, Saturn! A-and that's right, I haven't failed a single mission!" While what Goro said technically was true, he still has a long way to go before he can start bragging about never failing a mission. His smile soon turns into a look of self-pity as he claims "I-I know I might not seem like much now, but I can do it, I swear! I'm willing to give it all that I got, so long as you just teach me!"

WC: 386
TWC: 643

Ears perked up, light, sky blue eyes scanning over the three as each one would share their thoughts on the question that was asked.

Rizuke would gain a smile at his first comment, a lighthearted one that had a sense of passive delight to it, for it was a mantra that almost all nin should take up. And as he would go into a speech sort of, not entirely scolding the teammates, but telling them to get serious a bit, Hiroki’s hand would raise to physically commune that it wasn’t necessary, but didn’t speak or anything to actually cut the words off from being said. It was appreciated, but something which should ultimately fall onto the teacher’s responsibility speckled with mainly personal accountability from them. With that thought though, there was also the other side of them also holding each other accountable, just in Roki’s eyes, this wasn’t one of those particular moments in his opinion. ”No need for an apology. But, very good. Ninjutsu is great in the sense where it, as you say, has great capabilities for both short and long range, and same with genjutsu’s ability to help control the battlefield. But, don’t necessarily think the detriment of friendly fire, no pun intended there, comes from solely your element alone.” The latter end of the statement wasn’t elaborated on quite yet, for there was some things which Hiroki wanted to add to that statement, but it would tie in with the general one which was gonna be said as well.

Then, the next person speaking was the palm reader, Saturn. Taking into account the cold stare given from the genin, and what was immediately said then thereafter, it looked almost as if the blonde didn’t entirely like the fact that this all occurred. But, at the end of the day, the mentor didn’t feel bad about how he had went about saying it. It was something that wouldn’t be tolerated, especially against a team member. No matter the intended usage on it, there was still the proper responsibility to tell someone you were about to use a technique on them unless said person was your enemy and it was a combat type situation. Regardless, his first statement was practically ignored as it didn’t really relate to anything, but there was the nod of his head to at least show that Roki had heard what was said. As for the Sentobi’s answer, it didn’t really actually answer the question as a whole; only about Saturn’s own capabilities. ”Lightning is typically a power hitting element, and it’s fast. But there’s still a better, more detailed answer that could be used for the question; how can you use your skills, to work with your team.” That made two of the three students who didn’t fully find what Hiroki had been hoping for.

Which brings us to the third and final subordinate, and their response to the whole thing. As his eyes were looking across the three, while it wasn’t heard, it was seen that the Chinoike lad was breathing in heavily, as if to give a quiet sigh or something of the sorts. There was no reaction to this, but it was given a special mark within his brain to watch for the more physical body language presented by Goro, rather than what he’d say down the road. Inferences could be made that there was the potential for lies and secrets, but as of right now, it was but a theory which wasn’t commented upon. A theory that was only swaying a bit more to being true than a lie with the rather faked smile given by the newly graduated academy student. Though, none of this would be utilized in the here and now to skew any opinion, and he'd just listen to the answer that followed. Bingo, it would look as if the third time was a charm. Hiroki would respond to what was said, ”Very good Goro. A team’s chances do increase drastically if there is someone with medical skills in the team, such as yourself. And also, you gain partial points for certain water techniques do blend well with lightning ones, but keep in mind, not all do. Remember, these elements don’t necessarily act 100% how they’re naturally seen throughout the world because of us putting our chakra to mold them. As for individual techniques, no need to worry about that. There’ll be an ample amount of time to learn more.”

Arms now crossed, and with the individual comments, concerns, and whatnot out of the way, it was time for the Raiju to now look over them all and give the general response. Doing so, his voice would extend to each of them, forming the words ”Out of the three, while all do have some semblance of what I was looking for, only Goro touched upon what I was expecting. But, that’s why I’m here. To teach you all, and act as an informant and mentor; to improve upon not only your prowess in battle, but also the wisdom in which each of you already have.” During this moment, the lad would slowly start to walk about a meter to his left, and slightly turning so that way his body still faced all three of the genin evenly. He’d then continue his statement ”As it stands right now, this team is moreso suited for mid to long range fighting styles. How this ties in, it means you all will have to have a refined sense of battlefield awareness so as Rizuke said, friendly fire doesn’t occur. But, therein also lies your answer to also work as a team. Knowing that you all are more suited to be further away from the enemy, there also is that slightly less chance to actually hit a team mate since you all would be less likely to be in the way of one another, in less it’s an area of effect. Between the two of you-“ Roki’s left hand would be unfurled from where it had been previously tucked away in, his hand being directed towards Rizuke and Saturn, ”You can easily pacify the enemy with both Genjutsu and Lightning respectively; for Lightning also carries great potential for paralysis. Which is also where Goro comes in; I highly recommend you learn a water tech that can carry lightning chakra in it, so you can also play off of Saturn’s strengths then as well. Now that we talked about the how you all can potentially work together, let’s talk about the why. Simply put it, why is teamwork needed? What are some potential scenarios where it may seem impossible to do, but it would still be something that needed to be done? Please be detailed and creative in answering to this, no matter if you think it might be wrong.”

WC: 1138
TWC: 3538

As his squad leader folded his arms, he would look over the team and give them a response. Rizuke would listen sharply to everything the older shinobi had to say. This man was going to bring together a team of uncoordinated green behind the ears, unskilled team and turn them into a team that could potentially take on s-class threats. Rizuke was interested in everything this shinobi had to say. ”Out of the three, while all do have some semblance of what I was looking for, only Goro touched upon what I was expecting. But, that’s why I’m here. To teach you all, and act as an informant and mentor; to improve upon not only your prowess in battle, but also the wisdom in which each of you already have.” Rizuke would think to himself. What wisdom do I already have? I’m an empty bucket, I need you to pour your knowledge into me. This drew confusion out of Rizuke, but he didn’t want to fall behind so he would quit thinking internally and pay attention to the man in front of him. After thinking to himself, his squad leader would make his way a meter to his left slowly, almost slow enough that if Rizuke hadn’t been paying enough attention he wouldn’t have noticed. Rizuke watched as the man found his spot and then made his pivot so the three genin would be spread out in front of him to where he could see each without moving his head. After he got into position he would continue,” As it stands right now, this team is moreso suited for mid to long range fighting styles. How this ties in, it means you all will have to have a refined sense of battlefield awareness so as Rizuke said, friendly fire doesn’t occur. But, therein also lies your answer to also work as a team. Knowing that you all are more suited to be further away from the enemy, there also is that slightly less chance to actually hit a team mate since you all would be less likely to be in the way of one another, in less it’s an area of effect. Between the two of you-“ The man would then remove his tucked hand from the sheath and point at Rizuke and Saturn with his left hand. Rizuke would think about this, it was true enough, he was lacking in speed and strength, his attacks would work better if he could cast them further away, but he thought that being far away also opened up room for a counterattack. His squad leader would have to know this and that’s why he was trying to get them to think about how they could work together. If they could figure out pitfalls and ways to keep their enemy combatants back and away from the group and attack together. Rizuke thought he was understanding what his superior was trying to relay. Rizuke would focus back to the lesson at hand, ”You can easily pacify the enemy with both Genjutsu and Lightning respectively; for Lightning also carries great potential for paralysis. Which is also where Goro comes in; I highly recommend you learn a water tech that can carry lightning chakra in it, so you can also play off of Saturn’s strengths then as well. Now that we talked about the how you all can potentially work together, let’s talk about the why. Simply put it, why is teamwork needed? What are some potential scenarios where it may seem impossible to do, but it would still be something that needed to be done? Please be detailed and creative in answering to this, no matter if you think it might be wrong.” Rizuke would take a moment to mull this over in his head.
 
Rizuke would look at the other three of the shinobi in the room. Why is teamwork needed? I mean obviously, a team of two can stop themselves from getting overworked if they’re on a mission, more hands, less work as my mom always says. Rizuke would think to himself. There’s gotta be more to this though. Rizuke was worried he thought he gave a decent answer last time, but it wasn’t what the man was looking for. I don’t want to be outdone, so I’ll just give a bunch of answers and hope one is what he’s looking for. Rizuke would let a small grin enter his face as he started thinking about some of his answers. It ranged from a squad of four can move more covertly than a larger movement, and if they came across trouble, they could do more to fend off dangers they could face. Rizuke would take stock of the rest of his squad at this current moment, they seemed to be coming up with their own answers. Rizuke could learn from them as well, so he’d keep an open mind when they made their answers.
 
Rizuke would open his mouth to speak and was finding it easier to do so. He was becoming more acquainted with the three next to and in front of him. He would share his thoughts with his comrades. “I feel like teamwork is important because it’s the foundation of a squad or any type of military. If we each were to just move individually the entire time, we could accomplish a lot sure, but if we work together our accomplishments get done with more efficiency and accuracy, with a lot fewer casualties. We can pool our resources and not wear ourselves out on combat missions, or just missions we need to exert ourselves on.” Rizuke would continue he was trying too hard he felt, but everyone here impressed him, he didn’t want to get left behind. “Let’s see here, you want me to be specific. Let’s say we’re on a mission to apprehend a spy or something of that nature. Let’s say for all intents and purposes my Sharingan was awakened, I could use it to locate the spy based on their chakra, and then could relay that information to you three, we could then work on moving the spy into an area with no sensitive information, or commoners to apprehend the spy. We could fight him, and keep him at mid to long range by having people work together to push the spy back or keep each other safe while not exhausting our resources, such as chakra preserve, weapons, or overall energy. This would also keep us safer thus our healer,” He would point to Goro, “Wouldn’t have to use his chakra to heal us.” He would finish this part by looking at Saturn and Hiroki-san. “I was already going to train myself in water ninjutsu because it’s my fire chakra’s weakness. If this makes me more of a team player, I’m all for it, do you two have any suggestions or know of any jutsu that would help Saturn-san to use my justu to enhance his own?” He would ask the two older shinobi. He had been thinking between earth and water, Rizuke liked the idea of having the fire to damage, earth to block, and water to be versatile. He would actually share this with his squad. “Us Uchiha, we use fire as our primary element, but I was hoping to hone water and earth elements because I wanted to use Fire to be most of where my offense comes from, the earth element would be to shield me, or us from incoming attacks, and water can be versatile. Now that I know I can be more help with water jutsu I think I’ll go for that first. I’m a team player, we fight as a team we die as a team, at least that’s what my dad says.” Rizuke would chuckle and then rub his neck awkwardly. I probably shared too much he would think to himself. “Okay, I’ve said my piece, I have more to say, but I don’t want to hog the floor.” He would say as he bowed out.


WC: 1337
TWC: 3026

Goro listens carefully to everyone's statements, and somewhat grunts when Saturn brings up the possibility of him being caught. "You all make good points, and yes, if I was without my soon-to-be puppets, chakra strength that I will learn very soon, and just so happen to not be feeling as awesome as I usually am, I might be able to be caught. And having a team there to help me would save my butt! But teamwork is good for other reasons too! A team can stop an individual from doing something dumb! A team can also make and execute big extravagant plans that a lone shinobi wouldn't be able to do, at least not without a very high-level clone jutsu!" Goro pauses for a few moments, carefully picking his next choice of words. "I Uhm... Don't have any clan techniques, but that's okay because I can just substitute it by being an even more awesome ninja! My goal is to be able to control the battlefield and give everyone else an opportunity to gain the upper hand, as well as to keep my team safe! Altogether, we would make a very formidable opponent, and that's why teamwork is important!"

WC: 199
TWC: 842

Each subordinate would speak in tandem with precise answers to a question about teamwork that had been asked of them. Each answer was correct in it’s own way, and there wasn’t any technical wrong one among the bunch. Hiroki would walk down the line while each of the students would promptly recite their answers, but with a blank expression to his face. No visual facial indication as to how he felt about what was said, but regardless, that wouldn’t necessarily matter. As Goro finished chiming in with his last comment, the teacher would pause, with his back still facing them before tilting his head to the side and saying to the trio ”Good, very good. You all spoke on unique and individual aspects of why this idea is a much needed concept for the ship to sail smoothly.” In this moment, he’d then turn to face the Uchiha, Sentobi, and Chinoike members, his hair slightly bouncing as it was being moved with the motion. ”Such things like filling in for each other’s weaknesses, aiding another member when they might need, and overall just a general sense of being able to act as one cooperative unit who has each other’s backs are all good points.”

But it was enough chit chat.

”Now then. We know the reasons as to why, what, and how. Let’s test how well you lot can actually apply it. Which brings us into our first exercise of the day; Back to the Basics.” Once more the Sage would switch positions, moving back to the centerpoint of his 3 students, but this time standing 5 meters away so his back would be only a few inches away from the tree. ”As the name would suggest, this is all about the basic combat necessity, hand to hand. The rules will be quite simple. Each of you will have 2 lives, and I will have 4 because this is a 3v1. Your goal is to simply land hits on me to get rid of my lives, and mine is the opposite. No technique usage, not even Taijutsu. Basic melee weapon attacks such as a kunai are acceptable, just no actual kill shots. And one more thing, just as friendly fire is a real thing in actual combat scenarios, it will be a real thing here. Keep that in mind and don’t go recklessly swinging. Now. Let us begin.”

Hiroki would walk 1 meter forward and wait there for his opponents to follow suit. Once everyone would be in position, Hiroki would bow and they could start.

(Only do up to the bow, I will be starting off the first rd of combat, don't keep track of actual HP loss if you were to get hit, just the amount of 'lives' you have remaining)

WC: 426
TWC: 3966

Rizuke’s sensei was about to teach the class a lesson in pain, but Rizuke was ready for this. He would look to the others in anticipation. The three would have to strategize, Rizuke was piss poor at hand-to-hand fighting, but he could at least take a few blows and try to pull Hikori’s attention away from the other two so they could land a few blows. Rizuke would think deeply about how he could bring anything to the table that his teammates could use. Hopefully, his teammates had a few ideas as to how Rizuke could be helpful. Rizuke would stay where he was and take a bow to start the fight.

WC:112
TWC: 3138

To Goro, this seems all too much like a game. Almost like the exercises he practiced in the academy. This is enough to get Goro hyped up, as he starts doing a warmup exercise, jumping from foot to foot, slowly pumping himself up. In this exercise, Goro intends to take the role of frontline and will be the first to make a move on his team. While Goro can't match up to his sensei in physical strength, he's not too far off the mark, hopefully, just enough to make an opening for his team. Goro ends his warmup with a bow, stating "I'm ready!" He then enters a snake stance... A defensive style of... Kung Fu?

WC: 116
TWC:958