Red Riot - Chapter 32 - Red Revelations (Patreon)

Matsu:- The MC, a Kiri Jonin, with Uzumaki traits.

Jonin Akiko - Matsu’s Sensei and exasperated mentor of other children, Matsu returned her beauty to her.

Rei:- the girl that Matsu was supposed to kill to prove his loyalty to Kiri under Gengetsu’s orders. 

Kori Yuki - The Clan head of the Yuki Clan. Former Bodyguard to the first Mizukage. Future Third Mizukage?

Sayuki:- Second in command of the Civilian Nin when Matsu isn’t around. Takes it seriously.

Shoto:- stealth specialist that is currently undergoing ANBU training. Does not know what happened to the Okiya and Rei. 

Hoppa Kaguya:- a ‘fat’ Kaguya clansman that is interested in fighting Matsu. 

Idate Hozuki - student of Matsu. Hozuki clansman. Genin. Thinks he’s destined for greatness!

Kuroiwa Karatachi - student of Matsu. Karatachi clanswoman. Genin. Capitalist!

Midori Terumi - student of Matsu. Terumi clanswoman. Genin. Straightforward thinking lass with good intentions for most people!

Han:- orphan student of Matsu that is raised by his uncle. Civilian-born shinobi. Might have dealt with a good deal of sabotage during his time at the academy. Genin.

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With the Okiya destroyed and many of the women injured or deceased, there was a lot to organise. 

Sadly, it was all too easy to have someone declared dead in Kiri and to have a burial specialist around to collect the remains. 

By the time I arrived and healed most of the injuries, Granny’s corpse had already been collected and cremated. A small urn with her ashes had been returned to us with that of the other women so a small shrine could be set up. 

The Burial agents made sure to drop off their bill as well. 

It slapped me in the face with its callousness, but it didn’t surprise me. This was Kiri; they probably were one of the most lucrative businesses around. 

I couldn’t simply move the women and girls that were left after the destruction back into the Okiya. Nor could I place them within the tower apartments. For all that shinobi were killers and thieves, there was a certain level of prestige with that.

Simply thrusting what amounted to courtesans into the apartment would cause tension to grow. 

So instead I marched into another building in the red light district, an unpopular drug den with a multitude of rooms and bought it outright. Then I posted some D Rank missions that I paid extra on to get completed fast. Surprisingly I got a group of four kids and a surly looking man march in and clean the place up. 

After advancing my team out of it, and everything that had happened over the last month I’d almost forgotten about the Mudanin system. 

The chunin sensei had given me a long look when I’d lingered to watch. His eyes had darted to the Jonin vest I now bore, and he’d kept his mouth shut though. 

The kids still in it were all sorts of helpless, but surprisingly, their sensei happily marched around and barked orders at them. He gave lessons as often as he did smacks with the cane he used, but I could see that the kids were learning to dodge those rather well. 

It was vindictive as hell on his behalf but there was an undercurrent of care if you paid enough attention to their interactions.

It was strangely validating to see that my kids weren’t the only ones given a chance. 

Even if their team’s dynamic could be improved, it worked.

I barely even noticed the cost of all of this thanks to the money Gengetsu had awarded me from my recent series of missions. 

It felt like a poor trade for the loss of Granny and the girls, but I couldn’t do anything for the dead. 

Even in the world of punch wizards that was Naruto, true resurrection wasn’t possible. 

I paused. 

Actually, fuck that. I added that on my list of avenues of power to investigate. 

Saying it wasn’t possible was quitter talk. 

Right as I was packing everything up for the ladies to move into their ‘new’ building, I received a surprising guest. I felt her chakra long before she got close, so I was well positioned to hear her approach. 

“—my Lady I must protest you should not be down in your condition!” called a whiny voice. 

“Silence! You will not question me on this!” snapped Yukari Terumi. 

I set myself in the middle of the room, my eyes narrowing as the door opened to the temporary lodgings Gengetsu had extended to the women of the Okiya. 

In the doorway, Yukari Terumi took a moment to adjust, taking in the various women in the room before locking eyes with me. 

I met her gaze and found shame written clearly across her face. 

She threw herself onto her knees and put her head to the ground, her position somewhat compromised due to the size of her stomach. 

“I’m sorry! I never thought that my cousins would do what they did over a simple kiss!”

Something about that twinged a part of my mind, but I put that to the side for the moment. 

“You never thought,” I repeated softly. “That seems to be a bit of a running trend for you, doesn’t it Yukari?”  

My words were like a whip, lashing at the kneeling woman. She flinched but kept her head down.

“Mistress!” The attendant who’d warned Yukari away from here flapped her hands over her bowing Mistress. “Get up! Please consider the child!” 

Her anxiety melted as she looked up and sneered at the other women, only to lock eyes with me. “And you! Don’t you dare—” 

I stabbed an illusion of a hand clenching around her throat into her, and she gasped, staggering back fearfully. 

She gave me another look and this time noticed the Jonin vest. Her defiance vanished like a fire jutsu into a tidal wave as she lowered herself to a fearful kneel behind her mistress.

“If there is anything I can do to make amends please tell me!” Yukari said to the floor. 

“Amends? Your family came to where I lived and killed those close to me how do you even think you can begin to make amends for such an act?” I said lacing venom into my words. 

Yukari shuddered. “I don’t know,” she said quietly, still not meeting my gaze. 

I snorted. “Sit up, I’ll not have your child be harmed due to your thoughtlessness.” She sat bolt upright at that. 

A small smile appeared along with a hopeful glint in her eyes, but I stopped that cold with a look and a raised hand to forestall any ideas forming in her mind that I might be relaxing around her. 

“I don’t want your clan to start thinking I had anything to do with harming your golden child,” I stated firmly. 

Yukari ducked her head, accepting the rebuke. 

Behind her, the servant bristled but held her tongue. I had no doubts that everything said here was going to be relayed to the Clan head and Nezda. 

“I went to great personal risk to save you as a potential asset for your clan and I have been repaid with treachery. I and those I hold close are owed much by the Terumi Clan. I find it reprehensible that you would beg with one hand while trying to steal from my pocket with the other, for now. Thieves have more honour than that,” I spat.

“You are lower than thieves to me.” I stabbed a finger in her direction. “That is what your clan is to my eyes Yukari, do we understand each other?”

Yukari nodded, swallowing before she spoke up. “I understand… Although I don’t think I want to. It is so counter to what I know my clan to be.” Her eyes teared up beautifully. 

I hated her a little more for being so damn gorgeous even when she cried. 

“We have always been honourable. That my own cousins would do this. I can’t believe they weren’t stopped before anything went as far as it did,” Yukari said with a forlorn shake of her head.

My brain twitched once more at that idle comment. 

“I think it is best you go Yukari. Know that a debt is owed and I will collect on it,” I stated firmly. 

Yukari and her servant fled, and I was left with my thoughts as the women of the Okiya bustled about. 

It wasn’t just Yukari who was going to face redrawn lines in terms of relationships and how we acted together. Midori, one of my best students was going to be highly scrutinised now due to the actions of her clan. 

I doubted I would even be able to take her to the Chunin Exams. 

I wasn’t sure I wanted to. 

Part of me knew that my feelings to her were the result of a collateral damage caused by the three men’s actions, but I also didn’t want the Terumi to benefit any more from me than they already had.

I decided I’d have to sleep on it.

I replayed the conversation over in my head and lingered at Yukari's two idle comments.

She never thought her cousins would do that over a simple kiss, and it was rather simple, and that her cousins hadn’t been stopped, by another passing shinobi, or by members of her own clan.

That rather stunk of something more being at play than a case of three shinobi reacting like the worst of jilted lovers. The Terumi had to have either supported the shinobi or deliberately stayed their hands. 

Both were decisions that had to be made by someone. 

The question that gnawed at me was, why?

Why set up a negative relationship with me at all? 

I thought my star was on the rise of late with the work I’d put in and the missions. Had I not done well by them with Midori’s advancement to Genin and out of the Mudanin program?

Yukari’s extraction… I wasn’t sure anyone else but the strongest of Kiri would have been able to do that. 

By rights, Yukari and Akiko should have died. 

I lingered a moment, running what I knew of Naruto's timeline, murky as it was with the Manga. 

It was too early for someone like Mei to be born, so this kid never manifested the legendary second bloodline and passed beneath notice.

Or Yukari never escaped Orochimaru. 

Which was all sorts of horrifying to consider. 

There was a lot of potential there. The biggest point was that I’d helped the Terumi in a huge way and had been expecting a reward only to be stabbed in the back. I found it very interesting that even though I’d been back for three days now, Yukari was the only Terumi to approach me.

There had to be some movements occuring within the depths of Kiri that I wasn’t aware of. I’d need to touch base with Akiko and find out what was stirring within the halls of power along with how the general population was reacting to this event. 

It was rather annoying that Shoto wasn’t here. I suspected he’d enacted his plan to join Kiri’s ANBU which meant he was probably out of contact. 

Poor kid was probably going to kick himself for not being here. Part of me suspected that if he’d been here things might have gone very differently for the Terumi shinobi.

So, they got lucky once again, or they scouted the situation out before committing, which again would make it all too calculated for a crime of passion. 

I was seeing a plot here but I didn’t have the full picture. I doubted I’d ever get the full picture in truth. Part of me regretted not putting the trio of Terumi men to the rack to find out what exactly their plan had been.

Had that been what Gengetsu wanted from me? No, a man like that would have built a good enough profile of me to understand how I’d have reacted by now.

I was still amazed I wasn’t being tortured due to Rei’s survival. 

The only conclusion I could draw was that no one had recognised her as the girl I’d ‘killed’ during the Red Graduation. 

The fact that she had her face burned rather harshly probably helped there. 

Suki, the newest Madam of the newly reestablished Okiya approached me. “We’re all settled in Matsu. The girls are frankly amazed at how quickly you got things set up for them. They can’t even recognise this as the old drug den.”

I merely nodded, waving off her thanks. “Least I could do,” I replied sparing a glance towards the newly erected shrine which bore incense along with numerous cremation urns. “Sure I can’t offer you different work?” I asked once more.

“No. You’ve done enough. This is a life some of us chose and got used to. And don’t downplay your efforts. It really isn’t the least, it’s a lot and it means the world to us,” Suki replied. 

She watched me for a long moment. “You’re not going to stay with us anymore, are you?”

I shook my head. “I’ve already brought ruin to our family once. It's time to step away. I can come back and heal you up, no doubt, but living here? I don’t think that’s such a good idea anymore. I might start sending some people around to stand guard, though.”

“Hmmm going to send some big strong men around eh?” Suki teased. 

I hummed before frowning. “Didn’t we have some regulars from the Shinobi and kunoichi community?”

“We do, and we’re going to make sure the girls who had such lovers let their companions know.” Suki let her gaze drift over the open area that was being converted into a lounge-performing area for guests to enjoy spending time with the girls. 

“I expect some of the girls might accept the proposals that will be offered their way. We’re going to be much smaller for a good few years until our family grows once more.” 

I hummed. “Change eh?”

“Indeed, don’t be a stranger though Matsu. I know many a young maiden waiting for you to grow up a little,” she teased. 

I rolled my eyes and dodged her effortlessly as she moved to pinch my cheek. 

“Look after Rei for me. I need to secure a medical area for her and test some things,” I said cryptically as I departed. 

By that I meant I would need to learn how to perform optical surgery with the literal replacement of the eye, optic nerve, blood vessels and chakra pathways. 

Somehow I doubted it was going to be as easy as the anime liked to make out with people treating eyes like lightbulbs. 

Maybe that might be the case with certain dojutsu but I planned to at least have a few experiments and practise surgeries performed first. Practicising on fish and pigs didn’t seem enough. 

I’d decided against putting the Byakugan into Rei, at least straight away. I didn’t want to risk my lack of skill with eye surgery to potentially ruin it after all. 

As I made my way to the apartment towers I owned, I toyed with the storage scroll that contained said eye. If I'd left it behind when I’d gone on missions I would have lost it now. Thank goodness I’d kept it with me.

A ping of chakra knocking on my coils made me pause atop a building roof. I glanced down and found a trio of dark hairied shinobi looking at me. All of them bore markings of the Yuki Clan on their shoulders and the lead member of their group gestured at me in Kiri sign language that they wished to talk. 

I dropped down, rather interested in the downright polite approach they were showing. 

“Jonin Uzumaki,” the shinobi said, tasting the word before smiling slightly. “Well met, I am the personal guard of the Yuki Clanhead, Kori Yuki. He wishes to talk to you.”

I hummed. The Yuki Clan head wanted to talk? 

Interesting. 

Especially with the timing.

I hadn’t had all that much to do with the Yuki kids during my graduation. They’d all fallen in at the command of the Hozuki. 

I played around with what I knew for a moment before wondering if I could afford to ignore the summons for at least a day or two. 

As a Jonin with Gengetsu’s favour— if such a thing truly existed— I could probably push my luck. I mentally snorted. Yeah who was I kidding. 

Still, I found myself curious. A dangerous trait for any shinobi to possess I knew, but the question lingered.  

What did the Yuki Clanhead want with me?

“Lead the way then, I am glad to make myself available,” I stated. 

The trio of shinobi all preened at this, it seemed I’d honoured them with my statement. Hmmm, interesting. Perhaps my standing within the Village was greater than I’d realised?

I suppose I was now officially the youngest Jonin in the Village’s history, not counting those who’d advanced during the clan wars, at least. 

Those kids all made Jonin fast. 

The difference was that modern Jonin were supposed to be stronger.

The trio of shinobi led me to their Clan’s compound, where I found a host of hidden shinobi set around ornate white gates and walls. It was only as I got closer and detected the drop in temperature that I realised that the structures were entirely made of ice. 

It was a rather handy tool, especially if they had jutsu like the Demon Ice Mirrors that Haku had demonstrated in the manga. 

As we entered the compound proper, I cycled up my chakra a little faster to keep myself warm. Surprisingly, there were still pools of water around, but I noted that each pool had steam rising up out of it. 

I caught sight of a few shinobi training while launching ice needles directly into the artificial hot springs while others watched on. 

“Tch! Too weak! If your needles can melt before touching the bottom your jutsu is not ready!” barked an elder at a young shinobi. 

We continued through the compound, eliciting only mild interest at our passing before I was led to a traditional manor, where I was led into an office overlooking a garden that reminded me of a display of a tundra in full bloom I’d seen in my past life.

“It’s beautiful, is it not?” asked a man facing the garden. 

I’d entered so that I was facing his right side and he didn’t turn to address me. Despite having never met the man my mind clicked with recognition. 

Pale skin, long black hair, and a white scarf that was wrapped around his neck to hide his throat. The man barely opened his eyes from what I could see as he looked from his garden to his paperwork. 

This was the man who had first appeared as a guard to the First Mizukage. In the Naruto story he was the only shinobi not to become the second kage following his predecessor’s death. 

He notably became the third Mizukage, however. 

“It is,” I replied. “Rather impressive garden for a home that must be the coldest part of Kiri.”

“Hmmm, yes, that is something we pride ourselves on,” replied Kori Yuki 

He turned and smiled at me, his right eye remaining only slightly open, but his left eye? 

That caused me to reassess what I knew. Instead of a wholesome left eye, the man had a small eyepatch around his left eye making one assume he was blind on that side. 

You wouldn’t even question it if you didn’t notice how the eyepatch extended around to cover Kori’s temple on his left side, making it impossible to see if there were any bulging veins on that side.

To anyone without a hint of what lay underneath, Kori Yuki would seem to bear a scar from a fight gone bad. If you knew, however, that his left eye was more than it seemed, well, you could piece things together. 

It was extremely interesting that Kori had the eye and not a member of Gengetu’s own clan. There was obviously a story there. 

I seemed to be encountering a lot of those lately, and I didn’t have enough pieces to extrapolate from. 

“Well met,” I said kneeling down on a cushion so I could formally meet him. I bowed to a precise angle to show respect without sucking up before straightening. “You asked to speak with me?” 

Kori, rather than speak straight away looked at the garden once more. “What is Kirigakure to you?” he asked seemingly at random. 

I hid a frown. Ah, he was playing that game, was he? 

A seemingly inconsequential remark that allowed him to gauge me and adjust the flow of conversation so he could lead me to a conclusion he wanted. I’d played this game enough times to spot it when used against me. 

I still played along like I had no idea what he was doing. 

“Kiri? To me, it is home, but it is also… less than it could be, in so many ways.” I shrugged. “I’m sure you know that, though, my graduation rather underscored my dislike of sticking to outdated methods.” 

“Outdated,” Kori tasted the word for a few moments only to nod. “I suppose that is an apt description. It was one of the procedures that the First Mizukage instituted and has never been reviewed.” 

“Huh, it’s that old?” I asked. 

Kori nodded. “Byakuren was a powerful shinobi capable of creating a middle ground between many clans and people but he was not long-sighted.” Kori smiled as though a joke was just occurring to him. “In fact, I think he might have even been blind at the end there, but that is the nature of age I suppose.” 

Kori gestured towards me. “Many of the policies that the First Mizukage introduced have never been reviewed.
 He let his gaze linger on me before shifting as an attendant entered with a tray with tea upon it. Kori and I were both served steaming cups before the servant excused themselves. 

Kori raised his cup to indicate me. “Your actions of late have highlighted that there needs to be change. Renewal for the future.”

Kori’s chakra washed over me in a sudden pulse that I recognised as a simplified sensory pulse. My own chakra senses didn’t require the crutch, and I felt not just his chakra pulse outwards but also activate in his left eye. 

Hmmm, so that confirms that then, and it was also very telling that we were about to get the meat of what he wanted to talk to me about. 

“During your recent mission, you performed wide-ranging surveys to update the maps of the area surrounding the eastern portion of The Land of Hot Springs. The Mizukage has since funded more surveys for the shinobi returning to assist with the Chunin Exams to secure intelligence regarding the western regions.”

“Hmmm the Western regions,” I mused aloud. That would be where shinboi from Suna and Iwa would need to travel.

“I believe you understand where this will take us in the future.” Kori set his teacup down with a firm click. “Certain opportunities will be afforded to us either during or soon after the Chunin Exams. Especially if we can guarantee a meeting between two people in particular.”

I nodded, in my mind translating what he meant. He wanted my support to make sure Mu and Gengetsu met up with each other, and that that Gengetsu died. That would open up a seat at the top for him to step up.

I frowned outwardly. “Wouldn’t it be a risk for our image if Gengetsu were the only one to fall?”

Kori waved a hand dismissively. “Guranntees can be established. Let it be said that I am not the only interested party. Others, even outside our Village wish for change,” Kori said alluding to a much greater conspiracy.

Hmmm, if I were simply a young Jonin I’d have no idea who he might have been referencing but with my outside knowledge it seemed like Kori was admiting to making deals with someone in Iwa. If I had to guess at who I’d assume Onoki. He had the most to gain with Mu’s death after all. 

The idea rather neatly tied away several loose threads that had bothered me in the past. It had seemed odd that two shinobi of Mu and Gengetsu’s calibre had killed each other. If others had guranteed it however? Well that made a good deal more sense to me. 

That or I was over thinking it and they did but I was going to stick to my theory until I knew more.

I tilted my head. “What do you need my help for?”

Kori smiled politely. “I might be missing an eye, but I’m not blind. You have amassed something of a following. You also have Gengetsu’s favour.” I restrained myself from rolling my eyes at the phrase. 

Kori continued, his lips twitching slightly gave away that he knew what I did. Gengetu’s ‘favour’ was worth nothing. “He sees a lot of potential with you. I’d like to harness that. I see a bright future for you, but for that I need you to work with me” he said.

“Hmmm, I think you overvalue my worth,” I demurred. 

“And to me, it seems you undervalue it. You don’t realise it but your progress has several clans sitting up and paying attention.” Kori chuckled. “Why, you practically have the Terumi running scared.”

I frowned. “I wasn’t aware I had that effect on them.”

Kori hummed and considered me. “You’ve advanced to Jonin so there are certain secrets that can be afforded to you, as a show of trust,” he said. 

I nodded, ignoring the itching at the back of my neck. It felt like the longer I spoke with this man the more he was draping a rope around my neck. 

I was building up an idea of this man in my head based just on my instincts.

“It has been established that you are a strong sensor. You are also an able combatant. You also have prodigious skills as a medic with your ability to heal is quickly approaching that of being one of the best within Kiri, did you know that?”

I shook my head. “Medics don’t exactly get to talk to each other.” It didn’t actually surprise me; I was kind of broken, and my past life’s knowledge of the body had given me a huge leg up for the mystic palm jutsu. 

I inclined my head. “That would probably be a good place to see some actual policy and development,” I said, deciding to make the most of my time by having the ear of a Clanhead. 

A word in the right ear could make a world of difference. I would just need to be on the watch for how Kiri chose to warp my idea. 

Kori considered my words carefully. “An interesting thought and one with much potential for Kiri.”

I decided to strike while the iron was hot. “It is something I’m deeply interested in developing. If you like I could write up a report on the potential of such an organisation.”

Kori remained silent and I got the impression he was reevaluating me. 

He must have seen my age as the first impression and been stuck on that, and to be fair I was a child physically. Albeit a child with a body forged in Kiri with potent chakra running through me, so still a threat in ways civilians never quite grasped. 

If I kept this up I might just advance from tool to be used to assistant. I’d need to be careful not to have too many good ideas, lest I become a problem for him that he needed to be culled. 

“I’d like that, yes. We should be friends. Please do,” he said with the air of one who was directing an assistant to a task. 

I accepted the role easily. If I got in on the ground floor for the next regime, there was a lot I could do. 

Kori rubbed his chin. “You are interesting. I suppose I see what has the Terumi so fearful now. Your recent attempts to gain a master for Fuinjutsu have not gone unnoticed. The Terumi initially accepted your sensei’s proposal, but your ability to rub elbows with someone of Orochimaru’s calibre forced a reevaluation.”

I held back from clicking my tongue. Damn snake was causing me trouble even when he wasn’t nearby! I kept up my polite smile. “I would hardly call it rubbing elbows so much as fleeing for my life.”

“And yet you emerged with your life and that of two others. That is a feat worth mentioning, especially when your age is taken into consideration.” Kori fixed me with a look. “You will not be allowed to simply fade into the shadows Matsu, too many people know of you. You have achieved enough that people must be aware of you.”

“I preferred remaining in the dark,” I said. 

Kori inclined his head. “If you wished to pursue that route you’d need to fade into one of the masked agencies of Kiri but I doubt you would do that. You’d lose much of your ability to influence others if you did so.” 

“Hmmm, I suppose you’re right,” I replied. Seems I wasn’t the only one building up a ‘profile’ of my conversation partner. Had to give it to Kori he had me dead to rights. I wanted to wield influence, or rather I needed to if I wanted to make Kiri better.

I decided to shift the conversation once more. “So, the Terumi reevaluated me and decided I needed to have my home burned down?”

Kori wagged a finger. “They wanted to cut ties, clearly. There was too much danger in allowing you access and them becoming reliant on you. You also have a certain… temptation with your heritage, not that they could make use of it. Not unless they bound you to their clan.” I held back a frown. My Heritage? Hmmm he had to be referring to me being an Uzumaki. Ah, I was starting to see where this was going. 

Kori took a sip of his tea and I copied him. It was cold now but that rather added to the flavour of the tea rather than detract from it. 

Kori continued from where he’d left off. “So the Terumi chose another route, but in doing so, they have played their hands. You were apparently too close to something vital for them. Can you guess what it was?”

I frowned and replayed the points that had been made. Kori had laid a crumb trail for me to follow which I’d already caught but it was worth playing a long with so he didn’t think I was too smart.

He’d mentioned my chakra sensory skills, along with my desire for fuinjutsu training and, finally my heritage. Pair all of this with the recent talk I’d had with Akiko about the tailed Beasts? I could see what the clans feared. 

I allowed a frown to grow. “The tailed beasts…” I said, acting like I was only just working out what this was all about. Kori nodded.

“Indeed, it is well known that the current host of the Six Tails, one Hanataro Terumi, is growing infirm. They need a new host. Now, for a new host, you typically need to guarantee loyalty. You also need to keep things close to the main family but not be too close lest you put all your nets in the one fishing area. You can’t have the heir, and the Jinchuriki as the same person. It is not a good idea.”

I nodded slowly. “They’re going to put the six-tailed beast into someone… If I’m around the compound, I’d be able to pick up on the change.”

“This would give you a good idea of who their biggest threat would be which other clans would consider vital intelligence. Now, in playing their hand they are making you much more averse to ever going into their compound, no? My theory is that you already know the potential host.”

“Hanahime,” I said. 

Kori nodded. “She is the niece of the current Clanhead, and the daughter of none other than Nezda who is the Chamberlain of Kiri.”

I nodded slowly only to frown. “I thought Nezda was something of a savant when it came to political ploys. How is burning my home down anything but brick to the face? If you and I can determine their plans from their current actions are we sure he’s as smart as he is made out?” I asked, playing devil’s advocate. 

Kori smiled. “Ah, this is where being born a civilian has caused a misunderstanding. You see, Clans are not just run by the Clan head or a powerful voice. There are lots of factions within the clan, you could say.”

“You’re saying this occurred without his knowledge?” I asked dubiously.

Kori inclined his head. “It is the most likely scenario. You haven’t heard this of course but two elders with the Terumi have had falls that saw them perish just the other day. It was quite tragic, I’m told. One man’s widow has been forced to remarry to keep food on her table,” he said with a tone that told me he considered it anything but a tragedy. 

In truth, it sounded a little too convenient. I was starting to get the impression I’d never get to the full truth though. It was particularly cold-blooded of the Terumi to kill off two elders like that basically. It spoke of either those two messing up by overplaying their hands with what they’d done. That or they were convenient scapegoats. 

I really didn’t have enough of a picture. Damn, how was I ever going to manage these people if I wanted to become Mizukage? Internal clan politics could be a serious sticking point for me.

“Hmmm, that true for your clan as well? Am I going to have a group opposed to me?” I probed.

“The Yuki follow my lead, they have for almost two decades and I plan to keep it that way for at least another,” Kori stated firmly. 

I drummed my fingers on my thigh as an idea occurred to me. Perhaps I could work this to get more from our conversation than a nebulous promise of future assistance. “We have a good idea of who will host the Six Tails, but if you’re going to assume the mantle of Mizukage we’ll need to track the three tails as well, no?” 

Kori smiled a little wider. “Ahhh, I know who they are. They could… possibly be a sticking point but arrangements can be made to lead them to a secluded area easily enough.”

I tilted my head. “Wouldn’t simply killing them risk losing the tailed beast?” I didn’t let my inner revulsion show through. Kiri truly had gotten to me if I was able to sit and calmly discuss the benefits of murder versus forced extraction or slavery of a sentient being without batting an eye. 

“It is better than having the beast potentially reform within the Village,” stated Kori. “Unless you think you can learn enough fuinjutsu within the next month to be of benefit?” he probed.

I shook my head. “No, probably best to kill the host and have a few teams ready for when it reforms. Any idea how long it will take?”

“A few weeks at least,” replied Kori.

“Hmmm, so perhaps not something I can assist with,” I stated.

“Your desire does you credit,” Kori complimented easily only to shift into a thoughtful pose. 

Kori hummed. “It may perhaps be better for you to… explore other options. An Uzumaki trained in fuinjutsu is something that many within the clans are rightfully fearful of. I would suggest investigating your earlier idea of Medical ninjutsu.”

I blinked, pretending like I hadn’t considered that angle. “Ah, I see your point,” I demurred.

Inwardly, I scoffed. Fuinjutsu was simply too versatile not to pursue. 

Especially with the risk of the Yellow Flash in the future. If I wasn’t able to match him I was likely to find a tri-pronged kunai as one of the last things I ever saw before he ganked me.

It would seem I’d need to develop this skill in secret from even my ‘allies’. 

“Sound advice,” I replied with a nod. “To that end, I would like to look into certain types of surgeries that would be most beneficial for Kiri.”

“Ho? What sorts?” Kori asked, taking another sip of his tea.

“I’d like to start with pregnancies and blood work, but I also have a personal interest in eye surgeries.” 

For just a moment, Kori’s hand twitched. “Oh?” he said, like his chakra was coiling in preparation to strike me down.

“One of the girls I grew up with had her eyes burned out during the recent fire, you see. I will need to learn more if I want to have any hope of granting her sight once more,” I stated like I hadn’t noticed how risky my statement was. 

I’d needed to allude to it after all as not to say anything would be too glaring an omission. “There are also several ocular-based diseases that I need to investigate. My… the woman who raised me was going blind. If I can secure visual acuity in older people and treat illnesses, I will have a lot more to offer.” 

Kori blinked. “Ocular disease?”

I nodded. “Infections, cataracts, and other issues would need to be investigated.” I offered a shrug. “I’d need to assemble a team for that though, and a proper facility. Perhaps when you’re Mizukage, I could advance Kiri in new ways.”

“I must say, with my own injury, I would have a certain interest in that,” he stated calmly, playing into his disguise. 

“Well, I hope to one day be of assistance,” I said with a small bow. 

Kori accepted that with a polite smile before glancing outside. “Well, I had best let you go. I have no doubt there is much on your plate, but I look forward to working with you more in future Matsu. Keep our talk in mind going forward won’t you?” 

“I shall,” I said with a deferential bow that was exactly a degree lower than when I’d come as a show of respect. Kori’s single eye glinted with approval.

I left feeling like I’d been bathed in oil while a noose softly wrapped around me. 

The phrase ‘beware a Greek bearing gifts’ came to mind with Kori. He had approached me precisely when I needed information. I didn’t trust him for a second that he wouldn’t stab me in the back if it proved more convenient. 

Hopefully, my reference to ocular diseases would see him investing in me, though. 

I rubbed my chin and considered the distant apartment blocks. I felt too keyed up from everything that had happened over the last few days. 

I turned and ran towards the Kaguya training grounds. 

I felt like I needed some catharsis, and for all their issues, the Kaguya were easy to handle. It was time to negotiate with them by punching them in the face. 

They always liked it when I did that.

I vanished into a shunshin and reappeared with a shimmer of mist as I landed near the training area. I watched the various fights play out for a while until one finished up. As the loser was dragged away bloody and broken, I stepped up, smiling at a nearby young Kaguya. 

Only, instead of meeting me head-on like they usually did, the teen Kaguya bowed his head and backed off. 

I blinked with surprise and didn’t have long enough to process this odd behaviour before a larger ‘fat’ man stepped onto the field across from me. 

“Been looking forward to facing you young one!” laughed a Kaguya I’d seen around but never really had any reason to talk with properly. 

“Hoppa,” I said inclining my head slightly. “I’m surprised you’re jumping out like this? I thought Kitoma and Gantu were going to be around here.”

“Those two? Ha! Busy! More’s the shame for them, but I’m here to play,” he said.

I nodded. Well time to see how I did against one of the ‘big boys’ that lurked around the training area. I cycled up my chakra and prepared myself for a hard fight.

I had wanted a good work out. Time to see if that was a mistake or not.  

Hoppa exploded into motion and I had an instant to regret my decision before he was closing with me. I lashed him with water bullets as I retreated only for him to keep closing as he met the bullets with precise bone bullets of his own.

A demented grin stole over his face and I shifted to lashing him with a water whip empowered with chakra threads. 

Whole sections of skin fell away from him as he closed into a middle distance as I continued to evade him. I lashed and struck causing whole sections of skin to fly off. If I wasn’t so used to blood and bone from fighting other Kaguya I might have felt sick seeing it. 

But I was hardened to it, so instead I kept up the pressure only for more and more bone to glint out of him revealing a macabre construct of bone that lay beneath what had previously looked like slabs of fat.

“Tricksy fucker,” I said as I realised that this was Hoppa ploy. He looked fat, but he in fact had a lot of bone on him. 

Hoppa grinned and licked his lips as blood ran from his lips. 

What happened next took me by surprise as he suddenly accelerated once more, using bones exploding out of his heels to launch himself forward.

He got close enough to lash out and a spire of bones erupted from his stomach as his fist hammered into my head. 

I rolled with the blow to evade as much follow-up damage as I could but Hoppa wept his other hand around with a hook of bone. 

Instincts flashed in my mind as he clenched his left hand and braced. He was about to flatten me if I didn’t do something.

I flexed my chakra as I was tugged in and a whirling cyclone screeched into existence upon my palm.

I slammed the Rasengan right into his chest only for the skin to ripple and tear off easily to reveal a bony armour beneath. 

Bones erupted from him as two skeletal arms punched out of the armor to hurl me away. 

I skipped over the ground and righted myself only to feel a trio of bones punch into me. 

I coughed with surprise and tasted blood. 

I looked down to find I had bones stabbing into me. Damn, he’d broken through my Steel Skin jutsu.

Blood trickled down and I felt my vision flash as pain lanced through me. 

A roar of bloodlust had me looking up to find Hoppa, now much skinner, charging at me with blades of bone erupting from his arms. 

I flexed both hands and growled as twin Rasengan answered my needs. 

The shrill whine made him pull up as he re-evaluated his approach. 

He pulled up and gave me an assessing look. “Never had to use that jutsu before boy,” he said as blood trickled out of his lips. He wiped at it and spat. “Can you launch it?” he asked. 

I growled and he nodded. “Take that as your answer,” he said stalking to the side. “You gonna forfeit?”

I took in my situation. It wasn’t good. This… this had been a mistake. 

“I concede,” I spat, hating the taste of defeat on my lips. 

Hoppa considered me for a moment before grinning. “Well fought,” he replied before waving at me. “Get yourself seen to,” he said only to crouch on his haunces and shut his eyes.

I pulled a bone spike out of my leg, growling as I did so. Across from me Hoppa smirked at the sound. 

I tried to ignore him, instead focussing on what I had to do to fix myself even as I wanted to replay what had happened with that fight.

I’d been a fool to think that things hadn’t changed.

I’d assumed that, like before I would continue similarly aged opponents from the Kaguya. 

Being promoted to Jonin changed that. 

I suddenly went from facing kids that were chunin level in taijutsu at best to facing actual Kaguya monsters. 

Across from me, Hoppa Kaguya grinned. 

The man had looked fat, and objectively, I’d known that obesity in a world with magical punch wizards didn’t amount to much. 

I simply hadn’t considered the way that he’d employ his greater mass. 

It turned out that Hoppa Kaguya was not fat at all. 

He was infact big boned. I wonder if he said that to people with a smirk on his lips, knowing how true it was.

Only in the Kaguya clan was that statement meant literally.

Hoppa, unlike so many others that tried donning armor like an exoskeleton, had created an internal network of bone that caused his skin to stretch. 

This gave him the appearance of being fat, and he’d even doubled down on this by selectively stretching parts of his skin to make his body look extra flabby.

The man was anything but. 

He was a bony powder keg that could detonate bone in any desired direction. He hadn’t held back at all. Where other Kaguya had some hesitation Hoppa threw himself int othe fight without restraint. 

Skin flaps tore off him, blood and viscera sloughed off him during our fight and still he’d closed. It was a fighting style that leaned on the impressive Kaguya regeneration heavily. I glanced up and watched skin crawl over his exposed bones. 

Part of me wanted to put him under a diagnostic jutsu to work out what he was actually doing but I doubted he’d allow that.  

He grinned having noticed my focus. “Got through your little shield there, boy,” he shouted proudly. 

I inclined my head and clenched my teeth as I pulled out the bone in my guts. This one was going to be tougher to heal. “Yeah, it’s your win,” I snarled.

I’d say my pride stung, but right now, I was in too much agony to feel much of anything beyond pain.

I set to work knitting up my guts, making sure to keep the digestive fluids out of my blood. I did not want this turning septic as I had very limited access to other healers. Well, unless Kuroiwa had advanced huge leaps and bounds in the time I’d been away.

Somehow, I doubted that though.  

“Good fight,” I grit out. 

Hoppa laughed again and waved for me to join him to the side. “You’re going to have to train much harder boy if you think you can actually handle us in taijutsu match.”

“To be fair, I started off at range with ninjutsu,” I pointed out as I limped off the field. It was immediately taken up by two more Kaguya who began to slash and hack at each other. 

Hoppa just laughed once more, slapping his belly and setting it to jiggling with what I now recognised as loose skin. “Haha! Oh, but any match against a Kaguya is going to become a Taijutsu match. We’re too well trained for it to become anything but. We can close distances too well.”

I nodded. That was important to keep in mind. I’d needed to hit him with the Rasengan to make him respect me. It wasn’t somehting I wanted to rely on during a ‘friendly spar’, however. That was a good way for me to mulch someone and end up on another clan’s shit list. 

Or maybe they’d love that I mulched one of their own? I didn’t really want to know if I was perfectly honest. 

I pulled the last bone spike from my shoulder and shuddered as I set about cleaning it up. 

I glanced at Hoppa. I wanted to ask about why he’d backed down. It was rather telling was he’d accepted my surrender instead of nailing me with more bone spikes.

Before I could voice my question however, a flicker of chakra heralded Akiko landing near me.

She looked at me flatly and shook her head. “Why do I bother some days? I try to teach you to use your head, and you come here as one of the first things you do after handling things at your home?”

“Former home,” I clarified. “And I did use my head.” I indicated Hoppa's regenerating skin along wit hthe dent I’d put in his chest. No way he was walking that off without being a bit sore.

I sighed. “I’m going to have to move into the towers with the civilian shinobi now, I think.”

Hoppa hummed. “Bah! Civilian shinobi! If you need a place to stay, you can always rest at our clan compound. Maybe we can formalise a proper woman for you!” he declared loudly.

“I prefer not being stabbed while I sleep,” I replied blandly. 

“Ha! Suit yourself! You just need to be stabbing them back!” he said with a lavicious smile. I worried that he wasn’t a euphemism and was talking literally. 

I decided not to dwell on it. Instead, I nodded to him and let Akiko drag me out of the training grounds. “You’ve got issues,” Akiko said.

“Yeah, I do,” I said not denying it in the least. 

Akiko shot me a look. “So, what’s been happening? I went looking for you earlier today but couldn’t find you. Did you get some interest from the clans?” 

“I did. Is that how you usually know they’re talking with someone? You can’t find them all of a sudden?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” Akiko replied. “Care to share?”

I hummed and gave her a cliff-notes version of my discussion with Kori. 

I pointedly left out how he was angling for Gengetsu’s death, but I did mention that apparently fuinjutsu was something I shouldn’t be openly pursuing at the moment.

“Got them nervous huh?” Akiko mused. “As for the rest of that… Yeah, internal clan shit spilling over isn’t ideal, but it’s also…” 

“A cop out?” I said.

“Uhn,” Akiko grunted. “I think they didn’t want to let you in close or give you Fuinjutsu training, which securing Yukari qualified as, so they burned relations with a few others to spite you.” Akiko rubbed her chin. ”It’s honestly one of the more perplexing moves that’s been made by any clan in years.”

I hummed, knowing what Kori had suggested, but I kept it to myself. I didn’t have anything to operate on, but it might be worth trying to keep an eye out for Hanahime—or rather, try to feel her out with my chakra sensory skills.

“Urgh, now I need to think of what I should do with my student,” I said as we reached the apartment buildings. I nodded to the guards lounging around out the front and moved in to talk with a woman working at the front desk to secure myself a suite of rooms.

Akiko merely watched me as I went through the process, and it wasn’t until I had a set of keys that she spoke up. “What do you want to do with her?” she asked. 

I considered the question. Midori was a dedicated student who’d blossomed through the trianing I’d given her.

It would be easier to cut her loose if it wasn’t for how earnest she was. I doubted she’d ever be capable of betrayal like some shinobi would have been.

“I honestly don’t know,” I admitted. 

Akiko eyed me and followed me into the rest of rooms I had claimed. I’d made sure to grab a larger apartement than I needed as I had plans to adapt a few of the areas. I was also going to have to secure the rooms as much as I could. 

I had no doubts that I was going to get a lot of testing probes from my fellow graduates and civilian shinobi. My main threat would of course be Shoto.

“You should keep her close,” Akiko suggested. 

I tilted my head and frowned at her. Akiko pointedly didn’t offer anything else. She merely raised her eyebrow with an expectant air. 

I drummed my fingers on my barren dining room table. “You want me to cultivate her into an informant?” I offered. 

Akiko nodded. “The Terumi will benefit from you continuing to teach her. You can outwardly claim that it is something naive, like not associating it with her, but remember your goal of being Mizukage.”

“It’s not the goal,” I corrected, “Merely the means to the end.”

Akiko snorted. “Only you,” she said fondly. 

She adopted a more serious expression. “Regardless, you need to start cultivating informants. People who will feed you information or give you a heads-up to the musings of the clans. The clans aren’t going away any time soon. They’re too powerful, so you need to know what people are thinking. Right now, you can’t do much.”

“But in future, it could do a lot more,” I said slowly. I had to admit it made sense. No man was an island after all. There were connections and links everywhere if you looked closely enough. I had an in with the Yuki, but that needed to be expanded upon. The same was true of the Hozuki, Terumi, Karatachi. 

I snorted. “You realise I’m going to have to keep getting into fights with the Kaguya by that reckoning, right?” 

Akiko’s face twitched before she sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I suppose you’re right. Keep them close.”

I nodded. “I need to develop a medical corp and build on what I’m creating with Kuroiwa.” I gave Akiko a look. “Know anyone who would be interested?” I said as I thought of some faces from my deployment to the Land of Wind. 

Akiko smirked. “I know quite a few actually. You handle the proposal to the Mizukage though,” she pointed out. 

I hummed and nodded, ideas already sloshing around in my mind. I considered Akiko for a moment. My students and close friends were out on missions, but there was more I could do to secure my position and that of my allies.

“I want to show you something,” I stated. 

It was time to see how my chakra cleansing worked on an adult. 

                                                       ____________________

Akiko lay in the water and I tried to ignore the effect that swirling my chakra was having on her. It was a good deal harder however as unlike my students who’s body’s weren’t as developed Akiko had a fully developed and womanly figure. 

She’d forgone her Jonin vest to lay in the water and this resulted in her shirt clinging to her and the twin points being highly prominent. 

I retracted my chakra and sat back, controlling my baser desires as I shucked water off my hands. “How do you feel?” I asked.

Akiko sat up and rolled her shoulder. “Fuck me, I never even noticed how restricted I was in that part of my coils. It had been years ago I got injured there,” she said.

I nodded. Today marked the fifth straight session since I’d shown her the hidden grotto with the small pools. She’d been dubious initially but trusted me enough to allow me to attempt cleaning up her coils.

Straight away, I’d noticed a marked difference between her and that of the kids I typically did this with.

Her coils were stiffer, more locked in place. There were also sections that had sustained damage. Like the pathways that her chakra ran along had sudden kinks in them rather than being smooth.

It didn’t stop the flow of chakra but it caused hitches and minor losses. I’d observed these for a few days before healing one series of them in her shoulder with Akiko’s permission.

The actual treatment had been slightly painful but no worse than having a rough masseuse or chiropractor, I suspected. I’d needed to thread my chakra around the kink and jerk it into alignment. 

Each time I’d done this in her shoulder, she’d hissed or gasped but not reacted any stronger. 

By the time I’d fixed up half the kinks in her shoulder, I noticed a small but noticeable uptick in flow. 

Akiko clenched her fist and threw a punch. “Fuck… I never even noticed that hurt until just now. Shit was that the result of an injury from when I was fourteen?” she said.

I shrugged but dutifully wrote down my observations. It seemed that while clearing her coils would only benefit her in a minuscule way, she would greatly benefit from resetting or treating her pathways. 

I suspected that from just healing up her shoulder Akiko would see an almost two to three percent improvement in her function overall.

A significant result considering that she was a Jonin and that she still had other parts of her body that I needed to map out. 

I’d have to consider teaching this to others. It was parallel to my cleansing method, which I felt was the most important skill, but I was confident that not many would be able to make the leap. 

After all, as Shoto had stated multiple times, you needed to be extremely skilled as a sensor to detect what I could. 

It didn’t rule out that others could reverse engineer my method, but I considered the chances low for now. Still, it might be something worth keeping to me and mine rather than seeing it proliferate through what would probably be my newest project.

With recent events, not including how I’d been stabbed multiple times during a spar, I felt it warranted that I play my hand. In the proposal to Gengetsu, I claimed that I would need another S rank mission pay for the establishment of a never-before-seen organisation within Kiri.

A formalised Medic Corp. 

I’d submitted a request and had received a short message that amount to ‘finish your first project’. I decided to take that as a positive. 

It had also been my least nerve wracking communication with Gengetsu to date. 

I decided to take it as a positive sign that I could implement change within Kiri.

I just needed to have a good enough showing with the kids, and I could continue to gain influence. 

Currently, I had the backing of a small group, but with something official, there was the potential to convert it into a lot more, such as a seat at the council, which would put me firmly in the crosshairs of those in power or seeking it. But I had to put my hat into the ring, so to speak if I wanted to get anywhere.

My disappointment was endless as Akiko shed the water from her clothes and donned her flak jacket. “If you’re interested in offering this to others, I might have another list of people that would be worth tapping on the shoulder,” Akiko commented. 

I tilted my head. “It might be worth considering,” I said. “For now, I’m the only one who can do it, and it’s looking like I’m going to have a lot on my plate in the coming month. I'm going to have to run some scenarios past my students,” I said. 

Akiko grunted. “Still worth considering. Make sure you keep up your training,” she said. 

I nodded, and we broke away from each other. Akiko headed off to do whatever she did whenever she wasn’t teaching or supervising me while I made my way towards the towers, where I expected to find my students.

I didn’t bother with the winding staircase in the centre of the towers, instead choosing to blur up the side with sunshine that put me on the edge of the building. Only two people twitched at my appearance, and I offered them nods for their keen eyes. 

I hadn’t been trying to be stealthy but speedy, which was a different threat entirely. I watched Sharkbait return to his training while Sayuki relaxed at her desk, appearing to all around her like the boss. 

I wandered up next to her, tagging kids as I passed them. For the kids with three or more tags, I deliberately tapped them on the tags before moving on to let them know they needed remedial training. 

When I reached Sayuki, I took a moment to look over the entire group. They were all training seriously.

I had heard a few of them mentioning the chunin exams more and more over the past few days. Anxiety was starting to creep in. 

I’d sat and had a long think about what that would mean for them and what it could mean for me. 

In response to this, I’d started writing up some personalised notes and spending time with Sayuki to get some information put together with the help of a few of my ‘seniors’. It still amused me that I now outranked most of the people I’d met on my deployment to Suna.

“Matsu, your kids are in their corner,” Sayuki said, inclining her head towards the shaded side of the rooftop. Sure enough, my four students were all sitting together. 

Midori was the first to spot me, perking up and nudging Han next to her, which caused a cascade with Idate, and finally, Kuroiwa noticed. 

They all scrambled up to him with Midori throwing herself into a bow. “I’m sorry for what my clan did!” she shouted. 

I observed her for a moment. This was precisely what I’d expected from her upon hearing that her clan had reneged on their deal.

“Hmmm, I’m not going to hold you accountable for that,” I declared, causing Idate’s eyes to bulge slightly. 

I smiled softly. “I have a few specific people that I have issues with, but... Well, once burned, twice shy. I’ll get payment first next time,” I said, which was a clear diversion from how most jobs were conducted. 

Idate smirked. By announcing it the way I had I’d announced that I didn’t think the Terumi were good for payment in future. 

I didn't expect to get any jobs from them. Instead, I focused on Kuroiwa. “It's time to test you on your knowledge,” I declared. 

She gulped and smiled tentatively, but she set her feet and squared her shoulders, which let me know that if she fell short, it wasn’t going to be because of a lack of effort on her part.

To start things off, I asked, “You have a patient who is white in the face and rasping with each breath he takes. What should you do?”

Kuroiwa blinked, having not expected me to jump straight into the application of knowledge.

I smiled, knowing that easier questions were still on my list, but I wasn’t going to hand things to her more than I had. 

As she began to think about how to answer this question, I smiled at the other three. “Rasengan, now.”

They all twitched in surprise before moving to comply with rubber balls appearing in hands. Intense focus followed and within a few seconds a trio of bangs rang out causing my smile to grow.

It was so nice being a teacher and watching my floundering little chicks grow. I turned back to Kuroiwa and snapped my fingers. “Your answer?”

As Kuroiwa proved that she had been taken on the knowledge with some well-reasoned plans for helping with reduced blood flow to the brain and healing what sounded like a lung injury, I nodded along. 

I continued to work with her and the others, with the other three having to demonstrate various jutsu or their speed to certain markers as I questioned Kuroiwa. 

When I stepped back a few paces, they relaxed right up until I asked Kuroiwa a question and followed it with the order for the others to defend her while she remained perfectly still. 

I then began peppering them with training kunai. 

When I was done I was beaming at them as the lay on the ground gasping for air. “You’ve done well!” I declared. 

I collected the books from Kuroiwa with plans to get some copies made up for my future endeavour. Kuroiwa looked worried about the books being taken back, but I waved it off. “You can reference them in your recovery time or during mission slow periods,” I said.

I then clapped my hands. “Now! Let’s go grab an easy C-rank mission where I can run you through some hypotheticals.” A stray thought occurred to me, and I made a point of jostling my new Jonin vest. 

“Also, did I hear someone say congratulations sensei?” I joked.

Kuoriwa and Midori once again proved to be faster on the uptake than the boys. “Congratulatoins sensei!” they shouted together with Han and Idate coming in a moment later. 

I sniffed as though pleased by their praise. I stepped up to Sayuki before I left. “You going for Chunin this exam block?” I asked making sure to project my voice so everyone else heard. 

I instantly had half the rooftop attendants' attention.

She nodded firmly. “A few others are as well,” she said, flicking her eyes around. “I have a group established,” she declared.

I hummed. “Get them some misiosns to the east and join me for a talk I think that needs to happen.”

Sayuki tilted her head, unsure what was happening but agreeing easily enough. She collected a portion of the other kids who were going to be making runs for the Chunin exams, and we all trundled down to collect a mission that would see us move east. 

One of the best things about Kiri’s positioning in the Elemental nations? We were the best nation to send a mission scroll to if you wanted it handled quickly. 

I had no doubt that in the canon timeline, the whole bloodline civil war and other issues resulted in more missions slipping to Kumo and Konoha, but for now, Kiri Nin had a stable influx of missions from the eastern continent and its nations. 

We got a few odd looks from the shinobi in the mission hall but we easily ignored them. When I made a request to add a stop on the way east for the two ships that were transporting our group I got similar looks but I just smiled and tapped my Jonin vest. 

“It’s for the missions,” I lied. None of them could countermand me, so they shrugged and did as I asked, even if they muttered about me being crazy.

It didn’t take long for the kids to work out where we were headed, and the general good cheer of the groups vanished as the imposing tower of skulls known as the Skull Cliffs came into sight.

“Matsu… what are you planning?” Sayuki asked, a hint of concern creeping into her voice. 

I smiled. “We need to motivate the kids,” I said cryptically. I held up a plan. “No one is going to be hurt or die. I promise you.”

That settled Sayuki’s doubts and that of the other eavesdroppers but there was a second’s delay when we reached the cliffs and I sprinted straight up them only for the others to hesitate.

They joined me quickly enough.

When we reached the top, I let them take it all in. 

The skulls of various fallen stared up from underneath our feet, and I let the moment stand. They shifted as a cold wind blew over them. When they all looked suitably spooked I spoke up. 

“To a lot of people within Kiri, this is where we as a group forged ourselves,” I shouted, letting my words carry over the group. 

I cast my eyes about, meeting various gazes where I held them to make them feel the connect for a moment before I moved on. “We, all of us, have been here at this point. It is where you prove yourself a shinobi, or something else,” I said referring to the previous year’s method of becoming Mudanin or as it had been beofre that with death.

“Going forward, we are going to face more challenges. We are going to be tested and some of us might even be pitted against each other due to the way certain rounds in the chunin exam whether this be over a limited resource to prove your capabilities as shinobi or your fighting skills. Do not let the world break your bonds.”

I stomped my foot and sent a shockwave through everyone. “Never assume that there is only the path that they present to you! No one is going to hand you the map to success! It’s up to you to forge it!”

I made a point to march towards my students. “For some of you, you are to be used as an example for the future. You carry not only your own success but the fates of future young!” 

I let them process what I’d just said. Feel the weight of responsibility settle. It wasn’t ever just about them after all. There was more at stake. 

I smiled. “I would not have it in other hands. I know that you will do yourselves, me, and all of Kiri proud!” 

A fire entered my students' eyes, and I grinned at them before sweeping about to cast my focus on the wider group. “Remember this moment! This is a moment where you choose to reach for greatness! You have time yet to prepare! I want all of you reaching! Striving! Grasping!”

I stomped my foot and pointed at the skulls beneath us. “Just like back then!” I gestured around. “You’ve come so far! Now, I ask you to go further!”

I punched the sky. “Rise up!” I bellowed, and my friends and students roared their approval. 

I grinned and had Sayuki hand out scrolls to the various team leaders with more letters inside for each genin. 

It included a list of skills I’d judged as important for them, along with their strengths and weaknesses. I’d also included various pieces of intel, such as the typical format that Chunin exams liked to follow, before shifting towards other points of consideration and methods of cheating said tests. 

I handed my own team letters with observations made by the Chunins I’d had working with them while I was in the Land of Hot Springs.

The kids would have time to process this and take it on board. 

I did not doubt that when it was time for the Chunin exams to start we’d crash upon them like a tsunami wave.

I just smiled, knowing I was going to make the Yugakage regret his decision to let Kiri get a sneak peek into the chunin exams.

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Thanks go to my patreons!

Next chapter will probably be a series of PoVs with the Chunin exams starting properly. Matsu will be making some moves of his own but I think there’s a few others that people will be highly interested in reading about!

For those who think this scene feels similar to certain a certain movie… well it was an inspiration as I felt that was what Matsu needed to do right now. 

He’s taken some L’s recently and now it’s time to shake the world a little