The morning after Ash was released from the hospital alongside his sister, he found himself settling back into his usual routine. On one hand, that meant training, but the blond was more enthusiastic about that than ever before. He had always been interested in fighting, and being good at it just for the sake of being good. Now he knew that he had to be better than every enemy he ever encountered. Impossible, of course, but he at least realized now that his determination to improve would be vastly more potent with the understanding that a powerful enemy could kill his loved ones. He could never best everyone, but he had to at least surpass as many potential foes as possible.
Now understanding this, Ash stepped out of his home at a shocking six in the morning, determined to spend several hours improving his combat abilities in every way he could. Regardless of everything else he despised about being a ninja, he would now appreciate it for making him the best fighter he could be. There was certainly no other career that could make him as powerful.
Turning away from the door to his residence as he pondered what skill to focus on that morning, Ash found Pakura already waiting for him in the street. Even if said streets had been crowded, she would have been easy to spot, but since it was so early, Pakura was the only person outside, at least on that street at that moment. She waved to her new student as she saw him, totally ignoring the look of confusion on his face.
"Hey. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you out here for another two hours at least. Are you actually a morning person?"
Ash released a blatant yawn. "Take that back, or I'll get mad. I hate mornings, usually. What are you doing out here this early, anyway?"
Pakura glanced at the windows to Ash's residence, ignoring the immediate question. "Is your sister still sleeping?"
"Yeah. She couldn't really sleep last night because she was worried about Kankuro. We were told he'd be alright, but without him around the house feels kinda empty."
"Well, that's no surprise. You're both used to having him around every day. Do you have any idea when he might be discharged from the hospital?"
"Three more days, though he'll have to wear a neck brace for a while. He probably won't be too happy about that..."
Pakura shrugged as she began to walk away from the house, motioning for Ash to follow her and leaving his initial query totally unanswered. "Well, whatever needs to be done for him to recover, right? A little pain now is much better than a lot of pain later."
Ash put his hands in his pockets as he followed the woman down the sandy streets of the village, which was still dark. He accepted her early presence without explanation. She did say she would come to him when she was ready, after all. "So, I guess this is the start of our training, right? What's first? Some sort of assessment?"
"Oh, we'll get to that, but not quite yet. The very first thing to do is just talk."
"Talk? About what?"
Pakura glanced back at him, seemingly sizing him up with her hazel eyes. "Well, I can't teach a student I know nothing about, and you can't really learn from a teacher who's a stranger to you, right? We're both more likely to do a better job with this if we know and trust each other."
Quickening his pace, Ash came to walk alongside Pakura so she wouldn't have to turn her head to speak to him. "We don't already trust each other? We both saved the other one's life."
This earned a smile out of the older Jonin beside him. "Nothing builds trust like a life-or-death situation. But even so, we barely know each other, and that's no good for either of us. Trust me, you can learn a great deal about other people through a clever conversation. It's a good skill for both shinobi and everyday life."
Ash cocked an eyebrow at Pakura, fairly certain she was already getting excited about this whole teaching business. "And what kinds of really important things can you learn in just one conversation?"
"Well, we've obviously already determined that you aren't even interested in learning about an old lady like me, and that only took a few sentences."
Ash's expression remained confused. "I never said that. Besides, there's no way a woman as pretty as you is an old lady. You can't be more than like, thirty, tops."
"Oh, I see you've already got some natural skill in tact at the very least. See? Another thing I've learned about you already. Or is it just that you have experience?"
The young Genin smirked at this, admittedly intrigued by this scenario. "Both. Temari's at least made sure I know how to properly talk to girls, but I've got natural talent, too."
"At least you're confident. I do like that in a ninja."
Ash noticed that the two of them didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular. Then again, maybe the destination wasn't important at the moment. "Well, yeah. A ninja with no confidence will never fight the enemy, right?"
Pakura nodded, pleased that her brand-new pupil already had a knack for analysis, even in conversation. It paid to consider everything within one's own scope, regardless of career. Or at least, Pakura firmly believed as much.
"Exactly. Even if the enemy really is stronger than you, you literally stand no chance of winning if you're too scared to fight them. Like you and your siblings against Raiga, having the courage to face the enemy is the most important step in overcoming them. I may have finished him off, but only because you three gave me the opportunity. Of course, don't think I'm telling you that actual strength isn't just as important. You still have to be strong enough to make a difference. Courage without strength does little good, but likewise, strength without courage is completely meaningless. You need both to be a strong shinobi."
Ash nodded in agreement. He was no idealist who thought words could somehow make up for power. Words were great, but strength was needed to back them up. "Then I'll get strong enough to face anyone."
"Maybe. Seeking power for the wrong reasons has never led to anything good either..."
"What do you mean?"
Ash's new instructor looked down at him with more meaning this time. "You know, everyone has reasons for doing what they do. Nobody wants power without a reason. The question is, what's yours? From what Baki told me, it's my understanding that you've never wanted to be a ninja, nor have you even been too fond of the Hidden Sand. So what's your angle? You've clearly put some effort into being a proficient shinobi, as far as fighting is concerned. Why bother if you hate being a ninja in the first place?"
Ash shrugged. "Before, I was just interested in being a good fighter because it made me feel strong. I liked fighting and testing myself. I didn't actually get the chance to do that too much before fighting Raiga, but now I feel different. I almost died out there, and so did Temari and Kankuro. I still want to be a good fighter just for myself and stuff, but it's much more important to me now to get stronger so I can protect my family. My siblings are ninja, and so am I. I'll need to kill other ninja to protect myself and them, and those ninja could be strong."
This earned a satisfied nod from Pakura, even though the somber reality of the shinobi world made her frown. "It's grisly, but that's the truth of it. We live in a a kill or be killed society. Strength is all that really matters. No ideal or symbolism will protect what you love. It's all about whether or not you can kill the ones that threaten it."
"That... kinda dark."
"All I'm saying is, whatever righteous cause you choose to believe in, the only person it matters to is you. Your conviction is important, of course, but conviction alone doesn't achieve anything. If you can't back up your beliefs with strength, it's worthless drivel that won't save your loved ones or stop your enemies."
Ash said nothing as he frowned in concentration. For a moment, Pakura wondered if she was speaking on a level a little too philosophical for him to comprehend. After all, potential or not, he was still just a kid...
"I guess... I guess the outcome is worth more than the motivation. I mean, obviously, it might be a good thing to get strong so you can protect people, but... if some bad guy is motivated to get strong just so he can do bad things, there's not really a difference."
Pakura smiled, pleased to have such an acute new student. When she talked about stuff like this with Maki, it usually went over the poor girl's head."Hey now, don't think I'm telling you that strength is all important and that nothing else matters. Someone could become just as strong for the wrong reasons as you could for the right ones, but having those right reasons is still what drives you to that level of power. Besides, it's always been said that a person's willpower is much greater when defending what they love instead of just themselves. I don't think that's been outright proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, but I personally believe it."
The much smaller blonde beside Pakura gave her a curious look. "To be honest, this isn't the type of stuff I thought we were going to talk about."
"Oh?"
"Well, no offense, but with you being a war hero for the Hidden Sand and all, I figured you'd try to convince me to dedicate myself to the village."
Pakura chuckled. "Not at all. I want to teach you how to be strong enough to support your dreams and convictions, not brainwash you into following a certain ideal. Of course, the Kazekage probably wouldn't agree with that... he'd say my job is to mold you into a strong shinobi to serve the Hidden Sand, but I honestly think that's a load of garbage. After all, it's better to have ninja who choose to defend the village than ninja who were brainwashed into it. As I said, I believe will makes a big difference in one's strength."
"But even the shinobi who are 'brainwashed' are making a willing choice, right?"
"Well, in a way they are, but after being born and raised to follow a certain directive, is following that directive really free will?"
The Genin beside her cocked an eyebrow at Pakura, signalling that she'd finally lost him with her tangent on independence and free will. This prompted Pakura to return to simpler things, such as what she planned on doing with Ash today.
"Never mind, it's just a theory I've had before. Let's focus on something a little more relevant. Are you comfortable with basic shinobi skills? If so, there's no reason for us to work on those as much."
Ash nodded, mildly put off by the sudden change in topic. "As far as the kind of things any Genin should be able to do, I'm pretty good. Cyclops is a great teacher for all that stuff. But I get the feeling you aren't interested in teaching me the normal techniques most kids would be learning right now."
"Most kids your age would still be in the Academy right now. But at this point, it's pretty clear that you are not most kids. You're way beyond the norm, even if you might not feel like it. I want to help you build your talents and strengths. To do that, I need you to tell me what you can about your abilities. Care to share?"
Resisting the urge to sigh, Ash began the long and somewhat confusing explanation of his powers. He didn't fully understand them himself. He hoped Pakura could make some sense of it as she led him to whatever destination she had in mind.
---
In the Hidden Sand, oases were appreciated beyond measure, especially by ninja. Since it was impossible to train seriously within village limits, shinobi usually trained in the desert, and more often than not, they sought to do so under shade and near water. Oases that were within immediate walking distance of the village were few and far between, so shinobi often had to share them.
Fortunately for Ash and Pakura, no one was going to tell a famous war hero that she couldn't take her preferred training area, so the two of them had gotten an oasis to train in all to themselves, mitigating the heat of the noon sun. As the two of them sat under a large palm tree, Pakura withdrew a tiny sealed paper that shinobi could use to discover one's chakra nature. Pakura held it up for Ash to see.
"You do know what chakra natures are, right?"
The young Genin looked offended that she would even ask. "Yeah. Chakra has to be molded into certain forms for different elemental jutsu. But some people have chakra already 'shaped' to match a certain element. Temari's chakra is already in the right form for wind jutsu without any need to mold it, so she has a natural wind nature. There are some people who are born with multiple natural chakra natures, which give them access to special abilities, like your Scorch style."
"Exactly. We call that a bloodline ability. Mine is a result of both a wind and fa ire nature. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say your inherent nature is fire, but I'd like to see if you have any other natures you don't know about as well. That's what this special paper is for. You're going to pour your chakra into it without doing any molding, and the seal will react in a certain way, telling us what natural abilities you have. Simple enough?"
Ash took the paper from her. "Yeah. Why didn't Baki ever do this?"
Pakura shrugged, watching as Ash poured his chakra into the paper. Her eyes widened in surprise as it contorted and crumpled before returning to its normal state. Nothing happened to indicate Ash's obvious fire nature, or any other kind. Considering his obvious affinity for flame, Pakura could not fathom an explanation for this.
"That wasn't supposed to happen..."
Ash glanced at her. "It wasn't? What does it mean?"
The Jonin frowned. "It means you apparently don't have a natural nature at all. I don't see how that's possible, all things considered..."
"Should it have caught on fire or something?"
"Definitely. You have an obvious affinity for fire, unless..."
"Unless what?"
Pakura leveled a serious gaze him. "It's not impossible for a shinobi to learn to use any of the five natural chakra natures. It's just much more difficult than being a natural adept."
"Really? Then what's stopping anyone from using your Scorch style, or any other bloodline ability?"
"There's a difference in chakra molding and the natural form your chakra takes. You can mold your chakra to suit any element with enough training. But you can't mold your chakra into two different forms at the same time. So even if you can mold your chakra into both fire and wind form, you can't mold it into the actual combination form that someone like me naturally possesses. It's easier for me to mold my unique chakra into either fire or wind forms, because it's already halfway there, but that doesn't mean I can't mold my chakra for a water or earth jutsu. It just doesn't come as naturally."
Ash leaned back against the tree. "I guess that part is like talents, huh? Anyone could learn to play an instrument or become a good artist, but it's much easier if you have a natural talent for it. But why do most ninja stick to using their natural natures? Wouldn't having different jutsu in all five elements be a good idea?"
Glad that he had grasped the concept with his comparison, Pakura smiled. "Well, it's not as easy as all that. Everyone has a limited amount of time to train their skills and abilities: the more time you put into a skill, the better you get at it. If you divide that time among many different skills, you may become adequate in all of them, but you might not be an expert in any of them. Of course, if you live a long life in the ninja world, you might have enough time to ultimately master all five elements, but for most of us, we'll get a lot more use out of a few mastered skills than many adept skills. Being a master at one or two things gives you an edge in a profession with a relatively low life expectancy."
"I guess that makes sense. Stretch yourself too thin, and find yourself lacking in a single area you may need to survive..."
"Exactly. But as you said, having an array of jutsu in all five elements is a very good idea. No matter how powerful your natural affinity is, your opponent may have an affinity that trumps it, and then you're helpless. If you have a diverse arsenal of ninjutsu, your chances of survival on the field are monumentally increased. You don't have to try to train every ninja skill to the maximum level, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't train them all a little bit. But you know, we are getting a little off track here..."
Ash visibly restrained a sigh, earning a small smile from Pakura. What kid his age really enjoyed lectures? "I promise I'm getting to the point. You told me already that you've possessed your flame powers since you were little, but have they always been this potent? What I'm saying is, maybe you don't have a natural fire affinity. Maybe you simply developed it from scratch as you grew older. It's unlikely, admittedly, but it's the only explanation I can think of..."
Ash scratched the back of his head, trying to dive as far back into his memories as he could. "I don't think that's it. I've never had to intentionally mold my chakra to use my flames. I kind of just... I don't know, almost just send it out raw?"
His response put a confused frown on Pakura's face. It sounded like Ash had always had potent fire abilities, yet he apparently didn't have an affinity for fire. She glanced down at the paper she had handed to him curiously.
"Well, that kind of sounds like it would be a bloodline ability, doesn't it? Almost like you had some natural chakra that allows you to do what you do. And yet, even if you have something like that..."
Pakura held up the seal of paper she had initially presented to Ash before pushing some of her natural chakra into it. Within a moment, the paper both burst into flames and split in half as though sliced by a blade. She let the burning paper flutter to the sand at her feet.
"...there should still have been some sort of reaction with the test. The only way the paper doesn't react at all is if you don't have any kind of chakra nature, but if you had a bloodline ability reliant on chakra natures, you would need to have at least two. What a mystery..."
Ash cocked an eyebrow at her. "You almost sound excited about this."
"Come on, it's pretty interesting. An intriguing mystery that no one knows the answer to? I'd love to be the first to figure it out. Still, I don't think we'll manage that today, so let's focus on a different lesson. In your opinion, what's the best way to defend yourself in battle?"
Ash found it odd how quickly Pakura moved from one topic to another, but gave her question the appropriate amount of thought. The four basic defense skills of a ninja were blocking, dodging, countering, and redirecting. Technically, these were basic defensive skills for any warrior, but for a shinobi, these concepts were used in combat in less common ways.
"Well... of all of them, dodging, to me."
Pakura nodded in satisfaction, growing ever more pleased with how sharp her new student was revealing himself to be. "Good. No matter how powerful an attack is, if it doesn't hit you, it's worthless. Now, the other skills are all important as well, but the one to master first and foremost is your ability to avoid attacks. Blocking a powerful attack takes more stamina than side-stepping it, and you may still be hurt or killed. Trying to counter enemy ninjutsu with your own is risky, because if it fails, you'll rarely be able to make a second move in time to avoid injury. On the other hand, redirecting an enemy's attacks is very useful and important, but doing it successfully takes more practice and time than mastering evasion, so dodging is the most important defensive technique to begin with."
Ash absently brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I guess that's why every ninja learns the substitution jutsu so early on."
"That's right. But few shinobi ever utilize that jutsu to its maximum potential. Substitution is essentially switching places with another object, so avoiding attacks isn't all you can do. You could also use it to move around the battlefield unpredictably, or to close distance with an enemy more quickly than charging them would."
"Wait, so if I threw a kunai somewhere, could I switch places with it?"
Appreciating the unwitting reference to her own tactics back in the Land of Water, Pakura gave the boy a satisfied smile. "As a matter of fact, you can. But the smaller an object is, the more difficult it is to switch places with it. That's why most ninja use logs or other larger objects. But if you can master the technique you just mentioned, you'll find that it's very useful on the battlefield."
"Will you teach it to me?"
"Well, you already know substitution, don't you? I can guide you on how to get better at it, but in the end, it'll be up to you to master it to that degree. But before even that, I think there's some other training we should focus on."
"Such as?"
Deciding that there was enough shade to repel the heat and taking into account that there was a small pool of water nearby, Pakura stood from her rest. "I want you to fight me in hand-to-hand. I want to get a better idea of what your personal style is."
Ash rose to his feet as well, mildly excited to try his hand in a fight, even if it was just sparring. "I don't actually know any other martial art outside of the standard Academy style..."
"True, but that doesn't mean it isn't personalized for you. Everyone has their own unique spin on taijutsu, no matter what style they use. This will be a good way for me to determine your strengths and weaknesses in close quarters, which is especially important since you're the main close-range fighter on your team."
Seeing the obvious point in her words, Ash settled into a basic Hidden Sand taijutsu stance. Its main goal was to provide fluid stability to a shinobi fighting on shifting sands, so Ash's feet were closer together than most stances called for, while his hands were spread further than most styles in the same fashion. Having stable footing on sand was nearly impossible, so the idea was to move with it rather than resist it. More advanced levels of this form even trained shinobi to take advantage of sudden slips or slides as they happened, but that was beyond Ash for now. His reaction time was not fast enough to do that yet.
The oasis didn't have as much sand as the open desert, and in some places it even had grass, so this style wasn't quite as useful as it usually would have been, leading Pakura to give her first practical lesson. "The first thing any taijutsu user should know is that their preferred style might not always be the best option. Of course, I know you only know one style right now, but the point still stands; your stance is less useful here because the terrain doesn't fit it well."
Ash looked down at the mixture of sand and grass he stood on. "But if I only know one style, what can I do?"
"Try to alter the style you do know to compensate. In this instance, you should widen your stance a little. It might not seem like much of a change, but believe me, it can make a difference."
Following her advice, Ash did as Pakura suggested before glancing back up at her. "Am I allowed to use my fire?"
"Is it something you would normally use with your taijutsu?"
"I can't think of too many situations that I wouldn't."
"Then by all means, go ahead. Don't worry about hurting me: hold nothing back."
While he was a little nervous about doing that, Ash figured Pakura was more than a match for him, so he rushed her with the intent to go all out. Since there were only a few feet between them, Ash closed in quickly, sliding into Pakura's legs instead of throwing a punch, trying to catch her off guard.
Pakura leaped over him, but didn't retaliate. She wanted to see how Ash fought offensively first.
Ash didn't know that, so he bought himself some time to rise to his feet by sweeping at the Jonin's leg with his own as he twisted towards her new position. She backstepped to dodge it, but the opening allowed Ash to settle back into the altered stance he was using. Pakura took the moment of peace to comment.
"You start out with an unexpected move—that's good, but keep in mind that unexpected attacks may lead to unexpected counter-attacks as well."
Ash nodded as he jumped towards his new teacher, aiming an airborne axe kick at her shoulder. Pakura caught the attack with ease, but Ash had been expecting this, and he quickly swung his free leg at Pakura's head from the other side. Under normal circumstances, Pakura would have definitely dodged the blow, but she opted to catch it with her other arm instead. She wanted to see how Ash would take advantage of the distinctly bad situation.
With both of his legs caught at Pakura's shoulders, Ash had close proximity to her head, allowing him to follow up with his next attack, aiming two blasts of green fire at her face. It was rather vicious for a spar, but he had full confidence that Pakura could handle anything he threw at her.
To his credit, Pakura was surprised when Ash attacked her with such a drastic move, but she quickly avoided it by throwing his entrapped legs up, causing him to spin backwards, forcing the elemental attack into the air above them. Ash slammed into the ground back first, stunning him as Pakura leaned over him with an appreciative smile on her face.
"Your offense is brutal, theoretically speaking. You attempt to make openings with unexpected attacks, then try to exploit those openings with blows that will immediately defeat the opponent, or at least seriously wound them for the rest of the battle. It's a good way to fight, but don't be afraid to take it slow and utilize defense and reaction as well. You can just as easily cripple or kill the enemy with a counter-offensive."
Ash cocked an eyebrow at the woman. "You could tell all of that in thirty seconds it took for you to beat me?"
"Sure. The way a person fights tells a lot about them, including a good deal of their personality. For instance, I think the reason you aim to end fights quickly is that you want to protect your family to the best of your abilities. The sooner you defeat the enemy, the less dangerous he is, right?"
Ash sat up, shaking the sand from his long hair. "Is it that obvious?"
Pakura held out a hand to help Ash up, which he gratefully took. "Yes, but I could have figured that out pretty easily regardless."
Ash was about to say something in reply, but Pakura cut him off unexpectedly. "Dodge!"
Caught off guard and unable to react in time, Ash was sent flying backwards as Pakura launched him away with a powerful shove. Fortunately, she sent him towards the pool of water in the center of the oasis, and Ash crashed into it with a large splash.
Ash sputtered water as Pakura as she gave him a cheeky grin. "Oops. You weren't ready."
"Of course I wasn't ready! You didn't tell me we were starting!"
"An enemy will never give you fair warning on the battlefield. Almost all battles between shinobi start with an ambush. You have to be ready to avoid an attack at any moment."
While he wanted to complain further, Ash could only admit Pakura had a point. The only way he could get better was if he trained in a way as close to the real deal as possible. "Alright, I see what you mean..."
"Good. In that case, watch your back from now on. You never know when I'll test you on that, if you know what I mean."
Ash sighed as he flipped his wet hair out of his eyes. He got the feeling that his tutelage under Pakura was going to be more troublesome than he'd first imagined, though he couldn't say that the prospect didn't fill him with at least a little bit of excitement.