It turns out that Kirin is more of a headache than I ever expected. I even had to swallow my pride and ask Tsuki for help in directing the nature chakra needed to form the jutsu.
With her guidance, I was able to complete the first part quickly. However, the precise control of the nature chakra and the distance at which it is directed made it much more challenging than enhancing Shiden.
The main issue was the power. For obvious reasons, I couldn't charge a fully powered Kirin while training in the village or anywhere near it, so my only option was to attempt it during missions.
However, that idea was quickly dismissed. The thought of randomly firing off such a potent attack in potentially hostile territory didn't sit well with me. Not to mention, I would also have to repair the impact zone afterward.
Instead, I decided to call down smaller lightning bolts from the clouds, shaping and combining them as they fell to simulate how a fully charged Kirin would be guided. Hinata was a tremendous help in this regard, thanks to her newly mastered ability to transform into lightning.
Apparently, our ability to shift into an element was closely related to senjutsu. We were essentially turning ourselves into a part of nature, drawing on a minuscule amount of natural chakra. That would explain why it took us so long to figure it out.
Tsuki lectured us about how recklessly dangerous that was. No matter how little natural energy we drew upon, there was always a risk of messing up and potentially dying.
The only positive outcome from this was confirming that Hinata had some aptitude for senjutsu; whether she had enough to learn it properly would have to wait, though. Even my own sage training was still in its infancy, mostly due to my body not being mature enough. I guessed that we would learn together in a few years.
It also explained why it felt so natural to command my crystal while fully merged with it; the natural chakra enhanced it beyond what was possible without it and boosted my control. Hinata described the same sensation, and witnessing her fully transform and zip around was quite the spectacle.
Combining the lightning transformation, which she aptly named 'Lightning Body,' with Hirenkyaku made her a very annoying opponent to catch up to, especially when one had to dodge and deflect the spin-enhanced projectiles she could fire rapidly.
Not to mention all the things she worked on herself, saying she wanted to surprise me in a spar one day.
I was right back then; I had indeed created a monster.
—
Figuring out Kirin and significantly increasing my mastery over the full power of Senbonzakura took most of the time I thought I had. My physical power also increased greatly, but not enough to surpass my progress in controlling my abilities.
As time passed, it was already almost the middle of March of the next year, and I found myself in Hiruzen's office, torn between groaning in annoyance and celebrating that I would finally go to the Land of Water.
"Hokage-sama... do I really have to?" I sighed, dreading the last mission before I was sent out.
"Yes, Ryuuzaki-kun. There is no better time to give the young ones a goal to strive for," he replied with his grandfatherly smile, while condemning me to a day full of looking after the Academy kids.
"And what about the other jonin? You said it's so they can better pick their students; I don't even want a team, Hokage-sama." I asked, slightly confused. It would have been better to give my place to someone who actually wanted to teach.
"The field test is important, and the soon-to-be genin need some motivation," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
That old motherfucker was using me to kick their training into gear and show them that someone their age was already a jonin and strong.
I sighed; there was no convincing this stubborn old man.
"Fine, who else is going to be there for this field test?" I asked with resignation in my voice. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could go beat Yagura's ass.
"A few other volunteers, but among those you'd know, Kurenai and Izumi-chan will be there," he said. Not a bad lineup; at least there would be some familiar faces.
"Alright then, Hokage-sama. I'll do this, but afterward, I don't want to set foot inside the academy for at least a few years," I said with a joking tone. It's not that I disliked the kids there, but managing more than a few of them was far too troublesome.
With a bit of luck, I would just assess their individual abilities and be done with it soon. But knowing my luck, that wasn't going to happen.
As expected, those who would simply give a lecture and then go home were Kurenai and Izumi. I couldn't even begin to express the envy I felt at that moment.
I was left with the task of helping the academy teachers set up the proper field training exercises. My idea was simple: a simulated mission to capture or kill a target within a given time frame.
The target would be me, guarded by several teachers playing the roles of obstacles and minor threats. Essentially, the teachers would slow the students down and present challenges that they could overcome.
I would serve as the final boss, waiting for them to try to take me down. To make the exercise more enticing, I promised to provide jutsu instructions to those who succeeded, functioning as a teamwork activity similar to the famous Bell Test.
Many students would want the jutsu instructions for themselves, and observing their choices would be a significant part of their assessment. If I had to spend an entire afternoon training them, I was determined to traumatize at least a few of the kids.
—
I stood in the designated training ground, dressed in my standard training clothes, there was no need for combat gear. Sakura's entire class gathered in front of the five academy teachers and me, most looking rather confused as to why someone who appeared their age was leading the exercise.
Iruka was the first to speak, fixing his homeroom class with a stern look to quiet them down.
"Alright, class. Shut it!" he yelled, finally gaining their attention. "Today, we're conducting a practical field exercise to evaluate your readiness for real missions and identify areas for improvement." His introduciton was pretty spot on.
"To serve as your mission target, we've enlisted the help of one of our jonin, Ryuuzaki. Please introduce yourself," he said, handing the floor over to me.
"Sure, I'm already here, so might as well… My name is Haruno Ryuuzaki. Some of you might already know me," I said, transforming my boredom into a mischievous grin as I noticed Shikamaru staring up at the sky, likely cursing any deities that had placed me as the examiner.
"Yes, Shikamaru, you have the right idea. Your goal is to capture me, plain and simple. You have two hours to find and subdue me. I will be assisted by these fine Academy Instructors," I explained, gesturing toward the five instructors behind me.
"To make it fair, I won't use any jutsu above D-Rank and will refrain from using lethal methods, obviously," I continued as murmurs spread through the crowd. "This means you should come at me me with the intent to kill, just as if I were an enemy," I said coldly, narrowing my eyes at the gathered students.
Very few of them expected such an order. A reality check was in order.
"For those who manage to capture me, I will provide a jutsu suited to their fighting style, be it elemental ninjutsu, shurikenjutsu, or genjutsu." I waved the enticing promise before them, noting the glint in some students' eyes at the opportunity.
All according to keikaku.
"Now, whether you form teams or choose to handle this on your own is up to you… But remember, despite my self-imposed restrictions, I'm still a jonin." I said, throwing them the first curveball while not-so-subtly reminding them that they couldn't win alone.
Now, it was just a matter of waiting and observing.
"The test begins the moment the instructors and I leave this training ground. Your first task is to find us." I grinned, watching as the instructors dispersed into the forest surrounding the training ground.
"Remember, you have two hours," I reminded them before vanishing in a puff of smoke, revealing the body that spoke to them to be a Shadow Clone.
—
I perched in a tree near a clearing deep in the forest, spreading my Observation Haki to sense every single student. I had additional clones near them, listening in on their conversations and sending the information directly to me via a fuinjutsu-enhanced transmitter.
It even included a video recording, though the quality was poor it essentially functioned as a walking CCTV camera.
A large group of students huddled around Sakura and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, who were trying to brief them about me. They had several gaps in their knowledge. Mostly due to not having seen me fight seriously, or anything close to it.
The only useful information they possessed was that I could summon cats, use elemental ninjutsu, and that I am able to perform genjutsu. They mentioned my preference for swords over taijutsu, while Shikamaru correctly deduced that I wouldn't use a sword in an exercise like this.
The only one who truly understood how completely fucked they are was Hinata.
She seemed torn between spilling the beans and wanting to fight me with her full power now that I had restricted myself to low-level jutsu. She actually tried to speak up a few times, but her voice was drowned out by the noise of her classmates.
Their loss, I suppose, and a reminder for me to force her to interact with people more; she still struggles to speak in larger groups.
It didn't take long before they all split up, mostly running in small groups or even solo.
Hinata teamed up with the quieter kids in the class, Shino and Noriaki, to pursue me, while Sakura joined the largest group, which included a few civilian students, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and Sasuke.
Kiba attempted to go solo but was quickly stopped by Iruka, who easily handled him. Reluctantly, Kiba then joined the largest group, grumbling about unfair tests.
As the academy instructors peppered the students with training weapons, the stragglers eventually realized that going off on their own was not a good idea. However, even the seemingly unified main force lacked coordination, getting significantly slowed down by the instructors.
Hinata's little strike force, on the other hand, was doing quite well. Having the only person in their class who could reliably find me gave them a great advantage over the rest.
I chuckled at that; the other two were the only ones who listened when Hinata tried to talk, so it didn't surprise me that she chose to team up with them instead of joining the larger group.
Her social anxiety had calmed significantly around fewer people, and she even briefed them on my arsenal. What I would be using, at least.
I didn't catch her telling them about my Crystallization or any other high-level jutsu.
—
"Oi, Kurama, I'll be fighting Noriaki soon. Do you want to watch?" I asked through our mental link, receiving a sound that felt like a mix of a yawn and a curious groan. It was a sound I was quite familiar with at this point. The lazy fox would watch but would likely not say much.
Now it was time to teach these three that they would need the rest of their class to win.
They slipped through the instructors easily; Hinata led them around any danger zones while the other instructors, except for Iruka, were busy slowing down the others. The three of them broke through the treeline, already aware that hiding would be useless.
Honestly, they were a decently balanced team. From what I had seen, Noriaki was a mid-range specialist, Shino specialized in long-range combat, and Hinata could serve as the taijutsu specialist if she chose to.
Combining the Gentle Fist technique with lightning was already scary enough, not to mention the addition of kicks and some grappling to her fighting style. Even Hinata found the lack of those elements in the original Gentle Fist rather stupid.
I stretched my back and arms, preparing for the fight, hoping that Hinata wouldn't go too far. If she went all out, I would have no choice but to take things seriously, and I really wasn't in the mood for that today.
"Ah, the first group is here... Let's see what you've got," I said calmly as they closed in.
I sensed thousands of tiny chakra signals crawling through the tall grass. Shino stopped at a distance, letting his insects do the work while Noriaki and Hinata maneuvered into flanking positions.
The deep green tendrils I had seen Noriaki use before shot towards me like hungry serpents, coiling through the air and following my movements as I dodged backward, pushing me closer to Hinata, who was readying a powerful Gentle Fist strike.
Her hand rushed toward me far faster than any genin had any right to move. I should have known she wouldn't hold back completely.
I met Hinata's attack with my own, and the shockwave from our clash briefly deflected Noriaki's tendrils. Hinata adjusted her speed to match mine, meaning we were fighting at the pace most Chunin would typically engage at. Still a bit faster than she probably should have appeared, but nowhere near her full speed.
My Haki-infused attacks met her Gentle Fist, which she, of course, coated in a generous amount of Armament Haki as well. This was primarily to avoid hurting each other rather than to enhance our attacks, though.
Shino's bugs closed in, expertly navigating through the chaos created by mine and Hinata's taijutsu scuffle. I stomped my foot, causing the ground beneath me to collapse into a deep hole, swallowing Shino's insects before sealing back up, encasing them under a solid meter of rock and dirt.
In an instant, I had sealed Shino's main weapon away as I lazily stood in the same spot while Hinata jumped away just moments before my jutsu took effect.
"Not bad. You even came up with a decent approach," I praised them, knowing that Shino's bugs would need about a minute to dig themselves out.
"Don't lie to those poor kids. They stood no chance from the start." I heard Kurama chuckle through the mental link. "That Hyuga girl is holding back, though... interesting," he added, although his tone didn't match his words at all. He sounded bored and maybe a little annoyed.
But now that there was no chance for Noriaki to accidentally catch Hinata in the crossfire, he renewed his attempts to capture me with his tendrils, adding more and more as he kept up his attempts. His hands even started to tremble as the tendrils extended further, keeping me on the move.
"You shouldn't overextend your attacks," I warned him, snatching one of those tendrils and pulling on it with enough force to make him fly toward me. He collected himself quickly and wrapped part of the tendril around his foot, trying to kick at me as he flew.
I simply redirected his kick and grabbed his ankle, swinging him toward Hinata, who was above me, ready to deliver a powerful strike. She caught him but was forced to abandon her attack. They landed safely some distance away.
I looked back at Shino, who was digging up his bugs using a weak earth jutsu.
They successfully helped him retrieve his arsenal by keeping me occupied. Decent teamwork for people who had never fought together.
"Not bad, but nowhere near enough," I said, watching the three of them nod at each other. A powerful Vacuum Palm from Hinata flew my way, just as a barrage of green gem-like projectiles from Noriaki followed.
I raised a simple Mud Wall beneath me and let the attacks pierce through it, keeping me completely safe as I stood atop the newly raised wall.
They retreated the moment they attacked, a good choice. I wondered if they'd link up with the rest of the class now.
—
Slowly but surely, the Academy Instructors were being eliminated from the exercise, mainly due to light wounds. Almost all of them were grazed by a kunai or a shuriken. Only Mizuki received special treatment, getting the left side of his body singed by Sasuke's fire jutsu. Poor guy can't stop being fucked up by people who didn't graduate from the academy, no matter the timeline.
Iruka lasted the longest, eventually being taken out by Hinata, Shino, and Noriaki. They did indeed link up with the rest, and eventually, the whole class was approaching me as a unit.
"See, Kurama? They're learning. They were so spread out at the start," I said to the slightly intrigued fox.
"And you dispersed that clone so they could come up with a plan you had no knowledge of... You're too soft," he chuckled with slight amusement. This whole scenario must have looked like a very strange reality show to him.
They were running out of time, though. They only had around ten minutes to make me give up. But I wasn't here to test their fighting capability; I was here to test their mentality, their spirit, and their guts.
I let them surround me, grinning like a madman as they took their positions. "I see you've figured out the best approach. But what will you do when there is no chance of winning?" I asked them directly, shifting from a leisurely stance to a more defensive one, Kurama's laughter echoing in my head as he realized what I was about to do.
It was time to traumatize them a little. It's better for them to go through this now than to freeze up on a mission.
I unleashed a blast of Conqueror's Haki. Not at full power, but strong enough to force some of the less prepared ones to their knees, unable to move at all.
"So what will you do now? Half of your allies are unable to fight or flee..." I trailed off, hoping they'd arrive at the only appropriate conclusion.
I increased the pressure slightly, causing the ground beneath me to crack as I glared at them with the most genuinely villainous expression I could muster while trying to ignore Kurama's jokes about his pride about me being evil just like him.
There were two options for them: try to fight me and hope their allies snap out of it or take their allies and flee. Both options had their merits. However, attempting to outrun someone clearly superior would likely lead to them getting hunted down one by one, while if they fought, they had a chance to let their allies escape at the possible cost of their own lives.
I already knew which option Hinata would choose, but I was curious about the others.
A large fireball barreled toward me, courtesy of Sasuke, and the attack looked powerful. I dare say he could put a few Chunin to shame with a fireball like that.
I lifted my arm and swung it, applying a little trick I learned from Hinata. The fireball split clean in half, flying harmlessly past me; the heat only mildly uncomfortable.
But that attack was just a distraction. Hinata, Noriaki, and Kiba were already moving in to engage, along with Shino, who acted as long-range support. This time, he didn't bother to hide his bugs in the grass; instead, he sent them directly at me through the air.
Meanwhile, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Sakura, and the few civilians who could move grabbed their frozen classmates and made a quick escape, already knowing they couldn't help much in this fight.
"Magnificent!" I exclaimed with a grin. "But sometimes those who stay behind won't make it back." I reminded the fighting force, effortlessly stopping Kiba's Gatsuga with a single hand. I gripped his head and brought him to the ground, making him groan in pain as I jumped back to avoid Shino's bugs.
He covered for his ally well.
"I don't care!" Sasuke retorted. "I wouldn't be able to sleep if I let others die!" Izumi had clearly influenced him quite a bit. A surprise, for sure, but a welcome one.
By this time, the frozen students were far enough away that I could increase the pressure without worrying they would actually pass out.
The air itself shook as I amplified my Haki, halting the attack in its tracks. Even Hinata paused, mostly out of curiosity.
"Is that your answer? Does he speak for all of you?" I asked the barely standing students. Hinata was playing along quite well, standing in place like she was rooted.
Seeing them not move to flee, even against such insurmountable odds, made me smile.
"You pass," I declared as the pressure vanished completely. My job was done for today.
"You've chosen well. Both those who attacked me and those who evacuated the most vulnerable." I said loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You may have failed to defeat me, but you ensured that the most people would survive. That's exactly what will be expected of you on missions: limit friendly casualties as much as possible, even at the cost of your own life." I said this with a grim expression.
I may not agree with such an approach, but when the situation calls for it, I'd also rather risk my life than run and hope for the best.
Overall, I believe I taught them the most important lesson: they had a long way to go, and some of them might die before they reach their goals.
Even Kurama hummed in agreement. He may not like humans, but he knew well that the strongest among us tend to be the ones who stay behind to fight.