Yuta finished his introduction and eyed Danzō with open curiosity. There was no way a man like Danzō would resort to something as clichéd as the bell test, right?
He was right.
Danzō didn't produce any bells with a creepy smile. Instead, he got straight to business, laying out a brutal training regimen for each of them.
"Sarutobi Osamu," Danzō began, his voice flat. "Your chakra affinities are Fire and Earth. The Sarutobi clan's archives hold many suitable techniques for you. Yet you've only mastered two C-rank jutsu. That is unacceptable."
He fixed Osamu with a cold stare. "If you show no improvement by our next evaluation, you will be sent back to the Academy. Permanently."
Osamu flinched, scratching his head sheepishly, but defiance quickly sparked in his eyes. "You got it, Danzō-sensei! I'll master five new techniques by then. Easy!"
Danzō offered no praise, simply shifting his gaze to Kurama Meyuri.
Clan ninja with bloodline limits were usually left to their own devices, but Danzō was no ordinary instructor. As the Hokage's advisor, he was intimately familiar with the Kurama clan's five senses manipulation kakkei genkai.
Their kekkei genkai required immense chakra control and spiritual fortitude, a focus that often came at the expense of their physical bodies. Some clansmen were so frail they could barely complete standard drills.
Or perhaps it was a hereditary flaw in the bloodline itself.
After a moment of contemplation, Danzō spoke, his tone low and deliberate. "Your spiritual training is adequate. Your physical conditioning is not. I've reviewed your file. You showed initiative by beginning taijutsu training at age five."
A faint, almost imperceptible note of approval colored his next words. "It was not enough. From today, you will double your physical training."
Listening from the side, Yuta suppressed a shudder.
'The old man's intelligence network is terrifying,' he thought, a chill running down his spine. 'He even knows about her private training from when she was five? Is there anything that he doesn't have on file?'
He glanced warily at Danzō. The Telescope Technique is clearly more than just a tool for the Third Hokage to peep on bathhouses.
"As for you…" Danzō's attention fell on Yuta, the pause stretching just a beat too long. "Come with me."
Without another word, Danzō turned and strode into the dense, shadowy forest bordering the clearing.
Yuta's instincts screamed in protest.
A secluded, dimly lit grove? If it were a pretty kunoichi inviting him, he might have entertained some harmless fantasies, futile as they'd be in his six-year-old body. But this was Danzō. The man was definitely planning something unpleasant.
Swallowing his unease, Yuta followed.
Behind them, Osamu muttered under his breath, "What's this? Special treatment?"
"Some favoritism," he grumbled, kicking at the dirt. "Just because they're from the same clan…"
Meyuri shot him a disdainful glance but held her tongue. She'd already pegged him as the loud, obtuse type—precisely the kind of fool she preferred to avoid.
'Double the taijutsu…' The order echoed in her mind. She gave a sharp, resolved nod and turned to leave, her mind already on the new regimen.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the forest's tranquility, shaking the very ground.
Meyuri spun around, her eyes wide. Beside her, Osamu paled, his bravado vanishing.
"On second thought," he squeaked, "he can keep his 'special tutoring'."
—
Yuta had expected many things, but a full-force assault the moment they were alone was not one of them.
'This man had no shame! A Hokage's advisor, ambushing a six-year-old? And starting with a C-rank technique?'
He cursed internally, his body moving on pure instinct. He hit the dirt, rolling frantically as the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough shredded the space he'd just occupied.
Poof!
A substitution log exploded into splinters where he'd been, buying him a precious second.
Before Yuta could even catch his breath, he saw Danzō's hands already forming another sequence of seals. His blood ran cold.
'You've got to be kidding me! Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets now? What's next, a B-rank?'
A grim premonition settled in his gut: if he kept playing defense, Danzō would keep escalating until he was overwhelmed.
He landed on a thick tree branch, his small feet finding purchase. There was no more room to dodge.
As the volley of compressed air projectiles screamed toward him, Yuta's own hands flew through a series of seals. Was it adrenaline, or were his hands moving faster than ever before?
Just in time!
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A gale of his own erupted from his lips, clashing violently with Danzō's attack. The concussive force whipped up a storm of dust and debris.
Through the haze, Danzō's lips curled into a faint, satisfied smirk.
His hypothesis was correct. Yuta's chakra reserves were monstrous for his age, far exceeding any known benchmark. And his control… it was refined to a degree Danzō had scarcely believed possible.
His objective met, Danzō let his hands fall to his sides.
"Shimura Yuta," he said, his voice slightly less harsh than before. "Your immediate task is to master every Jutsu scroll left to you by Shimura Hiroshi. It will be difficult for a child your age, but I believe you are capable."
He fixed Yuta with a penetrating stare. "Do not disappoint me."
'Disappoint you? Go to hell!' Yuta seethed internally, coughing as he brushed dirt from his clothes. He was covered in grime and his ears were ringing from the blast.
'This man is an absolute lunatic.'
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