The new teammate, Aoi could use lightning ninjutsu and in a defensive manner. Raito was already calculating the new team position and escape plans they could make with her abilities. She also proved her medical ninjutsu ability, though Karasu told Raito he was superior in capability. In that day they accepted Aoi, and they were all about to go their separate ways when Aoi spoke up.
"Raito-san, can I talk with you?"
Raito shot a glance of concern at his other teammate but the boy shrugged and walked off.
"Of course, how can I help?"
She motioned to walk with her towards the nearby forest.
"My name is Aoi Kento and I want to build a powerful clan with my dojutsu."
Raito nodded and simply raised an eyebrow as he continued to take in his surroundings, making sure not to trip.
"My clan is currently just me, my little brother, my dad and mom. I have a sibling on the way, but I want our clan to be bigger. We funded this village, as we are extremely rich as a merchant clan. However I want to be seen as legitimate in the eyes of other shinobi."
Raito nodded again and replied, "That makes sense."
"Right! But, uh, we're too small. I can't just ask my parents to have more children. Especially since the dojutsu only awakened in me and my father. There's no guarantee the kids will want to be shinobi or even have the dojutsu."
Raito nodded and asked a question, "Why must this be told to me? Karasu was much more interested in your wants and goals."
Raito pondered before continuing, "He'd be glad to help you in any way necessary. I on the other hand, I've got like three different rivals to keep up with and not enough time."
"Speaking of Crow's Eyes, he likes me doesnt he?"
Raito breathed out in an amused tone and said, "Good, you already know. He's not very subtle."
Aoi walked ahead and then turned, "You are in the same clan. However, I've never heard of you in the village. Only Karasu, why?"
Raito smiled, "He's remarkable, a capable medic nin, a capable ninjutsu user, a summoner and he's a pretty good tactician. There's no way someone would not report on that to other villages."
"What of you?"
Raito's face stopped smiling, "I kill everyone who sees my abilities. As a shinobi should."
Aoi's face twisted in confusion before replying, "Damn. You've already killed."
"Yes. Now back to you building a clan. What do you need from me?"
"I want you and Karasu's help growing strong enough to convince my dad of something."
Raito shook his head before saying, "If he loves your mom, he won't want that. I'd suggest considering talking to your younger brother. He's young, and impressionable. It's a little evil, but you can plant the seed of being a shinobi. Then when he's older, plant the idea of building a clan."
Aoi smiled, "Thank you. That's a good idea, I'll do it. Oh and tell Karasu, I'm interested in somebody else. I don't want the team to be awkward."
The girl then dashed away out of the forest and into the city. Raito nodded to no one in particular and headed to his clan compound. The compound was large, the largest of the structures in the village. Stone walls surrounded a mansion raised off the ground and a massive sprawling lawn filled with multiple gardens and beautiful greenery.
As one entered the gate of the compound, you could see kids running around, or practicing the Precision Fist of the family. The Arashi clan was large, and from the families personal history, they'd been around since the Senju and the Uchiha weren't even entities. Originally, if Raito remembered correctly, his family had been a clan of samurai with incredible physical ability.
They'd lasted through the ages, simply because they rarely ever stayed on one side of any conflict and often hopped the lines of loyalty. However, recently, with the villages become clear entities built to last, the Arashi clan needed to stay out of the country hopping. So they'd bought all this land in hopes of building a small but extremely powerful village. It wasn't any single clan member's particular hope that the village would grow strong, but it was group goal, constantly in the minds of all of them.
Raito thought he had something else in mind. He wanted the village to not just be strong, but to be a supreme force in the world. He wanted to be above the Five great shinobi villages. That would take a lot of effort and it would be a dangerous endeavour as are all new ideas.
Raito took his shinobi sandals off and went to his room. Which was at the very age of the compound, towards the back, right under the massive stone statue of his father. Raito did not sleep but decided to write a letter to his friend and potential comrade, Uzumaki Naruto. The two hadn't written to each other in over two years, since Iwa's border movement became clear acts of aggression. Raito had been in the field and hadn't had time to consider writing.
He did now. Speaking about the chunin exams and how excited he was to participate, because he did not outwardly show it to most. He was beyond glad to be moving up in terms of shinobi rankings.
Then, he took a bath and went to bed. The next day, he asked, Karasu to send a crow to Naruto. Karasu quickly pointed out that if the boy was on a mission, it would be hard to find him and so Raito gave the crow a perfect description of the boy. Then the crow was off.