Chapter 3: Takara
Takara opened the door to her office.
A man in all black with bandages wrapped around his arms and neck was already standing there waiting for her. His red and white skull mask was lifted onto his hair so that his less-than-intimidating face was visible. "Lady Hokage," Kihaku said with a slight bow. He brought his eyes to her, then quickly looked back down to the floor.
"So, you have news about the corruption," Takara said as she walked over to her desk and took a seat.
"Uh, yes. Troubling news. The number of attacks by corruption beasts near the border over the last two weeks has increased by ten times. I've also checked with Iwagakure and Kumogakure. They are experiencing the same phenomenon."
"That is troubling indeed."
"I'm so sorry, Lady Hokage," Kihaku said before bowing deeply.
"What have I told you about constantly apologizing? You're doing your best out there, Kihaku. That isn't something you can control."
"Thank you Lady Hokage!" Kihaku said, bowing several more times.
"More importantly, do you have any idea what is causing this?"
"I don't know. I mean, I have idea, but, uhh."
"If it's anything that might help, let's hear it."
"Well, the corruption first appeared 2 months ago. Since then, it has spread across the land, infecting it, warping it. Anything that gets caught in it becomes a monster. But the monsters aren't limited to the Corruption. They seem to wander wherever they want. Sometimes they just kill people or animals, but if you get bitten, you're liable to turn into one of them. So here's the strange thing. The corruption stopped spreading at the same time as this wave of attacks. It's almost like the Corruption has shifted its focus from infecting the land to infecting people and monsters. And having them all on the border like that… It's as if the Corruption is preparing for war."
"That's disturbing to say the least. To think that it could be that intelligent. At any rate, if the enemy seems to be making moves for war, you don't leave anything to chance. We must also prepare for war."
"Shall I assemble the ANBU?" Kihaku asked.
"No. No squad has ever gone more than ten miles into the corruption and returned alive. Our researchers still don't understand how it works.
"Moreso, this peaceful era has left our village a shadow of its former self. I'm going to ramp up training for the genin. The academy students will all either graduate in three days or be fast-tracked to genin. You aren't exempt from this either. You will be taking on a squad of genin in three days from now."
Kihaku's demeanor changed entirely and he gave Takara a devilish grin, "Very well. I will show them no mercy. Send me your most capable genin and I will turn them into true warriors. Are there any promising genin?"
"You will accept whatever genin I give you. Your job is to guide them. You will make them take this seriously, but they had better not end up in the hospital." She appreciated Kihaku's eagerness, but she couldn't simply let him do what he wanted. His talents would be wasted on the talented, afterall.
Kihaku dropped to his knees and bowed again and again, "I'm so sorry, Lady Hokage. I got carried away!"
"Get up," Takara said, resisting the urge to facepalm. "From what I've been told, one of the genin is a former teammate of mine and the others seem to think this is a game. For kids their age this is expected, but I think the reality of what we're facing is going to hit them soon enough.
Kihaku stood up, "In the end, it is your decision and I will follow your orders. I will break them down and build them back up, but I will not break them completely."
"The one from my squad who set himself on fire is about my age and is still a genin for a good reason. I will give him to you. Hopefully with your guidance, he can one day be a capable chunin."
She looked worried for a moment, but at that point she couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. "If you can make that happen, you will have accomplished a miracle."
Kihaku smirked. "I accept this challenge. Also. There is one more thing I want to suggest. Once Konoha had an intensive training program called ANBU roots, designed to create the strongest shinobi. I suggest-"
"I've read about it." Takara said. She scowled. "Now get out."
***
Takara stood off to the side of the instructor, next to Kihaku who was avoiding Takara's gaze. The students kept giving her glances, no doubt wondering why the hokage herself was at the academy graduation.
"Now, before I assign you to squads, the Lady Ninth has something she wants to say," The teacher said.
Takara took a few steps forward. "I'm sure all of you have heard about the corruption by now. You children are our future and our hope, so I'm not going to sugar coat this. The Corruption is a serious threat to not only this village, but the world. All of you will be undergoing special individualized and intensive programs I have chosen for you."
Takara pulled out a sheet and went through each of the assignments. They were rough. Some of them even involved experimental jutsu. Within reason. None of them were as cruel or deadly as the ANBU roots had been.
She read from squads five to one. These were all the students it made sense to graduate. When she got to squad one, she read off the names.
"Hyuuga Nakami," Takara said. A girl stood up. She had twintails and a mischievous smile that brought life to her face, despite the pale eyes of the Hyuuga. Yep, this was all a game to her. Well, she would learn.
"Kurama Hanjiro." The boy with messy brown hair had been staring at the ceiling. What was he doing, counting the tiles or something? He snapped back to reality at the call of his name and hastily stood up. Kihaku sure was going to have his work cut out for him.
"And Uzumaki Maguro. The three of you will be trained by head ANBU, Kihaku here." She motioned towards Kihaku who just sighed.
"Um. Lady Hokage, did you forget a squad?" The instructor asked. There were three students left. Of course, Takara knew this. She'd payed the most attention to these three students, afterall…
"Lastly, Squad Zero will be trained directly under myself. Uchiha Kurotenshi, stand." The boy with dark hair had been worn a composed facade a second ago, but now his jaw was hanging open. He took a few seconds to compose himself then stood. His eyes were full of wonder.
"Senju Miu." A blond girl stood up, looking just as surprised as the Uchiha. She certainly could see the Tsunade in her. Takara was a gifted prodigy herself, so she would take on these two students with legendary kekkei genkai as her own. To be honest, she had no idea how to teach someone like Maguro anything. Hanjiro might sulk over her decisions, but she had really just paired the genin with the teachers most suited to help them.
"And Chiyuura Okimi." The small girl with otherworldly hair stood up. She had an eye patch over her right eye, but the left was a lovely shade of lilac. She knew from the reports what was behind that eye patch.
The ANBU had sifted through her memories as soon as they'd found that. Some of her memories were inaccessible. Presumably because of something Orochimaru did. They did gather that the snake was dead, but she didn't trust that if Orochimaru could tamper with memories. But Orochimaru hadn't been seen in decades. The corruption was her concern. This girl had survived. Takara would count that as a win in and of itself, but the kid had not only survived by had managed to learn a few things. Nonetheless, the cursed seal was a concern.
But it's not something I can't deal with. But even as she thought that, she felt a pang of fear. She could have all the power in the world, but there would still be times where she couldn't protect others. There always were.
"The three of you will report to my training ground, half a mile through the North gate. Immediately."
"Bottom-of-the-barrel squad, come with me," Kihaku said.
But as he turned to leave, an ANBU in a duck mask burst through the door. "Lady Hokage, Kihaku sir, sorry to interrupt, but it's urgent. A Bijuu-level corruption beast was spotted."
"I'm sorry children, but I'm going to have to deal with this," Kihaku said, before looking at Takara for the okay.
Of course, he was glad for an excuse to get out of teaching. But this was a serious matter. If Kihaku didn't go, she would have to herself. She nodded to Kihaku, then looked back at the students. "Squad One, you'll come with me, just for today. My students will need all the help they can get for what's in store for them anyway." At that, she was gone with a body flicker.
***
Takara stood in the forest clearing at the end of the path. Before too long, the six genin came running down the path. They all took a seat in front of her.
"Before I teach you anything, let's get through the formalities. Introduce yourselves. Say your name and your dream."
"The name's Uchiha Kurotenshi. I want to be the kind of ninja that protects people and always does what's right."
"I'm Miu. Um, Senju Miu. I just want become strong so I can feel proud of myself." She at least knew that she lacked confidence, but Takara knew that power alone couldn't make a person confidence. It takes a different sort of confidence to run into a battle where you might die than it does to stand in front of a crowd and give a speech, and yet a different sort to walk up to a stranger and say "hello."
"My name is Okimi Chiyurra. I'm going to live forever and rule the world." She looked at Miu who was giving her a terrified look and backed up a bit.
Then Kurotenshi tried to muffle a laugh and gave Okimi a pat on the back. "That's a good one! I think we're gonna get along great."
"I will eat your soul," Okimi said.
Kurotenshi could no longer contain himself and burst out laughing.
Takara wasn't so sure that she was joking, but if she had picked up that way of thinking from Orochimaru, she would just have to show her another way.
"I am the Great Maguro! I'm going to become the greatest hero this-"
"Don't care," Takara said. "Tell it to Kihaku when he gets back. You three are only with me for one day."
Maguro stood up "Takara! You're just saying that because it's me!"
Takara chose to ignore that. "You three are here for this training exercise. I want to see what you're capable of." She'd read their files, but theory and practice were two different things. She needed a better idea of where they were at before she taught them anything.
She pulled out two silver bells and twirled them around her finger. "Take these bells from me. Use any method necessary."
Maguro rubbed his chin, "So, the great Takara can't think of her own training exercises. The same as sensei's. Is it going to be some kind of teamwork lesson?" He clicked his tongue and shook his head. The other students were looking at him with second-hand fear, the way he was talking about the hokage.
Takara crushed the bells into a sphere in her hand. "Fine then, I've got a different challenge for you. But it will be just as impossible." She hurled the crushed bells at Maguro's forehead, sending him skipping across the ground into the forest. "Work as a team if you want to win, but no, that's not the lesson here."
"Knock me off of the tower," Takara said. "If at any point, at least one of my feet aren't connected with the tower, the six of you win."
Kurotenshi and Hanjiro looked around.
"But, Lady Takara, there's no tower." Nakami said.
"When I land on the tower, we begin." Takara then leapt ninety feet into the air, before transforming once again with Creation Chakra Mode. As soon as her body was covered in the galaxy pattern, the obsidian tower appeared beneath her. There was a double-helix set of staircases leading up from the ground to the top. The inside was also hollow if the genin wanted to try attacking from that way.
Creation Chakra Mode. It was one of the two unique abilities that had manifested in her, a convergence of reincarnations from her parents, a Senju descendant and an Uchiha. That is, it was made possible because she was the reincarnation of both Asura and Indra.
She fell a few feet and landed on the tower.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Kolette_Bellard
Kolette_Bellard If you're an existing reader, I did change Okimi's last name to Chiyuura. If not, it's definitely always been Chiyuura.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone