-Morning, next day-
Pov: Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Two D-rank... gardening missions?" I mutter to myself.
"Yes sir... are you sure my time is best used evaluating this child? He is talented I admit. But he lacks the knowledge and experience to teach someone else" The ninja in front of me asks.
"The Academy is shut for a moment to spend the holidays and recruit new children, this job would be perfect for you" I reply.
"I understand sir... do I continue to watch the gardening?" The academy ninja asks me with uncertainty.
"Of course, just stay out of sight and keep my updated" I nod.
"Very well, Hokage-Sama" The ninja flickers out and I return to my paper work.
Pov: Saburo Mori
"Is this your house?" I ask the child in pyjamas.
"No. This is your first training exercise, are you ready?" He asks me.
"Sure..?" I agree.
"Use your chakra scalpel to cut each weed out of this garden- as quickly as possible" He points to the garden bed on the left and I nod.
*Slash!* *Slice!* *Slash!* *Slice*
Weaving through the plants I identify and eliminate the weeds with precision as I maintain the swiftness that was ordered.
After ten minutes I stand up and return to him.
"I would argue that you have more talent in precision over sharpness. Again on that garden bed" Takumi points to the one on the right and I do so confused.
Nine minutes later I stand in front of him.
"Is there a reason as to why I am gardening?" I ask.
"A test. One for your future, see the grass? It was cut recently, but the blades are uneven" He points out.
I look at the lawn and tilt my head.
"I suppose I can see the difference..." I nod.
"Chakra scalpel- you cut through the flesh despite it being a tool to ignore the skin and cut underneath" He tells me suddenly.
"Yes- I work with surgeons and most the time they need to access inside the body" I answer.
"Which means you are cutting blind most of the time with this jutsu- memorizing the body instead of seeing it in real time" Takumi unveils a blanket and throws it over the lawn.
"Are you seriously going to make me cut the grass evenly while working over a blanket? I did not memorize the grass level" I bluntly question.
"Observant, try it" Takumi gestures and I roll my eyes before kneeling down and doing my best.
It's a slow process that takes up forty minutes but the small yard is cut clean... as the blanket is removed I notice a few small errors but I left it better than it was.
Considering it was fine before I think I did great.
"Terrible memory... but great instincts. More of an animal than a man" Takumi notes and I lose my cool for a moment.
"What is this?! What are you doing??" I question as I throw my hands up.
"Testing you, now lets head to the next place" Takumi starts walking away and I follow him.
What is he even testing?
"Why am I more animal than man?" I ask as we walk, taking a breather.
"You are more animal than man? I apologize if my words confused you, I was talking to myself. Stay focused" He shakes his head.
We arrive at another building with an overgrown lawn, a less populated area on the outskirts of Konoha, the place looks abandoned actually.
*Swish!*
His hand brushes through the tall grass and slices out one blade of grass to hand to me.
"Do that" He commands.
*Swish*
I perform the chakra scalpel.
"You don't use hand signs for this technique. The textbook tells you to in order to maintain precision" Takumi comments as I hand him a blade of grass.
"You don't either. I trained this one jutsu my whole life because it's the only thing I have, I don't need hand signs anymore" I tell the kid.
"Hn. Notable" He tells me.
*Swish*
He slashes at more grass with a kunai, plucking one blade again and hands it to me.
"Do that" He flips the kunai's handle to face me.
I take the kunai and slash at the grass.
*Hack*
And cut up three or more blades before frowning.
"You can't apply the technique to a weapon?" He asks, as if already knowing the answer.
"Of course not, that's a whole different technique then- requires chakra application, coating and changing the technique to fit a new form" I answer.
...
"You didn't use chakra to slice with the kunai..." I note.
"No I didn't, did you want to see me do it again?" He asks, gently.
I hand back the kunai and watch him closely.
*Swish*
He hands the kunai back.
"How are you doing that?" I ask.
"It's not about power, chakra or even talent. That is a skill, one you must learn in order to become a {Knight of the Empire}" He says and I tilt my head.
"{Knight of the Empire}?" I answer back.
"Hn. Perfect pronunciation, impressive actually considering you have no idea what I just said. It means a great warrior, you do want to become one yes?" He asks.
"I do..." I answer.
"A Shinobi kills people for a living, are you happy to murder away after living life in a hospital? Saving so many lives?" He asks me.
"I... am" I nod.
"Are you aware that I will only train you for a hundred hours, meaning that after setting you up for success you must run on your own?" He asks with an innate confidence in his voice.
"I am" I nod back.
"Then my test is complete, lets start the training" He nods and I feel reassured... for some unknown reason.
"You cut the lawn, I will clean up after you- don't take your time and cut as much with one swipe as you can" He tells me and I begin slicing into the lawn.
He follows behind me and picks up the fallen grass, I also see him perfecting my cuts- the lawn becoming perfectly aligned and cut.
"May I ask what your test told you?" I question.
"Your not sharp, your precise. You are more inclined to instinctual taijutsu and the like rather than calculated forms- and that you are so sick of your current place in the world that you have formed some form of an unyielding will- I would claim it to be a forsaken will that refuses to be left out any longer however" He replies.
"So what does that information do for me, and you?" I follow up with another question.
"It helps me create the style of combat for you. Speaking of, do you prefer unarmed or armed combat?" He asks.
"I would like to use my current skills as much as possible" I reply.
"Then unarmed it is, a focus on precision cuts that aim for a long running battle of attrition between you and the enemy- or perhaps critical strikes that either cut down the enemy in seconds or leave you dead" He mutters aloud.
"I don't wish to die" I answer.
"Then you don't wish to kill" He clicks his tongue and I frown.
...
"How old are you?" He suddenly asks.
"25" I answer.
"25. That's young, are you sure dying for your dream is worth it?" He asks me sincerely.
"I don't need to hear this from the Lazy Uchiha, you are literally famous for being a coward" I huff out.
"Infamous, not Famous- and I am famed for my laziness hence the name. What I am asking for is certainty that this is your dream. Dying for glory. Because it doesn't end any other way. You will be lying down with wounds inconceivable and fates most unfortunate, all that hard work will be useless as your enemies get what they desire through your loss and no amount of hard work and life wasted will ever make up for your absence in the lives of those you love" He starts lecturing me.
"No one loves me, I have no friends" I pout as I focus on cutting the grass.
"Depressed are we? Is that why you are doing this? Kid, try and grab some friends before leaving this world behind. You would do good to have them" He tells me.
"Kid? Look at you, acting so mature... if you looked a little older you might just match your tone" I scoff.
"Wisdom doesn't come from age. I have met many older than me who lacked the understanding that I hold" The brat smirks as I turn around.
"And what do you understand that others don't?" I ask.
"It is not about what they lacked but what they failed to accomplish with what little they had" He sighs.
"... you are one weird child, you know that right?" I tell him.
"Technically I am an adult, as of gaining my shinobi headband I no longer qualify as a child" He retorts.
"Still a child to me" I turn back to my work.
"... unfortunately you are right. So many children are becoming weapons, it is foul" The kid replies.
...
We sit in silence for a moment, and I begin to change the subject.
"So, how did you become this weird teacher of sorts? What's the story there?" I hack through more grass.
"I was too lazy, and unfortunately too talented for the village to let me do nothing. This here is a compromise, teach people my talents and help others succeed where I will not step" I note.
"So you are going to teach me your sharpness?"
"Ha- none can learn that quite like me. I am simply going to boost your taijutsu skills as much as I can, give you a better training plan and guide for your future. Before handing in a report to the Hokage of how much you have improved in our short time together, perhaps sprinkle in a recommendation of where you need to go" He tells me as he picks up the last scraps of our gardening.
"You can just sway someone's career like that?" I ask hesitantly.
"I fear they know too little about my talents" He shrugs.
"Too little?" I question.
"They do not know my limits and I have not failed their ridiculous expectations yet, so they form an idea of me being this perfect and talented Uchiha who lazes around too much" He tells me with a sigh.
"Are you?" I help clean up the lawn.
"Of course, I am nothing if not a breaker of limits and expectations. Which is why I find it quite difficult to quit this shinobi business" He laughs under his breath as he bags the last of the grass.
"Leave the grass here, the owner will come pick it up himself" He tells me and I leave our bags of grass behind, following him out into the forest outskirts of Konoha.
We arrive at a small area free of trees, a small ring for us to train in.
"It is not private, it is not easy and it is certainly not something I would recommend for others" He tells me.
"Go on" I nod.
"Are you willing to stay up for one hundred hours? Technically less than that but I promised you one hundred hours and I will deliver the exact amount outside of our contract" He tells me.
"I do late shifts all the time" I nod.
"Then Saburo, your safe sentence is 'Charismatic Golden haired and handsome warrior who never fails you', do you understand?" He tells me.
"... no, why that?" I ask.
"It is my safe sentence, I got it from- never mind, it is an inside joke" He scoffs as he recalls something.
"Isn't it meant to be a safe word? So it is easy to say?" I hesitantly ask.
"Yes. I learned that saying the sentence mid training is a task that trains you as well, mental willpower will be better honed when in a state of panic and aggression" He smiles calmly.
"But what if I am in need of medical help you can't see? Or need to leave training immediately?" I ask, scared a little.
"Then you will get the sentence out. No?" His smile turns evil, or perhaps that's just my imagination?
"Okay..." I nod, slowly.
"Then let's start with something simple and ramp it up slowly. I have a weak body myself so you will note the training helping us both" He takes off his jacket and places it on a branch nearby.
"Let's start by inventing a new taijutsu technique that fits you perfectly, I am thinking a strong base and loose top, assume an image of flames dancing in combat" He closes his eyes and then stamps his feet into the earth, before crouching down and holding his fists up to his sides.
"Know this?" He asks.
"Horse stance? I think..." I reply and copy his position.
"Horse? In what world does this look like a horse?" He tilts his head.
"No, it's as if you were riding a horse" I point out.
"Oh. Okay, I suppose here it is horse stance" He nods.
...
"Let's see, we will do this for two hours as we discuss the details on your first few forms before creating a taijutsu out of them" He tells me and I groan internally.
Two hours? I can hold this for two minutes maybe...
Thanks for reading :)