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The link is also in the synopsis
A/N - Thank you, xIron Gamerx, J L, MICHEAL G LEON, for becoming Azure Awakening Patreóns!
<<<>>>
"Why are you not affected by genjutsssu?" asked Senzui, shocked to see Kaoru completely untouched by the technique.
"So this mist was supposed to put me under genjutsu?" Kaoru mused aloud. He didn't have a clear answer, but his instincts told him it was because of the Suijingan.
"Let's conclude the spar with this." Shin appeared between them, yawning. But in truth, the main reason he stepped in wasn't boredom or to rush the end of the spar - it was to test the technique himself.
'If this genjutsu fails to affect me too, then it's Senzui's mistake. But if it works…'
He took a deep breath of the red haze under the guise of a lazy yawn.
Almost immediately, his head grew heavy. If he hadn't disrupted his chakra in time, he would've been caught in the genjutsu.
'The kid didn't fail the technique. It's Kaoru. Somehow, he avoided the genjutsu entirely.'
Shin now looked at Kaoru, who was quietly checking his body and taking gulps of red haze, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Kaoru, do you feel anything strange? Any signs of chakra disruption or pressure in your head?" Shin asked, curious.
"No, I'm completely fine," Kaoru replied, still not sure how he had avoided Senzui's technique. Then he turned to his opponent, realizing it was pointless to dwell on it anymore. "It was a good spar. As long as you work on patience and controlling your thirst for fights, you can become very strong." His compliment to Senzui was measured but genuine.
With that, Kaoru turned toward Mizuki and Akane, who had been watching from the side.
"You could've gone a little easier on him," Akane said with a smile, clearly unimpressed. For those who didn't know how strong Kaoru really was, the spar might've been an eye-opener. But for her, having seen him fight many times, there was nothing new in what he'd shown. The techniques she was curious about were things he wouldn't reveal in a friendly match.
"I tried," Kaoru shrugged. "But he asked me to show him my full power."
"Are you saying that was your full power, Ru?" Akane teased, elbowing him gently and tilting her head playfully.
"Maybe." Kaoru grinned, his eyes narrowing. "Did you eat all the mochi I gave you?"
Akane's jaw dropped. "And why do you think it was me? Maybe it was Mizuki!"
She pointed accusingly at Mizuki, who was still holding the now-empty mochi box with both of her hands, like it was some kind of prized possession.
"No, I didn't. She's lying," Mizuki said flatly, her expression instantly shifting to one of mock offense.
Then the three of them laughed and started walking together, heading toward the nearest mochi stall to get more.
"Let's stop by the closest training ground after this," Kaoru said suddenly, his tone turning serious. "There's something I want to tell you."
The shift in his voice made both girls glance at him, their curiosity piqued.
<<<>>>
"Iwa has slowed down, Lord Kazekage."
Rasa sat in the dark room, arms crossed. He had been leading a guerrilla campaign against Iwa. There was no way the Sand could defeat Onoki's forces in a direct battle. That's why they had adopted these tactics.
"How many have we lost so far?" he asked, eyes fixed on the flickering candle.
"About five hundred, but most of them were low-ranking shinobi," the scout reported, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Iwa has suffered the same number of casualties. The Tsuchikage usually manages to disrupt our ambushes."
It wasn't the scout's place to offer opinions. His job was to deliver the facts, and then Rasa would handle the decisions.
"What do you think, Elder Ebizo?" he asked, turning to the old man seated across from him. Despite his age, Ebizo had insisted on coming to the frontlines. He carried the weight of guilt for falling into Onoki's trap and for failing to prevent the war that followed. That was why he now sat beside Rasa in the bunker, so close to enemy forces. He was hoping to redeem the mistake both he and his sister had made.
"I'm surprised Onoki is willing to sacrifice so many shinobi," Ebizo said, tapping his fingers on the table as he watched the scout leave. "Even if he did outmaneuver us and stir up a war between Kumogakure and Konoha…"
"Elder Ebizo, you think it was Onoki who planned Kumo's retreat and then the attack on Konoha?" Baki asked. He had recently been added to Rasa's council, though only in a temporary advisory role. He wasn't a true council member, at least not yet.
"Yes. Otherwise, the Fence-Sitter would've kept waiting. There's no way he'd risk making Konoha stronger than they already are." Ebizo sighed, recalling his mistake.
"No point dwelling on that now…" Rasa muttered. "What's the number, then? How many more of our shinobi have to die before Onoki finally pulls back?" Rasa asked both of them. He was still trying to figure out a plan, and the only one he managed to come up with was something he didn't want to do.
"I don't know…" Ebizo admitted, meeting Rasa's gaze. "The biggest problem is, I still don't understand his motive. He's always been a cautious leader, focused on preserving strength, not wasting it. But now he's triggered a full-scale war…"
Rasa clenched his jaw. Hard. So hard that both Baki and Ebizo heard his teeth grind together.
"I have a plan… but…" he paused, as if looking for the strength to say it aloud.
Then he exhaled, opening his mouth.
"What if we unleash the One-Tails?" said the Kazekage in a low voice, almost like a whisper, causing both Ebizo and Baki's eyes to widen.
<<<>>>
"So, what did you want to tell us?" Akane asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. They were back in the same training ground where they had trained together for the first time. It stirred up a lot of memories and reminded them just how far they had come.
"Remember the giant eagle I mentioned? Akura-san's summon…" Kaoru said, leaning casually against a tree. Several tiny orbs of dark blue water floated around him slowly. Now that he was back in the village, he could resume his passive training.
"The one that's supposed to take you to meet that creature?" Mizuki asked, sulking. Unlike Akane, she had already gone over all this with Kaoru, so the news was old to her.
"Yes, that one." Kaoru smiled apologetically, and Akane didn't miss it. She smirked at her two friends, already catching the little things they thought went unnoticed.
"I met him today. He said I'm ready to leave," Kaoru announced proudly, like he'd just won some kind of prize. "I'll leave after my birthday. It'll take Maru a few days to fly here anyway, and then he'll need some rest." He was watching Mizuki as he spoke. On one hand, it made Akane feel like a third wheel, but on the other, she completely understood their situation.
"Is that all, or did you want to say something else?" she asked, steering the conversation back on track.
"No, no. That's just bonus information," Kaoru laughed. "There's a method to gain strength and reach a completely different level. It's called Senjutsu. I already explained the basics to Mizuki earlier, but now I've got even better news."
He paused, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Senjutsu is the ability to absorb and use nature's energy, not just your own chakra. If you manage to balance it properly with your body and spirit energy, your power skyrockets. But if you mess up even slightly, you'll turn into a…" Kaoru paused, realizing he was basically explaining the toads' training method. He needed to be more general, so that his knowledge would not seem suspicious. "Hmm, you might turn into something really ugly and grotesque. In short, it's stupidly dangerous… but still worth it." He smiled like someone offering candy out of a sketchy van.
"The point is, Senjutsu is absolutely necessary if we want to become strong enough that no one dares to attack Takimura." His tone shifted, losing the playfulness. "Konoha's three legendary Sannin all use Senjutsu in one way or another. It's probably their greatest strength, so trust me when I say we have to master it."
Kaoru wasn't done, but Akane cut him off.
"Do you have a method for learning it? And if you pull out another old scroll from the library, I'll honestly consider you the luckiest person in the world," she laughed, clearly amused by her own joke and also thankful she didn't have to sit through another round of romantic tension.
"Haha, I wish." Kaoru and Mizuki both laughed with her. "But no, it's impossible to learn here." He pointed down at the ground. "As far as I know, no human has ever mastered Senjutsu on their own. You can only learn it if those creatures agree to teach you, creatures like Maru. I don't even know if eagles can teach humans, but I asked Akura-san anyway. He said he doesn't know how to use Senjutsu."
Kaoru had already suspected that. He only asked to make his curiosity seem more casual. There was no way someone like Akura was secretly a Sage in disguise.
His words immediately dimmed Akane's excitement. She had been practically bouncing in place just moments earlier.
"So… doesn't that kind of make the whole story irrelevant?" she muttered, visibly disappointed. "How are we supposed to find a powerful summon, form a contract, and convince them to teach us?"
"That's the good news I was talking about," Kaoru said, his smirk returning as he took an unnecessarily long pause, long enough for both girls to frown at him.
"Hehe, as usual, I'm here to save the day," he said, overplaying the smug expression.
"I asked Maru if there was a way to find a creature that suits you, and he said he could take a look at both of you, then help create a custom seal. One that has a high chance of transporting you to the creature best matched with your chakra and nature."
Despite his usual teasing and smug tone, in that moment, neither Mizuki nor Akane had ever loved Kaoru more.
"Why is he helping us?" Mizuki was the first to realize something didn't quite add up. Even if Maru was loyal and trustworthy as Akura's summon, it still didn't explain why the eagle would go out of his way to help Kaoru, and especially his friends.
"You don't have to worry about that," Kaoru said plainly, waving his hand as if brushing the concern aside. "I made a deal with Maru, but don't tell anyone."
He immediately realized he'd said too much. Both girls raised their brows, concern appearing on their faces.
"No, no, I promise there's absolutely no danger to me. It's just a favor for a favor, and honestly, I'm the one coming out ahead in the deal," he grinned, trying to make it sound light. At least light enough to ease some of the tension in their expressions.
"And before you ask, I can't tell you the details. I promised Maru." He laughed, then suddenly switched gears. "Oh, and speaking of promises, Maru said he's getting me a gift for my birthday. So… what about you two? What are you going to give me?"
"You really don't know what modesty means, do you?" Akane laughed. "I've already picked, prepared, and packed your gift. And just so you know, it's not just from me. Mei helped too." She smirked, eyes gleaming with mischief.
The mention of Mei immediately piqued Kaoru's curiosity.
'If Mei's involved, then the gift might actually be something good, not a prank…' But then he remembered Mei's face and changed his mind just as fast. 'Nah, it's definitely something useless meant to be a joke.'
His thoughts were cut short when he noticed Mizuki had gone oddly quiet.
'Did she forget? Crap… I didn't mean to put her on the spot. I really don't care about gifts…' Kaoru started thinking of a way to steer the topic away and save her from embarrassment, until Mizuki finally spoke.
"I've already prepared your gift. Just wait until your birthday," she said softly, her cheeks turning red as she smiled faintly.
**
A/N -
Senjutsu has always felt like one of the most interesting concepts in the Naruto world, and I've been thinking about tweaking it slightly for this story. We know Toad Sage Mode enhances the body, but what if other variants didn't work the same way?
Why can't some affect the spirit instead of just the physical? Maybe some boost aura, give powerful genjutsu, or even awaken temporary dojutsu?
I haven't fully worked out the system yet, but it's something I think is very interesting. If you've got ideas or theories, feel free to share them. I'd love to hear what kind of sage modes you'd want to see - even for Kaoru or the girls.
Character Notes:
Kaoru - Rising Strategist Sage - "Master of taijutsu, dodger of genjutsu, mochi economist, and now… Sage Mode recruiter."
Mizuki - Quiet Blush Machine - "Will he like my gift? He will, right?!"
Maru the Summon Eagle - Majestic Uber Bird - "Delivers teenagers to godlike monsters and apparently moonlights as a birthday gift shopper."
Baki - Intern of the Kazekage's Council - "Spoke one line and it was a good one. Promotion pending."
Reminder - Break Tomorrow
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The link is also in the synopsis