Chapter 21
It was hard to watch. Ino Yamanaka, for all her faults and arrogance, or maybe because of it, didn't shy away from throwing a punch. Too bad, her opponent couldn't be any more different. But no one can choose their fights in the end.
Hinata Hyuga wasn't a weak or stupid girl. She always ranked near the top in physical training, and he saw how well she did in the tests. Not perfect in any way, but far better than most. She wasn't lazy, so it was quite frustrating to watch her sabotaging herself like this.
The only reason she still stood a chance was that, unlike Ino, Hinata could easily traverse the training poles rising from the ground. But she didn't use it to get any advantage against her opponent, as she simply refused to strike her opponent down.
Iruka angrily threw a pebble at Hinata for making him frustrated, and hoped to force her to face Ino without the safety of retreating. But surprisingly, Hinata caught it without even looking at it. It was the first time this happened.
He tried it again, and she did it again. Over and over. He couldn't believe that she had such a deep perception of her surroundings without even using Byakugan. To be able to block his pebbles so easily while not losing even a bit of concentration in her match was more than impressive.
"Hey! Stop disturbing the match." Naruto threw a rock at Iruka.
Iruka caught it, then slowly turned to Naruto, crushing the rock in his hand. His hangover eyes, with bags under bags, looked at him emotionlessly. Naruto and the other kids gulped in fear before Iruka threw the crushed-up rock at Ino and Hinata.
There were dozens of pieces of the rock that went flying at them. This time, Hinata was forced to disengage from the fight to block all of them. And Ino had no choice but to try the same, though she was far less successful.
"Low endurance in crucial moments will lead one to be vulnerable to an unexpected enemy attack. No matter who you fight, always be aware of your condition. Always regulate your stamina and make sure you can move afterward," Iruka instructed Ino as she was breathing heavily and was hit by pieces of rock a couple of times. "While you might have the upper hand in this match, Hinata was the one who wasn't hit by me. If it were kunai and not pebbles, who would have walked out of this fight alive?"
"Ugh, it isn't fair," Ino complained, rubbing her bruises.
"Deal with it," Iruka replied. "Continue with the match."
There still seemed to be many things that Iruka needed to learn about these kids. They were more talented than he expected. And it would take more time to nurture those talents. But if he could do just that, then maybe something would change from his actions.
He wondered what kind of skills others had that weren't yet discovered. By now, he knew that there was more to them than it seemed. Time probably would tell him everything he needed to know about them, and if he continued to teach them, they should show their skills more efficiently.
But the question was, did he have enough time? He might just die any day; with Danzo, there was no knowing. And this was a shinobi world, one thing can lead to another until one finds themselves at the wrong end of a blade.
No matter how much he might try to prepare, no matter how hard those kids might train to get stronger, in the end, it doesn't take much to take one's life. And in the end, all they can do is regret not doing more.
It wouldn't be the first time he wondered about the futility of it all. After all, no matter how high one climbed, it only made the way down longer. So, drinking at the depths of misery didn't seem so bad in that way. Yet, it was human nature to try to climb out of the deepest and darkest holes.
So, what hole did Mizuki dig up, and would Danzo really help him to climb out of it? Or should Iruka just bury him right now? He was getting irritated by being watched by the likes of him. And he hated how a bastard like him looked at his students.
"Let's end today's practice," Iruka said as he saw that the kids were already exhausted, and any more wouldn't be any help for them.
First things first, he needed to clean up the mess that was left in the Academy. Now knowing everything he needed, it was time to see what his dear Principal had to say. Once he dealt with him, at least he knew that the Academy could go the right way even without him around.
But as he cleaned up the Academy training grounds, he noticed Mizuki approaching him. And it so happened that today's hangover was just the worst and just wouldn't go away. It wasn't the time yet to have blood on his hands, but some things can't be avoided.
"Impressive work," he commented. "But I failed to notice you training Sasuke Uchiha. I wonder why you are wasting your time on the other useless kids while you have such a talent in your hands to mold as you wish."
Iruka's eyes twitched with every word Mizuki spoke. His headache was getting worse with every second he looked at that smug face that screamed to be punched and have a few teeth knocked out, and he had to control himself from doing just that.
"You're right, I shouldn't be wasting my time on a talentless fool," Iruka replied and walked past him. "Good day."
"Are you really comfortable teaching that monster?" That made Iruka pause, even though he knew he should just keep walking. "He killed your parents. Destroyed your home. And now, you're teaching him to be what exactly? More of a monster? How to kill and destroy more efficiently?"
"You really are a mediocre shinobi, aren't you?" Iruka asked. "How many people have been killed, I wonder, to not realize the reality? Because by your standards, I am a far more terrifying monster than he could ever be. You don't even want to know how many parents I've taken away from their children and vice versa. And you would never realize how many homes I have destroyed by now. Trust me, Mizuki, true monsters aren't some big demons, but us, shinobi."
Iruka looked down on Mizuki, thinking how easily he could probably kill him right now. In Iruka's eyes, he was nothing but a slab of meat. The problem was that it was daytime and they were in the Academy; even for someone like Iruka, it would be hard to dispose of the body quickly enough to hide his involvement.
And that was the only reason he was alive right now. If Mizuki had caught him with his stupidity in the middle of the night out in an empty street, it would have been the last thing he ever said.
"Hmph, big words for a failed shinobi like you." Again, Mizuki was testing his luck. Now, Iruka looked around to see if anyone was watching them and saw a path he would have to take to escape, and planned how to quickly bury Mizuki's body. "Without the Third's support, would you even amount to anything? Don't pretend to be some big monster that I should be scared of. I still remember the way you returned to the village, letting your own sensei die for you. Then you thought you could get all chummy with the Uchiha, huh? Look where that got you. And them."
"Iruka-sensei? What are you still doing here?"
Iruka threw the kunai in his hand back into his sleeve and stopped his hand just an inch away from Mizuki's eye. Mizuki, only now realizing Iruka's action, fell to the ground in fear and surprise. Well, that would have been bad if he had been a moment too late to react.
"Suzume-sensei, my apologies, I was held up."
"No problem, we can hold our meeting next time."
That woman was quite sharp to realize Iruka's situation so quickly. She probably only managed to glance at them and knew that she needed to interfere if Iruka didn't want to clean a murder scene.
She was far better a shinobi than anyone in the academy. And knew of the shinobi world far more than anyone else. Too bad she had to work under some incompetent and corrupt fool and couldn't do her work properly.
…
Iruka ignored the angry look cast at him as he entered the Principal's office uninvited. Instead, he looked at the various paintings, vases, and other expensive shit that nobody would ever need. It sure made the office look important.
"Have you come to discuss something, or just marvel at my accomplishments?" He said, still glaring at Iruka, knowing that he could do nothing while Iruka had the rights of an investigator given by the Hokage. "Or have you come to disturb me?"
"A shinobi's life shouldn't be measured by something like this." Iruka tipped an expensive-looking vase, letting it fall to the floor and shatter into many pieces. "These knick-knacks won't be something that others will remember you for. Your accomplishments are nothing but a lie, bought by others."
"If you have nothing to say to me, I have work to do, Iruka-sensei, so go and pretend to be an oh-so-great teacher to someone who cares."
"In the name of gain and profit, you would sell out your own students, wouldn't you?" Iruka ripped a painting from its frame. "Obsessed with the worthless pride of a higher position than you deserve. Obsessed with compulsion to be above others, a compulsion that has enslaved you and blinded you."
For the first time, the Principal looked afraid as Iruka looked at him. As he should be. He wasn't viewed through the eyes of another teacher or rebellious child who didn't like how the system worked. No, he was looked down on by the eyes of someone who had killed countless enemies of the village.
"The greed of others is limiting the capabilities of those whom you should be nurturing," Iruka continued. "The need for control is making you unable to do your work properly. And that means you have lost any need for the village, any need for your existence, and even your life."
"You can't touch me!"
"I can," Iruka replied. "And I will. Who I can't touch is Madam Shijimi, but that's only officially. The enemy of the village is still an enemy, no matter who they are. Now, the question is, what is more important to you, your position, or your life?"
Iruka took out his kunai and dragged it along the table, showing how sharp it was. He looked at the sweating mess that was left of the Principal of the Academy as he followed the blade. Only now realizing that Iruka might have left the life of being a shinobi, but it had never left him.
Iruka already wanted to hurt someone, so he would take any chance to do so to this pathetic man who thought he could climb higher at the expense of others. He only needed a little push for him to tip over the edge.
"I lived my whole life doing things right," the Principal said. "But that took me nowhere, and I was still nothing in the eyes of others. For people like us, with no power, no inherited wealth, and no talent, we have no choice but to cling to those who can give us something. All I did was my job. I hurt no one, nor do I deserve to be looked down on by the likes of you."
Hurt no one? Iruka was stunned for a moment as he was reminded how self-centered this man was. He wondered what it would take for him to realize the reality he created for the students who should be prepared to enter the shinobi world.
Should Iruka have called out the names of the kids that shouldn't have died if they were taught properly? Would this man even care or remember any of those names? To him, it was just numbers; a bigger percentage graduated from the Academy under him than anyone else. And so it didn't matter to him if a bigger number died in the end.
Well, he couldn't have expected anything more from him. It was a system he created and was proud of. Of course, he wouldn't regret it. Of course, he would cling to it, as it was the only thing that gave him a notion of power.
Iruka was done with it, so he was going to destroy it and wouldn't let anyone else mess with these kids for their own gain. It's a long time coming, since he started to walk on the edge; it was only a matter of time before he fell off it.
A.N. As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want more 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.