"Good morning, Ebisu. Please, sit. Would you like some refreshments?" Hazō gestured the older man into a chair and offered a tray of tea and finger foods.
Ebisu took a cup of tea, a cracker and some cheese, and leaned back. He took a moment to enjoy the food, then sipped his tea and nodded his thanks.
"Excellent cheese. Spicy."
"Thanks," Hazō said. "We bought it from a guy a few miles outside of Leaf, in one of the small villages. I'm not sure what the inclusion is that gives it the kick, but I really enjoy it." He sipped his tea, not pushing. Ebisu would come around to the actual topic in his own time.
"My training course with your clanless ninja is complete."
Well, that didn't take long. "Indeed. You gave them an extra week, actually."
Ebisu shrugged. "We lost Tanaka in the Collapse and Asaski's family had their shop destroyed. We were doing search and rescue with the rest of Leaf and afterwards I wasn't going to deny them two days to grieve and settle family affairs. Not more than two though; best way to handle grief is to stay busy."
"Thank you. That was kind."
The master instructor was possessed of a truly magnificent snort. "Practical. Can't get a damn lick of use out of someone the day of, or usually the day after, a major loss."
Hazō hid a smile at the protestation.
"Anyway," Ebisu said with a sniff, "it's done. Training complete. They were better than I expected."
"Oh?"
Ebisu nodded. "Mostly. Chisaka barely scraped by, but the others came along quicker than I expected and Fuyuki shows real promise. You were right; clanless aren't innately inferior."
Hazō blinked. "Thank you," he said cautiously. "Thank you very much. People very rarely simply tell me that I was right about something."
"Then they're damn fools. If you can't admit when you're wrong, or that you didn't notice something, how do you ever improve?"
Hazō laughed. "A good question. Anyway, what now?"
"We go tell the Hokage that the educational system needs to get revamped. Not just the Academy, either. You were right at the beginning of this; if the six you gave me are at all representative then the clanless are a largely untapped well of potential, and Leaf needs as many strong ninja as it can get. We need to step up our game across the board."
"I am really excited to hear you say that," Hazō said after a moment of struggling to keep himself from squeeing in delight.
Ebisu nodded. "Sure. Anyway, this should be considered a part of the Gōketsu contribution to the contest."
"The Gōketsu contribution? You don't want it for yourself?"
Ebisu shrugged. "I try to maintain a realistic assessment of the world. I'm a mediocre field ninja but the best trainer of my generation. It makes no sense to have a home-front ninja be a Summoner, so that's out. I have more money than I know what to do with—shoot, I give most of it away—so getting debts paid off or taxes refunded isn't really a big deal. I love what I do and I hate dealing with bullshit paperwork, so managing a huge estate or being on the Council or head of a new clan has less than zero interest for me. Beyond that, no single ninja is going to win this on his own when competing against entire clans, so taking the credit myself doesn't matter. I have no need to put something in just to show the Will of Fire; my entire
life is the Will of Fire. I set aside personal glory years ago and devoted myself to a life of service; I have achieved riches and respect for that, but not glory. You, on the other hand, desperately need to earn your place in Leaf and the respect of your peers. This will help, and of course I will help you achieve that; you demonstrated the Will of Fire by opening my eyes to a better way to serve."
"Thank you," Hazō said after a moment. "I...I really don't even know what to say to that."
Ebisu shrugged again. "Then don't say anything. Now, when we present this we shouldn't waste the Hokage's time. We should have a detailed, written plan that we can put on his desk for later review and implementation. We should also have our ducks in a row for a verbal summary.
"I see three basic advantages that clans have over clanless: First, it's easy to identify clan children as potential ninja, since children of ninja/ninja pairs are always ninja, and ninja/civilian pairs are ninja more often than not. Leaf needs to get better at identifying ninja by-blows and civ/civ sports.
"Second, clan children get a better basic education, both academic and physical, as well as meditation and other activities useful in basic chakra study. That's going to be harder to change, but we can start by giving that sort of education to everyone who might possibly be a candidate.
"Third, clan children get additional, personalized training outside of Academy hours, as well as more money spent on their training in the form of time with advanced tutors and such."
"My Uncle Kagome has some ideas that might be worth considering for the Academy curriculum," Hazō offered. "He's been tutoring an Academy student, Yamamoto Honoka. She was a first-year at risk of failing out due to the academic side of things and now her grades are up and he's taught her enough chakra work to be able to operate seals."
Ebisu's eyebrows shot up. "He taught a firstie to operate seals? Is he insane?"
Hazō reflected on that question for a moment and then chose to avoid the topic. "It worked? She's fine, and doing very well. When Jiraiya found out, he insisted that she be kept on close watch for two weeks, with regular checkups by a medic and reviews of her chakra system by a Hyūga to make sure she wasn't hurting herself. She's fine."
Ebisu started to speak, paused, took a deep breath, and started over. "Your uncle got lucky," he said at last. "I have seen too many kids kill themselves with chakra training, or burn their coils so badly they crippled themselves for the rest of their lives. There's a reason we don't teach first- or second-year students to use chakra and it's not just because we're backwards idiots as I assume your uncle believes."
"I...don't really know what to say to that," Hazō said. "It's working. Honoka is doing very well at her studies, she's happy and healthy."
"How much experience does your uncle have with teaching ninja students?"
"I mean...he trained me?"
"He was an instructor at your Academy?"
"Well, no."
"Did you have him as an outside tutor while you were training at the Academy?"
"No. I only started studying with him a couple years ago."
"So you were already a field ninja at the time, with a fully-developed chakra system. I assume he was your teacher in sealcraft; did he teach you anything else?"
"No."
"How many students has he trained aside from you and this girl?"
"...I don't know?"
"So, to sum up: The most respected ninja instructor in Leaf, who spent a decade teaching at every level of the Academy before starting to focus on the senior students and adult ninja, is telling you that teaching first-year students to do chakra work is dangerous. Your uncle, who has no apparent experience at teaching basic chakra development, is telling you that it's fine. Is that about right?"
"Um."
Ebisu nodded. "How long has he been training her?"
Hazō thought back. "I'm not exactly sure, but several months. They started sometime while we were at the Chūnin Exams."
"The children that I saw fry themselves were typically able to get through six or seven months before the damage became visible. The deaths were usually boys who decided that they were 'too awesome' to listen to the safety precautions put forth by their fuddy-duddy instructors and decided to teach themselves something 'cool' like tree-walking because they 'knew better' about what they could handle. They ended up rupturing their coils and dying. Girls have that problem less often because they tend to listen better. Their issue is typically overtraining and burning their coils. They end up crippled—sometimes paralyzed, sometimes palsied, sometimes brain-burned. Rarely dead, though that's hardly a mercy.
"Based on the little I know about your uncle, I doubt he'll be willing to change his mind until he sees evidence that he's wrong, which basically means until the girl is irreparably harmed. Fine. Maybe he's right about this girl, in which case Leaf will end up with a strong ninja and he can learn the lesson with his next student. Maybe he's wrong and she'll end up crippled, in which case he'll stop assuming he knows better. Risking one child is worth it if it keeps him from damaging others, but I strongly suggest you go back to giving her daily checkups. Under no circumstances should you allow him to take on additional non-graduated ninja students. Ever. If he wants to be able to teach children, have him come to me and I'll talk to him. If I decide that he's actually able to listen then I'll consider teaching him how to do it safely. If he takes on young students other than Yamamoto then I will report him to the Hokage. Understood?"
Hazō swallowed. "Understood."
Ebisu studied him for a moment. "With respect, you're a teenager and a Clan Head. Both of those facts are often associated with an unwillingness to take outside direction, a sense that you know better than anyone else, and a need to push back against anything you regard as a challenge to your authority. I don't know you well enough to know if you have those characteristics or not, but they are typical for your age and position. Let me be very clear: I'm not threatening you, I'm offering you information about what the future holds. If your uncle damages or kills an Academy student through his inexperience and lack of caution, my Way requires that I report him. If I report him, the Hokage
will have him executed, because to do otherwise would open the door for other people to commit the same sort of negligent child murder. If she were a child of your clan being trained by an inexperienced clan member then maybe there would be some wiggle room, but that's not the case here. You're talking about a clanless ninja student who has no one to speak for her and is therefore considered a ward of the Hokage. If she is damaged or killed as a result of your uncle's training, your uncle is a dead man."
"I...see."
"Also, don't think that adopting her makes this go away. Your uncle has no training as an instructor and he started training her while she was still clanless; the case will be judged on that basis. Once she's graduated, fine, he can teach her whatever he likes. Any official ninja is welcome to take on whatever training they want and is assumed to be smart enough to be responsible for their own well-being. Students, no. They study at the Academy or with tutors who trained with experienced teachers."
"I'll talk to him."
"Good. Now, let's go back to how we bring the clanless up to snuff."
o-o-o-o
"Good morning, Gaku," Hazō said, ducking into his office to find his secretary waiting.
"Good morning, sir," the older man said. "There is tea in the storage seal. I have your morning briefing."
Hazō dropped into his chair with a sigh and unsealed the tea, pouring for himself and for Gaku. "Hit me."
Gaku took a polite sip of the tea, then set it down and looked at his notes. "The skyslider team continues to show little progress. There's an argument holding them up as to the correct positioning of the 'tension lines', whatever those are. I told them to flip a coin to decide which version would be used first, but get it moving again."
"Perfect, thank you." Sage, it was such a relief having competent subordinates.
"The team that you assigned to researching...'sanitation', I believe you called it? They're not making any progress. They're too busy arguing about whether it's better to do fresh surveys themselves or trust existing maps, about what to make the pipes out of—one team member is suggesting wood, because it's easy to get and to shape. Others are shouting that down because it will rot and need to be replaced frequently. Then someone suggested that they seal it with pitch. That led to objections from the person who wants to use lead because it's cheap for a metal and won't decay." He shook his head in disbelief. "Honestly, they're proposing virtually everything. Someone wanted copper, but it's too expensive and there physically isn't enough. Someone else wanted iron, but it rusts. Someone else wanted concrete, but black water would flow through it poorly. Then they debate routes and how to dig...it's a mess."
"Tell them to build some small test cases using each of the different materials," Hazō said. "Collect some of the contents of the latrines and pour it through to see which one works best in a first-pass test."
Gaku raised an eyebrow. "'First pass'? Very witty, sir."
Hazō frowned, then shook his head with a smile. "Unintentional. Anyway, what else?"
"The 'toilet' design group is getting nowhere. The U-bend pipe ends up blocked no matter what they do, and the thing sticks and overflows. I told them to keep working on it."
"Good enough. What else?"
"Reconstruction on the Naked Jaybird is complete and it will be open for service the day after tomorrow, as soon as the kitchens are re-stocked."
"Brilliant!"
"Yes, I'm looking forward to trying it." He glanced down at his notes. "Kenta's latest construction job fell through; he let the customer talk him into underbidding the price and overpromising on the schedule. He's already over budget and he's taking penalties for every day that it's late."
"Hm. Can we hire him some more people, or simply buy him out of it? Pay for another construction company to finish if necessary?"
"Yes sir. If you'd like, I can take Granny Mayuka over to negotiate a new contract."
"Perfect. Do it."
"Very good, sir. Now, we've got some disciplinary offenses: One fist fight that got out of hand, two petty thefts, and some drunken property damage. Also...."
o-o-o-o
"Noburi, what a pleasant surprise," Asuma said, a broad smile on his face as he waved his visitor to the chair opposite himself. Two cups of tea waited on the table, equidistant between the two of them; Noburi waited for the invitation, then set his barrel down, arbitrarily took the cup on the right, and settled into the chair.
"Thank you for seeing me, sir."
"Of course. What was on your mind?"
Noburi rolled the cup between his palms for a moment as he gathered up his words. The heat felt good; it was cold out and his hands were a little numb from the walk over to Hokage Tower.
"Sir, you're aware of my bloodline," Noburi began, letting the words out carefully. "You probably know that I can't regenerate chakra normally, I need to drain it from others. I keep it in the water of my barrel"—he knocked on the lid of the object itself where it sat on the floor beside him—"and I can dole it out to other people by them drinking from the barrel."
Asuma nodded and took a sip of his own tea. "Indeed."
"The emphasis is on the 'unable to regenerate chakra normally' part. I'm sure you're aware of everything that's going on at the Gōketsu estate. We're using Multiple Earth Wall jutsu to put walls around the estate, we're using it to build a ton of housing and other buildings, we're using fire jutsu to heat water for baths and laundry. There's a lot going on, and it all needs chakra. I've been underwriting all of that and we've been buying chakra from Leaf ninja in the form of D-rank missions."
"I'm aware." He smiled. "Hawk had good things to say about your cafeteria."
Noburi paused for a moment; he hadn't realized there had been ANBU on the grounds lately.
"Thank you, sir," he said finally, choosing to leave the issue. "Anyway, as to the chakra drain thing...it bothers me, sir. I'm not always full at the end of the day, but that's fine—I'm never below half and I've got more chakra than your average jōnin. Your average
pair of jōnin, probably. The flip side of that, of course, is that there's a lot of Leaf ninja running around at below their max because of my needs."
"I'm grateful that you're thinking about that," Asuma said, giving him a respectful nod. "It shows the Will of Fire."
Noburi paused, clearly a little flummoxed by that. "Um...thank you, sir. Hazō is working on it—he wants to capture a bunch of animals to use as a chakra farm, but I've run the numbers and I'm not convinced it can work. Most of the smaller animals around here don't have a lot of chakra and even with the large ones we would need dozens. The logistics of it are challenging."
Asuma cocked his head, puzzled and slightly concerned. "That sounds bad."
"Yes, sir. It's not critical; there's enough ninja in Leaf that I could spread my drain out across them and it wouldn't be much of an issue, but then it would take a lot of time to get face-to-face with each of them."
"I see. And do you have an answer?"
"Yes sir. Before I go into it, I have a question about clan secrets. My understanding is that keeping clan secrets of
Leaf ninja is expected and required, but for a Leaf nin to disclose clan secrets from another Village...well, that would count as legitimate espionage and therefore be regarded a positive action. And, of course, I am a Leaf ninja of the Gōketsu clan, and therefore any bloodline secrets that I might be aware of from some random clan in Mist...well, it's practically a patriotic duty to share the information. Is that correct?"
Asuma chuckled. "Indeed. In fact, it's expected that Leaf ninja will hand over all information they acquire about the capabilities of foreign Villages. There are circumstances where I wouldn't insist but, as a general rule, I would expect to hear about it. On the other hand, the three of you are something of a gray area. The Tower will not pressure you to hand over details of your former clans—in part because it would raise issues of cultural norms within Leaf and in part because we are trying to forge alliance with Mist and it could cause diplomatic issues once the information eventually came out that we had pressured bloodline information out of you. That said, no. There is no problem with you revealing secrets of Mist clans."
Noburi licked his lips and nodded. "Good to know. The Wakahisa have koi ponds that they use as a chakra source for the whole family. The koi are specially bred to have a lot of chakra for their size—not much in absolute terms, but a lot for their size. More importantly, they reinforce one another. The more of them in the school, the more chakra each koi has."
Asuma's eyebrows shot up. "Interesting. I wasn't aware such a thing existed."
Noburi shrugged. "Like I said, clan secret of the Wakahisa. There's a lot of problems with the things; they're territorial, they bite, they each need an insane amount of food on their own and even more when they're in groups, and they don't always take well to new koi being added to the pond. Still, it's manageable."
Asuma hid a wicked smile behind a sip of his teacup. "Fascinating information. Still, I doubt the Wakahisa would want to sell any of their koi to the Gōketsu."
"I...wasn't really thinking about
buying them, sir."
"Why, Noburi! Are you suggesting that I should authorize a mission to
steal clan-secret fish from a very much more-or-less allied nation? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say."
Noburi laughed. "Oh, no sir. I'm sure you would never authorize such a thing. In fact, I'm sure you've never even heard of these fish at all, so how
could you authorize it?" He paused for a moment, smiling. "Of course, everyone knows how impetuous Hazō is."
"Indeed," Asuma said, nodding sagely. "Terribly impetuous. Always rushing off, making dramatic speeches and insulting elite jōnin. That young man is wildly out of control. Probably get himself killed some day, but what can one do?" He shook his head in exaggerated sorrow. "It's not like I can keep watch over him every minute."
Noburi grinned. "Indeed. Apropos of nothing, the family was talking about making a pilgrimage to the Todoroki Shrine. Hazō sat us all down for a conversation about it over breakfast. He wanted us to brainstorm up what disguises to use and all that. The final consensus was 'ourselves'—it's a public shrine, so there's no reason to complicate things. As a new clan it's not too surprising that we might want to ask the blessing of the Sage. Where better to do it than at the place where he blessed the very lands and waters?"
"Very sensible. I'm glad to see such piety and devotion among your clan."
"Thank you, sir. Since we're going to be in that area anyway, could I ask your permission for us to swing through Mist on our way back? It would be nice to see my sisters again for a bit, and I'm sure Hazō would like to see his mother."
"Did he say that?"
"I...may not have raised this topic with him yet."
"Ah, I see. Well, family bonds are important, and will go a long way towards securing the Mist/Leaf alliance. Spend the week, or even two if you need it."
"Thank you, sir," Noburi said. He tossed back the last of his tea and set the cup back on the saucer on Asuma's desk, then stood up and bowed. "With your permission?"
"Of course, of course. Have a pleasant afternoon. I'll begin assembling the appropriate diplomatic papers and rules of engagement for you. Give me a few days, and be sure to let me know before you leave."
o-o-o-o
March 14, 1069 AS
The sun was lowering towards the horizon. Hazō was standing atop a granite oven, surrounded by several hundred people—all of Clan Gōketsu save those in the hospital, on missions, or unable to be spared from essential tasks.
"Hear me, my clansmen!" Hazō cried, projecting his voice as much as he could. "Hear me, people of the Gōketsu."
"We are the Gōketsu, a clan of ragamuffins and vagabonds, a clan of the poor and the shunned...a clan of fighters, proud and stubborn. We have each been kicked by fate, but we got up again. We have each been looked down upon for our birth, but we refused to back away. We have cried over lost loved ones and then squared our shoulders and cared for the living. We were born of different blood, born with different names. We are now the Gōketsu blood, the Gōketsu name. All of you, all of us: The Gōketsu."
"Gōketsu!" shouted Mari. The bulk of the crowd echoed her a moment later.
"What is the Gōketsu Clan?" Hazō demanded. "We are the clan of hope. The clan of progress. The clan of welcome. Other clans pride themselves on their 'pure blood', they congratulate themselves on their traditions, on their bloodlines. Do the Hyūga open their gates to those in need?"
"No!" replied the crowd.
"True! Do the Motoyoshi share their wealth, raise up the poor, seek a better future for all?"
"NO!"
"True! Do the Kurusu build schools and hospitals?"
"NO!"
"True!" He paused, allowing the fervor to recede slightly. "The Gōketsu are different," he said more calmly. "We are the clan of progress, and of welcome." He paused again, surveying the crowd and making eye contact with people here and there. "Speak if you ever went to bed cold or hungry before coming here!"
A wave of "Me!" / "I did!" / "Yes!" spread through the crowd.
"Has anyone gone hungry since coming to the Gōketsu?"
Rumbles of negation and shaken heads.
"I can't hear you, my clansmen! Have you gone hungry since becoming a Gōketsu?!"
"NO!"
"Good!" He paused and shook his head ruefully. "As to cold...well, hopefully you'll give me a pass for the first couple weeks in those damn tents."
Laughter rippled outwards.
"Still, we are out from under the canvas and into homes fit for a human. The kitchens are working. There should be enough blankets and clothes." He nodded towards the self-named 'Old Granny', the woman in charge of the estate store and therefore the Gōketsu's unofficial chief of supply. He waggled a finger at her. "If there's not, then I'm going to have a sharp word for you, Granny!"
She grinned a two-toothed grin at him; another wave of laughter spread.
Hazō surveyed the crowd again, allowing his face to become serious. "This world is cold, and dark, and unforgiving. Everywhere that I have traveled, human beings live in poverty, in squalor, in danger. I say: No more! We are the Gōketsu, and our purpose is to raise up all people in all lands. Food, warmth, safety, knowledge—these things are the due of every human, regardless of the station of their birth or the strength of their chakra. Will you join me?"
"Yes!"
"The Hokage has called for all the ninja of Leaf to show the Will of Fire by contributing their jutsu, their seals, their riches to the benefit of the ninja who are Leaf's protectors. I praise him for this! A cheer for the Hokage!"
"Hooray!"
"I intend to take inspiration from the Hokage. The Gōketsu will take his example and go a step beyond! Our clan will devote our efforts to benefit all the citizens of Leaf, both ninja and civilian. This shall be the Gōketsu Way!"
He pointed into the crowd. "Gōketsu Wataru! You are a master cordwainer. Are you willing to honor the Gōketsu by making shoes for Leaf citizens who can't afford them?"
Wataru had been briefed ahead of time and knew his response, so there was no pause before he shouted back, "I am!"
"Gōketsu!" Hazō cried, thumping his chest in salute. He pointed at a woman. "Gōketsu Nonoka! You are a teacher at the Gōketsu School. Are you willing to honor the Gōketsu by teaching non-Gōketsu who have no other chance to learn?"
"I am!"
"Gōketsu!" Hazō thumped his chest in salute again, then gestured broadly. "All of you, all of the Clan Gōketsu: Are you willing to honor the Gōketsu by seeking ways to make the lives of others better?"
"WE ARE!"
"We are the Gōketsu, and the Way of our clan is to uplift the world. Will you join me?"
"WE WILL!"
"Yes!" Hazō shouted. "We
are the Gōketsu! Family! Clan! We are bound, each to each! We care for each other, and we care for the world! So long as poverty or injustice exists, there is more work to be done. We are the Gōketsu!"
"Gō-KE-tsu! Gō-KE-tsu! Gō-KE-tsu! Gō-KE-tsu! Gō-KE-tsu!" cried Noburi, Akane, and Mari. Haru and Kagome-sensei missed their timing, but they joined in with the out-of-sync shout from the civilians. By the second call, the entire clan was on the beat to chant in unison the family name that bound them together.
XP AWARD: 25
Brevity XP: 0
Author's Note:
This update covered 7 days.
- You had the discussion about how to infiltrate Todoroki Shrine. As referenced in the chapter, the consensus is that it's legit to go as yourselves. So long as your intent is investigation and/or bargaining (as opposed to assassination) then there's no need for overwhelming firepower. Hazō, Noburi, Haru, and Akane would be sufficient, although along a more senior person wouldn't be a bad idea. Kagome, of course, is opposed to the entire plan.
- You thought about the scientific method.
- You used agile project management, team building, branching diagrams, etc.
- Noburi has brought you his "Hey, after we hit the shrine, let's go to Mist and steal some koi so that we can have effectively unlimited chakra for always" plan.
It is now about 6pm.
Vote time! What to do now?
Voting ends on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, at 12pm London time.
