Year 53 of Konohagakure.
November 11th.
Early morning, Akio's home.
Akio lay on his wooden bed, slowly opening his eyes.
He had returned from the Land of Rain late last night, and unsurprisingly found Kimimaro sleeping in his bed again.
Originally, he thought he'd have to spend another night curled up on a chair, but a sudden flash of clarity (he finally stopped being brain-dead for a moment) reminded him that he could just use Wood Release to make himself a new bed…
"I always forget I'm already a master who's perfected countless kekkei genkai. Not just Wood Release, I could even sleep on an ice bed with Ice Release if I wanted."
Grumbling to himself, he sat up, stored the wooden bed away, and turned toward the child.
"Kimimaro, wake up!"
Uzumaki BBQ Restaurant
Akio, Kimimaro, and Karin sat around a table.
"Why are we eating grilled meat this early in the morning…" Karin muttered.
"You can eat less if you want," Akio replied. "Kimimaro and Haku didn't exactly have good lives in Kirigakure. An eight-year-old boy being barely taller than you, a six-year-old girl that won't do."
Karin's eyes shifted. She picked up a piece of meat and placed it into Kimimaro's plate.
"Then eat more, Kimimaro-kun."
"Mm." Kimimaro stayed expressionless.
Akio snorted, then added a piece of meat to Kimimaro's plate himself.
"Kimimaro, eat."
Kimimaro's cheeks turned bright red. He nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Lord God!"
Akio spread his hands at Karin: See? What am I supposed to do? I'm suffering too.
Karin: "…"
After spending more time near the legendary Elder Akio, she no longer felt intimidated at all… and her inner personality kept screaming.
Of course, Akio believed in equal treatment, he couldn't spoil only Kimimaro.
"Haku, is Zabuza fully recovered?"
Haku nodded, a faint gloom in 'her' expression.
"Mr. Zabuza already left for a mission."
"I see… then you eat more too."
Akio placed a piece of meat on Haku's plate.
"Mm." Haku's cheeks also flushed faintly. Kimimaro glanced over in envy.
Akio: "…"
Now he was truly losing his mind.
What was wrong with little boys these days?!
Karin suddenly chirped, "Elder, I want some too."
"You don't have hands?"
Haku hesitated, then gently placed a piece of meat into Karin's plate.
"For you."
Karin glanced at 'her', unimpressed… then stared at Kimimaro with hopeful eyes.
Kimimaro remained perfectly calm.
By the end of breakfast, Akio had a full grasp of the situation.
The three had been a squad for a week and had developed their own dynamic:
Karin constantly flirted with Kimimaro.
Kimimaro never flirted back but accepted her goodwill; he would eat the meat she served him.
Haku tried very hard to blend in. Kimimaro treated 'her' fairly as a fellow Kirigakure orphan. Karin was no longer randomly hostile, just indifferent.
And Kimimaro… well, he remained the most worrying. Enthusiastic toward Akio, but emotionally neutral toward his teammates.
But Akio had a plan.
Uzumaki Training Grounds
"Today is November 11th… ugh, this date." Akio frowned briefly, then tossed the thought aside.
"New Year is about fifty days away. For the next fifty days, I'll train each of you according to your strengths. Time is short, don't waste it."
Without waiting for a reply, he continued:
"Starting with Kimimaro. You two, throw all ten crates of kunai. Every single one must hit the target."
Ten crates meant 500 kunai. Two children would be exhausted.
Perfect for improving Karin and Haku's cooperation. Karin would definitely shamelessly beg Haku to throw extra…
Once they were gone, Akio turned to Kimimaro with a strange smile.
"Kimimaro, have you ever heard of 'self-discipline'?"
In the end, Akio chose to train Kimimaro using the same method he once used for Might Duy.
First, Kimimaro was a taijutsu-type ninja; before his illness flared, this was the fastest way to grow.
Second, he wouldn't end up like Duy, Kimimaro wouldn't become that kind of lonely bachelor. Besides, the ninja world is shallow and looks matter…
And lastly, maybe this training would make him a little more enthusiastic toward his teammates.
"…though that seems unlikely," Akio muttered, watching Kimimaro do push-ups while counting silently with "one, two, three."
After setting Kimimaro's training goal, Akio shifted toward the other two.
Half the kunai were already thrown. Haku was drenched in sweat.
Karin, meanwhile, wasn't even breathing hard, she was blatantly slacking.
Akio grinned.
"Haku, your turn! Karin, the rest of the kunai are all yours."
Haku turned, wiping sweat with her sleeve, making Akio wince.
"Haku, boys wipe sweat like this."
He demonstrated, scraping the back of his hand across his forehead.
Haku imitated him delicately with the back of 'her' hand.
"…Forget it. Whatever makes you happy."
Akio sighed and extended his hand. Several ice needles formed in his palm.
"Can you do this?"
Haku blinked, then nodded, condensing a few ice needles.
"Good. Now… this?"
Akio's needles suddenly thinned until they were almost invisible.
When Haku shook her head, Akio explained:
"Your task is to refine your needles. They don't need to kill, just be numerous enough to immobilize the enemy."
Given Haku's personality, Akio didn't expect her to kill. He only planned to teach her two techniques:
Ice Needles and Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
Enough to restrain opponents, nothing more.
That finished, Akio approached Karin.
She was drenched in sweat, and two entire crates of kunai remained.
Seeing him approach, her eyes lit up.
"Elder! My turn?"
"Not yet. Finish the kunai."
Karin: "…"
She launched a storm of kunai like she was stabbing Akio himself.
A hundred kunai in five minutes, accuracy questionable, but all hit the target.
Akio nodded, forming the Tiger hand seal.
"Come here. I'll teach you to use your sensory ability, Kagura Mind's Eye."
At this age, Karin's range was barely a hundred meters… Akio remembered that at six, he felt like he was living inside a dog.
"Keep working. You're about where I was at five. Good talent."
Kagura Mind's Eye consumed little chakra but a six-year-old Uzumaki girl didn't have much to begin with. She soon gasped for breath.
Then she watched in despair as ten full target boards emptied themselves, every kunai flew neatly back into the crates.
"These are all yours now."
Karin: "…"
Aunt Kushina, I want to go home…
Akio stepped back, observing the three kids training.
For some reason, he suddenly recalled a certain game from his past life, one filled with pain and suffering.
"Kimimaro's the top-lane bruiser. Karin's the support-mage. Haku's the ADC.
We're just missing a jungler…"
Karin started slacking again. Akio glared.
"Karin! Take this seriously!"
Fine.
I'll be the jungler.
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