Chapter 14
"Fifth gate, huh?" Iruka couldn't help but chuckle as he lay on the soft grass.
The moment Might Guy entered the fifth gate, Iruka had no chance of winning. No traps or tactics worked anymore. Guy simply went through everything Iruka threw at him.
"Don't be too disappointed, Iruka-boy," Might Guy said cheerfully after their spar. "You gave as much as you got."
"Leave me alone," Iruka groaned. He wasn't in the mood to entertain him.
"Well, till next time. Same time next week."
It had been a good fight, even if it was mostly one-sided. Iruka still got what he was looking for. Realizing how rusty he'd become, Iruka accepted the truth: with his current skills, he stood no chance of killing Danzō.
It had been a long time since he fought someone head-on, and it showed. He needed far more than a few tricks to face someone in the same league as Might Guy. Which meant he would have to train.
Just thinking about training made Iruka groan again. He didn't enjoy it. With his lack of talent, progress was slow. And he wasn't a hard worker or someone who enjoyed pushing his body to the limit.
If only Orochimaru were a good guy. At this point, Iruka would probably undergo some of the same experiments Orochimaru did rather than train. But knowing how those ended, the hard way it was.
"Ugh."
It hurt to stand. But Iruka couldn't just lie on the ground and watch the sunset. He needed to limp back home and collapse into bed. He was too tired even to refill his flask at the bar.
All in all, Iruka wouldn't be enjoying his life as a teacher anymore. Since Danzō had confronted him, the man who thought he had everything under control was going to realize that nothing ever goes as planned.
...
He really should just go to sleep. Iruka didn't even bother with the shower to wash all the grime. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to. On missions, it would take days before he could wash up. But even though his body begged for him to go to sleep, his mind wandered around.
He couldn't help himself. The fight just repeated itself in his mind. What if he was a bit fasted at one moment, or if he was able to block that one attack? Could he have counterattacked? Could he have inflicted any damage during those little moments?
Iruka wasn't a fool and knew that no matter how much or how hard he trained, he would never achieve the level of being able to fight someone like Might Guy in a direct fight. He wasn't suited for it.
But it didn't mean there was no way to win such a battle. Even if it had limits, fighting smart was still far better than using his brawn. However, all these tactics he could think of would only be effective if he achieved a certain level of speed and strength.
He really didn't want to do it, but it seemed like he would have to take a page from Shisui and invest everything he had into speed. Speed would provide a power that Iruka currently lacked.
However, that was just the start; with his weak body and depleted chakra reserves, even something as simple as the Body Flicker jutsu was difficult for him. He could use it quite freely at moderate speeds, but that only helped him escape. If he wanted to fight, he would need to be far faster.
If he could achieve the level he desired even for a minute, he could cause far more damage. And that meant he would need to push his body and chakra to their limits in that minute and finish any fight in that minute, as otherwise he would be useless the next minute.
Unless he could completely stop his opponent's movements, studying fuinjutsu at least led to more progress than training ever did. For someone who has given up on his life, Iruka really couldn't just lie in bed all day and drink all night. What a messed-up life he had.
...
Boring.
After resting, Iruka had to endure Monday, and worse, his students. If only he didn't need money for food and rent, he could just do nothing all day.
Well, even then, it didn't matter. If he didn't act, the village would eventually fall. If it weren't Danzō, it would be Orochimaru or Pain. Why did this world have so many villains? And why did the protagonist have to be so pathetically stupid?
Iruka had no choice. He had to teach Naruto and the others. The sooner they grew strong, the sooner the obstacles to Iruka's dream of drinking and sleeping all day would be gone.
"And that's why I think the Second Hokage was the greatest shinobi in history," Ino Yamanaka concluded her presentation.
"The Second Hokage laid the foundations for the village," Iruka agreed, slumping on his desk. "But he was a paranoid man who thought he was always right. For all his intelligence, he was too shortsighted."
"What? That's not true," Ino quickly acted defensively. "He achieved political stability and implemented the institutions that made the village system work, thus ensuring Konoha's continuity and prosperity."
"A textbook answer," Iruka replied. "Sure, he did that, but if you think he made no mistakes, you are mistaken. His ideology was stuck in the past during the warring times. Did you know that he viewed shinobi as nothing but tools? Shinobi's lives had no meaning to him beyond fulfilling their missions and protecting the village."
"But…" Ino was lost for words, and didn't know how to reply as Iruka's harsh eyes fell on her.
"I listened to your research on famous shinobi," Iruka then turned to the rest of the students, "And all I can say is... I am disappointed."
He'd been quiet while listening to the presentations, but now that they were done, he couldn't hold back. Not one of them—not even Shikamaru—had managed to see through the propaganda.
"Don't get me wrong, the shinobi you mentioned were incredible. This village wouldn't stand without them. But none of them were perfect. They all made mistakes. Even if it's easy for me to say with hindsight, we should still criticize their actions. Redo your work and present it again next week. This time, look deeper. A shinobi must see underneath the underneath. None of you has done that. And it shows that none of you are still ready to be a shinobi."
Power alone wasn't what made a shinobi strong. Without a mindset of shinobi, they'd fall into avoidable traps, fail to spot danger. It didn't matter how hard they punched; as long as they were punching the wrong target, it would mean nothing.
He ignored their groans. A bit of research wouldn't kill them. Maybe it would even open their eyes to the bloody world they were so eager to enter. They surely needed to learn about it more to realize what they were getting into.
"That's all the time we have," Iruka said, glancing at the clock. Their reports had eaten the morning. "Don't eat too much during lunch. You might not keep it down."
He had a special lesson planned. With Hayate's help, he'd prepared a rigorous training regimen. And as long as Iruka was still officially investigating the academy, nobody could stop him.
Danzō wouldn't move yet, even if he kept his eyes on Iruka. It wasn't urgent to bring him down, and Hiruzen didn't expect it to happen soon either. So, there was no need to rush. He will do it slowly and do it right.
Orochimaru's attack wouldn't come for about four years. By then, Iruka needed his students ready. Since he didn't have the talent, he had no choice but to make this bunch of idiots do the hard work.
Even if he couldn't stop the attack, he wouldn't let Orochimaru leave alive. And Danzō? He'd be dealt with, too. Iruka had a dream, and he wouldn't let anyone get in the way of it.
For once, he was going to change something.
...
At the training grounds behind the academy, Iruka read the note Shikamaru left him. Nothing useful yet, but it was a start. The staff of the academy had already started to wall themselves off from Iruka, too bad, as it only made them more easily read by someone like Shikamaru.
And Iruka felt like Shikamaru was more similar to Iruka than to anyone else. So, Iruka was quite keen on teaching Shikamaru his ways. And Shikamaru was far more talented than Iruka, so the boy will probably reach far higher than Iruka could.
With Shikamaru's observation of behavioral details, all Iruka needed to do was use it to uncover their secrets. Before anything else, Iruka could not stand the academy as it was now. Teaching something useless and even, in some ways, wrong things.
He could never rest until he dismantled the academy and rebuilt it. Making it something that would prepare shinobi for the real world. Rather than concentrating on teaching students how to follow orders and perform administrative tasks without questioning anything.
He discarded the note and returned to preparing the training field. After consulting with Hayate, they agreed to focus on footwork and balance first, before Iruka introduced the weapons and tactics for killing someone most efficiently.
Hundreds of closely packed poles rose a few inches from the ground. With little gaps between them, there was no way to step on the ground while standing on them. Hayate was quite a maniac to think of something like that. Iruka would have never trained on it in the past, as it was way too difficult and painful.
Just thinking of those poles digging into his feet as he walked on them made him shiver, and that was just standing on the poles.
Even though falling wouldn't cause serious injury, it would hurt. A lot. Hopefully, it would be enough pain for them to learn quickly. Hopefully, that pain will prompt them to recall what they learned in the future.
"What is this?" Naruto asked first, looking around at the circle of poles.
"From now on, you'll spar on these," Iruka said, silencing Naruto with a look. "Step correctly, and you won't notice them."
"And if we don't?" Shikamaru asked, already tired.
"Then the poles dig into your feet," Iruka said with a smile. "It'll help your footwork, posture, and weight distribution. Do it wrong, and it'll hurt. Fall off, and... well, you'll see."
He demonstrated his skill by walking the poles barefoot and performing a few kata. His feet were uninjured. The students relaxed slightly. Probably thinking it wouldn't be too difficult. Only Sasuke and a few others weren't so sure, but they kept silent and observed Iruka.
"Kiba and Shino, step up. You're first."
Kiba leapt up, regretting it instantly as he landed on the poles. Shino stepped more carefully, not sure how to do it properly.
Before the fight began, both were already sweating. Their footing distracted them more than their opponent. Iruka smiled and signaled the start.
"Oh, and the loser fights again."
It was slow. Neither could fight the way they were used to. Minutes passed with only a few exchanges. But they were already sweating heavily and breathing hard. Trying their best to move carefully.
Iruka grew impatient and tossed a pebble. Shino dodged it, glancing at Iruka, who now held a handful more of pebbles. His eyes, hidden under the sunglasses, probably narrowed as he realized that Iruka would make it easy for them.
Ready or not, they had to fight. Shino made the first move. A kick to Kiba's leg startled him; he jumped back, but Shino stepped forward as he awaited that reaction, grabbed his leg, and slammed him down.
The poles dug deep into Kiba's back. He didn't cry, but the pain was obvious. Good. The lesson would stick.
"Chōji, replace Shino," Iruka called.
The boy looked as though he might cry, but he stepped up. He was the heaviest. If he didn't learn to distribute his weight fast, he was in for a lot of pain.
A.N. Well, I am back. Sorry for being stupid and getting scammed. Anyway, I got myself a crappy PC, which will do for now. Hopefully, I will get my money back and can upgrade.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to 7 more chapters of his story and 28 chapters in total with all my other stories combined, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.