"As I mentioned yesterday, this morning we will continue with team exercises,"
Hideaki said while Hikaru's chest still rose and fell heavily from exhaustion. They had just finished another morning run, and once again he had come in last place, his legs trembling slightly as he tried to catch his breath.
Hideaki's lips curved upward slightly at their varying states of fatigue before continuing. "You all have been taught how to work as a team yesterday, and all the basic team formations have been learned. Now it's time for some experience in between."
"We will use what we learned yesterday and slowly try to apply it to real-life situations," Hideaki said, his hands moving through familiar seals.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." (Summoning Jutsu)
A small brown monkey appeared in a puff of smoke, immediately climbing up Hideaki's arm to sit on his shoulder. The creature's intelligent dark eyes surveyed the three genin with obvious curiosity, its tail waved behind it.
"This is Kōzaru (little monkey)," Hideaki said, reaching up to rub the monkey's head. "As you all already know, our team specializes in tracking and scouting. We will train until you can apply this technique in a real situation together."
Hideaki pulled a bright red rubber ball from his pouch and handed it to Kōzaru, who examined it with its fingers before tucking it securely against his chest.
"Kōzaru will take this ball and hide somewhere in the forest within the training ground," Hideaki explained, gesturing toward the dense treeline surrounding them. "Your mission is to find him and retrieve the ball. Consider it classified intelligence that must be recovered."
Kōzaru chattered excitedly, bounding down from Hideaki's shoulder and racing toward the trees with impressive speed. He disappeared into the forest in a matter of seconds, leaving behind nothing but rustling leaves.
"Keep in mind," Hideaki continued, "Kōzaru is extremely fast, agile, and excellent at hiding. He knows these training grounds better than you do, and he considers this a game. You'll need to work together if you want any chance of success."
Nobue straightened his posture, pale eyes gleaming with confidence. "How difficult can it be to track one small monkey? My Byakugan should locate him easily enough."
"The Haimaru brothers have excellent noses," Hana added, patting one of her nin-ken's heads. "Tracking is what we do best."
Hikaru nodded along, though his stomach tightened slightly as he considered the challenge ahead. His sensor abilities might help, but he worried about how they would coordinate their different approaches effectively.
"Remember," Hideaki called out as the team prepared to begin, "this is about coordination, not individual achievement. Begin when ready."
Nobue immediately activated his Byakugan, veins bulging around his pale eyes as his vision extended throughout the training ground. His head turned as he scanned the area with careful precision.
"There," he said after a moment, pointing toward a cluster of oak trees about fifty meters away. "I can see him clearly. This will be simple, follow me."
Without waiting for a response from his teammates, Nobue took off running toward the target location, his movements swift and confident. Hikaru and Hana exchanged glances before hurrying to follow.
By the time they reached the trees Nobue had indicated, however, Kōzaru was nowhere to be found. Nobue's jaw tightened as he reactivated his Byakugan, scanning desperately for any sign of their target.
"He moved," Nobue muttered, his hands clenching at his sides. "I can see him now, but he's about to go beyond my range in a different direction."
"Let us try," Hana said, kneeling beside the Haimaru brothers. "Find the monkey's scent."
The three nin-ken immediately put their noses to the ground, tails wagging as they picked up Kōzaru's trail. They moved in a coordinated pack formation, following the scent trail through underbrush and around tree trunks.
"This way!" Hana called excitedly, following her companions as they tracked the monkey's path through the forest.
The trail led them on a winding route through dense plants, but as they went to what seemed to be Kōzaru's last location, they found only an empty area where a small river about twelve meters wide flowed through in between trees. The Haimaru brothers whined in frustration, circling in front of the river as they tried to pick up the scent again.
"He must have jumped across the small river," Hana said, pat behind one of her nin-ken's. "The scent trail ends here."
"Of course it does," Nobue said, his tone carrying clear irritation. "Monkeys travel through the canopy. Your tracking method becomes difficult once he crosses water."
Hana's eyes flashed with anger, her hands moving to her hips. "The Haimaru brothers are perfectly trained! Maybe if we had coordinated better from the start..."
"Perhaps," Nobue admitted, though his jaw remained tight. "My Byakugan can track precisely, but only within my range."
Hikaru stepped forward, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "Hey, maybe we should try working together like sensei told us instead of doing this separately? Remember, he said this is about coordination, not individual achievement."
Nobue paused, his mind processing the reminder. His pale eyes showed slight reluctance as he considered the exercise's actual purpose. "You're... correct about the objective. What better plan do you have?"
"I can sense his general location from farther away than your Byakugan can see," Hikaru explained, pressing his point. "If we coordinate our movement, we may have a shot at catching the monkey."
Nobue's jaw tightened slightly as he wrestled with his pride, but after a moment he gave a measured nod. "That make sense. Your sensing range would complement my visual tracking." He paused, then added more reluctantly, "And the Haimaru brothers' tracking abilities could confirm our approach while also being able to cut off the monkey escape route ."
Hana nodded, her earlier frustration fading as she understood how the group should worked together. "Right. We each contribute what we do best, instead of competing."
Hikaru closed his eyes, extending his sensor abilities to scan the surrounding area. After a moment of concentration, he detected a familiar chakra signature moving rapidly through the trees about fifty-five meters to their left.
"He's over there," Hikaru said, pointing toward the location. "Moving fast, probably jumping between branches."
"I don't see him yet," Nobue admitted after a moment, his jaw tightening slightly. "He's moved beyond my visual range."
"Then let's try combining our movement," Hikaru suggested, "I'll guide us to his general area, Nobue-kun can pinpoint his exact location when we're close enough, and Hana-chan can position the Haimaru brothers to cut off escape routes on the ground."
The three genin huddled together briefly to plan their approach, remembering Hideaki-sensei's lessons from yesterday about coordination and communication.
"We should use hand signals like we practiced," Nobue suggested. "Verbal communication might alert the target."
"Right," Hikaru agreed. "I'll use the directional gestures to guide us toward his general location."
"Once you get me within range, I can signal his exact position and distance," Nobue added, warming to the coordinated approach.
"The Haimaru brothers will need a few seconds to position properly," Hana warned, patting one of her nin-ken.
"Then we coordinate our timing and stick to the signal protocol," Nobue concluded, his earlier reluctance replaced by focus.
The second attempt began with better coordination, at least initially. Hikaru provided direction from the ground, pointing toward Kōzaru's general location as they moved through the forest. When they got close enough, The team spread out in formation, maintaining visual contact while advancing.
When they got close enough, Nobue activated his Byakugan and quickly spotted the monkey resting in a large pine tree. He raised his fist—the signal for "target located"—then pointed toward the large pine tree and held up one finger, then five fingers to indicate fifteen meters up.
Hana acknowledged with a quick nod and used hand signals to direct her nin-ken to surround the tree's base. The Haimaru brothers moved silently into position, following their practiced coordination patterns.
Hikaru closed his eyes briefly to confirm the location, then gave the signal for "confirmed" by touching his head and nodding.
Nobue signaled the advance with a forward gesture, and they began moving toward the target tree in their practiced formation.
But as they approached in their coordinated formation, Kōzaru suddenly burst from his hiding spot with a delighted chatter, launching himself toward a neighboring tree with quick movement. The Haimaru brothers lunged upward, but the monkey was already well out of reach.
"He's moving again," Hikaru called out, trying to close his eyes and track the rapidly shifting chakra signature.
"This way," Nobue yells, forgetting all the protocol as he tracked the monkey's random movement through the canopy.
Hana whistled sharply to redirect her nin-ken, the practiced hand signals useless now that Kōzaru was moving randomly. "Go, go! Cut him off at the clearing edge!"
Nobue followed Kōzaru's aerial path, trying to maintain visual contact while moving quickly through the underbrush. But coordinating pursuit while the target moved all over the place was almost impossible. Hana's nin-ken charged toward the area Nobue had indicated, but by the time they reached the position, Kōzaru had already changed direction twice.
By the time they untangled themselves, Kōzaru was nowhere to be seen, and his delighted chattering echoed mockingly from somewhere high above.
The careful planning they had done fell apart, and they started chasing seperately, each team member trying to adapt to the monkey's unpredictable movements. By the time they regrouped, Kōzaru was already beyond their range.
"The plan worked well initially." Hana said, catching her breath as her nin-ken regrouped around her. "We were so close."
"But once the situation changed rapidly, we had to abandon the plan," Nobue admitted, deactivating his Byakugan with obvious frustration. "The moment he started moving randomly, our careful plan became useless."
"I couldn't maintain sensing while shouting directions," Hikaru added, rubbing his head. "When everything happened at once, I had to choose between tracking him or coordinating with you two."
"Enough," Hideaki's voice interrupted their discussion as he approached the group. His expression was serious but encouraging rather than disappointed. "That's enough for today."
The three genin looked up as Kōzaru appeared on Hideaki's shoulder, still clutching the red ball and looking remarkably pleased with himself.
"So," Hideaki said, settling onto a fallen log and gesturing for his students to join him. "What went wrong?"
The genin considered the question, each thinking about their attempts.
"Our signal coordination improved, but we're still not working as one unit," Hana said thoughtfully. "The plan we had was good, but there's a delay between our understanding of each other's actions when something went off the plan."
"When the Monkey is in near sight, I should have acted together with the team," Hikaru added quietly. "Instead of focusing on sensing its location."
Hideaki's gaze settled on Nobue, who had been listening carefully. "And what's your thought, Nobue-kun?"
"We applied the formation team and signals correctly during our approach," Nobue said carefully, "But when things started to change, we lost our ability to work together. The target moved faster than our ability to adapt as a team."
"Excellent observations," Hideaki said, nodding approvingly. "You're using the fundamentals correctly, but real missions require adapting those fundamentals to the changing situations. The signals work well for planned movements, but when things went off the plan requires learning to read your teammates' reactions."
He gestured toward where Kōzaru had escaped. "You successfully applied your training to the initial approach. The challenge now is learning to maintain that coordination when plans change rapidly."
He paused, allowing his words to sink in. "My old genin team had the same progression. First you learn the signals, then you learn to use them under pressure, then you develop the instinct to anticipate each other's actions. You're right on schedule."
"How long did it take?" Hikaru asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.
"Several weeks of practice," Hideaki replied with a slight smile. "The key is recognizing what you need to improve, which you're already doing. Tomorrow we'll work on timing and communication during movement."
After the team exercise finished, Hideaki dismissed them for lunch break. "Take an hour to rest and eat," he said. "We'll continue with individual training at one o'clock."
When they met again after lunch, Nobue and Hana returned to their tree climbing practice, showing improved focus after the morning's experience. Hikaru continues to work on his bukijutsu with Hideaki, the grip and stance corrections from yesterday becoming more natural with each repetition.
As the afternoon training session concluded and they prepared to depart, Hikaru's fingers drummed nervously against his equipment bag. He had been thinking about Ayako's suggestion throughout the day, and this seemed like an appropriate moment to bring it up.
"Actually," he said, causing his teammates to pause and look back at him. "My sister wanted me to ask you all something."
Hideaki tilted his head curiously. "What's that, Hikaru-kun?"
Hikaru swallowed hard, his cheeks warming slightly with nervousness. "She'd like to invite everyone for dinner sometime. To thank Hideaki-sensei for training me, and to meet my teammates properly."
"That's very thoughtful of Ayako-san," Hideaki said, his expression softening with genuine appreciation. "I'd be honored to accept."
"Really?" Hana bounced slightly on her feet, her earlier frustration completely forgotten. "That sounds wonderful! I heard her cooking skills are really good. Can the Haimaru brothers come too?"
"Of course," Hikaru replied, his smile becoming more natural. "She mentioned she'd prepare extra food for them."
Nobue considered the invitation for a moment and said "I'll go."
How about next week on the fifteenth?" Hikaru suggested, remembering Ayako's specific date preference. "Are you all free?"
"The fifteenth should work fine, since it's the weekend," Hideaki said, checking his mental schedule. "What time would be convenient?"
"I'll ask Onee-chan and let you know tomorrow," Hikaru replied, his shoulders relaxing as the invitation was accepted so readily.
"Perfect," Hideaki said warmly. "It will be good to properly thank Ayako-san for her support, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all interact outside of training."
"Tomorrow, we're going to get that ball," Hana declared with renewed determination as they walked toward the village, the Haimaru brothers yipping in enthusiastic agreement.
"Indeed," Nobue said, his tone appeared more hopeful. "Today's... lessons will not be wasted effort."
"Kōzaru won't know what hit him," Hikaru added with a confident grin.
Hideaki chuckled with obvious amusement. "That's the spirit I like to see. But remember—teamwork, not individual heroics."
"Yes, sensei," all three replied in perfect unison, their voices carrying more unity and cooperation than they'd managed to demonstrate throughout the entire day.