-one month later
I close the first gate and immediately proceed to collapse from exhaustion. The amount of time I can keep it active is forty minutes. Once I can at the very least keep the first gate open for one complete hour I can begin training to open the second gate.
I wait for my breathing to get back into order before I start training Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi. Now that I am no longer at risk of going blind I actually tested how both actually work. Amaterasu forms the black flames, the volume of them depends on the amount of chakra used. Kagutsuchi controls the flames, it consumes negligible amounts of chakra at close range. Black flames do not increase in volume when burning something, nor do they decrease. They only disappear when the object that they are burning is completely gone.
Kagutsuchi allows me to do four important things:
Extinguish the flames.Manipulate the shape of the flamesAttach the flames onto other objectsStop the flames from being extinguished.
Chakra cost increases with range for Kagutsuchi, the farther away the black flames are the more chakra is consumed. At a hundred meters I can only manage ten seconds of complete control before I run out of chakra.
On the other hand, Amaterasu is a completely different beast. No range limit, black flames appear anywhere within line of sight. Its only drawbacks, the fact that it is useless non-lethally and somewhat inflexible, become null and avoid at close range thanks to Kagutsuchi. I can use Amaterasu and then sweep everything around me with Kagutsuchi, defeating anyone within ten meters of me!
And as my mastery of both fire release and the Eternal Mangekyou continues to grow, so does the power of Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi! The range of Kagutsuchi is becoming increasingly larger and the volume of black flames created by Amaterasu is increasing along with it!
I can now say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I have become an S-Rank shinobi.
—
Hinata, Sakura and I are in the living room. Hinata and I are watching TV and Sakura is reading some books on anatomy, continuing her research on bone marrow transplants. Hirogi and the sisters have gone to buy groceries, apparently having made up while we were away on our mission.
Sakura and Ino have kept in touch. Ino tells Sakura that the academy year is almost over, so we might get the opportunity to take some genin under our wing. Sakura and Hinata are both completely uninterested in teaching older kids anything. I am a little bit tempted however, something that honestly surprised even me. Four years ago I hated kids with a passion after all.
When I tell them I'm kind of thinking about it, their reactions are mixed.
Hinata just shrugs "So long as the three of us keep staying together I do not mind. Just remember that you cannot simply get bored of them after they come under your tutelage"
Sakura gives me an intense, probing look "Didn't you used to send shadow clones to the academy just to avoid everyone? How come you're the one interested in teaching the next generation?"
I point my finger at her "First of all we're the next generation! This year's academy graduates are one year older than us! Second of all… honestly I've been kinda bored lately, we're not doing anything other than training and either playing board games or watching TV."
Sakura concedes "Fair point. Just keep in mind we'll be following you on any missions you take outside Konoha"
I shrug "It's not like I'm stopping you. I'd honestly appreciate it a lot if you did come with me"
Hinata and Sakura both blush a little and start coughing. I'm so not looking forward to puberty.
—
The next day I go towards the Hokage Tower, to apply for a post as a Jonin teacher. When I arrive it's somewhat more crowded than usual. I quickly go over to the secretary's booth.
"Excuse me miss, where do I go to apply for becoming a Jonin teacher?"
The lady looks in front of her, sees noone, then leans forward over her booth, finding some kid standing there looking at her. Thankfully she instantly recognizes me, otherwise this would have gotten real awkward real quick.
She hands me a paper form and a pen "Just complete this and hand it over to me when you're done. You will receive the result by mail."
I nod and take both the pen and the paper. Completing the form takes me less than a minute, with it just containing some basic information. I honestly don't expect for Hiruzen to actually deny the request, since it's something that should theoretically bind me closer to Konoha.
Once I'm done I just hold the paper above her booth and she picks it up. With that done I head on home. It's on the way there that I happened to find out that something peculiar had happened.
Someone had entered into their neighbours house, killed them and then desecrated the bodies, cutting them into small chunks, before killing themselves by slitting their own throat. This is probably gonna create some nasty headlines.
When I arrive home I find Hinata playing Go with Karari. Sakura is off in her lab doing research. Hirogi and Kurari are in the garden, apparently they've started gardening and are planting strawberries.
-next day
After breakfast I check the mailbox and I find a letter from the Hokage Tower inside. Opening it reveals that my application got accepted. I'm supposed to go to the academy next week to meet up with my genin.
After reading the letter I just go and begin training. The shadow clones are training that lightning release sensory jutsu for today. I'm hoping that by next month I will be able to use the second gate.
-one week later
It's honestly kinda weird being back at the academy. When i enter i find Iruka standing at the entrance.
When he sees me he smiles. "Sasuke! I hope you have been taking care of yourself."
I nod "Yeah. It's sort of nostalgic being here again. What class should I go to so that I can get my genin?"
He shakes his head "You should first go and actually choose them. Go to the accountants office, they'll sort you out"
I nod "Thanks, see you later"
And with that I'm off to the accountant. The man sees me and quietly hands me a list with the names of the available students, some names, like Rock Lee, are crossed out.
I ended up picking TenTen, Hyuga Wakemi and Inuzuka Hidesho. The accountant approves my choices and then tells me to come back in twenty minutes, they'll have apparently announced the teams by then.
Instead I decide to do a little bit of trolling. I sneak inside the class, pretending to be just another student. Soon enough Iruka comes inside and begins announcing the teams. Halfway through he notices me and I wink at him.
Iruka just shrugs "TenTen, Hyuga Wakemi and Inuzuka Hidesho. Your jonin is Sasuke Uchiha."
"Rock Lee, Nakamura Hikaru and Dezuma Aoi, your jonin is Might Guy."
And so he continued until everyone in the room got assigned a teacher. By the time he finished, only the Hyuga from my team noticed that I am the odd one out.
After Iruka is done he leaves and the jonin proceed to enter the room. Each of them have some funny reactions when they see me. Most of them squint at me as if seeing a hallucination and a small minority just shrug and continue without pause. Guy just gives me a thumbs up.
Once everyone else has left Wakemi begins to just openly stare at me. Tenten and Hidesho realise there's something weird going on and follow her stare, also beginning to stare at me.
I grin "Yo, come meet me at the rooftop"
I vanish in a shunshin before they can formulate a response. I realise why Kakashi kept doing this now, this is pretty fun.
—
I give my genin a closer look. TenTen looks just like in the source material, except younger. Wakemi is your bog-standard Hyuga with long hair and Hidesho looks like an oddly serious copy of Kiba. I honestly don't know whether Wakemi is from the main or branch family, I'll have to ask Hinata that later.
"Allright, let's all say some things about ourselves so that we can get to know each-other better. I'll start. My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like spicy food and my dream is to die in my bed of old age surrounded by my grandkids and great-grandkids."
TenTen stands up "My name is TenTen. I like forging and making weapons. My dream is to become the best Kunoichi in the world!"
Tenten sits down, Hidesho stands up "My name is Inuzuka Hidesho. I like cats and my dream is to bring glory to the Inuzuka!"
Hidesho sits down, Wakemi stands up "My name is Hyuga Wakemi. I like reading manga and my dream is to be rich."
After Wakemi sits down I nod "Good. Before I become your teacher however you must know. There is still another test left before becoming Genin. Come at training grounds twentyone tomorrow morning, don't eat breakfast or you'll vomit."
Am I copying Kakashi? Perhaps. When I arrive home I ask Hinata about Wakemi. Apparently she is from the main family.
-next day, morning
When I get to the training ground all three of them are already waiting for me. I decide to just cut to the chase. I pull three bells from a pocket.
I show them the bells "Each of you has to get one of the bells from me. If one of you fails to do so they will go back to the academy. The test has already started yo-"
They all rush towards me "-u all have two hours."
I decide to dodge and prod them for a while, to see where they stand in taijutsu. The Hyuga girl is above her teammates here, as expected. TenTen is not that bad for a fresh graduate and neither is the Inuzuka. They are also cooperating with each other, trying to create openings and covering for one another, another plus.
When I'm done with seeing how good at taijutsu each of them is I just grab each of them by the ankles and throw them one by one in the same direction. Let's see if they argue with each other if they end up getting in each other's way.
-two hours later.
The three of them are sprawled on the ground, each of them either wheezing or groaning. I decide to test them a final time "Here's two bells. While you have all cooperated with each other and didn't infight you still failed to grab the bells. Decide which one among you fails, you have five minutes"
I then shunshin and hide nearby, ready to see what they are going to do now.
They all look at each other and shout at the same time "I volunteer!"
I then stare incredulously at them as they argue over which one of them gets to fail. I'm pretty sure these three were friends even before I picked them, which probably explains why that accountant didn't say anything to me when I did.
I decide to spare them some trouble and shunsin back towards them. "You all pass. This test was meant to test your teamwork. One thing I want all of you to remember is this: Your teammates are the most important thing to you in the field. The mission and anything else is secondary. Understood?"
They all gulp nervously and nod "Good. Meet me here tomorrow at the same time. We'll begin training and doing missions."
I should also get Sakura and Hinata to come and meet them, that should be pretty interesting.