Weeks passed, and with them came a rhythm. My genin team and I quickly fell into the dull grind of early shinobi life... D-Ranked missions. If it sounded impressive, it was not. It meant rescuing terrified cats, cleaning graffiti off public walls, and once, digging out a privy that had collapsed into itself. They survived, barely, while I relaxed and watched them do the dirty work.
Yet, despite the sheer monotony of the work, I pushed them every single day. They may have thought their biggest enemy was boredom, but I knew better. The Third Shinobi War loomed on the horizon, and I would be damned if I let my team walk blindly into that fire unprepared.
I had Guy take on a special mission, carrying water to and from the furthest edges of the village every morning before dawn, wearing weighted clothing I had specially ordered from a vendor I knew well. During the day, my team would take on a D-rank mission together., and every evening, we trained until they were ready to collapse.
One afternoon, I stood at the edge of our sparring field, arms folded, as Guy pushed through another round of hand-to-hand combat. His brow was soaked, his sleeves clinging to his arms with sweat, but his grin was unshakable.
"Come on, Guy! If you can land even a single clean hit, I will give you a full day off from carrying water."
"Youth shall not be bribed!" he cried, launching into a spinning kick. I side-stepped it easily, caught his leg, and used his momentum to flip him onto his back. He hit the ground with a grunt but rolled back to his feet almost instantly.
"But I do want the morning off! So, prepare yourself, Sensei!"
We traded blows again, his strikes growing sharper, more controlled. He still lacked finesse, but I could see the potential blossoming in each movement. He was no longer flailing wildly; he was beginning to read my counters, predict my attacks.
"That was better," I praised, blocking a punch and driving a palm toward his gut, which he dodged by the thinnest of margins.
"It is because I am learning from the best!" he shouted, tears welling in his eyes. "I will become a splendid ninja like you!"
"Less flattery, more footwork. You are still overextending your left leg."
"Noted, Sensei!"
Asuma's sessions were completely different, focusing on jutsu practice more than taijutsu. I created two elemental clones: one of wind, the other fire. They stood across from him, ready to attack in tandem.
"You have ten seconds before they initiate," I told him.
"Ten seconds? That is nothing."
"Then you had better move."
The clones sprang into action, fire clone lobbing small flaming balls while the wind clone darted in and out, shooting bullets of air at him. Asuma gritted his teeth and launched a wind-enhanced kunai at the fire clone while preparing hand seals for a fire technique.
"Fire Style: Blazing Palm Jutsu!"
Flames erupted from his hands, creating a sweeping arc that disrupted both clones momentarily. He used that opening to strike from the side.
"Good! But remember what I said about layering techniques. Fire first, then amplify with wind."
"Got it. Watch this—Wind Style: Cutting Gust!"
He layered the slicing gust into the fading fire arc, causing it to explode outward in a chaotic bloom. The clones staggered before dispersing into smoke.
"Nice work," I said, walking over. "You are starting to think beyond brute strength. Keep that up."
He smirked. "One day, I will be able to take down you, not just these clones."
"When that day comes, I will take you out for barbeque."
"You are on."
"Good, now back at it," I said then resummoned my clones.
Kurenai's training was the most cerebral. She and I often trained away from the others, beneath the quiet trees lining the riverbanks. I guided her in refining her genjutsu and advanced chakra control for medical ninjutsu.
Today, we focused on chakra threads for medical use. She sat cross-legged with her hands held over a dummy with deep cuts painted on its synthetic skin.
"You are too tense," I said gently. "Loosen your shoulders. Channel the chakra like you are weaving silk, not stabbing a target."
"I... I think I am trying too hard."
"Trying is fine but forcing it is not. Breathe."
She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and tried again. This time, her chakra threads shimmered delicately. They moved into the cuts and began suturing them with precision.
"Better," I praised. "Now, sustain that for longer."
Later, we switched to genjutsu. She cast one on me, a battlefield illusion that we had been working on for a couple weeks, filled with smoke and blood in the air.
"Good start," I said through the illusion. "But add something jarring. An out-of-place detail to disorient the target. A sound, a false voice, an explosion... something to pull your target's focus in the way you want or make them flinch."
She nodded and focused again. This time, a voice screamed behind me, a perfect mimicry, and I flinched since I was not resisting her genjutsu.
"Perfect. You scared me."
She grinned shyly. "Just wait; I will get even better at it."
"I know you will, but never forget, genjutsu is rooted in reality. The more real, outside elements that you can bring into your illusion, the more real it becomes and the harder it is to notice until it's already too late."
"Yes, Akari-Sensei."
~~~~~~~
Flashback - Tsunade's Office in the hospital after their first week of training
Tsunade leaned back in her chair with her feet on her desk, arms crossed, and brows raised as I gave my report.
"They are... chaotic, but a good match for each other once they really start working as a team," I said finished. "But they are improving. Guy is getting faster, stronger, and more experienced. Asuma is learning patience and control. Kurenai is sharper than I expected, especially her chakra control."
Tsunade nodded, inspecting a scroll. "And you?"
I blinked. "What about me?"
"Are you learning to lead? To let them grow without smothering them?"
"I... I think so."
She looked up, her gaze steady. "War is coming, Akari. Hiruzen may not admit it yet, but it is on the wind. You won't have time to ease them along forever. Make sure they're ready when you let go of their hands."
I clenched mine behind my back. "I will, and they will be ready when that time comes."
Tsunade's lips quirked. "Good. Because they are lucky to have you, and you are lucky to have them... even if you've gone rogue and abandoned me here in this hospital."
"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sensei. Asuma would be difficult for any other jonin instructor to handle until he breaks his 'young master' persona," I apologized.
"Yeah, but I know the real reason is that you never wanted to be a medical ninja. With your special clone technique, you are meant to be much more than that."
"With all this praise, my head might not fit through the door," I teased with a smirk.
"It's too late to worry about that, brat. Your head's as big as they get," she taunted back with a laugh. "Still, you're doing better than Nawaki did with his first team. If the old man had given your team to him, I'm sure he would be pulling out his hair by now."
"Onii-chan has a chance now, but Guy would still probably too much energy for him," I chuckled warmly.
~~~~~~~
Another day, I arrived early to the training field, cloaking my chakra and taking refuge in a nearby tree. I wanted to observe them unfiltered and see what they said when they thought I was not around. As expected, they gathered around the familiar clearing, settling on fallen logs and patches of grass.
"Did you hear what the merchants were saying?" Asuma asked, biting into a dumpling. "Stone and Cloud shinobi have been seen near Grass territory again."
"I heard that too," Kurenai murmured. "Sensei said those kinds of border tensions happen sometimes."
"Yeah, but this time feels different," Asuma said. "Like... I do not know. Like something is about to explode."
Guy punched the air. "If there is a war, I will fight with all the passion of my youth!"
Kurenai frowned. "You should not be excited about war, Guy. People die."
"I do not want people to die," Guy said quickly. "But I want to protect everyone I care about. That is why I train so hard. So, I can be ready and let my youth burn with passion!"
Asuma stretched. "Still, I am getting bored of these D-rank missions. Chasing cats, hauling compost... When do we get to do the real stuff?"
That was my cue. I dropped down from the tree branch behind them, landing with barely a sound. They all jumped when I chuckled.
"You know," I said, smiling, "I was wondering how long you would keep going before you realized I was here."
"How much did you hear?" Kurenai asked, face coloring.
"Enough to be mildly amused... and mildly concerned."
Asuma sighed dramatically. "Can we at least take on a more exciting mission next time? Please?"
"We will see," I said cryptically. "Now get into formation. We have chakra control drills today."
Their groans echoed into the forest. We spent the next hour drilling the fundamentals. Asuma and Guy stood at the base of a wide tree, chakra pulsing at their feet.
"Remember," I instructed, "the key is control, not power. Too much chakra, and you blast bark off the tree. Too little, and you fall."
Guy took off with enthusiasm, immediately zooming halfway up before slipping and landing on his back.
"You said too much was bad!" he gasped.
"Yes but so is being top-heavy and rushing. Focus, Guy."
Asuma made it three steps before his chakra flickered, and he dropped like a stone.
"Ugh. I hate this exercise."
"Which is why we are doing it until you love it," I said sweetly.
Meanwhile, Kurenai was already standing on a small river nearby, her sandals skimming the surface with delicate balance. She breathed slowly, adjusting the chakra flow through her feet to accommodate the shifting water.
"Good," I called to her. "Now move. Walk the length without losing focus."
She began moving, slowly but gracefully. I saw the pride in her posture.
"You are ahead of schedule," I praised. "Maybe we will move to surface combat next week."
Her eyes lit up with quiet fire, and she continued to practice.
After the training, I offered to treat the team to dinner at Ichiraku Ramen. We walked in only to see Minato and his team, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, already seated and halfway through their bowls.
"Akari!" Minato waved with a smile. "Come join us. There is plenty of space."
Kakashi barely looked up from his ramen. Obito grinned widely, and Rin gave our team a warm wave.
I gestured for my team to sit at the table. "You heard the man. Let's mingle. Teuchi, two bowls of our usuals, each."
He nodded with his trademark smile and immediately got to work. My team sat down across from Minato's at the table with me directly across from him.
Guy immediately beamed at the sight of Kakashi. "Kakashi! My eternal rival! We meet again; this time on the battlefield of noodles!"
Kakashi let out a soft sigh. "Do not call me that."
"I challenge you to an eating contest! May the most youthful shinobi win!"
Obito snorted and retorted, "You will have to go through me if you want to challenge Kakashi!"
Minato chuckled, watching the two boys practically dive into their bowls once Teuchi delivered the ramen. "You should visit Kushina soon. She has been asking about you."
I smiled warmly. "I will. Things have just been a little busy with the kids."
Kurenai sat quietly across from Rin; the two girls quickly struck up a soft conversation. Asuma eyed Kurenai the entire time, his attention only occasionally flickering to his food while Kakashi looked bored and uninterested.
The mood was light and pleasant, and the food was delicious. Minato and I chatted for a bit and exchanged pointers about teaching our genin until two masked ANBU landed outside the shop, silently but purposefully.
"Jonin Akari Sarutobi. Jonin Minato Namikaze. You are both requested at the Hokage Tower. Immediately," one instructed before they both vanished.
Minato and I exchanged a glance.
"Let us go," I said, standing. "Teuchi, send the bill for all of their meals to the Sarutobi compound, and I'll make sure it's paid."
Teuchi, understanding the seriousness of ANBU summons, just nodded his head without a word of complaint. Our genins looked at us with interest, but we left them behind as we hurried toward the tower. Inside, nearly every jonin in the village had gathered. Tension buzzed in the room as Hiruzen stood at the head of the hall, grim-faced.
"The Cloud and Stone Villages have declared war on Konoha," he said. "We will be preparing our forces to move out to the Land of Rice Fields in five days. Come get your assignments and then prepare."
A ripple of murmurs ran through the room, some alarmed, others angry, but we were all united in wanting to protect our homes. Minato and I stood silently, absorbing the weight of his words, then exchanged a knowing look.
The storm had truly begun.