Gomi was a trainer from hell. At first, she wanted me to run laps around the tallest tree I could see; however, that plan was halted when Kenzo reminded her that while I may be skilled in Taijutsu and have learned Ninjutsu faster than most, my initial training was lacking due to my severe lack of Chakra. Somehow, the resulting training was even worse after she figured this out. For two straight months, all I did was Chakra control training, from keeping a leaf stuck on my head, to climbing trees with my feet alone, to standing on water. She even made me do pull-ups, using only my Chakra to grip the branch.
What made it worse was that, due to my low Chakra reserves and above-average Chakra regen, I barely had the time to rest. Even when I finally had enough Chakra to make a Shadow Clone successfully, Gomi seemed to always find me after dispelling my clone unnaturally fast. She often gave me a swift beating before dragging me back to training. All with a smile on her face. After a while, Gomi decided to add sparring to my training regimen, except I didn't fight Gomi herself. Instead, I fought the much stronger, much larger Kenzo. Each blow that he threw at me was slow on purpose, I could tell, but at each snap of his elbow, wind pressure followed. I made the mistake of trying to block one of his kicks and got launched into a tree. The bruises that dotted my back made me sleep on my stomach for a week.
At the beginning of month four, Gomi sat me down, a large scroll hanging on her back. "As you know," she began, "We are a combat unit. Meaning we primarily focus on missions that involve fighting other ninjas. More than likely, two or more Jonin will be against us at a time in those battles." I could feel her eyes search deep into mine. Maybe looking for fear? Anxiety? But I had long since forsaken that, as I had settled into training over the last couple of months. It's not as if I could escape from here even if I had wanted to, nor did I really want to. This was the life I literally chose, and in this life, I want to be strong. At least strong enough to keep myself safe. Gomi continued, seemingly satisfied with what she saw. Sitting her scroll in front of her, she let gravity unfurl it. "You're still a child, and most combatants will be older than you and therefore will have a longer reach than you. As a result, whenever someone as young as you joins the ANBU, you are all sanctioned for weapon training and a permit for the use of a personal weapon."
She bit her thumb, piercing it, and wiped her bloodied thumb across five separate seals on the scroll. Smoke puffed up from each seal, producing five separate weapons. My gaze shifted to the left, where I saw two predictable weapons associated with the hidden sands. A large fan and chunky wooden puppet almost pleaded with me to follow the hidden sand traditions, but I turned away, ignoring them. I was pleasantly surprised to see another assortment of weapons I was familiar with that weren't as common in Sunagakure. A pair of Kamas that held a wickedly sharp edge sat crossed in one seal; another seal carried a tanto with a blade the size of my forearm; and the last seal was a Kusarigama with its blade resting on its weight and chain.
My eyes lit up looking at the Kusarigama. It was just like Michaelangelo's from TMNT! However, I pulled my eyes back to the Kamas. Thinking about my Chakra nature, it would be more beneficial to use a bladed weapon. I bit my lip, looking from the Kamas to the Kusarigama over and over again, which gained me a chuckle from Gomi. "I know what you're thinking, Genji~" Gomi said to me in a sing-song voice. "Bladed weapons do work well with Wind Chakra, that is true, but can't ignore the versatility and range of the Kusarigama either, right?" Gomi's eyes sparkled in expectation, which both surprised and terrified me.
"Well, if I'm honest," I picked up a kama, and the chain that connected the blade of the Kusarigama to its weight, "I was wondering if I could have a pair of Kama with the chain attached at its bottom. That way, I could retain the chain's versatility while keeping the bladed edge for my Wind Chakra. If I become good enough, I could learn how to throw the Kama at strange angles to mix up attacks." Looking at Gomi's face, I stifled a laugh. Her face contorted into a mix between a sneer and a grin. It was grotesque, but unique and cute in its own way.
"This type of weapon promotes a pretty aggressive fighting style. The weight of the Kusarigama is used with the chain to tangle weapons, but you were looking solely at the chain to increase your range and lethality? You really are a perfect fit for a combat unit!" For the next three months, Gomi taught Kama and Kusarigama chain techniques solely. She hammered kata after kata of techniques into me. Defensive styles, unorthodox styles, and even hybrid styles that really obscure ninjas that were long lost to the storms of history used to use. But still, I felt something was off.
"I understand training different styles," I said, swinging a Kama upwards towards Gomi, only for it to be deflected. "But why are we doing this on top of a lake?" Gomi then proceeded to sweep my legs out from under me, and I plunged into the water. As my head broke the water's surface, I could hear Gomi in the middle of one of her many rants about training. I gathered Chakra into my hands and pushed myself back onto the water. I willed my information screen to open in my peripheral. With a familiar ding, an opaque screen displayed stats that disrupted my Chakra and sent me sprawling back into the lake.
{Genji Chimasa. Chakra reserves: 17,000 out of 20,000.
Justu: Transformation Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu.
Fire Jutsu: more details
Wind Jutsu: more details
Mastery:
Taijutsu Mastery 36.2%
Chakra Control Mastery 39%
Fire Mastery .9%
Wind Mastery 3%
Weapon Mastery (Duel Kamas) 45%
Weapon Mastery (Kusarigama) 68%
Skills: Chakra God, Fuma}
My head popped out of the water for the second time that day, and I coughed up water. And for another count, adding to the many other times, Gomi crouched above me, a smug look on her face. "Oh? Oh? Did the sun hit me just right and cause you to be stunned by my grace?" Gomi hummed in my ear. Her eyebrows wiggled at me expectantly. Grimacing, I pushed myself back up onto the water's surface. I may have been surprised by my current weapon mastery, but I wouldn't allow myself to get antagonized, as I was already used to it. I had long adapted to her antics. I had also gotten used to Gomi's and Kenzo's constant flow of killing intent. At this point, I figured it would go away once I reached a level close to theirs. So color me surprised when I felt Kenzo's familiar bold aura speeding towards us along with another warm but sharp killing intent. It felt like getting fresh cuts from a blade. Turning my head towards the approaching pair brought my eyes to catch another to my left.
Dark brown eyes leered back at me. If that wasn't surprising enough, I realized that this person was the warm intent that I had felt almost leagues away just moments ago. "Their speed is ridiculous," I thought to myself.
Moments later, Kenzo also walked out of the forest, a hand up in greeting. "So that's where you guys were." His gravely voice was muffled by something that he was eating. I only had a second to react, as Kenzo tossed a paper-wrapped parcel at me. Fumbling with it in my hands, I almost dropped it in the water as the weight of it hit me. It was deceptively heavy despite its size. Kenzo pointed at me, "Lord Kankuro handled the making of your custom weapon. He said to consider a gift for passing."
"A weapon? For me?" My eyes sparkled in anticipation. I had only wanted the combination Kama-Kusarigama, but I didn't hear or feel a chain. With the Kama I had been using for practice, I cut open the paper wrapping, exposing a pitch-black metal handle. Unwrapping the paper further up the weapon, the two blades were wrapped tightly together with a small rope. I truly held a masterpiece of some weaponsmith in my hands right now. The blade itself was so sharp that the rope that bound it started to fray at the slightest jostle. Flipping the weapon and taking the rest of the paper off the base showed me something that seemed almost like a prank. It was a small chain that connected the Kamas, but it was only long enough to make a very dangerous and unpredictable nunchaku.
As if sensing my disappointment, the newcomer took a step towards me. "Try to put some Chakra in the weapon. Some weapons have special traits that only work when Chakra is flowing through them." The person's voice sounded tired but professional nonetheless. They carried an eloquence and tone in their voice that made it hard to discern their gender, let alone any hidden motives. Looking at Gomi, I shrugged and pushed my Chakra into my hands. However, getting the Chakra into the weapon itself was a whole other story. I strained as I tried to force the Chakra out of my hands and into the weapon before me, and yet nothing happened. The weapon didn't glow, the chain didn't grow, my Chakra hadn't even been drained. I had completely failed.
A soft chuckle came from the brown-eyed person. It made me look up at them sharply. Their face was soft and childlike. If I had to guess, they were barely older than myself. Their mess of black hair framed their eyes, but was kept short, barely reaching their cheeks. The ninja, too, wore all black, a demon mask hidden underneath a cloak. They smirked before turning to look at Gomi. "Reporting in, Captain Hanamura. Jounin, Sensor, Medical-Nin, Kyu-" I felt the wind suddenly shift, as Gomi flickered in front of the new teammate mid report.
"You know my surname is Homura, you brat," Gomi growled as she gripped the other ninja's cheeks and squeezed. A girlish yelp escaped the other ninja's mouth as Gomi twisted the poor ninja's face. After a few moments, the same warm, mellow smirk returned to the ninja's now swollen face.
"Kyuusaka, Kioka." Her eyes still carried exhaustion, but now with a sparkle of mischievousness. Too lost in my own thoughts about her, I failed to notice her approach. Only when her murderous intent grew did I flinch. I reflexively put my Kamas forward in a stance until my eyes settled on Kioka. A bigger smirk now played on her lips. "I see. You really can sense it, huh?"
I shrank away a little from her predatory eyes, "Sense what?" I looked to Gomi and Kenzo, who had taken positions on either side of us. Astonishment was apparent in their eyes, but that didn't settle the feeling in my stomach. A pit had formed the instant Gomi and Kenzo showed real interest.
Kioka chuckled and raised her hand. Almost instantly, her hand glowed with the faint blue hue of Chakra. "You can sense Chakra. Just like me, you're a sensor".