I walked with my students through the woods. We were deep in the heart of the Land of Fire, a place of vibrant, towering trees and the deep scent of rich earth and pine, while cicadas buzzed. I had my team transformed to look like simple merchants as we traveled, while real merchants rode in a wagon with both our supplies and their own merchandise. The merchants, a family of three, were dusty and weary from the road. The father, a man with a weathered face and hands, nervously watched the woods, his grip tight on the reins. His wife clutched a small bag of sowing materials to her chest, and their young son, no older than five, sat quietly, his wide eyes taking in every detail of the passing trees.

  It took some convincing to allow us to travel with them while disguised. Merchants hoped that having visible ninja escorting them would dissuade any attackers. But a cheaper price for an escort, plus a cut of the bandits’ bounty if we were attacked and my team managed to defeat the attackers, made the deal tempting to the merchants. A few years ago, the path we were on had been a bustling trade route, but lately, the bandit attacks had become more frequent. The Land of Fire's civilian roads, while generally well-patrolled near major cities, grew wilder and more dangerous the deeper one went into the provinces. The trees seemed to lean in, and every rustle of leaves made the merchants feel like it could be a threat.

  My team had finally been assigned to go on the Land of Snow mission. The village wanted more information on ninja tech and was willing to make a deal if they could get their hands on the blueprints. Orochimaru told me of a secret bloodline ability that the Land of Snow daimyo possessed, and I was tempted to look into it on my own time. The mission was marked as A-rank, seeing how many ninja the Land of Snow has, plus how far away it was from the Leaf. To get there, we would have to travel for days, not counting the boat ride through the frigid, open seas. Including this escort mission we were currently on, my team will have completed eight missions by the time everything is said and done.

  Completing eight missions was the benchmark to being allowed into the Chunin Exams. You needed seven C-rank missions—D-ranks don't count, and at least one B-rank or above. Ninja hospitals are dangerous enough places, and the village’s desire for medically capable ninja made the missions I had my students work on count as C-rank. It was a bit of an underhanded trick on my part, but I wouldn't put it past any Leaf ninja with a bone to pick with me to purposely injure my students on a mission. They would use the excuse of "toughing my students up," and if it hampered my rise to Hokage, well, to them, that was a bonus. Plus, once I'm done with the A-rank mission, my students should look more impressive than most, which would start to lead to envy.

  The mission should take a few weeks, if not months, to complete, and by the time we return to the village, the Chunin Exams should be on the horizon. I have been teaching Lemitsu and the others the basics, but while on this mission, I plan on going beyond that. So far, it has been the basic three jutsus, plus the shadow clone jutsu, and then physical and chakra growth training, not to mention the basic ninja knowledge I have been bestowing upon them.

  Now that I have gone over the foundations with them, I can start individualizing their training and focus more on what they are talented and passionate about. I should be able to cover anything strange that they would wish to study. Thanks to my upbringing, I studied a vast array of skills and techniques, and I managed to learn some tricks of the trade.

  From Medicaljutsu, Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, to even Fuinjutsu, I am confident I can teach them anything that ends with jutsu. I could even teach a few tricks from my Shurikenjutsu, which I am particularly proud of but rarely use because of its lethality, to fill a scroll or two. During our travels, we should have plenty of time to go over the basics of anything the kids would be interested in.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ***

  "What about the elemental jutsus?" Moko asked.

  "Um... yeah, those are the cool ones," Lemitsu chipped in.

  "I mean, those are the ones everybody uses, right?" Rei added helpfully.

  We had made it to a resting area for the horses, and the rest of the merchants were stretching their legs. My three students were looking up at me innocently while they sat on the porch of the building. "You guys want elemental-style jutsus?"

  The three nodded their head in unison. "Is that wrong?" Lemitsu asked nervously.

  "I ... I won't say it's wrong, but I mean, the elemental jutsus are just kinda ... basic."

  "Are they easy to learn?" Rei asked with piqued interest.

  "They are and they aren't. I can help with one: discovering what your guys' base elemental aptitude is and help you form your chakra in a way to give you their elemental effects."

  "What is your element base, sensei?" Moko interrupted me while I was talking.

  "I have an earth affinity. I use Earth elemental chakra and infuse it with my bandages to make them stronger. When I was returning from the Land of Tea, I was attacked by a lightning user, and they managed to cut through my bandages easily. I will help you guys learn how to incorporate your nature types into jutsus and tricks in avoiding the counters to your affinity."

  "What about the cool jutsus that are elemental based, like the Uchiha's fire-style jutsus?"

  "I know a few, but the ones you all would be excited about are almost certainly behind lock and key in the clans. The ninja library has more than a few of every nature type, but the really good ones are kept secret.”

  "Why aren't they all kept secret?”

  "Well, first, the village would like strong ninjas to defend it, so they try to give everyone the most powerful tools at their disposal. Second is when we get the strong jutsus from other outside clans and villages. If a clan's secret jutsu becomes an open secret that everybody knows, that clan or village becomes a lot weaker. So if you were to go and look at the library now, I would guess you would find over a dozen C-rank jutsus of every elemental affinity."

  Lemitsu nodded his head at that. "That's right, I found a bunch of those when I checked, but I didn't know which was right for me."

  I let out a huff. "I will help you guys find which best fits you. Let me check the chakra paper when we get to the next big town. To answer an earlier question, because of the chakra control training I have been putting you guys through, learning how to add an elemental nature to your jutsus will not be as hard as for other ninjas who don't really practice chakra control."

  The kids looked hopeful at that. Even making fun games and adding chocolate as a prize, chakra control training could get boring after a while. "But I mean, I also know Kenjutsu, swords, and other weapons. Doesn't that sound cool?"

  "Yeah, but swords require maintenance, and good ones can be expensive. I prefer to just use a kunai.” Rei answered, which got the others to nod their heads.

  ***

  I took my three ungrateful and unimaginative students to the city, and after some searching, finally found the chakra paper. The whole time of our search, I regaled them with tales of the power of the other jutsu arts. The Fourth Hokage and his use of Fuinjutsu were a terror on the battlefield. Madara Uchiha, who was feared across the shinobi world for his mastery of Genjutsu. The living legend Tsunade Senju has saved countless lives with her healing arts. Or even Sakumo Hatake, a.k.a. the White Fang, ... whom they have met multiple times ... and has offered to teach them Kenjutsu. But no, they wish to spit water and throw rocks.

  I could have checked for their affinity by just having them practice with all five natures and seeing which ones worked best, but I didn’t want to waste the whole day just to save me a few bucks. Finding a nice and private spot in the woods, I checked the kids' affinity. Lemitsu’s paper burst into flames, Rei's was sliced in half, and Moko's crumbled to dust.

  “Alright, Lemitsu is fire, Rei is wind, and Moko is earth. Whoop-de-doo." I have seals that will help you guys mold your chakra to practice your natures. You guys can work on it while we finish up with this escort mission.”

  The three of them looked at each other and all ran in to hug me. “Thank you, Amon-sensei. We will do our best.”

  I begrudgingly hugged the kids back. “You guys are welcome. And just to be clear, Moko is now my favorite.” The second and third place students whined while my new first-place student smiled like she captured sunshine.