Reluctant Cultivator in Konoha

[Marlow3]

Kenta just can't catch a break as he accidently started an arms race in his village and both troubles and entertains the people in charge.
Thanks for the chapter

 

[Champjklccmk]

AN:

You can read up to Chapter 37 over at Patreon and Ko-fi!

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Tenten POV​

Higurashi Tenten knows that she is an experienced Genin, with dozens of C-Rank missions under her belt, along with a few B-Rank and two A-Rank. An unheard-of record for a ninja of her age in a time of peace. However, that means absolutely nothing to her batch of Academy graduates and the one that came after.

A passing rate of 100% was historic enough. Once they stepped onto the field, everyone just stopped keeping track of all the ridiculous feats this generation keeps pulling out of its collective asses.

Case in point, her team is the only one that remains composed entirely of Genin from their class.

With Guy-sensei's misgivings about promoting kids too fast and Neji's insistence that they wait for his cousin, they haven't moved up the ranks yet, whether through the Chunin exam or as a field promotion.

This frustrated her, of course. Who wouldn't be annoyed that they were intentionally being held back? But as she observed the younger teams in front of her, she understood that there was more going on underneath the surface than most were aware of.

Uchiha Sasuke was already well-known as a prodigy back in the academy. However, looking at him now, it was impossible to mistake the presence he exudes.

It was like standing on a beach and watching a storm approach from the horizon.

She's heard a lot about Haruno Sakura, as well. One of two ringleaders of kunoichi-in-training, she was known to brutally beat down her opponents when sparring. A brawler who has earned a reputation for being an unstoppable juggernaut, matched only by her rival, Yamanaka Ino.

Then there was Uzumaki Naruto, the village prankster. He might act like an idiot, but she could tell that he was no slouch. Tenten couldn't even tell if this was really his personality, or if he was just pretending.

Neji couldn't detect the trap on the stairs, after all, which resulted in them getting momentarily ensnared.

Only their exemplary chakra control allowed them to pinpoint the exact areas being affected and break free. The experience had shaken her Hyuga teammate enough to stay put and wait for his clan's heiress, who might just be the singularly most impressive girl her age she's ever met.

Elegant, poised, and deadly. She affected an air of a delicate flower when she was anything but.

Just standing in front of Hyuga Hinata was enough to raise her hackles, and she had stared down full-grown Jonin without flinching. It took everything in Tenten not to either start sending shuriken the girl's way or running for the hills.

How Lee could still joke around with Uzumaki while being so close to this monster beggared belief, but she supposed that he was just that dense.

As if to prove her point, the training-obsessed Taijutsu specialist suddenly turned to the Uchiha with a confident pose and issued a challenge.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" he exclaimed. "I heard that you're quite the prodigy in combat! How'd you like to test yourself against me?"

"No."

The rejection was so swift that it nearly caused everyone whiplash. It was like the single word he uttered had a physical effect on the world, giving everyone an unseen clout on the ear.

"Why not?" Lee yelped.

The boy gave her teammate a look of such supreme annoyance that it made the unflappably cheery ball of sunshine flinch. "In case you forgot, there's an exam going on, and we've already been here a while. I'm not wasting more time catering to some rando's whims." He then made his way around the others and started walking away.

What in the world is a 'rando'? Was it short for 'random'?

"Are you scared you'll lose?" Lee tried again, pointing a finger at the Uchiha's back.

The response was given in a dead, flat tone. "Oooh, I'm so scared. Rather not risk it."

Poor Lee froze in place like a statue. Never before had he been so thoroughly ignored.

Neji's sigh was a combination of embarrassment and annoyance. "Let it go, Lee. You're being childish. I'm sorry about this, Hinata-sama." He bowed toward the girl. "I was afraid he'd be like this."

A gentle smile graced the beautiful girl's lips. "Pay it no mind, Neji-niisan. I know a few who are more eccentric than your teammate."

Why did Tenten get the feeling that she was referring to someone specific? The weapons mistress involuntarily shivered at the thought of someone more embarrassing than Lee during one of his manic episodes.

Speaking of the moron, he seems to have gotten over his petrification and immediately lost his mind.

"I won't be denied!" he cried and rushed Uchiha Sasuke.

Both Hyugas sighed in resignation. Uzumaki started cheering while his pink-haired teammate bonked him over the head. And Hinata's teammates merely exchanged looks of befuddlement.

As for Tenten, there were days when she regretted ever being in a team with a battle-maniac. They were rare, but when they came, the consequences were usually a pain in the butt to deal with.

---

Kenta POV​

Sasuke and Lee were fighting, just like in canon. Of all the events that could be preserved, why this one?

"The green brat's moving pretty well," Tsunade eventually commented once they got over the absurdity of the scene.

I couldn't help but agree. His velocity and acceleration were well-timed. The elbow that missed my friend by a fraction of an inch was a wind-up, but there was no interruption in his inertia. From experience, I knew that pulling off such a move required precise control over one's musculature and chaining motions together.

"He's one of Guy's, isn't he?" Jiraiya postulated.

"Rock Lee," Hiruzen confirmed, nodding as he watched the match unfold. "An exceptional practitioner of the Strong Fist style, he is apparently following in his Jonin-sensei's footsteps with alacrity."

"It's not just that," I added, keeping a close eye on how well the non-cultivator was keeping up with Sasuke, despite the latter clearly holding back. "Lee's one of the few candidates I'm considering for the Fractional-Gate Weave project, along with Might Guy and Kakashi."

The two Sannin regarded me with wide-eyed shock, while the Hokage merely frowned in thought.

"Why?" Tsunade demanded with a scowl. "I've seen the reports. Kakashi and Guy, I can understand. But the kid? You wanna cripple him or something?"

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Give me some credit, will ya? I wouldn't suggest anyone for that insane approach if I didn't at least believe they could do it."

"Agreed," the Hokage grunted. "The boy is incapable of performing Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but has taken to the physical chakra enhancement like a squirrel to a forest. No one else near his age group is as suited to achieving such a feat."

The old man wasn't just talking out of his ass, either. We all saw how Lee nearly baited his opponent into a bad footing with a series of feints. If I didn't know better, I'd think he could see the future with how well those traps were laid.

But I did know better, and the bushy-browed fighter was switching between several pre-planned combos mid-bout. Sometimes, even mid-strike. It's an astonishing display of quick thinking and adaptability.

"He's pushing Sasuke a bit," Jiraiya observed, eyes on the orb. "Speaks well of his grasp on, I wanna say, the third stage?"

"Close," the blonde begrudgingly commented. "Based on his breathing, he's focusing on his heart, lungs, and diaphragm. The way he's gingerly timing his strikes means the bone strengthening isn't in play."

Damn, even I didn't catch that. This woman's medical knowledge and observation are scary good. If Lee's ever going to join the program, it'll have to be after Tsunade gives the green light. Without her participation, we won't have even a snowball's chance in hell of making it happen.

The fight dragged on for another few seconds before Sasuke finally had enough. Without even activating his Sharingan, his hand snaked through Lee's kick and caught the brawler's face. Then, without breaking stride, the Uchiha used his opponent's momentum to throw him out of the orb's frame at high speed.

Hiruzen panned the crystal's view to follow the direction of Lee's flight and showed a boy-sized hole on the street-side-facing wall of the building.

Sasuke had just tossed the Taijutsu specialist out of the exam facility.

Returning the orb's POV to the winner, we were just in time to see him walking away. Naruto chased after him while laughing his face off, and Sakura was cheering as she did the same.

The two fellow clan members were exchanging words before going in different directions. The older Hyuga and Tenten were probably off to fetch Lee. Ami, Shino, and Hinata went to catch up with Team 7.

"Well, that's that." Jiraiya straightened up with a satisfied grin. "Bowlcut did better than I thought he would."

Tsunade snorted. "Too bad he's not getting that promotion to Chunin."

Hiruzen sighed. "Impulsive and reckless. Worth quite a few docked points. A pity."

I didn't say anything, mostly because I agreed, but also because I didn't think any of the Genin from Konoha participating in this exam should get a promotion. Even my friends need a bit more time in the oven, regardless of how powerful they've become.

After all, power alone does not a good leader make. For all the prestige that comes with becoming a Chunin, it's still a position of authority. The only reason why Shikamaru was chosen to get the flak vest in canon was that he showed genuinely good judgment. Not even I can claim to be ready for such a position, and I'm mentally several years older than these kids.

Ironically enough, Sasuke is closest to being worthy of advancement. Hinata is in second place. Unfortunately, the two lacked one essential quality that would have made them ideal for command: a willingness to sacrifice when necessary.

Not letting the people you're in charge of die for something that's not worth the cost is one thing. An unwillingness to consider it at all is entirely different.

There's no doubt that my friends would give their lives for an important mission in a heartbeat. Such a mentality was drilled into our brains from the start. But there will come a day when they'll have to let someone take a step over the ledge. Without the right mentality, making that decision will only destroy them.

"Aren't you being too harsh?" Jiraiya asked. "He passed the staircase simulation trap, along with everything else, didn't he? Not just any Genin can do that. And how many have received field promotion by this point?"

"Don't be an idiot," Tsunade reprimanded her former teammate in a harsh tone. "You know what's at stake with this Chunin exam. Passing anyone with flawed judgment is counter to the message we want to present. The other hidden villages will already be shitting their pants once the gap between our Genin and theirs is exposed. The ones we pass need to be beyond reproach."

The Toad Sannin sighed in despondence. "Yeah, I know. At this rate, none of them are gonna make the cut, though."

"If that ends up being the case," the Hokage said, "then so be it. Just as the other hidden villages will have to put their faith in us, so will we have the burden of showing that we are worthy of that faith. We already have our hands full with the renegade Leaf assets still at large. We can't risk making even more by rushing the next generation."

"Speaking of that," I piped up, as the crystal orb was deactivated. "Anyone care to explain what's up with the field-promoted Chunin? I noticed a lot of them are going into R&D instead of field work."

All three froze for a fraction of a second, which instantly twigged my paranoia. Oh, what fresh hell did I unintentionally ignite?

"A few departments needed extra hands," Tsunade said casually. Too casually. "How'd you learn about that, by the by?"

'By the'… never in the months I've known this woman did I ever hear her talk in such a folksy fashion. Something was definitely up!

"Did you forget that I receive periodic reports about some of the proposals I submit?" I snarked. "What's going on? Are the new Chunin transitioning full-time to research roles or what?"

The two Sannin shot accusatory looks at their teacher.

"Lord Third?" I asked.

Hiruzen gave his students a look of betrayal before turning to me with a resigned face. "I may have encouraged our exam preparatory teams to give your submissions higher consideration for implementation. This inevitably required additional personnel for the new projects. Hence, the reassignments. Rest assured, Kenta-kun, everything is above board."

I blinked, then looked at the crystal orb that previously showed a scene of my friends passing the true screening process of the first test. The item didn't transmit sound, only images, and I already had a general idea of what the sifting elements were going to be. So, I hadn't given it much thought.

With the Hokage's confession combined with Jiraiya's comment about a 'simulation trap,' however, I broke out into a cold sweat.

"How, ah, how many of them did you end up using?" I asked, trying to contain my rising panic.

"Three for the first stage," Hiruzen said, frowning in concern. "Why?"

"It, um, it wouldn't happen to be the visual and sensory snare set I called the Cat's Cradle, would it?" I managed, voice becoming squeakier with every word.

"As a matter of fact," came the slow and deliberate pronouncement of my doom, "it was. So, I ask again, Kenta-kun. Why?"

I swallowed. "Did you, by any chance, read my annotation?"

"We did," Tsunade answered with impatience. "Their effects seemed straightforward enough. So, the team handling the first exam used it. Stop dancing around the issue and just tell us."

"I'm pretty sure I included the section about their stacking effects," I pointed out. "Did you read that part?"

"Of course we did!" Tsunade snapped. "That's why the team chose that set to separate the wheat from the chaff."

"Did you read the part about each piece making the other stronger?" I shot back. "As in, each time it takes effect, it siphons chakra from the affected party, spreads it out, and then creates a cycle of pressurized illusions that inevitably crystallizes?"

"Would you just tell us what it does?!" Jiraiya cut in. "Clearly, there's been some miscommunication if you're this agitated about it."

"It can turn fear into a tangible, solid entity!" I howled. "As in, your nightmares can come to life and rip your face off!"

"Why would you submit something like that for the Chunin exams?!" the Toad Sannin shrieked.

"I wrote down explicit instructions not to use it unless absolutely necessary!" I snapped back.

"How can it do that when it's so easy to escape?" Tsunade demanded. "It was basically an annoyance in our tests!"

"That's the damn trap! You put it somewhere with a lot of shinobi. They get caught, escape, and think that it's a minor irritant, and then, bam!"

"You just made a freaking army killer!"

"Do you think I was being hyperbolic when I included the words 'for reducing large groups' on the damn submission?!"

"We thought it was for whittling down the number of participating Genin!"

"It's meant to counter an invading force!"

"What invading force?!"

"Enough!" the Hokage barked, finally deciding to intervene and stop the increasingly frantic shouting match between Tsunade and me. "Kenta," he said, losing the veneer of a doddering old grandpa and donning the face of Konoha's ruler, "explain how it works, what it does, and how to stop it."

I didn't waste a single word. "Chakra accumulation, tangible illusions, siphon the built-up chakra."

"Can you fix it?"

"Only if I can get to it in time."

"Then go," he ordered.

"Yes, Lord Third!"

My surroundings became a blur as I rushed toward the test center. I took two whole seconds to stop twice, both in service of changing into my temporary ANBU gear. Even in my panicked state, I maintained strict adherence to remaining unobtrusive and bypassed the barriers from a side access.

When I got there, two recently promoted Special Jonin blocked my path. One had spiky hair with a bandage over his nose and the other had a bandana covering his head: Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane. If I had been in a more lighthearted mood, I would have been astonished that they finally broke away from their perpetual Chunin tags.

Unfortunately, I was in a hurry.

"Kirin," I grunted.

"Kodama," Hagane replied.

"Akairo," was my answer.

They stepped aside, allowing me to enter the heart of the system powering the true first stage of the Chunin exams. Several pillars were erected underneath the first floor of the building, covered in free-flowing, ever-changing scripts top to bottom.

Completely ignoring the three largest ones in the center, I made a beeline for a smaller set nestled in the far corner.

As cognizant as I was of preserving the stoic facade of my disguise, it still irritated the ever-loving shit out of me to see the Cat's Cradle used like this. Oh, not improperly. In fact, the diminutive, almost innocent appearance of the three intertwined pillars of the miniature monolith was exactly as it should be.

What disturbed me was its proximity to the Genin, civilians, and our own forces. Not to mention the various delegates from other hidden villages who would undoubtedly have been dragged into the chaos that would have ensued.

From its languidly intermittent pulsing, I could tell that it had not absorbed anywhere near the amount of chakra needed to activate its main function.

However, I didn't breathe freely until I grounded one of its branches into the floor to dissipate the energy it had already gathered.

Unfortunately, with the set being technically part of the first stage, I couldn't just remove it without drawing attention to the fact. There were too many eyes on this event to risk even minor changes.

We'd be accused of cheating, at best. Sabotage, at worst.

Resigned to a few hours of waiting, I remained vigilant in periodically siphoning chakra from the deceptively lethal weapon. One that I had intended to use in case Orochimaru got cute.

"Is it done?" a voice asked from behind me.

Turning around, I saw Kakashi looking uncharacteristically serious. It seems he's been briefed on what had nearly happened.

"For now," I answered in a dead tone. Both because I did feel a bit numb and because my current persona demanded it. "I will need to remain. The Hokage will understand why."

"Understood," he grunted. "We will look into this."

"Please, do."

And he was gone.

I might have taken his last words as a threat, if I didn't know the guy. Someone, somewhere messed up. Could have been me, and if it is my fault, I'd own up to that. However, I was damn sure that I left explicit details on exactly what this time-bomb could do.

That could only mean that either there were issues with the wording or my instructions were tampered with.

Given the circumstances, I'd take the former over the latter.

 

[KoshiroUnohana]

Huh, I smell fuckery afoot. The question is just, Pedosnek or Danzo? I SERIOUSLY doubt it's Danzo. He loves the MCs work and effects on the village way too much to risk alienating him.

Of course, on the extreme opposite side, it could also be Zetsu or Obito. Most likely Zetsu out of those two. Obito is way too much of a blunt instrument.

It could also just be that someone genuinely just fucked up somewhere, but I HIGHLY doubt it.

 

[trashtaker]

Dude genuinely made a demon heart dungeon maker like wtf