[Takara]
Takara lead her three students into the scroll room. As the name would suggest, the shelves were lined with scrolls.
"These most all of Konoha's summoning scrolls. Choose one that suits you," Takara said.
Okimi smirked. "I already signed one." That attitude. Sure, she was the top of her class, but she needed to learn not to rub it in peoples' faces.
Kurotenshi and Miu began perusing the scrolls. Each was labeled with creature that could be summoned.
Miu pulled a scroll off of the shelf. "Um, how about this one."
That one… Takara resisted the urge to facepalm. "That scroll summons termites. You use wood release. Pick literally any other scroll."
Miu looked at the ground, "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. But this is something you need to really think carefully about. Think about what complements your abilities."
Kurotenshi and Miu were taking their time now. Kurotenshi had his hand on his chin. Good, that one especially needed to think before he acted.
"While they are learning summoning, I'll be helping you with what we talked about earlier," Takara said to Okimi.
Okimi only gave her a curt nod.
"Hey, Takara-sensei, are horses good?" Kurotenshi asked.
"Why did you choose horses?"
"Because I can ride them and go faster than whoever I'm fighting."
"They won't outrun a taijutsu master, but for the most part, that is true. I think the horse scroll will work well for you."
"It says this scroll summons monkeys," Miu said. "Monkeys can uh, climb trees, so we can make a good team."
"Excellent choice," Takara said.
***
Kurotenshi and Miu continued practicing summoning on the other side of the training grounds. Okimi was with Takara.
"In the past, other Chiyuura have used the souls of others for their techniques," Takara said. "It's a terrible thing to do to someone, to violate their very soul. I wouldn't even bring this up, except I know you're smart. You've already thought of using your kekkei genkai this way."
Okimi crinkled her mouth for a moment. Takara didn't miss this tell.
"I heard you were living all alone in the wilderness for a long time. There are things that you never learned, basic human things. I hope that you'll at least give people a chance, and try to make some friends."
"I'm already the strongest genin. I don't see how making friends with the others would help me."
This poor girl. She really didn't understand anything.
"What's that sad look, sensei?" Okimi said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't care about attention, like that idiot Maguro. So, It's not like I'm suffering or anything. Being all alone made me strong."
"You are suffering. You just can't feel it yet. You believe there is no one left in the world who care about you, but that isn't true." Takara kneeled down and held out her arms.
Okimi froze for a moment. She looked at Takara with clear longing in her eyes, then gave a "hmph," and turned her head away.
Takara didn't move.
Okimi crinkled her eyes. "Well, I guess if I have to so we can move on. Go on."
Takara pulled Okimi in and hugged her tightly.
She gave her a long hug and Okimi didn't even complain or try to push her away.
Takara released her and stood back up. She saw Okimi's expression had softened a bit. "So, how do I learn this without messing with someone's soul?"
"You use your own soul," Takara said. "Start small. Unlike anyone else, your soul can take some abuse."
"Alright," Okimi said. "I have an idea for a technique."
"Oh?"
"What if I projected part of my soul into some object and took control of it?"
***
After several months of training, the genin made substantial progress under her tutelage.
"Alright, time to show me your summoning skills. Summon the most powerful creature you can." Takara said.
Okimi went first. She summoned a snake four times the length of her body. Honestly, she had expected more from Okimi.
Miu went next. She squinted then closed her eyes as she bit her thumb, drawing blood. She then summoned a monkey. He was wearing clothes including a leaf headband.
The monkey twisted his pinky inside his ear. "Hmmm, so you're the one who summoned me, girl?"
Miu nodded rapidly.
"Yeah, I don't take orders from kids," the monkey said.
Miu frowned and her lip quivered.
"Hey, hey, wait! Don't cry. God damnit, alright, what do you want from me?"
"Keep practicing and maybe you can summon a bigger monkey," Okimi said, smugly.
"Actually, that's Gohan, one of the most powerful monkeys. Your summoning could use some work, though," Takara said. She let out a single snort of laughter.
"Let me try!" Kurotenshi then summoned a horse wreathed in flame. It neighed loudly before trampling over Kurotenshi and running off into the forest.
"Impressive, Kurotenshi," Takara said. "That horse is called War. You will need to ride it and stay on if you hope to gain its respect."
***
Takara and her three students stood in a mostly empty classroom.
"Your chakra control is excellent, Okimi. However, it's precisely because you've always used your chakra so efficiently that you have so little of it and can't summon larger snakes. Therefore, I've devised a training to develop your chakra like a muscle," Takara said.
Takara motioned towards the table where a basket of apples was set, apples with an unnaturally beautiful luster. "This is the Fruit of Sin. Just one bite will restore your chakra. I want you to exhaust almost all of your chakra, over and over again, using these apples to recover.
"I hope I get a cooler training," Kurotenshi said.
Takara pointed to the woman sitting behind the teacher's desk. She was setting up shogi pieces. "This is Shikanari. She will be your tutor for shogi."
"Huh? It could be fun, but you said we needed to take this seriously?" Kurotenshi said.
"Get over here, boy." Shikanari said. "You need to learn how to think strategically."
Takara looked at Miu. Takara waited for several awkward moments. She resisted the urge to tap her foot with impatience or simply tell Miu about what she would be doing.
Finally Miu spoke up, "Um, what do I do?"
"You're going to be my secretary. I'll show you how to do the paperwork, and send you on errands."
"Will that help me become confident."
"No, my work has been piling up since I've taken time to train the three of you, but it still has to be done."
"Oh." Miku stared at the floor.
Takara then said, "You are confident, Miu, just not with talking. You were confident when you faced me and you were confident when you fought the corruption beasts while several chunins were cowering in fear. You'll have to face your social anxiety on your own. I'm training the three of you to fight because we need to defeat the corruption. I just don't have the time to help you with this, but I believe in you. If you can face the corruption without faltering, I know you are up to the task."
***
[Maguro]
Trigger warning: This shit is fucked up.
Maguro leapt over the spike pit and fell to his hands and knees, panting.
He'd made it to the finish line.
At first, Kihaku's training had been okay, but he'd spent the last several months doing the most brutal training of his life. Kihaku's obstacle courses were full of so many deadly traps, he couldn't believe he was still alive.
He'd been chased by rabid wolves. He'd been forced to run nonstop for three days. He'd been told to dig himself out, then buried under a pile of rocks.
"Next, you're going to move a mountain," Kihaku said. "But you can't use Ninjutsu. You'll carry the biggest piece you can one by one. You'd better finish in one week or I'll add an additional mountain."
"Why does my training suck so much!?"
"Because you suck so much." Kihaku said. "You wouldn't listen to anyone's advice about Ninjutsu, so I gave you something even you won't be able to fuck up. Train your body, then I'll teach you eight powerful taijutsu."
Kihaku left him there with some tools.
He grabbed a shovel and started digging away at the mountain, tossing dirt towards the way he came up. There was no way this was possible!
He threw the pickaxe and turned around. So he didn't notice it actually cleave through the tree it collided with.
This guy was just making fun of him, setting him up with hard ass training and not teaching him a dawn thing. Fuck him. He'd go back to cresting his ninjutsu.
He held out his hand and swirled his chakra around in it. "Rasengan!" He pushed the swirl of wind into a rock where it immediately petered out.
Right. That had never worked. It was never going to.
He began heading down the mountain. Maybe he'd just give up on being a ninja. He could try and become the world's best… the world's best what? He really wasn't good at anything.
He felt a sudden tug. It was his arm. It was pointing away from the village. He felt something out there, something calling to him.
Lately, he'd been feeling inexplicably pulled in that direction.
There was a dream he kept having.
***
Maguro stood alone in a vast, empty void. Suddenly, he felt a warmness that began in his fish arm, then spread through his body. And he felt powerful. And he felt secure. And he felt okay.
Before Maguro's eyes, a vibrant and otherworldly landscape materialized. Trees with leaves the color of iridescent jewels towered overhead, casting a kaleidoscope of colors on the forest floor. A stream flowed nearby, its crystal-clear waters teeming with life. Fish-birds with feathers that glimmered like precious metals flitted through the trees.
Maguro was seated upon a throne made of the finest materials, crafted by the most skilled artisans in the land, crystals formed to majestic shapeless shapes. His eyes wandered over the horizon, taking in the breathtaking beauty of the ethereal nature that surrounded him.
The cultists knelt before Maguro with heads bowed, their faces painted with strange symbols in a mix of fear and reverence. They were dressed in silken white and gold robes, adorned with symbols of the corruption. Some held candles that flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls of the palace, while others had scales painted over their arms, symbols of their loyalty to Maguro.
Their voices rose in unison, chanting words in a language unknown to anyone except the most devoted followers of the corruption. The sound was like a chorus of whispers, haunting and unsettling. Their bodies swayed and trembled as if they were in a trance, their eyes glazed over as they gazed upon their leader with awe and worship.
Maguro sat upon his throne, his eyes closed as he absorbed the energy of their devotion. His fish arm gleamed in the candlelight, a beautiful and deadly weapon. His face was serene, as if he were in deep meditation, but his mind was far from peaceful.
***
He'd thought it was all in his head, but now his arm was pointing on its own. He understood now. The corruption was calling to him.
He remembered the horrid creatures that had attacked the village, so different from the beautiful vision he'd seen in his dream.
It was a lie. Of course it was. The corruption had only ever brought death and despair.
"Power."
He stumbled a bit as he heard the voice, clearly in his mind. "What kind of power?" He asked. But there was no response.
He couldn't deny that the corruption had power. Maybe. Just maybe.
He was suddenly standing back on that fantastical landscape. Before him was a pool of black liquid, glowing with a red aura. And he could feel the pool calling to him. He knew if he stepped in, it would be a sort of death. The weak useless Maguro would die, and the god-king Maguro would be born.
He found himself back on the mountain.
There was nothing left for him here. He was tired of all their laughter, or worse, their pity. He couldn't stand being the pathetic loser he was anymore. So he had nothing else to lose.
***
Maguro felt a chill run down his spine as he took his first steps into the Corruption. The twisted landscape was even more surreal up close, with jagged spires of spikes jutting out of the ground at odd angles and strange, writhing tendrils snaking their way through the air. The air was thick with an otherworldly energy that made him feel like he was walking through molasses.
But he had a purpose. A vision that had been planted in his mind by the Corruption itself. He was meant to find the source of its power and take it for his own. And so, with grim determination, he pushed forward.
As he walked, Maguro noticed that the beasts of the Corruption seemed to be paying him no mind. They would eye him curiously as he passed, but they made no move to attack. It was as if they recognized him as something other than prey.
Eventually, he came upon a great chasm. It was deep and wide, and the blackness within it seemed to stretch on for eternity. Maguro hesitated for only a moment. "Die," he said, before he plunged in.
As he fell, he could feel the Corruption all around him, wrapping him in its embrace. It was a sensation unlike anything he had ever experienced before, both terrible and exhilarating. He could feel his body changing, mutating to better adapt to this new environment. He felt the sudden urge to vomit.
He screamed as all of the skin was ripped off of his body. He saw flashes of teeth, and claws, and every manner of savage destruction.