"It really wasn't that funny," Kusuri said, exasperated.
Still in the throes of a fit of laughter, his friends tried, but eventually failed, to eke out a response.
"It was pretty funny," Takeshi said, handing out bento boxes.
Trying to ignore the fun being poked in his direction, he accepted his lunch, thanking Takeshi.
The boxes themselves were rather simple, their contents even more so. They weren't bad though, especially since the three students had grown rather hungry.
Being healed by or utilizing medical ninjutsu tended to take a good bit out of you after all.
They still did their best to eat politely though.
Their meal was filled with bits of small between the members of Team 9. Most of it had been sparked by Takeshi posing icebreakers, but they were quickly taken off the rails by side tangents caused by either Taga or Kusuri. Taga's were almost always alarmingly off-topic, whilst Kusuri's seemed alarming despite being completely on-topic.
It turned out that most people, Takeshi included, become a bit shocked when a twelve-year-old starts answering questions like 'What's your favorite thing to read' with 'treatise on the creation of matter through chakra releases' without thinking to shut his mouth.
Thankfully, Nori had already somewhat prepared Takeshi for the absolute nonsense he was in store for.
After half an hour or so, they finished eating and moved on to the next phase of their first team meeting.
"Now then, I assume you might be wondering why I held back so little during our little sparring matches, correct?" Takeshi asked.
"That's one way to put it," Taga muttered under his breath.
"Simply put, my reasons were twofold. First, I wanted to see each of you fight for real. It is my belief, just as it was my sensei's, that a person's truest nature, and most of all flaws, come through the clearest when in live combat. You may not realize it, but I've already learned quite a few things about each of you."
Takeshi turned his gaze over to Taga and leveled his finger at him.
"First off, you, Taga, are impulsive, and act before you think, but even with that, you also showed a distinct lack of trepidation, which can be the difference between life and death".
Taga wasn't sure if that came out to a net complement, so he decided to stay quiet and let Takeshi continue.
"Secondly," Takeshi said, now turning to Nori, "Almost as a clear contrast to Taga, I could easily tell that not a single one of your attacks was aimed at a vital area, which shows a remarkable amount of trepidation, contrasted with impressive forethought and self-control".
Nori was similarly unsure how to take that prognosis, but, unlike Taga, said confusion was not hilariously obviously plastered on her face.
"And finally, Mr. Wet Cat," Takeshi continued with a smirk, "The main thing I can remark about for you is the same reason you surrendered: if you're going to go to the effort to come up with a plan, you need to come up with a backup too. Your plan probably would've worked on a Chunin, but you underestimated me."
"This is what I get for not trying to disturb the water first I guess," Kusuri thought, a touch disappointed, "Not that would've even helped in the first place. Hyuuga chakra control is bullshit."
The three students were more than a tad suprised at their Sensei's sheer bluntness. He was right, of course, each of them knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Well, two of them knew that. Kusuri, on the hand, begged to differ despite being absolutely being in the same boat.
"There is a point to this," Takeshi announced, voice several degrees colder than before, "You guys are undoubtedly a cut above most graduates, hell, just from what you've already shown off you all might even surpass some of the weaker chunin. That does not, however, mean you're strong".
Takeshi paused, letting his students take in his words.
"My lack of holding back, above even my earlier reason, was to show each of you what you could be up against if you continue the path of the ninja. There are countless people in this world who would've, just now, killed all of you if that had been real combat. There are some who you can not plan for, and you cannot hope to defeat."
"There's some like the Hozuki Clan of Kiri, who you all could never hope to harm. There are some like Might Guy, who could snap your neck before you even knew they moved. There are even some like the Hinketsu of Suna, who could end your life with a single. Gentle. Touch."
Once again, he paused.
"My job as your sensei is not just to make you into proper ninja, it is also to make sure you live long enough to become proper ninja. Humility is the first, and greatest, lesson I'm going to teach you. Knowing what battles you can and cannot win will save your life a thousand times over before a kunai even has a chance. Do you all understand me?"
"Yes Sensei," they chorused solemnly.
Takeshi let out a long sigh, the tension seeming to leave him. He seemed far more relaxed once his rather grim lesson had ended.
"Now that that's out of the way, who wants dessert?"
----------
Said dessert consisted of a variety of colorful mochi, all lightly decorated in a manner.
A manner Kusuri recognized, because he was about 90% sure he was the one who made them.
"Did you... did you get these from—"
"Yes. Yes, I did," Takeshi said with a touch of exasperation, "I was thinking it'd be such a treat, but you've all definitely had these before haven't you?"
As if answering his question, Taga asked "Hey Ku, don't these kinda taste like the ones from your grandparent's shop?"
In response, Kusuri nodded and Takeshi sighed.
They all spent a few more minutes eating, then sat around for a few more to let the food settle a bit.
It was during that period that Kusuri decided to shoot his shot and ask his Sensei a question.
"I remember you mentioned the Hinketsu clan during your lesson. Out of curiosity, what do you know about them?" he asked, calmly.
Realizing he should give some kind of explanation, Kusuri hurriedly continued, saying, "They keep coming up in some of the books I've read, but I can't find out much about them."
That wasn't even a lie. To his own surprise, he continued to find the Hinketsu mentioned in various books on history and medicine, but the books only ever mentioned what the clan or its members had helped with or done, never anything about the clan itself.
"There's a very good reason for that," Takeshi answered with a morbid chuckle, "Simply put, that's the way the Hinketsu Clan wants it to be. They have great power and significant influence, and its because of both of those things that most of the people who learn much about them end up dead."
That explained quite a lot in Kusuri's mind, dead men tell no tales and all that. Especially when most of the things they're mentioned in are historical accounts of assassinations.
"No one knows much about them, not even their village, but what we do know is that they are some of the best assassins and medical ninjas on the planet. Unfortunately, their medical work tends to be even more hush hush than their killings. Actually, have you read about a certain man named Orochimaru?"
"I have…"
"Do you know why he became a missing nin?"
"To a certain degree…"
"Long story short, he studied under some of them for a bit and, well, let's just say he learned from the best."