章 5: Outline of the Future

Hinote stood in the center of what could only be called a Dojo, and barely managed to not let out a burst of giggles at the ridiculous 'Dojo Outfit' the Elder was wearing. "Laugh it up kid, it used to be white." A giggle finally escaped her lips as her eyes roved the slightly pink outfit before she managed to regain control of herself.

"Sorry Elder, it's just..."

"I know, I know. You haven't seen me for nearly a month and the next time we meet I'm dressed in an off-white Gi." 'Has it really been that long? I guess I was stuck on reading and writing for two weeks, and then the week and a half wait in between that and now. Wow! Time does fly.' "I'll have you know, you'll probably have this happen a few times too. Forget that you have blood on your gear, or just forget to separate your newer-colored clothes. It's a part of life."

She nodded, finally composed from his longish rant. "I'll keep that in mind, Elder!" A sigh escaped him before he nodded.

"I get that I'm not going to be able to stop you from being so formal lass, at least this isn't the old days where you'd be calling me Elder-sama." A sigh escaped from his lips before he shook his head. "But enough of that, we've got a long day ahead of us, lots of exercising, and lots of explanations, of which we'll be starting with the explanation part first."

As he geared up for his lecture he slowly paced in front of her, his wrinkled and scarred feet making not a sound. "This part of your training will continue throughout your life, but for now will only be taught what we deem the basics. Once you hit a certain point we will move on to unlocking your Chakra and Chakra studies - but you will still need to continue to learn, practice, master, and then step beyond what you learn here. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Elder!"

"Good. Now, most of the time you see me it will be so that I can evaluate your progress, or so that I can explain what new training you're going to do - most of your actual training will be with Chunin of the Sarutobi clan. But, whenever you're going to learn something completely new, I will be there so I can make sure you are taught and lectured properly, and all of your questions are answered. Any questions so far?"

"No Elder."

"Then I'll move on. We'll start with the things we won't be focusing on in this session. First off - in this block of time, we'll endeavor to teach you the basics of survival. Now, this isn't a major focus of ours, but you can expect some days this to be your primary training. From foraging, hunting, and the like. Luckily - most Sarutobi don't need too much help, as we're a clan that naturally thrives in the Forest, and it's why we have so many parks and groves in our compound. We don't need to teach you to do many of the basics, because it's something you've grown up every day with. But - your Chunin instructors will make sure to at least lay out the basics and give you some experience in foraging and hunting.

Now, most Shinobi focus on the physical aspects of training, but many forget; particularly arrogant Genin and Chunin who get too comfortable, the mental aspect. As such, at the end of this session, you'll be taught a few forms of meditation you're to use in your off time, as well as a very long, and extensive list of books and their different categories for you to read, on top of writing assignments. It's up to you to choose which order you choose, but the categories are Poems, Laws, Ninja Ethics & Code, and finally Mission Reports. With the poems you'll be writing your own eventually, with the Laws you'll write out questions on why certain laws are the way they are, with the Ninja Ethics & Code you'll be not writing - but instead trying to think up your own Shinobi Code - one that will change, grow, and blossom throughout your entire career. Finally, with Mission Reports, you'll eventually write up your own Mock Reports based on scenarios given to you. Any questions?"

Hinote didn't immediately respond too focused on processing the mass of information, but eventually, she nodded. "Hai! Elder, is every book and scroll meant to be read before enrollment, and every assignment written?"

He chuckled, "No, of course not. We can't expect you to train, meditate, and read hundreds of books & scrolls, on top of numerous different writing lessons in 10 months. But - we do expect you to have finished this before you graduate from the Academy, of which due to the nature of the laws of Konoha we can fully stop you from doing up to the age of 15. Of course, Lord Hokage can overrule us in wartime if necessary, and in wartime, we can only stop you up to the age of 10."

She paled. '15!? That sounds horrible!' A chuckle escaped from the Elder, a gnarled grin having formed on his face. "Of course, if we thought you would take till 15 to do this, we wouldn't even let you join the Academy. As it is, most people who enter the Academy at 4 from our clan leave the Academy at the ages of 8 to 10. We've had a few of our more promising Jonin leave at 7, and if my hopes for you are correct - you'll leave at 6, much like Hokage-sama would have done if he was born in Konoha. Of course, it's also possible that Lord Hokage will remove all war-time regulations regarding the Academy and you'd be stuck there till 10 years old." 'That's not going to happen. But... Kakashi graduated at 5... Itachi at 7, but he entered at 6 whereas Kakashi at 4. I'd definitely be a bit embarrassed if some kids could do it and I can't.' As if reading her thoughts he continued, "Of course - if we started your training earlier, say, 2 years old, or had begun working on the mental aspects while you were a baby, repeating them over and over again, perhaps you could have graduated in a single year, but that goes against the spirit of Konoha."

'Which means that's probably what happened to Kakashi and Itachi. As for Minato...' She actually didn't understand Minato's timeline a single bit, but, 'We see no clan, hear of no clan. He might even be an Orphan - as such, he didn't have that, and so graduated at a more normal time; age 10. He should be... actually how old is he? Did Minato die at 24, 26, or 28? If it's 24, then he's only 12 years old, if it's 28 then he's 16 and probably a Jonin by now.'

Her thoughts were cut off by the aged voice of the Elder who after giving her some time, picked back up in his speech. "Enough of that, let us get back on topic. Your physical training. The start of it will be split up into three aspects. Physical Exercise, Taijutsu, and Weapon Training - more specifically Throwing Kunai and Shuriken. In your Physical Exercise, you will learn unique exercises, be guided through exercises, and be taught meditation exercises for post and pre-training. Of which, at some point, you are expected to be able to guide your own physical exercising by the time you leave the Academy. Of course, sooner is better." 'I don't think they yet understand how much I can feel and understand of my body. Or how that improves marginally when my mind isn't "fogged". I should be able to do any of the exercises by myself after a few times doing it.'

Unknowing of her thoughts, the Elder continued. "For Taijutsu, your training will consist of learning how to properly punch, grapple, dodge, deflect, block, wrestle, and footwork. You won't be learning any kicking, knees, elbows, or the like until after you complete the basics of the full training of this section of training. While you work on unlocking your chakra and chakra manipulation, we'll slowly begin to implement each of those. You won't be doing any sparring until we deem you have a firm understanding of how to do each of the basic techniques we teach you, and even then sparring will start off being split into Attack and Defense. Any questions?"

"Will using chakra in Taijutsu come up later?" The Elder grinned at that before surprisingly he said,

"No. Unless you complete the FULL training bar your reading ahead of schedule. At that point, you will have a wide selection of things we CAN teach you, albeit depending on your time you'll be limited. Any other questions?"

"No Elder!" 'Interesting. Then again, we don't see any 'active' Chakra Reinforcement until Sasuke learns Tree Walking, so maybe that and even Tree-Walking are deemed a Chunin-level skill? Or at least, meant to be taught to people who are trying to be Chunin.'

"Wonderful, in that case - we will move on to the last part of your training. Kunai and Shuriken. This training will be quite simple. You will learn how to draw a Kunai from a holster, how to hold one, how to throw one, and only when you learn that will you be granted your first set of Kunai and Shuriken to use for your own practice within the Clan Compounds - these CAN NOT be taken out of the clan compound until you enroll in the academy, understood?"

"Yes, Elder!"

"Good. Now, we have quite a bit of time. Let's start our physical aspect of this training by learning different exercises, then we'll put them into practice. After that I'll teach you the basics of a few moves, and then we'll end the lesson with meditation - understood?"

"Yes, Elder!" With a bright smile on her face, Hinote began her first 'actual' training session.