บท 33: Sparring with Sensei
The next day, the whole class gathered at the academy for the last time.
Shira and Koji expressed their amazement when they saw my awesome sand-coat. Smirking, I reveled in the praise, although this idea was technically stolen.
My sand covered my whole body, Masking my actions and most importantly, protecting my vitals. With this coat, I kill two birds with one stone, and it costs me almost nothing to maintain it.
Unsurprisingly, two new faces showed up in the classroom. They were none other than Jun[1], and… Someone I don't know.
This girl had silky black hair that reached her hips, and her eyes were oddly purple. She definitely was a foreigner. Well, no need to dwell on it right now.
Interrupting my thoughts, Raccoon Sensei made his way into the class, grabbing everyone's attention. He sat on the podium and looked at all of us before sighing.
"Let's get right to it. As you know, I don't like wasting time. These are the teams, listen carefully because I won't repeat myself."
"Team 1: Shijiro, Jun, and Sumire."
Shijiro looked happy as he looked towards Sumire, who looked depressed. Jun just spaced out like usual.
"Team 2: Koji, Saori, and Midori"
Oh, so I won't be placed with Koji huh? The poor guy looks depressed. The twins seem happy to be together though… Well, that only leaves me with…
"Team 3: Gaara, Shira, and Kiyo."
Once he was done, the teacher rose up and spoke for the last time before leaving.
"Alright, that does it. All of you, sit with your teammates and try to get to know each other. Your Sensei will arrive shortly. Good luck."
Hmm… So her name is Kiyo, has a nice ring to it. Oh well… I'm still mad that I'm stuck with Shira again. Koji would've been much better, he's quieter. Whatever.
Scoffing, I sat down, and Shira excitedly followed. Kiyo looked at us with curiosity and sat by me.
"Hi! Nice to meet you Kiyo, I'm Shira, and this is Gaara. He's the Kazekage's son, but he hates it when you bring it up so- Mphh!"
Before he could finish his sentence, his mouth was already full of sand. Although he tried to resist, it was useless. As he suffered, I reluctantly introduced myself.
"Ahem. I'm Gaara, Gaara of the sand. Nice to meet you, I hope that we can get along in the future. We're going to be in the same team after all."
Kiyo looked at Shira and let out a small laugh. She nodded and opened her mouth before introducing herself.
"My name is Kiyo, nice to meet you, Gaara, Shira. I too hope that we can get along."
Well, isn't she nice? Oh, I almost forgot.
I stopped Shira's suffering and allowed him to breathe once again, he looked at me angrily but then smiled towards Kiyo. His face looked a little red. Oh, I see what's going on here. Well well… if Shira falls in love, that's just going to be more entertaining.
Although I can see myself carrying this team in any situation, I have to admit that I and Shira make a mean combo. Since we already know each other so well, I'd like to know Kiyo too, so that I can see where she fits in our formation.
"Now that we've introduced ourselves, how about we exchange information about each other? I think it would make a big difference in the long run."
"Shira and I have been friends for a while now… He only practices Taijutsu, so that would make him our front-line. I'm comfortable in the middle, where I can assist from far and also get close. What do you specialize in?"
For about twenty minutes, we got to know each other pretty well. It turns out that Kiyo is proficient in water-style, and she's really good with poisons and first-aid. Although she's not the perfect support, it's better than nothing. If she can learn how to heal in the future, that would be perfect.
Also, I'll have to think of ways to utilize her water techniques to their full potential… They could come in handy.
Interrupting our conversation, the door abruptly opened, and a Jonin walked in. It was none other than Baki, Gaara's sensei in the manga.
Now that I think about it, wasn't I supposed to be with Kankuro and Temari? Have I changed History? Well, technically me being int he academy is already changing everything. If I had to guess, I'd have been paired with my sibling further down the line during the Konoha invasion.
Well, there's no use to pondering over this question.
"Team three, follow me!"
Baki spoke loudly, and we followed him outside. We then walked for a while and ended up at a spot with great views of the village. He signaled for us to sit down on a bench, and spoke.
"My name is Baki, and I will be your Sensei from now on."
"No need for introductions, I know you three already. I would like to start with a little spar so that I can evaluate your levels."
Baki walked over to an open area and continued speaking.
"We shall start with one-on-ones. Shira, you're first."
"Hai!"
Shira got up and ran over to the open area where Baki was standing. He bowed once and took up his usual stance.
'Good stance! I see no openings. This kid is good.'
When I saw Baki-Sensei's surprised look, a smirk appeared on my face. Shira is not to be underestimated.
Not waiting for any signal, Shira burst towards his opponent with blinding speed. Baki quickly took a stance and parried Shira's punch. The two then continued exchanging blows for ten minutes, with none getting the advantage. At one point, Shira punched out but blurred and hit Baki somewhere else.
This was the first hit that was landed, and Baki stumbled backward with a shocked expression.
'Monster! How is this a Genin? I have never seen such Taijutsu from a thirteen-year-old… Although he has a long way to go if he wants to beat me, I am satisfied with him landing a hit.'
"Alright, that does it. Shira, go rest. Gaara, you're next."
"Coming."
Getting up, I positioned myself across from Baki. After a deep breath, my face changed to a serious expression and streams of sand started appearing from my cloak, and sped towards Baki.
The Jonin parried the sand and held up pretty well. As he was busy warding off the sand, I raised my hand and a bunch of sand held on to his ankle, pinning him down.
"You're mine!"
Not wasting the opportunity, I formed a bunch of sand spikes and had them pierce his forehead. He quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared not too far away.
Feeling unhappy, I molded quite a lot of chakra and performed the Boar and Ox hand seals. After which I placed my hand on the ground as if though I was performing a summoning, and the earth beneath Baki started to rumble.
"Earth Release: Tearing Earth Palm!"
'What?'
Baki didn't have time to think before the ground beneath his feet started shifting and breaking up, he reacted quickly and launched himself up in the sky. Shira was going nuts on the sidelines.
"AWESOME GAARA! GET HIM!"
Now I've got him.
I quickly raised my hands, and countless sand-spikes started forming in the air, aimed at Baki.
Performing more hand-seals, (this time Tiger, Ox, Dog, Rabbit, and Snake) I breathed in and filled my lungs with air, before mixing it with the wind chakra I molded and released it towards Baki in its entirety.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Opening my mouth, a huge gust of wind propelled the sand spikes towards Baki with blinding speed. They looked more like bullets than spikes.
'Gaara has become this strong? Since when could he proficiently use both wind and earth style? Kazekage-Dono, your son is just what you said he was, a freak of nature. Is this related to Shukaku?'
Not having time to think much, Baki performed some hand-seals and a bunch of discs appeared in front of him, forming a shield. These disks were made of high-pressure wind and could tear through the hardest of materials.
The big needles didn't go through the shield, but some of the smaller ones pierced his body. With minor injuries, Baki landed on the ground and was about to stop the match.
"That wa-"
Suddenly, he stopped moving. More like he couldn't.
"W-what's going on?"
Smirking, I formed a sand-blade and placed it in front of his neck before explaining the situation.
"The smaller needles that penetrated your body. I'm using them to restrict your movements. Didn't expect it huh?"
'Incredible! With this kind of adaptability and cunningness, he's on par with a Chunin! Simply amazing!'
Baki then smiled, and laughed a little.
"Well, although that was really good, it's too bad that this was only a shadow-clone."
With a puff of smoke, Baki disappeared and his real body emerged from somewhere. Apparently, he was using some kind of camouflage technique.
Sigh, and here I thought that I had taken down a Jonin… Well, I wouldn't expect any less from my father's right-hand man. I got close enough without using my trump card.
"Dude, Gaara, that was so close! Jonin really are something else huh…"
Closing my eyes and crossing my arms, I sat down and reflected on the battle. Jonin can't be underestimated.
"He was probably only using about thirty percent of his full power there. Just because you landed a hit on him doesn't mean he couldn't just use ninjutsu on you."
"Really?!"
Shira looked surprised, and saw Baki in a new light.
"Next up, Kiyo!"
"Hai!"
Feeling nervous, Kiyo went up and bowed once like Shira, who was encouraging her from the sidelines. I was just observing, this was a perfect chance to see her ability after all.
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[1] Jun is that kid that was pretty dumb and was similar to Naruto in a way.
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