It has been five months since I started training with Kurogane sensei and one month since I began my genjutsu training.

Spoiler alert, I still have no defense against the sharingan. I tossed and toiled. Searched high and low. Short of covering my eyes, there's no defense against the sharingan. For a moment, I was tempted to start wearing a blindfold all the time but while it would look cool, it was impractical. How would I see if I did that?

In other news, I finally got to meet my cousins. Temari was a cute two year old while Kankuro was an excitable one year old. I could not stop my wide grin as I kept patting them on the head while whispering, 'Cousin Taka is the best isn't he?'.

Let's be honest with each other. Kankuro and Temari were pretty lame right. They had potential but Temari was stuck as a one trick pony. Take away the fans and she's useless while Kankuro wasn't shown to be that dangerous. He had a dangerous collection of puppets created by Sasori himself but he was pretty shit at the chunin exams.

I guess it's up to me as the super big brother to make sure that doesn't happen. Muhahaha!

One day, Kurogane sensei deemed me ready for ninjutsu. "Congratulations Taka. Your hard work has paid off." He said. "You've done great with your taijutsu, increasing your stamina which also increases your physical energies. You've also done well in your genjutsu which also increased your mental energies. This has increased your chakra pool significantly and this means you're ready for ninjutsu training."

"Finally!" I pumped my fists.

"What is ninjutsu?"

"Ninjutsu is the art of manipulating your chakra in order to manifest physical or spiritual effects over yourself, the world or your enemies."

"Hmmn. You've been listening in class. Ninjutsu is the most common ninja specialization. This is due to its versatility. It can be used for attack, for escape, for defense or for restraining. There are many types of ninjutsu for every need. However, even ninjutsu has its own weaknesses."

"Really? So you're telling me I can't destroy my enemies with a giant fireball?" I whispered in fake shock.

Sensei chuckled. "While ninjutsu can help you defeat a physically stronger opponent, it has two areas that can become stumbling blocks for all ninjas. First, ninjutsu is chakra intensive. It can be even more intensive for those without proper chakra control. It can be hard to generate the exact chakra needed for a jutsu. Ninjas who are geniuses at chakra control are especially feared. Ninjas like Lady Tsunade of Konoha and Hoshigaki Kisame of the seven swordsmen of Kiri."

"The second stumbling block is the hand seals required for ninjutsu. The hand seals can be both numerous and complex. Some ninjutsu have more than a hundred hand seals. While this limitation can be overcome with practice, it can limit the amount of ninjutsu a ninja can learn. Ninjas who develop ninjutsu without chakra seals are especially fearsome. Examples are Namikaze Minato of Konoha and A, the fourth raikage of Kumo."

"Always remember Taka. Before using a certain ninjutsu technique in battle, overcome the two stumbling blocks. Using a jutsu you haven't mastered can get you killed. Understand?"

"Yessir."

"You're aiming to graduate early aren't you?" I nodded. "I'll be teaching you three ninjutsu techniques. You already know the substitution technique, don't you?"

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"Substitution technique?"

"It is sometimes referred to as the body replacement technique."

"Oh that. Yeah. I learned it already."

Sensei nodded. "I'll be teaching you the remaining two basic ninjutsu. The transformation technique and the clone technique. If you can graduate at the end of the school year, I'll teach you the last jutsu."

"Really? What's the last technique?"

"That's a secret. Graduate first and you'll know," sensei smiled.

After I was able to master the three basic jutsu and incorporate them into my fighting style, I was finally able to land a hit on sensei. Yes, he still isn't moving from a single spot but I did it. We celebrated with chicken skewers.

Before I knew it, it was my sixth birthday. I was half happy and half sad. On one hand, I was a year closer to adulthood(while being a kid has its perks, I needed enough muscle mass to actually land powerful hits). On the other hand, I had no chance of beating Kakashi's record anymore.

I enquired and as it turns out, I can't test out early. You need to attend the academy for at least one year before becoming a shinobi of Sunagakure. At least, I'll beat Itachi's record.

Mom organized a party for me. Genki attended with his family. His younger sister Asuka was awake this time. Temari and Kankuro were brought by Aunt Karura, their mom. She was petite with sandy brown hair and indigo eyes. "How are you Taka?" She squeezed my cheeks as I smiled handsomely. (Yes. I can look handsome even when my cheeks are being squeezed.) "Here's your present."

I took the wrapped box with a cool smile. "Thank you Aunt Karura." Inside, I was dying with excitement. I couldn't wait to see what ninjas gave as gifts.

I left the gathering as there was a knock on the door. Mom was busy in the kitchen so I had to answer the door. I opened the door to see Kurogane sensei and Kani, the handsome redhead from the Arsenal weapons store.

"Happy birthday Taka." Sensei rumbled as he handed me my present. He ruffled my hair as he entered. I turned to face the totally unexpected arrival.

"Happy birthday kid." Kani grinned at me.

"What are you doing here?" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"Wishing you a happy birthday." He stretched a present at me. "Do I come in or….?"

I let the silence stretch a bit before I moved out of the way. Kani chuckled as he passed. I wish I could smash his annoyingly handsome face in with my ninja sandals.

I slammed the door and before I could take five steps away, someone knocked again. I stalked back to the door and yanked it open. Standing there was a man with dark red hair and dark eyes. His expression was stern as he looked down at me.

"And you are?" I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Hmmn. I think I deserve that," the stranger chuckled. The expression looked weird on his face as if he wasn't used to smiling. "I guess it's my fault that you can't recognize your uncle Rasa."

Mu uncle Rasa? The fourth Kazekage? My jaw dropped as I stared.

"Happy birthday."

That jolted me out of my shock. I was tempted to slam the door in his face but that won't achieve anything.

"Here." He stretched a scroll at me. "Your present. It was your father's."

I took the scroll with reverence. I wondered what it could be. A letter? Nah. A jutsu scroll? Most likely.

"Keep up the good work Taka. I'm keeping an eye on you." He nodded at me and disappeared, faster than I could track.

"Who was that?" Mom asked as she popped up behind me.

"Apparently, I have an uncle named Rasa."

"You're still angry at him, aren't you?" Mum chuckled.

"Who wouldn't be?" I looked down at the scroll in my hand. "At least, he brought something."