A week quickly passed, things gradually calmed down, and, in the darkness, the Uchiha were hunting, searching for Obito. Their searches had turned up nothing, no notable mention of such a person, but they had a hint of 'Akatsuki'.
At 8 years old, Kudo had started with his second nature; he chose lightning nature to complement his water nature. Water nature was highly versatile in attack, defense, and support, but its attacks were not deadly. Water enhanced with lightning could kill an enemy or render them immobile. Along with catching up on his lessons, he had browsed the academy library for more Jutsus. For lighting nature, he found; Chasing serpent(D), lightning clone(D), Electric shock(D), Lighting net (D)…From the list of jutsus, he chose Chasing Serpent and Electric Shock. Chasing serpent was excellent for battling in areas with abundant water, and electric shock could be used without water sources nearby.
Tuesday, Iruka stood before the class, "Today, we are going over shinobi specializations." His words were foreign to some, and to others, their eyes brightened. The 3 basics expertise of a shinobi are taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Most shinobi are excellent in only 2 and subpar in the other; most are subpar in genjutsu. To become an exceptional shinobi, you must have good mastery over these 3 areas." Most of the students nodded. Through a series of exams, they had identified their weaknesses, and for some, they had even thought of only focusing on two. "In your 3rd year, we started with the basic 3 jutsus.
This year, tree walking to refine your chakra control and more taijutsu training." Some students winced at those words."In your 5th, you will start genjutsu training. Even if you are not exceptional at genjutsu, you must at least be able to break out of one, or else you will die without knowing how."Gulps rang out in the room, "Shinobi have 4 main specializations, while they don't increase shinobi strength, they can increase survivability. The 4 being: sensors, medical ninja, fuinjutsu, and kenjutsu. The 4 can turn a shinobi into a world-class shinobi. For example, Hatake Sakumo, the white fang of the leaf, was skilled at kenjutsu, pairing it with ninjutsu, he was renowned across the shinobi world as stronger than the Sannin." Kudo's ears perked up at the mention of Hatake Sakumo.
He was interested in Kenjutsu (swordsmanship), 'The Hatake clan, huh?' His former teacher was a shinobi from the Hatake clan. As a civilian shinobi without deep clan resources and a kekkei genkai, his future depended on 100% on his efforts.His father had left behind a sizable inheritance, but being a shinobi, he could blow through it in a few years if he was not careful, plus there was still his mother to care for."Kenjutsu, the art of swords like kunai, is used in close combat exchanges. Medical ninjutsu, you can heal your friends and fellow shinobi, but that doesn't mean you are weaker. Lady Tsunade, the best medical ninja, is a Sannin.Fuinjutsu, you can use seals to transport, set up a defensive barrier, and trap your opponents…"'Seals…That could be useful for defending the house.' Another useful bit of info, Kudo still remembered when his parents were almost killed in their own house.
Knowing he would be going on long missions, his mother would be left alone with no one to protect her. He did not trust the village one bit."Being a sensor, you can sense enemies and avoid ambushes. Sensors and medical ninjas are highly needed in squads." Iruka paused, 'ANOTHER ONE!' Kudo felt like his head was about to explode. Kenjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Sensor, he saw the benefits of all three, but his time was only so much.Between his ninjutsu practice, taijutsu, and shuriken practice, he was already training for about 5 hours after school. School knocked off at 2pm, 3pm to 6pm was shuriken and ninjutsu practice.
Taijutsu was from 8pm to 10 pm. 'I don't need to do all of them at the same time.' He thought, trying to plan it out, 'As a genin having a strong foundation in taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, shuriken throwing, and kunai fighting is a must. Plus, my missions will be short, and I can start kenjutsu practice when I become a chunin. I will start with fuinjutsu after I become a genin. I will start with sensor training next year between my 5th and 6th year. 'One reason he did not plan for this year was that they were going to start learning taijutsu forms, being the academy's taijutsu style in full. In their 2nd and 3rd years, they were introduced to the basic forms. As the days went by, Kudo became increasingly intense in his training, something his mother noticed as she had to apply bandages more often, but her words fell on deaf ears.
His training teacher was now Ito Uchiha, who was still a jonin, while Sasaki and Ichirou had become elite jonins at 32 and 29, respectively. The Tanehiko household didn't have such a pull, but the Uchiha clan and Blue Dragon group had pulled moves, especially given that Kudo was a talent currently rivalling Sasuke.Ito felt left behind, but his request for vacation had left him looking after Kudo's training, which was minor, so he accepted. Before Kudo returned from the academy and during weekends, he could train as intensely as he wanted.Ito's guidance was what allowed Kudo's shuriken throwing to advance by leaps and bounds. Now, he could target over 100m, and the movement of his shuriken was now more sophisticated, but nowhere near Ito's shuriken jutsu, which claimed it was beneath Itachi.
Kudo came to realize the Uchiha were monsters in human skin, but that only highlighted how impressive Tobirama and Hashirama were at fighting and overcoming the Uchiha. Kudo's target was Tobirama; every quality about him screamed shinobi. His intellect, mastery of jutsu, policy, and leadership were something Kudo sought to surpass, but unlike him, he resigned to the darkness if that was what it took to have his revenge.
In the Tanehiko household,'I'd better tell lord Fugaku about this.' Ito stood in awe at the hatred Kudo exhibited, and he couldn't help but wonder what if he were an Uchiha, as someone used to hatred, he could see clearly despite Kudo's attempts at hiding it. The deep loathing swirling in his eyes.