The name, when Yugiri-sensei said it, hung in the air for a moment, sucking the oxygen from the room.
"Darui." (Image in comment)
The four Genin and Yugiri were shocked. This wasn't just a Jōnin. Darui was a name known throughout Kumo. He was a certified beast, one of the rare shinobi in the village with a Kekkei Genkai, Storm Release. He was a kenjutsu master whose skill was rumored to be second only to Killer B himself. And above all, he was known as the right-hand of the Fourth Raikage.
Shinobi like Darui didn't get Genin teams. They led ANBU squads, commanded battalions, or acted as Kage bodyguards.
After a beat of stunned silence, Omoi's anxiety was instantly replaced by pure, vibrating excitement. "THE Darui? As in, Storm Release Darui? The 'Black Panther' Darui? Killer B-sama's training partner?!"
"He's the Raikage's right hand," Karui said, her eyes wide, a sharp, fierce grin spreading across her face. "I've seen him train. He's a monster. We hit the jackpot!"
Samui, ever the calm one, simply processed the information. She let out a slow, measured breath. "A Jōnin with a high-level Kekkei Genkai, mastery of kenjutsu, and top-tier ninjutsu. This is a logically optimal placement for our team's diverse skill set. I am... glad." Raiden said nothing. He simply smiled. This was no random assignment. This was a move. This was the Raikage and Elder Fuso personally "nurturing the plant."
Ten minutes later, the classroom was empty save for Team 10. The other teams had already been collected by their new sensei. Omoi was, predictably, starting to spiral. "He's late," Omoi muttered, tapping his foot. "What if he forgot? What if he saw our names on the list and just... decided we were too much of a drag and went home? We're going to be stuck as Genin-in-waiting forever! This is a terrible omen..."
"Shut up, Omoi," Karui snapped. "Only a minute has gone by."
SWISH
The door slid open. The man who entered was tall and lanky, with a relaxed, almost lazy posture that seemed to defy the very high-strung nature of Kumogakure. He had dark skin, heavy-lidded, sleepy-looking eyes, and a shaggy mop of white-blonde hair. He wore the standard Kumo flak jacket, but the kanji for "Dull" was tattooed on his left shoulder, a personal mark that had become his moniker. Strapped to his back was a massive, cleaver-like broadsword, wrapped in bandages. He looked at the four twelve-year-olds staring at him. He let out a long, slow, audible sigh. "Team 10, huh?" he said, his voice a deep, lazy drawl. " All right, let's go."
He didn't wait for a reply. He just turned and walked out. The four Genin followed. Darui led them out of the Academy, across the high bridges, and past the normal, well-kept Genin training fields.
He kept walking, heading toward the more remote, high-altitude peaks. He finally stopped at a training ground that was a complete wreck. The ground was littered with massive, smoking craters, scorch marks, and the shattered remnants of stone pillars. This was a field used for Jōnin spars, and it looked like a warzone.
"This'll do," Darui mumbled, more to himself than to them. He turned, his sleepy eyes barely open. "Okay, let's get this over with. Introductions. I'll start." He gestured vaguely at himself. "My name is Darui. What I like... sleeping. What I dislike... things that are a drag. My dream... eh, I'll gotta ask Boss about this. It's too much work right now. Anyway, your turn. You, silver hair. Go."
Omoi, startled, snapped to attention. "Uh! Right! I'm Omoi! I like Kumogakure, the Raikage-sama, and Killer B-sama! I dislike... well, a lot of things, really. Bad omens, undecisiveness, food poisoning, maybe being late for things, but also maybe being too early... My dream is to be a great shinobi who never has to make a decision that gets my comrades killed!"
Darui just nodded slowly, as if that all made sense. "Okay. You, red-head."
Karui stepped up, thumping her chest. "I'm Karui! I like training, winning, and spicy octopus. I dislike losing and people who overthink everything!"
She shot a sharp glare at Omoi. "My dream is to be the strongest kunoichi in Kumo, strong enough to even beat him!" She jabbed a thumb at Raiden. Darui's gaze shifted to Samui. "You."
"Samui," she said simply. "I like quiet places and practicing my kunai and tanto. I dislike loud noises and illogical arguments. My dream is to complete every mission assigned to me with maximum efficiency." Darui's gaze finally landed on Raiden. "And you. The blindfolded one."
Raiden, who had been "watching" Darui's incredibly powerful, dense chakra flow, inclined his head. "Raiden Uzumaki. I like training with my mother and my friends. I dislike... traitors. My dream is to make Kumogakure the undisputed strongest village in the world."
Darui's sleepy eyes opened just a fraction. He stared at Raiden for a long moment. He'd still remember the kid's declaration to the Raikage.
"...Right," Darui said, a small, tired smile playing on his lips.
"So this is the kid, because of whom I gotta do this job. This is definitely going to be tiring."
He unstrapped his massive broadsword and plunged it into the rocky ground with a solid thunk. "You probably already know," he drawled, "but my chakra affinities are Water and Lightning. Together, I use Storm Release."
The rest of the team instantly understood. Omoi and Karui exchanged a glance. Kenjutsu. Samui's eyes narrowed. Lightning Release. Raiden's smile widened. Storm Release. This wasn't just a team. This was a custom-built weapon. Darui was the perfect sensei to train every single one of them in their chosen specialty.
"Okay," Darui said, stretching his arms over his head with a yawn. "Test time. You four... fight me." The four Genin immediately snapped into a formation they had practiced a thousand times. Karui and Omoi took the front line, their hands on their swords. Samui stood in the middle, kunai and tanto ready. Raiden stood at the back, his hand on the hilt of his white katana, acting as the rear guard and command. They were about to charge. "Stop," Darui said, holding up a hand.
The four skidded to a halt. "Man... four at once is just too much work to keep track of," he sighed. "It'd be easier to evaluate this way: you three first." He pointed a lazy finger at Karui, Omoi, and Samui.
He then gestured to Raiden. "You... you're last. You get me all to yourself. It's only fair... since you're the main reason this is such a drag in the first place."
Karui, Omoi, and Samui were taken aback, but they nodded. Raiden simply stepped back, giving them space. "Okay," Karui grinned, drawing her katana with a sharp shing. "Let's see what the Raikage's right-hand can do!" Omoi drew his, his face pale. "Oh, man... just us three? Against him? We're gonna die. We're gonna die. I knew this was a bad omen..." Samui drew her tanto in one hand and three heavy kunai in the other. "Okay, listen up. Tactical analysis: He is a high-Jōnin. We are fresh Genin. The probability of victory is 0.001%. Objective: Do not die. Show capability."
Raiden stepped back to the edge of the clearing.
"Right," Darui yawned. "Begin." He didn't move. He didn't pick up his sword. He just stood there, hands in his pockets.
Karui, taking this as an insult, screamed. "Cloud Style: IRON SLASH!!" She was all offense. She burst forward, her blade aimed in a ferocious, powerful overhead slash designed to split a log in two. Darui didn't even lift his hands. He just tilted his head to the left.
WHOOSH.
The blade missed his face by a centimeter, the wind of it ruffling his hair. "Too slow," he yawned. "And your center of balance is all wrong." Karui's eyes widened in shock. She'd put everything into that. Omoi, seeing a "perfect" opening, attacked from Darui's exposed side, just as he'd been trained. "Don't ignore me! (Kumo-Ryū: Ura Giri) Cloud Style: Reverse Slash!" Darui, without even looking at him, raised one arm.
CLANG!
He caught Omoi's katana flat on his armored forearm guard, stopping the blade dead.
"Can you not scream your attacks? It literally tells me what your next move is."
This caused both Omoi and Karui to blush in embarrassment.
At that same instant, Samui, from a distance, threw her three heavy kunai.
Fwip-fwip-fwip
They were aimed perfectly at Darui's head, chest, and knee. Darui, still holding Omoi's blade at bay with one arm, simply leaned back, letting the first two kunai fly past his face. With his free hand, he casually yanked the third kunai out of the air, spinning it between his fingers. "Better," he grunted. "Good aim."
The fight was on. But it was a complete, one-sided joke. Darui used only taijutsu, holding back to an almost insulting degree. Karui was a red-haired whirlwind. She was all kenjutsu, putting her famed ferocity into every slash, cut, and thrust. Darui just weaved. He ducked, he parried her blade with his forearm, he sidestepped. He was a ghost.
She was slashing smoke. "You're relying on your anger, not your muscle," he said, ducking under a wild swing. Omoi was her opposite. He was all defense, his kenjutsu precise but timid. He was constantly trying to parry, to find a "perfect" counter, which Darui never gave him. He was so busy thinking about fighting that he barely fought at all. "You think too much," Darui said, tapping Omoi on the headband with the kunai he'd caught. "If you wait for the perfect moment, you'll be dead."
Samui was the support. She hung back, throwing her heavy kunai to disrupt Darui's balance (which had no effect) and then charged in with her tanto when she saw an "opening," only for Darui to vanish and reappear behind her. She finally had enough. She jumped back, flashing through hand seals. "Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Technique!" She thrust her hand forward, firing the perfect, stable, baseball-sized orb of electricity she'd mastered. It shot straight. Darui just held up his hand, palm open.
The ball hit his palm and... fizzled. It dissipated into nothing, absorbed harmlessly. "Not bad," he said, a small trail of smoke rising from his black glove. "Your control is good. Your power is weak."
He'd had enough. He decided to end it. Karui charged again, screaming, "Don't just stand there!" Omoi tried to flank her, "This time for sure!" Samui threw her last kunai, aiming for his legs. Darui moved. It was the first time he'd actually taken a step. He vanished. Karui's slash hit empty air. A second later, she felt a sharp chop on the back of her neck. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed in a heap. "Karui!" Omoi yelled, spinning around. Darui was already there. He didn't even use his hand. He just spun, his leg sweeping Omoi's feet out from under him. Omoi landed flat on his back.
Samui, seeing this, turned to run, to create distance.
But Darui was in front of her, holding her own tanto. He'd plucked it from her hand without her even noticing. He held the blade lightly to her throat.
The fight was over.
"You're all... okay," Darui sighed, sheathing Samui's tanto and tossing it back to her. He walked over and nudged Karui with his boot until she groaned and sat up.
"We... we failed," Omoi gasped, clutching his chest.
"Nah," Darui yawned. "You didn't die. That's the bar." He helped Karui to her feet. "You all pass. But you're all terrible."
"Hey!" Karui snapped, rubbing her neck. "Listen," Darui said, his voice suddenly losing its lazy edge, just for a moment. "Karui, you're all power, no form. You fight like a berserker. You'll be dead against anyone who knows how to parry. Omoi, you're all form, no power. You fight like you're afraid to hit someone. You'll be dead because you hesitated. Samui, you're logical, but you're too predictable. You fight like a textbook. I knew every move you were going to make before you did. You'll be dead against anyone who's read that textbook." The three Genin just stared, humbled. "Kind of dull if you ask me." Darui sighed, his lazy demeanor returning.
"But I guess I can work with you." He cracked his neck and turned his heavy-lidded eyes to the one remaining Genin, who hadn't moved a muscle from the edge of the clearing. "Alright, prodigy," Darui said, rolling his shoulders. "Your turn."