Naruto: A Lazy Life

-Tomorrow morning-

Pov: Saburo Mori.

Am I worthy?

Jonin captain... a title that I thought would forever be outside of my reach and... I let it go so quickly.

Was it because of all the work I saw my old captain doing? Or perhaps it's what Takumi told me.

Am I still swimming in Chunin waters? What does he consider a chunin? I have heard rumour about his rankings and... I lack clarity on what steps I need to take in order to grow stronger.

...

Is this training capable of making me a Jonin?

...

I don't hesitate to think that Takumi could fail me- why? He fails almost everyone else in his life... so why do I hold so much trust in him?

Because two years ago he changed my life.

I was nothing but 'scalpel' and now the Hokage is rewarding my efforts with a title... or he tried to atleast.

Is Takumi just a teacher I respect? Is he a friend? A pal? No... I don't see him that way... to me Takumi is a life changer, the guide to my new life.

'Guide to my new life'

...

That sounds like a Master- is he? My Master? Sensei? Can the Lazy Uchiha be my master of all things?

Would he consider me his disciple?

"Pondering regret?" Takumi wakes me from my thoughts.

"Takumi..." I murmur as I stand and bow to him.

"I brought some notes and decided to pay for this training ground for the whole month. Be prepared to get minimal rest" Takumi drops a bag of goodies and cracks his neck as he casually slumps.

"... Am I your disciple?" I ask as I stand taller.

"...Do you wish to be?" Takumi seems taken by surprise, a rare expression from him.

...

"Yeah" I nod.

"Let me rephrase that. Do you understand what it means to be under my care as one of my own?" He sharpens his gaze and looks through me.

"..no?" I tilt my head.

"What you are asking of me is more serious than you can comprehend, reaching for a goal far harder than just some Jonin title- after this month re-evaluate your question" He commands and shakes his head.

?

"Ask yourself, 'what does it mean to be my disciple'?" Takumi pulls a scroll from his bad and chucks it at me.

*Catch*

I catch it and open the scroll up.

"You started with a three form structured Taijutsu, by the end of this month you must have learnt this five form taijutsu to an adept level" Takumi tells me and I read further.

"Additionally I want you to learn a genjutsu counter technique and one Ninjutsu of your choice. That is my demand for granting you the rank of Jonin-Captain" Takumi informs me.

Genjutsu technique...

Ninjutsu...

And one whole taijutsu. One much harder to learn than the 'simple' one that took me two years to master.

All of that within a month.

"How can I... it took me two years to master the last taijutsu" I mutter.

"To an adept level, not mastery- you just need to be capable of switching stances on instinct and be capable of performing the moves in battle" Takumi tells me.

"I don't know much about genjutsu... or ninjutsu- I leave that to my teammates" I frown.

"You have a few hours for a couple days where I will not be here to train you. When I am working you can find these teammates of yours and learn from them" He tells me flatly.

"Right... can we start with the taijutsu?" I ask.

"Hn. I designed it to be a defensive style, first three forms focused on the next level to your evasive techniques and blocking ability. The other two utilize the 'Sliding technique' to defend yourself instead of just using it as a traversal tool" Takumi yawns and begins to explain.

Why is he always yawning? He sleeps all the time, how can he yawn after all that resting?

"This defensive technique is only useful around weapons and taijutsu, do not use it against ninjutsu at all if you can help it- it's purpose is to slide the attack off your body" Takumi explains further.

No imagination this time?

"Like heavy rain turning into calm drops of water as it glides down the leaf" He adds.

There we go, was waiting for it.

"Let's get started shall we? Set up your evasive training like normal, this time however you will be catching the objects instead of dodging them" Takumi orders and I start moving.

---

-Later that same day-

Pov: Takumi Uchiha.

Hn- this new technique builds off what he learnt in the first one, I can add to his training schedule without sacrificing his other technique's proficiency.

First form: Training with dodging using the upper body I am utilising the evasive technique taught before to better help him understand this one.

This form focuses more on upper body evasion- with more detail on controlling the battlefield, this set of forms teaches Saburo to know the projectile thrown towards him and allow him to catch it.

Hopefully he will learn and eventually catch kunai thrown at him through this method, allowing him to grab more projectiles to throw back at his enemy... I better add faster projectiles to his training so he understands just how much chakra is needed to reinforce his projectile catching.

Second form: I expanded his Sliding technique and rebuilt it to allow a greater variety of movement. Now instead of constantly moving to gain momentum he can slide on the same spot to evade quick blows.

Quick acceleration for a quick dodge, now he won't need to be in motion to be at his fastest. At least for evading attacks that is.

This form allows him to accelerate faster and use minimal movements as opposed to the first taijutsu's form. Once he masters these five forms his taijutsu will become an Eight form taijutsu.

Third form: Close weaving.

I added on a version of the close weaving I used against those stone spies a while back- it would fit quite well against a target who relies on wider attacks.

He tried to do this in our spar, he did get a point from it but in battle he needs much more than just a point.

I want him to take that skill and polish it until it shines brighter than the dream of fame he clings to.

Fourth form: This form focuses on angling his limbs while activating his sliding technique to let weapons and fists glide right off his skin.

Once mastered he will be tough to injure and even tougher to kill, this form is the next step to applying his slide to everywhere else on his body instead of just his feet.

Fifth form: This form focuses on using sliding across his body quite like the fourth form, except with the added difficulty of returning the attack in one swift slide.

Even if mastered this technique would be hard to pull off without the right circumstances, the right weapon at the right angle with the right enemy.

A shuriken gliding from the tips of his fingers, across his shoulder and then flowing down his other arm to then 'reunite' with its owner.

A rare occurrence- but this fifth form becomes easier to use the greater one trains every other form, all of them lead into this one skill that grants him a surprising counter.

All in all these five forms seek to enhance his strength and improve his training schedule all without overwhelming him, whether he becomes a captain or jonin by the end of the month matters not.

What matters is that my training helps him above all else.

"Can I stop now?" Saburo asks as he catches the objects again.

"No. Now dodge the twig while catching the stones, consider twigs to be a ninjutsu and start over" I tell him.

"Please- I managed to dodge these blindfolded recently, I can handle this training. Bump me up in difficulty" He smirks arrogantly.

"Very well. I will start throwing pebbles" I squat down and pick up a handful of rocks.

"Wait- you will only attack me when I can't physically react at all, that's unfair!" He throws his arms up.

"Would your enemy wait for you to catch the kunai and dodge the fireball before attempting to kill you?" I question and raise an eyebrow.

Hn. I smirk as he thinks.

---

-A few days later-

Pov: Saburo Mori

*Flick*

"Too slow- try again" Takumi picks up the ball that rolls back to him after hitting me.

*Woosh-* *Flick*

He throws the ball and I quickly flick my fingers forward- the ball rolls along the inside of my arm and stops after striking my chest.

...

I watch it roll back to Takumi.

"How did you training go when I went to work? surely it went well considering that we are on the fourth form now" Takumi starts talking as he throws.

*Whoo* *Flick*

I watch it roll over again.

"It went as well, I managed to learn the basic genjutsu removal technique from my teammate- who is rooting for me to get this title. He thinks I am adept enough to counter C-rank genjutsu and below" I report.

"The hard part is knowing your in a genjutsu before it traps you" Takumi tells me.

*Woosh* *Flick*

"I know- but I can only train my senses better in that regard, which my training already covers" I reply.

"I'll pass you on genjutsu then. It is up to your enemies to grade your work, even if it means stamping your death certificate instead of a paper" He yawns.

*Woosh* *Flick*

Grim but true. I need to keep working hard if I want to make it out of this war with a title on my shoulders.

...

"These five forms... I am finding them easier to digest than the first set- even if I am barely into training them" I tell Takumi.

"Congratulations" He comments.

*Woosh* *Flick*

"Nothing to add?" I ask.

"No. Think for yourself, contemplate why it is easier and then just simply learn it" Takumi shakes his head.

Hm...

*Woosh* *Flick*

I suppose it is because every new form is based on an old one- and I have been adding my own moves into the trio of forms I have mastered... on top of that they are simple as well.

But these five are much more complicated- requiring intensely precise use of basic chakra functions and physical capabilities. Much worse than the first time.

*Woosh* *Flick*

But it is easier? How?

Is it due to my lightning affinity? But that should just be for ninjutsu right? I haven't read up much on affinity theory but I have heard that your character or skills can play a part in what affinity you have... but I also know as a medical practitioner that bloodlines also affect that heavily as well.

...

I don't know my bloodline- as an orphan I could be from anywhere... and have different talents from everyone around me.

Is that why I sucked at the stuff the other kids got down quickly? Did Takumi find what makes me talented?

*Woosh* *Flick*

"It's because I was born to do this set of forms" I smirk as the ball rolls across my arm and behind me, finally getting the technique right.

...

Takumi looks at me with a very tired gaze.

"Idiot" Takumi mutters under his breath.

Huh?

"Get the ball" Takumi orders.

What? Was I wrong?

I grab the ball and throw it back.

He immediately throws it right back at me with intensity.

*Woosh* *Smack!*

"Ow- hey!" I catch the ball and feel the sting in my palm, my rib hurts as my sparring injuries act up again.

"These forms didn't exist before I made them- how could you be 'born' to do them, better yet how could one be talented in a technique that never existed" Takumi scolds me and I wince.

Oh boy- that got him annoyed.

"Pioneers work hard to get results- no one is 'talented' at research, the taijutsu master didn't find his peerless taijutsu 'in a dream'- he worked for it day and night until he could consider it let alone perform it" Takumi continues.

"What about you- you are talented in this stuff despite your age and these forms not existing" I reply defensively.

"You have only seen the end result of my hard work. Do not call it talent, it is in my nature to be 'better' at taijutsu because it is in my nature to work hard for it" Takumi clicks his tongue.

...

"Takumi -the lazy- Uchiha?" I question after a moment of silence.

"Enough- you are finding these sets easier because I built them on your mastery of the first three forms, while the first three forms had no base to build off of other than the medical experience you had" He shakes his head.

Right- because I had barely any combat experience or knowledge on training taijutsu... I have all the advantages for these forms.

Which means they will merge into my taijutsu so much easier than before... maybe I can master these within a year?

Then what? More forms?

"Oh. Well. After these forms do I just get more or...?" I ask.

"Hn. Eight forms is enough for the Saburo style. I do not want it getting overcomplicated and bloated- if you wish for more forms train for another taijutsu" Takumi tells me and gestures for the ball again.

"Two taijutsu... that's a lot of training" I throw the ball back.

"Which is why you focus on your main style and pull out trained styles when needed, even if they are rusted and not up to standard they can complete a job they are designed to do" Takumi suggests with a shrug.

*Woosh* *Flick*

"Is that why you aren't training my style?" I ponder.

"Many reasons stop me from training" He comments back.

*Woosh* *Flick*

...

"Let's focus on you Saburo" Takumi insists and throws the ball again.

*Woosh* *Flick*

It rolls across my arm and behind me.

Another success.