Chapter 15.1- One Thousand Hands

I shrugged my shoulders around my brand new chunin vest, trying to get used to the weight. I hadn’t expected to receive the promotion after what I’d done at the Chunin exams. It was something I tried to remove my mind from as much as possible. Except it turned out that my Granduncle did not seem to care much. He tossed me the vest as I left his office and left it at that. Toshiro had received his a few days later. It would have been something to be proud of had I been anyone else. But I was cursed with good eyes and the power of observation.

Every single member of my graduating class had received one. Our Jounin-sensei had been reassigned to other parts of the village’s military as they were needed. I didn’t need to ask Granduncle to confirm it for me. We were moving into wartime footing, and step one of that was promoting anyone with even the vaguest expression of chunin-level skill to the rank. It was a simple and effective strategy. It saved the village resources that were usually spent on training Genin, the Jounin got to be reassigned to more useful endeavours, the former genin got to become part of Konoha’s wartime force. It was a strategy with little in the way of downsides. Well, unless you considered dead children a downside.

Still, that was not the matter at hand now. I stood at the gates waiting for my new team to assemble. Chunin worked in groups of four, so it was rare that genin would continue on to the same team. For most of the other teams, they’d had a member or two reassigned somewhere else to create new combinations, but my team remained broadly the same. Except for the fact that we had one new addition. Uzume landed in front of the gate with a huff. I felt my gaze soften against my will as I looked at her. Against all odds, we’d become something that could be mistaken for friends. Toshiro was the next to appear, emerging from the shadows as he deactivated his meisagakure no jutsu to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Uzume just smiled and tapped her eyes when he sullenly inquired into our lack of shock. Our third was about to be running late. I stared at the pocket watch in my grip as I counted down the seconds until I could officially declare her as late and move on with the mission with only the three of us. Of course, it was not to be. As the seconds counted down to the last one, she rounded the corner and came right out of the gate.

“Shikahime” I said in greeting.

“Hey, Cousin” She replied with a nonchalant wave. I stepped aside to allow her take point as the leader of the team. Granduncle sure loved his punishments.

A/N; Snippet of what is to come, ey?