Chapter 4.1- One thousand hands

XXXX- SAKUMO HATAKE

This was realistically the best team he could have asked for. Sure the one with the Uchiha and the Kurama heir was interesting, and the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka combo were going to be lethal no matter what, but this was the kind of team that tales were told of. The Senju Heir, top of his class in the academy with the power to use B-rank jutsu as a genin- The youngest child of the Uchiha Clanhead who showed potential that far utstripped any of her older brothers in fire release or even the visual acuity of the sharingan, and last and most definitely least, a civilian born child with grades that outstripped the other two academically and the ability to recall and deduce information at a pace that put even the most prodigious Nara to shame.

Like he’d already said, this was a team that stories were told of, But looking at them made him sure that this team wouldn’t be getting any songs unless they went through some serious work. First of all, the Uchiha girl was glaring at both her teammates like they’d joint and severely offended her scrod multiple instances and situations. That had to be the first thing to go. Second was the bow at the back of the Senju Heir. Sakumo doubted that the heir of the Second HOkage would walk around with a weapon he couldn’t wield, but a bow was not a shinobi’s weapon, and if he’d found some workaround, then perhaps a more discreet means to storage could be fine. The bow spelt him out as a kong range specialist from miles away. Knowing his taijutsu scores, it was possible that the bow itself was a red herring- designed to make opponents underestimate his close range potential and punish them when they failed. He left it as a maybe. The thing he’d definitely be removing was that smile. The Uchiha girl was angry, and he was perfectly pleased by it. He’d whip enough teamwork to turn them into real shinobi of the leaf into them. It was either that or they’d never leave the village on a mission, he swore to himself.

The next, the third teammate had a million things that needed fixing. The first was that fact that he was actively shying away from his teammate. While he knew that the girl would have no trouble tearing down the Takehada boy if she got the go-ahead, it was still shameful for him to cower away from aggression in such an open manner. No shinobi of konoha would be showing that kind of behaviour. Not even in the face of unbeatable odds.

With all this in mind, he spoke his first sentence to them after summoning them to their chosen training ground, “My first impression of all of you is that you suck” He said to them in a deadpan tone. At his words, their reactions were telling. The Uchiha turned her aggression to him, trying to burn him with her gaze. The Senju merely smiled even wider like he’d heard some sort of joke and relaxed his shoulders. Takehada shied even further into himself in the face of the false criticism.

“But it’s my job to make you suck less. Or it could be. Depends on if you can pass my test” He said, channelling the words of his first sensei as he leaned on the older man’s expertise and wisdom not to mess up here.

“Test?” No points for guessing which one of the three responded almost instantly with venom in their tone.

“I took you for many things, but not simple, Uchiha Uzume” He said, ignoring the pitiful killing intent she shot at him.

He chuckled to himself. “You see, passing the academy test proves that you are good enough to be genin of Konoha. But that doesn’t tell me anything but the bare minimum. It definitely doesn’t tell me that you deserve me spending even a second of time on you. That’s what this test is going to do. If you turn out to be worth my time, then I’ll train you. If not, its to the reserves with you lot” He said to them, watching the words sink in. Uchiha raged, Takehada shrunk, and Senju smiled. Sakumo got the feeling that he was going to eventually understand where the Chunin Sensei had been coming from when he’d written in his assessment, ”Senju Shorirama is one least suited to the life of shinobi. Just purely on his mentality. His skills are better than mine already, but he takes everything as a joke of some sort. A joke only he sees. I do not feel he has the potential to be a ninja of Konoha. He will either break on his first mission, or turn out to be the kind of monster that Konoha can not truly control. Recommendation: Fail”

Of course, writing that about the Second Hokage’s grandnephew was not going to end well for him but he applauded the man’s dedication to his students. That had to be the only thing that would motivate some no-name to recommend failing the heir to Konoha’s premier clan. Even Sakumo, with all his pedigree, would never dare failing the children in front of him. Getting both the Senju and Uchiha on his case at the same time would be political suicide oof the most comedic order. His enemies would most likely take breaks from delighting at his suffering to pity him. Either way, he had to get the measure of these children. And first things first would be robbing the Uchiha girl of that unfocused aggression and seeing if he could get the Senju boy to take something seriously.

“When is the test, sensei?”

“Now, of course. And as for what it is. The sun is at its highest point. Survive until Sundown and you will be my Genin” He said, giving them a completely impossible task.

At his words, they all snapped into action faster than he’d expected. He tilted his head backwards to dodge a boot that had swung right for his head. He observed the Senju boy chuckling as he ran from the training ground and left both his teammates behind.

AN; How’s it looking? MC is very far from a perfect character. He knows what he should probably be doing, but sometimes he can’t just help himself.