"I didn't take you for a cruel sort, Gai."
The Blue Beast of Konoha laughed heartily, an outpouring of sound that one would think would reveal his presence to the competitors below.
"Hahahaha! My Eternal Rival! What a surprise to see you taking note of a Youthful Training Exercise."
Kakashi showed no reaction to Gai' words, except to turn a page in his book, a moment later.
"Mm." he said, without any commitment, as his sole visible eye moved away from Gai's posing and down below the canopy. "A few academy students, in this sort of situation? From the beginning, there was no hope of victory."
"Oho?" Gai replied. "Victory is not the point of training, you know. That aside, those are bold words, considering your history in students."
"That's different." Kakashi denied, and turned another page. "Even on the face of it, with proper teamwork, it's feasible that a group of genin can outmatch a single superior opponent... your average Jounin, for example."
Left unsaid was that while Kakashi could be called a great many things indeed, 'average' was not one of them... and that he would never be willing to abandon some form of the bell test, as long as he could point at his own past and declare that it was absolutely possible to pass.
"This sort of a scenario, though... you should be aware that the girl down there is the Inuzuka clan head's daughter. Overlooked they might be, before they come into their full growth, but the training of Inuzuka nin-dogs is every bit as grueling as the training of the Inuzuka themselves. She's not here because she doesn't know how to hunt, but because she needs to practice against people that don't react the same way Inuzuka do, to avoid falling into mental traps. Basically... it's not a case of strength in numbers overwhelming a single, greater foe. In this case, it's a group of academy students matched up against a group approximating a squad of low chuunin. Not just outmatched, but outnumbered."
"Indeed!" Gai agrees heartily. "The purpose of this training is not to fight. All shinobi eventually find themselves in a situation where open combat isn't feasible... or at the least, is unwise. In such a case you must be able to understand that the time has come to withdraw, and be capable of retreating effectively."
Kakashi sighed slowly.
"...Mm. Well, at least they seem to halfway understand that much." he says. "... Some more than others."
"Ahaha! It's delightful, is it not, to see youths with such spirit?" Gai laughs.
"... And you just got finished talking about how this was training to retreat." Kakashi mutters to himself. "And in the end, resorting to fire. How unexpected of an Uchiha. Really... you couldn't have at least found actual Genin for this? From what I see of those kids... They aren't going to make the cut."
"You think so?" Gai asks curiously, peering down through the leaves and thin traces of smoke.
"Well, I guess that's up to their instructor to decide... if they make it that far." Kakashi says, only hinting at retracting his words. "Two of them are clumsy and unskilled, and their chakra barely merits note. I suppose their control might be a little better, but unless they're keeping something truly phenomenal up their sleeves... and all around, their teamwork and cohesiveness is terrible. The Uchiha girl... might barely make the grade, depending on who tallies the score. There are great expectations set on the ninja who awaken those eyes... and she doesn't seem to live up to any of them."
"Ah, we cannot all graduate from the Academy at five." Gai chuckles.
"Just going by theory, at least, she could have. And didn't." Kakashi notes. "If I'm informed correctly, then she didn't even begin at the Academy at all until recently. Even after that, she's noted as acting out, ignoring lessons, and being a general disruptive influence. Left to her own devices, she could probably have mastered enough of the basics to be theoretically qualified for Genin in a day. Maybe..."
Kakashi grows silent, pages of his book un-turning and still. Drifting through thought and memory, interspersed by the shouting below.
"Kakashi?" Gai asks, after a few long moments.
"Mm?" Kakashi replies, blinking away images of the past. "... Maybe it's for the best." he decides aloud, and disappears in a puff of smoke.
"Hahaha! My Eternal Rival, I think that's the closest you have ever come to admitting that you might regret testing out of the academy early." Gai chuckles.
Shaking his head, he looks down at the rumpus below, intently watching the struggles of the next generations.
---
"Why didn't you run!?" you whine, Ami caught in a head-lock and your knuckles dragging along her scalp.
"Why didn't you, huh?" Ami shoots right back. "You dumbass, do you think it's going to go well on a real mission if we get away and have to go 'oh, yeah, we left the clan kid behind'?"
Shonen-girl sighs in the background as Ami drives an elbow into your solar plexus. Hana just continues watching, munching on a doggy biscuit that's gone when you turn your head that way. If your sharingan wasn't constantly running you'd probably assume you'd imagined it!
"Yosh! Well done." Gai declares, clapping his hands. "I've taken the liberty of stamping out the fires before they could spread too far, so allow me to offer my post-training assessment!"
He begins by pointing a finger Hana's way.
"To begin with, you should keep in mind that the enemy will not always behave or respond in the way you expect them to!" he declares. "Whether they are more competent or less, fight when you expect them to flee, or flee when you expect them to fight, say one thing and do another or even ignore the orders they receive to do something else entirely! It made little difference here but you took several blows throughout this exercise that could have been avoided. On a mission, any of those could have proven debilitating!"
Hana grunts, looking mildly irritated.
"Now, for the three of you... you did well for your age and experience!" he says, beaning a folded paper shuriken off of your head and looking at you for only a moment before immediately continuing on to the others. It looks like there's at least a little writing inside. "Particularly you, young Fuki! Your use of the taller grass to hinder, trip, and briefly bind your pursuers was particularly interesting. Was that the knot-tying jutsu?"
She what? You honestly weren't paying attention, your focus entirely on more immediate things than what Shonen Girl was doing.
"Ah... Mio demonstrated a few simple Jutsu." Fuki says, deferring the praise. You could preen smugly, but don't.
"In truth, most ninja entirely ignore simpler jutsu once they have access to more powerful or effective ones." Gai says. "There's some merit to both points of view, either focusing on the basics or discarding them, but in truth it depends on how highly you train your abilities. I believe you mentioned you had an interest in sealing theory?"
"Yes... but I've already read what's available and permitted to academy students. Nothing practical is really allowed until you're at least Genin rank." Fuki answers.
"Hmm... yes, those are the rules, I suppose." Gai agrees.
He seems disappointed by her answer anyway.
"Ah, and young Ami!" he continues, spirits more noticeably upbeat. "From what I can see, you could easily train a taijutsu focus, as you appear to default to acting and reacting to things in a very physical and direct way! So I went to the liberty of picking this up."
He pulls a length of fabric from who knows where and waves it slightly in the breeze, showing off a skin-tight suit in a lightly pastel purple and sized for Ami's frame, but nevertheless identical to his own.
"One, when the hell did you get that, and two, No." Ami instantly rejects.
"I stepped out for a minute near the start and end of the training to place and collect an order." Gai replies, smile sparkling in the light. "It's the pinnacle of high-stress training and mission-wear, wicks away sweat to dissipate scentlessly into the air, moves completely silently with no rustling of cloth, is smooth and silky against your skin, and breathes as though you were wearing nothing at all!"
"If you wear it you look like you're wearing nothing at all!" Ami snaps back in irritation.
---
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