Potential [Sennin Topic]

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka was looking at different files of the Shinobi under her care, or potential Shinobi. In any guess none were really that impressive. Pretty standard on what was usual. But there were a few inside the Academy roster that picked her interest. In particular 4 individuals, she already knew 2 of them quite well. But the other 2 were quite interesting. One one hand Kupaku, seemed like the standard student. Didn't really have much going for him, but even if his teachers didn't see it... Asuka saw something the first time she met him. She couldn't quite place her finger on it.

On the other hand one came unexpectedly. With that said, there was Yuki Akumi. A student who recently took a tutor with her fellow Sennin. How did she know that? Yukio had sent a letter with two lines. Straight to the point. "She is interesting. Yuki Akemi.". Asuka had immediately recognized the name as someone who was enrolled in the academy. She trusted Yukio and decided to call her in too.

She had sent clones to get them wherever they were, simply telling that the Sennin had summoned them to her office. Today she would find out if they had potential, or was a simple mistake on her part.

[Summoning Yuki Akemi]
[Summoning Kurogane Kupaku]

 

[Akuno Tatsu]

It was a usual morning for Kupaku. There was no class today, so he started his day with what he normally does on the days he did not have class; a 20 kilometer run. Kupaku loved exercising, it was very therapeutic for him. Normally he would weave in more training for the day, but he didn't want to overdo it as he did have academy classes. Walking back home, he thought about how he could become stronger. There were still more obstacles to overcome. He was an academy student, sure, but now he needed to aim higher. To become a Genin and then a Chuunin and then a Jounin after that.

Finally arriving at his house, Kupaku went inside to freshen up after his run. He decided he wanted to eat out today, after all, he didn't do it very often at all. On his way to get his food, he bumps into Asuka, or at least a clone of her. She told him to follow her to her office. Kupaku agreed. I wonder what Asuka wants with me....

Kupaku knocks on Asuka's door, and after getting the okay to walk in, he does so. "You wanted to see me, Asuka?" Kupaku asked curiously.

 

[Yuki Minikui]

Akemi had recently had finished a class and was simply walking about the school familiarizing herself with it as she was still relatively new to the school and didn't know many people. In fact the only people she has met was the ANBU Sennin whose name was Yukio. She had a great lesson with him and he had recommended her to seek out Asuka which she had yet to do. Before she could finish thinking about what she was going to do someone abruptly interrupted her thoughts saying that she was being summoned by another sennin but this time to their office.

Realizing who it was her choice was made for her as it was indeed Asuka who had called for her and she changed directions quickly her hair waving back and forth from the momentum of her turn still swaying as she walked towards the sennin's office. Upon reaching the building she smiled brightly and walked inside heading up the stairs towards where the offices were and saw the signs for Asuka's office following them until she stood at the opened door where she and presumably another student were standing facing each other so she waited outside unsure as to if she was supposed to be after him or not.

They hadn't noticed her yet so she knocked on the door politely before stepping just inside of the room. "Hey Asuka pleasure to meet you. I got your summons but it seems you may be a bit busy at the moment I can wait outside or come back later if that would be preferable for you and your schedule." Bowing as she finished her sentence she awaited for the sennin to speak.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka looked up from her files and saw Kupaku turn up first. She smiled at him. "Yes I did." Her hand raised and gestured him to come over. "Take a sit. Do have to apologize for summoning you so abruptly but to be honest. I'd rather get this done now rather than later." She raised her hand as if she knew what he was going to say "Before you ask anything we have to wait for someone else to turn up. Then I'll explain."

As if clockwork, the next person entered the room. Waving her worries away. "No no, I want both of you here." She said gesturing her to take the seat next to Kupaku. With that she sighed and looked at both of them. She grabbed two of the files she was reading and placed the one with their name written on it. "You can't open it. But I wanted to see you both because of this."

With that she leaned back on the chair, placing her cheek resting on her hand. "Tell me what that file doesn't about your selfs. What would be good to know that would make me trust both of you."

 

[Akuno Tatsu]

Kupaku takes a seat as directed by the Sennin. He wasn't going to ask anything, but she stopped him anyway, saying that it would be best to wait for another person to show up. Another person? I wonder if it's another Sennin or if it's a student. Oh no. What if it's the Hokage? Or worse. One of my family members coming after me to bring me back to them. Kupaku stopped for a moment... Nah. They probably haven't even noticed that I'm gone yet. It'll probably bruise their ego when they find out, though. I can just imagine it now. I become a full fledged ninja and then, as my first mission, I save the Hokage from an assassination attempt. I can just imagine the look on their faces... The thought made Kupaku smile as he laid back on his chair, waiting for the other mystery person to show up.

As they arrived, the Sennin asked them to take a seat next to Kupaku. It was a girl. And judging by the fact that she was asked to sit next to him and not asked to stand next to Asuka, it meant that he could safely assume that she was a student. A sigh of relief came over Kupaku as he remember his mental struggle to figure out whether or not Nanjirou Kei and Uchiha Masami were teachers or students. Then the Sennin asked her question.


Tell me what that file doesn't about yourselves. What would be good to know that would make me trust both of you?


He didn't really know what she needed to trust them for, but it didn't really matter in his eyes. He just needed to answer the question truthfully and the rest would be up to the Sennin. "That file tells you how I performed during my entrance exam. It tells you what jutsu I know, and where I need to improve, from a subjective standpoint. But it doesn't tell you everything. It doesn't tell you how many days, weeks, months, and years I put in to even be accepted. It doesn't tell you all the obstacles I had to overcome to even dream about becoming a ninja. And it definitely doesn't tell you how much my desire to become a strong ninja plagues my every thought, my every decision, my every dream." Kupaku stood up. "You ask what I can tell you that you don't already know, so that I may have your trust, but it takes a certain level of trust on your part in order to believe what I am telling you now. I'm sure you get plenty of ninja that walk in here, with all sorts of different ambitions. My ambitions are to become a ninja, a Hidden Leaf Ninja." Taking a deep breath, the blue haired boy continued. "Nobody wants to be here, doing this, more than I do. I will become a ninja, or I will die."

 

[Yuki Minikui]

Smiling Akemi walks in and sits down next to the other student next to her and listens as she asks her basically the same type of question that Yukio had asked her on her first tutor session with him. It seemed as if it was a common question for sennin and higher ups to ask new students. As she opened her mouth to answer the other student began to speak and she crossed her legs turning to face him as he spoke about his training to get where he was and she almost felt bad for him. She had been gifted and lucky enough to not need to do nearly as much training as he had. Sure she took backlash from the other students about it but she would rather that then have to had endure what he did which was most likely backlash from others telling him he couldn't do it and that they didn't believe in him and his plan to become a ninja.

He seemed to go on forever which wasn't a big deal his answer was very concise and she liked that about him. He may not have had the advantages she had but she had to respect the hard work he seemed to put in and the determination that he had to become a ninja. She was however very confused at why if he didn't become a ninja he would die. That was not what she expecting his final statement to be at all and it touched her heart as he finished it.

Standing up herself she smiled at him and simply turned to face him rather than Asuka and offered him her outstretched hand and a bright wide eyed warming smile. As they shook hands she looked away and turned to Asuka. "Well considering you summoned me here I am to assume that you already know what my file says so there is no reason for pleasantries to be exchanged here now are there? As for what my goals are and where I see my self going in this village. Honestly I don't expect to be here forever as others would say. Rather I would like to bring back the Mist Village. Yes I understand that it is very improbable that someone such as me would do anything like that but that is my goal. I will bring back the mist village and become the Mizukage. My sole goal of training as a Kunoichi is to bring back the village that once was thriving and exciting to be a part of and be the leader of that village under the title of Mizukage. It will be a place much like the leaf village and prosperous for all who wish to join me there. Those are my true intentions for coming here. I don't know that this will make you want to trust me as you say but, I would rather tell you my true intentions and what my goals are so that there is no surprise later on down the road if something happens that you question."

Feeling confident in her answer she sat back down in her chair and crossed her legs once more giving the Sennin a very bright smile flashing her white teeth to her as she looked back towards the other student who had still not sat down at all and he seemed to be very determined to do the absolute best at everything he does to become a ninja of the leaf village. Whereas she simply was here to learn enough from them to be able to achieve her life long goals.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka listened to Kupaku first, his ambitions were not that impressive. In the sense that everyone in the academy wanted to become a Shinobi. But the way he said it was different, turned that simple desire into something quite interesting. It wasn't everyday she heard such passion for such a simple desire, to be honest she was quite impressed. But as was Asuka's way. You can only get the truth when pushed to the edge, and she had a feeling rifiling both of them up would be a simple task. Kids had their heart close to them, she just had to find out what type of heart it was. But before answering, she would wait for Akemi to answer the question.

Unlike Kupaku, Akemi's answer was unusual. She knew about what happened to mist village, turned into a frozen wasteland. It was highly unprobable that her wish would become a reality but she liked it anyways, having such ambitions would be beneficial, yet they could also be a curse. She leaned back on her chair and smiled. Now time to test their resolve.

Now time to test their resolve, usually anger brings out the true nature of people. She found out what people were this way. She learned how their personalities worked.

"Well, this is quite an ordeal." She said placing a hand on the side of her head. "Let's start with you Kubaku." She looked at him with a mocking smile. "I was expecting a bit more from you." She simply spoke. "Looking at your file, your chances on graduating aren't that great, let alone having a successful career as one of my Shinobi. You tell me you want to become a ninja. But is that it? At least Akemi's dream is bigger, as stupid as it is." She sighed once more "Training isn't enough. No matter how much you train, potential has to have some part in it, and with what you tell me. You haven't an ounce of it. So do tell me, with me loosing faith in your growth, how will you be able to change my mind?"

"Last but not least. You." She turned to Akemi. "Have you thought on that dream of yours well enough?" She asked with a short laugh "Mist is a frozen wasteland, dangerous creatures roam the lands and let's not even talk about the weather. How do you plan to change all that?" Asuka eyes didn't leave Akemi's. Her face expression shoot out judgment. "My guess is that you haven't thought it through well enough to see how idiotic it sounds. Let alone the difficulty, getting people on your side for it is almost impossible." One last hit. "And if it dosn't work out. What then? Will you come crawling back to leaf? Ask, beg to be placed back into the system? Do you think we're going to do that? After you turned your back on the village to follow a path that only lead to failure?"

[MFT]

 

[Akuno Tatsu]

Kupaku grits his teeth at the Sennin's words. It was obvious to him that this was either the opinion of someone who did not have to work that hard to get to where she was or the opinion of someone who forgot what it was to be weak and have to progress. Either way, Asuka's words angered him severely. To him, Asuka was akin to a pompous fool who didn't know any better. Clenching his fists, Kupaku takes a deep breath. He was angry, but he knew that lashing out would blur his convictions. He needed to make sure that what he was going to say next was understood and lashing out would not accomplish that.

Kupaku waited a moment after the Sennin spoke. He wanted to make sure she had finished speaking before he began. After a bit, he finally spoke. "With all due respect, Asuka, you don't matter. I don't need to change your mind, but let me see if I can make you understand; for your sake." Kupaku speaks with a serious tone and a hint of disappointment as he thought that Asuka was better than this. He accepted, however, that he didn't really know her that well and that he might have misjudged her. "Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, god-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste, it’s something that truly exists in all of us. The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft. There is no easy way around it, no matter how talented you are, your talent is going to fail you if you don't have skill. I never viewed myself as particularly talented, I know that I am not. The one thing that I see, that is distinctly different about me, is that I just don't know what giving up is. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, but when it comes down to it, I will always achieve what I set out to achieve, it's really that simple."

Kupaku pauses for a moment before continuing.

"You don't have the right to tell either of us that our goals are idiotic or unattainable. Doing so only makes your ignorance show."

Looking at Akemi, Kupaku speaks again. "I don't know this person at all, never met her before in my life." He looks back at the Sennin. "And yet, I would never say that she can't set out to achieve the goal she just stated. There’s no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A. Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity." Kupaku finally unclenches his fists and calms down a little after unloading his beliefs on the Sennin and this random student he'd never met before. "I don't need you to believe in me, I believe in myself and, in the end, that's all that matters. I don't know if I've changed your mind and, to be honest, I don't really care because, as I said before, you don't matter."


[MFT]

 

[Yuki Minikui]

Akemi simply sat down as the sennin began to speak to Kupaku first expressing that he had no potential to become a great ninja and shinobi under her let alone what she said about him having very bad chances of graduating. She was't just rude but ruthless as well going for the throat when she spoke on his dreams and even of her own calling hers stupid as well in the same foul sentence. She was definitely going to be hard to impressed it seemed much unlike the previous sennin Yukio who seemed simply impressed by how she had been so polite to him and his companion.

Anger flowed through Akemi as Asuka began to talk directly to her making eye contact even shooting out insult and judgement both just with her look alone. The sennin acted as if Akemi had no clue what had happened to the Mist Village which she knew exactly what she was in for when attempting and restoring the Village to it's former glory. Anger flowed through Akemi as she insulted her again and again even throwing in that not only did she expect Akemi to fail but she even threw in that in her opinion it would be unwise for her to ever return to this village if that were to be the case.

Opening her mouth to speak words came out, not hers but, Kupaku as the boy was called. He was writhing in anger just as she was and he was expressing it all at once with a clenched fist to go along with his words to. She enjoyed what he was saying as he made very good points but that didn't exactly calm her down any at all. She was still extremely angry at the sennin but knew just as Kupaku seemed to that she couldn't lash out in any form other than to express why the sennin was actually wrong. Any other form of communication would give off a very bad vibe and representation of what she stood for. She got a little happier however as the boy even mentioned her while he was speaking for a brief moment calling her out for that as well which allowed her to think again without overflowing anger.

Once Kupaku finished speaking she simply continued sitting making sure he had nothing more to say and deciding if it would be better to stand up to speak to her or stay sitting in the chair. The decision was clear she must stand up and stand tall and proud to show her stance on the matter. Standing up quickly and elegantly her white hair waved back and forth from the body motion of her getting up and she began to speak "Have I thought on my goal that I just stated to you is your first question upon hearing of it. That may have been a good question before but in reality I know your rank and I know how important and powerful you are here so would it really be wise not to think before I open my mouth around you? Everything I say or do will be taken by you in one way or another and you will judge us by that as it is human nature. So yes I have thought about my goal and yes I do believe I can achieve it whether you believe so or not. I know everything that happened to Mist Village as I studied it ever since it happened. As it stands now we both know that the weather cannot be changed by one so easily that is why I must grow stronger to the point where I can change these things. As for convincing other people to be on my side to help me. That doesn't even matter as I will do it by myself if I have to. I'm not one to beg or sit there and pester people to help me do what I want to accomplish I will work hard on my own to achieve the goals that I know I can achieve. You keep stressing that I can't possibly do this on my own or even get others to help me so much so that you are to assume that I will fail at my goal which shows that you have a lack of faith in your students which is quite a disappointing
feature and surprising one at that for a shinobi of such high rank to have. If I were to set out to accomplish this goal and fail as you so blatantly express will happen and I did come back to the leaf village crawling as you put it. I wouldn't expect to have to beg and ask to be placed back in a system I was once already part of. I wouldn't be turning my back on this village to achieve my goal because yes there are separate villages that all do things differently which is a good thing to have. In reality it shouldn't be thought of someone betraying the village if they leave to on a journey to achieve there goals that should be thought of as a success for the village and all of its members as they helped me or anyone else that leaves for their own purpose achieve the strength and mindset they needed wile in the village to be able to journey towards their goals outside of the village. So if I were to fail and did come back to the village and that is how I was treated I would simply never come back as there is no point if those high ranking individuals in the village cannot see the purpose for which I set out for upon originally leaving the village. I would rather be a missing ninja than be part of a village that has no ideology of supporting its students and their goals."

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

[Topic left due to those involved OCR'ing.