Will of Fire: Kakashi Hatake

Chapter 7

It was the hardest training Akira had ever been put through. By the time lunch had rolled around, she was already exhausted. They had done so many pushups she thought her arms would fall off. But it only got worse after lunch.

They spent the afternoon working on chakra control. Kishi had her control shurikans with her chakra strings, throwing them around and hitting targets that she couldn't see. He had her do her quicksand jutsu over and over again, trying to get her to make the pits faster. Then he taught her a new jutsu.

"This jutsu will serve you better over your career than the typical clone jutsu." Kishi was saying. "And it only involved one hand seal."

It was called the shadow clone jutsu. It created actual clones that one could use to fight with, distract enemies, and use separate jutsu, unlike the regular clone jutsu. Kishi instructed Akira on how to make the proper hand seal and how to separate her chakra into each clone she made. By the end of the day, she was able to make five clones, and had each of them controlling chakra strings.

"Alright, now dispel the jutsu."

"Release!" Akira said sharply. The shadow clones disappeared. Suddenly, she was filled with more knowledge. More intricacies for how the chakra strings worked and were controlled. And she was also more tired.

Kishi raised an eyebrow at her. "What did you learn from them?"

Akira struggled to find the words. "I learned more about chakra strings. But, did all of my clones experiences transfer to me? Is that how I know more now?"

Kishi gave her a soft smile. "You're very intuitive. That is indeed what just occurred. Your clones all experience the world differently than you do. Whatever knowledge they gain will be passed to you. That also means whatever training they do will be passed to you."

Akira's eyes widened in realization. "Does that mean..."

"Yes. With your clones, you can train faster and gain more experience and information than you can on your own. We will use this strategy in future sessions." He handed her a chocolate bar. "But for now we are finished. Get some rest tonight."

On hey way home, she munched on the chocolate bar, eyes trained on the ground lost in thought. So because of this, she walked straight into Yuhi.

Akira stumbled a bit, and Yuhi grabbed her shoulders to steady her with a laugh. "Hey, Akira! How's training going?"

Akira gave her a small smile. "It's good. Tiring, but good. How about you?"

Yuhi launched into a tangent about the workout she had been doing that day. Apparently her sensei was putting her through the ringer. They talked for a bit longer, then Yuhi had to leave to get home in time for dinner. Akira continued on her way, ready to go to bed for the night.

The next morning, Akira struggled to drag herself out of bed. Her arms, chest, and back were incredibly sore. Her legs cramped when she stood up, and her head hurt. Her workout with her sensei the day before had left her in worse shape than she thought it would.

She left her apartment for her morning run, which turned into a morning jog very quickly. She made only one lap around the village before she called it and headed back towards her apartment. But she still went by Kakashi's place first.

She was still mad at him, and almost didn't climb the tree to his window. But she saw him sitting on the windowsill again, so she went up to say hello.

"Morning Kashi," Akira said. She groaned as she sat down on the branch, her sore muscles complaining. Kakashi looked up from what he was doing and raised an eyebrow at her.