Naruto: The New Sealmaster

Following that mission, he teamed up with that squad more often and settled into a routine. The second chunin spot was filled by different people each time but the rest of the squad stayed intact. He got to know their styles more clearly. Udon and Dai went in with brute force. Their speciality was taijutsu and they each knew some simple earth style ninjutsu. Kazuto focused on bukijutsu but the weapon he was most interested in was the staff. Apparently that was something he inherited from his deceased mother. Hachiro, their leader, was a ninjutsu specialist. His main elements were water and lightning, and he preferred to stay at medium to long range.

These combinations worked well out in the field. They didn't train much together since they were in different programs, but they completed more C-ranks together and grew closer like that.

Aoshi kept up with his training and studying. Guy kept on pushing him at every step and the texts at the library slowly started making sense. Aoshi was learning how to create barriers and to seal areas, or chakra. During the almost failed mission, he had missed the first chunin exam. He hoped he would get permission to enter the one which happened half a year later in Amegakure, but doubted it. Hachiro seemed to be under the opinion that it would be a waste to risk talented shinobi on the chance that they MIGHT get promoted, but they might also die. He wanted people to be able to fully protect themselves before he recommended anyone. Aoshi could understand. People die during the exam, and that blood would fall on Hachiro's hands.

While in his own thoughts walking through the village, he smelled a wonderful familiar smell and remembered how hungry he was after a rough morning of training and a long day at the library. He decided to enter Ichiraku's seeing as Kurenai was out on a long mission. "Welcome! What'll it be today then?"

Aoshi smiled at Teuchi and slapped down some money on the counter. "As much miso pork ramen as this will buy me!" Teuchi laughed at that and gestured for him to take a seat while he prepared the first bowl. Aoshi looked around and was surprised to see someone he hadn't seen in a long time. "Akiho?"

The girl in question looked away from the other two she was with and a wide smile broke out on her face, joined by a small blush. "Ao-kun!" She got up from her chair and enveloped him in a hug. "I heard you were in the hospital again, are you alright?"

He hugged her back a short while before letting go and taking a step back. "Yeah, I'm fine. A mission was a lot more difficult than assumed, is all. We've come past that now. How are you doing? I heard from your mother that you were doing well in school this last half a year."

She grinned and scratched the back of her head. "Yeaah, it's been pretty good." Then one of the people behind her, a brown haired boy, stepped into the conversation. "Good? You graduated top of our class. We only became genin because of you." She nudged the boy to get him to keep quiet. Aoshi just laughed at what he saw.

"Well Aoshi is the reason we stand here today then!" The two people she sat with, clearly her new team, shared a look and then reached out their hand to shake Aoshi's. "So this is the famous Rokushō Aoshi then? We've heard a bit about you." Akiho's cheeks grew red and she pushed the boy back. "Argh, stop talking nonsense Joko." The other boy just laughed "You too Hoyasu. What would you mother say if I told her you're bullying me? Huh?"

That shut both boys up but Aoshi couldn't hold it in. It was rare he shared a proper laugh these days. Tenten, and he for that matter, had become more and more busy with training. Something about your early teens being the most crucial for your future development as a ninja. Seeing Aoshi laugh as well, Akiho first looked confused but gradually that confusion was set aside to join him in laughter. Soon the mood around was one of joy and Akiho told the tale of how she passed this time and had a Nara as a jounin sensei called Nara Daen. Apparently he was rather enthusiastic, for a Nara.

After a short while, Aoshi realised he should probably give his little apprentices a little visit so he said goodbye to his former teammate who seemed to be doing better now. What he didn't see was the determination in her eyes as she watched him jump away. She was determined to catch up to him and pay him back one day. Even though she was never in danger, in her mind she owed him a lot. He became her reason to improve herself, and she'd show him what she could accomplish one day.

***

In the Konoha orphanage sat three children scribbling. They had repeated their exercises countless times and by now thought they had gotten it down. Problem was that the academy didn't have the next step of Fuinjutsu in its curriculum. So all they could do was continue with what Aoshi gave them a couple of months ago. Suddenly they heard someone call for them, it was the matron. "Kotsu! Oda! Akira! All three of you better get over here right now!"

Within moments, they were at the front gate and in unison answered her. "Yes auntie! What do you want with us?" They were confused when she smiled down at them and pointed towards the gate. Their eyes widened and smiles glistened. "Ao-sensei!"

Aoshi stood there with a grin on his face. "How are my three apprentices doing? Any progress with calligraphy?" The trio passionately nodded their heads and ran inside to grab their scrolls.

Aoshi remained with a soft chuckle and shared an amused look with the matron. She spoke up. "You know, they really appreciate what you're doing here. Not many would take the time to teach young orphans things that could offer them a true chance in the future. I'm glad to see there is kindness left in Konoha." He was rather embarrassed with the praise and scratched the back of his head. "Ahh, don't say that Matron. Compared to what you do, this is nothing. I just saw three kids with potential and decided to do Konoha a service. Fuinjutsu is far too rare in this village after all."

They said no more before the children came back with their scrolls to show Aoshi. Their scribbles weren't perfect. But they were good enough. And in places here and there he could see what he wanted. He could see the flow of the strokes interlining just the way he wanted. Pleased with their progress, he unsealed a scroll he himself had written to guide them.

"This right here, is a guide. It should last you a very long time. Right now there are so many more things for you to focus on than just scribing. You must improve your chakra control, your volume and your body. Even your mind and concentration. You will not all have the same path as some things come easier to some, while others have it easier on other steps. Don't give in though. Just keep struggling, once you get to the point where you think you're good enough to start making tags, contact old man Tenchi at Higurashi's. Tell him I sent you, and he'll control your tags. If they're good enough, he can sell them for you to earn some cash on your own. That's a long way off though. For now, focus on your chakra development. You hear me?"

They eagerly reached out for the scroll which Aoshi held just out of view but eventually they calmed down and nodded. "Yes sensei. We will practise as we are told. Can we see what the next step is now?" Aoshi laughed and threw the scroll to Akira as he was the calmer of the three. "I look forward to seeing how you progress. But right now I must focus on my own development. Good luck!" and then he used a body flicker to disappear. Just so that the kids would get extra excited.

***

Nowadays he rarely if ever got any D-ranks anymore. Once a week he and what he now considered to be his squad, were called up to the Hokage's office for a C-rank. They usually lasted 2-3 days which left him plenty of time in the week to focus on personal improvement and enough time to make the necessary seals for Tenchi-san.

Speaking of seals. Ever since he got back from the mission, one feeling had been on his mind. The feeling of overflowing chakra. He had to somehow fix that possibility, and he could see two possible solutions. Either he needed a way to instantly release it into the air, or he had to be able to seal it away. Both solutions had their drawbacks. He already had a seal on his left hand which allowed him to give someone else chakra, but the way that seal works is that it connects to the person's chakra network and pushes it gently into their system. If he had a seal to just release chakra that might possibly be abused and then he sat there completely empty.

On the other hand, seals on your skin had rather tough requirements, especially those that contained anything. He had barely gotten a simple storage seal to work on his skin, and that was only if nothing scratched it or anything. There were obviously ways of sealing chakra, as seen in jinchuurikis but this had to be a lot smaller and simpler because he was simply not at that level yet. He knew that Tsunade-sama had a seal similar to what he was looking for but that one in particular was rather special and a family secret. If he could only find some kind of base-line to start working from then he would definitely go this path.

Aoshi looked for it every day for about an hour but he couldn't spend all of his time trying to find something that might be in the jounin section so he learnt a couple of skills that would prove useful one day. Some mobility seals for prisoners, some restraint seals to improve performance when training, and a bunch of detection and barrier seals. It took him a couple of months to get it down but he was certain it would be worth it in the future.

His idea of a small sealing scroll inside a tooth had become a more widespread product and Tenchi had hired a former medic to make the fake teeth for a premium price. Since they had to be personally made they were expensive, but you only really had to use them in an emergency so you wouldn't have to buy many over the course of your life. It was a decent business idea and you could come in to change your preferred scroll inside the tooth at any point.

It had now been almost a year since he passed his genin exam. Thanks to Guy, his stamina had improved a bit. Thanks to Kakashi, his chakra control and understanding had improved. Thanks to his own efforts, he had more weapons in his arsenal but also more ways to make himself useful for the village.

***

In the Hokage's office, there was a discussion going on about who they should send over to the chunin exams in Amegakure. Since the next exam would be on their own home ground, they weren't planning on sending many contestants this time. Every jounin with a genin team was there, along with those who had apprentices and those chunin who had joined the free genins on their missions. Oh and Kakashi also came along.

"So far we have four teams to send. Remember that we don't have to send more, they will see our prominence when they all come to Konoha in half a year instead. With that in mind, are there any other teams to consider? Might Guy, what about your team?"

The often very passionate jounin took a step forward and bowed down to the magnificent leader. "They would be ready if they were asked to do it, but I could see a reason to use them to overwhelm the other villages in half a year instead. Mentally only one is at chunin level but in pure might they could all three perform well. It would be up to you, but personally I'd save them for the next one." He looked up to Hiruzen who smiled back at him. It wasn't often Guy was so calm and serious but he was a jounin for a reason.

Hiruzen nodded at his reasoning. "Indeed. Take your time and teach them. Better to have an excellent team to show off than to lose one ahead of time. So, Hachiro. Do you have anyone to recommend?"

Guy gratefully took a step back and let Hachiro take everyone's attention. He bowed down. "Only Rokushō Aoshi at this time. But I'd like to wait for any teammates. I don't want him to be sent in with strangers. In my group there are three others who are getting close. I'm certain that we will be able to send a team next time just like Might-san." Hiruzen nodded and gestured for Kakashi. "Kakashi. You know Aoshi, what do you think about his chances?"

Kakashi stepped forward but he didn't bow as deeply as the rest. The difference in status was a lot less after all. "Rokushō Aoshi could succeed in any team you put him in. He has a rather personal deadline in 8 months though. I would say that he would be extra motivated to do well at that time. He does stand to lose most of his legacy if he fails, after all. Also he seems to work well with his current team. Would be a shame to break that up."

The Hokage nodded. "Thank you for your input. We will save him for the next one as well then." He looked towards Hachiro, Kakashi and Guy. "Have both of those teams put through more advanced techniques and give them regular C-rank missions. Make sure they're ready to be a grand example of the leaf."

"Yes, Hokage!" was the response he got, and the meeting was over.