Naruto: The New Sealmaster

The next week he saw all of the new graduates around the village helping out. He could see Naruto getting annoyed at the task, and at his teammates for that matter. He could see how Hinata was adored among the orphans, which was nice because the other two probably couldn't do it very well. Aoshi himself had just managed to perform the weak version of the breakthrough with relative ease, and decided it was time to move on. That wasn't a technique he intended on using in combat after all, it was too exhausting.

He had composed a scroll with the technique he had in mind. He would create a burst of wind and direct it to go in a circle, back to his hand. When it reached his hand he would speed it up and repeat the process over and over again. Slowly the diameter of the circle would get smaller and then the thought was that he could use this small thing which would fit in the palm of his hand as a springboard of sorts.

He would release the wind from its path and direct it the opposite direction he wanted to go. If he did this correctly and managed to get it under control, it would allow him to travel incredibly fast. It would also allow him to travel in the air, as well as dodge in the air. He planned on developing his sensing to the next level so he could even close his eyes while travelling at those high speeds. If he used his normal vision, he'd get tunnel vision. He had read this in several instructional scrolls on shunshin and other similar techniques. But if his sensing was good enough, that wouldn't be a problem.

So Aoshi had a target in mind. If he managed to get this under control, he wagered it would be the final straw to let him get promoted to chunin. So he got started right away. He had read somewhere that your chakra naturally spins clockwise or anti-clockwise so as soon as he had his auntie check the top of his head for it, he sat down and tried to do it on the palm of his hand.

He had always had excellent chakra control so getting it to spin the way he wanted to, clockwise, wasn't very hard. Soon a small whirl was formed on the palm of both hands. Next step was to do the same but with wind chakra. He decided to only do this on one hand. It did take him most of that day but before he left his training field, he had managed it.

The last two steps remained. And they were a lot harder. The penultimate one was to contain it and flip it sideways. Finally the last step would be to be able to spin it faster and faster but still contain it.

Once he got it all down he'd have to learn to use it on his feet for easy travels, but he felt that this step was a long way away.

***

Weeks went past until Hachiro was called into the Hokage's office. As soon as he got close, the secretary opened the door without hesitation or any words. So he got into the room and bowed down to the leader of their village. He noticed Hatake Kakashi was also in the room and could only guess what this was about.

"Rise. We don't need to bow today." And Hachiro sat down at a nearby chair to try and relax. He still wasn't comfortable with the amount of attention his team got from the hokage. "We're here to talk about your little group. Time has come for you to choose three of them and have them train together."

Hachiro's eyes widened. He has forgotten that once the chunin exam came around, only three of the four could compete. "I understand. Give me a couple of seconds to think, if you have any opinions I'd gladly hear them after that."

Kakashi and Hiruzen nodded and then they awaited Hachiro's decision. "Rokushō Aoshi is a must." They nodded as they agreed with that statement.

"Kazuto and Aoshi work very well together, and the boy has a lot of potential with his style." That made Hiruzen's eyes light up quite brilliantly. "Finally It'll have to be Dai. It feels weird to split up Dai and Udon but they are far too similar to be on the same three person squad. Dai is a bit further along physically which could suit the other boys well who are on the lankier side."

Kakashi nodded at his assessment and seemingly smiled beneath his mask and Hiruzen gave it a few gentle claps of appreciation. "Spoken like a Jounin sensei. Keep making results like this and you'll be taking the next step in no time."

Words like those were rarely given right to a chunin without a personal bond with the Hokage so Hachiro was incredibly touched. He bowed down again. "You praise me too much. These kids would have turned out excellently without my help, I just hope I can do something to help them along."

"Nonsense. But I will want you to aid those three more personally from now until the chunin exams." At that, Hachiro looked up surprised. "Are you telling me to teach them as if I were their jounin sensei?"

Hiruzen nodded at the young man in front of him. "Will I get paid like one as well? I have to make money regularly after all. My wife is expecting.." Hiruzen laughed a little but waved off his concerns. "I will pay you for the job you're doing so yes, you will be getting the same paycheck as Kakashi here."

Overjoyed, Hachiro bowed down even deeper. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I won't let you down."

Hiruzen calmly took out two scrolls. "I will have you teach them cooperation, combinations, as well as elemental ninjutsu. Aoshi has already gotten started on that part." Hachiro nodded. The fact that the boys always had to practise on separate grounds always made it hard to form a true bond. Aoshi was a special case after all, and the other three had to train with the other genin without a sensei.

"This may come to a surprise to you, but the Kazuto boy is rather closely related to me by blood." Hachiro straightened up and looked at his Hokage in surprise, waiting for him to go on. "His mother, bless her soul, was a Sarutobi. She was specifically my niece. So in this scroll I have a couple of tests designed for members of our clan. If he passes those, I will personally make him an official member if he wants."

This brought Hachiro to tears. He himself was an orphan and he knew everyone but Aoshi in his team was one as well. Kazuto has never met his parents, except his uncle on his civilian father's side who sent him to become a ninja. It was every orphan's dream to find a clan where they belonged. Not just for the massive benefits but the clan would be family after all. "I am sure he will be overjoyed with the news. May I ask what the second scroll is for?"

Hiruzen nodded. "It is a little something for Dai. It is a technique for making your body harder and tougher. The Akimichi developed it a while ago but decided to stick to their normal technique since this might impair mobility if done wrong. I have a feeling it will suit Dai just fine."

Hachiro nodded and sealed the scrolls into the storage seal he kept on his wrist nowadays. He did wonder why the Hokage was helping this team so much but decided it was best not to question it. He graciously accepted the gifts and left to inform his team. Sadly, he also had to tell Udon that he would have to do his own thing for the next half a year. He wasn't looking forward to that.