"Enya, do it!" Ai said, her eyes blazing with worry, Enya gulped nervously, his arms extending and forming a triangle zoned in on Takao, "Mind transfer jutsu!" "Ahh!" Enya screamed, holding his head, "What is it?" Kudo quickly helped him up, "His spirit is too strong, I can't win, but let me try this," "Mind disruption jutsu!" Enya infused half his chakra into the jutsu.
Over at the store, "Not bad," Takao said, stabilizing himself, his chakra control almost going awry. 'It's not enough, though.' His focus was again on stabilizing the jutsu, preventing it from collapsing, but his students were already moving.
A few seconds earlier, "Now!" The three rushed ahead, seizing the chance while the force of the jutsu had decreased, to move towards the shore. Ai immediately began making hand seals, "Fire style; Searing migraine!" She let out a searing heatwave that vaporized the water near them," Psshh." Hot steam masked them as they approached, "Water style: Water veil." A thin film of water covered them from the steam as they closed in, carving an arching path around the tempest of the jutsu.
"It's not that easy." Takao grinned, clasping his hands as the jutsu range expanded, threatening to engulf them.
"Shit, he really is crazy!" Kudo thought, holding the tiger hand seal as he built up a large chakra surge, "Water style; Exploding water bullet jutsu!" The justsu sailed into the tempest as they ran away, "BOOOM!" Two jutsu collided, but the tempest, like a ravenous beast, didn't collapse; its force had decreased as Takao only held its shape, but not increasing the jutsu's power.
The explosion churned the water, throwing waves at them as they rushed to the lakeshore, "We are almost there, guys!" Ai shouted, her face drenched, whether from the water or sweat, unknown.
"Damn, a big one is coming! Watch out." A four-five feet wave rushed towards them, 'I'm low on chakraa! Really not the time.' Kudo's thoughts are rampant. He dug in, focusing all the little chakras he had, his feet like a magnet firmly attached to the water surface as the water moved him erratically. The big wave slammed into him, "Boom!" "Arrghh!" His body felt like mush as the water hurled him like a rag doll. He clung firmly to the rope as they were swept away.
Being low on chakra reverses the last meters felt agonizing as they eventually reached the shore, only to collapse as the shadow of Takao stood over them, "Good work." He smiled faintly as they passed out.
A couple of hours later, in the hospital;
"Arghh," Kudo came to shooting up, looking at the surrounding white walls. "Good, you are all awake," Takao said, munching on his peeled apple, 3 pairs of eyes turned to look at him with mild anguish and plenty of vengefulness.
Pretending that he didn't see anything, "Well, given how you passed all the tests today, that means that basic chakra control is something that I won't have to teach you. You are decent for your rank, and you must keep in mind to practice it always.
From what I have seen so far, only your taijutsu across all three could use some serious work. So, in the next session, we will still focus on honing your taijutsu. I know you three are good with some ninjutsu, but you don't have the chakra reserves to use ninjutsu in a drawn-out fight, so taijutsu will be your main path of attack.
Rest up, I will give 3 days off, and we will meet at the training ground at 6am." Takao immediately disappeared into a puff of smoke.
"Three days he says. That ugly…!" Ai spoke words which Kudo had the pleasure of filtering out as he lay down staring at the ceiling. His palms were gripping the bed sheet firmly as he recalled the water-walking test. He could see that he lacked in truly wide-area, powerful jutsu. He had spent 4 years perfecting his use of the water bullet jutsu to the extent that he came up with the variant exploding water bullet jutsu.
His growth had declined somewhat; progress doesn't feel as easy as it used to. He knew Takao wasn't the strongest in the village, even compared to other great villages; he didn't rank within the highest group, so 'I must be very weak,' he thought.
Most would argue that comparing yourself to a veteran jonin was harsh, but it was these very jonin that 2-month academy graduates were sent to kill in battle.
After organizing his thoughts, Kudo began meditating; his body was sore, but not bad enough that he couldn't meditate.
In Kumogakure, the Raikage's office;
"So, another one, Konoha must really be tearing itself apart to keep losing geniuses like this, first Tsunade, then Orochimaru, and now Itachi Uchiha, of the phantom kill." Ay mused, his thoughts unknown. "So, what do we do, boss, hit them hard?" Darui asked with his eyes, lazily observing the Raikage.
"We are not ready," Mabui spoke, her eyes blazing with injustice. It had taken her a long time to rebuild the village to enough strength that it was ready for war, when another battle broke out suddenly.
"Lord Raikage, it's better if we focus our effort on bringing Yugito Nii back to the village. With her here and trying once again to master the 2 tails, she might become a perfect jinchuriki, which will advance our war potential even further." Mabui pleaded, "And it seems that there are undercurrents stirring in Iwakagure. The village is on lockdown, and their Anbu have been active over the past few days." Mabui said in a serious tone.
Ay thought for a few seconds, "Okay, bring Yugito back forcefully if you must. I have a feeling the world is about to face a great calamity, so we cannot afford to be divided.
In Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage's office;
"Which bastard is it?! Who dares to attack the stone while I'm still alive? You! Make sure Han receives the best treatment possible. None of this leaks you hear! And find me these bastards so I can personally reduce them to rubble!!" "Bang!" Onoki roared, his face twisted in pure fury. Someone had set their eyes on their jinchuriki, and they were about to pay dearly.