Sensei is Ruthless! 2 (Patreon)

Sensei is Ruthless! 2 - or ‘When you can’t make a big difference in the previous ‘series’, then you can make it in the ensuing one!’ (Boruto, Ninja-Teacher!SI)

It is tradition for the Hokage to be given a full-on report from all teachers after the first school day at the Academy.

It’s a decades-old thing. I was familiar with it from the very day I was hired as a teacher by Headmaster Umino himself. Still, I was already aware from the get-go that ‘today’ would have been rough.

To create a visual representation of the dreadful ordeal, I may have to explain one thing. Uzumaki Naruto and I have been on a Senpai-Kohai quid pro quo from before he was sworn in as Hokage. He was well-aware that I would have been a bit of a ‘difficult’ teacher so he would always have me visit him first. To ‘lessen the mental struggle head on’.

I wasn’t too ruthless, but the sudden rise in recruitments for civvies had led to a drastic drop in quality. Luckily for Konoha, I was the middle ground between vicious and merciful as school was essential to create a degree of quality even during a time of peace.

The Age of Shinobi was indeed moving to its closure, but it was far from being done just yet. I was an Insert, and I had been preparing for the Ootsutsuki invasion for a long time.

The fucked-up period of the Fourth Shinobi World War had shown me that a few months and a few years, if you don’t have plot armor and a good bloodline, don’t matter shit in preparation. I almost died in the war due to how intense things were for young Chuunin. The frontline… nothing could have prepared me for that.

Still, those were ages ago and I had been ‘reborn’ through them. I had honed my skills, refined my battleplans, and ultimately built a state of reputation worthy of my current caliber.

And today was the day the real ‘unfun’ would start.

The reason why the Hokage had decided to leave me for last was simple, and it was evident to the other teachers too as some waved me goodbye.

“I am not going to die, you pricks,” I remember saying, but they didn’t seem to listen.

A little display of comedy before facing an execution squad- a big one at that. After all, the Hokage is a Family and Friends Man. And he had many friends and family members present at the report concerning his son, and the various children tied to the groups that were of his generation.

The office was already small, and it suddenly felt quite cramped as I took a seat by the lone center of the room. Subjected to plenty of glances all aimed at me. Each carrying some weight, some being relatively harmless and- One of them was rather dangerous.

Still, I was cornered- quite badly so.

“So… where do I start? Who do I bring up first?”

I looked around, trying to find some clarity on the matter and-

“I believe Naruto and Hinata have precedence,” Shikamaru hummed, still dealing with some paperwork while his wife frowned at his unwillingness to drop work at this moment.

Nonetheless, his proposal was supported by a super-majority despite the couple’s nervous refusal and I decided to go for it.

“So, Uzumaki Boruto. He listens to classes, but I would say that he is keen to distract with ease unless the topic gets him interested. He is quite aware that he has some advantages compared to his peers, but he is also conscious that he has weaknesses in regard to solid field experience. Sparring too has been lax from the way his stamina shows on the first day- I would suggest he puts a bit more effort in building his endurance.”

Naruto nodded, while Hinata was… actually taking notes.

“Next up is… Uchiha Sarada? I am just asking since I want to bring out those that may want to know the most- I can tell Sasuke will be listening to that,” I remarked, causing Sakura to perk up and nod. “Well, Sarada has been clearly taught well how to handle the pressure of waiting for the right moment and opportunity, as she is clearly well-prepared for class and quite well-mannered and active during lessons. I have nothing to really complain about beyond the tiny issue that she does hesitate while talking with new people.”

“We are working on that,” Sakura assured, still looking quite pleased with that response.

I spent a while elaborating on some other bits of the report, all in all gaining a positive reaction from all, but as things were slowly turning to an end for this tense meeting with the parents and the Hokage, the very voice that had been cleverly waiting for the right moment to strike… well, struck.

“How is Sumire doing?”

I blinked, glancing at the source of the question.

If there is something that the War had pretty much burned me into trying was ‘romancing’ people. I just didn’t feel like it was going to mean much to me if things were going to fall apart if I juggled too many things at once. I remember how unsure I was of taking Sumire in back when she was 3 but… it worked out, I suppose.

But while I didn’t purposely go out to find love, love did find me in the form of someone that had been hounding me for more than a decade now. Beating her sister’s record in trying to get in the pants of her love interest, Hyuuga Hanabi was quite compelled to not give up despite the fact we were both 29 and far from scoring anywhere in our ‘relationship’.

The fact that Hinata has been investing a lot to see something come out of this really didn’t make me feel any better as I knew only disappointment was going to come out of this. I really didn’t find her ugly or bad- maybe a bit obsessed but she wasn’t stalking me or anything like that. I just… didn’t see a point.

I am getting old, I have a kid, and I have two jobs- as a teacher and as someone that is planning to stop the bullshit of the post-Naruto Shippuden Era.

“She is doing well. I would say that she is playing it safe by limiting how many friends she wants to make in school, while also working on balancing between telling others her last name while also not flaunting around. Her skills are at their peak for someone her age, and she is patiently working to get her ‘secret’ under control.”

The Nue’s situation was painstakingly slow in terms of progress. The girl was working with limited paperwork on the matter as most of her biological father’s research had been either sealed away or burned outright.

It was the common policy adopted for any leftover projects from Root- Naruto had been clear on not leaving a single ‘surprise’ from Danzou out in the open for others to claim and exploit for their own gains.

Despite that, Sumire had it under control, but she lacked the means of keeping said control during combat-related scenes. So, it was a ‘frustrating’ work-in-progress by her own words, but I didn’t stress her about it since it was best for her to just ‘focus first on expanding her basic and advanced skills’.

There was not much of a push after that. I found myself walking out of the office with a relieved look and an interest to get dinner done before Sumire was done with her homework.

But as I paced fast out of the Hokage Building, I perceived someone chasing slowly after me. I sighed as I spotted the familiar perfume that a certain girl would put on.

“How may I help you, Hanabi?”

“Listening to a few words, actually. I don’t wish to be a pest, Kantaro.”

Not the usual -kun. Odd, but not too uncommon.

“Speak, then.”

“I would like to tell you that… I have decided to stop chasing after you.”

I blinked, a brief surprise flashing in my gaze as I continued to walk.

“Is that so? Any particular reason?”

“I think you are not interested in romance,” The woman admitted, appearing honest about it. “ I am stubborn but not stupid or blind.”

“It still took you a while to realize that,” I pushed back, but I could tell she was sticking to a hidden purpose behind this conversation.

Hanabi wasn’t just trying to tell me this, she was also trying to coax something out of me. A reaction? I was too tempered for that, and she knew that already.

“...I am worried. For you.”

I held back an eye-roll. “What for, precisely?”

“The fact you are bracing for something.”

…She- she shouldn’t know the truth. Maybe she is bluffing.

“I don’t follow.”

“It’s something that stuck to me. The fact that you are reluctant to pursue connections beyond friendship. Even when Sumire was close to being put in the orphanage, you were tempted to not adopt her.”

“I wasn’t sure I had the abilities and qualifications to be her adoptive fathers,” I admitted calmly. “Time proved I made a good choice.”

“No.”

I sighed. “I don’t speak for half-reasons. Please, be a bit more concise on what you seek from me, Hanabi.”

She looked forward, eyes perceiving something that made her smile.

“You are planning to die aren’t you?” The woman finally asked, and I felt my teeth gritting behind my lips. “And I know I am right since you are using one of your ‘isolation bubbles on us’.”

Wind Style: Hidden Bubble was a particular technique I originally developed together with a few members of the Interrogation unit in the ANBU. The purpose was to isolate a prisoner and captor from being spied upon within a public interrogation.

I eventually refined it to be feasible within a mobile approach if the pace was well-coordinated. Like it was happening right now.

“Perhaps you are. But I hope you are careful with your next words.”

“You’re not trying to kill yourself,” She assured, leveling a flat look while her smile dropped. “If you did, then you would have been truly nervous.”

Her Byakugan was on, the gaze spotting the way my body was reacting to this kind of topic. I would be lying if I said I was utterly devoid of unease, but I was working my best to keep things stable even within.

“My hope is to live a long life, enough for me to be enjoying things like Hatake-sensei and Guy-sensei nowadays.”

“Then, it’s a plan. You are planning to face someone you know you can’t win against- but how come you are not seeking help?”

“It depends on the why. And I think you should explain how you even mustered such a theory.”

Hanabi offered a playful look. “Small things. You were quite crafty in keeping those details to yourself, but you can’t clean everything. You are always methodical, but it’s this year’s report that has me aware that it’s going to happen soon.”

Her gaze was back to the villagers around, pausing briefly on kids playing with a ball.

“I know Boruto is up to your standard. His stamina should be enough as I had been training him to be able to withstand what you can throw at him… if you were to treat him like your other students,” Hanabi further explained. “Same for the other students. I know Naruto-nii is busy with his chores, but I bet he would have spotted that this report is an anomaly and it means you want this generation in particular to be ready. What is it?”

…

She is smart and beautiful, that I will give.

“I think we will have issues soon. In regard to the Ootsutsuki.”

“Kaguya is still sealed,” Hanabi argued, and yet she paused a bit as she realized my face was flat at this instinctual response. “You are not talking about her.”

“I am not.”

“...You think there’s more?” She asked next, and I slowly nodded.

“I have a feeling that it is the case,” I assured softly. “I was not fully certain, but I had a theory as we were looking into Kaguya’s attempt to conquer the world.”

“She tried to enslave us-”

“Did she?” I argued calmly at that. “Mind you, I am not raising this point to defend her, but one thing that we can all say for sure is that we were not getting enslaved, we were being ‘decommissioned’.”

“New humans-”

“Then ‘shelved away’, ‘stored safely’ and so on,” I corrected and Hanabi seemed to pick up what I meant.

“You think she was trying to- to protect us?” Hanabi sounded perplexed. “That’s a big jump.”

“Which is why it was a theory for a while. The idea of Kaguya of all people protecting us felt like a slap on the face,” I added, sparing her a serious look. “Then I realized she could have had us all enslaved without the plants, without that dream-like illusion.”

“And?”

“And then Toneri happened,” I answered quickly, the girl well-aware of that topic as it involved the kidnapping of her sister. “A society that had been hiding away from the world for eons. We didn’t know about it, and we were surprised. Not only that, but they were strong enough to make our current Hokage struggle.”

“He was rusty,” Hanabi defended her brother-in-law. “But still… how does this connect to your ‘theory’?”

“Two,” I hummed, and the girl… scoffed.

“What about ‘two’ now?”

“It’s always two people that are at the center of major calamities or the turn of eras,” I elaborated mirthfully, knowing I was playing with her a little and getting a fun enough reaction. “Naruto and Sasuke, Hashirama and Madara, Ashura and Indra, Hagoromo and Hamura… and then there is Kaguya. And this is odd.”

“Why?” She pushed back. “Somewhere, the cycle has to ‘begin’ from.”

“If she was the combination of the ‘two’, then yes. But see, all those names I listed to you have common factors: emotion and logic,” I finally got to the juicy bit. “The emotion that can be senseless at times, and the logic that can be amoral. Yet… Kaguya didn’t have much logic for what she was doing- not just with the illusion, but when she first came to power.”

“She enslaved humans-”

“But never once tried to oppress them within reason. She didn’t claim power because ‘it made sense’, she did so because she was driven to be in charge- an emotional decision within a lack of sense. And then… she had children. She allowed herself to be exposed to the potential nature of betrayal because children will always have a ‘rebellious phase’. She disregarded the logic that she didn’t need it.”

“Maybe the emotion overran the logic.”

I nodded in agreement. “And that’s where the theory pretty much stopped. Perhaps I was overthinking it, maybe there had been a second Ootsutsuki and they perished, and maybe Kaguya is just an insane entity and I shouldn’t be wasting time ‘understanding her’.”

Hanabi groaned. “Come on, I can tell you have a ‘but’ to deliver. Go on with it.”

“Well…” I smiled cheekily. “This came to change around the time I adopted Sumire. As you know, the Hokage wanted Danzou’s little projects dismantled before any new surprises came up close to destroy Konoha in the future. During this research which went outside of the village’s borders, we… found a few odd situations we didn’t truly look deep into, but that were still put in reports for ‘other potential investigations’. One of which was the ‘desecration of temples’ dedicated to the Sage of the Six Paths.”

“There’s plenty of those. But it’s odd they would loot those during peacetime. Bandits?”

“Too clean of a job- all priests were accounted as missing as their bodies just were never found,” I answered truthfully. “Then we studied some of those temples’ relics. One of those in particular had been destroyed and people that have then reconstructed some of the murals confirmed one thing- that temple was meant to hold the ‘Sage’s Corpse’.”

“And?” Hanabi was literally poking me at this point to snatch more info, raptly listening to what I had to say.

“And since Hagoromo didn’t leave any corpse behind, it meant that someone ‘like him’ had died and his remnant had been kept in that temple until someone had found them. And then someone equally ‘clean’ started to buy children in a rather specific and selective manner.”

“...This sounds like an Orochimaru thing.”

“Which is why we asked Sasuke to then check if this was the snake bastard being at it again- turns out that wasn’t the case and that ‘he learned his lesson to dabble into bloodlines’,” I rebuked honestly. “Still, an Ootsutsuki-like corpse has been stolen, kids are being kidnapped and I know that having the Hokage involved in this will only make this a messier situation. If this group is indeed able to pull so many strings and still keep themselves away from the spotlight, then the moment suspicion is cast they will be able to lay low until the alert is ‘over’.”

“And that explains why you didn't tell Naruto-nii. But… how does this connect to not giving me a chance?”

“...Do you think I want to purposely hurt you, Hanabi?”

The girl paused, we both did. We were both at the entrance of my home and it had gotten a bit late.

“No.”

“And what do you think would have happened if I gave you a chance, held back this from you, and then let things unfold as I planned?”

She drew a deep sigh. “I would have been angry, furious even. And hurting.”

“I am not leaving behind a widow.”

“...You are so infuriating when you are ‘right’,” Hanabi muttered, then gave me a giddy look. “But does that mean that now I can resume the chase and just help you about it?”

“I will refuse your advances, as usual.”

“Is that so? Then I guess I can just invite myself to dinner and… I will claim a snack now.”

I blinked, but before I could have protested the girl just leaned up, cupped my cheeks and landed a kiss square on my lips. She stopped a bit before leaning away, showing me her smug ‘gotcha’ smile before walking inside and leaving me silent and confused.

The fuck?

—-----d-d-d-d—-----

AN

So, I have to explain the ‘Age info’ I give in this story and how it works since there’s not an established canon for some characters during Boruto… but I found a way to deduce them: Mirai Sarutobi.

This is a character that was born in the middle of Shippuden, and that we know the age of, which is 17. By doing some math, the end result is:

Naruto and people in his generation: 34-35;
Konohamaru and people in his generation: 29-30;

From there the rest can be deduced as- Boruto was conceived when his parents were 21/22, while Himawari was born when they were 23-24.