Industrious - Chapter 56: (Patreon)

“Sarutobi-Jounin, correct?” I asked, offering the man a shallow bow to get his measure. As I suspected, though, he casually waved off even that level of formality, gesturing with one hand that still held a smoking cigarette between his fingers even as I busied myself tracing the backdrop of the new training ground I found myself in. New for me personally, of course, not for the village.

“Just Asuma is fine,” he replied in a voice that spoke of years of smoking and rough use, even at his age. The similarly-seasoned eyes raked over me in all my visually-unremarkable glory. Brown pants, white shirt, a heavy brown jacket over that with a forest-green sash around my waist with black gloves and shoes.

The only hint of martial capacity was a wooden bokken slung across my back.

“So you're Kotaro, huh?” He asked rhetorically, taking a drag on his cigarette.

I shrugged. “That's me. Obito said you wanted me to do a training exercise with your genin?”

“Obito, huh?” Asuma asked thoughtfully, and I shrugged again. He hummed, then immolated the butt of his cigarette with a twist of chakra as he stood from where he was sitting on the upraised root of a tree. “Yeah, I recently saw his team in action, bunch of little monsters.”

Thankfully, the last part was added affectionately rather than maliciously.

I really didn't want to have to make an issue of something like that, but given that Satsuki and Yakumo were my lovers and Naruko, my friend, I would have had to confront Asuma if he'd decided to be that petty.

“And you want me to help your team?” I asked skeptically, cocking my head. “I really don't have the kind of time it would take to get your kids up to their level. Satsuki, Yakumo, and Naruko are the work of years of effort on my part to say nothing of what their clans brought to the table training them. Besides, I wouldn't want to undermine your authority by being too hands-on with them.”

Asuma grimaced, nodding slightly as he conceded the point. “Yeah, the Old Man would have my hide if he thought I was foisting an Ino-Shika-Cho trio on a civilian. I just...” His eyes cut sideways and he cleared his throat awkwardly. “...was wondering if you had any tips?”

I stared at the jounin, my face a blank mask over my incomprehension. “You want me to... teach you how... to teach?”

The older man's cheeks heated slightly, then his expression firmed and he bent down slightly and began speaking in an undertone. “Look kid, I just don't want to look like a lazy asshole in front of my girlfriend, okay? You'd be doing me a solid if you just gave me a few pointers and maybe showed up once or twice to get them properly motivated. That's your thing, right? Helping other kids your age?”

I chewed on the question as I quashed my instinctual response. Instead, I carefully measured my tone. “No. My thing is helping my friends and romantic partners. For what I hope are obvious reasons.”

Honestly? Asuma would have had a better shot at asking Shikaku to get me more involved in helping his son. Then instructed Shikamaru to, in turn, draw me in to help his team. I made a quick mental note to watch for that and, if it started happening, to at least exact a price for it if I couldn't head it off at the pass.

Asuma stroked his beard contemplatively. “Hmm... how about a price to do it, then?”

I frowned, mentally drawing up my balance sheet of expenditures and withdrawals. While more money, in principle, was never a bad thing, there was a point where the opportunity cost represented by work of a specific kind was greater than the potential of doing a different kind. Or doing work for a different client. Asuma, as a jounin, likely had a fairly large disposable income. I'd spoken with Obito, Itachi, Mikoto, Kushina, and a few others on the topic of money over the last several months and come up with a good estimation of what I could charge people for custom blades and other bespoke projects. Sagara, of course, had helped out, though even the, ah... 'cutting edge' (pun intended) of his smithing prowess was nowhere near what I could create and, therefore, nowhere near what I could charge.

Which, to be blunt, meant that making a single sword would likely be a more productive use of my time than accepting Asuma's offer.

Although the man was a jounin, he was also on teaching duty. That meant he was detached from the general forces and, more or less, under the direct command of the Hokage instead of the Jounin commander. Why? Because Jounin-sensei almost always had politically valuable individuals under their watch. Granted, they were granted an enormous amount of leave to decide their (team's) mission roster, but the Hokage could (in theory, at least) force or bar said jounin (and their team) on any specific mission.

What this meant, in practice, was that the village subsidized the pay of jounin-sensei while they were actively teaching and allowed the actual mission pay of D and C-ranks to be split among the genin themselves. A long-term 'teaching mission' nicely solved both the income problems of the jounin and actually incentivized the genin to accomplish their missions instead of arguing about how much of their pay the 'lazy jounin teacher' was going to get.

It really says something that the goddamn shinobi have figured out that unpaid internships to 'learn important occupational skills' don't fucking work.

So... in short, I knew how much Asuma was making on a monthly basis. It was enough to live comfortably on, but not enough for massive expenditures. I distantly recalled he'd served with the Twelve Guardians of Fire in the Fire Daimyo's court and likely had a significant nest egg saved up from his stint there, but...

There comes a point where asking for an inordinate amount of money when a man's pride is on the line comes across as more of an insult than a simple refusal. I think the technical term for that point is, 'Dick Move.'

“You know how much my swords sell for?” I asked.

Asuma blinked at the non-sequitur, then grimaced. “Hmm... point. Alright then, kid, you've got me in a tough spot. What do you want?”

I cocked my head in thought. What did I want? Now there was a loaded question. I had Guy for the exhibition match I was planning, I had everything set for Kushina's operation, there wasn't anything pressing...

Hmm...

“Two things,” I stated slowly, and Asuma nodded, standing back up to his full height as he watched me expectantly. “First, a banked favor.” He grimaced, and I shrugged. “It won't be anything too bad. Worse comes to worst, I have you roll your genin team out for a mission on my behalf and you shoulder the fee.”

That stipulation gave a level of monetary value and applicable danger to the favor, or at least a valid range thereof, to which Asuma nodded slowly. “Okay, I can do that. The second?”

“I heard through the grapevine you just got back from the Daimyo's court,” I led with, seeing him frown once again. “Your nephew bragged about it while I was over at the Uzumaki Compound,” which, thankfully was both true and a valid excuse, “but I'm cashing in a bunch of favor's with the Hokage to try and get a minor noble title-”

Asuma huffed a half-laugh. “Why'd you want one of those, kid? Even if you get one, everyone around you will treat you like shit. The only reason would be-” He stopped, realization in his eyes as he nodded slowly. “I was going to say the stipend, but if what I've been hearing from Obito and Guy is true, you're in it for your girls.”

I shrugged, not bothering to deny it. “The Hokage might have said something about a bunch of blades I made disappearing into unknown hands earning me some credit in that regard.”

Asuma sucked in a breath through his teeth. “And you want me to see about putting in the good word for you.” It wasn't a question, and I waited patiently as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a small flash of chakra. He took a long drag, likely enjoying being back in control of the conversation for a moment, then nodded again. “Okay, I can do that. Nothing obvious, but you don't want obvious for this. Still, I've got a marker I can call in.”

“Alright then,” I stated, crossing my arms as I thought over the matter. “The first thing you need to understand as regards getting your genin to perform is that it's a question of motivation. The main issue here is that I'm not entirely sure involving me is going to create the kind and longevity of motivation you want. While it's true I could provoke Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji into working harder, the fact that only Shikamaru knows who I am, and distantly at that, means anything I do to them would be a relative flash in the pan.”

Asuma frowned and scratched his beard. “Hmm... that makes some sense, I suppose. Still, it better not be a lead-in to an excuse to get out of doing anything.”

I barked an unexpected laugh and shook my head. “Ah, no. I'm just trying to temper your expectations here. Well, that and also trying to look at what kind of approach you specifically want.”

Asuma nodded again, his gaze still speculative. “Hmm... okay, then. I'll hear you out.”

…

There were a number of reasons behind the meeting, but the most significant one in Asuma's mind was to get a feel for Konoha's newest oddity. His home, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, had a long and storied history of attracting and raising particularly weird. He, himself, remembered the halcyon days of the Sannin. Although he wasn't old enough to remember their rise, he'd been an academy student while they were at the height of their power.

He also remembered what that had done to his father.

Asuma sighed internally and dismissed the pang of emotion those thoughts brought up.

Kotaro, the clanless orphan didn't particularly strike him as the second coming of the seal master Jiraiya had been, nor was he the rising star Minato Namikaze had been. In fact, Kotaro's particular brand of strangeness seemed to be how normal he was.

Or, well, how normal he appeared to be at first glance.

It was fascinating, actually, the boy reminding him quite a bit of his hobby of people-watching while working in the Guardians of Fire at the royal court. The younger nobles that had debuted during his tenure often had imperfect etiquette, learning it piecemeal as their days at court went on. Even if many of them had received extensive tutoring on the subject, practical experience was often a more instructive process. In the meantime, though, they would have patchwork habits as they pulled together different affectations from the appropriate levels of nobility and formality.

Kotaro reminded him a great deal of those younger court members.

Only... not quite. There's something else in him.

Even the highest court officials hesitated to speak so frankly to a shinobi. In particular, those who knew the difference between a green genin and a seasoned chunin or jounin at least made the pretense of feigned respect. Even if, in reality, they feared, shunned, or outright hated ninja. Monks and samurai could be depended, to a certain extent, to be loyal to ideologies. Even if they weren't especially convenient ones, and even if they also had political motivations.

Shinobi, though, only had two loyalties... and that was if you didn't have the misfortune of meeting a diehard patriot.

The first loyalty is always to the village. The second is to the mission.

There were ways to interpret both of them, of course. Being loyal to 'the village' varied between the political leadership of your home and the true best interests. Likewise, loyalty to the mission could mean the terms you agreed to with the client, whatever the village had actually told you to accomplish, your own teammates, or a personal interpretation of the objective which fit with your own morality.

...but those who don't understand the life of a shinobi never care to grasp the subtext of those decisions, either. For those people, ninja are bloodthirsty mercenaries bound only by gold.

And apparently Dear Old Dad was trying to get a 'civilian craftsman' into a key position as a mole within the court. It was, in its own way, as clever as anything the aging Hokage had come up with. Holding a prodigy back from graduating for superficial reasons that appeared legitimate, but training him as an 'off the books' agent of the village who could act as both an influence peddler for the village to the daimyo and a way for the Uchiha and Kurama to more closely associate themselves with the levers of political power.

Every generation, a few clans tried to make a play in the court and there were some success stories. A distant cousin of the daimyo had married a member of the Akimichi clan, in fact. It helped that the clan was sufficiently straight-forward in their traditions that they could impersonate samurai should they feel the need to in their heavy armor.

It did worry him, on occasion, how powerful the Uchiha seemed to be on the verge of becoming within the village, but... Itachi and Satsuki were cast from a different mold than their father, at least.

“So, what you'd suggest is finding ways to subtly provoke the kind of reaction that would motivate them without appearing to have deliberately intended it,” Asuma frowned contemplatively, pondering the advice. It was a kind of generalist approach to deception that he hadn't considered using on the brats.

“That's if the straightforward approach doesn't work,” Kotaro stated with a shrug, once again surprising Asuma with how casual the boy could be in conversing with someone so high-ranked. Definitely his father's hand there, if his suspicions for Kotaro's purpose were on-point.

“Put them through a personalized training hell. Nothing quite as brutal as what Guy does, but...” Kotaro explained.

Asuma frowned. His own sensei had been much more... free-range about things, he supposed was the best way to put it. Then again, his old team had been much more motivated than his current students. He'd thought getting this generation's clan heirs of the famous trio would have meant his own contributions would be limited to refining their basics and holding their hands through early missions. The opportunity would give him a chance to reacclimate to the village, shake the rust off some skills that hadn't seen use in the court, and... well, get him used to the idea of kids. Someday soon, at least.

But if it came down to putting in extra effort or having 'his' kids be the disappointment...

“So just run them ragged?” Asuma asked skeptically, imagining Shikamaru's reaction to the ultimatum. Chouji would put up with it after an obligatory period of whining, but Ino would be almost as bad as his Nara student.

“It's your job to prepare them for the life of a shinobi, not be their friend,” Kotaro told him bluntly. “Friendship comes later, after the funeral they didn't have.”

Asuma winced, irritated by how sharply that barb cut. He hadn't been treating them as friends, had he... Memories of the past months flared, casual interactions over games of shogi, tables of snacks, and arrangements of flowers as he guided them through rudimentary exercises. Looking at those same situations more analytically, his position had been an authoritative one, but less of an authority than a first among equals.

Shit. The kid might have a point... I might have been out of the regular chain of command too long. Ugh, at least I'm getting a good deal out of this. It'd be humiliating to have Dad or someone else dress me down for improper conduct, even with how loosely genin teams are run.

“I think I'll see about putting some pressure on them,” Asuma mused aloud. “Tell them the period I've given them to acclimatize to their new position is over. Give that a week or two and check the results-”

“At least a month,” Kotaro interrupted, Asuma's blue eyes flicking back to him consideringly, waiting for an explanation. “Changing pedagogies too frequently without giving them time to show results can be more damaging than sticking with a poor methodology. It's important to set expectations and hold students to them regularly to show that their progress is both being tracked and evaluated in a way that they can understand. If you shift from one teaching strategy to the next without warning or explanation, it confuses them as to what metric they should be judging themselves by and can feed bad habits instead of good ones.”

That... was the first time Asuma had ever heard anything on the topic laid out like that, but it made good, logical sense.

Hmm... I can see why those girls turned into the freaks of nature that they did. It's not every day you find a prodigy that's good at teaching. Probably another reason Pops didn't want him on the front lines.

“A month, then, and if that doesn't work I'll explain to them why we're changing things up,” Asuma agreed, his mind having long moved past an evaluation of Kotaro and into a re-evaluation of his own team and teaching style.

Potential Spent:

Metaphysical Physiology: Unique Mutation (Kota) I

Metaphysical Cosmology: Reincarnation Cycles

Metaphysical Physiology: Reincarnation (Aberrant)

Metaphysical Physiology: Respiration of the Soul

Metaphysical Cosmology: Akashic Records

Blacksmithing

Cognitive Performance Enhancement

Meditation

Mechanical Computers

Horology

Cooking

Prana-Bindu Disciplines I

Blacksmithing: Ninja Tools

Mechanical Computers II

Prana-Bindu Disciplines II

Prana-Bindu Disciplines III

Swordsmithing

Automation

Metallurgy

Lightsaber Styles - Form I: Shii-Cho

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu

Chakra Control

Medic-Nin Training

Lightsaber Styles - Form I: Shii-Cho (II)

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu II

Prana-Bindu Disciplines IV

Weirding Way

(Nothing New for Chapter 9-11, Same Month)

Ruggedization

Yin-Yang Manipulation

Blacksmithing: Chakra-Conductive Metals

(Nothing New for Chapter 12-15, Same Month)

Personal Techniques: Otsutsuki Hagoromo I

Lightsaber Styles - Form I: Shii-Cho (III)

(Nothing New for Chapter 18, Same Month)

Fuinjutsu I

Personal Techniques: Otsutsuki Hagoromo II

Personal Techniques: Otsutsuki Hagoromo III

Fuinjutsu II

Fuinjutsu III

Metaphysical Physiology: Unique Mutation (Kota) II

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu III

ANBU-Ne Operational History

Medic-Nin Training II

Medic-Nin Training III

Demon Slayer Breathing Styles I-V

Ninja Puppetry: I&II

Cyberpunk: Cybernetics I-III

Gunm/Battle Angel: Cybernetics I-IV

Dark Chakra I&II

Education II & III (New)

-(Education Rank I is already possessed due to having a mundane degree in the subject.)

~

Okay, here we go.  There's that done, and I hope to have a new chapter of something out in a day or two.  Right now I'm thinking 'Where Your God Is' or the Marvel sidestory for Industrious.

Outside of that, it seems as though things have finally settled down around my neck of the woods.  I hope everyone else is doing well, too.

Since I haven't said it recently, thanks once again for all of the help and support.  I really appreciate it and am glad to have everyone backing me up.  Stay awesome.