Chapter 12: Intent to ???

Mukai stared intently at the message. As the reward finished initializing confusion washed over him.

{ Training Day Complete }

{ Rating: S }

{ Reward: Knowledge. }

The system paused for a second as if loading. Then out of nowhere like a rush of wind through the leaves in fall Knowledge flooded Mukai’s mind.

“Agh”

He had to work to keep himself on his feet and his hands went to reach for his head. The knowledge didn't calmly assimilate into his mind as one would have thought. It slammed into his brain with all the subtlety of a Tailed Beast Bomb into the village walls.

For what felt like hours but was only a couple of seconds in reality Mukai stood there holding his head in agony. Eventually, the pain eased and he opened his eyes with a new clarity held in them.

He looked over to where Guy and Obito were still packing up and decided to try something.

“Hey guys, Whenever you get emotional, do you notice your chakra doing anything weird at all?” He asked

They stopped to consider his question. They hadn't seen his episode but they had heard him suddenly stop moving and go silent before asking this question out of the blue. Guy was the first to speak up.

He clenched his fist as the thought reached him. “Well whenever I get super worked up, and I think about the power of… the power of… THE POWER OF YOUTH.” His body almost broke itself with how fast it snapped into position.

With the awareness he had now, Mukai made sure not to waste this opportunity. He quickly activated his sensory jutsu and heightened his senses as much as possible to observe Guy’s chakra as it flowed during his trancelike state.

A beep sounded in his head. 

{ A Student has unlocked their INTENT.  }

{ The first step to a DOMAIN. }

Mukai quickly dismissed the notification.

“Haha, Very good Guy!.” He couldn't help but laugh. With broken students like his, he was sure to reach the top of the ninja world in no time.

What Guy had accomplished was unlocking his INTENT. The driving force behind every ninja's way of life. A belief so strong that it can embody a fragment of the power of the Sage of Six Path’s will and bestow the ninja with a marginal increase in power according to the solidity of said intent.

An intent that has reached a certain point can lead to a DOMAIN. A deeper connection with the Sage’s will that would give the ninja a field in which the power of their intent can come to true fruition.

A ninja with mainly fire capabilities with the Intent of protecting those around him may manifest a domain in which burning embers as hot as Amaterasu circle those his enemies wish to harm. Of course, a domain is over a hundred times harder to form than intent. One has to embody their intent so completely that it seeps into the chakra system, and is then able to pull harder on the Sages will.

Guy snapped out of it to find both Obito and Mukai looking at him with funny faces. ‘What’s with that grin…’ He thought to himself looking at Mukai. His face was very different from Obito’s grimace.

“Haha, no worries Guy, Just seeing how you would respond is all. Let me see you both off.” Mukai responded. He would explain to them what happened eventually, however, he didn't want to stunt their development with such thoughts now.

As he walked them out of his courtyard he pondered how he would encourage Obito and any future students of his to Unlock such a broken ability. And he wondered if he could ever believe in something so wholly to do so himself…

—

It’s been two weeks since Mukai officially had the students on the new training plans. They had developed nicely, carrying themselves in a more ninja-like manner. Their stealth had improved, and so had their decision-making, and tactics. 

Their greatest gains however came in their chakra control and combat training. Mukai had taken the approach with his personal disciples and applied it to both the morning and afternoon classes. He set aside time each class to randomly assault groups or solo “ninja” going through their set situations throughout the week. Not only were they quicker to respond but they were nastier and fought to win. 

A little under half of the class had progressed passed walking on walls and were now trying to do so with multiple leaves on their bodies. The leaves had the added element of requiring different amounts of suction depending on the body part, and Mukai made it random every day. 

As for Mukai’s personal growth he had managed to force his chakra capacity to go up from the constant use to do the paperwork for the two classes he had taken on. He could now hold two at a time and still reserve enough chakra to fight. 

The system's rewards, however, dwindled greatly. It seemed he only got rewarded when he introduced something new. He was constantly racking his brain on ways he could do just that and claim more rewards.

Thoughts on the recent weeks raced through Mukai’s mind as he prepared himself for his morning classes. A soft smile on his thin lips, he was making some headway and finally catching a sense of rhythm in this crazy world.

The village was as always these days, quiet and almost desolate. Civilians would only leave their homes to visit the shops rarely. And all the ninjas had a guarded and wary look about them. They knew it was only a matter of time until the War passed skirmishes on the border and they were forced to fight. Only a matter of time.

Observing all this Mukai shook his head. ‘I wish I could do more to help’ He thought. However, he consoled himself with the fact that at least he was preparing the village's next generation to handle any threat that came their way.

As he made his way to the academy, a fleeting sensation brushed against the edges of his awareness, like the whisper of fabric against skin or the faintest breeze. For a moment, Mukai paused, his instincts honed from countless covert root missions stirring within him. The feeling was elusive, ghost-like, leaving behind no trace yet unmistakable to someone of his experience. It was as if eyes he could not see were watching him, evaluating, measuring every step he took.

But then, as quickly as it came, the sensation vanished, like a shadow retreating under the glare of the sun. Mukai shook his head slightly, a small frown creasing his brow as he considered the possibility of his mind playing tricks on him. The stress of the upcoming war, the responsibility he felt towards his students, the weight of the expectations placed on his shoulders—all these could easily explain away the fleeting moment of paranoia.

With a shrug, Mukai brushed off the unsettling feeling, attributing it to the heightened tension that permeated the village. 'Focus on what you can control,' he reminded himself, redirecting his thoughts towards the day ahead. He had a role to play, one that did not afford him the luxury of dwelling on shadows and whispers.

He reached the school and put all his belongings down before heading to the training ground as usual. There he waited facing where the students would file in and gather. He loved his students dearly, but as to not coddle them he had to be cold in training.

As they filed in his greetings that they had come to love before the looming war was missing. As it had been the last couple of weeks. He simply observed them before starting the session.

“You know the drill. Today teams 2 through 5 you’re with me, were running an ally recovery mission. I will have a shadow clone trailing us that will attack periodically so be prepared. Teams 1 and 6 will be completing their tree walking. Those who can, will have two leaves on each palm. Understood?”

“Yes Teacher Yusei!” The class chorused back. 

“Good. Dismissed.” He responded.

 Most of the smiles and giggles that would usually follow a dismissal were missing. The kids were too focused on keeping their awareness up for any surprises Mukai might throw at them.

As the group moved through the forest Mukai observed the kids. They were running in a wide fan formation at high speed through the trees, only letting their chakra stick long enough to push off to the next branch. This was a skill expected to be learned months after graduating from the academy but Mukai thought it was a bare minimum to survive in this world.

He could see that some of the kids were struggling more than most. His teacher's insight allowed him to see great inefficiencies in their technique. But they were so green that it might be even counterproductive to micromanage them mid-travel.

As they move through the forest each student has a job or a designation. The kids at the back were responsible for clearing any tracks if possible. Some kids traveled higher to the ground while some traveled lower. The ones closest to the tops of the trees had visibility for miles on any approaching ninja. While the ones closest to the bottom set simple tripwires every thousand meters.

Mukai smiled internally at the efficiency his students were displaying. While imperfect and simple in nature the elements of conducting missions he was trying to convey to them would be necessary for their entire careers as ninjas.

Suddenly Mukais thoughts were interrupted by a tap from one of his students. He whipped his head to see Anko with a hand up signing ‘Ninja… ahead…  five… unknown…’ 

The kids had managed to transmit that message silently from the scouts all the way to him without breaking stride. He would be over the moon with joy if this wasn't a very real problem. He immediately signed for the party to group up and stop moving. 

‘Fall… back… to… nearest… se…t tripwires’ He looked them all in the eye, He had to make sure they understood this wasn't a drill nor test. 

‘Defensive… formation…. Only… engage… when… forced’ He continued.

‘Understood.’ They all signed back

Mukai watched them leave for a second before turning back to the direction the ninjas were fast approaching. After being alerted he activated his sensory jutsu.

‘Tch, how could I make such a silly mistake’ He knew to have it active during missions but had grown lax.

He pulled two kunai from his side pockets. His eyes grew wide, almost crazed when he thought of his students in danger and potentially getting hurt.

Night would have to make his appearance once again. He flickered.