Konoha: Starting with the Tenseigan, Taking Over Team 7

Death.

What a disgusting word. Dying for someone important?

Utterly foolish.

Nothing mattered more than staying alive!

Yuki Haku said calmly, "Having no dream, being needed by no one, and living only to suffer—Mr. Zabuza gave me a place to belong. He once told me he needed my strength."

"To fulfill his dream, I can become a tool without feelings, because he gave my existence meaning." Yuki Haku held a Kunai in both hands and lowered his head slightly. "Take my life. I beg you to spare Mr. Zabuza."

As long as he could protect the person most important to him, he was willing to become an emotionless tool. He would do anything, even bow his head and beg an enemy.

"What would I do with your life? Sell you to a brothel and make some money? Someone would probably be interested. People have all sorts of strange tastes." Aogetsu Hyuga knocked off Yuki Haku's mask, took hold of Haku's smooth, fair chin, and studied his delicate, pretty face.

He really was cute.

If only he were a woman.

"You..." Yuki Haku stumbled back in panic.

Sold to a brothel?

The thought was terrifying!

Was Cangyue a demon?

"Let's play a game. I'll give you five days to recover. During that time, my students will grow stronger. After five days, they'll face the Demon in a decisive battle."

Aogetsu Hyuga smiled. "I'm an excellent teacher, after all. I should give my students a chance to show what they can do."

"Of course, if the Mist Ninja's Demon loses, every one of you dies." Aogetsu Hyuga reached toward Yuki Haku's neck, a wisp of pale blue Chakra rising from his fingertip.

Heat flared in Yuki Haku's abdomen, and a strange rune appeared there.

Yuki Haku asked warily, "What is this?"

"Don't think about running. I've already put a collar on you." Aogetsu Hyuga's smile turned dangerous as he whispered in Yuki Haku's ear, "With that in place, I can find you instantly, no matter where you flee."

Yuki Haku asked, "If Mr. Zabuza wins, will you let us leave?"

A decisive battle with Team 7 in five days?

How could those children possibly beat Mr. Zabuza?

And what could Team 7 change in just five days?

Aogetsu Hyuga said flatly, "Do you have a choice?"

"We accept your proposal." Yuki Haku's heart sank.

They truly had no way out.

Accepting Cangyue's proposal would buy them a few more days. Refusing meant dying immediately.

"You're a good teacher. You'd go this far to help your students grow. They must be very important to you." Yuki Haku's legs gave way, and he sat on the ground with his knees drawn up and his arms around them. He glanced at Zabuza, unconscious beside him, and smiled faintly.

Aogetsu Hyuga said casually, "Anyway, do your best. If the mood strikes me, I might even spare you."

For now, his plan was in place. Everything had been set up. All that remained was for those little brats to work hard, defeat the Mist Ninja's Demon, and earn him the rewards from the Lottery Pack.

He could also use the opportunity to teach Team 7 the Rasengan and the rest of that stuff, advancing the Master-Disciple Main Mission.

Two birds with one Stone!

Perfect!

He had even found their opponents for them. Now those little brats just had to work hard and get stronger.

In short.

All five of them needed to work hard as his pawns and earn him the rewards from the Master-Disciple Mission.

That was right. Five pawns.

In Cangyue's eyes, Yuki Haku and the others were also pawns for completing this Side Mission. That was the proper way to use an enemy!

"May I see those students who matter so much to you tomorrow?" Yuki Haku tilted his head with an endearing expression. "Call it scouting the enemy."

Though Zabuza was the most important person to him, he worried about the members of Team 7 too. He feared those children might die in battle.

He could become a cold, unfeeling tool for someone important to him, but deep down, he was still a kind Ninja.

"Go ahead." With that, Aogetsu Hyuga turned into a bolt of lightning and vanished.

The Kurenai sun sank toward the western mountains.

Land of Waves.

At the edge of the forest.

Sasuke Uchiha sat before the campfire, watching the flames sway in the breeze. Anxiety filled his eyes. He pressed his interlaced fingers against his forehead and clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Tch."

They needed to get stronger, but how?

The three members of Team 7 sat around the fire, thinking over what had happened that day.

Teacher Cangyue had told them they would fight the rogue ninja Zabuza Momochi in five days. But could they really defeat him?

Zabuza Momochi was a powerful Jonin!

Five days.

Just five short days. Even if they trained themselves half to death, three Genin couldn't gain the power to match a Jonin!

Naruto Uzumaki folded his arms and frowned in thought for a moment. "When Teacher Cangyue finishes what he's doing, let's ask him to train us."

Sakura Haruno hesitated. "Teacher Cangyue hates being bothered. Will he help us train?"

"Heh, I came prepared with tuition money." Naruto Uzumaki pulled out a Frog Wallet. The thought of handing over that money made his heart ache. He rubbed his cheek against the wallet and said pitifully, "My poor little frog. This is the last of my savings."

He really had no money left.

This was the last of his savings!

"I brought money too..." Sakura Haruno took out a Pink Wallet. Before she had left the village for the mission, her family had given her money to buy ninja tools and protective gear.

"..." Sasuke Uchiha felt his Kabuto. All he had was a single Soldier Pill. He looked at Naruto's Frog Wallet, then at Sakura's Pink Wallet. The corner of his mouth twitched.

The last time he had paid tuition, he had given Teacher Cangyue all his money!

Now he was penniless!

Naruto Uzumaki held up his Frog Wallet, his face smug. "You don't have any money, Sasuke? Then watch me get stronger!"

Shape Transformation: Rasengan!

Sakura Haruno said worriedly, "Sasuke... I can lend you some."

Sasuke Uchiha's face took on a slight Kurenai tint. He rested his interlaced fingers beneath his chin and said coldly, "Idiot. Teacher Cangyue was the one who proposed that we train for five days and defeat the enemy. He'll teach us even if we don't pay tuition."

"Really?" Sakura Haruno blinked. If Teacher Cangyue didn't charge tuition this time, she could save a lot of money and buy new clothes when they returned to the village.

"Tch. Quit acting so smug. We'll see!" Naruto Uzumaki pouted.

"Hmph." Sasuke Uchiha snorted.

Naruto Uzumaki copied Sasuke, sticking out his lips and snorting. "Hmph!"

A flash of azure electricity streaked past, and Aogetsu Hyuga appeared out of thin air before the three members of Team 7.

"Having a meeting? Planning to denounce me for being cold and heartless, sending you Genin to fight an enemy?" Aogetsu Hyuga set a plush sofa on the ground, sat down with his legs crossed, and looked calmly at the three of them.

"Of course not." A blush spread across Sakura Haruno's fair cheeks, and she instinctively avoided Cangyue's gaze. She had, in fact, complained about him just now.

If Teacher Cangyue encountered the enemy again, he could deal with him easily. Why make three Genin face someone so powerful?

Naruto Uzumaki ran over and clung to Aogetsu Hyuga's leg. "Teacher Cangyue, train me! Teach me that amazing move... Black Coffin!"

"You little brat. You couldn't learn that move if your life depended on it." Aogetsu Hyuga kicked Naruto Uzumaki away in disgust.

You, a Ninja, want to learn Kido?

Dream on!

Naruto Uzumaki scrambled up and complained, exasperated, "Come on! Then how are we supposed to get stronger?"

"I can help you get stronger, but have you heard the saying, 'Teach your apprentice everything, and you'll go hungry'?" Aogetsu Hyuga rubbed his chin, pretending to be troubled. He muttered to himself, "What to do? I've been a little short on money lately."

"..." The members of Team 7 stared at him, speechless.

They knew it!

Was Teacher Cangyue dropping a hint?

He was openly asking his own students—children—for money!

What kind of teacher did that? What kind of adult?

Teacher Cangyue was probably the only person in the entire Ninja World who would do such a thing!

Of course, they only dared complain in their heads.

"Don't look at me like that. Even I get embarrassed." Aogetsu Hyuga said matter-of-factly, "Adults are all rotten."

Aogetsu Hyuga lowered his voice mysteriously. "The move I'm going to teach you is incredibly powerful."

"Really powerful?" Naruto Uzumaki looked at Cangyue expectantly.

"Incredibly powerful!" Aogetsu Hyuga drew out the word.

"Can it beat that Turtle Guy?" Naruto Uzumaki swallowed. Just how powerful was this move?

Sakura Haruno glared at Naruto and corrected him irritably. "It's the Demon!"

"Hard to say. Work hard enough, and you might find a way," Aogetsu Hyuga said. "The Demon is a Jonin, after all."

"Teacher Cangyue, it's actually Turtle— ahem." Sakura Haruno realized what she had said. Her face reddened, and she coughed twice to hide her embarrassment.

She had thought Teacher Cangyue would fool around with Naruto too.

"Teacher Cangyue, please teach me that incredibly powerful move!" Naruto Uzumaki placed his Frog Wallet beside Cangyue, then began kneading his shoulders with a fawning smile. "Don't worry, Teacher Cangyue. Once I learn it, I'll definitely beat that Turtle Guy."

"You little brat, you've got quite a bit of money." Aogetsu Hyuga picked up the Frog Wallet and opened it, looking at the thick stack of bills inside.

The bills looked worn. Naruto had probably been saving them for years.

"Teacher Cangyue, sorry to trouble you too..." Sakura Haruno approached Cangyue with her wallet, squirming awkwardly.

"Want me to teach you how to grow a bigger chest?" Aogetsu Hyuga took the Pink Wallet and glanced at Sakura Haruno's chest.

"I'll fill out just fine when I'm older!" Sakura Haruno's pretty face flushed bright red. She crossed her arms over her chest, retreated several steps, and glared at Cangyue in embarrassed fury.

Teacher Cangyue is the worst!

I'm definitely going to fill out when I'm older. Just you wait!

"And you?" Aogetsu Hyuga glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke Uchiha turned his head away and snorted. "No money!"

"That's all right. I'm an adult, after all. I ought to give a child a chance." Aogetsu Hyuga smiled faintly. "From now on, your master will gladly accept your mission pay as tuition for this lesson."

"You..." Sasuke Uchiha's face darkened. He was about to speak, but when he saw Cangyue's indifferent gaze, he swallowed the words on his tongue.

Was this tuition?

It was protection money!

Was that bastard Teacher Cangyue trying to starve him to death?

Naruto Uzumaki covered his mouth and snickered. "Pfft."

Good thing I saved my money!

"Sit down. Class is starting." Aogetsu Hyuga picked up Naruto Uzumaki and casually tossed him onto the ground ahead.

"Bastard!" Naruto Uzumaki sat up on his knees, dusty and disheveled, and glared at Cangyue through gritted teeth.

Just wait, Teacher Cangyue. I'll get you back someday!

Sasuke and Sakura Haruno sat down obediently too.

"Where to begin?" Aogetsu Hyuga crossed his legs and looked down at the members of Team 7. After a moment's thought, he said, "First, I'll teach you Shape Transformation, Nature Transformation, and how to release Chakra."