Takeshi's approach to training Might Guy's team was brutally simple: work them until they dropped.
Regardless, once they'd been pushed to their absolute limits, Genma and Ebisu's efforts would generate points for Takeshi. He would then use a small portion of those points to restore their stamina, only to push them right back into the grueling training.
It was a relentless cycle.
Takeshi knew he couldn't rely on the same old tricks.
If it were just endless laps, they'd adapt to the suffering and their complaints would dry up faster than the Sunagakure's water supply. So...
The next day, Takeshi implemented a method he vaguely recalled seeing somewhere, carrying water! Each genin had to haul two large wooden buckets, filled to the brim, and run from one end of the village clear to the other.
Their task was to fill the water barrels for an old man who'd requested it as a D-rank mission, repeating the trip until the job was done. This grueling task not only built their endurance but also completed a mission and earned them a small reward, killing two birds with one shuriken, so to speak.
After three or four days of this, Guy was, predictably, fine. He subjected himself to similar rigors daily anyway. If anything, Takeshi's presence added some welcome variety to his routine, sparking his youthful passion.
Genma and Ebisu, however, were a different story. The two felt like they were teetering on the brink of collapse every single day, enduring a pain that felt terrifyingly close to breaking them. While their physical conditioning had drastically improved after just a few days, the constant agony was deeply unsettling.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, they gradually acclimated. Human resilience is remarkable, tolerance for pain builds with exposure. After those few days, the sheer torment of the training began to lose its edge.
It wasn't having the desired effect anymore, he couldn't squeeze out even a trickle of points from their suffering.
One morning, as Takeshi was contemplating new methods of 'encouragement,' he noticed something off about the team's demeanor when they gathered.
"Sensei, are we... still carrying water today?" Genma asked hesitantly.
"I can't wait!" Guy declared, fist pumping.
"Awwwgh!" Ebisu groaned.
The enthusiastic shout belonged solely to Guy. If it weren't for the distinct voices, Takeshi might have thought Guy had spoken all three lines.
'Have they all been Guy-ified?' Takeshi wondered.
Then Guy added, "Takeshi-sensei! I think these wooden buckets are too small! Perhaps switching to larger ones would be more effective for our youthful training!"
'What?' Genma and Ebisu, momentarily silenced from their groaning, stared at Guy in utter disbelief. They'd finally adjusted to the current bucket size, and here Guy was, practically begging for more punishment! Their teammate had betrayed their silent pact of shared suffering!
Seeing their reactions, Takeshi felt a wave of relief.
'Guy's level of boundless enthusiasm is something else entirely,' Takeshi mused internally. 'Genma and Ebisu are nowhere near that yet. At most, they're in the early stages of Guy-ification.' He shrugged mentally. 'Besides, Guy will eventually lead his own team. They'll end up Guy-ified sooner or later, whether they like it or not.'
With that comforting thought, any lingering guilt Takeshi might have felt evaporated.
"Alright, mandatory physical conditioning ends now," Takeshi announced. "Starting today, Guy, you'll resume your usual training regimen. I want you leading these two in daily taijutsu practice, understand?"
Takeshi himself wouldn't be overseeing the physical grind anymore.
'Taijutsu mastery takes time,' Takeshi reasoned silently. 'Four or five days of my direct input won't yield major breakthroughs here. No point wasting my time on that. Now, it's time to teach them something substantial.'
"Yes, Sensei!" Guy responded sharply, saluting with a blinding smile.
"Yesss..." Genma and Ebisu replied, their voices lacking any conviction.
Being led by Guy promised continued misery, but the past few days had undeniably hardened them. They'd gotten used to the brutal pace and figured they could grit their teeth and endure whatever youthful challenges Guy threw their way.
"Meow~" Takeshi stretched languidly.
'But what should I teach them?' he pondered. 'Guy is the straightforward one. I've already decided to teach him the Primary Lotus and its variations. The Third Hokage has likely prepared some ninjutsu scrolls for Genma, given his potential. But Ebisu... what's his specialty? He seems... rather unremarkable.'
Takeshi scanned his surroundings, finally settling on a course of action. "Alright, let's find a mission first. See what's available, meow..."
'We can't keep doing chores like farming and hauling water every day,' he thought irritably. 'I'm supposed to be a top-tier Jonin, meow! Leading a team doing nothing but D-rank grunt work? Ridiculous! We need something with a bit more bite.'
"Hooray!" the three genin cheered in unison.
Their eagerness for a real mission was palpable. Staying cooped up in Konoha day after day performing menial tasks was starting to wear on them.
'Going outside the Land of Fire is out of the question, though,' Takeshi reminded himself. Even with him leading, their mission scope would be restricted to the Land of Fire, primarily near Konoha, for the genins' safety.
Takeshi arrived at the Mission Assignment Post, his eyes scanning the crowded request board from top to bottom.
'Normally, I'd just grab a simple cat-catching or dog-walking mission and call it a day,' he considered. 'But Guy will probably be stuck doing those D-ranks when he eventually leads his own team. I should find them something a bit more stimulating while I'm in charge.'
Scanning the requests, his eyes landed on an urgent posting. An escort mission.
Details: Escort a merchant caravan to the northern region of the Land of Fire. The destination wasn't too far from the border, so the caravan leader requested a small shinobi team for protection. Mission Rank: B.
Takeshi barely glanced at the rank before slapping a paw print firmly onto the request form.
"Meow~ This one."
"This one?" The Chunin administrator behind the counter picked up the form. "Let me see... Wh- B-Rank?! Takeshi-san, I'm afraid that's not possible! Genin teams are typically restricted to D-rank missions, C-rank at the absolute highest!" The Chunin looked alarmed. 'B-rank missions often require experienced Jonin teams! Entrusting one to a... cat... and three fresh genin? That's practically suicide!'
"Meow~ Relax," Takeshi purred dismissively. "I'm more than capable. If you doubt me, feel free to check with Sandaime-sama himself."
He stated it plainly.
'With the Flying Thunder God at my disposal, where can't I go?' Takeshi thought confidently. 'Even burdened with three fledglings, I can handle any threat or get them out instantly. Besides, my own combat prowess is enough to deal with two or three enemy Jonin without breaking a sweat. A few good slaps should do it, meow. And realistically... what Jonin would risk infiltrating deep into the Land of Fire just to ambush some random merchant caravan? It'd be like using an exploding tag to swat a fly, complete overkill and a waste of resources. Nobody's that reckless. That's probably why it's only rated B-rank.'
The Chunin hurried off to consult the Hokage and returned shortly, looking slightly flustered.
"You... you can take the mission," the Chunin stammered, clearly relaying the message verbatim. "However, Hokage-sama stipulated that if anything goes wrong, you will be personally responsible for clearing the entire backlog of recently accumulated difficult missions for the village."
"Meow?" Takeshi blinked, his whiskers twitching. He glanced over at the 'pending' board, piled high with official scrolls.
'These aren't D-rank fetch quests or water hauling, meow!' he realized with dawning horror. 'These are serious supply runs to places like Kusagakure and Amegakure, missions practically guaranteed to run into hostile squads! They're all A-rank or higher! Damn that old man! He knows about my Flying Thunder God and storaging ability! He's trying to rope me into being his personal high-speed delivery service!'
The black cat cursed silently.
'Ah, whatever,' he decided after a moment. 'A simple escort like this won't be a problem. Besides, my main goal isn't the mission itself. It's just an excuse to head towards the northern part of the Land of Fire. First, I want Guy and the others to get a feel for the atmosphere near the border. And second...'
His thoughts turned monetary. 'That first book volume has been out for ages now. Tsunade's been back looking for Jiraiya for about a month, so why haven't I seen my royalties yet?! Is that pervy sage trying to skim off the top? Knowing Jiraiya's character, or lack thereof, I wouldn't put it past him. Better make a personal trip to ensure payment.'
'Those royalties are important, meow,' he mused. 'The Ninja Cat Fortress needs chakra affinity test strips, and getting Kabuto to whip up those special cat-clan soldier pills isn't cheap. If I don't collect soon, Jiraiya might just spend it away on hookers my hard-earned cash. He's definitely capable of it. Remember how he had plenty of money but still cleaned out Naruto's froggy wallet back in the day? Stealing money from a poor orphan, Despicable!'
Shortly after accepting the mission, Takeshi and his team met the caravan members at the village gate.
'This caravan leader looks familiar...' That was Takeshi's first thought upon seeing the stout man coordinating the loading. Before the memory could fully surface, the merchant spotted them and approached.
"Ah, so you're the team that accepted our request! Good to see you again, Takeshi-san!" the man greeted warmly, then looked around confused. "Huh? But where are Namikaze-sama and young Kakashi?"
'Meow? I know this guy?' Takeshi wracked his brain, sifting through memories, until it finally clicked. 'He really is an old acquaintance! The last time I headed north, Minato's team took on a caravan escort on the side. This merchant was part of that caravan! He wasn't the leader then, just one of the crew.'
"Meow~ I've been promoted to Jonin since then," Takeshi explained, gesturing with his paw towards the genin. "This is my team now."
"Oh..." the merchant hesitated. "So, uh... it's not Namikaze-sama's team handling the escort?" A younger merchant nearby shifted uneasily.
They had clearly assumed Minato himself would be leading, so seeing the familiar black cat had initially been reassuring. But hearing that Takeshi was now a Jonin leading his own team, meaning these three genin and one cat were the entire escort, visibly unnerved the merchants. A wave of apprehension washed over them.
"Meow~ Don't worry yourselves," Takeshi said smoothly. "I'm plenty strong."
'We're still inside Konoha, otherwise I'd give them a little demonstration, meow,' he thought. 'But no matter, the Multi-Size Technique should suffice.'
*Crunch!*
Soon, Takeshi instantly swelled in size. He didn't go full-scale, but he easily reached half the height of the nearby Hokage Tower, looming over the merchants and the gate guards. Towering over the street, he glanced idly towards the Hokage Tower and happened to spot Hiruzen Sarutobi in his office, peering intently through his crystal ball...
The Third Hokage abruptly looked up from the sphere, sensing the sudden, massive chakra signature nearby, his gaze instantly locking onto the giant cat casually observing him from the village gate.
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