Clash of the brats a collab with Amaterasu

Chapter 5

"Good," Taryn looked at her students one by one, "let's see what we need to work on. We have Caves, Konoha and Mist. Did you come across any of them in the Forest of Death?"

The Genin shook their heads.

"Well," Daro said, "we ran into Hanabi-chan, but we didn't fight."

"Hanabi uses Byakugan," Taryn nodded, "and from what I've heard she's quite skilled. We have that part covered though. You can train with me for that. It's the others I'm concerned about. Especially Caves. We don't know much about them." She sighed. "This month is not just about training. You need to find out as much as possible about your opponents. All of them. If you pass the first round in the melee, you'll face another opponent and it could be any one of the others." She paused. "Even your own teammate. Keep that in mind."

The boys stared at each other stunned. They hadn't even thought about that.

Taryn smiled. "Don't worry about that just yet though. If it should happen. Make it a good fight. Alright? Now, for individual training..." she looked at Daro, "I want you to train with that signature jutsu of yours. So that means chakra control training. I don't care if it's boring. It will help you. Kuro, we'll train your wind jutsu, yes? And Hiro... keep a clear head and focus. Use your summons only when you have no other choice. Your water jutsu is strong. Use it to your advantage, okay? Remember, you'll need long range jutsu against Hanabi."

"Yes sensei," the boys agreed.

Taryn sighed. "Okay," she said thoughtfully, "let's focus on your first opponents for the time being."

She looked at Kuro. "Mist shinobi are most likely to use water based jutsu. Could you train with Hiro for a while? Hiro, only use your water jutsu, okay?" She looked at Daro. "I can't help you with Caves. I don't know a thing about them. So until we find out more, I'll help you with your chakra control, alright?"

Daro nodded. "Yes sensei."

"Okay," Taryn said. She looked at all three students. "First we need a secure place to train. And I know just the spot."

***

"Did you find them yet?"

There was a sigh. "I've barely started sifting through chakras. Give me some time, Suzu."

Suzume's cheeks puffed out as she pouted.

"Maybe they aren't in the village right now," Akira suggested, "maybe they decided to go somewhere else for training."

"Maybe..." Ken resorted to closing his eyes. They flashed open a few moments after and he pointed in his target's direction, "there. Come on. If we can get closer, I can pin point their exact location."

Suzume popped up from her seat on the ledge of a rooftop where they had all met up earlier. "Great! Thanks again Ken."

Ken looked away to hide the light blush on his face when Suzume had smiled brightly at him.

Akira snickered, but chose to say nothing that would cause any delay in their time to find and catch up to the group they were searching for. "Weird..." he said after Ken had reported on the target location, "why would they be training here of all places?"

"I guess it kinda does make sense," Ken said, "no one ever comes here anymore. Not since the massacre..."

The place was so quiet, but as they carefully walked down the roads, with Ken leading the way, they began to make out the sounds of what seemed to be fighting. There were sounds of water splashing, kunai clashing, grunts, and panting.