The Celestial Copy - Chapter 19

[Tenzo]

I never imagined a place like this could exist for me. This is where real people belong.

Ever since Kakashi came back, the team trained even harder than before. It wasn’t like they ever slacked off, but after every session, it just felt like they were improving better. And that in turn motivated them to go even further the next day. 

Today was no different.

In one corner of the training ground, the air around a solid metal slab distorted in a heat haze. The Captain stood nearby, coaching Anko as she channeled her chakra into a metal slab, her gloved hands resting on its surface. In another corner, Yugao slashed crescents of barely visible wind from her tanto, each one gouging deep wounds into a row of reinforced logs. She had finally managed to cut the waterfall three days ago and was now in the final stage of perfecting her new jutsu.

And in the center, Tenzo had been sparring with Daisuke, testing out the new jutsu Kakashi taught them.

He raised both of his darkened arms in a cross shape to block a punch from the Akimichi, who was using his clan’s partial expansion jutsu to make his fist significantly larger. Tenzo’s feet remained rooted by his wood style tendrils anchoring him to the ground.

“You’re getting better at taking a punch, Tanuki!” Daisuke boomed. “Now show me your counter-attack!”

“Careful what you wish for, Kuma,” Tenzo replied.

He pivoted, letting his opponent’s momentum carry past him. He drove his hardened fist into the larger man’s side, forcing a grunt of pain out from him. Seeing Daisuke staggering back a step, Tenzo pressed the advantage and stomped his foot, causing wooden spikes to rise from the ground between them, disrupting Daisuke’s footing while he closed the distance for another strike.

“Tanuki!” 

The call made him stop. He turned to find Yugao approaching from the ruined remains of her training logs.

“I broke them again. Please make me another set.”

He relaxed his stance, his skin turning to its normal tone as he deactivated the Iron Skin jutsu.

Daisuke shrank back to his normal size. “You really broke the reinforced logs Tanuki made?”

Yugao nodded, her chest rising and falling. “Yes. In one strike.”

“That’s quite impressive, we better let the others know.” Daisuke turned and bellowed across the field. “Hey, everyone! Get over here! Neko’s finally done it!”

The Captain and Anko paused their training and walked over.

Anko wiped sweat from her neck with the back of her gloved hand. “Look at that, the kitten’s finally grown her claws!” she teased, bringing her hands to her hips. “C’mon don’t be shy now, show us what you’ve spent all that time on.”

“She’s right,” the Captain added. “Don’t hold back, Neko.”

Yugao turned toward Tenzo. He understood the silent request. 

Clapping his hands, he focused his chakra, and a new log, thicker and denser than any of the previous ones, rose from the ground. He had poured extra chakra into this one. 

I was taught to see others as tools or obstacles. But here, I want to see everyone around me succeed. She’s been working so hard. I made a waterfall for her every day when we’re not on a mission. 

So take this as an opportunity to prove yourself in front of everyone.

Yugao walked to a spot several feet away from the new log, settling into a drawing stance. A white aura enveloped her tanto, then gradually turned into a green glow after nearly a minute of charging. 

With an audible exhale, she slashed. A crescent of green energy flew from the edge of her sword, passing through the log without a sound. The top half slid off and fell onto the grass with a dull thud.

For a moment, the team just stared. The silence was broken by Anko’s impressed whistle and Daisuke’s booming laugh.

Yugao turned back toward them, sounding almost apologetic. “If I didn’t take so much time building up power, I could’ve made the attack invisible.”

Kakashi stepped forward and laid a hand on her hair. “That’s fine. It was an excellent display of your progress. You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time.”

Her shoulders slumped in relief. She bowed deeply. “Thank you, sir. I couldn’t have done it without your guidance.”

“This is great and all,” Anko cut in, breaking the moment, “but where’s lazy and the wolf-girl? Don’t tell me they’re skipping out on training.”

“No,” the captain answered evenly. “They’re busy taking their Jōnin trials.”

“Huh?! Already? I’m still stuck as a Chūnin and those two are already on their way to becoming Jōnin?! What the hell!”

Daisuke slapped her back. “You better pick up the pace, Mumei! If they succeed it’ll be only you and Neko as the only non-Jōnin on the team.”

“And with her performance today, she might even get a promotion before you do.” Tenzo added, grinning under his mask.

“You jerks!” Anko’s head snapped toward Kakashi. “Captain, let’s get back to training right now! There’s no way I’m going to be the lowest rank on the team!”

Kakashi hummed. “I don’t know. I kind of want to see what Tori would say if that ended up happening...”

“PLEASE NOT THAT!” she yelled, pulling his arm.

As Tenzo watched the banter among teammates, he felt at ease.

It’s easy to joke around like that here. No one will punish me for having a personality. 

Because I am a real person too.

------------------------------

[Shikaku Nara]

Jōnin Commander for just over four and a half years, and it was still such a drag.

He remembered the day Minato cornered him with the offer, not even a week since he became the Fourth Hokage. Shikaku had always seen himself as a simple foot soldier, content to do his part and then go home. But Minato had a way of making you believe in his game plan.

He’d ended up agreeing. After all, if he didn’t take the role of the Silver General, then who would prevent the Gold General from deciding to act like a Dragon King? It may be the most powerful piece, being able to move as many squares in any direction, making it capable of taking out several enemy pieces by itself before it got captured, but that wasn’t a role the Hokage could play. A defender who constantly left the castle to fight was a defender who left the King exposed.

Then Minato sacrificed himself when the Nine-Tails attacked, taking the village’s best defender off the board entirely. Yet here Shikaku remained, serving as the Jōnin Commander for a Hokage who didn’t particularly need him.

Since the Third Hokage never saw fit to replace him, he had to continue working. One of the first things he did was overhaul the promotion system, introducing the Jōnin Trials. It was a logical solution to a messy process based on clan politics, seniority, and who you had connections to. The new system was similar in spirit to the Chūnin Exams, except it wasn’t a public spectacle designed to drum up business from the nobility.

The Jōnin Trials took place twice a year. A Chūnin or Special Jōnin received an invitation to participate if they obtained multiple recommendations from active Jōnins, or a single one from either the Hokage or the Jōnin Commander. In the case of the former, he would assign other senior Jōnin to join them for a mission or two, observing their behavior, and judging whether or not they displayed leadership appropriate for a Jōnin. 

The first phase took several days to finish, during which all participants were evaluated by experts in each of the core shinobi disciplines. Only those who demonstrated sufficient proficiency in enough fields were allowed to proceed to the next phase.

This time, sixty-eight hopefuls had been whittled down to twenty-four.

Shikaku glanced at the only other person in the observation room. 

That’s the most troublesome variable today. 

In every previous trial, the Third Hokage had been flanked by his advisory council, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. When he’d inquired about their absence earlier, the Hokage had given a dismissive answer about the decision resting solely with the Hokage and Jōnin Commander.

He read between the lines, seeing the move for what it was: a deliberate sidelining. It was the kind of gradual consolidation of power that preceded a major shift in leadership. It was logical to assume Lord Third had made similar moves before handing the mantle to Minato, ensuring the Fourth had the freedom to make his own appointments, including Shikaku’s own.

Troublesome. There’s no doubt about it. 

The Hokage was preparing the way for his successor. The recent reports from the Cloud summit, coupled with Kakashi Hatake’s new S-rank status, made the identity of that successor obvious. Certainly not a bad choice, though. After preventing the kidnapping of their heiress, he managed to secure the implicit support of the Hyuga clan. A powerful piece to have in your corner.

“GATE OF LIFE… OPEN!”

Without a change in his expression, he tracked the vibrant green chakra surrounding a man with red skin in the arena below. Might Guy’s tornado kick connected with two more participants, bringing his tally to seven.

He was one of the more noteworthy candidates. His file only showed two recommendations, where most others had five or six. One was from Kakashi Hatake. The other came from Choza Akimichi, his sensei from when he was a Genin. Shikaku had heard good things about him from his lifelong friend and teammate.

Thinking about it now, the other two standouts were also interesting. Tsura Inuzuka and Akito Tadashi. Their files were sparse, listing only their mission records. They also had only two recommendations each. One from Kakashi Hatake again, and the other from the Hokage himself.

Usually, Lord Hokage’s recommendations were reserved for his direct ANBU subordinates. Kakashi was a known ANBU Captain, too. It wasn’t difficult to piece it together. Those two were part of his squad.

They hadn’t been acting as a team. This was a free-for-all, and ANBU operatives knew better than to expose affiliations in front of an audience. Still, there was a rhythm between them. They never crossed into each other’s fights. When one advanced, the other shifted just far enough to give them space. An unspoken understanding born from familiarity.

Akito was a classic disruption specialist. Every move he made was calculated to provoke a mistake. So far, four participants had fallen to his blend of genjutsu and mid-range ninjutsu. He disoriented them with illusions, then exploited the instant of confusion with precise Fire Style jutsus. Tsura was the opposite, a pure predator who had easily taken out three opponents with the aggressive, close-quarters taijutsu her clan was known for.

Now, positioned near the edge of the arena, Akito made a single hand seal. Three of the remaining contestants, those who had decided that a temporary alliance would be their best option, suddenly faltered in their charge, their movements becoming sluggish and uncoordinated.

With only six combatants remaining, the duo’s non-interference arrangement became irrelevant. Tsura leaped toward the three disoriented shinobi and knocked them out in rapid succession.

And then there were three. 

Shikaku noted that they had been responsible for seventeen of the twenty-one eliminations. It was entirely possible that these three would be the only ones to earn a promotion today. What a drag for the rest of them.

The two ANBU turned, their unspoken alliance fully dissolving as they finally faced each other. But before either could engage, a green blur landed between them. 

They exchanged an almost imperceptible nod and fanned out, their attention now focused on the common threat.

Tsura lunged low, her claws aimed for Guy’s legs, while Akito provided covering fire from a distance with a volley of fireballs. But Guy moved with speed that seemed to defy human limits, dodging the fireballs and immediately intercepting the Inuzuka’s charge with a rising kick, sending her flying backward.

She landed on all fours and closed her eyes. It took a few seconds before she leaped right back, now moving more than twice as fast as before.

The First Gate, most likely.

She struck in a barrage of claw slashes and kicks. Guy met each one, blocking and parrying. Tsura’s increased power forced him back, pressing him into a defensive position for the first time all trial. 

But it didn’t last for long.

Guy slipped inside her reach, deflected a claw with his forearm before dropping his heel in a precise axe kick that slammed her into the tiles. The sound echoed through the arena.

Seizing the moment, Akito went through a series of hand seals and spat out three dragons of fire from his mouth. They coiled through the air, striking at his opponent from the front, left, and right, trapping him in a cage of flames.

The taijutsu specialist simply jumped, soaring high above the fiery dragons.

Akito tracked his ascent, a kunai already in his hand, ready to continue the fight. He lunged the moment his target descended, but the green-clad shinobi hopped back to avoid the slash, then dashed in again. Akito managed to get a block up, his arms crossed in front of his face. Guy’s fist slammed into the guard, sending him skidding back ten feet.

The fire-user shook his arms, the force of the blow clearly having rattled him, but Guy was on him in an instant. Akito parried several punches and kicks, demonstrating impressive taijutsu for someone who’d fought exclusively at range throughout the entire trial. But he couldn’t maintain that defense forever. Guy broke through with a feint to the left, followed by a straight punch to the gut, making Akito fold over.

Might Guy was the last man standing in the center of the arena, the reddish tint on his skin fading as he deactivated the Third Gate.

In the quiet of the observation room, the Hokage spoke for the first time since the final phase began. “Well, Shikaku. The results are quite clear. Might Guy, Akito Tadashi, and Tsura Inuzuka have more than proven their worth. They will be immediately promoted to Jōnin.”

“We’re in agreement, Lord Hokage. They are undeniably qualified.” Shikaku said, steepling his fingers as he considered his next words carefully. “However, I’m not certain this trial served its full purpose. The three of them operated on such a higher level that the other participants were effectively rendered non-factors. Our estimation of their abilities is inaccurate. It’s possible some of them are ready for a promotion to Special Jōnin, but were eliminated before getting a chance to demonstrate their specialties.”

Hiruzen took a slow puff from his pipe and nodded. “An astute observation, as always. The gap in skill was indeed significant.” He exhaled a plume of smoke. “Very well. Review the preliminary assessments for the other participants. You may redo this phase of the exam without the three we’ve just promoted. You have the authority to grant any promotions to Special Jōnin should you deem it appropriate.”

Shikaku watched as the Hokage departed, leaving him with a new pile of work.

That’s what I get for opening my mouth.

He let his head fall back against the high-backed chair, looking up at the featureless ceiling.

“What a drag.”

------------------------------

[Akito Tadashi]

Wearing the dark green Jōnin flak jacket felt different. It was so much more satisfying than the light green one he’d never bothered to wear. When a shinobi got promoted to Special Jōnin, they didn’t receive a new uniform, and he hadn’t wanted to be mistaken for a standard Chūnin after how hard he’d worked to even become a poor man’s Jōnin.

His journey hadn’t been easy. He was a product of the “second-fiddle class” in the Academy—the one that always got smacked around in cross-class sparring sessions, the one the instructors always used as a cautionary tale for the prodigies. After graduating, he was one of the lucky ones to get a Jōnin sensei, and yet he was sent straight to the Genin Corps after failing that impossible test his prick of a sensei gave him. If he didn’t want to take a Genin team, he shouldn’t have gotten three kid’s hopes up.

Akito clawed his way up from there, taking on shitty jobs one after the other. D-ranks sucked. They were chores disguised as missions, but they were the only ones he was allowed to do. Then, after months of never taking a day off, he was allowed to act as spare parts for the least important C-rank missions like escort jobs, pest exterminations, and patrols through the dullest corners. He took anything he could get. Every scrap of experience pushed him just another inch forward.

And look at me now. A bona fide Jōnin and a member of the most elite ANBU squad in the village. I beat the odds, and it feels real damn nice. 

A celebration would be nice. Maybe share a drink with the guys from my old class. 

Nah, probably not. 

Most had retired, settling into civilian life after realizing they couldn’t keep up. The ones who hadn’t were names on the Memorial Stone. He’d drink to those ones later. Privately.

The door of the examination building opened, and Tsura walked out. She was wearing the same jacket as him, meaning she’d also passed the final interview with the Hokage and Jōnin Commander.

“Dark green looks good on you, Tsura,” Akito said with a grin. “You gonna march over to your clan’s compound and let them know?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m heading to the training grounds.”

He almost laughed. What other answer did he expect from Tsura? She didn’t know how to rest.

“The team should know first,” she added after a while.

Oh.

“Good call.” Akito said, scratching the back of his head. “Let’s go together.”

He glanced sideways as they started walking.  “Ready for the earful we’re going to get from Anko?”

Tsura’s lips curled into a smirk. “She’s always acting up. I can’t wait to rub in that I made Jōnin before she’s even off probation.”

“Ha! Listen to you! I’m liking this new side. In fact, I’m joining in. Anko’s the one with the most interesting reactions, anyway. The others would be too boring. Daisuke’s already planning a victory feast, I can guarantee it.”

“That sounds nice,” Tsura mused. “We didn’t get this promotion by standing still.”

“Speaking of not standing still, that guy in green was something else. Can’t believe we had to team up against him, and he still wiped the floor with us.”

“His name’s Might Guy. He trains with Kakashi almost every day. Two shinobi at that level constantly sharpening each other… No wonder they’re that strong.”

“Yeah? How about you join them sometime?” he teased. “Maybe you’ll learn how to open a few more of those gates.”

She shot him a look. “Are you trying to get me killed? The training regimen the Captain puts us through is already exhausting. What they do together is even worse.”

After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at their team’s training grounds to the usual sight. Anko was relentlessly attacking the Captain, lashing out with her Shadow Snake Hands. Meanwhile, he met them with his sword, one slash sending all of them back to their summoning land in a puff of smoke.

Akito cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “YOUR NEWLY PROMOTED JŌNIN COMRADES HAVE ARRIVED! TRY TO CONTAIN YOUR APPLAUSE!”

Kakashi sheathed his saber. “Congratulations, you two. I had no doubt you would pass.”

Daisuke’s booming laugh followed. “This calls for a celebration!”

“Forget that!” Anko barked, jabbing Tsura’s chest with her pointer finger. “The real celebration is seeing how a new Jōnin stacks up! C’mon, give me a real spar! No holding back this time, not even a little!”

Tsura put a hand to her chin, pretending to consider it. “I don’t know… I’m feeling a bit tired right now.”

Akito stepped in, draping an arm around Tsura’s shoulders and looking down at Anko. “No way, Jōnin like ourselves have important duties. We can’t be wasting our valuable time on lowly Chūnin.”

“By the way,” Daisuke cut in, “while you were gone, Neko perfected that technique she’s been working on. Captain even said it’s on the level of an A-rank jutsu, possibly even better with its low chakra cost.”

“For real?” Akito’s head snapped toward Yugao. “That’s amazing, you’ve gotta show us!”

Anko crossed her arms. “Ohh? But she’s a Chūnin too. I thought the superior Jōnin didn’t have time for the likes of us!”

“Ah, but she has an A-rank jutsu,” Akito retorted without missing a beat. “That means she’s not lowly anymore. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for you.”

While the banter continued, he noticed Tsura slip away and move to Kakashi. “Thank you, Captain. For all the training. I couldn’t imagine how differently things would have been if I wasn’t on your team.”

“It was your hard work that allowed it to happen,” he replied sincerely, then turned to Daisuke. “Now, Kuma, I believe you said something about a celebration. Let’s call off training for the day and start that right now.”

------------------------------

[Mangetsu Hozuki]

Shoving splintered wood and mud from his chest, Mangetsu pushed himself up from the edge of the forest surrounding the Hozuki clan’s compound.

That stupid fucking retard. Why is he even going after the Hozuki?! The Hydrification Technique isn’t a bloodline. What’s next, purging any clan with a secret art? The hypocrite should start with his own.

His mind flashed back to the brief fight minutes ago. The last few minutes were a blur. He remembered managing to bash the little shit’s head in with Hiramekarei in its hammer form, only for that terrifying red chakra to erupt around him. Then there was that rat bastard Raiga Kurosuki, using the Kiba blades to disrupt the water transformations of his clansmen, turning their greatest defense into a fatal vulnerability. 

From where he was crouched, Mangetsu saw Yagura forming a ball of purple-black energy in front of his mouth.

The Tailed Beast Bomb?!

Then the psycho Mizukage swallowed it, causing him to sink into the ground and expand. Steam came out of his mouth as he fired the Tailed Beast Bomb in the form of a reddish-orange beam. The moment it connected, the entire Hozuki compound was enveloped in a blinding explosion of light, followed by a shockwave tearing through the forest, forcing Mangetsu to brace against a tree. 

The light cleared, revealing a smoking crater where his home had been.

The red chakra cloak receded, and Yagura, back in his normal form, gave the crater an indifferent look before vanishing.

He didn’t even finish the job.

Raiga remained standing near the edge, staring down at the destruction.

“He was such a great swordsman...” Raiga choked out, raising a hand to his face. “Why did he have to be taken away?!”

Another wave of fury washed over Mangetsu. Why the hell is he crying?! He’s the one that helped kill them all!

“Sorrow, such sorrow fills my heart,” Raiga lamented to the empty air. “I remember the day you showed me how you could wield my Kiba blades, as if they were meant for you. You could have chosen any of the legendary swords, and you picked the Twinsword, letting me stay in the Seven. And now… now I don’t even have a body to give a proper burial!”

Mangetsu decided then and there that he would return the favor. Getting to Yagura would require him to be much stronger. Good thing Raiga was making himself such an easy first target.

He started channeling chakra into Hiramekarei, making the conjoined blades glow with a blue light. Mangetsu swung once it was in its long-sword form, unleashing a horizontal wave of chakra in the shape of a blade, aiming to cut Raiga in half.

Raiga reacted just in time, crossing the Kiba blades to block. The force sent Raiga skidding back, carving a deep trench in the ground, but he stayed standing.

“Mangetsu!” Raiga cackled, a manic grin replacing the tears. “So the prodigy survived. Good. Now I have a body to bury after all.” He raised his swords, and three spheres of crackling lightning formed between them before launching toward Mangetsu.

Mangetsu turned Hiramekarei back to its default state, the broad side of the blade easily flicking the lightning balls away. Then he split Hiramekarei into its twin blade form and closed the distance.

The two sets of twin legendary swords clashed against each other. Mangetsu was widely considered the strongest of the seven in this generation, but somehow he was losing to the weakest.

Raiga pushed his swords back. “You’re getting sloppy! You’re called the Second Coming of the Demon! Don’t tell me those injuries are catching up to you!”

Sliding his foot back one step, Mangetsu deflected the thrust. “I don’t need to be at my best to deal with you of all people. The only reason you wield Kiba is because the village had no lightning users of any actual skill. They had to settle for what was available.”

“You’re talking a lot. Are you mad?” Raiga’s grin widened. “What was his name again? Suigetsu, right? You know, I’m the one who killed him! There used to be a twinkle in your eye when you would tell the others about your dream.”

The memory cut deep. Suigetsu. Their shared dream, to stand together as members of the Seven Swordsmen. He had achieved his part. In a few years, Suigetsu would have been ready to join him. Now he was gone. All that he could do now was avenge his little brother.

He swung one of the blades in a wide arc, putting all his strength into it. As expected, Raiga used both of his Kiba blades to block it.

As the swords locked, Mangetsu flexed his other hand, morphing the second blade of Hiramekarei into a hammer. He swung it sideways, smashing it into the side of Raiga’s head with a crunch, sending him spinning through the air while the blades fell from his hands.

Looking at the swords embedded into the ground, an idea sparked in Mangetsu’s mind.

He dropped Hiramekarei and grabbed the hilts of the lightning swords. He brought the tips of the blades together. They hummed, funneling a storm of pure lightning into a blinding sphere right at the conjoined point. 

He stood over Raiga’s prone form. “You’re a fucking idiot for thinking a worthless piece of shit like yourself could ever beat me.”

Then brought the swords down without giving him a chance to reply.

A beam of lightning engulfed Raiga’s upper body, vaporizing his head and neck in an instant.

Mangetsu looked down at the corpse of the scum who killed his brother.

Yagura will be next.

------------------------------

Author’s Note: So, yeah this was a slightly different chapter. There was a timeskip before I move on to the next big arc, and I wanted to show some of the events that happened during it. 

Also, not sure if anyone’s noticed, but I made a small retcon regarding Guy’s rank. There was a single line of dialogue in Chapter 4, where Guy mentioned he was already a Jonin to Kakashi. I really wanted to have him in this chapter, so yeah, I had to make things consistent by replacing that line with him mentioning he got a recommendation to participate in the next Jonin Trials.