| abstract | - Natoro Chikara is a Konoha Jonin, despite the rather harsh critique and ire of others he received in his younger years. As an academy student, Natoro was constantly picked on for his lacking talents. His taijutsu was average, his genjutsu was sub-par, and his ninjutsu was abysmal. For some reason, the only ninjutsu he could seem to form where the Body Replacement Technique, Clone Technique, and the Transformation Technique. It came off as strange to those who knew him, as both his father, mother, and ancestors before him had no issues such as this, everyone was stumped. Even the best medical nin couldn't determine if this was due to some unknown birth defect, or a lacking in chakra control and ability. However, he refused to let this stop him from becoming a ninja, so he began working these three techniques to their absolute limits. Things began to change however, when Natoro picked up a sword at the age of nine. As it turns out, he was a natural with a blade, something his teachers were keen to pick up on, and made sure to take care of. Natoro was in effect, a special needs child at the academy due his inability to preform other ninjutsu, with time his genjutsu grew to an average level, and his taijutsu became above average with time and practice. Graduating from the academy at the age of fourteen, he became part of Team 15A, which was a team of no special mention for the most part. Natoro grew at a very steady rate with his team, coming into his own when the Chunin exams came around, in which he and his team nearly lost their lives to another team from Kumo, who they then gave the beat down to in the arena stages of the exams. The years went by without much notice after that, Natoro lived the fairly standard ninja life, going on missions, training, living life, the usual. Things changed however, when he went on a solo mission into Iwa. The mission was supposed to be simple, a wealthy merchant had requested an escort from Konoha to Iwa, he had already hired several guards, but wanted a certified ninja to join him on the journey, as he had more trust in a ninja then some hired muscle. Natoro didn't expect much from the man, just another big wig needing protection because he couldn't defend himself. But that changed when Natoro actually got to know him, the man's name was Itsuki Hemazuma, he had been a merchant most of his life, like his father before him. He proved to be wise, kind, and considerate, not like the aristocratic assholes Natoro had dealt with in the past. The road to Iwa was long, which gave the two plenty of time to talk. Itsuki was able to teach Natoro much about how being a merchant worked, about buying and selling, how to convince people to buy, how to negotiate, how to make someone a friend with just one meeting. It was an experience that changed Natoro, as for most of his life, he had merely learned just how to communicate in basic ways, only able to surrounded himself with those who either felt pity for him, or who aligned themselves with things Natoro believed. He came to saw Itsuki as a mentor and friend, and promised to stay in touch when this mission was all said and done. However, things changed one night. The caravan had come upon what looked to be a bandit attack of another group of merchants, everyone dead and everything of value carted away. Natoro, being the ninja he was, decided to scout ahead to see if he could pick up the trail of the bandits, that way they would know what path to avoid. Natoro wasn't an amazing tracker by any means, but bandits aren't exactly stealthy when running away with an entire caravan of loot. He followed the trail for the better part of an hour, until he saw smoke rising in the distance, what could be assumed to be the bandit camp. Circling back to deliver the news, he came upon his caravan under attack! The guards had already been killed, and the bandits weren't bandits at all, but a group of four rouge ninja. From the look of things, the guards had been murdered in mere seconds, the element of surprise being a ninja's best weapon. They had Itsuki at knife point, interrogating him about what he had on board, as well as something about "being wronged." Natoro quickly realized he had two choices: Run away, or stand and fight, and try to rescue Itsuki. Well, his family didn't raise no bitch, so he drew his blade and went in. The first of the four went down easy, the group was too enamored with looting to notice a blade shoved through their neck. The second ninja turned around, but was two quickly cut off to scream. The sound of a body thudding on solid ground was enough to get attention though. Itsuki found himself in a 2v1 situation, bad odds, especially for someone who couldn't do ninjutsu that was beyond academy level. In the end however, through some clever and body replacement, he outsmarted the two ninja, using body replacement to dodge their assault, a small pebble taking his place, the two ninja unable to stop the charge, ended up stabbing themselves. In two quick strokes, they where no more for this world. The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful, and upon arriving at the Iwa gate, Itsuki and Natoro said their goodbyes. Itsuki made a promise that he would find a way to truly repay him. Upon getting back to Konoha, Natoro went back to his normal day to day life. Two weeks later, he was summoned to the Hokage's office, and commended for his outstanding success on a mission that went awry, and was promoted to be a Specialist Jonin on account of his skill with the three basic academy techniques. He also received a rather large bonus to his pay from a so called "anonymous source." Now, things are back to normal, but who knows what the future holds?
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