"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." - anonymous
::
"How was class?"
I looked up to my mother's smile as it faded at the sight of my own frown.
"It would have been great," I sighed. "If it weren't for the drill sergeant of a teacher they gave us."
Mother frowned. "Azashi-san?"
I looked up, confused. "How did you know?"
"Your father told me-"
"Wait!" I quickly stopped her. "Father knows?"
She nodded. I collapsed down next to her, sighing heavily. She stroked my hair lovingly.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing..." I didn't want her to worry too much, "It's nothing."
She poked my cheeks, smiling. "Relax, Ichirou. Now matter what — your father will always love you."
I closed my eyes. "I doubt that."
She flicked my forehead, looking up, I met her stern gaze.
"Do not doubt your father," She told him. "Or yourself... you have so much potential, Ichirou, don't waste it."
"Oh, is that so?" I couldn't help the sarcasm that seeped into my voice. "Then pray, tell me why I am in the lowest of the low?"
She frowned. "Don't talk to your mother like that."
I felt instant regret. Sitting up, I gave my mother an apologetic frown.
"I'm sorry mother... I was angry, do not worry yourself."
She sighed, brushing back my fringe. "You do not need to worry about me, Ichirou... enjoy these years, they won't last forever."
I wanted to tell her how I do worry about her, and how she shouldn't worry about me — but I could only nod.
"Now," She smiled. "Tell me about your new class? Did you make any friends?"
I opened my mouth and proceeded to talk my mother's ear off.
::
"Good morning, Azashi-sensei."
The aged shinobi looked over at me, smirking. "Glad to see you made it."
I didn't doubt his words for a second.
With a shudder, I ducked under his gaze, walking into the classroom. It was the same size as others, however due to the lack of students it seemed much larger.
Kitsuchi sat at the very back, lazily balancing a pencil atop his nose. Han was quietly drawing at his desk, seated in centre of the room. Sachiko was to the left, closest to Han and sensei, eagerly waiting for class to begin.
I walked towards the middle, right of the classroom and sat by the window. I knew full well I was going to gaze out of it and fully intended on doing so. I put my satchel by the chair, and pulled out a book and pen, looking up to our sensei.
Azashi was in the same spot as yesterday. Leant against the desk, cane beside him.
"Now, today we'll be going over history."
Kitsuchi let out a comical sigh, flopping onto his desk. I cracked a smirk at his overreaction, looking around to see I wasn't the only one. Sachiko muffled a laugh into her hand while Han smile sheepishly under his mask.
'Oh..' I realised, 'A class clown'
Kids who became class clowns usually did if for a number of reasons. Most common being the lack of attention they received at home — which is why orphans and second-born children to noble clans tended to play to role.
Azashi wasn't amused by Kitsuchi's display. Eyes sharp, I noticed a hint of empathy in his eyes. What in the world could a war hero empathise with a Kage's child?
With his hard exterior, it was unlikely we would ever know.
"Second rate Kamizuru brat!" I guess he was sticking with the nickname. "If you seem so confident, why don't you give us a run through?"
Kitsuchi sat up, smug. "Ask away, sensei."
Azashi grinned — seriously creepy on his scarred face. "How many and who are the Tsuchikage?"
"Easy," Kitsuchi shot a smirk back to the rest of his — one I rolled my eyes at. "Three Tsuchikage have been crowned so far. The founder of Iwa and first Tsuchikage, Kamizuru Ishikawa. The infamous second Tsuchikage, famed for his brutality, Hazuki Mū. And the current, third Tsuchikage, Kamizuru Onoki, also know as Onoki of Both Scales."
He grinned smugly, confidence radiating off him.
Azashi grinned a little wider. "Oh? And what of the Mizukage? The Hokage? What about the Raikage's? Or even the Kazekage's? Do you know anything about the four other Kage?"
His confidence wavered. "W—Why should I?!" He defended, "I'm a shinobi of Iwagakure! Not Konoha or Kiri! Nor Suna or Kumo!"
Azashi snapped, "You're none of those things! You are an ignorant child who knows nothing of this world!!"
We sat back, shocked — that was harsh, even for him. Kitsuchi slowly sat down.
Azashi turned to us all. "Tell me! What is currently going on in the shinobi world? What is the state of it? Who are we allied with? What are the other four hidden villages' weaknesses? How the hell do you survive out there?!"
The class was silent, no one dared to speak.
Then, I raised my hand, and all eyes were on me. "The world is in a stalemate."
My classmates appeared confused, but Azashi smirked.
"Continue."
So I did.
"Over the last few years, tension between Iwa and Konoha has been stirring. It has only grown when a Konoha discovered unauthorised Iwa-nin in their land a few months back." I begun, clearing my throat. "Ame and Konoha have also been on shaky terms every since the first great shinobi world war, twenty years ago."
"Ame has suffered the worst out of all five villages, and Konoha has breached the treaty between them signed by the first Kage, many times. Suna is on bad terms with Iwa after a group of missing-nins breached their borders and stole crucial information — while not Iwa's fault, Suna still blames us for the incident."
Then, I concluded. "The whole situation has led to an all out stalemate between the four villages, with neither willing to make the first move yet all wishing to."
I looked up to meet Azashi's gaze. "People are calling it the beginning of the second great shinobi world war."
He stared down at my, eyes hard. "How do you know this?"
I shrugged, not bothered. "Knowledge is power."
I held that phrase more to my heart than i'd care to admit.
Azashi nodded. "Exactly, knowledge is indeed power. Without it you're left defenceless, at the cruel mercy of this world."
He turned to face the class. "Which is why, before any of you brats graduate, I'm going to make sure you lot know exactly how this world works."
"Sachiko." The girl straightened. "What are the five great nations and main hidden villages?"
"Land of Earth, Iwagakure. The Land of Fire, Konohagakure. The Land of Water, Kirigakure. The Land of Lightning, Kumogakure. And The Land of Wind, Sunagakure." She smiled.
"Correct." He nodded. "What are the rest of the hidden villages?"
Sachiko answered, but this time in a much slower pace, pausing to think of each village. "Amegakure... Getsugakure... Hachō village, Uzushiogakure... Yugakure, Takigakure... Nadeshiko village... and... um.."
Azashi raised a hand as if to tell her to stop. It was clear Sachiko could not remember the rest, considering there was at least fifty other hidden villages, and countless countries.
"Let me ask you this... who is the mightiest village?"
I paused, pondering over the question as Han raised his hand.
"I—Isn't it... Konoha?"
Azashi observed the child for a few moments. "Perhaps in military strength... but there is more to that. Who is the top dog? Who holds all the power?"
"Ichirou?"
I paused, thought it over for a moment, before speaking up. "Well Konoha has the biggest population... but not the highest military strength, Kumo and Iwa would likely be tied for that title." I told them, more so convincing myself rather than them. "Iwa is second in population, Kumo with third, and Kiri and Suna tied for last."
"Iwa and Kumo are highest in military, Kiri and Konoha would be tied second with Suna last. Economically wise it is a complete different story; Kumo would be on top with the rest around the same level..."
"In order," I told them. "It would be Kumogakure, then Iwagakure, Konohagakure, Kirigakure, and finally Sunagakure."
Azashi nodded. "Most see a village for it's military strength, but they do not consider the importance of their economy or efficiency. They allow their arrogance and pride to cloud their insight. The importance of being a shinobi is recognising the difference in skill between yourself... and your enemies. Especially if you plan on living — good job, Ichirou."
I couldn't help but smile, a little proud of myself. Coming from a family who did nothing but shun me, a little praise was nice here and there — especially from someone as claimed as Azashi.
"Now." He began again. "Who can tell me about the clans of the Hidden Villages?"
::
The events discussed in this chapter are canon. While given no official reason for the war; Ame, Suna, Iwa and Konoha — Kumo and Kiri did not take part.
The ranking I gave is my own interpretation of the stats from the data books, as there isn't really any names stated.