"We are staying?" Kanna asked in shock, clearly not believing her own ears.
"Correct," I nodded as I sat down in my seat. "We will be staying here for a while longer."
"But why?" Kanna asked, her voice trembling. "You killed a man, Kaguya-hime! In front of everyone! We can't stay here!"
She turned her gaze to Karin, who was sitting quietly, her hands folded in her lap. The girl had been withdrawn since the incident, her usual vibrant energy replaced by a quiet, watchful solemnity. "And you let Karin fight! You let her be put in danger! What were you thinking?"
My reply was calm and measured. "He was a fool who touched what was mine. His death was a lesson, not just for him, but for everyone watching. And Karin... was never in danger, with me around, what could possibly threaten either of you?" I replied, as I looked at Kanna, my words meant to soothe her, but there was an iron core to them that allowed no argument.
"And we will stay for a very simple reason," I continued, my gaze shifting from Kanna to Karin. "Karin needs to learn how to fight, and what better place to do so than here? It is a controlled environment, and I have made the necessary arrangements to ensure her safety, and more importantly, her freedom."
I had left out the details, but my conversation with Daichi hadn't been wasted, not at all. I had managed to get what I wanted, and while I had foreseen some difficulties, it was a small price to pay for what I had secured in return.
This place was just far too good a place for her to learn how to fight for me to leave it before she had learned her lesson. Not only would she gain combat experience, but she would also get to fight against plenty of different opponents.
That was something even I couldn't do for her.
While I knew plenty of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, a multitude of Kekkei Genkai, and far more, I was, in the end, one person. And so even if I fought using different methods, the core fighting style would be the same.
She needed to fight others, to learn how to deal with different fighting styles, different abilities, and different strategies. So that she could learn, adapt, and grow.
And only true battle could give her that, or at least, better than just sparring with one overly strong opponent. After all, against me, she would never have a chance to win, which meant the sweetness of victory would never be hers.
And for a child to accept brutal training, brutal fights that resulted in bruising, the sweet taste of victory was the best reward that could motivate them.
"But," Kanna began,
But I cut her off. "Dislike it all you want, but you will not change my mind, nor the situation. Karin will be trained by me, and then put that training to the test inside the ring, and that is final," I told her, my tone leaving no room for further discussion.
Kanna opened her mouth as if to argue, but then closed it, her shoulders slumping in defeat. She looked at Karin, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and a grudging, reluctant understanding. She knew I was right, or at least, that she couldn't stop me. She had seen my power, my utter lack of hesitation to kill a noble in cold blood. She knew that arguing with me was like arguing with a force of nature.
She simply nodded, her silence a concession.
…
A few days later, I was overseeing Karin's training. I wasn't some fool who would just throw her endlessly into combat again and again and expect the pressure to shape her into a sharp blade.
Yes, a blade needed to be tempered, but one didn't temper ore into a blade; one had to work the metal carefully, guide it step by step.
Training was the same, careful guidance, and then experience to ensure the lesson stuck.
"Your hand signs are coming along fine," I nodded in satisfaction as I tested her speed at forming hand signs. A few of them were relatively complex, and switching between them quickly required a lot of practice.
Worst of all, the practice was boring and showed little short-term results, so kids rarely wanted to train in it.
Karin, however, had no choice in the matter.
"Augh," Karin groaned as she stopped her demonstration and threw herself down onto the grass. "Kaguya! I wanna go play!" she complained. "I've been doing this all morning."
"You are the one who begged me to teach you," I helpfully reminded her.
"Yes, but I thought we would do something cool, like ninjutsu or taijutsu, not more chakra control stuff and hand signs!" she said, pouting.
"Patience, little Uzumaki," I said with a faint smile. "A house built on a weak foundation will crumble at the first storm. Your control is the foundation. Without it, your ninjutsu will be sloppy, your chakra wasted, and your body will break from the strain," I told her, yet she just groaned at my words.
"Yes, yes, you keep saying that, but my control is good, you even said that before!" she shot back, clearly not wanting to do any more of this training.
"I did, and I meant it. For someone with as much chakra as you, your control is excellent, but your chakra nature is very gentle, very fit for medical ninjutsu, and that requires extremely fine control," I explained. "More than most ninjutsu."
"But I want to do cool ninjutsu! Like big fire dragons, or freezing everything like you!" she continued to complain, but I had expected this.
After all, that was the thing every child wanted from shinobi training, to do the cool things, but they never knew just how much hard work lay before they reached that point.
And while Karin could already do plenty of ninjutsu and had the strength and skill of a solid genin, I wanted much more from her because she had the talent to go far.
Canon had wasted her skills, making her little more than a healing battery for her teammates, useless in a fight for most of her life, little more than Sasuke's fangirl, unable to even deal with a few monster bears.
It was an insult to her blood and potential.
Every time I thought about that, I couldn't help but curse Kusagakure for wasting such an asset. Draining Kanna to death and weakening Karin's potential by sucking the chakra out of her from a young age.
"Karin," I said seriously, "you are destined for far more than fire dragons, you have the pure blood of the Uzumaki clan in you, and have already shown great talent with the special Kekkei Genkai hidden in that blood. Once you awaken that, a fire dragon will be nothing next to what you can do," I encouraged her.
"So we have to build a foundation strong enough to handle that kind of power, otherwise it will destroy you."
That did the trick, her pout vanished, replaced by a look of determination. She sat up straight, her back no longer slouched. "You mean... I can do something even cooler than a fire dragon?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"Much cooler," I confirmed. "But only if you do the work. Now, back to the hand signs. Faster this time."
I watched her, a small, satisfied smile on my face. I had given her a glimpse of the mountain she had to climb, and she was eager to start the ascent. The road would be long and arduous, but she had the spirit for it. The spirit of an Uzumaki.
…
"My ladies and gentlemen!" The voice of the announcer boomed through the coliseum, a familiar, almost comforting sound now. It had been quite a while since my demonstration, and things had mostly returned to normal.
The nobles and merchants who backed this place had once more calmed down after my display of force, clearly and cleverly deciding that it was a one-time thing, and that as long as they played smart, there would be no problems.
A wild beast was dangerous, but a person? That they could deal with, a fellow noble? They knew how to handle such things, so after we all reached an understanding, they found their confidence once more.
And with that, things returned to the status quo.
"The rules of this establishment are sacred! They ensure fair play and the safety of our valued assets!" The announcer's words were a carefully crafted piece of propaganda, designed to soothe the nerves of the owners and maintain the illusion of control.
They were all lying to themselves, of course.
He didn't mention the unspoken new rule that had been established after my little outburst: don't touch what belongs to Kaguya-hime.
And my property was very clearly marked.
"It is my honor to introduce to you tonight's challengers!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "In the red corner, wearing the ID tag of Lady Kaguya-hime, the 'Crimson Whirlpool,' Karin Uzumaki!"
The crowd roared, a mix of excitement and morbid curiosity. Karin had become something of a local celebrity. The girl had slowly built up her own reputation thanks to the strategies she had figured out on her own with only minimal guidance.
It was effective, and more importantly, it looked impressive, which is what the crowds were coming around to her for, slowly forgetting about their fear of what stood behind her.
"And her opponent, a newcomer to our hallowed grounds, wearing the ID tag of Lord Tetsuya, the 'Iron Wall,' Kenji!"
Kenji was a large man, likely three times Karin's age. He was someone with plenty of experience, but also someone who knew the rules well, having spent decades fighting in this place under dozens, if not hundreds, of different owners.
He had long since reached his peak, and age was slowly forcing him down from it, but his experience spoke for itself, which is why he was popular; he knew how to put on a show.
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he began his show, turning to the crowd, showing off his body covered in impressive thick muscles and countless scars, looking every bit the gladiator. Arms raised high, he soaked in the applause, a practiced smirk on his face. He was a master of the arena, and he knew exactly how to play to the crowd.
He roared back at them, making his fans all the more excited, excited for a good show.
"Now, I'm sure everyone is well aware at this point that due to a special arrangement with Lady Kaguya-hime, the normal rules about stealing ID tags are suspended in this match, but that hasn't meant less exciting fights so far, so give it up to our two contestants!" the announcer shouted as he hyped the crowd.
The new rules had been a point of some contention, but the implied threat of my displeasure had been very persuasive. Enough so that people accepted this for the few fights Karin fought; it lacked the excitement of risks, but instead, the fighters facing Karin could also fight in ways that looked more impressive but might not be the most effective.
Putting on a better performance now that they too didn't have any risks should they lose, at least no other risk than displeasing their owners.
It was my compromise with the owners, and they accepted it, because a compromise was better than a loss, or being the one who lost their head.
"Begin!" the referee shouted, and Kenji didn't waste any time.
Kenji was a veteran who earned his nickname due to his impressive defense. He only really knew a single ninjutsu, but he had mastered it to perfection. The moment the match started, he used it to harden his skin, in much the same way Kakuzu had done in his fight against me.
It was simple, but effective, as it allowed him to shrug off weak ninjutsu, and his impressive size and strength allowed him to dominate in taijutsu.
It was a style that had served him well for decades.
And the crowd loved it, as it allowed for the kind of brutal close-quarters brawls they came to see.
"You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" Kenji taunted as he charged forward, his fists raised. "Let's see if you can dent the Iron Wall!"
His words weren't for Karin; they were for the crowd, who ate it up raw.
As for Karin, she had plenty of chakra due to her Uzumaki heritage, so she made use of it.
She quickly performed the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. And a dozen clones sprang up around her once the smoke disappeared. It looked impressive, so the crowds loved it. High-level things that they could see and follow were their favorites.
"ARRRRR!" Kenji roared as he neared the nearest Karin, and his massive hands smacked down on her, causing it to explode in a cloud of smoke as it was dispelled, showing it had indeed just been a clone.
Hardly a surprise, but the people watching still loved it.
"Fire Style! Great Fireball Jutsu!" the small army of Karin's clones said in unison as they used a simple C-rank ninjutsu.
Simple, but effective.
Well, not really, Kenji used his steel-like skin to tank the fire, ignoring the attacks to attack the next clone, and the crowd went wild.
"I don't like it," Kanna said from next to me. No matter how many times Karin fought down there, she never got any less nervous.
"It's fine, he is just playing around, at worst he will give her a few bruises, and Karin will learn how to deal with someone whom she can't easily take down with sheer numbers," I explained calmly as I watched the fight.