Aftermath and Jonin Dinner

Seeing her sensei off, Kamui walked over to her friends. On the way, she waved at her parents who were talking to each other and preparing to head off. They would talk about her performance later. An interesting thing she noted was the lack of surprise on her father's face. At any point her gaze turned his way during the confrontation, she noticed his standard smile.

'He knew. He must have watched me without my notice. I knew it would be hard to hide anything from him. Man, I really wish I had a place I could practice without ever having to worry about others; a place I could call my own. A place I could be free.' Kamui thought in frustration. The downside to being in a ninja village was the inability to practice most of her techniques; they were too flashy and would be noticed. It was stifling. She loved her father, but it was not yet time for him to know everything. It would only put him in danger.

What she didn't noticed was that her irises glowed a bright amethyst for a brief instant; with that, the tomoe glowed in their respective colors. Then, before anyone noticed, they returned to normal.

In her inner world, Yume noticed the shift in the world around her. Energy started to gather into a small core above the ocean. 'So, it has begun.' she thought. 'Soon, your eyes will take the next step and you and I will be one.' Yume's thoughts concluded as she continued watching her mistress.

Back on the outside, Kamui reached her friends.

"That was awesome! You were sooo cool!" Naruto shouted with excitement.

"Shouldn't you be used to this type of fight Naruto, what with her being your sister?" Sakura asked with tactic agreement from the group.

Sasuke was the one who answered.

"We don't see flashy fights like this that often. Most of our family members are quick to end their fights and refrain from using large chakra-draining jutsu like Kamui did. The only family member that has as a flashier arsenal is our mom; Mikoto Uchiha. Our dad relies almost exclusively on teleportation and different variations of the Rasengan; with his skill in using them, they're all he really needs. Aunt Kushina on the other hand focuses heavily on swordsmanship, chakra-infused punches, and her chains. She has other means, but they are secondary at best. Mom has a tendency to use all the elements as frequently as Kamui. She just has to do them the normal way as jutsu rather than manipulating them externally. She's even learned how to perform the scorch release. The problem for Naruto is that he trains with Aunt Kushina, the plain one, while I train with my mom, the flashy one. Basically, this is the flashiest match he's seen in a while.

"Okay, I guess I can understand then." Sakura replied absentmindedly. One part of her brain process what Sasuke said, while another was cheering for the new knowledge about Sasuke's home life.

"On another note." Sasuke said as he looked at his sister. "Since when did you learn how to use all those bloodline limits? I thought the sharingan couldn't copy nature fusions." Sasuke asked.

"It can't, but that has less to do with your inability to use the release and more with the fact that the sharingan can't read the process of combining the elements. It's even harder when trying to read people with bloodline limits that naturally combine the chakra in the body. That's the process you can't replicate. You can do the fusion part yourself; it's just challenging. Mom is an example. She doesn't have a scorch release bloodline; you assumed she did. She worked with me to develop it the natural way." Kamui explained earning her a glare from Sasuke.

"Why didn't you let me in!?" He demanded as he realized he might've developed scorch release himself if she had told him. He might have even finished the fusion he'd been working on. The embarrassing part is that he assumed he had a unique bloodline when he first tried the fusion; this suggests otherwise.

"Because you've been conditioned as an Uchiha. You're arrogant and like to brag. This needed to stay quiet until we gained enough strength to support it. I've just barely met that qualification when I turned sixteen. You don't quite yet, but you will be by the time you learn the art. I think it's a good time to start training you in it. That said, mom would probably be the better teacher in this case. She's experienced learning how to do it from your perspective." She explained calmly. There was no way Sasuke could keep a secret about this kind of thing. Although he wouldn't admit it, all Uchiha liked to brag and he was no exception.

"Hmph" Sasuke grunted in annoyance at that fact and asked his last question on the topic. "What's the difference between your method and hers?" Sasuke asked.

"She had to create a method of externalizing the scorch release chakra in the same way that you'll have to. She also had to create a new method of coating her respiratory system to account for the significant heat difference when applying scorch release to the fireball jutsu variants. One wrong move and some of the jutsus will literally burn you to ashes from the inside." Kamui said, giving Sasuke a sadistic grin.

Not a little disturbed. Sasuke backed up slowly. He really didn't want to believe that could happen, but the jutsu spoke for itself. That Sun Fire Tsunami jutsu that Kamui cast was beyond any level of heat he had ever experienced. Sakura and the nearby classmates were of a similar mind.

Turning her head toward the full group of advanced class graduates, Kamui decided to be generous.

"How about we all eat at Yakiniku Q to celebrate our graduation? Naruto, Sasuke, and I will split the bill for everyone." She said volunteering her brothers without their consent. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes turned to her with heat, but kept silent. This wasn't new; she was of the mind that siblings share weal and woe as long as it doesn't involve something too stupid. They had experienced her 'generosity' before and were already used to it. Hell, they even got her to pay for things they suggested.

"Really? Alright!" Kiba exclaimed, while Choji's mouth started to water at the tasty meal. Honestly, Choji was the main reason Kamui was splitting the bill with her brothers. He was going to eat a lot.

Akimichi Izakaya (Yugao Point of View)

The group of Jonin sat down in a corner booth at the local Izakaya restaurant. It was jonin day here and everyone with the rank would get a 50% discount on their purchase. It was perfect for small gatherings like this.

Sitting at the table were Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Yugao Uzuki, Hayate Gekko (He had short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and wore the standard Jonin uniform. Notably, he wore a dark blue bandana with a forehead protector attached.), Asuma Sarutobi, and Maito Gai (Gai has slightly tanned white skin, a black bowl cut, bushy eyebrows, and wore a green jumpsuit with the Konoha Jonin flak jacket over it and orange leg warmers on his shins).

"Wasn't that a great match? A vaunted member of my old anbu team beat by a genin." Kakashi said with poorly veiled sarcasm. Yugao's eyes narrowed. She was about to respond when Hayate beat her to it.

"She lost? How'd 'cough' that happen? She's one of the strongest kenjutsu specialists 'cough' in this village." He was a little lost. "Did she hold back?" With that, Yugao's face blushed a bright shade of red. She was getting a little embarrassed. She really didn't want to explain this one.

"No, from what I saw, Yugao was trying her best. The mistake that cost her the match was something any of us would have fallen for." Asuma started. Hayate was about to respond, but was stopped by a hand from Asuma, who continued. "Her opponent can't really be called a genin. She is in rank, but closer to a high-chunin in physical ability, but that looked like her biggest weakness and Yugao didn't even get a chance to exploit it. Everything else was something to behold. She used multiple elemental fusions with the highest level of proficiency I've ever seen. When combined with the Uchiha's natural inclination toward genjutsu and the result was to be expected."

With those words, Gai and Hayate's eyebrows rose to the sky.

"What Passion. What Skill. What Powerful Youth!" Gai shouted, drawing more attention than he should.

Ignoring the hyped green beast cheering next to him, Hayate asked the first thing on his mind.

"How is that possible, does she have a special bloodline?"

"Technically, her bloodline isn't any different from a normal Uchiha. The abnormality lies with her chakra. It's of a different quality than ours. It makes elemental manipulation a lot easier. As for the nature transformation combinations, those can be done by anyone. She just has an easier time doing it. Mikoto learned scorch release, which she doesn't have the bloodline for. I even learned light release, which I similarly don't have a bloodline for. According to her, anyone can do it. It's just that, in her own words, 'ninja are blockheads who don't know how to think outside the box and innovate'. When she told me those words years ago, it encouraged me to try them out and I succeeded. Light release was the result." Kurenai explained, causing the who group's eyes to widen.

One of their peers really managed to learn a combination release without a bloodline? They didn't even bother addressing Kamui's insult. If what Kurenai said was true, then she had every right to say it. There was a world of jutsu they could learn and they didn't even consider exploring the possibility.

Yugao decided to interject. "Honestly, I feel like I've been granted a golden opportunity. To work with a shinobi like her will be interesting to say the least. She might even help me develop a combination nature transformation for myself." There was no point in arguing over her loss. It was justified. She would likely have won if she picked a better field, but she didn't understand her opponent well enough. She would take this as a lesson and move on.

"True. I'm a little envious. You don't have to babysit children doing D-Rank missions." Kakashi mumbled. He really wasn't looking forward to the next couple of months. Well, at least Master Jiraiya's latest book was released. He'll have some reading material for the month.

"Yeah… I'm not looking forward to that myself. At least I only have one loud mouth in my group." Asuma pointed out.

"I'm not too worried about that on my end. Kiba looks like the loud mouth in my group, but he doesn't look as bad as Naruto, Sakura, and Ino." Kurenai said, deciding to throw some shade at her peers' new students.

"I certainly am thankful. I wonder how the chunin exam will go for Kamui though. Unlike the others, she really shouldn't even be taking it. It would be a disaster with all the accusations of cheating."

"Kamui is a great selling point for the village. Showing her off in an event like that would bring in a lot of clients. Plus, she should be strong enough by that point to protect herself from the inevitable assassins." Kakashi stoically commented. He wasn't a fan of how these exams were used, but he understood the value.

"You really think she can get that much stronger in such a short amount of time? From the sound of it, her weakness is physical and that takes a while to improve." Asuma asked.

"Have you ever paid attention to the hospital's research requests?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

"No. Why?" Asuma replied with confusion. He didn't see how this was relevant.

"There's a research request that was approved and prioritized by the Hokage. It's on how excessive physical exertion by children younger than 16 can stunt their future potential. It advocated for the moderation of exercise at certain ages and explained the effects of both performing excessive exercises too early in life and correctly waiting till the appropriate age before employing more advanced routines. Clan members have the advantage of a genetic safety net, but that only goes so far. Most of the theories in that request have had evidence found supporting their claims; the rest are still being tested. For the most part, they've found the problem mainly stems from chakra allowing the body to train outside of its natural limits. It's as if chakra wasn't designed with the human body in mind as absurd as that sounds. Civilians, for example, don't show signs of long-term damage." Kakashi calmly explained causing his fellow Jonin a lot of shock.

"And you're saying she's following the guidance of this request?" Asuma asked. He was surprised the Hokage's daughter would follow an unproven set of theories like that. Even if it was looking good now, she would have had to have been following it for a few years now.

"She wrote it. She wrote the initial compilation of facts and presented it to the hospital's committee. They approved it and it landed on the Hokage's desk. Seeing how it was in line with his vision of a no child ninja future, it was quickly moved near the top of the research stack." Now they understood where he was going with this. She held herself back due to a belief that rushing her training could prove detrimental.

"Kakashi, do you have a copy of this article I could read?" Gai asked seriously. It made sense. Gai was the village's renowned taijutsu specialist. No one trained harder than him and he was currently training a student. This needed to be understood as soon as possible. He may act like a jolly green giant most of the time, but in a situation where he might be damaging his student and surrogate son's future, the smile was off. Even if Lee was 17 at this point, there may be remedial insights for damage already done.

"I can, but I really think you should pay a visit to the hospital's medical research division in person. They can explain their findings in detail. Considering your position in the village, they should be happy to have your support. I'd wait till tomorrow though; they're off for the night." Kakashi casually said. What he didn't say was that he was already requested to invite Gai over there. He just forgot, so this was something he needed to suggest anyway. He also made sure to delay the meeting till the next day. If not, Gai would be running over there immediately.

"Right! I will wake up early, do 10 laps around the village on my fingers, and be there before it opens. If I can't do that, I'll do 1000 pushups in a minute, if I can't do that…." Gai continued his speech as the rest ate their meal.

For the next hour, the jonin discussed the specifics on how they would interact with the genin and set joint training schedules. Kakashi even set an appointment with Kurenai to get some pointers on developing a fusion nature transformation. He had storm release in mind, but that was still up for consideration. Asuma didn't need to set an appointment to get more of her time for more intimate reasons. He wasn't sure about the combination he'd end up making though; it'd likely have fire in it at least.

There was one thing that every jonin at the table was sure about; the next several years would be interesting to say the least.