In a rather simple office, a more than bored Touki sits next to two other women, Ino and Sakura's mothers, receiving the report from Iruka, who is Karin's class teacher, about what happened the day before.
Apparently Karin had a heated argument with her friends during recess, something that started as a simple debate about whether a certain Sasuke was cool or not, ended in a full-blown fistfight, where she ended up hitting Ino and Sakura too hard. Unfortunately, things didn't end there, as more children got involved trying to contain the conflict, but Karin, in her irrational state, didn't take well to the intervention of the others, hitting everyone who crossed her, even nearly knocking out Choji and Shikamaru. In the end, only with the intervention of Naruto, who managed to restrain her with his inhuman strength, and Sasuke who kept her busy, they managed to contain her until their teacher arrived.
According to Karin's confession to Touki, the verbal fight became too much when she, a little bored with how annoying it was to hear people constantly talking about Sasuke, told her friends that he liked Suki more than some tomboyish girls, which ended up causing everything to descend into insults. Apparently, one of those insults was directed at Suki, causing Karin to lose her temper and causing chaos in her classroom.
Touki had to arrive at the academy early, see the distressed faces of Ino, Sakura, and Karin, who had to apologize, and then end up hugging and crying. He later apologized to both girls' mothers, as Karin's guardian, offering compensation if necessary, something that was rejected by them, also ashamed of their daughters' actions.
"A shitty day," is all the man can think about, watching the mothers leave, but having to stay behind to speak privately with Iruka.
"Karin can be quite difficult to handle when she gets angry, Mr. Ichizen," the teacher begins.
"I wouldn't say that. This is a rather strange situation from my perspective, although she does have quite a strong personality," Touki says.
"That's true, but that's not why I asked you to stay... The truth is, Karin demonstrated in her fight something she hasn't normally demonstrated in her ninja training. Not everyone can hit and subdue multiple of her classmates simultaneously... Even though it wasn't a real fight in every sense, the girl should be strong enough to beat upperclassmen..."
"I suppose you're implying that Karin should be promoted to an upperclassman?" Touki interrupts.
"It's a highly recommended option, and if her abilities are good enough, we can even consider early graduation," the teacher comments with a smile.
"No, thank you," Touki says, his face emotionless.
"Sorry… what did you just say?" Iruka asks, with a forced smile.
"No, thank you."
The teacher remains silent for a few moments, observing Touki's imperturbable face, before saying, "This is an excellent opportunity for Karin's career, to further improve her skills in the advanced courses and have the chance to find a jounin master when she graduates."
"No, thank you. Karin will help me with my business when she graduates," Touki says more bluntly.
Iruka freezes for a moment, his expression rather uncomfortable. "You don't want Karin to become a ninja?"
"Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Konoha's ninja, but I don't think one more ninja is going to make a difference. My business already pays enough taxes to the village without requiring me to ruin Karin's short childhood… Because let's face it, the life of a ninja is full of conflict and death. I at least want to make sure she has a decent childhood, after that she's free to do whatever she wants," Touki says very seriously.
The teacher's discomfort quickly turns to embarrassment, and what follows the meeting are apologies from both sides: the teacher for not considering the girl's childhood, and Touki for how violent she was in the fight with her other classmates.
Already retiring from the academy, Touki carefully observes the place that was once his childhood dream, a place he never set foot in due to not meeting the minimum requirements. But the sight of so many children so happily training to become assassins ends up making a man who has long considered himself a cold-blooded killer slightly sick to his stomach.
…
Getting rid of Iruka was easier than Touki thought, considering the enormous display of strength Karin demonstrated with her academy classmates. The girl has continued to receive training from Suki, who has obtained quite a bit of advanced material from Izumi and other Order ninjas, mainly focused on physical training and chakra enhancement. This, combined with her Uzumaki blood, makes her quite advanced for her age, at least compared to the academy's current standards.
The man knows that once Karin's potential is discovered, the academy authorities will begin to pay more attention to her, which means that attention will also fall on him, a problem he didn't expect at this very moment. But there's nothing that can be done about it, so he simply hopes the problems aren't too great, especially now that his attention is elsewhere.
Touki is planning to return to the 007 world, specifically to the place where the dragon is located, to try to subjugate it or otherwise kill it. He still has this strange premonition that the beast has something he needs, or perhaps it's guarding some fantastic treasure inside that waterfall. We're talking about a world with all the potential to become a true adventure, if everything else holds true to what he's seen so far.
For this new raid, the man will add the help of Tomomi, so that together with Izumi, the three will try to overwhelm the dragon from several directions. Given the previous encounter, he doesn't know how durable the beast's hide is, so the plan includes the use of heavy artillery, also known as explosives of all kinds. Additionally, the armor of all involved has been significantly improved in its defensive capabilities, almost reaching the limits of its design.
Tomomi, for her part, seemed more than enthusiastic about the idea of traveling to unknown places and fighting all kinds of enemies in general. The woman is clearly a successful product of Kirigakure, which, deep down, still harbors that bloodlust characteristic of a place mired in eternal conflict. Sometimes Touki instinctively mistrusts her, but so far, nothing has indicated that she might betray them in any way, especially considering her dependence on the medical aid he provides.
If this imminent expedition doesn't work out, the man will have to rethink his approach to all of this. He has always been known for not trusting others much, but in the end, everything has a limit. The impending battle already has a date, and all that remains is to hope for the best.