"This is the genin I am talking about." The jonin instructor said to a man with a long blonde ponytail as he patted me on my back
He was Santa Yamanaka. A powerful Jonin with renowned fighting skills and sensory abilities, even among the great Yamanaka Clan.
"I can see why you would want me to look after him before the Chunin exams. The Chakra pool of this kid is twice that of a normal Jonin despite recently becoming a shinobi. It might be slightly even larger than mine." Santa noted that he looked at Akiko.
"Kid. Do you want me to train you before you take the Chunin exam?" He asked as he looked at Akiko in the eyes.
"Yes, Mr Santa," Akiko said as he nodded.
"You can leave the kid here at my house. I wanted to have a conversation with him before I agree to mentor him." Santa said to Akiko's jonin instructor.
"Then I will leave him in your hands." the instructor said.
Then he gives a nod of acknowledgment to Aiko and Santa before leaving Akiko in Santa's care.
"Before we begin training there are a few things that I need to ask you," Santa said.
"So what kind of jutsu do you know?" he asked.
"I know clone jutsu, transformation jutsu, and cloak of invisibility jutsu. That's all they teach at the academy." Akiko replied.
"Then I will teach you two techniques. One is the body flicker technique and the other is known as the shadow clone jutsu." Santa said.
"Body flicker technique is a common D-rank jutsu so you should be able to master it. Shadow clone jutsu however is a different matter."
"It's a B-rank jutsu and takes a lot of chakra to maintain. In fact, a variant of it called Multi shadow clone justu is considered to be a forbidden jutsu because of how much chakra is drained when performing said jutsu."
"But if you really want to have a chance of even making it far into the Chunin exam against the golden generation of Konoha you should be able to at least use one jutsu like that," Santa explained.
If Akiko really wanted to pass the Chunin exam and become a chunin he would need to surpass every other participant who failed to do so in the previous year.
And that includes genins from both leaf and sand villages all of whom are already stronger than many veteran Chunins.
And among them are two genin who are as strong, if not stronger, than many jonin.
"If you want to be my student you have to agree to three of my conditions." He said to Akiko.
"One, you will agree to follow the training plan that I lay out for you no matter how hard or harsh it is. Two, you have to agree to take on the Yamanaka Clan's name and become a member of our clan and lastly, you have to agree that if you ever meet the young lady in the exam you will have to make way for her." He stated.
As a somewhat powerful jonin, many people are willing to be Santa's student, and he can choose who he wants to train.
Because of that he puts a few conditions that one has to fulfill if they ever want to become his student.
And the conditions that he laid out to Akiko are even harsher compared to the conditions that he would have given to others.
Of course, he would not allow the run-of-the-mill genin to enter the Yamanaka clan but he would also not force them under the pretense that they have to enter the clan to be trained by him.
After all, becoming a member means that you have to work under the head of the clan, senior members of the clan, and even members who have a higher rank than your rank you possess.
But even then many would still consider the offer worth it since people who are not from any major clans do not get as many resources as even a lowest member of a notable clan.
Akiko was only given the condition because of his larger-than-average chakra pool.
Santa believed that it could be developed to the point where he could be even comparable to legendary Shinobi with large amounts of chakra such as Jiraiya and Minato.
The full potential of Akiko's chakra pool is still nowhere near that of a jinchuriki but it would still be enough to the point where he can be a huge asset to the clan.
At least that was what Santa believed.
"I have to clarify this just entering the clan does not mean that you will have access to our hidden jutsu. Those are for clan members with a blood relation only. Of course, if you contribute a lot you might get an exemption from the clan's head." Santa said.
Of course, he was not thinking that Akiko would ever get that chance but he still needed to give the boy hope so that the chances of him becoming a great asset to the clan would be much higher.
"So what do you think about my offer?" Santa asked Akiko.
Akiko was confused. He wanted to get Santa to train him but he is not desperate enough to sign his life away. But he knows that other than Santa there might not be someone who would be willing to take him in as a disciple while also being skilled enough for him to want as a mentor.
"Can I think about this for a while?" Akiko asked.
"An opportunity like this might never come again," Santa said to Akiko.
Akiko was nervous because Santa didn't say he would be given a chance to think about it.
He panicked and made a mistake that would change his life for the better.
"I agree." He said out loud fearing that Santa might take his order back if he thought for too long.
Akiko still has a long way to go to become a powerful ninja.