“Most of the Uchiha are dicks,” Raidou said. He pointed two fingers at Genma’s senbon. “Poison guy?”

“There are other reasons to use senbon,” Genma said, which, yeah, fair enough. Medics used them for nerve-cluster work, and some hunters liked them for a subtle stab. “But you’re right. Never use one of the senbon from my blue pouch to stir your coffee.”

He smiled slightly, which, given the topic of conversation, was a little frightening. But it also did nice things to shape of his mouth, Raidou couldn’t help noticing.

“Noted,” he said. “Make your own poisons?”

Genma arched an eyebrow. “Some of them.”

“Bet that takes some sweat,” Raidou said. “So if I helped myself to a couple vials on the field without asking you first, that’d be a fair share?”

Understanding flickered behind light eyes. Genma tilted his head to the side, a subtle tension vanishing from his shoulders. “If I copied your jutsu, you could still use it. If you took my poison, I couldn't.”

“Fair point. But, okay, take Tousaki, for example.” And hadn’t he just. But that wasn’t a memory to air here. “No-clan kid with a set of unique, lethal-as-hell jutsu. That’s half his value to the village right there. What happens to him when Hatake bolts off with all his hard work?”

“He keeps being incredibly valuable to the village, but now his scary-as-fuck jutsu doesn't get lost forever if someone takes him down?” Genma said, without missing a step. He drained his soup and set to spearing the remaining cubes of tofu with his senbon, eating them one by one, like marshmallows. “Unless someone takes Kakashi down, too,” he added.

That was a fight Raidou didn’t want to see.

“I do see your point,” Genma said. “But I think the needs of the village outweigh the needs of the individual. I mean, the Records Department must have made him archive that jutsu on a scroll, right? I know I had to file details on the jutsu I’ve come up with, and they aren't nearly that impressive.”

“Yeah, I never had to do that,” Raidou said, with a crooked grin. “There’s no trademark on ass-kicking. Still, you can’t tell me if Hatake—or any Uchiha—ran off with one of your personal jutsu, you wouldn’t be a little bit murderous?”

Genma tapped the point of his senbon against his lower lip, thoughtful. “I'd be pretty surprised if someone busted one of my jutsu out on the field. As long as they saved my ass with it, or my teammates' asses, I think that'd be okay.”

Raidou snorted a laugh. “You’re a nicer guy than me.”

“Now if an enemy did it,” Genma said. “Then yeah, extreme murder.”

“Well, as long as someone’s getting murdered,” Raidou said, tickled. He was getting good feelings about his first ever lieutenant. “What did you think of Tousaki, by the way?”