Chapitre 286: CH_8.21 (286)
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The link is also in the synopsis
———
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The next day, Takuma's muscles ached from sparring against Masaaki while wearing the weighted gear. It had been a while since his body hurt as much as it did after sparring, but he'd sparred much harder and more often than usual too.
The pain was good because it represented growth, but that didn't mean he had to like waking up in agony at the slightest twitch.
"It was a boon that you chose Masaaki as your first sparring partner," said Maruboshi as they stood in the same field the following day.
"How so?" asked Takuma as he stretched with his weighted gear on.
"Because his combat style is similar to yours, you have an example you can draw from. You said Masaaki and another man known as Masumoto inspired your fighting style. I want you to mimic them. Try out what they do and see how you feel."
"That doesn't make sense," Takuma replied. "Both of them are willing to trade damage."
"I don't know about the other one, but Masaaki only traded damage when he thought he absolutely needed to. You go into fights knowing you'll trade damage. They do it for a reason; you don't."
Takuma touched his toes and thought about the two other fighters.
Masumoto was Bishop's real name; they had only fought twice, so he wasn't sure about the man's philosophy, but if he had to infer, Bishop wanted his opponent to feel stifling pressure throughout the fight; all of his decisions were geared toward that single goal.
As for Masaaki, he preferred to linger around and wait till he could get a devastating strike and believed in quality rather than quantity of attacks.
Maruboshi continued, "Since they inspired you, why not try mimicking them and see if you can find answers on how to further your own approach to combat."
Takuma didn't think there was anything wrong with his style, but he kept that thought to himself and glanced a few steps away from him where Nenro was doing his warm up routine.
"I'm happy to help with anything," Nenro had said with a blinding smile when Takuma requested he be his sparring partner.
Takuma couldn't help but sigh at his friend's good looks; those same looks had made him immensely popular. He, on the other hand, had made a baby cry when he was out grocery shopping—his new scar apparently made him look like he was itching for a fight.
Nenro was his second invite after Masaaki. The two were different but equally skilled fighters, and Nenro had insisted on helping him even though he was swamped and liked to relax during his free time.
"Let's start with the first round," said Maruboshi, looking between the two of them.
Nenro nodded and sprinted to a tree on the other side of the field to finish his warmup.
Maruboshi noticed Takuma gazing at his friend with a sombre expression and asked if something was wrong.
"When I first met them, Masaaki used to be tougher to fight. Now that I fight like him, he's easier to handle—but Nenro has become a more challenging opponent." Takuma was stronger, but if he limited himself to Nenro's level, the spars were some of the most challenging he had fought and that included the brutality he faced within the Ring. "He's my perfect counter when it comes to ninjutsu... Lightning trumps both Water and Earth."
"Lightning, that's rare," said Maruboshi. The Land of Fire got its name because a majority of the country's natives had the Fire nature as their primary affinity. Similar patterns could be seen in other major nations. There were theories with insufficient proof, but no one knew the exact reason why such patterns could be seen across the lands.
"And knowing him, he must have improved in the past year... I don't know if I can beat him if I limit myself to his level."
Maruboshi thought Takuma was putting himself down because he had been talking about changing his fighting style and wanted to reassure him when he noticed the fire in his eyes. It seemed like he didn't need to say anything.
"Go on then, let's see if you can adapt on the fly," said Maruboshi.
Takuma walked up to Nenro, who waited for him with a smile. Nenro used to have shorter brown hair, but in the year Takuma was away, he had grown his hair and now wore it in a short, low ponytail. His face had lost its baby fat, making his features sharper, but the most significant change in Nenro were his eyes.
They always seemed intelligence to Takuma, but now there was an added layer of wisdom that imparted maturity to his appearance.
"Masaaki said you have gotten stronger," said Nenro.
"I hope you haven't let yourself stagnate with your recent workload," Takuma replied.
He was surprised when he heard that Nenro was leading missions as a genin, but he was also proud of his friend. Out of everyone their age, Nenro was the one who always seemed to have things together the most. While Takuma was frantically juggling drug dealing, the Ring, and then the Police Force—Nenro was taking planned steps, working under several chunin who took different missions to learn as much as he could and build himself a solid foundation.
All of that had paid off now and Nenro was getting the recognition he deserved while he built a jump pad to reach the next stage in his career.
"Fight me to find out," Nenro smiled. "I assume we're going with the full range?"
"It won't be fun otherwise," said Takuma. With Masaaki, their spars were restricted to taijutsu because that's what they enjoyed facing in each other, but with Nenro, he used everything in his arsenal.
Clanking metal sounded as Nenro put his left hand behind his back while he raised his right hand to form the Seal of Confrontation, not even trying to hide that he was pulling out a kunai. The spar had already started, Takuma thought as he looked at Nenro smiling before him. He raised his Seal of Confrontation, too, while chakra trickled into his other hand.
"You can start," said Nenro, pulling a kunai out behind his back.
"No, please, be my guest," said Takuma before remembering that he was supposed to mimic Masaaki and Bishop to find the answers Maruboshi wanted him to seek. He thought about what Bishop would do, and the answer was that he would take control of the fight's momentum by taking the initiative.
"I insist," Nenro smiled.
Takuma shrugged and abruptly made the move first. His body blurred as he shot forward with his arm cocked back, ready to unleash a punch. Nenro was ready and zoomed backwards, not as fast as him, but he compensated by throwing the kunai at his legs.
Takuma skipped to the side to evade the kunai, hopped from one foot and punched out while spinning all in one uninterrupted motion. Chakra Augmentation: Second Form. The ranged blast shot out his fist. A surprised Nenro brought up his guard, but a part of the force hit him square in the chest and threw him off his feet.
This proved that Masaaki hadn't told Nenro about Takuma's new tricks, however, the Second Form augmentation was inspired by Masaaki's range bukijutsu, and Nenro had faced that an ample number of times. Instincts kicked in, and he gained control of his body in mid-air and landed on his hands before pushing off to land on his feet.
Pressure, Takuma repeated the word in his mind like a mantra to keep himself from falling back into his habits.
He weaved hand seals for the Water Release: Wild Water Wave, nostrils filling with humid air as he sprayed out a powerful jet at Nenro, who used the momentum of his backflip to continue retreating. He still got hit by the wave, but had made so much distance that it felt like running full-speed into a heavy door rather than getting hit by a C-rank jutsu.
Takuma's hands rose on instinct. It felt natural to use the Water Release: Eight Tentacles afterd creating a water source, but then he remembered that the same habit had been exploited by Maruboshi two days ago.
More pressure, he thought and shot toward Nenro.
Nenro lost footing when he landed and skidded onto his knees. Before he was even stable, his hands moved rapidly to form seals, but contrary to his expectations, Takuma didn't stop to create his tentacles and charged toward him.
Nenro's brows creased into a frown when he saw that. Two choices lay ahead of him. Abandon the hand seals and get up with enough time to face Takuma or complete the jutsu with the risk of getting throttled into the ground by an augmented strike that was sure to come.
It took him mere milliseconds to make a decision, and he rushed through the hand seals faster.
Takuma arrived before Nenro and pushed out a vicious, augmented front kick. At the exact moment, Nenro finished his hand seals, and the ninjutsu came alive. As Takuma's foot crashed into Nenro's chest, an azure lightning current sparked at the point of contact.
Nenro felt like an elephant had stomped on him, and his body slammed into the ground, creating a local tremor in the field. Takuma, on the other hand, screamed as an intense wave of lightning struck his body from his foot, and he momentarily lost a significant portion of his strength, falling to his knees as his muscles spasmed out of control; he looked down at his hands that were trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"I-I learned that because of you and Masaaki." Takuma looked up to see Nenro getting on his feet with a pained expression as he clutched his chest. Hair-thin currents of lightning sparked across his body at random. Nenro smirked, "Want to experience how it feels to face you? I've got just the thing."
Takuma clenched his fist and punched the ground before getting up. "Oh really? Show it to me then," he said, but at the same time, he wondered what about the jutsu. Other than some lingering pain, he didn't feel much else.
The worrying part was the loss of muscle control.
Nenro raised his hands and attacked Takuma, who moved back while dodging. He couldn't compare with Takuma and Masaaki when it came to taijutsu, but he wasn't a slouch either. He moved quickly with light steps and tried to pry open the opponent's guard with jabs before striking out with combos.
Takuma raised his guard as Nenro struck out with a kick to the thigh and was already set to counter with a body shot when a current jolted through his leg, causing it to spasm. It wasn't bad enough to make him kneel, but he halted, and his other leg had to take over to maintain balance. He forced himself back in control, but in that time, Nenro got in two more hits.
Takuma felt his right shoulder and left forearm momentarily paralysed after sparks of lightning upon contact. This was when he realised Nenro's ninjutsu—and how dangerous it was—he literally couldn't allow Nenro to touch him. He charged his leg with chakra and stomped the ground between them as hard as possible, causing debris to fly and forcing them to back away.
The separation gave Takuma time to think about how to proceed. His initial thought was to go for it and let himself get shocked if he could get the opportunity to punish Nenro, so he wouldn't dare let Takuma come close from the fear of getting punched. But he immediately recognised that he was once again falling back on his habits, a realisation that frustrated him.
If he mimicked Bishop, the correct course of action was to continue pilling up the pressure. He couldn't let Nenro think he was scared of his ninjutsu, and getting aggressive was the best way to accomplish that. But that wasn't an option, so he went the other way to think what Masaaki would do.
Quality over quantity. Takuma's tense shoulders relaxed as he decided to slow down. He needed to judge the situation to come up with the optimal solution. He didn't know what this jutsu was, but there had to be a weakness. However, Takuma also wanted to end the spar quickly, so instead of drawing out the fight to figure things out, he decided to work with what he had.
Touching Nenro was a no-go, so what else could he do?
'Second Form?' thought Takuma before rejecting the idea because he would be too close, and Nenro was skilled enough to make contact with him even with the augmentation.
What else? The answer was apparent. He had the perfect jutsu for ranged damage.
Takuma started by controlling Nenro's movements with shuriken and kunai. Nenro was invested in coming close, but Takuma kept him away using projectile weapons. He even used two weights tied on a string weapon to trip him. Nenro came close a few times, but Takuma managed to keep him at a distance with the threat of the Second Form augmentation.
He could use the Hidden Mist Jutsu to create the opportunity, but he wasn't in the mood to use that, and it could complicate the situation, given that Nenro used Lightning nature and had a few ninjutsu that could put him in trouble.
Nenro, realising what Takuma was trying, stopped chasing and began to form hand seals. Takuma could guess what jutsu Nenro was going to use because of their numerous spars and began to form hand seals as well.
Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder
Earth Release: Earthen Dome
Nenro split his hands after forming the final hand seal, and a wave of lightning currents jumped between his hands. He thrust his hands in Takuma's direction for a surge of powerful lightning to head toward him, ripping the ground in its path into shreds, burning everything it came into contact with.
The earth around Takuma rose to form a dome that began to crumble the moment lightning surge made contact due to the type-disadvantage. At any moment, the lightning could pierce through and strike Takuma, but he didn't escape using theEarth Release: Hiding in the Rock jutsu and trusting his skill with the jutsu would allow it to stand up just long enough for him to mount his counterattack.
Outside the dome, Nenro waited for the dome to crumble so he could send a second surge to strike Takuma. But before the dome could crumble, something pierced through the dome from the inside.
Nenro was hit by three water bullets that had been dulled enough that they wouldn't do any real damage but would hurt like hell. The shock of getting hit three times square in the chest shattered Nenro's concentration on the jutsu and left him clutching his chest from the pain.
The dome crumbled, and Takuma stood up with a water globe floating before his hand. He could still shoot three more times, and the globe was stable. His mastery of the jutsu had increased since he had last used it, and he felt like he had finally reached the bare minimum mastery over Water Release: Spirit Water Wave.
"And that's one win for me," said Takuma as he let go of the jutsu.
He turned to look at Maruboshi and found him smiling on the sideline. Takuma looked back at the fighting, and he had to admit it had gone better than expected. If he was fighting as he usually did, the battle would have turned into one of endurance to see who could take the most damage before giving in.
"Alright... I'll give this adjustment thing a legit try," he whispered.
On the sidelines, Maruboshi's smile widened.
.
———
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The link is in the synopsis!
Chapitre 287: CH_8.22 (287)
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The link is also in the synopsis
———
.
Uchiha Fugaku returned home from a tough day at work to find his wife humming a merry tune in the living room with a smile. Mikoto was sitting on a tarp she had laid out in the room and cleaning her shinobi gear that had been in storage for years.
"I'm home," said Fugaku as he entered the room and walked behind her. "This is unexpected."
"Welcome back," Mikoto smiled.
Fugaku caught the shuriken she tossed at him. It looked freshly coated with oil to prevent the metal from reacting with moisture and developing rust. "May I ask what's the occasion?" His experience turned severe. "Is it a mission?"
Mikoto was a jonin of the Hidden Leaf in the reserve forces, which meant she was retired but was still employed by the village and would answer the call if they required her. There were enough shinobi in the village that they didn't need to call upon retired ones. Mikoto had only been called up once since she had retired—it was a rare enough occurrence that the mission specifically required someone with her skillset.
"There's no mission." Mikoto smiled, "I've been invited to a spar!"
"Sparring?" asked Fugaku, confused.
"Isn't it exciting? It's been so long since I've got an opportunity to move around," Mikoto smiled brightly before gazing at her husband. "I wonder when we stopped sparring with each other?"
Fugaku sat beside her on the tarp with a sigh. "I believe the last time we sparred was just before the Third War was declared."
"That was such a long time ago," she sighed. "Itachi was still a little boy back then."
Fugaku nodded, a certain memory passed through his mind of Itachi in his arms as they walked around a battlefield fresh after a skirmish. His eldest son had seen the truth of the world that day, shaping him into the man his son was now. Perhaps that event was also why his son chose to betray their clan; he could understand why Itachi did what he did, but it didn't change the fact that he conspired with outsiders, putting the clan in danger.
He verified the information in the letter they received when Shisui died. Itachi confessed everything to be true. Fugaku and Mikoto decided to hide the existence of the actual letter and forged a false one, which was presented to the Uchiha clan. In doing so, they had done the same thing as Itachi, but there was no regret because it was a parent's duty to protect their children.
Since that day, he had tried his hardest to find the letter's author, but they had run into dead-ends everywhere. Their search continued, but a year passed, and the trail grew cold every passing day. There would've been hope if they had a clue, but there was nothing they could latch onto.
"Who are you sparring with?" asked Fugaku.
"Takuma."
Fugaku hummed. He thought someone from the clan had invited her to spar, but it made seeing that Takuma was her student.
"Speaking of your student, Setsuna has been going around to get the boy a rank promotion... His contract ends in a few weeks, and he has some demands before he signs an extension," said Fugaku.
It had only been a few days, but the news of Setsuna meeting with different department heads and their deputies to see if they would be interested in having Takuma in their departments as a chunin.
As the Head of the Leaf Military Police Force, he tracked internal promotions,however, the department heads had primary authority over who they wished to promote. Interfering in their decisions wasn't his place, though he could influence their decisions even if he preferred not to.
"Apparently, he wants a B-rank jutsu and his choice of assignments," said Fugaku. He didn't know the exact details as he had yet met Setsuna, but it would happen soon enough.
"Do you think he'll get a promotion?" asked Mikoto as she checked the stitching on her thigh pouch.
"Yes, that's not a problem," said Fugaku. He recognised Takuma's value as a shinobi and his contribution to the Police Force; it wasn't hard to get him a rank promotion—the problem came with his demands and placement after promotion.
Allowing someone access to B-rank jutsu was a significant decision, even for clans as big as the Uchiha and the party which permitted access to the B-rank jutsu was held responsible in case something went wrong. When the village allowed someone access to the B-rank archives, there was a great deal of due diligence to ensure the shinobi was ready for the responsibility.
The clans were allowed the freedom to open their personal jutsu archives to anyone they desired without state interference—but they were held responsible if the shinobi caused trouble. However, that wasn't an issue. The real problem was creating a precedent. If the Police Force gave Takuma a B-rank jutsu, that opened the gates for the affiliated clans to demand the same. The affiliated clans were smaller in size and history, and while they had jutsu archives of their own, they were limited. Many people from the Land of Fire shared Fire as their primary affinity, which caused many clans' jutsu archives to be filled with Fire Release ninjutsu.
This created problems when someone had a different primary affinity and even if they had Fire as their primary affinity, mastery over two natures was a jonin requirement—which was where apex clans like the Uchiha with rich and diverse history and expansive jutsu archives came into play.
In return for allowing the affiliated clans access to their jutsu archive, the Uchiha clan received their loyalty and support. This access had to be strictly controlled to maintain the power dynamic, so allowing Takuma a B-rank jutsu right after his promotion could shift that dynamic and create dissatisfaction among allied clans if they weren't given the same treatment.
That was the only part of the problem. Takuma had demanded his choice of assignments, which was more difficult in some ways because it could create dissatisfaction wherever Takuma lands due to the favourable treatment. Ultimately, it was the department head's call, but Fugaku was concerned it would negatively affect the outlook towards the new wave of external hires.
"Retaining him is the obvious option; the question is if he'll accept what we can realistically offer him. There won't be a problem if he's willing to wait as we spread his demands apart—but I don't think he'll be willing to," said Fugaku.
Mikoto stopped stress-testing the weapons pouch and rested it in her lap.
"I offered him a rank promotion in return for swearing fealty to the clan a few days back," she said.
As a jonin of the clan, Mikoto had all the right to bring someone into the clan. Fugaku was surprised because it was the first time she had shown enough interest in someone to bring someone into the clan. What had started as Mikoto wanting to fill her free time had turned into a relationship close enough for her to invite her student into the clan.
"What did he say?"
"That he'll think about it," she replied. "You're not to share this with anyone until he gives me an answer. I don't want this to influence the process at the Police Force."
Fugaku sighed because his knowledge of it already influenced the decision. In truth, Takuma becoming affiliated with the clan would slash all barriers at the Police Force and make it easier for them to award him because they could justify his rewards.
However, there was an opposite effect where it would seem like the promotion at the Police Force was contingent on him joining the clan—which could send all the wrong signals to Takuma, who could very well assume that they wanted him to swear allegiance to the clan if he wanted to succeed at the Police Force.
If that happened, that would shatter any future beyond repair.
"Do you think he will accept?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. He seemed surprised by the offer, but I couldn't tell if he was interested or not... which was strange."
"How so?"
"He has been quite vocal about seeking a rank promotion long before his deployment to the Steam-Frost war. As far as he's concerned, there's no certainty in the Police Force promotion, so I thought he would react more to an offer that was pretty much guaranteed a promotion, but he was surprisingly passive about it. I didn't expect him to jump out of his spot in joy, but I thought he would react in some way... but he didn't, which makes me wonder..."
"What?" asked Fugaku, curious.
"... That maybe he has an offer somewhere else and is confident he'll get it," said Mikoto.
"Hasn't he only been back for less than two weeks?"
"I'm only speculating... He told me that his chunin-in-command out there was Mitarashi Anko."
"That seems familiar." Fugaku searched for the name in his memories and quickly arrived at the answer. "Orochimaru's pupil?" From his memories, Mitarashi Anko had been on a hot streak as a rising star in the Hidden Leaf until Orochimaru's defection and his subsequent branding as a high-threat rogue, which had sapped all momentum due to her association with the Snake Sannin.
She nodded.
"What about her?" he asked.
"She's joining the Torture and Interrogation Department."
"You think they're interested in Takuma?"
"If they weren't from his time at the Narcotics Taskforce, they would be after what he did in the war."
Fugaku then recalled the grape wine conversation he had heard about the Narcotics Taskforce and how they regularly invited an interrogator from the T&I Department for tougher interrogations. It wouldn't be strange that Takuma had developed a relationship with T&I during that time, making them interested in having him come over to their side.
"What did he do during the war?" asked Fugaku.
"I think it'd be better if you get that from his mission file," Mikoto said, picking up the cloth roll to wrap the handles of the kunai.
Getting a mission file from the war commission was a hectic process because of the red tape involved, but as the Head of the Police Force and the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku could easily obtain the file. He gazed at his wife and realised that her relationship with her student was closer than he thought if she directed him to another source instead of telling him herself.
It also made him wonder what Takuma had done out there in the war.
———
.
Mitarashi Anko wasn't a stranger to nervousness. It had been a part of her life since her former teacher had gone rogue after committing horrendous crimes. Her association with him had permanently tainted her life, and she had been paying the price ever since.
However, she felt the time had finally changed now that she had officially joined the Leaf Torture and Interrogation Department. They had recruited her before she was deployed for the Steam-Frost war, but the deployment had delayed her joining. She had completed her onboarding and was finally ready to get into the groove of things and establish herself in her new place of work.
"Anko, the boss wants to see you!"
"I'll be right there!" Anko responded as she set up her desk.
Unlike what people thought, the Leaf T&I Department wasn't a depressing dungeon full of horrors with barred prison cells and screams behind every door. It was a bog-standard office place where people would feel comfortable coming to work every day.
Even though the T&I Department was part of the larger Leaf Intelligence Division, they had a separate headquarters for functional reasons, situated across the street from the village prison, and the department members went to the prison for interrogations to eliminate any travel-based security risks; it was also in the same part of the village as the Leaf Military Police Force headquarters and the Uchiha Compound.
Anko reached the Head of the T&I Department's office and nodded to the secretary sitting outside, who told her to head inside. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door and stepping inside to see two people waiting for he.
"Come in," said the man sitting behind the desk in the office.
The T&I Department's leadership changed a little over a year and a half ago. The department welcomed Tokubetsu Jonin Morino Ibiki, a seasoned shinobi who had spent all of his career in the Leaf Intelligence Division, working in its various departments before settling in the T&I Department.
He was a large, imposing figure, which he complemented with a rugged head and face covered with old wounds and scars hidden behind his cap-like forehead protector.
The second person was Tokubetsu Jonin Oishi Yori, a tall woman with black shoulder-length hair and sharp eyes who had piercing looks as though she was always trying to look through the people before her. She had risen in power after Ibiki had taken his position as the head of the department was now one of his second-in-commands.
Like Ibiki, she had been in the Leaf Intelligence Division for most of her career, having spent most of it in the T&I Division.
"You wanted to see me, boss?" asked Anko. She appreciated Ibiki because he had hired her and had shown no prejudice because of her past, unlike many who rejected her before even getting to know her.
"Where's your uniform, Chunin Anko?" asked Ibiki.
He and Yori were wearing the standard uniform of the Leaf Intelligence Division as mandated.
"It's not my style, boss," Anko replied. She didn't like uniforms and preferred dressing to express herself. And it felt great to wear her wardrobe again after over a year of wearing uniform; there was no way she would wear the same uniform just when she returned home.
"Make sure that you wear it starting tomorrow," said Ibiki.
Anko didn't nod or say anything because she wasn't going to wear the uniform.
"Chunin Anko, we called you here because we are considering hiring someone for our department," said Yori, motioning for Anko to sit down beside her. "You know them, and we were wondering if you could tell us about your experience with them."
"Someone from the other departments?" asked Anko as she sat down. She knew a few people in the Leaf Intelligence Division and wondered who they were trying to pull into the department.
"It's someone from outside the division," said Ibiki, pushing a file across the desk.
Anko saw the photograph in the open file and saw Takuma dressed in the Police Force uniform.
"It's your recent subordinate in the Steam-Frost war, Genin Takuma. Yori has worked with him several times and thinks he will be a good fit for us. Yori's son is a good friend of Takuma; from what we have been told, his relationship with the Police Force isn't at its best currently, and seeing that his contract with the Police Force is set to expire, we are considering snatching him up. What do you think?"
Anko stared at the photo for a moment before nodding with a smile, "You're correct; he'll be a great fit... There's a lot I can tell you; what do you want to know?"
"Start from the beginning."
She took a seat and got comfortable, tapping a finger to her chin as she tried to figure out the best way to sell Takuma to her new boss.
.
———
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The link is in the synopsis!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
200+ Classement
Power Stone 
109 Power
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