章 11: Like the Wind?
"Come on Sasuke-boy! Run faster!!"
The gruesome training was a literal hell for Sasuke, he would sleep with extreme fatigue, and sometimes his thoughts trailed off to laziness, which he suppressed with all his willpower.
If he chose to laze off, how can he get strong!? Sasuke knew he would regret every second of the past if he didn't train enough for a situation caused cuz of his laziness.
Sasuke's blitzed forward, leaving a smirking Lee behind.
"Oh no, you don't!"
Rock Lee said as he also increased his pace. Gai smiled as he realized that Lee was seeing Sasuke as a rival, although it couldn't be said the same for Sasuke's situation.
But, he and Kakashi were the same! So Gai predicted that Sasuke would acknowledge Lee as a rival one day or another.
'He's fast!'
Sasuke thought as a green blur sped past him. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through every cell of his body, with an enthusiastic smile, he also did the same.
The two kept on going, trying to overtake each other, although Lee kept it to his 30%, he was no by means slow.
The fact alone that Sasuke, a 7-year-old was able to keep up with Rock Lee, who had worked day and night in sweat and blood, was beyond imagination.
Sasuke has too worked hard, bounds and leaps above his peers, but he had never scratched the surface of 'true' hard word.
'This is... fun'
Sasuke thought with a wicked grin, pushing past him limits to reach gain momentum he was never able to!
'What!?"
Lee was a bit startled, but that was only for a moment as he increased his own pace to catch up with Sasuke.
***
"Huff...Huff...Hufff... T-That was...Tiring"
Sasuke struggled to calm down his breathing, his face only grew paler seeing how Lee has barely even broken a sweat.
'Man...This guy got some serious stamina'
He thought, looking at Lee who was prepping for another lap... around the whole godamn Konoha!
Suddenly, Sasuke just squeezed his own cheeks with his hands.
'C'mon Sasuke, Let's do this!'
Using the remaining non-existent stamina, Sasuke began his second loop around Konoha.
***
"That was a hell of a day~"
Sasuke hopped onto his bed, fully worn out from the training. Lee was the definition of determination, and he knew that. The guy was a monster, to say the least, his stamina ratings were off the charts.
So, Sasuke had decided on his first step.
'Surpass Rock Lee'
Sasuke had no Idea about 'The Eight Inner Gates'. Therefore, his view on Lee's strength was quite surface-level. But it was not to blame Sasuke, Lee was fully aware of the consequences of the technique, and he knew better than to just share it.
Whether it be family, friends, or even a girlfriend, he swore that he would never teach it or show it to a third person except for Gai.
The amount of risk involved in the Jutsu was frightening, if any mistakes happens while performing it, the said person could potentially die.
Gai had made Lee promise that no matter how deep their friendship gets, never show or teach Sasuke the 'Eight Inner Gates' if Lee didn't want to Sasule die by his own hands indirectly.
That was why Sasuke had never gotten a glimpse of the Jutsu, if he had, there was no doubt he would try it. That was how reckless Sasuke was, and that would be his downfall one day.
As Sasuke slept, he had occasionally getting dreams of a small Village, which was dehydrated and the people of the that Village were suffering.
He had asked himself, 'Why the same dream over and over again?' Sadly for him, there were no answers for his questions... Not yet.
Day by day, the dream got more vivid and clear. The agonizing cries of the suffering people, their cold gazes, their words that
Could Peirce a person's heart.
"Stop it!"
Sasuke broke out in cold sweat, his sleep was cut down by the corpses of the those villagers. His breathing was rigid and his eyes were bloodshot.
'Who are those people!?'
He asked to no one in particular. This was the first time he saw... Corpses falling from the sky like raindrops.
'If this is a dream... Then why does it feel so... Real?'
Sasuke looked at the clock. It was 2:00 AM, and he went out of his bed to meditate to clear his mind.
Sasuke was not feeling sad or sympathetic towards the Villagers, but the thought of corpses filling his everyday sleep was irritating.
*Sigh*
"Not like I can do anything to stop it... Might as well just get used to it"
The words he spoke were not something that would come out of a 7-year-old. Tho he was far from it, he had once seen a more gruesome sight, comparing that to a few strangers falling dead, it was minuscule in comparison.
He lay on his bed and closed his eyes, falling asleep in a matter as he was already tired from his training.
The nightmares continued to haunt him, but his willpower has reached a stage where he could suppress them.
'Sweet dreams'
***
'Bad dreams'
Sasuke woke up with a tired expression, he went ahead and worked in his Ninjutsu as Lee was not in the Village today.
Apparently, Gai and Lee were going on a special training trip, Sasuke focused on his Wind Style, his new Jutsu.
'Wind Style: Double Impact'
Sasuke's forearms were covered in a mini tornado-like wind structure, he stuck out his palm to strike a boulder.
*Crack*
The first hit made small cracks in the boulder, but his Jutsu didn't end there. The wind in his forearm traveled toward his palm in breakneck speed.
The wind collided with the boulder, making a second impact after the primary. The boulder further cracked, the second Impact was much more potent than the first one as it was powered by a Chakra Nature.
The boulder crumbled slowly, Sasuke looked at his forearm and noticed it had several cuts on it. The wind was not tamed enough.
'If I used lightning instead of Wind, I would have gotten some serious burn marks'
Sasuke had a nervous smile as he looked at the bleeding arm. He sighed, the path to power involved blood in one way or another. If it's not his enemies, it might be his.
His current Trump card is this Jutsu. His opponents would never expect a second impact on the same strike...or would they?
Well, time will eventually find the answer to that question. Sasuke took a deep breath, ready to perfect the Jutsu.
He has to master it to the utmost possible degree, starting from the tempo of its second impact to its strike power.
He also had to improve his raw strength, the first should be powerful enough to make his opponents stagger.
The goals and training Sasuke was going through required immense willpower.
'After all this to improve myself... if someone reaches my level with someone bullshit reason, I wil tear him/her apart'
He had read several fictional stories in the bookstores, most of which contained random power-ups in the middle of the fight, like the power of friendship and whatnot.
From what Sasuke had experienced till now, that was not possible. Like, how could someone just improve overnight?
Sigh.
'I think too much'
Sasuke closed his eyes to get back his focus on training.
***
"You've been really busy lately, Sasuke... What's up?"
The teal-eyed girl asked. Sasuke was currently in the academy, learning about the danger that comes from misusing Chakra.
"Yeah... I'm really tight on schedule nowadays. We can hang out some other time"
He said with an easygoing smile, Ino was always replied with either these words or "I'm Tired" every time she asked.
"What drives you to such lengths? You always training and training and training... You might injure yourself"
Ino was not able to hold it anymore, she finally asked the reason, and she also expressed her worries.
"What drives me, huh?"
Sasuke looked at the ceiling, asking himself the same question and trying to find the 'real' reason.
"I guess... It's cu-"
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke was cut off short with Iruka's ear piercing yell. Sasuke looked at him and nodded. The teacher sighed and continued to teach.
"As I was saying... The reason i-"
"Get out of class! RIGHT! NOW!"
Sasuke got up from his seat, and made his way toward the exit of the classroom. Before he left, he mumbled something looking towards Ino.
Ino read his lips as it was only one word he spoke. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened.
'you'
Was what Sasuke whispered. Her heart raced, she had no clue whether it was true or not. Sasuke's thoughts were also shifting from one to another whilst answering her question.
'Why did I say that?'
He asked himself. According to him, this was not what he planned to say. Was his mind playing tricks with him? Was he genuinely answering her question?
He also had no clue... The two were confused by the same yet different question.
the two were getting closer without even their attention. One is foreign to the feeling and the other already knows it but doesn't believe the other party does.
Sasuke, living in a garden of black roses... and Ino, who lives in a garden of blue roses and greeny grass.
How will the opposites make contact? Will the thorns Peirce the Beautiful Blue rose... or will it turn out that the spikes were harmless to the blue roses.
Guess we'll find out.
***
"H-Hey Sasuke. Meet my friends, Choji and Shikamaru!"
The Academy bell rang and Sasuke was heading towards his home, that's when Ino suddenly popped up with two kids on her side.
One wore a lazed expression, he had spikey black hair which was tied to a high ponytail. And Chubby guy with chips on his hand.
"Sasuke"
He introduced himself, and the two other kids in his class just looked at him.
"I'm Shikamaru Nara"
"I'm...Munch...munch... Choji Akimichi"
Sasuke was a bit surprised. This kid was a Nara? from what he heard, they were extremely intellectual and hard workers... Looking at this kid, he found it quite hard ro believe.
"What, you don't think I'm a Nara"
The question answered all his questions. He then turned his gaze toward Choji, he could recognized that this guy Akimichi from miles away.
"Glad to make your Acquaintance"
Sasuke said. Ino smiled as she saw Sasuke getting along with her childhood friends.
"Likewise"
The conversation was kept brief. They separated and Sasuke went towards his apartment. Sasuke then thought back to Ino's question once more.
He shook his head, he hadn't had time for this.
The evening sunshine reigned over him, with a clear mind. Sasuke sprinted toward his house. He founded a new Jutsu from the Uchiha Library this past week, and he was dying to try it out.
***
'Aww man... It was not what I expected'
Trying out the Jutsu, it didn't perform the way he wanted to, but it was powerful for the right situation.
He burned the scroll after memorizing it using his Sharingan.
What was the point of keeping it for others? If it could be printed on his mind, then there was no need for it to physically exist.
That was what Sasuke believed. He was not going to revive his clan or something. He was sure if he tried, that would lead to an absurdity like an Uchiha with Glasses.
'What am I saying? That's not even possible... We have the Sharingan for a reason'
He shook his head. The point was, there was not going to be a mass production of Uchiha's. He would be the final pure-blood Uchiha, after the end of Itachi's tale.
Unaware of the third lurking one, Sasuke suppressed his thoughts and went to train his 'Wind Style: Double Impact'.
***
"He's really weird"
Ino elbowed Shikamaru's abdomen after hearing that, she couldn't tolerate when someone spoke ill of Sasuke.
"Shuddup! He's not weird"
Shikamaru clutched his stomach. That was heck of an elbow.
"Of course, you would attack me If I said something about your boyfriend"
"B-Boyfriend!?"
Shikamaru looked at Ino, his expression said it all.
"Sasuke Uchiha, a guy who rejected every proposal toward him and never once complained about you sitting next to him. And to add more, he even broke Sakura's heart without hesitation... he's the kind of guy who would abandon/reject someone or something that he finds annoying... yet, he never spoke to you that way. Heck! you're the only one he actually speaks to, and he's always cheerful around you... which he rarely is"
"To add more, you've fallen head to heels for him"
She looked away in embarrassment, She had no way to fight back against those words. It was just plain truth!
"B-But how do you know so much about Sasuke?"
"I keep an eye out for everyone"
Ino was surprised, she had thought Shikamaru was the type to be unfazed even if crows flew backward, but guess what, she was dead wrong.
Although She felt the urge to beat him when he said something about Sasuke being cold, she just sighed.
"Yeah... I've... fallen for him"
She agreed, a warm smile on her face as she thought about Sasuke.
'I love you... Sasuke'
***
Unaware of the drama happening, Sasuke slept with difficulty. He managed through and woke up at 6. He stretched before heading out of bed.
Splashing cold water against his sleepy face, he was brought back to life. He looked at himself in the mirror, the burn marks on his shoulder still there.
***
'Why?!'
A spikey blonde-haired kid asked himself. The cold gazes of the adults and kids following him everywhere he went.
'Why do they all look at me like that?... Isn't Sasuke the same? He doesn't have parents like me... So am I the only one who's being looked like this'
He had asked himself several times. Everything he did lead to one disaster or another. First the cold gazes and then Sakura's rejection... Now what, A big demon fox!?
'Grrr'
"Ahh!! Where did that come from!?"
As he heard a growl out of nowhere, he jumped from the ground.
"Hahahah!! Look at that, the demon kid is acting like a clown!!"
The Villagers laughed like maniacs, tears flowing from the blonde's eyes.
"I-I'm not the demon kid! I have a name!! And It's Naruto!!"
Naruto yelled as he ran with closed eyes. He wiped away his tears, but then, he felt like he just crashed into a rock.
"Oww"
Naruto held his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw something he was not expecting. A spikey black-haired kid was standing before him, looking at him in confusion.
Naruto was startled. Why wasn't he looking at him like the others?
When he looked around, he saw that the Villagers were looking at him more coldly.
"Get away from the Uchiha, demon fox!!"
They were angered beyond belief. Naruto picked himself up and ran again.
***
'So that's what happened'
Sasuke reasoned, seeing as how the Villagers gave Naruto the cold gaze. He continued to walk, minding his own business.
Lee was finally back in town, and Sasuke was going to meet him.
Walking inside the training ground. Sasuke saw Lee sparring against Gai. With a smirk, Sasuke approached them.
"Oh? Sasuke!"
Lee suddenly let his focus shift on Sasuke, Gai noticed this and struck lee with a right hook. He locked Lee down to the ground.
"Rule no 1: Never take your eyes off your opponent"
"Yes, Gai Sensei"
Lee struggled to breathe, Gai let him go and Lee stood up. He smiled, embarrassed.
"Hey Lee, say what... Let's have a rematch, but this time. Ninjutsu I allowed"
Sasuke said. Challenging Lee with a confident smirk. The latter got hyped and immediately agreed. They took their respective positions and made their stance.
"1...2...3... and, Start!"
Gai was the referee. Sasuke waited for Lee to make a move. Lee rushed ahead without any warning.
Sasuke smirked, he dodged the first few strikes. Lee noticed this and increased the speed. Lee curled up his fist, he rotated his whole arm, and went for a final strike.
At that moment, Sasuke suddenly vanished from Lee vision. The bushy brow widened his eyes, without giving him a chance, Sasuke suddenly appeared behind Lee.
He axe kicked right on Lee's back. Coating his knee with wind Style.
"Urgh!"
Lee groaned as his body hit the ground, forming a small crater. Gai was confused as to why Sasuke hasn't still lifted his leg even when Lee was down.
Then, the wind on Sasuke's knee traveled at breakneck speed and hit Lee's back once again.
"Argh!!"
Lee cried out before getting knocked out.
The crater grew wider as the second impact dug Lee down the earth once more. The sheer impact of the 'Double Strike' made rubble fly out continuously.
Gai was out of words. The kid always lost against Lee on a spar...but now that it involved Ninjutsu, it was a different outcome.
Though Lee was still faster and stronger than Sasuke, the element of surprise got him good.
Sasuke lifted his leg and looked at his knee. The clothes on his knee-to-foot level were torn apart. it was a surprise that there was no injury.
'So it does work with kicks'
A breath of relief escaped from Sasuke's lips. He was able to win this time, but Lee would be more prepared next time... If he even comprehended what happened.
*Clap*
Gai clapped with a smile on his face.
"Bravo! What a splendid battle!.... even though it didn't last more than a minute"
Sasuke chuckled. Proud of himself for beating Lee at least once... Only if he could keep up the streak.
***
"Urgh....mmm... What happened"
The bushy brow woke up with a groan. Lee looked around and saw that Gai and Sasuke were having lunch together.
"Ah! Yes, I and Sasuke battled.... and I lost"
His joyful expression turned to one of sadness soon. The two individuals eating their lunch chuckled seeing his expression.
"Sasuke, what was that you used on me?... I felt like I was hit by a boulder, not once but twice!"
Sasuke shook his head and kept a finger over his lips.
"Secret~"
A mocking smirk was visible on Sasuke's face. Lee's fave flushed in embarrassment.
"That is it! I demand a rematch, right now!"
"Woah! Woah! Cool down man"
Sasuke said as he drank his water after finishing his meal.
*Rustle*
The trio shifted their head toward the rustling bushes. Two figures emerged from the Forest. One with white pupils and long brown hair, he was a boy. The other was a brown-haired girl with her haired tied as buns.
"Neji!"
Lee sprung on his feet and lunged towards Neji. The guy just kicked him across the forest. Sasuke just looked at the duo, vigilant at first but then calmed down as he saw that Lee was familiar with the kid.
Neji's White pupils locked onto Sasuke's pitch dark Pupils. The heat in the atmosphere rose. Gai noticed this and intervened.
"Ah, Neji! Why did you come here!?"
"What? Am I not supposed to come, Gai sensei... and who's this weakling here?"
Neji asked as he pointed his finger at Sasuke, who was not paying any attention to him.
"That's Sasuke, and he's not a weakling! He just beat Neji a few hours back!"
"Huh!!?"
The girl was in disbelief. Neji, however just scoffed at the older bushy brow.
"This kid, beating Lee? You might as well tell me he's an Uchiha then"
"He is"
Gai said, making the brown-haired boy click his tongue in annoyance. Neji stared at the kid, narrowing his eyes.
"Whatever... I do not have the time to play around with children"
Neji walked back, not even bothering to tell what he came to say. Sasuke just glanced at his back... What a guy.
"W-Wait, Neji!"
The bun-style girl chased after him.
"That was Ten-Ten"
Gai said Sasuke was too busy looking at the clouds to care about the girl, he laid on the ground and rested for a bit before springing into action.
"Neji!"
Lee came back with flames burning inside his eyes. That was put down with Gai saying the Neji had left a bit early.
"No!"
***
"Why did you just walk out, Neji?"
Ten-Ten asked him.
"I hate Uchiha's"
He said so in a matter-of-factly tone. Ten-Ten just sighed seeing how he was very bad at controlling his words.
"If I may, I have matters to attend to"
Neji disappeared from her vision after he said that. She again sighed looking at the dust in front of her. Why was he like this?
***
'Where is he?'
A spikey blonde asked himself as he searched the forest where Sasuke went. He heard some screams and that's where he went.
'What the!?'
He arrived just in time to see the match beginning. He saw as Sasuke completely dominating someone older than him.
His heart pounded like crazy. He wanted to fight like Sasuke! with those thoughts, he ran away from the forest to pursue his new goal.
週次パワーステータス
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