บท 18: Chapter 17
Chapter 17
„Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, please step forward. You two will face each other."
Hearing these words from Iruka-sensei, Naruto smiled as he thought it was his chance to teach him a lesson once and for all. Sasuke got all the attention of his classmates, and Naruto wanted to prove he wasn't worse than him. It was his time to shine and be recognized by others.
„Before you two begin, please make a proper sparring sign. It is a simple etiquette," Iruka-sensei stopped Naruto from rushing at his opponent.
Naruto reluctantly did as sensei said, even though he didn't care about that. When both Sasuke and he did the sign, the sensei announced the beginning of the spar. Naruto ran straight at Sasuke, who did the same, yet the moment they got close to each other, Naruto found himself on the ground.
Sasuke was too fast, and Naruto couldn't even react to his movements. Naruto could only look up at Sasuke's cold black eyes as a fist was pointed at him. Frustration and anger boiled Naruto's blood. He grasped his fist, taking dirt from the ground. He tried his best every day. He attended the class every day. He would train until his body gave out every day, yet when it mattered, he couldn't even land a punch to a true genius.
Just as Iruka-sensei was about to announce the end of the match, the cheers for Sasuke from his classmates made Naruto throw the dirt in his fist at Sasuke's eyes. There was a moment of silence, and seeing Sasuke close his eyes, Naruto threw a punch knocking Sasuke away from him.
Naruto quickly got up from the ground and rushed at Sasuke once again. He couldn't let go of such a chance. Punching Sasuke in the face again, Naruto pushed Sasuke back and saw him put up a guard to defend his head. Naruto instead kicked his unprotected stomach lifting Sasuke in the air. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's leg and slammed him into the ground. Now the situation was reversed, with Naruto on top of Sasuke.
Naruto saw such eyes filled with hatred many times, but it was the first time they weren't directed at him. It surprised Naruto for a moment, but he dismissed it as he was ecstatic for him to win finally. Even when his classmates booed him, calling him a cheat, Naruto didn't care. He defeated a genius, and he wasn't a loser.
„The winner is Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka-sensei said.
„It was not fair. Naruto cheated," Naruto's classmate yelled.
„It should be a good lesson to all of you not to let your guard down. In a real fight, not only can you use everything in your arsenal, but you should," Iruka-sensei explained.
„Ha, I am the best," Naruto couldn't contain himself and yelled out.
„But this isn't a real fight," Iruka-sensei quickly shut Naruto down. „In a spar, I want to see a fair fight so I can evaluate your skill and strength, I will let it go this time, Naruto, but next time I want to see you fight without using dirty tactics."
„Bah, I won, so I am the best," Naruto didn't listen to Iruka-sensei or the booing from his classmates.
„I will not lose next time, dobe, " Sasuke said before leaving the sparring ring.
„Neither will I, teme," Naruto stuck out his tongue.
Naruto felt happy and couldn't wait to celebrate his first win against Sasuke. He didn't disappoint Kaen-san, so he decided to celebrate his victory with ramen from the Ichiraku Ramen shop. That was the plan before he checked his pockets and found he didn't have enough money. For the rest of the day, Naruto felt depressed.
...
Kaen was surprised to see Naruto beat down Sasuke. Even if Naruto had blinded Sasuke with dirt, Sasuke could have recovered fast. But Naruto packed a punch in his fist. The first hit in the face probably made Sasuke see stars. The kick lifted Sasuke into the air. Sasuke will feel that kick for at least a few days. After the slam to the ground, Sasuke couldn't move, probably from the pain.
Kaen always knew that Naruto wasn't normal, but it was shocking for him to find out how much strength Naruto had even when he was so young. Kaen waited until the academy finished its lessons at his usual place on the swings. Jiraiya was reporting to the Third Hokage, and Kaen was free to do as he wished.
„Kaen," Sasuke looked at Kaen, surprised as he sat on the swings.
„Let's go," Kaen said, seeing Sasuke leave the academy faster than usual, probably to dodge the girls that usually surround him.
„When did you return?" Sasuke asked.
„Today," Kaen replied. „I can't wait to see Ash, so let's hurry up."
„Hn," Sasuke led the way.
„Don't be angry. I miss you too but compared to Ash, you are nothing to me," Kaen laughed as Sasuke ignored him. „I have submitted a request to the Third Hokage for vacation. If it is approved, I will stay for a month."
„Good for you," Sasuke seemed not to care.
Kaen was gone for more than a year. He had been all over the Land of Fire and other smaller countries. He worked with Jiraiya, gathering information and investigating suspicious movements from different villages within those countries. Kaen picked up bounty hunting, too, as he found it rewarded with valuable information and some pocket money.
„I saw the blonde kid beat you," Kaen commented.
„He was lucky," Sasuke replied. „I let my guard down too soon."
„Is that so?" Kaen asked. „From how you are clutching to your stomach, I can tell the blonde packed quite a punch."
„Next time, he won't even be able to hit me," Sasuke said with certainty.
„What if he did?" Kaen asked. „You are fast and skilled, but you should know your weakness now that you got beaten up."
„I was too arrogant thinking that he wouldn't be able to do anything to me," Sasuke replied.
„That and you still can't control your emotions. I saw the hatred in your eyes. You didn't see Naruto Uzumaki in the sparring ring. You saw Itachi, didn't you?"
„I always see him," Sasuke agreed. „In the shadows, in my dreams, in other people."
„It was hard for you," Kaen said, patting Sasuke's shoulder. „But I can't help you much with that. It is up to you to defeat your inner demons. But I noticed another weakness."
„What?" Sasuke was curious too.
„You can't take a hit," Kaen replied. „There wasn't an opponent that could hit you before. Even though the blonde was strong, your body wasn't very tolerant of pain. If it were, you wouldn't have struggled so much. So, I decided that in the next month. I will train you to be used to pain."
„How?"
„By beating you up," Kaen replied with a sinister smile. „So rest up for today because from tomorrow, you will be in hell."
As Kaen finished speaking, they arrived at Sasuke's home. Without waiting, Kaen went inside, finding a grey ashen colored cat. The cat was fat, Kaen looked at Sasuke for an explanation, but he only found Sasuke going in and putting cat food in an enormous bowl, filing it to prim. Ash ignored Kaen and went to eat.
...
The next day, he received notice that his request for a vacation was approved. He had four free weeks for himself. He requested it not only to train Sasuke but to train himself. He experienced many fights in the past year but seldom had time for personal training. A few hours a day, if he was lucky. Jiraiya had given him much work.
„Are you prepared," Kaen asked Sasuke, who had just returned after school.
„I am," He replied without hesitation.
„Good," Kaen replied and used hand seals to perform a jutsu. „Shadow close jutsu."
Kaen could only make three shadow clones. It was his limit, as he didn't have enough chakra to do more. Kaen knew very well that he didn't possess enormous amounts of chakra. So he decided to use a weapon. Kaen also knew that he wasn't great at taijutsu, even though he trained his body every day.
Seeing what kind of strength Naruto possesses from such an early age, Kaen only confirmed he wasn't suited for taijutsu. Still, after a year of experience, he found out that without a surprise element or proper preparation, he was at a disadvantage in the fights. Everything had weaknesses, would it be a jutsu or a weapon. So, Kaen decided to get over that weakness by using another weapon.
„Chains?" Sasuke asked, seeing Kaen wrapping his arms in chains.
„Don't worry, you won't die, but if you let your guard down, you will receive severe injuries."
„I said I am prepared," Sasuke replied, more annoyed than afraid.
Kaen only smiled as his shadow clones dispersed. Kaen will only use blunt arrows, but getting hit from three different directions and defending against an opponent in front of you would put a lot of pressure on any shinobi. It was time to put Sasuke through hell, not only to test Sasuke's limits but it was good to practice for Kaen to use chains as he hadn't used them before.
...
Jiraiya looked at his teacher as he was spying on Kaen Uchiha through the crystal ball. Jiraiya looked at his so-called student too. He watched as Kaen used his chains to restrain the young Uchiha and let his shadow clones shoot him with blunt arrows. Jiraiya wondered if it was wise to teach Kaen the shadow clone jutsu, but he guessed he had to teach him something.
„What do you think," The Third Hokage asked.
„He never used chains, but I knew he was thinking about how to complement his archery for some time," Jiraiya replied honestly.
„What of his personality?" The Third Hokage asked.
„He is more naive or maybe kind than he shows," Again, Jiraiya replied honestly as he remembered how many times Kaen brought his bounties alive rather than dead, even if it would have saved him a lot of time and trouble. „Even now, he could wrap the young Uchiha in his chains and shower him with his arrows. Yet Kaen lets him escape again and again."
„What else?"
Jiraiya didn't understand his teacher's curiosity about Kaen Uchiha. The Third Hokage asked many questions about Kaen, too many for Jiraiya's liking. Even so, Jiraiya replied to all of them honestly without hiding anything. Jiraiya didn't dislike Kaen as a person, but he didn't like his genius.
Kaen's genius reminded Jiraiya of Orochimaru. Every day he saw how Kaen pursued knowledge not only on sealing jutsu but on everything else, human autonomy and poison being only a few topics he was interested in. Jiraiya feared that if he taught Kaen something, he would use it to harm innocent. It was groundless fear, but he had seen too many geniuses going mad for power.
Even if Jiraiya didn't know much about Itachi Uchiha, he knew he was similar to Kaen now. Both are from the same clan pursuing power above everything else. The only difference Jiraiya could see was that Kaen was more grounded. He had more bonds, even if there weren't many.
„Your concerns are valid," The Third Hokage said. „But look at this."
Jiraiya looked at the crystal ball. He saw Kaen picking up the young Uchiha and carefully putting him on his back before slowly walking home. The young Uchiha was beyond exhausted and injured. Kaen made sure not to disturb the young Uchiha. Jiraiya understood what his teacher tried to show. Even if he didn't fully agree, Kaen Uchiha was his student, yet he didn't act as a teacher should.
A.N. It took almost two weeks, but finally, I am over Covid. It is good to have the energy to work, as I felt like I was dying for the past two work.
As always, If you want more, up to five advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852
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