8 Chapter – 7 Traditional Ninja Sparring

"Tch, how annoying…" muttered Sasuke as he took out his lunch from the storage scroll. Getting strong is Sasuke's only focus at the moment, where does he have time to pay attention to those annoying girls, not to mention all of them are barely seven or eight years old, while his mental age is in his late teens, there's definitely no way he would find anything attractive about them.

Moreover, Hinata is the only girl he likes among this group of girls, and she is into Naruto, so there is no point in paying any attention to them.

'Forget about them…' Sasuke thought to himself as he quickly finished his lunch, then took out another scroll from his Shinobi bag and started to read it.

'Body Flicker Jutsu' is the title of the scroll.

Body Flicker Jutsu is a simple Rank-D Jutsu, however, it's one of the most useful ones, if anything, it can be used to retreat from unfavorable situations ensuring one's survival. This world is dangerous, and he has a lot of enemies he needs to kill, to make sure that he doesn't die before completing his revenge, he needs to increase his survival skills, therefore, in Sasuke's opinion, Body Flicker Jutsu is a must-have for him.

"Let's see…" mumbled Sasuke as he started to read the theory behind the Body Flicker Jutsu that was written in the scroll.

A while later, Sasuke put down the scroll and thought to himself, 'I need to work on Chakra control as well if I want to master this Jutsu.'

As you would expect, the Body Flicker Jutsu/Teleportation Technique allows the user to move from one point to another at an almost untraceable speed, it can be so fast that to the people who are observing, it would appear that the person is simply teleporting.

As for how to perform this Jutsu? That's done by temporarily vitalizing the body with Chakra and moving at extreme speed. It can be used to cover short distances, long distances, as well as different elevation points depending on the Chakra consumption. 

One important thing to note about the Body Flicker Jutsu is that it is mainly used to retreat or run away from a tricky situation, there are very few people known to have employed this Jutsu in combat, one of those very rare people was Uchiha Shisui feared as 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.'

There are multiple variants of Body Flicker, the variation part comes into the picture from the disguise methods/elements such as smoke, water, haze, leaves et cetera are used by different people to disguise their movement. 

'If my guess is not incorrect, Shisui used the Clone Technique to disguise his use of Body Flicker Jutsu,' thought Sasuke as he recalled the scene of Shisui using the Body Flicker Jutsu to fight those Root Anbu from the Anime. He creates several clones/afterimages and uses Body Flicker across them when he attacks, this is why when he attacks enemies there's mass in his afterimages, and when others attack him, they only attack afterimages since he has already flickered to some other afterimage/clone. 

"Being able to control one's movement at such an insane speed is neigh impossible for most ninjas, but for a Uchiha with the Sharingan, it becomes possible… and the Visual Prowess of my Sharingan is far more powerful because of high mental strength, so I should be able to recreate that technique…" muttered Sasuke as he rolled back the scroll and focused on his dominant hand. 

He concentrated for a moment, and immediately after that Chakra was channeled on his left hand. Without using the Sharingan he cannot see his Chakra, but he can feel Chakra enveloping his hand, and thought to himself, 'I have to work on Chakra control…'

Currently, he has only basic control over his Chakra, so he understands that he needs to work on it in order to improve his Chakra control. As for Chakra control, there are various methods that range from the most basic to highly advanced ones.

'Naturally, I have to start from very basic…' he thought as he picked up a fallen leave, then channeled his chakra into his forehead and stuck the leaf to it. Obviously, the leaf didn't stick to his forehead in one go… if it did, that would be a surprise, but it didn't matter.

The output of Chakra was a little too much, so the leaf got repelled instantly… "Let's try again..." muttered Sasuke as he once again picked up the leaf and tried to stick it to his forehead.

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After the Lunch Break

The trainees were at the training field, and it was time for the close combat exercise that Umino Iruka had told them about earlier. Naturally, Sasuke also arrived at the training field.

As soon as the girls saw Sasuke arrive, they surrounded him and bombarded him with all kinds of questions, "Sasuke-kun, where did you go earlier?"

"Sasuke-kun, we were looking for you!"

"Sasuke-kun, did you eat something?"

"Sasuke-kun, please don't disappear like that without telling us!"

"Sasuke-kun, can I stand next to you?"

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Sasuke-kun…"

'It's really getting too out of hand… What am I supposed to do in this situation?!' thought Sasuke with a troubled expression. Being popular is one thing, but having these little girls fawning all over him is another thing… and he is not certain how to deal with these little girls. If not for the fact that there's going to be a combat exercise at the training field, he would have left.

'It seems I have no other choice but to bear this while remaining silent…' sighed Sasuke as walked toward the wall and decided to wait there for his turn.

The girls followed him while continuing to ask various questions, but since Sasuke didn't respond at all, they slowly realized that he wasn't interested in talking with him and became silent as they started to return back to their other friends. The only ones who remained were Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, both of whom were arguing with each other over Sasuke, but the young Uchiha did not pay them any attention and looked at Umino Iruka who had also arrived at the training field.

Iruka addressed all the trainees, "Alright everyone… pay attention, today we are going to practice using traditional ninja sparring method…" and asked, "Can anyone elaborate upon traditional ninja sparring?"

"Oh... me, Iruka-Sensei, I know!" Sakura raised her hand hurriedly. She had read about traditional ninja sparring in a book not long ago, therefore, she knew some details about it.

"Please go on…" nodded Iruka prompting Sakura to answer.

Cough Sakura coughed in an attempt to attract Sasuke's attention, and spoke, "It's a traditional combat training method that has been passed down for generations in Konohagakure as a training method for academy trainees… According to protocol, two opponents facing each other must make the Seal of Confrontation which essentially means, 'I've come to face you in battle,' and when the spar is over, both participants make the Seal of Reconciliation by locking the fingers they used to make the 'confrontation' seal, acknowledging that they are still comrades."

Once she finished speaking, she glanced at Ino with a haughty smirk, 'How's that Ino-pig, humph, you will never come close to my level…' then glanced at Sasuke shyly only to be disappointed since he was already looking at Iruka, 'Damn it!'

Iruka nodded, "That's correct Sakura," and asked the trainees, "Does everyone understand the rules of Traditional Ninja Sparring?"

"Yes, Sensei!" a collective voice of all the trainees sounded on the field.

Iruka continued, "I will call the names of two trainees each time, you are to come forward and face each other following the rules Haruno Sakura elaborated upon a moment ago, is that clear?"

"Yes!" all the trainees agreed.

"Since that's the case, then let's start…" said Iruka, then he looked at the list of trainees in his hand and announced, "The first is Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji…"

"What a drag, why did I have to be at the start…" Shikamaru sighed and stepped forward.

Chōji also quickly finished the pack of potato chips in his hand and then walked to the center.

Iruka stood between them, "Make the Seal of Confrontation…"

Both Shikamaru and Chōji raised their right hand to form the Seal of Confrontation, after which Iruka spoke, "Begin!"

Once Iruka signaled the start of the fight, Shikamaru raised both his hands, "I give up."

"Huh? What do you mean you give up?" Not only Iruka but many other trainees were surprised as well. They didn't understand why Shikamaru gave up as soon as the fight started.

"It simply means that I accept defeat, the winner of this fight is Chōji," Said Shikamaru as he walked toward Chōji to complete the Seal of Reconciliation.

"Wait, you can't just give up like that…!" said Iruka, trying to dissuade Shikamaru from giving up the fight so easily.

"It's not against the rules… the protocols don't say that one of the combatants cannot simply give up the fight, right Sensei?" asked Shikamaru, and added, "You can just put down that I went out of bounds…"

"Well…" Iruka couldn't argue with Shikamaru's logic and sighed, "Very well, complete the Seal of Reconciliation so that we can move on to the next fight…"

Shikamaru and Chōji nodded, "Right," and formed the Seal of Reconciliation, after that, they walked to the side.

As the two arrived back to their place, Ino asked with a frown, "Shikamaru, why did you give up the fight?"

Before Shikamaru could respond, Chōji apologized, "I am sorry Shikamaru, it's because of me that…"

"Don't worry about it… you are too kind for such things…" said Shikamaru. From the very beginning, he knew that Chōji would be very hesitant to fight him, so he decided to give up the fight, and added, "Besides, it was such a drag… all I want to do is watch clouds in peace…"

"Sigh, you two never change, do you?" sighed Ino, and was about to add something else, when Iruka called the name of the next two, "Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino…" 

"Looks like it's my turn now…" said Ino as she hurriedly went to the center.

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief, "Iruka-sensei saved us from getting an earful from Ino."

Chōji nodded with a smile, "Yes," then looked at the center.

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura had taken their place and the two didn't stop taunting each other.

Ino asked with a mocking smile, "Ready to lose billboard brow?"

Sakura snorted, "Not even in your wildest dream Ino-pig!"

The two formed the Seal of Confrontation, and the fight began with Iruka's instruction, "Begin!"

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"As if you'd ever be able to defeat me billboard brow…" Ino wiped the nonexistent dust from her palms and looked at the defeated Sakura sitting on the field.

Unsurprisingly, the winner was Yamanaka Ino. Compared to Haruno Sakura, a girl from a commoner background with a pair of Genin parents, Yamanaka Ino is the heiress of the Yamanaka Clan with Jonin and Chunin as her parents. Even if Ino has not formally started to learn the secret Jutsu of the Yamanaka Clan, she has learned a thing or two about combat from her fellow Clansmen, so there was no way Sakura could defeat the current Ino.

"The winner is Yamanaka Ino," declared Iruka, and said, "Alright, now form the Seal of Reconciliation…"

Discontented Sakura stood up and formed the Seal of Reconciliation then the two went back to their places.

Iruka announced the next matchup, "Next is… Uzumaki Naruto… and Uchiha Sasuke!"

Upon hearing his name being called, Sasuke opened his eyes and went to the field. The moment he came forward, the girls went all nympho and started to cheer for him with hearts in their eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, get him!"

"Go Sasuke-kun!"

"I wish I could form the Seal of Reconciliation with Sasuke-kun!"

"You got this, Sasuke-kun!"

"You are totally going to win this Sasuke-kun, I am sure of this!"

And contrary to Sasuke, the moment Naruto stepped forward, everyone booed for him.

"He doesn't stand a chance."

"He will be defeated."

"It's best that he takes this as a lesson and doesn't come to the academy ever again."

"Yeah…" 

While Sasuke ignored everyone, Naruto was pissed upon seeing the kind of attention he was receiving, 'What's with him acting all cool… why does he get all the attention?!' he wanted to teach Sasuke a lesson! "Let's go! I am gonna win this for sure!"

"Alright, let's form the Seal of Confrontation…" said Iruka.

Naruto being Naruto didn't care about the tradition and stuff, he just wanted to kick Sasuke's butt which annoyed Iruka and prompted him to lecture Naruto about the traditions which the dimwit completely ignored.

Sasuke sighed, "You know, the sooner you form the Seal of Confrontation, the sooner we can get done with this spar… by arguing and shouting, all you are doing is delaying the very thing you want to do…"

Iruka and Naruto looked at Sasuke in surprise, and Iruka immediately nodded, "Yes, the sooner you do what I asked, the sooner you can begin the fight…"

Naruto pouted in dissatisfaction, but he couldn't argue with Sasuke, and he didn't like that, but he relented, "Whatever…!" and then raised his right hand to form the Seal of Confrontation.

Sasuke responded by raising his left hand and forming the Seal of Confrontation as well.

Iruka nodded in satisfaction, and shouted, "Begin!"

The moment Iruka signaled the start of the fight, Naruto dashed at Sasuke while raising his fist, 'I am gonna pulverize you!'

Sasuke didn't run, rather he stood in his position and watched as Naruto came at him. As a trained assassin, he has been trained in close combat, and has quite a bit of experience, therefore, just by looking at Naruto, he noticed, 'He is full of opening…' This wasn't a surprise, after all, no one had ever taught Naruto anything about combat. In fact, it would be odd if Naruto knew how to fight.

As the blondie closed in, Sasuke swiftly arched his back, narrowly evading the incoming punch. But he didn't halt there; instead, he smoothly descended, bracing himself with both hands before unleashing a powerful kick aimed at Naruto's chin. The force sent Naruto soaring into the sky, only to crash back down onto the ground, landing unceremoniously on his butt.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto was defeated in a single move, and the girls once again cheered for Sasuke.

"Wow, Sasuke-kun is so cool…"

"Haaa… I knew Sasuke-kun could easily defeat that idiot."

Even Shikamaru was surprised, and muttered, "That was smooth…" In fact, Shikamaru noticed another minor detail from the fight between Naruto and Sasuke, he realized that the words Sasuke spoke to Naruto earlier were the first ones he had spoken to any of them today.

Iruka declared, "Uchiha Sasuke wins!" then instructed, "Now, make the Seal of Reconciliation so we can move on to the next fight!"

Sasuke brought his left hand forward to make the Seal of Reconciliation, but Naruto was dissatisfied and started to clamor, "Hey, that didn't count! I wanna go at it again you jerk!" 

Iruka smacked Naruto on the head, and shouted, "I told you that Traditional Ninja Sparring is a sacred tradition, I won't have you disrespect this Naruto… now make the Seal of Reconciliation!"

"Tch," Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance and brought his hand forward to form the Seal of Reconciliation as per Iruka's instruction.

But Sasuke didn't complete the seal, he seemed a little distracted and this annoyed Naruto, "What are you staring at? Just get done with it already Sasuke!"

Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke blinked as he recovered his thoughts and nodded, "Yeah" and completed the Seal of Reconciliation, after which the two went back to their place.

After the fight between Naruto and Sasuke, the other fights continued but Sasuke didn't pay attention to any of them, instead his mind was on the memories that flooded his brain a moment ago. The Shadow Clone he had left at the apartment to study theories of Genjutsu, its Chakra was depleted as a result it couldn't maintain itself anymore. 'Around four hours, huh? I will have to practice Shadow Clone Jutsu more in order to make sure that my Shadow Clone can continue to exist for a longer duration…' 

In fact, Shadow Clones don't tend to stay for very long, it's rather difficult to maintain them for longer duration… Four hours is already very good, but it's also possible to increase that duration with practice and better Chakra control. People like Madara can even use their Shadow Clones to fool the likes of Tobirama, and even adult Naruto seems to be able to create Shadow Clones that can lost for a very long time, it's all about practice.

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