6 Chapter 6: A taste of battle

02 of November- Year 7 AK (After Kyubi Attack)

I let myself fall on my ass on the giant stone head of the Sandaime Hokage, and looked at the crouched form of the Anbu agent on my left, before letting my gaze wash over the village. The nighly lights made for quite the show, I could understand what the hype had all been about. The autumn didn't want to leave that year, so there were loads of yellow and red leaves twirling in the sky.

The Anbu turned his head toward me and tilted it questioningly.

"Spare me the 'all is a secret attitude' Neko, there aren't that many Anbu agents tall like thirteen years old, and only one that I know is capable enough." I said.

The Anbu rolled his shoulders, maybe he was at unease, I couldn't tell with my chakra sensing because he had erased his presence. The annoying thing to do.

I laid down on the cold stone surface, looking at the first stars coming out.

"I know of only one genin that would put it together," Neko answered, and I suspected there was a sardonic smile under the mask.

I probably would have been flustered by his comment if I was a normal shinobi. Sensei's reticence to propose us for the chunin exams was a running joke.

"Hey cut sensei some slack, we're his first team, it's okay being a bit on the overprotective side." I answered, mockingly offended. Even if three years going for four are a lot of time to spend with an A-ranked shinobi. After all, during all the time he spent as team 10 sensei he hasn't been able to take the more high ranking missions. I wonder why nobody from the administration pushed him to let us in the chuunin exams.

"Besides, I don't mind Genin's life. We take C ranks that require us to work out of the village for a couple of months at a time, and I can take two D ranks on my own for every day we spend in the village. That leaves me with a nice amount of ryo and a lot of time to train. And the joke is on you, we have 6 months of Border Patrol and then we'll be chunins. Besides, I'm only 14, I have a lot of time to climb the ladder, and I'm not even sure I want to, I mean, responsibilities are like kunais, I try to dodge when they're thrown at me."

Itachi took off his mask and sealed it away into a little scroll that I didn't see him pull out. Because yes, he was that fast. But his lips were turned upwards, and in Itachi-tongue that meant rolling on the floor in laughter.

"Shinobi do not live long, you are already 14." he pointed out.

Uh, yeah, I forgot the mortality rate of this world. "The Sandaime is pretty old, isn't he?" I observed.

Itachi blinked, taken aback by my answer. "You measure yourself against the Shinobi no Kami? Hokage-sama is your measuring stick?"

I frowned, I hadn't thought a lot about it. "Well, no. It's just if he made it, why can't I? He too has been a genin at some point after all. Sure, it happened fifty years ago, but still. And he's what, sixty-something? I intent to live to one hundred, and die in a bed surrounded by grandchildren that I'll be annoying them with terrible puns and embarrassing stories about their parents."

Itachi was surprised, I could tell, dying old in a bed wasn't something just any ninja could allow himself to think about. "While I am at it, I'll make sure it becomes possible for everyone," I added like it was an afterthought. Now that messed him up.

I had been back into the village for a week, and it was hard to not notice the unrest around the name Uchiha. I wouldn't openly intervene, it was still something that would see me strapped onto a table for torture by Root agents. Besides, I honestly thought that the fewer sharingans around, the better for everyone. Preventing Madara's resurrection was a foggy plan in the back of my mind, but sharingans were dangerous shit.

That didn't mean I couldn't point out that Itachi could choose to just kidnap his brother and run away. Doing that without revealing that I knew the future was troublesome, but I would be on Border Patrol for the following six months, so I would probably miss the massacre, which wasn't a bad thing.

I was happy that I didn't have to go through the chunin exams, the whole thing looked like being a gladiator tossed into an arena for the people amusement. And a bit sad at the idea of leaving the comfy life of a genin.

"The world is not so easily changed." the young shinobi whispered. If I didn't know better I would have thought that he sounded defeated.

What's up with this world and thirteen years old phylosophers? I frowned. It's like he thinks in mysterious Dumbledoresque riddles.

But I secretly loved Dumbledoresque riddles, so I could go with his vibe.

"Why do you even wake up in the morning if you don't believe that what you do matters? Everything you do changes the world, Itachi, you could even start to think about what changes you wish to bring."

With that hopeful comment, I rose from my position, arching back to stretch a bit, I performed a handstand and started doing pushups, my feet high in the air. It was hard being a genin under Might Guy and not pick up his attitude toward constant youthful training.

"We can't do just what we want." He objected.

I blinked, staring at him with a raised eyebrow while doing my exercise. "You know, there's a thing I've heard once." I started. "A slave obeys. A man chooses."

I wasn't looking at him, so I didn't know how he reacted. After a while, I grew tired of the silence. "Your little brother starts the academy this year, doesn't he?" I asked without stopping.

"He does." Itachi answered noncommittally, and we trailed off into a companionable silence.

"Daiki." I stopped, in the rare times he had used my name, he never forgot to place the -san at the end of it. It didn't matter that I refused to use honorifics, he was always very appropriate. His upbringing had been very traditional after all, so it was hardly surprising. That he chose to forego it, meant something serious came up. "I'd like to spar with you."

Now, I didn't particularly like the killing part of being a shinobi, even if I had to get used to doing it. But there was a kind of... satisfaction, in mastering a shinobi skill, whatever it was. And with it came a wish to test yourself. At least it was true for me. So, his proposition, while out of character, and sudden, was mouth-watering.

I knew that at thirteen he was a far cry from what he would become in some years with the Mangekyō, but he was Anbu. And while I knew, mostly basing myself on both the anime and the occasional scuffle my team had with half-trained nukenin, that I was far beyond genin level, I still had no idea of the gap between me and the A-ranked jounins. I knew that Guy sensei was untouchable, and likely Kakashi, but I wanted to feel that distance for myself. What's the catch?

"Why?" I asked him.

His shoulder tensed and his eyes flashed red, the commas in his irises spinning slowly while he looked around. He was checking to see if we were being spied upon? Why would he...? Oh shit he's about to drag me in the Uchiha' shit! Nononono...

While I processed that thought, his eyes went back to their usual, far less scary, black. "I wanted to ask you if you could keep an eye on Sasuke if I'm not around. And I would be... reassured, if you, despite your genin status, could prove yourself... competent in..."

"Alright, alright, I'll do it." I interrupted him waving my hands, and his shoulder lost that almost unnoticeable tension they had gained. "But on one condition." I added, grinning wolfishly.

When the sun rose in the following morning, it found me running around the village with my team, Guy sensei was running on his hands, obviously, and let me, Hana, Shin, and the Haimaru brothers eat his dust. That man was scary.

One hour after dawn, we had completed the morning routine I forced my teammates to follow. I refused to die somewhere because they lacked the proper stamina. So we split off once we reached again the gate of the village, both Hana and Shin wishing only to go back to sleep. We were off the rooster for a few days, we had earned it, but they seemed happy to treat it like it was some kind of holiday. Madness. I felt like I was the only one acutely aware of how easy it was to die because we didn't measure up to an opponent.

That was why I usually kept training with Guy sensei as long as possible, before splitting up and doing my own thing. I didn't want to be a shinobi that relied only on his taijutsu after all. I was far from being a ninjutsu or genjutsu master, but I wanted to be a jack of all trades. Only then I would find a field that I was very talented in and go crazy in it. I hoped it would be fuinjutsu, but it was too soon to tell.

"Hey sensei." I started, stretching my legs and slowly trailing my hands coated in medical chakra along with my muscles. The new weights had forced me to push a little more than my body was equipped to handle.

With training, muscles tore and regrew stronger. That required time, but the medical chakra was the final hack I could have wished for. I was able to speed up the regrowth process. That meant that, while I had to be very careful, I didn't need to make very little steps in adding weight to my training regime.

Why didn't anyone do it? One, it could be done only on one's own body, since if I were to heal Hana's muscles after extreme training, they would revert to their previous state. That was because an iryonin's chakra helped rebuild muscles taking as result a perfect diagnostic scan. In the scan, executed through being deep washed in medical chakra and as such not exactly practical, the tore muscles were the wound and the body of the patient offered as a solution the memory of when it was sane. That reasoning didn't make sense unless one considered how deep the influence of the soul was on the body. Healing yourself gave you a double perspective on the state of your body. I knew where my body was going, and I simply helped it along the way.

It was a nebulous topic and not one that I fully understood.

Reason two, it could be performed only until one reached the later phases of puberty after it meant aging faster at truly lethal rates. Why would puberty matter? Again, it's an effect of the soul. Until one reaches adulthood, both his yin and yang are in continuous mutation, circling each other, growing, spinning, twirling, whatever metaphysical shit went down that road. And as such, life force wasn't reduced by repeated processes of wound-healing until it reached its peak at the end of puberty. And that was probably why Jinchuriki were created with children as young as possible. The introduction of a secondary source of chakra would destroy every adult.

Yes, Obito did it when he was an adult, as did Madara, but then there were both Mokuton and Rinnegan in the game, so I suspected they were necessary for something. And for the same reason, removing a biju from a jinchuriki would kill the host.

However, my trick had meant that while I didn't train constantly only my body 'Lee Style' I was almost on par with his rate of growth. It would take me more time, but I would reach Guy's level. After all, he was the best teacher I could have wished for, he had a bit of overbearing personality, but nobody was perfect.

"Yes, my most youthful student!?" the answer of my sensei distracted me from my reflections and remembered me what I was about to ask.

"I have sparring set up five minutes from now on training ground eight. Could you observe and point out our flaws when we finish?"

My sensei too big eyes started to water. He snuffed. "How youthful, my students w..."

I tuned him out with practiced ease, and I turned my head up looking at the cloudless sky. The night had been windy and there was a thrilling chill in the air. It was a good morning for a spar.

From the drivel my sensei was sprouting about friendship, I deduced that he agreed to watch my spar, and teach me more after. So I was set for the day. I started running toward the training ground 8, my sensei on my side.

I dug deep into the drivel the main characters of Naruto were always sprouting and turned at my sensei with pleading eyes. "Sensei, someone asked me to... watch over someone dear to him. And asked for the spar to see for himself if he could entrust a life into my hands... It's in preparation of a life and death situation, can I use it ?"

His expression grew serious like I had come to learn happened when it was necessary. "Who is the one that you are sparring with?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

But we had arrived at the training ground, and Itachi was already there. My sensei' eyes grew wide recognizing the young prodigy, and gave me permission with a slow nod. Then he reverted to his 'extremely youthful' standard personality.

After a long time spent introducing himself, my sensei stepped aside, leaving us space.

I was dressed in my standard uniform for long term missions. Boots with blackened steel tips, long cargo pants of a dark brown, held tight below the knee by wrapped bandages, so that they wouldn't rustle. Sleeveless chainmail under a baggy shirt with the sleeves cut halfway, my arms wrapped in bandages and armguards. Fingerless gloves with a steel plate, and over it a hoodie made with a tear and water-resistant dark green material, with grey streaks breaking the monotony of the single color. It had a deep hood that I raised only when it rained. Shin had insisted, it was our camouflage expert after all.

For the same reason, I had rubbed my headband with the leaf symbol with a mixture of charcoal and soda wash, making it of a dull grey instead of the shiny steel it was when I first earned it. My long hair was tied into a tight braid at the base of my skull and reached my lower back, at the end of it there was a steel point. My chakra control was good enough to direct it through my hair into a bastardized version of Jiraya's Hair Jizō.

I started needing Tiger, Horse, Boar, Ram, Rat and Snake. And I was grateful I remembered those from the manga, and I tinkered with it until I managed to mold my chakra without hand seals. My braid acted more like a mesh between a whip and a fifth limb than the perfect shield it was capable of becoming. But it was a work in progress.

I quickly divested myself from my boots and the hoodie, before unwrapping the end of my trousers and taking down even those weights.

I rewrapped the bandages around the lower end of my trousers after sealing away my clothes into an empty storage scroll that found its way back to my belt.

I rolled my shoulders and jumped a couple of times, to get used to feeling so light out of the blue.

Itachi had looked me impassively the whole time, with his half-lidded eyes that somehow did manage to convey his irritation. Hehe, making him wait was a must. I knew he was an Anbu captain already, if only because Danzō needed a spy among the Uchiha that other Anbu agents couldn't question.

There were two things I was truly good at, or at least, comparatively better than my other skills: Taijutsu, and dispelling genjutsu, even high ranked ones. Why? The first explained itself. The second? I was paranoid. And terrified to be trapped into a genjutsu a là Matrix. So I worked my ass off to become good at unraveling genjutsu. I was still young to be a ninjutsu monster since my coils were still developing, and my genjutsus were not battle-ready. I also didn't want to rely on my Illusion, it was a kind of secret resource.

Itachi? I was presuming that he was good at everything.

We assumed the Salute position, we stood at ten meters of distance from each other and assumed the half ram sign with our right hand.

"Ready? Begin!" thundered Guy sensei.

I shot forward as fast as thought, opening with a high knee shot at the face of Itachi. He bent backward and tried to land a punch on my uncovered back, my braid whipped at his arm and if it wasn't for his arm guard it would have bruised.

The first exchange had been a draw, even if Itachi still had to move from his position, he didn't need to raise an eyebrow to make clear that he was unimpressed. I recognized there the birth of the blank expression he would one day wield in battle. The one that said 'you are an ant beneath my notice, I'll walk over your dead bodies'. I charged again.

I opened with an open palm strike, and noticed external chakra trying to influence me, I fluctuated violently mine and broke through the genjutsu before it could even settle. He dodged on the left, I followed in a flurry of knees, kicks, elbows, and punches. He was never where my hit would have landed. It was like fighting the wind, even if he was far sharper in its movements. They were broken, without a pattern, and nonetheless effective.

After a while, he started answering. He was cautious, never exposing himself and attempting to strike only when he could keep his balance and guard up at the same time.

Punch, dodge, twirl, guarding with the elbow, intercepting the following kick. Kick, sidestep, jump over leg sweep, punch, swipe, disengage. Repeat.

He suddenly jumped back, his hands blurring, and spat at me a fireball.

I yanked at my chakra and molded it while throwing two kunai in the fire. I seallessly used kawarimi and switched myself with a pebble at the feet of the young Anbu captain, wincing internally at the added chakra cost from the sheer difference in mass. Landing, I impressed a standard explosive seal on another stone on the ground and followed through the whole Konoha's whirlwind kata, unable to hit him, but I didn't give him space, didn't let him breathe, nor gave him a single opening.

He started slashing with kunai in unpredictable patterns, that didn't manage to break my movements, but I faltered for an instant during which he managed to land a solid kick on the side of my head.

I rolled with it and jumped at him again, executing a slash from high to low over his head, he executed a perfect cross block with his forearms but was left open for my kick that... He vanished.

Suddenly he rose the speed of his movements and was at my back. With a desperate tweak, I kawarimed with the stone that I marked before, which, disrupted by the chakra overlapping with the seal, exploded in Itachi's face.

He dodged the shrapnel without difficulties, and once more we stood at ten meters of distance.

His face was still blank, but the scuffle did get my blood running. I was excited. I was enjoying it.

I assumed a Muay Thai pose, distractedly noticing a surprising sound coming from my sensei. He never taught me anything similar. However in my first life I had read and watched a lot of different martial arts, and it had been reasonably easy to put together what Guy had taught me in a form that resembled it. I took a deep breath, reaching inward. Itachi was keeping his Sharingan active. Paranoid son of a bitch.

In my mind blossomed an idea. I kept gathering myself and started performing hand seals.

Horse, Boar, Ram, Rat, Tiger, Horse, Tiger, Dragon. I trust my right arm forward, using my left hand to grab tightly to my wrist like I needed a wast amount of concentration to direct my jutsu. "Ninpō!" I shouted. I rose my middle finger:" Fuck you no Jutsu!"

I heard Guy screaming 'Unyouthful!' and Itachi' eyes, which were a little wide, eager to see what I was about to do, lost their Sharingan, and due to surprise, he blinked.

"Kaimon, kai." I whispered. And faster than ever, my knee slammed into the crossed guard of Itachi, broke through it, and pummeled him into the undergrowth. Releasing my breath, I closed the gate, returned in my waiting position, and half a second later I had a blade held against my throat. I laughed. "You're a scary kid, Itachi."

Our sensei called the match, I had lost.