47 47. Sparring Session
"Woah! The village is so lively as of late." Yuji and the rest of the group walk through the streets of Konoha.
"Yesterday, Hokage-sama issued a declaration of the start of the 'Second Shinobi War' against Amegakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure," Minato speaks as the group makes their way to the academy.
"Yes, I heard from my father that the situation is quite tense and the shinobis of other nations are already gathered at the borders," Inoichi replies.
"Hmm… not only that, the village has declared a state of emergency and has already recalled all shinobis who were on other missions immediately to the village." He adds.
"I also heard about it from my father. Apparently, the Jounins will be the main fighting force during the war. The chunnins will be responsible for securing and disrupting the supply channels while experienced genins will be responsible for the supply of goods and other necessities to the war front." Shikaku also provides some information.
"Tsunade Nee-san also told something similar. Since she is a medic-nin, she is leading a unit of medic corps to aid the main combat unit. Also, sister is fighting on the Suna war front." Nawaki also reveals some information.
"Shh… you weren't supposed to reveal it. It's secret information." Kushina rebukes him.
"AH! My bad!" Nawaki rubs his forehead.
"Hmm… the war! I also heard something about it from my father." Choza eats potato chips as he speaks.
"Our Akimichi clan is responsible for the distribution of the food and maintaining the food supply chain on the battlefront."
"Oh! But won't you eat all the food by yourself if you were in charge of the food supply?" Nawaki chuckles.
"That seems like something Choza will certainly do!" Inoichi remarks.
"That's rude!" Choza harrumphs.
"Besides, the food supply for war is different from the stuff I eat now. It's too bland and dry for me to eat. Besides, we Choza clan members store all our nutrition in our bodies." Choza rubs his fat belly.
Pfft… Haha…
The rest of the group burst out in laughter. Even Choza joins them in the fun.
As they walk, Yuji silently looks around and notices the hustle-bustle in his surroundings.
'A battle between two people is a duel, a fight between tens of men is a brawl, a conflict between hundreds of people is a skirmish. However, once the scale changes to thousands, a war starts. War is always a cause of disaster and calamity for normal people, but it is also a place where geniuses thrive. The militants make a reputation for themselves, the inventors invent new things to meet the demands, and the innovators discover new knowledge. War accelerates technological development to adapt tools for the purpose of solving specific military needs. Thus, war serves as a catalyst for the growth of mankind. It makes the lives of people miserable, but also brings forth their hidden potential. As such, war and conflict are a necessary evil for the progress of humanity.'
Yuji recalls a few excerpts about war from his previous life.
As an assassin, direct combat wasn't his forte, even though he trained his battle senses to their limits. Instead, he preferred to strike down unguarded enemies from shadows and retreat after finishing the job with a single blow. The element of surprise is the most important element for an assassin. Even though during wars, the military engages in a direct confrontation, assassins also play a major role. Be it assassinating a general from the enemy camp or striking down a political influencer in the war! He had done it all during his past life, even though he didn't directly participate in a war.
'Well, that's none of my concern.' Yuji shakes his head and enters the academy with the rest of his friends.
---------------------
Later in the academy,
During the combat class,
"Alright, everyone! The next pair is Kara Yuji and Tanaka Daiki." The instructor forms a pair for the duel.
Yuji and Daiki walk into the sparring ring.
"Start!"
The instructor waves his hand.
Yuji and Daiki make a seal of confrontation to mark the start of the battle.
"Well… here is another win for Yuji." Inoichi shakes his head.
"He isn't the strongest student in the class for nothing." Shikaku shrugs his shoulder.
"Every time I meet him, he seems to grow stronger day by day. The gap between us has widened a lot since our first meeting." Inoichi remarks.
"Hmm… perhaps this is what we call a genius," Shikaku remarks nonchalantly.
"No! It's not all talent. Hard work plays a part too. Yuji has been training a lot lately." Minato adds as he turns his attention to the spar.
"Start!"
As soon as the instructor marks the start of the battle, Yuji quickly closes the gap and lunges toward his opponent. His opponent swings his fist toward Yuji's face.
Whoosh…
Yuji parries the punch away with his left hand and slaps his palm in his opponent's gut.
Keugh…
His opponent falls to the ground. Yuji points his hand toward his opponent's neck.
"Alright, that's enough! Yuji won." The instructor marks the end of the battle.
Yuji extends his hand toward Daiki to help him stand up.
"Tch… I don't help of a bad omen." Daiki shrugs his hand and stands up. He makes the seal of reconciliation and walks out of the ring.
An awkward expression appears on the instructor's face.
"Alright! "I can't argue against that." Shikaku agrees with Minato's earlier comment.
'How many times has it been?' The instructor sighs and recalls the result of Yuji's spar in the previous past three months.
The spar would usually end before Yuji's opponent could make a move. He specially summoned Yuji to his office and instructed him to at least allow his opponent to make his move. As an academy instructor, he is afraid that the students will lose confidence in themselves after their continuous defeats at the hands of Yuji.
Even though Yuji followed his instruction and allowed his opponent to make a move, he ended the battle right after his opponent makes a move. This further depressed him and the students even further since it shows how high of a gap between their skills is.
Even with a preemptive strike, the opponent stands no chance against Yuji's counterattack.
'This student is too strong for his grade. If this continues, the morale and the confidence of other students will take a major blow and these kids with fragile hearts might not recover from his shadow. Today, after the class ends, I will talk with the principal to promote him to the final year of the academy. His combat skills are on par with those kids and his score and knowledge are also at the top of his grade.' The instructor makes up his mind. He turns to Yuji.
"Kara Yuji! Meet me in my office after the academy."
"Yes, sir!" Yuji nods and regroups with his friend.
Sigh…
Shikaku, Minato, and Inoichi shake their head as Yuji walks toward them.
"Why will you always end the battle in a single move?" Shikaku asks him.
"We are striving to become shinobi. A shinobi puts his life on the line during missions. In a life-and-death battle, waiting for your opponent to make his move is foolishness. If you can end the battle preemptively, then you are saving the lives of your teammates." Yuji answers him.
"But this is just a spar!" Minato remarks.
"A spar is also a battle. It would be an insult to my opponent if I don't use my full strength." Yuji retorts.
"But weren't you holding back in this spar?" Nawaki asks him.
"…"
The rest of the group turns speechless.
"Ah!" Nawaki realizes his mistake and shuts up.
The nearby student glance at Yuji with a weird expression.
"Nawaki, you dummy! Our actual strength is a secret we can't just reveal to anyone. Tsunade nee-san and Grandma Mito asked us to hold back during our spars at the academy. It's not Yuji's fault that he is much stronger than his opponents." Kushina, who is a supporter of brutal strength, agrees with Yuji as she whispers these words to Nawaki.
"Then what about the other day when you punched another girl's face and gave her a bruise?" Nawaki questions her.
"Tch… that girl called me ugly and tomboy for hanging out with you guys. She deserved it!" Kushina clenches her fist.
Sweat trickles down their forehead at Kushina's remark.
Besides, I held back a lot with that punch!"
Minato and others recall her spar with another girl the other day.
'She sure held back with that punch.'
Out of them all, Kushina has the highest physical strength. She can already break boulders with her bare hands. If she used her full strength in that punch; Minato and the rest couldn't even imagine the state of her opponent.
