Chapter – 9 Kenjutsu Training: Footwork & Obstacle Course

A few days later at the seventy-ninth training field

"He should be here any moment…" muttered Yūgao as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, then looked toward the horizon.

"There he is…" Hayate pointed out as he saw the figure of a young boy approaching them while running at a great speed.

Soon, the young boy arrived beside the two and collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily, "Haah… Haah…"

Yūgao handed the young boy a bamboo bottle, "Here you go Sasuke…" and added, "Good job completing a hundred laps around this training field."

"Hn" the young Uchiha hummed gratefully as he tried to calm down his breathing and heartbeat and took the bamboo water bottle handed to him by Yūgao.

As for the matter of a hundred laps around the training field? It's to build up endurance and physical strength, after all, Kenjutsu can be extremely physically demanding, so practitioners have to be very strong physically, and considering that Chakra is made up of mental energy and physical energy, so physical workout needs to be performed in order to increase physical energy. 

Since his body is still quite young and not very used to performing intense physical workouts, so a hundred laps around the seventy-ninth training field which totals approximately a thousand kilometers of running distance is good to start with. A thousand kilometers would be insane for a boy of his age back in his previous life; however, people of this world are built differently so a thousand kilometers for a warmup is nothing.

Once Sasuke had recovered his breath, he questioned Yūgao and Hayate, "What now?"

Hayate held his chin thoughtfully and spoke, "Well, you have already mastered the stances the last week, so let's move to the next thing you must work on."

"Which is?" asked Sasuke.

"Footwork," answered Yūgao, and went on to explain, "Footwork is a fundamental aspect of almost all the forms of physical combat, and it is obviously incredibly important in Kenjutsu as well. Footwork mainly involves the movement and positioning of the feet to optimize balance, mobility, and stability during combat. Practitioners with effective footwork are able to execute techniques efficiently, maintain proper form, keep the right distance, and create opportunities for both offense and defense."

"I see," nodded Sasuke. Even based on the memories of the assassin, he does recall working on his footwork as well, so Yūgao's explanation was easy to understand and reasonable in his mind.

Hayate picked up the explanation, "Now footwork has a lot of components and principles, but for now, you need to focus on the seven most important ones. Balance & Stability, foot positioning, weight transfer, step patterns, angles & directional changes, timing & distance management, and defensive movement." Then he pointed at a board not far away, and added, "The most effective method to train footwork is through an obstacle course…"

"I see, an obstacle course, huh? That makes sense…" mumbled Sasuke and thought to himself, 'True, an obstacle course would definitely have all kinds of different obstacles to help a person focus on multiple components and principles of footwork at the same time.' then he too looked at the board that Hayate pointed at. 

Yūgao explained as she looked at the board not far away from her, "The seventy-ninth training field is one of the few training fields in Konohagakure that happens to have a complex obstacle course built inside it, it was designed for children like you to work on your footwork… it's very big and is filled with all kinds of hurdles, and since it is an everchanging maze kind of complex obstacle course so I think you would have a lot of fun."

"Everchanging maze kind of Obstacle Course?" muttered Sasuke in intrigue. He was a little interested in the Obstacle Course after hearing that it keeps on changing indefinitely.

Hayate added, "While trying to complete the Obstacle Course, you are not allowed to use Chakra because that would make things easier for you and it would defeat the purpose of this obstacle course training exercise, understand?"

"Alright," mumbled Sasuke and asked another doubt, "What about weapons such as Shuriken and Kunai? Am I allowed to use those?"

Yūgao quickly shook her head, "No… other than your legs, you are not allowed to use anything, no Chakra, no Jutsu, no weapons… it's only going to be what you see and how you move."

"Got it," nodded the young Uchiha.

The three of them walked toward the entrance of the obstacle course as Hayate pulled the lever at the entrance and said, "Thirty-seven days, that's the current best score, and it was made by the same person who would later go on to become the youngest Jōnin of Konohagakure… considering that you are Uchiha too, you must have heard of him, Uchiha Shisui… It took him thirty-seven days to complete this Obstacle Course."

"Huh?" Sasuke was takenaback by the sudden information revealed to him by Hayate. To think Shisui's name would be mentioned out of nowhere.

Yūgao explained, "Each time you fail, you must restart from the very beginning, and since you are not allowed to use Chakra or any other tool except your own body, completing this Obstacle Course is bound to be difficult, there's a high chance of getting injured and a few people have died too… anyone who tries to complete this obstacle course generally requires multiple attempts to complete it. Therefore, it's not a strange thing for someone to take many days to complete it."

"I see…" muttered Sasuke with a thoughtful expression. He hadn't expected the getting injured and dying part but thinking over it, such a thing is not unreasonable, excellence cannot be achieved without putting one's life on the line and those who fail on the path end up dead.

Yūgao continued to explain, "Sasuke, you must complete this Obstacle Course as well… however, there are several things you have to keep in mind. You are not allowed to take leave from the ninja academy, and, if you get injured while trying to complete this Obstacle Course, go to the Konoha Hospital to get your injuries treated…" She paused for a moment as she took out a scroll from her bag, and passed it to the young Uchiha, "Here you go… I think you might already have one of these scrolls, but I am giving you one regardless. It records the details of all the basic footwork that you would need to get started with… getting familiar with them through practice and mastering them is up to you…"

"Hn…" nodded Sasuke and took the scroll handed to him by Yūgao. He unfolded the scroll and noticed that there were ten basic footwork techniques were explained in great detail. Forward step, backward step, sideways step, diagonal step, pivoting, shifting weights, circular footwork, crossing step, shuffle step, and retreating step.

While Sasuke read the detailed information about various footwork techniques, Hayate picked up the explanation, "Mastering these footwork techniques is essential before moving to the next step as footwork contributes to overall agility, attack coordination, and adaptability in combat and self-defense scenarios. Aside from practice, awareness, and reflex are also very important…" he paused for a moment, then added, "Once you master footwork techniques, you can move on to the next step… but before that, try to complete the Obstacle Course..."

"I know…" nodded Sasuke as he put the scroll handed to him by Yūgao in his Shinobi Bag then looked at the entrance of the Obstacle Course in front of him.

Noting that Sasuke was eager to try, Yūgao and Hayate didn't stop him, "Go on… we will meet you once you have completed the Obstacle Course."

"Then see you both later…" Leaving these words, Sasuke jumped past the barricade and went inside the cave-like entrance of the Obstacle Course.

Watching Sasuke disappear into the darkness, Yūgao couldn't help but ask Hayate, "By the way, why did you mention Uchiha Shisui earlier?" She was a little surprised when Hayate mentioned Shisui and the record he made and couldn't understand his purpose.

Hayate shrugged, "To ignite his competitive spirit, I guess?" then he turned around and started to walk toward the clearing and said, "Come on, let's go… we still have a lot of time, we should probably start with today's Kenjutsu training…"

"I see, competitive spirit, huh?" muttered Yūgao accepting Hayate's answer. She took one last glance at the entrance of the cave, then turned around and ran toward Hayate while looking at him with a smile.

Hayate couldn't help but question, "What is it?"

Yūgao shook her head, "Nothing." 

"Is that so?" Hayate looked at Yūgao in confusion then shook his head. Girls do strange things sometimes and it is difficult to understand what they are thinking so he decided to remain silent.

The two walked side by side for a while, after which Yūgao suddenly spoke, "Hayate-kun, I am thinking of learning Iryō-ninjutsu…"

"Iryō-ninjutsu?" mumbled Hayate in surprise, and questioned, "Why though? I remember you were never interested in Iryō-ninjutsu so why the sudden change of heart?"

"Well…" Yūgao hesitated, she looked down and explained, "Your declining health is one factor…"

Hayate smiled, "It's just a mild cough, you are worrying too much Yūgao."

Yūgao shook her head, "I read your medical report earlier…"

Hayate stopped abruptly, and sighed, "You shouldn't use your Anbu privileges for something like this…"

Yūgao answered, "It doesn't matter… your health is more important," then she paused, and added, "Moreover, Sasuke also seems a little reckless… so learning Iryō-ninjutsu wouldn't be so bad, right?"

"I suppose…" nodded Hayate. He sighed as he held Yūgao's hand, and spoke, "Still though, you already have too much on your plate, so just don't overwork yourself, got it?"

Yūgao smiled, "I know…"

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At the Konoha Hospital in the late evening.

"This should do it…" spoke a woman wearing the White Doctor's Coat as she released the young Uchiha's bandage-covered arm.

"How long will it take for my arm to completely heal?" asked Sasuke with a frown. Having an injured arm meant he wouldn't be able to continue his training, even weaving hand signs would be impossible, and he didn't like that!

"You are lucky that only the bone had dislocated, if it had been a fracture, complete recovery might have taken several days at the very least. And, I have already mended the dislocation of your bone so there's nothing to worry about. Just make sure to have a proper meal and plenty of rest at home, and you will be good to go by tomorrow morning…" answered the Iryō-nin.

Sasuke let out a relieved sigh, and nodded gratefully, "I see… thank you for the treatment." After that, he got up, paid the treatment fees, and then left the Konoha Hospital.

As you'd expect, he failed to complete the Obstacle Course in the first few attempts and ended up getting injured. Other than the dislocated joint, there were several piercing wounds, cuts, and scars on his body as well, but they were all quickly healed using Iryō-ninjutsu by the Iryō-nin from earlier.

Walking through the Hospital street, Sasuke thought to himself, 'If I had good parkour skills, I might have performed better on the Obstacle course,' He wasn't that adventurous in his previous life and preferred sticking to the ground just like most humans even while carrying out assassination missions, for this reason, he did not make much progress on the first few attempts in the Obstacle Course.

Sasuke shook his head, 'Oh well, it can't be helped… I will have to get better with each day…' Even though he failed, he wasn't regretful and looked forward to going back to the seventy-ninth training field tomorrow after the academy.

With such a thought in his mind, he decided to return to his apartment.

As he was making his way to his home, soon voices started to reach his ears. He could distinguish between the voices into two categories, the first was the loud mocking voice of a child, while the other belonged to a group of angry middle-aged people.

Hearing those voices, he didn't even need to think twice before connecting the dots. 

"Naruto pulling another prank, huh?" It was a no-brainer, there couldn't be anyone other than a certain Jinchuriki of Nine-tails causing a ruckus within Konohagakure. Within the next few moments, Sasuke's guess was confirmed as he saw a certain blonde with whiskers running away while grinning from a large group of people chasing after him. 

If it is someone else other than Uzumaki Naruto pulling such pranks, they would be reported and sent to the Konoha Military Police Force to reflect upon their actions, after all, Konoha is a military village, so self-disciple is still very important, especially for children striving to become ninjas, but since it's the Child of the Prophecy causing all the ruckus, everything is allowed… this is the privilege of holding a nuclear bomb within oneself.

Sasuke didn't know what kind of prank Naruto pulled on those people, but from the looks of it, they weren't very happy about it as they chased after him with brooms in their arms, they were really serious about teaching the good for nothing prankster demon fox kid a serious lesson this time.

Just as Sasuke spotted Naruto, Naruto also noticed him and panicked a little, but the approaching voices of his pursuers woke up the blondie from his stupor, he mumbled something that Sasuke barely heard, 'They are almost on to me… can't help it.' 

Naruto glared at Sasuke for a moment and warned him to stay quiet and mind his own business, then without paying him much attention he quickly took out a blending cloth from his pocket and used it to cover his body in order to hide from the people pursuing him.

Since Naruto is only seven years old at this point, he is naturally not as good as he would go on to become by the time canon starts, therefore, it is easy to notice him for any shinobi, though Sasuke does agree that normal people wouldn't be able to stop Naruto that easily.

Soon several voices arrived on the street Sasuke and Naruto were present, they looked around in search of the blondie, and exactly as he had expected they were unable to accurately spot Naruto. Upon failing to find Naruto, one of the pursuers turned to Sasuke, and asked, "Hey boy, do you know where the demon fox child went? I am certain he came here!"

"Yeah, you must have seen him, right?"

"I did see him," nodded Sasuke with a stoic expression.

Sasuke's answer made Naruto extremely nervous, 'Can't he keep his mouth shut?' He was sure that Sasuke would blow up his cover, and then he would have to get scolded, and clean all that!

"Then tell us… we can't let that good-for-nothing go Scott-free this time; I must teach him a lesson!"

Under the questioning gaze of so many people, Sasuke lifted his uninjured arm and pointed at a certain spot, "There he is…"

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