Chapter 1 – Apprentice
Oh how I've waited for this day, the day I start my apprenticeship to the great Takeda Shingen.
I aspire to have a mind like his. Able to destroy a platoon of soldiers with a single command… He truly is a legendary man of our times.
I know that the chances of being like him are bleak, but I can try can't I?
Sakon closed his octagonal journal, satisfied at his entry. He was riding a carriage, on his way to the Takeda's camp in Shizugatake.
Sakon has answered Shingen's invitation of apprenticeship even if he was only 13 years old. Sakon was a natural born genius, finishing basic schooling at the age of 9 and entering tactician academy then finishing it at 12. Knowing that Shingen was fond of the color red, he dressed in his finest robe composed of a red upper dress embroidered with elaborate patterns and a pair of short pants of the same color. He also wore the red beret that his mother had sewn for him. For footwear, his father lent him the cloth boots that he bought from a Chinese vendor. Wearing a radiant smile in his face, he eagerly observed the road for signs of the encampment.
"Let's see… The camp should be right around that thicket there…" pointed Sakon to the mass of thorns on the left side of the road. The driver ignored his directions and continued onwards. "Hey mister. We're going the wrong way! The camp's back there…" yelled Sakon.
"Hunh… But we're not going there…" replied the driver. He was wearing a farmer's shade, making it hard for Sakon to see his face.
"I'm getting off this carriage then…" said Sakon as he tried to open the carriage's door but found it to be locked. He tried kicking it open but it wouldn't budge. He turned to look at the driver and was shocked to see him sitting in front of him.
"Now then, buckle up kid. It's gonna be one heck of a ride…" chuckled the driver. He removed his shade, revealing his spiky red hair and painted face. He tore through his farmer outfit, revealing a camouflaged suit as well as two large shurikens in each hand.
"An assassin!" gasped Sakon as he continued his attempts on opening the door.
"Heh, name's Sarutobi Sasuke… You're a tactician right? Let's see how quick your brain is…" smiled Sasuke as he attempted to slash Sakon in the face. Sakon quickly ducked the blow and grabbed his journal.
Sakon threw his thick journal towards the glass window of the carriage, shattering it.
"How about this?!" yelled Sasuke as he attempted to halve Sakon. Sakon dove towards the shattered window, escaping the moving carriage and spraining a few bones in the process.
The carriage sped towards a ravine but not before Sasuke jumped out of it. He slowly approached Sakon, playing with his weapons.
Sakon made a run for his journal which was a few feet away from his position. His left ankle was sore from the fall but he managed to limp to the book.
"Man, that book must be really important to you… I wonder what you'll feel one I make a nice bonfire with it…" insulted Sasuke.
Sakon pulled on the fabric bookmark of the journal, extending it until it was thrice its original length. He pushed a button under the book's metallic cover, revealing sharp metallic spikes around the journal. He started twirling above his head, awaiting Sasuke's move.
"Whoa… This kitten's got claws. Well, at least things are a little more interesting." said Sasuke as he sped up towards Sakon.
Sakon turned around, running away from Sasuke whilst twirling his bladed journal side to side to deter Sasuke from getting closer. With one quick move, Sakon jumped and kicked his journal towards Sakon, hitting him squarely on the chest. The blow punched three wounds on Sasuke's torso.
"Heh, you've got skills, I'll give you that!" praised Sasuke. He reached into his pocket and quickly threw three flash bombs at Sakon.
"Ach! What the…" Uttered Sakon as he shielded his eyes, blinded by Sasuke's move. He suddenly felt something wrapping around his foot.
"Gotcha." smiled Sasuke as tugged at the string of his left shuriken, causing Sakon to fall flat on the ground. He then rolled his other shuriken on the ground. The weapon sped towards Sakon, threatening to slice him from the leg up.
Sakon finally recovered from the temporary blindness and spotted Sasuke's shuriken. He gave one quick twirl with his journal, cutting the thread that bound his legs. He stood up and attempted to dodge the shuriken but it managed to connect with his right leg, the blow drew blood which left threads of crimson fluid flowing down his leg.
"Didn't think I'd get you back now, did ya?!" grinned Sasuke.
The two once again ran towards each other, preparing for another clash but then something dropped in between them, blowing them away with an enormous shockwave. The shockwave threw dust and dirt to them, blinding their vision.
Sakon cleared the dust in his eyes to see what had fell to the ground. He was shocked to see a massive man standing on an equally massive axe. He wore a tight battle suit as well as a red wig with two long horns.
"Wha? Who is that?!" asked Sakon.
"SASUKE! I only said test him! You overdid it again baka!" shouted the man.
"What's the fun in that old man!" answered Sasuke.
The huge man jumped down from the axe and approached Sasuke, a dark look emblazoned in his face. He placed hand on Sasuke's shoulders and lowered his head.
"Sasuke…" whispered the man. Then without warning, he gave a massive uppercut to the ninja, causing him to fly into the woods.
Sakon was bewildered at the man's strength. He shortly forgot to breathe, overwhelmed by the man's display of power.
"Th-Thank you for saving me…" said Sakon as he gave a small bow to the man.
"Hmm? You must be my new apprentice. Sakon Shima right?" responded the brute.
"Huh? No, no, there must be some sort of mistake. I'm here to study under Lord Takeda Shingen." corrected Sakon.
"Takeda Shingen would be me kid…" patted Shingen to Sakon's head as he walked away.
"Y-You mean you're…!" stuttered Sakon, surprised that the massive brute was his teacher-to-be.
"Oyakata-sama!" yelled a voice from behind Sakon. He turned around and spotted a brown-haired boy, wearing a red leather jacket and a pair of white cloth shirts with flames painted on them. He was wielding a pair of cross spears which looked very intimidating. Sakon guessed that he was slightly younger than Sasuke.
"YUKIMURA! You're late!" scolded Shingen as he attempted to slam his enormous axe at Yukimura. Yukimura blocked it just in time but the force that Shingen was applying to it is causing him to slip from where he was standing.
"Oyakata-sama! I'm sorry for my tardiness…" apologized Yukimura as he tried to fight back the enormous amount of force that was pushing him.
"Raaahhh..!! Unforgivable!" yelled Shingen as the two engage in battle.
Sakon's mouth hung open in disbelief. He suddenly felt a hand around his shoulder. He turned to see who it was and was startled to see Sasuke who was now behind him. He was rubbing a reddened part of his cheeks, possibly from the blow he received earlier.
"They do this every time! Believe me, you HAVE to get used to it…" told Sasuke.
Sakon shakily nodded and Sasuke took his right hand and dragged him.
"Hey! Where are you taking me! Weren't you just trying to kill me a moment ago?!" yelled Sakon as he struggled from Sasuke's grip.
"Relax kid. That was only a test. We're going ahead to camp. Those two might take awhile…" replied Sasuke. "Unless of course, you want to stay there and watch…"
Sakon heard several clashes of metal as well as some explosions. He swallowed his throat and stopped struggling.
"Thought so…" smiled Sasuke.