Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything from the Naruto franchise or anything that may come into the following Fan made piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu" spoken Jutsu
"Wake up to reality." speech.
'Nothing ever goes according to plan in this accursed world.' thought/flashback.
XxxXxxXxxX
Previously:
"You do know that this kind of training is going to foster a rivalry between the two right Kaneuji?" Kenji pointed out.
The man in question simply shrugged, a faint smirk on his face as he watched Kakashi attempt to trip Izuna over as his son tried to overtake the mini-scarecrow. "Never did any harm to me when I was training with you Kenji."
There was a moment of silence following this statement, the words sinking in and another pebble being flicked, this time at Kakashi who had fallen behind from his failed attempt to trip Izuna.
"Kane-chan! I knew you loved me!"
"GET OFF ME YOU INSECT!"
XxxXxxXxxX
40 H.E (Hidden Era)
In the months following the collective decision to start their training, both Uchiha Izuna and Hatake Kakashi had come a long way since that first day. Kakashi himself was no longer that shy boy around the Uchiha father/son duo and Izuna found himself looking forward to his training sessions with the budding scarecrow.
The corner stone of their starting Shinobi education was of course the obstacle course that had been laid out across Training Ground '03.' A running lap that ran the entirety of the field, the course winded around natural sand traps, up trees and across leafy canopies and even zig-zagged across the large open field at its center. There were no markers to make this course clear; the route had instead been forcibly memorised by both boys through repetition and pain upon deviation and/or failure.
And just as their were no markers to identify the route of this obstacle course, neither were there any traditional 'obstacles'. Rather, the obstacles that both Izuna and Kakashi had to avoid and navigate around; was each other.
In the first few weeks of their training, both of the boys had resorted to using nearby rocks, sticks and their own limbs to try and hinder the other in the aims of taking the lead and 'winning' the course. Kakashi more often than not snapping off a small branch from a tree along the way to use as a melee weapon against his Uchiha rival while Izuna favored hurling small stones at the Hatake. As time went on and their training continued, the boys were able to move faster and with more confidence through the obstacle course and formal Taijutsu training so that they could learn the basics of how to fight showed them where to hit the other and how hard in order to cause their opponent to falter at key moments.
Kakashi learned to jab his branch at the back of Izuna's knees at the zig-zag portion of the course to make the Uchiha trip while Izuna learned that the best place to aim his rocks was at Kakashi's fingers while the boy was climbing.
Further along the road Shurikenjutsu and proper weapons training was formally introduced with Izuna and Kakashi learning the fundamentals of the Shuriken and Kunai along with other supplementary tools such as Smoke Bombs and Ninja Wire.
Which resulted in today's training.
An explosion of smoke erupted in the tree canopy to the southern side of the Training Ground which was nearly immediately followed by the sound of frustrated shouting. A faintly smirking Izuna flew through the smoke and landed on a branch before dropping down, digging the blade of a Kunai into the trunk to control his descent, not daring to look back to see if Kakashi had extricated himself from the wire trap he had quickly set up within the cloud of thick smoke.
It was a faint whistling in his ear that told him what he needed to know. Letting go of the Kunai, Izuna dropped the rest of the way down just as a pair of Shuriken impacted into the side of the tree where he had been just moments ago. Landing heavily on the ground and rolling to try and absorb the impact, the four year old Uchiha bit back a groan as he felt the pain of his landing shoot up his legs and back.
Behind him he could hear Kakashi trying to close the gap. Fishing a hand in a pouch at his hip; Izuna scattered a handful of Caltrops at the base of the tree before taking off as quickly as he could. He figured that it wouldn't buy him a great deal of time. Kakashi was still descending from the tree and so had the elevation to jump over the hastily deployed trap. It would however, force the Hatake to jump from a height that could potential slow him down from the pain of the landing itself.
Unfortunately Kakashi was not only able to properly roll with his landing to absorb the impact, but jump farther than Izuna had considered and so with a quick burst of speed the younger boy had managed to close up the gap once more.
Neither boy spoke to the other as they sprinted toward the finish line, neck in neck. Too much effort was focused on their breathing.
Kakashi swung his Kunai out at the Uchiha, aiming to stab him in the arm to try and take the lead just as Izuna himself shoulder checked him.
The Kunai grazed Izuna's shoulder as Kakashi was knocked to the side, digging in deep enough to draw blood but still shallow enough to be considered superficial.
A flick of his wrist sent two Shuriken after the silver haired boy which were just as easily deflected by his Kunai. In the end, neither was able to outpace the other and so when they crossed the marked line that ended their obstacle course, it was still even; resulting in a draw between the two.
Despite the fatigue afflicting both, neither collapsed to the ground as they came to a stop. Izuna simply walked off a bit from Kakashi and eased himself into a series of post-training exercises to prevent any cramping as his body calmed down.
"Another draw?"
The Uchiha nodded quietly as he peeled back the sleeve of his shirt to inspect the cut that Kakashi had scored on him in that final dash. The gash looked clean and shallow enough that it most likely didn't need stitches.
"I thought I had you this time." Kakashi continued, his tone level as he regained his breath steadily. "I was not expecting you to be able to set up that net trap earlier."
"I prepared a few Kunai with Ninja Wire for today." Izuna explained. "A smoke bomb to obscure and disrupt your sight and it was a quick trap to set up. How did you escape so quickly?"
Kakashi poked a finger through a sleeve of his long sleeved shirt where one of the wires had been able to slice through the fabric. "You used too much wire. There was enough slack for me to slip out instead of being forced to cut through it. It was perhaps only a foot too much, but it was enough that when the wires wrapped around me they didn't pull as tight as you most likely intended."
Izuna nodded thoughtfully. It had been the first time he had attempted something like this. He had planned to use that specific location up in the tree branches to deploy a wire net that would trigger and wrap up Kakashi when he hit it, but had not accounted for precisely how much wire he would need. "How were you able to jump that distance from the tree then? I thought I had accounted for your capabilities when I threw those Caltrops."
The Hatake nodded in understanding as he walked over to a tree and picked up a small bag, pulling out two canteens of water; one for himself and the other for his friend. "I anticipated an additional trap and jumped ahead of your prediction. The increased height as well as the momentum into the swing from my Kunai provided the distance before I reached the ground."
Izuna took the water with a nod of thanks and took a small sip as he considered the feedback he had gotten from Kakashi.
"You should have thrown the Kunai instead."
"Pardon?" Kakashi looked over to the Uchiha in confusion.
"That final stretch. You attacked with your Kunai as a melee weapon." Izuna explained. "IF you had thrown it I would have been forced to dodge which would have allowed you to take the lead. All I had were a handful of Shuriken remaining which would not have been enough to deflect your Kunai enough due to your weapons superior weight."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "I did not know you were out of Kunai."
Izuna smirked. "I kept count of your weaponry. You should have done the same with mine Hatake."
The Silver haired boy grumbled under his breath as he capped his canteen and tossed it back into the still open backpack. "Next time it won't be a draw Uchiha. So lose the smirk. Now come on, Oji-san said that we start the Academy this week and we still have some final training to complete before we're ready."
Izuna nodded in agreement. He remembered his own father telling him the same. Both his father and Kakashi's grandfather wanted them to have a stronger grasp on the control of their Chakra than they currently had. With Konoha in the midst of a war neither wanted the boys to even enter the Academy to become Shinobi without a grasp of a vital part of their arsenal.
Together the pair collected their discarded weaponry and left the Training Ground to head for Konoha's Military Police Academy. Izuna's father Kaneuji had set aside a classroom where the Training Sergeant along with Hatake Kenji would use to educate the boys in the more theoretical and academic aspects of a Shinobi lifestyle; including in this case, Chakra.
XxxX
Izuna was not impressed.
For months now, his father had been stressing and teaching him of not only the importance of the Shinobi lifestyle and profession, but the seriousness one must have if seeking out this particular career path. The four year old had seen his own clan members mobilising and training within the clan district as a result of the ongoing war against Sunagakure, Amegakure and Iwagakure. He had seen the bodies of the fallen Uchiha returned for cremation and memorial and felt the collective pain that hit the clan every time. He understood the realities of what it was to be a Shinobi and more than that he understood the seriousness of the decision that was involved in deciding to attend the Shinobi Academy to become a member of Konoha's Shinobi Program.
He expected to see like minded children on his first day at the Academy. Boys and girls like himself and even Kakashi who understood the gravity of their choices to attend an Academy during wartime.
When he had arrived at the academy and the first thing he had seen was a group of children playing in the yard at the front of the Academy. Off to the side a pair of children were playing on a swing set and the sounds of a girl crying by the entrance because she had apparently fallen and skinned her knee.
Izuna frowned. This was not what he had expected.
"Not every Shinobi in Konoha started out as one Izuna."
The four year old looked up to his father who stood by his side. Kaneuji was dressed in full uniform, Jounin Vest with the shoulder badge that identified him as a Sergeant within the Konoha Military Police and his Konoha Headband proudly displayed on his forehead.
"Many of these children come from civilian families and because of this are unaware and unfortunately unprepared for the realities of the Shinobi lifestyle." Kaneuji explained to his son as he too looked across at the various children that had gathered for orientation day at the Academy. "Two of the Hokage's own students, Jiraiya-sama and Orochimaru-sama were of Civilian birth prior to their entry at the Academy and now they are amongst the greatest of Konoha's Shinobi. So while many will ultimately fail or drop out of their own accord. Do not discount their potential Izuna. You may find a challenge amongst them if you look carefully enough."
"If its a Civilian born challenge you seek Uchiha-san then I do believe you need not look any further than the boy Kakashi and I just met."
Both Uchiha turned their heads to face the new arrival and nodded their greeting when they saw Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi approaching.
"You believe you have found a Civilian contender Sakumo?" Kaneuji asked with a raised eyebrow. "Quite early to be making such a claim wouldn't you say?"
Sakumo smiled faintly and scratched the back of his head with a casual laugh. "Well he is second generation but still of Civilian origin nonetheless. Kakashi and I just ran into Maito Dai and his boy."
"The man that people call the 'Eternal Genin'?" Kaneuji clarified. "I was not aware his son was attending the Academy."
"He's not. He failed the entrance exam." Kakashi pointed out. "Makes me wonder how stupid the examiners were."
"Unfortunate but not unchangeable." Kaneuji pointed out. "You believe Dai's boy has what it takes Sakumo?"
The White Fang nodded seriously. "He appears a tad under developed compared to Kakashi here and even your boy Izuna, but we both saw his drive didn't we Kakashi?"
Izuna cocked an eyebrow in Kakashi's direction; silently asking for confirmation.
The silver haired three year old nodded firmly as he held up a clenched fist. "You can see the signs of his attitude toward his training."
Izuna nodded in approval. He hoped to see more of this boy in the future; to see firsthand what the kid had that was noticed by the White Fang of all people.
"Any aspirants of note Uchiha-san?"
Kaneuji turned his head to consider the gathered children that were waiting for the starting bell that would signal the opening of the Academy. "Too early to say. A number of Clan children from what I can tell. Hokage-sama's youngest son Asuma is attending. I spotted a Hyuga clan member as well as a Yamanaka earlier."
"But mostly civilian children." Sakumo pointed out. "I suppose many of the clans are holding back their children until the war is over."
"Understandable. Unless this war ends soon graduates will be deployed out into the war effort like everyone else." The Elder Uchiha nodded in agreement. "The Kurama Clan has already lost both its Clan head and heir within this war. From what I have heard they have only just managed to resolve the succession issues but the other clans have already taken note of what happened and have little desire to see such conflict enter their own homes."
It was a sad state of affairs that this was a truth to be found within Konoha. While not as long a war as the First Shinobi War; the fact was that this Second Shinobi War had thus far exacted a heavy cost on many of the village's more militaristic clans. The Senju were all but extinct, there was whisper of Civil War within the Hyuga Clan between the Main family and the Branch Clan and now the collapse and reorganising of the Kurama clan's leadership. The sad fact was that if the Hokage didn't do something soon, then Konoha's downfall could very well come from not a foreign power, but a domestic one instead.
"Don't you fear for our own children then?" Sakumo asked, reaching down to ruffle Kakashi's hair despite the boy's attempts to swat the hand away.
Kaneuji simply shrugged. "My own son can easily enough be inducted into the Military Police to serve here in Konoha for the duration of this war and your own son? Well I very much doubt that Sandaime-sama and the Village Elders would risk alienating the famed White Fang by putting his sole heir in harms way."
Any further discussion was put to an end when the Academy's bell chimed, signalling the early warning to the Opening Ceremony for the new students.
The Ceremony itself was simple enough. A speech given by the Academy's head instructor followed by an introduction of the faculty with everything wrapping up with Konoha's oath of dedication being recited by all in attendance. The oath itself served as a verbal vow of loyalty and consent toward any and all upcoming training and lessons that the Academy would teach to its students.
His own father as well as Kakashi's left the Academy shortly after along with all the other parents leaving Izuna, Kakashi and the other children in the care of their instructors. With the relative size of the gathered students they were divided up into two separate classes in order to manage numbers to available seating per room. From initial looks of things it seemed as though the Academy had divided up the new students according to either pre-existing Shinobi background or perhaps testing scores from Entrance Exams? This assumption came from the fact that not only was he in the same grouping as Kakashi, but he could see Sarutobi Asuma the boy that his father had pointed out earlier; whom had been most likely given some training from his father the Hokage prior to this day, as well as the remainder of the clan children that had been put into the Academy in spite of the current mood throughout the Village's clans. Of the civilians amongst the new students there were perhaps only a mere handful within this class grouping.
Izuna glanced over to where Kakashi was seated before looking down to his own hands, noting that they had clenched tightly and were shaking ever so slightly. He couldn't help but allow a small smile to find its way to his face as his pulse thrummed with the excitement that filled him.
He was here! The Academy started it all. His journey to become a Shinobi. To protect his Clan and his Village. To be a fan, a Gunbai.
An Uchiha!
XxxX
Words could not express the disappointment that he felt at this moment.
Several weeks of academic classes within the Academy's main building; having laws and rhetoric pounded into their heads. The Shinobi Rules that Konoha Shinobi adhered to in order to function as the effective force they were and to ensure the success of the mission regardless of personal feelings. History, while important as a whole to remember and honor those who came before and the efforts they went to to secure the present future was unfortunately wasted on Izuna. The Uchiha clan took pride in remembering not only their own history, but the history of those around them.
It was tiresome, boring work sitting at a desk and listening to the monotonous droning of the Academy instructor even if he did still pay attention enough to take notes. The only saving grace from this mind numbing, ultimately pointless desk work was the training he still made time for outside of the Academy. Half the time he was able to train with Kakashi at Training Ground '03'; running through the obstacle course in their perpetual contest to determine the better. The other half of the time was spent on their own and with their family training; Kakashi receiving personal instruction from his Father in the use of their clan's Kenjutsu style while Izuna trained with his own Father in Uchiha methodology to combat.
When it came time for some proper practical work at the Academy, for their class to do their first lesson in Taijutsu, Izuna had blushed heavily when he had immediately perked up and grinned to the amusement of the Instructor. He was eager to see where he stood when compared to the rest of his classmates. Had he trained enough to compare to the others?
The Instructor had paired everyone off and set up a round of opening spars. To allow for the supervising instructors to observe each spar and determine the base level of training, physical capabilities and limitations of each student in order to better train them and teach each student the base Academy Taijutsu forms.
Izuna had been paired against some boy he didn't really know the name of. Most likely a Nara given the narrowed eyes that was more often than not found in that clan of Shadow users. It had forced Izuna to expect some forethought from his sparring partner. Perhaps the other boy would try to lure him in close with obvious openings in order to exploit the following anticipated attacks and win through counter-attacking.
Instead the boy had charged at him; loudly huffing like he was a charging bull before leading with a punch that was so telegraphed Izuna could have seen it coming in his sleep.
He simply side stepped the punch before grabbing the boy in a grapple and with a simple twist and pull, fractured the other boy's arm and pulled it clean out of the shoulder socket.
It was so disappointing. He remembered when Kakashi had been able to dislocate his own arm during one of their sparring matches. It had hurt sure, but Izuna couldn't bare the pain of giving in to the younger boy and so had fought through it and continued to fight Kakashi with his only his left arm and his legs. While in the end Kakashi had still won that spar between the two, Izuna had made the other boy pay for it through a broken nose and considerable bruising to the ribs.
But this, child, had simply fallen to the ground; screaming in pain and sobbing as if Izuna had actually ripped the limb clean off instead of simply dislocating and fracturing it.
"Stop! Don't move Uchiha!"
Izuna frowned as he looked to the side to see the supervising Instructor rushing over to the collapsed student. Waving over the in site medic to collect the injured boy so that he could receive medical aid for the damage done to his right arm, the Chunnin turned to look at a stoic and honestly confused Uchiha with a stern expression.
"Explain yourself! There was no need for such damage on your classmate." The man ordered.
Izuna frowned further, looking up to the man and tilting his head to the side in confusion. "This was a combat spar Sensei. The moment he stood against me as my sparring partner he ceased to be my classmate and became my opponent. The terms of combat for this spar was for one to defeat the other. I did so in as quick a manner as possible. It was my opponents fault for rushing at me without first considering my response."
"First of all, your classmate; Nara Shinji is four years old and as this is a base level lesson he has not yet been trained in how to fight, secondly I would like to know where you learned such a manoeuvre in the first place."
"I would like to point out that I am also four years old Sensei." Izuna argued. "And I learned from my father. And regarding my opponent not knowing how to fight, well thanks to me he now knows not to charge an enemy and punch so slowly and blindly like that again. Your welcome."
The Chunnin-sensei grit his teeth in frustration. Dealing with fresh students was always trying. Kids around this age were always so blunt and self assured. But this was far above the norm; he could see it in the Uchiha boy's eyes; Uchiha Izuna still did not see anything wrong with how he had acted in this spar.
"Tell me; what was your thinking when you dislocated your classmate's arm like that?"
Izuna shrugged. "The fact that he lead with a punch using his right arm suggests that it is his dominant hand. By dislocating the arm I have prevented him from being able to attack with his hands at full strength. Also in a more, involved battle it would also limit his ability to utilise Ninjutsu. Had my opponent been able to continue, my next move would have been to limit his mobility by targeting a leg. Perhaps breaking his knee."
The older man gaped silently for a moment; staring down at this child that was clearly not like the others of his year. Over the course of his Shinobi career he hadn't yet had the opportunity to work with an Uchiha all that much and while he had heard talk about what they were like; this was far beyond what he expected from their children.
"Go sit down. You and I will talk more about this when the day is over. Understood?"
Izuna nodded easily enough. He didn't really care at all about any sense of consequence that could and seemed like would arise from this, ordeal. He had followed the rules of engagement and behaved within the accepted ground of camaraderie in how he had treated his sparring partner by not attempting to continue the fight after his opponent had hit the ground nor had he made any attempt for a more debilitating attack.
So turning around after a quick and respectful enough bow to the instructor, Izuna returned to the side of the Academy training field to seat himself under a tree. He shook his head in dissatisfaction. Even now he could see that, from the other ongoing spars, he had severely overestimated his classmates. Flailing and wild thrashing instead of controlled movements that he had been taught were essential for Taijutsu and physical combat. Wasted movements and showy yelling that served no purpose whatsoever. Where were the future Shinobi that his father had told him attended the Academy?
The Uchiha boy watched as Kakashi's name was called out for his spar. The younger boy already looked bored as he peered over to his opponent. Most likely the Hatake had witnessed his spar and how easily victory had been achieved. A quick glance at the boy who was meant to fight against Kakashi and Izuna simply shook his head. Kakashi's' opponent couldn't even make a proper fist.
'Three.' Izuna mused absently. 'I think Kakashi will break three of his sparring partner's bones before the end of his spar.'
XxxX
"So how was your day Izu-chan?"
Izuna looked up from his evening meal to his mother, swallowing his food as he looked at her gently smiling expression.
Taking a sip from his water he shrugged minutely before clearing his throat. "Kakashi and I apparently impressed the Sensei today. It seems that we are further along in our development than expected so the head instructor advanced us both forward a few years."
Momo's eyes sparkled with pride as she clapped her hands together happily. "Oh that's wonderful! I'm so proud of you Izu-chan! To think that my sweet gentle boy is such a prodigy."
on the other side of the dinner table Kaneuji coughed and slapped at his chest when he nearly breathed in his food from trying not to laugh at his wife's words.
"Everything alright Kane-koi?" The housewife asked, looking over to her husband with concern.
"It's nothing dear, I simply enjoy your cooking too much." The man replied with a smile.
While the woman gushed once more, cooing and rambling about how sweet her husband was and blessed her life had to be with such a wonderful man in her life and a darling child who was clearly a genius, Kaneuji peered over to his son and flashed his Sharingan in warning.
The message was clear to both parties in the exchange.
Do not tell your mother what you did to advance!
XxxXxxXxxX
And another Chapter bites the dust!
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