The news of a Clan Honor spread throughout the village like wildfire. It had been several decades since the last one was called, so most people had never seen such a thing. It was exciting, like witnessing a piece of history itself be temporarily revived.
Even more exciting was the fact that it was a face-off between the village's top clans, the very two founding clans of the village and the current leading clan. So rousing was this news that one could even be fooled into believing that Konoha wasn't a village about to be embroiled in a continent-spanning war.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help himself from groaning at the situation before him. The war was almost upon them, and here the village's clans were squabbling like children! It wasn't even a small matter that could be resolved behind the scenes either, not after the announcement of a Clan Honor.
Complicating things even further was the fact that he was also party to the Clan Honor; as the patriarch of the Sarutobi clan, he was the offended party formally speaking. Having no other choice, he recused himself from the matter, temporarily handing clan authority over to someone else. As Konoha's Hokage, the village came first, and clans were secondary.
Yet, for all his devotion to the village above all else, he couldn't help but be irritated by the Uchiha boy's remarks toward his own clan.
"Will you really not apologize toward the Senju and Sarutobi clansโฆ Lord Fugaku?"
With his arms crossed and a resolute, grim expression on his face, Fugaku sat at the center of the table to Hiruzen's left.
"I am sorry Lord Hokage, but that is impossible." He shook his head, saying nothing more.
Hiruzen's eyes then moved to Fugaku's right, past Ahma Uchiha, and to her son. "Genin Hikaru?" He asked hopefully.
From the reports, the boy was not especially prideful, but he was marked as being stubborn on occasion.
"I am also sorry, Lord Hokage because I cannot do as you wish." Staring across the room to the opposite table, the boy continued. "If you wish for this to be resolved, then ask those across from me to apologize."
Yashiro Uchiha and beside him, another elite Uchiha known as Inabi, who sat to Fugaku's right, both nodded in agreement with Hikaru's words.
"How dare-!" The man representing the Senju clan cut his protest short as soon as Hiruzen raised his hand to silence the man.
Not speaking another word, the Hokage pulled at his pipe, enjoying its comfort for several seconds before exhaling the smoke. "Per the rules of a Clan Honor, those who invoke it have no obligation to apologize in the preceding negotiations. However." Hiruzen enunciated that last word quite heavily as he eyed both heads of clans to his right, and then Kimiko, the principal offended. "Those who invoke a Clan Honor can rescind it if they so wish."
"Not until our honor has been restored, either through a public apology or a duel." Saying so, the Sarutobi head stand-in glanced over at his Senju counterpart, who echoed his words.
Moving his arms off the table, Hiruzen sat back against his chair, clearly frustrated by the outcome.
"Thenโฆ All attempts at reconciliation have failed and as such there is nothing to do except settle the dispute through battle."
An aide to the Hokage filled in the official form, designating the invocation of a Clan Honor.
"Who shall be the clans' champions?" Hiruzen, not attempting to conceal the irritation in his voice.
Fugaku stood first, as was the custom. "Hikaru Uchiha, as the accused will be the Uchiha clan's champion."
"Very well." Hiruzen nodded, accepting the Uchiha clan's champion, prompting Fugaku to sit back down. Turning his head, the Hokage then awaited the answer from the other two clans.
A brief, hushed conversation occurred between the two offended clans' representatives. After some back and forth, it was the Sarutobi elder who spoke. Clearing his throat, he announced the champion for both clans.
"We designate Asuma Sarutobi as the champion for both the Senju and Sarutobi clans."
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต?! Hiruzen's pipe almost fell from his mouth. ๐ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด!
Witnessing the Hokage's shock, Hikaru found it difficult not to let amusement show on his face. After all, Asuma was rebellious in his younger years, not understanding or caring for his father's lectures and more eager to prove himself worthy of his heritage.
It took no longer than a moment for Hiruzen to compose himself. "Very wellโฆ" Taking an even bigger puff from his pipe than he had previously, the Hokage exhaled enough smoke to conceal his face from the others.
"Then, the Clan Honor will take place in one day's time at the-" Just as he was about to name the Konoha Academy as its location, Danzo, who had been sitting in silence beside him, whispered in his ear.
"Since it has already gotten to this point and everyone in the village knows of it, why not hold the duel in the arena?"
At first, Hiruzen dismissed the idea out of hand; he wanted to have it over and done with as quickly as possible. However, when he considered the idea further, the more he agreed with Danzo's reasoning.
"It would not only be good for morale, but we could also use it to sell tickets and stimulate the economy."
Danzo answered with another benefit of publicizing such an event, the further erosion of the clans' reputation. "Yes, and it would also show the people how petty the clans are, picking fights at a time like this."
๐ ๐ฆ๐ดโฆ ๐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ง ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต.
Inclining his head slightly to show his agreement with Danzo, Hiruzen cleared his throat and continued where he left off. "It will take place at the arena!"
Not long after the meeting with the Hokage, Hikaru, Fugaku, Yashiro, and Ahma all sat within the Uchiha patriarch's study.
"Your skills are good for your age. You are certainly more talented than most. However, do not become overconfident." Fugaku instructed the young boy.
Yashiro smacked the boy on the back in a friendly manner, "Do not worry, my Lord. Hikaru isn't the type to underestimate his opponent."
Watching the scene with a small smile on her lips, Ahma remained silent. If you had nothing of worth to say during such a meeting, then don't say anything at all. That was her rule of thumb.
"Be that as it may. The clan's honor is at stake, in front of thousands of spectators no less. We cannot afford to shame ourselves."
To this, Yashiro had no response other than to shiver. Having the clan's champion defeated would be bad enough, but having to formally apologize on top of that? Unthinkable!
"I will take care not to let my guard down during the duel, Lord Fugaku," Hikaru said, bowing his head slightly.
"Good." Looking between Ahma and Yashiro, Fugaku spoke once more. "I trust he is as prepared as possible, given the short time frame?"
"Yes, Lord Fugaku. I have seen that he has all he needs." Hikaru's mother answered first.
"I have also done my best to correct any flaws and help him improve over the past few days." Yashiro followed up.
Fugaku closed his eyes. "Then tomorrow, we shall see the fruit of your efforts. Tomorrow we shall see Asuma Sarutobi defeated before all of Konoha."
Thousands of voices murmured as the season's cold winds whipped around, reigning unopposed beneath the gray sky that smothered the sun.
Today was the day. The day that two of Konoha's most prestigious clans would clash in a duel not witnessed in a generation.
All eyes were on the two small genin standing across from another at the center of the arena, with a jonin standing between them.
"When either of you surrenders or are unable to continue fighting, the duel will end." A sunny young man with a head full of bright yellow hair told the two boys before him.
"Everything is permitted during this duel, except causing permanent damage or death to one another."
Seeing both genin nod in understanding, Minato Namikaze then continued. "If for any reason one of you is on the verge of death, I will instantly intervene and the one responsible will be punished accordingly. Understood?" Although the contents of his words were severe, his tone was laidback and easygoing.
Again, the two genin nodded.
"Good." Minato then turned his head toward the Hokage, who was seated high above him at the back of the arena.
Receiving the nod of assent necessary, Minato then ordered the two boys to form the Seal of Confrontation.
"No hard feelings, eh, Hikaru?" Asuma asked with a grin as he held his hand out.
Hikaru shook his head with a casual smile. "Not at all. I hope our relationship will not be strained afterward." Saying so, his hand reached Asuma's and formed the Seal of Confrontation, declaring their intent to battle one another.
"Now, take ten steps back from each other," Minato instructed.
Doing so, both genin now found themselves a safe distance away from one another.
Swinging his hand down to initiate the duel, Minato shouted. "Begin!" Then used the Body Flicker technique to move out of the arena.
๐๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข'๐ด ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ซ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ถ, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฎ๐บ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ถ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ป, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ช๐ฏโฆ A smirk rose on Hikaru's face.
Without wasting a second, the Uchiha scattered a handful of makibishi in front of him. The small caltrops were so polished that they shone beneath the gray sky.
At the same time, he threw four shuriken at Asuma with his other hand, forcing the boy to block them with his chakra blades. "Is that seriously all you have, Hikaru?" He asked, almost offended.
"Heh. Not quite. Why don't you come over here and see what else I have?" Saying so, he pulled his tanto from his back and held it before him in a challenge.
Grinning, Asuma obliged his colleague's request and leaped past the caltrops. While still in the air, he sent several slashes of chakra toward his opponent. Not wind chakra, no, he still wasn't capable of that, but he could still at least create chakra slashes.
Rather than attempting to block each slash, Hikaru instead ducked and weaved, dodging each one.
๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ'๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ด. Asuma thought as he landed before the Uchiha.
"So, you wanna duke it out, like men, huh?" Asuma asked.
"Something like thatโฆ." Hikaru grinned. "So, what do you say?"
"Hmm, that's a nice idea and allโฆ." Rubbing his chin, Asuma never let his eyes intersect with Hikaru's; he had heard of the boy's genjutsu ability. "But, I don't think I can agree to such an offer right now." With that, he dashed forward, unwilling to waste any more time.
Although he had heard of Hikaru's craftiness and keen instincts, he did not let himself worry too much about that. After all, where would that get him? The more he hesitated and worried over whether this or that was a trap or a trick, the more entangled he would get in his opponent's tricks and traps. Moreover, he would lose without even being able to fight, already suffering a total mental defeat.
Therefore, all he could do was trust in his own superior physical ability to overwhelm his enemy. Cunning enemies tended to not be strong enemies.
Swiping his hands, he sent two more slashes of chakra before using body flicker to appear to his enemy's left. Most people would go straight for the blind spot, and because of that, most knew to be especially wary and guard their backs. However, few attempted surprise attacks from the side, meaning most found themselves at a disadvantage when attacked from those directions.
๐๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต! Were the words which flashed through Hikaru's mind as he hurriedly dove toward the chakra slashes. Asuma had played it smart. He sent the two slashes more aimed at Hikaru's right, while he appeared at Hikaru's left, leaving him no escape. Or so he thought. Diving beneath the large slash of chakra, the Uchiha had not managed to fully escape the attack, as the large but thin wound on his back attested to.
"Tch." Asuma shot forward to attack his opponent while he was down.
Rolling to his knees, Hikaru jabbed his sword toward Asuma, who blocked it with one hand and was about to strike with his other before lightning shot through his body, stunning him and making him unable to move for a second.
"Oh hoh. How ingenious." Hiruzen exclaimed as he watched the fight below.
Some may find this a strange reaction from a father who had just seen his son get struck by lightning, but above all else, Hiruzen was a man who loved witnessing and learning new things. This very character attribute of his had given him the title of "Professor" after the Hokage mastered all jutsu in Konoha.
"Indeed, placing a transformation jutsu onto a Lightning Barrel and using it to stun his opponent during a clash of weaponsโฆ How cunningโฆ" Danzo's dark eye glittered as he observed the fight.
Initially, he had simply orchestrated the whole affair in order to cause friction between the Uchiha clan and village. Yet, now he found himself ever so slightly intrigued by the Uchiha boy currently fighting.
Unwilling to let the opportunity pass him by, Hikaru immediately jumped backward, pulled a scroll from his pouch, and summoned forth its contents. A colossal wave suddenly roared free, rushing out from the scroll and straight toward Asuma, who had only just recovered.
Just as the wave crashed into the boy and began carrying him away, Hikaru hurled a great fireball at it, causing an explosion of water and steam. The boy first caught in the wave was sent flying and slammed into the ground while steam continued to cover the area.
This was one of Hikaru's favorite tactics, combining two elements together, one created by his chakra and another by nature. It had many uses, but the only one he cared for right now was its cloaking effect. Since he had no affinity with Water Nature, he could not create a concealing mist, but he could still improvise.
Although his eyes were as blind as anyone else's under such a heavy cloud of steam, his senses were still much keener than most people's.
Fugaku's eyes widened by the slightest margin, which for him meant he was stunned.
"To think, that he would not only make tactical use of a mundane item like a Lightning Barrel, but also create his own combination jutsu, using external resources to make up for his natural lackโฆ To think that they would be so impressiveโฆ." He mumbled to himself.
Fugaku Uchiha was a true genius, much more powerful than almost anyone his age and faster to develop too. So while his tactical mind was still sharp, he had never had to develop it to such an extent, for he did not lack power. Only those so limited as Hikaru can be so ingenious by necessity.
"I told you, Lord Fugaku, the boy is good," Yashiro said from his side, both satisfied and a little shocked himself, despite already having a high estimation of Hikaru's ability.
Ahma merely sat in silence, an almost imperceptible smirk on her face. After all, she had been the one to procure such items for her beloved son at his request.
"Hmm." Was the only response Fugaku gave. He wanted to see what would happen next. Activating his sharingan, he easily pierced the veil of steam, seeing where both genin were despite the obstruction.
Gasping for air, Asuma was a complete mess. First, he had been shocked by lightning, making his hair stand out on end; then, he had been struck by a wave that had appeared out of nowhere!
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he rose to his feet, dripping wet, as he peered around him. ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต! ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ!
Not liking his current condition, he picked a random direction and began sprinting, intending to escape the cloud. Yet, no matter how far he ran, he never managed to escape it. Even as he bumped up against the arena wall, his vision was still consumed by steam.
๐๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ฆโฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ! He thought that perhaps he had just been unlucky and ran in the one direction where the cloud extended all the way, so he picked another direction and ran until he reached the arena wall again.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต?! Then it finally hit him. He was in a genjutsu. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ?! However, when he thought about it, there were three circumstances in which he could have been taken under a genjutsu. When he was struck by lightning. When he was hit by the wave. When he was in the steam cloud. In all of those cases, his enemy could have cast a genjutsu onto him.
Thankfully, his education included the means of dispelling a genjutsu. Forming the hand signs, he quickly dispersed the illusion. Finding himself surrounded by over a hundred exact copies of his opponent.
๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ญ๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ?
Asuma Sarutobi was no quitter, but he did know when to accept defeat when appropriate. Rather than embarrass himself further, he opened his mouth to declare his surrender before another wave appeared, heading straight toward him, forcing him to leap into the air, where he was met with a punch strong enough to crack his ribs. Sent flying once more, he slammed into the ground for the second time in that fight.
Sprawled out on the ground, Asuma glowered up at the boy who dropped down in front of him.
"What?" Hikaru asked with a cheery voice. "Don't tell me you have hard feelings now, after what you said earlier?"
Asuma's face lost all of its anger. He just slumped his body, frustration and embarrassment bubbling up within him. He had made a fool of himself. He knew Hikaru as an academy student, and the boy had been nothing special, so when he was told of the Clan Honor, he thought there was no better chance to make a name for himself, to show off his prowess before the entire village. To show his father how far he had come.
Even against the warnings of his elders, he still underestimated the Uchiha far too much. He knew he was physically superior, and that still rang true, even today, but none of that mattered when he was so thoroughly outclassed tactically. He just needed to prove himself, but where did that get him? Face down in the dirt in shame.
Ugly feelings began feasting away at him from the inside, and twice as many thoughts swirled around in his head.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and touched Asuma's arm.
"Huh?" The Sarutobi asked in surprise, confused as to why Hikaru would continue the fight when he was clearly defeated.
Yet, Hikaru wasn't continuing the fight; he was helping Asuma to his feet.
"You fought well. You made all the right tactical decisions. It was just your over-reliance on taijutsu that limited your ability to do anything." Saying so, Hikaru offered a small smile as he offered his hand out.
"I, uh. Thanks." Overcoming his initial awkwardness at being helped up and praised by the boy who had just humiliated him, Asuma extended his own hand, forming the Seal of Reconciliation with Hikaru. With this, they declared that there were no hard feelings, for real.
Hikaru's treatment of his opponent was purely calculated. He would not only prevent any future grudge with the boy but also present himself as a mature, good-natured person to those watching. His attack earlier when Asuma had attempted to surrender? Well, he couldn't afford to let his guard down; he had to ensure Asuma had been defeated first and foremost. He had promised Fugaku, after all.
With their fight concluded and Hikaru clearly the victor, the duel was officially over. All those who had been at the previous Clan Honor meeting assembled in the middle of the arena.
"I trust everyone is satisfied with the results of the Clan Honor?" Hiruzen asked, not expecting any words other than agreement.
The Sarutobi representative looked like he had just swallowed a bucket of nails. "Y-yes, Lord Hokage. Clan Sarutobi rescinds its claim of offense."
Following the Sarutobi elder's response, the Senju representative vocalized similar words.
Fugaku then spoke for the Uchiha clan, "The Uchiha clan is satisfied, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen nodded his head, pleased. "Then, I formally declare this matter concluded."
All those gathered prepared to leave.
"Wait!" An unexpected voice interrupted.
Turning back around, Hiruzen curiously peered at the young boy. "Do you have something else to say, Hikaru?"
"Yesโฆ" Hikaru's serious expression concealed his inner glee. "I wish to invoke my right of Clan Honor!"