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—-

—MPGTOI—

By PaladinKaladin

Chapter Five: I realize Sasuke Uchiha needs a proper beating.

I came home that day with a sickening ache around my muscles, which was promptly healed by a very, very cold bath that I took. I groaned in discomfort as the ice-cold water attacked my body with vigor. There was something about cold baths, man. They had a different effect compared to the comfort of a hot bath—it wasn't a particularly good feeling during the bath, but afterward, you felt more energetic.

Energy which I would definitely need.

Shikaku was going to train me today.

It wasn't any normal training either. He was finally going to teach me the Clan's most infamous technique. One of the most iconic techniques in the entire show, in my opinion, even though it was woefully underrated by fans by the end of Shippuden.

The Shadow Possession Jutsu.

When I first learned I was first reincarnated as a Nara, the first thing that crossed my mind was that jutsu. Would my blood as a Nara give me the capabilities to learn that technique? Or since I wasn't truly a Nara in mind, would I maybe not be able to learn it?

There was a reason why Nara members didn't wear their kunai or shuriken ouches in typical locations. When they took possession of an enemy's shadow and reached into where their weapons were, they could bring their hand to their neck without harming themselves. It was smart but simple enough.

I went to the backyard where my father was located.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "You're early."

I shrugged. "A ninja is better early than late."

"A ninja usually comes exactly on time, neither late nor early, actually," Shikaku responded.

Who said that line? Kakashi? Or was it his father? I had no idea.

"So, the Shadow Possession Jutsu. It's not too hard to learn, believe it or not. You're a Nara, so it'll come naturally to you. That's how it's like with most bloodlines. What do you know about the jutsu?" Shikaku asked, leaning forward with a curious expression.

"Hmmm…" I hummed thoughtfully. "It's a technique in which a Nara can control someone else's shadow using an extension of their own shadow, where the length of which the shadow can elongate depends on different conditions such as the position of the sun, size of the original shadow, and more. Secondly, the possessed shadow forces the target to copy whatever the user of the jutsu does, and thus the technique can be used in various search and capture situations."

Shikaku looked flabbergasted. "What? Did you just make that all up right now?"

I laughed loudly. "Of course not. I knew you were going to ask that question to start off with, old man. I just came with a prepared answer."

"How—never mind. I really couldn't care anymore, to be honest. You and Shikamaru…seriously troublesome. Anyways, you're right. The Shadow Possession jutsu has a variety of uses which I really don't need to explain right now as you seem to already know all of them. Then I guess we get straight to the usage, eh? Or do you have any questions?"

"Where did the jutsu originate from?" I asked contemplatively.

"Hmm…that's a good question, actually. We've had it for a long time, obviously, and it's the jutsu which made the Nara clan as prominent as it is today. I believe it was first used to prevent animals from running away during hunting, though that might as well be a myth. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something an ingenious Nara created after being tasked to do so."

I nodded in understanding. That made sense. "How about an example? It would be useful to know—"

I paused as I felt my right hand rise without my own consent.

What.

I looked downwards at my shadow. Sure enough, Shikaku's shadow was elongated in a wide circle around the ground in a way that I wouldn't be able to see it coming within my vision.

"That was cool," I admitted honestly. "Yeah, I want to learn how to do that."

Shikaku released the technique with a smile. "It's going to take some time to reach this level, gaki. Are you sure you have the determination? Hell, why am I even asking? You stay awake all night reading Fuinjutsu of all things. Let me show you the handsigns."

Learning the handsigns wasn't too hard, considering it was practically only one handsign in the end. The Rat handsign was the only one needed, where you pointed some fingers up and covered them with the other hand.

Due to my Ambidextrous skill, doing handsigns was incredibly easy. Getting the hang of them was even easier at this point. I quietly thanked my system for giving me that skill in the first place. Drawing seals was also much easier due to that skill, and I could draw equally with both hands. Drawing with my left hand was still weird, but it was second-hand nature by now. No pun intended.

Doing the jutsu itself, however, was much harder.

I frowned. "Nothing is happening."

I looked down at my shadow with creased eyebrows and saw that it wasn't moving an inch.

"Yeah, it's not supposed to work on the first try, brat. Try again!" Shikaku barked.

I tried to will my chakra onto my shadow, but felt nothing but the tingle of chakra near my feet.

My senses suddenly sharpened and I wailed as I felt a splash of cold water wash over me, dousing my clothes and items with water. I looked over at Shikaku, who looked at me with a smirk.

"Everytime you don't manage to move your shadow, there will be some sort of punishment," Shikaku stated mercilessly.

"Why?!" I asked back, astounded. I felt my body already shivering in a desperate attempt to produce heat and warm up my body.

"Because that's how I was taught," Shikaku said, shrugging. "Regardless, let's continue."

—-MPGTOI—-

A week later.

I sighed.

The past week was incredibly productive, in my opinion. Compared to the previous week, I've improved a lot more. It was mostly because of Shikaku's advice that I was able to progress this much in a short period of time. The senior Jonin's advice was invaluable, and with his experience and guidance, it improved my rate greatly.

My stats weren't the greatest, but it was a good improvement regardless,

Status.

Name: Shinji Nara

Title: "Practical Shinobi"

Occupation: Academy Student

Level: LV7

Chakra: 65/65

MP: 100/100

STR: 7

VIT: 7

DEX: 6

INT: 7

Taijutsu: D+

Ninjutsu: F+

Genjutsu: N/A

Fuinjutsu: C-

Nindo—

Shinji Nara: "If winning is possible, there's simply no other option. I'll win, regardless of the pain I have to endure to do so."

I grinned at the improvement in my stats, but frowned when I saw the letter stats for the individual jutsus.

My Fuinjutsu hasn't increased in a while, though that was mostly because of two reasons. One, I wasn't focusing purely on Fuinjutsu like the previous month, and instead I was working on my Ninjutsu and Taijutsu equally, due to the interference of Shikaku Nara.

The second reason, which I was pretty sure about but had no actual confirmation, leveling up those stats got harder the further you went. It made sense, really, but it was genuinely annoying with how long it was taking. My ninjutsu was still a joke, but I could slightly agree with that seeing I only learned one jutsu so far, and that too not as efficient as it could be.

And now, I could finally see how much I improved overall.

Last time, I had fought and beaten Hinata with a crappy strategy that I was shocked even worked. Last week, I would have still lost to Hinata fifty percent of the time, and I definitely would have lost to the class's number one, Sasuke Uchiha.

And right now, that same Sasuke Uchiha was completely wrecking his opponent, a civilian from the class, in a fight. It ended too soon, and I quickly found my hands clapping after the end of the bout.

We haven't had these types of Taijutsu matches in a while (a week to be exact), meaning it would be the first test for me in a while. At this point, there was an unspoken understanding between Iruka sensei and I that I wouldn't be selected for the initial rounds. I still wasn't sure why, but I wasn't really going to complain.

In a real fight, no one would be limited by only Taijutsu. In a real fight, everything was available to the fighter.

"Today's going to be the day," Naruto grumbled to himself. "Today's going to be a good day."

I shook my head exasperatedly, already used to this by now. "Naruto…"

"By saying it everyday, I'll eventually be right," Naruto responded to the unsaid question.

"And what if you lose every time?" I asked with a humorous smile.

Naruto grinned. "Eh, I'll win soon enough. I can feel it."

Well, you're more right than you think.

Naruto would definitely get to Sasuke's level by the Chuunin Exams, and if you were to count the Kyuubi, he was definitely just as strong by the Wave mission which would come soon enough.

"And what about you? Don't you see yourself beating Sasuke?" Naruto asked back.

I crossed my arms, humming thoughtfully. "Today."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Eh?!"

I nodded.

"Today? How do you know for sure?" The blond questioned.

I smirked. "I can feel it."

Naruto shook his head. "I guess I deserved that. Well, whatever. How do you even know you'll be fighting Sasuke?"

I shrugged. "Reasons."

Iruka sensei really thought I couldn't understand what was happening when I saw his eyes continuously meet mine several times throughout the day, and the number only increased once the fights started to begin. There was something incredibly suspicious with Iruka's behavior, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"I'm sure he somehow bribed sensei to pit him against Sasuke," Shikamaru butted in, his eyes closed while he was talking.

Naruto laughed. "Hey, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru opened his eyes, before nodding towards Shikamaru's direction. "Yo."

"How do you think you'll be able to beat Sasuke, though?" Naruto asked curiously.

I smiled. "I have a few plans."

The Anti-Uchiha style was a work in progress, but it was still something. It was something I had been developing every time I saw Sasuke try to fight, and I was going to use it today to see its effectiveness. The Anti-Hyūga style was a success so far, and mainly consisted of keeping distance from the opponent, preventing them from blocking your Tenketsu, and attacking from range. My seals were incredibly important for that plan, however, and only someone who could do Fuinjutsu could apply it.

The Anti-Inuzuka style was perfected at this point. Beating Kiba wasn't very hard, and would only get harder if Kiba suddenly improved at a faster rate than me, which I definitely wouldn't let happen.

"And what exactly are those plans?"

The new voice confused me as I did in fact recognize who it was from the instant I heard it. Hinata was to the side of me, intently watching my eyes as I began to answer.

"A few techniques tailored to fighting the Uchiha, and some other tricks up my sleeve," I responded back.

"Are you sure it isn't another seal you learned randomly?" Hinata asked, a bitter tinge creeping upwards at the remembrance of her latest loss to me.

I chuckled. "No, it's not."

I noticed how Naruto was strangely quiet during the time I was conversing with Hinata. Maybe it was because he wasn't as confident around new people. The Naruto in canon was a very outspoken person, but he didn't really have many friends despite the fact initially.

"Alright, everyone! We'll start the next stage. Stage Two fights, as I've repeated several times, include the more experienced Genin who fight with no technique restrictions. Again, while that rule may stand, Genin aren't allowed to willingly use techniques which may overharm their opponent. The consequences for such actions do not need to be told. We'll start the fights now."

Iruka paused for a second before looking through his roll. "Sasuke Uchiha versus…Shinji Nara!"

The class broke into incessant murmurs as the class's strongest and the recent challenger were called for the first fight.

I smirked. "Told you so."

His mouth was agape.

"Good luck, Shinji-san," Hinata intoned simply.

Shikamaru just frowned. "Are you sure you didn't bribe Iruka sensei?"

I ignored my brother, before walking towards the center where Sasuke already was located. My heart was slightly pumping already, but I forced it down. I couldn't let my own over excitement prevent me from performing to my top potential. I looked towards the sun.

Yeah, that will do just fine.

Sasuke looked at me with something akin to a apparasing glare, if that was even possible."You've gotten better, Nara."

I nodded. "Thanks, I could say the same."

Sasuke got into a stance. "But I don't think it's enough yet."

I repeated his motion. "I guess we'll have to see."

He smirked. "Your tricks and seals won't work against me like it does against the others, you know.

I silently accepted his point. Sasuke was much smarter in terms of combat than the others, and it was pretty practical to assume he wouldn't be tricked by the same methods.

But I didn't need to use the same methods.

I made the seal of confrontation towards my opponent, who did the same.

I looked towards Iruka sensei, who promptly checked his watch before looking up a second later. "Hajime!"

I stood my ground even as Sasuke rushed forwards.

Activate Basic Taijutsu!

[Basic Taijutsu Lvl 7 Activated!]

[MP Usage: 5 MP per minute.]

"Anti-Uchiha Style: Stage One," I whispered out.

For the first step, I had to condition Sasuke towards a specific direction. And to do that, I had to endure some physical hits first. I wasn't delusional. I knew Sasuke was a million times better than me at Taijutsu, but I had to somehow survive the initial barrage that would come so I could have a chance of winning.

Sasuke lunged downwards, going for a low kick which I dodged by evading backwards.

Alright, come over here.

I moved backwards towards a specific corner of the field in a zig-zag manner, making sure Sasuke couldn't just beeline towards me and get a KO hit which would end in an immediate loss. I threw one of my kunai cards, just trying to test what the Uchiha would do.

Sasuke Uchiha was the current number one for a good reason.

He twirled his kunai in front of his face before cutting the ninja wire that was connected to the seal with insane quickness, rendering my technique useless. It was similar to what Hinata did, but this way he could still come forward without having to waste any momentum or ruin his own rhythm.

I threw four or so explosion seals to the floor where Sasuke was running to, not hesitating to immediately activate them. The makeshift mines exploded with a bright glare of fire, but quite predictably, Sasuke had leaped high over the seals to begin with, not willing to stop his run and showing off his agility and acrobatics in the meanwhile.

With that, Stage Two of the Anti-Uchiha style was officially complete.

Now only came the final move, but I had to wait a good amount of time before I could attempt that.

Back to Taijutsu.

I couldn't run anymore. I had willingly backed myself into a corner with my own movements, since Iruka had specified that if you were to willingly go over the line of bounds during the fight it would be considered as forfeit. But if you were pushed outwards by a technique or hit, it wouldn't be considered as intentional. Iruka seemed to be trying to imitate the environment of a real fight as much as possible, even though the constant yelling of fangirls kind of dwindled the feeling down a bit.

I grunted as Sasuke's first hit landed, my hands stinging from the pain of his sandaled foot against mine. I tried to punch back with a low jab, but that was quickly parried away before I received a haymaker to my gut. I groaned in pain as I felt my head lightly spin before I kicked forwards, surprising Sasuke who had assumed I had already lost from that point onwards.

I prayed in thanks to my vitality stats which had conveniently improved before this fight. I immediately threw five explosion seals forward in an arc, preventing Sasuke from coming forwards. The explosions flared in an outwards circle, the radius four or five meters away from me. In the few seconds of the distraction that I had, I began to set up stage three of my plan.

"Anti-Uchiha Style: Stage Three!" I yelled out this time around.

The simple words of what I said were enough to make Sasuke smile for a short period of time. I realized how cringy it sounded the second I heard it out of my own mouth, but I continued regardless.

I launched two more seals to the floor, the same way that I threw the landmines initially.

This time, however, I threw another seal upwards into the sky at a certain angle.

As predicted, Sasuke leaped upwards as the landmines flared. This gave me more time to efficiently conduct my technique.

Activate!

[Passive Skill: "Basic Item Sealing" is now Lvl 5]

The seal in the air promptly unlocked, before revealing itself to the world.

"A cloth?" Naruto said confusedly, mimicking everyone else's doubts.

Shikamaru nodded with a grin. "That's right. A cloth." He seemed to already know what was happening. "I didn't know he had already learned it by now."

"Learned what?" Hinata asked, her eyes trailing the cloth which was currently in the air, shuffling and folding with the wind.

"The Nara Clan's technique. The—"

I grinned while placing my hands together. "Shadow Possession Technique!"

I've only practiced the technique for a week, but after several hours of grinding the living shit out of the jutsu, I had effectively mastered as much as someone could possibly do in this short amount of time.

But even that by itself wouldn't be enough to catch Sasuke. My range wasn't particularly good either. It wouldn't be enough.

I glanced upwards at the shadow that the cloth in the air created onto the field below it. Sasuke didn't realize it while he was moving forward, but the shadow created was enough to reach the distance between him and I currently.

I watched in silence as my shadow extended outwards in a thin line, only barely visible to the naked eye of someone running at such a fast race.

Three…two…one…

"Anti-Uchiha Style…complete," I intoned with a smirk.

Sasuke stood completely still as he tried to comprehend what was happening. "What is this?"

I laughed. "Your loss, obviously."

"But—"

I put my hand over my mouth, and in turn, Sasuke did the same thing, preventing him from saying anything further. His words came out a jumbled mess, to which I could hear Naruto howling in laughter from the crowd.

I contemplated fooling around with the Uchiha even further, but didn't have the heart to do so. I silently reached for my right pocket, where Sasuke had his kunai located, before fake grasping the material and clenching onto thin air, and placed the "kunai' onto my throat. Obviously, Sasuke did the same thing, but with an actual weapon that could kill.

I looked towards Sasuke. "Give up."

Sasuke refused to budge. I could see a line of sweat coming down his forehead.

I sighed. "I didn't want to come to this, but here goes."

I slowly edged my own hand inwards, reveling in Sasuke's growing apprehension and fear as his eyes grew wider and wider.

Sasuke immediately gave in. "I give up!"

Iruka nodded. "Winner: Shinji Nara!"

WE DID IT!

A sense of happiness and pride burst through my veins as I finally managed to beat the number one, a long-term goal of mine ever since I came into this world, to be honest. Though I have to say, it was a bit anticlimactic. I had expected far more epic moments and dialogues, but this was enough for the time being I guess. There was going to be a lot more from where that came from.

"Congratulations, Shinji!" Naruto exclaimed with a look of disbelief. "I actually didn't expect you to win."

"You and everyone else," I grumbled back with a sporty grin.

Shikamaru just lazily greeted me. "Good job."

I really couldn't expect more from the bastard.

"A well-thought out fight, Shinji-san. I would love to learn more about battle from you p-personally…" Hinata said confidently at first, before her voice slowly crept into a mumble at the end, a blush evident on her face.

Why the hell did she continuously blush at me after I won a fight? It really said some stuff about her that I did not want to

delve into.

I smiled. "For sure."

I couldn't care about the others, really. This whole fight was to impress someone else.

My system.

What did you think? I asked genuinely.

[…]

Hm?

[Bonus Quest: "Byakugan, Rinnegan, Sharingan, Sasuke's record is gone!" completed!]

[Rewards: +1 VIT, +1 STR, 1000 EXP.]

I could have melted right then and there.

Did I ever tell you how much I love you?

[The System sincerely hopes you never say that again.]

—-MPGTOI—-

Iruka POV

I trudged along the long hallway, making sure not to drop any papers as I walked. The big file I held contained some seriously important certificates and other stuff which I couldn't afford to lose. And for the fact that I didn't want to lose face in front of the Hokage.

That's right, I was meeting the Hokage.

I certainly met the man much more ever since I became a teacher, which I was ever thankful for, considering most of Konoha rarely saw the man so close up, let alone spoke with him. It was the one benefit of being the primary teacher for a prominent school right next to the Hokage's office. That and the salary, of course.

I knocked on the door two times with a flex of my knuckles, my heart beating quite quickly through my chest.

"Come in."

I entered swiftly, before immediately bowing. I immediately sensed the presence of another man in the room, and with the sheer pressure coming from his direction, I could only imagine who it was. I confirmed it with my eyes after I came back up.

Danzo Shimura.

My eyes immediately narrowed, before I opened them once more. Showing suspicion in front of such a man wouldn't bode well at all. But I couldn't really blame myself. Danzo gave off such energy.

There were other elders in the room as well, who listened intently to what I was about to say.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama, Shimura-sama, respected elders." I intoned politely.

Hiruzen smiled gently. "Good afternoon, Iruka."

Danzo remained quiet, instead preferring to observe me with an impassive face. The elders seemed to copy them.

"You've asked me to give a briefing on the Academy students, so I brought up a short summary of the promising students and the current leader in the race for that position," I said, mentioning 'that' in particular.

The Hokage nodded. "Go on."

"Ino Yamanaka, not particularly strong but definitely has potential if used properly. For now, she's not determined. Shino Aburame, a promising talent which I assume will be used properly in the future. Kiba Inuzuka, tempered but strong enough. Hinata Hyūga, she lives up to her family name. Strong, confident, and determined. Naruto Uzumaki, a bit bratty, but I can see his potential clearly. It's huge. Choji Akimichi, another student who needs more determination. Shikamaru Nara, incredibly smart, but not as battle-motivated. Sasuke Uchiha, he's as talented as the rumors say. Shi—"

I hesitated at the final name.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Shinji Nara. Enormous talent, some would say even more so than Sasu—"

"Preposterous!" One of the elders shouted angrily. "A Nara stronger than the Uchiha himself? The public won't believe such a thing!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Why would someone be so frustrated when I simply said a student had great talent? I was genuinely shocked.

But it also made a tiny bit of sense.

It was obvious from the way they talked that they intended big things for the Uchiha. The death of the Uchiha was a big, hidden secret that was more so than it appeared. It was only because of my close connections into the deeper ranks that I was able to understand that the massacre was more than a simple genocide.

They were keen on the final Uchiha. Very keen, in fact.

The rumors saying they were trying to build the Uchiha to be the future Hokage weren't far from the truth, after all.

"Silence! Do not impede on the matters of shinobi!" Hiruzen growled, sending a condescending glare towards the elders. "I trust this man's words. Please, Iruka, explain your case."

That was enough to shut them all up.

"Shinji Nara has defeated the Uchiha for the first time today," I said, stopping. I wanted to let that fact rest for a bit before continuing. Hiruzen's eyes lit with a small amount of surprise. "He's strong, trust me on this. It's not brute strength either, it's all from pure technique."

"How come I never heard of his name until now?" Hiruzen asked with a frown.

I could sympathize with the Hokage. "To be honest, I'm not sure how he improved so quickly either. One day, he began to ask me about Fuinjutsu, which I naively assumed was a passing passion. Since then, he focused all of his time into the craft. He's progressing at an unnatural pace."

"Isn't that slightly suspicious?" Another elder asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not accusing the kid, but it might be important to know from where this sudden passion came from."

"He's a kid, there's no need to go into such preemptive measures." Danzo's voice was like a fire in a dark night.

He continued. "Will I be right in assuming he's the leader for the position of Rookie of the Year?"

Iruka nodded. "Assuming he continues to improve at this rate, then yes."

"I'm sure all of the elders wanted the Uchiha to get that position, considering the new measure we're currently putting in for the Rookie of the Years, but I'm here to say that it might not be the best place for the Uchiha to be in," Danzo stated, causing confusion to spread through the crowd.

I'm pretty sure I understood what Danzo was talking about, but didn't say anything.

It wasn't a well known secret among higher Chuunin and Jonin about the new system placed around Rookie of the Years. These students completely wrecked coordination of the team in most cases. They were usually too strong compared to other teammates, and didn't allow the others to improve. It was either that or they slowed themselves down.

No, from now on, Rookie of the Years would be placed into a special team.

By themselves.

Danzo sighed. "Sasuke Uchiha needs to survive. That is our final goal—to spread the Sharingan once more. We can't do that if he dies, can we? If Sasuke Uchiha enters the tutelage of that man, I don't expect his journey to be very safe. It's best if we have another student there."

A team that would have one student serve under one Jonin sensei.

Konoha was trying to create a pure assassin, a hitman, of sorts.

"Shinji Nara can enter the position for us."

Danzo smirked terrifyingly.

"Shinji Nara will become Konoha's own devil! A revival of the Yellow Flash!"

I felt chills go down my spine as the elders began to applaud their pseudo leader.

Shinji Nara, just what kind of monster will you become?

—End—-

Yo!

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