Chapter Ten: Training Begins
Tenten didn't know how long she just kneeled there crying.
At some point, it had begun to rain, and she tried to pick herself up. As she did, Itachi Uchiha entered like a shadow. Tenten stood and drew a kunai as Lee and Neji stood at the ready.
"...So, it would appear you have had the misfortune to meet one of your heroes," said Itachi. "Was she as you expected?"
Tenten said nothing.
"It does not matter," said Itachi, drawing out the bells. The strings were showing some wear. "Follow me, and I shall give you another chance to get these bells."
And he departed.
Neji and Lee waited, and eventually, Neji put a hand to her shoulder. "Tenten, we must go. There is nothing else to be gained here."
Tenten nodded and stood up. "...Right."
The three of them followed Itachi's genjutsu along the road. As they did, they came to where he was standing. Itachi was looking up at a great standing stone above them. It looked to be one of the shrines. Then he glanced back. "So, you've come.
"I'm pleased that you are able to function despite your grief. To be able to press on in defeat is a strength in itself. But your feelings are misplaced. It was inevitable that Lady Tsunade should disappoint you."
"Shut up!" said Tenten.
"In the grand scheme of things, every one of us is human," said Itachi. "However grand a legacy heroes might have, they are fallible people. And some people fall from lofty heights indeed.
"You never admired Lady Tsunade, for you never truly knew her.
"What you admired was her reputation and what that meant to you. You desired to become her, and so when she fell short of your lofty standards, it was a blow to you."
"Why are you here, sensei?" asked Neji.
"I can teach several lessons at once," said Itachi. "And I wanted you to grasp the knife's edge that all great men rest on.
"However powerful and virtuous a ninja may become, they can still fall. All it takes are a few uncorrected errors and some bad habits. Those bad habits become vices, and those vices consume one."
"SHUT UP!" snapped Tenten, and then she hurled her kunai.
However, she aimed for the strings on the bells, and Itachi was a little off in moving away. Even as he did, Neji and Lee came at him from both sides. However, Itachi shifted in midair and deflected bother their attacks. Tenten hurled more kunai before rolling forward to try and sweep his legs out from under him.
This time she narrowly missed them and said Neji and Lee strike at once.
"Your attack is unexpectedly aggressive. And your taijutsu is good for one of your level," said Itachi, maneuvering away. "And the other two also jumped to attack me at once. Impressive.
"However, one should know that numbers do not always equal power."
And then Itachi got faster.
A lot faster.
Their blows that were nearing him before now hit nothing but air. Neji drew out his sword for added reach as Tenten hurled her kunai. The kunai went over Itachi's head, even as Neji's sword hand was caught.
A spinning kick from Lee was likewise blocked.
"It is possible for an enemy to be so far beyond you that you cannot even compete with them," said Itachi.
"Shut up and fight!" said Tenten, leaping forward with a kunai.
Itachi spun away and made hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireballs Jutsu!"
A wave of flame poured from his mouth, and they leaped away as the blast shot past them. The heat of it on Tenten's face was burning, and she rolled away. It then exploded against the ground in a field. All of the grass was then reduced to ashes.
"You're angry," said Itachi. "All of you are.
"But not at me.
"Even so, you must use your anger. Channel it. Only your hatred can get these bells from me."
And then he moved.
Tenten suddenly felt herself being pulled down into the ground by many tendrils. The others were suffering a similar fate as well. "What..."
"All too easy," said Itachi. "Perhaps you are not advancing as quickly as I had thought."
"Genjutsu release!" said Tenten. She summoned her chakra and let it pulse outward. As she did, she saw the illusion fragment and break.
The genjutsu broke, and she, Neji, and Lee rushed at Itachi, who leaped away. Suddenly, he was behind them again. "Then again, perhaps you are meeting my expectations after all.
"However, you would be wise not to underestimate a wielder of genjutsu. Just because you can cancel them doesn't mean you will be able to do so.
"For instance."
He raised a finger as Neji came at him with his sword, slashing at the bells. However, Itachi motioned, and Neji fell forward with a cry of pain. It was as if he'd been struck. A moment later, Tenten turned to see a box coming toward her. Ducking out of the way, she saw it fly toward Itachi and vanish. Lee fell a moment later to nothing.
Tenten was then punched in the stomach by Itachi. Struggling up, she tried to counterattack as Neji and Lee came at him. However, more such objects came at them, and she had to avoid them and Itachi. She knew they weren't real, but it hurt and threw her off her game when they hit her.
"A minor genjutsu that simulates the impact of hard objects," said Itachi. "Totally harmless, and yet it renders your defense untenable."
"Damn you," said Tenten. "Genjutsu-"
Itachi caught her by the hand, and judo threw her into Neji, who was doing the same thing. Then landed face to face on the ground, and Tenten realized how close they were. Quickly she got off before she confused the adrenaline for a different kind of feeling.
"Do you expect me to stand still while you break my genjutsu?" asked Itachi. "You do have odd ideas of combat.
"I recommend having a comrade defend you while initiating such jutsu."
"Lee, us!" said Tenten, as she and Neji.
"Right!" said Lee. "I will not allow any hallucinations to interfere with my defense of my comrades!" And then he punched Tenten in the face, and she was sent flying back. Managing to make the landing, she saw Lee and Neji fighting one another in hand to hand.
Then she realized she wasn't being hit by boxes anymore. Had she been knocked out of it when Itachi threw her? "Lee! Stop, you're attacking us!"
Lee halted before Neji struck him in the chest with an open palm. As he did, Lee shuddered and fell to his knee. "Tenten..."
"I see," said Itachi. "You used your control of spiritual pressure to initiate a chakra surge in Lee's systems. By doing so, you cut out the need for hand signs."
"That was a dirty trick," said Lee.
"There is no such thing as a good technique or an evil one," said Itachi. "Good and evil are simply words we use to describe the context of a given action."
He'd probably put another genjutsu on them just now, hadn't he?
"Genjutsu release!" said Neji and Tenten at once.
The Itachi before them vanished to reveal another one a little to the left. Neji surged at him with them. Tenten and Lee leaped to either side before Itachi kicked him to one side. Turning around, Tenten and Lee rushed together, and he made hand signs.
"Earth style: Mudwall jutsu," said Itachi.
A large wall of earth rose up between them. Quickly they darted around either side of it. But as Tenten rounded the wall, Itachi was gone. He'd caught Lee while he was coming around one side and threw him to one side. Tenten rushed to his aid.
"A word of advice," said Itachi. "He who controls the flow of combat is far more likely to gain victory. My mudwall complicated your flanking maneuver and allowed me to isolate one of you.
"If you had adapted your plan and gone around one side together, you might not be so easily defeated."
And then Neji was behind Itachi. His sword slashed at the bell strings and slashed through both. However, even as he did, Itachi moved his hand and caught both before he could grasp them. A moment later, Itachi allowed Neji's own momentum to carry him forward to land hard on the ground.
"I see," said Itachi. "So, you broke the first genjutsu I put on you, then feigned unconsciousness to take me off guard. Such tactics are admirable. However..."
Neji screamed suddenly, his arm moving back. "My arm! Sensei, you're... you're breaking my arm! Let go!"
Tenten ran to him and began to use her technique. "Neji, Neji, you're just hallucinating! Genjutsu release!" Once again, she did it.
Neji rolled over, his arms spasming with pain.
"Interesting, is it not?" asked Itachi. "How an injury that is wholly imaginary can have such consequences? He has not been physically wounded in any way. And yet, he will not be able to fight for some time.
"An enemy would not wait for you to recover, Neji. If I were fighting to kill, you would be dead."
Lee dragged himself to them, and Tenten knew there was one technique she hadn't tried yet. Drawing out her kunai, she held them like she'd seen him do before. "Try this!"
Hurling the kunai, she hurled another to sent them flowing toward Itachi in a wave. When he moved, they'd strike-
Itachi snatched each kunai out of the hair with ease and threw each one into the ground. "Hmm, you attempted to use my own technique on me. However, it was carelessly timed. Such an attack could hurt friend as well as foe."
"Leave us alone!" said Lee.
"I'm afraid that is no longer possible," said Itachi. "The three of you have proven yourselves capable of advancing to the next level. As such, from now on, I will no longer be waiting for you to come to me.
"I will be shadowing you and striking at random moments.
"You need not fear for your lives or any permenant injury. However, I do not intend to be gentle."
"Go to hell, Itachi!" said Tenten, who'd had enough of them. "I forfeit! We all forfeit, and we're going back to the Leaf!"
"And since when were you under the impression forfeiting was that simple?" asked Itachi. "You will pass when you get these bells. You will fail when you return to the Leaf Village, or I declare that you have failed my test. If you wish to forfeit, you may feel free to make for the Leaf Village. However, the test will continue until you pass into it.
"Out of courtesy, I will give you three hours head start.
"Consider your options carefully."
And then he was gone.
Tenten realized they were far from home and being shadowed by a psychopath. Why couldn't they have been trained by Guy-sensei? Quickly, she recovered her kunai. "Neji, Lee, we've got to get the hell out of here! Come on!"
"It's no use. We'll never make it to the Leaf in three hours. We're days away," said Neji. "We have to make a plan."
"Well, make a plan while we walk then!" said Tenten.
"This is terrible. Our sensei is completely psychotic and is now hunting us," said Lee. "What do we do?"
Tenten shook her head. "I... I don't know."
"We have three options," said Neji. "First, we can take a break for the Leaf Village and try to fend off Itachi until then. Second, we can locate Tsunade and beg for her protection. She might be willing to protect us if she is not still angry. Third...
"We kill Itachi Uchiha."
"Kill..." Tenten paused. "Neji, are you serious?"
"It is an option," said Neji. "I don't think that anyone could blame us in this situation. We're already well past standard procedure, and we have no guidance."
"I do not think defeating Itachi is practical, Neji," said Rock Lee.
"I'm not going to Lady Tsunade, even if we could find her," said Tenten.
"Then we have to get off this path," said Neji. "Itachi will find us for sure on this path; in the forest, we could avoid him for a while. Or, more likely, he may allow us to go longer without being attacked."
"What do you mean?" asked Rock Lee.
"He's not trying to kill us, Lee," said Neji. "Itachi is trying to force us to become stronger by hunting us. I... I believe that this is a sort of game. But he is not playing against us; rather, we are playing in situations he creates. He is presenting us with challenges to overcome.
"I... I do not think he will allow us to die if we truly get in over our heads. But... we know well that Itachi does not have to kill us to hurt us.
"Come on, into the forests."
And Neji became the leader for a time. He led them by several different paths, covering their tracks. He'd taught them earlier to leave no trace, and he'd done a pretty good job of it. Even so, Tenten didn't like this.
"Neji, you're pretty good at woodcraft, right?" asked Tenten.
"I have some limited skill in it, yes," said Neji. ""Enough to know what is safe to eat and what is not.
"Genjutsu release."
"What are you doing?" asked Lee.
"Itachi could have put us under a genjutsu before he sent us on our way," said Neji. "If so, we could be being led on a path of his choosing."
"Yeah, but... even if he did, do you really think we could break it?" asked Tenten. "Neji, the genjutsu that we've broken are easy. He deliberately let us break those for practice.
"If he wants us to go somewhere, no matter what direction we pick, he'll make sure we get there."
"...What if we split up?" asked Tenten.
"What?" asked Rock Lee.
"If all three of us split up and go in separate directions, he can only follow one of us," said Tenten. "Then we can try to get back to the Leaf separately. With luck, the two of us will get back to the Hokage and tell him what is going on. He can then cancel this mission. And anyway, we pass or fail as a team.
"If even one of us gets there, we all fail."
"Traveling alone is dangerous, but..." Neji paused. "Alright, yes, we'll do that. At the very least, it should tell us if we are under his genjutsu. If we do end up inexplicably running back into one another, we'll know for certain."
"Right," said Tenten. "Alright, um... we'll stand back to back. Then, on the count of three, we sprint as far as we can in the opposite directions.
"Good luck, you guys."
All of them stood back to back, facing outward.
"To you as well, Tenten," said Neji. "Let's go. I sincerely hope to not see either of you again until we're in the Leaf."
"Now!" said Tenten, and she sprang forward, not looking back.
As she ran, however, a thought occurred. "Wait a minute, how do I know I'm not still under a genjutsu? For all I know, I'm still with Neji and Lee, and Itachi is only letting me think I separated from them.
"Well, I guess he wouldn't gain anything by that.
"But how can I even know anything about what Itachi really wants anyway?"
On Tenten ran, but she began to notice inconsistencies in the forest. It seemed to be changing in erratic ways, and she found herself heading uphill. But they hadn't been anywhere near hills when they started.
"Oh no," said Tenten.
She came out of a clearing to see Neji and Lee converging from other points. And in that clearing at the center stood Itachi Uchiha. "That was very nicely done.
"You utilized what you knew about my objectives to determine an ironclad way to know the truth. Unfortunately for you, your worst fears were wholly correct."
"You bastard..." said Neji. "Stop toying with us!"
"I am not," said Itachi. "I respect your efforts to win in a difficult situation. However, since you desire a greater challenge, I shall comply.
"We're going to do tree walking exercises."
"Why the hell should we do anything you say?! You're a psychopathic maniac!" said Tenten.
"Because you want to escape me," said Itachi. "The exercise I plan to teach you will help you with your chakra control. And that will make you more effective warriors in every possible way. It will also make you that much closer to breaking my genjutsu.
"Of course, if you wish, you can flee from here, and I will not stop you.
"But you will be giving up a valuable chance to increase your power. I guarantee I will not use any genjutsu on you until this exercise is complete."
They halted.
"...You give your word?" asked Rock Lee.
"Of course," said Itachi. "Would I lie?"
"Absolutely," said Tenten.
"Yes," said Neji.
"I'm with them," said Rock Lee.
"Ah... I can see trust-building will be a problem," said Itachi.
Itachi led them away to a series of trees. There he halted. "Now, what I'm about to do is a common technique. One taught after a genin has been working for about a month. You should be proud to have qualified for it so quickly. Using your chakra, you attach yourself to the tree and walk up to it.
"It requires precise chakra control and a consistent flow. Too much, and you will launch yourself off. Too little, and you will fall off." Then Itachi walked the tree upward and left a mark near the top. From there, he dropped down. "Now, let us begin. I want you three to reach this mark."
They all tried.
Lee had a fairly easy time of it. He'd had to work overtime to use chakra as it was, so his control was excellent. Tenten, meanwhile, tried repeatedly. At the same time, Neji got it in about ten tries.
"How did you do that?" asked Tenten.
"I'm a Hyuga," said Neji. "I have been doing this kind of exercise my entire life. It is my clan's entire specialty."
"Hmm, Neji, you appear to have gotten to the mark early," said Itachi. "Very well." Then Itachi surged halfway up the tree and made another mark, much higher. "Try to get up to here. The longer this exercise continues, the longer you no longer have to worry about me being a threat."
Neji had more difficulty here. As it turned out, running ten feet up a tree was very different from running twenty. And every time he made a new milestone, Itachi would just give him a higher one. When Neji finished the tree, Itachi created a mud wall that was half as tall as the trees. He made Neji climb that instead.
As it turned out, the mud had a different level of hardness. So Neji ended up falling down several times because he used too much chakra. Pieces of it tended to flake off while he climbed it, so he was constantly having to be wary.
During this time, Tenten and Lee worked tirelessly to try and catch up with Neji. Not that it did them much good. Lee managed to make the ten-foot mark and move on to twenty, but Tenten was left in the dust. As she tried again and again to do the bare minimum, Tenten had a mental image come to her.
An image of a different Tenten. One that got left behind by her teammates before her teammates were left behind in turn. A girl who spent her entire life working to be the best and didn't even make it to higher tiers. She never achieved what she wanted and lost what she had. An image of herself settling to sell weapons in a bad economy. Everyone she knew would go on to become important and successful.
She had a mental image of becoming part of a fanclub for some super talented prodigy. Someone like Naruto who had been born with the abilities and powers better men spent their lifetimes trying to build. Of being a sort of trophy friend, who he didn't really know, brought in to ride his coattails while her got to be the hero. Neji would die an abrupt and pathetic end, killed without ceremony or accomplishment. Probably defending the same slime that ruined his life in the first place. No doubt someone would make a speech about how his sacrifice inspired them. Then Naruto would go on to become friends with his murderer. And as for Lee, Lee would fail. He'd never be able to do ninjutsu or genjutsu, and his taijutsu would never be enough. Chances were some arrogant Uchiha would copy his talents and that would be the end. In the end, the Hyuga would be just as sick and evil as ever. The world would be just as sick and evil as ever, just with a nice facade.
It was like painting a rotten house. It didn't matter what you did on the outside. It was still rotten to the core.
It was a wholly irrational feeling, but Tenten began to feel as if the world she imagined was real, perhaps more real than her reality now. It was like she'd experienced all of this once before and was reliving her life. Feeling that way about the other Tenten made her angry. Angry enough to get moving and get a surge of strength.
No.
Not this time. Not in this world. This world was real, not the other.
Rage filled her, and that got her a little higher. But not much. And she found her rage wasn't enough. It couldn't motivate her, only keep her going.
"Good work Lee," said Itachi. "You seem to have gotten the hang of this quickly. Tenten, you don't seem focused. I'd hate to have to discipline you for slacking off."
Fear came to Tenten. The prospect of Itachi enforcing discipline mixed with her anger to bolt her to action. She realized that she hadn't been doing quite as much as she thought she had. Tenten surged up the tree as quickly as she could, getting higher and higher. Eventually, she made it to the bare minimum.
"Done..." said Tenten, exhausted.
"Good," said Itachi. "Do it again until you get higher."
Tenten did that and began to catch up on Lee. After she made the first hurdle, it seemed to get a little easier. At the same time, Neji was slowing down. The mudwall kept breaking under his feet or flaking off. He was being forced to be much more careful with his movements.
Tenten made it higher.
"Good work," said Itachi when she got back down. "Do it again."
They went at this until the moon was high in the sky and the stars were out. Eventually, they really could do no more. Their chakra was exhausted. Their bodies were spent. Itachi, on the other hand, was roasting marshmallows on a fire.
"Hmm, that's good work, all of you," said Itachi, smiling. "We'll stop for the day and pick things up tomorrow. And don't worry, the truce is still on."
Silence.
"Would any of you like some S'mores?" asked Itachi after a moment.
And so their training began.