Chapter 1-38
"Is this the usual venue for such a simple combat evaluation?" I asked Shikaku Nara as we made our way through the catacombs of the Konoha arena.
"No, as there are usually no combat evaluations like this," he answered with a lazy shrug, which was only slightly hindered by his hands remaining in his pockets. "Such evaluations generally are not necessary as they are continuously done by your respective superior, with your mission record being a factor as well."
"However, your case is special for several reasons," his gaze slid over to me, and yet again, I felt like a puzzle, as if I was a passing curiosity to him.
"You have shown significant skill in a number of fields at a very young age; your last supervision is almost three years in the past; we only have your reports regarding frankly impressive feats to gauge your current skill level, and," his gaze slowly panned back to the hallway in front of us and the stairs leading down to the arena floor. "Hokage-sama wished for an audience."
"Have they started yet?" Naruto whispered loudly, voice filled in equal parts with excitement and the unshakeable dread of getting caught red-handed.
"Shut up and let her concentrate," Kiba hissed back.
"Byakugan!"
"What do you see, Hinata?" Kiba gently asked his female teammate as the telltale signs of her do-jutsu became visible.
"Your friend just stepped into the arena, Kiba-kun," Hinata whispered, the focus helping her with ignoring all the people around her, "Kurenai-sensei and the rest are in the stands. Hokage-sama is also there!" The last part came out as a squeak.
"Guys, come on let's go, Kakashi-sensei told us to work on our team exercises," a female voice pleaded from the side-lines, the thought of spying on her village leader while they were given clear instructions from their respective senseis not sitting well with her.
"Ah, but Sakura-chan, it's what we are doing." Naruto countered enthusiastically, "we are pooling our resources for surveillance and to gather information on a person of interest," Naruto finished immensely pleased with his reasoning.
"Sounds good to me," a miniature copy of the current Jonin commander drawled from a sunny patch of grass further back.
That's a new experience for sure.
The arena was almost completely deserted. The notable exceptions were the Third and his most prominent Jonins sitting idly in the front row, along with Inoichi Yamanaka lounging further back, who it seemed was about to be joined by the Nara patriarch.
I reckon he was here to add possible observations to my psych profile.
My gaze involuntarily focused on the elder Sarutobi as he stood up and made his way to the railing. Expecting some kind of speech or even to be the focus of his attention, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as his gaze wandered to the Senseis of the latest Genin generation lounging a few paces away, their demeanor so far varying between curious, bored, and expectant.
Kurenai and Gai were firmly in the curious and expectant category, while Kakashi and Asuma made up the slightly bored camp. Although, in Asuma's case, this was slowly changing as it was becoming increasingly obvious that his father's gaze was resting on him.
"Asuma, would you mind stepping into the ring with Chunin Ito," the tone made it absolutely clear that the request was an order. Said tone was probably also the reason why the Third's son didn't just shrug and instead simply did as he was told without so much a hint of reluctance.
Whatever this was or was going to be, I didn't care, because already I felt a familiar haze of combat readiness descend on me like a blanket.
I eyed the bear of a man as he made his way to the center of the arena in a single giant leap and a handful of relaxed steps.
"Daiki Ito," the Third began, and my calculating gaze snapped back to him, "show me what you can do."
I nodded, although I wasn't sure if I did it for his sake or mine.
Stood some 40 feet apart I shifted and finally faced my opponent fully.
On the surface, we painted a very similar picture with our hands in our pockets and the slight slouch, but that was just that. The surface.
Asuma Sarutobi was confident, calm, and relaxed. His chakra was an open book for me, incapable of deceiving me.
I, however, was laser-focused, Hokage-sama's words might have sounded innocent, but to my ears, it was an order to go all out.
In my mind's eye pictures of Raiga, Zabuza, Ao and Unmo superimposed themselves over my current opponent.
The seconds ticked by, and it was clear that the younger Sarutobi was confident enough to cede the initiative.
It was going to be his first mistake.
I met his bored expression with an intense, unblinking, and unwavering stare of my own and hoped it was enough to mask the one-handed seal in my right pocket.
With our gazes still locked together, I could tell he seemed unimpressed by the mist that shimmered into existence all around us, which was understandable given that, unbeknownst to him, I made absolutely sure to keep it from rising above hip height.
I wanted him to see the small empty smile, which was slowly growing on my face.
I could sense confusion, I could sense hints of wariness in his chakra, and finally, there was a realization, which was broadcasted by the minute widening of his eyes and...
"Kai!"
'Wrong!'
"What's he doing, what's he doing?" Naruto asked unable to contain himself at the chance to see what his rival could truly do.
"They are just standing there," Hinata continued to narrate the little bit she was seeing, sounding apologetic and confused.
"He must be pla..."
"Wait," Hinata perked up, making Naruto shut up and hold his breath, this was it, "your friend sent some of his chakra through his mist," everybody involuntarily leaned in closer, everybody at least a tiny bit curious what this enigma, the guy Kiba and Naruto wouldn't shut up about, would do against one of their teachers. "it's...wind chakra," Hinata went on with eyes narrowed in concentration.
"It's directly behind Asuma," she whispered, unsure who she was supposed to root for, "it looks like a clone."
"Wait, what?" Naruto stood straight, "a wind clone? You can do that?" his eyes automatically went to his male teammate, who he could grudgingly admit tended to have the brains when it came to ninjutsu theory.
"I guess so. There are earth and water clones, too," Sasuke, who had kept quiet so far, answered with a shrug, and focused back on Hinata, desperate to learn more about this...prodigy.
"It's on Asuma-sensei's back," Hinata gasped, "I don't think he noticed," her voice gained another pitch, "it's reaching for his face!"
Pleased with the positing and composition, I marveled one last time at my weightless and near-invisible clone before I turned and faced the Third still standing at the railing above, his mien as if carved out of solid granite.
Our eyes met, and I bowed, no doubt to the confusion of my opponent.
"Winner, Chunin Ito," the Third Hokage announced, his tone betraying absolutely nothing. His gaze slid across the field to his son, who was left rooted to the spot, mouth agape, cigarette barely clinging to his lips.
"Jonin," the Third stressed the word, adding significance to what just happened, "create a Shadow Clone!"
The arena was eerily silent, and I could see the Jonins sitting still like statues. By now, they understood that there was more going on than an evaluation of a talented Chunin.
A pop from my left announced the creation of the ordered chakra construct, and I turned to see a picture-perfect clone standing next to its creator, both now devoid of any expression as well. Perhaps, the son was getting increasingly agitated by the fact that his father used him for some kind of demonstration.
More important, at least to me, than the irritated chakra flow of the Jonin was the fact that I could sense my wind clone still completely intact on said Jonin's back. It's been three years since its creation, and I was beyond proud and relieved, that the jutsu barely needed any concentration to maintain anymore.
"You are familiar with wind chakra, are you not?" The Third asked the rhetorical question, but I had the sinking feeling, that he was going to expect his son to answer anyway.
"I am," Asuma bit out, and again, there was this nagging feeling, that this routine was perhaps an unpleasant reminder of his youth.
"This is a wind clone," the Third announced with a small hand gesture toward his son and a meaningful nod in my direction, which I understood as my cue to reveal my creation.
Right hand shifting into a one-handed seal again, I took a firmer hold of my clone and guided it under the wide-eyed stare of Asuma Sarutobi to his Shadow Clone, where it silently glided up its back. Its hands poised just outside the clone's field of view.
"Brace yourself," I warned, and then my clone reached for the eyes.
"It..," whatever Hinata was going to say got cut off by her own anguished scream, the sheer horror and phantom pains buckling her knees while her hands involuntarily shot up to her own eyes.
"Hinata!"
"Hinata!"
"Hinata-chan!"
Even the stoic Aburame couldn't keep quiet seeing his gentle teammate crumble like that.
"The jutsu," she whispered, beyond terrified by the existence of such a vile technique, "it...it lacerated the eyes of the clone!"
"You are telling me," Sasuke began, ashen-faced, perhaps understanding Hinata's reaction better than most, "this Daiki Ito just beat Asuma Sarutobi without moving a single muscle?!" His tone hinted at a rollercoaster of emotions, that managed to shine through the cracks of his facade.
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More of the evaluation will follow in the next chapter. I hope this first match hinted well enough at what kind of fighter Daiki is at his current skill level. Someone who banks on getting underestimated, who needs to dictate and time to think, just so he can get in a single underhanded but devastating shot and end the fight as quickly as possible.
Thank you for reading and feel free to voice your thoughts in the reviews.
