Avenger
And I would like to thank Pinksamurai for the help. It looks a lot better than before. So thanks.
Chapter 4
As the sun rose over the mountains and the dew from the night's rain glistened on the leaves; the animals began to awaken. Two people, a man and a child trekked through the protected forest reserves in search of a pearl belonging to the serpents.
Flashback
It was another trip down to the London's zoo, Harry had accompanied his teacher as they both made their way through the various reptiles whose gaze was enough to freeze most men in terror, but for the master and apprentice it was just child's play.
As they approached they passed a large glass exhibit that housed an old and defanged copper serpent that had lost its eyesight.
"Oh old serpents heed my plea, answer the speaker who calls you." Harry spoke to the serpent which had coiled itself.
There was slight movement before a snake head rose to greet them with its tongue, tasting the air.
"Oh a speaker calls me. How rare. Tell me how I may be of any assistance to you?"
"I need to find your brethren who cannot be found by normal means."
"I do ask, why? For it does not concern me, but my magical brothers can only be found if one possesses the Serpent pearl."
"Magical? Pearl?"
"Yes speaker there are those among us who are born or created possessing abilities which are not shared by the non-magical kind."
"Does the magic make them stronger, and how does a snake gain such ability?"
"Not always. Most of them end up becoming larger than the rest and such are hunted by the magical kind and, a snake gains such ability only if its progenitor possesses it or a two legged one gives it."
Harry looked at Sasuke who nodded and asked him to continue .Harry obliged.
"What of the snake pearl?"
"The serpent pearl, speaker is a pearl which gives the owner a beacon to call a magical serpent, and on occasion the strength of the owner being equal to the serpent that was called."
"So the serpents come willingly to us?"
"No, child they come to steal the pearl from humans. As such, it is a great risk as well an opportunity to those who possess the tongue."
"Why?"
"To a speaker they might not attack on sight, but the blood of a speaker does taste far better than the ones who do not possess the gift."
Harry shivered. Sasuke placed an arm on his charge's shoulder and the boy took a deep breath before continuing.
"Where can I find the pearl?"
The snake didn't answer right instead stating a compliment before explaining.
"Oh what a brave speaker you are; willing to put his body to the path which brings death. I shall tell you four moons from here there exists a mountain which serves as a dwelling to those of magical nature. It has been years, I can't tell for sure, but at the summit you shall find a hole big enough for any garden snake, but not large enough to fit a human hand. You shall find the pearl, but beware no serpent will assist you willingly."
"Thank you, old serpent." Harry said respectfully; grateful for its help and assistance.
"Do not thank me speaker, if you are alive do visit me once it shall be enough."
"I will."
Flashback End
As they trekked a noise unlike any other was heard, it was neither human nor animal. The roar identified it as magical; the roar reverberated through the trees.
Suddenly the sky darkened and a huge boulder flew at them from nowhere.
Harry immediately felt Sasuke shove him out the way making him go at least 6 feet away from the boulder. Sasuke merely sidestepped making the boulder miss him completely.
The rumbling stopped. However; another boulder flew at Sasuke, unsheathing his Chokoto he sliced the second boulder. Immediately afterwards a noise akin to a tree being uprooted came and the next second a tree trunk was flying at him.
Harry watched wide eyed. He could barely see his teacher swing the sword, yet along anything else. The rustling of fabric blowing slightly was all he could see when Sasuke was done.
As the creature noticed its strike failed; let out a bellow rage and ran. Trees crushed beneath its feet. It stood at an impressive 14 to 15 feet; its one hand holding a thick branch to be used as a club. The creature entered the clearing; its small beady eyes taking note of the intruder as it ran forward to strike. The giant let out another bellow of rage before stepping forwards, wildly swinging its club from left to right; top to bottom. But, its strike never hit its target.
It was halted by Sasuke who used his sword.
Its arm which held the club had been cut off completely with such neatness that it could have been considered the work of a surgeon.
The giant roared again not out of anger, but out of pain.
The last thing the creature saw was Sasuke's blade coated with its blood before its head was lopped off its shoulders. It fell to the ground with an audible thud.
The clearing went completely quiet.
"What the hell was that?" Harry shouted his voice reverberating across the clearing.
"I do not know; I have never encountered an animal such as that before. I believe that we may encounter animals such as that on every step of this trip, so be alert." Sasuke replied
"Sensei, you dealt with it without even moving from your position, or even without a bit of exertion then why?"
"That brainless creature is as dangerous to me as a fly."
Harry went quiet, looking with curiosity and wonder. Unfortunately, though Sasuke was not going to explain.
Sasuke was not going to and the only order he gave to Harry was, "Observe and learn."
Harry nodded; "Yes sensei."
As they resumed their journey to the top of the mountain they encountered even more vicious creatures however, Sasuke dispatched every single one of them with a single slash. Harry kept himself alert and sealing the massive creatures in storage scrolls as food for the summon snakes.
As they reached the top they could see the moon shining directly over a hole in the ground; a small seven centimeter hole in middle surrounded by strange leafless plants and jagged rough rocks. Sasuke stopped his Sharingan blazing noticed something. Harry had barely noticed his teacher stopping; walked ahead when he was grabbed by his shoulder and pulled was back. He gave out an involuntary yelp at the unexpected contact.
He looked up and Sasuke was still looking ahead at the hole.
"Observe," Sasuke said as he ran through multiple hand seals before raising his voice and saying the name of his jutsu; "Fire release: Grand Fireball jutsu."
Flames burst from his lips, the clearing completely shrouded in flames.
"Umm..." Harry said not understanding why his sensei had burnt down the flora and fauna.
The fire scorched the earth and plant life burning all in its wake.
"Those plants were emitting a powerful toxin that destroys the human body from inside."
"So can we go ahead now?"
"Wait for a couple of seconds."
They waited before an odorless, colorless liquid came out the hole drenching the surroundings and melting the earth itself.
"Acid," Sasuke said.
'Oh god what would had happened if I had just thrust my hand in there!' Harry thought his face blanching.
"It is safe now sensei?" Harry asked.
"No, observe the ground near the hole."
Harry looked. He couldn't see anything. He then gasped there on the earth there were tracks forming as if a snake was slithering on the ground, but there was no snake visible to the eye.
"Is it invisible?" he asked.
"No, it hasn't come out yet. The marks indicate it searching for the vibrations in the earth to find our location, so, that it can strike us when we least expect it. I believe it is a venomous spitting snake so be wary."
"But, can't I just talk to it?"
"There is a difference here. We are taking something which does not belong to us and as a guardian the snake might try to trick us before sinking its fangs into our skin. Do remember that your speaker blood is delicious to them."
"So should we strike it, or wait?"
"Not we," Sasuke looked at him briefly. "You will strike it. "
"What….you are joking right…?"
"No, I am not."
"But I have never killed anything! I can speak to them," Harry was pleading, "we can probably reason with it!"
There was no persuading Sasuke into changing his mind.
Harry unsheathed the small dagger from his person, stepping forwards, his eyes not leaving the hidden snake.
There was a burst of earth which flew upwards, revealing a dark green snake its fangs bared, launching itself in the general direction of its foe.
Harry barely had time to widen his eyes or react as the body of the snake brushed past his right cheek. Rolling to side his eyes immediately darted left and right trying to discern its position.
The snake had coiled its body in preparation of another leap when suddenly it opened its mouth and spat venomous poison.
Using his body he jumped to avoid the acid. The liquid landed on the soles of his shoes, immediately Harry discarded them, throwing them to the side.
The snake raised its head moving it from one side to another in a mesmerizing way. The moon light making its scales shine in the darkness. Its light green slit eyes shared with its enemy whose green human eyes narrowed in concentration neither giving the other an inch.
The snake tilted its head then with speed moved to the left; the venom flying out of its mouth, like a wave.
Harry jumped up pushing all his chakra to the soles of his feet avoiding the acid wave; his hand gripping the dagger by its tip threw it at his enemy.
'Hit the mark,' Harry thought, pleading to anyone who would listen.
The dagger flew; the snake moved, but couldn't dodge, as the dagger embedded itself in its body.
A stream curses flying at the boy in paseltongue.
Harry had used the momentary distraction to grab a large stone bigger than his head and with a cry of adraline he jumped and brought the stone on his enemy.
The snake was no more.
Seeing his victory the boy smiled, he turned to his sensei, but found that Sasuke was right next to the hole; holding a dark blue unblemished pearl the size of a marble in his hands.
Soon the hole gave out smoke. It was time to leave.
Harry feeling overjoyed that he completed his very first mission continued to smile and even when night came his smile did not waver.
A few days later, Harry made his way back from school his face disappointed in the ease with which he had accomplished his studies.
And being unbeatable at everything from sports to studies although he had heard that in first class the amount of studies was extremely beginner level and the teacher did not expect anything from their students and expected them raise a ruckus his obedience came as surprise and his skill at sports particularly football and cricket even with plastic balls and bats was exceptional.
The other students initially did resent him, but as he began helping others he won their friendships; with his behavior the other kids dragging him from one game to another. Teachers gave him fond smiles every now and then for his work.
If he hadn't trained he most probably would have been on the same level as others, but now he felt happy and content.
As he reached the house, Sasuke was there doing pushups in the lawn. Sweat trailing down his body, Harry could see his sensei counting under his breath. As he entered the house he immediately placed his books in his room.
Harry rushed back down to see a pair of extra training clothes on the ground. He tried to lift the shirt, but couldn't.
"Those clothes contain gravity seals; a present from my friend. They are used in training," Harry craned his head, seeing Sasuke had entered the house, wiping his hair with a towel.
"Will I be wearing them?" he asked the possibility hanging in the air.
"No, your body is not ready." Sasuke replied. Even with all his training Sasuke didn't deem him ready to wear weighted training clothing just yet.
"Hn… sensei you didn't tell me how I did that time against the snake?"
"You did well, but you made plenty of mistakes."
"Thank you," Harry said as he brought his left hand to rub the back of his head nervously. "Sensei, can we do image training like yesterday?"
"You do know it is a bit taxing on my reserves don't you?"
"Hai sensei, but it is the best!"
"Very well. For the first fight unlimited chakra, strength, endurance and speed. You use everything in your arsenal."
Harry nodded before asking, "Can we use weapons?"
"Which one?"
"Dual blades -Scimitar."
As soon as the rules and weapons were decided, Sasuke's eyes turned red before morphing into Mangeyko Sharingan. The surroundings dissolved into a black room.
Sasuke clothes changed into the ones he wore on battlefield whereas Harry clothes changed into that of a shirt, Capri pants, sandals, and a weapon pouch with a harness at the back for the dual blades.
Sasuke quickly drew his chokoto from its sheath and shunshin behind Harry, caching him by surprise. As Harry spun around with a surprised look on his face, Sasuke twirled his sword in his hand so that he was holding it in a reverse grip and slammed the end of the hilt into his opponent's stomach, causing Harry to double over in pain.
Using the opportunity, Sasuke jumped up into the air and locked his opponent's neck with his legs and threw him on the ground and leaping back a step; executing a front flip, slammed the heel of his foot into his stomach, causing his eyes to widen as he coughed up a huge amount of blood. Harry's head then dropped on the ground, blacking out.
"First match over."
….
When Harry awoke they resumed from the last match.
The fights continued for the next 14 – 16 hours in his self created world both of them feeling neither pain nor exhaustion using different techniques, weapons and jutsus from time to time while in the real world not a second had passed.
Each and every fight ended with the last Uchiha as the victor who didn't use any jutsu above d-rank and harry copying the hand seals mid-fight executing them perfectly which wouldn't have been possible in the real world making him realize the nuances of every attack and its counter.
Creating strategies in the thick of a spar thinking on his feet making sure the fight didn't result in any body blows as the Uchiha's world amplified the pain of any injury by 3 times making him hesitant to charge recklessly.
It didn't matter that any physical injuries didn't appear on the original body so if his arm was cut off the pain under the illusion made it feel as if it was at the same level as the real thing.
…..
Harry barely had time to ready himself before he was forced to leap away in order to avoid a sword swipe to his mid-section. As he moved through the air he took out a scroll and unrolled it, seconds later a short blade poof into existence. Harry caught the blade just as he landed on the ground and in one fluid motion placed it just in time to block Sasuke's scimitar.
The two blades met with a loud 'clang' and Harry nearly lost his grip on his blade due to the force Sasuke had put behind it.
He winced, but said nothing as Sasuke pulled his blade back before swinging it again, battling Harry's blade away.
He then punched the kid in the face with his left. Harry barely managed to dodge it before trying to swipe at the Uchiha's mid-section from right to left with his left hand.
Sasuke leapt up over the blade as he came down.
Harry tried to come in with a follow up swing, however, now the blade was on Sasuke's right side.
The Uchiha was able to turn the scimitar in his right hand so that it was held in a reverse grip and blocked Harry's swipe.
Sasuke then shoved the Harry away, making the kid lose his footing slightly he yanked his left hand which had gripped the kid's wrist, swiftly swooping with a round house kick that would have solidly connected with Harry's face had he not executed a last minute one handed kawarima.
The kick connected with the log splintering it.
Harry rolled away and gave a quick spin which ended with an attempted backhand to Sasuke's face, but the last Uchiha blocked it and then threw Harry over his shoulder.
The little boy flipped in midair and landed on his feet; charging immediately at the Uchiha again. He came with a fast upward swipe.
Sasuke back flipped to avoid the swing and side stepped several times, narrowly avoiding the thrusts Harry sent towards his chest, the blade barely glazing his shoulders.
Finally the master and the student leapt back.
Harry severely winded as he had almost reached his limit, while Sasuke looked as immovable as ever his constant use of speed and power having conditioned his body to handle it.
Sasuke straightened and then with a few simple hand seals a gust of wind swooped in out of nowhere, carrying dead and rotting leaves from the nearby forest and fresh ones that had given way under the harsh wind.
The leaves fluttered around them swirling in a mini tornado that did little more than keep them in air.
Harry looked at Sasuke he knew his master was planning something. Whatever it was he wasn't going to let it happen. He rushed forward and thrust his blade at the ninja's chest, but as his blade would have made contact the ninja vanished out of existence, reappearing behind the kid and delivering a sharp elbow to the back of his head.
Harry stumbled forward, but regained his footing quickly and spun around; swinging his sword at the ninja. But again, Sasuke vanished into thin air and appeared at Harry's side. The Uchiha spun once before delivering a crushing swing with the blunt side of his scimitar to Harry's lower back.
Harry felt his eyes go wide with pain as he unconsciously screamed. He stumbled forward, but then felt the air in his lungs leave his body. A harsh knee connected with his stomach. He coughed, but before he could do anything he felt a foot connect with his face sending him flying upwards.
….
He opened his eyes as he saw Sasuke blur into existence in front of him, bringing his sword down in a move that would cleave his skull open. He put his own blade in the way but before Sasuke's blade hit; the Uchiha vanished again. Harry then felt a harsh kick connect with the back of his head his young mind barely thinking the word 'Fast'.
Harry then felt Sasuke grab his ankle the Ninja then pulled him down so that the boy-who-lived was below him and then delivering a hard, crushing axe kick to the Magic wielders face sending him plummeting back down to earth.
Harry crashed to the ground a massive cloud of dust and dirt being lifted as he fell.
Sasuke landed on the ground and stared at the hole in the ground waiting for Harry to emerge, his sword at the ready. After several seconds harry did not emerge Sasuke posture slightly relaxed and that's when Harry struck.
In an explosion of earth and debris Harry shot out of the earth directly behind the slightly startled Uchiha clone.
He had pumped his entire arm with as much chakra as he could and punched the Uchiha in the face solidly. Harry tried not to wince as his fist bled and dug right between his knuckles nearly breaking one.
Still, Sasuke could attest the strength of the attack as he was sent flying clear across the battle ground, crashing into a tree, the wood groaning and creaking as a crack formed on the other side.
Sasuke snapped his head around and found his opponent rushing towards him at high speeds, intent to keep up the momentum of his assault had granted him.
He put his legs to the tree trunk and jumped up in a flip just as Harry's fist was about to hit him. He went over the kid, flipped and landed behind him facing his back.
Harry turned just in time to catch a foot to his face, making him hit the tree this time. Except this time the tree actually broke.
Harry flipped and landed on his feet skidding to a stop, he looked up and Sasuke blurred again into existence right before his eyes but this time Harry was finally able to understand what the Uchiha had been doing but before he could process it- He got yet another knee to the face, this time the edges of his vision went dark, he tried to stay conscious but soon fell into unconsciousness.
"The training is over, you have improved."
Harry acknowledged and inwardly beamed at the rare compliment Sasuke gave him.
"We shall continue tomorrow."
"Sensei I wanted to ask. When I punched you I didn't feel that my fist met your skin, even though you flew quite far was that your clone I punched?"
"Very good, observation, you didn't punch me. You attempted to punch my shadow clone who jumped back to make you feel arrogant."
No wonder, he felt a sudden thrill when he managed to hit his sensei.
"Was I at least close?"
"No, I said you improved. You still need to keep on training."
"Hai Sensei"
A/n Two legged one – human
Harry hasn't signed the contract but he travels with one that holds it.
Tuskiyomi reflects the will of the user and makes the receiver who experiences what the user wishes him to experience so it is relative to its use.
As such it can be used either for training or for torture and sometimes training is considered torture. It's a matter of perspective.
Thank you for reading. And I would like the people who read this story to please review it. It is quite disappointing when the views to my story are in hundreds while the reviews aren't even in the 10's or 20's.
So please review it doesn't matter if it is two word or 20. I appreciate all your reviews and opinions and make the story better than before.
Till then…