Good Afternoon and welcome back to another chapter of 'Immortalized'! I'd like to take a quick second and thank all of you that reviewed, liked, or followed and have continued to support the story so far. I really do appreciate the feedback you guys give me, really helps me improve my writing and all that.
Chapter 6
Graduations and Operations
It had been nearly three months since Uzumaki Naruto had nearly been caught in the act of ditching-but-not-ditching school at the academy, and although it had been a close call, he had decided to continue on sending his clones in his place, though they were under strict instructions to not fall asleep this time. So far, he hadn't had any other near misses where he would almost be caught, but this was also largely in part due to his obtaining a copy of the class schedule, which allowed him to know when he would actually have to be at the academy for various activities, such as a spar or some of the more taxing chakra control exercises that his clones simple couldn't handle.
In this somewhat short timeframe, Naruto himself had noticed himself growing as Ninja in several ways. For example, his own chakra control showed the most drastic improvement, and after a liberal use of Kage Bunshin (which had quickly become his favorite training method), he could easily perform the tree walking and water walking exercises, and had gone on to take them a step further by being able to maintain each technique for a minimum of two hours, while in combat. This last part of this technique was largely brought on by Anko, who he had assumed by this point only agreed to train with him only because she enjoyed using his rapidly-healing body as a pincushion.
He couldn't complain too much, though. For all the cuts and bruises that the Snake Summoner had given him, every time he 'trained' with her, he found himself taking less and less hits, before finally, after many, many sessions, he had been able to land a solid blow on her. Naruto smiled to himself as he hid. That had been a great day in his opinion, and while the hit he had gotten on his pseudo-sensei didn't even do much damage, she had still be admittedly proud of him, and had even treated him to ramen afterword.
Although Naruto would still and forever refer to her has his "Sadistic Snake Sensei", there was a certain term of endearment that came with the title, and he knew that while they were very different people, the two misjudged members of Konoha had built a strong rapport with each other, and formed a bond that would not easily be broken.
In fact, Anko herself had realized this too, and had even found herself teaching the young blonde shinobi-in-training some of her own assassination and killing techniques. She was after all, a torture and interrogation specialist, and for many years before joining T&I, had been a member of ANBU. It had worked out especially well for her, as many of her skills could be brought over and transferred from her first major area of work to where she now resided. The way she say it, is that over the years she had managed to come up with and revolutionize many of the ways that infiltration and assassination was done, and she may as well pass some of them on. Despite who her former sensei was, she was every bit dedicated to Konohagakure.
Naruto briefly closed his eyes, shaking his head ever so slightly, and pulling himself from his thoughts. He was currently in the middle of a game of "hide and hunt" with his aforementioned sadistic sensei. Cursing lightly to himself, Naruto disappeared from his camouflaged location at the base of a large tree in a rapid shunshin, narrowly avoiding the multitude of shuriken that now littered the area where he had once stood. Spinning deftly on his heel, and unsheathing his Kaze no Karitoriki in a swift and fluid motion, brought it to bear, parrying away several more kunai before jumping backwards and spinning on an axis, forming several one-handed seals and barking out a quick and controlled "Fuuton: Diatoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)"! Which served its elected purpose of spinning the remaining kunai into disarray.
Landing back on the ground, Naruto sprinted forward, pulsing his chakra as he did so, jumping forwards but angling himself sideways, slimming his body to fall in between the two Fuuma Shuriken that had been launched at him from either side, before launching himself into the air watching with some satisfaction as the ground below him liquefied and then solidified soon after, signifying Anko's use of the same trapping techniques she had used on him in their first 'spar'.
Finding himself on a nearby tree branch, Naruto pulsed his chakra, in a gross and unrefined form of the "Chakra Hankyouteii no Jutsu (Chakra Echolocation Jutsu)" And immediately launched himself off of the tree he had been on flying towards the now revealed Anko who simply grinned up at him, laughing as she dropped a kunai into each hand before bringing them up into a standardized ANBU cross block, before trapping the young blondes blade down into the ground, using the angle to spin her left up and over, kicking out at Naruto and nailing him in the neck, smiling as he flew to the side, impacting the ground a short distance away.
Her victory was short lived however, as the 'Naruto' on the exploded as soon as she neared to check on him, in a clever use of "Bunshin Daibukha (Great Clone Explosion)", almost throwing her back, had she not noticed at the last second, before raising both arms and allowing the snakes hidden within her sleeves, easily catching the sword carrying arm of each swordsman, watching with mild satisfaction as her pets bit into each one, dispelling the clones. However, once again her victory was short lived as what she sincerely hoped was the real Naruto dropping down from above her, falling through the smokescreen created by his clones, clutching what appeared to be a small blue ball of energy in his hand, aimed directly for Anko's head as she looked up and feigned surprised at his entrance, which quickly morphed into actual surprise as she noticed the very recognizable Rasengan thrust outwards.
Naruto grinned, this was finally it. He smiled all the way to the ground, and his grin only subsided once the surrounding ground was obliterated from his techniques impact. He barely had time to stand, barely bringing his katana to bear over his left shoulder, blocking an irate looking Anko armed with kunai, but unfortunately failed to notice that the 'real' Anko was underneath the ground, and him, up until the point he felt her hands wrap around his ankles, pulling him neck deep into the ground, sword and all.
"Really kid? A fuckin' Rasengan?! I knew you were the fourth's brat but damn! Maybe I should stop holding back on you…" the Mitarashi mused to herself, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she knelt down in front of the trapped Uzumaki. Naruto, for his part, was doing his absolute best not to look at the view he was being blatantly given by the snake kunoichi, knowing that the moment he allowed the blush onto his face of attempted to sneak a peek, he would be in a world of hurt.
"Kami, Anko-Sensei! You get mad if I don't have intent to kill, you get mad when I do try to kill you, I don't understand!" Naruto sighed exasperatedly, looking his pseudo-sensei dead in the eyes, "Can you please just let me up, this position isn't exactly comfortable, and I do have other things to do today…" Naruto trailed off at that point, looking up expectantly at the Snake Summoner, as was finally rewarded as the ground around him loosened up to the point that he was able to move, and he pulled himself out of the dirt sheathing his katana and replacing it on his shoulders.
Thanking his friend and sensei, Naruto took to the trees, moving in-between them in a combination of Shunshin and basic tree hopping. As he disappeared through the rooftops, Anko remained on the forest floor, watching him go, not even blinking when a single ANBU Operative dropped down next to her. She waited a mere few moments before inclining her head towards the crane-masked man, speaking softly. "You know, he's improved a lot in the last few months. His speed has improved. Taijutsu is up, his Ninjutsu was already above his level, and one of these days I think I'll talk to Yugao and have her mess him up in Kenjutsu. Not to mention that Rasengan in the end there. He's gotten decent at his misdirection tactics as well." She informed the other shinobi, who only nodded and retrieved a scroll from his pack, handing it to the T&I operator, who began to briefly look it over.
"Am I to assume then, that he has your recommendation for the Corps? The recommendation of someone such as yourself wouldn't be overlooked should he accept our offer once he becomes a Genin." The ANBU supplied, his features a mask due to his mask, and his stature offered no inclinations to what he may have actually been thinking. Anko had finished looking over the scroll, and held her hand over it, pushing some of her chakra into her signature, and sealing her recommendation into the paper, before handing it back to the other ninja.
"Yeah, I approve of the decision, and I give my recommendation and back for Uzumaki Naruto to be instated into the Konoha ANBU division yadda yadda, whatever. The kid's got my backing, that's all you're really looking for, right Crane?" Anko tilted her had back, and turned to look at her fellow shinobi, before addressing him once more, stopping him as he was about to leave the clearing. "Just make sure to give him something other than the Fox mask, alright?" As Crane left the clearing, he could still make out the (in his opinion) slightly insane snake summoner's laughter.
Sighing to himself, the ANBU Operative made his way through the trees, and eventually through the rooftops of Konoha back to his headquarters. The young Uzumaki had been approved for eligibility to enter the ANBU Corps, pending his graduation from the academy. As he landed in the doorway of the hidden entrance and checked his surroundings before entering, he verified that he had all the information that was required on the boy.
Soon, if he accepted, the heir to the Uzumaki would become the newest member of the Black Ops Division.
It had been nearly a year since Naruto had signed up at the academy, and to say that things were going swimmingly was an understatement. He had easily rose to the top of his class, only having the occasional rival in the form of the brooding Uchiha, who despite Naruto's best efforts, refused to lighten his mood, causing him to eventually give up trying. Instead, he had chosen to become closer to the many friends he had made, and found a way to bond with each of them. It wasn't an uncommon sight to find him sleeping outside with Shikamaru, or chowing down on a bag of chips with Chouji.
But if he had to choose, he had become closest of al to the young Inuzuka heir, Kiba. The two boys would often train together, and though Naruto had supremely outclassed him, it only served to push him on to train harder, and every time the boys would part it was on good terms. It was a common sight to see the two heirs leaning on each other on their way back from the training grounds, barely standing from exhaustion, and there were many nights that the last Uzumaki simply passed out at Kiba's, unable to move.
If anyone ever asked him, he would say that he would prefer to live on his own and said that he enjoyed the solitude, but it was obvious to everyone in the compound (especially Tsume and Hana, who had both become quite fond of him, often calling him an "honorary Inuzuka") that he adored the affection and attention he would get there.
In fact, this is actually where he was coming from, having stayed the night over at the Inuzuka Compound, having been invited over there the night prior by Kiba. The two had been training nonstop for the entire night before (apart from one incident where an unassuming Naruto walked in on a showering Hana blushing and nearly passing out from a nosebleed), their reason being that today was the day for the yearly final exams. When the academy had been completely overhauled many years ago, a few systems had been put in place to assist those who were above the average skill level into getting out into the ninja force sooner rather than doing the standard 3 years at the academy. One such program was the yearly final exam, which, if passed with a high enough mark, allowed the student to graduate early, and be granted the rank of Genin.
Typically, only third year student attempted to take the exam, but after enough prodding and recommendations from his various sensei, Naruto had relented, and today both he and Kiba would be taking the test, hopefully passing with a high enough rating and becoming the villages newest Genin. Naruto knew he was ready, something about being trained personally by a one of the Sannin, and then finding a sparring partner in the form of the student of another one did wonders to boost the young boy's confidence. As Naruto walked through the door of his classroom, Kiba and Akamaru in tow he was nothing but a beacon of confidence and self-trust. It wasn't long before Iruka entered the room, and began calling names back, eventually calling Naruto himself back into the exam room.
The written exam portion was up first, and he easily managed to pass it with flying colors, even the portion on Ninjutsu Theory, as well as the section that consisted on almost nothing but the properties and ratio distributions of Chakra. Following up the test was a physical evaluation, which was more of a checkup than anything else, and then a spar against one of the Chunin proctors. Naruto was lucky in this portion of the evaluation, and thanks to his more recent training from Anko, was able to dispatch Mizuki within a matter of minutes, ending the match with his blade pointed at the older man's throat. The final portion, Ninjutsu, was the easiest by far, and after Naruto easily performed the Henge, he overloaded the Bunshin and made twenty instead of the required three, and a basic Kawarimi, he proudly walked out of the room, a Leaf inscribed Hitai Ite clutched in his hand, and a broad smile on his face.
The newest Genin of the Leaf walked happily down the street, the badge of his stature tied loosely around his waist, reminiscent of a certain smoking Sarutobi and his Twelve Shinobi Guardians sash. The blonde in question was currently on his way to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, completely intent on celebrating his new rank with the owners of the stands, and later with his friends.
Unfortunately, out of all the students in his former class, he had been the only one to pass the exam with a high enough mark to become a Genin. Some honorable mentions, of course would be Sasuke, who had actually only missed the mark by a mere ten points, and Kiba, who although had poured his heart and soul into his training, had missed the minimum required score by a margin of fifteen. The young Inuzuka hadn't harbored any ill will towards him, though, and was actually quite happy for his friend. This couldn't be said for the brooding Uchiha, though, who had never actually bonded with Naruto, and now after being shown up once more, harbored a resentment that was resolute in its stance. There would be no peace between Uchiha and Uzumaki as far as he was concerned.
The Uzumaki Clan heir walked into the ramen stand, and after the subsequent congratulatory hug and a complimentary bowl of his favorite miso ramen, he was soon digging into his second bowl, happily slurping down the broth. However, it was as he lowered the bowl from his face, that he noticed that the once empty seat to the right of him was now filled with the small, lithe form of a kunoichi, dressed in the typical white, gray, and black ANBU garb, her cat mask doing nothing to conceal her long, flowing violet hair. Naruto did his best not to look surprised, although the operative had caught him completely off guard.
It was then that Naruto noticed that the ramen stand itself was quiet, quieter than usual. He couldn't even hear old man Teuchi cooking in the back, and Ayame was nowhere to be found. Swallowing the last of the broth, the Uzumaki Heir turned his head towards the cat masked shinobi sitting next to him, idly noticing the katana strapped to her back, as her emotionless mask stared right back at him.
"Uzumaki Naruto. A message from Lord Danzo." With that short and quick affirmation, the Ninja retrieved a scroll from the pouch on her right hip, before handing it to Naruto, and after verifying that he did indeed recognize its importance, she vanished in a Shunshin, the ramen stand seemingly returning to life as the last leaf petals hit the ground from Cat's quick exit.
Contemplating the scroll in his hands, Naruto apologized to Ayame (who had by now reappeared, being none the wiser to what had happened), paid his tab, and disappeared in a Shunshin of his own, reappearing on the top of the Hokage Monument, before moving to stand on his father's head. Holding the scroll in his hand he opened it, reading quickly, and eyes going wide. Soon after he finished, per instruction on the scroll, Naruto channeled a small fire jutsu between his fingers, burning the paper in his hands to ash. He had a week to make his decision, like he actually needed it. For him the decision was already made. All he had to do now was act on it.
The strange, three pronged kunai sailed through the air in straight line that was polished off from years of practice, impacting into the target, not only dead center, but with a hearty 'thunk', before it was enshrouded by a dark yellow flash of light. Anyone who had been alive when the Yondaime Hokage had been would have immediately recognized the signature jutsu of Namikaze Minato, but they would also have been quite thrown off, as instead of the man they had envision appearing, they would have watched the small frame of a twelve-year old slam into the tree, unable to control his momentum.
Naruto had been attempting to master his father's Hiraishin technique for the last several months, and with this being his first (and also last) week as a Genin before he officially signed on with ANBU, he wanted to be able to make as much progress as he possibly could before he started with the corps. For all the progress he had made on the Hiraishin, though, he was still a long ways off from where his father had been. Just thinking about the shoes he had to fill to live up to his father's name was enough to make his head spin. The man had been a legend, able to decimate entire armies within minutes. And if Naruto wanted to surpass him, he had a long way to go.
That isn't to say that he hadn't made progress, though. His first attempts at utilizing the Hiraishin had ended in nothing more than him throwing an oddly shaped kunai against a wall. After going over the notes left by his father, though, he had been able to rewrite the seals on the various kunai to a new formula that was suited for him, as the jutsu was orientated around a complex sealing array, and it had nothing to do with being of the same blood as the original user. Over the next few months, Naruto had made some outstanding progress, eventually getting to the point where he was able to 'flash' to each kunai, but only after doing the appropriate hand seals for the Hiraishin, and although he was steadily making progress towards being able to use it seallessly and by instinct like his father had been able to, he was still a long ways off from surpassing what was arguably the jutsu that ended the Third Shinobi World War.
Naruto picked himself back up from the ground, and in a spout of anger channeled his chakra into a particularly anger and frustration fueled Rasengan, driving it into the target, obliterating it and sending the splinters flying everywhere. Sighing to himself, the Uzumaki picked up the now split in half tri-pronged kunai, before scowling and flinging it away from him, making his way back towards the far end of the training field where he had a literal pile of the kunai, just adjacent to a few small groups of clones who had been training on other, less physically dangerous, aspects.
"You keep destroying targets like that and Konoha might run out one of these days." A voice lazily drawled out, startling Naruto out of his musings, the young man spinning and closing his right hand around the hilt of Kaze no Karitoriki, but loosening his hold once he realized it was only Anko. Sighing, he absent mindedly threw one of the offending kunai at her, which she easily caught and began spinning around her finger. "I heard you accepted the ANBU Contract", she began, holding back her amused chuckle at his look of surprise.
"Who told you about that? I thought that was supposed to be classified. I haven't even told anyone." The blonde started, lazily dodging the kunai as it came sailing back towards him, noting with mild interest that it landed back in the pile of its brothers.
"Oh please kid, who do you think recommended you to the Corps in the first place? Or gave their personal recommendation as well? I'm part of the reason that you got selected, Naruto." Anko informed him, smiling cheekily and flashing a toothy grin as she walked towards him, grabbing the young man in a light headlock, playfully roughing up his head as she did so.
"Really? Aww, Anko-Chan I knew you head a heart! It was just hidden behind all that anger and hate!" Naruto barbed back at her, substituting himself with a log, and effectively escaping Anko's playful assault. Laughing at her bewildered face, he laughed, "You were the one who taught me the way of the Log, Anko-Chan! 'For when you feel the tug on your soul, you shall know that it is the will of the Log, allow yourself to swap with it, and for a brief moment, you and the log shall become one.'" He quoted back at her, remembering a time when she had first used the Kawarimi no Jutsu in one of their spars, and then proceeded to beat the following Log Worship into his head.
Allowing her face to slip into a devilish grin that reached all the way to her ears, Anko fell into her practiced "Hebi" (Snake) stance, fully intent on placing the young Genin and ANBU-to-be into a tight spot. "Oh, its Anko-Chan now, huh? Well then, Naruto-kun , maybe I should reserve us a room…" She trailed off as she disappeared into a burst of speed, reappearing directly in front of him, and throwing a sweeping round punch as she began the Taijutsu match.
"Maybe, maybe not", the young man coolly replied, having become more than used to the kunoichi's attempts to throw him off with her less than sublime sexual comments. This was exactly what he needed to help take his mind off of all that was going on, and was coincidentally a perfect way to let off all the steam that had been building inside him with his continued failure of the Hiraishin. "You'll have to beat me to find out!"
For the next several hours, the various sounds of combat could be heard coming from the Namikaze estate.
The Uzumaki Clan heir knelt in the shadows of the small, torch lit room. It was dry, yet somewhat musty at the same time, but also held the unmistakable air of a practiced military installation that was only enhanced by the dull gray paint and black Konoha flags. Standing at the head of the room and flanked on either side by a standard ANBU Agent, was a man whose clothing was covered by the unusually black ANBU cloak, however the cloak did nothing to cover the mans bandaged face, or spiked black hair. The cloak also revealed that the man's right arm was trapped in a sling, and if one were to judge by the man's ever-present cane, he was also someone injured, if not just elderly.
However, none of these qualities did anything to mask the man confident aura, and he practically leaked an air of exuberance. The man, known as Shimura Danzo, head of Konohagakure's Black Ops Division, and whose orders were only superseded by the Hokage himself, moved to stand in front of the kneeling blonde, asking the first and only question that all ANBU initiates faced. "Do you know why you were selected to kneel before the great Tree of Konoha?"
Naruto, not moving anything but his lips, answered solemnly, but no less resolutely, "To walk in the Shadows that even Ninja fear to tread, I will protect my village from the Darkness by harnessing myself, defending it with my life and soul." At this completion of his statement, the tile plating on the ground in front of Naruto opened up, revealing a raising platform upon which rested a white, porcelain mask containing the visage of a Lynx.
"Then rise, and go forth. Tonight, you are no longer Uzumaki Naruto, Heir to the Uzumaki Clan and Genin of Konoha. Until the day that you step from the shadows and return to the light you shall be known as Rinkusu (Lynx). Placing the mask upon his face, Lynx stood up, for what felt like the first time, before closing his right hand into a fist and crossing it over his heart.
"I am no longer Uzumaki Naruto, I am Lynx." Danzo merely nodded once, before spinning on his heel, walking out of the room, as the newly appointed Lynx stood in the room at attention. 'The nine-tails Jinchuriki is now under my command…" The old war hawk mused to himself as he left the room, not even bothering to turn as one of his Captains passed by him in the hallway, heading to meet her new charge.
Lynx, perhaps because of the mask, or maybe he was already that steeled in his emotions, didn't even move when the ANBU Operative he had met before, Cat, stepped into the room, quickly crossing it to get face to face with him, before speaking in a curtly and clipped tone. "Lynx, I am Cat, your new captain. From this point on, your chain of command is me, and only me. Is that clear?" Waiting for a brief second as Lynx nodded, she continued, "Very well. Then after we set you up in your new living quarters, we'll see about getting you in the field. Let's move."
Cat smiled pleasantly behind her mask at the obedient and seemingly capable nature of her newest recruit. Soon she would see just what Anko had when she had pushed for the young blonde to join the Corps, and as she turned on her heel and began walking away, with Lynx in tow, she couldn't help but hope he didn't disappoint her. She'd hate to be the one to break it to Anko that her 'prodigal son' in the kunoichi's own words, had died on his first mission as an Agent.
Lynx sat stock still in the tree, trusting fully in the light bending camouflage jutsu that he had been taught by Jiraiya, watching intently at the scene unfolding below him. Lynx had been a member of ANBU for several weeks now, and after blasting through the standard recruit training that typically took an agent a period of one month, Lynx completed it in one week (thank you Kage Bunshin!) he had been assigned his first of many missions. So far, he even had a perfect track record, spanning multiple missions throughout various areas of the Elemental Nations.
Currently he was watching as the one of the Nobles of Rice Country and his entourage passed by his position. He had been assigned to eliminate this particular noble, a woman in her early twenties. Lynx didn't know how such a low profile assassination would help his village, but then again, he wasn't supposed to. As an agent Lynx was a tool to be used as his Captain and his Hokage saw fit. If that meant dispatching a three man cell to deal with an up and coming noble, then that's what it meant.
If his face showed any sort of disapproval of this mission, his mask did not relay it. Lynx's mind was pulled from his musings as he saw a single kunai knife impact dead center on the noble's carriage, the attached flashbang blinding the two chunin in the front, and allowing his team mate, Raven, to drop in between the two, driving a kunai into each man's neck before speeding towards the chariot itself.
Meanwhile, Lynx had Shunshin'd to behind the chunin that was bringing up the rear, before spinning on his heel and moving in a burst of incredible speed towards the chariot as well, Kaze no Karitoriki out and extended. As he passed the ninja on his way to the chariot, flicking his katana forward, the man was dead and decapitated before he even hit the ground. All at the same time as the Jounin of the group emerged from inside the carriage, laying an eye on Naruto, before a short, black tanto appeared to protrude from his back to the front of his chest. As the man fell over, the small form of Jaguar appeared behind the man, nodding at Lynx.
As one, the three members of ANBU each took a side on the chariot, before running through a set of hand seals and with a simultaneous call of "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu, (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)", the three large balls of highly corrosive heat and energy collided in on each other, rendering the small carriage, and the Noble inside, to dust. Performing a swift "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)" which cleared away all of the ash that had accumulated between the bodies and destroyed wood, leaving a cleared road that had little to no evidence of anything that had occurred there, Lynx spared the scene one more glance before he took to the trees, relying on his already incredible speed to catch his teammates.
ANBU Operatives were supposed to be discreet, after all.
"…And after the noble was killed and all the evidence destroyed, Lynx supervised the cleanup before our return to Konoha." Raven reported to Cat, all three members of his cell remaining kneeling before the cat masked woman.
"Very well, you are dismissed to quarters until further instruction. Lynx. Remain." Cat spoke in a clipped tone, her arms crossed under her decently sized bust, walking around the still kneeling Lynx. He watched her as she paced around him, not moving his head, but still taking in every aspect her curves. He may have been young but he was still a guy. He remained frozen as she moved around behind him, stopping as she became perpendicular to the sword that was crossed across the young man's back.
"Training ground Beta. Two minutes. Don't be late." Cat simply stated, turning her back, and hearing the slightly distorted and muffled "Yes, Taichou." Before the small just of wind that was common with a Shunshin. She grinned to herself, under her mask, fingering her own katana, before pulling up her hand and vanishing in a shunshin of her own, small leaf petals floating softly down and landing on her desk. So, her newest recruit fancied himself to be good at Kenjutsu? Maybe she could have some fun with him, after all. And by fun, she very obviously meant brutalize through her own mastery of Kenjutsu.
Lynx had no idea that she was known as 'Konoha's Mistress of the Blade', but he would soon learn.
And learn he did. As soon as his Captain had shown up, there had never been any warning. He had been standing down at the far end of the designated 'Beta' training ground of the ANBU, and the few other members that had been there quickly vacated as soon as Cat appeared on the other end, facing towards Lynx.
Inclining his head in an unassuming 'questioning' look, Lynx was barely able to slide out of the way as Cat appeared inside his guard, a downward sword slash already in motion. It was all he could do to side step, rolling to the side, and drawing his own katana to block the follow up strike from his captain.
The following hour, Cat would show exactly why she was a Captain in the ANBU Corps. And her title was aptly earned, as no matter what the young agent would try he was promptly beaten down. Kage Bunshin, various Ninjutsu, hell he even tried a couple sealing techniques on her, which while he may have been able to catch her off guard once or twice, he was only able to land a single definitive hit right at the end of the session, which is why the 'spar', if it could be called that, was called to a close.
Through an interesting strategy, Lynx showed his true prowess in tactics when he managed to slice open Cat's thigh. She had just finished up a near crushing combination of Kenjutsu and Taijutsu on him, culminating in her kicking him straight into the air, before allowing him to drop onto her blade. However, at the last second, Lynx sprung his plan into action, and although his body was completely wrecked, he was able to hold together long enough to complete it.
As the young agent fell towards the sword, he pulsed his chakra outward, and multiple rocks and rubble around that had become littered around the training filed released their transformation techniques, revealing themselves to be multiple copies of Lynx, all who promptly launched themselves at the ANBU Captain. To her merit, the captain didn't miss a beat, merely abandoning skewering the agent, and opting to rage through his clones, quickly making short work of them.
As she disarmed and speared the last one with her own katana, she spun to face her newest charge, but right as she raised her sword to begin her assault, she noticed a small glint in the corner of her vision. Before she had any more time to react, the original Lynx yanked back hard on all of the ninja wire that littered the area, seemingly trapping his Captain in a spider web of wire, making her look similar to a trapped fly inside said web. His trap wasn't done yet, though, for as soon as Cat began to cut her way free of the many cords that had attached to her, she was able to hear the multitude of hissing noises, as the myriad of paper bombs he had attached to the wires exploded, enshrouding the area in a flash of light.
This still wasn't enough to take down, or even phase the ANBU Captain, as she jumped out of the cloud of smoke, seemingly unfazed by the assault that had befuddled her. However, at that exact moment, four separate Lynx's appeared on either side of her, Rasengan in hand and made a dash at her, which she was able to avoid by dropping low and spinning, eliminating all that had surrounded her. What caught her off guard though, as that the sword that one of the clones dropped did not pop out of existence like the rest, and when she spun to look at the falling blade, Lynx burst from the ground directly below her grabbing his sword as it fell, and managed to slice Cat clean across her outer thigh as she desperately backtracked, dodging the brunt of his blow, and promptly kicking him hard across the back, sending him flying across the clearing.
Cat stood there, and watched as Lynx slowly got shakily to his feet, and though he couldn't see it, she narrowed her eyes, but also raised one of her eyebrows in mild surprise. It had been awhile since such a fresh member had been able to land a hit on her. And although the cut he had delivered was nothing to write home about, it was still a definite hit on an ANBU Captain. Cat had to hand it to Anko, she sure knew how to pick em'.
Cat waited until Lynx was fully back on his feet before addressing him for the last time that day. "You're dismissed for the day. Unless missions send you otherwise, you will report to here, and to me, every other day, bar nothing, at 1800. Am I clear?" She turned and began her shunshin away, easily catching the "Clear, Taichou." That drifted over to her on the wind.
Lynx, now standing on sore legs, with a sheathed Kaze no Karitoriki in hand, began his slow limp off of the training field. He was going to murder Anko if he made it out of ANBU.
Authors Note:
And that's that. Another chapter down of 'Immortalized', and if you hadn't noticed they are indeed increasing by a margin of about 1,000 words every chapter, furthering towards my personal goals. Anyways, I'll try and be back quick with the next chapter, but no promises. Work is starting to pick up, and I've been getting a lot busier.
That's all I got. Out.
