Chapter Sixteen: Fight

She waited at training ground four. The sun had risen about half an hour ago, and she basked in the sunlight that was so prominent in Konoha. She no longer had long winters to suffer through and even snow was a rarity. A life where she could have proper vitamin D levels.

She was looking at the lake when she twisted her body to look back at the forest, putting all her force in her right foot at the last moment to dodge the incoming kunai. It sliced through her shirt and lightly cut her arm. A trickle of blood ran down her arm to her elbow.

"If that was poisoned you would be dead." Did she mishear or did he sound amused?

Yuina knew she said she liked to get to the point, but would a simple pleasantry hurt? Her hand which had been resting on a kunai was pulled out of her holster and was brought up to her chest as she held in in a defensive position. She had little faith that he wouldn't attack again.

"You may be a shinobi in the eyes of the village, but it's not enough to be a prodigy."

She didn't even blink when she felt pain in her abdomen. Orochimaru was suddenly in front of her with his leg out in a kicking position. She adjusted her body before she hit the water. Sending chakra to her feet to skid and skip like a pebble back against the water until she stabilized herself in a standing position

"Leaders must know how to use them, and they will want to use you."

Don't tell her she was going to be some figure for propaganda.

She could think about that later. For now, she wasn't going to let herself be a punching bag. Yuina wanted to at least land one hit if she was going to be beaten up. She ran forward. Once stepping back onto land, she made the signs for a shadow clone. Chakra intensive, but she needed an opportunity for an opening which would be difficult one on one. Not only because of their gap in experience, but because of her small stature expected of a child.

"So how will you rise to the occasion?"

Wanted to punch or kick? Direct attacks were easily blocked and counter from Orochimaru's longer limbs and subsequently wider reach. Unless an opportunity arose to attack his neck, her best option was actually to stay low and attack the knees in hope of making him stumble.

Yuina threw a kunai and he caught it with his finger in the loop before throwing it back at her clone causing it to vanish.

"You're used to combatting those slower and weaker than you. You need to be able to track movements and react much faster."

She dodged a punch and backed up to keep distance between them. She threw a shuriken and he caught that one too.

Now he was just mocking her.

Also, who thought it was a good idea to catch a bladed weapon? Though, he didn't make a name for himself for no reason, and yet despite badly loosing he was still clearly going easy on her.

She aimed another shuriken. As predicted he caught it again.

Then involuntarily dropped it. Served him right. The electrical conductivity of iron was extremely high. More than a static shock, that should have sent an electrical voltage through his body. Unfortunately, currents flowing in a single direction had a limited chance of dealing severe damage. While surprised, he would be fine.

It did create a momentary opening though.

She still missed, and now she was clinging to the neck of her shirt as she was dangled off a tree branch. Damn, he's fast. Speed. She's got to work on speed. If she couldn't learn to keep up she was doomed. Was this how her classmates felt when she sparred them. She's sorry!

Yuina did her best to glare up at Orochimaru as she shakily released one hand from her collar and placed a hand on him. She didn't need a jutsu to direct chakra throughout her body. Instead of focusing chakra at her feet, she channeled it to her hand ensuring her affinity was mixed in rather than in its pure form.

Orochimaru dropped her.

She looked up. She was sure she shocked him. He even looked at his arm where she touched him, and yet he was still composed.

One day she was going to become strong enough just for him to show more emotion on that face of his. She would get her gotcha moment and she would be proud of it.

Actually, to make sure he didn't think it was a fluke Yuina pressed her hand against the tree he still stood on. The thing about lightning was it was extremely hot. Enough of a reaction and she could….

Aha!

The tree snapped before the heat properly took effect, so Orochimaru jumped off the fallen tree. It did start a fire though, even if it was late.

For the first time that day she spoke, "Um…I don't know how to contain the fire or put it out." Not without a bucket that is.

"I'll deal with it, but what you did with your hand..."

Hm? "I just regulated my chakra. Except instead of intertwining chakra like I would walking on water I kept it isolated so that it would cause a different reaction." She still had a long way to go on chakra control if she was ever going to succeed manipulating it at a molecular level.

No. Orochimaru thought on how he used chakra like a magnetic force to stick to objects. He had never intertwined his chakra with nature. Though the possibilities of mixing or integrating chakra was an interesting prospect.

"Think about what you can do to improve. Spend the next few days accepting D-Rank Missions then I'll allow you in the lab."

Yuina thought her suffering was once again worth it at the promise of the lab. Hopefully, she hadn't lost her touch.

On her way home from training, she wondered how much was she supposed to train outside sessions? University recommended three hours for every hour of lesson – though the reality often fluctuated on how hard you found the materials. Was she supposed to treat it as a 9-5 job? Maybe 6-2? It was always better to get work out of the way.

She also really needed to think of how to work around her child body.

There was one thing she could think of as far as frontal assaults were concerned. She was still owed a congratulation present too.

She entered the home and Sakumo warily looked at his daughter who was wet and dirtied but sported an infectious grin. "I know what I want now. Can you teach me to use a tanto?" A full shaku length tanto. It would be small enough to carry around and use while giving her extra reach. They say to never fight bare handed when your opponent was equipped. It was a catastrophe to lose. She had kunai that could be weaponized in close distance but that still didn't solve the problem of reach.

Besides, Sakumo always took a tanto with him so he had to know how to use it. It would add more to her schedule but it has now become a priority of necessity so she doesn't get the shit kicked out of her every time.

"Okay. Shall we start now?"

That wasn't what she meant, but wasn't in any position to refuse and therefore accepted.

She wondered how Kakashi was doing.