Ace moved quickly, dodging Kaza's strike with such speed that he kept Ace on his toes. As he moved to the left, the clashing of kunai caused sparks to fly, the metals igniting as the two moved apart from each other. They looked at each other, both smiling, likely considering their next moves in the sparring match. This was normal, going as smoothly as ever.
Ace moved in swiftly, aiming a knee at Kaza's head. His burst of speed hoped to catch Kaza off guard, but his knee was sidestepped. As Ace blocked Kaza's counterstrike, a skilled punch aimed at his midsection, the two exchanged a few more attacks, moving, dodging, and ducking under each other's strikes. They had done this so many times that they knew each other's moves well enough to adjust and adapt before the attacks were even thrown.
Ace utilized his unique ability, smiling as he focused his fire release chakra into his punches and kicks, creating his Blaze Style, Inferno Fist. Kaza made sure to dodge these strikes as well, refusing to back down. The brothers went all out, their final test for each other.
"Light release, light fist," Kaza called out, using his light chakra kekkei genkai to counter and battle. The two boys went at it, throwing attacks with intense focus, exchanging fast jabs and countering each other expertly. However, they had to shake off their special attacks, lacking enough chakra reserves or practice with their new moves to sustain them for long.
The sparring match continued, neither brother willing to back down. They were so stubborn that they wouldn't give up until the very end, resulting in another draw in their long series of matches. Ace was up by 3 points, 50-47-34 over Kaza. They both lay there, content with their final match before heading to the academy that morning to find out their team assignments.
"That was as fun as usual, brother," Kaza said with a warm smile as he pushed himself off the ground and looked over at Ace, his smile filled with sincerity as he got to his feet.
"Yeah, it was good," Ace said with a nod as he got to his feet. "Now, they better put us on the same team, that way we can continue these matches," Ace said confidently, "plus, brothers should definitely keep an eye on each other." "Though I know who you want to be on your team, Kaza," Ace added with a knowing smirk on his lips.
"Yeah, but zero chance of Ino being on our team; she is going to be on a team with Shikamaru and Choji for sure. They are always on the same team, it's a guarantee, and that's fine. I can live with that. I can't wait to find out if we are on the same team. I would love it if we are," he reasoned, thinking it over, as he had before this point. Of course, if he ended up on the same team as his crush, he wouldn't complain at all.
Kaza walked to the academy with his brother. The two were used to this; they had done so every day for the last four years, and this was going to be their last day walking together.
Entering the room, they saw the familiar scene before them. Ino and Sakura were obviously trying to hit on Sasuke. Ace blamed his brother for not making a move to get Ino's attention yet, knowing his brother was a better person than that edgy Uchiha. He was just too shy around Ino Yamanaka for his own good. Add Naruto to the mix, and the whole group dynamic was just silly.
He smiled as he looked over the class, "Kaza, I'm not sure I want to work with a lot of them," Ace reasoned, his gaze sweeping across their classmates. "I hope we get a reasonable team."
Kaza let out a sigh as he nodded his head. "Yeah, they are loud, but they aren't that bad. I'm sure it will work out how it's supposed to. I am curious about who our teacher will end up being; having a good sensei is going to be key, after all."
"Yeah, hopefully, they are someone strong who we can learn a lot from, someone who is adventurous and loves to have fun," Ace retorted. "Or someone like Dad, that wouldn't be bad either."
"Yeah, that would be good. Well, best we take our seats. I'm pretty sure the lesson is going to be rather quick, given we are just going to find out our teams," Kaza nodded as he found the seats the pair of brothers normally occupied in the back right of the room.
Iruka emerged and looked at the group of students, holding the list of teams in his hands. "Okay, I have the teams for you all. Please come forward and get your headband when you are called up. Your sensei will be by later to collect you, so wait on them. Good luck. It has been fun teaching and watching you all grow over the last four years."
Neither of the two paid much attention until they got to Team Seven. As they heard the first name, "Team Seven, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Uzumaki," Iruka said, pausing for a moment.
"I hope not to be on that team," Ace muttered under his breath, "and Shibafu Shizuka, your sensei will be Hatake," he called out. The quiet, green-haired girl looked surprised to be on this team, but she said nothing. Both Ino and Sakura looked rather defeated at that moment. Not getting on the same team as Sasuke, but neither had an advantage in the contest for the Uchiha at that point either.
"Team Eight, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata, team leader will be Yuhi Kurenai," Iruka commented as he looked at the group. He smiled, noticing that Hinata was still a bit disappointed about not being on the same team as Naruto.
"Team Nine, Haruno Sakura," Iruka said as Sakura paid close attention to the team that would follow, "Ace Portgas, and Togusa Kaza, your sensei will be Yamashiro Aoba," Iruka called out, giving out the team with the reactions to this a bit predictable. "Lastly, Team Ten, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Yamanaka Ino, your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi."
Ace smiled as he looked at Kaza, "Well, it seems at least I have one capable teammate," He said looking over at Sakura who looked dejected at not being on the same team as Sasuke.
"Yeah, it is good to be on the same team," Kaza said himself a tiny bit dejected to not be on the same team as Ino, but that was to be expected. He at least had his brother to support, and help.
Sakura approached her new teammates with a forced smile, though her disappointment was evident in her eyes. "Hi, Ace, Kaza," she greeted them, trying to muster some enthusiasm despite her disappointment. "Looks like we're teammates now."
Ace nodded in acknowledgment, his smile genuine but tinged with sympathy for Sakura's obvious disappointment. "Yeah, it's gonna be interesting working together," he replied, trying to lighten the mood.
Ace glanced over at Team 10, noticing the distance between them and Sakura's usual crush, Sasuke. "Sakura, it's fine to be disappointed," he began, his tone gentle. "Kaza's in the same camp as you right now. We don't always get what we want, you know."
Sakura raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled. "What do you mean?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. Despite her intelligence, Sakura hadn't had much interaction with Kaza, who tended to keep to himself.
"I guess you didn't know this, but..." Ace hesitated, looking at his brother, who let out a sigh.
"I've had a crush on Ino since we were kids," Kaza admitted quietly to Sakura. "It's best you know this; it was going to come out at some point, I'm sure." He shifted uncomfortably, feeling exposed but relieved to finally share his feelings with Sakura.
Sakura blinked, surprised, but it made some sense. Not everyone experienced crushes in the same way, so Kaza's nervousness around Ino began to make sense to her. "I didn't know, thanks for telling me," Sakura said, glancing over at the blonde. "I guess what they say about opposites is kind of true," she mused, considering how the quiet and introverted Kaza could have a crush on the loud and assertive blonde.
"Yeah, I guess so. She's someone who is very different from me," Kaza agreed with a smile. "Anyhow, I guess I do understand your fears pretty well myself because of it, Sakura."
"Yeah, and we are a team now. Um, Sakura, have you heard of Aoba before? Because I don't, and I don't remember Dad telling me anything about him either. I guess he's a new jounin or something," Ace interjected, changing the subject. He felt it would be best to shift the focus away from their personal feelings for now. Sakura knew that Kaza could understand the dynamics of a one-sided crush, and that common ground could help bring them closer as a team.
Sakura nodded, grateful for the change in topic. "Aoba? No, I haven't heard of him either," she replied, furrowing her brow in thought. "But I guess we'll find out more when he comes to meet us. Hopefully, he's a good sensei."
Ace and Kaza nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's hope for the best," Ace said optimistically.
Not long after, Ace spoke up, and a man wearing red-framed sunglasses walked into the room with a certain confidence in his step. He looked around and spotted his team, having discussed them with Ryota earlier. He knew he was getting an interesting mix with this group.
"Hey there, Team Nine," Aoba said, his tone friendly. "I'm Aoba Yamashiro, your new sensei. It's great to meet you all."
"Hello, sensei Aoba. It's nice to meet you," Kaza said with a friendly tone, taking charge in that moment. "I am Kaza Togusa."
"Ace," Ace added as he raised a hand to introduce himself a moment later.
"Well, sensei, I look forward to working with you. I am Sakura," the pink-haired girl said as she looked at her sensei.
"Let's go to a training ground and I want to see what you three can do, and what I can help you each with," Aoba said as he motioned the group of three to follow, "I have heard much about you two brothers from your dad. Sakura, I have read your report, good grades, but it seems your actual skills might be rather lacking."
Sakura's cheeks flushed slightly at Aoba's straightforward assessment, but she nodded, determined to prove herself. "I understand, sensei. I'll do my best to improve and make sure my skills match my grades," she replied, her voice steady despite her nerves.
"Good, because I'm going to make sure to do everything to help you turn into a splendid kunoichi, Sakura. With that sharp mind of yours, I bet you have a natural talent for genjutsu, something the two brothers I bet are pretty bad at naturally," Aoba said with a direct, but also rather friendly tone as he walked with the three.
Sakura smiled at the unexpected encouragement, feeling a surge of determination to prove herself. "I will work hard to do well and help out," she affirmed.
"Well, I have a challenge for you three that you're going to have to complete today. It's going to require all your skills and abilities, and given that we have the first and second place students in academics, I made sure to make it challenging too," Aoba said, looking between Kaza and Sakura. "Now, for this challenge, you have 5 hours to complete. Understood? Now, let me explain it."
"There is a large box in the forest, pretty deep in there, and there's a ninja who will challenge you directly as he defends the treasure. Your task is to retrieve the treasure and bring it back. If you succeed, we'll go get some soba, my treat. If not, well, then you'll have extra training tomorrow. I don't care about giving you tests to see if you're worthy of being ninja; that stuff just isn't my style," Aoba explained as he brought them to the edge of the training area, a dense forest stretching before them. "Now get going. You have five hours."