Ch. 14

Full Spars and Lost Bets

2 years later Year 4 in the Elemental Nations

"Yoooosh! Moriko-chaaaaaaan!" came a yell as Moriko finished her warm-up. She chuckled seeing the excitable Gai dragging the harried Asuma and Kakashi with him.

"Ready for a full spar, Gai?" she called as the other two ninjas shot her disbelieving looks. The fact that she regularly sparred with Gai when in the village was still baffling to the two other young men. The fact that they had started placing bets was also rather hilarious as well.

"Hey gaki," she teased as Kakashi glared.

"I'm twenty-four," he deadpanned, expression becoming resigned as Moriko began to coo over him.

"Aww, you're so cute Kashi-chan," she teased as the young man's eyebrow twitched. Asuma settled against a tree with a grin, knowing the show was going to start soon.

"Especially when you get all grumpy like this," she cooed. His eyebrow began to twitch again, as Gai looked back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match.

"Little Kashi-chan, all grown up," she cooed as she clasped her hands and began backing up.

"Nothing about me is small!" he finally yelled. The group froze as Kakashi's eyes went wide. Through the gap in his mask and forehead protector, they could see his face glow bright red. The group broke down in stifled laughter as the young man began sputtering. Moriko's grin grew saucy, her pretty face alluring.

"Is that so?" she purred to Kakashi's mortification.

"Evil woman!" he yelled as he charged. Laughing she took off into the trees as he gave chase. Her further teasing and his enraged and embarrassed yelling could be heard as they moved off into the distance. A moment later she reappeared beside Asuma with a smug grin.

"Clone?" he asked as she nodded.

"I think he knows but he wants to vent some frustration and go lick his wounds in peace after," she said with a grin as she nudged Gai's shoulder with a grin.

"Weights or no weights?" she asked as Gai struck a thinking pose. Suddenly he sent her a thumbs-up.

"Alright! No weights! Let me see your springtime of youth!" he cried as she moved her hand to her sternum, concentration furrowing her brow as she released the seal. Asuma lit a cigarette as he did a jutsu. There was the sound of a loud firecracker that went off echoing around the village and Moriko rolled her eyes at his antics.

"Really Asuma?" he shrugged.

"What? Your full spars are starting to get pretty entertaining," he said with another shrug. She rolled her eyes.

"And someone always brings you free food for letting them know if it's a full spar," she pointed out as he grinned. Shaking her head she returned her attention to Gai as she began to limber up without her seal holding her back.

"Jutsu or no jutsu?" she asked.

"Bring it! Gates or no Gates!" Gai cried.

"Five tops. Genjutsu or no Genjutsu?"

"Bring it! Weapons or no weapons?"

"Bring it! Hair or no hair?"

"Bring it!"

"Seals?"

"Hell no!" Gai, Asuma, and Kakashi cried as Kakashi landed next to Asuma. She chortled as they shot her wary looks.

"Tag team or no tag teams?" she asked. The ninjas shot each other questioning looks.

"Let's see who shows up?" Asuma suggested. The two nodded before their expressions grew serious.

"Are we betting?" she asked. Gai's expression grew cocky.

"Bring it."

"Are people who get called in to be penalized with the bet as well?" she asked. The men's faces turned horrified.

"I'm not running around the village wearing a fundoshi!" Kakashi yelled as he covered his body with his arms. Moriko began to cackle and the men began to share uneasy looks, but Gai wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"Yoooosh! I agree! What is the bet?" he asked. She unsealed a jar that held all their pre-agreed upon bets before turning it over and shaking wildly. The edge of a piece of paper poked out the slit in the top and she paused to let Asuma pull it out. Since he was almost never called upon to fight, he was the most neutral of their group. Reading the paper he began to cackle as the others began to sweat.

"Put on a production while wearing Fundoshi," he laughed as they all looked at each other with horrified expressions. He went over to the usual tree and pinned it to the seal that stuck it there and enlarged it. He tapped the seal under it that lit up red Kanji warning that if you chose to fight you were now obligated to take on the bet. That way people could just read the bet and see if they wanted to try their chances of joining.

Moriko and Gai moved to the center of the large ragged field before doing the sign of reconciliation. Leaping back Gai gleefully released his weights. Kakashi tapped the seal for a barrier that sprung up between them and the fighters before fading from sight.

Asuma raised his hand before letting it fall.

"Begin!"

The two became a blur as they began with taijutsu. Moriko ducked a leaf hurricane kick before retaliating with an uppercut that Gai barely dodged. She deflected his next several blows before leaping into an ax kick that had him getting out of her way.

"What did I miss?" demanded a breathless Anko as she landed beside Kakashi.

"Not much. Moriko-san has gotten a lot stronger," came a young voice as Itachi said from the top of the tree they were under. They looked up and gave a wave as he dropped to a lower branch before sitting. The boy looked far healthier over the past two years the others noted, having been working with him in the force since he had been six. He also seemed a bit more relaxed when interacting with others though still a bit reserved. It had sent his fan club into a tizzy.

"I still can't believe she's only a chunin," grumbled Anko as she took a seat to watch the fight.

"She needs to lead more teams and have a final evaluation to gain rank Anko. Bit hard to do with her being out of the village most of the time and all," said Kakashi with a shrug. The group ooed when Kunai appeared sparks flying as the two still went at it. Gai disappeared with a shunshin when she sent a barrage of shadow clone kunai at him. She ducked the kick aimed at the back of her head as he reappeared behind her, her long red hair blown by the wind pressure. The hair suddenly came alive catching the leg and slinging the man into a distant tree.

"Conditions of the spar?" Asked Kurenai as she landed by Anko who shrugged. Kotetsu, Izumo, Hayate, Raido, Genma, Aoba, and Ibiki all landed behind the group, Izumo handing over the food as Asuma grinned. Inoichi and Shikaku appeared beside them.

"For the love of god, tell me no seals," Shikaku groused as a few Anbu appeared in the tree above Itachi. Shusui appeared beside his cousin with a grin as the younger boy shot him an annoyed look before smirking. After a moment the Hokage appeared in a flurry of leaves with a grumpy Jiraiya in tow.

"Seals?" Jiraiya demanded. The group shook their heads and he breathed a sigh of relief before sitting down in a shady patch. Picking up a stone, he flicked it at the air between them and the fight. It pinged off an invisible force between them and the fight as a barrier shimmered into existence for a moment before fading. Jiraiya nodded pleased before he released a jug of sake from a seal.

"Here here!" Anko cried as she moved to join him. Itachi landed next to the Sannin. Jiraiya went rustling through his pack before producing a thick scroll. Itachi nodded his thanks before returning to his spot.

"Remember to use shadow clones when perfecting those seals, kid!" Jiraiya called.

"Hai sensei," the preteen called. Suddenly Uchiha began to appear around the group, Fugaku and Mikoto at the front. They sent the village leader a nod before going to join Jiraiya.

"They might do tag teams today depending on who shows up," Kakashi warned. Fugaku paused as he reached for a sake cup, eyes flickering to the bet. He paused, clearly hesitant to join with such stakes, before settling back to watch the fight no sake in hand. His wife sent him a small grin as she took a sip.

The younger ones began to cheer excitedly as Moriko blocked a kick with her arm that blew leaves around them before she punched the airborne ninja who barely managed to block with his arms before he was sent flying towards another tree. He managed to flip in time before kicking off of it to avoid the hail of shuriken sent at him. Their trajectory changed and Gai was forced to use a substitution as they embedded themselves in the log.

He appeared behind her to deliver a powerful kick that she tanked. The clone suddenly burst into flames and Gai leapt away yelping as he was caught in a wire trap. He opened the first gate to escape in time as the wires began to crackle with electricity. They devolved into taijutsu once more, working to outsmart one another motions blurred. Suddenly disengaging Gai lept back.

"Tagteam! Kakashi!" he called. Sighing the young man moved around where the barrier would be before leaping into the fray.

"Do I have to?" he asked dryly. She smirked as she began to shunshin around the clearing, leaves rising into the air. The younger Uchiha began to cheer as they engaged in a taijutsu battle. Kakashi was suddenly tanked by a kick to his side and sent flying into the oncoming Gai. Cursing Kakashi as they fell in a tangle he shunshin them away as the mud puddle cracked with lightning. The roar of a mud dragon went charging at them as the two men split up. Gai pulled out his nunchucks as an earth dragon roared to life flying at him while Kakashi continued to dodge the mud dragon.

Gai managed to dodge before blasting its head to dust. Gai cursed as a water dragon appeared behind the first and used the next gate to blast it away.

"You need to learn to conserve your energy more Gai," Kakashi called as he landed beside his long-time friend. As one they went on the offensive returning to the field to the cheers of the others.

"Seals!" Kakashi yelled as he halted Gai, the two of them freezing as they realized they were all over the field. At her devilish smirk, the two men shunined into the forest for cover only to get tangled in more ninja wire.

"Tagteam! Fugaku-sama!" she called gleefully as they struggled to get free of the sticky and tangled wire.

"Tag team! Tenzo!" Kakashi yelled. The Anbu was there in a moment to help them. They cursed as they broke free of the sticky, stinky mess. When they reentered the field they eyed it warily before the fuinjutsu seals shimmered before fading.

"Genjutsu," Kakashi grumbled.

"And they've had time to make a couple of plans," Gai grumbled.

"Or a couple of combination jutsu," Kakashi hissed as he saw the hand signs for a great fireball from Fugaku. Kakashi was already using the hand signs for a great earthen dome, sinking their footing down to protect them from the coming heat. Inside the earth dome, Tenzo made a wood dome to further protect them. Outside, Moriko finished the hand signs for a great wind breakthrough. When the wind hit the great fireball it exploded into a magnificent, raging inferno that sent all the young pyromaniac Uchiha into a frenzy.

Not even pausing mid-sip Jiraiya slapped down a cooling seal that kept the area around the spectators from heating up as the barrier shimmed slightly as the flames licked its edges. Hiruzen raised his eyebrows as he shot his student a questioning look. Jiraiya harrumphed before pouring Mikoto and Anko another cup of sake. it wasn't his fault his student nagged him for one since she hated the when it got too hot.

Tenzo and Gai erupted out of the ground in front of Fugaku as Moriko was suddenly pulled into the earth up to her head. The clone burst into lightning as a singed Kakshi burst from the ground, his hair smoking. He was barely able to block Moriko's kick in time with crossed arms before he was sent flying into Tenzo who was engaging Fugaku in taijutsu. Gai, trapped in genjutsu, made to do an ax kick on Kakashi and Tenzo, but Tenzo managed to release a pulse of chakra in time that dissipated the illusion. Landing by his team, the three ninjas eyed the other two ninjas who were finishing a chain of hand seals before slamming their hands on the ground as one. The earth erupted into tall pillars that covered the field before the two shimmered away from view in a genjutsu. Kakashi went through the hand signs for hidden in the mist jutsu and the field and pillars were covered with thick fog. With that, they entered with stealth. Tenzo made a couple of wood clones and Kakashi made a couple of his own lightning clones. Gai pulled out his nunchucks as he followed.

In the mist, Gai was forced to jump away from a barrage of kunai from Moriko. He went on the offensive as he and the young woman fought, her hair working to block the strikes of his nunchucks as she dodged his kicks. As they fought up the side of the earthen pillars. A gust of wind suddenly blew the mist away and the spectators could see both fights as Fugaku held his own against Kakashi and Tenzo his ninja wire and fire techniques forcing the two on the defensive.

Moriko leaped to the top of a pillar as Gai followed. Suddenly her hair hardened to spikes as she faded from view, her appearance barely there as it distorted the air around her. Gai felt the tickle of genjutsu and dispelled it quickly, waited for the attack but it never came. Moriko went from using Jiraiya's chameleon technique to using Shadow's invisibility technique using a jutsu to mask her scent and from making sound as she snuck along searching. There! She her hair, the ends hardened to razor sharpness gave the two Kakashi a small cut to their necks. They destabilized and turned to lightning. She smirked at his attempt to get her with the same trick. Then she went on the prowl.

Moriko had snuck up on the other fight, Fugaku able to see her easily with the Sharingan. He began to cast subtle genjustu that had the hyperaware Kakashi thinking that an attack would be coming from the right. He leaped back and right into Moriko whose hair made a small knick on his neck.

Kakashi's yelp of pain sent Gai hurrying to his comrade's defense. He found Kakashi leaving the field looking grumpy with a tiny cut on his neck signifying defeat.

Tenzo was on the defensive from both Moriko and Fugaku as Fugaku made full use of his ninja wire and genjutsu to make the pillars a death trap, Moriko and Fugaku running or sliding along them using chakra as they gave chase. Attacking as one, Tenzo did a replacement with one of his clones that went down before reverting back to a wood clone as Moriko sent it through a pillar. Another Tenzo appeared behind her capturing her in wood as another tried to do the same to Fugaku. There was a long flash of steel as a katana poked out of the wood cage and cut through it like butter. Moriko swiftly emerged, katana in hand. She swiftly resealed it before charging Gai catching him off guard as he fought Fugaku, Tenzo hurrying to catch up. Asuma hummed in interest before turning to Jiraiya.

"You've been teaching her wind nature?" he asked as Jiraiya shot the young man a look.

"She wouldn't stop pestering me. I'm surprised she got it to work for her," he said as the young man's eyes went wide.

"That's what, wind, lightning... and water! Three chakra natures," he pointed out, surprised. Jiraiya sighed.

"She wants to see if she can learn them all and has been using shadow clones as a training aide," he said as the young man frowned, the others listening intently.

"That would have to be a lot of clones for her to make use of it," he finally said. Jiraiya merely sent him a grim look.

"She has a lot of chakra. While her drive to improve and learn everything can be exhausting, it's a good thing. Her physical and mental capabilities are exceptionally high putting a large target on her back if it became common knowledge before she's fully trained. She's already in a lot of danger if not trained to her full potential," he finally said as Kakashi traded a surprised look with Asuma and a few others, eyes wide.

"What do you mean she's already in danger? How far are you going to take her training then?" Kakashi asked warily. She was already low to mid-Jonin in skill, he wasn't sure how much farther they planned for her to go.

"The Uzumaki was a powerful and feared clan and a great ally to Konoha since its founding. There is a reason her hair color is changed to blond or brown whenever we are outside the village. If the other villages found out that the Uzumaki clan was being revived they would immediately seek to wipe her out, fearing that the scattered remnants of the clan would gather here. When word does eventually get out, I suspect she's going to need to be prepared to fight off full teams of Jonin on her own at some point. And I've lost too many students to set her free without being sure she can handle it," Jiraiya said moodily as he drained his sake cup. The spectators were dead silent as the gravity of her situation settled over them.

"Is she holding back in these fights at all?" Kakashi asked grimly, already thinking of areas where she would need improvement. He had lost enough comrades, including Kushina. As annoying as she could be at times, he wasn't sure if he could handle losing another Uzumaki. They had a tendency to get under your skin and she was also a very kind and thoughtful person that knew when to ask and when you needed the silent comfort without the questions.

He had a tendency to detour after particularly bad Anbu missions to 'catch up.' Her eyes had said that she knew better but she never asked, just helped get him cleaned up, feed him and natter on about inconsequential things, giving his visits a sense of normality while Jiraiya's presence gave them a sense of security. With seals so much like his old sensei's humming protectively around their rooms, Kakashi didn't have difficulties getting to sleep.

Is she holding back, Kakashi had asked, worried for his friend. Hiruzen must have seen it because he patted the 20-year-old comfortingly on the back as Jiraiya grinned.

"You said she released her weights?" Jiraiya asked, causing Asuma and Kakashi to hesitate before they nodded. Jiraiya chuckled as he refilled his glass.

"She didn't. Not all the way at least," he said as eyes widened around the group.

Tenzo's clones went after Fugaku while Moriko was fighting Gai and Tenzo. She was fully using her hair like another set of arms to parry incoming blows and extending it to try and stab the other ninja. The color changed to an ashy blonde. The color change was enough of a distraction that the two ninjas didn't register that she had added two more sets of arms to her hair's fighting style. She managed to catch Tenzo's extended wood arm attack and yank him forward while catching Gai's leg as she drove a sucker punch into Tenzo's gut. Tenzo flew into an earthen pillar before bouncing off, unable to recover in time to grab on.

Jiraiya paused mid-sip, wincing in sympathy as a dazed Tenzo hit the ground before unsteadily rising to his feet. Fugagku tapped the back of his neck with a kunai as his genjutsu fell and he faded into view, the other wood clones already dispatched by him. Moriko, still having a good hold on Gai's leg managed to catch his other as he made to kick her in the face. With that, her hair extended before he began to be whipped back and forth as she slammed him repeatedly into the earthen pillars, Fugaku using genjutsu to distort Gai's perception further and make him even more disorientated.

The crowd went wild as Gai was slung around, stars in the eyes of the younger ninjas. Despite this Gai managed to open the three remaining gates and slice off the hardened hair that bound his feet. He went flying through the top of a pillar making a few people ooed in sympathy.

Gai was a blur as he rocketed out of the small creator, breath steaming as Moriko finished a set of hand seals before slamming her hands down on the earth pillar she and Fugaku were standing on. All the earth pillars turned to mud and fell as Gai sailed well over their heads. Moriko and Fugaku dove into the mud before disappearing as Gai landed across the field on the grass and began to run back.

He slipped for a moment in the mud before using chakra to run over it though he wasn't able to get much speed on the giving surface. The mud began to attack him as mud dragon after mud dragon was sent his way, Fugaku's eyes red as he used Sharingan genjutsu to cause Gai to run headlong into several but he just powered through as he obliterated them. The crowd cheered seeing his resilience in the face of such daunting attacks.

She and Fugaku produced another raging inferno, but Gai burst from it untouched as the air pressure around him split the fire.

Moriko suddenly sped up as she and Gai engaged in taijutsu, the two of them a blur of kicks and punches that sent small shockwaves through the air as Fugaku used his shuriken jutsu to try to trip Gai up. Gai managed to catch Moriko in a kick that sent her flying up in the air, a couple of shuriken embedding themselves in his leg for his trouble, but Gai leaped after her despite this. She coughed blood from the kick as he suddenly appeared in the air before her. The younger crowd and even some of the adult ninja's eyes went wide.

"Morning Peacock!" he yelled as he began a barrage of punches that set the air on fire as he rained down blows. Moriko managed to protect her skin and internal organs with chakra as the barrage kept coming too fast for her to defend herself from. Fugaku tried without success to send his ninja wire up to pull Moriko away from the attack as Gai continued to rain down blows before finally sending her rocketing toward the ground with one final punch. A couple of younger ninjas cried out in distress as her flaming form was sent rocketing away.

Moriko barely managed to land on her feet, her clothes burning as Fugaku swiftly appeared and doused her with water. She nodded in thanks before frowning at her tattered shirt. There was barely any shirt left and would just be getting in her way. She ripped it off revealing the pristine chest wraps covering her breasts, the bruises littering her abdomen already starting to visibly fade. The young ninjas began to cheer at the badass move, glad to see that she was alright and already healing despite the head-on attack.

Fugaku's eyes widened when she spit blood and a stalk of grass began to bloom where it landed. He subtly covered the spot with his foot, pushing it into the mud so no one would notice as he sent her a questioning glance. She nodded, ready to continue and the two of them moved to take Gai on. Seeing the end game in sight, Asuma spoke up.

"Does anyone want to place a bet?" Asuma asked the crowd. The group eagerly went over and the betting pools began, Ibiki arguing heatedly with Anko on who would win. With the way the fight was going, it could go either way.

...

Moriko groaned where she lay in the mud, Fugaku at her side as they stared at the sky above. Gai really was the Green Beast of Konoha. Gai came over with a grin as he tapped his kunai against their necks. A moment later his insane strength faded and he collapsed beside them.

"Good match, Gai," Moriko mumbled as she offered her hand to make the sign of reconciliation. With a painful grunt, he did the same before they both relaxed into the mud. They could hear the other ninjas approaching.

"Anything broken Fugaku-sama?" Moriko asked as the man gingerly sat up.

"No, but I think I will start focusing on my training more. Excellent spar Gai," he called as the green beast groaned.

"You as well Uchiha-sama. A challenge as always," he said. Already feeling a lot better, Moriko sat up before climbing to her feet, offering Fugaku a hand to help him rise. He took it easily before doing the same. Between the two of them, they were able to get Gai to his feet though they both had to help him walk, each with one of his arms slung over their shoulder. By then the other ninjas had made their way over and were congratulating them over their spar.

"You've improved by leaps and bounds Moriko! Great job!" a sloshed Anko cried as she clapped a hand on the young woman's shoulder. The young Uchihas were gushing over how cool all the ninjas were while the old Oba's were fretting over getting Moriko covered up as they glared at a few of the ninjas that were sneaking a peak at her toned stomach. Itachi handed her her sealing scroll and she easily extracted a sleeveless wrap shirt from it, the dark teal color suiting her well.

The Oba's began to fret over the ragged-cut hair that now hung to her waist before getting to work trimming it. Knowing this song and dance from previous spars Moriko held dutifully still as they got it out from under Gai's arm and went to work while the rest of the group chatted. She smiled as Jiraiya immediately ruffled her hair as soon as the Oba were done, much to their ire. Seeing the giant man Jiraiya cringe as little old women swatted at him was highly entertaining.

"We should train tomorrow. What time are you available," asked Kakashi, getting the attention of a few ninjas in the crowd. Moriko frowned when her closer friends seemed to be sharing a look.

"Yeah, I want to see your progress with wind nature transformation," Asuma said as Gai shot the two ninjas a bemused look. They shot him a significant look before returning their attention to Moriko who was looking distinctly unnerved.

"But you two never want to train. Sensei, what did you do?" she demanded turning to the man. He shot her an affronted look.

"Why do you always assume it's me?" he demanded.

"Because Naisho is on the other side of the village playing with his friends right now," she pointed out. Jiraiya pouted as she laughed, knowing it was true. Naisho and that pink-haired kid got on famously having bonded over their hair colors after he had caught that Ami girl picking on her.

A furious Ami's mother had brought her crying child who had a black eye to yell at Moriko for not controlling her little gremlin of a brother. Moriko, already having the story from Naisho, pointed out that one day the conceited child would try to bully the wrong person and end up dead from it as a result, that Ami's mother should see this as a blessing and a lesson her child would hopefully learn before making the same mistake in the future. She had been horrified, being a civilian and all before leaving in a huff.

Since then, the girl had been around the Sarutobi home a few times since they always stayed with the Hokage when in town. Moriko got the impression the girl's parents actively encouraged this since they always looked pleased to have to stop by the Hokage or Uchiha compound to pick up their child.

She and Sasuke seemed to fight a lot though, usually because the young Uchiha would say something disparaging about her being a girl. Moriko privately thought that it was giving the girl a complex since she seemed to be hellbent on making Sasuke rue the day he ever met her. He and the girl were always trying to outmatch each other by throwing knives out back or push-up competitions, etc.

When the girl started augmenting her movements using chakra she started matching and beating Sasuke and seemed to focus on growing her small pool of chakra. The old Oba's were positively delighted with the hardworking pink hellion and Moriko privately wondered if there would be a band of pink-haired hellion Uchiha in the future. From the way they gave her the same looks, she was wondering who they had in mind to try and marry her off to. Thankfully being a future clan head herself, hopefully, she would be exempt from such meddling.