Chapter 5: The First Spar

The clanking of a plate being placed in cabinet and the sound of a fridge being closed filled the atmosphere. Naruto currently doing his final chore found himself almost done as he wiped his glass clean and placed it on the sink. "And…done!"

The blond sighed in relief, since he got the call from Nekota. He quickly but neatly as he could, did the chores around the apartment.

Making sure that everything was clean and presentable, when he was satisfied the teenager went to his room to pack his duffle bag.

Getting the bag out of one of the boxes in his room, he placing it on his bed. Then he went to look for his boxing equipment.

'Can't believe I sparred with Ryo wearing my trainers.' Naruto thought having found his boxing shoes and placed them in the bag. 'Huh?' the blond thought as something caught his eye, there seemed to be something in the shoes, so rummaging through it, Naruto was caught by surprise.

'Oh yeah…my tassels. I've been looking for them, everywhere.' The blond thought looking at the string. He remembered he'd copied them off that Rocky movie he watched with his aunt back at the cinema.

'I think it was Rocky 3.' The blond thought as he looked at them. 'I thought they were so cool, she bought them for me and I went and showed them to Gus.' He thought as he remembered how he tried to get his trainer's opinion.

Flashback

The Carisi gym didn't have that many people that day, so Gus was back in his office watching some tape for the upcoming matches that his mentor, Mike Tyson would fight in. Sitting behind his desk with the movable tv in front of him, with a pen and paper the old man made a scouting report.

Naruto at that time was so giddy and excited he even forgot to knock to inform Gus that he was here.

"HEY GUS! CHECK THESE THINGS OUT!" Naruto shouted causing the old man who was so deep in his craft to welp a bit. "JESUS KID!" Gus shouted back causing Naruto to realise he'd done something wrong as Gus looked at him with daggers.

"YOU CAN GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK WITH THAT VOICE OF YOURS!" he shouted as Naruto realised Gus was clenching his shirt where his heart was located. "S-sorry, Gus." The blond replied however Gus could only huff.

"Sometimes you should be considerate kid, sorry won't always get you out of trouble. Remember to not forget your manners, KNOCKING IS ONE THEM!-" Gus lectured as Naruto could only nod, however the moment it looked as if Gus was trying to say something else he began to look as if he was in pain.

"Gus?" the blond called as he watched his trainer's grip around his chest tighten. "Gus are you, okay?" Naruto asked again however he received a gasp of pain from gas.

"GAAH!" hearing that welp Naruto out of fear, rushed to the man's side and was able to catch him as he'd almost fell to the floor. "Gus! Gus what's wrong?" the blond called out in worry as he helped the man on the floor as Gus still gasped.

"My heart…GAAH…I need my meds." He gasped as Naruto's heart skipped a bit. "Where are they, Gus? Where are they!?" he asked begging to know.

Pointing them out, Naruto wasted no time rushing to get them and a glass of water. Returning to hear Gus groan the blond knelt to his level and positioned Gus so that he could drink his pills.

"How many should they be, Gus?" the blond asked opening the bottle. "~Thwee~" Gus said lowly, as Naruto wasted no time shaking the bottle and allowing three tablets to in his palm, making Gus open his mouth and putting them in, he helped him drink his water.

"Drink the entire glass, Gus…please drink the entire glass." Naruto begged and the old man obliged. Once he was finished Naruto placed the glass onto Gus' desk.

The two stayed that way for a few minutes as both of them were clutched in the claws of fear, until Gus broke the silence.

"Sorry for scaring you kid…but my stupid heart can't handle jumpscares like it used to." Gus stated pointing out his age making Naruto feel guilty.

"No, I should be sorry Gus. I should've knocked first…I'm sorry for forgetting my manners." Naruto replied but Gus just shrugged it off. "It's alright kid. We make mistakes sometimes as people."

When the chaos had been averted Naruto helped Gus return to his chair as he stood beside him.

"Do you need anything, Gus?" Naruto asked "No I'm fine." Gus replied as he then remembered something "Wait, what is that which made you come in here like that anyway?" Gus asked "Uhh…" the blond tried to remember since his mind had been clouded by the fact he almost lost Gus.

"…you know what it wasn't important."

"Are you sure?" Gus asked but Naruto just nodded.

End Flashback

'Oh yeah…I never went through with it.' Naruto thought as he placed the tassels on his nightstand next to his alarm clock.

Finding his boxing gloves he placed them also into his duffel bag. Finally finishing up by adding his boxing tape into the duffel bag. "Yeah, that's everything." Naruto stated as he zipped his bag and remember something whilst he locked up the apartment.

'I wonder how Gus and Mike are doing back home.' He thought remembering the two as he left the floor and went towards the gym.

The Kamogawa Gym

With everyone being caught up doing their reps in different exercises, the Kamogawa Gym was busy as usual.

With some members doing some jump ropes, others helping each other out by giving pointers, and some having doing spars.

'Wow.' Was all Nekota could think as he watched all the action occurring around him. 'Genji's gym is bustling with so much talent. It makes me feel a bit jealous that he's not sharing this action.' Nekota thought 'But then again, I don't have a gym for myself.' He concluded as his deep thought was broken when he heard the rhythmic hitting coming from the display not far from him.

"I like that sound Ichiro, you've got one more minute left soyou better keep that rhythm going." Coach Kamogawa told Ichiro as he watched the young boxer working hard.

"Hai." Miyata replied continuing to hit the speed back with precision and rhythm.

'This boy Ichiro…he really lives up to the name of his old man.' Nekota thought about the scene infront of him.

"Excuse me. Mr. Nekota." Hearing some call for him Nekota looked away to see Mr. Yagi smiling at him and holding a broom.

"Yes?" Nekota asked "Could you please move aside, I need to sweep where you're standing." He replied as Nekota quickly made way for him.

"Oh my apologies, Yagi." He replied as Mr. Yagi raised his hand. "Nonsense, there's no need for you to apologies, you can stand wherever you want." Mr. Yagi said as Nekota nodded.

With the short conversation ending both men went to do their separate things.

Nekota was back to looking at Ichiro and Genji who were both done with the speed bag and were going to do a bit of mitt punching.

When this was happening the gym's front door was slid open showcasing a man on the otherside who had a short beard, messy dark-brown hair and was wearing a brown suit.

"Well this is a surprise." greeted Mr. Yagi as his attention was caught by the door being opened. "Long time no see, Fugi."

Mr. Fuji, a veteran sports journalist who worked for the Monthly Boxing Fan could only but smile seeing a familiar face.

"Hey Mr. Yagi, yeah I thought I would stop by and get a few words from the big guy." Mr. Fuji responded. "Is he around?" he asked.

"Takamura's not in the gym at the moment, he left awhile back to do his roadwork so he's most likely coming back. You've got no problem waiting for a minute, do you?"

"No, it's not a problem. I'll wait on him. Let's hope he won't take too much of a long time." Fuji replied as he looked past Fugi and saw how busy the gym was.

His attention was quickly caught by Ichiro and Coach Kamogawa who were doing some mitt punching.

'Hard-working as always.' Fugi thought as he decided to see what Miyata and Coach Kamogawa were working on. As he approached, he noticed that Nekota was also watching them, so he decided to hear his thoughts.

"I guess those two working together has caught your eye as well, sir?" Fuji asked as Nekota looked at him and agreed.

"Yep. Gen-chan's boy sure has some sharpened tool for an outboxer." Nekota stated "I couldn't agree more. It's hard to believe he's not a pro boxer. I even believe his prowess could take some other pros to the bank. Miyata is the real deal." Fuji commented.

"True that." Nekota concluded "I'm Minoru Fuji, sir. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Fuji introduced himself as he offered a handshake to Nekota who accepted "Ginpachi Nekota, pleasure to meet you, Minoru."

Hearing the man's name Fuji looked surprised "No way. You're not Ginpachi Nekota who boxed back in the day are you?" he asked all giddy, hearing himself being recognized Nekota smiled. "I am that man."

"Huh. Who would have thought. So what brings you here to Kamogawa Gym?"

"Initially it was to see my friend, Genji and catch up with him-" Nekota began but Fuji spoke up before he could continue "No way! You and Chief Kamogawa are friends?"

"Ah huh. Is it that surprising?" he asked as Fuji couldn't help but scratch his hair.

"In the world of boxing it's actually surprising since two rivals are sometimes not able to be in the same room together without breathing down each other's necks." Fuji explained as Nekota nodded

"Yeah, but me and Genji are past those stages, were in our twilight, Minoru there's not much fuel left in our tanks to continue slugging each other." Nekota replied as Fuji accepted the answer and decided to change the topic.

"So what's a legend like you is doing in retirement?" he asked as Nekota smiled. "I'm the proud owner of a lodge called Pension Yoshio. It's located in the mountains of the Joetsu region around the Niigata Prefecture." He said.

"Wow. Must be a relaxing job, isn't it?" Fuji asked as Nekota nodded. "Nature can sure make you feel free, Minoru. Me explaining it wouldn't to justice to the scenery of my home." He added feeling pride and joy about his home.

"The way you say it I shouldn't probably head that way when I tell my Chief I want a vacation." Fuji stated as Nekota smiled. "If that day comes just know I'm a great host." He concluded as then Fuji remembered why he was here in the first place.

'Now what's taking Takamura so long.' He thought.

The Streets of Tokyo

"Achoo!" Takaruma Mamoru sneezed as this action made him abruptly stop running. Rubbing his nose he couldn't help but comment. "I must be getting the case of the sniffles." He muttered to himself, as not long he decided to continue running.

The distance to the gym was getting smaller and smaller, so with a quick left turn on the next corner he'd be there in no time.

'The sooner I'm back there, the better. There's nothing interesting happening on the street today-' Takamura's thought from his boredom was caught abrumptly when he saw infront of him some teenager walking up the street.

'What's with the getup?' the middleweight boxer thought 'Cap worn backwards. Duffle bag slinged above his back. Guy must be trying to act cool or something.' He added as his quicker pace allowed him to run past the teenager and get a quick glance at him.

His black iris met with the teenager's deep sea blue.

'Wait…are those whiskers?' Takamura thought but he couldn't dig further as the corner came up and he had to turn right.

'Strange.' Was all Takamura could think and he then had a grin on his face. 'Must be the new look for delinquents these days…nice to see that my former kind has evolved.'

Finally he'd arrived at the Kamogawa gym. "Gentlemen!" sliding the gym's front door open Takamura shouted catching everyone's attention. "The great Mamoru has returned!" he stated proudly as he quickly made a pose by flexing his bicep with a toothy grin.

"You blob! Stop causing such a ruckus and get over here!" from the other side of the gym, Coach Kamogawa ruined Takamura's jubilant moment. "Fuji's here to talk to you." The gym owner informed Takamura.

"Fuji?" Takamura called out confused until he saw the man standing next to Nekota waving his hand. "Oh, Fuji! Buddy, it's been awhile! You finally decided to come back after seeing how awesome I am in the boxing scene, eh?" Takamura stated as he approached Fuji.

"I was hoping you could answer a few questions from me." Fuji explained as Takamura huffed.

"Just like I thought. It wasn't a social call, you only see me as a piece of meat don't you Fuji! Something that can help your company sell a few magazines!" he shouted as he got up in Fuji's face who was flabbergasted by the accusation.

"W-what are you talking about, Takamura?" he said confused, as Takamura just poked him in the chest.

" What am I talking about? Your cheating ways you, cheat! You've hurt me far too much and I won't be your rebound like last time. I'm done with all this Fuji! I'm sorry but we can't keep seeing each other. I want a divorce and I'm keeping the kids." Takamura said acting with a lot of rage in his voice as everyone who heard his outburst looked confused.

"Divorce? Kids? What are you talking about, man?"

"You're even clueless. I should've listened to mother when she said I should be careful about those city boys." Takamura concluded as he walked passed Fuji. "I'm going to change since the sight of you will make me feel disgust."

"HUH?!"

That was everyone's expression having seen the exchange of the two.

"Can someone fill me in on what just happened?" Fuji asked as he was bewildered by Takamura's behaviour. Luckily Mr Yagi was there to clarify everything.

"He's basically saying he won't talk to you for awhile since he'd just came back to the gym since his last fight and you weren't there when he was in an interview-speaking mood." Mr. Yagi explained.

"Okay, but what was up with the whole divorce gimmick?"

"Oh that was a reference to this show me and him watch. Love in The Big City. You really hurt him Fuji, I think it's better you come back a few days later after he's cooled down." Mr. Yagi suggested as Fuji couldn't help but scratch the back of his head.

"He can be such a handful sometimes. It's not like I did it on purpose, I'm a busy man too, Yagi." He replied as Mr. Yagi shrugged. "I get where you're coming from but I apologise for his behaviour for what it's worth."

Feeling hopeless Fuji just sighed he'd have to come back another time. "Well I guess I should head back to the office." He concluded as he began saying goodbye. "Mr. Nekota it was a pleasure speaking with you." He shook Nekota's hand. "It felt amazing speaking to you too, Minoru. Until next time." Nekota replied as Fuji nodded.

"Kamogawa gym. See you all later." He said waving receiving the gesture back. Heading towards the gym's front door. Fuji was about to slide it open when someone beat it to him. Opening the door, Fuji's eyes met with that of Naruto's.

"Good day, sir." Naruto greeted Fuji as he made way for him to pass. "Good day, kid." Fuji replied as he walked out of the gym onto the pavement only to be surprised by Naruto's attire.

'Wait…is his cap backwards?' he thought bewildered as the blond headed into the gym.

'He had a duffle bag on him…is he a new face in the Kamogawa gym?' he thought as he had the urge to walk back into the gym and find out but checking his wrist watch on instinct he realised he had a deadline to attend to.

"Must be a delinquent that's trying out the pros." Fuji muttered to himself as he crossed the street, entered his Beetle and sped off.

The Kamogawa Gym

"Nekota-jiji!" Naruto shouted out as he slid the door behind him, closed. His announcement got everyone in the gym to glance at him. They all would have returned to their exercises if it wasn't for the way he was dressed which caught all of them by surprised.

"Kid! You made it!" Nekota with a toothy grin smiled as he and Naruto walked towards each other only to envelop into a small hug. "For a moment I wondered if I did bad by not giving you directions." He said as Naruto chuckled. "Luckily I checked the phone booth and it gave me the address of the place." The blond explained as Nekota sighed in relief.

While the two spoke over with Coach Kamogawa he and Miyata had taken a minute break from mitt-punching and the outboxing prodigy had used his break to go to the bathroom.

"So that's Nekota's found talent? He looks like a delinquent." Mr. Yagi commented "No, buddy. That boy isn't some punk trying to act and look tough. It must be how the kids in the USA wear their clothes." Coach Kamogawa explained. "I'm going over there to meet him. Could you go tell Miyata that his matchup has arrived." Coach Kamogawa told Mr. Yagi who nodded.

As the two friend's separated Mr. Yagi went into the bathroom to get Miyata. As Coach Kamogawa reached both Naruto and Nekota he spoke.

"Nekota. Aren't you going to introduce me?" he asked as his friend who realised he hadn't introduced them.

"Where the hell are my manners. Naruto meet my bestie, Genji Kamogawa. Bestie, meet Naruto." Nekota said with a toothy grin. "I never said I was your bestie, Nekota." Kamogawa denied.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto. Genji can be quiet embarrassed of our relationships." Nekota explained as Naruto realised something.

"Oh, so he's a tsundere, to you?" Naruto asked

"Can you believe it!? You should start acting your age, Gen. Even the kids have a name for your behaviour." Nekota grinned.

"Will you shut up!" Coach Kamogawa shouted as Nekota could help but laugh. "I told you, he's got a short fuse. Look. He's already angry." Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the banter in front of him. The two seemed to get into a shouting contest which was more than entertaining for the blond as meanwhile this was happening Mr. Yagi had entered the bathroom.

"…that's why you should play hard to get, Ichiro. No matter what, never make it easy for those reporters." Mr. Yagi heard Takamura who was now out of his running attire and was wearing a black sleeveless vest and some shorts.

"Don't you think you're taking this whole thing of yours with Mr. Fuji a little bit too far?" Miyata asked as Takamura huffed. "He needs to learn a lesson, Ichiro. As your senpai that's the one lesson I want you to keep with you."

"Uhh, Ichiro." Mr. Yagi called out getting the pair's attention. "Your matchup for the spar has arrived and Coach Kamogawa wants you to get ready." He informed the teenager who remembered about the spar. "Oh…thanks Mr. Yagi I'll get to it." He replied as Mr. Yagi took the reply to leave the bathroom.

"Wait you're having a spar, Ichiro? How come I wasn't informed?" Takamura asked "It was setup earlier this morning before you arrived to the gym." Ichiro answered "I can't believe that old geezer went all the way to get a kid from another gym to come spar with you, Miyata. He didn't do that for me once!" he proclaimed.

"My opponent isn't from another gym, Takamura." Ichiro said getting Takamura confused. "He's not?"

"Nope, he's some guy that Mr. Nekota found him off the street."

"Off the street? Mr. Nekota? Who's that?" Takamura asked "To put it in simple terms, the Chief's old friend came in today to visit him and while they spoke Mr. Nekota said he found some guy who he thinks is boxer material. He asked if the Chief could setup a spar with me and him to test him out and if he does well, he'd be allowed to join our gym." Ichiro finished explaining as Takamura could only hum.

"Well aren't you underestimated, my underling. To think this Mr. Nekota thinks he could find some 'Joe' off the street and make him fight my favourite pupil, is an insult to me!" Takamura stated puffing his chest.

"Don't make it a big deal, Takamura. It's not that much of a bad thing." Ichiro tried to make Takamura stop overreacting but the former didn't want to hear it as he slowly opened the bathroom door enough to peek into the gym to see who was this 'punk' that would fight his pupil.

"Yo…" Takamura muttered as he saw Naruto being around Mr. Yagi, Coach Kamogawa and Mr. Nekota. 'The way he carries himself…' he added as he remembered that posture from many of the boxers he faced so far.

"So how does he look?" Ichiro asked as Takamura looked at him. "Just be careful, Ichiro. Like very careful." Takamura replied as hearing this from his senpai, Ichiro's intrigue wanted him to see this 'punk'.

So peaking just like Takamura, his senpai pointed out the boy and just by seeing his getup. Ichiro made a mistake like all the others.

'A delinquent…really? Is this some kind of joke.' He thought already forgetting the advice that Takamura had given him.

Sadly this mentality of his was poisonous as he'd underestimate, Naruto Namikaze.

"Alright you two get out of the ring, we've got a spar coming up!" Coach Kamogawa told two of his boxers who followed the command. "The locker room is down that way, Naruto. You can go change in there." Mr. Yagi stated as Naruto nodded. "Much obliged sir." The blond replied as he went to change.

The locker room was lively with many of the gym's regulars, taping their gloves, showering or even rummaging through their lockers. With Naruto entering he got some glances from them as he set up his duffle bag on one of the benches.

With most of them quietly sizing him up. The blond seemly returned the gesture and just by his look he got them all to buckle and stop the eye-contact.

"Damn did you see the eye contact from, this kid. He's got the look of a veteran." One patron whispered to another. "No kidding. Kinda reminded me of Takamura getting into the zone." Another added as Naruto just chuckled.

"Who would have thought the Kamogawa gym, produced more gossipers than boxers." Naruto said out loud purposefully wanting the two's attention which he got.

"The hell did you just say, kid!" one patron shouted getting angry. "You heard me." The blond replied looking at the two, as he took off his cap.

"I heard the studio has some auditions opening up for the new season, of Gossip Girls. You two are so talented, I'm sure there's a huge chance you'll make it as gossipers than boxers." The blond stated as he was in motion to take his shirt off.

"Why I outta-" one of the patron's decided to get up into Naruto's face. However as he shortened the distance between them he saw Naruto's physique and was shocked as he looked at it.

Naruto seeing how both men were now startled he could help but chuckle. "You guys seriously got startled, by my physique? Let this be a lesson to you both. Don't judge a book by it's cover." Naruto said as he wore a baggy t-shirt that masked his physique from the world.

In the meantime Ichiro, who many of the gym regulars saw as the gym's top talent not being a pro, watched as he entered the ring with Coach Kamogawa, Mr. Yagi and Mr. Nekota being out of the ring.

"Hey look. Miyata's going to have a spar." One gym regular said and this was enough to get most of the regular's attention and they all decided to take the opportunity to see Miyata in action. "I wonder who's that he's fighting?" one patron said not realising that Takamura was beside him, with his hands folded.

"Nekota's kid." He informed him. "The chief's friend is also a gym owner?"

"Nope. He found this kid that's going to take on Miyata." He replied "Found him? Like from the street?"

"I believe so." Hearing this the patron just rolled his eyes. "If Ichiro's fighting some punk what's the point of watching? I'm going to do my roadwork." The patron said as Takamura just huffed.

'You'd think as a boxer you wouldn't underestimate someone.' He thought deducing that the patron wasn't going to make it as a boxer. 'He'll be gone in two months with that mindset.' Takamura thought and in truth he did. That's the one thing he'd learnt after fighting in his first bout.

His opponent could have made the fight more even if he hadn't been arrogant, and truthfully he never wanted to underestimate someone since even he could sadly end up being knocked out if he wasn't careful.

"David beat Goliath after all." Takamura muttered, as he then heard the banging of gloves from the direction of the locker room. Turning that way, he saw Naruto coming out with his orange gloves on and walking towards the ring.

"Let's hope Miyata doesn't do that mistake." He added as Naruto passed him and approached the ring.

It wasn't long that both fighters were in the ring with many eyes from the outside peering in. Most of the Kamogawa Gym wanted to see this intriguing and rare event.

As the two fighters prepared, Miyata stood in his corner, eyes narrowed as he watched Naruto speaking with Mr. Nekota who was in his corner while he warmed up.

'He even bought his own equipment, huh. Must be some punk thinking he's tough. I'll show Mr. Nekota not to underestimate me with some, bum.' Ichiro thought not knowing this mentality would be his ruin.

Having already feeling certain he'll dominate this match. He didn't pay much attention to what Coach Kamogawa was telling him, which was important as he told him that he should go all out as Naruto is dangerous. The only part he heard was.

"…use your slick footwork to command the ring." He stated.

"Consider it done, coach." Ichiro replied as he put in his mouthguard as Coach Kamogawa tried to hand him some headgear.

"I won't need that coach." Ichiro stated shocking Coach Kamogawa. "Woah kid. Believe me you'll need it." He replied "Don't worry he won't even touch me." Ichiro stated as Coach Kamogawa persisted however Ichiro was being thick headed.

"Ichiro, I'm telling you this boy's dangerous!" he cautioned however Ichiro assured him.

"Just cause he's a brawler doesn't mean a lot old man. Don't worry I'll tire him out. He'll know the truth about boxing." Ichiro stated as Coach Kamogawa couldn't help but cringe.

'Why do I feel like he's about to get one of the hardest lessons in boxing?' Coach Kamogawa thought as he yielded trying to get him to protect his head.

"Don't worry, coach. This'll be easy." He concluded as he then decided to just recline on the corner with his arms resting on the top rope.

'Yeah, Miyata's kid is going to get a rude awakening.' Coach Kamogawa thought since he tried to warn Ichiro but he was too blinded by his own talent. 'Let's hope his old man doesn't blame me.'

Over in Naruto's corner the blond had a small chat with Nekota.

"So what's your strategy?" Nekota asked. "He's an outboxer, so I'll be aiming to disabling his feet." Naruto told him. "So body blows to start round 1, eh?"

"Yeah I could take the first round to size him up a bit, but you said your friend is telling him to go all out." Naruto stated "Yep, me and Gen want to see the difference between you two. So by simulating a real pro fight it can help out point out the difference between both of you. So give him hell and hit him hard. Not enough to hurt him too much."

"Yeah I know it's a spar. I won't use my advanced techniques on him." Naruto replied as Mr. Nekota smiled at that and was about to give him his head gear when he got a glance of Miyata opposite the ring which shocked him making him stop abrumpty.

"Is something wrong, Nekota-jiji?" Naruto asked as he looked behind him to see Miyata staring at him nonchalant with his hands on the top ropes without his headgear. Getting a quick glance into the boy's eyes, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle after reading them.

Looking back to Mr. Nekota the older man looked up to him only to see him laugh.

"W-what's so funny, Naruto?" he asked as the blond looked at him. "I'm sorry, Nekota-jiji. It's just, pff…" the blond couldn't hold himself but snicker. "He's underestimating me…he's literally forgetting the first rule in boxing."

"No matter how they look, never judge a book by it's cover." Nekota uttered the rule as Naruto nodded. "It's always arrogance that lead clowns like that Ichiro Miyata there to act like this…and due to my love for this sport. I'm about to TAKE HIM TO SCHOOL." Naruto proclaimed "You can keep the headgear Nekota-jiji, I've got a patient who needs to be helped from the symptoms." Naruto added as Nekota just looked at him and saw the expression of the boy.

"His face…it reminds me of that which Gen had on him when he fought that army officer all those years ago." He muttered already feeling sad for Ichiro Miyata. For he didn't know he ruffled a beast.

"Alright listen up!" Genji shouted getting everyone's attention.

"This is gonna be a three-round spar. Each one lasts for five minutes. If you get knocked down you have ten seconds to get back up, if you stay past ten seconds you lose, simple as that." He explained the rules. "Dead meat." Naruto muttered to himself looking at Ichiro who began to bounce on his toes still having his attitude kept.

"Without further ado, let's start. Yagi!" Coach Kamogawa signaled for Mr. Yagi to hit the bell.

Round 1- FIGHT!

As the bell rings. Naruto didn't waste time springing forward quickly shortening the distance between him and Ichiro. His abrumpt speed caught Ichiro by surprise.

'He's trapped me, in the corner!' Ichiro thought shocked as out of instinct Ichiro began throwing jabs from every angle to make Naruto give him some space.

Naruto, however, didn't have a problem reacting to the barrage of punches. Like he did with Mashiba earlier he simply slides back with subtle, controlled movements, easily avoiding the strikes.

The crowd started to murmer.

"Look at this guy," one patron says to another. "He's dodging every punch!"

Miyata beginning to feel frustration everytime he caught the air, decided to start throwing one-two combinations, however that didn't change anything as Naruto remained cool and collected as he continued to slip and weave, making it look like he's wasn't even breaking a sweat.

In truth he actually wasn't he was so pissed at Ichiro's attitude he was dialled in that even Ichiro's japs he could see them being telegraphed.

'Damn it!' Ichiro thought as out of desperation to make room, since his back was on the padding of the corner he threw a powerful right hook, however to everyone's shock. Naruto simply leaned back out of the way of the punch watching it sail a few inches from his nose.

'Opportunity.' Naruto thought to himself as he saw Ichiro's momentum and beat Ichiro in his own game. With a clean jab counter, the blond made it connect onto the outboxing prodigy's face making his head buckle a bit backwards.

The crowd just gasped seeing that display. "You got him where you want him, kid! Continue what you're doing!" Nekota shouted from Naruto's corner.

"Damn, he caught him clean!" from a distance Takamura commented.

Back in the ring Miyata tried to dismiss the hit by shaking it of. "Lucky shot," he muttered to himself, once again launching himself back into the fight with even more aggression, desperate to prove himself. 'I need to get out of this corner!' Ichiro thought trying to burst out of the corner but to his shock as he tried to go right.

Naruto with pure force literally put his right arm in his way and launched him back into the corner.

"We're both living here, buddy!" Naruto told Miyata who was still in shock at the blond's strength as even the crowd was shocked.

'He literally just forced him back into the corner! This kid…he's really a pupil of Mike Tyson.' Coach Kamogawa thought in shock, as from afar Takamura smirked. "Man, that's not a bad trick…I think I should use it one day." He told himself.

Ichiro not trying to make Naruto's strength get in his head went back to punching.

This time ensuring his punches were coming faster, however to Naruto they looked wilder, and more erratic.

Like a butterfly the blond effortlessly dodged each one, stepping to the side or ducking under, and then retaliating with sharp counter jab punches, that got Ichiro feeling a lot of pain.

By adding yet another jab to Ichiro's nose. Naruto went ahead as he strategically decided. With Ichiro delirious the blond went for his body.

Dodging yet another attempted right hook from Ichiro Naruto slid under it and hit Ichiro with a clean effective body blow to kidney that got his to gasp.

"AAH~" Ichiro yelped 'I can't…breath.' He thought as he looked up to Naruto only to be shocked when the blond wasn't done as he weaved a bit to the left. 'I should dodge…but I can't my legs…my legs…THEY DON'T WANT TO MOVE!' Ichiro panicked as he couldn't do nothing to Naruto's left powered haymaker right which he sent right to his cheek. Without warning, Ichiro was down onto the canvas face first.

"OH!" that sound reverberated throughout the gym as everyone could only feel bad for Ichiro as he landed on the floor hard. "Damn! That fall was nasty!" one patron commented.

"Ichiro! Are you alright! Can you hear me!" Coach Kamogawa shouted as he began hitting the ring, as his eyes met with Ichiro's and kid you not he realised that the kid eyes weren't responding.

"Oh crap! Yagi, ring the bell! RING THE BELL!" Coach Kamogawa shouted as he rushed into the ring.

*DING!*DING!*DING!*

After he rang the bell, Mr. Yagi rushed into the ring to help the Coach Kamogawa as they both went to the side of the unconscious Ichiro. Slapping his face and calling out his name the kid remained unresponsive.

"Someone QUICK! GET A BUCKET!" Coach Kamogawa shouted as while everyone in the gym was concerned about Ichiro's health Naruto was back in his corner.

"Damn…I think I went a little too far, Nekota-jiji." Naruto stated since he didn't mean to get that fired up. Last thing he wanted was to hurt someone.

"No kid it wasn't your fault, you did what we told you. He should've worn that headgear when we told him to. It's his fault for underestimating you." Nekota explained but Naruto was still feeling guilt.

"It's a good thing I didn't fight in orthodox." The blond muttered to which Nekota heard. "Wait, did you say orthodox? You're not left-handed?" Nekota asked having noticed that Naruto was fighting as a southpaw.

"No I'm actually naturally right handed. It's just I'm ambidextrous and I can switch between southpaw and orthodox rather easily." The blond explained shocking Mr. Nekota.

"You can switch your stances! My, my kid. No wonder Miyata's boy didn't last an entire minute with you! You're a boxing anomaly!" Nekota gasped and he could only wonder just how strong Naruto Namikaze actually was since that display of strength showed he was leagues above. Ichiro Miyata.