"The Academy Tournament… begins now!"
With the unofficial tournament underway, excitement rippled through the students on the sidelines. All eyes were on the two strongest students in the class: Asuma Sarutobi and Genma Shiranui.
Toka, the supervising instructor, stepped forward.
"Make the seal of reconciliation."
The boys raised their hands and formed the seal. Their expressions were calm, but there was a spark in their eyes.
Toka took a step back. "On my mark…"
A tense silence fell over the field.
. . .
"Hajime!"
. . .
Dust exploded beneath their feet as Asuma and Genma lunged at each other.
"POW!"
Their elbows collided as the two boys decided to go with full frontal assault. Since both of the boys were equal in relative strength, their elbows shook as neither could overpower the other.
Neither boy budged. Their arms trembled under the pressure.
Suddenly, Asuma broke out of their initial exchange and quickly attempted to target Genma's legs with a low sweep. With his quick reflexes, Genma jumped up and followed with a kick aiming at Asuma's head which Asuma blocked with a quick jab with his hand.
The two of them quickly disengaged as they backed away.
Asuma sneered at Genma. "You haven't been slacking off, huh Genma!"
Genma grinned as he chewed the small bamboo stick from the corner of his mouth.
"Just because your the Hokage's son doesn't mean that you can beat me so easily!"
With that remark, Genma chose that moment to quickly rush at Asuma.
They both exchanged blows with relentless fury as fists were dodged, kicks were blocked, and elbows and knees were tanked.
. . .
"Both of them are really going at it huh...." Anko commented with a grin.
Rika Hyuga glanced at her from the corner of her eyes before silently snorting. "Of course, they are. After all, this is what one would expect from the top students of our class."
The students on the sidelines, on the other hand, were eagerly watching as the two boys seemed to be unable to overpower the other.
If one would look at it, Genma and Asuma seemed to be equal in strength. However, Genma was still using the basic academy taijutsu that was taught in the academy. Asuma on the other hand.....
"WHOOSH!"
Genma's punch sailed next to Asuma's cheek as Genma's knuckle just barely grazed it. Asuma took a step back as Genma attempted to take advantage of his opponent's retreat to forward it up with another exchange. However, just when Genma took more than even two steps, his eyes widened and quickly jumped back.
"Huff..... Huff....." Genma panted as he attempted to catch his breath. His eyes, however, never left his opponent for a second. After a while, he wiped his brow and narrowed his eyes. "Hey... Seriously?"
Asuma's stance was funny to say the least.
Both legs were bent to a unimaginable degree, his knees barely touching the ground. Asuma's left hand was planted on the ground while his right hand was crossed behind his back, while Asuma's head was looking straight at Genma.
Genma gritted his teeth as he seemed to recognize the battle stance.
The rest of the student's were utterly confused on why Asuma took such a wierd pose.
"Huh? What is he doing? This is a fight not a dance competition!" Obito yelled out.
Lumian watched closely as Asuma's battle stance took an uncanny appearance of wild nature. Almost like an animal... or.....
"A monkey?" Lumian realized.
No words were exchanged as Genma cautiously approached Asuma. He focused his complete attention on Asuma as he prepared for any sudden attacks that he might pull.
Suddenly, Asuma leapt forward pushing off his knees as he pulled of a straightforward assault on Genma. "Whoah!" Genma quickly dodged to the side as he just barely moved his head a few inches to the right to avoid the flying punch. He grinned at the seemingly fast, but open move as he threw a punch to Asuma's side.
"POW!" Genma was instantly knocked to the ground as his eyes blurred and his brain rattled inside his skull.
"Huh? What?"
These were the only thoughts that came out of Genma's mouth as it tasted the dirt of the ground and he was instantly knocked out.
In the corner of the field, Toka walked up to Genma and knelt down to check his condition. After making sure there weren't any serious injuries he stood up and raised his arm in Asuma's direction.
"Winner! Asuma Sarutobi!"
. . .
Few of the students in the sidelines blinked at the quick finish of the match. Other students were rubbing their eyes in confusion as they missed the quick exchange.
"What just happened!" Obito's shouted with his eyes wide open.
Lumian glanced at Obito from the corner of his eyes and was about to respond.
Suddenly, a voice spoke out behind Obito.
"Monkey style."
Obito turned around and found Kotetsu, the future village bodyguard, standing behind him.
"Monkey style?"
Kotetsu nodded before responding. "Asuma told me about this style a while back. Its one of the special taijutsu's of the Sarutobi clan."
"Sarutobi clan?" Obito responded in confusion.
Kotetsu let out a sigh before shaking his head. "The Sarutobi clan is known for their summoning contracts with the monkey clan you know. Because their people were so close to their partners, they were inspired by the unpredictable nature of the monkey's flexibility and chose to create a fighting style based on it."
Izumo, who was standing right next to Kotetsu when he started to talk to Obito, chose to respond next.
"Genma was correct for taking advantage of Asuma's opening... if only it wasn't bait.... Asuma purposely threw a fake out punch aiming for Genma's head, so that when Genma chose to respond in return, he had already thrown a kick from the back of his foot, which nailed Genma from the back of his head."
Obito's mouth widened open as he let out an audible ah. "Ah! So that's what happened!"
Lumian shook his head at Obito's attempt to cover up his initial confusion.
. . .
. . .
From the field, Genma had already recovered from his brief unconsciousness and was attempting to get up.
"Need a hand?"
Genma looked up to see Asuma standing over him with a grin with his hand outstretched.
He snorted before taking it. When he shakingly got up with Asuma's help he shot him a nasty look.
"Really? You couldn't hold back on that blow?"
Asuma nervously laughed as he rubbed his head. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to the fighting style ever since my Dad started giving me lessons."
Toka approached the two boys and told them to end off the spar with the seal. After the seal was made, and the two boys sat down on the sidelines, Toka announced the next matchup.
. . .
"Next! Izumo vs Kotetsu!"
. . .
Izumo grinned at Kotetsu who only returned the same grin. "Don't hold back on me bro."
Izumo raised his fist towards Kotetsu. "I'll drag your face on the dirt and parade it around the village." Kotetsu responded.
Both of them laughed as they made their way to the field.
Toka looked at the two boys before sighing. "Please don't take too long. I don't want this spar to last until the day ends."
"Hah! Don't worry Sensei! I'm going to do him a favor and leave him in the hospital for the week so he can miss class! I'm such a considerate friend!" Izumo said.
Kotetsu sneered at Izumo's remark before laughing. "Oh, Don't worry Sensei! I'm going to enjoy his snacks right next to his hospital bed after I'm done with him!"
"....." Izumo's grin slowly turned blank as he stared at Kotetsu with wide eyes.
"I thought you said someone stole them..."
Kotetsu chuckled as his smile slowly turned maniacal. "Heh heh he... I lied."
"YOU BASTARD!" Izumo yelled out as he clutched his fists. "I'M GOING TO PUMMEL YOU TO THE GROUND!"
"TRY IT YOU APE!"
. . .
Rin lifted her eyebrows in surprise before whispering to Obito. "Their really fired up for their match huh....."
Lumian glanced at Rin with a deadpan look. "I think you got the wrong impression Rin...." he silently lampooned.
. . .
Toka sighed as he lifted his hand to clutch his forehead at the boys' antics.
"Please make the Seal of Reconciliation."
With reluctance, both Kotetsu and Izumo made the seal.
"Alright then... On my mark..."
"..... Hajime!"
. . .
"KOTETSU!!"
"IZUMO!!"
SMACK!
They both punched each other square in the face.
No blocks. No dodges. Just pure violence.
The crowd winced.
They didn't even stagger. They just glared.
"We were like brothers!" Izumo yelled, throwing a right hook at Kotetsu's ribs. "How could you do this to me?!"
Kotetsu gasped but didn't back down. He stepped in, lifted a knee—
—and cracked Izumo right in the groin.
There was silence.
Then:
"AUGHHHH—"
"OH MY KAMI—"
Both of them crumpled to the ground simultaneously—Izumo clutching his lower half, Kotetsu hugging his gut where the punch had landed.
They groaned in unison.
The crowd stared, stunned.
. . .
Toka stared down at the scene before him.
He said nothing.
Then, slowly, he jotted something on his clipboard before making his way to the two boys.
"Double knockout," he muttered. "Next match."
. . .
Lumian sighed at the seemingly quick match.
"I'm not going to even bother commentating on this....."
. . .
After Toka had carried the unconscious boys to the Academy's nurse, he promptly returned to the training grounds. The moment he arrived, he found the two girls already standing in their designated positions—poised and focused.
Toka gave a short nod of approval, then looked between them.
"Anko Mitarashi. Rika Hyuga. Are you ready?"
Both girls responded with curt nods, immediately shifting into their respective stances.
A wave of murmurs rippled through the gathered students.
The crowd gasped, then began whispering amongst themselves.
Lumian, standing off to the side, widened his eyes and muttered under his breath."Oh? So I guess Anko's already met him, huh…"
Rika bent her knees, her arms rising fluidly. Her Byakugan had activated showing the white pupils of her eyes and the veins that surrounded the entire area of her eyes. Her palms faced forward, fingers extended—not clenched into fists, but shaped like precise, piercing blades. The stance was unmistakable.
The Gentle Fist.
The Hyuga clan's feared and refined taijutsu style—targeting the chakra network and internal organs with pinpoint strikes.
Across from her, Anko mirrored no such elegance.... rather a flexible stance. Her limbs were twisted into something unnatural—knees bent at odd angles, elbows drawn back, and fingers curled like dripping fangs. Her entire body radiated an unsettling rhythm.
Snake Style. Elusive, invasive, and deadly. A technique taught to few, and mastered by even fewer.
Toka's eyes flicked between them, his eyes lingered a bit longer on Anko for a moment.
He raised his hand.
"On my mark…"
Time seemed to slow.
"Hajime!"
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Author's note:
(So.... I did promise you guys an additional chapter for the day..... uhhhh.....
You'll get it tomorrow! heheh.
As always make sure you leave a comment and a review on this book.
I've been reviewing my previous chapters and I'll seriously wondering whether my writing is good or not. I mean for the writer it seems like my words are weird. This is especially important for me, for the future of this book and possibly other works I might write in the future. What are your guys' thoughts?
Thank you... and Power stones!!!!!