Chapter 12 - Mounting Frustrations

Konohagakure - 32nd Year of Founding, Late-Autumn

The months that had preceded the meeting with Masaru and his parents had been pretty abysmal for Izuna, as now he would rarely see his mother due to her taking a posting as the lead medical shinobi at one of the main bases on the border with the Land of Rivers

Izuna couldn't help but feel hurt when he could no longer monopolise her time and attention, it was selfish of him, he knew, but the time spent with her had been some of the best of his life.

And worse, once he began training with the elders his father had scarcely talked to him for weeks afterwards, until out of nowhere, he suddenly decided to begin renewing their training, only this time he had become increasingly demanding, and his expectations became more and more harsh.

The high aspirations he once held for the academy had swiftly been shattered, although he did find Satoshi a very competent teacher, if one was willing to put up with his eccentricities, although they had little interaction, as his attentions were mainly focused on the other students, and rightly so.

Izuna had even tried to make new friends, but that had proved futile, most had only tried to get close to him due to his identity as an Uchiha, and it only got worse when he became widely known as a prodigy and news of his talent had spread within the academy.

The clan training was conducted by a few of the elder clansmen who were veterans of the Warring States Period, and he would go there after the academy each day, and most weekends. Funnily enough, he had learnt more in the first few sessions, than he had learnt in the months he had been attending the academy.

Within the Uchiha clan there were many other prodigies who received training from the elders, although his training was separated from them, and instead he received personal training from an Elder by the name of Hikaru who had grown up in the Warring States Period and participated in the battle against the Senju where his namesake had been slain.

Hikaru had relentlessly drilled Izuna in his fundamentals for the first two months, and the shurikenjutsu that he had been most proud of had been ridiculed by the old grouch, and it had taken him months for him to get it to a standard that was acceptable for the elder.

His teachings had been extremely challenging and methods unforgiving and at sometimes borderline sadistic, so much so that Izuna had only managed to endure it through the immense hatred and dislike he had developed for the elder, and refused to give him the satisfaction of making him quit.

Once his shurikenjutsu was deemed to be at an acceptable level, Hikaru had begun teaching him to how to improve his shurikenjutsu alongside how to incorporate Ninja Wire into his shurikenjutsu, which had been a trademark of the Uchiha within the Warring States Period, although after a while he was unable to progress much further due to lacking the sharingan.

Izuna's improvement with Ninjutsu had been much slower by comparison, though his mastery with fire release had improved at a speed he hadn't thought possible only a few months ago, and due to his chakra control's dramatic increase, he had also begun to learn how to supplement his ninjutsu with his shurikenjutsu and ninja wires, which made his fighting style much more versatile and deadly.

His greatest improvement had been in Taijutsu, although it was by far the most gruelling aspect of his training, as he would receive a daily beating from Hikaru, as the dastardly old man, took great pleasure into pummelling him, or dismantling his guard, before throwing him across the room.

Thankfully, he hadn't only been made to face that monster, as on occasions he would also spar with Hikaru's nephew Kaien who was six years his elder and already a chunin, who thankfully was far less brutal and sadistic in his sparing than his uncle.

With Kaien, he wouldn't say they had become friends, but they had an unspoken respect for one another, and it didn't hurt that Izuna found him much more tolerable than many of the other Uchiha he had interacted with.

They had been regularly sparring together for the past few months and had done a hundred and twenty-one spars together, with Kaien winning eighty-seven times, to Izuna's thirty-four, although his opponent hadn't been using his sharingan.

Today would be their last spar for a while, as Kaien had an escort mission, which would take him out of the village for the next few months, it was a pity as he had grown accustomed to their spars, and they had really helped him improve his taijutsu skills, he still had Mikoto and Naori to practice with, the big downside is that he would be mainly sparring with elder Hikaru, until Kaien returned, and that did little to improve his mood.

"Hmm, have you asked your father about graduating early yet?" Kaien asked while he was in the middle of stretching.

"I already know my father will say yes, it's my mother's answer I am worried about." 

"That's disappointing, It took me two years to graduate from the academy, and outside of wartime graduates, there hasn't been a person who has graduated within a single year in peace times. It'd be a waste if you weren't allowed to, it would bring much honour to the Uchiha." the elder boy responded thoughtfully.

"I don't care about setting any records, I am just more concerned about not having to spend next year in the academy. The boredom has been driving me insane, and if it wasn't for Naori, I don't know if I would be able to get through those classes."

"That's a shame, although I guess that's what you get for being such a book nerd." Kaien said with a cheeky smile.

"Just because you can barely read, doesn't mean reading is a bad thing." Izuna replied, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah right, I still graduated top of my class, thank you very much." he responded, puffing out his chest.

"It's a miracle you didn't get shipped off to the Genin Corps." Izuna replied in a droll voice.

"Eighty-seven to thirty-four who?" Kaien replied, with a smirk

"Do you want me to congratulate you for defeating a kid half your age?" Izuna asked, deadpanning

But when Kaien opened his mouth to respond, Izuna lunged forward, using the momentum to strike out with a kick aimed at his ribs.

Kaien's eyes widened in surprise, as he raised an arm to block the kick, the tremor sending pain lancing through his body, as excitement bubbled within his eyes

He quickly exploited the opening, and began to overwhelm Izuna with an onslaught of attacks, forcing him to begin to fall back while redirecting numerous blows aimed at his vital areas.

Kaien did not let up, and utilised his longer reach and greater stamina, slowly wearing down his opponent, until a blow slipped through Izuna's guard, with the jab connecting with Izuna's liver, causing him to stagger backwards, stunned.

Kaien took advantage of this, grabbing Izuna by the shoulders, and kneeing him in the stomach, followed with a punch to his jaw, but he overextended trying to go for yet another follow-up blow.

While Izuna, through gritted teeth and with blood trickling down his face, managed to lash out with a kick, connecting with Kaien's knee joint, causing his leg to buckle, as he hobbled backwards.

They both began to recover, breathing heavily, while circling one another eyeing one another for any potential openings, until Izuna rushed forward seizing the initiative, with a vicious flurry of attacks, alternating between jabs and kicks trying to confuse and overwhelm Kaien, who struggled to deflect each of them with precision.

Although with time Izuna's flurry of attacks began to lose their momentum, with Kaien managing to weather the initial onslaught, before following up with a few quick jabs of his own, putting an exhausted Izuna on the defensive once again with his roundhouse kick, missing the side of Izuna's head by an inch as it skimmed across the hair on his head.

With the kick narrowly missing, Kaien pressed forward with greater ferocity, numerous blows lashing out against Izuna, each one causing him to grit his teeth in pain, before Kaien decided to try and end the fight with another roundhouse kick, when Izuna let his guard down. 

But it was a feint as when Kaien's kick sailed harmlessly over his head once again, Izuna grabbed his opponents' ankle, and began to swing him around, before letting go, sending him soaring through the air. 

And he rushed forward sending a haymaker soaring towards Kaien, just as he regained his footing, with Izuna's fist almost connecting with the side of his head, if not for his clumsily raised arm, which managed to deflect the blow, but the damage was done.

As Kaien was sent staggering backwards from the force of the below, and tried hastily to raise his guard, but it was futile as Izuna delivered two swift jabs to his chest before he could react, followed up with a front kick, where the back of his heel connected with Kaien's unprotected nose, making a sickening crunch.

∞​

It was already nightfall by the time training was finished, and Izuna left Elder Hikaru's manse, happily humming to himself, as he walked through the quiet cobbled streets of the Uchiha district on his way home.

Izuna had been in a deplorable state, it had been over two weeks since he had gotten his last hug, courtesy of his mother's new posting, thankfully, she would be returning home tonight or tomorrow afternoon by the latest.

After a calming walk beneath the starlight through the Uchiha compound, he was finally at home, and could make out its vague shape, as well as the illuminated lanterns, welcoming him home and upon entering the threshold, he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"How have you been, mother?" he asked, smiling up at her.

"Awful, I haven't been able to see my little Izuna for over two weeks, could you imagine?" Tsukihi exclaimed dramatically. 

"That's terrible." he replied, gasping

"I know sweetie, but don't worry, mommy doesn't have to return until next week, so how about we spend time together in the meantime."

Izuna looked up at her, giving her a suspicious stare, "Do you mean it?"

"What's that, sweetie, don't you believe mommy?" Tsukihi asked with a gasp.

"Of course I do, but…" 

"But what, sweetie?" 

"Since you left to become a shinobi again, I've been so bored, the academy is so monotonous, and I don't learn anything new. So I've been waiting for you to get back, so I can graduate early, I just need your permission, so can I please? Please mom?" he asked, in a pleading tone, scrunching his face up pitifully.

Tsukihi kneeled down to kiss his brow, and brought her mouth to his ear, whispering. "Nice try but no Izuna, try again next year." 

Izuna pulled away from his hug, and gave her a sulky look. "Why won't you let me graduate early? I would be able to learn so much more outside the academy, even Elder Hikaru agreed, when I asked, so why won't you, I know father will agree."

"Well, you're lucky they're not your mother, I am, and I care more about your safety, than the clan's reputation."

"Mother, do you not see the hypocrisy in your argument? I don't get to complain about you putting yourself at risk by rejoining the Shinobi Corps, yet you refuse to let me graduate early, even after all the effort I've put in, you continue to try and hold me back, and treat me like a child." Izuna replied angrily.

Tsukihi sighed, and turned his chin upwards, to meet her stern gaze. "Izuna sweetie, I know you feel that I am being hard on you, but it's for your own good, I already had this argument with your father. I don't want you pushing yourself too hard, chasing the expectations people have put on you, thinking you'll get by on pure talent alone, being a shinobi is a dangerous profession."

"If it's so dangerous, why did you become a shinobi again, what was wrong with staying home with me?" 

"Izuna darling, I would've loved to stay home and spend the rest of my day's, watching you grow up, but something that you will learn as you get older, is that the life of a shinobi, is about enduring and making sacrifices."

∞​

Izuna straightened up his posture, and adjusted his clothes, before he knocked upon the door, and entered the study, which was decorated lavishly, a large mosaic hung upon one of the walls, displaying a red and white Uchiwa, the clan's symbol, alongside a few shelves and stands scattered around the room, which houses many antiques and ornaments, alongside three beautiful swords hanging above the large desk in the back of the room.

The seat behind the desk was absent, and he observed that the shutter door, overlooking the balcony, lay open. So he approached, the balcony, to find the clan head sitting peacefully in a seat, overlooking the view of the bustling Uchiha district.

Masaru looked much the same, as he had when he first met him, his long black hair billowing in the wind, as he calmly gazed at the view, before slowly turning his dark eyes towards Izuna upon his entrance, with a smile.

"So, how did it go?" asked Masaru, observing him closely.

"She refused." Izuna replied sourly.

"That's disappointing, but I expected as much." Masaru said with a sigh.

"I see, do you need anything else or am I free to leave?" Izuna asked, expressionlessly.

"No, you may go." he replied, waving his hand dismissively.

Masaru watched the boy's figure depart and let out a sigh, when he heard the door close after him. 

Being the clan head didn't mean he could interfere in these family matters, if the boy had been allowed to graduate within the year, it would've expedited his plans, but there was no point pushing the matter and risk alienating Tsukihi, compared to Setsuna she was much more reasonable to deal with.

Masaru was frustrated that he couldn't teach the boy himself, politics had prevented that. So was left with a few options of teachers for the boy, and eventually decided on the wild card Elder Hikaru, who was known for his extreme teaching methods, alongside being a bit of a political recluse. 

Which meant it would be a good way to test Izuna's resolve, and prevent any of his political rivals from influencing the boy, he already had enough grief dealing with the fallback of his over-zealousness in their first meeting, on top of Setsuna's incessant whispering in the boy's ear.

Izuna's progress far surpassed his initial expectations, and in some reports Hikaru would occasionally praise the boy, which baffled him, it was so unlike that old bastard. Masaru himself had been forced to suffer under his teachings when he was a child, and he had rarely heard the man give a word of praise.