4 Training

In the Inuzuka compound, on their training grounds, a kid no older than ten could be seen standing still. That kid was no other than me.

"Begin"

Upon my command, ten Ninken began dashing at me from almost every angle possible. I tried dodging as many attacks as possible, but from the ten attacks, I blocked four. I was training my senses to dodge as an automatic response, and I had gotten was better at it. The first four times I could do nothing but try and resist the attacks, and the pain led me to manage to dodge a few attacks.

My current training was to familiarize myself with the feeling of danger and recognizing which attacks I could block and which I should dodge. The reason why I only blocked four attacks was because those were the only ones I could block. The other attacks came from adult Ninken that belonged to the Chunin from our clan, and I wasn't yet capable of stopping them. I could perhaps stop it if the attack came from the Chunin, but the Ninken were physically stronger.

"Thanks guys, that's enough for now. If we keep going I won't be able to train anything else"

I had already been at it for five hours, and my body was tired. Thus, I went on with my training and changed to the next thing on my list: Suiton.

To train on Water Release I went towards the pond that we had made for my training. There, I began practicing the Jutsu I wanted to learn the most, which was the Hidden in Mist Technique. I had learned many Water Jutsus that ranged from the basic Academy ones to those a Genin would know, but this one was a lot more complicated, as it involved turning water into vapor to generate mist. The required Chakra control needed was high, which made it harder for me to grasp the Jutsu. Luckily, I seemed to have been blessed with a very good talent.

"Ox, Snake, Ram. Suiton! Hidden in Mist!"

After the seventeenth try, the area was finally covered in mist. Now all I had to train was erasing my presence, increasing my sense of smell and hearing so I depended even less on my sight and learning how to move as silently as possible. I also wanted to learn the Body Flicker, since it wasn't that hard of a jutsu and my body could handle it.

Unfortunately, my training time for the day was over.

"Ryota! Dinner's ready!"

The following day, early in the morning, I was walking up and down from a tree. I had already reached the top of the tree a wek before, but I wanted to make sure I was ready to move on and try water walking. Seeing how there was no way for me to fall from the tree, since I stuck to it even while thinking of something as trivial as Naruto's last prank, I decided to walk back to the pond.

I decided to do this with my eyes closed, which in turn allowed me to feel the flow of water with a bit more ease. Still, my first few attempts were ridiculously lame.

"Dammit!"

It wasn't until my eleventh attempt that I managed to stay on top of the water for five seconds, but fell into it instantly after. From there I progressed gradualy and, after four hours, I was finally able to stay still without falling. Now came the next step, which was walking.

Once again, attempt after attempt I fell into the water, not being able to take a single step on it.

Another week went by, and I was in the Academy waiting to be called for our monthly spar. There were a few major differences from what canon would've been like. One being the fact that half of Sasuke's entourage of fans was now mine, something I had to admit I came to dislike heavily. The reason why I disliked it, in spite of loving the attention, was that I could fell that they were only interested in my strength and how "handsome" I looked, but they didn't know me at all and had no interest in getting to know me.

I was actually quite afraid of the fact that I could feel other's emotions like that. It felt as if I was susceptible to their feelings, which made me uncomfortable. I had learned to tune it off most of the times, but whenever I focused heavily on something, I lost control of it. Feeling the hate directed towards Naruto was the worst part of it all. The first time it happened I remember lashing at an old man, which earned me an earful from mom.

"Sasuke Uchiha vs. Ryota Inuzuka!"

It had been made a sort of ritual to end the monthly spars with a battle between me and Sasuke, but it wasn't really a fight. It was me dodging his attacks and pointing out his mistakes until I got bored and threw him to the ground. This time though, there was a difference.

Instead of rushing towards me in an attempt to hit me physically, Sasuke made a lot of distance between us and began doing hand-signs.

'Horse, Tiger, Serpent... Fire Ball, huh?'

I knew that dodging the Jutsu would be easier and faster but... I somehow feel competitive today. Thus, I did my own Jutsu. Tiger, Ox, Tiger and Rat.

"Suiton! Liquid Bullet!"

Compared to the Liquid Bullet I could make two years ago, this one was the same size as Sasuke's Fireball. When the Jutsus clashed, a lot of vapor rose from the impact point. I took advantage of the improvised smokescreen and rushed at Sasuke, who didn't see it coming. Once again, he was thrown to the ground.

"The winner is Ryota Inuzuka! Good job to both of you, those were advanced Jutsus for your second year in the Academy. Now do the Unison Sign!"

Different from two years ago too, Sasuke didn't try to attack me, but even took my hand when I offered it to him so he could get up. He wasn't talkative, we weren't friends and we probably would never be, but Sasuke wasn't such a dick now, and I somewhat doubt he will ever be.

Classes were over for the day, so I waved everyone goodbye and walked with Kiba back to the compound. More training awaited me there.

'Status'

[Name: Ryota Inuzuka Age: 10 Level: 16

STR: 163/170

AGI: 170/170

CHA: ?/170

Ninjutsu: <Imitation Beast Ninja Arts: Four Legs Technique - Gatsūga - Gatenga - Garōga - Tsūga - Beast Human Clone - Dynamic Marking>

<Genjutsu: Dispel>

Taijutsu: Basic Shurikenjutsu - Inuzuka Beast Style - Preying Beast Style ]

'I really have grown a lot in this last two years...'

-------------------------------------

I'll explain this now before someone asks. He can feel emotions, yes. But no, he isn't a Jinchuuriki. He can feel emotions because he is extremely attuned to Yang Release, also known as Light Element or Yoton. Why? In case someone hasn't realized it yet, Ryota is son of a deceased Uzumaki, which is the reason why only his mother is named and there are no records of a father whatsoever!

Now, why being son of an Uzumaki makes him attuned to Yang? Well, not only are they cousins to the Senju (The clan known to be the most attuned to Yang) but he uses Yang unconsciously with all of his animalistic Jutsus. This, combined with his raw ammount of chakra (which still can't be read) enable him to feel emotions. Phew.

Bye! Enjoy!

Next chapter