Ch. 15 The sun vs those who orbit

At Yoriichi's private training grounds, all of the children he just called out to fight gather near the small lake while Yo sits atop the waterfall waiting. Though they weren't fighting, Fugaku, Mikoto, Kushina, Naruto and Sasuke come to watch. Taking seats to the side they debate over how far Yo will get against this group.

They all try and figure out who gets to fight Yoriichi first. He seems way to confident after his five year nap and his friends were eager to find out why, of course no one wants to go last when he's all tired out…what fun would that be?

Yo gets bored of waiting after so many failed rock paper scissors rounds."Stop wasting daylight children. Come at me all together." Yoriichi yawns motioning for them to come already. The group realizes he genuinely believes this will be easy for him. Irritated by his arrogance, everyone was raring to go.

"I knew you were big headed, but this? You're asking for a beating Yo." Toph says with her arms folded.

"Honestly! You think we sat on our hands for the last five years ya idiot?" Yami asks angrily cracking his knuckles.

Hana looked at her teammates, then at Yoriichi. She knew he was strong, but did he really think that this would go well for him? The three of them were far from weak, plus they had Itachi. Benimaru…he should just try not to get hurt. "Are you guys ready?" She asks her three ninja wolf partners, who bark agreement.

'Hmph, it would seem my brother's arrogance knows no bounds…' Benimaru muses to himself. Someone was going to be humbled today. "Alright then elder brother, if that's what you want."

There was but a single exception on the battlefield who remained wary of the one who called himself the sun. Itachi who knows best the unpredictable terror that is Yoriichi. He may very well have had some sort of miraculous evolution.

The five of them step onto the lake and ready themselves for battle.

"Hahahaha I'm glad to see you all are with the program!" Yoriichi laughs with a sadistic smile on his face. "Now without farther ado, let's dance!" Slow steps turn into a full sprint as he leaps over the edge weaving hand signs.

"Taking the offensive already?" A stale faced Fugaku notes leaning in closer, only Mikoto knows how excited he really is right now.

In the battle Itachi immediately takes initiative against Yo. Weaving handsigns so fast no one saw. "Water style: water dragon jutsu," from the water at Itachi's feet a dragon made of water shoots up to meet Yo.

"Wooaaaah that dragon is huge!!!!!" Naruto exclaims as it dwarfs Yoriichi.

Everyone sees Yo breathe in deep before the dragon bites down. "Wind style x sound breathing: EXPLOUD!" An explosive shout blows the dragon away and threatens to send his opponents with it. Yo crashes down the with a heavy stomp on the water's surface "Stone breathing x water style: Seaquake!" From where he lands, tremors cause water rises up high like a small tsunami towering over them. Standing atop the wall of water he points a finger at everyone preparing a spirit gun.

"Not pulling any punches are we?" Yami says leaning forward with his sword of dragging on the surface of the water. "Dark breathing x dark release: black ravine," With a single rising slash darkness parted the entire wave in two as it crashes down around the group.

Yo jumps out of the way of Yami's attack, when Hana and her three ninja hounds come flying in like drills with their fang over fang technique. "Sun style solar flare!" A bright light burst from his body blinding everyone nearby before Hana and her dogs crash into each other. Lined up perfectly for a spirit gun. Almost as soon as he's about to fire, spires of earth rise up from the depths of the lake with devastating force.

"Was that a call out to me?" Toph asks while creating more spires to limit his movement. With nowhere to go but the obvious path, forward, he meets her on dry land. "I've been practicing my martial arts, too bad you can't say the same!"

"Don't get bigheaded, I'm the one who taught you that style." Yoriichi says referring to Hung gar, the style earth bending is based on. "And I know a lot more than that. You've lost on a fundamental level."

"Dream on sleeping beauty!" Toph retorts throwing a punch that sends him sliding back.

"Not bad at all! Let's pick up the pace!" Yo says leaping back into the fight as his sharingan flashes into play. As they fight in close quarters, Yo starts to gain the upper hand but the shifting earth and rising rocks prevents him from scoring a decisive hit. Toph had raised her martial arts and earth nature release to a level that looks exactly like earth bending. Yo smiled in his heart seeing her progress before he lets loose his next attack. "Shunko!" He shouts as wind and lightning based energy bursts from his arms, with so much force Toph is blown back.

"Damn!" She quickly puts up a several layer thick wall of stone, that sadly does little to deter Yoriichi. He does, however, stop to counter the massive fireball coming from above. Throwing a punch, the shunko attack and fireball clash and create a big explosion kicking up dust and smoke everywhere. Before the dust settles the clanging of steel can be heard from within.

Two pairs of red eyes flash through the smoke as sparks fly. "Oh you're bold to take me on with a sword," Yo says to Itachi before taking a deep breath. "Sun breathing: Flame dance!" A blazing downwards slash is followed by a horizontal slash, sending Itachi's blade flying but Itachi turns into crows. As they clear out of the way another fireball comes flying in only to be split in half by Yo's sword. He cuts another, and then another from a different direction. "That you Beni?" Yo asks laughing.

"Nope! Sorry to disappoint! Dark Breathing Third form: Black bull!" Two thrusts of his sword came almost simultaneously creating the image of a bull of darkness.

"Flame x wind breathing: Blazing storm inferno tree!" With a series of extremely quick slashes Yoriichi creates a spiraling wall of fire around him, Easily deflecting Yami's attack. "One down!" He says about to swing down on the off balanced Yami, but two quickly rising pillars of earth try to crush him in between them. "Fake rainbow," Yoriichi gracefully flips out of harm's way, only his afterimage can be seen dodging. Before he can start his next move, he hears a whistling sound coming from either direction.

"Fire style: Demon lotus shuriken!" Benimaru's voice sounds out as two giant demon wind shuriken come flying in to pincer Yoriichi. They suddenly burst into blue flames as they increase speed and intensity. Yoriichi deflects them with his sword, but neither falls. After bouncing off his sword their flames intensify and the shuriken cycle back around. With the blazing shuriken above and the earth attacking below Yo continues to dodge across the battlefield looking for an opening.

From behind Yo, Itachi appears with his sword at the ready "Moon breathing seventh form: mirror of misfortune, moonlit." With a curving slash he releases a series of shockwaves that crawl along the ground, with crescent blades flying throughout his attack's range.

"Dark breathing x dark release: Dark cloaked aviyada slash!" A stroke of the sword sent a razor sharp line of darkness coming from another direction.

"Well this is a lot," Yoriichi says.

"They're going to kill Yo!"

"Yeah, We have to stop them!" Naruto and Sasuke try to do something when they notice that none of the adults are bothered. They're still watching casually.

"Their teamwork is starting to improve," Mikoto notes.

"Yes, but will that be enough? Yo's just playing around right now." Kushina responds.

BOOOOOM! All of the incoming attacks explode to each other in a brilliantly colored explosion that rises high to the sky.

"Did we maybe overdo it?" Hana asks looking at the bright burning blazes.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Toph says "That wasn't enough to stop you, was it Yo?"

"Far from it," he answers from a nearby tree, completely unscathed. "I do hope that wasn't your best shots… I'm going to let my heart dance now, so get ready. Here I come." With a deep breath, Yo charges back into the group throwing kunai at everyone while single mindedly rushing Itachi at full speed. Itachi goes to meet him but he just vanishes.

"Ah! Yor-" In the blink Yo appears in front of Hana, grabbing a handful of hair and looking into her eyes with his sharingan. Falling prey to the genjutsu, Yo drops her unconscious body to the ground. The three nin-dogs rush forward as everyone tries to help Hana, but Yoriichi stops everyone when he points two fingers out "Bakudo no. one, Sai." Yo uses the opening to kick Hana's unconscious body at Benimaru.

"Sun Style: Solar fireball," he says sending a massive fireball after Hana.

"Well played," Benimaru says stepping in front of Hana's body, Beni barely manages to deflect it. 'Even with my command of fire, it was that difficult to redirect?' He doesn't burn but the sheer force of Yoriichi's attack is problematic. The next fireball is much bigger and even harder to stop, and the third even more so. It explodes into him sending he and Hana tumbling.

Before Yo can follow up a wave of earth strikes at him, but he dodges everything with flash step vanishing completely. "Oh you went after the girl with a crush on you and the little kid first? Kinda hard to look up to someone with those kind of scaredy cat tactics!" Toph yells trying to get a rise out of Yo.

"Whoever steps on the battlefield is a warrior before anything else," he answers dropping down from the trees with his sword out. Yami stops his attack with another dark cloaked slash, then follows up with a ferocious assault. They battle intensely for a brief moment until Yoriichi decides to up the tempo but a fireball jutsu from Itachi comes flying in. Yoriichi cuts it in half while still fending off Yami. A rolling boulder comes to Yami's aid next. With Toph and Itachi providing support, Yami starts to gain ground until Yo picks up the tempo again. Kicking Yami to gain separation Yo quickly shoots off to close the gap with an explosive first step, Nine precise strikes are let loose almost at the same time "Flash of the nine-headed thunder dragon!"

"Dark style: dark cocoon!"" Yami creates a barrier of darkness around himself to defend as Itachi and Toph's attacks come flying in.

"Wind breathing x wind style: Great dragon twister!" A single swing of his sword creates a towering tornado around him that blocks everything. "Let's see if your pesky darkness can withstand this!" From within the clearing twister, Yoriichi held his sword overhead. It was shining brightly as it glowed white hot. "It's not the sun that destroys darkness, but the light it casts…"

"Try and talk cool all you want but the darkness will devour the light this time." Yami says with his sword ready as well. Darkness crawls up the blade as he gets ready. "Dark breathing esoteric art: Black night!" He releases a flying slash that grows and spreads as it travels to Yo.

"Sun breathing x moonlight sword style: Solar halo." A shining downwards slash cleaves through the dark attack, and continues to Yami. He tries blocking it with his sword but it only pushes back so far before it cuts through the blade and slashes Yami, he bleeds from a deep wound on his chest collapsing. "And then there were three…" Yo says turning his attention from his downed foe to Toph, Itachi and Beni.

"His swordsmanship is as incredible as Kojiro's!" Sasuke shouts enamored with Yo's techniques.

"Wow!!! Is it really possible for a kid to be that strong?" Naruto asks hopeful that such levels are within his reach.

'I wonder the same thing Naruto, how did he grow so much in a coma?' Fugaku thinks to himself.

"We should-" Before Itachi can even share his idea Yoriichi has vanished from his place. Reappearing at various marked kunai he's thrown and throwing them elsewhere, he warped around the battlefield with unpredictable movements.

"Everyone get ready he can attack from anywhere." Benimaru shouts watching the kunai fly around.

Suddenly Yo appears grabbing Toph's shoulder and teleporting across the battlefield away from Beni and Itachi. She tries to swing at him several times to have every blow easily and swiftly deflected. "Let me give you a taste of what the peak of martial arts is like," with swift strikes that flowed like water all of her attacks are redirected and countered resulting in another knockout. It was fluid like water but ferocious like it's raging torrents.

"Heroine Hunted, hahaha the powers of a transmigrator are just to great, even prodigies with hacks are no match." Yo notes to himself with a giddy smile. Then he turns his attention to Beni and Itachi, "who's next?"

Itachi doesn't answer but with a hand sign his body breaks down into a murder of crows that fly around Yo, who watches them carefully. Suddenly they start turning into shuriken, coming at Yo from various angles. However, none of them hit as Yo's deft movements allow him to keep dodging and deflecting them. One crow flies away before turning back into Itachi who pulls a wire that is connected to scattered shuriken, the wires tighten and wrap around Yoriichi to restrict his movements.

"Earth style! Earth flow river!" With Benimaru's handsigns. The ground under Yo's feet turned into mud and started rushing forward like a river. "And fire style: scorch wave!" Smacking his hand on the ground Benimaru released a wave of fire that instantly dried the mud up to Yo's waist.

"Oh they managed to trap him!" Mikoto says shocked that Yoriichi is stopped.

"LAAAAAME!" Yoriichi yells out.

Benimaru is irked by Yo's dismissal of their trap, and decides to use something heavier himself. "How lame is this?" With a hand sign scores of seal tags started to emerge from the mud river, arranged in several circles around Yoriichi. "Ninja art: Roaring funeral pyre!" The tags all light up before exploding violently sending a column of fire high into the sky.

"Yo!" Kushina calls out.

"That one may have been too much Beni," Itachi says.

"Nah, it was still pretty lame." Yoriichi says standing behind the two of them twirling a marked kunai on his finger. "I don't know why you guys keep assuming that you can hurt me. Even combined, the sun dwarfs all of the planets in its orbit."

Even Itachi had to admit he was tired of the sun references. He'd shut that arrogance up here and now, revealing a trump card he had unlocked over the last few years. "Steal eternity, Baan." Holding his sword outwards an extreme surge of spirit energy came from Itachi forcing both Yo and Beni to step back. Itachi's sword transforms into a short sword. Though it got smaller it seemed much sharper and deadlier to everyone.

"Hoh, what is this?" Fugaku leans in closer.

"You can do it big brother!" Sasuke yells out.

"Ooooh you've gotten your shikai? Now that isn't boring, but…it's too little too late." Yo holds his sword up high "Here's a taste of what you're chasing. Reign over heaven and earth, Iscandar!" Everyone holds their breath waiting for something to happen, but nothing does. "You heard me stupid ass sword, do your thing!" Suddenly Yoriichi's spiritual pressure increases to an absurd degree, easily passing Itachi's previous display. His sword becomes double-bladed, loses its guard and gets a yin-yang crest to separate the blade and handle. Suddenly his spiritual energy has an intense fluctuation, and he spits up blood, before his spirit energy shoots up again but not as high. "Now behold my shikai!" Yo exclaims ignoring the blood he just vomited.

The two of them clash with speed and strength on an entirely new level. Itachi's newfound ability makes him even faster and more agile, allowing him to match Yo's speed. Without the sharingan all anyone can see are blurs and sparks flying across the battlefield when suddenly BOOM! Itachi feels his entire body get heavier, his sword too.

"Times two." Yo says not missing a step himself. As Itachi slows down he struggles but still manages to keep up.

Retreating several paces Itachi weaves hand-signs in the blink of an eye. "Fire style: giant fireball jutsu!" Giving it his all he fires a massive fireball at Yo."

"Water breathing first form: water surface slash!" Yoriichi rushes forward cutting through the fireball with a single horizontal slash, and falls forward as his breathing changes to blazing sunfire, "dancing flash!" Putting all of his power into his legs Yo takes off with an unseen level of speed towards Itachi.

Itachi takes a deep breath. 'I'm sorry everyone but I need your help,' Itachi thinks looking around at his fallen allies. "Snatch." Itachi drains power from his teammates to boost his next attack. "Moon breathing second form: Pearl flower moongazing," three quick slashes unleash countless giant crescent moon blades.

"Now this is more like it cousin!" Yo continues on cutting through the crescent but he's getting cut up some this time, forcing him to slow down. "Fire wheel!" Yoriichi lunges into a front flip swing his blazing blade straight down.

"First form: Dark moon. Even palace!" A quickdraw attack from Itachi sends more crescent blades at Yo repeling him a short distance. However it was not without a burning slash to his shoulder. However itachi's focus doesn't waver.

Yo notices he got cut up again, and smiles. "I see why you're the one v one king, you are really fun to fight!" Not only that, Itachi is still in a state of growth pushing passed his limits. Yo can't let it go to waste. In that moment he forgot about his distaste for Itachi, the fight is just now getting fun. Benimaru also slips his mind.

'Now's my chance,' Benimaru thinks preparing to attack Yoriichi from behind. However he stops dead in his tracks when Yo turns his blade on him with a disdainful glare.

"DON'T INTERFERE!" Yo's spiritual pressure bares down for a split second, before he returns his attention to Itachi. They rush off and continue their fight, leaving Beni standing there in a cold sweat looking dumbfounded.

"Wha- did I? Did he just?" Beni was at a loss for words. He knew his brother was strong, but that's no excuse to be intimidated to inaction. In that moment he felt genuine fear for his life, a feeling he hadn't known since infancy…how degrading. How shameful. How Infuriating!" He didn't notice it then but a mass of chakra flowed into his eyes, as two tomoe spin into his now red eyes.

"Look! Beni! Did something happen to him?" Kushina points out the disturbance in his chakra as he stands there.

"H-his sharingan is awakening!" Fugaku says.

"His sharingan? But how?" Kushina asks.

"When Uchiha experience strong emotion of guilt, loss, or disappointment in oneself are the times when our eyes change. It seems Benimaru holds himself to a high standard.

"So being intimidated by Yo made him feel ashamed so much that his eyes were activated?" Kushina surmises.

"Yes." Fugaku says.

Itachi was managing to keep up with Yoriichi fairly well, but Yo gave him no quarter. "Times three!" Yo says as the pressure bearing down on him intensifies again. After that it starts to take everything Itachi has to continue but he doesn't stop fighting. Yoriichi is the only one who can ignite his competitive spirit, and it was a raging fire right now.

Realizing Yoriichi was able to do something as absurd as increasing gravity, Itachi realizes he has to strike hard or this fight could continue to get out of hand. "Water style x moon breathing: lunar water dragon jutsu!" Itachi breaths in deep and spits out a stream of a silver water that forms a dragon with crescent moons spiraling around it.

"Bakudo no. eighty one danku." An invisible wall appears in front of Yo blocking the dragon. With the flying thunder god he teleports to Itachi and swings down on him. Despite the increased weight it seemed like Itachi was getting stronger not weaker…for that matter it felt like he was getting weaker. Yo swings at Itachi but his slash is deflected before Itachi sends him flying back with a strong punch.

Yoriichi stopped for a moment. "Sly bastard is stealing MY power? Looks like I shouldn't hold back on you. Alright," he addresses his sword. "I'll call your true name." He raises the sword up high again "Reign in heaven and earth, Arturia!" Suddenly a bright light flashes and the sword is in Yo's chest.

"Ok ok, for real. Come forth Sage of the east Daewi Han!"

Hearing it's true name, Yo receives another huge boost of spirit energy and grows four long red strands of hair in the front of his hair. 'He still has this much power in reserve? What should I do now?' Itachi thinks of a plan to overcome this new obstacle.

"You've gone far enough, I commend your efforts. You have yet to fully understand your shikia, train hard." Yo's demeanor suddenly acquires a certain regality to it. "Kneel." Waving his sword downwards gravity increases exponentially on Itachi smashing him flat into the ground. Yo watches him struggle for a moment until ultimately the pressure knocks him out. "Oh, you still want to fight?" Yo turns to see Benimaru glaring at him with those red eyes.

"Elder brother, I must acknowledge you are indeed a raging sun shining bright. However, today I will show you there are two suns in the sky." Benimaru says as his flaming aura bursts from his body.