43 - 43 - Spar

Izuna and his father positioned themselves apart, now a span of roughly 20 meters between them, each standing firm and ready.

In the quiet moment before the spar, Izuna found himself deep in thought. 'I need to create some storage seals on my forearms to hold my sword as well as some kunai and shurikens,' he considered, visualizing a concealed cache for his sword, kunai, and shurikens. At present, he would have to carry his sheathed sword during combat, which would undoubtedly slow him down, and he only had a couple of kunai and shurikens on him.

Takashi bent down to pick up a small rock, holding it up for emphasis. He said, "Ok, this is just a little friendly spar. Don't think too much about it. Just show me how good your combat system is right now."

He then tossed the rock up in the air and said, "When it hits the ground, we start." Moments later, with a definitive thud, the rock kissed the earth, signaling the beginning.

Without a moment's hesitation, Izuna conjured a shadow clone, seamlessly merging his 'Great Fireball Jutsu' with the 'Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu.' The result was a massive fireball, double the size he could create without the help of the wind.

The attack, a mixture of fire and wind blades, shot out toward Takashi, who casually flickered away, in no real danger. However, this is what Izuna expected. He used this opportunity to create 30 'Wind Clones,' and they each scattered across the training ground while Izuna's main body used the 'Earth Military Movement Jutsu' to go underground.

Hidden beneath the ground, Izuna performed the 'Stone Bracer and Stone Breastplate Jutsu,' covering his arms, legs, and torso in a small layer of chakra-infused earth. He knew it wasn't the strongest defense, but his father did say to use his combat system, and this is what he was working with.

Perhaps if Takashi could see the limited strength of the jutsus at his disposal, he might consider granting access to more C-rank jutsus. Yet, deep down, he doubted it since his father wanted him to fully master all his jutsus before learning more advanced versions.

Underground, Izuna held his position, patiently waiting for his clones to initiate the assault. These wind clones weren't as strong as shadow clones, but they were far easier to make and could still use all his jutsus and even blow themselves up to do a small burst of damage if they could get close enough to the enemy.

His wind clones now all zeroed in on Takashi's location, who was just standing in the open with his hands in his pockets, waiting for his son to make the first move.

The wind clones all simultaneously used 'Stone Shuriken Jutsu' and created four shurikens each, then they all launched them at Takashi, who used the E-rank jutsu 'Gale Surge' four times in each direction to block all the shurikens.

Izuna, now sensing his moment, used 'Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu' to appear beneath Takashi and grab his legs, pulling him neck-deep underground.

Izuna, feeling that he had successfully caught his father, swam out of the ground with a sword in hand, ready to finish his father off. But as he looked at his father, Takashi smiled; then, in a puff of smoke, the shadow clone was dispelled.

"Dammit," Izuna muttered, frustration lacing his voice. The notion that he had successfully deceived his father now seemed laughably naive. Looking back on it, he knew it couldn't be that easy to get one over on an elite jounin like his father.

Takashi then showed himself by flaring his chakra, which until now had been hidden.

"That was a well-thought-out plan. You've done well to work with what little jutsus you have, but now it's time for me to attack."

No sooner had his words faded than four clones stepped out of the shadows, standing at each cardinal point around Izuna. With lethal coordination, they each launched a pair of kunais, their movements synchronized and deadly.

Izuna, knowing he was now under pressure, quickly used 'earth dome jutsu', which raised an earth barrier completely around him.

Takashi then used 'great fireball jutsu', which almost instantly landed on the barrier of the unsuspecting Izuna's earth jutsu.

Feeling the heat, Izuna quickly used 'flame resistance jutsu' and once again went underground. This time, he didn't stay underground. He popped back up 5 meters away from Takashi, who had spoken earlier, whom he assumed was the main body.

He unsheathed his sword and charged toward his father, who mirrored Izuna by pulling out his sword. The two swords then met in combat, and Izuna found it increasingly harder to keep up with his father, who seemed to be slowly increasing the tempo. While Izuna could hold on for now, he knew he would eventually break.

Izuna then quickly backed away and created four shadow clones, all with swords in hand, attacking Takashi from all sides. Takashi held on as long as he could but eventually ran out of chakra and dismissed his clone once again.

The revelation hit Izuna like a wave of cold frustration; he had been duped into dueling with a clone once more.

"Come on, are you really just going to send clones to fight me?"

With an amused smirk playing on his lips, Takashi remarked, "You haven't shown so far that I needed to bring out my real body."

Izuna hated to admit it, but he was right. He still had a lot of work to do in kenjutsu before he could give his father a real fight, and while his jutsus were weak, his father only used jutsus that Izuna knew himself.

As the dust settled around them, Takashi assessed the situation with a critical eye. Recognizing the need for a tactical retreat and recovery, he suggested with calm resolve, "Why don't we stop for now, and we can go again once you get a little stronger."

Acknowledging the statement, Izuna offered a nod, his expression serious yet confident. He then assured, "Next time, I'll give you a better fight."

Takashi's tone carried a mix of surprise and respect as he inquired, eyes narrowing slightly, "I'm sure you will, but where did you learn that C-rank 'earth dome jutsu'?"

Izuna had learned this jutsu from his father, but he used a save point to learn the wind jutsu 'Great Breakthrough Jutsu', so his father had no clue how Izuna learned the C-rank jutsu. Therefore, Izuna could only lie and say, "Yama taught it to me as a gift." He hated to lie, but what could he do?

"Well, now you know the basics of swordplay, so just keep practicing every day," his father remarked before he flickered away, heading back toward their house. He had surely had a long day and was ready to get some food and sleep.

Izuna then summoned Sugi, and the two went to Aurora Valley to start training.

Izuna summoned 20 clones, his new max, with the help of his jounin-level chakra, and began to practice chakra flow with kunais and shurikens with his main body. Meanwhile, two clones stepped to the side to start working on fuinjutsu, and the rest sparred in taijutsu and kenjutsu or worked on ninjutsu.