Testing his performance
(Akio POV)
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Seeing he was comparing himself to an Anbu, with a look of genuine adoration to them in his eyes, I found it quite disturbing.
I wanted to ask Nawaki, "How much did Tsunade romanticize the Anbu to you?" but I held my tongue, realizing it would be foolish to say such a thing aloud.
I had to remind myself that they truly had no understanding of what being Anbu actually entails. This ignorance is common among civilians and most smaller clans. It's ironic because despite being the most prestigious clan, they should have had some insight into the reality of the Anbu. However, they, like many others, only see the Anbu Black Ops division and believe it represents the entire Anbu department, which is far from accurate.
Even so, I can't entirely blame them for their misconceptions.
Sandaime-sama, did an excellent job of embedding this misleading idea through the newspaper, which he indirectly controlled. By purchasing a majority stake in the newspaper, officially owned by a minister of the Land of Fire, he ensured that the narrative he wanted was disseminated widely. It's unfortunate, though, that other than the Senju, the major clans were too astute to be deceived by this manipulation.
Regardless of whether I should attribute it to his pride or simply an overestimation of his abilities, I am curious to witness his performance. Therefore, I see no harm in observing him in action.
Even though I feel that I might be testing him prematurely, given that he lacks the experience typically possessed by Genin and Chunin, this will still provide me with a clearer understanding of his combat potential and capabilities.
"Take a moment to rest and devise a plan before you engage in a fight with me," I advised him, subtly indicating my acceptance of his challenge.
Grasping the underlying message, his demeanor brightened with enthusiasm, and he retreated to his estate to prepare himself adequately.
As I chatted with Duy about Minato, the golden boy who had gained fame among civilians and placed fifth in the overall ranking in his class, I wasn't surprised by his success. Minato, after all, is the golden child. During our conversation, I also inquired about Uchiha Mikoto, who had graduated alongside Nawaki.
To be honest, my interest in Mikoto was minimal and mainly talked about her to pass my time. She is destined to marry Uchiha Fugaku, the son of the current Uchiha Patriarch. Given her clan's treatment of her, it's unlikely that I could influence her without provoking their anger.
Despite the strained relationship between the Hokage faction and the Uchiha clan, it's crucial not to offend them overtly. Doing so could further harm Uncle Kagami's already declining status within his clan. If he were deemed useless and subsequently eliminated, it would strengthen the Hokage faction's unity and Uchiha clan unity, which is something I want to avoid.
A semi-divided faction is much easier to manage than a united one.
After an hour of conversation, Nawaki finally arrived, this time proudly donning his headband.
With Duy appointed as the referee, Nawaki and I faced off, waiting for the match to begin.
"Hajime!"
Nawaki swiftly unsealed shurikens from his arm seals and launched them at me. Effortlessly, I dodged each one.
Using the Body Flicker technique, Nawaki swiftly closed the gap between us, which I retaliate with a punch to his abdomen followed by a kick that sent him airborne.
Mudshot Technique!" Nawaki shouted, firing mud projectiles at me mid-air. Once again, I evaded his attack effortlessly.
As he crashed down, a cloud of dust enveloped him, momentarily hiding his next move.
Sensing tremors below, I anticipated his emergence and landed a solid kick to his chest.
Despite the blow, Nawaki landed on his feet and swiftly created shadow clones, each performing hand signs in unison before putting both hands on the ground.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
I found myself surrounded by an eight-sided mud wall, the swirling dust further obscuring my vision.
"Earth Release: Antlion!"
"Earth Release: Earth Wave Technique!
I braced against the vibrating ground as the mud walls moved to enclose me in a pit. Swiftly, I leaped upward, escaping the confinement.
Landing on the ground, I noticed his clones charging towards me, each with arms encased in stone, I smoothly evaded their attacks, swiftly countering to knock them down one by one.
However, as I engaged, my hand unexpectedly adhered to one of his clones, which I soon realized was made of mud conjured earlier in the skirmish. This momentary entanglement allowed a sealing formula to spread across my body, momentarily hindering my movements.
"Good, your sealing technique has improved," I silently praised him, assessing the progress of his fuinjutsu skills even amidst combat.
As I heard his labored breaths, it dawned on me what his next move would be.
"Dynamic Entry!" His voice pierced the air from behind as he launched himself with a flying kick aimed at me. Swiftly, I nullified the sealing formula and withdrew my hand from the mud clone just in time to dodge.
I glanced at him, noticing the telltale signs of an Eight Gates user beyond the second gate: his skin ablaze with a fiery red hue, eyes devoid of pupils, hair standing erect like a startled animal—though I resisted the urge to chuckle—and veins pulsing visibly across his body.
It brought back memories, reminiscent of the time Duy had first showed the Eight Gates technique with unwavering enthusiasm after discovering it can enhance his taijutsu skills.
Refocusing from the brief trip down memory lane, I observed Nawaki, his right arm now encased in stone, hurtling towards me with remarkable speed, likely aided by the body flicker technique to intensify his assault.
'How powerful will it be?' I mused, fortifying my shadow with a trace of earth chakra that enveloped my form, bracing for the impact.
When his fist finally connected with my chest, both of us were forcefully propelled backward, the ground beneath my feet slightly yielding to the force. Fortunately, the shadow technique nullified his attack, leaving me unscathed. Nawaki, however, reverted to his normal state, crumpling to the ground in pain, clutching his injured arm
Pulling out a kunai, I swiftly applied the body flicker technique to close the distance between us. With precision, I positioned the kunai near his neck, ensuring he had no means to counter or defend, thus securing my victory as per the sparring rules among Konoha shinobi.
After the fight, Duy immediately went to Nawaki's side to check his injuries, while I quietly assessed his performance. His earth affinity turned out to be better than I had anticipated, showcasing a versatile portfolio of earth jutsus that effectively utilized all unique aspects of earth release.
This complemented with his large chakra reserve and strong, agile body, where his capability to chain together jutsus in sequence would have worked brilliantly against opponents less skilled or weaker than him.
Regarding taijutsu, Nawaki's strength was undeniable. I took precautionary measures from the outset by concealing shadows beneath my clothing to keep pace with his speed and power, and particularly strengthen it during the intense moments where his attacks were as potent as two B-rank jutsus.
As for his fuinjutsu, it is adequate enough in Konoha standard.
However, Nawaki lacked experience in prolonged battles and struggled with the endurance required in the third gate state. Although this state provided a noticeable boost, its brevity would left him vulnerable afterwards where audible breathing would give opponents hints to stall the fight until he return to back with far vulnerable state.
Nevertheless, Nawaki clearly outclassed any current Anbu trainees the department currently have; he reassured me that he wouldn't face a similar senseless demise in the future
"So, how was I?" Nawaki asked eagerly, his eyes reflecting a mix of hope and determination, never forgetting the reason he had fought so hard in the first place.
"Good," I replied calmly, tempered by the knowledge of Nawaki's tendency towards overconfidence. "Just don't slack off," I added, choosing my words carefully to balance encouragement with a reminder of the need for continuous improvement.
After Duy had carried Nawaki to the Senju residence for treatment of his injuries, I departed for my apartment. There, I resumed my intense study of the Flying Raijin technique, a task I intended to pursue diligently until Lady Mito's return.
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What did you think about the fight? Was it underwhelming, or did it meet your expectations?
The fight scenes were undoubtedly time-consuming, as figuring out how Akio and Nawaki were going to fight was harder than I expected where I got 'lost' when searching for earth jutsu in the series to visualize the fight scenes in my mind. (It was painful, as I looked at hundreds of them, but I only needed a few to actually complete the fight.)
Anyway, what interests you the most about this fanfiction?
1. How the Anbu are portrayed here as of yet
2. Portraying characters not shown properly in the anime with additional of POV chapters of some of them.
3. Change of events thanks to the MC's presence and actions
4. Nothing for now