Ch. 5 Preparation

By the time I'd finally woken up, half a week had passed where I'd laid unconscious in a hospital bed.

At least, that's what the nurse told me.

I was still fighting through the raging headache that was threatening to split my skull open, and I barely remembered the fight with Hidan in the aftermath. Apparently, Nanami had carried me the rest of the way back to Konoha, and my chakra exhaustion had been severe enough to knock me out for three days.

No once during my training had I actually passed out from chakra overuse. Even when I'd come close to depleting my reserves in ninjutsu practice, all that I'd felt was a level of fatigue and drowsiness. But to be completely knocked out… the soldier pills must've taken more of a toll than I'd thought.

Of course it did, you idiot. The rational self in my head reprimanded. You took five of them, for god's sake.

I'd seen what chakra exhaustion could do to people too. Even an elite jounin like Kakashi was out for a few days from overusing his Sharingan. But there really wasn't much of a choice – I needed every drop of chakra in that fight; one misstep, and it could have been over.

I'd been fortunate that Hidan was a shinobi that relied heavily on his ability rather than fighting prowess. If it had been Kakuzu, or literally anyone else in the Akatsuki, I would have been fucked. But even so, with how easily he sliced through the chunins in our group, I suspect the only reason I even held my own in combat for a few seconds was because he was toying with me.

Regardless of how much I've improved in my taijutsu ability, there was no world in which I could have held off an Akatsuki member. Looking back, the plan was even more suicidal than I'd originally thought. If Hidan had taken things seriously, I wouldn't have even had the time to activate the barrier seal before my head rolled on the ground.

I had to keep in mind that plot armor didn't exist in the real world… at least not for people like me. If I continue coming up with suicidal tactics like that, sooner or later, it was going to bite me in the ass.

For now though, I can only count my fortunes and be glad that I survived arguably the unluckiest scenario for my first mission. It was truly hard to imagine anything worse.

If I'd been more obsessed with the Naruto fandom, perhaps I'd have known that Hidan was from the Land of Hot Water, but alas, my memory only held the important plot points, and even then the details were fuzzy at best.

This encounter served more than enough as a rude awakening to the fact that I could not just rely on my knowledge of the original series. If anything, it was only a small fraction of what I truly had to watch out for.

There was an entire bingo book the size of an encyclopedia that listed just the rogue shinobi we knew of. Who knows how many of them are truly out there… And each of them were at least B-rank or higher — more than capable of wreaking havoc upon my life.

A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts as I looked towards the entrance of the hospital room.

"Come in." I called out as I cleared my throat…

Only to choke on my spit as the door opened to reveal the Third Hokage and Tsunade as they walked into the hospital room.

I hurried to stand, but the Hokage halted me in my actions before I could get up from the bed.

"No need to rise, Yuji-kun." The old Hokage said with a good-natured smile as he motioned for me to lie back down. "We're just here to check up on you, hearing you've finally awakened."

"Hokage-sama…" I greeted, before turning to the Sannin. "And Tsunade-sama… it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh? Finally managed to learn some manners over the years huh?" Tsunade asked with a raised brow. "I remember the rude little brat you used to be as a kid, running around without a care in the world."

Shit… I was hoping she wouldn't recognize me from that encounter all those years back. It was definitely not my proudest moment, and far from the first impression I wanted to make.

I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "I apologize, Tsunade-sama. I didn't mean any disrespect back then… I was just caught off guard and panicked when I ran away… It wasn't my intention to–"

Tsunade cut my rambling off with a lazy wave. "I'm teasing, kid." She said with a small smirk. "If I'd actually been mad, you would have known by now."

I breathed a small sigh in relief. Even though I knew these characters, there was something about them that stirred a sense of nervousness within my gut. Perhaps it was their sheer presence… But whatever it was, I knew I had to be cautious around them.

Despite his kind face, the Hokage was far from a benign old man. From the few times that I saw him from afar, you wouldn't suspect him of holding the title of The God of Shinobi. But I knew better than to underestimate his kindness as weakness. Underneath that facade was a man who led Konoha through multiple Shinobi wars that saw Konoha come out on top.

There was a reason why this man was dangerous, and if I let slip anything suspicious – like knowledge of things I shouldn't know about – I'd have bigger things to worry about than outside threats.

"How are you feeling, Yuji-kun?" The Hokage asked as he gave a concerned glance.

"Oh, I'm doing well, much better than earlier." I answered quickly before adding, "Thank you for asking, Hokage-sama."

"You were fortunate, kid." Tsunade started with a reprimanding look. "If you hadn't gotten medical attention in time, who knows what would've happened to your chakra system… Don't you know what soldier pills can do to you? I swear, you brats are all reckless these days."

"There wasn't much choice, Tsunade-sama." I bowed my head as I answered. "I just thought it gave us the best chance to survive in the moment… it was kind of a desperate situation."

"And you did so admirably." The Hokage cut in with a stern look towards the Sannin. "You took charge, as a mission leader would have, and saved your entire team from annihilation. Without your actions, I'm afraid that none of them would have made it back. For a group of chunin to be saved by a genin…"

"I-I didn't mean to overstep, Hokage-sama." I added hurriedly. "I was only trying to be of help to my team. Nanami-taicho and the others did everything they could as well, and they were occupied with the enemy at the moment. I was only trying to think of the best plan to escape and –"

"You're mistaking what I said, Yuji-kun." The Hokage smiled kindly. "I'm only trying to praise you for your accomplishments. Being able to adapt to an unforeseen circumstance, and from what the mission report stated – be able to act without a direct order from your superior. Quite the accomplishment for a genin, wouldn't you say Tsunade?"

The Sannin hummed in agreement before the Hokage turned back towards me.

"It was impressive what you did out there, Yuji-kun, and you have my thanks as Hokage. Sacrificing yourself for the team and seeing their safe return back home – you have the qualities of an excellent shinobi, Yuji, I can see that from this mission alone."

"Th-thanks." I replied awkwardly at his praise.

"It was regrettable that you weren't able to land with a proper genin team… but regardless, you show a promising future, Yuji." The Hokage stated as he looked seriously into my eyes. "Nanami seems to think so as well with how much he praised your performance on the mission."

I felt my cheeks redden slightly before the leader of the village continued on.

"With the chunin exams coming up in only two months, I expect many of the jounin senseis to enter their rookie squads into the mix. I had been hoping to enter you into the exam as well if there were other genin available to form an extra squad."

I shook slightly in anticipation.

"Unfortunately, it seems that there just isn't enough time to put together a team for you this time around." The Hokage said much to my disappointment. "The other reserve genin simply aren't ready for the chunin exams, and it wouldn't be fair to ask them to compete at a level they aren't prepared for."

This was bad news… this was going to be a major setback if I had to–

"But…" The Hokage cut in, interrupting my thoughts. "Given your outstanding performance so far, I'm willing to make a rare exception — if you continue to show a satisfactory level of progress over the next two months, I will allow you to enter the chunin exams as a solo member."

My eyes widened at his announcement. Was that even a possibility?

From the original story, it seemed like only genin squads were allowed to participate… Perhaps that was just the norm instead of the rule? I'm sure it's up to the Hokage's discretion when it's all said and done, but still, I can't remember any instance of this happening…

"Ultimately, it is your decision to make, Yuji." The Hokage continued with a serious look. "There will always be another round of chunin exams next year, where I'm sure a slot will be available for you to participate with a team. But if you choose to enter this year as a solo member, I must ensure that you understand the full meaning of this."

"Make no mistake, you will be at a huge disadvantage – facing off against entire genin squads in the exams. There will be no external help or handicaps, and in order to proceed in each stage, you will be assessed in the same way a genin team would. Do you understand?"

"Yes! Hokage-sama." I bowed still in disbelief. "Thank you for the opportunity, I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure you will do great, Yuji-kun, but take some time to think about it. Regardless of your decision, I look forward to what you have in store for your future." The Hokage nodded in contentment before he and Tsunade left me to my own thoughts.

(3rd Person POV Hokage's Office)

Tsunade let out a sigh before slumping on the couch by Hiruzen's desk. It seemed not a day went by without a new set of troubles popping up out of nowhere. With the chunin exams coming up in two months, they had enough to worry about… And now a chunin squad almost gets entirely decimated…

"Any word from Yugakure yet?" She asked as Hiruzen rested his hat upon his desk. "A rogue shinobi of that calibre shouldn't be hard to find."

"According to the description, they seem to think our culprit was a former shinobi of their village – a man named Hidan." Hiruzen noted. "But even they don't seem to be aware of this… immortal… ability that he possesses. Either he kept it a secret throughout his service, or it's something that he's newly acquired…"

Tsunade's brows scrunched slightly in concern. "A forbidden technique like that is extremely dangerous in the hands of the wrong person, not to mention we don't even know its full capabilities. With how Nanami described the man… who knows if it's even possible to kill him."

"Indeed…" The old Hokage pondered. "The one good thing to come of this mission was that we managed to get some information on this Hidan. I want a Bingo-Book entry as soon as possible, and we should have Jiraiya look into his whereabouts. There'll be plenty of nefarious crime organizations that would be more than happy to employ his services."

Tsunade nodded before she rubbed her temples as she let out a sigh in mild frustration.

"And this kid too… Don't you think it's a bit much?" Tsunade added. "He has promise, there's no denying that. But still, to compete as a lone genin in the exams?… It's practically unheard of."

"Perhaps… but for Yuji, it might be exactly what he needs." Hiruzen explained as he stroked his beard in contemplation. "His self-motivation is his greatest strength – it's what's gotten him this far, figuring things out on his own. All without a Jounin sensei either… He might not be the greatest prodigy we've ever seen, but there's something to be said about what he's accomplished on his own."

"Isn't it a bit unfair though? The kid could reach even further heights if he just had someone to guide him." Tsunade pondered with a frown.

"It wouldn't be strictly true to say he's had no help at all. Isn't that right, Tsunade?" Hiruzen asked knowingly, much to her surprise. "I know you've been keeping an eye on him since the academy… you think I'm not aware of you sneaking those scrolls into the library for him? I'm old, Tsunade. Not blind. You see something in the kid, don't you?"

"It's just… when I first met him, I thought that I'd seen a ghost." Tsunade reflected with a somber look. "Under a certain light, he has a frightening resemblance to Nawaki when he was young, his hair is only a few shades lighter… It's just…I don't want to let down another kid like him."

The look of guilt in her eyes made Hiruzen's heart soften at his student's pain.

"I failed my own brother. When he needed me most, I wasn't there. I can't let that happen again."

"Not every kid is going to end up like Nawaki." Hiruzen consoled. "You're going to drive yourself insane trying to protect them from the same fate."

"But what if he's not ready?" Tsunade questioned. "The chunin exams are serious, you know that."

"Yes, but it's also an excellent opportunity for the young kid. You know what Tobirama-sensei once told me?" Hiruzen looked towards Tsunade. "He said that if you wanted to truly test someone, you need to throw them to the wolves. They either get devoured, or they come back wearing the wolves' pelts. This first mission already proved that Yuji's more than capable of handling adversity – ones that should be far out of his capacity. If he's able to handle that, I have more than enough confidence that he'll not just survive the chunin exams, but even perform well. The kid's shown a propensity to shine brightest when put in the toughest scenario, we need to have some faith in the kid."

Tsunade gave a small sigh in reluctance, but the thought was still churning her stomach with worry.

(A month later – Yuji's POV)

Things had gone back to normal pretty quickly following the disaster of a mission a few weeks back. I was still taking on the occasional D-rank mission, but most of my attention had gone into speeding up my progress in preparation for the chunin exams.

Participating as a solo member had its own perks, but also some downsides. On the one hand, the possibilities were endless – I had control over my own destiny and how things could potentially play out. I may not have the help of additional teammates, but that also meant that I couldn't be screwed over by anyone else, like how the genin exams had gone.

On the other hand, there would be certain stages in the exam where I would, without a doubt, be at a severe disadvantage in terms of manpower – namely the second stage in the Forest of Death.

The other stages I wasn't too concerned about. If they were the same as the original, they shouldn't pose any problem to me, going solo or not. The first stage was likely a mental test, and the Preliminaries and Finals were stages where we compete as individual contestants anyways.

The Forest of Death was not something I could overlook by any means. It was a test that relied heavily on teamwork – I'm either going to have to take down a team of genin, or defend my own scroll against multiple attackers.

But not only that, I also had external factors to deal with. Namely a Snake Pedophile that was coming to wreck shit up.

Avoiding him at all costs was probably the best option, but at the same time... If there was anything I could do, no matter how small of a difference it'll make, it could mean the difference between night and day for how the dynamics of Team 7 plays out in the future.

I knew going head to head with the Snake Sannin was probably a suicide mission.

While Hidan was a terrifying opponent in his own right, Orochimaru was a whole different monster altogether. The only saving grace was that he seemed to be hampered by the power limiter he placed on himself in the Forest of Death, and even then, any opponent in his path not named Naruto or Sasuke would have been absolutely pasted.

No... what I needed to do was take a subtler approach.

The tactics that I'd pulled out of my ass against Hidan were unlikely to work on Orochimaru, anyways. While he certainly wasn't the fuinjutsu expert of Jiraiya's calibre, he seemed more than capable of breaking down and understanding seals. I doubt any of my creations would be enough to slow down the Snake Sannin.

Perhaps I'd be able to find some way to stall him for a bit...or maybe cause some commotion to notify the Hokage?

Either way, if I wanted to accomplish anything in the Forest of Death, I was going to have to get much better in terms of my combat skills.

Luckily, I had found myself somewhat of a mentor… or at least a temporary one.

Whether it was a show of gratitude for what I'd done on the patrol mission or perhaps some sense of guilt for letting his team down, ultimately Nanami had agreed to train me for the duration of the month-long break that the Hokage had mandated for him.

I wasn't entirely sure, perhaps even the Hokage had asked him to do so… But I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth – any help that I could get, I was more than grateful for.

One of the main things that I'd begun to learn was Kenjutsu – one of the first steps towards improving my close range combat.

The fight with Hidan made me realize that I was approaching my taijutsu problem from the wrong angle. Despite my ambitions of perhaps one day matching the taijutsu prowess of someone like Rock Lee, or even Sasuke, I knew I was not going to reach that level anytime soon in the short run.

They were improving everyday just as I was, and there wasn't a shortcut that I could take to drastically improve my skills within a month.

I could, however, change my fighting style so that strength and speed wasn't the primary emphasis.

I figured that with my skills at their current level, trying to hold off physically superior opponents with just my fists and a kunai was straight up suicidal.

Instead, what I needed was a weapon with a longer reach to cover some of my combat deficiencies.

Many of the chunins that were on the patrol mission seemed to take a similar approach. My guess was that unless you were an absolute powerhouse in either taijutsu or ninjutsu, most shinobi in this world relied on some form of weaponry beyond a simple kunai.

A few months was a short timeline to be learning a new weapon, but luckily for me, transitioning from a kunai to a katana was somewhat easier than I'd imagined.

The foundational footwork was very similar, the only difference was that I had to keep in mind the spacing needed to effectively wield a longer blade. The intuition was the same as hand-to-hand combat, only now I had an extra tool that acted as a deterrent for enemies that wanted to get close in action.

Nanami hadn't taken it easy on the training either. Small blisters were beginning to form on the inside of my knuckles, and more often than not, my fists were bleeding through the wraps that I'd tied around them.

But I couldn't argue with the results. In just under a month, I could already see notable improvements in my fighting ability.

Not only did Kenjutsu allow me to hold off stronger opponents, it also gave me the perfect spacing to perform any ninjutsu or fuinjutsu techniques I needed. The spars with Nanami had been less one-sided as of recent weeks, and I'd even begun to get in a few hits of my own, though I'd yet to win a full spar.

Despite his tough, no-nonsense exterior, Nanami had been a good instructor, and that was evident from the very first training session.

(Flashback - Training Grounds)

"Do you know what the first lesson is in Kenjutsu?" Nanami asked as he studied my stance. We stood a small distance apart, both of us wielding a wooden sword for a training spar.

I'd just finished practicing the basic footwork drills and were moving on to maneuvering with the actual katana.

"Uh… stick them with the pointy end?" My mind came up with a shrug.

"No." Nanami answered before he whipped his wooden blade forward, bruising my knuckles and making me drop my sword with a yelp.

"The first lesson is to not lose your weapon." Nanami stated as he pointed to the discarded sword for me to pick up again.

"The point of wielding a weapon is to provide an advantage in physical combat that you would otherwise lack." He explained as I bit down a curse, the pain flaring up my hand as I gripped the handle of the sword once more. "The last thing you want to do is to be disarmed, or worse, have your opponent steal your weapon."

I stood with my blade held forward in a guard position as Nanami advanced.

"Think of it as an extension of your arm – always be mindful of how you're holding the weapon, and where it is in relation to your body. If you don't want to lose an arm, then don't drop the sword." He emphasized before coming down with a full swing that I barely managed to block with my blade, the force of the blow almost ripping the sword from my grasp once again.

"Better." Nanami stated with a nod of approval. "But still too stiff. Don't try to counter force with more force; that's not a battle you'll win against an adult shinobi. Focus on your footwork… parry and deflect. Don't try to block a full swing head-on – it'll only chip your blade, or worse, cut right through your sword and into your shoulder. You have to be more fluid and find openings when they present themselves."

With a nod, I prepared for another round as Nanami approached with his blade. This time, instead of meeting every strike of his with my own sword, I sidestepped and dodged as much as I could, using my sword sparingly to deflect his swings to try and bring him off-balance.

"Good." Nanami exclaimed as he increased his speed, his movements growing more erratic and unpredictable. It wasn't long before I lost my footing and felt the wooden blade smack across my forearm.

I jumped back with a small curse as I felt the sting upon my skin.

"Staying patient and defensive is good, but only as long as you maintain the threat of retaliation." Nanami explained as he lowered his sword. "When you remain too passive, it allows the enemy to be even more aggressive on the offense. If you ever find yourself being overwhelmed, you have to counter and force your opponent to slow down and defend themselves. Otherwise, you have no shot at turning the tide."

(Back to Present)

That day had ended with more than a dozen bruises across my hands and forearms.

I'd done my best to soak those lessons in like a sponge; and with what little time I had to train on my Kenjutsu, I was just glad to be making any progress at all.

Outside of the training sessions with Nanami, it was difficult to find any good training partners. The older veteran genins at the Reserve Headquarters were useful for a quick spar, but even at my current level, they didn't pose too much of a challenge.

And thus, I was stuck on most days practicing by myself in this empty training ground – mostly working through the motions until they became ingrained like second nature.

I wiped a sheen of sweat off my forehead before continuing with my katas, pivoting and countering the strikes of the imaginary opponent in front of me.

The metal blade in my hand had also been a gift from Nanami – one of his old katanas to serve as a temporary weapon until I settled on my preferred style. It was well-balanced, if not slightly on the heavier side in my hand; though I suppose that'll adjust once I can build up my arm strength.

But even with an unfitted sword, the weapon just felt much more natural in my hand as opposed to wielding a bare kunai. The weight and reach of the weapon gave me a sense of reassurance that I just couldn't achieve with pure taijutsu.

Although, trying to incorporate a kenjutsu style into my repertoire hadn't been seamless either. The biggest downside was the fact that wielding a sword immobilized one of my hands for pretty much the entire duration of the fight. It had taken some getting used to – weaving hand signs while gripping a sword, and abridging some jutsus to single handed series – but nonetheless, the added benefit that Kenjutsu brought in close-quarter combat without a doubt outweighed any inconvenience it could've created.

A pair of footsteps brought my attention to the edge of the training grounds, and I turned to find Sasuke, much to my surprise.

I couldn't remember the last time that I'd seen him. Has it been a few months?

It certainly looked like it. The Uchiha's appearance was definitely a bit more mature – taller and stronger in build. His face hadn't changed much, there was that somber look about him that was ever present. But even then, I could tell that something wasn't right with Sasuke.

Had he just returned from the Wave mission?

It matched the rough timeline I had in my head regarding the early arcs before the chunin exams.

"Hey, Sasuke…" I greeted as he'd yet to utter a word.

The Uchiha responded with a small nod in greeting before he approached, studying the metal blade in my hand with a curious glance.

"Want to test that sword in a spar?" Sasuke asked, cutting right to the chase.

Some things never changed.

I shrugged 'why not'. It had been a while since I tested myself against him, and it'd be good to see how I would fare in the upcoming exams.

"What did you have in mind? Chakra off-limits or no restrictions?" I asked as I resheathed my sword upon my back, the blade strapped tightly to a light harness hanging from my shoulder. It was the easiest way to carry despite the awkward sheathing motion… and not to mention it looked far cooler than having a sword sheathed to the belt.

"No holding back, every technique is allowed. Chakra or otherwise." Sasuke answered before he turned and motioned for me to follow.

"Come with me." He gave me an expectant look. "There's a better training ground where we don't have to worry about destroying the landscape."

(Naka River - Uchiha Training Compound)

My eyes swept across the large clearing by the banks of the Naka River. It was a secluded area by the outskirts of the village – a private training grounds reserved for the Uchiha Compound. It's been a while since I've been here, the last time being the training sessions I had with Sasuke back in the academy. The peaceful silence had always been slightly eerie, reminding me of how desolate the once bustling district had become.

Now, all that was left of the Uchiha clan was a pair of shattered siblings, torn asunder by war, politics, and betrayal. If there was one thing that I'd swear to fix in this timeline, it was to make sure that Itachi got a better ending than what he did in the original story. He deserved it, for god's sake, for everything he's done for the village.

A cough brought my attention back to the little brother at hand as he finished his set of stretches and waited for me expectantly.

"Are you sure this is where you want to spar?" I asked with a glance towards the river, its current winding soft and slow down the narrow stream – the perfect source for my water jutsus. "You know, maybe not the best idea to give your opponent a–"

"I'm aware of what you're capable of, Yuji." Sasuke said knowingly as he pointed to the water. "I need to test myself, and the best way to do so is with you at your strongest. I did say no holding back, didn't I?"

I guess that information wasn't too difficult to figure out. I hadn't been actively trying to keep any of my techniques a secret anyway… besides it'd be hard to hide anything in a village of shinobi.

"Alright, if you say so." I said with a shrug as I raised my left hand in a Seal of Confrontation. "First to yield?"

"First to yield." The Uchiha confirmed as he raised his own seal in response.

Immediately, he shot towards me like a cannon, closing the distance in a blink of an eye. It seems after all this time, he knew my weakness was still close combat.

Without a second's hesitation, I unsheathed the katana from my back in a forward swing, making the Uchiha dodge to the side to avoid the quick slash.

I pushed forward at the slight opening, twirling my wrist as I brought down the sword in a flurry of quick strikes. Sasuke was forced to block with a pair of kunai as the metal blades met in a harsh clash.

With a quick kick to his midsection, I pushed off from the Uchiha to create some distance between us before gathering a pool of chakra within my gut. I held the katana with just a thumb pressed into the palm of my right hand as I weaved through a series of hand signs.

I felt my chakra tug on the river source behind me before the water shot forward in a concentrated beam.

"Water Release: Liquid Drill Jutsu."

The Uchiha matched my jutsu with a fireball of his own as the bright orange flames spilled from his mouth. I felt the burning steam kiss my skin as a cloud of white mist formed from the clash of opposing elements.

Pulling a pair of kunai from the pack strapped behind my waist, I flung the projectiles into the steam towards his rough direction. The paper bombs attached to the kunai flared as they passed through the cloudy mist before they detonated in a pair of explosions.

I watched as Sasuke jumped out of the way, popping out of the smoke as he leapt into the open grounds. His eyes found me immediately, and I gulped as I saw a pair of red orbs staring right back at me.

He really wasn't going to hold anything back, huh?

Sasuke charged at me once again as the steam cleared, and this time, he had no trouble against my sword.

His Sharingan eyes darted around at rapid speeds as he read my movements before I even made them. It felt like I was trying to slice water as he danced out the way no matter how unpredictable I made my strikes.

The Uchiha landed a punch through my guard before he brought his knee up and buried it into my stomach, forcing me back as I scrambled from the blow.

I knew once he activated his Sharingan, the fight was pretty much over. I didn't stand much of a chance in close combat if he had those eyes active, and any shot I had of catching him in a barrier trap just went out the window.

But still, I wasn't about to give in without putting up a fight.

Pulling out one of my fuinjutsu devices from my pocket, I activated it with a surge of chakra before tossing it at the approaching Uchiha.

The device was actually one of my own inventions – a mini explosive modeled after a modern Stun Grenade. It utilized a few easy fuinjutsu tricks, and the extremely loud bang accompanied by a flash of blinding light was more than enough to disorient someone's senses. I was more than familiar with it, having subjected myself to the pain in numerous careless experiments.

Sasuke danced cautiously out of the way as the compact scroll bounced and rolled along the dirt, but I knew better than to wait for the results.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall"

I erected the dirt barrier in front of me before ducking beneath it, closing my eyes and plucking my ears with my fingers. But even through my muffled coverings, I nearly felt my eardrums burst at the loud BANG that vibrated through the Mud Wall as the device detonated.

While it was nowhere near the effectiveness of any modern flashbang, the suddenness and novelty of the device would no doubt be able to stagger opponents, as it clearly had done to the Uchiha. Those ultra light-receptive Sharingan eyes of his weren't doing any favors either as they probably took the brunt of the damage from the Stun Grenade.

He let out a growl of pain as he tried to fight through the temporary disorienting blindness from the bright flash, but I was on him within a few seconds.

Even without his keen senses, Sasuke still managed to somewhat defend against the flurry of strikes that I threw his way. A few shots made their way through his defenses, before a knee buckling kick to his shin broke his footing and a slice from my katana nicked a small cut across his side. The Uchiha danced out of the way just in time to avoid serious damage as a small rip tore through the side of his shirt where the tip of my sword brushed past.

Overall, I knew I was running out of time. The stun effects were going to wear off in a few seconds, and the furious retaliation from the Uchiha was not something I was gonna be capable of withstanding.

In a last ditch effort, I leapt back and shot Sasuke with another Water Jutsu, blasting him back on his ass this time as the stream hit him with the weight of a boulder.

He struggled to his feet with a cough before charging towards me as the water stream from my jutsu died down. Even though his movements were far from as sharp as they were before, I was still no match for his quickness.

He gave me no room to perform any more ninjutsu, breaking my hands apart before I could even form a single hand sign. The sword was just enough to keep him slightly out of reach, but even then, it swung harmlessly past him each time as the Uchiha watched the blade like a hawk, his Sharingan eyes tracing the path of the sword before it even moved.

Within a few minutes, I found myself lying helpless on the ground with his knee on my chest and a kunai held to my throat. My sword arm lay battered beside me, the limb was an ugly mess of bruises and cuts from the Uchiha's attempts to disarm me, but I had not let go of the sword.

Ultimately, I knew I was beat.

"Yield." I finally muttered breathlessly, ending the tiring bout with the Uchiha.

He, too, dropped the kunai before slumping to the ground beside me, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.

"What the hell was that thing that you did?" Sasuke grumbled as the water dripped slowly from his soaking hair and clothes.

"This?" I asked as I pulled out another stun grenade prototype before tossing the compact scroll towards Sasuke. "It's similar to a paper bomb, just instead of an explosion, it produces an intense light and sound – meant to disorient an enemy's senses."

"You came up with it yourself?"

"... sort of… Got the idea from something else, but it seems to work pretty well." I responded. "Especially against dojutsu users, it seems."

Sasuke grunted with a hint of annoyance as he studied the device with a look of contempt, those red orbs of his trying to decipher the seals etched onto the scroll device, but to no avail. I could pretty much count this as the last time the stun grenade was going to work on the Uchiha; a weapon of such effectiveness against his prized eyes was surely going to get his attention.

"You've gotten better…" He muttered as he tossed the scroll back to me.

"You haven't slowed down either." I retorted, throwing him a sideways glance as he deactivated his Sharingan. "You awakened them during the mission?"

"Hn." The Uchiha grunted, without saying anything else beyond a small grimace.

He did well to hide it behind that stoic mask of his, but clearly something had gone awry in that Wave mission.

"Are you alright?"

Another grunt.

I decided not to push any further. If he wanted to say anything, he would. No amount of pushing was going to make the emo kid open up to me.

I laid back and stared up at the sky in thought, the bright blue starting to turn shades of purple as the night settled in.

You know, I could see why Shikamaru enjoyed this so much… There was something peaceful and relaxing about watching the clouds pass.

The spar had been a refreshing change of pace to the mundane training that I'd been doing for the past few months. Outside of the patrol mission, I'd hardly gotten a chance to let loose with everything that I had, and the life-or-death situation then had guaranteed that I was more likely to shit my pants than be able to enjoy the fight.

Now this… this was an adrenaline rush. I was surely going to feel the aches and pains in the morning, but the spar had brought an energizing vindication that – I'm getting there… I was slowly but surely catching up.

Sasuke was going to continue improving as well – and maybe even faster now that he's unlocked his Sharingan. But still, the sight of him having to struggle and not come out of the spar unscathed did bring a small smile to my face.

The Uchiha let out a small sigh, grabbing my attention as I turned towards him.

"I did something I may have regretted…" He spoke up. The comment had thrown me off guard, but I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"The mission… it was only supposed to be a C-rank, but things went haywire from the very beginning."

And then everything spilled from Sasuke's lips.

"We were assigned to escort this bridge builder, but it turns out he had some enemies who hired shinobi to kill him… dangerous shinobi. Kakashi-sensei had struggled with their leader, so Naruto and I had to take care of his apprentice, but…"

He hesitated as I saw his eyes glaze over, his mind replaying the scenes no doubt over in his head.

"I've seen people die before, but I guess I just wasn't prepared for what it meant to take someone's life." Sasuke confessed as I noticed the slight shake in his hands.

My eyes widened slightly in surprise, alarm bells going off within my head. This was definitely not something that happened in canon.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

A stretch of silence ensued before he began.

"It happened when the two shinobi attacked the bridge – one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, apparently. Kakashi-sensei faced off against Zabuza while Naruto and I tried to take down his apprentice. The fight had started off pretty well, but then she used her ice technique, and we couldn't figure out a way to break out of it… not even when I awakened my Sharingan."

"It wasn't until Naruto burst out with his chakra that we were able to break the Ice Mirror technique. By then, it looked like Kakashi was about to win his fight too. The apprentice tried to run off to interfere, but… I don't even think I meant to, it was just a second hand reflex… I stabbed the kunai into her throat before I even knew what I was doing."

My mouth all of a sudden felt extremely dry as I failed to find the right words to say.

Sasuke ended up killing Haku? How did that manage to happen?

"She was already weakened by then." Sasuke continued, an almost imperceptible shake in his voice. "Naruto's chakra seemed to take a toll on her, and she probably wasn't even a threat anymore, but I… I don't know why…"

Fuck… out of all the things I did not expect this to happen.

"Was this your first kill?" I asked with a soft tone and received a nod in response. "Have you talked to your sensei about this?"

"He gave me the usual talk, but it wasn't that… It's just… I didn't expect the regret that I felt afterwards. That I still feel." Sasuke confessed as he closed his eyes. "After witnessing what happened that night… all those years ago, I thought that I'd be ready to kill – and that if I ever saw that man again I wouldn't hesitate to take his life. But… I couldn't even…"

"You don't know what could've happened, Sasuke." I tried to reason. "It's a sad truth, but the world we live in is a cruel one. Being a shinobi means that we have to contend with the thought of death every second of our existence. You did what you had to… she was an enemy – one just as capable of harming you as–"

"She was only a kid. Probably around our age… maybe younger." Sasuke interrupted, surprising me with the level of empathy in his voice. "… I don't think she was all that different from me. It seemed like she only had one goal in her life – one thing that drove her to keep living – and I stole that from her… It just reminded me of something that I don't want to think about."

"You're not going to end up like him." I insisted, and Sasuke's brows furrowed as the walls he's built up slowly started to crumble around him. "Just the fact that you're showing this level of compassion for someone you've never met shows that you're nothing like him. He would've never batted an eye at cutting someone down, no matter if they were shinobi, civilians, or children."

"You reject everything that he stands for by being who you are." I continued, hoping the words would sink into his mind. "His path is alone… he drove everyone away from him. Yours doesn't have to be. You still have your comrades around you – if you have the strength and heart to protect those you care about, in turn, when you confront him, you won't be alone. You'll have people by your side."

The Uchiha seemed to be in somewhat of a silence as he listened to my words, the frown on his face slowly softening before a peaceful look settled upon his face.

"And what about you?" Sasuke asked as he looked towards me earnestly. "Will you be by my side then?"

I let out a small breath before I nodded resolutely.

"Yes, Sasuke. I'll stand beside you when the time comes."

Authors Note:

Hey Everyone! Hope you enjoyed the fifth chapter.

Please leave a review with any thoughts or questions.

Thanks.