The sand of the Third Training Field steamed under the afternoon sun, the air warped with heat. Shuji stood in the center, eyes on his two teammates.
Uchiha Itachi wore deep-blue clan robes, standing tall. Sweat traced taut lines down his young cheeks as he locked eyes on his opponent. His eight–year–old frame looked especially slight in the open field.
Mitarashi Anko, clad in a faded black mesh tee and shorts, purple hair plastered to her temples by sweat, stood with hands in her pockets, posture loose as she glanced at the ready Itachi.
"Let's gauge real–combat synergy," Shuji's calm voice cut through the heat. "Rule: first blood ends it. Begin."
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Itachi moved first, leaving only a faint afterimage. His phantom–like speed—ghostly among peers—tore three kunai toward Anko's non–lethal shoulder and knee joints.
Anko exhaled a light snort, her body coiling like a compressed spring before snapping free. With fluid grace inherited from Orochimaru's taijutsu teachings, she sidestepped just enough for the kunai to skim her collar, embedding deep in the sand.
"Fire Release: Flame Orbs!" she formed seals in a blur and fired three dense, orange–red fireballs in a vee formation.
They screamed forward, sealing Itachi's frontal escape route with scorching heat and thunderous whoosh.
Itachi's pupils contracted. His Sharingan remained closed, so he sprinted, sliding right. The fireballs hissed past his left arm, the heat licking his skin. The blast knocked him off balance, and he staggered back.
"Hmph!" Anko surged forward, her right hand lashing from her sleeve like a viper.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!" Two thick, gray–brown chakra snakes struck like arrows at Itachi's just–landed ankles!
In the nick of time, Itachi's eyes flashed scarlet. The twin tomoe whirled as the snakes' paths and his tousled muscles slowed in his vision.
He twisted his body into an awkward, near–off–balance posture, barely letting the fangs scrape past his calves—icily skimming but not biting. He overbalanced, pitch–poled backward.
Anko pressed her advantage, charging like a cannon to crush the unsteady Itachi.
In that instant, Itachi's tomoe rotated frantically—he did not brace to block but rode his fall into a backward lean. As Anko's fist lunged for his ribs, her focus shattered by a sudden illusion—icy flasks, ghastly light, and twin Sharingan glancing away—her eyes froze in stunned terror!
Though the mirage lasted only a heartbeat and she shook it off, her body still betrayed a tremor.
She had been shaken by an eight–year–old's genjutsu?!
In that moment—
"Bang!"
Anko's punch struck the "Itachi" decoy, which turned to wood and tumbled away. The real Itachi slipped through the tiny gap gained by his genjutsu and the decoy's misdirection, appearing silently at Anko's blind side. A cold kunai tip pressed against her back—no blade entry, only an icy point.
Time froze.
Anko's arm hung mid–punch. The chill at her back and a small, childlike breath behind her felt crystal clear.
"That's enough." Shuji's calm voice broke the silence.
Itachi instantly sheathed his attack, the tomoe fading. Cheeks flushed from exertion, he wiped sweat from his brow and fetched water at the field's edge.
Anko wheeled around, body stiff as a rusty puppet.
Defeat washed over her like icy water. She had lost to… that was why her teacher Orochimaru had abandoned her…
She lifted her head, lips ashen, and all her emotion poured into a single fist smashing the nearby wood post.
"Thud!"
A deep dent marked the post's surface.
Shuji glanced at Itachi drinking quietly, then at Anko frozen in place. He did not speak. Instead, he retrieved a cloth bag from the field's corner and unwrapped it calmly.
Inside were rice balls carefully wrapped in green leaves and a small bamboo flask of tea.
"Rest a moment." Shuji's gentle voice shattered the tension. He handed a rice ball to Itachi, then approached Anko and offered one without meeting her eyes.
Anko's body jolted, but she did not move. Her shoulders stiffened like stone.
"Steamed this morning, homemade—chicken filling, teriyaki flavor. Decent." Shuji spoke softly, as if chatting. "After training, you need to fill up."
Anko's protest died in her throat as the savory aroma of rice and moist chicken, sweet–salty glaze teasing her nose, brushed her frayed nerves. That warm, solid scent so starkly contrasted with the stale instant noodles and old dango in her flat—a gentle feather easing her tensions.
She could not argue. Shuji simply nudged the rice ball closer. Then he sat against the wooden post and began to eat, unhurriedly chewing, sipping tea as if unwinding at home.
Itachi ate quietly, the chicken's flavor quickening his pace to replenish energy.
Anko stared at Shuji's calm profile, then at the tempting rice ball, then at the punch–scar on the post. Her turmoil mellowed—just left with deeper, aimless weariness.
After seconds, she tucked into her rice ball with frustrated vigor! The filling's satisfying taste quelled some of her storm, yet the shame of being undone so completely still weighed on her.
All three ate rice balls in silence, punctuated only by chewing and the breeze stirring the sand.
Shuji offered no critique of their earlier bout—he simply ate, sipping tea, as though that fierce clash had never occurred.
When the rice balls were gone, Shuji folded the paper, stood, and brushed sand from his pants. He walked to the center of the field, eyes sweeping the now–recovered Itachi, then resting on Anko, whose expression remained complex.
"Feeling better?" Shuji asked gently. "Now, you two attack me together." He stood casually, hands at his sides—no seals, no guard—simply inviting another drill.
Anko's eyes widened in surprise, then hardened with renewed defiance, testing both Itachi and their calm captain. She and Itachi exchanged a wordless nod of shared resolve born of common purpose.
"All right!" Anko called softly. Rather than a direct charge, she formed seals. "Ninjutsu: Multi–Snake Shadow Binding!"
Eight thick chakra snakes erupted from the sand around Shuji, encircling him to lock down most escape routes! Simultaneously, she shifted seals again: "Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!" A refined, orange–red flame spear hissed toward Shuji's front.
Standard suppression combo.
At the very moment the flame launched, Itachi melted into shadow. He did not chase Anko's fire but, using speed and Sharingan foresight, slipped to Shuji's side–rear blind spot. Fingers flicked, and kunai flew in silent arcs targeting Shuji's knees and ankles—just as the dragon spear neared and the snakes closed in!
Ninjutsu suppression and blind–side attack—a masterful pairing!
Shuji's expression remained unfazed. As the flame nearly struck him, his arms formed seals in an instant:
"Water Release: Water Array Wall!"
A thick wall of water burst up, shielding him.
"Shhh—!" Steam billowed as the dragon flame collided, shrouding the area in mist. The wall shuddered but held fast.
Exploiting the split–second protection, Shuji shifted half a step amid the vapor—just enough to let Itachi's kunai sail past his ankles, embedding in the sand.
Then Shuji casually flicked his right hand.
"Wind Release: Gale Reflection!"
A strong, whirling gust formed at his side.
Anko's snakes, surging face–on, slammed into the vortex like helpless prey, their paths warped and shredded as they hissed away in dissolution.
"Hidden Shadow Multi–Snake Hand!" This time, eight solid serpent forms, bristling with virulent aura, struck at Shuji's recovering form.
His face remained composed as he leaned back, sealed once more, and stamped down!
"Earth Release: Pillar of Stone!"
Two sharp stone pillars erupted, pinning two snakes to the sand. They writhed and hissed in agony.
Meanwhile, Itachi's attack closed in again! Exploiting the window created by the pinned snakes, he struck like a phantom, Sharingan eyes locked on Shuji's movements as his kunai aimed at the slight opening in Shuji's ribs.
Shuji, as if sprouted eyes on his back, twisted at an impossible angle—Itachi's kunai grazed air, sparing his flesh by millimeters.
He flowed with the momentum, his own seals flashing:
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"
Several invisible but razor–sharp wind blades sliced toward Itachi's joints.
Alarm flashed in Itachi's heart—did he open his Sharingan? The blades slowed and came into stark relief before him, and Itachi reared back, crossing kunai defensively.
"Clang! Clang!" The impact rattled his arms, and he stumbled back to steady himself—dual slash marks scored across his kunai!
Anko seized that gap, her eyes keen. Seals shifted:
"Fire Release: Snake Fang Volley!" A dozen fist–sized, fang–shaped fireballs launched with tracking precision at Shuji's vital points—speed, accuracy, and lethality far beyond her earlier flame orbs!
Facing this lethal torrent, Shuji's calm never faltered. Seals flew in his hands.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A sturdy earth wall sprang up around him.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!" The fireballs pounded the barrier into steaming mist before fading.
Anko panted, sweat beading. Continuous ninjutsu had taken its toll on her.
"Stop." Shuji's quiet command fell across the field.
The earth wall collapsed, and Shuji dusted his sleeves as though stretching from a casual warm–up, wholly unruffled by the fierce duel.
"I think that's enough for now." Shuji scanned the breathing duo. "Over the next few days, we'll keep drilling tactics here."
"Of course, such training is taxing," Shuji raised a finger. "As captain, I'll take responsibility…"
Itachi, experienced from earlier drills, sipped water calmly, awaiting Shuji's next directive.
"Then let's refuel—my treat." Shuji smiled, his gaze passing over Anko and Itachi. "After all that exertion… how about some meat?"
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild