The first chapter of December. I'm considering releasing only two or three chapters this month instead of the usual four that I put on weekends, what do you think? Not trying to be lazy. Just want to give my readers(and my faithful editor/current FF king/Chakra Wizard) a break for Christmas y'know. I figure 'give the people what they want' so what do you guys want? I'll put up a poll. Make sure to vote, cuz if you don't I'm gonna have to go with my gut XD Anyways, I'm rambling. Here's this week's chapter, which is the 21st chapter of this fan fiction(I think, not exactly sure haha 
) Enjoy! Please comment and critique *_*
As he ran forward, Himura lifted his long spear of fire, the whole battlefield dancing with the motion; hair, grasses and clothes thrashing about every which way, dust rising from the earth and sweeping through the whole barrier space in a stinging brown haze, impeding visibility for the spectators outside, as the tall rod of flame that had conjured the fierce gust, stood high, blazing and lofty before it fell with a vengeance on the Hyuuga.
A deafening crash like a thousand peals of thunder rent the air and shook the earth, as the fiery blade crashed into a massive blue dome of chakra which whirled around Sato as the Hyuuga’s whole body spun at terrific speed. The blade of fire and wind was stopped by the Kaiten, but Himura would not give up. He continued to push his blade against the spinning dome of chakra which held up well against it and most of the spectators were forced to squint their eyes in discomfort and stop their ears with their hands as a result of the deafening, high-pitched screech that came from the battle between sword and shield, between orange fire and blue chakra, between Himura and Sato.
The noise, the wind and the clash came to an abrupt end however, as Himura’s blade was repelled by the Kaiten, flying off his grip and landing a good distance away from both fighters, flames around it extinguished, leaving the Sarutobi shocked and unarmed. It was impossible that Sato would miss this spectacular opening. The Hyuuga was upon his foe in a moment and the sharp blade of his kunai rested on the jugular of ANBU’s Angel of Death as they both stood with eyes locked.
“It’s my victory, Himura!” declared Sato, his chest rising and falling in short breaths, wisps of hair glued to his forehead by sweat and grime.
Himura, too, was panting severely, his ragged appearance matching his opponent's, but to Sato's surprise, there was a smirk on his face as he looked downward at his own muscular hand, which was also holding a kunai—roughly an inch from Sato’s heart. The Hyūga looked down and saw this as well, a flabbergasted look on his face as he realized what this meant.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Sato.” said Himura.
“It’s...it’s a draw.” Sato muttered after clearing his throat.
Seeing that the fight was now over, the Aoran crowd immediately erupted with thunderous applause and shouts of appraisal.
“KONOHA NINJA ARE THE BEST!!” hailed one fellow at the top of his voice.
”DID YOU SEE THAT!? I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!” bellowed another.
“MORE!! MORE!!”
Shiko grinned, pleased to see that things were going just as he had planned. He watched as Sato and Himura pocketed their weapons, then formed the Seal of Reconciliation before waving to their spectators, who were still cheering ecstatically.
All the while, Itachi had been quite engrossed in the battle, watching keenly with his Sharingan. Although he would never admit it out loud—because Uchiha simply don’t admit such things—he was quite impressed. Amongst his kin, he was considered a prodigy, able to bring down fellow clansmen much older and far more experienced than him, with relative ease. The level of respect he commanded at the age of twelve was more than most seasoned shinobi could hope for, and it made him quite content with his abilities. However, the battle that he had just witnessed taught him two things, the first being that he had severely underestimated Sato—it seemed now that the Hyūga wasn’t just full of hot air. He wasn't merely some lackadaisical shinobi who boasted about the name of his clan yet knew nothing of the immense power it held—unlike some people Itachi knew. Sato was strong, which led into the second thing Itachi had learned from his battle with Himura—that he really wanted to fight him now. The fire of competition burned within the young Uchiha prodigy. Perhaps, Sato had read Itachi’s heart in that moment and felt something of that blaze, bcause he suddenly turned to the young Uchiha with a cold expression before slowly running the fingers of his right hand across his neck, mimicking the act of a beheading—an obvious challenge.
“Seems he’s hungry for more.” said Tenzo, who was seated to the right of Itachi and had just witnessed Sato’s gesture, smiling in amusement.
“So it seems.” responded Itachi calmly.
“Well, we’ve reeled the people in.” said Shiko, rubbing his palms together eagerly as he sat on Itachi’s left. At that moment, the purple walls of Hoji's barrier faded away and the combatants of the previous fight rejoined their teammates. “What we need now is a final show to wrap things up.”
“How about…Itachi and Hoji?” suggested Tenzo with a wry smile.
Shiko had a thoughtful look on his face as Tenzo said this, scratching his chin pensively before suddenly breaking into a smile and slinging his right arm around Itachi’s shoulder.
“Not a bad idea. Pitting an Uchiha against a Senju.” he said somewhat gleefully.
“What about the barrier, though?” inquired Itachi.
He expressed concern for this issue, though in reality, Itachi was merely looking for an excuse to avoid fighting Hoji. Though he could not deny the medical-nin's prowess in that particular field, as a fighter, he had always viewed him as moderately skilled—which was simply a nicer way of saying that he didn't believe he was very battle adept—and as such, had no desire to publicly humiliate him.
“It’s Uchiha against Senju. You couldn't contain a fight that intense inside of a cage, anyways.” Tenzo replied with a chuckle.
“He’s our medical ninja, though. What if he gets hurt?” asked Itachi.
“No excuses, Itachi. ...Besides, I’d be more worried if I were you.” replied the Team Captain, piquing his teammate's curiosity in the process.
“Hoji is stronger than he looks, hard as that might be to believe, considering his…unique personality. But, there’s much more to him than medical ninjutsu. Besides, this is merely an exhibition match. NO ONE will be getting hurt, is that clear?”
Itachi nodded.
“Damn Himura and Sato…nearly killed themselves for crying out loud…” Shiko continued to mutter under his breath. Itachi ignored him, though, and looked over at Hoji who—in unison with his three clones—was doing a few stretches to loosen his muscles, which had become stiff during his time maintaining the barrier. This was certainly going to be an interesting matchup, the Uchiha thought. Himura and Sato joined the team just then, both sitting on the soft, green grass next to Shiko.
“You guys had me worried. That’s the last time I allow a fight between two mad men.” reprimanded Shiko, glaring at the two fighters with a deep scowl that made him appear twenty years older than he really was.
“Oh c’mon, Cap! You gotta admit, that was quality entertainment back there.” Sato responded, grinning as he used his shirt to wipe away the sweat accumulating on his forehead.
“Best afternoon ever.” assented Himura with a nod, brushing the dirt off his clothes as he did. Their assurance had failed to remove Shiko's frown, though.
“Itachi and Hoji are next. No barrier.” he turned to Tenzo. “Use your Mokuton to control the battlefield. Hopefully, these two won’t get too out of control.”
“Interesting.” Sato said with an evil grin upon overhearing this. “Good choice.”
Not wasting any time, Itachi rose to his feet and walked over to Hoji. Initially confused by Itachi's sudden approach, the medical-nin quickly came to a full understanding of things as the Uchiha positioned himself about five meters in front of him, wearing that same cold expression which only found its way onto his face when combat was imminent. The Senju quickly dispelled his shadow clones and stood up to meet his challenge.
“So, they picked us, huh?” Hoji inquired with his usual goofy smile, scratching the back of his head nervously.
“Let’s not drag this out too long, Hoji.” said Itachi.
“We can’t just rush this, bro!” replied the medical-nin, “It’s the finale!”
A small distance away from both fighters, the rest on the team was settled on the grass to watch the impending battle, Sato’s Byakugan already activated and ready to catch every detail of it. So focused was he that the soft nudges to his ribs—courtesy of Himura's elbow—brought him much irritation.
“What is it!?” he inquired with an annoyed tone, glaring at the source of his disturbance.
“I’m not sure Hoji stands much of a chance.” began Himura. “I remember how he used to drag behind the rest of the class during our days in the Academy. And I think we all know how Itachi did there. ...You're closer to him than any of us are, right, so what do you think?”
Sato merely turned his eyes back to the two combatants, now wearing a grave expression.
“After his mom died, Hoji lost all interest in the Academy. He didn't even take the Chūnin exams after graduating. But, he started training in medical ninjutsu to honor her memory and eventually became so skilled in it that he was accepted into the ANBU while still a genin, and at the age of fifteen at that.” he explained, though this did little to change Himura's opinion of him.
“Yeah, I know about all that, but medical ninjutsu isn’t gonna help him here.” responded Himura. “Young as Itachi is, he’s the genius of the—”
“Hoji and I train all the time in one-on-one spars, Himura. He’s never once beaten me in combat.” Sato interrupted with a grin.
“Yeah, big surprise there.” Himura replied sardonically.
“...But then again, I’ve never beaten him either.”
To Be Continued.
) Enjoy! Please comment and critique *_* As he ran forward, Himura lifted his long spear of fire, the whole battlefield dancing with the motion; hair, grasses and clothes thrashing about every which way, dust rising from the earth and sweeping through the whole barrier space in a stinging brown haze, impeding visibility for the spectators outside, as the tall rod of flame that had conjured the fierce gust, stood high, blazing and lofty before it fell with a vengeance on the Hyuuga.
A deafening crash like a thousand peals of thunder rent the air and shook the earth, as the fiery blade crashed into a massive blue dome of chakra which whirled around Sato as the Hyuuga’s whole body spun at terrific speed. The blade of fire and wind was stopped by the Kaiten, but Himura would not give up. He continued to push his blade against the spinning dome of chakra which held up well against it and most of the spectators were forced to squint their eyes in discomfort and stop their ears with their hands as a result of the deafening, high-pitched screech that came from the battle between sword and shield, between orange fire and blue chakra, between Himura and Sato.
The noise, the wind and the clash came to an abrupt end however, as Himura’s blade was repelled by the Kaiten, flying off his grip and landing a good distance away from both fighters, flames around it extinguished, leaving the Sarutobi shocked and unarmed. It was impossible that Sato would miss this spectacular opening. The Hyuuga was upon his foe in a moment and the sharp blade of his kunai rested on the jugular of ANBU’s Angel of Death as they both stood with eyes locked.
“It’s my victory, Himura!” declared Sato, his chest rising and falling in short breaths, wisps of hair glued to his forehead by sweat and grime.
Himura, too, was panting severely, his ragged appearance matching his opponent's, but to Sato's surprise, there was a smirk on his face as he looked downward at his own muscular hand, which was also holding a kunai—roughly an inch from Sato’s heart. The Hyūga looked down and saw this as well, a flabbergasted look on his face as he realized what this meant.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Sato.” said Himura.
“It’s...it’s a draw.” Sato muttered after clearing his throat.
Seeing that the fight was now over, the Aoran crowd immediately erupted with thunderous applause and shouts of appraisal.
“KONOHA NINJA ARE THE BEST!!” hailed one fellow at the top of his voice.
”DID YOU SEE THAT!? I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!” bellowed another.
“MORE!! MORE!!”
Shiko grinned, pleased to see that things were going just as he had planned. He watched as Sato and Himura pocketed their weapons, then formed the Seal of Reconciliation before waving to their spectators, who were still cheering ecstatically.
All the while, Itachi had been quite engrossed in the battle, watching keenly with his Sharingan. Although he would never admit it out loud—because Uchiha simply don’t admit such things—he was quite impressed. Amongst his kin, he was considered a prodigy, able to bring down fellow clansmen much older and far more experienced than him, with relative ease. The level of respect he commanded at the age of twelve was more than most seasoned shinobi could hope for, and it made him quite content with his abilities. However, the battle that he had just witnessed taught him two things, the first being that he had severely underestimated Sato—it seemed now that the Hyūga wasn’t just full of hot air. He wasn't merely some lackadaisical shinobi who boasted about the name of his clan yet knew nothing of the immense power it held—unlike some people Itachi knew. Sato was strong, which led into the second thing Itachi had learned from his battle with Himura—that he really wanted to fight him now. The fire of competition burned within the young Uchiha prodigy. Perhaps, Sato had read Itachi’s heart in that moment and felt something of that blaze, bcause he suddenly turned to the young Uchiha with a cold expression before slowly running the fingers of his right hand across his neck, mimicking the act of a beheading—an obvious challenge.
“Seems he’s hungry for more.” said Tenzo, who was seated to the right of Itachi and had just witnessed Sato’s gesture, smiling in amusement.
“So it seems.” responded Itachi calmly.
“Well, we’ve reeled the people in.” said Shiko, rubbing his palms together eagerly as he sat on Itachi’s left. At that moment, the purple walls of Hoji's barrier faded away and the combatants of the previous fight rejoined their teammates. “What we need now is a final show to wrap things up.”
“How about…Itachi and Hoji?” suggested Tenzo with a wry smile.
Shiko had a thoughtful look on his face as Tenzo said this, scratching his chin pensively before suddenly breaking into a smile and slinging his right arm around Itachi’s shoulder.
“Not a bad idea. Pitting an Uchiha against a Senju.” he said somewhat gleefully.
“What about the barrier, though?” inquired Itachi.
He expressed concern for this issue, though in reality, Itachi was merely looking for an excuse to avoid fighting Hoji. Though he could not deny the medical-nin's prowess in that particular field, as a fighter, he had always viewed him as moderately skilled—which was simply a nicer way of saying that he didn't believe he was very battle adept—and as such, had no desire to publicly humiliate him.
“It’s Uchiha against Senju. You couldn't contain a fight that intense inside of a cage, anyways.” Tenzo replied with a chuckle.
“He’s our medical ninja, though. What if he gets hurt?” asked Itachi.
“No excuses, Itachi. ...Besides, I’d be more worried if I were you.” replied the Team Captain, piquing his teammate's curiosity in the process.
“Hoji is stronger than he looks, hard as that might be to believe, considering his…unique personality. But, there’s much more to him than medical ninjutsu. Besides, this is merely an exhibition match. NO ONE will be getting hurt, is that clear?”
Itachi nodded.
“Damn Himura and Sato…nearly killed themselves for crying out loud…” Shiko continued to mutter under his breath. Itachi ignored him, though, and looked over at Hoji who—in unison with his three clones—was doing a few stretches to loosen his muscles, which had become stiff during his time maintaining the barrier. This was certainly going to be an interesting matchup, the Uchiha thought. Himura and Sato joined the team just then, both sitting on the soft, green grass next to Shiko.
“You guys had me worried. That’s the last time I allow a fight between two mad men.” reprimanded Shiko, glaring at the two fighters with a deep scowl that made him appear twenty years older than he really was.
“Oh c’mon, Cap! You gotta admit, that was quality entertainment back there.” Sato responded, grinning as he used his shirt to wipe away the sweat accumulating on his forehead.
“Best afternoon ever.” assented Himura with a nod, brushing the dirt off his clothes as he did. Their assurance had failed to remove Shiko's frown, though.
“Itachi and Hoji are next. No barrier.” he turned to Tenzo. “Use your Mokuton to control the battlefield. Hopefully, these two won’t get too out of control.”
“Interesting.” Sato said with an evil grin upon overhearing this. “Good choice.”
Not wasting any time, Itachi rose to his feet and walked over to Hoji. Initially confused by Itachi's sudden approach, the medical-nin quickly came to a full understanding of things as the Uchiha positioned himself about five meters in front of him, wearing that same cold expression which only found its way onto his face when combat was imminent. The Senju quickly dispelled his shadow clones and stood up to meet his challenge.
“So, they picked us, huh?” Hoji inquired with his usual goofy smile, scratching the back of his head nervously.
“Let’s not drag this out too long, Hoji.” said Itachi.
“We can’t just rush this, bro!” replied the medical-nin, “It’s the finale!”
A small distance away from both fighters, the rest on the team was settled on the grass to watch the impending battle, Sato’s Byakugan already activated and ready to catch every detail of it. So focused was he that the soft nudges to his ribs—courtesy of Himura's elbow—brought him much irritation.
“What is it!?” he inquired with an annoyed tone, glaring at the source of his disturbance.
“I’m not sure Hoji stands much of a chance.” began Himura. “I remember how he used to drag behind the rest of the class during our days in the Academy. And I think we all know how Itachi did there. ...You're closer to him than any of us are, right, so what do you think?”
Sato merely turned his eyes back to the two combatants, now wearing a grave expression.
“After his mom died, Hoji lost all interest in the Academy. He didn't even take the Chūnin exams after graduating. But, he started training in medical ninjutsu to honor her memory and eventually became so skilled in it that he was accepted into the ANBU while still a genin, and at the age of fifteen at that.” he explained, though this did little to change Himura's opinion of him.
“Yeah, I know about all that, but medical ninjutsu isn’t gonna help him here.” responded Himura. “Young as Itachi is, he’s the genius of the—”
“Hoji and I train all the time in one-on-one spars, Himura. He’s never once beaten me in combat.” Sato interrupted with a grin.
“Yeah, big surprise there.” Himura replied sardonically.
“...But then again, I’ve never beaten him either.”
To Be Continued.
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lol
