New chap! Feels weird releasing one so close to Christmas. Don't worry fellas, its short. I think I'm lazy. The next one should be rather long by God's grace. Anyways, enjoy! 
Oh, and credit to Chakra Wizard for editing 
sorry I forgot man lol
Sato continued to watch the battle with a large grin stretched across his face, a wide-eyed Himura sitting next to him with raised eyebrows. Having previously warned Itachi of what would come to pass, Shiko responded to the fight with much indifference, a dull look in his eyes as he balanced his right elbow atop his knee and rested his chin on the knuckles of his right hand. Tenzo was also relatively unmoved by what had transpired, leaning back and allowing his arms to keep him from falling as he silently observed the match with the rest of his teammates. Although he was instructed to control the battlefield, it didn’t seem like the combatants were really causing a great deal of damage, unlike the previous fight.
“Wow, Hoji’s quite something.” said Himura.
“Told ya.” replied Sato. “And he’s barely gotten started.”
After weaving a hand sign, three doppelgangers immediately appeared around Hoji.
“Seemed you weren’t very impressed by my Hand of the Titan technique.” the medical-nin mused sulkily. “The crowd must not have thought much of it either.”
Purposefully raising his voice loud enough for their audience to hear, Hoji chuckled in amusement as the spectators burst into a thunderous applause mixed in with cacophonic roars of approval, all praising his strength while simultaneously urging Itachi to do better with no kind words. The young prodigy's eyebrows compressed in response to their shouts of disapproval.
“The people have spoken. They want more, Itachi.” said Hoji, each of his clones now wielding two kunai, one in each hand.
“This is my favorite attack; the Four Step Blood Dance. Please enjoy it everyone!” he declared, rushing towards Itachi at blinding speed as his clones followed close behind, crisscrossing one another in an effort to confuse Itachi.
Once in range, the first Hoji tossed the kunai in his right hand at Itachi, who dodged it by leaning to the left, countering with a slash of his sword. His weapon was intercepted by the two kunai of another Hoji, while two other copies of the Senju somersaulted above him, hurling their weapons at the boy’s head as they sailed over him. He quickly released his grip on the hilt of his sword, performing several back flips in order to escape the four kunai raining down from above. As Itachi distanced himself from the formation, a subtle sizzling sound pierced the air and an explosion followed in the next moment, engulfing both Hoji and his doppelgangers in a cloud of smoke.
“You never cease to amaze me.” emerged Hoji’s voice from the fading smog. “Tagging your sword with an explosive note to try and take us all out at once.”
The dark mist continued to dissipate.
“However,” the medical-nin continued as the smoke vanished completely, revealing all four Hojis standing unscathed behind his Hand of the Titan, a small crack now running between its thumb and index finger, “did you really think we hadn’t sensed it already? The subtle friction when the latch of your weapon pouch was opened, the flitting of the paper as you took it and wrapped it around the handle of your blade, we sensed it all.”
Itachi narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the crack in the earthen fist.
“So, you used the Hand of the Titan to grab the sword before it went off, effectively dampening the blast. Your defenses are truly impenetrable.”
The hint of sarcasm in Itachi’s voice as he said these words was unmistakable.
“Maybe you should give up.” suggested Hoji.
“And just what kind of an ending would that be?” responded Itachi, a shadow clone appearing beside him after weaving a hand seal.
“A clone, huh?” asked one Hoji.
“So, you’re gonna copy my fighting style?” inquired another of his doppelgangers.
“No.” said one Itachi.
“I’m gonna surpass it.” added the other.
As the real Itachi followed shortly behind it, his clone ran towards Hoji and his three clones, arming itself with two massive shuriken as their opponents began to charge towards them, as well. Hoji and his clones quickly arranged themselves into an attack formation which was sure to be effective against their lone opponent. However, whatever lethal attack they were about to implement was abruptly cut off as Itachi's clone suddenly donated, the resulting explosion swallowing all four of them. As the battlefield was once again beset by smoke, Itachi hurled several kunai into the haze, each equipped with explosive tags.
“I see now why they call you a genius, even amongst the Uchiha.” Hoji's voice called out once again.
The haze cleared to reveal the earthen hand once more, only this time, Hoji’s clones no longer occupied the battlefield, having been obliterated by the blast. The hand was balled into a fist and was sporting more than just a single crack, the whole appendage now severely damaged with many sizeable pieces of shrapnel sticking out of its numerous fissures. Also protruding from the cracks were the kunai which Itachi launched at it immediately following the explosion.
“You somehow made your clone explode without me sensing it.” said Hoji, evidently from within the clutches of his jutsu, which had shielded him from the explosion.
“It’s a special technique of mine. All this time, you've been relying on your barrier to sense my attacks, but there are some ninjutsu whose preparation cannot be perceived.” replied Itachi.
“My sensory barrier is the only reason why I wasn’t killed by your clone’s explosion. I was able to—”
“—shield with the Hand of the Titan at the very last moment.” Itachi interrupted, in his usual placid tone. “I expected that you would, but you weren’t able to protect your clones, were you? And now three-fourths of your entire chakra supply is gone just like that. That was my first intention, and I also managed to severely damage that giant hand, as well. Aren’t you curious how a simple explosion was able to do that when my earlier techniques had no effect?”
“Well, that’s obvious. When your clone exploded, the large shuriken it held acted as fragmentation.” answered Hoji.
“Exactly.” assented Itachi. “I tested this earlier with my sword. The pieces of the shattered blade were able to produce a small crack in it, which proved my theory. The two shuriken in the second explosion were destroyed, however, the shattered pieces were fired at a momentum sufficient enough to pierce through it and create a much larger fissure than before.”
“Still, it managed to completely shield me.” countered Hoji.
“Well, of course. We're not aiming to kill one another in this duel, are we? The question now, though, is will it shield you from my next attack?”
Itachi formed half of the Tiger seal with his right hand.
“There are now fourteen kunai wedged into the cracks of the hand, each fitted with an explosive tag. And with you inside of it, if I were to set them all off at once—”
“—the already weakened defense would give way and I’d be killed in the blast. ...You certainly thought this through.” Hoji finished for him.
“Every technique has a weakness. The weakness of your sensory barrier was that it could not react quickly enough to spontaneous attacks, like explosions. The weakness of your Four Step Blood Dance was that while the attack formations were near-perfect and difficult to deal with, the fact remains that the Shadow Clone technique is labelled a kinjutsu for a reason: if they are destroyed, most of your chakra will vanish with them. Finally, the weakness of your Hand of the Titan is that while it can withstand blunt trauma from a single explosion or Fire techniques, it doesn’t do well against attacks that pierce through its defences, like the shrapnel from my shuriken. It's for this reason that earth techniques susceptible to lightning. ...It’s your loss, Hoji.”
“You’re being too overconfident Itachi.” the medical-nin retaliated. “My name is Senju Hoji. I could have a thousand techniques up my sleeve, you know.”
“And my name is Uchiha Itachi. Before my eyes, all your techniques mean nothing. Besides, you’re almost out of chakra, so it doesn’t really matter if you’re the next Hatake Kakashi.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Alright then, I’ll concede this one to you.” drawled Hoji as the earthen arm slowly opened to reveal him seated on its palm, smiling and drawing short and heavy breaths.
“You win, Itachi.”
To Be Continued.
Oh, and credit to Chakra Wizard for editing sorry I forgot man lol Sato continued to watch the battle with a large grin stretched across his face, a wide-eyed Himura sitting next to him with raised eyebrows. Having previously warned Itachi of what would come to pass, Shiko responded to the fight with much indifference, a dull look in his eyes as he balanced his right elbow atop his knee and rested his chin on the knuckles of his right hand. Tenzo was also relatively unmoved by what had transpired, leaning back and allowing his arms to keep him from falling as he silently observed the match with the rest of his teammates. Although he was instructed to control the battlefield, it didn’t seem like the combatants were really causing a great deal of damage, unlike the previous fight.
“Wow, Hoji’s quite something.” said Himura.
“Told ya.” replied Sato. “And he’s barely gotten started.”
After weaving a hand sign, three doppelgangers immediately appeared around Hoji.
“Seemed you weren’t very impressed by my Hand of the Titan technique.” the medical-nin mused sulkily. “The crowd must not have thought much of it either.”
Purposefully raising his voice loud enough for their audience to hear, Hoji chuckled in amusement as the spectators burst into a thunderous applause mixed in with cacophonic roars of approval, all praising his strength while simultaneously urging Itachi to do better with no kind words. The young prodigy's eyebrows compressed in response to their shouts of disapproval.
“The people have spoken. They want more, Itachi.” said Hoji, each of his clones now wielding two kunai, one in each hand.
“This is my favorite attack; the Four Step Blood Dance. Please enjoy it everyone!” he declared, rushing towards Itachi at blinding speed as his clones followed close behind, crisscrossing one another in an effort to confuse Itachi.
Once in range, the first Hoji tossed the kunai in his right hand at Itachi, who dodged it by leaning to the left, countering with a slash of his sword. His weapon was intercepted by the two kunai of another Hoji, while two other copies of the Senju somersaulted above him, hurling their weapons at the boy’s head as they sailed over him. He quickly released his grip on the hilt of his sword, performing several back flips in order to escape the four kunai raining down from above. As Itachi distanced himself from the formation, a subtle sizzling sound pierced the air and an explosion followed in the next moment, engulfing both Hoji and his doppelgangers in a cloud of smoke.
“You never cease to amaze me.” emerged Hoji’s voice from the fading smog. “Tagging your sword with an explosive note to try and take us all out at once.”
The dark mist continued to dissipate.
“However,” the medical-nin continued as the smoke vanished completely, revealing all four Hojis standing unscathed behind his Hand of the Titan, a small crack now running between its thumb and index finger, “did you really think we hadn’t sensed it already? The subtle friction when the latch of your weapon pouch was opened, the flitting of the paper as you took it and wrapped it around the handle of your blade, we sensed it all.”
Itachi narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the crack in the earthen fist.
“So, you used the Hand of the Titan to grab the sword before it went off, effectively dampening the blast. Your defenses are truly impenetrable.”
The hint of sarcasm in Itachi’s voice as he said these words was unmistakable.
“Maybe you should give up.” suggested Hoji.
“And just what kind of an ending would that be?” responded Itachi, a shadow clone appearing beside him after weaving a hand seal.
“A clone, huh?” asked one Hoji.
“So, you’re gonna copy my fighting style?” inquired another of his doppelgangers.
“No.” said one Itachi.
“I’m gonna surpass it.” added the other.
As the real Itachi followed shortly behind it, his clone ran towards Hoji and his three clones, arming itself with two massive shuriken as their opponents began to charge towards them, as well. Hoji and his clones quickly arranged themselves into an attack formation which was sure to be effective against their lone opponent. However, whatever lethal attack they were about to implement was abruptly cut off as Itachi's clone suddenly donated, the resulting explosion swallowing all four of them. As the battlefield was once again beset by smoke, Itachi hurled several kunai into the haze, each equipped with explosive tags.
“I see now why they call you a genius, even amongst the Uchiha.” Hoji's voice called out once again.
The haze cleared to reveal the earthen hand once more, only this time, Hoji’s clones no longer occupied the battlefield, having been obliterated by the blast. The hand was balled into a fist and was sporting more than just a single crack, the whole appendage now severely damaged with many sizeable pieces of shrapnel sticking out of its numerous fissures. Also protruding from the cracks were the kunai which Itachi launched at it immediately following the explosion.
“You somehow made your clone explode without me sensing it.” said Hoji, evidently from within the clutches of his jutsu, which had shielded him from the explosion.
“It’s a special technique of mine. All this time, you've been relying on your barrier to sense my attacks, but there are some ninjutsu whose preparation cannot be perceived.” replied Itachi.
“My sensory barrier is the only reason why I wasn’t killed by your clone’s explosion. I was able to—”
“—shield with the Hand of the Titan at the very last moment.” Itachi interrupted, in his usual placid tone. “I expected that you would, but you weren’t able to protect your clones, were you? And now three-fourths of your entire chakra supply is gone just like that. That was my first intention, and I also managed to severely damage that giant hand, as well. Aren’t you curious how a simple explosion was able to do that when my earlier techniques had no effect?”
“Well, that’s obvious. When your clone exploded, the large shuriken it held acted as fragmentation.” answered Hoji.
“Exactly.” assented Itachi. “I tested this earlier with my sword. The pieces of the shattered blade were able to produce a small crack in it, which proved my theory. The two shuriken in the second explosion were destroyed, however, the shattered pieces were fired at a momentum sufficient enough to pierce through it and create a much larger fissure than before.”
“Still, it managed to completely shield me.” countered Hoji.
“Well, of course. We're not aiming to kill one another in this duel, are we? The question now, though, is will it shield you from my next attack?”
Itachi formed half of the Tiger seal with his right hand.
“There are now fourteen kunai wedged into the cracks of the hand, each fitted with an explosive tag. And with you inside of it, if I were to set them all off at once—”
“—the already weakened defense would give way and I’d be killed in the blast. ...You certainly thought this through.” Hoji finished for him.
“Every technique has a weakness. The weakness of your sensory barrier was that it could not react quickly enough to spontaneous attacks, like explosions. The weakness of your Four Step Blood Dance was that while the attack formations were near-perfect and difficult to deal with, the fact remains that the Shadow Clone technique is labelled a kinjutsu for a reason: if they are destroyed, most of your chakra will vanish with them. Finally, the weakness of your Hand of the Titan is that while it can withstand blunt trauma from a single explosion or Fire techniques, it doesn’t do well against attacks that pierce through its defences, like the shrapnel from my shuriken. It's for this reason that earth techniques susceptible to lightning. ...It’s your loss, Hoji.”
“You’re being too overconfident Itachi.” the medical-nin retaliated. “My name is Senju Hoji. I could have a thousand techniques up my sleeve, you know.”
“And my name is Uchiha Itachi. Before my eyes, all your techniques mean nothing. Besides, you’re almost out of chakra, so it doesn’t really matter if you’re the next Hatake Kakashi.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Alright then, I’ll concede this one to you.” drawled Hoji as the earthen arm slowly opened to reveal him seated on its palm, smiling and drawing short and heavy breaths.
“You win, Itachi.”
To Be Continued.
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