Coordination and Aftertaste

Coordination and Aftertaste

The sand of Training Ground Three shimmered with heat in the afternoon blaze, and the air itself seemed to warp. Shuji stood at the center of the field, his gaze sweeping over the two before him.

Uchiha Itachi wore a dark blue clan outfit, his posture straight. Sweat slid down his young but taut cheeks as his eyes remained fixed on his opponent. His eight-year-old frame looked especially slender in the open training ground.

Anko Mitarashi wore a faded black mesh short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Her purple hair clung to her temples with sweat. With both hands in her pockets, she stood with casual indifference and glanced at Itachi, who was braced for battle.

"A practical assessment." Shuji's voice cut through the scorching air. "Let's see how well you work together. Rules: stop short of real injury. Begin."

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Itachi moved first, leaving only a faint afterimage where he had stood. His speed was ghostlike among children his age, yet Anko could still clearly follow his trajectory.

Three Shuriken tore through the air with piercing shrieks, flying at the nonlethal joints of Anko's shoulder and knee from tricky angles.

Anko gave a faint snort, and her body sprang forward like a compressed spring suddenly released! Her movements were swift and fluid, carrying the distinctive unpredictability of Orochimaru's personally taught taijutsu. With a single precisely measured sideways slide, the Shuriken whistled past her clothes and buried themselves deeply in the sand behind her.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" The instant she landed, Anko's hands flew through seals like the wind. Three concentrated orange-red fireballs shot toward Itachi in a triangular formation like cannonballs fired from a barrel.

They were incredibly fast and flew straight, carrying searing heat and a dull roar as they instantly sealed off his path of retreat.

Itachi's pupils contracted. His Sharingan had yet to activate. Faced with the fierce frontal assault, he stamped his feet and abruptly darted to the right.

The fireballs roared past the outside of his left arm, and the scorching airflow sent a stab of pain through his skin. The impact threw him off balance, forcing him to stagger backward.

"Hmph!" Taking advantage of his unstable footing, Anko thrust her right hand from her sleeve like a venomous snake.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Two thick grayish-brown venomous snakes shot out amid a powerful stench, lunging like arrows from a bow at Itachi's ankles from both sides before he could steady himself!

At the critical moment, Itachi's eyes turned red. Two black Tomoe spun rapidly within his blood-colored pupils. The snakes' attack paths and the minute tremors of their muscles suddenly became clear and slowed within his vision.

He forcibly twisted his body, narrowly letting both snakes skim past the outer sides of his calves in an extremely awkward posture that nearly cost him his balance. The cold touch of their scales made every hair on his body stand on end. Though he had avoided them, his center of gravity was gone, and he staggered toward the side and rear.

Anko pushed off the ground and charged forward like a cannonball, intending to completely suppress the off-balance Itachi.

In that flash of lightning, the Tomoe in Itachi's eyes spun wildly. Rather than trying to stabilize himself and resist head-on, he used the momentum of his fall to throw himself backward as though his body had snapped. Then, just as Anko rushed in, her mind far from its usual peak after days of depression, his Sharingan genjutsu struck out.

Anko's fist was less than an inch from Itachi's ribs when the sharpness in her eyes froze, instantly replaced by bewildered terror! Cold cultivation tanks, stark white lights, and those snake eyes turning away without a trace of attachment—the horrifying scenes buried deep in her heart flashed past!

Though the illusion lasted only an instant before Anko forcibly broke free, the mental shock inevitably made her movements hesitate and lose focus.

She had actually been affected by the genjutsu of an eight-year-old child?!

That single instant was enough!

"Pop!"

With a soft sound, the "Itachi" struck by Anko's fist turned into a Substitute Log and went rolling away. The real Itachi had already used the tiny opening bought by his genjutsu, along with the visual misdirection created by the Substitution Technique, to silently appear in Anko's blind spot behind her.

The cold tip of a metal blade rested steadily and lightly against the fabric over Anko's back. It did not pierce her; it was merely a cold point of contact.

Time seemed to freeze.

Anko's punching posture stiffened in place. The cold sensation on her back, along with the faint breathing of a child behind her, was incomparably clear.

"That's enough." Shuji's voice broke the dead silence.

Itachi immediately withdrew and stepped back. The Tomoe faded from his eyes. His small face was flushed from the intense exertion, and his chest rose and fell slightly, but his gaze remained calm. He silently wiped the sweat from his temple, walked to the edge of the field, and took small sips from his water bottle.

Anko slowly turned around, moving as stiffly as a rusted puppet.

Defeat washed over her like an icy tide. I lost... I actually lost to... Is this why you abandoned me, Orochimaru-sensei...?

She suddenly raised her head. The color had drained from her face, and her lips were pressed white. In the end, all her emotions turned into a fist that slammed viciously into a nearby training post!

"Bang!"

A deeply sunken fist mark appeared on the hard wooden post.

Shuji looked at the quietly drinking Itachi, then at the rigidly standing Anko, without rushing to speak. He walked to the corner of the field, picked up the cloth bundle he had brought, and unhurriedly opened it.

Inside were not ninja tools, but several rice balls carefully wrapped in emerald-green leaves, along with a small bamboo tube of clear tea.

"Take a break." Shuji's voice broke the suffocating silence with a homely calm. He took out two rice balls, handing one to Itachi, who had just put down his water bottle. Holding the other, he walked over to Anko. Without looking at her, he simply offered it to her.

Anko's body shuddered violently, but she did not move. Her shoulders were tense as stone.

"I steamed the rice before leaving and shaped these myself. Chicken filling, teriyaki flavor. They're pretty good." Shuji spoke softly, as if making idle conversation. "After a fight, you need something in your stomach."

Anko abruptly turned her head, the suppressed irritation and humiliation in her eyes nearly spilling over. "I don't—" Before she could finish, a rich savory scent of rice and oily chicken, mixed with the tempting aroma of sweet-and-salty sauce, entered her nose. It was completely unlike the stale smell of instant noodles and expired dumplings in her room. The warm, substantial scent of food brushed unexpectedly over her nerves, stretched to their limit like a soft feather.

The rest of her words caught in her throat.

Shuji did not urge her further. He merely extended the rice ball a little farther and held it steadily beside her hand. Then he leaned against the wooden post and sat down, opened another rice ball, took a bite, and unscrewed the bamboo tube. He poured himself a cup of tea and placed it on the ground beside him. His movements were as natural as if he were resting in his own backyard.

Itachi ate his rice ball in small bites. The fresh fragrance of chicken made him chew faster as he quietly replenished his strength.

Anko looked at Shuji's calm profile, then at the tempting rice ball by her hand, and then at the fist mark in the wooden post. The churning emotions within her were suddenly diluted somewhat by the warm scent of the rice ball and his bland, almost dismissive attitude, leaving only a deeper exhaustion and confusion with nowhere to go.

She remained silent for a few seconds before finally grabbing the rice ball with a hint of self-abandonment and taking a viciously large bite out of it as though venting her frustration! The sweet-and-salty sauce and tender chicken burst across her tongue. The satisfaction of meat unexpectedly suppressed some of her turbulent emotions, but the shame of having her mental weakness seen through still weighed heavily on her heart.

The three of them ate their rice balls separately. The only sounds left in the training ground were chewing and swallowing, along with the faint whisper of wind passing over the sand. Shuji offered no evaluation of the battle just now. He simply ate quietly, occasionally sipping his tea, as though the fierce clash and explosive humiliation had never happened.

Once the rice balls were finished, Shuji packed away the oil paper, stood, and brushed the sand from his pants. He walked to the center of the field, his gaze passing over Itachi, who had recovered considerably, before settling on Anko, who had silently finished her rice ball and still wore a dark, complicated expression.

"Feeling better?" Shuji's voice was steady, carrying a note of inquiry. "Next, the two of you attack me together and give it a try." He stood there casually, his hands hanging naturally at his sides. He formed no seals and assumed no defensive stance, as if merely inviting them to an ordinary practice session.

Anko abruptly looked up. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes before it was replaced by a newly ignited impulse mixed with unwillingness, testing, and a desire to prove something. She looked at Itachi beside her, then at the captain standing in the field with excessive calm.

Itachi's eyes also sharpened at once. Though his Sharingan had not activated, his focus had gathered again. He looked at Anko, and their eyes met briefly. Without a word, a subtle temporary understanding born from their shared goal formed between them.

"Fine!" Anko shouted lowly. Rather than launching a direct assault, she instantly formed hand seals. "Ninja Art: Snake Gaze Bind!"

Several grayish-brown chakra snake phantoms shot out like living creatures. Rather than attacking Shuji directly, they slithered and coiled through the air, instantly sealing off most of the space to his left, right, and rear!

At the same time, her hand seals changed again. "Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!" A concentrated orange-red line of fire pierced straight toward Shuji like a blazing spear, carrying a piercing shriek.

Snake phantoms to seal his movements, a fire line to pierce through him—a standard ninjutsu suppression combination.

The instant the fire line erupted, Itachi's figure disappeared as if merging into the shadows.

He did not follow Anko's ninjutsu attack. Instead, using his speed and the insight granted by the Sharingan, he instantly circled to Shuji's blind spot at the side and rear. As his hands flickered, several Shuriken flew silently toward Shuji's supporting points—his knees and ankles—in tricky, unusual arcs. The timing was exquisite: the exact moment the fire line was about to reach Shuji and the snake phantoms were closing in!

Ninjutsu suppression and an ambush from a blind spot! Their coordination was remarkably precise!

Faced with the sudden double assault, Shuji's expression did not change in the slightest. Just as the fire line was about to strike him, his hands formed seals in an instant!

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

A thick, concentrated wall of water rose from the ground before him!

"Hiss—!"

The Dragon Flame Technique struck the water wall, releasing a huge cloud of steaming white mist! The wall of water rippled violently, but stubbornly blocked the piercing Fire Release attack!

At almost the exact same moment the water wall rose, Shuji's body drifted half a step to the side like weightless willow fluff, using the steam as cover. The movement was minimal, yet it was enough to let Itachi's Shuriken skim past his feet and bury themselves deeply in the sand.

At the same time, his right hand, hanging at his side, casually swept toward the side and rear.

"Wind Release: Wind Reversal!"

A tough yet powerful rotating airflow instantly formed beside him.

The several chakra snake phantoms Anko controlled, which had tried to curl around from his blind spot behind him, crashed into the airflow as if falling into an invisible vortex. Their paths were forcibly twisted and torn apart. After a series of hissing wails, they scattered and vanished.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Many Snakes Hands!" This time, eight thick, physical venomous snakes lunged from different angles amid a powerful stench, biting toward Shuji as he emerged from the steam.

Shuji's expression remained unchanged. Facing the snakes rushing low along the ground, he leaned back slightly. He had already completed several hand seals, and at the same time lifted his foot and stepped down with apparent casualness!

"Earth Release: Rock Pillar!"

Two sharp stone spikes burst from the ground like precise traps, pinning two of the low-rushing venomous snakes firmly into the sand.

Their bodies writhed violently as they let out pained hisses.

And in the instant Shuji dealt with the snakes, Itachi attacked again!

Taking advantage of the moment Shuji was occupied by the snakes, he closed in again like a parasite clinging to bone. His Sharingan locked onto Shuji's movements as the Kunai in his hand, flashing with cold light, stabbed straight toward the opening at Shuji's ribs exposed by his backward lean.

It was as though Shuji had eyes in the back of his head. Just before the Kunai reached him, he twisted sideways at an unbelievable angle. The blade skimmed past his ribs, cutting nothing but air.

Using the motion to spin around, he faced the pursuing Itachi and instantly formed seals again!

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"

Several invisible yet exceptionally sharp Wind Blades, like transparent sickles, slashed toward Itachi's limb joints with piercing whistles.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Itachi's mind, and his Sharingan activated instantly.

The Wind Blades suddenly became clear and slowed within the Tomoe's vision. He could only arch backward to the limit while crossing his Kunai to block.

"Clang! Clang!"

Two crisp impacts rang out! The tremendous force numbed Itachi's arms, and he staggered back several steps before steadying himself. Clear slash marks had been left on his Kunai!

Anko seized the brief opening. A ruthless glint flashed through her eyes as her hands changed seals rapidly.

"Fire Release: Snake Fang Barrage!" This time, she compressed and condensed her chakra, firing more than ten fist-sized orange-red fireballs shaped like snake fangs in rapid succession.

These fireballs were not a widespread bombardment. Instead, as though they possessed tracking awareness, they shot toward vital points all over Shuji's body from extremely tricky angles like striking venomous snakes, carrying scorching waves of heat and sharp whistles through the air! Their speed, precision, and destructive power far surpassed her earlier Flame Bullets!

Shuji still looked calm in the face of the tricky, bizarre barrage of fireballs. His hands formed seals even faster.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, shielding his entire body behind it.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The fireballs smashed into the earthen wall and burst into clusters of flame before finally fading into wisps of smoke.

Anko panted heavily, fine beads of sweat appearing on her temples. Repeatedly casting ninjutsu was still too much of a burden for her.

"Stop." Shuji's calm voice rang out.

The earthen wall crumbled apart at his words. Shuji brushed dust that was not there from his sleeve, his breathing as steady as before, as though the rapid barrage of ninjutsu and fierce exchanges had merely loosened his limbs.

"I have a rough idea now." Shuji's gaze swept over the two, who were both breathing lightly. "For the next few days, keep meeting here and practice tactical coordination."

"Of course, this kind of training consumes quite a bit of stamina." Shuji raised one finger. "As your captain, I'll take responsibility for that..."

Having gone through this before, Itachi took small sips of water and calmly waited for what came next.

"Let's go replenish our energy in a bit. My treat." Shuji smiled, his gaze passing over Anko and Itachi. "After burning through that much energy... how about some meat?"