Defection

Tobirama soon announced at the Academy that, in three days, he and his elder brother Hashirama would officially select disciples from among its thirty-eight students. After that, they would devote their efforts to training those disciples and would have no time to teach anyone else, so others would take over the Konoha Academy.

Although no one present knew exactly whom Tobirama and Hashirama would choose, they already had some guesses. After all, the Academy's top students stood out, and they were the most likely candidates. The Ninja Clan heirs who felt they had no chance were somewhat disappointed. Tobirama was an excellent teacher, and they enjoyed learning from him. They could accept a replacement, but whoever came next could hardly be better than Tobirama.

Even so, Tobirama had made his decision, and the others could only accept it. The next three days would be their last chance to learn from him, so everyone studied with extraordinary diligence, as though they hoped to learn everything he knew in those three days.

Although Kazemori Masaki had already learned from Hashirama that he would definitely become their disciple, he did not ease up during the three days before the official announcement. He continued training hard, with even more enthusiasm than the others.

Kazemori Masaki ranked among the Academy's best students, and everyone thought he had an excellent chance of being chosen. Quite a few envied him, but after seeing his usual dedication and his even greater enthusiasm for training now, most gradually changed their minds and came to acknowledge him.

Tobirama also noticed Kazemori Masaki's efforts and greatly approved. He had always held himself to strict standards and believed one should never grow lax. Masaki's conduct suited his temperament perfectly, and the boy's many novel remarks in class made Tobirama appreciate him more and more.

Previously, he had considered Hiruzen Sarutobi the most suitable person to inherit leadership of the village—both his talent and his loyal, dependable character made him an outstanding candidate to succeed the Hokage. Now, however, Tobirama felt that perhaps he should observe the others more carefully. Those who did not perform as brilliantly as Hiruzen Sarutobi might possess qualities that would only emerge at a crucial moment.

Time slowly passed, and on the day before the announcement, the students were still training hard. At Kagami Uchiha's invitation, Kazemori Masaki joined him at the Training Grounds for a sparring match. They would use no Ninjutsu and decide the outcome through taijutsu alone, as they had already done several times before.

Tobirama had emphasized that taijutsu was a ninja's foundation. Even those who specialized in Genjutsu needed basic proficiency in it. Regardless of how outstanding their Ninjutsu and Genjutsu might be, they still had to rely on taijutsu in battle. Agility, strength, and sharp reflexes were essential weapons for evading and counterattacking an opponent, and they must never be neglected.

Even Hashirama and Madara could dominate a battlefield with any weapon in hand without using Wood Release or the Mangekyō Sharingan. In the future Kazemori Masaki knew, Madara had completely overwhelmed the Allied Shinobi Forces with taijutsu alone. Only when ninja with the strength of a Kage stepped in could they force him to use the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Thus, none of the students, Kazemori Masaki included, neglected their taijutsu training. Sparring without Ninjutsu had long since become routine.

The weapon passed down through the Kazemori Clan was a Short Blade, and Kazemori Masaki chose a blade of the same design. The academy's training weapons were blunt replicas, since custom-made ancestral ninja weapons were far too sharp and could easily cause serious injuries. Kagami Uchiha, meanwhile, chose a sickle, one of Madara Uchiha's favored weapons.

Madara Uchiha excelled at wielding the Sage Tool Gunbai together with a Sickle. Naturally, he wanted his successor, Kagami Uchiha, to fight in a similar style, so he taught him to use a Sickle. The Gunbai was a Sage Tool handed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan. When Kagami eventually inherited leadership of the clan, Madara would also pass the right to wield it on to him.

Kazemori Masaki and Kagami Uchiha entered the Training Grounds, exchanged the Seal of Confrontation, then raised their weapons and pointed them at each other.

Kagami Uchiha's eyes turned blood-red, with three comma-shaped markings appearing around the black center of each iris. This was the Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai—the Sharingan.

Sage Markings also slowly spread across Kazemori Masaki's body. His clothes concealed them from everyone else, but through his Sharingan, Kagami could see unusual chakra gathering inside Masaki.

Kagami had sparred with Masaki many times and was accustomed to this. He had asked about it before, but Masaki had only said it was a special method of gathering chakra. To preserve the secrecy of his Ninjutsu, Masaki had offered no further explanation, and Kagami had not pressed him.

Still, Kagami knew what that unusual chakra could do. His breathing gradually steadied, and his Sharingan took in every part of Masaki's body. The moment his opponent moved, those eyes could predict his direction from the changes in his muscles.

Zhenghui slowly adjusted his breathing as well. Senjutsu chakra flowed through his chakra pathways and spread throughout his body. Then his figure vanished from Kagami's sight.

Kagami's expression did not change. Having already predicted Masaki's direction, he turned and swung his sickle, blocking the strike.

Without hesitation, Masaki shifted his blade. Almost at the instant the weapons collided, he altered its angle slightly and slid it along the sickle toward Kagami. At such close range, Kagami had no time to swing his weapon. He could only lean backward to evade the strike while kicking at Masaki.

Kazemori Masaki blocked the kick but was forced backward. Uchiha Kagami used the opening to flip over and land, then pushed off hard with both feet and charged at him.

Some students had gathered around the Training Grounds to watch the two spar. Kazemori Masaki and Uchiha Kagami's fights were well worth seeing, and even though the others knew they should not put aside their own training, they could not resist. Few could gain an advantage in taijutsu against Uchiha Kagami and his Sharingan. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was at a slight disadvantage, yet Kazemori Masaki could fight him on equal footing.

The two fought at a blistering pace, the clash of their Ninja Tools almost unbroken. Watching them, the others wondered how long they themselves would last before losing. As the fight continued, only outstanding students such as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō remained confident that, though they might be pushed back somewhat, they would not yet be defeated.

Hiruzen had never expected Kazemori Masaki to be this formidable. His performance had become increasingly surprising of late. It seemed Hiruzen's initial impression had been right: Kazemori Masaki truly had changed, becoming even better than the person Hiruzen remembered.

After a while, neither Kazemori Masaki nor Uchiha Kagami had gained the upper hand. Their short sword and Sickle collided again and locked together. Seeing that Kagami had begun to pant, Kazemori Masaki said, "Let's stop here. We won't settle anything by carrying on like this."

"Mm." Kagami felt his stamina running low as well and agreed to stop. They withdrew their weapons and exchanged the Seal of Reconciliation, bringing the match to an end.

"Thanks for the hard work. That really was a wonderful match." Hiruzen smiled and clapped as the two put away their weapons and returned. He said to Masaki, "Masaki, honestly, I'm itching to spar with you myself. Could we give it a try sometime?"

"Of course, whenever you like," Masaki replied. He was also rather eager to spar with Hiruzen.

"Great. Hmm, what day should we choose?"

"There's no hurry. You'll have all the chances you want to spar with Masaki in the future, Hiruzen," Kagami said with a meaningful smile.

"That's true." Understanding what Kagami meant, Hiruzen shrugged and looked at Masaki. "Tomorrow, Lord Tobirama will announce his disciples. I'm sure you'll be one of them. We'll be fellow disciples then, so I look forward to learning alongside you."

"Nothing's been announced yet. But if that does happen, I look forward to learning alongside you too," Masaki said.

After watching their fight, Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō decided to have a match themselves, while Kagami and Masaki went aside to rest. The two had grown very close during this time and now regarded each other as good friends. They chatted happily.

Just then, Kagami heard someone call him from behind. He and Masaki turned to see a fellow student, another ninja clan heir. Curious, Kagami asked, "What is it?"

"Kagami, I think I just heard some terrible news outside." The clan heir looked alarmed, as though he could scarcely accept what he had heard. "I think you should hurry back to your clan and check."

"What happened?" Kagami frowned slightly. Beside him, Masaki froze, as though he had realized something.

The other student swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "I don't know whether it's true. I just heard people outside talking about it—Lord Madara has defected from the village!"

Kagami had always treated others gently, but now he stood with a dark expression, his eyes cold. "What are you saying? Lord Madara defected? That's impossible. Lord Madara loves this village. How could he abandon it?"

Seeing Kagami's agitation, Masaki quickly tugged at him, then asked the other student, "Is it true?"

"I don't know either. Everyone on the street was talking about it, so I thought Kagami should go back to his clan and check," the student replied.

"That's impossible..." Kagami could not accept the news. He absolutely refused to believe Lord Madara would leave Konoha. Lord Madara had even chosen the village's name. He could never abandon a place that was like his own child.

He turned to look at Masaki, who nodded to him. After a moment's thought, Kagami still felt he should return and confirm whether it was true.

P.S. The "tomoe" in the Sharingan should actually be called comma-shaped markings. Since I now know that term, I'll use it in the text.

Also, this is today's first update. I'm off to hurry along the second.

(End of chapter)