Sparring (Part One)

Xia Yan had indeed been a little impatient, but he recovered very quickly.

After all, he had an adult's capacity for thought, and he had plenty of patience. It was only two days; they might pass in the blink of an eye.

It looks like I'll have to spend these next two days thinking carefully about how to face the Fourth Hokage.

Xia Yan thought to himself. He had yet to take sides, because he himself did not know exactly how to make that choice.

The Fourth Hokage's brilliance had faded very quickly, but there was no denying that his personal charisma was truly formidable.

It was just a pity that, in the real world, although charisma mattered, personal strength and the interests involved mattered even more.

Xia Yan firmly believed that, given enough time, Minato Namikaze could absolutely neutralize the influence of the Third Hokage's interest groups and become the true Hokage.

To put it bluntly, if those unforeseen events had never happened, Minato Namikaze could have outlasted those fellows through lifespan alone.

Unfortunately, things had not gone as hoped.

Having explained everything clearly, Kakashi had intended to leave. Staying here was rather awkward for him.

He did not know who the girl beside Xia Yan was, but he did recognize that she belonged to the Uchiha Clan. The emblem on her clothes could not lie.

Kakashi naturally felt a certain sense of indebtedness toward the Uchiha Clan, even though Xia Yan's advice had helped him come to terms with things and recover quite a bit.

But not much time had passed, after all. He still needed more time to adjust to everything.

Today, he had first landed Xia Yan in trouble with a single remark, then run into a member of the Uchiha Clan. It really was becoming too much for him.

Yet before he could speak, Xia Yan suddenly said, "I understand. Thank you, Kakashi."

"No need." Kakashi attempted a smile, but he looked a little stiff. "If there's nothing else, I'll be..."

"You're already here. What's the rush to leave?" Xia Yan shook his head and said with a smile, "Come to think of it, we've known each other for so long, and I even had the honor of being your temporary captain once on the battlefield, but we've never had a proper spar, have we?"

Sparring?

Kakashi froze for a moment. He really had not expected Xia Yan to make such a request.

In truth, this was no spur-of-the-moment impulse. Xia Yan simply wanted to test how well he measured up against the genius Kakashi!

Of course, that meant in a sparring match, not a fight to the death with everything they had.

During a spar, Xia Yan naturally would not consider using Sage Mode, or even many of his Water Release techniques.

Although Xia Yan did not particularly like Tobirama Senju, he had to admit that the Water Release techniques the man had created were truly excessive.

Other people's Water Release merely used water to strike, destroy the terrain, and finally drown their opponents in a torrent.

But Tobirama Senju had taken Water Release from a "quantitative change to a qualitative change." His Water Release was a high-pressure water jet, or even a high-pressure water blade!

Those techniques were meant to kill opponents. He would not use them in a spar.

With those techniques excluded, this spar would essentially be a contest of relatively basic abilities in various areas.

Xia Yan also did not need to worry about exposing his strength. He had not forgotten that Uchiha Sora was right beside him.

In fact, there was another reason for sparring with Kakashi: after being put in such a predicament, he had to find some way to remedy it.

Otherwise, he would not have said what he had just said.

Kakashi reacted quickly, immediately understanding what Xia Yan meant, and he was also somewhat tempted.

He had seen Xia Yan go all out. That Sunagakure Jonin, Yashamaru, had been so overwhelmed by Xia Yan's speed that he had barely been able to fight back.

But since this was a spar, Xia Yan would certainly hold back. Kakashi was also very curious about the kind of combat ability Xia Yan could display in a sparring match.

"If that's what you have in mind, Captain, I'd be happy to join you."

Kakashi glanced at Uchiha Sora beside them, then nodded without hesitation.

He was also a little puzzled. Was this member of the Uchiha Clan very close to Xia Yan, or...

Was she one of my classmates too?

But Kakashi did not ask. His gaze quickly fixed on Xia Yan, and at the same time, chakra began building within him.

Xia Yan kept smiling, but he began leaning forward slightly, his hand unconsciously moving to his waist.

That was where Xia Yan's ninja tool pouch rested. At its outermost edge, a kunai gleamed coldly.

Clink!

Suddenly, their figures vanished almost simultaneously. When they appeared again, they had already crossed paths to the clash of metal!

Fast-unimaginably fast!

Uchiha Sora quietly withdrew to the side. The exchange between these two was clearly beyond her reach.

But she did not leave the training ground. She was now intensely curious about just how far these two former classmates of hers had come.

She knew Kakashi was a genius; one could even say he had left a deep impression on her, because he was the youngest Jonin.

Even if that Jonin title had come from a wartime promotion, she certainly did not think Kakashi lacked the strength of one.

Xia Yan was an even greater surprise. Her former deskmate seemed to be very powerful too.

He was only a civilian shinobi, someone she had just been wondering how to help, yet he had actually been Kakashi's captain during the war?

All of it left her head spinning.

Especially after watching them begin fighting, she realized that she could not even make out their movements clearly.

It's a pity I haven't awakened my Sharingan yet, Uchiha Sora sighed inwardly. Otherwise, I wouldn't be unable to even see their movements clearly...

Neither Xia Yan nor Kakashi knew what Uchiha Sora was thinking. Their brief exchange had already given both of them an idea of roughly what level this fight would be at.

They separated the instant they made contact, then threw their kunai almost in unison.

Seizing the initiative was essential for shinobi at their stage. Ultimately, their strength had not yet reached the point where they could strike second and still gain the upper hand.

Unless they possessed the Sharingan.

Clang! Metal rang out once more as the two kunai collided in midair.

The next moment, Xia Yan and Kakashi charged forward again almost simultaneously, catching the kunai that had rebounded toward them from the collision.

This time, Xia Yan struck faster. He knew the Sharingan's characteristics, but he also knew that Kakashi's current control over it was definitely inadequate.

He therefore planned to suppress Kakashi with speed. Even without Sage Mode, he was very fast among Jonin.

I'd like to see whether you can copy my movements...