As the assessment between Orochimaru and Ashura was taking place, an old man was watching through a crystal ball.
"Hm hm ha ha," Hiruzen chuckled to himself, as he remotely viewed the battle taking place.
He always had his suspicions that Kiyoshi and Hana's son would be as talented or even more so than they were at the same age.
However, what he was witnessing was unprecedented.
A four year old child that was able to unlock their chakra was unheard of, but both Ashura and Kakashi were able to accomplish that task.
Quite easily in fact, going by what Sakumo had reported.
Be that as it may, the longer Hiruzen watched his Pupil attack and toy with the young blonde, the more intrigued he became.
He watched as the blonde haired child dodged attacks that would even trouble some low level Chunin with ease.
Ashura's danger sensing ability was very impressive in of itself, and was quite truly a blessing for a shinobi to possess.
After all, when living this kind of life, where the young rarely live long enough to become old, every edge and asset that can save your life is invaluable.
He had fought beside some of the truly great Shinobi in his lifetime.
Men and women whose feats were told in both bedtime stories, and as bogeyman tales.
He had seen them all.
Whether they be gifted, prodigious, talented, or hardworking, Hiruzen had lived long enough to realize an absolute truth.
You need more than talent to survive in this world.
The strong can be overwhelmed.
The schemers betrayed.
The hardworking taken advantage of.
He had seen many promising shinobi crack and crumble under the pressure that this life exudes.
But as he sat at his desk and watched the scene unfolding in front of him he couldn't help but be baffled.
He didn't feel like he was watching a child fighting.
It was as if a veteran shinobi was evading his students' attacks.
Of course, he wasn't talking about form or fighting ability, although Ashura's was better than average, there were many holes and mistakes in his form that needed to be corrected.
What Interested Him was the fact that this young child seemed to possess neither fear nor hesitation in him.
He moved with purpose and in the pauses between attacks, surveyed his surroundings with a calm that even older shinobi lack.
The boy was a prodigy.
A certified battle prodigy.
He seemed to have both grit and determination as well.
Whenever Orochimaru knocked the boy down he got right back up.
The will of fire burned bright in this young man.
In fact, something about this childs poised temperament even reminded him a bit of his Sensei.
This thought brought a smile to Hiruzen's face as he reached into his bottom desk drawer and pulled out a wooden box and a tobacco pipe.
'The next generation will surely be interesting…' He thought as he started to fill his pipe.
As he finished and took a long drag from the wooden pipe he started to blow smoke rings into the air as he continued to watch the show.
After a few more stacks the assessment seemed to be nearing its end.
'I'm sure he's reaching his limits now.' He thought, as Orochimaru knocked Ashura down to the ground with a heavy attack from the blonde's blind spot.
As gifted as he may be, he is still just a four year old child.
From what he's seen, the danger sensory ability that Ashura possesses is enough to be deemed as a minor Kekkei Genkai.
Deciding he had seen all that he needed to see Hiruzen began to dispel the Remote Viewing Jutsu.
However, a gut feeling made him delay.
As he watched the azure eyed child wipe blood from his chin and struggle to his feet he had the feeling something interesting was about to happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Ashura closed his eyes he couldn't help but think back to his past life.
The trials and tribulations.
The wins and losses.
The joy and pain.
He had struggled every moment of his life, always at the bottom.
Before his powers he had always excelled in his studies, but he had also been bullied for being a nerd and dismissed by girls for being unpopular.
He had been wedgied, shoved in lockers, and outright beat to a pulp by flash and his goons.
He spent all of middle school and half of freshman year with his head on a swivel trying not to be seen.
Then the spider bite happened and then everything had changed.
It not only gave him enhanced abilities and powers, but a much needed confidence boost.
When he saw flash and his goon squad he no longer felt fear but contempt and pity for them.
Though back then he never truly tested the extent of his strength, he knew that if he wanted to, with a single punch he could wipe Flash from the face of the earth.
He could of used his powers to be popular, be captain of the football team, get whatever girl he wanted.
But with great power comes great responsibility.
He had lived by the words of his uncle everyday since his death.
He took every punch his bullies threw and got back up.
Ignored the teasing and laughter from his peers and continued his work as Spider-Man saving people and making the world a better place.
But for every person he saved there was one he did not.
He couldn't save Uncle Ben.
He couldn't save Gwen.
Hundreds of people have died because he hadn't been there on time.
Died because a villain he had defeated more times than he could count turned the city he called home into their own personal playground.
He was sick of it…
So sick of holding back.
Sick of having to tiptoe in a world made of glass.
For once he wished he could fight without having to pull his punches.
Without having to worry about being labeled the bad guy.
To let…..go.
I'm done.
I'm tired of being pushed around....
I'm tired of holding back....
I'm sorry Uncle Ben.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Orochimaru rushed in to give the final blow he couldn't help but be deeply intrigued by the young blonde in front of him.
He believed that Ashura was focusing his senses to hone in on Orochimaru's next attack and dodge.
'Well let's not make it easy, Kukukuku.' He thought, as he licked his lips in anticipation.
However, as he neared Ashura he suddenly got a bad feeling that made him stop his attacks cold in his tracks.
Ashura stood there not moving a muscle, but the air about him screamed danger.
In the trees Kiyoshi and Sakumo froze in surprise and outright shock.
Kakashi watched on in confusion.
Bloodlust and pure fighting intent emitted from Ashura in waves as he slowly walked to within arms length of Orochimaru.
He slowly lifted his head and gave the Snake sannin a stare that bore through his very being.
The green inner ring of his azure eyes seemed to pulse with an inner strength.
He gave a face splitting smile and in a blur of movement he sent Orochimaru skidding back with a kick.
Orochimaru blocked the kick but was still caught off guard by the amount of force in it.
This made Orochimaru pause for a moment, his heart beating in excitement, and caused a flurry of questions to run rampant in his mind.
"What are you???"
Chapter 12: Ashura Unchained.