[A/N: I've repaired the formatting of the previous chapter. My dear gods of format, using the app to make an upload is my biggest regret.]
Blocking one of Sasuke's attacks, Suguru moved to retaliate. He struck out with an outstretched palm, but Sasuke maneuvered and blocked that as well.
Red eyes were shining within his gaze. A single, black tomoe against the crimson backdrop.
'This is more like it,'
Suguru grinned. When he sparred with Sasuke in front of Iruka's class, the latter had not activated his Sharingan. He did not have the full Uchiha experience. In comparison, his movements were now more fluid, dynamic, and capable of holding his own.
There was a striking brutality to his moves, driven by his desire to grow stronger.
Sasuke weaved in a kick, and Suguru blocked, pulling momentum to transition into a grab and throw. However, Sasuke broke Suguru's grip, planted his hand on the ground, and pushed forward with his larger stature.
"Hoh," Suguru's grin widened, "Let's go faster then,"
"What?"
Suddenly, Suguru dissolved into an afterimage. A small replication of Shisui's Afterimage Clone Jutsu. He then reappeared on Sasuke's right, his hand balled up into a fist.
Sasuke barely reacted in time as he moved his head to the right. Sasuke swung his arm at Suguru's face but was shocked to see it move straight through him.
Then, Suguru flicked his foot up. Sasuke did not underestimate the image as his Sharingan told him that it wasn't a simple clone.
—Thud!
"That's an amazing block, Sasuke-nii," Suguru whispered in Sasuke's ear as the former held his fingers at the latter's throat. "I never knew the Sharingan could do so much."
Sasuke was breathing hard. Even with all his strength, he couldn't beat the kid who called him an older brother. Some part of him felt the sting.
'Will I ever be able to kill Itachi if I can't even win against Suguru?' Sasuke bit his lip.
Before he could delve more into his lamentations, Suguru placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Loosen up, Sasuke-nii. You have a scary look on your face."
Sasuke glanced at Suguru. An innocent gaze was reflected back at him.
"Suguru, you... You're an orphan, right?" Sasuke curiously asked.
"Yeah," Suguru nodded, "Why? What's up?"
"What happened to your family?"
"They were killed."
"..." Sasuke turned silent. "Don't you want revenge?"
Suguru thought for a moment, "I already got revenge. I killed a lot of bandits while I was out on missions. A few of them looked familiar. They're dead now, and there's nothing else I can do."
"Oh..." Sasuke nodded. "I see."
A silence fell upon the two. The shared experience of losing everything was an element that Suguru didn't expect to have such an impact on Sasuke. A thought occurred to Suguru, only to be extinguished in the next second.
"Anyways," Suguru waved, "Thanks for today, Sasuke-nii. I had fun sparring! I hope we can do this again in the future. When you're stronger~"
Then, he flickered away in the next breath. He left Sasuke unable to cough up a comeback.
***
Seeing Sasuke and Naruto, Suguru felt a weird sense of being thrown into the world. At first, his transmigration felt so distant... So separated from the story he once knew.
From his research under Orochimaru to his meddling with Danzo, he always felt that he wasn't an involved party at all.
With Naruto and Sasuke, however, he could feel himself affecting the world in real-time. There was no sense of separation.
'Is it because they are the incarnations of Indra and Ashura?' Suguru thought as he flickered towards Training Ground 24.
When he was there, he made a hand sign.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu,'
With one clone standing in front of him, he got into a stance. His clone did the same. Then, flames began flickering around his body.
'Nintaijutsu: Blaze Battle Body,'
He punched forward, releasing a burst of chakra from his fist that quickly lit on fire. His clone crossed his arms and wrapped them in burning chakra. Meeting the fireball head-on, he swung both his arms and scattered the flames.
In return, he fired a cross of flames heading straight for Suguru.
Suguru dodged. Then with a powerful kick, he sent a low-flying arc of fire. He rushed forward behind the arc of fire and unleashed a barrage of flaming punches, engaging in close combat.
Each fist exploded with flames, yet his clone blocked every single one.
The battle began ramping up. Suguru began flickering, and bursts of flames could be seen in mid-air. Fireballs were thrown in every direction and arcs of flames drew lines across the ground.
He stopped only when he and his clone had used up their chakra. His clone disappeared into smoke. The experience of the entire fight began replaying through his mind.
'Good, I've completed my second jutsu.' Suguru grinned. 'Although the flames have no substance and are about as lethal as the weakest Great Fireball Jutsu, I can work on that in the future.'
—Clap. Clap. Clap.
Hitomi suddenly emerged from behind a tree. She asked, "Is this the second jutsu you've made, Suguru?"
Suguru already knew Hitomi was watching. He smiled and replied, "Yes, Hitomi-sensei. I took inspiration from members of the Hyuga clan who can release their chakra from their tenketsu. This is an application of that technique."
Suguru sighed, "Unfortunately, it still needs a lot of work. I don't want to risk using it in real combat just yet."
"Well, that's part of it." Hitomi laughed, "You brat! In fact, it's amazing that you've created such a unique jutsu. If it's alright, can you teach me?"
"Hm? Teach you, Hitomi-sensei?" Suguru tilted his head.
"Yes. I have the same chakra affinity as you, and Taijutsu is one of my strong points. If I can do the same thing you're doing, then I can probably fight a whole squad of jounins alone!" Hitomi said.
This surprised Suguru. He always thought that his sensei was the proud type. For her to show humility and ask for her own student's teachings — and a child, no less — was surely a difficult thing to do.
Seeing Suguru hesitate, Hitomi smiled. "Of course, I'm not asking you to teach me for free. Is there anything you want?"
Suguru had to think about what he wanted.
"Is it possible to get copies of the Uchiha clan's Fire Release Jutsus?" He asked, hoping to get something like the Great Fire Annihilation and Great Fire Destruction that Madara used.
Hearing his words, Hitomi thought for a moment. It seemed possible. A little difficult, but possible.
Thus,
"Okay! That's a deal. I'll go ask Lord Hokage myself for a set that you can study if you trade in your jutsu for them." Hitomi felt a little excitement coursing through her body. "So? What's the first step to learning this jutsu?"
"Well..." Suguru scratched his head, "Do you know any Earth Release Jutsus? Let's start from there..."
***
"...She's better at using my own technique," Suguru felt his lips twitch in annoyance.
Although she was not a Hyuga and unable to release chakra from any tenketsu in her body, just being able to release chakra through her hands and feet was enough. Now, coupled with her Fire Release affinity and her superior Taijutsu, she instantly surpassed her 'teacher.'
"Hitomi-sensei..."
Hitomi laughed. "Brat, do you want to spar? I feel like we can deal with a few of this Jutsu's weaknesses if we do."
"I..."
Suguru, who found this situation intriguing, couldn't deny that Hitomi had an excellent point.
"Sure, sensei. Let's spar."
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