Chapter 53: Sparring
"Lord Hokage has already dispatched reinforcements to the Land of Iron to gather intelligence. Our responsibility is simply to patrol the border and prevent Kumogakure from invading the Land of Fire," Hayama Shirakumo announced.
Hearing this, Tonbo Tobitake scratched his head, feeling immensely relieved. If they had been ordered to infiltrate the Land of Iron to gather intel, it would have been truly difficult to endure. Espionage is the most dangerous and grueling aspect of a ninja's work.
Although the Land of Iron was a neutral nation—unlike the Five Great Nations where entering without proper clearance was an immediate declaration of invasion—they still followed a "kill on sight" policy for unauthorized ninjas. The title of "Ninja Slayer" held by the samurai was no exaggeration. As the largest military force in their country, they typically employed ruthless measures.
The Land of Iron was neutral, but they wouldn't just let you collect national secrets as you pleased. If discovered, escaping was notoriously difficult.
When watching the original story, Tonbo felt that aside from the Five Great Nations, the strength of other countries was incredibly weak. But having experienced it personally, he realized that wasn't the case. That "weakness" was a comparison between major powers, not an individual versus a whole nation.
For instance, when the original story claimed Sasori's puppet technique could "topple a nation," it referred to small countries with only a few cities—not a place like the Land of Iron, which possessed hundreds of towns.
According to Tonbo's memory, if he recalled correctly, the religion that birthed an immortal like Hidan was located in the Land of Steam. Yet, Konoha's subsequent investigation into the Land of Steam yielded little progress; they only knew a sinister religion existed there. This showed that the strength of other nations was not something a single person could easily dismantle. The Land of Iron was the same.
"Oh yeah! So as long as we guard the border until our rotation ends, we get credit for an S-rank mission?" Anko was quite excited. This would count as her first solo S-rank mission completion.
A small smile played on Itachi Uchiha's lips as well. This was effectively his first S-rank mission too. He looked at the Captain and Tonbo; those two were the keys to completing the mission. He and Anko were more like students sent by the Third Hokage to learn.
This was what he had been reflecting on over the past few days. Why would the Third Hokage send him and Anko—two relatively low-ranked ninjas—on such a difficult task? Beyond his Sharingan and Anko's snake summons, it was likely meant for their development. This kind of nurturing suggested that the Third Hokage truly treated the Uchiha as part of the village.
But the clan... Itachi shook his head, hoping things could still be reconciled. Otherwise...
"Yes, but we must be ready at all times. If the reinforcements dispatched by Lord Third run into trouble, we will definitely be called in to support them," Hayama Shirakumo nodded.
It wasn't that simple. Until the situation in the Land of Lightning was clear, Konoha had to be prepared for war. They couldn't relax just because they had a bit of intel.
Tonbo stretched lazily. "There are no small matters on the battlefield. Everyone stay ready. We can't let our guard down until the mission is officially over."
Itachi and Anko nodded.
Another half-month passed.
"Go! Go! Uchiha, go!"
At the temporary camp, Tonbo Tobitake watched the confrontation between Hayama Shirakumo and Itachi Uchiha. At some point, a red flag had appeared in his hand, which he was now waving enthusiastically.
Anko stood to the side, looking on wordlessly. She thought she was "Chuunibyou" enough—a term Tonbo had coined—but this guy was on a whole different level.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Hayama's katana clashed rapidly with Itachi's short blade, sparks flying as every strike narrowly missed a vital point. Despite his young age, Itachi's swordsmanship was impressive. Under the dynamic vision of the Sharingan, he was gradually able to keep up with Hayama's attacks. He had truly made the Uchiha-style kenjutsu his own.
This had become their daily routine: Sparring and training the youngsters.
During this half-month, nothing major had happened at the border; most of the time was spent on routine patrols. Given the quiet, Tonbo and Hayama would alternate: one would remain at full strength to handle potential threats, while the other would spar with Itachi and Anko.
Currently, it was the Captain versus Itachi. The match was restricted to swordsmanship to hone Itachi's practical skills. Tonbo could see that Itachi's talent was truly that of a "Chosen One." His progress in learning the sword was already half as fast as Tonbo's own!
And I just practice casually, Tonbo thought smugly. Regardless of his thoughts, he kept waving the flag. Opportunities to slack off like this were rare.
"Hey! Stop shouting! I'm trying to watch the fight seriously and learn something!" Anko couldn't take it anymore.
Tonbo gave her a suspicious look. "You? Learning? I feel like you've become a bit arrogant because you inherited Orochimaru's secret techniques. I don't believe a word you say about 'learning'."
Hearing the word "arrogant" made Anko's blood boil. That's exactly what Tonbo had said during their fight yesterday. At the time, she was confident that this man—only two years older than her—just had a bit more combat experience, and that his Genjutsu was only average (she told herself she had just been careless the first time).
During yesterday's spar, Anko used the snake techniques she learned from Orochimaru, fully confident she would make him suffer. Instead, he had trapped her in a Genjutsu that tasted like something unmentionable and mocked her for being arrogant and failing to master Genjutsu dispelling. She still felt nauseous thinking about it.
Of course, she had to admit Tonbo was a genius. But the Itachi currently fighting was a genius among geniuses. He had the Sharingan, exquisite swordsmanship, solid taijutsu, mastery of Fire Style, and incredible Genjutsu. She couldn't understand how someone so young could know so much.
She thought she had analyzed him during their first battle, but in a spar a few days ago, she had actually lost to him. Sometimes she wondered: Who is the Chunin and who is the Genin here?
With Itachi's talent, if he didn't exhaust himself with internal conflict and fall ill, he might have lived to the Boruto era and told Sasuke: "You've grown lax; you're as weak as a Sage of Six Paths," Tonbo joked to himself.
Unfortunately, besides the influence of the Uchiha bloodline, Itachi's ideology had already taken root amidst the clash of philosophies over the years. It couldn't be changed. Unless one day Tonbo perfected his "Ultimate Genjutsu" of inserting history to completely rewrite memories, there might be a tiny chance. But Itachi wouldn't wait for that, nor would he allow anyone to rewrite his mind.
Clang! Clang!
Itachi was unaware of the two people gossiping behind him. He was currently struggling to use his Sharingan to track the Captain's movements and mount a counterattack. He was learning a great deal.
Tonbo-nii-san said every ninjutsu has a weakness. Taijutsu and Kenjutsu should be the same, Itachi thought. But he soon realized in combat that even though he could perceive the Captain's intent, his physical body was limited and couldn't reach the speed required for a counter.
Is this what Tonbo-brother meant by "mastering diverse methods"? Otherwise, even if I analyze the enemy's moves and tactical intent, I still can't beat them?
Clang!
Hayama Shirakumo held his blade against Itachi's neck, ending today's session.
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