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In the training field attached to the academy, Takuma stood before Naruto after having finished their shadow clone lesson of the day. Since Naruto had successfully created a shadow clone—or seven of them—Takuma was reminded of the absurd affinity the yellow-haired brat held towards the jutsu every day. Only four days had passed since then, and Naruto had made an absurd amount of progress, which had taken Takuma months.
"What are we learning today?" Naruto asked with electric excitement in his eyes.
"Change of pace." As promised, Takuma had been teaching Naruto tricks of combat every few days. Naruto had demanded to be taught something new every day, but Takuma didn't want to overload the preteen's brain. It was better that he started with a few things and was creative with them.
"Change of piece?" Naruto said, tilting his head.
"P-A-C-E. Pace. In a way, speed. Come at me," Takuma said, stepping a few steps back.
Naruto didn't need to be told a second time; the boy loved to fight. He charged as he did every time—head-on and at full speed. Takuma relaxed his body, bringing his hands forward to block or deflect every strike while restricting himself to three-quarters of Naruto's speed and strength to make their exchange fair.
There was no conscious thought behind Naruto's movements; he was pure instinct. But there was a great foundation there that could be turned into something great.
Takuma slowly moved around, doing nothing but defend, letting Naruto dictate the flow of the battle. His eyes followed the orange sleeves and blue sandals, and in them, he noticed that Naruto didn't prefer an arm or leg; he used them all just the same—something not many shinobi could claim. Everyone had preferences that turned into habits, which were always uncomfortable to break. Takuma had been barred from developing them by Maruboshi when he was learning to fight and then forced to keep them that way through his fights in the Ring, where more fighters than not knew to identify patterns and exploit them.
Not Naruto. He chained moves effortlessly because he had no problem using any of his limbs. His judgement on how to use his free mobility was poor, as one would expect from an inexperienced academy student who also moved purely on instinct, but it could be improved and would improve the more he fought and learned.
"Now, let's switch this around," Takuma said, reversing the aggressor and defender positions to push Naruto back. He continued to restrict his speed but went as hard as he could under that limit, like Naruto was doing.
Naruto, to his credit, blocked most of the strikes, getting hit only a couple of times over the span of a minute before Takuma stopped.
The spar wasn't over yet, as Takuma simply gazed at Naruto, who immediately seized the lull as an opportunity to attack and rushed in, throwing a slugger. Takuma simply bobbed and weaved his way out of the strikes, causing an irritated glint to surface in Naruto's gaze.
Without any warning, Takuma suddenly attacked in a burst combo of taijutsu. He threw a left hook, right cross, and a sweeping leg—establishing a predictable one-two-three beat. Naruto easily slipped backwards, parrying the strike. Takuma went again with that same beat, with a low kick followed by a high kick from the same leg and finishing with a palm strike to the chest—all of it was once again effortlessly blocked and evaded as Naruto gleaned the tempo. So, when at the next exchange, he saw the same attack tempo, he anticipated the timing and dipped low to counter—but Takuma deliberately slowed the third beat by almost a whole second. Naruto dodged into the empty air, leaving the back of his skull perfectly aligned for Takuma's hand chop to land.
Naruto yelped in surprise, furiously rubbing the back of his head, but had no time to rest as Takuma closed the distance in a moment, his boots kicking up a trailing cloud of dust. Seeing the aggressive charge, Naruto rooted his feet, bracing for a heavy collision or strike so he could be ready for a counter-strike. Just as Takuma entered his range, he came to a complete stop. Naruto, unable to stop his own coiled muscles and instinct, swung a heavy fist through the empty air where Takuma would've been if he hadn't killed all of his forward momentum at the last moment. The force of his missed swing twisted his torso, exposing his unguarded ribs that were gladly targeted by Takuma's fist.
"Come on, you got more than this," Takuma said, hands on his hips, while Naruto rubbed his rib, a single tear bubbling in his eye.
Naruto watched him carefully, waiting for any sudden movement. Instead, Takuma casually walked towards him with his arms hanging loosely at his sides, his breathing following an even rhythm. Without pulling his arm to chamber the strike, Takuma simply snapped his hips forward, going from zero to a hundred in a split second. There was no visible wind-up as his palm-fist bridged the gap, the impact landing on Naruto's chest before Naruto could process it.
This time, however, Naruto immediately attacked, throwing a punch and then side-stepping to throw a reckless kick to the face. Takuma slowly and gracefully twisted his body out of the way, and then his arm suddenly jerked forward with but a twitch to slap Naruto hard in the upper arm.
It could've very well been knuckles to the face or steel in the neck.
The next moment, Takuma launched a quick punch to the face that Naruto's guard ate, and yet, it couldn't block the other, much slower, fist that slipped under the guard arm that had been quick to respond because the slower speed meant Takuma saw the guard and had enough time to adjust his course.
He allowed Naruto to take the offensive to see if he would make a different choice, but Naruto, of course, charged head-first.
It wasn't surprising; Naruto was among the stronger fighters in his peer group. Combat was the one thing that his academy instructors probably couldn't outright criticise him for because he won plenty. They were also just glad there was something they didn't have to criticise Naruto for, and may not have been as hard on him—which, to Naruto, was glowing praise compared to what he usually faced.
Some habits would take more time and effort to fix. It would be on Naruto's jōnin teacher to handle those things.
Takuma burst forward to close the gap, only to plant his feet and stop short. Naruto, who had been scrambling backwards, immediately surged ahead to press his advantage. But before he could land a foot, Takuma bridged the gap with a smooth stride that caught Naruto off-guard. Instincts took over, and Naruto backtracked. Takuma didn't chase; instead, he used the momentum of his lunge forward to pivot, driving the back of his heel straight into the side of Naruto's knee—a strike made possible by the very space Naruto had just conceded.
Attacking the joints—the first trick Takuma had taught Naruto.
"That's it for now," Takuma said to Naruto as he helped him to the ground. "What did you learn?"
Naruto ignored the offered hand and sat on the ground, holding his chin in thought, a frown between his eyes. He hummed and then hummed louder until he was growling before his eyes snapped open.
"Change of pace!" Naruto declared as though he had received sage enlightenment. "You went woosh, then you didn't. It was jerky! You ran full speed but then stopped like there was an invisible wall. You went bap, bap, and my body just got ready to block a huge BAM on the third hit. I could feel it coming, but then you just… stopped." Naruto groaned, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. "I leaned into the block, and my stomach did this gross flip-flop thing because I blocked nothing. And then, I got chopped in the head."
Takuma paused, interpreted the words to the best of his ability, and then nodded slightly, waiting for him to continue.
"And—and you were all relaxed, like you were on a stroll!" Naruto continued, his voice pitching up in indignation. He let his arms hang limp by his side to demonstrate. "People go hnnng before they jump, ya know! They bend their knees. You went from totally floppy to… to whoosh! The palm was in my chest, and my eyes didn't even get a warning."
He pointed an accusing finger at Takuma with eyes narrowed in frustration.
"The slow strikes were unfair. My body moves on its own, and you tricked it. How did I lose when I was faster, and you were slow?" Naruto racked his brain for words until he came up with: "It was like a game of rock-paper-scissors, and you were throwing late! Isn't that unfair?"
"You can be slow as well," Takuma said.
"I won't be able to attack if I'm slow."
"I didn't get hit. At no point was I ever moving faster than you." Takuma saw that Naruto wasn't convinced. He had seen the effectiveness of the change-of-pace tactic, but he didn't think it fit him, or that he wouldn't be able to do it. Takuma needed to figure out a way to convey the essence of the tactic for it to settle in Naruto's mind. "It's… It's like your pranks, Naruto. They work because they're surprising. Even though people know that you're a prankster and are expecting something, they still get surprised, don't they?"
There was no one in the village who didn't know of Naruto's pranks. Just a week ago, he had painted the Hokage Mountain, a location that was visible to most of the village, which meant everyone had seen it. In fact, it was front-page news in the local newspaper, as many of Naruto's pranks had been over the years.
Naruto nodded as though he was an authority on pranks. "Pranks aren't fun if you see them coming."
"This is just like that. Be slow when all you want to do is be fast. Be fast when they think you'll slow down. Make them think one thing only to do the other thing. Use this sparingly, at the right moment, always for the best effect…
"Forget about change of pace. This is… This is combat pranks," Takuma said, pulling the word out of his ass. "Uzumaki Naruto, the greatest combat prankster to ever live. How does that sound to you?"
If they had been any brighter, Naruto's eyes would have shot out beams of sparkles. Takuma could see his words settle in the boy's mind and germinate into ideas. When it came to clones, Naruto's biggest advantage after the sheer numbers was his creativity in how he used them. Takuma wanted to encourage more of that because even though this Naruto only knew the B-rank version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he had already taken to it like a bird to the sky.
Satisfied, Takuma turned his attention from Naruto to the bench where Iruka usually sat down. Today, the dedicated academy instructor wasn't alone. Sitting beside him was a white-haired colleague with a kind expression set on his handsome face.
Mizuki, a chūnin of the Hidden Leaf.
However, Takuma knew that the man's reputation and personality were just a façade he had built to manipulate others, because people naturally trusted kind, good-hearted people.
Because of how the events had unfolded, there was no reason for Mizuki to involve himself with Naruto, who was going to pass the graduation test now that he could successfully create clones. Takuma also doubted that an academy student, even as enterprising as Naruto, could steal the heavily guarded Scroll of Seals. Mizuki would know that as well and thus wouldn't even attempt to trick Naruto for his own gain; other than that, he wanted to get Naruto into trouble because he hated the jinchuriki—which he did.
Takuma did not think that making a play for the Scroll of Seals would be the first time Mizuki would have tried to do something nefarious. It was too big of a target and task for a first-time rodeo. If he wanted to sell the scroll to the highest bidder, then he would need a fence who could connect him to those who understood its true value. One didn't stumble into those types of people randomly or could meet them easily. Trust and relationships had to be built for both sides to protect themselves.
Takuma was convinced that if he looked into Mizuki, he would find something easily.
Noticing him looking their way, the two academy instructors approached now that the lessons were over for the day.
"Takuma," Iruka said, a proud, almost relieved smile on his scarred face. "The progress Naruto's making is incredible. You have done an exceptional job with him… I want to introduce you. This is my colleague, Mizuki."
Mizuki offered a polite, deferential bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you finally. Iruka hasn't stopped talking about Lord Hokage's special tutor. I admit, I had to come and see the results for myself."
Takuma returned the bow with a polite nod. He studied the man's face. The smile was flawless, the posture was relaxed. Even as an ANBU, Takuma was impressed with the man's ability to present a front he wanted others to see.
"I hope the disruption to the grounds isn't an inconvenience."
"Not at all. They're always empty this time of the year," Mizuki said smoothly. "Though, it's quite a surprise. Lord Hokage sending a specialist directly to the academy. It makes me wonder whether there are some other evaluations taking place."
Takuma held the man's gaze for a second longer than was conversational. He realised that Mizuki didn't think he was there just to teach Naruto. He wondered whether Mizuki knew he was ANBU, but struck that thought. More likely, Mizuki was doing something illegal and was suspicious of Takuma's presence because he was connected to the Hokage.
"Not at all. At least, not any I know," Takuma replied with a faint smile. "But I wouldn't be surprised if he's looking closely. This academy is the most important one of them all. All the children from the major clans walk these grounds before they become a shinobi. It's the place where our best talent is tended to." He put a hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair. "I'm sure he wants to ensure this place is running smoothly. Standard reports and routine grading can only show so much. Sometimes, you have to also look beneath the floorboards to get the whole picture."
Mizuki's smile remained fixed, but the fingers on his left hand, resting casually over one of his weapon pouches, twitched, almost curling into a fist, but relaxed halfway through. "A wise policy," Mizuki agreed, his voice light. "We all want to ensure the village's future is secure."
Everyone missed it, but Takuma noticed that reaction.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei! Look!" Naruto said loudly.
They looked as Naruto slammed through the seals for the Shadow Clone Jutsu to produce two perfect, corporeal shadow clones. One of the clones got on Naruto's shoulder and the second clone got on the first clone's shoulder, making Naruto a totem pole.
Iruka laughed, genuinely delighted. "That's amazing, Naruto."
Takuma had turned towards Naruto, but he held Mizuki in his peripheral vision.
Just when Mizuki thought no one was looking, the pleasant mask rotted away only for a moment. As he looked at Naruto and his clones, his jaw locked, his lips thinned, and his eyes, which had a worry and strain of panic, now also had a colour of envy. It was the look of a man who felt cheated.
Takuma recognised the feelings. Shadow Clone Jutsu was a B-rank ninjutsu; chūnin had to work hard to gain access to them, but Naruto, not even a shinobi, was handed it for free. Of course, kids from clans were also given jutsu from their clan archives, but Mizuki wasn't bothered by that. He was only bothered because it was Naruto, whom he considered lesser than him, so seeing him given something valuable hurt him.
An instant later, Mizuki's expression snapped back into a look of mild, supportive astonishment.
"Incredible," he said, clapping his hands happily.
Takuma didn't say anything and returned his focus to Naruto, smiling at him as he and his clones performed silly and fun acrobatics.
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The link is in the synopsis!