Itachi stood in the ring with Rei while the others gathered around to watch the spar. The ring measured 15 feet wide, and both fighters stood five feet apart. Itachi made the sign of confrontation, which Rei mirrored. Together, they assumed fighting stances.
Itachi watched as Rei assumed the academy's basic taijutsu stance. Coming from a shinobi household, Rei's continued use of this fundamental pose indicated something significant, though Itachi couldn’t discern what that was. He recognized Rei from the brief time he had spent at the academy. She was above average in taijutsu, but she only managed to outrank one or two of the taijutsu-skilled clan kids in her year.
Itachi made sure to relax his muscles as best he could and waited. Rei struck when it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to attack or block in time. Her strike was a fast punch aimed directly at Itachi’s face. A textbook academy strike. Academy-style taijutsu focused on striking first, fast, and fatal. It was that style of taijutsu that made it so easy for the Uchiha to incapacitate so many unruly ninja.
The punch came from her left hand, and Itachi moved with the flow by kicking off with his right foot towards her left shoulder. Once he used her own fist and momentum to block her line of sight of him, giving the impression that he had disappeared from her view, he landed on his left foot, absorbing all the energy from his dodge, and spun away from her, but turning his head to watch her. Eventually, his whole body spun with him, allowing him to deliver a powerful backhand hammer strike to the back of her head.
The meaty slap sound was unexpected as Rei blocked the strike aimed at the back of her head with a textbook block, albeit strained from the awkward angle. The sudden stop of momentum caught Itachi off guard, and the follow-up jab with her blocking arm, while she reset her stance, almost managed to land, but Itachi dodged the blow by moving his head at the last second.
He wasn’t fast enough to strike while her feet were out of position, so he decided to aim higher. Jumping into the air, he delivered a rapid one-two kick to her head. Rei had to block again, this time with both arms while stepping back, and Itachi followed up by landing and crouching down, then shooting forward to deliver a punch right to the older girl's gut.
His punch was caught by her right hand while she cupped his left. “You aren’t my first Uchiha!” Rei shouted, still holding on to his fist as she delivered a haymaker. The blow landed and snapped Itachi’s head backwards.
Using his trapped fist, Rei pulled him in closer again to deliver another blow, only for Itachi to leap with her pull. With both of his hands on her, he landed a powerful kick across her face, causing her head to snap back.
Releasing his hold, Itachi once again ducked low and kicked out Rei’s feet. Tumbling down, Rei landed hard on her back. Before she could open her eyes again, Itachi was kneeling on her solar plexus and had fingers hovering over her throat, ready to deliver a finishing blow if necessary.
“That’s enough; make the Seal of Reconciliation,” Kengo said as he stood next to his son Shisui. Itachi stood up and reached towards Rei, who looked annoyed that she had lost, but still grasped the younger boy's hand.
“No way that’s it. Don’t worry, Rei, I will avenge you.” Moko declared.
“Hmm, looking to eat dirt faster?” Shisui teased, causing the younger girl to blush and grit her teeth.
Rei bowed her head and stepped away from Itachi, who looked like he wanted to say something, but Moko jumped into the ring and took Rei’s place as she went to stand next to Iemitsu.
“Rei only lost because she went easy on you because you are just a kid!”
Itachi could not help but notice that Moko was as short as he was, but said nothing. However, Moko noticed where his eyes were and scowled. “I’m still growing, jerk. One day I’m going to grow up to become a refined lady!”
“If you say so,” Itachi responded and made the sign of confrontation.
“You better believe it!” Moko shouted while making her own sign. Before Kengo could start the match, Moko lunged and leaped into a kick, aiming directly at Itachi’s head. Itachi moved two steps to the side, avoiding her attack. Moko’s kick was so ambitious that she nearly flew out of the ring. She quickly shot her legs down and managed to stop herself from flying out of the ring. She nearly lost her balance as she almost took a step past the line of the arena and threw her hands out to the sides to regain control. Everyone watched as she frantically circled her hands in the air while teetering on the edge until finally, she managed to regain her balance.
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Moko let out a sigh until Itachi grabbed her hand and threw her over his shoulder. He then placed his knee in the small of her back while securing her hands behind her in a hold.
“Wow, you lost before the match even started,” Shisui added, providing his commentary.
“Shut up, he cheated. He dodged my kick. What kinda man dodges?”
“I didn’t want to get kicked.”
“He’s allowed to dodge Moko.” Rei tried to console her friend.
“Grr, Iemitsu, what are you waiting for? Stop just standing around and hurry up to avenge our honor.”
“I mean…I think your honor is fine.”
“Iemitsu, you big dummy. You have girl teammates, and this younger man is trying to dominate us. He’s going to make us join his harem.”
“I have no interest in harems.” Itachi felt the need to correct the strange, loud, and small girl.
“WHAT?! You think I’m not good enough. Iemitsu, do you hear what he just said? If you don’t beat him up, I’m never going to forgive you.”
Iemitsu, walking like a condemned man, approached the sparring ring. “Um, I think I’m next.” Itachi stood up and offered a hand to Moko, who didn’t see it as she crawled away on her hands and knees toward Rei, who shook her head. Turning to Iemitsu, Itachi once again returned to his position and made the sign of confrontation, which Iemitsu followed.
Kengo gave the signal, and the two started. Itachi noticed that his new opponent was different from the other two as he crouched in a dodging stance. His hands hovered around his knees, and his eyes were locked on Itachi’s hands and feet.
A little different from what he was used to, Itachi strode towards his opponent, only for the other boy to start moving back. The ring they were both in was limited in size, and Iemitsu could only backpedal so much, a fact both of them understood. Gradually, Iemitsu began to shift back and towards his right, but Itachi continued to close the distance until he was within striking range. That was when Itachi recognized the issue. With his back towards the out-of-bounds line, Itachi could not strike from behind.
It wasn't that big of a deal. Itachi would simply strike the older boy's face and gut. He prepared to dash in and deliver the blows but noticed a different problem. The boy was taller than him and moving away. While Itachi was confident in his speed, being fast enough to strike past the other boy's guard while he himself was moving backward was a stretch. If Itachi were taller, he could do it, but he wasn’t.
Itachi contemplated the lessons the clan taught about how to handle opponents like this. They would typically use Shuriken jutsu to either strike down or trip their enemies, and perhaps employ a fireball or illusion depending on the context. However, he could do none of these. This was merely a sparring match; no tools or jutsus were permitted. The audience watched as Iemitsu continued to back away in fear, while Itachi followed with a strained expression on his face.
Itachi’s father and the technique scrolls he read taught him many things, but Itachi was still young and lacked not only experience in fighting but also experience fighting those who were afraid of him. When he sparred against other Uchihas, their pride outweighed their fear, and they still struck out, allowing Itachi to counter. Outside the clan, the other kids consistently underestimated him and attempted to use their size to attack, and again, Itachi countered.
The only times he lost were when older clan members leveraged their size or advanced techniques against him. This spar reminded him of when he hunted rabbits in the woods, but he would either sneak up on them, use a hunting tool, or be faster than the rabbit.
“Iemitsu! Stop acting like a coward, ATTACK!” Moko shouted. With a look of grim determination, Iemitsu lounged, and reflexively, Itachi kicked him in the gut. When Iemitsu leaned forward after receiving the blow, Itachi’s fist snapped out, delivering a haymaker across his jaw. Iemitsu crumpled and hit the ground hard.
“Stop!” Kengo shouted and leapt to Iemitsu's side to check on him.
The girls went to their teammate's side while Shisui approached Itachi’s side. “You okay? How’s the hand?”
“Fine.”
“Why didn’t you try to sweep the other kid's legs?” Shisui asked quizzically.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Itachi answered. He never even thought too. Iemitsu acted so much differently than anyone else Itachi had ever fought before that he didn’t know what to do.
“Well, you still won.” Shisui patted Itachi on the back. “But did you notice how the team fought?”
“Rei was the best.”
“Yes, she applied a basic academy style to predict what you would do. Uchias have the reputation for foreseeing the movements of our opponents and delivering powerful counterstrikes. If she performs basic moves, she already knows how we are going to counter, which lets her counter our counter. Once you awaken the sharigan, a simple trick like that won't be as effective against you. But the three work well together. The short one is overly aggressive, Iemitsu was overly passive, while Rei was juuusst right. But remember this, don’t mistreat the girls when you make them join your harem.”
“I have no intention-”
“Oh, you are such a beast. I’m going to tell Mikoto about this.”
“Tell her what you wish-”
“I wonder if Izumi’s heart is ready to share you?”
“I-You don’t need to tell her about this.”
“*Gasp* Behind her back. That’s even worse.”
“Nothing happened.”
“That’s what they all say. “Nothing happened.” “She means nothing to me.” “It was an accident.”
“I…I…I don’t want to talk to you anymore. This has been a strange day.” With that said, Itachi leapt for the rooftops, leaving a smirking Shisui behind.
