Lost in the Whirlwind (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 35

It was one more month that I had finally, finally perfected the body flicker technique after years of practice. Using the least amount of chakra to travel a distance (and in this case, further than a normal teleportation technique).

Shisui had been elated, insisting on taking me out to a dango fest, and Itachi, having heard the word dango, decided to tag along. Sasuke, poor grumpy little Sasuke, of course followed his brother, which meant Naruto inviting himself to the celebration (I'm her brother, of course I'm going to come, teme!). Somehow, Sakura got roped into joining and I caught sight of Shisui moaning over the how light his wallet had become.

It had been fun, listening to Naruto recount his mission to the Wave Country and facing an S-rank missing nin by the name of Zabuza (huh, that name rings a bell) and his apprentice Haku. Sakura occasionally commented to correct the blonde's exaggerated story, toning it down to something more realistic (but still crazy, because when does a genin team face an S-rank ninja, ever?) and Sasuke grunting when something particularly riveting happened in the story.

That was probably as close as he could get to damn straight I'm awesome.
———
ANBU recruit training was... interesting, for the lack of better word.

I walked into a dimly lit room, in line with nine other people, all of them taller than I was. The plain white mask on my face weighed heavily, with only two eyeholes for me to survey my surroundings with. We all donned the ANBU gear from neck down, which was heavier than I thought would be.

A large man with biceps as big as my head stepped into the center of the room, a leopard mask on his face. "Welcome to ANBU recruit training. You ten are gathered here today to prove your place among the elite." The amusement I felt at the word elite didn't need to be hidden, thanks to the mask. "At the end of today, some of you will receive your masks, some of you will go home."

Rules were simple: the one who draws the first blood or manages to knock their opponent out first wins.

First was a taijutsu spar. I went up against a short-haired burly opponent, having at least half a head on me in height. What I lacked in strength was made up for by my speed. I successfully dodged (some of) his hits before striking the vital spot on his neck, knocking him out, ending the match within a minute. My opponent was taken to a corner of the room and I was taken to a medic nin, healing some of the broken ribs and femur. I bit my lip through the process, thanking gods above that I managed to protect my face- striking my nose would've resulted in a first blood drawn, and maybe a permanent breathing impairment.

Next part was the more difficult one: Ninjutsu. Whilst confident in my taijutsu, my ninjutsu proved to be... subpar. It would've been a different story if chakra blades were allowed, but no weapons were allowed. My opponent, a red haired lanky boy removed his weapon pouch before joining me at the center of the room.

Like his hair suggests, the boy has fire affinity. Luck must be on my side- because having an Uchiha mentor did nothing if not prepare you for a fire enemy. I barely had enough time to gather enough chakra for water chain before a great fireball technique came my way. I ducked, a little with surprise because a great fireball technique was almost exclusively Uchiha's, and this boy's hair indicated otherwise.

From then on, my opponent did not hold back. Attacks of fireballs kept on coming, not giving me time to launch an attack of my own.

Pull yourself together. I told myself. You have to attack to show your skills.

I can't let Shisui down.

I gathered chakra to all my tenketsu and exploded them in one huge burst, forming a protective water prison around me. It was an A-rank technique that I've managed to successfully complete only once before today.