𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐢 | ɴᴀʀᴜᴛᴏ

A Beginning

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✧˖*°࿐

"You suck."

A young girl huffed out a sigh, using her free hand to wipe the sweat falling from her head. She kept her other hand in a single-hand sign whilst the ground she stood on had cracked into a small crater beneath her soles. The weak wind around her feet whirled rapidly... but not enough to do its part.

An older man stood fairly close by, his arms crossed as he observed her formation. He looked to be in his late fifties and he wore a deep frown on his wrinkled face. His hair was white, but not the same colour as the girl's dull blonde hair. His thick beard was down to his neck and his aura was intimidating. However, his demeanour didn't make the girl falter.

"You know," she heaved out, "in moments like this, you're supposed to encourage me not demean me."

Her voice was strained, most likely due to the hours she spent training on this. Though, that didn't bother him in the slightest. It only made his expression harden more as his eyes squinted down at her.

"Already talking back? You seem bold for someone who could end up running around this entire compound a hundred times." He warned, playfully.

The girl's heavy breathing hitched, her lips now tightly closed together whilst her focus became stronger. It wasn't the first time he threatened her with those warnings. If anything, that would've been the least harsh punishment he'd ever give her. And now—the old man could only smirk down at her freshly determined state, and his head tilted back up.

After a long second of full concentration, the entire training grounds cracked a reasonably average depth. Much more than the previous one. The weak wind from before had blasted out in the process, almost pushing their figures back if it weren't for their controlled chakra keeping their soles in place.

Is it supposed to hurt?

She thought, feeling the chakra's energy spread throughout her body. She had noticed the lingering feeling of pain after an hour of training this ability, but ignored it to push her limits. There would be no gain without pain.

The girl's strained hand then twitched into a balled fist. Exhaustion had her body falling to the ground—bottom first, with her arms supporting the upper weight from behind. She leaned back, panting as she felt the cracks from the broken concrete beneath her calloused palms. The sudden harsh winds immediately died down from this action with a now silent pause filling the air.

The old man watched as dirt, dust and leaves fell to the ground. His expression was unreadable, and his head then tilted down. The girl caught a satisfied gleam in his eye.

Whatever she done caused the entire training grounds' floor to split away from each other. Soil and weeds now poked up from underneath the parting concrete. The old man stared at the broken floor in thought. With his hand to his chin, he then turned to the girl with a pleased grin that stretched with his wide beard.

"I hope you haven't doubted my training technique." He teased, amused by this.

A total two-face!

Her thoughts differed her reaction. 

The girl thickly swallowed an angered lump down her throat before dramatically huffing out loud, "Sorry... Uncle."