Hatake Pride

Part X

~Kashin~

~Thump thump, Thump thump~

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, it is that we are powerful beyond measure...

~Thump thump, Thump thump~

My fear is that I can not control such power, that I will harm someone I care about again and not be able to do anything about it...

~Thump thump, Thump thump~

"Shinobi Battle Skill number 1: Taijutsu," Father says as he pulls a kunai out of his weapons pouch and spins it in his hand.

"You are pretty good at this already but I'll start with it anyway," He catches the kunai and stands ready.

I to prepare myself for his attack, bringing my right arm up, palm facing my Father while sliding my left foot back slightly, and hovering my left hand over my own weapons pouch.

"Hmm, not a bad stance, good posture." Father hums before racing toward me.

I shove my hand into my pouch, pulling out my own kunai and clashing it with his. We stare into the eyes of each other as we wage our battle of dominance. My enhanced strength getting the better of my Father, causing him to pull back and jump away, backflipping onto a branch on a nearby tree. I shove both my hands behind my back, bringing them back in front of myself, crossed with shuriken in between my fingers. I hurled the star-like weapons at the ninja before me, watching him dodge the first set only for the second set to hit him in the neck, side, and leg.

I stared wide-eyed at the older male as he then began to fall from the tree, unconscious. I froze in my position, watching my Father hit the floor before a puff of smoke obscured my view and a log replaced the body. My eyes widened even further and I stepped back, my breathing picking up.

"Boo," Father's voice sounded behind me before my feet were grabbed and a rope pulled me upside down and left me hanging in a tree.

I stared at the white-haired male in front of me with a look of disbelieve.

"Y... you're ok..." I breathed.

"Of course, a simple attack like that, no matter how accurate, isn't enough to take me down," He gave me a closed-eyed smile.

"T-then what was that?" I point at the log.

"Substitution jutsu," He answered.

"Makes ambush attacks easier the quicker you can use it." He added

I nodded, taking a breath before sighing heavily and closing my eyes, allowing my body to lazily hang there.
________________________________________________________________________________

"Shinobi Battle Skill number 2: Genjutsu," Father said.

"I'm afraid I only know one without my Sharingan, and I'm not going to put you through it, it is quite a gruesome technique, but I am going to teach you how to recognize and control genjutsu, should you ever be put in one," Father added.

I nodded.

"Genjutsus are solely for distraction purposes or mental harm, they aren't real, illusions made by an opponent to throw you off." He explained.

I nodded again, showing him I understood.

"Now, there are a few ways of countering genjutsu, one - the victim's chakra flow, if disrupted enough, can break the caster's influence, two - pain that is not caused by the genjutsu can bring the victim back to their senses and three - If a caster's vision is obstructed, such as by another jutsu, that at least prevents the use of an ocular genjutsu, understand?" Father asked.

"I think so," I nod.

"Good, now despite its usefulness, genjutsu is rarely employed, most shinobi preferring the real, tangible effects of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu over the imagined effects of genjutsu. The difficulty of performing genjutsu in the first place presents an additional barrier to its use, genjutsu requires precise chakra control in order to manipulate the target's senses and advanced intelligence to make the illusion convincing," Father added.

I nodded again.

"Ok, then," He nodded.

"Shinobi Battle Skill number 3: Ninjutsu..." Father said before weaving hand signs my eyes could not follow.

'Amazing' I awed at how fast he formed signs.

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique," Father said before he disappeared into the ground.

I paused, looking around before something grabbed my ankle. I looked down to see a hand around my foot, jerking me down and underground.

"Woah!" I exclaimed before I was buried full-body save for my head underground.

I then watched Father jump back into view before placing his hands on his hips and smirking.

"Perfect technique for restricting body and hand movements. Can't have you using any of those nasty Wind Styles on me," He sang as he looked down at me.

"This isn't exactly fair..." I say looking at the ground around my neck.

"And?" Father asked.

"I don't like unfair..." I say, scowling.

I shut my eyes and gathered my strength, pushing my chakra into my hands and arms before shaking my body, loosening the ground. I clenched my fists and looked up at Father to see his eyes wide before he jumped away and I broke the ground around me, pulling myself out of the hole and dusting myself off.

"Your strength sure is impressive Kashin," Father said watching me from his perch.

"I know," I smirk, forming hand signs before looking at him.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough," I blow a harsh wind at the tree Father was in, blowing some leaves off the tree and Father away.

I watched him jump from tree to tree and I followed with my jutsu, attacking him before he got the chance to attack me.

"And..." He suddenly appeared behind me.

"Gotcha," He added knocking me off my feet, onto my knees and holding a kunai to my throat.

I lowered my head, relaxing my body as I surrendered, holding my hands slightly up.

"Why do you just give up?" Father asked, but not moving.

"Because you have beaten me, trying to resist someone as strong as you once you have the upper hand is pointless," I answer.

Father pulled his kunai away and stepped back.

"You have been trained well, but let me ask you something Kashin, do you want to be a ninja?" Father asked as I turned to look at him.

"Yes!" I answered quickly.

"Why?" Father added.

"Why?... Do I need a reason why?" I asked.

"Yes," Father said.

"You can't simply want to be a ninja just for the fun of it, becoming a ninja needs to mean something to you, there needs to be an ambition, a goal in life you'd want to achieve after receiving such training." Father lectured.

"I... haven't thought about it that way..." I lower my head again.

"Don't worry, think about it, and when you have an answer, come back to me. For the time being, just have fun." Father finished before turning to walk away.

'Hmmm, a reason why I'd want to be a skilled warrior...' I think to myself.

"Come on, let's head home," Father called me.

"Right, coming!" I jogged up after him.