As it turned out, Masaru's luck with jutsu did not extend very far. He had learned the substitution jutsu well enough to preform it nearly every time, but progress with his other jutsu were slow.
Namely, the Kano clan's hijutsu, the Thousand Blade Jutsu. It was rather simple, but because of that its applications were complex. In its essence, the jutsu allowed Kano clan members to split their blades into segments and control them individually.
Where it gains its true power is when one is able to control it better, meaning they can split their blades into more and more fragments. Genzo, the clan head, was said to be able to do this to such an extent that he could turn his blade into dust.
Masaru took a deep breath, holding his katana with both hands in a stable stance, and channeled his chakra into the hilt of the blade. There, a fuinjutsu formation sucked it up and helped him activate the jutsu in the stead of hand symbols.
A pulse of chakra rippled through his katana before it split into six parts. From the tip, each segment ended in a 'V' like shape that pointed towards the hilt. And now Masaru held the handle of a whip-like sword in his hands. If one ignored the handle, there were five blades floating in the air.
An unconscious smile spread on his lips as he felt the hum of chakra flowing through the blade to keep the form active. It always felt surreal to Masaru how he was able to do mystical things relatively easy.
"Now go through your forms." Maruboshi advised.
Masaru took another breath before he moved, slowly moving through different slashes and thrusts. Sweat quickly grew across his brow as the blades progressively shook more and more as time went on.
He'd managed just nine moves before his concentration broke and his blade suddenly snapped back together seamlessly, as if it had never been separated at all.
"Damnit!" Masaru panted, taking deep breaths. "It's...It's just so much to keep track of."
Maruboshi stepped forward, a thoughtful look on his face. "I can't help you much as I've never learned it myself. Do you mind describing it to me?"
Masaru thought for a moment. This was his clan's hijutsu, and while it wasn't one of the more powerful, it was still incredibly versatile and sought after. Especially among those who prefer swords. But, it should be alright to tell him what he's having trouble with.
"I have to control all the parts individually. It's easier when I keep them close like I did, but it's still a lot to keep track of at once."
Maruboshi sighed, but nodded. "Unfortunately I don't have experience with something similar. My only advise is to keep practicing."
Masaru took a quick break, then rose to his feet again readying his blade once more. "Again."
---
Later that day, Masaru found himself strolling through the village near sunset. As always, it was incredibly peaceful.
The air was crisp and smelled savory as he walked up to a food stand, one that he had fond feelings for. Opening the flap covering the entrance, he saw that he wasn't the only one that came for a meal.
To the side, on the far seat, was a young kid with bright yellow hair. He was incredibly young in fact, probably just around four by his estimate. Masaru looked away as if he didn't recognize the boy, because he had no right to anyways. '...Uzumaki Naruto, the child of prophesy and the jinchuriki of Kurama. I should have expected to run into him here. Shit, there's probably Ambu and Root crawling all over the place.'
Despite his thoughts, he smiled kindly at the chef. "Hello Teuchi-san! I'll take my usual with extra spice today!"
The older man grinned and started preparing his food. "How was school today Masaru?"
"I was injured yesterday so I don't have to go this week, but training went great." He told him. "How's business today?"
Teuchi shrugged. "Kinda slow today, but I don't think it's going to get any better with the situation with the land of Frost..."
Masaru nodded. He'd heard all about the war happening to the north from Maruboshi. From what he could tell, it was a war between the land of Frost and Hot Waters, but in reality it was a proxy war between Konoha and Kumo. They'd already sent a good portion of their shinobi there to help as Kumo had done the same.
'It's likely that some of us are going to be sent there after we graduate. And that means I need to train even harder. I can't go into a warzone as I am or there's no chance I walk out alive.'
He sighed as his meal was set in front of him, which he thanked Teuchi profusely for and happily paid the man his due. His thoughts continued to circle around his near future, as well as what he would do after his predicted time in war. Masaru imagined that if he made it out alive, he'd have grown immensely, but he couldn't truly predict that just yet.
As he was eating, a new presence entered and sat next to him. He didn't look or care, since it was a small shop, but something in the man's voice sent alarms through him. "Hello again Teuchi-san. I think I'll try the beef mix today."
Masaru's hand stopped for a fraction of a second before he forced it to keep moving. He knew that voice. It was younger than he remembered, but there was no chance he could ever forget the voice of his favorite character from the original series.
Finally, he glanced over and saw just who he expected. The young man sitting next to him was his age, with ear length black hair and onyx eyes, and he had sharp features. Uchiha Itachi, and he was looking right at him as well.
Masaru did his best to keep his cool, but he knew he couldn't hide everything, so he went with a random idea that popped into his head. His eyes widened and a quick smile found its way onto his face as he held out a hand. "Are you Uchiha Itachi? I've always wanted to meet you!"
He had let his inner fanboy out.
Itachi seemed surprised by that reaction, as he took a moment to return the shake. "Yes, I am. Have we met before?"
Masaru shook his head, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, no sorry. I've seen you from afar once or twice, but I've heard all about you from the others in the academy!"
Itachi raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "I heard you just started late, how are you doing catching up?"
"It was hard at first, but I found a good teacher. We started with taijutsu and now we're working on jutsu and kenjutsu..." He hesitated for a moment. "...But I'm honestly more worried about after I graduate."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Well, Maruboshi sensei's told me about the war in the land of Hot Water, and I'm fairly certain that the village is going to be sending us there after we graduate." Masaru said numbly, sipping at the broth.
Itachi was again surprised by Masaru, but this time of his intelligence. He of course already knew of the plans to send a new wave of shinobi to reinforce their efforts there, but he didn't expect someone still in the academy to figure that out just by his teacher mentioning it.
'Hmm...' He eyed Masaru for a moment before moving to his own bowl. "Well, I'm sure that the village won't be sending anyone off without some measure of training. Otherwise we'd just be wasting the potential of our newest shinobi."
Masaru nodded, taking a deep breath, and gave Itachi a big smile. "Thank you for speaking with me today, Itachi-san! I'd like it if we could be friends! Maybe you could help me train?"
Itachi didn't say anything for the longest time, his expression giving nothing away, but soon a slow smile found it's way onto his lips. "Sure. It's not often I get along with those my age."
Izumi's face flashed through Masaru's mind, and he though for a moment that they may have had an argument before he graduated, but he filed that away for now.
Finishing off his bowl, he wiped his mouth and silently placed some extra ryo on the counter, gesturing towards the now sleeping Naruto. Teuchi understood and nodded without saying anything. Finally getting up, he patted Itachi on the shoulder.
"Well, I have more training to get to so I'll leave you to your meal. Come find me if you ever want to spar!"
Itachi watched him walk away for a moment before turning back to his meal, and soon a kunoichi walked in, a porcelain mask with the features of a deer covering her features. "What are your thoughts, captain?"
Itachi thought for a moment, but shook his head. "He seems to know the boy, but in my opinion he doesn't have any intentions for him. And he seems quite busy preparing for graduation and his assignment afterward."
Fawn nodded, trusting her captain. "I'll relay the message."
Sitting alone, Itachi slowly finished eating. "...A friend, huh?"
|AN| Holy cow this is much longer than I intended.