The sun hung high in the sky, its golden rays beating down on the clearing where three figures stood poised for battle. The noon air shimmered slightly with the heat, but none of them paid it any mind. The only sounds were the rustling leaves swayed by the occasional breeze and the rhythmic chirping of cicadas in the distance.
Renjiro stood in the centre of the training ground, his crimson Sharingan gleaming as he twirled his staff weapon effortlessly in his hand. His grip was relaxed but firm, the wooden staff humming slightly as it cut through the air.
His dark red hair was tied back loosely, a few strands framing his sharp face. His black training outfit was already dusted with dirt from the earlier exchanges, but his smirk was unbothered.
Across from him, Hiro stood with a kunai in each hand, his obsidian eyes sharp with concentration. A competitive smirk played at the corners of his lips.
Not far from them, Sama stood with her arms crossed, a playful glint in her blue eyes. Her golden blonde hair caught the sunlight as she tilted her head slightly.
A moment passed.
Then, they moved.
Hiro shot forward first, kunai flashing as he closed the distance in an instant, his eyes locked onto Renjiro with unwavering focus. The sharp edge of the blade gleamed under the harsh noon sunlight, a quicksilver flash that sought to draw first blood. But the moment the steel threatened to pierce his guard, Renjiro's Sharingan spun, reading the angle, the force, and the intent behind the strike in a fraction of a second.
"Clang!"
The impact of the kunai against his staff sent a sharp vibration through his arms, but Renjiro absorbed it with ease, twisting his wrist deftly to redirect Hiro's weapon to the side. The moment Hiro's forward momentum was thrown off, Renjiro angled his staff downward, aiming to sweep his legs out from under him.
Hiro saw it coming just in time and leapt backwards, flipping midair before landing on the balls of his feet. But before he could fully recover, Sama surged forward from the side, her golden hair whipping behind her as she twisted her body into a spinning kick. The strike came fast, her heel slicing through the air like a scythe aimed directly at Renjiro's ribs.
Renjiro barely had time to adjust before the attack was upon him. He shifted his weight, stepping into Sama's attack just enough to lessen the force, before twisting at the last moment. The kick whistled past his side, missing him by mere inches, but Sama was already pivoting mid-air, using the missed strike to propel herself into another spinning assault.
Renjiro ducked under it, his staff flashing upward in a quick counterstrike, but Sama was already moving again. Her foot barely kissed the ground before she flipped backwards, landing gracefully a few feet away.
Renjiro straightened, rolling his shoulders with an exasperated sigh.
"Hiro, are we sure this is a three-way spar?" he mused, the edges of his lips twitching in amusement.
"You sound like you're complaining," Sama shot back, grinning as she exchanged a quick glance with Hiro.
Hiro scoffed, twirling his kunai between his fingers before lunging in again.
"It's not our fault you're the most annoying here," she added, her voice laced with amusement.
Renjiro sighed, shaking his head as he deflected another rapid flurry of slashes. His staff moved like a living thing in his hands, blocking and redirecting each strike with precise efficiency.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
The sharp clashes of steel against wood echoed through the training ground, a rhythmic dance of offence and defence.
Sama seized the opening and lunged in from the side, feinting a low kick before aiming a palm strike at Renjiro's chest. At the last second, Renjiro twisted his body and let the attack pass, using the momentum to bring his staff upward in a swift arc toward Sama's exposed back.
Sama barely managed to twist out of the way, the tip of the staff grazing her shoulder before she flipped away once more.
"So it's just easier to gang up on me?" Renjiro huffed, flipping backwards to avoid Hiro's sudden follow-up.
"Exactly," Sama smirked.
Renjiro exhaled through his nose, his Sharingan spinning faster as he took in their movements. He could see it now—the way their attacks flowed together, how Hiro would push him back while Sama would wait for an opening, their tactics forming a net designed to trap him.
'Clever.'
For a brief moment, he considered humouring them a little longer, testing their coordination further.
Then he decided he had had enough.
As Hiro and Sama rushed in from both sides, their attacks timed to box him in, Renjiro's hands blurred through a series of hand signs.
"Poof!"
Three identical clones of Renjiro materialized in bursts of smoke, each brandishing a staff just like the original. Without wasting a second, the clones split up—one joining Renjiro to overwhelm Hiro, while the other two turned on Sama.
Hiro barely had time to react before a shadow clone was upon him, striking at his defences with unrelenting speed. He blocked a downward strike with crossed kunai, but the sheer force of the attack sent him sliding back.
"Oh, come on!" Hiro groaned, shifting his weight just in time to avoid a second clone's attack from behind.
Sama had it even worse. The two clones attacking her worked in perfect sync, forcing her on the defensive as she struggled to counter their relentless assault. She barely managed to weave between the twin staff strikes, feeling the rush of air as each attack narrowly missed.
"What happened to fighting fair?" Sama called out, her voice strained as she flipped away from another incoming strike.
Renjiro, still sparring with Hiro, let out a dry chuckle.
"Oh? I thought you two were enjoying the numbers advantage," he quipped, twirling his staff before knocking Hiro's kunai clean out of his grip.
Hiro scowled but didn't back down. Instead, he quickly formed a hand sign.
"Fine then," he muttered.
"Poof!"
Two shadow clones appeared beside him, each armed and ready.
Renjiro raised an eyebrow.
"Cute," he said dryly.
And then, without missing a beat, he clapped his hands together.
"Poof!" "Poof!" "Poof!" "Poof!"
Hiro's jaw slackened as four additional Renjiro clones appeared.
"Oh, you little—!" Hiro barely managed to dodge as three clones descended upon him, forcing him back.
"If we're competing on numbers, just say so!" Renjiro taunted, watching Hiro's growing frustration.
Meanwhile, Sama was rapidly losing ground. Her movements were still sharp, but Renjiro's clones were relentless, striking from multiple angles and forcing her to react rather than attack. Sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead.
Minute by minute, the tide of battle shifted entirely in Renjiro's favour. Hiro's clones were picked off one by one, his movements growing sloppier with each passing moment. Sama, who had once danced effortlessly between attacks, now found herself barely keeping up.
Then—
Renjiro vanished.
Not just him, but all of his clones.
The sudden disappearance left an eerie silence in the training ground. The only sounds were Hiro and Sama's laboured breaths and the distant rustling of leaves in the wind.
Hiro's grip on his kunai tightened as his eyes darted around.
"Uh… Sama?" he muttered, his tone cautious.
Sama, still catching his breath, narrowed her eyes.
A sharp, high-pitched whistle cut through the silence.
Both Hiro and Sama's heads snapped upward—
There, perched casually on a thick tree branch high above them, was Renjiro.
He sat lazily, one leg dangling off the edge, his staff resting against his shoulder. His crimson Sharingan gleamed with four tomoes as he gazed down at them.
"Come on," he called, his voice laced with mischief.
"I'm up here."
His smirk deepened.
"You know you always look up to me."
=====
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