Blazing eyes (Uchiha OC/SI) chapter 56 (Patreon)

Chapter 56

After the intense fight with the Hyuga, Kaen looked forward to Shikamaru’s match. Yet he didn’t know if he should praise Shikamaru or be disappointed in him at the end of the match. Even after he countered all of Temari’s attacks, he still surrendered when he could have won if he pushed himself more. It was a wise decision, but it didn’t mean Kaen liked it.

Shikamaru’s tactics were brilliant, and Kaen recognized that the boy had planned the fight before it had begun. It was something many could learn from the boy. Yet, his lack of motivation to push himself was appalling. Kaen knew that the boy needed something to push over his comfort zone. But it wasn’t his job to motivate shinobi to do better. It was their sensei’s.

The third match, though, got Kaen’s attention. Shino Aburame vs. Sasuke Uchiha. The crowd was anticipating the fight, too. After all, Sasuke was the pride of the village, a genius of his generation—a member of the prestigious clan. Aburame clan was prestigious, too, but they were more isolationist than the rest, so they weren’t that famous.

“Congratulations on your daughter’s victory,” Kaen said.

“It was a pathetic show,” Rasa replied.

“If you are so disappointed in her, then you should have taught her better,” Kaen responded with a smirk.

“You should not speak of what you don’t know,” Rasa said coldly.

“Hoh?” Kaen was bemused. “You are weak, Rasa.”

“I cannot deny it when you say it, Kaen Uchiha,” Rasa replied. “Compared to you, I am weak. I see no way of fighting you and winning.”

“Yes, that is true, but not what I meant,” Kaen said. “What is truly pathetic about you is your will. It is pathetically weak. So, it is only natural for your children to inherit your weak will, too.”

“I would rather you not speak of riddles,” Rasa replied. “You sound as old as you are pretending to be.”

“Then, I will be frank, your lack of belief in your children manifested into their lack of belief in themselves,” Kaen said. “Their weaknesses are your doing, so if you have anyone to blame for their lacking skill and mind, look at yourself.”

“You have no children, Kaen Uchiha.”

“Neither do you, Kazekage-sama.”

…

Sasuke could feel the arena buzzing with anticipation. The previous match ended unsatisfying to many, including Sasuke and especially Naruto. But it mattered little to Sasuke as his match was about to begin. He could ignore everyone else, but he looked for Kaen in the crowd. He didn’t know why, but he wanted Kaen to see that he had gotten stronger.

The idiot, called Naruto, cheered, almost falling out into the arena. Sasuke sighed and took all his attention to Shino standing before him. Sasuke didn’t know much about him. He could tell that what he showed in preliminaries didn’t scratch the surface. Sasuke at least knew one thing: Kaen trained Shino, so he would need to defeat Shino fast. Otherwise, Shino will develop a plan to defeat him.

“Begin the match.”

As Hayate signaled for the start, Shino's demeanor didn’t change. He looked calm and composed. His signature insects began to stir, emerging from the folds of his high-collared jacket. They swarmed around him, forming a protective barrier as he took a few calculated steps forward. Sasuke didn’t rush. His instincts screamed to him to be careful.

Sharingan blazed as Sasuke locked his eyes on Shino's form, analyzing his opponent's movements. His hand moved instinctively to his kunai pouch, ready to react at a moment's notice. He stepped lightly on the sandy ground, his eyes never leaving Shino's form. A tense silence followed their movements. Sasuke’s hand twitched.

Shino's insects surged forward without warning, creating a wave that swept across the arena toward Sasuke. Sasuke leaped to the side, his agility evident as he flipped through the air to avoid the swarm. Almost out of instinct, Sasuke was about to weave his hands into signs to unleash fire upon the insects, but he stopped.

It was too simple. He could dodge them easily, and there was no need to exert himself now. Sasuke realized that Shino might have wanted him to do so. It now clicked to Sasuke that Shino dictated the fight so far and would have continued to do so if he hadn’t forced himself to stop. Shino's expression remained unchanged, his focus unwavering as he manipulated his insect army.

Sasuke's Sharingan observed the intricate movements of Shino's insects, analyzing their patterns. He made a series of precise hand seals, channeling chakra into his feet. In an instant, he disappeared from everybody’s sight. Using his Body Flicker jutsu, he learned from Kakashi to reappear behind Shino. Kunai in hand, Sasuke struck at Shino’s back.

Yet just as the kunai touched the clothes of Shino, Sasuke stopped. He couldn’t move his body apart from his eyes. He looked down to see insects getting out of the sand under his feet, forming a seal. Shino turned a half second later with his kunai, aiming for Sasuke’s neck. It would have been the end of the match if Sasuke didn’t anticipate a trap.

Lighting flashed under his feet, killing the insects and freeing him from the seal. Sasuke moved back to avoid the kunai. From his exchange alone, Sasuke could tell that Kaen taught Shino well. Sasuke might have been afraid if Shino had trained a year or two longer under Kaen. But he saw with his sharingan how slow Shino was. It meant that Shino’s physical prowess was lesser than most.

However, Shino wasn't one to be underestimated. He extended his arm, and a cloud of insects burst forth, forming a dense barrier between him and Sasuke. The insects moved in a coordinated dance, creating a maze Sasuke would need to navigate to reach him again. Sasuke's sharingan allowed him to see the subtle disturbances in the insects' movement patterns, but even he was surprised by kunai piercing through the cloud of insects flying toward him.

While deflecting the kunai thrown at him, Sasuke's eyes widened as the insects closed in on him. He could feel their presence, their numbers overwhelming. He knew he had to act quickly. Gathering his chakra, Sasuke performed a Body Flicker jutsu to escape. Yet the insects soon followed him from all directions, trying to trap him. Sasuke had no other choice but to dodge them.

“It seems our battle has reached an impasse for now,” Shino stated calmly as his insects swirled around him. “We've both shown each other our capabilities.”

“Don't think this is over,” Sasuke could tell that Shino wanted to unnerve him.

Too bad for him, Sasuke had trained under Kaen longer than him. Chakra surged through his limbs, and his form seemed to blur. The next moment, Sasuke appeared behind Shino. But instead of trying to strike Shino in the back and fall for another trap, Sasuke’s hand turned into a lighting blade as the chirping of a thousand birds could be heard and struck the ground.

The shockwave knocked Shino away and killed all the insects around Sasuke. Taking kunai from his pouch, Sasuke threw them at Shino, not letting him regain his bearings. Sasuke shouldn’t use Chidori again in this match. He needed to save his energy for Naruto. Instead, Sasuke copied Rock Lee’s style and rushed at Shino.

Sasuke moved faster than Shino could manipulate his insects. But he knew he couldn’t keep it up for long. Even if he loathed to admit it, Rock Lee’s body was stronger and more toned than his. The fight had gone on for too long already. He needed to finish it now. Sasuke knew that Shino couldn’t react fast enough to his movements, so once his sharingan found an opening, Sasuke struck.

Sasuke stepped forward, punching Shino’s stomach, and moved back while kicking Shino’s leg. Sasuke dodged to the side as insects tried to catch him, hitting Shino’s arm. As Shino tried to back off, Sasuke jumped over Shino, kicking his head. Then Sasuke grabbed Shino’s shoulders and threw him into the ground. Sasuke took his kunai and stabbed Shino’s neck.

Blood splattered as Sasuke’s kunai pierced Shino’s hand. Sasuke saw Shino’s eyes from his broken sunglasses. They said one thing. I caught you. Shino’s sunk into the ground as insects replaced him, swarming Sasuke. As he moved back, he still felt insects crawling on his body. He needed to get them off quickly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he could hear Kaen lecturing him about falling for such a trap. Sasuke still ended up underestimating Shino. Sasuke saw Shino standing on uneasy legs and changing his sunglasses as he felt his chakra drained. Sasuke moved his hands or tried as he felt the insects biting into them and obstructing his movement.

Sasuke's vision blurred as the insects persisted in their assault. But even as his strength faded, his determination burned brighter. He couldn't allow himself to be defeated here, not by a swarm of insects. Sasuke focused his chakra in his hands and created fire embers to scare off the insects. When he felt his hands freeing, he quickly moved them, making lightning and striking himself.

The electricity ran through his body. It was weak but enough to kill the insects. Sasuke saw Shino, his usually composed demeanor shaken by the unexpected events, even though he didn’t expect it. Sasuke clenched his fists, feeling the remnants of his chakra surge within him. He wouldn't let this fight slip away before Shino could use his insects again. Sasuke leaped at him.

“I give up,” Shino said, and Sasuke had to stop his fist just before Shino’s face.

The arena fell into a hushed silence. Sasuke still wanted to punch Shino in the face, but he took a deep breath and dropped his arm. Sasuke's breaths came in heavy pants, his body aching from the exertion. But his victory was clear. He had overcome the swarm, outsmarted the traps, and broken through Shino's defenses. Yet he felt unsatisfied.

It felt that all his movements were predicted and planned for. Of course, there was no way Shino knew all his skills and jutsu, but he still managed to counter them. He could feel the eyes of the crowd upon him, the weight of their expectations, but there was only one person he sought in the sea of faces. He looked at Naruto. Sasuke shall await their match.

The blonde shinobi was grinning and giving him a thumbs-up. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but his expression showed a hint of camaraderie. As the medics rushed to attend to Shino, Sasuke turned and left the arena, his steps heavy, but his spirit lightened. He learned a lesson today and shall not underestimate anyone anymore, as he knew the battles ahead would be even more challenging.

…

Kakashi turned his eyes from Sasuke as he left the arena and looked at Kaen. He saw Kaen smirking, even if his student was defeated. Not only did he look proud of his student and Sasuke’s performance, but he also seemed satisfied. He didn’t look concerned as he did when Hinata’s fight ended. Kakashi wasn’t surprised, as he was too happy to see Shino put Sasuke to the edge multiple times.

Kakashi was happy with the next generation of shinobi. Rock Lee proved to be a formidable taijutsu specialist. Kiba showed the strength of the Inuzuka clan. Shikamaru proved that his intelligence overshadows others. It was now Naruto’s turn to prove that he was more than a demon the village put their hatred towards.

“Whoo, Sasuke!” Sakura cheered

Naruto's energetic cheers rang out in the stands, his voice rising above the rest. Sakura joined in the celebration, her smile bright as she clapped enthusiastically. The camaraderie among the young shinobi was palpable, a testament to the bonds they had forged through shared challenges and victories. Kakashi couldn’t be more proud of them.

Of course, Kakashi was concerned about Naruto’s match, too. Two jinchuriki fighting each other definitely won’t be boring. However, Kaen didn’t look concerned as he watched Naruto enter the arena. Gaara of the Sand followed behind Naruto closely. Even from here, Kakashi could feel the bloodlust coming from Gaara.

Kakashi's eyes were fixed on Naruto, his student, who had come far from the mischievous boy he once knew. Naruto's determination and growth were evident, and Kakashi knew that this match would test his abilities. He only hoped the blonde wouldn’t push himself too much. But Kakashi knew that Naruto wouldn’t give up on the fight no matter what.