Chapter 6 : The Dual Beings
Ren walked to the center of the training ground, the jeers of the crowd a dull roar in his ears. He stopped, turning to face Asuma, who stalked towards him, fists clenched, face still flushed with anger. "Just remember," Ren said, his voice flat and carrying, "don't go crying to Daddy when this is over."
The air crackled with tension. Asuma, fueled by rage and pride, didn't wait for formalities. His hands blurred through seals with surprising speed for his age – **Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram → Tiger.**
**"Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique!"** Asuma exhaled sharply. A dense, blinding cloud of chakra-infused dust erupted from his mouth, billowing towards Ren, obscuring his vision and stinging his eyes.
Ren reacted instantly, Uchiha reflexes kicking in. He leapt backwards, not away from the cloud, but diagonally, putting a thick training post between himself and the main blast. Simultaneously, his hands flew through seals – **Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger.**
**"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"** A torrent of roaring orange flames, smaller than a full adult's but still impressive for his age, erupted from Ren's mouth. It wasn't aimed at Asuma, but *into* the base of the dust cloud directly in front of him. The fireball ignited the dust particles in a brief, spectacular flash of light and heat, consuming the cloud and momentarily illuminating the field.
Through the dissipating haze, Ren saw Asuma already moving, flanking around the post. Shuriken whistled through the air – three from Asuma's left hand, aimed low at Ren's legs, while two kunai followed a split second later, arcing higher towards his torso. The Uchiha training was evident; the throws were precise, fast, and designed to limit evasion angles.
Ren didn't dodge conventionally. He dropped low, spinning on the ball of one foot, his hand snatching two kunai from his thigh pouch mid-motion. *Clang! Clang!* He deflected the two higher kunai with swift, precise strikes of his own blades. The shuriken thudded harmlessly into the ground where his legs had been. He used the momentum of his spin to launch his own counter: a fan of six shuriken, not directly at Asuma, but ahead of his predicted path, forcing him to check his advance or deflect.
Asuma growled, batting two shuriken aside with a kunai, ducking under a third, and letting the others sail past. He closed the distance, kunai flashing in a vicious cross-body slash. Ren met it, kunai clashing, sparks flying. They locked blades, strength against strength. Asuma, slightly bulkier, began to force Ren back.
**"Too slow, Uchiha!"** Asuma spat, trying to wrench Ren's blade aside. Ren disengaged smoothly, hopping back and throwing a smoke bomb at his own feet. *Poof!* A thick grey cloud enveloped him.
Asuma hesitated for a fraction of a second, wary of a trap. That was all Ren needed. He burst *through* the smoke not away, but *towards* Asuma, low and fast, leading with a kunai thrust aimed at Asuma's thigh. Asuma cursed, twisting violently. The kunai grazed his pants, drawing a thin line of blood. He retaliated with a heavy roundhouse kick that Ren barely blocked with his forearm, the impact sending a jolt of pain up his arm.
They separated again, breathing heavily. The crowd roared, thrilled by the exchange.
**"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"** Asuma formed a single-handed seal (Tiger) and thrust his palm forward. A concentrated blast of wind, sharp enough to cut, ripped towards Ren. Ren couldn't dodge fully. He crossed his arms, channeling chakra into a basic defensive barrier. The wind hit like a truck, shredding his sleeves, carving shallow cuts on his forearms, and hurling him backwards. He skidded across the dirt, managing to roll to his feet but visibly shaken. The ache behind his eyes flared hotter.
Asuma pressed. He charged, kunai a silver blur. Ren parried desperately, the sheer force of Asuma's blows driving him back step by step. Asuma feinted high, then swept low with his leg. Ren jumped, but Asuma was ready. He abandoned his kunai mid-swing, grabbed Ren's ankle mid-air, and used his momentum to slam him hard onto his back. *Thud!* The air exploded from Ren's lungs.
Before Ren could recover, Asuma was on him, pinning one arm with his knee, his remaining kunai pressed against Ren's throat. Blood trickled from the shallow cut on Asuma's leg, mingling with the dust on Ren's face.
**"See?"** Asuma panted, triumph blazing in his eyes, his voice loud for the crowd. **"All that Uchiha hype? Just smoke and mirrors. You're weak. Your clan talks a big game about power and eyes, but when it counts? You fold. Pathetic."**
The crowd erupted in cheers and jeers. "Weakling!" "Uchiha fraud!" "Asuma-sama!" The insults rained down.
Ren lay pinned, gasping, the kunai cold against his skin. Pain radiated from his back, his arms, his ribs. The throbbing behind his eyes was a drumbeat of agony. Then, a sound started. Low, guttural. It built, harsh and utterly devoid of humor. Laughter. Ren laughed, blood bubbling slightly at the corner of his mouth, his eyes staring past Asuma at the sky.