The Training Ground 36 felt cool beneath the setting sun. Itachi and Enji stood facing each other a few meters apart.
" Enji san, let's discuss the rules of the spar.
No ninja tools and no jutsus. Only pure taijutsu techniques."
" What about enhancing your body with chakra?"
Enji enquired.
" You can do that too?" Itachi asked surprised.
" Yeah, i have a veteran jounin teaching me, it was hard to tank his strikes without it. I subconsciously did it when he was using me as a punching bag during a spar." Enji replied scratching his head.
Itachi nodded as he remembered his training spars,with the Uchiha clan elders. They never went easy on him.
" No chakra enhancement too. It's too dangerous without any medic ninja overseeing the spar."
" No jutsu, no tools, no chakra, only taijutsu skill. Ok, got it." Enji replied and started warming up and stretching.
He rolled his shoulders once, calm, composed - his breath steady. Across from him, Itachi stood in his usual silent posture, eyes sharp, assessing.
Enji didn't rush. His body - taller, heavier, and built through months of training with weighted vest and bands ,gave him an advantage most children lacked. He let his arms hang loose, knees slightly bent, every movement measured.
Itachi moved first. A darting step, quick and efficient, snapping a low kick toward Enji's left shin.
Enji didn't even flinch - with a simple lift of his leg he let the kick land on his shin.
'That felt like kicking a wooden post' Itachi winced as his kick landed.
Enji countered with a long jab with his right fist, his reach forcing Itachi to backpedal.
Enji pressed on, throwing a straight punch toward Itachi's chest.
Itachi blocked both with crossed arms, the impact pushing him back several feet. His forearms stung from the raw weight.
' His strikes are too strong. I need to dodge as many as I can, redirect which I cannot dodge and never rely on blocking.' Itachi immediately readjusted his strategy ,as he felt pain course through his arms.
Enji lunged with a front kick to the torso.
Itachi deflected the kick with his left arm to the side opening up Enji's torso, for a straight jab towards his ribs.
Enji braced for the hit, shifting his weight onto his planted foot, gathering power at his hips, and effortlessly changing the redirected front kick into a twisted high kick towards itachi's head.
Both of their strikes landed at the same time.
Enji sucked in a breath, feeling the pain along his ribs, but immediately recovered ; while Itachi was forced to step back a few feet, his left arm just in time , blocking the kick to his face.
' He's good.' both of them thought at the same time.
' No wasted movements, no flashy moves. Flawless transition between each moves. Each strike at the joints, pressure points or vital organs.
Plus, he is stronger, more resilient and maybe even faster. This is going to be rough.'
Itachi thought as he prepared for a tough fight.
The fight got his blood pumping, making him excited.
' He has adapted to the rhythm, a prodigy indeed.'
Enji smile grew as he decided to increase the strength and speed behind his strikes.
The world seemed to pause for second as they regathered their focus.Then they moved.
Enji stepped forward, his fist lancing toward Itachi's chest like a hammer. Itachi's eyes narrowed , he deflected the strike with a light parry, pivoted, and darted in with a palm strike aimed at Enji's chest. The blow landed with a muffled thud, but Enji's torso barely shifted. His elbow shot backward like a piston, forcing Itachi to duck low, the wind of the strike grazing his hair.
Itachi immediately rolled onto the side narrowly dodging the follow up punch from Enji.
Itachi was immediately upon his heels, waiting for the next flurry of blows.
The world blurred - punch, dodge, kick, block, strike, redirect. Enji's movements were heavy but fluid, his body like a weighted boulder in constant motion.
Itachi's strikes began to get faster, more precise ,avoiding any unnecessary movements, intent to conserve his energy and stamina.
But each contact numbed his arms, each blocked strike jarred his bones.
Itachi rushed in again, barely slipping past, the knuckles brushing his ear. He countered with lightning-quick jabs at Enji's midsection, each strike sharp and precise. But Enji's left arm swatted away each one with minimal movements.
He retaliated instantly , a knee snapped upward, forcing Itachi to twist midair, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.
Before his sandals even touched earth, Enji's fist was already there, forcing Itachi to cross his arms and take the impact, his body skidding across the dirt in a shower of dust.
What followed was a jumping axe kick.
Itachi held his arms up, blocking the kick, unable to dodge in time. He was forced to his knee under the strain. Itachi somehow managed to push Enji back, and rolled backwards to create some distance.
Once he gathered his bearings he darted back in, exchanging a flurry of strikes - left, right, kick, elbow, punch. Enji blocked with relaxed efficiency, each defense flowing into the next. When an opening appeared, he punished it with a body blow, his fist sinking into Itachi's side. Itachi gritted his teeth, redirecting the force by spinning out, then countering with a whip-like kick to Enji's ribs. The taller boy caught it with his arm, shoved it aside, and immediately surged forward with a push strike.
Enji continued with unrelenting pressure, fist whipping about faster and faster,
Itachi weaved through the first two, parried the third, but the fourth smashed against his shoulder, spinning him half a step. He redirected the momentum, rolling under Enji's follow-up kick, and came up with a rising strike to Enji's chin. The hit connected . Enji's head snapped back, but his gaze didn't waver. His hand shot out like a whip, aiming for Itachi's temple.
Itachi tilted, barely slipping past, the knuckle brushing his nose. He countered with lightning-quick punches, three rapid liver shots, each strike sharp and precise. But Enji only let out a slight grunt. He retaliated instantly ,a knee snapped upward, forcing Itachi to twist midair, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow. Before his sandals even touched earth, Enji's fist was already there, forcing Itachi to cross his arms and take the impact, his body skidding across the dirt in a shower of dust.
Itachi landed, knees bending under the strain, chest heaving, with bruises visible on his arms and legs.
Enji, in contrast, stood tall, only winded and with few bruises on his arms and one on his chin.
For a long moment, they stared at each other. Then Enji let his hands drop,walked towards Itachi and performed the seal of reconciliation.
He helped Itachi up.
"You're good," he said simply, his voice carrying a faint warmth.
Itachi rose slowly, his eyes burning with quiet respect. " "Enji san… among all the peers I've sparred with, you've given me the toughest fight."
Enji shook his head.
" No, this fight was disadvantageous to you from the start. I am older than you by about a year. I am taller giving me more reach, physically more developed, hence being stronger than you. Also since there was no ninja tools, jutsu or any use of chakra, you had removed all your strengths from the equation.
You were actually fighting with a handicap."
Itachi disagreed, " You must have also mastered some jutsus, and if you had used chakra enhanced strength, i wouldn't have lasted this long."
"Well let's leave it at that. Come let me take you to the infirmary for patchup and check for any hidden injuries."
Enji helped Itachi up and they started walking towards the infirmary.
The medic-nin on duty glanced at them with a weary sigh, already used to overly enthusiastic sparring sessions between students. After a quick check-up, they were send back with bandages wrapped around Itachi's forearm and an ice pack for Enji's chin.
"Try not to destroy each other before graduation," the medic muttered under his breath, making Enji smirk.
As they stepped out of the infirmary into the fading light, Enji glanced sideways at Itachi. "Hungry?"
" Sorry, Enji san. I have to go home to meet my baby brother. I'm already a bit late."
"It's okay, maybe some other time."
' I forgot this guy's obsession with his baby brother' Enji thought amusedly, almost laughing aloud.
" Let's spar every 4 days, that will give us enough time in between to rest and to digest our gains."
Enji proposed as he cleared his mind from gossppy thoughts.
" Agreed, Enji san"
" Drop these honorofics, just call me Enji, and be ready for the next spar."
Waving a his hand, Enji departed,humming a tune,rushing towards the market place.
Watching Enji depart, Itachi's lips curved into the faintest smile, rare, fleeting, but real. As he walked away, the worries of war, death, and duty no longer pressed quite so heavily on his young heart. Instead, for the first time, he thought about what it meant to have a friend ... and a rival.