Naruto Another

'I wonder if he'll do the same thing today' Noboru sat up in his bed and clenched his fists grabbing the pendant Chocho had given him.

'But I guess it's Mikan. If she's there watching me, and if she's the one Sejin puts in danger then-then I'll be okay. If he endangers Mikan there's no way I won't unlock my Kiidogan.'

Squeezing the pendant one last time in his hand, he removed the necklace and hid it in his nightstand next to his bed. He slipped out and got ready for the day. He bathed and ate even though he felt too nervous to do so, and then he did his morning stretches. Due to today's event the Kosutta complex was more lively than usual with clan members preparing to watch the big fight.

Noboru found himself outside pacing the courtyard thinking everything through.

It wasn't long before he was approached by one of the Kosutta jonin.

"Young master," Natsuki said with a bow, "If it pleases you I will not be offended if you saw me in place of your lord father during your battle today."

Noboru grimaced at the thought. "I don't like you, but my disdain for you does not exceed my hatred for Sejin."

Noboru stopped pacing and looked up at Natsuki.

"After all, he's the one who ordered you to bring me back."

"That's what loyalty means young master, I will gladly do it again if need be."

Natsuki was a tall man at 6 feet 10 and built like a gorilla. He always did what Sejin asked of him no matter the cost, and as a Jonin he'd completed more A-ranked missions than both Minori and Minaka when she was still active in Amegakure.

"Where is Minaka?" Noboru asked bluntly.

"I'm unaware, and if I was I would not tell you without your lord fathers consent."

After a brief pause, Natsuki continued.

"Good luck today young master; please do not forget your place, and remember to be grateful to have a seat at the table - there are many who would love to pull it out from under you."

Natsuki left making his way toward the sacred training compound at the edge of Kosutta territory.

Noboru swallowed hard and was about to follow him. It was about time for their fight after all. It was time for him to use everything Mikan, and Minaka taught him. He needed to awaken his Kiidogan, participate in the Mock Exams, and marry Chocho. That's what his sister wanted for him, and so that's what he would do.

Before Noboru began his walk alone Minori placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't pay that pansy ass any mind Noboru. You got this."

The two started their walk toward the compound.

Noboru was not close enough to Minori to consider him a brother, but he was close enough to be considered a friend or at the very least an ally. Minori's presence calmed him down a bit.

"Any advice?" Noboru asked, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, " Minori said, "don't overthink it. Remember to go all out - fight as though your life depends on it. If you do that, the Kiidogan will awaken naturally."

Noboru had another question, but he hesitated to ask it.

"Mikan."

Minori flinched at hearing the name.

"She's here today... Right?"

The Kosutta chunin averted Noboru's gaze and looked straight ahead at the compound.

"I-I see."

As the two entered they parted ways. The building was large, and in the center was a giant field of sand, and rock. On the sidelines were long wooden rows of seats, and every single one of them was full.

'There are more people here than there were at Mikan's ceremony.'

Though Noboru didn't recognize any of them except for Rubin who was seated toward the front, and the Ito brothers toward the back. One of the brothers looked to be giving him a thumbs up, Noboru grinned at that.

But his smile soon faded as he entered the center of the arena. The laughter, and the casual conversations all drew to a deathly silent stop. Noboru could hear his heartbeat and the sound of someone else walking into the arena from the opposite entrance. It was his lord father Sejin Kosutta, head of the clan.

Noboru scanned the sidelines once more looking for Mikan trying to find her amongst the crowd, but she wasn't there - she wasn't anywhere to be found.

'I'm alone.'

Noboru walked until he was about ten meters away from his father. Sejin looked at his son with contempt and expectation.

No announcement was needed, and no words had to be said. Everyone knew what they were there for.

"You don't need me to tell you what will happen if you don't succeed do you?" Sejin asked.

"I'm going to Point Break, and I'm going to fight in the Mock Exams!"

His voice had cracked.

'At least I hope I will.'

Even Noboru knew there was no conviction in his words, but despite that Noboru pressed on.

Noboru slowly revealed a handful of smoke bombs from the pouch on his waist.

'Here goes nothing.'

He threw the smoke bombs on the ground, and the instant they exploded smoke began to fill the room.

Sejin did his best to peer through the smoke. He carefully awaited Noboru's next move, but a full minute had passed and still nothing came.

"You're relying on subterfuge instead of facing me directly?!" Sejin yelled. "How cowardly, even Mikan dared to fight me head-on-"

Wham!

A section of the smoke was broken through. An invisible fist smashed into Sejin's face.

"What?" Rubin called out surprised. The audience wasn't quite sure what was happening. How did Noboru land a hit?

Sejin stepped backward in an attempt to recover. He brought a hand to his red cheek and looked around in a panic, and it happened again. Sejin felt his body twist, and contort as he fell to one knee holding his stomach. Noboru had landed yet another blow.

Even Natsuki was surprised at Noboru's move. What exactly did he do to gain the upper hand?

"You can thank Minaka for that," Minori said studying Natsuki's reaction.

"Thanks to her Noboru can cast ninjutsu with only one hand. A feat that you and I are still incapable of doing."

"O-One hand?! T-Then that means!"

"Exactly Natsuki, it means Noboru doesn't need to say the words to cast jutsu. He used the smoke bombs to buy himself some time, and within the smoke, he cast the 'Air Current Dance' with one hand. Since Sejin-"

"Lord Sejin, Minori."

"...Since Lord Sejin didn't hear the words he wasn't expecting any kind of ninjutsu. That's why Noboru was able to catch him off guard."

"But I've seen him train with Lord Sejin; his 'Air Current Dance' is in a miserable state."

"You've seen him cast the jutsu with two hands. Not one Natsuki. It's possible Noboru has been practicing casting the jutsu with one hand in his free time picking up where Minaka left off."

"Hmph."

Sejin was the strongest Kosutta to come out of the clan in decades. Now that he'd adjusted to the situation he was easily able to predict Noboru's next move.

He raised his arm, and caught Noboru's invisible hand.

"Your moves have always been the same boy," Sejin pulled Noboru in, raised his elbow, and slammed it down onto the nape of his neck.

For a brief instant, Noboru was visible again. Everyone could see Noboru's eyes bulging, his mouth open, and they could hear the spit hit the sand beneath him but then like a candle in a rainstorm, he was gone again. Sejin, still holding Noboru's arm, threw his invisible son across the arena.

The audience could see the path his body made as it skirted across the sand, and they could see the smoke from his bombs swallow him whole as he moved through them.

Without hesitating Sejin started to walk toward his son. He raised his hands, and cast "Wind Style: Air Current Dance" He said, and just like that Sejin too was gone.

Watching from the sidelines both Natsuki, and Minori smiled.

"This is where the fun begins," Minori remarked.

Both chunin knew that despite Noboru's disdain for Sejin they still trained together often, and they were both now engaged in what was considered the "Kosutta Dance" When two Kosutta clan shinobi cast the 'Air Current Dance' jutsu, and fought hand to hand it was a dual of sorts.

'I remember when Minaka and I used to do this all the time.' Minori reminisced.

Because of how often they trained together both combatants knew each other's moves or at least they thought they did.

"In a way, this will reveal who knows more about the other. The young master or Lord Sejin," Natsuki remarked.

And then they clashed. No one could see anything clearly through the smoke but it was clear the two were extending blows. The exchanges were so tough that smoke from the bombs blew through the audience as if they were powerful gusts of wind.

Sand flew up due to kicks, and trips, and falls, and at one point one of the fighters had clearly thrown sand in the other's face. They couldn't see each other, and the audience couldn't see them, but they were captivated nonetheless.

"I would've loved to see Mikan do this during her fight with Sejin," Natsuki remarked.

After another minute of bouts, and exchanging blows Noboru's invisibility began to waver fluctuating between visible, and non-visible. As his body became clearer, and clearer it was evident that he was not doing well.

He was bruised, bleeding, and limping, but despite that, he pushed onward.

"While I'm disappointed you did not share this improvement of yours with me - it is commendable," Sejin remarked. "While Your 'Air Current Dance' is remarkable Noboru; however it is not a Kiidogan."

Noboru ignored his father and leapt back into the smoke.

Seeing no need for it, Sejin undid his 'Air Current Dance' becoming visible once again. He was standing in the center of the arena, and while he was dripping with sweat the Kosutta head had sustained hardly any injuries.

"No more smoke!" Sejin yelled. "Wind Style: Wind Retort!"

He slammed his fist into the ground, and in doing so a gust of wind emitted from his palm sending all the smoke in the room up, and out the various windows. As the smoke cleared the audience began to look around, murmuring about the fight. It seemed no one could find Noboru. Everyone looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.