Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

When the trees grew rapidly in number, Suguru knew that he was approaching the Land of Fire once more.

The ever-thickening forests were quite the sight. Now, Suguru's feet never touched solid ground. He could flicker for several kilometers, with each sequence happening on a tree branch.

The trees were tall enough that the ground below felt so distant.

Upon realizing this change in his surroundings, Suguru began slowing down. There was a tingling feeling on the back of his neck.

Bothersome like the prickling of a thousand needles.

'Weird...' Suguru squinted.

The blue sky above his head was clear, with sunlight blazing straight through. Luckily, the endless forest canopy provided shade. Suguru could only feel the warmth of those rays that made it through the dense foliage.

However, this warmth made the chills that assaulted his body all the more apparent.

"Who..?"

Suguru's mind spun. He avoided activating his Kaisugan for fear of the eyes that seemed so keen on spying on him.

Reflected upon the fake blue of his eyes was the forest that spread before him.

"..!" His eyes suddenly widened.

With the sound of creaking tree bark and the breaking of branches, a squad of masked figures emerged to surround Suguru. Their masks were crafted from unrefined wood, marred with the lines of century-old trees.

Their appearance gave Suguru a scare. Each shinobi had Konohagakure's headband wrapped around their right arm.

"You... What are you doing in the Land of Fire?" One of the masked shinobi spoke with a calm, mellow tone. "State your allegiance."

Despite his soft voice, a surge of bloodlust rushed out of the wood-masked shinobi. It was clear that he was going to strike should Suguru show any sign of hostility.

However, Suguru only smiled in reply. No, perhaps it would be more accurate that he wanted to laugh.

'That voice...'

It was familiar.

'Isao...' Suguru pointed straight at the masked shinobi who spoke. His smile broke into a reckless grin. 'It's been a while.'

It was clear that Suguru was taunting him.

"Wanna find out?"

***

Senju Isao frowned when he watched the unfamiliar shinobi point straight at him with a grin. With his seemingly nonexistent chakra and rapid movements, his entire squad had been bewildered by his approach.

For a moment, Isao debated whether engaging in battle was a good idea. Unfortunately, they were already there.

It would be dangerous to let a missing-nin roam the Land of Fire without any restrictions.

'...'

With his eyes, he signaled his squadmates to be careful. As fellow Senju, they had enough chakra to fight for a long time. Unfortunately, they were some of the clan's youths, just like him. They had yet to fight truly powerful enemy shinobi.

'This feels dangerous,' Isao thought.

Out on a secret mission, he was sent to lead his peers into a remote part of the Land of Fire. They succeeded in their initial intentions. Unfortunately, they did not expect to come across an anomaly during their return.

'I cannot risk their lives...' Isao breathed to calm his nerves. 'The enemy may be unfamiliar, but I am confident in avoiding death. I should buy the others a little time.'

Deciding within a few breaths, Isao roused his chakra. With the sheer quantity of his chakra, he exuded a threatening air.

Then, he stepped forward as if walking over thin ice.

"Let's see if you're worth my time."

***

Suguru really wanted to laugh. 'Since when was Isao the arrogant type? Is he trying to distract me from his teammates?'

—Crack.

Stretching his body, Suguru cracked his joints to prepare for the fight ahead. He decided on three restrictions within a single breath. To see how much he had improved.

No Kaisugan.

A single Taijutsu style.

No Fire Release.

Basically...

All Suguru wanted to do was throw hands.

Once he got into a stance, he bolted forward. He moved as a blur, leaping from a single branch to lunge like a bullet. The wind whistled with his movements, crying out in warning.

'Fast!' Isao's eyes dilated.

He raised his hands to parry the fist heading straight at him. Bone collided with bone, bringing a heavy thud. 

'This..!' The weight on Isao's arm disappeared a moment after contact. 'The Body Flicker Jutsu!'

His enemy's movements were maddeningly fast.

"Yo," He heard a low voice behind him.

The next thing he realized, he was sent crashing towards the trunk of a tree.

"Ack—!"

Isao's gasp was audible along with the sound of his cracking bones. A dull pain emanated from the back of his skull, blurring his vision.

"Captain!" The other masked shinobi cried out in surprise.

"Run!" Isao demanded as he clapped his hands together and outpoured a massive amount of chakra.

'Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!' 

—VWHOOOOSH!

A tornado of water formed and surrounded Isao, protecting him from Suguru's next strike. The spiraling water grew in volume at an astonishing rate, blasting throughout the battlefield.

Suguru felt as if a storm had hit when the sky darkened. Looking up, he took a step back.

"...Crazy," He couldn't help but mutter. A huge wave was barrelling towards him and he had no choice but to flicker up to the treetops.

Standing upside-down on a branch, Suguru watched the wave obliterate the area he had been standing on. The bark was shaved off of the trees, and a shower of leaves descended like rain.

Isao's chakra reserves had grown yet again. The Senju indeed had monstrous amounts of chakra. So much so that Suguru lamented at his own existence.

He was once again slapped by the unfair world.

Suddenly, Suguru felt Isao building up chakra. Glancing over, he saw that only a single hand seal was made.

[Tiger].

'Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!'

From the water that surrounded Isao, dozens of spinning water bullets formed. These sharp, cone-shaped projectiles then flew like comets, piercing through the air as an erratic volley.

The water fang bullets snaked through the air, bombarding Suguru with an endless barrage.

Suguru hurriedly retreated, dodging as many attacks as he could. With his speed, he didn't have many problems.

He flickered wherever the branches were dry. Sometimes he moved fast, and sometimes slow, throwing off Isao's timing.

All of the water bullets could barely even graze him. Only his clothes were getting wet from all the water droplets spraying in the air.

One would usually assume that this was all that Isao could do.

However, Suguru was also familiar with Isao's fighting style. Another mass of chakra was poured into the water beneath Isao's feet. This one was even larger than the previous times, sending warning signals to Suguru's brain.

'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!'

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