Chapter 21 - Heir Kazu of the Uzumaki clan

Even though the match was supposed to be private, it was, for some reason, still held at a public training ground… It might have been because of the size it offered, being at least twice the size of the private training ground for the main family, which was strange, though there wouldn't be enough space for a training ground of that size in the middle of the village.

That is also what caused this one to be so secluded, which, of course, would make it perfect for a private match, since there wouldn't be anyone nearby, who might get a peak… Overall it was a solid choice, for reasons Hiruzen could surely learn from, considering his team of soon to be sannin were discovered and peaked on by two two-year-old kids.

Arriving at the training ground, made it apparent that the style it was made in, was done to emulate the forests near Konoha…

'I wonder if Hashirama created this forest, it is much denser than any other forest on the island, and it would surely be utterly destroyed by now, if it wasn't reinforced with nature chakra… Anyway, this environment gives me an advantage… unless Kazu trains here regularly'

Moving to the middle of the training field, he noticed two figures standing there waiting. One of them were easily recognized as Daiki, while the other person, was a slightly taller male, with hair more vibrant red, than any other Uzumaki.

'So that is Kazu, Kushina's older brother… he looks like he's around fifteen… and he is wearing the Uzushiogakure jonin vest… I'm fuċkėd, aren't I?'

"Hallo, Daiki-sama…"

He turned his head to the other individual

"… and you must be my opponent, Kazu, right?"

Observing your enemy, one of the essentials of shinobi…

'He is glaring so much…'

"So, you are the one who would dare to try and court my dear younger sister… You don't look like much, but if you passed fathers test, you must be good for something… though, no knowledge will help you deal with me"

'Is it just me or is he kind of a prick?'

"Sigh, since you are both here, we will start the match as soon as I'm done stating the rules, and both contestants are ready, is that understood?"

"Understood, father"

"Hai, Daiki-sama"

With the rules out of the way, Daiki signaled for us to take our places opposite each other.

"Ready?"

"Hai"

"You're going down kid, don't even think about touching my sister!"

"Sigh, begin!"

The instance the match began, Kazu was gone…

"You are too slow kid"

'what, holy shit he's fast, he got behind me instantly!'

Turning around he saw Kazu standing there, with a single chain coming out from his back, slowly moving towards his hand, upon which the end turned into a one-handed sword. After Kazu grabbed the handle, the chain dethatched from, the pummel, and receded into his back once again.

"I see you like my little trick… I guess you never knew someone could form something other than the usual chains… then again, this is my own original jutsu… Also, I must warn you, this is not just a fancy replacement for a blade…"

Finishing his sentence, he rushed forwards, slicing diagonally towards the wrist, while twisting his grip so he could hit with the flat side of the blade, in order to disarm his opponent.

'Shit, I can't dodge in time, I just unsealed my handle, and he is already disarming me… guess the only option is jutsu… I need to try and constrain him as much as possible, if I want even the slightest chance of beating him' Soon thereafter, the blade hit him, the sword not only disarmed him, but also left wristband like chakra construct on his arm, which surprised him greatly.

Not a second later, he was pulled to the ground by the hand, and the wristband glowed in an easily recognizable seal…

'He left behind some kind of residue with seals on it… It must be an effect of the sword. It was the only thing that touched me… I need to create distance as soon as possible, and make this into a long-ranged fight'

With that thought in mind, he undid the seal, after which, the first thing he did, was to release the chakra metal dust all around him, forming a protective cocoon, that he used as protection, so he had time to use the hiding like a mole technique to get underground.

The Uzumaki, he forgot, were quite good sensors, so it was inevitable, that when he popped his head above ground once again, Kazu was already there waiting for him…

"You know, if this is all you got, there's no way you can protect Kushi-chan… You must know, if you cannot protect her, how can I entrust her to you?"

'…He is right, I am too weak, but… I will show him I can be strong!'

'I need to give myself an advantage, but how can I… wait, I can use that, but it will need some preparation, and a way to keep track of Kazu… yes that could work'

Having come up with a plan, he created seven shadow clones, which he gave one eighth of his remaining chakra each, so that Kazu wouldn't be able to sense which one was the original.

To start the plan, he had two of the shadow clones out of the ground, one of them was immediately ambushed by Kazu, getting dispelled, but giving enough time for the second to get above ground and ready to perform its mission, getting into a taijutsu battle.

"You know, sending clones to play with me will not get you anywhere"

With that, Kazu disappeared once more, this time showing up right in front of the clone, swinging the sword overhead, preparing for a downwards slice. The clone though, had already anticipated the attack, and had therefore already created a wall of chakra metal dust to deflect the incoming sword.

"Hou?, your little shield will not hold back this blade"

When the sword hit the wall, it once again left behind some residue, this time creating a chakra suċkɨnġ seal, which almost instantly made the wall fall apart into the dust it was mad of.

That however was a perfect opportunity for the clone, who used the substitution jutsu to switch places with some of the dust. This caused Kazu to raise an eyebrow in surprise, but he got over it quickly, and decided to kick the clone away before it could strike.

'Perfect'

Gaining the memories from the clone, the original knew that the first phase of the plan was completed.

'The seal is in place, now it is time for phase two'

The remaining clones as well as the original, promptly popped out of from the ground, with four of them in a square formation around Kazu.

"Blue four side barrier!"

The clones, screaming out the name of the technique, which was a weaker version of the four red yang formation, successfully trapped Kazu with the original inside, and final clone outside.

'Now the fun begins, I'm glad Tobirama left a scroll of this in the Namikaze compound'

Finishing the thought he and his clone both cast their jutsu.

"Bringer of darkness technique"

"Magnet release: Dust storm"

This jutsu combination accomplished two things, taking away Kazu's vision with infinite darkness, and interfering with his sensing, due to the chakra infused in the dust.

This made both himself and Kazu functionally blind, since both techniques also affected the caster… But, because of the flying thunder god seal the clone placed on Kazu's foot earlier, he could still sense Kazu's location, thus giving him a significant advantage.

'I only have enough chakra left for one move, and my clones will only be able to keep the techniques running for another minute or so, as such, I must choose my next move wisely… Kazu is fast, so an area jutsu is the best choice, since I wouldn't be able to hit him otherwise, he can, after all, still sense the difference in chakra levels from the jutsu, and know where it is coming from… Oh, I got it… and the setup is already done' Smirking at his plan, he substituted with his clone outside the barrier, and took over controlling the dust storm.

Meanwhile the clone on the inside did the suicidal move, that was channeling the rest of its chakra into the dust storm and electrifying it with lightning chakra. While that was happening, the barrier clones continued channel more of their chakra to keep the barrier up, so Kazu was guaranteed to be hit… Soon thereafter the clones dispelled from having completely depleted their chakra, while the original fell to his knees in exhaustion, letting the dust storm die down.

'That should have got him, even with the remaining chakra from the first two clones, that still used too much chakra, I'm almost out…'

"Well, well, well, that certainly was an interesting idea, but now you are out of chakra, while I'm still completely fine"

From the dust storm, the figure of Kazu emerged wearing a full set of armor, obviously made with the adamantine sealing chains in a similar manner to the sword. He was adorning a smirk that would make the future Sasuke jealous, making it apparent, that he was completely unharmed.

'I'm already exhausted, but how can I let him win this easily, I didn't even scratch him…'

As such, through sheer determination, he tried to stand up in order to keep on fighting.

With that, Kazu formed the ram hand sign, which immediately activated a small ring of seals around Yoshio's hand, which made even more sleepy than he already was...

'How… when… oh, I see, he must have placed it at the same time as the weight seal… So, he was playing with me the entire time…'

With those final thoughts, he fell straight asleep, falling to the ground, only to be caught by Daiki.

"You know, he is not even eight years old, that level of power is quite impressive for his age… it shows his potential is incredible… and it's not like he ever had a chance fighting the second strongest shinobi in Uzushiogakure, you know"

"Ha ha, father, I knew me and Kushi-chan had the: you know, from somewhere, seems you are the cause… Though I must say you are correct, his potential is incredible, and if he keeps training hard, I think he can become a suitable suitor for Kushi-chan"

"Indeed, eh… young love…"