Naruto: A Lazy Life

Pov: 3rd Person.

Takumi rolls his shoulders forward, finally taking this seriously as Saburo wipes the sweat from his brow and scans the battlefield.

A few sheep litter the place and keep their distance to the weird duo squaring off at the edge of this field who take deep breaths and hype themselves up.

Saburo recalls all his training and now has the motivation to play big gambles and win. It doesn't matter how untrained in his new art he was, right now, this fight? It matters all too much to him and his guide.

Takumi thinks on how he accidentally made a speedster type build for Saburo and laments over the fact that he remade his least favourite battle but on a much, much smaller scale.

His regret runs deep but Saburo runs much faster!

Sliding across the gap between them with ease Saburo strikes once and past Takumi as his enemy absorbs the impact.

Taking the long approach and building up momentum again, Saburo launches into a small combo of hit and runs.

In response to this Takumi merely sidesteps and absorbs the impacts with one hand, keeping a close eye on his target and wondering just when he will launch a surprise attack.

Minutes pass by and Takumi's eyes start to twitch as his dying flame screams at him- name calling, mental anguish, subconscious suffering or whatever nickname he grants this 'itch' that he is forced to scratch.

Takumi has so little to lose now... he lost everything once before and of the handful of things he has gained now, he refuses to let identity be taken.

He can't be a demon- that's impossible.

But he knows that if he still had Aura... that he would have turned by now.

A sudden strike. Sick of waiting for Saburo, Takumi throws up his hand to close line the trainee- using the momentum that Saburo stored Takumi steals it with his Impact absorption and returns it right back at Saburo.

Saburo slams hard into the ground- back straining in incredible amounts of pain as the force of his own momentum is laid into him.

His limbs fly upwards as Takumi's knee descends into Saburo's gut- digging deep Takumi immediately grabs and throws one of Saburo's wrists out of the way before planting a fist into his jaw.

A loud thump is heard, not only once but thirty two times as Takumi begins his impact flurry, thundering his fists relentlessly into Saburo.

Saburo panics- Takumi never usually fights like this, taking the centre stage and hitting before being hit.

Takumi usually waits, watches and gathers notes on his enemy before performing a swift and concise victory.

Saburo was going to take advantage of that watching time- hoping that Takumi would see how much he has grown... but as Saburo raises his hands to guard his face he realises something.

Takumi doesn't really care- this isn't a fight to him anymore, it is merely a victory yet won.

Evaluation of his enemy? Only those worthy enough get it. When he was the Emperor Takumi never evaluated weaklings, beheading them like a bored psychopath without even bothering to look.

Saburo waits for the final impact- using the same strategy he used before, dodging at the last second and making wasted effort of the flurry.

But Takumi doesn't make the same mistake twice. Not in battle, never in battle and certainly not against the same opponent.

Saburo weaves his torso out of the way as Takumi plants his fist into the ground.

But Saburo also coughs up blood as the final impact travels from his fist using impact storage and greets Saburo's gut through Takumi's knee.

Normally one cannot cough up blood and then continue fighting like nothing happened, but with Chakra reinforcement Saburo can make that a later problem for the poor doctors that are healing those injured by war.

Saburo decides to make a big risk- putting his all into one shove that pushes Takumi off of him, normally he wouldn't give Takumi a free impact that can hit that hard but he lacks a lot of room to move currently.

Takumi takes the impact and walks back out of the shove, casually standing up once more and walk around to the side of Saburo's head.

A swift kick across the face using that very shoves impact almost knocks Saburo out as he grips his injuries and groans out heavily.

Saburo pushes himself up, closing one eye as the pain swells and looking up at Takumi with the other eye as he walks closer.

A slipper to the head pushes Saburo back down and into the ground.

"Is that all? Is that all you can do? Would you not be dead in real combat by now?" Takumi asks with a disappointed tone.

Takumi isn't disappointed in Saburo, but rather himself- a deep disappointment that he was right and that he took Saburo seriously for nothing.

"I win. Get some medical attention, I will fetch that scroll back for you" Takumi sighs and takes his foot off of Saburo.

Taking one step away Takumi- !!! -Saburo suddenly grips Takumi's ankle tightly, not letting one finger slip at all as he pours all his motivation into holding that grip.

"What can you do?" Takumi asks.

To Saburo this is mockery.

To Takumi this is inquiry.

"This-" Saburo grits his teeth and applies chakra to his hand.

Using his sliding technique, Saburo uses Takumi as leverage to spring back up- feet flying forward and torso rising like heat.

Saburo lets go of his grip and immediately starts throwing jabs at Takumi- no impact, all soft hits as he runs his chakra scalpel across Takumi.

Takumi steps back suddenly after noticing Saburo's decision- making cuts internally and messing with his veins and nerves.

Usually Saburo's technique uses high momentum intense force to plunge his hand right through someone, the scalpel isn't really used for such small cuts with Saburo's forms, but Saburo has decided to care about this battle as much as Takumi does.

And winning this battle means relying on precise cuts that have no major or even minor impacts.

A flurry of precision strikes back Takumi who cannot physically keep up with the sudden burst of speed.

Takumi decides to switch stances taking Saburo on in the very art he is mastering.

Takumi begins sliding on the spot- within a small circle he slides in and out of soft slices, still incurring a few minor injuries.

"Death by a thousand cuts is it?" Takumi asks.

"Don't think you can ever be faster than me at my own taijutsu- I have trained this for multiple years" Saburo warns

"Faster? No. I have never been one to rush, consider the difference between our uses of this taijutsu. You can see that the same eight different forms have a wide variety of uses" Takumi teaches as he slides back slowly and reels back one arm.

Saburo tilts his head before sliding back as Takumi surges back into his range.

A slow yet domineering jab begins to build up as Saburo keeps just out of reach, utilizing that statistical advantage he boasted about while maintaining his flurry against Takumi.

The speed slowly ramps up and stops looking ridiculous after moments pass- Takumi's hand follows Saburo's body which acts like paper in the wind, unable to be jabbed or predicted.

Saburo slide jumps over the fence behind him and Takumi follows as the sheep gather to bid farewell to the weird duo.

One sliding after the other the speed builds up again.

Saburo stops attacking and begins wondering what the hell Takumi is doing- what damage could one jab do?

Deciding to test waters Saburo lets himself get hit to throw a very strong punch at Takumi while he attacks.

A big mistake.

While Takumi's jaw suffers a terrible hit, nearly breaking from one punch- Saburo watches as Takumi's hand sinks into his gut with ease.

Sliding faster than before Saburo clears some distance and holds the open wound that gushes out a lot more blood than he has collectively bled today.

Saburo turns around and focuses on sliding forward and away from Takumi who gives chase- popping his jaw right back into place.

Grabbing his belt and sifting through his emergency medical kit Saburo stitches up the wound hastily while running medical chakra through the wound.

He can't heal it right now but he can certainly stop it from bleeding heavily and reducing further damage.

Saburo ponders on how he managed to cause such damage- but he shakes his head knowing the answer to his question.

Takumi would say something stupid akin to 'I am talented at sharpness, why would I fail at cutting you?'.

Takumi almost definitely thought the exact same thing Saburo assumes of him.

Speaking of Takumi, he slides fast but cannot catch up- Saburo cannot run forever with his injuries and understands that.

A ranged weapon would be best here- Saburo purposefully slows down by only using one foot to slide away from Takumi as he spins on his heel and begins kicking stones and rocks back at the pursuer.

Takumi merely glides these stones and rocks away- masterfully using a technique that Saburo only just learnt.

Saburo then kicks a dirt clump that messes with Takumi's line of sight- before throwing a few hand signs and using his lightning disc jutsu.

A low cackle is heard by Takumi who cleans his eyes quickly and begins moving his body before taking in the sight, he never really relied on just one sense after all.

Takumi angle's his body and holds out a palm- meeting the disc of lightning and letting it slide across the inner section of his arm and chest before rolling down the opposite arm to leave him.

Saburo is struck by his own jutsu as it returns to him- burning his already bad ankle and forcing him to keep his one footed slide going as he is unable to use one foot entirely now.

"I though you couldn't use that technique on a jutsu!" Saburo yells in annoyance, feeling tricked.

"I advised you not to, the amount of control you need to match the enemy ninjutsu and apply your own chakra is quite dreadfully impossible. I only managed because you showed me your jutsu beforehand" Takumi answers the yell.

Saburo clicks his tongue as he turns around and leans forward, much like an ice skater and tries to outmatch Takumi with speed.

Unfortunately he can only do so much with one leg and half the chakra boosting him forward.

Takumi slowly but surely catches up, slamming into Saburo's side with a shoulder tackle.

Saburo matches his tackle and the two start pushing each other.

Takumi leans out as Saburo leans in and watches Saburo fall right into his path which Takumi swiftly takes advantage of.

A child's kick sure, but a child's kick into the already strained back of a man who should be knocked out spikes Saburo's pain threshold as tears well up in his eyes.

Saburo manages to slide forward still, reclaiming his balance and attempting to go faster... but Takumi slides in front of him while standing tall and crossing his arms.

An embarrassing moment for the 'master' of this technique that Saburo bragged about being.

But Takumi is impressed, a normal warrior would have succumbed to their injuries and fainted by now.

A bit of pride rushes through Takumi as his eyes shine brighter than ever.

Takumi stops sliding suddenly and switches stances to plunge a fist straight into Saburo's chest- knocking him down and putting him into the ground.

Saburo falls. Again.

After a month of training non-stop.

After losing to Takumi in sparring every other day.

After failing to maintain momentum in his training and becoming adept at using his taijutsu.

After fighting Takumi for real- and losing not once but twice.

After gaining heavy wounds from the ruthless guide that teaches him twice.

Saburo struggles a third time.

Arms pull him up, one eye still closed as the other stings, one leg won't move but the other plants down heavier than ever before.

Chakra rushes across his entire body as he enters into an athletes starting sprint position, albeit heavily injured.

Glaring down the prideful demon in front of him.

Glaring past the Uchiha and seeing... a rare phenomenon.

Most common when fighting jinchurikii- the visage of the beast may appear behind the human to the truly perceptive or insightful.

To Saburo... a strange human taller than any he has seen before stands behind this child.

A silver armoured man donned with purple cloth, long black hair and striking red eyes that reflect a profound will Saburo has never encountered.

Three cursed chains wrap around the mans neck and arms, keeping the man restrained and unable to push forward.

And push forward the man does. Stretching each chain taught as his arms are pulled back and head raised high.

Glaring with such intensity that Takumi's current face pales in comparison, looking rather lazy... which is odd to Saburo who believes that Takumi is currently the most energetic he has ever seen.

"Crazy..." Saburo mutters.

"Hn?" Takumi raises his guard and prepares to dodge, unaware of this phenomenon.

"What are you... who are you? Really?" Saburo's arms wobble as he holds himself up.

"Did I hit you too hard perhaps?" Takumi questions.

Saburo dashes forward- a quick burst of speed kicked off with one leg and adrenaline to spare!

The apparition behind Takumi bursts as Saburo's vision clears again!

A thunderous thump is heard throughout the area as Takumi chops the neck of Saburo and side steps away from the attack.

And yet Takumi is not strong enough to create such a large noise on his own....

... Saburo's form turns into nothing but smoke- as the true projection of sound is revealed.

A simple jutsu, the substitution jutsu was all Saburo needed to land a good hit- for Takumi was too prideful to pay attention and much too weak to have any pride at all.

Saburo's fist slams straight across Takumi's face which forces the child into the dirt.

Putting all his chakra and power into one attack and ignoring all skill, Saburo went primal for just one moment.

One thought runs through Takumi's mind.

'I am too tired for this'