Naruto: A Lazy Life

Pov: Kakashi Hatake.

"How is he even going to pull through here?" I mutter.

"He has the heart to win" Gai notes.

"But not the health" Kurenai adds.

*Step- Step- Step- Step*

Each step slow and steady, as Takumi limps forward with dedication in his glare. Intimidation in his laboured breath.

Ken... is clearly frightened- taking a fully defensive stance and planning to wait Takumi out, by stepping back whenever Takumi gets closer. Ken could attack and end this early... but he seems to want the sure win instead of risking that for speed, If he is under that same bloodlust we all just glimpsed into I can certainly sympathise with such a tactic.

...

What Takumi decides to do now... will decide this match.

*Twitch-* *BANG!*

Another Vacuum palm is sent towards Takumi when he attempts to limp a mote faster than his standard speed- the palm breaks the scenery around him as he holds out his hand.

"You-!?" Ken takes a huge step back and grimaces.

"What happened- why did he get so riled up that time?" Kurenai asks.

"He- switched from cutting through his attacks to absorbing the impact- Ken could normally disrupt and even cause Takumi's impact jutsu to backfire on himself using the Hyuga style... but is too afraid to approach and do such a thing. Takumi has forced Ken to either act and get close... or wait to find out what Takumi is going to do with that impact" I explain- using Obito's sharingan to best catch the hidden details of this match.

"Nice catch~" Gai leans in closer.

*Bam- POP!- Crack!*

Suddenly- without warning, Takumi's body launches at Ken, flinging like a ragdoll in the air with no purpose nor direction. But everyone here can see and know that Takumi does not do random actions without an intent.

*BAM!*

As soon as Ken thrusts his palm forwards- Takumi moves his body, arms spinning violently like a storm and cutting through the attack with sharpness- letting Takumi land before the startled Hyuga.

Takumi's head slams against the ground and his feet twirl upwards like some breakdancing turned into a horrific accident- but, with Takumi nothing is ever as it seems- He absorbs the impact of his own fall and pushes up, heels clipping past Ken and slashing at his chest as Takumi rises into the air- torso passing torso... and eyes meeting eyes as Takumi fires upwards.

Takumi's good arm swipes to the side- aiming for Ken's neck.

Ken's eyes widen as he stares intently at the attack- swiftly planting his foot back and leaning his torso in the same direction, before using his byakugan to locate the area he can safely grab without cuts or otherwise... leading him to grabbing Takumi by the arm and slam him into the floor face down.

*SLAM!*

A knee digs into Takumi's back and using his other hand Ken pins Takumi's head into the dirt- with all his weight the man holds the kid down as if tackling a tiger.

"Ha-haaaahahahaaaa-" A troubled laugh escapes Ken.

*Smack-*

But Takumi releases another impact- having stored one in the prior scuffle.

*Swish- Swoosh- Slam!*

Takumi pushes upwards and barely dodges two attacks before getting struck in the stomach- *Swish!*

Takumi's broken arm swings forward and he flinches momentarily before freezing- finding it hard to use his Impact technique while injured and repetitively, as it requires perfect control over a body that is broken and unresponsive.

*BASH!*

A hammer strike to his broken arm sends it flying behind the boy- Ken shoulder barges into Takumi's chest shortly after and sends him back down into the dirt- before stomping down on his head, which Takumi successfully avoids by rolling to the side.

*Flick!*

Takumi pushes himself up with one arm and flicks his foot at Ken- to which the older man dodges and stays on the defensive, not giving Takumi the chance to bait him into attacking unless absolutely certain he can win.

"You are a prick- a strong little thorn but a prick nonetheless... I would call you worthless but others here disagree- not that I care about the leaders of enslavers nor their opinions. If I had a modicum amount of power or purpose that you so wish for me to grasp within this village, I would have slaughtered you and the old blood within your clan. Anyone who enslaves another is nothing but ash in my eyes, exist to be burned at the stake- or do not exist at all" Takumi arrogantly speaks as he gets beaten back- attempt after attempt on attacking Ken.

But each failed attempt seems to fill him with greater vigour- every shove into the dirt enhances his glare, every punch or strike gives him the energy to rise again- Every moment of injury is but fuel to harm the aged man in front of him.

---

Pov Ken Hyuga.

Why is he- *SMACK!* -Speaking as if he has already won! I cannot possibly lose here- I am on the defensive and he is dying slowly... I could win in seconds if I just push forward aggressively, but on the off chance that is what he wants- I will not do it, I will not yield to a brat- nor give him- *Swish!* -a chance to even win. I have him cornered on all sides, my win is inevitable!

"You are... mediocre, powerful- skilled. But lacking in individuality, character- passion. You follow orders and slowly chip away at the being you could have been, I can see it- the burning ideal that hides beneath that wrinkled skin- the man who wishes for a greater path yet is at the end of his own. You are nothing, your life has been wasted- and you will leave your clan having continued it's awful traditions so you can sleep better at night, not having made your superiors upset, too tamed to even speak out against what is clearly wrong... and if you see nothing wrong with the hells you wash others in, then I am right to hate you. Hate you with a burning passion. One that has not ignited within me in quite some time" Takumi scolds me as he pushes forward.

*Swish- Stamp- swoosh!*

"Yu has been quite the student- learning fast, growing stronger- and you just had to overstep, be the little thorn you are. Is it because you love your clan that much? Or do you get a sick hit of dopamine every time you step on others. Waste their lives after having wasted yours" Takumi smiles.

*Swish- Carve- Slash- Slam!*

"I have no regrets! I have served my clan and this village to the best of my ability- I have done all that I can and set up the future as best as I can- I have won many battles and saved many lives, my life was not wasted brat!" I yell back as I push him in the chest with my palm.

"So you loved enslaving others?" Takumi's smile grows wider.

"I didn't- Of course not! But what must be done has to be done, it is necessary to protect our clan- not like you would understand that!" I Scowl as I side step him.

*Swish- Swoosh- Jab- Smack!*

"Petty excuses. You had to sneak in a way to control others? You couldn't design a seal that just destroyed the eyes upon theft? It was necessary to design a way for one man to command the lesser? Let me guess, they get this mark while in the village- at a young age, without care for their own opinion? Is that correct?" Takumi somehow- smiles more, the eyes curving his face into one devilish grin.

....

*Swish- Stab-*

"Silence only answers my question with greater certainty Ken. Why are you not answering the question Ken. Are you afraid to answer Ken? Is saying it out loud something prohibited Ken? Or will saying out loud force you to comprehend the harsh reality you have conjured? KEN?" Takumi pushes forward and manages to strike me on the shoulder.

*Slam!*

"Shut your mouth brat- no one here cares about your thoughts! They have lived in this village their entire lives and not once spoke up on how another clan should treat their own! You are convincing no one that you are right to seek out this duel! The shinobi world is far crueller than you have seen, the Hyuga's protection methods are a kindness to the savages that would rip out our eyes and breed us like cattle!" I 'answer' his question.

...

Takumi suddenly stops his advance and nods to himself.

"I am done scolding you. You can stop defending now thorn" Takumi closes his eyes and lets his smile fade, stepping back to the centre of the Arena.

He stands as tall as he can and raises one arm in a defensive stance- with shaking legs holding him up.

"What are you doing?" I huff out, wary of approaching him like before.

"I am done polishing my Gentle-Counter technique- you have helped greatly in it's refinement" Takumi focuses his attention entirely on me.

"W-What? What are you on about!? Scolding me like I am some brat and then claiming to have refined an entire technique in the span of one battle? Are you insane? Have you lost your mind young Takumi!" I yell.

"Hn. Approach" Takumi nods.

...!!!

"Ken. Just. Finish. This" The Hyuga clan head orders me, having been fed up with this farce... clearly wishing I had attacked him minutes ago.

Haaaaa- Damned brat.

"Fine- let's see this 'Gentle-Counter' then, arrogant Uchiha" I huff out and step forward, switching my stance to the familiar gentle fist.

As I step forward he begins to talk once more.

"The Gentle counter was created in retaliation to Yu's attack on me in the Chunin exam I attended. It uses heavy strikes and wide stances to cover a lot of ground and be plainly obvious in its intent as it is impossible to trick to the Byakugan in any normal fashion. It originally used kinetic energy gained via the Impact technique to push through your gentle fist and it's troublesome method to attack the chakra points within the body. That was a simple brute force solution to a young and inexperienced user of the gentle fist- as you could disrupt my impact technique and destroy my vital organs with the very impact I had absorbed and let stew in the chakra system you can see clearly to manipulate and disarm" Takumi tells me.

*Swish- Swoosh-*

I jab my fingers forward- elegantly carrying my body to perform the [Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms]- the first strike connects-

-fails to connect as Takumi side steps the jab and grabs my wrist, before throwing me to the side where my technique is disrupted from continuing.

"Simple moves are the key here- your Byakugan can see past most feints and get the full picture rather easy, so advanced taijutsu can be disassembled with ease using those eyes of yours. But it is hard to create a counter technique to something like the Gentle fist without making it advanced in some capacity, hard- but not impossible" Takumi turns and faces me again as I swiftly twist my body to begin yet another set of jabs.

*Swish- Jab- Push*

He ducks- jabs my elbow and pushes my other arm away, completely disabling my attacks again.

"I cannot neglect defences and evasion- letting you hit me would be devastating, your gentle fist can disable my chakra system and cause severe internal damage with soft jabs. So the entire technique revolves around me first understanding the gentle fist, knowing it's moves so I can deploy the gentle counter- in which you are witnessing now as I disable your combination attacks. Had I a material to defend against chakra based attacks I would merely forge armour and be done with it" Takumi narrates as he pushes me to the side again, turning to face me as I twist back to attack again.

Why are my attacks not working? Has he truly seen through the gentle fist? Did Yu do this?! Tell our secrets!?

"Secondly- after creating the stance, footwork, defensive moves, counters and evasive techniques- I was in need of a way to strike back, actually win a fight against your defence. I would thank you for allowing me to throw myself at your defences without counter attack but why would someone thank another for being an idiot? Seems insulting doesn't it?" Takumi pushes me back with one hand- effortlessly using my own weight against me, letting my momentum carry my strikes away rather than using pure strength- the strength he cannot rely on now in his state.

I have attacked in four different ways- and he calmly predicts each attack? How? How can he do that without the sharingan? WAIT- Did he use his bloodlust and confidence to force me into a fully defensive approach!? This entire time- 'Is that the stance you wish to take?' was just bait to feed his technique??? How far ahead was he thinking!?

"Do you wish to see my takedown method? I warn you that to beat a Hyuga you must force them into a position of defeat in quick succession or they might adapt- not that this battle has been quick in any fashion" Takumi steps forward as I turn around to face him once more- I decide to change my tactics as well.

[Vacuum palm!]

*Bam!*

He cuts through it in some strange manner again-

[Revolving Heaven!]

*WOOOSH-!*

The storm of chakra hits him and splits- like water wrapping around a sturdy rock in a rushing river.

I see- he can sharpen himself beyond normal amounts... hard hitting techniques are merely cutting themselves, striking him with sudden force is like throwing an apple at a stagnant kunai- the apple slices itself.

So- I must use something else... fire, gentle fist- water, wind- a Ninjutsu will be hard to cut no matter how sharp you are- But he is too close to start pulling hand signs... and he is approaching quickly!

My taijutsu list is long- but nothing could break through his impact technique like the gentle fist... and also ignore the sharpness by attacking 'gently' instead of using force like the vacuum palm,

...

But this gentle-counter...

...

Haaa- he has left me no room to think. I must use the gentle fist or forfeit- clever little devil.

*Swish-*

I attack first- focusing on one strike that hits his shoulder, on the weaker side of Takumi with his broken arm- I follow with another attack that rises up to the shoulder and begin laying down a multitude of unrelenting strikes! Gently tapping his flesh and pouring my chakra into his body- disrupting anything that resides within! I don't care about the Chakra points- I just need to rip apart his muscles and organs!

...

"The weakness of the Gentle-fist, is it's strength- It is 'Gentle'- all you have to do to break your defences is try harder- use greater strength, push further" He comments.

...! FINE! Let's take away his chakra and rip apart his muscles and organs!

"Hard to do!- without chakra!" I jab across his chest and begin to disable his chakra points.

"Exactly- a weakness covered by the gentle fist, strong opponents rendered weak by stripping them of their chakra, how could they brute force their way through your defences without it?" Takumi steps forward and uses his good arm to block many of my jabs.

Grabbing my wrist and twisting his body- forcing me to perform the longest running eight trigrams I have ever had to perform- forcing minutes to pass as I attack and he defends!

"It is simple actually. A surprise is necessary to catch you off guard and let me get a good strike in" Takumi notes.

"Surprise the Byakugan- Ha! Ridiculous-" I laugh.

*WOOSH!*

The broken arm I have been ignoring blurs forward- passing by my arm fully extended into a jab, unfortunately with my Byakugan I can see it. It is unfortunate because I am currently dedicated to the eight trigrams and cannot react fast enough to block this blow.

*STAB-*

The broken arm extends two fingers and jabs at my throat- Wait- no... the two fingers jab into my throat, as if sharpened.

...

*Crash*

He steps to the side and I fall forward, clutching my throat.

"My broken arm was set up for this moment- as you needed to neglect it, I needed you to think I could not use it. And thus, the technique is complete. Pure evasive and defensive measures to grant the user time until a surprise attack shows itself- I will ensure to detail the ways you can surprise an enemy at the end of this particular taijutsu book" Takumi tilts his head up, before looking down on me- like I am nothing.

....!!!

How- How did he- That arm was broken! Shattered in some places- How could he move it!

Takumi merely smirks at me before walking away... the last thing I see before I faint is medical ninja at my side.

Have I improved in writing combat since the start of this story? Let me know please! :D