[NGS] [ARC-01] Chapter : 08

The afternoon sun cast a sharp glare across the training field, but the atmosphere crackled with something far brighter—pure anticipation.

From what Genma had deduced from his sensory jutsu, Kakashi's chakra reserves were already more than thrice his own. He's most probably at ANBU captain level, which is slightly below Elite jonin.

'I want to see how far the most prominent genius of my time is from me.' Genma thought as he readied himself.

“Gentlemen!” Gai announced, standing between the two combatants with both thumbs raised and eyes practically sparkling. “Today’s youth shall burn with the flames of glorious spirit! No holds barred! No limits! Only one will rise victorious! The other…” he struck a dramatic pose, “...shall carry the weight of defeat in his soul!”

Kakashi adjusted his forehead protector with a quiet sigh, his usual Icha Icha nowhere in sight for once. Across from him, Genma cracked his neck, flowing chakra to his sore muscles to loosen them up—his expression serious.

"This is just a spar, idiot," came the exasperated voice of Kakashi, completely sure of his victory.

“No killing blows. But everything else is fair game,” Gai continued, glancing at both of them. “Ready?”

Kakashi gave a half-lidded nod. “As I’ll ever be.”

Genma rolled his shoulders. “Let’s dance.”

Gai’s hand sliced through the air. “Begin!”

In an instant, the clearing erupted.

Kakashi moved first, blurring forward with a burst of chakra-enhanced speed. Genma flickered sideways, narrowly avoiding a sweeping kick, and retaliated with a volley of shuriken from his sleeve. Kakashi weaved between them effortlessly—his agility a level above Genma’s—and closed the distance again.

CLANG!

Genma met him halfway, his body already chakra-enhanced, a kunai in each hand, deflecting a chakra-enhanced slash. Sparks flew. Kakashi’s strikes were fluid and practiced, mixing feints and abrupt directional changes. Genma blocked and dodged completely on the defensive, occasionally matching Kakashi's speed with bursts of chakra-enhanced movement. He tried mixing in a couple of feints of his own, but Kakashi seemed to read his feints like an open book.

All this, and Kakashi still hadn't used his Sharingan.

This wasn’t a fight he could win in pure taijutsu; he had to bring in his specialty that he was known for.

Kai!

His hands blurred into a ram seal, releasing a small, preloaded scroll from the sleeve of his flak jacket. Instantly, the seal unraveled into a wide-spreading

Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder—thick, dancing arcs of electricity crackling toward Kakashi like a net.

Kakashi’s eye narrowed.

'Lightning and fuinjutsu mid-fight? Impressive.'

With a single-handed sign, Kakashi released a counter:

Water Release: Riptide Wall.

A surge of water erupted from the ground beneath him, short-circuiting the lightning midair. The steam hissed, curling upward like the breath of a dragon.

Genma appeared through the steam—chakra blade humming with lightning, aimed straight for Kakashi’s blind side.

CRACK!

The blade met resistance—Earth-Style: Hardening Skin—Kakashi’s mastery of Earth nature activated just in time, blunting the impact. Even so, the shock rippled through him.

He grunted. “That actually stung.”

Genma smirked, breath sharp. “Just getting warmed up.”

"Looks like I'll have to take this serious…" with that Kakashi lifted his headband and let the world see his Sharingan. It was already a three-tomoe.

Immediately Genma started pulsing his chakra, as he felt Kakashi's chakra try to invade and put him in a genjutsu.

They clashed again in close quarters, Genma using his sword and Kakashi using his dual kunai. Genma got a few cuts before he understood that a taijutsu battle with Kakashi, who had more speed and also reaction speed courtesy of his Sharingan was a suicide, and he reverted to long-range ninjutsu battle.

Jutsu clashed again—fire against water, lightning sparking off earth jutsu. From the sidelines, Gai’s fists were clenched in near-tears.

“YOUTH!” he howled. “Such vigor! Such strategy!”

The exchange lasted another minute—a fierce rhythm of clone feints, elemental jutsu clashes, and precise counters. But slowly, the tide shifted.

Kakashi’s superior strength began to tell. Genma’s chakra control was sharp—his seal speed was good too, already mid-jonin level—but he lacked the skillset to go toe-to-toe with a genius like Kakashi for long.

A low sweep caught Genma off guard during a taijutsu exchange. He rolled, but Kakashi was already on top of him.

Genjutsu—mist layering over the trees—false duplicates merging with the real.

Genma cursed inwardly, recognizing the genjutsu a second too late.

But instead of panicking, he bit his thumb and slammed it into the ground.

Fuinjutsu: Disruption Seal!

A pulse of raw sealing chakra flared outward, shattering the illusion with brute force.

Boom!

Genma reappeared twenty feet back, panting hard. His chakra was low after continuous ninjutsu exchanges.

Kakashi stood, barely scuffed, his left eye calm and unreadable.

“Call it, Gai,” Genma muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.

Gai appeared between them in a blur, giving both of them a proud, gleaming smile. “Incredible! My youthful rivals, you honor the Leaf with your brilliance!”

Then, turning to Kakashi, he proclaimed: “Winner—Kakashi Hatake!”

Kakashi scratched the back of his head modestly and as if he never doubted himself. “You’ve gotten a lot better, Genma. That lightning-infused blade—caught me off guard.”

Genma sat down in the dirt, chest rising and falling. “You’re still a monster in a fight, Kakashi. But I’m catching up.”

Kakashi’s single eye curved slightly, but he offered no response.

From the sidelines, Gai’s voice rang out again—his hands already forming dramatic poses.

“Now! Kakashi! Since you’ve warmed up, it’s time for our next challenge—Let's unleash our YOUTH!”

Kakashi turned to leave. “How about rock paper scissors?”

"Eeeh?! NOO!! We did that the last time!!"

"Then I have paperwork to fill. Ja ne!" With that, Kakashi vanished in a body flicker.

Genma just laughed, head thrown back as Gai sprinted off after his eternal rival.

—

Ichiraku Ramen — Same Evening

Steam wafted from the bowls in front of them, mixing with the savory aroma of broth, pork, and miso. Lanterns bathed the stand in warm light as the village buzzed quietly in the background. Genma sat slouched on his stool, a cup of sake in one hand and the sting of Kakashi’s hits still lingering in his body even after a visit to the hospital and consultation with Shizuka Uchiha, who still hadn't accepted his request for a date.

Genma leaned back on his stool with a resigned sigh, one arm draped lazily over the counter as he downed the last gulp of sake from his cup.

“You sure you want to go for a second bowl instead of a second bottle of sake?” Ebisu asked from beside him, lifting his own cup in mock cheers. “After the beatdown Hatake gave you?”

Genma snorted, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “That wasn’t a beatdown. That was just a spar. I had him sweating for a moment.”

Ebisu let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, well, maybe he was just cutting you some slack. From what Gai told me, you were spamming jutsu like the Sage of Six Paths was on your back and ordered to drain your chakra as fast as possible.”

“I wanted to try my jutsu repertoire against him,” Genma said, grinning. “Besides, I learned more in that one spar than in the last two missions combined. And I don't see you challenging him to a spar. Afraid you'll lose that badly?”

Ebisu was slurping the last of his noodles and immediately started choking. Genma seemed to hit the nail right on top.

Ebisu reached for the sake bottle to refill both their cups and tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Speaking of missions—heard yours at the Grass border got spicy. Something about samurai, a hotel explosion, and you hobbling back half-dead?”

“I wasn’t hobbling,” Genma said, mock-offended. “I was tactically retreating.”

“Right,” Ebisu smirked. “Tactical retreat... with Kurenai at your side.”

Genma nearly choked on his sake. “Tch. I knew you’d bring her up.”

Ebisu grinned wide. “Hey, you brought her into the story when you showed up with her during debriefing, all calm and casual like you didn’t just come back from a lovers’ trip.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“But you want it to be like that.” Ebisu waggled his chopsticks at him. “Don’t deny it, man. You’ve been different lately. Calmer. More focused. And somehow, you’ve got half the kunoichi in the Jonin lounge watching you when you walk by.”

“Maybe that’s because I’m stronger now,” Genma replied smugly.

“Nah,” Ebisu said, slapping him on the back. “It’s because you finally figured out how to not chew on senbon when talking to people.”

They both burst out laughing.

“Alright, alright,” Genma said, raising his cup. “To women.”

Ebisu clinked his cup against Genma’s. “To not dying before we finally hit 50 body count. And to maybe figure out how to ask out Kurenai without making yourself a fool.”

Genma groaned as Ebisu laughed again, louder this time.

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Only when you’re buying the next round.”

Name: Genma Shiranui
Age: 17
Chakra Capacity: 40200/50500 (Jonin)
Strength: 110/500
Endurance: 160/500
Durability: 115/500
Agility: 115/500

Chakra Control: 202/500
Taijutsu: 182/500
Ninjutsu: 203/500
Genjutsu: 117/500
Bukijutsu: 152/500

Fuinjutsu: 160/500

Sensory Jutsu: 55/500

Chakra Affinities:

Fire (Advanced)—Master of Fire Chakra nature.

Lightning (Adept)—Know five Lightning-style ninjutsu.

Water (Adept)—Know five Water-style ninjutsu.