A Lesson

"Mizuki, where are you going?" Kaoru called out as he spotted her striding purposefully toward the infirmary.

"I need to see Nora. There's something I have to ask her," she said without slowing down.

Kaoru hesitated for a moment, but the fight in the arena was way less important than Mizuki who seemed troubled, so he decided to follow.

"Congrats, by the way," he said, catching up to her. "You were amazing."

Mizuki didn't respond immediately. Her eyes stayed fixed ahead, but Kaoru could tell she had something on her mind. She finally muttered, "Thanks…" then opened her mouth as if to say more—but closed it again.

Kaoru had come to understand Mizuki's personality over time. She was deeply emotional, but she rarely let it show. He first realized it during their mission to exterminate the bandits—how she had cared for the orphaned children like they were her own siblings, and how pain had flashed across her face when the villagers described their suffering.

[She's too kind,] Kaoru thought. [Too kind for her own good.]

When they reached the infirmary, a shinobi stood blocking the entrance.

"Who are you here to see?" he asked.

"Nora," Kaoru answered, noticing that Mizuki was waiting for him to speak.

The shinobi checked a form before shaking his head. "You can't see her, kids. No one's allowed inside—not even her guardian. That's Lady Tsunade's order, and Nora herself doesn't want visitors."

He started to close the door, but Mizuki quickly stuck her foot in the gap, stopping it.

"Please," she said, her voice unusually soft. "Could you at least ask her? I think she'll want to see me."

Kaoru was taken aback. He had assumed Mizuki was only worried about whether Nora had survived. Now that they had confirmation she was alive, he was more than willing to turn back. But Mizuki clearly wasn't.

The guard frowned, reluctant to go beyond his duty, but Mizuki's piercing purple eyes were hard to resist.

"Fine," he grumbled. He formed a shadow clone, which immediately disappeared into the room.

"Thank you," Mizuki said, bowing slightly before stepping back toward Kaoru.

Kaoru crossed his arms. "Why are you so set on talking to her?"

Mizuki looked at him for a moment. "She didn't try to kill me with her last strike."

Kaoru blinked.

"She thought my Scorch Release clone was me," Mizuki continued, "but she aimed for my shoulder—not my throat, not my head."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "Maybe she just wanted to disable you?"

Mizuki shook her head. "If she were as ruthless as I thought, she would have gone for the kill. But she didn't. And I need to know why."

<<<>>>

Akito stood in front of Salko, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Both of them were bruised and scratched, but it was clear that Akito was in worse shape as his stamina was running low. Salko, on the other hand, had been keeping his distance, attacking from range and forcing Akito to burn through his chakra reserves and exhaust his stamina.

[I can't lose this. Sugeru got hurt because of me—I owe him this win.]

Ever since the Forest of Death, Akito's mentality had undergone a drastic shift. He had always been seen as a talented genin, but his progress had stagnated. Now, he understood why. His biggest obstacle wasn't a lack of skill—it was his mindset.

Akito's parents had died during the Takime Clan's escape from Kirigakure. They had been Kaoru's father's closest friends and had refused to leave him behind. They weren't the strongest shinobi in the world, but they had chosen death for the sake of their clan. Akito always blamed them for it, for choosing their pride and honor over their son. He knew he was being selfish, but Akito did not need them to be heroes, he needed them to be alive, to be there for him. However, everything changed when he saw Sugeru risk his life for Akito's sake. His friend did not even hesitate before shielding Akito with his own body. Akito now understood what his parents felt and for the first time he felt that he was letting them down, he was letting everyone down.

[I don't want to be a coward. I don't ever want to see my friends in danger because of me again.]

That was why he had volunteered to be bait during the second exam. He had wanted to prove to himself—and to everyone else—that he wasn't useless, that he could change.

Gritting his teeth, Akito pulled three shuriken from his pouch and threw them at Salko. Salko dodged easily, already preparing his next wind release attack.

The problem was that Akito could barely see Salko's technique. Sometimes, he'd spot a gust of wind rushing toward him—only for it to be an illusion, while the real attack struck him from another angle. But after taking hit after hit, he realized that while his eyes could be fooled, his ears could not. He had started to rely on sound, listening for the subtle shifts in the wind to predict where the real attack would come from.

"Father, is that genjutsu?" Itachi asked, his sharp eyes locked onto the fight.

Fugaku, who was sitting away from the other council members and Hokage, glanced at his son before shaking his head. Their seating arrangement was another silent indicator of the growing rift between the Uchiha Clan and the village leadership.

"No, this isn't genjutsu," Fugaku said. "It's an illusion created by mixing Yin chakra with Wind Release."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly, and he wasn't the only one intrigued. The spectators around them, who were eager for an explanation, leaned in to listen. From their perspective - people, who knew very little about shinobi and their fighting mechanics - Akito's movements didn't make sense. He would sometimes dodge an attack, only to be struck by an invisible force.

"You already know that chakra is composed of Yin—spiritual energy—and Yang—physical energy," Fugaku continued. "Elemental chakra, like fire or wind, is also similar but it exists in the nature outside our bodies. But in rare cases, truly talented shinobi can combine those energies."

Itachi nodded, listening intently.

"For example, the girl in the last match was using Scorch Release, which is a combination of Fire and Wind elements. But this Yamanaka boy… he's doing something different. He's infusing more Yin chakra than Yang into his Wind Release, which allows him to disrupt the balance between those two and thus create an illusion without actually casting genjutsu. The wind itself becomes nearly invisible, deceiving the eyes but not the other senses."

Itachi's expression remained unreadable, but he absorbed every word. Actually, he was already thinking of testing the theory.

[I wonder how will fire react…]

"The Yamanaka Clan naturally excels in controlling Yin and Yang chakra," Fugaku continued, "but this boy is exceptionally skilled, even among them."

It wasn't often that Fugaku gave praise, so his words carried weight. In all of Itachi's life, he had only heard his father compliment two people—Shisui and the late Fourth Hokage. Though Fugaku rarely spoke about Minato, whenever he did, it was always with the utmost respect, calling him the strongest shinobi of his time.

"Sadly, even though he's talented, he's going to lose this one," Fugaku stated abruptly, standing up. "Itachi, stay and watch this match carefully. If you pay attention, you'll learn something valuable."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away. As the head of the Uchiha Clan in a powerful village like Konoha, he rarely had time to sit and simply observe.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Salko completed another set of hand seals and unleashed another gust of wind. But this time, the moment the wind formed, Akito flickered—disappearing from his original spot and reappearing in the opposite direction.

[Was this a coincidence? Did he predict it? Or can he sense my wind now?] Salko's eyes narrowed. He immediately cast another wind attack, watching closely.

Once again, Akito flickered to safety.

[He's dodging too precisely. If he can really sense my attacks, why isn't he counterattacking? Before, he would charge the moment he saw an opening… but now he's just waiting. Something feels off.]

Salko continued testing him, launching attack after attack, but the result remained the same. Akito dodged effortlessly, his breathing becoming steadier, more relaxed, while Salko's chakra began to deplete.

[This is getting annoying. I can't keep spamming this technique or I'll run out of chakra.]

Just as he was about to switch strategies, Akito disappeared again—but this time, he reappeared right behind Salko, kunai swinging towards his back.

Salko spun on instinct, already forming the hand sign for Mind-Body Switch Technique. [Got you.]

The moment he activated his clan's signature jutsu, Akito—who should have been directly in front of him—vanished.

[What—?]

A voice from behind made Salko freeze. "Shin-san warned me that if I cornered you, you'd try to use your clan's technique. He even told me exactly when to flicker to avoid it." Akito's tone carried a rare hint of pride.

Salko's mind reeled. His consciousness wavered, thrown out of sync with his body due to his failed jutsu. Mind-Body Switch Technique was powerful, but it required precise aim—if the user missed, their consciousness would take several minutes to return, leaving their body completely vulnerable.

Akito didn't need another opening. The fight was already over.

"The winner is Akito Takime from Takimura Village!" the proctor announced.

This time, the cheers were mixed. While some admired Akito's victory, many of the Konoha spectators remained silent. Watching a genin from one of their main clans lose to a shinobi from a minor village was not something they wanted to celebrate.

Now that he had won, Akito let his guard down. The exhaustion hit him all at once—his body ached, his chakra reserves were nearly depleted—but his mind had never been clearer. He took a deep breath and glanced up at the stands, searching for familiar faces.

[This weak version of myself just won against a Konoha genin,] he thought with a small, satisfied smile. [I'll train much harder from now on.]

Meanwhile, Itachi observed the scene below, his gaze shifting between Akito and the unconscious Salko. He replayed the fight in his mind, trying to understand what his father had meant when he told him to watch closely.

[Was he trying to teach me that overconfidence can lead to defeat, even against a weaker opponent?]

While the match had been interesting, neither fighter had truly impressed him. Even Salko, who had developed a unique application of wind release, had lost due to a series of poor decisions—first underestimating his opponent, then panicking the moment things didn't go as expected.

[If instead of wasting chakra on a technique that clearly wasn't working, or gambling with the Mind Body Switch, he had simply analyzed the situation calmly, he would have realized he was winning,] Itachi thought. [All he had to do was be patient.]

Itachi exhaled softly and stood up, brushing off his thoughts. "Whatever," he murmured to himself. "I'll go see Sasuke."

With that, he left the stands and disappeared into the crowd.

<<<>>>

Inside the infirmary, Nora was laying on the bed, her injuries were already in bandages but they ewre not life-threatening. A few minutes ago, a Konoha shinobi had entered and asked if she wanted to see Mizuki. She hesitated but eventually agreed—there was no way Mizuki had any reason to help her clan get her back, so there was no harm in listening.

As soon as Mizuki and Kaoru entered, Nora wasted no time. "Why did you want to see me?" she asked with cold, but weak voice.

"I just have a question," Mizuki said, pulling a chair next to the bed. Kaoru considered stepping out, feeling like he was intruding, but curiosity kept him inside.

Mizuki leaned forward slightly. "Why didn't you go for the kill?"

Nora blinked but remained silent.

"I know you chose to aim for my shoulder instead of my head or neck. So why?"

Nora's expression remained emotionless. Maybe she was too exhausted to care, both physically and mentally. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said without moving her eyes her gaze still locked on Mizuki. "You must have imagined it."

"Can't you just tell me why?" Mizuki pressed, she had this strong desire to know the the reason.

Nora exhaled sharply, a trace of mockery in her tone. "And why should I answer any of your questions?" She turned her head slightly, finally breaking eye contact. "I just didn't feel like it, okay? I don't know why. It wasn't because I like you, or because I wanted to show mercy. I just decided not to in that moment."

With that, she rolled onto her side, facing the wall. It was a clear sign that their company was no longer welcome.

Mizuki was silent for a moment, then simply said, "Alright. Thank you."

She turned and walked out without another word.

Kaoru, for a moment, stood there, unmoving, then he blinked. [They're both so weird.]

He quickly followed Mizuki as both of them disappeared behind the door.

**

A/N - 

The concept of chakra being composed of yin and yang energies is canon (I think Yamato mentioned it), but the theory itself isn't fully polished. So, from this point on, I'll be expanding on it and inventing a lot of new things. I hope you'll enjoy the new techniques—I personally think they'll make battles more diverse and interesting. We'll see how it plays out!

Character Notes:

Akito - Akito v2 - "Wow, turns out not running away feels pretty good!"

Nora - Defective Product - "I was raised to be a perfect weapon… but now I'm malfunctioning?"

**