Chapter 08

Naruto POV

Naruto took his seat in class. He wasn't too surprised when Anko snagged a seat beside him. He did pause dramatically when Itachi took the other adjacent seat. He blinked in mild surprise, wondering when he started attracting people like a magnet. Class dragged on for another hour until the teacher finally stood up, smiling for once.

"Right! We're going to go out into the training field and have brief spars just to get an idea of where you're all at. That way we know what you need improvement on or we need to focus on more. We'll have sessions like these once a month until your full Taijutsu lessons come into play next year. Of course any students who have personal Taijutsu styles from family or clans - oh and self-taught styles too - are fully welcome to use those times to study or practise." One kid on the second row put up his hand a little angrily.

"Hey, how is that fair that they get special Taijutsu styles and the rest of us just get the Academy taught one?" The teacher raised an eyebrow at this, clearly irritated by the question.

"There is a reason we teach this style of Taijutsu at the academy, it is flexible. Many of the Jounin you will see out in the village use the very style we teach here, tweaked of course to better suit their skills. However if you must know one of the most powerful and highly praised Taijutsu styles to come out of Konoha, the Goken, was created by a student no older than yourself, self taught from scrolls in the library. You are more than welcome to try and replicate the feat if you are so inclined." The student quickly sat back down, now a little embarrassed as evidenced by his red face.

"Alright now if we all will come outside." All the students in the class suddenly braced for the sudden gust of wind they were expecting as Naruto exited the class. However, all looked around in bated breath to see him sitting still with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What?"

Everybody blinked simultaneously, some sharing a laugh. It was an amusing sight when they were all staring at the same boy. Naruto just followed along quietly as the class filed out of the building into the small training ground out the back of the Academy. He sat on the farthest side of the bleachers, barely paying attention as various kids were called up to spar against one another. Most of the time it was pitiful at best; kids that didn't know the difference between throwing a punch and flailing an arm.

Finally he watched with some curiosity as Anko was finally called up to fight against the brown-haired girl he had observed earlier. They took their stances and Naruto noted that Anko's form actually looked half-decent even if the other girls' seemed more honed; most likely due to the fact it had been tested out through countless battles with members of the Inuzuka clan. Anko offered up a cheeky smirk as she leaned back slightly on one foot, putting all her weight backwards. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the strange and risky tactic, wondering what it would accomplish.

He got his answer as Hana shot forward, typical of their style she rushed in without really thinking about the consequences. Her speed was impressive, especially for a fresh academy student, but even so Anko seemed prepared. At what looked like the last possible moment she managed to pivot on her back foot, swinging out of the way of the sloppy frontal assault. She quickly capitalised on her opponent underestimating her as she carried through with her momentum, completing her spin by bringing her elbow down on the Inuzuka's back.

The girl was instantly floored, crumpling up onto the ground with a jolted groan. But she quickly recover, rolling forward. She gracefully curled back up onto her feet with a determined look. Naruto was surprised by the seemingly uncoordinated yet efficient strategy that Anko achieved. Maybe he had been a bit quick when he so easily dismissed her hollow jibe at beating him. It continued in this strange manner for a minute or two, the girl would launch fast, but sloppy frontal attacks on Anko who would counter without ever moving her weighted foot.

Finally, the Inuzuka seemed to twig what her opponent was doing and in a surprising display of tactics, she readjusted her attacks. Suddenly spinning to one side as she ran forward, she launched a leg forward past her crafty opponent, intent on sweeping out Anko's leg with a battlecry. The purple-haired girl just smirked as she used her other leg to swing up, using that momentum to carry through, flipping her body around and delivering a harsh but effective axe-kick to the other girl's face. The Inuzuka went spinning out of the small ring the teachers had set up, dazed, while Anko casually strode out.

The teachers failed to hide their slack-jawed, shifty-eyed gazes at one another. It was damn-near unheard of for a civilian to defeat a clan heir in pure Taijutsu, especially this early on in the academy. Naruto just found himself smiling as Anko strode over; plopping herself down next to him with a look that said 'beat that'. They had to wait another few matches, some more interesting than others, before Itachi's name was called up followed by a civilian trainee.