Fantasy Realm — Naruto: Blood-Mist

"A sword… I have considered it before, but is this really a smart decision to learn about it now?" Sasuke asks.

"Your Taijutsu is quite good, but not really decisive enough, if you ask me. Look at what happened when I grabbed you. You punched me, and I laughed it off. You know, Sasuke, you're not the strongest ninja physically. In fact, I'd say you're only slightly above average in terms of physical strength. However, if you had used a sword—especially combined with Chakra—you could have cut my hand off! If you want to be the kind of ninja who arrests his enemies and acts more like a protector, then a sword isn't needed. But a sword would improve your killing power and your decisiveness, allowing you to more easily dispose of your foes," Alex explains.

Sasuke stares at Alex, his eyes wide open. "I… I need to kill someone!"

"Well, if that's the case, a sword would certainly help," Alex says.

Hehe, the fish swallowed the bait!

Alex takes out another [Sword], closely resembling the [Broadsword] he saw in the world of Final Fantasy IX.

"What kind of sword you use depends. A typical Katana may suit you just fine, but they all have pros and cons. I'll teach you my style, which focuses more on power and less on speed and finesse. It's not perfectly suitable for Katanas, but I still think you should learn it. You may ask why? Simple. Your speed is already incredibly advanced. What you need is a decisive attack. Something that can deal a lot of damage to your enemy. Light and swift strikes won't make a real difference to your current Taijutsu," Alex explains.

Not like I know another swordsmanship style. My Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship is not that suitable for Katanas, but Sasuke will learn his own style. I think teaching him the basics of it will be the best I can do for him. At least for now.

"I have a request," Sasuke says. "Give me a larger sword then. You seem to have quite a few stored in your scrolls."

"Hmmm, why?" Alex asks him, clearly a little surprised.

"Your explanation makes sense. I want to focus on pure destructive capabilities. I may end up using a katana, but I'm not opposed to learning your preferred type of weapon first," he explains.

"Sure," Alex motions for Sasuke to return the [Sword], which he promptly does. He then replaces it with a [Sword] resembling a Chinese sword, a good compromise between the light Katana and heavy broadsword that benefits fully from the bonuses of his Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship, making it suitable for Alex's style.

"Observe carefully. I heard you're an Uchiha? By now, you should have awakened your Sharingan, but it looks like you haven't—which is a little disappointing. I hope you're at least capable of observing my movements, without it," Alex says, slightly taunting him.

Sasuke shakes, surprised and angry, but unable to say anything in response.

Alex then performs the various forms of his Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship. Since his stats are reduced, Alex doesn't hold back. He repeats his movements and then explains when to use which movement and how to combine the different forms.

The whole explanation takes nearly an hour, and Sasuke asks quite a few questions.

"You're smart enough to ask questions. I like that. Pride is useless. In order to receive training, you have to be willing to do anything. Throw away your pride if it prevents you from gaining Power. I had to endure Menchi's ass and feet every day just to learn my grappling skills back in the… ah… you don't need to know. Never mind! Go on, repeat those movements. I'll look after Naruto, and Sakura should be returning soon as well," Alex says, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I… looks like you suffered as well," Sasuke says, seemingly conflicted about throwing away his pride, but starting his training nonetheless.

Alex then walks around, quickly using Gyo to spot Naruto training in the distance.

He's already sweating, and a tree in front of him is embedded with a couple of Shuriken.

Alex then sees him throw a shuriken and use the hand seals taught by him.

I think the hand seals are fine. He's doing them properly.

However, the only thing that appears around the shuriken are a bunch of smoke clouds that quickly dissipate.

"Not looking too bad, Naruto!" Alex says.

"How?! Nothing is happening!" Naruto complains.

"Look, do you expect an awesome Jutsu like this to be easy to learn?! Your hand seals are already on point, now you just have to figure out the trick. Maybe you want to create a few shadow clones. If you do it with five or ten, you learn five or ten times as fast, right?"

"Really? Does it work like that?" Naruto asks. "Do I learn 1000 times as fast if I use 1,000?"

"No. This Jutsu requires a lot of Chakra. Start with just a few clones. Also, it's very dangerous to use more, because most ninjas probably can't take the mental shock. Start with five!" Alex says.

I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass later. Screw it, I want quick results!

As Naruto, now together with five shadow clones, continues his training, Alex spots Sakura, who returns with great speed, a big smile on her face.

Looks like Kakashi agreed with me!

"So what did Kakashi tell you?"

"He tested my affinity. Apparently, my strongest one is water. He taught me the hand sign for a C-rank Jutsu, it's called Water Release: Gunshot. It's one of the simplest Jutsus, as it's just a high-pressure water bullet that gets launched forward."

"It's a nice Jutsu, easy, reliable, and without risk! Good job," Alex says. "Now you just have to learn it!"

"Yes!" she says, immediately starting.

As this Jutsu only requires the Tiger hand seal, Sakura immediately uses it. Instead of a dangerous water orb, only a few drops of water get launched from her mouth into the air.

"I think technically this already qualifies as a success. It is of no practical use, but you did manage to launch water forward. You just have to practice," Alex notes, smiling at Sakura in amazement.

She is talented… I wonder why she neglected her Jutsus this long in the canon series?

Sakura blushes. "I… really? I think I can do this!"

As Alex walks back to Sasuke, he suddenly feels his usual strength returning.

All stats normalized

HP regeneration normalized

Finally…!

Let's see how he's doing… hmmm… looking almost too clean, but I see a problem.

As he approaches him, Alex comments, "Looks good. Your form is perfect, but I feel that's all it is. There's no weight behind those strikes. It's similar to your Taijutsu. How about a little spar? You'll notice the difference between our strikes soon enough!"

"No weight… show me then!" Sasuke retorts.

"Ready, go!" Alex announces, striking toward Sasuke, who quickly sidesteps and lunges forward.

Alex casually parries the lunge, throwing Sasuke off balance in the process and kicking him in the stomach, causing him to get thrown backward.

You have dealt 4 damage to Sasuke.

"You see, even that lunge looked pretty half-assed to me. I parried it with one hand. You're not that weak, are you?" Alex asks.

"Now show me your form and stop with these desperate moves. This is training, not a battle!" Alex shouts.

Sasuke nods, clearly embarrassed.

They then simply spar, Sasuke trying his best to use the sword form and movements Alex showed him.

"In terms of speed, you're actually pretty good. Maybe as good as me. However, I feel even when going in aggressive, you rarely fully commit—always trying to stay mobile. That's fine, but at times you need to shift your weight and just go for a stronger attack," Alex notes.

They spar for 10 minutes. Sasuke doesn't land a single hit, while Alex cleanly parries or evades every strike.

"You're holding back!" Sasuke screams.

"Of course, not like I need to do more. You said you wanted to kill someone? You know I hate to be nosy, but if this is about your brother, forget it. When he was six, he was already stronger than you. How do you expect to compete with him? You haven't even awakened your Sharingan yet," Alex laughs, activating his Aura and fully unleashing his Ren.

Sasuke takes a step backward, his face looking like he just saw hell itself.

Alex intentionally lets his Aura flow toward Sasuke, taking a few steps forward.

"You know… I am pretty weak, even far weaker than Zabuza and Kakashi… If you can't even compete with me, you're beyond hopeless. I heard Itachi is at least three times as strong as Kakashi. You realize what that means? Maybe… I should just kill you and end your suffering?!" Alex screams, lunging forward.

He continuously slashes at Sasuke, who desperately blocks, his sword gets finally flung away after blocking the third of Alex's consecutive slashes.

Alex rushes forward and kicks Sasuke in the stomach again, causing him to land on his back.

You have dealt 9 damage to Sasuke.

He then forcefully steps on his stomach, holding his sword above him.

You have dealt 3 damage to Sasuke.

"Any last words? I might as well tell them to Itachi, since you won't ever be able to meet him," Alex asks, his face warped into a cruel, twisted one.

He lowers his sword toward Sasuke's eyes and then focuses his Aura on the blade.

Out of pure shock and desperation, Sasuke suddenly screams, and his Chakra intensifies.

Alex smiles as he sees that Sasuke's eyes now each have one tomoe. He immediately stops his Aura, and Sasuke suddenly snaps back to reality.

Throwing his blade aside, Alex stretches out his hand. "Sorry for this little play. Are you alright?"

"What… why? What happened to me?" Sasuke asks, visibly confused.

Alex forcefully grabs Sasuke's hand and pulls him back to his feet. He also notices that Naruto and Sakura are staring at them, obviously confused and shocked.

"Sorry, I just thought you needed a little push. Since I've gotten rid of Zabuza and Haku, I felt like giving you a little pressure. Looks like you've now awakened your Sharingan," Alex explains.

"You… provoked me… whatever! This power… let's keep going! I need to test this!" Sasuke says in an excited voice.

He grabs his sword and lunges at Alex, who looks at him with an annoyed face, quickly picking up his own sword.

As Alex fights back, it is visibly harder for him to deal with Sasuke's attacks.

Heh, he got stronger. He can predict my movements, and his own movements are full of feints. Not bad.

They spar for five minutes until Sasuke finally breathes hard and his Sharingan disappears, his eyes returning to normal.

"Good job! Much better than before!" Alex says.

Alex turns around and says, "Take a break," before approaching Sakura and Naruto.

"You two, show me your results. After that, we'd better eat back at Tazuna's house," Alex suggests.

Alex first observes Sakura's results. Now, an actual small water ball is forming in her mouth and is at least flying a medium distance, though it barely creates an impact.

"Nice. The form is clean. You just need more power—or, in the case of your Jutsu, pressure. Keep it up. You're quite talented at this!" Alex says, acknowledging her effort.

"T…thank you!"

He then walks with Naruto to the tree he is practicing at.

Naruto repeats the same movements. He throws a Shuriken, does all hand seals, and screams, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Around 10 Shuriken suddenly appear, surrounded by smoke. They almost instantly disappear, though, and only the original Shuriken hits the tree.

"Already? After one morning of practice…?" Alex says in surprise.

"Yeah… I increased it to 50 clones! Cool, huh?!" Naruto brags, before he suddenly stumbles forward, holding his head and collapsing.

"...Shit!"

Can't trust this idiot to hold back… I hope he's just tired.

I guess… I overdid it a little.

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