Naruto: Becoming a master taijutsu using martial arts.

Hige and Komaru charged at me again, looking way too confident for their own good. They were in sync, sure—but also predictable. And that was exactly what I needed.

This time, instead of backing away, I sprinted straight at Hige, catching him off guard. His eyes widened for a split second before he tried to react with a wild lunge. Too late. Before he could finish the move, I dropped to the ground, sliding right between his legs like I was scoring a goal in a soccer match.

"Hey! Stop running, you damn coward!" he yelled, spinning around way too fast—so fast he lost his balance. Meanwhile, Komaru wasn't falling for it.

Komaru, still transformed, dashed at me like a dog chasing a steak. I mean, technically, he was a dog transformed into a human, so not too far off. I pretended to trip, making myself look like an easy target.

He took the bait.

Komaru leapt at me, but at the last second, I twisted my body and delivered a clean spinning kick straight to his side. WHAM. The impact sent him tumbling across the ground until he finally stopped rolling. 

With a loud poof of smoke, his transformation was undone, revealing his original form. The little guy let out a weak whimper—completely exhausted.

"Komaru!" Hige shouted, glancing at his partner before snapping his gaze back to me. "You bastard! You're gonna pay for that!"

Well, now he was really pissed. I had taken his dog out of the fight, but I still couldn't let my guard down.

Hige rushed at me, fully fueled by rage, and his attacks became even more erratic. I could feel the pure hatred in his glare. He swung a clawed hand at my face, and I barely dodged by throwing myself to the side.

But he didn't stop—he spun and swept his leg low, aiming for mine, mimicking the move I had used earlier in the fight. The force of the blow almost knocked me off balance, and this time, for real, one of his claws slashed across my chest during another strike as I tried to retreat.

"You're not getting away this time!" he roared, charging at me again.

He aimed another wild strike at my chest, but now I was ready. I sidestepped, watching carefully. The dude was so mad he didn't even realize I was leading him straight into my trap.

Hope this works.

I adjusted my stance slightly, raising my fists. Hige didn't hesitate—he threw a flurry of punches, each one barely missing as I dodged, waiting for the perfect opening.

And then, there it was.

He went for a direct punch to my face. The moment I saw it coming, I ducked and countered with a sharp hook to his ribs, immediately following up with a straight punch to his chest.

The hit landed perfectly.

Hige went flying backward, rolling across the ground before staggering to his feet. It took effort for him to stand back up. His breath was ragged—meaning my punch had done some real damage.

Huh. Guess those few months of boxing lessons actually paid off. Not as good as my kicks, but hey, a solid trump card for situations like this. Honestly, I only took those classes because I watched too much boxing anime in my past life. Signed up for a gym, trained for a bit… then quit. Classic.

Hige stood up shakily, his eyes burning with frustration. His stance was less stable now, and his heavy breathing told me I might've actually injured him.

"What, you still wanna keep going? This was fun at first, but it's getting kinda sad." I said, genuinely a little worried about him. "Just quit while you still can."

"I'M NOT STOPPING UNTIL I KNOCK YOU OUT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Oh, for the love of—this dude had zero self-preservation instincts. I sighed, watching him literally shaking as he got back into his stance.

Before either of us could move, Natori appeared out of nowhere, casually strolling up beside me, carrying Hige's teammate over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You took your time, Natori." I commented.

"He put up a bit of a fight." Natori sounded completely unfazed, like he was talking about a fish that slipped out of a net. Without a second thought, he dumped Hige's friend onto the ground. The poor guy groaned like he had just been hit by a train.

I expected Hige to freak out, maybe yell or rush to help his friend. But no. He just… stood there, staring at the dude.

"Wait… Why is he… wet? Is that… miso soup?!" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the suspicious liquid covering him.

Natori looked at me like he was discussing the weather.

"He fell into a pot," he said, as if that were a perfectly reasonable explanation. "It happens."

"…He fell into a pot?! In the middle of a forest?!?"I repeated, completely baffled. 

How the hell did someone fall into a pot in the middle of a forest?

Natori looked at me indifferently, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. What was wrong with these kids?

"And you? Are you done here?" he asked, briefly glancing at Hige.

"Oh, definitely." I replied with a mischievous grin, I reached into my pocket and slowly pulled out the real prize—the flag. With a dramatic flourish, I waved it in the air.

Hige froze. His eyes widened in pure horror when he realized what I was holding.

"W-WHAT?! HOW DID YOU—?!"

He stared at the flag, then at me, then back at the flag. His brain was struggling to process the betrayal.

"You… stole the flag… while hitting me?" Hige's anger started morphing into stunned disbelief.

"Obviously! What, you thought I was fighting for fun?" I twirled the flag between my fingers with a smug grin. "Although, watching you and Komaru trip over yourselves was pretty entertaining."

The second I noticed Hige had brought the flag with him, I knew I was gonna take it. Every move I made during the fight was leading up to this. When I landed that rib punch? That was the moment I swiped it. The follow-up hit? That was just to push him away.

Hige stood there, speechless. His gaze flicked between me, his fallen teammate, and his unconscious dog. He finally realized he had lost.

"This… this isn't happening…" he muttered, looking completely defeated.

"Told you the fight was already over," I said, waving the flag teasingly. "You lost."

He clenched his fists, but he knew he had no choice. Picking up Komaru and dragging his soup-soaked teammate, he turned to leave.

"THIS ISN'T OVER, KENSHIN! I WON'T FORGET THIS!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"I hope not." I called back, folding my arms. "That was a great fight. Well, for me, anyway."

As Hige disappeared into the trees, I let out a relieved sigh. I was exhausted. And the bite on my arm? Yeah, that was really starting to sting. I really need to find out if Konoha had rabies vaccines.

"Finally."

"You're weird." Natori said, already walking back toward camp.

"Me? I'm weird? You dropped a guy in a pot of soup and didn't even blink!"

Still, I couldn't help but smile.

Our walk back to camp was peaceful—until we heard a distant, furious voice screeching from somewhere in the forest.

"CAN SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS DAMN TRAP?! I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE SINCE THE BEGINNING!"

…Right. That idiot who fell into Hiyomi's trap. He was still hanging there. Hige had completely forgotten to free him before retreating.

"Oh. I totally forgot about him."

"So did I." Natori said, completely unfazed.

Natori and I shared a glance before continuing on our way.