Chapter 3.2- One Thousand Hands

XXXX- SARUTOBI OMOIKANE

He lounged against the tree stump while taking a look around the gathering. He hadn’t thought that this would be what the gatherings would look like when he’d first heard of them and pursued an invitation. He’d expected secret training of powerful ninjutsu or something like that but while Izuku-san and Shorirama-san did show off some ninjutsu on their own, it definitely was not the centre of the meetings. These were, and he still felt strange thinking it, almost like leisurely gatherings. The idea that the Senju heir, the Cousin to Uchiha Clanhead and so many other clan heirs would gather during the weekends to play music and games would have been ridiculous to him if he wasn’t looking right at it.

“How’s the grill coming along, Choni?” He heard the Inuzuka say from his position opposite him and turned his attention to the Akimichi who was expertly managing a large outdoor grill and flipping pieces of meat on it. Next to the grill was a platter of various fruits and vegetables that had been provided for the entire gathering but would only end up being touched by the Senju who refused to eat meat for whatever reason.

Speaking of the Senju, he was in the complete opposite end of the courtyard in front of a series of targets. Next to him stood Uchiha Izuku and they whispered between themselves for a bit before Senju walked backwards and primed the bow. In the space between seconds, the bulls eye of all three targets had arrows sticking out of them. How? He asked himself, suddenly sitting upright. He heard the Senju bark a laugh as the Uchiha boy seemingly shared his shock at the state of things.

“Play us something, Kizuru. Izuku owes us a song” The Senju said, walking away from the targets and dragging his Uchiha friend with him.

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“Senju Shorirama v Uchiha Izuku” Uraraka-sensei said, gesturing to the raised platform set aside for the sparring matches. The friendly duo wasted no time in marching to the platform and taking their places.

“Ready to kiss the ground?” Shorirama-san asked with a smile on his face.

“Yeah yeah. This isn’t going to be anything like last time” Before Shorirama could offer a reply on his own, Uraraka-sensei interrupted, commanding them to form the seal of confrontation.

They executed it in unison and once Sensei’s hand fell, the Uchiha was on the move.

He ran forwards in quick, long strides before kicking at his opponent’s head. The boy with hair like silk weaved around the attack with ease before trying to step into his friend’s guard. Izuku sent off two quick jabs. Both were dodged in succession. The Senju went on the attack, sending a knife hand at his friend’s throat that forced him to flinch backwards. He wasted no time and took advantage of the hesitation, stomping on the other boy’s foot and refusing to let up. Izuku’s attempt to pull his foot out from under his friend was met with harsh resistance.

Shorirama unleashed three quick jabs into his friend’s face before lifting his foot and allowing him backpedal. Izuku stumbled backwards for a second before abandoning his training and diving right at his opponent. They landed on the floor with a harsh crash, the Uchiha on top. He scrambled to press his weight down on Shorirama before lifting his upper body a bit. He wailed into his opponent, punch after punch hitting the Senju boy in the face even if they failed to do much damage on their own as Izuku couldn’t get much force behind them. As Izuku pulled his hand back for another punch, Shori’s head followed him, slamming into his friend’s forehead and sending the boy reeling.

Suddenly and smoothly, Shorirama used his foot work to grab a hold of Izuku’s waist before rolling them over so he was the one on top. And when on top, he wasted no time. Three punches in and all of Izuku’s resistance had faded. Shorirama landed two more punches before standing up and pulling his dazed friend upright to join him.

“Good show, boys. Now form the seal of reconciliation” Sensei said.

Izuku needed a second or two to get his wits about him but once he did, he formed the seal in good faith and they left the platform.

“Inuzuka Inukuro v Uchiha Uzume” Sensei said, making Omoikane sigh to himself. There was only one way this was going to go, and it wouldn’t be fun for anyone watching. The Uchiha girl was way too aggressive and brutal while the Inuzuka boy had much more pride than common sense. She’d beat him black and blue while he’d keep standing up to take more and more. He was a glutton for punishment.

Just like he’d predicted, the fight began with Inukuro running right at Uchiha-san. She weaved underneath both his swipes before punching him in the side. Kidney shot, he heard Shorirama wince to himself from behind him. Inukuro flinched but showed no more pain than that as he commanded his legs into a kick that Uchiha-san had an easy time of bending underneath. She sprung up with an uppercut that he stepped away from. It was the beginning of a combo, however. Not one that Inukuro was well poised to deal with.

She punched at his solar plexus, forcing him to block before she kicked him in the shin. He stepped back, but she used that opportunity to tangle her feet with his and force him to the ground. She stepped backwards, allowing him ample time to stand up. He didn’t take the display of sportsmanship well and dove right at her just like Izuku had done with Shorirama. The difference here was that he telegraphed every aspect of his dive, and Uchiha-san had ample time to react. She jumped upwards, stretching out a single foot that Inukuro’s head slammed into. He fell to the ground, battered and unconscious.

A/N; Here you go. Well, I found out something extremely interesting recently. Turns out Tobirama died in the first war canonically. I guess that makes this an AU.