Naruto: Cautious Ninja

Though it seemed like a one-sided bout from a distance, it was doing wonders for their senses and reflexes.

After a few more exchanges, Naruto raised a hand and stopped Tayuya hard in her tracks, ending their fight in a cloud of dust settling over the still grass.

Thanks to their full-on session, the red head was sweating from head to toe and looking incredibly rundown, as if she'd just finished a marathon across the entire country. Her Energizer powered opponent on the other was not only looking like he'd had the best day of his life, but was also wearing a wide smile and emitting an aura that she swore was lighting up their entire training area.

"That's enough for today. You did well."

"Th-Thanks…" Tayuya breathed exhaustedly.

"Man. You've gotten heaps strong since the last time we sparred. Anko-sensei must really be putting you through your paces."

The musician gasped and straightened up, running her hand through her long, untamed hair that she allowed to hang freely on the breeze. "How the hell are you able to move like that? I know I've seen you fight before and I know how you move from a distance, but…"

"It's different when you're up close and facing off against the real thing, huh?"

"Pretty much," Tayuya replied before scowling at him suspiciously. "It's hard to believe you learned most of your taijutsu skills from getting into fights with delinquents on the streets and hanging around with animals for most of your life. From the way you move and hit, you make it seem like you were trained by a master or something."

His speed was unreal, and his eyesight, sense of timing, flexibility and reflexes were just as unnatural. Not only that, but it seemed like he was getting better with every session.

"It's just a lot of training and hard work," Naruto replied casually while shrugging. "You'd be surprised at how much you can learn just from watching and mimicking what you see. I know how to fight and react from experience."

Tayuya giggled. "I doubt even your classmates would be able keep up with you when you get really serious."

"Don't be surprised. It's not like I'm going to use the same moves over and over again, right? That would be stupid," Naruto laughed, slipping both hands behind his head and grinning. "My opponents would be able to see where I go before I even get there and counter me if I tried to be too direct. Why do you think I choose to dodge most of the time? It saves energy and allows me to observe what my opponents are thinking first so I know how and where to attack them from when I need to, and build up my rhythm."

Tayuya blinked at him. "So… what you're saying is that it's all reflex? Your fighting style is no fighting style at all?"

"No set fighting style," Naruto corrected, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out his goggles, slapping them back around his head. "Basically I just visualize what other people have done and what my opponent could do, and improvise. In other words, I just use moves that I know will work in a fight. It's sort of like… freestyle."

"Freestyle?" Tayuya repeated, testing the word out a little before smiling. "So your taijutsu style is Freestyle taijutsu? That's pretty cool."

"Yup," Naruto nodded affirmatively, "Always different, always changing. That's how I fight."

The girl giggled and set herself in another stance, throwing out a random combination of shadow attacks. "Anko-sensei taught me her fighting style and how it worked. She's really good at hand-to-hand combat and she's not afraid to trade blows with her opponents when things get tough. I've seen her strength too. It's terrifying how much raw power she can actually muster."

"She's a Tokubetsu Jonin and a strong kunoichi. I'm just surprised they haven't made her a full Jonin yet," the jinchuriki commented, remembering her skills from previous encounters with the specialist. Not only was she quick and incredibly capable, she also knew how to throw dango sticks with terrifying accuracy.

Tayuya then looked back at him with a bit of disappointment in her gaze. "I used so many different combinations against you, even moves I just made up on the spot, but you dodged them like you knew that they were coming."

"The positions of your hands and feet give you away," Naruto said before shrugging. "I don't know. I just avoided them the way I did because I knew that was where your next attack was coming from."

What, did he possess some mild form of foresight or something? This boy was incredible. No matter what anybody tried he wasn't shaken or put off in the least. He just took every attack in stride and economically used his time in thinking up a method of countering.

Naruto wasn't just light on his feet and physically tough, he was also deceptively clever, sharp and intelligent, definitely an improvement from what he was two years ago. All of that book grinding had really helped him along in the areas where he was weakest. It brought a smile to Tayuya's face knowing that the person she wanted to walk alongside, the person that she could count on the most was so strong.

"It's like you see everything in slow motion," Tayuya exclaimed before placing her hands on her hips and leaning towards him knowingly. She raised a finger in warning, "But don't get too cocky. Some day I'm going to catch up to you, shithead, and when that happens we'll see who's going to take the top spot in this village."