『 CHŪNIN EXAM ARENA — Itachi (10 yrs old) vs. Nemui』

He had to demonstrate such overwhelming strength that the adults gathered there wouldn’t so much as think of laying a hand on Konoha. That would be his first step toward a world without fighting.

He had absolutely no intention of going easy on anyone. He was going to give this everything he had.

Examiner:

“Second round, third exam. Konohagakure ninja Uchiha Itachi against Kumogakure ninja Shunmino Nemui. Start!”

Nemui:

“Haaaah.” Nemui opened his mouth in a great yawn as the start signal was given. There was a smattering of whispered laughter in the venue.

Itachi got into position. He leaned forward slightly and braced his feet. He had no weapons in either hand. He relaxed his entire body and set his awareness adrift, not concentrating on any particular spot. He was ready to react immediately, no matter what his opponent did.

Nemui:

“I’m so sleepy.”

Nemui stood up straight, arms dangling loosely at his sides, looking as though he was not in any kind of ready position, and then started to wobble from side to side.

Itachi (10 yrs old):

“Maybe you should just go to sleep.”

Before Itachi’s response had even reached his ears, Nemui’s eyes were closed. His stiff body pitched forward, like a stick falling to the earth.

Immediately before he slammed into the ground, the other boy disappeared from his field of view. Itachi took a sharp breath. He hadn’t felt a hint of movement in Nemui. His action was too sudden. He hadn’t seemed to be shifting his weight to either side.

He had been slow to anticipate his opponent’s movement. In that momentary opening, Nemui had gotten the jump on Itachi.

He heard a snore from behind.

Thunder …

Itachi immediately tumbled forward in a basic somersault, and the right arm brandished by the sleeping Nemui grazed the front of his face. The arm pushed past him with incredible force, white electricity turning into countless bolts of lightning, enveloping the arm.

So is that the true form of lightning, Itachi wondered absently as he landed, getting some distance from his opponent.

As before, Nemui remained asleep.

Standing up.

Was it an act? Or was he really sleeping? The only way to find out was to just attack him directly.

Itachi pulled a kunai from his breast pocket and threw it. The blade flew in a straight line toward the face of the sleeping Nemui.

His body, rocking from side to side, shook violently, and just barely evaded the kunai.

Was he awake?

At any rate, the other boy’s eyes were closed, so Itachi couldn’t use the sharingan.

Nemui stood upright, still sleeping, as though the attack of the previous moment hadn’t happened. Just when Itachi noticed him swaying violently once more, Nemui disappeared from his field of view again.

Faster than the eye could follow, Itachi danced up into the sky.

Nemui’s lightning-covered arm swept through the spot where Itachi had been standing.

Itachi landed near the wall to put some space between them, and caught his enemy in his field of view. His thoughts were racing at a dizzying speed, trying somehow to analyze the phenomenon happening before his eyes.

He couldn’t use the sharingan, and all the chakra that consumed. In the formula for an overwhelming victory, the sharingan was essential. He needed to keep it aside until that time came.

But he was confident he could unravel the phenomenon before him, using the decade of experience he had already. He didn’t need to rely on the power of the sharingan.

Think …

He stared at Nemui, wobbling off in the distance.

He had to assume that his enemy was using a type of technique that brought out the full potential of his physical abilities through the selfless state of mind that was sleep. By sleeping, he kept the ego in check, and he could carry out specialized movement through pure instinct and animal intuition alone.

[Even as a kid, Itachi’s analysis is second to none. He’s confident he can easily beat this enemy… and then you...]