The sun hovered high above, baking the training ground with a harsh, summery glare. A single white circle had been drawn in the dirt with a stick — roughly ten feet in diameter. Inside it stood Asuma Sarutobi, jōnin sensei of Team 10, both hands lazily holding cigarettes to his lips.
"One rule," Asuma said, voice relaxed. "Move me out of this circle before I finish these two cigarettes. That's it. Use any method you want — teamwork, strength, trickery. Doesn't matter. Just get me out of this ring."
The wind stirred the dust as the three genin stared at their teacher. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed slightly. Ino leaned slightly forward, already calculating possibilities. Choji grinned.
"I'll give you five minutes to plan," Asuma added, exhaling a thin stream of smoke. "Need the time?"
"Yes," Shikamaru replied instantly, arms crossed, mind already turning.
But Choji stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "Nah," he said cheerfully. "I've got a plan."
Shikamaru turned to him, brows raised. "And what's that?"
Choji pointed straight at Asuma. "Attack!"
Shikamaru sighed and facepalmed. "Of course."
Ino smacked the back of Choji's head. "He's a jōnin, idiot!"
But Choji didn't flinch. His grin widened, eyes shining strangely — mischief, excitement, something deeper. Something wild.
Shikamaru turned serious. "Okay, listen. Ino — we'll need you to use your Mind Body Switch, but not to control him. Just trip him. Even if you can't hold him, a second is enough. I'll use Shadow Possession to destabilize him."
"And I'll attack," Choji said again, this time with more weight.
"Yes," Shikamaru muttered. "You'll hit him while he's off-balance. This'll only work if we're perfectly timed."
Ino nodded, then gave Choji a sideways glance. Something about him felt different today. More alert. More... alive.
Five minutes passed.
"Time's up," Asuma called, flicking the first ash from his cigarette. He stood relaxed but alert, like a stone in the middle of a stream.
Shikamaru's shadow crept along the dirt as the three split and began circling. Ino moved into the tree line, vanishing behind a thicket with kunai in hand. Choji cracked his neck and stepped forward, his face alight with joy — the kind of joy Ino had rarely seen in him during a fight.
He always hated conflict. Always hesitated. Always held back. But now… now there was no hesitation. This Choji felt like a storm waiting to break.
She watched through the leaves, her heart beating faster.
Choji charged first.
Asuma blinked. "Straightforward, huh?"
Choji's fist swung fast, but Asuma twisted, catching the wrist and using his momentum to throw him. Choji flipped mid-air, landed with a roll, and laughed.
"Masuma-sensei," he said, deliberately mispronouncing.
Asuma scowled. "It's Asuma."
He came in again, faster this time. His movement was unorthodox — twisting, bouncing, weaving in a rhythm unlike any taijutsu Asuma had seen. It wasn't Akimichi style. It was more like...
"Gomu Gomu no…" Choji grinned, stretching his arm backward unnaturally through centrifugal momentum. "Pistol!"
His fist snapped forward with incredible force, slamming into Asuma's forearm guard and skidding him half a step back.
That... was not chakra-enhanced. That was pure torque and wild motion.
Asuma's brows drew together. That wasn't Akimichi style. That was something else entirely.
In the shadows, Ino's eyes widened. That punch was insane. Choji's body moved with abandon, like he wasn't afraid of falling, of failing — not anymore. She remembered the old Choji, the one who would rather talk it out, the one who'd frown at every spar, always worried about hurting someone.
Now? He was laughing. Joyfully, wildly. And for the first time… she liked this side of him better.
"Where did that come from?" she whispered to herself. "Who is this Choji?"
Shikamaru's shadow suddenly leapt forward, just as Asuma knocked away another looping jab from Choji. His feet froze for a split second, snagged in the Shadow Possession.
Now!
From the treeline, Ino formed a seal. "Mind Body Switch Technique!"
For a blink — a heartbeat — her consciousness grazed Asuma's. She didn't take full control, but it was enough. His balance faltered.
Choji saw the opening and shot forward like a spring uncoiling.
"Thanks, guys!" he yelled, and twisted into a whirlwind of spinning strikes — fists and elbows in a blur, his movements like rubber snapping back after a stretch.
Asuma blocked the first few, grunting. His cigarettes dropped from his lips as he crossed his arms to guard. "Not bad…"
But Choji wasn't stopping. He ducked low, feinted, then leapt with a wild arc — his body twisted mid-air, winding like a slingshot.
He remembered how he used to fight — always pulling his punches. Always afraid of what might happen if he didn't.
But that version of him had died long ago. He remembered his second life — the rubber man who fought for his friends, who laughed in the face of gods. And before that, the tired college kid who always wished he could live a life worth writing about.
Now… he could.
Choji grinned, heart hammering, soul alive. "Masuma-sensei," he said one last time.
Asuma looked up — saw that grin — and something in his gut twisted.
"Gomu Gomu no… PISTOL!"
The punch hit like thunder.
Asuma flew backward, his boots skidding against the dirt — out of the circle by several feet. He coughed, once, hard — the breath knocked clean out of him.
The world went quiet.
Shikamaru stood frozen, mouth slightly open.
Ino lowered her hands, speechless.
Choji landed lightly, shaking out his hand and grinning like a fool. "Whoo! That felt good."
Asuma sat up slowly, brushing dirt off his vest. He lit a new cigarette with shaking fingers and gave a low laugh.
"You…" he said, voice rough. "You weren't kidding. That was your plan."
Choji winked. "Told you."
Shikamaru walked over, staring at him. "Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"
Choji shrugged. "Just feels right."
Ino finally spoke, stepping out from the trees. "You used to hate fighting," she said softly. "You'd rather lose than hurt anyone. But now... you're different. And honestly?" She smiled. "I like this Choji better."
Choji rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed now. "Thanks."
Asuma looked at them — the strange trio standing under the sun, each with their own scars, doubts, and promise. And then he looked at Choji.
That wild spark. That reckless confidence. That refusal to lose.
Asuma stood and blew out a long plume of smoke. "I didn't just see a main character today," he said quietly. "I saw a storm coming."
Choji blinked. "Huh?"
"You heard me." Asuma grinned. "Now get ready, storm boy. Because I've got a hell of a lot more to teach you."
[End of the chapter...]