Kapitel 61: Fuu's Strength
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"Well, I guess that's me. Man, this is gonna be a drag." Shikamaru said with a tired sigh as he made his way to the arena floor, meeting Tenten in the middle.
"ALRIGHT, SHIKA! DON'T LOSE! SHOW US THAT YOU'RE A REAL MAN!" Ino cheered loudly for her lazy friend.
"YEAH! GO FOR IT, SHIKA! OH! AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU, TOO, TENTEN!" Naruto cheered loudly as well for his best friend.
"YOSH! DO YOUR BEST, TENTEN! SHOW HIM THE FRUITS OF YOUR HARD WORK!" Lee yelled out enthusiastically.
"BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN STRENGTH, TENTEN!" Guy added in, equally loudly.
"WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU, TENTEN! KNOCK HIM WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH!" Lee cheered more.
"THAT'S GOOD! Cheer her on more with passion, Lee!" Guy encouraged his mini-me.
"OKAY! OKAY! I know I'm the one who started it, but can you please stop the cheering!" Ino yelled out angrily, shutting both Lee and Guy up, earning silent thanks from everyone else.
'Man, these two are surprisingly loud. No wonder they are together.' Asuma thought as he smiled at his two blonde energetic students while silently cheering his lazy student.
"Man, this is such a drag. I mean, give me a break. I have to fight a girl." Shikamaru said to himself, but it was loud enough for Tenten to hear, making the bun-haired girl narrow her brown eyes at the lazy Nara.
"Yeah, you just keep thinking that way, little man. It'll just make my job easier." Tenten said, unimpressed by Nara's lack of motivation and interest for the match.
"Ready? Let the Fourth Match of the preliminary.....begin!" Hayate announced loudly as both Shikamaru and Tenten leaped away from each other to gain some distance.
Tenten didn't waste any time, as she threw multiple shurikens at the running Nara, as he desperately and narrowly dodged her impeccable accuracy.
He had to remind himself to thank Asuma for the intense physical training he received to improve his speed and stamina. Otherwise, he would be an easy target for the bun-haired girl.
Shikamaru managed to dodge the last shuriken with a sloppy back-flip and throw several shurikens at Tenten, but they were easily intercepted by her own, as she then followed up by throwing more projectiles at him; some even managed to cut his arm and shoulder.
Tenten decided to end the match quickly, so she could preserve her energy and not give away too much of her skills, so she leaped high into the air and took out a sealing scroll from her pouch.
Tenten then opened the scroll, revealing several storage seals written in them as she unsealed multiple weapons at a time, and threw them all in a rain of steel towards the stunned Nara, all from shurikens, kunais, senbons, short swords, and sickles.
Knowing dodging was impossible, Shikamaru made several hand seals and slammed both his palms on the ground.
"Earth Style: Multi Mud Wall!" Several large walls of earth suddenly emerged from the ground around Shikamaru just as the flying weapons were about to collide, shielding him from Tenten's attack.
Most of the Jonins were shocked that Shikamaru was able to use a strong defensive elemental ninjutsu when he is only a Rookie Genin, but they could tell it was quite taxing for the Nara, as he was lightly panting.
Tenten then landed on the ground, surprised but annoyed that none of her weapons was able to hit Shikamaru. She still has a couple of tricks up her sleeve, but she hopes not to waste them on a preliminary round when she plans to save them for the finals.
'That was too close. That last Jutsu took a lot out of me. I only have enough chakra for three more ninjutsu attacks. This is such a drag. I need to plan my move very carefully if I want to win this stupid preliminary.' Shikamaru thought as he remained hidden behind his earth walls, away from Tenten's line of sight.
'This is getting annoying. I thought this was going to be an easy fight. I mean, this guy doesn't even look that impressive, not like Neji or Naruto. But then again, Lee is almost as strong as Neji, and he looks like Guy Sensei. Plus, the fact that he can perform elemental ninjutsu proves that he is no joke. I might have to use my trump card after all.' Tenten thought in frustration.
But her train of thought was interrupted when she saw a shadow coming around the earth wall and towards her at full speed.
Not willing to stand around and find out what the shadow was going to do to her, she quickly leaped away, but the shadow was still chasing her around like a snake.
She was having some trouble finding her footing since so many of her discarded weapons was still on the ground beneath her feet, but she still had nothing to worry about as long as she remained vigilant.
But suddenly, Tenten tripped and lost her balance when she 'accidentally' stepped on the handle of one of her discarded short swords, which surprised her greatly since she NEVER in her career as a Genin of Konoha, done something as clumsy as tripped before.
'What the hell! I could have sworn that my feet wouldn't be near that sword! What just-'
Her train of thought was broken once again when she suddenly felt her body completely paralyzed.
"Shadow Possession Success," Shikamaru said with a smirk as he finally stepped out of his cover behind the earth wall.
"What is this?! Why can't I move my body?!" Tenten demanded to know.
"You don't know? Well, this is my clan's secret technique. And I rather not disclose its secrets to everyone here if I'm going to fight them in the future, even if it's troublesome." Shikamaru said with a tired sigh as he walked towards Tenten and, in turn, made her walk towards him as well.
Tenten angrily narrowed her eyes at the drowsy Nara, but then a thought came to mind when she realized something.
"You did something, did you?! When I was trying to avoid your shadow, I suddenly tripped, which is something I would NEVER do! So what did you do?!" Tenten demanded, with venom in her voice.
"Hmph, so you noticed, huh? Well....."
EARLIER
'That was too close. That last Jutsu took a lot out of me. I only have enough chakra for three more ninjutsu attacks. This is such a drag. I need to plan my move very carefully if I want to win this stupid preliminary.' Shikamaru thought as he remained hidden behind his earth walls, away from Tenten's line of sight.
Shikamaru then slowly closed his eyes as the whole world slowed down around him, as his brain went into overdrive.
'Her advantage: My lack of long-range attacks. My advantage: Her overconfidence. First, distract the target. Use shadow to draw her towards the floor of discarded weapons, making her unbalanced.
Caught off-guard but not unprepared, the target will use her experience and skills in acrobatics to avoid the shadow at all costs. Second, apply a sufficient amount of Earth chakra into the ground, resulting in a small yet unnoticeable quake, thus causing the said floor of weapons to move a tad as she tries to avoid the shadow without noticing the ground beneath her.
Third, once the target is unbalanced, the shadow will easily catch her, rendering her immobile. Duration of attack: 30 seconds. Success probability: 100%. Result: Checkmate.'
Shikamaru then opened his eyes as if he had only been gone for 2 seconds during his brainstorming session.
He then made a single hand-seal.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Shikamaru then sends out his shadow toward Tenten to execute his plan of attack...
NOW
As Shikamaru was recalling the process of his plan on making Tenten tripped, the bun-haired girl and everyone else were still waiting for him to explain, with anticipation.
"...Its's too troublesome to explain," Shikamaru said with a tired sigh, making the bun-haired girl and everyone else sweat-drop at his laziness.
'Typical Shikamaru.' all the Rookie 9, including Asuma, thought in unison.
"Tsk, big deal. So what if you catch me with your Shadow? All you can do is hold me here until your chakra runs out. All I have to do is wait." Tenten scoffed as she finally remembered hearing about the Nara Clan's shadow abilities, which only specialize in entrapment.
"I'm sure you would. To be honest, this whole thing is completely troublesome.....but I didn't come this far to quit now." Shikamaru said with a hint of determination in his eyes, as he then made several additional hand-seals.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu!"
The shadow beneath Tenten's feet began to extend up her leg and towards her neck as the edge of the shadow took the form of a 'hand.'
Tenten's eyes widened in panic when the shadow hand reached her neck and began to squeeze tightly.
Tenten was now struggling to breathe, as she was completely helpless due to the shadow paralyzing her every movement. She was fighting hard to break his hold, but her lungs and brain were screaming at her to surrender, which she reluctantly did before Shikamaru did something he might regret.
"I-g-give-u-u-pp," Tenten struggled to say her words before she passed out from lack of oxygen.
Shikamaru immediately broke his hold and released his Jutsu, dropping the unconscious Tenten on the concrete ground.
Lee was about to jump from the balcony to catch Tenten before her head hit the floor, but surprisingly, Naruto beat him to it, which surprised everyone at how fast he was.
Her head landed on his chest as Naruto slowly and gently lowered her to the ground while a medical team rushed over to them.
Naruto noticed the hand-shaped bruise on her neck, but luckily it was nothing serious.
He then subtly channeled chakra in his hand and gently placed it on her bruised skin, making her squirm from the icy touch, but she immediately relaxed into it when it soothed her pain. Guy then approached them and gave Naruto a thankful smile and thumbs-up for helping his student.
"Tenten has forfeited the match. The winner of the fourth preliminary round and advancing to the finals is Shikamaru Nara." Hayate announced, which earned a round of cheers from the Rookie 9.
Ino was the loudest, as she was happy that her lazy friend and teammate managed to pull off the first win for their team. Now she can barely wait for hers and Naruto's turn.
Choji was cheering as well, but not as loud as Ino.
Temari looked impressed by the fight, but she didn't voice it out.
Asuma was, oddly, giggling like a madman, as he had Ryo signs in his eyes, which means that Shikamaru just helped him win some money.
A team of healers placed Tenten on a stretcher as they rushed her away to the infirmary to get some treatment for her bruised neck.
A healer asked Shikamaru if he needed treatment as well, but he decided to stay so he could watch the rest of the preliminary.
Naruto then placed his hand on Shikamaru and shunshin them both to the balcony.
Shikamaru immediately collapsed against a wall and dropped down on the floor from exhaustion as Ino and Hinata offered to bandage his cuts and bruises.
"I gotta say, Shika, that was a very clever strategy. I mean, Tenten had you on the ropes until you made those earth walls. She can't hit you when you have plenty of cover and time to plan out your attack." Naruto praised his lazy friend as he kneeled down next to Ino.
"True, but he kinda went too far with the whole 'strangle thing,' don't you think? I mean, he could have just led her to a wall and forced her to bend backward, making her knock herself out when her head hits the wall." Ino pointed out with a smirk, as she couldn't help but playfully nag at her lazy friend.
"That's...kinda anti-climactic, Ino-chan. Shikamaru did the right thing. He needed to show his strength to everyone. Otherwise, they won't think he'll be an easy target in the tournament. Besides, he didn't show all of his skills, did he?" Naruto pointed out.
"Guys, you know I'm right here, right? You don't have to discuss about me like I'm not around." Shikamaru said, slightly annoyed at his two blonde teammates.
"We know." Naruto and Ino said in unison as they gave Shikamaru a playful smirk while Hinata was silently giggling at their interaction.
Asuma then approached the downed Nara with a satisfied smile on his face.
"Good job, Shikamaru. I knew you could do it...." Asuma then turns to Naruto and Ino, "...All is left is for you two lovebirds to win, and in turn, I'll win as well." Asuma said with a grin, making the blonde couple blush red from embarrassment.
"How much did you bet on us, Asuma Sensei?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, the next match is about to begin. So I advise you both to be ready if it's one of you." Asuma said in a serious tone as he, Naruto, and Ino turned to the giant screen to see which names would be selected for the next match.
The display then showed two names, neither from Konoha.
Round 5 Fu vs. Atsui
"ALRIGHT! It's time I show these kids the Hot power of Kumo...." Atsui yelled out passionately, turning his attention to the long-time object of his desire ".....What do say, Yugito-chan? When I win, how about I take you out for some hot dinner." Atsui said with a lecherous grin.
"For the thousands time, Atsui, I'm not interested. Besides, you're not my type. And I happened to have a good one." Yugito said with disgust in her voice as she turned her gaze longingly on the opposite balcony to see a certain blue-eyed blonde.
'I second that, Kitty. This arrogant fool only wants you for your status. You deserve a worthy mate. Don't lose to that little flower girl, nya!' Matatabi added in, which made the blonde Kumo kunoichi smile for the support.
Atsui then turned his head in the direction of Yugito's gaze, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the blonde genin.
"Be cool, Atsui. You have a match to win, remember?" Samui reminded calmly, as she tried to be a good sister and teammate, but her brother's non-stop pursuit of the Nibi Jinchuriki, who happens to be one of her close friends, always annoyed her.
"Pfft, oh, I'll win, alright. And I WILL have that date. I mean, look at my opponent. She's a child." Atsui scoffed as he made his way to the arena floor, while a delighted Fu was jumping from excitement.
Fu then made her way to the arena floor, ignoring her teammates and Sensei's cruel taunts, telling her not to dishonor Taki with her foolishness or just the simple, calling her a worthless freak and all that.
But despite their poisonous words, she still had a bright smile on her face.
When Fu finally made it to the arena floor, slightly disheartened by her team's lack of support, she then heard Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and even Yugito....cheering for her? This is a first.
"YOU CAN DO IT, FU!" Naruto cheered for his fellow Jinchuriki.
"YEAH! THAT GUY IS EASY! EVERYONE CAN BEAT HIM WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT!" Ino cheered for the lonely-looking girl.
"Ino that is uncalled for." Shikamaru scolded but was silently cheering for the Taki kunoichi as well.
"MAKE SURE YOU AIM FOR HIS FACE, FU!" Yugito yelled out, earning a look of 'are you serious' from her teammates, but she simply shrugged it off, making Atsui grit his teeth in anger.
Fu was completely surprised.
For the first time in her life, somebody was actually supporting her. And they were her friends! Fu honestly wanted to cry from joy and hug them all, but she decided to do that later. She definitely wants to hug Naruto first because she always thought the handsome blonde was very huggable.
She then turned her head upwards and saw Gaara staring at her, and she couldn't help but wave excitedly at him with the biggest smile on her face. Gaara simply narrowed his eyes at her, but Fu could have sworn she saw his hand twitching like he was about to wave back. But that is just wishful thinking at this point.
Fu then turns her head and faces her opponent.
"SALUTATIONS, ATSUI OF KUMO! LET'S HAVE A GREAT MATCH!" Fu said happily as she made a cute salute.
"Tsk, whatever. This match was over before it started. It's a waste of my burning hot energy!" Atsui scoffed at the weird smiling girl.
Hayate then addressed the two foreign combatants.
"Alright, let the Fifth Match of the preliminary....begin!" Hayate announced loudly.
Atsui immediately took out his katana and charged blindly and angrily at the smiling mint-haired girl.
"Cloud Style: Flame Slice!"
His sword immediately burst into flames, sharpening the edge tenfold, as he began his series of slashes on the Taki Kunoichi. Fu managed to dodge every one of them with minimum effort, but Atsui was relentless, and his skills with the sword were surprisingly adequate.
Atsui was determined to slice the small girl in half for looking down on him, and he definitely wanted to hurt her since he suspected that she was friends with Naruto, which made it even better, as it would hurt him as well.
When Atsui saw an opening in her mid-section, he didn't hesitate as he channeled more chakra to his body to increase his strength and speed and finally sliced her exposed stomach with his burning sword, which made everyone gasp with worry, as Fu held her mid-section and kneeled down in pain.
Naruto and Yugito cried out her name in worry, but surprisingly.....not as worried as Gaara.
When he saw the blade made contact, and Fu knelt down on the ground in pain, Gaara immediately uncrossed his usually crossed arms and held the railings tightly, like it was about to break from his grip. Gaara narrowed his eyes at Atsui and was seething with rage, as he wanted to crush him with sand and bathe in his blood. He didn't know why, but he REALLY wanted to hurt Atsui.
Atsui was smirking with satisfaction when he saw the kneeling Jinchuriki, but his smirk faded when he noticed there wasn't a drop of blood on his sword. It was a direct hit, and Fu should have collapsed from pain, shock, and blood loss, and yet she was still kneeling.
Fu then slowly lifts her head, with a large grin on her face, which sends a shiver down Atsui's spine.
".....Tee-hee, that tickles," Fu said with a carefree tone as she got back on her feet, revealing her completely undamaged stomach.
'What the hell! Her midriff is exposed, meaning there is no armor! And I felt my blade touch her skin! There is no way she dodged it!' Atsui thought in panic.
Everyone was completely shocked, as they also shared Atsui's point of view. He definitely sliced her stomach, yet there was no single scratch on her.
'Kurama/Matatabi, is that the Nanabi's ability or something?' Naruto and Yugito asked their tenants.
'Yes, but instead of me explaining it, best you see it yourself,' Kurama and Matatabi replied.
"What is the matter, Atsui? I thought you said this match was over before it started, unless that is a joke. Because I love jokes! It is WONDERFUL!" Fu said with a bright smile, which made Atsui grit his teeth in anger at her bubbly personality.
"You goddamned brat! I'll teach you to look down on me!" Atsui yelled out as he charged towards Fu, sword in hand, and jumped high above for a downward slash.
Fu didn't even move a muscle, as she simply stood her ground with both hands on her hips.
Ino yelled out for Fu to move, but when Atsui's sword made contact with her head....the blade was broken in half.
Atsui and everyone's eyes widened with shock at what they had just witnessed. The sword was made of Kumo Steel, and yet, it broke like glass when it struck Fu's head.
Taking the opportunity of his shock, Fu immediately grabbed Atsui by the vest and pulled him closer, holding him in place with an iron grip. Fu's orange eyes narrowed with fury, making Atsui gulp with panic from her cold stare, fearing what she was about to do next.
"...Knock, knock...." Fu said suddenly, making Atsui slightly confused at her choice of words, but his lack of participation in her word-play, made Fu narrow her eyes even more "....I said, KNOCK. KNOCK." Fu said once more, with more intensity in her voice, making Atsui both scared and even more confused.
"W-Who's there?" Atsui reluctantly asked.
"...Kung," Fu answered.
"K-Kung, who? Atsui asked back, feeling even more scared.
"...Kung FU!" Fu yelled out with a grin.
Fu clenched her other hand to form a hard fist as she pulled Atsui closer and landed a superhuman punch to his face, sending him flying and crashing to a wall, making a large spider-web on the concrete, causing him to spit out some blood and saliva, before he fell on the floor, unconscious.
Everyone had their jaws dropped at the bubbly mint-haired girl's display of monstrous strength.
Hiruzen immediately thought Fu reminded him of Tsunade.
Temari and Kankuro now understood how she could break through Gaara's Sand Coffin with ease.
Ino and Shikamaru were dumbstruck that the childish girl they met was freakishly strong.
Gaara was impressed but was also annoyed that Fu was never really in danger.
Yugito wanted to cheer for Fu, but she didn't want Samui to be mad at her since it was her brother who got super punched in the face.
Samui raised an eyebrow at the skill displayed by the Seven Tails Jinchuuriki. Not bad, she thought.
'So the Nanabi gives her Jinchuriki super strength, is it?" Naruto asked Kurama in his mindscape.
'No. It's not a matter of strength, boy. It's a matter of durability.'
'What do you mean, Kurama?'
'The Nanabi doesn't give super strength; it gives the ultimate armor. As you know, Chomei takes the form of a Rhinoceros Beetle, as it is one of the toughest insects in the world. She is known to have a near-impenetrable shell, making her the third strongest Bijuu in the world. And as for her Jinchuriki, like me, she would only share her power with those who earned her respect. As they gain access to her vast chakra, they will also have her armor. Giving the Jinchuriki the ability to make their skin unbreakable.'
'So Fu is basically indestructible? That explains how the sword broke.'
'Only for a certain amount of time. By condensing her skin, her body becomes slightly heavier, increasing her physical strength, resulting in the monstrous punch we just witnessed.'
'Mmm, so when she stood still earlier, it's not a matter of taunting; it's just her body became heavier. And she had to grab Atsui before attacking, so she won't miss. I guess every Jutsu has a weakness.'
'Very observant, boy. You are your father's son.'
Naruto smiled at the compliment as he exited his mindscape after finally breaking-down Fu's ability, but everyone else was still trying to figure out how they worked.
Hayate then went to check if Atsui was still alive, and he sighed in relief when he felt a pulse. But he is definitely going to need intensive medical care.
"By knock out, the winner of the fifth preliminary round and advancing to the finals is Fu," Hayate announced, but the arena remained silent....until somebody finally cheered for her.
"YEAH! THAT WAS AWESOME, FU!" Naruto yelled out happily, earning him the biggest bright smile from the mint-haired girl, who looked like she was on the verge of tears from her happiness.
Fu didn't even hesitate, as she completely ignored her team, and ran all the way to the Konoha team's balcony, and gave Naruto a tight hug.
Naruto hugged her back as well, much to Fu's delight.
Ino then walked over and joined the hug as well, with Fu in the middle, surprising both Jinchurikis.
Naruto smiled at the kind gesture of his girlfriend and hugged her as well. Fu felt completely warm, probably for the first time in her life. It was like a child being wrapped in her favorite blanket. Naruto and Ino are truly her friends, and she will cherish this moment forever.
"Do hugs always make you feel this warm inside?" Fu asked curiously to the blonde pair hugging her.
".....Yes," Naruto answered with a chuckle, giving her a soft smile.
"WOW....." Fu said with childish awe, and when she finally broke the hug, she saw Shikamaru standing nearby "....MORE!" Fu said excitedly as she embraced the surprised Shikamaru, who only stood there awkwardly from the sudden hug.
"Sigh.....troublesome," Shikamaru said with a tired sigh.
The team of healers immediately rushed the broken-looking Atsui to the infirmary while Hayate waited for a moment before announcing the Sixth Match. He knew this was going to be a long day.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein