章節 55: Chapter 55: Finals Part I
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Hmm…."- Bijuu
"Hmm….."- Flashback
Chapter 55:
Finals Part I
"The first match of the finals…...begin!"
The chunnin's arm went down with the crowd exploding into cheers. But neither Kushina nor Takao moved. It might have been easy to go with the mood and charge without a plan. But it seemed like neither was willing to do that. Kushina was wary of being caught by Takao's shield while Takao was wary of Kushina's chains. The boy had already seen what they had done to Choza in the preliminaries. He wasn't crazy enough to get caught inside that. To him, that was the only thing he needed to be wary of in this first match.
Smiling, the boy titled his head to the side. "Well? Weren't you going to avenge your teammate, Kushina? It's the finals, and I'm standing right here. You can very well do anything you want."
"Don't put me in the same level as you," Kushina said in return with a frown. "It's true: I really hate you right now. You disrespected someone that's close to me. But I'd be no better than you if I did the same thing. That's not what I'm looking for here."
Takao hummed at this. "Is that so? Those are some honorable intentions, Kushina. But they're useless to a shinobi!" The dark haired boy spread his arms out. "Can't you see that there is no place for honor or emotions for us! We are killers, assassins. We follow orders to the letter. There's nothing else to being a shinobi. If you can't understand that, then you have no business being a shinobi, least of all a chunnin!"
Up on the stands, Tsunade glared at Orochimaru. "What the hell did you tell that boy, Orochimaru?"
Said man chuckled. "Nothing. He already understood what being a shinobi means without me having to tell him anything. That's part of why I said that teaching him was so fascinating. He already understands such things while other genin don't."
"That's no reason to-"
"Can you tell me that he's wrong, Tsunade?" Orochimaru interrupted with a frown of his own. "There may be peace in the village now, but that can't be said for the rest of the world. Even the calmness brought by the previous war wasn't able to last before another one appeared on the horizon. And then what? We go to another war, killing and killing over and over again simply because we are told to."
"That's not it. We have a duty. A duty to protect the village."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Is that what you believe? I didn't think you were still this naive."
Tsunade scowled. But before she could say anything else, Kagome raised her hand up, preventing the argument from continuing.
"This isn't the time for this, you two. You can argue about such things later. For now, we have to cheer our respective apprentices on. Got it?"
Neither Tsunade nor Orochimaru replied. But the Uchiha hadn't exactly been expecting them to either.
Down in the arena, Kushina was frowning at what Takao had just said. Partly because she couldn't exactly say that she disagreed with him. After all, her own village had been destroyed for such reasons. Even so…..
"Yeah, you might not be wrong there," Kushina responded in a low tone. Takao began to grin, but the grin vanished as Kushina continued. "Even so, I will still keep my comrades close in my heart. In our life, we will lose many things. That is why I want to keep those that still remain closer than ever so that I can look back at my life without any regrets! So don't just dismiss these feelings like that. Or else, you're really going to regret it."
Takao h'mphed. "So be it then. I'll let you keep your silly beliefs for a bit more. At the very least until I prove to you how wrong you really are."
"This guy really is obsessed with you," Kurama said from inside her mind. "Just what happened to make him so interested in you?"
'I don't know, and I don't really care,' Kushina replied. 'All I care about now is beating him. For Hizashi and to prove him wrong.'
Takao sighed. "Well. Are you going to come at me or what?"
Kushina grinned."It looks like you're really scared of me, after all. I didn't think that you would be this wary. But whatever. If you're going to be this shy about it, then I have no choice but to take the lead, don't I?"
Takao didn't bat an eye as a barrage of shuriken came flying his way. He did have to admit that the redhead had grown more skilled with them. She had thrown them with such grace. But it didn't matter in the end. His lightning shield would only repel them with ease. At least, that was the plan.
But just before they hit, all the shuriken began to glow, a torrent of wind surrounding them each a moment later.
'This is-!'
Having no other choice, the boy focused his chakra even more to his shield, but it was no use. Some were able to be repelled, but others were able to hit him, slashing him all along his chest, legs, and arms.
The boy gritted his teeth in pain after the assault, not believing that he had actually been hit with the first attack. But that was the weakness of the shield that he had developed. He could only stop the attacks where he could deduce the point of impact. And with the shuriken, he hadn't known the extent of their range due to the wind element that had been added to them. His only choice had been to send lightning all throughout his body, but he had even been too late for that. More importantly, though, those shuriken had been rigged with seals. This only made things trickier for him from this point forward.
'She's come prepared,' he thought in annoyance. 'She didn't show this skill with fuinjutsu before. No. It's safe to assume that she wasn't this good a month ago. I guess she must have been training in fuinjutsu as well…'
Up in the stands, Arashi ran a hand through his beard, looking at his daughter with a calculating gaze. "She did those herself, didn't she?"
Kazumi nodded with a slight smile. "Yes. She wanted those to be the first level of a trap she has planned for him apparently."
'You've grown, little sister,' Kaito thought next to his parents with a smile of his own.
Down below, Takao took a breath in. 'It can't be helped, I suppose. With the threat of those in front of me, I have to reveal my first trump card here…'
With that in mind, the boy brought his hands together as he focused his chakra even more than before.
Kushina felt her victory short lived as lightning started to crackle all around Takao. Unlike before, she could actually see a hazy blue shield surrounding him.
'What's he doing?'
"Spelling trouble for you. Be ready!"
Up above, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes when he saw this. 'Is he really going to resort to that already? Well, the first level of his shield won't be of help to him against those rigged shuriken. Even so…..'
Takao smirked, the lightning crackling even more madly around him. "I should have known that holding back against you wasn't going to be a choice for me. You really have trained, Kushina. But that's just another reason why I want you this badly."
Kushina narrowed her eyes but didn't reply.
The boy continued nevertheless. "This is the first time I'm showing this in battle. So forgive me if I….hurt you too much."
Kushina t'sked, her eyes scanning this new transformation. 'What do you think, Kura?'
"It's certainly different from before. And it packs a much higher power. If I would have to guess, it's probably an upgraded version of the shield he created. In other words….."
'Yeah, my first trick isn't going to work anymore.'
But that suited Kushina just fine. She had other surprises in store for Takao.
"Well?" Kushina said as she grinned. "I made the first move. Do you really want me to make the second too?"
Takao frowned before he looked up towards the observation level where the other genin were watching the battle. 'I wanted to save this for Namikaze, but….Kushina, I will show you just how much more powerful I am compared to you.'
Feeling another shift in Takao, Kushina prepared herself for Takao to rush at her just like she had seen him do against Hizashi.
But instead, the boy vanished from her line of sight in a blur. Her eyes widened in shock at witnessing this. But before she could make a move, Kushina suddenly found herself rolling back due to a powerful punch to her gut that knocked the air out of her lungs. Takao was now in the spot that she had been standing in just seconds before, his fist stretched out as a small crater appeared around them due to the impact of the punch.
Up on the Kage box, Sarutobi had an expression of complete shock as he witnessed this. He recognized this, after all. He had called it out in the preliminaries. But this time, this boy had perfected it: it was the same version of the Raikage's lightning armor. There was no doubt to him about it. The only difference being that the boy didn't seem to pack as much damage or as speed. But compared to the other genin here, it was something to be truly terrified of.
The question remained, though. Just how had this boy pulled something like this off? It was incredible! It also spelled major trouble for Kushina.
Tsunade was thinking along the same lines as she saw this with a grimace. But she should have expected something this shocking. Orochimaru wasn't one to take a disciple without good reason. And she was now seeing that reason.
"That guy has gotten faster," Minato muttered from his spot. It was pretty much the speed that he could go to after he amplified his boy with lightning. It was surprising to say the least.
Hizashi was watching this from his spot with wide eyes. Fugaku was next to him, his arms crossed and a frown currently marking his face. No words were said between them.
Kushina came to a halt near by the wall that surrounded the arena, coughing out some blood due to the power behind the punch.
'I-I can't believe it. That speed is just like when Minato and that guy from Suna were fighting. But he wasn't this fast during his fight with Hizashi.'
"Don't be so stupid, brat. You should have known he wasn't going to stay put during this past month. He trained just as hard it seems. But don't let the shock stop you. He may be fast, but he's not invincible."
Kushina put those words in her heart as she stood back up.
Noticing this, Takao shook his head. "It's pointless, Kushina. You saw it from that one hit, didn't you? You can't keep up with my speed. And my attacks are just too much powerful for you to take. If you continue, you risk further injuring yourself. And I don't want to be the cause of that."
"Just what do you think I am, teme?" Kushina said with a growl. "I'm not so weak as to where I can't handle some punches! I'm not a weak girl that needs to be protected either. I'm a shinobi, just like you. And I can handle anything you throw at me and then some!"
Takao could see the fire burning in Kushina's eyes. The girl wasn't going to back down. Even after the display of power that he had shown, the girl still had the will to keep moving forward. It infuriated him. This wasn't what he wanted from her. No. He wanted her complete obedience. But he wasn't going to get that unless he beat her to the ground.
"If that is your wish, then so be it," he said at last, his body lunging forward as he prepared to attack Kushina once more.
Kushina closed her eyes, making Takao scowl as he reappeared in front of her in another incredible burst of speed. But unlike before, Kushina wasn't as easy of a target. Her gold chains erupted around her this time around, creating a powerful barrier around her which had Takao skidding back as they came into contact with his lightning shield. Unlike the Raikage who was said to be able to wield his lightning armor with perfect precision to the point where the only things that were affected by his armor were the ones that he willed it for, everything that came into contact with Takao's shield was met by incredible force. The boy just didn't have that much control after a mere month, even if he had been training under Orochimaru.
It was why Kushina was met with heavy resistance as her chains clashed with Takao. But Takao's speed wasn't for show as he outmaneuvered her chains, avoiding capture and reappearing on the other side of the arena with a small frown.
"Those precious chains of yours, huh," he muttered as he looked at them.
Kushina smiled. "That's right. Thanks to your speed, I can't dodge your attacks. That means all I have to do is build a shield around myself in order to not get hit by your attacks at all."
"Oi, if you build a perimeter around you with your chains, then you won't be able to attack him either."
'I know that,' Kushina said in return. 'That's why I'm not doing that. I still remember our plan. Besides, with his speed, I would have to cover the entire arena. You know I can't cover a range that wide yet. But this is enough to make him feel the pressure. Now he won't attack me with as much confidence as before. He'll be more wary. That's when I'll get my opening.'
"It's time for you to unveil your next surprise then…."
Takao t'sked. 'This will be more annoying than I first thought. But so be it.'
What Takao wasn't expecting, though, was for Kushina to rush at him, her chains still out in tow.
"Oi, oi, don't get too carried away now," Takao said with an annoyed look as he took a defensive stance. 'Just because you have a shield with those chains, it doesn't mean that I can't get around them with pure brute force!'
Kushina narrowed her eyes when she saw Takao disappear in another blur. But she had been expecting that. Coming to a halt in an instant, the redhead brought her hands together just as her chains elongated even further around her, making a small sealing barrier that served as a protector from any outside attacks. The only backlash was that she herself couldn't send any attacks through the barrier as well.
Unfortunately for the girl, she hadn't been fast enough as Takao appeared inside the barrier with her. And while that would normally be a victory for her as she could prevent him from using chakra, Takao's speed was proving to be more of a hassle for her than she had first imagined as he sent another powerful punch her way. Like before, the redhead was sent flying back, the barrier she had created shattering and her chains disappearing.
"Hey now, don't tell me that's all you have, Kushina," Takao called out with a frown. "Weren't you the one that was going to defeat me? Even if your clan is supposed to be resilient, my punches aren't something that even you can take too much of before you lose unconsciousness."
"This isn't looking good for her," Kaito muttered from his seat in the stands. "That speed is too much for her to keep up with."
Kazumi didn't respond, looking at her daughter with a worried gaze while Arashi continued to stroke his beard. The man's eyes were scanning the ground around Takao closely.
Orochimaru was thinking along the same lines at the moment, making the man smirk. It seemed as if his new apprentice had the first match in the bag.
Takao thought so too as he took a step forward. But a second later, the ground around him started to lit up with strange symbols that he did not recognize. His brain was able to catch up at the last second, though, telling him that he had just stepped into a trap.
But the rest of his body wasn't so fast as mini tornadoes sprung from the ground around him, engulfing him into a torrent of violent and powerful winds as the tornadoes clashed together to form an even bigger one.
Up on the stands, Kaito could not believe what he was witnessing right now. He, of course, knew what had just happened. But he couldn't for the life of him know just how his little sister had pulled something like this off.
"As I suspected," Arashi said with a smile. "When she created that barrier of hers with her chains, she must have pumped a double layered minefield of seals designed to release a few seconds after Takao stepped into the area. One for the tornadoes and the other to hide them from sight."
"B-but how could she do that?" Kaito asked with wide eyes. "She didn't have the time to-"
His eyes furthered widened when he realized just how his sister had done it. "There's no way…."
"It seems so," Kazumi replied with some humor in her voice. "Even I wasn't able to notice it until a second after she did it. She's gotten really dangerous with those chains of hers."
Kaito still couldn't believe it. What Kushina had done was will her chains to channel an advanced seal formula. Except that instead of using paper, she used her chains as a medium. He had never heard of such a thing before.
"I can already tell what you're thinking, and you're right," Arashi said with a nod. "This is unusual and unexpected. But so is the power that Kushina has acquired. The power of our clan. There are no limits when it comes to fuinjutsu. Now, the rest of the world will see this."
Sarutobi was thinking along the same lines from his position up on the Kage box, an intrigued look on his face.
The other genin had no idea of what to make of this as Takao was bombarded with the powerful tornadoes that Kushina had created out of nowhere. All except for Minato, who was now looking at Kushina in a completely different light than before.
Said redhead also stood up, a small grin on her face as she brought her hands together. "Don't think that this is all that there is to it!"
"Futon: Kami Oroshi!"
A powerful vortex shot out from Kushina's hands. Another layer of seals lit up around the tornadoes, creating a makeshift ring of fire. With Kushina's technique and the tornadoes to boot, Kushina had just created a massive inferno in a matter of seconds. And the redhead had basically done it all with fuinjutsu.
'This isn't anything to laugh at,' Sarutobi thought from his seat, his eyes widening even more than before. 'Her skills with fuinjutsu is beyond anything I've ever seen…no, I should have expected this. Even in her clan, I heard that her gift in fuinjutsu is extraordinary. But to see it with my own eyes…..'
"Just how much did she train to master this?" Kaito asked, the disbelief still in his voice.
"Nonstop," Arashi answered. "No matter how rough I made it, she didn't stop until she had gotten everything that I wanted to teach her down. The only day she took off was yesterday. And even then, she wanted to train more. She was even able to master the Futon style to an acceptable level. You should already know, Kaito. Even by our standards, Kushina's chakra is special. With Kurama in the mix…..if she continues down this path, her chakra will become something to be desired even more than it already is."
Kaito merely nodded, accepting this. He had always known that his little sister was capable of great things. But before, she had been too spoiled to make it a reality. Now, though, she had started to apply herself even more.
'This is just…..'
He had no words to describe it.
Somewhere in the audience, Sakumo was also watching what his student was doing with wide eyes. This was a side to Kushina that he rarely saw. But it made him realize just how powerful the girl was going to be one day.
Kushina's chains shot back to her, the girl panting even more than before. But there was a satisfied look on her face as she continued to look at her creation. The redhead had no doubt that Takao's shield was going to put a fight. But that wasn't her real intention. Under the conditions that she had created, the pressure created by her inferno was enough to suck the oxygen out of Takao's lungs with incredible ease, even with his lightning shield. And without any oxygen, Takao couldn't maintain consciousness and his shield would be useless. That was why the redhead had turned to Futon. Suiton would have been useless in conditions like this. It had been hard work, but it was paying off right about now.
'This is it…..'
The inferno lasted for about a minute longer before the flames died down, the makeshift tornadoes losing more and more power as time went on. And from the center, Takao's body emerged. The boy's whole body had suffered burns. His clothes were also torn in several places. But Kushina didn't care for any of this. She knew that the boy had lost consciousness long ago. He hadn't been around long enough to experience all the pain that her combined techniques had brought. Unlike with Hizashi.
The crowd was silent as Takao's body fell to the ground. None of them could say anything. Even Tsunade and Kagome were surprised. Kushina had never told them what else she had been working on while she had trained with them. So this was all brand new to them. As such, they were surprised just like everyone else. Even Orochimaru was inspecting Kushina differently now.
The chunnin stepped into the area again, looking at Takao's downed form for a few more moments before deeming that the match was truly over.
"The winner is Uzumaki Kushina."
The declaration was enough to shake the audience out of their stupor, making them erupt into cheers once more.
Kushina grinned as she raised her arms up. 'I did it!'
"Yeah, that you did, brat. That you did."
"It looks like this girl has hidden much about her skills until this point," Rasa muttered as he watched Kushina run around the arena while cheering along with the rest of the audience.
The boy glanced at Karura. "If you win your next match, you're the one that's going to face her, you know."
"You don't have to remind me of that," Karura replied. But her eyes went to Mikoto. "She's not my concern right now, though. I still have to take care of her first….."
Rasa merely nodded. He watched his teammate begin her way down the stairs even before the chunnin called her name.
"Good luck, Mikoto," Minato said as the Uchiha followed behind Karura. "It'd be fun if we got to fight in the finals."
Mikoto smiled, her back to Minato. "Don't worry about that. For now, you should focus on your matches, Minato."
The blond smiled in return as he watched his teammate resume her way down to the arena.
Shikaku was looking annoyed while Shibi had no visible reactions. Hikari for her part was staring down at Kushina with a smile, glad to see that her friend had made it past her first match. They were on opposite sides in the tournament. So if they were to fight, it would have to be in the finals. The Hyuuga wouldn't mind that outcome, though. But for that to happen, she had to defeat Minato first. And that was a great challenge in of itself.
'We'll see how it goes.'
"Well, she did it," Hizashi said with a smile, glancing towards Fugaku. "Now, there's only you. But Mikoto has to win this match for that to happen."
Fugaku didn't respond as he watched how both Mikoto and that kunoichi from Suna made their way towards the arena. Takao was currently being carried to the infirmary with Kushina already on her way up to the observation level where the remaining genin were.
"She'll win this," Fugaku stated without a single doubt in his voice. "I know it."
Tsunade frowned as she watched Orochimaru stand up from his seat. "And where are you going? The tournament has just started."
The man chuckled. "I have no more reason to be here anymore. I'm a busy man too, you know."
Tsunade didn't respond as she watched her teammate make his way out of the arena. The frown on her face became even bigger, though.
"Don't worry about him right now, Tsunade," Kagome said while shaking her head. "We still have to cheer Kushina on. Besides, I have a feeling that this second match will be just as interesting."
Tsunade nodded, although some part of her was still hung up on Orochimaru. As always, she could never tell what was on the man's mind.
"Who do you think is going to win this one?" Emi asked. She had calmed down a bit from witnessing what Kushina was capable of now.
Tsume frowned as she watched the next two kunoichi face off. While she was happy for Kushina clearing her first match, her focus was now completely on this second fight. She wasn't a fan of either girl. So she didn't have any favorites. At the same time, though…..
"I hope Mikoto wins," she said at last. "That way, the Suna bitch gets what's coming to her. And then Mikoto gets her ass kicked by Kushina in the semifinals."
Emi chuckled uneasily. In retrospect, she should have expected that answer.
Karura already knew that Mikoto was different from Kushina. The Uchiha was much calmer than the redhead. She hadn't reacted at all after what she had done to Tsume in the finals. That was enough for Karura to get a picture of what kind of person Mikoto was. And it reminded Karura a lot of herself. It was one of the reasons why she had started to be annoyed with Mikoto. Karura wasn't exactly sure herself, but she just knew that Mikoto was someone she could never get along with despite the fact that they perhaps shared similar views on the world.
It was a confusing state for Karura. But the girl let those thoughts fade as she stood in front of Mikoto.
"The second match of the finals...…begin!"
"To be honest, you were the only one I've been looking forward to fighting against," Karura admitted as soon as the match was called. "And now, as if by fate, it looks like I have my chance."
Mikoto closed her eyes. "I don't know what the point of telling me that is, but it doesn't matter. Fate. Premonition. I don't believe in any of that. We're here. That's all there is to it. But if you're so excited about fighting me, then so be it. I'll still be the one to come out on top here."
Karura frowned. "You have an annoying ego, Uchiha."
Mikoto smiled, her eyes reopening. But unlike what Karura had expected to see, they were still the same with no sharingan in sight. "I don't think it's fair for you to tell me that. After all, you have quite the ego yourself. You feel that Suna is superior to Konoha. As such, the shinobi from here aren't worth your time. That's why you gave Tsume such a hard time in the preliminaries. Am I right?"
Karura's frown became bigger. There was no way that she was that easy to be read-
"You are easy to read," Mikoto said with a knowing smile. "And it's not because of my visual prowess either. Anyone can tell. But let me reassure you of something: I'm not like Kushina either. I don't care what you did to Tsume. In the end, it was a sanctioned match. That being said, I can't let your implications go unanswered either. You think your village is the best?" Mikoto's sharingan spun to life. She had two tomoe in each one, the same still as when she had fought against Naruto. "Then come and prove it. In front of everyone here. We will see who is superior."
Karura scowled, her gourd exploding open with her sand. "I'm going to enjoy taking you down, Uchiha!"
Mikoto didn't respond as Karura's sand came flying her way. But said Uchiha wasn't so easy of a target. Before Karura's eyes, Mikoto disappeared from her sight only to reappear right behind her.
'She's gotten even faster than before!' Karura thought as Mikoto's fist made contact with her cheek, sending her flying back a second later.
Up with the audience, Tsume observed this with gritted teeth. 'Your speed…it's even faster than before.' Every time she saw her, Mikoto just kept getting stronger and stronger. To Tsume, it was like her proclaimed rival was getting ahead much quicker than her. But Tsume should have expected this. It was always the same, even in the academy. Mikoto was always that unreachable goal for her. And now, it seemed like the girl had gotten even farther away from her again.
Tsume's hands clenched into fists. Emi took notice of this, making the blonde sigh. There was nothing she could say to cheer her friend up at the moment.
Also within the audience, Itsuki observed this with a chuckle. 'It looks like this won't be as easy as in the preliminaries, eh, Karura?'
Down below, Karura ran one of her hands by the cheek that Mikoto had just punched. The girl was also kneeling on one knee, her sand now surrounding her feet.
Mikoto locked eyes with her, her sharingan amplifying her gaze even more. "Stand up. Or else, you'll going to lose this match in a flash."
Seeing that Karura didn't move from her spot, Mikoto scowled as she charged at the girl again. "So be it then!"
Karura t'ched at seeing this, standing back up and bringing her hand back as she willed her sand forward again. But just like before, Mikoto dodged her sand with ease, coming to a halt in front of her before kneeing her roughly in the gut. Karura lurched forward, but Mikoto wasn't through. Grabbing Karura by her vest, Mikoto kneed the girl again before sending a powerful upper kick to Karura's jaw that had the girl flopping back again.
A lot of the people in the audience covered their eyes a bit, not actually believing just how brutal Mikoto was being. She wasn't letting her opponent get one hit in.
Kagome chuckled softly at this. 'You still haven't changed, Mikoto. When someone annoys you, you go after that person with fervor. With your speed, that sand is useless.'
It was something that Karura was starting to realize as she stood back up again, holding her stomach due to the intensity of Mikoto's attacks on her. But she couldn't let it end here. She wasn't going to lose to anyone from Konoha. That was what she had promised herself.
Mikoto shook her head when Karura began to gather more sand around her. "It's pointless. I can read your movements perfectly."
Karura scowled as she brought her hands together. "Yes, I know all about those detestable eyes of yours. They're supposed to let you see through any jutsu. But so what? Do you really think that's enough to make me submit? I'm not so weak, you know."
Mikoto smiled slightly. "No, I didn't think you were….."
The smile then disappeared. "That's unfortunate then. I won't be holding back anymore."
Karura frowned as Mikoto took a step forward. This was far different than her match against that Inuzuka. While the Inuzuka had been fast herself, it hadn't been on this level. The only thing that had caused her problems had been the Inuzuka's jutsu. But with Mikoto, she hadn't used a single technique yet. Her speed was just that great. It surpassed her sand's quite a bit. That was why she had to resort to this.
Mikoto stopped herself when she saw Karura forming a sand wall all around her. This would no doubt prevent Mikoto from getting at her from any angle on the ground. Even so, this would also prevent Karura from attacking with as much precision as before too.
Except that Karura wasn't that foolish. The girl had her hands down on the ground, feeling the many different vibrations running across the ground. What many people didn't realize was that she also possessed the Doton element. She just didn't use it in any conventional means because she had her sand. But she had learned how to track her enemies through the many different vibrations and movements that they caused via the ground itself. She didn't have Rasa's Third Eye yet, after all.
But Mikoto didn't know this. Thinking that she still had the upper hand here, the Uchiha rushed towards the sand wall. But as soon as she got close enough, tendrils of sand rushed straight for her, halting her movements for a moment as she evaded them. The Uchiha scowled, realizing that the tendrils were coming at her with great precision. This could only mean that Karura still had other means to track her. That only left her with one option then.
Karura frowned when she no longer felt Mikoto's vibrations on the grounds. Knowing that that could only mean one thing, she brought one of her hands up in the air, locking eyes with Mikoto who was already in midair with her hands clasped together and inhaling deeply. But that wasn't the only thing. There was a second Mikoto right next to her doing the exact same thing.
"Katon: Uchiha Daiendan!"
The two Mikoto's shot a great fireball each. But to the audience's amazement, the two fireballs combined into one to form an even bigger and much powerful fireball than before. This new and bigger fireball was met with more of Karura's sand which the Suna kunoichi had brought up from her sand wall in order to shield herself.
Karura lowered her head due to the intensity of the flames. Her sand might be protecting her against the flames themselves, but the heat was a different story. It was just too great. Karura could feel herself starting to sweat more and more as the seconds dragged by.
"Katon: Hosenka Tsumabeni!"
Karura didn't know what Mikoto was up to anymore, her line of sight blocked for the moment. But out of the corner of her eyes she was able to see them: a barrage of shuriken infused with fire angling around the sand that she had raised up into the air.
The girl couldn't believe this. Just how had Mikoto done such a thing? But she couldn't dwell on the specifics right now as the shuriken made towards her at top speed. Not being able to think of anything else, Karura brought the rest of her sand from the remainder of the sand wall in order to protect herself. But it was no use. The shuriken were just too fast.
Karura bit down on her bottom lip as she felt some of the shuriken singe her both of her arms. But because of this, she also lost her focus with the sand she still had in the air, the giant fireball forcing itself through her sand as a result.
It took all of Karura's strength to pull herself together and to dive out of the way, using some of her sand in order to propel her forward as well. She still felt a part of her ankle get caught in the fire technique, however. This time she didn't have as much self control. As a result, she cried out in pain as she hit the ground roughly due to her dive.
The audience were in awe once again after witnessing this heated exchanged, quite literally of course.
Kagome herself was chuckling. "I don't believe this…..so she's gotten this good with her sharingan already."
Tsunade already knew what her friend was talking about. Mikoto had used her sharingan to angle those shuriken perfectly so that they could go around Karura's sand and attack her opponent directly. But what was most surprising was something else entirely.
"Where in the world did she learn how to make shadow clones?" the older Uchiha wondered out loud. Tsunade was also wondering the same thing. Shadow clones wasn't something that anyone, even from a clan, were able to pick up just like that. And yet, Mikoto knew of them. And she had used them perfectly in her attack. The first technique that she had used usually required two Uchiha. But she had bypassed that with a shadow clone. Then she had created a third clone in order to shoot the shuriken and surprise Karura even further. It had been executed perfectly. Tsunade suspected that the younger Uchiha had been working on her stamina intensively this past month in order to increase her reserves. And it had paid off.
Fugaku was also thinking the same thing as he gritted his teeth. This was on a whole different level than what he had done in the preliminaries. Mikoto's skills with her sharingan outclassed his with his own. And it was extremely frustrating for the boy.
'Mikoto…..'
Sarutobi hummed from his seat, inspecting Mikoto more closely. 'I'm thinking that Naruto-kun had something to do with this…..'
Down below, Karura struggled to get back up but found that incredibly hard to do with both of her arms singed as well as her ankle.
But she wasn't able do much else either as Mikoto appeared behind her, kunai in hand and aimed directly for her neck.
"This is it, Karura," Mikoto stated in a firm tone, her sharingan still activated. There was the slightest bit of hint of panting in her breath, but Karura knew that that no longer mattered. In this position, Mikoto could easily kill her. But her pride wasn't going to allow her to surrender to a Konoha shinobi.
"Do it," she said without hesitation. "If you think I'm going to surrender to you, then you're-"
"Alright, that's enough right there."
Both kunoichi turned their heads to see the chunnin walking up to them with a sigh.
"The winner of the second match is Uchiha Mikoto."
Even though the crowd exploded into cheers again, Mikoto didn't focus on them. Instead, her eyes were still on Karura, her sharingan deactivating.
"You're stupid."
Karura rolled her eyes. "Wow, thanks for that. That's definitely what a defeated opponent wants to hear."
Mikoto smiled. "Don't give me that. You were actually prepared to die back there. And that's incredibly stupid."
Karura narrowed her eyes at her. "And how is that stupid? We're shinobi. It's only natural that we wouldn't mind dying for our respective villages."
Mikoto nodded. "That's true. But there's a difference between that and throwing your life away for no reason."
"W-what? That wasn't-"
"But it was," Mikoto said with a shake of her head. "There was no reason for you to die here today. If you really want to serve your village well, then make sure you survive so that you can live on to make your village even greater than it already is. You're strong. With your skills, I can definitely see you becoming something great one day. So that's why you would have been throwing your life away without reason."
Karura was shocked to hear this, not actually expecting for Mikoto to have said any of that. But a moment later, Karura smiled. "We may become enemies one day, you know. There's no guarantee that the alliance between our villages will last."
"That is true," Mikoto agreed with a nod. "There's no telling what the future will hold. Not even my sharingan can predict such a thing. But for now, we're allies. I prefer to live in the present than to worry about the future."
Karura didn't respond as Mikoto brought her hand forward. "It was a good battle."
Looking at the offered hand, Karura wasn't sure how to respond. But letting go of any complicated thoughts, she met Mikoto's hand with hers.
"Yeah. But next time I will win."
Up on the Kage box, Sarutobi smiled when he saw this. Just like with Minato and Itsuki, it seemed as if the shinobi of tomorrow were making greater bounds at forming bonds than the ones of his time. The future was bright, after all.
Even Kagome was surprised when she saw this, not expecting for Mikoto to actually offer any sort of kind words. 'She must have accepted her skills then…..'
The older Uchiha smiled. Somehow, Mikoto had started to change from the one she had come to know, if only slightly. But it was a good indication nevertheless.
Itsuki was shaking his head at the display. 'Damn girls…you can never tell what they're thinking.'
Tsume huffed, not saying anything. But Emi could tell that her friend was pleased with how things had played out. Hizashi was thinking the same thing about Fugaku for the moment.
They were both complicated alright.
"Well. That Uchiha has gotten stronger. That's whom you're up against next, brat. Understand that?"
Kushina nodded, having had watched the match closely. Mikoto had displayed a greater amount of skill than in the preliminaries. Then again, so had she. So they were even on that front.
Minato was smiling while Rasa was frowning. The gold sand wielder couldn't believe that he was the last one from his team in the exams now.
'Karura…..'
He merely watched the girl be carried away by another team of medical shinobi. He didn't call out to her. She no longer mattered. Now, it was up to him to win this tournament.
Shikaku glanced over towards Shibi, seeing the Aburame turn towards the stairs.
"It's your turn next, right?"
Shibi stopped mid-step. "That's correct."
Shikaku smirked. "Be careful. That guy is pretty strong, you know."
The Aburame readjusted his shades before he glanced over towards Shikaku. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."
Shikaku chuckled. 'Trying to act all cool isn't going to help you, you know.' But he kept that thought to himself.
Rasa h'mphed before he followed Shibi. It was their turn now, after all.
The third match was next.
Sarutobi watched the next two genin make their way down towards the arena, making him lean a bit at noticing just who they were. Shibi had demonstrated great skills in the preliminaries. But the same could be said about Rasa too. To Sarutobi, the next match could go either way.
And that made things much more interesting.
Neither Rasa nor Shibi let all the stares directed their way get in between glaring at one another. Well, Rasa was glaring. No one could tell what Shibi was looking at thanks to his dark shades.
But Rasa wasn't intimidated by this either. Unlike the blond whom he had fought against in the preliminaries, Rasa was well aware of how different his opponent was this time around.
"The trick you pulled off in the preliminaries won't work here," Rasa said, catching Shibi's attention as his canister burst open with his gold sand. "I'm full aware if you try something like that. Not to mention that it'll deprive this audience from watching an interesting match."
Shibi readjusted his shades. "My concern doesn't lie with the audience. We're not mascot but shinobi. If you're happy showing off your skills like a performer, then be my guest. Don't expect me to dance to your tune, however. That's not my style."
Rasa smiled. "Then that's too bad. You'll be dancing to my tune all through this match. I guarantee that."
Shibi didn't reply. But Rasa was positive that that last remark had annoyed the Aburame to some degree.
The chunnin looked on between the two of them as he raised his arm up.
"The third match of the finals…begin!"
Rasa's gold sand didn't waste anytime going straight for Shibi. Unlike in the preliminaries, however, Shibi didn't hold back with his skills as his whole body was surrounded by his insects.
Rasa frowned a bit. 'His jutsu…..it's almost similar to mine.' Instead of sand, though, the Aburame used insects.
Shibi also knew that a head-on assault wouldn't work for him. Rasa's sand would have the upper hand there. It's why he disappeared within his swarm of insects as Rasa's sand collided with his "body."
'A clone?' Rasa thought. 'No. It's a substitution.' Rasa kept his cool as his eyes scanned the arena. No one so far had used the trees and bushes for cover. But Shibi wasn't afraid to use anything to his advantage it seemed. This only annoyed Rasa further, though. He didn't want to play a game of cat and mouse here. He wanted to end this match as quickly as possible.
Many in the audience also started to become bored when they noticed that there wasn't going to be any flashy clashing like with the first two matches.
But Sarutobi was watching this closely, keeping track of every moment that the two genin below were making. For Sarutobi, Shibi had the most mentality of a chunnin than any other genin here. Except for maybe Shikaku, if the boy could actually help himself to stop being so lazy.
With the match, Rasa crossed his arms in front of him as he closed his eyes, his gold sand fluttering below his feet. Unlike Karura's, his sand was able to react at a much faster speed. As a result, it worked as a better defense as well. He also didn't want to expend too much chakra here. He did have to fight two more matches after this in order to win. He didn't want to become too tired after the first one. Still, despite what Shibi had said, he didn't appreciate this method of confrontation. It was why he was going to end this match in one move.
Behind one of the trees, Shibi was crouching down as he looked over towards Rasa's position in the middle of the arena. Others might think this was a cowardly method that he was employing. But he didn't care. This was the way that he chose to fight. And right now, Rasa was leaving himself wide open as a target.
The Aburame boy brought his hands together.
"Bosui no Jin."
Rasa opened his eyes slightly when he saw a swarm of insects flying straight for him in a spiraling formation. This was no doubt in order to try and cage the enemy in. But Rasa wasn't an ordinary enemy.
Without moving a muscle, his gold sand shot straight up for him, covering him completely and preventing Shibi's insects from getting to him.
Up in the stands with the audience, Itsuki shook his head as he watched this. 'It's useless, buddy. Rasa's sand is unusual in of itself. Even though it's fast, it's also pretty heavy. That's because he makes sure to compact it together pretty nicely. Your little insect friends aren't going to be able penetrate it. The only chance you have at winning is to catch him off guard or to somehow penetrate his sand by force. And I doubt you can do either. This match is as good as done.'
Shibi frowned when he noticed this from his spot. Realizing that he would have to go with a more direct method, he paused when he saw Rasa's gold sand shoot out tendrils that had his insects trapped in pretty tough. It would take time for them all to get out.
But Rasa wasn't going to let that time go wasted as he took a step towards where he now knew Shibi was hiding, his gold sand fluttering back down to the ground. The boy had given his position away from that last attack, after all. Not like it mattered anyway. His first and final attack would cover the whole arena.
"You're through, Aburame," Rasa stated with a smile. "I'll show you just how good my performance is."
Shibi didn't reply. But realizing that he needed to move, the boy shot out from behind the tree and to a nearby bush. He was about to continue onto another one until he felt Rasa's chakra rising. Some of the insects that he possessed were also good at measuring chakra levels. They came in handy when he needed to be warned of when an enemy was planning something big. And right now, Rasa was doing just that.
The Suna shinobi smirked slightly. "Don't think that I've been standing around doing nothing either. It's unlucky really. This terrain suits my jutsu just fine!" His hands shot down towards the ground in an instant.
"Jiton: Sakin Taiso!"
To the audience's amazement, a wave of gold sand of epic proportions shot out from the ground all around Rasa before said tide flew all throughout the arena. In face of such an attack, Shibi had no place to hide.
Itsuki took this in with a grimace. 'Damn, I seriously hate that skill of his. Unlike Karura, he can make as much as sand as he wants, even from the ground around him. Karura is limited to the one she can expand from her gourd. But as long as there's earth, Rasa can make as much as he wants. This terrain gives him even more of an advantage than what he already had. It wasn't a fair match from the beginning.'
Down below, Rasa h'mphed as he watched the whole arena be covered with his gold sand. This would serve him well when he fought against the Namikaze boy. But for now, it also served to ending this match in his favor.
Until a second swarm of insects shot straight from under his feet. Rasa's eyes widened as the insects covered his body in an instant.
"Hijutsu: Mushidama."
On the other side of the arena, Shibi emerged, unharmed, from a cocoon made entirely of his insects. It was what he had used to shield himself against the gold sand.
Itsuki's eyes widened when he saw this. 'No way….'
Shibi readjusted his shades as he looked over towards Rasa's form, his insects devouring the Suna shinobi's chakra with much enthusiasm. "You were too confident. And now, you taste defeat."
"Then let me turn those words right back at you."
Shibi's eyebrows furrowed as he found himself trapped in another cocoon, only that this one was made out entirely of gold sand before he was suspended upside down. And from within the gold sand on the ground emerged one Rasa with his arms crossed in front of him.
"So, you made a sand clone and substituted yourself with it when you sent that wave," Shibi deduced. The swarm that he had sent out for Rasa before were now trapped beneath the gold sand, courtesy of Rasa himself. "This is the first time that I've encountered one, so I could not tell the difference."
"It wouldn't have made a difference anyway," Rasa stated in return. "This whole place is my terrain. You had no chance from the beginning. Although I wasn't able to finish this match in one move like I had wanted. But it no longer matters. Surrender or die. Your choice."
Shibi didn't respond. But he didn't have to. The chunnin stepped back into the fighting area gain, one of his arms raised.
"The winner of the third match is Rasa."
Hikari smiled when she noticed Shikaku shaking his head. "Something the matter?"
"This is too much," the Nara replied with a twitching face. "If I win, I'm expected to go against that guy?"
Hikari hummed. "Well, if you do beat Minato, you would have to go through me first. But, basically, yeah."
"Troublesome….."
Kushina rolled her eyes, having listened to the conversation between the two. "Quit complaining already. You're a shinobi, aren't you?"
"Not all of us have your insane stamina, Kushina," Shikaku said with a sigh. "Some of us prefer to take things slowly."
"Even if you say that, Yoshino is going to be watching," Hikari said with another smile. Only that this one was a bit more devious. "You don't want to give up just like that in front of her, do you?"
Shikaku t'ched. "I really hate you right now." Hikari's smile simply got bigger as the Nara began to make his way down. Minato had long since started his way down. The blond was excited for the match to come, after all.
Kushina looked over to Hikari. "Just what's up between him and Yoshino anyway?"
Hikari giggled. "Oh, nothing special really. Just a very beautiful relationship that's blossoming even more and more everyday."
Kushina looked at her Hyuuga friend with a confused look, not understanding what she was saying.
Kurama sighed from inside her mind. 'Just like my other self said. She's just like Naruto.'
Minato was smiling widely as he looked at the annoyed form of one of his best friends. The blond wasn't letting all the sand around them damper his mood. "It's finally our turn, Shikaku."
Even though the arena was full, Shikaku was certain that Yoshino was staring intently at him from wherever it was that she was seated. Both Inoichi and Choza were probably laughing to their heart's content right about now too. This was certainly not his day.
"Why are you smiling so much anyway?" the Nara asked as he scratched the back of his head. "You already know you're stronger than me. There's no point to this match really."
Minato shrugged. "That was back in the academy. And from what I saw in the preliminaries, you've picked up some new moves."
"I could say the same to you," Shikaku shot back. "And your moves are much deadlier than mine."
Minato tilted his head to the side. "Really now? I've always found your jutsu to be extremely powerful. If I got caught in it, even I wouldn't be able to escape."
"That's a load of bull, and you know it," Shikaku said with a twitching eyebrow. "You're too fast to be caught in my jutsu."
Minato shrugged for a second time as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch. "We'll see, won't we?"
Shikaku scowled. 'This guy is serious…what a drag. But I should at least make this a bit believable…..'
He didn't care about becoming chunnin. To Shikaku, it only meant more responsibilities. He was content with staying as a genin right now. He wasn't one to get carried away by the pace everyone else set. He did things his own way at his own timing. And he was damned if he was going to change that now. He would take all those responsibilities when he was ready. And Shikaku knew he wasn't ready yet.
The chunnin raised his arm up. "The fourth match of the finals…...begin!"
In an instant, Minato was right behind Shikaku, kunai in hand. But the blond raised an eyebrow when he realized that he couldn't move his body after that.
"Well, now. Isn't this something."
Shikaku sighed. "Troublesome. Don't take me too lightly either, Minato. How long have we known each other? It isn't that hard for me to predict what you will do."
Minato merely smiled at that. It was confusing for the onlookers, given the fact that he had just been caught in his opponent's jutsu. Shikaku had moved his shadow behind him even before Minato had appeared.
Up with the genin, Kushina was surprised when she saw this. "Just how did that lazy ass catch Minato so easily?"
Hikari was smiling as she answered, "Minato and Shikaku have known each other for a long time, even before they started at the academy. According to Yoshino anyway. Given their long history together, it's no surprise that Shikaku was able to predict what Minato would do even before the blond did it in this situation."
"But what if he had been wrong?"
Hikari shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt Shikaku even cares enough for that. The only reason he took part in this exam was because Inoichi and Choza wanted to. Well, mainly Inoichi. He's not one to take part in these sort of things. I'm pretty sure he has no interest in becoming genin. It's probably too troublesome for him."
Kushina felt her eyebrow twitch. "I can't believe there's a guy this lazy….."
Hikari giggled.
Rasa on the other hand raised an eyebrow as he noticed this. If Minato did lose here, then that simply meant that he would have one less threat to worry about. Which was fine with him. Although it was a bit surprising. He hadn't expected the Nara guy to be this much of an upstart. Interesting indeed.
Mikoto, though, had her eyes closed. She didn't have any interest in this match.
Up on the Kage box, Sarutobi was humming again as he observed this. 'Well, well. I never expected for the boy to try…..we may have something surprising here.'
Down below, Minato was still smiling as he said, "Well, you did catch me. But you shouldn't get so cocky until you've made sure I'm out for good."
Shikaku didn't respond nor did he move. That should have been an indicator for Minato that something was wrong. But the blond was too focused in escaping his friend's jutsu.
"Raiton: Hiraishin!"
Due to the close proximity of the two, lightning that shot out from Minato's body hit Shikaku dead on. But the Nara had been hoping for this.
Minato felt his whole body twitch in annoyance when he saw the Nara drop to the ground like he had been stabbed to death, his shadow possession jutsu deactivating.
"Oi, Shikaku….."
But the Nara was already passed out. Or pretending to. The boy had also made sure not to get any sand in his mouth or eyes somehow. He wasn't fooling Minato, though, who stood over his body with a twitching eyebrow.
Realizing that maybe he had to do a bit more to make the act look convincing, Shikaku cried out in pain. Or pretended to. "Y-you got me, Minato. That was dead on. I-I can't continue the match….."
The fact that he had been pretending to be unconscious just seconds before didn't matter to the Nara.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"
Even though he didn't say it, Minato was thinking the exact same thing that that audience member, who for some reason sounded a lot like Yoshino, had just screamed out.
The chunnin shook his head. He knew Minato's jutsu hadn't been powerful enough to get this sort of reaction from the Nara boy. But rules were rules. And he had to follow them. "The winner of the fourth match is Namikaze Minato."
The crowd was silent, not knowing how to react to what they had just witnessed.
Hikari shook her head. She should have expected something like this. That being said, Shikaku should have won the match the moment that he caught Minato with his jutsu. If he had tried. The Nara had skillfully read Minato's first move before the blond had done it. Although, like she had said, it was mostly because of their close relationship. It was still impressive nonetheless. Minato hadn't fallen that far behind either. He had already been prepared with a technique, just in case. The Namikaze hadn't underestimated his Nara friend at all. It hadn't mattered in the end, though. Shikaku had been gunning to throw away the match from the beginning.
Next to her, Kushina was looking down at the outcome of the match with a twitching eyebrow. The redhead couldn't believe what she had just seen. It was beyond ridiculous!
Hikari only knew one thing: Yoshino was going to kill Shikaku after the exams were over.
Orochimaru entered the small dango restaurant with a smile. His eyes instantly went to the woman in the back with a unique yellow colored hair.
"You people sure are bold," Orochimaru commented as he sat on the opposite side of the table. "Meeting like this….."
Greed shrugged. "The finals of the Chunnin exams is today. A lot of visitors are in the village right now. Besides, there's nothing in this village that can detect my Master's jutsu."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Is that so? At any rate, did you get the samples that I asked for?"
Greed nodded. "Of course. Just who do you think I am?"
"I don't think you want me to answer that," the snake summoner responded with humor in his voice.
"You better watch yourself, Orochimaru," Greed said as she narrowed her eyes. "Even if my Master believes you to be useful, it doesn't change the fact that you don't measure to any of us. You're just another tool."
Orochimaru smirked. "Yes, yes. Just like Danzo was nothing but a pawn for this Akatsuki organization you told me about. But you don't have to remind me of that. If I have to be a tool in order to get what I desire, then so be it. The world is too big of a place for me to worry about such things."
Greed really detested this human for many reasons. He was far more wicked and twisted than anyone else she had come across. But she also knew that Orochimaru was aware of this. To him, though, it was all for his dream, which, to her, was nothing but gibberish. But her Master wished for his services. So she had no choice to bow her head and follow Nori's orders.
"Have the samples in my apartment by tonight," Orochimaru said as he stood up from his seat. "I'll be seeing you then, Greed."
Greed scowled as she watched Orochimaru go. She would enjoy the day that she killed him. The fool was simply lucky that there had been no indications of his joining Root after Sarutobi had taken over the leftovers of the organization. Danzo had been extra careful when he had let the man join. But because of that, neither Naruto nor Sasuke knew of the man's true involvement with Danzo at the time. So he was useful for her Master. It had been rather lucky for him but unlucky for her.
Greed scowled again. One day, though, one day she would kill him. She would see to it.
Outside of the shop, Orochimaru looked up at the sky with his hands tucked away inside his pockets, another smile tugging his lips.
In all honesty, some part of him had been expecting to be a bit late for this meeting today. But then Takao had lost just like that. Orochimaru could still remember why the boy had tried so hard to win.
Flashback: Start
"You ask me why?"
Orochimaru nodded, one of his usual smiles on his face. It was well past midnight as the two stood in the middle of one of the many training fields that Konoha had to offer.
Takao leaned back as he looked up at the stars. His clothes were battered in many different places. But that was to be expected. He had been training hard.
"It's because I want to make her mine."
"Yes, but what makes this girl so special?" Orochimaru asked, questioning the boy even further. "Even if she's a member of a famous clan, it's not-"
"That's not it," Takao cut in. "If I wanted prestige that badly, I would have followed behind my father's footsteps in his company. But instead I chose to be a shinobi."
"Then what is it?"
Takao smiled. "I first came across her one afternoon in the village. I hadn't gone to the academy that day, so maybe I missed her first day there. Either way, I was mesmerized. Especially by her hair. It enchanted me completely. It was then that I decided that I had to have her. And that's what I'm planning on doing in the finals. I guess you could call it love at first sight."
Orochimaru didn't respond. He saw much potential in the boy. But for such a reason…..
Humans were odd creatures indeed.
Flashback: End
Even now, Orochimaru still found the reason to be extremely silly. And to make matters worse, Kushina had completely rejected his former pupil's advances like they were nothing. The boy had gone about it the wrong way, after all. Even he had noticed that. Which was extremely amusing really.
'Humans are such odd creatures,' he told himself again with an internal chuckle. Just conveying emotions and feelings to one another was such a hassle. No wonder there was no such thing as true understanding in this world. It was something that he was learning more and more about as time went on.
The man then let those amusing thoughts drift away as he made his way to his apartment. He had much work to do now.
His research needed to continue, after all.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票