Chapter Nine

The crowd went up in an uproar of cheers and routing for the fighters to continue the match.

"Ladies and gentlemen! That was incredible! That was amazing! That was...That was...I honestly don't know what that was, but wow!" said Koto.

"You just blew all your reiki there didn't ya, sheila? Now you're as weak as any other human, am I right?" said Chu.

"Maybe...But so are you." said Yusuke.

"That's probably true, drongo. Then we'll have to settle this fight like a couple of Mallee Bulls."

"I've got the guts." Yusuke said, as Chu reached down to his boot and pulled out two knives.

"Let's do this with a Knife Edge Death-match." said Chu.

"A Knife Edge...Death-match?" Yusuke repeated.


"This should be bloody." said Kiba, as he was getting really into the fight.

"A Knife Edge Death-match, huh?" said Jiraiya.

"What is that?" asked Ino.

"I may have gotten into more than my fair share of street fights in my time but I've never even heard of anything like that before. But if I had to guess, I'd say...It involves a match to the death with those knives." said Jiraiya.

"Shizuru-san, what's happening now?" Ino asked, not trusting Jiraiya's theory.

"Well, they're going to keep on going at it until it's all over." said Shizuru.

"But they'll kill each other, Shizuru-san, why can't they just stop fighting and call it a draw? Haven't they shed enough of each other's blood yet? Haven't they?" asked Sakura.

"Look, Sakura is it? They're idiots. But they're also warriors to their core. So they'll never be satisfied until they know which one holds a bigger knife." said Shizuru.


"Let me take this opportunity to remind everyone that no weapon is off limits. That includes swords, axes, and small rodents. But what is Chu planning to do with those two knives?" Koto said, as she observed that Chu had planted both knives directly across from each other. Leaving a small gap in between. "How odd that Chu has stabbed his knife into the ground instead of into Yusuke! I say it's odd because the last time I've checked, the ground doesn't bleed nearly as much as a person!"

"Take off your shoes and put your foot in front of the knife." said Chu, as he kicked off his own and stepped in front of his knife. His right foot placed on the knife's edge. Yusuke followed suit as she kicked off one shoe and pulled the other one off and tossed it over her shoulder before taking her place in front of the other knife.

"Uh, now what is he making Yuu-chan do?" asked Tenten. Neji merely shrugged.

"The edge of the knife is the edge of your world. That's the only rule of a Knife Edge Death-match. You don't step outside that line. If you do, its sudden death...And I mean death. And we fight with our bodies—no weapons. The winner is the last bloke standing...Do you think that you can handle that?" said Chu.

"No sweat." said Yusuke.

"Excuse me, but it's really not up to you to make the rules around here. We have a reputable tournament committee that gets paid to do that." said Koto.

"Shut up, lady!" Kiba shouted down with Akamaru barking, along with the entire stadium beginning to encourage the idea of the Death-match.

"I sure hope they let 'em do it! Chu kicks ass at the Death-match! He's never lost one of those before!" said Rinku.

"Hey, hold it. Does no weapons mean that Yusuke-san ain't allowed to use her Spirit Gun?" asked Naruto.

"It wouldn't matter. Her reiki is all gone." said Botan.

"Oh, yeah. That sucks." said Naruto.

"Take solace. Chu has also exhausted his reiki." said Kurama.

"Now that the fight has been reduced to hand-to-hand it will be the one with the strongest head that prevails." said Hiei.

"There's no chance. Yuu-san, show that lush what you've got left in ya!" shouted Naruto.

The crowd began to grow impatient as the committee was coming up with their decision. The lightning storm overhead was now settling in, as flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder clashed together.

C'mon guys, make a decision already. Koto thought, as she looked up at the scoreboard to see that a giant "X" had been placed. But not that one. The crowd began to get riled up with the decision of the committee.

"Everybody please remain calm! I promise, you'll see people torn limb from limb soon enough, if you just keep the peace!" Koto said, as she looked back up at the board to see that the committee had changed their mind and were once again deciding. "Wow! It looks like the committee is repealing their initial decision and is now considering letting the Knife Edge Death-match into play! This latest development is quite ominous. The storm clouds are clashing, just as these fierce opponents are destined to do! And when their awesome bodies collide, there's no telling who'll be struck down first!"


"Yusuke-san truly is an amazing fighter." said Shino.

"Why wouldn't she? Born in a clan of natural fighters, and trained under the tutelage of the renowned psychic, Genkai. She's nothing but a perfect example of what a true warrior should be." said Jiraiya.

"This weather, it's almost as if it's contrasting the anxiety within this stadium." said Susumu.

"This should be a fight to remember." said Shikamaru.


"Please remain calm people, just a moment longer! I promise—just another minute, I'm sure the committee will make a decision! Just another minute! Wait for it!" The board changed again, showing a circle for approval. "Yes! Ladies and gentlemen! Get ready for supreme brutality!"

Lights immediately flashed on as they loomed down upon the two fighters who instantly began the beating of each other. Each blow echoed clearly around the arena as every onlooker watched with mortal interest.

Yusuke mainly aimed for Chu's middle, with the occasional hit to the head. While Chu, who was much larger than Yusuke, would hit her head and shoulders. It was an obvious disadvantage on Yusuke's part.

"This is extremely impressive! Both fighters are giving it their all without taking a single step backwards!" said Koto.

"It's taking a step forward that'll be hard." said Shikamaru while beside him, Chouji was hardly touching his snacks as he was captivated by the fight.

"Hit her, Chu!" shouted Rinku as he cheered on his teammate.

Yusuke took another blow to the head as she punched Chu in the ribs again. A fist came down to hit her side, but missed as Yusuke punched Chu across the right cheek. Chu caught Yusuke in the ribs, her heel digging into the knife's edge. Yusuke got back at him across the face, and punching multiple times in the chest, making Chu's heel push further back onto the knife's edge.

The crowd was chanting Chu's name.

"Could the battle possibly get any more brutal than this? Let's just hope that it can people!" said Koto.


"Whoa. Are you watchin' this?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes wide. "I've never seen anything so impressive in my life. To them, it's like nothing else exists. Such focus and such pain. I wish that were me in there. This is no longer a fight between two fighters. This is the stuff legends are made of. I could watch them fight for hours."

Kimiko was beginning to loss her calm, unable to bring her childish eyes to watch any longer. Though she was young, she still could sense and identify what pain was. Unable to watch them anymore, Kimiko began to wriggle out of Susumu's hold.

"Kimi...!" Susumu said as Kimiko continued to struggle against him.

"What's wrong with Kimiko-chan?" asked Tenten, seeing the child trying to break free of her big brother's arms.

"I—I don't know. She just started acting like this." said Susumu. Kimiko finally broke free as she slid off of Susumu's knees and ran past the other shinobis' legs. "Kimiko, come back!" Susumu called out, as he chased after Kimiko.

"Oh no!" said Sakura, as she saw the little girl running up the stairs.

"Don't worry; Susumu-senpai is more than capable of catching her. How hard can it be for a jounin to catch a three-year-old?" said Tenten.


"How's that for ya?" Chu asked, as he punched below Yusuke's ribcage, only to be answered by multiple hits in the face from Yusuke.

Kimiko came running out onto the grass and ran up behind Kuwabara, hugging his leg. Looking down, Kuwabara was surprised to see Kimiko with Susumu right behind her.

"Hey, Kimi-chan." said Kuwabara, not knowing what to say as both Kurama and Hiei looked down at the girl too.

"Kuwabawa...You have to make nee-chan stop fighting!" said Kimiko, tears streaming down her round rosy cheeks.

"Why would I want to do that?" said Kuwabara.

"Because if you don't stop her, nee-chan's going to die—again!" said Kimiko, giving Kuwabara's leg a shake.

"Sorry, Kimi-chan, but it's not an option." said Kuwabara, as Susumu picked Kimiko up.

"Why not?!" she all but demanded, showing the same temper her older sister has.

"Because your nee-chan made a promise...And now everything she lives for is hanging on her ability to fight. Not too long ago, we faced off against a very strong fighter. His attacks still haunt me, and I think they haunt Urameshi too. This guy was insanely muscular and completely unstoppable." said Kuwabara.

"And that's who she's fighting now?" asked Susumu.

"No. Chu's tough, but not that tough. He's nothin' compared to that other guy." said Kuwabara.

"So...then we shouldn't wowee?" Kimiko sniffed.

"I wouldn't say that. Yusuke could definitely still get killed by Chu. Besides, winning this fight is only her first step in taking on that guy again."

"What?" Susumu said.

"I'm not really supposed to talk about this stuff, but in honest to goodness rematch with Toguro is the only reason we came here to fight."

"Why? It sounds like you don't even have a chance at beating him." said Susumu.

"Well, Susumu-san, let's just say we don't have a choice."

Susumu looked up into the ring at Yusuke's fight. "So, who won in the first fight?" he asked.

"Well, Yusuke and I worked together and knocked Toguro down—we even put a sword through his stomach. We left him for dead, but it turns out he faked getting beat for some kind of payoff. Then he shows up again and forces us to fight him here for real. Yusuke has to fight Toguro again. And more than that, she wants to. You see, it's our only chance to settle this. Then, and only then, we'll know who's stronger than who. And that is why I owe it to her not to step in there now and save her."

As Susumu watched his sister's fight, he saw something that he had not seen in years. She was smiling. A true smile, a smile that, not once had he seen on her since their father disappeared. Each hit she took, each punch she inflicted, only made her smile brighter, more genuine.

"They're so evenly matched. It must end in a stalemate, or it might never end at all." said Ino.

"No, I'm certain they're both standing on their last legs. It's almost all over. The weaker one will crumble soon." Shikamaru said.

Boy I wish everybody on that team put up this much of a fight. I might've actually gotten to give my yo-yos a real workout. Thought Rinku. As Chu and Yusuke continued their punches, Chu threw back his head to come down on a head-butt. This one's gonna be bloody rotten on my hangover! He thought, as he swung his head down. Yusuke, not giving a second thought, followed up with her own head-butt. Both their heads banging together.

"Yeah! No one stands up to Chu's trademark head butt!" said Rinku.

Both fighters did not move, as they looked into each other's eyes. Yusuke's vision blurred but she was determined to stay conscious and watched as Chu's eyes then rolled back and he toppled over onto the floor. Koto ran forward and began her count.

"One! Two! Three!"

"Yeah! That was the most amazing finish I've ever seen! I told you the one with the strongest head would triumph, Hiei! And I had faith in Urameshi all along!" said Kuwabara.

"I guess you're better suited to tapping kegs than tapping heads." Yusuke said weakly.

"Nine...Ten!" Koto stepped up to Yusuke's side and lifted up her right arm in the air. "The winner of this match...and the winner of this battle is the Urameshi Team, led by Urameshi Yusuke!" announce Koto. The crowd was in an uproar at the outcome, most were howling in rage that a human won.

"That was incredible, Urameshi! How are you holdin' up, buddy?" Kuwabara asked as he ran up to Yusuke. Yusuke gave him the thumbs up. "Yes! We can't be beat!"

"Chu!" Rinku called out, as he hopped up onto the ring and ran over to his teammate. "Oh boy...Look what Yusuke did to you." Rinku took a moment to see something was amiss. "Your skull cracked the cement. But she's so small. She should try to teach that big oaf how to fight." Rinku looked down to see Chu getting up onto his knees.

"Urameshi." Yusuke and Kuwabara looked back at Chu. "We agreed to fight a death match...Finish me off." he said. Yusuke stared long and hard at him, before breaking a soft smile.

"Nah, we'll fight again when you're better." said Yusuke.

"You're ripper. It's been a dead set honor, Urameshi." said Chu.

"Likewise, pal." said Yusuke, turning around to walk back to her team, leaning on Kuwabara for support. The demons in the stadium all booing and hissing, wanting blood that the tournament always promised.

"Demon fans are so stupid. Awhile ago they were cheering for them to win." said Kuwabara, as they came up to their team.

"Hey! If you want a piece of us, why don't you all come down here and take it!" Rinku yelled up at the crowd.

"Finish him off, Urameshi!" shouted the fans.

"We want some blood!"

Yusuke stood on her own as she looked up into the crowd, feeling her blood beginning to boil. "SHUT UP!" Yusuke screamed, her voice echoing over the roar of demons. The whole stadium suddenly went quiet. "If you idiots got anything to say...Say it! But say it to my face! Or else say it to my fist!"

No one said a word.

"Urameshi Yusuke." Rinku said under his breath with awe.

Good oil. Urameshi's blood is worth bottling. Thought Chu.


"That was so incredible!" Naruto said excitedly later that night as he and everyone else walked out of the stadium gates and back into the forest. "You guys were awesome!"

"Man, your fights were all really intense! What was it like fighting them?" Kiba asked, acting just as hyped up as Naruto.

"Don't sweat it guys, it was nothing!" Kuwabara insisted, boasting about his influence on the team.

"It was a good fight, but you kids still have a ways to go." said Jiraiya.

"Says the old man who still gets caught peeping at women." Yusuke said dryly, while an arm was draped around Neji's neck for support.

"Well, in any case, we should be leaving, let's go Naruto." said Jiraiya, turning away from the group and vanishing into the branches of the pitch forest.

"Hai! See ya, everyone!" Naruto said before following after the Toad Sage.

"Yusuke, I'll be taking Kimiko home, you better be there shortly as well." Susumu said, before taking off himself with a sleeping Kimiko in his arms.

"Will you be all right?" Sakura asked, looking at Yusuke with concern. Yusuke grinned and gave the pink-haired kunoichi a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry about me, I've had worse wounds than these." Yusuke reassured, before giving a great yawn.

"I'll take you home." Neji said.

"What a gentleman, taking me safely home." Yusuke teased, which Sakura found a bit alarming as she saw Neji's cheeks turn a light tint of pink as he unhooked Yusuke's arm from around his neck and knelt down and allowed Yusuke to climb onto his back.

"C'mon, let's all go home, it's late." Shikamaru yawned, as he and everyone made the return trek back into Konoha.

Neji could hear the light snoring of Yusuke as she peacefully slept on his back, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. A light smile graced Neji's features as he looked back at Yusuke's peaceful face with his Byakugan while keeping on high guard as he moved through the forest. But as soon as his smile appeared it quickly disappeared as the memory of seeing Yusuke's true strength being displayed in her fight with Chu. All this time…all this time she had so much reserve of chakra that she had been holding back the entire time they would fight each other.

Suddenly Neji felt cheated by Yusuke, the same way he felt cheated by fate to be born in the Hyuuga branch family. It was all just unfair.


The next morning Neji was out in the forest with Yusuke, keeping his promise to Susumu to keep a watchful eye on her in case she shows signs of serious injury. According to the Urameshi's family physician, Yusuke had suffered major physical injuries with several fractured ribs and a bit of head trauma. She was lucky to not have had any internal bleeding.

It was his misfortune to be the one stuck looking after her even though he wanted to confront her about her hiding her real strength.

Yusuke was trying to shoot her Spirit Gun at a random tree, but nothing seemed to happen. She could not even feel a tingle in the tip of her finger. She wondered if her head-butt with Chu had caused more damage than she thought, though she had her doubts considering she had head-butted her enemies during missions plenty of times. Practically wrapped from head to toe in bandages Yusuke also had a hunch that her body was just focused on recovering, but how could that be when she physically felt fine?

Damn it. Yusuke cursed. A rustle in the bushes behind Neji and her alerted them as Kuwabara came out into the open.

"Hey, there you are, punk! You know you really shouldn't be up and about like this. Even Kurama and Hiei said you'd need all day today to recuperate." Kuwabara said. "I mean, I went by your house to check in on you and you weren't there, your family is pretty worried about you, y'know?"

Yusuke sighed but said nothing back, not having the patience for her teammate this morning.

"Urameshi, listen, don't you think we ought to have some kind of team meeting? I mean, I'm worried about the next fight. I don't even know where Hiei and Kurama went." said Kuwabara.

"Have a meeting with yourself, then. You'll learn a lot." said Yusuke, as she walked further into the woods with Neji close behind.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Wait! Don't leave me alone!" said Kuwabara.

"Go find a crossword puzzle or something." Yusuke said over her shoulder.

"Ah darn it! Why is she always like that? I'm gonna teach her a lesson once this tournament's over." Kuwabara said, before turning back towards the village, unaware that the masked fighter was watching him and Yusuke from the trees.


At the stadium, fans were already cheering on a new favorite as another demon lost its head. The offender held the head up high like a trophy. Before tossing it to the feet of an ugly troll wearing a doctor's jacket.

"It's over in seconds yet again! And with another decapitation! I must admit, I'm starting to get attached to the move! No pun intended, of course." Koto said. "Alright, that's three straight wins, which means the Dr. Ichigaki Team will advance!"

The troll doctor stood outside the ring with his team, grinning widely on his ugly face. "Brutal as always." he said with an oily voice.

"We've been blessed my friends," said one of the remaining fighters on the opposite team. "That this was finished in the first three fights. At least our lives shall be spared from them."

As he and his other remaining teammate fled from the ring, they were stopped by a giant bull demon that stood tall on its hind legs like a man. Kicking aside his two fleeing teammates, he stepped into the ring, causing Koto to scream in terror.

"Close your mouth, little woman." said the bull demon. "This battle is not over."

"Sorry big boy, but actually it is. The terms were best of five." said Koto.

"But I haven't gotten to fight yet! So it's not over!" said the bull demon, as he took a giant step.

Koto screamed and ran to a safe distant, saying over her shoulder, "Have it your way!"

"You have unleashed the fury of the minotaur!" bellowed the demon. The troll doctor merely grinned even broader, as the demon came charging forward like a rampaging bull.

"Well, why are you waiting? Take care of him for me, children." said Dr. Ichigaki.

Three of his five fighters leapt into the air. One used ring blades of energy to cut off one of the demons arms. While the second used an energy bomb to remove the other arm. Leaving the third to slash off the demon's head with an invisible weapon. All this in a matter of seconds.

"Pity I had to make my premier against such a worthless bunch of people. Scarcely shows the genius of my work, but oh well." Dr. Ichigaki said. "The Urameshi Team will reveal everything in time."

Above the stadium, Kurama, Susumu and Jiraiya had watched the entire fight with observant eyes. Kurama's worries and suspicion of the next round growing. The attack energies of those three fighters are undoubtedly human. Our team should have the only humans here. And their movements—something is not right. He thought.

"This is bad." stated Jiraiya. "Don't you agree…Kakashi?"

Kakashi appeared beside the Toad Sage with Sasuke close behind.

"A bit of bad luck for our Spirit Detective and her team, having to fight humans under some sort of mind control." Kakashi said. "I heard last night's final match was quite a spectacular show."

"It was quite a fight to behold." said Kurama, "Yusuke showed us all what she learned in such a short amount of time, of course, the outcome of the fight left her a little worse for wear."

"Ah, I bet the little champ is too sore to move a finger." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

"Actually, everybody in the house fought rather hard to keep her in bed, but she insisted that she was perfectly fine." Susumu said.

"I thought as much." Kurama said with a knowing smirk.

"That's quite the recovery rate for someone of her size and age." Kakashi said, "She's rather young to even be in fights like these."

"Trust me, with all of the demanding cases Reikai gives Yusuke, it's not surprising that she has gotten as strong as she is now." Kurama said.

"It's a family trait, I suppose." Susumu said, "My clan are well known for our martial art school of Reshuukin."

"Will we get to see this team you all are talking about fight?" Sasuke asked.

"Come by tomorrow morning, and then you'll get to see for yourself how strong these kids are." Jiraiya said, pulling Kurama forward with a wide grin. "This boy here is a part of Yuu-chan's team, so you'll get to see him fight, too!"


In the forest, Yusuke was balancing herself on her right hand, trying to stay up on one finger, but could not as she fell back on her palm. Neji was leaning against the rock wall behind Yusuke, his arm folded contently across his chest.

Why am I so damn tired? She asked herself, as she brought her feet to touch down on the rock she was balancing on. Neji looked up, sensing that they were not alone. Then suddenly something shot out from the brush, coming straight for Yusuke. Thinking quickly he grabbed hold of her and jumped out of the way and landed on a low branch, looking around for the offender.

"Spirit Detective, Urameshi Yusuke." Neji and Yusuke turned their eyes towards the trees to see a demon standing before them. "Nice to meet you." This demon wore red goggles and clothes that Neji could only guess were animal hides.

"Who are you?" Yusuke asked.

"Rugby." said the demon.

"What, like the sport?" Yusuke asked.

"I saw your Spirit Gun last night. I want to see how it compares." said Rugby.

"Compares to what?" Yusuke asked. Rugby created a rugby ball from the air, and kicked it straight up towards where Neji and Yusuke were.

Yusuke prepared to fire her Spirit Gun, but still nothing was happening. I don't believe this! She thought, as she jumped out of the way and onto another branch while Neji went the other way. The ball ricocheted off the branch they had previously occupied, reducing it to splinters. And then ricochets off the trunks of two trees, heading towards Yusuke again.

"Figures!" Yusuke said, as Neji appeared at her side and evaded the ball with her.

"That ball has a fix on your reiki and it won't stop until you're hit. Of course, we don't believe in breaks between plays. What's the wait? Fire your Spirit Gun!" Rugby yelled as Yusuke fell to the ground on her knees with Neji crouched on one knee in front of her. Seeing the ball head straight for them, Neji reached for his kunai until an axe came flying out of nowhere and hit the ball. Exploding on contact.

"What are you doing here?" hissed Rugby, as a giant of a man came walking into the clearing.

"Rugby, what are you doing here?" the man said in a booming voice. He was a large, giant of a man but it was clear that he, too, was a demon. "Find your way back to the ring immediately."

"We'll fight her eventually! Why not finish her now?" said Rugby.

"Because I won't allow it. Our place is in the ring."

"You don't have any sense of the sport, do you? This human has somehow stolen our demon powers. She'll win unless we penalize her now." Rugby turned to round on the two young shinobis.

"I am warning you! Don't touch her."

"Shut the hell up." Rugby said, as he created another one of his balls, and was advancing towards Neji and Yusuke.

"Rugby, don't touch her!"

Yusuke raised up one arm in front of her as Neji raised his kunai, ready to fight as Rugby stopped to tower over them. He kicked Neji out of the way without a second thought, leaving Yusuke exposed and vulnerable. Yusuke reached for her weapons pack on her hip, only to realize that she didn't bring it with her.

"Cheating Makai, penalty: one death!" Rugby raised his weapon, but stopped and fell forward. An axe sticking out of his back. Yusuke gasped, instinctively scooting away from the body.

"A mindless creature. He did not deserve the pleasure of ending the Spirit Detective's life. That is reserved only for me. If, of course, you can survive this tournament long enough to meet me in the arena." The giant man walked away, leaving Neji and Yusuke in the brush.

Standing up, Neji cringed and clutched his side before he walked back to Yusuke, helping her up, not too surprised that demons wanted her dead so badly.

"You all right?" Neji asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Yusuke said, hiding how shaken up she was.

"Oh wow. He killed his teammate over you?" asked Kuwabara as he came out into the clearing.

"Uh-huh. I'm a real celebrity." Yusuke said in flat sarcasm.

"So what happened? Why didn't you use your Spirit Gun?" asked Kuwabara.

"Yes, I'd like to know that as well." Neji said. Yusuke looked at the two boys and then down at her finger.

"Well, funny thing. I, uh..."


"Are you kidding me? You can't use your Spirit Gun!" Kuwabara yelled, not believing what he was hearing. Neji, Yusuke, and Kuwabara had returned to the village and were sitting inside the Urameshi zen room to discuss the problem at hand.

"How can that be?" asked Neji.

"I've shot my Spirit Gun four times in one day during training and I could always get it back in the morning. Sure it wasn't to full strength, but now I'm not even getting a stupid tingle." Yusuke said.

"What could it mean?" Kuwabara asked, as the door to the room slid open to reveal the Masked Fighter.

"There are many things you need to learn." came a serene, female voice from the Masked Fighter. "Reiki is linked to emotions. You must know your feelings to control your strength."

Kuwabara leaned in towards Yusuke. "Okay, Urameshi, we're friends aren't we? Please tell me if that's Genkai!"

"Yeah, I kinda thought that too, but that's not her voice at all. Hey! Who the hell are you?" said Yusuke.

"Be prudent with your power, Yusu. We don't want another one of our teammate's to end up crippled and screaming in pain." said the Masked Fighter, before leaving the room.

"Who's crippled?" asked Yusuke.

"Beats me. I don't think I am." said Kuwabara. Yusuke and Kuwabara and Neji all looked at each other.

"Well, now I'm worried." said Yusuke.


"Hello fans! Everybody still having fun up there? I've got the eighth battle for you, in just a minute!" announced Koto.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Naruto, Neji and the Masked Fighter were on the first floor, heading towards the stands to watch.

"It's Toguro's team." said Yusuke.

"Let's go." said Naruto. Yusuke nodded and they were off, running down the halls.

"But before we get to the good stuff, let's take a look at our progress so far!" Koto said, as she turned everyone's attention up towards the giant monitor. "The advancing teams from the first seven massacres are...Urameshi Team, Dr. Ichigaki Team, Team Masho, Team Gokai Six, Team Urayutogi, Gorenja Team, and Team Kaido!" A picture of each team was displayed out in the order that Koto had read.

"There's only one more slot for the second round, and our next two teams are about to fight for it! That's right people! So warm up your screaming voices and strap on your boots, because it's a good bet these next fighters will have us knee deep in the slaughter!" The crowd's cheering became, if possible, even louder as their favorite fighter came out. "Ah, yes. A person who needs no introduction, the resident bad-ass of the Tournament!"

Up in the stands, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Naruto, Neji and the Masked Fighter sat together, looking down into the ring. Yusuke's hands clenched into fists on her lap.

"That's Toguro?!" Naruto asked with surprise.

"Yeah." Kuwabara confirmed.

"Hasn't changed one friggen' bit." said Yusuke.

"But the defending champions may not have an easy time with this team! The Spirit Warriors." said Koto, pointing towards a group of massive men.

"That's the team those guys were from, huh? Wow! They're all giants!" said Kuwabara.

"Man, they could probably crush a building if they want!" said Naruto.

"For those stuck to your programs, you'll notice a substitute's fighting in the place of Rugby, who we've been told has had 'out of the ring complications.'" said Koto.

The Spirit Warriors team suddenly exploded with great masses of spirit energy, sending a surge of chills up Yusuke's spine.

"WHOA! That's intense!" Naruto exclaimed, crossing his arms tightly in front of his body to keep from shivering. Every nerve endings in his body electrified.

"Their size and power make them quite a doozy." Yusuke, Kuwabara and Naruto all jumped to see Botan sitting right behind them.

"Don't scare us! Where have you been all day?" asked Kuwabara.

In the arena, Toguro stood before all five members of the Spirit Warrior Team. His team was not present.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to fight against your team single-handedly." said Toguro.

"What are you saying? Don't you have a team?" asked one of the large demons.

"Of course, but they happen to be extremely lazy and they don't want to fight." said Toguro, pushing up his dark sunglasses further up his nose.

"You arrogant man, are you mocking us?" asked another of the large demons, that resembled a bear.

"Five fights in a row! You'd be exhausted!" said another large demon that looked like a piranha.

"Well, actually, I was hoping all five of you would fight me at the same time." said Toguro.

"I see! The puny man is serious! His fame must be affecting his head!" said another large demon that was the size of a sumo wrestler.

"Gee, Toguro is really asking for it." said Kuwabara. Yusuke nodded her head.

"Look at us! Everyone on our team is two times bigger than you." said the sumo.

"You have size, and that is all." said Toguro calmly.

"Fine! If you're a fool with a death-wish, then so be it! Five on one right now!" said the sumo.

"Mr. Toguro! Are you sure you agree to this?" asked Koto.

"Naturally. They're my terms. Sorry if this makes it harder to announce." said Toguro.

"Yikes!" Koto shrieked, as she ran out of the way as all five members of the Spirit Warrior team surrounded Toguro. "Spirit Warriors versus Toguro! Begin!"

A buzzard sounded, initiating the start of the match. The sumo demon brought down his massive foot on the ring, tilting it slightly to the side and then smashed down the other foot, evening out the terrain.

"That could leave a mark." said Botan.

"Yeah, I really don't think Toguro would survive if he got trapped under one of those stomps. It's like getting hit with a wrecking ball." said Kuwabara.

From higher up the cheering crowd, Kurama, Kakashi, Sasuke, Susumu and Jiraiya were looking down into the fight. Calculating the percentage of each strength.

These warriors take advantage of their large bodies to channel greater reiki. Kurama concluded.

"What a bunch of arrogant fools." Susumu said, crossing his arms.

Sasuke was intrigued by all of it, having just heard of this tournament. What surprised him the most was how obvious the stadium was and in such close proximity to Konoha and yet no one seemed to be bothered by it. Almost as if unless shown personally you would simply never notice it.

"I believe I'll use my One Hundred Hands Technique to finish." said the sumo.

"You have great power. You're right to be proud. It's unfortunate you have to die now, but I will honor you with forty-five percent of my strength." said Toguro, as his muscles began to bulk up.

"You cannot frighten me!" said the sumo, as he charged forward at Toguro. Only to be punched directly in the stomach, the sheer force behind the punch caused his insides to spill out.

The demon that resembled a bear went next, only to meet the same fate as his comrade as his insides burst out from his body. Two more attacked from either side of Toguro. But were unsuccessful as they too, befell the same fate at the same time.

The demon that had saved Yusuke's life earlier that day, was now giving off a great wave of energy to show his outrage. The leader came charging at Toguro, swinging his massive axe with great speed. Toguro took quick steps backwards, avoiding the blade by shifting his shoulders left and right.

"I am destined to win this fight!" said the leader, as he plunged his axe straight down into Toguro's left shoulder. But to his astonishment, Toguro's skin was not pierced by the blade. Pushing the axe up with one hand, Toguro merely smirked. "But I was supposed to kill Yusuke."

"Must have been a misunderstanding. That brat is reserved for me." said Toguro, as he punched straight into his opponents gut, splitting him in half.

"Wow! The Toguro Team is the winner! Thanks entirely to five splitting kills by the big man himself!" announced Koto.

In the stands, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Neji, Botan, and Naruto were all visibly trembling in their seats. Yusuke most of all, as her knuckles were whiter than humanly possible. Botan, who was sitting between Naruto and Kuwabara, was looking as if she were ready to vomit.

"Urameshi, I really hope you get your power back soon. And then—like—multiply it by a hundred." said Kuwabara. Yusuke looked down at her trembling hands, unaware of the glances from the Masked Fighter beside her.


"What kind of crap is this?!" Kuwabara screamed as he read the line-ups for the next fight.

"You're one of only two teams who has to fight four times." said Botan, peering over Kuwabara's shoulder as the boy was pounding his head against the surface of the coffee table in Yusuke's living room.

"They could've at least made it less obvious!" said Naruto, also reading the line-ups.

Neji looked over at Yusuke, who was sitting on the couch with her head lowered in thought. He wanted to say something to her, tell her that it will all work out, but even he knew that such words would bring no comfort since there was no truth behind it. Instead, he simply left with the excuse that he needed to prepare for the chuunin finals.


AN: Thank you for being patient. Please review!