Aljan Moonfire does not own Naruto in any way, shape or form.
"Speaking."
'Thinking.'
"Demonic Speaking."
'Demonic Thinking.'
Flashback and/or Dream
"Jutsu" (English Translation)
Chapter 8:
The Bell Test
'It would be great to be a cloud…' thought Shikamaru, not for the first time, 'just drifting along wherever the breeze takes you…' As he watched the sun set and streaks of darkness etch themselves across the sky Shikamaru filled his never still mind with the peacefulness of the sky.
This was why he loved cloud watching; the softly drifting and ever-changing clouds filled his mind with a peacefulness he found it difficult to find anywhere else, his thoughts drifting in and out of his consciousness like the clouds he so desired to resemble. When ever he was awake he just couldn't stop thinking; analyzing what surrounded him without pause.
For once he'd find it nice to be able to admire a pretty flower without counting every petal and thorn, taking note of every imperfection almost automatically and disturbing any appreciation for what beauty it might have had. The thing he disliked most about himself was that he did it with the people and situations around him as well.
It was part of what made him so good at games like shougi he guessed; it wasn't just that he could plan out his moves 200 places beyond where the game was now, it was also that he immediately sighted and focused in on any weakening or shift in a player's guard. The kind of strategy games he liked the most were just as much a battle of minds and personalities as they were that of wooden board pieces.
He supposed that once he had more experience it would help make him a good ninja, but more often than not he found little point in striving after things just out of reach when he was fine with watching the clouds blow by.
'Striving for something… just out of reach, huh?' he thought. 'That girl, when she said that, about becoming Hokage, she wasn't boasting. She was entirely serious. I wonder… What could possibly have pushed her resolve so far…?'
He let out an exasperated gust of air and sat up, his head still tilted towards the sky. He supposed that if he stayed on the team and passed that troublesome test he'd have a chance to find out. How troublesome; it seemed he'd have to find someway to pass it. After all, Uzumaki Noriko's resolve wasn't the only interesting part of his new team.
Unanswered questions about his fellow genin and new sensei began to buzz furiously around his head, giving the familiar feeling of an impending headache. Blanking his mind of all thought again he continued to stare upwards as the stars began to come out and the sun finally sank behind the trees that skirted his village.
As the gray twilight of dusk finally set in he rose from his position on the grass and, tucking his hands into his pockets, slouched and strolled in the direction of his clan's compound. He supposed his mom would have something to say about him being late anyway so there was no reason to be in much of a hurry.
He sighed again at the last thought. "How troublesome…"
.-.
It was much later that same night when Uchiha Sasuke arrived at his house. After the three genin had split up (which was a few minutes after Kakashi had left) he had headed right to the training ground he had just about claimed as his over the years since the massacre.
Only a quarter of a mile away from the Uchiha compound, it was in easy walking distance and suited his needs to the letter. Containing a large lake to practice his fire techniques on, as well as a flat area perfect for taijutsu practice, it was still just different enough from the lakefront his father had taught him the Gokakyu no Jutsu (Great Fireball Technique) at that it failed to stir any precious, though distracting, memories.
Opening the door to his house he reflected on his day. Though he would never admit it out loud he had been terribly excited as he walked to school for the last time. After all, today was the day he became a genin. One step closer in his chase after his elder brother. As it always did though, both then and now as he reflects on it, the mere thought of his clan's executioner soured his mood. That damn Itachi…
Shaking his head as if to exorcise any memory of the man from his mind he didn't even need to turn around to lock the familiar door behind him. Then he toed of his ninja sandals, replacing them with soft house slippers and called out softly down the empty hall, "I'm home!"
As per usual he received no answer. Not that he was expecting one, of course, but…his jaw tightened with the conflicting emotions. As he turned into the kitchen he almost expected to see his now long dead mother turn from the stove to ask him how his day was. He frowned sadly at the cold and empty stove before turning to the fridge, opening it, and pulling out the kind of packaged bento you could find at any convenience store from a stack of many more.
Still frowning he stared at the wrapped box for a moment before tearing it open and sitting down to eat, not because he was especially hungry, but because even if he couldn't eat breakfast tomorrow morning he would still need all his strength. As he ate he turned back to his previous reflections.
Much to his disappointment, souring his mood even further, the day started out as if it were any other school day. The only difference, if you could call it that, was that his classmates seemed even more hyper than usual in their excitement at finally graduating. The only exceptions to this were the ever stoic Aburame in the corner and the Akimichi and Nara duo. Chouji was eating what seemed to be multiple bags of chips and Shikamaru was simply lazing in his seat, looking as if he wanted to fall asleep.
Annoying nuisances that they were, what fangirls he had that were actually able to pass the final exam seemed even more determined to 'win his affections' than usual. 'As if I were something that could be won like a prize,' he thought for what felt like the millionth time with annoyance.
He had been relieved when Iruka-sensei had used the Demon Head Jutsu, sending his admirers flying back to their seats. The speech had been a good one, he supposed, but he hadn't really been paying much attention, waiting for the teams to be announced. He had really hoped that none of his fangirls would be placed on the same team as him.
He had also been relieved to find out that Shikamaru would be the other male on his team; he would have hated to deal with someone as exuberant as Kiba on a daily basis. He paused in his eating and frowned at himself as he thought of the sole female of his team, as well as his reaction to her.
She was beautiful, he could readily admit that to himself without compromising his pride, and she was clearly a serious kunoichi if the way she had scolded the pink banshee and the rest of the cheerleading squad was any indication. Her actions though, and what he had learned of her personality confused him.
When Iruka had first introduced her it had almost seemed as if she was flirting with the man. When Sakura had yelled at her though she had then suddenly turned into a highly skilled kunoichi, one clearly insulted by what the pinkette and her cohorts were insinuating. Then she had just as suddenly reverted to her flirty and smiling ways, strolling up the steps to sit near him, and giving him a wink in greeting.*
She also seemed to have an underlying sadness and emptiness that was all the more confusing for resembling his own. She had disappeared when the break had started and after she returned she had almost immediately joined the lazy Shikamaru in sleep, before he was even able to figure out what he might want to say to her.
He was slightly ashamed of himself for staring at her as she slept, it making him feel a bit like a stalker, but couldn't deny that he had. Getting a closer look at her, her seemingly elaborate costume was simply a layered yukata made of a strong material he couldn't identify. The hair pins seemed to be disguised senbon, and he couldn't help but be curious about her mask. He wondered why she wore it and if it had anything to do with what she mentioned when she introduced herself.
Now that he thought more on it her intro was almost as cryptic as his own. Sure, she had given out a few details that seemed to be true, but 'the majority of the civilian population of this village'… he wondered what she meant by that. She hadn't seemed completely serious when she said it, she had treated the declaration as she was simply stating a food she disliked, but that almost made it even more intriguing.
But, almost in contrast, when she had seriously declared that she would become Hokage he was surprised, more than he felt he should have been. He had remembered her killing intent from earlier and shuddered as well; he hadn't felt anything even remotely close to that since that night.
Now that he thought on it he wondered why she'd gotten so upset over a book anyway, but it doesn't really matter. If that intent was any indication of her true skill level she must be quite strong; even Kakashi-sensei had backed down. It made him wonder if maybe, just maybe, she may actually do it. Become Hokage, that is.
Shaking his head to rid it of his thoughts on the girl he got up and made his way to the sink to rinse out the bento box before stacking it with a pile of others on the counter. Turning his attention to the last part of what his new sensei had said he frowned and tightened his jaw, this time with determination.
He wouldn't become a failure, one that couldn't even pass his sensei's first test. He would become a genin. He was an Avenger, and he must get stronger. If he had to pass this stupid test to do it he would. His resolve would not bend, would not break; and he would have his revenge.
And maybe along the way he could learn more about the mysterious girl who was to be his teammate as well…
.-.
As she stared out across her moonlit forest from the greenhouse in the top of her tower, Noriko frowned in thought. "A 66% failure rate, huh?" she muttered to herself and then shifted her weight on the cushion she had sat on, taking a small sip of tea as she did so.
'Yes, I wonder what it is myself,' was the reply she got from her tenant.
'Arisa ka-san,' the girl blinked in surprise at getting a response at all. Arisa rarely spoke to her during the day, preferring to give observations when they spoke face to face at night in the mindscape. This was the second time today as well.
The kitsune ignored the surprise she felt from her kit and continued, 'I wonder what the trick to the test is...' She said.
'What do you mean by that, Arisa ka-san?' Noriko asked
'Well, if so many people face this test and fail there must be some sort of trick to it. Tomorrow, be sure to listen to and watch your sensei carefully; despite his uncaring attitude, your sensei will at least give you guys a chance to beat whatever test he gives you.' The kitsune finished.
Noriko nodded in agreement with her mentor's wisdom, but remained silent. Taking note of her kit's agreement Arisa retreated back to the mindscape, intending to follow her kit's example in having a cup of tea.
Smiling a bit at her adoptive mother's intentions the girl then turned her thoughts back to her team. Sasuke seemed to be a bit of a prick, but she'd worked with pricks before. She admittedly hadn't been on a team with any of the Uchiha as the clan had been practically eradicated almost two years before she'd graduated, but a few of the Hyuuga she'd had to tolerate had been much worse than the dark-haired boy seemed to be.
Shikamaru was interesting though, and apparently shared her preference for sleeping. The only problem she might have with the boy was his sheer lack of ambition. Kakashi though… He was clearly at least a slight pervert and had no shame to speak of if his intention to read that book in front of her was any indication.
She also knew he was extremely skilled though, and he could clearly teach them all a lot if he put his mind to it. She'd have to make sure the entire team impressed him enough to go straight to training tomorrow. She refused to believe that she wouldn't pass this test and she'd make sure her teammates passed as well.
That's what nakama were for after all; and now that they would fight along side her that's exactly what they were.
.-.
Just as the sun rose over the trees three genin arrived at training ground 7. After an hour of waiting the genin that were still awake began to inwardly curse the man who was to be their sensei. Shikamaru would have joined them but he had gone back to sleep after waiting for fifteen minutes.
It was soon after this that Sasuke's stomach began to make soft rumbling movements, indicating how hungry he was. Hearing the soft sounds of hunger Noriko turned from her contemplation of how she was going to brutally murder her sensei to stare at the boy in surprise.
"Didn't you eat something before you left, Sasuke-san?" she asked.
He frowned at her and curtly replied in the negative. "No."
"Oh." She looked at him carefully for a moment before pulling an apple from the sleeve of her yukata, which was a soft green today.** "You want an apple then?" she asked.
He stared at it for an endless moment before turning his head away and refusing. "No." Seeing her slightly disappointed face he quickly revised the blunt statement, "But thanks." He said in a low voice and then wondered why he'd said anything else at all.
She gave him a small smile and replied, "Don't worry about it. It's still there if you want it though."
They were still waiting another hour and a half later. Feeling his stomach grumble yet again Sasuke finally turned to Noriko and asked, "Is that offer on the apple still open?", with a stiff expression that said he wasn't used to asking for things.
Noriko stared at him for a moment in surprise before reaching back into her sleeve. "Yeah, sure." She pulled out four apples this time and threw half of them to her teammate before turning to chuck another at Shikamaru. As the fruit conked the sleeping boy on the head Sasuke caught his own apples and bit into one with a soft crunch.
Shikamaru slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead where the apple had bounced off it and reached over to pick up the now slightly bruised fruit. "What'd you throw that at me for?" he asked with a lazy half-hearted glare. He stared at the apple for a second and before Noriko could reply bit into it and leaned back on the training post he had been sleeping near.
Raising her visible eyebrow slightly at the brunette's actions Noriko replied, "Because if yesterday was any indication he should be here soon." Shikamaru glanced up at the sky to judge the time and decided that she was probably right. He wasn't going to thank her for throwing an apple at him though.
After the three had finished their apples and chucked away the cores they waited for a few more minutes before Kakashi appeared and made his way towards them. "Hey guys! Good morning!" he said a bit too cheerfully and gave a nonchalant wave.
"You're late!" was the simultaneous and growled response of Noriko and Sasuke. Shikamaru just yawned again.
Kakashi ignored them both and moved over to the three training posts lined up nearby. As the three genin watched with slight confusion he set up what looked like a very loud alarm clock on the one in the middle and then turned to speak.
"Okay," he said, "It's set to noon." He then held up two bells in plain sight in front of him. "Here are two bells," he continued seriously, "Your task is to take these from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell by noon…get no lunch. Then I'll not only tie you to one of these stumps, I'll eat right in front of you."
All three of them gave an internal sigh of relief at this. Shikamaru's mother had forced him to eat something before he'd been able to leave and Noriko had completely forgotten about his suggestion and made herself a large breakfast before she left. Sasuke, on the other hand, was very grateful Noriko had decided to bring some apples along.
Kakashi was a bit surprised that none of them looked very worried about that stipulation. 'Well, the next one will get some sort of reaction out of them either way,' he thought before continuing to list the rules of the test. "You only need to get one bell but, as you can see, there are only two so one of you will definitely be tied to a post. And… the person who doesn't get a bell, fails. So, at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy."
They all gave a nervous frown at that.
"You can even use your kunai and shuriken, but you won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill." He said seriously.
At that their frowns became more serious and they quickly moved into ready positions. "Well, it seems like you're ready." He gave a soft laugh. They couldn't see his face but they could almost hear the smirk in his voice when he said, "I think I'm beginning to like you guys."
They just kept their eyes on him as he said, "Ok, let's get going. Ready? Start!"
All four of them disappeared in a swift blur of movement.
.-.
Kakashi reappeared closer to the river that wound through the 7th training ground. "The ultimate basic of a ninja is to be able to hide yourself well…" he said softly and scratched the back of his head as he looked around.
'Good, they've all hidden well,' he thought and then concentrated. 'Their chakra signals are all still quite apparent though. Sasuke's in that tree and Shikamaru is in the shadows over there…' he then blinked in surprise, 'Wait, where'd Noriko go?'
Suddenly he felt his instincts screaming at him to duck and was quite grateful he had when Noriko's leg swung swiftly into sight, cutting harshly into the air where the back of his neck had just been.
Noriko herself hadn't expected her first attack to land at all and swiftly turned in mid-air, her other leg dropping down in a devastating axe kick charged with large amounts of earth chakra, the words, 'Daiichi Ohyure: Gekiha!' (First Quake: Crushing) echoing through her mind.
Kakashi's eye widened in surprise and the speed of the kick and as it seemed to make contact with him a large booming sound echoed through the clearing as a dust cloud sounded the two combatants. Noriko glanced down at the wooden log her weighted heels had crushed beyond recognition before glancing up the side of the large crater she had made in the direction of her sensei's chakra signal.
.-.
Kakashi had reappeared a small distance away from the dust cloud, completely unharmed but slightly shaken at the destruction the small genin had wrought. 'She's like a mini Tsunade! If that kick had been any faster…' His eye then widened again as he was broken out of his thoughts by Noriko flying out of the settling dust with a fist drawn back for what was sure to be a devastating punch.
She was too fast, and he too close, for him to use anything but the kawarimi to dodge. She stared in slight shock as her chakra enhanced fist connected with yet another log, sending it flying out over the river. Her eye then widened as she heard her sensei's voice from be hind her.
"You shouldn't let your opponent get behind you, you know." He said and brought his hand down to chop across the back of her neck, intending to knock her out so he could deal with her after he'd finished testing the other two.
Noriko though, similarly to what her sensei had done less than a minute ago, dropped into a crouch to dodge the attack from behind. She then immediately attacked again with a low spinning kick aimed at Kakashi's knees. Kakashi, immediately seeing her intention, jumped into a swift back handspring to dodge. As he landed on his feet and stood to face her she did the same.
"You…" he said contemplatively, "You're much more skilled than any genin should be." He frowned at her, wondering who had taught her that taijutsu style, as it wasn't one he had ever seen used around Konoha before. It seemed to use quite a few different movements he could recognize straight off the bat, and quite a few he couldn't.
His new student's movements were also very hard to predict and it was probably only exacerbated by what he knew was a quicksilver personality. She also seemed to use a strength enhancing technique much like Tsunade-sama's. His contemplation of her skill level was interrupted by her reply.
"Am I really?" she asked with a small, almost unnoticeable, smirk. "That's quite a compliment coming from a jounin of your caliber."
She then abandoned any chatter and swiftly moved forward to attack again, pulling a kunai from her sleeve as she did so. This time Kakashi met her half way, and they clashed with the sharp sound of metal hitting metal.
.-.
The two other genin, who had almost been forgotten by the two combating members of the team, could only stare with a mixture shock and awe at the battle taking place before them. They found it very hard to believe their eyes; this girl, who couldn't be any older than themselves, was going toe to toe with their new sensei, a jounin!
What shocked them the most though was that even though it was apparent that the elder ninja was holding back, Noriko seemed to not be going all out either! Though they didn't know it they both had almost the same thought racing through their minds, 'Just who is Uzumaki Noriko? And how can she be this strong?'
.-.
As the two fighting ninja clashed once more Noriko fed more chakra to her arm and pushed it all out with a single movement that crashed her kunai against her new sensei's. Both weapons immediately shattered under the sheer force of the blow and Noriko, being the only one to have any warning, quickly secured herself against the ground with her chakra as Kakashi was sent flying to the crater she had created with that first mighty attack.
He managed to land roughly in the center of the crater, somehow contriving to stay on upright as well, but still in slight shock from the sheer force of the blow. Bracing a hand against the ground to push himself up to his feet again he was surprised when he suddenly heard two puffs of smoke and was then immediately secured against any further movement by two delicately strong pairs of hands. "You really shouldn't let your opponent get behind you, you know." The two female voices echoed from behind him.
'A solid bunshin?' he thought incredulously, shocked at hearing his own words said back to him, before his attention was diverted by someone landing softly in front of him. She leaned down to delicately remove a single bell from his waist and then she immediately moved back to the edge of the crater.
"When did you..?" he asked with slight surprise, indicating the clones with a nod of his head.
"In the dust cloud after that first attack," was the reply, she then decided to explain a bit more. "I had them henge into a couple of pebbles. Then, when I saw the chance, I pushed you back in here, where they immediately immobilized you, as ordered."
He gave a nod of understanding at the explanation. "I see," he replied but kept on his eye on her.
"It was a good spar, Kakashi-sensei," she then said abruptly. "Next time, we shouldn't hold back so much." She then disappeared in a swirl of leaves and the bunshin dispersed soon after.
'Hold back?' he thought as he stood up again and moved from the crater. 'And next time?' He had of course been holding back quite a bit, he would never go all out on a genin team, but to think that she had been too… Although, now that he thought on it, all he had gleaned about her during the short fight was that she knew the Shadow Clone jutsu, had some sort of strength enhancing technique, and part of her taijutsu style.
'She's damn good.' He had to admit. He couldn't help but wonder how skilled she was when going all out though… Perhaps he needed to train more.
.-.
Sasuke watched the end of the fight with wide eyes. After Noriko disappeared he frowned and, hardening his resolve, drew a few shuriken from his pouch and waited for an opening. He watched carefully as the jounin jumped from the crater and turned away from where he was hiding in the trees, clearly deep in thought.
'Now!' he thought with a slight thrill as he threw the shuriken expertly. They quickly spun out of the branches of the tree he was hiding in to slam into his sensei with a gushing of blood. He paused for a moment then, slightly shocked that the shuriken had actually managed to land a direct hit on the jounin.
He then cursed to himself as the bloody man suddenly morphed into a log. 'Damn! That just gave away my position!' he thought and then quickly began to move to a different point to ambush the jounin-sensei at.
'So, he's there,' was the only thought of the cycloptic jounin that quickly moved to follow him.
.-.
Shikamaru had carefully watched all of these events unfold with a calculating glint in his eye. Though Noriko was obviously even more skilled than he'd thought she'd be, and Sasuke was clearly about to get his ass kicked, he was more concerned with the test as a whole. There was something off about the whole thing, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what was bothering him.
"So," came a female voice from behind him, "do you think there's something very wrong with this test too?" Noriko asked.
Surprised at being so easily sneaked up on he stiffened in slight shock before relaxing at her words and standing and turning to face the girl behind him. "Yeah. I'm not sure what though…" he said ponderingly.
"I wasn't either," was the reply.
'Wasn't?' he thought with surprise before raising an eyebrow at his female teammate. The girl, catching the expression even in the dim lighting, quickly continued.
"I eventually decided to go along with the original instructions," she said, indicating the crater still readily apparent in the clearing with a slight tilt of her head. "But I first knew there was something off with it all when he said that one of us would fail, regardless of what we did. After all, what would be the point of splitting us into three man teams if they were just going to split us up again immediately after?"
Shikamaru nodded in agreement, beginning to follow her train of thought himself. He almost continued for her, "So, there must be something else to the test, something not readily available in the initial explanation."
"Yes, that's why I immediately attacked Kakashi-sensei, just in case it was something we could take at face value." She then paused for a second as she remembered the fight before continuing, "But even after I secured the bell, Sensei didn't say anything to indicate that I had passed; he just asked about the tactics I had utilized. Obviously, there was something I was missing."
"Something you were missing?" he repeated and then his eyes widened in realization as he turned to the kunoichi. "You don't mean..?"
"Well, from what I can remember, they always did place a lot of emphasis on teamwork at the academy, and it's the only thing I can think of." She replied, amused by the boy's reaction.
"Okay," he said with a nod, "we'll do it together then. But how are we going to convince Sasuke to go along with it?"
"I have an idea about that," she said as she glanced towards the sounds of the skirmish between Kakashi and Sasuke.
.-.
Sasuke fumed quietly to himself as he was left neck-deep in the earth by Kakashi. As he attempted to wriggle his way out of his predicament he frowned in frustration. What the hell had he done wrong? Things had seemed to go pretty well at first; the traps had worked as intended and he had even managed to brush one of the bells with his finger!
That was when everything had gone to hell, now that he thought more on it. Kakashi had quickly thrown him away as soon as he heard the bells at his waist jingle. Then, frustrated, he had blown a Gokakyu no Jutsu at the jounin. When the smoke had cleared Kakashi had disappeared.
Knowing better than to assume that the man had been burned to ashes he had looked around to try and find where he'd gone to when he'd suddenly heard the former Anbu's voice echo from all around him "It's below."
Before he'd been able to form a coherent thought in response Kakashi had pulled him beneath the earth with a soft shout of, "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) He'd been left with only his head above the ground, unable to do anything but scowl at the jounin's back as he'd walked away, muttering something about 'Icha Icha'; whatever that was.
It was humiliating! And just after that Noriko had been able to fight just about on par with their sensei as well! He paused in his so far fruitless struggles as he considered that. If Noriko was able to do that…does that mean that she's just as far out of his reach as Kakashi was? And if that were really the case, just how far out of his league was Itachi still? Dammit!
He was brought out of his thoughts by two pairs of feet landing on the ground in front of him almost simultaneously. Looking up as far as he could in this state he could only make out two shadowed figures, even though he knew who they probably were.
Then he almost winced at the sound of the female's voice, especially considering his recent thoughts. "It looks like you might need some assistance, Sasuke–san."
* - His own reaction to the wink still annoyed him though.
** - Hammerspace is a wonderful thing, even if it's only a drastically modified storage seal inscribed on your forearm.
Today's Jutsu:
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
In this technique chakra is kneaded inside of the body and then converted into fire and expelled from the mouth in a massive orb of roaring flame. The scope of the attack can be altered by controlling the volume of chakra that is mustered to use it. The released flames should engulf their target, and leave a crater on the ground's surface. The fireball is normally blown through a ring made by the thumb and index finger of the user.
The Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu was, supposedly, originally created by the Uchiha Clan, soon becoming one of their favorite moves, one with which they had become very adept. The Uchiha Clan also used the Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu as a sort of 'coming of age' technique. The technique apparently requires more than average chakra reserves and any regular genin should be unable to use this technique.
Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu
Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique
This is a ninjutsu where the user conceals themselves underground and then drags the target of their attack down into the earth, robbing them of their freedom. In addition, they can use this to start another attack. This technique was originally used for capture, then torture and interrogation, by first securing the prisoner and then, ever so slowly, cutting into their neck.
Daiichi Ohyure: Gekiha
First Quake: Crushing
Made by Noriko as her first real Earth-natured technique, it is currently unique to her and utilizes no hand seals, simply pure earth chakra manipulation. Created to compensate for Noriko's lesser strength when compared to the adults and older children around her, it is one of the only purely supplementary jutsu she frequently uses in direct combat.
By infusing her limbs with potent earth chakra and releasing it on contact with her target she gains immense physical strength. Inspired by the super-strength technique of Tsunade of the Sannin, Arisa (the, now former, Kyuubi) believes that it actually has the potential to go beyond even that to, with enough control, induce minor earthquakes with a mere touch.
The strength of the technique seems depends on a multitude of factors, including, but not limited to, chakra control and true physical strength. Though this technique apparently has the potential to kill with the flick of a finger Noriko rarely uses it in such a way and only uses it to charge her muscles with enough force to match that of a minor Kage.
A High B to Mid S-ranked technique, depending on usage. In this chapter, as you can clearly see, we only got to see the tip of the ice berg.
~ Author's Note ~
I wanted to get this out a bit sooner than I actually ended up doing, but I hope it's worth the wait. Feedback is, of course, always welcome.
I wasn't entirely sure about the ending as I seem to have some trouble accurately portraying Sasuke. He has always struck me as the kind of guy that broods a lot unnecessarily; thus the long internal monologues. In fact, in that one near the beginning, he just wouldn't shut up! And since he refused to let me condense it anymore than it already is this chapter is a few hundred words longer than usual.
Leaving that mini-rant behind though, I finally completed my first battle scene! It's kind of short, but I hope it lives up to whatever expectations you had of me. Aside from that though, what do you guys think of my first original jutsu? I must say that I'm quite proud of it, but I want to hear your thoughts on it as well!
This is getting kind of long though so is there anything else I wanted to say? Ah! Yes; The poll!
Itachi is still leading, this time with 16 votes, with Shikamaru following in second with 11 votes. Haku and Gaara are tied for third with 10; but if you want Sasuke or Neji to win you better start voting!
Ummm… Nothing else I can think of to say here so… don't forget to Review!
~ Aljan Moonfire ~
