Saburo's Tournament

CHAPTER 12

Shadow of the Ice

Gray vs. Shikamaru


"Now," began Saburo, taking hold of the situation again. "We must quickly proceed onto the next match." He said. "Match eleven will be Shikamaru Nara vs. Gray Fullbuster." As soon as this was spoken, a single sigh was heard from a drooping head.

"Me, eh...?" A young man with an irritated expression moved out to the battlefield from the Team Konoha Containment Cube. He had moderately long jet black hair kept into a spiky ponytail, narrow brown eyes, and had both of his ears pierced through with studs. He wore a typical Konoha flak jacket with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath it. He wore black pants and sandals to match, and green-lined mesh armor on his wrists and ankles. The last notable piece of his attire was the metal plate of a headband sewn into his left sleeve. "This is gonna be a drag."

"You sure seem uninterested," pointed out Shikamaru's opponent, Gray Fullbuster. He had spiky, dark-colored hair and dark-blue eyes. He wore white coat and a silver necklace that resembled a word with a stone in it hung around his neck. He was also equipped with a metal bracelet and a similar chain attached to his pants.

"This isn't my type of thing," replied Shikamaru, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand.

"Alright, Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted out, grinning from inside the Containment Cube. "Go for it!" Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, sighed, and turned his attention back to Gray.

"You too, Gray!" Natsu cried out, except more fiercely than Naruto had. "You'd better win so I can kick your ass in the Finals!" Instead of sighing, Gray began to bicker with the hot-headed Dragon-Slayer for a while.

"That's enough," spoke Saburo, raising his gloved hand. Shikamaru and Gray shared vision as they watched the man closely, cautious of the host. "Commence with match eleven." After speaking, Saburo retreated to his coveted spot on top of the only undamaged building within the battlefield.

"Let's do this, shinobi!" Gray grinned, pressing his right fist onto the upturned palm of his left hand. This prompted a chill to scourge the battlefield as a light blue object twice Shikamaru's size came crashing down towards him. The agile ninja sprung backwards, allowing the ice to smash on to the ground in front of him, sending shards of ice flying in multiple directions.

"Was that...ice?" Shikamaru asked, frowning as he slid to a halt.

"Yeah," Gray answered seriously. "Ice-Make magic is my specialty, so you'd better get used to it."

"I hate fighting, especially in cold weather. It's such a drag," sighed Shikamaru. He then reached into his pouch and equipped himself with a kunai knife. "But under these circumstances, I can't afford to slack off now."

"That's what I wanted to hear," replied Gray with a slight smirk upon his face. He was then forced to deflect the kunai with small fragment of ice with a swift reaction. When he cast his gaze back to Shikamaru, the youth had his hands clasped together. The glimpse of darkness moving forward caught Gray's attention, so he instinctively leapt backwards. Upon closer inspection, he discerned that the darkness was stretching from his opponent. "Is that your own shadow?"

"Darn it," scowled Shikamaru, releasing his jutsu. "I should have known that a simple tactic like that wouldn't work."

"You're like that Eisenwald goon, a shadow user," declared Gray confidently as he landed on the tips of his toes. "I think his name was Kageyama or something."

"Eisenwald? Kageyama?" Shikamaru repeated. "Doesn't sound like a member of the Nara clan to me," he blew it off, but deep inside he felt his advantage of surprise fading.

"Oh well, Natsu beat the hell out of him anyway." Gray also shrugged. He then took a step forward, prompting Shikamaru to take a step backwards. "Ice-Make: Floor!" Gray pressed his hands together before placing them on the concrete ground. This prompted the ground become sheeted in a ice, starting from Gray and spreading outwards.

Does he think that a sheet of ice will distort my shadow? Shikamaru continuing leaping backwards, just out of caution. As the ground become completely enveloped in a layer of ice, the shinobi leapt onto a pile of rubble that remained unfrozen. The Konoha ninja proceeded to launch to shuriken at the mage, but they were easily deflected by two spikes of ice that sprouted in front of Gray.

"Ice-Make: Cannon!" A light-blue swirl of magic began to hover over Gray's right shoulder after he placed his palm and fist together. He then positioned his arms as if he were holding a bow as the swirl of magic solidified. What was now in Gray's arms was a hand-held cannon constructed of ice.

This is not looking good... Shikimaru's face fell at the sight of the ice cannon being aimed straight for his position. The cannon erupted to life, firing a mass of ice at an incredible velocity, while the recoil flung Gray backwards. The light that was reflected from the icy cannonball was glaring enough, blinding many of the onlookers. However, they could clearly hear the destruction it caused as it crashed into the rubble Shikamaru was positioned on.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto cried out, pressing his fists against the Containment Cube. He was met with a reply, however.

"Jeez, that was close," muttered Shikamaru, sprawled on his back a few meters away from where the rubble had once stood. He began to rise from the ground, but because of the sheet of ice beneath his feet, it made the action slightly harder to accomplish. Gray took advantage of this small opening and leapt forward, his hand encase in thick ice. The frozen fist plowed into Shikamaru's defending forearms, propelling the shinobi through the air.

"He got him!" Natsu shouted, grinning from ear to ear at the strike that just landed against the opposing combatant. However, as Shikamaru slid along the ice backwards, he tossed some sort of sphere wrapped in paper onto the ground. The orb erupted into a cloud of smoke, obscuring Gray's vision and hiding Shikamaru in its wake.

"A smoke bomb?" Gray asked, waiting for the smoke to disperse. He didn't have to wait long, as the blinding gas faded into the wind. However, Shikamaru was no longer in sight. Gray peered around the battlefield, looking over all of the piles of concrete, brick, and other rubble.

This guy's versatile, agile, and surprisingly strong. I'm going to have to come up with a plan before he overwhelms me. Tucked behind a pile of a shattered wall inside of a building with a gaping hole in it, sat Shikamaru, his brain hard at work. He proceeded to close his eyes, put his fingers together to form a circle, and began to concentrate.

"If you think hiding is going to work, you're dead wrong!" A shout came from Gray as he pressed his palm and fist together. The ground in beneath Gray began to rise in an assortment of ice spikes that lifted him high into the air. With the advantage of height, he quickly noticed Shikamaru idle in a building on the outer edge of the battlefield. A bow of pure ice soon formed in the mage's grasp, with an arrow at the ready. Pulling the arrow back, he called out, "Ice-Make: Super Freeze Arrow!" In the blink of an eye, the frozen arrow was piercing through the air with the help of gravity and air pressure. Gray and every spectator watched through gritted teeth as the arrow ripped through the inactive shinobi's torso, the sheer force of the arrow enough to level the sullen building.

"Shikamaru!" Cries rang out through Konoha's Containment Cell as they watched the arrow decimate its target in a glaring display. Kakashi, Yamato, and Tsunade stood unaffected, however. As the light of the arrow died down, it was revealed that it had simply struck an oddly placed log.

"The Substitution Jutsu," Naruto let out a sigh of relief, which turned back to a grin as he began to cheer for his teammate again.

"Darn it," frowned Gray, scanning the area for signs of life other than Saburo. He quickly latched onto the movement of something in the corner of his eye. Bingo, it was Shikamaru, who had already formed a handseal. Gray's eyes widened as he looked for the youth's shadow, but it was already too late. Gray's movement ceased atop of his ice geyser.

"Shadow Possession Justu...success," declared Shikamaru, dropping his handseal. Gray copied his movement, dropping his hands and allowing the bow of ice to descend. It shattered upon impact with the layer of ice blanketing the ground, sending brilliant shards of ice everywhere.

"Gray!" Natsu cried out, slamming the side of his fists into the Containment Cube. "What are you just standing around for? Beat him to a pulp!" He fumed.

"So that's what your shadow does?" Gray asked. He still retained control over his facial movements. "It makes our shadows combine, so I mimic whatever you do?"

"Uh, that pretty much sums it up," replied the lazy shinobi.

"But, my shadow was already swallowed by my ice geyser," stated Gray, pushing Shikamaru to explain what happened. Glances were made at the ground, and sure enough, all that was visible was Shikamaru's shadow entering the shadow of the ice geyser.

"What a drag," sighed Shikamaru, not feeling like explaining it to the mage. "As long as there is light, there will be a shadow even within a shadow." Shikamaru began to form one more handseal as everyone looked on.

What now? ran through Gray's mind as Shikamaru finished his handseal.

"Shadow Strangle Jutsu!" As these words were spoken, two shadows wrapped around Gray's ankles and spiraled higher. When the darkness reached his torso, he could see it clearly. The two shadows were dark appendages controlled by Shikamaru Nara, and the darkness even appeared to have five fingers.

Is this a different technique? It feels like its applying actual pressure to my body, like real hands are grabbing me... Gray clenched his teeth as he struggled to move his body, but to no immediate avail.

The distance between us is a little more than I wanted... Shikamaru grimaced, putting more effort into his technique. However, Gray began to exert more force, his arms moving to his will by about an inch at the most. Damn, he's got too much chakra!

"You can't beat me like that, Shikamaru!" Gray proclaimed, erupting with magical energy as the shadow appendages descended from his body slowly. Once he had regain control of his body, he called out, "Ice-Make: Lance!" He extended his arms forward, creating long, curved ice lances that shot towards the Konoha representative.

"This guy's good from all ranges," muttered Shikamaru as he dove to the side of the assault, although one lance managed to draw blood from his left arm. As he rose from the ice-covered ground, he equipped a tanto that was horizontally strapped onto the back of his flak jacket.

"Ice-Make: Sword!" Gray shouted. He then leapt from the geyser of ice and charged towards Shikamaru in an instant, a light-blue sword already in-hand. Gray swung his frozen weapon upwards at the same moment that Shikamaru swung his tanto downwards. Gray easily overpowered Shikamaru with his physical strength, knocking the tanto out of the shinobi's grasp.

"Shouldn't Shikamaru-san have a plan by now?" Rock Lee asked. "He always seems to have one or two in mind."

"I'm sure he has a plan, but he sure is cutting it close," answered Captain Yamato. They all watched as Gray took his icy blade and stabbed it towards Shikamaru Nara. However, before the sword could pierce through Shikamaru's torso, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He had the shinobi's fist planted into his stomach, and his movements quickly halted.

"I got ya," smirked Shikamaru, prompting Gray to look down, and sure enough, their shadows had merged. "My Shadow Possession Justu is stronger the as the distance between us gets closer."

"Damn it, I got too close to you," frowned Gray, attempting to move. He soon found that Shikamaru was not fibbing, and he couldn't even move a muscle.

"You messed up by throwing that ice-encased punch at me earlier," stated Shikamaru. "In that punch, I saw that you're physical strength combined with your agility would make you a potent close-range fighter. I knew that you would be down for combatting me up close, and that's where I snagged you."

"What?" Gray's eyes opened wide, with confusion and surprise.

"I pulled out my tanto after you shot those ice lances at me. I even let one of them cut my left arm," began Shikamaru, "I knew that equipping a close-ranged weapon and letting my arm get an injury would bait you into challenging me head-on, whether it was a subconscious decision or not."

"Damn..." scowled Gray. "I've got to admit, you're a hell of a tactician." At this, Shikamaru smirked before backing away from Gray Fullbuster. The ice mage followed his movement, taking short steps backwards.

"He's got him!" Naruto grinned, as did Rock Lee and Tenten. They watched closely as Shikamaru elevated his right arm, prompting Gray to also raise his sword-wielding arm. In one swift motion, Shikamaru move his right fist across his upper right pectoral down to his left hip. Gray solemnly followed this motion, slashing through his own skin with his own ice blade.

"Gray!" Cries rang out throughout the Fairy Tail Containment Cube as they watched blood surface from the wound. Shikamaru disengaged the Shadow Possession Jutsu, allowing Gray to fall to the ground while he caught his own breath.

"It's over," Shikamaru stated as he turned to Saburo Kobayasha, who returned with a snide remark of his own.

"And here I thought you were the smart one," he smirked, inquiring at something. With wide eyes, Shikamaru turned around and watched as Gray found his back to his feet.

"I'm not going down like that!" Gray proclaimed. He had abandoned his snow-white jacket, revealing his toned body as well as the "x"-shaped scar on his lower abdomen. He had also frozen over the wound that he inflicted upon himself, as to not succumb to blood loss.

"Tch." Shikamaru scowled harshly at the sight of his opponent ready for another round. My chakra's getting low...I have only one shot at beating him now. Shikamaru watched as Gray stumbled forward, before transitioning into a full-on dash towards the shinobi. Shikamaru leapt into the air while pushing his hands into the pouch at his side. As he lashed his hands out of the pouch, he launched four kunai knives at Gray.

"You missed," taunted Gray, sharp blades made entirely of ice solidifying on his arms as he charged. He stopped running as Shikamaru landed on the ground directly in front of him. Gray wasted no time in slashing Shikamaru across his flak jacket, ripping a piece of it off. He then proceeded to attack twice more, his moves flowing together like a dance.

"What a drag," muttered Shikamaru as Gray's fourth slash came towards his throat. He grabbed Gray's wrist with his left hand, and he forced himself to try to equal Gray's strength, but the ice blade inched closer and closer to his neck. However, Shikamaru jabbed something into the ground with his right hand, although it went unnoticed by most. With Gray's ice blade only a centimeter from Shikamaru's throat, the shinobi suddenly let go of the mage's wrist. The Fairy Tail mage didn't move a single inch, although.

"What'd you do this time?" Gray asked, his mouth moving but nothing else did. In reply, Shikamaru pointed at what he stuck into the frozen ground. It was the same tanto that Gray had knocked out of Shikamaru's grasp earlier.

"I infused the blade with my own chakra, so in other words, they have the same effect as my shadow techniques," stated Shikamaru, backing away from Gray, who remained unmoving. "I pierced your shadow, and now you're paralyzed in place."

"You've tried to beat me with your shadow technique twice before, nothing's worked," reminded Gray, but his voice didn't come off as cocky. He simply seemed unsure of what Shikamaru was planning this time around.

"I lacked enough power myself, so I guess I have to resort to this," sighed Shikamaru.

"Resort to what?" Gray prodded. Shikamaru turned his back to Gray and began striding away, before stopping and looking up at the sun, it's rays bright as it lit the sky.

"Time's up." As soon as Shikamaru spoke, the explosive-tags attached to the four kunai that Shikamaru launched moments before began to detonate, blanketing Gray with explosions.

"He used the light reflected from the ice around him to ignite the explosive tags," realized Kakashi. "He truly is a diamond in the rough. A natural genius, I would say."

"I think that title belongs to you, Kakashi-senpai," suggested Captain Yamato.

"You overestimate me, Tenzo," chuckled Kakashi, much to the irritation of Yamato. They watched as the smoke dissipated, revealing the collapsed figure of Gray Fullbuster laying face-first on the ice-covered ground.

"Gray..." muttered Natsu.

"Lost?!" Lucy and other members of Fairy Tail finished the thought. However, it was Natsu who was the most effected. Gray's loss seemed to motivate him internally, and he managed to keep himself calm.

"What an excellent display," smirked Saburo, appearing before Gray in the blink of an eye. He placed his gloved hand on Gray's bare back, enveloping him in brilliant light. As the light died down, Gray Fullbuster was no longer anywhere in sight. Shikamaru quickly received the same treatment, except he materialized inside of the Konoha Cube.

"That was so troublesome," sighed Shikamaru, flopping down for a rest as the others congratulated him.

"Shall we move on?" Saburo asked, the same smirk plastered on his face as it always was. "Good. Match Twelve, the last battle of Block C, will be... Tenten vs. Cana Alberona!"


Team Konoha's Record: 5 wins, 1 Draw

Team Fairy Tail's Record: 5 Wins, 1 Draw

Next Match: Tenten vs. Cana Alberona


Author's Note/Update/Rant:

As you all can see, Saburo's Tournament is now back, and will stay consistent. However, there will be a few major changes to it. First of all, in order to avoid being called biased, I will put up a poll when I put up a new chapter, where you can vote on what the outcome of the fight should be. I will leave the poll up for one week, and then spend the next week writing the chapter. Therefore, Saburo's Tournament will be updated bi-weekly.

However, I still would appreciate reviews, and not just votes. Reviews help me develop the actual fight, whether it be the dialogue or strategies. So basically, I still want you guys to review like you normally do, but also go to my profile and vote as well.

Thanks guys, and I'll see you in two weeks.