Finally I'm able to update… took me long enough, I guess… sorry, collage is hell for me at the moment (all the subjects suck and I have to study already)… besides, it doesn't seem like many people care anyway…
ANNOUNCEMENT: with the popularity of this fic dropping, I've decided to make it my secondary fic and concentrate on more popular ones… to say it simply: I have no idea when I'll update this one… most likely you'll have to wait longer then a month for the exam part… unless you'll prove I'm wrong about the small popularity part but the fact it that it's better to develop fic who are read by more people, right?
With that said, off to this chapter:
Chapter #12: Leaves in the Mist
"Here…" Sasuke tossed the egg to Kazeru as his teammates stood right behind him.
"Seems to be the one…" nodded the examiner. "Congratulations, you're the fifth team to pass this test…" and with that he drifted into his mind. "This is still only the first day and already fifteen people made it through… something like that didn't happened since the time I became an examiner… a lot of strong gennins participate this year…"
"Only fifth…" whispered the former leaf-nin and only then noticed four, other teams already waiting on the glade. The first one consisted of three man with headband with a feather on them (A/N; you met them in the 10th chapter). The second and third are team you should know quite well by now: a Grass team of Fugato, Ayame and Kosha and a team from the Sand – Dakatsu, Gokiburi and Kanpuu.
However the fourth team was the one neither Sasuke nor his teammates seen before. The boy that seemed to be the leader of it was around eighteen years old. He had long, black hair that was falling on his face and grey eyes. He wore a red t-shirt with black pants, but what was the most eye-catching were two, strange objects, wrapped in bandages and attached to his back. He had a hitae-ate with a branch on it on his left arm.
The second member of the team was a girl with long hair, which was multicolored: there were all the colors of the rainbow. Her eyes kept changing colors on the other hand, from blue and green, through yellow and black, to violet and orange. She wore an orange t-shirt with three, black stripes going from her left shoulder to the belt, and long, black pants. She wore her headband on her forehead.
The last one of the three was also the most disturbing. He had long, spiky, brown hair and his eyes were hidden behind a black bandana. His skin was strangely grey and he didn't wore a shirt. He was wearing long, black pants and what was the most unusual thing about him was the fact that he had a thunder-like blade instead of his right arm.
"Wood-nins?" Baita was surprised at the sight.
"Fugato-kun, look at this…" Ayame said to her teammate, pointing at Sasuke. "Isn't that those sound-nins who keep hanging around Fuka-kun and that whisker-marks blonde?"
"It seems like it…" nodded the grass-nin. "But what really troubles me is that black-eyed white-head… why does he keep observing Naruto and that Sand redhead? Not only that, but he seems to have more people on his mind… if my assumption is correct, this exam can become a real battlefield…"
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Sakura launched another attack at Renge, but to her surprise the Mist kunoichi managed to block it with her bare hands. "How can she withstand that?" the pink-hair thought to herself. "I'm putting all my strength in those punches, she should be flying around already…"
But for her misfortune, the blonde noticed her opponent got distracted and placing her hands on the ground, she launched a scissor-kick in the leaf-nin's face. Both her feet connected and a second later Sakura was flying back.
"Seems that I was expecting too much thinking that will be an even match…" announced Renge with a smirk. "Is that really the best the Leaf can put up with?"
"I'll show you what the Leaf is capable of!" yelled Sakura as she performed a quick set hand seals. Instantly chakra started to emanate from her, filling every part of her body. The ground below her cracked lightly as she gazed at her opponent, who was still smiling.
"Well, it's a start…" announced the mist-nin.
Naruto dodged another incoming, small wave of water, which hit the tree. "What's up with this guy?" the blonde wondered. "He still haven't used any hand seals… Gaara could control his sand thanks to Shukaku, but how does he control the water?"
"You're quite irritating…" announced Hisen as he performed several hand seals and called out: "Hijutsu: Koori Arashi!" and before Naruto knew it, icicles shoot from the water that flew around the mist-nin right at him.
The blonde instantly jumped to the left and by propping his left hand on the ground he balanced himself in a way to avoid all the ice spikes. He then landed on his feet and formed hand seals of his own: "Doton: Ishi Tomurai!" and a second later stone spikes shoot from underground and headed right at the mist-nin.
The blue-hair jumped into the air and performed few more hand seals. Immediately the water that was still circling around him formed itself into a dragon and flew right at the blonde, accompanied with the mist-nins call: "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"
Naruto jumped back immediately and before his feet even touched the ground he performed his standard technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and in an instant five Narutos took place in stead of one.
As Hisen was slowly beginning to land on the ground, four clones slid and kicked him in the back, thus sending him whigh into the air, where the real Naruto already waited for him: "Uzumaki Naruto Rendan!" the blonde called out and landing a powerful kick on the mist-nin's head send him crushing into the ground.
However, before Hisen hit the ground, the water that was still circling around him located itself under the blue-haired boy and making a gazer stopped it's master before he crushed to the surface.
"What the hell is up with that water?" yelled Naruto as he pointed at the liquid that was once again circling around the mist-nin. "How do you do it without even using any hand seals?"
"Wouldn't you like to know…" replied Hisen with a smirk. "But you know what? I'll treat that as your last request and so I'm gonna tell… about my clan's special ability…"
Fukamaru kept attacking his former teammate, thus pushing him back a little, however all of his cuts were either blocked or deflected by Shinkou with his own katana. Finally the former mist-nin pushed one of his blades forward, yet the Mist shinobi jumped to his right, avoiding the hit and dropped his sword right at his opponents blade, making it stick to the ground.
In an instant Shinkou spun around and gave his former teammate a kick in the gut, which send him flying back a bit. Fukamaru used the sword, that he was able to keep in his hand (A/N: the one that Shinkou smashed to the ground stayed in it), as a break, thus landing safely on his feet.
"You say you changed… I can't see that really…" announced Shinkou with a smirk. "Still as careless as usual… I thought you really did learn something during those two years… how disappointing…"
"What do you mean?" asked Fukamaru, also smiling. "This was just a warm up!" and with that he performed a quick set of hand seals. With the last symbol he called out: "Mikazuki no Mai!" and instantly three Fukamarus were charging right at the mist-nin, with their swords ready to cut.
"What the hell?" Shinkou's eye brow went up as he stood astride and prepared his sword. "You think you can fool me for the same trick twice? Don't forget who you're dealing with… I'm Arashi Shinkou, son of the one of Seven Shinobi Swordsmen and the barer of Kabashira!" and with that he swung his sword, which instantly separated into tens of pieces, all flying right at Fukamaru and his two clones.
The former mist-nin immediately stopped and used his katana to deflect the incoming pieces of steel. He made it, however his jutsu was cancelled.
Fukamaru looked at Shinkou with a tiny smile on his face: "I see that you managed to control the blade during the time I was away… Kabashira, meaning 'mosquito swarm', the blade used by Arashi Mizugo, one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen… it's design so its blade can separate into many pieces that attack the opponent and then form themselves back into the blade… when did you learn this skill?"
"It was quite simple really…" replied Shinkou with a smirk. "During the time you left The Kiri, we fought a missing-nin from the Hidden Sand… he was a puppeteer. That's how I figure how my father was able to control those pieces: he created chakra strings that connected with every element of the blade, thanks to which he was able to put the blade back together in a fracture of a second… of course creating the strings and being able to attach them to all the pieces took me a while to master, but I think I've done a pretty good job…"
"I guess I'll have hard time defeating you after all…"
"You didn't expect for a fight between two inheritors of the Seven Swordsmen to finish quickly, did ya?" replied the mist-nin. "After all, the one whose blood goes through your veins is thought to be strongest of the seven…"
"I already told you: I have nothing in common with that man…" reminded Fukamaru with anger in his voice. "I will never except the fact that we are related…"
"Kinda funny hearing it from you, since just like him you betrayed the Mist… Of course now you'll defend yourself with that old 'I had my reasons' talk… save your tongue and lets continue… I've expected a lot from this, so do not fail me, Fukamaru!" and with that the two charged at each other once more.
Renge kept avoid all of Sakura's attacks, only this time it required much more from her then previously. "What the hell? Not only her strength, but this hag's speed seemed to increase as well… this isn't a typical, medic-nin's skill…" and with that thought she jumped back few times, escaping the pink-hared kunoichis range.
"What's wrong?" asked Sakura with a smirk. "Weren't you saying that I'm not an opponent for you just a while ago? Have you lost your will to fight?"
"If you're trying to piss me off, don't bother…" replied the mist-nin simple. "I'm not gonna fall for such a stupid trick… you did however surprised me with that skill, whatever it is… I suppose that your speed increased because you placed more chakra into your leg muscles… I've never seen a medic-nin using that ability for something like that… you're pretty unique… I sure hope that's not your limit, coz this has just started to be fun…"
"Don't worry, you haven't seen anything yet…" and with that she charged right at the Mist kunoichi, but surprisingly for her opponent, the pink-haired girl stopped few meters away and hit the ground with her fist, thus making in tremble and fall into piece.
Renge lost her balance for a moment, but that was all Sakura needed. Instantly she jumped right at the mist-nin and aimed a kick in her face. In the last second the blonde girl was able to dodge it by bending over, thus making the medic-nin's kick go above her head.
Sakura only smiled under her nose. In a fracture of a second she placed the foot of the leg she used for a kick on the ground and then, standing with her back turned to her opponent, she launched another kick, this time to her back.
The Mist kunoichi had no hope to dodge this time and received a powerful kick in the face which send her flying back. While she was still in the air, she spun around and came to a sliding stop, avoiding crushing into a nearby mountain. She wiped the blood that was dripping from her lips and smiled.
"What are you so happy about?" asked Sakura, also smiling.
"Nothing special really… I just didn't had any opponent who could actually hit me for a while… it's boring when the fight's one-sided…" and with that she began forming a chain of hand seals. "Let's see how good you really are… Suiton: Fukahire Gyorai!"
Before Sakura knew it, water shoot from Renge's mouth and after forming itself into a large, blade-like fin, it came right at her at an incredible speed. The pink-haired kunoichi jumped to the left, thus avoiding the attack, however the mist-nin was already waiting from her.
Before the Leaf kunoichi's feet even touched the ground, she received a powerful kick in the chin, which send her into the air. As she was coming down, Renge spun on her foot and launched another kick, this time in her stomach.
Seeing this Sakura held out her hands and grabbed the Mist kunoichi's leg just before it reached her body. The moment her feet touched the ground, she tossed the blonde at a nearby tree with all her strength.
Renge manage however to somersault in mid-air and used her feet to land on the tree safely. Instantly she jumped off it and landing on the ground, she began another set of hand seals. "You made a big mistake staying in that spot… because with all the water left after my Shark Fin attack, I can do this: Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou no Jutsu!" and suddenly the water on the ground started to shape itself into tens of senbons.
"What that…?" Sakura's eyes widen as she looked around for a way out. "But isn't this that masked kid from Wave Country technique? Wasn't it a bloodline limit?" and with that thought she bite her fingers.
"Goodbye…" said Renge with a smile as all the senbons flew right at the pink-haired girl.
But before the needles reached their target, Sakura finished her set of hand seals and after slamming her hand to the ground, she called out: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forward… Katsuyu!"
Instantly she disappeared behind a huge cloud of white smoke. As the air cleared, the Mist kunoichi saw a huge, green and white slug before her, with the leaf-nin standing on top of it.
"This is Katsuyu…" Sakura introduced the creature. "And together we're taking you down!"
"Is that so?" Renge kept smiling. "Well, it's more fun this way… since you did this, I guess I should go all-out as well…" and with that she raised her head at the pink-haired, who only then noticed that her pupils turned cat-like.
Naruto looked at Hisen, who just took a bottle of water from his belt and held it in front of him in order to show it to the blonde: "Those sort of bottles are carried by ever member of my clan… this is also the source of water that circles around me as we speak… it's not gonna help you in anyway, so I might as well tell you how it is possible for me to control the water by my will alone… practically the whole trick is the bottle…"
"And what's so special about it?"
"My clansmen produce those bottles, one for ever member of the clan…" explained the mist-nin. "The moment the bottle is made, a special ritual takes place: the selected elder of the clan, using his or hers knowledge, seals a part of the users chakra inside the bottle he will carry. If you'd look carefully, you'd spot a kanji symbol inside it… that is what's felt of the ritual now… that sign is also a type of container… by performing a quick hand seal and giving it a little piece of my chakra, it starts working like Kuchiyose, but in stead of creatures or weapons, it summons water… that's why I control such a large among, even though this bottle is the only source of it… to answer how I can manipulate it by just my will: it's thanks to the chakra that was transferred into the bottle at my birth…"
"I still don't get it…" announced Naruto.
"Boy, you're dumb…" sighed Hisen. "Because that symbol inside the bottle holds my chakra, the moment liquid enters it, it gets mixed with my chakra... the energy that gets mixed with the water isn't released in any, particular way, like fire, so there's no need for hand seals... once you release chakra out of your body, you can control it, at least for a little while, however thanks to the symbol, my control doesn't have any expiration date… and since it's mixed with the liquid, when I order my chakra to circle around me, the water that is mixed with that circles with it as well… that's all there is to it…"
"I still don't get it at all…" wined the blonde. "I do get however that you can make this damn water move as you desire… guess I'll have to make it evaporate in order to reach you, so…" with that he performed his standard technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and instantly there were five Narutos in stead of one.
"Please, you're embarrassing yourself…" announce Hisen with a smirk as he performed a chain of hand seals of his own: "Suiton: Mizu Tooriame no Jutsu!" and before the blonde knew it, tens of water bullets shoot right at him and his clones.
The real Naruto was able to avoid few of the incoming bullets by dodging them, sometimes in an inhuman way, but he got hit in the end anyways and once thrown off balance, he received a real rain of water bullets, which were surprisingly very hard. His clones did even worse and disappeared in the clouds of white smoke the instant Hisen's attack reached them.
"Don't take the Mist shinobi lightly, loser…" advised the blue-haired boy as he walked closer to the blonde. "You are from Konoha, which is thought to be one of the most powerful villages in the world, but so is mine… and I won't allow a brat like you to defeat me… my goal is to kill that Nadare traitor…"
"You wish to kill him, you say…" said Naruto as he slowly got back to his feet, his head lowered so that the mist-nin couldn't see his eyes. "Unlucky for you, he's my teammate now and I won't let anyone take my friend away from me again…"
"And what can you do in this situation?" asked Hisen with a smirk. "You should know by now you cannot defeat me… you have even smaller chance in defeating Shinkou… just give it up and get out of here… that way you'll stay alive…"
"A tempting offer…" replied the blonde. "Allow me to repay you with the same thing: leave here and I promise I won't tare you into pieces…"
"Sorry, no can do…"
"Guess I'll have to crush you then…" and with that Naruto raised his head, thus revealing his eyes became bloody red.
Hisen shivered at the sight and backed away a few steps. "Those eyes… and even though my attack hit him, he seems perfectly fine… this is insane… two at the same time…"
The two katanas clashed again and both swordsmen jumped away from each other, not taking their sight out of the opponent. Fukamaru was now standing on the edge of a cliff with Shinkou few meters away. The mist-nin smiled as he noticed the Nadare heir breathing a little heavier then before: "Tired already? You're not even going all out… come on, you can do better… release it… or at least try using Toragan…"
"What's the point in that?' replied the former mist-nin with a smirk. "You know all about it and that also includes the way to fight it… even if you haven't figured that out from me, I'm positive Renge told you… using Tiger's Eye on you will be just a waste of chakra…"
Just then they both felt a strange chakra near. As they turned in the direction Hisen and Naruto fought, they noticed a change in the leaf-nin: his eyes became red, his whisker-marks were more visible now, even his hair changed color.
"That pinhead… he's a Jinchuuriki as well!" Fukamaru's eyes widen as he looked at his teammate, completely forgetting about the fight.
"You picked a bad time to look around, Fukamaru!" announced Shinkou as he swung his blade, which separated into tens of pieces again. Each piece hit the ground before the former mist-nin, creating a half circle.
The ground under Fukamaru's feet shook and in an instant it broke into pieces, thus making the former mist-nin loose balance and fell backwards, right into the chasm.
"Sorry, Fukamaru…" whispered Shinkou, lowering his head as a sad expression appeared on his face. "It doesn't seem like there will be 'another time' after all…"
And that's that for the time being. Hope you enjoyed it.
Here's another part of the jutsu encyclopedia:
Hijutsu: Koori Arashi (Secret Skill: Ice Storm) – jutsu performed by Hisen… the user first must send his chakra into the water and then, performing the right hand seals, use it to freeze the liquid into small icicles which can be send at an enemy.
Doton: Ishi Tomurai (Earth Element: Stone Funeral) – jutsu learned by Naruto while he was traveling with Jiraiya. The user must first send his chakra into the earth and then, with the use of right hand seals, make it push up stone spikes.
Suiton: Fukahire Gyorai (Water Element: Shark Fin Torpedo) – jutsu used by Renge. It's a rather simple, water based ninjutsu. The user first gathers chakra in his mouth and then releases it in a form of water that's shaped like a shark's fin. Such a fin is surprisingly sharp and can actually cut things that are thick. It also leaves a road of water behind.
Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou no Jutsu (Secret Skill: Flying Water Needles) – jutsu originally performed by Haku. The user must first send his chakra into the water and then, with the use of right hand seals, form it into needles. It's basically a skill that's related to Haku's bloodline limit. So how can Renge use it? You'll have to read on to find out.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Skill) – used by many shinobies in the manga (mostly the legendary sannins). Using a contract, seal, and the users blood, allows the user to summon an animal or a weapon. The type of the summoned thing/creature is determined by the contract used, and the blood is the 'signature' (which can be on a scroll, tattoo, etc). In most cases one shinobi can sign only one contract. Bellow I place a list of the shinobies that use this jutsu and the animals they summon (in time more contracts will appear):
Frogs – Yondaime Hokage, Jiraiya, Uzumaki Naruto
Snakes - Orochimaru
Slugs – Tsunade, Haruno Sakura
Monkeys – Sandaime Hokage
Weasels - Temari
Dogs – Hatake Kakashi
Suiton: Mizu Tooriame no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Shower Skill) – another technique used by Hisen. It's quite similar to his Ice Storm, the major difference is that this time simple, water bullets are created, that carry chakra inside, which makes them harder then just water.
And as a finisher, a short omake I wanted to place for Valentine's Day… got late with it, but oh well:
OMAKE: Naruto's Valentine Shopping
"Okay, this will do!" announced Naruto as he pointed at a small, golden necklace in the gallery. The jewelry shop owner looked at the item he was pointing and soon started to pack it in a small box, wrapping it with a red ribbon. "Sakura-chan will like this…"
"Sakura?" he heard Fukamaru's voice and a moment later the swordsman stood next to him. "No offense, but I do believe that you're locating your feelings in a wrong place… I know a girl who'd be way more happy with receiving this necklace…"
"Mind your own business…" replied Naruto a bit pissed. "Besides, what do you know about love? You're not the one to give me pointers…"
"Fine, do as you wish…" sighed Fukamaru as the salesman walked to him:
"A, Fukamaru-san, your order is already prepared" and with that he put twelve presents before the former mist-nin. "Will that be all?"
"I think so…" replied Fukamaru. "No, wait, one more thing! Do you have some cards to put it one those presents?" the salesman only nodded. "Good, then I'll take twelve 'for my only love' tags…"
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I know it's sick, but for some reason I think it's funny.
Anyways, that's that.
Best wishes and see you around.