This Game of Life
Chapter 12
Homeward Bound
From what we heard from Kakashi-sensei, Gato had been planning on taking us out no matter who won the fight. He had apparently got all his thugs together into a huge army, and was planning on taking us on after the fight was over. I can only imagine that he would've done it if the Rock nin won too. Or maybe he was just trying to be sure we were dealt with. I dunno. Kakashi-sensei was still in decent shape after his fight, so he managed to take out their entire army and capture Gato. ANBU are already on their way to pick him up, apparently.
So, we've got nothing else to do here but wait until the bridge is finished, and to make sure no remnants of Gato's forces try anything stupid. We'll likely be here another few days.
I stood with the rest of the team, at the bridge's opening ceremony, not using my time spent idle on more grinding on my fire manipulation for once. To be honest, I've actually got that pretty high considering how long ago I discovered my nature. I should probably move on to do some earth training at this point. Though part of me feels like it's not all that worth it.
"So, what else could I name it-"
Oh, shit, stuff's happening.
"-but the Great Leaf Bridge?"
The name was met with applause and cheering, which quickly moved from just being a celebration in general to a celebration directed at us. And it made me realise something. We had overlooked it in moping about our loss to Kurotsuchi, but the fact is, we saved these people. Even if we weren't the ones who beat them, we at least held them off for Kakashi-sensei. The fact made me smile, a little, and I saw the same on Sasuke-kun's face, though he tried to hide it. Naruto-chan, though… he looked frightened, at first. But then, he gave the brightest grin I've ever seen on him, and he laughed.
He Who Fights For Those He Loves
LV 11
Uzumaki Naruto
The trip back home was much faster than the trip to Wave. The only part that slowed us down was the boat trip back to the mainland, and I tried to use it as an excuse for Kakashi-sensei to teach the boys water walking, but he refused. He said it wasn't worth it to do it in the sea, and he'd teach them properly at home. Seeing he wouldn't budge, I relented. We'd still get back by tomorrow by the latest.
Walking up to the gates, I sighed in relief. It'd be great to finally sleep in my… oh, wait, I shouldn't be sleeping in the first place. Fuck, I still have to remember that. Suddenly, I heard a loud cry of "Sasuke-kun!" from ahead of us, and saw a yellow blur moving towards him at high speed. I didn't even think about it. I Substituted with Sasuke-kun, and the blur collided with me instead. Why don't I use Substitution more often, now that I think about it?
"Eh!? How the heck did you get in the way, Forehead?"
Mrs. Beauty
LV 7
Yamanaka Ino
She's lower level than I would have expected. "Maybe your eyesight's going? Needing glasses probably won't mix well with using the Sharingan."
"Ha. Funny." She said, letting go of me. "Anyway, you've wasted enough of my time. Sasuke-"
"Hey, Ino."
"What?"
"Why are we doing this? We can still be friends even if we both like Sasuke-kun."
"Really? I don't-"
"I'm friends with Ami. If I managed that, then any excuse you have for us being friends is just that. An excuse."
She didn't have a response to that. I placed a hand on her shoulder as I walked past. "Think about that."
I looked towards the rest of Team 10.
Lethargic Genius
LV 8
Nara Shikamaru
Big Boned Protector
LV 10
Akimichi Choji
Disappointing was the first word that came to mind, to be honest. I mean, alright, Choji was only a level off of Naruto-chan, but… Naruto-chan was the dead last in the academy. They should still be stronger than he is, when you factor in that and their clan advantage. Had they not been training at all with their sensei? I bet Ami could take Ino or Shikamaru, and if that's true, then they have a hell of a lot of work ahead, considering that almost everything she's learnt after the academy's been self-taught.
Our teams separated quickly, as they were heading out as we were going in, and as they left, I said "Kakashi-sensei, why were they so much weaker than us?"
"You could tell? Hmm. Well, they're not that much weaker than you. You're all stronger than them, true, but there's not much of a gap between you. However, the gap between you guys and them is only going to get larger and larger if nothing's done, and the reason for that is the same reason they're already weaker. It's motivation. Team 10, as they are, are unusually unmotivated, what with their composition, and with Asuma as their sensei, they don't have anyone really pushing them to change that. You guys are the opposite. You guys are always ready for a challenge, always up for training. That quality is really what sets you apart."
"Hmm. Okay."
"We're going to do something different today." It'd been about a week and a half since we had gotten back to the village from Wave. I looked up at Sensei from where I had been stretching questioningly. "Come with me, you three. We're having a joint exercise."
"With who?" Naruto-chan asked.
"Your fellow rookies, of course. Remember our little talk about motivation? I thought this would be a nice way of motivating Team 10. And it would be rude to leave out Team 8 from the festivities."
"Kakashi-sensei, by the way, by our fellow rookies, do you mean everyone who's in the system in our age group?"
"Well, no. I mean you, Team 8, and Team 10. Why?"
"Well, at least two of our year's graduates are in the reserves, and I thought it might be a good idea to include them too."
"Hmm. Well, why not?"
We all met in a training field, however we took some time after what the scheduled start time was to get Ami and Aya-san here. I took that time to survey Team 8.
Pale Wallflower
LV 9
Hyuga Hinata
The Dog Who Cried Wolf
LV 9
Inuzuka Kiba
Rational Insectophile
LV 10
Aburame Shino
Better than Team 10, but still worse than us. Disappointing still, but to a lesser extent. But now Ami and Aya-san are here, and we can finally begin.
No One's Little Baby Bear
LV 8
Kokuma Ami
Lone Wolf
LV 14
Namiki Aya
So the first thing on the agenda is a tournament. I guess the idea is for us to sweep and show everyone else they're behind? I dunno, won't spend time thinking about it. First up is me and Kiba. Sorry, doggy.
"Hah! Easy first fight! Come on Akamaru, we're gonna win this!"
I ignored him, forming a Magic Bullet. I heard some murmuring behind me, but I don't know who it was. I played with the shape of the thing. From my testing in Wave and after we got back, it seemed Malleability gave me the ability to change my bullets into shapes that weren't regular polygons, and also just helped me split them up more evenly, stuff like that. It'd given me an idea.
As the fight began, I moved out of the way of Kiba's predictable forward charge, into the underbrush formed by False Surroundings. I hit him with Hell Viewing before he even turned, and before he broke it, formed a bunch of Clones – still have to get an actual clone technique – to confuse him, running in and out of the visible area.
While the idiot mutt went and dealt with that the only way he knew how, with brute force, I continued my idea, forming my Bullet into a katana, putting in chakra as needed when I couldn't elongate it any more.
A skill has been created through a special action! Through manipulation of mana, the skill 'Variable Blade' has been created!
Sweet.
Variable Blade (Active) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
A weapon created from the manipulation and condensation of energy into such a state where it has a physical presence and effect upon the world around it. Can be easily morphed into a different form to fit the situation.
Damage increases with INT and WIS.
So essentially, instead of having skills for all the variations of weapons that could be created, they all just fit neatly under one. Nice. Less clutter.
A skill has been created through a special action! Through the use of weaponry, the skill 'Kenjutsu Mastery' has been created!
Oh, that reminds me, I haven't found anyone to help me with kenjutsu. At least now I don't need a weapon. I probably should still get one, though. At the very least, it means I use less chakra.
Refocusing on the fight – if you could call it that, he still hasn't realised I'm still hiding – I waited for my chance. When he went for a full force punch on a Clone, dispelling it and unbalancing himself from the lack of resistance, I struck. I Lunged, and swung in one smooth motion, making sure not to enhance it with a Power Strike or anything. I didn't want to really injure him, and the cut was a light one, anyway.
A skill has been created through a special action! Through the use of swift strokes, the skill 'Iaido Mastery' has been created!
A skill has been created through a special action! Through the use of a high-speed slash, the skill 'Step Sword' has been created!
Today is a profitable day.
Kiba staggered back from the unexpected attack, and I went on the offensive, letting my sword dissolve from my hand, and coming in with a punch. This one I did enhance, and hit him in the face as hard as I could. And just like that, I dissolved away into the underbrush again, waiting for my chance to attack again. Why the idiot doesn't use his fucking nose, I don't know, but I won't complain.
One thing I discovered I could also do thanks to Malleability was delaying my Bullets. I could place them down, and then keep them there. I couldn't move them again once they were down, though, and they still only flew in straight lines. But it was fun to overcharge bullets so they shone brightly, set them down, and wait for him to come charging in so they'd fire right into his face. By the end of the fight, he refused to move from the part of the field that wasn't obscured, simply waiting for me. I responded by simply delaying Bullets all around him from the foliage, and setting them off towards him from every direction. He managed to substitute, though. Boring.
"Kiba." I said, walking from the underbrush. "You should probably give up. You still haven't hit me yet, and you're starting to lose a lot of blood from the cut I gave you. I can patch you-" I dodged his haymaker, driving a Bullet into his stomach, kicking out his feet from under him, and sitting his back as he fell to the ground. "-up, if you just surrender. I do have other fights, and I don't want to waste all of my chakra."
I heard something, muffled from the ground. Jumping off him, he repeated what he had said, flipping over so he looked up at me. "Bite me."
Sighing, I looked down at him, disappointed. He'd left me with no choice. "I give up. It's not worth it convincing someone as stubborn as you that you can't win, and I'm not willing to fully incapacitate you for that outcome, too." With that, I sat, dispelling what remained of my genjutsu, and going straight into healing Kiba's wounds. "Why do we have so many stubborn idiots in our year?" I grumbled.
And that's a wrap. I told you that updates would be coming faster again.