Hiya there
Okay first of all I apologize a million times over for having a week delay of what my usual update time is, its just this past week has been truely hectic, project deadlines, friend in the hospital, and I had a very out of the norm double date... But i won't bore you with the details
Second of all, I just noticed in all of my chapters I apologize every single time... I am an excuse for a human being.
So enjoy this mostly action-packed chapter while I go sulk in a corner
"Follow me." He leads me out to one of the many doors of the building. Past the door, all sorts of training gear is hanging on racks and lying on shelves - there are specialized arenas set up in various areas. People stand around the arena, a few holding clipboards - along with several medics. What's going on? "Before we get into any intense training, we are going to examine your skills." As we approach the lines of Anbu, a female Anbu addresses me.
"The basic rules of this match is that you are to battle, until we see that you are deemed prepare of the Anbu, you will face against as many Anbu as we send out. You are free to use any weapon of your choice and any jutsu of your choice. During the match itself, the terrain of the arena will change." Oh damn! I have to fight all those full-fledged Anbu members at once?! Oh my god… The woman continues, "You will first start off with one member, then gradually add more as we deem fit.. Any questions?"
"Uh…. yes. If there a limit to how much I or the people I will be fighting can be injured?"
"The maximum is the number of Anbu you see right now. In an actual mission you are bound to fight masses of experienced ninjas. And no, there is no limit, we have medical ninjas ready."
I tentatively ask, "So am I allowed to blind them, for example?"
"Okay, thank you." This… will be quite an interesting challenge.
"Pick your weapons. You can take as many as you like." The woman gestures to racks filled with any weapon imaginable. Hmmm…. I'll go with my preferred weapons. I latch three bags of shurikens to my belt, each bag containing 100 shurikens - that will be a bit of extra weight during battle, but I tend to use these a lot. Let's see….. two katanas, a string of kunai… a tanto… I spot a fan, which would be perfect for my wind transformations, but then discard the thought - it's too bulky. Oh smoke bombs! I pluck a few scrolls from their cases, each holding a type of sword. Might need those too. I do an assessment of my inventory. I should last long enough with these, if I save chakra attacks for later.
I announce, "I'm ready."
"You have 30 seconds to assess the arena."
I jump down to the arena, plain and simple. There are no obstacles, cement floor with the concrete walls. As terrain changes, there are going to be advantages and disadvantages…
I tense as the first Anbu member jumps into the arena. We circle each other for 1, 2, 3 minutes. He starts the battle and sends a shuriken at me. I deflect it easily with my kunai. I assess his build - he seems very strong - he'll more likely aim for physical attacks. His build makes it hard for agility though. I take note of the way he slightly shifts before he throws something. That'll give me a warning, at least. More shuriken come at me, targeting my head, waist, legs, everything. I inhale and jump up right as they're about to come into contact - they completely miss me. While I'm still in the air, I send a kunai and a brace of shuriken at him - but he dodges them as well. Without missing a beat, I fall towards him and slam a kick towards his arm - he blocks it, but then I drive a kunai towards his ribs - Damn, I missed! He draws a katana. Oh, gonna try me with sword fighting, huh? I take out my own katana as well, and settle into the ready stance. He charges at me, swiping at my legs - I jump up and whip my sword towards his neck - it glances off his arm. The swift movement of three sharp sebon come speeding at me. I see him coming at me, the blade poised to stab my chest. I knock it aside and throw a flurry of shuriken at him, to distract him while I hit him over the head with the hilt of my sword. He collapses. Well, that was relatively easy. I think they told him to go easy though. I look up at the people sitting on the benches, all taking little notes on their clipboards.
The Anbu woman signals to some more people, and three Anbu jump down. They immediately start off by sending fireballs at me. All three are fire users? Ugh, my wind's not gonna help. I dodge them, skirting to the side. I take my chance and run up the wall, gaining momentum. I flip off the wall, landing behind them, and successfully launch an attack, knocking one to the ground. I attempt to impale him in a vital point, but am intercepted. Below me, the Anbu member, blocks the blade with his metal arm guard. A faint screech of metal cutting air- to my left - and I jump off. If I stayed one moment more, a katana would of sliced right through my left shoulder. Two more. I bring out my second katana, and charge forward. I implement a self-taught kenjutsu technique, "Dance of the Silent Death." I weave through the incoming weapons, my speed increasing, and upon approaching the first opponent, slash though his side. I duck under his arm, avoiding a flurry of fireballs, tackling another opponent. I punch his face, hopping off to do an aerial slice to the final enemy. The last Anbu, who is much faster than the defeated two, blocks my katana with his tanto. This one is going to be a bit tricky. I swiftly adjust my posture, changing the position of my blades at his unguarded spot. His blade blocks one of my swords, but the other one goes straight to where I aimed it - his shoulder. This might actually be fun. He slouches down due to a lack of blood, and I take my chance to send a kick to his face. I hear a subtle crack as my foot makes contact with his nose, sending him unconscious. The moment he touches to ground, his place is taken by my next opponents.
This time only two Anbu come in, suspiciously staring at me. Only two… They must be strong. I ready my katana, studying them carefully. The arena rummbles, and breaks in the concrete make room for masses of trees. Interesting... The pair makes the first move - a spout of water erupts between us. I dive under the branches of a tree, attempting a surprise attack, but an earth mound tags onto my leg, holding me from moving further. Note to self: Travel only on top of the trees from now on. Alright, regular ninjutsu is out of the question, they can easily block it….I didn't want to use this until later... I add chakra to my blade, and crack through the earthen bind. I stay behind a tree, making some handsigns. Okay, 1,2,3… I jump high out of the tree, and release the built up jutsu. "Solar Wind Style: Backlash Gust!" A wave of wind pushes the water spout over the two, sprinkling them in as much water as possible. The gust of wind reaches the end wall, rebounding as electricity. Lightning meets bodies and a flash blinds my vision of sight. Black spots dance across my vision as it returns, exposing an Anbu, still standing. A earthen shell encases the standing opponent, but not his motionless partner. Impressive, he's still standing. I can't say the same for his buddy... I charge at him, determined to finish this final match. The Anbu does some quick hand signs.
"Earth Style: Mountain Barrage." A mass of earth shoots up from the ground. Shoot- I jump up, but not quickly enough. My limbs are captured by mounds of earth, pinning me from escape. Damn, so what now? Wha- The Anbu holding a kunai at my throat. I swallow hard and glare at the threat. I search my mind for ideas of escape. The glint of a small sebon gives me an idea. ...Let's hope this works. I sum up my wind chakra to my mouth, and out a blow a large gust to the right of the Anbu. He looks at me strangely, as if asking, "What are you doing?" The wave of wind picks up the needle, and forces it to his shoulder. He slacks over and releases the jutsu. I can't believe that worked. I land in a crouch, and bolt over to my opponent with a fist. I send an uppercut to his chest, right below his ribcage. He struggles a cough and his breathing hitches to a halt as he falls unconscious. Okay, now- A flash of movement behind me - I dodge, barely avoiding the punch. So the second partner was playing dead, huh?
"Lightning Style: Claw of Raijin" I outstretch my electrically charged arm at the man who just attacked me. As I approach him, my arm explodes with bolts of lightning, taking the shape of a claw. He tries to escape, but I catch him by the arm, sending a frenzy of sparks throughout his body. I see the man start to sag, slowly losing consciousness. I'm about to let go of him, but then there's a voice behind me.
"Water Style: Sponge Capture." A spongy substance attaches to my back, quickly growing to my arms and legs. A clone... The man approaches, sinking his hand in the sponge. At first, I think that the sponge's consistency is giving me the feeling of a suction, but I was very wrong.
"What…" My chakra is being sucked out of my body and held in the substance until the Anbu come and collect it. He's planning to take all my chakra and knock me out easily… We'll see about that. I inwardly smirk as I feel the remaining vestiges of my normal chakra reserve slip away. At near depletion, the sponge starts to dissipate, slowly melting off my body. Time for my last option - this is going to take some split second timing… The last of the sponge falls off, and a roundhouse kick is coming towards my face. Now! I ignore the small subtle glow of pain in my brain and tap into Hanketsu, instantly gaining access to a huge supply of chakra. My senses sharpen. The cuts and bruises I got so far heal in an instant. I block his kick at lightning speed. The impact makes me skid, but that doesn't stop me. I toss the kick aside and weave signs faster than my enemy can follow.
"Solar wind style: Lightning Jet Stream."A massive stream of electricity surges from my fingertips, chasing after the standing Anbu. The man sprints around, trying to avoid the spear. Hills of earth rise in an attempt to block my attack, absorbing the line of lightning. During this time I weave more hand signs. "Wind Style: Wind Scar" I feel the a growing gust of wind at my fingertips as I charge forward. I strike, slashing from the Anbu's shoulder to his right hip with a powerful gale of wind. Pushed to the wall behind him, the Anbu slumps over. Finally, done. I take a final glance at the examiners, waiting for them to call me back up. Instead, they just stare at me, the female inspector taps her pen on her clipboard. After some time, they start writing again with one pointing their pen to the space behind me. Wait… Oh sh- I barely make it. The kunai, which is originally aiming for my heart, stabs my shoulder instead. I swivel around for a swift upper cut, but my shoulder's pain limits my movement. Ugh, stupid! The opponent strikes again, slashing a long gash on my upper thigh, ripping the hem of my shorts. Dazed, I watch the crimson river, trickling a substantial amount of blood, staining my skin. I snap back into focus and dash back, distancing myself from my armed foe. I take a moment to register my inventory. Zero kunai, zero shuriken, I lost my swords, but I still have a considerable amount of chakra. My Hanketsu is dealing with my wound, but I shouldn't put too much pressure. The only thing I can do now is just wait it out. I cradle my shoulder,jumping and dodging any attacks the Anbu threw. My moves are more sluggish than before, making me wince at the pain in my thigh. As I swivel out of a corner, a small blade scratches my cheek. The culprit; a senbon.
Shoot - this guys has way more weapons than I expected. All right, I got one more option - I gotta activate the third stage. That'll allow me to get in some physical attacks. I take a smoke bomb out to buy me some time. Once it activates, I concentrate my reserves. Focusing on retrieving my chakra, I take a deep breath. 1,2,3... A stiff pressure clouds my brain, burning my forehead. Come on, Mizuki! Don't let it take over! I brush aside the pressure, unleashing my second stage. My chakra forms an aura around me, accelerating the speed of my healing. By the time I weave my hand signs, the hole in my shoulder is gone, and every single scratch or bruise has disappeared. The Anbu finds his way out of the smoke and charges at me, holding a bagh naga. The claws reach out to my neck, but are blown back by my jutsu. "Wind Style: Reverse Funnel." A spiral of wind blows him back sending him to the wall. I ignite another Claw of Raijin, and send it prowling at my target. He blocks it with an earthen mound, and dashes around for another attack. I time it precisely, ducking under his attack to deliver a powerful punch to his stomach. He stands unfazed, and smirks wildly. Suspicious, I summon a shadow clone and throw down my last smoke bomb. I pump my legs to escape his line of sight, over to his unconscious friend. I double check the body, dead or unconscious, I just don't want him to sneak up on me. Good- he's out cold. Let's make this quick.
Okay sorry if this is a weird place to stop, but if I continued any further this would take FOREVER.
But on the bright side I am on winter break, so the content of upcoming chapters will be better.
And I might have time to do some holiday specials so look out!
Sorry again and hope to see you next week!~Grai