Quest 19:The Show must go on

I watch over Kali, my sister parts of her skin are light than others thanks to the burns but those are already healing along side her the heavy bruising from she got Charles attack.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Kali soft voice rings out in the room.

"What do mean? I'm brother and I was worried."

"You should be watching Ryuzaki's match, he should be fighting right now. Charles packs a hell of a punch." she gently laughs.

"That asshole shouldn't have gone that far!" I shout, couldn't hold back the rage in my voice.

"We both know the type of guy Charles I should've seen this coming this one's on me."

"That doesn't make it right, time after time I tell him that his reckless actions will have consequences but the brat never listens for this. We are not in the cradle anymore I'm done pulling him out of the fire."

"Bri, don't get so worked up, you just kick his ass in your next round kay?"

I grasp her hands and lightly squeeze "yeah alright, you just get better,"

She slowly nods and I leave her to rest. My rage comes back tenfold when I see his pasty mug grinning at me across the hall.

"Did you come to gloat?" I growl.

"More like warn this is what's going to happen to you in next round," He looks so damn cocksure I should kick his ass right now.

"Do you realizes what you've done? Don't you know council won't tolerate this kind shit you've gone too far!"

"Like I care," the pudgy kid emphasizing every word.

That's it I'm taking any more of his shit! Immediately grab him by his collar but he's unfazed keeping smug demeanor.

"I'm done saving your ass, every time it's like talking to a brick wall-

a jerking pain in stomach forces to reel back he punched me .

He's dead!

"Takashi!, what's the meaning of this!" A jonin with white hair yells out interrupting us, his sensei Yukio

"Sorry sensei, just boys rough housing I got carried away," he says through a shit-eating grin. "We'll continue this in the exams," he hisses out as walks past.

"Are you okay? I sorry about my student he can be a handful." Yukio apologizes.

"I'm fine, really," I'll settle things with him in the next round.

I head back to my seat in the stadium the first I notice is how much it changed from we when started. What was one a clearing surrounded by emerald treetops, now looks more a setting for a dystopian future. Fallen burnt trees huge gashes and cracks in the earth, and ashes lightly swirling in the just above the ground man we fucked shit up down there.

"How's he doing?" I sit down next to my sensei.

"Better than his last match, just look." Akiko gestures to fight below.

"Ah well it looks he's got this one,"

Ryuzaki has Genma in a barrier only a few meters wide and shrinking, the young leaf genin looks like a mime, his hands pressed against an invisible wall. Genma concedes the match after realizing there's no way out. Ryuzaki releases the technique and Genma is free from his temporary prison.

Next up is Kakashi versus Darui, an interesting match to the say the least I wonder Kakashi going to deal with Darui storm release kekkei genkai. Ryuzaki finally appears back up in the stands, looks like he ran all the way up here.

"Has it started yet?" Ryuzaki clearly wants to see this fight.

"it's just starting," I look down that two genin preparing to fight.

I wonder what this fight would look like if they were in the prime.

The fight starts with both boys grabbing the swords the sounds of steel clashing is echoing in the arena. In peripheral, I notice Akiko faintly smiling watch the sword fight with eagerness. Darui is definitely more accustomed to fighting, I see forms, strikes, and parries, that Akiko used during our training. However, Kakashi has the speed he definitely faster than I am in terms of dexterity we're probably the same. Darui rushes in a vicious strike that knocks Kakashi's tanto out of his hands, but he quickly adapts readily grabbing his kunai parrying Darui's follow up attack. The tanto falls a few meter behind him and little to his right. Darui keeps up the pressure with a barrage of swings forcing Kakashi back. Little does he know Kakashi is retreating to where his blade landed. Kakashi steps on his weapon then flings upwards the wild blade spins vertically nearly cutting Darui, prompting the cloud genin to step away. Kakashi seizes this opportunity and rushes in giving Darui little to no time to block.

"He's vicious, that kid Kakashi, you two might want to be careful around him." Akiko remarks.

Ryuzaki grunts as if he's annoyed, but I see him biting his lip ever so slightly.

This time Darui blade gets sent flying, but he abandons it forming the hand seals for live wire the bolt of electricity flies from Darui's palm and hits Kakashi just as was trying to deliver a decisive blow, the silver-haired scarecrow is temporarily stunned from the shock.

"Man that was close, he almost had him," Ryuzaki says his voice almost a whisper.

"I'll say, second later and Kakashi would have cinched it, a risky move using a justu out in the open like that," I observe.

Darui continues with more hand signs raging waves this time Kakashi is hit again with the sudden water spout bowling him over, but Darui isn't finished he stars another justu ( I quickly try to memorize the hand signs for it.) and both of his hand spark to life with lightning, he slams both his hands on the current directly travels to Kakashi fallen form. His body lights and steam explodes from the current traveling over the water.

"woah, he did he get him!?" Ryuzaki shouts out.

"I don't think so," I reply, the Kakashi I know would have something up his sleeve.

"I think Toke-kun has the right of it."

Yep, I knew it when the mist clear is Kakashi standing up with so much a scratch on him.

"How the?! He perfectly fine. How did take no damage from that." Ryuzaki and Itsuki are astonished, and even I'm curious to know how he pulled it off.

"Easily." Akiko states. "He has a lightning affinity too, water doesn't conduct electricity, it will however through the water to get to anything that does. When Darui used his justu Kakashi charged his tanto with lighting chakra and stabbed the in the mud to ground himself like a lightning rod. "Akiko explains.

Now it all makes sense, I even see the tiny slit in the ground where Kakashi is standing.

"Quick thinking on his part," I mutter.

More importantly, where's the real one the Kakashi that everyone sees is a clone, normal clones are rather easy to spot if you know what to look for. One they can't produce sound, two a clone is more hologram it doesn't affect the area around it, three because of holographic nature, clones don't cast shadows.

I examine the area where Kakashi was, there a crack in the ground a few feet to left large enough for a person to squeeze right in my money says that's where Kakashi is hiding.

Darui flings more hand signs, sheesh how much chakra can he expend. Most genin would be tired out by this point, especially with the previous fights. Darui hands form a triangle the center of which lights up. Several beams flash and scatter and suddenly converge on a single point the aforementioned hole in the ground. Kakashi bolts out the but he isn't quick enough the beam hit their target... The fuck another clone how in the world, when did he have time to argh I missed something here.

Darui is in dire straits, using his kekkei genkai cost him too much. The fatigue is very evidently showing with his heavy breathing and sweating. Kakashi appears from behind his white chakra sabre at Darui's throat. The poor cloud ninja just sighs in defeat.

I look around again the question of how Kakashi pulled it becomes clear.

" I don't get sensei, how did he end up over there," Ryuzaki asks staring at the arena in disbelief.

"He found out that some these holes have tunnels that go under the field. He made the two clones for a distraction so he could behind his foe. The first was to show that he was hiding the second was to keep his enemy attention focused on one direction. Like I said he's vicious. " Akiko clarifies getting nods from both me and Ryuzaki.

I knew how strong Kakashi was when he was jonin at the age of twenty-nine, but here a twelve or thirteen years old, there hardly any difference in his tactics.

"Well, Toke-kun your match is next good luck."

"Yeah beat that asshole Takashi into the ground,"

I smile at Akiko and Ryuzaki's support and head down for my match against Charles.

I step on the ashen field and see Charles sporting a grin that makes my stomach turn flips, strangely not of fear, but of anticipation and excitement. I even the flow of my starts chakra rise as I reach the center. I remove my headband from my neck to my head there no symbolic reason behind it just a good strategy.

"ready to get hurt, cause your end for a world of pain."

I scoff at the shitty attempt of intimidation causing him scowl.

"You're going learn a painful lesson brat, fucking me comes dire consequences, I'm not gonna hold back like I did with Obito and Tora," I say tersely.

He laughs, of course, Yuna looks at us both as drop into our fight stances.

"Ready, Begin!"

Akiko

Toke-kun adorns an expression I never saw him have a look of complete severity, that promises pain to whoever standing in front of him. Even while doing b-ranks I never saw him look this way it sends chills up my spine.

The match starts that two boys collide Takashi kunai to Toke-kun sai; I expected Toke-kun to retreat. Takashi goes for another however my student quickly hooks his left arm. Toke-kun then pries open Takashi's guard and... hoho really I wasn't expecting that, he headbutts Takashi, his forehead protector slams into Takashi nose with squirts out a modest amount of blood. Takashi roars as he recoils from the blow, but Toke-kun rams the blunted ends if his sai into the burly brats stomach and follows with a double uppercut into the kid's chin. Takashi waddles around like an angry drunk.

"Yeah kick his ass Tokegeroh!, you better not lose to him!" Ryuzaki starts cheering on.

Itsuki however just onward her eyes betraying some sort of anxiety in her, I wonder that's about.

Takashi roar and charging swinging his meaty arms but Toke-kun dodges the blows effortlessly, once again he shows that our sparring sessions are paying off he can read Takashi swings. Takashi misses and heavy swing Tok-kun counter with a jab of his own, however, Takashi catch it with a free hand and kick Toke-kun hard in the chest, my student's body get sent flying the opposite direction landing the ashen dirt. I hope he's okay, he took some heavy hits in last fight and from what I've seen Takashi hasn't even gotten serious yet.

Brian

my stomach groan in protest to me getting up; bastard hit me pretty hard. I growl slowly rising to my feet and see Charles holding my weapon with an angry scowl.

"I don't why you're so mad Taka-gaki, that first assault was just for that punch in the hospital I haven't begun to pay you back for what you did to Kallen," I say with a confident grin.

My taunt only continues to fuel is ire he immediately releases his reibi's chakra. It feels strong fortified like a mountain, but I stand tall even a mountain can erode. Hmm! The pain's already numbing and my chakra keeps rising I never felt this much before if I had hazard a guess at much I had around four hundred fifty Ccs and it's still climbing. Charles body transforms into the same green craggy monster just like before, snarling at me. Alright, asshole lets go!