NOTE:
"Chidori!": normal talking
"Rasengan!": special case
'Darn!': thoughts
GWA HA HA HA: Giant creature speech
Chapter 24.2:
The Octo-Triathlon
Part 2:
Combat
Naruto had been sitting agitatedly together with his teammate for a greater part of an hour. Sitting there doing nothing gave him a great deal of time to rethink of the things he had done before and after he got the assignment from the Mizukage. He had killed an army amassing of tens of thousands, butcher a ship filled with armed mafias and alike, and now, he blast a hole through a Mist devil swordsman's ship. The assignment had required them to remain unnoticed. But now, as he sees it, it's too late for him to remain disregarded. All the Mist nins will have their eyes at him at this rate. Inwardly he laughed at the irony. Back then, in his village… god, what would he give to be watched by others. And now, just when stealth is what needed most, he made himself watched by others. 'Damn, I'm truly a baka.'
Now, what's done is done. He's attracted too much attention to himself. '…or maybe…'
Just then, Namimaru appeared in front of the three. "Uzumaki Naruto. If you please come with me? Fujiki-sama waits."
"He already chose me from the beginning… didn't he?"
"Yes. After all, you are the dominating figure in the whole game."
"…suppose… if I die… what will happen to my teammates?"
"Well, I thought it would be obvious. Chuunin exams require 3 people to be done. You die, the other two must resign."
"…I see." Naruto nodded and start walking.
Neji still looked somewhat unapproved, even though he had seen this coming.
"Naruto wait." Yukiku suddenly grabbed Naruto's shoulder. She immediately whispered to Naruto's ears. "Look. I know how strong you are. Heck, you've beaten the shit out of a pack of Hellhounds. But right now, you don't have those Onijutsus. You can't even enact a summoning jutsu right. How are you supposed to defeat Mist strongest swordsman with just Taijutsu?"
Naruto turned and looked at Yukiku's face. Her eyes widen. The fox host nodded once and let Yukiku's hand off before continuing his march calmly.
Yukiku backed away. "Neji… Naruto's face…"
"No cloud in his eyes."
"…it's like he's saying: Leave the rest to me…"
"…" 'Naruto… what are you up to?'
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Naruto was brought to a hall. A large circular hall. He could barely see the ceilings. Then again, he could also see minuscule cameras spiraling across the walls of the room. 'He doesn't plan to test me again now did he?'
"Yo, Naruto-kun!"
"Hm?" the blond looked around and saw, much to his surprise, a giant table with assortments of dishes atop and the boy who once offered him food was eating in the same manner as when they first met. "You? What are you doing here?"
"Well as you can see. I'm eating."
"Here?"
"Why not?" He ripped a lobster to two.
"For your information, there's gonna be a bloodbath here soon. Well… I think."
"Sit down and eat."
"Oh no, thank you. I'm full."
"Are you sure? You gave the Kraken quite a pounding, took out quite a lot of PKs on the way, and you're not tired?"
"Well… tired is one thing I'm pretty bad at. You see… I got this insanely huge amount of stamina… so I'll be fine."
"That's quite a confidence."
"How did you know what I've done to this ship anyway?"
"Hey, I'm mist Nin, I watched it all." He opened a can of coke and took a sip.
"You… watch? Along with Fujiki?"
"Yeah."
"Oh good… then perhaps you can tell me, where is he now? I wanna give him the pounding of his life."
"A pounding of his life, eh? Why did you hate him so?"
"Why? Well you've seen what he had done, and you asked why?"
"…what?"
"He forced us, a bunch of genins to slaughter each other just for the fun of it, all the time."
"So what? We're shinobis, are we not? We're killing machines. That's what we're supposed to do."
"Yes, and we kill at a whim, I've heard that rhetoric crap before. Now let me tell you what I think. We're humans before we are machines. And humans have heart. I'm not saying I'm a saint or anything. I'm a killer. I'm a murdering bastard no doubt about that. I've killed countless people before I get here. And to be perfectly honest, I don't give a damn about sympathy for them. But to me, killing is not entertainment. But I can and, at times, I know it must be done as long as there is a reason for it."
"Really? And what is your reason to fight and kill all those PKs?"
"That I want to stop that madness. That man, Mizunari Fujiki, is thinking dying as entertainment. NOW, I'm gonna make him do the dying, and then let's see if he still consider it fun! Now where is he?"
"You know… I admit… that sometimes… Fujiki is a bit… too much… I too sometimes am getting sick of it." The boy wiped the dirt on his face before stopped eating altogether.
"…"
"But then again… Naruto… you want to become a Hokage, did you not? How do you suppose to become one… without killing anyone? Oh yes. You are a murdering bastard. But you kill for reason. Shinobi world… is cruel, Naruto. They care not for reason. Those who are weaklings are immediately swept aside by the fierce wave of competition. Only the strong survive."
Naruto blinked. "And does that mean… that the weaklings had to stand by and waiting to be killed?"
"…it is… inevitable. Sad… but true. A ruthless world we live in. The one thing that can push someone forward is the ambition. The will to become strong. That is what, I think, many people, or to be particularly precise, you, lack."
"You know… I have a friend told me that once."
"Uh-huh… and?"
"And I haven't been able to reply his statement… until now."
"And your reply… is?"
"…SCREW. THAT. I once made a promise. I will become a shinobi that just follow the way I see fit. It'll be a shinobi my own way. If I made a vow, I'll keep it even if I die. That's my nindo."
"…the world didn't revolve around you. You keep jabbering those nonsense, and one day the world will come crashing down upon you, and you're just be embittered by the facts of life."
"Be that, as it may, I will do it my way. Call me stupid, but that's the way I want it to be."
"…"
"Now then… if you've finished with your meal… I suggest we get on with it… Mizunari Fujiki."
"You know… before we begin, I want to correct some of your statement." Fujiki then cleaned all the plates and dishes. "Death… is not entertainment. No. I dislike dying. More so when I saw my men dying. But I do not deny that I like fighting. Especially, powerful adversary."
"Uh-hum…"
"Unfortunately, the Octo-triathlon, is one way for me to find such powerful adversary." He snapped his fingers and suddenly the whole giant table went spiraling down and down. After a while, the table had sunk back to the darkness, layers upon layers of metal doors slide in, closing the big hole.
"I see… but you've chosen me ever since we met that night… have you not?"
"Ku, ku, ku… Facts my friend. Facts are what I want to see. I will not simply choose you just because of what some blabbering words in the news said about you. A boy slaughtering 60,000 shinobis? Now that's just… unbelievable."
"Word got around fast huh?"
"Too unbelievable, I want to see it and feel it myself."
"Right. Then before we began fighting I want correct several things too."
"Fire away."
"You said, it is inevitable that the weaklings will be swept aside by the strong, correct?"
"Your point?"
"My point is, just being born weakling, given the chance; it is possible for the weak to overcome the strong."
"For your information, I didn't think you a weakling; otherwise, I wouldn't choose you."
"Newsflash: I got the lowest score in written tests, can't do proper Bunshin, Henge, or even Kawarimi jutsu, and failed my academy thrice. And now look how strong I become. Now less talk, more fight."
"OOOOKay."
----------------
Neji was somewhat restless. Several times he stood, rethought his doings, and then he sit again. Finally he resolves to fidgeting and flexing his fingers. All these made Yukiku somewhat annoyed. Then again, she too can understand why. "Hey, Neji… was Naruto used to be this reckless?"
"…I… I don't really know… you see, in actuality, we don't belong in the same team. Initially he belongs to team 7. I've read the record of his missions and he told me about it too… he had done one A-class mission, and several D-class missions… but I don't really know how he does his things in missions."
"He's reckless, stubborn, hardheaded boy who often draw more spotlight to himself." Suddenly a voice sounded from Neji's back.
"Huh?" Neji turned his face and Kira was right in front of him both of his eyes are curving. "Yo! Finally I managed to catch up."
"Kira-sensei! How did you get here?"
"Shunshin. How else?"
"Riiiight…"
"Hey you're not allowed in here! This area is off lim-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A Mist Jounin got electrocuted when he tried to push Kira away.
"Whoopsie! Ehehehe… sorry about that mate. Careful. I still got a few hundred thousand volts from the last ride. So mind your fingers. I'm their sensei." Kira pointed at Neji and Yukiku. Namimaru looked at Kira and finally gave the other shinobi a sign to let it go.
Just then, Neji noticed something was bulging and trembling beneath Kira's baggy cloak. Kira chuckled and opened up his cloak. "Come on, get out, we've landed."
Neji and Yukiku bulked their eyes. "RENALD SAN?"
It is Renald. Trembling head to toe, holding to Kira's black clothes for his dear life. "H… h… help…!" and he fainted.
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Naruto grabbed his Tenrou. "I heard you're swordsman… but I don't see any swords…"
"Oh please don't worry me over your sleep. In fact, I'm the one who should've asked you. Are you not going to unsheathe that instrument?"
"Don't feel like it… yet." Naruto get to his fighting stance.
"Okay… so it's up to me to get you into the mood." Fujiki simply stood calmly.
Silence.
----------------
Meanwhile, outside…
"That man is CRAZY! He… he… jumped… I thought I was gonna…"
"Calm yourself… at least you're still alive." Yukiku patted the journalists' shoulder.
"So… I take it Naruto's already fighting Fujiki now? Mano a mano."
"Yes." Neji looked at Kira. "You've been watching, haven't you?"
"Not exactly…" Kira raise his finger and Torii landed on it. "…I know. Then again… I know everything."
"Every… oh."
"Yes, even the 'oh'."
Meanwhile, a TV screen popped out, showing what happened inside the arena.
Naruto and Fujiki both stood still.
"What's wrong? They haven't started yet?"
"No… quite the opposite… they're already at it…" Kira smirked.
----------------
Inside, truth to be told, Naruto and Fujiki were moving extremely fast, so fast, they barely left an afterimage. Blows were exchanged, dodged, released, catch, and parried in naught seconds. After several more blows, the two clashes and finally backed away.
Naruto landed with a thud. "I see… so that's your 'sword'."
"Heh." Fujiki smirked. An extremely long double edged sword, without any handle or hilt. Its length is probably one and a half of that of Tenrou. The most terrifying fact is, it jutted out from Fujiki's palm. Then slowly, it retracted back to where it came. Frighteningly, Fujiki didn't show even a single ounce of painful expression.
Naruto sighed. "Just one question… What kind of monster are you?"
"That question, I throw it right back at you!" The swordsman grinned. The next instance, he flickered and appeared right in front of Naruto, sending a roundhouse kick. Naruto easily dodged the attack… or did he? Few steps behind, blood splattered out from a slash on Naruto's chest.
The boy looked at the wound. It's a sword cut. 'Oh I should've known…'
Fujiki showed his leg: the same double edged blade jutted out from beneath his heel before it sank back in. He dashed forward again, this time, seemingly sending a backhand towards Naruto's face… but midway, it changed its aim Naruto's stomach instead. The blonde step aside and parried the slash with Tenrou. The blade retracted again and suddenly extend back, almost drilled an air hole through Naruto's stomach. It scratched his side instead. Roaring in fury, Naruto swing his nodachi in a vertical track and retaliate by aiming at Fujiki's shoulder. The boy smirked and dodged it easily only to be surprised when Naruto's fist met his face. The blond had closed the distance the instant the slash attack was dodged. The punch truly caught the swordsman by surprise. Normally, getting shoved a punch by the current Naruto, specifically an extremely angry one, will result in the unlucky victim get thrown for a few meters off the ground, with cracked bones here and there… in this case however, much to Naruto's bewilderment, he's the one being thrown back instead, for his fist bounce back.
"W… wha…?"
Fujiki simply smirked. Utilizing Naruto's a moment of pause, the octopus placed a well aimed stab at his face, it missed but managed to nick a bit of his cheek. The blond returned the wound with another punch with the same results again. Punches after punches, no matter how many times he landed his punch it just keep bounce back. In fact, it seems Fujiki didn't even bother defending let alone dodging. Finally the swordsman grabbed Naruto's hand. "Ok enough the cannon fodders. I handpicked you from a batch of 240 Genins. Don't disappoint me and gimme some muscle."
"Muscle? How bout some IRON?!" As he said that, Tenrou's metal scabbard slammed Fujiki's face, sending him crashing towards the wall, raising some smoke. "RAAAAAAH!" Naruto ferociously give chase. Through his eye he saw, much to his frustration, his opponent's face is still intact despite the fact he got hit by one load of solid iron on his face and now, the blonde want to make sure to give the swordsman a few more whacks. And so, he slashed the sheathed blade, only to have it caught by Fujiki's left arm midway. Naruto gasped at what he saw. Fujiki's left shoulder joint and his elbow joints were practically REVERSED. His left hand caught his nodachi, with his BACK facing Naruto.
"That attack on my face is surprisingly… painful." Fujiki turned around to face the shocked Naruto, coupled with an unpleasant sound of joints and bones twisting, and his left shoulder and elbow joints returned to normal human position. The swordsman smiled at the shocked Jinchuriki and aimed his palm at the boy's face. The blade burst out and slammed Naruto's face and went through his head… or so it seems. "My, what a strong teeth."
"Shuddup." Naruto bawled as he gnawed the blade with every muscle his jaw could afford.
Fujiki chuckled. "Well, I don't want saliva on my blade so please let go?"
Naruto gave him a middle finger.
"Your choice." The blade extends again and slammed Naruto against the wall, finally forcing him to let go with a grunt. The blade retracts. Fujiki observe the spot where Naruto bit his blade. "Aww… look what you did." He rubbed the blade before it sank back in. "You're not sick or anything do you? I'm a bit germophobic."
"Shut up. You don't need bacteria or germs to be a freak."
"Oh, you mean these joints of mine?" Fujiki demonstrate his body as he twists the joints of his shoulder on both of his arms and legs in an almost humanly impossible way. "A little accident during my mission. An adversary of mine think it'll be fun to break all the bones in my arms and legs… our next encounter, he still somehow managed to break a bit of my spinal cord here…" Fujiki twisted his waist to almost a 270 degree turn. "…as I break his neck with my new 360 degree dislocatable joints."
"Who is this guy? I really need to pay him respect."
"Pish posh. It's all in the past during the Ninja world war. I was young and still pathetically weak. But I really had to thank him. Thanks to him, now, I have the ultimate flexibility." Fujiki demonstrate his arm get all, well, in Fujiki's term, flexible. Not only can the joints spin in a 360 degree, his bones actually curved.
"The only thing that guy gave you, is the ultimate freakiness."
"Well, after that accident, I've trained myself and my muscular strength… now; every bit of muscle in my body has rubber like quality."
Naruto blinked. 'Rubber…!?'
"I see that turn some lights on. My muscle is now like impact dispersion full body armor. After several years of training, my bones just got affected along. Everytime you punch me, the impact will be dispersed allover my body, just like how rubber works." Fujiki smiled. "Now then, warm up's over. Let's raise the level a little bit." In a flash, Fujiki had finished a seal.
'SHIT! I was hoping it didn't come to this!'
'Suiton, Suiroudan (Water Prison Bullet)!' A ball of water burst out from Fujiki's mouth. It enlarges and shot out at Naruto, who immediately throw a Fuuma Shuriken at it. It went in… and stuck there. Naruto immediately jumped away. The water ball just went on and hit the wall with a splash. The fuuma shuriken entrapped within it shatters from impact. Naruto gulped. One wrong move and…
"Suiroudan. A modification I made to our famed Suirou jutsu (water prison)."
"Nice jutsu."
"Thank you. Now it's your turn."
"Wha…?" Cold sweat pouring down on Naruto's back.
"Come on. Show me your jutsu! I want to see the jutsu you used to wipe off 60,000 sound nin in an instant."
"Instant? Wowwow… they weren't that many. Only 30… or 40,000… and I get help!"
"Same story different version. The fact remains you actually had the power to repel a nation's worth of an army. THAT is the power I want to see from you."
"That was six months ago."
"And you definitely become stronger. Good. Then show me."
"Err…"
Fujiki sighed. "Alright. Looks like I have to force you again." This time, Fujiki's throat inhaled to a great extent.
'Uh oh.'
And he fire spheres after spheres of water prisons. Naruto ran to the side, avoiding all the water balls of doom. One water blast greased his back. 'That was close.' Before he can celebrate, one big water ball headed straight to him. It's too huge to dodge. Except… 'Kage Bunshin!' A clone appeared and grabbed the original one's arm and tossed him out of the way. The clone weren't so lucky though, nor does it matter. Another on its way. Left with no choice, Naruto formed a half assed Rasengan and slammed it, hoping, praying to every god and devil, up and down there, the ball won't go through. Much to his horror, it did. Perhaps it's a streak of luck or whether his chakra control truly sucks, the half stage rasengan chose that moment to explode, blowing away all the water that almost swallowed Naruto's arm. 'That was close.'
Fujiki whistled. "Cool jutsu. Finally you show something."
"Wanna feel it?" Naruto called out a Bunshin. 'Come on, I'm begging my body! Work with me will ya!'
"I could hardly wait."
Naruto began creating a rasengan the old fashioned way. The result were quite good… if he may say so himself. "Here we go!" One Bunshin grabbed him and start spinning him before throwing him towards Fujiki, rasengan first.
"RASENGAN!" And so the attack landed, much to Naruto disbelief, on Fujiki's chest. No attempt from the said target to actually protect himself. And soon, Naruto will learn the hard way the reason why.
"HAAAAAH!" Fujiki screamed. Bystanders would probably think, as he was the one being attacked, that he was in pain. But Naruto know better. By the end of Rasengan's spinning vortex of destruction, the swordsman is still standing, his upper clothes which is very few, was torn apart, but above all, his body is practically unscratched. It was then Naruto felt immeasurable pain coursing throughout his arm. Sickening cracks echoed from Naruto's now obviously broken arm.
"GRRT!" The blond gritted his teeth as he made barely audible grunt. Naruto went rolling on the floor, holding his broken arm. "What the hell was that trick!?"
"Hmm… that attack… what was it supposed to do? Grind me to death?"
"Short of. It supposed to shoot you all the way before blow you up."
"Cool… So why it didn't happen?"
"Excuse me; you're not the one with a broken bone here. That's definitely MY question!"
"Well, as I've said before, my muscle has been trained to reach a rubber-like quality. These muscles work more then just armor. They are also my weapons to defeat my opponents. Anyone try to attack my body must be prepared to accept an equal amount of their own force in return."
"What!?"
"At the moment your attack hits me, I explosively contracts my muscles, repelling your attack by its force. I called it… Muscle bomb."
'This guy… That means I can't hit him with direct physical attacks!' Naruto grunted. Just then, another Suiroudan headed straight at him. The blond immediately jumped to the side.
"Naruto, I was wondering." Fujiki shoot another Suiroudan. "That blade of yours is VERY heavy. I know because when that sucker hit me, it was as if someone jacked my brain with a sledgehammer." Naruto just dodged another barrage when Fujiki finished his sentence: "Still… don't you think it's time you unsheathe it?"
"I told you before… I really don't feel like it."
"…I see… fine then." Fujiki's smile vanished, replaced by a face filled with killing intent. The next instance, his leg whipped (literally) a deep cut appeared on the wall, but its just a few millimeters from the tip of Naruto's spiky hair. The blond inwardly gulped.
"Lit'l shit…" Fujiki glared straight at Naruto. "…to spat those words like 'I don't feel like it' at me…" His eyes filled with a mixture of anger and bloodlust. "…who the hell you take me for?" Then, for the first time, he actually gets to some short of a fighting stance. "…Captain of the Kraken, the 4th Swordsman of the Mist Seven Devil Swordsman, Mizunari Fujiki…"
A pair of cuts suddenly appeared on Naruto's shoulder. The blonde looked at it with a shock. He didn't even see the blade appeared!
"…here to chop you to pieces!"
----------------
"You know how Octopuses eat their prey, gentlemen?" Namimaru commented as everyone watched the battle. Neji and Yukiku turned to their host. Namimaru finishes his explanation: "By strangling and breaking them from every corner."
----------------
Naruto readied himself. But again, before he could react, 3 more cuts appeared, this time from his chest. Instinctively, he jumped back. Much to his surprise, 5 more cuts appeared on his BACK! He turned around to see nothing. 'What?'
"You know Naruto?"
The blonde was too shocked to turn around; as he knows Fujiki hadn't moved from his spot, but 4 pair of blades protruding from the palm of his hands, riddled with blood.
"…in Mist, we were taught to introduce our full name before we battle, and then let them introduce themselves."
7 cuts appeared on his chest, shoulders and legs.
"The reason being, we can at least let the opponent know who killed them."
4 on his back, 3 on his shoulder, and another 5 lining his chest, ripping the weight jacket. For once, Naruto was kinda thankful his weight jacket was very resilient.
"…but you know… I don't think I need to remember your name."
3 stabs, 6 slashes. 'Damn… DAMMIT!'
"SINCE YOU WON'T LEAVE A SINGLE CARVE ON ME ANYWAY!!"
Fujiki jumped and in an instant, his hands flickered, almost disappearing. 'Tako Hachitouryu… (Octopus Eight Sword Style)'
"SEN UMIGIRI! (Thousand Sea Hunters)"
Naruto's eyes widen. Hundreds upon hundreds, if not thousands of slashes, cuts, and stabs rained every part of his body from every corner. Blood burst out like rain from every inch of his skin.
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"Naruto!" Yukiku shrieked.
Namimaru smiled calmly. "Game over."
Yukiku's eyes widened as she saw their strongest team member turned into a bloody pulp. She had contemplated to dash in along with Neji, beat the shit out of everyone dare to stop them, and give Naruto any help she can. The Haku Twin had almost carried it out if not for a grip on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at Kira. The sensei gave her a blink as he pointed on a certain figure in the TV screen.
Yukiku looked at Kira and then back at the monitor. Again her eyes widened, followed with a smile.
"Namimaru-san. Do you know?" Neji who was calm the whole time, muttered.
"Hm?" the addressed looked to the speaker, who's just smiling, reminiscing his own battle experience.
"There's only one thing Naruto bad at."
"Oh? And that is?"
Neji smirked. "Being a loser."
Namimaru mused for a moment before turning his attention to the monitor.
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Fujiki walked away from the bloody lump that was Naruto, when he felt a dark, black claw shaped aura grabbed his neck. In a fits of what he would discern as sheer terror, he scored 2 dozens of slashes on empty air. 'Wha… what the hell was that?'
"Fu…"
"!!" He looked at Naruto's direction.
"FujiIIII….KIIIII!!!" Naruto stood up again. The dripping blood on his body, much to the swordsman disbelief, began to halt. Fujiki could've sworn he actually saw Chakra flowing out from every hole that was Naruto's wounds, of which by the way, are steadily closing.
'The fact that the chakra was actually visible… it means that's some major ass chakra he burst out… and the wounds are regenerating…' Fujiki smirked. "Show it to me…"
Naruto, enclosed in his yellow chakra, grabbed Tenrou, inadvertently, enclose it with his chakra as well.
"Show it to me… THE YOU THAT IS THE DEVIL!!"
The reply? Blood burst out from Fujiki's diminutive shoulder as one big cut appeared, courtesy of Naruto, slashing the Tenrou, still on its sheath. Fujiki stared, wide eyed at the gushing blood pouring from his shoulder. Naruto, still somewhat in a complete blind rage, prepared for a horizontal slash. Fujiki immediately extend his blade and whipped it at Naruto, intending to give him a head on blow. Alas, the blond grabbed his wrist with his left hand and my, what a grip!
"HAAAAAAA!"
Fujiki didn't have the time to react; a big slash scored his chest perfectly. It hit him hard, forcing him to back away a few meters off.
Meanwhile, the last attack seem brought Naruto back to his senses a little bit. His body began to tingle. A familiar energy that he had long lost seems returning. But it's seemed faint. So minuscule. But he felt it. He looked at his hands. Only a few scars left and they're also disappearing.
'It can't be… Kyuusei?'
Deep down in Naruto's mind…
Kyuusei was chuckling. "Kukukukuku… damn you Kira, you got me this time."
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"It seems… the reason for me being miscalculated… is the fact that I've underestimated the effect Kyuusei has for being inside Naruto for so long." Kira smiled.
"What do you mean?" Yukiku looked at their sensei.
"Naruto gave me some sketchy information about your new seal… we spar after that… and I already had my suspicions." Neji gave their teacher one dark look. Yukiku looked at Neji and then back at Kira.
"What suspicion?"
"…the nine dragons didn't seal Kyuubi's chakra… it seals Naruto's chakra… is it not?"
This caught Namimaru's interest. 'Seal?'
"Ah-ah… No, no, no. It seal Kyuubi's chakra… however… to maintain that seal… it sucks Naruto's chakra instead."
At this Neji was furious. "YOU CRAZY SONNOVA!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL HIM? OR US?"
"Because it's temporary. Pretty soon the seal will be self sustaining. After that, there won't be any need to suck Naruto's energy."
"You're mad! He'll die out there!" Yukiku also protested.
"If he dies now… then it means that's all he can do. BUT… dying here… I believe that is not all he can do."
"…" Neji quieted down. He turned back to the monitor. "…Why did you do that? Why did you have to give him a seal that is so… detrimental?"
Kira took a deep breath. "Human body… is a terrifying work of art. Naruto probably didn't realize this… but in truth, in the cases of the Jinchuriki, the final product of bonding is not the hybrid of human and demon… it is the way human body adapts to deal with the foreign substance. Neji, remember what I told about how Chakra reject foreign things?"
"Yes. You said they will try to reject the existence of foreign chakra in their body. And also, there's a system in our chakra that resemble blood cells."
"Exactly. Leukocyte, or white blood cell, is the blood cell that responsible in doing so. At times however, when the interference is severe, Leukocyte will mold together or at times… multiply."
A realization hit Neji. If Chakra is the same as bloodcell, then if being faced by a huge amount of foreign chakra it will also multiply to adept. "Kira-shishou… Are you saying…"
"I've never underestimated Kyuusei's strength. His power had reached godlike level. The nine dragon seal is the strongest seal… Designated the most forbidden kinjutsu, used correctly it can even bind gods. In fact I really don't know how long that seal will last. But I do know this. This simple… yet terrifying fact: Naruto… has underestimated… his own chakra capability."
"…" Yukiku gulped. She knew Naruto had insane amount of chakra… but huge enough to even… equaling godlike level creatures?
"All this time… the Shiki-fuuin and the eight trigram seal used to seal Kyuubi… are manmade. But, it managed to do its job: sealing Kyuubi… and keeping Naruto's chakra level within human boundaries. But unfortunately, it didn't last long. Had Kyuubi hadn't suppressed his Youki for so long… Naruto will die, not because of Kyuubi's chakra… but by his own. Once the nine dragon seal self sustain it will drain out most of Naruto's chakra, keeping them in safe 'storage'… until the time when Naruto's physical body gained enough strength to manage such power."
"…But by the look of things here… it seems his chakra's leaking out." Neji pointed out.
"Yes… I missed this one out. Kyuusei had often healed Naruto's body whenever he's wounded. So often… he body had the ability to regenerate on its own. It became some short of… instinctive reaction. Whenever he got wounded, and wounded bad, his body will automatically search for a source of chakra and then start healing itself out, though probably it'll be done in a slower rate. The fact Naruto's body has also changed might help in that matter-"
"Excuse me?" Namimaru suddenly interrupts. "I didn't quite get… about this seal… what exactly are you talking about?"
"Oh that? Well, to put it simply… Naruto has an ultra bazillion amount of chakra. So much, it threatens to destroy himself. Unfortunately, he's pretty dumb in chakra and anger management. Bursting off chakra first chance he gets pissed. So I put a seal on him… cutting roughly about… 90 percent of his usual output." Kira explained simply.
"90 PERCENT!?" The mist 2nd in command's eye almost jumped out.
"Yeah. Exactly. Now, to continue my explanation where I left it off, right now, as Naruto's body sustain heavy injure, the instinctive regenerative power sucks up Naruto's chakra to heal… in the process however… it draws the chakra that is supposed to be sealed, fortunately, brought about a massive amount of chakra he needed for this fight."
Namimaru's face can get paler than it already has.
Neji sighed. "Long story short… the more Fujiki injure Naruto… the more powerful he becomes… correct?"
"Bingo!" Kira answered with a smile.
----------------
'Kyuusei… you didn't help me now did you?'
IF I DID, THAT OCTOPUS WILL BE TAKOYAKI BY NOW.
'But… my wounds are regenerating… and I feel so much… chakra!'
LOOK, I REALLY DON'T HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO AN IMBICILIC LIKE YOU WHO NEEDS TO BE TOLD AT LEAST 10 TIMES TO REMEMBER A SINGLE HANDSEAL, ESPECIALLY IN A HEAT OF BATTLE. I SUGGEST YOU USE THIS POWER OF YOURS AND GET THIS OVER WITH!
"…yeah." He looked at his hand and grinned. With this kind of level of chakra… oh just how much jutsu he can do! "This time, I will follow your tradition, and announce my name to my opponent whom I will kill."
The addressed looked at Naruto, panting as he held the blood pouring from his wound. "Future Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha, Currently Genin, Uzumaki Naruto…"
Naruto suddenly appeared right in front of Fujiki. "…here to whip your ass!" No less then 5 slashes hit his thigh, chest, arm, back and stomach. Fujiki gasped and backed away, but his opponent immediately cast a jutsu: 'Fuuton, Kaze no Ryuuga!' A dragon shaped wind flew from Naruto's arm, cutting the Octopus' shoulder. At this, Fujiki finally fell to the ground on his back.
Naruto landed a few meters away from the fallen Swordsman. He pointed his sword at him. "Get up! I'm not done yet!"
"I don't get it."
"Huh?"
Fujiki start getting up.
"I don't get it… how is it your wounds regenerating?"
The blond readied himself.
"I don't get it… but screw that." Fujiki suddenly flickered and reappeared in front of Naruto, sending another slash at his face, which Naruto blocked with his nodachi.
"I don't get it at ALL! HOW IS IT YOU SUDDENLY BECOME SO STRONG?" He sent another sword lash, aimed at the stomach. Naruto step on Fujiki's arm and jump over him, somersaulting and gave him another cut on his back. "Your attacks are so sharp, your speed increases… I DON'T GET IT AT ALL! BUT YOU KNOW WHAT: I DON'T CARE!" Fujiki retaliates and sent a roundhouse kick, with 4 blades jutting out from the bottom of his feet, nicking Naruto's thigh. The blond retaliated and this time, he responded full force: 'KATON, KARYUUU ENDAN!' A fire dragon, whose size are worthy of Naruto's chakra, burst forth from his mouth, catching the Octopus off guard, the blast literally burn the hell out of him.
Covered in smoke, Fujiki immediately moved away only to be welcomed by Naruto, who nicked his back. He jumped to another spot, 3 Naruto tried to stab him. 'This is!?'
"Ninpou: TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN!"
At least 100 Naruto dashed forward. Slashes and stabs rained at the swordsman. Some of them he managed to dodge, while the rest, he had to defend. But quality aside, the army of Naruto outnumbers Fujiki by at least 92 blades, by Naruto counts, since now he has 100 blades and Fujiki had 8. They finally managed to interlock Fujiki's blades. The octopus immediately retracts them, but Naruto immediately present an uppercut on his chin, effectively sending him to the air, although it probably didn't hurt one bit. Regardless, his goal achieved, Naruto clone throw themselves up, heading straight at Fujiki, Tenrou ready to rend.
"ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Fujiki's arms flickered again. 'Sen Umigiri!' the 100 Naruto clones were reduced to cloud in an instant. The Octopus landed in the midst of smoke, when a familiar whirling sound echoed. He turned around and saw two Naruto, with a bigger, better, perfect rasengan formed in between their hands.
"No way."
"Consider this an honor." The first Naruto spoke.
"You're the first opponent that's going to taste my new perfected Jutsu." The second continued.
The two Naruto dashed forward.
"Come on!" Fujiki challenged.
"OODAMA RASENGAN! (Big Ball Rasengan!)" The two Naruto shoved the attack at him, full force.
Like before, the attack went undisturbed. But unlike before, this time, Fujiki found himself shocked at the strength of this Rasengan. The last rasengan only spun for a good 5 seconds flat. But now, it actually keeps on spinning, and it gets faster and stronger with each rotation. "GRRRRGGHHH!"
"URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
'No! I can't lose like this…!' Fujiki roared as he contracted all his muscle to its max. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The rasengan finally disperse, along with Naruto's clone. The real Naruto pants and gasps, the last attack had taken its toll on him. Then again, for Fujiki, defending against the attack cost him just about the same. He looked at Naruto and grinned. He was about to move forward when he felt something. The next thing he knew, it was as if someone had detonated tons of bombs allover his body, the back of his clothes were torn apart as an invisible spherical energy burst through his back and goes on through the walls. The energy burst practically grind everything in its way, effectively force its way out of the combat dome. The spectators moved away in panic the invisible energy burst forth. Some of the shinobi who were unlucky enough to be in the rasengan's path of destruction got pushed overboard, screaming their lungs out.
Fujiki gasped one more time before throwing up, holding up his stomach, which, upon closer inspection, were burnt badly, along with every part of his back. The swordsman finally fell to his knees, but managed to prevent his body from falling flat on his face with one of his hand… 'K… Kami-sama… what the hell was that attack… it was as if every bit of my cell got blasted.' "Urk!" 'What? Oh no… at this rate… I won't be able to maintain this form any longer…'
Naruto, seeing that Fujiki still breathing, immediately catches his breath and begin gathering his chakra again, and fortunately, there are still plenty of them.
Fujiki slammed the ground with his fist. 'GODAMMIT! I'm NOT gonna lose like this! Not yet!' "Okay… Naruto… that was incredible. Totally amazing. I really thought I was gonna die."
"Please don't. I still have a lot more to go."
"Heh, heh, yeah? Well, so am I." Fujiki crossed his arm and grunted. Just then, eight long blades protruding out from his arm, his shoulders, and snaking allover his chest. It rotated and slither before one by one, it dropped to the floor with the sounds of heavy thuds.
"H… huh?" Naruto looked at those blades. "What the Hell are those?"
"These? You've been fighting this thing all the time."
"I know those are blades… but why did you drop them off?"
"These blades are actually restrictors. I limited my muscular motion with these things." Another eight burst out and dropped off from his legs. "Each of them weight about… 50 kg or so."
"I see… So… these nasty bastards are the things you've been using to fight me right? So… what are you going to fight me with this time?"
Fujiki grunted again. He readied his hand and then, much to Naruto's disbelief, plunged it on his other arm. It went in, and this time, he draw out a massive serrated sword like thingy. Three serrated blade encircle a round axis in a triangular fashion. Its length made the first sixteen looks laughable. But like the first sixteen, this one doesn't have any hand guard, heck; it doesn't even have any handle. There are 8 long holes lining below the blades, in which he places his finger in, grasping its axis firmly. Regardless, the blade, when you compare them to the size of the user, it was so unwieldy long. It's probably longer then Tenrou by 1 meter.
"When a Mist swordsman was initiated, he or she was given two things: the sword that suit their fighting style, and a contract with a beast that best describe them." Fujiki places his sword right in front of him. "This is my blade: Yondai Kiritou, Kuroumi (Fourth Generation Mist Steel, Black Sea)."
"Kuroumi eh? What, should I introduce the name of my blade too?"
"In exchange for you not unsheathing that thing… you better."
"Still upset about it?"
"Knowing you can still kill with it sheathed, I'll let you off with that."
Naruto laughed. "Gimme a sec." The Kyuubi Jinchuriki walked rather clumsily at the hole he blasted off with his Oodama Rasengan. "OOOi, Kira-sensei! You're there right?"
Out there, Kira heard Naruto called him and respond. "How did you know I'm here?"
"I remembered the pattern of your breathing and your voice as well. Tell me… what is the full name of my sword?"
"AAAh? Why did you ask?"
"Some formality between swordsmen thingy…"
"Heh… okay. The full name is: Yondai Kitetsu, Tenrou. (Fourth Generation Demon Slayer, Heavenly Wolf)"
The whole Kraken piped down upon hearing the name.
Naruto took no notice and turned towards the wide eyed Fujiki. "Yup. That's the name: Yondai Kitetsu, Tenrou."
The swordsman's expression can only is discerned in one term: total shock. Still in that state, he began chanting a poem:
A sword smith enraged by world
Four blades he crafted
Their sharpness unsurpassed
Their fineness unquestioned
When he encounters men
Men was cut
When he encounters demon
Demon was cut
When he encounters god
God was cut
"?"
"…that was the opening poem of an old tale."
"Old tale?"
"The story goes that the first blade made was used to exorcize demons, the second and the third were used to dominate the dominion of men, and the fourth was used to slay gods. We were always been told that story when we first study Kenjutsu. Told to… watch out when you came across them."
"Oh please. What kind of Swordsman are you? Bested by childhood story? How would we even know if this is an authentic blade? A blade that can slay gods? Be serious already!" Naruto laughed. But inside… 'DAMN YOU KYUUSEI! What kind of god slaying bigoted blade you gave me!?'
I THOUGHT YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT KIND OF STUFF?
'Kyuusei… please just tell me this blade isn't authentic! LIE to me!'
OKAY. IT'S NOT AUTHENTIC TENROU. IT'S THE ORIGINAL ONE.
'How would that be any different? Now the whole goddamn village will set their eyes on me!'
BUT ISN'T THAT A GOOD THING… FOR YOUR PLAN THAT IS.
'Shut up! Just shut up!' "ANYWAY. Enough with bedtime stories! Let's get on with it and be done with it."
"Okay. Ikuyo!!" Fujiki appeared and immediately slashed Kuroumi, missing Naruto's shoulder by a few millimeters. Naruto retaliate with a slash to the stomach. Fujiki demonstrate his flexibility again by practically curved his waist to the side, resulting in Naruto's attack missed by 1 meter from the target. "Kuso!"
Fujiki grinned.
----------------
"In any case… how did you know that the blade in that boy's hand is the infamous god-slayer?" Namimaru looked at Kira.
"It isn't? How would I know? I just found that thing loitering somewhere, and somebody just told me that thing's name was Yondai Kitetsu Tenrou. I'm just passing the word."
"Hooo…? So it's not real?"
"Think. How am I supposed to check it? Find God and then see if it can cut it? Get real." Kira let out a laugh.
"A… otto… I guess you're right." Namimaru scratched his head.
Yukiku nudged Kira and whispered: "Oi, did Naruto really hold an authentic God Slayer?"
"Beats me." Kira's verbal answer and his facial expression simply answered Yukiku's suspicion.
----------------
The Octopus charged forward and sent a stab which Naruto barely dodge. Using his Tenrou as leverage, he hopped high to the walls and threw a pack of Shurikens. Fujiki spun the Kuroumi to shield himself. After the last shuriken was tossed away, he thrust Kuroumi towards Naruto. The black blade extends, dislocates itself into 8 joints, and nearly pierced through Naruto's stomach. The blond blocks it with his Nodachi. Fujiki gave chase and step on the extended Kuroumi, ran on top of it straight at Naruto. Midway he jumped and landed a perfect kick on Naruto's face, sending him crashing against a wall. Fujiki followed with another handseals, and the next instance, he shot half a dozen Suiroudan at Naruto. However, a gigantic Fire dragon-like creature exploded from Naruto's spot. It vaporizes all 6 suiroudan upon contact.
"What the-" Fujiki creates and even bigger Suiroudan and managed to rival Naruto's flames. Not for long, unfortunately. The water did manage to block the fire… but a typhoon burst through and headed straight at him. Fujiki grabbed the Kuroumi and encircle it upon himself, creating somewhat of a shield. It managed to block the attack, but the resulting blast tossed him to the ground. Meanwhile, the smoke cleared, revealing Naruto, preparing another handseal. He slams the floor. "Tetsuton, Kinzokuken! (Iron Element, Metal Sword)" The ground cracks, and pieces of razor sharp iron blades burst out, heading towards Fujiki. The Swordsman jumped off as metal blade bursting out from the ground. Stepping on it, the Octopus dashed towards Naruto. During the process, he interlocks the first 4 segments of Kuroumi into one contraption. Pulling the other half, the chains that connect the two segments extend greatly, forming a mace. The swordsman was spinning the weapon as ran towards the shocked Naruto. The blond managed to hop away as Fujiki brought the mace down. The resulting impact shook the whole arena. Naruto stuck to the wall and observe the damage. A crater can be seen in the place where Kuroumi had landed.
"That's a pretty unusual way to use a sword."
"Heh. Don't underestimate Kuroumi now." Again, Fujiki dislocate the mace contraption and again, the weapon assumed the long black blade form. "This guy has many uses." The weapon dislocates again and the octopus began swing and spins the weapon around him in a speedy and fluid motion, and then suddenly, one segment shot out towards him, which the target immediately deflected. In an instant, Fujiki pulled it back and swing 3 first segments in a giant roundhouse slash. Naruto immediately defend. Bad move. The moment the attack made contact, it slithers, spinning rapidly around Naruto and completely wrapped him the next instance, with 3 razor sharp blade segments encircle him, fortified with a few layers of chains. Naruto managed to block one segment with his Tenrou, but he can feel the other two are pressing his back, trapping him in a literal death-lock.
"An octopus never stabs his prey." The Swordsman pulled the sword, tightening the grip on Naruto. The blade that tied the blond also began to sink in. Fortunately, his weight jacket could prevent the two blades on his back to chop him off straight away. But how long it'll last? However, a cracking sound from his backbone hit Naruto with a realization: being cut to pieces is the least of his worries. Fujiki grinned. "I see you notice." The swordsman strengthened his pull. Naruto was practically squeezed in the middle. The pressure from the chains encircling him is crushing his bones. The swordsman smirked. "Don't worry." He rolled a bundle of chain in his right hand. "Whenever I had a fight, I'm not a big fan of torturing people." He pulled he chain a little bit more, and the iron wrapping gets a little tighter on Naruto's ends.
"When I pull this chain one more time…" Fujiki showed the chain bundle on his arm. "The chains surrounding you will squeeze and splinter your flesh to small pieces, cut through your muscles, and completely crush your bones. I assure you it's not as painful as it sound… In fact, I intend to make it as painless as it can be."
Naruto smirked. "In any case… I hope you got plenty of suntan, buddy!"
"Eh?"
Just then, smoke began to appear around Naruto. The chains immediately turned red. Burst of fire shot out from the small holes of the chains. "HuWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A gigantic explosion burst out from Naruto's spot. The explosion power was enough to knock Fujiki off his feet. The swordsman was pushed back a few steps as the smoke arose. The fire still burst fiercely from where the explosion had occurred. 'He blew himself up?' Just then, Naruto's hand burst out from the smoke and grabbed Fujiki's face.
Naruto finished a one hand seal as he yelled, "Katon, Gokyaku Ken! (Great Inferno Blade)" A bundle of flames from the explosion gather up on Naruto's arm, who proceed to slam it in a vertical arc, right at Fujiki's stomach, generating one line of giant burning wave that charge forward, scorching just about everything in its path, including Fujki, whose defense just do too little to no effect. The attack continues to push him backwards and stopped once he hit the wall, in which the attack ended with an explosion.
"You're one freakin crazy bastard alright." Fujiki cough some blood from his mouth. His stomach was pretty much scorched out. "What was that jutsu? The one you used to knock off Kuroumi, that is."
"No jutsu." Naruto showed his trick: a red explosive tag.
"The explosive tag you used to scare away the Iwa nin? Damn, that wasn't a dud after all eh?"
"Not all of 'em."
"Che. I suppose." Fujiki coughed several times. He held his burned chest. An expression of great pain plastered allover his face. But he didn't even grunt. Such was his resilience as one of Mist Seven Devil Swordsman. He managed to stand though, somehow. He looked at Kuroumi. He pulled it back, and somewhat glad that his weapon was still intact… but boy, what kind of explosive that brat used? The part of his blade that received direct explosion was scorching wicked red hot!
"Hey, hey, still with me?"
"Yep."
"Good. Cuase you know what? I think I just figure out."
"What?"
"Your greatest weakness, that is."
"My greatest weakness? Oh I'm petrified!" Fujiki grinned, though this time, a bit nervously. A few moments later, he dashed forward attempting a head on blow. However, Naruto already finished a set of handseal: 'Fuuton, Dafuuba! (Great wind glaive)' Naruto blew a burst of strong wind that, midway, turned into a chainsaw like contraption, headed straight at the charging Swordsman with speed. Two of them scored a hit on his thigh and shoulder. The swordsman immediately rolled to the side, but Naruto had already cast another jutsu, 'Raiton, Raikouben (Thunder Whip)' Electricity gathered on Naruto's shoulder, channeling through to his finger, in which he swung in a roundhouse arc, creating a whip like thunder. The resulting burst of electricity literally whip Fujiki's back, giving him quite a shock.
Fujiki landed with a thud and an aching back. 'Oh no… it can't be… he really…!'
Naruto smirk seem confirmed his sudden horror. "You better cast another ninjutsu aside from that Surioudan! I still have a lot more pending for you!"
The swordman roared furiously. A huge murderous aura burst out. Even for Naruto's standard, it was enough to send shiver down his spine. Regardless, somehow, he managed to maintain his cool. Fujiki's fury had proven his assumption, and the fact the swordsman knew that he knew was enough for Naruto.
----------------
"Goodness, Fujiki-sama is angry now." Namimaru looked at the monitor with concern.
"…there are two instances for great hunters to show their fangs." Kira suddenly commented again. Namimaru looked at the Konoha sensei. "…the first being of course, when it hunts. The second…"
----------------
Fujiki got smashed into a wall when Naruto shot a 'Fuuton, Fuuryuhou (Wind Flow Cannon)'. But before he can react, a large 'Katon Karyuu Endan' crashed him head on, creating an even larger crater. An explosion can be heard from the said crater as Fujiki jumped from the rising smoke. He shot another Suiroudan at Naruto, who simply grinned.
Naruto slammed the ground: 'Raiton, Raimono! (Thunder web)' electricity flowed allover the metallic floor, and then continue to surge upwards. Fujiki, caught by surprise, receive another dose of electrocution of the day. The thunder web, as the name implies, continuously stick on him like a spider web, and he was hung a few dozen feet off the ground, completely sitting ducks.
-----------------
"The second is, when he's completely backed into corner."
Namimaru frowned. "Do all Konoha Sensei speak in riddles?"
"Not really. But if you want me to be perfectly blunt…"
"Naruto figured it out already eh?" Neji caught the point.
"Yes."
"Figured out what?"
"…he's deadly weak against it… Ninjutsu, that is."
BINGO! Namimaru gulped. Kira hit him dead center.
"…Mizunari didn't cast any other jutsu aside Suiroudan. It wasn't because he didn't want to nor he didn't know how… he just… CAN'T do it."
Yukiku chuckled. "He's so dead."
Neji on the other hand was kinda reminded of Lee.
Namimaru gulped. 'They've figured it out. But still!' "Excuse me lady, but your presumption is too premature."
Yukiku looked at the 2nd in command.
"Fujiki-sama had encountered countless enemies. Most of them have more jutsu then you can imagine. Fujiki-sama had faced them all, and won."
"Too true… but tell me, just how much ninjutsu do you think Naruto knew?"
"…20?"
"…if you know even half the amount of jutsu he knows, your head will explode."
-----------------
"Tajuu, Kage Bunshin!" 5 Naruto appeared. Fujiki, who's still stuck midair, can only gasp. 'Oh crap…'
As suspected, a rain of Ninjutsu of various elements burst out:
"Katon, Karyuu Endan! (Fire Dragon Blast)" A blazing dragon burst out from Naruto's mouth.
"Raiton, Raikouben! (Thunder Whip)" A ripple of electricity whipped away from Naruto's fingers.
"Suiton, Suirouga! (Water Fang)" A large swirling water mass burst upwards.
"Doton, Doryuuhou! (Earth Flow Cannon)" A mass of earthen fragment blasted out.
"Tetsuton, Kinzo dzuchi! (Metal Hammer)" A metallic cylinder of massive proportion erupted from the floor.
Five elements, five attacks, all hit him dead center, all ninjutsu, and every last one of them are insanely powerful. Fujiki found it a miracle that after such a blow, he still had a bit of consciousness left. Unfortunately, his consciousness was seen by the blond. But perhaps because the state he was in or perhaps Naruto need time to catch a breath, the blond didn't continue. Meanwhile, he's still sitting duck high above, hung like a blackened butterfly in the electrifying (literally) spider web. Fujiki looked at the boy. Was that pity he saw in his eyes?
"Naruto… you're freaking idiot…" Fujiki made a barely audible groan, which Naruto mistaken as a pained grunt. He released the Raimono jutsu, sending Fujiki plummeting to the ground. The boy landed with a loud thud.
Naruto observed the purple haired boy carefully, concluding he fainted; not dead, as he's still heaving up and down, breathing heavily. He made a move towards the hole he made earlier, intending to call for medic. That is, when he heard a scream on his back. He turned around to see Fujiki stood up; his Kuroumi was on a familiar position: the preparation before the Tako Hachitouryu Sen Umigiri (Thousand Sea Hunters).
"That was VERY stupid of you Naruto!" The furious Fujiki began spinning Kuroumi segments around and around. "It is a death match, remember!?"
Naruto frowned.
"A death match is never over, UNTIL the enemy is dead! To show pity is truly FOOLISH!"
"I really seriously think to kill you all the time."
"One more blast of a ninjutsu back then would kill me… and you didn't do it."
"You were lucky. Also, I don't intend to lay another assault on those who no longer capable to fight."
"And you thought wrong, Naruto! Now reap the reward of your stupidity! Sen Umigi-AAAAAARGH!?" Blood splattered from every part of his body. "W… What!?"
"…I failed my exam three times. I need to be explained 10 times about a single handseal. But, I'm not idiot enough to let someone as dangerous as you unguarded. Fuuton, Hanemono! (Feather Web)"
Fujiki gaped and finally realized. He was completely surrounded by a formation of nearly invisible wind feathers, surrounding the swordsman in a web like formation, with him at the center. The swordsman grinned. "When the hell did you…"
"When I set up Raiton Raimono, I secretly cast Fuuton Hanemono, overlapping the two webs altogether."
The swordsman chuckled. "You don't seriously believe to imprison me like this now do you?"
"That was a very good idea."
"Very funny." Fujiki gritted his teeth. Grabbing Kuroumi, he began spinning the blade, ignoring the searing pain as the wind feathers generate cuts allover his body. The spinning gets faster and faster. "Tako Hachitouryu…!"
"!!" Naruto gasped.
The spinning went faster and faster. The wind generated from the spin began to corrode the wind feathers. "…Sandai… KURO ARASHI!" (…Third…Black Storm!) At the point where the spinning seemingly reached its top, it resembled exactly what it was named. A black storm. Naruto was so enthralled that he almost forgot to dodge when the black storm suddenly changed its direction and head straight at him. Naruto jumped to the side and the attack drill its way through the wall, creating a second hole on the Kraken. The Jounins outside immediately moved out of the way when the storm burst out. The storm crashed on the ship Tako Giri 3, and thankfully it stopped there. The end of the extended Kuroumi can be seen sank deep to the ship's bridge, whilst the other end was still in Fujiki's hand. He swordsman immediately pulled it back. The blades retracted to its original length.
Naruto gulped. "What the… you're still hiding a Kenjutsu like that?"
"Excuse me; I've fought various kinds of Ninjutsu powerhouse. You are the worst. First fire then water, then fire again, and then thunder, then earth, then wind, and then twice fire… I'm not the one who had thrown at least about 20 jutsu with 6-7 elements in this brief 5 minutes. How many jutsu you know?"
"You want me to write you a list? Sorry, never good at remembering things. I just throw the first jutsu that came to my mind."
"In any case, I think I'll just slam you again. This time you won't be so lucky. That web of yours diluted the concentrated power of Kuro Arashi. The next will have the strength and speed 6 times the previous. Don't hope you can dodge this one!"
"Dodge?" Two Naruto answered. The two began creating one big rasengan in the middle of their palms. "Who said about dodging?"
Fujiki grinned and say no more. He began spinning his Kuroumi again when a sudden mysterious surge flowed throughout his veins. 'Tch… hang on… just one more hit… hang in there.' The spinning went undisturbed. A few moments later, it reached critical speed. At this, Naruto couldn't even see Fujiki's arms anymore. They simply vanished. Only black swirls are visible, enclosing the boy. "Kuro…"
Two Naruto pressed their hands; the Rasengan had reached ultimate compact form. A miniature typhoon was condensed in a solid and transparent wall of spherical chakra. "Oodama…"
"ARASHI!"
"RASENGAN!"
Black Iron storm met Blue Chakra typhoon. The two attacks collided and extreme gust of wind burst out. The rubbles in the arena were pushed against the wall, easily pulverizing the metal wall. Some of the floor's metal palettes were even ripped off its frame. Naruto's clone was puffed out, but the original remained. The pressure of the wind can be felt even by those outside the arena. The cameras that supposed to monitor the fight can no longer do its job. The lens was broken and the whole thing got squished flat due to the pressure.
Namimaru simply gasped. 'All the history of Fujiki-sama's fights, no one has ever gone to this extent!'
Meanwhile, the two attacks still on a stage of stalemate, but slowly but sure; the Black Storm began to pierce its way through the Rasengan Sphere and continued to drill its way. Naruto noticed this and frowned. Fujiki grunted and continue to charge forward. 'Just a little bit more… I'm winning!'
Naruto held out. Just then, he felt the black storm began to slow down. The two combatants realized this. And Naruto doubled his effort. But the Rasengan was getting smaller and smaller. It's losing its rotation as well. Then again, the same can also be said to Fujiki's black storm. The grandiose wind that once accompanied the collision of the attacks was slowly dying down.
And then, just suddenly, the Rasengan explodes releasing a burst of gale before disappeared, gone. The black storm finally went through, and crashed on Naruto's left palm. Blood splattered allover Kuroumi. But before the blade can go through any deeper, the rotation stopped. Fujiki grunted. He was too late. Kuro Arashi had lost too much of its potent destructive power coping with Naruto's Oodama Rasengan. Naruto used this chance and grabbed the blade. In fact, he purposefully let some of its jagged blade to sink into his flesh. More blood flowed from his palm. But Naruto doesn't care. He had gone through more disastrous pain then this. With a roar, he pulled the blade towards him. Caught by surprise, Fujiki got carried along. Halfway through the extended Kuroumi, Naruto let go his grip. His body started falling forward, as if he's about to faint. Fujiki, who lost balance, took a few steps forward. By this time, Fujiki was just a step away from Naruto. The blond suddenly stomp his right leg forward. The swordsman caught the sound of a typhoon from below. He widened his eyes.
Naruto grinned. Another, smaller yet perfectly formed Rasengan was just inches away from his stomach. "Here's an extra."
Fujiki didn't have time to gasp; Naruto slammed the Rasengan full at his stomach.
The attack twirled his rubber like stomach, but only to an extent. The exploding force of the attack finally tossed him away, spinning him like a twirling twig before smashed him up to the wall.
Naruto heaved and panted. Kami-sama! Ain't he tired or what? He looked at Fujiki. What kind of monster is he? He didn't seem to have another demon sealed within him. Nor was he trained by some half god like Itachi… he didn't even show any possession of some bloodline limit. He walked carefully; pick up Tenrou which he had randomly tossed when he wanted to create the Rasengan. Slowly he approached the crater where the swordsman lay. And there he saw it. Fujiki, panting, blood poured from his head and every wound he had given him. But above all, much to Naruto's shock, he's still awake.
"O… ouch… that hurt… a lot."
"…am I supposed to be happy?"
The swordsman laughed. "Dunno…URP!" the Jounin suddenly went rigid, shocking Naruto.
"Wha… what now?"
Fujiki grabbed his chest. Veins suddenly began appearing, and his muscles began bulging in an abnormally fluctuating rate. He grasped both of his forearms. His shoulder bulged about thrice the size it once was. His hand inflated, his thin fingers bulked like balloons. Following, his chest enlarged into two mounds of chest. His diminutive stomach inflated, and it's about 100 times… or probably larger then its previous state, folds of stomach appeared as his undersized pants tightened. His slim and long legs extend a bit, but the thigh immediately enlarges to the size of Naruto's waist. Fujiki's head also changed. His neck and chin melded, and his thin cheek bulged. By the time everything is over, the thin, cute kid that Naruto's been fighting was no more. Instead, a huge, extremely obese purple haired man with wounds allover him, lay in front of Naruto.
"Fujiki? What in the world are… you?"
A loud sound of stomach growling echoed from the man's stomach. The swordsman groaned. "F… Food…"
Naruto wiped his shock. He went outside and yelled for food through the holes they made. A moment later, the door to the arena opened, and Namimaru, with a dozen Jounin carrying various kinds of food barged in. Neji and Yukiku were among them.
"Naruto!" Neji ran at Naruto whose hand still dripping with blood. But the holes in his hand began to close slowly as Chakra sip out through them. But Naruto paid no heed. He looked at Fujiki, who began eating the meal brought to him.
A few minutes after, the fat-man had already gulped his twentieth ramen along with his fifth turkey when he noticed Naruto. He chuckled. "It would seem…" Fujiki put down his empty bowl. "…an explanation and a supper are in order. Namimaru, if you please? And invite their sensei as well."
"Yes… Fujiki sama. But I don't think the sensei won't be joining. Back then during the climax, he jumped off from the ship. Saying he had some errands. Minna-san. You can pick whatever you like from this pile." Namimaru pointed at plate of dishes.
The three suddenly realized how hungry they were. Without further ado, the three walk slowly, took whatever food they like and sit in front of Fujiki as they eat.
The swordman wolfed down three more steaks when he started speaking. "As you well know, in the past, our village was called the bloody mist village. When we initiated from the academy we were put to test by killing our comrade in a deathmatch. That way, we have ensured to create the most ruthless assassin in the world. Although since Zabuza case it was no longer performed, the byproducts are still lingering around. And as you've guessed, I'm one of them. When I fight Naruto, I may looked like in my 13. But no. In truth, I'm already 25. I've invented a taijutsu technique which contort and fold fat within my body. Naruto, in case you're wondering where I hid all that weapons, that's your answer: I hid them within the folds of compressed fat."
Naruto nodded. Now it started to make sense. The 16 weight whipblades he used to lashes him can be bent and slipped within the folds of his body. The Kuroumi can be extended and encircled allover the folds of his body as well.
"But… why did you become so fa- oops." Yukiku spluttered.
The fat man heaved. "…when I killed my teammate during the graduation, I also suffered a grievous injury, an injury that mounted to an infection, and then a seemingly incurable disease. This disease robbed me of my strength. My body over utilize the calories, making me tired ever so easily, forcing me to consume large amount of Hyorogan in hourly basis to last the day. Overdose in the substance finally resulted in me being a total junkie by the time I was 9, already a Chuunin, forming a sadistic tendency and uber-megalomania behavior and a bit of sadomasochism. And finally, two months later, I got suspended, forbidden from entering any mission and was put into a tight rehab in some mental hospital. After two years, I regained my sanity. Although as you can see, when we fight, some of the old behavior tends to resurface."
"Is this… Octotriathlon thingy was also the result of your… old behavior resurfacing?"
"…no. The crazed old me is one thing, this Octotriathlon thingy is another. I'm perfectly sane when I designed the games."
"You call a battle royal; with bombs on our necks, an underwater tag game with a bomb, sane?"
"I have reasons in which I can convince you otherwise. Anyway, I'm still scared at the time. Afraid of what I will be if I am to get out of the hospital and return to my junkie self. It was during this period, instead of consuming hyorogan again, I resolved to eat a grotesque amount of food. The hospital off course, realized I'm eating the portion of 10 men for breakfast. They finally arranged a program of diet and physical training… I got on that program for 5 years. And perhaps a miracle, I was, somewhat, partially cured from my massive calorie overuse, albeit not entirely, for I still need to eat a lot to maintain my body metabolism, but I'm able to get a healthy 3 (large) meals a day and survived. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready to enter another mission, I was faced with another fact: few years off the action and grotesque eating habit had affected me, and by the time I was out of the hospital, I'm an overweight equaling that of a baby whale and I'm also incapable of performing even the simplest jutsu. Somewhat heartbroken, I almost jumped back to drugs again. That's when… I invented… no, was taught this jutsu. Initially, I used this jutsu to shrink my body. Further training, and now I'm able to alter my appearance as well to that of my 13 year old appearance, the form that I found most effective and comfortable to use in a fight. However, this jutsu used a lot of energy to maintain. As the result, I again had to resolve to eat large amount of food again."
Two nodded, understanding the swordsman situation, but Yukiku still a bit… perplexed. "Sorry if I seem annoying, but you've undergone a five years long diet program. While I'm happy that you've healed of your calorie overuse… don't you feel regret that, now again, you had to eat at insane amount… and gaining weight again?"
"Typical girls. But years of eating had turned me into quite a gourmet person, and I enjoyed it. On the other hand, imagine if you have to choose between being a lunatic sadist with acute masochistic compulsion every minute, and being a big fat happy nin with an attitude. And on a side note, I had not gained a gram above 350 kg ever since I mastered this jutsu."
"Okay. Point taken." The girl relented.
Fujiki crunched a lobster before swallowing it up full and belched. "Awwwww… But damn, you're strong Naruto. Freaking strong. But dumb."
"…are you inferring about back then, when I turned you only half dead?"
"Why didn't you promote me to full-dead?"
"Look. I seriously want to kill you back there. But you survived, and that is your luck."
"I don't believe in luck. And there's definitely pity in your eyes back there."
"So what do you want? Rematch?"
"I still have a few more jutsu up my sleeve! Of course I want a rematch!"
"Speaking of which, how many days we have left?"
Fujiki blinked. 'Oh yeah… my bad habit resurfacing again.' "Let's see… you guys came here on day 2, this is day 3. The Kraken can get to Kirigakure in 1 day. Don't worry. See? Plenty of time."
Naruto groaned. Just then, the ship suddenly shook. Everyone lost balance, and the food went flying to every direction. Fujiki, recovered from the shock almost immediately, transformed into his 13 year old self. "What happened!?"
A jounin came running answered: "Central section's western hull got hit! We're under attack!"
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End of part 2
Deidara's days in Interrogation
Minichapter 7:
Therapy
A week after…
Athrun dragged the somewhat comatose Deidara on tow. The sand trio looked at their prisoner. Now, they pity Deidara a lot more. He was mumbling gibberish, something along the lines of madman, strippers, gays, and dicks.
Tenten stared at the downtrodden Akatsuki. She gulped. "Anoo… Athrun-sensei?"
"Yep?"
"Can you give him a break?"
"Why, I was thinking the same thing. I admit the last one was a bit too early."
Shikamaru sweat dropped. "What are you going to do to him now?"
"Well, I'm going to give him a therapy. Hopefully, we can get his head out of the clouds by then."
Few moments later…
"Well, I said head out of the clouds now… did I?"
"Out of the clouds… yeah right." Gaara looked up; as he saw the almost vomiting Deidara performed his nth bungee jumping from a 4000 km tower Athrun made with Alchemy.
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Just one more part to go!