Once Kankuro was carried out of the arena, both ankles close to being completely being broken up on a field diagnosis, the next two competitors stepped down into the ring. While Konayuki's attire had changed, Sai's hadn't so much. In fact, the only real change was that he had a large scroll hanging across his back.
Konayuki stood across from Sai, arms crossed after she had stabbed the large bandaged sword on her back into the ground at her side. Sai on the other hand fingered the special scroll he used for his choju giga techniques at his side, flicking the end of the brush in and out of the scroll.
As the two stared each other off, Genma waited the minute required between matches before announcing the beginning of the fourth match. "Match between Konayuki and Sai… Hajime!" he announced as he leapt away.
Instead of reaching for his scroll, Sai quickly withdrew a set of kunai from his tool pouch before taking aim at Konayuki, who at the moment had yanked the large sword from the ground and had pulled a loose-hanging bandage from the side.
Not giving any mind to why she had the massive weapon wrapped up, the pale-skinned boy quickly launched the four kunai at the Itezora girl, then quickly sending a half-dozen shuriken her way in the timeframe of three seconds.
Before they struck her however, the large sword, now fully revealed, was swung through the air at tremendous speeds, slicing all the weapons in half and sending them away from her.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want to defeat me!" Konayuki said as she brandished her large sword to the side, now revealed to be the late Zabuza Momochi's Kubikiribocho.
"Hmmmm… I had heard rumors of Zabuza passing his sword to a girl," Sai mused as he drew his own nodachi, out of habit more than anything else. "Now then, seeing as how you have your own weapon-"
Kashiin!
The next moment Sai found his nodachi slashed in half before he could even blink, his eyes landing on Konayuki as she held her sword out as though she had just slashed something with it.
I didn't even see her attack, Sai mused as he quickly backpedaled. Given, he was above chunin rank in terms of skill alone but not by title, but anyone could get slashed regardless of power or skill. "Ninpou: Choju Giga," he called out as he quickly whipped out his brush and his scroll, the ink spreading across it at inhuman speeds before a dozen ink lions were summoned to the field.
Without the vocal orders, the lions all charged at the Itezora with claws and fangs readied, all aimng to take the girl apart limb by limb.
"You'll have to do better than that!" she said as she quickly stuffed her ponytail into the back of her cloak, then swung her sword out at the first ink beast, cleaving it in two before swinging it around, bashing another two. When she leapt away, the three ink lions fell to the ground in puddles of ink, the next six charging at her from all sides. "Take this! Hissatsu: Kubikiri Bumeran!" she called out as she leapt backwards in a powerful spin past two of the lions trying to surround her, the ground exploding from the force before she threw the sword through the air.
The next moment it flew through the air in a wide arc, much like Zabuza himself did when he was holding the sword, three lions getting cleaved by the first swing with the remaining three getting cleaved by the return trip.
On the return trip however, instead of returning to Konayuki, the Kubikiribocho stabbed itself into the side of the arena wall, Konayuki appearing via Kiri Shunshin and standing on the handle in the same way Zabuza did. Had Kakashi been there, he would've been greatly shocked to see someone else using that sword in the same way, and to such effects.
"Nine down, three to go!" Konayuki said as she leapt off the handle and formed the tiger seal. "Suiton: Teppodama!" she called out from the air above the arena as she suddenly launched three massive spheres of water towards the remaining ink lions at Sai's sides, the attacks gaining even more power with the gravity boost.
The lions, unable to get out of the way fast enough, were completely flattened by the attack, leaving three large, ink-lined puddles in the attack's wake. Sai on the other hand was able to get out of the way in time, though the scroll he was using got a bit wet from the attack, and he lost at least half his ink.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Konayuki called out as she formed a shadow clone at her side, then launched it towards the Kubikiribocho embedded into the wall. The clone quickly ripped the sword from the wall, taking a large chunk of it with her before throwing it to the mid-flight Konayuki and dispelling afterwards. "Hissatsu: Kubikiri Kanazuchi!" she called out as she slammed the five foot diameter chunk of concrete to where Sai was now, completely flattening him and kicking up a massive cloud of dust that blocked the two from view.
"Looks like *pant pant pant* I overdid it a little," she said lifting the sword up, a crushed Sai in the middle of an eight foot-deep crater. "Hmm?"
To her surprise, the Sai in the crater began to turn even paler than usual, the "outlines" of his body growing more pronounced as he began to turn into a puddle of ink at the bottom of the crater.
"An impressive feat of strength," Sai spoke as he came out from behind a tree perfectly fine, save the soaked scroll in his hand. "Had I not used the Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu, I would've surely perished. Still, in the books I've read, it always said that men were stronger than women, but then again there's Tsunade. I'm not really sure what to believe anymore."
"Hm. I'm actually glad you're alright," she said panting slightly. Moving so fast when she wasn't used it it was more exhausting, since her frame was built for strength rather than speed. "I was afraid this match would end too soon."
In response, Sai could only smile that fake smile he wore, since he didn't know how to smile with his heart and his face. Just the prior.
"Yes, and regardless of how fun it's been… I'll have to cut this match short," he said as he cut the rope holding the large scroll across his back, leaping out of the silverette's range before throwing the scroll, said scroll enlarging itself until it was ten feet across. "Choju Giga: Gosumiryu!" Sai called out as the scroll fully unfurled itself across the arena, revealing a massive oriental dragon picture. The brush strokes were so thick, that the boy must've used a brush larger than himself to make it, and innumerable gallons of ink to do so.
The next moment, a massive shockwave shook the air before a massive oriental dragon, six feet thick and over a hundred long, rose into the sky above the arena, a loud roar filling the air and scaring everyone in the arena shitless before it lunged at Konayuki.
As the massive ink dragon bore down on her, intent on completely crushing her, she began kneading chakra within her body and flashed through a set of handseals, waiting for the right moment to use the technique. If she was a moment too early, the technique might still get through, and if she were a moment too late, she'd bear its full brunt.
Tiger – Snake – Rat – Snake – Tiger
"Suiton: Suijinheki!" Konayuki called out as she loosed a large amount of water from her mouth and onto the ground. At the moment the Gosumiryu impacted the rising wall of water, the sheer force of the attack began to grind it down as it charged into it, making it nothing more than a large streak of ink as it was carried into the sky above the arena.
A few seconds later when the last of the attack had ended, Konayuki released the jutsu, a large amount of water falling towards the arena, drenching the center as well as Sai who wasn't quite prepared for such a powerful defense. Konayuki on the other hand had quickly unsealed one of the armored umbrella from Kiri that she had received from Hagetaka, then sealed it back into a seal she sewed onto her tool pouch once the deluge had ended.
Thank kami… I was worried for a second, Naruto and Washi both sighed, releasing a breath they didn't know they were holding.
As the last of the risen wall of water from her attack fell into the arena, drenching the ground and everyone there, Sai did something that no ROOT operative would ever do.
He gawked at what had just happened. The Choju Giga: Gosumiryu, his most powerful technique to date, requiring a week of preparation just to be performed once, as well as nearly all of his chakra, had been completely stopped. Due to the fact that Konayuki was being trained with the ANBU Usagi, ROOT couldn't keep tabs on her training without getting caught. The same thing could be said for Naruto, since he had trained with the Gama Sannin, as well as out of ROOT's eye. He didn't even want to think about who he was dealing with when the brunette in the match before was flying. Normally a ROOT operative was trained to be an emotionless tool, but the fact was in the best of cases, they could only work 90% of the emotion out of you, though the majority had 85% worked out of them. Since he was young he only had 60% worked out, so to be as trumped as he was, that brought out the remaining emotions he had in him.
Surely Danzo-sama will be disappointed in this lapse of control, Sai thought to himself as he picked his jaw up from the ground.
"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu," Konayuki called with her right hand formed into the tiger seal, her left hand held above her head forming the other half of the seal as the water that had accumulated during the match rose out of the ground and into the air, forming a thick mist that continued to thicken by the second.
I see… So she's using the water created from her previous techniques for this one, Sai thought to himself as he looked around, trying to find his opponent through the mist as it continued to thicken. Even though the sun was still out, because it wasn't directly over the arena, half of the mist was now in the shade, and would be staying for a long time.
The next moment a set of footsteps could be heard from his left, causing him to whirl around and throw a kunai at the source of the sound. When no sound came from the impact, he suddenly heard a set of footsteps right behind him.
How did she get behind me? he mused as he looked around, suddenly hearing sets of footsteps rise and fade from different directions all at once.
"There are eight weak points on the human body…" a gravely voice spoke through the mist, a chill going up the spines of those listening. "The larynx, the spine, the liver, the lungs, the jugular, the subclavian artery, the kidneys, and the heart. Now… which one shall I strike first?" the voice said as a set of silhouettes began to appear around the pale-skinned boy.
Sai quickly shunshined onto the railing above the arena in order to get a better view of the arena. However, even though he could see through the mist that was in the sun, the half that was still in the shade was still hidden, and the possibility of a counterattack existed.
The next moment however a large sword suddenly came at him from below aimed at where he was standing, narrowly rolling out of the way before Konayuki's massive sword came down onto the railing and cutting halfway through it.
The next moment a large figure leapt onto the railing along with him, sword in hand and poised to attack again. The man holding the sword was tall and noticeably muscular with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and nearly nonexistent eyebrows. He was wearing bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face, and had his hitae-ate on his head sideways. He was bare-chested with only a belt going around his neck from his waistline, was wearing baggy pants with a stiped pattern typical of Kiri-nin, and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows with matching leg-warmsers, and bandages loosely tied around his neck like a scarf.
The pale-skinned man then raised his sword and swung it at the pale-skinned boy, who just narrowly flipped backwards on the railing before running for his life from the sword-wielding giant.
As Sai continued to run for his life from the massive sword, some of the ninja in the crowd thought that Zabuza had infiltrated the exams, but then realized that since Zabuza had been reported dead for over a month, that Konayuki must've used the Henge no Jutsu to transform into him, hence why there was a Konoha hitae-ate on his head sideways instead of a Kiri headband. For what reason they didn't know, though it was incredibly terrifying, and the form did give greater reach.
The next moment, another Zabuza with the same sword vaulted over onto the railing before running at Sai as well, surrounding him from both flanks. Now, it went without saying that a fighter couldn't just hop out of the ring onto the other side of the railing to avoid the attacks, and people getting onto the railing was so rare in the first place for practical reasons, that there was never a rule made against it.
Seeing as how the two "Zabuza" were coming at him from both sides, and noticing that the mist was about to clear up, he took a leap of faith back into the arena. However, when he did so, not only did the two "Zabuza" from above follow him, but another half-dozen joined the chase as well.
Strange, by their formation, it's almost like they're herding me toward… Sai mused as the mist began to clear rapidly, his opponent being revealed in front of him with the Kubikiribocho stabbed into the ground behind her out of arm's reach.
The next moment, in what Sai could've only guessed was a genjutsu, a black and white-outlined version of Konayuki with the kanji for Uchi Naru Konayuki on its forehead appeared behind her. The next moment the two of them clenched their fists before Konayuki sent her right foot forward into a kick.
"Shannaro!" Konayuki growled with a completely pissed off face at the moment her foot connected to the spot between Sai's legs, which he'd left unguarded in the chase. The next moment-
" . . . " was all that was spoken befor-
"YAAAAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOEY!" Sai cried as he was sent into the distance off of Konayuki's foot, a small light like a star appearing in the distance at the moment he left everyone's sight.
As the black-and-white boy flew off into the distance, an awkward silence permeated the air as everyone tried to digest what had just happened. After a minute of tapping her foot, Konayuki turned to the referee and coughed loudly to get his attention. She was a patient girl, sure, but only when the situation called for it.
"Uhhh…" Genma uhhhed intelligently. "Seeing as how Sai has… left the ring… the winner by default is Konayuki!"
"Woohoo! I won!" the silverette cheered happily despite the total 180 she'd taken earlier, the crowd joining soon after once they had gotten the dumbstruck expressions off their faces.
Meanwhile all across the arena, the match had mixed results among the audience.
Whatever Kiri-nin were there began panicking at the prospect of someone else being capable of wielding the Kubikiribocho close to Zabuza's level now in Konoha. It also didn't help that she used his signature technique, or that she had shown near jounin-level proficiency with her Suiton jutsu.
The Rookie 12 on the other hand were totally shocked by what they'd seen. Sure, they thought she was a bit weird when she threatened to beat Sakura over the head with Iruka's desk, and that itself should've been an indicator, but for her to be so fierce in combat, well, Kiba was having second thoughts on trying to make Konayuki his "mate", since after seeing all this, she could probably rip his nuts off with her bare hands –or gloved hands- just as easily as she had swung the massive sword around.
Naruto and Washi were glad that Konayuki got out of the match without any serious injuries, if none at all, and were both looking forward to working with her in the future, if not a little more than usual. Washi on another note knew almost immediately that in a spar, that without being able to use moves that could cripple her, or vice versa, she could easily take him down. Of course, he wasn't a sexist, but raising his siblings from the age of 12 caused him to develop a bit of a protective streak of those around him.
Meanwhile in the betting circles, Anko was laughing like a crazy person –or at least someone "crazier" than Anko- as she practically rolled around in all the money she'd won, since all three of her genin had won their matches. Betting pools couldn't be made for if they'd all make chunin since even the most skilled genin could be denied and it would be a fool's bet, though while Anko relished the money she'd won, he himself was sealing the stacks of money he himself had won onto a storage scroll. It still appalled Ibiki as to how many people were willing to bet against Naruto because of old grudges, but at the least, he and Anko had made money off of it; He'd be sure to give them a cut from each of their winnings at a later date.
At the same time, while every guy in the arena paled and held their nuts defensively, a bandaged man with his right eye and arm covered could only pale, but couldn't do the latter because he only had one good hand, and would look ridiculous if he broke his stoic facade.
Years of ROOT training… wasted… he paled, allowing a shudder to go up his spine in what felt like years since the last time as Sai disappeared into the distance. Oh well. I'm sure Sai will pull himself together. If it were Tsunade on the other hand, I might have to send out a search party for him.
With that on everyone's minds, the next match, the much-anticipated match between Gaara Sabaku, the son of the Yondaime Kazekage, and Sasuke Uchiha, the last member of the "prestegious" Uchiha Clan, would be starting very soon.
Shino's match on a sparate note would be against Konayuki, and the winner of that match against the winner of the match Sasuke was in, leaving Naruto to fight Temari in the next match. If things continued playing out as they were, a very interesting bracket of matches would soon unfold.
Thought I'd make Konayuki's match against Sai a little more fast-paced than Shikamaru's. Also, points to anyone who can find the little cameo that appeared in this chapter.
Also, as for the translations for Konayuki's Hissatsu attacks, I know a little about Japanese syllables translated into English, so if any of the ones I've invented are wrong despite that, please let me know and I'll fix it.
Translations:
Hissatsu: Kubikiri Bumeran = Sure Kill: Decapitating Carving Boomerang
Hissatsu: Kubikiri Kanazuchi = Sure Kill: Decapitating Carving Hammer
Kiri Shunshin = Mist Body Flicker Tecnhique
Suiton: Teppodama = Water Release: Gunshot
Suiton: Suijinheki = Water Release: Water Encampment Wall
Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu = Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique
Uchi Naru Konayuki = Inner Konayuki
"Shannaro!" = "Hell yeah!" (in this context, but can also mean "Hell no!", or "Damn it!")
Ninpou: Choju Giga = Ninja Art: Super Beast Imitation Picture
Choju Giga: Gosumiryu = Super Beast Imitation Picture: Grand Ink Dragon
Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu = Ink Clone Technique