I don't own Naruto and I never have, probably never will. Can never tell for sure though.
Nightfall!
Chapter 36: Battle Royal
Naruto landed in a rather open part of the field and quickly looked around observing how the fight had started. Several ninja had already been eliminated, and a large group of mostly jounin were all eying him hoping to be the one to take out the so called 'Hero'.
"How's it going guys. You wouldn't hurt a kid would you?" Naruto said in a mock scared voice.
It had no effect on the other ninja. They were still looking like they were ready to strike. "I don't know why some punk like you would be considered a war hero. You don't look like anything special to me" a tall bald man in a dark blue Kiri jounin outfit said.
Naruto shrugged. "Well if you ask me I don't consider myself a hero either, but if you really want to find out why, I guess you should just attack me and find out for yourselves" Naruto said changing from a scared genin persona to that of a confident and competent ninja.
'What the hell is it with this kid, one second he acts like a child the next he is basically asking for us to kick his ass' on of the jounin thought.
The group of ninja all acted at the same time and jumped forward to attack. Naruto was impressed they were actually working together do defeat him. But he wasn't going to let them win, and quickly jumping into the air Naruto waited until the small group was directly below him before releasing a wave of gravity downward sending the ninja crashing into the ground and knocking them out of the competition.
(Meanwhile)
Akaru was having a slightly harder time dealing with two jounin that had teamed up against him. 'Heh these guys are not too bad' he thought as he deftly shifted out of the way of a swipe from a blunted blade used in this competition to prevent casualties.
The jounin were keeping up their attacks not giving the Yoinokuchi ninja a chance to counter thanks to the teamwork from the two other ninja. "You know, I think you were stronger during the war" one of jounin said with a smile as Akaru dodged his punch.
Akaru smiled as he escaped the attack rolling to attempt a kick back at the jounin but was blocked by his partner. "So you knew me during the civil war?" he asked.
"Yeah that's right, we both did, you were one of the two mercenaries assigned to our division. Both you and the the young girl you had with you were incredibly strong. But I was just a chunin then" the other jounin replied.
"Well, I'm sorry that you think I have gotten weaker, I was once known as the best Raiton element user in the Land of Lightning, I guess I should try to live up to that reputation at least. Raiton: Blinding Flash" Akaru said with a small smirk.
A bright flash of light seemed to radiate out of the former Kumo ninja blinding all other ninja in the area allowing Akaru to knock the two jounin to the ground.
As the fighting continued more and more ninja were being eliminated. Naruto and Akaru were easily dispatching of any ninja that attacked them but for the most part Naruto was sitting back and watching. There were several reasons but mostly Naruto didn't want to show off and win the match to easily. It was supposed to be an event to allow the ninja of Kiri to showcase their talents after all, so despite the fact that it would have been possible for him to win with a single relatively powerful gravity jutsu he decided to sit back and allow the others to fight it out.
Akaru on the other hand was more involved, and was showing that he was a superior ninja to most of the competition, but when you spend time training and on missions with people like Zabuza and Itachi, you are always bound to improve.
As the numbers began thinning out everyone could see that the ninja remaining were much stronger than the others and with twenty ninja left it showed that Kiri was steadily recovering from the civil war and the quality of their ninja along with it.
Akaru was currently engaged with a short middle aged jounin with short spiky brown hair. And Akaru had to admit that this ninja had some serious talent. They were evenly matched in taijutsu, every punch one would make the other new exactly how to counter it. 'There is something about this guy, it's like he knows all my moves before I make them, yet whenever he attacks he seems to be predictable. There is no way someone can be that much better in defense than attack' Akaru thought as he easily dodged an attack trying to counter only to have his opponent block the attack. 'He is so fast when he attempts to block yet slow with everything else... why?'.
Again Akaru went to strike only to have his attack easily blocked. Trying to press his attacks harder Akaru tried increasing his speed as much as possible but his opponent seemed to become just fast enough to match him every time he attempted a new attack. And still as soon as the Kiri ninja attempted to attack back he was slow. 'That's it, what a simple little trick how did I fail to sense it' "I finally figured out your technique, you are using a genjutsu to slow my movements when I attack but you need to release it when you want to attack yourself" Akaru said proudly.
The Kiri ninja began to sweat, running wasn't an option either. "Kai!" Akaru yelled as he charged and the genjutsu around him dropped.
Now Akaru's superior speed was evident and it wasn't long before the genjutsu using Kiri ninja was on his back and up on the board his name was crossed off the still active competitors list.
The fighting continued, and it wasn't long before the numbers fell to only a handful. There was Naruto, Akaru and three other Kiri ninja. Among them was the young man who accompanied Ao to meet them off the boat. He carried a rather weird looking sword and had elected not to use the ones offered to contestants to avoid serious injuries. This intrigued Naruto and he quickly made his way over to his fellow teen. "How's it going" Naruto said with a friendly wave ignoring the other ninja who were attacking each other.
The Kiri ninja almost jumped out of his skin at Naruto's sudden arrival. "Ah hello" he said shakily.
His timid attitude interested Naruto. 'Just earlier he was confident and has been able to last this far so he must be strong, but now he seems weak. It could be a trick but I don't think so, maybe he just doesn't have confidence in his ability or at least when he isn't fighting' he thought. "You're a little too on edge you should try to relax more".
"Yes Mei-sama tells me the same thing, but Ao sempai always says to be on guard at all time" the teen replied.
"And why can't you do both? Some things are much easier to do if you are relaxed. What's your name anyway?" Naruto asked in a friendly manner.
"Cho- Chojuro" the teen stammered in reply.
"Well then Chojuro, let me ask you, do you find it easier to spot the difference between a friendly movement and a deadly attack when you are all jumpy like you are now, or if you are relaxed?" Naruto asked.
"Well... um relaxed I guess, it is always easier to spot killer intent and chakra signatures when you are calm" Chojuro answered.
Naruto smiled and nodded. "Exactly, also if you are nervous or jumpy people will just naturally make more mistakes. If learn to remain calm while being both confident and smart you will not only become stronger you will make your opponents think twice about challenging you. Itachi sensei taught me that" he said.
"I see, I think I understand. I need to keep calm and focus rather than to always be expecting an attack, Thank you I think I understand what Mei-sama and Ao sempai have been telling me now" Chojuro said.
"Nah no need to thank me, just calm down then show me what you can do, I'll wait for you to make the first move" Naruto said and prepared himself for an attack.
Chojuro was shocked at that, he didn't expect someone to openly let him attack them in the middle or a free for all brawl. But he wasn't going to pass up on the opportunity either. Grabbing his double hilted blade he decided he would follow Naruto advice and calm himself. A few seconds later his anxiety seemed to leave him and the Kiri ninja attacked. Swiping his sword though the air a large amount of concentrated chakra shot from the end right at the blond jinchuuriki.
Naruto eyes widened slightly as the chakra blast came in. 'So that's why he wields that massive thing, it's a long range and short range capabilities. Also from the size of it, it seems like it would make a decent shield as well' Naruto thought jumping to the side just as the blast would have hit.
Chojuro was shocked nobody had ever escaped one of his attacks from such a close range before. 'Woah he dodged it! Well I shouldn't be so surprised, this is the person who defeated Yagura when he was thirteen, and is known as the Hero of the Mist'.
Naruto looked at the large crater formed by the blast. "Impressive, to use an attack that could kill you must have been confident that I would either dodge or be able to block the attack in some way" he said.
"Well it's not so much that. I know that if I want to stand a chance at defeating you I need to go for the kill, it's the only chance I really have, if I hold back even a little bit you will defeat me, I am not fool to think that this means I can win, but it will at least give me a chance to test how strong I really am" Chojuro said.
Naruto chuckled. "You know what, I can respect that. You want to test your limits, so do I. I'm always looking for new challenges and obstacles to overcome. It makes life interesting don't you think" Naruto said.
"I do, but I also have one request" Chojuro said.
"Oh and what would that be?" Naruto asked.
"Take off your weighted clothing, I want to fight you while you are not impeded by any restrictions" Chojuro said.
"If I do that I will become much faster and stronger than I am already, knowing this do you still wish to fight me without my weighted cloak?" Naruto asked preparing to undo the top button.
"I don't care, I want you to fight me seriously so I know how strong I am in comparison to you" Chojuro said.
Naruto shrugged, it was a reasonable request after all. "Alright if you insist I will fight seriously" he said before tossing his Yoinokuchi robe into the air, leaving him standing there in black ninja pants but no top.
'He has no armor at all! The only thing protecting him was that weighted robe. Is he that confident he wont be harmed?' Chojuro thought as the robe hit the ground with a massive thud creating a massive crater along with a small shockwave that the whole stadium could feel. It was then that Chojuro felt he may have just made a small mistake.
Naruto took off without the extra weight he was almost as fast as Akimi and Chojuro only narrowly wa able to use the large shield like side of his blade to block the attack.
Chojuro tried to use the blocked attack as an opportunity to counter but by the time he had swung his leg around for the kick Naruto was already gone.
The crowd had all but forgotten Akaru's duel with the other remaining Kiri ninja, they were too absorbed watching Naruto and Chojuro. Naruto was relentless but at the same time seemed to refuse to finish the young swordsman off. Every hit that should have been a finishing blow in the end was only struck lightly enough to stun Chojuro.
Chojuro stumbled back unable to keep up. 'It's no good, he is just too fast, I can't keep up' he thought. Dropping his arms to his side he closed his eyes and waited for a final strike but it never came. Opening one eye he saw Naruto standing with his arms crossed.
"Do you know why you failed?" Naruto asked flatly.
The swordsman was breathing heavily from all the hits he took "You're too fast, there is no chance at blocking you" Chojuro panted.
Naruto shook his head. "I used to think like that, but if that was the case why isn't the fastest ninja always the victor?" Naruto said.
"There are many styles of fighting. So speed isn't always the best weapon" Chojuro said.
"But how can you catch someone in a genjutsu or strike with ninjutsu if they can just doge it. The answer was given to me like this, you attack in the moment and defend ahead of it" Naruto said.
"Huh I don't get it what do you mean?" Chojuro asked.
Naruto chuckled. "Funny that's the exact same thing I said when I was told that from my sensei. I means attack instinctively but rather then defend an attack as it happens read where the attack will strike and block that. I am not the fastest member of my group, but I know her movements well enough to be able to avoid almost all of her attack's. You have a great offensive and defensive weapon in that sword of yours but instead of using it to defend your vital areas you tried to block the attack before it even came close trying to keep me at a distance. But all that did was leave a larger gap for me to exploit in behind" Naruto explained.
"I see, every strike you landed hit a vital area that would have killed me had this been a serious fight. I'm a failure of a ninja" Chojuro said flowing his head in shame.
"Don't say that, you are incredibly talented. Rather than doubt yourself improve, so that the next time we meet you can show me how strong you have become. You will be a great ninja for Kiri but just like me you have plenty still to learn" Naruto said.
"Then I promise I will train hard from now on and become a great ninja, and then I want to fight you again" Chojuro said his normal anxiety and timid nature gone.
Naruto smiled. "Good, then I have no problem in ending this now" he said before slamming Chojuro into the ground.
"Why did you go through all that to help me?" Chojuro asked as his name was crossed off of the board.
"I saw the potential you have and I wanted to help, that's all" Naruto shrugged. "You can never have enough rivals, a good rivalry will make both ninja stronger"
Naruto had barely finished his sentence when he was hit with a blast of lightning from behind sending him flying towards the wall.
Naruto spun in mid air so he was facing his attacker as he flew towards the wall. 'Guess that is to be expected, it is an anything goes match' he was just about to hit the wall when he released a burst of gravity to prevent him from hitting and land safely on the ground. "Not bad Akaru, looks like you were able to take out your opponents without too much trouble. So it's just us now then"
Akaru shrugged, "looks that way, I always like to save the best till last after all" he said with a smirk.
"Then what are we waiting for, lets get this over with" Naruto said. A small amount of blood was trickling down his arm from where the Raiton jutsu struck causing some discomfort for the blond but there was no way a simple graze like that would prevent him from finishing the match.
"Raiton: Lightning blast!" both ninja yelled at the same time. The jutsu struck in the middle and canceling each other out.
"The power of your Raiton Jutsu is not as impressive as your Fuuton, probably something you should work on" Akaru said running through another set of seals. "Raiton: Thunder Hounds".
Three large spectral dogs glowing with electricity formed around Naruto, who eyed the creatures suspiciously. 'This is a new one, I haven't seen this jutsu before. They each contain a lot of chakra, I cant afford to get hit by them' he thought as he prepared for the attack to continue.
The three large hounds all shot forward at great speed causing Naruto to jump high out of their range, but just as he thought he was safe one of the dogs opened its mouth and shot a large bolt of lightning at the ninja in mid air and the hound faded away. 'Well fuck me' "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto called.
As soon as the jutsu was repelled the other two also attacked in similar fashion from different angles. 'Ah so he's going for the time it takes for me to recharge my gravity jutsu, and by using two different followup attacks he wants to prevent me from being able to absorb it with Preta path. Clever but nothing I cant handle' the blond thought.
Spinning in mid air Naruto thrust his palms out sending waves of compressed air knocking the lightning away. Before landing calmly a few feet away from Akaru.
Akaru clenched his fist, he was hoping that attack would have worked. 'Naruto's problem solving skills have greatly improved, that was the perfect answer to that jutsu. And I'm not strong or fast enough to challenge him in taijutsu. He is really the worst person that I could ever hope to face off against' he thought as he began running through any jutsu he may have that would work against Naruto only to come draw a blank. 'I'm really gong to let Itachi and Jiraiya-sama have it, they made the kid too strong, I suppose I could use the Thunder Hound jutsu again, but I doubt it will do any better than this time, he already figured out what my plan was after all'.
"Phew, that was close, nice attack, it was almost perfect" Naruto complimented before seemingly disappearing and reappearing behind his fellow Yoinokuchi member.
"I could say the same thing about your defensive capabilities. They are almost perfect, only Gaara could hope to rival them" Akaru said, as he jumped away from Naruto while spinning to face him.
It was a very tentative sort of duel, despite them both knowing that Naruto was the stronger of the two they seemed to be testing each other out, Naruto only ever moving first when it wasn't overly threatening or in an attempt to test the depths of the Raiton users jutsu ability which he had to admit was first class.
"Well it's been fun, but I was never one to throw a fight sorry if you were hoping to win" Naruto said before disappearing in a blur of speed only to reappear seconds later in the air directly above Akaru. "No hard feelings" he said as he extended his arms out. "Shinra Tensei!"
The gravitational pressure was immense but Akaru was managing to stay on his feet even if he couldn't move, the pressure eventually dropped and even he was surprised to see that he was still standing. What he didn't see however was Naruto spin into a dropkick as he came back to earth Naruto's heel striking his shoulder causing him to collapse. 'I see, the gravity jutsu was just to stop me from being able to move away from the attack. He didn't expect me to be defeated by it at all. He really is the strongest ninja I have ever come up against' Akaru thought as he lay on his back looking up into the sky as the last name was crossed off the screen leaving the name Naruto Namikaze projected alone as the winner.
The crowd were going wild everyone cheering and yelling out what a great match they thought it was. Even Fuu and Akimi couldn't help but get caught up in the festivities, even though the fact that Naruto had won meant that Mei would get the first dance at the ball later that night.
"Akaru did his best to win I am sure. I guess Naruto is just too strong to fight against for any of us. Maybe Gaara, Itachi and Jiraiya-sama would be able to put up a fight, but for the rest of us he is just too strong" Fuu sighed.
"Well, I'm not going to give up. I'll keep on training until I defeat him!" Akimi said defiantly.
"Well I'm not going to let you become stronger than me, so I will train twice as hard" Fuu said with a smile.
Mei walked down to the stadium floor along with Ao acting as her bodyguard just as Naruto returned his cloak to cover his bare torso. "Congratulations Naruto-kun. As I expected your skills have grown exponentially, I am glad I was able to witness a small glimpse of your abilities" Mei said, the smile she always wore present yet seemed to be warmer than Naruto had seen before.
"It was lots of fun so the pleasure was all mine" Naruto said returning the smile.
"I'm sure it was, but I think you should let the medics take a look at your injury" Mei said.
"Injury?" Naruto said as if he had no idea what the Mizukage was talking about.
"Your shoulder, you were hit with a Raiton jutsu were you not?" Mei said.
"Oh right, nah its all better now" Naruto said removing his arm from the robe and showing it to to Mei.
The area where he had been hit with the jutsu seemed to be completely healed. There wasn't any sign that he had been hurt at all other than the dried blood. Mei ran her hand over the area as if to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her. "How is that possible?" Mei asked.
"Well, while I was fighting I concentrated a small amount of Kyuubi's chakra into the wound I also used a medical jutsu that Tsuande-Baachan taught me. Well not so much her as the scroll she gave me" Naruto said.
"Tsunade-Baachan? Your not really telling me that you are a Senju as well as the son of the Yondaime Hokage are you?" Mei said.
"No, but Tsunade-Baachan is like family to me" Naruto explained.
"I see, well I hope to hear more about you and your last three years tonight, but right now I have to address the crowd" Mei said still smiling happily.
"Alright, I guess seeing as we are supposed to dance together we should at least talk for awhile" Naruto said a small amount of worry in his voice.
"You don't seem to be pleased, do you not wish to be my partner tonight?" Mei asked.
Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. "It's not that, I just don't know how to dance, I imagine it will be similar to learning a taijutsu style but still to have to do it with lots of people watching is going to be embarrassing" he admitted lowering his head in shame.
Mei giggled unable to contain herself. "Is that what you are worried about? It will be fine, believe me dancing is easy, you will pick it up in no time, we will just have to keep trying until you get it right" she said and with a wink turned to face the crowd. "I present this years champion, the Hero of the Mist Naruto Namikaze" she said proudly and a huge roar of cheering erupted from the audience.
Naruto gave a bow and waved to everyone. Once the round of applause died down Mei spoke again. "Yes congratulations Naruto-kun a fantastic victory, you really showed why you are considered a hero. Now as you are aware the festivities do not end here. During this event my ninja have been setting up the carnival which is full of games that will challenge everyone from a civilian to even the most war hardened veteran ninja. And as every year prizes will be up for grabs including invitations to the ball tonight, I hope you all enjoy yourselves and I hope to see you tonight" when she finished speaking she gave the crowd a friendly wave and departed to the happy applause of the audience.
Naruto followed Mei to the exit of the arena and was about to split off to go meet up with the others when Mei called out to him. "I will have an Anbu escort you to the Kage tower at around seven. Oh and as much as I appreciate your lack of clothing the ball is formal dress, so you might want to wear a shirt" she said a slight blush forming on her cheeks.
"Sure thing, I take it there is somewhere in Kiri where I can buy some formal clothes?" Naruto asked.
"Yes of course there is, I'll give you the name of the best place in Kiri" she said and taking out a small handkerchief from her Kage robes she wrote out the name and location of the store. "I'll see you tonight" she said before walking off.
'Man now I have to wear some uncomfortable dress clothes, I'm really starting to think this dance thing is just some form of punishment from Jiraiya sensei and Itachi sensei. At least the carnival sounds fun' Naruto thought and with a sigh placed Mei's note in his robes folded his arms behind his head and walked of to join his friends.
End Chapter!
Nothing much happened I know, just thought it would be a good for a little bit of fighting because there might not me much for the next few chapters. At least until they move on to the next arc.