A/N: Another chapter done! This match was pretty alright, I'd say. I'm not gonna write super-long battles unless it's a biiiiiig deal, kinda like the next fight will be. However, I think this fight was pretty cool. I was listening to some One Punch Man music while writing it, Genos's Theme to be exact. Fits like a glove! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :)

The crowd's cheering and roaring caused the very ground beneath both competitors's feet to shake. This was a battle between titans, two elevated beings meeting on the field of battle. Any lackluster performance would surely have the audience leaving dissatisfied, and nobody wanted such a thing, especially not Mendona.

The Three-Tail jinchuuriki broke his stare from the motionless Sakyu and took a gander at the masses, each cheer and shriek filling him with excitement. This was what he became a shinobi for, what he loved about being a jinchuuriki! It was moments like this, moments where he could fight for hundreds upon hundreds of people watching on, basking in their warmth and indulging in their positive energy. "Pretty cool, huh," he said to Sakyu.

The redhead blinked, and took a careless look at the spectators above. "Not really my thing, to be honest."

"Are you kidding? This is what it's all about! This is where we get to prove that we're not frauds! C'mon, let's give 'em a show!"

Sakyu's eye's went half-lidded. "Why must you always-"

He was cut off by Mendona firing a massive Impact Shot towards him, the giant roaring mass leaving no time for discussion. Sakyu leapt high into the air, easily clearing the jutsu while keeping his hands in his pockets; it slammed against the opposite wall, yet only left a few cracks. The roar of the crowd only got more deafening the higher he went, and it made the realization that this fight had started all too real.

...if I'm going to fight someone as chaotic as Mendona, then I'm going to need more sand, a lot more sand.

Sakyu freed his hands from his pockets and aimed a palm at his opponent below. A floating disk of sand formed beneath him, allowing the boy to stay airborne, and bullets of the grainy material fired from his aimed hand. Mendona was quick to jump out of their path, already stringing together hand signs before holding a single hand up. A giant funnel of water sprouted from his hand, and it spun on it's center like a top against the boy's palm. "Whirlpool Prison!" He pulled back and flung his technique at the lazy jinchuuriki high above, the giant funnel flying at an insane speed; it didn't matter though, because Sakyu only flew to the side and avoided it with ease. The technique went out of the arena and exploded into a plethora of raindrops, the sudden explosion making the audience get even more energetic while the container for Shukaku was unaffected.

"I'm not coming down there, you understand," Sakyu announced as he smiled, a subtle indicator that he would probably enjoy this more than he'd have thought. He plopped onto his rear and sat with his legs folded on the sand disk, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I know how to fight against you, I'm no fool."

Far down below, Mendona's eye gave a slight twitch, and he aimed a finger at the lazy bastard in the air. "'I KNOW HOW TO FIGHT AGAINST YOU, I'M NO FOOL'? HEY, THE HELL'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! YOU SAYIN' I'M EASY TO FIGURE OUT?!"

"Yes."

"GAH, WHATEVER MAN! YOU CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT BECAUSE IT WON'T MATTER IN THE LONG RUN! YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO COME DOWN EVENTUALLY AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"

A wagging of the finger was all the sand jinchuuriki had to do in response. "Why must you be so simple-minded, Mendona? I can stay up here as long as I wish, I've no reason to come down to where you are."

The hothead snarled, and began going through hand signs. "Fine. I'll just have swat you down, and then we'll see who's got the right to be all snarky. TWIN SEA SERPENTS!"

Mendona threw his arms out to his sides, and a thick, muggy water began to coat them in a protective shell. Then, it began to expand, inflate like a balloon around his two limbs until they were probably wider than his torso, before shooting out and stretching very long. The long, snake-like masses of water kept stretching and stretching until they were about 50 feet in length, and the very tips of the conjurations took on the vicious form of a monstrous head that looked like a cross between a dragon and a snake. "THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE ME MORE SERIOUSLY!" Mendona pulled an arm back, and the Sea Serpent on it moved accordingly, acting as his limb. He threw that arm forward, launching the giant appendage like it was his own fist towards Sakyu.

Mind you, the sand jinchuuriki was well above 50 feet in the air; if anything, he was probably twice as high off the ground. But Mendona added a little jump to his strike, which meant that the technique meant to add massive destructive power to his basic taijutsu was soon rocketing towards Sakyu. He showed little care, and only went up higher...but wasn't fast enough. The Sea Serpent clipped through his sand disk, making it crumble into nothing. Sakyu fell down past the giant technique before creating another disk to float on, but was already within range of Mendona's second attack. A serpent came down with the intent to smash him to the ground, Sakyu swerved away. Another came flying directly for him, he looped over it's head and ducked below another strike from the first serpent. Sakyu could see down below that Mendona was now throwing a flurry of punches with the Sea Serpents.

He was still not concerned.

He ducked his head down and began flying past the Sea Serpents, his eyes locked onto Mendona as he closed the distance. He could feel the conjurations following real close from behind, could hear their liquid maws chomping at the air just hoping for Sakyu to fall into them. But they weren't fast enough, neither of them were; Sakyu would reach his target before they could, he would make sure of it.

"GYA HA HA! That Mendona's a real smart bastard, huh kid? Even if he fights like he has an empty skull, heh heh..."

Sakyu had to pull up hard to avoid getting hit while he was distracted, and began fleeing from the arms in a direction that wasn't what he wanted. Please don't do that at random, your laugh threw me off. Plus, it's most likely Isobu's influence that's making Mendona use smarter tactics like this one, rather than Mendona actually thinking for himself. My sand armor won't survive a single hit from a powerful water jutsu, which he seems to only be armed with, and this technique combined with that meathead's prowess at swinging his arms like a gorilla does not bode well. I must end this idiocy soon.

Shukaku snickered. "Then what would even make you think of flying down into it? Wouldn't it be better to just avoid it?"

Because Mendona, as strong as he is, is still an idiot that's bound to mess up somehow. The closer I am, the more likely it is for him to accidentally punch himself in the face.

Suchiru and Kankuro both sat with their arms crossed, analytical eyes on their respective students. The onlookers surrounding them were jumping and cheering, even the few shinobi that didn't bother buying tickets and instead decided to make themselves comfortable on the shades above the seats. Jari and Kyofu were situated near their sensei, the kunoichi partaking in the pure ecstasy that the crowd's positive energy gave off as she cheered like mad for Sakyu; Kyofu decided to follow his sensei's example of being silent and watching.

On Mendona's side of the fence, it was a tad bit more quiet. Tanken was a competitor, so was not present in this area...not like he would cheer, anyway. Tenshi was there, however, clad in a light blue hospital robe with a crutch resting at her feet. She was forced to remain seated and quiet like a proper heir to the head of a noble clan, not because anybody from said clan was observing her, but because lots of jumping around and screaming would practically kill her from all the pain. "Mendona's going to win this fight," she stated out of the blue to nobody, but it easily got the attention of her sensei.

"What makes you say that," he asked as a fresh cigar bounced around between his teeth.

"He always manages to outlast whoever he fights."

A long drag was taken from the stogie, and a thick cloud of smoke escaped Suchiru's mouth. "Yeah, well...I'm just ready to expect the unexpected."

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!"

Mendona angled a Sea Serpent in a way that Sakyu just woudn't be able to avoid getting swatted down, this was when the battle went in the Mist jinchuuriki's direction!

And then he found that he couldn't move it. The technique had gotten tangled up within itself, a big knot floating in the air made of water. Sakyu looked back to see that his plan had indeed been a success, and began charging down at his opponent like a hawk swooping in to kill it's prey. Mendona bit back a curse and pulled his hands out of the water, cancelling the technique and making the whole mess crash to the floor with a giant splash.

"Mendona! Use something defensive!"

Sakyu was closing in very fast, and Mendona was still racking his brain for something that worked with Isobu's suggestion. The Sand jinchuuriki's hand was pulled back, and one of his eyes shifted into Shukaku's own. "It's over..." he said in a dead, breathy voice. A mass of sand flowed from his many pockets and collected at the arm, forming a spinning solid cone that came to a very sharp tip. "Sand Drill!" His speed picked up, and he thrusted his technique forward.

However, Mendona was fast to act. He finally thought of something and leapt back while going through some familiar hand signs before slamming his palms against the ground, sliding back from the momentum of his jump. "CORAL REEF WALL!" A large, jagged, pink wall of coral erupted from the ground between the two just in time to challenge the Sand Drill. The loud noise of stones grinding against each other became quite present, but the Mist shinobi knew that this would not hold for long; he could hear his structure already beginning to crack on the other side. He let out a small growl, musing that if there was any time to stop Sakyu from continuing on, it would be now, and charged his technique. He placed a palm on it and made a single hand sign, pumping chakra into the pink structure. "Snaring Reef!"

Large jagged coral limbs shot out from the sides of this technique, and quickly surrounded Sakyu before he could even process what was going on. They wrapped around him like massive snakes wrap around their prey, and began to grow, becoming heavier, thicker, tighter. This was what Mendona wanted, Sakyu was finally taking this seriously...either that, or Shukaku had just nagged him to the point where he allowed a little of the massive tanooki's influence to take over. The Sand Jinchuuriki cancelled his Sand Drill and frantically looked at the mess he was caught in, transformed eye trembling like mad. "What is this..."

"This is my chance to knock you down a few pegs!" Mendona leapt over the trap he had caught his opponent in and arched his entire body back as he prepared a massive amount of chakra in his gut. His eyes changed into Isobu's own, and he fired a slightly larger Impact Shot down at Sakyu. However, the genin below did not react in a manner that most would have suspected. Instead, he stopped his struggling and looked up at the roaring mass threatening to crush him in awe. He had allowed some of Shukaku's influence to leak through, that much had been true...but the One-Tail was just itching to do some damage; Sakyu had refused to deliver full control, only because he could see that Mendona had not even given Isobu half of his body to be influenced. But now, now was different, he could feel Isobu's strength in that ninjutsu technique. So, it was time to let loose. Slowly, Sakyu's only normal eye transformed into Shukaku's own, and a small grin took it's place on his face. "What an impressive display..."

The jutsu actually hit, causing a massive tremor that shook the arena as water was sent all over in a giant tidal wave. The crowd was eating it up like a favorite snack, letting themselves get lost in the chaos that they knew could never be witnessed during times of peace. Such a display of power hadn't been seen since the villages were at war, especially not at the Chuunin Exams. Not only that, but these were two jinchuuriki battling, not just common schmucks that happened to be lucky enough to make it this far. Two shining examples of what any normal shinobi should aspire to be, and they were going all out! What a time to be alive!

Jiyuu couldn't have been less impressed. He stood with his arms crossed and a knitted brow, finding slight amusement in the fact that two jinchuuriki were knocking each other around, but still upset because, ultimately, one would still come out a winner and remain in the exams. "Weird," he muttered, "I didn't know that bastard Mendona could use Coral Techniques."

"It's quite common for any jinchuuriki of the Three-Tails," Tsuyo chipped in, adjusting his glasses as he watched the Impact Shot's water flow everywhere. "Anybody who is a tenant for the Three-Tails has access to two elemental releases: Coral Release and Brine Release...and before you ask, Brine is water that is heavily saturated with salt. It has a higher density than normal water, so if infused with chakra, can be as solid as stone. From what I can see, most of the techniques Mendona uses are plain water ninjutsu, but I'm certain he could use Brine Release to perform them if he wished. It would't surprise me, he's got very good shape manipulation if he's capable of doing something on the scale of the Twin Sea Serpents or Snaring Reef...he's more talented than we'd probably be willing to admit."

'Hm' was all Jiyuu would say in response.

...maybe so...but he's still a bastard...

Mendona landed on a knee some distance from his opponent, and watched as the water vapor began to clear from his attack. Water droplets rained down like a light afternoon drizzle, and in the center of the carnage and torn-up terrain was Sakyu; he was in the middle of a shattered battlefield amidst a pile of destroyed corral and brick, face down. He wasn't moving, hell, it looked like he wasn't even breathing. But Mendona knew far better than to just assume everything had gone his way; all his training as a shinobi had taught him to expect the unexpected.

"It's not over yet, Mendona. In fact, I believe this is just the beginning."

"I know that," the jinchuuriki muttered, stretching his fingers until his knuckles cracked.

And as if on command, Sakyu slammed a hand beside his head, beginning the slow process of pulling himself up to his feet. He didn't shake, he didn't twitch, he only got himself up onto his feet as if he hadn't even been hit with something that was akin to getting hit by a train moving at full speed. He only turned to face Mendona, unflinching, unmoving, staring. It was eerie, and the giant TV monitors on the top of the arena showed this very creepy action to most of the audience, who had somewhat lost it's vibrant sound due to the chills they felt. Mendona wasn't scared in the least bit, for he knew what that face was.

It was a facade, a fake front that was about to crumble away and reveal the true Sakyu in his purest condition.

Quite literally, at that.

Sakyu's flesh slowly became a muddy brown color, small cracks forming here and there in his flesh and clothes before clumps of his skin began falling off as wet, muddy sand. He had shed his sand armor, shaking the last of it off of an arm to reveal that he was quite dry, and free of any damage with Shukaku's eyes still taking place of his own. He yawned and rolled his neck, pops and cracks from the action snapping through the air. "Smart move," he stated, plain and simple.

"Oh, you liked that one, huh?" Mendona let a snarky grin curl his lips, and slammed a fist into his open palm. "Good! There's more where that came from!"

The Sand Jinchuuriki did not look amused; actually, he didn't look like he cared, either. He didn't bother giving Mendona a response, didn't care to provide the audience with some witty dialogue exchange. He only cared about winning, this was why he had come here.

What can I do here...

"Hm, wanna know what you can do here, runt?" Shukaku was practically dripping with excitement in Sakyu's mindscape, watching everything from Sakyu's own line of sight like he were watching a sporting event. "Go all out, CRUSH MENDONA! Prove that you and I, the infamous Shukaku and his jinchuuriki, are THE STRONGEST THERE ARE! PROVE MY POSITION AS THE STRONGEST OF ALL THE BIJUU!"

Now was probably not a good time to debate the power of the Nine-Tails once more, or how Kurama's jinchuuriki had saved the world from the threat of someone like Madara Uchiha...or, as Shukaku had revealed earlier in Sakyu's life, Kaguya.

I would love to...but there's an issue.

"Ehhhh? What issue, runt?"

Almost all off my specialty moves require a sandy ground, which is something I don't have just yet. Plus, Mendona's fighting makes it much harder to focus on making said sand from the rubble that isn't wet.

"Kekekeh...you little fool, it's already begun! As we speak, I'm making sand from the rubble right now!"

Yes, I know. However, I still need more time, and losing my sand armor was very costly at such an early time in the match. I swear, why must you forget all the important details...

Sakyu made a disk of sand below his feet, and shot up in the air just in time to avoid a devastating flying punch from Mendona. He became suspended at about 50 feet in the air, spinning a little until he could face his opponent and take a knee on his floating platform. "I'm going to need all of my reserve sand for this..." He flicked his fingers and ran them along his multiple cargo pockets, opening them all and just letting mounds of sand fall out, forming a small but thick cloud around his body.

Below, his opponent shook his head. "I'm not just gonna do nothing and let you fly around, idiot!" Mendona leapt onto the wall closest to him and began stomping his way along it's surface, climbing higher and higher as each step left an imprint of his foot in the brick wall. Sakyu had him in his sights, and aimed a palm at him. A small portion of his sand cloud materialized into three giant spikes of the grainy material, two of them launching for their target upon creation. Mendona leapt off the wall just before the first one could hit him, HIS target being that pissant Sakyu trying to play defensive again. The spike had sped past him, embedding itself into the brick wall before materializing into sand and flying back to it's creator. The second spike grazed Mendona's arm, cutting him open just enough to draw some blood; it did nothing, only allowing a small flinch as he continued his flight for his opponent.

"This will finish it."

Sakyu fired the final sand spike for Mendona's chest, aiming right for the heart.

In the stands, one of Sakyu's less enthusiastic teammates suddenly stood up, fist clenched by his side. "Wait a minute, what's Sakyu doing?! He's gonna kill that guy!"

Kankuro had one eye open, watching the match through it before he placed a hand on Kyofu's shoulder and plopped him back down into his seat. "Relax kid, nobody's gonna let anybody die here." ...I hope...

The Mist Jinchuuriki saw it coming well before it was even fired at him. He slammed his palms together, and focused his chakra towards his flesh. "Reef Armor!" Suddenly, emerging from his skin were ribs of white coral that began wrapping around his limbs, torso, and even head, hard and dense from the extra chakra Mendona was making sure to add to it. Once the technique was finished and he was fully encased in a protective exoskeleton, he backhanded the final spike into powdery sand, the ribs around his head molding into something resembling Isobu's skull, it's large jagged jaw and forehead acting as great shields for the face. Mendona's eye was glowing behind the darkness of his protection, he had plenty of tools up his sleeve, and Sakyu was lucky; he was one of the few opponents that were getting to deal with them first-hand.

Sakyu knitted his brow and lifted a hand in front of his face, summoning a sturdy wall of sand between him and the Mist jinchuuriki that used most of his cloud. Mendona, being one to think with his fists before all else, challenged it. He slammed his armored fist against the wall...and didn't make a single mark. He was quite shocked at the amount of chakra being put into this defense for it to have not taken any sort of damage, but now was no time to be stunned. His instincts kicked in, and instead of free-falling and climbing up the wall again, he stuck his hand to the sand structure and flipped himself over. "I'VE GOT YOU," he announced in a slightly deeper, more raspy voice.

His opponent looked up, genuine surprise glinting in his transformed eyes. He swung an open palm to his side and the sand wall began sifting and shifting into the iconic Sand Sphere defense that Gaara had been known for (and was gracious enough to teach to the young jinchuuriki). However, it didn't form fast enough. Mendona already threw his fist through the cloud, and his knuckles made a clean connection with the top of Sakyu's skull. The boy's whole body did some sort of crumbling motion, clearly showing he did not prepare for the impact, and any traces of his Sand Sphere crumbled away into powdery mounds of sand. They both began a free fall for the arena floor, one flipping in the air after a dirty blow while the other looked to be preparing his second strike.

Shukaku...

"Yes, brat?"

...give me your power...

The four words that the tanooki loved hearing more than anything else in his entire existence, the passwords to complete submission. "Keheheh, fine. Let's rip Mendona to SHREDS!"

Chakra pulsed through Sakyu's system, darker and thicker chakra than his own. It carried raw, palpable power, strength that made him feel like he could move mountains, raise valleys, create sandstorms. A new disk of sand formed under his body, and it carried the boy straight up just in time to avoid another viscous hit as well as the ground below. His arms were gradually transforming into three-fingered hands with claws, the sharp bone at the end of each fingertip gleaming in what little light was allowed to filter through the misty sky high above. His flesh had become grainy and sand-like, black lines forming along it with no predictable pattern. He grew a small fang that protruded from his upper lip, and he actually allowed himself to flash a rather vicious glare to his opponent. "Why must you push me this far," he muttered before swinging his sand disk around in a u-turn, and rocketing down towards the Mist-nin.

Mendona had landed before, and was already preparing a series of hand signs for a technique; however, Sakyu proved to be much too quick, and scooped Mendona of the ground by grabbing his throat in a crushing grip, and flying straight up with him. They went high, very high, probably higher than the arena itself could stretch; Sakyu wasn't paying attention to that, he was just going as high up as he felt like going. He could feel Mendona's fingers trying to pry away the hand at his neck, but Sakyu only squeezed harder, threatening to crush his windpipe. They could both hear the excited screaming from the audience, reminding a very dazed and enraged Sakyu that this was a competition, the goal was not to murder anybody.

...well, it wasn't the goal, but it was most certainly legal.

"I'll end this quick," he mumbled, stopping on a dime in the air and throwing Mendona to the side. The Mist-nin felt his back hit something, and could only catch his breath in time to get restrained by a mass of sand. It surrounded him fast, the pressure being immense and making it hard for him to breath. The mass of sand around his body became thicker, heavier, more concentrated, more dangerous. Mendona knew what this was, and wasn't sure if Sakyu was just forcing him into a checkmate position, or if Shukaku was going to cripple him. Going by the partial transformation and deranged look, the latter was more likely. But where did this sand even come from? There was no way Sakyu had enough in that thin cloud that surrounded him earlier.

He didn't. The little project Shukaku had been working on the whole fight, embedding his own sand into the stone below, had paid off. Trickles of fine, grainy earth all over the arena's floor were shooting up into the sand coffin, building it at an alarmingly fast pace. He couldn't move his body, he could barely even breathe, and the funny thing was that Isobu had warned him of such a possibility. 'Don't let your guard down,' 'don't focus only on chasing him, he probably has a plan,' 'he can make sand from rubble, so don't get too out of control.' Yes, plenty of warnings that he had refused to heed, and now he was paying the price. He could smell defeat in the air, almost taste it...

...but damn it, it wasn't going to be his loss!

Buru, our normally-energetic proctor, was getting quite bored. He sat atop the shade for the Kage viewing area cross-legged, a cheek was placed in his palm and his half-lidded eyes nonchalantly passes from one jinchuuriki to the other.

They're strong for genin, duh, but I was stronger than them at this age. What's Mendona, 14? I was doing much cooler stuff at that age, like that time I destroyed that whole drug caravan before my genin team sensei had any clue what was going on. I mean yeah, it was a lucky guess on my part and you were a bit slow on the draw to stop me, but it all worked out. These guys are too fresh, Naruto-senpai is becoming soft in his jinchuuriki training. They're still too unstable and weak, plus-

"Enough, Buru,"a silky voice purred from inside his head. Matatabi was curled up inside of the jinchuuriki's body, too uninterested in watching young kittens fight before maturity. "They show great potential, plus Isobu and Shukaku love them. They will become stronger in time, even if the Hokage's training is lacking nowadays. And you forget quite fast, that 'caravan' was a single wagon guarded by two thugs, but you make it sound like you fought an army." She laughed a little as she felt small irritation welling up in her host. "You forget, you were much like them not too long ago. Do not think you are much older than them."

Five years isn't exactly as long as you'd think it was for a human. It goes by very fast.

"Hm hm, if you say so." She lolled a head over and began inspecting things from Buru's point of view, and suddenly became quite interested at the technique that was occurring. "Do you suppose we should step in and stop them?"

Nah, there's no need. I already know that the match won't end the way most people think it will.

"And what do you mean by that?"

Both of them are in a position to win, right? It all depends on who outsmarts who right now.

Isobu! I need you to perform a jutsu for me! You just collect my chakra in the proper way and do it, my hands are a bit tied up right now!

Mendona was actually getting a bit worried right now, despite his best attempts to stay calm. Sakyu seemed pretty serious about turning him into paste, and no amount of insane strength that Mendona could muster would save him if he didn't ask for help.

"I understand..."

Thank you, Isobu!

Sakyu had his arm outstretched, his hand twisted into a thumb-down position. He was done playing around, he had been for some time now. "Sand Coffin..."

And just before anything else could be done, Twin Sea Serpents rammed their way through the thick sand that constricted Mendona's movements. They launched at a very angered Sand-nin, who's first response was to throw the Sand Coffin down to the earth at a high speed. "Impossible," he muttered. "You're becoming a real pain, Mendona. Hopefully the fall will put you down..."

"You kiddin'? This is what I WANTED!"

A Sea Serpent flung itself into the ground and knocked the Sand Coffin way off-course, instead splashing into the deep water at the edge of the arena floor. The genin and his sand prison quickly fell out of view, and Sakyu felt his whole body go numb with some emotion that he couldn't explain. He could feel the sand surrounding Mendona, how it was starting to get wet, and his control over it was like squeezing a bar of soap out of your hands...the harder you tried to maintain a good grip, the less of a chance you had of keeping it within your grasp. It had been a smart move, a very smart move, and he was foolish enough to let it happen.

Fine...if the water was going to be such an obstacle, then it was time to remove it.

He thrusted both arms into the air, and the small holes in the ground that allowed small trickles of sand to float up suddenly erupted like geysers, flowing with thick amounts of sand before suddenly stopping. They all collected over the arena, forming a large cloud that actually managed to block out the sunlight even more than the mist already had been.

"I'm going to soak up ALL THAT WATER! YOU'LL HAVE NOWHERE LEFT TO GO, MENDONA!"

The jinchuuriki that had taken a dive was already planning his next move as he swam out of the wet sand, making three water clones that swam away and took up the positions he needed them to fill: one at either side, ready to go. Mendona could see the light in the water was getting dimmer, darker, and could tell what Sakyu's next move was going to be without even hearing him.

Sakyu let out a battle cry, something his sensei and teammates had never seen him do before, and thrusted both arms down as if he were shoving a planet out of orbit. All his sand shot down, spreading out and threatening to fill up any space that water was occupying. This was when Mendona would strike. Him and his two clones all leapt out of the water just in time to avoid being crushed and buried by the mass of sand as they weaved hand signs in unison. "GIANT WATER PRISON!" All three stuck their arms out as they got up relatively close to where Sakyu was, knowing well that they didn't need to be right next to him like they did with a normal Water prison. Sakyu was too distracted by the toll that his last move had taken on him, and was soon encased in the center of a massive ball of water. He tried his best to control the remaining sand that hadn't hit the water yet in a vein attempt to destroy to the clones, but it was no use. The pressure from the technique constricted him, and he felt his control of the sand leave him. The clones and Mendona were starting to go into mid-fall, the sensation of gravity just beginning to wrap it's fingers around the Mist-Jinchuuriki.

Isobu! What now?!

"Just pump as much chakra as you can into this technique. You must overload it, make it unstable."

The boy never questioned it, and did as he had been instructed to do. The ball began to ripple, and his water clones looked at him like he was insane. Mendona shut his eyes tight, he could feel the descent begin and forced so much of his life energy into the technique that he began to sweat. It payed off, for the giant ball collapsed in midair and was forced all over due to the chakra that flooded it. The audience got soaked, the Kage had almost gotten wet if the Mizukage hadn't been so kind as to create a water barrier to keep them dry, Buru (much to his exasperation) got soaked, the competitors all hid behind their small stone fence as the water flew over them...but most important of all, any remaining sand that lingered in the air and on the ground had become soaked.

Sakyu and Mendona fell towards the arena, the latter much more gracefully than the former. They both landed safely on a knee, but Sakyu coughed and collapsed onto his chest, letting out a long, dry breath. Shukaku's presence began to recede, and Sakyu's flesh and eyes became normal once again; Mendona automatically began doing the same, and started running towards his opponent. "SAKYU!"

When he had gotten close though, any worry or concern he felt about his friend's well-being disappeared. Sakyu didn't look hurt...he didn't even look tired. He just looked frustrated, bit in a very stoic way, like he was trying his hardest to not look peeved.

"YOU IDIOT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK UP AND KEEP FIGHTING!"

Shut up, Shukaku, the Sand-nin mused. Why must you ignore the obvious...again. That little tactic you had convinced me to do, it cost us the match. Kami, I should never have listened to you...

"It was a strategy, you runt! We eliminated the water, and that way-"

That way, we'd be left with nothing. You underestimated how deep the water was, and-

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME, BOY! I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO THROW THE SAND COFFIN TO THE GROUND SO MENDONA COULD BOUNCE HIS HAPPY ASS INTO THE WATER! I TOLD YOU TO CRUSH HIM, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE WITH A JINCHUURIKI'S HEALING RATE AND WHATEVER MEDICAL NINJUTSU THEY HAVE HERE! SO WHY DIDN'T YOU?!"

...I...I didn't want to hurt him like that...

"Bah...humans...you're all the same..."

Very briefly, Sakyu appeared in his own mindscape, sat cross-legged in front of a towering Shukaku with his head lowered in shame. It was his fault, wasn't it? He didn't do as Shukaku had instructed, and for a stupid reason. Him? Hurt Mendona? It may have happened, but not to the degree that Sakyu had imagined. He pictured a shinobi career nearly ending just from that one moment, possibly death. The loss of a friend. But it wasn't going to be that bad, was it? No, but he just didn't have the heart to go all out, unlike Mendona who would gradually up the ante until you couldn't go any higher. Sakyu was different, he would throw everything he had into one attack, and then finish it in a way that sent a message.

Except, there was no real evil enemy here, no message to be sent to anybody in times of peace. So he gave up his chance, and lost the match...all because he was too soft.

He was a horrible jinchuuriki...

"Y'know runt, I hear everything you're thinking."

"...so what. You know it's all true."

"BAH! Come on, runt! You think I would've stayed in here any longer than I had to if I didn't like it in here?" The little comment got Sakyu to raise his head, and the tanooki smirked at him. "I mean, it's pretty cozy in here! Lots of space, no cages or bars, AND my host is a little loser that I get to train! So, not as bad as it used to be...but you can be a real runt at times, always beating yourself up and saying your not good enough. STOP IT ALREADY, only WEAKLINGS DO THAT! The strong improve and continue on! Take this loss and learn from it, got it, runt?"

"...yes, I understand."

"Hmph, good! That one mistake was all it took, but Mendona was no pushover. If you didn't give him everything you had, there's no way you'd have been able to beat him! So, all things considered? I'd say you did pretty good out there!"

The jinchuuriki outstretched his arm towards the puny child in front of him, offering his fist for a traditional gesture that the Seventh Hokage had popularized among the tailed beasts and the jinchuuriki containing them.

"I'd even say you did great...for a runt."

The mocking words carried a hint of care and acceptance that only his tenant would understand. Sakyu felt an unstoppable smile curl at his lips, and he bumped fists with Shukaku.

Buru leapt off of his little spot over the Five Kage and landed silently beside both jinchuuriki. He looked to Mendona and scanned him up and down; a little roughed up but did manage to come through, much like he'd have expected from a jinchuuriki that bonded so well with their bijuu. He then turned to Sakyu, who...well, he actually looked just fine, but about the same. He was stoic, not caring, and had just begun to push himself up.

"I can tell you were put in a corner after that last trick," Buru stated, a hand scratching his unruly hair.

He was only given a wordless nod from Sakyu, and Mendona folded his arms with a proud look. That kid, he was trying so hard to not beam a big goofy smile. He had fought hard, both of them had, but he managed to do what he always did best: outlast his opponent. Mendona had played very smart against an opponent who usually won by crushing his enemies very fast, not allowing his hotheaded nature to get the best of him. Buru cast his eyes over to see the genin situated in their little observation area, and his eyes became half-lidded. The rest of Mendona's matches were going to just be a cakewalk, he could already tell.

Sakyu stood up all the way, and dusted himself of wet sand. "Make your call, Buru. I would like to get back to my spot in that booth."

Buru nodded, and lifted an arm up. "The winner of this match is Mendona Unmei!"

The crowd cheered and whooped as expected, most of these people cheering for their home village's hero while other people were just happy with a well-fought battle. Both genin began walking back to the arena's doorway that lead to the competitor's booth, and as soon as they slipped through the doors, they had the exact same reaction.

Mendona fell to his knees and sighed really loud, Sakyu collapsed against the wall he was near before falling face-down onto the clean floor. The match had taken so much chakra, much more than either had enough guts to admit in front of so many people. They were jinchuuriki, after all, so maintaining a positive image in the public eye was very important. Mendona felt some bile rising in his gut, but simply refused to let it come out: he had too much pride to go that far.

They both sat there for what was probably five minutes, just gasping for air and not moving, before Sakyu finally spoke up. "You do realize I could have kept fighting, right? I could have continued on and just made more sand out of the walls."

"You also could've used Sand Coffin on me, but didn't," Mendona countered, a little frustrated that Sakyu was using the 'I could've' card on him. "What I don't get is, even after all that, you say you could've kept going? Why didn't you, then? Why'd you just lay down and take the loss?"

Sakyu sat himself up against the wall, still panting heavily. "You know exactly why...had I kept going, I'd have used even more of Shukaku's power, which would make you do the same with Isobu's. You don't know when to stop before things get out of hand, I do. I was careless enough to allow a partial transformation to occur, but thankfully you managed to get around it without doing the same. And I know how long you've trained, you can do a FULL transformation, can't you? You could make your body just like Isobu's, and get his full power."

"..."

"...well, I'm not able to do that just yet, not with Shukaku. You're more powerful than I am because you've worked so much harder to get where you are...personally, I don't see a rush to become so good, we literally have enough time between now as genin and whenever we become jounin."

"What's the point of this, Sakyu?"

"The point is, that power is dangerous, and you can be more reckless with it than I can. That's bad, Mendona, very bad. You have no concept of safety for others, you use too much force when it's not needed, you-"

Mendona snarled, holding a hand up. "Where'd you here that shit? It's all lies, man! Lies!"

"Through the grapevine."

"Oh, the grapevine, huh? Well guess what?! It's all a lie! So maybe I get a little careless and go overboard, but I've NEVER put innocent people in danger before! Don't make shit up just to justify you quitting the fight!"

Both genin were panting again, but now in silence. Mendona rolled onto his rear and pushed his back against the adjacent wall, leaning his head back. "Shit man...we're jinchuuriki, you know?"

"Yeah."

"People love us, we're like heroes to them...we can't be letting stupid bad rumors just spread, y'know? Which means you shouldn't believe them, either."

"...I'm sorry, Mendona. I was just a little upset, that's all."

"It's fine...whatever..."

"..."

"...Kami, you got hella stronger..."

Sakyu didn't know why, but he burst out laughing at finally hearing Mendona admit he had a rough time (or something alluding to that, he'd take what he could get). His laughter was contagious, causing Mendona to hold his stomach and chuckle as well. They both laughed for a few minutes, it felt very nice to laugh after such a long, tense battle, especially with a friend that just understood what it was like to be you. Sakyu, he wasn't like Tenshi or Tanken, where Mendona had to completely ignore his own status and act like he wasn't any different from his teammates. Mendona was a jinchuuriki ever since he was five, so being a container for Isobu had essentially become just who he was; not even a part of it, that was simply all there was to him. It was hard to avoid bringing up his special training and tutoring just from that one factor alone, and half the things that his teammates struggled with in training almost became second nature to him because of that.

It was a little cool being better than most of the genin (probably all of them), but it wasn't fun at all. He could never truly connect on a more average level, simply because he was never brought up in an average way. Jinchuuriki was such a high status...so, it was nice to hang out with someone like Buru or Sakyu, who just knew about all of that nonsense and wanted to talk and hang out like normal people, when everybody else either loved you for your title or hated you for the same reason. The introduction to the life of a jinchuuriki was hard, very hard, but Mendona would say he's come along quite well.

"Mendona, please. You don't have to hold onto me so tight."

"Sorry, Buru."

Mendona was the ripe age of five, and his grandmother's quiet little home in the Hidden Waves was nothing like the place he was walking through now...this fact disturbed him greatly, he'd RATHER be at his grandmother's quiet little home in the Hidden Waves than here. The Hidden Leaf Village was massive, overwhelming, tall buildings and giant television monitors were practically lining the streets, everybody was talking on these weird block things (apparently they were called 'cell phones', according to Buru), and everybody just looked like they were in a hurry to get somewhere. Plenty of business people, plenty of important-looking people, just too many PEOPLE in general. Mendona was practically suffocating here, he had no idea why he had to come to this stupid place.

"You're doing it again, Mendona."

"Sorry, Buru..."

Mendona looked to the genin next to him, Buru Kain, another jinchuuriki who was five years older and already acted so cool about the whole thing. His forehead protector shined brilliantly in the sunlight, it made Mendona so jealous! He wanted to be a shinobi too! Ah, but he had only just begun his academy classes, and he would also have to start his training with those hunter-nin and the Mizukage now that he was a jinchuuriki...he would have to move to the Hidden Mist soon just to make things easier on his grandmother, meaning he'd be alone.

It all sounded so boooooring. He didn't wanna do all that boring training and learning stuff, he wanted to go play with the other kids like he normally did. His grandmother told him it was such a big honor to be a jinchuuriki, but that just sounded like an excuse to make him stop crying about getting on a boat for this village with Buru.

They had been escorted the entire trip by a group of hunter-nin, their masks creeped Mendona out. But at the same time, he wanted one. It looked so coooool...but creepy. They kept saying he was going to meet the Hokage, and he had asked what that was. When he was told that there were five Kage, one for each Great Nation...he couldn't have cared less. He still just wanted to go home to his grandmother and eat some of those amazing custard buns she knew he loved.

"Mendona...do it again, and I wont let you hold my hand anymore!"

"Sorry, Buru!"

They had just approached the Hokage Tower, and could see the Hokage Monument behind it. Kami, those faces looked so freaky. Huh, that one all the way on the right had whiskers...must've been a mistake on the sculptor's part. After a long walk up a bunch of stairs, Mendona and Buru finally made it to the top; the hunter-nin did not follow, ensuring that they'd be watching from a place where they couldn't be seen and would protect them both. Buru was quick to wave to everybody he met, a big beaming smile on his face as he ran to the circle. He ran into a blonde man who was sat at the edge of the roof, and he was scooped up in the man's embrace with some laughter.

"Hey Buru! Man, you got bigger!"

"Thanks, Naruto-senpai! I've been eating all those nasty vegetables like you said I should, and I've been doing all my training, and and, and I've been studying super hard!"

Naruto ruffled the kid's hair and chuckled. "Awesome! Sounds like you're gonna be Mizukage in no time, dattebayo!" He held out a fist to Buru, and the excited boy wasted no time in bumping his own against it. Mendona felt so awkward, so out of place, and looked around to see if looking at the others may make him feel more at home. It really didn't, he just found more strangers that stared at him with this really weird look, it made him feel like such a loser.

"Buru?"

One of the kids had spoken up, and looked over to Mendona's senior. The genin spun on a heel before walking to an empty spot in the incomplete circle of seven people, him plopping down making it eight. "Yeah, Sakyu?"

"Um...who's this?" This 'Sakyu' guy pointed to Mendona, and the young boy felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment.

"That's Mendona, he's the new jinchuuriki for Isobu."

"Ohhhh, so YOU'RE Mendona, huh?" Naruto had spoken in a teasing type of tone, but clearly meant no harm. Mendona didn't take it too well, and just broke down crying for no reason.

"I DON'T WANNA BE HERE! I WANNA GO HOOOOOOME!"

"H-Hey, c'mon, don't cry! Look, we're all jinchuuriki here!"

"..huh?"

"Y-Yeah! That's why you came here, after all!"

Mendona blinked some water out of his eyes, but couldn't stop the sniffling. "Y-You're a jin...jinchooreekee?"

The Hokage nodded. "Yup! I hear you just became one, huh?"

"...yeah..."

"Well guess what? Every six months, all the jinchuuriki meet up here and hang out for a week! It's super cool, and you guys get to train together and become friends! Sound good to you?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Alright! Now, let's all start off with introductions for Mendona! I'll go first! My name is Naruto Uzumaki..."

Mendona remembered that day very well. It was funny meeting other people that just acted normal about him being what he was, and Naruto-senpai took it in stride. Had his little concept of the Jinchuuriki Summit never been thought of, then he'd never have branched out of his comfort zone. He talked with Sakyu during that same day, the two didn't like each other at first and got into a fist fight. Naruto-senpai had bopped them both on the head for that and berated them for fighting...he kinda had a short temper himself, but it seemed like that was only the case with his fellow jinchuuriki.

"...I think we should head up now," Sakyu said. "We don't want to delay the next match longer than we'd like to."

Mendona opened his eyes and saw Sakyu grinning at him, and nodded back with a light chuckle. "Yeah...let's get goin'."

The whole arena was rumbling, and it seemed that nobody had left like some would expect. That was only one main event, the second on had also been a big topic of discussion. All around, people muttered the rumors of Jiyuu and the Hyuuga, how people wanted to see if this kid from the Mist was really all that people said he was, all sorts of things. Ketsui and Warai sat nervously in the stands, her hand slipping into his as she bit down on a knuckle. He was feeling the stress as well, and he squeezed her hand back to let her know that she wasn't alone. Somewhere else in the stands, Riri sat with her arms folded and a victorious smile etched into her features, and a silent, worried Ai sat beside her, hands clutching to her pant legs.

"Our next opponents! Oda Hyuuga vs Jiyuu Tamashi!"

Both genin spared each other a glare, and leapt from the spectator's booth onto the arena floor. They were a very good distance from one another, both knowing it was not wise to start a fight so close to an enemy taijutsu-user. Not ten seconds into their stare down, and Oda already folded his arms, smiling much like his sensei was. "Well, are you ready? This is the part where you realize your fate."

Up above, the Hokage found himself leaning just a tad bit forward in his chair. He hadn't heard such a tone used with those very same words in a very long time.

Jiyuu remained stone-cold, feeling this was the best way to show the Hyuuga that he wasn't afraid. "Y'know, people who follow fate so blindly usually can't see a damn thing with their own two eyes. I'd be careful if I were you, Oda..."

"And why should I take advice from a nobody like you? You are nothing without our doujutsu, which you have been rude enough to parade around as your own." He began making hand signs, slowly, and closed his eyes. "Now, let's get this started, shall we? If you didn't like what I said about your fate, then let me rephrase myself. This is the part where you come back with us...the part where I MAKE you come back with us."

The Hyuuga Pariah paid it no mind, shoving it aside as merely tall talk, and followed Oda's lead of shutting the eyes and forming hand signs slowly. "You'll only get me to leave my home if it's in a bodybag."

"...I was hoping you would say something like that..."

They both stopped making hand signs just as Buru called the match to start, and held up the Seal of Confrontation. Both breathed out slow and heavy, drowning out the crowd as they both felt veins protruding from their temples. The familiar sensation of their range of vision stretching had become present, and they knew that this would be what it all came down to. It was a statement regardless of who won, the prodigy or the pariah. This was only the first step for Jiyuu, but would it be his last?

They both snapped their eyes open, Oda revealing his normal Byakugan while Jiyuu revealed his upgraded one, which had a glowing pupil, and two glowing dots on top of that, one above and one below. This was what it all came down to, this was what they had both trained all week for!

"BYAKUGAN!"