Chapter 49


The chunin exam arena in Konoha was designed to hold somewhere in the vicinity of sixty eight thousand people. It went mostly unused whenever the leaf wasn't hosting the chunin exams, as most honorable duels in the village typically occurred in training grounds, or personal dojos. In the case of Hibiki Senju vs Arjuna Kaguya, however, the cases were a lot different. Almost everyone in the leaf village, shinobi and civilian alike, knew that the Kaguya were here, and that they were here for the heir to their most powerful clan, and word had spread like fire on gasoline when it was revealed that the Thunder God would be fighting the Kaguya clan's heir, over the fate of the clan itself: Should he win, the clan would join Konoha, should he lose, the clan would continue to be nomads. This meant that the stadium that was normally empty and unused was now filled to capacity, with thousands of civilians and Kaguya clansman taking up the seats. The fight was so spread through word of mouth that there were even a few thousand off-duty shinobi present, seated on the edge of the stadium's open roof; most of these shinobi either still bandaged and recovering from their battles, or too low in rank to have participated in the Kiri campaign or border patrol. Even more out of place was the presence of the heads of the major clans, the Hokage, and the Kaguya clan partiarch, seated in the VIP section.

As the information from a disguised clone came funneling in, and Hibiki Senju considered the merits of flying over the arena and coming in with an ostentatious superhero landing, he simply watched from the outside, as more people streamed inside. The Senju heir had no idea where these people would sit, given that he'd heard the place had been filled up an hour ago, but he quickly concluded that it wasn't really his problem. His problem was, however, finding a way to beat what basically equated to Wolverine, without any of his 'big' techniques. This was gearing up to be a fight completely out of the norm for him, there would be no Sharingan to help him steal techniques and improvise new ones, there would be no eleventh-hour superpower, and there would be no transformations to augment his power and let him equal his opponent, thus putting him in a position where he would inadvertently be proving everything he had been saying thus far: He was very young, and while he certainly had power, his body wasn't capable of using it properly, requiring him to augment it. So, leaning against a small building and somewhat hiding in its shade as he stared at the arena looming over him, the Senju heir wondered just how he would win this one. The Hokage had made it very, very clear he couldn't lose, but the guy he was fighting was in his later teens, and likely had much more experience with his bloodline, where Hibiki had mostly been using it to imitate Wolverine.

Do not lose this fight. Hibiki thought back to the Hokage's words. Danzo had likely known the rules too, well before they had been brought up to Hibiki's attention, and the man had to know, just looking at the Senju heir, that while he was powerful, with all of the handicaps placed on him, this was an opponent who was out of his league. The question wasn't could he beat him, it was how he could do so with one hand tied behind his back, and the other dislocated and flopping around uselessly.

The Senju heir sighed, as he rested his hands in his pockets, and, what with all of the thoughts around the Shikotsumyaku, a thought occurred to him. If he had a healing factor capable of replacing missing bones and healing a chest that had been blasted off of him, did that mean he could smoke without repercussion? Sure, he may be a kid, but by law of the land, he was an adult, and by his standards, he was approaching forty, add that onto all of the shit being piled on his plate, he felt he'd earned a cigarette or two, and if it helped relieve some of this tension, he figured, why not? Hell, maybe he could upgrade, start chomping cigars like a badass. Did cigars even exist in the New Hotness? Besides, Back Home, one would have to worry about cancer and screwing up their lungs, but Hibiki had chakra, and a healing factor working in his favor, so whatever tissue he damaged by setting it on fire by proxy would be healed up about as fast as he could inhale the smoke; though he did wonder for a moment, would his healing factor also work on a nicotine addiction?

Questions for later. Thought the Senju heir, as he repressed a yawn, and felt a few hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "I'm not late." He said to the open air, as he raised his eyes and stared at the ANBU agent with a Wolf's mask.

"I am here to ensure that you do not become so." The baritone man intoned.

"I don't plan on skipping out, if that's what the Hokage's worrying about. Just collecting my thoughts." He looked up, "you wouldn't happen to know where I could buy a cigar, would you?"

It was now that Hibiki was treated to one of those very, very rare moments when he actually managed to stumble an ANBU agent. The crouching Wolf was silent for several consecutive seconds, the left half of his body bathed in sunlight, and the right half shrouded in shadow, as he stared down at Hibiki from behind his mask. "Why would you want to start smoking?"

Because I think it's actually a safe bet that there are enough Shinobi out there who do, and as such one intrepid medic figured out how to get all of the benefits, and none of the drawbacks. If there's a goddamn pill out there that can halt the menstrual process for Kunoichi, there's got to be Shinobi-brand cigars. Hibiku shrugged, "exploring avenues of stress relief that don't involve training ninety clones half to death, and beating the ever-living shit out of people." That, and it had been ten years since Hibiki had been able to answer a very different call of nature, and starting things up with Dai was starting to bring that closer and closer to the forefront of his mind, and remind him that it would be another three years, bare minimum, before he could do anything about it. In short, he needed something, and though he may be weak willed enough to pick up a cigarette, he wasn't going to go to a bottle, he saw what it did to Tsunade, and even if he hadn't, that wasn't a habit he wanted to get into.

The ANBU continued to stare at him for a few moments, before he said, "I'll tell you what, Senju. If you go right now, I'll buy you a pack. If you win, I'll get you the good stuff."

Hibiki couldn't help a grin as he shoved off of the wall, "why, Wolf, it seems as if you're assisting a ten year old in the formation of a very bad habit."

"You're an adult." Said Wolf, as-a-matter-of-factly.

Hibiki rolled his eyes, "gonna watch the fight?" He asked, as he hopped up onto the roof, and casually began walking in the direction of the stadium.

"I have to." He said, succinctly. A few minutes passed, and before Hibiki hopped down to enter the arena, the masked man added, "I wouldn't recommend it."

Hibiki, with one foot hanging off of the edge of the flat roof, turned his head. "Hm?"

"Smoking. I wouldn't recommend it." Said Wolf, "though I know not how much of the habit you'll circumvent with your healing abilities, it is still a bad habit to start. The risks outweigh the rewards."

The Senju heir chuckled, having heard it all before, in another life. "I know, I know. I'm only being half serious." He said, "but you've gotta seize the day, and all that." And as he was living proof, one don't just live once, so why not try things? As long as they were reasonable, he may find he enjoys them. He yawned, "wish me luck." and hopped off the roof.


Five minutes later, Hibiki was called out to enter the arena. Strolling out casually, his posture slackened and his hands in his pockets, his ears were immediately assaulted by tens of thousands of shouting voices, some cheering, some shouting just to join the crowd, some, specifically belonging to the foreign albino clansmen, booing. Hibiki gazed around the stadium, as he walked towards the center of the arena, recognizing none of the faces until he saw the shinobi seated atop the stadium's open roof. Lining the edge, he saw one group of five sedentary Genin, their legs swinging off of the edge of the open roof, and one tall, though unbathed Jonin, all waving their hands and cheering him on. Several feet to their side were the group of rookies and their token Genin friend, the Blonde Blur sitting in the center of the group and energetically calling down and waving to the Senju heir. Hibiki gave them all a grin and a nod, before his gaze lowered and he found the VIP section, filled with the Clan Heads, the Hokage, and the Kaguya Patriarch. The Senju heir immediately caught the stern, one-eyed glare of the Hokage, which only hammered home the man's words: Don't lose.

Hibiki broke eye contact with them quickly as he arrived center-field, coming to a halt a meter from Arjuna, who had slipped his arms out of his robed top, letting it swing freely, fastened to his waist by a thin belt. The white-haired Kaguya smiled widely and gave the Senju a nod, as another Kaguya, dressed similarly to Arjuna, with the difference being his top was more like an overcoat than a simple jacket, arrived and placed his chakra-coated fingers against his throat.

"Arjuna Kaguya." He said, pointing to the Kaguya heir, and silencing the stadium with his loud, booming voice, that managed to echo throughout the village for several kilometers. "Hibiki Senju." He pointed to the dark-haired Senju, who was straightening his stance and squaring his shoulders, now that the fun was starting. "I have been led to understand you two know the rules of this duel, but for the benefit of clarity I shall state them again. This is an exhibition match only, there shall be no loss of life in this arena." The way the tall, pale man spoke, it sounded as if he himself didn't quite like the bit about no killing, but he continued too fast for his distaste to be too visible. "Once this match begins, the only techniques you two are allowed to use are those related to the Shikotsumyaku. No other bloodlines, ninjutsu, or genjutsu are allowed in this fight. Victory will be awarded when your opponent loses consciousness, surrenders, or is rendered otherwise unable to continue fighting." He explained, "am I understood?" The two fighters nodded, Hibiki removed his hands from his pockets. "Are you ready to begin?" Another two nods, and as the man leapt away, he called out, "then do so!"

And, just as Hibiki predicted, as if a switch were flipped, Arjuna's round, kind eyes narrowed, and his kind smile turned into a ferocious frown. The Kaguya heir rocketed forward with a push of his legs, and stooped low to the ground as he threw out both hands and began spinning like a top. Bones began sprouting up like thorns from all over the upper half of his body, their sharp edges practically whistling in the air as he crossed the distance between him and Hibiki in a second. Hibiki hopped back and twisted and jerked his body in every direction, dodging the whirlwind of razor-sharp blades that Arjuna had become. The Kaguya heir spun with a fluid grace, throwing his arms out and stomping his legs as if he were conducting a lethal dance. Hibiki threw up his arm to block a spinning backhand, but immediately found his forearm locked to Arjuna as more bones burst out of his arm and into Hibiki's, penetrating the Senju heir and sending both of the combatants' blood flying.

Now locked to his opponent, Hibiki cursed as Arjuna sped up his dance, hopping into the air and launching two lightning fast kicks at Hibiki's chest, and then spinning around, using Hibiki's arm as a pendulum. Arjuna slammed the back of his free arm into Hibiki's back, but the Senju heir, thinking fast, stooped down low and threw his bound arm forward, managing to throw the Kaguya off balance and rip his arm free, sprinkling the ground in a shower of blood as Hibiki threw his foot backwards and caught Arjuna in the chest, sending him stumbling back several feet. Now on the offensive, Hibiki whipped around and popped his claws, before launching himself at the Kaguya heir like a predator, his arms splayed out to the side as he flew through the air. Arjuna, for his part, reacted quickly and ripped one of the bones out of his arms, revealing a sword which he used to block one of Hibiki's attacks. With his other hand, Arjuna sprouted dozens of curved, spiked bones and punched forward, just as Hibiki sank three of his claws into Arjuna's chest. Both attacks penetrated their opponent and burst out from their back, Arjuna's blood covering the ground behind him and Hibiki's soaking his windbreaker, turning it from a light gray into a deep red.

The two were locked to eachother for several seconds, Arjuna scowling, and Hibiki baring his teeth in a wide frown, before they broke apart with the sound of tearing flesh and grinding metal. Hibiki threw himself back into the offensive, launching all kinds of jabs, crosses and uppercuts, forcing Arjuna to defend them as both of their bodies sealed up their wounds. With a growl, Arjuna backhanded Hibiki with his bone-covered left arm, shredding the Senju's face and causing a great many in the crowd to wince, as the Kaguya heir fluidly followed it up with a one-legged spin, as he crouched low and reverse-slashed at Hibiki's stomach, chest, and then face. On the final upswing, Hibiki caught the skeletal weapon by its blade, drawing blood from his hand, but giving him just long enough to punch Arjuna thrice in his stomach, and on the fourth punch, he charged his arm with chakra and let it out with one large pulse, increasing the force of his blow and sending Arjuna flying backwards, blood leaking out of his heavily punctured stomach.

Now with space separating the two, Hibiki flicked his cut hand back and forth, splattering blood as the wound stitched itself back up. He was starting to understand why all of the Kaguya only wore a light coat, and let it hang off of their waists when they fought, though for the life of him, he couldn't understand why they chose white instead of red, as he watched Arjuna's coat become stained with his own blood. Hibiki felt the wounds all across his body seal themselves up, and after a moment, no longer felt air leaking out of the shredded half of his face, prompting him to stretch his jaw and make sure everything was in the right place. Arjuna, however, instead of ensuring his injuries had healed, had simply held up his hand, palm facing Hibiki.

Hibiki figured out what Arjuna was doing just an instant before he did it, and managed to dodge three of the seven senbon-like projectiles the Kaguya blasted out of his palm. Hibiki felt them dig into his legs, his chest, and felt one graze his throat. When he hit the ground again, Arjuna was there, and Hibiki had to act fast to dodge and parry the lightning fast flurry of fluid punches and kicks, almost feeling like he were in some kind of choreographed fight, with the way the Kaguya reacted so quickly and so fluidly, prompting the Senju heir to wonder if their martial arts revolved around this dance-like pattern. Fortunately for Hibiki, he was starting to find the method to the Kaguya's madness: He was moving in such fluid, fast ways, covering his body in sharp, bladed bones, with the sole intent to cause as many injuries as possible, so Hibiki would literally bleed his chakra to keep healing. With a growl, the Senju heir decided to change things up, parrying a blow from the Kaguya and, when the heir did as expected and instantly flowed into his next attack, instead of deflecting or dodging it and allowing this mad dance to continue, Hibiki met the attack head on, and slammed his clawed fist into that of the Kaguya. Hibiki felt his claws sink into the Kaguya's tightly clenched fist, and instantly knew his attack had had the desired effect when the Kaguya's momentum halted and he became stunned, both by the pain and the unexpected counter.

Now with a few seconds to press this advantage, Hibiki violently twisted his fist, breaking off all three claws inside the Kaguya's body and following it up with a savage punch to the stomach. The Kaguya's chest burst out in a macabre display, as his ribs became a forest of spiked bones and improvised armor, but the Senju kept up his attack, using the Kaguya heir's defense to his advantage, and gripping his weaponized ribcage as tightly as his blood-slicked hands could manage. Hibiki whirled around and lifted the Kaguya over his head, before slamming him headfirst into the ground. Knowing better than to leap on top of a man who could weaponize his skeleton, Hibiki instead ripped a sword out of his shoulderblades and held it in a reverse grip, before swinging downwards with a powerful stab. The Kaguya jerked his head to the left, and then rolled to the right, all of the bones protruding out of his bloody body crumbling into dust as he rolled away and hopped to his feet; but Hibiki knew that this was only to buy the Kaguya a precious second to try a new avenue of attack, and in response he hurled the skeletal sword as if it were a spear, managing to catch the Kaguya off guard and force him to dodge to the side, giving Hibiki the time to rush in.

Hibiki's rapid sprint forced Arjuna to fall back to his previous form, as he covered his body in the nigh impenetrable forest of thick, protruding bone blades. Hibiki, however, instead of trying to penetrate this defense or injure himself to get inside of it, threw his fist forward, and out from his forearm burst a massive spike. Arjuna realized what Hibiki was doing just as the spike got within inches of his chest, and the Kaguya heir threw up both hands to catch the spear just as it perforated his chest. He managed to slow it down such that it didn't go out his back, but Hibiki broke the spear off of his hand and grabbed it by its end. With a loud yell, Hibiki hauled Arjuna into the air, but instead of slamming him onto the ground, he tossed the spike a few inches upward, giving him the space to leap into the air and kick its end, the force of impact enough to jar it from Arjuna's hands and finally cause it to burst out his back. As the spear fell back down, Hibiki front-kicked it, sending Arjuna falling down in a wide arc. When he got within striking distance, Hibiki leapt up into the air and spun around, slamming his foot into Arjuna's face and casting him from the spear, and into the wall at the edge of the arena.

Hibiki hit the ground, his breathing and heart-rate increased as he heard the Konoha half of the crowd loudly grimacing, shuddering, and reacting to the bloody display below them. It occurred to Hibiki that these people were much more used to Shinobi battles, in which a good three quarters of the damage was physical, very few of them ever turned out to be as bloody as this one was becoming, and it managed to give Hibiki pause. For many of them, this was the first time that they'd seen anything even remotely resembling a fight, but here he and Arjuna were, gutting eachother every chance they got. Worse was that Arjuna's combat style, covering himself in jagged, sharp spikes, would prove almost instantly lethal to any other shinobi that tried to engage him in Taijutsu, in a 'death of a thousand cuts' fashion, but given that Hibiki had similar regenerative abilities, it merely made the battle that much bloodier. He saw Arjuna wrench himself out of the wall and stand up straight, his bones crumbling to dust as he fell into his own thoughts, likely reaching the same conclusions Hibiki was, and trying to solve the same problems. Arjuna's red-rimmed eyes were narrowed, and his face was compressed into a tight frown as he stared Hibiki down.

Alright... Think, Hibiki. You've essentially got all of Wolverine's powers... So how do you kill a guy that can heal from anything? He thought, as he briefly considered removing his blood-soaked windbreaker, but decided against it, as it was doing a halfway decent job at hiding his injuries from the spectators, so if he could spare them that, he might as well. I would either have to hit him so hard that he'd enter equilibrium mode, or cause so much damage that he just pisses chakra away, keeping up with it... But my biggest attacks aren't Wolverine related, and I'm nowhere near used to fighting with it enough such that I can try and speed up, I'll inevitably trip up and put myself in a world of hurt... He thought, calming his heart and slowing his breath. So... Fight like Wolverine... This guy's probably upped the density on his skeleton, so I can't try and... He narrowed his eyes, wait... He grinned, remembering a one-off trick he'd improvised on the spot with Katsuo. I've just got to use a little science. He thought, as he reached behind hid back, and summoned himself a longsword, the T-shaped crossguard sprouting outwards after he pulled out the hilt. His skeleton's durability won't mean jack if I can just cut right through it... And when I fought Katsuo, I demonstrated that I can control the sharpness of these blades. He thought, as he carefully removed the shoulder blade from his back, trying not to show his hand to his opponent, who seemed to be meeting his challenge and pulling a blade out of his forearm. So... As long as I make the cutting edge sharp enough, it will cut anything. Something smaller than the size of a molecule would be preferable, but he didn't have the time nor the patience to trial-and-error that, so he simply settled to force it to be as sharp as he possibly could, and as he took an offensive stance, he briefly pressed his thumb against the blade, not even feeling it puncture his skin and slice his thumb open.

Hibiki grinned, perfect. A moment later, he and Arjuna blasted towards eachother.

They met at the center of the arena, Arjuna brought his blade up to defend against Hibiki's quick downward swing, but he immediately realized he had made a mistake, as Hibiki's sword cleaved through Arjuna's with barely any resistance. The Kaguya heir had to jerk his entire upper body to the side to avoid having his arm get sliced off, but was unable to dodge Hibiki's attack entirely and still got a large hunk of flesh cut off, unleashing a spray of blood that cascaded down his arm. Quick as a whip, the pale-skinned nomad threw both arms out to the side and pivoted on one leg, managing to catch Hibiki's chest with the still sharp edge of his sword, and then pierce it completely by slamming a blade from underneath his wrist into him. Hibiki, however, brought up his blade and in a quick, circular swing, cut into Arjuna's extended arm. There was a great disparity between the density of Arjuna's sword and his inner skeleton, such that Hibiki met much more resistance, but he still cut through it quickly, bisecting Arjuna's good arm, which hung off of Hibiki's chest by its wrist-blade.

His eyes wide, and his new stump pouring thick streams blood, Arjuna leapt backwards as Hibiki grabbed his detached arm by the wrist and pulled it out of his chest. His heart beating madly, Hibiki tossed the useless limb to the side, and rested the flat of his blade on his shoulder, being careful to make sure he didn't cut himself open in the process. Arjuna landed several meters away from Hibiki, the both of them having tuned out the pained shrieks and stunned cries of the crowd, though the latter noticed quickly the uproarious, viking-like laughter and loud cheers coming from the sitting-in Kaguya clansmen.

Up where the Konoha shinobi sat, Teams Four and Six were on the figurative and literal edges of their seats, as they watched Hibiki and Arjuna's fight with rapt attention. Noboru, his Byakugan bulging, spoke up. "I have never seen a blade as sharp as the one Hibiki created." He said, "its cutting edge is almost invisible."

"Screw that - Hibiki just cut off someone's arm!" They heard Minato call out from the unofficially named 'Rookie section', "how isn't the ref calling the match? That guy can't fight anymore!" He asked, swinging his legs off of the edge of the roof.

Suboro, however, knew just as well as his teammate and Team Four why the match wasn't over. "You ever see the kind of hits Hibiki's taken?" Suboro called out to the blonde blur, who shook his head. The buzz-cut genin chuckled, "just watch."

"How did he make the blade so sharp, though?" The other resident Hyuga asked from in between her main-branch cousin and her Inuzuka teammate, her soft voice barely carrying over to the rookies. "Its cutting power is greater than that of a chakra blade."

From the furthest right of their group, Dai spoke up, as she adjusted the hood on her head, feeling the cool morning sun heat it up. "He had an encounter with a rinkaichu user yesterday, and I explained the theory behind them. I think that is where he got the idea... But to replicate it so fast..." She shook her head, "he has no end of surprises."

Standing behind them, and looming above them, the unclean Jonin piped in. "Now... How many rinkaichu users are even out there, miss Aburame? Why would he have an encounter in the first place?" He asked, leaning forward and humming thoughtfully, causing a few eyes to tear themselves away from Hibiki's fight and rest upon Dai, as the others slowly began connecting the dots.

Fortunately for them, Arjuna chose this moment to form the skeletal base for a new arm, causing an utterly floored Minato to call out in awe. "Whoa!"

Down in the arena, however, Hibiki launched himself forward, intent upon keeping the Kaguya heir on the back foot. Arjuna, however, simply thrust his new arm forward, and deftly caught the blade as the muscles began to grow in around his skeleton. The blade cleaved through bone and carved its way into the Kaguya heir's arm, but Hibiki figured out his goal the moment it ground to a halt, unable to cut any further. With a curse, Hibiki yanked backwards, managing to drag the blade out only a few inches before Arjuna smashed his fist into Hibiki's face and, in one fluid motion, grabbed the back of the Senju's head and wrenched it downward, slamming it onto his knee twice before Hibiki got the hint and let go of the sword long enough to grab at the Kaguya heir's knee and shove it to the side. The albino nomad wrenched his healing hand upwards, sliding the sword out of his healing, raw arm and grasping both hands together in a macabre display, before he slammed them both down onto Hibiki's back in a lightning-fast double axe-hand strike. Hibiki hit the ground, but spun around on his hand, forcing Arjuna to leap into the air to avoid having his legs get swept out from under him.

Hibiki took the offered opportunity and leapt back, flying over his sword and grabbing it by the hilt to avoid having Arjuna take it for his own. As he flew over the ground however, he heard the air whistling above him and then felt three large, dagger-shaped objects slam into his back with wet tearing noises. Hibiki's eyes widened as he felt the range of motion of his right arm lessen considerably, and when he landed on the ground, he looked over his shoulder, and found that the projectiles had been his claws! The ballsy Kaguya had left the detached blades in his wrist should he ever need them, and then shot them out like he'd done the bone-senbon, earlier.

Clever dick... Thought Hibiki, as he saw a shadow fly over him.

Unable to do anything about the claws mostly immobilizing his right arm, Hibiki grabbed his sword with his left hand and threw it up in a defensive stance, deflecting three more senbon and catching Arjuna's falling, downward slice with the sharp of his blade. It was as Arjuna kept falling, thanks to gravity and his sword having been cleaved in two, that Hibiki noticed this sword was still connected to the Kaguya heir, and Hibiki realized what Arjuna was doing. Arjuna seemed to have predicted that his next sword would again be cut apart by Hibiki's hyper-sharp blade, and instead of taking that lying down, he instead kept the bone-blade connected to his arm, so when he fell to the ground and was firmly within Hibiki's defenses, he channeled more chakra into his sword, turned it from a sword to a spear, and ran Hibiki through with it. Hibiki felt one of his lungs get pierced by this attack, but Arjuna wasn't done yet, he cracked off the spear from his arm and threw it like Hibiki did, and Hibiki flew across the arena, getting pinned to the far wall and left hanging several feet off of the ground, dangling there like a pupped with its strings cut.

His vision going slightly blurry and his chest exploding in pain as all of his oxygen production now had to rely on one lung, Hibiki desperately clawed at the spear, taking the long way off of it as he dragged himself forward with one arm. As he looked up, he saw something that made his sweaty face pale: He had dropped his sword, and the fully healed, though very blood-stained Arjuna was picking it up. With a loud croak, Hibiki slammed his fist into Arjuna's spear, but it rebounded off of it with a dull thud, leaving him with the feeling that he'd just tried to punch a steel pipe. With an angry wheeze, Hibiki popped a trio of claws from his left hand and cut off the end of the spear, allowing him to fall off of it with only another moment's struggle. With that problem solved, Hibiki awkwardly reached behind his back with his left arm and clawed at the claws stuck in his back, clenching his muscles to try and push them out as much as he could, and barely finding enough purchase to pull them out. Hibiki barely got one of the claws out of his back before he saw Arjuna dash forward, and he had to settle with an arm with a third of its normal range of emotion, and a quickly sealing hole in his chest.

Arjuna took Hibiki's sword and initiated a new attack, actually calling out this one as he closed the distance between Hibiki and himself. "Camellia Dance!" The Kaguya heir roared out, before he began thrusting wildly with Hibiki's longsowrd, moving so fast that it looked as if he had dozens of arms and each of them were stabbing independently of eachother. Hibiki was barely able to slap away, block, or deflect even a quarter of the attacks, the rest punctured his body with no resistance, turning him into a human pincushion as he was forced up against the wall and stabbed some more.

Shit, shit, shit! Hibiki acted on instinct, knowing he needed to hit this guy with something big, and something hard. He threw his good arm out to the side and formed a large, cylindrical construct that quickly took on the form of a battering ram. The Senju heir clenched his fist and smashed the battering ram into Arjuna's side, sending him stumbling over a few steps. Hibiki, feeling the blood leaking out of the hundreds of shallow puncture wounds all over his body, took two powerful steps forward and followed up the first attack with a heavy straight jab, ramming the dense bone construct into Arjuna's chest with enough strength to send the heir flying back.

Now with room to breathe, Hibiki decided it was past time for caution to the wind and, after he dropped his battering ram, Hibiki balled up his good fist and slammed it into the right side of his chest, feeling the edges of his claws press against his pectoral and just manage to penetrate it. In a macabre, bloody display that even managed to give Arjuna a few seconds' pause, Hibiki dug his small fingers into these two wounds, tearing them and his shirt open and grabbing at the edges of the two remaining claws, before dragging them out in a stream of blood. Clenching both of the detached, curved claws in his bloody hand, Hibiki cast them aside, not even registering the cheers coming from his academy friends.

"Did you see that?" Minato shoved Shikaku in the shoulder, "he just forced those knives through his chest and ripped 'em out!"

To his side, Fugaku, his red eyes narrow and his hands folded in his lap, spoke bluntly. "It just happened, Minato. We all saw it."

Shikaku, however, was holding his chin in thought. "Hibiki's going to need a new plan." He said, slowly. "He's got to be down to three quarters chakra, now, and though he's doing a good job imitating the Kaguya's ferocity, he can't beat the heir at his own game."

Minato waved his friend away, "ah, you're thinking about it too much. Hibiki's just feeling his opponent out, is all."

At that, however, Shikaku blinked, and turned to his blonde friend, as the latter adjusted the metal headband covering his forehead. "How do you figure?"

Minato folded his arms after he finished itching under the metal plate. "Hibiki doesn't use his bone techniques like the Kaguya do, he's only self trained." The blonde blur explained, "but in all of our sparring matches, he'd always spend the first few minutes feeling me out, watching how I fight, before he came up with a strategy to win." He nodded over to Fugaku, who scowled as he realized what the spikey-haired Genin was going to say. "It's how he's beat Fugaku for all this time, after all. I'll have to train a lot harder if I ever want to keep being his rival..." But he waved off his tangent, "anyways... You know I'm right." He said, his blue eyes locked onto Hibiki and Arjuna. "He's just been watching his opponent fight, trying to get a feel for him, and figure out more efficient ways to use his bone-techniques. Any minute now, he'll get his win."

Fugaku, however, shook his head, and offered his opinion. "Given the handicaps with which they are fighting, there is no way for Hibiki to win. The Kaguya heir is exponentially more skilled with his bloodline, whereas Hibiki barely knows what he's doing." He said, as, down below, the Kaguya brandished Hibiki's sword, swinging it around in a circular fashion, and assuming an offensive stance.

As the myriad of injuries plaguing Hibiki's body stitched themselves up, a heavily breathing Hibiki wiped the blood-mixed sweat from his forehead, unintentionally smearing it all over his head and his forearm as he tried to come up with an answer, the Hokage's words again echoing through his mind. Don't lose. But, with that 'Camellia Dance', the Kaguya heir had shown his clear dominance over Hibiki, at least when it came to the Shikotsumyaku. If Hibiki had had access to any of his other abilities, he might be able to stand a bigger chance, but as it stood, he was in a bad spot.

Come on... Thought Hibiki, as he formed a few kunai with his bones. Think! He threw those kunai in rapid succession, forcing Arjuna on the defensive and keeping him at range while Hibiki tried to come up with a strategy. It was clear he couldn't beat the Kaguya at his own game, but that was the only game he could play, so he needed to master it fast, or else he'd be doomed. Don't lose. How? What weakness was he missing? He couldn't try and sneak any of his techniques, they'd all see through it instantly, they were all too flashy, and he couldn't try and surreptitiously activate his Sharingan, or use a bloodline, they were too noticeable, the referee would see straight - That's it!

The Kaguya heir dodged the final kunai and surged forward, swinging Hibiki's sword wildly as he approached the Senju heir. But, Hibiki simply grinned, and the world slowed down to a crawl. All of his bloodlines and techniques were very noticeable, but one: His Flash technique. As long as he played his cards right, no one would think they were anything but really good reflexes. Hibiki was now able to see and perceive Arjuna's attacks at a much faster rate, the previously blistering fast swings now crawling slower than a snail. Hibiki allowed the world to speed up a bit and he dodged the swings before he crouched down low and elbowed Arjuna in the stomach, following it up with a spiked bone bursting out from his elbow and impaling the Kaguya in the stomach. Quick as a flash, Hibiki then swung his bloody fist forward and smashed it into the Kaguya's face, and as the world sped up, the Kaguya flew backwards.

Force... Is Mass multiplied by Acceleration, and I just accelerated enough to hit you like a truck. Thought Hibiki, as he straightened up and, in order to cement his story, called out, "it's about time for the warmup to end, isn't it?" As he spoke, he forced his breath to look calm, and he crumbled the elbow-blade, a part of him cursing himself for not thinking to disarm the Kaguya.

There was a full second in which Hibiki thought his ruse had failed, that the referee had seen through his trick, but when that second passed and nothing happened but Arjuna ripping himself out of the wall, he realized he'd found his golden ticket. The Kaguya stretched his back and cracked his neck, before he nodded. "I agree." He said, with a light, kind grin. "I am glad to see you too have been holding back."

In the back of Hibiki's mind, he swore he sensed someone was smiling at him, but he threw the feeling aside as Arjuna picked his blade up off of the ground, and Hibiki popped his claws with a quick swing and a flex of both arms. He swallowed thickly, wondering if the Kaguya had just called his bluff, and had actually been holding back this entire time, because if that were true, superspeed might not be enough. With a deep exhale, the Senju and Kaguya heirs bolted forward, and met in the center of the arena. Hibiki sped up, and parried a painfully slow slice from the Kaguya, before he followed it up with several quick punches to the gut, each one penetrating it and slicing it open in a shower of blood, covering both Hibiki and Arjuna both in blood. As the world sped back up, Arjuna chopped downwards with the sword, cleaving off Hibiki's claws and cutting into his arm. Hibiki, however, sped back up long enough to rip his arm off of the blade, and backhand the flat side, forcing it to the side. Arjuna, however, acted quickly when the Senju allowed the world to speed back up, and he spun around in a circle. Hibiki, however, knew it was time for this weapon to die, so he channeled a great deal of chakra into both hands and caught Arjuna's, noticing how hard he was straining against the physical strength of the Kaguya heir.

"I'm taking this back." Hibiki said, before he slammed his unbroken claws into the Kaguya's arm, and wrenched the sword out of his grip with the hand that had had its claws cut.

"Then allow me to take something in kind." Arjuna said, before he slammed his free hand onto Hibiki's arm before the Senju could rip it free. Hibiki's eyes grew wide as he actually felt his superdense skeleton break under the strength of the Kaguya's palm strike, and before he could react, Arjuna spawned a blade from under his right wrist and sliced upwards in a curved arc, bisecting Hibiki's arm as Hibiki had done earlier.

With a growl, Hibiki sped back up, slamming his sword into the ground, blade first, and then spinning around so his stump faced away from the Kaguya. With his circular momentum, Hibiki then slammed his fist into the Kaguya heir's chest and sent the teen sprawling backwards, while the world sped up, Hibiki yanked his blade out of the ground, and leapt back, channeling chakra into his new stump to accelerate the healing process.

Clever dick... Thought Hibiki, as he bit through the pain of losing his arm. Upon inspecting his stump, Hibiki discovered that the guy hadn't actually broken the bone, but cut it: There were saw-bones sticking out of Arjuna's hand, and jagged hunks of flesh hanging off of Hibiki's stump. Arjuna had weakened his bones enough such that a heavy enough hit would break them.

Up on the roof, as Hibiki healed his arm and he and Arjuna came up with their next plans, Dante Uchiha was silently staring, wide-eyed, at the Senju, as he recognized the swift-natured chakra his student had just displayed. He doubted anyone else who could see chakra would even recognize it, the Hast clan had been dead for decades, with the last surviving members having fought and died in the previous war. Somehow, the Graverobber had gotten ahold of their cells, and not only put it in that gray beast back in Kiri, but also in Hibiki. It was clever, how the boy was hiding it by only using it in short bursts, making it seem as if it weren't a non-Shikotsumyaku technique, but his reflexes, but it was also clear that he wasn't well versed in its use, he was burning through chakra much faster now.

The unclean Jonin lifted his gaze and stared across the roof, watching as the three assembled Sannin watched their collective child duel, wondering what was going through their minds as they watched the ten year old engage in his bloody duel. Given Tsunade's shaking fist and clenched jaw, he concluded with a suppressed grin that she wasn't too happy about all the blood being sprayed around. Dante was right, as the growling Senju head was forcibly restraining herself from leaping down and throttling the pale-headed clan heir, instead settling for growling to her teammates.

"It's a kami-damned gore-fest down there." She said lowly, her teeth bared and her jaw clenched tight.

To her left, Jiraiya knew better than to try and calm her with a pat on the back, instead he spoke honestly. "He's starting to figure it out, cut him some slack." He said, lowering his naturally loud and boisterous voice such that only his fellow Sannin could hear him. "Look at how fast he's going." He said, pointing down to the Senju and Kaguya heirs, as the latter charged the former, and Hibiki yanked his sword out of the ground and swung it around with blinding speeds, barely managing to keep the Kaguya at bay as he whipped around his razor-sharp sword and healed his stumpy arm. "Eventually it'll click that all he's got to do is hit the guy hard enough to knock him out, and the match is his."

Orochimaru, however, shook his head. "That is not his intent. He is testing the Kaguya..." He said, his yellow, snake-slit eyes slowly drifting towards the bisected limbs and all of the puddles of blood that covered the arena. "He isn't fighting this fight, he is preparing for future ones."

Tsunade turned her head towards Orochimaru, but kept her eyes locked onto her son. "What do you mean?" She asked, as Jiraiya leaned forward and peered at the snake sannin, an eyebrow raised.

"You both read the reports. He fought one of Kenichi's experiments in Kiri, and it had Kaguya blood, as well as the Envir clan's bloodline. He is fighting this Kaguya with the intent on learning exactly what it takes to kill someone who can heal from any injury." The white-skinned sage explained, "watch his movements. See how they match the Kaguya's in brutality, but exceed him in preciseness, and intent. See how he backs off after dealing large amounts of damage in a short amount of time." He explained, as they saw Hibiki zoom forward and make dozens of rapid slices to the Kaguya's chest and stomach, and then followed it up with a spinning back-kick, sending the Kaguya flying, as Hibiki shook his healing arm, the skin just now beginning to grow back over the fresh, exposed muscles. "He is creating strategies, learning the strengths and weaknesses... Even with these needless handicaps and exceptions they placed upon him, Jiraiya is right, he would need only to land one good, strong hit on the Kaguya and knock him out, and the match would be his. No amount of healing abilities can protect against enough applied blunt force trauma to the back of the head. But his intent is to develop strategies, as it is very possible many of Katsuo's allies and Kenichi's later creations posses Kaguya blood, and therefor he must have an ironclad way of killing them."

Jiraiya nodded, "clever gaki..." He said, straightening back up and briefly turning his gaze to his blonde student, who was throwing his hands into the air and cheering every time the Senju heir landed a hit. "But wouldn't it just be easiest to blow them all up? He can explode stuff with his mind. Easiest way to make sure someone doesn't heal from something is to make sure there's nothing left to heal."

"Indeed." Said Orochimaru, his pale yellow eyes watching the Senju heir with rapt interest. "But as Katsuo and the Envir fighter known as Aojiroi have both shown, the Grave Robber's experiments are more durable than Hibiki's ability to detonate his chakra. So he needs strategy, not brute force."

"But he specifically can't kill Arjuna, he would lose, both the match and Konoha's chances at gaining the clan." Tsunade said, brushing her blonde locks back behind her ear, "and we all know old man Danzo would shit bricks if he did that, especially after this last week." She muttered, her eyes narrowing even further as she cast a quick glance to the VIP box.

Orochimaru shook his head, "as I said, he backs off whenever he deals great damage. The boy is smart, Tsunade, perhaps smarter than you give him credit for." He said, his low, snake-like voice laced with a taunting tone.

Tsunade bit back a scathing retort, and simply resigned to silently watch her son continue to beat the tar out of the pale-skinned nomad, who slammed his hand onto the ground. Barely a second later, the ground beneath Hibiki's feet burst up in a shower of dirt and debris. Hibiki yelped and leapt into the air as dozens of massive, jagged stalagmites exploded from the ground. Hibiki arced through the air, but when he hit the ground, he was forced to take to the sky again as more stalagmites burst forth, quickly letting Hibiki onto the fact that the Kaguya heir was doing as Hibiki had done during the Chunin exams, years ago. Acting fast, on his next landing, Hibiki leapt forwards, his sword raised high and reared, and his prepubescent lungs letting out the loudest bellow they could produce. The world slowed down as he reached the Kaguya, and he noticed that the ground beneath Arjuna had turned from densely packed dirt, to white bone, and that he had begun sinking into it almost like clay.

Thinking fast, Hibiki changed his intended target and stabbed at the crouching nomad's feet, penetrating both of them and the bone platform beneath him, pinning him to it and making him unable to sink any further. Hibiki silently cursed, as the world sped up again and he saw Arjuna's wounds heal as much as they could, around the blade. None of the wounds were sticking! He healed from everything, nothing worked! The Kaguya heir's eyes went wide as he found himself pinned to the ground, partially submerged. He sensed the Senju heir land behind him and sent more bone-forged stalagmites bursting up where he landed, but in the blink of an eye, Hibiki was in front of him, and he felt his clawed fists slam into his body dozens of times in a matter of seconds, before Hibiki launched himself away and landed on a distant wall, and before Arjuna could initiate the Larch Dance and defend himself.

With a pained grunt, Arjuna ripped the blade from his calf and his leg, slicing his hands open to the bone as he did so. The blood-soaked blade clattered away to his right, and Arjuna focused even more of his waning chakra into his Seedling Farm dance, causing more and more bones to burst up from the ground, each of them covered in hundreds of small, sharp, bladed ends, ensuring that if Hibiki entered his field, he would not get out unscathed. What he didn't expect, however, was the sound of stone crunching, and then sensing, seeing, and hearing all of the bones between him and Hibiki get obliterated as the Senju, his left arm held out in front of him and covered by a massive, circular shield, flew straight through the field of bones, to the loud cheers of the native Konoha crowd.

Hibiki, his eyes wide and his teeth bared in a large snarling expression, landed on the small safe zone in the center of the field and swung around in a wide circular arc, dragging his claws through Arjuna's chest and carving three deep gouges through it, before Hibiki followed up his momentum and spun again, this time pummeling the Kaguya heir repeatedly with his massive aspis. All of the blunt-force trauma stunned the Kaguya, to the point that he barely even noticed the bloodied omega symbol adorning the shield's front. After the fifth strike, Arjuna threw forth both hands and halted the shield wholesale, with a loud, thick 'bang'. The struggle of strength grew in intensity as both the Senju and the Kaguya's legs slid further and further behind them, bracing them against the ground, neither moving an inch, though each tried to take a mile.

With a grin, the Kaguya finally dropped all of his resistance and sank into the ground, sending the Senju heir stumbling forward several steps. Arjuna then appeared behind Hibiki with a bone-sword in his hand, and he stabbed forward, impaling Hibiki's back before he dived back into the forest of bones. For his part, Hibiki removed the sword quickly and tried to hide behind his shield, but Arjuna responded by appearing beneath Hibiki and sinking several bone-senbon into Hibiki's back, forcing the dark-haired shinobi to leap into the air and back to the safety of his wall.

Dropping his aspis, and pulling the senbon out of his bleeding back, Hibiki searched the forest of bones for any sign of his opponent. This is new... He thought, wincing as the final senbon, which had hit a nerve, came free after a moment's struggle. He blinked, and brought the senbon in question around, staring at it for a moment. That was the second time one of these things had touched a nerve, or limited his movement in some fashion, though if it had been on purpose, he had no idea. It did give him an idea, however, as he thought back to the anatomy books from Back Home and his mother's library.

Swallowing deeply, Hibiki nodded, letting a grin stretch across his face. Alright... I've got an idea. He turned his gaze back to the white forest. I've just got to get him to come out... He looked down to his cast away shield, then back up to the forest, and his grin turned into a sneer.

Hibiki swept his sweaty, slightly blood-stained hair out of his eyes , and cut the chakra to his feet, falling quickly to the ground. He grabbed the shield and instead of smashing through the white forest again, he threw it into the air as high as he could. All of the audience, save the ones that had ever actually fought a day in their lives, tracked the shield for a second before their heads turned back down to Hibiki, who, as predicted, was immediately accosted by Arjuna. Hibiki sped up as fast as he could and lurched forward, grabbing at Arjuna's pale, blood and sweat-slick back. The Senju heir tore the Kaguya heir out of his technique and hauled him up high above his head, before dropping him down low and slamming his spine into Hibiki's knee, providing a shock great enough to stun Arjuna. Hibiki took this advantage and tossed Arjuna as hard as he could into the nearest stalagmites, slamming him through several and sending him back to the center of the arena, where Hibiki landed, hundreds of needle-thin bones growing and spilling out of his arms.

Though he felt he didn't need it, Hibiki did still speed up just enough to be noticeable, and he threw both of his hands into the air, sending all of the senbon he had created flying. He grabbed the senbon as they fell and slammed them into the joints in Arjuna's muscles, some pressing against his nerves, others against his pressure points, and others penetrating deep enough to slip between his bones. Hibiki's efforts started with his arms, and worked his way down to his hands, legs, and feet, immobilizing the Kaguya heir and stopping him from attempting a counter attack, as his shield reached the top of its arc and began falling. More razor-sharp needles sank into Arjuna's body, the man grunting and shouting with each pierce, but unable to move as all of his joints locked up and were blocked by the senbon. As Arjuna saw Hibiki's massive shield sail through the air, right towards them, his eyes widened, and he realized what was going to happen. Hibiki straightened up and casually caught the edge of the massive thing, quickly using its downward momentum to slide it onto his arm, before he lifted it high and smashed its edge onto Arjuna's face. Each lift and each impact was followed by a loud shout, both of effort from the Senju, and of pain from the Kaguya, as the former threw his entire body into every blow and the latter tried controlling his bone growth to force the senbon out of his body before he lost consciousness. Hibiki's long, black hair flew in all directions with every swing, and Arjuna's pony-tail came undone as his head repeatedly bounced off of the ground. His muscles bulging underneath the skin that wrapped around his small arms, Hibiki continued the brutal rampage, pounding the edge his shield onto Arjuna's face until finally, after the fifteenth impact of the fifty pound shield of dense bone, Hibiki noticed Arjuna had stopped struggling.

To ensure he wasn't trying to fake him out, the heavily breathing Hibiki paused a moment, and then hit the heir three more times, and when he didn't start fighting back again, the Senju heir finally straightened up, shook some of his sweaty hair from his face, and took a few steps back. Arjuna, while healing, was completely unconscious, his face and the edge of Hibiki's aspis covered in his bright red blood. His shoulders heaving up and down as he tried to supply his body with enough oxygen, Hibiki let the shield drop from his hands with a loud bang, and after a few seconds, the forest of bones began shaking, before it all crumbled to dust.

The crowd, both Konoha and Kaguya, was silent, as it dawned on them that the battle was over. This silence was broken by a certain blonde blur, who hopped up on his feet and yelled out, "YEAH, HIBIKI!" From above everyone, sounding the clarion for everyone else, even some of the more liberal Kaguya, to begin roaring out, yelling, screaming, cheering, just making noise for noise's sake.

With his hair plastered across his forehead, Hibiki turned his gaze up to the VIP box. He caught a fleeting glimpse of Danzo, who nodded so fast and so subtly that Hibiki barely even noticed, before the heavily bandaged former elder turned to the Kaguya clan patriarch. The two spoke for a moment, their words drained out by all of the cheering, but whatever they said, it ended with the Patriarch nodding once, firmly, a wide, proud smile stretching across his face as he reached over to Danzo, grasped his hand, and shook once.

Hibiki turned his gaze back to the unconscious, mostly healed Arjuna, idly noting the approach of two pairs of medics from the arena's side, and the rapid descent of his Sannin mother from the roof. Hibiki swallowed thickly through his dry throat, and nodded once. Now, he had a plan. If he ever had to fight Aojiroi, or, god forbid, Zetsu possessing another clone, or anyone with a healing factor as powerful as his, he knew how to end the fight: Paralyze them. Another tool, another contingency, another tactic, Hibiki just prayed, as he exhaustedly brought himself to a less defensive stance and took a few steps towards his mother, that his encounter with Katsuo would prove fruitful, and he wouldn't even need them.

When Tsunade caught her stumbling heir, she immediately started running her green-cloaked hands over his body, as the medics came near her and hauled him onto the stretcher. When they made it into the tunnel leading inside the stadium, Hibiki lifted his hand and waved at his mother, who was jogging alongside him and the medics. Her pace increased and she was by his side in an instant.

Exhausted, her heir, with an enormous grin on his face said, "I didn't even have to use my party trick." And a second later, he vanished in a plume of smoke, leaving the medics to stumble forward at the sudden loss of a lot of weight, and Tsunade to stare blankly at the stretcher, memories of her fight against Dante floating unbidden to her mind.

On top of the stadium, Noboru, his Byakugan still active, nodded his head once after seeing the display in the inner stadium, and removed a small, nondescript pebble from his scrolls pouch. Suboro took one look at the rock and fell over backwards as he started laughing, and it only took a glance from the Sharingan-using Dante to figure out what the fuss was about, while it took Dai and the rest of team six until the rock transformed into Hibiki to get the joke.

Behind him, as he let his Sharingan fade back into his onyx eyes, Dante cleared his throat, "you know, that could have gotten you disqualified." He said, as Hibiki, without a drop of blood on him, stretched his back and turned his gaze into the arena, where they had finished loading Arjuna onto a stretcher and were transporting him inside.

"No it wouldn't. His words were 'once the match begins'... I did this well before the match even started." The Senju heir grinned, and turned to Dante, "guess where I got the idea from?" He chuckled, "though, turns out I didn't even need it." He said, as he high-fived Suboro, who couldn't stop laughing. As the Senju heir stood to his feet, the golden morning sun beating down on his flesh, he stretched his arms. "I believe everyone's words have been... It's a very good... Party trick."

"I hope you're prepared for the day that bites you in the ass." Dante intoned, though not necessarily in a disapproving way.

"I am." Hibiki said, before he cracked his neck, and let his arms swing down to his sides. "Alright, that was a fun little distraction. Let's get some food."

Behind him, in the 'rookie section', he heard a certain Akimichi heir pipe in, "did someone say food?!"