Chapter 56

That night was a very long night and not in the usual way so I was exhausted when I got to the arena. It was a good thing my fight with Hiroshi was the last one because I more or less napped in the waiting area until we got called. A normal person wouldn't have been able to because of the noise of genin duking it out but stay in a room with about twenty other kids for four years you learn to sleep through just about anything.

When it came time for my match I had to be shaken awake by Kiriko. Her hair was wet and she was in a new change of clothing which meant that Suigetsu probably caught her during their match. A short conversation confirmed that he was declared the winner and he let her out of a water prison he'd caught her in.

The puppeteer managed to win their match through more direct means and Gonmaru got taken out by thunder gauntlets. Both those matches pushed heavily on the hour time limit for today with Gonmaru only going down after several direct hits. Good for him, even if he's out of the tournament he might be promoted on sheer stamina.

I nodded through the recap, grabbed some water and a sandwich and ate until I felt human again. There was a short intermission before matches and I stretched a bit before walking over to the field only stopping to give a short signal. Mitsuki signaled back which was good, I wouldn't want the fallout to be horrible from this match.

I stood opposite Hiroshi on the muddy and battered field of boulders as Killer Bee announced us breathing slightly and watching him. Hiroshi had a look of grim determination on his face. Huh, was I really that scary to him? Or maybe it was something else. I turned my head to look at the jonin, they weren't totally uninformed but they both looked grim. Yeah, this was going to be a stretch, but this was a favor for a friend.

And honestly, I had decided a long time ago who was more important than some stupid politics.

When Killer Bee announced the beginning I pushed off and Hiroshi immediately covered the entire arena in fog. The spot he occupied was vacant by the time I got there and I sighed placing a hand on my hip. Well, this was going to be interesting. I started to push chakra into my ears to try and hear him but that was when several explosions went off and I cut it off immediately.

He was hiding his presence with that noise, whelp, time to fix that then.

I held my sword and let out a breath. Truthfully I hadn't learned that much in the two weeks of training I had before the exams started, or at least nothing I could readily apply. Chakra flow was too hard to use without more training, ninja wire to deadly to apply without practice and even the trick with the fabric required more study to be effective. No, when I learned the most was from what I saw yesterday because I got to saw its applications and uses in action.

Every village had its advantage, every village had its element, and luckily for me, the village hidden in the sand was my element. It hadn't even taken long to adapt with my sword because wind techniques were often paired with weapons in Suna. I went through the seals with my off hand.

"Wind Release: Sweeping Wind Blade!"

I drew my sword in a large circle and from the blade came a gust of wind that swept through the arena. It was way easier than normal chakra flow because this was exactly the nature my chakra wanted to take.

The wind cut through the fog bringing a gust that sent it flying in every direction. It cleared the arena and cut into several of the rocks. I didn't put enough chakra into it for cutting, well I couldn't, I wasn't that practiced with it but it cleared the field and I found Hiroshi on one of the higher rocks. He looked down at me surprised, but only for a second before he did several seals and placed his palm on the rocks. I was dashing forward when he did so.

"Earth Release: Spike Trail!"

The spikes rose from the earth at a fast speed cutting off a direct route as I dodged through them. That wasn't too much of a problem until they started exploding.

The rocks were littered with explosive tags, probably what Hiroshi had put down before I landed to upset my hearing trick. They were low-grade explosions, nothing that would kill me if I got caught but they blew small bits off the rocks kicking up dust and pelting me with rocks. It was too random to predict and it wasn't like I could sense the attack coming because set charges don't have the intent to harm behind them, not directly.

After the first few I was done being on the ground for this nonsense and I shot up with a force jump in time to see Hiroshi go through several seals and shoot at me with water bullets. I dodged the first one with another jump and drew my sword to cut through a few of them. This wasn't in fact the best idea.

The tag he'd placed in one of the water bullets was a flash bang and it went off as soon as I hit it. Dang, he must have been training with Manami.

Under normal circumstances, I would have just dropped or jump backwards, but I didn't trust that Hiroshi didn't have a plan for that. Instead, I jumped forward and did the signs again.

"Wind Release: Cutting Wind!"

Sweeping my sword in a well practiced draw that I couldn't quite see with the spots in my eyes and the ringing in my ears. I didn't know if my attack hit, but my feet found the solid rock which I gripped with chakra and sheathed by blade spinning around as I regained my sight and heard a voice shout.

"Summoning: Owl Contract, Kohane!"

The was a pop of wind and when I turned I saw Hiroshi on the back of an owl the size of a small horse.

That was new. Not completely unexpected, owl's were the signature animal of the Kishi family. Kansen must have had him sign the contract in the last two weeks.

Well if it was a dogfight he wanted, he was a dogfight he'll get.

I jumped off the rock chasing after him jumping several times as the owl nimbly flew past. Hiroshi continued with his barrage of water bullets but I dodged with short jumps and quick drops. Spinning and turning like I was jumping between trees instead of midair. It didn't come without its price, though, I was losing chakra fast and needed a way to ground Hiroshi and his summons.

I positioned myself as high as I could go and started to do hand signs as I dropped.

"Wind Release: Sweeping Wind Blade"

The gust of wind cut across the sky into and across the owl's flight path clipping one of the creatures wings. That was all it took as it took a nosedive into a spiral taking it and Hiroshi with it. I was getting fairly close to the ground myself the knockback from the wind jutsu having propelled me the opposite direction but I slowed myself down enough to land on the rock below without harming myself and took position as Hiroshi continued his freefall. It took some time to figure out the distance as I built up energy. After this, I wouldn't have much in ways of jutsu left with my current energy since jumping that much had nearly tapped me out.

I covered the distance across the field like a rocket towards Hiroshi who fell away from his falling summon. I pulled my blade blunt side out and swung with all my force hitting the target as it fell which then.

Splash.

I continued flying blinking away the water as I searched the field. A water clone, then where was Hiroshi. I scanned around and found him clinging to the other side of the owl as it crashed breaking it's fall then puffing away as the summons finished. He looked a little worse for wear but still standing.

Well, that meant my options were limited to more simple tactics, but I was good at that and I started off running across the field my sword in its sheath ready to go. He met me head on splashing more water bullets before he did several hand seals in rapid succession.

"Ice Release: Frozen Prison."

Before putting his hand on the muddy ground. The ice crept up faster than I thought it would because it moved across the ground but, more importantly, it moved up my now wet legs and torso. Well, that must have been why he was using a water clone.

It was working, I was slowing down as the ice covered my clothes and chilled my muscles. I kept forward regardless but my swing was slower and he jumped back as the ice continued to form. I was shivering at this point, the cold on my skin forming a shell.
"Iiccccee rerelease."

My teeth shattered as I came to a complete stop as the water froze me in place. The entire field was freezing over the mud turning to frozen earth.
"Hohow lonng didid you praactice?"

He looked at me smiling an exhausted smile.

"A week, every day. I had to have water on hand, it was lucky Suigetsu went before us."

"Ohh, goodd, forr yooou."

I was chattering. Ice release was one of few mixed element releases that could be done by normal ninja. There was even a hidden village dedicated to it somewhere, though records on that were fuzzy.
"Dodoo yyyouu want to caall it?"

I looked at him.

"Are you really done?"
He said it his face serious.
"Is this really all you got?"

I looked at his face and saw how tired he was, I saw the determination and let out a sigh. No, I wasn't really done. Focusing inwardly I found what little chakra I had left and pushed it into my clothing. This technique wasn't actually a technique, it was something all Kiri-nin could do because we'd freeze otherwise. However, most ninjas didn't do it for their whole body or through a conduit of a hundred proof ninja cloth. I heated up so quickly it hurt a little. As the ice melted I readied my stance and drew a deep breath. Hiroshi looked at me tiredly as I pushed forward with my left foot pulled my sword out of its sheath ending the match.


After the crowd calmed down and I walked off the field tired as all hell and limping I saw a figure exit the kage booth and stomp down the stairs. Chigetsu stomped into the waiting area fuming.

"You have so.."

I held up a hand and gestured.
"We have an intermission Hozuki-sama, maybe we should talk in private."

I walked past him towards one of the side buildings. He followed me sour-faced but understanding my meaning as we moved towards the area. Once I was sure we weren't be observed I sighed and leaned against the wall weak from the exhaustion.
"Okay, you can yell at me now."

"You impediment little, I should have you executed for what you just did. You defied a direct order from your commander."
His face was red but his voice was lower trying to avoid being too loud as to attract attention.

"I made a judgment call, Hiroshi was exhausted after that match. If he were to fight again, he wouldn't have had a chance at winning."
I leaned against the wall.

"That ice technique probably drained him a lot, so now he doesn't have that as a way to surprise the opponent, and I doubt he can do another summons to deal with the brawler in the next round."

"Look at you, though, you can barely stand. A feather could knock you over. At least, if he'd advanced he could.."

I interrupted him again.
"He would have been hurt, badly hurt. That Kumo wouldn't have held back against him and if he's maimed how would the Kishi family reacted. If someone has to fight that lightning brute, it's better me than him. I know how to take hits better because I'm used to it."
Hiroshi was a skilled ninja, but his pain tolerance was lacking because they never beat him at the academy and none of his courses emphasized physical pain tolerance, that all was true.

"Why in the world would he exert himself like that, though, he should have saved his energy because you should have bowed out."
He looked at me.
"Now everyth…"

"Excuse me."
Mitsuki appeared from behind him.
"Hozuki-sama, I believe I have your winnings for you."

That caught him off guard.
"What?"
He looked at Mitsuki who had her head down in a respectful gesture as she held up the small suitcase.
"You're winnings, from the bet you placed. Ume sent me to pick it up."

"I didn't."
He looked at me for a few seconds.
"What did you do?"

I smiled at him.

"Well you know, I thought playing both sides would be wise if everything went south. So I put some money together and made a bet. Since you're our host, I told Mitsuki to arrange things to deliver it to you."

"What, how?"

Fifteen hours earlier..

"Alright so what insanity are we planning this time Ume?"

I sat across the table with leaning on the edge looking at Mitsuki rely.

"You know me too well."

"Well we all know you're insane, we've just accepted it as a coping mechanism and because you usually don't directly involve us in your plans. I already agreed to help pay for these projects of yours which I'm not entirely sure is going to work. How in the world are we going to reimburse the Mizushima when they ask for the receipts on all of this?"

I sighed, out of all of us, Mitsuki was the most practical minded. She was good with numbers, balancing odds and probabilities, as well as budgets. It was why she was effective in range combat, she could in her head calculate the trajectory of a kunai or a jutsu. The only reason why she wasn't considered as good as Hiroshi is she could only manage water and earth release.

"And they will want change to mark my word, they're very tight on their money."

I reached into one of my pouches and set down a stack of bills on the table.

"With this, that's about 50,000 ryo."

She looked down at the money in shock.

"Where did you get that?"

"Gambling, I bet what money I had left on Kiriko during the first match. The odds were good and she did not disappoint, then I doubled up on Gonmaru and Kiriko again."

I leaned on my hand.

"And I want you to do the same."

"You want me to go gambling? What if I get caught? I'm not like you, I can't just go out wandering every night going who knows where."

"Why not, you aren't even in the tournament anymore."

I pulled out a deck from my other pouch.

"Besides, you're not going to actually gamble, we're going to play poker and blackjack, and both of those are a numbers game."

"Do you even know how to play these games?"

She looked at me skeptically.

"Well I read in a book.."

I started but she cut me off.

"No, no nonsense about that. I never even seen you reading all these books you claim and I know for back there was no cookbooks in our shopping that showed you those recipes."

She said it sharply.

"If you're going to lie you should, at least, be more creative."

I started to laugh before speaking again.
"Okay, in a previous life I was not only a master chef but a professional gambler who participated in tournaments all over the country."

Which was a lie, of course, I just really loved watching food networks and only ever played tournaments in Vegas.

She snorted at this and picked up the deck of cards.
"Well I'll give you that, that is more creative than normal. Though I'd be more inclined to believe that you spent your last life as a trout because you always seem to try and swim upstream."

She sighed before looking at me again.

"Really now, you aren't fooling us as much as you think. Why are we getting all these things, why do we need so much money? If you could get this much gambling off the tournament you could easily repay the Mizushima."

I leaned forward and let out a breath.
"Alright, you know when me and Hiroshi spoke earlier."

"Yes, he was upset about something."

Mitsuki started to play with the cards.

"He usually hides it better, but this really unnerved him."

"He was upset because they asked me to lose our match tomorrow. They say it's a problem that people are expecting me to win."

I looked at her as she looked at the cards.

"Well it shouldn't, we're all representative, so what do you think the real reason is then."

She looked up at me. Mitsuki only ever acted and docile in front of adults, it was why she spoke so little and with very polite grammar. It made them think she was respectful, even though she had a sharper tongue than me sometimes.

I looked at the cards.

"It's all gambling, Chigetsu is betting on him, I got the amount from Gonbee earlier."

"Ah, so he's rigging the odds to make a tidy profit. That sounds like him, the Hozuki have been floundering in recent years in funds. It's why they're so eager to place their heir on the Kage chair, the prestige alone will net them more requests for work for that little private army they have going for them."

I would ask how she knew that but she spent two weeks being tutored by the family that runs the economy and adults tended to run their mouths when they thought children weren't listening.

"He's betting 100,000 ryu on 5 to 1 odds for Hiroshi to win tomorrow."

"That's a hefty sum, you expect me to make that much in one-night playing poker?"

She looked at the stack of bills.

"And blackjack, I confirmed it last night, but of course, you won't be doing it."

I slid the id card across the table.
"Kansen will be."

Mitsuki's eyes widened.

"You didn't, you stole this off of him? Won't he notice."

"Nope, because I'm going to be training wind techniques with him all night. We won't be going anywhere that requires him to flash ID, as long as you give it to me at the end of the night he won't notice."

"Until people recognize him for gambling."

She looked at me.
"Must you reconfirm my reasons to doubt your sanity."

"We're ninja, we're supposed to take risks and sneak around. Besides I was in one of those gambling halls last night, most the people spending money are so drunk they can't see straight."

I leaned on the table.
"It's a numbers game, really it is. Just let me teach you and have a try. If you don't think you can manage it, then you can quit early and I'll throw the match. I mean if you really don't think you can do it."

She looked at the cards and started to process the words her face contorting into a frown before she started to speak in exaggerated anger.

"Damn you and your head games you flighty rabbit. Why do I always fall for your goading?"
She smiled at me.
"Show me before I become sane once more."


500,000 ryu was in the suitcase. I was placed at 1 to 3 odds against Hiroshi and Mitsuki managed to put turn the 50,000 I gave her into 200,000 which she placed all on me, leaving a 100,000 ryu leftover for us to use. When he looked at the money he was damn near speechless as I leaned on Mitsuki who offered me a hand.

"If you'll excuse me Hozuki-sama, I need to go lay down. I'll need my rest for my next match."