Disclaimer: I own nothing but with that said I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway!
Hey! Welcome back to yet another chapter, specifically chapter 30! As I've mentioned the chapters are going to be shorter given that I'm still in school and working so that's just how it is. I hope you all have been well since the last time and if not I hope things get better! I know this took a while primarily just having a lot to do with both my actual life ontop of the other stories that I'm working on. I'm actually thinking of doing another pure Naruto story, something with bloodline and a different take on the character but that's still a work in progress and I have other stories to attend to first.
Anywho, as always I hope you enjoy the chapter and as usual, I'll see you all at the bottom in the author's notes. Do remember the poll ends today so make sure to read the bottom AN to find out who won the vote, enjoy!
"Would Sabaku no Risa and Rock Lee make their way down to the arena."
Hayate's voice echoed throughout the room like the low rumbling of thunder, a sound that stirred discomfort in the stomachs of those with enough sense to understand the danger. The air shifted subtly and a gentle waft of bloodlust spiked violently for just a moment, just long enough to set hairs on end as the two combatants made their way down opposite flights of stairs to meet each other in the center of the arena.
Lee gave a bright smile as he stopped mere feet in front of his to be opponent, expressive black eyes staring undaunted into her dull teal orbs almost as if he was totally oblivious to the dangers that resided behind her glare. Perhaps he was, or perhaps he believed himself capable of handling whatever she could throw at him.
He would have a chance to prove just which camp he resided in soon enough.
"Yosh, I can hardly contain my excitement for this bout!" He pumped a fist in excitement as he stretched out his legs in preparation. "I can only hope you are feeling that same rush Risa-san!" He exclaimed, harshly slapping his cheeks in a manner that left him slightly red but clearly pumped to show off the fruits of his labor.
Risa for her part gave no verbal response to his inquiry, instead merely offering a low grunt of acknowledgment that she had indeed heard him and crossing her arms in a bored manner. Those that were familiar with her tendencies, however, could see a growing irritation in her gaze… a twitch reminiscent of substance withdrawal chewing its way to the surface.
Her impatience was growing as was her displeasure...
Lee's hand shot up reflexively in a textbook defined toss, launching a single shuriken towards his opponent, the silver throwing star bouncing off what appeared to be a cork that had begun speeding towards him before the match even started. Risa had not moved but her gourd was now unsealed marking her as the clear and obvious aggressor causing him to frown with disapproval.
"That was rather unyouthful of you Risa-san." Lee frowned quickly falling into his stance as the Suna-kunoichi stared him down. "Attacking before the proctor gave the word."
"There is no reason to delay the inevitable." She cocked her head to the side as if gesturing in curiosity but still maintained that mask of emotionlessness that seemed to define her. "What is one more second to a dying man in the end?"
Hayate paused ever so briefly in his incoming admonishment getting a taste for the almost suffocating amount of hostility in the air, a sensation of dread gripping him before vanishing almost as quickly as it came but regardless of his feelings he had a job to do. He did not even have it within him to chide the girl for attacking without his say so, the unsettling aura surrounding her outmatching anything he'd felt save for one brief night many years ago.
Her words sent a discomforting chill throughout the rest of the arena as well, even her own team seemed slightly distraught by her morbid inquiry but hid it better than most. From his spot against the railing, Naruto frowned as he gave the pair his undivided attention but his focus laid almost exclusively with the petite redhead. There was so much about her that he didn't understand yet still something unexplainable drew his attention towards her…
Who really was she?
"Begin!"
…
Lee's gaze hardened ever so slightly at the none too subtle threat, for as aloof as he might be his senses were on high alert in her presence. Kicking into action he decided to forgo any further conversation and attack head-on! Shooting forward he lashed out with a flurry of rapid punches hoping to capitalize on her relaxed stance and numerous openings to deliver a quick finish.
However, it appeared her disinterest in defense did not stem from a lack of ability but rather a lack of need to physically defend herself.
Bandaged fists slammed into what felt like reinforced concrete as a wall of hardened sand burst forth from her gourd and wrapped around the unmoving kunoichi, protecting her from the aggressive assault before retaliating with a quick swipe that forced the green-clad genin to retreat backing away from the redhead.
"Sand?" Lee stared curiously at the slowly swaying tendrils of finely ground earth swished hypnotically around his opponent. "I see… your name is far more fitting than I realized!" He nodded to himself but to the surprise of the spectators he didn't appear bothered or discouraged by this revelation, instead, he merely readied himself to attack again.
Grabbing a handful full of shuriken, he quickly launched a few of the steel stars towards the girl before blitzing her. Predictably, his weapons were caught and seemingly devoured by the grinding sand particles but he'd had expected that much so quickly pivoting to the side he lashed out with a kick testing the response time of her defenses at different angles. No matter where the attack came from flowing sand raced to meet it, protecting her with a single-minded determination.
Risa all the while stood motionless, unconcerned by his attempts while she watched with disinterest.
…
Sakura frowned as she watched as Lee was forced back away once again fleeing the seeking tendrils of sand that seemed determined to hunt him down. The freshly repaired arena was once again being battered and buffeted by the growing waves of sand smashing into it in an attempt to turn the boy into a paste.
"Why doesn't he attack from a distance? There is no way he's getting past that sand with just his fists." She wondered aloud trying to understand Lee's angle here. True enough, Lee had once again managed to evade the reaching sands and was launching yet another series of failed attacks on Risa herself who appeared more annoyed than challenged, as if he was merely a rather persistent fly buzzing around her than any real threat.
"Maybe he doesn't have any?" Naruto guessed, it seemed to him that Lee preferred taijutsu over anything else so perhaps he just didn't have anything else to fall back on. Risa's defense was clearly something to be feared judging by the fact that Lee had yet to land a single blow despite his best efforts. Unless he had an ace hidden up his sleeve he wasn't sure what Lee could really do to make it past that sand of hers.
"You are half right but that isn't all there is to it." Kakashi interrupted looking up from his book towards the arena below. "There is another reason that he is falling back on the same tactic over and over again, isn't that right Guy?" He commented his gaze shifting to the jounin in question who paid the silver-haired jounin no mind his attention turned entirely towards the battle below.
"Are you keeping tabs on my genin, Kakashi?" Guy finally responded after a few moments of silence but he didn't seem upset in the slightest by the prospect, after all it wasn't like he'd kept it a big secret. "But you are right, to answer your question Sakura-san, you have to understand one simple truth about my pupil." He focused his gaze back to his student, a mixture of pride and subtle worry in his eyes.
"Lee is unable to mold his chakra in the way necessary to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, they are simply beyond his ability to ever perform." He revealed bluntly drawing looks of disbelief from those who heard his words. A ninja that couldn't use any form of ninjutsu? Was that even possible? How had he passed through the academy?
"I know what you must be thinking but Lee has far too much spirit to allow such a handicap to stand in the way of his dreams. He wishes to be the greatest through nothing but his own skill in hand to hand combat and to show the world that through enough hard work no handicap is too large to be overcome. It is for these reasons that he must now find his own way past this obstacle." Guy explained before falling silent as all eyes turned back towards the match in question, suddenly many were seeing the bowl-cut teen in a new light.
…
"I am growing tired of this." Risa growled finally making a move, her hand suddenly stretched out as if to grab him and her sand mirrored her gesture, five thin, flowing streams shooting forward at twice the speed they had before catching the leaf-genin off guard as he was suddenly seized by the ankle. With barely a flick of her wrist, the sand gripping him violently whipped the trapped genin through the air like a ragdoll before launching him across the field and into the nearest wall with a loud crack that had onlookers wincing in sympathy.
Despite the pain running through him, Lee had no choice but to quickly roll to the side as yet another shower of sand smashed into his previous position easily destroying the concrete tiles below and painting a clear picture of what would happen to him should he be caught again.
Thinking on his feet, he swiftly rolled once again before kicking forward with even greater speed than before still easily evading the grasping tendrils of sand that reached out towards him. Drawing a kunai into his hand he tried to hack and slash his way through her defense hoping that perhaps tempered metal might succeed where flesh and bone failed and to his credit the attempt did prove slightly more successful than his first. The blade managed to cut through the thinner layers surrounding his opponent but still he was forced to flee as he lacked the raw power needed to fully pierce her defenses.
At this point all Risa really had to do was out last him or wait for him to slip up. The chance of which grew more and more likely with each failed attempt as she became more accustomed to his newfound speed and attack patterns. If he didn't do something soon then this match was as good as over.
"Lee!"
From the stands, Guy shouted to his student his fist held out towards the green-clad youth while a fire burned in his eyes. "Take them off!" He shouted, his words drawing looks of curiosity from the crowd as they wondered what the loud jounin was talking about.
Lee paused and even herself Risa halted her assault, her arms crossing once more while her sand returned to her side. She may have hated being interrupted but she despised an unsatisfying end… if he had any more tricks to reveal she would let him bring them forth if only to satiate her cravings.
"But Guy-sensei, you said-" Lee appeared uncertain.
"I'll allow it!" Guy interrupted sending his pupil a strong thumbs up a silent conversation being conveyed between teacher and student in the instant their eyes met. "Show them the strength of your youth!"
Lee hesitated for only a brief moment before nodding and leaping away from his opponent to land gracefully on the large statue that hovered over the arena. All the while Risa watched with mild interest, her sand still twitching and writhing around her but making no move to attack or take advantage of the opening.
Lee quickly crouched down and without wasting a moment pulled down the bright orange leg warmers hugging his calf revealing long black weights strapped to each of his legs.
~Up in the Stands~
"He's been wearing weights the entire time?" Naruto hummed in contemplation at the implications of that. "To think he was still pretty fast even with those slowing him down." It must have taken Lee years of work to maintain such flexibility and agility even when weighed down so heavily, even when they first met he hadn't even gotten the slightest indication that Lee was being hindered in any way.
How strong was he?
Satsuki frowned as she watched the green-clad genin set to work removing the straps that keep the weights secured to his legs. She, of course, knew about using weights for training but she hadn't put much stock in the practice, how much would removing a couple of weights do for someone so clearly outclassed?
It appeared Sakura would be the voice of her concerns.
"There is no way a couple of weights are going to make that much of a difference." Sakura shot Lee a look of confusion and pity. Confusion at his choice to continue this fight and pity at the fact that she couldn't see any way of him getting out of this situation even with a small increase to his speed.
"Hmph, just wait!" Guy didn't seem bothered by their skepticism if anything he seemed almost emboldened by it. "Lee, show them all!"
~Back in the Arena~
"Hai, watch me Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted his resolve and tossed his weights to the ground…
Risa's eyes widened in shock, as did the rest of the spectators when the seemingly innocuous weights hit the ground and seemed to shake the entire arena to its foundation the pair of metal bands creating actual impact craters where they landed while kicking up large amounts of dust and debris into the air while also concealing the now liberated youth from view.
There was no time to process the sheer ridiculousness of how much weight the green-clad genin had been carrying as there was a brief explosion of sand to her right, the walls that kept her safe suddenly erupting in a violent spray of ground-up earth as something slammed into them with such force that it actually punched a hole her protective barrier.
Her head swiveled as yet another burst of sputtering sand sprayed out from behind her, then another to her left, then above, then below… It was relentless. She tried to pull the crumbling pieces back to her, to rebuild her now chipping defenses but she wasn't fast enough and it was now her turn on the back foot as the blurring mirage of the mini green beast plowed through her every attempt.
"Be still!" She growled, finally expressing the first real hints of an emotion that wasn't boredom but rather genuine irritation. Hurriedly calling upon all the sand she could pull in a brief moment of respite she commanded the sand into a tight ring, swirling it around her as a quick and dirty deterrent likely hoping to scare him off and regain her lost control.
However Lee was on a roll and he wouldn't back down so easily.
Stopping on a dime Lee swiftly rocketed forward, now emboldened by his newfound agility he was on the attack and in a move Risa was unprepared for slid underneath the swirling ring of sand she had summoned and landed a devastating rising kick to her unprotected jaw, scoring his first actual blow of the match and unknown to anyone outside of the team from Suna, the first real hit Risa had ever received in her entire life.
But Lee was not finished.
Leaping after her now sky-bound form with enough force to crack the ground below him he nearly vanished, suddenly materializing within now open guard landing another solid kick to her unprotected form, then another, then another. In defiance of gravity, the bowl-cut teen kicked the Suna-kunoichi further and further into the air. Tendrils of white bandages quickly loosened from Lee's arms that began wrapping around the airborne redhead as he shifted himself behind her, the sticky gauze constricting around her beaten form like snakes as he nearly mummified the girl before with a shout of victory he began to spin violently. A buffeting whirlwind suddenly encasing the duo and a subtle hint of chakra coating Lee as they careened headfirst towards the ground.
PRIMARY LOTUS!
The arena rumbled violently in the wake of another dust explosion. The spectators watched with bated breath as neither Lee nor Risa could be seen through the smoke leaving the outcome of the devastating attack from view. Suddenly Lee burst out from the now settling cloud of debris, his green bodysuit scuffed in place and those with eagle eyes noticed he appeared to be limping somewhat but he was still strong enough to stand and fight.
Risa on the other hand…
As the dust cleared the results of Lee's efforts were revealed. Risa's body lay face up in a large crater, her eyes left wide and unblinking while she rested motionless within the upturned concrete creating an eerie sight for all who looked upon her. Still, there was something… off about the body that laid within. Risa's skin began to crack, at first mere hairline fractures along the surface but those quickly grew into jagged pieces that chipped and flaked away over time. Lee and the gathered spectators could only watch with a mixture of shock and confusion as the "Risa" within the crater began to crumble away, her pale skin turning brown and grainy revealing her to be nothing more than a clone made of the same sand she commanded.
All the while behind the bewildered genin the leftover sand began to rise up, a single enraged teal orb peeking out from underneath the curtain of flowing grains while pale hands reached out from within.
Lee barely noticed in time to avoid being impaled by a single sharpened tendril that shot forward from the now fully reformed Sabaku's arm, the jagged sand cutting a slight gash in his side but compared to the alternative he counted himself lucky, had her attack hit home…
He didn't allow himself to lament that. Instead, he quickly created more distance between the two and once again a surge of chakra burst off of him revitalizing him slightly as they were locked in a brief but somehow far more intense stare down than before. Where there was once a passive loathing in her gaze there was now a growing restlessness, a madness that was not present before but was slowly breaking its way towards the surface…
"I was wrong about you…." Risa once more stood at her full height, her skin fully reformed and flawless while her sand swayed almost hypnotically by her side. "I thought you would prove to be nothing more than a waste of my time…"
A smirk crawled its way onto her face and a shiver of fear ran its way down his spine. There was something wrong with that smile, it was unnatural. A twisted amalgamation of joy, hatred, rage, and something far more primal clashed and fought for dominance within her expression unconsciously forcing him back as she began to raise her arms in preparation for the next stage of their fight.
"Now though I see I was wrong, Mother and I…We are going to enjoy grinding you into dust!"
The sand by her hip shot forward with a speed that made her past attempts seem like child's play, there was to be no more playing around and the swelling rush of sand fanned out into a great tidal wave that held nothing back in its attempt to smother the fleeing genin under it's crushing weight.
With no other choice to dodge, Lee was forced to jump over the incoming tsunami of deadly sand but clearly Risa had expected such a reaction. As Lee sailed overhead his eyes widened as the rushing tide suddenly stopped just below him, the churning mass instantly congealing into one large well of earth that covered the ground below.
"Desert Blossom!" The mass welled and ruptured, exploding upwards into a beautiful display of jagged thorns and pikes all aimed directly at him. Risa spared no expense in blocking off all means of escape, with countless blades of piercing earth surrounding the boy while further below the base of the explosion swelled up as if to entomb him should all else fail. It was a death trap with no escape.
Lee couldn't accept that.
Forgive me, Guy-sensei but to honor my ninja way, to protect what I hold dear… I must go to my limits!
As the sand drew in Lee appeared to give in, closing his eyes in spite of the oncoming assurance of death. Spectators from all sides watched with dread creeping into their hearts as the space between his body and the rushing sand grew more narrow until the boy was mere moments away from being swallowed whole.
GATE OF LIFE, OPEN! GATE OF PAIN, OPEN!
Onlookers watched in shock as Lee suddenly seemed to vanish, simply disappearing in a sudden and almost overwhelming wave of chakra that weighed heavily on everyone watching. Genin and jounin alike felt the impact of what Lee had just done even if only those with greater experience truly understood the significance.
"Guy… you didn't really teach that to a child?" Kakashi turned to his rival, his headband pulled up to real a rapidly shifting sharingan eye following the action that was by this point nearly impossible to track with the naked eye alone. "That is irresponsible." He chided knowing better than most the drawbacks of the opening that many gates, especially for such a young body.
Guy said nothing in defense for a moment, instead his focus was entirely dedicated onto the arena, on his pupil...
"I see myself in Lee, Kakashi… What I teach my students is my own responsibility to bear."
Kakashi said nothing in response instead falling in line and following the rest of the crowd and once more turning his attention to the fight below. Lee had reappeared and by this stage was nearly unrecognizable… his skin was now a dull reddish-brown and surged with a thick layer of angrily swirling chakra that covered him in a glowing aura that passively billowed off of his crouched form. The pupils of his eyes were no longer visible instead taking the form of blank white orbs narrowed in either anger or determination.
This was Konoha's second Green Beast.
…
"HAAAAH!"
The arena echoed with the sound of his warcry as the shockwave of his moments rippled through the air shattering the ground as he barreled forward. This would have to be the end, there was no walking back from this! His body burned and his bones groaned as small hairline fractures began to spread with every step he took, every movement felt like liquid fire coursing through him…
It was torture unlike anything he'd ever felt before but he would endure it… he had to!
Once again, Risa could mount no viable defense against this new threat and she was sent rocketing away, her sand simply unable to keep up as a bandaged fist drove itself into her cheek with earth-shattering force easily cracking her second line of defense in a single blow. Her limp form bounced off the floor before being launched into the air as Lee appeared beside her with his foot raised in a brutal kick to her chin. Over and over again she was thrown from one end of the arena to the next without even a moment to process it, direction became meaningless in the wake of pain and the drag of gravity fighting to retake ownership of her body.
She felt fear in those moments, in each strike that sent her slowly splintering armor into the wind she felt an emotion that she had spent the latter half of her life keeping buried under her hate and rage. As she caught glimpses of blank white eyes she knew what it was like to be weak again, afraid…
And her blood boiled within her veins because of it.
The arena was in tatters but that didn't matter to Lee, nothing mattered except piercing that final layer of armor!
Once more Risa found herself bound to him, a single winding bandage connecting her rag dolling body to him before, like a bungee cord, she was whipped back in his direction and a final flash of light and two points of searing pain erupted in her mind her form lurching as she was sent careening back down to earth.
REVERSE LOTUS!
A devastating explosion of wind, dust, and debris rocked the now busted arena that dwarfed anything that had come before and forced the spectators above to turn away lest they end up blinded by the incoming dust storm. An anxious silence settled over the arena for what felt like hours but in reality, was only a few short moments as the cloud of dust slowly cleared away revealing what had become of the two fighters…
Lee was down. His limbs were bent at awkward angles and his once pristine white bandages were now spattered with blood that painted parts of his jumpsuit and ugly shade of brown where the pooling life liquid was soaking into his clothes. He was only just barely conscious and even still the agonizing pain of the maneuver was evident upon his face, even the simple act of breathing appeared to cause extreme pain…
Risa was laid out in a similar manner though a small platform of sand had just managed to catch her and now housed her battered body. The sounds of labored breathing emanated from her lips in a low rattle while chips of broken sand armor fell freely from her skin… but this time real, flesh and blood awaited underneath confirming this was no clone. She had taken the attack with no tricks, no gimmicks, and now…
Well safe to say, she was more than a bit pissed off.
"No way, she just won't go down…" Naruto and the rest of the onlookers watched with disbelief as slowly and shakily the remaining sand around her body began to gather into the air with a single, unsteady twitch of its master's fingers, the rising sand beginning to swirl angrily in the air in response to its mistress's own raging emotions. Slowly the shape of single earthen-colored lance began to form above the crumpled up boy, its looming form poised to drive itself right through Lee's heart all the while a hacking, maddened laughter began to crawl its way out of her throat.
Risa grinned wildly as she carefully angled the weapon of her victory and in her ears she could hear Mother's screams of delight and pride egging her on to add yet another soul to her expanding collection! Normally, she didn't care much for her victims, barely able to recall a single face at the best of times… but this one...
This was far more personal now, and she was going to remember this for a long time...
"Die!"/"Enough!"
Her lance shattered, mere inches from piercing the boy's chest the instrument of her will simply ceased to be… the blood-soaked grains of her weapon dispersing in a single blast of pressurized air and an almost deafening explosion of force.
Guy stood protectively between his student and the now enraged kunoichi. Hard black eyes glaring unflinchingly into deranged teal while between them the scattered sand kicked and trashed in a rage but Guy stood firm and to those with enough knowledge of the man could see that he was only one wrong word away from taking the girls head off.
"Winner by interference, Sabaku no Risa!" Hayate quickly called the match knowing that if he didn't an international incident might just erupt if things continued any further. "Medics if you would?" He called hurriedly summoning a group of medic-nin who carefully began work transferring the barely intact genin onto a stretcher. All the while Risa and Guy continued their staredown, even as the young kunoichi began to rise to her feet, her armor smoothing out once more but her sand still vibrating angrily in the air.
"The match is over, return to the stands." Hayate ordered stepping in line beside Guy in hope of discouraging any further fighting.
Risa growled and for a moment there was a lingering fear that she might still attack regardless… but eventually, her sand returned to her side, repairing the remains of her defenses before filtering back into her gourd. The bloodlust radiating off her was almost palpable but she reluctantly conceded and slowly made her way back up to the now sheet white members of her team, a deep scowl etched onto her delicate features that left every soul near her on edge.
She was not pleased in the slightest.
…
An uneasy silence sat over the competitors as the stage was once again undergoing repairs. No one was really sure what to say… what could they say? The fight was by far the most impressive but the outcome left a sour note over the whole thing, Team Guy by far seemed the most rattled by it. Guy hadn't said a word since Lee had been escorted out and the two remaining members of his squad looked torn between furious and frightened, not that anyone could blame them, watching your teammate nearly die wasn't exactly a positive experience…
It took about fifteen minutes for the arena to be repaired but it felt like an eternity with the depressing aura that now lingered in the stands. It came as a sweet relief when Hayate returned to call out the next fighters, if only because it would give them all something else to focus on.
"Thank you for your patience, we will be moving onto the next match!" Hayate paused double checking to make sure everyone was paying attention before continuing. "Would Satsuki Uchiha and Ino Yamanaka make their way down to the arena!" He called.
"Looks like you're up Ino, have fun." Shikari smirked chuckling behind her hand while she watched her blond teammate make a face reminiscent of swallowing a lemon whole, her pretty face scrunched up in sheer disbelief at the unfairness of it all.
Of all the people she could be paired against it had to be Satsuki?! How was that fair?!
Satsuki meanwhile seemed equally as dissatisfied, granted it was for an entirely different reason, but still kept her displeasure hidden for the most part. Only the slight twitching of her brow gave any indication that she was not exactly thrilled to have to fight the Yamanaka. Sakura and Naruto didn't even bother to wish her luck, not because they weren't supportive but this wasn't even going to be a real fight.
Ino wasn't exactly weak but she wasn't a threat to her.
The duo met in the center and it was clear that while Ino wasn't going to back down she also wasn't exactly bursting with confidence, something Satsuki picked up on almost immediately causing her to roll her eyes at the utter waste of time this was going to be.
"If both competitors are ready… you may begin!" Hayta threw his arm down signaling the beginning of the match.
Ino sucked in a breath as she prepared herself, Satsuki had always been an aggressive fighter in the past and so she was expecting her to immediately charge her like she usually did, however, to her surprise the Uchiha did not so much as move an inch. Instead, she merely stood in place seemingly content to watch her from her starting position completely catching her off guard.
Something wasn't right about this… even if the heiress had mellowed out in the past few months it still wasn't in her nature to take things slow, especially not when the battle leaned so heavily in her favor. She focused up and in doing so she felt a slight distortion in her chakra, almost unnoticeable really but the Yamanaka clan were very in-tune with their chakra and immediately she understood what was wrong.
"Kai!" She brought her hands up into the ram sign and quickly flared her chakra, removing the distortion. As soon as she did so the world around her shifted ever so slightly, the change almost imperceivable given that nothing had really changed barring one key feature that was very different, namely the sudden appearance of a sandal covered foot sailing towards her face.
She only just managed to bring her arms up in time to avoid it slamming into her jaw but the impact still sent her skidding back slightly while a grunt of pain exited her lungs. Had that actually hit her head on she may have gone down in that one strike alone, it was only reflex that spared her from that embarrassment.
"Hn, you actually broke out of that… guess you have improved somewhat." Satsuki's slight praise did nothing to detract from the pain in her arms but it did boost her confidence somewhat to know that she'd at least managed to avoid being knocked out in one move. If Forehead could actually win her fight then at the very least she could try and not get immediately taken out.
"I guess Sakura was referring to you before… I guess it makes sense Naruto-baka doesn't have the patience for genjutsu." She joked and to her surprise, Satsuki actually smirked at her commentary. She easily caught the Uchiha sending a brief look up towards the stands where a scowling Uzumaki could be seen flipping her off.
She actually had to fight back a snort at the childish image, those two still couldn't find a way to get along even after all this time. The more things changed the more they stayed the same she supposed.
"Naturally, but even so I hope you don't think breaking out of that is going to change how this ends." Satsuki's humor died down and she leveled her with a serious look, one that spoke volumes about her intentions from here on. "I don't plan on losing here, you know… I hope you understand that."
Ino didn't need to be a genius to figure out that the Uchiha was offering her a chance to give up now, to be spared whatever pain she might inflict in her efforts to win. She also understood that in her own way the heiress had tried to be merciful in granting her a quick and almost painless loss which was rather surprising, part of her assumed that the girl might have actually taken some joy in roughing her up but it appeared that wasn't the case.
Biting her lip as she weighed her options she knew that her chances of victory were slim, a few months of training was simply not enough to make up the gap between them… but she couldn't just hang her head and surrender. She was a kunoichi too, she hadn't come this far just to give up without a fight.
Lost cause or not she still had her pride.
"I understand." Her answer was simple but it conveyed everything she needed it to. Falling into her clan's stance she saw a faint glimmer of respect in the onyx orbs of her opponent as the raven-haired girl dropped into her stance. For a second both just eyed the other and then in a moment, she was set upon by the Uchiha.
It was only thanks to Asuma's increased training over the past few months and her own natural flexibility that she prevented her from being completely overwhelmed. It helped that her clan's fighting style had a heavy emphasis on evasion which combined well with her strengths still Satsuki was faster and while she managed to avoid many hits the ones that did land made her feel like she was being struck with a steel bat.
Did everyone on that team have to hit like a runaway cart?
Still, she didn't back down. Since going on the offensive wasn't an option she played defense hard waiting for openings to appear in her opponent's guard she lashed out every so often scoring a few decent hits of her own but those were still too few and far between for her liking.
Satsuki had to admit Ino was actually holding her own decently well. She wasn't going all out obviously but still, she was holding her own and that was more than she'd ever managed in the academy. She supposed if Sakura could improve it wasn't a stretch for Ino to follow suit. She watched as the blond slid under an overhead kick and tried to return fire with a jab to her knee but she quickly pushed herself back with her other foot allowing her to escape.
Ino pushed the opening and kicked off the ground drawing a kunai to her hand she sent a flurry of stabs and slashes her way temporarily putting her on the backfoot as she worked to dodge the blades wide arcs. Watching another swing miss her she quickly grabbed Ino's wrist and squeezed tightly earning a shout of pain from the Yamanaka as she was forced to drop her blade before being silenced by a fist driving crashing into her cheek.
Stunned but not down, Ino grit her teeth and suddenly drove her shoulder into Satsuki using the girl's grip on her arm to force her into the attack. Unfortunately for her, Satsuki was used to such blunt maneuvers and she barely flinched at the impact, instead she pivoted and suddenly Ino found herself being choked out by her own arm while her opponent put pressure on her knees forcing her to the ground and exacerbating the tightness around her throat.
She needed an out and she needed it now.
Gathering chakra to her free arm she rammed it back with as much force as she could muster and drove her elbow directly into her captors rib cage and despite Satsuki's resilience she couldn't help her body's natural reaction to recoil at the blow and her grip slacked just enough for her to break free and roll away before the Uchiha could recover.
She was suddenly very thankful for her studies on the human body and its functions.
Their brief exchange had left both a bit scuffed but there was no denying that between them Satsuki had taken far less damage than she'd dished out appearing more or less unharmed. She could not claim the same, her breathing was a bit more labored and patches of her skin were now bright angry red from where she'd taken hits and her neck was no doubt in a similar condition. There was nothing to be gained from fighting at close range and she wasn't sure she'd be able to escape again if Satsuki got her hands on her.
Satsuki raised a brow when instead of charging at her Ino's hand suddenly began flashing through a set of seals that were very familiar to her and curiosity bubbled within her to see how well the Yamanaka would perform.
"Fire Style: Grand Fireball!" Ino's chest puffed up as chakra swelled within her lungs before she expelled the gathered energy into a compressed shot of fire, the air around her heating instantly as the jutsu left her lips and began barreling ahead towards the Uchiha heiress who inspected the incoming attack with a mixture of bemusement and slight competitiveness.
"Not bad… but not good enough!" Her own fingers flashed through the same seals but years of practice had drastically cut down the time it took for her to complete her attack. Her own chest bulged and with a far larger release of chakra, she met fire with fire.
The two fireballs slammed into one another in a bright display of light and scorching heat as the churning flames momentarily fought for dominance, Ino's briefly held its ground for a few precious moments before Satsuki's stronger flames eventually devoured those of its rival and pushed onward in a searing torrent, thankfully exploding just a few meters away from the Yamanaka who had already begun creating as much distance between herself and the oncoming flames as possible.
She may have avoided the fire itself but the heated shockwave still managed to knock her off her feet and send her rolling along the floor while also singeing her skin as it passed making the entire ordeal less than pleasant. She didn't even have a chance to get her bearings before being forced to the ground by a foot planting itself upon her back and the sudden coldness of a kunai being placed against her throat greeted her still dazed senses.
"Give up." Satsuki's tone left no room for negotiation or argument and she knew that she was beaten, there was no time to try for a mind transfer and she very much doubted the Uchiha would forgive her for rummaging around in her mind should she break free in time. While she didn't truly believe that her old classmate would use the weapon upon her with intent to kill the protector would likely deem the Uchiha the winner regardless.
She'd given it her best but her best just wasn't enough today.
"I… I forfeit." She sighed conceded the match with as much dignity as she could. At least she tried, no one could say she didn't give it her best shot.
"Winner by surrender, Satsuki Uchiha!" Hayate announced giving the win to Satsuki who nodded and quickly removed herself from atop the Yamanaka and to Ino's further surprise actually helped her to her feet, dusting her off as she did so. The Uchiha heiress must have noticed her slight shock since she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Don't look so surprised, you weren't that bad." She grunted and offered a subtle nod of respect towards the blond as she turned to make her way back to her team. "Also some advice? Next time let the chakra sit for a little bit before letting it out, it helps get a bit more kick out of it." She advised deciding to impart a bit of what she knew. Sort of as a consolation prize for not immediately backing out.
"R-Right, thanks!" Ino wasn't sure what exactly had caused the Uchiha to change so drastically over the course of a couple of months but she hoped whatever it was continued and she wasn't just thinking that because it may have spared her from a far worse beating than she got.
Well okay, maybe just a bit…
AN. Chapter Complete!
Boy do I not like the preliminaries, it's just a huge concentration of one fight scene after the next and that kills me haha. I really can not wait until Shippuden where I can just pull out all the big guns for more flashy battles but until then we'll work with what we've got. Anyway, let's just get to the main notes of the chapter so I can pass out and take a nap!
EDIT: Fixed the Lotus, the video I watched to review the fight had them switched, my bad!
Firstly, the two fights starting with Gaara/Risa vs. Lee:
To start off I do want to say that this is the only prelim fight that will be from canon, all the others I think are fairly obviously new but I did get that question so I wanted to address it. Now with that said I clearly didn't change too much of this fight for two main reasons. Number one being that I personally really like this fight and I didn't want to exclude it because it shows off the best of Lee and Gaara (Risa) in terms of what they value and overall strength. It's a fight that just sticks with you so I wanted to include it here.
The number two reason I didn't change it is actually because of Lee. There just isn't a lot of flexibility with a character who can only fight up close fighting someone who is extremely deadly up close. I didn't want to pull Shukaku out here naturally so I just had to settle for slight changes, most of the subtle things were on Risa's end mainly in how she manipulates her sand and her creativity with it which is something I want to expand upon going forward. I know many of you will not like the fact the fight didn't change but since I didn't summarize any of the other fights it felt wrong to do so here.
All the fights going forward though (chunin exams) shouldn't have this problem given the structure so I ask that you just bear with it,
As for Satsuki vs. Ino:
I don't think this one needs a ton of explanation. I was actually going to make this fight much shorter and include a third and final fight for the chapter but that felt like an insult to my goal to at least make the rookies a bit stronger and not sideline them all the time. Ino was never going to beat Satsuki but I did at least want her to put up a small fight and show that she wasn't static.
I avoided any mind games since I've done a lot of that recently so again that left Ino sort of pigeonholed into a shorter fight. Maybe in the future, she'll get more time to shine but this was just a bad match for her and an easy one for Satsuki.
The last thing I have to talk about today is of course what you have all been waiting for (probably, idk) the results of the poll!
I did say that I would be ending the poll in this chapter so long as the results weren't a tie and since I am currently mentioning this I think you can all safely assume that there was not a tie. I do want to take a moment and say a final thanks to everyone who participated either by voting, leaving their reasoning, or sharing ideas it meant a lot to me and I will definitely run polls again when the need arises.
With all that said, there is an understanding that one character has to win and one has to lose. I've spoken at length about why we can't have both (read the AN at chapter 20) and the results are based entirely off of the community votes which has nothing to do with me, everyone had the power of only ONE vote so take that knowledge with you.
Now as of writing this the grand total of votes sits at 189 total votes across both.
Team Tayuya ended with a total of: 85 votes
Team Samui ended with a total of: 104 votes
This means that Samui has won and will replace Tayuya within the harem so the final girls are:
Hinata
Kira
Shikari
Satsuki
Haku
Risa
Samui
If you don't like the result I'm sorry but it is out of my hands. I did get a request to reveal who I wanted to win at the end of the voting and I will do that in the next chapter just to give people time to settle with the decision. If you plan to tell me you are going to stop reading now that Samui is in and Tayuya is out then I implore you not to waste the time since like I said it's not a decision for me to change. I did have some other things I wanted to talk about but I think I'll leave those alone for now. My hope is to finish up the rest of the fights in the next chapter and then move onto the month break between the finals. I'll talk more about those plans later though.
Thank you as always for reading and I will see you all in the next chapter, whenever that comes out. You are free to review and leave your thoughts and any specific questions can be PM'd to me and I will try and answer those as best I can when I have a chance
Later!
