THE HIDDEN SAND
Crickets began to chirp in the barren yet lively land of the Hidden Sand village. While the civilised families slept early, few ninja and teenagers roamed the streets, chattering and laughing after a day's work. There was more hubbub due to the upcoming festival as hosts, performers, and studio helpers worked through the night to construct the theatre. The festival took place once every three years where travelling performers would finally get a chance to display their talents in the spotlight and possibly, get personal praise from the Kazekage himself. Amidst the recent buzz in the sleepy village, two Leaf ninja silently skipped across the houses looking for a perfect hiding spot. They had approximately fifteen minutes left before their sensei would track them. One of the boys, Danzo, split from Torifu at the marketplace and blew the sand to cover his tracks. Torifu possessed no Wind style technique to meddle with the Sand so he just draped himself in a standard cloak issued by the village. He wondered where to hide when his ears were drawn to the maracas and the trumpeting of elephants at the festival backstage nearby. A group of elephants and performers dressed in flashy, colourful and tropical costumes along with several beautiful dancers pitifully skating at the orders of their director made their way on the stage for rehearsals. It was chaotic at the least and showed signs of ill-preparedness, however, a crowded place was a perfect place to hide within. The various chakra of several other people was sure to mask his own.
Torifu hastily dropped his cloak and watched the time. Ten minutes. Torifu then sunk into the crowd, occasionally bumping into stressed directors. As he made his way through, he marvelled at the beauty of it. While the festival seemed to be in a hassle, there was one thing that stood out and caught his eyes: the ramen-eating contest. A thin cook brought out carts of piping, hot ramen with clear soup and fresh vegetables floating between the surfaces but above the noodles. An entranced Torifu seemed to have forgotten about his exercise and stumbled to the kitchen; little did he know that Hikaku entered the festival backstage with a grumpy Danzo in one hand.
Hikaku smiled as he picked up a cloak covered in sand and dust but with one little detail: a unique curly strand of orange hair. So the brat slithered into the crowd, huh? I caught Danzo two minutes ago because of his lack of awareness. It was foolish of him to forget that if you hide underwater, there is no way I cannot see the water effervescing. But Torifu did truly well; despite his rotund appearance, he can find a way. He knows I can't sense his chakra in this crowd...sneaky! Danzo gave a little beam as he saw a well- known pattern manifest in his teacher's eyes. Hikaku, with his Sharingan, walked into the crowd. He had taken more time than he vouched for but he hoped that they would have forgotten that claim. He had much more to teach them.
Torifu approached the unattended shelves of ramen where he held back. But his resistance was overpowered by the enticing aroma and he dug into a lonely bowl. Of course, his mental compass told him to stop but why give up when they are many more on the shelves? Before he knew it, the hungry Akimichi had finished eighteen bowls in an inhuman speed probably putting every other contestant to shame. In an instant, he was caught halfway through his nineteenth bowl. He took his final slurp of ramen under the scowls of the cooks and owners. However, one of them noticed his talent and saw that he had consumed more bowls than anyone ever did...during rehearsals! He persuaded them to allow him in the final competition. The crowd would boom in excitement. Torifu thought twice and agreed. The showrunner shook his hands with Torifu when Hikaku found them in the tent.
"What is going on here?"
Torifu's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the training exercise.
"Uh...well..."
Instead, the showrunner slapped his back in a playful manner.
"What's going on is that Torifu here has signed a deal to participate in the ramen- eating festival tomorrow!"
"Oh, is that so, Torifu?", Hikaku smiled but only Torifu knew his eyes possessed malice behind that forced smile.
"Uh...well, I —"
"It looks like he is going to have to pass that opportunity."
The showrunner frowned and came close to Hikaku's face, clearly creeping him out.
"No! A deal is a deal! Torifu signed it and now he is going to participate in it!"
Hikaku sighed. It was not like they had anything to do for the next two days in the Hidden Sand, so he agreed as well. Danzo shrugged at the new turn of events.
"If you look on the bright side sensei, we all get to see Torifu stuff his face. I've heard that it is quite the hype."
"Well, whatever you say Danzo. Hey, why don't we check on Kagami? His surgery should be over by now..."
"Poor guy...he can't see Torifu gobble up ramen!"
Hikaku rolled his eyes as Torifu shied away from the insult.
"Sometimes, you bully Torifu a little too much, you know?"
Danzo gave a light chuckle as his team made their way out of the backstage.
The showrunner smirked as he saw his targets walk out. A small falcon, with a distinct red cap on its bald head, landed on his shoulder with a flaming matchstick. He placed a cigar in his mouth which the falcon dutifully lit. As he smoked in solitude, he whispered into the ears of the bird.
"Tell Lord Chikamatsu that I have found who he was looking for. My, it would be a nostalgic trip for him to come back here, eh?"
ONE HOUR AGO, THE HIDDEN SAND GENERAL
Kagami groaned as he felt Chiyo carve a slit in his abdomen and slowly push her fingers inside the flesh. Each second would have been excruciating if the medical team had not filled his body with pain killers. Chiyo glanced regularly at the diagram of the human body to guide her small hands between organs. This was a very delicate exercise for if she was to jerk about, she could displace a bone or two from its sockets or crush an internal organ. The real challenge was to avoid the intestines at all costs for it would be disastrous to realign them.
It took almost half an hour to feel the vibrations of his beating hart resonate through her fingers and she forced herself to stop panicking. She paused once and slowly cupped his heart with her fingers. Among the doctors supplying chakra, one of them by the name of Namiko, took another large bubble of water and held it above Kagami. Chiyo nodded at the signal and gave a tight momentary squeeze.
"Now! Get it out!"
The batrachotoxin permeated through the body in small globs and enter the water bubble. Suddenly, the doctors gasped as they felt Kagami's chakra diminish to a thin, flat line.
"We're losing him! His heart hasn't beat for over fifteen seconds! Infuse more chakra!"
Kagami began to jerk and Chiyo struggled under his movements. All of a sudden, Kagami unknowingly activated his Sharingan and accidentally placed Namiko in a genjutsu. Chiyo, with one hand grabbing her patient's heart, held the bubble with the other as other nurses dragged Namiko's fallen body. If the bubble was to go even a second without an experienced doctor's chakra, it would give way and the operation would fail. Everyone gasped and drew closer as the small girl persevered through the ordeal. She grunted as she sucked the poison from the bubble with all of her energy until the very last ounce of it exited Kagami's body. Exhausted, she retracted her hand from inside and fell backwards in the arms of her colleagues who performed the rest of the surgery by sealing the incision and healing that region. Chiyo had successfully saved Kagami.
THE HIDDEN FROST VILLAGE
Tobirama and his students armed themselves with kunai.
"You three...! You killed these men!"
"Obviously. Now we are going to kill you too.", Kai snickered.
"How in the world did you find us?! I was convinced that I left no trail!"
"When Kane stabbed you earlier, he implanted excess calcium in your body and we tracked you here. But hey, you should thank us considering that we 'finished' your mission!"
Tobirama gasped. He remember that one projectile that got past his senses but he never knew that they had been tracking his movements from then on. Nevertheless, it is now a direct confrontation and they know all his moves. But equally, he knew all their moves. It was time to employ a completely new set of skills. Under his hood, Kenji cleared his throat and grabbed his brothers' shoulders.
"I don't see why we should entertain these low-lives any longer. We have a job to do. I say we go with that technique."
They quickly agreed as they all bit their thumbs and swiped their blood on the ground in unison. This would be their trump card...
"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Pangorin!"
In front of Kai, an albino pangolin with curved bones for scales appeared before him.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Yamarashi!"
Beside the injured Kane, was an albino porcupine with thin, narrow quills made of bones. They were like longer senbon, only much harder.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Uni!"
And finally, Kenji had summoned a white sea urchin possessing the same albinism. This animal had spikes all around its spherical body.
Tobirama gulped as he saw the challenge placed before him. Not only was he faced with three deadly assassins but was now faced with three deadly mutant(almost the size of the average donkey) animals as well. Before he could make his move, Kai ordered his pangolin to attack. The white pangolin rolled itself up and its scales protruded. As it spun and gained momentum, dust formed at the end and when it reached an adequate speed, it rolled in the direction of its enemy. Team Tobirama dodged the animal just in time before it could crash into them. The pangolin growled as it missed its target and locked its eyes on Homura who had managed to grab onto a branch. Then, it rolled once more. Homura froze in his tracks but was saved by Hiruzen who hung by a higher branch and hoisted him up.
"Homura, you have to move! You can't just stand there!"
"I'm sorry, I'm just too scared."
"If you move fast enough, you went get killed. I am sure that by now you would have noticed a weakness in that pangolin."
Homura straightened his glasses.
"I have, yes. The pangolin would miss us if we keep moving. Once it rolls into a spiky ball, it loses its ability to see. If we happen to stay in a place for more than fifteen seconds or so, we would die for sure. However, we must try to stay quiet as well since its ability to hear us is not affected in any way."
Team Tobirama nodded as they acknowledged Homura's observation.
"On point, as always...Homura!", Tobirama praised.
"Evading the animal shouldn't be an issue but how do we get rid of it?"
Koharu placed her finger on her chin.
"They have a soft underside. If we injure or stab it, it will surely die. But it probably knows that which is why it will mostly be rolled up. It will try to expose its underside as much as possible."
Hiruzen shoved his fist into his other open palm. I thought Koharu was the stupid one...well, it looks like even she can bring up good points.
"Alright! So we shouldn't allow it to roll. If we can can continuously flicker between locations, we can confuse it and in that state of confusion, we can target its stomach. And there is only one person who I know who can flicker like that..."
Hiruzen, Homura and Koharu looked at Tobirama who pulled out several teleportation kunai and threw them a different locations.
"I got it. What would you three do then?"
"We will throw kunai at its belly!"
"So I'm a diversion, eh?"
"Yes, sensei."
Tobirama scoffed as he saw an energetic Hiruzen.
"I'd always thought that several years would pass before you can order me around, Saru."
Kai, Kane and Kenji had crossed arms as they saw the battle unfold. Kane tugged Kai's sleeve.
"Why the heck aren't we attacking!?"
Kenji replied, "It looks like Elder Brother wants to play with them. I assume that we shall get serious if they overpower the pangolin."
"Ugh, fine. Let's wait then."
Tobirama saw the pangolin's red beady eyes lock onto him and felt the dust kicking backwards as the animal rolled. Wait for it. No sooner did the pangolin dive for the silver- haired warrior than Tobirama flickered for the next kunai to his right. The pangolin missed and crashed into the mob tent which crumbled. Tobirama fixed his sight on the next kunai. He realised that he had to be as fast as possible if he was to confuse the pangolin. The pangolin once again brushed off the debris from its face and sharpened its scales. Suddenly, Tobirama rapidly switched between kunai, bewildering the animal. It was turning its head in every direction as Tobirama flickered in seconds. The pangolin had already fallen into Team Tobirama's trap as it exposed its shining white chest and stomach. Koharu summoned three fuma shuriken for all three of the students. As expected, three fuma shuriken sliced through the white pangolin as it fell backwards in its own bloodbath. It was a gruesome sight but on the bright side, one summon had been taken down.
Kai's overconfident smile turned into a disappointed frown. His brothers stood quiet in his anger. Kenji stepped forward.
"Alright, let's amp it up now. Altogether! Charge!"
Kane and Kenji stood on their summons as if they were surfing boards and charged with full speed while Kai transformed his hands into swords.
Tobirama instructed, "Koharu, battle Kai. Homura and Hiruzen shall handle the other two. As for me..."
Tobirama bit his own finger for a summoning.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Yuki Okami!"
In the smoke, a pack of five wolves with grey and white furry manes and crystal blue eyes appeared.
Hiruzen was wonderstruck.
"You have a summoning too?!"
Tobirama chuckled, "Yes, and when the time comes, you may too. If you must know, these are snow wolves from the Land of Iron. They thrive in snowy places hence I thought it would be appropriate that I summon them here. They are formidable beasts."
Koharu asked, "But isn't there a non- interference policy between samurai and shinobi?"
"Well, yes. I went there on a mission once and these dogs seemed to have taken a liking to me."
The wolves gave a bark of approval.
Tobirama finally took out his sword, the Sword of the Thunder God.
"Now enough chatter. Let's fight!"
It felt like the battle of the behemoths with Tobirama's pack of wolves thrashing through the crimson–splattered snow against the Kaguya brothers on their own animals. But Tobirama decided to play his hand first. Even the best warriors who faced Tobirama Senju in the past never saw any of his combination jutsu.
Tobirama, on the third wolf in the centre, quickly interlocked his fingers. Boar. Ram. Tiger. Snake. Dog.
"Go Hoko Shomei!"
From the mouths of all five of the snow wolves, streamed a five individual streaks of dazzling blue lightning that converged into one massive surge of electricity, targeting the brothers. It was magnificent. Kai and Kane clapped their hands once and a thick wall of solid bone arose from the ground just in time to block the lightning.
Tobirama gritted.
"Fine, if that won't do then I'm going to add some more into the mix."
As the surge of electricity tried its hardest to break through the wall, Tobirama made the hand signs for tiger, dog, horse, snake, hare, ox, hare and tiger.
"Suiton: Suidan no jutsu!"
A spiralling, powerful torrent of water enhanced with several salts from Tobirama's own body mixed with the direct bolt of electricity from the wolves and added more pressure on the wall. The Kaguya brothers, who cowered on the other side of the wall, noticed cracks indicating that it was going to give way soon. Tobirama noticed the cracks too but it was going to be some time before it would completely give way. Torifu Akimichi would have been useful here. I could provoke the brat enough to punch down the entire wall. That was when Hiruzen and Homura stepped into the picture. Homura throw a sequence of paper bombs at the wall while Hiruzen added his own Fire Style. And there it was, three natures of chakra bombarding a bone wall. The cracks widened and the wall crumbled forcing Kane and Kenji to get back on their feet and command their porcupine and sea urchin.
Kane's porcupine crouched as its quill stood out. All of sudden, quills as long as spears ejected from its furry body. The wolves howled as they elongated their fur long enough to offer enough depth for the quills to slow down.
Kai, on the other hand, was about to bring his sword down on the helpless Koharu when she was saved by a magnificent- looking sword that appeared out of thin air. Koharu raised her head and saw something she immediately recognised. It had a golden hilt and a blade made of pure amethyst: the Devil's Claw. It was a priceless heirloom that was passed down the Utatane line; it was said to appear in front of any member of Koharu's clan whenever they needed it the most or when their life was at the utmost peril.
The blade clashed with Kai's and eventually shattered it. Koharu was wonderstruck and grabbed the sword in her own hands. Kai began shooting bone spikes at Koharu who deflected them all. But if anyone would observe Koharu's eyes closely, one could make out that she focused on the sun moving through the clouds. It was not a perfectly sunny day after all, and she was waiting for an adequate time interval for the sun to be unobstructed. She finally found it after five minutes of fighting where she had suffered a cut on her shoulder. Then, the moment came. She held the Devil's Claw in the sunlight and the blade began to glow a bright violet colour. Kai was curious.
"What is your sword doing, girl?"
"The sunlight and my sword have a relationship, you see. If I am able to expose this sword to complete sunlight for five minutes, it unleashes a power beyond the both of us. And I think I am in a position to use it now! Shakuton: Moeru yona en!"
Kai was caught off-guard by this move when Koharu ran in circles around him, dragging the amethyst sword against the ground. The sword had traced a circle around Kai similar to how children draw on the sands at the beach; when Koharu activated a hand sign, the horse, the circle was immediately lit by violet flames. Kai found himself trapped in a boundary of fire. It was no ordinary Fire jutsu. This was a kekkai genkai. This was the Scorch Style. Tobirama and the others immediately turned in her direction and were almost blinded by the coruscating light. Koharu giggled proudly as she watched her enemy struggle in her flaming trap. Tobirama was most shocked of all. The Scorch Style?! Impossible! How can she use that at such a young age? It's a very rare kekkai genkai. That sword...is powerful...!
But Koharu wasn't done. She held her sword in the sky and performed one- handed signs for her next ultimate jutsu. Hare. Snake. Dog. Ram.
"Shakuton: Takakkei no kanso!"
Within the circle drawn by Koharu, a scorch flame ignited that could remove the moisture from any body. Koharu watched as her enemy screamed in agony as his body peeled away. Kai had hardened just in time to protect himself. But he wondered if that would hold. After the Koharu discontinued the jutsu, a fuly-burnt Kai lay in he circle. His body had been burnt off and bits of ash surrounded him. Koharu was sure that he was done for. Tobirama smiled. Ah! Now I understand. The Devil's Claw allows its user to draw any closed shape around their target. Using the sword's Scorch Release after exposing the sword to adequate sunlight, the user can perform any of its jutsu within the shape itself. Fascinating! But Koharu's heart almost stopped when she saw Kai cough out blood and wheeze. He is still...alive?!
"Foolish girl...but I'm not going to lie...that did hell of a lotta' damage! You almost got me if it wasn't for my Shikotsumyaku...", Kai coughed as blood streamed from his mouth. He had just suffered the worst incineration yet his hardening property softened the damage and kept him alive. He suddenly beckoned for Kane who was then engaged with Tobirama.
"Kane! Help! I'm almost..."
Kane understood and immediately went to his brother's side where he supplied life force. As Team Tobirama watched, Kai's severe burns were healed in no time. Tobirama was stunned. Impossible! The Scorch Style was for nought! In that case, our objective is to take out Kane. Without his unique medical ninjutsu and sensory abilities, taking down the others shouldn't be an issue.
THE HIDDEN SAND
"GREETINGS ONE AND ALL TO THE RAMEN- EATING EVENT OF THE FESTIVAL! HERE WE HAVE OUR HUNGRY COMPETITORS LINED UP FOR THE WIN!"
Hikaku facepalmed as he saw Torifu proudly take his seat on stage. It was the final stretch of the festival and the Kazekage and the Land of Fire's daimyo were more than enjoying it. The stage, surrounded by the Hidden Sand's ANBU at each corner, was more magnificent than he expected it to be. It seated almost four hundred to five hundred visitors. They were surrounded by walls all around with ten statues connecting them all. Of course, there was no ceiling since a fireworks show was promised as well. Contrasting Hikaku's reactions, Danzo Shimura and Kagami Uchiha, who begged Chiyo to allow him to attend the festival, howled like apes. Behind that façade of pride, Torifu felt insecure with chuckles from bigger, fatter and hungrier contestants. He had never been in the spotlight before and this was the first time he could show off his appetite. Danzo had made sure that Torifu missed dinner yesterday by locking him in the washrooms. Torifu hoped that it would pay off now. The presenter's falcon piped in his ear as he lit another cigar for its master. All the while, he had his eyes on Torifu and his teammates.
"FINALLY! TO THE MAIN EVENT! WHICH ONE OF THESE HUNGRY MEN...CAN EAT THE MOST AMOUNT OF RAMEN?! LET'S BEGIN! WHOEVER EMERGES VICTORIOUS CLAIMS THE TITLE OF WINNER!"
Ten competitors immediately started slurping on ramen. It took almost a minute and a half for Torifu to finish one bowl but he was astounded to see his fellow competitors picking up their sixth bowl! Torifu picked up the pace by reducing it to one minute. Before he knew it, he was already done with five bowls in a span of five minutes. But still, he was lagging behind. The rest had finished their eleventh bowl by now. Torifu decided to change his strategy. He needed to be more efficient.
He used his left chopstick to create an endless stream of noodles that were sucked into the left half of his mouth; the right chopstick hooked up solids like vegetables, egg and chicken pieces which were chewed by the right half of Torifu's mouth. It was working! His speed had doubled by two and half times and he started to finish a bowl of ramen in less than thirty seconds. The other contestants were surprised when Torifu called for the ramen cart that came with a new batch of fresh soup.
"WHAT IS THIS? YOUNG TORIFU AKIMICHI IS PICKING UP THE PACE AT SIXTH PLACE! AND WHAT AN UNORTHODOX WAY OF EATING RAMEN! A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THIS YOUNG COMPETITOR!"
The crowd erupted and Team Hikaku glanced around the audience all cheering for the chubby Torifu. Danzo raised his fist high in the air and rocked his chair back and forth.
"Yeah! Let's go, you fatty! Show them what you're made of!"
While Danzo screamed beyond the decibel range of the human ear, Kagami noticed something peculiar with his Sharingan. The man next to Torifu had eaten almost double the count; by his headband, he was representing the Hidden Grass. It was physically impossible for any human to achieve that. He turned back to a cheerleader behind him and inquired about the man.
"Hey, old man. Who is that man?"
Jeez, kid. Well, that's Chozen! His record in food- eating competitions hasn't been broken in almost ten years! Last I saw him was a barbecue– eating contest a year ago!"
Kagami confusingly turned back to the front of the stage. Their sensei, Hikaku, was cheering for Torifu as well, not as much as Danzo though. It was funny he didn't notice it yet. He decided to sit quiet and watch how the festival unfolds.
Torifu glanced to the scoreboard. It had been twenty minutes. Four contestants had given up after eating almost thirty bowls. Torifu had crossed forty. The gap between him and the top three was narrowing. Chozen was nearing seventy! Five minutes later, another struggled to force his forty- second bowl down his throat and instead puked it all out on stage floor. Unfortunately, his partners on either side were nauseated as well and suffered the same fate. Torifu thanked his stars for this miracle that thinned the herd to three competitors in a matter of half an hour. Hikaku, on the other hand, did not expect the food festival to finish so fast.
"IN AN INTERESTING TURN OF EVENTS, THREE CONTESTANTS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM THE CONTEST. WE ARE NOW LEFT WITH CHOZEN, WHOSE RECORD HAS NOT BEEN BROKEN IN ALMOST A DECADE; GROJA, A CELEBRITY FROM THE LAND OF WAVES; AND YOUNG TORIFU AKIMICHI, A NINJA FROM THE HIDDEN LEAF! WHO AMONG THESE LEGENDARY THREE SHALL GRAB THE TITLE FOR HIMSELF?"
Kagami had sat quiet long enough. He shook his teacher's arm who verified Kagami's suspicion using his own pair of Sharingan.
"No doubt. You're right Kagami. Chozen is cheating. I can see a second layer made of rubber that covers his stomach. It holds almost twenty kilograms of ramen. All the soup and noodles is being deposited in that fake sack everyone thinks is his stomach! Disgusting!"
Kagami was surprised that he hadn't been caught yet.
"How has no one found out yet? His record hasn't been broken in almost ten years is what they say!", said Danzo.
"Not everyone has the Sharingan. Plus, he sits too far from the audience; no one can observe to closely either.", Kagami added.
Hikaku nodded in approval and decided to expose this cheat once and for all. He took a kunai from his pouch. Danzo went wide- eyed at this.
"Sensei, are you serious? Are you going to kill Chozen?"
"No, genius. I am going to aim this at that fat stomach of his. As if my kunai would go through all that fake fat...pfft!"
Hikaku threw his kunai at Chozen who was caught off-guard. He looked at the crowd that immediately went silent. Not a word. The Kazekage's eyes began to twitch at the unholy sight. Even Torifu and Groja had frozen. Chozen immediately felt a trickle down his legs. Hikaku's kunai had punctured the sack of all the ramen Chozen had 'consumed'.
Chozen immediately got up and tried to scoop up the mess he had made in an effort to cover it up but he had been exposed. The entire audience had witnessed the greatest lie. No sooner did this happen than the crowd begin to hurl broken glass bottles and Chozen was immediately escorted off the stage unceremoniously. The presenter smirked at Torifu. He was only one bowl more than Groja, making him the current winner of this year's ramen- eating segment of the festival. He cleared his throat and straightened his collar.
"WHAT WE HAVE WITNESSED IS BEYOND THE EXPRESSION OF WORDS. THE ONCE MIGHTY CHOZEN HAS FALLEN. HOWEVER, HIS DECEIT SHALL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SCAMS IN THE HISTORY OF SHOWBIZ! BUT LOOKIE HERE! TORIFU HAS BEATEN GROJA BY ONE ENTIRE BOWL! IS THERE ANYONE THAT RIVALS HIM? NO ONE?"
The presenter and his falcon glanced left and right. There was no one left. The result was clear.
"TORIFU AKIMICHI HAS WON THE RAMEN- EATING CONTEST! SINCE CHOZEN HAS BEEN DISQUALIFIED AND HIS PRIZES AND ACCOMPISHMENTS HAVE BEEN SEIZED, TORIFU HAS BROKEN CHOZEN'S RECORD AT SIXTY BOWLS IN UNDER FORTY- FIVE MINUTES! TORIFU HAS JUST BEEN CROWNED AS THE RAMEN- KING!"
Torifu bounced with joy as he received a cheque. His friends dashed to the stage and shook his hands (they could have carried him if he wasn't too heavy).
Suddenly Torifu felt the cheque vibrate a bit. Even Kagami noticed it. As it wobbled in Torifu's hands, Danzo noticed a black, spiral pattern forming on the back of the cheque.
"NO, TORIFU! GET AWAY–", warned Hikaku.
But it was too late.
The explosion already took place.
The cheque was a summoning explosion. As the smoke cleared, one man stood in the centre that sent the entire crowd into a pandemonium. Hikaku was able to see through the fog with his Sharingan and gritted his teeth. Monzaemon! You bastard...
"Oho! Looks like the grand finale is about to begin! Hahahahahahaha! Stay tight in your seats, folks! You definitely do not want to miss this show, eh?!", Monzaemon exclaimed.
As the ANBU took out their weapons, Monzaemon sighed.
"I think I shall remove all the other external distractions. I'd like some personal time with the Uchiha if you don't mind."
The presenter smiled as the falcon flied and perched on to Monzaemon's shoulder. As Monzaemon tickled and scratched its chin, the falcon purred and used its sharp hook of its beak to pierce Monzaemon's finger. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram.
"Shirohigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shu - Korekushon Zentai!"
As the frightened audience looked around, ten puppets broke out from the ten statues and killed the ANBU who were stationed there. Hikaku was familiar with two of them but had not fought with the other eight before. He paid close attention to Mantra, whose poison almost killed Kagami in the first place.
As the Kazekage rose upwards in mountain of sand to take on Monzaemon, Hikaku raised a palm to stop him.
"Please, Lord Kazekage. Stay out of this; this is not worth your time. It is our mistake that we brought him here. We will deal with this ourselves."
"I am the Kazekage, Master Uchiha! It is my responsibility!"
"Please, sir! Allow us to handle this. There are citizens to take care of. Ensure that they are safe!"
"Fine. If it reached to a point beyond your control, I shall come and kill him myself."
With his final instruction, the Kazekage and his ANBU led the screaming people out of the theatres and made sure that everyone was accounted for.
Monzaemon slapped his cheeks.
"The people are sure missing out! But never mind, I got you all right where I wanted.", he said but then cupped his mouth dramatically when he saw a young and well Kagami alright and ready to fight.
"Hey, if my memory serves me well, didn't I poison you? You should be dead in hell right now! How in the world did you survive?!"
"Let's just say that there are talented ninja in this world who are willing to use their skills for good!", Kagami responded loud and clear as he thought of Chiyo.
"Enough with the cringe talk, let's fight! I am going to get those beautiful eyes of yours in my puppets by the end of this day."
"Lucky for you, we are willing to fight. Danzo, now!"
Danzo immediately aimed a volley of paper bombs at Monzaemon.
Hikaku and Kagami made the exact combination of seals and made a nozzle with their fingers over their mouth. Rat. Ox. Dog. Horse. Monkey. Boar. Tiger.
"Katon: Goka Messhitsu!"
Monzaemon brought his puppet Sutra to counter the flames. It was no ordinary flame, it was the one of the most dangerous Fire Style jutsu in existence. Since neither Hikaku nor Kagami could perform this technique on their own, a combination of their styles would have to do. When the surrounding flames died down, Team Hikaku was shocked to see Monzaemon unharmed. However, he was covered by a thick layer of crystal ice. Hikaku and Kagami blinked at each other. Where did all this ice come from?
"I see you have met Sutra here. This is the only puppet in my collection that can use Ice Style. You know why? 'Cause it's the only puppet that was once a human.", Monzaemon explained when he paused to see their horrified expressions and then continued, "Oh c'mon! The Yuki clan has a very precious kekkai genkai too!"
Torifu tried to form words.
"Y-You killed a Yuki clansman and... turned them into one of your p-puppets...?"
"Cripes, do you want me to spell it out for you, fatso?", Monzaemon remarked and then giggled. And then he saw his enemies' faces. Their pale faces regained their colour and they stood calm and content.
"What?"
Danzo began to laugh devilishly.
"You know, it is universal knowledge... THAT ONE MUST NEVER CALL AN AKIMICHI FAT!"
"Ha!"
Danzo had activated the paper bombs that had previously lodged themselves in the ice shield. Blocks and blocks of ice were flung in all directions as Danzo instigated his series of explosions. In the smoke, an expanded, furious Torifu rolled into a ball.
"Nikudan Sensha!"
Monzaemon was completely caught off- guard and brought another bulky puppet that his opponents were all familiar with: Karma.
Karma, in an effort to protect Sutra, used his enlarged arms to hold back the rolling Torifu. Torifu was kicking dust and wood behind as smoke began to arise from the high friction. Torifu was expending all his chakra to go as strong and fast as possible. Karma's feet began to sink into the ground as it wrestled the spiky rolling ball. Sutra aided Karma by forming a layer of ice around Torifu to freeze and slow him down. Hikaku activated his Mangekyou Sharingan.
"Mangekyou Sharingan: Susanoo!"
A ginormous warrior-like golden avatar encased Hikaku from the ribcage. Using all his strength, he heaved and his Susanoo's arms gave Torifu the extra push. Sutra was continuously pumping crystal ice to counter this new force. Kagami tapped Danzo on his shoulder.
"Hey, they're going all out too. Shouldn't we?"
"Definitely, Kagami."
"Ready when you are! Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"
On witnessing Kagami's fireball light Torifu into a flaming meatball, Danzo puffed his chest once more.
"Futon!"
Danzo's jutsu gave Team Hikaku the advantage as it increased Torifu's speed by one and a half times. Torifu was much bigger and had more energy since he had just consumed a lot of ramen. So Torifu wouldn't stop rolling any time soon. A few seconds later, Torifu overpowered Karma and ran it over. Karma was blasted into pieces and crumbs of woodchips spread across the burnt ground.
Hikaku looked around as the various energies in the theatre had reduced the surrounding five hundred metres to shreds. It was agreeably a good decision to evacuate. The Kazekage sure did his job.
Monzaemon seethed on seeing one of his beloved puppets destroyed. He had to play his cards right. If he sent all his puppets to fight, one of his opponents could activate an unseen jutsu that would eliminate them all. He had to send them out group by group.
"Oh, that does it!"
Monzaemon finally connected all his fingers – except his left thumb since Karma was gone – to Sutra and the remaining eight puppets that stood on stand-by at the corners of the theatre.
Sutra. You shall protect me. You are the strongest of them all.
Dharma. Sangha. Buddha. Mandala. Mantra. You five shall capture Kagami Uchiha. Kill the other two: the fat fool and that cocky brat.
Pagoda. Nirvana. Tantra. You three shall kill Hikaku Uchiha.
Kuchiyose no jutsu: Pangorin — SUMMONING TECHNIQUE: PANGOLIN
Kuchiyose no jutsu: Yamarashi — SUMMONING TECHNIQUE: PORCUPINE
Kuchiyose no jutsu: Uni — SUMMONING TECHNIQUE: SEA URCHIN
Kuchiyose no jutsu: Yuki Okami — SUMMONING TECHNIQUE: SNOW WOLVES
Go Hoko Shomei — PENTA-DIRECTIONAL LIGHTNING
Suiton: Suidan no jutsu — WATER STYLE: WATER BULLET TECHNIQUE
Shakuton: Moeru yona en — SCORCH STYLE: FLAMING CIRCLE
Shakuton: Takakkei no kanso — SCORCH STYLE: POLYGONAL DESICCATION
Shirohigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shu - Korekushon Zentai — WHITE SECRET TECHNIQUE: THE CHIKAMATSU COLLECTION OF TEN PUPPETS- THE ENTIRE COLLECTION
Katon: Goka Messhitsu — FIRE STYLE: GREAT FIRE DESTRUCTION
Nikudan Sensha — SPIKY HUMAN BOULDER
Mangekyou Sharingan: Susanoo — MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN: SUSANOO
Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu — FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL TECHNIQUE
Futon — WIND STYLE