Last Time:
"Thank you." Guy accepted the praise, "So, Kakashi, do you want to run point?"
"Sure, why not," Kakashi agreed.
"Think we can take them?" Naruto wondered.
Shikamaru shrugged, "The only thing that beats a failure is a try."
"Is that a yes or a no?" Kiba questioned.
"It's a 'let's see and find out,'" Shikamaru grumbled.
Synchronicity: Chapter 34 – The Bell Test (Part 3 of 4)
Though it wasn't an official title, being dubbed a member of the "Big Three" was one of the highest honors a person could receive at Elemental Academy. It was a reputable title that acknowledged the top three students, and it was a title that came with notoriety.
Ten years ago, Hatake Kakashi, Gai Might, and Sarutobi Asuma were the rightful carriers of the Big Three title during their school days.
Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, Kakashi was bestowed a Sharingan through an emergency in-field transplant performed by Nohara Rin, with Uchiha Obito being the donor. Though many suspected that Kakashi wouldn't be able to use the eye because he lacked Uchiha blood, he miraculously proved otherwise and went on to use it as though he'd been born with it. That paired with extensive training from the forever infamous Namikaze Minato, Kakashi was a force of nature.
Gai Might, a poor merchant's son who lived along the wall's interior, had been written off long before stepping foot into Elemental Academy. However, with the determination to make a name for himself and provide a better living for him and his father, Gai persevered and rose through the ranks without traditionally using Chakra. Though his Chakra readings would've left him living in the Outskirts, he fought for his place in Eden. Gai developed several techniques that placed him leagues above his classmates and labeled him a taijutsu master before eighteen.
And lastly, Sarutobi Asuma. Though the Grand Marshal son, Asuma, had set out to prove he was worthy of casting his own shadow rather than living in his father's. Though considered the problem child amongst his classmates for never failing to get into a fistfight outside of designated training sessions, Asuma proved himself lethal in the field. Shortly after graduation, he received a personal invitation from the former Captain of the Twelve Guardian Hunters tasked with protecting Supreme Kaguya. He served as a Twelve Guardian Hunters member for nearly ten years before eventually retiring and returning to Eden.
Time Remaining: 14 Hours & 27 Minutes
The plan was simple, divide and conquer. Or at least, it should've been simple. Shikamaru already knew that basic combat tactics wouldn't work against the three of them, and his mind was already trying to run through the thousands of scenarios that rushed through his head. Very few left them each with a bell.
No sacrifice, no victory.
It was an old saying that his father used to spout every time he came home from an assignment. Without fail, his father would be left to pen letters of condolences to the families of the Hunters and Huntresses who fell in the field, and he would always say, "No sacrifice, no victory." He always thought it was a senseless idea, but he was beginning to understand it a little better now.
Naruto launched a dozen adamantine chains out of the golden magic circle that rotated off the small of his back, and Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai immediately split up to avoid being caught. Shikamaru provided support by trying to catch them in his shadow binds with the three of them split, but they quickly avoided them.
Then, Lee went straight for Gai. It was the ideal match-up in Shikamaru's head because Lee knew the ins and outs of Gai's technique better than any of them. Gai had been training Lee long before he'd been accepted into Elemental Academy and had trained with him every day since for the last thirteen years.
"Good, Lee!" Gai boasted as he and Lee continuously connected each of their blows one after another. "Finally, an all-out fight between the two of us! I wonder who will be victorious?"
"It's an honor, Gai-sensei!" Lee boasted in return as he blocked Gai's kick with his own, the clashing of them limps making an uncomfortable cracking noise in the process.
Kakashi deflected several of Naruto's chains before landing on a tree branch, "Drop the weights, Gai."
"Are you sure?" Gai called as he kicked Lee back and began to jump in place. "I don't think things need to get that serious?"
"We're not here to hold back against them," Kakashi reminded him as he adjusted his own headband and revealed his left eye. "It wouldn't hurt to make them work for it."
Gai nodded, "Very well then, Kakashi!" Gai stopped jumping in place and rolled up his pants legs.
In a panic, Lee bolted for Gai but was blocked by Asuma. Asuma knocked him back with no effort at all and cracked his knuckles. He wore a smirk on his face, and he seemed to be having fun.
"There." Gai removed the weights around his legs quickly and began to toss them up in the air like a ball. "Asuma, step aside, please."
Asuma nodded and took a few steps aside, just in time to see more of Naruto's chains darting towards him. They were inches away from binding themselves around Gai, but he was gone faster than any of them could react, and then Naruto's chains were pinned.
"Lee!" Neji called.
"Right!" Lee mimicked Gai's earlier movements and quickly removed his weights. He dropped them, and the ground shook as they met the ground, and then Lee disappeared as well.
"Are they monsters?" Naruto said with a nervous chuckle as he let his chains dissolve.
"Neji, support Lee!" directed Shikamaru. "Chouji, you're with me. Kiba, Naruto, we'll leave Kakashi to you."
Kiba sucked his teeth, "I have to work with him?"
"Put the petty squabble aside, will you?" spat Neji before running off towards the sounds of trees crashing and the ground being devastated.
Chouji huffed his agreement before punching his fist together, "Don't hold back, Asuma-san!"
"That's Sarutobi-sensei while we're at school, Chouji," Asuma warned.
Shikamaru headed off against Asuma with Chouji at his side, leaving Kakashi staring down Naruto and Kiba. Admittedly, Kakashi was amused with the odd pairing, but he knew Sasuke was off handling something else.
Time Remaining: 12 Hours & 05 Minutes
Sasuke was breathing heavily as he ducked behind a tree and pressed his back against it. He was bloody and beaten, and he was beginning to run out of options. After he'd been separated from his unit, he was left wandering on his own for about an hour before he was attacked by Itachi.
It was simple enough, the two of them fighting one on one, but then the worst possible thing that could've happened happened, and Shisui arrived. While Sasuke looked up to Itachi, Itachi looked up to Shisui.
Shisui was the true definition of a prodigy and was one of the crown jewels amongst the Uchiha Clan. His parents had died when he was young during a field assignment, and he was taken in by Fugaku and Mikoto when he was ten. Itachi was five at the time, and Sasuke was just weeks away from being born. From then, Shisui proved a naturally talented Hunter and was invited to Haven Academy by his twelfth birthday. He declined, citing he wanted to help with Itachi's training. Eventually, when he graduated from Elemental Academy at the age of thirteen, he trained in Haven for several years before returning to Eden and joining the Uchiha's Hunters guild.
"Sasuke-chan," Shisui called. "You know hiding is futile, don't you?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. His sword was chipped and nearly broken. It could possibly manage another short encounter, but anything after that, and he'd be without a weapon. He was running low on Chakra as well, and the aching in his neck was starting to become more and more prevalent as time went on.
"You can use that, you know," Itachi encouraged.
Sasuke refused. He didn't want to use it. Especially not now. He and Itachi hadn't talked about that time in Momobami Forest, and he wanted it to stay there in the past.
"I just need a bell," Sasuke breathed. "Just one bell."
"And how exactly are you going to get a bell if you continue to hide like this, Sasuke-chan?"
Shisui was in front of Sasuke, and before Sasuke could retreat, Shisui wrapped his hand around Sasuke's neck and held him in place. He didn't squeeze, but Shisui was strong enough while Sasuke was tired enough.
"You're holding back," Shisui noted.
"I'm not," countered Sasuke.
Shisui raised an eyebrow, "You're not?"
"No." Sasuke grabbed Shisui's arm, but Shisui wasn't fazed.
Itachi joined them, "Being scared to use that part of you is going to limit you moving forward, Sasuke. Instead of running from it, embrace it."
"Embrace the monstrosity that I am thanks to this fucking Curse Mark? No thanks," Sasuke spit. "I'd be better off without it."
"Maybe so, but it's a part of you," Shisui reiterated. "You can't possibly hate yourself that much that you're willing to let yourself be defeated without using everything in your arsenal, right?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth.
Itachi opened his mouth to speak, but he and Shisui moved out of the way in time to just miss being shot by a cannon's massive blast. Sasuke fell to his knees, too exhausted to stand on his own. He looked up to see Sakura walking towards him carrying a cannon, and with the push of a button, it transformed back into a giant mallet that she had on her shoulder.
"You look exhausted," Sakura commented as he kneeled in front of him. "Need help?"
"There's not much that the two of us would be able to do against the two of them," Sasuke confessed.
Sakura thought for a moment, then shrugged, "Noted." She put a hand on his shoulder, and a green magic circle appeared beneath her palm.
Slowly, Sasuke began to feel better. "When did you start learning Healing Magic?"
"I've always known a few things," admitted Sakura. "I just know the basics, though."
"Oh, it's you again." Itachi recognized Sakura almost immediately, "Even after a blast like that, you still have a considerable about of Chakra left. I'm impressed."
"Thank you." Sakura gladly accepted their praise before standing up, "I know I won't be able to do much against the two of you, but I'd like to see where I stand against you."
"We'd be more than happy to oblige," Shisui cooed.
Sakura twirled her mallet. She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke, "Whatever you decide to do, I'll back you up."
Time Remaining: 10 Hours & 42 Minutes
Menma let out a heavy sigh as he strolled through the training grounds with not a scratch on him. The sounds of bells jangled as he walked, and despite having already obtained a bell earlier on, he went on to collect thirteen more.
"That's quite the collection you got there, Cousin Menma."
Menma stopped and turned to see Akari and Akira just a few feet away from him. He saw neither of them had bells, and from the looks of it, they'd probably fought like hell several times by now.
"Honestly, we were surprised you got cleared to participate in today's test," Akira admitted as he took a few steps to the right.
Akari nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we were worried about you. We're glad to see you're okay."
Menma sighed, "I'd rather not have to deal with the two of you."
"That's nice, but I'd feel wrong just having you hand a bell over to me," Akira admitted.
"Hm?" Menma looked at him. "Hand it over?"
With Menma's back turned, Akari dashed forward. However, before she realized it, she was slashed on the side of her abdomen by a black spike that erupted suddenly from the ground.
"Akari!" Akira called out to her, but before he could make an approach to catch her, he jumped out of the way of another spike that burst suddenly from the ground. He couldn't help but notice that the tip of it would've been perfectly aligned with his chest.
"Since we're family, I'll leave things as they are," Menma explained. He reached onto his belt, removed two of his fourteen bells, and dropped them on the ground. "I need to save my energy for my mother and then my brother."
Menma simply waved and walked away while Akari bled profusely from her wound. Akira had half a mind to chase after him, but all of his instincts warned him not to. So, he didn't.
Time Remaining: 9 Hours & 56 Minutes.
The fight against Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma was harrowing. Just as they were on the verge of obtaining bells, the three switched places and overwhelmed their students.
"Sticking to what you're familiar with will only lead to failure," Kakashi preached.
And he was mostly right. Amid their battle, they ended up running into a few others from Alpha Class and getting mixed up in a free-for-all battle amongst a group of students and teachers. It was a happy coincidence as a few students were adamant about obtaining a bell from one of the Big Three, and in the chaos, a few of them managed to snatch a bell and retreat. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.
"Where are you headed to now?" Shikamaru asked as he downed several gulps of water and handed his water bottle off to Chouji.
"I'm off to find either my mother or my father," Naruto answered as he rubbed his shoulder.
"You think Grand Marshal Namikaze is here too?" questioned Neji.
Naruto nodded, "I wouldn't put it past him to sneak away from work to goof off and participate in the Bell Test. He created it after all."
"Do you think you stand a chance against Headmistress Uzumaki?" Lee asked.
Naruto shrugged, "Maybe. I won't know unless I try. However, I am interested in a rematch against Kakashi. It was kind of cheap how we ended up getting those bells, but at least I can conserve my energy a bit to focus on fighting my parents."
"Happy coincidence," Kiba grumbled. "Don't complain too much. At least we have bells."
"It's not just about the bells," Shikamaru reminded him. "It's about our overall performance as well. The bells are just a symbol rather than an actual representation of our achievement."
Chouji sighed, "Thank you for making it feel worthless, Shikamaru."
There was a light chuckle amongst them as Shikamaru tried to apologize.
Time Remaining: 9 Hours & 31 Minutes
"Your brothers are assholes," Sakura complained as she lay panting against the ground with a damaged mallet beside her.
"Tell me something I don't know," Sasuke groaned as he slowly began to transform back into himself. "Thank you for the backup."
Sakura gave him an exhausted thumbs up, "I would say anything, but if it's against someone like that, then I'll consider it."
Sasuke chuckled, "Noted."
Time Remaining: 6 Hours & 21 Minutes
Kushina yawned loudly as she lay in a treetop. It was nearing sunrise, and she'd managed to squeeze in a nap between matches against students. None of them came even remotely close to touching the bell on her waist, and she hadn't expected them to.
"Had a nice nap?"
Kushina looked up and saw Minato hanging out on a branch several feet above her. "Yes, I did." She sat up and saw Minato take a seat beside her, "What do you think of my students?"
"They're having fun," Minato commented. "I'm glad. They've been through a lot already."
Kushina smiled a bit, "I'm glad this is working out like I had hoped."
Then, Kushina and Minato were on high alert. They dropped down from the tree branch they sat on and stood back to back. Kushina's chain markings appearing on her arms, and a golden magic circle appeared beside Minato. He caught the lance that fell out of the magic circle and gently nudged Kushina.
"Should we go easy on him?" Minato wondered.
"Hm," Kushina contemplated for a moment, "maybe. It has been eighteen hours, and I'm sure we'll be his last fight. Then again, it wouldn't be fair if we did take it easy on him."
Minato chuckled, "True."
I guess I can lend a hand here, Kit. I'd like to see you get at least one win against Kushina and Minato in your lifetime.
I appreciate it, Kurama. Naruto landed on the ground and slammed his hands down against it. Much like his mother, chain markings appear on his arms and bolted into the ground. They tore through the earth at a rapid speed, and just before they reached their target, a throwing knife whizzed past his cheek.
The knife was just a bit past Naruto before Minato appeared above him. He whirled around, and Naruto dodged out of the way of his father's lance but ran straight into his mother. He crossed his arms in front of him and took the brunt of the force from his mother's punch.
"Kurama, you're participating?" Kushina beamed.
"He said, 'yes,'" Naruto chuckled as he grabbed Kushina's arm, turned, and flipped Kushina over his head.
Kushina landed on her feet, and she and Naruto immediately went blow for blow against one another. Naruto released Kushina and stepped out of the way of Minato's lance, but Kushina grabbed the other end of it and hit Naruto in the stomach.
He coughed and gagged, and before he could protect himself, he suffered several more blows from each of his parents in a synchronized fashion before getting throw across the field. Before he slammed into a tree, nine fox tails erupted from his lower back and cushioned the collision.
"That's new," Naruto commented as he landed on the ground and checked his waving tails.
Be careful; those tails pack some power. Kurama warned. Of course, they're not as powerful as mine when I'm out, but they're strong enough.
Naruto felt a sudden chill pulse through him as he felt his nails extend into claws, and he suddenly heard more than he could before. His vision range grew several yards, and he felt a low growl come from the back of his throat.
"I was wondering when I'd be able to see you use Stage I," Kushina called as she approached with Minato's lance on her shoulder. She handled it effortlessly before handing it off to Minato.
"Stage I?" Naruto repeated.
Kushina pointed to her head, "Stage I. It seems Kurama's lending you some power."
Naruto touched his head and felt a pair of furry ears jutting out from his hair. They twitched beneath his fingers, and it didn't take much for him to figure out that fox ears came with the tails and claws. "Interesting."
Then, their blood ran cold.
The three of them jumped out of the way as a barrage of spears smashed into the ground and rearranged the terrain. Naruto landed on a nearby tree branch, but his instincts caused him to move as another spear crashed through the tree he'd been in and caused it to collapse. Kushina and Minato ducked and dodged every spear that came hurtling towards them until they both landed, and Minato produced a large golden magic circle. It caught an enormous spear that was aimed for the two of them, and it took more effort than Minato expected to make it disperse.
"Ah, ah. It looks like I might have to try a little harder."
Naruto landed on the ground and turned to see Menma walking towards them. Something unsettled him about Menma's relaxed demeanor, and he tried not to think too hard about what would've happened had one of those spears touched him.
Menma ran his fingers through his hair, and as he did, the Curse Mark on his neck began to spread. While Sasuke's Curse Mark produced flames, Menma's produced four-point stars. They sprinkled against his skin like stars in the nighttime, and Naruto felt a sickening presence radiate off of him.
Naruto then took an instinctive step back, and Menma noticed.
"You know, they dubbed this one the 'Curse Mark of the Void,'" Menma explained as something new glistened in his eye. "I haven't had a chance to try it out in actual combat yet, so I hope you don't mind learning a thing or two with me."
Be careful, Kit.
Kurama's warning bore down on Naruto.
To Be Continued…