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chapter 4
While Fumiko and Taishiro hid themselves under the bushes nearby, Akemi immediately rushed towards Kushina sensei.
Fire Style, Fireball Jutsu.
Releasing the jutsu, a large, concentrated burst of flames exhaled from his lungs, Akemi launched his attack.
"What a fool," Taishiro murmured.
Taishiro was right, Fumiko thought. What kind of idiot carelessly steps into battle like that, without any sort of plan?
Kushina didn't have to make any sort of effort to avoid the attack. She dodged it with ease.
A grin emerged on her face. "Is that all you got?"
Akemi scoffed in frustration. He grabbed a handful of shuriken from his toolkit, launching them towards her. Kushina held out a kunai in a defensive position; her arm raised slightly above her body to shield herself, and used it to deflect the airborne shuriken. She then launched her kunai at Akemi, where it pierced through the thin, protective layer of clothing, puncturing the layer of bare skin, where it had hit him.
Except it didn't hit him. Where Akemi was standing just a second ago, a log had appeared in his place.
It was, without a doubt, substitution.
The real Akemi had snuck up right behind his sensei. He jumped at her, with his body positioned for an attack. He reached his hand out and clenched his fists, ready to throw a punch. But before he could get the chance, Kushina grabbed his arm, shifting her body weight to propel him forwards. He collided into a tree, where, swiftly and suddenly, a rope managed to ensnare his leg and force him upwards while he lay dangling from the tree upside down. He had fallen into a trap.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Kushina noted, "but a ninja must never carelessly enter into battle like thatβ you still have a lot to learn."
It had been hours since the bell test started, and without any food, nor any water. In fact, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, as they were all advised not to. They had only up until noon to complete the bell test, and yet they had already wasted more than half of that time.
Fumiko watched from a distance. Chakra flowed towards her eyes, activating her dojutsu:
Byakugan.
She glared into the morning sky; the sunlight grew vivid, slowly rising across the horizon. It was truly a magnificent scene. But as she was struck with a sudden realization, she was quickly awoken out of her trance. The position of the sun signified the time growing hastily closer to midday; which meant that her time was running out. Her focus was redirected towards the forest terrain as she calculated her next move.
But then, she noticed something.
Her gaze was instantly drawn to the ropes dangling from the tree. This was the tree that Akemi had previously been caught in during the beginning of the test. The ropes had been slashed, and judging by the way the ropes had been cut, it was done by a kunai.
So he escaped.
She felt a surge of confidence upon noticing this. So he had managed to accomplish something within the duration of the bell test. At least she could hold some sort of confidence in the team, knowing that the outcome of the test wouldn't be completely fatalistic. And now, she knew she had to do something as well.
Her best option, considering the time limit, would be to utilize her chakra control in an attack that would create an opening to take advantage of. She would seal just a small amount of her chakra, maintaining it with chakra control until the time would come. Fumiko reserved a small amount of her chakra. Until she could come up with a proper plan, this would suffice.
Her chakra control was decent, though it wasn't anything out of the ordinary; considering the fact that she was only a mere child. Her stamina was barely enough to sustain any prolonged chakra control. She would only be able to maintain a very small amount of chakra. But if it could only make the slightest difference, even that would be sufficient.
The next step would be for her to create a plan. She could sneak up her sensei, and then, use a substitution. Then the real her could take advantage of the opening, finally taking one of the bells for herself.
But what ifβ
"Fumiko, I know you're out there... why don't you come out?" Kushina called from a distance.
Darn it, I let my guard down, she thought. Oh well, I guess I have no other option. Fumiko crawled out from the bush she was hiding under.
Chakra control was a fairly difficult task. And because she was somewhat inexperienced in the arts, she wouldn't be able to sustain the stored chakra for much longer. The only option she could think of now was to utilize that chakra into one, swift attack. The outcome of her efforts would all depend on that one attack, otherwise, the opportunity would be wasted. But at the same, her chances of succeeding were slim, either way.
Well, it wouldn't hurt to try.
Fumiko channeled the chakra she had stored towards the tip of her palm, charging at Kushina head-on. As she prepared to strike, she twisted her torso, leaning forwards into a lunge with her arm outstretched in front of her body. With one swing, she struck her palm directly onto her sensei's core, piercing her chakra through the tenketsu.
But then, a cloud of smoke emerged from the point of impact, enlarging as it continued to engulf her body until her figure had dispersed into nothing but mere air.
A shadow clone.
"Nice try." Kushina swung her arm, ready to strike with her elbow in a counterattack; and this time it was the real her. With her small, fragile build, she was easily put at a disadvantage, being unable to evade the attack. Fumiko was knocked to the ground in an instant.
Fumiko lifted herself upright, and for a moment, she rested, her dominant hand clenching her chest and her knees on the ground as she struggled to catch her breath. She remained there until she gathered the energy to leave, as the attack had drained much of her chakra. She then retreated, concealing any trace of her presence as she hid herself in the shelter of a nearby bush.
The clock was ticking.
They had only a small amount of time remaining to complete the test. And considering the time limit, the genin had made little progress in retrieving the bells. Fumiko had not only wasted a considerable amount of time, but the attack had depleted her stamina as well. If they didn't think of something before the time ran out, they would meet the inevitable outcome of failure.
So then, how would she get the bells?
At this point, Fumiko could acknowledge that this was a nearly impossible task. Or rather, it was nearly impossible for a genin to attempt individually, she thought, as she was hit with a sudden realization.
Which meant that she would need the help of her teammates.
The only problem remaining was that there were only two they had one more person than bell, one of them would have to fail. Or maybe, Fumiko thought, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. If they opted to work together, the rest of the genin would be able to pass while only the weakest of them would be weeded out. And out of all of them, Akemi had the least chance of succeeding.
Now, the only thing she had left would be to locate her teammates. She knew that Akemi had at least managed to escape. So then, where was he?
Akemi crawled out from the lake utterly drenched in water. He immediately gasped for air, choking on the water of the lake he had emerged from. He had managed to escape from the trap, but barely. Furthermore, he had drained the vast majority of his chakra through the jutsu he had used much earlier. There wasn't much left he could do. Fumiko had depleted much of her chakra as well. The last attempt to conserve her chakra had ironically ended on the contrary. But if she could somehow manage to locate her teammates, she could still have some sort of chance.
Her breathing grew ragged and heavy as a result of her exhaustion. She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath. After a few moments, she prepared to weave the hand signs to activate the byakugan. Normally, it wouldn't be necessary. But because of her exhaustion, she needed aid in order to activate her prowess, thus relying on the hand signs. She slowly raised her arms above her chest, weaving the hand signs to activate her dojutsu: Horse. Tiger. Boar. Rabbit. Rat-
Before she could complete the hand signs, she was stopped by a voice nearby. "Leave it. You'll only deplete more of your chakra."
Fumiko recognized the voice in an instant. It was Nara Taishiro.
"Fumiko," he whispered.
Fumiko met his gaze. "What is it?"
"You've already realized it, haven't you...?"
"Realized what?"
"What this test is about."
Fumiko shook her head. "Have you?"
"The test is set up completely to test our teamwork skills," he explained. "We were told that if you manage to catch a bell, you pass. And since there were only two bells, one of us would fail. But that was a trap in itself. Knowing that only two of us would be able to pass would only result in our team being more divided. The main goal was to make sure that all of us would work as a team to catch the bells."
Fumiko looked visibly impressed. "You've anticipated that much?"
"I've had the majority of our time here to figure that out," he responded.
Exactly what you'd expect from a Nara.
He continued. "The point is, the only chance we have at passing this test is if we work together as a team. Otherwise, it's futile."
"As long as Akemi's on our team, that would be nearly impossible," she remarked.
Taishiro looked at her with a rather vague expression. "I don't necessarily like him, but we don't have much of a choice."
"Right," Fumiko responded.
"I've already devised a plan. If we can somehow manage to get Akemi to cooperate with us, we just might be able to pass."
And that was where their problem began.
"And what makes you think your idea is going to work?" Akemi had asked them. His tone was lined with sarcasm, almost as if he was mocking them. All the trouble they went through to go find him, and yet he didn't seem to care at all.
"I haven't even told you it, yet," said Taishiro.
"Yeah, and I don't want to hear it," he responded.
"Akemi, you're way too overconfident for your own good- you're nothing but a drag to the team," the Nara said, finally voicing out his irritation. He seemed to have regretted his words instantly, but the damage had already been done.
Akemi opened his mouth, as if to voice something, but was silenced by his underlying doubts. He looked nearly disheartened for a moment, like all the confidence he held previously had been drained from him just then. He remained quiet then, not voicing a single word.
For a moment, Taishiro almost looked sorry for him. But Akemi's doleful expression quickly faded into his normal, unbothered demeanor. "Fine then. What is it?"
"Part of it, you'd already know," Taishiro said. "That is, if you'd paid attention in class for the last 5 years."
"And what is that?" Akemi asked him with a somewhat indifferent tone.
"The first formation we learned at the academy."
He did seem to recognize that formation. "That would be too boring. Not only that, but it would be predictable as well."
"No. The formation would only serve as the basis for my plan."
"Then tell us, what is your plan?"
"I'll explain it in a moment," he said. "For nowβ"
"We've already lost enough time," Akemi interrupted. "If you're going to explain it, do it now."
Taishiro rolled his eyes in vexation. If they did want to get the bells, Akemi would be hard to cooperate with. Though he did acknowledge that Akemi was right- they were running out of time. So he signalled the genin to move closer, making sure that Kushina wouldn't be able to hear. Taishiro whispered the plan to them, explaining all the relevant details. Once he finished giving them directions, Fumiko and Akemi both nodded their heads in confirmation.
Taishiro looked over at the both of them. "So do we all agree to the plan?"
"I could care less about your plan," he retorted.
Fumiko narrowed her eyes. "Akemi."
"What?" His tone barely held any interest.
"Are you always this intolerable?" she asked.
He didn't even bother to make eye contact with her. "No, I just find you annoying."
Taishiro sighed. "Just agree to the plan already."
"And why should I?" Akemi questioned.
Fumiko answered him simply. "If you don't, we'll all fail."
"No one asked for your opinion," Akemi uttered, rolling his eyes in dismissal.
There was a brief moment of silence preluding his remark. Taishiro gave him a cold, stern glance; his expression holding both impatience and sheer disappointment. He sighed once more. "Akemi, she's right."
Akemi paused for a long moment. He heaved in utter annoyance of their situation, finally giving them the answer they longed for. "Fine."
The three of them hid under the bushes, waiting for the right moment to ambush. They observed their surroundings, watching their Sensei as they got ready to move. As Kushina seemingly had let her guard down, they found an opening to take advantage of. Taishiro gave them the signal.
They jolted off. Fumiko rushed to Kushina's right, Taishiro to Kushina's left, and Akemi leaped in the air to catch Kushina from above. Such a simple strategy.
Simple, yet effective.
Within the next moment, all three of them exchanged glances. Taishiro gestured his hand, making sure that Kushina wouldn't catch on, but his teammates would. They all understood the signal. Fumiko nodded her head in confirmation, and Akemi did the same; a slight, content smirk layering his expression.
The genin positioned themselves mid-air for an attack. Reacting without any unnecessary movement, Kushina extended her arms, assuming herself in a defensive stance in an attempt to push them away. But just before she could make contact, the genin simultaneously clasped each of their hands into a tiger symbol. And the very second that happened, a sudden, burst-like sound was heard, and three logs engulfed in thick, clouded smoke took the place of the three genin. As the smoke of the substitution began to gradually fade away, Kushina noticed a glimpse of the seal placed on the logs' surface. The seal coded for a smoke bomb; one that was about to ignite. Before Kushina could fully process what happened, the timed-seal then set off, and a wave of smoke began to engulf them, covering a vast amount of area.
They had only a few seconds left before the smoke would wear off. The genin had succeeded in completing the first part of the plan, successfully catching their Sensei off guard. This would be the key factor determining whether they would complete the bell test.
Five
The genin rushed through the smoke, moving into position. Fumiko activated her byakugan, directing her teammates using her enhanced vision through the thick, purple-colored smoke. As the genin were able to move through the smoke with the byakugan, they now held the advantage over the fight. As Taishiro used the smoke to cover his technique, Akemi advanced in range to distract Kushina.
Four
Kushina tried to escape the range of the smoke, but suddenly came to a halt as Akemi moved in front of her, blocking her path. Akemi closed the distance between them, hurling his fist into a punch. As Kushina just barely managed to evade his attack, she unknowingly moved right into range for the plan.
Three
Just as the smoke began to fade, Kushina realized her mistake. Shadows were thread around Kushina from the shadows of the surrounding trees, stretching until they attached their grip onto her, firmly.
Two
Kushina desperately tried resisting, but her struggles had almost no effect. While both the genin were still in mid-air, Fumiko tilted her body enough to reach one of the bells which Kushina had placed hanging out from her pocket.
One
As she grabbed one of the bells, she did an elegant flip, landing feet first onto the ground. Simultaneously, Akemi also reached for one of the bells, and while landing, he curled his body into a summersault to regain his balance. The smoke dissipated into the air, and their vision was restored.
But just before Fumiko was ready to deactivate her Byakugan, she noticed a sudden change in Kushina's chakra. It grew unstable. Her chakra flow faltered and stirred throughout her chakra system, until it finally burst. In the blink of an eye, her body began to disperse and disintegrate into a thick, cloud-like substance until the smoke dissolved into the air. The bell she had held in her hand just a moment ago then met the same fate; it suddenly burst, as a cloud of smoke spread into the air until it eventually dissolved. Her hand was now empty.
It was a shadow clone.