Disclaimer: See previous chapters
SulliMike23 - And now the fire rises...
airnaruto45 - Maybe not immediately, but pretty much, yes.
-0-
"Goro lives! Goro lives!"
Those were the words of the loud chanting that echoed out as Team Seven approached what would be the arena for the fight with the reigning champion. Around them, groups of the remaining fighters who were still alive also gathered to watch. But many of the others were hooded figures, most likely Shang Tsung's servants, who were also the ones that were chanting. Speaking of which, the sorcerer himself was seated behind and above everyone, his throne stationed on a crag on a cliff-side. And as for the arena, it dropped below everyone, being a massive pit with a cave that was shadowed in darkness. Pillars lined up the outside of the cavern, with a human skeleton chained and hanging on one of them. And to add to the dread, glints of eyes seemed to flicker and peer from the darkness, but nothing emerged.
…At least not yet.
The team made their way close to the edge to get a look at the champion, but there was no sign of either him or his challenger down there. With an impatient snort, Naruto took a look around at the audience. He didn't have to look for Liu Kang, as the Shaolin monk had accompanied them to the arena and was standing not too far away. Johnny Cage was also present, standing at the opposite end and waiting almost as impatiently as him. There was no sign of Sonya around, but it probably wasn't likely that she had time to watch a fight.
The same could be said of Sasuke, who was also absent…
Behind him and Sakura, Kakashi stood impassively, his pose seemingly careless, but few knew that he was still in quite a weakened state. It had been two days since he awoke from his injuries, at which time, Sakura did her best to heal his wounds. And as to her credit, he completely recovered from his injuries. However, his chakra was still low, moderate at best. He wasn't pitted in any matches after that point, so the rest did help him greatly. But he still had to exercise caution should he be in a fight and not push himself too hard (Sakura's words).
He wondered if that would be an option after what he had learned…
-0-
Rushing silently through the palace, Kakashi soon sighted his exit. He had to get out of there quickly. He didn't know if anything would happen if he was discovered there and he didn't want to chance it. The information he had obtained from the shadow priest was spotty, but enough for him to be concerned greatly, especially the priest's last words before he blacked out.
-"Soul of the Nine-Tail…"-
It seemed that whatever scheme Shang Tsung had in place involved Naruto. 'Did it have something to do with the fact that he was one of the Chosen?' At the moment, Kakashi couldn't think too much on it. He'd have to wait until afterward before he could mull on it more thoroughly. Seeing his exit, the copy-nin swiftly leapt out of an open window and prepared to land on one of the branches of the trees outside.
But suddenly, he felt his body colliding with something else, causing him to tumble about in the air and nearly smash into the base of the tree if not for his reflexes. Landing on the ground, his eye quickly searched about his surrounding. Something had tackled him in the air; that much he was able to tell. But what? He hadn't seen or heard anything. Still searching about, he soon heard a slight rustling from another tree. But although he heard it, he still saw nothing.
'No… There!'
It was late in the day, so there wasn't much light. But he saw it; a rippling in the air. 'Camouflage…' The invisible figure managed to grab Kakashi's vest, but Kakashi was ready and grabbed hold of the figure's arm as well. In a flash, his right hand produced a set of kunai and he stabbed it in. The figure let out a loud serpentine hiss, but didn't release Kakashi. Rather, the space around the two began to distort and suddenly Kakashi found himself in another location altogether; a pit surrounded by spikes that stretched out of the ground, with a few of the spikes impaling a few unfortunate victims on them. Keeping his focus on his invisible attacker however, Kakashi pressed the kunai into the figure's arm, causing droplets of green blood to fall. With another hiss, the figure released him and seemed to back away, the camouflage dropping away and allowing Kakashi to see his attacker.
It appeared to be another ninja, garbed almost like Sub-Zero. The only difference was that the garbs were colored in a dark green and the mask was shaped differently. However, Kakashi's main focus was on what little of his face was visible. The skin was dark and scaly and the eyes were gold, with the pupils being thin slits, exactly like Orochimaru's. Clearly, this warrior was some kind of snake creature.
…A Reptile.
The serpent warrior went on the attack immediately, the injury from the kunai not slowing him down a bit. Kakashi blinked and lift his arm to block in reflex. 'He's fast!' Kakashi was put on the defensive as Reptile attacked him repeatedly and with blinding attacks. It didn't help the copy-nin that the spikes surrounding them made for lethal obstructions. One nearly clipped at his chin as he back-flipped away, and Reptile rapidly advanced on him.
'Enough of this.'
Grabbing his hitai-ite and yanking it up, Kakashi rushed back toward the serpent warrior. Reptile was caught off-guard by the sudden change and was nearly hit by a sharp uppercut as a result. Kakashi pressed on, attacking rapidly in order to put Reptile on the defensive this time and scoring a straight blow on Reptile's face, causing him to reel back. But quicker than Kakashi could react, Reptile lurched forward, having grasped his mask in his grip and pulled it away, revealing the full of his face.
And then spat at him…
-0-
Needless to say, the fight had degenerated quickly from there. Between the acid spit that had corroded his jacket (and a bit flesh beneath), the deadly terrain and the even deadlier opponent, Kakashi was put in a very tight corner. It was a far more grueling battle than his fight against Sub-Zero. Reptile's unusual speed and cold aggression had proven to be quite a challenge for him. Even though the Sharingan was tracking the attacks, Kakashi was having great difficulty deflecting them. And escape hadn't been an option as Reptile continuously made sure he didn't run up the edges of the Pit. And after being nearly impaled on one of the lethal spikes, Kakashi gave up that idea altogether.
In the end, Kakashi had (narrowly) prevailed, but at a cost. He'd used up a great deal of his chakra using combination justu as well as that jutsu, and even then, he had only managed to wound Reptile enough to where the serpent warrior had to retreat. And then he had to climb out of the Pit to boot. 'A win's a win though.' But he was left in a bad position; his chakra was more severely drained than it was in his fight against Sub-Zero. If he was called for another match, he would be at a huge disadvantage. Fortunately, that hadn't happened and he had gained a fair deal of his strength back (reluctantly, thanks to Sakura). But if he is pushed like that again too soon, he might be in trouble.
"Sakura! Naruto!"
The two shinobi blinked at the call of their names and turned to the side to see Tobias rushing up to them. The young fighter seemed a bit worn, uniform-wise, but was quite bright and active as he smiled at the two.
"Toby, hey!" Naruto smiled back. "You're here."
Reaching them, the young fighter nodded "And so are you. Figures you guys would still be in the fight."
Naruto grinned "Of course. I said I was going to rock this tournament. And I never go back on my word."
Sakura sighed at his typical over-enthusiasm and then turned to Tobias "Anyway, how have you been doing in the tournament so far?"
"Heh, funny you should ask-"
"Tobias Boon."
The loud voice was enough to cause everyone to become silent. All eyes turned to the source of the voice, Shang Tsung, whose soulless gaze was now locked onto the young fighter amidst the shinobi.
"You have challenged the champion to Mortal Kombat. Does your challenge still stand?"
Both Naruto and Sakura gasped as they turned back to Tobias, who amazingly, showed no hint of fear or anxiety. If anything, his gaze turned solid as did his expression, with little to no trace of the friendly boy they were just speaking to a moment ago as he replied.
"It does."
"Then enter the arena" the sorcerer instructed. "Goro awaits."
The chant of Goro began again, but this time in hushed undertones. Meanwhile, a group of shadow monks came in from the side, carrying a long ladder. They approached the edge of the arena and lowered the ladder down and then stood aside. With a solemn nod, Tobias made his way toward the ladder, all the while Naruto and Sakura was left stunned and speechless at the sudden turn of events. Naruto managed to regain his composure enough to call out.
"Toby!"
The young fighter turned the side of his head to Naruto and for a moment, dropped his serious demeanor and gave him a smile and a nod. Seeing this, Naruto returned the gesture with a grin and a thumbs-up.
"Give it everything you've got."
"I will. Believe it."
With that said, Tobias returned to his walk toward the edge of the arena. Grabbing the ladder, he made his way down and peered about. The moment he stepped away, the ladder was pulled back up, much to the chagrin of the two shinobi. Kakashi watched the scene grimly and managed a momentary glance at Liu Kang, who shared his expression. Both clearly knew what was meant by the ladder lifting away out of the pit. Either Tobias would climb back up as the new champion…
…or not at all.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura, along with the rest of the crowd, gazed down eagerly into the arena. Despite the anxious feelings between the two, they were looking forward to seeing the fight, or more accurately, the champion. To see the fighter that has konquered the tournament all these years.
They were not disappointed…
From the darkness of the caves emerged Goro, prince of the Shokan and current champion of the Mortal Kombat tournament. Easily towering over the young fighter, Goro wore only a loincloth around his waist, revealing much of his massive muscular body, his head had no hair on top save for a single lock of hair tied in a ponytail and his eyes gleamed in a blood red. But the most distinguishing and obvious feature was the fact that he had four arms, all rippled with muscle and ending with three-fingered hands. The brute gazed down at his first opponent and snorted before assuming what could be determined is his fighting stance. The chanting continued with slightly raised voices, but not enough to cloud out Shang Tsung's single word.
"FIGHT!"