Omoi was lost in thought. He glanced at Oboro, then at Sakura and Kankuro.
Kankuro and Sakura were bickering about something.
Asuma had ordered them to begin.
Should he attack them? Were they trying to distract him? Oboro wasn't doing anything. Maybe Omoi was already under a genjutsu. He didn't feel like he was under a genjutsu. How would he know?
Omoi thought back to Samui's training. How to recognize when you were caught in a genjutsu.
"Hey, Omoi!" Karui shouted from behind the raikage. She broke through Omoi's thoughts. She was a dark-skinned redheaded woman. His best friend. What could she be calling to him for, couldn't she see that he was—
Sakura punched Omoi in the face. He staggered backward, choking on his lollipop.
A brown object flew into the air. A humanoid figure. Its chest opened as it flew towards Omoi.
"What the?" Omoi jumped out of the puppet's path and drew his sword.
"Kick their asses!" Karui yelled.
Sakura was going after Oboro now. He dodged a few of her attacks before sinking into the ground.
"Really?" Sakura asked, panting. "Come on!" She charged at Omoi again.
Omoi readied his sword. She wasn't using any jutsu yet, was she planning on punching him to death?
The puppet was moving again. Another puppet came flying at Omoi.
"Get him, Karasu!" Kankuro yelled.
Several blades appeared from the puppets arms. It swung them at Omoi.
Omoi deflected most of the blades and dove to the side, nearly running into the first puppet, chest wide open. He performed a hand sign.
"lightning style!" Omoi yelled. "Partial burst jutsu!" A small electrical explosion went off between him and the puppet, throwing the puppet backward.
Omoi dashed across the battlefield, looking between Sakura and Kankuro. The puppets shifted around. Both of them were attached to chakra strings leading to Kankuro's fingers.
Omoi had never seen puppet jutsu before He wondered how hard it was to master.
"Why didn't you attack him when you had the opening?" Kankuro demanded. "Come on, you leaf brat!"
"Shut up!" Sakura spat. She was holding a hand sign. "This is harder than I thought!"
"Whatever," Kankuro said. "I'll do it myself!"
Oboro appeared, growing from the floor behind Kankuro.
Omoi blinked, watching Oboro brandish a kunai.
"Look out!" Sakura yelled, pointing at Oboro. Kankuro spun, barely dodging Oboro's kunai. He kicked at Oboro but the ninja faded away.
Oboro appeared beside Omoi, laughing.
"What's your deal?" Omoi asked, turning the lollipop in his mouth.
"What was that?" Raikage yelled from the stands. "What kind of cowardly attack!" The crowd started boo.
Omoi sighed.
Oboro narrowed his eyes. He started shouting obscenities at the audience.
"I'll do whatever it takes to win," Oboro said, nudging Omoi.
Omoi swung his sword without a thought. It slashed across Oboro's chest.
Oboro screamed, falling onto his back.
"Yes!" Raikage yelled. "That's the way!"
Omoi sighed, sheathing his sword.
Kankuro and Sakura were staring at him. The audience fell silent.
"I won't stand for dirty fighting," Omoi said.
"You bastard!" Oboro spat.
Omoi ignored the boy's cries. He started performing hand signs.
"Here he comes!" Kankuro warned. His puppets gathered beside him.
"I got this, you just hang back," Sakura said.
"What?"
Sakura took a long breath.
"Lightning style," Omoi said. His hands crackled with electricity. He drew his sword again. Lightning surged through the blade.
"He's going for the kill," Kankuro said. Sweat beaded on his face.
"Stay back," Sakura repeated. Her jaw was set. "I got this."
"I'm sorry, you guys," Omoi said. "I'm gonna end this." He started to walk towards them.
Sakura drew a pair of kunai in one hand and broke into a run.
"Be careful!" Naruto yelled from the stands. "Sakura, what are you doing!"
"Take her head off!" Karui yelled.
Sakura threw one of the kunai.
Omoi sliced it in two with one swing of his sword. Sakura's hands started glowing. She was only a few feet away.
Almost within range.
"My mother was the last of our family to use this technique," Mebuki said. She and Sakura were standing in the forest.
Sakura was reading a scroll.
"This is incredible."
"I never could pull it off," Mebuki said. "I suppose it wasn't meant to be." She smiled sadly. "I kept that scroll, though." She raised her head to the forest ceiling. "Maybe this is the reason."
Sakura raised her head, beaming.
"I can do this."
Sakura dodged Omoi's blade. He spun into a kick.
Sakura blocked Omoi's kick with her arm. She threw her second kunai. Omoi caught the kunai with his spare hand.
The lightning around Omoi's blade crackled. Sakura lunged forward, grabbing Omoi's wrist.
"Crystal style!" Sakura yelled.
A large crystal cylinder generated around Sakura's hand. "Crystal hammer Jutsu!" She slammed the crystal into Omoi's chest.
The impact threw Omoi backward, he landed and rolled across the ground. Omoi's sword landed near Sakura.
Sakura panted, the crystal dissolved.
Omoi grunted and coughed. His lollipop was gone. His chest ached. Two people who used ninjutsu he'd never seen before. What kind of place was this?
"Yeah!" Naruto yelled from the stands. "Go Sakura!" Sakura spotted him and Sasuke standing together in the stands. Sasuke smirked.
"Are you done?" Asuma called out to Omoi.
Omoi groaned, feeling his chest. He hadn't expected that kind of attack from her.
"Get up!" Raikage yelled. He'd risen from his seat. "Don't you dare disgrace our village!"
Omoi slowly got to his feet. Sakura was still panting.
"Looks like I'll have to finish you off," Kankuro said.
Both of his puppets came flying towards Omoi.
Omoi performed quick hand signs.
"I won't go down that easily," he said.
X
Kakashi was waiting in a restaurant. He tapped his fingers impatiently. He could hear the roar of the arena crowd.
He wondered who was fighting.
"I hope I haven't made you wait." Yamato sat down beside Kakashi. A tall brown-haired man. He wore the Anbu uniform.
Kakashi nodded at Yamato.
"I need to know what's going on, what's Danzo doing?"
Yamato's blank expression remained unchanged.
"Kakashi, you need to prepare," Yamato said. "Danzo is preparing for war. We need to work together. This village must be protected."
X
Kurenai came to a stop outside of the hokage building. She thought about Hiruzen's words. The look on his face.
Something wasn't right.
She needed to speak to that man.
