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ـم 02 ـم

Tamuki-Sensei's Test

"Gahahaha!" The racoon in the vest shook with laughter, breaking the ominous silence. He even held his belly with his little paws. "You kids are going to fight the Leaf's Racoon Princess, Tamuki Shimura? You don't stand a chance! She was a hero in the last war, don't you know? She has a lot of battle experience."

"Mr Baki…" Tamuki interrupted his laughing without looking at the small creature. "The reason I summoned you is because these teenagers are potential students of mine. I want you to witness so I can have a second opinion on them."

"Really…? Heh. I never thought you'd end up taking students."

Tojike clenched his teeth. He'd only been on C-rank and D-rank missions before. He'd fought with thugs and gang members, but not against another Genin. There was no doubt she had more experience than all three of them.

"Let's begin!" Tamuki yelled. "It starts now! You have one hour to land a successful hit!"

"Alright!" Kawari yelled. He clapped his hands into the snake seal, a high amount of chakra surged past them. He weaved signs quickly then splayed his palm into the ground. "Earth Style: Land Divide!"

The ground beneath them exploded into segments, each raising to different heights. Tojike and Manzu cried out as they were forced diagonally apart on the speeding slopes. Quickly Tojike focused chakra in his feet to keep from being thrown into the air, he crouched on the side of the slant. The ground beneath Tamuki had raised several metres and she was sent flying into the air, backflipping and arcing over, deflecting the shuriken thrown by Kawari with her kunai. She landed out of view.

"Earth style…" Tojike observed. "Incredible."

"She's coming!" Kawari warned.

From behind the blocks of Earth Tamuki dashed around, hurtling a kunai at Tojike who quickly whipped out one of his own and deflected it. Shit, this is serious. Manzu flew into the air and weaved signs, she threw shuriken and the few multiplied into twenty. The academy's shuriken clone jutsu! Tamuki dodged to the side and they embedded in the grass.

"Damn!" Tojike dashed forward, he was closest to their sensei now and there was no point running away. He weaved signs for the clone genjutsu and then his six copies dashed forward with the body-flicker taijutsu. Tojike dashed through his illusions as they lashed fake strikes, fading through Tamuki before Tojike aimed a punch that hit her stomach.

Got you! He thought as she crumpled around his fist, only to burst into water. "A water clone?"

Tamuki appeared on the other side closest to Manzu and Kawari.

"Wind Style: Vortex Blast!" She splayed her hands into a diamond and a wide blast of air surged out, tearing chunks out of the earth slopes. The other two jumped aside and so did Tojike, the gust blasting around him. He raised his arms as his hair whipped about, flying several metres before landing in a crouch. Heavy rocks tumbled along the ground before coming to rest. Behind Tamuki were a few more clones. The watching racoon weaved out of the debris to stand safely away.

That was a strong Earth style before, but that Wind style was even stronger.

Tamuki leapt forward and so did her clones. Manzu held her ground and clashed kunais with one of the Tamukis, their weapons clinking against each other. Another Tamuki slashed at Kawari and he jumped aside. Tojike did the ram seal and gathered chakra while the Jonin approached. She blurred and slammed into him, barging so hard he gagged, flying back and tumbling across the ground.

"Earth Style: Catapult Bullets!" Kawari fired pebbles from his mouth that grew into oval boulders, smashing through what was left of the earth pillars with their speed. The water clones all managed to dodge, leaping away from the projectiles.

Tojike looked up at the Tamuki glaring and separating him from his comrades. Such speed. Water clones are supposed to be a tenth as strong as the original, this Tamuki is probably the real one. Tojike got on his hands and knees, Tamuki made a hand-sign. Manzu and Kawari leapt at her back while the clones jumped after them.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Tornado!" Her hair blasted upwards as air spiralled, expanding away from her and shredding the grass. Tojike felt like he'd been hit by a battering ram, he was propelled into the air by the sudden twister. Manzu and Kawari cried out as they got carried away as well, the force was so strong that the water clones burst into droplets. Tojike tumbled again, bracing himself. When he looked up, lying flat on his stomach, he could see the dust settling and their sensei standing still. Behind her Manzu and Kawari were knocked down as well, separated from each other.

Tamuki-Sensei isn't playing around… Tojike glanced toward the trees. We should get away and come up with a plan. He got his knee under him, struggling up, then Tojike leapt off to the side. Manzu seemed to have the same idea. Kawari charged at their sensei however.

Tamuki turned, deflected his strike with her forearm. She moved back as he advanced, aiming strong punches that she blocked and dodged. He leaped up for a spin-kick and she ducked, Kawari slammed his foot down as she jumped back. The ground cracked under him. He continued pressing her with his taijutsu, expression tight and determined. When he saw his opportunity Kawari drove his whole body forward into a punch that Tamuki crossed both arms to block. The force of the attack sent her flying back and she spun through air, skidding away from him.

Kawari is strong… that last punch had a lot of power to it. Was that just chakra control? The Zero-Tails squirmed inside Tojike. His chakra felt different somehow…

Tamuki narrowed her eyes at him, grimaced.

"You are a Senju…" Her voice held curiosity. Tamuki whipped out a scroll from her belt and flicked it open, smoke exploded and she was holding two windmill shuriken, the right one resting over her shoulder while she got ready to throw the left. Kawari's eyes widened and Tojike started running over to Manzu.

She threw the giant shuriken and weaved signs, it burst into a dozen copies that spun toward their team-mate. Kawari side-stepped quickly and jerked his head back, narrowly missing one of the spinning blades. He jumped over to Manzu as well and Tamuki pushed forward, throwing the other windmill shuriken overhead and weaving signs.

"Earth Wall!" Kawari barred his teeth while holding the snake seal. A huge rock shield raised from the ground and they could hear several sharp plinks as more windmill shuriken clones embedded into the other side of the wall. Tojike and Manzu were together with Kawari now, staring up at the massive shield.

Wind blasted around them and cracks spider-webbed through the wall. Their barrier exploded and sent wind and rock chunks slamming into their body. The three teens cried out as they were blasted back, Tojike struggled to keep his eyes open as earth pieces smacked into his shoulder and side, winding him. He hit the ground with his back, painfully.

The three of them had bore the brunt of her attack.

Tojike opened his eyes one at a time to see they were all lying flat, surrounded by broken boulders with windmill shuriken sticking out of them. Manzu looked as bad as Tojike felt, beaten and bruised. Kawari was clutching his stomach painfully and bleeding from a long cut on his shoulder, one of the big shuriken blades had got him.

"Shit…" Through the dust Tojike could see a standing figure.

"We got to get to the trees." Manzu stated, getting slowly to her feet. "Come on!"

The three of them pushed off, jumping and limping over to the coverage of trees. Tamuki made no move to go after them. Once they darted through the shrubbery Tojike felt relief. They weaved further into the trees before coming to a stop. Manzu immediately leant back against a trunk while Kawari fell into a sitting position, still clutching his stomach painfully.

"Jeez…" Tojike reached up and gripped a branch for support. "Are we going to be alright here?"

"I think so…" Manzu replied. "I'm sure Tamuki-Sensei doesn't expect us to fight her full-on for an hour. She's going to give us time and see what plan we come up with…"

"She really doesn't pull her punches." Tojike rubbed his aching shoulder, his side was grazed and the bottom of his shirt ripped. "I don't even know if I want a Sensei like her…" He looked at Kawari who was still panting, in too much pain to speak. Manzu studied him as well.

"Anyway…" she took a wonky step away from the tree and dropped down beside the injured Kawari. "We need to tell each other our skills so we can make a plan to beat her. If she doesn't acknowledge us who knows when we'll get another Jonin… it'll look bad." She made a hand-sign and grimaced.

Kawari watched her with one eye, still panting as he gripped his stomach with one hand and leaned back on his other. When Manzu splayed her hands over Kawari they were swathed in a pale-blue light. She moved her arms over his wound and it quickly healed, she moved the chakra to his abdomen and Kawari started breathing better, sitting up. He looked recovered in a matter of seconds. Tojike gaped as Manzu fell back into a sitting position. He watched the two of them on the ground while the Zero-Tails coiled in fascination.

"What you were doing with your chakra… helped it…" Manzu was saying to Kawari.

These two aren't ordinary ninja, Tojike realised.

According to rumoured scriptures about the Sage of Six Paths, the Senju clan had inherited the Sage's body. They had great strength, stamina and vast chakra reserves. That was why they were known as the clan of a thousand skills. Like any Senju, Kawari also had skill. He already knew his chakra nature and was proficient in multiple incredible Earth jutsu. He was also very skilled at taijutsu, Tojike could see that from his brief exchange of fists with their Sensei. He had strength, speed and good technique. Most surprisingly however – Tamuki had seemed to notice and with the Zero-Tails perceptiveness, Tojike realised as well – Kawari had the ability to use nature energy.

It was usually impossible without training in the legendary sage jutsu. There was no way a Genin could've been given that training, Kawari seemed to be able to absorb energy nature on instinct, combine it with his physical and spiritual energies perfectly to generate more chakra than usual. That was why that punch was so strong, Tojike remembered how he'd surprisingly bruised their Sensei even as she augmented chakra to block. Kawari had the body and cells to absorb small portions of nature energy, and flawlessly meld it to his chakra to make his body stronger, purely on instinct. He truly was strong, even for a Senju.

"Manzu…" Tojike looked away from the other boy to stare at her. "Medical jutsu doesn't work that fast, and that well…"

It was rare for a Genin to know medical jutsu. Low-ranked ninjas who knew how to use the healing jutsu specialized in medics, so they weren't much good at other aspects of training. But the skill she'd used on her teammate was a forbidden jutsu, Tojike recognized it. There's no way someone would've taught her that. It's possible she taught herself from a stolen scroll, but that wasn't like the rule-abiding kunoichi Manzu seemed to be. Illegally teaching yourself a forbidden jutsu is a big crime. No, it was more likely Manzu had also learnt how to perform the skill naturally, on instinct. The Uzumaki girl didn't raise her head while Tojike studied her.

"That jutsu…" He continued. "It's reanimation ninjutsu. The more you use it the more it shortens your life, why would you use something like that now?" Tojike and Kawari stared at her.

"My lifeforce is much stronger than either of yours…" Manzu explained. "In my case, I can even control my lifeforce and use it. The average lifespan of an Uzumaki is over a hundred years. Just look at how long Mito, the First Hokage's wife managed to live. There's not as much risk if I use this power, even now. I have more lifeforce than most, and more to spare. Even if I use it every now and again just for healing my lifespan will probably only shrink to that of a normal person."

"A forbidden jutsu…?" Kawari mouthed. Tojike looked aside and rubbed his shoulder, jeez. These two…

"Okay." Manzu raised her head, eyes fierce. "We need to figure out our strengths so we can use them on her. Then we can come up with a plan, alright?" As she said it Kawari nodded firmly, Tojike gave a nod of agreement as well. "Good. I'm not actually a medical ninja. I don't want to use this jutsu in front of Sensei and risk her figuring out what it is. My main talent is… sealing jutsu. If she was weakened or knocked out, or kept still for long enough I could place a restriction or chakra-draining seal. I don't think that's going to work in this situation though… My best move is the Three-Pronged Seal, but I need to be up-close for that."

"Three-Pronged Seal?" Kawari asked.

"It's a variant of the Five-Pronged. I'm not strong enough for that jutsu, but this alternate version still binds the victim's flow of chakra and eventually their movements. It's also very difficult to release."

"Sounds like a good plan." Kawari stated. "I'm a combat type. I'm good at close-range and mid-range fighting. My taijutsu's good, plus my Earth Style gives good defence and can knock her off-balance. Sensei has better element jutsu than me, though."

"Okay." Manzu nodded and then looked up at Tojike.

"I'm… good at genjutsu."

"I saw you make quite a few clones before, more than most people can." She stated. "Can you make an illusion to trap her?"

"Ah… yes. I have one jutsu in my arsenal that can do that."

"A Jonin would probably be able to break it with the release jutsu right away, but if we use it with Kawari's fighting and Earth style, it might give me an opportunity to get in close and use the Three-Pronged Sealing Jutsu. What do you guys think?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Kawari exclaimed.

"It's not very complicated." Tojike admitted.

"Some of the best plans are the simple ones! Hup!" Kawari sprang up onto his feet and offered his hand to Manzu, she took it and he helped her to stand.

Tojike turned at the sound of rustling leaves. He thought he glimpsed a small animal disappearing… wearing a little blue vest. Mr Baki the raccoon? He turned back to the other two who hadn't noticed.

"We've still got most of an hour to do this…" Manzu stated. "Let's make sure our bodies are alright to move before we go out there again. It seems like she's not going to come in here after us."

Ten minutes later they were at the edge of the trees, crouching at the tops and staring through the coverage of leaves. Tamuki stood motionless, waiting with a bored expression. The grass around her was shredded from her powerful wind attacks, chunks and slabs of ground from the earth moves. The windmill shuriken glinted as the sun climbed overhead. Tojike could see the clothed racoon standing a few metres away from their teacher, picking at his teeth.

If Tojike were really going to give everything he had, he would need to use that jutsu. But he didn't know if he could do it, not to someone who was supposed to be a comrade. Tojike's most devastating jutsu was enough to cripple most enemies with one shot. It had a high rate of effectiveness. But if he were to use it on Tamuki there was every possibility she would hate him afterwards. It would definitely lower her guard though.

Tojike wasn't strong enough to control the Reibi or its chakra. He couldn't use it as a booster, he couldn't partially transform into its shape. If he gave into the Zero-Tails it would take over him easily. All Tojike could do was sense negativity, like the Reibi itself. His energy was subsumed by the monster, and if he wasn't focused, his own negativity had the power to leak out and bring down those around him.

Other tailed beasts had a presence that struck fear into those who sensed it. The Zero-Tails was different. People affected by its energy felt like they were being pushed down, suppressed. Zero-Tails aura made people feel low, apathetic and sad. It made them feel like nothing. It was a sensation Tojike had been well acquainted with for half his lifetime.

Peering through the trees he could see Manzu looking at him. Kawari was barely visible further along. The girl gave the signal and Tojike weaved hand-seals, pulling out multiple shuriken in both hands. Three… two… one… now! From three different places shuriken whizzed out of the forest toward their motionless Sensei, all three of them used the shuriken clone technique and soon a storm of glinting shuriken was raining toward Tamuki. Her hands were in a seal and she froze.

She's not going to use a Wind Style in multiple directions, right? Tojike watched as she flitted forward, toward the blizzard of steel that was coming from his direction. He jumped down from the tree as a powerful blast of wind made the wood tilt and crack, shuriken raining back the way they came, flinging loudly through bush and into trees. When it was clear Tojike whipped around and ran toward her, he could see Kawari surging forward while Manzu stayed back, as was the plan. It wasn't simple enough for Kawari to just knock her off balance, Tojike needed to be the one to do that before Manzu used her sealing jutsu. Tojike needed to rely on that jutsu – he wasn't going back to the academy.

Tamuki was moving away from Kawari, still speeding on to Tojike. Kawari made a seal and an earth wall sprang upward to separate them. Nice. Tojike focused chakra to his feet as he leapt aside several long bounds. Kawari was fighting up-close again, swinging his fists while Tamuki pranced away. He pushed off with another punch that flew over Tamuki's head, lodging into the earth wall and spreading deep cracks along its surface. Tamuki flew up and crouched atop the wall, then she launched back toward Manzu who'd been avoiding the fight, gathering chakra while maintaining the rat seal.

You saw through it, Sensei? No. You only think you did.

As Manzu generated chakra the basic transformation jutsu became undone. Manzu had made herself look like Tojike and vice-versa. Tojike stood holding the rat seal and Tamuki's eyes narrowed as she flew toward him. The genjutsu was ready. The real Manzu was sprinting after them, prepared to use her jutsu. Tamuki reached back and whipped out a kunai, ready.

Tojike's eyes widened suddenly and the Zero-Tails pulsed.

His ultimate technique was just a basic illusion-casting. It allowed the user to project an image. The vision was hazy and anyone trained would be able to see it as fake. However… when used in conjunction with the Zero-Tails ability to perceive its opponent's greatest fear and most agonizing pain, he was able to project their worst trauma back to them and deal severe mental damage.

From between them a blonde woman with kunai embedded in her looked up from her knees, bleeding to death. The villager from the Land of Grass during the Third Shinobi World War. There were tears streaming from her crumpled, pretty face.

"Tamuki… please… don't let me die."

Tojike watched his Sensei's expression turn to horror. She faltered at the illusion, twitching in disbelief. Manzu, unable to see the genjutsu, lunged at her back with three fingers extended, the tips glowing with purple energy.

In a blink Tamuki recovered, reaching behind her and catching Manzu's wrist. She skidded forward and threw the girl past her, the momentum sending her crashing into Tojike. She cried out and he grunted, they slid along the ground into a pile, wincing painfully. Her elbow was in his side and chin jabbing his sternum. Tojike's eyes snapped open in fear.

The Zero-Tails was cackling madly from within and he was overwhelmed by the darkness that was blowing past him. Fury and pain, he could sense it clearly. He looked up at Tamuki who was standing stock-still, face lowered. A long silence passed and Tojike felt too frightened to speak. The others could feel it too, but not as clearly as he could.

"The training… is over." Tamuki enunciated coldly, raising her head to show a look of hate. "Leave this place. I want the three of you to get out of my sight. Right now."

AN: Wow FanFiction stuffed up big time. This chapter was done a few days ago but wouldn't let me upload documents or pictures. Thanks to my first reviewer/follower/favoriter Stryker23. Hopefully I get some more. Tojike's jutsu is definitely effective, even if Tamuki-Sensei saw through it in the end. What did you think of the fight? Leave a review, kudasai ne ~ !

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