The Dragon Has Landed.
Chapter 16 : The Last Test Part 2
Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto or Ranma 1/2 here, except some changes I made to them. The rest aren't mine but I do OWN Max. I ALSO don't own the Master pieces of Mr Jing Yong, Mr Gu Long and other respective writers. I just borrowed them to use here so...um...don't sue me. (DOES anyone actually read this stuff?)
Authors Note :
Thus starts the new semester with six new courses for poor little me. I barely passed the last semester with a 2.86 grade point. The required points to pass were 2.00 so I guess I'm safe. I'm kinda sad to see some of my friends away to another classes but we still go out together. The new classes were harder than what I expected and I don't intend to say anything here. Alright, on with what happened BEFORE the semester.
I went on a vacation trip with my friends to Genting Highlands, which is a place where we have fun staying at the resort there. The things there is waaaaay expensive and I over spent my budget just for food. The worse thing is that I ate some lousy pizza in Pizza Factory and a very bad version of a Black Peppered Udon Noodle from Sushi King. One word ....." Eww..", okay make that two..." Yuck ! "
Well, we did have fun there. We rode the Bumper Cars until midnight and even went to the Haunted House. Then there's the Go Cart and the Motion Master. The Motion Master has become an annual event for me since I always go for it every time I came to the resort. It's the thing Mr. Bean went on in his Movie. You sit in a dark room and the screen plays a simulation of a certain movie. The chairs move accordingly to the movements and you will feel like being in the front seat of James Bond's car !!
Oh and then there's the archery range. I actually got an idea after I strapped on the arm guard. I borrowed one from my friend and wore them on both my arms. It looks like the ones that the Anbu wears in Naruto !! My friends took a picture of my as I do the hand seals for a Kage Bunshin Jutsu
Here comes the bad part of the trip.
As we were about to go home, my luggage was tossed out of the Bus on the mountain path from the lower part of the Bus. All my clothes and pants were in there including some rare CD's and my branded jacket and sweaters. Damn bastards, if that's what they meant by VIP class Bus then I don't wanna go on a civilian bus. They gave me a one hundred-ringgit refund, which didn't even cover half the losses.
Anyway, must be some sick joke from Kami-sama that day.
As I came home a week later, I found out that I don't have any Internet access in the new house. ARRRGGHHH the only way I can do anything like checking my e-mails or updating is via the PC in my Dad's clinic, Cyber Cafe of the College PC. Sorry for all the Authors out there that I promised to review, I'll get reviewing after I get the internet working.
Finally, HAPPY DEEPAVALI AND HARI RAYA TO ALL MY MALAYSIAN READERS EVEN THOUGH IT'S KINDA LATE!! OH and a Merry Christmas!!
Okay now for the Review Replies :
Night-Owl123 : Thanks for your support and reviews, here's the next chapter !!
KKSG : As I said in MSN, the things here are from Shaman King, BeyBlade, Super Yo Yo, Saint Seiya and Yu Yu Hakusho. But hey, thanks for taking time to drop me a review. Hope you do well in school.
Krazy : Thanks for pointing out my errors, I'll get to that ASAP but I don't think it'll be done in such short time since I don't have internet access, this was done in my College and I can't use the PC as often as I used to. I'm actually blushing from that fight scene comment, hah, I did that rather poorly if you pit it against the great works of Jeffrey, Hung Nguyen, Hibiki45, Carrotglace or even you !! Heck, Sleeping Bear and the others are way way better than me. It's okay if you don't know any of those old school cartoons. You're a teenager? Me too, I'm only 18 years old, how old are you ? Yeah. Hinata gets a free ticket and this chapter will reveal all the other plot holes here and there.
Daniel de los Santos : Ahh... so good to hear from you. You even have an e-mail for me ! Thanks and hope you enjoy this one as well. Wow, you still remembered the theme song from King Arthur and the Knights of Justice ? COOL !! I'll catch up in our daily e-mails man, here's the new chapter !! I decided to stop the StarCraft fic for a while and finish this fic and the other one. I don't think the readers like the Starcraft fic, it's too jumbled from what a reader told me....anyway, I'll continue it just for fun and I know that you and Peter will kill me if I don't after all those ideas you gave me. You got it, the reason I did this triple threat match is because I remembered the Genin test that Zabuza had in his Genin days. Friends have to fight each other to pass the exam and this will be what they'll be doing. Hehhehe ENJOY !!!
Oh and thanks for spelling Donatello for me !! I can spell it right this time D-O-N-A-T-E-L-L-O !!!
PS : I wanna hire you as my Beta reader for this one as well if that's alright....
Sierra-Falls : Ahahahha well, I still remembered Dian and Ranma's first meeting and it's really fun reading your fic. Wait....YOU'RE A GIRL !!! I can't belive I didn't notice that !! ? Moo....
Tenshi no Tabris : Wow, I think I have myself an EVA fan here. Thanks for telling me this, I'll change it when I have the time. Thanks for your review.
Virgil : Virgil ?? As in Virgil from Mighty Max ?? I think you got the wrong Max here, by the way how's Norman doing ? Hehhe, joking. I think I really need to fix my Spell Checker, I can't belive I still have so many grammatical errors...I'll hire a Beta Reader then. Tenkuu is not the first Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist, it's actually Higashi. Tenkuu is just a very skilled Swordsman in the LOTA. Don't worry, the story will continue and your guess was correct if you think that the Mist Brothers are going to the LOTA. Heh, thanks for the review.
Needmore : Glad you could drop by a review. I'm always happy to get on from you and this one is no different. I am a fan of Shaman King after all. Well, just think, Sasuke actually betrayed Naruto right ?
Asphixia : Glad you made it imouto-chan. Let's see, no spelling errors...of course it's a good thing. I can't say that I'll update this as quickly as last time since I only have two fics to worry about. This time it's College VS A Dragon From Above VS The Dragon Has Landed VS New World, New Age, New War VS Enigmatic Mind Logger and two new fics I haven't started yet. Anyway I'll try to finish this ASAP !!
Kitsu3 : Gee, I keep getting praises don't think I'm ready to deserve yet, anyway...thanks !! I'm giddy as a school boy now, I'll do my best !! Thanks for the review !!
FINALLY, ON WITH THE SHOW !!
"Blah" : Speech
#Thoughts#
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Hyuuga Neji closed his eyes and leaned against the wall of the balcony as cleaners cleared the Arena for his match. This will be the Ultimate challenge going up against TenTen and a fully healed and energetic Lee who was doing his 100th push up. Leave it to the Hidden Mist to come up for this blasted Test, not only this will cause an uproar in a team, some teammates might even held a grudge between them. Such is the cunning and brutal thinking of the Mist.
Rock Lee finished his warm up to which consist of doing one handed pushups and 200 sit ups. He wasn't even tired from it. His green shirt was still dry and the weights on his legs were almost nonexistence. This was the second time in his life he was this riled up. The first one almost caused him his life as a Ninja. By opening all five gates he placed his life on the line and still he lost...but this time he will prevail. He looks at Ranma and did a thumb up with his nice guy pose. This time, he will have the chance to prove his Ninja Way, at last, the time for Neji to feel his power is near.
TenTen stared at her two teammates at the sidelines and gripped her scrolls in her back pouch. Sure she had trained every bit as hard as she could and worked all day to perfect her skills as a Kunoichi, but she knew in her heart that she wasn't even close to defeating Neji or even Lee. The gap was too far. The battle between Ranma and Lee already showed that Lee was holding back a lot when he opened the Five Gates. She remembered the envy on Neji's face and the determination on Lee's face when he charged at Ranma. Then when Lee walked to her and made his pose again to encourage her, all her doubts went away.
" TenTen, let's give it our all and show Gai-sensei what your training has done to improve your Hot Blooded Youth Power! "
All she did was smile and gave him a nod.
After 10 minutes, Kosame called for the next team to enter the Arena.
" Third Battle. Please welcome them, all the way from Konohagakure, Team Leaf, Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee and TenTen !!" announced Kosame and soon the Arena was filled with cheers and claps from the Konoha supporters. Hyuuga Hiashi and Hanabi were there as well.
" Watch carefully Hanabi, this will be another lesson for you. " said Hiashi to his second daughter.
" Yes father. "
Neji stared at Tenten and Lee as they made their stances. All was familiar with Neji's Hyuuga stance but no one but a few knew the strange stance Lee was in. Ranma chuckled as Lee copied his own Anything Goes ground stance. The Anything Goes ground stance was the one that Ranma used to actually defeated him in the Forest of Death. Left arm covered his lower section and right hand balled into a fist rested in his mid waist while he stood wide legged with a slight 45 degree towards Neji and TenTen. His left leg was half planted on the ground as he supported his body weight on the right foot. This gave him the needed space for attacking or defending.
TenTen's hands reached for her Kunai behind her and bent her knees preparing for any attacks from her two sides. Her eyes locked on the slightest movement of her teammates. They were waiting for the first signal of attack and the whole stadium was quiet to them. The only voice they could hear was the breathing sound of their own and their teammates.
" READY.......START !! " shouted Kosame and leaped away.
Neji wasted no time as he activated his Byakugan without the handseals and did a Kaiten to deflect the dozen Kunais and Senbons from TenTen.
Lee evaded the Kunais and deflected two Senbons with his own Kunai. He did a back flip and rolled to the left followed by a dash towards Tenten. He gave out a battle cry and unleashed his initial attack " Konoha Senpuu !!"
Tenten smirked at this. She had long developed a counter to Lee's attack and today was a good day to test her counter. She threw four Senbons at Lee's shin and hid a Kunai in her right fist while waiting for the right moment. As expected, the Senbons were deflected by the strong wind pressure created by the technique's force, and then came the hard risky part. As Lee's leg came into range she planted her Kunai at Lee's thigh and leaped back to decrease the damage to her body.
Neji was surprised at TenTen's bold move but no one was as shock as Tenten when Lee smirked as he grabbed hold of TenTen's hand. He retracted his leg and gave an arm toss to the shocked kunoichi. The weapons user landed roughly but again stood up and two Kunais in her hands.
" What the...I didn't expect you to counter my counter-attack. " said Tenten.
Lee smiled " Neither do I TenTen, that was a revised movement. I started to read moves like Ranma-kun and developed my own Anything Goes Arial Attack. " Then Lee ducked as a palm strike from Neji zoomed pass his head.
" You talk too much Lee. " said Neji then he back flipped to avoid Lee's Konoha Violent Wind Sweep but that was soon followed by an uppercut. With the help of the Byakugan, Neji detected the attack with his back turned and shifted his body to the right, therefore avoiding the uppercut.
" Neji-kun !! I shall defeat you today, Hundred Leaf Fist !! " yelled Rock Lee as his fist blurred at Chestnut fist. This was a modified version of Ranma's Amaguriken with less quantity but with more power. He focused on Quality than Quantity.
Neji was forced to block all the attack since he didn't have time to make a stable enough Kaiten to deflect those punches. Just as Gai said, the only way to defeat Neji was close range super fast speed attacks and the Hundred Leaf Strike was the perfect technique for him.
At the last punch Neji gritted his teeth and delivered an open palm strike to Lee's chest. The two attacks made contact and Neji was sent a few feet away from Lee.
" Arrghh...I wasn't fast enough..." said Lee as he spat out some blood.
#Flash back a few seconds in slow motion#
Neji gave his open palm strike and received the punch to his shoulder but his left hand was aiming for the Tenketsu Points on Lee's right hand. The fact that his first charka filled palm strike hit Lee's chest was an added bonus since his main idea was to lock up Lee's hands.
#End flash back#
Lee stood there with a limp right hand and was starring at Neji as the Byakugan user slowly stood up. Then the two attacked each other but then a huge cloud of smoke followed by a large explosion averted their attention as a barrage of weapons started to fire their way.
It was TenTen's SouShoryu Jutsu and while the two rivals were fighting each other, she took out her scrolls and began her attack.
Neji tried to make a Kaiten but the pain in his left shoulder was too unbearable so he did his best to evade the weapons and deflect them single handed with his Chakra filled palm strikes. Lee on the other hand was also trying his best to avoid the weapons. The handicap on his right hand not only made his balance a little sluggish, the attack in his chest added insult to his evasion because that was the place where his Center was located.
The Center of a martial artist is a critical area. Once a person started to do a Kata or a technique, he will have to find his center and focus his/her energy through it to do the kata flawlessly. It was also the basic place to gather Ki in the body and a very important chakra focusing point. That is why you see the Ninjas do their handseal in front of their chest. By disabling that area, the user will feel like walking on a waterbed or riding a bike with a punctured wheel. All in all, the more skilled you are, the more it affects you. In this case, Lee was having a tough time avoiding the weapons.
The first barrage was over and Tenten leaped up to do her second follow up attack. She attached each weapon with her strings and gave the boys another barrage. This time Lee and Neji was unable to dodge the weapons, as they didn't have the time to get any rest to slow their breathing.
Neji had two Kunais on his right arm and eight senbons on his back. His leg was unharmed but two Shurikens and a Kunai hit the left shoulder. Luckily he was able to avoid the critical areas on his body and was soon breathing hard. Lee was in the same condition with Kunais on his back and a Syche on his left shoulder.
It was a sorry state to both the boys and Tenten. Neither of them thought about their third member because they were too engrossed in their own battles. Just like the First battle, they underestimated the weakest of their team and paid dearly.
TenTen was proud that her attack finally did what she wanted. Unlike the one in Konoha with Temari, her attacks were great in ambushes of fighting against many enemies. Neji would acknowledge her for her strength.
Neji cursed himself again and again as he plucked out the Kunais on his arm and shoulder. The punch from Lee had lessened but the added Kunais did even more damage to him.
# I think my shoulder is dislocated...damn, that means I can't use my Kaiten anymore.# thought Neji as he took out the last Kunai # But that doesn't mean I can't attack. # And he gathered the remaining Ki in his body to his palms and prepared for his attack " It's payback time Tenten, Lee..."
Lee took out the Syche with much effort since his right hand was numb from Neji's Tenketsu attack. Then he tried to breathe slowly as he positioned his center back where it belonged. Neji's attack did a moderate damage to Lee because he was hit by Lee's punch. Therefore the effect was over after a few tries of focusing his Ki to his chest. Soon Lee saw the look on Neji and grinned " Hell yeah, that was tricky Tenten."
" Hey, that's for ignoring me. " replied Tenten but became wide eyed when the two started to dash towards her, she threw her Kunais at Neji's face and leaped away to avoid the kick from Lee. She was welcomed by Lee's punches and was sent sprawling back to the walls as Lee's punches was too strong for her.
Neji tilted his head to the right and lifted his own kunai to block the second strike from Tenten. After he saw Lee's attack on Tenten, he decided not to take a gift horse in his mouth and performed his secret technique. The stance was similar to his 64 points attack but the way he focused his chakra was different.
The white eyed Ninja yelled his attack right after Lee's punch went through Tenten's defenses " Shin Hakkeshou : Kyori Sa-ti Nishou (New Hand of the Eight Divinations: Distance Thirty-Two Palms)!!"
All Lee could do was to fend off Neji's attacks with his own speed attack " Hyaku Ha Ken ( Hundred Leaf Fist ) !! " Unfortunately, with the damage to both his arms and low recoil from his previous attack on Tenten, Lee was barely able to fend off Neji's attacks. His hundred strikes were reduced to only forty or even less and Neji's attacks were more painful on him...that's what he thinks.
With the new way of fighting foes with the usage of Ki, Neji's newly developed distance strike made his attack a ranged technique. However, Lee's punches were painful even for the Hyuuga Genius and the combined damage from the previous weapon wounds had made him reduce his own 64 attacks to 32.
The two rivals were tired and were breathing hard. Tenten started to wake up and saw the state her two teammates were in and was shocked when Neji made his final move towards Lee who was obviously in pain.
" This is the end Lee, I win. " Neji raised his palm and aimed for Lee's chest again, this time to make Lee faint from the disturbance of his center and rib bones.
Lee's head was down, his arms hung lifelessly on his sides as Neji came closer and closer. Even Tenten held her breath at Neji's last strike.
The whole Arena was waiting for the final strike to the Green Beast of Konoha...and here it is.
At the very last moment, Lee lifted his head and disappeared from sight.
" Shit !! " Neji realized this attack and cursed but it was too late as Lee gave a very powerful kick under his chin and sent the proud Hyuuga in the air, then he gave out a yell " Sukai Dasshu Kikku ( Sky Dash Kick ) !! ) Lee twisted his arms on the ground and pushed his body upwards like a miniature Tornado and gave Neji a powerful kick to the spine and shoulder joints therefore dislocating his arms. Then he landed skillfully on the ground as Neji's body slammed a few feet in front of him creating a small crater and a dust cloud.
His body tensed as he felt Tenten made her move.
# Arrghh, Tenten didn't give me any time to cool off after my kick and I'm still a bit dizzy from all that spinning...# thought Lee as he avoided a senbon and two kunais.
He landed and made a roll forward with his arms guarding his face. Three Kunais pierced his arms and he opened them to find Tenten charging at him with a Fuuma Shuriken. He winced as his arm muscles refused to stay up. The twisting movements were hard on Lee since Neji sealed his right arm. Lee forced Ki into them for them to work right but the sudden Ki boost was straining them to his limit and he was feeling the after effects of forcing open the Tenketsu Points.
# Geez, I wonder how the hell Naruto-kun was able to force his points open and still fight on with Neji...This hurts like hell.# thought Lee as his arms finally gave way to Tenten's large Shuriken strike.
Blood spread over his green shirt and Tenten's hands. Lee gave a small grin at Tenten and whispered, " Sorry Tenten, I'll end this as fast as possible. " and made a 180-moon kick to Tenten's chin and knocked the weapons master out to la-la land.
" Heh, my arms are wounded but my legs are still fine. Sorry Tenten, Neji...I finally proved my Nindo." said Lee with tears of happiness in his eyes. He was able to defeat Neji without using any of the Forbidden Techniques...he even forgotten to take off his weights on his ankles.
Kosame walked towards the thick browed boy and declared loudly " Winner of the Third Battle……ROCK LEE OF KONOHA!! "
The crowds erupted in cheers and applauses and tears of happiness ran down Lee's eyes. He winced as he took each step back to the balcony. Another green blur came down and landed in front of Lee, the smoke revealed a crying Gai. The teacher and student hugged each other while crying their hearts out to each other.
" LEE ! YOU DID IT !! "
" GAI SENSEI !! I PROVED MY NINJA WAY !! "
" THE BURNING RAGE OF YOUR YOUTH SHINES GREATLY TODAY LEE !!"
" YES SIR !!"
Everyone present developed a huge sweatdrop behind his or her head. The medic team came and took the unconscious form of TenTen and Lee on a stretcher and went to the Medical Room.
Just as he appeared in front of Lee, Gai made his pose and declared that they should prepare for the next match and so he carried Lee's body back up. Even though Lee seemed reluctant to be carried; his body was too battered by Neji's attack and Tenten's weapons so he allowed his sensei to take him to the Medical room as well.
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Kosame wiped his forehead and walked to the center of the arena once again. The cleaners did a good job clearing the place of Tenten's weapons and repairing the walls. Kosame cleared his throat and called out for the next battle " Fourth Battle, all the way from Sunakagure, please welcome, Team Sand !! "
As Kankuro walked down the stairs, his teammates nodded to each other and appeared before him in the arena. Mikado, a longhaired boy with two huge Shuriken tied behind him stood wide legged with his hands balled into fists stared at the son of the former Kazekage. Kankuro just ignored him and untied Korasu from his back. Fushima was a quiet boy about Kankuro's age with short brown hair and a huge cape covering his upper body only revealing his legs. He had a white turban on his head with his forehead protector attached on it. He never took his eyes out off Kankuro since the time Kosame announced the rules of the last test. He knew Kankuro's trick and his ability to switch himself with his dolls before entering any battles in order to avoid direct damage from the enemy. He wasn't ignoring his other teammate either.
Mikado uses his Bloodline to merge his body with inanimate objects, he was a tough opponent as well, but Kankuro's skill as a powerful Chakra manipulator and the son of the former Kazakage earns him the position on Fushima's list of powerful Shinobis.
" Start ! "
Immediately, Mikado did his handseals and merged with the ground without a trace. At the same time, Fushima took out his Hooked Kunai and charged at Kankuro. He was certain that the Puppeteer didn't have the chance to switch places with his puppets and plunged the sharp handles into the shoulders of Kankuro, therefore disabling his usage of his arms.
What happened next shocked the hell out of Fushima as he felt the hardened feeling of a log in his grasp. Kankuro did a kawarimi jutsu just in time.
" What ? " Fushima cursed but soon kept his guard up, he knew from experience that Mikado would chose this chance to get him from either behind or...underground.
Sure enough the ground under Fushima became soft and a huge Shuriken came flying out underneath him. Fortunately, he was well prepared for the attack and did a back flip...and bumped into something hard. His mind yelled to move but it was too late as four strong hands hold on to his body. Fushima tried to break free but he knew it was too late as the spine-chilling chuckle of his teammate entered his ears from behind him.
" You're in my trap....give up or you'll be dead." said Kankuro behind Korasu.
Fushima struggled but finally gave a sigh " Heh, you know me Kankuro, I don't give up this easily." as he said this he was mentally thinking of a way out of this.
Kankuro shook his head " Good-bye ...huh ? " Fushima's body started to fall apart and turned into sand.
# Suna Bunshin ? # thought Kankuro but then a hard kick from Fushima halted his thoughts and send Kankuro sprawling to the ground. Two hands grabbed Kankuro's body and pulled him down the now watery looking ground. At the lost of its master, Korasu limped and fell apart on the ground.
Fushima growled and took out two kunais plus a scroll and made some rituals. At the corner, the ground burst and out came a black figure from it.
Everyone thought that it was the dead form of The Puppeteer but then gasped when it started cracking. The shell of sand revealed a sinister looking Puppet with horns, Kuroari.
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Back at the Balcony....
" Holy cow, that was some quick changing. I never see his hands move to switch place. " Said Ranma.
Haku nodded " Yes, it won't be shocking if you do see it huh ? "
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Underground....Mikado was annoyed. He knew it was hard to get his hands on Kankuro but that was insulting. Using two puppets at one time was no problem for Kankuro but it requires strong will of concentration.
# It's about time for that guy to show himself...he have no more puppets now that Korasu is down and Koroari near my territory. The only way he can defeat me and Fushima is to have a third...NO WAY !! #
As Mikado was thinking about the current situation, he came upon a long cylinder object pointed at him. Then he traced the thing to another bigger dark figure. At that Mikado knew it was time to come out from his Jutsu.
Fushima turned around to see Mikado's fearful face and then a huge explosion followed soon as Mikado's leg landed beside him. They covered their eyes from the debris and were wide eyed as they behold the scene in front of them.
It was magnificent to the spectator but true horror and shock to those under its majestic gaze. A huge puppet standing 12 feet high with black bat like wings covering it's body like a cloak stood there glaring at them. The eyes were glowing a red hue with its teeth as sharp as any kunai and the way it looks at them was very VERY unnerving.
" W...what the hell is that thing? " asked Mikado as he tried to stand still. The shockwave from the explosion had stunned his legs and he was suffering from the shock of seeing such a sight. Fushima could only stare in silence as the figure made its move towards them.
Without thinking through, Mikado took out his second huge Shuriken from his back and twirled it, preparing to cut the thing down to pieces. The figure's eyes glared at the charging Shinobi and opened its mouth. Out came twelve single handled Kuanis and six shurikens.
Mikado, a skilled Shinobi that he was dodged and deflected the projectiles with his weapon without losing any momentum as he kept on charging. Suddenly, the bat like wings that acted as a cape started to reveal the body of the figure. Mikado and Fushima prepared for some sort of an attack and halted in their tracks.
Under the cape was two strong hands holding a huge razor sharp Syche. The body was sleek and metallic looking with the black paint; red steaks ran along the joints and the abdomen forming realistic muscles. Mikado shook his head and started his attack again and shouted a battle cry.
A loud clank echoed through the arena and there we see Mikado with his large Shuriken being blocked by the huge Syche.
" Fushima, let's finish this thing together first. You know you can't handle this alone do you ? " Shouted Mikado who was desperately trying to over power the figure but was failing fast.
Fushima sneered at the plea but followed the call for help. He threw his cape on the ground and disappeared in a second. He reappeared in air after forming his final seal " Ninpo : Tsuyoi no Kaze Surasshu ( Mighty Wind Slash ) !! " and crossed his arms while charging straight toward the figure's head.
Then he let off a large wind blade made of compressed air and chakra.
Ranma was reminded of his Yamasenken's Demon God Attack.
However, the attack was useless as the figure lifted its head and ejected itself from the body letting the Wind Blade to miss the intended target. Fushima landed and took out his Kunais but then the head hovered in air let loose with a large metallic net with some seals attached to it in air and captured him in them. As Fushima tried to cut himself free from it, the net let loose with a thousand volts of electricity from the seals. Fushima's cries of pain was heard and then silence soon followed as the smell of burnt flesh filled the arena and a dull thud signaled the end of Fushima's battle. He was still breathing though.
Mikado watched hopelessly at his partner's defeat and disappeared underground using his Bloodline technique. This time he did it without the handseals, this was because it only required the user to do them once for it to be activated. The Syche, without the pressure of the Shuriken user was sent deep in the ground and was stuck there.
Mikado came out the other side of the figure and launched his Kunais at it. The figure turned around and used the bat wings to deflect all the incoming kunais ignoring them like it was just some flies. Then Mikado made another handseal and summoned ten Suna Bunshins to attack the figure.
The figure opened the wings and from the chest plates out came four smaller nets that caught three Suna Bunshins while one dodged it. Once the net landed with the bunshins it started to tighten itself until the Bunshins turned back into sand.
The other seven made their attack and slashed at the giant puppet. In the end, it was useless as the puppet sprouted two more arms from behind the body and seated on the lower side of the original arms. The arms were not the normal kind. Instead they were weapons themselves. One of them looked like a cannon while the other resembles a very sharp and obviously very deadly metallic claw.
The charging bunshins wasn't even given a chance to run as the cannon let loose blast after blast of iron balls covered in explosive notes, destroying every one of the sand bunshins. Mikado and another clone started to retreat but the metallic claw launched itself at the bunshin as chains trailed behind it and destroyed it in less than a second. Mikado was lucky to escape underground with his jutsu but the puppet pointed its cannon at the place where the Sand Ninja disappeared and fired.
The ground exploded in a magnificent pile of dirt and Earthen debris followed by a singed body...
Needless to say the winner is decided. Kosame coughed and searched for Kankuro. The son of the Kazekage was nowhere to be found until suddenly the giant puppet started to bend over and a secret door opened front the back and out came the black clothed Puppeteer.
The crowd cheered as Kosame announced the winner of the Fourth battle...Sabaku no Kankuro.
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The other teams congratulated Kankuro but inside he was sad. He had to kill his friends to achieve victory and although he doesn't show it, he did care for them...a little bit. It was after a few minutes when the medic said that his two teammates were alive that Kankuro started telling about how he felt about the battle.
" Holy hell !! That was awesome!! " said Gosei after witnessing the battle performed by the Sand Shinobi. He was all right after his battle and was amazed by the puppeteer's technique.
" Hell can't be holy you baka. I can't believe I tied with you." said Aki beside him. Though she was angry with herself for not being the winner, she was also amazed at the power Gosei showed during their fight.
" Whatever, it shows that you're no better than Me.," retorted the young Top Player.
" That will soon change." said Aki in an annoyed voice as she closed her eyes.
" Yeah, I'll be the winner next time we fight." said Shunichi.
The three youngsters started their bickering like usual.
Kankuro on the other hand was relieved that they didn't insist on learning how he did that jutsu. For the pass few months, Kankuro has learned the advance sealing technique from Baki and soon found out that he could seal almost anything in his scroll and tried to seal his puppets. The giant puppet is named after the God of Death, Shinagami. ( Yeah, I know it's very VERY cliché but I like that name. )
Its main function is major destruction of the target. Equipped with over 100 cannon balls that could fire over 200 meters and twenty electric nets plus ten self tightening wires/net enables this weapon to attack large crowds and make long ranged attacks. The metallic claw could catch the enemy before they escape and finishes the job with a mighty swing from the Syche. The bat like wings acted as both shield and stealth usage as it is made of small and strong wires enhanced by chakra flowing through them at all times. Kankuro have to charge them with Chakra when he needs to and it will merge with the surrounding environment's color scheme thus making it hard to spot. In short, it can be camouflaged in battle. The sharp edges of the wings are sharp enough to cut through anything as easily as a warm kunai through butter and are laced with poison from the venoms of the deadly desert Scorpions.
Unlike Korasu and Koroari, the two paired puppets needs Kankuro to control them using his chakra string. Shinagami's body is semi hollow and could contain Kankuro himself. Basically it's a walking man made killing machine...without the works of machines that is. The fingertips of Shinagami were chakra expender ampliperes that enables multiple chakra strings for Kankuro to control Korasu and Koroari at the same time. With all the most sophisticated weaponry in his arsenal, Kankuro was one of the most formidable opponents in the Sand country. Next to his sister and younger brother, he was one of the most feared Shinobis in his generation.
Though Gaara could crush this fake imitation of the God of Death, he do respect his older brother's way of combat.
Max and Ranma whistled as they witness the carnage Kankuro's puppet did to the arena. Holes and craters where still smoking from the cannon balls and the final one was a big finish.
" Boy, I REALLY feel sorry for the cleaners this time." said Ranma.
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Kosame checked his watch and announced the fifth battle to be ready and that the contestants should prepare themselves.
Naruto's gaze was full with sorrow as he remembered what Kosame said. Any one of your teammates could be your future enemy or even a threat to your village as a Missing Nin. In this situation it's kill or be killed, survival of the fittest. Then remembered what Kakashi and Zabuza said in the Wave country, a Shinobi is a tool for his country and must kill without any doubts, without emotional interference in battle. One second could tip the scale of life and death. Once you're over one side you're there for good. That also applies to the path that Sasuke chose during his escape to the Sound. The Leaf was lucky to have the Sand and Mist to help get back Sasuke. Who knows what will happen if Sasuke actually did get to Orochimaru's side.
Jiraiya told him about the Akatsuki and the reason why Orochimaru wanted Sasuke for his body. Naruto was accepted as Jiraiya's official student but he wanted to stay in the Leaf before getting his Chunin rank. Though Jiraiya said that Rank doesn't matter when you kill the other Shinobi, Naruto had already said that he wouldn't break his promise to himself. He will get the Chunin Rank no matter what this time.
He looks side ways at Sakura and noticed that her Hai-ate stood proudly on her forehead. She turned at him and smiled proudly. Then he turned around to look at his other teammate, Raku Shinosuke who in return waved and made a fist at him.
Sakura felt the same feeling when she was fighting with her long time rival Ino. After Sasuke's capture, she went to The Fifth Hokage to get acceptance and asked for apprenticeship under Tsunande. She has improved greatly with determination as strong as Naruto and her skill as a Medic Nin was almost as good as Shizune when she was her age. The body strengthening training increased her Taijutsu and with some time, she could even give Max a run for his money. Like Naruto, she too made a silent promise to herself. That she will not let others suffer from protecting her, it was her turn to protect her friends and family. It was her turn to fight and gain back Sasuke's trust. It was her duty to get Sasuke back in line as a friend if not...then as a team mate.
Raku tightened his belt and sniffed the air around him. Yup, the smell of excitement was in the air. It was the most awaited match for the Hidden Leaf. Though not as big as the Stadium in the Leaf, he knew that this was similar to Sasuke's match back home. He was a graduate from the Ninja academy and though his mother disagreed when he came back as a Genin of Konoha, his father approved his dreams as one of Konoha's protectors. He was willing to risk his life at the hands of death to protect his family and his home. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to go against the two students of the Legendary Senins of Konoha but he had to try. He will not back down and he will prove that he too was a proud Shinobi of Konoha. He wore his Hai-ate above his head and met up with his two teammates at the center of the Arena as the crowd cheered on.
Kakashi's eyes glittered for a short moment when he saw the fire in his team's eyes. He failed them once and he will not fail again this time. Sasuke's hatred toward his brother was too great and that triggered the act to go to Orichimaru. It was bad enough that The Leaf suffered some loses along the way. Genma and Raido's wound was healed but that still doesn't excuse Sasuke from running to the Sound. He remembered the time Sasuke woke up screaming as the curse seal started to eat away his essence and mind from using the Second Level for a prolonged time. He was cursing at his brother and Naruto for ruining his revenge and that the Leaf was weak to call upon the help from so many villages. He was slapped across the face by Tsunande-sama herself and was glared by Jiraiya. Many other Jounins were present and most of them have lost their faith in Sasuke. The other Jounins however still insisted that Naruto was the cause of this behavior.
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#Flash Back#
" It's the Demon Fox's fault !! " yelled a Jounin from behind. The others nodded and yelled the same thing.
" Yeah, if it wasn't for the fact that he was placed in the same team as that Demon Spawn, The Uchiha would never run away calling our Village weak. " followed another Jounin.
Anko took out her Kunai and threw it at the Jounin but it was caught in his hands.
The Jounin smirked " Anko-san, you're a Special Jounin...therefore NOT an official Ranked Jounin like me. You should watch your temper wisely before I vote you down as Chunin. " said the long haired Jounin. He was punched on the face as Ibiki appeared beside him.
" I however am a Jounin. " spat the scared man.
" Enough ! " shouted Tsunande. He had placed a Jutsu to calm down Sasuke and slow down his increasing heart rate.
" This situation is bad enough and all of you shall feel ashamed to be so immature. Kuno Tatewaki, this is your last warning and if you screw up again you shall be demoted to Chunin for five years until you retake the Jounin exam for causing this riot amongst the Jounin ranks. Anko, you're to be put on martial relief after this for a week. Ibiki....you'll be punished as well but I can't afford another one of my Shinobis to be kept out of duty, the Leaf needs more Shinobis for the huge pile of Mission Forms. You shall be punished when the crisis is over." said Tsunande, she took another deep breath and turned toward Kakashi. She was surprised when Kakashi wasn't reading his perverted book like he used to and his eyes showed some emotion of sadness in them.
" Kakashi, you are given a warning for not organizing your team. A Jounin Instructor's job is to look after the next generation of Konoha's Shinobi and here you have disobeyed that order by letting your Students fighting among each other and even nearly causing the lost of the Last Survivor Of The Uchiha clan to the Hidden Sound Village. This is the fact that you held prejudice towards your students. You neglected to train Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto as much as you focused your time on Sasuke. A Jounin Instructor is to view his team as equals and treat them as equals. I guess the Third made a big mistake in letting you lead them. What have you to say for yourself? "
Kakashi sighed and was quiet for some while until he lifted his head and stood in front of Tusnande.
" I...Hatake Kakashi shall accept any punishment for all my mistakes. I have nothing to say more than how proud I am at my Students. Naruto has improved along these few months, Sakura didn't falter at Sasuke that much in her battles and has showed some side of her kindness to her teammates including Naruto in some occasions. They entered the Chunin exam together and entered the final exam even though they didn't pass it. Sasuke also showed that he was indeed a normal boy in the inside and around Naruto. Although they don't get along very well, I suspect that he view Naruto as his best friend...or even a brother. "
Tsunande smirked and held up her hand " So...you really accept any punishment? Even if I want you to stop reading those disgusting book Jiraiya sells? "
Kakashi's body trembled but he nodded.
At that the whole room started rumbling and some started to say that Kakashi's gonna kill himself if he don't get the chance of reading the novel.
Tsunande chuckled " It's alright Kakashi, I won't do something so cruel...BUT I will if you repeat the same mistake you made."
Kakashi bowed deeply as he heard this " Thank Tsunande-sama !! You don't know how glad I am."
" I can hardly imagine...." said Tsunande darkly, then she continued " Your punishment shall be decided now...You shall Lead a new Team of Genins at the start of tomorrow. Report to me after this meeting and do NOT be late again."
" Hai Tsunande-sama."
#Flash back End#
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Ranma took a bite at his sandwich and looked hoping that this will be as great as the fight he had with Lee last time. Naruto was a loose cannon like him and with the skill he showed back in the Leaf, the Summoning of giant frogs, this time he wondered what this Genin could do next. He had felt the increase in Ki and chakra control when he met Naruto by the gates and he knew that the blonde's skill has indeed increased this pass few months.
Max stared at the arena and his thoughts went back to when Naruto told him about what they did to Sasuke, the Genin was placed under a strict watch and chakra restrains so that he won't try to escape again. The Uchiha was a changed guy and never spoke to anyone else again since the release from the heavily guarded prison. Sakura tried to talk to him but all he did was stare blankly out the window. His thoughts went back to Naruto's improvement in skills, though not quite what he expected, the blonde haired Genin has proven that his skills in combat had greatly increased under the trainings of Jiraiya and Kakashi. The fight at the waterfall was proof that Naruto was stronger than Sasuke in power.
Haku just watched silently at the only boy who defeated him twice in his lifetime. Even with his training with his brothers and Zabuza, Naruto was able to strike him down in his Demonic Mirror Jutsu with the help of Kyubi's power. Then there was the summoning; he never saw such a huge frog before. It was no wonder that Gaara gave up his fight with Naruto. What shocked him was that Naruto summoned an even bigger frog...um…Toad when he was fighting Sasuke at the Waterfalls. This proves to be a very hard battle for the blonde Shinobi since he is needed to strike the girl he likes and the grandson of his favorite ramen stand. Well, it's all up to him now.
Gaara stared at Naruto as he readied himself for battle. This boy was the only one besides the mist brothers to talk to him as a friend. The fact that Naruto has a Demon inside him shocked Gaara the day when Naruto told him. Trust me, Gaara isn't someone you can easily shock. He wondered what will happen if he would fight with Naruto again...this time he shall not hesitate to go all out.
Temari watched on at the boy who won Gaara by making him surrender. She was surprised when she too found out about Naruto's own secret...that he too held a demon. Not just any demon, it was the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, Kyubi no Kitsune. One of the greatest and most powerful Demons found in the Fire country. She shivered at the thought of Gaara and Naruto going all out in a fight. The mapmakers are going to be busy remaking maps after their fight.
Kankuro was annoyed at the brat who was so stupid and yet so insanely powerful to defeat Gaara in the match. Though not physically, he had been giving excuses about how Gaara should fight the Blonde for real but when he found out that Naruto held the Kyubi in him, which changed Kankuro's mind almost instantly.
Hinata held her hands together and said a silent prayer for her love...she had come this far without his help. What she dreaded most was about to come true. She knew that Naruto is going to win this fight. She also knew that she will have to fight him in the semi finals...Oh why the heck did Kami-sama made such a difficult decision for her ? Should she just admits defeat and go back a loser again? NO!! That wouldn't be what Naruto wanted. That wouldn't be what her father wanted...That wouldn't be what SHE wanted. She will go down in glory...she will not back out now. Hyuuga Hinata shall fight till the end....and go home as a proud Hyuuga worthy of her name.
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At the center of the arena, Kosame smirked at the facial features of the three Genins. They were still somewhat uncertain about this fight, this will not do.
" ALRIGHT !! This shall be the fifth and final battle for today. Make the guys up there proud of yourselves and be the winner. Earn the right to win the Chunin Title and become one of us, is that not what you came here for ?"
Naruto and his team stared at Kosame who suddenly said his speech and said together " Um...you're weird."
Kosame face faulted and stood up straight quickly " Fine, Ladies and Gentlemen. All the way from the Hidden Village of the Leaf, The final battle for today...Team Seven of the Leaf. Please welcome Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Raku Shinosuke !! "
At the back lines, the Jounins of Hidden Mist sweatdropped at the way Kosame was behaving.
" Gee...I think Kosame's loving it." said Momonga " The idiot..."
" But you must admit he does a great job at this." said Kyattsuai.
After a deep breath Kosame made the declaring of the start of the Final Match that day " SSSTAAAAAARRTT !! "
( TBC..... ? )
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(AN: Well, that's two down and five more to go. I think I'll cut the other battles short and make an epilogue for this book. Then I'll start the next Book, The Dragon has Landed Book Two. Tell me what you think ? Or I should continue to write fight scenes and forget about this after the arch? Review Please.)