The Back Stories Of The Village Of Sin

by Spyderjsr

The Battle of Tarawa creek blazes across the fields between the fire and thunder countries as the war between the leaf and cloud rages on at its climax. Amongst the soldiers, stands Akira Toshida a man that history would later remember as, The Butcher

9. Days In The Cloud: Toshida vs Seshen

Toshida Gaiden Chapter 9: Days in The Cloud - Toshida vs. Seshen

Several days after my father's announcing of my academy enlistment, we made our way to the cloud village. We traveled light and moved with the utmost in stealth so that we would no be discovered by the border patrols which at the time were no where near as thorough as they are nowadays. When I made it close enough to the village to navigate on my own, my father sent me in to enlist in the academy which during those days, held open registration for any applicants throughout the country four times a year. Every three months at the beginning of every season, the Raikage would personally oversee all the new students that had entered into the academy. The age restrictions were a minimum age of four years old and reaching a maximum at twelve years of age before a student was denied entry. My father had planned our arrival for the first day of autumn, and I made my way to the registry. Only four years old at the time, I was the youngest of all the entries during that particular registration. I filled out the application forms and claimed to be an orphan from the northern Denkoushi province, which is roughly two miles from the sin village. I told them I just recently lost my parents in an accident and came to the academy to become a shinobi and serve my country like my parents wanted. Hmpf . . . an interesting bull shit story don't you think?

I gained acceptance and for the next few years I would train in the academy and learn all of the traits and techniques required to make it as a shinobi from the cloud village . . . and that would be where I met a very interesting young man . . .

The scene changes to a shuriken training ground just outside the cloud village shinobi academy when Toshida is six years old. The shinobi academy resembles the shape of a more circular layered structure, almost like a snow man style shape with three large rounded shapes staked on top of and blending into one another. The weather in the village is cold and frigid as it is the height of the winter season. There is a layer of snow on the ground and the surrounding village roughly an inch thick and in some places more then three feet due to the heavy winds during this time of year. There are roughly twelve young shinobi students all clad in dark cloaks to help protect from the bitter cold and stinging wind, and two sensei's overseeing the practice exercise. The cloaks are dark and made of wool, with two sleeves, a wool belt to keep the cloak closed and a hood. Many of the young students do not wear their hoods up, as it hinders their vision and ability to properly throw a shuriken.

The first student in the line up approaches the throwing line and readies her shuriken. After the order is given from the sensei to proceed, the young girl throws a compliment of three shuriken in quick succession at the target. Her score is poor and is documented at scoring two hits in the outermost ring and one of her shuriken did not hit the target at all. The first sensei marks down her score in the target, while the other make's comments about the girls form, technique, reaction and recovery from the throw. The girl then moves away from the line up and awaits the finish of the other students.

The students would systematically go through the line and test their shuriken skills while getting marked. The seventh student in the lineup, manages to miss the target with every shuriken volley that he throws and is quick to protest the exercise and give an excuse.

"Sensei this isn't fair!" The young boy says protests, "It is too windy out here to get a decent throw off. What is this exercise supposed to prove anyway?"

"Move to the side student." The first sensei says in a stern voice. "You have already failed this test, so don't bother trying to humiliate yourself even more by complaining like a spoiled child!"

The second sensei soon enters the conversation with an explanation for the student's question. "Situations on the battlefield are not always going to be ideal for throwing shuriken. We purposely picked this time, when the winds were at their highest for the week to hold this test. We are seeing how well you all adapt to the change in weather and to see if you can still manage to hit the targets."

"Yea, and so far no one has managed to hit a bull's eye yet." The first sensei adds. "Next up! Toshida, It's your turn."

Toshida steps up to the throwing line with his hood placed over his head and slightly over the top of his face. He shifts his cloak off to the side on his right and readies his hand for the throw. With a backward nod of his head, the hood of his cloak falls off from his head and Toshida makes his throw. Grasping the first shuriken in his index finger and removing it from the holster, and in the same motion, using his middle and then his ring finger to remove the other two shuriken. With a calculated swing of his arm the three shuriken leave his hand systematically and speed toward the target, as Toshida follows through, finishing with his right hand running parallel with his left shoulder.

"Excellent Toshida!" The first sensei shouts as he examines the target.

The first shuriken landed in the left most edge of the bulls eye, the second shuriken landing on the right most edge, and the third hitting dead center, leaving only a centimeter in between each shuriken.

"I must say, I am not all that surprised though." The second sensei says, "Sometimes I wonder what exactly we are going to have to do in order to get you to actually fail one of these tests Toshida. We have thrown just about every obstacle possible into your way kid and still you have yet to come anything lower then the top of the class."

Toshida smiles as he has gained even more encouragement and praise from his sensei's. His smiling is cut short quickly when three shuriken fly just inches away from the left side of his head. Two of the shuriken land in between the three bulls eye shuriken thrown by Toshida. The third shuriken was thrown with such precision and force that it actually stabs the dead center bull's eye shuriken's outermost point and remains stuck tip to tip, as it has also thrust Toshida's shuriken further into the target.

As Toshida looks over his left shoulder, he can see a young academy student standing seven meters behind Toshida, and a total of ten meters back from the throwing line that has been drawn twenty meters away from the target. Both sensei's begin to smile and clap as they see the result of the young man's throw and almost immediately know who the young man is.

"Well I cannot say I am all that surprised that you were able to pull that off kid. Good work."

"Well I guess it should be expected from the Raikage's child."

The young man then removes his hood revealing a young and confident Seshen Raiken, the Raikage's adopted son.

"Dammit Seshen!" Toshida snaps, "There was no need for that. You almost clipped my ear!"

"Sorry Toshida." Says an arrogant Seshen, "I just wanted to make sure that ego of yours stopped swelling before your head exploded. So really I was just trying to do you a favor. Besides, what's the matter? Are you afraid of getting a little scratch on that pretty face of yours?" Seshen says in a sarcastic and mocking tone.

Toshida smiles with an arrogant smirk of his own. "No. It's just that I didn't want to have the responsibility of telling the Raikage why his son got his ass handed to him at school today. So actually, I am just doing you a favor."

The two sensei's laugh as they break up the two shinobi and keep their argument from coming to strikes. "All right you two, that's enough."

"Yea guys, break it up and get back into line."

Seshen and I were always trying to one up the other. I would pull of a perfect mark in a test, and Seshen would find some way to beat me. He would clock in a record setting time in the obstacle course, and I would break his record. One way or another, we were always in competition for the top of the class. I had the advantage in that I started in the academy at four years old and at the time had two years of experience in the academy over him. But he was a year older and didn't join the academy until he was six years old. But up until that time he had received personal tutelage from the Raikage himself.

All of the students are seating in one of the large lecture theaters on the academy's grounds. One of the jounin sensei's at the academy has taken center stage as a number of the genin move to the front of the stands and take positions on the main floor.

"All right students, today we will be practicing the Hyouton (ice element) technique that we were studying yesterday. This is either a pass or fail test and if the sculpture is not perfect then you simply fail. You will all be creating an ice sculpture of Raikage-sama. You have 30 seconds to complete the technique, from hand seals, to chakra molding, to the finished product." The sensei looks down the line as all of the students take their positions. "This is a chuunin level technique remember, and it requires perfect chakra control and attention to small details, so don't feel bad if you do not pass this test. You will be tested on it again, likely in a month's time."

In the lineup, Seshen and Toshida have been placed next to one another in the lineup and neither of them are happy about it. Toshida is the first to make a remark as he whispers to Seshen. "Didn't your daddy send you off to school with a pair of mittens? How could he let his precious adopted son sculpt the cold, cold, ice with his bare hands? Well maybe he did give them to you . . . well if I find one of them I just have to follow the string through your sleeves to find the other one I suppose." Toshida says sarcastically as he laughs at his own insult.

An unhappy and unamused Seshen, sticks out his left hand toward Toshida and raises his middle finger to his classmate. "Why don't you find this? You walking diaper stain!" Seshen retorts out loud getting a response from the sensei.

"Hey! Both of you, knock it off and pay attention or you will both be shoveling Raikage-sama's front pathway for the rest of the month!" The sensei scolds.

"Sorry Sensei." The two students respond in unison.

"All right then. Let us begin. You all have 30 seconds . . . starting . . . NOW!" The Sensei shouts as all the students begin the same hand seal sequence. Horse, Snake, Rooster, dog, boar, monkey, tiger.

"Hyouton: Toukan Choukou no jutsu (Ice Element: Cold sculptor Technique) The students say in unison as their hands glow with chakra as they begin to form the sculpture they have been order to create. The students have to gather up enough water molecules in the air with their chakra, freeze an efficient amount of it in order to create the sculpture and then begin to chip away what is not needed, and smooth out the surfaces and create the proper finished product.

One of the other Sensei's turns to the Sensei leading the exercise and whispers into his ear, "Thirty seconds is a very short time, don't you think? All the other tests have been more then a minute at least, and half the students still fail it."

"It was a special request from Raikage-sama. He knew that his son was taking the test today and he wanted to see if his son would be up to the challenge of performing the jutsu in such a short time. I would not be surprised if not one passed this test." The jounin then looks to the clock above him and he notices that the thirty seconds have passed. "All right, time's up stop what you're doing."

As the two Sensei's begin to walk down the line to inspect the final products that have been created, they notice that almost half of the line are breathing heavily due to exhaustion as they are not used to having to harness such a large amount of chakra in such a short time and to mold it so quickly. Two thirds of the students were unable to create the visage of the Raikage but still managed to freeze the molecules together, while the remainder made very lackluster and makeshift versions of the test. That is until the two Sensei reach Toshida and Seshen near the end of the lineup. The first Sensei inspects Seshen's sculpture which has been created perfectly, with no chips, no rough edges and a size double that of what was required.

"Well then, that is certainly impressive." One of the Sensei's says out loud. "Seshen Raiken . . . Pass." He says as the other Sensei marks down Seshen's mark.

"Ok then lets see what you have here Toshida . . ." The Sensei quickly examines Toshida's sculpture which is only about an inch smaller then Seshen's creation. The Sensei then begins to chuckle slightly as he notices something about the sculpture. He does not look at anyone else other than into Toshida's chuckling and smiling face. "Toshida . . . Pass." He says to his counterpart who is also holding back laughter.

"What the hell are they laughing at?" Seshen says to himself. He quickly peeks over at Toshida's sculpture and see's a perfect replica of the Raikage's figure. Seshen soon becomes intensely angered and he can see what the Jounin's were laughing at. "Dammit you son of a bitch!" Seshen yells as his face turns red with anger as he scolds Toshida.

Toshida just simply laughs at Seshen's anger at the text, "I'm With Stupid" that he had sculpted into the front of the Raikage's cloak with an arrow pointed toward Seshen.

Toshida leans over after Seshen has begun to calm down and he whispers into Seshen's ear. "Next time . . . don't piss me off . . . and then I won't have to embarrass you!" Toshida smiles and then quickly runs away as Seshen gives pursuit, and the two find themselves chasing one another throughout the lecture hall.

When I would finish a day at the academy, I would go home to the five finger mountain range in secret, and meet with my father for additional training. This would go on for a number of years, living in secret and living a double life until I was eight years old. At that time, the academy selection exam was soon upon us.

The way that the exam was run was a little bit different than the way it is in the leaf village. All the academy students are being tested all year, and the minimum requirement to take the exam is being eight years old and having completed all the tests throughout the year with flying colors. If you are of age and have substantial marks, you still may not be allowed to take the exam. You require a personal recommendation from one of the academy's Sensei's. The exams are held twice a month and only one genin can graduate at a time. The exam is usually simple and is over seen by a group of Sensei's from the academy as well as some of the Raikage's personal attendants, and on occasion the Raikage himself would over see the exam. All in all there are roughly five members on the judging council, and all must reach a consensus as to whether or not the genin will pass or fail.

The exam is usually a one on one fight between the top two recommended genin's at the time. If any of the board members had family taking place in the exam, they would be removed from the board and replaced with an impartial party. The exam was always held in private and away from the public eye. Usually because many of the genin taking part in the exam know that they may not come out of the test alive. And it does not make for good public relations to see children killing one another to move up in the ranks. It may limit the number of genin's promoted every year, but the genin's we produced were always the best in the five countries.

I was recommended by my Sensei to take part in the exam that month and I went to my father to discuss a plan for the upcoming fight. We met around a fire deep in the cave system in the mountain range . . .

Toshida sits across from his father in front of a large fire in the depths of the cave system. Kunashiro is eating the last morsels of meat from a large shank, while Toshida finishes the last of the rice in his bowl and washes it down with some of the fresh water flowing through the streams in the mountains. Toshida looks up from his bowl after finishing and addresses his concerns to his father.

"Father, I have been chosen to take part in the graduation exam this month."

"Excellent Toshida. It is imperative that you pass this exam and move on to become a genin. Only then will it become easier for you to get close enough to the Raikage to strike him down."

"But father, how am I supposed to kill the Raikage if he is the strongest in the village? I may be stronger then most of the other academy students, but he is still the strongest in the Thunder country."

"What do you mean, MOST of the other academy students?"

"Well father, one of my classmates . . . Seshen Raiken . . . he is the adopted son of the Raikage and his power is considerable."

"The Raikage's son? And he is a match for you? Are you sure?"

"Yes father. We are always at the top of the class in all of our tests and studies and we are constantly competing for the top spot."

"And even though you hide your true ability, you still think he is your equal?"

"Yes father. I am not sure how I know . . . I have sensed his power and it is almost equal to mine.

"I see." Kunashiro takes a second to quickly take in all that his son has explained to him. "The dragon must have increased his awareness. If this boy that he speaks of is strong enough to compete with Toshida at this age, then this boy may become a problem. If Toshida learns to tap into the power that the dragon provides, he will most certainly be unstoppable. But I cannot tell Toshida about the beast, for I fear that it may frighten even him. And if he becomes scared . . . then he is of no use to me. I need Toshida's strength to impress the Raikage enough for him to get close enough to strike him down . . . he will never suspect a child to challenge him, let alone try to assassinate him."

"Me and Seshen just do not get along and he infuriates me to no end. He also tries to be a show off, but only when it is at my expense. Any other time he is just as polite and determined as any of the other students. But he just doesn't seem to like me at all . . . but that's fine cause I don't like him either . . . I just wish I could kill that stupid kid and be done with him." Toshida grumbles as he kicks a stone into the nearby fire.

Kunashiro then begins to think back to when Toshida first demonstrated the dragon's power back in the cave, when Toshida readying himself to fight his father after he struck Yuna. "That may be the key . . . Toshida's emotions seem to inadvertently tap into the beast's power . . . if he hates this boy enough and is confronted by him . . . he may snap and let loose the fury that has been his birthright." Kunashiro thinks to himself. "Well Toshida . . . Either way this child sounds like he could become most troublesome if left to advance on his own. I can think of no better punishment for the Raikage then for you to kill his only son. So after this exam graduation is over . . . you and I will discuss Seshen's assassination."

"Um . . . Ok . . . father." Toshida says as he lowers his head and contemplates what his father has just said.

"Is there a problem Toshida?" Kunashiro asks in a stern tone, as he stares a hole through Toshida.

"N-no father . . . I will do as you ask." Toshida regretfully replies.

I dare not say it to my father, for fear that he may see it as a weakness . . . but Seshen . . . even though he was a pain in my ass and was constantly trying to humiliate me . . . was the closest thing I had to a friend at that time. We disliked, even hated one another . . . but it was something we had in common.

(Music: "Tea Country" from the Naruto OST III)

The next day when I set off to the cloud village, I could not shake a bad feeling I felt in my stomach as I walked toward the examination center just down the street from the Raikage's palace. I didn't like the idea of planning to kill Seshen . . . but at that time I would never dare to contradict my father's orders. So I went about the rest of my journey to the village without giving it a second thought.

I arrived in the examination center around nine in the morning and was directed to the fighting hall. When I entered the hall, it was dark and damp, with only two lights to illuminate the fighting floor, and another light that illuminate a long table that the five judges sat at. The said nothing to me as I walked in, so I simply moved to the center of the arena and looked up to them as I awaited further instructions . . .

"This is awkward. It is like they are not even paying attention to me." Toshida looks up to the balcony where the judges are seated, and can see all of the judges writing notes down on their clipboards as they do not even make eye contact with Toshida.

After fifteen minutes of awkward silence, one of the examiners addresses Toshida. "Toshida, you may begin your preparation for your match. Your opponent will be here shortly."

Toshida nods in approval and begins stretching for the upcoming fight. He tightens his sandals, and checks his weapon inventory. After confirming his number of kunai and shuriken, he begins tying his long black hair in a single braid that goes down to just past his shoulders. As he begins to adjust his shuriken pouch on his left leg, he is startled by the sound of the door opening on the opposite side of the arena.

(Music: "Bunta" from the Naruto OST III)

The door opens, and a shadow is cast upon the floor leading to Toshida, the bright light behind the dark figure shines bright in Toshida's eyes and he quickly raises his hand to cover his face. As the figure walks closer, he closes the door behind him and walks into the light of the two over hanging lamps that brighten up the fighting floor. To Toshida, the figure's steps are calculated and deafening. For the first time in his life, Toshida is nervous and the feelings in his knees begin to fade. The figure steps into the light and Toshida quickly examines the silhouette. He can make out the dark sandals and shinobi pants worn by any other cloud shinobi male, and a black sleeveless shirt that matches Toshida's. He wears black tape around each wrist and his shuriken pouch on his right leg, with the family crest of the Raikage embroidered across it. As Toshida finally see's his opponent's entire figure, he can see the well built physique, piercing brown eyes and light-green spikey hair of Seshen Raiken standing before him.

"Well then . . . isn't this convenient?" A confident smirk brandishes across the face of the Raikage's personal pupil and adopted son, as he realizes that the score between the two may finally be settled.

Toshida, who at first was apprehensive of Seshen's entrance, now brandishes an optimistic and almost playful smile on his face as he too wants the better man to be decided in this altercation. "I suppose that you and I will finally know who is better, won't we Seshen?"

Both competitors stand only a few feet away from one another and exchange confident demeanor's as they await the order to fight. The examiners all soon rise from the table as the door of the balcony opens and two figures walk in. One of the figures is dressed in a long white robe and matching hat over top of a standard cloud village jounin's outfit. The second figure just wears a jounin's outfit and bandana marked with the cloud village's symbol on a metal head protector sewn into the bandana. His outfit consists of the standard black shinobi's pants and long sleeve shift with a dark navy blue vest and thick shoulder pads for added protection and warmth in the cold thunder country climate. This jounin however has somewhat of a black cape that hangs from the back of his shoulders and down to just past his knees.

When the two figures step into the light, the examiners all bow, as they show respect for the Raikage himself, and his personal aid, bodyguard, and right hand, the jounin Shin.

"Raikage-sama, we were not expecting you to oversee this examination. You honor us with your presence." One of the examiners says.

"You may dispense with the pleasantry's examiner, I am just here to watch the exam, you are not being evaluated. I just wanted Shin to see my son in action. I myself am also interested to see just how far my son is progressing, and I am here to support him as much as I can." The Raikage smiles as he looks down to the young shinobi ready to fight for their right of passage.

Toshida looks up with an angry scowl on his face as the two men he has been programmed almost from birth to hate have just entered the room with the intention of scouting his every move. "Get a good look you son of a bitch. Cause my face will eventually be the last thing you see on this earth."

On the balcony Shin looks down to Toshida with a curious glare of optimism. "Raikage-sama, is that the boy we have been hearing about?"

"Yes Shin, that is the strange Toshida child. Apparently he is an orphan from the northern provinces. He has also been giving my son quite the run in the race for top of the class. This child may prove to be a great asset to our military as soon as he comes of age. God knows we can use all the help we can get. This war with the leaf is taking its toll. But why do you ask Shin?"

"Just this boy . . . he looks rather familiar. I know I have never seen him before . . . but perhaps I knew his parents?"

"Not likely. They were farmers in the northern provinces, and I doubt that you have known anyone up that way."

"Yea I guess you're right Raikage-sama. But still . . . his face just looks familiar. How has the war effort been going anyway sir?"

"Not good. We captured a series of hills just six miles south of Tarawa creek three days ago, but we have been unable to keep them in our control. These leafs just don't like to give up easily. We haven't captured any new territory in more then three weeks that we have been able to hold on to. We make an attack, and they counter, they make an attack and we counter. It is a stalemate right now and it looks like this war may never end."

"Don't say that Raikage-sama. The cloud village has never lost a war in more than a hundred years. This war may have lasted almost ten years already, but the leaf's will never defeat us. Unless the plan to melt snow for drinking water, and eat stale bread for the next fifty years. We will defeat them . . . and soon."

The examiners soon turn to Seshen and Toshida and begin giving out the instructions and rules for the examination. "All right you two, the examination is simple. You will have no time limit to this fight and only one winner can be declared. A winner is declared when either we stop the match based on our discretion, or one fighter clearly cannot continue. That means, you have no chakra left, you are injured and cannot compete, you lose consciousness, you give up . . . or one of you dies. There is no need to kill your opponent and we are quick to shun such a practice, but keep in mind that you may not be recommended for this examination for quite sometime, and this may be your only chance. So give it all you got and let's have a clean fight."

The two fighters distance themselves roughly ten meters apart and ready their fighting stances. Seshen takes a standard taijutsu stance common to many shinobi of the cloud village, while Toshida takes the stance of his fathers fighting style. With his left arm extended and direct at Seshen, with his ring finger and thumb touching one another and the other three fingers pointing outward and his right hand cocked in the formation of a half clam running parallel along his hip. He marks Seshen's right arm with his pinky finger, and right leg with his index finger and then marks his line of sight with the middle finger.

"What in the hell kind of fighting style is that?" Shin asks the Raikage.

"Hmmm, it's called the Open fist. I have only seen it a few times amongst some Taijutsu masters. It uses the fingers on his left hand to mark the strong points of the opponent's stance, and he then uses it to create a pattern of defense and to plan a counterstrike. The fingers mark reference points on the fighter's body, attacking arm, the leg they use to push off with, and their line of sight, and depending on the height of the opponent, their fighting style, their weight, age, gender, and the way they carry themselves, the open fist user then triangulates the reference points and creates a triangular profile on the opponent. They then use simple mathematics and geometry to figure out what kind of fighter they are dealing with, and they select an attack pattern from hundreds of patterns they have learned throughout their training (which from what I gather is intense and extremely difficult) to predict and process the path of the fight."

"So basically he has already predicted Seshen-sama's first move?"

"Likely not just his first move, but his fourth and fifth move as well. It is an extremely difficult taijutsu style to understand and learn and even harder to master and use correctly. It is designed for quick encounters and quick kills. If the open fist user can predict the first couple of moves the opponent is going to make, they can quickly counter the attacks until they create an opening for a critical strike. It allows them to finish fights quickly and effortlessly. Since they are never the aggressors in the fight, but are quick to dispatch their enemies and make quick kills, the style was nicknamed "The Open Fist"

"Interesting" Shin replies as he looks down on the young shinobi. "It would appear that our orphan has had quite a bit of training in taijutsu while on a farm, wouldn't you say?"

"Begin!" The examiner shouts from atop the balcony, signifying the beginning of this month's academy graduation exam.

(Music: "Avenger" from the Naruto OST III)

Seshen is the first to strike as he pushes off with his right leg and runs toward Toshida with his right arm balled up in a fist ready to strike. As he gets close enough to strike the calm and calculated Toshida, who has had his eyes closed since the beginning of the match he lunges forward with his right fist and is shocked as Toshida's right hand effortless catches his punch and stops it in its tracks. Seshen quickly recovers and tries to strike Toshida with a sweeping kick aimed at Toshida's left knee, but Toshida is quick to use his left foot block Seshen's strike, and slam Seshen's foot to the ground, leaving the two of them in an awkward and compromising position

Toshida then open's his eyes and makes eye contact with the shocked and confused Seshen. "This fight will be over quickly . . . Seshen-senpai."

Toshida then uses the strength in his right hand to push Seshen's hand back further and further as Seshen desperately tries to push forward. Suddenly the slow and deliberate exchange is interrupted as out of nowhere, Seshen kicks off with his left leg and cartwheel's without the use of his hands, loosening and releasing Toshida's grip on his fist, just as Seshen strikes Toshida in the side of the head with his freed right foot.

"You're right Toshida . . . it will be over quick."

After shaking off the kick, Toshida's temper begins to flare, and he lunges at Seshen with an open left hand. Seshen begins to evade, but falls into the trap as he moves to his right, and walks right into a sweep kick from Toshida, knocking him off balance. Seshen quickly recovers, pivoting off his left hand and springing forward head over heels and regains his vertical base, just barely dodging a diving backhand strike from Toshida. Toshida lands on his upper back and shoulders, and using his momentum, swings his legs and knees parallel to his face, and using his flexibility and strength, kicks back up to his feet in time to see Seshen diving in with a spin kick, that connects with the right side of Toshida's face sending him tumbling backward.

Seshen follows up with a headstrong charge toward the downed shinobi. Toshida gets back up to his feet and readies to counter Seshen's attack. Seshen dives in with a straight right hook, but misses Toshida's face as he steps back just enough to avoid contact. Seshen then finds himself on the receiving end of a thunderous upper cut to the gut that sends him back and startling him enough for Toshida to follow up with a series of punches to the face, followed by two rising knee strikes to the gut, and finished with front kick that clips Seshen just under the chin.

Seshen is set through the air but manages to land on his feet in time to block another punch from the attacking Toshida by crossing his arms in front of him. The force of the punch moves Seshen back several feet and the screw up Seshen's center of gravity, causing him to lean forward just enough for Toshida to land another thunderous strike, a crescent kick to Seshen's chest that knocks him to the ground hard. Toshida then leaps into the air and comes swiping down fast with an open hand ready to strike the prone Seshen. Quickly reacting, Seshen pulls himself back into a kick up position and using all the strength in his shoulders and the additional strength of his hands, kicks up straight into the air and manages to strike the attacking Toshida with a double footed kick straight to Toshida's forehead.

The blow sends Toshida back and he lands flat on his back hard on the floor while Seshen lands on the ground, and rolls through with a somersault before rising to his feet and readying himself for the next attack.

"Both of these kids are something eh?" One of the examiners asks of another.

"Man you aren't kidding. They are faster then most chuunin, and their strikes are almost superhumanly strong!"

Seshen blocks another strike from Toshida. This time a left back thrust kick and a follow up spin kick from the heel Toshida's right leg makes its way toward Seshen's temple. Seshen ducks under the kick and Toshida crosses his arms and carries his momentum all the way through for another spin and before he hits the ground, manages to sweep out Seshen's legs from underneath him. Toshida then kicks up to his feet and does a jumping somersault in the air, and comes down hard on Seshen with a heel drop to Seshen's chest.

In a puff of smoke, Seshen disappears and only a few blocks of ice remain in his place. "Shit! Its Kawarimi (replacement)" Toshida says to himself, just before a strong punch connects with the back of his head sending him forward and tumbling to the ground. As Toshida rolls through, he reaches into his shuriken pouch with his left hand and pulls out three shuriken that glisten with the sparkling but faint tinges of kurot wire, and he quickly twists his body around as he skids along the ground and sweeps his arm across his chest, throwing the shuriken at Seshen. Seshen ducks and weaves his way around the shuriken but does not notice the thin and almost invisible wire tied to the shuriken. As he races toward Toshida, Toshida smirks as he yanks back on the wire with his right hand and quickly snaps the shuriken back in the opposite direction like a yo-yo as they then hurtled back toward the charging Seshen.

One of the shuriken pierces the back of Seshen's left knee, while the other two pierce his back, sending him to the ground hard as he grunts and growls in pain. He quickly removes the shuriken with his hands, but the damage has been done, as the tendons in the back of his knee have been pierced and severely damaged. He gets back up to a vertical base and tries to fight off the pain as he readies for Toshida's next attack. However, the pain becomes too much too bare and Seshen's leg gives out and he drops to his knees.

On the balcony, the examiners gossip amongst one another as to whether or not they should end the fight where it stands due to Seshen's injury. Seshen looks up to the balcony and makes eye contact with the Raikage whose eyes show concern for his son's safety. Seshen mouths to the Raikage to not stop the match and he shakes his head firmly. The Raikage, torn between his son's wishes and his safety, does not know what to do.

"All right, we have to stop the match, I don't think he can stand." One of the examiners says as he rises from his chair, only to be pushed back down into his seat by the Raikage's firm right hand.

"Let them fight just a little while longer. If Seshen cannot mount a suitable offense, then you can stop the fight. But, please . . . let him try."

(Music: "Be Strong and Strike" from the Naruto OST)

Seshen can see the examiner nod in acceptance at the Raikage's request, and the young shinobi is soon filled a new desire to win. He turns his attention to the charging Toshida who has drawn kunai in both hands. As Toshida gets close enough to make a strike with the daggers, Seshen, using his good leg, leaps up to a vertical base and then quickly leaps again into the air and spins his almost limp left leg and clothesline's Toshida with a spinning leg lariat knocking him to the ground. As Toshida sits up and turns around to face Seshen, he cannot react fast enough to dodge the next attack, as Seshen spins along the ground and uses the top of his right foot to connect with Toshida's face with such force that it fractures Toshida's left zygomatic bone (cheek bone at the bottom of the eye socket) in two places.

Toshida skids along the ground clutching at his face as he screams in pain. He removes his hands from his face and reveals a crescent shape gash along the side of his face. He finds himself slightly disorientated as he tries to rise to his feet and it takes him a number of attempts before he can actually stand up. With blood rushing from his face, Toshida stares down at the now vertical Seshen who has taken both of Toshida's kunai and has readied them for an attack. Toshida then begins to notice that the vision in his left eye has begun to blur due to the fracture and he quickly tries to hide the weakness by turning his posture slightly to the left, utilizing his good eye to its maximum.

"What is this? He is favoring that wound and has all of his chakra focusing away from his left side. But how do I know that?" Seshen begins to see an odd blue tinge forming on the left side of Toshida's face, while the right side of his body begins to show more of a red tinge. Seshen shakes his head for a minute in an effort to try and reset his vision. When he opens his eyes again, he can see his vision has returned to normal.

Toshida tries not to nurse his injury too much or make it noticeable and he quickly charges toward Seshen with a new found anger and desperation. Seshen blocks the first strike . . . and then the second as he almost appears to know how Toshida is planning on attacking. Seshen quickly strikes Toshida with an uppercut that connects just under his chin with thunderous force, and the drawn kunai in his hand slices just under Toshida's jaw in the process sending Toshida to the ground yet again.

"Dammit, this is not good. He know's that I'm injured and he wants to focus on that. I can't win this fight is he keeps after my injury . . . think Toshida think!" Toshida looks around the room to try and locate any possibility of him gaining the advantage over Seshen, and to his dismay, he cannot find anything that may help him.

His search is soon cut short as his attention is drawn to the kunai that has been tossed to him. He catches the knife in his right hand and looks at Seshen with a confused glare from his right eye as his left eye has now swollen itself shut. "What the hell is this?" Toshida asks.

"You're blind in your left eye, and my left leg is lame. I want this fight to be finished fairly, so that a definitive winner can be decided. Now Toshida . . . come. Let us finish this." Seshen then readies his kunai and takes his fighting stance, only with his left leg not touching the ground and letting all his weight lie on his right leg.

Toshida is the first to strike as he lunges at Seshen with his kunai drawn, stabbing at Seshen's abdomen only to have his strike parried by the defending shinobi. Seshen follows up the attack by driving a heavy karate style chop to the back of Toshida's neck, sending the young man to the ground hard and smacking his injured face off the hard concrete floor. Toshida is quick to recover and gets to his feet almost immediately, hiding the intense pain he feels from his injury.

"Dammit this isn't good. I am not used to fighting with only one good eye . . . I have never been injured before . . . I don't know what to do." Toshida once again tries to figure out some possible way for him to get even a slight advantage against the intense offense of Seshen. "Dammit Toshida . . . Think . . . THINK!" Toshida then glances to the upper balcony where he notices the fuse box located on the left side of the entrance to the balcony. As he examines the power cables leading from the box, he see's that the cables link up to all three lights in the dimly lit room. "That's it!" Toshida tosses his kunai in the air briefly for a quick rotation and then catches it in his right hand just before throwing the kunai as hard as he can toward the power box. The kunai pierces the outer casing of the power box and after a few sparks and spurts of electricity, all the lights go out in the room.

"What the hell is this?" Shin asks aloud.

"He hit the fuse box! Shin, find someone that can fix it quickly. We need to be able to see the fight if we are going to declare a victor." The Raikage orders, sending Shin running from the room to find someone to fix the fuse box.

Meanwhile in the arena, Seshen tries to maintain composure even though he has been blinded by the darkness Toshida has brought upon their encounter. "Dammit . . . what the hell is he trying to do? I can't see a thing . . . but then again . . . Neither can he." Suddenly the rationale of Toshida's actions becomes apparent to Seshen. "Shit. His vision is impaired and he just made the playing field even by blinding both of us."

Suddenly Seshen's inner monologue is interrupted as he feels a heavy blow strike him in between his shoulder blades, sending him staggering forward as he quickly turns around and blindly swipes his kunai at the almost infinite blackness in front of him. He soon feels a fiery sting of intense pain from his left knee as he feels something small pushed deep into his open wound. Seshen screams out loud in pain as whatever was forced into his injury has begun to dissolve and burn the inside of his wound.

"You scream like a girl, Seshen-senpai." The voice of Toshida calmly echoes from the darkness. "That small tablet is a concentration of chalk powder and salt, usually used to blind an opponent . . . but considering we are both blind, I figured the feeling of salt in your wound would make things a bit easier for me."

Seshen's eyes fill with tears as he tries to simply forget about the burning sensation in his knee that has begun to spread through his entire leg as the salt travels through his blood stream. "I don't care if I can't see . . ." Seshen grunts in a deep pain filled and guttural voice. Suddenly another quick blow comes from the darkness, striking Seshen across the face just before a second strike hits him in the ribs. Seshen finds himself defenseless for several moments as blow after blow impact on his flesh sending tremors through his whole body as he tries to defend himself, and swings wildly, hitting nothing but air. "I won't lose to you!"

In the darkness, Toshida plans out his next strike as he stalks his opponent, circling Seshen with footsteps to quiet for the injured shinobi to hear. "Hmpf, one of the advantages to being raised in a cave for years Seshen . . . it's always dark. My other senses are just as strong as my eyesight if not stronger. I can tell exactly where you are by listening to your breaths, and smelling your sweat. Also . . . I can feel your chakra in the air . . . you have too much for your own good, and have no restraint when using it . . . You might as well just be telling me where you are."

Toshida lunges out from the shadows toward Seshen with his fist ready to strike, and suddenly finds himself on the receiving end of a backhand strike from the defending Seshen, sending him flying backward and into the wall. Toshida sits up holding his broken face and tries to figure out how he could have been countered. "What in the hell? How could he have seen me? That wasn't just a lucky shot, he hit me right in the face . . . right on the same side." Toshida holds back the pain from his injured face and tries to figure out how Seshen could have seen him.

"What the hell is going on?" Seshen asks himself. A look through Seshen's eyes shows a slight silhouette of his own hands outlined in red. On the back of his left hand he can see Toshida's blood smeared across his knuckles and drops of blood along the floor, all of which seem to be resonating with a faint red glow, getting dimmer and dimmer before they fade to a dark blue. "This is getting weird . . . what's wrong with my eyes? Why is this happening to me?" As Seshen begins to look around the room, he can make out six figures above him. Five of them sitting down and one of them standing. "Wait a minute . . . that's the balcony where my father and the examiners are. But how can I see them? And why are they all red?" Seshen's attention is soon drawn downward as he can make out another red figure silently running toward him with their fist pulled back, ready to strike.

Seshen extends his hand and catches the figure's fist just as it comes within inches of his face. Seshen then follows through and strikes the figure with a swift kick to the ribs sending him back. As the figure hits the wall of the fighting arena, the lighting is restored and he can see Toshida sliding down the wall, nearly unconscious.

As the examiners look down to the arena to locate the two combatants, they can see Toshida against the wall underneath them, trying to maintain consciousness as he struggles to get to his feet. They look over to see Seshen standing in the middle of the fighting area with his head lowered, staring at his hands with a look of confusing in his face. As he looks up to the examiners area his face becomes determined as his vision begins to clear and everything he has seen begins to make sense.

"What the hell is that?" One of the examiners says, as he finds himself drawn to surveying the eyes of the young shinobi looking up at the examination balcony.

What the examiner's all see, is nothing short of amazing to them, as Seshen looks up at them with his eyes displaying a bright neon green iris with a purple triangular shaped pupil with three black linear pupils lying off to the sides of the triangular shaped pupil. The glare from Seshen's new eyes is frightening to some of examiners . . . but to the Raikage, it is a joyous occasion as he is the only one who has realized what it is that they are looking at.

"That my friend . . . is a Kekkai Genkai." (Bloodline Limit)