Ninjutsu
SpasticDjinn: My serious face is on, I'm ready to roll. No more comedy for a while, this is DEAD SERIOUS. I just watched a couple of Naruto episodes-..
Ivan: More like a couple of HUNDRED.
SpasticDjinn: Yeah, whatever, shorty. Anyway, I watched some Naruto, and thought: Why has no one tried to do a GS version? Replace Leaf with Venus, Sand with Mars etc. Anyway, I decided to write a story following the basic plotline of Naruto. Enjoy!
-This is not a parody or a crossover. It was inspired by Naruto, nothing more.-
Chapter One: Squire
From a distance, Vale could not be distinguished as more than a humble living area for a few thousand people. Even upon closer inspection, the busy hustle of the marketplace and the streets seething with buyers and sellers would deter any suspicion from the mind of a newcomer. But should that stranger enter the looming structure that shadowed the town, he would find a whole new world. A world of politics, assassination and bribery. A world of spies, poison and intrigue. A forbidden world. A Ninja's world.
Vale, despite its charming appearance, hid this entire deadly secret unknowingly. It churned out waves of fully-trained Ninjas to accommodate for the richer cities. Vale's battle-mages were the finest on average in the whole of the world. In order to keep their secret from the ears of rivals, they hid their origin and all worked under a single banner: The Clan of Venus. In the fortified stronghold of Mount Aleph, their Shoguns trained new generations of Ninjas in the deadly killing arts of Psnergy, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu.
Being a Ninja meant a life fraught with danger and near-death experiences. A fair proportion of budding Ninjas die before their first mission, falling victim to the brutal training regime. But those who succeed are given a chance to make a name for themselves. If they become stronger than any seen before them, they earn the name of Hokage: A defender of the people and a master of the four skills. Only those of pure heart and untainted soul may become a Hokage, and only 5 have ever existed.
A few miles from Vale lies the small village of Vault. The Clan of Venus, under the 3rd Hokage Kraden, bought this property, and assigned it a purpose: Finding young talent in the nearby villages and training these children in basic mastery of the first skill: Ninjutsu. Once the children had completed the gruelling 4-year course, they were promoted to the rank of Squire, and sent to Vale to continue their studies under an Adept.
The year is 670 AK, and the village of Vault is in the middle of training its latest batch of Ninjas. Two new talents are rising through the ranks, and Vale is preparing to send its finest battle-adepts to supervise and train the two prodigies. But the cogs of fate are turning, and Vale may find it has been skating on thin ice for far too long...
The Village of Vault, 670 AK
Isaac sprinted over the dead grass, his quick footfalls barely making a whisper of noise. Leaping over a fallen tree trunk, he drew two kiyoujin and hurled them at a nearby rock face. They penetrated the smooth stone, creating two perfect footholds, which the boy scampered up. The sounds of his pursuers grew louder, and his heartbeat involuntarily quickened. His breathing came in shallow gasps as his blue eyes flickered around the glade, searching…
A brown head poked cautiously out of a nearby bush. Quick as a serpent, Isaac slid out his shuriken and spun then with a flick of his wrist. The head withdrew, seconds before the two deadly missiles thudded into the earth.
"Hey! Sensei said incapacitate, not kill you idiot!" A thin, nasal voice hissed angrily.
"Well, you don't seem to be dead, so I don't see the problem." Isaac said calmly. He quickly made a motion with his fingers, and then slid down the opposite side of the rock face, a grin splitting his grimy face from ear to ear.
"I see you Isaac! Sitting on top of that rock like the little coward you are!" The voice said again, and a fukiya buzzed out of a bush toward the spot Isaac had occupied moments before. The voice broke into evident glee, and Isaac's smile grew wider.
"Gotcha! Let's see you smile after being hit with that!" The hidden figure emerged, and climbed up the handholds Isaac had made earlier. He seized the prone figure… Which promptly popped.
"Damn you Isaac! When did you learn how to make a shadow clone!" The boy cried, but stopped when he felt a slight pressure on the back of his neck.
"No loud noises, you know the rules. You're out of the game." Isaac brought his clenched fist down on the boy's temple, and he collapsed in a crumpled heap. Isaac pulled a long cord from his victim's utility belt, and tied the unfortunate boy so he dangled limply between the two daggers which jutted out of the rock's surface. He stood, spat on his prone enemy, and began to run once more.
A dark figure detached itself from a nearby copse of trees, and walked casually towards to bound student, who was only beginning to awaken.
"Isaac got you again, Hsu?" He chuckled, sliding a shuriken from his waist pouch. He deftly cut the rope around Hsu's wrists, and then helped the trembling boy to his feet.
"Yes Sensei Susa. He seems to pick on me, I'm always the first one out of these competitions.." The boy did not return Susa's grin, and scowled in the direction Isaac had disappeared.
"Ever since his parents died… I guess he's changed. For better or for worse, I don't know." Susa returned his shuriken to his pocket, and plodded off after Isaac.
"Sensei Susa! What do I do now?" Hsu yelped, chasing his mentor "I don't know the way back to Vault!"
"Come with me…" Susa smirked. "There's something you probably want to see."
Hsu clapped his hands together in anticipation "Is it… a gift! For coming last!" He asked excitedly.
Susa ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.
"Not quite. We have a new student to the Academy, and I want to see him against Isaac. This should be a fight to remember!" He said cheerfully.
Hsu looked crestfallen. Susa laughed, and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll tell you what. For being such a good loser, how about I take the Earthquakes out for Ramen tonight?"
Hsu's face lit up with greedy joy.
"Thanks, Sensei!" He cried, and they set off after Isaac.
Like all mentor groups, the Earthquakes consisted of five new trainees that had been specially selected because of their unique abilities. They shared a log cabin with each other, and their Sensei, who taught them the basics of Ninjutsu. Because of living so closely, they worked effectively as a team, utilizing each other's strengths and weaknesses to maximum effect. Isaac was considered the leader because of his intelligence, cunning under fire and unprecedented fighting abilities. Hsu was the least valued member of the five-man squad, having only one ability, in which he swelled up to enormous size and rolled over his opponents. This was not only inaccurate; it also made him an even easier target than he was before. The other two members were Lunpa, who could manipulate plants to immobilize his foes, and Akafubu, who could summon a clay golem to help when he fought. They had recently received their fifth trainee, who had travelled all the way from icy north to join them. They had yet to meet him.
Susa and Hsu strolled along leisurely, soaking up the late summer light. Slowly, shadows fell over the training grounds, and Susa pulled a wooden torch out of his backpack. Making a quick finger motion, he blew a small jet of fire onto the oily rags that smothered the wooden shaft. It immediately burst into flame, and thin beams of light lit up a struggling figure tied to a tree in front of them. Susa ran forward and released the gasping student.
"Met the new guy I see." He said smirked. Akafubu frowned and rubbed his wrists, angry sores breaking out on his chaffed skin.
"He was a monster! I had no chance, no chance at all." The boy groaned, patting his enormous afro self-consciously. Susa hauled him to his feet, and the three of them set off.
"Lunpa shouldn't be too far… Ah, there he is." Susa wrestled a pained-looking Lunpa from under a large boulder.
"That Isaac never gives me a chance…" He wheezed, his lungs sore from being crushed.
"He wants to win too badly; he doesn't even have any friends!" Hsu hissed venomously. "He may be smart, but he'll never be great."
Susa gave Hsu a warning glance.
"I wouldn't talk of the devil when he's right behind you." He said simply. Hsu spun around to find Isaac, his head inches from Hsu's nose. He was dangling upside-down by his trouser leg from the branch of a sturdy oak tree, out cold.
"Is.. Isa.. Isaac lost!" Lunpa stuttered.
"I wouldn't say that." Susa pointed at another nearby tree, in which a raven-haired youth was also hanging unceremoniously.
Akafubu shook his head with mirth. "They both beat each other at the same time… Shame we missed the fighting…" Susa nodded in agreement. The party went silent, lost in thought.
"Well, who's up for Ramen?" Hsu clapped his hands together, causing everyone to jump.
"How typical, thinking of food." Lunpa said icily. "We still need to get these two down from those trees."
"Don't worry about that, I'll get them later. A little sleep never hurt anyone." Susa walked off with the torch, forcing the others to follow.
"See you in the morning Isaac!" Akafubu yelled jovially, and Lunpa laughed.
Slowly the scene darkened as the torch moved further and further away. Then all was black, and there was nothing but silence.
Isaac awoke, sunlight piercing his aching head like a spear.
"Guuu-uuhh.." He let out a groan, then realised where he was. He was ten feet in the air, upside down, with only a small branch bearing his weight. He stayed stock-still, but slowly… His branch creaked ominously. He held back the urge to sneeze… His face screwed up in concentration….
"Waaaah… ATCHOOOO!" The branch could not hold him any longer, and snapped, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
"Nice." A voice mocked him sternly, and he leapt to his feet to confront the newcomer. He immediately relaxed.
"Oh, it's you.." He groaned, rubbing his head.
"Yes, me." The newcomer said. There was an awkward silence.
Isaac shook his head tiredly, and then held out his hand. "M'name's Isaac, nice to meet you." He mumbled. The older boy ignored him and began picking twigs out of his dark hair.
"Do I know you?" Isaac asked, tapping the nonresponsive boy on the shoulder. The boy's dark eyes glanced contemptuously at him, and then resumed staring into the sky.
"We fought last night." He growled.
"Oh, sorry, it was dark. Anyway, nice fight. I haven't been beaten in a long time." Isaac said lamely, vaguely trying to remember what had happened the night before. "Er, I did lose didn't I?"
"It was a draw."
"Oh, good! I'm still undefeated!" Isaac punched the air and hooted. "WHO'S THE MAN! I'M ISAAC! NINJA EXTRAORDINAIRE!"
"Shut up, my head hurts." The raven-haired boy glared at him again.
"Well, what's your name?" Isaac sat next to the new student, and began tossing shuriken at a nearby stump.
"Felix. Now leave me alone." The icy newcomer stood up and walked away from the flabbergasted Isaac.
"What the hell is your problem! I'm trying to be nice!"
"I don't want companions like you. I prefer my own company." Felix glanced again at Isaac, his eyes unreadable.
Isaac poked his tongue out, and gave the older boy the finger.
Back at the Academy, Susa was lecturing his students on the principles of Ninjutsu.
"So, Akafubu, how do you engage the enemy with the technique 'Dopo Shiyuki Kirukaisu'?
"You must first close your eyes, and make the Kanji for 'Poison' with your left index finger and right forefinger… Then, using a sharpened implement, create a cycle motion with your hand…"
"Good! Hsu, what is Chakra?"
"Er… Some sort of cooked salmon?"
"WRONG! Chakra is your spiritual energy, it can be harnessed in many ways. Lunpa, what are these ways?"
"Ninjutsu, Psnergy, Taijutsu, Genjutsu"
"Good! Hsu, why are we learning only Ninjutsu?"
"The other ones are too tricky?"
"Yes and no… Lunpa?"
"Psnergy requires Psnergy stones and crystals, which must be gained once we reach War-Adept status… Taijutsu is martial arts, we learn that once we become Squires, Genjutsu is killing techniques, we are not yet advanced enough to master them."
"Good, but why do we learn Ninjutsu before Taijutsu? Akafubu?"
"So we can combine our Ninjutsu skills with our martial arts to create our own unique attacks."
"Good! Nice of you to join us Isaac. Are you going to introduce your friend?" Isaac strolled in, scowling, followed by an equally icy Felix. Neither of them spoke, so Susa poked Felix with his ruler.
"Go on, introduce yourself!" Felix glared at Isaac as if it was somehow his fault, then muttered.
"I'm Felix."
"Hey, let's all give Felix a big welcome to Ninja School!" Susa clapped, then realised he was alone.
"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS GOING!"
"Seeya Sensei, its lunch time." Akabufu called, and he Hsu and Lunpa walked off to eat.
"Wait! I have to tell you something!" Susa called, and the boys stopped.
"Next week is the Squire examinations." Susa waited until the startled speech had died down, and then continued.
"This year, it will consist of an all-out competition. The two finalists will be eligible to apply for Squire Status. Naturally, I've enlisted you all for the competition. Even Hsu. So I recommend you begin frantically training right away. That's all."
"I arrived TODAY and the examinations are next week!" Felix hissed.
"Well, Isaac is the best in the year, and you drew with him, so I think that is a fair assumption of your abilities." Susa glared at him with equal ferocity. Felix muttered something under his breath, then stalked away.
Only Isaac remained. Susa turned to him, his face drawn and nervous.
"Good luck, Isaac. The competition will be fierce this year…" He sighed, and trudged back into the classroom.
SpasticDjinn: Next chapter we meet Jenna, Garet, Karst and Agagio! Anyway, I thought that was an alright chapter, so tell me if you want it continued!
SpasticDjinn, the Djinni of Djinn