Chapter 23: A Brief Glimpse of Power
"If size mattered then the elephant would be King of the Jungle. [It's not.]"
-Rickson Gracie
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto crouched on the limb of a huge white oak that hung over the edge of the forested canyon training ground.
The freedom and breathability of the black martial artists robes he'd picked up from Higurashi's Shinobi Supply made themselves immediately known. Heat baked him from where it radiated off the stone walls.
[Finally, you've managed to procure yourself proper Aspirant Robes. If rather cheap.]
[Now, of all times, you're talking to me about your preferred choice in robes? And their associated costs? Really?]
Kaguya's voice had a smile attached to it.
He could almost hear the smugness.
[Do more interesting things and perhaps I'll grace you with my presence more often.]
[Oh joy.]
[Hush child, enjoy basking in my radiant magnificence.]
Trying to put her out of his mind and focus on the candle flame presence in his mind he'd now associated with chakra signatures. They were quite a distance away.
Counting, he sensed an upward total of eleven. They were too far to get a good read on individuals, or really triangulate them for positioning purposes, but they were out there.
Waiting.
He drummed his fingers against the blunted sword hilts, sheathed in a crossed pattern on his back. The straps secured them against his back, but he double-checked them anyway. Same with his medical supplies securely fastened to his thigh, under the robes. Hopefully he wouldn't need those today, but odds were good he definitely would.
"Well?"
The impatience in Satsuki Uchiha's voice made him smile.
"Relax Uchiha, they are far enough away they aren't going to hear us."
"Yeah, obviously I'm not concerned about that, Uzumaki. I want to meet back up with the rest of the group."
"Fine, Fine."
The two of them blasted chakra through their limbs and took off at high-speeds, bouncing off trees to gain momentum.
Naruto kept his head on a swivel, sensing any presence he didn't recognize. He was familiar enough with his classmates to tell the difference. Satsuki, dressed as she usually was in a dark hoodie, bound-up hair, dark shorts and bandages tightly wrapped around her arms and legs to ensure there were no loose pieces of clothing. Silent movement was very important to all of them and using tight bandages was an old trick to help with that.
The Uchiha's dark eyes flickered around the clearing.
Naruto knew she wouldn't find anything. Their job, such as it was, entailed ascertaining numbers. They'd visually identified only six, but Naruto knew there were eleven. He just… was reluctant to share how he knew that.
The blonde was hyper-aware of the bundle of emotions and feelings lurking in his head. He couldn't sense much beyond her mere existence, but it was enough to be wary of over-sharing while Kaguya was listening.
They came to a skidding stop near Choji, dressed in- unbelievably- full plate armor that looked heavier than an autobus, the thick plating seemingly the weight of a large Atlas stone. The Akimichi stood like a fortress wall near their flag set in the center of the forest clearing they'd chosen as their home base. They'd done their best to annihilate all the trees in a hundred-foot radius around their precious flag so as to provide no place for the enemy to approach in any kind of stealth. Among other things.
Kiba had used his family techniques to obliterate three or four trees at once… then almost killed someone when he hit from the wrong direction and a tree fell, almost directly on top of the twins.
They were not impressed.
Aiko and Yuna were crouched in the clearing as well, touching the ground. Naruto could feel them Sensing too. There was a weight to the spiritual scan that he was starting to recognize. The inner commentary in his head idly noted that this exercise was preparing them with full information about the capabilities of their comrades which would aid in mission execution later.
Most people would describe the two girls as doll-like. _The whitest skin he'd ever seen on anyone that wasn't named Kaguya complimented long, perfectly straight brunette hair and what looked to Naruto's untrained eye flawless Geisha-like make-up, and ending with their heavily-layered robes that only sort of looked like Naruto's.
He knew, from the past couple months, that the image they projected resembled the veil a rock snake used: sure, they looked harmless, but the coiled snake could kill in seconds with one bite.
The two of them could explode without warning.
I'm not the only one with anger management issues, he thought wryly.
Ino was conferring with Shikamaru and beckoned Satsuki and himself over when she saw them land.
The others, Sakura, Hayato, and Shino were nowhere to be found, most likely out doing… things.
"Well?"
Naruto gestured to Satsuki who gave him a significant look.
He sighed, but didn't answer.
"Naruto is apparently shy about being a Sensor. We both saw six, but he confirmed the original number you surmised. They did have one person drop the course, like intel suggested. Total was eleven combatants. Obviously hiding."
Shikamaru crouched, spreading the map in his hand with his other. The map was clearly a professionally manufactured map from Konohagakure's own archives as it was labeled with the circular embossed seal of the Geological Survey. That… well, it was wildly illegal to possess an original, which is what this looked like. Naruto tried to not to sweat about how Shikamaru obtained that.
Shino, Hayato, and Ami dropped down from the nearest tree-limb as well, done with their scouting, Naruto surmised, and closed the circle of people watching Shikamaru.
"Once the signal blasts, things will start to happen quickly."
The Nara pushed his finger across the map in a straight line, the canyon splitting the map in two with a rough diagonal shape with both camps opposite each other and a fairly clear line of sight up through the center of the map where a river bisected the canyon.
"I think we all know these Fourth Years are most likely going to go for an elimination, rather than a retrieval-based victory. Their expectations of us, with no prior intelligence or scouting, will be that we are easily swept aside given the vast disparity in experience, presumed skill, chakra reserves, density, and control- I could go on, but you all get the picture."
"They think we suck."
"Yes, Ami. Thank you for that expert analysis."
The purple-haired girl wrinkled her nose and gave Shikamaru, and his unimpressed stare, the finger.
Naruto suppressed a laugh and caught Kiba's eye. It almost sent them both off the deep end. Choji sighed. Honestly, Naruto couldn't help it. This was the best he'd felt in what seemed like years: he was well-rested, his muscles as tight and powerful from the last two months of rigorous exercise (and subsequent effective recovery in the form of medical jutsu) as he'd ever been, his chakra flowed smoothly and with such ease that he couldn't believe it had ever been fractured. He'd even made enough progress with both the Tool Creation Technique, which he could now do for a significant amount of time, and the Aegis Technique which was complete, but short-lived, that he was tempted to show it all off.
This was him at his peak.
Kaguya had cautioned him and Naruto had listened. He'd only do as much as he knew he could get away with. Shinobi didn't live long when everyone knew everything that you could do.
Naruto couldn't wait to show them all, but that was for the Field Exam.
"Anyway, Neji is widely known as the kind of person who thinks that absolutely everyone is beneath him. I'm not sure he'll be cautious even if he thinks he has something to worry about. So, we're clear on that front. Naruto, you know your job?"
The blonde nodded. "I have a new technique that should do the trick."
"In the heat of battle? You don't need prep time?"
"Nope."
Despite the skeptical look on the Nara's face, and the rest of the confused ones on all of 5U, Naruto laughed.
"It'll be fine. I just need less than two seconds. Worst case scenario I can take him."
Hayato, of all of them, seemed the most concerned.
"S-shika, are you sure yo-you want to battle Ne-Neji? He's… well-"
"Relax Hay, I got this. If everyone does their part, without going down permanently, we should have this in the bag."
Kiba and Akamaru both barked, then Kiba ruffled the small nin-dogs head. Sakura grinned and spun her large dagger on its ring. Satsuki played with a frayed end of the bandage wrapping her arms.
"Shikamaru, not that I'm questioning your leadership…"
"Go on Uchiha, might as well be now. Though I'm not sure how much time we have before the signal."
Satsuki scratched her head with the back of her knife.
"What happens if our line breaks?"
The mood instantly soured.
"We must be prepared-"
Aiko continued, sounding less than concerned.
"-for the worst."
Yuna finished the sentence all delivered in a monotone.
Shikamaru sighed.
"I have a contingency… because honestly, I'm not too familiar with any of the other kids in Fourth Year besides Neji. I know they have an Inuzuka as well as my twin cousins. Who… let's just say they could be a problem."
Concern bled into Satsuki's voice.
"How much of one?"
The Nara winced.
"They've lost every game of Shogi we've played- separate or together, against me. So I'm not worried about them outsmarting me or anything. If I were them, I'd play super cautious, but I doubt they'd be expecting any big moves regardless. I doubt they realize the lynchpin of their strategy is Neji."
"How so?"
Sakura stared intensely at the map, pointing at something and whispering to Ino, who nodded.
"Neji is going to dictate the pace of this conflict. He's a bull in a china shop. They can't afford to leave him out by himself to do his own thing, so Ren and Rei will most likely insist on some amount of guards accompanying him. That means…"
Shino spoke.
"...splitting their forces. Minimum two, potentially three ways. Why? Because they cannot afford to leave their flag unguarded. One minimum guard. That's ten combatants left. I doubt they'll post two. Then Neji, that's nine."
Shino started ticking off fingers while Shikamaru nodded along and so did the Twins.
"One has to be with Neji minimum, so that's seven and two."
Naruto opened his mouth. "So- my job is to-"
A horn blasted, echoing through the trees like an approaching army.
They all felt and heard it in their bones.
Shikamaru looked at them all, one by one, then nodded.
"It's time. We got this."
Naruto gripped the hilts of his swords.
Choji tightened his fist in his brutal-looking gauntlets of dark metal, like his armor.
Satsuki looked determined.
The twins, who could tell?
Ami hefted a hammer bigger than her body, Ino disappeared from sight, Sakura melted into the forest, Hayato back-flipped up into a tree like a circus performer, and Shikamaru…
Shikamaru walked straight into the forest towards the enemy.
Then they all faded away like shadows towards their tasks.
#
Noise from other battles drifted through the forest, but Naruto was focused on only one thing: the other swordsman in front of him. His part in this required him to win- and win quickly.
So his focus narrowed to a razor edge.
Naruto's excitement blended with Kaguya's as he felt her bloodlust rising- this time controlled, but still potent. The seething, pulsing hatred he'd felt back in the prison had to have been a strong bleedover from her- of that, he was now sure.
His mind was his now, however, and he vowed it always would be. All of it bent towards bulldozing this kid.
Tanaka the Lion had it right when he declared that the focus required to be a good fighter was a knife-edge that you sharpened just as much as you did your blade.
There was nothing for Naruto now, except to execute the first cut.
The other boy watched him quietly from twenty feet away, one hand on the hilt of his sword at his side. Clad in the same sort of robes Naruto himself had on, but in various shades of dark blue that paired well with his light blue hair, the boy- though he really looked more like a man, with the beginnings of adult stubble on his chin and above his lip, was no amateur.
Naruto could tell from the way his stance never wavered, steady as a rock; his hand remained calm and still on the hilt of his weapon. Eyes sweeping it, he deduced it was a single-edged blade, a katana by the gentle curve, the hilt, and the way his hand cocked it to smoothly draw. Naruto's own were shorter, though not by much, and double-sided.
"May I have the name of my opponent?"
The blue-haired Fourth Year's voice came out differently than Naruto expected. The haughtiness was there, but it was a high-pitch that made him sound… ridiculous. The blonde tried not to laugh.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, First Year in 5U. You are?"
Naruto knew because Shikamaru had told him his first target.
"Kirito Takamusa, Fourth Year in 3R. I'll make this quick, out of respect."
Naruto had heard of Kirito, who was the only other dedicated swordsman in the entire school. Hidden Cloud was known for their expertise with swords, as was the Mist, but Hidden Leaf hadn't had a sword expert in fifty years before Hayate and the Hokage herself. Both of which were recent additions, relatively speaking.
Shikamaru had planned this well. Hearing the boy's confidence, however, stoked a familiar anger, one he thought he'd gotten past.
[Bury him, Seed.]
[No, it's fine. Are there any witnesses nearby?]
There was a heavy spiritual scan. Naruto hadn't known she could do that. Helpful.
[None within a hundred feet. The rest of your… class… is engaged elsewhere, as per the Nara boys plan.]
[Right then.]
Between one breath and the next, Kirito was in his face. Kirito was fast.
But Naruto was faster.
One blade rose, sweeping from the sheath over his shoulder to thunder into Kirito's straight-edged katana, longer than Naruto's blade by a few inches. The katana flew back, Kirito almost losing his grip on it.
Clearly, he didn't expect to be matched in strength to someone so much younger. Micro-bursts of chakra, controlled, helped him match Kirito's advantage in raw strength, a thread-bare imitation of Tsunade's monstrous strength.
Surprise lasted for a second before the blue-haired swordsman re-engaged.
The swordsmen danced apart before clashing, rapidly, as their blades met; ten, then fifteen, then fifty times.
At each colliding strike, each attempted to pierce the web of defensive posturing they both weaved with each subtle maneuvering of their wrists. Naruto's shorter blade often had to move faster to cancel the edge of Kirito's longer blade. Swords clashed, sliding against each other until light and sparks fountained off them as chakra-enhanced strength ground the steel together and then apart.
Breathing evenly, Naruto and Kirito continued to exchange blows; faster and faster they came, until the screaming of metal-on-metal halted as Kirito jumped back, Naruto's kick interrupting the weaving of their blades and having launched him back ten steps.
Kirito readjusted his hair, which was as long as Naruto's, with one hand, the other holding the sword lightly at his side. Naruto lowered his out-stretched, chambered leg slowly, perfectly balanced and glared at the older boy, not man, boy.
"You're good Kirito, but not good enough to be running your mouth just yet. I'll be sure to give you a," Naruto snarled anger pulsing in his body, "a thorough education!"
A pulse of chakra, channeled in a full-body enforcement, propelled him forward like he had strapped rockets to his feet.
His other sword came out in a blur, hands moving in a practiced rhythm.
Kirito blocked both swords with one hand bracing the edge of his sword, but it wasn't enough to fully stop the effects of both blades and Naruto's main strength.
He blasted backwards as if pulled by a huge rope.
Kirito's back impacted one of the huge oaks with a crack that echoed like a gunshot. Lightning crawled in Naruto's veins, a white glow, vague and unformed, raging around him, though not in the fullness of the Lightning Mark, but a bare trickle.
Step.
Naruto was in Kirito's face, having crossed the twenty foot distance, not letting up. He had enough time to register that Kirito's eyes were widening, big enough to see the dark eyes and the whites, before he took off the boys head- or would have if Kirito hadn't blocked them both with a desperate sweep of his longer blade that tangled both, pushing them off center. Naruto spun in answer, adapting quickly, lashing out with an elbow that connected solidly with the older kid's face.
But Kirito rolled with the hit, tumbling to leap backwards and give himself space. There was thunder in Naruto's veins and a pulsing anger in his mind that wouldn't allow him to let up. This opponent would fall before him. This was inevitable.
Naruto smiled.
Step.
Chakra flashed and burned in his body like a combustion engine.
Kirito took back momentum, prepared this time for the assault. Blades flashed once, twice, then clashed four times, always seeking blood. Naruto's shorter blades twisted and he rolled his right wrist in a circle, throwing the larger blade off-center before stabbing inward to impale Kirito. The hit would've connected had the Fourth Year not quickly spun sideways, the edge of the blade cutting the robes over his chest.
The professionalism and more extensive experience of the Fourth Year showed itself in every line of efficient movement from Kirito.
His steady balance from earlier wasn't maintained, however, and he was hopelessly off.
The heavy pommel of Naruto's swords anchored the perfect balance of the weapons. This was not the standard practice in Konohagakure, but it was in Iron.
And in the Gutter.
Speed and focused brutality was the art that Tanaka had taught them all, pairing that with a shinobi's speed made for a mix-up that was far too much for a kata-anchored warrior like Kirito. He was slow to adapt, too slow, too slow, too slow.
Kirito was not ready for the several pounds of solid steel to crash into his jaw as Naruto adjusted his sword to spin into a roundhouse punch, pommel leading.
Blood gushed.
Crying out, for the first time, Kirito stumbled with no recourse or rebuttal. Nor was he ready for Naruto to spin the second sword in his grip, parallel to the top blade, but stomach height this time. The blades, if you were looking at it from the sky, would've formed an X-shape. Thundering into his midsection with all the force and power of a battering ram splintering a castle gate, Naruto rotated his hips and shoved Kirito.
The blue-haired swordsman may have trained for years with shinobi, but Naruto had blood on his hands from death he'd dealt himself. Blood on his swords too.
Kaguya was laughing in his head.
Naruto impassively watched as the Fourth Year swordsmen fell, coughing up blood, with more blood gushing from his forehead wound. Samurai, as Naruto had been taught, fought with grace and efficiency, opting for the perfect cut each time.
Naruto did not.
Oh, there was grace and efficiency in spades, but his style was all brutal power and relentless, unstoppable pressure. Savage and quick.
Kirito attempted to clamber up, sword held at the ready position. Naruto swept it aside like Kirito was a small child. The katana flew ten feet, stuck into the ground, hilt up. The blue-haired Fourth Year made a strangled noise. Naruto punched him in the mouth to shut him up, watching blood spray.
"I don't have any time to waste here. So I'll make this quick."
Chambering another kick, a straight one this time, Naruto's lightweight boot connected like a car crashing into a wall.
Crack!
The Fourth Year fell unconscious, Naruto's boot leaving an imprint of dirt and mud and the pattern on his shoe splashed across his opponent's face.
Spinning his blades in his hand to flick the little blood off, he sheathed them in one smooth motion.
Wind blasted out from the ground as he took off to his next objective.
Step one complete.
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Sakura Haruno
Sakura knew this was her time to shine.
But not too brightly.
That was the first lesson of ANBU that her father drilled into her. Shadows concealed; they were a weapon and a shield. The same principle applied to attention- it could reveal her or shield her, varying with the skill of the user.
Sakura strove not to stand out, all the better to maximize her strike when she chose to make herself known.
Stalking prey required precision in everything from where you placed your foot, to the elimination of signs of passage, to specific breathing patterns so as not to give yourself away while in pursuit. To that end, Sakura layered herself in chakra: first to eliminate her scent, next to conceal the noise she made, creating a cocoon of silence around her out of gossamer-thin strands of Yin chakra. Next, she used genjutsu to pull shadows to her like a half-cloak, draping herself in dim light. It wasn't a true shadow technique, like a Nara was capable of, but a mere trick.
The pink-haired shadow knew her target, having done her own reconnaissance: Tenten Higurashi, daughter of the most famous weaponsmith in Konohagakure and probably Fire Country as a whole. He taught his daughter well and from everything she'd heard, the girl fairly slept with her weapons. Tenten happened to also nail the top spot in her class for Fuinjutsu and Scripting.
Who knew what tricks she had up her sleeve?
Sakura had to trust Shikamaru knew the people he was matching.
He'd said to her, "I'm moving you all independently of each other, so don't worry what everyone else is doing: but you have one of the most important tasks. Stop Tenten from reinforcing their eastern push. Kirito will most likely be matched with Naruto, whether by accident or design and they trust him as an incredibly capable combatant- on par with Neji with kenjutsu instead of taijutsu- and just like that, I know Rei and Ren will anticipate me and do their own intelligence gathering. I'm not going to say I snuck into the record halls, but…"
He shrugged then, and she knew what was left unsaid. Rei and Ren had definitely done the same. They knew just as much of each other, so in the worst case they had to assume all cards were bare, in order not to be caught unprepared.
"Regardless, Tenten is a masterful combatant, but she is a one-trick pony at best. Get the drop on her and do not engage her in prolonged combat and you should win. Got it?"
She wouldn't let him down. Tenten wouldn't make it out of this clearing conscious.
Through the dense foliage, she saw Tenten running at full-speed towards where Sakura knew Naruto was dealing with his first target.
She could not allow a two-on-one.
Luckily, Sakura had read her flight path and was within arms reach of where the girl would come down on to her next tree limb. Readjusting the chakra ratio in her body, from Yin to Yang, she channeled a full-body enforcement, dropping the potency of the shadows around her, the light brightening- it couldn't be helped- and reached out with an almost-impossible-to-see arm, a needle concealed in her hand.
The arm, stuck out like the limb of a tree, hit Tenten like an anvil to the gut. As she struck, her needle tapped Tenten almost gently, not letting that draw any attention from the initial attack.
Air whooshed out of her in one long exhalation like someone preparing to throw up. But she was well-trained. Tenten fell out of the tree, spinning to land on her feet. She wasn't as injured as Sakura had hoped, mostly likely reinforcing her body to tank the blow. That wouldn't matter shortly.
Short pink hair flared around her like a crown as she dropped off the tree, hitting Tenten and her crossed arms like a meteor.
Tenten huffed, breathing hard as she slid back ten feet, driving grooves in the ground.
"Really? An- an ambush? Not very lady-like."
Sakura straightened from where she'd landed, kneeling, face impassive, hair settling against her shoulders.
"I'm a shinobi, Princess. And I've got a job to do. Let's go."
That hit a nerve. A vein pulsed in Tenten's head. Her hair, normally in two braided buns, was askew, the hit dislodging her hair.
There was a flash of light around Tenten's fists, which were resting at her sides now and the weapons expert had a huge reinforced club in her hand that was roughly half-her size.
A kanabo? Holy shit!
Sakura bent almost in half to dodge the first colossal sideswipe. As she did so, she took out three senbon in a flash, gripping them like claws in her left hand.
The blows came fast and surprisingly precise given the obvious weight.
Tenten wielded it like it weighed nothing at all.
Wind blasted past her, buffeting Sakura's tight clothing, disturbing nothing.
But that club was way too close for comfort.
Sakura quickly grew frustrated as the other girl kept her at bay using nothing other than the sheer threat the kanabo possessed. One hit from that, by a chakra-enhanced Tenten, would be a quick trip to the hospital. Evening the odds, however, were the shadows still clinging to Sakura- and the absolute silence around her body. Sakura knew for a fact it was throwing Tenten off.
The senbon stayed where they were, firmly clutched in her grasp, as she waited for her moment. Any second, Tenten would react. The pink-haired First Year fed her steadily-draining chakra into the multi-layered genjutsu, waiting.
"Kai!"
Sakura smiled, as she heard that, with a thought she dropped the three genjutsu, activating a Bunshin, and layered genjutsu; one after another on top of the soundless Bunshin. One popped up, making noise via genjutsu behind Tenten, then seamlessly activating a different set.
One made her sound two steps to the left, the other dissipated the darkness.
Sakura threw her bunshin behind the girl and ducked, dropping genjutsu and switching, reactivating her original set. Professor Kurama would be proud. It strained her chakra system- and her mind, but she only needed a second.
Tenten spun, reacting to the new threats, kanabo crashing through the bunshin. The image blew away like static dissipating into wind. She could hear the older girl curse.
Sakura struck with the senbon. Another poison glistened on the tips. One of her own make. Gelsemium should do the trick quickly, though. Sakura scrambled, remembering that it could shut down the lungs if left too long- especially if combined with the primer dosage she used with the initial attack.
The First Year stabbed Tenten again with the antidote, senbon sticking in her neck.
Hopefully that should be enough.
Tenten staggered.
"You… fuckin- bitch."
"Wow. Potty mouth much? That's points against you for personal conduct, Ms. Higurashi."
Fixing her hair, Sakura walked around to the statue-still Tenten, staring into her burning eyes.
If looks could kill…
Sakura smiled, shadows boiling around her as she dropped the majority of her genjutsu.
"You really have to work on your perception."
The last thing Tenten saw before falling into unconsciousness was the gloating smile of Sakura Haruno... who waved a little.
Darkness folded over Tenten and she knew no more.
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Gyuso Yamanaka
Gyuso Yamanaka knew something was drastically wrong when his mental defenses collapsed in seconds, his cognitive walls exploding under unexpected strain.
Stationed to guard the flag, given his lack of front-line combat ability, Rei and Ren had given him a trap-laden hollow in order to better use his ability to seize control of his enemies and incapacitate them.
Something strong, too strong to be a First Year!, was squeezing his mind like the Jaws of Life they used to pry victims out of an autocar. These battles played out in abstract, each individual projecting avatars or spiritual representations of attacks. Yamanaka's, by definition, trained against each other on a regular basis, thus building up their defenses brick by brick. Gyuso, though he wasn't the clan heir, considered himself in the top ten of their upcoming clan members for his defensive abilities alone.
Like all Yamanaka, who had a fascination with stories and tales of the spirits and ghosts of old, he'd grown up hearing of the worst of them: Kuchisake-Onna. An earth-shatteringly ravishing woman in white bandages who wore a mask to hide the horror underneath. She would go around at night-time asking people if she was beautiful.
aM i BeAuTiFuL?
If one said yes, she took off her mask, revealing a once-stunning face ruined with gashes ripped into either side of her smile. She would ask again.
If they said no…
She tore their heads off and snapped them up.
There was a woman knocking on the barriers of his mind.
Statuesque, with flowing blonde hair the color of spun gold covering her flawless nude body, Gyuso couldn't help but gulp as a sudden desire pulled at him. He didn't understand it, or only a little bit of that, but it was her pure white mask that sent terror coiling throughout his body, snuffing out his desire like a candle in the wind.
Gyuso, all of sixteen years of age and taller than all of his classmates, bordering on six and a half-feet tall, cowered as each of her knocks shook him and his castle walls. They crumbled. Or had they? Confusion started coiling in his mind. Were his defenses down? Was he safe or in danger?
AM I BEAUTIFUL?
He might be a Yamanaka, and a trained one at that, but mental damage was so much worse than physical. The Yamanaka boy didn't want to let her in… but she'd kill him if he didn't. A scream bubbled out of his mouth.
YES!
YES, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!
Gyuso dropped his walls, he wasn't sure they were up anyway, attempting to appease the pressure- an attack like this could only be an enemy shinobi..
But that didn't make sense!
His cousin Ino's face smiled at him.
Confusion and anger battled for dominance. He slammed his walls up.
Attempted to slam his walls up.
Kuchisake-Onna, in his mind, had her slim white hand with a grip like iron on the top of walls, suddenly a hundred feet tall and exuding the strength of a kami. Her voice boomed.
AM I STILL BEAUTIFUL NOW?
This had to be Ino, the clan heir, but- how?
Then Gyuso saw the demon's face- the sheer horror of the scars, the look in its eyes-
Oh kami-!
His mind fuzzed and broke. Blissful unconsciousness claimed him.
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Ino Yamanaka
Ino stepped out from behind a tree where she'd been leaning, hands contorted in the Ram seal.
Gyuso had always been an absolute idiot. She couldn't actually crush his walls, but he was so fucking stupid that he couldn't tell what was real anymore.
Ino remembered when her father used to tell stories around a fire with the rest of her cousins. Gyuso, her dad's brother's son, insisted on leaving just when most stories were getting to their good parts. She especially loved tales of the Kuchisake-Onna. Trapping men and eating them didn't sound very appealing, but being powerful definitely did.
His mental defenses were impressive. That much had been true. Ino definitely couldn't have staved off a technique as powerful as the one she'd used for as long as he had… but then again Ino, who had worked night and day since she was kidnapped at being able to launch the Mind Spike jutsu at a moments notice, could break into almost anyone's mind with enough time.
Inoichi had searched for a breach in Konohagakure's defenses for almost a week after she'd tested it on the strongest mind she knew. Her father's.
He'd been torn between glowing pride and boiling fury for almost a month after she'd fessed up.
Ino noticed that he never told the story of the Kuchisake-Onna after that.
That made her smile.
The clan heir strode casually over Gyuso's body, picking up her long light violet dress to step over him, and clasped the flag.
"Not so fast, little girl."
Only Shikamaru's reassurances kept her from flinching and running. So Ino finished picking up the long pole with the heavy flag of Konohagakure on it, a fiery leaf with nine crossed blades in the background.
She turned, giving her best winning smile to the voice who addressed her.
Two people dropped from the clearing, trees shrouding them all from the light of the sun overhead. Shadows were everywhere.
Ino knew what that meant.
This… isn't good.
There was a Nara… and, next to her was an absolutely enormous Akimichi. They were pissed. Ino shoved the tip of the flag into the ribs of Gyuso, who lolled at her feet, just to piss them off.
Her cousin groaned, shifting.
Both took a step forward. She felt the strength of their chakra channeling this far away.
All was still on plan.
Come on, come on, come on! Where are you?
Shadows bound her arms and legs and Ino hadn't even seen them move. One moment, there were dappled bits of darkness, then it had all boiled up around her like the hands and arms of the spirits of the underworld clawing for her soul.
But still she waited.
COME ON!
Finally, a different voice, a girl's voice, cut through the chaos.
"Now, two on one isn't fair is it?"
Satsuki Uchiha leaned against one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, shrouded in darkness. She looked like a red-eyed oni from the stories emerging from the darkness to take, take, take.
The slow spinning of the two-tomoed Sharingan in her eyes made it all the more terrifying. A tiger creeping up on its prey.
No one moved.
Both the Nara and the Akimichi looked at each other, then their gazes hardened.
Ino felt the bonds holding her loosen, just slightly.
Ram Seal!
The Yamanaka Heir drove a Mind Spike into the Akimichi with all the force of her spirit, careful not to kill him.
She rammed into a wall stronger than Gyuso's.
The Akimichi, Akimichi Ryu, stared at her with a smug smile as he shouted. That was… not on plan. Not at all.
"Ino's free! Deal with Satsuki and I'll deal with her."
But they'd forgotten who they were dealing with; they all had.
The earth started rumbling. Pebbles shook and danced around them in the clearing and trees started swaying.
"I think I've heard enough. You aren't touching either of us and we'll be taking that flag now, thanks."
Shadows started flowing towards Satsuki and the Uchiha saw it.
Her eyes spun faster and faster.
Ino felt the chakra spike from her friend deep in her bones.
Satsuki's right arm dropped into a claw, as if she was attempting to dig out the whole clearing with her mind.
"Ino. Get. Clear!"
The two Fourth Years were way ahead of her, but she just managed to propel herself up into the tops of the trees and launched herself towards where she knew the rest of the team were engaging the second stage of the plan.
And the whole bottom of the clearing exploded.
What felt like the fist of a god slapped the back of her body and she went flying.
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Satsuki Uchiha
They hadn't taken any of them seriously. That much was clear to Satsuki as she listened to them call Ino a, 'little girl.'
That made her blood boil.
Too many men, shinobi men included, looked down on women shinobi, even deriving a special term for them.
'Kunoichi.'
Fuck. That.
She was a fucking shinobi and she'd show them.
Flickering, Satsuki activated her Sharingan and stepped into the clearing. These Fourth Years might be good- but she was better. She'd prove that here and now.
"Now, two on one isn't fair is it?"
The mood shifted and she knew that there was going to be a fight. Good. This whole year has been a weird one. From the mysterious enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki, to the Genin Draft sneaking up and derailing her long-term plans of annihilating Itachi's records, to these asshats daring to oppose her.
Man, she was starting to sound like her mother. Wasn't that a wonder.
Then Ino, being the savage that she was, launched an attack that Satsuki couldn't see directly, but her eyes gave her the shifting consequences of an attack in the way people moved and behaved. The Sharingan fed her a constant stream of information: the tense muscles shifting in the shoulders of the Nara, the weak soil evidenced by the patchy grass around the flag in the hollow that 3R made their homebase. Ino's subdermal facial muscles twitching with the effort of what had to be a mental technique, to the Akimichi barely reacting, a slackness to his muscles that belied his calm telling her all the story she needed.
The hollow of large stones were to her left, bisecting the rest of the clearing. Reaching out with her chakra, she braided chakra together. With Earth chakra blanketing the entire space, Satsuki did the difficult part next, which entailed her threading Fire Chakra alongside it.
This wasn't exactly a true explosive technique, nor was it really doing a combination elemental attack, but it did require immense skill in wielding both chakra natures.
Satsuki had not been idle this year, however.
She worked and worked, sacrificing even her schoolwork sometimes, for the ability to do exactly this: and her efforts paid off.
"Ino's free! Deal with Satsuki and I'll deal with her."
Her Earth Chakra started resonating with the natural earth and the fire started to churn as it changed alchemically, the very nature of the volatility inherent in the earth shifted.
With a thought and will, she took control of all the super-heated dirt and stone in a hundred foot radius and deep enough to feel almost twenty-five different strata.
Satsuki felt the resonance now, pebbles skittered and danced to her tune. Even the trees felt what was coming.
"I think I've heard enough. You aren't touching either of us and we'll be taking that flag now, thanks."
Shadows leaped and raced towards her. That wasn't going to happen.
No shadows for you sir.
Chakra system burning, she emptied her huge reserves into this massive jutsu, hand contorting into the same claw she formed underground with chakra.
Everyone could feel it now. The two idiots had given her plenty of time to do everything she needed.
Satsuki smiled, struggling to hold the technique, then shouted.
"Ino, get clear!"
The two enemies jumped in opposite directions and the Sharingan tracked Ino's flight up and out of the clearing. Satsuki ignited the jutsu and all the chakra blew the clearing apart. Satsuki stood right at the edge of the forced excavation, almost a hundred feet down and forty feet wide.
Two-hundred and forty thousand cubic feet of earth erupted into the air, spraying like the eruption of a localized volcano.
Tree's split in a line a hundred fifty feet, toppling to either side like she'd launched some monstrous missile through the forest. Dirt choked the air like smog and visibility was almost nothing, even to her Sharingan.
Chakra embedded in the earth and heated to a boiling point, obscured the ocular capabilities of the two-tomoe Sharingan, which was upgraded from the basic. That she was certainly proud of it, but it didn't avail her much as she waited for the dust to clear.
That was a vulnerability she hadn't anticipated, but filed away for later.
Regret blew over her when she realized she didn't have any wind techniques to clear the screen of dirt and debris.
The question was now, did it matter?
Satsuki decided it didn't and sprinted back the way she came, hoping that, despite not accomplishing the objective: incapacitate Rei and Ryu, that helping Ino escape would be enough.
Time to meet up with the rest of the group.
Satsuki turned and walked away, leaving the enormous smoking crater behind her, dust billowing up in clouds that could be seen over the treetops.
Hopefully the signal could be seen far enough away...
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Shikamaru Nara
Shikamaru was rethinking his stupid plan.
Everything was going smoothly for everyone else, but his part called for him to recklessly engage with the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan in, of all fucking things, an exchange of taijutsu. Not only that, but the last part required a sacrifice.
That- no matter how you sliced it- was stupid when left to chance.
Neji walked through the foliage, unhurried, arrogance painted in every line of his body, white robes swishing, not touched with a single spec of dirt. How was that even possible?
"I told Rei you were clever. Ren listened, but Rei insisted she could beat you. Destiny always wins out, does it not, Shikamaru Nara?"
Shikamaru put his hands behind his head and shrugged.
"I never believed in Destiny, if I'm being honest Neji. Seems like a cop out."
He held out hands spread, as if to forestall Neji's obvious rebuttal.
"Don't get me wrong, that'd be way less troublesome for everyone if we all knew the steps we were supposed to take… but that isn't how it works."
Those pale eyes stared through him and Neji cocked his head.
Another boy, tall of stature and covered in a bright green bodysuit cratered the ground next to Neji, landing like a gymnast finishing a particularly adroit landing and Shikamaru couldn't cover his surprise.
"It is I! Neji's best frie-"
"Shut up, Lee."
The Nara goggled.
"What the-"
That wasn't in his projections. Sure, someone was supposed to cover Neji, but that person was supposed to be Ren, not Rock Lee. Their wildly one-sided rivalry was legendary within the Academy. A source of endless amusement for every grade beneath Fourth Year, the two bickered constantly: like an old married couple. That Rock Lee was the number two ranked combatant in the KSMA meant nothing. Shikamaru tried to reassure himself the boy had a litany of weaknesses. Which was theoretically true.
In practicality, however...
'Bickered' implied that Neji ever replied to the constant nonsense spewing out of this kid's mouth, though, which was hilarious in and of itself.
They had more like… a one-sided and aggressive conversation. Constantly.
The only reason for him to be here…
"You picked Rock Lee to back you up? Really?"
Shikamaru laughed, only in his head, that this was what annoyed Neji the most. He could see it all over the Hyuuga's face.
"Don't read too much into it. I needed fodder and who better?"
Shikamaru shrugged again, taking his hands off his head and shoving them into his pockets; he felt the seals there and reassured himself it would all be fine.
Really.
3R was the number one ranked class in the KSMA and that fact had not escaped him when he'd started planning, well before they'd even been assigned this task. Shikamaru had been planning since he'd eavesdropped on a meeting Iruka had with the Headmaster. The door had opened as he'd been walking by mid-day and bam. Gold.
From there, the whole thing was a game of collecting little scraps of information here and there. From evaluating the rest of 5U, to focusing on his own training more than he ever let on to his mom or dad, to getting overly emotional at the absolute wildcard that was Naruto Uzumaki. That bit of sideplay was… truthfully, something that had affected him more than he'd thought, but his psychological model of Naruto never accounted for the Hokage's ploy with Nakata.
Truthfully, building trust was impossible when someone wasn't ready.
Social engineering was difficult, but not impossible in those situations. Trauma Bombing, when two people shared an uncomfortable amount of terrible information about each other to fake connection, was a valid method of quick-bonding in tough times, but it needed to be followed with proper boundaries and true bonding.
The Nara didn't want to think about the fact that maybe he was a victim of his own plan. He was, unfortunately, starting to trust the Uzumaki.
Just a little bit now.
Shikamaru sweated a little bit when Naruto left for so long, but knew that the kid was nothing if not important to the Hokage. That was a calculated bet on his admiration for the craftiness and skill of their fearless leader. Now he knew what kind of person Naruto was and his Fuinjutsu prowess had sealed the last part of his multi-stage plan to crush this year and make sure 5U passed together. He'd known ahead of time that something like this was coming, the hint from the Headmaster and Iruka had just solidified things. The real goal was the Field Exam, coming up shortly. Shikamaru still tried to wheedle his way into all the intelligence he could gather about that particular event, but there were currently no breaches to exploit.
Baring a little bit of his admittedly horrible past was a small price to pay to get closer to the tied-for-first combatant in their class. Everyone was good in their way- strong as hell and skilled, especially for First Years, but Shikamaru knew them all now like the back of his hand.
Naruto and Satsuki both were in a league of their own.
They could do this- if everyone played the right parts.
Arranging to put himself into harm's way like this for his plan though… Neji really was dangerous enough that he wasn't sure how far he'd go to win.
Time to find out.
"I think it's time you and I settled our little grudge- though if you don't mind, I'd prefer if we did this one-on-one?"
Neji looked cold and unfeeling.
"What grudge? How infantile for you to think I've given you any thought at all."
Shikamaru sighed.
"You know, Satsuki back at the beginning of the year? She mentioned that your dad was a fucking traitor and it was ballsy of you to call her a traitor given that the apple probably doesn't fall far from that particular tree."
Every word he said seemed, to him, to nail shut his coffin bit by -agonizing- bit. Each word was a bit of pain that Neji would be delighted to call due with his fists.
"You know, that grudge Neji."
Shikamaru laughed lightly. He didn't feel it. The killing intent radiating off Neji was enough to choke a room. This was going to be painful.
"My team, we don't forgive and we don't forget."
Neji blurred. Actually blurred as he shot forward, fingertips outstretched and glowing. Shikamaru had seen Hayato pop the heart of an ANBU like a soap bubble with that move.
Oh shit!
Shadows boiled up from where he stood in the shade of the forest and Shikamaru felt them cover him in thin armor, more akin to concentrated gloom than true darkness. Hopefully it would stop the first stabbing chakra spike from the Gentle Fist.
A different blur, black robes with a white haze covering him, intercepted Neji just in time. Neji slammed to a halt, gracefully avoiding a bladed edge that would've taken his outstretched arm and head off. The Hyuuga wasn't entirely fast enough. A faint line scored across his throat.
Miniscule beads of blood welled up, but that was it.
Even Shikamaru stared at how close that had been. Was he trying to kill Neji or was that just the level of control he had?
Naruto had arrived, blonde hair swaying.
Feet impacting dirt sounded at the edge of the clearing heralded his other savior. Shikamaru peered around Naruto's robed shoulder and head full of blonde hair to see a Sharingan-eyed Satsuki flanking Rock Lee and Neji.
Dirt covered her in a fine layer. Smudges on her body looked like mud had exploded right next to her. So that part was done.
Shikamaru smiled.
"You think having three on one is going to help your odds, Nara?"
"Sure can't hurt, can it?"
But then, another presence stepped out of the woods.
His cousin.
Ren and him might be related, but they didn't look anything alike. Where Shikamaru was tall and lithe, Ren was short and squat, thickly built, with short-cropped hair in a military-style; totally unlike most Nara.
This was… unexpected. Ren was expected, but him pouring all his eggs into one basket?
Actually unexpected.
Problematic, but within parameters. The… oh-shit-level parameters.
Okay, he could work with this.
"Hi there, cuz. Didn't expect you here. Shouldn't you be in the vanguard?"
Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the overly casual tone Shikamaru used.
Ren had a low voice, one suited more for lounge-singing than commanding a battlefield.
"Hardly. Don't be obvious Shika. Besides, my vanguard is going to pick up our flag as we speak. I can't say they'll be… gentle. You blew up my base."
Satsuki snorted. "I'll do it again. Don't tempt me."
Ren raised an eyebrow.
Naruto goggled, Shikamaru could hear the surprise in his voice even though his back was to him.
"You blew up their clearing? Holy shit Satsuki."
She waved it away.
Ren cleared his throat.
But Rock Lee spoke up, sounding like he was voicing a proclamation.
"All this spirited energy has me fired up! Let us have a friendly exchange of techniques, shall we? Who is to be my opponent?"
Ren looked like he was trying not to smack his own face.
Neji was staring daggers at Shikamaru, alternating between him and Satsuki, bypassing Naruto.
Speaking low, Shikamaru said, "Naruto- take Lee. Satsuki can take my cousin."
"No, Shikamaru, let me take Neji!"
"It needs to be me. Don't worry, I can handle myself. Just… remember the signal, yeah?"
He sighed, the skin around the diamond thing on his forehead crinkling.
"Fine."
Naruto straightened, brushing his robes.
"Who are you, Eyebrows? I didn't catch your name."
Rock Lee bowed low, almost brushing the ground with his jet black hair shaped like a bowl.
"My name, honored opponent from 5U, is Rock Lee. May I have yours?"
Neji cut them off as he didn't stop himself from blurring towards Naruto, who dodged out the way, leaving him to Shikamaru as he asked.
Naruto didn't quite see what happened, but suddenly he was airborne and in pain. Lee's wide eyes narrowed and a vicious glee suddenly transformed him from a clown into a hardened shinobi.
Rock Lee had kicked him and he had barely even caught what happened.
He twisted mid-air and dropped to the ground- just in time to grab a second kick, the follow-up, in his right hand and, channeling chakra into his grip in controlled amounts, enough to boost his strength, he ground the kid's titanic blow to a halt.
His hand burned with pain.
Naruto glared at him, eyes chips of ice.
"I didn't say to start."
All three groups of fighters separated and the battle was on.
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Choji Akimichi
Choji Akimichi knew without a shadow of a doubt that people thought he was stupid.
Big meant stupid, right?
However, from birth, Choji had been significantly stronger than almost everyone around him; Akimichi always were, their Hiden techniques, born from an innate expression of pure Yang chakra, powered their bodies in a way that meant he had to be extremely careful and in control at all times. They were suffused with power.
A handshake could crush bones.
Simple play could hurt the people around them.
Every Akimichi dealt with it, but Choji was a prodigy with his Hiden, even from a young age. So, Choji knew he needed to be careful, and had come to that conclusion long ago. Hasty action led to potentially dire consequences, so he preferred to come at problems from all angles; analyzing, assessing, taking his time to decide his best course of action. Slow didn't mean stupid, and thinking deep to others came off, most often, as stupidity.
All that was wrong.
Choji resented that and nine-times out of ten chose to control his reaction to the myriad little comments he received every day- even from friends. Choji was huge; almost five eleven at ten years of age, and he was almost as wide as he was tall. Picking his way through a crowd was an act of delicate control, his constant apologizing at odds with how he felt on the inside. People didn't know. People were fragile. This was only right; a responsibility that all Akimichi held. They were the true walls of Konohagakure; the sheltering bulwark against which Her enemies broke like the tide washing against a seawall.
That strength should not, must not, be turned against allies.
So Choji moved through life with this mantra burning in his heart. He ate his food, stocked his power, and played peace-maker; doing his best to not pick sides where possible. A reputation for equanimity would be valuable.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the line that reputation had morphed into the belief that Choji was an unskilled doormat, to be walked over because of the perceived weakness in his boundaries.
That reputation held only in public- in the Clan, Choji was… infamous, for lack of a better word. Only Shikamaru knew his secret.
His Hiden was strong. Too strong.
He'd almost killed his father by accident the first time he'd ever practiced, swearing to never use the Akimichi strength techniques ever again, cultivating his Fire chakra instead. But after ROOT kidnapped him and the rest of his friends, and he'd almost died, his resolve had wavered.
Choji felt he could've done more, more than nothing other than getting beaten within an inch of his life. Even then he'd held back, afraid of lashing out and hitting his friends.
So control became his goal. Now? Choji hadn't had an incident since that day he swore himself to the study of the Akimichi Strength Hiden.
So when another Akimichi, bigger than him, stepped out of the trees, Choji wasn't surprised when Ryu's eyes widened in fear. Ryu, his elder by two and a half years, was only a distant cousin- but he knew Choji.
Everyone in his clan did.
Choji was the clan prodigy.
The two jaggedly armored behemoths stared at each other steadily. Choji was covered in a matte-black plate armor that added another hundred pounds to his already enormous frame, the other in blue waves like stylized demonic faces. Ryu was bigger by a large margin. Both carried shields on their backs and hammers on their hips.
Choji spoke first, quietly.
"I suggest you turn around Ryu. I don't know what Ren or Rei told you, but you aren't getting this flag. Not alone."
Slowly, so slowly Choji became suspicious, his cousin's face morphed from fear into smug resolve. His arm, dangling by his side, held a full-face helm shaped into the look of an Oni, a horrible smiling face made more terrible by the huge tongue sticking out of it. Ryu put it on and Choji could see his brown eyes staring daggers at him from in between the slits.
Three figures stepped out in a triangular pattern, surrounding him.
Hamura Inuzuka, flanked by a nin-dog the size of a boulder. He carried no weapons.
Fan Tay, a young woman in a bright violet kimono, sticks crossed in an x through the bun on the back of her head, wielding a massive staff capped with a ball of iron that looked larger than his head stepped out on his far right.
Weishi Kela, an extremely small girl with a vicious smirk on her face, spun two spike-like awls in either hand. They looked like a handle with a nail on the end of them perhaps three inches in length.
Four enemies.
Four opponents pressed him for the flag.
This was his first real test of control. The stakes were high and he knew what Shikamaru had asked of him, but it was here and now where he would find out how far he'd come since that accident so long ago.
Slowly so as not to startle his enemies, Choji picked up his own helmet, a closed helm covered in tiny slits. Choji knew it was intimidating because it was utterly blank, covering his face like a castle wall. He slid it on and the script on the inside lit his vision, providing a fully-transparent vision. A special Akimichi-only script.
One lone character was burned into the forehead of his helmet.
His shield came off and his warhammer was in his hand.
The character was a complicated one; read one way it meant impenetrable fortress, or a castle that could never be breached. In another way, it meant Dreadnaught. A living, walking nightmare fortress that swallowed enemies and never spat them back out.
Choji chose the second interpretation.
Fan Tay spoke, respect in her voice. She had a lilting voice, emphasis on odd syllables. The Tay clan traveled the breadth of Fire Country and had the slightest bit of an accent.
"I know you won't surrender- goodness knows I wouldn't either, but you have to know this is hopeless."
Choji didn't answer her question, instead-
"Do you know why we cleared this spot for a hundred feet in either direction?"
Hamura, in contrast to Kiba, was known to be a quiet, silent hunter.
He grunted a reply.
"No cover."
Choji had a smile they couldn't see.
"No, that's not why. Or not all of it."
Ryu started yelling for everyone to get back, his voice gained a desperate edge, as if he was remembering something he felt was vital.
Choji's voice rang out, cutting through the defensive movements of his opponents, most jumping back or readying weapons. The Hiden were secret techniques of their clan, a general term for a specific branch. Choji was going to show them his mastery, the reason he'd been so scared for so many years. The strength that lived in his body like a monster.
"Full Unveiling: Might of the Mountain Gods!"
Secretive, but basic script activated in his armor and as Choji swelled in size, his armor adjusted with him, his true strength unleashing itself as Yang-based alchemy ran through his muscles and fat. The fat compressed and chakra exploded from the conversion technique baked into his chakra system. Powerful, dense Yang chakra fueled his muscles, bones, organs, hardened his skin- everything about him swelled with strength and size until he stood twenty feet high and muscle rippled under his mail and plate.
Choji could feel the strength of a mountain running through him and his voice kicked up wind as he roared, clutching his warhammer that was now bigger than his body had been.
He became the dreadnought.
Control was now even more vital. He could easily kill these students if he wasn't careful. But Shikamaru wasn't the only one who'd progressed. This year had taught him so much.
That ran through his head like a prayer.
Ryu had activated his own Hiden, but his size wasn't nearly enough to challenge Choji, being over six feet smaller than Choji's twenty. But his shield came up anyway, now the size of a small autocar. Only the Hiden of Choji's father Chouza could rival the size and strength of Choji's Full Unveiling.
"You want the flag?"
His voice was a guttural growl, not his normal sheepish tone.
The Akimichi Clan Heir anchored his shield, set his shoulders, clanging his now-titanic warhammer on the steel of his tower shield. Discordant, terrible banging rang out like a bell tower chime. The sound echoed throughout the battlefield.
Shikamaru would know what that meant.
"Come and get it!"
#
/Training Ground 56: Canyon
/The Village Hidden in the Leaves
/Fire Country
Rei Nara
Rei Nara knew the rough shape of how this battle would progress.
Ren didn't. Though no one could see as far as Rei did.
Shikamaru was nothing if not predictable.
Rei and Ren both lost in Shogi to the young Clan Heir as many times as they could and compared notes- for that was how they built a model of his behavior.
Loss was of no concern to the true battlemind.
There was only the model and the accuracy of such.
Shikamaru only thought in two-dimensional recursive algorithms: there was no concern taken for the longer plot and the third dimension of tactical strategy. Ren, brilliant though he might be, had little patience for the types of long-term planning that Rei excelled in, thus she had taken it upon herself to be the sole Captain for their squad.
None had objected.
Neji had supported her wholeheartedly, despite his misgivings, and receiving his backing went a long way towards quashing the others. He knew the way her mind worked and that destiny had given her a gift for foresight that could not be matched by anyone else in their generation.
Team 3R was not fighting in their first rodeo, as it were.
They had a flawless record against all the other teams, precisely because Rei was able to dive deeper into the motivations of those she was facing and targeted their hopes, as well their weaknesses.
Shikamaru spun webs within webs, but spared no attention for the meta of the circumstances. He wove well, yes, within parameters, but his failures were that of imagination and minutiae.
He had not, for instance, asked about the revival of teammates.
Shikamaru very much should have.
"How are you feeling, Kirito?"
The blue-haired Takamusa Clan Heir, and her boyfriend, gave her a sour look behind a mask of blood and bruises that slowly faded under her iryojutsu.
"Like I've been run over by an autobus. I'm assuming the plan is still on?"
Rei hadn't known that Kirito would lose. In fact, she had been astonished when Ren, whose job it was to spiritually mark those downed in the first round, had labeled her boyfriend as the first to fall. Naruto Uzumaki would be a formidable opponent- unfortunately not one she had any intelligence on beyond his erratic nature and deep chakra injuries.
Clearly there was more there that needed investigation, but it was far too late for that. The plan had to move forward.
Rei nodded, the midnight hair of hers that stretched down to the backs of her knees swayed as if underwater. Like dancing shadows.
Her boyfriend gave her a savage grin.
"Then let's not keep them waiting."
"We still have one more stop to make, don't forget."
"Oh, I haven't. Who else is down?"
"Tenten and Gyuso, and most likely eventually Ren, but once we have them…"
Kirito nodded, suppressing his shock that the two went down at all.
"We wrap things up."
Rei gave a small, feral smile.
"Right!"
A loud clanging, like the sound of two autocars crashing into each other headfirst, echoed through the forest.
They both looked at each other, brows furrowed.
"What the hell is that?"
A/N: Big thank-you to both Fuyuriku and Mist for their exemplary editing/beta'ing work. This chapter wouldn't be as polished a First Draft without them. Note: this WAS one huge chapter that spanned about 40,000 collective words, but was split into three for ease of use. The third part of this, the conclusion of the Joint Preparatory Exercise and then the intro to the Field Exam (also a huge action chapter) are big.
We are winding down now to the end of Book 1. Hopefully you'll all stick around for the next part...
Formatting is weird on Fanfiction. If anyone would mind commenting about the formatting, that would be great. I tried a new one using OpenOffices .odt file type. Eh. We'll see.
Thank you to everyone that reviewed: I love reading them and it really is a great motivator. Mist and Fuyuriku can attest, I wrote quite a lot, quite quickly. I just wanted to keep going!
Til next time!
J.B. Macleod
