So I've decided to change the pairing. It's not gonna be Naruto/Yukina but Naruto/Botan. So that's a thing, to keep everybody up to date.
A New Life To Live
It didn't take the group long before they reached another building, ascending to the top of a staircase before they stopped in front of a massive building.
"From here on forget about any of the sympathy I've shown you idiots," Genkai stated. "The final test is a tournament between the eight of you until one is left standing. You may fight until your opponent is dead or incapacitated. I don't care which."
Genkai then walked forwards, pushing open a pair of massive double doors with ease, revealing a room that only had light coming in through the aforementioned doors. In the middle of the room stood a massive Buddha statue, shrouded in darkness. No one in the group moved.
"Come on now, walk!"
The group jumped, quickly walking forwards as the doors slammed behind them, leaving them unable to see even two feet in front of them. Naruto sighed.
'Of course she has to have another twist on it. Why wouldn't she? That's all she's done so far.'
"Hey what happened to the lights! I don't like that lady," Kuwabara stated.
"Yeah, grandma, what do you expect us to fight in, the dark?"
Yusuke stated it as a joke, but when a lone candle flickered to life next to Genkai he winced. The woman was staring straight at him, an annoyed look on her face. "Yes that's exactly what I expect. You must use your spirit awareness to see. Use weapons where you've got them. Hit 'em where you like. Anything goes. The winner is the one who can walk back alive."
"Who can walk," Naruto stated, blinking, getting a strange look from Genkai. He nodded, not saying another word, a smile appearing on his face.
"Sounds like a typical Saturday morning street fight, huh Kuwabara?"
The teen didn't respond to Yusuke, staring intently at Genkai. "I'm not sure Urameshi, I got a bad hunch some of the scary stuff from the forest has followed us somehow."
Yusuke frowned, his eyes flickering to the other competition. 'So that confirms it. Rando must be around here, still in the competition for Genkai's technique. I'll have to defeat him.'
"Now before we start you all introduce yourselves. And speak up!" Genkai added, almost as an afterthought.
A man in a traditional white uwagi and dark hakama stepped forwards, a bokuto at his side and one of his eyes covered by an eye patch. "My names Musashi. I'm a fourth degree black belt under Kendo of the Shabato School. I hunt down evil beings and destroy them."
Next was the child. "I am Shorin, a psychic in training. I have traveled the world in search of a perfect instructor."
The man with the green hair was next, his face stony. "People call me Kibano. I am a master in every style of martial arts and I live to test own limits."
Next was the man with the manji, "I'm Kazemaru of the ninjas. Bodyguard of government officials. I've been trained in the ninjutsu art of stealth."
Naruto blinked, staring at the man. A ninja? From this world? He wanted to test his strength against him. Especially because he referred to a branch of ninjutsu revolving around stealth. It was unlikely it would be anything compared to the ninjutsu of his world, but it was worth finding out. Maybe he could show Kazemaru a few tricks.
"My name is Kuroda, contract killer."
"Kazuma Kuwabara, the worst punk at Sarayashiki High."
"Yusuke Urameshi, the much much worse punk of Sarayashiki High."
"Naruto Uzumaki," the former shinobi stated. "Protector of the innocent, saver of worlds, and also a shinobi."
Kazemaru frowned, looking at crimson-blonde mix, causing Naruto to smirk. Clearly the man was interested, and likely protective. Naruto looked young, despite technically being older than he was. Kazemaru was likely assuming he was mocking him.
Good.
He wanted his best.
As soon as Naruto finished speaking swords fell from the sky, breaking the two shinobi's connection as they stared at the ground where blades were stabbed into the wooden floor.
"Now everyone pick up the blade you think is pretty, that'll decide the order."
The group quickly drew the swords before Genkai announced the order. "Alright, so it'll be Shorin against Kuroda, Musashi against Kuwabara, Kibano against Yusuke, and Naruto against Kazemaru." Genkai turned to Naruto and Kazemaru.
"You two are first. No stalling, step up to the plate."
"You're a shinobi huh," Naruto stated, walking towards the darkness. "That's cool, although I've never heard of a ninjutsu style that selectively focuses on stealth. It'll be interesting."
"What," Kazemaru stated, whirling on Naruto. "Don't patronize me. Don't call yourself a ninja if you don't even know how to use stealth!"
Naruto shrugged. "Where I come from we're ninja in pretty much everything but stealth. We can use it sure, but it's more of an homage to our past. We evolved, become warriors frankly. Although we're still shinobi."
That was a good lie, although it did have some form of truth to it. The shinobi where he was from didn't act much like how people popularized shinobi in this world, or even in the past where he was from. That had all changed when chakra was given to the people.
Naruto smirked. "I'm gonna enjoy this," he stated, dropping into a fighting stance. Kazemaru glared at the shinobi, irritation in his eyes.
"And I'm gonna teach you a lesson."
"You may begin!"
Kazemaru instantly shot forwards launching a kick towards Naruto's head, only for the hanyo to block the kick, grunting at the force behind it. Naruto immediately responded, other arm flying through the air, only for Kazemaru to block. The man's eyes widened however as he felt the force behind Naruto's punch, the sheer power sending him flying backwards. Kazemaru flipped in midair, landing in a crouch.
With a grunt he began to walk in a circle around Naruto, careful to keep his steps silent. Naruto merely blinked. If Kazemaru was fighting a regular human he'd have no idea where he was. He definitely couldn't see in the building, but due to his enhanced senses he could hear Kazemaru's footsteps. They were quiet, but they weren't completely silent.
When Kazemaru shot forwards Naruto instantly leaned back, dodging the punch. Kazemaru's eyes widened, causing Naruto to smirk. and a spiraling screech to fill the room. "When you wake up come find me. I wanna talk to you. But I've seen the limits of your abilities, and I have something that I've got to do," Naruto stated, thrusting his attack forwards.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto walked back out the shadows, an unconscious Kazemaru draped over his shoulder, serious burn markings in the shape of a spiral covering his gust. Genkai blinked, but nodded nonetheless. She was definitely not expecting that.
"Winner, Naruto."
"No way," Yusuke muttered, watching Naruto lay Kazemaru on the ground. He had seen the glow in Naruto's hands as he called out his attack. He recognized it from when Naruto had fought Hiei. 'That move! I knew it was strong because it held all the demonic energy, but I've never seen it in action! It's like a concentrated drilling Spirit Gun!'
"What a strange ability," Kibano stated. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I have," Musashi, the samurai, stated. "It's a mass of spirit energy, although I've never seen red spirit energy before."
"They're not exactly wrong, in theory at least."
Yusuke eyes widened, recognizing the voice. "Is that you?" he called, before he ran out of the dark room. He rushed over to the side of the building, Kuwabara following closely behind him.
"Urameshi where do you think you're going?"
"I'm impressed Botan, you didn't say bingo," Yusuke called.
"Well that's because they didn't get it completely correct," Botan stated. "Ignoring the fact that Naruto uses demon energy instead of spirit energy, it's more of a grinding attack, as you can see from the damage Kazemaru received. It's a very lethal technique. I'm curious as to where Naruto learned such a technique. That's an exceptional amount of force in that attack. I know he's a demon, but he must have had quite a bit of training. Even when using it he still has quite a bit of strength afterwards."
"So I better not fight him with energy then?"
"Bingo," Botan claimed. "Although it doesn't matter because you're not here to be fighting Naruto anyway."
"Urameshi, you can't chicken out on me!" Kuwabara paused as he realized Botan was there, stunned.
"Oh, you're just talking to this hot girl." Kuwabara's eyes narrowed afterwards, grabbing Yusuke and lifting him into the air. "You punk! Keiko's supposed to be your girlfriend!"
"Calm down Kuwabara it's just Botan!"
"Nice to meet you Kuwabara," Botan stated. "Actually," Botan claimed, manifesting her oar before resting on it. "I've seen you several times and I've been quite impressed by your actions."
"Hey she's floating in the air! Hey Urameshi is she a uh, well you know, I think she's a witch!"
"She's not a witch," came the call, the trio turning to see Naruto leaning on a wall. "She's just the Grim Reaper."
"Oh? You knew that," Botan called.
"Koenma told me quite a bit when I met him," Naruto claimed. "Didn't tell me you could analyze my techniques though."
Botan blushed, rubbing the back of her head and sticking out her tongue. Kuwabara, still stunned by the sudden arrival of Naruto, weakened his grip on Yusuke, allowing the boy to slip out of his bindings and get away from him. "Yeah Kuwabara she's the Grim Reaper. And she's my assistant as Spirit Detective."
"Detective," Kuwabara stuttered.
"You were telling me you got a pretty bad feeling from one of those guys in there right? Well there are these things called demons, and there's a really bad one hiding in there. So it's my job to figure out which one he is and keep him from getting Genkai's power."
"And it's my job to make sure he doesn't die," Naruto buttered in.
"Well gee that sounds tough," Kuwabara stated. Yusuke paused.
'My job or Naruto protecting me? I'm not sure I like what he's insinuating here!'
"But the important thing is that you're not cheating on Keiko with this new girl," Kuwabara stated, before walking up to Botan. "And as for you. Beautiful lady will you be my wife? I'm a strong and fearless man and I'll be good to you."
It took Kuwabara a second to recognize the smell of cigarette smoke, glancing down at his shoulder to see a cigarette there. Panicking, the boy threw it off, before he saw Genkai standing outside, Naruto walking behind her back into the building.
"Are you boys happy with disqualification? If so, stay where you are?"
The trio panicked, running back in while apologizing all the while. Genkai could only smile as they walked back in. "So he's Koenma's boy? I didn't know I was attracting celebrities."
Genkai walked back into the building. "Shorin, Kuroda, you're next."
The two began to walk into the darkness only for Kuroda to pause, glancing at Genkai. The man whipped out two knives, holding them in his hands. "Let's make this clear. In my line of work I've been taught not to quit until they're dead."
"If you're asking about killing I've already answered," Genkai stated. "Feel free to use any force necessary to defeat your opponent and ensure your victory."
"Yes you said that," Kuroda stated. "But will you hold it against me if I turn out to be a cold-blooded killer?"
"Young man I am a psychic not a saint. I'll train whoever is strongest, regardless of any moral shortcomings."
Yusuke stared at Genkai, a look of horror on his face. 'I don't believe this hag! Now I really have to win!'
"I'm very relieved to hear that. So I can win the fight without holding myself back."
With nothing left to say the two descended into the darkness.
"He's really gonna kill a child," Kuwabara stated.
"No," Naruto claimed. "He'll try to kill a child. He'll lose."
"How can you be so sure," Kuwabara called. Naruto frowned.
"Gut feeling."
"You may begin! Fight well!"
There was series of painful screams, and grunts before the sound of a body dropping hit the floor. It was heavy. A sole figure began to walk back, Shorin.
"Winner, Shorin."
"No way," Kuwabara exclaimed. "How'd you know?"
"I told you, gut feeling," Naruto stated.
"Onto the third match, Kuwabara versus Musashi."
The two stared each other down before they began to walk into the darkness.
"Try not to get killed Kuwabara," Yusuke called.
"Don't worry I have to beat you before I die!"
"Don't you think he's a bit mismatched," Botan claimed.
"Well he's never been as tough as me, but he does have a lot of determination. I just hope that's enough to win."
"I'll give you one last chance to walk away kid," Musashi claimed once they were enveloped in darkness, barely able to make out the other person. "Ignore it and I'll consider you as an obstacle in my path. And I won't hesitate to cut you down."
"I'm not going anywhere old man! I may be a kid, but I've been fighting on the streets my whole life! Plus, I've got powers! In fact I can see you right..." Kuwabara frowned, darkness shrouding his vision. "Wait a minute, at least I saw you before."
There was no time to react. Kuwabara was sent flying head first into the ground, Musashi standing behind him. Grunting Kuwabara stood, glaring at the visible Musashi once more.
"What happened?"
Musashi merely smirked before darkness enveloped him once more and he vanished. Kuwabara grunted, standing and looking around.
"I know all about your spirit awareness kid," Musashi claimed. "But I too have a power. I can mask my own energy."
"So I can't see you," Kuwabara stated, grunting, looking around. His eyes were useless here. There was no way he would be able to see Musashi's movements, not with his regular eyes. He needed his powers, but they weren't working!
"And unlike you," Musashi said, becoming visible behind Kuwabara again. "I'm used to fighting in the dark!"
Kuwabara didn't have enough time to react before Musashi's fist landed once more and flattened him. Kuwabara roared, charging Musashi only for the man to disappear into the shadows once more. When he next reappeared he was descending from the heavens, his knee smashing into Kuwabara's face. This cycle continued, Kuwabara's abused cries of pain echoing throughout the building.
"Stop screaming so much it makes you easy to find," Yusuke called.
"Can you shut up," Kuwabara stated. "I'm trying to concentrate and you're not really helping."
"There is no use," Musashi claimed, appearing before Kuwabara. "I could hit you a hundred times and you'll never be able to block."
"Beat me up all you want old man your sissy little punches don't hurt me at all. It's just chump change compared to all the days Urameshi rubbed my head into the concrete."
"It's true, I've punched him quite a few times."
Musashi frowned, drawing his bokuto. "Then you leave me no choice."
"A big stick?"
"Now is no time to play the fool kid. This is a wooden sword, carved from an ancient tree and cleansed in a sacred stream. It's a conduit for spirit energy, the perfect weapon for striking down evil." Kuwabara only saw him leap into the air before Musashi disappeared into shadows once more.
"Hey I'm not evil," Kuwabara exclaimed, looking for where the man could be. Musashi appeared, descending from the heavens, his sword in motion, Kuwabara turning towards him as he began to lock onto his position once more. There was still no time to react, the blade smashing into Kuwabara's chest. However Musashi did not relent, following up with a series of strikes that smashed into Kuwabara's body, bruising him upon contact as blood shot from his mouth. When Musashi finally stopped Kuwabara collapsed onto the ground, groaning in pain.
The tip of the wooden sword fell next to Kuwabara.
Musashi's eyes widened. "He actually broke the sword. His spirit power must truly be strong," he claimed before he began to walk back.
Kuwabara groaned, reaching out and grabbing the broken sword tip, causing Musashi to pause. "You haven't gotten rid of me yet," Kuwabara exclaimed, glaring.
"What kind of evil creature are you? No one has ever survived my Shining Sword Attack. Oh well, I'm confident you won't live through a second strike."
'I've gotta find a way to defend myself,' Kuwabara thought. 'Why couldn't he just crack off a longer piece!'
Musashi appeared in front of him, causing Kuwabara to panic and lunge forward with his wooden piece. The two stared at each other for a brief moment, time seeming to slow before thick yellow energy sprung from Kuwabara's hand, into the wooden sword piece and into the air, blocking the sword strike.
"What is that," Musashi exclaimed, surprise written on his face.
"I don't know!"
"What are you," Musashi exclaimed.
"Materialization," Genkai stated plainly, getting Yusuke's attention.
"What's that?"
"Normally spirit energy cycles through the body and is very hard to control. But when his life was in danger he instinctively used his high spirit awareness to manipulate his energy into a solid object. In this case, into a sword. Your Naruto friend can do something similar, only it's not with spirit energy."
Kuwabara didn't waste any time, pushing Musashi's blade aside before swinging wildly, smashing the blade into the mans stomach and sending him flying. The man crashed into the gorund, but the force of the attack didn't stop, sending him carving into the ground for three feet before he stopped. Kuwabara glared at the defeated man, before he glanced at his energy sword.
"Pretty cool, but how am I supposed to turn it off?"
'I suspected this would happen,' Genkai thought. 'Guess he just needed that wooden swords focusing power to give him an extra push.'
It wasn't long before Kuwabara realized how to deactivate his blade and walked back over to where the group was, grunting in pain and holding his side.
"Winner, Kuwabara."
"I guess Kuwabara won't be so easy to beat from now on huh," Botan stated, a smirk on her face.
"Well at least he's still ugly," Yusuke muttered.
"You better not lose before our fight," Kuwabara stated.
"Please like I'd miss the chance to beat you up," Yusuke stated.
"Let's not waste my time. The fourth match is Kibano versus dimwit!"
"I think that's you," Kuwabara chuckled.
"And here I thought my name was Yusuke."
"May the strongest man win," Kibano stated, before walking into the shadows.
Yusuke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"What are you waiting for Urameshi," Kuwabara questioned.
Kibano paused, glancing back at Yusuke. "Have you decided not to fight?"
"Oh no, I was just praying for your mortal soul."
"Yusuke stop clowning around!"
Genkai grunted, irritation covering her face before she threw her cigarette at Yusuke. "Moron!"
Yusuke easily dodged it, a frown on his face. "Hey!"
"Any more delay and I'll take it as a forfeit!"
"Gee, something tells me you're still mad about that grandma comment. You need to enjoy life more, old lady," Yusuke commented, shrugging his green jacket off before he walked into the shadows with Kibano.
"Yeah it's dark all right, but at least he's in the same boat."
It wasn't long before Yusuke felt the oppressive aura, and heard the quiet, deep chuckle that erupted into the room. "You're wrong about that. I can see exactly where you are."
"Give me a break," Yusuke claimed. "Your awareness isn't any better than mine, only weirdos like Kuwabara can see in the dark!" The teen took a step back.
"You stepped backward."
"Fine, good guess."
Kuwabara frowned, glaring at the duo, his eyes narrowed only for realization to dawn on his face. "Hey watch out for him! He's got some kind of mask on his head."
"My own invention. It blinds my sensory organs. All the brain power normally concentrated on sight, sound, and smell is redirected to sensing a person's spirit. I've even installed a targeting device to direct my senses to a single point. Now let's see, yes, your have a very strange aura. As thought your body as been in grave danger. Perfect, that will make you easy to find!"
It didn't take long for Kibano to leap forwards, his fist smashing into Yusuke's face, sending the teen flying. Yusuke grunted, flipping in the air to land on his feet.
"See, it's very useful," Kibano called, before he leapt forwards again, his foot smashing into Yusuke's face before he spun, lashing out with a side kick that slammed into Yusuke's stomach, sending the boy flying onto his back. Kibano then charged, leaping into the air to smash Yusuke's head in, the boy barely avoiding the punch that shattered the tiled floor.
"Ok," Yusuke called, grabbing a piece of the debris, "I heard that," he roared, throwing a piece at Kibano only for the man to push off with his hands, leaping over the piece and landing behind Yusuke before disappearing.
"Hey did I hit you!"
"Sorry," Kibano stated, causing Yusuke to frown. It was coming from behind him. Yusuke took off running, dashing towards where Kibano's voice came from, launching a punch that made the much larger man stumble. Yusuke didn't hesitate though, spinning with the force of his punch and launching a kick that slammed into Kibano's head, sending him stumbling back.
Kuwabara threw his hands into the air, only for Genkai to shake her head. "Don't celebrate yet."
Kibano smirked.
"What," Yusuke called angrily, only to be completely unprepared for Kibano's foot to swing out, the surprise roundhouse smashing into his stomach and sending him flying. Yusuke grunted, crashing against the wall before he collided into the ground.
"You found me by my voice no doubt. But your hearing will never be accurate enough to give you a decisive blow."
"That punks not playing fair! That helmet is protecting his head from attacks," Kuwabara stated.
"Even the best kind of armor should have a weak point," Botan stated. "But I'm scared Yusuke is going to have a tough time finding it. He can't even see his own hand in front of his face!"
"Or he could just break the mans body." Naruto stated, getting the duo's attention. "Doesn't matter if he can see Yusuke if his body's too beaten to move. Then again I dunno if Yusuke is strong enough yet to overcome the sheer size advantage Kibano has on him for it to be effective."
"Here's a surprise for you," Kibano stated, grunting as his muscles bulged. The man cried out, clearly straining before green energy began to swirl around his fist. Soon the energy spread to his entire body, causing them to swell in size.
"Oh no," Kuwabara claimed. "Something weird is happening to Kibano's muscles!"
"It's a basic enhancement technique. He's pulling in energy from the matter around him. He gets a quick boost of strength."
Yusuke grunted, irritation on his face as he glanced around. 'Damn it where is he!' The teen was too engrossed in his own thoughts to hear the thunder of Kibano's footsteps as he charged towards the teen.
"I'm right here! Big Arm Bomber!"
Yusuke whirled just in time to take the blow straight on, a clothesline laying him out flat. Kibano grunted, standing over him. Yusuke grunted, glaring up at Kibano, barely any energy left in his body.
"If you say you give up, I'll let you live," Kibano called.
Yusuke spat out blood, slowly rising to his feet, to glare at Kibano. "Oh well, guess you'll just have to kill me."
"Oh," Kibano stated. "Acting with reckless arrogance that only a kid could have. You probably think you're invincible. You've lost a lot of energy. I know because it's harder to see you in my mask."
"He can't go on like this," Naruto stated, a frown on his face. Slowly chakra began to bleed from his coils into his body. He had to stop this.
"Kibano is wrong about him," Genkai stated. "With the mask Kibano's vision is limited by what he expects. In a normal person sure, power would have gone down from a normal attack, so that's what Kibano sees. But this brats spirit energy has a very unique wavelength. It responds to desperation by getting stronger. He could win, if he could see."
"That seems like a pretty major design flaw," Botan claimed.
"Yes, well that's the flaw with blinding your sensory organs instead of training your body."
Yusuke grunted. "If only I could get in closer I could-" The teen didn't have time to finish his sentence as his wish was granted, Kibano appearing in front of him, his fist already pulled back. The punch slammed into Yusuke's cheek, causing his legs to wobble, but the teen powered through and turned, grabbing Kibano's arm.
"Now it's over!"
Yusuke grinned. "See this is all a party of my plan! Next I'm gonna break your arm," Yusuke called, attempting to follow through with his threat only to fail. Kibano smirked.
"Not such a bad idea. If I wasn't a master in every style of martial art, including grappling!"
Kibano grasped Yusuke's arm before hoisting him over his shoulders, and swinging him around and launching him like a drill towards the ground with such force that Yusuke bounced upwards and slammed into the wall. Blood shot from Yusuke's mouth as the boy slummed over, pain overwhelming him.
"I must admit," Kibano claimed. "I'd feel guilty killing an amateur like you. Please, tell me you give up and you can go back to your mother. I'll even open an ear-plate so I can hear your actual voice."
Kibano, a man of his word, actually opened up one of his ear-plates, a smirk on his face. "I could just feel out your vocal vibrations, but surrender has such a nice sound."
"Then say it yourself," Yusuke stated. "I'm winning this fight," he roared, only to stumble and barely stay on his feet. He was tired, and beaten. He would only have one more shot at winning this fight. "Next time you come at me I'm gonna knock that helmet off your head! And then I'll slap you around a bit, if you can still move!"
"Don't you think it's a little too late in the fight for you to bluff. We all know that you're blind."
"Maybe, but my mom told me to not make excuses."
"Fine, then I'll give you no more warning," Kibano roared, green energy swirling around his body again before he leapt into the air, his ear-plate closed. "Farewell boy!"
Thunder cracked on the floor as Kibano's voice rang out. "I will admit I'm surprised by how long you've lived, but now it's all over."
Yusuke merely raised a finger, blue energy beginning to swirl around it.
"I can feel you trembling, your body is shaking with fear," Kibano exclaimed. "Farewell!"
Yusuke smirked, looking directly at Kibano, despite the fact that the man was coming up on his left. "I'm not trembling dumbass. I'm powering up! Spirit Gun!"
The blast of energy shot from Yusuke's finger, smashing into Kibano's chest and sending the man flying, his face mask shattered. Kibano crumpled onto the ground, completely unable to move, groaning in pain.
"I don't understand what happened. You can't see in here, how did you hit me!"
"Why don't you look at your belt before your eyes roll back," Yusuke claimed. Kibano, willing to listen, glanced downwards, surprise on his face as he saw the cigarette Genkai had thrown at Yusuke attached to his waist, a faint light emitting from the still lit end.
"While you were busy teaching me your fancy martial arts, and swinging me around like a rag doll, it wasn't hard to slip it under your belt. After that, well you know the rest. You could have beaten me, if you could smell the smoke. You would have noticed, but I guess you're just too reliant on that headgear of yours."
"Winner," Genkai called as Yusuke stumbled back. "the dimwit."
"Alright kiddies, let's start the semi-finals," Genkai stated. "The first match, Naruto, and Yusuke."
"Woah old lady!" Yusuke called. "Pick somebody who's had a chance to breath ok!"
"If you want to get mad get mad at the person who drew the lot, and that's you."
Yusuke grunted. "Well can you at least throw another cigarette."
"No, because we won't be fighting the semi-finals in here," Genkai stated, opening the doors behind them. "Follow me."
It wasn't long before the group cooperated, following her through the forest.
"Great now I have to fight a dude who can create a more damaging and less tiring attack than my Spirit Gun."
"Calm down," Naruto whispered. "I won't use that on you. It's too lethal. I only used it on Kazemaru because I wanted to test something. Injured as you are, I doubt you could take the punishment. Also notice the Rando situation."
Yusuke blinked, before he narrowed his eyes on Shorin. "That's true," he stated. "Because I know you and Kuwabara aren't him, that means that if Rando's still in the tournament there's only one person he can be now."
"And neither of us are fighting him in the first round," Naruto stated. "Kuwabara is just now getting his powers, there's no way he'll win. He's in a dangerous situation."
"What do we do then?"
"Well," Naruto stated. "One of us could forfeit, give the other some time to gather their strength and think of a strategy to take down Rando. That's the best plan I can think of. Considering it's your job I'm inclined to forfeit, but you're also way weaker than I am to be blunt, and Rando sounds dangerous."
"No way," Yusuke stated. "I'm not accepting that."
"You don't have a choice," Naruto stated. "You're not the type to forfeit. Frankly speaking neither am I, but if it gives us more of a chance to defeat Rando, and keep Kuwabara alive then I'll do it. I'll intervene if it looks like Rando is gonna kill him, alright?"
Botan nodded. "I think he has the best plan here Yusuke. You should listen to him."
Yusuke grunted, glaring at the two before he sighed. "Fine. But I want to fight you when we're both at one hundred percent after this."
"Sure," Naruto stated. "I've been meaning to do that anyway."
"This will be your new fighting ground," Genkai stated, gesturing to the destroyed area before them as they stopped walking. Dead trees covered the area, with small ponds in the nearby vicinity, leaving wet grasslands for the remaining area.
"What is it," Kuwabara called.
"The sight of an ancient battleground," Genkai stated. "An entire army was overcome by madness. Thousands of soldiers attacked their own men. Restless souls fill this place."
Kuwabara screamed, drawing the attention of the group. "I'm seeing things here I never wanted to see! Please, please someone take me home!"
Naruto reached out, grabbing Kuwabara's shoulders. "Calm down. Your sensitive to the area, but you can control it. Breathe."
Genkai, uncaring of Kuwabara's situation, kept talking. "Spirit energy begins to overtake the body. It's perhaps the best place on earth to use spirit power. And so, the best place for your fight."
Naruto shrugged. "I don't use spirit energy," he stated, before he glanced at Yusuke.
"I feel some of my power coming back," the teen stated. "But not nearly enough to use my Spirit Gun."
Naruto frowned. "Do you think you'll get it back by the time of the fight?"
"I don't know," Yusuke said.
Naruto frowned. "I better not regret this Yusuke," Naruto muttered, before raising his hand. "I forfeit, Genkai."
"Oh," she stated, a smirk on her face. "I wonder why. Alright then, Yusuke you advance to the finals, the next fight is Shorin versus Kuwabara!"
"Wait hold up," Kuwabara stated, drawing the attention to himself. "What the hell Naruto? Why are you giving up!"
"I'll explain it to you later," Naruto stated. "Just be careful in this upcoming fight."
"Alright then, the next match," Genkai called, Shorin and Kuwabara walking onto the field. "Kuwabara versus Shorin, begin!"