Chapter 61 – Chūnin Exam in Iwagakure III
"Talk"
'Think'
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.
A/N: Sorry if my update is irregular. I can only write this for about 5-10 minutes per day due to hectic schedule. I also would like to thank arb6646, Black Rose – Cherry, Bloody Moon Mist, daniellejr98, Diana-Toretto, MisterE01, MyFandoms7, Seira228, vabhishek97 for supporting A Tale of Two Jinchūriki.
"Wait!"
Team Kamizuru turned with a kunai in each hand and saw the female member of the Konoha team they had captured landed near them.
"Coming to gloat? Or to finish us off?" asked Suzumebachi sourly.
"Neither" answered Hinata "I want to help"
"Why?" asked Suzumebachi suspiciously.
"Your teammates will die soon" Hinata said solemnly and activated her byakugan "I can see their chakra is currently being absorbed and there's chakra accumulation at the centre of those-" she pointed at the large lump on both Jibachi and Kurobachi "-which normally indicates an explosion or your teammates will die of chakra exhaustion"
Jibachi and Kurobachi paled at that, "W-why you want to help us?" croaked Jibachi while Kurobachi added "Y-yeah, why? We tried to harm you"
Hinata looked at them calmly "That was then, now we are unharmed and I trust my teammates can deal with Nokizaru clan easily. I won't be helping freely though, in exchange, I want your scroll and I know you have a Heaven scroll"
Suzumebachi looked at Hinata's calm face contemplatively 'She sounds sincere. If she helps Jibachi and Kurobachi, we can easily overpower her and get our scroll back' her lips curled and said "Very well, we accept your offer. Heal them and we'll give you our scroll"
Hinata smiled and shook her head "I'm afraid that is impossible. We have to wait for my teammates-"
"You LIED?!" cried Jibachi and Kurobachi.
"-I haven't finished" replied Hinata calmly "The procedure is delicate. I can sever the connection between you and the exploding insects but the accumulated chakra inside them needs an outlet or they'll explode. That's where my teammate comes. His kikaichū can absorb the chakra thus preventing the explosion. If you accept my offer, you have to give us your scroll and they-" Hinata pointed at a colony of kikaichū that emerged behind her "-will take it to my teammates as a sign of successful negotiation and then, we will help you"
"How do we know you won't run away once you've accepted our scroll?" asked Suzumebachi, still suspicious and refused to give up their scroll. Her mind was filled with Kurotsuchi's gloating face and she dreaded to face Kurotsuchi if her team failed.
"That is a risk you have to take, I have nothing but my words that we want to help you" said Hinata "If you refused, your teammates will die and you will definitely be disqualified from the Chūnin Exam. But if your teammates survived, you can find other scrolls and like the proctor said, if luck is on your side, you will pass this round"
Suzumebachi looked at Jibachi and Kurobachi, the latter especially looked very pale, as if blood was draining from him. Suzumebachi swallowed the lump in her throat and said bitterly "Fine! Here-" she tossed the scroll to Hinata, who received it and passed it to the kikaichū "-but if one of them died, Chūnin Exam or not, I will hunt you down" Suzumebachi eyes were blazing; she realized right now that Jibachi and Kurobachi meant more to her than winning against Kurotsuchi.
Hinata nodded.
Moments later, Shino and Sai landed next to Hinata, "You okay?" asked Shino.
"Yes, Shino-kun" replied Hinata before said with urgency "We need to hurry" her byakugan was activated and she can see that Jibachi's and Kurobachi's chakra are about to be depleted.
Shino nodded and ordered his kikaichū to drain the chakra from the exploding insects while Hinata severed the connection between those insects and the members from Kamizuru clan. Once finished, Shino unrolled a scroll and sealed the bloodied exploding insects, albeit deflated inside the scroll.
"Are you planning to breed them?" asked Sai with interest.
Shino was quiet for a moment before said "I don't know. If there's a potential, compatibility and viability, I don't see why not"
Suzumebachi looked at team Konoha with a glint in her eyes; she was accumulating her chakra while Shino and Hinata was trying to remove the exploding insects from Jibachi and Kurobachi. She figured that the procedure would be taxing; her plan was to catch them by surprise with her summoning animal the moment they lowered their guards.
'Now!' thought Suzumebachi, ready to bite her thumb when a hand stopped her. She turned and saw Jibachi at her side.
Jibachi looked at her with determination and said "No. I know what you are planning. Normally Kurobachi and I would follow you, but not now. If you continue doing what I think you plan to do, you have stooped to the level of those beggars and I know you are better than them"
"He's right you know" said a voice.
Suzumebachi and Jibachi turned and saw the last member of Team Konoha smiled at them and continued talking "Besides, you are not going to win" he smiled while making a hand gesture.
Suzumebachi looked around and saw they were surrounded by black snakes, all ready to attack. She bit her lower lips in anger; she never thought she would lose twice in a day 'Kurotsuchi will never hear of this humiliation!' swore Suzumebachi vehemently.
She turned and stalked off. Kurobachi watch the interaction, and then at Jibachi, and then at the back of Suzumebachi, and sighed. He prepared to follow Suzumebachi when a thought came. He turned to the Konoha's team and bowed his thankfulness before walking towards Suzumebachi's direction.
Jibachi also bowed to Konoha's team, and said "Thank you". When he raised his head, he saw the black-haired member from Konoha's team was extending his arm with a Heaven scroll on his palm.
"Take this. If you are lucky, we'll fight you fair and square in the final round" said Sai.
Jibachi was hesitating for a while the shook his head with resolution "No, it's yours. We'll find our own, thank you" he turned and walked away.
Sai turned to Shino and Hinata and asked "Ready to complete this test?"
Hinata smiled while Shino just nodded.
End Chapter 61