Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.
Chapter 24: Unexpected Moments
Team Ayumu's location
As the smoke cleared, the three comrades could use their eyes freely. However, they were surprised to discover that a wall of earth was blocking their passage. As such, they were technically stuck in the cave.
"Damn! We're stuck in here!" Inojin cursed under his breath after seeing the wall. He had just deactivated his Sharingan.
"It looks like we're gonna have to find another way out, unless some of us possess an ability to tear that wall to rubbles" Shikaien remarked while he was touching it with his hand.
But while Inojin and Shikaien were focused on finding a way out, Chouta shrugged by seeing the wall of earth, as if it wasn't that of a big deal. Her teammates could notice this and they got confused.
"Why are you so happy?" Inojin asked her.
"Oh that's simple" she replied while giggling. "I got news for you. Do you boys wanna hear them?" she asked while facing them smugly.
Shikaien rested his hand onto his face by seeing this, as he had seen that look on her face before. "For crying out loud, do you really have to do this now?" he asked her, but he could see that she was determined to do so, making the dark blonde-haired boy slump his head in defeat. "This is such a drag" he said.
"Are you saying that you can tear down this wall of earth?" Inojin asked the chubby girl who nodded gleefully at his question. "Then what do you have up your sleeves, earth-based techniques?" the raven-haired boy asked her once again.
This made Chouta chuckle in amusement. "No, no, silly. This time, I will show you one of the most AWESOME techniques I learned from my dad. It's a favoured jutsu practiced amongst us in the Akimichi clan" she explained to them.
Shikaien snapped after hearing this, while Inojin was still confused. Only Shikaien had seen her doing that technique once. "You seriously don't mean the….." the dark blonde-haired boy uttered out words while sweating.
Inojin rolled his eyes, while beginning to sound impatient. "Just show us the technique, already" he said lowly while sighing.
But first, Chouta motioned for them to come forward to her and they did so out of boredom. The chubby girl wanted to explain something to her teammates and they listened.
"You do remember what Ayumu-sensei told us, right? About how my dad, your dad and your mom were the infamous Ino-Shika-Chou team of the Leaf" she asked them and they both understood what she was talking about.
"Oh yeah, I know. Also, our grandfathers formed the previous Ino-Shika-Chou team before them. Grandma Yoshino told me about it" Shikaien said while recalling something his paternal grandmother had told him.
Chouta nodded. "Exactly, which means that since our parents and grandfathers were good teammates we should also be good teammates and form this generation's Ino-Shika-Chou trio!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm.
But she could see her teammates look at her dumbfounded, much to her confusion. Apparently, they were not so interested in this subject. "Well, what I do know is that every single leader of the Nara clan has had the word "shika" in their names. Not that we look like deers or anything but it's running in the family" Shikaien explained, remembering what he knew of his family names. "But my dad told me that I was simply not named because of family tradition, I was named after Shikaku Nara, my paternal grandfather who died during the war" he then recalled the story his father had told him.
"I know that. My grandpa told me how both he and Inojin's grandpa sacrificed themselves so that our parents would win the world war" Chouta said, remembering the stories both her father and grandfather would tell her about their role in the prievious world war. She had been fascinated, yet saddened by the loss of human lives at the same time. "From what my dad says, there has been few Akimichi heiresses as far as history knows. I mean, I'll admit that I wasn't much of a follower on history, but you catch my drift" she then remarked.
Inojin began recalling to how he had been named. "All the leaders of the Yamanaka clan have had their word "ino" in it. And since I was born first, my mother had the pleasure of naming me. She wanted to honor my maternal grandfather who had died during the world war. So that's why I was named Inojin. My father seemed to accept it, to some extent. But I heard that he was the one who named Shunsuke" the boy with the ponytail remembered the story of his birth. Inojin couldn't help but to glance at his handpalm. "But even as I am Yamanaka, I also carry the blood of Uchiha within me. Many say that the clan was evil and power-hungry. But I am not my ancestors, nor am I my father" he then explained about the bloodline he carried. While Chouta was curious to know more, Shikaien was not.
"Anyway, I still don't get what all this talk have to do with us busting out of this craphole" Shikaien said while yawning lazily.
"What I'm suggesting is that we make our own team!" she declared with enthusiasm. "We may not be the same as our parents and grandparents, but we're still making our own mark in history" she pointed out to them.
Inojin slowly smirked after seeing her enthusiasm. "So then, that makes our team the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio? I must admit that it sounds interesting" he admitted to his friends.
Chouta nodded gleefully, but she suddenly snapped and reached for something in her pockets. Both of her comrades wondered what it was. She then held a key in her tubby fingers, much to their surprises.
"Woah, where the hell did you find that key?" Shikaien asked while he was stunned by seeing her holding a key.
The chubby girl turned around to face one of the dead ANBU-watchers lying along the stairs and she sighed sadly. "I saw that one of those ANBU-watchers was holding onto this key in his left hand. It's obvious that they planned on laying a key here, before taking off. But that's when they got murdered" she told them while feeling sad of their fate.
Shikaien put his hand on her shoulder and she gladly accepted it. The dark blonde-haired boy fixed a smirk upon his face while eying her. "Don't mourn their deaths, Chouta. We're gonna avenge them by kicking those Sound ninjas' asses" he said to her and she nodded with determination.
Inojin smiled slightly by seeing this, as he was up for a battle against those Sound ninjas. "I guess that was the other news you wanted to share with us, right?" he asked her.
But suddenly, the chubby girl began gathering chakra within her body. She was filled with determination while facing the wall of earth. She was using her clan's body expansion technique. And both Shikaien and Inojin watched her with interest.
"EXPANSION JUTSU!" Chouta cried and suddenly, her body formed itself into a round while that was spinning around thanks to her chakra. She kept spinning and spinning, until she had enough speed and strength. "HUMAN BOULDER!" she finally released her technique and rolled towards the wall of earth like a giant ball.
As she finally hit the wall with such power, her teammates could see that it was starting to crack slowly. It didn't take long before the entire wall collapsed, leaving the way to the cave's exit open and passable. While Chouta kept rolling, Inojin and Shikaien ran as quickly as they could to catch up with her.
Inside a tower, the ruined city of Shimbala
Having just arrived at the ruined city of Shimbala, Naruto and his associates had to make sure that all the cargo was unloaded. But while they did that, he along with his associates had a meeting in one of the many ruined towers, which could still be used as a meeting room. But the reason they had this meeting was serious.
In the end of the old wooden table, two ANBU-watchers were being treated their injuries by medical ninjas. Sai stood behind them to explain everything to his superiors.
"I'm thankful every one of you could come up here" Sai thanked them with a nod before continuing. "We found these two standing outside the gates, begging to be let in. They were in serious condition and barley had enough strength to even stand up. It's fortunate that we were inside the city to open its gates" he added with a short explanation.
"I see" Naruto noted lowly while eyeing the two shinobis, who had taken off their masks to get their faces treated. "Can you two speak?" he asked them lowly while sitting to their level.
The first one who was tanned-skinned nodded while wincing in pain. "Yeah….but I was stabbed in my stomach so….." he suddenly coughed up blood while he was speaking, making everyone feel worried for his condition.
"I think they shouldn't speak much, Master Naruto. They must save their energy" one of the medics advised him and he gladly accepted it.
"But we still need to know where they were prior to being reducesd to...this" Shikamaru said while pointing out to the shinobis' conditions.
Suddenly, the other ANBU-watcher who was paled-skinned raised his hand, indicating that he had enough strength to explain. All eyes were on him and they made sure not to pressure him.
"Tell me, friend. Where on this island were you and your partner stationed?" Naruto asked him lowly with respect.
"We two….plus a couple of our comrades…..were positioned on the snowy tops, near the Shrine of Asura" he answered while trying not to cough up blood.
Everyone knew where that place was. It was near the shrine where the Orb of Asura was lying. Shikamaru approached to the shinobi's level and faced him. "Then I guess you four were near the orb then" he remarked grimly.
"But suddenly…we noticed three strangers dressed white robes…..entering the cave. So we had to see if they were participants….but we were wrong" the shinobi revealed to them.
Everyone's eyes widened with shock while hearing the shinobi's words. They wanted to know more about from his story.
"Could you describe those three strangers with just a few words?" Naruto asked him and he nodded slightly.
"White hoods…pale skins…blue eyes…..and incredibly amounts of chakra" he said as he was shivering with fear.
As Naruto and the others listened closely, they could see that the tanned-skinned shinobi was now raising his hand, signalling that he was able to speak clearly. Shikamaru faced him.
"Did you also witness those strangers? I mean, did they do something in the shrine?" he asked him and he nodded his head as a yes.
"Those blue-eyed bastards…..slaughtered the ANBU-watchers stationed by the shrine. One by one…..our comrades fell before them…and they walked up the stairs and took the orb" he revealed to them.
"It looks like we've got treasure hunters skulking around the Train Mountains" Ibiki noted grimly after hearing this. "Whoever they are, they sound ruthless" he added.
"They resorted to such murderous actions…for the sake of an orb!?" Lee asked in outrage. "Have they no shame!?" he added.
"Apparently not" Kiba answered his question.
"Naruto, Shikamaru. Ask them how they got these injuries. Did those strangers do this to them?" Hinata asked while observing their injuries.
But both men shook their heads as a no and Naruto and his friends wondered why that couldn't be true. "If so, then tell us how you got them" Naruto said while facing them with a look of understanding.
"Just when those monsters were about to exit the cave….they spotted us" the pale-skinned shinobi told them. "But our two comrades…..insisted on letting us flee and warn you about this event. They stood behind to keep those bastards occupied for our sakes!" he added while tears were streaming from his eyes.
The tanned-skinned shinobi calmed down his comrade before continuing from where he left. "With tough luck, we managed to flee from the attackers' sights. We headed down towards the jungle, hoping we could use it to camouflage ourselves from them, while heading to Shimbala. But as we ran along the branches….we suddenly stumbled upon a rope tied to one of the trees. And before we knew it…..wooden spears suddenly headed straight towards us….and I got one in my stomach and one in my right leg!" he answered them.
Naruto and his associates were shocked over hearing his explanation. They couldn't believe what they had just been told.
"I don't get it. Laying deadly traps is prohibited now, as you can only defeat competitors through fights! Something is not right" Anko said grimly.
"From what he tells us, someone is laying out deadly traps around the jungle. Almost like poacher traps" Sai remarked by hearing this. "I just hope that none of the genins have been caught in them" he added.
The survivor still had enough strenght to speak. "Actually, once we managed to pull out the spears from our bodies….we discovered more traps…but many of this year's participants had fallen to them. We spotted a couple of Grass and Rain ninjas lying dead in a hole where wooden spears was erected at the bottom of the hole. It was fucked horrible!" he explained while crying.
"THIS IS MADNESS!" Kiba roared in anger and faced Naruto and Shikamaru. "ALL OUR CHILDREN ARE OUT THERE AND THEY COULD PROBABLY BE DEAD AT ANY MINUTE!" he growled at them.
Naruto sighed in irritation by seeing him behaving this way. "Kiba, for the love of….." he said, but Kiba was not finished.
"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME! WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE THIS ISLAND FOR THE SECOND PHASE, HUH!? IT AIN'T SAFE HERE, GODDAMNIT!" he hit back at Naruto and Shikamaru.
Shikamaru could not stand being treated this way, so he faced him with a similar look. "Calm the fuck down, Kiba! It's not like that me, Naruto and Konohamaru knew that there were deadly traps and treasure hunters on this island!" he countered the brown-haired man's aggressiveness.
Kiba gritted his teeth in anger in return. "NOT KNOWING!? YOU ASSWIPES!" he roared again, but this time, his wife tried to calm him down.
"Kiba, stop this outburst at once!" she called out to him with a strict voice. "We can work this out!" she added to him.
The brown-haired man faced his wife with an offended look on his face. "QUIT BEING SO DAMN NAÏVE, HINATA! BOTH TAKEDA AND MINAMI ARE OUT THERE, DON'T YOU GET IT!?" he asked her with anger.
Naruto could not stand seeing Kiba treat his wife with such aggressiveness, so he stepped forward and stood between her and him. Kiba was outraged by this, while Hinata was stunned when she saw the man she formerly had a crush on standing in front of her.
"Listen to what Hinata just said, Kiba! We will work this out, one way or another!" he said strictly while facing Kiba with eyes of disappointment. "Now, as a friend, I kindly ask you to cooperate with me" he then said lowly, not resorting to anger.
After facing the blonde-haired man with an angered look, Kiba only grunted in return and walked away from him. Hinata was filled with outrage over seeing her husband behaving this way.
"Come back here, Kiba. Don't walk away from this!" she urged him to stay and help Naruto, but he completely ignored his wife's plea.
As Kiba neared the exit, he could see Sasuke leaning against the wall. The raven-haired man only faced him with a smug look on his face, much to Kiba's confusion.
"I must admit, you really haven't changed at all, Kiba" Sasuke commented while facing him.
The brown-haired man gritted his teeth in anger and flipped his middle finger at Sasuke before exiting. "Fuck off, emo! You think you are any different!?" he asked before taking his leave. As much as Sasuke couldn't stand being insulted, he didn't feel like beating up a sore loser like Kiba to a pulp.
Sasuke closed his eyes while leaning against the wall. "And people say I'm a disgrace to the way of the shinobi?" he asked his comrades in the meeting room.
Shikamaru only shrugged in return. "Tch, what a damned fool!" he expressed his distaste of Kiba. "Still acting like a teenaged hothead!" he added.
Hinata was facing the ground in despair, but she was calmed down by Naruto. She greatly appreciated his support to her as he had done it in the past. Tears began streaming from her eyes, but she did not cry. "I'm sorry for his behaviour….I just don't know how to make him listen" she said while sobbing.
"Don't feel bad over yourself, Hinata. Kiba might be stubborn, but he'll soon realise his mistakes. I promise you that" the blonde-haired assured him. "And besides, I haven't given up on him. We've known each other since we were kids so there's no reason for me to completely reject him. I only hope that he can see the error of his ways" he added with a short explanation.
Hinata smiled lightly at him, as she knew that Naruto spoke the truth. "Yes….you are right" she said. "And truth be told, I understand his rage. I, too, am worried about our twins and their safety. But I won't give into despair just yet, even if it tries to control my mind" the bluenette remarked, realizing that a part of Kiba's rage was justified.
Everyone in the room smiled at this, as they knew that no matter how dire the situation was, Naruto would always find a solution, even though it was not an easy one.
"But what do we do now, Naruto?" Sai asked him with a worried tone. "Shall we increase the security on this island?" he asked him.
Naruto nodded. "It this rate, it would be wise to do so" he said and suddenly stepped in the middle of the room. "However, I would also like you, Lee, Sasuke, Hinata and Kiba to head for the Shrine of Asura. This will require some investigation" he said to everyone while facing Sai.
"Understood" Sai replied to his request. "In addition, I shall also take with me a couple of my trusted subordinates" he said and Naruto approved it.
Lee smiled by hearing this. "I'll definitely do that, Naruto! You can count on my support!" Lee said while giving Naruto his thumb, much to his embarrassment.
Sasuke walked over to the blonde-haired man with serious eyes. "Very well, I shall play along for now" he said lowly to him, making his rival chuckle in amusement.
"I will make Kiba come with me on this one. But rest assured, you have our full support, Naruto" Hinata assured him, making him smile in return.
"But with all due respect Naruto, Lady Tsunade should be informed about this. Remember, she and a few of her trusted associates will arrive here in a few days" Anko suddenly reminded him. "To be frank, I think Lady Tsunade shouldn't be leaving the village in light of what has happened on this island. What if those treasure hunters are after her?" she asked him while sounding a bit stressed.
Naruto nodded in agreement and showed understanding for Anko's concern. "I will most certainly send word to Grandma Tsunade about what has transpired here. However, it is up to her whether she wants to witness the third phase or not. I can't and will not force her" he said with reason in his voice.
"Yeah, that's the exact words I wanted to hear from you" she said with a smile.
But all of a sudden, an ANBU-watcher entered the room while bowing to his superiors with respect. All eyes were focused on him, as they knew he had something to tell them.
"I humbly apologise for interrupting this meeting. But Konohamaru Sarutobi and his team of jounins have arrived in Shimbala" he revealed to them.
All eyes widened in surprise, especially Naruto. "Do they have serious injuries?" he asked him.
"No, they only have a few scratches, which they say is from the falling rocks they encountered while taking the dangerous route" the ANBU-watcher replied to him.
Naruto nodded in understanding before facing everyone in the room. "I think we need to have a few words with Konohamaru on what has happened. It's the right thing to do, even though I am reluctant to tell him" he said grimly, as he was reluctant to tell him that, considering that Konohamaru was leading the second phase.
On the snowy tops
The Sound ninjas were standing in front of the Mist ninjas, on the snowy plains. So far, no fight had erupted between them yet, but Jurou had grown spikes on his arms and elbows. The orange-haired boy was filled with anger over seeing them, and the Sound ninjas didn't in the slightest get a clue about what he was saying, even though they knew who Orochimaru was.
"What do you mean by spawns of Orochimaru?" Noburu asked him. "You think we are his children or something?" he asked again, with a raised eyebrow.
Jurou was preparing his fighting stance and they could see that he was ready to attack. Both his teammates reacted cautiously to this.
"Jurou, restrain yourself!" Aoi urged his teammate.
But the orange-haired boy did not listen, as he charged towards the Sound trio in fast speed. The trio spread themselves before he could land a punch on one of them, and an explosion appeared on the snow.
Kotone and Aoi headed straight towards their teammate, hoping to put a stop on him. "Damn it! Now he really is pissed!" Kotone cursed while seeing Jurou behaving this way.
Jurou was still standing in the snow, trying to get a glimpse of the Sound ninjas. But before he knew it, something appeared from the snow and snatched his body, including arms and legs. It was Rei, who was using her elastic powers to hold him while avoiding the spikes. The reaven-haired girl formed a smirk on her face.
"You ain't getting free from my grip so easily! I shall squeeze out your guts in an instant!" she exclaimed with no remorse in her voice. Surprisingly, she could the one she was strangling laugh at her threats, and it made her frustrated. "What's so funny, Mist Village-dipshit!?" she demanded to know.
"Squeeze out my guts? You suffer a sad delusion" Jurou replied and all of a sudden, more spikes began appearing around his arms. But most spikes appeared on his back and as a result, Rei got stabbed by them, mostly in her stomach and chest. The raven-haired girl screamed in pain by feeling it.
"ARGH, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she screamed in agony while cursing.
The orange-haired boy smirked by seeing her in pain. "What irony. I expected you Sound ninjas not to underestimate the Shikotsumiyaku!" he told her.
Rei widened after hearing this. "The Shikotsumiyaku….wait are you saying you're….." she was stunned when she got the facts in her head.
"I don't care whether you knew Orochimaru or not! He and the rest of you Sound Village-scoundrels shall pay for what you did to my uncle!" Jurou roared in anger threw Rei to the snow. As she was lying there, struggling to get up on her feet, the orange-haired boy faced her with killing intent, much to her fear. "Hell awaits you!" he said while facing her.
But right beside him, Yuudai was standing there, preparing a trick. "Ninja Art: Advanced Sleeping Gas!" he suddenly shouted as a chunk of gas was shot out of his mask. The gas floated around Jurou but it also floated around Rei. "Rei, hold your breath!" he told her and she did immediately.
"What is this!?" Jurou shouted in anger as he could feel his eyes beginning to blur. It was apparent that he was beginning to fall asleep. As much as he tried to resist it, the gas was too strong for him. The orange-haired boy fell onto the snow.
"What did he just do!?" Kotone asked in anger.
Aoi managed to calm her down. "I think what that masked guy just did was to make Jurou fall asleep. He used some kind of jutsu which is nothing like I've ever heard of" he explained while seeing this.
Noburu appeared from the snow and joined Yuudai in helping Rei getting back on her feet. Rei was struggling in getting up on her feet, considering her injuries.
"Can you stand up?" Yuudai asked as he and Noburu helped her.
"Do I look like I'm in condition to do so!? I just got myself stabbed by that freak's spikes!" she retorted back at him.
"Those aren't spikes, Rei" Noburu commented while facing Jurou's sleeping body. "From what he told you, the Shikotsumiyaku…..I can't believe that he'd really possess it" he said in disbelief.
Rei was getting furious by hearing this. "What's that supposed to mean!?" she snapped at him.
Noburo ignored her outburst and looked at Jurou's spikes with caution. "Those…are actually his bones" he said.
Rei grunted by hearing this. "So fucking what!? Now get your asses moving before I strangle your bodies!" she said while coughing.
"My gas should be able to let that dude sleep for about an hour. But since he was powerful, who knows how long it will last" Yuudai stated to his teammates. "Now hurry! We better scram before something else…." Yuudai suddenly stopped speaking, once he noticed that he couldn't move a muscle.
"Quit playing the joker, Yuudai! We need to get moving!" Noburu said, as he believed that it was one of Yuudai's jokes.
"It's not me! I can't move my body!" Yuudai said while feeling his whole body completely paralyzed.
But Kotone and Aoi could see someone standing not far from the Sound ninjas' location. It was Team Ayumu, who had arrived while Jurou was having his show with them. But what was noticeable was that Shikaien was using the Shadow Possession-jutsu on Yuudai. Eventually, the trio of Sound ninjas discovered this and they were outraged by what they saw.
Shikaien smirked while seeing Yuudai struck by his technique. "Whazzup, jackasses!" he said with confidence.
"What the…it's them!" Yuudai said while facing Shikaien. "How the hell did you three punks escape from the cave!?" he added with a question.
This time, it was Chouta's turn to answer. "You Sound ninjas completely underestimated the strength of the Akimichi clan! That wall of earth could not withstand my Human Boulder technique!" she said while sticking out her tongue at them. "You are such a trio of dummies!" she added with a giggle.
Noburu fixed an angry look at his gravely injured teammate. "Rei, you dumb bitch! Your earth wall was not strong enough to keep them stuck inside that cave! You're so out of our team once you've recovered!" he lashed out against her.
"Kiss my bleeding ass, four-eyes!" Rei retorted back to him.
Aoi and Kotone were surprised by seeing them appearing here. While Aoi was filled with suspicion, Kotone had her eyes completely focused on Inojin, as he stood there eyeing the Sound ninjas coldly. The light brown-haired boy noticed his teammate's behaviour and sweated by seeing it.
"Well, looks like your biggest crush is here!" he said with sarcasm.
But the red-haired girl faced him with anger and was about to draw her blade at him. Based on her expression, she was willing to do so unless Aoi took that back.
"You wanna run that by me again!?" Kotone asked him threateningly.
Aoi sighed deeply before replying. "I was only being sarcastic. Now don't draw your blade at me" he said and she immediately returned to normal. However, Aoi was not finished talking with her yet. "If you wanna use your blade, you can use it on those Leaf ninjas, considering that we are in a competition now" he said to her.
Kotone only crossed her arms while observing the newly arrived team. She admitted that she was interested in learning what abilities the possessed, but she was sort of reluctant to face Inojin, but she would if it was necessary.
Inojin and Chouta walked towards Noburu, who was facing them while Yuudai was holding Rei while being paralyzed by Shikaien. The four-eyed boy faced the chubby girl and the raven-haired boy with eyes of annoyance. Surprisingly, he fixed a smug look while facing Inojin.
"What are you smiling for?" Inojin asked as he faced him with seriousness.
Noburu adjusted his glasses before answering. "Oh, I was just realizing the fact that you reminded me of someone, someone me and my partners had dealt with yesterday" he said in an amused voice.
Inojin was not getting a clue of what he was speaking of. "Just who do I remind you of? Is it someone who ended up beating your sorry hide?" he mockingly asked him, making both Chouta and Shikaien laugh their butts off. Even Kotone and Aoi were finding this hilarious.
Noburu only gritted his teeth in irritation by seeing the raven-haired boy insult him like that. But he brushed it off and fixed a grin across his face. "Let me just ask you something, Uchiha boy. You wouldn't happen to know some dim-witted fool by the name of Shunsuke Uchiha, would you?" he asked him.
The raven-haired boy widened his eyes by hearing this. His teammates did the exact same thing, as they wondered whether the boy in front of them had stumbled upon Shunsuke and his gang, prior to coming here in the snowy tops.
Noburu mused to himself that his opponents had fallen into this, so he wanted to toy with them more. "I take it he's your twin brother, correct? Yesterday, me and my partners found him and his teammates skulking around in the jungle. We chased them until they stood on a tree, covering before us" he told Inojin while he was listening. "After they put up a bravely resistance, I easily ended them by using a lava-based jutsu. This made those fools jump down to a nearby gorge to their death….." Noburu was explaining, but he was stopped once he could feel a hard punch on his stomach.
This punch came from Inojin, who had used his remarkable speed to appear right in front of Noburu. The grey-haired boy could feel how painful it felt, as Inojin faced him with no remorse. The punch sent him away, but the boy with glasses managed to keep his feet on the snowy ground. But Noburu coughed up blood as he tried to regain his composure.
"Urgh…that hurt, you asshole!" the grey-haired boy cursed while glaring at him. "Didn't you get what I was telling you!? We have disposed of your brother and his misbegotten friends!" he retorted while drying his mouth
Inojin readied his fighting stance while facing him deadly. "Quit spilling all this nonsense at me! Of course I heard what you did, but I know that a team like Shunsuke's doesn't go down so easily" he said to him. The raven-haired boy suddenly forced a smirk on his face. "And you say you made them fall into a gorge? This only demonstrates what a clueless and pathetic shinobi you really are!" he made an insult directed at him.
Noburu couldn't stand being badmouthed by him any longer, so he put his finger onto the snowy ground. "I will shut you up for good! ICE PRISON JUTSU!" he said and a barrier of ice appeared from where Inojin stood. While seeing him caught inside it, Noburu was satisfied, until he noticed that what he actually caught was just a substitution. "A substitution!" he snapped in caution.
"I'm over here, bookworm!" the taunting voice of Inojin could be heard, as he was heading straight towards his opponent by his right side. He threw some kunais and shurriken towards him, making Noburu immediately throw something back to stop Inojin's from hitting him.
This made Noburu smirk at him. "Heh, nice try there, Uchiha! But your plans were short-lived!" he taunted Inojin, who didn't necessarily seem offended.
"Let's see if you can catch up to this!" Inojin said while doing a hand seal. "Fire Style Ninja Art: Fire Run!" he said and all of a sudden, Inojin's feet generated flames on the snowy ground. He then ran around his opponent in a circle, resulting in a ring of fire being created around the grey-haired boy.
Aoi and Kotone were just as amazed by Inojin's skills as his teammates were, and they enjoyed watching this from the side-lines. But in the meantime, they also used this opportunity to carry Jurou's sleeping body away from all this clashing.
Yuudai was growing frustrated by seeing his partner caught in the ring of fire and faced Rei. But to his surprise, he suddenly found himself unable to control his right hand, which was used to slap Rei in her face. This made her fall on the snow.
"What the hell, Yuudai!?" she asked.
"It wasn't me!" he tried to defend himself. But he could notice that while Shikaien was holding him paralysed, he could also control his movements while he was caught by Shikaien's jutsu. Shikaiensmirked by seeing the scene he created while waving his right hand whimsically.
"Oops! Where did that come from?" he mockingly asked and laughed. "Ya know something, gasman? You shouldn't be slapping your injured teammate ya know" he added while continuing laughing.
Chouta sweat-dropped by seeing Shikaien treating them like puppets. "You really have fun, don't you Shikaien?" she asked him.
But all eyes were on the ring of fire, as it began disintegrating. Inojin was caught by surprise in seeing this. From where he stood, Noburu had drawn his war-glaives and held them in each arm. The grey-haired boy smirked at his opponent while seeing him like this.
"You thought you could hold me trapped in fire?" he asked him. "You are naïve, Inojin Uchiha" he said while displaying his war-glaives.
Yuudai smiled when seeing him like this. "So, you've finally resorted to use these, huh? That should ensure our victory" he thought while seeing it.
Inojin only stood his ground while facing his opponent. "What are those war-glaives you carry? Are they some kind of weapons or something?" he asked him with little enthusiasm.
Noburu still faced him smugly. "Actually, I prefer to call these things my tools. You see, these glaives of mine can grant me the power of any elemental I desire. Right now, I sued them to make your ring of fire disappear" he explained.
Chouta, who was listening to this closely, realised what the four-eyed boy were speaking of. She was sure that Inojin had also figured it out. "Hold on, you used….wind to free yourself from the fire?" she asked him.
Shikaien fixed an outraged look on his face. "Get real! Like something like that could've happened!" he said to her.
Noburo only laughed by hearing them. "Your girly teammate speaks the truth, punk. Yes, I did in fact use wind to make his flames disappear" he explained to the Leaf trio. He suddenly began pointing the blades towards an empty space beside him and from it, a berg of ice emerged from the ground. This surprised everyone, even Inojin. "Impressed by what you see? Right now, I used ice to raise this iceberg from the snow and look at result" he said while admiring his own work.
While Inojin did get a glimpse of the iceberg, his face was mostly fixed upon Noburu, who had put his glaives on his back again. This meant that he was up to something and the raven-haired boy could not lose attention.
"Let's see if you are tough to stand against this!" Noburu exclaimed and did a few hand seals. "Ice Style: Dragon versus Tiger!" he bellowed and the ice from the iceberg shaped into that of a tiger. The tiger then headed straight towards his opponent. "THIS IS THE END FOR YOU, NOW DIEEE!" Noburu shouted gleefully.
Inojin was feeling a hint of desperation in his black eyes. But something happened with them. They changed into that of the Sharingan, as Inojin had just activated them while seeing the ice tiger heading straight towards him. "I can't lose now. This is only the beginning. And I must become stronger to surpass HIM! Yes…I SHALL SURPASS YOU, SASUKE!" he said as he was thinking about his reason for not dying. Even though he knew that his father was among this world's strongest shinobis, Inojin had always expressed his desire to surpass his father. "It looks like I will require your assistance now, crimson eyes" Inojin said and he did a few hand seals in a fast pace. "This might take a toll on me, but it's worth it!" he thought while doing the hand seals. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he shouted and blew out a fireball, which was formed like a dragon's head.
Noburu widened his eyes by seeing this, and he couldn't believe it. "What the hell!? How is he able to master such jutsus perfectly!?" he asked while seeing the fireball clashing with the ice tiger. This resulted in a large explosion being created by those two elements colliding with one another.
Chouta and Shikaien were caught up in this and they were blown away by the explosion's aftereffect, as were everyone else, including Yuudai and Rei. Shikaien lost his hold on Yuudai, but the masked boy seemed too confused to notice that he was freed.
"WE BETTER GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Aoi said to his teammate while carrying Jurou. "THIS PLACE IS BECOMING A BATTLEFIELD!" he said to her.
But Kotone faced him defiantly. "NO, WE'RE STAYING AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! THE FUN HAS ONLY STARTED!" she said, much to Aoi's anger and irritation.
"That girl is so damn stubborn!" he thought in his head.
The explosion resulted in a pile smoke being created, and it floated above the snowy plains. Those who were skulking around the jungle could see the smoke and it signalled that something special was happening. Who could've won this clash?
To be continued…
Author's note: That was chapter 24. Hope you all enjoyed this one. Next might be a little complicated, but I would like to give you all a brief glimpse of what happens in the Leaf Village. Stay tuned, friends!