Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.
Chapter 30: To Be a Shinobi
Inside the Hokage Monument
Both Shunsuke and Ochinko were caught completely by surprise when seeing their names standing on the screen. It was something that they didn't even expect to happen. But what was noticeable was that both Ochinko and Shunsuke managed to see one another standing on the opposite tribunals. Surprisingly, Ochinko nodded his head with a gentle smile on his face. This stunned Shunsuke, but he eventually fixed a similar smile on his face.
Shunsuke was eventually approached by his teammates, who each encouraged him to do his best and not lose focus. Even Menma was giving him his support.
"Alright, you're the first from our team. May fortune smile upon you, Shunsuke" Menma wished him the best of luck and the raven-haired boy happily appreciated it.
"Just don't let your guard down during this match, pal. Ochinko may not look like it, but he's an opponent not to underestimate" Takeda advised him cautiously. Arata barked in support of him.
Shunsuke nodded his head in approval. "Thanks for reminding me, Takeda. And thanks for the encouragement, Arata!" he said while patting Arata's head, something he greatly appreciated.
His pink-haired teammate smiled at him, and it made him feel awkward for some reason. There she was, looking at him with her beautiful eyes of hers. It almost made Shunsuke lose focus, until Takeda waved his wand in front of his face.
"Hey loverboy, you have an opponent waiting for ya. You can flirt with Nashiko later, okay?" the brown-haired boy reminded him, causing Shunsuke to immediately head for the fighting ring. Nashiko only glared at him for his words. "What?" Takeda asked her.
"What do you mean by flirting with me? I would really like to know that myself, muttface!" she began an argument with his brown-haired teammate.
Menma watched with a smile, as he could see the raven-haired boy standing ready to fight. "We're counting on you, Shunsuke. Even though you're not Inojin, I still have faith in you" he thought in his head.
Ochinko was also having a few words of advice with his team before he was fighting. He warmly accepted their support of him, including their sensei.
"Be on your guard, Ochinko. Shunsuke may not be as talented as Inojin, but he's not someone you should write off quickly" Kazue advised him lowly while facing the team they would be up against in this match. "I have faith in you" she added with an encouraging smile directed towards him.
The teal-haired boy smiled in return. "Thanks Kazue-sensei. I will do my best" he said in return.
"Good luck Ochinko, but remember, don't screw up" Minami said to him.
Saburou only sighed in annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be encouraging towards him?" he quizzed her, but the bluenette only ignored his words. The boy with the sunglasses then focused his gaze on Ochinko and gave him an approving nod. "Just be careful down there. That's all I ask of you" he said to Ochinko.
"I won't go down so easily, my friends. And neither will Shunsuke. But we hope to have a duel we will never forget" he said to them before jumping from the tribunal to the ring. The teal-haired boy could immediately spot Shunsuke landing a few distances from where he stood. They readied themselves for combat and Ochinko drew out his brush. "I hope you're ready for a good match, Shunsuke" he said while facing him.
The raven-haired boy smiled in return and drew out a kunai to face him. "May the best shinobi win" he said in return. Truth is, both Shunsuke and Ochinko didn't necessarily possess any enmity towards each other, something their teams noted. However, the two boys knew that in this fight, one of them had to emerge the winner.
Realizing that the combatants were ready, Udon gave them the green light to fight. "Begin!" he said and the match began.
Surprisingly, it was Ochinko who made the first move, as he drew a scroll from his left hand and used the brush in his right hand to draw something on it. He did that relatively fast. "Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll" he said and some snakes he had drawn became alive and flew straight towards their target.
Shunsuke was amazed by this. "This must be the jutsu that allows his drawings to become real. Impressive!" he noted in his head, but got cautious once the snakes almost neared him. Before they could attack him, the young boy did an impressive job by jumping over them, causing the snakes to bite in the empty space that was left for them. Ochinko was surprised by how talented he was in avoiding his snakes.
"He managed to jump over them and land before me…..how incredible!" he exclaimed, but paused once he could see Shunsuke throw shurriken towards him. The teal-haired boy was too slow to react or avoid them, so they hit him perfectly. But something was not right.
"Wait…..this isn't the real Ochinko!" Shunsuke snapped once he could see that what he had thrown at was only a clone made of ink. The figure began disintegrating.
However, the snakes that had previously been sent to attack Shunsuke, was now transforming into the real Ochinko. Shunsuke immediately turned around and witnessed with caution. Once it was finished, the ink disappeared and Ochinko revealed himself doing a hand seal. "Ink Clone Jutsu" he said after returning to normal. "Nice moves there, Shunsuke. But I'm done being nice to you" he said with a slight frown.
Shunsuke faced him with a determined look on his face, as he was also filled with confidence. "Thanks for the compliment. You're not so bad yourself" he said in return.
Ochinko fixed a smug smile before doing hand seals in a surprisingly slow pace. His raven-haired opponent stood his ground and hoped to use this as an opportunity to strike him with his own jutsu. So he also did a few hand seals, although faster than Ochinko.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Shunsuke said and blew out a fireball towards his opponent.
Ochinko smiled at this. "Not happening today my, friend. Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu!" he said and all of a sudden, he disappeared into the ground, thus avoiding Shunsuke's fireball. The raven-haired boy noticed this with distress.
"Oh crap, he disappeared right before my fireball could hit him!" he thought in his head while noticing that his opponent was nowhere to be seem. He fixed his eyes on both sided, wondering whether he was planning to attack him from where he stood.
Shunsuke's eyes snapped, once he could hear something rise from the floor right behind him. He turned around and saw Ochinko about to slice him with his kunai. But the raven-haired boy was fast enough to deliver a punch at his stomach and it was painful.
But what he didn't know was that the one he just punched was not the real Ochinko. Shunsuke widened by seeing yet another ink clone disintegrate. This made him distressed. "It was only an ink clone. Damn it. Where is he?" he wondered while searching for his whereabouts.
He could hear yet another sound coming from the floor and it appeared right before his eyes. He saw Ochinko rise from the ground but he was throwing kunais and shurriken towards him and they were fast. Shunsuke realized that he had to dodge them, but he could only do so with the kunais. The shurriken however, managed to inflict injuries upon his knees and arms and it hurt him.
"I feel it stings, but I must press on!" he said inside of him, as he ran straight towards his opponent, defying the pain he felt. Shunsuke eventually jumped launched himself at his opponent to force him to the ground, something he did. But as he held Ochinko to the ground, the teal-haired boy smirked and once again revealed to be another ink clone. But the ink began forming into something and the raven-haired boy quickly got up on his feet. "What is this!?" he wondered loudly.
"I suppose I scared you there, Shunsuke" the voice came from Ochinko as he revealed himself while covered in swirling ink. He fixed a smug look on his opponent, who was shocked to see him again. "This is the Ink Mist Jutsu. I used it while my second clone you just launched at threw my kunais and shurriken on you" he revealed to him.
Shunsuke's eyes widened. He had been tricked by Ochinko again and it only made him feel insecure. His teammates could notice this and they were worried. Ochinko's teammates however, were satisfied by Ochinko taking this duel seriously.
"Quit playing with me, Ochinko! I am ready for you!" Shunsuke said, but Ochinko only cooked an eyebrow in return.
"You are ready for me? But aren't you forgetting something that I left from my ink clone?" he said and pointed his brush to the two large lions that had been made behind his back. Shunsuke snapped in fear by what he witnessed, while Ochinko held a hand seal. "Ninja Art: Ink Flush!" he said and the lions made by the remaining ink from his ink clone began charging towards the stunned Shunsuke.
"No! I allowed myself to let my guard down, again! I cannot be defeated like this….NOT NOW!" he thought in the beginning, until he shouted in anger at the end. The lions were about to attack him, until they stopped a near him.
Everyone was curious to what had happened and the mood was silent. The lions stood in the air, until they both began disintegrating into ink. Ochinko was stunned by what he witnessed. He could see his opponent holding a kunai in his right hand. But that was not just it. The raven-haired boy slowly turned around and his teal-haired opponent was given a shocking view.
Shunsuke stood there facing him, with his Sharingan activated. The young boy fixed a serious glance at him, but Ochinko didn't know how to respond to this. "Shunsuke….those eyes are the….." he was out of words.
Naruto and Tsunade both widened their eyes after what they discovered. They were filled with surprise over seeing Shunsuke having achieved the infamous Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan. "I don't believe it…Shunsuke….has achieved the Sharingan!" Naruto was at loss of words.
"Such determination" Tsunade said lowly by what she saw. "It's obvious that Shunsuke's insecurity forced him to activate those eyes" she noted.
Team Menma was amazed and shocked at the same time, especially Menma. "Now this is something I never expected to witness. Shunsuke has achieved the Sharingan, when the hell did he do that!?" the man with the ponytail wondered in his head.
"I think Shunsuke's had enough of being fooled by Ochinko. He's dead serious now" Takeda remarked while Arata barked in agreement.
Nashiko was fixing a worried look on her face, as she feared that Shunsuke would succumb to the hatred as his twin brother almost had on the Train Mountains. She silently prayed for this not to happen with Shunsuke. "Please Shunsuke, be reasonable when you defeat Ochinko and don't kill him" she said inside of her.
Shunsuke faced his opponent with a smug smile and prepared his fighting stance once again. This made Ochimko cautious and he stood his guard. "I won't let my guard this time, Ochinko. Just you wait!" he said as he was determined not to underestimate his opponent anymore.
"What happened just now?" Ochinko wondered aloud in his head. The teal-haired boy drew a scroll in his left hand and opened it. "Truth be told, I have never seen Shunsuke being like this. For some reason, he is beginning to look similar to Inojin" he added to his thoughts and held his brush tightly and drew something as fast as he could on the scroll. But as he drew, he could hear Shunsuke sprint towards him. This made him stressed and he unleashed yet another drawing. "Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll!" he declared and a giant dragon was sent towards Shunsuke.
The raven-haired boy gritted his teeth by seeing the beast heading towards him. But he eventually forced a smirk on his face and proceeded sprinting while doing some hand seals. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said and he suddenly split himself into three images. "Let's see if your dragon can guess which one of us is real!" the three Shunsukes said at the same time.
The dragon did not hesitate and he immediately barged for the one in the middle, which turned out to be a shadow clone. "Damn it! He attacked the wrong guy!" Ochinko cursed as he saw his dragon proceeding further into the empty space and eventually disintegrating. "What!? How in the world did they….." the young boy snapped once he saw the two clones running towards him carrying each a kunai in their hands. They had used it to slice the dragon while it was attacking the clone in the middle. Both clones smirked while Ochinko desperately reached for his kunais.
But Shunsuke and his shadow clone did a few hand seals as they neared Ochinko at it made him really cautious. "Fire Style Ninja Art: Fire Run!" they said together and began running around Ochinko in circles, creating a ring of fire in the process. Everyone was amazed by how Shunsuke was capable of techniques such as these.
As the teal-haired boy was trapped he saw no way out, except for the underground. So he did a few hand seals, but it was too late. Out from the fire, the real Shunsuke charged at him and delivered a kick to his chin, sending him flying up in the air. It was painful, but Ochinko didn't become paralyzed by it and quickly regained focus while in the air. "That was a cheap shot. I will begin the counterattack at…" the young boy paused once he noticed that Shunsuke was nowhere to be found on the ground, even inside the ring of fire. "He vanished….." he snapped but could feel somebody hanging over him in the air. It was his raven-haired opponent, who was about to perform some barrage on him.
"No hard feelings, Ochinko!" Shunsuke said with a kind smile, before shifting it into a determined frown. "Lion's Barrage!" he shouted and delivered a kick with his feet on his opponent, one by one.
This resulted in the teal-haired boy being sent directly towards the ground and he landed on his back. As Shunsuke landed before his opponent, he was worried about whether he had accidentally killed Ochinko. But all those worries were wiped away, once he could see his defeated opponent form a smile on his face and he briefly opened his eyes to see Shunsuke. In fact, he slowly raised his right hand and gave him a thumb up to him, much to the raven-haired boy's surprise.
"That was a great match, Shunsuke. I never expected you to possess such talents" he said lowly, making Shunsuke nod in return. "I hope we can duel some other time, just you and me. But until then…good luck, Shunsuke" he said and the teal-haired boy fell into his unconsciousness.
"I also thank you for this match, Ochinko. I will really like to battle you again someday" the young boy said and bowed his head in respect to his smiling opponent.
Udon had been watching this fight with interest and he was for some reason pleased with the results. "Winner by knockout: Shunsuke Uchiha" he declared Shunsuke the winner and cheering could immediately be heard from Nashiko.
"ALRIGHT, YOU DID IT SHUNSUKE! YOU SHOWED HIM!" she exclaimed loudly from the tribunal, much to Takeda and Arata's annoyances. Mamuro only chuckled nervously in return. Nashiko noticed Takeda's grimace and became furious. "WHAT KIND OF MORAL SUPPORT ARE YOU GIVING, TAKEDA!?" she asked him.
"For crying out loud, Nashiko! Shut your mouth for a minute or two!" Takeda hit back at her with irritation in his voice. But Nashiko only huffed in return.
But as Shunsuke had taken one last glance at Shunsuke before the medics took care of him, he returned to his teammates on the tribunal. As he approached them, he was immediately greeted by Nashiko in a tight hug. He then faced him with a slight smile.
"You did great out there Shunsuke! And that barrage of yours…..so cool!" the pinkette said to him.
Shunsuke smiled nervously in return. "Thanks….Nashiko….I" he suddenly snapped once he could feel that his body was hurt. "Ouch…..I guess I shouldn't much so much thanks to these injuries" he suggested to himself.
"Way to go, pal! You really deserve some credit, no kidding!" Takeda commended him while Arata barked in agreement.
Menma began patting Shunsuke's hair and he really appreciated it. "Solid work out there, kid. You really did your best out there as you said you would" he said while thinking about some other things in his head. "Although Isamu was a tougher opponent than Ochinko, Shunsuke improved his confidence of his abilities in this match. I hope he carries with it to the finals" he noted in his head with a smile.
While Team Menma was celebrating their victory, Team Kazue had different reactions to their loss. Kazue was watching the opposing team from their tribunal. "Having Shunsuke win was something even I never expected. I am a little bit hurt about losing this round" she admitted with a frown. But that frown eventually changed into that of a smile. "But then again, I have no right to judge them. This fight was something only Ochinko and Shunsuke were to experience, not us. So good work out there, boys" she said while musing over the fact.
"This is so stupid!" Minami said while slamming her fist on the tribunal's fence. "I specifically told Ochinko not to screw this up, and yet he never listens!" the bluenette threw a tantrum about their team's loss.
"I respect the outcome of this match. And I understand how you two were enjoying yourselves, Ochinko. Therefore I don't blame you for anything" Saburou noted in his head while musing over the fact. He had remained silent throughout the fight, but finally spoke up after getting annoyed by Minami's ranting. "If we lost this round, then how is your ranting gonna help us win the next one?" he asked her sternly.
Minami fixed her stern eyes upon his blonde-haired teammate, as she couldn't stand being questioned by Saburou. "Why don't you just shut your trap, bugpants?" she rudely asked him
Saburou did not back down from her disrespectful behaviour. "It's funny, because I was technically asking you the same thing just now, although in a more accurate manner, that is" he pointed out to her while adjusting his sunglasses.
The bluenette didn't feel like conversing with him any longer, so she huffed and stared towards another direction. She closed her bright eyes for a brief moment to think. "Ochinko may have lost his match, but I won't make the same mistake he did. I will beat whoever I am put against, whether it is a friend or a foe" she thought in her head and opened her eyes to see her mother standing near Naruto and the other associates. Her father was leaning against the whole with his eyes closed. The bluenette's formerly stern eyes shifted into that of sympathy. "Mom, I know that you are trying to move on…but I still feel that Aunt Hanabi and that old bastard has done little to make up for what they did to you. That is why I will reach to the finals, no matter the cost" she spoke inside of her while facing Hinata, who was more focused on waiting for the screen to announce the next fighters.
Naruto was smiling by seeing the outcome of this fight. "Your boys did good out there, Sasuke" he said as the raven-haired man stood behind him, leaning against the wall with a slight smile forming on his face. The blonde-haired man looked over his shoulders. "I take it you watched your sons' matches from the shadows, eh?" he quizzed him.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion, before closing his eyes to ignore Naruto's question. "I still watch my sons grow as they fight, Naruto" he said in return.
Tsunade had overheard their conversation, but as with Hinata, her eyes were also focused on the large screen, wondering who would fight next. "This will be the last fight before the break that lasts one and a half hour. So far, both the Uchiha-Yamanaka twins have shown capable results. But now that they have finished their matches, I really want to know who the other potential chuunins are" she noted in her head, as he eyes were focused on the screen.
While Shikaien and Chouta were in secret happy for Shunsuke's victory, they still felt a hint of uneasiness inside of them, as they wondered how Inojin would react. But their thoughts were interrupted by the cheerful voice coming from Ayumu. He had just returned after accompanying Inojin to the medics' quarters.
"Sorry for being late. I had to make sure that Inojin would be treated his injuries" he said with a smile and suddenly looked over to Team Menma. "I witnessed the medics carrying Ochinko on the way back here. Did Shunsuke win?" he asked them.
Shikaien smirked. "Damn straight" he said in return.
As much as it surprised the red-eyed man, he couldn't help but to feel happy for Menma as he understood what this feeling was like.
"Alright everyone, this will be the last duel before the one and a half hour long break, so you may be given some time to go visit the bathrooms if needed. And just so we're clear, there are actually bathrooms inside this area" Udon explained loudly for everyone to hear.
All the different teams watched in anticipation of who would fight against whom and wich teams would be included. The giant screen finally stopped switching and everyone was given the glimpse of the next duel.
AOI TERUMI
VS
TADESHI YAMASHIRO
The team from the Mist Village was surprised to discover that it was one of theirs turn now, or more specifically Aoi. The young boy with the azure eyes only mused at this. "It's about time. I was starting to get bored to death by just watching" he said while stretching his neck.
Kotone only fixed a stern look on him. "Why do you always have to get so cocky when you are the first in line?" she asked while crossing her arms.
"I'll take that as a compliment" Aoi sarcastically said before facing Jurou, who only glanced at him with his unfazed look. The brown-haired boy mused at this. "Come on, Jurou. Aren't you gonna wish me luck? I mean, Kotone did it" he asked and pointed out their four-eyed teammate's comment about Aoi, causing her to snap in irritation.
Jurou sighed at this before speaking up. "Would that even be necessary? I already know that you are more than capable of handling yourself in combat, Aoi" the orange-haired boy said lowly. "But still, if you insist on receiving the blessing from my fallen clan in your duel, then you shall have it….momentarily" he spoke up in a weird manner that even made his teammates confused.
But Aoi could understand the majority of his sentence and he appreciated his words. "Thank you, Jurou. I take your words kindly" he said with formality in his voice. He then fixed a brief glance on their teacher, who was leaning against the wall in a lazy manner. Aoi smirked. "You just stand there and relax, okay Kaito-sensei?" he said to him before heading for the fighting ground.
Kaito yawned after his brown-haired student disappeared. "Whatever. Just make this match quick. I could really use a drink in the break" he said loud enough for Aoi to hear, but the boy with azure eyes only ignored his words.
As he stood there waiting for his opponent, everyone else was interested to see one of the ninjas from the Mist Village fight. Tsunade and Naruto whispered about this quietly. "Hey Grandma, doesn't that kid look familiar?" he asked her.
"His name is Aoi Terumi. Based upon his surname, he must have a relation to the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi" Tsunade noted, but suddenly raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Isn't she a little too old to be a mother?" she suddenly asked a ridiculous question, making Naruto sweatdrop.
"I'm gonna pretend I never listened" he said to himself and refocused on the match that was about to commence. "So this kid is up against Tadeshi, huh? Well, I hope he watches his back, because Tadeshi isn't some clown, despite his ridiculous glasses" he thought while musing over the fact.
On the other tribunal, Tadeshi was having a little warm-up before jumping down to the fighting ground, much to Bunko's annoyance. "This will be fun. Wish me luck, okay?" he asked her.
"In your dreams, wacko!" Bunko muttered in return, causing Tadeshi to only scoff at her with his shoulders.
Ibiki shared Bunko's distaste of the young man with sunglasses. "For once, I really hope you lose this match" he noted in his head as Tadeshi's charisma failed to impress him.
But the man with the sunglasses eventually fixed a glance upon his old teammate Mamuro, who only raised an eyebrow in return. To the man with the ponytail's surprise, Tadeshi only grinned at him. Menma raised an eyebrow at this.
"What's with that smug look on your face?" he asked the man with sunglasses.
"Eh, it's nothing. I was hoping for a little encouragement from an old teammate here!" he said. "Come now, aren't you gonna wish me luck on this duel, handsome?" he asked him in a mockingly manner, causing Menma to sigh in irritation.
"If you so insist. Do your best out there, jackass" he said in a rude manner, causing Tadeshi to even laugh at him.
"Well, I guess I owe you one, Menma. See ya in the locker room and don't drop the soap!" he said in a humorous manner before jumping down to the fighting ground. He began waving his hands towards Naruto, who nervously did so in return. "HEY THERE NARUTO-SENSEI! I WILL DO MY BEST!" he shouted loudly for everyone to hear.
Menma and his students slumped while hearing this. Nashiko was really dumbfounded by the fact that Tadeshi used to be a student of her own father, as well as a teammate of Menma. But surprisingly, those two accepted his character, something which made her very curious to know why.
Aoi was growing tired of this foolishness. So he made a coughing sound to catch his opponent's attention. The man with sunglasses faced him with a raised eyebrow, as his opponent was fixing an annoyed look on his face.
"Are you finished with your random outbursts? We are about to fight, you know" the young boy asked him sternly. He then prepared his fighting stance. "I just hope you are ready" he added as if he was sorry for him.
Surprisingly, Tadeshi smirked in return and put his arms on his hips, as if he was a hero or something. "Heh, I was born ready, pretty boy! What I want to ask if whether you have guts to take on a member from the Elite Squadron!" he declared and prepared his stance. "But enough chatting for now, it's showtime!" he added with confidence.
Aoi mused at this. "I thought you'd never say that" he noted in his thoughts.
Udon realized that the time to fight was now, so he gave them the green light by raising his hand in the air before swinging it downwards. "Begin!" he said and the fight was on.
In the first moment, both Aoi and Tadeshi sprinted towards each other, indicating that they were determined to fight on hand-to-hand. Blows were exchanged by their elbows and feet. Tadeshi smirked as he and the young boy clashed by their elbows.
"Impressive reflexes you have there, pretty boy!" he commended him, but suddenly grabbed the young boy by his arms and swung him around. "But let see if you can survive being thrown like a boomerang!" he exclaimed and threw his younger opponent in the air, to almost everyone's shock. As Aoi was spinning in the air, Tadeshi did some hand seals and fixed his gaze upon his opponent. "Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb!" he called out and exhaled a long breath of flame towards his opponent.
The flame managed to hit Aoi and his entire body was burned and Tadeshi was filled with confidence of his actions. But it surprised him when he noticed that water fell down from the fire, forcing him to stop his attack. He was filled with confusion by what he saw.
"What in the name of…why is it just water?" he wondered as she could see the wet ground.
"For your information, I am right behind you!" the man with the sunglasses snapped and immediately turned around to see Aoi standing a few meters from him. Everyone was surprised by what they witnessed. The young boy only brushed off dust on his clothes as if everything was normal. "Woah, this place could really use a cleaning. This place is dusty" he said while he did that.
But Tadeshi was not satisfied by this. "Don't give me that bullshit! Just what the hell was that!? First you are up in the air, and in the next you're behind me all of a sudden!?" he asked outraged.
Aoi sighed lowly and fixed a stern look on his face. "There's no need for such rude language, mister. But I will tell you anyway" he said with a smirk as water sprouted from him, creating a water clone in the process. "This is the Water Clone Jutsu, not so similar to the Shadow Clone Jutsu I'm afraid" he explained while the water began showing Aoi's appearance for everyone to see.
Menmas students were amazed by what they witnessed, but Mamuro himself was cautious. "So even his students possess the ability to perform such techniques? That's scary" he noted in his head while observing the match.
Ayumu had similar thoughts in his head. "For some reason, I have a feeling that Tadeshi will have a challenge with this kid. I don't know why, but it bothers me" he thought as he could see how his old classmate was handling his match.
The dark brown-haired man smirked by seeing Aoi demonstrate his water clone. "I think I foolishly underestimated you, pretty boy. For that, I must begin to take this challenge seriously" he said.
Aoi fixed an annoyed look on his face. "Seriously, can you please stop calling me pretty boy? It's annoying!" he complained and made his water clone disintegrate.
"Why should I? You're about to go down in this match, so having a nickname would be appropriate for you who will emerge the looser" the man with sunglasses answered and he suddenly held his hands in a seal, much to everyone's confusion, including Aoi's. "You're facing one of the members of the Elite Squadron now, so I advise you to tread lightly in this fight" he added to his explanation and all of a sudden, enormous amounts of orange chakra began forming across his body.
Naruto's eyes widened, as he knew what Tadeshi was doing. "You're joking. Is he gonna the Cloak of Fire Chakra? Towards a young kid!?" he wondered loudly in his head.
As winds were blowing around them, Aoi watched in amazement by what his opponent was doing. Truth is, even a smart boy like him had never seen this technique before. But while he was surprised, he was also amused and interested.
Tadeshi fixed a serious frown on his mouth, once the chakra was strong enough to carry with him. "Not intimidated yet?" he asked him with seriousness, but he got no reply. The young man adjusted his sunglasses. "Very well, you don't have to answer. However, I would really like you to know that I won't be as overconfident and naïve towards MY opponent as Isamu did! My Cloak of Fire Chakra empowers my strength!" he declared and charged towards the young boy in fast speed.
Aoi's azure eyes widened as he was almost hit by Tadeshi's right hand, but it was not over yet. Tadeshi readied his left hand and made a hard push on his younger opponent, sending Aoi a few steps backwards. The man with sunglasses proceeded to deliver a hard kick on his opponent's hip with his left feet, but something was not right. He could see water splash from Aoi's hips and it made him realize that he had used his Water Clone Jutsu again. Tadeshi gritted his teeth in irritation.
"Quit hiding behind your clones, you coward!" he shouted, but paused when he saw Aoi standing a few distances from his spot. It made him feel confused. "What's the matter, kid? Did you shit in your pants or something?" he asked him with a rude language.
Aoi surprisingly yawned by his words. "Honestly, you really have a bad language, even in combat!" he remarked lazily. But that laziness disappeared, as he was now facing Tadeshi smugly. "However, you are also easy to read. It's almost as if you are an open book" he expressed his opinion.
The man with sunglasses felt insulted by his statement. "Being scolded by a young Mist genin?" he asked to himself. "That ain't something I'm just gonna let go off so easily! I should teach you how to address your elders, pretty boy!" he said while using the nickname once again, to Aoi's annoyance of course.
The young boy only sighed and wanted this battle to end quickly, so he stood tall and did a few hand seals. "Now that I've studied this goof's fighting style, I know just the right jutsu to perform on him! It looks like I owe you one, Auntie Mei" he said with a slight smirk forming across his face. "Vapour Style: Solid Fog Jutsu!" he said and began blowing out mist from his mouth.
Tadeshi was filled with surprise of seeing his opponent blowing mist out of his mouth. But it only made him amused, as he was preparing some hand seals. The mist hit him, but he didn't feel any injury, something which even made the young man laugh his ass off. "Is this supposed to hurt me!? Get real!" he said and was about to perform a fire-based technique, until he felt something was not right.
The small amount of mist that was covering him began something drastic. Before he knew it, Tadeshi's cloak of chakra began melting. This scared the crap out of him, but amazed everyone on the tribunal.
Kaito smirked while seeing his student's handy work. "So you're seeking to dismantle his chakra defence? A clever move, Aoi, although your Solid Fog Jutsu may not be on the same level as your aunt's" he said while observing.
"WHAT THE FUCK'S GOING ON!?" Tadeshi demanded an answer from his opponent. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CHAKRA CLOAK!?" he asked again in anger.
Aoi chuckled in amusement. "Simple, Mr. Angrypants. This mist that surrounds you isn't just some ordinary mist. It contains a powerful acidic property, capable of melting chakra defences, just like yours" he explained his jutsu. "In fact, it is even capable of melting bodies, but lucky for you, my mist isn't as powerful enough to inflict such damage. But I can still melt chakra defences" he added to his explanation.
Having been filled up with this information, Tadeshi was still determined on not giving up. But having used too much chakra on his cloak, he could feel himself drained. But he was stubborn enough to press on and did a few hand seals quickly. "I am not finished yet! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he shouted and blew a large ball of flame towards his opponent.
As he could witness the ball of fire heading straight towards him, Aoi only smirked at this. "Fire is superior against wind" he said and suddenly did a few hand seals. "But unfortunately, it is dwarfed by water in terms of superiority! Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" he said and with enough chakra in his stomach, the young boy with azure eyes sprouted a large quantity of water from his mouth, as it formed into a torrent.
The water bullet pierced through the fireball and surprisingly, the fireball disintegrated. This made Tadeshi snap his eyes in anger, as he couldn't believe what he was witnessing. But he had more pressing matters to focus on, as he was hit by the powerful bullet and forced against the rocky wall after Aoi stopped sprouting water from his mouth, everyone could see Tadeshi hanging against the wall soaking wet. But he eventually fell on the floor unconscious as the water bullet had made him completely motionless and unable to even stand up.
Udon adjusted his glasses, knowing very well that Aoi had won this match, as he could see Tadeshi not moving a muscle. "Winner by knockout, Aoi Terumi!" he declared and the medics were immediately brought out to pick up Tadeshi's unconscious body.
Aoi smirked with satisfaction on his face and headed back for his team. "Well that wasn't such a boring match. The only minus here was his attitude" he said to himself and jumped to the tribunal. "I'm back, team! Missed me?" he asked in a mockingly manner to his team, who only glanced at him normally.
Kotone crossed her arms and looked towards another direction. "This match was boring. I can't wait till it's my turn" she said in a girly manner.
Tsunade was stunned by seeing this young Mist ninja's victory over Tadeshi. "So not only the Leaf Village has promising chuunins, the Mist Village has some too" she noted in her head as she studied Aoi.
"Well what do you know, a young rookie was able to beat one of my students. Now that's cool" he remarked with a slight grin, as he was getting interested to know more about the other Mist ninjas.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes by hearing this. "Yeah, but among your students, Tadeshi was not necessarily the one who showed must promise, wouldn't you agree?" he asked him. But the blonde-haired man only ignored his question with a scoff, much to Shikamaru's annoyance. "Still stubborn, I see" he noted in his head.
Tsunade cleared her throat, as she now stood beside Udon. "Three matches have passed, but we still have many left. But before we continue, we will now have the one and a half hour long break Udon explained to you earlier. Take your time to use the bathrooms or getting something refreshing to drink. But remember, all of you must return here once the time is over. You may begin your break, now!" she was finished explaining and every team had different ways of using this break.
"Wow, those he sure did a good job down there, didn't he?" Guy asked his teammates, who had been silent for the last hours. However, instead of speaking, they had taken their time studying the matches. Guy had also done something similar, although he felt it was too boring. He sighed in boredom. "It's been three matches, yet none of us have been chosen" he said and expressed how boring he felt.
Hisoka only closed his eyes. "You will get your match soon enough, Guy. However, this is something we should not be looking forward to. Who knows what deadly opponents we could face?" he asked while facing his goofy-looking teammate.
"But aren't you looking forward to this, Hisoka? Fighting a worthy opponent is every man's dream, unless he is creepy that is" Guy told him with humour.
"Why am I even talking to you? I've got enough shit to worry about than listening to your random words" Hisoka said and decided not to speak to Guy for now.
Kimiko was also thinking about what Hisoka just said and it made her feel worried. "I just hope that my opponent will be someone from our village. For some reason, those Mist ninjas scare the heck out of me" she thought in her head.
Hideki was crossing his arms as he listened to what Hisoka and Guy were talking about, as well as seeing Kimiko's insecurity. "Instead of worrying about whoever you get put up with, how about you three punks start having faith in yourselves?" he asked them and his three students turned his head to face him, with Guy and Kimiko's faces filled with curiosity, while Hisoka's was filled with slight anger. The black-skinned man could see this and grunted. "I expected you to at least show some dignity, Hisoka" he expressed his opinion of the young boy.
Hisoka gritted his teeth in anger by hearing this. "Shut the hell up, old man. I don't need you lecturing me about dignity" he said in defiance and stopped speaking to him. Hideki felt obliged to do the same with him.
Bunko leaned against the wall, crossing her arms in dissatisfaction over seeing Tadeshi loosing, even though she did not expect him to win either. "That jackass, he got too carried away with that chakra cloak of his!" she thought in her head. "In my opinion, Isamu did a better job than him in fighting against the opponent" she added.
But the young woman turned her head to her left, as she could see her mother standing there with a confidential smile on her face. But still, Bunko sighed in annoyance, making Anko frown in return.
"Why the long face? Isn't my own girl allowed to speak to her mother?" she quizzed her.
"It's not about that. What really bothers me is why you convinced the Hokage and Naruto-sensei to enlist me into this so-called Elite Squadron" she pointed out, making the elderly lady sweatdrop.
But Anko fixed a right smile on her face as she viewed her daughter in a motherly way. "Look on the bright side, Bunko. You get to do top important missions for our village. The formation of the Elite Squadron is not wasted, you know" she explained to her. As much as it irritated her, Bunko fixed a smug look on her face while eyeing her mother. Anko did the exact same thing. "So you wanna go grab something to drink? Standing in this hellhole must make your thirsty" Anko suddenly asked her.
"Heh, with pleasure mom" Bunko replied before fixing a serious glance on her mother. "But remember, no tricks, okay?" she asked her sternly.
Anko chuckled. "Absolutely" she said and they both headed for the drinks.
To be continued…
Author's note: Well, we have now seen two matches in this chapter. I won't spoil who will be fighting who now, but you will get to know in the next chapter. In the meantime, hope you enjoyed being introduced to Aoi and his techniques.