Previously on Survivor: Ninja Edition...
18 ninja, all experts in their fields, were divided into three tribes of six - The Brain Tribe, The Brawn Tribe, and The Beauty Tribe. The Brain Tribe was off to a rough start, losing the first two immunity challenges. In back-to-back blindsides, Sasori and Karin were the game's first casualties. On the up side, Itachi found a hidden immunity idol, and fashioned a fake for Konan to find. In the latest episode, the Brawn and Beauty Tribes were sent to a combined tribal council, where they had to vote out one person. With six against six, Naruto and Hanabi (who also holds the Legacy Advantage) found a hidden immunity idol for the Brawn. However, it didn't make a difference as Ino, Sasuke and Kakashi tried to get Naruto to flip to the Beauty Tribe, and upon sensing his reluctance, changed their vote. Playing the idol for Kisame to no effect, the votes ended up being a tie between Ino and Temari, and led to a rock draw where Anko drew the black rock and was the latest player to be sent home. 15 remain; who will be voted out tonight?
Survivor: Ninja Edition - Ep 4
She's Like A Fart
Night 8 - Brawn Tribe
An oppressive silence stretched between the five ninja throughout their walk back to camp. They had just returned from tribal council, where they had lost Anko to a rock. A friggin' rock.
They had just sat themselves down around the fire pit. Anko's absence was already felt - she was usually the one who tended to the fire the most. During their time at tribal, the flames had died down, leaving several large chunks of glowing ember.
"That was a fucking disappointment," Kisame broke the silence.
"Yeah," Naruto agreed forlornly. Clenching his fists, he addressed his tribe. "I'm sorry everyone. I played the idol wrong and let us down."
Gai placed a comforting hand on the young Uzumaki's shoulder. "What happened, Naruto? It's okay, you can tell us."
Taking a deep breath, Naruto recounted the mind link that Ino had set up, allowing him to converse discreetly with Sasuke and Kakashi. His tribe listened intently as the blonde spoke, no one summoning the energy to rekindle the dying fire.
"And it hurts because I don't know if Kaka-sensei and Sasuke-teme were really trying to work with me, or if they were just out to deceive me from the get-go," Naruto finally confessed.
"Naruto," Temari said gently as she took his hand. "You did well, and what happened tonight was not your fault. Whatever it is, we are your family, and we will stand by you."
Looking up at the older blonde with puppy dog eyes, Naruto burst out, "Temari! Thank you."
Watching Naruto bawl tears of happiness into Temari's shirt, Gai himself started to tear up. Joining in their hug, he couldn't stop himself from proclaiming, "Ah, what lovely flames of youth! They warm my heart up!"
Sensing a pattern emerging as Gai proceeded to erupt into loud sobs, Kisame and Hanabi shared an amused glance. Kisame allowed his chuckling to turn into full belly laughs, while Hanabi kept a smile firmly in place as she stood up and proceeded to rekindle the fire.
Day 9 - Reward Challenge
"Good morning everybody!" Jiraiya greeted as the contestants filed onto the beach. "Brain Tribe, getting your first look at the new Brawn Tribe - Anko sent home last night in a showdown between the Brawn and Beauty Tribes."
The four ninja standing on the blue Brain Tribe mat exchanged glances with each other, but said nothing regarding the news.
"Alright, is everyone ready to get to today's reward challenge?" Jiraiya asked jovially.
There were a few murmured responses, some more enthusiastic than others.
"Great! We'll get to it, but in just another minute," Jiraiya held his hands high up above his head.
"Everybody, drop. Your. Buffs!"
This time, the announcement was met with several shocked looks and loud exclamations. As the ninja removed their current tribe buffs and dropped them onto the sand, Jiraiya passed around a tray that was piled high with fifteen new buffs concealed in parchment.
"That's right! We are switching things up," Jiraiya grinned deviously as he discarded the empty tray. "It's time to reveal your new tribes. Head on over to the mat that corresponds to your new buff color."
It took about a minute for the contestants to unwrap their new buffs and shuffle over to their corresponding mats. Some were enthusiastic about their new tribe mates, while others appeared rather nervous and displeased, before quickly concealing their emotions and putting on an enthusiastic front. Finally, there were seven ninja standing on each of the yellow and red mats, while a single figure stood alone on the blue mat.
"Get a look at your new tribes," Jiraiya stated. "Pulling out a red buff we have Deidara, Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Konan and Kakashi. Your new home will be on the former Brawn Tribe's beach, and your new tribe name is Taiyou."
Noticing the disparity in numbers, the toad sage questioned, "Naruto. You are the only Brawn member surrounded by three Brains and three Beauties. How does that make you feel?"
"Ehehehe," Naruto laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "It's a bit scary, but I'm super excited to get along with my new tribe! I'll show 'em around camp and we're gonna kick ass, dattebayo!"
Nodding his approval, Jiraiya moved on to the group of seven standing on the yellow mat. "Drawing a yellow buff and living on the former Beauty Tribe beach, we have Gai, Kurenai, Hanabi, Kisame, Itachi, Temari and Sasuke. Your new tribe is called Tsuki."
Doing another quick count, Jiraiya stated, "This tribe has four former Brawn members, two Beauties, and one Brain. Itachi, how does it feel to be by yourself now?"
"It might seem as though I am on the wrong side of the numbers," the Uchiha prodigy agreed. "However, this is a good group of people and I look forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new connections."
"Well said!" Jiraiya praised. "Now last, and sadly the least in this case, we have Haku on the blue mat. You will spend the next two nights by yourself at Exile Island. You will return during the next tribal council, where you will join the tribe that votes off the next person. In other words, you're safe from the vote, but you'll lose valuable socializing time. How does that make you feel?"
"Conflicted," the ice user answered honestly. "I'm definitely happy to be safe for the next vote, but I'm also scared about starting on a new tribe a few days late. Anything could happen, but I'm going to do my best."
"Atta boy!" Jiraiya smiled, tossing a scroll towards Haku. "Here's your map to Exile. You may start to make your way there now. See you in a couple of days!"
Unfurling the map and acknowledging the well wishes from the other players, Haku made his exit and began his long trek to Exile. Once he was out of earshot, Jiraiya brought everyone's attention back to the challenge by pointing at two tall wooden posts that were firmly lodged into the sand. The posts were situated about thirty meters away from the mats that the ninja were currently standing on.
"Let's put your new tribes to the test now, shall we?" Jiraiya clapped his hands excitedly. "For today's reward challenge, one member of each tribe will start by attaching themselves to a post by hugging it. Two members of the opposing tribe will attempt to remove them and drag them back towards these mats. The two members who succeed in dragging their opponent back here first will score a point for their tribe. The first tribe to score three points wins reward."
Noting that everyone was listening attentively, Jiraiya continued his explanation. "For this challenge, you may do whatever it takes to win. However, absolutely no lethal force, and no sabotaging the other team. This means that you can only use your techniques within your groups of three. Tsunade and Orochimaru are here to help me proctor this challenge, but they will only step in if it's a life or death situation. Got it?"
He indicated towards the tree line, where the other two Sannin were reclining in the shade. Tsunade had her field medical kit set up, while Orochimaru watched the group and licked his lips. Sasuke let out an involuntary shudder.
Once Jiraiya received several nods and muttered 'yes's from the contestants, he announced, "the winning tribe gets to bring back a D.I.Y. coffee and tea set, complete with sugar, milk and cream, as well as storage scrolls that are specifically designed by yours truly to maintain freshness. The losing tribe will walk away with nothing."
...
"Alright!" Jiraiya shouted, "For the first round we have Naruto hanging on the post for Taiyou. Taking him on are Itachi and Kisame. For Tsuki, it is Gai hanging on with Deidara and Kakashi going against him."
Naruto and Gai had both chosen to climb to the very top of their respective posts. Their arms and legs were wrapped tightly around the wood, their grip enhanced slightly with chakra.
"Survivors ready?" Jiraiya called. "And... GO!"
The pursuers immediately flung themselves towards their targets. Deidara was quick to form a clay bird, hopping aboard and taking to the air, leaving Kakashi to handle the ground. They wasted no time closing in on Gai, who was forced to evict his spot on the post due to Deidara's aerial clay bombs. Kakashi met him on the sand, engaging him in a bout of taijutsu.
"My eternal rival!" Gai boomed. "I have been eagerly awaiting this match with you!"
Simultaneously, Itachi and Kisame sped towards Naruto, who was sticking his tongue out at them and making farting sounds with it. Itachi had his sharingan activated, while Kisame clutched Samehada in his hand.
"Isn't this nostalgic," the shark man grinned deviously.
"Maybe," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki replied innocently, making it a point to avoid Itachi's eyes. "But you guys failed to capture me back then, so I'm pretty sure you'll fail again this time."
That sentence goaded Kisame to leap high into the air and swipe at Naruto with Samehada, forcing the blonde to dodge by propelling himself above the post with a jump. He landed with a crouch right on top of the post, but had to immediately run down to the sand courtesy of a pursuing Kisame.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
Dozens and dozens of Naruto copies poofed into existence and swarmed the former Akatsuki partners. While this tactic would not serve Naruto well in an actual battle scenario against the two, it did well to buy him time for this particular challenge.
As Naruto's clone army was getting rapidly demolished - and simultaneously being rapidly replenished by the blonde menace himself - Gai was slowly getting pushed back towards the mats. Every time he made it past Kakashi and tried to make for the post, Deidara's clay bombs swooped in and pushed him even further away. It was a war of attrition, and both Naruto and Gai had stamina in spades.
It was a close call in the end, but Kakashi's and Deidara's strategy eventually paid off, as Gai was the first to cross the mats.
"One point to Taiyou!" Jiraiya announced as Naruto dismissed his remaining clones and Gai shook his eternal rival's hand in respect.
"Now for Round Two, which is an all-female round," the toad sage continued, rubbing his hands together with a lecherous giggle. "Hanging onto the post for Taiyou is Sakura, with Temari and Kurenai taking her down. For Tsuki it is Hanabi on the post, while Ino and Konan team up on her."
On Jiraiya's signal, Kurenai started forming hand seals while Temari rushed forward towards Sakura, sending a gust of wind with her fan. Sakura dodged the blast by leaping down to the sand, and broke out of the genjutsu that Kurenai had just cast. Putting all of her training from Tsunade to good use - medics had to be experts at evasion - Sakura deftly avoided all the attacks that were sent her way.
On the other side, Konan had immediately sent a hoard of origami paper towards Hanabi, who dropped to the sand to avoid it. Ino met the young Hyuuga immediately, engaging her in a brief round of taijutsu. The match was short lived as Hanabi's skill in the Gentle Fist sent Ino flying back, but it was enough for Konan to sneak up on the Hyuuga and capture her in a cocoon of paper. From there, it was only a matter of seconds before Hanabi was thrown back onto the mats.
"Taiyou scores their second point! They are now just one point away from winning coffee and tea!"
The kunoichi retook their spots on their tribe mats, where Sakura placed her medical chakra-filled hands on Ino to unblock her chakra points. She herself had a few cuts from Temari's wind techniques, but decided to tend to them after the challenge in case she needed her chakra for more important things. Unless it was a life threatening situation, they were told that Tsunade would only tend to their major injuries after the challenge was over.
"Time for the Third Round!" Jiraiya announced. "Kakashi is holding the post for Taiyou, taking on Sasuke and Kisame. Tsuki has chosen Itachi to cling on, while Shikamaru and Deidara do their best to prevent that. Survivors ready? GO!"
Once again, Deidara took to the sky in his clay bird. Their strategy was for Deidara to bomb Itachi into Shikamaru's shadow, where they would then drag the Uchiha back to the mats.
"You're going down, Uchiha!" Deidara exclaimed confidently.
Itachi stared at Deidara emotionlessly, and flipped him off.
Meanwhile, Kakashi had evicted the post as Kisame had sent a tidal wave of water crashing over it with just a few simple hand seals. Sasuke was now engaging Kakashi in taijutsu, while the shark man attempted to ensnare the copy nin in a water prison. Sasuke's foot had just grazed Kakashi's cheek when an explosion rocked the sand they were standing on, forcing them apart.
"STOP!" Yelled Jiraiya, halting the match and drawing all attention to himself. Furious, he levelled a finger at a dazed-looking Deidara.
"What was that for?" he scolded the bomber. "You detonated a clay bomb in the other fight. You're disqualified for this round, thus the point automatically goes to Tsuki."
Deidara merely furrowed his brows in confusion, looking to Shikamaru for answers as they made their way back to the mats. The Nara genius, however, was frowning at an unusually smug-looking Itachi who returned his gaze, smirked, and deactivated his sharingan. Shikamaru shuddered. Scary Uchiha.
"Itachi's middle finger genjutsu-ed you good," Ino whispered to Deidara, who widened his eyes in realization before sending the Uchiha a death glare.
"So the score stands at Taiyou with two points, and Tsuki with one," Jiraiya stated. "For the next round we have Konan holding the post for Taiyou, and Gai and Temari chasing her. Tsuki has Sasuke clinging to the post, with Naruto and Sakura going after him."
Gai and Temari were immediately on the offense, sending attack after attack at Konan, who gracefully moved out of range of Gai's strikes and sent her origami paper to meet Temari's wind head on. Though progress was slow, the sole female Akatsuki member was gradually being pushed towards the mats.
On the other side, Sasuke faced off against his Konoha teammates.
"This is familiar, isn't it?" Sasuke smirked.
"Kind of," Sakura admitted coyly. "But you did come back to us on your own in the end."
Raising a brow in defiance, Sasuke began to rapidly form hand seals. Sakura tensed, summoning chakra to her fists and prepared to strike the sand. However, it was Naruto who made the first move by forming a single hand seal.
"Sexy Jutsu: Sakura-Chan Version!"
The spot where Naruto previously stood was now occupied by a second Haruno Sakura. However, this Sakura was also very naked, with residual smoke from the transformation barely covering her areas of interest.
Sasuke froze, gaze fixated on the naked Sakura who was now strutting towards him. The smoke was starting to thin.
"Sasuke-kun," naked Sakura purred, batting her pink eyelashes at him and pouting her lips. The smoke had almost completely dissipated.
Sasuke felt a drop of blood drip from his nose as naked Sakura leaned forward and -
BAM! A heavy impact, followed by the sensation of flying, then hitting the sand and rolling to a stop.
Everyone gave a collective nervous gulp as they stared at Sakura - the real Sakura - as she cracked her knuckles threateningly. Even Konan, Gai and Temari had completely stopped their match to stare at the angry pink haired girl. Sakura had just punched Sasuke so hard that he flew way past the mats. Turning her furious gaze to Naruto, who thankfully had the sense to change back into himself, Sakura readied another punch.
"U-um, Sakura-chan?" the blonde jinchuuriki stuttered timidly. "At least we won, right? Yay, tea? Or c-coffee?"
WHAM! Naruto landed on his arse beside his raven haired teammate, yelping in pain.
"And with that, Taiyou wins reward!" Jiraiya hurriedly announced, stuffing tissue up his nose as he pulled out his infamous research notes. "Everyone go to Tsunade to get your scrapes and bruises healed, and then head on back to camp!"
Day 9 - Taiyou (Previously the Brawn Tribe's beach)
"YAHOOOOO!"
There were currently about three dozen hyper Naruto clones bouncing off trees around camp and the surrounding jungle.
"And to think he only had half a cup of coffee," Sakura shook her head in disbelief.
Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. "He'll crash soon. I hope."
After the reward challenge, the Taiyou tribe had returned to camp, where Naruto introduced everyone to the beach and surrounding areas. They then sat down for a coffee, which had been nice and relaxed until the hyperactive blonde had gotten a huge caffeine rush. He had kage bunshin-ed up several copies of himself (because he couldn't expel energy quickly enough with just one of him), and proceeded to run around the entire place.
"Frankly, I don't mind," Sakura told him. "With all the ruckus he's causing, he gave us the chance to slip away into the jungle and catch up with each other."
Kakashi gave her his familiar one-eyed smile. It definitely felt good to rendezvous with her former sensei and not have to feel paranoid about their respective alliances getting suspicious. However, Sakura knew she still had to tread carefully. Her own Brain alliance with Shikamaru and Konan was tight; Konan had the idol after all, and with everything they had been through, Sakura knew that she could trust the pair. What she wanted to sniff out was the Beauty Tribe's dynamics.
"How have things been at your previous camp, sensei?"
"It is only proper to offer information in exchange for information, Sakura-chan."
The medic nin huffed. Same old sensei. "Fair enough," she conceded. She trusted Kakashi with her life, so she could trust him here. "Shikamaru, Konan and I are in a tight alliance. Us four remaining Brain Tribe members are all close, and we have no issues with each other."
"Interesting," Kakashi murmured. "Sasuke and Haku, and Kurenai to a certain extent, were my closest allies on the Beauty Tribe. Deidara and Ino are something akin to a power couple."
"Ino and... Deidara? Who would've guessed." Sakura's eyebrows shot up in surprise, before she looked Kakashi in the eye. "So I take it you're not very close to Ino and Deidara?"
"TABPP."
"What?"
"The Annoying Blonde Ponytail Pair," Kakashi clarified. "Sasuke came up with that name."
"Right," Sakura shook her head, amused. "But that's a good thing, isn't it? You and Naruto can come join the Brain alliance and if we need to, we can always vote off TABPP first!"
Kakashi scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh, about that-"
He was interrupted as Naruto - real or clone she wasn't sure - tumbled into the small clearing they were standing in. Jumping up onto his feet, the blonde gave Sakura a wide grin.
"Sakura-chan!" He cried, engulfing her smaller frame in a bear hug. "I'm so happy to be on the same tribe as you, dattebayo!"
The pinkette laughed happily, returning the hug. When they let go of each other after a few more seconds, Naruto caught sight of Kakashi and took two steps back.
"Um, Naruto?" Sakura questioned, noticing the way her best friend's eyes narrowed as he regarded Kakashi. "Is something wrong?"
"Our previous tribes had a showdown at the last tribal council," Kakashi sighed. "We'll explain."
...
"Oi, Shika!" Ino called out to her teammate.
She was by the rocks in the shallow seawater, the tide barely reaching her waist.
"Troublesome," she heard him mutter as he made his way over to her in the water.
"Is that any way to greet your favorite female teammate?" Ino asked sweetly.
"You're my only female teammate," the Nara shot back, but he pulled her into a warm hug all the same.
Ino grinned up at her friend. She had wanted to talk to Shikamaru immediately when the tribe swap happened. With three Beauties, three Brains and one Naruto, one might assume that Naruto would become the tie-breaker vote. Unfortunately, Ino was pretty certain that Naruto would be against her considering how the previous tribal council went. Especially since she was the one who used her family jutsu to establish the telepathic link.
"Since you admitted it, how about aligning with me and Deidara?" Ino said casually.
"Rather direct, aren't we?" Shikamaru deadpanned.
"Oh come on! We're way past formalities!" Ino tugged at his arm. "Anyway, your beautiful, smart, irresistible teammate should always come first. Are you forgetting that we share this tribe with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi? Team 7 is definitely gonna try to play the comrade card and you know it."
Shikamaru nodded. Of course he already knew that, and he would be a fool to close the door that Ino had just opened to him without at least considering it seriously. After all, a united Team 7 in the merge would be extremely tricky to deal with, and whoever that aligned with them would always be at the bottom of the pecking order because Team 7. However, he wasn't sure that he wanted to break up the Brain alliance just yet, and keeping Team 7 in the game would ensure that there were bigger targets than him to worry about.
"Let's say I do align with you and Deidara," he ventured. "That's only three. We need one more to be in the majority."
"What about Konan?"
"It might work. Konan and I have a good relationship," Shikamaru said. "But Konan and Sakura also have a tight alliance. It's a gamble."
"Maybe we'll have a chance if Deidara talks to her."
...
Naruto - the OG Naruto - hopped down onto the jungle floor with an inaudible thud. With a smile, he admired the hidden immunity idol clutched in his hands. It was the same idol that he had played the night before; a plain rope necklace with a large, red Uzumaki spiral in the centre.
Pocketing the idol and the parchment that came with it, Naruto commenced his journey back to camp. Contrary to popular belief, he was not all brawn and no brain. Okay, so maybe he was mostly brawn and not a lot of brain, but he did have brains when it counted, and he would go as far to say that faking a caffeine rush to create a swarm of clones to search for the idol in plain sight was a stroke of genius.
A sudden surge of memories flooded his senses, causing his steps to falter. Apparently, a clone of his had barged in on a conversation between Sakura and Kakashi, and they had relayed the drama of the previous tribal to the pink haired girl. Sorting through the images and sounds in his head, a sigh of relief escaped his lips. So Kakashi and Sasuke were not out to deceive him; they had genuinely wanted to work with him.
Sprinting towards the location that his team was located at, Naruto burst into the clearing and tackled Kakashi and Sakura to the floor in an affectionate dog pile.
"I think this is the real Naruto this time," Sakura's voice was muffled by Kakashi's knee in her face.
"Mhmm," Naruto confirmed, as he buried his face in his teammate's pink hair. "Can the three of us please be the final three?"
"Of course, you baka," Sakura said affectionately as Kakashi ruffled Naruto's unruly locks. "We wouldn't have it any other way."
Naruto beamed with happiness. He was in a good place, he told himself. He just found a new idol that no one knew about, and more importantly, he had his team back. He wasn't alone on this tribe anymore.
Day 10 - Tsuki (Previously the Beauty Tribe's beach)
Itachi added another log to the fire as he sat on the beach to watch the sunrise. Dawn was just beginning to break, and the only sounds around camp were the waves crashing on the shore and the twittering of birds.
He was the first person up this morning, or the last one to turn in for the night, depending on how you wanted to look at it. In fact, he hadn't slept a wink for the entire night, instead using the time to set up his crow summons in various parts of the jungle, as well as to search for the idol on this beach. He had immediately gone and dug around the water well, anticipating that the idol would be in a similar location to the one he had found in the Brain camp.
He had found nothing. Just to be certain, he had also gone deep into the jungle, scouring over every nook and cranny that he and his summons could reach. And yet, he still turned up empty handed, which led him to a single conclusion.
Someone in the former Beauty Tribe had found the hidden immunity idol.
Sensing a flickering chakra presence on his periphery, Itachi whipped his head around to glance at the shelter, and was greeted by the sight of his foolish little brother stirring from sleep. His gaze softening, the older Uchiha beckoned the younger to join him by the fire.
Now fully alert, Sasuke closed the distance swiftly and silently, taking a seat beside his brother. Itachi passed him a water canteen, and Sasuke accepted it with a grateful nod, taking a few gulps from the bottle.
They then sat in a comfortable silence for the next few minutes, watching the sun emerge from the horizon. When the new tribe had arrived at camp after yesterday's challenge, Itachi had managed to steal a few moments to slip away and speak with Sasuke privately. Initially anxious that Sasuke would still despise him, his worry was proven to be unfounded when his little brother all but lunged at him with a hug, told him he understood, and actually sobbed into his shirt. Their reconciliation had been a tender moment, one that Itachi would treasure for the rest of his life.
"Sasuke," Itachi whispered. It was so soft that Sasuke would've missed it, had he not been so attuned to his brother's presence.
"Aniki?" Sasuke's reply was just as inaudible. They couldn't risk being overheard.
"I have reason to believe that someone in your old tribe has found the idol on this beach," Itachi told him. "Do you have it?"
The slight widening of Sasuke's eyes told him all he needed to know.
"You weren't aware?" he asked the younger Uchiha in a slightly disapproving tone. Sasuke recognized he was being chided and proceeded to brood.
"I spent a lot of time trying to find it, but couldn't," Sasuke revealed. "At the last tribal, the six of us agreed that since no one had found it yet, we would let it stay hidden and focus on our strategy instead."
"I see," Itachi murmured. "Looks like someone on your former tribe is a lot more capable than you gave them credit for. You couldn't find the idol because someone else has most likely gotten to it first."
Sasuke scoffed quietly. He believed his brother's words; he was the best shinobi he knew of, after all. "What about your tribe?"
"I found the idol," Itachi confided, relaying his fake idol plot to Sasuke, who was completely unsurprised that Itachi of all people swiped an idol by genjutsu-ing his tribe mate, and subsequently used the same person as a shield for himself.
"I haven't told anyone else about this, otouto," Itachi said sincerely. "My only true loyalty in this game is to you, and I am making it my mission to get to Day 39 with you."
"Me too," Sasuke confirmed with a nod. "Now we just need to crack these four Brawn members in order to survive the next few votes until the merge."
Itachi simply smiled in response, and poked Sasuke in the forehead.
...
Later that day, Itachi found himself in the middle of the ocean with Kisame. He had deliberately volunteered himself to go fishing for the tribe, fully aware that the shark man would offer to come along and lend his expertise. It was almost expected that he would. Thankfully, while Itachi planned to work Kisame over to his side, Sasuke was back at camp to hold the fort.
"I will never get used to that." Itachi watched in morbid fascination as Kisame devoured a wriggling fish that he had freshly swiped from the water.
"You've said that every time I've done this for what, over half a decade?" Kisame snorted. "You'd think you'd be used to it by now, being my partner and all."
"Partners..." Itachi narrowed his eyes, his bottom lip jutting out slightly. "Is that so. Then why is that wind user from Suna following you around everywhere you go?"
This was indeed the first chance that he had gotten to steal Kisame away for a one-on-one conversation. Kisame was constantly surrounded by his previous Brawn members, and the blonde kunoichi stuck by him particularly religiously. Laughing heartily at Itachi's previous statement, the shark man swallowed another live fish, eyes dancing with mirth.
"Could my ears be deceiving me? Is the great Uchiha Itachi-sama jealous?" Kisame almost choked on the fish from laughing at his own joke.
"Stop eating all the fish," was all Itachi said. "They're supposed to be brought back for the tribe."
"Oh come on," Kisame was still grinning. "I needed her in that tribe; those Konoha assholes outnumbered us four to two."
Itachi just glared. He was technically a loyal Konoha shinobi, too.
"Fine, fine," the blue-skinned Akatsuki member said, raising a large hand in placation, though he still had that annoying grin on his face. "You, my dear Itachi-kun, are my true partner. I'd much rather play properly with you than stick with those pansies and pretend to be nice. That girl is nothing to me - she's like a fart."
"A fart?"
"Yeah, she's a fart 'cuz she's a wind user and she keeps following me around from behind," Kisame explained.
"Hn." Itachi was still glaring, though it was more half-hearted now.
"Don't worry, my main man," Kisame assured him, adding another fish into their basket. "We'll just use her as a number to get us as far as we want. She's pretty loyal to me since she's got no one else in this game, so she'll go along with whatever. Then when we feel like it, we slit her throat. Easy."
With that, Itachi finally smiled as he grasped his long-time partner's outstretched hand and shook.
It was so easy to manipulate Kisame.
Day 10 - Exile Island
It was hot. Frickin' hot.
Haku glared up at the blazing sun half-heartedly, too de-energized to do anything else. It was likely around noon, judging from the position of the sun in the sky.
Tipping his water canteen for a sip, Haku bit back a curse as he realized he was out of water. He'd have to boil some more.
The ice user's experience in exile was pretty miserable. He'd manage to construct a small, cramped shelter for himself and start a fire, but he hadn't eaten since before the tribe swap. The surrounding waters in this area were filled with extremely strong currents, making it impossible to fish. He had felt his chakra drain away rapidly from just standing on the turbulent water's surface.
On the plus side, it was nice to get away from all the scheming and mind games for a bit. More importantly, however, he had also received a welcome gift on arrival. Pulling out the small piece of parchment from his pocket, Haku re-read its contents.
Congratulations! You have won a Steal-A-Vote Advantage!
This advantage must be used at your next tribal council. Before the votes are cast, alert Jiraiya that you are playing your advantage, and state whose vote you are stealing for yourself. You will vote twice, and the person you choose will not vote at all. This advantage is non-transferrable.
A smile came to Haku's face. With this, he could possibly keep himself safe on whichever tribe he ended up joining, and if he really played it right, he could also take out the target of his choice.
Hopefully, toughing it out on exile would be worth it.
Day 11 - Immunity Challenge
"Welcome to your first immunity challenge in your new tribes!" Jiraiya announced grandly, spreading his arms out wide.
They were situated in the middle of the ocean, where several floating bamboo platforms and walkways were arranged into a large grid. Scattered all around the grid were a considerable number of woven baskets, and at opposite corners of the structure were two boats. The members of Taiyou were in a red boat, while the Tsuki Tribe was in a yellow one. Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru were standing on a separate floating platform.
"For this challenge, you will all navigate the bamboo grid while picking up baskets and delivering them to your tribe boat," Jiraiya explained. "If you fall into the water at any time, you have to drop your basket, swim back to your tribe boat, and start again from there. The tribe with more baskets in their boat at the end of fifteen minutes will win immunity."
Sensing that there was more to the challenge, the ninja waited expectantly for Jiraiya to continue.
"You can use any means necessary to win," the Toad Sannin grinned. "Anything from stealing, using jutsu, engaging in combat, pushing the other tribe into the water - whatever you can come up with. There is only one rule: no lethal force. I'll give you a minute to strategize, and we'll get started."
...
"Alright!" Jiraiya called out to the competing ninja. "You have fifteen minutes to collect more baskets than the other tribe. Survivors ready? GO!"
Both tribes sprang into action immediately. On Taiyou's side, Kakashi and Deidara took the lead, while Konan and Sakura covered the middle, leaving Ino and Shikamaru to hang closer to their boat. Naruto, however, was still standing on his tribe boat, and had just completed a series of handseals.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he bit his thumb to draw blood, and slapped his palm on the deck.
Several toads appeared in front of him in a plume of smoke. Explaining the situation to his summons quickly, Naruto then instructed them to spread themselves out along the grid and lend their assistance when needed. Satisfied that the toads understood, Naruto hurried onto the course to get in on the action.
Someone has to stop Gai! He's too fast! Shikamaru's voice sounded in Naruto's head. Kakashi – go deal with him. Use your sharingan if you have to.
On it! This time it was Kakashi's voice. A big part of their team's strategy for this challenge was for Shikamaru to deliver instructions to the tribe through Ino's mind link.
Sure enough, Kakashi darted off to Gai – who was a big green blur as he had taken his weights off – and proceeded to engage him in combat. The taijutsu expert had already single-handedly filled his tribe's boat with three baskets within the first few seconds of the challenge.
"Thanks to Gai, Tsuki has an early lead with three baskets!" Jiraiya announced. "Taiyou has to pick it up – they currently have none!"
Naruto! Shikamaru said. Create seven shadow clones and have them partner up with each member of our tribe. Make more if they get dispelled. Everyone else – pass your basket to your Naruto clone, and they'll toss it to either Ino or myself to put into our boat. Naruto – float around the course and give back up when needed!
Seven Narutos poofed into existence and started making their way around the grid. Ino and Shikamaru were already returning to the boat, and placed Taiyou's first two baskets inside.
While Gai was busy with Kakashi, the other members of Tsuki were holding their own. Their strategy was far more simple; they had four playing offense, and three playing defence. Gai, Sasuke, Temari and Kurenai were tasked with filling up the boat, whereas Kisame, Itachi and Hanabi were to prevent the other tribe from scoring baskets.
Watching as Kakashi was kicked off the bamboo by Gai only to be caught and bounced back into the fray by a toad summon, Kisame scowled and looked to Jiraiya.
"Kakashi is cleared!" Jiraiya decided. "He didn't touch the water. Remember - any means necessary short of lethal force!"
By now, Naruto had created another seven clones and had sent them to deal with the Tsuki members. They were annoyances at most – but they were effective in preventing them from doing their tasks properly. As soon as they were dispelled, there were always more to take their place.
"Someone deal with Naruto!" Hanabi screamed in frustration as she juken-ed her fourth clone in a row.
"Oh yeah?" Temari retorted, equally annoyed by the horde of clones. "How 'bout you find the real one first?"
"Now Taiyou has taken the lead!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "We are five minutes in, and Taiyou leads Tsuki ten to six!"
"Sasuke, Kurenai," Itachi called out. "Genjutsu any clone that you can find."
Unfortunately for Itachi, while no Narutos were near enough to hear his plan, Deidara was well within earshot.
Naruto! Deidara said telepathically. Be careful! They're planning to genjutsu your clones. No making eye-contact.
Deidara, Shikamaru said in response as Naruto voiced his consent. Send a few of your homing clay bombs after Kurenai to keep her busy and away from Naruto – but aim for non-lethal spots.
By now, Gai had successfully shaken Kakashi off, and had resumed his super speed collection of baskets. Kakashi, who had been thrown about twenty metres away into the water, was swimming back to their tribe boat.
Uh, guys? It was Ino this time. I can't see anything! It's really foggy right now. Is it just me?
Huh? Sakura responded. It's all clear where I'm at – oh! It's only where our boat is! Shit! Ino, be careful, I think Kisame is using Kirigakure no jutsu!
A few moments later, the mist cleared up, leaving a shaken but otherwise unscathed Ino. Naruto, receiving his clone's memories of shielding Ino from Kisame, created another two to send to her. It wouldn't do to lose their tribe's telepathic link, so protecting Ino was of top priority.
"And with a huge move, Kisame has successfully stolen several baskets from the Taiyou boat!" Jiraiya announced. "Tsuki is now in the lead, twelve to nine! You have seven minutes left!"
Shit, Shikamaru swore. Konan, you're now on boat defence duty. Naruto, help Sakura cover the middle. Kakashi, hurry back to Gai, NOW!
As the various members of Taiyou scrambled to obey Shikamaru's orders, a loud shout of protest from Kurenai drew Jiraiya's attention.
"She broke the rules!" Kurenai shouted angrily, pointing one finger at an unremorseful Sakura while her other arm supported an unconscious Hanabi.
"I did not," Sakura rebutted. "I just chopped the back of her neck. That's not using lethal force at all."
"Sakura, you're fine," Jiraiya stated. "Kurenai, I suggest moving your comrade to somewhere safe lest she gets hurts for real by lying there."
Cursing under her breath, Kurenai had just picked Hanabi up bridal-style when an explosion threw both kunoichi into the water.
Oops, came Deidara's sheepish voice over the Taiyou tribe mind-link. I forgot that my homing bombs were still targeting Kurenai…
"Oi! Watch it!" Jiraiya pointed in Deidara's direction. When Kurenai surfaced, still conscious and clutching Hanabi to herself, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you hurt, Kurenai?"
"My leg," Kurenai gasped. "It's bleeding – no! I'm okay! Keep going, Kisame."
She waved the shark man off as he was about to jump into the water to her aid. Making sure that she could manage herself in the water with an injured leg, Kisame turned his focus back to the challenge. While the distraction took place, Taiyou had taken the opportunity to catch up on their basket retrievals.
"We now have four minutes left on the clock!" Jiraiya shouted. "Both tribes are tied with fifteen baskets each! You all need to move it if you want to win!"
Naruto! Sakura groaned. A couple of your clones near the Tsuki boat have been caught in a genjutsu by Itachi! Dispel them now before they put any more baskets into –
Sakura was cut short as she had to avoid a punch from Sasuke. However, it was enough as Naruto dispelled his rogue clones and replaced them with fresh ones.
"Two minutes left!" Jiraiya called. "Tsuki is now leading by one basket, courtesy of a confused Naruto clone!"
Deidara. Shikamaru sounded calm and dangerous. Blow up as many of their baskets as possible without damaging their boat. Naruto, send your toads to move Kurenai and Hanabi out of harm's way.
Without damaging the boat? What am I, a miracle worker? Deidara grunted. Konan, gimme some back up here.
Just try! Ino shouted back. There's no time! We'll lose anyway if this doesn't work!
"Half a minute to go!" Jiraiya announced as several members of Taiyou sped to execute the plan.
One of Naruto's larger toad summons had just pulled Kurenai and Hanabi to safety when a loud explosion sounded from the Tsuki boat. Every single ninja paused and turned to survey the damage.
The sight that greeted them was a singed, but otherwise in-tact yellow boat, courtesy of Konan's origami papers protecting it. However, to the Tsuki tribe's ire, most of their collected baskets had been turned into a pile of ash.
"TIME'S UP!" Jiraiya shouted. "Taiyou wins immunity, sending Tsuki to tribal council tonight!"
Day 11 - Tsuki
As soon as they arrived back at camp, Itachi looked pointedly at Kisame. They had to make use of the time they had now, as Kurenai and Hanabi had stayed behind to get their wounds checked by Tsunade. Recognizing the cue, the shark man gave a loud yawn and collapsed onto the shelter melodramatically.
"Man, I'm beat!" Kisame said, receiving eager nods of agreement from the Uchiha brothers. "That challenge really took it out of me."
Picking up his water canteen only to find it empty, Kisame let out a long sigh and pouted.
"Let me help replenish your flames of youth!" Gai took the bait. "I'll go get every one of us more water!"
As soon as Konoha's Green Beast disappeared into the jungle, Kisame immediately sat up and grinned at Itachi, who awarded his efforts with a smirk.
"Temari-chan," Itachi drawled, knowing that what he was about to say would pique her interest. "Kisame has agreed to form an Anti-Konoha Alliance with Sasuke and myself."
The Suna kunoichi looked rather startled at having the infamous Uchiha Itachi focus all of his attention on her. Pressing this advantage, Itachi continued.
"Of course, we would love for you to join us, seeing that you are also not from Konoha," Itachi continued. "I think we could be very beneficial to each other, seeing that we have this in common."
Temari glanced at Sasuke, who said nothing but merely raised an eyebrow in question. Looking to Kisame instead for confirmation, her ally since Day 1 patted the spot next to him in invitation.
"I'd very much rather play the game with these two instead of all the fake sunshine and rainbows crap that our old tribe kept spewing," Kisame stated plainly as Temari took a seat beside him. "They weren't really playing the game, were they?"
"Alright, that makes sense," Temari said. "That's fine by me."
Temari knew she had to tread carefully. With Kisame openly adamant about the side he had chosen, Temari was pretty sure that she would be the swing vote in the upcoming tribal council. She trusted Kisame the most out of anyone else in the game – but she would be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid of Itachi. She was also slightly distrustful of Sasuke.
"Who are we targeting?" Sasuke asked quietly.
"Either Hanabi or Kurenai," Itachi replied, his voice just as low. "We need Gai for the challenges."
"Agreed," Kisame said. "What about Hanabi's byakugan, though? It could help us in challenges too."
"Or she could also use it to spy on us," Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"What do you think, Temari-chan?" Itachi murmured, training his onyx eyes on her.
"Well," Temari swallowed, trying not to stutter. "We also have to remember that whoever we vote out is getting replaced by Haku, a former Beauty member."
"Not to mention we need to consider that Kurenai has more connections to the other tribe than Hanabi," Sasuke pointed out. "That could be either good or bad for us in the future."
Before they could come to a consensus, Gai returned from the water well and passed around their water canteens. Thanking him, everyone gulped down water as an excuse to fall silent, before excusing themselves to their regular duties around camp.
...
Later that afternoon, Temari found herself in the jungle with Gai, Kurenai and Hanabi. True to her hunch, she had been whisked away by the trio as soon as the two kunoichi had returned to camp. Hanabi was now fully conscious, with a dull ache in the back of her neck, while Kurenai had her leg bandaged up. They explained that Tsunade was only allowed to make sure they weren't in immediate danger, but healing and recovery had to be done through their own means.
"I'm very sure that Kisame, Itachi and Sasuke have formed an alliance," Gai began seriously.
Contrary to popular belief, Gai was not as oblivious as some might believe him to be. He had noted Itachi having private conversations with Kisame and Sasuke over the past couple days, and had come back from the water well an hour ago to find the group huddled up and deep in discussion.
"Well, there's nothing they can do if the four of us here stick together," Kurenai reasoned. She was a bit taken aback by not being included in the alliance, considering that it was Itachi, Sasuke and herself that were in the immediate minority. However, she was far from surprised by this development. "I think we have a good group here; we're all good people, and we can trust each other moving forward."
"Not to mention they'll be really tough to deal with when the merge happens," Hanabi agreed.
"Okay, so who do you guys want to vote out tonight?" Temari asked.
"I'd say Sasuke," Gai concluded after a moment of thought. "Kisame is extremely valuable in challenges and around camp, and Itachi is stronger than Sasuke."
"Might as well get rid of the other sharingan user," Kurenai nodded.
"Sasuke it is, then," Temari said. "Easy."
"Yes, this will be an easy vote," Hanabi assured them. "As long as we all stick to the plan, we'll be waking up here tomorrow."
Sneaking a quick glance to ascertain that no one was approaching, Gai beamed and held up his hand in a fist. The only other surrounding signs of life were a few large black colored birds in the trees and the sounds of crickets deeper in the jungle.
"Bring it in, guys!" Gai said excitedly, his smile only growing wider as three other fists joined his in a circle.
...
Snapping his eyes open, Itachi sat up in the shelter, looked at Kisame, and opened his mouth to speak -
"Woah," Kisame held up his hands, "How many times do I need to tell you not to do that around me? It's freaky, dude."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Itachi deactivated his sharingan.
"You should be used to it by now," Itachi responded dryly, before taking on a more serious tone. "They are going to vote for Sasuke tonight."
Kisame let out a low whistle. He knew that Itachi must be fuming on the inside right now - that man had the biggest over-protective big brother syndrome in the entire universe.
"We need to make sure that Temari chooses to align with us," Itachi's voice was low and dangerous. "Tell her that we will vote whichever of those three that she wishes to get rid of."
"Sounds good to me," Kisame said. "I'm assuming we also don't tell Sasuke he's in danger tonight?"
"No," Itachi shook his head, his eyes traveling to Sasuke who was in the seawater. "No need to alarm him. Now go. She should be back soon."
Knowing better than to stick around or joke when Itachi was grumpy, Kisame nodded and moved off to find Temari. For the entire tribe's sake, Kisame dearly hoped that Sasuke would be coming back to camp with a lit torch tonight.
Night 11 - Tribal Council
Haku was already seated on the spectator bench as the Tsuki tribe filed into the tribal council hut. He looked noticeably worn out, which was understandable. However, he still gave a friendly smile to each of the seven ninja who had just arrived.
"Tsuki," Jiraiya greeted as the last person sat down. "Let's get right to it. Two losses in a row, in your new tribe. Is that a bad omen?"
"Not at all!" Gai insisted. "We just need to learn to work together and compliment each other's strengths! Only then will our youth blossom!"
"Yeah," Temari added. "It's not that we suck; it's just that the other team was eerily well-coordinated with each other in that last challenge."
"Fair enough," Jiraiya admitted. "So, what now? If working together is the problem, does that mean that there is tension at camp?"
"No, not quite," Hanabi said before scoffing. At Jiraiya's indication to continue, she said, "It's just that there are two very clear alliances at the moment."
"Ah, yes!" Jiraiya said. "This tribe has four former Brawn members, two Beauties and one lone Brain. Are the alliances still sticking to this format?"
"Not at all," Kisame grinned. "Let's just put it out there, eh? I mean, we all kinda know anyway. It's me, Itachi and Sasuke on one side, and then the three from Konoha on the other. We're all hoping that Temari sides with us."
"Temari?" Jiraiya now directed his focus to the Suna kunoichi. "Is this true? If it is, it means that you're in the middle position for tonight."
"It's true," she admitted. "Both sides have come to me with their story, and whichever way I go tonight – there'll be a line drawn in the sand. I'm bound to upset some people no matter what I choose, so it's both a blessing and curse to have to make this decision."
"Alright then," Jiraiya said. "So, what are the pitches made by both alliances? Sasuke?"
"We need to start winning challenges," Sasuke said plainly. "And it's sad to say, but we think that Kurenai and Hanabi have performed the poorest in the challenges so far. They got injured in the last challenge. If we want to start winning, it has to be either one of those two."
"That's stupid," Hanabi glared daggers at Sasuke. "Having the byakugan could really come in handy for future challenges – you never know."
"Or you could use it against us in the future," Sasuke shot back. "Hanabi can't be trusted, especially in the merge next time. She could spy on everyone so easily."
"Well," Kurenai interjected. "Our side happens to think that Sasuke should be the one to go. If we're worried about working together for challenges and pulling strengths, having two sharingan users is just redundant."
"Correct," Gai nodded. "By keeping Hanabi and Kurenai, our team will still have a wider range of abilities to work with, and we'll have a higher chance of having an advantage in future challenges."
"Exactly," Kurenai added. "Also, both Itachi and Sasuke have similar skill sets. Itachi is just better. That's why Sasuke should go tonight."
That statement was met by a concentrated burst of killing intent that was so potent, it even had Jiraiya breaking into a nervous sweat. The arguing that filled the chamber was now reduced to an uncomfortable silence.
"Sasuke is more valuable to this tribe than the two of you combined," Itachi told Kurenai and Hanabi. His voice was calm and his expression collected, but his aura was deadly and promised threats of pain. "We lost the immunity challenge because the two of you were foolish enough to get hurt and had to sit out. Kurenai is still hurt. You even had to be saved by the opposing tribe when the explosion took place, whereas Sasuke scored for us multiple times."
Itachi's sharingan was now activated. "You are both pathetic, weak excuses of kunoichi. There is no comparison between Sasuke and myself. Rather, we should be focusing on the real problems of the tribe."
The older Uchiha's monologue was met with silence. Kurenai and Hanabi were both equal measures of horrified, embarrassed and furious. Sasuke was torn between anguish at being compared to his brother yet again, and being grateful to that same brother for standing up for him. Gai merely shook his head, while Kisame took the opportunity to send a meaningful glance at Temari, who was deep in thought. Haku was just immensely grateful that he had an advantage in his pocket if we was going to join this psychotic group of people.
"Well," Jiraiya clapped his hands, attempting to diffuse the tension. "I think now would be a good time to get to the vote."
...
Sasuke was feeling nervous for the first time in the game as Jiraiya collected the voting urn and placed it on the pedestal. He knew that his brother had an idol, and he would like to think that Itachi would play it for him if push came to shove. On the flip side, he also knew that playing it just to ensure his safety was risky; what if Temari actually voted with them? It would just waste an idol and offend the ally they had worked so hard to pull in.
"If anybody has a hidden immunity idol, and they would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Sasuke closed his eyes. He needed to have faith in his brother. If Itachi felt that Sasuke was safe enough to not play it, then he had to believe in that. The silence was deafening.
"Alright," Jiraiya continued. No one had moved a muscle. "Once the votes have been read, the person with the highest number of votes will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes."
"First vote," Jiraiya said as he pulled out the first slip of paper. "Sasuke."
Sasuke felt his heartrate speed up.
"Second vote: Kurenai."
Kurenai exchanged glances with her alliance. So it was her that was the target of the other alliance for tonight.
"Third vote: Sasuke," Jiraiya read. "That's two votes Sasuke, one vote Kurenai."
Pulling out the next piece of parchment, Jiraiya read, "Kurenai. We're tied."
"Fifth vote: Sasuke," Jiraiya announced. "Next vote: Kurenai. That's three votes Sasuke, three votes Kurenai. One vote left."
Sasuke swore that his heart had stopped from beating way too fast. His gaze shifted to Temari, who was determinedly avoiding everyone's eyes, and then he looked to his older brother, who only looked back solemnly.
"Fourth person voted out of Survivor: Ninja Edition," Jiraiya paused for a split second before revealing the writing on the paper to the tribe. "Kurenai."
Sasuke breathed out a huge sigh of relief, before tapping Temari on her shoulder to mouth a quick 'thank you', receiving a smile in return. Gai had his head in his hands, before he took a deep breath and stood up to hug Kurenai goodbye together with Hanabi.
"Kurenai," Jiraiya said as the genjutsu mistress brought her torch to the front. "The tribe has spoken."
After watching her torch get snuffed out, Kurenai turned around to address the tribe.
"Good luck, everyone," she said with a wave of her hand, before walking out of the tribal council hut.
"Well, let's hope that tonight's vote will help this tribe gain momentum," Jiraiya told the members of Tsuki, "because you need it. Haku will now join your tribe. Go back to camp and get some rest. Goodnight."
Author's Note:
Yew! Apologies for the delay in update, my friends. And yes, we had a 'drop your buffzzz' moment! I like to try and keep up with the twists and turns that the actual Survivor show loves so much. In case you were wondering, I used a randomizer to determine the new tribes. Once again, all views, reviews, follows and favorites mean the world to me, and thank you to everyone who's been reading so far! Also, pretty pretty please, if you guys have ideas/suggestions for challenges, that would be great. Til next time!