Previously on Survivor: Ninja Edition...
The tables were turned when the Tsuki Tribe won both subsequent reward and immunity challenges. With their newfound time, Hanabi had been working hard to crack into Tsuki's Anti-Konoha Alliance (AKA), while Itachi expressed concern to Sasuke that a former Beauty Tribe member had secretly found a hidden immunity idol. On the other hand, tensions were rising in the Taiyou Tribe as two new distinct alliances emerged. Facing tribal council, the Brain Alliance dissolved as Shikamaru and Sakura butted heads and attempted to swing Konan to their side. Worried that Konan was taking too long to choose, the Team 7 alliance extended an offer to Shikamaru which he accepted. At tribal council, Konan sensed things were amiss and played her immunity idol, only to find out that it was in fact a fake. However, her suspicions were proved right as she was voted out of the game. 13 remain; who will be voted out tonight?
Ep 5 Votes:
Voted for Shikamaru - Konan (1)
Voted for Sakura - Ino, Deidara (2)
Voted for Konan - Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto, Shikamaru (4)
Idols/Advantages:
Naruto - Hidden Immunity Idol (Sakura and Kakashi know)
Itachi - Hidden Immunity Idol (Sasuke knows)
Hanabi - Legacy Advantage (use at 11 or 6; no one knows)
Haku - Steal A Vote (only good at his next tribal; no ones knows)
Unknown (former Beauty Tribe member) - Hidden Immunity Idol
Survivor: Ninja Edition - Ep 6
Blonde Sharingan-Eyed Babies Eating Tomato Ramen
Night 13 - Taiyou
As soon as the six tribe members set their torches down at camp, Shikamaru found himself being hauled away by his blonde teammate.
"What the hell was that?" Ino hissed, her fists clenching the collar of his vest.
Sensing that it was an important conversation, Deidara wandered over to the pair. While his own hand gently grasped Ino's wrist and pulled it away from Shikamaru, the Iwa-nin's gaze was guarded and distrustful.
"Sakura came up to me minutes before we left for tribal with a plan to vote Konan out," Shikamaru told TABPP (the annoying blonde ponytail pair). "I literally didn't have time to tell either of you. You both were... occupied."
Catching the shift of her teammate's eyes towards where Team 7 was huddled around the campfire, Ino's eyes widened.
"Just wait til I get my hands on that Naruto..." she grumbled.
"Have to give him a little credit for a good distraction, yeah," Deidara muttered.
"That still doesn't mean you're off the hook, though, Shikamaru." Ino folded her arms and glared at him, although her voice lacked any real anger in it.
"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru grumbled under his breath. Then more audibly, he told her, "Just know that I went through countless scenarios in my head and concluded that following their plan was the best way to be certain all three of us were safe."
"But then what was the deal with that weird fake idol?" Deidara cut in. "Did you know about it?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "I thought it was real, which was all the more reason to try and vote Konan out."
At his admission, TABPP fell silent. Turning his head to look at Sakura sitting on the other side of the fire, Shikamaru met her emerald eyes with his own and could tell from her pensive expression that they were both wondering the same thing. Tonight was unfortunately not the right time to talk to her - with Ino and Deidara's trust in him already shaken - but he made a mental note to find her tomorrow.
After all, if Konan's idol was a fake, then where was the real one?
Day 14 - Taiyou
"It's so nice to have a day off, dattebayo!"
Sakura let a content smile appear on her lips as she watched Naruto splash about in the water with the other two blondes of the tribe. She couldn't help but agree with his statement - they might've only been on Uzushiogakure for two weeks, but it felt like eons longer, so a day off was much appreciated. They still had the usual reward and immunity challenges coming up in the next couple days, but for now, Sakura was more than happy to bask in the warm sunlight and work on her tan.
"Sakura."
Glancing up and lifting an arm to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun, Sakura patted the sand beside her in an invitation for her tribe mate to sit.
"What's up, Shikamaru?"
"You know there are things we need to discuss," came his reply as he plopped down next to her, leaning back until his head hit the sand.
"Yeah," Sakura agreed as she mimicked his motions and lied down.
They said nothing for the next few minutes, simply content to watch the clouds in the sky. It was a beautiful day. Dimly, Sakura remembered that Kakashi was only a few metres away, lounging on a tree branch with his precious orange book. He would be able to hear everything they were going to discuss, but she saw no harm in it as the truth would eventually come out anyway. Besides, she trusted Kakashi. He was one person who she knew could keep a secret.
Shikamaru didn't seem to mind either (or perhaps he didn't notice?) as he was the one to break the silence.
"I never actually saw Konan find the idol," he began. "Only you did."
Pretending not to hear the subtle accusation in his tone, Sakura shrugged. "That's true. But I honestly thought that was a real idol, too."
"Konan seemed to genuinely think so as well," Shikamaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "She was too indignant to have been lying about it."
"I know," Sakura sighed. "I'm confused as well. When I walked in on her finding it, it was even wrapped up in the official 'Congrats! You've Found An Idol' paper."
Her companion was quiet for a moment, and Sakura knew that he was drawing the same conclusion that she had come to the night before.
"You don't think... Itachi?"
"That's exactly what I'm thinking," Sakura's mouth was pressed into a grim line. "If it's not you or me, it's clearly him. It means he very likely has the real idol and planted a fake for Konan to find."
Shikamaru swore under his breath. The implications were troubling. If this was true, then Itachi knew Konan was looking for the idol and he knew that she knew the exact spot to look. That also meant that Itachi knew Konan would find it, and use it to convince Sakura and himself to vote Karin instead of her. What was even scarier was that Itachi still voted with Karin, pretending that he had no clue about what was going on when in reality, he really knew everything. Orchestrated it, even.
He had played them all.
"Itachi is a huge threat," was what Shikamaru said instead.
"Tell me something I don't know," Sakura snorted. "My question is, how? How did he know the exact spot Konan was searching at, and how did he beat her to it without any of us knowing?"
Shikamaru searched his memory from his time on the Brain Tribe. Itachi had seemed so calm after that tribal where Karin was eliminated, and accepted their explanations to him without any trouble. He hadn't thought much of it then, but in hindsight, that alone told Shikamaru that Itachi knew it was coming. How did the man seem to know so many things that were happening when he wasn't physically around to be a part of it? It was almost like he had eyes and ears everywhere, but that wasn't possible as they would've sensed the chakra of any bunshins he made, or was he just that good at concealing his presence?
Somewhere above them in the trees near Kakashi, a bird chirped.
It took all of his ninja training to conceal his shock. Itachi summoned crows, didn't he? And the Brain Tribe's beach had been filled with them! Sitting up and giving the jungle behind them a quick scan, Shikamaru wasn't sure if he was happy or frustrated to note that there were zero crows hanging around. There may not be any crows around their current camp, but he was willing to bet that the current Tsuki beach would be swarming with the damn birds.
"Shikamaru?" Sakura's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Don't worry, Kakashi can be trusted."
Thankfully for him, Sakura must have mistaken his revelation for him sensing Kakashi's presence.
"I don't know," he chose to say, shaking his head. "But that Uchiha is dangerously smart."
"I know!" Sakura whined in exasperation. "And then he's gonna know that we know as soon as Jiraiya-sama announces that Konan's out in the next challenge."
"...what a drag."
He didn't know what made him lie to Sakura, but Shikamaru knew that he was keeping his newfound intel about Itachi's spying methods to himself for now. It could prove to be useful ammunition in the future.
Day 15 - Reward Challenge
"Come on in, guys!" Jiraiya waved his arms in welcome. "Tsuki, you're getting your first look at the new Taiyou Tribe - Konan was voted out last tribal council."
Outwardly, Itachi showed no visible response. Inwardly, however, he was displeased at this turn of events. There was no way to ask if Konan had attempted to play the idol, but he had to operate under the assumption that the entire Taiyou Tribe now knew that he was in possession of an immunity idol, and would spread the word to everyone else once the merge arrived. Shikamaru and Sakura were smart, after all, and it wouldn't take them long to realize his deceit.
"Let's get to today's reward challenge," Jiraiya clapped his hands in excitement.
The group of ninja were in the swamps of Uzushiogakure. They were standing on either side of a small clearing surrounded by trees, and in the centre of the space was a moderately-sized circular platform. The most interesting thing to note, however, was that the circular platform was surround by copious amounts of mud.
"Is that... a mud moat?" Temari couldn't help but ask in disbelief.
"Right you are, Temari!" Jiraiya nodded, flashing her a wide grin. "For today's challenge, you will face off against the opposing tribe one-on-one. Standing in the circular platform, you will be holding these large padded pillows."
As he unsealed a scroll, two pillows immediately poofed into Jiraiya's hands. While they were pillows, they seemed fairly solid and each had two handles attached to one side, allowing for a firm grip on the object.
"The aim is to push your opponent off the platform and into the mud," Jiraiya continued his explanation. "You are only allowed to use the pillow - no engaging in taijutsu, no weapons, and your chakra will be sealed for this challenge. The first tribe to win five victories will take the reward."
Unsealing yet another scroll, Jiraiya channelled his chakra into the parchment to reveal what they were playing for.
"Oh my god!" Ino squealed. "Yes, please!"
"We need to win this!" Sakura agreed, sharing a look of longing with her childhood friend.
"No way," Temari interrupted. "You're not gonna get past us!"
Before the squabbling could continue, Jiraiya recaptured the group's attention as he continued speaking. "That's right! The winning tribe for this challenge will walk away with a bottle of shampoo, conditioner and soap! I daresay you'll need it after this challenge..."
Everyone most definitely agreed. While all ninja were used to roughing it out and getting filthy on missions, it only made their appreciation for appropriate hygiene amplify. At this point, they had already spent two weeks without a shower. A proper clean would definitely feel luxurious.
"Tsuki," Jiraiya addressed the tribe of seven. "You've got one extra member, so you're sitting somebody out. Bear in mind it can't be the same person in back-to-back challenges. Who's it gonna be?"
After a few seconds of deliberation, Haku ended up raising his hand to sit out.
"Alright," Jiraiya nodded as Haku took a seat. "I'll give you a moment to decide your line up, and we'll begin."
…
"We now have our match ups!" Jiraiya announced. "It's gonna be interesting – quite a few old rivalries and grudges coming into play…"
There were several competitive looks thrown around between the tribes. Naruto was all but bouncing in anticipation.
"First up, we have Kakashi from Taiyou versus Gai from Tsuki!" Jiraiya beckoned the pair up.
"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Gai bellowed as he leapt onto the platform. "I am very much looking forward to clash youths with you in our six hundredth and seventy-second match!"
All eyes shifted to Kakashi as they awaited his response. However, the Copy-nin wasn't even looking at Gai. Instead, he was searching for his pillow.
"…hm?" He said eventually after he spotted the pillow and picked it up. "Did you say something?"
"Damn it, Kakashi!" Gai fell to his knees, tears of admiration streaming down his face. "You and your hip attitude!"
"A-anyway," Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Let's get started. Ready? Go!"
Wasting no time, Gai sped forward in a green blur towards Kakashi, forcing him to be on the defensive. To his credit, Kakashi successfully blocked Gai's first assault, and followed up with one of his own. The two jonin began trading quick blows – their speed made it difficult for some of the less experienced onlookers to completely follow all of their movements.
It was a close match, but Gai eventually got the upper hand and he sent Kakashi tumbling down into the mud, himself following split seconds after.
"And the first point goes to Tsuki!" Jiraiya declared. "Our next match is Deidara from Taiyou taking on Itachi from Tsuki."
Both ex-Akatsuki nin swiftly hopped onto the platform. While Itachi appeared indifferent as usual, Deidara was glaring daggers at his opponent. It was about time he finally got some payback against the stuck-up prick.
As soon as Jiraiya gave them the signal, Deidara rushed at Itachi. He was feeling confident as this wasn't a typical ninja match – with their chakra sealed, there wouldn't be any funny genjutsu business to look out for, and when it came to brute strength, Deidara was pretty sure he had Itachi beat.
His confidence only grew as he began to push Itachi closer and closer to the edge of the circle with his relentless assault. All he needed to win was one last push. Grinning smugly, Deidara readied his final blow and –
Itachi ducked low under his attack and hit his right leg, forcing him to take a knee. Not giving him any time to recover, Itachi took out his other leg, pushing him to the floor. One final push and Deidara found himself face first in the mud.
Barely registering Jiraiya awarding the second point to Tsuki, Deidara spat out mud and muttered curses at the damn Uchiha as he trudged back to his tribe. Here he was covered head to toe in mud and Itachi was still practically spotless!
"Next up we have Sakura from Taiyou against Temari from Tsuki!" Jiraiya said as the two kunoichi leapt onto the platform and fell into their stances. "Begin!"
Temari immediately charged Sakura, intent on knocking her off balance. Sakura held her ground as she watched the blonde coming closer, readying her body to take the impact.
However, at the very last moment, Sakura pivoted and dodged Temari entirely. Now that her opponent's back was exposed, Sakura gave Temari a strong push. While there was no chakra to enhance her movements, Sakura was still physically stronger than most ninja thanks to her gruelling training with Tsunade.
As Sakura's blow combined with the momentum of Temari's initial attack, there was nothing the poor Suna kunoichi could do as she all but barrelled into the mud.
"And Taiyou scores their first point!" Jiraiya announced, trying to hide the nose bleed he sported upon seeing a mud-covered Temari trying to wipe herself down.
The next match found Naruto and Sasuke pit against each other. Jiraiya didn't even have to tell them to start.
"Naruto," Sasuke spat as he smirk-sneered.
"SASUKEEEEEEEE!" Naruto screamed in response.
The two rivals ran and met each other halfway. They were deadlocked for a few seconds as they pushed, neither willing to give in. A few moments later, they leapt apart simultaneously, only to charge each other again and clash in the middle of the platform. Their faces were mere inches apart, both of them wearing identical glares.
"Oh just fuck already," Ino muttered, causing several snickers to erupt. "Imagine little blonde sharingan-eyed babies eating tomato ramen."
"We're not gay!" They both shouted in sync, as they continued trading blows with each other.
"Could've fooled me," Kisame sniggered, joining in the fun.
Several minutes later, it was clear that the battle wasn't going to end any time soon. Naruto and Sasuke were too evenly matched. Despite their best efforts, neither of them had managed to make any headway on the other.
As Naruto readied himself for yet another blow with Sasuke, he noted his rival's eyes going wide before his entire body froze as he stared at something behind Naruto's shoulder. Not letting this rare opportunity go to waste, Naruto shoved Sasuke into the mud and let out a victory whoop.
It was only after a minute of celebrating that Naruto noticed that no one was paying him any attention. Instead, they were all gaping at something behind him. Even Sasuke wasn't looking at him.
Frowning in confusion, Naruto spun around and noted that the object of everyone's fascination was Sakura. The girl in question had her arms crossed and was sporting a light blush, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, causing his female teammate to flush an even brighter shade of red. "What's going on? What happened?"
Seeing that her friend was adamant about staying silent, Ino answered instead.
"Forehead here just flashed her boobs at Sasuke-kun," she snickered.
Whipping his head back to Sasuke, Naruto noticed that his rival was also blushing.
"AHA!" Naruto shouted as he pointed dramatically at Sasuke, startling everyone out of their reverie. "I guess I can't call you Sasu-gay anymore!"
"Shut up, Naru-baka!" Sakura's fist came down on his head. Since when had she joined him on the platform? "I only did it to finish your match quicker and... and everyone's already seen it anyway because of that stupid stunt you pulled last week in that challenge so it makes no difference!"
"W-we are tied!" Jiraiya now had wads of tissue stuck up his nose as Sakura pulled Naruto down from the platform, avoiding eye contact with Sasuke. "Both tribes are at two points – let's start the next match!"
Shikamaru slowly made his way to the platform, dreading his battle. His opponent was Kisame. Friggin' Hoshigaki Kisame. How in the world was that fair? Oh that's right, it wasn't. But with all the other males wanting to challenge their rivals, he was left with the intimidating shark man.
As he readied his stance opposite Kisame, Shikamaru just hoped that it wouldn't hurt too much.
"Go!"
And poor Shikamaru found himself flying – yes, flying – straight into the mud.
"Tsuki now leads with three points," Jiraiya said, sending a look of pity toward the Nara trying to haul himself up from the mud. "We're playing til five."
Ino and Hanabi stepped up to the platform as the remaining members of each tribe. As soon as Jiraiya said to start, the kunoichi launched into their match.
It was soon obvious that Hanabi had the advantage over Ino when it came to anything taijutsu-related. With a few strategic blocks and thrusts, Ino was dumped into the mud and Hanabi waited to be declared the winner.
However, when that declaration didn't come, all the ninja turned towards Jiraiya curiously and then simultaneously sweat dropped. The self-proclaimed super pervert was giggling uncontrollably as he scribbled into a notepad. He also might have been murmuring about 'research' as he wrote - something about a muddy pillow flight scene...
Upon sensing the growing killing intent from the all females in the area, Jiraiya snapped back to attention. Hastily stowing his writing materials away, the Sannin announced the match.
"The score is now four to Tsuki and two to Taiyou!" he said nervously. "Tsuki only needs one more point to win. Let's bring back Kakashi and Gai."
Well aware that Gai had won their previous bout, Kakashi looked a bit more serious this time. In the end, after trading several blows at high speed, Kakashi won the match by a narrow margin and promptly tuned out Gai's boisterous promises to have a rematch.
"Now we again have Deidara and Itachi," Jiraiya said. "Itachi will be hoping for another win to end this challenge, while Deidara will be aiming to keep his tribe in the running."
Deidara's lips were pressed into a grim line. If he lost to Itachi yet again he'd have to blow something up once he got back to camp. Making sure to stay low and guard his legs this time around, Deidara charged Itachi as soon as Jiraiya gave the go.
Their match lasted about the same length as their previous one. While Deidara was a lot more cautious this time, he was still eventually out-smarted by Itachi and found himself with a face full of mud for the second time in a row.
"And with that, Tsuki wins reward!" Jiraiya declared, his fingers forming the 'V' for victory sign. "Tsuki, enjoy your afternoon getting yourself nice and clean. Taiyou, you'll just have to wash out with good ol' seawater."
Day 15 - Tsuki
The minute they reached camp, the group of seven immediately dove into their new supplies of shampoo, conditioner and soap. They then proceeded to a nearby stream to get cleaned up.
"Oh god this is heavenly!" Temari exclaimed as she massaged a generous amount of shampoo into her scalp.
"Tell me about it!" Hanabi let out a very un-Hyuuga like squeal. "And it smells amazing!"
While the males of the Tsuki Tribe were no where near as vocal about their gratitude, they certainly felt it as they scrubbed the dirt and grime off their bodies.
After half an hour of revelling in their spoils, the ninja slowly began to rinse away any remaining soap before drying themselves and wandering back to camp.
Eventually, only the two kunoichi on the tribe remained behind. No one questioned it, putting it down to it being a 'girl' thing.
"I don't wanna get up," Temari moaned as she closed her eyes and floated on her back.
"Then let's stay here for a bit longer," Hanabi said as she used her fingers to comb through her wet hair. "We girls can pamper ourselves every now and then."
"I know right!" Temari agreed. "It was hilarious watching the guys trying to contain their excitement over hair care."
Hanabi giggled in response. "Well, thankfully I have you here, then! It would suck to be the only girl surrounded by five smelly males."
That comment earnt Hanabi an amused smile. The kunoichi lapsed into a peaceful silence for the next few minutes, simply enjoying the tranquillity of the moment. They could hear the quiet rush of stream water, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the occasional caw of a crow somewhere in the trees.
"I mean it though," Hanabi said eventually. "We've been on the same tribe since the first day here and I hate this sentimental bull – but I've really come to appreciate you as a friend."
"Me too," Temari locked eyes with the younger female and offered her a sincere smile. "You're pretty cool."
When her words were only met with a small sigh, Temari frowned. "What's wrong?"
"It's just… I know I'm the next to go if we have to go to tribal," Hanabi said sadly. "And I'm not ready to leave yet. Yes, a big part of it is because I wanna play the game and prove myself to my family, but an equally important reason is because I don't want to leave you and my other new friends so soon."
Temari bit her lip and put a comforting hand on Hanabi's shoulder. After all, it was no secret. Everyone in the Tsuki Tribe except for Gai and Hanabi were in a big alliance. And when it came down to it, everyone preferred to keep Gai instead of Hanabi because he was a beast in challenges.
"Well…" Temari started slowly, an idea coming to mind. "What if it isn't you?"
"Huh?" Hanabi blinked.
"I'm saying, what if we could target someone else?" Temari explained.
"But there's no way the others will vote Gai off," Hanabi sulked.
"Not Gai," Temari shook her head, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Haku."
Hanabi's eyes went comically wide.
"It makes sense," Temari went on. "To be honest, you've been working your butt off in challenges and around camp for the tribe. Haku hasn't. You've made an effort to make friends with everyone, whereas Haku only sticks to Sasuke. I don't know him, so I don't see myself being able to really play with him. As for you…"
"We'd make a fantastic team," Hanabi finished for her, her voice excited. "If I get Gai on board and you get Kisame, we could vote Haku out!"
"Easier said than done for Kisame, though," Temari frowned. "I'm not sure I can get him to go behind Itachi's back. And I wouldn't want to break Itachi's trust either - he's one scary man to go against."
"Did you know Itachi has an immunity idol?" Hanabi asked suddenly.
The look of shock on Temari's face said it all.
"Don't tell anyone, but I used my byakugan one day in the jungle," Hanabi whispered. "I saw it in his bag."
"No way," Temari gaped.
"I'm dead serious," Hanabi looked her in the eye. "If you need proof, just ask Kisame about it casually and act like you know. I'm sure Itachi's told Sasuke and him."
Temari's brow furrowed. If Hanabi was telling the truth, then it meant that she was at the bottom of the Anti-Konoha Alliance. Deciding to test the waters and ask Kisame first – Itachi wouldn't tell her outright if he had already not chosen to tell her thus far – Temari fixed Hanabi with a serious look.
"Okay, I'll test it out," Temari said, her brows pinching together.
"And when you find out for sure, you'll know that you can trust me all the way," Hanabi replied convincingly.
Extending their hands to each other, the two kunoichi shook hands. They could both tell that their relationship had shifted from being friends to also becoming game allies.
"I'll head back first so we don't raise any suspicions," Temari stated as she stood and made her way back to camp.
Watching as her Suna ally disappeared into the trees, Hanabi allowed a devious grin to appear on her face. That had went so much smoother than she expected. Temari even did most of the work for her!
She had spent the past few days laying the groundwork – pushing herself in challenges, helping out around camp, making friends – doing anything she could possibly do to endear herself. And today, she had finally cracked Temari. Playing the 'fellow kunoichi' card definitely helped. While Hanabi still had the Legacy Advantage, she knew that she couldn't use it as a bargaining chip as it would just make everyone vote her out. Therefore, she had chosen to make use of her connection with Temari instead and show the kunoichi that she'd be a valuable ally to keep, as opposed to Haku whose loyalties lay with other players.
It was time for her to shake things up.
…
Back on the Tsuki beach, Itachi was having a conversation with Kisame at the exact same time the two kunoichi were talking at the stream.
"Kisame," the Uchiha said quietly as they waded into the sea to catch fish. "I have an idol."
As soon he had heard that Taiyou had voted Konan out, Itachi knew that his next course of action would be to inform Kisame about the idol. With Sakura and Shikamaru having figured it out, it wouldn't take long for word to spread. In order to keep Kisame under his thumb, the shark man needed to find out from Itachi himself rather than through the grapevine. If it was going to be inevitable, then Itachi would at least take control of what was still in his power.
"Shit yeah," Kisame grinned at him widely. "Can't say I'm surprised. When did you find it?"
"On the Brain Tribe beach," Itachi said easily. "I think I've kept it to myself for long enough, so I've decided to tell you about it."
"I assume Sasuke knows as well?" It wasn't really a question.
"Yes," Itachi nodded. "If the time comes, we can use it to…"
"Fuck shit up?" Kisame supplied helpfully.
Itachi didn't dignify his comment with a response, but Kisame took his lack of disagreement as a 'yes'.
"That's great news, man," Kisame continued. "Thanks for telling me."
Nodding curtly to his ex-Akatsuki partner, Itachi then followed Kisame's lead in diving underwater to fish for tonight's dinner.
Perhaps he was in too good a mood after using hair conditioner, or maybe Itachi was too busy underwater and plotting his future game moves, but he failed to remember to check in with his crow summons and find out if they had heard anything useful that afternoon.
Day 16 - Immunity Challenge
"Come on in, guys!" Jiraiya beckoned the group of ninja onto the beach.
It was a beautiful day; there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun's rays reflecting on the crystal clear waters gave the illusion of the sea being filled with shimmery glitter. The temperature was warm, but an occasional light breeze would make the heat bearable.
"Welcome to today's immunity challenge!" Jiraiya grinned. "Today, four members from each tribe will race into the water and swim out for about a hundred metres until you reach those cages."
Pointing towards the water, the contestants noted two separate tall cages. The walls easily extended five metres above the water level.
Seeing their comprehension, Jiraiya continued to explain. "You will then climb into the cage and work together to untie knots to release a giant bag in the shape of a snake. Bear in mind that it is heavy - the entire snake weighs a hundred kilograms."
"The four will then work together to swim the snake back to shore and drag it in front of these tables," Jiraiya now gestured to two tables standing on the beach. "The remaining two tribe members will then cut the snake open, retrieve the puzzle pieces inside, and put together a puzzle. The first tribe to complete the puzzle will win immunity, while the losing tribe will see me at tribal council."
"You have full use of your chakra for this challenge," Jiraiya went on. "However, any attempts to interfere with the opposing tribe's progress will be met with instant disqualification of the challenge. I'll give you a moment to strategize, and we'll get started."
...
"Alright!" Jiraiya shouted. "Running the course for Taiyou is Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Deidara, while Shikamaru and Ino take on the puzzle. For Tsuki, it is Kisame, Gai, Sasuke and Itachi retrieving the snake, while Haku and Hanabi tackle the puzzle. Temari is sitting this challenge out."
Noting that the eight ninja running the course were in position and waiting for his cue, Jiraiya announced, "This challenge is now on. GO!"
Springing into action immediately, both groups ran into the water and started to swim as soon as it became deep enough. While Kisame was clearly pulling ahead of the entire pack, the other three ninja from the Tsuki Tribe were still making decent headway over the group from Taiyou.
Using their chakra to swiftly scale the cage wall, the Tsuki members began to work on untying the multiple knots anchoring the snake to the ocean floor. While the water wasn't ridiculously deep, the knots still required the ninja to be fully submerged in order to untie them. Kisame was a definite asset to the team, staying underwater the entire time courtesy of his fusion with Samehada.
To their credit, the four from Taiyou were only a little bit slower than their competitors. However, it was rather discouraging to know that the other team was fairing much better because they had a freakin' shark on their side.
Eventually, Deidara lost his patience - or had a stroke of genius - and sent several clay bombs underwater simultaneously. Signaling his tribe members to be cautious, the bomber made a single handseal and numerous muffled explosions took place, effectively taking out a large number of knots and bringing them up to par with the other tribe. Thankfully, the seawater helped to lessen the impact of the clay bombs and only the knots were destroyed, leaving the snake in one piece.
"You the man!" Naruto cheered as they began to haul the snake out of the water. Then, he made a familiar cross-shaped handseal and dozens of shadow clones popped into existence.
"Come on, guys!" OG Naruto ordered. "Help us get this snake over the wall!"
A loud chorus of 'YOSH!' followed and the snake quickly found itself on the other side of the cage. Dismissing over half of his clones, the remaining bodies then worked together to swim the snake back to shore. While the Naruto clones were a big help, the other members of Taiyou were still definitely pulling their weight: Sakura used her chakra-enhanced strength, and Kakashi and Deidara pulled with all their might.
On the Tsuki side, the process was slower as they didn't have as many hands to help. However, Gai's and Kisame's brutish strength were a huge asset in maneuvering the giant snake. Working themselves to the bone (Gai had even opened the First Gate), the four Tsuki members did their best to ensure they didn't lag too far behind the Taiyou team. It also definitely helped when Kisame fully transformed into a shark and pushed from behind, getting impatient that they were still moving a bit too slow for his liking.
In the end, Taiyou was first to reach the shore. As soon as the snake was hauled in front of the table, Ino and Shikamaru rushed to slice the canvas open with a kunai and began pulling out puzzle pieces. Once they had a sizeable pile of pieces, Shikamaru began analyzing the pieces while Ino doubled back to search the snake thoroughly, making sure that they didn't miss a piece by accident.
It was at the time that Tsuki delivered their snake to the puzzle-solvers. Ripping into the snake, Hanabi's activated byakugan managed to spot all the puzzle pieces, making quick work of gathering their pile to solve. As soon as they had all of their pieces, Haku and Hanabi started to try as many options and fits as possible.
The two tribes had different approaches: Taiyou saw Shikamaru taking the lead, his hands moving rapidly as he pieced the puzzle together while Ino offered her teammate assistance by retrieving the pieces he asked for and fitting in the odd piece every now and then. Their teamwork was flawless, having worked together for well over a decade. For Tsuki, both Haku and Hanabi worked equally, crossing and climbing over each other as they experimented with different pieces of the puzzle in different areas.
Unsurprisingly, Taiyou was the clear winner, completing their puzzle before Tsuki had even gotten halfway through.
"You the puzzle master, Shika!" Naruto yelled triumphantly as he single-handedly lifted the Nara into the air.
"Troublesome Uzumaki," Shikamaru grinned lazily. "But I couldn't have done it so quickly without Ino." He sent a nod in his teammate's direction, receiving a wink from her in return.
"And with that, Taiyou wins immunity!" Jiraiya announced. "Taiyou, enjoy the night off. Tsuki, I will see you at tribal council tonight where one of you will be the sixth person voted out of this game."
Day 16 - Tsuki
As the tribe of seven trudged back to camp, Temari send a subtle nod towards Hanabi. While she knew that her fellow kunoichi was in danger of going home tonight, she would do her utmost best to make sure it would be Haku instead. It was particularly important to her game to keep Hanabi, as the girl would be completely loyal to her, unlike her current Anti-Konoha Alliance.
She would much rather be in control of her own game with loyal allies, as opposed to being at the bottom of an alliance with zero power. Heck, she was Sabaku no Temari! Her brothers - including the Kazekage - feared her wrath! Having to bow down to the whims of pig-headed men who viewed her as a lame little kunoichi was more than she could take.
Recalling the conversation she had with Kisame yesterday, she had found out that Hanabi was indeed the one she could trust the most in the game.
"Hey," Temari called out to Kisame as she joined in him the water, receiving a friendly grunt of acknowledgement in response.
They were on the far side of the beach, far away from the treeline and campsite. A perfect spot to have a private conversation.
"So," she lowered her voice as she spoke. "I just found out about the hidden immunity idol."
Watching his expression out of the corner of her eye, Temari noted a lack of surprise on her companion's face. Interesting.
Deciding to take a gamble, she became a bit bolder. "Glad to know it's in our alliance."
"Yeah," Kisame said, completely unaware anything was amiss. Then with a chuckle, "Of course of all people it would be Uchiha fucking Itachi who'd find it."
Temari laughed along with him despite the cold feeling spreading through her body. Kisame had just unknowingly confirmed it - she was on the bottom of their alliance.
Shaking her head to come back to the present, Temari supposed that being underestimated as a non-threat had worked to her advantage thus far, and she would use it as much as she could.
...
As soon as the ninja arrived back at camp, the Anti-Konoha Alliance made a very non-discreet call to 'get some firewood' and disappeared into the jungle, leaving Hanabi and Gai on the beach.
Trusting Hanabi to relay their plan to Gai about throwing Haku's name out instead, Temari followed the group of five into the trees without a single glance back.
"Hanabi's going home," Sasuke said bluntly as soon as they had stopped walking.
"Sounds good to me," Temari found herself saying. "Easy vote."
"But what if they happen to have an idol?" Haku spoke up.
"We could split the vote," Kisame shrugged, completely unbothered.
"Yeah, but then it would be three Hanabi, two Gai and two on whoever they choose," Sasuke said, catching on to Haku's concern. "If they play the idol correctly we'd have to re-vote between Gai and one of us."
A short silence followed after his statement, each of the five thinking the exact same thing: they didn't quite trust each other to not turn on them if they found themselves in that position. Ninja were practically raised on paranoia and distrust, after all, especially missing-nin, which the majority of this group had abounding experience in being.
"I might have something to solve that," Haku said suddenly, as if a lightbulb had just gone off over his head. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a slip of paper.
"Steal-A-Vote?" Questioned Kisame. "Is that-?"
"It's exactly what you think it is," Haku nodded. "I received this when I went to Exile, and it allows me to steal anybody's vote for this tribal council. I can only use it tonight."
"So if you use it and take Hanabi's vote..." Temari's eyes were wide.
"...then we could split the vote on them three-to-three," Itachi concluded. "It wouldn't matter who they voted for."
"Exactly," Haku smiled.
"That settles it," Sasuke smirked. "Haku will steal Hanabi's vote and put her name down twice. I'll join him."
"Then Kisame, Temari-chan and myself will vote Gai," Itachi's voice left little room for argument. "When it is revealed as a tie, we all vote Hanabi."
Nodding in agreement, the Anti-Konoha Alliance began to make their trek back to camp as Temari fought down a panic attack.
…
About an hour after they had arrived back at camp, Hanabi found herself gathering her courage and approaching Uchiha Sasuke.
Normally, she would never dream of approaching Sasuke for anything more than what was utterly necessary, but when Temari had told her about the 'Steal-A-Vote' plan, they realized it was necessary to swing two more of the Anti-Konoha Alliance to their side. That way, when Haku took her vote, they'd still have the majority of four versus three votes.
And why Sasuke, of all people? Sasuke, who made it clear that he wasn't at all fond of her? Because their only way of succeeding was to pick two out of three - Itachi, Kisame and Sasuke. And the Uchiha brothers at this stage were practically a 2-in-1 deal, and who the heck would try to sway the older one, so therefore she was stuck having to approach Sasuke.
The plan was for her to sway Sasuke, while Gai was off hunting for materials and Temari was back at camp holding fort with the others. She just had to grit her teeth and do her part.
If this gamble paid off, it would be groundbreaking. If it didn't, then Hanabi would be going home. But if she didn't try, she'd be going home anyway so she might as well try.
"Sasuke-san," she was mindful to keep her tone polite as she approached the broody male.
"What do you want, Hyuuga?" Sasuke's smirk was all arrogance and condescension. "Come to beg for your spot in the game?"
"I never beg, Uchiha," Hanabi hissed, trying to reign in her temper. "I'm here to tell you why it's in your best interest to keep me and vote off Haku."
"Haku." It wasn't even a question as Sasuke raised an unimpressed brow. "You want me to vote out an ally I've had since Day 1."
Sensing that he was very close to leaving, Hanabi hurried through her next words.
"I know about his Steal-A-Vote advantage and his hidden immunity idol."
Sasuke stilled.
Bingo. While Hanabi was well aware (thanks to her bloodline) that Itachi was the only person on this tribe who had an idol, there was no harm in using that knowledge or misinformation to throw Haku under the bus, right?
"I've known about them both since we were put on this tribe," Hanabi said, activating her byakugan for a few seconds to get her point across. "If you don't believe me, then let me say that your brother also has an idol."
"You-"
"-haven't told anybody about Itachi-san's idol," Hanabi cut him off. Damn, it felt good to one-up the arrogant Uchiha.
"I'm just saying, you might've put your trust in Haku, but I'm not sure he's reciprocated it," Hanabi added a nonchalant shrug for good measure.
"I know about his Steal-A-Vote," Sasuke scoffed.
"But I bet he only revealed it today when he needed to," Hanabi rolled her eyes. Temari had told her that, of course, but she wasn't going to add that bit in.
Sasuke just glared death at her.
"He also has the idol from the Beauty Tribe's beach," Hanabi went on, completely unaffected. He had nothing on the Hyuuga elders and their disapproving glares.
Sasuke still said nothing, but his glare had turned a bit more pensive.
"If he's been your ally from Day 1, as you say," her tone was now mocking, "why is it that I've been able to reveal more about him to you than Haku himself? We don't even like each other."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You're trying to say you're better?"
"I'm saying you can trust me to be an honest ally," Hanabi rolled her eyes. "If I'm telling you all of this now, when we're not aligned, imagine what I could do for you when we are?"
Steamrolling ahead before Sasuke could voice his doubts, she continued, "Here's what I propose. You, Itachi-san and Temari switch your votes to Haku. Us dojutsu-users should stick up for each other, after all."
The Uchiha shook his head.
"You know it's in your best interest," Hanabi countered. "If you don't believe me, check for yourself. Discuss it over with your brother."
Turning her back and sauntering off, Hanabi added one last thing.
"I'll give you half an hour to decide. I'll find you when time is up."
Speeding up her strides, Hanabi now focused on locating Gai, who by now had hopefully whipped up a passable fake idol in case they needed to plant it on Haku. Having both seen the idol from their Brawn beach when Naruto had located it early on, they had a good idea of what things they needed to fashion a convincing double. Konoha's Green Beast had thought their plan to sabotage Haku was rather deceitful and unyouthful, but he gave in when he realized that it needed to be done in order to save his ally.
She just hoped that Temari's distraction had given Gai enough space to do his part.
…
Fifteen minutes later and after a quick pow-wow with his aniki, who had told him with a curious gleam in his expression to talk to Haku, Sasuke cornered the ice user.
"Still good with the plan for tonight?" Haku asked him as he sat down.
"Yes," Sasuke said, but his lips were downturned in a frown. He shifted his gaze to Haku and asked, "Do you have an idol?"
"Hm?" Haku looked up in surprise. "No I don't. Why?"
"Just thought one of our former tribe might have found it," Sasuke kept his features blank.
"You don't have it, do you?" Haku asked curiously.
"No."
"Oh," Haku shrugged. "It could either be with Kakashi-sempai, Deidara-san or Ino-san, then."
Or maybe no one found it, Sasuke found himself hoping.
A loud wail startled the two ninja. Turning their heads to where the sound came from, they found out that it was unsurprisingly Maito Gai.
"HAKU-KUN!" the man sobbed, comical tears falling down his face. "I wanted to arm wrestle with Kisame-kun but he was most unyouthful cheated! I need you to be an impartial and youthful proctor of this match!"
"Cheated my ass!" Came Kisame's retort. "You just can't accept that I'm stronger."
"Haku-kun!" Gai pleaded.
Shooting Sasuke an amused and apologetic look, Haku stood up and strolled over to the arm wrestling match.
Noticing that everyone's attention was focused on the two loud men trying to one-up each other with their arms, Sasuke shifted his gaze to Haku's bag that was sitting within arm's reach of him. The temptation to peek inside it was very high.
Moving himself closer subtly to the bag and checking one last time that no one was watching him, Sasuke deftly reached into the bag for a swift look and froze.
There was an immunity idol necklace in Haku's bag.
Quickly shoving the necklace back in and moving away from the bag, Sasuke was inwardly seething. It was one thing to keep an idol a secret - he couldn't blame Haku for doing that, it was part of the game - but to blatantly lie to his face when he asked? Something about this situation was definitely not right and he was beginning to feel queasy, but Sasuke couldn't ignore the cold, hard proof that he had just seen.
Itachi's words from Day 10 came back into his mind:
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.
As much as he hated to admit it (and his brain was screaming at him not to), Hanabi was right.
But what was the best thing to do now? Should he continue on with Haku - someone that he thought he had in his pocket from the first day but now he wasn't so sure, or should he go forward with Hanabi, who made it clear she disliked him but was potentially useful? He needed to talk to his aniki again and decide what to do - Itachi always somehow seemed to know what was going on.
The girl in question must've felt his gaze on her - when had he even started staring at her? - and she turned and met his eyes. Raising an eyebrow at him, Sasuke could clearly read what she was expressing to him.
Told you so.
Night 16 - Tribal Council
"Welcome back to tribal council," Jiraiya said once they had taken their seats in the hut. "First things first - how did you guys like your reward?"
"It was amazing!" Temari sighed. "It was so good to be able to wash properly - even the guys were melting although they tried to hide it!"
"It helped to refresh and fan our flames of youth!" Gai added.
"Be that as it may," Jiraiya interjected, "It didn't seem to make any difference in the immunity challenge. Your winning streak was broken earlier today. What happened?"
"Nothing, really," Hanabi said. "No one messed up. Our team might be physically stronger, but the challenge just suited the skills of the other tribe better."
"So continuing on that line of thought," Jiraiya nodded, "Is tonight's vote still about keeping the tribe strong? As I recall, your previous vote for Kurenai was based on that."
"Nah," Kisame spoke up. "It's more of to do with alliances now."
"I see," the Toad Sage acknowledged. "In that case, what are you looking for when you choose your alliance? Haku?"
"I look for people that I can trust and form bonds with," the ice user stated simply, causing Hanabi to scoff quietly.
"Hanabi?" Jiraiya was now looking at the young Hyuuga. "Why the big reaction?"
"I just think it's hypocritical, coming from him," she said, then added, "no offense."
"Oh?" Haku retorted. "Care to explain?"
"The only person you've really made an effort with is Sasuke," Hanabi accused. "You've barely said a single sentence to me or Gai since you've been on this tribe, and I don't even see you hanging out much with the others in your alliance except your dear Sasuke-kun."
"You're just sore because you know you're on the chopping block tonight," Sasuke interjected.
"I'm just stating the facts," Hanabi shot back.
"Woah, woah, woah," Jiraiya held up his hands to halt the impending argument. "So from what I've gathered, there's a majority alliance of five and they're angling for you, Hanabi?"
"Pretty much," the girl in question rolled her eyes. "But there are definitely cracks in the five."
"That's an interesting claim to make," Jiraiya stated. "What makes you say that?"
"There are always cracks in any alliance," Hanabi said, her voice matter-of-fact. "Five people can't all be equally close to each other. There's bound to be an order of who's in power and who's on the bottom, and certain people trusting other people more than others."
"It's cute that you're trying so hard," Sasuke said condescendingly.
"Where do you sit, Gai?" Jiraiya asked the green-clad man. "You seem to be in the minority, but all the heat is on Hanabi."
"I feel anxious," Gai said honestly. "While my youthful prowess keeps me valuable to the tribe, I know that I am next to go if Hanabi is voted off tonight."
"Which is why Hanabi is fighting so hard to stay in the game," Jiraiya concluded correctly.
"Yes," Hanabi agreed. "It's what anyone would do if they're in the bottom and facing elimination."
"So I assume you tried to make a case to some of the majority five?" Jiraiya asked her.
"I definitely had a few private conversations with some of them," Hanabi said vaguely. "All I can do now is hope that I have gotten through to them and the people that I've spoken to can see the value I have to offer them."
Jiraiya nodded at her answer before redirecting his focus to the older Uchiha. "Itachi, you haven't said a word throughout this entire evening. What's your opinion on all of this?"
"The person that I am voting for tonight is someone that I've been wanting out for a while," he intoned simply.
"Alright," Jiraiya said. "With that, I think it's time to vote."
"Wait."
Jiraiya regarded Haku curiously. "Yes, Haku?"
"When I was sent to Exile, I received a 'Steal-A-Vote' advantage," Haku explained as he stood up and approached the Sannin, offering him the piece of parchment. "It allows me to steal someone else's right to vote and vote twice instead."
Nodding as he accepted the slip, Jiraiya confirmed, "This is indeed true. Haku, whose vote do you wish to steal?"
"I'm taking Hanabi's vote," Haku said quietly but determinedly.
"Hanabi, you will not get up to vote," Jiraiya told the Hyuuga who was now glaring daggers at the ice user. "Haku, you will vote twice. Let's get to it."
…
"If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Jiraiya waited several seconds as he observed the group in front of him as he held on to the voting urn that contained tonight's results. There were a few sneaky eye shifts and some fidgeting, but he received no response otherwise.
"Once the votes have been read, the person with the highest number of votes will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately," he went on. "I'll now read the votes."
Dipping his hand into the urn, he pulled out the first piece of paper and unfolded it.
"First vote: Hanabi."
"Next vote," Jiraiya's hand reached into the urn again. "Gai."
"Third vote: Hanabi," Jiraiya read. "That's two votes for Hanabi, and one for Gai."
"Next vote: Haku."
Haku spared a glance towards Gai out of the corner of his eyes. It was a weak attempt; if Haku were in his position, he would've cast his vote for Hanabi to try and win favor from the majority in the future.
"Haku," Jiraiya announced the next vote, causing the ninja in question to jolt in surprise. "That's two for Hanabi, two for Haku, and one for Gai."
Jiraiya unfolded the next vote. "Haku. One vote left."
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Haku's stomach.
"Sixth person voted out of Survivor: Ninja Edition," Jiraiya paused for dramatic effect, "Haku."
Shaking his head in disappointment, Haku grabbed his belongings and torch before heading to Jiraiya. He didn't look anyone in the eye once.
"Haku, the tribe has spoken," said Jiraiya solemnly as he snuffed the torch in front of him. "Time for you to go."
Choosing to completely disregard the group of traitors behind him, Haku held his head high and walked right out of the hut. Silence followed his exit.
"Well," Jiraiya sighed eventually, "if that was anything to go by, more than one person just got blindsided. Take your torches and head back to camp; I'm sure you've got a long night ahead of you."
Author's Note:
Yey! Hope you guys enjoyed this episode - I definitely had lots of fun writing this one and thinking through each character's motivations and reasoning. Big hugs to everyone who's reviewed, followed and favorited so far, it really makes me soooo happy! PS - anyone here following the new season of Australian Survivor? Long live King Russell. Anyway, til next time! xxx