Previously on Survivor: Ninja Edition...
The castaways were surprised with a Capture The Flag challenge, where the winning tribe would get to sit in on the losers' tribal council. During the challenge, Kisame and Naruto noticed Sasuke's growing attraction to Sakura, and unbeknownst to his tribe, Itachi chose to throw the challenge. As the members of Tsuki were faced with another tribal council, it was a toss up between eliminating Hanabi or Gai. Eventually, the tribe chose to keep Hanabi, resulting in Gai being the seventh person voted out of the game. 11 remain; who will be voted out tonight?
Ep 7 Votes:
Voted for Gai - Itachi, Sasuke, Kisame, Temari, Hanabi (5)
Voted for Hanabi - Gai (1)
Idols/Advantages:
Naruto - Hidden Immunity Idol (Sakura and Kakashi know)
Itachi - Hidden Immunity Idol (everyone knows)
Hanabi - Legacy Advantage (use at 11 or 6; no one knows)
Unknown (former Beauty Tribe member) - Hidden Immunity Idol
Survivor: Ninja Edition - Ep 8
I Got Lost On The Road Of Life
Day 19 - Taiyou
Ino woke to the sounds of splashing water in the distance. Groggily, she opened her eyes to note that Kakashi and Sakura were just finishing their morning swim in the ocean. There were no surprises there - they both were the early risers of their tribe. Glancing briefly around her, she again was not surprised to see a snoring Naruto, and a conscious but lounging Shikamaru.
Sitting up slowly, her movements stirred her cuddle buddy from his sleep.
"Mornin', princess," Deidara grinned sleepily.
Ino winked at him in response and reached towards her water canteen. It was a hot day, and staying hydrated was important for good skin care. A small groan escaped her lips when she noticed the bottle was empty, and she moved to stand up.
The rustling behind her informed Ino that Deidara was following her.
"I'll come with, yeah," he muttered, his voice husky from sleep. "I'm parched."
Nodding her agreement and picking up the water canteens of her remaining tribe mates - she could be nice every once in a while - Ino led the way to the water well with Deidara right by her side.
"What do you make of watching Tsuki's tribal last night?" Ino asked her companion once they were safely out of earshot.
"It was good to find out who was aligned with who," Deidara shrugged. "I think they made the right choice for them in getting rid of Gai."
Ino nodded in agreement as the water well came into sight. "Gai would've definitely joined the Team 7 alliance once the merge came around."
"What'll happen during the merge, though?" Deidara wondered as he filled his canteen. "Team 7 will stick together for sure, as well as those four and maybe Hanabi."
"I can't quite see Shika joining up with that group, so I think he'll likely go with Team 7," Ino reasoned out. "He's worked with them several times already in this game, after all. And he wouldn't trust Itachi after the fake idol stunt he pulled on the Brain Tribe."
"What about Sasuke, hn?" Deidara added. "Would he be torn between his brother and Team 7?"
Their discussion was cut short by the sounds of rapid footsteps approaching them. Turning their heads to spot the intruder, it turned out to be Sakura. Clutching a piece of parchment in her hands, she jogged right up to the blonde pair.
"There you are!" She said, giving no indication that she was aware of their conversation. It wasn't rare for them to be seen together, after all. "We just got a note in tree mail telling us to make room for more in our camp!"
Ino and Deidara stared at each other with wide eyes. Did this mean...?
Without any more words exchanged, the three ninja grabbed the water canteens and hurried back to their tribe grounds. They arrived just in time to spot a medium sized boat making its way to their shore, with Jiraiya steering at the helm and the Tsuki members sitting behind him as they clutched their meager belongings in their laps.
As soon as the boat reached the sand, Jiraiya jumped onto the beach and indicated for the Tsuki tribe to do the same.
"Congratulations!" The toad sage cried jubilantly. "You are now merged! The eleven of you will make camp on this beach for the rest of your time here. You will have the rest of the day off to get settled in and acquainted with each other."
Reaching into his pants pocket, Jiraiya unrolled a large sealing scroll and channeled his chakra into it. Doing so caused a large wooden table filled with an impressive assortment of food and beverages to appear on the beach. There were pastries, fresh fruit, all sorts of meats, desserts and even sake in the mix. At the foot of the table was a new piece of black colored cloth and several paints and tools for them to design their new merged tribe flag.
"Enjoy!" Jiraiya beamed at the drooling ninja as he hopped back into the boat and sped off along the waves and into the distance.
A loud collective cheer filled the beach as all eleven castaways dashed forward to the table and began helping themselves to the generous feast.
...
It didn't take long for all the food to be devoured and the sake to make its rounds. After fifteen minutes, the ninja began to break into smaller groups from their previous communal positions around the table, intent on catching up with old friends or tribe mates.
Deidara and Kisame, having hogged most of the sake, were fairly intoxicated, while a bemused Itachi hovered over them like a mother hen. Temari engaged Shikamaru in flirty banter while Ino and Hanabi listened on in amusement as they worked on painting the new tribe flag. That left the four original members of Team 7 to hold their long awaited reunion.
"Teme."
"Dead-last."
Sakura shook her head in exasperation as she and her ex-sensei observed Naruto and Sasuke engaging each other in their typical staring match. Sasuke had his arms crossed, an arrogant smirk fixed on his face while Naruto had his fists clenched by his sides and his teeth bared. During their genin days, Sakura could only watch helplessly as she was left ignored and Kakashi was usually nowhere to be found. However, she had come a long way since then.
Stepping between the two rivals, Sakura took both boys by surprise when she grabbed them by the front of their clothes and casually flipped them down onto the sand, as if they each weighed no more than a feather.
When she was met by their gaping expressions (even Kakashi seemed lost for words), Sakura shrugged and stuck her tongue out at them.
"I got bored waiting while you just stared into each others' eyes," she explained. "There are much more efficient ways to communicate, you know."
"I find that using your vocabulary helps," Kakashi offered innocently.
Scowling as he scrambled back up to his feet, Naruto addressed his former teammate/best friend/rival/enemy.
"So, teme, you gonna finally join us again or what?" Naruto had a competitive grin on his face as he extended his right hand towards Sasuke.
"Hn," Sasuke scoffed as he ignored the offered hand and stood up on his own in one smooth motion. "It's too late for that, dobe."
Naruto refused to move his hand from its outstretched position, but his grin got even wider. "That's bullshit and you know it. You sure about that? Even after all we've been through?"
When the only answer he got was silence, Naruto set determined eyes on Sasuke.
"Then I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked again and again."
"You're on," Sasuke smirked, and finally grasped Naruto's hand in his own and gave it a firm shake. "But you'll be the one getting your ass handed to you."
Without letting go of Naruto - it seemed both males were now subtly trying to crush each other's hand - Sasuke nodded towards the two remaining members of his former team. "Kakashi," he acknowledged respectfully, before his gaze softened slightly when addressing the sole female on Team 7. "Sakura."
"Game on, Sasuke," she replied stonily, satisfied to note how his eyes darkened at the lack of the usual suffix at the end of his name.
Wrenching his hand out of Naruto's, Sasuke turned his back on the trio and strode off towards his older brother. Noticing Naruto's crestfallen expression as he turned back towards his team, Kakashi began to offer a few words of comfort.
"Maa, it's still early days, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Things change all the time in this game, so-"
"It was a long shot to begin with," Sakura cut him off, her voice as hard as steel. "I don't know why we hoped it would be any different this time around, but we can't be lenient on him anymore."
"But Sakura-chan," Naruto protested. "We-"
"No more excuses," she ordered. "We've made enough for him already. He's in it to play and win; if we don't do the same because we're too caught up in being nice, we'll be sent packing. Enough is enough."
Not sticking around to give Naruto another chance to plead with her or Kakashi, Sakura turned back towards the table and stalked towards the group painting the new tribe flag.
...
Shikamaru was actually having a pleasant time conversing with the three kunoichi until Sakura stormed up to them in a huff and was practically radiating murder.
Exchanging a quick look with Ino, the blonde nodded imperceptibly and made a flamboyant show of pulling the grumpy pinkette away lest she scare off Temari or Hanabi from forming any potential alliances with their former Taiyou Tribe. However, it became apparent that he had given the remaining two females too little credit.
"I can completely relate," Hanabi said, her voice carefully lowered. "Talking to Sasuke makes me want to kill something every time."
When Temari only smirked in response, Shikamaru grew equal amounts of curious, hopeful and suspicious.
"Oh really?" he drawled, adding some red to the black cloth in front of him. "Seemed to me like you five were all one big happy family when we watched your tribal council."
Sneaking a discreet glance in Itachi's direction and finding him preoccupied with a drunk Deidara challenging him to a duel, Temari shook her head.
"Not at all," she told Shikamaru. "Hanabi and I are tight with each other, but we had no choice but to go along with whatever that group wanted."
"They had the numbers, not to mention an idol," Hanabi added in explanation. "Kisame and Sasuke are also unwavering in their loyalty to Itachi."
"Feh," Shikamaru scoffed in amusement. He then casually said, "Sounds like the Team 7 trio to me."
"Duh," Temari rolled her eyes. "You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not notice that."
"Where does that leave the two of you, then?" Shikamaru inquired.
The kunoichi shared a pointed glance before Hanabi replied. "With the highest bidder. What about you and Ino?"
"With the least troublesome bidder," he retorted, his comment earning him a round of soft laughter.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, content to spend the next few minutes decorating the tribe flag. However, Shikamaru was inwardly troubled.
He could already see two main alliances emerging. First was the Akatsuki alliance consisting of Itachi, Kisame and Sasuke, and if he was a betting man he'd go all in that Deidara would be joining those ranks. On the other side was the Team 7 alliance with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. That left himself, Ino, Temari and Hanabi as floaters, or the potential to join up and become a third major alliance.
It wasn't that simple, though. While he knew Ino and Deidara were a power couple, he wasn't so sure if she would jump on board with the Akatsuki. Similarly, he could say the same about her relationship or friendly rivalry with Sakura. Additionally, Temari and Hanabi were even bigger question marks. Yes, they had all but admitted that they would be willing to flip on their former tribe, but it was a classic dilemma of 'better the devil you know versus the one you don't'.
The fact was, no matter which side the floaters might jump onto - Akatsuki or Team 7 - they would always be on the bottom. There was no way to say to Itachi, "hey dude, take me to the end instead of your foolish little brother" or tell Naruto, "oi, I think I'd make a more precious person than your already most precious people". Then there was the additional headache of the high chance that the four floaters would be divided in their choice of which side to join.
Following that line of thought, it might simply be better to gather the three remaining kunoichi and form a third alliance. If he chose to go that route, however, he'd have to take utmost discretion as doing so could run the risk of Akatsuki and Team 7 joining together to come after them first. He'd have to be especially wary if his theory about Itachi's spying crows was accurate.
Chancing a quick glance in the older Uchiha's direction, Shikamaru was slightly amused to find that Itachi now had both Kisame and Deidara asking him for arm wrestling matches at the same time, stumbling over each other in their drunkenness. Itachi was obviously too preoccupied at the moment to set up his summons, but Shikamaru would be on the lookout for the first flash of black feathers in the jungle treetops.
Day 20 - Immunity Challenge
The first thing that the newly merged group of shinobi noticed when they stepped onto the beach was that there were eleven pairs of small wooden poles sticking out from the sand. Each pair of poles were painted a different color, and all of them stood over five meters high. There were no visible grooves, handles or markings on the poles, making the group wonder just what they were in for.
"Welcome to your first individual immunity challenge!" Jiraiya announced cheerfully as soon as all eleven contestants found their way to the wooden benches next to the poles.
"It seems that you're already wondering about the challenge, but we'll get to that a little later," the toad sage carried on. "First things first - what is the name of the new merged tribe?"
There was a short moment of collective embarrassment before Ino not-so-gently elbowed Shikamaru in the ribs, muttering, "It was your doing, so you tell him!"
Sighing in irritation, Shikamaru told Jiraiya, "Kuro. Our new tribe name is Kuro."
The only sounds heard were the gentle crashing of waves at the shoreline.
"Kuro... as in black?" Jiraiya deadpanned. When Shikamaru nodded, he asked, "Why? Of all the possibilities, why Kuro?"
"Eh, I suggested calling our tribe 'Hoshi'!" Naruto piped up. "Cuz, you know, our previous tribes were called 'Sun' and 'Moon', so I thought why not a star?"
"But then it would've sounded like we were naming the tribe after this guy," Deidara butted in, jerking a thumb in Kisame's direction.
"I didn't have any problems with it," the Hoshigaki grinned.
"Yeah, but everyone else did," Deidara snorted. "I for one, was willing to come up with a much more creative and artistic name, but no one else wanted to put in the effort..."
"...and while the arguing was going on, Shikamaru just decided it was all too troublesome and wrote 'Kuro' on our new flag in bright, multi-colored paint," Ino finished.
"Cuz, you know, our new tribe color is black," Naruto added unnecessarily.
"I regret asking," Jiraiya twitched, but collected himself and grinned at the group once more. "So, I take it that your first day of being merged went fairly well?"
"I guess you could say that," Sakura supplied. "There's not really any bad blood, but we're ninja - we all know that everyone here is playing to win."
Nodding in satisfaction at her answer, Jiraiya proceeded to explain the challenge. "Alright - let's get to today's immunity challenge. From now on, tribal immunity is no more. Instead, you will now be competing for this beauty!"
A large popping sound and copious amount of smoke informed the ninja that Jiraiya had just summoned the new individual immunity necklace. It was an intricately carved wooden necklace, the detail consisting of several artistic spirals and swirls of different sizes that were tastefully arranged to look like the Uzushiogakure whirlpools.
"Individual immunity is what you now covert," Jiraiya flourished his hands in the direction of the necklace for extra emphasis. "For today's challenge, you will balance on top of these poles for as long as you can. The last person standing - or should I say, hand-standing - will win immunity and cannot be voted out tonight."
It took a few seconds for his words to sink in. When they finally did, Ino spluttered, "W-wait a minute! Handstand? Does that mean we-"
"Right you are!" Jiraiya's smile was now downright devious. "The only part of your body that is allowed to touch the poles would be your hands. If you fall off, or any other part of you touches the poles, you will be out of the challenge. You can use chakra for this challenge, but at least one of your hands has to be in contact with the pole at all times."
His instructions were met by an apprehensive silence, broken only by Temari's whisper of, "at least Gai isn't here anymore so we all stand a chance of winning this."
"Alright," Jiraiya nodded. "We'll draw for spots and get started."
...
"You now have your allocated poles!" Jiraiya told the ninja who were standing by the corresponding color that they drew. "You may now begin to chakra-walk up your poles, and I'll count you in. By the time I reach zero, only your hands should be touching the top of the poles."
As the Sannin counted down from five, the contestants assumed their positions. While most of them chose to pose in the standard handstand, there were a few who took their chances on staying upright, supporting their weight on their hands like a gymnast would on a pommel horse.
"This challenge is now on," Jiraiya stated. "The last ninja standing will win immunity for your first tribal council into the merge."
While all of the competitors had expected chakra control to play a big part in this challenge, most of them had failed to anticipate the importance of pain tolerance as well. The poles were fairly tiny, and dug uncomfortably into their palms, even for the kunoichi who had smaller hands.
"These poles hurt like a bitch," Kisame growled, flexing his fingers. He probably had the biggest hands out of the remaining eleven.
"Pain management is equally important as keeping focus on your chakra and balance in this challenge," Jiraiya said as several grunts of agreement were made. "We've only just started - it's gonna get worse."
The next few minutes dragged by slowly. It was a hot day with few clouds in the sky, and sweat was already pouring down several of the ninja's bodies. Some were attempting to do deep breathing exercises to distract from the pain, while others had their eyes closed to help focus on their chakra control.
Without any warning, Shikamaru somersaulted down onto the sand.
"Shikamaru is the first out of this challenge!" Jiraiya announced, resulting in a few curious looks towards the Nara. "I must ask, Shikamaru - it's way too soon to be out because you've run out of chakra or stamina. You didn't lose your balance either. Why'd you give up?"
"It was too troublesome," came the unsurprising reply. "I know I can't win this one as there are others here who have way better stamina and chakra control than me. I'm saving my efforts for a situation where I actually stand a chance of winning."
Nodding in slight exasperation, Jiraiya informed the remaining ten, "The rest of you have been up there for six minutes."
Now that the interruption was over, the ninja resumed their previous tactics in staying up. Some of them looked solid and unwavering, while others were shifting their hands and making minor adjustments to their posture periodically. The silence continued for what seemed like a long time, the only sounds in area coming from mother nature.
Ino shifted her hands slightly, trying to ease the pressure on her palms. She was one of the few that had chosen to remain upright instead of going upside down. While this gave her an advantage of not having to deal with the blood rushing to her head, it also meant that she had to be extra careful to keep the rest of her body from touching the poles.
"We're now half an hour in," came Jiraiya's announcement.
Resisting the urge to sigh, Ino was just about to shift her weight again when a thought came to her. They were ninja, for crying out loud! Who cares if she cheated and used some chakra to stick her feet to the sides of the pole? It would definitely ease the pressure off from her aching hands, and it wouldn't be an issue if no one caught her doing it.
Casting a quick glance to her right and left, Ino was pleased to note that Sakura had her eyes closed in concentration and Kisame was glaring resolutely ahead past the treeline. They were both upside down in handstands as well, so they'd have to actually put in effort to catch her cheating.
Making up her mind, Ino slowly inched her toes towards the poles and -
"AH!"
A jolt of electricity ran through her entire body and disrupted her chakra flow, sending Ino plummeting towards the ground. Thankfully, she managed to right herself in the air before she ate a mouthful of sand, and landed in a low crouch instead.
"Ino is the second person to be out of the challenge!" Jiraiya informed the group who had started at her yelp. Chuckling at the confused blonde, he added in explanation, "that's what you get for trying to cheat."
At her glare, Jiraiya pointed to the bottom of the poles where a few kanji characters were written in black ink. "As soon as this challenge started, I secretly activated those seals. If anyone touches any part of the pole except the very top of it, a chakra-disrupting bolt will be sent through their body."
A few of the remaining ninja paled at the news - or perhaps it was from staying in a handstand for so long - and took extra precaution to avoid touching the poles.
Following Ino's elimination, Temari was the next out at the one hour mark, citing a similar reason to Shikamaru. Deidara was next, the afternoon heat making him drowsy enough to lose his balance.
When two hours had gone by since the commencement of the challenge, the remaining seven had started to make drastic changes to their stances. Those who had started in a handstand were beginning to shift to the gymnast position, hoping to alleviate the pressure in their heads from staying upside down for so long, while the ones who started upright were slowly shifting to handstands.
With a pained grunt, Kisame was sent falling towards the sand and landed with a loud thud. His massive and bulky frame had caused the outside of his left thigh to accidentally brush the side of the pole when he changed his position, sending the same jolt through his chakra system that Ino had experienced earlier.
"We are now down to six!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "Two hours and twelve minutes have gone by and we are seeing a lot of movement from all the remaining ninja. How are you guys holding up?"
"Great, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted, his voice strained from his upside down position. "I can do this for days!"
"Who are you, Gai?" Hanabi teased, trying to rile him up. Naruto was a stamina beast and could very likely be up for eons if he didn't get bored or distracted first.
To her surprise, Naruto didn't seem to miss a beat. "He once gave me some of that green spandex, you know! I was super excited to wear it but Ero-sennin over here refused to let me, but then I said-"
"We do not need that mental image," Kakashi cut in quickly before Naruto could get any further.
However, it was too late and the remaining ninja (including Naruto) couldn't seem to get the image of a green spandex-clad Gai hugging an equally green spandex-clad Naruto as they tried in vain to focus on staying in the challenge. Even Itachi was not spared, even though he would never admit that. Ever.
"I would prefer orange spandex instead, though," Naruto said innocently about five minutes later. "Bright orange. Not dull orange. Bright."
That was the last straw for a physically and mentally exhausted Hanabi. The young kunoichi huffed as she lost her balance and landed on the ground, shaking her head in disappointment.
"And then there were five," Jiraiya said as he tried not to laugh. "You've been up there for almost two hours and twenty minutes!"
"I'm gonna beat you, teme!" Naruto yelled over to Sasuke, who had drawn the spot at the other end of the line.
"I'd like to see you try, dobe," came the usual haughty response.
"In case you two idiots haven't noticed," Sakura said in irritation, "I'm still here and could also win this!"
"Were they always like this?" Itachi whispered to Kakashi. They had drawn spots that were right beside each other.
"Yep," he said simply.
"My sincerest apologies."
"Thanks."
"We can hear you, you know!" Naruto growled as Sakura and Sasuke made noises of agreement.
Kakashi and Itachi put on expressions of well-honed nonchalance in response.
"Let's up the ante!" Jiraiya interrupted before anymore banter ensued. "From now until we have a winner, you can only have one hand on the pole. No switching out hands, so choose carefully. I'll count you down from five and you have to make the transition by then or you're out."
Shutting up immediately as Jiraiya started his count, the five ninja quickly resumed their upside down positions and shifted their weight to the hand of their choice.
The first thing that became apparent was the increased pain in their chosen palm as their full body weight was now held up by only one hand. While the males had to grit their teeth and bear it, Sakura's hand began to glow a faint shade of green.
"Ah, I see that you're using medical chakra to ease the pressure in your hand, Sakura," Jiraiya addressed her. "That's a good idea."
Sakura merely smiled smugly in response as she felt Naruto and Sasuke shoot her envious looks. However, she was worried inwardly. While she had the best chakra control out of the remaining five and could ease her pain where they couldn't, she knew it would only be a matter of time before she ran out of chakra before the others did. All she could hope for was for the pain to become unbearable for them before she was forced to give up.
Time seemed to fly after this. Sakura focused intently on using the bare minimum amount of chakra to keep herself in the challenge, blocking out Naruto's occasional cries of determination and encouragement to himself. Itachi and Sasuke were silent as expected, while Kakashi had somehow at some point retrieved his Icha Icha book and held it in his unoccupied hand, reading it while he was upside down.
"You've just passed the three and a half hour mark," Jiraiya announced.
Back on the sit-out bench, Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he considered the group of five who were still battling it out. He wasn't sure if he was just being paranoid, but he could definitely see a potential power alliance if these five got together. When they were bantering an hour ago, they had actually sounded friendly. And why wouldn't they? As much as he might deny it, Team 7 was definitely still precious to Sasuke. Itachi was former ANBU with Kakashi, on the Brain Tribe with Sakura and had reached some sort of weird respect/agreement with Naruto during the Ninja War. And it even looked like Sasuke was starting to be attracted to Sakura.
If Sasuke got his head out of his arse and the Uchiha brothers joined up with Team 7, they would be an unstoppable alliance. It would pretty much guarantee that no one else would have a chance at getting higher than the Top 6. He would have to do his utmost best to prevent this power alliance from happening.
Before Shikamaru could think further on it or voice his concerns out loud, he registered Sakura dropping to the sand and heading towards the bench.
"And with that, the last remaining kunoichi is now out of the challenge!" Jiraiya announced. Before he could say more, however, Itachi had also abandoned his pole and landed on the sand.
Kakashi, now noticing that he was the sole obstacle between Naruto and Sasuke's glaring match, wasted no time in also hopping down to the sand. Yes, similar to Sakura and Itachi, he was exhausted, but he still could've gone a while longer if it didn't mean he'd have to be playing referee.
"Wow!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "In a sudden turn, it looks like only Naruto and Sasuke are left to battle it out for the first individual immunity of the game!"
Smirking at Jiraiya's announcement, Sasuke spoke to his rival. "Feel free to give up anytime now, dead-last."
To his surprise, Naruto didn't rise to the bait. Instead, the Uzumaki seemed to go completely still for a few moments.
"Tch," Sasuke said. "Ignoring me because you know I'm right?"
A sudden shift in Naruto's chakra caught his attention. It wasn't a spike or increase in amount, but rather his chakra itself felt different. Shifting himself carefully, Sasuke glanced at his competitor and had to conceal his shock.
Naruto had activated Sage Mode.
"Oi!" Jiraiya shouted from below. "Naruto - you do know that this challenge should ideally end today right? Are you determined to stay up there for the next year?!"
"If you're worried about that, then let's up the ante again, Ero-Sennin," Naruto grinned, the blue in his eyes becoming even more vivid thanks to the shades of red around his lids. "One finger to balance."
"Sasuke has to agree to it," Jiraiya shrugged. "These are rules you're making on your own, so you have to decide together."
"Come on, teme," Naruto goaded. "Unless you're scared?"
Narrowing his eyes in determination, Sasuke said, "You're on."
"Alright, then," Jiraiya called. "I'll count to three, and you both have to make the transition by then. One... Two... Three."
To their credit, both males managed to transition to one finger without any problems. However, while Naruto was near infallible in this challenge now that he had activated Sage Mode, Sasuke didn't possess any abilities that could give him a similar edge. Adding to the fact that he had been working hard for over four hours, it only took a few minutes for Sasuke to concede defeat this time around.
"After a massive effort, Naruto wins the first individual immunity!" Jiraiya declared. He was extremely proud of his apprentice, but not surprised by the outcome.
Letting out a whoop of excitement, Naruto jumped down to the sand and bounced with happiness as Jiraiya clasped the immunity necklace around his neck.
"Congratulations, Naruto!" Jiraiya smiled. "You've won immunity and cannot be voted out at tonight's tribal council. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of you. You have until tonight to decide who you're going to vote out."
Day 20 - Kuro
As soon as they returned to camp, it seemed evident that Team 7 and the Anti-Konoha Alliance were working hard to build their armies. Deidara was immediately whisked away by Kisame, and Itachi called Hanabi and Temari with him to 'go get water', while Shikamaru found himself and Ino dragged away by Sakura.
"I know we may not have always seen eye to eye," Sakura began, looking at Ino in particular. "But we need each other right now if we want to get further-"
"You don't need to try so hard," Shikamaru found himself interrupting her. Glancing to where Naruto and Kakashi were standing a few feet away from them, he added, "I wanna rinse off after that challenge. Grab those two and we can all have a dip in the sea."
Sending Shikamaru a slightly perplexed look (it wasn't as if he'd actually broken a sweat in that challenge), Sakura motioned for her teammates to follow them into the water.
Shikamaru waited until they were all waist-deep in seawater before he spoke again.
"Ino and I are happy to align with the three of you," he said simply, while the kunoichi in question nodded in agreement.
"That's awesome, dattebayo!" Naruto laughed happily, before confusion creased in his brows. "But why'd you have to come all the way out here to tell us something so simple?"
"Because," Shikamaru inhaled deeply before replying, "Itachi has been using his crow summons to spy on everyone that's on the same beach as him."
A stunned silence followed his proclamation, and Shikamaru didn't blame them. He himself had been gobsmacked when he had figured it out, and it had taken him a lot of deliberation before deciding what to do with this information. In the end, he concluded that siding with Team 7 was his only option; if he kept Itachi's secret to himself, that would give Itachi way too much power in the game and they might as well just name him Sole Shinobi Survivor on the spot. To give himself a fighting chance, Shikamaru would have to spill the beans to the right people.
Realizing that the group was still waiting for his explanation, Shikamaru told them about his observations while he was on the Brain Tribe, and how Itachi had essentially played them all.
"If you still don't believe me, just check the jungle when we get back to camp," he said. "You'll see crows in the trees when there were none before."
"No, no..." Sakura shook her head. "I do believe you - it makes way too much sense. But damn, that Uchiha..."
"So you dragged us out here where there are definitely no crows around to hear our plans," Kakashi correctly deduced.
"Yes," Shikamaru told the group. "And now that we've gotten that out of the way, who should we vote out tonight?"
"I would say Itachi himself, but the guy's got an immunity idol and is overly paranoid. I mean, come on, he's got his fucking summons acting as his spies," Ino said. "Getting rid of him is easier said than done."
"Agreed," Sakura frowned. "And we don't have the numbers to split the vote between him and someone else in case he plays his idol."
"Not to mention it looks like we're five to their six," Ino added. "We need to get someone to flip to us. What about Temari?"
Noticing that she'd directed the question to him, Shikamaru said, "I could try. Some back up from Naruto for that could be useful too."
"Sure thing!" Naruto grinned. "Temari and I go way back! We'll get her for sure!"
"Then who should we vote for?" Kakashi wondered. "In the slim chance that Temari won't want to side with us, we shouldn't be voting Itachi out. She could tell him and he could play his idol which would send one of us home instead."
"Which is exactly why we should tell Temari we want Itachi out," Shikamaru looked like a light bulb had just lit up over his head. "We make it seem like we're targeting him and..."
"...we flush his idol while actually voting for someone else!" Sakura finished excitedly. "Genius!"
"But we need to be super hush-hush about it to pull this off," Ino reminded the group. "We can't let any crows go reporting back to Itachi, or make him suspicious that we know about his spying."
"On the contrary," Kakashi smiled mischievously. "I think we should definitely let his crows overhear us."
"My thoughts exactly," Shikamaru drawled, exchanging a curt nod with the Copy-nin. "Here's what we should do..."
...
Thankfully, the Team 7 and 10 alliance made it back to camp a minute before the Anti-Konoha Alliance did, making it easy to avoid suspicion. When the entire tribe was fully gathered, Sakura offered to fry up a few coconut husks for everyone.
"That'll be great," Temari smiled gratefully. "I'd be cool with going to gather a few coconuts."
"I'll come with," Shikamaru shrugged lazily.
"Ooooh!" Naruto teased, making kissing noises at the pair. "I'll also go to make sure you both behave!"
"B-baka!" Temari spluttered as she turned bright red.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, already walking towards the treeline. "Let's just get going, already."
Sakura sat down by the fire as the trio disappeared into the jungle. The shuffling around her told her that Kakashi, Sasuke and Kisame had joined her. Adding a few sticks to the fire, Sakura just hoped that Shikamaru and Naruto would deliver as their entire plan for the night hinged on them being convincing enough.
In an ideal world, Temari would join up with their alliance, and Itachi would think they were all voting for him tonight. He would play his idol for himself, when in reality they would be placing six votes on Kisame, thus sending a huge physical threat and loyal Itachi-ally out of the game. However, that was also the chance that Temari wouldn't join them, and one of their own would be going home. If this was going to be the case, getting Itachi to still play his idol would be the second best scenario.
Blowing lightly on the flames, Sakura didn't even want to consider the worst case - Temari refusing join them and Itachi seeing through their ruse, saving his idol for another day while sending one of her allies packing.
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hardly registered two pairs of ninja wandering off - Ino and Deidara wading into the water together, and Itachi pulling Hanabi to the far side of camp.
...
"What's the go?" Ino whispered as she dipped her hair into the water.
"Don't worry," Deidara told her quietly as he wove his fingers through his own damp hair. "We aren't voting you tonight, yeah. You're safe."
Relief flooded Ino's chest at the news. When the merge happened, The Annoying Blonde Ponytail Pair (TABPP) had known that they would have to part ways; they both belonged in different alliances and would stick out like sore thumbs in the other. It had been a bittersweet moment for them as they had definitely bonded since Day 1. Even their cuddling at night would have to be temporarily halted.
Deciding to make the most out of things, Ino and Deidara had decided that they would still secretly remain allies with each other independent of their new alliances. They would let each other know if they were being targeted, in hopes of the both of them surviving long enough to eventually be able to work with each other again. However, they had also agreed that they wouldn't tell each other who else was actually being targeted for the vote as it would add too many complications and arouse suspicion with others easily.
"You're also safe tonight," Ino responded when Deidara looked at her expectantly.
"Good to know," Deidara muttered, his right hand reaching towards her before he hesitated and withdrew it. "We'll get to Day 39 together, just you wait."
...
Itachi brought Hanabi to a quiet corner of camp and motioned for them to take a seat. He strategically maneuvered them such that Hanabi's back was to the group left at camp, leaving himself able to keep an eye on things.
"Do it now," Itachi said, his voice lowered. "No one is paying attention to us."
Chakra flared into the young Hyuuga's eyes, causing the veins at her temples to bulge as her bloodline was activated.
"Anything?" Itachi prompted.
"Give me a few seconds," Hanabi muttered as she frowned in concentration, scanning the entire camp as thoroughly as she could. She checked the jungle floor, tree tops, sand, bags...
Her eyes only widened minutely for a split second, but it was enough for Itachi to notice.
"You found one." It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Hanabi said, then hesitated for a moment, her face showing slight confusion. When she met Itachi's demanding gaze, she told him, "Naruto has a hidden immunity idol in his bag. That's the only idol I can see in the entire camp and surrounding area."
Itachi mulled over this information. He couldn't be completely certain that Hanabi was telling him the truth - after all, all signs pointed to either Deidara, Ino or Kakashi having an idol. Perhaps the idol belonging to Naruto was found on the Brawn Tribe's beach, but that still didn't explain the absence of the Beauty Tribe's idol.
"Are you certain there isn't another?" Itachi urged, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Specifically check former Beauty Tribe members."
He did not trust Deidara (the explosives expert was no Kisame), but Hanabi didn't need to know that, hence he refrained from giving specific names to check. Itachi's impatience only grew when Hanabi shook her head after scanning the camp again.
"I'm certain," she told him. "No one else has an idol except you and Naruto."
Itachi's sharingan flashed threateningly. "If I find out you're lying to me..."
"I'm not!" Hanabi said quickly. An angry Itachi was definitely not somebody she wanted on her tail. "Honestly! I really can't see anything else. If you're so sure there must be a third idol, then maybe they're just really good at hiding it, or they anticipated my byakugan being able to see it-" she paled at the ice in Itachi's gaze. "O-or I dunno! Unless it's in a different dimension or not on this beach my eyes should be able to spot it!"
When Itachi averted his eyes from her to stare at the group by the campfire, Hanabi felt like she could finally breathe again. That last statement she made was a desperate attempt, but at least it seemed to convince Itachi that she wasn't out to deceive him.
"Thank you, Hanabi," Itachi said, his voice a lot more gentle than before. "I'm sorry if I came on too strong. Forgive me."
Hanabi nodded numbly as the older Uchiha placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, the words in her throat dying when he offered her a small, but not unkind smile.
...
Temari stared numbly at the setting sun as she finished up the last of her coconut husk. The horizon was beautifully painted in a dazzling array of colors, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it as her mind was preoccupied with the conversation that she had with Shikamaru and Naruto a short while ago.
When the three of them went to collect coconuts, the pair had invited her to join with their alliance and vote to get Itachi out. Temari had definitely considered it - after all, getting rid of a huge threat like Itachi was a very appealing thought - but hadn't given them a definite answer. While Itachi should go eventually, she wasn't sure if such a big move should be made so soon after the merge.
Sighing as she dusted her hands off, Temari stood up and gathered her belongings to take with her to tribal council. She may not have immediately jumped on board with they boys' proposal, but the puppy dog look in Naruto's eyes and Shikamaru looking so effortlessly attractive had her at least informing them that Kakashi was the target of her alliance for tonight. She had caved when they'd gotten back to camp, whispering the information into Shikamaru's ear and whacking Naruto when he had started making kissing noises again.
All Temari knew was that she would have to make her decision at tribal council. She had run out of time to ponder her options or even get Hanabi's advice as Itachi had smartly kept the girl by his side for the whole afternoon, making it impossible for anyone to approach her privately. And making matters even more stressful was the inkling she got that told her Itachi totally knew she was considering flipping. Temari had caught him staring at her a few times as they ate their coconuts, only for him to hold his gaze steady and actually offer her a tiny smile each time. Since when did Uchiha Itachi smile at just anyone?!
As she began the walk to the tribal council hut with the rest of the group, a stressed out and frazzled Temari realized that tonight's vote was essentially up to her.
Night 20 - Tribal Council
"Welcome to your first post-merge tribal council," Jiraiya greeted the eleven ninja that sat before him. "What is camp life like now that everyone is finally together?"
"It's pretty good," Sakura spoke up. "I mean, everyone pulls their weight around camp and we all get on socially, even if we're not all in the same alliance. We get that this is a game and it shouldn't be personal, so there haven't been any real tensions going on."
"Interesting," Jiraiya said, listening intently to her words. "You mentioned alliances. Am I right to assume that alliances are still falling withing previous tribal lines?"
"At this point I do think that's the case, barring a couple of exceptions," Sakura said neutrally. "After all, with all the uncertainty that the merge brings, people tend to stick with those that they already know or feel more secure working with. But I suppose we can only tell for sure once the votes have been cast."
"Fair point," Jiraiya nodded. "Itachi - if we're going by old tribes, are you worried? Because your former tribe was technically down one member from the other."
"It is foolish to feel completely safe at any point in a game like this," Itachi said diplomatically. "However, I have faith in those whom I've spoken to and trust that they will keep their word. So to answer your question, I can only do my part and hope that everyone else does theirs."
"Wise words," the Toad Sage acknowledged. "Let's move on to the immunity challenge earlier today. Naruto, you were pretty impressive up there. How does it feel to be the only one who's guaranteed safety for tonight?"
"It feels awesome!" Naruto grinned happily. "It's a lot less stressful for me tonight, but at the same time I'm still worried that one of my precious people may get voted out."
"And what about next time?" Jiraiya asked his apprentice. "Is there any worry that winning the first individual immunity might put a target on your back in the future?"
"Nah," Naruto answered without missing a beat. "Everyone here is good at different things. There are definitely certain types of challenges where some of the others here can win hands down."
"Tch," Sasuke interjected. "Glad to know you finally have some awareness of your limitations."
"You're just mad 'cuz I beat you just now, teme," Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.
Sasuke smirked. "Enjoy it while it lasts, dobe, because this is the last time you'll be able to say-"
The argument was cut short when Temari let out a shocked yelp. Noticing that everyone was now staring at her, the Suna kunoichi blushed a deep shade of scarlet and mumbled something about a spider that she found crawling up her leg.
Ino! Temari screeched in her head. Don't scare me like that - give a girl some warning next time, will you?
Sorry, sorry, Ino replied, not sounding apologetic at all. Just so you know, it's only you, me and Shika on the mind-link right now.
Troublesome, came Shikamaru's unenthusiastic drawl. Jiraiya's already asking the next question, so I'll make this quick. We've decided to change the vote. We're all now voting for Kisame.
Upon hearing Temari's mental acknowledgement, Ino severed the mind-link and the three ninja tuned back into what was happening at tribal council.
"I don't think that's necessarily the case," Kakashi was saying in response to whatever question Jiraiya had just asked. "If we go by the mentality of getting rid of big threats first, then we might as well not play this game anymore." Pointing to the entire group, he continued, "We're ninja. It's our job to be threatening and strong and strategic and charming, depending on what the mission calls for. We're all big contenders here to win."
"I see your point," Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "So then what is tonight's vote about for you?"
"Tonight's vote is a strategic play," Kakashi said as he rubbed his masked chin in thought. "It's a move that will propel my alliance forward if we manage to pull it off."
"Thinking long-term," Jiraiya summed up. "I like it. And what about you, Kisame? What is tonight's vote about for you?"
"I guess it's along the same lines for me," Kisame shrugged. "If it goes the way I'm voting, then it'll be a huge blow to the other alliance."
"So tonight's vote is a very crucial point in the game," Jiraiya concluded. "Is that right to say, Temari?"
"Let's just say that lines will very likely be drawn in the sand after tonight," she responded.
"I'm excited to see what happens," Jiraiya clapped his hands together once. "I think it's time to vote. Remember - Naruto has immunity and cannot be voted out, but everyone else is fair game. Let's get to it."
...
"I have the votes," Jiraiya patted the urn that was tucked securely under his arm. "If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
The tribal council hut was uncomfortably quiet as several ninja tried to glance at but also not glance at Itachi. Half of the room was ignorant, while the other half was hoping and praying that an idol would get flushed out tonight. Some were fidgeting, while others didn't dare to breathe.
"Jiraiya."
Naruto's mouth fell open in shock as he saw his porn-loving, mask-wearing ex-sensei stand up and walk towards Jiraiya. Several questions were running through his head - did Kakashi have an idol? Why didn't he tell him or Sakura-chan if he did? Why was he playing it? Surely he knew that they had the numbers with Temari on their side!
"Give me a second," Kakashi said as he casually lifted up his headband to reveal his sharingan, which was now in its mangekyo form. He held out his arm and suddenly time and space itself seemed to warp around the area above his outstretched hand. When the pocket dimension settled, a yellow hidden immunity idol was innocently nestled in Kakashi's hand. "I'd rather play it and be wrong than not play it and chance going home."
Several things happened all at once. While Kakashi handed the idol to Jiraiya and readjusted his headband, Naruto and Sakura both jumped to their feet in shock, pointing fingers of accusation and admiration in his direction; Hanabi and Itachi glanced at each other briefly, exchanging several unspoken words in a short few seconds and Sasuke was fuming.
"You!" Sasuke snarled, his outburst causing the flurry of activity to cease.
"Me," Kakashi shrugged, pointing to himself.
"No - that's not what I meant!" Sasuke sputtered. "When did you find that? You knew I spent days searching for it! I told you about it several times!"
Kakashi's smile was now downright infuriating. "I found it when I got lost on the road of life."
A stunned silence from the general populace followed the absurd proclamation, but understanding filled Sasuke and his eyes grew into perfectly round circles, his mouth opening and closing in shock with no sound escaping his lips. Kakashi was famous for spouting nonsensical excuses for his tardiness, but the only time he had said this particular one during the game was back on the Beauty Tribe when they were building their shelter. Sasuke remembered that experience particularly clearly because he was practically the only one who had built that shelter.
The shelter took a few hours to build, considering that the tribe seemed to have trouble focusing on the task at hand. Deidara flirted shamelessly with Ino and Kurenai, while the two kunoichi took advantage of the situation and shifted their building responsibilities to the willing male. Being an explosives expert who was far more inclined to demolishing things instead of constructing them, Deidara's progress was slow going. Haku, on the verge of giving up on the three of them, offered to build a shelter made of his ice mirrors instead. Sasuke shot the idea down, not wanting Haku to waste chakra maintaining the structure for extended periods of time. Eventually, the grumpy Uchiha built most of the shelter with some help from Haku. And Kakashi? Kakashi had wandered off into the jungle to gather wood, only to return two hours later because he "got lost on the road of life".
"You had it on Day 1 within the first few hours of being on that beach," Sasuke whispered in shock.
Kakashi forming the 'V for victory' sign with his right hand was all the answer Sasuke needed.
"I take it you're playing this idol for yourself?" Jiraiya asked, highly amused at a gawking Sasuke. He wished he had a camera.
"I am."
"Very well," Jiraiya said, holding up the necklace. "This is indeed a hidden immunity idol. Any votes cast against Hatake Kakashi will not count." Giving a few seconds for anybody else to stand up and play another idol, the Sannin continued when no one else moved. "I'll now read the votes."
"First vote: Kakashi. Does not count."
The Copy-nin's smiled widened.
"Next vote," Jiraiya said as he pulled out the next slip of parchment. "Kakashi. Does not count."
Sasuke wanted to beat that annoying grin off his former sensei's face.
"Third vote: Kakashi. Again it does not count."
When the fourth and fifth vote also turned out to be for Kakashi, the man in question chanced a quick look at the Anti-Konoha Alliance members. All of them were stony faced.
"Sixth vote," Jiraiya paused as he unfolded the paper. "Kakashi. Does not count."
Shikamaru and Naruto turned sharply towards Temari, a questioning look on their faces. The Suna kunoichi could only offer a sheepish and apologetic smile in response.
"Kisame."
The name was uttered by Jiraiya, who was pulling out another vote from the urn. "Next vote: Kisame. That's two votes for Kisame; three more votes to go."
The blue Akatsuki nin shook his head, muttering a string of colorful curses under his breath. He knew what was coming next.
"Eighth person voted out of Survivor: Ninja Edition and the first member of our jury," Jiraiya revealed the name on paper, "Kisame. That's three votes and is enough - please bring your torch over."
"Damn, you fuckers got me good," Kisame grinned as he let out a loud chuckle, grabbing his torch and belongings with him. He clapped Itachi on his shoulder. "Play hard, my man."
"Kisame, the tribe has spoken," Jiraiya said as he extinguished his torch. "Time for you to go."
"Keep going strong," Kisame told the group as he walked towards the exit. "I'll be looking forward to watching you from the comfort of my new luxurious jury life."
Waiting until Kisame had made his full exit, Jiraiya addressed the remaining ten ninja in front of him. "Well, from the reactions tonight it indeed looks like there were lines drawn in the sand and alliances shaken. But wind and waves reset that in time, so you always have to be on your toes. Get back to camp and goodnight."
Author's Note:
Whew! That was a big chapter and I had so much fun writing all the strategy in it! For those of you who don't wanna do the math on your own, there were 11 votes to be cast in total. Kakashi got 6 that didn't count thanks to his idol, leaving only 5 real votes. Jiraiya only needed to read out 3 for Kisame as that already guaranteed his elimination. Yosh! Thanks again for reading, pwease review, fav and subscribe xxx