Previously on Survivor: Ninja Edition...
The merge forced the Anti-Konoha Alliance and Team 7 to start recruiting their numbers. When Naruto won the first individual immunity challenge, Team 10 members Ino and Shikamaru joined forces with Team 7, while Deidara joined the former Tsuki members. Unknown to the rest of the players, Ino and Deidara still continued their secret power couple alliance, while Hanabi revealed Naruto's hidden immunity idol to Itachi. Facing tribal council, Team 7 and 10 hatched a plan to flush Itachi's idol and get rid of his right-hand man Kisame, while recruiting Temari into their alliance. However, Temari chose to remain with the Anti-Konoha Alliance and a surprise twist led to Kakashi revealing and playing his own idol to save himself, while Itachi kept his safe and Kisame was the first person sent to the jury. 10 ninja remain; who will be voted out tonight?
Ep 8 Votes:
Voted for Kakashi - Itachi, Sasuke, Kisame, Deidara, Hanabi, Temari (6)
Voted for Kisame - Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru (5)
Idols played - Kakashi for himself
Idols/Advantages:
Naruto - Hidden Immunity Idol (Sakura, Kakashi, Hanabi and Itachi know)
Itachi - Hidden Immunity Idol (everyone knows)
Hanabi - Legacy Advantage (use at 6; no one knows)
Survivor: Ninja Edition - Ep 9
Worse Than Trash
Night 20 - Kuro
Itachi was silent throughout the entire trek back to camp after tribal council. While he kept up an impassive mask, he was feeling rather angry and slightly lost on the inside.
Kisame had just been voted out, and it was a huge blow to the Uchiha's game plan. His Akatsuki partner had been a completely loyal ally, and now that he was gone, Itachi only had Sasuke to fall back on. However, having his foolish little brother's entire Konoha team still in the game was a risky factor, as Sasuke could be drawn back to them in due time.
Upon arrival at camp, Itachi noted how Temari had gone up to Shikamaru and Naruto to apologize. Thanks to his crows, he was well aware that Temari had been approached by them with the suggestion to vote him out. Knowing an act when he saw one, he knew he was safe for the night and need not play his idol. What he didn't anticipate, however, was for his opponents to knock out his right-hand man.
Itachi hid a frown as he followed Temari with his eyes. She was now whispering with Hanabi, their voices too low to decipher. He was no fool; while Hatake's idol concealment was very impressive, he still would have needed a heads up to know when to play it. This obviously meant that someone in Itachi's alliance had spilled the beans on their plans. It was clearly not Sasuke or Kisame, and Deidara wasn't dense or smart enough to have tried it. He had been careful to keep Hanabi by his side for the entire afternoon, leaving Temari as the only option to be the snitch.
It didn't matter that Temari ended up voting with them, and that they had the numbers for the vote earlier tonight. The fact was that Temari had sold their plans out, and it was bad luck that Kakashi had just happened to have an idol that no one, not even his closest allies, knew about. There would be consequences to pay and Temari would have to be eliminated, but if today proved anything, Itachi's allies in the game seemed to be few and far between at the moment. He wasn't sure if he could afford to cull her just yet.
Lying down in the shelter and closing his eyes, Itachi was at a loss for what to do for the first time since this game had started.
Day 21 - Reward Challenge
"Come on in, guys!" Jiraiya beckoned.
The ten ninja found themselves in a decently-sized clearing in the Uzushiogakure jungle. Instead of the usual grass-covered ground, however, there was only dried mud and small rocks to comprise the uneven ground. It looked as if a swamp used to exist here, but had long since dried out. The only man-made feature in sight was a circular wooden fence that was built close to the clearing's edges.
"Ready for your reward challenge?" Jiraiya asked. When he received several nods, he continued, "Today's challenge will see you divided into two teams of five at random. The five of you will be tied together in a single file with rope and everyone will carry a weight of twenty kilograms. You will run clockwise around the outside of the wooden fence. Both teams will run at the same time."
Several glances were exchanged by this point. Judging from the explanation so far, they would be forced to stick together and run as a group as they would be bound together.
"If at any point your weight gets too heavy to carry, you can opt out by passing your twenty kilograms to someone else from your tribe. You will sit out, but the rest of your team has to keep going," Jiraiya continued. "In order to win, you have to catch up to the other team and tag anyone of their members. Chakra may be used for this challenge, but only for the purpose of running. No jutsu or combat allowed."
Seeing comprehension dawn on their faces, Jiraiya grinned. "Now for the reward - the winning five will get to go on a pampering session! You will be taken to a nearby resort where you will feast on cheese platters and be treated to an hour long massage. I know it's worth playing for, so let's draw teams and start."
...
"Alright! On the east side of the clearing we have Naruto, Sasuke, Deidara, Sakura and Temari," Jiraiya pointed to his right, where the five ninja were lined up in accordance to his announcement order. "On the west is Kakashi, Itachi, Hanabi, Shikamaru and Ino. You may all pick up your weights now, and we'll start the challenge."
As soon as the last weight was hoisted up by Shikamaru, Jiraiya held his hands up. "Oh! One last thing," he said before executing a rapid series of handseals. "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
Jiraiya cackled deviously as the ten ninja wore varying degrees of shock and horror on their faces as the ground beneath them liquified into a dense, sticky swamp. They sank until their knees were covered in mud.
"Did you think it was gonna be that easy?" Jiraiya laughed. "Be thankful that I only put a tiny bit of chakra in this time! This challenge in now on. Start!"
Snapping out of their shock, both groups wasted no time in starting their jog. However, it became apparent within the first few seconds that this challenge was going to be a grueling one. If the weight on their backs wasn't enough, Jiraiya's infamous jutsu made it at least fifty times harder to pick their feet up and run. It was about balancing a fine line; they could go faster if they used more chakra, but they could go longer (and slower) by using less.
Naruto was predictably the only one who didn't feel the massive chakra drain.
"Come one, guys!" He cheered as he led his group around the circle. "Let's start strong and catch that other team!"
"Easy for you to say," Temari growled, her voice rough with strain. "The rest of us don't have your insane reserves!"
"The dobe's right, though," Sasuke bit out as he grit his teeth. He hated admitting that Naruto made sense sometimes.
"Mind over matter, shannaro!" Sakura added, her brow furrowed in determination as she picked up the pace.
On the other side of the circle, the other team was having just as much trouble, if not more. The three in front - Kakashi, Itachi and Hanabi - buckled down and started a slow jog, while Shikamaru and Ino grimaced as they felt themselves being tugged along via the team's rope connection.
"This is insane!" Ino yelped as she felt the squelch of mud beneath her. "I can't even feel solid earth beneath me, it's like one giant marshmallow and we're ants trying to crawl through it!"
"Careful, the ground is uneven," Shikamaru told his group as he stumbled through a particularly deep dent in the ground. "It's troublesome, but we'll just have to remember which parts are deeper as we can't see where we're going."
"Less talking, more jogging, you two," Hanabi muttered.
The first lap around the circle saw both teams quite evenly matched. While Naruto and Sasuke would have loved to push faster and end things quickly, they knew that doing so would cause more weights to be added to them if the others on their team tired. Instead, they chose to keep pace with the other group, banking on Ino or Shikamaru to be the first to drop out and inevitably slow their group down with the added weight.
Their wish was soon answered halfway into the second lap when Ino tripped on an uneven dip in the swamp and almost dropped her weight.
"Guys, I c-can't," Ino panted, struggling to straighten her back. "I - I'm so sorry."
"And with that, Ino is first out of the challenge!" Jiraiya announced as the kunoichi in question passed her weight forward and unhooked herself from the rope line. "Itachi has taken on her weight and is now carrying a total of forty kilograms on his back."
"Now's the time," Sakura whispered to her group, her voice easily heard by everyone thanks to her position as number four in the line up. "Naruto, up the pace by a tiny bit and we'll follow!"
"Gotcha, Sakura-chan," Naruto acknowledged as he sped up his steps.
By the time they were finishing the third lap, it was evident that Naruto's team was starting to pull ahead.
"And it looks like Naruto is starting to gain on Shikamaru," Jiraiya observed. "Kakashi's team has to pick up the pace if they want a chance of winning this!"
"Okay, let's pick up the pace once more," Sakura told her group, encouraged by Jiraiya's words. "Let's-"
Sakura was cut off when she felt a sharp tug on the back of her rope. Temari had stumbled on a particularly deep section of the mud and fallen face-first into the mush.
"Temari, are you alright?" Sakura called, helping the kunoichi up to her feet. The group was forced to halt momentarily as Temari regained her balance and scooped her weight out of the swamp.
"I'm okay," Temari said, her face filled with exhaustion. "But I can't go any more - take my weight."
"Temari is now out of the challenge!" Jiraiya declared as the Suna nin trudged out of the swamp and her group resumed their pace. "Naruto has taken her weight, and now both teams are down to four."
A few seconds after Jiraiya spoke, it was Shikamaru's turn to face-plant into the mud.
"And just like that, Shikamaru is also out!" Jiraiya told the group. "Kakashi takes the extra weight and his team is now left with three, of which two people are carrying double the weight!"
Hearing the news, Naruto's team visibly picked up their pace. They were determined to closed the distance while the four of them still had stamina left and the other team got tired out with the new excess weight.
"Shit," Hanabi muttered to the remaining members of her team. "They're gaining on us. Let me help by taking the lead. It won't be as taxing for me as it is for you as I'm not carrying extra weight."
Agreeing to her suggestion, Kakashi slowed his pace, allowing Itachi to overtake him, and Hanabi to overtake them both. The person in front did have a more taxing job as there was more resistance to cut through in the swamp, and it was important that Itachi and Kakashi did not tire themselves to the point of giving up the challenge.
"Looks like Hanabi has stepped up to lead the way," Jiraiya observed. "Hopefully this will allow them to stay in the challenge, as Naruto is now only a quarter of the circle away from tagging Kakashi!"
"Are we all able to sprint?" Naruto asked his group, noticing that their opponents were starting to increase their pace. "I want to end it now before they manage to widen the gap."
Receiving affirmative sounds from behind him, Naruto sent a burst of chakra into his legs and began to run toward the other group.
"Naruto and his team are now running!" Jiraiya announced excitedly. "Let's see how long they can keep this up - I know better than anyone that it takes a significant amount of chakra to sprint within my swamp jutsu!"
"Damn it all," Hanabi swore as forced more chakra to her feet and started to run, her two teammates doing the same. Her reserves wouldn't last much longer, but what other choice did she have?
"They're running too but we can catch 'em!" Naruto yelled, increasing his pace even more.
"Sasuke - how are your reserves?" Sakura called, feeling herself being dragged forward by the rope links. She wasn't sure if she could match the new speed Naruto had set.
"I'm fine," came the swift reply. "Pass your weight to me."
Wasting no extra time, Sakura handed her weight forward and unhooked herself, still running forward with her team until she was fully detached to prevent any further delays.
"Sakura has taken herself out of the challenge, passing her weight to Sasuke," Jiraiya called out. "Now both teams are down to three, and Naruto, Sasuke and Deidara have increased their pace yet again! They are so close to tagging the other group out and-"
"Got you, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he caught up to the opposing team and slapped Kakashi on the back.
"And with that, the challenge is over!" Jiraiya declared to the exuberant cheers of everyone on the winning team, except for a smirking Sasuke. "Naruto, Sasuke, Deidara, Sakura and Temari have earned themselves a nice afternoon at the massage parlor. Everyone else, I got nothing for you. Head back to camp."
Day 21 - Massage Parlor Reward
Sakura let out a loud, girlish squeal when she set her eyes on the numerous platters of cheese, fruit and assorted crackers. There was even a selection of teas for them to choose from, and a communal shower area for them to use before and after their massages.
They had been brought to a beautifully decorated pavillion. There was a large, central table where all the food and tea was laid out, with the massage beds and shower towards the side and overlooking the horizon.
The five hungry ninja immediately seated themselves around the table and helped themselves to generous servings of whatever they could get their muddy hands on.
"This is so delicious!" Temari sighed happily as she took a bite of brie.
Sakura was the only one who gave her any indication of agreement, as the three males were too busy shoveling food into their mouths.
Small talk was made as they feasted, but nothing of importance to the game's strategy was shared; the group was content to enjoy the food and each others' company for the time being and get away from the game. While there were technically two separate alliances present at the reward, it didn't mean that they couldn't get along civilly as friends.
When only crumbs remained on the food platters, the ninja slowly wandered over to the massage parlor. Taking care to first wash off any caked-up mud on their bodies, the group then proceeded to lie down on their massage beds where five attendants were waiting for them.
"Sakura."
Glancing up in surprise, Sakura noted that Sasuke had chosen the bed next to hers. Wanting to get some peace and quiet, she had purposefully placed herself at the end of the line, assuming that Naruto would grab the spot beside her. However, it seemed that her other male teammate had beat him to it.
"Sasuke," she greeted with a small but not unfriendly smile.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that for the next few minutes, enjoying the sensations the massage was giving them. Before she knew it, Sakura's eyes had slid shut and she let out a contented sigh as her masseuse found a particularly tight spot on her back and kneaded her fingers into the muscle.
A soft chuckle from her right caused Sakura to snap her eyes back open. She was greeted with the sight of an amused Sasuke, which was a rarity in itself, but she was gobsmacked to piece together that he was the one who had also laughed.
"I'm enjoying my well-deserved reward," she raised a challenging brow.
"Never said you didn't deserve it," Sasuke replied, smirk still in place. "You did well."
Sakura was stunned. In all the years of knowing him, she was pretty certain that he had never ever complimented her skills before, but here he was, chuckling at her and saying she did good on a mere reward challenge. Sakura opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.
"Just stating a fact," Sasuke went on when it was clear that Sakura was having problems formulating a coherent sentence. "You've grown strong."
"Who are you and what have you done with Sasuke?" Sakura blurted out.
Instead of scowling at her like she expected, Sasuke merely smiled - wait, smiled?! - and said, "That Sasuke? He was an idiot."
Sakura felt like her head was being done in. The man she was currently talking to seemed completely different from the aloof, misguided genin that she had once obsessed over, yet he seemed so familiar. It was like speaking to a new person and old friend at the same time. Also, it didn't help that he was still unfairly handsome and lying there topless on the bed next to her. Not liking the turn that her traitorous thoughts were taking, Sakura did the safest thing she could think of. Change the subject.
"You did well too," Sakura mumbled. "We won mainly because of you and Naruto."
"Maybe," Sasuke said thoughtfully, his eyes still boring into her. "But I'd like to think the reason we won is because we worked together as a team."
With that last statement, Sasuke gave her one last smile - again, since when did Sasuke smile?! - and closed his eyes, signifying that he was done with the conversation. Sakura stared at him for a long time afterwards, as if she was trying to piece together a completely new puzzle that she thought she had solved a long time ago.
Day 22 - Immunity Challenge
Itachi walked onto the beach determined to win immunity. After Kisame was voted off, he no longer felt like he was in control of the game. He had felt isolated yesterday afternoon post reward challenge, surrounded by people he knew would love to get him out of the game. The worry he was feeling only increased when his foolish little brother came back from the massage reward, listening intently to whatever Sakura and Naruto were rambling on about.
Focusing his attention back onto the impending challenge, Itachi noted that Naruto was currently returning the immunity necklace he had won last time.
"Immunity is back up for grabs," Jiraiya grinned, spreading his arms wide to indicate the obstacle courses built across the beach and in the water. "Today's challenge will take place in a total of three rounds. For the first round, all ten of you will race across the water by jumping on pieces of driftwood. Luck is involved here as not all the pieces of wood will hold your weight. If you drop into the water, you will have to swim back to the starting platform. No jutsu or combat allowed. The first five who make it to shore will move to the next round."
Following Jiraiya's outstretched hand to the ocean, the ninja set their eyes upon about a hundred or so floating pieces of driftwood. Each piece of wood was small, only allowing one foot to be stepping on it at any point in time. Adding to the confusion, the currents in the sea made the wood float around constantly, making it impossible to memorize which pieces were good for holding weight and which were not.
"Let's get this first round out of the way before I introduce the next rounds," Jiraiya told the group as he herded them into a boat which sped them towards the starting platform in the sea. As soon as the last person was standing on the platform, he continued, "Good luck. You'll need it. On your marks, get set - GO!"
The ten contestants sprang to action immediately. A few of the more eager ones such as Naruto and Ino tried their luck by taking huge leaps forwards, hoping to lessen their chances of landing on a dud. Others such as Shikamaru and Hanabi hung back, only taking the next jump to a spot when it was vacated by someone in front of them who was successful in their guess.
"And we already have some sinkers!" Jiraiya announced. "Sakura and Deidara have to swim back to the platform and start over."
The surroundings were in chaos - everything was in motion, from the hopping shinobi to the moving wood pieces.
"Some of you might find that staying on one piece of wood for too long will do you no good," Jiraiya chuckled as Shikamaru's driftwood was swept back by the random currents in the water. "The way to go with this challenge is really to try your luck and keep moving forward!"
A loud, shrill scream told everyone that Ino had set foot on a sinker. By now, everyone was wet and spluttering curses as they tried their best to make it across quickly. It wasn't an uncommon experience for them to make it three-quarters of the way only to sink, and then attempt it again and fail on their first jump. Like Jiraiya had mentioned, this challenge was a matter of pure, dumb luck.
"I made it, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled jubilantly as he kissed the shore.
"And Naruto is the first through!" Jiraiya acknowledged. "We're looking for four more people to join him in the next round!"
"Of course, Naruto always has the best luck-" Sakura grumbled under her breath until she was cut off by landing on a dud driftwood.
A few more minutes of effort resulted in Shikamaru and Itachi reaching the shore at the exact same time.
"We're looking for two more!" Jiraiya yelled to the remaining ninja. "You guys have to pick it up if you want a shot at immunity!"
There was a collective wince as Hanabi sunk into the water just one jump short of making it to shore. The seven who were still battling it out were beginning to look impatient and haggard. Sakura, who was taking a leaf out of her mentor's book and having no luck at all, was swearing up a storm.
"Fucking shit-stained pieces of wood! Go shove up Manda's slimy, scaly ass and massacre each other in there after getting licked by Orochimaru-"
She was interrupted yet again as she plunged into the water.
"Ino has made it!" Jiraiya announced. "We are looking for just one more - it looks like both Temari and Kakashi are neck in neck. Who will get here first?"
The two ninja in question were almost at the shore line. With one final leap, they landed on their last piece of wood. While Kakashi sank into the water, Temari let out a triumphant cry as she tumbled onto the sand.
"And that's it!" Jiraiya indicated for the rest of the ninja to cease their jumping. "Moving onto the second round we have Naruto, Shikamaru, Itachi, Ino and Temari!"
Shifting his attention to five covered podiums in front of him, Jiraiya indicated for each of the successful ninja to choose a spot. On his signal, they uncovered the podiums to reveal a complex slide puzzle.
"No ifs or buts about this round," Jiraiya chuckled as he spied Naruto's look of despair. "The first three to solve your slide puzzle will proceed to the final round. You may start now."
Naruto and Ino were predictably the first ones to start moving their puzzle pieces. While Naruto was hopelessly shifting pieces at random and hoping to somehow get lucky again, Ino was at least visibly trying out various combinations and shapes.
"Lots of movement straightaway from Naruto and Ino," Jiraiya observed. "Temari and Itachi are going slow and steady, while Shikamaru hasn't even touched his puzzle."
Itachi frowned slightly as he hit a snag in his puzzle, forcing him to undo his last few moves to put himself back on track. Ino and Temari were beginning to make some progress, while Naruto was still frantically sliding pieces around at random.
Suddenly, as if an invisible cue was given to him, Shikamaru sprang to life. His hands sped over the tiles of his puzzle, deftly sliding them around without any hesitation. A few seconds later, the lazy genius stepped away from his completed puzzle.
"Out of nowhere, Shikamaru is the first to finish the puzzle!" Jiraiya announced. "Who will be the next two joining him in the final round?"
Moments after Jiraiya's speech, Itachi raised his hand to indicate he was also finished.
"Itachi moves on to the third round!" Jiraiya declared as Ino and Temari snuck looks at his completed puzzle, hoping to glean any possible clues. "You have probably already figured this out, but the puzzle you are solving is the face of Uzumaki Keito."
The kunoichi got back to work quickly, determined to get to the final round. Naruto was miraculously making decent progress, but he was clearly well behind his two competitors who were getting close to being finished.
"It's gonna come down to the wire," Jiraiya observed as the two females were hurriedly sliding pieces into place. "You can only tell if your puzzle is correct when the whole thing is finished."
In the end, Temari managed to slide her final piece into position right before Ino did. Rushing over to check the Suna nin's puzzle, Jiraiya nodded in confirmation.
"By a split second difference, Temari joins Shikamaru and Itachi in the final round!" Jiraiya declared. Pointing to a large demarcated circle of sand further inland, Jiraiya continued, "The three of you will dig in this sand pit for one single frog idol. Whoever finds it first will win immunity and be guaranteed safety at tonight's tribal council. Your time starts now - GO!"
Wasting no time, the three finalists dropped to their hands and knees and started digging at a rapid pace. The circle of sand they were given was fairly large, so they wanted to cover as much ground as possible to have the best chance of finding the idol before their competitors. Temari was flinging large amounts of sand into the air in her haste, while Itachi used all four of his limbs to dig. Even the normally placid Shikamaru was attacking the sand with gusto.
After ten minutes of digging, however, the initial enthusiasm was starting to wear off.
"Oi, how big or small is this idol that we're searching for?" Shikamaru groaned to Jiraiya as he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his brow.
"Not very big," Jiraiya shrugged, holding up his hand. "It's just about the size of my palm."
Ino snickered from the observation bench. "That's gotta be the only time Jiraiya would admit to being small," she grinned.
"No! I meant - I meant that the idol is small," Jiraiya spluttered indignantly before unnecessarily adding, "Unlike me. As in, you know."
Three pairs of eyes glared at him in accusation.
"You know this is pretty much like looking for a needle in a haystack, right?" Temari grouched, indicating to the huge piles of sand that she had already dug up. She was in no mood for jokes at this point in time.
"That's why you better keep digging," Jiraiya smiled innocently.
The three shinobi resumed their digging, though with more reluctance this time around. The weather was especially hot today, with practically no cloud cover to shield them from the blazing heat of the sun. The sand they were surrounded with was also warm, the temperature raised by sun exposure.
As the minutes ticked by, their movements became slower and more sluggish. Even Temari, who was used to the Suna heat, was feeling rather lethargic. Shikamaru had copious amounts of sweat pouring down his body. Itachi was desperately doing his best to stay focused and trying not to think about how dehydrated he was.
After half an hour of digging in the scorching heat, Itachi thought he might actually faint. Mildly delirious, he considered just taking a nap for a few minutes when his hand bumped into something hard and solid that was definitely not sand. Immediately alert, his fingers closed around the object and tugged it out of the sand.
"Itachi has found the frog idol and wins immunity!" Jiraiya cried in relief. Even he was feeling the heat from his spot in the shade.
Sasuke was immediately at Itachi's side, forcing water down his parched throat. He even felt himself being doused in a light water jutsu in hopes to cool his body temperature. Idly, as he gulped down the life-giving liquid, Itachi assumed that the other two had people tending to them in a similar fashion.
"Itachi, you have immunity and cannot be voted out tonight. Great effort and well deserved," Jiraiya clasped the necklace around his neck after giving him a few minutes to regain his bearings. "The rest of you are fair game, however. I will see all of you later at tribal council tonight where somebody will be the ninth person voted out of this game."
Day 22 - Kuro
The deliriousness Itachi had felt while doing the final phase of the challenge had sharpened into hyper awareness by the time he had gotten back to camp. While he was infinitely glad that he was safe tonight, he knew that his place in the game was still at risk with this upcoming vote.
Currently, the numbers stood equally with five people in each alliance, which would result in a tie and re-vote. Additionally, with Kisame being voted off in the previous tribal council, Itachi was paranoid that Sasuke would be today's target. After all, if they were focusing on isolating him, getting rid of his younger brother would be their best option.
As soon as he placed his belongings in camp, Itachi pulled his foolish little brother into the jungle.
"Otouto," he said softly. "I've analyzed what we can do about tonight, and we have two possible options. I want you to choose which you prefer."
When he received a nod from Sasuke, he continued, "As you know, we are currently evenly split. To counter that, our first choice is to bring both Shikamaru and Ino into our five. Naruto has an idol, so we split the vote between him and either Sakura or Kakashi."
"Put four votes on Naruto and three on the other," Sasuke said, understanding what his brother meant. "If Naruto doesn't play his idol, he goes home, whereas if he does it'll tie and go to a re-vote where we will pin all votes on the remaining person."
"Exactly," Itachi smiled, resisting the urge to poke Sasuke on the forehead. "It is a risky option, however. It would hinge entirely on Ino and Shikamaru being open to joining us."
"True - we'll have to rely on Deidara and Temari to convince them," Sasuke added before pausing. "Wait, how did you find out about the dobe having an idol?"
"Hanabi's byakugan," Itachi supplied simply, "which brings me to our second option. The two of us turn on our alliance and tell Naruto that Hanabi has ratted out his idol."
"Shift the target to Hanabi," Sasuke nodded, quick to pick up what his brother was hinting at. He never liked the Hyuuga girl to begin with, but something about it was bugging him. "What good would that do us?"
"I don't trust anyone else except you," Itachi admitted quietly. "Temari was the one who told Kakashi he was being targeted by us, and he played his idol which sent Kisame home. Hanabi is only with us out of fear, and Deidara would happily take up an offer to betray us."
Sasuke pondered for a moment as he weighed his options. His brother was speaking the truth - it was much better to slit your alliance's throat before they slit yours, but he also knew that finding the correct timing was crucial.
Locking eyes with his older brother, Sasuke made up his mind.
...
Meanwhile, Shikamaru found himself in the shallow water with the three Team 7 members.
"So, what's the plan for tonight?" Naruto asked. "We can't target Itachi like we wanted to, and I'm not sure if we actually made a Plan B."
"We could go for Sasuke instead," Shikamaru brought up cautiously. He knew that the younger Uchiha could be a weird topic around these three. "If our goal is to get Itachi out, it makes sense to go for his closest ally."
"Not to mention there's a high chance he'll play his idol for Sasuke," Kakashi reasoned. "He'd do anything for his younger brother."
"I don't know, guys," Sakura shook her head slowly. "We don't have the numbers to split the vote if an idol gets played. Also, shouldn't Ino be here for this discussion?"
Her question made the group pause and look around for their fifth and final alliance member. Naruto spotted her first.
"There!" He pointed to a horizontal log at the far side of camp. "She's sitting on the big log with Deidara."
"Maybe we should target Deidara," Sakura said suddenly. "He and Ino are way too close for comfort and it's been like that ever since we were put on Taiyou."
"They were actually like that since the first day on the Beauty Tribe," Kakashi piped up.
"We can deal with that later," Shikamaru shook his head. "If we're talking about power couples, I think the Uchiha brothers are a lot more dangerous and unbreakable than TABPP."
"Yes, but we don't have the numbers to get around Itachi's idol," Sakura argued.
"We could have the numbers if we get two people to flip to us," Kakashi mused.
"Whose side are you on, Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura growled at him.
"I'm just saying," Shikamaru interjected before they could get sidetracked, "We could always get Hanabi and Temari to come with us."
"Temari had that chance last time," Naruto disagreed. "She still chose the other side."
"Deidara and Hanabi, then," Shikamaru insisted. "He and Itachi have a complicated past together, apparently."
"Ino could also probably convince him," Kakashi shrugged.
"It's too risky," Sakura pressed.
"Why are you so opposed to voting Sasuke?" Shikamaru raised a suspicious brow.
"It's cuz teme's been making googly eyes at Sakura-chan!" Naruto giggled, earning him a bop on the head from Sakura's fist.
"He has not!"
"Ow, Sakura-chan, that hurt!"
"You-"
"Quiet," Kakashi cut in as he spied the Uchiha brothers emerging out from the jungle. "I know it can be hard, but Shikamaru's plan makes the most sense for us."
"Ino would definitely be on board," Shikamaru nodded.
"Fine," Sakura huffed, clearly outnumbered.
"I could talk to Hanabi, I guess," Naruto volunteered. When he was met with no objections, he waded his way back to shore with the rest following closely behind him.
...
Before he could reach Hanabi, who was tending to the fire, Naruto found himself, Sakura and Kakashi being whisked away by the Uchiha brothers.
"But I wanted to talk to Hanabi," Naruto protested softly, sending Sakura a worried look.
"Just send a shadow clone," she whispered back. "I'm curious to see what this is."
Nodding his assent, Naruto formed a familiar cross-shaped hand seal and a copy of him 'poofed' into existence. Sending his clone to approach Hanabi, Naruto noted that Shikamaru had already reached TABPP and was deep in conversation with them. Satisfied that their alliance's plan would be executed, Naruto shifted his attention to following the group back into the jungle.
"What's up?" He asked once they had come to a stop beside the water well.
"We want to form a new alliance with you," Sasuke said unceremoniously.
There was a short moment of silence before Naruto burst into laughter.
"Nice try, teme," he said. "Even I'm not so gullible..."
He trailed off when he realized that no one else was laughing. Instead, Sakura had this strange look on her face and Kakashi had gone still.
"Prove it," Sakura challenged.
"Naruto-kun, you have an idol," Itachi said simply.
"You've been spying on us," Naruto growled. "Haven't you? That's how you found out."
Itachi shook his head slowly. "I have ways to gather intelligence, but it was Hanabi that told me about your idol."
"She's got a friggin' byakugan, idiot," Sasuke muttered when Naruto showed no signs of comprehension.
"I know that!" Naruto pouted. "All Hyuuga have it-"
"You want Hanabi out," Sakura interrupted.
"Yes," Sasuke shrugged casually.
"And so you've come to us, insinuating that Hanabi is against us because she told you that Naruto has an idol?" Kakashi raised a covered eyebrow. "Why should we ally with you when you're talking about betraying one of your own?"
"Hanabi has wanted to vote us out for a long time," Itachi supplied. "We're merely taking the first strike. It's all part of the game, after all."
"What we're saying is that you're a fool to underestimate Hanabi," Sasuke told them bluntly. "Her eyes can see any idol we've found in secret, and even locate them before they're found."
"Not to mention how much other information she can gather with them," Sakura whispered, catching on. "If she was discreet enough, she could even see which names we write down when we go to vote!"
"Exactly," Sasuke looked at her with gratitude. "I don't know about you, but I don't want someone like that staying on in the game any longer."
"And who knows who else she might tell about your idol, Naruto," Sakura continued. "Idols have more power when less people know about it. She's a direct threat to your game."
"But how do I know that I can trust the two of you?" Naruto asked the two Uchiha. He looked torn as to what he should do.
"We've come to you, haven't we?" Itachi told him gently. "If we meant harm, we would have plotted a blindside against you already."
"And besides, Itachi is safe tonight and has his own idol which he could use on me," Sasuke added. "Neither of us are in danger tonight, so we really have no reason to lie to any of you."
"What about after tonight?" Sakura asked.
"We'll be a team," Sasuke held her gaze, putting as much warmth as possible into his eyes.
"And we'll be unstoppable," Itachi nodded to Naruto. "We'll have two idols in our alliance."
"And three sharingan-users," Sasuke addressed Kakashi this time. "Not to mention we know how to work together as a team."
The group fell into silence, during which Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi shared several glances with unspoken words being exchanged.
"Sakura?"
Sasuke's voice broke the quiet, causing the pink-haired kunoichi to lock eyes with her childhood crush. His hand was extended to her, and his gaze was pleading and sincere. Never having seen Sasuke like this before, Sakura felt as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Slowly, she reached her own hand forward and placed it in Sasuke's. His hand was warm and masculine, powerful but not intimidating.
"You have my word," Sakura whispered, transfixed by the feel of her hand in his.
"Oh just kiss already!" Naruto teased, causing Sakura to blush bright red and try to remove her hand. Sasuke, however, held onto her firmly and extended his other arm to Naruto.
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grinned at his long-time rival, grasping his hand. "But you gotta know this means you can never run away from us again! Ever!"
"I'm not going anywhere," Sasuke smirked.
Seeing Naruto and Sakura so elated, Kakashi couldn't help but smile. He nodded his assent. "We'll vote Hanabi with you."
Satisfied that they had come to an understanding, the Uchiha brothers departed first, not wanting to risk any suspicion. They had to go back to the Anti-Konoha Alliance and pretend to target Shikamaru, citing him as a strategic threat. When the three of them were left by the water well, Kakashi turned to his former students.
"Well?" He asked quietly. "Are we really going to do this?"
Naruto jolted visibly, making his teammates look at him in concern.
"My clone just dispersed," Naruto explained, pausing briefly to sort through the new memories flitting through his brain. "Hanabi is on board with our original plan, and Shikamaru told me that Deidara is too. The three girls are supposed to vote Temari, while the four guys vote Sasuke."
"So we have two options," Kakashi concluded. "Now that Sasuke and Itachi trust us, we can choose if we want Sasuke or Hanabi out. The math works in either situation."
"What are you talking about?" Sakura stared at him in shock. "We just gave our word to get Hanabi out!"
"I don't like having to turn on my friends, Sakura," Kakashi sighed. "Remember what is worse than trash?"
"Yeah but Sasuke is our original precious person and we just told him we're with him!" Sakura argued. "So your logic is flawed, sensei."
"Maa, Sakura-chan," Kakashi held up a placating hand. "I just want to make sure we do what's best for the three of us so we don't get hurt again. I want us to stick together. Whatever the two of you decide, I'll go with it. I just have some reservations in changing alliances so quickly."
"I understand, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said gently before rounding on her blonde friend. "What do you think, Naruto?"
Naruto gulped as he felt Kakashi also look to him for an answer. It was a heavy responsibility to know that the outcome of tonight's tribal council and the future course of the game for many people would be dictated by his choice in this present moment.
Night 22 - Tribal Council
"Welcome back to tribal council," Jiraiya greeted the group of ten once everyone had taken their seats in the hut. "We'll now bring in our jury, which currently consists of Kisame, who was voted out at the last tribal council."
The massive shark man made his entrance, flashing a grin at the competitors as he sat down across the fire.
"Itachi," Jiraiya addressed him, "you won today's immunity challenge. How does that feel?"
"I was lucky today, no more no less," Itachi responded humbly. "I happened to step on the right pieces of wood and dig in the correct place. But it definitely takes a lot of pressure off me to know I am safe tonight."
"Naruto," Jiraiya now directed his words to his apprentice. "You are the only other person here who's won immunity. Does that make you worried that you're a target tonight because of it?"
"A little bit," Naruto shrugged, "but anything can happen in this game! Everything is always unpredictable and a lot goes on, so the target changes pretty often. I don't think anyone here feels safe."
"Very astute," Jiraiya nodded. "Sasuke, would you say that you've been a target at some point in the game?"
"Of course," Sasuke said simply. "Names are always thrown out around camp, mine included. But I have trust in the people that I've spoken to and that they will do what they said they would do."
"You're referring to your alliance?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes," Sasuke clarified. "I have no doubt that there are many plans made for tonight, but I am confident that mine will work."
"Temari," Jiraiya spoke to the Suna kunoichi. "You had a bit of a reaction to what Sasuke just said. What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing too serious," Temari waved her hand dismissively. "I was only approached today with one plan, so I'm not sure about what Sasuke meant when he said there are many plans."
"I've only made one plan," Sasuke explained. "But I've seen lots of people breaking off to have secret side conversations all afternoon."
"I see," Jiraiya grinned in amusement. "Shikamaru, were you a part of some of these extra discussions?"
"I was," the Nara heir admitted. "It's an uncertain time; both alliances are split evenly with five on each side. There was a lot of scrambling happening with both sides trying to recruit extra numbers, and I think it would be a lie to say that any one of us wasn't involved in that in some way or another."
"Does that worry any of you that are aligned with Shikamaru?" Jiraiya asked curiously. "Sakura?"
"Not at all," Sakura smiled confidently. "Having conversations and scrambling for numbers is a huge part of the game. If you're not doing it, you're not playing. But I have absolute faith in my alliance and that we will all stick to our word."
"Interesting," Jiraiya rubbed his chin in thought. "I've had two people here say that they are confident that their plans will pull through. What about you, Hanabi? Are you as confident?"
"I don't know if confidence is the right way to describe it," the young Hyuuga said. "I personally think that being confident is dangerous in this game. The best we can do is make plans and hope that it pulls through."
"So let's have a show of hands," Jiraiya indicated to the entire group. "Who here has a plan for tonight that they have faith in?"
Every hand went up.
"With that, I say it's time to find out which plan will succeed," Jiraiya said. "It's time to vote."
...
"If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so," Jiraiya instructed as he placed the voting urn on the pedestal.
A few people shifted uncomfortably in anticipation. However, it soon became clear that no idol would be presented to the Toad Sage tonight.
"Alright. Once the votes have been read the person with the highest number of votes will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately," Jiraiya told them. "I'll read the votes. First vote: Sasuke."
Sasuke looked mildly uncomfortable, but stared resolutely at Jiraiya to continue.
"Next vote: Temari."
The kunoichi in question widened her eyes in shock. She wasn't aware that her name had come up at all today.
"Third vote: Sasuke," Jiraiya read as he pulled out the next paper. "Fourth vote: Temari. That's two for Sasuke and two for Temari."
"Shikamaru," Jiraiya announced as he unfolded the fifth piece of parchment.
To his credit, Shikamaru showed no signs of worry or surprise, but his eyes did narrow a fraction. On the other hand, Temari was starting to feel hopeful. Now was the time where five more votes for Shikamaru would surface. It was unfortunate as she did hold a flame for him, but the game had to come first for now.
"Next vote: Hanabi."
Temari made a confused face and glanced at her kunoichi friend. Hanabi was sporting a similar expression.
"Seventh vote: Hanabi," Jiraiya read. "That's one for Shikamaru, and two for Sasuke, Temari and Hanabi."
Worry was starting to pool in Temari's stomach as Jiraiya pulled out the next vote and read Hanabi's name for the third time.
"Ninth person voted out of Survivor: Ninja Edition and the second member of our jury," Jiraiya said solemnly, "Hanabi. That's four votes and it's enough."
Temari's mouth hung open in shock as she watched her closest ally pick up her torch and march to Jiraiya. Upon closer inspection, she observed that she wasn't the only one who was dumbfounded by the outcome of tonight. Shikamaru looked positively livid, while Ino and Deidara were whispering nervously to each other, their voices too low to be deciphered.
"Hanabi, the tribe has spoken," Jiraiya told her as he snuffed her torch. "Time for you to go."
"Wow," Hanabi shook her head in amusement and shock as she addressed the group. "Good blindside, guys. Well played."
As she youngest competitor of the game exited the tribal council hut, Jiraiya spoke to the remaining nine shinobi.
"From the looks on your faces, there were many plans in play tonight, but only one pulled through. Get back to camp and rest up. Goodnight."
Author's Note:
Yew! Apologies for the delay in update, my friends! Thanks soooo much for all the reviews, favs and follows, they really give me a lot of much needed encouragement. I know that a bunch of you have been wanting Hanabi out for a while, so here you go! Hope you enjoyed it, heh. As for what happens to her Legacy Advantage... you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out who she wills it to. And if anyone was wondering, I used a randomizer for this chapter twice - deciding the reward challenge groups and choosing the 5 to make it past the first immunity challenge round. Thank you for reading! xxx