Sorry for the enormous wait, but the chapter is finally here!
One tip: if you ever move schools, don't let teachers know you speak the same language – they give you a shit-load of homework on the first day…
-_-
~::~
When Sakura walked off and up the stairs of the arena she was acutely aware off all the eyes on her. She couldn't stop the tiny tinge of self-satisfaction she felt. She had defeated Hyuuga Neji. A prodigy.
Sakura sighed.
Those med-nin sure are annoying. How many times did we have to tell them we're fine and that we can heal ourselves?
Four, as far as I'm concerned.
Normally, Sakura would have chastised her Inner for complaining so much, but she couldn't argue with the fact that even she was getting slightly irritated with the paramedics.
:: Flashback::
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "YES. I am a medical ninja myself, I can heal a meek bruise or two."
The other medic, a girl just a few years older than her smirked, as if challenging Sakura to prove herself.
The rosette sighed, and with the last bit of chakra she had, she let the delicate green glow engulf her entire body. The two ninja watched as the chakra poured from every pore in the girl's body in soft, persistent waves.
Sakura opened her eyes. "Done. Can I go now?"
The male doctor just nodded, still slightly surprised but recovering.
When Sakura walked off, but then she sensed a pair of eyes watching her intently. She turned her head and saw Ino and Shikamaru's sensei, Asuma Sarutobi watching her intently from his perch on the stands.
~::~
Incredible. She fought the Hyuuga and yet she still had enough chakra to fully heal herself. I've never met a mere genin who was so acutely aware of their chakra reserves' capacity…
What Asuma had yet to notice was the fact that she was anything but a mere genin.
Sakura smiled.
Itachi was right…
~::~
Kankuro had dropped out from his match and now Umi was paired to go against the Aburame. The red-head jumped off the stands and faced her opponent, her face split in half with a 1000 volt smile.
"Engage." Genma curtly stated.
And so the battle began…
~::~
Sakura flinched when she heard her teammate's blood-curling scream. This battle was certainly the most bloody out of the previous three.
The bug-wielder had somehow managed to get his bugs inside Umi's optical nerve, and everytime she used chakra the bugs would nibble on the fragile nerve, making her sight worsen with every second.
The scream ricocheted between the tall walls of the arena, its deafening volume disorientating Shino momentarily, giving Umi a gap to attack him.
But her taijutsu was different, it was a tad sloppier and slower, not its usual, lightning speed.
Shino backhanded Umi across the face, but what surprised everyone the most was the stunned look which marred his features.
"You're blind." He stated bluntly. "Blinder than a mole." Suddenly the Aburame paused. "That's why your bangs cover your left eye. You were already blinded, only using your right eye. How does it feel, when my bugs had cut off the optic nerve to your right eye as well?"
Gasps echoed around. Sakura was shocked. Umi was… blind?
She turned to stare at Shiso, who, as if sensing her stare turned to give her the same shell-shocked expression Sakura knew was on her face.
They both turned back to watch their comrade as a curt laugh rang through the air.
"I feel as if I want to stick my katana down your throat, dismember you, scalp you, then resurrect you and repeat the process over and over for revealing my best-kept secret."
Shivers run down Sakura's spine. Umi sounded so cold, so ruthless, so apathetic, so… like her.
"But that will have to wait. Right now I have something to prove." Umi closed her eyes as she tilted her head back, letting the onlookers see her elfin face. "Right now, my teammates need to see, need to realize, that I am not the weakest link. That I can, in fact fend off for myself. And you happen to be the perfect person." Her hands lazily lifted about chest-high and formed a single seal. Then her eyes snapped open, revealing two big, previously brown eyes.
Now those eyes were covered by a thin mist of milky white.
She really was blind.
"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
The earth rumbled and shook. Dust flew around everywhere. Shino's bugs scattered everywhere.
And a moment later, Umi stood in the same position, only with one hand raised up and an enormous boulder balanced on her pointer finger.
No one said anything.
Umi stared coolly at the bug wielder. "Die." She hissed, and the block of earth soaring through the small space separating the duo.
Nobody believed what they saw. Umi was tiny, fragile, breakable and impossibly cheerful. But… if so, then who on Earth was the person in the arena?
"Wha-? Is that Umi…?" Shiso chocked out.
"Yeah…" Sakura whispered back.
They watched as with a snap of Umi's fingers, the boulder crumpled into sand and dust.
There was slight movement below and Shino stood up. At first glance he looked unharmed. That was until people saw his right hand hanging off at an incredibly odd angle.
Umi grit her teeth. "You're seriously pissing me off now."
But Shino seemed to ignore her. "What is that technique? Amegakure ninja aren't supposed to be able to do Earth Release. Who exactly are you?"
Tch. As if she's actually going to answer…
"I was kidnaped when I was little."
Whut?
Shush!
"I was kidnapped and taken to what you now know at Otogakure." Now people were paying attention. "And there I became the test subject of the cruellest man on earth. I believe you know Orochimaru?" Umi said the last part in a sickly sweet voice which sent shivers down the watchers' spines.
Umi… Is…Fucking…Scary…
Damn right.
"I was injected with the First Hokage's DNA in hopes of acquiring his ability to use Wood Release. However, the process was unsuccessful. But it did have some pros and cons, you know? One of the cons was the permanent one-eye blindness. Though I did gain something else. Something I plan to demonstrate right now."
Sakura's brain went into information-overload.
Umi was an experiment by Orochimaru?
She was kidnapped?
She possesses special abilities?
Ugh! I can't think straight!
Then don't think at all.
By now Umi was once again doing some complicated hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" and a moment later, "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
Sakura watched, awestruck and shocked as the two jutsus intertwined, creating a devastatingly strong technique.
It was obvious who won.
Genma didn't even have to speak. But he still did.
"Winner of the match: Umi Dansu!"
Cheering filled the arena once again, but only one thought was raging through Sakura's mind;
Is this really Umi?
"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."