Magnus: Well, first of all, sorry for the long time to update, I was trapped in my job, drowning in paperwork, barely having time to write or even relax... then came Skyrim... anyway, finally I got an update ready, and my mind is once again free to imagine new scenes for the stories I write, so don't give up, I won't abandon this or another story! So, enjoy! And remember, Read and Review!
Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto, or anything you believe is being mentioned in this fanfic, I only own my own OCs, many others belong to their respective creators (Mostly Kage Bijuu)
Chapter 52
Rage and Tranquility
It would be common by now to say that the residents of Konoha were not easily surprised now days, they have been witnesses of all kinds of weirdness, like magic, people strong beyond imagination, spirits running berserk and causing mayhem, and so on… However, the outsiders were a very different thing, for in only one day, they have seen more than enough to avoid anyone related to Konoha, like brutal fights, jutsus capable of obliterating an entire nation, a young man fighting like a God… and of course, alchemy.
"Ok, Konohamaru, Hanabi. Go ahead; it's time to show off!" Eduard called to the small duo, and both nodded happily. Both of them were waiting for something colossal to say that they were true alchemists, and this, the arena turned into a smoking crater, was the perfect chance to do so.
"Kono-Kono! Let's do this!" Hanabi exclaimed, while clapping her now gloved hands, such gloves were filled with lines and symbols, that when joined together would form a transmutation circle, and depending on the angle, they will be used for different purposes, she even had the formation to form a bomb, for she really loved to blow up things to relieve stress.
"Yes! Hanabi-chan!" Konohamaru replied, his hands were gloved too, but he had many small circles, which he activated separately or in conjuction, so he could form very complex things, he also had a basic formation to decompose, in order to clear off any wrong result.
The spectators watched uninterested at first, how the kids clapped their hands, and how they placed them on the destroyed battlefield, all this changed upon seeing a bright light, and then, when the light was gone, the battlefield was good as new
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
"INCREDIBLE!"
"MUST BE A GENJUTSU!"
The shouts were loud and they were many, and the reactions of Konoha's citizens didn't wait to reply
"THIS IS TRULY REAL!"
"BETTER BELIEVE IT!"
"KONOHA IS THE BEST VILLAGE!"
In the honor place, the reactions were not very different
"Well, I'd never expected to see so much power from a pair of children, perhaps gods are being reborn in this village?" Kidd stated, he sounded less impressed as he really was, although him being the son of the God of the Death granted him a different perspective
"Wow! Now Black Star will be hard pressed to achieve his dream!" Liz added, knowing that by now, the assassin technician would be rather depressed
"HOHOHOHOHO!" Patty limited herself to laugh at the idea
'What? What kind of training are they placing their children into? I can't believe this is the same village of weaklings I left!' Orochimaru thought, barely able to believe the potential of the new generations, and savoring the idea of kidnapping them all
"What can I say? They work hard, without restrictions, but with responsibility and supervision. That's the only secret of our success" Sarutobi replied, earning a thoughtful expression from Kidd, and a shocked expression from the Kazekage
'What happened to you? To have found enlightening after my departure you must had to make the sacrifices you condemned me for. Or perhaps, I should ask who is manipulating you, old man?' Orochimaru thought now, eying the Hokage with suspicion, and wondering how his previously chosen target would be faring right now…
Meanwhile, Konoha's hospital…
In a rather dark room in the hospital, was one battered and unconscious Sasuke Uchiha. He had to be checked constantly, being watched all the time, for his wounds were severe, and painful. For good or ill, someone volunteered, someone who had a special interest on the downed avenger…
'Spoiled… A brat forged in the flames of an undeserved adoration, weakened by the teachings of a man blinded by the long dead glory of the boy's ancestors, and misdirected by the lone thought on his head… Vengeance' The one watching him thought, grimly. His stature was taller than any shinobi known, his body was muscular and yet agile, but the pair of horns at his head denoted him as not so human…
'A complete failure. A warrior with such a weak spirit cannot aim for anything higher than a premature death on the battlefield of life… And yet, he still has some untapped potential… Aye, he may still be of use for my scheme' The one watching Sasuke thought now, and a rather diabolic grin formed on his face
At that moment, Danzo entered the room, and his god eye went a little wide by seeing who was taking care of his precious Uchiha. It was the surprise of seeing someone like him and not a proper medic nin, the surprise of seeing the one that his Root reported as someone working for the enemy…
"Kabuto! What are you doing here?" Danzo asked, and the white haired shinobi turned his head to see him, showing some surprise as well
"Oh? Danzo-sama! What a surprise to see you here and not at the stadium. As for your question, the hospital is rather short of hands with the last part of the exam, so I was tasked to keep an eye on Sasuke-kun… Is there something wrong?" Kabuto asked, sounding so sincere that it was creepy
"No… Not really. It's just that I thought YOU would be at the Stadium lending up a hand, and not here… Anyway, how is Sasuke?" Danzo kept the game up, it wasn't the correct time to get rid of the traitor, much less with a defenseless Sasuke in the middle
"Well, there is no way to say if he got neutered or not, at least not yet, so there is hope for him to see little Uchihas in the future. As for the rest of the wounds, he won't see any action for a few months, and even then, he will need some rehabilitation before taking any mission higher than a D" Kabuto reported, sounding as professional as possible, while laughing inside.
"I… see. Perhaps if Dr. Stronghold uses his methods…" Danzo began to say, and Kabuto had to fight the urge to frown, as that may alter his own plans.
"Perhaps, although I still doubt the reliability of such archaic and brute methods. Don't mistake me, I praise how well they work on major injuries and some extreme cases, but Sasuke requires… delicacy" Kabuto explained, and Danzo couldn't find a fault on this logic, making Kabuto laugh inside even more
Back at the stadium…
Ed and Al had to help the kids to leave the area, for they were drained due to the massive work, not that it had done something to erase their faces of satisfaction, for now their work will be remembered for years to come. And now, Hayate made his way to the center of the arena once again, basking on the knowledge that the next combatants will be more… harmless than the last ones.
"Tenten and, cough, Shino Aburame. Please come down to the arena" Hayate called. Tenten was fast to jump to the arena, she was nervous, nervous because now she had to do something to impress the spectators, something to scream 'I'm special too!' Shino for his part, was a little less calm than his usal self, his ambition was not one of glory to the world, but more like making his beloved one proud of him, showing her that he will always keep her safe, for he has the power to do so.
Soon, Tenten and Shino were facing each other in the center of the arena. Tenten looked at the Hyuga balcony, were Neji nodded to her, showing all the confidence he had for her. Shino looked at the balcony of his family, were his eyes met Nyu's, she sent a silent meowing, one that asked him just to be unharmed, to return to her, Shino knew that she was confident on his skills, but she just loved him too much, and such love had to be rewarded, so, Shino proposed himself to win. Shino and Tenten crossed eyesight, and Tenten took a stance where she was ready to take as many scrolls per second as possible, she knew that the battle will be decided on the first seconds… She was like a cowboy ready to draw the gun in a duel, while Shino was… relaxed, hands on his pockets, and no way to see if his eyes looked nervous, which made the whole ordeal much more stressing.
On the different balconies, the families that watched with interest this fight were also stressed, because this won't be like the brutal fights that had just taken place, this would be like the duels of the samurais, only one move, and the one to commit a mistake, will be the loser.
"Tenten, please be careful…" Neji muttered, unable to not worry for the girl that many nights occupied his dreams
"You need to think on a good excuse to marry her, Neji. At this rate, she will kill herself trying to show herself as strong enough to be by your side" Hiashi said, making Neji to look down in shame, there was no need to lie, the Byakugan always reveled the truth
"But the elders…" Neji began to elaborate, but Hiashi was already tired of it
"The elders weren't able to prevent Hinata marrying Naruto. I believe you can be even more creative than them" Hiashi replied, and Neji nodded, although this was not a good moment to think, more like watch his love interest
"Nyu?" Nyu asked, much less worried than before
"Of course he'll be fine, there is no doubt of that" Shibi replied sounding both sure and truthful
"If that bitch so much harms a hair of my precious Shino… I'll tear her limb by limb!" Lucy suddenly surfaced, exclaiming her own way of affection toward the boy that accepted her for what she was, without fear, without wariness. That's why both girls lived at the same time in the same body, with Nyu being the adorable and cute girlfriend, and Lucy the murderous woman that needed no protection, a commodity for Shino, meaning more focus in battle
"And I'll help you in every step" Shino's mother added, she too came to love Lucy, as the daughter she always wanted to have… a headache for the entire clan.
Hayate watched the two konoha's shinobi, even when they were comrades, there was so much killing intent, so much distress and mistrust, but in the end, these were relatively normal kids, so, Hayate made the battle start
"The third round can begin, cough, now!" Hayate called, and removed himself without much speed.
"Too bad for you Shino! I won't let you do anything! This ends now!" Tenten shouted, while throwing a pair of unfolding scrolls high into the air. She saw how Shino fought on the tower, she knew that she only had one chance, and she knew, that if she managed to defeat a clan heir in only one move, the Hyuga elders will see her a worthy…
Shino for his part, limited himself to study Tenten's movements, the unfolding scrolls, and how many kanjis were written on them. Is not as if he were careless, it's not as if he were overconfident, it's just that he had studied the strategy for this battle for so long, that it was incredibly scary how Tenten was falling directly on his trap…
"SHOSHORYU!" Tenten shouted her ultimate technique, and with bitten thumbs, she spread blood on the seals, freeing countless weapons, ranging from shurikens and kunais, to full sized swords, axes and maces. She had practiced for the whole month, knowing that the Aburame were dangerous at close distance when faced by surprise, and deadly at mid distance if faced directly, so, she mixed an aerial combat, where his insect wouldn't reach her on time, and her pinpoint accuracy to leave him no room to escape. She knew were to aim, she was no murderer, she only aimed to incapacitate him, knowing that as an Aburame, his speed was… unimpressive.
Tenten watched in delight how Shino tried to valiantly avoid the rain of death, and how he failed in doing so, how the sharp metal began to cut clothes and skin… and then, much to her displeasure, how Shino's body turned into a mass of insects.
"If that was your best move, then you must train harder to improve, Tenten-san. You seem to forget you are fighting against a fellow shinobi, and a shinobi always has a way to escape the first blow" Shino calmly said, while appearing out of a hole in the ground, a hole made by his kikaichu just before the battle started.
"Oh! But you just walked into the second stage of my technique!" Tenten, now enraged by seeing her first attempt completely failing, used chakra wires to lift all the previously thrown weapons, all of them ready to be redirected against Shino… who was still calm
"Fool" was Shino's only word. The previously clone, now a mass of insects, began to crawl their way to Tenten through the chakra wires, at an alarming speed. Their objective was simple, reach her, and drain her of her chakra, thus ending the battle, in a rather gross way.
"NO! Not like this!" Tenten screamed, and then cut the wires before it was too late, rendering the kikaichu bugs unable to reach her so fast. Her technique was now over, the momentum of her jump gone, the only thing left for her, was to grab the scrolls, and unleash some more weapons while falling…
"GHA!" But the scroll were now filled wit bugs… the whole time of the technique proved to be too long, long enough for some of the slow bugs to actually reach he scrolls, fill them, and now trying to crawl on her skin. Soon her fully insect covered body fell to the ground with a loud thud, it was like a Déjà vu, for it ended like that other battle…
POOF!
And with a distinctive cloud of smoke, the kikaichu bugs found themselves attached to a log, instead of a female body…
"A valiant effort, Tenten, but useless in the end" Shino calmly stated, everyone expected for the weapon mistress to attack from a new angle, to kep surprising them, but in the end, Shino's words rang true…
"AAAHHHHH! What the hell is this? I can't break free!" Tenten screams were heard all around Konoha, but none of the spectators were able to see anything, for Tenten was hidden among the small patch of trees in the arena, entangled into some kind of spider web.
Shino calmly walked into the small patch of trees. There was no hurry, besides, the waiting will do the required softening work on Tenten. The battle had been set since the beginning of the month, while Tenten worked nonstop to make her technique perfect, she failed to put to practice the most basic of the ninja talents, research your opponent. And that was what Shino excels at, a master of espionage, a master of disguise, a master of deceit, every move perfectly studied, every possibility, from the speed used to launch her weapons, to the carefully placed log to replace her with in case of an emergency, is not as if Tenten was careless, it's just that Shino knew her strategy from the time begin, and a ninja without the weapon of surprise, is a defenseless ninja…
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING MADE OF?" Tenten shouted to Shino, who was just in sight
"It's a special silk made from a quite rare colony of spiders, a curious spice that works as a hive, instead of lone hunters. I strongly suggest you not to sweat, as sweat makes it somewhat acid, causing serious itching and dissolving of clothes" Shino answered in a rather disturbing monotone voice, one that made Tenten stop struggling and become seriously afraid
"What? Why would you use something as depraved as that?" Tenten asked, weakly and afraid
"I use it so you won't struggle" Shino answered as a mater of a fact, sounding even more disturbing
"Well… If you think I'm just going to give up, you are seriously wrong. I'll find a way to escape, and then you'll beg for forgiveness" Tenten hissed, trying to think on how to get out, but coming with no ideas so far
"You won't have the time to do so" Shino coldly stated, while his kikaichu insect began to form clouds behind him, soon the clouds took the shape of wicked hands, giving them a much more disturbing appearance. And before Tenten could say or do something, the hands darted at her.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Tenten's blood chilling scream froze the hearts of many spectators, it was inhuman, and capable of haunting the nightmares of many. A few seconds later, Shino came out of the woods, carrying Tenten, who was unconscious, and obviously unable to recover
"Participant Tenten is unable to continue, cough, Shino Aburame is the winner!" Hayate called, and soon Medic nins came to the aid of the kunoichi
"TENTEN!" Neji screamed, and got ready to leap from his place, just as Maka did, but Hiashi's hand was fast and strong, keeping him in place
"Fool! What are you trying to do?" Hiashi asked in a truly severe voice, but Neji turned to look at him with absolute defiance, this was no longer a matter of clan and traditions, his beloved one was injured and in need of his help
"I'm doing what I must, what my heart dictates me, now kill me or let me go, but I won't stop!" Neji replied, with bravery that was beyond his usual self
"Idiot! The last thing she needs is a dead boyfriend, or be killed to keep you in place! Now go from the back side, so the elders won't see you outright, and if they ask, you are going to give support to your fallen comrade. BE SMART!" Hiashi reprimand him, and Neji looked ashamed, but did as told, not noticing outright the serious support from his uncle.
The people were in a turmoil, many didn't know what happened, and thought the worst, others got an idea, and hoped to be wrong, but there were some that had their own thoughts about the combatants.
"Ah! So much potential untapped! What a waste of a great kunoichi! I could have made her shine with her own youthful flames, she would have made a great teammate for him!" The green cloaked figure spoke to him, more like a whisper.
'Perhaps a little too rampant, it may have been good for her, but your son would have been stopped on his progress by her stubbornness' Something inside the green warrior spoke to him, to his mind
'Maybe, but, the most important thing is to have a family. Don't you agree, Mercer-san?' The green warrior replied on his mind, to the being now living inside of him
'So long you don't share your new and growing hunger, Gai' Mercer retorted, and Gai couldn't help but to give a dark chuckle. They were now one, alive by a parasitic bond, and an incredible will to keep going. Gai was dead, as Mercer was, but they were standing among the crowd, no longer shinobi, no longer human, but he had to come back, if only to say sorry, and then disappear in the darkness of history
"It seems like Shino has grown cold and calculating, even more than his usual self!" Hinata cutely said, although it sounded fake by seeing her grin
"Me thinks he has become more like hot blooded, his heartbeat is faster, his emotions warmer" Lee added, sounding as if approving
"Cold as ice in the outside, but burning with passion in the inside…" Reiko conceded, and the other nodded, but made a silent promise to never ask
Meanwhile…
"Are you two ready?" Baki asked to Temari and Kankuro
"So, are we going with the original plan, or the modified version?" Temari asked, confusing Kankuro for a moment. It was a signal, for Temari was aware of the true situation, she just had to make sure
"With the modified one, of course" Baki replied, and Temari nodded in understanding, the plan won't be as Orochimaru proposed, but as Gaara said it would be, Baki was no more, and the one standing before them most likely was worth a hundred hunter nins
"Modified? Why? Ah! Right! Only Gaara passed to the finals, so he don't have support right now and we have to take another position!" Kankuro suddenly said. Baki gave a questioning look at Temari, who only rolled her eyes
"That's right, we forgot to give you the details. Let me explain you with careful detail" Temari said, and Kankuro did as he does whenever he is going to hear a long explanation, he turned to his puppets
WHAM!
Temari swiftly knocked him out with her fan, she didn't tell him the change of plans, because he was more loyalist, he was ready to shed Konoha's blood, all in the name of his village, all for the obvious lies and manipulations of a run away sanin
"Was that necessary?" Baki asked, puzzled by the strange behavior
"Yes, it was. He would have been more like a burden, it's better this way, we'll explain everything to him when this fiasco is over" Temari answered, for they had little time to reverse the ambushes
"Very well, any questions?" Baki asked now
"Yes, how is my father? He hasn't come to see us since we got here, and I really don't want him to die in the crossfire" Temari asked, bad father or not, he was her father
"Dead, at the hands of Orochimaru. Now let's go" Baki commanded, freezing Temari on her spot
"Dead? No! I'll skin that Orochimaru alive!" Temari roared with vengeance, and Baki smiled, sometimes deliver the bad news had his rewards, now he has a blood lusting wind user who will decimate the Otto nins with joy
Magnus: Well, I hope you liked it. I know, this battle wasn't as long or interesting as the others, but hey! Shino is efficient as it is! But next battle... Fans of the SRW games, get ready to revive old memorable memories about two giant sword users.