At this point, I suppose I really should say something like "wow, I actually made it". Only this time it wouldn't be about the fact that I've managed to upload. No, this time it's more then that. I gotta admit that it's slightly hard for me to believe that those two-digit numbers actually turned into three-digit ones. This story really broke the barrier of one hundred chapters XD Throughout the entire writing of this fic, this will probably one of the moments I'll remember best.
Naturally, at times like this, the author feels obligated to thank his (or hers) readers for sticking so long with the story (one hundred chapters can be considered epic, even though their length may be shorter then what you usually read). And so I wanna thank you guys again for enduring this for so long. There ain't gonna be four-digit, that much I'm certain off, coz although there's still much to come, I'd really have to stretch things (or add extra stuff) to be able to reach 1000 chapters. But, at the very least, I can assure you that this is still far from over (whether it's good news or bad, I'll let you decide).
100 chapter calls for some sort of celebration, I suppose, but with my limited free time, nothing comes to my mind really. Though I will try to make a double update next time. Will I manage is a totally different story ' For the time being, I just hope that the result of the Second Character Popularity Contest will be enough for you guys. Also Hikari Midori-chan is planning to make a poster with PC results. We'll see how that goes. Good luck, Hikari!
Meanwhile the results are given at the end of this chapter. Sorry for all those who hoped to vote and didn't manage to. Although Ibiki wouldn't approve what I'm about to write, but "there's always next time" XD
One, last thing before I start the chapter: I'm not sure if the idea blows or not, but a little while back I formed a forum here on FF concerning this fic. My aim was that, if you'd like, you could share your thoughts about this story with other N:NG fans (not just me), a place where you can place your theories (for example who's Takaru's father) etc. The link should be on my profile page, so if you want, you're welcome to drop by. Naturally, I'll be grateful for reviews either way.
And so, without further to do, here's the newest, 100 chapter of N:NG:
Chapter #100: Sandstorm
Title Page: Kai with his tongue stuck on is riding on a camel through the desert, while Ibuki is walking before him, pulling the camel's reins and drinking from bottle-gourd
As the tags went off, a powerful explosion engulfed both kunoichi. An instant later Ibuki jumped out from the thick, dust cloud that covered the arena, barely landing on her feet as blood run down the left side of her face, while she held her left should, trying to keep the crimson liquid from escaping her body at least there. Her outfit was ripped in several places and blood now almost wrapped around her. Her breath have become as heavy as they get.
"Did she got her?" asked Hanamaru, egger to know the answer, however no-one replied. The view finally cleared, thus revealing a thin, sandy, ellipsoid cocoon laying few meters before the young assassin. The sand finally retreated, forming itself into a gourd on Sabure's back, who was trapped inside it with Ibuki's kunai still struck in her shoulders. "So, her gourd was made of sand as well" concluded Naruto, narrowing his eyes.
"How the hell did she survived?" demanded Kai, pointing at the redhead kunoichi. "Those tags were attached to the kunai that sunk into her shoulders! How could she wrap herself in sand, blocking an explosion from such a short distance completely?"
"The knives didn't went in deep enough" Kumiko replied, while her face became slightly pale. "Most likely that Sabure girl just made her sand form the barrier right under the place the tags were wrapped around. The explosion blasted itself off that wall and hit Ibuki in stead. Basically, Ibuki took all the damage…"
"And still she's standing" added Horohoro in his mind, smiling slightly. "I gotta admit that Funbo's sister is pretty impressive" and as he thought that, Kokoro smiled under his nose as well, yet didn't say a word. In the meantime Sabure pulled out the two kunai in her shoulders, making the sand from her gourd wrap around her, thus covering her in Sand Armor once more.
"I do not recall anyone wounding me before" she announced calmly, still not showing any emotions. "And besides Takai, my brother also never got hit. It's admirable… you fight well, but the outcome is obvious none the less. Is it really necessary to drag this any longer? You can barely stand. Even if you continue, I doubt you'll endure the speed you used before and without it, you won't even break through my Sand Shield, left alone Armor…"
"Yeah, well, since I can't break through it" began Ibuki, managing a weak smirk. "I can always smash it from inside!" and with that she performed a quick hand seal. In a flash something exploded on Sabure's back, thus pushing her forward, while her Sand Armor shattered again, leaving her back, now with its skin ripped badly, open.
"An explosion broke Sabure's Sand Armor?" Karame thought to himself surprised, only to realize what happened a moment later: "No, that explosion just now… it was triggered from the inside. The tag that got detonated was beneath Suna Yoroi!" and as he stared in shock at his teammate, who now helped herself with her hands to not fall flat to the floor, Hizoku gave Ibuki an approving smile: "So those tags on kunai were a diversion. Once they went off, that Sand girl's view was block and she didn't even realize Ibuki placed another tag on her back. Since at the time that Sand Armor wasn't covering her, the tag stuck to her back. When that sand wrapped around her once more, it covered the tag as well. Apparently that armor isn't as strong on the inside as it is on the outside. Still, willing to take the explosion heads on, just to create an opening is a suicidal maneuver… why is Ibuki trying so hard?"
The young assassin didn't waste a second and as Sabure landed on her knees and hands, she jumped up, picking out a scroll in the process. In an instant she unwrapped it and shaking her hand she sprayed blood on it, then forming it into a summoning symbol the next moment. As commended a katana suddenly appeared in her hand as she began falling down, straight at the redhead's uncovered back.
As the tip of the blade came closer, Sabure's sand reacted, forming a wing over her back, thus making the sword sunk into it. Immediately Ibuki found herself incapable of pulling her weapon out as he feet landed upon the sandy barrier. Her eyes widen as a sudden rumble shook the surface beneath her feet, pushing up sand spikes up, which pierced right through her hands and legs. A loud cry of pain escaped her mouth as she collapsed to the floor, unable to move at all.
In a flash Naruto appeared next to his student, while Sabure turned to face the two, however her facial expression was different then a moment before. It shown worry: "Sorry… I did not want to go that far, but it didn't seem like she was going to give up, so I had to force her. I didn't hit any vital points, so as long as she'll get medical attention, she should be fine… if there's anything I can do to help her, do let me know…"
"With those wounds it's impossible for her to move anyway" admitted the blonde jounin, calling the medics, while Lee announced the result of the match: "Winner: Sabaku no Sabure!" and as the redhead disappeared in the whirlpool of sand, Hari narrowed her eyes, quickly analyzing the situation: "Just now that Leaf girl got extremely lucky. If Touba wasn't the dominating personality, those sand spikes would surely pierced right through her chest and she'd be instantly dead…"
"Don't take so long next time, dammit" whined Horamaru as Sabure appeared next to him. "I almost got bored to death. It's best to get those eliminations done with, so I can have some fun in the next phase" and with that he gave a wicked smile, earning a disapproving glance from Dekai, who stood right behind him.
"That look and tone" Naruto narrowed his eyes as they settled on Sabure, who was now back on the platform. "It's not the same person as the one who took of the mask a while back. Could it be that this girl… is schizophrenic?" he then gazed at Ibuki, who was now placed on stretcher and taken away by the medics. A worried expression crossed his face as well before he sensed another presence and turn around to see his other students standing right behind him.
"Will Ibuki be okay?" Takaru asked with concern in his voice, making the whisker-marks get back to reality. He forced a smile onto his face, while he responded with the calmest voice he could in this situation: "She is badly injured, but I don't think her life is in danger… though it will take her awhile to recover, that much is certain" and as he said so, Kusari stepped forward, still worried: "Maybe we should…"
"That would be pointless" Naruto interrupted him, perfectly sensing what the chain master wanted to say: "She already lost consciousness so it wouldn't matter. The medics must first take care of her. And furthermore, the eliminations have not ended yet. Since you guys passed, it's best that you stay until the end. It will be helpful to you in the final exam" and with that said, he added mentally: "Plus, there's still one, last thing that needs to be done before the eliminations can be considered as closed…"
"Ummm, Naruto" Lee walked over to his friend with a guilty expression on his eyebrow face, gaining his attention. "I know that you have more important things on your head right now, but as you noticed yourself, there's still one fight in the eliminations and with you down here, I cannot announce its beginning" and at this point the blonde merely nodded, taking his students back to the platform.
"Tuff luck" concluded Funbo with a joyful voice and an evil smirk appearing on his face as the weapon mistress was taken out of the room. Hearing this Akira's face twitched slightly, though when he spoke, his voice was as calm as usual: "I know you're not a compassionate type. I never approved that, but I at least grew to tolerate that. However, that girl is your sister. You're blood-related. Is it really okay to make nothing out of the situation?"
"I do not interfere with you, Akira…" the young Tanken replied a little cold, sending him a glare that could send shivers down his teammate's spine, if he wasn't blind. "So the least you can do is follow my example towards me…" and with that the genjutsu expert said no more.
"May the last, two participants please get down?" Lee asked loudly, reminding everyone that the eliminations were still going. Kyuu merely narrowed his eyes as he took a quick glance at Takai: "That guy… I can sense he's not an average gennin. That weird feeling I get from him… best just end the match quickly" and so he jumped down, awaiting the start of his fight.
"Good luck, Takai-kun" Aoru encouraged her teammate, yet the scythe user just gazed at her without saying a word, before he headed towards the stairs to walk down to the arena. Hitomi's eyes narrowed as they followed the sand-nin, while the girl kept her arms crossed: "It's that guy…"
"Final elimination fight! Kyuu against Takai!" and with that Lee threw quick glances at both fighters, before yelling out loud again, immediately moving out of the way: "BEGIN!" In a flash the shadow-nin went through a set of hand seals and with the last symbol gathered air in his lungs, only to let it out in the next moment with a furious, ear-breaking scream: "Takachoushi no Jutsu!"
The powerful sound wave went straight at Takai and blasted him against the wall, making it crack. Kyuu was yet undone however and quickly performed another chain of seals, throwing his hands to the sides once he was done. In a fraction of a second a swarm of bats flew from under his cloak, each going for the crimson-eyed boy. Upon rising his sight, the scythe user saw each of the flying mammals shaping itself into a kunai, striking him hard. Before he even managed to move his entire body got struck with throwing knives, the last one sinking into his forehead.
"By collecting chakra in my vocal cords I can increase the strength of my voice to the extreme that it can produce a powerful sound wave" Kyuu announced simply with no expression showing on his face, as Takai's body felt motionlessly to the floor face first. "If a sound is powerful enough, it can break glass and even stone. Not that I need to say any of this really, since my kunai just struck all your vital points. By the time the last of the knives hit, you were already dead. I may have overdid it a little, but that weird aura of yours actually gave me a slight fright and I figured it's not worth risk losing. Rest in peace…" and with that he turned around and began walking away, while Lee made a quick check up on the sand-nin.
"There's even no point in making sure" he thought to himself as he didn't felt any pulse on Takai's neck. "There's no way anyone could survive an attack like that. That shadow-nin truly is a monster" and with that thought he rose to his feet, pointing his hand at Kyuu: "Winner: K…" a sudden sensation made his voice freeze as his eyes widen however.
Sweat began covering his body as he saw Takai slowly rising back to his feet with all the kunai still stuck in his body. With no trace of pain or emotion, the scythe user began pulling the knives out, every time spraying the floor with crimson liquid that escaped his body. Kyuu instantly froze as his body began shaking from fright: "I hit all his vital points! Heart, lungs, brain, kidneys… it's physically impossible for anyone to even live after that, much less stand up! What the hell is going on?"
"I hope you weren't thinking of leaving just yet" announced Takai with an evil smirk as all his wounds healed instantly, leaving no trace that he was hit just a moment ago. "Especially since I only began enjoying this. I like your ability… I've decided… I want you in my collection!"
---walking dead… what is Takai?---
And this concludes this chappie. Hope you found it enjoyable and that you'll leave a review once you're done reading. It'd mean a lot. Bellow you'll find translation of the technique Kyuu used and the update list of gennin, but before that I feel I should make a special note (two, actually) that might save me from being crucified:
About Ibuki losing: sorry to all Ibuki fans (who, apparently, exceed the number of Sabure fans), but Ibuki was supposed to lose this match from the very beginning. Such outcome is important for her (and not just her) development a bit later on and furthermore it rids me of the feeling that I made the "main team" overly powerful (it'd seem wrong for all of them to pass, as some of you stated yourselves). I assure you that Ibuki will have her time yet.
About Takai's abilities: not sure if any of you will believe me, but Takai (along with his skills) really was invented way before Hidan was properly introduced. Right now there isn't really any way to prove it, but Takai's first appearance took place before Hidan and Kakuzu went after Yugito in the manga and already I knew how his abilities should look like. True he seems immortal (but I assure you: there IS a way to kill him… not sure if Hidan could be killed) and true that he uses scythe as well, but this is were similarities end. As you'll see (hopefully), Takai's abilities differ from Hidan's and quite much so.
With that said, I believe I can get to jutsu translation and gennin list:
Takachoushi no Jutsu (High-pitch Skill)
Konoha #7: Murasakki Kumiko, Gekido Takaru, Hagane Kusari, Haisha Kai
Konoha #3: Konpaku Rei, Amagasa Toku, Debano Kitsune, Gusoku Hanamaru
Konoha #4: Benda Kokoro, Kobushi Galu
Konoha:Hamano Taki, Hyuuga Hitomi, Manako Akira, Tanken Funbo, Horohoro
Suna #1: Aoru, Torune, Honemaru, Tarakudo, Takai (in progress)
Suna #2: Sabaku no Sabure, Hari, Dekai, Horamaru, Karame
Kusa:Hokku Tobane, Kanraku Nezumi, Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku
Ame:Furikuzu Tsuino, Hebereke Nazaa
Bakufu:Abura Tetsu
Tsuki:Junsei Teela, Tenka
Hane:Ono Reiji
Kumori: Kyuu (in progress)
And now, the moment some of you may have been waiting for: the results of the Second Character Popularity Contest! I gotta admit that some of the results did surprise me. For example I'd never though Rei would become this popular. What's more there were characters that did poorly previously, now scoring pretty nicely (like Galu and Karame, to name just those from the top of my head). I also find it slightly disturbing that some of the team 7 members lost fans so quickly (I never expected Kumiko to be extremely popular, but I did believe she'll manage to remain in top 10 for one contest more). On a more positive note I'm very glad that most of the OCs that will play a more important part in the story did receive at least one vote (with few exceptions). But what can I tell you, I suppose most of you just skipped this and went to the result already, so without further to do, here are the results of the Second N:NG Character Popularity Contest (first the number of votes is given, after that, in brackets, is the among of voting points and lastly the place the character took in the previous contest, so Kai, who scored highest 50 chapters ago, has number one):
1. Kusari Hagane – 10 votes (33 vp / 2)
2. Kai Haisha – 8 votes (31 vp / 1)
3. Akira Manako – 8 votes (27 vp / 5)
4. Ibuki Tanken – 7 votes (28 vp / 3)
5. Rei Konpaku – 7 votes (23 vp / 15)
6. Horohoro – 7 votes (20 vp / 17)
7. Mikka Igaku – 6 votes (21 vp / 8)
Senkou Hatake – 6 votes (21 vp / 6)
9. Takaru Gekido – 5 votes (15 vp / 4)
10. Karame – 4 votes (13 vp / 35)
11. Kumiko Murasakki – 4 votes (10 vp / 7)
12. Hizoku Wanabi – 3 votes (12 vp / 10)
13. Takai – 3 votes (11 vp / 24)
Kokoro Benda – 3 votes (11 vp / 11)
15. Tsume Inuzuka – 3 votes (10 vp / 27)
16. Teela Junsei – 3 votes (9 vp / 23)
17. Hitomi Hyuuga – 3 votes (8 vp / 21)
18. Galu Kobushi – 3 votes (7 vp / 35)
Toku Amagasa – 3 votes (7 vp / 14)
20. Kogane Rikoteki – 2 votes (7 vp / 22)
21. Honemaru – 2 votes (5 vp / - )
Kitsune Debano – 2 votes (5 vp / 18)
Aoru – 2 votes (5 vp / 27)
24. Funbo Tanken – 2 votes (4 vp / 9)
25. Taki Hamano – 2 votes (2 vp / 35)
26. Dekai – 1 vote (5 vp / -)
27. Tokame Kyohaku – 1 vote (4 vp / -)
Tarakudo – 1 vote (4 vp / 27)
29. Sabaku no Sabure – 1 vote (3 vp / 25)
Reiji Ono – 1 vote (3 vp / 18)
31. Torune – 1 vote (2 vp / 25)
Hanamaru Gusoku – 1 vote (2 vp / 11)
33. Saiken Tenma – 1 vote (1 vp / 31)
Hari – 1 vote (1 vp / 35)
Naruto Uzumaki – 1 vote (1 vp / 13)
Shikamaru Nara – 1 vote (1 vp / 35)
Hinata Hyuuga – 1 vote (1 vp / 15)
Taka Kuchibashi – 1 vote (1 vp / 27)
Tasuki Kihako – 1 vote (1 vp / -)
Yamazaru – 1 vote (1 vp / -)
And that really closes this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review once you're done. Take care and until next time, hopefully.