Well, just as promised, here's another chapter of the multiple update. I must admit that it turned out a bit more informative than I have first imagined it'll be, but oh well. I'm still quite satisfied in how this one turned out.
Just like with the previous chapter, I wish to ask you guys to leave a comment, saying what you think of this installment. Your opinion really means a lot.
And with that said, let's move on to the next chapter of NNG:
Chapter #121: Final Outcome
Title Page: Kai and Takai standing back to back with their arms crossed
"This is Rasengan," announced Naruto, holding out a sphere of wildly spinning chakra in his palm. "You saw me use it once or twice during all the time we spent together," he added, receiving an approving nod from Kai.
The jounin nodded back and canceled the technique. He lowered his hand before he continued. "It's believed to be one of the most powerful tricks in the shinobi world. Whether it deserves it or not, I do not know. The fact is that its destructive power is to be respected…"
"So, are you gonna teach me that skill for the Final Exam, sensei?" the younger blond asked with hope, making puppy eyes towards his teacher. A single drop of sweat ran down the back of Leaf's Golden Fox's head (A/N: for the record, following DHO's proposal, I'll sometimes refer to Naruto as 'Kingitsune' which, as I checked, is a translation of 'Golden Fox').
"While it'd surely give you a great advantage, I'm afraid it's impossible," the whisker-marks replied after a moment of silence, but seeing as his student dropped his head, he added quickly, once more gaining his attention. "It's very difficult to master it in such a short amount of time, mostly because it requires very good chakra control. Out of all you guys, I suppose Kumiko or Kusari might've been able to learn it by the time of the Final Exam, but taking their fighting styles into account, this technique wouldn't be very beneficial for them anyway, so for the time being it's pointless to train them in that area…"
"So why the hell did you raise my hopes up in the first place, dammit!?"
"One of the most important aspects of a shinobi and chuunin especially, is to know your own limits," Naruto responded simply, making the young genin calm down a bit. "You're a close-range fighter, so certainly out of all my students, Rasengan would prove most useful to you; however, you lack the precious chakra control needed to perform the technique correctly.
"To put it as simple as I can: while there is a slight chance that you could master it before the Exam, in order to achieve it, we'd have to concentrate entirely on that training. Let me tell you this, in addition: with having that sand-nin as your first opponent, there's no way you can beat him with just your Kage Bunshin. In other words, teaching you Rasengan now would put you at high risk that not only will you won't master it, but should that occur, you'd be left completely helpless against Takai…"
"So what do you propose Sensei?" Kai asked hesitantly, yet a note of excitement could be felt in his voice.
Naruto smirked at the sensation, memories of his old days echoing in his mind. With a wide smile on his face, he spoke up again with a friendly voice.
"Remember that exercise with paper I had you guys do yesterday?" Upon spotting a nod from the younger blond, he continued explaining, taking on a bit more serious tone. "Good. As you recall, thanks to it, I've learned you have talent for the wind element. This is actually to your advantage, since it's the same affinity I possess. Skipping the fact that I'm capable to passing on some of the skills I've made up over the years, it also gives me a chance to show you a little trick that can be used only by wind users. Now, it's not performing Rasengan per se; however if you'll manage to master it, I'd say you'll get your trump card for your upcoming match. Now, watch closely," he asked, once more holding out his hand.
In a flash, the air around the palm began spinning wildly with a loud whistle. Right before the young genin's eyes a transparent orb started circling at the top of his teacher's arm with single whips of wind blasting themselves from it every once in a while. Kai also noted that the Kyuubi vessel's hand began shaking for some reason, but he remained quiet, patiently waiting for the jounin to continue.
"Regardless to what you might think judging from the look, this is not Rasengan," Naruto stated immediately, settling his eyes on the newly formed sphere. "It's a little shortcut I've invented a few years ago that can be helpful to mastering the real thing. In the meantime being a useful attack, it can only be performed by those with talent for the wind element. To start off: the orb you're seeing now is not made of chakra, but is just a collection of wind currents I've gathered by attracting them with the energy in my hand. When releasing a little bit of chakra into the air, I made it work like a magnet of sorts, making it summon the wind around into one spot. That is how the sphere got formed…"
Kai merely nodded with understanding, completely mesmerized by the sight, so the whisker-marks decided to go on, pain starting to appear throughout his arm. "Because I only control that small piece of chakra within the sphere, the orb itself is pretty unstable, so naturally, from time to time, the wind escapes in forms of whips that you probably noticed by now. Yet, by keeping my chakra in the air and holding it in my hand, I'm able to maintain the technique, at least to an extent. I call this Taifuugan."
Finally, he canceled the jutsu, letting out a sigh of relief before regaining his posture and speaking up again. "Since its basis is wind, and not chakra, it's considerably weaker than Rasengan itself and, as you should've realized from my earlier explanation, is also harder to control, but performing it presents much less of a problem than in the case of its predecessor."
"But if it's harder to control, how come you say it's easier to learn than the actual thing?"
"You misunderstand, Kai," Naruto replied, glancing at the sky as if he was looking for the right words to put what he was about to say. "In this case, there's no way anyone can fully control it, because wind in itself is not exactly a thing that can be considered 'stable.' Taifuugan is not like wind-based techniques when you take control over the wind by mixing it with your chakra. It only allows you to gather the air and use it to your own advantage. Naturally, you might ask, 'Why not add chakra into the wind then?' Let me tell you this: performing a stunt like that could be considered of equal difficulty as mixing Rasengan with your element alignment and that is something only a select few are capable of doing…"
"I understand," the younger blond pledged, nodding his head.
"Okay then, let's move on," the jounin proposed, lifting his finger up in a know-it-all manner. "Remember that while this technique is not as strong as the Rasengan, if performed correctly, it can still do considerable damage. Since the wind pressure in it is high, by hitting the victim with it, you can suck the air out of him and if the speed of the wind will be good enough, you may even cause a disturbance in the blood circulation system upon impact. Basically, you can inflict serious internal injuries to whomever you'll use this against. But you must keep in mind that this skill should be considered as a 'last resort'. Aside from the fact that it puts a great strain on your arm and can cause permanent damage to it, should you lose control over the technique, you might end up receiving the full blow. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sensei" responded Kai, saluting in the process.
"Great, let us begin your training then…"
--End flashback--
Bones extended from Takai's body, going straight at the young blond as he came closer to the artificial shinobi. Calcium spikes cut his skin, creating slashes all over the leaf-nin's body, but he kept on charging forward with the sphere of wind spinning wildly in his hand. Finally one of the blades sunk into his left shoulder, while the other found its way into his right leg, but even that did not stop Kai.
Completely ignoring the pain that exploded with every step from both his shoulder and leg, he ran, his mind settled on one thing and on thing only: to hit his opponent. A violent, whistling sound scourged through the air as the Leaf genin pushed the orb forward, beating the distance between the two fighters. With the last breath he could mutter, he cried out at the moment his attack connected with the sand-nin's chest, a yell so loud that it reached the furthest corner of the stadium: "Taifuugan!"
And then everything went still. Both youngsters froze in spot as the crowd grew silent, awaiting the outcome. In a blink of an eye, Takai suddenly got thrown back, sliding on the ground meter after meter with a rumbling sound following his trip. But as his figure began being more distant, more bones erupted out of his body, ripping the blond even further and forcing him to drop to his knee in order to keep straight.
The sand-nin slowly struggled back to his feet, an expression of pure rage now twisting his face. Again, the bones sticking out from his body grew in length as he readied himself to charge at the blonde once more, but just when he was about to do that, intense pain shook his body as a feeling of his heart exploding brought him to his knees, while the calcium spikes shattered.
"Materialized chakra got destroyed?" Tarakudo's eyes widened in surprise by the sudden turn of events. "How the hell is that possible? This isn't like Honemaru's bones! That blonde kid… what was that technique just now?"
Blood began escaping Takai's mouth as the boy's breath suddenly quickened, almost like he was missing air in his lungs. For the first time in his life, the artificial shinobi found himself incapable of standing up, his body disobeying his every command. His eyes once more shifted to Kai, opened as wide as ever.
"What have you done to me?" he demanded, barely hiding exhaustion.
"Eye of the Typhoon," the blond began explaining, huffing madly. "That was my trump card. Sadly, it'd appear it was still not enough to knock you out. Staying alive after a blow like that and even holding onto your consciousness… you must really be a monster to perform that." He settled his gaze at the scythe user, yet there was no change in the other boy's expression.
"You're not gonna deny what I just said?" the leaf-nin asked surprised, along with a lifted eyebrow.
"Have I not told you already? I've long accepted what I am…"
At hearing this, Kai's eyes narrowed with annoyance. "That just makes me wish I had enough strength to get up, so I could punch you in the face. What the hell is wrong with you!?" he roared. "Because I said it doesn't make it so! What do you care if I called you a monster? We only just met, dumbass! With that attitude, it's not a surprise that everyone takes you as a monster. The first step to being a monster is allowing yourself to become one!"
That forced Takai's eyes to snap wide open. Touba's words from years back were sounding in his head anew, almost causing a headache.
Silence fell between the two, which allowed the blond to gather his breath, at least enough to continue. "I do not know what took place between you and that friend of yours nor why you've killed him, but one thing I'm sure of: if you really had no human feelings inside, then why go through such lengths to keep that skull safe? It's clear that above everything, you still care about that guy, even if you don't realize it yourself. You may choose to ignore it, but the fact is there's still a human part of you in there…
"But just because you've proven to be much more human than I've given you, that doesn't change the fact that you annoy the hell outta me!" the Leaf gennin declared after a short moment, now looking with anger in his eyes at his adversary. "'Cause if there's one thing that I can't stand are wimps like you who just allow what others say get to them. What does it matter if they call you a monster? Even by what I saw myself, I can tell there are those who see a lot more in you than that!"
And as his words rang in Takai's ears, the artificial shinobi rose his sight to the platform, settling it upon his teammates: Aoru was hiding her mouth in her palms, Tarakudo observed the battle intensively, Torune seemed to be cheering him on to stand up, while Honemaru, noting his gaze, nodded towards the boy.
"You're just like me, as much as I hate to admit it," Kai added, once more breaking the silence. "I too am branded, being called a loser just for the sake of my name. But, unlike you, I do not plan on accepting the way things are and I'm sure as hell that I will not allow people to call me that for a reason as petty as my name. Naturally, it's not easy to change the way people think, once they set their minds on something, but answer me this: what good is giving up gonna do?"
Takai did not respond. He just kept on staring at the blond, panting heavily, an expression of complete confusion plastered upon his face. This brought a smile to Kai's face as he gathered enough strength to speak up for the last time. "As for this match… you win…" And with those words, he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.
"Even though he knew nothing of this boy, he went through all that to help him realize the essence of living your own life," Lee thought to himself as he slowly walked over to Kai's fallen form, a smile appearing on his face: "Being able to care about your enemies and creating a bond with a single battle, just because they share similar pain… Naruto-san, this kid…" With that his smile widened as his eyes took a quick look at the Kyuubi vessel in the stands.
Without any rush, the Leaf's Green Beast then glanced at the artificial shinobi, who was still on his knees, barely managing to catch air into his lungs. A warm smile was still present on his face, as his mouth opened, announcing what by now was obvious: "Winner: Takai!"
--A long battle has finally ended… but the Final Exam has just began and Takai's story… has yet to be fully told--
And this concludes this chapter, but not the multiple update. Stay tuned as the next installment is on the way. In the meantime, I wish to encourage you to hit the 'review' button and write me a few words concerning what you thought of this chapter and possible questions.
Taifuugan (Eye of a Typhoon… in loose translation) – I believe I made Naruto explain it in detail in the chapter itself, so repeating it would most likely be pointless. As a shortcut, you can just think it's a weaker version of Rasengan. Also, I should point out that the name was proposed by our awesome beta Dark Hero Orion. I had my own name for the technique, but decided to go with his suggestion, because it's easier to remember and pronounce.
KONOHA: Kumiko Murasakki, Ibuki Tanken, Takaru Gekido, Kusari Hagane, Kai Haisha
KONOHA: Mikka Igaku, Tsume Inuzuka, Kokoro Benda, Senkou Hatake, Galu Kobushi
KONOHA: Rei Konpaku, Kogane Rikoteki, Toku Amagasa, Kitsune Debano, Hanamaru Gusoku
KONOHA: Taki Hamano, Hitomi Hyuuga, Akira Manako, Funbo Tanken, Horohoro
SUNA: Aoru, Torune, Honemaru, Takai, Tarakudo
SUNA: Hari, Sabaku no Sabure, Dekai, Horamaru, Karame
KUSA: Tobane Hokku, Nezumi Kanraku, Taka Kuchibashi, Tokame Kyohaku, Hizoku Wanabi
AME: Youji Kasano, Karei Nokogiri, Ryo Eshaku, Tsuino Furikuzu, Nazaa Hebereke
BAKUFU/TAKI: Kawa Azarashi, Miaka Tora, Tetsu Abura, Shita Makko, Kasui Rein (dead)
TSUKI: Teela Juusei, Tenka, Kumo Chishio, Nobu Chishio, Tasuki Kihako
KANE: Naginata, Reiji Ono, Futatsu, Hogosha, Sentou (absent, went back to Kane for recovery)
Fight 1: Haisha Kai (1) vs. Takai (2)
Fight 2: Ono Reiji (3) vs. Wanabi Hizoku (4)
Fight 3: Abura Tetsu (5) vs. Tanken Funbo (6)
Fight 4: Honemaru (7) vs. Gekido Takaru (8)
Fight 5: Benda Kokoro (9)vs. Horamaru (10)
Fight 6: Furikuzu Tsuino (11) vs. Tarakudo (12)
Fight 7: Manako Akira (13) vs. Dekai (14)
Fight 8: Hyuuga Hitomi (15) vs. Tenka (16)
Fight 9: Hokku Tobane (17) vs. Sabaku no Sabure (18)
Fight 10: Murasakki Kumiko (19) vs. Debano Kitsune (20)
Fight 11: Junsei Teela (21) vs. Kanraku Nezumi (22)
Fight 12: Horohoro (23) vs. Hagane Kusari (24)
Fight 13: Aoru (25) vs. Hamano Taki (26)
Fight 14: Torune (27) vs. Hari (28)
Fight 15: Amagasa Toku (29) vs. Kyohaku Tokame (30)
Fight 16: Kobushi Galu (31) vs. Karame (32)
And now let us move on to the final chappie of the multiple update.