Wow, I must admit writing this chapter felt somewhat weird. I kinda feel it very hard to implement even half of the main characters into being mentioned in the chapter. Well, I guess I just need to wait for the exams to finish, when their number will grew smaller. Until then I'll just have to manage.
I must admit that I didn't expect such a quick response to the previous update. Especially after a one-year hiatus. True, I was kinda hoping that overall the number of reviews will be a bit higher (perhaps I'm just dreaming of this fic's "glory days"), but all things considers I'm quite satisfied. And, as you guys are most likely aware, I always do my best to keep my end of the deal, so it's only fair I submit another chapter.
Before I go any further though, I'd just like to say one, more thing, to avoid possible confusion later on: now, as you're probably aware, this fic began like 4 years ago and from that point on the whole story was pretty much planned out with only some room for changes. Now, I stopped reading "Naruto" several chapters back, so I'm not familiar with its latest 'revelations', however because of the manga this little tale became somewhat of a slight AU. Basically, everything that in the manga took place after Naruto's meeting with Sasuke in Part II should not be considered cannon, unless stated otherwise (heck, the fact that Kakashi is the Rokudaime proves as much :D).
Also I'd like to thank everyone who sacrificed their time to review. It's good to know this story still have fans. Remember, as long as you'll keep your end of the deal, I'll do the same with mine.
Announcement: just as a bonus info, I wanted to let you know NNG Side Stories are returning as well. With this update I'm giving you another inside, a very specific one actually. It's not Rei's, which some of you asked for, but I assure you her inside is also on the way, so unless the popularity of this fic drops, I'll get to her soon. And keep in mind that for spotlights in NNG Side Stories I'm taking requests, so should you like some, specific character to have his profile shown there, let me know.
And now, lets get to it:
Chapter #125: The One Who Dances With the Elements
Title Page: Hizoku and Funbo standing back to back, each holding his weapon, which they cross with one another behind their backs
"Akuchitenshi no Mai!" Hizoku called out, instantly charging at his opponent. With a horizontal swing, he aimed at Reiji's chest, yet the metal-nin easily jumped back, dodging the assault. Or so he thought, for within the next moment blood suddenly shoot out from the redhead's chest, flipping at him like a whip.
Surprised by this, the axe wielder only managed to duck under the flap, yet another wave of crimson liquid blasted at him from the Kusa gennin's torso, smacking him on the left shoulder and ripping the skin, in turns spraying the bald ninja's own blood. With pain advancing from the wound, Reiji put his own blade into use, releasing another chakra bullet that went for Hizoku's head.
Alas the 'dancer' jumped over the assault and somersaulting in mid air, unleashed a few more whips, each scourging the Kane shinobi's body, while he could do no more then cover his face from injury. The redhead landed safely behind his adversary, who turned around, seriously pissed: "What the hell?"
"You don't like that trick?" the grass-nin asked with a somewhat forced smile, sweat already covering his face, while pants escaped his mouth. "This is Angel of Blood Dance. I recall you complained the former technique was still too predictable, so how is this on for size?" he teased, but strangely enough, Reiji smirked as well.
"Most interesting… you really caught me off guard there. Care to try that again?" he taunted, making Hizoku's eyes narrow before he resumed his assault, this time swinging down from the Kane gennin's right. The bald ninja managed to block the spear with his axe, releasing a loud 'clang' throughout the arena, but at that very instant blood shoot out from his opponent's chest again, coming at him from below and above like spikes.
Seeing this Reiji only widen his smirk and suddenly blasting the spear away, he put his body into a spin, the blade of his axe filled with chakra. In a flash the metal-nin got surrounded by strands of chakra, each ripping the crimson whip into pieces the moment they came in contact. Hizoku could only jump back to gain distance as all of his blood attacks got whipped out.
"Hey, Hitomi, that maneuver just now" Horohoro began, pointing at the axeman, but a death glare from the white-eyed girl instantly made him stop and turn away from his teammate. Meanwhile Reiji stopped spinning, gazing at his opponent with a superior look: "Too bad, but that's still not enough…" he concluded, though Hizoku's face remained indifferent. "What now?"
"Using the Second Dance really warns me out" the redhead announced calmly, his breath still quickened. "I suppose dragging this any further will be pointless… so I'll finish you off" and with that he performed an instant seal.
In a blink of an eye blood that covered Reiji's blade shoot to the side, smacking him hard to the face. The bald gennin was too surprised to react no time and received the full power of the blow, which tilted his head to the side. This was all the opening the grass-nin needed: "Ekibyougami no Mai!" he called out, his speed once more that of a flash.
Within a fraction of a second he reached his opponent and before he could recovered from the previous attack, he slashed at his chest, cutting deep. The sudden pain and blood loss proven too much, even for Reiji, as he collapsed to the ground, his body slowly getting numb. Before he hit the surface, he could no longer even hold his axe.
"Damn" was all he could say as he laid flat with the redhead towering over him. "To think I'd get this careless…" he cursed, while his adversary stood above him, gazing at the defeated weapon master.
"Each of the Dances is said to be the representation of one of the five elements" Hizoku announced calmly, holding his chest. "Their primary role is to turn the user's body into a deadly weapon. The first one, increasing speed, is the manifestation of wind, while the second deals with water… in this case the user's blood. By combining chakra with it and executing the technique, I'm capable of changing the properties of my own blood in a similar way that Suna mummy did paper. Naturally just that would be pretty pointless, unless I could get that blood to get in the open. That is why I let you cut me, to have places the blood could escape my body. This also allowed me to make you think you had the upper hand. However I figured that even with that you'll be able to dodge, since you knew from where the attack was coming from…"
"You mean…?" Reiji began, widening his eyes at realization.
"It's preciously how you picture it" the redhead nodded slightly. "Those first, two cuts were mostly meant as a diversion, making you think that's all there was to my technique. But the fact is Akuchitenshi allows me to control my blood whichever way I desire. That's the reason the third slash you land on me was from close range… I wanted to get my blood on your axe. Even with your reflex and that eye, there was no way you could avoid an attack from point-blank range. Everything I did, since the beginning of our fight, was meant only to lead you into staining your weapon and creating an opening to take you by surprise…"
"It's not just that" Lee thought to himself, looking the Grass gennin up and down. "What's really scary is that he was willing to go this far just to win this fight. Putting aside the fact that he planned out his entire battle, he was not above injuring himself, heck risking getting killed, just to make sure that once the time comes, he would land the finishing blow. On one hand it's quite admirable… on the other it makes you wonder just how far would this kid be willing to go" he concluded, rising his hand towards the spearman: "Winner: Wanabi Hizoku!"
The spectators started cheering, even as the redhead disappeared from the arena and joined his teammates. Returning to the platform, he collapsed to one knee, the fatigue and blood lost finally catching up to him: "Damn, even the second dance is this straining… it'd seem going for the Third is out of the question…" and just as that thought crossed his mind, several blocks of dark chocolate suddenly got dropped beneath his feet.
Confused, Hizoku gazed in he direction they were tossed from, only to see Taka standing on the rail of the platform, his face hidden behind the mask, as always: "Eat this. It's not much, but at the very least it'll reduce your blood pressure, lowering the loss of blood. If you get some medic-nin to heal you, perhaps you'll regain enough strength for the next match…"
"Taka-kun, how…?" Tobane began, but the chain master interrupted her, shifting his gaze at the young kunoichi: "It was obvious what this pinhead was planning to do and naturally he did not think of the consequences. Someone has to bail him out…"
"And you're the one to do it?" Nezumi asked confused, only this time the masked gennin didn't answer. He just jumped of the rail and returned to the stands, disappearing in the crowd. Tokame followed him with his gaze, narrowing his eyes and then turned back to Hizoku, who already began his feast with a straight face. The whole commotion prevented them from realizing the next fight was about to start.
"Funbo-kun, make us proud!" Taki yelled from the platform, thrusting her fists to the sky. The rest of her cell didn't seemed to be that much interested in the upcoming match, yet all three observed the arena carefully: "That Waterfall guy's chakra…" Akira thought to himself as his senses scanned the young Tanken's opponent. "It seems like he's gathering it all… he plans to end this quickly…"
"Tetsu's next" Miaka stated the obvious as she sat on the stands with her team. "I just hope he won't go overboard due to what happened in the eliminations" she added in her head, glancing over at Shita, who had his eyes set of the hammer user. Kawa on the other hand merely took a sip of water, almost as if she already knew he outcome.
"Funbo…" Ibuki thought to herself as she settled her gaze on her brother. A worried expression crossed her face. Senkou, who was stitting right next to her, noted the look, yet decided to let it be as he concentrated on the match.
"It's that guy from the forest" Kumiko noted with a note of anger in her voice. "The same one who tormented Ibuki" she recalled, more calmly, although Kusari was far from being as subtle as her: "Yo, Taki guy, kick his ass! He must pay for what he did to Ibuki-chan!"
Takaru remained still, He just stood there with his arms crossed and narrowed his eyes: "Should we both win… I'll be fighting him in the next round…"
"Third match: Abura Tetsu from Taki against Tanken Funbo from Konoha!" Lee announced loudly, while the chubby gennin prepared himself to charge at his opponent immediately. "BEGIN!" he called out and in a flash the waterfall-nin sprinted forward, his hammer instantly in his grip.
With a quick, horizontal swing, the young assassin jumped back to avoid his ribs getting crushed, yet Tetsu was not finished and in a blink of an eye twisted his wrist, retreating the hammer and now bringing it down on the Leaf gennin, forcing the weapon master to roll to the side, while the massive weight dug into the ground, forming a small crater around.
"What insane power" Funbo noticed calmly, gazing at the aftermath with a bored sight. "Should I get hit, I suppose it's pretty much game over. It might be a tad troublesome, granted I don't recall it having this much power in the eliminations. What's different?"
"You went too far in your fight" the chubby gennin replied simply, barely holding back his anger. "You didn't had to do all that to beat Shita and yet you were even willing to kill him due to some stupid rules your clan made up! I won't forgive a bastard, that hurts my friends just because he feels like it! I couldn't be more thrilled about running into you in this tournament, coz I won't be satisfied unless it's me that crushes every bone in your body!"
"I see" the young assassin nodded, unfazed, as he reached for his stick and spun it in his hand. "So you're also the type that gets upset when your 'friends' are getting hurt. You people are really strange, losing your calm over something so trivial. It's just like those brats that attacked our household. I just don't understand, but it is quite intriguing. If all goes well, I'll be fighting one of those shrimps in the next match, but until then… perhaps you'll be able to provide me with an answer. Lets find out…"
---Back to the medical wing---
"The truth about the day Touba died?" Takai repeated, looking at Gaara somewhat suspicious. "I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about, Kazekage-sama" he added, a little confused, but the Sand leader only nodded slightly at that statement: "I figured as much. In all honesty, if you did, me being here wouldn't matter all that much…"
The scythe user remained silent carefully watching the redhead and patiently waited for him to continue: "And the truth is not everything was as it seemed. I must admit that after you killed Touba, I had the urge to end your life, regardless to what I said back then. The only reason I stopped Sabure back then, because… that was Touba's wish…"
"What?"
"I'll tell you all about it" Gaara assured him calmly, rising his hand. "As disgusting as this may sound, if someone could be considered a bad guy at that time… Touba was it. But I ask that you don't judge until I reveal everything. And the truth is, that on some level… Touba used you…"
---Six years ago in Hidden Sand Village---
"I did what I could, Gaara-dono," announced a young-looking woman with long, blonde hair clipped in a ponytail and huge breasts. "I made every examination known to me and tried the most effective treatments, but…" she paused, glancing once more at the red-haired, seven-year-old boy standing on the balcony, gazing at the night sky.
"Thank you for your time, Tsunade-dono," was all the Fifth Kazekage said, his face as emotionless as always. He didn't bother to look at the Leaf's leader. The Legendary Sucker only gave the man before her a worried look and then disappeared without a word, leaving the two alone. The Shukaku vessel walked over to the kid, standing beside him and following his gaze to the full moon that hung high above the Sunagakure.
"Hokage-san already went on her way?" the boy asked in a stoic voice, almost as if he didn't acknowledge the appearance of his father. Gaara merely nodded, not paying attention to the younger redhead as well. "She sure took quite a while… I suppose this only proves that Suna and Konoha are in good relations; for a village leader to spend so much time in an allied country…"
"Touba…" the Godaime began, yet the boy never let him finish:
"No need for words. I may be seven, but I'm not stupid. I sensed this coming really… I sensed this for a while. Sabure doesn't know?" he asked, getting a negative shook of the head from his father. "Good… that should be for the best. I know and you know… but I'm still just seven… I guess it's too hard for me to accept this without hearing it from you. Dad, tell me the truth… I'm dying, aren't I?"
---finally, the full story is revealed!---
And this concludes this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Coming up: Tetsu vs. Funbo and more revelations concerning Sand gennin! Prepare yourselves for unexpected! And, just to help you guys out with the characters, here's the list of gennin teams, similar to the ones I've been using during the eliminations. In italics are the names of people who didn't make it to the final exam, but are watching the fights from the stands… names not mentioned are either those who lost and got dragged to the medical wing, are dead (like Kasui from Bakufu) or returned to their village (like Sentou from Kane). Note Kai is not listed below. Takai and Hizoku are underlined, because they already won their first round matches:
Konoha #7: Murasakki Kumiko, Tanken Ibuki, Gekido Takaru, Hagane Kusari
Konoha #3: Konpaku Rei, Rikoteki Kogane, Amagasa Toku, Debano Kitsune, Gusoku Hanamaru
Konoha #4: Igaku Mikka, Inuzuka Tsume, Benda Kokoro, Hatake Senkou, Kobushi Galu
Konoha: Hamano Taki, Hyuuga Hitomi, Manako Akira, Tanken Fundo (in progress), Horohoro
Suna #1: Aoru, Torune, Honemaru, Tarakudo, Takai
Suna #2: Sabaku no Sabure, Hari, Dekai, Horamaru, Karame
Kusa: Hokku Tobane, Kanraku Nezumi, Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku
Ame: Kasano Youji, Nokogiri Karei, Eshaku Ryo, Furikuzu Tsuino, Hebereke Nazaa
Bakufu/Taki: Azarashi Kawa, Tora Miaka, Abura Tetsu, Makko Shita
Tsuki: Junsei Teela, Tenka, Chishio Nobu, Chishio Kumo, Kihako Tasuki
Kane: Naginata, Ono Reiji, Futatsu, Hogosha
And just a little reminded of the match-up for the finals:
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)
Fight 17: Takai vs. Wanabi Hizoku
Thanks for tuning in and do remember to review. Until next time, hopefully.