Hey guys. How you've been?

Well, small talk portion out of the way, so lets get a bit more serious and let my apologize for keeping this tale hanging for THIS long. I realize it's basically four months since the last update and I'm really sorry for that. I'm not gonna make excuses and just stick with the belief that starting now I should be able to write more consistently then in the past year or so… naturally, as long as this story will prove popular enough (through reviews). Everything will be resolved with how this chapter will be welcomed I suppose.

Though, I will admit, I'd prefer to have a different one (the next, for example) as the reviving one, as this one doesn't seem as good as most… maybe I'm just paranoid… or freaked that I had you guys waiting for so long and fear you're gonna bail on me, even if you're still interested in this tale. This, upcoming weekend will certainly be interesting for me.

Now, before we start, I wish to thank everyone, who reviewed this story thus far and sorry if I missed your review for any reason. I promise to do better this time around, having more free time on my hands.

And with that, having made you wait long enough already, lets get straight to the chapter:

Chapter #127: Open the Gates of Hell

Title Page: Naruto's cell picture: Kusari wraps his arm around Kumiko, which makes the kunoichi send him a death glare, while she stops it halfway, on the side Takaru stares at the camera with his arms crossed, while in the back Kai jumps into the air to be visible from behind his teammates, Ibuki waves from behind Kumiko, leaned to her right, while Naruto stands between the young assassin and Kai, sweat dropping as he scratches the back of his head

"Hijutsu: Hiradoma no Shitsui!" Fundo proclaimed, making Tetsu's surroundings instantly get engulf in darkness. The chubby gennin merely watched as kunai began appeared all around, suspended in air, forming a dome around him, blocking any, possible exit. In a flash shadows shoot from below, wrapping around his legs, as to make sure he doesn't move, while his adversary slowly walked from the surrounding night, his face indifferent.

Instantly one of the kunai shoot towards the waterfall-nin, striking his right arm, while another pierced his left leg, but even with the pain Tetsu made nothing of it and merely settled his gaze on the young assassin: "That's it? This is supposed to be that scary-ass technique of yours? A simple genjutsu? After everything I was expecting something more… well, more. You're not gonna freak me out. None of this is real…"

"Oh?" Funbo responded calmly with a note of curiosity in his eyes as another kunai sunk into his opponent's body. "Is that so? Then let me ask you this: what would you define as 'real'? Even if you're not cut by the actual blade, if your nervous system perceives it as pain, does that make it hurt any less? In actuality, it's not physical damage that is responsible for pain… it's your brain that makes you realize the wound hurts. It doesn't matter if it's physically real or not, so long as your brain believes it is…"

"Please, the moment I escape this illusion, the only difference will be that you lost chakra" the chubby gennin replied, while more cuts began appearing on his body. With a single seal he concentrated his energy, breaking out of the trap. In a flash the walls of the arena reappeared before him, while his face got hit by a soft breeze: "Pathetic" he announced, readying his hammer, yet before he could make a move, his eyes widen as his other hand moved on its own, stabbing him in the side with a kunai: "Wha…?"

"Now, does that make it any better for you?" Funbo asked with a wicked smirk as Tetsu realized none of the wounds inflicted by the knives disappeared: "Well, I suppose it shouldn't, since it's technically still a simple genjutsu…"

"What the hell is going on?" Tsume demanded as she glanced over at Ibuki. "Why in the world is that fatass stabbing himself?" she asked the young assassin, who merely narrowed her eyes before replying: "Hiradoma no Shitsui… one of our clans most guarded secrets. It's a very specific genjutsu, used to assassinate targets who are under very strict guard. In most simple of words, it's not an illusion per say… it's a hypnosis…"

"So your brother just charmed that waterfall-nin to cut himself?" Kogane asked somewhat nervously and then sweat dropped as Rei's snoring followed her question. But the heir of the Tanken shook her head in disagreement as she continued: "Not exactly. What makes Hiradoma no Shitsui so creepy is the fact that it takes total control over its target on subconscious level. In the first stage it traps him in what appears to be another dimension, filled with blades. Naturally, that's just an illusion the brain is forced to believe. In actuality, it's purpose is mainly to confuse the victim; each stab that the target receives from the blades is actually the result of his body acting on its own. If he gets stabbed in the right arm, it only means that in reality he stabbed himself in that, very spot. But because of the illusion, the victim believes none of that is real and so he overlooks the truth…"

"And what might that truth be?" Hanamaru urged, stopping his hand halfway to his mouth.

"That breaking out of the illusion is not enough" Ibuki responded, her eyes set on her brother. "One has to release himself from hypnosis as well in order to be saved!"

"You know…" Funbo began, while Tetsu huffed, trying to stop his own arm from attacking. "Out of the three, shinobi skills, genjutsu is considered the least useful by most ninja… all because of the fact it can't actually do physical damage, unlike nin- or taijutsu. But frankly, I believe it should be feared the most. In any, shinobi scroll covering the matter, you'll read that it is the art of illusion, but fact of the matter is, it can be so much more. In order to create an illusion, you must first trick the victim's senses and these can be tricked only by tricking the brain, which is responsible for most, physical functions of the body. Knowing this it's not hard to imagine someone using genjutsu to hypnotize another. Naturally, hypnosis is extremely hard to achieve, since in most cases it skips tricking the senses and goes directly for the brain… but what if that wasn't the case? What if one was supposed to attack the senses first and from there go deeper? The target wouldn't even realize he was affected until its too late…"

"That's what you did?" the Taki gennin demanded as another cut ripped his skin. "You used illusion as a cover up for hypnosis? I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Surely you haven't" the young assassin nodded calmly, biting his thumb as he unwrapped a scroll. "If you have, I doubt the technique would be successful. But luckily for me, you made the very same mistake most shinobi make: conceive genjutsu as JUST illusions" he announced, writing with his blood and in a flash a spectacular katana appeared in his grip. "My sensei likes to say that ultimately, ignorance is the downfall of most ninja. In your cases that proves to be true" he added, pointing the tip of the sword at his opponent, who was still stabbing himself.

"To continue is pointless and so I announce…" Lee began, but before he could finish Funbo slashed at Tetsu, leaving a huge cut on the other boy's chest, making the chubby gennin fall to his back from the lack of strength. Even his hand stopped moving, the loss of blood finally catching up to it. The young assassin was not done though as he simply walked towards his fallen adversary and standing above him, he raised his katana, ready to pierce Tetsu's body.

"Enough already" Lee said in a stern voice, grabbing Funbo in a headlock. "It's getting very tiresome having to restrain you all the time. I realize you're fueled by youth, but learn your boundaries! This match has already been decided!"

"I recall the rules stating one must surrender or be unable to continue for the fight to be finished" the young assassin replied calmly, glancing at the jounin. "This fatass did not forfeit. As such, is this match not in motion? If he refuses to give up, doesn't that give me the right to kill him in order to claim victory? That is, in a matter of speaking, what you said at the very beginning…"

"You don't have to kill him to win" the Green Beast shoot back. "You had the upper hand the whole time. You choose to kill him just because you find some twisted pleasure in such a deed!" he accused the gennin, but that boy made little of it: "Pleasure… or else enjoyment… is an emotion, Lee-san. As such it is forbidden for me to experience it. I am merely doing what I believe needs to be done for me to proceed onwards. It's as simple as that…"

The taijutsu expert narrowed his eyes, letting the boy go. Funbo stared at him for a moment and then began to walk away, while medics appeared next to Tetsu, tending his injuries. "That's not true" Lee said to himself, gazing at the victor's back. "Both you and me know it… you're just not willing to accept the fact that Ibuki and you…" but before he could finish the thought, he shook his head, speaking out loud again: "May the participants of the next match, please, enter the arena!"

"My turn" Takaru stated, ready to jump down from the platform, but he stopped halfway and turned to his teammates: "Any advice?" he asked, making Kusari rise his eyebrow and leaving Kumiko dumb-fooled. Once she got out of her shock, she leaned over, whispering into his ear: "That Sand guy uses his own bones as weapons… remember what he did during his match with Tsume. In this, particular case, physical attacks are a hazard. The way I see it, your best chance are those fire techniques of yours. Aim to damage his outer body and try to avoid close range…"

"Thanks" the son of Tsunade nodded approvingly and then proceeded to the arena.

"Good luck Honemaru" Aoru cheered, slapping the boy on the back so hard it almost made the white-haired gennin stumble forward. Tarakudo merely let out a snarl with his arms still crossed and eyes set on the leaf-nin bellow: "Luck has nothing to do with it. That Konoha brat just can't win and that's that…"

Honemaru himself only glanced at him and then turned the other way, a note of surprise in his voice: "You came?" he more stated then asked as Takai appeared in a blur next to him with what could be considered a weak smile on his face: "Well, how would it look if I were to miss my teammate's match?" he replied, to which the other boy smirked as well.

Horamaru twisted his mouth with anger as he observed the two, a fact that Takai sadly noted while his companion headed towards the stairs. Aoru on the other hand had very different thoughts going through her head: "He actually showed up? But normally… what the hell happened in the time he was gone?" she wondered, yet couldn't help but smile at the change.

"Had your fun?" Hitomi asked with a stoic voice as Funbo returned to the platform. The young assassin didn't reply. He just gazed at the kunoichi for a moment and then looked down onto the arena. This, next match was of special interest to him.

"So, Takaru's next" Senkou announced with a smile appearing behind his mask. "Can't wait to see how he'll deal with that bozo… I mean, that Suna gennin beat Tsume. He gotta have some skills" he added, while his teammate narrowed her eyes at the sight of her, former opponent.

"He'll be fine" Ibuki assured him with a calm face. "Don't forget it's the number one rookie of our class you're talking about" she proclaimed, yet Mikka didn't seem convinced by that statement at all: "Even if Takaru-kun is the strongest among us, those sand-nins aren't your everyday gennin either. Plus there's no telling what's the exact extend of this one's power. For all we know, he can be even worse then the one who beat Kai-kun…"

"Before we start, a question" Honemaru began as emotionless as ever, while both fighters stood before each other in the middle of the battlefield. "You're the teammate of that blond boy who fought Takai, right?" he asked and upon receiving a nod from his adversary, he went on with no change in his voice or posture: "Good… there's no point for me to hold back then…"

"Huh?" Aoru asked, totally confused: "What the hell was that all about?" she turned to Torune, yet the blonde kunoichi only smirked without even gazing at her teammate.

"Fourth match: Honemaru from Suna against Gekido Takaru from Konoha!" Lee called out, instantly quieting all the voiced in the stadium. The tension rose as silence lingered in the air, only to be broken by the Green Beast the next moment as he yelled, moving out of the way: "BEGIN!"

---Takaru picks up the challenge!---

And so this chapter is done. Hope you found it worth waiting for. And please, review if you're still interested in this piece. It'll help me realize whether it's wiorth going back to or just drop it for good.

Also, just a reminder, keep in mind that this tale was planned out around the time Sai first appeared in the original manga and so many of the latest events from the manga should not be considered cannon in this fic. Basically, it's safer to assume that anything after Naruto's return from the Grass Country haven't happened, unless stated otherwise. I did work on implementing some of the events, but since many would force a great change on the plot (and thus create, sometimes huge, plotholes), NNG has officially became an AU. But ideas are still floating in my head and dependable on the response, I may start work on a fic that would imply at least most of the recent 'revelations'. We'll see.

And now, just as a quick helper, here's the list of the more important characters, put in hope you won't have to scan the entire story to understand this chappie… naturally, I won't make the story recap, coz that'd probably take to long and, at this point, it might even be a sort of a spoiler:

Konoha #7 (Naruto): Murasakki Kumiko, Tanken Ibuki, Gekido Takaru, Hagane Kusari

Konoha #3 (Shikamaru): Konpaku Rei, Rikoteki Kogane, Amagasa Toku, Debano Kitsune, Gusoku Hanamaru

Konoha #4 (Hinata): Igaku Mikka, Inuzuka Tsume, Benda Kokoro, Hatake Senkou, Kobushi Galu

Konoha (Shino): Hamano Taki, Hyuuga Hitomi, Manako Akira, Tanken Funbo, Horohoro

Suna #1 (Temari): Aoru, Torune, Honemaru, Tarakudo, Takai

Suna #2 (Kankuro): Sabaku no Sabure, Hari, Dekai, Horamaru, Karame

Kusa (none): Hokku Tobane, Kanraku Nezumi, Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku

Ame (unknown): Kasano Youji, Nokogiri Karei, Eshaku Ryo, Furikuzu Tsuino, Hebereke Nazaa

Bakufu/Taki (unknown): Azarashi Kawa, Tora Miaka, Abura Tetsu, Makko Shita

Tsuki (Hinami Hoshiru): Junsei Teela, Tenka, Chishio Nobu, Chishio Kumo, Kihako Tasuki

Kane (unknown): Futatsu

Fight 4: Honemaru (7) vs. Gekido Takaru (8) – in progress

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

Fight 18: Tanken Funbo vs. ???

Thanks for tuning in and hope to 'see' you again with the next update. Please, don't forget to review.

Take care!