Yep, another update. This one came fast, since much of it was done even before chapter 130 was finished. And good thing too, coz the past week I had virtually almost no free time, especially to write. Pays up to plan ahead, I suppose
As usual I wanna thank everyone who reviewed (granted I'm a bit worried with the number of reviews for the past two chapters or so in general). It really means a lot and it was the main drive I got to finish up this installment that fast. With what's coming in the next week, I doubt I'll have much more, free time then this week, so certainly so encouragement to keep writing will be nice and helpful to get chapter 132 done sooner, so do review *makes puppy eyes*
And now, on with the "show":
Chapter #131: True Shinobi
Title Page: Ibuki is trapped in a high tower in a princess-like dress is gazing at a fantasy birds that flies around her prison
"Looks like I win" Honemaru stated simply as Takaru gasped for air. The white-haired boy walked slowly towards his adversary, ripping another bone from his body: "It was quite admirable and that last technique was surely scary. I appreciate you going that far, but it also appears it left you dry… now you really won't be able to fight back, so this is the end…"
"Yes" the scar-faced boy nodded weakly. "This is the end" he repeated, slamming his hands to the ground with a yell: "Katon: Gojinka!" and in a blink of an eye fire blasted from below the sand-nin, hitting him death-center in the chest, throwing the surprised bone user to the sky, while the son of Tsunade helped himself up, his legs shaking from the fatigue.
As Honemaru dropped to the ground, unable to land on his feet, Takaru stared at him, still huffing heavily: "I was surprised to see you dodge Volcanic Eruption previously, but I also noted you got grazed by the final blast. That got me thinking why that was so. Gojinka is a complex technique, activating several… lets call them hot spots… bellow the ground, but it is impossible to shoot them all at once, because the strain on the body would be too great. This is why the jutsu itself only prepares these hot spots, which lay dormant until the user sends his chakra into them. It's kinda like chain reaction: the energy first activates one hot spot then jumps to the next. That last one managed to hit you, because it remained dormant up until the very end; chakra was collected in it and all it took was my command for it to explode. The effect was instantaneous, giving you less time to react… at least that's what I thought…"
"I see" the white-haired boy cut in as he still laid on the ground. "You used that firestorm to obscure my view and use Gojinka again to prepare another hot spot with chakra already in it. From there, all it took was to get me in the right place…"
"That's the gist of it" the scar-faced boy replied with a nod. "But, to be honest, I never thought I'll manage to pull that off, since my chakra was nearly gone…"
"So how did you manage to execute the jutsu?"
"I don't know" Takaru admitted simply as Lee appeared next to the two. "Most likely in a similar way you survived my firestorm… in simple terms I didn't want to lose… scratch that: I couldn't lose. That, very thought brought out new reserves of power from me. Normally, there's no way I could remain standing after all that, but I am. That is why I need to thank you… because of you, I'm even stronger…"
"Heh" the bone user smirked, once more allowing his face to show emotions. "You're not the only one of the two. That was a good fight… good luck in the tournament" he responded, receiving a nod from his adversary as Lee announced the result and medics appeared, putting the sand-nin on the stretcher: "I wanted to be Suna's champion in my own right… for that reason I forbid myself to lose and yet… why does this feel that I got closer to what I've been chasing all this time?" he wondered, widening his smile as he was taken to the infantry.
"Shinobi value is measured by their ability to win battles" Lee thought to himself as he gave each boy a quick glance. "This is the sad truth of our world. That is why people is little skills are looked down upon. If one possesses potential for greatness, others expect nothing less from him. I can only imagine it must've been tough for these two, but during this match they threw away the desire to prove themselves to others. In stead, they wanted to prove their strength to themselves. To go over the edge for the sake of what you believe in… even being ready to lose or die for that very reason… in all honesty, that is what true shinobi should be like…"
"Man, you suck" Kai announced once his teammate returned to the platform. "Look at you, you can barely stand! It's not like you'll be able to fight your next match. Pathetic" he teased while an urge to kill appeared on Takaru's face, having his arm get wrapped with flames: "Die!" was all he said, but even if he wanted to do anything more, he was stopped as a hand holding a small vial appeared before his face.
Glancing to the left, he noted Kumiko was the one to hold the mixture, handing it to the son of Tsunade: "Senkou dropped it off a moment ago. Kogane asked him to do so. This supposedly will restore your chakra faster, possibly allowing you to regain enough to at least walk out for the next match…"
The boy stared at the vial for a moment in silence and then grabbed the substance with a simple 'thanks' escaping his mouth. Kusari merely smirked at the sight, but then his face fallen at realization: "Dammit, that guy is stealing my babes!"
"I would have never expected Honemaru to lose" admitted Torune to no-one in particular. "It'd appear that Takaru fellow is quite an opponent" but before she could continue, Tarakudo interrupted her, still standing in the same position he was when the battle began: "You give the brat too much credit. If Honemaru were to get up after that last attack, there's no way he could do anything. If that firestorm wouldn't destroy Hone's bone armor, the final result would be entirely different."
"But it's not" Horamaru cut in with a smirk. "Honemaru proven to be an idiot, losing on his own accord. He could've ended the match earlier, but gave that scar-face a chance to perform another technique. That, in itself, was his downfall. How disappointing…"
"Horamaru" Takai spoke up calmly, gaining the blond boy's attention. "Being you I don't suppose you would understand his reasons to do what he did, however" and at this point he send the string user a death glare, making the teen's body twitch for a split second. "I will not allow you to bad mouth Honemaru in my presence. Is that understood?"
The sand-nin didn't reply immediately, still taken aback slightly, yet soon he regained his composure, walking towards the rail: "Whatever… I don't have time to argue anyway, since my match is coming up…"
"Takaru-kun won!" Kogane yelled, hugging Hanamaru in a spur of a moment, forcing the boy to blush at the revelation. The sudden commotion even made Rei to crack open one eye as she stared at her teammate with a bored expression: "Hey, quite down, some of us are trying to sleep" and in a flash she was back to snoring, making everyone sweat drop at the scene.
"Well, it's Kokoro's turn now" noted Tsume calmly. "I don't suppose that match will take long" she proclaimed, yet Mikka didn't seem so sure of that: "I-I d-don't know, T-Tsume-chan… t-those sand-n-nins… there's j-just something a-about them…"
"Come on, you can't be seriously worrying about Kokoro" the dog kunoichi responded, giving her companion a gaze like she was stupid. "With his bloodline, how could he lose? Right, Senkou?" she asked, turning towards her other teammate, yet the masked gennin didn't reply, keeping his eyes on the arena bellow.
"To think Honemaru would lose… so unexpected" Temari admitted, turning towards the Leaf's jounin. "Seems as though I owe you an apology, Naruto-san" she announced, but the blond waved it off: "Don't bother, your student did amazingly also and, in a way, they both won" he added, yet still narrowed his eyes: "However, using this many of Uchiha forbidden techniques, his body should be at its limit… to still be able not only to stand but even walk around… that boy is growing to be a real monster…"
"Hey, settle down" Kankuro joined the conversation with a stern glance. "Your students may have fought well, but now it's Horamaru's turn. I wish to know how he'll do" he stated, making the whisker-marks nod and gaze back to the arena.
"Well, the fight is over, but the battlefield is pretty much wiped" noted Satsuki with a frown. "That might be a problem" she stated, but Kakashi merely glanced at her and then turned over his shoulder when an ANBU appeared a moment later: "Neji-san, call for Yamato… his nature reconstructing skills should prove useful" he announced, to which the masked ninja only nodded and disappeared again.
"To be able to pull out this much chakra, especially in these conditions" Saiken analyzed calmly, yet sweat still managed to find its way onto his face. "I guess the reason why HE is so interested in this boy just got so much clearer… was this why he was born in the first place?"
-That time, medical wing-
Reiji slowly opened his eyes, pain shooting through his body as he attempted to get up. Naturally, his muscles resisted, but the bald gennin ignored their screamed and sat, his mind still in a slight daze. He didn't even realize he was not alone in the room until a feminine voice reached his ears: "Oh, you're finally awake… certainly you took you time doing so…"
He gazed to his left, giving Naginata a tired glance. Hogosha, who stood beside her, merely nodded towards the axe wielder with his arms crossed, not saying a word. Finally the Kane team's leader spoke, a bit too slowly for his taste: "Why are you guys here?"
"What do you mean?" the kunoichi asked, obviously insulted. "You got badly injured fighting that redhead! It's only natural we were worried and decided to come and visit! It's not like other matches are of any, real concern to us anyway…" she added, to which Reiji didn't respond at first. But as her words sunk in, he allowed a weak smile as he turned away from the two.
"So… what do we do now?" the blue-haired boy wondered as the bald gennin stared at the wall. Without facing his teammates, the axe wielder replied, seemingly ignoring the question: "Where's Futatsu?"
"He wanted to stay at the stadium" Naginata answered simply.
"I see" Reiji nodded, getting off his bed to stand on his feet. This made him lose balance, but the Kane ninja quickly propped himself against the bed frame, avoiding the fall. In a flash he regained his posture, standing up straight, even though his body ached and shivered: "Lets go home" he said in a slightly ordering tone, answering Hogosha question.
"Should I get Futatsu then?" the girl asked, looking at him quizzically.
"No" the bald boy responded immediately, picking up his axe. "We came here to become chuunin, but failed… Futatsu however still has his battle to fight… one that we are not allowed to partake in. Perhaps we'll see him again yet, but until then… I'm tired and I wish to go home" he added with a warm smile as he gazed at his companions, making the two exchange shocked glances at his behavior.
-Back to the arena-
"Fifth match: Benda Kokoro from Konoha against Horamaru from Suna!" Lee announced as the two fighter stood before each other in the middle of the arena. "BEGIN!" he ordered, jumping away, which proven unnecessary, as neither of the gennin moved.
"You're that telepath, right?" the string user asked out of the blue, taking the other blond off guard. The mind reader only nodded, quickly regaining his stoic face as his opponent smirked: "This might be fun then…"
"Really?" Kokoro responded with a somewhat weak smile as he felt enormous pressure drop upon him. "That's a first… normally when one learns they have to fight a telepath they freak out, knowing their adversary will be reading their minds, perfectly capable of countering anything they throw at him. Basically, for me to beat you, it shouldn't take more then a few minutes…"
"You think so, huh?" Horamaru replied, still smiling as his hand suddenly flipped. The young Benda only managed to widen his eyes in surprise as his left cheek began aching, its skin split and crimson liquid starting to run down his face. Seeing this, Tsume reacted immediately: "What the…? Someone wounded Kokoro? That's not possible! How did he…?" she asked, turning to her companions, yet none responded; Mikka kept a shocked expression upon her while Senkou allowed a single drop of sweat to run down his face. Ibuki narrowed her eyes, her body shivering slightly: "Could that sand-nin…?"
Kokoro on the other hand had no trouble determining what has transpired: "This guy… I couldn't read his mind!" he said to himself as his breath became faster. The Suna gennin widen his smile at the predicament, speaking up in a teasing tone: "Surprised? Personally I don't think that's such a big deal, you just suck at using your own bloodline limit. Let me tell you that any, experienced shinobi is capable of blocking his mind from outside attack. This is our primary defense against genjutsu. In order to break it, you must exceed your target in the usage of your own technique. I've trained all my life in order to kill the trio of monsters that took away my family… you're hundred years too early to fight me… if you thought a simple trick like mind-reading is gonna defeat me, then for that insolence… I'll give you death!" and with that his hands flipped again, making the strings close in on the leaf-nin from all sides…
-the worst, possible opponent… is this Kokoro's downfall?-
And this concludes this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a comment before finishing up. Now it's Kokoro's turn to fight. Will he manage to defeat Horamaru, even with his thumb card taken away? I'd imagine most of you hope so, since the telepath was that much popular then the string user back in the day (heck, Kokoro was near top 10 with each poll, while Horamaru failed to get a single vote still).
As usual, here is the list of gennin, the finals match-up and a little 'extra' at the bottom:
Konoha #7 (Naruto): Murasakki Kumiko, Tanken Ibuki, Gekido Takaru, Hagane Kusari, Haisha Kai
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, 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
Tsuki (Hinami Hoshiru): Junsei Teela, Tenka, Chishio Nobu, Chishio Kumo, Kihako Tasuki
Kane (unknown): Futatsu
Fight 5: Benda Kokoro (9)vs. Horamaru (10) – in progress
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. Gekido Takaru
Shang's mindless babbling: you know, being in the middle of editing the first chapters of this story (to make them more 'user-friendly') I noticed something way back in chapter 14 and that is hinting Tasuki's (one of the moon-nins) clan, where I compared it to Hyuuga and Uchiha. To be frank I totally forgot all about that and I suppose none of you, dear readers, took much note of the little hint, but it kinda made me wonder how many of the hints dropped throughout the story I forgot about. I recall hinting Kokoro's abilities way back in chapter 29, when he was first introduced (or rather Tsume being ready to spill it out, just before Senkou stopped her) or Senkou using Body Flicker when he met up with Naruto students in the Forest of Death. I must say that even though no-one seems to take any note of these things (or at least you don't show it) it makes me somewhat nostalgic… the whole tournament and eliminations don't leave much room for these sort of 'extra installments', but I certainly will be getting back to them once the Chuunin Exam saga is officially over… especially since the nature of the next arc will most likely give me quite a bit of chances to exploit something like that
And that's really that for the time being. Thanks for stopping by and do review. Pretty please… until next time!