Well, I was sorta pumped to finish this chappie, considering it gives an inside to a character that, up till now, was barely shown :) I've been sorta anxious about it, but still this seems a bit rushed. Oh well, can't be helped.
To further the celebration, I'm also updating "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire", just for the heck of it :D At the end of the chapter you'll find an omake, which some of you might read as it'll provide you with a special heads-up, and a question concerning the final exam in general; an issue that's been raised way back, when eliminations ended :D
With that, lets move on to the chapter itself and do not forget to review:
Chapter #139: Generation to Generation
Title Page: Kokoro is sitting on a chair with cables attached to his head, while Kumiko is holding a card before him with a symbol of a Leaf on the outer side of the telepath
"Finally we get to see one of your gennin fight, Satsuki-dono" Shinkou, leader of the Hidden Metal, announced with a smirk as his cheek still rested on the hand. "I'm quite curious about her bloodline limit. Care to clue us in before-hand?" he asked, turning to the kunoichi, yet to Kakashi's surprise, the purple-haired woman remained silent, for the first time since her arrival.
"Eight match: Hyuuga Hitomi from Konoha against Tenka from Tsuki!" Lee announced, yet neither of the fighters seemed to prepare for the upcoming battle. "BEGIN!" he yelled, instantly jumping out of the way.
In a flash Hitomi reacted, charging forward with her eyes getting embraced by white veins. Similarly, her opponent clasped her hands together in a seal, quickly going through a short set: "Raiton: Harou!" she called out, making electricity wrap around her body.
In a blink of an eye the current dropped to the ground, spreading through the arena floor as it made a sphere around its master. Seeing this, the young Hyuuga jumped forward, throwing her palm at her adversary's chest, but the moon-nin quickly leaned to the side, making the attack smash her left shoulder instead, all the while letting the electric charge hit the Konoha gennin with full force, blasting her back.
"See may be a taijutsu expert, but this requires for her to make contact with the enemy" Galu quickly analyzed the situation, narrowing his eyes. "With the body covered in electricity, any attack will end up dealing damage to Hitomi as well. This will not do..."
Rolling on the ground as she landed, the white-eyed girl instantly rose back to her feet, ready to resume, while her opponent completed another set of seals: "Raiton: Raiu no Jutsu!" Tenka cried out, throwing her hand upwards as lighting flew to the sky. In a flash the Leaf kunoichi was forced to jump back, avoiding the assault that came from above, burning the grass at the very spot she stood a moment earlier.
She quickly ducked as an electric whip flew at her, sizzling in the air, but as she bended forward, another charge erupted from the ground, climbing upwards and thus hitting her directly in the stomach, sending a new dose of scourging pain through her body.
Letting out a weak cry, Hitomi dropped to her knee as a cracking symphony neared her, announcing the coming of her adversary. Immediately she strafed right, trying to gain some distance, while Tenka launched an electric-filled punch at her head. The white-eyed ninja dodged at the last moment, flipping a few times to get some room.
"Seems that Jyuken won't do, unless you're able to land a knockout blow" Funbo concluded with a smirk at the development. "So how are you gonna play this, Hitomi?" he wondered, ignoring the fact that his teammate was on the losing side.
Tenka resumed her attack, charging straight at the other kunoichi with her arms still wrapped in sizzling current, yet this time her opponent didn't made an attempt to move. In stead she pushed her hand back, thrusting it forward with full force, the palm aimed at the redhead's chest again: "Hakke Kuushou!"
An instant later the moon-nin got blasted back as a powerful hit smashed her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. Tenka dropped to her back with a gasp, allowing Hitomi enough time to take the offensive. With a dash the white-eyed girl charged forward, her palms ready, yet upon noticing the assault, the Tsuki gennin merely slammed her hand to the ground, once more releasing a surge through the surface.
Having no way to dodge, the young Hyuuga froze on the spot and jumped back, getting out of the attack's range. Seeing this, Kumiko narrowed her eyes, the situation being as clear as day: "Unless you figure out a way to get pass that electric ability of hers, there's no way close-range will be beneficial..."
"Man, oh man" Kai whined, observing the fight from the platform. "That chick doesn't stand out, but she's insanely strong! How is she even capable of doing all that?" he asked, making Kusari sweat drop at the question.
"Don't you know anything?" the chain master responded, slightly annoyed. "Aside from their amazonian-like society, Tsuki is known for the shinobi heritage. Albeit being a tiny village by comparison to most, their ninja strength is feared throughout the entire land and that's mostly because every clan from the Hidden Moon possess a bloodline limit!"
"Say what?" the blond shoot back, widening his eyes.
"This is bullshit!" Takaru joined in, visibly disturbed. "How is it even possible for such a village to exist?" he demanded, yet to this Hizoku joined the conversation: "Well, in reality, it's not that unbelievable, considering that Tsuki's population is, at best, half the size of any of the smaller villages. On the other hand, Hidden Metal, which specializes in weapon usage, basically have nearly no kekkai genkai within their population. Hidden Mist tended to kill off people with these kind of abilities out of fear back in the day... the management of every village differs and placing great care into their kunoichi, it is possible that Hidden Moon basically selected as their shinobi only those that have a bloodline limit, keeping the... purity of blood, for the lack of a better word. It's quite incredible, but nothing unheard off... for example – doesn't your, Hyuuga clan take great pride in their purity as well? Isn't that why the division to Main and Branch families existed within the clan itself?"
"True, bloodline limits give tremendous advantage in battle" Horohoro nodded with his arms crossed. "And, more often then not, they have roots in element manipulation, such as my mastery of ice and water..."
"So that's how it is?" Toku asked, turning towards the blue-haired teen. "She's using her kekkai genkai to maximize the effect of the technique?"
"That most likely is the case" Kusari replied simply.
"Actually" surprisingly Teela joined the conversation, making the chain master glance at her confused. "In that regard you are mistaken, Kusari-san..."
"Oh, I see Tenka's match had already began" a new voice made Kumo and Tasuki jump in their seats as a tall, blue-haired woman appeared behind them. With a smug smile on her pretty face, she stared at the arena below, while Nobu narrowed his eyes at the newcomer: "Where the heck have you been, Hinami-sensei? We barely got to see you ever since we arrived in Konoha!"
"Jounin business" the kunoichi replied with a shrug, turning to her student. "Can't be helped. Besides, I had confidence you guys could handle yourselves in the meantime. I was, however, surprised to learn neither of you three advanced to the final stage of the exams. Even more shocking is that Tenka actually did" she laughed whole-heartedly. "To think – the only team member without a bloodline limit..." she added, making the blond twin shift his head back, narrowing his eyes as a memory crept into his mind:
-Five years ago, Hidden Moon Village-
"Well, aside from a crude, first impression Tasuki made" Hinami began, sending the swordsman a disappointed look. "I believe we can make this cell work. In order to be more effective on missions, it'd be helpful to know what your abilities are, so do tell me your names, likes, dislikes and bloodline limits you possess..."
"I'm Kumo and this is my brother, Nobu" the green-haired twin began, tilting his head towards his brother. "As you probably know we're of the Chishio clan, which allows us to... borrow the strength and chakra of our siblings, should the need arise. Being the first twins in a couple of generations among our clansmen, I suppose Satsuki-sama decided it'd be most beneficial for us to land in the same squad."
At this the woman nodded and shifted her attention towards Tasuki. Catching her gaze, her looked away, his arms still crossed from annoyance: "Kihako Tasuki. My bloodline limit is Hitokage Tougou" he announced, but as the jounin await more, the boy kept silent.
"Okay, lets move on" she sighed, turning towards the first female in her group: "My name is Junsei Teela, the last wielder of the Seitai no Enkai" the young kunoichi proclaimed, making Hinami widen her eyes.
"Seitai no Enkai?" she repeated in her mind, barely hiding her excitement. "And I thought that the only, living member of the Junsei clan was you... Unabara-san" she lowered her head at the recollection, but managed to shake off the sadness quickly as she turned to the final member of her cell: "Well, what about you?"
"You may call me Tenka" the redhead girl replied without any trace of emotions. "And I have no kekkai genkai..."
-Flashback end-
"From what I understand, you Hyuuga posses a very desirable bloodline" Tenka stated as electricity wrapped around her arm. She kept her eyes set on Hitomi, who by now was located on a tree branch, safe from the electrified ground. "And I hate people with kekkai genkai" she added, thrusting her arm forward, unleashing a bolt of lighting.
"That electricity" Saiken thought to himself, still propping his back against the wall. "According to Kyuu, that is what brought down Raina..."
The attack hit the tree, instantly blasting it to bits, which forced the white-eyed girl to jump upwards. With her gaze settled on the enemy bellow, she readied her palms, yet before she even began to descent, another lighting erupted, dropping from the sky. In a fraction of a second it smashed against the young gennin, burning her skin.
A moment later Hitomi dropped to the ground, motionless, as smoke slowly danced over her body. Tenka walked over to her fallen opponent, electricity still circling around her arms. The other kunoichi weakly lifted her head up, unable to do much more then watch the moon-nin closing in for the final blow.
"Dad..." she whispered in her mind as her vision started to blur...
-a shocking conclusion!-
And this concludes the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and now the question mentioned at the intro – we're halfway through the first round of the final exam... looking back at all the matches that have taken place so far I wanna ask if anyone STILL believes these pairs were choose at random? I recall someone accused me that most of the duels didn't seem meaningful and I'm curious if anyone holds that opinion. Do you still believe Takaru was pitted against Honemaru randomly? That Kokoro's match with Horamaru wasn't planned from the beginning? Or do you think Aoru vs. Taki, Teela vs. Nezumi or Galu vs. Karame do not have a greater purpose to them then just pairing everyone who made it through eliminations? At this point, I feel that I can say that you should have faith in the fact that everything in this tale happens for a reason, albeit I often leave that reason to your judgment ;) Why? Because I think that way you take more out of the story.
With that, here's the promised Omake, the usual bonus info and those of you who like my work in general, I invite to check "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire" as well ;)
OMAKE: Special Announcement
"Guys, did you hear?" Kai yelled as he dashed towards his team, holding tight to a suspicious, thick book in his hand. "It says here NNG Character Popularity Poll is coming up again!" he announced, swinging the magazine before Takaru's face. "Remind you of anything?' he asked cocky.
The son of Tsunade merely shrugged at the question, in stead allowing Ibuki to react: "Popularity poll? After such a long hatius? How does that idiot of an author believe anyone can give an accurate vote in these circumstances?"
"Well, apparently he's making an announcement before-hand so that anyone interested in voting can make a quick recollection of the events" the blond responded, digging into the book. A second later his head shoot up as he send Kusari a challenging glare: "This time around I'm taking back my rightful place as number one!"
"Yeah" the chain master replied with a stoic expression. "Dream on."
"Seriously, how can you guys even care about that sort of thing?" the young weapon mistress interrupted with a sigh, lowering her head.
"Says miss #4, who nailed the Contest's poster to her wall" Takaru noted, making the girl look away, a blush covering her face at the memory. Meanwhile Kusari shifted his attention to the last member of their team, who was holding her hands in a prayer, gazing skywards.
"Something wrong, Kumiko-chan?" he asked worriedly.
"Well, considering how poorly I did last time, compared to you guys, I'm just praying to not end up as dead last this time around" the kunoichi responded with a face of a scold puppy. Immediately, Kai decided to come to her rescue:
"Don't sweat it, hot stuff" he proclaimed, wrapping his arm around her. "Maybe this time you won't make it into the poll?" he envisioned, making the girl's face drop.
"Not helping" she announced, holding back anger.
"It says here the contest is still few chapters away" Takaru noted, scanning the magazine. "No point worrying over it now" he added, but at that moment drum noise reached their ears and as the five gennin gazed in the direction it came from, they noticed their jounin instructor punching the massive drum on his belly, while a loud whistle accompanied the cacophony from his mouth.
The whisker-marked man also carried a large banner with a single phrase upon it: "Naruto for the Most Popular Character of NNG".
Seeing this, all the rookie gennin sweat drop with Kumiko speaking up shyly: "Should we tell him votes come from the readers, not Konoha residents?"
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, Karame
Kusa (none): Hokku Tobane, Kanraku Nezumi, Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku
Tsuki (Hinami Hoshiru): Junsei Teela, Tenka, Chishio Nobu, Chishio Kumo, Kihako Tasuki
Kane (unknown): Futatsu
Kumori (Tategamaru): Saiken Tenma
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
Fight 19: Benda Kokoro vs. Tarakudo
Fight 20: Manako Akira vs. ?
Raiton: Harou (Lighting Release: Surge)
Raiton: Raiu no Jutsu (Lighting Release: Thunderstorm Skill)
And that really completes the chapter. Don't forget to review and see you next time!