And here it is, another chapter... written mostly in late hours of the night as, despite having a free week altogether, I spent it mostly with my friends outdoors, as the weather was good (which, actually, gave me an idea for a title page for LoL :D). I could rumble on about things I did these past, few days but... you guys don't care ;P
So, to that end, I'm posting the newest installment in the NNG series, along with an update of LoL. Hope you enjoy it and to those who also follow "Legacy of the Leaf", I hope the latter will meet your expectations as well...
Chapter #141: Beyond
Title Page: Galu is preparing himself to smash the bricks in a karate style
"Hyuuga's ultimate taijutsu?' Shikamaru repeated, turning towards Hinata curiously. The white-eyed woman didn't seem to notice that though as her body grew tense, while a single drop of sweat ran down her face: "That stance... could she really manage to master THAT at such a young age? Doesn't she know the strain this puts on the body? Neji-niisan... what have you done?"
Meanwhile Tenka's body shook as her head lowered, voices in her head whispering phrases she hoped to forget: "Look, it's her; the one without a bloodline" the first said accusingly, making the kunoichi tighten her fist: "Don't socialize with her... she's just a nobody anyway" another rang, echoing in her mind: "Hey, is it true? You know, that you're just plain?" the last asked as the redhead let out a yell, electric pillar shooting up from her body.
Hitomi narrowed her eyes at this, while the chakra circling around her seemed to sped up slightly. The moon-nin started panting as she glanced at her opponent again, her face twisted with anger: "You think you're so special, just because you possess a kekkai genkai? My village is filled with people like you! Having abilities passed on to you by blood... it doesn't make you better then me... it merely makes you luckier!" she proclaimed, slamming her palms to the ground, in a flash making the charge spread to the edges of the battlefield.
Seeing this, the young Hyuuga jumped onto the nearest tree, her eyes wide as her Byakugan noted Tenka already above her, the latter's hand entirely wrapped in lighting: "I'm not worse then you! I'm different and I won't allow you to look down on me!" he yelled, bringing her arm down.
Instantly Hitomi jumped off, barely avoiding the attack which split the tree in two. Coming to a sliding stop, the white-eyed girl thrust her palm upwards, unleashing a drill of chakra that went flying straight at the airborne moon-nin. Unable to dodge, the redhead released another blast to the side, the force of which pushed her out of harm's way, allowing a safe landing.
Just as her feet touched the ground however, Hitomi was already next to her, throwing another attack at her chest. Tenka managed to jump back just in time, making the palm miss the skin, yet her eyes widen as a moment later her stomach got crushed, while blood sprayed from her abdomen.
She had little time to be surprised though as another assault came, this time aiming middle and index finger at her cheek. Instinctually the Tsuki kunoichi blocked the attack by hitting her opponent's wrist, but at that instant the skin on her arm ripped, making pain surge through her body once again.
"What the heck?" Tsume widen her eyes, visibly confused. "She's managing to avoid hits perfectly... even Gentle Fist cannot inflict damage like this... besides, Jyuken doesn't inflict external injuries... so where does the blood come from?"
"Those cuts..." Ibuki analyzed quickly, observing the scene. "It's like they were made by a spinning blade" she thought to herself, while back at the platform, Kai was much less subtle in his amazement: "What the hell is going on? None of the attacks are landing, so how in the world is Hitomi able to inflict damage?"
"Through chakra" Akira responded matter-of-factly, leaving the blond even more confused. Surprisingly, it was Galu who continued the explanation: "Gentle Fist, which Hyuuga use, is a unique, taijutsu style, based on using chakra in hand-to-hand combat. By releasing chakra at the moment of impact, the user can send it right into his opponent's body, inflicting internal damage to both organs and chakra paths in the targets body. Such style requires incredible precision to be effective and thus it is rarely seen used outside of the Hyuuga clan, who can maximize it's effect by using their Byakugan..."
"Yeah, we get that, but it doesn't explain the tissue damaged in these attacks" Kusari replied, pointing at Tenka, who was now backing away from her adversary. "Skipping the fact Gentle Fist doesn't do that kind of damage."
"No, it does not" the green-haired boy nodded with his arms crossed. "But that is not Gentle Fist that Hitomi's using. Taking her expertise in chakra, she covered her entire body with a thin layer of the energy, putting it into rotation. It's not that difficult really; considering the fact Hyuuga are capable of releasing chakra through every tanketsu point in their body... they need to in order to perform their, perfect defense, Kaiten..."
"Yeah, that Hitomi girl used it during eliminations" Kumiko nodded thoughtfully, while Takaru added to her comment, shrugging: "Naruto-sensei also could utilize it; like against that Kataki guy back in the Stone Country... seemingly all you need is good control of your chakra."
"Well, this is much like Kaiten" Galu stated, making most gennin gaze at him confused: "Heavenly Spin is a defensive technique, aimed to literally repel any, physical attack coming at its user; to that end, the Hyuuga can blast back taijutsu or weapons... anything that isn't chakra-based at the core. The idea isn't to just stop the assault but to turn it against the enemy. Now, imagine the barrier such as Kaiten surrounding the body, but at a much smaller diameter" he concluded, most people struck by realization.
"So that's how it is" Kitsune responded, narrowing his eyes. "That would explain those wounds; physical contact with such barrier repels, in this case it literally drills through the skin. But, which that and Jyuken still active, it'd mean Hitomi can inflict both external and internal damage and the only way to avoid the hit is dodge... and by a greater amount at that."
"Certainly a scary technique" Toku nodded at his teammate's comment and then glanced back to the green-haired boy, slightly shocked: "It's quite surprising you know this much about it, Galu-kun..."
"Actually, it's not surprising at all" Kokoro thought to himself, sending his companion a gaze. "After all, Galu's own style..." he began, but never got to finish as a sudden explosion at the arena made everyone's attention shift back to the battle.
Tenka's body was still wrapped in electricity as the redhead swung her arm, tossing another, sizzling whip at her adversary. Hitomi ducked under the attack, making it crash against the wall behind her, smashing the stone into pieces. In a flash the white-eyed girl placed her palm on the ground and flipped to the side and the scourge she just dodged twisted, coming at her from above and splitting the ground upon impact.
The young Hyuuga dashed forward with chakra still circling around her, giving her feet and extra boost. In a flash she beat the distance, but just as she was about to launch her palm into the moon-nin, another charge erupted from the latter's body, smacking her straight in the face. The shock pushed Hitomi's head back, stopping her assault, giving Tenka enough time to counter.
Immediately she thrust her fist forward, punching her opponent in the stomach. Her knuckles instantly got rid of skin as the barrier surrounding the white-eyed kunoichi acted, yet the charged packed into the attack blasted the young Hyuuga back by meters.
While the leaf-nin was still in mid-air, the Tsuki gennin, performed another set of seals and with the last symbol she separated her palms, making an orb of electricity form between. Throwing her arms back, Tenka tossed the bullet at her adversary at a blinding speed, almost like lighting itself.
Hitomi acted without delay and breaking her flight with a hand, she came to a sliding stop, using that same arm to bounce up, just over the projectile. As the orb flew beneath her feet, the leaf-nin tossed her arm back, releasing another blast of chakra, which pushed her forward, right back at the redhead.
The white-eyed girl ignored the pain that suddenly surged through her arm, even as the skin cracked slightly; her gaze was set on the silhouette of the Tsuki gennin, which grew larger and larger with every moment. Finally the young Hyuuga threw her second hand forward, launching one more blast, which forced Tenka to jump back.
To her surprise however, Hitomi landed on the ground in a sliding motion, stopping just before her as her feet touched the surface as well. In an fraction of a second the leaf-nin thrust her arms out front, smashing her palms across the redhead's chest. The effect was instantaneous; the Moon kunoichi's midsection ripped, once more unleashing a rain of blood, while her lungs froze, grasping the heart. As her body dropped to the ground, the girl cough out the crimson liquid, her insides burning.
The young Hyuuga did not came unharmed from the encounter either though, as the moment her palms connected, electricity jumped onto her arms and spread through the body, cutting the skin and burning her blood. The sudden surge hit her spine hard, instantly forcing the white-eyed girl onto her knee.
Hitomi huffed rapidly as she glanced at the fallen form of her opponent, her eye twitching as the pain intensified, her skin breaking even as the electric charged died down. Seeing this, Funbo narrowed his eyes, yet gave no, other indication of his concern: "Obviously she still haven't mastered Ryuken; Kaiten is quickly released from the body, so it's a different story, but Dragon Fist puts a much greater strain... constant use is just an unhealthy as opening Celestial Gates, possible more even... if that Moon girl's gonna get up after that... this match is over."
The young Hyuuga pushed herself up, ignoring the pain, her breath slowing down slightly. She gazed at the judge questioningly, but soon shifted her head back as Tenka moved, propping her hand on the ground: "This can't be! She took a direct hit in the gut! Even with a weaker force that I used, there's no way she could avoid an internal wound!"
"We..." the redhead began, struggling back to her feet. "We... are not done... I won't lose... to the likes of you" she finished with an absent look on her face. Taking a few, deeper breaths, she performed another set of seals as electricity blasted upwards from her body: "Raiton: Rairyuudan on Jutsu!"
In a flash the current shaped into a dragon and changed direction, coming straight at Hitomi. Instinctually, the white-eyed girl jumped over the sizzling beast as it came, scourging the ground, but as the attack went beneath the Konoha kunoichi, the reptile shifted again, going for the airborne Hyuuga. Unable to dodge in time, the leaf-nin took the assault head-on, getting blasted across the arena.
Hitting the ground hard, Hitomi rolled for a few meters, but to Tenka's surprise she came to a sudden stop just before her feet, instantly rising up. Before the redhead could react, her opponent collected all her chakra into her right arm and thrust it forward, oblivious to her muscles breaking. The attack connected, once more delivering a surge of electricity through the white-eyed girl's body, yet the impact sent the moon-nin to the floor.
Immediately Tenka attempted to get up, yet her body rebelled, remaining still despite her efforts. She cursed under her nose as her vision blurred, anger overflowing her: "This cannot end like that... I... I was supposed to prove..." she began, helpless.
The Leaf kunoichi panted as her gaze set on her opponent, right arm hanging limp. The pain was gone... or maybe she could not feel it anymore? There was no way to tell. She managed to shift to the stands, spotting Hinata in the crowd, and then turned to her adversary one, final time;
"It doesn't matter" she proclaimed, making the redhead glance at her weakly, consciousness slowly fading away. "Having a bloodline limit or not... it doesn't matter at all. Just like it doesn't matter what others think of you. Even if they view you as inferior... there's always yourself... to prove them wrong" she proclaimed before her knees gave in, making the white-eyed kunoichi drop to the ground as well.
Lee walked over slowly towards the two, managing to see Tenka drifting off entirely. He quickly scanned the kunoichi and with a glance at the honorary lounge, he called out, his voice spreading to the furthest reaches of the stadium: "Neither of fighters is able to continue and thus this match... is a tie!"
-the curtain falls!-
And this concludes this chapter, along with Hitomi and Tenka's fight (well, not exactly, but you'll see what I mean soon enough). Quite frankly, from the very start I couldn't see this match ending any, other way then it did... and not just because it favors Akira in the second round ;P I do hope this came as a bit of surprise.
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 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 (automatic win)
Raiton: Rairyuudan on Jutsu (Lighting Release: Lighting Dragon Bullet Skill)
Well, with this, I don't think there's more for me to write then thanks for tuning in and hope to read you next time. Until then.