Finally I've managed to finish this. Never thought Kumiko vs. Kitsune will be THIS much trouble... of course the lack of reviews didn't help me get motivated ;P So you guys can only blame yourselves anyway ;P
Seriously though, This sort of matches are hard and I'm looking forward to Teela vs. Nezumi, which should be a nice change of pace. And then Horohoro vs. Kusari... frankly, that second one is among my favorites of the first round, not just because I like both characters... nor because they both made it to the top 10 in the last, Character Popularity Poll (especially since at this point it seems unlikely for Horohoro to repeat that feat, judging from the number of people who cast their vote). I just think that one will be spectacular, although Kusari's style of fighting is bothersome :D
REMINDER OF CHARACTER POPULARITY POLL: just as a "side note" I wish to remind all of you, who haven't done so yet, that the Third Character Popularity Contest has began! The rules and full character list you can find in chapter 142 and if you wish to cast your vote, there's still time to do so ;)
With that, let us move on to the actual chapter:
Chapter #144: Two Tacticians
Title Page: Horohoro is standing on a wooden pale that's sticking above a lake, holding two buckets filled with water in his hands while a third is balanced on top of his head
"This is a complete waste of time" whined an eight-year-old as he propped his cheeks on his arms, his eye gazing lazily at the boards before him, each presenting a certain formation of people and their movements. "These battle tactics are over thirty years old! What's the point in learning, since everyone knows them? You said it yourself they were widely used during the Shinobi Wars..."
"In order to advance, you must always learn the basics, Kitsune" the man before him announced sternly, slightly annoyed at his son's attitude. "And you should be able to realize that the prime reason they were widely used is because they're effective! A good strategy is one that, despite the enemy knowing it, he can do no more then fall into it."
"Even so, most of the villages are allied now, be it an actual alliance or a non-aggression pact" the boy shrugged at the comment. "This world is slowly growing to find shinobi unnecessary. To that end, it's only a matter of time before ninjutsu becomes obsolete. Wouldn't it be wiser to concentrate on a more practical aspects of our family, like blacksmith? Even without wars, weapons will be needed to hunt... skipping various, other usage of our work..."
"We became blacksmiths specifically because our ancestors had little talent in most, shinobi arts" Kajiba stated, narrowing his eyes at his son.
"All the more reason to ignore ninja aspects" Kitsune replied simply. "Honestly, I do not see a point in this. We live in a shinobi village; even if the attack comes, there's already hundreds of warriors more capable of fighting the battle then ourselves..."
"Oh?" the man responded, rising an eyebrow. "Am I to take that as a statement you feel no need to protect what's important to you with your own, two hands?"
"When the time comes, I will" the youth assured him. "I'll have my weapons... recently I've been working on a certain project that can actually..."
"Weapons don't win battles!" Kajiba snapped, interrupting him. "People and their will does! Even if your skills are secondary, if you're truly determined to protect something, your strength increases ten-fold! And if you don't have the skills, it's always useful to have a plan! Those relying on their power are dangerous... but those relying on their brains are ones that come out on top in the end! Those are the ones that guide others! And you don't need any, flashy technique or muscles to use your brain!" he finished, breathing through the nose.
The boy stared at him, shocked, for a few moments and then turned back to the board, pointing at it with a lazy expression on his face: "Fine, if that is how you feel, I might as well play along... however, if you're that determined, wouldn't it be better to teach me strategies that actually do work?"
"What do you mean?" his father asked, completely confused.
"In this, particular case, Konoha made a tactical error" he announced simply, shifting his finger. "They were battling Hidden Mist, a village known for both water jutsu as well as tool usage. While it's true that surrounding them in a forest would be beneficial in that the Leaf was more familiar to the terrain, I imagine the costs of victory were greater then necessary... in this predicament, mist-nins could easily use their techniques, since water doesn't have a solid form and does can't be blocked by trees and their weapons most likely gave them advantage in close quarters, as long as they used simple tools like kunai or kama... skipping the fact that with their Kirigakure no Jutsu, they could sow total chaos within enemy ranks, provided they had a shinobi with that skill" he explained, making Kajiba stare in owe.
"To that end, it seems much more preferable to lure the Kiri ninja into that thin canyon just few miles to the east; in such confide space, Konoha would've gained an extra advantage of being located above the enemy from both sides. Also, a canyon can be much easier sealed off then a forest, skipping the fact that there's no water, forcing the mist-nin to rely on their chakra reserves along to create any Suiton. And it would've have mattered if they used Kirigakure no Jutsu or not, since the mist wouldn't have raised to the Leaf's positions anyway. By all indication, that's a rather basic tactic, is it not?" he asked, to which his father had no answer.
"This brat..." he thought as a smirk crept onto his face.
-Flashback end-
"I assume you won't mind me starting my counter attack then?" Kitsune asked, preparing three kunai. Without waiting for the answer, he tossed the knifes in different directions The first struck into the wall, while the second dug into the ground. The third however seemed to rip right through air, creating a black hole. A moment later a grotesque hand grabbed the edge of the rift and pulled it aside, widening the gap. Before long the opening was twice the size of a human.
Sure enough a horrible creature stepped out of the hole as this happened, undoubtfully the owner of the clawed hand that ripped it earlier. The beast was humanoid in figure, yet much larger and full of muscle, with an entire body covered with fur. Saliva dripped from its fanged mouth, while an unpleasant stench hit Kitsune's nose.
"Seriously?" he thought to himself with a bored expression as the monster charged him. "Such an obvious genjutsu?" he added, making no attempt to dodge the assault; in stead he just stood there, slowly reaching for another kunai. Yet, just as his hand was about to grab the knife, his eyes widen, making his body react on its own.
In a flash he rolled to the side as the beast slashed at his head and coming to a sliding stop, he tossed the knife at the creature, making the weapon bounced off its target: "I see" the boy nodded as he strafed right, while the beast lunged at him again. "This time it's not to confuse me, but make me more confident and cover the attack, synchronizing it with the illusion's slashes. Interesting, but..." he began, quickly picking out his kunai, only to struck it into the ground: "This is it!" he proclaimed, performing a quick set of seals: "Ninpou: Gohenkei Fugou!"
And nothing happened.
"Woah, that scared me just now" announced Kusari, breathing the sigh of relief. "I thought Kumiko-chan was a goner" he added, but Toku merely narrowed his eyes at the predicament: "He set the trap perfectly. Why didn't the tags activate?"
"Sorry, Kitsune" Kumiko's voice made the young blacksmith turn to a nearby rock, where the kunoichi sat, spinning a kunai in her hand: "But it wouldn't look good if I'd have fallen for such an obvious trap, would it? You think you can trick me by the whole 'mind if I start my counterattack'? You began that counter just when the match began, striking these knives all around! It'd take an idiot to not realize what your plan was..."
"So that's why Kitsune was throwing those kunai around?" Kai yelled, grabbing his head nervously. "I never would've thought!"
"Which kinda proves Kumiko's point" Takaru noted with a sweat drop, to which the blond growled. Taki giggled at the whole scene, while Funbo smirked under his nose: "Even if you'll need to be dense to not realize the trap, do you all really think that's all there is to it?" he asked, making most people gathered gaze at him confused.
"So you noticed" Kitsune nodded lightly at the sight. "That much should be expected, I suppose. In fact, it was" he announced, performing a quick seal and in a flash the knife held by the girl got covered with white smoke, releazing a burning note attached to it and a sizzling noise.
"Henge!" she cursed as she aimed to toss the knife away, but too late; the tag has went of in a flash, knocking the kunoichi to the ground, while three, other explosions echoed in the arena.
Ibuki narrowed her eyes at the development, making a quick analysis: "I see; he used a henge to cover the explosive tags attached to the kunai. That way, even if you break the formation needed for the trap, the knives still go off, damaging those nearby... he only left the last kunai unchecked to not the caught in the explosion himself. Quite clever..."
"That's right Kitsune, kick her ass!" Kogane cheered loudly from the seat nearby, while Hanamaru's speed of munching chips quickened. Only Rei seemed to be unfazed by it all, still resting her chin on the seat before her.
Meanwhile the young blacksmith slowly walked closer to the fallen form of his opponent, reaching for another kunai in the process. As he walked, he spread a couple of more knives on the perimeter, stopping right before Kumiko's body.
As he looked her up and down, his eyes narrowed, shifting towards Lee, who was still keeping his distance. The next moment a cracking sound filled the air, making him instinctually jump back as the kunoichi's stomach opened, revealing a large amount of explosive tags.
An instant later the notes went off, covering the area in smoke, while a whistle nullified all, other sounds, announcing the flight of kunai barrage, spread in all directions. Kitsune only managed to shield his face as the knifes dug into his body, sinking into arms and legs. The boy dropped to the ground with a hiss, pain surging through his figure.
"Shit!" he cursed as he began pulling out the weapons, ignoring the surroundings that was just experiencing rain... a rain of blood that stain the arena walls and the young gennin himself. "The iron in my body may prevent serious damage via weapons, but that still won't help bleeding to death! What the hell, this is how she plans on taking me down? But that..." he froze, realization smacking him right in the face. "Of course, that must be it!" he concluded, quickly dispelling the illusion around him.
Quickly he reached with his hand to one of the wounds as covering his finger in blood he prepared a scroll, writing a quick incantation on it. With a fast seal, he performed a summon, making an unusual weapon pop out to land in his grip.
The tool was something in between a halberd and a sword with a huge blade, taking up three quarters of the weapon. Shaped like a cleaver with saw teeth, the handle was bare.
"What is that supposed to be?" Futatsu wondered at the sight.
"So Kitsune aims to turn this into a more straight-forward fight?" Naruto raised his eyebrow at the development, while Shikamaru narrowed his eyes: "So this is how he intents to end this? It may be risky, but from what Kumiko did, this certainly seems the most beneficial..."
"A weapon?" the girl's voice once more echoed through the stadium. "Do you truly believe I'll let you near me, so that you could use it? The size of the blade doesn't really matter if you cannot hit me. Rest assured, I still have a few tricks left..."
"I wouldn't have it any, other way" the young blacksmith replied with a smirk. "And I can't imagine you actually assume I'm just gonna charge you like this. Give me some credit; from the get go you established several genjutsu barriers... I doubt I've managed to break through more then half up til now... but, as long as you use weapons, this should prove most advantageous for me..." he added, placing the weapon before his torso.
"No" Kumiko thought to herself as tombstones began shoot up from the ground, kicking up the kunai scattered all across the battlefield. "This will be your downfall. Seems that I've finally managed to reach the spot I was aiming for... time we end this" she stated, readying another knife.
Meanwhile Shinkou only smirked under his nose; certainly he didn't anticipate the Leaf to have such a blacksmith: "With that sort of weapon... this match is over" he agreed...
-a premonition of defeat... but whose?-
Finally this chapter is done with. I always knew Kitsune vs. Kumiko will be one hell to write and I'm still just mildly satisfied how I'm managing it :( Well, hopefully you guys enjoyed it, considering the wait. I take comfort in the fact that this duel is nearly done :)
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, 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, Kihako Tasuki
Kane (unknown): Futatsu
Kumori (Tategamaru): Saiken Tenma
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)
Fight 21: Sabaku no Sabure vs. ?
Ninpou: Gohenkei Fugou (Ninja Art: Pentagon Mark)
This completes this chapter. Hopefully next one won't take as long and certainly reviews will help me get more motivated to complete the next installment ;) For now, peace out and have a good summer ;)