Yes, I actually managed to fulfill the "master plan" and update early in 2013 :) Yay me :)

To be honest, I got kinda stuck on this chapter at one point, but once the block was gone, I've managed to finish it quickly :) Hope you'll enjoy the conclusion of Horohoro versus Kusari match!

I also wish to thank everyone who sacrificed their time to review, both the previous chapter AND Christmas Carols. Really, thank you guys – it means a lot and it's you that I'm keeping this story alive for ;)

With that said, lets get right into the action:

Chapter #151: Winter Offensive

Title Page: Takai on a mission – in a restaurant, surrounded by cheering kids, he squeezes a honking brass horn, an annoyed expression on his face as he's dressing in a clown get-up and has a big cake with candles behind him

Shino walked calmly over the frozen lake as he glanced around at the frost that covered the ground and trees. Shifting his attention back to the center of the ice ring, his eyes stopped on Horohoro, who was now on his knees, panting heavily as each breath released a small cloud of steam from his mouth:

"Quite a technique, that much is a given" the jounin announced, reaching his student. "But, it appears you're still a long way from using it freely; it leaves your chakra almost completely dry... skipping the fact that any, water-based ninjutsu user is at a disadvantage without a water source nearby... I'd suggest you refrain from using this one for the time being..."

"Actually" the young gennin replied, managing to calm his breath a bit, yet his head was still lowered as he stared at his reflection in the ice. "You are worried that me becoming too powerful could lead to a problem, don't you?" he asked and, without waiting for an answer, he gazed up, a weak smile appearing on his face: "But there's really no need for you to worry, Shino-sensei... I might've been born in Hidden Mist, but Konoha is my home... and rest assured – I'll never do anything to harm my fellow Leaves..."

-Flashback end-

"That's quite a scary skill" Hinata proclaimed, keeping a calm exterior, yet her voice was a little shaken. Even Shikamaru, despite his stoic expression, stopped playing with his toothpick; a sign he was just as shocked at the happening. Shino merely readjusted his shades – he was not the one to show any form of emotion, but the kunoichi knew him too well to not sense the slightest note of worry as he responded: "Certainly it is... but nothing astonishing for those who know him well..."

The statement made the lazy jounin glance at him quizzically, but the bug user didn't elaborate; in stead he watched the battle below as the sphere surrounding Horohoro widen its perimeter again.

"I wanted to save this for the second match" Kusari cursed in his mind as he brought his hands together: "But there's no helping it now... if I wish to win" he convinced himself, going through a quick set of seals: "Fuuton: Kaze Shuuren no Jutsu!" he called out as the air behind him began to circle. Teela's eyes narrowed, a reminder of her own match flashing before her. Hizoku only smirked at that; there was little doubt in his mind that, what he just witness, was annoyance.

"I was saving this as means to defeat you, Teela-san" the chain master thought to himself, putting his hands into a spin, which made his weapon follow. In a flash the winds behind him picked up, kept in place by his own chakra. "But then, since you're out of the tournament already, I don't exactly have a reason to keep this a secret" he proclaimed, narrowing his eyes as he suddenly thrust his arms forward, making the air blast at Horohoro.

Instantly the powerful gust, that spun like a cyclone, penetrated the edge of the sphere and with a cracking sound went for the blue-haired teen, much to the latter's surprise. Naruto only smiled at the sight: "Even if physical attacks won't work, that cannot be the case of wind, which doesn't have a physical form to begin with... you may freeze water, cover the ground in frost, force the flames to die down from the cover... even use ice as blockade for electricity, since it's a poor conductor from the start... but there's no, sure way to stop the wind... this is what Kusari was referring to all along..."

"Told you he had a trick up his sleeve" Kumiko beamed with pride as most gennin opened their mouths in shock. Akira on the other hand flinched at the turn of events, yet doing his best to keep a calm exterior: "Horohoro..."

The blue-haired boy remained still as he saw the drill heading his way at top speed, easily breaking through of the harsh conditions of the dome that surrounded him. He hesitated, gathering all of his chakra in the gut, but quickly made it retreat to the inner canals of his body as he canceled the technique, flipping forward, out of harm's way.

Immediately the sphere disappeared, leaving only the frozen landscape as evidence it was once there. Coming to a sliding stop, Horohoro set his eyes on his opponent again, quickly performing a chain of seals of his own: "Hijutsu: Tsurara Danmaku!"

In a blink of an eye ice spikes arose from crystal ground, all pointed at Kusari. A moment later they flew out, ripping the air as they went for the boy, who was still engulfed in the eye of the horizontal cyclone. Seeing the projectiles, the rookie gennin put his chain into motion, using its long lines as defense, bending to the left as his did.

The motion made the Air Drill change direction as well, forming an u-turn as it went for the blue-haired teen's back, much to Tsume's surprise: "This is just like my Tsuuga!" she flipped, while Uramaru growled quietly at the discovery.

Simultaneously the icicles reached their target, yet most got stuck between the chain's links, stopping their flight. The few, which made it through the blockade, zoomed harmlessly by the bended form of Kusari, who wasted no time and kept his weapon moving, leashing it out towards his opponent.

With the sudden yank, the ice spikes flew out of their entrapment and went for their very creator from the front, while the fierce tornado closed in on him from behind. Quickly the teen's hands became blurs as he performed another technique, slamming his palms into the ground: "Hijutsu: Koori Enchuu!"

Instantly round, frozen pillar bolted to the sky beneath his feet, elevating the boy above the attacks. With the icicles hitting its surface, the crystal cracked slightly, allowing the powerful wind to tilt it forward, straight at the shocked Kusari, whose figure immediately got covered by the structure's shadow.

In a flash the weapon master had his two, ball-ended chains, flew up to wrap around the falling column. Tied tightly, the steel pressed onto the ice, breaking it in two, quickly making Horohoro loose his ground as the frozen chunks crushed around his adversary, leaving the younger boy unharmed.

Dropping down straight at the chain master, who already had his cleaver blade ready, the blue-haired gennin released more chakra, making frost cover his arms, turning into ice as the distance was beat. With the weapon flying at him, the teen used his left hand to block, all the while launching his right on at his adversary's face.

Kusari jumped back without delay, dragging his chain behind, but Horohoro's attack didn't end there as he smashed his ice-covered arms together, making shards slowly drop to the ground, while he formed a few, more seals: "Hijutsu: Koori Bakufuu!"

In a blink of an eye the chakra-filled ice pieces stopped their descent and flew forward, smacking the rookie gennin hard, making the boy loose his balance and hit the ground in the most ungraceful manner.

However, what his opponent failed to realize was that Kusari's chain was still in motion, retreating after its master, and was unable to dodge the scythe-end as it scourged his shoulder, the sudden pain forcing the blue-haired ninja onto his knee as he grabbed the wound. Feeling the warmth of the blood escaping the cut, he made a quick seal, creating a thin, ice layer on the injury, the frost burning even harder then the crimson liquid.

"Those two seem equally matched!" Kai yelled, tightening his grip on the rail as excitement was written all over his face. Takaru gave little reaction to the sudden outburst; after all he's gotten used to his teammate's antics, however he had to admit the fight was quite intense, despite the weird feeling he had about the teen.

"Such massive Ice Release" Taki thought to herself, her face dropping in worry. "Regardless to the amount he put in, there's no way Horohoro-kun can keep up for longer... on the other hand, that Kusari kid is not one with great chakra either... at this point..."

"Dumbass" Funbo frowned, keeping his calm exterior and arms crossed. "This is what happens when you play around; if he'd go all out, there is no way this would turn out like this. I cannot believe he's that stupid to allow it."

"This is who Horohoro is" Akira responded with a stoic face. "We don't push you to change your way, regardless to how troubling we may find it... at the very least, you should not expect us to become someone we are not" he added, making the young assassin narrow his eyes at the statement. The weapon master didn't say a word however, in stead shifting his gaze back to the battle below.

Shaking a little, the blue-haired teen rose back to his feet as fatigue became evident on his face; sweat began running down it, while his breath quickened. Despite this his glance was firm as he settled his eyes on Kusari, who seemed to be fighting his own condition, panting heavily. The chain master remained standing though as he kept his sight on his opponent as well.

His breath slowly calming down, he spoke up with a note of curiosity in his voice: "So... why did you held back just now? Or rather – why have you been doing so since the beginning?"

At first Horohoro didn't reply as he scanned the younger gennin, unsure how to react: "You noticed?" he finally asked with a concerned expression, straightening himself up as he managed to regain at least some of his vigor.

"I may not act it, but I'm not stupid" Kusari responded with a smirk. "I could tell you weren't going full out since the start, so I wanna know... what gives? Are you looking down on me or something? Because I find that quite insulting..."

"That's not it" the blue-haired shinobi assured him with a stoic face. Looking to the side, he took a deep breath, carefully choosing his next words: "It's just that... I don't really see a point in fighting another Leaf seriously... we may be rivals now, but after the exams we're still gonna be comrades. I have no intention of endangering my allies for the sake of some, stupid rank that doesn't really mean anything... not to me, at least. To get promoted... this isn't what I'm fighting for..."

"A good reason to fight for, eh?" the chain master lowered his head as Teela's words from few minutes ago rang in his head. Taking a quick glance at the platform, he noticed Kumiko standing among the other gennin and a moment later his gaze caught the Moon kunoichi's stare as well, making him sigh as he turned back to his adversary: "I suppose I can relate... to be honest, I haven't given much thought to those who acted that way up till now, but I think I finally understand their point..." he proclaimed, turning towards their proctor: "Excuse me, Lee-san... I'd like to give up..."

-another one bites the dust!-

And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed the first NNG installment of 2013... and if not, I sure hope this isn't a premonition as to how 2013 will look like for this tale ^^' Horohoro versus Kusari, from the beginning, was the fight I thought long and hard on how to end it, even disregarding the previous match... I like both of them and aimed to not make that a part of the outcome. So why Horohoro? In actuality, the battle could've ended with either of them giving up, but I figured it'd be more meaningful for Kusari to forfeit... as to why... well, no offense, but if you don't understand it yourselves, my explanation wouldn't hold much value. This is something you must figure out on your own, based on the previous events in the story (and in this chapter).

Fuuton: Kaze Shuuren no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Drill Skill)

Hijutsu: Tsurara Danmaku (Secret Skill: Icicle Barrage)

Hijutsu: Koori Enchuu (Secret Skill: Ice Column)

Hijutsu: Koori Bakufuu (Secret Skill: Ice Blast)

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 (currently in medical wing for treatment), Kuchibashi Taka, Kyohaku Tokame, Wanabi Hizoku

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

Kane (unknown): Futatsu

Kumori (Tategamaru): Saiken Tenma

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. Debano Kitsune

Fight 22: Kanraku Nezumi vs. ?

I'm not "fixing" the lists above just yet, since the result of the match was not officially given ;P I hope that 2013 started nicely for you guys and thanks for tuning in. Until next time.

P.S. Yes – I'm aware of the allusion in this chapter's title ;P