Took me a bit longer then usual to update this, but my free time has been somewhat limited lately and I've been working on a certain project you guys (especially those that are with me since the beginning) might find interesting. I'll get to that in a moment.
Per usual I wish to thank everyone who sacrificed their time to leave me a review; it's particularly encouraging now that I have less time to write then earlier and it's precisely your word of praise and acknowledgment that keep me going. Thanks guys, this story is alive specifically thanks to you :)
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: using this occasion, I'd like to give all females best wishes, not just because of the upcoming Women's Day, but just because you're there. They say that "behind every great man stands a woman"... I don't have one, but I grew to learn that is true. So, my dear ladies, hope you'll have a joyful week and those of you that have that "special someone" should receive a treat from them.
Before going off to the chapter itself, I just wish to take one, last moment to elaborate on the info above – the little "side project" I've been working on is the reanimation of "Shinobi Showdown", my second "Naruto" fic that has been on hold for ages. Now, the reanimation is peculiar in that it's actual a re-write; the plot, for most part, will remain the same, but the story itself will be a bit different – skipping the fact I've "updated" the writing style in first chapters, there are extra scenes added, some events are altered, there'll even be "bonus" chapters before I get to the point the original run reached. The story will be published separately from it's original version and I plan to upload the first chapter right after this; those, who are interested, I ask to read and review the prologue, just so that I'd know you'd like to know how SS turns out.
And now, on to NNG:
Chapter #154: For Those That Are Watching
Title Page: Torune is blowing at a dandelion she holds in her hand, scattering its tufted fruits
"I'm sorry, Shino-sensei, but I just don't understand" Taki proclaimed, crossing her arms as her instructor explained the purpose of their meeting. "I'm a water user, that is the element I've been training in from the start; why switch to something else?" she questioned curiously as the jounin went through an opened scroll, his eyes scanning the content behind his shades.
"Without a nearby water source, Suiton takes a lot of chakra to perform" the bug ninja responded without giving his subordinate a glance. "Having two affinities, however, grants you an advantage very few possess. And it is convenient that your second element is fire, since regardless to everything, you'll be facing sand-nins in first two rounds..."
"Why is that convenient?" the girl asked, rising her eyebrow.
"Elemental techniques have a specific relationship between each other, much like elements themselves" Shino explained in his usual monotone, still more interested in the scroll then the kunoichi. "For example earth, which is a conductor of electricity, makes any Raiton stronger then Doton of the same magnitude... similarly, since water puts down fire, it's easy to overpower Katon with Water Release... there are few exceptions to these, general rules, but they remain in tact most of the time. Suna was based on wind users and Fire is strong against that type of ninjutsu, since air helps the flames burn more brightly."
"And you think you can teach me enough in one month to use powerful Katon in a fight?"
"No" the man replied bluntly, wrapping the scroll back, finally shifting his attention towards the masked gennin. "I'm not exactly fit to teach you this, since I am not a fire type to begin with" he added, making Taki sweat drop at the news. This was so typical of her mentor to act without any regard to everyone's feelings. "However, we can exploit your second affinity to your benefit, even given this, little time."
"How?" the kunoichi asked, making another voice answer her; as she glanced over the shoulder, she noticed Hitomi walking towards them, her expression emotionless, per usual: "By chakra control; the strength of any, nin- and genjutsu based technique depends on the amount of chakra you pump into it and how well you can keep its form by the use of hand seals. Taki, you lack the means to execute your skills properly."
"What's that suppose to mean?" the masked girl demanded, while Shino readjusted his shades: "Your control over your own energy is very poor; undoubtfully you possess the greatest reserves of chakra among our team... that is the reason why you're capable of performing a massive Suiton even without the aid of a water source... however, you also release too much chakra for given techniques and are incapable of keeping it in check with your seals, which basically results in wasting about 50% of your energy needlessly. If, by the time of the final exam, you would manage to fix that flaw, not only would your attacks become more effective, but also learning even the most basic, fire skills would provide you with an advantage against a potential wind user."
"But you just said it yourself, sensei, that me learning to use Katon effectively in such a short time is impossible..."
"That isn't correct" the white-eyed kunoichi stepped in, glancing at her comrade. "Your, exact question concerned using powerful, Katon techniques... those you'll never master in just a month, especially since you never bothered to train your fire affinity before. However, if you'll manage to make progress on your chakra control, then even low-level Fire Release can prove very useful, especially against any Fuuton thrown at you."
"Makes sense, I guess" Taki nodded with understanding as she turned to the jounin. "So, when do we start, Shino-sensei?"
"You misunderstand" the man responded in his robotic speech. "As I said – I am not a fire type and my bugs would make it difficult for me to actually help you progress in chakra control at a satisfactory pace. To that end, I will not be handling your training" he announced, directing his arm towards Hitomi: "For the next month, this shall be your instructor..."
-Flashback end-
"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" Taki called out as a stream of fire escaped her lips, blasting towards Aoru at point blank range. Unable to move away in time, the redhead used a gust of wind to push herself away; sadly, the sudden blow only strengthen the flames, making them spread more rapidly.
Sparks flew and caught the sand-nin's clothes, instantly devouring the material. With a frown the Suna kunoichi opened her tessen and cut the burning parts, showing off more skin, and accidentally providing Kusari with a much-desired fan service.
The chain master threw out his tongue as his eyes widen... which quickly resulted in him receiving a powerful punch to the back of his head from Kumiko, who already had a vein pulsing on her forehead again. Tarakudo also seemed delighted as his body shook, granted it was hard to tell what exactly was the reason for his excitement; regardless, the very thought seemed to disturb Torune greatly.
Meanwhile Aoru resumed her assault, collecting chakra in her fan. In a flash her tessen left a trail of ripped air behind it as she beat the distance, swinging horizontally at Taki's head. The leaf-nin ducked under the attack, proceeding to form more seals, while her arms got wrapped in flames: "Katon: Kaben!"
With the last symbol, she thrust her clasped hands forward, pointing the middle and index fingers at her adversary. Instantly a ray of fire shoot from the tips, going straight for the redhead's chest. Before the assault connected though, the trail of wind carried by the tessen widen, smacking the masked kunoichi in the cheek, the impact cutting her skin and blasting her to the side, making her lose her balance in the process.
This, however, didn't stop the flames as they flipped in mid-flight and, acting like a whip, hit Aoru on the back, immediately spreading a sore heat down her spine. The girl winced in pain, taking a step forward to avoid tripping and jumped to the left, spinning parallel to the ground, aiming to split her opponent's head from above with her weapon.
Taki came to just in time to see the attack and flipped back, making the tessen cut air, the wind following it smashing against the ground. The hit lifted tons of dust that expand to all sides, covering the two girls in the cloud, hiding them from view.
"Not yet" the masked girl's voiced echoed in the smoke. "As long as Akira-kun's watching, I cannot allow this to end just yet" she proclaimed as the redhead carefully scanned her surroundings: "Akira-kun? That genjutsu guy? But if he's blind, doesn't that mean he's NOT watching?" she theorize, yet couldn't help but understand her adversary, her grip on the fan tightening.
"Man, now we can't see" Funbo whined, staring at the cloud of dust with a bored expression. Horohoro, however, didn't listen; he was more concerned over his other teammate, giving the illusionist a worried glance: "Denjutsu... I heard rumors of such skills... if that Sand girl really has such power at her disposal, then Taki..." he couldn't bare to finish and shifted his attention back to the arena.
"What is going on down there?" Kai demanded, annoyed that his view was covered. Takai didn't reply however, giving a worried stare towards the cloud only to be snapped out of his thoughts by a familiar voice: "Why so surprised? Is this really that inconceivable for you that Aoru grew this much?"
Everyone glanced back to see Honemaru slowly walking to them from the medical wing, holding his aching arm. He was battered, yet seemed fine for most part, despite Torune's doubts: "You sure you should be moving around this early?"
"Kaguya genes in my body provide it with an accelerated healing factor" the bone user replied simply with a shrug. "Usually, I'm quick to recover, granted this time around it took me longer then I expected" he added, shifting his gaze towards Takaru for the briefest of moments. As a tiny smirk appeared on his face, he brought his attention back to Takai, speaking in a calm manner: "But this is besides the point... the point is what are you gonna do about this?" he questioned the scythe user.
"What do you mean?"
"Do not play that with me, Takai" the white-haired boy responded sternly. "You're not as dense as this one..." here he tilted his head towards Kai, who instantly let out a 'hey' at the motion: "... to claim you know not what I'm talking about. After all, in a way, this match... is a tribute to you..."
At those words, Akira flinched slightly, while the sand-nin in question lowered his head. Deep down, they both knew what Honemaru meant; its accepting that fact what was problematic: "Off all the stupid ideas" the blond gennin cursed in his mind.
Meanwhile, Aoru threw her hands to the sides, unleashing another gust of wind, which blew the dust away, clearing her view. The instant she did so, her eyes spotted Taki coming at her from the left, tossing her boomerang in the process. The redhead quickly tilted to the side, dodging the weapon, throwing her arm forward, unleashing a blast that flew near the ground, followed by a trail of dust.
Taken off-guard, the masked kunoichi received a full power of the blow and soundlessly got knocked to her back. The Suna gennin wasted no time and immediately jumped forward, aiming her tessen at the other girl's neck; the blade sunk into skin... or so it seemed for, the moment the fan dug into the throat, Taki's body rippled, allowing the weapon to strike the ground on the other side.
"Bunshin!" Aoru realized instantly as a rumble reached her ears from behind; in a flash her real opponent bolted from underground behind her, boomerang in hand, as she swung horizontally at the back of sand-nin's head. Allowing instinct to kick in, the Suna gennin ducked forward, making the attack miss, but as her face neared the surface,, a sizzling sound filled the air, forcing her eyes to widen.
"Explosive tags below ground!" she noticed a bit too late as the blast erupted, hitting her face, along with several pebbles spread across the arena. The impact sent her back, yet Taki wasn't done; seeing an opening, she went through another set of seals and while the redhead was still falling back, she took a deep breath, releasing flames: "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"
"That technique?" Takaru's eyes widen at the sight. "Mastered in just a month?"
As the fire came closer, Aoru's grip on her tessen tightened; releasing most of her chakra into the air, she created a sphere of wild winds surrounding her. The moment flames reached her, sparks were send flying in all directions, scattering the attack and leaving the girl unharmed, panting heavily.
"Usually, strong wind increases the power of the flame" Temari thought to herself, observing the match closely. "But that is true only with the air blowing in one direction; if you create currents that go towards all sides simultaneously, then it's only natural that things without physical form, like fire, will be ripped apart, trying to follow each current... however, performing a Fuuton like that has, undoubtfully, drained Aoru's already depleted energy. This match... will be over soon."
Propping her hand against the ground, the redhead broke her fall and spun on the arm, aiming a kick to her opponent's cheek. Instantly Taki blocked with her left hand and threw a knee to the sand-nin's face, but the wind user quickly flipped back, getting out of range. The masked kunoichi had no intention of letting her rest though and followed suit, reaching her adversary in a blink of an eye.
Taki released her boomerang, tossing the weapon at Aoru's face, yet the redhead once more unleashed the winds to speed-up her movements, which allowed her to dodge the attack by putting the body into a spin. As the projectile missed, the sand-nin thrust her arm upwards, making the air currents follow, in a flash blasting the masked kunoichi to the sky.
The Leaf gennin let out a cry as her skin got cut by the sharp winds, all the while spinning in a rising motion. Once the hurricane died down, she dropped to the ground hard, her breath shallow and body unresponsive.
Aoru froze as well, panting heavily as she rested her arms on her knees; she could feel her body aching, pushed to the edge of its limits. She gazed at her fallen opponent, huffing as sweat started covering her face: "I understand you wanting to prove your strength to someone you care about" she whispered, not sure Taki could even hear her. "I really do, for in that regard, we are the same. You put up a formidable fight, but in the end..." she began, gathering all the strength she had left to rise the volume: "I win" she finished, her voice not loud enough to even reach Lee's ears...
-is it over?-
And this concludes this chapter; I must say I'm rather happy with how this one turned out, especially since till now this match was quite informative and I was anxious to give Aoru and Taki a bit more "edge". Hope I've managed to do that.
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 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. Horohoro
Katon: Kaben (Fire Release: Fire Whip)
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Skill)
I'll close this chapter here, but I do hope you had fun reading it. I wouldn't mind a review before you go and tune in next time!