Alright, this took quicker than I thought. Probably because most of it are fight scenes. Thanks for reading my story! I appreciate any reviews about my writing style or advice on writing fight scenes. Now to reply to some reviews, including the flame one. Yes, I am replying to the usual flame troll that has been continually attacking the writer, not the story itself.
Airog: No, they're two different people.
EndlessChain: Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Shrouded Absol: I'll keep that in mind when I have him fight against someone in the West at the third tournament.
Vulkhanos: Take some more time to bash, eh? I'll be sure to do that when Sasuke fights again
dragonball256: Still got some more characters I'm planning in. Kaguya most likely won't be in it, since they need all the biju's. If I do, I'll prob bash her face in.
Bane2000: Now if I did that, the story would end too fast :)
AlphaMike369: Find out now! Also, probably not. I have read it, but I'd need to read it again to be able to understand how to write her out.
Loralei Gold Dream: Thanks. I have read it, but I stopped after the whole group battle arc.
Guest 2: Interesting idea, but I wouldn't be able to bash some people. Also, if I did that now, then I'd be copying from you. Thanks for the suggestion, though, appreciate it.
And Finally, our residential troll Guest who likes to leave anonymous reviews: You've typed up a total of 3 reviews, 2 of which I got annoyed and deleted, but they all have the same message: Kill yourself, pathetic delusional virgin fag. An attack on the writer, with no constructive criticism on my story. It makes me wonder, though. Why would you keep looking for my story to leave this review? Is it jealously? Could you possibly actually enjoy reading it, but can't help but leave these reviews? In that case, I have a tsundere reader! Plus, if you do leave a reply, it merely confirms you are indeed a tsundere reader since you actually came back :)
With everyone leaving the Colosseum to go back home to rest, enjoy the festival around town, or place bets on the tournament, the Easterners found themselves slowly walking back to their temporary abodes. Of all the fighters they sent in total, only five made it in the final section, and it was mostly due to luck that they didn't encounter any of the Western fighters. They were sure that the Western's taijutsu was at a much higher level, and could only hope the other two tournaments didn't contain such monsters either. They arrived at their compounds to see two Brotherhood members carrying a box between them. Before they asked, the box opened, revealing Zetsu chopped into pieces and of course, dead.
"We have warned you about attempting to spy and explore places you were forbidden to go. This will be your last warning. Do not attempt such a foolish action again, or you will all find yourselves expelled from our city. As for the main offender, you will be forced to give up something of value. You have no choice," announced one of the Brotherhood assassins before they melded into the shadows. They tried to find them only for them to see that they had truly disappeared without a trace. They all turned to the Oto village, expressing their fury about such a foolish act. Orochimaru was mad that Zetsu had been caught and killed. He would have to explain to Pain why their best spy was suddenly unavailable permanently. He had tried to use Karin to sense how strong these people were, but her ability was a bit useless as there was too much chakra in the city that she couldn't differentiate each person's level. Each village turned in for the night, planning on their next move.
At the Imperial Palace
Naruto was having his favorite dinner, ramen. Ever since Teuchi and Ayame had moved to the West, he made sure they had a prime spot, away from all the Eastern visitors to sell their food. He also had a Hiraishin kunai hanging at their shop to get their quickly. He ordered 5 ramens for himself before coming back at the palace, where Neji, Maru, and Itachi were waiting for him. Kisame was off drinking while their female companions minus Itachi were together discussing female subjects.
"So guys, how did it feel to see your relatives again?" asked Naruto. They all shrugged. The Imperial city was their home, and their family was each other.
"My little brother has fallen more than I thought. It was a mistake to let him live. If only Danzo had not interfered and stolen Shisui's eye, then this wouldn't have happened," murmured Itachi.
"It was weird seeing my uncle without saying anything," said Maru.
"It seems that my old clan now has a new heir, one who believes in the Main House's deception," Neji told them. "None the less, it would be interesting to see how my old team mate is now. I hope Gai was able to hit some sense into him."
"Well, show them the fruits of your training," replied Naruto. Then they all began discussing what to do towards the end of the final tournament.
The next day, all the audience showed up again to see the finals. The Easterners found their seats at the same place as usual. A few select people chose not to show up. Sasuke was grumbling about the injustice and how these trash didn't respect him and chose to stay back. He was still sore about not being able to use his Sharingan to copy others and was warned not to use it again. Soon, the nine fighters all stood in the middle of the Colosseum.
"Welcome, everyone! We're here in the finals for the Taijutsu Tournament! Here are the nine competitors who have fought their way, earning a spot for today! Instead of the arena they fought in yesterday, our competitors today will fight in a much bigger arena! Only one fight will be going on this time, but that's okay! We can now pay attention to a specific fight and watch them bash their guts out!" Koto proceeded to do a ballerina spins while announcing this. "Will fighters of the first round please come to the middle! Everybody else, please go to the side to wait your turn. Remember, follow the rules! Although I will be the referee for these matches to provide commentary, our esteemed proctors from yesterday will also be watching for any signs of cheating and will stop the match."
The middle of the Colosseum grounds split open, and an arena that was bigger than the preliminaries proceeded to come out. (Gonna skip nameless fights)
The first match proceeded and after 15 minutes, Kenichi came out as the winner. He dodged his opponent's attacks with minimal movement before landing what he called Strongest Combo, a series of moves that knocked his opponent out. Then came Neji versus Lee.
They stood at the center, each staring at one another. Lee had not quite gotten over his rival.. no ex-rival. When Neji and Tenten suddenly disappeared, he was devastated. The last time they spoke to each other, hateful words were exchanged. Lee had believed that Naruto was the Kyuubi, and left storming away from his teammates. It took a fist and Gai's manly hug, causing the Sunset of Youth to be playing in the background, to convince Lee what was the truth. Before he could fully realize it, his teammates became missing-nins. At first, he thought they were just on a mission. As days passed, he realized that he was now alone. Team Gai had disbanded, and Lee trained with Gai exclusively. Now, Lee was finally realizing one of his old dreams, fighting Neji on a public stage.
"Neji, my ex-rival! I have trained with Gai-sensei to the point that surely the gap between us has closed. Now, let me show you the power of Youth and defeat you!" declared Lee.
In the background, the elder Furinji still wearing his Gayru X mask chuckled. Here was another person who had a youthful spirit, like himself.
"Alright fighters ready?" asked Koto. "Then BEGIN!"
Lee automatically opened 5 gates and rushed in to hit Neji. He was met with something he could never have imagined, though. Neji dodged his fist and jabbed Lee in the chest several times.
"Hachiman Tonkou Reversal," muttered Neji. At this attack, Lee felt all the gates he had opened suddenly close. Losing all chakra he accumulated at once, Le stumbled onto the ground, shocked. He tried to open the gates again, but they wouldn't budge. He didn't even here Koto counting to ten, ending the match. He leaped back when he saw a hand in front him before noticing Neji was offering it to help him up.
"It's not permanent. You'll regain your ability to open gates at the end of the day," said Neji. Lee took his hand and stood up, a bit embarrassed that he had lost so badly and quickly.
"How has this gap between us widened so much? What am I missing?" asked Lee.
Neji sighed, "The gap between East and the West is huge. Either you learn to defend yourself or become prey, unlike the East. I was lucky to encounter some people who were able to guide me."
As they walked off the stage to the side, Lee hesitated for a bit before apologizing to Neji about while asking where Tenten, Naruto, and Hinata was.
Neji looked at Lee with his Byakugan for a bit, trying to see if Lee was lying before remembering Lee wasn't really a person to lie, as it was "un-youthful" to do so. "Tenten is my wife now. The others are... safe," replied Neji before leaving Lee alone to join up with Kenichi. Lee stood there a bit before crying tears and proclaiming how his old teammates Flames of Youth was now in season and something about the Lotus blooming, with Gai joining him as soon as he heard the news. Soon, the Sunset of Youth could be seen from their hugs. However, they didn't expect someone to join.
"HOHOHO," proclaimed the Elder, "What a youthful display! I, Garyu X, age 20, is also a teenager at the spring of youth! Allow me to join in your youthful hug!" He grabbed both of them and hugged them, shocking Gai and Lee for a bit before welcoming him in.
"Oh no, the elder's found some friends who share his view," said Kenichi while facepalming. Miu kissed him on the cheek to make him feel better.
The other matches were pretty much steam rolls, with Ryu and Gai as the winners. Seeing as nobody was too injured or exhausted, the match with Gai and Luffy started after making sure Gai was ok with it.
As Gai and Luffy faced each other, Gai could feel that Luffy would be a tough opponent. Soon, Koto started the match, but nobody moved.
"Luffy-kun, I would appreciate if you go full power. I, with the Flames of Youth, will not hold back to win this! Hachimon Tonkou Dairoku Keimon! KAI!"(6th gate) declared Gai.
Instantly, his skin color changed to blood red and a green aura was surrounding him. The Eastern villagers were now relying on Gai to at least get them to the semifinals, showing they weren't all that weak. Anyone who could open gates was always people to be wary of back in the East. The West seemed interested in this. The Ryozanpaku members weren't exactly happy at this skill since just from observation itself it had could rip muscles if not careful, but decided that the competitor might need it to make things interesting. As long as the damage didn't exceed a certain threshold, they could easily help him recover.
Gai sprinted all over the arena, trying to confuse Luffy before attacking. However, each time he threw a fist, Luffy seemed to know where it was coming from and dodged it. Luffy tried to punch him a few time, but Gai managed to dodge it, if only barely.
"Interesting. So you've gained speed and power with your technique. I could beat you in this state, but it wouldn't be fun and it would take too long," said Luffy as he dodged a flying Dynamic Entry from Gai. Gai landed, interested at what Luffy was getting at. Luffy spread his legs in a horse stance before bending down on his knees. At once, his legs had what seemed to be pumps before it went back to normal. Luffy's chest expanded a little while his skin turned pink while steam seemed to be seeping out of his body. At once, the Westerners knew that this fight was over for Gai, while the Eastern people were still confused. Why was this man acting like a steam train? Did he open up gates too. since his skin was pink? It seemed different, though.
"Gear Second," declared Luffy. "Be careful. My techniques all go up by at least one level now."
Back at the Emperor's box, Naruto leaned forward. He had fought against Luffy when he used Gear Second a few times with his own power, and the score was in Luffy's favor by one. When he used Kurama's power with him, Luffy would use Gear Fourth to fight him. That score, he was up by one in their duels, but it was getting harder to fight Luffy, who seemed to be always improving even faster than himself. Luffy would use Haoshoku Haki during the fight halt his movements, even if it was just for a microsecond. Not to mention even Kurama admitted that his punches hurt a lot.
Back in the Arena, Gai was cautiously trying to approach Luffy. He didn't know what Luffy was doing, but he didn't want to risk it. He had already seen that most of the Western fighters could easily handle them, and it was only thanks to using the gates that Gai was able to avoid complete humiliation.
"Gomu gomu no-" said Luffy as he cocked his fist up, left hand forward, as if ready to snipe. Gai moved forward hoping to read the punch and duck under it and counterattack.
Jet Pistol!
Gai barely even saw the punch before he went flying back. He managed to react fast enough put his hand in front of his face to block out some of the attack. He shook his head a bit before looking at the spot where Luffy was, only to see smoke.
"Jet Rifle!" a voice came from the side, punching Gai in the face from the side. Gai ended up on the pavement, facing up. His eyes opened wide as he saw Luffy already coming down with a punch and did a backflip, avoiding a punch to the gut. The ground shattered from the punch, making Gai feel a tinge of fear shiver down his spine. As he regained his breath and balance, he knew he couldn't afford to not use his move and dashed forward to Luffy.
"Asakujaku!" yelled Gai, fists blazing on fire. Luffy turned around to face him.
"Gomu gomu no!" said Luffy before his arms seem to disappear in a blur.
"Jet!" Suddenly, Gai was hammered with fists even faster than his attack, nullifying Asakujaku.
"Gattling!" Gai was sent flying, almost tumbling off the edge of the arena. He almost lost consciousness from the fierce attack. 'I have to open the 7th gate! Even if I can't fight in the semi-finals after this I can't lose this badly!' thought Gai.
"Dainana Kyomon! KAI!" yelled Gai, instantly covered in a blue aura instead of green. He quickly took the stance for his next attack as Luffy quickly charged towards him and hoped the seal barriers located around the Colosseum audience was enough to protect them. They had told them that even a Bijuudama wouldn't dent it.
"HIRUDORA!" yelled Gai, hoping to land the attack when he noticed Luffy was already in front of him with his arm trailing behind him to where Luffy was standing moments ago. Luffy's arm was coated in a shiny black material, confusing Gai. 'Black?' he thought.
"Gomu gomu no RED HAWK!" shouted Luffy as the arm was quickly coming back from it's position and lighting on fire. Luffy's attack landed first, throwing Gai's attack off and missing Luffy by an inch. The attack flew into the barriers, where it was absorbed and protected the crowd. Fire came out behind Gai where the punch had landed. After a few seconds, Gai fell down to the ground, unconscious with at least 2nd-degree burns.
"And we have a winner! Luffy-senshu has won this fight!" announced Koto. Luffy stopped steaming before smiling into the crowd with V signs. A stretcher quickly came to pick up Gai for healing. Gai managed to wake up before they were about to carry him away.
"I lost, huh," said Gai with a sigh. Luffy suddenly appeared next to him.
"You're interesting. That was a fun fight!" laughed Luffy. Gai looked at him for a bit before giving his best nice guy pose before the pain kicked in again and passing out.
The Eastern visitors were all in shock. Out of all the Taijutsu users, everyone, even the other villages, admitted that Gai was probably the best one out of all of them, and he had just been taken out. How would the other tournaments go then? They could only hope for the best. As the tournament proceeded, Kenichi fought against Neji. It was a double-KO. Kenichi dodged Neji's attack within the best of his ability, but Neji was fast enough to land a few hits and shut down some organs. Before Kenichi fell down, he shunted forward, hands up at mid waist length before attacking with a move called Ryuusui Mubyoshi, a devastating attack that had no pattern at all. With broken ribs on one side and internal injuries on the other, both fell unconscious. They were quickly taken to the medics to heal up. Kenichi was shivering was Koetsuji casually mentioned that they would be upping his training.
Luffy fought against Ryu in the final round. Ryu tried his hardest, and even with his mastery of the Satsui no Hado, Luffy was able to fight againt him evenly using Gear 2nd. Ryu's mistake was trying to use his Raging Demon grapple, and when he did grab Luffy, Luffy countered within a second by wrapping his limbs around him to avoid being attacked by it. Unable to move, he was at the mercy of Luffy's attack.
"GOMU GOMU-NOOO" yelled Luffy as he threw his head back, stretching his neck. His forehead was suddenly covered in a shiny black material again. "KANE!"
Ryu, still struggling, decided he only had one choice. He reared his head back and slammed it right into Luffy's forehead at the exact moment. A resounding thud could be heard from the impact. Both fighters staggered and Luffy let go of him. Quickly recovering, Ryu shot his leg forward and hit Luffy in the stomach. Luffy flew back and countered with a right hook towards Ryu's face. Ryu dodged it and launched a fist into Luffy's stomach, attempting to pull off the Shin Shoryuken. However, the first hit was suddenly nullified when Luffy inflated himself, turning himself into a balloon. The fist bounced off the stomach and forced Ryu back, leaving him open. Using these precious seconds, Luffy twisted his body in a spiral and jumped, face towards the crowd. He let go of his breath and shot forward to Ryu, spinning. His hands were coated in Haki again and were on fire.
"Gomu Gomu-no Hawk Storm!" shouted Luffy, throwing punches at such a high speed that many of the crowd had trouble trying to track it. Ryu did his best to block and dodge the attack, but in the end, he took too many attacks and was barely conscious. Luffy quickly ran up to Ryu with both hands trailing behind him.
Gomu Gomu-no Jet Bazooka!
Luffy smashed with his hand right at Ryu;s stomach, launching him out of the arena and into the wall. Koto quickly declared Luffy the winner by ring out. While Nami was cheering her husband while drooling about the prize money, Luffy helped Ryu get up to see Aerith.
"Looks like I still have lots more of training," said Ryu when he woke up.
"Hehe, it was still fun," laughed Luffy before he stretched over to Nami to grab his precious hat and Nami at the same time. Nami was shrieking as she was suddenly pulled over and smacked Luffy on the head before kissing him. Ryu just laughed at their interaction before laying back on the stretcher. He was planning to find his best friend Ken to do some more training and then perhaps go out on a dinner date with Chun-Li.
"And the winner of our Taijutsu tournament is Monkey D. Luffy! Thanks for coming and I hope you'll enjoy our next tournament tomorrow! It's the weapons tournament! If you still need more information, you can find the rule book just outside the Colosseum. Have a good day everyone!" announced Koto. As the audience streamed out of the Colosseum, the Easterners were still quite rooted to their seat. They had just witnessed the Westerners fight with each other and were deathly afraid. Although the Akatsuki members wouldn't admit, even they felt like Pain would surely lose to some of them. They suddenly all snapped out of the reverie when a balloon popped. They looked to see Yachiru and Kenpachi at the exit. Yachiru had the leftovers of her balloon still in her hand and giggling. Kenpachi merely scoffed before telling them to vacate the area for cleaning and head back to their temporary housings. As they trudged back, their fears about the West grew. Each village leaders was plotting different plans on their approach to the emperor.
Tsunade quickly left for the hospital with Kurama's permission and guidance. She arrived there and quickly asked for Gai.
"I need to heal him! I have extensive knowledge of the gates, and have treated him before!" She demanded. The nurse merely chuckled.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine. Doctor Koetsuji is currently treating his wounds. His reputation is quite famous."
"Still, I would prefer to be there to treat my own shinobi!" said Tsunade. The nurse was about to reply when Kurama interrupted.
"It is within reason that the village leader would want to see her own shinobi safe. I will lead her to the patient."
The nurse nodded before giving Tsunade a visitor's pass. She quickly walked with Kurama told the operating room.
"I wouldn't worry about Gai. Doctor Koetsuji is known and feared as 'a doctor as scary as diseases and treatments.'" said Kurama.
"That's not a good thing!" said Tsunade.
"My point being is that Koetsuji has been known to tackle cases that most people deemed hopeless. However, he does have another reputation the medic demon, as most doctors who work with him end up crying in fear. Only Ma Kensei and Tony Tony Chopper have been able to handle working with him." replied Kurama. Tsunade entered the room to see Gai being wheeled out by Koetsuji. Tsunade quickly did her medical jutsu to scan for injuries and was amazed that there was nothing wrong anymore.
"He justs needs some rest. He is forbidden from doing anything that might strain his muscles." ordered Koetsuji sternly. Tsunade could only numbly nod as she pushed Gai back. Most of the Easterners were faced again with another shock that they apparently had the techniques to treat him faster than Tsunade, the legendary medic, could.
At the Imperial Palace
Naruto and his council /friends were dining with Koyuki's entourage. While eating, they were discussing trade agreements when Koyuki decided a change of pace was needed.
"So, how did it feel to see Konoha again?" asked Koyuki.
"I can see that the teme and bitch haven't changed at all," chuckled Naruto.
"That's not true. They got worse," chuckled Kakashi. "Sasuke still believes everything should lie at his feet. Sadly, that was true for some Uchiha's, except they kept their attitude to more 'tolerable levels.'"
Itachi snorted as he was eating his food before replying, "That's an understatement Kakashi. Try almost all the shinobis of my clan and some of the civilians."
Naruto looked around to see what everybody else was doing. Tenten was talking with Yuffie, discussing various weapons tactics while Hanabi was talking with Hinata. Maru was talking with Jiraiya and reminiscing about Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. Kisame was sparring against Kenpachi again in the training field. Well as long as Akatsuki doesn't find out where Kisame and Itachi, it should be fine. He looked forward to tomorrow's tournament.
"So when's the heir going to come?" teased Koyuki. Naruto blushed fully at this before stuttering, "Don't joke around like that. Hinata's not even..." he stopped when he felt someone pulling on his sleeve. He turned around to see Hinata blushing.
"Actually, I was going to tell you. I went to the doctor a week ago and found out that... I'm pregnant!" said Hinata.
Naruto was so stunned that he had to sit down to process this news. Neji, on the other hand, was laughing.
"It was fated to be, considering how many times you two keep at it," snickered Neji. Suddenly, Tenten started to pull his cheeks. "Etetete, that hurts Tenten. Why are you doing this?"
"It might help to know that I'm also pregnant!" declared Tenten. Stunned, Neji decided he needed to follow Naruto's example and sit down. The council was silent for a bit before they all started to fight for the right to be the godparent. Koyuki merely chuckled before announcing that she had already reserved the position for godmother and Naruto and Hinata already agreed. The women sighed while the men continued to fight for the godfather.
"It should be me, right Tou-san fufufu," said Ou Ki. "Right you are," said Tou, Ou Ki's right-hand man.
"No, it should be me! I'm the one who saved them!" yelled Yusuke.
Neji wasn't bother fighting for it as he had the honor of being the best man for Naruto, and also he was still in shock to even argue.
"No way! Boss should make me the godfather! I've been his student for the longest!" yelled Maru.
"Now now everyone. Everyone knows since Koyuki's the godmother, I should get the right to be godfather since I'm marrying her," said Kakashi. "Not only was he my student, I knew his father well, too."
"Godfather? Is that something to eat?" asked Luffy as he picked his nose. "I want it." Nami automatically slapped his head for the comment.
"No Luffy-kun, it means that if something happens to them, the child will be taken care by the Godparents. I think I should apply for the position, too," said Itachi calmly. While everybody else on the council, both civilian and war, were fighting for the right of being the godfather, Tenten was already busy appointing her master Yuffie as godmother and was debating on who the godfather should be, leaning towards Kenichi. Neji and Naruto could only look at each other and chuckle. They were on their way to becoming fathers! Neji was happy because his child wouldn't have to be branded while Naruto was just happy he could be a father and start a family.
Yep! Bringing in da kids! Still deciding on whose gonna be the godfather, though. Keep in mind there are civilian council members that want it, too. Its not the ones I've named only. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! No promises on a quick release for the next one, though. Got test and reports to write up. Reviews on my story are appreciated! Next up! Weapons Tournament! Teaser: I have 7 characters planned in! If someone actually manages to guess all 7, I will be surprised.