(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Eighth chapter of this the Hidden Rock ambush squad is closing in on Kuroda's location. What will be the outcome of the confrontation? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
A mother bear roars ferociously as she stands guard in front of her cubs. The three approaching humans divert their path to avoid the dangerous animal. The mother bear settles down once the last of the group, a boy with bandages covering his head, is out of her sight.
Yamashita Uzuki glances back and is relieved to find that the giant brown bear his team just passed by is not following them. He sighs in relief, grateful to not have had any dangerous encounters before the squad meets up with the other Rock Ninja that were called into the meeting with the Tsuchikage.
In front of him Naga Takeuchi's face is a full of boredom, barely even paying attention to his surroundings when he leaps from one tree branch to another.
Leading the team is Hoshi Ishimaru, daughter of the Tsuchikage and the youngest person participating in the Chunin Exams. Her face is brimming with determination and her eyes are focused on scanning for any approaching danger.
A few minutes later Hoshi, Naga, and Yamashita arrive at the designated meeting point. They join up with another team of Rock Ninja and move under a large oak tree as a light drizzle begins to come down.
"Has the target has been located yet?" Hoshi asks, wanting to get straight to business.
A fair looking girl with brown hair, average height, and barely any clothes covering her body step forward and reports, "The tall one that spoke during the written exam is up ahead about a mile. But it's weird, he is just standing in the rain. The rest of his team is nowhere in sight."
"What do you mean he is just standing there?" asks Naga, the bored expression gone from his face and replaced with intrigue.
"Just what she said," announces Din, shaking water off of his shaggy brown hair, as he arrives with three other ninja in tow, "My team is the first that spotted him. I left them to watch him while we met up and talked about what to do."
"Well, it is obvious what he is doing," comments Hoshi, making it clear that any decent ninja should understand the statement.
"What are you talking about?" asks Naga, slow on the uptake.
"She means that he is planning a trap," inserts Yamashita, keeping a close watch on all the other squads in case they try to pull something before the secret mission is started.
"What an idiot!" laughs Naga, "Who does he think he is? Trying to set a trap for all of us."
"The trap is not for us, you moron," sneers Din, wondering how a fool like Naga could have made it past the first stage, "There is no way he could possibly know that we are coming for his team. He probably has the rest of them hiding somewhere and they are going to ambush the first people to cross their path. I didn't notice the pink-haired girl and the Hyuga around, but I didn't get close enough to get a good look. My team doesn't have any sensory type ninja, so I thought it would be better to meet up with all of you before making a move."
"So what should we do?" asks a boy clutching onto a big black pot.
The rest of the team members arrive and they start going over different strategies and attack patterns. Some of the group argue to attack, but others say it might be a dangerous trap considering Kuroda's team did so well in the first phase.
Growing impatient, Naga comments, "Even if it is a trap, there is no way one team can win against four."
"I agree with that," concurs Yamashita, fearful of waiting too long and missing their chance to attack before the Leaf Ninja move out of the area.
"I agree as well," adds Din, in a move to take charge of the operation, "And I think the easiest way for this to go is to surround him from all sides. We can force the others out of hiding and then take them out."
"Sounds fine to me," says Yamashita, "All agreed?"
All the others slowly raise their hands. They finalize a few details of who will be doing what and where and then they set out towards Kuroda. In a few minutes all the Rock Ninja get into position and wait for a signal.
After waiting patiently for hours in the small grove, Kuroda is getting bored with trying to count how many raindrops have hit his head. "They should be here by now," he thinks, glancing up though the canopy at the moon, "I selected this spot because it should be right about where they should converge if they take the most direct path to where my team entered the forest. Either they are taking their time, or they are going to use a different strategy than the one I anticipated."
Reluctant to move from the spot since he already set up his special kunai, Kuroda decides to stay put and wait a while longer.
His decision is rewarded as moments later he detects a dozen humans get into positions on all sides. Abruptly he takes out a kunai and yells, "What took you so long? I've been waiting for hours for you to get here."
None of the Rock Ninjas respond or make a move. Not sure of what to do they all stay frozen in their hiding spots just outside of the open grove.
Hoshi scans around for any sort of warning system that he could have set up to detect an enemy's approach. Not being able to find one she thinks to herself, "How did he know we were here?"
Several meters away in his own assigned position, Yamashita thinks to himself, "What does that mean? He was waiting for us? How did he know we were coming? It is impossible, there is no way. He must be bluffing, just buying time until he can figure a way to get himself out of the situation."
Kuroda shouts, "Why don't you come out and attack already?"
As he thinks Yamashita shifts his weight and his fur cape falls to one side, "Wait, what? Something is wrong. He really is trying to draw us to him. But why?"
Hiding a few feet away in a tree Naga snarls in irritation, "I am getting really annoyed by this guy. Thinks he can take all of us on by himself, well, I'll show him!"
"Hold up," Yamashita warns hastily, knowing it won't take much for Naga to get drawn into making a stupid move, "He is trying to draw us out, but I cannot figure out why. He can't possibly defeat us all, but there is no back up around for miles."
"I thought his team was hiding," whispers Naga.
"We have surrounded them," comments Hoshi, clam and focused, "If they were here, we would have detected their location by now."
Kuroda yells out another taunt, "If you don't want to come out, then I'll just have to come and get you."
Naga's blood is now boiling. He starts to make a move, but one of the other Rock Ninja beats him to it. A rather large boy, wearing only a red vest on top so his muscles are showing, leaps out of the bushes charges towards Kuroda with a kunai.
Kuroda laughs, "Finally, but only one of you?"
The muscled-head lunges at Kuroda's heart, however the talented ninja easily sidesteps, grabs his enemy's arm, and tosses him aside. He resumes his relaxed position and boasts, "You will have to do a lot better than that if you want to kill me."
Din shakes his head in disgust, "What an idiot." He takes a kunai out of one of his weapon pouches and then gives the attack signal. A flurry of kunai fly towards Kuroda. The grey forms of metal nearly block out all the moonlight that is seeping through the forest canopy as they converge on the lone target.
Ducking, diving, dipping, and dodging in effortless motions allows Kuroda to avoid every single kunai thrown at him. Another barrage is thrown and he hops in the air and spins in mid-air on his stomach. This position enables him to avoid kunai thrown towards the ground, and deflect any tossed higher.
"It is inconceivable," sputters an astonished Yamashita, "How could someone dodge all of that? A long range attack from multiple directions and angles. What is with this guy?"
"It doesn't matter," responds Hoshi, undeterred by the failed attack, "We have a mission to do. I don't care how many kunai he can dodge."
"Yeah, this guy is pissing me off," says Naga standing up and preparing to attack as his grey scarf billows in the wind, "We are just going to have to get in close and take him down."
The other Rock Ninja get the same idea, and they begin emerging from behind boulders, under bushes, and out of the trees.
A devilish smirk appears on Kuroda's face and he moves into a different stance. This is not the smug stance of an insolent douche, this is a battle stance.
Yamashita rolls up the grey sleeve of his shirt and he suddenly feels something sinister. "What is this feeling? This….hunger. This hunger for blood," he thinks and then glances at Kuroda, "Is this him? Is he the one radiating this immense bloodlust? It is so powerful that I can barely breathe. Who is this guy?"
Naga starts to head in and Yamashita is able to regain his focus and follow him. "You are dead!" yells the overeager Rock Genin as he leaps forward and slashes at Kuroda's chest.
Kuroda dips down and Naga's kunai passes over his left shoulder. Then he redirects his body upwards and sends his knee right into the boy's chin. A second ninja comes in from behind, but with a lighting fast turn Kuroda lands a heel in the attacker's temple and sends him flying across the forest. A third Rock Ninja falls in from above, attacking with a long, serrated sword. Kuroda lifts his kunai up in time to block the blade. As the enemy's weight bears down on him, another person chucks two shuriken at Kuroda's legs. He hops up to avoid them, putting his back towards the ground, and then the sword carrier's full weight comes down on him. Right after the shuriken pass under him, Kuroda grabs the shoulder of guy he is engaged with and they roll in the air, switching places. All the impact of the landing is shifted to the Rock Ninja's body, and when the Leaf Ninja lands on top of his stomach the air is knocked right out of his lungs.
Din seizes the opening and comes from behind. Kuroda shoves his left knee into the gut of the sword carrier, and then immediately shoots his right foot out, catching Din in the chin. As Din flies in the air he does a flip and pulls some kunai out of his pack and then launches them at Kuroda. However the spot he aims at is completely vacant. Before he can even think about what just happened, one of Din's own teammates crashes into his side.
A few meters away another Rock Ninja struggles with Kuroda in a kunai battle, but is overpowered and forced back into a tree. A thick rope catches Kuroda around the neck, quickly followed by the sickle attached to its end. He ducks under the sickle and lifts his kunai to sever the rope as it passes by him. Then he wraps his left arm around the rope and harshly pulls on it. The wielder of the kusarigama comes flying towards him and receives a staggering punch to the face.
Naga flips his long scarf behind his back, eager to get another shot. When he sees his chance he comes at Kuroda from the side, but is quickly backhanded and sent flying once again.
The heel of a foot comes down from above; Kuroda raises his arms in time to block it from connecting with his head. The young girl flips backwards and lands gracefully on her feet. Her black eyes hone in on her target and she steps forward for a follow up attack. However, Kuroda moves first and strikes right at her chest with his fist. She leans back with perfect timing and his punch zooms right over the brown cloth of her shirt. She immediately responds by thrusting her knee upwards.
The white bandages covering the full length of her legs seem like they will crash into his chin, but Kuroda is able to slide his head to the side so her knee passes by his cheek. The Leaf Ninja drops to the floor and sweeps his leg around at the girl's ankles. Hoshi awkwardly hops up into the air to avoid the strike, but Kuroda is quick to take advantage of her unusual position. He continues his rotation so his leg comes around a second time, but this time he moves it up and aims the kick at her stomach.
"Interesting, she was able to dodge my kick," Kuroda notes after he regains his stance and sees Hoshi land a number of steps away. Kuroda slips a kunai out of his sleeve and effortlessly tosses it at a Rock Ninja who was just about to attack him from behind. The kunai hits the baffled Rock Ninja right in the shoulder and he slumps to the ground wailing.
Another attacker leaps in from above Kuroda and slices at him with a large metal axe. Kuroda merely takes a step backwards and dodges the slow and heavy swing of the weapon. As the ninja lands in front of him Kuroda grabs hold of the back of his shirt. He lifts the Rock Ninja up, spins him in a circle, and then hurls him at two more ninja who just started rushing towards him.
Unfazed by the clear skill and power of her enemy Hoshi rushes in again, this time taking out two shuriken and throwing them straight at his chest. Kuroda does a back handspring and the shuriken pass over him at the center of the move. When he returns to standing position Hoshi is throwing her fist into his face. Somehow he is able to bring up his left hand and catch her fist before it connects. She struggles to press forward, but he is stronger than her and has leverage due to his height advantage.
Using her flexibility to her advantage, Hoshi brings her right leg up to kick him in the side of the head. However Kuroda crosses his right arm over and catches her foot, forcing her into a standing split. Hoshi is not uncomfortable in the position, due to her flexibility, but her position makes it difficult for her to move.
Din has recovered and is watching the action from behind a tree. "That guy is really good," he thinks to himself while unconsciously wiping mud off his hands and onto his red shirt, "That little brat can't beat him with taijutsu. But she did get him into a locked position. If I time it right maybe I can take them both out." His mouth morphs to an evil grin as he takes a scroll out of a silver pack attached to his belt. He unravels it and wipes his blood across it. White smoke shoots out and a green katana appears. The sinister Rock Ninja catches it in his hand and then charges in.
Kuroda senses Din's attack, simultaneously Hoshi is able to reach up into the pack hanging on her tight black shorts and extract a kunai. She swirls the kunai around in her hand and then stabs it at Kuroda's unprotected leg.
Kuroda releases the girl's fist and then grabs her right leg with both hands. Before Hoshi's blade can pierce his leg he twists his hips and releases her, sending her flying towards Din. Din sees this happening, so he redirects his attack and aims his sword right at Hoshi's back. He thrusts it forward, but it clashes with another blade. Holding the other piece of metal is Yamashita. He pushes back against Din's sword, and Din withdraws his pressure. Yamashita releases his grasp on Hoshi, whom he had caught in his arms.
A menacing look appears in Yamashita's one visible eye as he speaks, "I'm not stupid, Din. I have been observing you and your team since the exams started. Try something like that again and you will regret it!"
Din scowls and leaps up into a tree.
"This is really annoying," comments Hoshi as she observes Kuroda dueling with some other attackers.
"He is a formidable opponent," nods Yamashita, also watching the battle and trying to pick up on any weakness, "I think it is time we started using Ninjutsu. It may be dangerous with all of us not fully aware of what everyone else is doing, but if we want to succeed I think we need to take the chance."
"I agree," replies Hoshi, "I'll go first."
"I will back you up," he responds.
After quickly performing hand signs Hoshi raises her arms up and then slams them into the ground. They dive into the earth, all the way up to the elbows. As she pulls her hands out she whispers, "Stone Hand Blades." Her arms are now covered in a solid rock armor that has formed into a sharp blade.
Then Hoshi gathers chakra around her feet and runs up the side of a tree. She finds a long thick branch and runs along the underside of it until she is directly above the Leaf Ninja. Kuroda notices the attack from above just as she leaves the branch. He kicks his heel into the gut of a different Rock Ninja he was engaging and they are both forced backwards and out of the way of the incoming attack. Hoshi's blade penetrates deep into the ground.
Kuroda assumes that she will be stuck there for a while so he takes his eyes off her to search for another opponent. However she is easily able to slice the earth and free her hands from it. She spins her hands in a circle along the ground and the slashes at Kuroda's chest.
He moves back just in time so that the blade only slices into his shirt. Hoshi rotates around, bringing her other arm into position for attack. Kuroda is able to take out a kunai and then stop her attack by holding it with both his hands.
"That is an impressive Jutsu," comments Kuroda, "You almost caught me off guard when I thought you were stuck." Hoshi raises her free arm and slices in a downward motion. Kuroda shuffles his feet and slams his heel into her chest before her attack can even come close to his shoulder. She flies into a tree and lets out a grunt as her back slams against it.
"How did he get so much power into that kick?" she wonders as she struggles to stand back up.
Kuroda leaps into the air as a number of small boulders come crashing towards him.
"Looks like the others have caught on," thinks Yamashita as he appears in the bushes next to Hoshi.
Kuroda runs up a tree and smashes his legs into the two ninja using the boulder Ninjutsu. At the same time hundreds of super-fast pebbles shoot at him. Kuroda springs off the branch just before they shoot straight through it. He plans to land, but Hoshi is already in position, stabbing her left hand right up at him. He counters with his kunai and his feet slide across the ground when he lands a few yards away. Hoshi immediately charges at him. She slashes and swipes her hand blades at him in a flurry. However each time her attack seems like it is about to hit Kuroda is able to deflect or avoid it. She attempts a new tactic and aims her right-hand blade at his foot. He moves it out of the way and the blade stabs into the ground instead.
Hoshi brings her left hand down from above and twists her right hand intending to swing upwards. Kuroda steps on her right hand, pinning it in the ground, and blocks her left hand with his kunai.
"Now is my chance," thinks Yamashita when he sees them locked into position. He begins to extract a strange looking knife from inside his fur cape. He sprints forward, keeping the knife hidden. Yamashita only takes 5 steps forward and then comes to a complete stop.
"What the hell?" he thinks, "Where did he go?" He looks and sees Hoshi standing alone, looking just as bewildered as he is. He looks around for a while trying to spot the Leaf Ninja.
"Where is he?" shouts a kunoichi with brown hair, her revealing attire so damaged that it is barely hanging onto her body.
Din decides to take advantage of the situation. "I don't know where that Kuroda guy ran off to, but now is my chance. Yamashita is just as distracted as the rest of them," he thinks as he prepares to strike. Din readies his green katana and positions his vision toward the unsuspecting Hoshi.
Yamashita is still scanning the area until he looks up and sees Kuroda standing high up on a tree branch. Yamashita is about to shout out his new position, but Kuroda disappears again.
Strangely Yamashita notices a weird gurgling noise. He looks to the left and sees Din standing a few yards away from Hoshi. Kuroda extracts his kunai from Din's neck and the shaggy-haired Rock Ninja falls to the earth clutching his bleeding throat.
"Impossible!" thinks Yamashita, "There is no way! How could he move so fast? There is no way he could move from all the way up there to the ground in that time."
None of the other Rock Ninja seem to have noticed this phenomenon as they begin attacking once again. Hoshi spins around looking to attack. Kuroda appears right in front of her and slashes her across the chest before she even notices him. This breaks her concentration and the rock armor that forms her stone hand blades crumbles into pieces.
Kuroda grabs a handful of her shirt and drives her all the way across the clearing and slams her into a tree. She releases a gasp as the wind is knocked out of her. Before anyone can react Kuroda takes out a second kunai and then stabs a kunai through each of her hands, nailing her to the tree. Hoshi screams out in agony. Without any hesitation Kuroda turns around and prepares to take on the rest of the Rock Ninja.
Naga stumbles out from behind a tree. He sees Din's corpse on the ground and then spots Hoshi across the way.
"What in the world?" he exclaims, shocked, but his confusion quickly turns to anger, "You bastard, nobody does that to my team!" Naga takes out a kunai and begins to charge forward. A hand wrapped in white reaches out and Yamashita pulls Naga behind a bush.
"Calm down, Naga," orders Yamashita, "This guy is dangerous. Let the others attack him, and in the meantime we can set up our Jutsu combo. If we can catch him off guard there will be no escape from us."
"But what about Hoshi?" argues Naga, "We can't just leave her there!"
"She's not dead yet," explains Yamashita, "We can save her later, but right now we need to focus on taking this guy out."
"Fine," agrees Naga.
"You bastard!" shouts the muscular Rock Ninja with the vest, "You think you can just kill two of us like that. Now you are really going to see what the Hidden Rock shinobi can do!"
Kuroda smirks and announces, "You've had your chance, now it is my turn."
Foolishly the Rock Ninja drop down to the ground from their hiding positions and start a frontal assault. Hoshi looks up wearily to watch the attack. The Leaf Ninja rapidly performs some seals and then vanishes once again.
As the hour grows late, the night becomes darker. Hoshi watches in horror as her fellow Rock Ninja are attacked by a seemingly invisible attacker. They are helpless to defend themselves as he cuts, slashes, and tears them apart. They scream in pain, and try to run away, but he appears in front of them as they try to escape and cuts them down.
In her mind Hoshi compares his movements to that of lightning, because she can only glimpse a flash of him before he is gone to another area. Hoshi is utterly terrified by what she witnesses. Finally only one ninja remains, and Kuroda appears in front of him.
"Please, don't kill me!" begs the young shinobi, his legs shaking and a dark spot appearing on his pants. With no hesitation Kuroda slashes the ninja across the chest. As the dead body falls to the ground he calmly starts walking towards Hoshi.
Fear and panic take over her and she screams, "Stay back, you monster!"
Kuroda smirks seemingly amused by her reaction and continues walking towards her.
Her entire body is shaking, she desperately squirms and writhes in an attempt to free herself but it is no use. Her hands are pinned and the kunai are firmly spiked in the tree. Kuroda gets clear of all of the corpses and starts to take something out of his pack as he nears Hoshi.
Yamashita jumps out of hiding while Kuroda is distracted. He slides into place about 10 meters from Kuroda and then slams his chakra enriched palms onto the ground. "Earth Style: Split Earth Turn Around Palm!" he announces as his Jutsu starts to take effect.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think?Kuroda has devastated the Hidden Rock ambush squad charged with killing his team. However not all of them have been have been defeated. In fact he is now caught in a trap set up by the survivors. Will he be able to get out of the Forest alive? Also, what is happening with the other Leaf Ninja? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)