(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Eighteenth Chapter everyone is forced to compete in a 1v1 preliminary match before being allowed to take the Third part of the exam. In the Third match Hara of the Grass defeated No of the Rain. The Chunin Exams continue! What will be the outcome? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
"Looks like the opponents for the next match are Shun Kashi and Kuro Bandou. Both of you get down here," calls Tatsuki from the center of the arena.
Shun silently makes his way down to the battlefield.
"Good luck, Shun," says Sakura when he passes by Team 3.
"I don't need luck," replies Shun.
"What's his problem?" remarks Kenta.
"He's just trying to act cool," snorts Jando, "Don't worry; I'll put him in his place when we fight in the next round."
"So you're rooting for him then?" jokes Kuroda.
"I didn't say that!" denies Jando.
Tousen slides down the rafters, closer to a certain voluptuous female and brags, "Hey, Kayo, did you know that my Shun is the most talented Leaf Ninja of the whole bunch. He's got this match in the bag?"
Rame Tsu mutters, "Jeez, Sensei, you are such an idiot."
Naoko shakes her head, "Why does he even try? No woman in her right mind would ever go out with him."
Hara tells his teammate, "Don't underestimate your opponent, he looks strong."
Kuro nods his head, "Right," and then jumps over the rail and down to the fighting area.
Tatsuki glances from side to side as the two competitors make their way towards her and thinks, "Finally, I think I'm actually going to get a good match this time. although that last one didn't turn out half bad, but I can tell this one is going to be a real fight."
"I am Kuro from the Grass Village," announces the dark-skinned boy when he arrives. He puts his hands into his camouflage pants and slouches back into a relaxed position.
"Shun Kashi from the Leaf Village," declares the afro-sporting ninja when he arrives a few moments later.
"Okay then, the rules are the same as the other matches," announces Tatsuki, "Are you both ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready," says Kuro, confidently, keeping his hands in his pockets.
Shun sighs and squats down near the floor and replies, "I am good to go."
The brown overcoat worn by the proctor slides back and reveals a little more of her figure when she raises her arm in the air. She quickly brings the arm down in a chopping motion and yells, "Begin!"
Shun darts forward with impressive speed, still keeping his body close to the ground. "He is faster than I anticipated," thinks Kuro as he shifts his right leg back slightly. Shun closes in on his target and prepares to land a heavy blow with his arms, however he notices the change in Kuro's stance and his plans change.
When he gets in range he lunges forward with his right arm. "Just like I anticipated," thinks Shun as his opponent attempts to land a faster counter strike with a mid-body kick. Immediately Shun goes into his plan, swinging his arm off of its attack and bringing it in line with his left arm to block the kick. At the same time his own mid-level kick is launched. Both boys slide back a few meters away from each other.
"Not bad," compliments Shun as he sees Kuro with his arms raised in defense, "I thought you might expect my change in attack, but I didn't think you would be fast enough to block it with your hands in your pockets."
"I was hoping for an easy match this round," replies Kuro as he shifts into an actual fighting stance, "But it is clear now that you are not going to go down that quickly."
"That is where you are wrong," replies Shun as he changes his own position, "I'm not going down at all."
"Is that so? Well, then I'll just have to take you down," pronounces Kuro as he begins a forward charge.
Not liking to be on the defense, Shun charges forward as well. They meet each other in the middle and explode into Taijutsu combat. A flurry of kicks and punches are traded between the two competitors. Shun seems to have a slight advantage in speed, but not enough to make a difference. They match each other strike for strike, with neither of them gaining the upper hand.
"That kid isn't half bad," comments Rame Tsu as she observes her comrade from above.
"Yeah, but it looks like Shun is finally going to get serious," comments her ever present female friend Naoko, "It's about time too. He shouldn't have even have bothered with that form of Taijutsu from the start."
"I guess it is time then," thinks Shun as he slides away from his enemy after a powerful exchange.
"Is he going to use a Jutsu now?" wonders Kuro as he rests for a moment.
Shun briefly wipes his hands on his baggy black slacks to get the sweat off. Then his hands come together for seals, and chakra builds up inside his body. "Ninja Art: All-Fours Jutsu!" proclaims Shun when he completes the combo of hand signs.
His body begins to mutate, hands get a little more bony, fingers become slightly longer, fingernails become sharper, teeth become more jagged, his whole body becomes a more animalistic in appearance. Shun's speed and power are greatly increased by all the modifications to his body.
"What kind of Jutsu is that?" thinks Kuro as he watches the change happen.
Shun rushes forward and slashes at the Grass Ninja's chest with his newly sharpened nails. Kuro barely has enough time to slide out of the way.
"He is even faster," thinks Kuro as he brings his arms up to block the follow up kick from Shun. Kuro slides back several meters due to the force and thinks, "He is a lot stronger too. I won't be able to last long this way." The confident Grass Ninja is put on the defensive, doing all he can to dodge the razor sharp swipes and powerful kicks from his opponent.
When he has a chance, Kuro slips three shuriken out of his pouch and throws them in the ground to stop an incoming assault from Shun. He immediately takes out a long green vine from his weapon pouch and slips into hand seals for a Jutsu. As he signs Kuro boasts, "So you want to be a wild animal, huh? Then I will just have to tame you. Vine Spear Jutsu!" The vine in his hand is filled with chakra and straightens out into a long spear shape and becomes as hard as steel. Shun decides to ignore the significance of the new weapon and attacks anyway. However Kuro has trained long and hard and can wield the spear with great mastery. He is able to keep the fierce Leaf Ninja at bay by not letting him anywhere within striking distance.
Shun tries to get in close for a slashing attack, but is forced back every time by the spear. He then attempts to breaks the spear, but his efforts have no effect. "That spear gives him a huge advantage over me," thinks Shun as he tries to plan a strategy, "It is just too long. Every time I try to get in close he forces me back before I can even get near him. I guess I will just have to step it up another level." Shun flips backwards, putting a lot of distance in between the two fighters, and Kuro chooses not to press forward and attack.
"Big mistake not attacking when you have the advantage," taunts Shun as he shifts into a few hand signs, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two identical copies of Shun appear on the field parallel to him. These clones also include the features brought on by the All-Fours Jutsu he used earlier.
"He is using clones already?" questions Rame Tsu, "I guess this guy is better than he thought."
"I think he just wants to end it quickly," replies Naoko, "What do you think, Sensei?"
When no response is given she turns around to see that he is not there. Then she glances down the balcony and sees that Tousen is still down by Kayo Yuhi trying to chat with her. "Why does he have to be such a perv?" she moans.
"Because he is a guy," comments Rame Tsu blandly.
"Why didn't Kuro press the attack?" asks Mari on the opposite balcony.
"You know that his strength with that Jutsu is defense, not offense," replies Hara as he watches the battle, "And he has been trying to tire the Leaf Ninja out this entire time."
"He has?" inquires Mari.
"Yes, while the afro guy has been using a bunch of fancy moves to try and sneak past the guard, Kuro has been using simple and minimum movements to defend. There is only one problem with that strategy though."
"What is that?" asks Mari.
"That Leaf Ninja doesn't look tired at all," reveals Hara, "And now that he made those clones I think Kuro is going to be in trouble."
"You can do it, Kuro!" shouts Mari, attempting to boost her comrade's performance through cheering.
Shun and his clones charge forward for a renewed offensive. "Damn, how is he still moving so fast?" wonders Kuro as he prepares to defend again. The three copies work in unison, attempting to get past his guard. They duck, dive, and weave around Kuro, attacking from different angles. Kuro starts to give ground and is forced to retreat backwards.
Suddenly one of the clones slips in past his guard. He tries to swing his spear and destroy it before it can get any closer, but the vine won't budge. The second clone has grabbed onto the end of the spear and is holding it in place. Before he can do anything the first clone grabs his legs and binds him and the original Shun begins lining up for a big strike.
Kuro wraps his right arm around the spear and swiftly gets in a few hand signs as Shun rushes towards him. Kuro whispers, "Binding Vine Jutsu!" The spear loses its form and turns into a living rope that wraps around the clones and squeezes until they disappear. Kuro flattens himself to the ground to avoid Shun's strike at the last possible moment.
Shun gains distance again and turns around to see Kuro twirling his weapon around in the air and wielding it like a lasso. "So he can change the form of his vine weapon, and he can do it pretty quickly too," thinks Shun as he analyzes and plans his next move, "And the rope is still very strong if they were able to destroy those variant clones. I don't want to get caught by it."
"It looks like this match is over," observes Kuroda from his place in the rafters.
"Really?" inquires Sakura.
"Yes," confirms Kuroda.
"How can you tell?" asks Ichimaru curiously.
"Shun is getting impatient," explains Kuroda, "This match has gone on far too long for his liking. So now he is going to use his best attack."
"I sensed that as well," comments Ichimaru, "But how can you be sure the other guy won't be able to block it?"
"I don't know if you have seen Shun's technique before, but I have. I would say you have to be at least a Chunin to be capable of using a Jutsu that would block it," explains Kuroda, "And that Grass Ninja is in perfect position for it to be highly effective. Just look where he is standing."
Ichimaru looks down at the field and realizes, "Wait a minute, isn't that…?"
Shun relaxes for a moment and then tells his opponent, "I had hoped that I could save this attack for a later round, but it seems like you're a stronger opponent then I had anticipated. Prepare yourself."
Kuro boasts, "You think you can defeat me? I can defend myself against any attack, so try all you want."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," comments Shun as large amount of chakra builds up inside him and he performs a complex combination of Jutsu.
Watching from above, Hara senses something strange about the field. Suddenly he understands and tries to warn his friend, "Kuro, get out of there!"
Surprised to hear his teammate butt in on a match Kuro confidently replies, "Relax, I can handle anything this guy throws at me."
Desperately trying to warn his friend Hara shouts, "You don't understand! You need to move now! He is going to…"
"It is too late," says Shun, "There is no escape from my Leaf Tornado Jutsu."
"Your what?" asks Kuro, who suddenly notices a bunch of small objects rising around him. "What are those?" inquires Kuro, but then he looks closer, "Leaves?" He looks around and sees a large number of leaves rising up around him.
"Those are the ones that Mari had and then Hara threw at the Rain Ninja," thinks Kuro, "When did we get all the way over here? Wait, they are starting to swirl? Damn, he lured me into a trap!" The leaves start changing into razor sharp forms in a similar manner to Hara's Leaf Shuriken.
They spiral around Kuro going faster and faster, and coming closer and closer. Kuro tries to escape, but cannot see a clear exit. Then he tries to knock them out of the air with his vine weapon, but they are too small, too fast, and even sharp enough to cut through his steel-like vine. The leaves converge on Kuro and tear his skin to shreds, scattering blood and pieces of his flesh all over the arena. After the attack Kuro falls to the ground with hundreds of cuts all over his body.
"No, it can't be over! Not yet!" thinks Kuro as he struggles to move his severely damaged body, "I promised Mari that I would win. And if I lose now I can't accomplish my dream. I won't be able to stay with Hara. I won't be able to follow him, protect him, and help him become the great ninja I know he will be. I won't be able to be right by his side when he becomes the leader of our village. I have to get up!"
Shun watches as his opponent struggles on the ground. "Courageous, but even if you stand up you won't be able to do anything. If this were a fight in the real world I would have to kill you so you wouldn't complicate my mission later on. But this is not the real world, and this match is over," he thinks as he turns and starts to walk away.
Tatsuki declares, "The winner of this match is Shun Kashi. We need a medical squad out here right away!" A medical team rushes out from a hidden door to treat Kuro's wounds.
Hara and Mazuma jump down to talk to Kuro before he is taken away.
Hara reminds Kuro, "I told you not to underestimate him, maybe next time you will listen to me."
"I'm sorry, Hara," whispers Kuro with what energy he has left.
"Don't worry, Kuro, the medics will take good care of you," says Mazuma as he is carried away.
"That kid's Jutsu, it looked like one of ours, Sensei," Hara mentions as he and his teacher make their way back up the stairs, "I wonder where he learned it from."
"It may have looked similar to one of the Jutsu from our village, but there was something strange about it," comments Mazuma, "Keep your eye out for that ninja in the later rounds, Hara."
"Yes, Sensei," replies Hara.
"How was he?" asks Mari when they have returned.
"He will live," replies Mazuma.
"Maybe it's not such a bad thing that you lost earlier," comments Hara.
"What do you mean?" inquires Mari.
"My gut tells me that those first few fights were a fluke. The real matches are about to begin and they are all going to be as dangerous as the one Kuro just had. I think the rest of the people left are a lot stronger than we thought."
"Well, Brother, it seems that there are some decent fighters here after all," says the tall, blonde, female Rain Ninja.
"Getting scared, Ino?" replies her elder brother.
"I'm not scared, brother. With my Jutsu no one is going to get close to me," responds Ino.
"Whatever you say, Sister," replies Rino.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? The Preliminaries have officially started and the pride of the Leaf Shun Kashi was victorious in his match! Who will fight next? How will everyone else fair? 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.)