Shin Ikeda
By Kassien
Written: 10/28/22 - 7/30/23
Chapter 3: Chunin Exams
The Chunin Exams in Kusagakure were about what I was expecting from a geographical viewpoint, as the land was covered in grass as far as you could see, and fairly flat overall. My team was one of over a dozen genin teams competing in the upcoming exams, and such a large group traveling together made for some tense times, especially after meeting Kabuto and his team on our first night in camp. I made sure to give that creep nothing that could be used against me, and steered my team away from the double agent, even if I wasn't sure whether he was still working with Sasori or Orochimaru at this point, either way he wasn't anything I wanted to be caught up in.
It was unusual to not see a single other rookie team from my class, but after the Uchiha Massacre, team 1 had lost it's Uchiha Sensei, and Jiro Uchiha the Rookie of the Year, leaving his former teammates in the genin pool, and none of the other teams from my class seemingly lasted or were up for promotion. Likewise, there were not many people that expected anything from the youngest of the teams, and I was primed to use that underdog status to my advantage. Only Sensei Doto truly knew what I was fully capable of without my gravity seals and going all out, and he promised me, short of a jinchuriki or ringer, I should win this exam in a walk.
Maybe not a complete cake walk though, as the first part of the exams had one member from each team being held hostage, to gain a code to advance, and I had to suffer twenty minutes of being roughed up until my teammates freed me. It wasn't too bad, and had us one of the thirty teams to advance to the second stage, where we were dropped into a large canyon with one of two medallions needed to advance, and given five days to fight our way out. That also wouldn't have been too bad if I was completely fresh, but three separate teams, two from Rock and one from Cloud, teamed up to harass and try to take out the youngest of the Konoha teams to pass to that stage, and left us fighting for our lives for the entirety of the five days.
By the time we reached the central tower and setting of the second stage, our team had blitzed through two of the teams harassing us, along with another from Grass to have more medallions than we needed but were still dealing with the final team from Cloud that was proving difficult ro put away for good. Takao had engaged the largest of the Cloud fighters, a kenjutsu specialist that had him and Ito boxed in pretty well, while I had to deal with both teammates who were proving to be better than the rest of the genin I had encountered so far. I had just gotten my barrier seal to capture the supporting kunoichi of the team, leaving me the chance to focus on the ninjutsu user without being outnumbered, when I heard a loud thunderclap of lightning back where my teammates were fighting the sword user.
Apparently, the kenjutsu wielder, was no slouch in the ninjutsu department either, and his lightning barrage tore through both of my teammates causing them to scream out in pain and lose whatever defense they were managing, as he readied his sword to finish Ito off. I was too far away to do anything to help even with my speed, and couldn't abandon the first upper hand I had gotten on the pair I was fighting, so could only watch out of the corner of my eye as Ito was substituted out for Takao at the last moment to save her life. Unfortunately, that sacrifice of Takeo, would cost him his right arm to save the girl he loved, as it was cut clean through at the bicep and tossed him to the ground in a quickly growing pool of blood and an agonized scream of pain that was background noise to the fight in front of me.
Thankfully, I didn't panic and only completely shut down emotionally while relying on my training and preparation to carry me through the next bit, where I systematically destroyed all three Cloud shinobi with a combination of ruthless efficiency and impossible speed. I can honestly say, I don't know exactly what happened, one second I was thinking we were making good progress, and the next, my two teammates were put out of commission, Takao possibly for good, and I was covered in blood and practically a robot from that point forward. It wasn't until Sensei got a hold of me after reaching the end of the second stage just before the time expired, with my clones each carrying one of my unresponsive teammates, that I realized where we were. Takao, will probably never recover from losing his arm, and his once promising career as a ninja is now over before he even turned 16, along with a completely broken and traumatized Ito, who was most likely not going to be the same either.
There were three other teams that reached the final stage, and with my inclusion as the sole member of the fourth and final team advancing, there were ten fighters in total. The Kusa ninja in charge wanted to do an immediate preliminary round to get those numbers down to the best four or maybe six fighters, for the final round in one month. So, they did a "random" selection that had me fighting the first preliminary match against the strongest looking Kusa genin remaining, probably thinking I would be the easiest of the individual fights to help their ninja advance, and simply shrugged, intending to simply knock the guy out quickly and move on.
Just before the Kusa Jounin told us to begin however, the genin made a joke about my crippled teammate that had me seeing red, and the only sounds to register afterwards was the starting whistle and a large crack sound, followed by a thump. When everyone blinked and got their sight back, it was to see the Kusa Genin choking on his crushed throat, as he was doubled over and then convulsing on the ground for just a moment, as everyone watched in stunned silence as he died seconds later. The Kusa Jounin instantly all appeared around their dead genin, blocking me and staring me down as I simply stood to the side to wait for the match to be called, completely unimpressed with the large amount of killing intent directed at me by several of them, covered still in the blood of several now dead young people and a flat expressionless blood soaked face.
"Winner," came a voice at last, from one of the other Jounin Sensei present, as the Jounin in charge tried to argue to no avail, "Shin Ikeda of Konohagakure."
That finally seemed to get the attention of everyone that there were still other fights to have, and that I was completely within the rules to kill my opponent. It also meant that every other genin was now looking at me in a healthy dose of fear, instead of the hungry predator looks from moments before, while the Jounin were now all going back to their positions around the room. Though none of them completely stopped paying me attention for the duration of the fights, they did continue to the next fight, with now only the deceased Kusa Genin's teammates giving me the evil eye.
Sensei Doto gave me a knowing nod when the preliminary fights were over, and the five fighters who would be advancing were given their opponents to fight in the Finals, and I again had to marvel at the "randomness" of it. I was again slated to fight first, against one of the remaining Kusa Genin, whose teammate I just killed, and would then have to fight another opponent before I could reach the actual Final, while the other bracket would only fight once before the final. It wouldn't matter however, as I would be training three times harder than anyone else over the next month, and would be ready for whatever was thrown at me.
As the only remaining Konoha Genin to advance to the five person finals, the rest of our large group returned to the Leaf for medical treatment or because their exams were over, as only Sensei Doto and I remained behind to train and prepare for the finals. And train we did, with my shadow clones now able to produce three at a time relatively easily, I stepped up my personal training by almost exclusively fighting Sensei Doto without any weights or gravity seals until I couldn't stand anymore. Then I slept, and incorporated the memories of my three clones learning and practicing everything they could about barrier Fuinjutsu and scouting my opponents, before starting the whole thing over again.
I really struggled the first few nights with bad dreams and nightmares attached to my teammates getting hurt and the many people I have killed in this life, and wondered how I would be able to continue on, and could only chalk it up to an intense will to survive. I still remembered my previous life, and knew there were things I missed but wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to get back to it. After almost fifteen years I wasn't even sure I was still the same person, or how that life would be after living this one. I somehow got it into my head that the only way to complete this life and get back to my own, was to be successful and take the Naruto Story to the end, hoping that I survived it, in order to wake up on the other side, and used that singular motivating factor to push myself continuously.
Guilt was very much a product of my first "original" life, as my Catholic mother used it almost exclusively growing up in the Northeast United States, so I was used to the feeling from my previous life. In the world I lived in now, guilt still existed, but the reasons were so vastly different that I wasn't always equipped to deal with it when it came. Guilt over letting my teammates down, guilt over killing other human beings, guilt over not training harder, guilt over your Nation's history, guilt from "assuming" the life of Shin "Ikeda" and everything that Clan afforded me despite me not actually belonging to it. Guilt for knowing about things to happen, and doing nothing about it, or using that information only to benefit myself.
I tried to spend a few minutes each night working through some of my issues, thinking about better ways to do things, coming up with ideas to try and help others as well as myself, and also reminding myself that I couldn't change this world from the bottom up. If I wanted to truly change this world, I had to be the strongest shinobi on the planet, because there were already several of those types running around this place, and they weren't just going to put aside their goals and dreams, so that I could achieve mine. So, over the first week after the second stage ended, I was slowly able to put to rest some of my doubts and guilt, and focus again on the training I needed to accomplish to achieve those goals.
By the time our month alone training in Kusagakure was coming to an end, practically fighting all day every day, I realized that I was actually closing the gap between my Sensei and myself, and that I wasn't as far behind him in some areas, and even surpassed him with my growing competence in Barrier Fuinjutsu. Once I figured out how to truly incorporate that into my bag of tricks, even Sensei was hesitant to fight me full on, as I was able to negate his strength and larger ninjutsu attacks without wearing myself out, and started turning the tide on my mentor occasionally. If I used my clones more in our spars, instead of the scouts and Fuinjutsu testers I usually employed them as, than I had a real chance of surprising him and landing some serious damage, and when that happened more than once on our last day of training, he surprised me by knocking off early and taking me out for a celebratory dinner in Kusa, as he felt I had this tournament in the bag.
On the day of the Kusa Chunin Exam Finals, Kusagakure was a happening place, with a large population eager for the final fights to begin, with gambling at an all time high. Despite their Nation's dislike of me, it did not carry over to the betting favorites, as I was apparently a lock at 3 to 1 odds, with the Kumo Shinobi, Kito Yotsuki the next closest at 6 to 1, and the Iwa Kunoichi Xui Nemoki at 7 to 1. I didn't let it go to my head, and simply asked Sensei Doto to place a large bet on myself as well, knowing having extra money would always be a good thing for the both of us, and this was going to be fun.
I wasn't going to be flashy, or have elaborate plans within plans, and was simply going to really let loose my speed and see if anybody could even keep up. I admit, it probably wasn't the most Chunin of mindsets, but I was convinced of my physical superiority, and wanted to test it against the best Genin out there, to prove that I am better than all of them. Sensei understood what I was doing, and agreed that with my speed, very few if any Genin, would ever be a problem for me, and was happy to let me dominate everyone and remind the world about the power of Konoha shinobi.
They were all reminded of that when the first fight was called to begin after much cheering for the local Kusa Genin, and I didn't hesitate at all to blitz through my thin kenjutsu opponent faster than most Genin, let alone civilians, could even see. Instantly inside his guard, a light knee to his midsection folded him in half and a love tap to his neck had him out cold in under one second, and the crowd was blinking in shock, then erupting in cheers moments later when they realized it was already over. The second fight between the last member, and only female of the Kusa team was against a fellow kunoichi, but from Iwa and was the bracket that only had to fight once to reach the finals. That fight lasted half an hour with big explosions and flashy ninjutsu attacks, and had the Iwa kunoichi coming out on top, though somewhat exhausted chakra wise, but with plenty of rest versus the other bracket.
My second fight, was against the largest of the Kumo delegation and the other betting favorite, Kito Yotsuki, who stood well over six and a half feet tall already, the large muscular older teenager was a solid ninja with above average kenjutsu skills and decent ninjutsu for the average Genin. But I was anything but average, and was able to redirect or swallow his larger lightning attacks with Barrier Fuinjutsu, that left his attacks harmless and the audience in shock, as I effortlessly used my pre prepared Fuinjutsu scrolls to great effect, and then turned the tables on him, by covering him in water and making any lightning ninjutsu he tried using harmful to himself as well. Once I eliminated his favored elemental attacks, I was able to pull out the kodachi Sensei commissioned for me, and engaged Kito in insanely fast kenjutsu attacks that had him on his back foot from the get go.
He definitely had sword skills, but my insane speed combined with above average sword skills were just overwhelming after the first minute, and he and everyone in the stands knew it when I made a successful feint that left him out of position and me in a position to remove his head in a single swipe, but instead, simply knocked him out with the pommel. The crowds' thunderous roar practically shook the stadium we were fighting in, as the sour-faced Kusa Jounin in charge, announced me the winner of the Semi-Finals, and gave me a whole ten minutes of rest until the final fight. I didn't want to fight the same way a third time, but did at least demonstrate that my barrier Fuinjutsu techniques could stop Xui Nemoki's earth based ninjutsu attacks as easily as it did the lightning ones from the Kumo ninja earlier.
With passions and excitement levels at all time highs, the beginning of the fight was more of a feeling out, as I let her first few earth attacks go off, in order to demonstrate the ability of my barrier Fuinjutsu, but also to gauge her chakra levels as I implemented my plan. During a brief flash of light from my barrier engaging and blocking her earth spikes, I created three shadow clones in my place while I hid underground against a Rock ninja, and kept tabs of what was happening above me. My clones were fast, and two of them worked well over the next minute to overwhelm and slowly corral and move Xui towards one side of the arena while the last hung back directing and offering ranged support, while pretending to be the real me.
With the clones keeping her so busy as they maneuvered her closer to the Kage booth, she didn't have time to check beneath her, and it was her undoing. Once she was in the optimal place in the arena, I simply emerged from the ground with my kodachi at her neck, and her wrists caught in the tight grip of my left hand. She froze, as did everyone in the stadium, as they all realized at that moment that the fight had just ended. If her eyes were as angry as the old Rock Kage's were at that moment, I would never know, as I called for her to yield or die while keeping a firm grip on her.
"I yield," she choked out in angry disappointment, knowing after her very brief attempt to wiggle out of my grip, that I could and probably would just as easily kill her if she tried anything else.
"Winner," came the gritted voice of the upset Kusa Jounin that hadn't liked me from the beginning, "Shin Ikeda of Konohagakure."
I nodded to the fuming Xui Nemoki, the equally fuming Kusa Jounin in charge, and the four Kage in the top booth, only getting a kind nod from my own Hokage as the other three present Kages from Rock, Cloud, and Grass all glared hatefully, while the audience created a large cacophony of noise and cheers that felt very affirming after all the hard work and sacrifice it took to get here. It was quickly tempered however, when I thought about my now crippled and broken teammates, and how this should have been a celebration for all of us. It wasn't long afterwards that Sensei was handing me a large stack of money to seal away, after Sensei and the Hokage spoke briefly and our group left together an hour later, with an ANBU escort back to Konoha.
We only stopped once with the Hokage and his guards, and the camp was efficient and well needed for my tired body at that point, having pushed hard out of Kusagakure for most of the day before stopping. The Hokage even spoke with me that night for a little while, and was impressed that I was able to talk about the barrier Fuinjutsu I knew and used to such a degree as well as the other sealing aspects from the Konoha Fuinjutsu Scroll, and he hinted at a little gift that might be waiting for me coming home. He also congratulated both myself for winning and Sensei Doto, for the absolutely splendid job he did with training me, and promised my Sensei, his pick of his next mission in thanks, something I knew went a long way towards slowly repairing their relationship.