CHAPTER 6: THE BLIND BANDIT (PART 1)
(Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OC's)
(PLEASE READ: THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO "SHUJINKO: THE FOURTH MEMBER", BUT A DIFFERENT STORY WITH SHUJINKO AS THE MAIN CHARACTER. THIS STORY WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER IN "SHUJINKO SHIPPUDEN". I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO SHUJINKO'S ORIGINAL STORY)
Summary: One night, a stranger breaks into Shujinko's house and tries to steal one of the most mystical objects in the history of the Ozuma clan: The Eye of Kazemaru. When Shujinko tries to stop him, the two of them activate an ancient and forgotten power of the gem by accident, which sends them to another dimension where a certain bald-headed monk has to master the four elements in order to defeat the evil Fire Lord. What kind of impact will Shujinko's presence have in the Avatar universe? Who is this stranger and what does he want? Get ready for one wild space-time adventure
Gaoling was quite the exotic city, Shujinko had to admit.
Unlike Gi Yuin Village, which resembled the less developed towns that could be found in the Land of Fire, Gaoling was definitely foreign to him. It wasn't as technologically advanced as the Hidden Leaf Village and there were no signs of a military system designed to protect the city, aside from the few guards here and there, who were most likely hired by private individuals or entities that had no connection to the local government. Shujinko, being raised as a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, found this to be rather odd, careless, and unpractical. It probably had something to do with the fact that the Fire Nation would respond aggressively to any signs of insurgency in the Earth Kingdom.
That being said, Gaoling seemed to be doing just fine. A lot better than Gi Yuin Village, that was for sure. There were lots of houses, markets, buildings, a couple of parks, and stores that offered a wide variety of items. Shujinko saw plenty of people with different economic and social standing, from impoverished beggars to average breadwinners, and even a few men and women who most likely belonged to the local upper-class. The Ozuma was thankful to Katara for giving him his current Earth Kingdom outfit, as his previous clothes would've certainly caught a handful of stares here in Gaoling.
What shocked Shujinko the most about the city was how there were Earthbending schools. Any earthbender who could afford the price was accepted into any of these schools, regardless of their age, background, and intentions. For Kami's sake, he even came across a couple of individuals who were loudly promoting their respective Earthbending academies and handing out vouchers to whoever was interested.
This was so bizarre that Shujinko didn't know where to even begin. Something like that would never, ever, ever happen in his village or in any shinobi village for that matter. It became abundantly clear to Shujinko that bending and Ninjutsu were treated completely different. Unlike benders, ninjas were never born. They were made. Even children who were born inside a shinobi clan weren't considered to be ninjas until they graduated, and to do so, they had to join the Academy at a young age and develop enough skills to cover the basics over time. Once they became Genins, they had to pledge their lives to the village and swear to make use of their abilities only to benefit the Hidden Leaf. Even after retirement, ninjas were expected to uphold the Will of Fire in their hearts.
But here, all you had to do in order to learn Earthbending was to be born with the ability to do so and finding someone willing to teach you. It was dangerously casual, as he who succeeded at learning Earthbending but failed to learn a set of morals and community-oriented principles could easily become a threat to others. At least the Air Nomads' culture used to revolve around Airbending and followed a steady set of beliefs, as well as a way of life that ensured group cohesion. He knew he was in no position to criticize, but from Shujinko's perspective, these people were treating Earthbending as a fancy toy, and it rubbed him the wrong way.
In any case, Aang needed to find an instructor so he could get at least some basic Earthbending training. According to Aang, he had to find a teacher who "waited and listened to the earth"… whatever that meant. They visited an academy that offered newcomers a free first lesson, and since they had nothing to lose, the young monk decided to give it a try. Meanwhile, Shujinko, Katara, and Sokka were waiting for him outside. Once the lesson was over, they greeted Aang, who was wearing a uniform that had been kindly provided to him by the school.
"How was it, Aang? Was this teacher any good?" Katara asked.
Aang shook his head. "Nah, he's not the one I'm looking for," he replied. He didn't consider Master Yu to be a completely inept teacher, but he highly doubted that someone who was willing to bump him up to the next belt if he paid in advance for a month's worth of lessons was the kind of person he wanted to learn Earthbending from.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about this place anymore. There are plenty of other schools we can check out," Sokka suggested.
"To tell you the truth, I don't think visiting other schools is such a great idea. What Aang needs is a personal teacher, one that can focus his or her attention solely on you," Shujinko chimed in.
The Avatar stared at him curiously. "Do you really think so, Shujinko?"
"I know so. Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, our class was split into groups of three, or in my case, four. Once we graduated, my group was assigned to a Jounin, a high-level shinobi that acted as our sensei. A sensei is… well, I guess you could call him a mentor of sorts, one that helps you improve your skills and acts as the leader of the team during whatever mission we participated in,"
Katara, Aang, and Sokka listened to Shujinko with rabid attention. Despite not being a bender himself, the Ozuma did know the importance of a good teacher, and it was always interesting to hear more about the Hidden Leaf Village and the way it worked. Slowly but surely, Shujinko was opening himself up to them, something which the trio appreciated greatly. "And who is your sensei, Shujinko?" Katara asked.
"My sensei is a man called Kakashi Hatake. He's lazy, he rarely shows up on time, and his taste in literature is questionable at best. But even so, he's incredibly strong and smart, and I never would've improved as much as I have had it not been for his guidance… Anyways, my point is that whoever teaches Aang Earthbending has to be someone who directs their attention to him and him only. It may sound a bit selfish, but we're talking about ending a war here. Besides, if you enter a school in this place, we'll have to stay here as you attend your lessons, which would inevitably delay our travels,"
It was hard to argue against Shujinko's logic. Team Avatar was constantly going from one place to another, either because of the Fire Nation or because of unexpected issues that forced them to move, and sometimes because of both. If experience had taught them anything, it was that their stay here in Gaoling would most likely not last very long. "But then, how am I supposed to find an Earthbending teacher?"
Shujinko shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. And hey, if you managed to get a ninja to join you, I'm certain you can find an earthbender willing to do the same thing,"
Just then, two teens walked by, wearing the same Earthbending uniform as Aang's. "I'm telling you, The Boulder is gonna dominate the Earth Rumble VI. They might as well give him the belt before the tournament even begins," one of them said.
"I don't know, man. He's gonna have to go up against The Blind Bandit. She's not the current champion because of nothing,"
Aang's ears perked up in interest. "Hey, do you know where this tournament is taking place?"
The two teens turned around and gave the bald boy a mocking smirk. "Sure we do. It's in the island of Nonya'… Nonya' business!"
After laughing at their own joke, the two numbskulls began to walk away, leaving a ridiculed Aang behind. "Ha! Oh! That was… Island of Nonya'… Nonya' business! Oh boy, I gotta' write that one down," Sokka exclaimed hysterically, wiping away a tear from his eye. Shujinko could hardly believe Sokka was into that kind of stupid humor. It reminded him of Kizashi Haruno, who was Sakura's father, as well as a man who was notorious for his crappy puns that barely made any sense at all.
"Don't worry about it, Aang. I'll handle this," Katara said, eyes shining with determination. If those two idiots thought they could get away with embarrassing her friend, they had another thing coming to them.
"Actually, do you mind if I take this one, Katara? I think I know how to get them to cooperate," Shujinko said. After Katara nodded in consent, Shujinko followed the two boys to a nearby alley, away from the sight of his group. "Hey, you two over there. Where do you think you're going?"
The two boys turned around, eyeing at Shujinko suspiciously. "What do you want, punk? You need directions as well?" the one with the Mohawk haircut asked.
"My friend asked you a question, and you were quite rude to him. That wasn't very kind, now was it?"
"Maybe. What are you gonna do about it, huh?" the other guy with spiky brown hair retorted.
Shujinko took a couple of steps forward until the two earthbenders were at arm's length. "Here's the deal: You tell me where and when this Earth Rumble IV thing is taking place, and then we can all go about our business as if nothing ever happened. There's no need to make this complicated. What do you say?"
Both adolescents blinked before bursting into laughter while Shujinko patiently waited for them to stop. "Did you hear that, Yonri?" the boy with the spiky brown hair asked. "This complete nobody thinks he can just boss us around,"
"Oh, I heard him alright," the guy with the gray mohawk, now identified as Yonri, replied. He then made the terrible mistake of grabbing Shujinko by the collar of his shirt. "Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson, Monkon. Should we start with a wedgie or a noogie?"
"I say we put that new Earthbending technique from Master Yu to the test. I bet this loser would love to have his underwear filled with rocks. Isn't that right, loser?" Before either of them could decide what to do first, Shujinko grabbed Yonri's wrist, made him turn around, and used his free hand to get a hold of Yonri's hair while placing himself behind him, effectively restraining the loudmouthed bully and forcing him to kneel. "H-Hey! What are you doing? Let me go!" Yonri demanded, only to squeal in pain when Shujinko twisted his wrist a little bit.
"Didn't I tell you there was no need to make things complicated?" the Ozuma asked, measuring his strength very carefully. Even if Yonri was a douchebag, he didn't deserve to have his wrist broken as far as Shujinko was aware, so he was just going to rough him up a little. Meanwhile, his buddy Monkon was gawking like a fool, too shocked to react. "Maybe next time you'll show better manners when someone asks you a question,"
"Monkon, help me!" Yonri shouted. His friend finally came to his senses and tried to get closer to Shujinko, but the Chunin took a step back and took Yonri with him.
"If you want to help your friend, answer my question from earlier and I'll let him go. Refuse, and I'll snap your wrist after I snap his. Trust me, I'm more than capable of doing so," Shujinko began to twist Yonri's wrist a second time just in case they needed more convincing. He didn't like to resort to these kinds of methods just to get basic information from civilians, but to be fair, he did try to reason with them before using force, and hopefully, this would help them learn to never underestimate anyone, especially a stranger.
Monkon got his hands up, motioning Shujinko to stop. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you what you want to know! The Earth Rumble VI will take place today at midnight. It's being held in an underground cave just outside of town. Now let Yonri go!"
Shujinko raised an eyebrow. "A tournament being held in an underground cave? That sounds a bit strange, don't you think?"
"It's the truth! The people who discovered that cave built an arena inside of it, with seats and everything. Ask anyone and they'll tell you the same thing,"
"… Alright, I guess I'll have to take your word for it," Shujinko said before releasing Yonri, who stumbled as he got away. "See? That wasn't so hard. Have a great day, partners," the golden-eyed teen turned around and walked away, looking over his shoulder right before disappearing out of their sight. "And in case you're wondering, my name is Putsom… Putsom ice on that wrist,"
|Earth Rumble IV Arena|
As it turned out, the tournament was indeed being held inside an underground cave, and a huge one at that. After following a large crowd of people outside the city and waiting in line for two hours, the group of travelers finally managed to enter the cave where the event was taking place, and it was certainly an impressive sight to behold.
The arena consisted of a large fighting ring shaped like a rectangle that was built a few feats above the lower ground, meaning that whoever fell off the edge of the ring would not only suffer defeat but a short fall as well. There were two towers and a small building where the organizers and the staff members of the event took care of business. The participants were ordered to wait in a specific area of the stadium, where they were forbidden from interacting with the other fighters in order to avoid possible hoaxes and uncompetitive agreements. The rest of the structure had been used to build as many stone bleachers as possible so that the whole place had enough room for all the spectators.
The last time Shujinko had seen this amount of people gathered in one place was when he participated in the third part of the Chunin Exams, and he had to admit that all the energy and hype in the air was rather contagious, to the point where he was actually feeling kind of excited. Due to his shinobi lifestyle, Shujinko spent most of his days either training or taking part in missions, and he used whatever free time he had to rest and socialize with his friends and family members. Recreational activities such as picking up an instrument or learning how to properly paint were quite difficult for most ninjas since they simply did not have enough time on their hands, and in the end, it was much more important for ninjas to improve their abilities than acquiring new hobbies.
Shujinko was no exception, which was why doing something such as attending a tournament as a spectator felt like a breath of fresh air. He only needed to pay attention to the matches and see whether if any of the participants had what it took to become Aang's Earthbending teacher, although he wasn't quite sure if his input would be of any help all things considered.
"Hey, look! Front row seats!" Sokka exclaimed as he sat down on the first set of stone bleachers, followed by the rest of Team Avatar. "How come we're the only ones sitting down here? This view is amazing!"
BAAAAAM
The answer came in the form of a huge rock crashing almost next to where they were sitting, having being thrown by one of the contestants during the last battle of the preliminaries. "I guess that's why," Aang said in a flat tone of voice. Still, the Avatar insisted that he wanted to see the matches as closely as possible, and given how there weren't many seats available in the upper section of the stadium, they had no other choice but to stay put and be on the lookout for any other incoming rocks.
Soon after the preliminaries were over, an individual with long black hair and big muscles showed up in the middle of the stage. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Earth Rumble VI! My name is Xin Fu, the host of the biggest, most exciting tournament in all of the Earth Kingdom. Are you ready!?" Xin Fu roared, making the crowd go wild. His voice was so loud and potent that Shujinko thought Xin Fu had a megaphone for a mouth. "The rules are simple: Whoever gets thrown out of the ring loses the match. Only two combatants will be allowed to fight at a time, and they can only use Earthbending or any style of martial arts they desire, as long as no other kind of bending is involved,"
Once the instructions had been informed to the public, the Ozuma couldn't help but notice how Xin Fu failed to mention what would happen if one of the contestants threw in the towel. Did the combatants had the opportunity to give up during the middle of a fight or were they forced to continue until the bitter end? Even those who took part in the Chunin Exams were allowed to call it quits in most instances. Shujinko supposed this tournament had an unspoken rule regarding that issue, or so he hoped.
"Now, allow me to introduce to you our new challenger," Xin Fu announced. "In this corner, with an ongoing streak of perfect victories from our latest matches and an unquenchable desire for glory, we have The Boulder!"
A man suddenly landed on the ring, letting out a deafening roar that got his fans riled up. The Boulder had dark skin and had his black hair done in a bun. His body could easily be described as a small mountain of muscles, and while his nickname was a bit dumb in Shujinko's opinion, it was definitely fitting. The physique of The Boulder caught his attention, for it was quite rare to meet a shinobi with a similar body type. In most cases, bulky muscles hindered someone's speed and stealth, so most ninjas often aimed to have a balanced body that provided them with agility and strength in equal measure.
"In this other corner, weighing over 400 pounds of sheer brute force, we have The Big Bad Hippo!"
Another competitor walked into the ring and came face to face with The Boulder. This time, Shujinko's jaw nearly dropped. Unlike The Boulder, who was all muscles, The Hippo was all fat. No, seriously, Choji and Jirobo were scrawny compared to this guy. The fact that he only had four teeth and wore green, diaper-like underwear made The Hippo look like a grumpy giant baby. Regardless of that, his imposing size alone was enough to strike fear into the heart of most of his adversaries and The Hippo knew it, which was why he stood with his arms and legs spread out in order to appear more intimidating.
Once Xin Fu left the stage, the trash talk between The Boulder and The Hippo began. "Listen closely, Hippo. You may be big, but you're not bad. The Boulder is going to squash you like a bug!"
The Hippo's reply was just as witty as Shujinko expected it to be. "Hippo mad!" he shouted, displaying a level of eloquence that belonged to that of a caveman. The spectators quickly began to cheer and urged Xin Fu to start the fight as soon as possible. Some of them approached the staff members in charge of the gambling and placed their last-minute bets on their favorite candidates.
Katara let out an uninterested sigh as she stared at her nails. "Let me guess: We're about to see two overly-manly men act like a pair of Goat Gorillas chucking rocks at each other. Is this really what we paid to watch?"
"You bet it is! Talk about money well spent, am I right?" her brother said, barely able to contain his own excitement.
"In any case, let's just not forget the reason why we're here," Shujinko replied, amused by how opposite the siblings' reactions were from one another. "With some luck, we might find Aang's Earthbending teacher tonight,"
The sound of a ringing bell signaled the start of the fight, and The Boulder was the first to react. In order to test his opponent's toughness, he tore off a big chunk of rock from the ground and threw it at The Hippo's stomach, who took the impact without so much as a flinch. He even caught a few pieces of rock with his bare teeth, chew them, and spat them back out.
Without wasting any time, The Hippo began to jump left and right, using his weight and his style of Earthbending to shake the ring, a move which Xin Fu called "rocking the boat". How someone so big, fat, and heavy could jump on his own like that was beyond Shujinko. The Boulder lost his footing and staggered backwards until he found himself near the edge, but just when he was about to fall, he created a slab of earth to regain his balance.
The Boulder then proceeded to hurl the same slab of earth at The Hippo, who made the unforgivable mistake of turning his back on his opponent before the fight had ended. The projectile struck the target's back and skull with enough force to make him fall face-first to the ground, but The Boulder didn't stop there. In an astonishing display of strength, The Boulder lifted the earth around The Hippo and raised both of them several feet into the air before throwing them out of the ring. The bells rang again and Xin Fu declared the end of the fight, with The Boulder standing as the winner.
"How about The Boulder, Aang?" Katara asked. "He looks like he knows his Earthbending,"
Aang wrinkled his nose. "I'm not really sure. The Boulder is good and all, but Bumi said I had to look for a teacher who waited and listened to the earth. He only seems to listen to his muscles. Sokka, what do you think?"
"Woo-hoo! Yeaah! The Boulder's gonna' beat everyone! EVERYONE!"
'So Aang's Earthbending teacher has to be someone who waits and listens to the earth? What kind of criteria is that?' Shujinko wondered. Unless it was a riddle of sorts, the golden-eyed teen couldn't figure out how they were supposed to find someone who did just that when not even themselves fully understood the meaning of waiting and listening to the earth.
"What's your opinion, Shujinko? Do you think The Boulder would make a good Earthbending teacher for me?"
Aang's question interrupted Shujinko's train of thought. He turned his head to the side and raised both of his eyebrows in mild surprise. "Why do you want my opinion? I barely know anything about Earthbending,"
"Yeah, but you told me I needed to find a personal teacher of my own, and you've had one for years now, so you must know what qualities a teacher has to have, right?"
Shujinko rubbed his chin as he tried to come up with an answer. From his perspective, having a teacher and having a sensei were two different things. A teacher would teach students what they wanted to know, but a sensei would teach students what they needed to know. The reason why Shujinko saw Kakashi as a mentor rather than an instructor or a coach was because the Jounin had taught him more than just Ninjutsu: He had received life lessons from Kakashi, and he always tried to uphold the values his sensei had instilled into him. Shujinko wasn't sure if that was what the Avatar was looking for.
Knowing that this was hardly the time or the place to discuss the philosophical differences between a teacher and a sensei, Shujinko chose to give Aang a generic answer in order to keep things neutral. "I guess so, but it's still too early to decide. If I was you, I would pay attention to the rest of the fighters, but don't dismiss The Boulder as an option just yet," The Avatar had a hard time believing that The Boulder was the kind of teacher Bumi would've wanted him to learn Earthbending from, but he nevertheless acknowledged Shujinko's input by nodding his head in understanding.
The second fight started soon after, although calling it a 'fight' was a tad bit generous. The Boulder was paired against someone whose nickname was The Fire Nation Man. His nickname alone earned him loud boos from almost everyone who was present ("Go back to the Fire Nation, you clown!" Sokka shouted at the top of his lungs), and honestly, Shujinko wanted to boo at him as well for coming up with such a lame an uncreative moniker. In any case, as soon as the match started, The Fire Nation Man got on one knee and asked the crowd to sing the Fire Nation anthem along with him.
Needless to say, it didn't go well for him. The lower half of The Fire Nation Man's body was buried underground after The Boulder stomped his foot on the stone surface. While The Boulder raised the earth beneath his feet, the trapped fool begged for mercy, but none was granted as The Boulder jumped down from his column. All of the impact caused by The Boulder's thunderous landing was aimed at The Fire Nation Man, who was sent flying into the air like a rock thrown by a catapult. The whole thing ended in less than a minute.
The Boulder went on to reach the finals after pulverizing every single competitor who stood in his way. None of them had been able to give him a decent fight as The Boulder would overpower his opponents with almost no difficulty whatsoever. Ironically, the more he saw of The Boulder's evident prowess in Earthbending, the more convinced Aang became of his initial assessment: The Boulder wasn't the teacher Aang was looking for. He was too arrogant, too much of a meathead, and his Earthbending seemed to rely on nothing but brute force.
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The main event, the final match between the champion and the challenger, is here at long last!" Xin Fu shouted, making the audience go wild. The Avatar's shoulders slumped in disappointment. There was only one fight left, and so far, none of the combatants had been very convincing. It almost felt like a complete waste of time. "The Boulder has proven himself to be a mighty earthbender, but let's see if he has what it takes to become the best of the best. Ladies and gentlemen, I want a loud welcome for our reigning champion: The Blind Bandit!"
Much to Team Avatar's surprise, Earth Rumble's reigning champion was a girl, a girl younger than any of them. Unlike most of the fighters of the event, The Blind Bandit didn't waste her time with flashy entrances. She simply walked into the ring along with two attractive assistants that helped her take off the champion's belt that she carried. No tough gestures, no insults, no nothing. Her calm demeanor and the confident smirk on her face were every bit as imposing as The Boulder's presence was.
"The Blind Bandit? But… she can't possibly be blind. I mean, it's just part of her character, right?" Katara asked.
"… I'm not sure," Shujinko admitted. "Why would you call yourself The Blind Bandit unless you couldn't actually see? The nickname sounds cool and all, but it doesn't make much sense to use it if you're not blind,"
Sokka whistled. "They might as well hand the championship title to The Boulder right away. There's no way he's gonna lose to a blind girl,"
Shujinko didn't know what to think. After witnessing what some of these earthbenders could do, he found the idea of a blind girl being the current champion to be extremely unlikely. However, it was a fact that The Blind Bandit was the current champion, and Shujinko doubted she had earned that spot without fighting and winning her way through. He had to see what she was capable of before making any judgments.
The Boulder frowned as he stared at his rival. "The Boulder feels conflicted about having to fight a young and blind girl,"
"Is that so?" The Blind Bandit replied. "Because it sounds to me that you're just scared. Your nickname is The Boulder? I think you should call yourself 'The Pebble' instead,"
"… The Boulder no longer feels conflicted, and he's ready to bury you in a rockalanche!"
The Blind Bandit threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah right, as if I would ever lose to someone like you. Come on, The Pebble, show me what you got,"
As soon as he heard The Blind Bandit laughing, Aang's eyes went wide in shock. "That's it! She's the girl from my vision, the one who was playing with a Flying Boar!" he said, much to everyone's surprise. The moment he set his eyes on her, Aang was aware that The Blind Bandit bore a strong physical resemblance to the girl from his vision, even though the latter wore a fine dress made of silk and had her hair done more elegantly. However, all doubts were erased when he noticed that The Blind Bandit had the exact same laugh as her counterpart from the vision.
Not being one to answer kindly to taunts, The Boulder began his attack by running in a straightforward fashion like a bull chasing after a red flag. The moment her opponent took his first step, The Blind Bandit assumed a fighting stance. She waited for The Boulder to come a little closer before performing a low kick that sent a line of earth towards her enemy, who was too concentrated on his charge to notice it.
Before The Boulder could take his fifth step, the line of earth had already traveled to his position, catching his foot and forcing The Boulder to do a full split. His legs were nearly at a perfect 180-degree angle. "Ooooooooowww!" The Boulder howled in pain, making everyone in the public wince uncomfortably.
Now that her opponent was incapacitated (to say the least), The Blind Bandit punched the air, creating an earth column behind The Boulder's back. Said earth column kicked his lower rear so hard that the humiliated fighter was thrown out of the ring, his ego and his butt both heavily bruised. Earth Rumble VI's grand finale lasted for about thirty seconds. The crowd was as silent as a grave, still processing what they had just seen.
"We have a winner! The Blind Bandit is still Earth Rumble's reigning champion!" Xin Fu shouted. The stadium nearly exploded with cheers and praises directed at The Blind Bandit, who merely raised her fist in a victorious gesture. A couple of staff members were sent to help The Boulder since the man was still half unconscious and couldn't walk on his own.
"… Did… Did The Boulder lost just now?" Sokka asked in disbelief. He refused to accept that his favorite candidate to win the title had just been demolished by a little, fragile-looking girl that was blind. "How did this happen?"
"She won because she waited, and listened," Aang said with a huge smile, for he knew he had just found his Earthbending teacher. "I have to go down there and get her to listen to me. Once she finds out I'm the Avatar, I'm sure she'll be willing to teach me Earthbending. This might be my only opportunity!"
Shujinko furrowed his brow. "Calm down, Aang. We have to be smart about this. I can see why you want her to teach you Earthbending, but you can't risk exposing yourself as the Avatar here in such a crowded place. The last thing we need right now is unwanted attention, remember?" His words didn't seem to reach the Avatar, who looked like he was ready to stand up and walk over to where The Blind Bandit was.
"Now, as the customs of the event dictate, anyone from the public is allowed to challenge our reigning champion. Whoever manages to defeat The Blind Bandit will not only become the new champion, but will also be awarded this sack of gold," Xin Fu said. Shujinko stared at the monk's face, and he could almost hear an alarm bell going off. "What? Is no one here willing to accept the challenge?"
"I'll do it!"
If Toph had one complaint about being such a kickass earthbender, it was that she rarely got the chance to confront something or someone that could pose a challenge to her abilities, if ever.
Ever since she started competing in the Earth Rumble tournaments, it became clear to Toph that she was in a league of her own. All of the hotshots she had fought so far ended up eating the dust, to the point where winning matches was now her bread and butter. The only reason why Toph still participated was because the Earth Rumble tournaments were one of the very few instances where she could escape her home and be herself. There was that, and there was also the fact that she enjoyed the roar of the crowd after beating whatever chump who had the misfortune of being paired against The Blind Bandit.
Toph wasn't expecting anything unusual to happen tonight, which was why she was rather surprised when a voice from the crowd announced that he accepted the challenge proposed by Xin Fu.
"I'll do it!"
Those words alone were enough to start a symphony of whispers that echoed around the Arena. Toph herself raised an eyebrow. At first, it was difficult for her to pinpoint the location of the approaching challenger due to the number of people that were in the stadium, but after a short while, her feet sensed the earth's vibrations of whoever was walking up the stairs that lead to the ring.
"It looks like we have a taker! Let's give this brave young man a round of applause, please!" Xin Fu asked, and his request was obliged. It's not like the audience thought the boy had a real chance to win, but at least his courage was worthy of some recognition. "What's your name?" Xin Fu asked once all of the clapping was over.
"Shujin… I mean Lee… Rock Lee," Shujinko replied hastily. Giving out his real name could create potential complications for him and for the rest of Team Avatar, so he decided to use the name of his fellow comrade instead. Even though the real Rock Lee would most likely never find out about this, Shujinko sent a mental apology to his friend all the same.
Xin Fu frowned slightly. Judging by the way he answered, it was obvious that the teenager wanted to keep his real name to himself. In any case, as long as they had an appropriate nickname or alias, fighters weren't required to reveal their true identity and so Xin Fu shrugged it off. "Very well, then. This next match is between The Blind Bandit and Rock Lee! Let's get this started!"
"Did that guy just called Shujinko 'Rock Lee'?" Katara asked, wondering if her ears had deceived her.
"I know, right? He could've chosen a much cooler nickname, like 'The Shocking Shinobi' or 'The Nocturnal Ninja'. The possibilities were endless!" Sokka exclaimed as he stood up. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. Come on, Rock Lee! Do it! Avenge The Boulder!"
Aang didn't share half of Sokka's enthusiasm. In fact, he shared almost none of it. "Why did Shujinko decided to fight The Blind Bandit? He knows I have to talk to her. Doesn't he understand how important this is?" he asked no one in particular, annoyance all too clear in his voice. Aang was aware that Shujinko was just trying to keep him safe, but the fact that the Ozuma made the decision of approaching The Blind Bandit without even consulting him or either of the Water Tribe siblings beforehand bothered the Avatar a great deal. If something went wrong, his opportunity to learn Earthbending under the guidance of a teacher who waited and listened to the earth could be lost, maybe forever.
The waterbender of the group placed Shujinko's kunai holsters and back pouches next to her feet. Since no rule stated that the use of weaponry was allowed and Shujinko didn't want to take any risks, he asked Katara to keep an eye on them while he was busy. "Aang, I understand how you're feeling, but I think Shujinko was right. If you expose yourself as the Avatar, even if it is by accident, we could end up with a big problem on our hands. Besides, Shujinko said he had a plan that would help you meet The Blind Bandit. Let's just lay back and see what happens, alright?"
Taking a deep breath, Aang did his best to remain calm and fixated his gaze on the ring, where Shujinko and The Blind Bandit were about to start their fight. He didn't like where this was going, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He just hoped that Shujinko's plan, whatever that was, would somehow work.
"Let me tell you something, tough guy: You must be pretty brave or pretty stupid if you think you can beat me," Toph said out loud, beginning the classic trash talk that most fighters were so fond of.
Toph's ability to sense earth vibrations had already given her fairly accurate information about the individual whom she was going up against. Her opponent was a boy a couple of years older than her with average height and weight. He wore a metallic headband around his forehead, not that she knew why or cared about it. Toph came close to labeling the guy as completely normal.
Close, because there was one thing that caught her attention, and that was his body. For some reason, it seemed to be considerably more developed than what one would expect from someone who was fourteen-years-old. She could tell his advanced physique was different from the rest. Whoever this teenager was, he clearly enjoyed working out.
However, it took more than that to intimidate someone like Toph. She'd been beating guys more than twice her size ever since she joined this tournament, opponents who were much stronger in physical terms than this so-called Rock Lee. Muscles meant nothing when you were lying defenselessly on the ground, and that was exactly the lesson Toph was going to teach this newcomer the hard way.
"Heh, maybe I'm just a bit of both," Shujinko replied, doing a couple of stretches to get his body warmed up. Now that the two of them were at a close distance, Shujinko took a close look at The Blind Bandit. Her eyes were quite pale, telling him that she was indeed blind, and her fair skin almost seemed to be made of porcelain. Her physical features pretty much screamed nobility, rather odd given the circumstances. If her hair was bluer, and if her irises were white instead of pale jade, Shujinko could've easily mistaken her for Hinata Hyuuga. "In any case, before we get on with our fight, there's something I want to talk to you about. I want to make a small deal with you,"
"A small deal with me?" Toph repeated. "Sorry Rock Lee, but I'm not interested in making any deals. Now get ready to get your butt handed to you,"
Shujinko frowned. He was hoping that The Blind Bandit would at least hear him out before they had to exchange blows, but apparently, the Hinata of this part of the world was nothing like the real Hinata, who was respectful and maybe even too kind for her own good. 'Looks like I have no choice but to go with plan B,'
DING DING
As soon as the fight began, Shujinko jumped back in order to gain some distance from his opponent. Under normal circumstances, he would've had no trouble using his shinobi abilities to end the match as soon as possible, but there were several factors that he had to take into account, factors that heavily limited his course of action. The fact that hundreds of people were watching him was an issue in and of itself, but the main problem was getting The Blind Bandit to listen to his proposal and agree to it before he bested her. A quick KO was not an option.
"What's the matter? Too scared to fight me?" Toph taunted him after adopting a standard Earthbending stance, ready to react to each and every one of Rock Lee's attacks.
"Not at all, but I saw what you can do when you fought against The Boulder. I'm not making the same mistake he did," Shujinko said, adopting a fighting stance of his own. "You can start shooting rocks whenever you want unless you're the one who's scared to fight me,"
Rock Lee wasn't as dumb as his nickname was, Toph noticed. Her fighting style was mostly based on fast counters, meaning that she usually allowed her enemies to make the first move before responding. Her opponent had caught on to that, so he jumped away to a safer distance and waited for her to make the first move instead. He even returned her taunting just to push her buttons. Not a bad start, she admitted.
"Alright, but no crying, got it?" Toph stomped the ground with her foot, raising a single rock that was roughly the same shape as a watermelon. Then, she broke the rock in half and threw both chunks at him with two fast punching motions. While she generally avoided attacking first, the blind earthbender thought she might as well play with him for a while before her inevitable victory.
Without moving from his spot, Shujinko shifted his shoulders to one side and then ducked down, evading the two rocks aimed at his chest. As soon as he did that, he saw a column of earth coming straight at him. Since he didn't have enough time to dodge the attack, the Chunin jumped over the column, placed his hands on top of it and pushed himself out of the way.
Even though he landed in a completely different position, Toph seemed to know exactly where he was, as she immediately turned her head around to the spot where he was now standing. The Blind Bandit didn't waste any time and performed an uppercut motion, raising another column. Shujinko jumped to the left, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he was nearly caught off guard by another column that popped up right in front of him. It was thanks to his training that he managed to evade the second column and the one that came after.
'I don't understand how she does it. Even though she's blind, she can still sense my movements somehow. What kind of trick is she using?' Shujinko thought as he narrowed his eyes.
"You're quick on your feet, I'll give you that, but can you do anything else besides running or is that the only thing you're good at?" The Blind Bandit asked.
'This is your chance, Shujinko. It's now or never,' "I suppose I could take you seriously, but why would I do that? You haven't even heard what my earlier proposition was,"
"You take me seriously?" Instead of getting offended, Toph let out a chuckle. That kind of insult was exactly like something that would come out of her mouth. "Alright, I'll bite. What's this deal you were talking about?"
"There's a friend of mine who wants to talk to you. It's very important. If I win, you'll agree to listen to what my friend has to say. If I lose, then you can forget about me and everything I just asked you to do,"
Toph raised an eyebrow. Rock Lee was willing to fight her just so that a friend of his could have the opportunity to speak to her? She didn't know what to think of such a request, but in the end, she supposed it didn't matter given how there was no way she was going to lose. "Fine, whatever. I'll talk to your friend if you win, which is not gonna' happen,"
'Gotcha. Plan B is working,' The Chunin smirked. "Thanks… Now, let's go!" Shujinko exclaimed as crouched slightly, placing his palms on the ground. Then, much to everyone's shock, he started sprinting towards The Blind Bandit using some of his real speed.
'W-What the…!' Out of pure instinct, Toph created an earth wave from the ground and rode on it until she reached the other side of the ring. This helped her avoid getting caught by her opponent, who had just finished his single run, but Toph's heart was still pounding her chest. 'How can he move so fast? I didn't even have enough time to make a counterattack!'
What spooked her the most was feeling all those earth vibrations coming her way, like being in front of a running Eel Hound. Before the match had begun, Toph had already figured out that Rock Lee was faster than an average teenager after receiving the earth vibrations that his body emitted, but she wasn't expecting that level of speed from her opponent. The new guy had some tricks up his sleeve, after all.
'In that case…'
Shujinko started running again, but this time, The Blind Bandit was prepared. Pressing both her closed fists against their opposite shoulders, she borrowed a move from The Gopher and buried herself deep into the ground, leaving a tunnel-like hole behind. The golden-eyed teen stopped dead on his tracks and stared at his surroundings, wondering which spot the girl was going to emerge from.
CRAAACK
'Behind me!' As soon as he heard the ground fissuring behind his back, Shujinko turned around to face The Blind Bandit… but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what came out of the second hole was a large chunk of rock roughly shaped as her. 'What?'
CRAAACK
A third hole opened behind his back, and the real earthbender emerged from it. The blind girl raised her hands and sent a wall of stone at him. The Ozuma reacted too slowly and was barely able to place his hands against the wall, which did nothing as the wall continued to push him closer and closer to the edge. 'Damn it, it was a distraction!' Shujinko cursed. He looked over his shoulder and saw that he was ten feet away from falling out of the ring.
While most spectators (meaning literally everyone but Sokka, Katara, and Aang) had already given up on him, Shujinko refused to lose like this. Just when the wall was about to push him off the edge, the brown-haired ninja climbed on top of it and used it as a foothold to throw himself back into the ring right when the wall began its descent into the lower ground. The audience, fascinated by his risky maneuver, let out a 'Whoaaaaa' and applauded Shujinko for lasting so long against The Blind Bandit.
'That was too close. I could've lost the fight right there… but her tactic has given me an idea,' Shujinko thought. The Blind Bandit was on the other side of the ring waiting for him in her usual stance. She knew his speed was going to be a problem for her, so she placed herself as far away as she could in order to feel his presence from a distance and have more time to counter his attacks. It was a smart strategy, but fortunately for him, she was exactly where he needed her to be. 'If this drags on, she might force me to use more of my shinobi abilities. That would be too risky, so my next shot has to end the fight. Blind Bandit, you're a darn good earthbender and I can see why Aang wants to learn from you, but for that to happen, I have to defeat you. I'm sure you'll eventually forgive me,'
After taking a deep breath, Shujinko began to sprint at a moderate speed so that his opponent knew exactly where he was moving. The Blind Bandit retaliated by shooting several rocks of various sizes at him, but the Chunin dodged all of them by rotating his body around and performing full spins as he ran. Once he reached the middle of the ring, Shujinko dodged another incoming rock and, as he rotated, he began weaving a certain set of hand signs.
By the time the penultimate hand sign had been performed, Shujinko was only a couple of feet away from The Blind Bandit.
'You're mine!' Toph shouted inside her head, extending her arms and releasing an earth column from the ground, which was sent directly at him. The distance between Rock Lee and her attack was so short that it was practically impossible for him to evade it…
… ZIIIIIP
Seconds before the earth column could make contact, the Ozuma made use of the reflexes and the speed he had earned thanks to Kakashi's training, and to the untrained eye, Shujinko almost became a blur that appeared behind The Blind Bandit's back. That was when Shujinko weaved the last hand sign he needed to perform his technique.
For a brief moment, Toph's heart stood still, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Both her feet and her mind were still assimilating the fact that, somehow, the teenager she was fighting against had disappeared right in front of her face. Her shock was so huge that it took her a couple of seconds to come back to her senses, and when she did, Toph realized her opponent was facing her back, as if waiting for his presence to be acknowledged by her.
But as soon as she turned her body around, Shujinko had already gotten behind her again. The last thing The Blind Bandit heard before Shujinko pointed his open palm between her shoulder blades was the inexplicable, out-of-place sound of the wind soughing.
'Wind Style: Gale Palm!'
Using his Wind Release technique, Shujinko pushed the earthbender hard enough to knock her out of the ring. He restrained himself from using the jutsu at its full power since he didn't want to cause her any serious injuries. Shujinko also made sure to stop his hand inches away from her back before releasing the gale of wind, because otherwise his jutsu would've torn a hole in her clothes and hurt her skin. The brown-haired teen did his best to try to make it look like he had simply pushed his opponent using his natural strength rather than using Airbending, or at least the equivalent of Airbending in this part of the world.
Even with all of the precautions that Shujinko took, Toph still had a bit of a rough landing, but that was all the harm she suffered. He felt a little guilty over using Ninjutsu against a blind girl that had no way of defending herself against it, but he didn't have much of a choice given how the other alternative was using direct physical attacks, and he seriously doubted The Blind Bandit could've withstood his Taijutsu.
A silence worthy of a graveyard took place. No one dared to utter a word, not even Xin Fu, who had never witnessed something this astonishing in all of his years that he spent as a fighter and organizer of the Earth Rumble tournaments.
…
"… Woo-hoo! He did it! Rock Lee defeated The Blind Bandit and avenged The Boulder!"
Sokka's cheers shook the rest of the audience out of their numbness, and all of a sudden, the spectators went wild, clapping and shouting their lungs out. This had been, without a shadow of a doubt, the most entertaining Earth Rumble tournament they had ever attended due to the amazing Earthbending displayed and the epic finale between the champion and the unknown underdog. A little embarrassed by all of the attention and not really knowing what else to do, Shujinko clumsily waved his hands at the crowd as a way of thanking their support. Ninjas weren't meant to be on the spotlight.
The sporadic moment of awkwardness faded away the moment Shujinko caught sight of The Blind Bandit leaving the stage. "Hey, where are you going?" Shujinko asked as he approached the edge of the ring.
"I'm leaving," was her answer. She didn't even bother to turn around when she replied.
"Leaving? But we had a deal!"
"I don't care what our deal was! Just stay away from me!"
Shujinko tried to stop her, but the young earthbender made a rectangular hole in a wall, got inside and closed the wall back together before he could do anything about it. "Hey, you can't just walk away like that! Don't be so inmat… You promised me you would talk to my friend!" His words never reached The Blind Bandit, for the two of them were now separated by several layers of rocks and hard soil.
The Ozuma turned his head around and, much to his dismay, the rest of Team Avatar was behind him. Sokka was holding the champion's belt and gleefully rubbing the bag of gold against his cheek, seemingly unaware of the situation at hand. Katara had a growing look of concern on her face while Aang was just staring at him in disbelief. Shujinko felt like a fresh out of the Academy Genin after screwing up his very first C-rank mission with his team.
Knowing that he owed them an explanation, the golden-eyed teen gathered all the professionalism and the expertise he could muster at the moment…
"… That was… not part of my plan,"
Aaaaaand that was chapter 6 part 1. Hope you all like it.
When I started writing this chapter, I didn't think I would have to split the episode in two. However, this is already 9.000 words-long and I'm only halfway done, so I'll have to continue the episode of The Blind Bandit in the next chapter. Since Shujinko has already reached the main storyline, I'll do my best to cut some of the fat from the next episodes so that you guys don't have to read the same events that are portrayed in the show (unless I can do something interesting with them).
I'm glad I finally got to write another fight scene. It was interesting to add Toph's point of view to the story, and I sure hope both her thoughts and her actions during the fight were realistic enough. Let me know in your reviews how you think the fight scene came out. Also, what do you think about Shujinko using Rock Lee's name? Despite its mainly comedic effect, I thought it was also fitting since 'Rock' naturally belongs to Earthbending and 'Lee' is a common name in the Fire Nation's colonies.
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Peace!