Chapter 30: Children of the damned
Kishimoto-sensei. I was wrong about you.
The crowd went wild after Killer-B's introduction.
I might have thought your world was 'nonsensical', 'simplistic', when I read your life's work as a teenager.
Everyone in the stadium screamed at the top of their lungs because they thought he was 'so cool'.
I might have found your writing to be poor when the heroes got stronger without explanation, as hardworking people were just swept away and never brought again after they finished their usefulness.
The crowd started chanting about how they loved him.
I was disappointed that you drew a complex world, full of life, with different cultures, politics, intrigues… But only focused on the my-fist-in-your-face-no-jutsu… As I awakened into this world and started to find my own nindo, I started to think you were an unreliable narrator.
But you were right about this...
Killer-B sucks at rap.
So, please accept my apologies.
"Soooo… That was a thing." Kyougi-sensei said as we were all baffled by the… Thing we just heard.
"The last verses didn't even rhymes…" Kasumi said, flabbergasted.
"First time in Kumo, I presume?" The guy on our right chuckled.
Our attention immediately focused on the person sitting close to Kyougi-sensei, who immediately jerked back in shock under the attention.
"Oh. Right, foreign shinobis. My apologies." The guy quickly calmed down and lower his head. He looked like any another random civilian, dressed in casual clothes but carrying a stack of drawing implements.
"I'm sorry. I'm not used to dealing with foreigners… I'm Honma Yoake, blacksmith by trade."
"Here to watch other countries weapons?" Kyougi-sensei said, and Moon-moon made me understand through our headspace that our sensei was extremely wary of him.
"Of course!" He said, seemingly unaware that he was talking to a former Konoha intelligence division member.
"Here in Kumo, we rely on observation, acquisition and improvement. What we can't create, we acquire! What we acquire, we improve!" The guy continued to talk in high spirit like he was reciting a corporate slogan. "Since there is a team from Kiri, who are famous for their legendary sword-smith techniques, I HAD to be there!"
At that point, I noticed that Kasumi murderous intent was raising, mixed with a feeling of confusion.
Besides their Jinchurikis, Kumo was famous for one thing. They had no blood-limit, so they 'acquire' them. Without asking. They never hid that, Hinata's failed kidnapping attempt was well known but not the only time they tried this.
Was Yugito Nii 'acquired' or did she voluntarily come here?
Did my teammate even know the answer?
"Killer-B-sama is well known for his 'personal' branch of improvisation." The guy continued speaking while smiling, completely unaware of the rising anger of my female teammate.
"You'll get used to it. He always starts with a pre-written script, but as soon as he gets heated up, he changes it! To be honest, it wasn't his worse 'flow', as he calls it. Think you could do better?"
The merchant looked at us with amused eyes as the Genins were lining up in the arena.
"For the first day, we'll have two rounds,
So let's see how you'll stand your ground,
You get knocked out? Then you'll just loose,
You stall your fight? It's alright, we will choose,
Because thirty minutes is now your limit,
And don't even think that you can pass it,
So, whatever, lit your opponent in a blaze,
Or simply run the clock, it works either ways,
But if you go for the kill or excessive injury,
Then I'll stop you, 'cause this is my duty,
Knock-out, time-out, find your own way to win,
And that's all for the rules, so let's begin !
And I'm not too proud about the last verse… Lacks a little something…"
I said as the initial applause of the crowd was only beginning to falter. Killer-B was truly loved.
I'll admit, I used my Focus to find the lyrics. Giving me enough time to think about a word that rhymes with "blaze".
Rap was weird. I'm more of a heavy-metal person; lyrics were only secondary to melody and rhythm. If the words didn't rhyme, no one will care if the singer's voice was good and the melody rocks.
But now wasn't the time to think about it, because the merchant from before was looking at me with a strange expression.
Then the first matches began.
Hozuki Suigetsu faced a young girl from Amegakure, the village hidden in the Rain. Pain's village, if Hanzo the Salamander have already been killed. Never understood this village's timeline.
The little girl summoned water around her and throw the equivalent of a tsunami toward him. That was an impressive show of Ninjutsu, coming from such a young girl, but…
Using water against Suigetsu? That was a Fucking Bad Idea.
F.B.I, for short.
After the one-sided beatdown between a water-affinity kunoichi and a boy that was water, Suigetsu took the time to fetch her unconscious body before she drowned and carried her toward the medical area.
Wait, since when Suigetsu cared about other people? It somehow felt weird coming from what I remembered about him...
On the other field, Aozora Kiriko was matched against another boy from Suna. He was probably wind affinity like me because he was using a kusarigama (a sickle attached to a chain) and used wind chakra to alter the trajectory of his weapon and aim for her blind spot at the last second. And when it didn't work, he began to use bigger techniques. Used more complex strategies in order to box the elusive Aozora who simply avoided him.
It would have been a perfect demonstration and mastery of his affinity if…
If everyone in the stadium wasn't watching the real Kiriko sitting at the opposite end of the arena, watching with a bored expression as her opponent kept using jutsu after jutsu, exhausting himself on the mist clone she was manipulating while staying concealed by a targeted genjutsu…
Kiri naturally won the first two round.
After the proctors finished clearing the flood resulting from the water damage from Suigetsu match (and it wasn't even his fault), the second round began.
Next was an Amegakure Genin against a Kumogakure one, and Mizushima Mitsuki against a boy from Suna.
The first match was nothing special. The kid from Cloud was a swordsman and kept attacking without thinking. The Rain kid, on the other hand, kept creating water clones and evading.
Each one was obliterated instantly but… They were loaded with poison and the Genin simply collapsed after a few attacks. Well, this guy won't be promoted, that's for sure...
In the meantime, the second fight attracted much more attention.
Mizushima Mitsuki was fighting against another boy from Suna. The kid used ninja wires with deadly efficiency as he tried his best to capture the nimble girl in front of him.
But every time his threads came close to capture her, she nimbly dodged them at the last second and send a seal-less water bullet on every weak point he displayed.
Unfortunately, that kind of attack couldn't really disable her opponent. The Suna-nin finally saw her pattern and managed to get her left hand and feet tangled in his wires.
But the girl just smiled. Then she grabbed the wire that kept her with her right hand and channelled a lightning jutsu through it.
The resulting shock knocked out both fighters and the fight ended in a draw.
"Too bad…" The civilian on our right said. "I bet a lot on the Mizushima being promoted… Well, can't win every time…".
"What? She did the right thing!" Kasumi said while looking at the merchant.
"Kasumi-chan, that's enough." Kyougi-sensei coldly said while looking at the arena.
The two fighters were taken out of the field, but our eyes were turned to our sensei.
She tried her best to ignore us, but after a while she turned her gaze toward the blacksmith on her side and her shoulders slumped.
"Alright, alright…I tried… Kids, what do you think is a Chunin?"
"A strong shinobi?" Yama asked.
"Someone that see what's behind the fight." Said Neji.
"A leader." I finished.
"Correct, Chunins do not really need to be strong. It helps for the 'staying alive' thing, but above all they are leaders. They are the one that organise missions with a team and do everything so that it is completed. Even at the cost of their life.
What Mizushima-san did depend on the context. She faced an opponent she couldn't beat. So, she sacrificed herself to knock out her opponent."
"She had no other choice, what did she gained from it?" Yama insisted innocently.
"Imagine this situation." Sensei said. "You have been tasked to retrieve an important document with a team of Genin; you got the information but you are spotted on your way out. Enemies are approaching but you do not know their number nor strength. You have one chance to save the mission. One chance, two choices." Kyougi-sensei continued.
"As the fastest of your team, you can order your Genin to buy you time and escape. Your team die but the mission is a success.
Or, as the strongest of your team, you give the document to your team and stay behind to delay the pursuers. You die but the mission is a success."
"Now, Genins." Kyougi-sensei raised a finger. "Which one would you want as your leader?"
Yama lowered his head. He was neither the fastest nor the strongest, of course he would want the second one.
"I want to say that I would stay behind but…" I joined him in shame. "After I left my team to gather the battery during the second exam, I'm not so sure… Looks like I have a little introspection to do…"
"It's good that you realized it, Shinji-kun. I planned to have a talk about that with you after our return. Which brings me to my next point." Sensei then turned a suspicious eye toward Yoake-san that was ignoring our conversation and cheering.
Why did she kept doing that? I'm starting to become paranoid myself!
"What do you think is the point of the first two exams?"
"To thin the herd?" I replied automatically while raising an eyebrow.
"Correct, but there is more to that. The first exam test how you adapt when placed in an unknown situation with minimal information. The second test your teamwork in an enemy infested environment. Who takes charge, who is more trusted, how people react when encountering opposition, things like that. By the way, the third exam is also not only about strength, but about how much information about unknown opponents you can gather during the time given and how you plan around it."
"But back to the fight." Sensei turned to look at the two Genins that were being transported in stretchers.
"When Mizushima-chan 'sacrificed' herself, there wasn't an ounce of hesitation in her actions. It should be pretty obvious which kind of Chunin she will become. In Konoha she would have been promoted just for that, even if she didn't display any outstanding feat in the first two exams. On the same note, Itomi's team were commended as they managed to secure an alliance with the team from Kiri. They will pass if they could prove their strength in the old-fashioned way."
Yeah… Ume probably just didn't want to die by unmasking Kabuto… I'll keep that to myself.
Speaking of which, the next opponents took the field. Akebino Chojuro was against the pretty-guy of Kabuto's team.
He didn't last long.
He was fast, agile and proficient with long attack jutsus, but Chojuro wanted none of that. Each time the Konoha-nin evaded, Chojuro was right on top of him in a flash. After the third jump, a quick slash ended the match.
"Damn… And that match-up was to his advantage… I hope I didn't jinx them…" Sensei whined, seeing the Konoha Genin being brought back to the medical tent.
"We'll find out soon." Yama pointed toward the other fight that was continuing on the second field. On it, A kumo-nin with tonfa was beating the lights out of a Suna boy. I would have winced in pain if I couldn't hear that each hit made a hollow sound. Not what you expect from metal hitting flesh.
After a while, the Suna boy dropped lifelessly to the ground, leaving the Kumo-nin catching his breath after the barrage of attacks he just delivered. In a flash, the corpse on the ground flew directly toward him, grabbed him in a hold with limbs obviously made of wood and spew green smoke directly into his face.
The tonfa-nin fell on the ground, fast asleep, and the obvious puppet flew toward the real Suna-nin that was staying behind one of the rocks on the arena. He was declared the winner as I was distracted by the fact that the young boy didn't have any facial paint like Kankuro.
The next matches, however, were extremely more interesting.
On the left side, Itomi-kun was fighting against 'Raiton' Buruto. The Kumo-nin that 'disqualified' us.
On the right side… Kabuto was facing Hamasaki Gonmaru.
"Come on, Kabuto-kun…" Don't give up… Remember your training… You can do it!" Sensei was nervously biting her fingernails.
"You think he can win?" My surprised question came out before I could really think about what I was saying.
"Yeah. I've been training them for the past week. They all have their strength but Kabuto-kun is… Something else." Sensei continued; her eyes never leaving the arena.
On the field, the two ninjas eyed each other. Kabuto had an analytical gaze while Gonmaru looked… Curious.
"Kabuto-kun have a solid Chakra-control and Chunin-grade reflexes. I trained with him the most because I believe he has the greatest chance to make it. But he lacks self-confidence. He just needs the right drive because no-one believes in him."
Yeah. No. Sorry sensei, he lied to you.
As the referee started the fight, Kabuto immediately charged toward his opponent.
Huh? A direct charge against a physically stronger opponent? He's throwing the fight that obviously?
Then, just before making contact, while Gonmaru threw a half-hearted punch on his face, Kabuto dodged and created three clones at the last second, who scattered around his opponent.
I did a double take.
The Hamasaki was now surrounded. The clones kept Gonmaru's attention on them with false attacks and feints while the real Kabuto placed kunai-launchers and explosives traps while his opponent was distracted.
"Good, Kabuto-kun. You have him boxed, come on..." Sensei murmured, eyes riveted on the fight. "Just a little push…"
Gonmaru then punched his fist together and the earth responded to his Jutsu. Spires appeared around the feet of the clones and immediately impaled them. Knowing he was discovered; Kabuto smiled and, with a quick hand sign, activated all the traps he had placed.
The Kiri-nin was instantly pelted with kunai, shuriken and explosive notes… Smoke filled the arena for a second as I unconsciously held my breath. But the bulky boy emerged from it, unharmed, uncaring and started to walk toward the now defenseless Kabuto, who took a step back in fear.
"Shit…" Sensei cursed under her breath and redirected her gaze to us. "That kid weakness is in his heart. He has the brain for it but now he has lost. Watch him and learn."
It was obvious that Kabuto had lost. When the realisation that his plan had failed, he immediately jumped backward as Gonmaru continued his slow advance. Kabuto launched kunai after kunai, to no effect. They all bounced back against the Behemoth skin. Kabuto kept moving backward, his eyes changing from 'determination' to 'despair', facing an opponent he couldn't stop. Then a simple punch in his stomach from the Kiri-nin sent him to Never-land.
"And that's the end for him." Sensei concluded grimly. "His plan was good but the pressure got to him and he and failed to think of a countermeasure. Maybe I should meet his Sensei to give him a better training plan…"
The mental image of Nara Kyougi eagerly explaining to Orochimaru 'how to properly nurture your Genins' immediately called me back to the reality of the situation.
If I didn't know whoKabuto really was, I would have been convinced by his show.
Hell, I would have rooted for him…
No wonder he could fool his way through so many Chuunin exams. He was just that good of an actor…
On the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Ume was trying lit Kabuto on fire with her mind. Unlike me, she wasn't fooled in the least.
Yama and Neji looked at me, thinking about what I told them. Thankfully, they didn't comment.
While the Konoha-nins were dragged out of the arena (Itomi apparently took one electrified hit from the Kumo-nin gauntlet and immediately fell down), the next two matches entered the ring.
Minami versus a Kumo kunoichi, who wielded a small sword that looked like a butcher cleaver.
Konoko (the Leaf kunoichi) versus another one from Ame.
Sensei and I immediately shared a knowing look and focused on the first fight.
When the referee signalled the beginning of the duel, the Kumo-nin immediately jumped toward her opponent and slashed at her in a beheading strike.
All for naught, because at the last second Minami used a replacement Jutsu with a huge rock and the cleaver ricocheted against it.
"Ouch… That can't be good for the poor blade…" Yoake, our neighbourhood blacksmith, whined as the recoil of the failed hit made the Kumo-nin take a few steps back. Then an explosive tag apparently placed on the rock detonated, forcing the girl to shield her face against the heat with her hands.
Immediately, the real Minami appeared on her undefended right side. A punch to her spleen, a kick to her left knee and a final elbow to her jaw immediately followed.
As the poor kunoichi managed to kick her consciousness back into order after the beat-down, Minami simply waited a few meters in front of her. Her arms crossed behind her and a kind smile on her lips.
The swordswoman finally got on her feet and resumed her fighting stance against her opponent. Then, after a few hand seals, did a horizontal slash against her.
The low powered wind blade (probably not her element, I guess) simply dispelled the mist clone she was facing.
The little girl's eyes opened in shock before the real Minami punched her right lung from behind, followed by another kick to her right knee and a final punch to her back, for good measure.
"So, carbon from Wave is not a good mix with iron from Snow… Density too low, lack of resistance against schist, low chakra-conductivity… Good for cutting but bad solidity... Maybe carbon from Rock? Need to find a proper ratio…"
I watched as Yoake was scribbling notes and diagrams on the papers he brought with him, before dismissing him as irrelevant and going back to the fight.
The Kumo girl managed to stand upright-ish after having both of her legs shot and found herself surrounded by five mist clones of Minami. All with the same posture and smile.
Unmoving, the clones let her opponent stabilise herself as the poor girl took her fighting stance again.
For a few second, nothing happened. Then the smiling 'Minamis' started circling against their trapped opponent.
The swordswoman tried to follow their patterns, looking left and right for anything that could betray the real one. Until finally, the 'Minami' right behind her slowly uncrossed her arms from her back and silently took a kunai.
Just like she was expecting it, the Kumo-nin immediately charged forward and slashed at the 'Minami' in front of her, who screamed, bled and fell to the ground.
As the Kumo-nin fell on her knees, using a healing jutsu on herself while breathing heavily, the Mist clones dispersed at once. Even the one she slashed.
And the real Minami put a kunai on her throat from behind and the match was called.
"Impressive." Kuroko said while the Genins left the arena. Minami was stretching like she had a nice walk in the park as her opponent was fending off medical-nin that wanted her checked. "You should both learn from this. She fought smart and used brutal but precise taijutsu combinations while completely disrupting her opponent thoughts, simply by appearing harmless. Hmmm… Maybe I should ask her to teach you. She has talent."
Kasumi looked chastised while I send a quick glare at Sensei. Who nodded approvingly. Traitor.
The next matches weren't as interesting. Unfortunately.
After Konoko, the last shinobi from leaf, completely dominated her fight in a display of elemental jutsus that left her opponent burning, twitching and very unconscious, Kishi Hiroshi and some no-name shinobi from Ame were both facing local talents.
The second fight was so banal, back and forth attacks without any strategy, that no one took attention to it, while Hiroshi seems to be playing around his opponent. The kumo shinobi was wearing a metal armor with an electrical generator on his back to reinforce his Jutsus.
The blonde boy answered this by cycling Fire, Lightning, Wind and Earth techniques on him, testing the limits of his opponent gear. Then, after performing a seven hand-sign jutsu while the Kumo-nin was catching his breath, created a tornado made of fire. His armor started to melt as his generator began to overload. The proctors had to interrupt the match before the damage was irrecuperable and Kishi Hiroshi, not even winded, walked back to the contestant lounge as the intermission started.
Killer-B walked on stage, with his beat-box-sidekick accompanying him. This was going to be painful…
"Welcome to our exam and welcome from me!
Your number one proctor: Killer B!
I really hope you enjoyed the fights,
As did I, I mean, what a sight!
Kumo's still in the race, as is only just!
Suna's also there, we knew they must!
But Konoha showed strength and skill in battle,
And they have one last chance to show their mettle!
Now for the next rounds, we'll have a dark horse!
Because Kiri still hasn't shown their worth!
Their last kunoichi remaining a mystery,
It's now time for Konoha versus Kiri!
The Chunin exam will resume in two hours!
I hope you'll be there and please be louder!
So feast! Reveal! Have some fun!
Let Kumogakure show you how it's done!"
"I'll… Be honest, I expected worse." I managed to say while the spectators left their seat to get some food. I noticed that Ume was clapping, much to the surprise of her group. She just shrugged at their reaction.
"Told you, B-sama's flow is hit or miss, but I guess he felt moved by what we saw." Yoake said while standing up. "Anyway, I have new potential clients to meet. See you there in two hours? I recommend the yakisoba stand if you don't know where to eat. A friend of mine owns it."
The blacksmith left, and we all moved outside of the arena to grab some food.
It was good, to be honest. Kumo had grills, deep fried and finger food available, they even had cotton-candy machines. Oh yeah, they were showing off their technological prowess.
We just grabbed some yakisoba (sensei paid, thanks kamis, because they were good but fucking expensive) and went back to the stadium to eat them. After a short while, Yoake came back to his seat and started writing things on the papers he brought with him.
On the field, Suigetsu was facing a Genin from the Land of Water. It went as well as you should expect. Less than a minute later, the unfortunate Genin was send back to the medical tent while Suigetsu was left wondering why his opponent struggled when being drowned, like it didn't make any sense to him.
Simultaneously, Chojuro faced the Suna puppet user. He did a good show, extremely aggressive while keeping an air bubble in his head to shield him from the poison. But after the allotted time, the blue haired boy was forced to defend against the puppet and couldn't pinpoint the real position of his enemy and was declared the looser.
I noticed that the future Mizukage accepted the outcome with grace.
Aozora Kiriko was put against an Ame-nin who was proficient in clones. To put it simply, the arena was filled with physical clones (from Ame) and illusion ones (from Kiri). The physical clones kept trying to hit every 'Kiriko' they found, while the young girl stayed out of the fight and sent kunais where she thought her opponent might be. Finally, while the Ame's clones where fighting an exhausting fight against the cheaper illusions, their caster was hit by a kunai on her shoulder and fell. Exhausted and chakra-deprived, she surrendered.
Kiri was starting to dominate the exam.
The next matches began. Hamasaki Gonmaru faced a Kenjutsu fighter from Kumo.
I will admit it, I felt sorry for him.
The boy I pinned as a 'tank' didn't disappoint. Every attack his opponent managed; his stone-like skin shrugged off. Hell, his clothes weren't even cut. As a shinobi, he was slow, but after a while he got close enough, taking slash after slash that should kill a human without care and grabbed his opponent's throat.
Kiri won, again.
On the other field, I was surprised to see Minami lose. She fought Buruto and he was expecting her techniques. So, her bait and switch tactics didn't work, she made him pay for every inch he gained but… One lucky punch with his electrical gauntlets while she was trying to create some distance sealed her fate.
And then, as Killer-B said, it was time for Sumire Ume to take the field.
Our team watched as the masked girl walked in the center of the arena, facing Konoko from our village. A Ninjutsu-type facing a kenjutsu-type. In theory, the long-distance fighter would be advantaged by that kind of match-up but…
The Proctor lowered his hand and send the signal as Konoko began to sign something.
"AAAAAAH!"
In an impressive display of her Wind affinity, Ume 'catapulted' herself forward and slammed the pommel of her sword into Konoko's chest. Immediately after, while the doomed girl tried to protect herself, she grabbed her right arm and broke her shoulder. Along with her wrist. And elbow, for good measure.
Konoko jumped a few steps behind her to create some distance and grabbed her now disabled arm. That was smart from the Red Rabbit. Our kunoichi might be able to do one-handed Jutsus but the blatant difference in strength probably sent her mind in disarray.
After a few seconds spent uselessly glaring at the smaller girl, Konoko tried to fetch something from her kunai pouch with her remaining hand.
That only meant that she was defenseless when Ume did the same trick and crushed her nose with her scabbard. As our compatriot immediately dropped the tag she fetched out of her pouch to reflexively hold her injury, Ume easily grabbed her limb and disabled it.
"And Konoha's out. Damn it, and I had such good odds that one of them would be promoted… Poor ol' Shikaku isn't going to like my report…" Sensei whined as Ume held up her arms and asked Killer-B to end the match.
I noticed that Yoake-san looked at Kyougi with a hit of curiosity, but soon went back to his papers.
"Alright kids, that's it for today." She said while standing up and stretching herself. "Let's enjoy the festival for a while and go to sleep. Tomorrow's matches will be interesting."
And so, we did. Night was slowly falling on the village hidden in the clouds as the streets of the festival were lit by electrical poles, another show of technological strength.
Just like our 'night date' with Bakasumi, people were eating, drinking and chatting without a care in the world. But this time it made me feel uneasy.
"Hey, you alright there, Shinji-kun?" Kyougi-sensei asked me, worry in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine… I don't know. I just feel like it's…"
Then I cut myself short, because I understood why I felt that way.
Last week, we were fighting for our life. I witnessed a twelve-year-old die in an explosion. From what we gathered after, three Genins… Three CHILDREN died in the second exam.
Today, we watched them throwing deadly attacks and killing strikes against each other, without hesitation.
And people were happily chatting about it, betting on children killing each other for sport...
This was… normal.
"Should they…" I began, unable to keep my voice from shaking. "Should we… Really celebrate all of this…?"
Kasumi snorted while Yama looked down. Neji kept his poker face as Kyougi Nara put her hand on my head, in a rare display of motherly care.
"Yes. Yes, we should." Her voice sounded… Distant. Resigned and sad. "Because the alternative is way worse." Then she withdrew her hand and turned toward Neji, who had his Byakugan active under his hat.
"Have you found them, Neji-kun?"
"Yes. Three street on the east. They just finished printing them, distribution will begin tomorrow morning."
"Great, Moon-Moon and Kuroko. 'Go get the thing' and go back to the hotel."
My Friend looked at me, worry in his eyes, before pressing his fluffy head against my hand and left to join Kuroko.
The rest of us embarked the cable car that led us toward the foreign office.
"Alright, no one can listen to us now." Kyougi-sensei cut the silence of the trip before looking at me. "What's wrong, Shinji-kun?"
I stayed silent for a while. Trying to find a way to explain in this world language how my old world worked.
"This past week, we witnessed three kids die and countless one happily trying to add more to the pile. And for what? Three lives, with boundless potential, were snuffed out while people cheered.
And now everyone is enthusiastically talking and betting who will be the next corpse? And for WHAT! For having a 13-year-old wearing a very visible vest that tells everyone 'Target me, I'm the one in charge'?" I got up and wildly threw my hands around.
Why are we doing this!? I get the whole 'replacement from war' thing but then, why are Chunin prospect so young?! Team leaders, as we call them, should have at least ENJOYED life before sending them here to die!"
"You really are an idiot." Kasumi cut me short, looking at me with pity. "Even I know that much, and my clan is not even in the Shinobi system."
"Oh, so, tell me, Wise Nekomata. Please enlighten this poor ignorant soul with your knowledge!" My sarcasm might have taken the better of me.
"Because the adults will be the one fighting, and the children will die along with them." Yama answered for her.
Kasumi tilted her head toward him as my sarcastic streak was killed off.
"The Chunin exam is a substitute to war between countries, you know that." Sensei got up and turned her back on us to look at the village under our cable car and continued her speech.
"But in a Shinobi war, the civilian will be the first target. Burned crops, poisoned supplies, burned orphanages, farms turned to ash… These are things I witnessed when I was your age. I understand your uneasiness about this loss of life, Shinji-kun… And I envy you, but understand that you are a child raised during peace. If the Chunin-exam stop… Then you'll also see this."
I couldn't sense our Sensei emotions since Moon-moon was getting something elsewhere but I figured that she chose to hide her face from us for a good reason.
"We send children to those exams for that reason. To show their 'boundless potential', as deterrence. War takes time, Shinji-kun. It's not like someone suddenly woke up one morning and say 'Hey, I'm bored! Why don't we have a good old-fashioned war!'. You need preparations: logistic, weapons need to be produced, strategies must be planned, troops must be deployed at strategic sites, all of this in perfect secrecy because we all spy each other…"
"And by the time you're ready, those children will be adults and had reached their potential…" I concluded, hating how much it made sense.
"Correct." Sensei looked at the window, the foreign affairs building was still a few minutes away. "It's also why children too gifted are promoted on the field. When Senju-sama created the exams, the team of his little brother participated. And they dominated it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane destroyed every team they were faced against.
The result? When Hokage-sama faced his best friend, Danzo Shimura, on the final round of the third exam, every other village understood that Konohagakure was too dangerous to be allowed to exist.
They allied together, pooled their resources and intelligence… The second Shinobi war started and we can only thank the Fourth Hokage and Senju Tsunade to be still alive..."
We were enthralled by her speech, even Neji, as the trolley continued his predestined journey.
"Since then, children with too much 'realized' potential are promoted internally. People like Maito-san, Hatake-san, even that traitor Itachi… Are kept hidden for as long as we can while we only send children with potential to the exams. To display our Future while we hide our Present."
Sensei stopped looking at Kumogakure and turned toward us, before… Gracelessly slumping in her seat.
"Is that… Why you asked us to fail the exam?" Yama asked.
"Yes. You did good, losing on a technicality while leaving a strong impression. You are not ready to be leaders, but you showed strength. As much as I hate it… It's the only thing other village respect… Itomi's team helped too. Even if they lost, by securing a place in the third exam because they allied with Kiri, they showed that Konoha still favor diplomacy"
Yeah, no. It's because Ume is rightfully scared of Kabuto.
"But then… Kiri's attitude doesn't make sense, sensei." Yama said timidly. "They are dominating the exam, even the one who lost left a strong impression. Isn't this irresponsible?"
"No. It makes sense." Neji interrupted my friend, a thoughtful look on his face. "We know nothing about the current strength of Kirigakure since they closed their borders. This is their way of saying 'These are our talented children; how strong do you think our adults are?' It's a show of strength".
"Correct again, Neji-kun…" Sensei continued. "Kiri was always known as the 'village hidden in the Bloody Mist' because, until recently, their graduation exam was a fight between their student. A fight to the death."
I knew that already and wondered if this tradition was one of Obito's cruel revenge against the country that killed his beloved. Damn this village confusing timeline… Yama and Kasumi had a look of horror on their faces while Neji kept his poker face. Guess he already knew…
"So, these damned children are now all grown up. You've seen the four adults in Kiri's delegation. I assure you; they are only here because they willingly killed one of their friends when they were twelve. And then this rule changed." Sensei continued her lecture.
"During one of those… Exam… A single civilian child came. Not even a student, and killed everyone in cold blood."
Yama was turning green.
"In Konoha he wouldn't even be allowed in the academy. Even so, he would have been put to death for the useless loss of life he committed… But Kiri promoted him. The Mizukage even took him under his care and he quickly became a Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of Hidden Mist."
I knew the story already and took some time to reminisce about his life. How he adopted and raised Haku, how he stoically cried after he died, how their fate helped Naruto find his own Nindo… Another thing about the future which I had no clue how to change…
"So, do not judge the Village Hidden in the Mist by the standards of Konoha. Let's just go back to our room, wait for Kuroko and Moon-Moon, and continue our mission..."
The cable car finally reached the spire holding our hotel and we quickly reached our room.
I wanted to rest, I wanted to fucking sleep. I wanted to forget, even for a short while, about this stupid world. But I couldn't, because I was a part of it.
Moon-moon and Kuroko joined us after a while, having secured a freshly printed betting book for the second day.
As Yama and Kasumi went to take a shower in their respective chambers, Neji, Kyougi and I took place on the sofa and used our respective sensing abilities.
First thing I noticed: no one made a water bubble in the room Ume, Hiroshi, their Jonin-senseis and the representative of Kiri were talking.
And… The things they were saying…
"Hozuki-sama is… Berating the fact that some of their Genin failed…" Neji began.
"Berating?" I asked with false surprise. "I understand that lip reading only goes so far, but that asshole is pleased that they failed." I couldn't help it because, with Moon-moon back at my side, his gloating was too much.
"Yeah, yeah, option two and all. I was convinced from day one, now focus." Sensei's sharp voice called me back.
"He… Doesn't really care about those who lost." Neji continued as I resumed my listening. "But he summoned Sumire-san and Kishi-san because… He wants Kishi-san to win. He ordered Sumire-san to lose."
"Her emotions are… Well, she's resigned. Disappointed, but resigned." I followed.
"They plan to have the same speech to Aozora-san, who will be facing Hozuki Suigetsu-san tomorrow…" Neji finished. I wonder if he was having one of his 'This Is Fate Fighting It Is Useless' moments.
Kyougi-sensei took the betting book that our Friends got and shuffled it.
"The Sumire have better odds against the Kishi. I see. He's fixing the match... That asshole…"
"Wait…" I interrupted them. "Kishi Hiroshi is…Not liking this at all."
"Indeed. It's not showing on his face but he can't mask his heartbeat."
"But the Red Rabbit accepted it… And left after a word of warning that when this will blow up in their face, she won't be the culprit... And she doesn't care about what will happen after…"
Neji, Kyougi and I looked at each other and spent a few seconds in the foyer of Kumogakure-Foreign-Building-With-A-Muted-Microphone to process all of this.
No one said anything as Nohara Yamamoto and Nekomata Kasumi finished their showers and came back to us.
"Oh, come on! What kind of clusterfuck did you landed us in this time, Shinji-kun?" A bath-robed Kasumi asked while we were all thinking about what we should do.
"Not my fault! We were just talking about tomorrow's matches!" Yeah, somehow, I wasn't credible in the least, I wonder why.
"Oh, come on, tomorrow matches CAN'T be that bad." A bath-robed Yama said while he sat in front of us.
"It is." Sensei's voice cut them short. "Let's stop here for today. I will need you to be on your best tomorrow."
And so, we did.
Author's complaining.
Man! It took FOREVER to write this chapter! I know and I apologize for the delay. I left my old trade; I took lessons for a new one and finally managed to earn a certification! Then I had to find a company that would want me and went to a two-weeks' vacation in Scotland when I finally found it. And DAMN, THESE GUYS CAN DRINK!
Also, I've noticed many authors, SilverQueen and SoundlessSleep among them, complaining that writing combat scenes was hard. Since they did good, I dismissed their complains but hell… Fighting scenes ARE hard to write… I hope I didn't go overboard…