[Kukui Tanku]
"So, what's the plan?" I glanced to the left as I saw Fuu pop up next to me. "Preparing for war?" She then looked at the leaf in my hand that was slowly crumpling to dust as I poured my chakra to it. "Why are you training in earth release?" Fuu asked as we walked through the forest. I sensed nobody thankfully. So we weren't in danger of being attacked.
"To answer your questions in order: Hoping he gets tricked by my logs if he returns, no but I'll be ready for one, and I'm training in earth release to make a seal." I idly unsealed a log and threw it somewhere. It was one of my special logs. I didn't have any last time. If I did then I'd be way more dangerous.
Prep time is my friend here. And I intended to get as much help from them as possible. Having the dollar store variant of the Flying Thunder god would help me immensely... If I had it last time then the Rubber Man would probably be dead.
Fuu smiled. "What's so special about those logs? Substitution is an E-rank jutsu. And is your seal going to be like your flame seals?" We reached the end of the forest, Tenten, Mika, and Hayate-sensei would be waiting for us at the start of it.
"These logs have seals on them." I unsealed one and held it up. Fuu nodded and I continued. "They allow me to use Kawarimi without hand seals instantly and over a further range... Sorta like the Second and Fourth Hokage's jutsu but worse." I grinned. One day I'd learn the Flying Raijin. One day. "And, yeah. My flame seals are strong but imagine all the possibilities of freely manipulating the earth!"
Anything would be possible. I could theoretically have an Earth dragon carry me around everywhere as long as I kept the seals supplied... 'Note to self: Earth Dragon for flight.' I could also make it spit out earth bullets... 'Wait- I'm robbing Geten's idea... eh.' I was already a copycat.
"You could raise walls instantly," Fuu said, going into a thinking pose. "You could attack people from behind! You could trap people or suck them into the ground!" Fuu said, making me pause. I could cause sinkholes or Earthquake's theoretically. "You could even make infinite earth clones."
"That's a very good idea..." My grin grew. "And that's why I need to get this done as soon as possible. The Flame seal is great for long range but my short range options are kind of limited, Fuu." I threw another log.
I then grabbed my sword. "I'm not as good at Bukijutsu or Taijutsu as Tenten and Mika. I'm good but not that good..." Not good enough. "So, I need something to give me a leg up. And Free earth manipulation is definitely the best thing I can do right now."
"Hm..." Fuu hummed. "You're already good in Taijutsu but I can see how you'd need to be better. And Instant, sealless jutsu is probably the best thing any shinobi could ever have." Fuu gestured around. "You'd have free control over all the ground as long as you had enough chakra!"
"Yeah." I looked to the left and saw my stats. I didn't exactly have a lot of chakra.
[566/660]
Not exactly the most but I could work with it. I glanced at Fuu. "I can only imagine how you'd do if you had a seal like mine." I held up the leaf as around fifty five percent of it fell and turned into dust. "Like, you could probably manipulate the ground forever and ever."
"That'd be neat. But I don't think that's much my style. I don't think I'd be good with a lot of Ninjutsu like you... Although it'd be cool to do all that flashy Ninjutsu stuff. I think my scale powder, Taijutsu, and a bit of fire is more than enough for me." Fuu said, looking up. "Although, it'd be cool to basically be a demigod..."
A demigod huh?
"It would be cool..." I also looked up. "And it's what I'm aiming for. I think you'd be set with your skillset. And you know who hopefully helping." Fuu nodded and I looked back down, smiling. "I suppose I've placed enough logs. My remaining earth clones should have also set up traps."
The four hundred something earth clones that died trying to kill the Rubber Man gave us time to collect ourselves which was splendid. They're the reason I'm alive... If I could just pull an army together on a whim... 'I could make Clones come out my earth dragon.'
I had plenty of things I could do. My smile was probably a bit manic now... So many ideas. So many potential things I could do.
"Your smile's nice Kukui." Fuu said suddenly, walking in front of me and turning to me, walking backwards... "You should keep smiling."
For some reason, that made me smile wider. "Thanks..." I think that's the first compliment I've received. At least in a long time. " I think you have a pretty smile as well..." I didn't know what I should say... 'Is this a sign I'm socially inept?'
Fuu giggled. "Thanks!" Fuu then began walking at a steady pace beside me once again. "Now! Let's get back to everyone!"
"Yeah!" I was smiling so much it was starting to hurt. Maybe I should force myself to smile le-
[Earth Manipulation has lvl'd up.]
Nevermind! Still smiling!
[Hayate Gekko]
Sleeping on the hard, lumpy beds of the hotel room again wasn't something Hayate was particularly excited for. No, he'd much rather stay up and get high on caffine. Unfortunately, it was too early to do so. Ten PM to be exact. And only one of his students was asleep.
Glancing to the side, Hayate could see Kukui passed out in his bed after being carried there by Fuu who decided to have a sleepover with Kukui, Mika, and Tenten. Currently, she was also dozing off whilst leaning agaisnt Kukui... 'Is this how Chekizu-sensei felt?' Hayate decided to ignore the feeling of pride in his chest.
He still had his other two students to deal with.
Glancing at Tenten, Hayate could see that she was incredibly nervous looking. Tapping her fingers on the table and glancing around. Hayate certainly knew how that felt... Was it related to the Rubber Man? Probably. No, definitely. It was almost certainly the Rubber Man's doing.
And with Mika, she looked incredibly sad. Hayate couldn't pin point the exact emotion she was feeling however which was unfortunate. He usually liked to go into long talks with people after knowing how they were feeling... But if Hayate were to take a guess, it also had something to do with the Rubber Man.
"You both feel horrible, don't you?" Hayate asked, looking at both of his students who perked up and looked at each other. "Is it something related to the Rubber Man?" Hayate asked, seeing the hesitation on their faces.
He understood them. The Rubber Man traumatized him. It wasn't with how strong he was. It wasn't with him being terrifying in a traditional sense. No. It was how much joy he took in the act of killing. Killing was something all shinobi did. But taking such joy in the act, showing such joy in taking the life of your enemies. It was something that horrified Hayate.
"The smile..." Tenten suddenly said. "The way he smiled when trying to hurt us... Will it ever go away?" Tenten whispered... That made Mika look at Tenten. "I've been trying to do anything to keep it from coming back... but I don't think I can. It's in my thoughts even."
"I can't really say if it goes away or not..." Hayate looked at Tenten who looked at him. "I still dream of him from time to time. And I dream of the lives he took and how they could have been saved." Hayate smiled. "But, I didn't let him consume my life... I'm still alive, and so are you. Don't let him consume you. That's what he wants."
"But what if he comes back?" Tenten blurted out, "We technically beat him last time but he almost k-killed Kukui." Hayate could see Mika's eyes flash for a moment like she was having a flashback. In the end, he saw Mika grin.
"We kicked his ass once!" Mika blurted out before gaining a somewhat dark look in her eye. "Well you all did! You stabbed him and caused him to back off. I wouldn't be surprised if he was dead in a ditch somewhere." Mika grinned, a fake grin if he'd ever seen one.
"Mika's right..." Hayate then looked at Mika, "How do you feel? Don't grin at me I know it's fake." Mika's grin dropped and Hayate tried to put on as comforting of a face as he could... Being a teacher was hard. 'I should have went to the Anbu instead...' But then his students would probably be dead... 'Nevermind.'
Mika eventually sighed after a minute of not answering Hayate. "I did nothing for pretty much the entirety of the fight Sensei."
"Mika..." Tenten looked at her friend in worry.
"You still did something Mika, and that's what matters." Hayate said, looking at Mika... This was something he couldn't help as much with. "We all fought to survive out there and you did your best. There's nothing to be ashamed about, especially seeing as you landed a hit on him and he or he was an S-rank Ninja."
Hayate really hoped the Rubber Man was dead. Preferably in a dumpster somewhere. Or a ditch. Anywhere really. Just as long as he didn't have to see him alive again, Hayate would be happy.
"I did... but it wasn't enough." Mika said, looking down. "Kukui almost died like Tenten said, you also got injured. ME and Tenten got some cuts and bruises but nothing we couldn't walk off... It's just so frustrating knowing that I could have done more, if I was faster, if I was just better."
Hayate sighed... "It's not really worth it to think about the if's, Mika."
'I'm a hypocrite...'
Hayate decided to ignore his thoughts as he continued. "Thinking about them will just lead you down into a deep spiral and it's not really worth it in the end. " Hayate once again tried to put on as comforting of a face as he could.
"Hayate-sensei's right, Mika!" Tenten said, trying to play positive.
Mika smiled, A more genuine one. "Yeah..." Mika then looked over to Fuu and Kukui, the former of which was also now asleep. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay, goodnight!"
"Goodnight Mika!" Both Hayate and Tenten said. As Mika walked, Hayate still couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.
He'd have to keep an eye on Mika.
[Kukui Tanku]
I wasn't expecting a lot from today. I was content. Truly, I was. It had been a wonderful morning... for reasons. And now, we were going to train. Hayate-sensei and Mika were going to be there later because Hayate-sensei said he had something to talk to Mika about.
So as dangerous as it was, it was just me, Tenten, and Fuu today. It was probably not going to be a very strenuous day. Or I was going to get beat up. A lot. It really depended on how Fuu and or Tenten felt.
'At least my stats are looking good.' I looked at the screen in front of me with a smile. Being beat up and having to adapt to get faster along with better weight seals really did wonders for Dexterity!
[Name: Kukui Tanku
Title: Prodigy
Chakra: 660/660
Energy points: 660/660
Dexterity: 34
Strength: 33
Constitution: 35
Chakra: 33
Chakra control C]
It was beautiful and I was very happy about it all... Things were finally starting to come together for me. I had friends, I was getting decently strong, and I was happy... Nothing could ruin this! Nothing at all... Well, unless anyone from the Akatsuki or Orochimaru showed up.
That'd be bad. Like really really fucking bad. But, I doubted Orochimaru would show up. At most, the Akatsuki. At least, the Rubber Man. I glanced at Fuu and then Tenten and smiled. They've been talking this entire time. I just decided to listen to them whilst humming.
"You really believe in that wackjob stuff?" Fuu asked as we stepped foot in the clearing... They had to have been talking about Jashin or something in the same vein. Oh well. I began stretching my senses. I've been trying to improve my senses.
...I began to feel something familiar. Something odd.
"I do. There wouldn't be so many books on Jashin if they weren't a real person. The Warring States Era was a crazy time. Anybody could have existed. And Jashin as a whole would explain why Juinjutsu isn't more prevalent today!" I would have pitched in then, but I sensed someone very familiar. I also sensed a log near them.
Perfect.
"Act natural," I muttered, looking forward and humming. I noticed Tenten slightly tense up and Fuu nod just ever so slightly. As we were walking, I substituted with the log and there I saw it.
The Rubber Man. I unsheathed my sword and slashed the man across the back as deeply as I could. I knew that it wouldn't be enough however. I was prepared to launch a Fire Fist directly into the back of his skull.
Before I could end the bastard, The Rubber man glanced back at me, seeing me. A somewhat horrified look was on his ugly face. He looked at the log I replaced myself with. "H-how?" The man asked, reaching a hand backward and feeling the blood on his back.
I smiled as widely as I could... "I prepared for war." I just didn't expect it to come this soon truly I didn't. "Now, prepare to die."
"Oh you fucking brat..." Suddenly, I was kicked back toward Tenten and Fuu, before I impacted the ground I switched with the log, standing perfectly still and glanced at Tenten and Fuu who nodded. The former more hesitantly than the latter. "You're the one that's going to die."
I would have laughed, instead I just activated Running.
[Ryuuji]
Ryuuji knew he had to strike whilst the iron was hot. And so, he was preparing to do so. After he had finished healing and overall just recovering from the wounds inflicted upon him by the wind bitch of course. But now, he was ready.
And he intended to bag his target, cut her limbs off, and kill her friends in front of her while smiling like it was Christmas. How, he didn't usually do that but Jinchurriki were particularly dangerous, making sure she was crippled was going to be imperative to his success.
'They should be out... I'll have to take out the Wind Bitch and Hayate in one go... I can't afford to leave them in our little game. I'm not going to play around this time.' Ryuuji thought as he hopped around. 'Too much.' He added.
He had to be sure to watch out for that sensor brat. He was his third target. He was powerful for a brat but he would go down like a bitch in one punch. And the other girl would too. The Jinchurriki would be tough, especially in his current state.
But he would do so.
He wasn't some pathetic Jonin. No. He was The Rubber Man! And he wore that title with pride. Impervious to any and all Taijutsu. Along with Kunai and Shuriken. Unless the Jinchurriki did that powder attack with the girl or the boy before they were taken down, Ryuuji was confident in his odds.
Even if he was closer to being considered an A-rank ninja instead of an S-rank at this point.
Of course, he couldn't just walk into the clearing and just attack them like he did last time. No no no. He'd have to be careful. And he'd need to attack when they were least expecting it. So, he'd need to stay out of the range of the sensor brat.
'I was about 50 meters away when he sensed me. So I'll remain 75 meters away just in case.' Ryuuji entered the clearing and began to hide somewhere in the trees, making sure to stay a good 75 meters away from the clearings entrance.
And now he just had to wait.
Thankfully, Ryuuji didn't need to wait long as three brat's entered the clearing with no sign of Hayate or the other girl. There was the Wind Bitch, the Jinchurriki, and the boy... All three appeared to be talking about something.
It didn't matter though, now was a perfe- Suddenly, Ryuji felt his back get slashed across.
He glanced back and saw the brown haired boy, glancing back at the clearing he saw a log taking the place of him. With a seal on it. "H-how..." Ryuuji prepared to kick the brat away but the brat smiled at him...
It was probably the most evil thing he's seen in a while.
"I prepared for war. Now, prepare to die."
"Oh you fucking brat..." Ryuuji kicked the brat back to his friends, only to see that he kicked a log... Why did Ryuuji think that was going to be a theme in this fight? "You're the one that's going to die."
Along with all his friends.
Still, Ryuuji couldn't help but smile... The Wind Bitch flinched and that made his smile grow wider.
He could still have a bit of fun, right?
Just gonna say, Ryuuji's not going to be the one to go down like a bitch. He is heavily nerfed for sure and Kukui is heavily amped thanks to having a dozen or so Kawarimi logs around at all times. But Ryuuji has a few things going for him, He knows what they all can do, he can go for Tenten, and he also has a speed advantage still.
And so, It's a shorter chapter which I dislike but I kind of am running really short on time this week and I want to get this done.
Anyways, I'm tired as fuck. Its midnight and I Just finished the chapter.
Goodnight Everyone!