[Kukui Tanku]
"Tenten!" I shouted and Tenten somewhat shakily threw three Wind Chakra-enhanced Kunai at the Rubber Man who spat out an earth clone that blocked the kunai that would have hit him, he then landed and dashed toward Tenten. Much slower than before. 'She's nervous...' Fuck. Those Kunai should have pierced through him. All of them.
Fuu jumped into the air and did an ax kick which the Rubber Man blocked quickly, I took out my Katana and aimed a slash for the man's legs, quickly, he stretched to the side, barely avoiding my blade before aiming a kick at me, quickly, I replaced myself with a log and dashed toward the man again, in one fluid motion, the man punched Fuu and grabbed her, throwing her at me before continuing his mad dash toward Tenten.
Seeing this, Tenten took out a sword of her own and channeled wind chakra and she raised it into a block which made the man stop. The man picked up a rock and threw it at Tenten's leg, knocking it out and making Tenten fall. The Rubber Man Laughed and aimed a punch directly for her head, quickly Fuu threw me toward the Rubber Man.
Quickly, I grabbed the man and aimed threw him before his fist could reach Tenten who Fuu grabbed, Tenten was now shakily going through hand seals and I read her lips as I threw the Rubber Man. "W-Wind Style: Gale palm." Tenten grabbed a Kunai and threw it at the Rubber Man who was now flying toward a tree.
Quickly, the man stretched his arms toward a tree and flung himself at the tree as the Kunai just missed him, implanting itself deep into the tree where he was. "Damn, that should have hit!" Fuu said, preparing a Kunai as we regrouped.
"It should have..." I looked at the man. "We're going to need a big attack to hit him, and the scale powder combo won't work..." I looked down at my hand and then at Tenten. "Tenten, ready another Gale Palm." I glanced back at the Rubber Man- Wait why was Fuu there inst- I was kicked in the stomach and away from Tenten and the Rubber Man who raised a Kunai and prepared to slash it down at Tenten.
Tenten froze at that moment as the Rubber Man smiled. "Tenten!" I saw it like time stopped. The Kunai inching closer, the Rubber Man's evil smile... the fear in Tenten's eyes. The desire to not die... 'I can't let her die... I won't.' I needed to be faster, far faster. I pushed chakra to my legs. But it wouldn't be enough, I pushed chakra everywhere then.
I needed to push my body to its absolute limits. I needed to go beyond anything I could normally do. I couldn't be weak. I couldn't afford to be slow. I just could not. I pushed my body further, pushing all my chakra into my body.
Suddenly, like something in my mind had disappeared I felt my chakra levels go up, more chakra went into my body, and time restarted. Suddenly, I was at the Rubber Man who looked at me, surprised. I punched and activated my lame seal. "Fire Fist!" I sent a massive pillar of fire at the Rubber Man point blank. It hit him directly, sending him into a tree and the flame dispelled soon after, showing third degree burns on his face and now revealed chest.
My body sagged as I felt the boost of chakra disappear. "W-What was that, Kukui?" Tenten asked, very pointedly not looking in the direction of the Rubber Man... She might need to sit this one out."You just... were there suddenly, Like you were so fast."
"I don't know what that was," I said, throwing a Kunai at the Rubber Man who dodged it by stretching his legs to obscene heights. "But it left me exhausted." On the bright side, I landed a hit on him... I glanced to the side and saw Fuu appear next to us.
"That was awesome!" Fuu said, bouncing up and down before looking at the Rubber Man. "We can kill him. He was too cocky and didn't heal all the way." Fuu grinned, "He'll be as slow as a snail now!" I saw Tenten slowly smile before she wavered.
"I-I don't think I'll be able to do much," Tenten said as we looked over at our opponent who was grinning at her before going through hand seals. "Sorry..."
Fuu smiled at Tenten, "Don't worry! Me and Kukui will kick his ass!" I could sense Fuu using just the slightest bit of Bijuu chakra. I noticed the Rubber Man still going through hand seals and sent a Fire Arrow his way to interrupt them.
He was heavily weakened still and I was heavily amped... the cards were stacked in my favor here. 'Our favor.'
Tenten smiled before simply nodding and then promptly backing away.
I glanced at Fuu before yawning... "This is gonna be tough. He is weakened but he's not going to go down without a hell of a fight." I looked at my left flame seal... It wasn't empty since I didn't put everything I had into that, I didn't want to hit Tenten.
The Rubber Man laughed. It was a dark one. "You think that since you landed a lucky shot you can kill me?" The man formed a set of hand seals and laughed before slamming his hands on the ground. "Earth Spikes." The man sent a wall of earth spikes at us.
Quickly me and Fuu dodged.
This was going to be tough, even with his injuries. But, the challenge wouldn't be enough. I looked at Fuu and I stood tall, making sure Running still had some juice in it. I was confident in our chances of success. I unsheathed my sword once again as I looked at my Mint-haired friend, "Dance with me."
My act of confidence filled me with strength.
Fuu grinned and I did as well.
[Ryuuji]
Things weren't exactly going to plan. Sure, the wind bitch was out of the fight. But from what Ryuuji could see, she was nearby watching and talking to herself. He could go for her and kill her but the Jinchurriki and the bra- Kukui Tanku were still there.
Ryuuji didn't know how Kukui suddenly reached him and used his Fire Fist which hurt. A lot. And seeing the burns and feeling them all over his body, Ryuuji knew that he couldn't go for much longer. He should have left Takigakure and gone to an actual hospital before coming back. But his pride got in the way.
And now, he might actually get beat by Genin... Ryuuji looked at the two who were dashing at him, Kukui very obviously was tired out from that last attack, Ryuuji quickly coated his arms in earth chakra before pulling his arms back. "Earth pistols."
Ryuuji aimed both at Kukui to which he ducked, quickly, Ryuuji smacked the Jinchurriki away before digging his hands into the dirt and slinging himself toward Kukui, aiming to kick the boy with an earth chakra-enhanced kick protecting his leg.
Kukui quickly ducked under the kick as Ryuuji pulled his arms back and aimed to slam them into the boy's head to cave it in. The Jinchurriki returned then, kicking Ryuuji in the cheek before trying to stab him with a kunai that bounced off of his chest thankfully. Kukui then tried to slash at Ryuuji's head but Ryuuji grabbed it with his teeth.
"What kind of novel shit is that?" Kukui watched as Ryuuji threw his sword to the side. "Well, that sucks." Kukui's arm ignited in fire again, a weaker much smaller fire came out at Ryuuji which he managed to block with an earth wall this time.
Quickly jumping back, Ryuuji glanced to the boy's right arm... he needed to take out that seal. The boy could kill him with just one attack. If Ryuuji wanted to win the first thing he needed to do was take out that seal...
He had a plan... Kukui had inspired him earlier.
The Jinchurriki and Kukui regrouped once again and Ryuuji stomped on the ground after forming a ram seal, an earth spear popped out of it and entered his hands, Quickly Ryuuji threw it at the boy's hand.
Obviously, the boy moved to dodge. Forming a set of hand seals Ryuuji took out a Kunai and replaced himself with the earth spear. Before he could stab the boy's hand a log appeared in his place, quickly adapting, Ryuuji moved to stab the Jinchurriki in the abdomen, quickly though, the Jinchurriki leaned back and the Kunai barely went in before Ryuuji felt his back be stabbed by something and seared shut instantly.
With a wince of pain, Ryuuji looked to the side and saw Kukui holding another Fire Arrow which he threw at Ryuuji, the Junchurriki tired to Kick Ryuuji then, quickly, Ryuuji blocked the Kick before throwing the Jinchurriki into the arrow... The Jinchurriki turned to smoke and a log appeared. One without a seal. 'I hate the Substitution Jutsu.'
Quickly, Ryuuji Jumped toward the two, moving his hands quickly and spitting out several earth bullets. One of them hit Kukui in the shoulder going through before the Jinchurriki kicked Ryuuji in the chin and into the air. Ryuuji flipped and sent his arms to the ground to anchor him once again, but before he could do so, he was hit in the face.
Suddenly his world changed and he saw an image of dancing cheese... a Genjutsu for certain, In an instant, Ryuuji broke out and saw Kukui slashing at his chest. The cut landed but it didn't go deep. "We got you." Kukui grinned pulling his now bloody Katana out of Ryuuji and looking behind Ryuuji.
Quickly, Ryuuji moved out of the way of a kick and he saw his two opponents again. He wasn't winning this... He was too injured and he was fighting the most annoying possible opponents ever... Actually the second most. 'I need to buy time to escape.'
Before Ryuuji could do anything he saw Kukui begin to run again, blood seeping out of his shoulder and an exhausted look on his face. But he held up his right arm as a massive amount of Fire Chakra formed around his hand. "FIRE FIST!"
A massive pillar of Fire began to barrel its way toward Ryuuji. Fast. He wouldn't have time to dodge. Quickly, Ryuuji went through a set of hand seals and placed his hands down on the ground, "Earth Style; Earth Wall!" Ryuuji poured all the chakra he could into the wall.
Now he ha-
Fire consumed his vision.
[Obito Uchiha]
'Disappointing...' Obito looked at the pile of ash that was the earth wall. 'But somewhat expected. He got too injured and the boy had way too powerful of an attack.' Kukui Tanku was a person of interest now.
Obito would have to keep an eye on him.
Normally, Obito wouldn't be happy with such a result but he found himself pleased. Even though he couldn't stick his claws into Mika Uchiha yet, the feeling of uselessness would surely set in soon. But with the positives, came negatives. Ryuuji was possibly KIA, and the Jinchurriki wasn't captured yet. Not only that but they didn't even know all that she could do...
No matter. All the Jinchurriki would be captured later anyway. But for Ryuuji, "Zetsu." Obito called from the meadow he was in. Quite a nice place actually. A shame it was in hell. Although, he could come back to this place once he brought peace.
The creature came out of the ground. "What do you need this time, Obito?" Black Zetsu asked as it sprung out of the ground, connected to its other half as always. "Is it something related to Ryuuji's loss?" The other half of the duo asked, making a correct guess.
"For once, you're right White Zetsu." Obito grabbed a flower from the ground and began inspecting it. " Ryuuji may not have died. He likely did but I'd like you to try and locate him. He can still be a useful pawn for the Akatsuki and my plans."
"Yay me!" White Zetsu cheered as Black Zetsu sighed. "Idiot," Black Zetsu shook its half of their head before looking back at Obito. "He lost to a bunch of brats but I could see how he might be useful. In case Hidan doesn't work out we would require someone else. And he would be a great match for Orochimaru too."
"Exactly," Obito said, pocketing the flower in his hands before standing up. "In the case of any loss of organs or limbs, we could offer him a Zetsu limb or cells to empower him. Orochimaru is a sneaky bastard but he'll likely have trouble with Ryuuji since he can't puncture him."
The Akatsuki Ring Orochimaru had would be infinitely useful. Another member of the Akatsuki would be a major boon since the amount of time it takes to seal a Tailed Beast is immense. Anything that would shorten it was a must.
And the Akatsuki rings were key to that. They couldn't exactly be made easily. So the ring Orochimaru had needed to be taken back. Obito didn't want to risk any current Akatsuki members. And whilst giving more power to Ryuuji could prove to be troublesome, it would be a smart choice in the long run if the ring could be returned.
"We'll go find Ryuuji then!" White Zetsu cheered before Black Zetsu sighed again, the one bit of emotion the creature could show was annoyance. "Or, We'll find his ashes. You know what to do if you need us Obito," Black Zetsu said before the duo began sinking into the ground. "Bye!"
Obito watched the two disappear before he went back to looking at the meadow he found himself in... 'Soon, the world will be saved.' He could go back to being Obito. He could be in reality once again. A better reality than the cruel hell they were in.
And it all began with his plans going well.
[Hayate Gekko]
When he and Mika arrived at the Forrest Hayate saw two things. Tenten, hiding near a rock and rocking back and forth muttering "Don't be scared." and Kukui and Fuu standing looking at a large destroyed area. That was on fire. On further inspection, Hayate noticed that Kukui was sagging a bit, asleep. Fuu was just keeping him held up.
This drove Hayate to a conclusion. The Rubber Man appeared, Tenten got scared, and Kukui along with Fuu, beat the Rubber Man and possibly killed him judging from the pile of ash Hayate could see... He doubted it. But the man could have died.
Now, whilst Hayate felt pride, he also felt concern. Kukui didn't look so good and Tenten was terrified still. So, Hayate made a choice. He looked at Mika. "Go check on Kukui. I'll check on Tenten." Hayate noticed Mika snap to him before looking at Kukui.
"Okay Hayate-sensei," Mika said, looking down. Shame. She was ashamed. Of herself probably... Even after the discussion they had on the way there... Damnit. Damnit all... Hayate hoped that they'd get a few days off after this mission. "I'll go make sure Kukui's fine."
Mika quickly dashed over to Fuu and Kukui, the former laying the latter down on her lap. Before Hayate looked back at Tenten he could see a hole in Kukui's shoulder... Yeah, that was gonna need to heal before they left... Hopefully, the Medical Ninja would help him again.
Hayate walked over to Tenten and crouched down... she might need to see a Yamanaka. "Hey, you okay?" From a glance, Tenten appeared uninjured... Good to know. But something happened or she wasn't ready to face the Rubber Man yet. It made sense, considering Hayate knew he was even scared of his own shadow for a week after the Rubber Man attacked.
"No..." Tenten looked down, still rocking back and forth. "I was useless..." Tenten held up a Kunai and threw it away. "I could have put that monster down but two of my Kunai missed and he made an earth clone... Kukui had to save me," Tenten said, grabbing another Kunai and gripping it. Hayate was prepared to stop her from doing anything serious but she stabbed the Kunai into the ground. "I'm useless."
"No, you aren't," Hayate crouched down. "They beat the Rubber Man, right?" Tenten nodded. Hayate could feel pride but he pushed that down for now. He'd give his other student a pat on the shoulder later for beating the critically injured S-rank. He had more important things to focus on. "Well, that was because of you."
"I stabbed him once with a Kunai and that damage healed. He was just in the middle of the recovery process... I did nothing here. It was all Kukui and Fuu."
"You're wrong," Hayate put a hand on Tenten's shoulder. "He was in the recovery process, you were the reason he was even there. If you weren't there and you didn't damage him then Kukui and Fuu wouldn't even have gotten the chance to beat them. You didn't do anything here and that's fine... you were scared and that's okay."
"It isn't!" Tenten shouted. "They could have died. And here I am, sitting here, shaking because of that monster's smile... I'm a coward."
"I was scared of my own shadow for a week after I survived his attack," Hayate said, making Tenten look up. "I couldn't fight in the third war for three months because of fear. I was useless there too. But, nobody blamed me because I was just a genin. I shouldn't have gone through that. You shouldn't have gone through this. There's no shame in being useless here, you shouldn't even have been in this situation in the first place."
Tenten let out a small laugh. Before letting out a sob. "I-I just want to go home and sleep for a week. I need to be better too... next time," Tenten looked down before looking up, more resolutely. "I-I can't be useless the next time we face someone... I won't be useless."
Hayate smiled at his Genin. "Good. Keep that mindset. But for now, you all deserve to rest. " Hayate stood up and helped Tenten up before they looked at Kukui who Mika was patching up with some of the medical supplies Kukui carried.
"Will he be okay?" Tenten turned to Hayate with a worried expression.
"He will. Although, he may be out for a few days depending on how badly he's wounded." Hayate responded before beginning to walk over to the three. Tenten also began to follow.
Hayate felt immense pride and shame as he looked at Kukui. He was really proud of his student for having the strength to beat the Rubber Man. He may have been extremely injured but still. It was a huge achievement. But he was ashamed of himself. Hayate was a hypocrite and he knew it. But he should have been there for his student...
He needed to train more. And so did his team.
'Alright, final day of this.' Hayate thought excitedly. He looked at Shibuki who had the papers. Just one signature and everything would be good. They had finished most of the other stuff in the hospital whilst Hayate was recovering thankfully.
And now, a few days later it was time to end things officially. The trade deal would be closed and everyone could go home happy.
He would have been a lot more happy if his students were here to see it and get the experience. But Hayate elected to let them stay at the hotel and hospital respectively since they were recovering. And Kukui had literally just woken up an hour ago... six days sooner than expected too. His body was completely exhausted and he had chakra exhaustion. But somehow he did it...
So now, here he was. Alone, and ready to just get things going so they could hopefully all leave tomorrow.
"I'll admit, Hayate-san, it has been a very crazy few days." Shibuki started, looking down at the papers and making sure everything was right. "But I'm happy there were no casualties and that your genin and mine are okay."
"Me too." Hayate said, smiling. "I'm proud of my genin. And I'm sure they want to go home after today."
Shibuki nodded. "I'm sure as well." Shibuki held out the papers. "Sign this and everything will be official."
Quickly, Hayate took out a pen and signed the papers after looking them over. "It's done..." Hayate said, letting out a sigh of relief.
Shibuki nodded. "It is indeed!" The man said excitedly before shifting to a much more comfortable-looking position. "And now that we have that out of the way I can drop formality..." Shibuki groaned. "It's been a stressful few days."
"It has, Shibuki," Hayate said, also dropping the formality. " But it's over now thankfully." Hayate watched Shibuki pull out a letter. "What's that for?" Hayate didn't know what it could have in it or why Shibuki was taking it out.
"It's for the Hokage," Shibuki said, stamping the letter before handing it to the Hokage. "Be sure to hand it to him."
Hayate nodded. "Okay..." He pocketed the letter before looking at Shibuki. "So, I guess this is goodbye until the next time we're forced to be here."
Shibuki also nodded, "Yeah. Goodbye, and I wish your genin a speedy recovery!" Shibuki waved at Hayate as the latter left the room. Both of them were happy.
Now, Hayate knew he had one night left in Takigakure. He was an adult. He should focus on adulting and helping his students out... But he was stressed out himself and he was sure they were all doing fine at the moment.
And, there was tradition to keep intact...
Hayate made a choice then.
This chapter was a fucking rollercoaster man. It has five parts, each shorter than the last. Originally the last part wasn't in but I realized that it wasn't in my plans for chapter thirty either. So, I did the smart thing and wrote it here at the end... I'm gonna be honest, I'm avoiding diplomatic missions from now on.
Anyways, lets start.
So, for those wondering why the Rubber Man was beaten as easily as he was, well he wasn't beaten that easily. He was Injured to the extreme which was said multiple times. And not just in this chapter. Kukui also had prep time. And a little boost which will be revealed next chapter. Him also landing a Fire Fist early on was key in the victory too. It further weakened Ryuuji and limited his rubbery body from working as well as it would have before the burns.
Also, Rare Fire Release W.
Anyways, Obito's PoV also wasn't in the original chapter plans. But I included it for funsies. And I like writing him and the Zetsus. They're OOC for sure but I think they're neat. They're also great for plot stuff I have planned.
Hayate being the best Sensei he can be is nice... I'm trying to make him sorta parental-ish tbh. Why? Well that'd be spoiling stuff. :) Anyways, he's gonna be training a lot to get to S-rank himself hopefully and he's gonna train Kukui, Mika, and Tenten to S-ranks too hopefully!
And you know what I think about the last part. I hate diplomacy and I unironically like writing fights more.
I'm kinda sad this arc is coming to a close. I had a lot of fun writing Fuu and the Rubber Man. I think he was a good antagonist for the arc, he introduces Kakuzu and through him, the Akatsuki. And obviously, they're gonna be important.
Sorry for babbling but I'm tired and talkative rn lol. See y'all next week!
-Tobi!