Chapter 7 - Let the Battles Begins
Five days later
"Okay, I'll admit it. . . I did not expect to see so many people make it through the second round." Kankuro grumbled as he stabbed his chopsticks into his breakfast, a sentiment that his siblings shared.
The three of them were seated at one of the tables in the far corner of the cafeteria, a tactical choice that gave them an easier chance to scope out their competition, many of whom were currently eating breakfast as well. "Hell, I was expecting three, maybe four other teams to make it through, including us. . . But seriously?! Nine teams are still alive?! I thought the Forest of Death was supposed to cut down on the competition!"
"Considering there were 29 teams at the start of the last round, I think the Forest of Death did its job well," Temari mumbled in between sips of her tea. "But you do make a good point Kankuro. The number is never this big this far into the Showcase, but soon enough, the number will shrink."
"Of course, it will. The five days have finally passed, so the third round won't be long now." Kankuro declared as he plucked some eggs from off his plate. Gaara watched him as he brought it to his lips before turning his gaze away to stare out into the room, not ready to add to the conversation just yet.
"I don't think we're heading for the third round just yet," Temari admitted as she finished the last of her tea, her words stopping Kankuro mid-chew. "For as long as the Shinobi Showcase has been around, how many groups usually end up reaching the third round?"
"Three to four, tops. Why'd you ask?"
"Well brother, if you look back on all the past Showcases, there have been instances where more than the usual number of teams make it through the second round. However, not all those teams make it to the third round. Care to guess why?"
"The preliminary one-on-one round," Gaara bluntly stated, speaking before Kankuro could even say a word. "The organizers are going to have us fight another ninja to make it to the next round."
"Exactly!" Temari stated as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "So, do either of you two have any ideas on who's fighting who in the upcoming matchups?"
"I don't know. The possible matchups are endless . . . All I know for sure is that I'm just hoping that I'm not matched with anyone who specializes in short range attacks and taijutsu," said Kankuro, being perfectly honest with himself. "My puppeteering is not the most versatile of techniques after all."
"That wouldn't be the case if you just honed some of your weaker skills Kankuro." Gaara mumbled.
"Pot calling the kettle black there Gaara," Kankuro grumbled as he glared at his brother. "You should not be talking about me not honing my weaker skills when you're in the same boat little brother."
"I have the stronger ninjutsu technique though. . ." the redhead mused, facing his brother without flinching. Then again, he was never one for flinching in the first place.
"Which gets negated if you face someone that can summon a whole lot of water, or a whole lot of fire to turn it into glass," Kankuro started listing off. "Need I go on?"
"Hmm . . . touché." Gaara conceded, internally irritated that Kankuro got his beat for once. He was lucky that Shukaku was not listening in or else he would have berated him for the rest of the morning for getting outwitted by his own elder brother.
"Hmm . . . There are several opponents here with fighting styles that would certainly do you no favors Kankuro. After all, you pretty much described a good third of the field," said Temari, looking quite amused. "You must really be regretting not practicing your taijutsu as often as you should, huh?"
"Don't rub it in Temari. After all, last time I checked, you don't fare so well when it comes to taijutsu either," said Kankuro, his lips curling into a smirk as he watched the amusement leave his sister's face. "Then again, taijutsu isn't something that any of us specialize in, so why are we debating this in the first place?"
"You were the one that introduced the topic in the first place, remember?"
"Hmm, Gaara does make a good point." Temari pointed out, looking quite pleased as the puppeteer shot the redhead a blunt look, a look that he ignored as he continued to watch what was going on in the rest of the room.
All the teams were present. Most of them were chatting amongst themselves while the rest were too busy eating their respective meals to start a conversation. Though Gaara took account of all the teams, his gaze lingered the longest on the two other teams with royal members, Team 7 and Team 9.
Team 7, which was Prince Naruto's team, was sitting in the center of the room, chowing down on their breakfast. Surprisingly enough, they were one of the last teams to arrive at the tower, coming in only the day before. They were all rather dinged up when they arrived, especially Sasuke, who had been clutching the left side of his when they came in. All three went to the medics, and looked better after their visit, but Sasuke would still clutch at his neck on occasion.
On the other hand, Team 9, which was Princess Shizuka's team, was sitting a little further away from them, having long finished their meal. While Haruka and Nanami were engaged in a heated conversation, Shizuka sat in a meditative position about a foot away from them, completely tuning them out.
How she was so perfectly serene within all this noise was beyond him.
"She's probably talking to Ryuna."
"Do you really think so Shukaku?"
"It's the only reason I can think of as to why she would even bother to meditate in such a noisy area. That, or she somehow finds peace in such busy areas. . . It could be a gift for all we know."
"Your insight is helpful Shukaku, this time around." Gaara mumbled, just as the ringing of a gong echoed throughout the room. "What the hell?!"
"EVERYONE, OVER HERE!"
The yelling came from a man standing in front of the cafeteria's lone entry point. He was a jonin, dressed in the standard ninja gear of the kingdom, and was holding a portable gong by a silver strap in his right hand while a small wooden baton stood pat in his left.
"Please throw away your trays and follow me!" He ordered, his face brokering no room for argument. "It's time for the next round to begin!"
"Hmm, notice how he said next round, and not third round." Temari mumbled as she got out of her seat. Strapping her fan to her back, she picked up her tray and led her brothers over to a trash bin. Once their garbage was thrown away, they joined the crowd as it moved out the room.
They were led back into the room with the large parchment, with some of the crowd looking on in shock at the new door that stood right under it.
"They must have hid it with a very good genjutsu. . ." Kankuro mumbled as the teams were led toward it, his siblings simply nodding in agreement.
Passing through the door, they were led down a hallway that started slanting downward the further they went on. Following the light at the end of the tunnel, the teams soon found themselves in front of a large set of doors. The jonin pushed the doors open, revealing the sparseness of the large room they were about to enter.
The room consisted of a green tiled floor, an iron balcony that ran along the two longer sides of the room, a large TV screen on the far wall, and a large statue of two hands clasped in the ram hand sign right under it. It was a room suitable for watching a battle, however, everyone's eyes were squarely on a man standing in the middle of the group of mentors and supervisors standing in front of the sculpture. He almost seemed unassuming at first, but a closer look made people realize how much the others in the group seemed to defer to him, and why not?
The Fire King tended to have that kind of effect on people.
"So, that's King Minato in the flesh huh?" Temari mumbled as the group stopped their approach about ten feet away from the King and his group. "Hmm, I honestly thought he was taller."
"Who needs height when you're one of the fastest men in the entire world." Gaara reminded her, remembering some of the history lessons he had on the man. Though King Minato came to his position rather young in his age and was a cordial man to many of his allies and friends, to them and his enemies alike, he was also known as the Yellow Flash, one of the most dangerous and deadliest speedsters in all of the kingdoms. It was rumored that the Earth Kingdom had an active 'Flee on Sight' order on him whenever he was on the battlefield, but that has yet to be confirmed.
Earth Kingdom ninjas were quite stubborn in that regard.
"Huh, at least we know which parent Naruto takes after," Kankuro pointed out, switching his gaze between the king and his son. Both Temari and Gaara followed his lead and quickly glanced at the Fire Prince, who was standing a little ahead of them in the group. After glancing at the king, both couldn't help but agree with their brother's assessment.
Besides the difference in skin tone and head shape, and the obvious whisker marks, Naruto was pretty much a younger doppelganger of his father in the flesh. "I wonder why he's here though. Usually the hosting monarch doesn't start overseeing the proceedings til the third round."
"Well, maybe he's just being a proud father. After all, both of his children are still in the running," Temari suggested, her tone slightly bitter. Kankuro simply nodded while Gaara continued to stare straight ahead, knowing exactly where his sister's thoughts were heading.
He already knew that their own father wouldn't have made the same effort the Fire King had made today.
"Well, well, well . . . Congratulations on making it through the Forest of Death. There were 29 teams at the start of the second round, and now only nine remain," Anko announced as she locked eyes with each and every ninja in front of her. "Unfortunately, that good news also comes with bad news. Too many of you passed the second round, so we need to whittle the numbers down even further before we move on to the third round."
"From this point onward, you do not need to lean on your teammates to be successful. We've reached the point of the competition where your teams are pretty much moot for the rest of the showcase," Ibiki added as he stepped over to Anko's side. "In simple terms: it's every man for themself. You may be friends out of this building, but in here, you are each other's enemies."
"Now then, before we begin, we are required by official Showcase rules to allow you at least one opportunity to exit the competition without any penalty held against you," Anko grumbled, sounding not too happy with the rule in of itself. "That opportunity is now. So, if anyone wants to leave, the exit is right behind the lot of you."
"There's no way anyone is going to leave now, not after making it so far." Shukakugrumbled, thinking it pointless. "They made you pipsqueaks run through a forest whose name literally has the word 'death' in it for crying out loud! Why would anyone want to leave now after going through all that?!"
"Hmm, why don't you ask that silver haired ninja with the glasses for yourself? He's leaving right now." Gaara asked in return as the ninja he pointed out started to silently walk away. The redhead was quick to notice the familiar leaf symbol of the Fire Kingdom's ninja village on the ninja's forehead protector when he turned to look at the group one last time before leaving, which got him thinking. "So, a lone Leaf ninja has decided to give up. . . 27 down to 26."
"And with his King in attendance too? Well that's just shameful, don't you think?"
Before Gaara could answer his question, a loud cough grabbed his, and everyone else's, attention. He turned his head in time to see a second man slide over to stand in between Ibiki and Anko. Unlike the two ninjas on either side of him, he was dressed in the standard outfit for ninjas of the Fire Kingdom, complete with a forehead protector stitched onto the bandana he wore on his head. However, unlike his fellow ninjas, the man looked a little on the sickly side, complete with a chronic cough to boot.
"Hello everyone! My name is Hayate Gekkō, and I will be the referee for your preliminary round, and the upcoming third round," said the ninja as he covered another cough. "For this preliminary round, each of you will have to compete in a one-on-one battle, and the winner of each fight will earn their spot in the third round. . . The screen behind us will randomize the names for each matchup. Now then, let's see who's first."
"We better not be made to wait long,"Shukaku growled, just as names started to blur in and out on screen. "I want to have my fun already."
"It's not up to me to decide the matchups Shukaku. You're just going to have to be patient until it's our turn to fight." Gaara said right back as the first two names were finally decided on. "Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akadō?"
"Yoroi Akadō . . . Who the fuck is that?!"
"Another ninja from the Fire Kingdom, actually." Gaara answered as he looked at the tall ninja cracking his knuckles. He was staring menacingly at his Uchiha opponent, his glare not hindered by the fabric and sunglasses he wore over his face.
"Sasuke, Yoroi, you'll remain down here. Everyone else, make your way up to the balcony."
"Hmm, so, we have one of the teammates of the Fire Prince going up against ateammate of the guy that quit seconds ago . . . Considering theUchihastill doesn't look to be in full health right now, this could be an interesting battle."
Gaara simply nodded before following his siblings up one of the nearby staircases to the balcony. When the siblings and their mentor found a spot to watch the battles, Gaara snuck a look at Sasuke, who had a hand clamped down on the left side of his neck once again. Despite his injury bothering him, the Uchiha didn't show it on his face.
"I see you are both ready," said Hayate as he took a step back, his eyes switching between the two competitors. "You may begin."
Yoroi quickly went through a few hand signs before leaping right at Sasuke, his right hand glowing with chakra. Sasuke was quick to avoid some of the ninja's jabs and swipes, but the taller shinobi managed to finally catch him. His hand landed right on the Uchiha's forehead, sending the younger boy headfirst right into the ground.
"Hmm, are you still keen on wanting the Uchiha's blood now?"
"Don't start sounding smug, you damn redhead,"Shukaku grumbled as they watched Sasuke struggle to break free from Yoroi's hold."Despite the other guy's ability for siphoning off his opponent's chakra tomake it his own, there's just something about the duck butt head that interests me."
"Did you just call Sasuke Uchiha 'duck butt head'?"
"Yes, and can you honestly blame me? His hair looks like a bird's ass for fucking sake!"
Gaara remained silent for the rest of the battle, having no idea how to respond to the tanuki's rather on point remark. The battle itself ended up being a short one, as Sasuke promptly defeated his opponent with a swift and successful taijutsu technique that sent him plummeting to the floor. As soon as the proctor announced that Sasuke was the winner, his mentor led him away to be taken to the medical bay.
"Well, that was quick, and there wasn't any blood spilled in that matchup."Shukaku grumbled as everyone watched Yoroi get stretchered out the room. "Not an impressive match overall. . ."
"Any fight without much blood spilling is unimpressive in your eyes," Gaara was quick to say as the screen started shuffling through names for the next match. "And I doubt the referee will allow any of the matches to go that far either . . . Better luck next time tanuki."
"Zaku Abumi and Shino Aburame, please make your way down to the floor!" Ordered the sickly proctor as he looked up at the balcony, watching for any movement.
A spiky haired ninja dressed in a large light blue coat with a collar that hid his mouth quietly made his way down to the floor, but Gaara's eyes didn't linger on him for long. His attention was more so drawn toward his opponent, a taller male from the Sound Kingdom. Unlike the kid in the coat, the Sound nin had one noticeable detriment that no one in the room could ignore.
"It's amazing that Sound genin still wants to continue despite his two dislocated arms," Temari mumbled as she leaned against the railing. "Sheesh, he has a better reason to quit than the guy that left earlier."
"For some reason, despite his handicap, I doubt he is going to go down quietly," Baki pointed out as he crossed his arms. "Your father advised you three to be wary of the Sound ninjas after all, so I suggest you don't take him lightly, despite the ailments."
"Gee, thanks for the reminder Baki. We couldn't have remembered that piece of advice without you."
Baki sharply glared at Kankuro, who kept his eyes glued to the battlefield. Not because he was actually ignoring him, but he was scared to lock eyes with the glare his mentor was sending his way.
Contrary to popular belief, Zaku had regained some movement in one of his arms. As soon as they were allowed to fight, he quickly leapt forward to strike Shino in the head, but the attack was slow enough that the Leaf ninja managed to block it with ease.
However, the Sound ninja had a couple more tricks up his sleeve, blasting Shino away with a sound based jutsu from the windpipe in his palm, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. Unfortunately for him, Shino did not stay down for long.
"Damn, he got back up that quick?!" Kankuro mumbled, shaking his head. "Did that attack even phase him?"
"I think the bugs coming out of him softened the blow," Temari suggested, her eyes looking a little disgusted as beetles started to crawl out from Shino's coat. "This must be the Aburame Clan's signature jutsu coming into play."
"The Aburame Clan is world famous for using various insects in their many techniques. Chakra eating beetles happen to be a signature of theirs," Baki explained, his eyes going straight to the large swarm of beetles that were moving behind the Sound ninja. "It might be weird to some, and disgusting to others, but it is quite effective on the battlefield. . . It's a big reason as to why the Aburames are one of the oldest clans in the entire Fire Kingdom after all."
"He's surrounded on two sides, and one of his arms is still in a sling. What can he possibly do next?" Temari asked, just as Zaku pulled his other arm out and directed it toward the swarm of beetles coming his way, his other arm facing his opponent. "Well there goes my curiosity . . ."
"There's no way he could have pulled out that arm from his sling that quickly and not feel any discomfort in the process. . . They must be hurting like crazy!"
"Or his arm is probably not injured and he just kept it in a sling to mess with his competition's heads to gain a slight advantage?" Gaara suggested in return. "If he could pull off a decent jutsu with just one arm, he betters his chances if the other one is just as okay, if not better."
"Too bad that's not the case. . . His arms just went limp."
True to what the tanuki said, Zaku's arms suddenly dropped back down to his sides after exploding from the inside out, his face marred with sudden disbelief and pain as he looked down at his bloody appendages. Blood was also spilling from a corner of his mouth, most likely to hold back the scream of anguish that threatened to tear out from his throat.
"That Aburame kid must have commanded some of his bugs to enter the windpipes in the Sound ninja's arms to mess them up. . . Sound strategy, and excellent blood splatter. Don't you think?"
"I'll be honest, you're probably right . . . Except for the blood splatter part. That is something I don't agree with you on." Was all Gaara could think to say as the battle reached a quick conclusion, with Shino moving to backhand Zaku into unconsciousness to end the match.
"Two battles down, many more to go," mumbled Temari as she shook her head. "Who's next?"
"Well, why don't you look up at the screen to find out?" Baki suggested as the medics took Zaku away as Shino made his way back to his team.
It didn't take long for the screen to start shuffling through the remaining names for the next match, and when it finally stopped, all eyes in the room widened at what was shown on screen.
"Hmm, it didn't take that long for the first royal to be chosen," said Kankuro, a smirk slowly appearing on his face as he looked at the screen. "This should definitely be one to watch."
"Hmm, your brother is making a good point . . . Things should certainly be interesting now."Shukaku growled, eager to see the matchup unfold.
"Yeah, maybe . . ."
It was all Gaara could say as he continued watching the screen.
"Princess Shizuka Namikaze vs Hiyori Muguruma" he thought, not knowing what could possibly come next as the audience buzzed with anticipation for what was to come.
A/N: Leave a comment if you'd like!