Adventures of the Orange Flash
Chapter 39: Let's get ready to…
Naruto was standing in the middle of the outdoor arena of the Yakan Temple, taking on a feral combat stance as he was currently being surrounded by a group of animated straw dummies. Naruto beckoned them to come and attack him which they did with one rushing up to him from behind, he performed a front flip to drive his heel into the dummy's head with great force to launch it into the air then he leapt after it while igniting the very same foot with foxfire to perform a backflip kick to send it flying while burning up at the same time into ashes.
Naruto landed back on the ground and quickly dashed sideways to avoid a palm thrust from one of the dummies then ducked low to dodge a roundhouse kick from another, the Kitsune took to the offensive by using one of his tails to wrap around the outstretched leg to swung the dummy around to slam into the other dummy then he performed a barrage of palm thrusts before finishing the combo with a double palm thrust to send them flying. Naruto continued to follow up with the assault as he unleashed bursts of foxfire from the soles of his feet to launch himself towards the airborne dummies like a slingshot then struck at them with roundhouse kicks back-to-back before finishing with a drop-kick as he landed back on the ground with a skid while the dummies laid on the floor burnt out.
"Very well done Naruto, your battling prowess is definitely improving with each training session," Naruto turned to see Tetsuo hovering at the edge of the arena with a look of approval.
"Thanks Tetsu-jiji, I gotta be at the top of my A-game if I want to contend with the other fighters in this upcoming tournament," said Naruto.
Nicole walked up to Naruto with a towel and a bottle of water in hand "Here you go Naruto,"
Naruto gratefully took the items to wipe the sweat off and quenched his thirst "Thanks a lot Nicole-chan, I really needed that,"
"You're welcome," said Nicole happily.
"I do seem to have noticed something rather interesting about your foxfire during your sessions and I want to bring it to your attention," said Tetsuo.
Naruto looked at the spiritual Kitsune with curiosity "What is it?"
"I've been detecting short surges whenever you use the foxfire in combat which I'm sure you might have noticed but chalked it up slightly overloading when using it,"
"He's right, I noticed it too," said Kurama.
"Is it something I should be concerned about?" asked Naruto.
"It's nothing negative but just be more careful when using your foxfire, anything might happen. And there's another thing I need to bring your attention to,"
"Which is?"
"In this tournament, there's a large chance that the other ninja clans will be watching and you will be right in the spotlight,"
"You're right but then again this could be the best way to let them know that the Yakan clan is returning after being gone and show them that we're holding strong too," said Naruto with a smirk.
Nicole then spoke up "We need to return to Emerald Town to pick up Lilac and the others before heading to Casino Park to sign up for the tournament,"
"Oh right, not to mention that we need to pick up the luggage that we packed. We'll catch you later Tetsuo-Jiji, wish us luck,"
"That I will, knock em dead kit," said Tetsuo amiably as he watched Naruto respond with a thumbs up while placing a hand on Nicole's shoulders and disappearing in a yellow flash but then he frowned in thought "It is without a doubt that the other clans especially the Raiju clan are already aware of our return, I can only hope that we restore our clans' power to match up with theirs in due time,"
Naruto and Nicole reappeared in the living room of their home and noticed that it was oddly silent, Naruto used his Aura Sight to look around and noticed that the girls and the Chao weren't in the house.
"Looks like Lilac-chan and the others are here right now, where do you suppose they went?" asked Naruto.
"They might have gone to Emerald Beach for some mild training," said Nicole thoughtfully.
"In that case, I'll head over there to look for them and wait for you after packing up our luggage before we all set out for Casino Park," said Naruto.
"Ok, I'll be there soon,"
Nicole began making her way upstairs to begin packing their clothes, Naruto left the house and casually jogged along the streets before arriving at the beach. He didn't have to look too far as he saw Lilac and Carol engaging each other in a heated spar and noticed Milla along with the Chao sitting on a rock outcropping nearby while watching the ongoing battle.
"Whoa, look at them go!" said Naruto as he watched the two girls exchange punches and kicks at a rapid pace.
"It's to be expected, this tournament is bound to attract strong participants. As such they should prepare themselves to face them, just like you did for the finals of the Chuunin exams," said Kurama, receiving a nod of agreement from Naruto.
Soon Naruto saw that the spar was over and walked over to them "I can see that you two have really been going at it,"
Lilac looked up to smile at the fox in greeting "Hey Naruto, I guess you just came back from your own training,"
"Yeah, Nicole and I saw you weren't at home so I came to look for you while she packed up our luggage before coming down to meet us,"
"Well this is going to be our first tournament in a long time like I told you, we're definitely going to wow everyone with our skills!" said Carol with a smirk.
"Feelings mutual, been in a tournament once but there was an unwelcome interruption at the time…still bugs me that I didn't get promoted after all that," Naruto frowned at what happened back then, all of his friends were Jounin and Chuunin when he returned from his training except for him which felt pretty unfair especially with everything he went through from the moment he graduated from the academy.
"We'll be cheering for all of you!" said Milla cheerfully.
"Thanks Milla-chan,"
"I'm here!" everyone turned to see Nicole flying towards them with her Digital Wings active and landed before them "I got all of our things in the S.A.C but we need to hurry to Casino Park to affirm your entries before it closes,"
"In that case, we'll need to get over there as soon as possible. Everyone grab a hold of me so I can warp us to Casino Park," said Naruto, everyone complied and made sure to be holding on to before he locked onto the Hirashin mark which he had placed there during their pursuit of the disguised Metal Sonic then they all disappeared in a yellow flash.
The group reappeared to find themselves in the casino themed zone, Milla and Carol looked around the area in wonder while the others having been here before simply retook in the scenery with lesser awe. Nicole was the one to lead the way to what appears to be a large building, inside they saw many machines but normal sized unlike the ones they ran into the last time with many people trying their luck to win prizes, Naruto was tempted to have a go with his devil's luck but Lilac and Nicole were quick to pull him away.
"You can think of playing games after we finalize our registration in the tournament," said Nicole.
"Okay okay, no need to keep pulling me Nicole-chan," said Naruto in a placating manner.
"The registration is over there," said Lilac pointing at a counter where a small group of casino themed Egg Pawns dressed in tuxedos were currently to people. They waited until it was finally their turn and went to stand at the counters.
[Hello and how may I help you] asked one of the robots.
"We're here to finalize our registration to take part in the World Fighting Tournament," said Lilac.
[If that is so, then you would have received a digital code which serves as verification for entry into the tournament] the robot pressed a button then a Holo-screen was projected before them displaying a numerical keypad before them [Please enter your digital codes for the final verification]
"Okay then," Naruto, Lilac and Carol took turns entering their assigned codes into the keypad and the robot proceeded to crosscheck.
[Your entries have been confirmed and you're now eligible to participate in the World Fighting Tournament, the opening ceremony will behind in an hours' time so be sure to be present at the time]
They nodded in affirmation before walking away then Naruto spoke up "So what you suppose we do with one hour?"
"How about a couple of games to while away the time?" Carol suggested.
"I'm feeling a little snackish, I think I'll get a bite to eat over at the cafeteria," said Lilac while looking at said place.
"I'll be going to acquire some rooms for our stay here during the tournament," said Nicole thoughtfully.
"In that case, I'll be doing some exploring before coming back for the ceremony," said Naruto with Kou and Yoru sitting atop his shoulders.
"Can I come with you Naruto?" asked Milla shyly.
Naruto smiled fondly "Of course, it would be a bit boring going alone," Milla wagged her tail happily upon hearing that.
"Since we all have something to do, guess we'll meet up later then," said Carol.
"Yup, so see ya around," Naruto waved to the others before leaving with Milla and the Chao.
The small group wandered through the streets and around buildings whilst admiring the scenery with Naruto snapping a couple of picture via the ECG-X gloves as they walked. They also took note of the many Mobians and humans walking about dressed in rich clothing and a few had an arrogant air about them but they simply passed by without a word. They soon found themselves in a park to relax and play around for a bit.
Naruto was watching Milla play a game of tag with the Chao when something caught his eye and turned to get a better view which caught the others' attention.
"What is it Naruto?" asked Milla confusedly.
"Look over there," said Naruto, Milla and the Chao turned to where he was looking.
Sitting at a bench is a petite human girl with long dark blue hair that reaches down to her waist with two bangs framing her face which reaches down to her chest. She wears a simple dress which reaches down to her knees with two yellow and blue wavy stripes running across the dress and ending in small pointed edges at the bottom and a pair of blue Mary Jane shoes, and she also appears to be wearing winglike attachments around her arms and legs. The group took note of the duffle bag propped up next to her but what caught their attention was the sad look on her face.
Not wanting to stand around any longer, Naruto approached the girl along with Milla and the Chao. The girl seemed to have heard their approach as she looked up to see them and was a bit worried.
"Can I help you?" asked the girl.
"Hey there, my friends and I saw that you were looking a bit down and wanted to find out why," said Naruto "Allow me to introduce myself, the name's Naruto Uzumaki and these are my good friends Milla Basset, Kou and Yoru,"
Milla gave a friendly wave "Hello,"
"Chao/Choa," the Chao greeted as well while around the girl, getting her to smile a bit at their friendliness.
"Hello, my name is Wendy Marvell," said the girl shyly.
"Nice to meet you Wendy, what seems to be the problem?" asked Naruto, Wendy was about to reply when a voice suddenly called out to her.
"Wendy!" they turned to see a small bipedal cat with white fur, she has two whiskers on each side of her face. The cat wears a pink bow near the end of her long tail, she also wears a mustard yellow top with pink bow tie along with a pink skirt
"I looked everywhere but I couldn't find them and…who are you people and what are you doing with Wendy," the cat looked at the group with narrowed eyes.
Naruto waved his hands in a placating manner to calm the possibly irate cat "We're not doing anything bad to her, we just saw her looking sad and wanted to find out what's bothering her in hopes to help, that's all,"
The cat scoffed in response "Well it doesn't concern you, so you may take your leave,"
Milla's ears and tail drooped a bit "We just wanted to help,"
"Carla, you're not being nice to them," said Wendy with a small frown.
"You expect me to believe that they're doing this out of the goodness of their heart without a motive?" asked Carla.
"Sadly there are people like that, but we're nothing like them. I promise you that we want to help without expecting anything in return," said Naruto in a sincere manner, Wendy looked at the Kitsune and couldn't help but feel that he was telling the truth.
"Well…Carla and I came to Casino Park during our trip to watch the World Fighting Tournament. When we got here, I realized that I had lost my wallet which had my money and ticket, Carla tried to look for it but wasn't successful," said Wendy.
"We don't need their help I can still find it," said Carla stubbornly.
"I see…that definitely sounds like a problem," said Naruto thoughtfully, then he came up with an idea as he reached into his ninja pouch and took out what appears to be a ticket which Wendy and Carla recognized.
"Isn't that a ticket for the World Fighting Tournament?" asked Carla.
"Yup, I had preordered for them. You can have this one," Naruto held out the ticket to her.
"But what about you, don't you also want to watch the tournament too?" asked Wendy unsurely.
Milla then spoke up "Naruto doesn't need the ticket since he's taking part in it as a contender and I already have mine,"
"You're a participant? You don't look that strong," said Carla skeptically.
"Carla, you're being rude again," said Wendy.
"Naruto is strong, just you wait and see when the fight starts," said Milla, not all at happy that Naruto was being underestimated after everything he had done for her and the others.
Suddenly they heard beeping which was coming from Naruto's E.C.G-X gloves before he tapped the crystal to turn it off "It's almost time for the opening ceremony, we need to get going. You two can come with us,"
"Okay, and thank you for the ticket," said Wendy gratefully, Carla simply huffed and looked away.
Naruto nodded in affirmation and waited for Wendy to pick up her duffle bag before they made their way back to the stadium where Wendy and Milla used their tickets to gain entry and Naruto was allowed to enter since his name was in the database. Naruto took out a pouch containing rings which he gave to Milla so that she could buy some snacks for herself and the others before separating in direction for the waiting rooms to be called upon. He was walking along the hallways when he stopped then suddenly spoke out.
"You can stop hiding now, I can tell that you want to talk to me," said Naruto, he looked sideways towards the wall where there was a distortion before rapidly changing colors to reveal none other than Espio the chameleon.
"So you knew that I was following that you this whole time, since when?" asked Espio.
"Since Milla and I had left the stadium till now, so what is it you want to talk about?" asked Naruto.
"My clan is now aware of your clan's return and we wished to have a word with you since you're the 'Groom' of the Yakan clan which is a first in history,"
"I see, maybe some time after the tournament as I'm going to be busy with a couple of things,"
"Understood, but I must also alert you that the Raiju are aware of you as well so I advise that you exercise caution,"
Naruto looked away with a frown on his face "Thanks for the heads-up, I'll be sure to watch my back from here on. Good luck in the tourney too," he walked away Espio looking at him with a small smile.
"And to you as well," the ninja blended in with the area and silently left.
Naruto was now in the waiting room and calmly mediating as he awaited for the call. He decided to switch out the E.C.G-X gloves for a pair of black fingerless gloves which reach up to his forearms with metal plating. He contemplated on the kind of fighters that he would encounter on this tournament but remained confident that he would win no matter what. Then he heard the sound of someone talking through a speaker in the room.
[Calling all contestants to the podium for the commencement of the opening ceremony, thank you *click*]
"Guess that's my cue," Naruto hopped off his seat and stretched his arms a bit.
"Let's show them what we nine-tailed foxes can do!" said Kurama with a smirk.
Naruto smirked back "No need to tell me cause I'm planning to do just that!"
Meanwhile within the tournament (AN; Refer to the World Martial Arts Tournament arena in Dragon Ball Z), a massive crowd had gathered to bear witness to what would be the most epic of battles in a long time. Milla along with Wendy, Carla and the Chao had met up with Nicole and exchanged greetings before taking their seats. They watched as someone walked into the middle of the arena.
It is a robot with the appearance of a tall lanky humanoid rooster with white metallic feathers, scaled feet, winglike arms, silver body armor, red rooster comb on top of his head, a red two-feathered tail, and yellow beak and legs. This robot rooster was also wearing a black tuxedo with a red bow tie as he took out a microphone and began speaking.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to thank you all for coming to attend to one of the most historic events in Mobius. I'm your announcer Scratch and I welcome you all in place of one of our main sponsors who is currently in the VIP room along with special guests!" said Scratch.
Meanwhile at the aforementioned place, we find Breezie sitting on a chair and looking through a large window towards the arena while holding a glass of red wine in hand and took a sip out of it.
"A lot have gathered to witness great battles in this battle, wouldn't you agree?" Breezie took a glance towards the other people sitting in the room.
"Oui Madame Breezie, Zhis will be quite interesting to say zhe the least," said a brown furred coyote wearing what appears to be a royal uniform being a blue jacket with red trim, gold pads on the shoulders, a pair of red boots, and a black belt strapped to the waist which bears a sheathed cavalry sword.
"I have to agree with Antoine, I have to say thanks for inviting my brother and I to watch," said Sally who was there with her brother Elias.
"It appears that Scratch is about to call on the contenders, let's see who they are," Breezie spoke, drawing everyone's attention to look through the window to the arena below.
Scratch was speaking to the audience "…and now I'll introduce to you the first group of contenders as they appear on the arena…" several Mobians began walking through the entrance and went to stand on the arena for everyone to see.
"First off, we have the most beautiful treasure hunter in all of Mobius! Rouge the Bat!"
Rouge gave a wink to the crowd, making them cheer loudly.
"A lynx with a calm disposition but don't relax or it's lights out! Killua Zoldyck!"
A lynx with spiky silver hair and grey fur wearing a pale blue short sleeved T-shirt over a dark blue long-sleeved T-shirt, a pair of shorts and shoes silently bowed his head with a calm disposition.
"A fighter with a tough shell and lots of power to boot! Mighty the Armadillo!"
A black and peach Mobian armadillo with a red shell, wearing a pair of black fingerless gloves with red lining the finger holes and buckled brown cuffs with white bandages wrapped around his lower arms, and a pair of large black, red and brown boots with red socks. Mighty raised a hand to wave at the crowds.
"A wildcat who's not hesitant to turn you into a scratching post! Carol Tea!"
Carol performed a backflip and smirked with glee.
"A fox with genius intellect! Miles 'Tails' Prower!"
Tails waved excitedly at the crowd.
"A koala ready to throw down for her friends! Barby Koala!"
Barby simply smiled and nodded her head in greeting.
"A guy more than ready to deal out the knockout punch to send opponents flying! Knuckles the Echidna!"
Knuckles punched his fists together with a smirk.
"And last but not least, a girl capable of bringing down the hammer of love! Amy Rose!"
Amy Rose waved at the crowd too while holding her Piko Piko Hammer with pride.
"And now we shall make room for the second group of contenders for the tournament!" said Scratch, the first group went to one side and watched as the second group emerged through the entrance with some recognizing others with surprise and anticipation.
"First up is a fox with nine tails but a single goal which is to win! Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto held a fist before himself with a foxy grin, he looked at the stands to see Milla along with Nicole cheering for him and the others, feeling more determined to win.
"A teen all fired up to win this whole thing! Natsu Dragneel!"
A teenage boy with a lean muscular frame, spiky pink hair and slightly long canines poking through his teeth, he wears a sleeveless gold trimmed black waistcoat left open and untucked which exposes his bare chest, a gold trimmed black cloth around his waist that reaches his knees and held by a leather brown belt with an oval-shaped silver buckle, white knee-length trousers with black ribbon ties, a thick black wristband on the left wrist, black open-toed sandals, and a white scarf decorated with scale-like patterns wrapped around his neck. The boy smirked in anticipation for the upcoming battle.
"A guy who is ready to kick butt and chew bubblegum! Vector the Crocodile!"
Vector raised a hand to wave to the crowd.
"Everyone's favorite speedster is here to partake! Give it up for Sonic the Hedgehog!"
The crowd went wild at Sonic's name with said hedgehog doing his signature pose with a smirk.
"A purple dragoness ready to unleash the beast inside! Sash Lilac!"
Lilac bowed in greeting to the crowd.
"A gal hopping with excitement for the upcoming fights! Bunnie Rabbot!"
Bunnie waved to the crowd as well.
"Ninja who moves in the shadows but not afraid to fight in the light! Espio the Chameleon!"
Espio bowed in respect and took a glance at Naruto who smirked in anticipation.
"And finally, a fashionista who's gonna show us that styling clothes isn't the only thing she's good at! Honey the Cat!"
Naruto was surprised to see her as a contender and knew that he wasn't the only one as the Mobian happily waved to the crowd before winking at him playfully.
"Looks like things are getting more interesting than we thought, eh Naruto?" asked Kurama.
"Ain't that the truth, but it makes me want to fight a lot harder," thought Naruto before snapping back to attention.
Scratch spoke up once more "Now that our competitors are here and accounted for, I'll now lay down the rules concerning the tournament. This will be a series of one-on-one battles, a competitor could eliminated by one of three ways; being knocked unconscious by their opponents, being knocked out of the ring by some fashion or other, or by surrendering the fight," Naruto nodded in understanding before listening again "Please pay attention to the screen as we now display the matchups for the tournament!"
Everyone looked up as a large four-sided Holo-screen was projected overhead as the headshots of the competitors were being randomly shuffled at high-speed before finally stopping to display the matchups which were put into two groups:
GROUP A
Rouge vs. Killua
Mighty vs. Carol
Tails vs. Barby
Knuckles vs. Amy
GROUP B
Naruto vs. Natsu
Vector vs. Lilac
Sonic vs. Bunnie
Espio vs. Honey
"So I'll be going up against Natsu eh? This will be fun," Naruto looked to see Natsu grinning at him and grinned right back at him.
"Now that the matchups have been assigned, the contenders will return to their waiting rooms to prepare before being called out to battle each other for a shot to the top! Don't go anywhere folks, we're just getting started!" said Scratch.
The crowd cheered loudly as Naruto and the others left the arena to their assigned rooms to waiting until they were called.
"I should have known that Naruto would take part in this tournament, it's just like him to do so," said Elias with a look of excitement.
"Who iz zhis Naruto you are talking about Elias?" asked Antoine.
Sally then spoke up "Naruto was the one who came to help me when Knothole was being attacked by Eggman's robots along with his friends Lilac and Nicole. She along with another friend Carol are also participating in the tournament too,"
"Iz zhat so? In zhat case, I'll keep an eye on zhe fox to see what he can do,"
"You definitely won't be disappointed," said Elias with a smirk.
"I must agree with Antoine, you two talking about him in a familiar way has piqued my interest as well," said Breezie, looking curious "In more ways than one,"
In the throne room of the Raiju Clan house, Bride of the Raiju Clan was watching the opening ceremony and her eyes narrowed upon seeing the nine-tailed fox and even further upon seeing another familiar figure.
"So he's the nine-tailed fox of the Yakan clan, and I never thought to see him again. This is a perfect opportunity for me to see just what he's capable of before I bring him down once and for all," she said as she kept an eye on the TV to acquire further Intel.
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto has finished up on some last minute training and returned to Emerald Town with Nicole to pick up Lilac and the others as they were doing some training of their own before heading to Casino Park where the tournament was soon to be held. After registering and splitting up to do some individual activities, Naruto and Milla encountered a girl by the name with her friend Carla the cat with the latter missing her money and ticket but they kindly helped her out then returned in time for the opening ceremony. Now Naruto and co have met the other contenders and are even more psyched up to win, but they have a vague idea that a lot of eyes from around the world are upon them. Nonetheless, they're more than ready to put on a show.
In technical terms concerning the tournament, one can say that it bears similarities to the Sega game Sonic the Fighters so you're sure to see a couple of elements from it. If you're wondering why Shadow isn't in the tournament, that's because he is still having issues concerning his identity and wouldn't have that must interest in it. I also added a couple of characters outside the norm but know that this won't be their only appearance in future chapters.
So read and review as always.
This is Hussbek from Ghana
Signing out.