Chapter 32: Let the Ass Kicking Begin
"Come one, Jiji, just start the bouts already," much as his self-control had improved, Naruto was getting very antsy. The boy wanted action.
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," a voice Naruto was familiar with announced, "But I believe I'm to take it from here."
Nodding to the proctor, Hiruzen sat down and beckoned the man to continue, "By all means, Hayate-kun."
"Thank you," the man coughed, "First off, congratulations to you all on making it to this round. Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of Genin that made it through we will be having an elimination round."
"Elimination round!"
"What the hell man!"
"You mean we did all this for nothing!"
"If you don't like it that's not my problem. In a month's time *cough* clients of various influence will arrive; lords, Daimyo, merchants, and traders will see the best of the best the hidden villages have to offer. Their importance to a village's thriving is paramount, and they many can't *cough* afford to be away from their post for too long. We have thirty-three Genin here at the moment. If all of you were to fight it would take up too much time. Thus the need for an *cough* elimination round."
Naruto heard a few of them curse – actually; Shikamaru being the lazy bastard that he was sighed in annoyance – and guessed a few of them had been hoping for an easy pass to the final round.
"Now, before we begin, is there anyone here that wishes to back out?" Hayate asked. Many of the Genin looked at one another but only one raised their hand.
"Kabuto-kun?" Hinata asked; Sakura looked at him, too.
"Bad luck once more I'm afraid, Hinata-kun. I barely made it at the last minute and my reserves are very low. Even with my medical skills I'm incredibly tired and I can't hear too well out of my right ear due to my latest scrimmage. It's taking me a great deal of effort just to stand and any medical supplies I had were lost on the third day, unfortunately," Kabuto sighed with exasperation, "The Cursed Genin indeed. Sorry, Yoroi, Misumi; I'm afraid I'm out of this one. Maybe next year."
"Assuming we're still on the same team," Yoroi remarked.
"True," Kabuto said and began making his way to the stand where the other Jonin looked.
Naruto frowned as he looked at the 'Genin' and muttered a quick Observe on his retreating form. True to his word, Kabuto did have negative status effects and his CP and HP levels were pretty damn low. Whether it was to fool them or honest to kami injuries, Naruto had no idea.
"Very well. Since Genin Kabuto has forfeited his chance to proceed *cough* further the match ups are now even with thirty-two Genin remaining. Once you see your names on the random selector come down. You will fight only when I say *cough* so and you'll stop when I say so. Break those rules and you risk being disqualified. Any interference by a Genin's teammates or their Jonin instructor during a match will result in said Genin being *cough* disqualified. A match will also be called if a Genin states they forfeit."
As he finished, a large screen soon began to lower on the wall in front of them. Before their very eyes the contestants watched as the first name appeared.
"First match will be Haruno Sakura of Konoha against… Yamanaka Ino of Konoha!" Hayate declared and ordered everyone but the contestants to clear the floor.
As they reached the stands and stood next to their Jonin instructors, Naruto felt sorry for his former crush. Unless Sakura developed and mastered a series of unique skills, this fight was going to end one-sidedly. A quick use of Observe showed him that Sakura had in fact only gone up five levels, the last level up being very recent, though her WIS levels were very high.
"Your girl's going down, Kakashi," Anko announced, confident that her future apprentice would make quick work out of the pinkette.
"You sound so sure, Anko," Kurenai told her friend.
"Duh. Pinky just got here and she's banged up pretty good, Nai-chan. My team was the first to arrive and on the first day," she smirked some more; Kurenai frowned but inwardly she was a tad worried.
"I'm surprised they let you proctor in the first place, Anko," Asuma said, "Conflict of interest and all."
"Please. Much as I'd do anything to win, I ain't petty enough to give my team an edge in something like this. If they win its cuz of my mad training skills," her team had other thoughts on the matter.
"More like crazy."
"Batshit nuts."
"Inhumane."
"Arf!"
"I fucken hate you four so much right now," Anko muttered, vowing to make her team pay for that.
"Pretty sure the overcompensating swordsman hates you more than you do us, Anko-sensei," Naruto nodded to a glaring Zabuza.
Anko merely looked at him and barely give him the time of day, "His ass is probably still sore from the pounding I gave him. Fucked him up good," she smirked; Zabuza's eye twitched at the double entendre and he was sorely tempted to bifurcate the Snake Mistress. The man's attention was drawn elsewhere as Hayate began the match.
"Ready… Hajime!" Hayate declared.
Ino wasted little time getting up close and personal. The blonde kunoichi lashed out with a kick that caught Sakura in the midriff and sent her sprawling. Had it been Ino's full strength the likelihood of Sakura being out for the count would be high but Ino didn't want to break her former friend's ribs.
They were still comrades and she didn't want to show off too much of her strengths. Sakura, to Ino and Team Eight's surprise, managed to get up rather quickly despite holding her stomach and wincing.
"Sakura's got an earth affinity," Naruto noted. And if memory served him, earth was a dead useful element for defence; some of the minor techniques were capable of increasing one's durability and defence from certain blows.
"Then it's a good thing Blondie's got a lightning affinity," Anko muttered. Anko watched as Ino dodged a series of kunai and shuriken that were thrown at her with relative ease. The woman became momentarily worried when Sakura threw four shuriken that suddenly turned into a dozen each, but watched as Ino performed a series of dodges and acrobatics that put even a cat to shame. Despite her natural grace, the Yamanaka had taken Anko's contortionism lessons pretty hard at first but quickly turned out to be a natural.
"Bunshin Shuriken no Jutsu (Clone Shuriken Technique)," Hinata named the technique. It was an advance but relatively useless technique that was taught in the twilight years of the academy. But the distraction was apparently enough for Sakura.
"Raiton…" but the blonde stopped suddenly to the intrigue of many.
"Genjutsu?" Naruto surmised. It made sense though. With her perks and WIS levels, Genjutsu was the perfect skill for Sakura to use. And unlike him, Ino and Hinata weren't immune to the effects of Genjutsu.
"Indeed. We were short on time and since Sakura lacked the physique for Taijutsu and the necessary chakra levels for truly effective ninjutsu, I asked Kurenai to instruct her when she had the time," Kakashi was not surprised by how well she took to the art.
Genjustu was a skill few mastered because of the large amount of control it took, which in itself took a great deal of time to accomplish. Genjutsu was often disregarded unless one had a natural knack for chakra control and a flair for creativity. An advantage of having lower levels of chakra most of her life allowed the pink haired kunoichi to develop a very close feel to her chakra. Unintentionally, control came even more easily to her as a result.
"How good is she?" Anko asked her friend.
Kurenai, however, merely smirked rather than answer, "You'll just have to wait and see, Anko."
"Bitch," Anko countered with any true bite and looked back at the arena.
"I'll admit, Forehead, this is pretty good. Here's the thing, though. Genjutsu is only as good as its caster, by how skilled its victim in breaking it, and the more chakra one has the harder it is to manipulate in order to trick them," Sakura frowned in agreement, her levels were very low and it took much of her concentration to keep Ino from breaking her control over said illusion. Sakura was good and had greater chakra control, but Ino had much more chakra and was decent at chakra control, the advantage would turn into Ino's favour if Sakura didn't quickly capitalized on her current fortunes.
One of the problems with Genjutsu was that once a person realized they were in one, especially the lower tier ones, it reduced the psychological stress they felt, making the illusion they were put under even less effective. Sakura was skilled enough to make certain Ino wouldn't be able to move, but it took a great deal of concentration and was quickly draining the kunoichi of her remaining chakra.
"The other thing is that Genjutsu for beginners requires the caster to remain stationary so the illusion doesn't fuck up on them," here Kurenai frowned, both at the vulgar language and because Ino was right. The Ice Queen of Konoha herself had faced the same problem when she first began learning truly effective Genjutsu and it had taken her years to learn how to focus and cast them while moving at high speeds and performing other tasks. It took her much less time compared to others, but it took quite some time nonetheless. Truly effective Genjutsu came from those who could multi task on an incredible level.
Unfortunately, for Ino, Sakura could walk while casting one of her illusions and began doing so right now. Some of Jonin nearby were surprised; while not uncommon it was still impressive for a beginner to do such a feat, "And does this have a point, Ino-buta?" Sakura asked whilst making her way towards the Yamanaka, drawing a kunai from her pouch.
Ino merely smirked as her head suddenly moved towards Sakura's direction, "It does, Forehead. Sick her!" From Ino's sleeve burst forth a small, blue serpentine quadruped with a scaly squirrel like tail. The creature was very quick and nimble and Sakura was caught off guard by the unexpected move as the creature landed on her face.
To add salt to the wound, Sakura's eyes widen as she felt her illusion suddenly break with incredible ease and found herself flying through the air as a kick landed in her gut once more. Kurenai bore the same look as her student and thought along the same lines; the whole thing was a set up, a trap to lure Sakura into a false sense of security. And both teacher and student fell for it. Despite recovering from the blow, wincing all the while, Sakura was unable to defend herself as the creature from before managed to bite her in the neck.
"Game over," Naruto thought, the single action from the snake-creature caused Sakura to begin shaking uncontrollably and fall to the ground. To the audience it looked like Sakura was having a seizure and ultimately the match was called.
"Shosha! Yamanaka Ino!" Hayate announced while the medical team made their way to the battle ring.
A sharp whistle had many concerned, even more so as the creature bit the downed girl's leg once more, and Sakura's shaking began to subside. Fearing she had gone too far, Ino found herself surrounded by the other Konoha Jonin and given a cold look by Kurenai.
"Yamanaka-san! You were declared the winner!" Hayate barked; the creature hissed at the sickly swordsman for the outburst towards its mother and put the man on guard least he be bitten as well. Strangely enough, Hayate noticed that Anko wasn't among the Jonin that surrounded the blonde.
"Relax. All Tobi did was inject her with the anti-venom. She'll be out for a while though," Ino told them. A quick look at the medics, and confirmation that the girl was fine and the poison neutralized, allowed Hayate to dismiss Ino. Tobi soon followed the girl and swiftly climbed up on her and curled on her neck like a scarf.
"Strange creature," Kankuro noted but had to admit its venom was fascinating and would greatly benefit his fighting style. Off to the side, the Jonin from Oto couldn't help but agree with the Kazekage's eldest son. The creature was indeed strange in Orochimaru's opinion, but no less interesting. Yet familiar, too.
"Tobi?" Naruto asked. "You named him Tobi?"
"Yeah. It's short and sweet. Good boy, Tobi. Who's a good boy?" the little creature purred and chirped at the praised from its mother. Elsewhere a man in an orange swirl like mask suddenly felt the need to change his name.
"I'll never understand women and their mood swings," Naruto suddenly felt a great deal of Killing Intent directed towards him that would have overwhelmed him had the Gamer's Mind not protected him. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Yes/Yes!" while Naruto didn't hear the former, the blond blinked and mentally sighed as the latter was heard from within.
"Well, look who finally made himself known after nearly a month. What do you want, Kyubi? I'm kinda busy here," Naruto told the millennia natural disaster.
"Nothing. Just enjoying the drama you found yourself dragged into. I'm going to enjoy watching you struggle with this," Kyubi chuckled darkly.
"You know, I don't get you. You say you hate me yet you don't want to look weak and won't hesitate to give me your chakra. Yet when I need help you get off by seeing me struggle. What the hell?" Naruto asked.
The Kyubi merely shrugged and said nothing except release a dark chuckle once more. Everything became silent and Naruto knew the damn demon would be leaving him alone for the next little while. Observing, yes, but left alone all the same.
"Okay, Gaki, rule number one if you ever want to get laid," Anko began – much to the disbelief of many around them – but didn't get far.
"Okay, I'm gonna stop you there. Show of hands if anyone here thinks it's weird that my female teacher was about to give me pointers on how to lose my virginity?" all Naruto was met with was absolute silence, "… Really? No one here thinks that's weird? No one has the balls to say anything? Are you really that scared of – Never mind, I retract that last statement –"
"Too late, Gaki," Anko looked positively evil at the moment; Ino and Hinata knew their teammate was screwed.
Which led to Naruto cursing out loud, "Fuck!"
"Well, not any time soon, kid," Asuma chuckled, earning a smack upside the head from Kurenai.
Sighing with exasperation, Hiruzen had ordered the next selection to be picked. Within moments a name appeared, "Inuzuka Kiba of Konoha against… Nii Samui of Kumo!"
"Yahoo! Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba whooped and rushed to the arena with his partner. Samui by contrast was more efficient and methodical as she made her way down.
"Any bets on who will win?" Ino asked her teammates.
"The patriot in me wants to cheer for my home village, but I'm gonna have to go with the Kumo kunoichi on this one," Naruto's declaration surprised many for not siding with the home team; Kumo especially.
"Why's that?" Kurenai asked, surprised and a tad insulted.
"Unless Kiba-kun has greatly improved in the last few months he will be hard pressed. Furthermore, Kumo has their Genin learn kenjutsu during their academy days and this team made it to the tower not half an hour after we did on the first day," that tidbit of information made some of the other Genin nervous. There was no guarantee that those who arrived first were the more skilled of contestants but they shouldn't be overlooked either.
"Team Seven also arrived at the last minute and their members are tired. And Kiba-kun just told Akamaru to stay put," Hinata pointed out her well thought points; Kurenai couldn't find fault in her former ward's logic.
"She really has blossomed under Anko's training… More than she ever did with me," it was a sad reality and a slap to the face if she was honest. If any doubts remained about Hinata bettering under the genjutsu mistress's tutelage than Anko's they were gone now. Much like Naruto Hinata had improved in months than the years she had with Kurenai. The woman was forced to acknowledge that Anko was right: she had been coddling the heiress.
"So Kiba's chances of winning?" Anko broke Kurenai from her thoughts.
"A bit on the slim side at the moment, they'd be better if he was using his ninken," Naruto wasn't surprised by the Inuzuka's arrogant and incredibly dumb decision, "Unless he's got a move up his sleeve I don't know about then the chances of this fight being Kumo's win are high."
Kiba's level had increased a lot more than Sakura's and his stats were better than before. However, Samui's levels were still higher and unlike Kiba and Akamaru, her CP, HP, and Fatigue Levels were at the most desirable level. Looking over to Samui's team, Naruto spotted her teammates and whom he assumed was their Jonin instructor. His Observe had him worried as he looked at her.
Status Window
Name: Nii Yugito - Elite Shinobi
Level: ?
Black Market Bounty: 81 Million Ryo
HP: ?
CP: ?
STR: ?
VIT: ?
DEX: ?
INT: ?
WIS: ?
LUK: ?
DEF: ?
Special Perks:
?:?
Perks:
?:?
Stats: ?
Details: ?
"So an instructor with the Elite Shinobi class on them. Great," only a few Jonin here such as Kakashi, Gai, and Zabuza had that special classification. This meant the Genin were trained by one of their village's best of the best. And with a bounty that high Naruto surmised that said instructor was a powerful one.
There was no guarantee the students' would be powerful based on that alone; Team Seven was an okay team and while Kakashi was a great shinobi – for he, too, had the Elite Shinobi class – his teaching skills could be way better according to Anko.
"Hajime!"
Kiba wasted no time, the cocky young Inuzuka Clan heir shot at the blonde with speeds that some had difficulties keeping up with. Samui, however, having been taught by the Champion of Kumo, Kira B, – having a jinchuriki and accomplished Jonin for a sister helped, too – and his unorthodox and no hold back teaching style enabled her to keep up with the feral boy just fine. Each swipe was dodged, ducked, jumped over, and in a few cases she lashed out with a punch or kick that sent Kiba sprawling.
As the matched went on, Asuma frowned. The act was something that was noted by Kurenai, "Asuma? What's wrong?"
"That girl's fighting style... it's like Shikamaru's," he muttered. Indeed, for while there were some noticeable differences, the Kumo kunoichi's fighting style was very methodical. Each manoeuvre she made was carefully calculated; each miss of Kiba's attacks were only by a few inches and every counter was strategically landed on areas that would impede Kiba's movements or hamper the effectiveness of his attacks.
And she hadn't even drawn her tanto yet, "That girl is no ordinary Genin," the son of the Hokage said.
"Obviously. Samui was the Top Genin of our year and she skipped a year, too," Karui told them. While skipping years was not that uncommon in some villages such as Konoha, Kumo's requirements were much more strict on their Genin for who could and could not skip a year.
"Top Genin?" Chouji wondered.
"Kumo's equivalent of Rookie of the Year," Kakashi informed Team Ten; his eyes were much more focused now on his student. The way she moved already had Kakashi on guard, the way she fought even more; Kakashi knew his student wouldn't have an easy match, especially with him thinking he wouldn't need Akamaru to help him. Despite his efforts, especially after the Sandaime's talk, Kiba was, unfortunately, like most Inuzuka children, very headstrong and stubborn when it came to change. Change came very slowly unless something drastic happened.
Swiping at her once more, Kiba was caught off guard by Samui expertly grabbing him by the wrist and slamming him down on the ground at speeds that the cocky Inuzuka didn't believe she possessed. He was up off the ground quickly enough but before he could retaliate he felt a fist slam into his face, a harsh blow to his neck, and a flurry of other blows that landed on his sides, chest, and knees. To finish it off, Kiba felt a sharp tug on his hair before he tasted blood as a knee crashed into his face when he was forced to bend forward.
"Raisho (Lighting Palm)!" Swiftly did a palm covered with lighting chakra slammed into his chest and Kiba was left both breathless, burnt and sent flying across the room before he struck a wall with a resonant thud.
Ouch!
"Whoa," Ino commented. "What was that and where can I learn it?" the technique looked so simple yet its effectiveness was no laughing matter.
"Doubt you ever will, Ino. The teachings of Kumo's fighting styles are pretty hush-hush. Pretty sure that was a basic move of the Nintaijutsu Fighting Style they teach," Anko told her.
"Nintaijutsu?" that sounded pretty badass in Naruto's opinion.
"A combination of ninjutsu and taijutsu blended together to form a unique fighting style; the few in Kumo that know it are close to the Raikage in some form or another, even then only a select number are allowed to learn it. The style allows the users to manipulate chakra to form techniques without using hand seals. People have been trying to crack it for years without anything coming close to being as good as the original," Anko explained.
Despite her talent, Anko had fought and lost pretty badly to one such user when she was a Genin under her former master; the fighting style and ninja that used it were no joke.
"The flow of chakra around her is… unique," Hinata spoke softly, "It's like she's using her entire body as a weapon and using the chakra flow on it. But the flow is much different than how it normally should be."
Off on the sidelines, Neji frowned at his cousin's words but with his own Byakugan activated he had to agree that her description of the phenomenon was accurate. Sasuke himself was using his Sharingan to see the flow but except for the movements she was pulling his Sharingan wasn't at a level that his mind could truly understand what was going on with the chakra.
"Raarrghh!" Kiba shouted a war cry as he managed to right himself from the crash; he followed up by performing one his clan's signature techniques: Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu (Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique). "Yer going down, cow tits!"
Hearing this Samui merely frowned and icily uttered two words, "Not cool."
"Oh, no," Yugito knew exactly what was going to come next. This match was over.
"Kick his ass, Samui! Show that mutt who's the boss!" Karui shouted.
"He's dead. Samui's gonna kill him, and the war between our village is gonna start again," Omoi rambled on until his female counterpart butt in.
"Will you knock it off? She's not gonna kill the idiot. Knock him senseless, sure, but not kill him," were they in the field Karui knew it be a different story but the Raikage had given them orders not to kill any Genin unless forced to.
"It's like you don't know her," Omoi calmly told his teammate.
Watching him ingest a military ration pill, Samui made her move with speeds that put her previous one to shame. To the surprise of everyone it wasn't towards the Inuzuka heir, but to the small ninken that was on the sidelines. Her dagger flashed out quickly and knocked away the pill Kiba had flicked towards Akamaru's open mouth, right before she plunged it into his hind leg.
"AAARRRFFF!"
"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted, "You bitch! I'll –"
"Don't move, " Samui threatened and dug her tanto deeper into the downed Akamaru's leg. The young pup whimpered and whined at the pain as he tried to break loose but Samui had a very firm hold on the pup. Noticing the movement of his hand, Samui dug her tanto even deeper than before and muzzled the puppy with her hand in a vice grip. "Drop the pill."
Cursing for having been caught, Kiba, having never been in this kind of situation, didn't know what to do. His Inuzuka blood was boiling and he wanted to fight the one who injured his partner. But on the other hand the more rational part of his mind told him that anything he did would endanger Akamaru.
"Drop. The. Pill. I won't tell you a third time," Samui now had electricity flow into her tanto and Akamaru's whining became louder and unbearable for quite a few to hear. While the Inuzuka were formidable ninja due to their unique relationship with their ninkens and the incredible collaboration techniques, their greatest strength – cliché as it sounded – was also their greatest weakness. The strategy Samui had ultimately pulled went in her favour.
"Alright, I give! Just stop it!" Kiba conceded.
"Winner by forfeit, Nii Samui!" Hayate announced.
Stopping the flow of chakra, Samui lifted the small ninken and put a comforting hand on his head. Contrast to her behaviour during the fight, Samui was incredibly gentle when she handed Akamaru over to the medics that come to take him.
"Kiba don't!"
Seeing his chance and seeing only red and ready to make her bleed, Kiba launched himself at her exposed back. But the Inuzuka never got his chance to land a strike and didn't even come close to Samui. Kiba suddenly found himself floating in and out of consciousness the moment his head was slammed face down on the hard floor with incredible force. On his neck he felt five sharp protrusions.
"Her speed. It's incredible," Sasuke had his Sharingan on the entire time the scene transpired but even then he wasn't able to register the Kumo Jonin's movement. "So this was the power of a Jonin ... No. This is the power of a true Jonin," he corrected; realizing that the Kumo Jonin had arrived there before even Kakashi. This was the power he needed.
"Try that again and you'll regret it!" Yugito hissed at the Genin; her eyes narrowed into cat like slits.
"Nii-san!" from the stand everyone saw Hiruzen standing from his seat. "Kindly remove yourself from my Genin. We will take it from here."
"The Raikage will hear of this!" the woman said but acquiesced to his command.
Hiruzen frowned but knew his hands were tied. He was not as strong as he once was, but Hiruzen's mind was still as sharp. Few knew that he knew that the Nii women down below were the current Raikage's paternal cousins. And the man was not one to take slights against his family lightly.
"Rest assured. The boy will be punished and punished severely," much as he sympathized with the boy due to knowing how special the relationship between an Inuzuka and their ninken was. But Kiba's attack was unbecoming of a future Chunin and as a ninja in general.
"Kiba you moron," Ino groaned at the boy's idiocy. Kakashi dragged the Inuzuka off the field, and, judging by the Jonin's body language, he was far from pleased with his student's actions.
"I can't say I blame him; Tsume's brat has a right to be pissed. But damn it if that moron should use that fucking brain of his for once and think things through! What the hell does he think this is gonna do for Konoha's rep? For his clan's reputation!" Anko owed a lot to Tsume and hated that Kiba's blunder would not reflect well on her since he was the clan head's son.
"Her speed is insane. She's faster than even you Anko-sensei," Anko forwent telling her student that if she used her seal she'd match or surpass the woman's speed.
"Shit! Now I remember," Team Eight heard Anko mutter; seeing their looks, the woman elaborated, "Nii isn't a family name it's the name of clan in Kumo, one that has pretty close ties with the village Kage."
"So they're a powerful clan?" Hinata asked.
Anko shrugged but said, "They ain't as well known but then again Kumo's always been pretty hush-hush on their clans. What I do know is that they're one of Kumo's founding clans and the best way I can describe em is that they're Kumo's version of Konoha's Nara Clan; not as smart but just as calculating and very methodical in their wins."
"Oh, yeah," Ino commented. "Going up against someone from that kind of clan with his attitude; Kiba was screwed from the beginning."
Off to the side, Karui snorted, "She's obviously never met, Atsui."
Their step in instructor frowned but couldn't refute the claim; Yugito's youngest sibling, and Samui's twin brother, Atsui, was different compared to the other members of the clan. Then again, the odd trait was more common in males than the females of the clan.
"The next bout is about to begin! Up next are… Kitsuchi from Iwa versus… Kaguya Kimimaro from Oto!"
Eyes wide in disbelief, Zabuza couldn't help himself, "A Kaguya! They're supposed to be extinct!"
"A Kaguya? Weren't they the nut jobs that tried to take over Kiri and got their asses handed to them?" Suigetsu asked.
"If by ass handed to them you mean they took down more than a third of Kiri's forces before they went down then yes," Zabuza retorted; Suigetsu immediately shut up. Cocky as he was by nature and because his clan was one of Kiri's founding clans like Haku's own, Zabuza had literally beaten humility into the boy. Which hadn't been easy with his clan's liquefying ability.
"Haijime!"
Kimimaro sized up his opponent before he made his move. Kitsuchi on the other hand charged head on like a bull. The boy was tall for his age but not as tall as his teammate Akatsuchi and he was much leaner, too. And he decided to use that to his advantage over his smaller opponent.
In the stands Hiruzen saw the sequence of seals: Snake → Ram → Dog → Rat → Snake → Tiger and knew which technique the boy was about to be use next, "Doton: Kengan no Justu (Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique)!"
The boy brought down the rock-covered fist like a hammer on an anvil: fast, furious, and precise. Dirt and dust were kicked up and the ground caved in due to the powerful blow. From the stands the other contestants could feel the vibration of the blow and a few were glad to have not been the boy's opponent. That thought changed when the dust dissipated and Kimimaro wasn't under Kitsuchi's fist.
"Teshi Sendan (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullet)," a voice muttered softly. From his hand small white objects shot out from a nearby dust cloud.
Kitsuchi retaliated by saying; "Kengan: Tate (Fist Rock: Shield)!" quickly did the rock covered fist morph into a large tower shield that covered the Iwa Genin's body and then some as the white bullets made contact. He was safe.
"GAAAAHHHH!"
To the surprise of many, however, the blanket of rock did nothing to stop the bone bullets from piercing through and make contact with his body.
"Shit! A Kaguya with the Shikotsumyaku," while he never saw the rare manifesting ability of the Kaguya, Zabuza had been informed of its deadliness nonetheless. The bloodline limit allowed one to manipulate their bones to be as light as an ordinary one but be stronger than tempered steel and even turn them into deadly weapons.
"Zabuza-sensei," the man looked at his blue haired student, "the Shikotsumyaku can be countered, right?"
"Yeah… but not through conventional defense techniques," Zabuza wasn't going to beat around the bush. Normal defense technique weren't going to be enough to stop Shikotsumyaku based attacks. As was evident before them.
To their further surprise, Kitsuchi's form stiffened, browned, and crumpled up into various pieces until his form was no more.
"Rock Clone," Naruto surmised and guessed the boy had used the dust cloud to cover his strategy. It was a basic bait and switch technique Naruto had used during his pranks. It was simple but effective. But it also made one wonder where the true Kitsuchi was.
The question on almost everyone's mind was answered seconds later, "Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique)!" from behind Kimimaro did Kitsuchi suddenly appear and grab the Kaguya in a bone crushing bear hug without hopes of escape.
Naruto and several others frowned. The blond gazed over at Kimimaro's teammates and both had identical smirks on their face as though they knew what was coming next. Their looks weren't pleasant either; they were sadistic. Naruto immediately knew that something was wrong, something bad was about to happen.
"Karamatsu no Mai (Dance of the Larch)," Naruto's instincts were proven right.
The stands became wide eyed as a large amount of bone-white spikes popped out of Kimimaro's body; dozens of them were coated red as they pierced Kitsuchi's frozen and gurgling form: a bone had pierced his throat.
"Kitsuchi!" Akatsuchi shouted; Kurotsuchi was wide eyed.
But the boy didn't respond. Retracting his bones, Kimimaro casually got out of the bear hug and the crowd watched as the boy fell to the ground, a large puddle of blood swiftly forming under him.
"Proctor. This match is over," Kimimaro told a still stunned Hayate. While deaths during the exams weren't uncommon, deaths during this half were rare, rarer still for willingly killing another without a second thought.
Appearing next to the downed Genin, Hayate placed his fingers on his neck but found not even the most miniscule response, "Damn… Winner by death, Kaguya Kimimaro of Oto!"
Quiet a few Genin paled as they saw the boy's corpse being taken away by the medics. Zabuza frowned as he noticed that quite a few of the paling Genin were from Konoha, "Konoha's standards have fallen."
But the man pushed thought aside and wondered how he was to tell Mei that a Kaguya was still alive – and with an active bloodline limit nonetheless – and a ninja for another village. He idly wondered how she was going to handle the situation, too, "Great. Fucking paperwork," give him an S-Rank mission, a suicide run, or even a war and Zabuza would gladly choose any one of them over paperwork. He was a killer not a pencil pusher.
"Everyone the next bout is about to commence," unfortunate as the death of a Genin was the exams had to go on regardless, "Up next will be Tayuya of Oto versus… Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!"
"Yes! Let's go Hotto!" Naruto shouted and his partner barked.
Many had a case of deja-vu as they saw this; those that didn't know Naruto very well thought him to be like Kiba and assumed the fight was about to end one-sidedly once more for the red headed kunoichi.
"Okay, let's see what we're up against," Naruto muttered and used Observe on the girl.
Status Window
Name: Tayuya
Level: 33 Next Level: 23471/48,000
HP: 2500
CP: 2875
STR: 79
VIT: 100
DEX: 137
INT: 115
WIS: 191
LUK: 33
DEF: 42
Money: 0
Stats: 0
Naruto frowned; despite her level Tayuya's stats were pretty basic, though her WIS was very high by comparison. However, what really caught his eye was the girl's special perk: Cursed Seal – Level One & Two (Inactive)
"Uh-oh," Naruto didn't like what he saw regarding the Level Two. Level One of Anko's Cursed Seal was trouble enough; who knew what would happen if that second level thing was activated. If push came to shove Naruto would be forced to use his newest skill.
"Hajime!"
Tayuya started the fight off by smirking and bringing out a flute, "Sweet dreams, blondie. Anyone that's heard my demonic flute never lived to tell about it," she bragged.
Naruto merely blinked, "Uh…well, that's a load of bull. I mean, you probably train, right? So your team's likely heard it and they ain't dead. Unless they're zombies… They're not zombies… are they?" many above couldn't help but deadpan at the comment.
Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle, "Improved as he is, Naruto will always be Naruto it seems," he mused. Some ways away, Anko and Hinata laughed while Ino rolled her eyes but had an amused looked on her face.
"How is that he's no longer Dead Last but still act like such an idiot!" a recovered Sakura couldn't help herself, while her Uchiha teammate was thinking the same thing.
Tayuya, however, wasn't amused, cursed and looked flustered; her team noticed this and knew what came next, "Fuck you asshole!" she shouted and then brought the flute to her lips and began playing at an incredible rate. Naruto watched as the world around him began to contort but wasn't really worried.
Gamer's Mind in Effect!
"This is seriously an amazing OP skill," Naruto thought as the world around him shattered. Call it unfair to those who dedicated their time and devotion to genjutsu and learning how to dispel it but Naruto didn't care. As a ninja it simply meant he had a serious advantage others didn't.
As Tayuya continued to play her flute,Naruto merely yawned which caused said kunoichi to stop, "You done? Flute isn't exactly my kind of music, you know," he told her. While Naruto could have done the same against Mizuki's crazy girlfriend and taken advantage of the situation, the Gamer ninja wanted a challenge.
Tayuya, now realizing her technique didn't work, couldn't help herself, "What the fuck! That should have given you shit yourself nightmare!" Tayuya shouted. No one in the Sound Five except for Kimimaro had been able to escape her genjutsu so easily. And her opponent made it look even easier. Her team was surprised; Orochimaru even more so.
"Could it be the Kyubi?" the man mused. During his time with the Akatsuki such a thing wasn't unheard of but that was when a jinchuriki had control over their Biju, something Orochimaru believed Naruto lacked. Even among jinchuriki such a feat was incredible rare.
"Nibi?" Yugito frowned and asked her tenant. The illusion she had sensed was formidable and the Konoha Genin had broken it way too easily in her opinion.
"Hmm, interesting."
"Want to clue me in, furball?" Yugito asked thevain and lazy two-tailed monster cat.
"Not really," Nibi told her jailor.
Yugito would have face planted had she not gotten used to her tenant's antics. Nibi was a fickle Tailed Beast, being cooperative one moment and the exact opposite the next.
She, for that was how the Biju identified herself despite being genderless by nature, had a better relationship with her jinchuriki, past and present, compared to her siblings. But Yugito was no fool. Nibi would not hesitate to escape from her prison if the chance presented itself; she and Yugito were close but the Biju had a greater desire for freedom. It was a rather complex relationship.
Yugito knew that the boy was the Kyubi jinchuriki; Kumo had kept a close eye on Konoha and it had been easy for their spies to found out who it was. But no report ever indicated that he had a bond with the Biju similar to herself and Kira B, "A-sama will want to hear about this," she realized and decided to pay closer attention to the match.
Asuma and Kurenai were still in disbelief but what transpired. As a genjutsu master the woman knew that sound based illusions were not easy to break out of. The woman doubted even Sakura could have broken out of it that easily at that age; at his age Kurenai knew even she'd be unable to do it so quickly, "What has Anko been teaching her team?"
With her initial plan down the drain, Tayuya was forced to go with plan B. Unless it was collaboration based, the Oto kunoichi's skill in ninjutsu was unfortunately not her strongest suit. However, she was very fast, nimble, and evasive; she was capable of performing leaps and flips that rivalled a cat and her built buried her incredible strength.
Rushing towards her opponent, Naruto merely ducked, blocked and parried the red haired kunoichi's attacks with ease. The blond didn't even bother taking out his sword and kanabo and merely used a kunai instead to block her surprisingly durable flute.
"Must be some kind of metal," Naruto surmised before he lashed out with a kick that Tayuya barely managed to block. Even then it had enough force to send her halfway across the arena. Tayuya winced at the pain in her arms but countered nonetheless by blowing into her flute and watched as a cloud of dust blanketed the area. The Chirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding Among the Dust Technique) being one of the few ninjutsu she was decent at.
Realizing – hating the thought of it, too – that the Konoha Genin outmatched her, Tayuya quickly popped a pill into her mouth. Orochimaru had been quite clear: under no circumstances was she to use the Cursed Seal in this half of the exam. Soon a thick aura of blue enveloped her before she performed her next move as Naruto cleared the area with a wind technique, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
"The hell are those?" Ino could not help herself as the summons came into view.
Tayuya merely smirked as she eyed her prey, "Genjutsu may not work on ya, fuckwad. But I guarantee broken bones will make you."
Naruto frowned as he looked at the summons stats, "Okay, summons are called Doki and their INT and WIS are zero but their STR, VIT, and DEX are through the roof!" Naruto wasn't surprised considering they were oni, brainless oni but oni still. Matters were only worse when Naruto realized their perks many them very resistant to ninjutsu and bukijutsu. "Shit, I was hoping I could save this for later."
"Hey, fuck nuts!" Tayuya shouted, "Did you hear what I said! Give up and go home to your mommy and I won't – "
Having enough of the stereotypical monologue, Naruto blazed through a set of hand seals and declared, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" and prayed whomever he summoned was in a good mood.
"The hell!" Ino and Anko could help themselves. Since when did Naruto have the time to learn how to summon?
The figure that appeared was bulging with muscles and hulking, towering over the Oto Kunoichi's Doki. It possessed dark blue skin, otherworldly bright white eyes, hair and a beard as black as night, and a set of horns that matched its skin. It took everyone a while to realize that Uzumaki Naruto had summoned an oni of his own.
And he was naked.
"Who dares summon me!" the demon bellowed, scanning the area for its summoner.
"Uh, that would be me…" Naruto nearly flinched as the demon locked eyes on him.
The oni looked him over before he spoke, "So you're the human that signed our contract after kami knows how long."
"Yeah… hi… uh I'm guessing it was a bad time to uh… yeah," Naruto couldn't finish the initial sentence and tried not to stare, failing miserably in the process. "Well, that's gonna stay stuck in my head for a while," in all honesty this wasn't how Naruto imagined his first summon.
"No shit! Here I was having a nice fuck with three of the juiciest pieces of ass you'll ever see and some puny ass little shitstain interrupts my rump fest! Do you have any idea how long an oni ragger lasts? What the hell I'm I supposed to do with this fucking thing?" he bellowed and pointed to his visible erection.
The demon's remark and actions floored everyone that was present. Their minds were unable to properly process what was happening before them; even Tayuya was taken aback by the demon's crass behaviour. The crowd had only seen him for less than a minute and he was easily the most crudest and salacious being they had ever met.
"… I like him!" Anko couldn't help herself.
The demon merely looked at Anko with appraisal before he give her body a look over, "Nice tits, waist, and ass ratio, but too small for my taste. Much as I like wreaking my fucks I want em to live and tell everyone how mind blowing it was… The smoke stack looks decent enough," the comment had Asuma turn a shade that put Orochimaru to shame and hid behind a scarlet looking Kurenai.
"Don't know him all that well but I'm pretty sure he's not interested in guys," Naruto said.
"Neither am I but a decent fuck is a fuck still, ya little shit," the oni told him; Asuma felt his ass clench to epic proportions.
"OKAY, SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF CONVERSATION IS THIS!" a flustered Sakura could no longer hold it in. Ino could only nod in agreement; she took after her teacher but even this was too much for her. "CAN WE GET ON WITH THE FIGHTING ALREADY! AND PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON YOU PERVERT!"
"I AIN'T NO STICKIN PERVERT, PINKY!" the oni shouted back with greater intensity.
However, the look in his eye and the smirk he developed had Hiruzen thinking, "Oh, for the love of kami please don't–"
"I'M THE DEMON KING OF PERVERTS!" the oni proudly announced; his body glowing, his penis still erect.
Had guests and other ninja from other villages not been present Hiruzen would have face planted then and there. The man couldn't help as a groan managed to escape his lips, "That's all I need. A demon version of Jiraiya," why did Naruto have to give him such migraines? On the plus side at least this wasn't a month from now.
"Ya can be King of the Fairies for all I care and it still wont matter, ya cocksuckers," Tayuya declared, bringing her flute to her lips to give her summons orders. The girl barely exhaled as killing intent flooded the room like a tidal wave and she fell to the floor shaking and barely conscious.
"… What in the name of Shutendōji-sama have you done to my fallen brethren you little cunt!" the demon bellowed; killing intent intensified and armour – which included pants, thank god – and a wickedly large sword materialized around his waist as he saw the three defiled oni. "Boy, I'll forgo my price this once. Her death for this is all I need," he told him and moved for the kill.
"Hold it! No killing!" Naruto ordered and partial regretted the action as the killing intent was now directed at him. That is until the Gamer's Mind quickly kicked in.
"You want to run that by me again," the demon growled but was internally surprised by his lack of reaction to his killing intent. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't beat you within an inch of your life after I kill her?"
Naruto honestly couldn't think of anything to appease the demon. When he had decided to perform the summoning technique and expect to land in a realm of summons, pass their test and 'boom' get a summon of his own. The Gamer got a scroll instead. When he read that it said oni the blond had eagerly signed, especially if they were anything like their video game and legend counterparts.
The blond should have known nothing would be so easy going. Now he had a semi-naked and raging oni – the thought still fresh in his brain. So the blond opted to do something he was good at: lie out of his ass. "I'm the boss here. I summoned you! You got a problem with that take it somewhere else or go back to where you came from. I'll do it on my own if you won't help me. You wanna kill me; I won't go down without a fight."
The oni said nothing but continued to stare into Naruto's eyes; he saw conviction, guts, and an inner strength beyond what should be present in a boy his age should have. The demon was impressed, "… You got guts, kid; I'll give ya that. Summoner or no, I'd spill em for standing in my way of my kill but I'll let you off just this once. Gloves are coming off if you do it again, ya hear!"
Summoner or no the oni had his own code and were Naruto not the oni clan's only summoner in centuries, even more due to the time flow difference between the two realms, Goryō was under strict orders not to kill him, at least for now. But the boy didn't need to know that. Time would tell if the boy was worthy of being his clan's summoner.
"Crystal," Naruto told the demon. Speaking of which, "What's your name?"
"Haien no Goryō (Goryō of the Abolishing Flames)," the newly identified Goryo told him and gave Tayuya a look that sent shivers down her spine; the sweat became more pronounced when his sword dark blue flames.
Haien (Abolishing Flames)
The Abolishing Flames is a technique unique to the Oni Clan of the summoning world. The flames are ranked third among the hottest of fires and are capable of reducing virtually anything they touch to ash within seconds. However, the amount of chakra and control required is beyond even above average Jonin due to the flames' origin. Even then only those with exceptional willpower can properly use the flames without harming themselves and unintentional targets or falling victim to its influence.
"Note to self: don't piss him off too much and learn that technique," it looked and sounded awesome in Naruto opinion. The flames didn't worry him so much due to his cloak. It had more to do with the sword they covered. Case and point, the oni with the large kanabo and the one with that looked like a mummy that appeared in front of them, at speeds not thought possible for something of their size and bulk, didn't know what hit them.
"Oni-Ittoryu: Haien Zanha (Oni-Single Sword Style: Abolishing Fire Slash Wave)!" quicker than most of the Genin could see, even some of the Jonin were surprised by the speed, Goryō sliced through the demons as though they weren't there and sent a wave of dark fire that nearly ended Tayuya's life had her remaining demon not protected her. They looked like a set of puppets with their strings cut off and everyone watched as their top half fell to the ground one way while the other fell in the opposite direction.
Blackened and bubbling organs fell out at and the more sheltered Genin in the stands became uncomfortable at the sight. Though slightly uncomfortable Sasuke steeled his resolve. As an Uchiha he was intrigued by the fire technique he had just seen and the results spoke for themselves; he was caught off guard as the same dark blue flames that covered the sword soon engulfed the top and lower half of the bifurcated bodies.
"Okay, that was awesome," was all Naruto could say.
"Glad you liked that," Goryō sheathed his sword, confusing Naruto, and then went off to the side, sat down, and took out a gourd. "I've done my part. Those two are all yours."
"WHAT!" Naruto couldn't believe his rotten luck, "WHAT KINDA SUMMON DOES THAT?"
Those in the stands that had summons of their own – both enemy and ally alike – couldn't help but sympathize with the boy, "Welcome to the joys of being a summoner."
"Don't care. We oni value strength and guts; good luck earning our loyalty and respect if you have us fight all your battles for you. You gotta pass a series of tests if you wanna be our summoner. Start by beating those two without me. That doki's a shell of what it used to be as an oni but even for a human it will still be tough to defeat physically; beat it and you'll earn a few points. If ya fail, I'll end it myself and tell the elders you gave it a good try… maybe," probably not.
"Wow, you're a real asshole," Naruto told him.
"Yeah, well I'm still pissed you took me away from my fuckfest,"the demon didn't deny it and took a large swig. "Well, chop-chop, ningen. Make it a good one, too."
[QUEST ALERT!]
To Become a Summoner - Part 1
Main Quest: Defeat Tayuya and her last remaining Doki
Hidden Quest: ?
Main Quest Completion: 4500 Exp, +300 Rep with Goryo, To Become a Summoner - Part 2 Quest
Hidden Quest Completion: ?, ?
Failure: 165 Exp, -300 Rep with Goryo, Possible Death or Crippling Injury, Summoning Contract Becomes Null and Void
Accept? (Yes/No)
PS. Not accepting this quest will render summoning contract null and void.
Knowing he had no real choice in the matter, Naruto accepted the quest. Meanwhile, Tayuya, who had been sweating like mad due to her near brush with death, along with the intense heat from the flames, couldn't help but laugh, "Bad luck for you shit for brains."
Having enough of her taunts, Naruto interrupted by shouting, "Oh, go suck a cock will ya!" much to Tayuya's surprise; few shot back vulgarity at her. "Let's get on with it already. The sooner I kick your ass the sooner I stop hearing you spout shit at me. Hotto!"
"Arf!" the ninken bark but soon felt himself grabbed by the scruff.
"Nope! This fight is all you, boy! No outside help allowed," Goryō intervened. When Hotto tried to break free the demon splashed whatever liquid he was drinking into the dog's face, the contents being strong enough to knock out the ninken within seconds.
"Ah, fantastic," Naruto mentally deadpanned. "Okay, my partner's out for the count. My ninjutsu ain't gonna be of much help her thanks to its perks, so that leaves my weapons and taijutsu," of which one was on its last leg. However, Naruto spotted a suitable replacement.
Title-less Doki's Great Iron Mace – Common Quality
Blunt Weapon
Durability 150/150
An incredibly large and studded club made of unknown black metal. Despite its size being twice the height of an average person, the weight of the weapon is much lighter than it appears. In the hands of a physically imposing individual it's capable of incredible destruction and its unique composition enhances certain abilities of its wielder. A downside to it is that most can only wield it with two hands and reduces the user's speed unless they, too, are of incredible size and possess prodigious strength. In addition, while impressive, the oni possess even greater weapons.
Attack Power: 160-197
Bonus Stats: +35 STR during combat, +50% Increase towards Power and Effectiveness towards Blunt Weapon Techniques, Decreases movement speed during combat by 15%, 50% Increases towards of causing Concussive Status Effect, 30% Increase towards of causing Crippling Status Effect
Requirements: +110 STR
Empowering himself with the Kongoriki (Adamantine Strength), Naruto grabbed and lifted the cumbersome – less cumbersome now due to his STR boost – with both hands and gave it a practice swing to the ground.
"Kyodai Saigasho (Titan's Crushing Fang Impact)!"
The entire floor gave way, the entire arena shook and many lost their balance in the process. Off to the side, Goryo boomed out laughing, "Looks like the brat may be worthy after all," he thought; he decided maybe the match was worth watching after all.
Status Window
Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Level: 39 Next Level: 11,132/62,400
HP: 8000
CP: 12525
STR: 166
VIT: 257
DEX: 252
INT: 393
WIS: 173
LUK: ?
DEF: 115
Attribute Points: 0
Status Window
Name: Hottomaru
Level: 32 Next Level: 11,349/38,800
HP: (3075/3075)
CP: (1800/1800)
STR: 74
VIT: 116 (7) = 123
DEX: 117
INT: 72
WIS: 61
LUK: 38
DEF: 70
Attribute Points: 0
Status Window
Name: Yamanaka Ino
Level: 34 Next Level: 12,969/51,400
HP: 1975
CP: 2375
STR: 85
VIT: 79
DEX: 143
INT: 94
WIS: 215
LUK: 33
DEF: 65
Stats: 0
Money: 795,460 Ryo (79,546$)
Status Window
Name: Hyuga Hinata
Level: 34 Next Level: 15,471/51,400
HP: 3125
CP: 2525
STR: 53
VIT: 125
DEX: 169
INT: 101
WIS: 237
LUK: 35
DEF: 70
Money: 1,178,456 Ryo (117,845.60$)
Stats: 0
Sorry it took a little longer than expected. But here ya go. One more chapter and then I focus on my Harry Potter Gamer. Expect an update in two or three weeks. Now for the Oni, while the word is used interchangeably with yokai, demon etc, Oni is specific to the Red and Blue ogre like demons from Japanese mythology (look em up). So no, Naruto won't have a wide arrange of demons to command such as kappa, kitsunes, wolf demons or any of that. Just Oni which is a type of demon some.
They won't be OP, strong as hell and have unique skills since they are demonic in nature but what they lack in one area other summons such as the toads or snakes can be way better at. And in the Naruto universe, yokai do exist, please look it up in the wikia, but aren't as prominent and I will explain my version of why that is in the following chapters.
Ps. For those who feel Tayuya is underpowered, she's a high Chunin ninja at best at the moment since this is months (about four or five) before the Sasuke retrieval arc, she has room to be more powerful. And let's not forget she's not allowed to use her curse seal one and two which greatly boost her power to Jonin levels, and even then she and her group called it close in the manga.
Now for Samui, I de-aged her and the reason why she is so strong is because we don't know much about her skill set other than she was considered a very remarkable and highly competent Jonin the Raikage trusted. So I am playing a bit with her skill set a bit here, but I won't be making her OP. Kiba was a hot head and it bit him in the ass. More about her will be explained later on.