Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Lacking Sight ❯ The Fruits of Our Labors ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Naruto fought to keep himself from blowing up. This information wasn't just a shock, as Kakashi had told him it would be; it was the crack of a lightning blast aimed straight into a tree that had been soaked in oil. The tree was Naruto's strong, tall, solid spirit. The flammable oil was Sasuke's betrayal, the broken promise to Sakura to bring him back, the Kyuubi fox spirit who taunted him in his dreams, pointing out that he was too weak to redeem himself, much less his friend... in short, it was all things that brought Naruto pain. Kakashi's words ignited it, setting both it and the tree of his spirits aflame. The great branches crackled with hopeful flame. It hurt a little to think about it all again, but the pain lost out to the other thing the flames brought with them.
There was hope, now. Even though he might perish in the effort, Naruto intended to act upon this chance to burn away the pain forever.
“Naruto,” Kakashi said, “It's difficult, I know, but you have to keep this quiet, you have to control yourself. We know only that Sasuke is in Konoha and is responsible for your dopplegangers' attack. and even this information was hard to come by–those copies that were made of you have strong will, apparently. We don't know his exact hiding location, what he wants, or if he is even acting of his own free will. There is no way to know if his intentions are hostile or, if they are, just how much threat he poses after three years. We can't afford to act too hastily.”
He heard his sensei's words and obeyed them, but Naruto couldn't stop himself from shaking with excitement and determination. He swallowed hard, forcing down the voice which longed to cry out to his lost friend. Kakashi was right, of course–the villagers had not forgotten how the last son of their most cherished shinobi clan had turned to the blackest of all hearts to grant him power. To run around shouting that he was back would incite bedlam.
“Have...” Naruto started, pausing to get his cracking voice under his thumb again, “Have they checked the Uchiha compound?”
Kakashi breathed again, relieved that his former student had been able to restrain himself. “Several ANBU are there already,” he said, “But they haven't reported any sightings. If Sasuke's base is there, then it is very well hidden.”
Naruto's face fell. He'd been hoping that someone would at least find a lead there. He was about to probe Kakashi further when his old teacher spoke again.
“Naruto,” he said, “We cannot be certain, but there is a possibility that you and Sakura–not to mention myself–could be in great danger. Out of fear of this danger, and the danger posed by the increase in Akatsuki activity, Tsunade-sama cannot send you on any missions outside of the village, and she's even had a team of ANBU assigned to watch you from the shadows. She's doing everything she can to fortify the village and you against the coming onslaught...
“But if I know you, Naruto, then you're not going to sit around waiting for trouble to come to you. So I'm giving you an unofficial mission, Naruto...”
Naruto cocked his ear, interested in what his master had in mind. He waited while Kakashi checked over his shoulder again before continuing.
“Go about your business as usual, Naruto; practice your heart out, eat ramen, make small talk with your friends, and have a little fun. Put on a show for the villagers to cover up your less known activities–sticking your nose everywhere that smells fishy, observing suspicious activity, reading through newspapers and listening to whatever conversations you have to to find whatever hints you can. Sasuke is planning something–whatever information we can get will help us. I'll be checking up on you every now and then, to see if you've found anything.”
Naruto nodded. This was something he was easily capable of. Whatever Sasuke was doing, he'd sniff it out. “Okay, Kakashi-sensei.”
Kakashi nodded in return, and turned to hobble off. Over his shoulder, he added, “If you find him, Naruto, don't try to take him yourself. Come to me first. We–you, Sakura, and I–should do this together.” With that, he left, his crutches helping him slowly along to where shelter and rest awaited him.
Naruto went back to where he'd left Hinata. Almost immediately, he could tell that something was wrong. Something in her lavender-tinted eyes was uncertain, fearful. She held herself like someone who had just witnessed the execution of a precious friend or family member.
“Hinata,” he asked, his voice layered with concern, “What's wrong?”
Hinata's eyes grew more fearful for a moment, but then she shook her head. “No,” she said, “It's nothing. Naruto-kun, we should move on. My team is waiting for us in the forest.”
Naruto didn't buy it. Something was up, that he knew for certain–he'd seen it in her eyes. It probably wasn't any of his business, something that had to do with her family, perhaps, or an appointment of some sort that she'd just remembered and realized she'd missed. Yet he considered Hinata one of his better friends; he'd have to ask her about it again later.
For now, though, he shoved it to the back of his brain. There was training to be done. He gestured to the short blue-haired girl.
“Lead the way, Hinata.”
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Keisuke parted from Haruka at the village gates in a very good mood. Sakura had been right; Haruka was willing to help him, had even asked him to help her do it. She just had to find some safe lodging away from the Hyuuga compound, and she would be set to help bring the Byakugan's barbaric protection system down around the Hyuuga's ears.
Things were looking up and, except for a sore groin and some slightly unsettled guts, Keisuke felt more than ready to face his next challenge. Smiling and walking with a spring in his step despite his fading pain, he hastened to training area seventeen with triumph in his mind's eye.
As it turned out, training area seventeen was a rectangular enclosure about six miles in length and four miles wide. At one end was a rocky cliff face that stretched easily seven hundred feet high. At the other end was a tall gate, the only way in or out of the enclosure other than through the air. Within the enclosure was a swamp, complete with mossy trees that had vines drooping from them, murky water that was waist deep at its shallowest and well over a man's head at its deepest, and a spooky darkness that even Keisuke, in his blindness, could perceive. And standing before the gate...
“Hyuuga Neji,” said the young man, holding out his hand. “We've met before.”
“Yes, at the homecoming,” Keisuke responded, taking it. Both men regarded each other for a moment, respectful appreciation on their faces. Then they got down to business. Keisuke presented his scroll of orders from the Hokage, which Neji skimmed quickly through, then tucked away.
“I'll be your examiner while you take this test–a Jounin Equivalence Test–within the walls training area seventeen,” Neji said. “It is a fast test with simple goals. You will enter the swamp, where you must locate a civilian target–in this case, it is a ninja masquerading as a commoner for the purpose of the exercise–and to escort him safely back to this gate.”
Keisuke nodded, showing that he understood. Neji was right; in this small enclosure, finding the “target” shouldn't take a long time, so it was certain to end quickly.
“Naturally, this is not just a case of some old lady who's lost her way; it is a high-priority target wanted by an enemy village, who has hired its own ninjas–also played by our helpful comrades, of course–to find him and kill him on sight. Their encampment is at the other end of the swamp. Your first objective, therefore, is to find the target before they do.”
I would expect as much, Keisuke thought. So what's the trick?
“Once you have found him, you will need to lead him back through the swamp, which is full of natural dangers as much as it is full of enemies, back here. Though in reality he is a fully trained shinobi, he will use no ninjutsu here–he is playing the part of an ordinary person, and will rely completely upon you for guidance and protection against all hazards.
“Your enemies, as well as your environment, will strike to kill. If at any time you fail to stop a deathblow and our shinobi actor has to break character to save himself, you will fail your exam on the spot.”
He makes it sound more like a performance than a test of skill, Keisuke mused. Damned Hyuuga, so concerned over perfection... everything has to look good to them. He thought it jokingly, of course. He knew from Naruto that this young man was worth respecting since he had beaten some sense into him, and Keisuke was personally beginning to like him. He possessed a certain elegance that, when not coupled with the arrogance and intolerance that cursed many of his fellows, made him quite charming.
“Also,” Neji continued, “The target will begin this exercise in perfect health. You will begin with one hundred points. When you have returned to the starting point, the target's health will be assessed. At that time, points will be deducted from your score for injuries, illness, infection, et cetera. You will also lose points for time spent in the swamp after one hour. Every ten minutes after that will deduct one point from your score.
“There is one way to add to your score: steal from the enemy encampment their map of the swamp, which not only marks routes of safer passage through the wetlands, but also notes the location of secret caches of supplies and contraband kept hidden there by the enemy village. Return this map to me at the end of the examination, and I will add ten points to your score.”
Keisuke read in Neji's aura that he was reaching the end of his explanation. He tensed in anticipation, preparing for the imminent trial.
“If, when all calculations and changes are applied, your score exceeds sixty points, then you will pass the test and register as a Jounin-level shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Are your instructions clear?”
“They are, examiner,” Keisuke said.
Neji grinned. “From a person who spent two years with the most surprising ninja in our village, I expect great things, Keisuke-san. Good luck.”
At Neji's signal, the gate opened. Keisuke rushed forward, and the test began.
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Inuzuka Kiba sat grumbling beneath a tree with his teammate, observing the mock battle taking place. Normally, old Team Eight's practice was about more than single combat. This time, however, they were hosting a friend that they hadn't seen for a long time. Naruto wanted to do one-on-one matches to see how everyone had progressed in comparison to each other, and Kiba, along with his comrades, had sportingly agreed. Naruto had looked to Kiba then, knowing that the wild man would be itching to try to beat the technique that had so easily stopped him earlier.
Kiba had wanted to fight Naruto and his Tails of Light, and still planned to–but at the moment he had no idea how he was supposed to fight it, and while Naruto might be willing to charge headlong at any foe regardless of power differences, Kiba chose his battles according to the Law of Beasts; you just don't fight something that you can't even touch until either your opponent became vulnerable or you have acquired the means to touch it. Therefore, he had grumbled a reluctant excuse and withdrawn to the the shade of the tree, hoping that by watching Naruto's fight he would learn how to get around those nine extra limbs.
Without Kiba to fight, Naruto's gaze had turned to Hinata. He expressed particular interest in seeing how far Kiba's shy teammate had come. The shy one in question had promptly turned an interesting color and started mumbling something too quiet to be audible. That fight would have been awkward, Kiba thought, somewhat amused at the prospect. It would have given him something to tease Hinata about later, anyway.
In the end, it had been Shino to come to the rescue. Though Naruto expressed slight disappointment at being stuck fighting his least favorite member of Team Eight, he agreed. Nobody else seemed quite ready to go at the moment.
Naruto had little time to remain disappointed, however; the battle quickly became very, very interesting, and Kiba found himself watching it very attentively. Naruto started off in predictable fashion, nothing they hadn't seen before. He charged the bug user directly from the front, fist at the ready. Shino moved to meet him, the Destruction Bugs that called him Master and Home swarming around them both. The bugs bit and tore at the blond wherever they could gain a hold. Naruto seemed to be relying on nothing more than his own speed to fend them off, and it didn't seem to be all that effective.
This was Shino's bread-and-butter: distract the opponent with basic taijutsu as the bugs slowly eat away at their bodies and their chakra, wearing them down. Kiba knew that Naruto wouldn't stand long for this.
Sure enough, after a few exchanges, the blond Gennin brought forth his Tails of Light to try to sweep the bugs away. At first glance, this seemed to work better than plain taijutsu and speed; most of the Destruction Bugs were blown away from his main body. But after only a short time, it began to fail–and Kiba saw that the technique had a weakness against this opponent.
Shino's bugs fed upon chakra. Normally, the best place for them to get it was from Shino, their master, in return for their unquestioning service. But here, Naruto's external chakra coils gave them a new, rich source of raw chakra to harvest, and they did so eagerly. With their chakra being consumed, the Tails of Light lost their force, and Shino called forth additional bugs from his body to replace the ones that were busy with their meal. Once again, Naruto fell prey to their onslaught, and Shino began to get the upper hand.
Kiba watched all this with disappointment. He had found the weakness of Naruto's new power, sure... but unless he could teach Akamaru to eat chakra rather than meat and table scraps, it didn't help him out any. It looked as though he'd be going back to the drawing board. Losing interest in the fight, for the moment, he glanced over at Hinata.
The girl was watching the fight, but it looked as though she was having difficulty deciding which combatant to support. As Kiba kept looking, it seemed to him that she gave up on openly supporting either one of them and chose to watch in silence, as he did. At any rate, she appeared to have less trouble with distraction than Kiba did; her eyes remained glued to the pair(well, to one of the two, anyway, thought Kiba) in mute appraisal.
Finally, Naruto's growl of frustration made Kiba turn his head. He seemed about to change his tactics again. What will you do now, Naruto?
“Geez, you're as annoying on the battlefield as you are around the village,” Naruto said. Then a grin spread to his face–the cocky one that showed Kiba that things might be about to get interesting again.
“But I'll get around those defenses of yours,” continued the blond, “You'll see! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!”
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The swamp proved to be a challenge to navigate, despite Keisuke's generally good pathfinding capabilities. Though he could avoid trudging through the muddy water by hopping swiftly through the gnarled trees, the numerous drooping vines and spindly branches impeded his Ghostly Arms' reach, making it hard to “see” ahead of him. Already, he had smacked himself into a few branches, and he was beginning to think that maybe the water might have been more comfortable. Not his ideal environment–but then, when was a Jounin ever allowed to decide where his target got lost?
Eventually, he had the sense to create a few Kage Bunshins to scout the path ahead of him, and he created extras to search off to his sides while he was at it. He had not yet encountered any enemies, but this didn't surprise him; they were after the target, not him. Most likely they would only attack him once he got in their way.
All in all, it was a rocky road so far, but nothing had really blocked it. Although, once I find the objective, that ought to change quite quickly.
Ten minutes into the search, one of his clones located the enemy encampment. Keisuke made a mental note of where it was. If he had time after finding the target, he would come back for the map, but he could not afford hesitation now. There were only two guards within the camp, which meant that the rest had to be out in the swamp, searching for their objective. The location fixed firmly in his thoughts, Keisuke continued forth.
Five more minutes passed, and then he heard a cry of panic off his right flank. He turned quickly, and a split second later, his forward Bunshins called to him, having found what they were looking for. Grinning at his first small victory, Keisuke hastened to the target, coming with feeler range in seconds. Quickly, he searched around for what had made the target cry out, but he could locate no enemies. Wondering what could be the problem, Keisuke turned to face the target.
“Sir, are you al...”
“Oh! Thank goodness you've arrived!” Said the target, interrupting him. The voice was deep and loud and obviously belonged to a male, but Keisuke noted that its owner was putting in a great deal of obvious effort to make it sound helpless. The overall effect it had on Keisuke was to give him the impression that his mock target was a hopelessly poor actor who was doing his best to convince the blind man that he was not.
“Ahem... what seems to be the trou...”
“You've got to help me!” The target cried, interrupting him again, “I've been trying to escape from these terrible, evil shinobi...”
Tell me something I don't already know, thought Keisuke. Already he disliked this man.
“...and I thought I'd gotten away clean, but then the most horrible thing happened!” The man's voice was much too loud. Keisuke worried that if he was allowed to keep speaking, the enemy would find them much more quickly than he would like.
Get to the point already! Keisuke thought. His words were more polite. “And what is the problem now, sir?”
“It's awful! I've been caught in quicksand!”
A moment passed in which Keisuke wondered just what kind of idiot they'd given him for his test objective. Not only was the man an abysmal actor, but he could not seem to comprehend that lowering his voice would be beneficial to his survival and, on top of that, he was now planted in mud that was perhaps only a foot deep by measure of Keisuke's feelers, and he was calling it quicksand–while calmly (if loudly) talking about how awful and terrible it was.
Is he this bad all the time, or is he purposefully doing this to get on my nerves and make things difficult? Deciding to act upon the former assumption–he didn't even want to think that someone so utterly intolerable could exist–he sighed and grabbed the man by his waist, pulling him from the mud easily.
“Oh! Thank you!” cried the target with over-exaggerated gratitude, “I thought I would have been sucked under for sure! I, Maito Gai, am eternally in your debt!”
Keisuke could only stand before this man and gape in awe at his inhumanly bad acting. This will be one hell of an examination...
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The forest seemed much more crowded suddenly as Naruto's Bunshins exploded into being around him. The blond looked on his bug user opponent confidently. Let Shino have his army of bugs–he commanded his own battalion. That annoying hooded freak might have been able to neutralize one of him, but could he deal with twenty at the same time?
Naruto thought not, and renewed his attack with a great cry of challenge. All nineteen Bunshins and the true Naruto raged towards their target, intent on bodily thrashing him. Shino, not having been made a Chuunin for no reason, was prepared. Offering up his chakra to his bugs, he rose his arms and gave his orders. Destruction Bugs swarmed from his sleeves.
“Mushi Kabe no Jutsu.” (Bug Wall Technique)
The bugs swarmed protectively around Shino at hurricane-wind speed. Naruto had seen this technique in action before, and it had proven quite effective–on the small bees that had later been able to suicide-bomb it to oblivion. Twenty future Hokages, Naruto assessed, should not be stopped or even deflected easily by a jutsu that could only butcher other insects, and then only so long as those insects didn't carry explosives.
This was a miscalculation on Naruto's part. Shino's bugs had become better as he had become better at controlling them, and they raged like a twister, repelling some of the clones and tearing others apart, dispersing them. The end result was an untouched Shino, six defeated clones, thirteen clones still usable, and one surprised real Naruto, who retreated into a bush to hide. He's just as annoying as before, he thought, but he's definitely a better fighter than I remember. Then again, I never really fought against him before. Damn it! I underestimated him.
He couldn't think much more, as he had to dodge the explosion from the tag that had arrived at his bush via Kunai Airlines. Sailing out of the bush and landing hard on his feet, Naruto attempted to mingle with his Bunshins, but found himself assailed by shuriken and insects directly.
“What the hell?” he said, narrowly out-maneuvering the onslaught. He evaded the long range attacks and got within melee range again, but the bugs and weapons ignored his clones and dogged his every step. He kept trying to swat the bugs away with his Tails of Light, and the bugs kept eating the chakra right away from them.
Naruto attempted to stab Shino in the arm, but the bug user's taijutsu had also improved, and their weapons clashed with flying sparks. Shino regarded Naruto impassively from underneath his hood, in that way that ticked Naruto off to no end.
“I anticipated your use of Kage Bunshin,” he explained cooly, “And planted a female bug on the real you at the beginning of the match. Everywhere your true body goes is known to me, and as you can see, I am more than capable of repelling a full Bunshin taijutsu assault.”
“Teme,” Naruto growled to himself. He began to see that he was losing this fight, not because Shino was too powerful, but because his techniques were not suited to fight these Destruction Bugs. He could not hide from them, nor could he use his tails to fight them without wasting huge amounts of chakra. Of course, Naruto could always call upon the enormous reserves of chakra provided by his demon tenant, but he wanted to avoid that if possible; using it made him feel as though his own power was insufficient, and Kyuubi seemed to like reminding him of that. So how could he...?
Then the idea came to him. He turned it over in his head for a split second, then motioned to two of his Bunshins–not enough to prompt another Bug Wall, but enough to serve his purposes–and renewed his attack. This was a long shot, that was for certain. If it worked, it might just assure his victory. If not, then he was back at square one. Silently, he used two of his free Ghostly Arms to communicate the plan via Synchronization to his Bunshins.
After a few more exchanges, one of the clones managed to grab a hold of Shino's left arm. Seeing his chance, the second one grabbed his right. Naruto grit his teeth. It was now or never–they wouldn't be able to hold him long. He gave the silent signal. At once, both clones pumped an enormous amount of energy into their Tails of Light, and the clones that were standing watch did the same for good measure.
Whether Shino was afraid of the sudden blinding glow that was generated and was desperately trying to suppress it, or the bugs left his control in favor of devouring the generous meal, Naruto didn't know. But all of the bugs that he could see stopped attacking Naruto and the Bunshins and focused on the bright Tails. The bluff had worked.
Shino managed to break free of the clones' grip, but it was now too late. Naruto had reached the nearby stream and finished his hand seals already.
“Suiton, Suiryuudan!” (Water Style, Water Dragon Blast)
The giant dragon formed of water surged forth, arcing high into the air and roaring at the prospect of fresh prey. Its way blocked by the two Naruto clones that were still attacking him, the target had no chance of escaping. With a heavy splash, he fell to the dragon's maw.
When the water had settled to a large puddle, however, there was nothing there but a mass of bugs, scrambling to shake the water from their wings and get airborne again. Shino had replaced himself with a bug clone at the last moment. Naruto there bewildered, staring into the trees for some sign of the real Shino.
He reappeared rather quickly, leaping from a nearby bush and attacking with his Destruction Bugs from behind. Even Shino's stealth, apparently, had gotten better. Beneath the onslaught of bugs, the blond Gennin thrashed, writhed, screamed...
“Shino-kun!”
“Shino!”
The bug user's teammates cried out, pleading with him to stop. He was letting his insects work too long upon his victim. Serious pain was being inflicted. Shino had let them carry on, thinking that perhaps it might be a Bunshin–his female tracking bug had left its perch to eat the plentiful chakra that the blond had so generously provided at what was surely some cost to himself. Greater geniuses than he had left themselves exposed to Naruto when they thought they had won, only to be shown a new definition of humility for their mercy.
Yet the damage the bugs had inflicted was near the limit of what a human being could survive, and the body had not disappeared into smoke. Surely this had to be the real thing. Satisfied, Shino called off the attack, his bugs returning eagerly to their master to nurse the wounds inflicted by Naruto's swatting tails. Shino himself hurried forward, intending to help Naruto up.
“I'm sorry, Naruto. I thought you might be...”
He stopped. Something beneath his feet–an elegant seal, by the looks of it–had begun to shine blue-white. Before he could move away or even send his bugs back into the air, it triggered, and the snap of cold air solidified the water around his feet, locking him into place. In front of him, the body of Naruto puffed out of existence.
“A Bunshin?” The voice came from all directions, finishing Shino's sentence for him. Looking up, Shino could see ten more Narutos waiting in the trees, speaking as one. His bugs swarmed once more from his sleeves, some of them coming up to guard him, preparing for a Bug Wall, another sub-swarm attacking the ice that bound him. The latter group made slow progress–it would take a few seconds for them to weaken it enough so that Shino could break free.
The true Naruto, hidden in the trees among his clones, needed less time than that. A few quick hand seals to alter the nature of his chakra, and he was set.
“Reiude Ninpou: Raitsuchi Dageki!” (Ghostly Arm Secret Art: Lightning Earth Strike)
Naruto brought one of his Ghostly Arms–one that he had not been using for his Tomoshibi no Kyuubi technique–into contact with Shino's chest, and forced the altered Chakra through it with the speed of a bolt of lightning. It looked similar to a bolt of lightning, as well, but this lightning was not electric; it was a wave of chakra that had the physical properties of earth and soil and crushed rock. Forcing such a large amount of chakra through the thin strand of his Arm all at once and at that speed wasn't easy on the Arm. In fact, it completely disintegrated it. Yet the attack did what it was supposed to do: Shino was knocked free of the bug-weakened ice shackles, flying into the brush.
Very little surprised Aburame Shino. But seeing the Naruto Battalion descending from the trees and charging him with all Tails blazing was not how he had expected to end the battle. The clones knocked aside his bugs, which were still valiantly trying to block their way. Then, ten feet away, they parted to reveal the real Naruto, rushing at him with his Rasengan in his hand. There was no way that Shino could disentangle himself in time. He had lost.
As the swirling ball of raw chakra stopped inches from his face and dissipated, Shino's thought was, Apparently, near to the limit that a human being can survive is not sufficient to defeat Uzumaki Naruto.
He allowed the blond to help him out of the brush and called back his bugs. The stronger shinobi had won this day. Now taking his seat to watch the practice match between Kiba and Hinata, he wondered whether or not the strongest heart would prevail today as well.
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Maito Guy was extremely pleased with himself. When he had been told that Neji had needed a capable Jounin to play the part of a helpless civilian and be ready to defend oneself against the Chuunin attackers should the examinee fail, he had volunteered out of affection for his former pupil. For surely, he thought, my wonderful ex-student must have only the best to be truly effective. Nobody else can so dynamically play the part of a defenseless person and be on guard against Lee and Tenten at the same time!
For once, Neji had had to agree that his old sensei's “dynamic” acting skills were very well-suited to the job; his tendency to be loudmouthed would give his location away to Tenten and Lee(whom Neji had drafted to be among the “enemies”), and his tendency to give too much effort to his task would see him falling into numerous traps–both real and imagined–thus slowing the examinee down considerably.
But Gai, of course, would have refused to hear this logic if it had been shouted into his ear, so he went on happily believing that he had been chosen because he was “dynamically and youthfully cool, most assuredly the ideal candidate, my student loves me...” et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseum.
Thus far, he had been stuck in “quicksand,” half-dragged and half carried across what his “inner civilian” was certain was tar(Keisuke had given up trying to explain that it was merely very dark mud after five wasted minutes), attacked by his own students whom he had to be violently restrained from running up to and begging for mercy in his desire to dynamically fill his role, rescued from a shuriken-flinging trap mechanism(actually real), dropped from Keisuke's arms when an enemy kunai hit the blind man in the shoulder into a deep pool where he had dynamically pretended not to be able to swim, gotten himself wrapped up in bandages while he was trying to patch up Keisuke's shoulder and dynamically acting as though he were very bad at it, nearly swallowed by a crocodile while waiting for Keisuke to return from the enemy camp with the map, and very nearly beaten up by the frustrated examinee when he been caught, in dynamically feigned stupidity, trying to clean an alligator tooth wound using the map as a wash cloth.
Now, Keisuke was leading him along a shallow, supposedly safe route through the swamp back to the gate, bound up in metal wire “to keep you from misplacing your hands” as the examinee had told him. They had just left behind the unconscious Rock Lee, whom Gai had wept over loudly, praising the bravery and skill of the enemy until Keisuke had pulled him off with him. They were very near the blind man's goal. Within moments, the gate was in sight.
“At last,” breathed Keisuke raggedly, feeling the metal of the latch mechanism with his Arms. He started walking forward at an increased pace, eager to be finished with the long and exhausting day.
However, five feet from the gate, he felt a newcomer enter their midst, and before he could react, he was under attack.
“Hakke Kusho!” (Eight Trigams Wind Palm)
Keisuke felt a gust of chakra blow him off of his feet. The feeling was familiar, as was the name of the technique... like being blown back by Haruka's Kaiten, only it's a direct shot, and an offensive technique rather than an area-effect, defensive one.
With Keisuke out of the way, the attacker sped straight at Gai. “Ah, my former student”, he said praisingly, “How wonderfully you've developed!” If anyone present found it out of character to be saying this as the student was aiming a killing blow at his heart not twelve feet away, they gave no indication.
Neji's advance was put off momentarily by a flight of shuriken that whizzed through the air where he would have been a split second later had he kept going. He leaped back a short distance, waiting to see if any more were on their way.
There weren't, but Keisuke only needed those that he'd already thrown.
“Hitoshirezu Shintou no jutsu!”
The trunk of the tree where the shuriken had embedded themselves was ripped to shreds as the chakra stored within them detonated. The tree, which was rather large considering that few trees seemed to live very long in this swamp, fell into what had been Neji's path.
“Byakugan!” Neji looked straight through the tree, saw that neither Gai nor Keisuke was behind it. A few moments later, he located them in another tree, where Keisuke was securing Gai to the trunk and a branch with wire. He took his time waiting. He rather wanted to fight Keisuke without his busybody former teacher in the way, and Keisuke took his time at his own risk, for every moment detracted from his score.
When Keisuke came down from the tree twenty seconds later, he grinned in anticipation. His Byakugan saw the blind man in his entirety; the lengthy Ghostly Arms, all sixty-four of them, waving everywhere, serving him for eyes; the healthy amount of chakra that pulsed through his inner coils, and the smooth and elaborate way in which the system was all connected at the tenketsus, allowing chakra to flow freely between the inner and outer systems. The Rokujuuyon Reiude technique was truly a marvel when seen through the eyes of a Hyuuga.
“Now, we will see if this technique of yours is truly the terror that Hiashi-sama is so concerned about.” he said.
He saw Keisuke smile and his eyebrows perk up in an amused expression. Interesting, Neji thought, how just his brows can be expressive enough without the eyes below them.
“So Hiashi's told you about his fears, eh? Interesting, him confiding so in a Branch member,” Keisuke replied.
“I'm his nephew,” said Neji. “Hiashi-sama isn't all bad. Recently, he's even softened up a little–he is simply slow to warm up to change.”
Keisuke seemed to ponder this a little, as though he were surprised to hear it. “Softened up, huh?” He murmured. “Well, I suppose that only makes my dream easier to realize.”
Neji's own eyebrows arched. “Your dream, Keisuke-san?”
Keisuke's smile returned. “I will tell you,” he said, “After I have won through that gate and taken a rank equal to yours, Neji-san.”
That rare smile found its way to Neji's lips. He was very much going to enjoy testing this man who called Uzumaki Naruto his “little brother.”
“Come.”
OoOoOoOoOoOo End Chapter Nine OoOoOoOoOoOoO