Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Chunin ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11

 

“I'm sorry we're late, Baki.”

 

“Oh, not at all. Please be seated, gentlemen.”

 

Baki had invited three major petroleum investors who were having trouble with rogue shinobi. The deserts in the Land of Wind contained a few rich oilfields. Greed had spurred violence. Now Baki was trying to make a good impression on these men so that they'd consider hiring the Sand.

 

“It appears we missed Gaara's match,” said one of them.

 

“Regrettably, yes, you did. It was quite amazing. I took the liberty of filming it for you. But now you're just in time to watch Kankuro and later on, Temari. Those should be uncommonly interesting matches.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Because of what they have in common with their opponents,” answered Baki. “Temari and Kankuro each killed a Sound Jonin last year during some regrettable business where we came to the aid of this village. But the interesting thing is that the two boys they'll be fighting did the same. If anyone discusses the defeat of the infamous Sound Four, that is what they're referring to.”

 

“Four Genin who killed four Jonin? That's astonishing!”

 

---

 

Kankuro and Choji entered the field. The grounds keepers had worked fast. They'd filled up the holes Kiba had left within thirty minutes. Choji noticed with some surprise that Kankuro wasn't carrying any puppets on his back. Instead he now had three red scrolls.

 

“Thanks for coming to the funeral,” said Choji.

 

Kankuro looked over at him. “Yeah… well… least we could do.”

 

“I don't really care who wins this match,” said Choji. “All that matters to me is that the judges see what I'm made of. I know Hajime's watching too.”

 

The two came to the center.

 

“Alright gentlemen, are we ready to go?” asked Shikamaru.

 

“Ready.”

 

“Ready.”

 

“Alright then. If I call the fight at any point, you stop immediately. FIGHT!”

 

Without hesitation, Kankuro summoned Crow and Ant. Choji took off his headband and tossed it to a confused Shikamaru. He made some hand signs that Kankuro did not recognize. His hair started to grow.

 

“Whatever that is, I'd better stop it before he uses it,” thought Kankuro to himself.

 

The mouths of both puppets opened. In rapid-fire succession, they launched Kunai at Choji. Choji whipped out a kunai of his own and deflected them. No sooner had he hit the last one than the limb joints opened on the puppets and they fired poison-coated senbon at him. Choji made one more hand seal and suddenly his hair looked fuller. He whipped it around and used it to deflect the senbon.

 

Choji took this opportunity to go on the offensive. He raced at Kankuro with palms aglow with chakra. He tossed both puppets aside like toys. Kankuro looked terrified. Choji hit him in the gut and he went down and did not rise. Something wasn't right. Too easy. Kankuro's neck suddenly moved with a very familiar clicking sound. It wasn't Kankuro at all, but Crow. He'd traded places with the puppet without being noticed. In this form, Crow only had four limbs like a human. Kankuro was holding its other two arms. It wrapped the two arms it did have around Choji and tried to squish him like a grape. No good.

 

“Expansion Justu!

 

Choji filled out and Crow's arms couldn't keep up. He made a hand sign. In a puff of smoke some wires with kunai attached to them appeared around his frame.

 

“Spiked Human Bullet Tank!”

 

He tried to run over Kankuro. Kankuro in turn, opened Ant's torso and jumped inside. The puppet proved to be more agile than Kankuro himself. Now if that thing had been sent after Usagi, it would have been no contest.

 

After a few failed passes, Choji gave up and returned to his normal size. He removed the spiked wires. But instead of putting them away, he swung them around like a whip and tried to nail Ant. The torso opened. Kankuro jumped out and tossed Crow's extra limbs back to the puppet. Choji managed to chop off Ant's legs with his lash but it was futile. They reattached immediately. The two puppets turned on him. Ant used its fists and serrated blades to try to hit him. Crow came flying up clicking loudly to join the fray. It opened its mouth again. Choji was expecting more kunai. But to his horror, it launched gas bombs at him. When he jumped back to avoid inhaling the deadly gas, Ant appeared behind him and trapped him in its torso. Ant was made of flexible material. Expansion wouldn't destroy it. Kankuro detached Crow's limbs, unfolded the detached blades and prepared for the kill.

 

BANG!

 

The noise was so loud and so sudden that it startled the daylights out of everyone in the stadium. Choji had taken the Green Pill. He punched straight through the torso doors of Ant.

 

“Damn,” whined Kankuro. “That'll take me hours to repair.”

 

Asuma watched from the stands with concern. He could tell what Choji had done.

 

“I hope that's the only pill he takes,” he said to himself. He knew how determined Choji was and how likely he would be to risk his own safety.

 

Kankuro tugged hard on the chakra strings. To his horror, he realized that shards of the torso had jammed themselves into the limb joints. Ant was totally out of commission. And now a Green Pill-enriched Choji was coming his way. This was bad.

 

“Alright, rookie. Time to show me what you can do.”

 

Kankuro yanked out his last scroll and summoned Salamander. Just in time too. Choji had almost reached him. He positioned the puppet between himself and Choji. The frill shot up and when Choji tried to punch it there was no effect.

 

Immediately, Choji had to jump back to avoid Crow which was now holding a sai in each of its hands. To everyone's amazement, Kankuro opened the back of Salamander and hopped inside. For a moment, Crow didn't move. Suddenly, the mouth of Salamander opened. Chakra strings emerged and attached themselves to Crow again.

 

“Controlling one puppet from inside another,” muttered Asuma. “Damn this kid's good.”

 

Crow attacked Choji. It tossed two of the sai only to have them blocked with that hair technique again. The other two arms began to rotate rapidly. Choji was essentially staring down a pair of buzz saws. He wasn't sure how to defend this. The fact that Crow could take to the air and fly made it tougher.

 

Take to the air?

 

Wait… Salamander didn't seem able to do that. At least not with Kankuro inside of it.

 

Choji reached for a Yellow Pill.

 

“No!” hollered Asuma. “Don't do it!”

 

Too late. His power skyrocketed.

 

“Partial Expansion!”

 

Choji hit the ground with his enlarged fists as hard as he could. The seismic wave he created knocked Salamander on its side and temporarily caused a disconnection between Kankuro and Crow. Choji wasted no time running over to the fallen Salamander. He grabbed it by the tail and swung it around in the air several times before letting it go. It flew through the air. No one was quite sure where it landed but it certainly wasn't inside the stadium.

 

People looked at each other in confusion. Was this a knockout?

 

Shikamaru was a wee bit confused himself. This situation hadn't come up in the rule book he had read. For all he knew, Kankuro could be right outside the stadium and ready to fight at a moment's notice. He made a signal with his left hand.

 

“The proctor has just signaled that he defers to the judges,” said the announcer.

 

Choji grabbed his chest in pain. He knew he couldn't go on if the match was not over. He'd pushed himself too far.

 

“Are you OK?” asked Shikamaru.

 

“Ask me again after they've handed down a decision,” he said with a moan.

 

“The judges have reached a verdict,” said the announcer. “By unanimous decision the bout is declared to be over and Choji is declared to be the winner.”

 

“Alright,” said Shikamaru. “Now, they've handed down their decision. Are you OK? Choji? Choji!”

 

Choji collapsed. Asuma and Choza both raced down towards the competition area. They reached him about the same time as Shizune and the medics.

 

“Is he alright?” asked Asuma.

 

“He will be,” replied Shizune. “But I can't allow him to continue any further in the tournament. He needs to be hospitalized for a couple of days. He's severely strained his heart muscle.”

 

“Thank God he didn't take the Red Pill,” said Choza. “I know this is a dumb question but do you really have to disqualify him? He has his heart so set on making Chunin.”

 

“The next round is in just a few hours,” she said. “That's just too soon. And if he ended up facing Hinata that could be lethal. He couldn't handle getting hit with Gentle Fist in this condition. Even if he doesn't fight any further, he could still be promoted. Let's just hope he impressed the judges.”

 

“Dad?” Choji muttered weakly.

 

“I'm right here, son.”

 

“I did my best.”

 

“I know you did. I'm so proud of you I could burst. I love you, son.”

 

“Here,” said Shikamaru. He returned Choji's headband. “What's a Chunin-to-be without his Leaf headband?”

 

The crowd bust into thunderous applause as Choji was carried out on a stretcher.

 

---

 

“Well Baki, I didn't believe it at first but now I can see how those boys could have taken on a Jonin and been victorious.”

 

Baki smiled. He was glad they weren't the least bit put off by Kankuro's loss. Just then a medic approached Baki.

 

“Sir, we found Kankuro. He has a concussion, some bruised ribs and a broken arm. They're taking him over to the Leaf Hospital.”

 

“I can't get away right now,” he replied. “Tell him I'll be by this evening. And find Shigeru. I want him to personally take charge of his treatment. Kankuro trusts him.”

 

“So we still get to see one more, eh?” asked one of the investors.

 

“Yes,” replied Baki. “Temari. Next to Gaara, she's the strongest Genin in the village. She's up against the top Leaf Genin. Neji Hyuga. Absolute prodigy. This will be one hell of a match.”

 

Just then the announcer came back on. “Now ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for our next competitors: Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga!”

 

“Did he just say `Hyuga'?” asked an investor.

 

“Neji's cousin,” replied Baki. “Not as good as he is but this will give you a sneak preview of what is to come.”

 

---

 

Hinata kept her head up and her arms at her side as she had been instructed by Hiashi. She didn't dare look up into the stands. She could feel his eyes on her. She was nervous but at the same time so eager that she could hardly contain herself. Ino on the other hand just wanted one thing: to beat her so at some point she could have that rematch with Sakura she'd been longing for.

 

“Both ready?” asked Shikamaru? “FIGHT!”

 

Hinata activated her Byakugan at once. She put up her hands in striking formation and began to move her feet like a boxer. She wanted to keep herself slightly to one side in case Ino tried any mind techniques.

 

Ino quickly formed the hand seals for Mystical Palm. She adjusted the polarity from the green Healing Jutsu to the blue Chakra Scalpel. The two circled each other for a few moments. Ino made the first move as she tried to swipe at Hinata's arm only to have to jump back in order to avoid Hinata nailing her right in the chest. Ino thrust with her left but missed again. Hinata ducked it and swung at her midsection. Ino blocked with a right. The impact of the opposing forces pushed both girls backwards. Both stumbled back a few steps.

 

Ino recovered first and tried a roundhouse kick which Hinata ducked under. Hinata tried to aim at Ino's leg which was still on the ground but she jumped over her like a stag. Ino shot her leg out behind her upon landing and hit Hinata in the back of the thigh. Hinata tumbled face down onto the ground. Ino sprang at her and thrust down with her Chakra Scalpel. Big mistake.

 

“AH!”

 

Hinata had easily avoided her hand and hit Ino in the gut with Gentle Fist. Ino coughed up blood. She immediately jumped back and reversed the polarity on her hands so as to heal herself. Hinata got back to her feet. The two circled each other. Ino kept one hand to her stomach as she continued to heal herself and kept a kunai in the other. She was in somewhat of a vulnerable position but Hinata knew she could still inflict a lethal injury if she made a bad move.

 

“I just sealed off five of your chakra points,” said Hinata. “Mystical Palm will not heal that.”

 

“Yeah because my gut needs chakra the most,” mocked Ino. She was trying to act tough but she could feel a slight slowing in the flow of chakra through her body. She had stopped the bleeding. She once again reversed the polarity in her hands and attacked. Hinata avoided every last strike.

 

Hinata jumped back a few feet. Ino came leaping at her again. Yet another terrible mistake on her part.

 

“Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!”

 

Ino got tossed backwards a good dozen feet. She looked like the front of her body had just been flogged. She struggled back to her feet. She was starting to realize something about Hinata. The girl was patient. She was fast, agile, and hadn't made a reckless move or rushed in blindly to attack during the entire fight. Was it even possible to get close enough to land any sort of finishing blow on a Hyuga? Only if you happened to be a Hyuga yourself. Ino had to laugh at Shizune's suggestion about straight up taijutsu. No chance. The girl would knock her into the middle of next month. Long range seemed to be her only chance.

 

She jumped back and threw a handful of shuriken in a pattern where they could not be dodged. This forced Hinata to use her Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms once again. Ino watched the movements of her hands for any patterns. She threw a second barrage and waited for just the right moment.

 

“Prepared Needle Shot!”

 

Shizune had lent her weapon to Ino. Just to be doubly sure she made contact, she also spit out an additional two poison senbon from her mouth. Hinata desperately tried to block all of them but Ino had been a shrewd analyst of her movements. One of the needles got her in the jaw.

 

Hinata stumbled back a step. Her vision was getting hazy even with the Byakugan. Her movements were more sluggish. She felt very tired.

 

“Gotcha! You're mine now!”

 

Ino charged in. Even in her condition, Hinata could still avoid the Chakra Scalpels coming at her. Her arms felt like lead. She threw them up and their hands made contact, knocking Hinata on her back and causing Ino to stumble back a couple of feet.

 

Ino wisely resisted the urge to dive on her while she was down. Hinata struggled back up to her feet. Ino came in to attack again. All of the sudden Hinata dived down with her legs in the side split position and nailed Ino's thighs with Gentle Fist. Ino fell over. Hinata wasted no time. Not foolish enough to go for something vital and have to contend with Ino's hands while she was in this condition, she nailed every chakra point in her shins and knees. She struggled back to her feet.

 

Ino struggled to get up but her legs didn't want to cooperate. She made one more attempt…

 

“Gentle Fist!”

 

In Ino's eagerness to rise she had used both her hands to aid her. Hinata had seen an opening and nailed her right below her left breast. Ino crashed to the ground and did not even attempt to rise.

 

“Winner: Hinata!” called out Shikamaru.

 

Hinata was about ready to fall over herself but she struggled to remain on her feet. Shizune ran over with more medics.

 

“I guess you kids are going to keep us busy today,” she said. “Someone inject her with the antidote!”

 

One of the medics told Hinata to take off her parka. He gave her a shot in the arm of some blue chemical. Within seconds she could feel the effects of the poison wearing off.

 

“You may feel an odd taste in your mouth for the rest of the day,” he warned.

 

Shizune examined Ino.

 

“It's her lung,” she said at last. “We can't wait. We have to heal her right now.”

 

Tsunade pulled off the Hokage robes and jumped down into the field.

 

“Lady Hokage you don't have to… do this…”

 

“Don't talk, Ino,” she replied. “You're bleeding inside from a vital spot. Shizune, go fetch some oxygen! Ino, if you'd stayed patient and alert this might not have happened.”

 

Hinata stood by and watched. She looked up in the stands and could see her father talking to some buddies of his. She was certain that he was bragging that he taught her to do that. It made her sick.

 

“I suppose I should learn not to feel guilty for winning,” she thought to herself. “If I get freaked out every time I injure someone in a fight I'll never make it as a ninja. But him I can't stomach. I wish Naruto would come back, marry me, and take me away from it all.”

 

She was brought back to reality by a medic asking her to step aside so they could transport Ino.

 

“Is she OK?” asked Hinata.

 

“She's stable,” replied Tsunade. “She'll need surgery, though.”

 

“Hey… kid…”

 

Hinata looked to see Ino speaking.

 

“Keep that oxygen mask on!” ordered Tsunade.

 

“I just… wanted to say… you really can fight.”

 

“So can you,” replied Hinata.

 

“Yeah… sure beat… the hell out of the ground… with my face.”

 

End Chapter 11

 

© 2009 Joseph Kerner

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto