Private/Closed Naruto AU: Roleplay

[Platinum_]

Ryo watched as Azumi, and his distant cousin, Ino, threw down in the forest just before the Tower. He felt guilty, simply watching from a hiding position as his current ally and family member fought it out. He was hanging back still applying the mystical palm technique on Sagiso's legs, but felt a strong need to get involved somehow. Granted, he had only actually spoken a few words to Ino during Clan Meetings and such, but it was still hard to not feel like he was betraying her. In the end, though, Ryo knew that Azumi had not planned to kill the fellow Yamanaka, which put him to ease. The forest was a dangerous place, but ultimately this was just one big test - she could always apply next year.

Upon arriving in the Tower with all three of his little unit having the necessary scroll, both Kakashi and Guy-Sensei appeared to welcome them and the other active Genin; explaining the next phase of the Exams. Ryo was a tad disheartened to see it would be a tournament, as he and Sagiso still carried fresh wounds - despite his medical ninjutsu being able to decently sustain all of them to a degree. What brought actual fear to him is the opponent he was paired against - Azumi herself. He had seen her in action a couple times before, she already knew the secrets of his jutsu, and she quite easily defeated a member of his clan already. How conveniently terrible.

Well, this is where it ends I guess.

 

[Godjacob]

Azumi arrived at where she and Ryo where to have done battle. Azumi, just before she made it to the stairs, glanced in Ryo's direction and took a moment to think it all over.

Azumi figured her knowledge of Ryo's clan techniques had given her an advantage, but she figured Ryo was far from a one trick pony and he had seen her in battle before. Besides, she figured Ryo had added motivation of possible progression to Chunin with the desire to "avenge" his fellow clansman who Azumi defeated earlier. Either way Azumi sat in the arena they were to battle in and simply waited for Ryo to arrive.

------------
Kenji made his way to where he was scheduled to fight, as Yasu got a fair look at the blood-stained athletic tape around his right shoulder and left thigh though he tried to cover it up with a jacket. Kenji none the less greeted Yasu with a confident grin.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. They need to do a better job at telling us what floors we're supposed to go to." Kenji explained as he took a deep breath and considered his options. Kenji had a natural presence to close to mid-range combat, though given the toll the Forest of Death took on him that option had been limited to a degree. Still, Kenji had not been ready to throw the towel in.

Sorry Sakura, know you told me to take it easy. But I need to give it all and beyond to have any chance here.

"Lightning Style, Thunder Stream Jutsu!"

With that Kenji flashed a series of hand signs and fired an electric stream aimed right at Yasu. Kenji seemed to be eager to take initiative and tried to strike first and strike quickly.

-----------
Madoka frowned a bit as Zaku easily enough blew past her senbon projectiles and then saw his arm aim up at her as she presumed he fired a stream of that same wind-pressure at her. Madoka had know way to know it tracked her movements, so she just raced ahead on her puppet as quickly as she could as she tried to circle around Zaku before she had Raven fire what appeared to be a large black sphere that was fired from its chest aimed right at the Oto-nin.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The soundwaves made a nosedive right toward her ear as she seemed to rush toward him, through the very soundwaves. That can’t be healthy, if she rushed through them like that the effects would surely effect her!

But there was one downside to her making a dash to him: she was making a dash to him. He quickly stopped his soundwaves, figuring that the soundwaves he’d got off would be enough, he switched back to his best and basic setting. Due to her size, he’d actual have to use some tactics and Chakra, that’s it! He tossed up a Kunai from his bag, before making a handsign

“Decapatating Airwaves!!!”

He put both of his hands in front of him and shot out a powerful burst of air, enough to crush Boulders. The sheer force not only was shot toward her, but the kunai was too, hitting the projectile she went directly with the powerful force of the shockwave backing it, along with the shockwave itself that was shooting heavily with blasting energy to are her and Raven

 

[Retro Master]

‘Perfect!’ Kiro thought as Tomiko began her attack. The execution was too good. It was only a few seconds but Kiro immediately realized that there was only one way to avoid the attack.

Tomiko’s strategy was smart as well as fast. If Kiro focused on the rocks, he would take a devastating blow to the back, easily weakening him. If he countered Tomiko’s attack from the back, he would take unnecessary damage from the rocks. Either way, he was screwed. Or was he?

Tomiko did not account for the lapse of time between the attacks. It gave him enough time to perform a substitution jutsu. He would’ve rather saved it for later considering he wouldn’t be able to spam it without the sharingan. But atleast it would give him a slight advantage for the next round of attacks.

Kiro’s body was struck by the bits of rock, bruising parts of his body. However, as soon as Tomiko’s fist rammed into his back, the substitution activated, turning Kiro’s body into a block of wood.

The real Kiro however, was midair. He quickly performed hand signs in rapid succession for his next jutsu. “Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Jutsu!” Kiro silently spoke before expelling fire from his mouth. However, as the flames started to split, Kiro added multiple shuriken with wires attached. Now each mini fireball came with its own shuriken hidden inside. He wondered if Tomiko would atleast notice the shuriken before it was too late. Whatever the case, if things went as planned, the next moments would be crucial.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo jolted awake when the sounds of fighting erupted from seemingly nowhere.
"OH CRAP! I GOTTA GET TO THE STADIUM!" Mr. Akugami panicked as he ran to the stadium, fourtunately ot was short, thanks to the swiftness he attained from genin training. He eventually reached the Stadium and witnessed Kiro perfom some fire ninjustu.
"So I guess we do have something in common, it'll be nice to fight against another Fire Ninjusts user," The Genin observed, taking a mental note and taking a seat, and watching the show unfold.

 

[Godjacob]

Tomiko's eyebrows shot up when Kiro seemed to shift into a log before her eyes. Though she had quickly figured out what happened as she gazed around her.

Substitution Jutsu. So annoy....

Tomiko glanced up as she saw Kiro rain fireball fury above her head. Tomiko had yet to take notice of the shiruken with wires as she focused on a defense and flashed a series of hand signs together.

"Earth Style, Tri-Earth Barrier Jutsu!"

Within a moment, three separate triangular slabs appeared and surrounded Tomiko in a protective barrier; though Tomiko aimed for more than just a means to shield herself as now within said barrier and out of Kiro's sight she began to flash together some new hand signs...

----------
D-damn it! Moved too close.

Madoka had managed to launch her sphere, but it appeared she either lowered Raven a hair to low or she underestimated the range of Zaku's sounds wave as this ear-splitting sound traveled through her eardrums and rumbled along as she heard the headache producing sounds literally enter her head as she upon a reflex had clasped her hands over her ears as if to block the sound out though it had already invaded.

Woosh!

The kunia just grazed her cheek as Madoka had only taken note of it at the last second and tilted her head to the left though her cheek had been grazed by the projectile. The force of the shockwave made a direct hit however as it knocked both Madoka and Raven out of the sky as they plummeted to the ground. Using natural ninja reflex, Madoka manged to land on her feet as Raven flopped to the ground next to her; though the he blow had clearly shaken Madoka and her puppet as she scrambled to get back to a defensive position. But she did what she needed to do in spite of everything...

What she needed to do was get that sphere off, which had been sliced clean in half from the kunai. Combined with the force of the sound wave it exploded and released a thick fog of purple poisoned gas that descended all around Zaku. Which aimed to both limit his vision and poison the Oto-nin in one go.

 

[SageNeb]

Hashima raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "That's it? Wait... I get it! You're trying to get me to underestimate you! Well... guess what? That isn't gonna work with me! Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" she shouted while doing hand seals. She released a destructive force of wind ninjutsu to hope to shake of the clones and Sakura herself.

The real Raiku also raised an eyebrow, but he didn't really think Sakura was trying to trick Hashima.

I mean, she's from the Leaf too and all... but she literally just made a clone.

 

[sSoul]

"CRAP, I GOT MY OWN MATCH!" Taiyo realized, running at full speed, buying some cotton candy sold to the guests as refreahments. He slid onto the match floor and lit up his fists.
"Sorry about that Lako, but now we can get started!" Taiyo smirked, throwing out his cotton candy stick and readying himself for a fight.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Poison eh? It’s not coating me now, but I’m a few seconds it would thanks to the attack I just did. If she’s using poison this situation just got a lot more deadly...

“Airwaves!”

Using a light hit of air that required no chakra, he blew the poison gas toward Madoka like a fan, poison shoving to the other side of the room, flying in fumes. Too bad poison is airborne, and I’m king of the air.

“What’s the matter? Your simple projectiles and parlor tricks won’t stop the jutsu of the future!”

Zaku was seen doing something with one of his hands, balling it to a fist for an unknown reason

 

[kyuukestu]

As she walked Ryo walked into the tower, and she in-tow, they heard that it wasn't enough that they had to pass the forests of death but they also needed to battle in tournament brackets because there were apparently 'too many people that passed'. As stupid as the reasoning might've been she really had no choice but to accept the reality of the situation.

Her eyes swept through the list of participants and a soft "oh dear..." escaped her lips as she saw the pairing Azumi vs. Ryo. Fate was a cruel mistress. Her eyes continued to scan the list and seconds later she discovered her own name and the name of her opponent. "Kai...huh?" She didn't have a recollection this name, and that was already a disadvantage. 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.' Alas, she knew nothing about her opponent. Her brow furrowed in thought, only emerging from her musing when she felt Ryo move beneath her.

It seemed the Yamanaka had been so shocked by his pairing with Azumi that he'd completely forgot she was still on his back. He made no attempt to put her down and even seemed to be intent on carrying into battle with him. She didn't particularly mind though, the longer he carried her the closer she returned to optimal condition. She certainly wouldn't sabotage herself by interrupting him. She figured once he actually made it onto the battlefield he'd swiftly realize that it would be impossible for him to defeat Azumi while his hands were occupied with holding her.

As they(Azumi and Ryo) arrived at the stage designated for their battle, Sagiso noticed Azumi's glances and contemplative expression. Although she could somewhat understand what Azumi might've been thinking, she believed it was imperative that she remain neutral and not take sides. Although, that didn't mean she wouldn't cheer them on. From her position on Ryo's back, she waved excitedly towards Azumi and mouthed the word "Fighto~!"

 

[Godjacob]

Azumi had to admit, seeing Sagiso on Ryo's back had been a surprise to the Ame-nin. She figured the Yamanaka would have known to remove Sagiso from his person but she supposed that Ryo had been thinking about their fight that he monentarily fogot that. With a sigh Azumi stood up and let out a sigh.

And gave a wave to Sagiso. Which from the stone-cold Azumi was a rather cute sight. None the less she faced Ryo and looked him in the eye.

"I think you brought unexpected company. I would advise setting Sagiso down, we need to avoid getting her in the crossfire." Azumi said, as she intended to wait however long needed for Sagiso to at least get to the spectator seats if not the location of her own battle.

----------
Sakura grinned, as the real one jumped in the air to avoid the attack where as the "clone" was sliced clean in half.

Which then seemed to generate two more clones in its place. The real Sakura jumped between the two "clones" as they shifted positions to mask the real one before they charged at Hashima from three positions for what appeared to be a multi-direction attack.

----------
Madoka frowned, but she made no effort to move her position as she poison smoke cloud drifted past here. Seemed Madoka had either taken an antidote or developed an immunity to the specific poison she used as she and her puppet Raven eyed Zaku.

His sonic attacks make air-based poison rather useless. My best chance is to get in close and use Raven to carve him up. Just one strike is all I need to get it in his system. Then I can take control of this battle...

Madoka decided to seemingly go for broke. As Raven displayed a pair of sharp switch blades from its wrists and began to advance towards Zaku. However, Madoka decided to use only one hand to move Raven but made it appear she had been using two to control it. In truth...

...in truth, she had used her second hand to attack chakra threads on the various senbon that were discarded around Zaku. Given this was not a ninja puppet, Madoka's control of said senbon had not been as polished; as eveident by the face some senbon that floated along the ground were not even facing forward or wobbled in place. But it was good enough, with a few pointed forward at the target, and for what Madoka desired it was what she needed; as she lifted several senbon just above the ground around Zaku's feet. With a flick of the wrist, the poisoned senbon shot forward aimed themselves for Zaku's ankles at the same moment she had Raven charge for what appeared to be a diagonal slash from the side.

Madoka figured that Zaku would be too focused on Raven and would have had no reason to focus on the near-ground level poisoned senbon. Even if Zaku took notice of them, that momentary shift on focus would allow Raven to close in and slash Zaku.

 

[Fire Mana]

Yasu noticed Kenji enter the arena with a slight limp, and putting most pressure on his right leg.

He's injured, he's gonna look to end this fight quickly huh...

Yasu avoided the beam with a flip, sending himself backwards a few feet before retreating to a far corner.

I've got range on him too, just play keep away until he tires himself out on that leg.

"Wind Style: Feather Darts!"

A pair of darts flew out at Kenji, heading for him straight on.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

I don’t care for her tinker toy, all I need to do is kill this brat and I’m good! Zaku looked right toward the puppet master who was standing still as she commanded her puppet. I don’t know what tricks that thing has, so I better end this quickly! Zaku’s innards made a heavy revving noise, and Zaku’s arms flames open and angled right at Madoka.

“Super Sonic Slicing Wave!!!”

Using nearly all of his Chakra in one explosive burst of Energy, his powerful energy even made Guy’s shadow clone duck for cover. It rocked the entire stadium, everything even in that general direction seemed to be utterly desolated. The tower shook momentarily as every tile on the floor was shattered into dust and Zaku was sent hurtling back. As he was falling back due to the heavy recoil of the super cannon he had just fired, he noticed a small hit of blood fall from his leg as a hole was torn in the cloth, a senbon scraping against it. I missed one?! How?!

Thinking quick, he took a blade from his bag and cut and entire skin section of his leg off, as to not take risk. He groaned in pain and was driven to the ground, trying to address the new wound he had opened up due to the risk he had made to avoid poison. His blood dropped on the floor rapidly as he quickly tied some bandages around it, or at least what he could. He looked up at the explosive damage he had done to the arena using that powerful technique. That technique, I’ve used that to kill many of shinobi before, even chunin level of the mist. That puppet princess didn’t even think I could show this much power!

 

[Mystic Zander]

Katsuo stepped out on the field of the 4th level and looked out towards the girl he would be facing this round, a blank yet cold look plastered on his face.
"Kika Nakashima....hmh...." His mind was at ease and his thoughts during the moment were rather lax. Again, while staying completely quiet, he shifted down into a fighting stance and awaited Kika's reaction.

 

[Zcraftgaming]

Lako turned and faced his opponent Taiyo. "Nah it's Chill" he said aloud, excited for the match. Yellow light filled Lakos hand and made an odd crackling sound. "You ready over there?" He called across the arena he calculated how the first move would go. "Lets do this!" He shouted and dashed forward kunai drawn in the blink of an eye.

 

[sSoul]

"Sorry that one of us has to get eliminated, you seem like a cool guy Lako, but that's the way it is," Taiyo took out his Swiss army knife and rushed towards Lako. This wasn't the best plan, but he needed to do something, so he aimed to cut at Lako's stomach, hopefully that would do some damage.

 

[Retro Master]

‘So she’s covering herself... What’s her play?’ Kiro however, didn’t plan on waiting for her too pop out. He would instead use this time and turn it into an advantage.

Kiro tugged the wires connected to the flaming shuriken and pulled them all towards the stone barrier. Once they made contact, Kiro let the wires go and watched as the barrier lit up in flames.

However, that wasn’t his only move. He quickly performed another set of handsigns. “Lightning Release: Chain Lightning Technique!” Forming electricity on both of his hands, Kiro watched the barrier intently, waiting to strike Tomiko from wherever she would pop out from. He honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she was digging her way to him as he was thinking.

That’s why he performed this jutsu. The electricity in his hands cackled as it waited for someone to latch onto. The electricity specifically targeted water found in the body. Unless Tomiko completely bled stone, the electricity would go straight for her as soon as she appeared. It would be a continuous stream of lightning going for her as long as she was in its range. Thankfully the proctor wasn’t also on the battlefield or else the lightning would’ve also went after him.

“Come out girl. Stop being a coward and show yourself!” Kiro spoke up, hoping his taunt would draw her out.

 

[Godjacob]

Time seemed to slow around Madoka, the Sun-nin's eyes widened as she sheer force of the attack Zaku unleashed caused the entire building to rumble. Madoka lacked the time needed to think this over, and given the sheer speed and size of the attack she had no time to dodge or jump out of harms way; nor had she the time to stop her puppetry and cast a substitution jutsu.

The only thing she could do was flick her wrist as she recalled her puppet Raven as it just made it in front of Madoka before the impact of the blast hit them.

"GAH!!!!!"

The force of the blow blasted them clean into the wall. The tile flows practically were reduced to rubble as everything around them had been blown apart which soon left a ruined arena as well as debris and destruction everywhere.

Madoka lied slump against the wall, blood dripped from her forehead as she was covered from head to toes in bruises. All around her pieces of her puppet Raven had been scattered around her and the ground as it seemed the force of the blow broke apart all the joins of the puppet on impact. Though the puppet had limited the damage Madoka received, she still was a bit too damaged to get up or do much beyond glare at Zaku. Though she had yet to concede anything.

----------
"Earth-Style, Headhunter Jutsu!"

Indeed Kiro had been correct to assume Tomiko had aimed for a follow up attack. Though rather than a punch as he might have expected, Tomiko's hands appeared below Kiro as they latched onto his ankles. The aim had been clear, to pull him underground and in turn immobilized him, though this received a sudden obstacle.

"AHHHH!"

Electricity from Kiro's hands traveled harmlessly through his body to Tomiko's hands an in turn travel through her body and shocked it from head to toe. Tomiko gritted her teeth, the blow was painful but Tomiko had taken hard blows all her life. This combined with the Earth around her body as the current bled into it from her body which dampened the electricity and limited its damage. It still hurt, but Tomiko had been able to suck it up as she aimed to pull Kiro underground in one swift motion.

----------
Kenji frowned when he saw the wind darts that Yasu fired at him. Kenji jumped to the side to avoid the blows though once more he clutched his left thigh as even such a simple action agitated it.

Okay, he either prefers to fight at a distance or he is waiting for my leg to give out. Either way gotta try to get close to the guy. These babies should help...

Kenji wrapped metalic wiring around a pair of kunai before he channeled electircity through said wiring to the tips of the kunai as he formed his "Thunder Chains." Kenji began to swing them around before he charged forward as he aimed to deliver an electric slash targeted at Yasu's shoulders.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Zaku’s heavy breathing slowed as he watched the dust of the battlefield clear, revealing the scene of the puppet master. She looked practically dead, battered with bruises. Zaku let out a single chuckle, before laughing as he slowly rise up from his injured state.

“That’s that then, you can call this battle a win Green Guy.”

Zaku was pleased at the results of the battle, or the appearance of such. Guy has yet to call it, but Zaku seemed confident nevertheless. Zaku winced as he leg throbbed again with the sound he had caused due to the poison preventing gash. It reminded him the situation hadn’t been Called over just yet. He looked down as to not to be fooled by Senbon a second time, as we all as any other minor detail he may have missed. He made it a point to avoid the puppet parts scattered across Madoka’s side of the room. If she still has fight in her, I rather not be stabbed to death by puppet shrapnel. He slowly raised his hands defensively around them, and out his airflow on the lowest setting, those of whichnot requiring Chakra. He was skiddish.

“Madoka of the sand, you have 10 seconds to show your still kicking. 10....9....”

 

[Fire Mana]

The electrically charged chains were now flying around the arena, slashing up the floor and walls around Kenji. Yasu managed to avoid nearly all of the flurry of chain attacks, but one of the kunai managed a glancing blow on his left shoulder. The cut wasn't deep at all, but the electricity made his whole arm go numb.

Shut, I'm lucky that was my left arm... I'll just have to wait to gain feeling back in it, but who knows how long that'll take.

Unsheathing the blade in his back, Yasu entered a fighting stance focused on dodging attacks and getting close to his opponent.

"Wind Style: Wind Blade!"

The air around Yasu's hand surrounded his sword, sharpening into a fine blade. He ran forward, flipping and diving through the electric chains, his left arm dangling behind him. Once he got within 8 or so feet of Kenji, he stopped planting himself firmly on the ground. He waited for the kunai chains to come to him, watching patiently. Once they were swung towards him once more he moved, swinging his blade in his right hand and severing the chains. The kunai's momentum flung them outwards when the chains were cut, one of them hitting the ceiling and the other hitting the wall behind Yasu.

 

[SageNeb]

Raiku was suspicious of how the clone didn't disappear and realized something.

This is no ordinary clone jutsu. "Hashima! Remember it's name!" he shouted from the spectator area. The Suna-nin was confused by what happened, even more from what Raiku had just said. However, now it made sense. Genjutsu! Nearly had me...

Hashima performed a hand seal that was meant to disrupt her chakra flow and end the genjutsu.

 

[Retro Master]

“What?!” Kiro accidentally let out as he looked to see the two hands grabbing his ankles. He was not expecting Tomiko to actually attempt to pull him underground. That was also due to the fact that it came with the consequence of her being struck by the lightning flowing through him. Kiro had to give her credit though, she had managed to protect the rest of her body due to being underground. However, her hands were not safe.

Kiro knew he had to act fast. If she was willing to sacrifice her hands for this attack then he had to be willing to take a risk too. It would be a gamble and could result in his elimination, but it was a risk he was willing to take. If he was going to lose, then she would lose something to...

Kiro bent down and grabbed both of her hands with his before channeling all of the electricity onto the gauntlets. “I’ll tell you once... surrender now or I’ll make sure you lose both your hands.” Kiro stated spitefully. Losing this early would be a setback for him, but he would rather lose this battle than lose both of his hands. Kiro focused more chakra into the technique, increasing the voltage. Even if she did pull him down, he wasn’t going to let go, not until she gave up.

At the rate the lightning was going, Tomiko would be losing feeling in her hands at any moment. That and the gauntlets would be giving her serious burns. Kiro hoped for her sake that she would give up because he wasn’t planning on letting go...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Aargh!” A man yelled as he was swept off his feet. The man did the best he could to crawl away from the chain of lightning that flowed towards him. “P-please, I-I can explain!” The man trembled in fear as he looked into the boy’s eyes. All he saw was death. The boy came upon him in a fury, the lightning cackling around him. The rest of his gang lay dead to the side. It had been quite shocking in the most literal of terms. They had been tricked. “Let him go.” Another stern voice said. The man looked up to see another man watching. It was him. “L-Listen...” The man’s body tensed as he felt the lightning grip the sides of his face. “Explain...” The boy started to say. “L-Let me go and I w-“ The boy wasn’t letting go. The man couldn’t even feel his face being eradicated. His nerves had been gone by that point. “I said let him go.” The other voice ordered, more loudly. The boy still wasn’t letting him go. “Please I-I-I can— AARGH!” The man never got to finish his sentence. “YOU KILLED HER!” An inhuman scream was heard afterwards.

The man just watched as the boy disobeyed his orders, still not letting the man go even after he died. “Th-they killed her, didn’t he?” The boy asked quietly after he finished with the dead man. A sly smirk crept up the man’s face. “Yes... yes they did.”

 

[Bluetail]

Kilka went to the floor where she was supposed to fight."Please go easy on me.I don't know what your capable of so its not fair!Will you please go easy on me?"She asked her opponent.If she could possibly get her opponent to lower they're guard she'd be able to win easily.Heh,he'll think i'm a idiot,perfect way to get him to drop his guard.He'll think i'm super weak,Kilka thought.I don't like being underestimated,but sometimes i need to be to win,so he just needs to believe i'm weak!

 

[Godjacob]

Ow ow shit SHIT! This is so painful!

Tomiko felt Kenji as he grabbed her gantlets around her hands as he began to channel his electricity through them which only intensified the electric current that traveled through her body. Given her metalic gauntlets, the pain was magnified around her arms as the rest of her body had the benefit of being literally underground to discharge the electricity. Tomiko knew she had to do something or risk her arms being damaged beyond repair, and despite Kiro's attempts to get her to give up, she knew that was not an option and scrambled to think of a solution.

Of which she had but one, which would deprive her of her signature weapon, but in exchange for her arms the trade was well worth it. Tomiko jittered and wiggled her hands against Kiro's grip till her wrists were just loose enough to allow Tomiko to pull her hands back and out of her gauntlets as she retreated underground. The gauntlets remained above ground as they soaked up the electricity due to the stronger conductive attraction while Tomiko took a moment to clutch her hands as despite the escape the exposure to the electricity had nearly shot her nerves and caused them tremendous pain as Tomiko winched in place underground.

God it burns! Damn it Tomiko just suck it up! Okay, can you still move them?

Tomiko within her hole underground began to move her hands around. Which caused a stinging pain, but she had been able to make the motions even if it had been a literal pain.

Okay, they work but it hurts like hell to use. Just gotta try to shake off the electric sting. I'll have to leave my gauntlets behind. My babies, and I can't risk metal being used against me.

Tomiko untied her headband and placed it in her bag away from her body before she considered her options. Her arms still functioned, but they had been severely limited and would need time to heal. So under she had been able to shake out the electricity from them, she had to keep things at a distance to avoid hand-to-hand combat.

So Tomiko flashed some hand signs and prepared for a counter attack. She emerged from underground behind Kiro as she gave a confident grin. Even as her arms seemed to twitch in place which showed the damage they had taken at Kiro's hands.

"Gotta say you are cold-blooded. I can respect that, but it will take a little more than a spark to keep me down." Tomiko taunted, showing her confidence had now wavered as she placed her palms on the ground while she eyed Kiro.

"Earth Style, Earthquake Slam!"

In a moment the ground that surrounded Kiro began to spiral inwards on itself; almost as if it had come to life and tried to crush and bury Kiro alive as Tomiko aimed to use the arena itself against her opponent.

-----------
Hashima's method had worked rather well, as soon enough Sakura's illusionary clones vanished before Hashima's eyes which left the real one alone as she continued her charge as she tried to deliver a slash with her kunai to her back as she had kept her momentum rather than try to slow herself down.

"Hey! You can't tell someone how their opponent's technique works, you are a spectator. That is cheating!" Ino complained as she figured Raiku's advice had given Hashima the means to break Sakura's Genjutsu but in truth had been upset her friend's technique was foiled.

----------
Kenji frowned as the metalic wire that connected the ends of the kunai to it had been severed by Yasu's wind blade. This had been rather annoying but Kenji decided not to dwell on it as he pulled his wiring back and performed some more hand signs to prepare his next attack.

"Lightning Style, Jolting Pulse Jutsu!" Kenji placed his palm on the ground as a powerful jolt of electricity traveled through the ground at high speeds as it aimed to hit Yasu from the legs and send the electric strike through his body to shock and damage the wind-nin and allow him to keep distance between them which he desired above all else.

----------
Madoka frowned as she was told by the proctor that she needed to show something or risk being declared unable to continue. This combined with the caution the Oto-nin seemed to show meant that he could be on the lookout for manipulated puppet limbs; which Madoka made preparations for already. Given the damage she had received she had little options and needed to resort to more...desperate measures.

Wind-release had not been a strong suit for Madoka, as she focused on her craftsmanship and her skills with her puppet Raven. So she neglected on other areas beyond the ninja basics. She could perform Wind-release, but she had been far from the most polished on it. Still given the situation she had to move out of her comfort zone as she brought her hands up and began to perform some hand signs as she weekly made it to her feet.

"Wind Style, Kiss of Death!" Madoka called out, before she released what appeared to be small but concentrated stream of air from her lips aimed right at Zaku's chest. The attack moved at blinding speeds and if it connected would tear through muscle and tissue to deliver a devestating strike. The downside was this technique was a one shot deal that drained chakra for a lower level technique and could not alter its direction after it was fired. Though Madoka aimed to use this as she prepared her puppets pieces. Most notably her two puppet arms of Raven with the poisoned switch blades still drawn...

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Zaku was looking at his feet, especially around the Broken senbons and puppet parts when he heard the sand ninja call out. As soon as he heard her, he went over to face her, putting his hands out to protect himself. Wind style? Another airborne trick? I bet I can-

The sudden concentrated air burst from her mouth was unexpected, as he tried to counter with his own wind attack. Due to his slicing wave attack, his justu was below the 10% remaining mark. He had to use it sparingly. He made a handsign on each hand.

“Decapatating airwaves!”

Oddly, some smoke came out of his implants before he fired two bursts of concentrated air to intercept her’s. Due to it’s speed and how late Zaku was, he blasted at it, taking most of the force out, but some of the air jutsu struck his center body, tearing a hole in in shirt right in the middle. He coughed as he staggered back a few steps, as if he had been punched, his chest red and bruised from the hit.

“Tsk...you’ve got some nerve!”

Zaku, trying to conserve chakra, tossed a few kunai toward the slumped over Ninja, spiraling now through the air dead set on the suna nin.

 

[SageNeb]

To that shout, Raiku quickly turned his head towards Ino. He glared at her with his two-tomoe Sharingan for a second, but then quickly laughed. "Alright, I'll try not to help anymore besides morale support," he told her with a grin. "Good luck, Hashima!" he shouted.

The Mud-Style specialist huffed, and then gave a thumbs up to Raiku. "Alright, I'l-" before she finished that statement she felt a slash on her back before turning around and seeing Sakura. It appeared that she had got cut while being caught off guard. She fell to the ground, but she knew she couldn't give up so easily.

No way that's how I'm going down. Hashima jumped backwards before gritting her teeth at the pain. She took out her hands and began covering the cut with mud. That should help with the pain, at least a bit.

She did a couple hand seals and then looked at Sakura. "Mud Style: Muddy Water Wall!"

Hashima hoped the mud wave would attach to Sakura, it could give her an opening to finish this battle.

 

[Retro Master]

‘But how?!’ Kiro mentally questioned when he heard Tomiko come out from behind him. He had been so focused on the gauntlets that he hadn’t noticed that she had slipped out of the gauntlets. Kiro mentally cursed his carelessness as he heard speak. He was even more shocked when heard her perform a jutsu. She must’ve escaped from his grip way earlier than he expected to still have mobility in her arms and hands.

Kiro looked down as he saw the ground start to spiral inwards under him. If he didn’t do something fast, he would be buried to death. That would not be ideal for him. Thinking fast, Kiro’s eyes locked onto the gauntlets he was still holding... and then he smirked.

“I’m impressed that you’re still able to use a jutsu after that last attack...” Kiro started to say as he put the first gauntlet on. He was already starting to sink underground by this point. “But, you’ve also given me something in return.” Kiro said as he put on the second gauntlet. He could feel the immense amount of trapped energy radiating through the gauntlets. It felt like they would burst if they took in any more. The gauntlets were basically supercharged and just awaited a controlled trigger to release the energy. Kiro was happy to oblige.

If Tomiko was going to use the arena against him, then Kiro would destroy that too. Meshing a tiny bit of his chakra into the gauntlet, electricity immediately flowed around it. It cackled around him, the lightning destroying pieces of the ground every time it made contact with it. Kiro was already a few feet under by now and decided that it was now or never. “Now let’s see what these things are really made of!” Kiro exclaimed before channeling all the built up electricity from the gauntlets. Then he smashed both of them into the ground beneath him.

As soon as the supercharged gauntlets made contact with the ground, a loud, almost deafening crack was heard. It sounded almost as if lightning had struck right next to them. Almost immediately the ground shattered all around the arena, canceling out Tomiko’s jutsu as well sending chunks of the ground flying in all directions. Lightning also flowed in every direction, striking everything it touched. It struck the stands. It struck the ground. The proctor even had to jump out of the way as a stray bolt almost hit him.

Kiro himself managed to stand up in the middle of the large crater that had formed around him after the attack ended. He watched as streaks of electricity flowed around him and the remains of the arena, almost as if searching for a target. A thought in the back of Kiro’s mind wondered if any of the other stages also felt the impact of the attack. In fact, he wondered if had the attack destroyed a little bit more of the ground, would they have fallen onto the stage beneath them. However, the smarter part of Kiro’s mind made him turn to see what happened to Tomiko. He casually threw off the nearly destroyed gauntlets before taking a deep breath. Even though that attack didn’t force him to use all his chakra, Kiro had still used a decent amount when he was originally holding onto the gauntlets. He only hoped Tomiko was also in a weakened state, if not defeated. Not wanting to risk anything, Kiro pulled out a kunai, cautiously awaiting for his opponent potential next move.

 

[Fire Mana]

Yasu could feel something under him, the entire arena floor was shaking with the power of the electricity. He kept moving forward though, faster and faster he ran with his blade still drawn. The electricity was approaching him faster as well, and was now right below him.

The first thing he lost feeling in was his feet. At first it felt like a tickle, and then it stung a bit, and then it felt like needles throughout his feet. It stung like hell for a bit, and then they went completely numb. The feeling kept climbing up his legs, until he couldn't feel the bottom half of his body.

Keep moving...

He couldn't feel his chest.

Keep pushing...

He couldn't feel his arms.

Break through!

"WIND STYLE: SECRET TECHNIQUE! FEATHER STORM!"

At once, the pockets filled with feathers at Yasu's waist flung open. The feather darts flung out, suspending in the air behind him. They remained still in the air for a few moments, before Yasu flung himself forward with blade in hand. The feathers flew forward as well, a massive wall of projectiles hurdling towards Kenji at intense speeds. Yasu's arm turned into a flurry of wind as he swung his blade, whipping up a whirlwind in the arena.

I pushed as hard as I could, this will be my final move in this fight.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kai breathed in and out, as the tower shook between what sounded like a powerful airwave collision, and then an electric bolt of thunder on the floor above. This didn’t dissuade him from his meditating. When will my opponent show? Is the Xeno too afraid that I will kill them? Tsk. Pathetic.

Kai looked toward the proctor, whom seemed to wonder where they were as well. Guy stroked his chin, seeming at a loss. Something seemed...odd about him. Other than his appearance, like something was missing in his life, but he couldn’t quite get the grasp on it. But why would Kai care? He’s a leaf dog after all.


.........


Kabuto stepped out of the exam tower, before even the names had been even drawn. He looked at the ninja info card he had stockpiled and the sample of blood he had acquired. The nifty ammount of information that surely would come in handy. He made his way to a secluded area, right beyond the gates of the forest of death. There waiting, seemed to me 3 ninjas, all theee from the sound.

“What took so long Kabuto? Didn’t get into any trouble with genin I suppose?” Orochimaru cackled.

“No Orochimaru.” Kabuto adjusted his glasses. “I got some Information I needed, even blood to boot, from a puppet bloodline.”

“Who cares! The only blood I care about is spilt!”

“Control yourself Kin.” Orochimaru said. “He like your other Jinchuriki friend, quiet.”

Kin growled and crossed her arms, pouting. Kabuto looked back at his master and gave him the needed details and blood.

“The attack will go as planned?”

“Yes...in a week’s time, right at the agreed time.”

“Excellent, the day you’ve planned for so long is finally here.”

“Yes...after this week...the leaf will no longer be able to rise to its former glory!”

 

[Zcraftgaming]

Lako saw the knife and light as a feather dashed to the side going in at a different angle. His hand reached out and grabbed his opponents arm. "Hatsumi clan Kekkai Genkai: lightning release!" He muttered and a wave of visible blue electricity emerged from his skin making him itch all over."

While it did its magic Lako slithered in behind Taiyo. His pressed the kunai against Taiyos neck and whispered in his ear.
"This is my family's kekkai genkai, the electric waves that I release frazzle the body's nerves paralysing the target for a short amount of time. So as your personnel health companion I advise you yield before the ground turns crimson with your blood and we wouldn't want that really would we?" His pressed the kunai against Taiyos neck a bit harder. While with his other hand freed the Swiss Army knife from Taiyos hand.

 

[Godjacob]

SHIT!!!

That had been the one thought Tomiko was able to process when before her everything seemed to just ripple, tear apart or explode all around the arena. A rumble of the impact of Tomiko's own gauntlets being used by Kiro had been the least of the Iwa-nin's worries as in a flash large chunks of rocks and electricity flashed all around the area which much of this destructive debris aimed at her. Tomiko knew she had to act now or she'd risk getting zapped and pulverized all at once....and in that defining split second moment Tomiko came up with an idea.

She jumped. Not over an incoming rock or away from it, but towards it; as she landed just on the rock and used it as a launch pad to bounce upwards. Tomiko did this again, and again, and again. It took precise timing; one hair's breath off and she'd get hit with the very rock she tried to bounce off of so she had to be mistake free. And it seemed to work. She had used the flying rocks as literal stepping stones and had so far avoided both impact from them or the rogue lighting streams as she progressed forward and up. So far so good, if Tomiko kept this up she might have escaped this catastrophic attack and....

"AGH!"

Tomiko's progress had been halted when a rogue electric current struck her just as she landed on another rock projectile; as it struck her left thigh and quickly traveled through her body. The jolt caused understandable pain for Tomiko; especially when it traveled to her already inflamed arms, but that proved to be the least of her worries. As the jolt paused her body which caused another rock to smack her stomach as she had been sent flying back before she crashed into the wall with a thud. Before the dust had even settled, a second jolt of electricity and a couple smaller rocks pelted against her body. Once the chaos had finally ceased, Tomiko had been embedded into the wall inside a crater as blood dripped from her forehead and at first she appeared motionless.

But before the proctor had a chance to call the match, Tomiko began to twitch in place before she opened her eyes and glanced down at the destroyed arena and Kiro who seemed to have a kunai drawn.

"Man, you really are amazing." Tomiko complimented, which was followed but some coughing as she then grit her teeth to suck in the pain before she jumped down to the ground. Tomiko had been rocked with much soreness, her arms still twitched from the damage caused by the electricity as many would have called it quits after enduring all she had to this point.

But pain had been far from a new experience for the Iwa-nin...

GAH!

A young girl, bruised from head to toe, was knocked to the ground by the oldest of what appeared to be a street gang within the slums of Iwagakure. The girl coughed as she was then kicked in the gut while on the ground by another of the boys before an additional cry of pain escaped her lips as a girl among them stomped on her left heel. The gang moved back, and had began to walk away as they figured she was finished.

However the girl got back up. As she eyed the gang with a glare while she wiped the blood that dripped from her lips.

"Get back here. I'm not finished!"

The gang turned around, disbelief in most of their eyes as they had beaten on this girl for what felt like an eternity yet she kept coming at them. None of them understood why she kept getting back up, and the leader had become visibly frustrated as he eyed the young girl with a death glare.

"Just give up already you slum shit! Stay down!"

But the young girl, Tomiko, had not stayed down. She did what she had always done...

...she moved forward, and would meet the challenge head on.

In spite of the pain her arms felt, Tomiko bit her lips as she sucked it in and formed some hand signs as she aimed for another jutsu.

"Earth Style, Partial Pillar Jutsu!"

A small pillar of earth, the remnants of the destroyed field around them, shot up under Tomiko's feet and propelled the girl forward at high speeds. Tomiko aimed to deliver a high speed, high impact knee strike to Kiro's chest to get past his kunai guard. If this blow connected, she'd aim to follow it up with a roundhouse kick to send Kiro flying back.

Tomiko had not been the most proficient with using her feet for Taijutsu, but she had not been so helpless that she could not make an improvisation when the situation called for it. And this situation had been as needed, if not more so, than any other.

-----------
Clang!

Zaku's kunai had been knocked away from Madoka, as the arms of her "fallen" puppet Raven appeared as she manipulated them and the elongated poisoned blades to knock away Zaku's projectiles. Madoka was far from done, as she then sent the pair of arms towards Zaku as she aimed to slice him up with the poisoned blades.

Madoka was weak, and her chakra draining fast, she had to finish this soon or she'd be helpless before the Oto-nin.

----------
Sakura had little time to prepare herself before a trail of mud appeared as her ankles had been caught in the mud as she had been pushed back already and struggled to break free.

Kami this is disgusting!

I think that's the least of our problems right now!

Sakura knew she had to do something quickly. So Sakura pulled a pair of kunai from her bag and attacked a paper bomb to one of them. Sakura then tossed the kunai, not at Hasima, but right at the start of this mud wave that had been close to Hashima. Sakura aimed to blow up that end which would halt the jutsu's progression and force Hashima back as Sakura used her second kunai to slash at the mud around her feet while she gritted her teeth and tried to pull herself free. However, this was hindered as more mud washed over her body as it began to move to her upper body and halt her movements. It even managed to get to her hair as well, which only added some humiliation to this troubled situation.

Darn it, my body. Can hardly move...

Forget that! The hair is ruined!

Ino, who had not been the least bit intimidated by the glare from the Uchiha, turned back to Sakura and saw her friend had been in a literal sticky situation.

"You can do this Sakura, don't let some dirt beat you!" Ino cheered on as encouragement.

----------
Kenji had no time to process what Yasu had just done. One second, the electricity had been zapping him as intended. Then the next, dozens of wind-feathers and Yasu charged at him as he aimed a wind blade. Kenji got up a kunai and coated it in electiricty as he tried to block the wind-blade given he had no time to dodge. However, the elemental disadvantage came back to haunt him as his kunai was overpowered and Yasu sliced clean through it which in turn caused his wind-blade to slice across his chest as well. Then a few of the wind-feathers pelted him which knocked Kenji back and caused the Kumo-nin to crash against the wall.

Kenji slumped down and, while he remained conscious through all that somehow, the downed and bleeding frame of him indicated to the proctor and anyone who had observed them that he was done. Yasu had won.

 

[Fire Mana]

As his blade ripped through the cloth and flesh of his opponent, Yasu's heart beat faster and his breathing got heavier. He could feel his blood pumping, his muscles moving. It felt like he was gonna throw up. He dropped to his knees, his eyes starting straight forward to the bloodied body of his opponent.

"Enough! The winner is Yasu Tsubasa from Sunagakure!"

The proctor immediately moved to Kenji, attempting to assess the injury before calling for the medical staff. Yasu rose slowly, bowed, and quietly stepped out of the arena.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

That’s a gutsy move, she’s not giving up! Zaku had practically no chakra left, so he could only coast on the lowest setting of his airwaves, the Decapatating airwaves were out of commission for now. His arms which were already pointed at Madoka, set out a stream of air.

“Airwaves!”

While it was still in attack, it would not deflect the puppet parts, but slow them down. It was a gamble, but his best bet at this point. The airwaves hit the puppet parts, their momentum decreasing as they got within a foot of him. His kunai he had in his other hand clashed with the puppet blade. It stuck into his kunai, lodging in the steel. His eyes widened as he saw the other arm coming at him, not slowed down. He got an idea. With the puppet arm blad lodged in his kunai, he grunted, moving it in the way of the attack. The two blades clashed, sparks erupting as they cracked, and fell down. The blades had been spliced by each other.

Zaku scowled at the parts, as he took a fragment of the fallen blades an whacked frustrated at the arms, cutting up their wrists and forearms into tiny pieces. He yelled as he discarded the blade, looking over to Madoka. He walked toward her with a kunai drawn.

“That’s....enough out of you!” He huffed. “Call it or die!”

 

[SageNeb]

Yukimaru blushed a bit at his mentioning but then got a determined look.

The Leaf will be destroyed, and Orochimaru-sensei will have gotten his revenge! The jinchuriki had gotten a bit of a creepy smile on his face for a second, before it returned to his normal shy appearance.

--------------
Raiku's eyes widened a bit, before he grinned. So that's her power, huh? I'm lucky I didn't have to fight her, she would be a difficult opponent.

Hashima jumped back a bit at the explosion, and it seemed to have taken it's effect. The mud wave had stopped and fell on the ground. However, the mud on Sakura kept on hardening.

"I'll finish this now, Ninja Art: Powerful Gust Mud Shockwave!" she shouted. Hashima rushed towards Sakura, her hand hardened with mud and wind nature chakra increasing it's destructive force as she aimed to punch the Konoha kunoichi.

 

[Mystic Zander]

Katsuo stared at Kika, a stoic expression on his face as she spoke, her word almost passing through him at this moment, it was a battle.
He dropped a smoke bomb, disappearing into the small cloud of smoke. "This girl...she takes nothing seriously, ill show her the seriousness of a raw fight!" He vowed, weaving a few hand signs while charging her.
"Water Style- Water Clone Jutsu!" With one final gesture, two clones formed out of shimmering water on either side of him before taking solid form as they ran in unison. "No water source to feed off of this time so ill have use up my own chakra to generate the water, I cant work long like this....but I dont think ill need much."
As the smoke cleared, All three of the Katsuo's had circled around Kika and were closing in fast, about to attack with powerful palms strikes from different points and angles. "Lets see what you got!"

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo waited for the paralysis to wear off, knowing he could strike back soon, he calmed down and once be had feeling in his nerves again, he struck.
"Well Lako, if there's one thing I hate more than jerks, it's doctors. FIRE RELEASE: FLAME WHIRLWIND!" Taiyo elbowed Lako so he had room to perform the necessary hand symbols for the Jutsu, then he watched as the fire began to surround his opponent.
"By the way, thanks for telling me about your clan and secret behind your Kekki Genkai, even I'm not that stupid,"

 

[Godjacob]

"Sakura!" Ino cried out as she watched as her friend seemed almost frozen in place while the mud-nin charged ahead with a hardened fist. Sakura struggled to break free of the bindings, but as the mud hardened her movements had become gradually restricted which given Hashima had quickly aimed to exploit this limited her options and time much to her internal dismay.

Darn it this is not good!

Do something or we're gonna be bashed against a wall!

I...I can somewhat move my right hand. Close to weapon's pouch. Have one idea that might work, though it's not gonna be without cost.

The hell are you talking about?

What Sakura had been talking about in this instance was the fact that she used the limited movement of her left hand as it inched to her weapon's pouch as Sakura pulled out a paper bomb...and set it off as she stuck it into the mud that encased most of her body. Sakura's inner personification had the natural reaction.

W-what the hell!?

In a flash, the paper bomb went off just as Hashima's fist had moved inches from Sakura's face as a powerful explosion that had range to blast both kunoichi knocked Sakura out of her mud prison and slammed her into a wall as she flopped to her side. Sakura had received noticable damage, as her left side had been covered with some scorch marks, which the mud that encased her limited only to a minor degree. Still Sakura managed to suck in the pain just enough to sit up as she gazed ahead and began to pant while she winced in pain as she clutched her left arm.

Good going genius, you blew yourself up!

Like you had a better idea...

Sakura weakly reached into her bag with her good arm and grabbed a bottle of that make-shift healing ointment she used to operate on Kiro. Sakura tried to apply this as quickly as possible while she kept her eye on the smoke cloud and Hashima in turn.

-----------
Madoka stared a dagger at Zaku's kunai, as her gambit had failed though the girl had remained quiet for the moment. However, given Raven had been too damaged for proper use, her own body had been damaged to the degree it had and the chakra she had nearly drained she knew being stubborn now would only get her killed. So with a sigh Madoka closed her eyes before she said the words Zaku likely had been dying to hear.

"I give up. You win."

 

[SageNeb]

Hashima basically got exploded in the face, to put it bluntly. The knockback did it's part as well, and she grunted as she struggled to stand up. However, once she got up, most of the pain was no longer there, as adrenaline had taken its place for now. That and determination.

I was so close to beating her up! If only my punch landed... well, she also exploded on herself, that must've hurt her. That and my previous jutsu... I'll defeat you now!

Hashima glared at the smoke bomb, and performed hand seals. Mud Style: Muddly Limbs Jutsu! Like before, she began sliding her and then mud on her hands were covered with hardened mud once more. However, this was mostly a physical punch attack, not a grab attack. She did still keep the swiftness from sliding however, and soon afterwards she appeared out of the smoke bomb to deliver the punch she had previously failed in.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Zaku’s muscles flexed as they registered the words she said. He jumped, almost expecting her to say a justu name instead. He calmed down, his body relaxing and his arms falling to his side.

“He...hehe...looks that way eh?” Zaku snorted as he looked toward the proctor.

Guy nodded at the results and struck his hand into the air. “Madoka of the sand as conceded, Zaku Abumi of the sound is the winner of this hot blooded match!”

Zaku rolled his eyes at the proctor’s words, but he was glad to hear them. He looked up into the crowd for a moment, a grin plastered on his face until his eyes widened.

He was here.

In the crowd, a jounin with a sound headband with a sharp pair of eyes stared down at him. Those eyes were only used by one person he knew. O-Orochimaru sensei? He was watching? Orochimaru has a finger to his chin and seemed deep in thought, a deep snicker set upon his mouth. Within seconds, Orochimaru walked out, as if he hadn’t been there.

Zaku looked down to his battered opponet. I suppose she was good enough, as an ally and an enemy.

“If you were any other opponet, I would have said something clever, and left you here but...”

Zaku extended his hand toward the puppet master, keeping his confident expression.

“Here, get up. I trust you won’t poison me eh?”

 

[Retro Master]

Flinching when he heard her voice, Kiro turned to Tomiko’s direction in bewilderment. “Wh-what are you?” Kiro asked, completely dumbfounded as to how Tomiko kept getting up. In all honesty, that scared him. The girl kept on getting up. Kiro had fried her hands and even destroyed the whole arena in her face, yet she was still standing. The situation was so similar to another point of his life and he was forced to recall a horrible memory of his own past...

And in that moment of shock, fear and regret Kiro had, Tomiko took full advantage. By the time Kiro noticed Tomiko had used a jutsu, it was already too late. All Kiro saw was a blur in his direction before he felt pain hit his chest! “What the...?!” Kiro mentally cursed as he tried to slash at her with his kunai. However, before his arm could react, Tomiko quickly delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, sending him flying into the wall behind him. ‘She actually landed a good hit on me.’

Not even taking a second to catch his breath, Kiro hopped back to his feet, ignoring some of the aching from his back. However, that was the least of his worries as he felt a sharper pain coming from his rib area. ‘Damn it!’ Kiro mentally cursed. The kick from Tomiko seemed to have reagitated the rib injury he had suffered from the forest. ‘That wretched snake!’ Kiro cursed again, slightly wincing pain. That’s when he realized he had his hand over the injured area. No! He would not show any weakness! That could give his opponent some slight hope. Though it was a bit difficult, Kiro quickly dispatched his sense of pain to focus on the battle.

“Lucky shot.” Kiro told Tomiko, using the back side of his hand to wipe some liquid off of his face. It was his blood. Kiro looked at it, then at Tomiko. Now he was pissed. “You’ll pay for that.” Kiro spoke in an arrogantly calm tone. Now it was time for him to raise the bar a bit.

In a quick motion, Kiro grabbed a bunch of kunai with explosive tags and flung them in Tomiko’s direction before quickly going through another set of hand signs. “Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!” Kiro took a large breath before spitting out a rather large stream of fire in Tomiko’s direction, trailing the kunai. If things went like last time, any barrier that Tomiko formed this time would be destroyed by the explosive tags, allowing the flames to go through it. Kiro even went another step after that and assumed that Tomiko wouldn’t be such a fool as to just stand and watch her potential barrier break. She would probably try to avoid the attack while performing a counter. With that knowledge in mind, Kiro waited to see what Tomiko’s next move would be, almost expecting anything at this point.