"Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry." Naruto said and sighed happily as he sat down in his seat after traversing the obstacle course of people's toes in order to reach it. Looking at the devastation that was being levied down to the mercenaries, bandits, those looking to make a fortune and whoever else the competitors of the Great Tree Shipping Company had scrounged together, he said, "Man, watching those ladies work is enough to make me glad, I'm not down there."
His comment and the perceived ignorance of the identities of the Bijuu turned women while partially for the people surrounding him in the audience, was truthfully for the brown-haired woman sitting two seats over from him. Toka though didn't seem to hear him as her focus remained on the box where the other Bijuu and Mito were standing as they watched Yoruichi, Rangiku, Seven, and the three women that served Tier as vassals fighting against the small army opposing them.
His gaze drifted from her to Sakura, who smiled amused at his comment before replying, "Really, not even a small part of you wants to be down there?"
Hearing the disbelief in his pink-haired lover's tone, he admitted, "Okay sure, maybe a small part."
He looked back to the arena just as Seven slipped into a man's guard and delivered several shots to his stomach. The blows likely would have been bad enough on their own, but her fists were encased in thick stone gloves that only added to the damage. Her opponent grabbed his chest likely suffering from several broken ribs and sunk to his knees. Seven then finished him off by leaping over him and used the back of his head as a springboard which sent his skull smashing into the ground as she flew over a man that had been moving to attack her. She brought her fists down on the top of a woman's skull that had been following behind him sending her smashing face first into the ground as well. Turning, she punched the person she had leapt over in the face sending him bouncing along the ground before coming to a stop several feet away.
Watching the display Naruto added, "That part is also getting smaller and smaller."
He looked back at Sakura who gave him a smile that indicated how she didn't buy it for a moment due to her knowing how competitive he could be. She looked back to the arena floor before saying, "It seems Yoruichi is having a little trouble."
Naruto turned towards where his dark skinned lover was fighting and to his surprise she did seem to be having trouble landing a disabling blow against one of the opponents she was facing.
****************************
"Stand still you annoying little bitch," Yoruichi said to the youngish kunoichi that was facing her after her kick missed it mark leaving a large divot in the ground. Her opponent landed several feet away allowing the dark-skinned woman a moment to study the kunoichi, who was wearing a cloth scarf around her head so that only the eyes were visible as well as a black body suit.
The kunoichi crossed her arms across her chest showing that she held several kunai which she then threw. Yoruichi barely moved her body as she dodged each blade before battering the last one away with her bare hand. She then launched herself forward to knock her opponent out. She closed the distance between them in a moment, and delivered what she felt was a devastating blow to the woman's stomach.
However, her opponent hit the ground and rolled to her feet revealing that she had managed to lessen the power of the attack by leaping backwards at the last moment. The purple-haired Bijuu fought back an annoyed groan as she was falling far behind her sisters primarily due to the kunoichi facing her. The primary reason she was having such a hard time was due to it appearing that her opponent was fighting to win. Instead, as if she knew she couldn't beat her, the kunoichi was instead simply concentrating on trying to prevent a blow that would knock her out of the fight. Moreover, she was also preventing Yoruichi from disengaging or taking on other opponents. The kunoichi had surprised not only the Bijuu, but her supposed allies when several men seeing her managing to survive more than a handful of moments had moved to attack the Bijuu turned woman. However, they learned to regret it when the kunoichi had disabled them much to Yoruichi's annoyance since she couldn't count them to her total. Seeing her night with Naruto getting flushed down the drain she had tried to eliminate the woman, but her opponent stubbornly refused to be squashed.
Yoruichi cursed the fact that she couldn't just turn the woman to ash, but Kiyomi hadn't wanted a bloodbath, since she felt it would be bad for business. She narrowed her golden-eyes at her opponent as she said, "You've annoyed me long enough little girl."
The Bijuu watched the woman tense as she braced herself for a frontal attack, but Yoruichi seemed to disappear from her sight as she moved faster than her opponent could follow. She appeared behind the kunoichi and backhanded her in the cheek from behind sending her skittering across the arena floor. She smirked since she knew the kunoichi was out of the fight as her tensing up to leap backwards had made it so she couldn't lessen the blow as she had been doing. Yoruichi was about to move to make up for lost time, but saw her sisters Seven and Rangiku were in the midst of the last wave of opponents.
She smirked as Tier's familiars watched in awe as the two Bijuu easily battered aside the remaining opponents as the competed for the right of being Naruto's date for his eighteenth birthday bash. Accepting that she wouldn't be able to catch up at this point, she moved towards the woman that had caused her to lose her bet. Upon reaching the prone woman she bent down to remove the scarf as she said, "I hope you're proud of yourself. Thanks to your interference my...Soifon!"
Yoruichi stared at the bruised face of Soifon in surprise, but her eyes grew to the size of saucers as the scarf that she had pulled away began to smoke revealing that it had exploding tags affixed to it. "You crazy..."
The area that the two women were standing in erupted into a huge fireball. Yoruichi stared at it as she stood on top of the arena wall that separated the audience from the combatants. She stared down at the young woman she was holding in her arms and asked, "Are you insane? How'd you know I'd rescue you?"
Soifon's cheeks began to color as she answered, "For the same reason that you helped defend the Leaf Village during Pain's attack."
Yoruichi wanted to correct the kunoichi's thinking since it was apparent she had the wrong idea behind her actions that day. Soifon obviously thought she had helped the village out of a sense of kindness or pureness of spirit, but truthfully she had simply done it because it was Naruto's home. However, unable to explain as much she instead asked, "What are you doing in this contest anyway?"
"I snuck in because I wanted to make you acknowledge me," Soifon said staring up with hopeful eyes.
"I acknowledge that you're a pain in the ass," the Bijuu replied. "Here take her," she said to a pair of medics approaching to check their condition and to whom she tossed the kunoichi. Yoruichi then leap back into the arena before making her way to the box where her other siblings were watching as Seven and Rangiku finished mopping up the rest of the first round opponents.
*****************************
The man hid behind a rock wall that the brown-haired woman had made earlier which had devastated a formation of his fellow bandits. There was dust everywhere giving the arena a hellish appearance. He had jumped in with the final wave confident that he and the bandit group he had led would succeed where all the others had failed. Little did he know he had been jumping into a pit of hell. "N-no reward is worth this," he thought afraid to give voice to his complaint less he become targeted by one of the two demons in control of whatever hellish domain he had been teleported to once he left the arena stands.
What truly was tormenting him, outside of the screams of those hit by the jutsu the women were wielding was the way they were counting them off. He heard a pair of screams and heard each woman say, "Seventy-nine."
An unnatural silence fell over the arena as no new screams followed in their wake. The dust around him began to settle as he heard the blonde woman say, "That can't be it. Are you sure you counted right? There's no way that you're tied with me."
The other woman replied heatedly, "I was just about to ask the same thing. I find your count rather suspect since I figured you'd lose count after running out of fingers and toes."
"There's one way to settle this," the blonde said holding the hilt of her sword towards the brown-haired woman as the ash that she wielded wrapped around her form.
"Oh, I'd like that." The other woman said as a pair of rock snakes rose from the ground behind her.
The bandit wasn't sure what was prompting the two women to turn on each other, but wasn't going to question his good fortune. He broke from his cover as he ran for the arena edge, but unfortunately the movement attracted the two women's attention. As one they motioned towards the man causing their jutsu to fly off in pursuit. The man turned to face the jutsu and was hit by the ash and one of the snakes at the same time. He was launched into the air as he heard each woman claim, "Eighty."
His world went dark so he didn't hear the argument that followed even as a horn sounded proclaiming the end of the first round.
****************************
Tsunade watched as Mito stepped to the microphone as she said, "We'll have a fifteen minute intermission before the start of the next round." Her grandmother than stepped back into the shadows and from her fox mark the Hokage knew she was leaving the box from which she had watched the first round.
"That was certainly interesting," Jirocho said as the medical teams moved to clear the wounded or unconscious from the arena floor. "I think it is safe to say that whether Great Tree Shipping Company wins or loses this competition after that display people are going to take them seriously."
Tsunade nodded, although her mind was currently still processing the revelation that Soifon had entered into the contest. She motioned for Shizune, who stepped away from the wall behind her seat and leaned over her shoulder. Tsunade whispered something into her ear causing her attendant to nod before leaving the Hokage viewing box.
Jirocho noticing his friend's preoccupation asked, "Trouble?
"I hope not," Tsunade answered. "One of the entrants turned out to be a former kunoichi of the village. After Pain's attack she filed her paperwork to be discharged. I'm just concerned that she might be starting along the path of a rogue-nin."
Jirocho arched an eyebrow as he replied, "I'm rather surprised you'd let one so young step away from her duties."
Tsunade shrugged as she said, "I know most people believe that when one becomes a shinobi it is a lifetime obligation. There is some truth to that, but unfortunately a profession such as ours tends to come with a large amount of mental and physical strain. Since a shinobi who cracks or whose heart and body is no longer wholly in it can be a danger to themselves and their comrades, we're almost forced to let such people resign."
"So what category did that kunoichi fall into?"
"That is what Shizune is going to ascertain," the Hokage replied. "Soifon was just one of many that wished to relinquish their duties in the aftermath of Pain's attack. Such an event can shake even the hardiest of shinobi, and make them reevaluate what's important to them."
"Still considering the skills you impart your shinobi with its only natural that you'd be rather hesitant to part with them. Plus, if it's so easy to leave why do so many becoming missing-nin?"
Tsunade looked over towards her friend as she responded, "Well keep in mind that for a time I wasn't an active member of Konoha's forces. After Dan's death my fear of blood and general disdain for the principles that guide most Leaf shinobi all but forced my retirement. That doesn't mean I was free to use my skills just any way I choose. While some that leave the village do use their skills for personal gain, so long as they don't break the law or join another shinobi village they are free to do so." She looked back to the arena to see that most of the human wreckage had been cleared away as she added with a shrug, "The reason so many choose the path of missing-nin is because it can be the more profitable means of using their skills. I suppose the reason that so many break with Konoha while still active though is because they trade on their position to gain some advantage in their new life. For example, the thief that stole my great-uncle's sword and who tried to stop your runner during the race would never have had access to it if he hadn't been a Leaf shinobi at the time."
Jirocho nodded before commenting, "Well, he wasn't the only one that gained something of value from his defection."
Tsunade smiled as she noticed that Idate appeared a little uncomfortable at his master's mentioning of how he had ended up joining the Wasabi family as a result of Aoi's betrayal. Tsunade gave the young man a wink to put him at ease that the Leaf didn't consider him a potential threat. Shizune returned and whispered in her ear causing her to let out a relieved sigh before saying, "But it appears I may have been worried over nothing." Tsunade could tell that Jirocho was curious about what she meant, but the Hokage let the matter drop as it seemed her grandmother had already insured that while Soifon might not be serving the Leaf directly. Her skills would nonetheless be aiding its desire to build better relations through trade as a member of the Great Tree Shipping Company.
*****************************
"Where have you been?" Yoruichi asked as Mito returned to the viewing box where the Bijuu were gathered.
Mito looked at the dark-skinned woman as she answered, "Oh, I was offering that young woman that gave you such a hard time a job."
"What!" Yoruichi said less than pleased, "Why would you do something like that?"
Before Mito could respond a disembodied voice answered, "Relax Yoruichi, it's not like we're inviting her into the mansion."
Yoruichi frowned as she crossed her arms defiantly as she mentally replied, "Even still Kiyomi, it's not like you're the one that's going to suffer from her antics. I can't tell you the number of times I've caught her sneaking onto the grounds."
She could feel her sister's mental shrug as she replied, "And now she'll have an official means to get close to you. It's obvious the woman looks up to you. Would it kill you to be somewhat kind to her?"
Kukaku didn't give Yoruichi a chance to respond as she asked, "But what is it that you're playing at here? I don't like being kept in the dark, Kiyomi. If you have another angle that you're little contest is supposed to accomplish then you should have told us."
"You determine your own involvement, Kukaku," Kiyomi mentally responded from her study in the mansion. "I've laid out all my plans that involve you. This little addition was all Mito."
Mito folded her arms in the sleeve of her kimono as she explained, "Yoruichi, my reason for inviting her to work for the company wasn't to annoy you or make you play nice. But to make use of the main aspect of this competition which is promote the Great Tree Shipping Company. Keep in mind that if the plan works then we're going to be busier than we can handle. At present there are only eleven of you and likely many times more shipments than that will be coming our way. Therefore, this is a prime opportunity to recruit potential guards for those shipments. Soifon for example lasted a considerable amount of time in a contest were people more experienced than her were easily eliminated. It isn't just our rivals out in that audience but also future clients. Clients, who just witnessed that kunoichi fight against a woman that easily outclassed her, but if nothing else eked out a personal victory. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine that those future clients will expect a similar effort from her on their behalf as well."
Yoruichi relented as she said, "Fine, but you better tell her to stop trying to sneak onto our property."
Mito smiled, but before she could say anything a horn sounded indicating the start of the second round. She turned around surprised, since she had been addressing all the women officially listed as employees of the Great Tree Shipping Company. However, due to her gesture during her speech, the person in charge of sounding the horn did so upon seeing a group of twenty men leave the competitors' area followed by a short child wearing a skull helmet from the box where the genin viewed the matches from during the chunin exams and was where the Bijuu were residing.
*****************************
Nel felt giddy as she heard the sound of the horn indicating that the next round had started. She turned back and pulled the skin of her eye down as she stuck her tongue out as Rangiku ended her argument with Seven over who had taken out the last competitor in their round to say, "Nel, get back here you little brat. You know you aren't supposed to be in the competition." Her tune changed though as a result of Nel's gesture to, "Fine, be that way. I hope they give you the spanking you deserve."
She turned back to face her opponents as Mirajane said, "Leave her be Rangiku. Those chumps are weak."
Nel frowned since even though she was getting what she wanted, it was only because her sister was underestimating her. But before she could grow too bothered by it, she heard Kiyomi's voice say, "Nel, focus on the task at hand."
"Right," Nel said aloud holding both her hands in the ear. Glad that while most of her sisters were treating her like a kid, Kiyomi was encouraging her desire to help Naruto's ambition.
"Good," Kiyomi said having thus far "watched" the competition through her child-like sister. Upon seeing that after the spectacular defeat her company's rivals had suffered in the first round, they had adapted a more refined tactic. She figured that the current band was meant to be used as a means to gauge the remaining women's capabilities without expending too many assets. Therefore, she had encouraged Nel to meet the new enemy. Her reason for doing so was twofold. The first was, despite her diminutive size Nel was still a Bijuu, and while her small form was not as powerful as the other women. She felt it didn't serve a valid purpose to hold her back. If they wanted Nel to recover then they needed for her to push herself in order to force her dormant powers to the surface. She knew it would seem a rather harsh plan to put into motion considering her sister's outward appearance, but as Nel had reminded Rangiku in part thanks to Kiyomi, she was the same age as the other Bijuu.
The other reason was to further demoralize her rivals' men. Despite all the rational of her first reason, she knew it would be a rather disheartening display to watch a child-like kunoichi smack around full grown men. One of those men, the leader of the group and a bandit with the colorful name of The Dragon, didn't appear amused at his opponent as he said, "What the hell is this. I didn't sign up to smack around some kid."
"No," one of his partners said pulling a blade, "you did it for a shit pile of money. Stand back and watch. This'll be the easiest 10 mil anyone's ever made."
The man charged forward to hit Nel with the back of his blade, but she disappeared from his sight. Before he could stop himself she appeared near his face as she said, "Tag, you're it." She then slapped his face causing him to twist around in the air before landing in a heap behind the turquoise haired Bijuu. The other men held back as Nel turned towards the man that she had just hit while she said, "Okay it's your turn to try and tag Nel."
Not receiving a response from the unconscious man, she puffed her cheeks before coming up with the idea, "Okay, we'll play eternal tag. Nel will be it until she tags everyone." She turned towards the remaining men who swore her eyes glowed sinisterly for a moment as she wore a mischievous smile.
Sensing his comrades losing their spine the Dragon said, "Calm down you cowards she's..."
He didn't finish his sentence as he had taken his eyes of the kunoichi so was surprised when she had closed the distance to say, "You're it." He received a similar blow across the face causing him to bounce away as Nel landed in front of her remaining opponents.
One of whom said as he began to back away, "Where the fuck did they find these women? T-they're monsters. I'm not getting paid enough for this shit." The man broke away from his comrades running for the edge of the arena.
Still the majority of the remaining men charged Nel, who began running away holding her arms out as she laughed while leading the men around the arena. The men began to organize as they tried to come at Nel from different directions, but found the child-like kunoichi easily avoided their efforts to "tag" her only to receive one in return. By the time it was down to the last two opponents the tables had turned so that Nel was the one doing the chasing much to the amusement of those watching in the audience.
"G-get away from us," one of the men shouted as he looked back to see the little kunoichi gaining on them. Wondering how she could keep up on such small legs, he decided that he had enough and broke off away from his partner to run up the wall and to safety.
The Dragon woke up to hear that he and his men had been turned into laughingstocks. His eyes narrowed on the kunoichi chasing his last man so getting back to his feet decided to teach the woman a lesson. Taking a deep breath, and using the technique he had learned as a member of the Hotspring Village before it turned to tourism and he decided to become a bandit, he expelled a huge fireball that had earned him the moniker of the Dragon. He smirked as the jutsu hit where the woman had been standing.
However, his smirk faded as his jutsu instead of exploding appeared to grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared to reveal that it had been swallowed by the kunoichi. She appeared a little uncomfortable for a moment before she opened her mouth and a fire jutsu twice as large as the one he had launched shot forth. The Dragon pissed himself as the large fire jutsu closed with him, but before it hit a blonde woman in white appeared in front of him and held out one of her hands. A large wall of water appeared in front of them which the jutsu hit causing the arena to erupt into steam.
When the steam cleared it revealed Tier standing in front of the Dragon with Nel standing opposite her. It also revealed that the last of Dragon's Bandits had taken the opportunity to run out of the arena during the chaos. The Dragon was torn between, running for his life as the blonde woman was giving him a look that screamed of her intent to cut him down, and picking up the fight since his crew's reputation would be ruined if word reached the other bandit crews that they had been taken out by a pipsqueak. The decision was taken out of his hands though as Nel appeared next to him and said, "That's no good mister. You can't get back up and play after Nel tags you." She then slapped him again knocking him out and sending him rolling along the arena floor causing the horn to sound for the end of the second round blew.
****************************
Nel ran about happily in front of her sister as she basked in the applause that the audience showered her with as they returned to their viewing box. Mito smiled at the display as she mentally thought, "That was rather risky of you wasn't it Kiyomi."
"Hardly," Kiyomi replied, "As she just showed, despite her childish tactics she possesses more than enough strength to deal with rudimentary opponents. It also helped me confirm my belief that her power is simply lying dormant. When she swallowed and redirected that jutsu, her chakra briefly spiked. If she's going to recover her full strength and perhaps even her memories she is going to need to be pushed. Not something she'll likely get if we baby her by keeping her at the mansion."
"I suppose so," Mito conceded as she watched Rangiku and Seven put their feud on hold to praise their sister for her victory. "I suppose that it didn't hurt to remind the rest of your siblings of this fact as well."
*****************************
Both Kiyomi and Mito's attention was pulled to Kukaku as she said, "Looks like getting their asses kicked by a kid has caused them to pull out all the stops. I'll clean up the rest of the garbage." She then leaped over the railing landing in a squat causing some of those that had already entered the arena to take a step back. She was about to walk towards the center but stopped as she gruffly asked, "Who invited you to tag along."
Urd seemed to glide to the arena floor as she responded, "I do not require your permission. Besides, there appears to be more than enough for both of us."
"Fine, but stay out of my way."
Kukaku grinned as the horn sounded and the first wave ran towards her ignoring Urd. Kukaku's pride liked to think it was because they recognized her as a true power unlike the woman that had been born from a shard of their still trapped sibling. Leaping into her opponents' midst, she slammed her knee into a man's face causing him to fall backwards. She avoided a sword swipe to her back from a woman, and responded with a kick that connect to her opponent's cheek with her wooden sandals. The woman flew into another man who was knocked over by the human projectile.
Leaping back to create some distance she held out her hands and spit out a round glob of lava in each one. The lava quickly hardened into round rocks which she then tossed at the first two men that charged her. The projectiles connected hitting one man in the stomach, and the other in the shoulder which caused him to spin around. The first man collapsed as he struggled to breath and Kukaku used him as a spring board to catch a third opponent in the face with punch as she descended.
Kukaku noticed that even as her group thinned it didn't seem like more people were joining in to take her out. Sparing a moment, she looked to see that Urd using a tactic like Nel had, was simply avoiding her opponents and as such was inviting more and more people to target her. However, after several minutes of this, the woman had no place to retreat to.
Kukaku cursed as she knocked out another opponent out and mumbled about having to bail the false Bijuu out. But then to her shock all those surrounding the dark-skinned woman began to collapse. She looked on as Urd smirked at her as she held several vials between her fingers. A green midst was floating out of them and Kukaku suspected that Urd had learned to mix what was in them from Shizune as the new eight-tails seemed to have a passion for potions and poisons.
Still, despite Urd's effectively cutting the number of opponents they faced in half, Kukaku still refused to be impressed. To her way of thinking, relying on such means just proved to her why she was unworthy of the title of Bijuu. Kukaku did curse that she couldn't kill her opponents since her lava based jutsu would easily thin the heard in a similar manner and show Urd how a true Bijuu should fight.
Kukaku watched as the last group of opponents leapt into the arena and prepared to charge. The four-tails sighed as she would admit to having grown bored with the contest, but prepared to grind it out. However, she found her eyes drifting to the sky as dark clouds began gathering overhead. Looking back towards Urd, she could feel the power rolling off of her as she held her hands above her head as she gathered the darkened clouds. Kukaku turned towards the last wave who upon recognizing the danger all charged towards the white-haired woman.
It turned out to be exactly what she wanted as a bolt of lightning struck her hands and coalesced into a ball which then exploded out in a wave of energy that hit all those moving to engage her. Kukaku would admit to being impressed as her vision recovered to see their opponents frozen like statues as the wave had short-circuited their synapses. Their bodies unable to receive the signals their brains were sending remained motionless as Urd began walking between them.
Kukaku followed behind as the horn sounded ending the current round. The four-tails would admit to being somewhat curious to know what was motivating Urd's actions, since it was apparent she had been honing her skills. The curiosity intensified as they reached the viewing box and Urd announced to Seven and Rangiku, "I believe the ninety-three that I bested beat the eighty of you two. Therefore, the right to escort Naruto for his birthday is mine."
"What," Rangiku said in open jawed wonderment, "but you're not even a member. Plus you weren't a part of the bet or the..."
"No one said that we had to shake on it, and I don't recall anyone saying that the matter had to be decided in the first round," Urd said calmly. "If you wanted to settle it you should have joined one of the following rounds."
Yoruichi began laughing as Seven and Rangiku wilted at the realization that Urd's logic meant they had been arguing over nothing. Rangiku bounced back though as she said, "Well if that's the case then I'll just take part in the next round."
Seven still with her head slumped pulled at her sister's sleeve as she said sadly, "It's not going to matter."
"W-why not," the blonde said growing whiny.
Sounding depressed Seven answered, "Because there are only two sponsors left, and they each entered one competitor."
"No fair," Rangiku pouted.
*****************************
Jirocho was sure he wasn't the only one confused as he noticed the blonde woman Rangiku drop into a crouch and began to draw circles with her finger on the floor. "I wonder what's eating at her," he stated aloud, "you'd think she'd be pleased with how her teammates are performing."
He noted that Tsunade seemed to have some insight into the matter as she replied, "Yes, you would think so." Yet whatever it was she didn't seemed inclined to share.
His attention was pulled away by Idate as his family member said, "Sir, there are only two sponsors left. The organizers would like to know which of you would like the honor of going next."
"Let's save the best for last shall we," Jirocho replied which brought a smile to his and Tsunade's faces. Idate nodded in order to relay the information that they would let the other sponsor go first.
*****************************
To say that Toka was impressed by the battles she had witnessed thus far would be an understatement. Even during her time, finding a collection of shinobi of such skill in one clan or unit at the same time would be unheard of. To find twelve of them, as she was including Nel, would have sent shockwaves through the shinobi world in her era. She imagined that would also be the case now, although perhaps a little more muted. Looking at the Leaf village shinobi she had met, she doubted that even it would be able to claim having as many high caliber shinobi available.
Toka did realize that unlike a village the woman in charge of the Great Tree Shipping Company wasn't bound to any one territory as she had looked for her warriors. It was a formula she realized the group that had called itself Akatsuki had also used. But still, she did wonder how her grand-niece could appear to be so calm at having so many S-ranked kunoichi based in her home village when they were not under her control.
Her gaze locked onto the red-head that owned the company the women in question worked for, and not for the first time felt a sense of familiarity. She had upon first laying eyes on her, while waiting for Naruto to show up, asked the two kunoichi of Team Kakashi why it was she looked almost exactly like Mito Uzumaki. Sakura had explained how she had surgery to alter her appearance as a way to start over after waking up from an attempt on her life by her husband and family.
While on the surface the story did sound plausible to Toka, she just couldn't wholly accept it. She felt one of the reasons was due to the fact that in the short amount of time she had observed the woman called Kiyomi. She had noticed a lot of mannerism that she would have attributed to Mito and one thing Toka prided herself on was her eye for detail. Primarily as it was a key skill for one who was a genjutsu specialist. Those that wielded genjutsu had to be able to notice things in the world that others would miss since a single flaw in an illusion would alert an opponent that they were in one. This skill translated to people and their mannerism as well and while Kiyomi could capture Mito's image through a photograph. Mimicking her movements was another matter entirely. More to the point, if Toka had to be honest with herself it looked more like Mito was pretending to be someone else instead of the other way around.
The Senju looked at Naruto out of the corner of her eye and knew that the Uzumaki had recently fought a resurrected Mito. Her gaze traveled from him to the box where her grandniece was sitting and wondered if the reason Tsunade was so at ease with having such powerful women in her village was because they were answering to her grandmother.
On the surface she knew it was crazy, but she theorized that perhaps Naruto's clash with Mito may have been staged to explain her presence. She quickly dismissed it since it didn't make sense to introduce Mito as a resurrected person when Kiyomi had been around for a while prior. Not to mention that the tales she had heard had claimed Mito had been resurrected using Edo Tensei, and she knew most people would immediately recognize the signs of that jutsu. Frowning at her inability to figure out what was going on, she decided the best way to get answers would be to confront the woman in question.
She stood prompting Naruto to ask, "Where are you going? The next fight is about to start."
Toka smiled politely as she answered, "There's something that I need to do. Also, considering what we've already seen and how the last two sponsors each only have a single fighter to their name I doubt that these last two fights are going to be all that impressive."
Fu shook her head as she replied, "Fu believes that might not be the case. If anything she believes that since they are only entering one person those sponsors believe their competitors are strong."
"Be that as it may," Toka said as she began sliding down the aisle, "my business is rather pressing. I'll see you tomorrow at the training field Naruto for our practice in breaking genjutsu." Toka didn't really hear Naruto's reply as she was already plotting how to confront the woman that her instincts were telling her was Mito Uzumaki. A woman she had once been quite friendly with until their friendship had fallen apart after she had married her cousin.
*****************************
Mito watched as a woman approached the microphone and was surprised she was only entered into the event as a sponsor since she carried herself like a solider. She had aqua eyes and rose colored hair which flowed with the soft breeze as did the cape that she wore. Mito also spotted the sword that she wore at her right hip and knew it wasn't there just for show. She felt some concern since the woman gave off the air of a competent warrior which made her wonder why she wasn't entering the contest herself.
Speaking into the microphone the woman said, "I commander Lightning of the Land of Iron's Fairy Battalion will be entering one of my subordinates, Erza Scarlet. Mito's attention was pulled to a small tunnel as a young woman of around fifteen entered the arena. She was dressed in red Hakama that had flames at the end of the leggings. Her chest was bound only by bandages as she carried her sword on her shoulder.
Mito smirked as she realized what the woman Lightning was doing. "Very clever," she said to no one in particular.
"What is?" Urd asked stepping next to her to take her measure of the new combatant.
Mito's gaze drifted to where she felt Naruto was sitting and frowned as she couldn't spot Toka, since she felt the Senju could relate to the plight of the Samurai-Ko of Iron Country. Addressing Urd, she explained, "It would seem we aren't the only ones using this event for reasons tied to publicity."
"I don't understand," Urd said as her gaze traveled between the two female representatives of the Land of Iron, "why would samurai of Iron Country need to bother with publicity. Their prowess in battle is quite well known."
"True," Mito conceded, "Yet, I think you will find that holds true only for the men. The samurai tend to be more chauvinistic then even the shinobi of my era. The reason they are called the Fairy Brigade is because it is comprised solely of women, and more to the point it was meant as an insult. To the samurai of Iron Country, fairies are delicate creatures with no place on the battlefield. Still, typically the Samurai tend to remain within their own borders, although recently I have heard tales of teams of samurai-ko accepting missions similar to shinobi."
"Let me guess," Urd said with a hint of ire, "The men feel taking jobs for money is beneath them."
"I believe so," Mito replied, "Although it is possible that these Samurai-ko feel similarly, but see them as the best path to being accepted as equals. I'm guessing they see taking missions as the best venue to displaying their skills and showing their male counterparts that they are just as good as them. I'm guessing that this Lightning woman is using this contest as a chance to showcase those skills, much like us."
"Then it's too bad I'm going to crush this girl they nominated," Mirajane said landing on the railing next to Mito in a couch. Giving her opponent a dismissive look she added, "It's going to be kind of hard to take them seriously after the beat down I give this bitch."
The six-tailed Bijuu then leapt into the arena and approached her opponent as she took her stance. The samurai-ko Erza inclined her head as she politely said, "Your comrades have displayed impressive prowess in battle. I look forward to our own match."
Mirajane gave a dismissive snort as she replied disrespectfully, "That'll last all of a few seconds. I promise."
Erza's gaze darkened as a result of the disrespect that her opponent showed her. Concentrating on her breathing she brought her blade down by her hip as she prepared to end the fight with a quick draw strike upon the start of the match. The horn blew, causing her to swing in an upwards motion. Yet despite her attack being quick and precise, she was shocked to find that not only had it missed, but she had lost sight of her opponent. Her gaze widened in shock as she heard from behind her, "What are you swinging at?" Erza attempted to swing behind her, but her opponent caught the wrist of her sword arm, and she screamed out in pain as she received a kick to her ribs.
Mira then tossed her opponent, who recovered gracefully landing on her feet as the white-haired woman slowly turned to face her. The Bijuu smirked as she asked, "Are you having fun yet?"
Erza didn't respond to the taunt as she charged forward and swung at her opponent several times. Mirajane avoided them all stylishly, although she admitted to herself that several of the attacks came closer to connecting than she was comfortable with. Still, the Six-tailed Bijuu was able to find an opening in her opponents attacks which she exploited delivering a palm strike to Erza's chin which rocked the red-headed woman's head back. Before she could recover, Mira followed up by spinning and delivering a kick to her opponent's stomach that sent her flying back.
Erza managed to recover rolling into a crouch after she hit the ground. She breathed heavily as she held her stomach with one hand while keeping her guard up with her blade in the other.
Mira's voice did nothing to hide her amusement as she said, "Well you can certainly absorb punches with the best of them."
Erza stood, and pulled the hand that had been holding her stomach to place it on the handle of her blade. Steadying her feet, she replied, "Perhaps my resiliency is due to the lack of force behind them."
Mira's eyes narrowed at the rejoinder before she threatened, "Fine, no more kiddy gloves for you then."
The six-tailed Bijuu charged her opponent set on finishing her with a single punch. Erza waited until the last second to avoid it, surprising the white-haired woman as she stepped to the side and brought her sword over her head. Mira managed to avoid Erza's downward diagonal swing by backpedaling back. The red-head continued to spin presenting her back to her opponent, who tried to capitalize on it by charging forward. Erza though stabbed back with the sword causing it to shoot out from the left side of her hip. Mira managed to grab the blade and kicked the samurai-ko in the back sending her forward as she was forced to let go of her weapon.
Mira smirked as she tossed the blade behind her while Erza got back to her feet. "Not bad, you've almost made this entertaining," the Bijuu said as she walked slowly towards her downed opponent.
The samurai-ko managed to get into a crouch as the kunoichi closed with her. Eyeing her sword, she smirked prompting her opponent to ask, "What's so funny?"
The Bijuu grew annoyed since Erza didn't respond to her question. She intended to wipe the smirk off the red-head's face, but before she could she sensed a threat from behind. Turning, she caught the hilt of Erza's sword to her face as the woman called it back to her using her extreme gift in Magnet Release. Erza caught the blade as she leapt out of her crouch as Mira shook her head from the jarring blow, only to have her bell rung once more as the samurai-ko slammed her knee into her face.
Using her magnet release, Erza held her hand out towards her opponent and propelled her backwards using the Bijuu's own magnetic field. Mira slammed into the arena wall hard enough to leave an impression before sliding down to her hands and knees. "You should surrender as the sharpest thing about you is that tongue of yours."
Mira didn't hear Erza's taunt as she focused on the blood that was leaking from her possibly broken nose which she had received from the samurai-ko's knee strike. "Y-you fucking...you fucking bitch!!!" Mira shouted as she roared up at the sky while her chakra flared dangerously. "I'm going to reduce you to ash!!!"
Mira's chakra began spilling out of her in black and purple arcs as she combined her yin and yang releases within her. A large pillar of chakra shot into the sky which caused several spectators who had stood to get a better view of what they imagined would be an extreme technique to get blown back into their seats. As the chakra dispersed, many people gasped at the woman's appearance which although she looked like a scantily clad young woman, also resembled something less than human as a result of the bat like wings, pointy ears, as well as a scaly tail and hands. The audience was further shocked as she leapt into the air to hover over her opponent and they began to feel a vestige of fear that the last place they wanted to be was in the arena as a result of the dark ball of chakra taking shape over the woman's outstretched hands. "Prepare for oblivion!" Mira shouted as she prepared to release the beast ball taking shape over her head to wipe out her opponent and likely the arena.
However before she could, she suddenly found ash wrapping around her body causing her jutsu to dissipate as she lost her concentration while she attempted to batter it away. She crashed into the ground as the ash wrapped around her wings, and soon was completely cocooned in it as a result of the chakra suppression tag that Rangiku slipped on her which Mito had passed the one-tailed Bijuu.
Rangiku could hear her sister cursing her from within her ash prison prompting the blonde to say, "Sorry Mira, you're getting a timeout. Honestly, what were you thinking? It's your own fault for taking your opponent so lightly."
Focusing on the still stunned Erza, the blonde woman said, "My employer has instructed me to inform you that as a result of Mirajane's losing her head like that we will declare you the winner of this round."
Erza was shocked by the pronouncement, but with a quick shake of her head replied, "I'm afraid I cannot accept. If you hadn't have stepped in there would have been no way for me to counter that jutsu. There is no honor in accepting a victory on a technicality. I was outclassed."
Rangiku nodded even as she cheerfully said, "Have it your way then. Personally, I'd have taken the victory."
Erza gave a polite smile as she responded, "A tainted victory, would only sour a future one. I may have been outclassed this time, but it will be a different story the next time we cross paths."
Rangiku looked back at the cocoon of ash that surrounded her sister before focusing on the samurai-ko, "I'm sure it'll be a sight to see." Raising her hand, she caused the ash encased Mira to lift into the air before adding as she sat on her, "Let's just hope it's somewhere far from a populated area shall we." She then directed her entombed sister and herself up into the viewing box as Erza returned to her commander's side to watch the final match.
*****************************
Naruto blew out a sigh of relief as he watched the red-head samurai leave the arena floor. "I guess Toka was wrong about these last matches not being exciting," Sakura said torn between amused and concerned, since the Six-tails had demonstrated the potential drawbacks of having Bijuu not necessarily aligned with Naruto's ideals in the village.
Naruto nodded as he responded, "I think we can all agree that wasn't the type of excitement that we had in mind."
Both Fu and Sakura nodded before the former host of the seven-tails said, "It's time."
"Huh, time for what?" Naruto asked as both his lovers stood and began making their way down the aisle. The blond noticed that Sakura had picked up a bag which had been under her chair before following after the green-haired woman.
Fu looked back and gave him a smile as she replied, "To find out you'll have to follow us."
Although he didn't want to miss the final match, he also was curious as to what his lovers were up to so gave chase. As he did so, he also noticed that Tsunade had left the Hokage's viewing box and was making her way down towards the tunnel that Erza had appeared from earlier. A location which it seemed both Sakura and Fu were also heading to. The two kunoichi looked back towards him before turning into the tunnel that led into the arena where he felt Tsunade was already waiting. Making the turn himself, as he heard Idate beginning to announce who Jirocho was sponsoring in the match, he asked, "What's going on?"
"What's going on my love," Tsunade said as Sakura produced his cloak from the bag she had brought, "is that we need to get Jirocho's champion ready for his match." She could see that Naruto quickly understood that he was who Idate was announcing a fact aided as pink-haired lover helped him into the red cloak he wore into battle ever since mastering Sage mode. She placed a quick peck on his cheek which was followed by Fu planting another on the opposite one. Both kunoichi giggled as they raced back to retake their seats before Naruto emerged.
Tsunade could see the gears turning in her lover's head so said, "I apologize for not telling you earlier, but Jirocho made it a part of his request. He was a little concerned your exuberance would tip off some of the other sponsors participating in the contest as to what he had planned." Tsunade amended her explanation as she added, "Although truthfully, I probably would have kept it quiet on my own anyway."
"Why," Naruto asked confused.
"To lessen this moment right now my love," Tsunade said with a soft smile. "I can see you are worried about harming Kiyomi's plan, or perhaps even the village's standing with a loss. I assure you neither can be further from the truth. As the last match just proved there's a very good reason A and S class shinobi don't typically showcase their skills to the fullest of their abilities." The Hokage closed with her lover and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before adding, "So just go out there and have fun. Oh, and know my money's riding on you."
"Ah," Naruto whined playfully, "Why'd you have to tell me that? I don't know how I can overcome your horrible gambler's luck."
Tsunade stepped back with an amused smirk as she countered, "What are you talking about? I've been on a winning streak ever since I bet everything on you." Naruto was touched by his lover's words and was surprised as the crowd outside exploded into chants of his name after Idate's announcement. The Hokage could see that Naruto was shocked by just how loud and heartfelt the chants were so moved behind him to give him a soft push as she said, "Go on my Love. The village is excited to see it's hero in action."
The crowd's applause doubled in volume as Naruto stepped out of the tunnel while waving to the audience. As opposed to the last time he was there his reaction was rather muted as he knew back then he had been caught up in the celebration of himself and his victory over Neji. It was another matter entirely to know that this time the applause was a result of the villagers and shinobi's genuine admiration for him. The crowd drifted into silence as his opponent slowly appeared from the shadows of the tunnel that ran underneath the viewing box where the other Bijuu and Mito were watching the match. He cracked a small smile as he noticed that Rangiku had propped Mirajane in a corner while still encased in her ash cocoon, but had uncovered her face so that she could watch the match.
His gaze drifted back down as Tier emerged in her usual and almost regal stance as she walked slowly with her arms crossed just under her impressive bust. Something that earned her a few cat calls which drifted off as the people behind them noted powerful surges in chakra that came from her followers as they spotted them in the audience. Tier stopped several feet from him and returned his nod of respect. Still she felt it prudent to say, "I have no intention of losing to you."
Naruto smiled as he dropped into his stance before commenting, "I wouldn't expect you to." Offering the Bijuu's the advice Tsunade had given him he added, "Let's just have fun with it and let the chips fall where they may."
Tier arched an eyebrow surprised by his response as she repeated confused, "Fun?"
The horn for the round to start sounded and neither combatant moved for several heartbeats until Naruto exploded forward. He threw a wild punch towards Tier's face, who easily sidestepped while still holding her torso. A few of the members of the audience booed her for what they perceived as her not taking the Village's Hero seriously. Neither of the two people in the arena heard them though as they focused solely on their opponent. Naruto landed smoothly before turning back with a backhanded fist that Tier needed to lean back to avoid. The jinchuriki upon facing the Bijuu again lashed out with a kick which forced the blonde woman to raise her leg to block. Tier then used the force of his blow to push her back as she created some room between them.
Tier couldn't exactly describe the feeling taking root in her heart as she watched the blond man drop into a ready stance. She did make note of the smile that was plastered on his face and wondered if that was at the root of her own emotions. She supposed it could be because she couldn't sense any fear coming from the young man. A truly bizarre sensation for the Bijuu, since he was more than aware of her origins. That Naruto had entered into the match with her without the inclination that she should fight at anything less than her best abilities, within reason naturally, since most people in the audience likely wanted to go home alive, while knowing what he faced raised her opinion of him considerably. Furthermore, that it highlighted that he didn't need her to submit the match to him in order to protect his own ego also caused her to partially understand why her siblings were so enamored with him. Tier could see now that Naruto wasn't chasing after the unbound Bijuu because to him they weren't pawns to be seduced and then plugged into his ambition. The women who had joined him were aiding him of their own volition and everything else that she had witnessed thus far was a result of the close bonds he had forged with them.
Tier also began to understand what Naruto had meant about having fun with the match as up to that point she had honed her skills solely to be of use to Kiyomi's plan. With her beginning to understand the jinchuriki across from her, the Bijuu began to see that Naruto was regarding her as an equal. And while Kukaku and perhaps Mirajane might be insulted by the idea that a human was elevating himself to their level. To Tier, it had the opposite effect since to her humans had always viewed the Bijuu as inferiors by labeling them as beasts and only seeing them as sources of power.
Tier was forced to put her thoughts on hold as Naruto charged her again. He threw several wild punches which Tier avoided, but was forced to break her relaxed stance to catch Naruto's elbow as he missed purposely with a left cross which he caught with his right hand and then pushed back as he tried to jam it into her cheek. His smile grew wider as he said, "I managed to get you to break your stance."
Tier was surprised at the note of accomplishment that his voice held, and was also shocked at the slight upturn of her lips hidden by her collar as she responded, "I wasn't aware that was a condition of victory for you."
Naruto's blue eyes sparkled as he replied, "Hey, it's a start. I mean it looked kind of bad for me when you were avoiding my attacks with such a relaxed attitude."
Tier pushed him away as she reached behind her for her blade strapped horizontally on her back while she asked, "Were you under the impression that I wasn't taking you seriously as an opponent?"
Naruto shook his head in the negative, but joked, "I hope you pulling your sword doesn't mean that I was wrong."
"I suppose only time will tell," Tier commented as she charged with the blade she had taken to calling Tiburon. Again Naruto surprised her as despite his words indicating a small lack of faith in his own abilities she found him quite adept at evasion. She quickly realized that his words hadn't been meant to convey that at all, but were intended to keep the match lighthearted. A feat highlighted by his almost comically dodging some of her swipes with exaggerated flourishes.
Tier wondered what the point of his embellished movements was. But, she didn't need to for long as after being backed up against the arena wall, he ducked beneath a sword swipe that would have decapitated him. His eyes went wide as sparks shot off of the concrete of the wall as the blade passed along it. He then rolled away along the wall and without thinking Tier followed as she stabbed out with her blade as he stood again. In an instant the comical opponent she had been chasing around the arena disappeared only to be replaced by a competent warrior as Naruto produced a kunai from the holder strapped to his leg and stabbed it into the wall through the hollow portion of her sword. Tier's eyes grew wide as she couldn't pull her sword back, and had the wind knocked out of her as he followed it up with a kick to her stomach.
Tier stumbled back, but Naruto kept the pressure on forcing the Bijuu to block several of his punches. She managed to flip away from him when she avoided one of his punches by bending back into a handstand which allowed her to retaliate with a kick to the chin. Naruto's head was rocked back as Tier flipped several more times before leaping back into the air. Yet to the crowds and her opponent's amazement she never came down as she used her water natured chakra to pull the water molecules in the air around her feet to keep her airborne. As a result it appeared as if she was standing in the air while in actuality it was a denser concentration of water molecules.
Tier could see her opponent was trying to come up with a means of reaching her, but having grown to respect his cunning and tactical ability, she wasn't going to give him the chance. Holding her hand in front of her, she created several sharks of water from the moisture in the air which shot away towards the jinchuriki.
Naruto cursed as he managed to avoid all three, and gulped as one of the sharks slammed into the ground creating an impressive impression. He looked back to see the other two sharks had relocated him and were flying towards him. Taking off running, he created a single clone and it began to enact the plan that he had thought up beforehand by running away from him. As he expected one of the sharks broke off to chase after the clone, which once it was suitably far enough away began to angle back towards Naruto, who did the same.
Tier watched from her lofty position as again her opponent seemed almost comical while being chased by her jutsu. Still, she believed that meant he had come up with a strategy to deal with it. She smirked at what he was planning as it became clear to her. A moment later the two Naruto converged and leapt into the air. She heard Naruto shout, "You weren't supposed to jump to," as they both slammed into each other in a similar manner as her jutsu did beneath him. However, her jutsu simply melded together to become bigger as it turned to smash into the two descending blond men. Again, Tier was surprised to find that Naruto's apparent blunder was an act as what she assumed was the clone landed and tossed Naruto at her just as her jutsu prepared to hit it.
Still she recovered quickly and fired another shark which hit the incoming Naruto and sent him smashing into the crowd. She felt a sense of triumph as the dust cleared to show an unconscious Naruto in the crater, yet to her surprise that sense evaporated as the clone she had hit turned to smoke. She directed her attention to her jutsu that had swallowed the clone just in time to witness its destruction as it was torn apart by a jutsu Naruto had developed from his many spars with Hinata. Unlike the Hyuuga version of Rotation, Naruto didn't need to spin as he expelled a great deal of wind natured chakra which moved about him shredding the water jutsu in seconds as it splashed against his barrier. He ended the jutsu and tossed a tri-prong kunai at the still surprised Tier.
He teleported to it just as it reached her and slammed his fist into her face as he caught the kunai with the other hand. Tier was knocked from the air as Naruto descended with her. He then tossed the kunai into the air, and next created several clones along the ground which kicked her back up as he teleported away. Tier's vision was looked skyward as she floated up again and saw Naruto appear above her with a Rasengan in hand. Still disorienting, she accepted her defeat and closed her eyes, but rather than feeling the jutsu was wrapped in a protective embrace.
Naruto rotated in midair and grunted as he landed cradling the Bijuu in his arms. Tier opened her eyes surprised he hadn't finished the attack, which he could see so explained somewhat embarrassed, "I wasn't exactly sure how to finish that combo, but hitting you with a Rasengan seemed rather extreme. I guess technically you can still fight so we can..."
"No," Tier said understanding how the samurai-ko had felt earlier, "it was my loss. You fought well."
"Thanks, you too," Naruto replied honestly.
Tier felt her cheeks coloring as she realized the position they were in so said, "Y-you can put me down."
"Oh right," Naruto said quickly. Setting the Bijuu down, she promptly made the sign that she was forfeiting causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.
Tier began to walk away as Naruto politely waved to the crowd. The Bijuu looked back at the jinchuriki over her shoulder and found a slight smile had appeared as he gave into the temptation of basking in the crowds' adulation as he moved about excitedly while striking different poses. Although disappointed at her loss, she did have to admit that she had enjoyed herself.
*****************************