Chapter 66
MINATO NAMIKAZE
The first four matches were fairly simple, or at least as simple as a match could be in this situation. The first bout had been between a kunoichi of their village and one of Iwa's geniuses.
Kurenai Yuhi was the daughter of a genjutsu master, and her mastery of the art was at the level of a jounin. But Deidara was nothing to joke about either. The Iwa genin was in a class of his own, having formed an entire battle style based on his modified arms and special clay art abilities.
It was a bout that had gone to the wire. The two of them could not distinguish each other during the entire bout, until Deidara had revealed his trump card and even Minato had found himself impressed by the boy's devotion, for during the massive battle he had cast an entire coat of explosive clay on the arena ground, turning the very ground into a trap.
She had tried to neutralise it all using Raiton, but in the end her abilities in Raiton were lacking, and the match ended in Iwa's favor. The Tsuchikage had gloated when Kurenai Yuhi had forfeited the match, but Minato was proud of the girl.
It had been a valiant effort, and while the Chunin exams were important, they were nothing to die for.
The second bout was relatively straightforward and pitted two Suna nins against each other. Being the host village came with some privileges, one of which was being able to rig their matches. So, all of Suna's opponents were either from Konoha or other Suna shinobi, which was smart because it made sure that no Suna nin would be dying today.
"Well, this is an interesting match-up," added the Kazekage from the side, and indeed this was quite an interesting match-up as the two kunoichis took the arena.
Saiko was one of Itachi's teammates, hence one of their ringers, while the girl facing her was no less special. Kurotsuchi, and if her name had not been a pure giveaway, the report from Izuna-kun was enough.
"Indeed," Minato began eyeing the Tsuchikage, whose chakra gave away his nervousness.
"I have heard quite a few tales about her heritage as well," and at that the little man looked towards him, as Minato smiled innocently, his intention clear as day.
"I could say the same thing for the Uchiha girl," and at that, he glanced towards the stands as the proctor came to the middle of the arena and raised a brow.
"She is on the team of the Demon boy," and Minato shrugged.
"Well, then that should worry you even more," and the chakra in the air was palpable, as the Kazekage cut in.
"I believe the match is about to begin..." and just like that, the proctor brought down his hand.
"Begin!" and the two girls moved at once. Both of them were a blur as they headed towards each other and clashed in the middle of the arena, their taijutsu based on almost opposite principles was equally matched.
Kurotsuchi favored a more heavy-handed and brutal style, while Saiko Uchiha used the standard Uchiha interceptor style. Both were based on opposite philosophies, but the two kunoichis were evenly matched, and as their fists collided with each other's face the first difference appeared, for while the Iwa girl grunted, the body of Saiko turned into a murder of crows as the Tsuchikage clicked his tongue.
He did not need to wander from where she had learned this little trick as she appeared behind the Iwa girl, the Sharingan now spinning in her eyes as she cycled through a set of handseals.
"Katon: Fire Ball jutsu," and while it was not as impressive as Izuna kun's blue flames, the size and the heat were rather impressive, as the Iwa girl spun around, before she punched the ground and tore off a piece of the arena floor.
She had used chakra on her foot to cut through the arena floor and was now using it as a shield against Saiko's attack until he sensed her chakra shift.
"Doton: Headhunter Jutsu..." She had replaced herself with a clone by using single-handed seals, a practice that was going against tradition, though with Ohnoki as her grandfather, nothing was truly impossible.
Saiko was forced to jump into the air to avoid the technique, but the girl was quick to send out pillars after her. Saiko retaliated with shuriken, but none made it through the rows of earthen pillars in front of her.
Saiko landed on the ground, having cycled through another set of handseals, as she thrust her own hands on the ground.
"Katon: Fire Pillars..." and fire began to erupt from the arena floor in pillars, forcing the Iwa kunoichi to flee, even as a few pillars grazed her. This was a very chakra-intensive technique, yet Saiko Uchiha continued to use it as she forced the girl into a corner, before she finally tried to end the match as she threw a dozen shuriken at the girl before she began to cycle through another set of handseals.
"Katon: Fire Dragon Jutsu!" and this time, she breathed out a massive fire dragon which headed straight for the Iwa girl, and the fire dragon was one of the more destructive techniques, one which needed a lot of chakra.
Yet the way the reserves of the Iwa girl dropped told him that this bout was not done yet.
"Doton: Earth Golem!" and immediately the ground of the arena shifted as the earth itself ran towards the girl and morphed into a giant Earthen Golem around her, as the giant fire dragon collided with the Earth Golem.
BOOOM!
The First Tsuchikage created this technique after a fight with the Shodaime, where he had used his signature Hundred Buddha Palm technique. Though comparing them both was blasphemy for the Shokdaime's technique, the Earthen Golem showed its might as a massive fist pushed out of the dust cloud and hit Saiko-san without any difference.
"AGHHH!" the girl's screams filled the arena, as her body flew into the opposite wall, and cracked it, as the Third Tsuchikage smirked.
"Well, it seems like the match is over," and Minato was eyeing Saiko Uchiha's stationary body as he replied.
"I wouldn't be so sure just yet," but the old man was confident.
"There is no way that a genin could break through the technique of my ancestor," and indeed, the Earth Golem was a terrifying technique. Unless you had a very potent Raiton technique, it was nearly impossible to break for a common genin.
But Saiko Uchiha was no common genin, and the girl pushed herself back up, and her arm was broken, and he saw the proctor eye her, asking for a surrender, yet she refused as the Iwa girl continued her attack.
Izuna-kun's friend was clearly struggling, but she was still managing to avoid being hit a second time. But it could not go on for long.
And then finally she was cornered, as the Earth Golem pushed her into a corner, repeating what she had to the Iwa girl, with her fire pillars as she challenged.
"Give up," and he was surprised by her voice and offer, and had expected that, given the animosity between their nations, she would have tried to kill the girl.
"How can I give up?" challenged Saiko Uchiha as she reached into her pocket and took out a kunai, refusing the offer.
"When I intend to win!" and she threw the kunai just as the golem threw the first, before she made a tiger seal, and just as the kunai passed the golem, her chakra shifted as she used Izuna's signature technique.
"Shunsin no Jutsu!" but that was not all. She landed on the ground, jumped back onto the Golem's back, placed her pal on it, and voiced out.
"Katon: Internal Combustion!"
BOOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!
And the ground shook, as the entire arena was covered in a cloud of dust and smoke, and while the others may not be able to tell the result Minato smiled for when the dust cleared, Saiko Uchiha still stood tall even as both of her arms were now broken, while the Iwa girl lay on the ground unconscious.
"Winner Saiko Uchiha..."
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JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
The air was thick with tension as he stood face-to-face against the pinnacle of the Warring State Era. Five years ago, when he first learned of the possibility that Madara Uchiha might yet be alive and plotting revenge against the village, Jiraiya knew that any and all preparations against him would be inadequate.
The shinobi of the Warring States Era were built entirely differently, and even amongst them, Madara Uchiha had been in a class of his own, a fact made even more certain by the sheer quality and quantity of the chakra oozing out of the menace in front of him.
Five years, he had spent searching for the man, preparing for this disastrous eventuality. Yet even now, as he stood face to face against him, his thoughts raced with unease.
"Are you too nervous to move?" The taunt made him smile as he took a deep breath.
"No, I am just surprised to see that you have not changed much over the years. Still, you must tell me about your routine. I am half your age, and yet I look like an old man," The essence of all warfare was information.
Jiraiya had little intention of losing this battle, and it was evident that the monster in front of him was underestimating him. So, he needed to banter.
"A mere mortal like you would dare not understand the powers of a God," and his words seethed with hubris and pride.
"God? I had no idea that you had become a God," he asked, and the man smirked.
"Enough, I have already waited patiently for you, if you do not intend to star..." so it seemed like the man in front of him had run out of patience so, Jiraiya pushed his chakra into his legs and appeared in front of him using his full speed, and saw those lips turn up slightly.
Madara didn't flinch—he caught the kick like it was nothing
"Interesting," and then in an instant those eyes shifted, the black in them turned that dangerous red, and the three dots of the Sharingan spun as their battle began in earnest.
And the man simply avoided or blocked his attacks, and for the first time in decades Jiraiya found himself on the backfoot, during a taijutsu exchange, as his barrage failed to break through the defences of the Uchiha clan monster.
"My turn," and the shift happened in a second as Madara went on the offensive, aiming a straight strike at his neck, as Jiraiya used his hand to push aside his arm as he tried to repeat the move. Still, the man tried to push away his leg, just like Izuna often tried, and he jumped, and aimed a kick at his abdomen. Still, the man simply pushed away his leg, and punched him before he could react as Jiraiya was sent flying back, though the damage from the strike was mitigated as he was able to defend himself through his chakra.
But he did not relent, as he spun in the air and cycled through a set of handseals.
"Katon: Dragon Flame jutsu!" and a torrent of fire sprouted out of his mouth, as the Uchiha simply picked up his gunbai, and flung it at his attack, and the massive ninjutsu was sent back towards him, forcing him to cycle through a set of handseals in quick succession.
"Doton: Mud Wall Jutsu!" and a thick earth wall formed in front of him, shielding him from his own attack, as suddenly he felt him jump into the air, as the man gathered chakra of his own.
"Let me show you what real Fire Style is," and the chakra he was gathering was massive, as Jiraiya jumped back in fear as the monster used his first ninjutsu.
"Katon: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" and what came afterwards was unlike any ninjutsu he had ever faced, for in the current world, he knew of but one shinobi who was on par with himself when it came to Fire Style, but this was something else entirely.
If Izuna's fire style stood for his mastery of technique and finesse, this massive storm of fore was a representation of the sheer power and chakra of Madara Uchiha, as he was forced into using a little trick of his own.
"To be forced into using this so early," and he cycled through a set of familiar hand seals, though the way he was manipulating the chakra was unlike any other time, as he brought his fingers to his mouth.
"Katon: Fire Ball Jutsu!" and a storm of fire emerged from his mouth, yet unlike his earlier attack, this time, the flames were blue—like the heart of a star, hot and blazing as he copied Izuna's little trick.
And as they clashed with Madara's massive storm, they held their own, despite their smaller size, until they tore through the technique and reached Madara himself, who was forced to dive into the arsenal again.
"Futon: Gale Storm!" and a massive torrent of wind emerged and stopped both their attacks, but not before his flames had singed a bit of his hair.
"A fire hotter than mine own," he commented, and for the first time, it felt as if he was not being looked at like vermin or an insect, as if it registered to him for the first time that he was facing a human, a capable and dangerous one.
"You are not half bad," he added, and though it was a compliment, it did not feel so reassuring, for his opponent seemed as relaxed and unbothered as if the thought of losing the fight had not even crossed his mind.
"But it's time for you to learn your place," and this time the monster appeared in front of him in a blur, as Jiraiya was unable to react, to barrage of taijutsu which came at him from every side, and those eyes spun as Madara tore through his defences as of they were nothing, predicting each of his parries as Jiraiya tried to retaliate as he pushed chakra into his hair, and used them to shield himself.
"Wild Lion's Mane!" and his hair coiled around him, as a shield, forcing the Uchiha to jump back, but he was not done.
"Wild Mane Needles!" and Madara was bombarded with a barrage of needles, as Jiraiya used his own technique.
"Katon: Toad Oil Bomb!" and laced his barrage of senbon-like projectiles with oil, before he added the final technique.
"Katon: Phoenix Flame Jutsu!" but this would not be enough, as Madara simply pushed out Gunabi and pushed his chakra into it.
"A Thousand Night's Peril!" and as he swung it, his barrage and attack were all parried away, but he had expected that and had pushed himself forward, as he gathered his chakra in his hand and used one of Minato's favoured techniques.
"Ninpo:..." and those blue, red eyes widened slightly, as the orb of chakra appeared in his hand as Jiraiya thrust it forward.
"RASENGAN!"
BOOOOM!
And his attack connected, as a massive explosion rocked the area, as Madara's body was flung into the back wall, as Jiraiya landed back on the ground and wiped the blood dripping down his cheek, until he saw Madara step out of the cloud of dust, as he dusted off his armor eyeing him.
"What a unique technique," he whispered, as Jiraiya found himself gulping down nervously as his body burst with both nervousness and excitement.
"It reminds me of a tailed Beast Bomb," and to gather all that from a single look.
"Are you the one who created this?" he asked, and Jiraiya shook his head.
"No. I am but a simple user. The technique was created by one of the most powerful shinobi of our times, one who could even rival you," and he raised a brow at that.
"Hmm, so there are people who are stronger than you," and with that, he saw his body shift, while those eyes changed. The tomoe spun, merging into a new, terrifying pattern.
"No matter, they are still no match for my Uchiha powers...." and with that, a blue skeletal figure began to form around him, as he brought out his Susanoo.
"Well, I cannot let you beat me on size," and so Jiraiya roused up his own chakra, as and bit his thumb.
"Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
BOOOOM!
And suddenly he was on his head, as Jiraiya brought together his hands, and gave the command.
"Is that who I think it is?" Gamaken asked as he eyed Madara, and Jiraiya nodded as he began to gather up natural energy.
"Yes, and to face him, I need to use Sage Jutsu. You know what you have to do, Gamaken," and the toad nodded.
"I got it."
"Are you going to show it to me now?" Madara Uchiha called out with a maniacal grin, as those eyes focused on him.
"The very technique used by Hashirama...."
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