Forest of Death? More like Forest of Fun!
"...The Forest of Death should have more mushrooms in it."
"Anythin' important to add to dat, -hic- or ish dat it?"
"Oh, uh, that's it."
Team 2 has been in the Forest of Death for several hours by now. Shockingly, they have found NO ONE. No Genin, no outlaws... just (non-Shimabukuro) bugs. They needed that damn Heaven Scroll, but they couldn't find anything, anywhere.
A large 'cloud' made of clay, with awkwardly clunky wings, supported two kunoichi; Kichōna and Nodao. As custom for the Douji Clan, Nodao was drinking while underage. Good thing she wasn't steering their mode of transportation.
The clay-thing stopped at a clearing, where the last member of Team 2, and most likely the oldest Genin in the world, awaited.
"HEY, UNCLE SHIMA!"
The cloud plopped down, and Kichōna slid off of it. Nodao just remained on top of it. That was probably for the best.
Shimabukuro watched his teammates, and sneered. Not at them, of course. Mostly at the total lack of progress they all made.
"Did you find anything?"
Shimabukuro sighed, and butterflies fluttered down to meet his raised hand.
"Nothing. Frankly, this is bizarre. It's like we're the only ones who entered the Forest, and everyone else is just waiting outside."
"Aw, that's a shame... I wonder where everyone is...?"
"I take it that you found nothing, either?"
"Nope! But, we have, uh, 5 days, right? I'm sure we can find that scroll by then!"
"Heh, of course! We're ALL passing this exam, after all. Let's keep searching!"
Kichōna saluted her elder teammate.
"Aye-aye!"
Nodao just sighed and raised a fist.
"Woooooo..."
A butterfly fluttered down, and sat on Shimabukuro's shoulder. It seemed to be 'telling' him something, giving him information on their surroundings.
"...What? That can't be right..."
"Ooh, what is it? What did Mr Butterfly tell you?"
Shimabukuro glared towards the East, and gave a sly smirk.
"If my hunch is correct, it appears we have found someone."
"Alright! Good job, Uncle Shima!"
"Heh, it was nothing! Now, let's go get our next scroll! Take to the skies!"
Kichōna skipped back to her clay ride, and climbed on top of it.
"C'mon Nodao, focus! We're gonna go fight someone!"
"Huh!? Really!?"
"Yep! So stop NOT drinking alcohol! We need to do our best!"
"-hic- Alright..."
"Great Butterfly Breeze!"
As the 'cloud' soared to its less fraudly peers, and the old Genin was lifted by a mass of fluttering insects, the Team of freaks went on to further their Chunin-related goals!
Team 6 was laying low. They had a relatively simple strategy; by being careful, they would third party other teams to get their scroll with minimal danger. And they had found their target.
A lone Kumo Genin ran from another team, one of other Kumo Genin. He had a lead on them, but not by much. They were gaining, fast.
Ghidorah, Junki, and Sen all watched the pursuit from a remarkably tall tree.
Sen lifted her hand, and gave a single to Junki. She spoke directly to his mind.
"Now."
Junki nodded, and performed hand signs in rapid succession.
Trees started falling in the path of the fleeing Genin. A tree fell to his left, and he went to the right. It fell to his right, and he went to the left. Panicked screams rang out as he continued to avoid fallen trees, and as he ran, he realized that he fell right into a trap. Running into a large rock formation, he was cornered. The team of 3 pursuing Genin had him dead to rights.
One of them spoke up.
"Well, to think you were holding out on us! What was that, Earth Jutsu to knock down those trees? It would have been better to knock down the trees in front of us, not yourself, dimwit!"
As the shaking Genin huffed and puffed, he looked at his pursuers and only grew more scared.
"T-That... That wasn't you guys!? I-I didn't do that!"
"Huh!?"
The four Genin had no time left to be surprised as the ground beneath them gave way to reveal an ink-y mud. Thorns dug into their ankles and legs. They weren't getting away anytime soon.
"Ack! W-What is this?"
"You've been trapped."
The Kumo Genin looked up, and saw Team 6 standing on top of the rock formation.
Sen spoke to them again.
"We'll be taking all of your scrolls."
"W-What!? No, dammit! You can't take our scrolls, we won these fair and square!"
"This is fair and square. Hand them over."
A Clay Doll bird swooped down to the pursuers, and grabbed both of their scrolls in one fell swoop, one in each talon. It flew back up to Ghidorah, who took the scrolls from the Homonculi. The bird then swooped down to the pursued Genin, and snatched his scroll from him, as well. Ghidorah similarly took this one. He nodded his head, and showed the 3 scrolls to his teammates. Junki examined them.
"3 Earth Scrolls, huh?"
One of the pursuers was enraged.
"WHAT!? We were CHASING you for JUST ANOTHER EARTH SCROLL!?"
"I-I tried to tell you..."
Sen shook her head.
"You'll have plenty of time to talk about it."
Sen was careful. Very careful. She was wary of the pursued Genin's teammates coming to his rescue, and had focused her attention on the ground below. Due to their current height, on such a tall boulder, any opponents would likely come from the wide area they could overlook from their vantage point. She reached her senses over the area, and felt several other Genin, yet they all seemed to be either stationary, meaning they were likely unconcious, or heading away from their current area.
It seemed that everything was alright.
Then, a chill shot up Sen's spine. She felt that something was off, wrong. She focused her senses again, and examined everything closely. Nothing seemed amiss. So, she decided to cast a wider 'net', in order to calm herself. There would probably be nothing there.
Sen immediately felt something above her, at roughly 3:00 from where she was facing. She stopped herself from panicking via ther surprise, and focused.
There was definitely someone there. 3 someones. But there was other forms of Chakra there, as well. 3 sources that were roughly human, and then vague 'blobs'. She had felt something like this before- from Kidaichu users, and her own teammate, Ghidorah. Specifically, his Homonculi Clay.
Despite her shock, she alerted her teammates immediately.
"Junki, Ghidorah! From the West! I-I think it's-"
Before Sen could even finish, Junki shieled his team via a Wooden Dome, and not even a second after he brought it up, a spark of lightning burst against it.
Sen winced as the lighting courses through the dome, protecting them, but it clearly wouldn't be able to keep up for long.
"It's Team 2!!"
Above the 7 total Genin around the rock formation, Kichōna looked down at the barrier from her own Homonculi. So did Nodao, who, despite the lazy look in her eyes, was unusually focused.
"Teehee~! Aw, I think Sen found us! They blocked that Doll pretty late! Got the perimeter covered, Uncle Shima?"
"You got it, Kichōna!"
"Hey, Nodao! I'll take a second to make some demands from them. Get ready to drop~!"
"Alright, whatever."
Inside their protection, Team 6 was thinking of what to do next.
"There's insects surrounding us! There's no clear escape path!"
Ghidorah had opened up a scroll, and was already beginning to scribble up some creatures.
Junki needed more information.
"Sen, where are they now!?"
Sen took a second to focus.
"The old man is heading to the ground, the oni is still in the sky, and the puppet is-"
A needle-like spike pierced into the dome. It crackled with electricity. After a second, and with clear effort, the spike went across the side of the dome, cutting it open.
"Time-out!"
The spike was removed from the dome, and the part of the wood fell apart to reveal Kichōna. The spike was nowhere to be seen, as if it hadn't even existed in the first place.
"I'm here to talk! Alright, so, can we have a Heaven Scroll?"
Ghidorah, Junki, and Sen just stared at Kichōna. After she brazenly attacked them, she then tries to negotiate?
Junki was the first to speak up.
"You think we would just hand over a scroll to you, after you randomly attacked us?"
"Aw, don't be like that, Junki! It's what we're here to do! So, if you guys just hand me your Heaven Scroll, we'll just leave."
Sen glared at Kichōna. Something about the puppet-human always unnerved her.
"...What makes you think we have a Heaven Scroll?"
"Because of how smart you are, duh! You guys totally would know what those guys' you just captured scrolls would be, and they are all Earth, right? Someone as smart as you wouldn't risk it if you didn't need it! What if they could shoot eye lasers or something?"
Sen winced, for 3 reasons. Kichōna was right, she complimented her, and she had surprising deductive skills. Not that impressive, but surprising that she had them.
"Ooh~, I was right, wasn't I? But, I bet you only have one. What's it gonna be? If you give us that Heaven Scroll now, you can barter with your Earth Scrolls for a replacement later! Then, after you give us it, we could even team up! That way, it will be way easier to get your new Heaven Scroll!"
That definitely caught Team 6 off-guard. Even Tock and Minori seemed to be surprised. Ghidorah especially was flabbergasted.
"T-Team up!?"
"Yeah! I don't think that's against the rules. Oh, or we could not do that and we can just fight for it."
This caught Sen off-guard so much, that she suspected that this was a trick.
("She must be stalling for time...!")
Yet, as she focused in on the other members of Team 2, they didn't seem to be doing anything. Shimabukuro was hovering above the 4 Kumo Genin, seemingly talking to them, and Nodao was waiting in the sky, doing nothing but occasionally drinking from a bottle.
She tried to focus on what Shimabukuro was saying.
"I remember fighting Kumo Genin, a long time ago. Would you happen to know-"
"S-Shut it, old man!"
"Hmph. Fine."
They really were waiting.
Sen silently communicated with Junki and Ghidorah.
"Listen. It's a bad idea to fight right now. We give her the fake scroll we prepared and take off as soon as we can."
"Y-Yeah."
Ghidorah spoke outloud. He really was caught off-guard.
Kichōna looked at him expectantly, and smiled. She put her hands together behind her back, and tilted her head. Even though her eyes looked vacant, there seemed to be some happiness behind them.
"Ghi! You think it's a good idea? What about you guys!?"
Sen and Junki looked at Ghidorah, and then looked back each other.
Junki spoke up.
"...Seems like a good idea to me."
Sen nodded, reached into a bag on Junki's back, and pulled out a (fake) scroll.
"We accept."
Sen held the scroll out in front of her, waiting for Kichōna to take it.
Kichōna grinned.
"BZZZZZT! WRONG ANSWER!"
To Team 6's shock, Kichōna slammed both of her palms into the ground, while she was still smiling. Then, a wave of sound emanated from them, shattering the stone below Team 6. As the 3 Genin and their 2 Animal Companions started to fall into the black mud below, Junki prepared to protect all of them.
Using Hand Signs in the order of Tiger, Snake, Tiger, and Snake again, the Wood Release user formed a complete Wooden Sphere around his allies.
Ghidorah started preparing Homonculi Clay. They were going to have burst out of this situation with a lot of firepower.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Nodao, a ball of lava on her fist, plummeted from the Clay cloud, directly onto the Wooden Sphere that protected Team 6.
"Lava Release: Magma Bore!"
The dome took the brunt of the attack, but the lava empowered with flashing scales and alcohol slowly but surely started eating through the wood.
Junki within could feel the heat, and created a small opening in the bottom of the sphere. Some of the sticky ink pooled in, but Ghidorah made a quick Hare hand sign, which caused it to stop.
"Ghidorah, with me!"
"Right, Junki!"
Putting their palms into the ink, the 2 Earth Release users of Team 6 concentrated, and opened up a small into the ground below.
"Great Butterfly Pupa Binding!"
Shimabukuro, silk in hand, had trapped the Wooden Sphere with his bindings, wrapping it with the silk, and allowing the lava to continue to eat through it.
"Tch! They're gone!"
Team 2 looked into the hole made by the lava, and saw that the wooden dome was empty, leading into a small tunnel.
"Pfft, we just have to hunt them down~!"
Holding her hand into the air, Kichōna looked up at the large Clay Doll Nodao was previously riding. She smiled, and several smaller cloud-like Clay Dolls with skeletal wings came out of holes on the side of the larger Doll. The 4 small Dolls swooped down from the sky, and into the tunnel.
Sen sensed the impending danger, and hurried along Ghidorah.
"Lightning Dolls, incoming! Ghidorah! When can we reach the surface?"
"We're almost ready!"
Two ink moles were digging along a path for Team 6. They were heading towards the surface, and Ghidorah was preparing a Clay Doll of his own.
"Hold your breath!"
Gripping the sides of the cave, Junki caused several loose rocks to form a wall and cover their path. In the darkness, Sen lit a light via a Utility Jutsu. And she sensed the Dolls.
"Junki! They're still there!"
Junki turned, and watched as the pliable clay blobs wormed there way through the cracks covering in the wall that was their cover.
"D-Damn!"
The Dolls crackled and burst into electricity.
Back on the surface, while the exchange underground was going on, the still-trapped Kumo Genin (specifically the pursuers, as the pursued Genin was scared into unconsciousness by nearby falling rocks from the boulder shattered by the sound attack) voiced their concerns.
"...C-Can you free us, now?"
All it did was annoy Nodao.
"Ah, shaddup!"
"There!"
Kichōna pointed to a section of the ground where faint sparks of electricity could have been seen for only a moment. In the next moment, a wall of wood was erected at that point.
Behind that wooden wall, Sen voiced her concern for Junki.
"J-Junki, you got singed! Are you ok!?"
Junki looked at his arms, since he took the brunt of that electrical attack. There was some smoke coming off of his sleeves. But he was mostly fine.
"Yeah, I'm fine! Nothing to worry about!"
Kichōna made the Seal of Confrontation, and used a Body Flicker to move to the top of the wall.
"Sorry, I hope you guys aren't too mad at me for my little quiz."
She held out her hand at Team 6, and they saw the freakish mouth on its palm. It contored for a second, and changed its shape into that of a cannon.
"But you guys wanna be Chunin, right? How can you be a Chunin if you want to take the easy way out?! Plus, if you don't fight, there's no fun to be had. And to be a ninja is to have fun!"
Kichōna smiled at them, and charged up a Chakra Bullet.
"Earth Doll!"
That smile soon turned into an expression of surprise as a bird-shaped Clay Doll went straight into her face. Purple shrapnel erupted from it as it exploded into dust, and Kichōna was launched a few meters back.
Nodao came up from behind Team 6, and launched a blob of magma. As Nodao was launching the blob, Junki attempted to make hand seals in order to create a wall to defend from the blob, but he was unable to form seals due to his partially paralyzed hands.
"U-Ugh!"
Junki tackled Sen out of the way, while Ghidorah escaped above via another Clay Doll.
Shimabukuro launched a mass of butterflies against the fleeing duo of Team 6, and Minori intervened to block some of the butterflies. By intercepting and speedily flying around them, they were formed into a crude ball.
Shimabukuro focused them, and they pushed through Minori. However, they were delayed just long enough for Ghidorah to send his own Kidaichu to intervene against Shimabukuro's insects, several of both the beetles and butterflies dropping dead out of midair, like raindrops.
"Junki! Let me help!"
"Tch... alright!"
Junki, his hands still mildly paralyzed, put his hands in front of him. Sen helped guide and mold his fingers into the correct shapes: Snake, Horse, Monkey, Bird! He aimed directly at Shimabukuro.
"Wood Release: Wooden Song Bird!"
"Great Butterfly Defensive Pupa!"
The wooden bird created by Junki was launched at Shimabukuro, and he created a ball of webbing to defend himself. As the Elemental Animal connected with the cocoon, Shimabukuro was launched backwards.
"GRAAAAAAHHH!"
Her fist once again coated in lava, Nodao swung a haymaker at Junki and Sen; it was blocked by a Poison Clay Doll.
Growling as her fist connected to the Doll, the poison soaking into her magma, Nodao clutched at her arm.
Kichōna appeared beside her, once again using a Body Flicker. She had a metal plate obscuring her face, directly where Ghidorah's Clay Doll hit her. She put it up at the last second to prevent herself from being poisoned. It had succeeded.
"Nodao. I'll help."
Kichōna sounded a lot more... grave.
"DAT!? Gahh... I hate dat..."
Nodao opened up her bottle of alcohol, and took a large drink of it.
She held out her arm to her teammate.
Erecting a blade from her arm, it crackled with electricity, and Kichōna slashed it straight through Nodao's arm.
Nodao winced, and grunted in pain, but she kept standing as her arm started to regenerate.
Junki and Sen watched in shock.
"W-What!?"
"That's...!"
"Nodao, can you wipe my mask for me?"
"...Yeah."
Junki and Sen watched again, as Nodao's intact left arm was raised to Kichōna's mask, and a splash of alcohol was released from it. The alcohol turned a shade of purple as it went over the mask, washing off the remnants of the poison Doll.
"Thanks. That poison's trouble. I'll deal with it."
"Good."
Kichōna relaxed for a moment, and another pair of arms jutted out from her sides.
With one set of arms she made the Snake sign, and with the other, she made the Monkey sign.
The Clay Doll she had made to transport herself and Nodao rushed directly towards the midair Ghidorah.
"G-Gah!"
Trying to dodge it on his own Clay Doll, Ghidorah let loose the puppet on his back. The puppet's arms swung wildly at the chasing Clay Doll, but it evaded every blow and continued with the pursuit.
"Ghidorah!"
Junki and Sen prepared to fire a another Wooden Song Bird to delay the Clay Doll, but they were prevented from doing so via silk binds that were suddenly attached to their hands. Shimabukuro had gotten a few meters behind them.
"Kichōna, now!"
Ghidorah attempted to defend himself by releasing both smaller Clay Dolls and Ink Animals, and the cloud-like Clay Doll sent out miniature versions of itself as Kichōna's response.
The miniature clay clouds collided with several clay animals, and the sparks deactivated or destroyed them as the chasing Doll got ever closer.
Ghidorah cut his wrist with a kunai.
"Blades of Blood!"
The bloody shrapnel collided with the Doll, but did not completely stop its movement as it spun around on its side, keeping its wings intact. The puppet and Tock tried to hold it back as it tackled directly into Ghidorah, and burst into a flash of lightning.
"GHIDORAH!!"
Junki screamed in shock as Ghidorah plummeted into the forest below him, while Sen was too shocked to say anything at all. Junki growled and freed himself from the silk, and just by himself, used the Snake sign to create a path of wood, so he could go straight to Ghidorah.
Nodao intercepted him with a burst of lava, splashing down into the middle of the wooden road, her arm fully regenerated. She pointed that new arm directly at Junki.
"Grraaahh... You aren't goin' anywhere..."
"D-Damn it...!"
With a Body Flicker, Kichōna appeared once again at Nodao's side. She was no longer masked by the metal plate, and had returned to her normal number of arms, but still had her face turned away from both Nodao and the rest of Team 6.
"...I'll take care of him."
"'Bout time."
"N-No! S-Stop!"
Sen tried to plead with Kichōna, but she simply used Body Flicker to move away, disappearing into the Forest.
"C-C'mon, Tock! It's ok, buddy!"
Alone in a clearing, at the bottom of a large hill he just rolled down, Ghidorah was with Tock. Both Tock and his puppet took the majority of the Doll attack for him, and only his living friend made it out in one piece. Of course, that doesn't mean that Tock was in very good shape.
Ghidorah sensed someone appear in the clearing behind him, and he turned to see Kichōna, standing in the shade of the tree, her head hanging low.
"S-STAY BACK!!"
Kichōna stepped into the light as Ghidorah moved in front of Tock to defend him, and Kichōna looked up at him.
She had tears in her eyes.
"G-Ghi... I-I wanted to say sorry."
"...H-Huh?"
"I-I took it too far. When I teased you guys, and when I saw Junki's hands, and when I realized that I made you destroy a Doll, a-and then I hurt Tock and your puppet... I-I... I want to apologize. F-For hurting your friends."
Ghidorah just continued to stare at her. She sniffled.
"A-And even before then... when I quizzed you guys... that was bad of me, too. Y-You hit me with that poisoned Doll, and I started getting really mad... b-but I hurt you too badly, right?"
Ghidorah just... continued to stare. Eventually, he mustered up a response.
"...I didn't mean for it to be a very big dose of poison."
Awkward silence filled the clearing.
"...But, I still stand by what I said. About how you need to be a strong ninja, and how you need to fight! But getting your friends hurt isn't fun. So..."
Kichōna extended her arm, and a spike extended along the top from it in turn. She wiped her eyes with her spike-free left arm.
"I challenge you to a duel! I can't let my team down, so I need that scroll! A-And we need to duel, so we can both be strong ninja and have fun together! No Dolls, no friends, just... uh, weapons!"
Ghidorah took out a kunai. He nodded.
He held the kunai out in front of him, and the blood from his arm started to cover it. It extended into the shape of a blade, and he held it in front of him.
Kichōna nodded as well.
"If I beat you, I'll take you as a prisoner to get that Heaven Scroll! If you win, I'll just get my team to leave!"
Ghidorah held his blade with two hands.
He lunged towards Kichōna.
Blocking it, Kichōna went on the defensive, and each time Ghidorah swung at her, she proceeded to parry it and back-off more. Ghidorah went for a low sweep with his blade, but she flipped over it into a handstand, and kicked Ghidorah straight into the chest.
Falling on his back, Ghidorah groaned, while Kichōna returned to her normal stance.
"...I guess punches and kicks are allowed, too?"
"...Y-Yeah, if that's ok with you, Ghi."
Kichōna waited as Ghidorah got back up, and swung onto his right, but he blocked it. Stepping back, Ghidorah went for a lunging stab, but Kichōna redirected it, got in close, and elbowed Ghidorah in the chest. He got a good look at her face, and behind her sore, lifeless eyes, she seemed to be a bit happier.
Ghidorah swept Kichōna with his legs, and successfully knocked her over. He went for a slash to her cheek while she was down, but she tilted her head for it to miss. While doing so, she poked her spike past Ghidorah's leg, leaving a shallow gash. She kicked him in the leg opposite to the one she just poked, and rolled away as he almost fell on top of her.
As Ghidorah attempted to get up again, Kichōna gave him more shallow cuts via jabs; one on his cheek, another on his on the right side of his ribs, and another on his left arm. Ghidorah slashed at her in retaliation, and she leaned backwards, barely dodging it. She then connected another kick to Ghidorah's chest, knocking him backwards again.
Kichōna once again waited for Ghidorah to get back up.
Ghidorah took out a second kunai.
Kichōna watched, and held out her left arm. That one grew a spike, just like her right arm.
Ghidorah jumped at her, and blocked her defensive right spike with his left kunai. Then, with his Bloodblade in his right hand, he swiped at Kichōna's left arm, and connected with what felt like metal. She winced, and they broke away. As Kichōna slid back, dust blocked Ghidorah's view, and he waited in a defensive position for Kichōna's next move.
"...You win."
"Huh?"
The dust cleared, and Ghidorah saw that he had cut across Kichōna's arm. There was a metal plate blocking it, like the one she used for her face, but her sleeve was torn. She wiped her spikes on the ground to ensure any poison wasn't on them, and her arms returned to normal.
"You connected with your poisonous blade. You win."
"Then..."
"...Yeah. Let's go back to the others."
"O-Ok. Let me go get Tock."
As Ghidorah headed over to the resting and injured Tock, he heard a strong wind behind him. Before he could instinctively turn around to see what it was, he felt something heavy connect against his neck. He was sent flying, and was launched into the tree next to the resting Tock. His vison was blurred, and he could make out a shadow standing in front of Kichōna.
Kichōna looked up at the shadow in shock.
"Y-You're...!"
The tall shadow looked down at her.
"Engetsu Bōfū, 4th Raikage. And that was some weak shit back there, kid."
Thoughts raced through Ghidorah's mind.
("T-The 4th Raikage's here...?! A-And he hit me in the neck... hard...")
Ghidorah getting hit finally processed for Kichōna.
"G-GHI! W-Why did you-"
"Aw, calm down! He's fine. I barely even hit him."
Kichōna looked past Engetsu, and over at Ghidorah.
"Are you ok!?"
"I-I'm fine..."
Engetsu chuckled.
"See? He's fine. Stop worrying about it."
"W-What are you doing here, Mr Raikage?"
Engetsu looked off into the trees.
"I'm bored. So, I went into this fun little Forest, and decided to check in on some Genin."
"'Some Genin'?"
"Yeah, I was following around some Kumo kids. They fell into that obvious trap, and I couldn't help but laugh! Hah, some of these kids are pathetic! But... not you. Or, at least, you could be not pathetic."
Kichōna was definitely confused.
"Huh?"
"Where was I? Ah, yeah! So, I was watching your team fight with the one that dealt with the Kumo kids, and I'm like, 'Hey! I remember that kid! She likes my war stories and has that creepy vibe!'"
"What kinda vibe?"
"Nevermind that. So, I saw you chase down Gassy over there into these woods, and I was intrigued! Seeing you, with your cute little apology, which I decided I won't tease you for, by the way. Anyway, your deal with the other kid and your resolve to be a stronger ninja? I like that! But there was something I didn't like."
"...Huh?"
"Your little match with him... it was pathetic! Forget going easy, you were going breezy! And he was, too, but at least he used Chakra Flow! I almost bored myself to death watching that. What was up with that? You were so much better earlier! And I know you could flow Lightning Release into your spikes, I watched you! Where'd that kid who was cool go!?"
Kichōna looked down at the ground.
"W-Well... I felt that I went to far... and I toned it down."
"And there's your problem. You let yourself become weak. You wanna be a strong ninja, right? And you wanna have fun?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"So why don't you cut loose?! So what if someone loses an eye or a limb! You gotta go all out if you wanna get stronger!"
"B-But I don't wanna hurt Ghi like that... he's my friend..."
Engetsu got down on one knee as he spoke down to Kichōna.
"So, lemme get this straight... You can't go all out, because he's your friend?"
"That's right, Mr Raikage. Ghi's my friend, so I can't go all out, in case he gets hurt. That's because no one likes getting hurt, and it makes them angry, and... I don't like my friends getting angry."
Engetsu scoffed.
"Hmph! That's no way to be a ninja!"
Ghidorah tried to lift his hand, but he couldn't. He was paralyzed. Must have happened when Engetsu hit him.
Something inside Ghidorah went off like an alarm.
"What... what are you doing!?"
The old man looked over his shoulder, barely glancing at Ghidorah.
"'Helping the next damn generation' is what I'm doing! Keep quiet. Watch."
The Raikage's presence alone was imposing. That raspy voice had commanded countless shinobi. It was being used to command a single Genin, and it was not one bit lesser.
Engetsu's gaze fell onto the kunoichi in front of him.
"Alright, I know just how to get you used to things. We're friends, right? You and the ol' Raikage?"
Kichōna paused for a second.
"...Yeah, we're friends! I like your stories, and you're cool, and you have funny hair, and I especially like your story with the explod-"
"YEAH, got it! We're friends! Alright, are you up for a little sparring?"
Engetsu smirked, and Kichōna paused for a second. Ghidorah couldn't tell if she was feeling the same way he did, or if she was just guessing the best course of action. Either way, he had to speak up.
"K-Kichōna! He's dangero-"
With a single Seal of Confrontation, Ghidorah stopped speaking. His mouth was paralyzed, and Tock was also paralyzed beside him. He didn't even see him touch Tock, despite Ghidorah worrying about his companion the entire sparring match.
Kichōna tilted her head to see around Engetsu and get a good look at her 'friend'.
"What was that, Ghi?"
"Ah, don't mind him, kid! Just some nonsense. What's your answer?"
Kichōna seemed lost in thought.
"I really should be getting back to my team..."
"I'll take you straight to them, if you say yes. And you know what? I have a Heaven Scroll. I'll give it to you."
"Really? Isn't it cheating to get help from you, Mr Raikage?"
"Of course not! I'm just another hazard in the Forest of Death. Same as if you hitched a ride with a croc, or something."
"Well~, in that case, sure. I'll spar with you, Mr Raikage! So, what are the rules? Weapons only, no weapons, hands behind our backs-"
The Raikage leaned down, grinned, and furrowed his brow.
"None."
Before Kichōna could even blink, a knee had swiftly connected with her stomach.
She saw the world spin.
Kichōna's back then was against the trunk of a tree, a couple dozen meters away from the Raikage.
"Y'see, kid, friends need to help friends get stronger!"
Kichōna attempted to refocuse her vision, but it was all blurry. She hurt. A lot.
She raised her palms, outstretched and in front of her, ready to let loose a blast of sound. Then, she remembered that Ghidorah was behind her target.
She faltered.
"Pfft, I know that look!"
Her vision focused just in time to see Engetsu's hand above her shoulder, ready to grab her.
She extended a spike out of her arm, in an attempt to dissuade the Raikage's grasp.
Suddenly, she was sideways; midair. The Raikage had done a sweeping motion with his leg.
Kichōna's head was grabbed, and Engetsu used her as a make-shift bat as he smacked her into the trunk.
"GAH!"
That was the first time Ghidorah heard Kichōna in pain like that.
Engetsu held his victim in front of him by her head, and cleared his voice.
"You had an oppurtunity to attack. And you wasted it!"
Kichōna opened a single eye to stare at the Raikage, saying nothing.
"I know why you wasted it. That's your friend behind me, right? Ghidorah? Well, lemme let you in on a little secret."
He brought Kichōna closer, and she still said nothing.
"If you attacked, and he died... well, that just means he was weak!"
A spike erupted from Kichōna's head, and it actually pierced the hand of the Raikage.
Kichōna was freed from his grasp, and protruding a spike from the top of her foot, shot a kick at the old man's side.
It was easily blocked with a single arm.
"Heh, I like that! You're scrappy! That kick, that was aiming for a lung, right?"
With his injured hand, Engetsu hit the young ninja with a palm strike. Spikes were extended to protect her again, but Engetsu ignored them and let the palm connect anyway.
Kichōna was launched into that same tree, again.
Extending part of her arm into a cannon, energy buzzed and gathered before Kichōna shot a blast of chakra at the Raikage's head. He tilted to his left side, and it hit a tall tree. It splintered from the explosion of the blast, and mulch rained down around them. The dislocated top part of the tree landed close to Ghidorah.
Engetsu chuckled, and backhanded Kichōna, causing her to crumple to the ground. He merely watched her, waiting for her next move.
Taking a second to catch her breath, Kichōna extended several tubes from her left arm, and coursed electricity through them. Engetsu watched with a smile on his face as they came closer, and barely backed away at the last second. As the tubes came closer, and closer to his chin, they grazed him, and sent a jolt of electricity through his body.
The Raikage, unblinking, fell down on his back. He focused his eyes on Kichōna, still with a smirk on his face.
Kichōna made the Seal of Confrontation herself, and flickered away, into the trees.
Engetsu relaxed, put his arms behind his head, and crossed his legs.
"Where are you, ya little scamp?"
His sight was extremely good even without using Sensory Arts, and he looked into the trees. He got a little excited by what he saw.
Sitting up, he reached his hand into his pocket. Taking out a small pipe, he inserted a crumpled piece of paper he also removed from his pocket into it. He placed the pipe into his mouth, and laid back down.
One by one, Ghidorah watched as Homonculi Clay Dolls, far different to his, swept down from the trees at the Raikage. Ghidorah could still only watch. Dozens of small, cloud-shaped Dolls with skeletal wings, just like the ones from earlier, flew to attack the old man.
Engetsu took aim, and shot small rocks out of his small blowpipe. Each rock connected with a Clay Doll, and caused it to explode into electricity. As each of the dozens of Dolls fell to the same fate as their brethren, the sparks caused the leaves of the trees above to catch fire.
Through the flames, Engetsu saw Kichōna's silhouette.
He held the pipe with the side of his mouth, and freed up the rest of it.
"C'mon, kid! I'm barely trying here!"
Kichōna's shadow paused, and a burning red glow appeared where her eyes should be. The silhouette braced, then relaxed, and the number of its arms tripled.
Six arms, all with a faint blue glow at the hands, aimed at the Raikage.
Engetsu sprung to his feet, and raised his arms.
"FINALLY! I've been WAITING for you to cut loose a little, kid! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!!"
Kichōna howled.
It sounded like metal being grinded together.
Blue spheres of chakra rained down at Engetsu, each and every single one landing it's mark.
Engetsu never even moved.
Engetsu merely laughed.
"C'MON! KILL ME!"
In the burning leaves, the shadow of Kichōna looked like it collapsed for a moment, but it struggled and rose its arms into position once again.
The blue chakra glowed brighter, before condensing, and turning a blood red.
The next volley of chakra blasts also completely hit its mark.
As each crimson sphere of energy connected with Engetsu, he flinched. Although he was still standing, raising his arms, every blast caused him to lose his balance and position. By the end of the volley, his arms were lowered.
Kichōna remained in her previous position, but her arms lost their glow.
Engetsu raised his arms again.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YO-"
Before Engetsu could finish, a massive blast of sound from each and every one of Kichōna's arms overwhelmed him. Although he was still standing, his eyes went blank, his smile left him, and he could not say anything as he was drowned in sonic waves. Though it's not like anybody would be able to hear him if he could.
Ghidorah could feel the vibrations going through the ground, and it felt like an earthquake localized entirely within the small clearing.
As the sonic waves stopped, Engetsu fell to his knees.
Red lightning crackled in the trees above him, and Kichōna's silhouette vanished in the light.
The Raikage slowly looked up.
There he saw Kichōna, eyes burning with a crimson glow.
A long spike was extended from her middle right arm, and both her upper and lower arms were grabbed onto her middle one. All 3 of her left arms hung limp.
As he got a better look at Kichōna, he realized that she had multiplied her number of eyes, as well. 6 eyes glowed a furious crimson on her face, and a jet extended from her readied elbow. The spike crackled with similarly colored electricity.
As he got a better look at Kichōna's face, he realized that raging fury that resulted in the monster's howl from earlier was no longer as apparent.
She was smiling, happily. And there was a burning life in her eyes.
"Sorry, Mr Raikage~! I feel bad for Kumo... they're gonna end up losing a Kage sooner than they thought!"
Engetsu smiled in turn, still on his knees. He was mistaken; her fury and rage was still there. In fact, she was even angrier.
"You sound quite sure of yourself, kid! This the same brat I was fighting a moment ago!?"
She laughed.
"Tee hee hee~, hee ha, ha hA HA HA HA~!"
Kichōna launched her attack at the kneeling Raikage, with quite the giggle.
As fast as she could move herself, with as much firepower as she could muster, Kichōna went for the Raikage's forehead.
As she came ever closer, the spike crackling with all of her might and fury, the 4th Raikage raised his injured hand above his head.
The limp hand connected with the spike, and the explosion of electricity surged into the air. It stopped just short of Ghidorah and Tock.
Smoke billowed from Kichōna's landing point, and as it cleared, it was apparent that her extra features were gone.
It was also apparent that the Raikage wasn't there.
As the spike protruding from Kichōna's right arm sheathed itself, the Raikage chuckled from behind her.
She couldn't even muster up the strength to turn her head.
"Well done, kid! You're not as lost as I thought. You just need to learn to let loose! And... I gotta say... maybe you're in the top 10 best Genin I've ever fought. As a Kage. Still gotta long way to go before you can make me break a sweat, though. And in 10 years, maybe you could've made me bleed!"
Engetsu looked down at his bleeding hand.
"...Oh. When I don't let you make me bleed."
Engetsu felt his pocket.
"Hmph, you broke my little, mini blowpipe... That's kind of upsetting."
Kichōna said nothing. She didn't even blink. She just stood their, limp.
Like a hanging puppet.
"Aw, a bit tuckered out, huh? Alright, a deal's a deal."
With a single punch to the back of her spine, Engetsu had knocked Kichōna unconcious.
Before she fell to the ground, he caught her.
He hoisted her over his shoulder, and prepared to head off.
"Ah, almost forgot!"
Engetsu waved his hand, and both Ghidorah and Tock started to shake off their paralysis.
Engetsu turned around, and smirked.
"You should take a lesson like this to heart, too. Tell your teammates. The future lies entirely in your willingness to kill. Even when sparring."
Engetsu faced the direction he was previously headed, and Ghidorah saw Kichōna's lifeless eyes. It was hard to say if she really was still alive.
"One last thing. I'm gonna give some lessons to a few more Genin. Cross your fingers and maybe you'll be next!"
Shimabukuro and Nodao surrounded a Wooden Dome. It was a stand-off; with all of his might, Junki had been holding off Nodao and Shimabukuro. They were mostly conserving their energy in case they needed to help Kichōna if she got ambushed, but Junki's defense was impressive.
Sen started to panic.
"J-Junki... someone's heading this way... and it's not Ghidorah or the puppet...!"
"-huff- Great..."
"...You brats still messing around? Uh... and the geezer, too..."
Nodao and Shimabukuro turned around to see the 4th Raikage, and he was carrying Kichōna. Shimabukuro was shocked and frightened for her, but Nodao was mostly just confused.
"Catch!"
Engetsu tossed Kichōna like a limp rag, and she landed neatly in Shimabukuro's arms.
"We had fun. And she's carrying a little gift!"
Shimabukuro looked at Kichōna's arms, and she had a Heaven Scroll, tucked neatly in between them.
"You... What did you do?"
"We had fun, pal. Now scram. Go do some camping with your grandkids, or something. I gotta talk with them."
Shimabukuro and Nodao glared at Engetsu, and backed off, walking off into the forest.
Barely glancing at Team 2 as they fled, Engetsu walked over to the Wooden Dome.
With his bare hands, he pried it open.
"Knock knock. You gotta kid in a gas mask waiting for you in a clearing."
Sen and Junki just stared at him.
Was this real? Did the 4th Raikage really just intervene in a fight between Genin?
Engetsu smiled at them.
"...You look like you've seen a ghost."
As the old man disappeared into the trees in a blur, Junki collapsed, and Minori cuddled up next to him. He could finally take a well-deserved break. Sen just breathed. She would go and collect Ghidorah soon enough.
The captured Kumo Genin were sleeping. They had a lot of that to do, as well. Shame they missed the Raikage, though.