51 Tourny Start!
I make it back to the room unmolested but struggling to keep from leaving a blood trail, thankfully I know medical jutsu otherwise this would suck even more, not that I can just make the wound go away, but at least I'm no longer profusely bleeding by the time I shunshin back into the room.
The swap with my clone is a lot more difficult this time, and as much as I want to make another clone to help me chane, I am not risking everything now, so I grit my teeth and bare it as I take of my blood soaked shirt and put it in the sink which I then run water with. My hands are shaking and I'm not sure if it's from the cold or the bloodloss, though it's probably both.
After painfully stripping from my outfit, I look at my left hand, it looks like I put it in an open fire its so covered in electrical burns, not to mention I think the boned in my hand are fractured from the force of the swing that I couldn't stop, I'm just glad that I still have a hand to be honest, that was a pretty stupid thing to do.
I look to my side and see a long red mark, going from the top of my ribs down to my lower back on my right side. I've done what I can for it with medical chakra, but I can't heal immediately, and anything strenuous would likely reopen that right now. I put it out of my mind for the moment and activate a small henge on my hand and side, to make them seem normal, then I quickly finish washing and drying my clothes and the restroom to leave no evidence.
Then I put on my sleepware and head 'back' to bed, even if the sun is already rising. Not five minutes after I get under my covers there is a knock on the door, which Akira goes to answer.
I pretend to have been woken up by the knock and look at the door with childish curioctiy as it's opened to reveal Jin.
"Can I help you?"
Instead of answering Jin just stares at him with a dangerous smile, but Akira doesn't flinch or back down, keeping his typical lazy Nara face. Jin takes a glance in the room, looking at me for a moment before dismissing me, I had my hands over my duvet just in case that was what he was looking for.
"Guess not, rest well."
Saying so, Jin just leaves as Akira confusedly closes the door, before turning to look suspiciously at me.
"I'm gonna try to get some more sleep sensei."
He nods and goes back to his bed as I hope to actually get some sleep, because I am exhausted.
So, I only got an hour of sleep before we had to get up again to meet downstairs, but I make sure to use small henges to look well rested and my acting skills are good enough that only Akira doubts me.
Right now, we are all gathered in the open area on the ground floor of the inn, even those who were injured and poisoned are up and well now, especially the ones who were poisoned, I'm almost jealous of how well rested they look. Jiraiya gets everyone's attention before speaking.
"The next and last test will be a tournament and it will be held today, it seems Kiri doesn't believe in resting between battles, so ready yourselves, we will head over in a few minutes."
He doesn't look happy as he says that, but there is a grim sort of determination to him.
I had really hoped we'd get an extra day at least, but whatever, I can deal.
A short amount of time later and we are led to a closed off section of a Colosseum like building by Jin, in the room with us are the remaining chunin hopefuls and there senseis, where I notice someone I did not expect to see. Fire Lady, Pakura, is one of the Jonin sensei from Suna, though there is only one Genin left alive from Suna so I can't imagine she's very happy right now.
That in mind I do my best to subtly keep as far away from her as possible, I don't want to be erased, thank you very much. After a moment the seats of the stadium are full up and my eyes are drawn to the seat of honour as I see the Mizukage take a seat with such ckalra radiating off of him that anyone sensitive enough to notice it would break out into cold sweat.
Which is to say everyone who isn't a civilian.
Kage's really are monsters huh. He feels like he could go toe to toe with Hiruzen, though I doubt he would win that fight.
Before I can think further a loud voice is projected from the middle of the stadium.
"WELCOME ALL, TO THE FINAL TEST OF THE FIRST EVER CHUNIN EXAMS!!! THE TOURNAMENT!!!"
With his shout, the crowd joins in with cheers and screams, they really are looking forward to this.
"NOW HOW WILL THIS WORK I HEAR YOU ASK? EACH TEAM WILL FIGHT ANOTHER TEAM TO THE DEATH!!!"
At his words Jiraiya turns to Jin with a scowl.
"Team fights? We have seven Genin left."
Jin just smiles and answers unconcernedly.
"Then I guess one of them will have to fight alone then, if you can make a full team you have to, thems the rules."
Jiraya grits his teeth as he faces the rest of us, his eyes lingering on Minato. He understands that whoever goes alone will probably die and that Minato has the best chance of surviving, but he also doesn't want to risk his life. So I throw him a bone.
"I'll do it."
Everyone turns to me in shock, except for Akira who might look a little happy at my potential death, the asshole.
"I mean, my squad is all dead, and I'm pretty strong you know?"
Saying so I smile and flex while holding my bicep.
Jiraiya doesn't seem happy about this, but he understands that someone has to go alone, and he speaks up before Minato can, seeing as he was likely going to volunteer himself.
"Ok then, I wish you the best of luck Katsuki-san."
Minato's mouth closes with a click as he glares lightly at Jiraiya, before we focus back on what the announcer is saying.
"AND THE FIRST MATCH WILL BE TEAM JIRAIYA OF KONOHA AGAINST TEAM K OF KUMO!!!"
One of Jiraiya's Genin are dead, so someone else takes their place in team Jiraya for this fight.
Not that calling it a fight seems particularly fair if I'm being honest, as Minato is clearly pissed and slaughtered his opposition almost single handedly. Seeing how fast he is and how easily he took care of the opposition I see that it really would have been a better decision to let Minato be the one to fight alone, but I want to have some fun, and winning in this condition whilst outnumbered and holding back? Now that sounds like a fun challenge.
Most of the rest of the matches are boring and uneventful, the only Suna Genin didn't even bother to fight and the only really interesting team was team Matsuo, from Kiri that was made up of one Kisame Hoshigaki with Samehada, Zabuza Momochi with whatever his sword is called and Mei Terumi with her lava.
Quite the scary group of chibi's.
Eventually, it was my turn to face the music. Against me was a full squad of Kiri-nin and looking at them I briefly remember that everyone in this exam is younger than fifteen at a guess. I've literally been killing childeren. And I don't care even the slightest bit. All life is equal, from men to women to the old to the young to the animals and insects in the wild, I see all life as equal, well, except for myself of course, my life is more important than everyone else's after all.
The point is, I feel the same amount of guilt from killing children as I do men, which is also the same as what I would feel crushing an insect between my fingers, which is to say none at all.
The three facing me don't seem to have any special abilities, which is good for me since I can't show any special abilities either, that would be cheating
One of them I would put at twelve, he has dark blue hair in a small bun and wields a pair of wakizashi that seem a bit too big for his height, he also looks to be deffering to the other two, so he's clearly the weak link.
The second has pale blond hair down to his back and doesn't carry any obvious weaponry, probably going to use Jutsu then, he also seems to be the leader with a confident smirk and looks around fourteen.
Lastly is a beefy kid, also around fourteen, he has clawed gauntlets of all things and a shaved head with a savage smile, clearly he's their brawn.
I will call them Link, Nazi and Neo respectfully, as I didn't pay attention to their names and the first is the weak link, the second is aryan and the third looks like how I'd imagine the E88 Neo-Nazi's would look.
I also belatedly notice that out of the four of us, I'm smiling the widest, but I can't help it, this should actually be fun, seeing as I'm not too sure if I will actually win or not even though I'm usually confident about my chances in any fight to at least survive.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
My blood is rushing in my veins and my heart pounding in my ears as I take in as much information from their stances as I can.
"How 'bout you do like the Suna faggot and just give up?"
Nazi asks me, probably thinking I'm smiling out of nervousness or something benign.
"Nah, I'm worried what you'd do to my corpse, I know you cunts 'round this cesspit of an island are into some fucked up fetishes."
A beat of shocked silence passes at my words, before the crowd starts booing and jeering at me and the three before me have their faces show an enraged expression all at once and I can tell they want to rip me apart right now, but the announcer hasn't started the fight yet, so I try to goad them further.
"I mean, I already know how ya'll like to take it up the arse but I really ain't into that, though if ya mother is, tell her to come to my room tonight and I'll give her a child she can actually be proud of."
Well, they are definitely pissed now, Neo and Nazi are practically frothing at the mouth but Link just looks like he's gonna cry and is glaring at me through watery eyes. Funny.
"BEGIN!!!"
As I predicted, Neo wastes no time in charging at me, fist drawn back for a strong right while Nazi starts going through hand signs, I throw a kunai at Nazi to distract him and face Neo. Katsuki has high Genin Taijutsu but is low Genin in everything else, meaning I can only really win in close quarters, which makes Neo's charge helpful.
I duck under his swing and cut under his arm with a kunai before he can pull it back, ignoring the pain that shoots from my hand from the action, it does make him bleed, but not dangerously enough. It's around then that Nazi finishes his Jutsu and launches a stream of water at me that I dodge fairly easily, but notice that the arena floor now has a small layer of water on it.
So that Jutsu was just set up then.
Link musters up the courage to attack with Neo this time, I parry one of Links swords towards the path of Neo's fist so that I can stop them both with one movement while I use my other kunai to block his other sword and as we are locked, the strenuous position making my side cry out in pain. I step away from Neo and towards Link where I proceed to headbut him in the nose, breaking it.
He calls out in pain and takes a few steps back, holding his nose as I focus back in on Neo I dodge his first strike by stepping back and parry 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 into his next, to stun him for a moment, which I use to throw my right kunai into Link's head, dropping him easily.
Neo doesn't flinch and Link's death so I don't think he was originally a part of this squad but I do flinch as I feel my side open up again thanks to the jarring parry. I can't let anyone know that I came here injured, otherwise they will surely realise it was me sneaking around last night, so when we engage again I angle myself so that Neo can land his clawed gauntlet right on my opening wound, ripping it further open than it was before and almost making my vision go white from the sheer 𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘺 that lanced through my body.
I jump back, holding my right side, trying to stem the bleeding. Great, now I'm on a timer too.
Despite my complaining, the smile on my face only gets larger.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘯!
Out of the corner of my eye I see Nazi holding his hands in a sign and feel the water move differently, so I rush to Neo and jump as he throws another jab, using my injured left hand on his fist to vault so that I'm standing on his shoulders.
Just in time as I see the water turn into tentacles around us that surely would have grabbed me with ease were I still down there.
Neo spins around for me and is momentarily confused about my position, and his confusion lasts a slight bit longer because it also snapps him out of his anger, I use that time to make a hand seal of my own, for show of course, and I jump up while looking down as I breathe out a wall of fire straight down that burns Neo alive and turns the water around us into steam.
Nazi screams out in rage as the tentacles dissipate, but to me it just sounds like accomplishment. Turning to Nazi I run towards him whilst throwing enough kunai that he can't get the focus to do the hand seals for a Jutsu. This is what I mean by inexperienced. When I reach him he draws a kunai and swings it to my right side, aiming for my wound, but I lean back, bending my legs so the kunai passes over my face, then I rise quickly with a kunai in my left and ram it straight up into his brain from his chin.
I really don't want to have to use my left hand because of how much it hurts, but if I jarr my right side too much then I might actually die, so I just have to bear it.
Not that it's important anymore, as the fight is over. I won. Panting extremeley heavily and now holding my right with both my hands, still not covering the whole bleeding wound. Focusing on my surroundings again, I hear the crowd going wild, I guess a good, bloody fight helps them get over their prejudice then.
I smile wider and face their Kage and do a shallow bow on, account of my wounds and head back to the other participants so that what's-his-name can heal me, since Katsuki only knows the barest bits of medical jutsu.
All in all, it was fun, but it could have been even more challenging, and I should have one more opponent to fight at least, hopefully they will be better.