Naruto: Tango with Death

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I wasn't bothered by the lack of reactions, and instead patiently waited, completely ignoring the awkward silence.

Instead, I looked around, and counted the officers, as well as their allegiance. Out of the group, three were Jonins of Konoha, five were Benders from the army, and the last two… well, they were something else.

Speaking of which, it was one of them who started, the one who looked like he was the most out of place of the group.

He wasn't dressed in any kind of armor, but instead in a light cloth wrapped all around his body, even covering his face. However, it wasn't dark enough to hide his features, it was only made to stop the elements from hitting him.

He bowed ever so slightly and presented himself, "My name is Yada Torio, and I am a Blade Dancer from the Coral Isles. I was forced to leave my land some years ago now, which happened to be during the last war. I then ended up fighting for Konoha, and that's how I turned into a contracted mercenary for the Land of Fire. Pleased to make the acquaintance of someone as famous as the Owl."

I nodded to him, interested in his craft. Blade Dancers were another thing that did not exist in Naruto's canonical world, or at least they had never been shown. In this world, they populated the archipelago south of the main continent.

In terms of looks, their skin was tanned, slightly more so than the people of the Land of Lightning, and they got their names because of the way they fought. It was said that they looked like they were dancing when they fought, and although that is something I have yet to see, I have to say, I am more concerned with his fighting prowess.

In any case, Yada received a few curious gazes, and he didn't look very comfortable with them. Thankfully for him, his strange comrade came to the rescue.

"Izumo Shintaro, pleased to serve you!"

I looked at the heavily armoured man standing next to Yada, who had a long katana strapped to his hip, and heard him continued, "I used to be a Samurai from the Land of Iron, and met with Yada at the start of the Third World War. We have bravely fought together for many years, so I request of you to let us team up, commander!"

He spoke with a lot of energy, which did not fail to remind me of someone else. I did not immediately accept however, and said, "We will talk about this later. Thank you for the introduction."

Izumo nodded stiffly, and next were the Benders.

"Lieutenant Rira, Fire Bender! I beat people up with my fists! Nice to meet you!" Rira was one of the only two females, and looked like a tomboy. She looked like she had quite the cheerful personality too.

Following her was a much calmer voice, the other female among the ten, "Lieutenant Kiko, Water Bender. I apologize for her rudeness. I would also like to make a future request, to work along with Rira in the future. She may be annoying, but…"

"Who are you calling annoying!"

Kiko blinked and carried on, ignoring Rira, "We make a good team."

Rira looked like she still wanted to argue, but I sent her a chilling gaze, which made her shut up. I may have lost my killing intent, I was still able to display hostility, as well as flare my chakra.

My eyes went from the black haired Water Bender to the red haired Fire Bender for a couple of seconds, making my intent clear, before turning to the other two.

"Lieutenant Shun, Air Bender. I specialize in long range attacks, and don't particularly have to work with anyone. Please take care of me in the future."

He had a bow and a quiver in his back, as well as a pair of sharp, falcon-like eyes. He may have some Kekkei Genkai, a special Dojutsu.

As for the last Bender, a burly man with a giant staff in his hands, said in a gruff voice, "Lieutenant Jotaro, Earth Bender. I mix bending and Bojutsu to win my battles."

I nodded slowly, having gotten a sense of each of their capabilities. Them being of the five different affinities probably wasn't an accident, and it was much to my liking. I may have fewer men than the other battlefields, but I definitely had versatility.

Only problem was that if I lost one of them, then it would be a very crippling blow. Finally, I turned to the three Jonins.

"Kunugi Mokume, I fought in the last two wars, I'm a fighting medic. I would rather stay behind, but if I have to then I mostly use Taijutsu, complemented by my Iryoninjutsu, such as Chakra Scalpels. If not, I fight in a rather similar way to Anbu."

By that last point he meant that he went for the weaknesses of the human body, something all Anbu members were taught. Or rather, it was a requirement to join.

It was good to have a man of experience too, although he spoke a little… strangely. Guess that came with experience too.

A relatively thin but tall man with a scar on the side of his mouth said, "Hayama Shirakumo, fought in the two wars too, although I was promoted after the last war. I specialize in Kenjutsu, like a couple of my colleagues it seems."

I nodded, we had three sword users in the officers: Hayama the Shinobi, Izumo the Samurai and Hideto the Bender. More than usual, and probably done on purpose, considering I used the sword too.

Finally, the last member of the officers made a good natured smile as he introduced himself, "Tekuno Kanden, same as those two. I like to use traps and explosives. Many Benders fell to them through the years."

There was a second of still silence, before Hideto sighed, and Rira burst out, "What do you mean by that?! You think I won't take you on fatty?!"

"F-Fatty?" Tekuno looked shocked by the insult, which was understandable. He was a little large, but definitely not fat, or even chubby.

Hayama, who stood beside Tekuno, frowned and muttered, "Always the same with Benders…"

Rira looked even worse than before, and even her fellow Benders did not look very good.

Kiko, the Water Bender, tapped her finger against the wooden table, making a strange ripple appear on the hard wood as she said, "Can't say I'm pleased working with old men either."

Kunugi frowned and said, "Don't be so cheeky, expendable."

Flames started appearing from Rira's body, Kiko's body tensed, Shun lightly moved his shoulder to be able to grab his bow, and Jotaro was clenching his Bo stronger than necessary.

Meanwhile, the Shinobis, although they looked angry on the surface, I could see this was a play. They were putting the Benders to the test, and I must say, they were failing spectacularly.

Yada, the Blade Dancer, as well as Hideto, seemed to understand the situation, but before they could say their piece, I uttered calmly, "Simmer down, this is neither the place nor the time."

Rira's flames only burned hotter though as she said through gritted teeth, "I don't take orders from a child!"

And there it is, the immature one's facade breaking.

In response of her insubordination, all I did was raise a finger. But the moment I did, a heavy pressure descended onto the room as all the elemental phenomenons shown by the Benders were forcefully smothered out, especially Rira's flames.

Rira, along the rest of the people in the tent, took a step back, looking at me in shock. Ha, they are lucky I don't have my killing intent anymore.

But chakra wise, I am one of the greatest in the world, I have reached a level that approaches the Tailed Beasts, the weaker ones, but still Tailed Beast Level. I am around Kisame's level I would say, and he was called the Tailless Tailed Beast.

So although I wasn't at Hashirama's level, where he could even pressure someone like Orochimaru with his chakra alone, I could still stun some low rank Jonins.