He therefore coiled and struck, marvelling at how the genin was already adapting to his fighting style and had begun to avoid the blow despite the speed of the attack. The single blow which should have knocked the genin out was instead merely sufficient to stun the youth.
Maito Gai efficiently disarmed the boy then, hitting nerve strikes in both arms. Once the device was away from him, it was time to judge the youth further as he tried to dodge and recover his weapon.
Gai had been at this sort of thing for awhile, and it was now purely a taijutsu battle. The youth before him was only able to dodge three more attacks, though that was fairly impressive in and of itself with his arms disabled and after several minutes of battle. Finally the blow came though, and the youth went down.
[Wielder disabled.]
Gai blinked and looked towards the boy's weapon, which was lying on the ground. So the weapon was capable of recognizing its environment?
[Warning. Emergency Survival Procedures have activated.]
"Okay, that sounds ominous," commented Maito Gai.
Naruto got back up, his eyes solid white and glowing.
"Okay," said Maito Gai. "That looks ominous."
Naruto took a horse stance and blasted out a wave of red chakra.
"Okay," said Maito Gai. "That feels ominous."
[Interceding. Situation calls for non-fatal resolution.]
The snarling, red aura-clad, glowing-eyed Naruto took one step forward before he started to droop again with the aura flickering out.
Maito Gai watched as Naruto collapsed a second time, considering what he'd seen. "Was that what I thought it was?"
[Affirmative. Being disabled activated automatic defense designed to protect Wielder from being controlled or devoured.]
"I see," said Maito Gai.
[Question.]
"Yes?" asked Maito Gai, seeing the weapon was apparently quite polite and most likely had Fires Of Youth itself.
[Stated goal of test is at odds with execution and history of Konohagakure as related to this Device.]
"Hmmm," hmmmed Gai, noting that the Device was more clever than many genin. "Yes. It is. It is a part of the ninja lifestyle for there to be hidden agendas, purposes, and capabilities."
[Noted. Shutting down to storage form.]
Gai considered that as the device shifted around and parts seemed to vanish. When it was done he picked the object up off the ground and placed it in one of Naruto's pockets. He noted that Naruto's clothing had changed, wondering if that meant anything. Then he heard the signal that the objective had been achieved.
"You all failed," said Kakashi. "Which means that you all go back to the Academy. At least you get a lunch out of it."
"So why am I tied to a post?" asked Sakura.
"I was watching the test," said Kakashi. "Sasuke was defeated by his first opponent, but managed to get a few hits in. Naruto took out one opponent, and nearly defeated a second. What did you do, Sakura?"
"I don't know. Everything just kind of went black," stated Sakura.
"You went after the jonin and were knocked out after making an attack that couldn't possibly have worked. You could have tried to get the client to safety. I would have given you points for trying to help Sasuke. Instead you got knocked out with one finger." Kakashi tsked. "Now I'm going to leave while I consider whether or not to pass either Naruto or Sasuke. You guys just eat your lunch, but don't share any with Sakura or you all three fail."
Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.
Naruto stared at the ground for a few moments, until Sakura's stomach gurgled. Then he nodded, got up, and went to the bound kunoichi.
Sakura was getting a bit freaked out, as she was currently entertaining the theory that this was NOT Naruto and therefore some foreign nin infiltrator who was going to KILL THEM ALL!
"Hey, what about his rule?" asked Sasuke.
"Ninja," said Naruto.
Sasuke frowned. "What about ninja?"
"It's going to take me awhile to get used to this," confessed Naruto. "I'm used to working alone, and I've worked with the TSAB. The TSAB are straightforward. Ninja though, a bit trickier. Always look for hidden meanings."
"That's okay, I'm really not hungry," said Sakura. At which point her stomach let out a growl that seemed to indicate a lack of sincerity.
"I get it," said Sasuke, getting up and offering Sakura a bite of bento.
Which, of course, was exactly the sort of signal that Kakashi had been waiting for.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:28)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.