Chapter 17: End of the Five Great Games

AN: Hey everyone hope you're all doing well. Now since I'm working on my Bleach story as well updates obviously won't be as fast as before. I'm still working on the story, I just like to be a few chapters ahead before I start posting again. As always, thanks for your continued support!

Chapter 17

Zen walked around the Grave Canyon along the river as he took note that an hour had already passed.

The Grave Canyon is big, but it's not so spacious that I wouldn't have run into anyone by now. Unless...everyone has already run into someone else and are currently engaged in a battle somewhere, all except me. Since an hour has passed by already everyone still in the Canyon should have automatically received 10 points...Five more hours to go. What are the chances that I'd get to meet up with Konohamaru and Hiroshi first?

Zen stopped in his tracks as he took note of an individual who was currently washing their face by the stream up ahead. That individual also took note of Zen's presence at the same time and spoke in a calm and collected voice. "Oh? Now what are the chances that I'd actually run into two Leaf shinobi within an hour."

Zen furrowed his brow when he heard the comment and responded questioningly, but also calmly, "You're the Jonin leader of Sunagakure, Shira. Judging by your comment you've already engaged in battle against a Leaf shinobi. Either Hiroshi or Konohamaru-sensei. Can I assume that since you are here you defeated them?"

Shira stood up from his squatting position and shook his palms by his side letting the air dry his wet hands as he turned to face Zen. "It was your Jonin leader, Konohamaru. He was quite skilled. I'm sure it won't be too long before he's grown to a level beyond even me."

"I see...that still doesn't change the fact that Konohamaru-sensei was defeated by you in the end. That means you are currently stronger than him."

Shira didn't deny Zen's statement as he took a moment to gauge Zen's strength, however he could only narrow his eyes in a bit of confusement. "Hm...I'm usually pretty good at reading people's strengths, however you're a bit interesting. At times I feel like I can approximate your strength but in another moment it feels like your strength fluctuates. Well...I already fought a Konoha shinobi already. If you want, you may pass. I won't stop you."

A minute passed between them before Shira raised his eyebrow questioningly at the fact that Zen hadn't moved an inch.

"I take it that you wish to battle then?"

Zen activated his Sharingan at that moment, greatly shocking Shira as Zen answered him. "Since you took Konohamaru-sensei's scroll I shall reclaim it for him. Although I can't return it to him, in a way it shall avenge his defeat."

Shira grinned at Zen's words and got in a fighting stance. "Oh? You have spirit I'll give you that. If I recall your surname was Yagami. Not Uchiha, yet you possess the Sharingan. And your demeanor...your battle presence. It's quite dangerous. It feels almost as if I am standing along the edge of a knife and if I'm not careful...I'll get cut. At the same time it feels as if I am staring into a bottomless abyss. A mystery. The unknown. And if I lose my focus for but an instant, then I would have to pay the price dearly. That is the presence I feel from you at this moment. Although I watched some of your matches before I never got this feeling from you until now. I assume you're quite serious in this fight then."

Zen completely focused on Shira as he simply responded, "You were powerful enough to defeat two Jonin's in the three way battle of the Fourth Game, and in less than an hour of your encounter with Konohamaru-sensei you were able to defeat him. Unless I use all the skills, knowledge, wisdom, and tactics of battle I have accumulated and learned from my sensei, then I would be unable to defeat you."

Shira's expression became serious at Zen's words. "I take it that Konohamaru is not the one who taught you to be a shinobi then. Your presence in combat is much too different from his. Before our battle begins, will you tell me who trained you?"

"My teacher is Karasuma-sensei."

Shira's body slightly shook in shock as his heart skipped a beat with anticipation. "I see...I only know of one Konoha shinobi by the surname of Karasuma. So you are the disciple of the 6th Hokage. Then something tells me I shouldn't hold back."

BOOM!

In less than a second of Shira finishing his sentence he dashed straight at Zen with incredible speed and struck with his fist that held an incredible amount of force behind it. Before Shira's fist could make contact with Zen's chest Zen was able to shift his body just enough to avoid the punch, however Shira didn't let up on his attack and continued to strike, chop, punch, thrust, kick, sweep, grapple, and claw. Thanks to Zen's Sharingan and nimble movements he was able to follow, read, predict, and avoid every strike Shira performed.

Impressive! No wonder Konohamaru-sensei lost. His Taijutsu movements are truly top tier and every one of his strikes contains a frightening amount of power. If I get struck by one of his attacks it'll greatly damage me and I'll be at a huge disadvantage, however, as fast as he is he still isn't on the level of sensei. My eyes can keep up with his movements. For now at least. During his match against the other Jonin leaders he used an ability called the 7 Heavenly Breaths that greatly increased his powers. It looked similar to the power granted by the 8 Inner Gates. If he uses that he'll be able to wear me down. To defeat a Taijutsu specialist I'll use my own specialty. Genjutsu!

Whoosh!

Just as Zen dodged an axe kick to the head he shouted, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Dozens of flaming fireballs flew through the air right at Shira who dashed upwards to avoid being hit. At that moment Zen threw a shuriken in the air and quickly weaved the hand signs for the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. Shira frowned at the dozens of incoming shuriken so he quickly took in a deep breath and shouted, "7 Heavenly Breaths, First Breath!"

Instantly his eyes turned white as a yellow aura surrounded his body. With his physical prowess enhanced Shira was able to quickly and easily knock away all of the shurikens aimed at him without a scratch. As he fell towards the ground where Zen was standing he shouted, "Second Breath!" Immediately every muscle in his body began to bulge as thick powerful veins appeared all over.

Zen frowned in seriousness, but just as he was about to dash back to dodge he was struck by Shira's karate chop. Shira's attacks had become even faster and more ferocious than before, however Shira frowned the instant his attack connected because Zen's body had quickly turned into a flock of crows right after.

"Crow Clone? Or Genjutsu? He uses this technique often to fake out his opponents."

Shira simply cycled another breath and shouted, "Third Breath!"

Bam!

The yellow aura around him spiked and became incredibly dense as Shira's entire body turned red in color. His every move exuded raw power. He then noticed Zen's figure in the distance preparing to weave some hand signs. He frowned and instantly dashed over with blinding fast speed not letting Zen finish weaving his signs. Zen was inwardly shocked and could only frown at how much more insanely powerful Shira had become after activating the Third Breath. Zen could only continue to dash around and dodge doing his best to avoid Shira's attacks, however, the one who was most shocked at the moment was Shira.

What's going on? I've already activated the Third Breath. Even before I used my 7 Heavenly Breathing technique I was physically stronger and faster than him. He was nimble and agile and had great reflexive abilities but that shouldn't have been able to keep him in the fight this long. He should be incredibly tired by now. But even in my enhanced state I still can't hit him. Something's wrong.

Shira immediately halted his steps and stopped attacking Zen as he said, "You've only been dodging all this time. I feel my chakra burning and raging. It's not disrupted. There's no indication that you were able to capture me in a Genjutsu. Furthermore in my enhanced state there's no way I shouldn't have been able to land a hit on you. What's your trick?"

Zen simply ignored Shira's question and confused look as he said, "Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon."

Shira narrowed his eyes in focus as he prepared to face Zen's technique, however he widened his eyes in great shock as the Zen he was staring at slowly blurred away and turned into a tree. It was then a giant, heavy, monstrous gate fell from the sky and smashed Shira's body into the ground.

BOOOOOOOM!

A giant crater was formed from the impact. Zen stood neatly atop the roof of the giant gate before dispelling it. In a puff of white smoke the gate disappeared causing Zen to fall down into the large crater where Shira was currently struggling to get into a crawling position. He huffed and puffed and panted heavily as he struggled to even get back on his knees. The force of the impact from a giant heavy gate falling down from the sky with great velocity was enough to render even him in his enhanced physical form to feel greatly damaged. His activated body from his technique was able to ensure his survival, but the blow was almost enough to send him out of commission. It was then he heard Zen's voice right behind him.

"As I thought. With my Sharingan I figured your technique had greatly activated your body's physical prowess on all levels. Even taking the force of the Rashomon wasn't enough to defeat you."

Shira clenched his fist and twisted his body around to face Zen throwing out the fastest punch he could muster and shouted, "It's not over yet!"

BANG!

Before Shira's fist could even make contact, Zen's body exploded sending Shira rolling through the air from the force of the blast and crashing into the wall of the crater they were in. At that point his 7 Heavenly Breaths technique wore off and he slowly faded in and out of consciousness. The last thing he saw was Zen standing before him as he let out his last words.

"Exploding...Shadow Clone...Jutsu...not bad…"

888

Currently all Five Kage's including Izaya were sitting in the tallest tower erected by the Grave Canyon watching the Game. They had just witnessed Zen's fight against Shira and it left them feeling a bit speechless. Kurotsuchi raised her eyebrow in a bit of confusion as she asked, "6th Hokage...Zen is your disciple correct? Explain what happened? How did Zen win? Why couldn't Shira hit him?"

Izaya smiled and inwardly gave his seal of approval at how Zen defeated Shira before he explained, "It's quite simple really. Before Shira used his 7 Heavenly Breaths his speed wasn't fast enough where Zen couldn't react and Shira knew this so he had to eventually use his special technique. When Zen used his Shadow Shuriken Jutsu he masked a Genjutsu along with it. He pulled off an extremely well done sleight of hand against Shira. To understand how he was able to do this you'll have to know a bit about him. Zen was born in the Sage continent and possesses half Senjutsu and half Ninjutsu chakra in him. I had him practice how to control and separate these two energies in his body at the same time keeping them both completely harmonized so he can learn to mold and use Jutsu. He developed a knack for finely controlling his own chakra this way. When he utilized the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu he had to quickly weave the signs of Ox, Dog, Dragon, Rat, Dog, Boar, Snake, and Tiger. In those signs he masked his Genjutsu, the Crow Illusion: Susceptible Clone Jutsu. The signs for that Jutsu are Ox, Rat, and Snake. When his hands landed in those signs for the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu he also simultaneously infused some Yin nature for his Genjutsu. This is only possible for those who are well-versed in Genjutsu and are able to finely control their chakra. I taught him that to be a successful Genjutsu user he must always have multiple plans and strategies in place to capture a target in illusions. That he should use gestures to mask the true nature of his attacks."

"Shira was too focused on the Shurikens that he didn't even notice there was a split second where his chakra fluctuated. In his enhanced state where his chakra is burning strongly and brightly didn't help him catch the fact that he was affected by a Genjutsu. He thought that his raging chakra would help keep him unaffected, however that's quite the opposite. To release oneself from a Genjutsu they must first cease all flow of their chakra before flaring it up. Shira never did this. Anyways the fluctuation in his chakra from Zen's Genjutsu came and went too quickly. Most people, if they aren't experienced enough in fighting true Genjutsu masters wouldn't notice, so I don't blame Shira. After all, it's truly rare to find someone that can actually employ Genjutsu in battle to such an effect. Shira was caught off guard by this. Zen managed to replace his body with a crow clone and after it was destroyed the secondary effect of his Jutsu activated. The sight of the crows and the noises they made infiltrated Shira's mind making him less guarded against Zen's Yin chakra. To Shira it just seemed like the dispersal of the crow clone was a natural occurrence, however to one who truly wishes to master Genjutsu, any sight, sound, touch, feel, gesture, anything at all can become their doorway to ensnare their targets. It's all about catching your target off guard."

"After that Zen weaved the Ram sign before Shira dashed in to attack him activating his Third Breath. He wanted to prevent Zen from weaving anymore hand signs, but in truth the Ram hand sign was the only sign Zen wanted to weave as it activated his next technique, the Grand Illusion: False Play Jutsu. This Jutsu slowly disrupts a target's senses allowing Zen to falsely change the surroundings around them. It makes the target fall deeper and deeper into a Genjutsu. At first maybe a rock that was far away is made to look like it is closer than it was originally. The shadow of the tree becomes slightly longer than before. A breeze in the air that wasn't there before. The smell of flowers that wasn't in the air earlier. Slowly more and more things change. They begin small at first but soon become more and more pronounced. Before the target knows it they've been ensnared in a powerful Genjutsu trap. Zen's Susceptible Clone Genjutsu made it even easier to trap Shira in this technique and would make it even harder for Shira to release himself from the Genjutsu. The entire time he attacked Zen he could never land a single hit because the distance between them was actually further than he perceived it to be. That allowed Zen to gain victory."

Gaara let out a sigh after hearing Izaya's explanation. "I see. You trained your disciple well. To defeat Shira, your disciple is quite the formidable shinobi."

Izaya just smiled. "Well, it seems Zen still had it rough in that fight. Plus, I recall Shira is not skilled in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or any other forms of Shinobi battle except Taijutsu. If Shira had some sort of skill in utilizing Genjutsu then he may have been able to use his years of experience in battle and pair it along with his familiarity of using Genjutsu to realize what Zen was doing earlier."

Gaara shook his head. "Even so, your disciple was skilled enough where even I had trouble catching onto his trick. It's fine for you to feel a little pride in your disciple's display of prowess in front of us 6th Hokage. We won't take offense to it. Credit should be given where credit is due."

Izaya just grinned as he did feel a bit of pride at Zen's accomplishment.

888

As the Kage's continued conversing and watching the match, Zen had already taken Shira's scroll as well as Konohamaru's scroll that Shira had obtained from earlier and continued his trek along the river through the Canyon.

So I have two scrolls now, but Konohamaru's scroll doesn't count towards points since we're on the same team. That means Shira's scroll counts as 20 points. Our battle ended up taking some time. Essentially I was able to gain victory over Shira just after 2 hours had passed. That means Shira was able to gain 20 points for Sunagakure's team for surviving 2 hours in the Canyon before I took his scroll. And although I now have Konohamaru's scroll the fact that Shira was able to obtain it first means that he's awarded 20 points for even having possession of it. All in all he was able to earn 40 points for Sunagakure. He was a tough opponent.

Zen continued his walk for another 20 minutes before he stopped and looked out to an open rocky field from within the shadow of the stone forest. There he caught sight of Shingetsu defeating Kento from Amegakure before picking up his scroll.

Shingetsu huh? I recall he was quite powerful. He never even gave Shikadai a chance to retaliate during their fight in the Fourth Game. He just obtained Kento's scroll so if I can take him down I'll be in possession of three scrolls.

Zen took a deep breath and cracked his knuckles before walking out of the stone forest. His presence immediately caught the attention of Shingetsu who smirked and said, "Yo! If it isn't one of the hallway lovebirds."

Zen inwardly clicked his tongue in annoyance at Shingetsu's teasing words and continued walking towards him. He stopped 5 meters away as they both stood there in silence for a few moments gauging the other's strength. Shingetsu broke the silence as he gave a toothy grin. "Heh. Nice presence. I watched your fights before and I always wondered what it'd be like to fight you. Out of all the competitors you're the only one who makes me feel a bit wary."

Zen considered Shingetsu's words carefully before responding, "I know you're powerful as well. This fight won't be easy."

"Oh? You can tell that about me huh? I'm honored. Well then, guess there isn't a good way to start us off but to just go for it!"

Shingetsu immediately unsheathed his giant buster sword and dashed at Zen slicing horizontally at his waist. Zen quickly unsheathed his katana, gripping the hilt with both hands tightly blocking Shingetsu's attack. He then activated his Sharingan causing Shingetsu to frown and quickly turn his head to the side to avoid looking Zen in the eyes.

"You reacted very quickly by avoiding my gaze. Your battle experience is impressive."

Shingetsu simply smirked and disengaged from Zen before he placed his hands in the Horse sign and shouted, "Vapour Style: Solid Fog Jutsu!"

Zen widened his eyes in shock as a thick potent corrosive fog rushed through the air towards him. He quickly dashed backwards and shouted, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A large stream of fire burst through the corrosive fog heading right towards Shingetsu who narrowed his eyes with a bit of excitement and anticipation as he shouted, "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" From his mouth he quickly expelled a pressurized stream of water to counter Zen's Fire Ninjutsu.

The collision created a large steam of white smoke as Shingetsu quickly followed up by weaving the signs of Ox, Snake, and Ram and shouted, "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The area immediately began to fog up causing Zen to frown.

Tch. Not bad. He's definitely showing that he doesn't lack battle experience. The moment he took notice of my Sharingan he avoided my gaze, disengaged from a close quarter combat, and used Jutsus that make it difficult for me to cast ocular Genjutsu. To think that he was also a Kekkei Genkai user, and it's of the Vapour Style. Furthermore, with my Sharingan I could tell he has large amounts of chakra. He possesses at least twice the amount of chakra I do. According to sensei my chakra reserves are greater than the average person my age. This guy Shingetsu looks like he's around my age as well yet he has twice the amount of chakra I possess. That's kind of insane. Then again his control over his chakra isn't as good as mine so I suppose we spend chakra at almost a similar rate.

Zen focused his eyes all around him trying to discern where Shingetsu could be hiding within the mist.

It'll be tough to find him in here so I'll just have him expose himself.

Zen quickly formed the signs of Bird, Boar, Ox, Rat, Dog, and Snake saying, "Demonic Illusion: Bewildering Jutsu." A slight ripple breezed through the air before it dissipated, however Shingetsu who was hiding in the fog felt the ripple and frowned knowing something was off.

Odd. There's no wind or breeze down by this part of the Canyon. Ah! Genjutsu perhaps? That is his specialty. Tsk. Impressive. So that's his plan. Since Genjutsu is his specialty he must have casted a pretty powerful one. I don't know exactly what effect his Genjutsu will have but I don't really want to wait and find out. It could be my undoing. I either stop my flow of chakra before flaring it up to release myself from his Genjutsu and announce my position to him or fall prey to his Genjutsu. Damn.

Shingetsu immediately stopped the flow of his chakra before flaring it up creating a powerful disturbance within the mist. Zen immediately turned his head eastward forming the Tiger sign and shouted, "Fire Style: Art of the Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Fwish!

A flaming fireball in the shape of a dragon's head whizzed through the air with incredible speed straight at Shingetsu who smirked excitedly and shouted, "Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!" A powerful stream of water erupted from his mouth and blocked the incoming Fire Ninjutsu. It was then he took note of Zen in the air above him so he gripped his giant buster sword and slashed Zen's body in half. The two halves fell by Shingetsu's feet as he smirked in amusement.

"Heh. I thought so. A Clone." However Shingetsu widened his eyes in shock because not a moment later the two halves turned into water as he was stabbed through the chest from behind.

"Kuh! You used the Water Clone Jutsu?" It was then Shingetsu also turned into nothing but a water clone. Zen smirked as he felt Shingetsu's blade resting on his shoulder.

"Hehe! Not bad, not bad. I knew you were going to be a tough opponent. I wonder, when did you have time to copy my Water Clone Jutsu with that Sharingan of yours? Well, no mat-"

Before Shingetsu could finish what he wanted to say, realization struck him mid sentence as he quickly dashed to the side as fast as he could. It was then that the Zen standing before him exploded creating a giant blast force. Shingetsu frowned and felt his heart beat in both excitement and nervousness as he commented aloud, "I see. When you dashed above me in the air I had utilized the Water Clone Jutsu. Your Sharingan picked up on the fact that I molded chakra for it and copied my technique. The one I slashed was a Water Clone. Then you reappeared behind my Water Clone, but in actuality you substituted yourself for a Shadow Clone right after the Water Clone didn't you? I only just realized after I was speaking aloud to myself. The fact that you copied my Water Clone Jutsu meant you knew I was substituting myself for a fake. There's no way you would use your real body to attack me until after you confirmed my fake was dispelled. Guess I was too caught up in the battle. I haven't been this excited and nervous to fight someone in a long time."

Not a moment later Zen jumped down from the sky and struck downwards with his katana at Shingetsu who narrowed his eyes in focus and swung his blade upwards to counter as he shouted, "Vapour Style: Unrivaled Strength!" Instantly steam erupted from his arms increasing the speed and power of his countering sword strike. As the two blades collided the force behind Shingetsu's attack sent Zen recoiling through the air for several meters before he could stabilize himself and land back safely on the ground. As Shingetsu dashed through the mist towards Zen he saw him weave the Ram sign. Immediately he halted in his steps and prepared to perform another Genjutsu release, however he widened his eyes in shock as the Zen he saw in the distance turned into a flock of crows.

"No way? Genjutsu? Or…"

It was then he felt a tap on his shoulders prompting him to twist his body and grip his sword tightly slashing with all his might, however what he was met with exceeded his expectations. It wasn't Zen that tapped him from behind but rather a crow. Shingetsu was astonished once more because at that moment he felt as if he had awoken from a deep slumber. All of a sudden the surrounding area began to change. The mist was disappearing, the open rocky terrain they were fighting at before changed to an area with large fossil-like skeletons surrounded by a forest of dense rocky trees, and a katana was pressed against his back aimed right where his heart was. Shingetsu could only remain standing there motionlessly.

A small drop of sweat dripped down his forehead as he commented nervously, "Hehe...what the hell. Don't tell me you were able to catch me in a Genjutsu this entire time. How'd you manage that?"

As Zen kept his blade pressed against Shingetsu's back he calmly answered, "Ever since our swords first clashed."

Zen's answer astonished Shingetsu making him feel a mix of complicated emotions. "So...ever since our swords first clashed huh...but still there's no way you caught me in an ocular Genjutsu. Right? And I even performed a Genjutsu release later on after I used the Hidden Mist Jutsu. How'd you do it?"

"You're right. I didn't cast ocular Genjutsu on you. Instead right when you noticed my Sharingan you turned your head to look away. You looked at the direction of our sword clash and indirectly saw my hands gripped around the hilt of my blade. You were too distracted at the fact that I had the Sharingan you didn't register the Ram hand sign I had performed while gripping my sword. It was then I trapped you in my Genjutsu, Grand Illusion: False Play. With this Genjutsu I can slowly manipulate your mind to falsely see things in the surroundings such as misjudging the distance between us. A cold chill in the air. The steam created from our clash of Fire and Water Ninjutsu making it last longer than it normally should. Things like this and eventually you'll fall deeper and deeper into my manipulation that you won't even realize that we changed locations. Just like now. In fact your Hidden Mist Jutsu made it easier for me. With all the mist in the surrounding area I no longer had to try so hard to manipulate every small detail of our terrain to make you fall deeper into my Genjutsu. I simply made it look like there was heavy mist wherever we ran off to. You also circulated your chakra to utilize Jutsus after you were affected. That action caused you to unknowingly speed up the process of disrupting your senses that I had already caused to deviate thereby strengthening my Genjutu's hold over you. Your attempt at Genjutsu release indeed worked, but that only worked against the other Genjutsu I casted, the Bewildering Jutsu. You would have been able to break free from my Grand Illusion Jutsu as well if you hadn't already fallen so deep into it. Had you continued to flare up your chakra when you did for several more seconds you might have actually successfully broken free from both of my Genjutsus, however you didn't. I also didn't give you much time as I attacked you soon after."

Shingetsu smirked. "I see. You're the toughest person my age I ever fought."

"You flatter me. In fact I acknowledge your ability as well. You're one of the strongest shinobi I ever fought."

Shingetsu let out a soft laugh. "Then perhaps I'll continue to surprise you. Your mistake was thinking that this was over and released me from your Genjutsu."

Zen widened his eyes in shock at hearing Shingetsu's words and then he was shocked once more as Shingetsu leaned back and actually pierced himself on the katana pressed against his back. Zen tried to pull out his blade, but he was astonished as he discovered he couldn't. Not only that but as he looked at Shingetsu he found that not only was he unharmed, he was smiling triumphantly.

"Can't take back your sword huh? I guess you don't know much about the Hozuki clan. We possess the ability to liquify our bodies. It's one of my greatest defensive techniques and trump cards."

Zen frowned and quickly let go of his sword before dashing back to avoid Shingetsu's sword strike. Shingetsu then held out his right hand as he shouted, "Water Style: Gatling Gun Jutsu!"

Zen quickly countered as he shouted, "Fire Style: Art of the Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Pssssshhhhh!

The sound of warm steam rising in the air could be heard from the collision of their two opposing Ninjutsus. Shingetsu smirked and formed the signs of Dog, Ram, Ox, and Dragon before clapping his hands together and shouting, "Vapour Style: Piranha Storm Jutsu!" He expelled from his mouth hot boiling vapour that took the shape of hundreds of piranhas floating in the air. Those piranha's flew all over the air in a swarming frenzy all aimed at Zen. Zen frowned and instantly knew that the situation had taken a turn for the worse so he gritted his teeth and weaved the signs of Dog, Snake, and Tiger shouting, "Ghost Flame Style: White Fire Dome Cover!"

Whoosh!

Just before the hundreds of steaming hot boiling piranhas could hit him a large brilliant white flame erupted all around his body covering him completely in a warm glow. The piranha's smashed into the white flames and exploded on impact releasing a powerful burst of hot corrosive vapour in their wake, however no matter how many piranha's struck the white dome of fire it didn't break or flicker or sway. It remained as it was before. Shingetsu widened his eyes in shock and furrowed his brow in confusion.

"So...seems you had another trick up your sleeve. What is that Jutsu?"

"This is my Kekkei Genkai the Ghost Flame release. And this is my white fire. A flaming shield that can defend against both physical attacks and Ninjutsu. While there are some drawbacks to this technique there's no need for me to tell you."

Shingetsu felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his forehead. "Well well...you're just full of tricks…"

Zen then placed his hands in the Dragon, Bird, and Ram sign before saying, "Ghost Flame Style: Blue Fire Scorching Heat." The white flames surrounding him instantly dissipated as a burst of blue fire shot out from his palm and straight at Shingetsu who felt his heart skip a beat in nervousness and panic as he could feel how strong the heat was even from far away. He quickly countered by forming the Horse and Tiger sign shouting, "Vapour Style: Severing Stream Jutsu!" From his mouth he quickly expelled a powerful condensed stream of hot boiling vapour from his mouth. As the white-gray vapour and bright blue fire collided in the middle a high ear piercing screeching noise was emitted like the sound of an over boiling tea kettle. The heat generated from the clashing of the two Kekkei Genkais was so hot that the ground beneath the attack began melting away creating a giant gaping hole in the ground. Just as the two ceased their attack Shingetsu flinched as he felt Zen's hand on his shoulder. He could only stare with a bit of awe as he noted that Zen was still standing in the distance, but yet there was a Zen behind him as well.

"Hahaha...what can I say? I truly admire your skill. You got me. During that exchange not only were you able to focus on competing against my Vapour Style you were even able to split some of your chakra to create a Shadow Clone. And I venture to guess that this isn't just any ordinary Shadow Clone either given that you now know of my ability to liquify my body. The moment I make any move to counterattack it'll probably explode forcing my body to liquify. I'll be delayed when reforming my body and that'll give you the time you need to defeat me. And so...I humbly concede. You've won this match."

Zen took several deep breaths as he accepted Shingetsu's verbal defeat.

He was even more powerful than I had originally thought. To force me to even use my Ghost Flame Kekkei Genkai. I've exhausted so much chakra I can't go for another battle. Guess I'll just wait it out somewhere.

Zen was brought back out of his thoughts as Shingetsu took out his scroll and the scroll he obtained from Kento and handed both to Zen.

"Here. You won fair and square. Take these."

Zen nodded appreciatively and stored the scrolls away before sitting down under a tree. Shingetsu raised his eyebrow curiously at Zen's actions.

"Wait...you're just gonna sit there?"

Zen nodded in response. "I've exhausted too much chakra. I need to recover. Besides, including the two scrolls you gave me I now have three in total that count towards points. There's only 30 minutes left before the end of the Game. Our fight took quite a while."

Shingetsu smirked and stretched his arms as he walked over to Zen and took a seat down next to him. "Well let me join you then. That was one heck of a fight. Of all the shinobi in the younger generation you're the strongest I ever fought."

Zen raised his eyebrow curiously at Shingetsu's laid back style. "Is that alright? Usually after you lose your scroll you're reversed summoned out of here from the ASF and Iwagakure co-joint Five Great Games committee."

Shingetsu widened his eyes in shock. "Oh?! Right, that's what happened to Kento after I beat him. Then that means I do-"

Before he could finish his sentence Shingetsu disappeared in a puff of smoke as he was reversed summoned out of the arena. Izaya stared blankly at the spot where Shingetsu just was before an involuntary smile graced his lips in amusement.

"Hozuki Shingetsu. An interesting guy."

Zen simply remained resting against the stone tree for the last 30 minutes as the Game finally came to an end. All the participants returned to the entrance of the Grave Canyon where the crowd and the Five Kage were gathered. Loud cheers and shouts from the crowd resonated in the air for a long while before the results of the Fifth Game were announced by the emcee.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fifth Game has come to an exciting end and the results you've all been waiting for have been calculated. As I'm sure you all recall the individuals that participated in the final Game were Konohamaru, Zen, and Hiroshi from Konoha's team 2. From Sunagakure's team 1 were Shira and Shinki. From Kiri's team 1 was Shingetsu. From Iwa's team 1 was Kaito. And from Ame's team 1 was Kento."

"Now moving on to point distributions. As Konohamaru had his scroll taken before 1 hour passed by he was not awarded any points. Zen managed to obtain 3 scrolls and survived all 6 hours in the Game so he is awarded 20 points for each scroll and 10 points for each hour awarding him 120 points! While Hiroshi was unable to obtain any scrolls he managed to survive for the full 6 hours granting him 60 points. All in all the final score for Konoha's team 2 is an astounding 685 points!"

"Next, Shira was able to obtain a scroll as well. Although he was eliminated at the 2 hour mark because he was able to at some point hold possession of another team's scroll he still obtains points for it. Therefore he is awarded 20 points for the one scroll he obtained and 20 points for surviving 2 hours gaining a total of 40 points. As for Shinki he did not obtain a scroll but he survived the full 6 hours granting him 60 points. All in all Sunagakure's team 1 obtained a grand total of 600 points!"

Now moving on to Shingetsu. He managed to retrieve one scroll before having it lost to him and survived 5 hours before being eliminated. He earned a total of 70 points. All in all Kirigakure's team 1 obtained a final score of 510 points!"

"Next is Kaito from Iwa's team 1. He survived 6 hours and earned 60 points. Iwa's team 1 obtained a final score of 505 points!"

"And now moving on to Kento. He survived 3 hours in the Game earning him 30 points giving Ame's team 1 a grand total of 455 points!"

"There you have it folks. With the scores all out we have our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place victors. In 1st place is Konohagakure's 2nd team with a grand total of 685 points consisting of the Jonin Konohamaru and the three Chunins Yagami Zen, Hyuga Hiroshi, and Nara Shikadai!"

"In 2nd place is Sunagakarue's 1st team with a grand total of 600 points led by the Jonin Shira and the three Chunins Shinki, Enrai, and Leerin!"

"And finally in 3rd place with a grand total of 510 points is Kirigakure's 1st team led by the Jonin Saizo and the three Chunins Karatachi Kagura, Hozuki Shingetsu, and Reya!"

Once more the crowd went wild with loud cheers and congratulatory shouts. The congratulatory award ceremony was already prepared in advance so all the 1st place team, the 2nd place team, and the 3rd place team members stood on the large stage that was prepared for them. As the Five Great Games were held in Iwagakure it was Kurotsuchi's duty to hand out the awards and give words of praise. A bronze medal was given to each member of Kirigakure's 1st team for achieving 3rd place as well as a sum of money worth 1 S-rank mission. A silver medal was given to each member of Sunagakure's 1st team for achieving 2nd place also with a sum of money worth 3 S-rank missions. And finally a gold medal was awarded to Konohamaru, Zen, Hiroshi, and Shikadai for achieving 1st place. Not only were they given a sum of money worth 7-S rank missions but they were even given a large golden trophy to commemorate their victory. Soon after the four of them had their pictures taken and names recorded in the Five Great Games Hall of Fame data book. They each then carved their own name on a special plaque that would be displayed within the Five Great Games Hall of Fame located within the ASF HQ. The last portion of the award ceremony was the chance to meet and greet the Five Kage's of the Five Great Nations before the entire event was over.

Shikadai let out a sigh of relief as he walked back with the others to the luxurious hotel all the participants were staying at. Hiroshi smirked at Shikadai's exhausted look and lightly patted him on the back.

"Lighten up Shikadai. It's finally over. We won! Got our medals, a trophy, a lot of money, got our pictures taken, had our names recorded in history for the Five Great Games, now we can relax and do whatever we want."

Shikadai just sighed once more. "That may be but the crowd outside is wild. They want autographs and pictures and it's just too much. Plus, don't forget that tomorrow evening there's still the closing banquet."

Hiroshi awkwardly smiled at Shikadai's complaints since he also kind of agreed that it was a bit much for the crowd outside to act like he and his teammates were celebrities.

Zen yawned and chimed in, "I think...I'm going to bed."

Konohamaru just let out a laugh at everyone's current state. "Well now, I was going to ask if you all wanted to do anything to celebrate our victory, but I think we should probably just get some rest. We'll have time tomorrow to celebrate in the morning and afternoon before attending the closing banquet in the evening. And don't worry about the crowd. It'll die down eventually."

Everyone nodded at Konohamaru's suggestion and turned in a bit early for the night.

888

Meanwhile atop a giant tall rock cliff that overlooked Iwagakure sat Naruto and Izaya as they relaxed in peaceful silence in the night. A small wooden table rested between them with a large plate of dumplings and hot tea on it. As they both ate and drank in silence Naruto let out a relaxed sigh and commented, "Everything seems so peaceful from up here."

Izaya smiled at Naruto's comment before picking up his chopsticks and popping a dumpling in his mouth before responding a bit muffled. "Mhm. If only we didn't have to worry about so many hidden dangers."

Naruto could only let out another soft sigh. "Haaaa...so...now that the Five Great Games are over we need to think about how we're going to handle the Kaidan Killers case. On top of that, how exactly are we going to search for information on what Kara is? Then there's the whole issue with the feudal lord of water that Chojuro mentioned to us an hour ago. It seems that the feudal lord is pretty adamant about not signing the treaty of the middle sea. This is continuing to pose a problem. The Land of Water doesn't want stability to rise within the Land of Waves and the Land of Seas while the Land of Waves and Seas wish to continue their expansion. Tensions are rising. Unfortunately this drags in Konoha as well since we also use the middle sea route for our own trade purposes. I'm worried that Waves and Seas will lean towards war over this matter. Kirigakure has expressed their support of the treaty but they have close ties to the feudal lord of water. It's going to cause tension between them as well. This is starting to become a mess."

Izaya frowned at Naruto's summary of the most recent and direct issues they were facing and stared down at his cup of tea in his hands in deep contemplation. "Well, what you said sounds about right. By the way, Naruto, where are Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sarada? I thought that they would have come to an event like the Five Great Games."

"Ah, right. That brings up another issue. Actually in truth Konoha is dealing with another issue. There's this group known as the Mujina Bandits that has been causing some trouble in the Land of Fire. They were targeting someone named Kokuri who was supposedly an ex-member of their gang. Kokuri requested assistance and protection in exchange for giving us information on the bandits. Kokuri's being held in Hozuki Castle. With the Five Great Games underway I was struggling with who to send for this mission. Typically I'd send a Chunin but our skilled Chunins, as you know, are participating in the Games so I sent Team 7. They are after all, about Chunin level. I'm confident they can handle it. They just need to protect him until Sai can get the paperwork done needed to free Kokuri from the prison."

Izaya raised his eyebrow in curiosity as he didn't know that there was such a thing going on. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "It seems I've been away too long. Who knew there'd be so many problems popping up one after the other...Haaaaaah...Naruto...with all the issues arising everywhere we can't solve them by ourselves. I think I'm going to form an organization for the ASF consisting of 12 shinobi."

Naruto widened his eyes slightly shocked at what Izaya had just said. "An organization under the ASF? But...what would its function be? The ASF already accepts missions from all over the world and puts together teams consisting of shinobi from all the villages that have joined to suit the mission requests. Oh, and I forgot to mention. After Shikamaru, I, and the other Kage's had a discussion we agreed to rename the Allied Shinobi Forces into the Shinobi Union. It sounds less militaristic this way."

Izaya nodded in agreement. "Mn, that sounds like a good idea. If we continue on with the name of ASF it might make people continue to think that we're in a constant state of war. Shinobi Union sounds good. As for the organization I'm thinking of creating for the Shinobi Union, it will be a bit more special than just pooling together random shinobi from other villages. These shinobi will take on the most difficult tasks that the world is currently facing under the orders of the S.U. I'll train these shinobi myself and do my best to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need. My hope is to train them all into S-class tier shinobi one day. I'm thinking of calling this organization the Onmitsu 12. They're different than just being a ragtag group of shinobi pulled together from across all the villages. This group will be highly specialized, lethal, trustworthy, and more reliable when dealing with incredibly hard missions like the ones you mentioned earlier. For instance, trying to find out more about the Kaidan Killers. Although we are at a time of peace and all villages within the S.U. work well together, trying to put together a group of shinobi from across all the villages and expect them to have unwavering trust and synergy with one another while on a stressful and highly dangerous mission is a bit too optimistic. To get rid of this factor they would have to undergo strict training every time to get used to working with their new teammates for the new mission. That takes time though and by then we could lose the initiative for whatever mission they were gathered for. We can circumvent this by creating the Onmitsu 12. What do you think?"

Naruto gave what Izaya said some considerable thought. "I...suppose this could work. We'll have to run this by the S.U. council."

Izaya nodded. "Of course. And hence I proposed a few days ago that we should hold a meeting at the S.U. HQ after the Games. Once the closing banquet is over tomorrow evening we'll have to kick things into gear so these issues don't snowball on us."

Naruto quickly nodded in agreement. "Yeah."