Matchups! Hinata starts the show!
_____________________________
Chapter 96: Matchups! Hinata starts the show!
Jutsu of the day:
Courtesy of Yours Truly's beloved Bunny-hime.
_____________________________
1st August, Year 78
Konoha Stadium, Training Ground 1
[General]
.
"Alright, I will explain the rules to everyone." Fuse started with his deep voice.
"This will be a 1 on 1 knockout tournament.
You don't need to win the tournament to be considered for promotion.
Everything you do will be evaluated by the dignitaries and your Kage. So, make sure you perform to impress.
Now, there aren't many rules... only a few. And you better make sure to follow them, or you directly fail." Fuse paused here for a moment before continuing,
"First Rule, I am the examiner, so my word is Law in this arena. If I tell you to stop, you WILL stop. If I deem you are unfit to continue, then you are unfit to continue. There will be no back talking, no re-evaluating and certainly no consideration. Understand?" Fuse looked at each Genin menacingly, releasing a bit of his Chakra to create pressure.
Some of the weaker Genin narrowed their eyes at the pressure, while Neji's back was covered in sweat due to sensing the amount of Chakra Fuse was releasing.
"Good. Now, the fights themselves will be a no holds barred. You will lose only if you surrender, I deem you unfit to continue, or you die.
Don't worry, I will do my best to keep the death rate as low as possible. We don't want much blood in our hands now, do we?" Fuse said with a vicious grin.
But in his head, 'And most of you are Mitsu-sama's friends… If something happens to you guys, I will become target practice for Mitsu-sama…'
He was afraid internally, but he didn't show it on his face.
He then added in a gentler tone, "But I do advise you to surrender if you find yourself coming short. Something my master always tells me, 'You don't prove anything by dying.'"
"True words." Sarutobi muttered from his seat. While many others agreed.
On the other hand, hearing the rules, most of the audience started murmuring in excitement. While the Genins looked serious.
Seeing that all the Genin looking resolute, Fuse continued,
"Now, can you all see the screen behind me?" Fuse asked.
Seeing everyone nod, he continued, "This screen will randomize all of your names to pick an opponent for you. There are 15 of you, so the first round will consist of 7 matches, and one of you will get a free pass.
You will move to the second round once you win, which is also the quarter-finals.
From there, 4 of you will move to the semi-finals, and then the finals. There won't be any 3rd placement match."
Everyone nodded. It was a simple system after all.
"So without any further ado, let's start the randomizing!" Fuse declared, and the pictures of the Genins started flashing on the tournament brackets on the screen, and everyone was waiting in anticipation.
'Heh, randomizing my ass.' On the Kage's viewing box, Tsunade snorted as she was 110% sure Mitsu was going to fix the matches to make it entertaining for himself.
'I just hope he doesn't go overboard…'
Many others were waiting with bated breaths to see who will fight who. Many already had their own favorites after all.
And with some *ting* sounds, the images started settling down, and everyone cheered at the matchups.
The matchups were as such,
1st Bracket - Hyuga Hinata vs Chojuro
2nd Bracket - Rock Lee vs Kankuro
3rd Bracket - Temari vs Yamanaka Ino
4th Bracket - TenTen vs Nara Shikamaru
5th Bracket - Hori (Kiri Genin) vs Uchiha Sasuke
6th Bracket - Hyuga Neji vs Akimichi Choji
7th Bracket- Uzumaki Naruto vs Hamasaki (Kiri Genin)
8th Bracket- Gara (directly moves to the second round)
Everyone carefully looked at the matchups and found them exciting until they all heard a groan from Shikamaru.
Ino looked at him with a raised brow, "What's wrong Shika?"
"What a drag… This has Mitsu written all over it…"
"What do you mean, Shikamaru?" Choji asked.
"Just look at the matchups! My first opponent is a girl! If I win, then I will have to fight another girl… And after that, if I win… then it will be Hinata…
I am hundred percent sure that Mitsu did it on purpose… Why the hell is he targeting me? What did I ever do to him?..." Shikamaru groaned.
"EXCUSE ME?! What's wrong with fighting girls?" Ino asked, while the other girls looked at him in askance…
"Girls are… troublesome…" Shikamaru said in a bored tone.
That got tick marks on Tenten, Temari, and Ino's foreheads.
Temari looked at Tenten and said, "You better beat the crap out of him. No, let him pass so I can beat the crap out of him."
"Hmph! Like I will let him pass!" Tenten answered while cracking her knuckles as she looked at Shikamaru.
"Beat him good for me too, please!" Ino said with a sickly sweet smile.
"Sigh… What a drag…"
While Hinata just laughed, covering her mouth. She knew for a fact that her boyfriend messed up with the matchups.
Considering her first opponent will be Chojuro, who from the information she got was being trained to be the next wielder of Hiramekarei, one of the 7 swords of the mist.
He was already a solid Chunin level if what Mitsu said was true. A Kenjutsu user at that.
Hinata knew that Mitsu was making sure she got the best opponents possible during the exams to fully develop her skills.
Training with Mitsu has built a great foundation for her, with a huge repertoire of skills and techniques.
Including a few Ninjutsu's, even though Hyuga's usually disdained those. But she didn't care. She loved every moment of training with her boyfriend.
Not to mention she was able to incorporate Nature transformation into her Gentle fist, making it even more deadly. Not to mention she and Mitsu developed some Jutsus for different occasions.
And fighting a Kenjutsu expert was one such occasion.
So, she was excited about gaining some much-needed experience. And who better to get experience from, if not strong foreign opponents?
After all, she can always fight with her cousin, and honestly, he was no longer a match for her. She knew it herself after she trained properly with Mitsu, so there was no point in fighting him.
Then there were Naruto and Sasuke, both of them were her teammates, and she could fight them anytime they wanted.
She already knew about their strengths and weaknesses, so there wasn't much point in fighting them honestly.
So, it made sense for her to test her skills with her current set of possible opponents.
After spending time with Mitsu, she had developed the senses to tell how strong someone might be. Either from gathering information on them or from her own observation. And she was sure that her immediate opponents were the best for her to test herself.
Chojuro, to test her weapon skills and special Jutsus.
Rock Lee to test her Taijutsu and speed. She heard Rock Lee had Jonin level speed with his gates.
Ino or Temari to test how she holds up against long-ranged fighters. Shikamaru won't be facing her, she was sure about that.
No, not because she thought that he would lose. No, because she knew her friend and she knew for a fact that Shikamaru will forfeit after proving himself.
And finally, her fight will be with either Gaara, Naruto, or Sasuke. Any of them will be a good test for her full potential. After all, Naruto and Sasuke had done special training themselves.
She was looking forward to her matches.
But something she herself didn't realize. She never even thought that she could lose. That's just how confident she was after she trained with Mitsu. Who would ever incorporate her with the timid girl from another timeline?
Like Hinata, others were judging their opponents. Trying to get any information they can.
Meanwhile, in the VIP box, Mitsu was smiling at the whole debacle as he explained things to his father.
When he heard his father talk, "So, that is the girl you have chosen? She is very pretty, she will surely be a great beauty when she grows up."
Mitsu beamed at that, "Thanks, dad. Hina is amazing."
"And do tell, why have you not asked for her hand and set up your engagement yet? If it's my and your mother's approval, you know you have it. She checks every box and more to be your fiancé. I am very happy with your choice, son."
"Why thank you. But I will propose to her when she is a bit older and is sure that she wants to spend the rest of her life with me. We are still young after all. Feelings can change." Mitsu replied as he kept staring at Hinata with a soft smile.
The Fire Daimyo smiled gently as he gave a gentle squeeze on Mitsu's shoulder, "Son, I know you well enough to say that your feelings for her will never change. You are much like your mother in that regard."
Mitsu raised a brow as he asked, "Oh? What do you mean?"
"Hohoho, your mother loves unconditionally, my son. I am a lucky man in that regard. Even with all my flaws, your mother still loves me the same as the day we confessed our love. You are much the same." He ended with a chuckle.
Mitsu had a contemplative look as he thought on the matter.
He didn't know what to say, as he himself didn't know if what his father said was true.
'Unconditionally huh?' He decided to think about it later.
…
Fuse waited for a few minutes for everyone to digest the new information and settle down.
"Alright, the first match will begin in 1 minute. I request everyone except the contestants to move back to the gallery."
Hearing him, everyone except Hinata and Chojuro moved back to the gallery, leaving Hinata and Chojuro to face one another.
It was Chojuro who spoke first, "Hinata-sama, please don't hold back. I know for a fact that you have been taught by Mitsu-sama. You should be very strong and I want to see where I place myself."
Hinata smiled gently as she took her stance, which was a bit different than the Hyuga Taijutsu stance, which caused some murmurs in the VIP box for the Clans.
"I am sorry, Chojuro-san. But if you want me to go all out, then you will have to make me."
Chojuro instantly got serious. He wasn't offended.
He for a fact knew that Hinata wasn't bluffing. She didn't look overconfident either. And from what he knew about Mitsu and his subordinates, he was sure that Hinata was anything but weak.
So, he took out a wide sword that resembled Hiramekarei and took his stance.
Fuse looked at both of them before shouting, "Begin!"
And before Chojuro could do anything, Hinata in a bout of speed was right in front of him.
Chojuro's eyes widened into saucers as he did his best to block the coming attack with his sword. Only for him to feel no pressure from the block.
But taking the chance, he jumped back to create some distance as he stared at Hinata, who was in a relaxed stance as she stared at him… Or rather his sword.
He was confused about the last attack.
'Why was there no push from her attack? What was she trying to achieve? And what was that speed?' Chojuro had cold sweat forming on his back.
On the other hand, Hinata had a smile on her face, much to most people's confusion.
She said with a chuckle, "Chojuro-san. When are you going to throw that sword away? You won't be able to swing it anymore."
"What?" Chojuro was surprised as he looked at his sword, which looked perfectly normal.
But he could tell that something was amiss, so he touched the side of his sword… Only for it to…
*Shatter*
The whole stadium was speechless.
"H-how?" Someone asked loudly, but there was no answer.
In the Clan VIP box, a little girl asked her father the question that was on many people's heads, "Otou-sama, what did Onee-sama do?"
Hiashi took a deep breath before he said in a grave tone, "I am still not sure about the theory, to be honest with you. But Hinata explained a theory she learned from Mitsu-sama. The most I understand was, if you strike a block of solid object, with the right type of chakra, to create a fast-acting vibration that quickly breaks the molecular integrity of the said object, separating the molecules quickly… You can cause it… to shatter."
He could see most people didn't even understand one-tenth of it. Even he himself wasn't sure if he said it right.
He just grunted and said, "Just know that using Chakra to create a specific vibration makes the solid become unstable and shatter. How does it make sense? I don't know, you will have to ask Mitsu-sama about that."
Everyone just nodded dumbly.
On the other hand, Mitsu had a maniacal smile as he watched his girlfriend testing her new Jutsu during an important fight.
'Yepppp! She is a keeper.' He thought.
Back in the arena,
"W-what did you do?" Chojuro asked in disbelief.
"Ugh… It's too hard to explain, as even I am not hundred percent sure if I understand it properly. Just know the name of the Jutsu,
Basically, what it does is, it makes the molecules of your metal unstable, making them break free which causes the shatter effect. Normally it's not that easy to do. But the shape of your sword made this very easy. After all it's not very ideal to be a sword."
Everything went over everyone's head, but the observers broke into a cheer.
Hinata again went into her stance and smiled, "Hope you ready, Chojuro-san. Because I am going to attack."
Chojuro got out of his stupor and threw away his sword, and quickly started making hand signs.
"
He wanted to hide and come up with a plan. He was mainly a Kenjutsu expert, and without a sword, he couldn't really use his Kenjutsu now, could he? His Ninjutsu was okay, nothing commendable. And his Taijutsu was only Genin level.
So, he decided to make some distance between him and Hinata, so he could surprise her but due to his agitation from his sword shattering, he forgot one important detail.
"Did you really forget about my
"Oh drats!" Before Chojuro could say anything more, he was turned into a pincushion using senbons.
But that soon turned into a puddle of water.
In the Kage box, Mei facepalmed, "Grrr… Ao! Remind me to increase Chojuro's training when we get back."
Ao awkwardly nodded.
[A/N: Before anyone says that Chojuro is stronger than this. This is not late shippuden Chojuro. He is still a Genin here. There are still 4 years till he will be that level.]
"Mah, Mah, don't be so hard on the boy, Mei-dono. He was fast enough to switch with a water clone, without using hand signs. He is a bit careless and timid, but he is good for a Genin." Tsunade exclaimed.
"Tsk, you have a good one there, girl. I can tell that he is a Kenjutsu expert, so losing his sword to something as ridiculous as that would have made any other Genin piss their pants.
He recovered quickly and decided to take counter measures. Even though he made a stupid move of using that technique in front of a Hyuga. But he isn't a bad seedling. I say after he gathers a bit more experience, he should be promoted to a Chunin." Onoki said.
"I agree with the Tsuchikage. He isn't ready to be Chunin yet, no matter how good his Kenjutsu is. Not to mention he didn't even notice the Hyuga girl's Jutsu… That will bite him later.
You should train his mentality a bit more, get him more experience, and then make him a Chunin next year." Rasa added.
A just grunted in agreement.
Mei nodded as well. She was a bit embarrassed about Chojuro being slapped around. But she and everyone present could tell that the Hyuga girl was way beyond a Genin.
"I am really jealous of you Hokage-dono! What do you feed them to make them that good?! If I wasn't experienced enough even, I wouldn't have noticed that little thing she did… And I hear she is freshly out of the academy?" Onoki asked.
Tsunade chuckled and said, "Yes, she is 12. And it's nothing I did. She was merely trained by Mitsu. That brat might be the best teacher in the elemental nations."
The other Kage's nodded and filed that information away. Before looking back at the arena.
Chojuro was doing his best to avoid Hinata and throw water spikes at her to slow her down. While Hinata was using lightning-infused senbons to turn him into a porcupine.
[A/N: Hinata's nature affinities are Fire and Lightning.]
And during this cat and mouse chase, Hinata stopped throwing senbons for a moment, which made Chojuro think that she was out of Senbons, but before he could relax, something struck the nerves on his legs and spine making him fall down, paralyzed.
*Thud*
He looked in front of him in disbelief as he saw that Hinata was still standing in front of him only for him to see her smile and pop in a bout of smoke.
That's when he understood.
"Shadow Clone…" He muttered.
"Yes. Even though I can only create 2 of them at a time, they are quite useful." Came Hinata's voice from behind him.
"How long have I been fighting the clone?" Chojuro already knew he lost, so he decided to ask.
"How long do you think?" Hinata asked with a smile.
Chojuro recalled the whole 3-minute battle to see if there was any moment that he wasn't paying attention. Before it hit him…
"When I was gawking at my blade?"
"Good guess." Hinata answered with a light chuckle.
Chojuro sighed and called out, "I surrender."
That caused the whole stadium to cheer loudly, as Fuse announced, "Winner of the first match, Hyuga Hinata!"
.
_____________________________
[A/N: Hey there, beautiful people!
Sorry for not uploading yesterday, I had to visit the immigration office for some paperwork. But take this 3k word chapter as an apology.
If you want to join the discord! The link is on the synopsis!]