Author's notes:
First of all, I would like to say sorry for a little longer-then-usual delay with this chapter of this story of mine; I was off to a two weeks-long vacation to Croatia, which somewhat delayed my writing.
And before starting this chapter of this story of mine, I would like to thank all those wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter of this story of mine, namely: Jovianwolfgirl, Kawaii IceCream, narusakufan, numberoneklutz, Sakira-chan and KibaSaku-4ever. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much!
Again, thank you very much for continuing reading and reviewing this story of mine, Jovianwolfgirl! I am very happy that you liked this story of mine so far, and hope and this and future chapters of it won't leave you disappointed either.
IC-chan, like I said in my private message to you, I was very sorry to hear that you are going to stop reading this story of mine. But like I said in my address to you in the previous chapter of this story of mine, the choice is yours, even if it makes me rather sad.
Sakira-chan, I am very happy that you are still reading this story of mine; to be honest, I was worried that you might have lost interest in it (although I know that there was a HUGE delay between fourth and fifth chapters of it). Oh, and I must that from your review, I didn't get if you have actually seen Ikki Tousen or no, but I hope you will like characters from Ikki Tousen that will show up every now and then anyway! (Although like I promised, the focus of the story will be on Naruto characters.)
And last but not least, KibaSaku-4ever, I am very happy that you decided to give this story of mine a try too, and moreover, that you liked it (particularly since it will likely be some time before I update my "The Path of Her Own" story). I hope that this and the future chapters of it will be to your liking too!
Alright, and now without further ado, let's get to…
Chapter Seven
"The Great Tournament?" Sakura asked.
This afternoon, both she and Naruto received summons from "Konoha's Four", telling them to me with them at the school's backyard after the classes, and as they came there, they indeed met already familiar to them pair: Neji and Tenten.
"Yes," It was Hyuuga Neji who spoke, "I trust you know what it is, don't you?"
"Of course, I do! Do you think I am a complete id…"
A single glance from Neji was enough to make Naruto go quiet, as it suddenly occurred to him that Neji was speaking with Sakura, not him.
"Well, Haruno-kun?"
"W-well, yes, I do." Now when she stood just next to him, Sakura couldn't help thinking about how Neji was no less handsome then Sasuke, and he seemed to be notably more polite to her as well. However, there was something about Neji that made her very nervous, especially those strange silvery-white eyes of his…
"A-anyway," Sakura continued, realizing that Neji was waiting for her to go on, "The Great Tournament is a tournament between the nine schools that is conducted approximately every two years. The schools entitled for participation are: Rakuyou High School, Konoha High School, Nanyou Institute, Seito Academy, Suna Institute, Kyoshou High School, Yoshuu Institute, Chengtu High School, and Liangzhou High School, and each school can field up to five of its fighters for the tournament. The Great Tournament determines which of nice schools gains or retains the possession of Gyokuji, the Imperial Seal that symbolizes rule over Tokyo."
"And nothing else?"
"Well…" Sakura paused before speaking again, "Some say that the Great Tournament is where the fighters' destinies are realized…"
"Oh-oh, did I just say that?!" Sakura mentally slapped herself, "Who believes in things like destiny this day and age?! And I said it in front of Hyuuga Neji too, one of Konoha's five greatest fighters, and a handsome guy to boot!"
After the incident with Sasuke and Lee the other day, Sakura viewed her chances of conquering some handsome guy much more realistically, but nevertheless, she didn't want to completely ruin her chances with Neji, and so…
"…Which is just stupid superstition of course, hehe!" Sakura added hastily, with a short fake laugh and equally fake smile upon her face.
"Or so the ignorants think," Neji's demeanour towards Sakura noticeably dropped by several degrees, and it didn't escape Sakura's notice.
"Oh-oh, I ended saying the wrong thing, again. Why does it always happen to me?"
"But either way, I suppose your knowledge about the Great Tournament at least counts for something." Neji continued meanwhile, "Since I don't expect you to be familiar with the most recent events, I suppose it is my duty to fill you in. The last tournament was fought a little over two years ago, and…" For a moment, Neji paused, "…It ended in the worst way possible."
"The worst way possible?"
"Yes. A mere freshman won the tournament, killing some of the best fighters of that time and earning himself a name of Red Devil. That man's name was Chuuei Toutaku, now a leader of Rakuyou High School. In the final, Konoha's strongest fighters of that time, Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai were all killed single-handed by Chuuei Toutaku. And since that victory, Rakuyou High School has been constantly increasing its sphere of influence, completely annihilating some of the lesser schools and prompting some other schools to side with them. Of them, Suna Institute and a less-known Yosyuu High School are seen to openly support Toutaku. And of the remaining seven major schools, only Kyoshou High School is seen to actively oppose Toutaku; the other six schools, including us, are currently maintaining neutrality, though we all may have to choose sides sooner or later… But that is beside the point. The point is that two of you were chosen to fight for Konoha High School on the coming Great Tournament, along with me and Tenten."
For both Sakura and Naruto, the news obviously came as a surprise, but their reaction to it couldn't have been more different.
"Really?!" Naruto's entire face was shining with happiness and excitement, but before he could thank Neji aloud like he wanted to do…
"No! You can't send Naruto and me to fight at the Great Tournament!" The shock from the news prompted usually soft-spoken Sakura to break into shouting, "I have just got transferred here, and Naruto, well…" For a moment, Sakura paused, "…A-anyway, isn't this a kind of thing you of Konoha's Five should be doing?"
"Normally, yes, but… As you both of you well know, Rock Lee is currently isn't in condition to fight, and both Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke went missing, so the Five were reduced to just me and Tenten. And because of it, two of you were chosen to fight alongside with us at the coming Great Tournament…" Neji paused, looking Sakura and Naruto over critically, "…Although personally, I would rather have someone like Hinata to fight alongside with us."
"H-Hinata-chan?!" Naruto couldn't help exclaiming aloud.
He has always known Hinata as a shy and quiet girl who always looked down whenever the two of them met, and on whom he developed quite a crush lately, but…
"Yes." Neji replied, casting a cold glance at Naruto, "Although at the times she may not look to be much of a fighter, Hinata is a member of Hyuuga family, like I am, and as such, she was put through extensive training since her childhood. She is not my equal, but she is nevertheless way ahead of most of our school's other fighters in terms of her fighting ability. But unfortunately, it was our leader's decision that two of you will be representing Konoha High School in the coming Great Tournament alongside with me and Tenten, and there is nothing either of us can do about it."
"Wait a moment!" Naruto exclaimed again, "I always thought it were you of the Five that were calling the shoots here! What's with all that talk of a leader?!"
Neji and Tenten just stared at Naruto, Tenten – with her eyes visibly widened, while Neji hid his astonishment better.
"Um……. What?"
"You mean to tell that you studied in Konoha High School for two years and you have never heard of its leader, Nara Shikamaru, number one student in the whole Japan?!" Sakura exclaimed in astonishment.
"Number one student in the whole Japan?!" Now it was Naruto's turn to be astonished, "You mean that our leader is the best fighter in the whole Japan?!"
"No, baka, not the best fighter, but the best STUDENT! You know, some people STUDY at school, and Nara Shikamaru is considered to be the best student in the whole Japan, a genius, actually." Come to think of it, while Nara Shikamaru was widely renowned for his genius, Sakura has never heard anything about his fighting skills…
"It's good to see that you are well-informed, unlike your friend here," As she got out of her thoughts, Sakura once again caught Neji's eyes upon her, "If it is so, would you care to name the leaders of all the major schools?"
The request caught Sakura by surprise. "Is he… testing me, or what?"
"V-very well," Though surprised by an unexpected request, Sakura was fully up to the task, "As we all know, our school's leader is Nara Shikamaru, and as you have already mentioned, Rakuyou High School's leader is Chuuei Toutaku."
"And the others?"
"Nanyou Institute's leader is Enjutsu Kouro. Kyoshou High School's – Sousou Moutoku. Yoshuu Institute's – Enshou. Seito Academy's – Ryuubi Gentoku. And Suna Institute's is Uchiha Itachi." Sakura paused there was something about that last name… "Wait a minute. Uchiha… Isn't Sasuke-san Uchiha as well?"
"Well… He is, although it is a little delicate matter." This time, it was Tenten who replied Sakura.
"A delicate matter?"
"Well, you see…" For a moment, Tenten hesitated, as if considering if she should tell Sakura this, but eventually decided to go on, "…Two years ago, shortly after the previous Great Tournament, Uchiha Itachi murdered his entire family…"
Sakura grasped, she was expecting anything but this.
"No way… It cannot be true…"
"Sadly, it is. Sasuke was the only one who survived the massacre… No, he was rather left alive, after being forced to see his family murdered. Following that, Itachi transferred into Suna Institute, where he challenged and killed its leader, Baki. With support of some of Suna's best fighters, Itachi assumed the position of Suna's new leader, which he holds to this day."
"But, the police…" It was only after Tenten had finished that Sakura found the strength to speak again.
"…Is all but powerless against Itachi and Suna Institute."
Sakura only nodded in response: it was a more or less common knowledge that with their skill and strength, fighters were effectively above law, and as long as they didn't directly threatened the government, it rather preferred to let them kill and maim each other then get involved in their bloody wars.
For a few minutes, everybody was silent: Sakura and Naruto didn't know what else to say, Neji was looking at something on his cell phone, and Tenten seemed to be content to simply watch him. Finally, Sakura broke the silence.
"A-anyway… What now?"
In response, Neji silently showed her his cell phone and the message displayed on it.
News from the Great Tournament!
Ganryou from Yoshuu defeats Gakushu from Nanyou
Ryomou Shimei from Nanyou defeats both Ganryou and Bunshuu from Yoshuu
Nanyou Institute wins with score 2:1
"Attention! The train will proceed to the depot, please vacate the cars! Attention! The train will proceed to the depot, please vacate the cars!"
Even as the passengers hurried to act upon the message, the five paid it no attention, pointedly making their way into one of the cars. The car was not empty, and the teenagers' eyes immediately fell upon four other teenagers: two boys and a girl who kept together, and a young man in a business suit sitting apart from them. The five teenagers seemed to all but ignore the young man in business suit, as they came closer to the trio.
"Only three fighters against the five of us? Heh, looks like Suna Institute has got too overconfident for their own good!"
It was the teenager in the front, apparently the leader of the five who spoke. In response, the girl rose from her seat, letting what looked like a huge fan rest upon it.
"Three?" The girl smirked at the five teenagers as she spoke, "I don't think you need to worry about our numbers, since none of you are going to make it past me. So, who's first?"
News from the Great Tournament!
Temari from Suna defeats all five fighters from Chengtu
Suna Institute wins with score 5:0
Next match:
Konoha High School vs. Seito Academy
As four of them came out to the platform atop the building in some seemingly abandoned factory, Sakura, Naruto, Neji and Tenten immediately saw the pair that has been waiting for them there. One was a young man with short black hair. He was probably of about the same age that they were, but looked older because of his neat business suit and a serious expression upon his face. Another was a girl with light blue-gray eyes and long black hair that was almost reaching the floor. In notable contrast with the young man, the girl was dressed in what looked like a very abbreviated school uniform, almost bordering on being indecent: her white t-shirt ended just bellow her breasts, leaving her abdomen bare, and her miniskirt was so short that it barely covered the girl's underwear, and Sakura involuntary caught herself on a realization that it would reveal more then it would cover when the girl moves.
"Only two of them?!"
Unsurprisingly, it was Naruto who was the first to speak, although it surprised Sakura that the girl's state of undress wasn't the first thing that caught his eye.
"Not two, one," came Neji's reply, "The man is a fighter from the permanently neutral Wu Prefecture Senior High School, he is here only to moderate the match, nothing more."
Naruto's eyes visibly widened at this revelation.
"Only one? How dare they underestimate us like this?! I'll…"
Naruto was interrupted by a light bonk on his head – a courtesy of Sakura.
"Don't be stupid, Naruto. If they have only one fighter, it means that we can defeat them all the easier. Right?"
Sakura looked at Neji, but he didn't seem to even notice that she was addressing him; instead, his eyes were fixed on the girl on the opposite side of the platform.
"Kanu Unchou from Seito, one of the strongest fighters alive… Is even my strength enough against an opponent like her?"
Silently, Neji moved towards the girl, and the girl in turn stepped away from the platform's railing by which she stood and moved forward to meet him. It was she who spoke the first when they finally stopped about two meters apart from each other.
"Say… Do you believe in the destiny of Magatama?"
"I do."
Neji's reply was simple and grim, and he was fully aware of the significance of it.
"A pity… I believe only in destiny I make with my own hands. And I will accept nothing short of his best from the firstborn of Hyuuga family."
During the time of the Three Kingdoms, Kanu Unchou was called Invincible General, and it was said that he has never lost a battle. Not until he has lost his life when he was defeated by another general. That general's name was…
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Ryomou Shimei