Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Chunin ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

 

Neji and company had an even less pleasant start to their morning than Kiba. The remaining wolves from yesterday had come back with reinforcements. The trick he had used last time didn't work. The wolves kept their distance when he'd go into a spin. There was no choice but to fight off every single one of them. Having Hanabi with them certainly made it a little easier. When they had beaten back all but three wolves, they finally decided to retreat.

 

“Maybe in a previous life, one of us was a wolf hunter,” said Ten Ten.

 

“It certainly is eerie the way they keep coming after us,” admitted Neji. “Lee, you aren't concealing any steak in that jumpsuit, are you?”

 

“Do not look at me,” he replied.

 

“I wish you hadn't mentioned steak,” moaned Hanabi. “I'm hungry.”

 

“Hope you like sushi, then,” replied Neji. “Because so far the only food we've managed to get our hands on are coldwater fish. And we don't dare make a fire to cook them.”

 

Ten Ten held up a bunch of kunai attached to wires. “Best fishing gear in the business.”

 

“At this point I'd eat dirt,” replied Hanabi.

 

“I think fish would be slightly more appetizing,” replied Neji. “Let's go.”

 

They walked until the got close to a stream. Suddenly Neji stopped everyone.

 

“My Byakuagan indicates there's a team by the stream doing the same thing we set out to do. They're even using the same method of fishing as us.”

 

“I thought only my family did that,” replied Ten Ten.

 

Hanabi activated he own Byakugan. “Three boys, all Leaf,” she reported.

 

“What do they look like?” asked Ten Ten suspiciously.

 

“They're all about sixteen, wear white Leaf headbands and they have shaved heads,” she answered.

 

Ten Ten groaned. “So that's why they were using my method to fish. Those guys are my cousins. Dong, Ming, and Lin. I kept hoping we wouldn't run into them. They tease me all the time.”

 

“They have a Heaven Scroll,” said Hanabi.

 

“Glad we ran into them, let's kick some ass,” replied Ten Ten quickly. “Finally I have an excuse.”

 

“You have told us about them before,” said Lee. “You said they are also weapon experts, did you not?”

 

Ten Ten nodded. “Instead of summoning and then throwing a whole bunch of weapons like I do, they have some rather unique abilities. Dong can apply telekinetic energy to things he's touched recently, Lin can channel chakra though a kunai to form a blade of energy, and Ming can transfer a huge amount of energy to things he throws and can make them blow up or catch fire after they've left his hand without using tags.”

 

“Oh, I want that one!” said Lee gleefully.

 

“I want the telekinetic one,” said Hanabi. “I'm in the mood for a good fight.”

 

Neji shook his head. “This isn't your fight, it's ours. It has to be and you need to stay out of it. I'll handle the one with the blade (sounds like a good close range fight), and Ten Ten, the telekinetic one is yours. Now, describe their appearance more specifically so we'll know who's who.”

 

“Uh, funny thing about that,” stammered Ten Ten. “They're actually identical triplets.”

 

“I noticed but aren't there any differences?” asked Neji.

 

“Hmmm… Neji, look again and tell me if any of them are wearing earrings.”

 

Neji had a second look. “Yup. One has both ears pierced with gold studs.”

 

“That's Lin. That one's yours, Neji. Dong has a slight scar where his left sideburn would be if he had any hair. Ming has nothing in particular about him that stands out.

 

“Oh, I don't know. I'd say my handsome features are rather prominent.”

 

The three turned around to see Dong, Lin, and Ming standing behind them.

 

“Damn,” growled Neji.

 

“Yeah, sad isn't it?” said Ming. “Two Byakugan users and you didn't keep them activated long enough to see us sneak up.”

 

“Oh, but I saw you.” All of the sudden all three of them had their legs swept out from underneath them. It was Lee. He had noticed subtle sounds behind him and hid himself. “Cousins of our comrade, Ten Ten. Greetings. While formidable opponents you may be, you have had the misfortune of encountering the students of the one and only Maito Gai.”

 

“Maito Gai? Isn't he that idiot that's always running around yelling crazy shit and looks like this kid?”

 

“Gai Sensei is not an idiot!” hollered Lee angrily. He kicked Ming in the gut and sent him flying.

 

Ming looked mad. “Oh, I am so fighting that weird-looking kid.”

 

Lee was enraged. “Weird-looking? Weird-looking?! How dare you say such a thing about my friend Neji?” If the moment hadn't been so tense, Neji surely would have laughed his head off at Lee's blunder. “I will admit he is not a handsome devil like I am,” screamed Lee, “But he is NOT weird looking! You fight me!”

 

“Ming,” hollered Lin. “If you're planning on blowing that kid up, get far away from us. We don't want to get hit by any of your explosions.”

 

Ming picked himself up. “Goes without saying that this kid's gonna get it. Follow me, brat.” Ming ran off into the woods with Lee hot on his heels.

 

“I suppose Grandpa will get made if we kill Ten Ten,” said Dong. “But these other two are fair game.”

 

“The little girl isn't fighting,” replied Neji angrily. “She's not part of our team. Her teammates were killed so she's tagging along with us. You have no business with her.”

 

“I'll decide who I have business with,” replied Dong as he reached for a kunai.

 

Quick as a wink, Neji got right in front of him and punched him in the gut. “Ten Ten, I changed my mind. This one's mine.”

 

---

 

Ming stopped running and turned to face Lee. “That was a cheap shot, you little bastard. This Gai some kind of cult leader to get that kind of response from you?”

 

“He is the epitome of what hard work can do,” replied Lee. “He is my inspiration.”

 

“Well then, he can be the one to bury you.” And with that, Ming kicked a tree so hard that it fell over. Lee dodged it but Ming suddenly appeared behind him with a drawn kunai. “And just like that, you join your ancestors.”

 

Lee grinned and moved away so quick that he seemed to vanish. Suddenly he noticed he was standing too close to the tree Ming had just kicked. He threw himself out of the way.

 

“Oh calm down,” said Ming with a laugh. “Only things that come into contact with my bare skin can go boom. For example…”

 

Ming tossed a kunai. Lee dodged it. It hit a tree. Just before it exploded, Lee noticed several wires coming from Ming's hand. He leaped to his left. Good thing he did. Those wires were attached to kunai with paper bombs stuck to every tree to his right. The initial kunai set them off in a chain reaction. Lee didn't sit around for even a moment. He flew back in Ming's direction.

 

“Leaf Great Whirlwind!”

 

Lee's kick was right on target and Ming took a tumble backwards. Sadly, Lee didn't notice the kunai Ming had dropped until it was too late. It blew up, injuring Lee's left shin slightly.

 

“I know who you are,” said Ming with a grin. “The loser. The kid they let pass who was utterly incapable of passing the graduation test. The kid who was born with a defective chakra network. The kid who can only use chakra to aid taijutsu moves. Rock Lee, isn't it?”

 

Lee slowly rose to his feet. “Some day that name will be on the lips of everyone in the village.”

 

“Oh, it already is. The pitiful oaf of the Leaf. The stooge. The gimp. The jokes people make about you are to die for. Shame to have to kill you. I'll miss those jokes.” He tossed another barrage. With his leg hurt, Lee couldn't quite get out of the way in time. The blast sent him flying. He crashed into a crab apple tree. All the apples fell out and covered him. He got up and yanked one out of his mouth.

 

“Hey… this apple does not taste right… it tastes… fermented…” Lee staggered to his feet. “Oh… oh my… I do not feel good.” His cheeks turned red. He was drunk. Without warning he flew straight at Ming ten times faster than before. Instead of hitting him, he stopped one foot short and looked him over. “Say… um… what happened to your hair? Lose a fight with a weed whacker or something?” And with that Lee fell onto his back and began to laugh hysterically. “Oh my, that was funny! I kill me!”

 

“No,” replied Ming. He jumped back and tossed some kunai at Lee's head. “*I* kill you.” The kunai landed and exploded but when the smoke cleared, no Lee. “Where the hell did he go?” All of the sudden, Ming noticed something else. “My kunai and shuriken pouches are gone!” He turned around and saw Lee holding them.

 

“Oh you big silly bald person, do you not know playing with sharp things can be dangerous?”

 

“Give those back!” hollered Ming angrily.

 

“You did not say please, bald man,” replied Lee. He flew straight in Ming's direction yet again but ran past him. “Now your face is bald too.” To his horror, Ming realized that Lee had taken a kunai and had shaved off his eyebrows as he passed.

 

“Why you little…”

 

“Here I come again.”

 

Lee raced past and this time cut Ming's belt. Without it, his pants fell down.

 

“And again…”

 

Lee raced past and punched him.

 

“And again.”

 

This time he kicked him. He was so fast, Ming couldn't even see him much less block him.

 

“Time for a bald mummy.”

 

Lee shot out his arms and his wrappings wrapped up Ming. He slammed him into a nearby tree hard enough to knock him out.

 

“Good idea. I will take a nap as well.” Lee fell to the ground and began to snore loudly.

 

---

 

Neji's Heavenly Spin had stopped numerous kunai from hitting him. But since Dong was telekinetic, he never ran out. He used the same six knives over and over.

 

“You should have stuck to your original plan and fought Lin,” mocked Dong. “You Hyugas are close range fighters.” He tossed the kunai again.

 

“Eight Trigrams, Empty Palm!”

 

The technique sent the kunai flying back at Dong but he simply stopped them in midair. “You must think I have the reaction time of a snail,” he said. “It won't work. Whatever you do, it won't work. A close range fighter simply cannot beat me.”

 

“The last time I said something cocky like that to someone, I wound up with the worst concussion of my life and a broken jaw on top of that,” replied Neji. He flew straight at Dong with his Gentle Fists ready to strike. He knocked two kunai out of the air but as quickly as he began his charge, he had to stop and resume his rotation. No matter what, he couldn't move his body as quickly as Dong could move those blades.

 

“How much chakra are you pissing away?” called out Dong. “I'm using next to zero. Wonder how long you'll last.”

 

Neji hated to admit it, but he had a point. He could see why Ten Ten disliked these guys so much. They were worse than teasers. Verbal sadists were more like it.

 

“I'm starting to get impatient here,” said Dong. “So I'm going to end this in a quick and relatively non-lethal manner.” He pulled out a pouch and opened it. He produced a fistful of senbon.

 

“Oh no,” thought Neji to himself. “This is going to make things a hundred times worse and make it more likely that something will end up in my blind spot. I haven't really perfected this yet but I have no choice but to use it. I just need him to get a little closer for it to work.

 

Dong released the senbon. Neji desperately struggled to keep up. Dong grinned. “Only a matter of time now.” Neji used the Empty Palm once more. Once more, it failed to send anything back to its source. Dong stopped his attack completely for a moment and pulled all his weapons back to himself. He walked up to Neji.

 

“I'm getting tired of this. If you don't give in now and hand over the scroll, I'll dip all my weapons in this.” He produced a vial of poison.

 

“He's within ten meters,” thought Neji to himself. He began to take a few steps in Dong's direction. “What is that?” he asked.

 

“Stay back. It's just a little concoction I came up with,” he replied. “Neurotoxin. Worst death you can possibly imagine.”

 

“Almost in range,” thought Neji to himself. “Now or never.”

 

Neji raced towards Dong. Before Dong could react Neji put his palms in front of him.

 

“Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher!”

 

At once a powerful wind laced with destructive chakra shot out of Neji's palms. It blew away Dong's weapons and sent Dong flying backwards and crashing into a tree. Neji didn't give him a moment to recover.

 

“Eight Trigrams! Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-Four Palms!”

 

With his heart on the brink of failure, Dong collapsed. Neji checked his pack. This fellow had the scroll.

 

“I wouldn't go running any marathons for a while if I were you,” teased Neji. “You might literally die of a broken heart.”

 

---

 

“Twin Rising Dragons!”

 

Lin batted Ten Ten's projectiles out of the air with relative ease with his energy sword. He was good, no doubt about it. It had been Lin's dream to join ANBU. Only problem was you need to be at least a Chunin. He'd failed the exam five times.

 

“You'd better learn something better than that,” he called out. “You really aren't that much better than that Lee kid. All taijutsu, nothing special.”

 

Ten Ten wasn't bothered. He'd been saying things like that since she was five years old. What bothered her was how to take down a close range genius. Neji was such a genius and she'd never once come close to beating him in a sparring match.

 

“Eat this!” she hollered. She tossed some poison smoke grenades in his direction. Thick purple smoke laced with hydrogen cyanide spilled out. She sat back and waited. When the gas dissipated, Lin was nowhere to be seen. That could mean only one thing. Ten Ten ducked and sure enough she just barely missed losing her head to his chakra blade.

 

“I suppose all shinobi are a little predictable with that move I just used,” admitted Lin with a grin.

 

Ten Ten looked over and saw Neji approaching. Lin looked upset. Neji held up the Heaven Scroll he'd taken from Dong.

 

“I'll bet you'd like this back,” he called out. “Well come get it.”

 

“No!” yelled Ten Ten. “Neji, he's mine. I've been taking crap from those three for years. It's about time I did something about it.”

 

“So be it,” said Neji. He casually leaned up against a tree.

 

“Do something about it?” mocked Lin. “Do what? There's not one move you have that I can't counter.”

 

“Not quite,” said Ten Ten. “First Gate, Gate of Opening!”

 

Neji was stunned. Ten Ten opening a chakra gate? Lin was stunned too. He didn't have much time to dwell on it. She flew at him so fast that he had no time to react. She knocked the kunai out of his hand. Using taijutsu moves only and no weapons she pounded on him as hard and as fast as she possibly could until the strain forced the Gate closed again.

 

Lin rose. He wasn't quite out yet. Ten Ten was exhausted. He charged at her. He didn't notice the loop of wire he stepped in until it was too late. Ten Ten pulled on the other end of the wire and he fell flat on his face. Before he could rise, she tossed a bunch of kunai with wires attached all over the perimeter of his body. She pulled on the wires and he found himself pinned to the ground.

 

“Gonna gloat now?” asked Lin.

 

“Hmm… either that or activate the explosive tags attached to those wires,” she replied.

 

“WHAT?!”

 

“Just kidding, they're all duds. I wanted you to know I could have killed you but didn't. Come Neji, let us fetch the rest of our merry crew and be on our way.”

 

She was acting very dignified but as soon as they were far away…

 

“YES! YES! YEEEESSSS!!! Ohmigosh Neji, you have NO idea how good that felt or how long I've waited for that.”

 

“Oh dear,” he replied. “I wonder if Hinata will act like that if she ever kicks MY butt.”

 

End Chapter 7

 

© 2009 Joseph Kerner

 

Disclaimer: Naruto is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto