Setting The Wolf Free - Sequel to The Wolf Inside

Setting The Wolf Free - Ch 48

Awesome fanart of Ashley and the elements by emerden101  -->

Thanks so much, I love getting fanart! xD

Third Person’s POV

 

 

Shikamaru sits on the ground at the edge of the arena, his back leaning against a wall. He taps his foot on the ground absentmindedly, head tilted back and eyes locked on the screens at the opposite side of the stadium. He watches as numerous pairs of Grass Jonin race through the large forest, searching for the competitors scattered throughout. The Jonin had all been dispatched early this morning, one out of each pair carrying a newly created Warp Scroll. The sky was swiftly darkening now, and the lights on top of the stadium had been turned on, burning brightly.

Shikamaru had been regretting his decision to lazily drop out of the Tournament ever since that red haired girl had summoned the monstrous Centipede. Waiting here and not knowing exactly how his teammates were doing was absolute torture, and possessing such a logical and analytical mind wasn’t helping either. The young Nara had probably mulled over every single worst case scenario at least three times during the day, and there were a lot that came to mind…

Shikamaru’s head snaps up as a large cloud of white smoke suddenly appears in the centre of the stadium, causing the murmuring audience to fall silent. Shikamaru feels his heart rate pick up slightly, finding himself leaning forwards with anxiousness. Was this his team? Were they finally back?

The dark haired boy sighs deeply however, able to see that it was not his fellow Leaf Ninja that had arrived. As the smoke clears, the audience begins cheering and clapping wildly, clearly relieved to see the three Mist Ninja back safely.

Shikamaru runs a hand down his face, regarding the Mist Ninja gravely as the audience abruptly quietens down, soft gasps escaping some of their mouths. Despite being quite skilled, the Mist Ninja hadn’t escaped the Centipede’s attack unscathed. Kneeling on one knee, a hard faced Fuisuke props his teammate Shin up, supporting the male’s weight. With multiple burns to his skin and his clothes burned away in some places, Shin flops limply over Fuisuke’s knee, his eyes closed. Blood trickles from his mouth, with more of the red liquid crusting around some of his painful looking burns.

The Mist Ninja, though having fought to stay alive in the chaos, was dead. Tanzaki’s ruby eyes waver momentarily, her hands clenching into fists as she stares down at her deceased teammate. The two other Mist Ninja, who hadn’t participated in the final round, sprint over to their teammates, eyes filled with disbelief.

Shikamaru hangs his head and closes his eyes, as a small number of people in the audience begin snivelling, probably having never seen someone die before. It wasn’t like Shin had been the only casualty though. As well as Nobu, the Stone Ninja, Tozoku’s Centipede had killed the Waterfall Village’s Irazen with a stray fireball. Shikamaru had seen the awful event take place on the screen. As Irazen and Ita had been passing one of the small, rocky mountains in the area, a huge fireball had suddenly slammed into Irazen and engulfed her, before the impact of the blast caused the mountain to collapse.

Poor Ita wasn’t able to save her pink haired teammate, dropping to her knees and crying when she realised that there was nothing she could have done. Shikamaru had felt so bad for the young girl, seeing the tears streaming down her face. Watching a teammate die, and in such a horrible way, would be hard on anyone….

“What a drag….” the Nara mumbles regretfully, shaking his head. “This was just supposed to be a friendly competition……How did it get so out of hand?....”