Fallen Grace: A Naruto Fanfiction (Book 2, vol. 1)

Chapter 119: Zurückspulen {4}

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"Please! Yoni Yu and Grayson Lake! You two are the first to fight!" The first fight was announced and it was the infamous Yoni Yu of Konoha and Grayson Lake.

The latter was from Canada and has been attending their top-notch school like everyone else in their respective countries. Despite being within the top 16 there wasn't much notably remarkable about except his skills and decently-looking face.

Yu flashed a grin filled with bizarre fakeness. He quickly made his way towards the bottom floor, his heart straying on with a steady beat. Naruto saw Yu come out from one of the tunnels, walking towards the middle area. 

On the end of Yu's side, he saw his opponent - Grayson Lake - walk towards center of the stadium. He had dark-black hair that fell down to his shoulders, and serious look that had a hint of uncertainty laced within the shadows of it all. 

A single referee stood at the center, standing in a lonesome way.

"Maiming is fine since injuries such as those are treatable. But killing is not allowed. You may use anything within your arsenal to win as long as it is within the boundaries of the rules. Understand?" 

"Yes!" They both yelled aloud.

"Very well. Well, let us not stall for much longer." With wicked timing, the referee jumped backwards, his hair flowing with vigor.

"Start!" He yelled.

~~~

Before it had started, there had been mutters of who would win this battle. And two vocal announcers were discussing the strengths and weaknesses of Yu and Grayson.

"During the exam it can be noted that Yu has a very good handle of his Wood Release and from the way he had protected Naruto from being hurt, it is easy to say that he is good at conserving his chakra for long bouts. But how will he do against the mortal enemy of wood?" Chris said aloud.

Michael hummed in response. "Indeed. Out of all the weaknesses of Wood Release, the first thing people will say is Fire Release. But, as you say, how shall this boy deal with the mortal enemy of his prized and glorious Wood Release?"

At the stands, Naruto clicked his tongue.

What a dumb question--how else will he deal with fire? Water. Well, that's a dumb response since he doesn't have a water attribute. But there really is a simple answer. Yu did have the time to learn a water affinity since learning Fire Release took a lot of time.

And looking back at it, Naruto figured that he should've made it so Yu had a water affinity instead of a fire one. But the past is the past and one can only looking into the future.

"But ain't it a surprise, Chris? This year, over half of the top 16 are from Japan!"

"It is a surprise, Michael. Over the many years, Japan has been in a steady decline in power, but now, it seems they are nurturing great talent in that country. I'm quite jealous."

"How come? Your country - Germany - has quite the number of prominent characters. Most specifically Reinhard Kaiser. Isn't he projected to reach top 1k soon enough?"