Drifting by AlphaDelta1001

Part 29 - The New Models Accelerate

Drifting

The New Models Accelerate

(Stadium – Kage Section)

"That was an interesting match," the Fourth Kazekage commented in a sort of dry tone, being sure to keep the excitement built up from the last two matches well in check.

"Since her opponent was so fast, Samui had to compensate for the huge difference in speed by going for simultaneous exchanges. That strategy normally, always works against opponents who have a marked advantage in agility and use a predictable attack pattern. But when she struck her opponent, she was only aiming to hit her with an attack that could stop her. She didn't know where she was going to hit, but she had to take her chance and avoid the opening blow at the same time," Onoki also spoke, arms folded and eyes narrowing as he reran the final engagement in his head. "This match showed that both opponents have some very interesting assets in their resumes. While Samui possesses remarkable intelligence, patience, perseverance and timing, Tsubaki instead has speed, tact and power on her side... even if she is conceited to the point of making bad judgment calls."

Honestly, talking about your abilities so openly like that. Only an Uchiha, Kage or higher could match that kind of arrogance and stupidity.

"Regardless, Samui still put up a really good fight," the Raikage stated while resting his head on his hand. "To be able to figure out that girl's abilities and to fight a battle that targeted that specific weakness immediately afterwards was a damn good play. Too bad she ran out of juice at the end, otherwise she would have finished her off." Yeah, and the angle she landed her blow meant she wouldn't have been able to finish off her opponent even if she wanted to, unless she somehow managed to yank the blade out and come in for a second attack before her foe managed to get away. If she had a team working with her though, it would have been an easy kill, no problem.

Onoki looked across at the man curiously, "Bummed out from seeing one of yours lose?"

A closed his eyes and grunted, "Call me petty, but yeah. I'll bet she would have made for a fantastic fourth rounder." He then looked across at Mei to see the woman still smiling and looking cheerful. "Your kid did pretty good herself, Mizukage. She may have gotten careless at the end, but she's still quite tough."

Giving a small giggle, Mei looked across at the Raikage with a sweet smile. "Just like what we saw in Gaara, while Tsubaki does possess the physical abilities and skills of a Jonin, I'm afraid some of her other character traits have brought her full potential down a couple of levels. It causes her to act carelessly and make mistakes... big mistakes." This got an intrigued look from the Raikage before he turned back to stare at the stadium's jumbo-tron, where he then decided to watch the replays of the previous matches while waiting for the next round to start. Sighing, the Mizukage looked ahead as well with her arms folded under her bust. "With her experience and talent, I figured she would do better in this tournament. I know that she's smart and that she plays to her strengths well, but she sometimes relies on them too much that she misses some of the other important stuff around her. The best she can do with this performance I'm afraid is Chunin. I was going to fill in the documentation myself to have her promoted earlier... but... I was curious."

Catching onto this, all of the Kage looked over at her again, especially Hiruzen. "Curious about what?"

Mei gave a small smile as she looked over the field to see Tsubaki exit the arena and into the hallway leading into the walls. "I was curious to see if there was a Genin of her age out there who could actually beat her; someone with insight and means equal to hers to match her, and strong enough to get her to work for her promotion. I put her and her team into this exam for the three of them to get more experience in combat and to test them against what the other villages had to offer." Her eyes twinkled when she recalled the last couple of fights. "It seems that my patience has paid off."