I let out a shaky sigh when the first two teams' faceoff came to an end. I didn't even realize I had been holding my breath this entire time. Not to mention the fact that I was still holding Sasuke's hand quite tightly.
Everyone was left either gaping or frozen in their seats.
I knew that many Fighters in Konoha Gakuen could be a little too overboard since I was like that too. However, this was different. This... was an all-out annihilation of both sides. The other team's It looked like he would need to spend the entire year in the hospital while the other one already looked half-dead. And yet, both teams were still going at it without a care in the world. It's as if they were possessed by some kind of vengeful spirit...
"That was... quite intense." I heard Sai's voice from my other side. Intense wasn't quite the right word there, Sai.
In the end, both teams were out since both of their It couldn't play anymore. The stage actually looked like somebody had butchered an animal and left all its blood and entrails there.
The next few teams who fought afterwards were no different. The scene turned more gruesome even for me as time went by. I was at least thankful that bringing a weapon on stage for this particular round was forbidden or there would actually be dead bodies after every fight.
Akatsuki... to think they could influence the students this much with just a few words... They really were a group to be feared.
Every minute that passed by felt like hours to me as I was frozen in my seat while watching what's happening on stage. And before I knew it, Sasuke was already mildly shaking my shoulder.
"Naruto, it's our turn." He voiced quietly beside me. "Are you alright?" He added when I looked at him as if I just realized he was there.
I closed my eyes and heaved a deep sigh before I nodded at him. I needed to be strong in both my heart and mind. I could not afford to be weak now of all times. No matter how scary and powerful the Akatsuki was, I just needed to think that they were still human beings just like me. There's no way they were invincible. The only thing I needed to do now was to win all my fights in order to see their weakness from up close.
And with that thought in mind, I stood up from my seat and followed Sasuke's group towards the stage.
The students immediately started murmuring amongst themselves when they saw our group. It's the first tag game with a Knight involved. I could also almost hear my friends' voices from the audience but I didn't dare look at them. I didn't think I would want to look at the stage again if I were to remove my eyes from it.
As usual, the light of the stage was so bright I could not see anything except the ones in front of me. The remaining part of the stadium was dark so I could not see what the audience's expressions were like.
"Have you decided who your It is?" Tobi asked both teams with his usual bright voice.
"My team's It is me." Sasuke voiced quite coldly, not even bothering to look at Tobi. Instead, his eyes were focused on our opposing team. They were composed of third-year students who were mostly A and B Class. That's not so good for a C Class like me.
I could feel the other Akatsuki members' gaze on our team and I felt very unnerved.
"Please watch this fight very carefully, everyone~!!" Tobi announced rather happily. "For this is the very first fight with a Knight involved! Not to mention... he's actually their team's It!!"
For the first few seconds, nobody reacted to those statements and the audience remained very quiet. However, after a while, a few clapped their hands and shouted, allowing the rest of the audience to cheer as well. It was very surprising. I actually looked at the dark audience seats with wide eyes as I felt everyone's warmth while they cheered for both of the teams.
It made my nervousness lessen a lot and I heaved a deep sigh to calm myself down. I might be in C Class but that didn't mean anything anymore. After all, the only thing that would matter now was if we could win this without losing our humanity or not.
"Let's win this." Sasuke's quiet but firm voice made us all nod.
"Let the game begin!!!" Tobi shouted over the microphone and that was all the cue I needed.
Everything that happened next was a blur. I knew there was no way Sasuke could lose so I wasn't distracted too much. I actually managed to focus on my own fight much easier than I thought, especially since most of my team members were really capable and reliable. There's no one who would be called weak. Well, except maybe me?? But that's beside the point.
And so, my opponent happened to be a third-year who was just a tad taller and bulkier than me. And a B Class to boot. His eyes were menacing but I knew right from his first move that he would be knocked out immediately if he happened to be Sasuke's opponent. That fact made me hide a small smile as I launched an all-out attack right from the start. Defense be damned. Instead, I used my swiftness and agility to a level I've never tried before.
The exhilarating feeling of fighting a strong opponent was coming in waves and I actually started enjoying exchanging blows with my opponent. And I did not mean anything dirty by 'blow'. Sasuke would most likely strangle me to death if I ever did that.
Anyway, it was rather enjoyable if only the ones who initiated this whole thing weren't the despicable members of Akatsuki.
Whoops! He almost hit me because I was too busy daydreaming. Gah, I needed to concentrate or I would look like an idiot in front of everyone. I returned his failed attempt with a vengeance. It's true that he's in B Class but that didn't mean there was no chance for me to beat him. Just as he was about to land a blow to my left cheek, I evaded his fist a little and then grabbed his arm in return. I then used my strength to twist it, causing him to grunt in pain. Just as I shifted my body so that he was right behind me, his arms still locked in my tight grip, I used my elbow to hit him on the gut. This caused him to double over in pain. I was panting but, at the very least, I was winning. I paused because I didn't want to fight an opponent who was clearly about to fall to the ground. But then he tried to stand up straighter and readied himself again so I kicked him sideways – hard on the area that I already hit earlier.
Hey, I knew some of you would definitely think that I was being harsh or that I was being a total sadist about everything... but it's better for him to be in pain than me, right? RIGHT?
Yeah, I knew I was kind of making a sort of excuse right now but I couldn't help it. This guy was a B Class. He could have easily reversed our situation and then Neji and the others would have a valid reason as to why they didn't want me to be part of their team. I wouldn't want to humiliate myself in front of them or in front of anyone like that.
In the end, I used my swift movement to deliver the finishing blow and knock him out for good. I prayed that he wouldn't get up anymore for some time and I was thankful that it came true. I panted as I looked at my teammates.
I heaved a deep sigh of relief when I saw that almost all of them were fine. Neji had a huge gash on his forehead but he had defeated the enemy much earlier than I did. Even Sai's match was already finished. He was a little out of breath but he looked fine. Karin was still fighting together with Jugo with two other opponents but none of our other teammates were trying to help. I was confused for a while but then I realized that I too would most likely not appreciate it if my own teammates were to think I was weak enough to lose. Gaara just coolly dusted himself, appearing too calm to have been in a fight at all. Suigetsu's arm was bleeding.
Sasuke... I turned my attention to him. He's still fighting an opponent who looked rather strong to be in A Class. I also belatedly realized that he's the enemy's It. However, Sasuke still managed to defeat the enemy after a while. I couldn't help but let out a small smile at that.
We won.
The cheer of the crowd was deafening. I looked up at the darkness where I knew everyone was seated and I couldn't help but grin. We're the first team who won using the traditional fighting of Konoha Gakuen – beating down your enemy to a pulp without too much blood involved.
Tobi's booming voice echoed all throughout the stadium as he announced, "And the winner is Sasuke Uchiha's team!!!" the cheer of the crowd had yet died down when he added, "As expected of Itachi Uchiha's younger brother!! He really is the real deal!!"
And my eyes widened. Sasuke's aura changed in that instant and before I knew it, he was already attacking Tobi with all his might.
"Sasuke!!" I shouted after him as I ran towards him. I didn't know whether I wanted to stop him or help him. However, I didn't need to decide.
It merely took a second before the whole stadium was filled with screams and shouts as almost all the other Knights started moving too. The Akatsuki's explosive chakras had enveloped the entire place together with the Knights as fights erupted from everywhere. It seemed Sasuke's movement instigated an all-out war between the students of Konoha Gakuen and Akatsuki.
I could feel my whole body trembling again – this time I knew it was from fear, not for myself but for all of those people who were very important to me. In that one second, I looked all around me and I could see nothing but bloodbath. I could feel aniki's raging aura together with Kimimarou's cold one. They were fighting two Akatsuki members – the one who looked like a fish and the one with several stitches all over his face and body – and aniki and Kimimarou were obviously having a hard time even defending themselves. I wanted so much to help them but I knew that my presence would just distract my aniki from his fight. Instead of helping, I'd be more of a burden to him at this point. I sighed in relief for a bit when I saw Yahiko and Konan doing their best to help the two. Some of Kimimarou's underlings were also helping them. And yet, it bothered me that they had to gang up on two members and still have that much of a hard time.
I saw Bee from the other side saying his rap while dodging the rather skillful scythe techniques of that guy with gray-colored hair. Some of his underlings were also present while the others were fighting the other lower members of the Akatsuki.
Sasuke was still fighting Tobi and I could clearly see that the latter was merely playing with him. Heck, all he's doing was defending all the attacks like it was nothing. He had yet to initiate his own attack and I feared the time that he would. Neji and the others looked like they wanted to help but were still too exhausted from our previous fight. Instead, they tried to deal with the lower members of the Akatsuki too.
The other B Class and A Class were also fighting the lower members while some of them were initiating the evacuation of the C Class to E Class students.
I couldn't see Orochimarou and Anko anywhere or any of the students from the Noble Class. Tch, it's not like I was depending on them or anything since I knew they were not meant to fight anyway. But it's still annoying how they could just leave the premises so easily without helping.
Not far from my spot, I could see Deidara and Sasori fighting some C and D Class students and I knew I had to help them. I already said this once but I was no hero and I knew better than to throw myself into that hellfire... but in that group of C and D Class, I could distinctly see Shikamaru and Kiba's bloody faces. Lee was still energetic but I knew he was already injured, if his slower and limping movements were any indication.
I immediately ran towards them in that second. I wanted to help Sasuke too but like with aniki, I might just get in his way if I try to help. And besides, Sai and Jugo had yet to move from their spot too. I knew for a fact that they would never let Tobi hurt Sasuke.
Just as I got near Shikamaru and the others, I immediately knew there was no way we could beat Sasori and Deidara, especially if they were together like that. Even aniki and Kimimarou together were having a hard time... and they were Knights.
My sudden arrival distracted Sasori and Deidara a bit.
"Oh, it seems the fight might just become a little livelier now." Sasori said as he smirked at me.
"Don't be too sure yet." Deidara immediately answered him. His gaze was on Sasori and I immediately used his distraction to kick him in the gut right there and then. The movement didn't affect him that much, to my dread, but I was still able to separate the two of them since the blonde was pushed some meters away from the redhead.
"Shikamaru." I voiced, not even looking at them anymore. There's no way I could afford to remove my eyes from Deidara's sneering face.
"I know." Shikamaru voiced not too far behind me. "Thanks."
"Let us handle the redhead." Kiba voiced beside Shikamaru. "Just focus on your fight, Naruto." I couldn't see his expression but I knew he was wearing his usual grin.
I gritted my teeth as I gave them a stiff nod, not bothering to reply. I didn't need to tell them anything else, although I wanted to: Don't fight too much. They weren't like me. Shikamaru disliked fighting more than anything. Kiba would have liked to fight some of the time but not in a fight to the death like this.
"To think my opponent will be such a weakling." Deidara voiced as he looked at me.
"...Better that shrimp than these trashes." Sasori said as he started attacking my friends again.
I was a little distracted when he delivered a rather serious blow on Kiba's side, making the brunette scream in pain. Deidara immediately used that opportunity to attack me.
Again, I was not making excuses here. I knew I was a little distracted but I also knew that even if I wasn't, he'd still have dealt that much damage to me. His kick alone had made me fly some meters away from Shikamaru and the others. I heard their worried shouts but I suddenly couldn't answer. It felt like all the air had been knocked out of my lungs and I was having a hard time breathing. Answering their worried shouts was not an option at the moment. I coughed several times before I tried to stand up.
I saw a blur of blonde and I readied my stance just in time for the fist to connect to my palm. Well, I guess I did manage to catch his fist but that didn't mean anything. He might as well have punched my palm. His punch was so strong that I felt like my hand would break.
"Gah, this is just too disappointing..." Deidara said as he snickered. "Are you sure you're Nagato's little brother? I can't even see the resemblance. Or rather, you're just too weak!" He finished by giving another one of that punch filled with chakra.
I could see it, the energy called chakra, emanating from his entire body like a shield. Or maybe like a smoke. I knew that ordinary people couldn't possibly perceive or even feel such things. I wanted to just sigh. I might as well have been an ordinary person. I could indeed see and feel it but I still couldn't do anything about it. I felt helpless as our fight started to become a heated battle of fists.
He was just too fast. Add that to his incredibly strong jabs and punches and Naruto Namikaze was already in a dire pinch!! Gah, what should I do!? I tried raking my mind for anything that could help me but it was still pretty bleak. Aside from that was Sasori's distracting fight with Shikamaru and the others. I could hear them screaming in pain almost every other second and it was really hard to concentrate on my own fight. Not to mention Deidara kept insulting me here and there, making me feel really vengeful and irritated.
But... I wasn't afraid anymore. These people might be strong as hell but they're still humans. There's no way they were invincible. I just needed to be strong-minded about it and think of positive thoughts.
A Namikaze would not give up so easily.
I willed myself to calm down and tried my best to relax because I needed to focus on the fight in front of me. Shikamaru and the others would be fine. Aniki and Kimimarou would be fine. Bee would be fine. All the other Classes of students would be fine. And Sasuke of all people would be fine.
Also, I would be just fine. I was not alone. I didn't need to carry everything on my own. I could trust my friends. I trusted aniki. And of course, I trusted Sasuke. I canceled out all the surrounding noises and screams as I focused my gaze on Deidara.
It's slight but I think I could already read a little of his movements. I just needed to use my Namikaze ability of being swift and agile in order to catch up to his erratic movements. It was really hard at first, but I was already starting to catch up to him after several minutes of being punched and thrown some meters away. Yeah, I knew I sucked. But still. This was much better than I expected. I thought that one punch would have me knocked out immediately because of the chakra that he had.
"Tch." Deidara didn't look too happy as he realized the same thing. "It seems I underestimated you." He wiped the blood from his cheek when I managed to land a solid punch there. Even I looked surprised that I managed to hurt him. He didn't look that affected but I knew that it must still have hurt. He wouldn't glare at me that badly if that wasn't the case.
I noticed that his chakra flow changed whenever he was about to attack and changed back to its usual smoky form whenever I was about to land a blow. He would then either dodge or simply let his chakra guard him. It was this theory that I put to the test when I tried to deliver that blow earlier. Just as he initiated an attack, I immediately landed a blow before his chakra could revert back to its usual smoky form enveloping his body. And what do you know, I was right.
That knowledge and more observation allowed me to land a few more punches and kicks before he was already furious enough to dodge everything and in return attack me using his erratic movements once more.
"Tch, to think I would use this on a mere weakling." He voiced after a while as the flow of his chakra suddenly changed.
I stood there rooted on the spot as his previously smoky and formless chakra started to converge into something almost solid. I gulped at the sight as it formed into a creature similar to a bird.
"Be careful, Little Namikaze." Deidara smirked. "This one explodes upon contact."
And it was already too late. In one swift movement, the bird chakra had flown from his body towards me. I tried to evade it in futility. It was swift and big to the point where it could still cover me even if I were to run sideways.
Instead, I braced myself and waited for the impact. A second before the explosion, I distinctly heard Sasuke's voice calling my name. Nah, there's no way. He was on the other side of the huge stadium so I couldn't possibly hear his voice.
And then everything went quiet as the chakra engulfed my whole body. At first, I felt nothing but heat before everything went dark as I heard my own scream from far away.
Naruto...
Naruto...
Naruto!!!
That voice... Sasuke...? His voice sounded so pained... so far away... I wonder if his fight with Tobi was finished. Was he fine?
"Naruto!" I opened my eyes when I felt the warmth covering my entire body. My whole body felt like it was on fire and I couldn't move. Everything hurt. I could see nothing but red – red hands, red uniform... red flooring... red... Oh, idiot, it's blood. Oh Kami, it's my blood!! I gasped as I realized that I was bleeding all over and most likely dying!!
Kami!!! I was still a teenager!! I didn't want to die yet!! Please, I still wanted to get married and be Sasuke's bride!! Or... no, please forget that. I just didn't want to die!!
"Naruto!" I blinked and looked up. I swore if the situation wasn't this dire, I would have blushed up to the tips of my hair. Yeah, I knew it's idiotic for me to even think of such things even when I was already dying. But still... Sasuke's face was just too close!!!
But... his expression was so anguished...
I tried to force out a smile and reassure him that I was fine. But it was no use. I could only lie on this flooring while he kept me in a tight embrace. He's kneeling beside me and I knew he was doing it to protect me. I could feel him trembling... or was it just me who's trembling from the pain?
I could see aniki from a distance. It seemed he was fighting against Deidara together with Bee. I knew just from his stance that the blonde was losing very badly. I wanted to cheer for him but I just didn't have the energy. Kimimarou and some people I didn't recognize had taken Sasori as their opponent. Those people didn't seem to be students of Konoha Gakuen since they already looked like adults but it was still reassuring to have so many people who could use chakra fighting against the Akatsuki. I heaved a soft sigh of relief at that, but regretted it the next second when the pain seemed to skyrocket at the action.
"Just wait for a little bit longer..." Sasuke whispered hoarsely so close to my ear. I've never seen him looking so scared and lost before. I felt his embrace tighten. "...The Medical Team is almost here."
"Your fight..." I managed to croak out. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth when the pain became too much. I was having a hard time breathing too.
"It's finished. They will never be able to hurt any of you anymore." I thought it was Sasuke who answered because the voice was similar. However, as I opened my eyes once again, I could barely contain my surprise. He was standing not too far from Sasuke and me. I've seen him only in pictures but I could recognize him anywhere.
Was I imagining things?
"Itachi... Uchiha...?" I voiced as I looked at both him and Sasuke.
Itachi gave me a small, gentle smile just as Sasuke scowled and glared at him.
.
.tbc.
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