Alright Mew, I uploaded! It's your turn again ;P You know who you are! >:D
Pic of Kiba and Shino --->
Song is Centipede by Knife Party -->
The video clip is so stupid. Don't watch it, just listen to the music lol :3
Ashley’s POV
My mouth opens in a silent gasp, as I watch the Centipede open its giant pincers, throwing its head back and launching a screaming Nobu high into the air. I see the helpless Stone Ninja flailing her arms and legs wildly, screaming so loud that it sounds like she’s right next to me.
“Nobu!” Takishimaru calls frantically, fingers tangled in his hair as he pulls on it roughly. “Nobu!”
We all watch as Nobu disappears inside the Centipede’s mouth, the sound of her screams immediately ceasing as the creature swallows her whole. I wince as the Centipede lets out an ear splitting screech, throwing its head back as its pointed legs wave back and forth creepily, clicking with each movement.
“What is going on here?....” Kyoku murmurs beside me, sounding both perplexed and slightly disturbed. “Is this what she summoned?”
My brows furrow as I gaze up at the demonic looking creature, my hands balling into tight fists. Though I severely disliked Nobu and her arrogant attitude, I would’ve liked to save her. Nobody deserves to die by getting devoured by a seemingly supernatural insect. Well, I wouldn’t mind if it had been Orochimaru, but that’s another topic altogether….
My eyes widen as I see the Centipede turn its colossal body, its head now tilted down to face the ground. I can’t see any eyes on the creature, but somehow I just know it’s looking down at us.
Suddenly, the Centipede darts down towards us, its pincers open wide and ready to snatch one of us up. Reacting immediately, Kyoku and I both leap backwards, with me performing rapid hand signs at the same time.
The Centipede’s face slams into the ground at high speed, causing the earth to quake violently and sending a huge cloud of dust billowing up into the air. It swiftly pulls its head back up, screeching loudly as we all look down at the massive crater the insect had created.
“Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!” I shout, placing a hand in front of my mouth and blowing out an impressive ball of fire. It shoots straight towards the Centipede, hitting its thick skin with a loud cracking sound. I continue blowing out a stream of Fire Nature chakra, wanting to keep up the attack and deal some damage to the Centipede.
The Centipede seems to pause for a moment, before turning its attention down to me, its pincers clicking open and closed, as though it were thinking.
Seemingly annoyed by the fire crackling against its shining, black skin, the Centipede dives down towards me, causing me to break my Jutsu. I glare up at the approaching creature irritably, though my heart is pounding against my chest. My Jutsu hadn’t injured it in the least!
“Water Style: Liquid Bullet!” someone on my far right shouts, just as the Centipede is about to grab me. Shooting out of the bushes, a large ball made up of water and immensely concentrated chakra barrels into the side of the Centipede’s head. I feel a strong whoosh of air as the Centipede’s head disappears from my view, having being thrown to the side by the ferocity of the Liquid Bullet. I close my eyes and throw up my arms as the water explodes, the wave of air causing my hair to stream out behind me.
“We need to move” Kyoku says lowly, suddenly appearing next to me, a serious look on her face as she stares over at the Centipede, who is already rising back up. I drop my arms and blink at the blue haired woman, watching her with slight admiration.
“That’s the strongest Liquid Bullet I’ve ever seen” I tell Kyoku, who merely shrugs, stuck in serious mode.
“I specialise in Water Jutsu” she says simply, as a thunderous growl emits from the Centipede’s mouth, its body now swaying from side to side with obvious irritation.
“It’s not even injured….” Kyoku murmurs, her eyes now hooded as we stare up at the behemoth insect.
“Looks like we won’t be able to hold back then” I reply with a smirk, placing my hands together. “We’ll see if that thing can handle this attack…”
Pulling my hands apart a small way, a sphere of chakra begins forming between my palms, spinning slowly.
“Is that the Fourth Hokage’s Jutsu?” Kyoku asks, sounding surprised. “The Rasengan?”
I shake my head, pulling my hands further apart and stretching the sphere out into a flat, horizontal disc.
“No” I reply lowly, a soft whirring sound coming from the spinning disc in my hands. “This is a little different, although I did take inspiration from the Rasengan to create this Jutsu.”
Focusing my Wind Nature chakra into the disc, the colour changes from sky blue to a soft grey, as sharp, curved teeth appear around its edges. Kyoku’s eyes widen a tiny bit, as the noise emitted from my disc increases from a soft whirring to the roaring of a buzz saw.
The Centipede rears up intimidatingly, waving its pointed legs back and forth, before screeching and diving down towards us again. Glaring up at the creature determinedly, I slide my left foot forwards and pull my right arm back, the furiously spinning disc floating just above my palm.
“Wind Style: Typhoon Divide!” I shout, heaving the spinning disc forwards with all of my might. It shoots forwards at an incredible speed, whirling straight towards the Centipede’s face.
The insect manages to close the pincers in front of its mouth together just in time to block my Jutsu, halting its attack as it pushes against the swirling disc. Kyoku and I can’t help wincing, the sound of my Jutsu grating against the Centipede’s pincers like a saw against steel.
Shrieking angrily, the Centipede deflects my Jutsu to the right, only for it to slice through about seven of its right legs before exploding. The Centipede stumbles to the side from the impact, roaring in pain as its severed legs fall heavily to the ground.
I narrow my eyes suspiciously at the Centipede, as purple blood drips from its body. The demonic looking creature stomps back and forth, snapping its pincers open and closed angrily. My Jutsu hadn’t scratched the pincers at all, yet the legs had been severed right off…..
“Its legs aren’t made of the same stuff that its pincers are!” I shout to Kyoku decisively, trying to be heard over the Centipede’s obnoxious screeching.
“What makes you say that?” Kyoku calls back, diving out of the way as a large tree branch falls to the ground, hitting it with a loud crash.
“My Typhoon Divide has a super high concentration of chakra and is supposed to be able to cut through just about anything” I reply, throwing up my hands and managing to catch a large boulder in the air before it lands on top of Kyoku. Using my Katsuryoku, I carelessly toss the boulder aside, making sure to keep my eye on the still screeching Centipede.
“The fact that it didn’t leave a mark on the pincers” I continue, straightening up as Kyoku appears right next to me, “Yet it sliced through the legs so easily makes me say that. The legs aren’t as tough as its pincers.”
“I see….” Kyoku mutters, taking up a defensive position as the Centipede rears up, opening its pincers wide. “Its skin seems quite hard to harm as well, considering both of our Jutsu did nothing to it.”
Sensing movement off to my left, I turn my head, only to see Takishimaru desperately running in the opposite direction of the Giant Centipede, blubbering incoherable things to himself. He must be in a bit of shock or something from seeing Nobu get eaten, but still, how can he just run away? We have to try something.
“We should kill the red head” a rough voice says, as someone appears behind Kyoku and I. I whirl around, coming face to face with Tanzaki.
“If we kill her, the Summoning Jutsu will become void” the blue haired Mist Ninja informs me lowly, ruby eyes narrowed at my face. “No more Centipede.”
I raise an eyebrow at Tanzaki, resisting the urge to say anything sarcastic to her. I thought the Mist Ninja were all too cool to speak?
“Two things” I say shortly, staring at Tanzaki warily. “One, we can’t kill anyone. Two, we’d have to find Tozoku first. I’m not willing to search this whole forest for her, but if you want to, good luck.”
That said, I turn back around to face the Centipede again, only to see that it has grown still, though its head is swaying from side to side slowly, resembling a snake that’s ready to strike.
“I’m gonna help you out a bit Kyoku” I suddenly say, remembering Kyoku’s specialty. “This’ll save you some chakra in the long run.”
Kyoku’s eyes flick over to me curiously as I raise my arms up, before she refocuses on the now hissing Centipede. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I focus my mind on the moisture in the air, slowly spinning around and dragging it out. The moisture quickly forms into a ball of water, the sphere growing with every second.
After another few moments, I hear the Centipede screech furiously, the ground shaking violently as it suddenly launches itself towards us. I cease my spinning and throw my arms towards the ground, dropping a large torrent of water on the earth.
“You mainly use Water Jutsu” I call to Kyoku, as water sloshes around our ankles, “So use this water to save creating your own!”
“Ashley!” Kyoku shouts, throwing out an arm as I suddenly take off, running to meet the Centipede head on. “Don’t be crazy! Kakashi will kill me if you get hurt!”
“It’s just a bug Kyoku!” I reply arrogantly, placing my hands together. “Give me some credit….Summoning Jutsu!”
Throwing my arms down, I slam my hands on the ground and do a forward hand spring, managing to perform my Summoning Jutsu and flip back up the right way. As I continue running, a cloud of white smoke appears beside me, concealing my chosen Summon.
Sensing me run ahead of him, Ace leaps out of the smoke cloud, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. He catches up to me easily, seemingly unperturbed by the incoming Centipede.
“No time to explain Ace!” I call, turning my head to glare up at the screeching insect ahead. “But I need you to flip me high into the air. When the bug dives down, I want to get above its head!”
“Of course Milady” Ace replies, lowering his head and growling up at the Centipede. “I trust you will be ready……”
“I always am” I reply with a low chuckle, before stumbling and almost tripping over due to the earth’s shaking. Though I think some of the Centipede’s body is still underground, the Centipede’s colossal weight makes the ground quake every time one of its hundred or so legs hit the earth.
I grit my teeth and narrow my eyes, as the Centipede looms ahead of us, its head rocketing down towards us with its pincers wide open.
“Milady!” Ace warns, suddenly increasing his speed and surging ahead of me. “On my back!”
I nod my head, watching Ace skid to a halt a few metres ahead of me, his large paws sending up clouds of dust. Focusing a small amount of chakra into my feet, I leap forwards, my right foot landing in the middle of Ace’s back.
As I straighten up, left leg still bent, Ace lowers himself to the ground and, focusing his Katsuryoku, creates a powerful blast of wind that sends us rocketing up into the air.
“Make sure to get out of the way Ace!” I shout, my hair blowing around me wildly due to the wind. We shoot up past the Centipede’s hideous face, its mouth nothing more than an enormous black hole. I briefly see something dripping from the Centipede’s pincers, an acrid smell reaching my nose and making me pull a face.
“Be careful” is all Ace says, before I bend my right knee and launch myself up from his back, leaping high up above the Centipede’s head, its black, armour like skin glinting in the sun.
Down below me, I see Ace spin around, before a large fireball shoots from his mouth, having created it with his Katsuryoku.
‘Good boy Ace’ I think, thankful for the Wolf’s distraction as I bring my hands together above my head, interlacing my fingers and focusing a huge amount of chakra into them.
As Ace falls back towards the ground, the Centipede pauses for a moment, my Wolf’s fireball having shot right down its throat. It begins shrieking in pain, its body thrashing around wildly. I see trees collapsing from the violent shaking of the earth, boulders getting smashed to tiny pieces.
I flip around in the air, bringing my hands down as I fall, a visible blue aura surrounding them due to the sheer concentration of chakra I’ve focused into them.
As Ace lands safely on the ground, my hands hammer down on the Centipede’s head heavily, a sickening crack resounding through the air. The massive insect fall towards the ground, its legs seeming to buckle under the force of the hit.
“Aaahhh!” I scream, pulling my hands towards my chest as I flip around and fall towards the ground as well. I squeeze my eyes closed, an intense pain shooting up and down both of my arms. That had hurt! I mean, punching rocks is one thing, but never have I hit anything so incredible sturdy before.
There’s no give in that Centipede’s armour at all. At least when you punch a rock, it gives a little and then it shatters, but that…..There’s nothing to compare it to. I won’t be surprised if at least one of my hands is broken.
Just below me, the Centipede hits the ground with an almighty boom, causing everyone on the ground to unwillingly fall to their knees. The wind whistles around me as I fall as well, tearing at my clothes and hair.
“Milady!” a familiar voice shouts, before I suddenly collide with something muscular and furry. “Ughh…”
Feeling myself now back down on the ground, I slowly open my eyes, only to see that I’m sitting on top of Ace. He exhales sharply, breathless from me landing on top of him, before he pulls himself to his feet and carefully slides out from underneath me.
“Are you alright Milady?” Ace asks worriedly, seeing the way I’m clutching my hands to my chest. I chuckle humourlessly, a drop of sweat sliding down the side of my face.
“I’ll be okay” I reply breathlessly, ignoring the suspicious look on Ace’s face, when I hear someone calling my name.
“Ashley!” Kyoku calls worriedly, running towards me. She reaches me in no time and drops to her knees, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?!”
I nod my head, blowing my long fringe from my eye and giving Kyoku a pained, lop sided grin.
“Yeah” I reply, glancing down to inspect my injured hands, “But that Centipede’s skin is harder than steel…..I think my left hand is broken…”
Ace and Kyoku watch with serious faces as I slowly raise my left hand and unclench my fingers, hissing in pain as I do so. My little and ring fingers are already turning a strange blue colour, while the sides of both my hands look red and raw. My two blue fingers are beginning to swell too, and considering the power behind that attack of mine, I’m not surprised. Maybe I should leave super strong punches and such to Sakura and Lady Tsunade…
“That was very reckless Milady” Ace speaks up wryly. “If anything had gone wrong, you would be dead right now. Though I will support you, even in such rash decisions, you must learn to think things through before you rush in and make snap decisions like that. It will cost you your life one day…”
I frown down at my hands childishly, knowing that I should really listen to my Guardian, but I’m stubborn, so I’m going to pretend I’m not.
I slowly and painfully perform some hand signs, before my right hand becomes enveloped in a soft, green aura. This is what sucks about hand injuries, you can only use hand at a time to heal instead of two, so it takes longer.
“I won’t be able to heal any broken bones” I begin, wincing as my chakra begins working its magic, “But I’ll be able to stop the pain and swelling at least. Looks like my left hand is out of commission for awh-”
I am cut off, as the behemoth Centipede pulls itself up from the ground and shakes its head a few times. Stones tumble down from the insect’s body, a huge, long indent now carved into the ground. Flattened trees lie in the massive trench, squashed flat by the creature’s enormous weight.
Letting out an ear splitting screech that causes Ace to flatten his ears back and cringe with pain, the Centipede rises up to full height, waving its legs and snapping its pincers viciously.
“It’s not even hurt from your attack” Kyoku comments, sounding a little discouraged. I stare up at the evidently uninjured creature through narrowed eyes, before sighing irritably and refocusing my attention on healing my damaged hand.
“Well at least one of us walked away from that alright” I mutter dryly, as Kyoku rises cautiously to her feet. “Oh yeah, I had a thought when I was up there too. I think the Centipede’s pincers either have poison on them or in them. So watch out for that.”
“I don’t think its poison we have to worry about right now…” the blue haired Jonin informs me slowly. “It looks like the Centipede has something else in mind.”
“Huh?” I ask, glancing back up at the monstrous creature, only for my eyes to widen. “Uh oh.”
The Centipede’s mouth begins glowing an ominous deep orange, the colour swiftly lightening until it looks almost white. Leaning backwards for a split second, the Centipede throws its head forwards, blowing out an absolutely enormous ball of fire.
“Run!” I shout frantically, at the same time Ace calls “Milady!”
Third Person’s POV
Everyone remains silent, their hearts thudding against their chests as they stare at the screen, the scene now hidden behind a thick cloud of black smoke. The three top screens display scenes of contestants spread throughout the forest, while the three screens along the bottom remain black, each camera recording the unfolding situation from a different angle.
‘We can’t see anything right now ladies and gentlemen’ Areki says slowly, anxious to see if the contestants are alright. ‘Cross your fingers that our competitors are as impressive as they’ve seemed to be so far………This is crazy……’
“Oh please let Ashley be okay…” Sakura whispers, clinging to Naruto’s arm tightly, fighting back tears of distress. “Please…..”
Naruto places a comforting hand over the top of Sakura’s, trying to calm her down a little, though he’s unable to stop himself from shaking. He stares at the screens through disbelieving eyes, wondering how his teammate was going to fair in a fight against such a supernatural creature. Especially now that she was injured. Sure Ashley was fast, but speed wasn’t going to be able to beat that thing.
“Where are Neji and Kakashi Sensei?” Tenten asks rhetorically, brown eyes flicking between all six screens, trying to catch a glimpse of the two Jonin. “Ashley and Kyoku are gonna need their help….”
‘Did she get out of the way in time?’ Kiba wonders frantically, keeping his thoughts to himself for the moment. ‘There’s no way she’d be killed so easily….No way……’
“Mm mmm….” Akamaru whimpers softly, nuzzling Kiba’s hand with his soft muzzle. The large Ninken was worried about Ashley as well, and he didn’t like how distressed Kiba was, though the brunette was trying to hide it.
‘It….It looks like the smoke is beginning to clear folks’ Areki announces hesitantly, as visibility slowly becomes clearer. ‘And it…..looks like…..Yes! Our contestants are still alive! What a relief!’
A cheer goes up through the crowd of Leaf Villagers and Shinobi, as Kyoku shows up on one screen, her skin and clothes dotted with dirt. She crouches down, running an arm across her forehead, before glancing around, a tiny smile of relief appearing on her face when she spots who she’s looking for.
Another screen shows Ashley, clutching her left hand in pain and also covered in dirt and soot. She narrows her eyes up at the Centipede, sitting a top Ace, who had immediately scooped her up as soon as the insect had fired at them.
Tanzaki appears on the third screen, crouched in a tree, a slight burn mark on her right arm.
“Alriiiiiigghht!” Naruto cheers wildly, punching an arm into the air. “Way to go Ashley! She’s alright!”
“Thanks to Ace” Sakura giggles with relief, her eyes shining. “Good thing Ashley summoned him!”
Kiba’s look of panic fades momentarily, replaced by a tiny, wavering smile. Though she wasn’t out of danger yet, and was clearly injured, his Angel was alive for the moment.
Kiba no longer cared if the Leaf Village won the Tournament, or if Ashley beat Tozoku, he just wanted her to survive. He needed her to stay alive and come back to him more than anything.
She was rude, sarcastic and distant at times, but Kiba needed her, more so than he actually realised. The thought of Ashley dying over in that forest……It had suddenly hit like a ton of bricks just how much he loved her. She had to come back.
Everyone on the ground watches as the Centipede’s mouth begins lighting up again, tiny flames flickering around its pincers. Throwing its head forwards, the creature shoots out another monstrous, white fireball, swiftly followed by another and another.
On the lower right screen, Ashley raises her right arm, scowling so that her pointed teeth are showing, as Ace’s visible aqua eye begins glowing.
As the fireball is about to hit them, it suddenly stops, as if hitting an invisible force field. Ace begins spinning in rapid circles, becoming nothing more than a blue blur, the fireball following his movements. After a few moments, the Wolf ceases his spinning and as he does, the fireball is sent rocketing back towards the Centipede.
It hits the monster’s skin with a flash and a loud explosion, the Centipede’s legs twitching with clear irritation.
The camera zooms in on Ace and Ashley, seeing the look of frustration on the blonde’s face, with Ace baring his teeth and growling up at the giant insect.
On the lower middle screen, Kyoku drops down into the water Ashley had pulled from the air earlier, kneeling on one knee and performing a set of hand signs, so fast it’s impossible to tell what signs she’s making.
As one of the fireballs barrels towards her, Kyoku places her hand down on the large puddle beneath her feet, sending her chakra out into it. Immediately, the water begins rising up like a pillar, swiftly spinning around and around until it becomes a vicious tornado of water.
The fireball hits the vortex of water with a boom, the cool liquid causing steam to rise from the fire, a vicious hissing sound filling the air. Losing the battle against the water torrent, the fireball fizzles out and completely disappears, before Kyoku pushes the water forwards, controlling it with her chakra.
The tornado spins furiously towards the Centipede, who has its attention focused on Ashley and Ace, before colliding painfully into its body. Not even bothering to look, the Centipede slashes at the water with three of its legs, tearing the vortex to pieces and rendering it useless. Kyoku’s brows furrow in thought as the water splashes to the ground, not even a scratch on the Centipede’s body.
The third fireball is launched at Tanzaki, who merely drops down from the tree she’s in and holds up her fans, ready to take the incoming attack. The Mists Ninja’s steel fans begin glowing blue as she concentrates a large amount of chakra into her hands, transferring it into her weapons. Sliding one foot back to steady herself, Tanzaki spins around just as the fireball is about to hit her, managing to catch it and drag it along with her movements.
Everyone sees the look of strain on her face as she tries to manipulate the enormous ball of flames, the heat obviously searing at her skin.
Unable to take the intense heat for very long, Tanzaki releases the fireball at the end of her spin, sending it soaring up to the Centipede’s head. After she throws it, Tanzaki drops to her hands and knees, panting heavily. Her eyes scrunch closed, the skin on her arms glowing red from the burns she’s received.
“H-How are th-they supposed to b-beat it?” Hinata asks softly, a troubled look on her face, hands clasped under her chin. Though not particularly close with Ashley and having had no prior knowledge of Kyoku, Hinata was sincerely hoping the two would be able to come up with a way to defeat the Giant Centipede. Hopefully her cousin and Kakashi would get there soon and be able to help the Kunoichi out.
Everyone watches as the Centipede hears the sound of the approaching fireball and turns its head, only to be hit directly in the face. Though initially uninjured, the Centipede opens its mouth and screeches with annoyance, causing some of the fire to descend into the black hole.
‘It…It doesn’t seem like anything is able to harm this demonic creature’ Areki announces mournfully, rather doubtful that Kyoku, Ashley and Tanzaki will survive. ‘Our contestants are putting up quite a good fight though…’
While the fire on its head and pincers swiftly dissipates, the Centipede seems to freeze, its body twitching strangely. Before anyone can react, the monstrous creature begins writhing wildly, causing the ground to shake and shudder violently. Faint static appears on the three screens showing the event, the odd leaf or stone tumbling in front the cameras.
“What on earth is going on now?” Ino asks, sounding both exasperated and worried. “That thing acts so weird!”
The usually silent Shino raises his head, a small number of miniscule insects buzzing around him.
“It’s injured” he says simply, his voice as cool and calm as always. This earns the young Aburame some strange looks from the others, though he doesn’t seem to care.
“Are you crazy Shino?” Naruto barks, jabbing a hand up at the six screen situated on top of the Hokage’s Mansion. “They’ve attacked that thing multiple times and it hasn’t been injured yet!”
“Its skin is like…..armour or something” Sakura mutters thoughtfully, before sighing, her shoulders drooping.
“It doesn’t react at all when they attack its skin” Shino adds mysteriously, causing Kiba to turn around and give his teammate an inquisitive look. Shino nods back at him, hiding his knowing smirk behind the high collar of his jacket.
“They haven’t injured its skin…..” Kiba says slowly, staring at Shino through narrowed eyes as realisation begins to dawn on him. “It only reacts when its insides get hurt…..”
“Correct” Shino confirms, making Kiba’s eyes widen. The others stare at the two males, slowly beginning to understand there meaning.
“Actually….” Tenten speaks up, brows furrowed as she turns back to look at the screens, “Now that you mention it, the Centipede has only gone crazy the two times attacks have gone inside its mouth. The first time was when Ace sent a fireball down its throat, and the second time was just then!”
“So the bug’s weakness is its guts?” Naruto asks, tilting his head and screwing his face up in confusion. “Isn’t that kinda weird? I mean, how are they supposed to get close enough to attack its guts?”
“Not necessarily its guts Naruto” Sakura sighs, though this time she elbows the blonde in the stomach. “They’ll just need to get close enough to launch a few more attacks into its mouth. Kill it from the inside.”
“That’s all well and good you guys” Kiba speaks up seriously, frowning up at the screen and watching as the Centipede begins wildly shooting fireballs in all directions, “But they’ve gotta figure that out too.”
Everyone blinks at Kiba, before turning back to the screens with grim faces.
“Ashley is very smart” Lee speaks up, clenching one hand into a determined fist, “And I’m sure that this Kyoku woman is as well. They will figure it out, and they will be victorious.”
I can't be bothered writing anymore right now lol. Hey guys, PLEASE leave me a comment if you enjoyed the chapter, or even if you didn't! I may not always reply, but I love knowing what you think :)