Chakra Wizard
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And so, the second phase finally comes to an end
I can’t wait to get started on the one-on-one matches. A lot of good stuff is gonna be revealed there*_* Oh, and for those interested, I finally went ahead and made a group for this FF, if you wanna join and check that out. If you regularly read these chapters, I’d like to request that you do, cause I wanna keep track of who my audience is. Anyways, enjoy
Here’s my previous chapters, for those who missed any:
Chapter 023: Last-Minute Delay
Two minutes gone from their remaining time, Airon quickened his already impressive pace, much to the dismay of the exhausted members of his group. The two teams still had over a kilometer left to go until they reached the tower, but the strain on the genins’ bodies was quickly becoming unbearable, as shown by the distance between them as they leaped from branch to branch. Possessing the highest stamina and natural affinity for speed, Airon and Kei were at the head of the pack, while Minto desperately tried to keep up from nearly two hundred feet behind them.
Minto: Airon, slow down, man! Not all of us can keep up!
Airon: You don’t have to! Just get to the tower and it won’t matter how far apart we are when we arrive! (Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! …I’m so blaming Manako for this if we miss our time!)
Inase: (I told you not to start a fight with him, Airon.)
Airon: (That’s enough, little sister! I get it, I’m an idiot, now pick up the pace! You’re starting to lag behind Taigen!)
Inase: (Alright, jeez! …Getting all bent outta shape over a stupid record…)
Airon: (One you wanna beat just as badly as us.)
Inase: (Huh!?)
Airon: (I’m not deaf, Inase. I know you-)
Inase: (Alright, alright, whatever! Just hurry up already!)
Despite his current state of mind, even Airon couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself as they sped past the one-kilometer mark. At this rate, if they were to keep their current pace, Gaara’s record was as good as theirs, a thought which brought a hopeful smile to the faces of all six genin. The group would have little time to rejoice, however, as a loud rumbling noise filled the air, causing all of them to stop atop an exceptionally large tree branch. His hand already resting on the handle of his sword, Airon turned towards the two sensory ninjas in their group for answers.
Airon: Inase. Taigen. Gimme an update.
When neither of them answered, he immediately expected the worst and drew his blade just as their ambushers came into view: three gigantic centipedes, each of them hundreds of feet in length, aligning themselves around their newly found prey.
Taigen: WHOA!!
Minto: What in the-!?
Inase: Those things are enormous!
Nakama: So it’s true. …There are giant centipedes living in this forest.
Kei: Bugs…why does it always have to be bugs!?
Airon: Okay, I am SO not in the mood for this right now!
Adjusting his grip on the handle of his sword, Airon leaped forward to attack the insect positioned closest to him, only to be stopped by a hand wrapped around his forearm.
Nakama: Then just keep moving. I’ll take care of it.
Inase: Say what!?
Airon: Nakama, I-
Nakama: (Not wanting to be refused, she smiled gently to prevent Airon from speaking any further.) It’s alright. …Hmhm, if I can fight on par with you, how much of a threat are a few centipedes gonna be?
The truth in her words was undeniable, but even so, Airon found himself unable to follow her wishes. Seeing that he wasn’t going to start moving any time soon, Nakama quickly began to insist that they go on ahead.
Nakama: Airon, if you don’t move now, it won’t matter anyway! Now go!
Brought back to reality by the serious tone in her voice, Airon wasted no more time contemplating the issue and signaled for the rest of the genin to follow him, passing on a private message to Nakama as he took off.
Airon: (You’ve got sixty seconds to catch up with us.)
Nakama: (Hmhmhm, it’s a date, then.)
Blushing lightly in response to this innuendo on her part, Airon’s eyes instantly reassumed their cold disposition as he drew his sword and leaped down from the branch. Quickly garnering the attention of their new enemy, the closest of the three centipedes closed in to devour him, only for him to disappear from sight and reemerge atop its head shortly after. Raising the weapon over his head as chakra began surging through it, he readjusted his grip on the handle and sent the blade crashing through the centipede’s skull, invoking a loud shriek from the giant beast. Sending another large burst of chakra through it to increase its sharpness, Airon immediately began dragging the sword across the bug’s enormous body, summoning more screeches from the creature as his teammates leaped down and started following him. By the time half of the centipede’s body had been scrutinized by Airon’s weapon, the giant insect had taken all it could bear and feel lifeless to the forest floor. Upon touching the ground, the five genin quickly leaped off and continued towards the tower, leaving Nakama to deal with the other two, …only ninety seconds and nine hundred meters still standing between them and Gaara’s record.
Airon: (Come on, come on, come on, come on!)
He continued to look behind him every other second to ensure that no one was lagging behind, the surrounding trees passing the group by one after the other, until at last, the tower’s entrance was in their view. His eyes widening with joy, Airon motioned the rest of the team to pick up their pace as he held out his arms, ready to burst through the door with only seconds to spare.
Kei: We’re home free, guy-!
As if by some stroke of bad karma, Kei’s last stride towards the door was ended by a small case of misplaced footing, sending him crashing to the ground as his siblings, Minto, and Taigen rushed inside, cheering in celebration of their apparent victory. It was only when they turned around that they found Kei struggling to stand back up, and with both teams now inside the tower missing one of their members, their victory was officially null and void.
Airon: Huhhh…you’ve gotta be kidding me.
Inase: (Beyond disappointed by this unfortunate turn of events, she rubbed her eyes in utter aggravation.) Kei, you idiot. …Huhh, even still, what’re the odds he’d be the one to mess up in the end?
Kei: (Hastily returning to his feet, he pointed at Inase in resentment upon hearing her words.) Rrrgghh, can it, sis! If you’re gonna blame someone, blame Airon! We lost like twenty minutes cause of him!
Inase: I was just getting to that! Airon, you-
Turning to face her brother as she spoke, both Inase and those standing around her found themselves at a loss for words upon seeing what he was doing: holding his hand over his face as he cackled almost uncontrollably.
Minto: …Uhhhh, Airon? …Why the heck are you laughing right now?
Inase: That’s what I’m wondering. Airon, in case you never realized it, this was ultimately your fault from the start! If you had just used-
Airon: (Holding out his hand to stop her, he gradually ceased all laughter before turning to face her, his amused expression still intact.) …That was the point, though, right?
Kei, Inase, Minto, and Taigen: Say what?
Airon: Hehehehe, guys, just think about it for a second. We all knew from the very start that we would’ve beaten the record easily if we actually applied ourselves…and was I really the only one who thought that sounded absolutely boring?
Catching on to his meaning almost immediately, Inase and Minto continued to stare at him in near disbelief, Kei and Taigen joining in once they reached the same conclusion.
Inase: So, what’re you saying? That you were holding back? Hoping there might be a last-minute slip-up?
Minto: Just to boost the suspense?
Airon: Hmhmhmhm, why not?
The silence persisting another moment longer, it was finally ended as Minto began chuckling uncontrollably, his face buried in his right hand after a failed attempt to compose himself. He was joined shortly after by Taigen and Kei, even Inase finding it impossible to overlook the absurdity of it all.
Inase: Huhhh, why am I not surprised?
Airon: Hmhm, too caught up in the moment to remember how our big brother thinks, were we?
Inase: (Ahh, save it.)
Taigen: And was Kei slipping supposed to be part of that equation?
Airon: (Turning to face Taigen, he quickly redirected his attention towards his brother before applying a faint touch of sarcasm to his voice.) No, that was all him. I can’t believe you, Kei, stumbling in your moment of triumph.
Kei: (Ignoring the aforementioned sarcasm, his face quickly became distorted with rage.) Grrr-cchh, why the heck are you pushing this back on me!!? It’s still your fault for not taking this thing seriously!! Why don’t you take the blame for once instead of-
Airon: Hehehahaha, Kei, it was a RECORD! One that NOBODY cares about! Why are you still so worked up about it?
Inase: Hmhmhm, he just doesn’t like losing, Airon. You know that.
Airon: Which is an even bigger concern for me, considering no one else even seemed interested in beating it aside from us.
Kei: Arrrrggghh, both of you can it already!!
Nakama: Hmhmhm, the five of you seem to be having fun.
Taken aback by her sudden arrival, everyone quickly turned towards the doorway to find Nakama standing there, her ever-present smile illuminating her face. Her teammates immediately ran up to her to exchange greetings, following shortly by Airon’s siblings and lastly, Airon himself, sporting the same amused expression which he normally wore while in Nakama’s presence.
Airon: I thought I told you you had sixty seconds to catch up.
Nakama: Hmhm, oh, I’ve been standing by that doorway for a few minutes now. …Just thought I might enjoy the spectacle while it lasted.
Airon: (Pleased to hear that his personality was beginning to rub off on her, he chuckled softly to himself before responding.) Hmhmhmhm, not too surprising, to say the least. …So, I take it you’ve already heard everything you needed to hear?
Nakama: (Her face immediately adopted a more serious look, though sarcasm was still present.) That I have. …You must feel so disappointed right now.
Airon: (Playing along, he assumed a serious tone of his own, perhaps even more convincing than Nakama’s.) Huhhh, yeah, I guess so, …especially considering how close we were. I mean, just a few seconds more is all we needed and that record would’ve-
Kei: Oh, come on! Would you stop that!? Seriously!
Finding themselves unable to hold back, Inase, Taigen, and Minto quickly joined Airon and Nakama in their laughing ensemble, which carried out for nearly a full minute on end as Kei sat nearby, his arms crossed like a child as an angry, yet obtuse, expression took over his face. When he had finally had his fill of hilarity, Airon quickly regained his composure while bringing to light something that had gone surprisingly unnoticed until now.
Airon: Hmhmhm, I’m sorry, Kei. …Besides, right now, I suppose we should be celebrating instead of arguing. Whether we reached the tower in ninety minutes or not, we were still the first two teams to complete this stage of the exams.
Airon’s group falls just short of their goal, but have nonetheless completed the second stage of the Chūnin Exams!!!
The End
Author’s Note:
I can’t wait to get started on the one-on-one matches. A lot of good stuff is gonna be revealed there*_* Oh, and for those interested, I finally went ahead and made a group for this FF, if you wanna join and check that out. If you regularly read these chapters, I’d like to request that you do, cause I wanna keep track of who my audience is. Anyways, enjoyHere’s my previous chapters, for those who missed any:
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Chapter 023: Last-Minute Delay
Two minutes gone from their remaining time, Airon quickened his already impressive pace, much to the dismay of the exhausted members of his group. The two teams still had over a kilometer left to go until they reached the tower, but the strain on the genins’ bodies was quickly becoming unbearable, as shown by the distance between them as they leaped from branch to branch. Possessing the highest stamina and natural affinity for speed, Airon and Kei were at the head of the pack, while Minto desperately tried to keep up from nearly two hundred feet behind them.
Minto: Airon, slow down, man! Not all of us can keep up!
Airon: You don’t have to! Just get to the tower and it won’t matter how far apart we are when we arrive! (Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! …I’m so blaming Manako for this if we miss our time!)
Inase: (I told you not to start a fight with him, Airon.)
Airon: (That’s enough, little sister! I get it, I’m an idiot, now pick up the pace! You’re starting to lag behind Taigen!)
Inase: (Alright, jeez! …Getting all bent outta shape over a stupid record…)
Airon: (One you wanna beat just as badly as us.)
Inase: (Huh!?)
Airon: (I’m not deaf, Inase. I know you-)
Inase: (Alright, alright, whatever! Just hurry up already!)
Despite his current state of mind, even Airon couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself as they sped past the one-kilometer mark. At this rate, if they were to keep their current pace, Gaara’s record was as good as theirs, a thought which brought a hopeful smile to the faces of all six genin. The group would have little time to rejoice, however, as a loud rumbling noise filled the air, causing all of them to stop atop an exceptionally large tree branch. His hand already resting on the handle of his sword, Airon turned towards the two sensory ninjas in their group for answers.
Airon: Inase. Taigen. Gimme an update.
When neither of them answered, he immediately expected the worst and drew his blade just as their ambushers came into view: three gigantic centipedes, each of them hundreds of feet in length, aligning themselves around their newly found prey.
Taigen: WHOA!!
Minto: What in the-!?
Inase: Those things are enormous!
Nakama: So it’s true. …There are giant centipedes living in this forest.
Kei: Bugs…why does it always have to be bugs!?
Airon: Okay, I am SO not in the mood for this right now!
Adjusting his grip on the handle of his sword, Airon leaped forward to attack the insect positioned closest to him, only to be stopped by a hand wrapped around his forearm.
Nakama: Then just keep moving. I’ll take care of it.
Inase: Say what!?
Airon: Nakama, I-
Nakama: (Not wanting to be refused, she smiled gently to prevent Airon from speaking any further.) It’s alright. …Hmhm, if I can fight on par with you, how much of a threat are a few centipedes gonna be?
The truth in her words was undeniable, but even so, Airon found himself unable to follow her wishes. Seeing that he wasn’t going to start moving any time soon, Nakama quickly began to insist that they go on ahead.
Nakama: Airon, if you don’t move now, it won’t matter anyway! Now go!
Brought back to reality by the serious tone in her voice, Airon wasted no more time contemplating the issue and signaled for the rest of the genin to follow him, passing on a private message to Nakama as he took off.
Airon: (You’ve got sixty seconds to catch up with us.)
Nakama: (Hmhmhm, it’s a date, then.)
Blushing lightly in response to this innuendo on her part, Airon’s eyes instantly reassumed their cold disposition as he drew his sword and leaped down from the branch. Quickly garnering the attention of their new enemy, the closest of the three centipedes closed in to devour him, only for him to disappear from sight and reemerge atop its head shortly after. Raising the weapon over his head as chakra began surging through it, he readjusted his grip on the handle and sent the blade crashing through the centipede’s skull, invoking a loud shriek from the giant beast. Sending another large burst of chakra through it to increase its sharpness, Airon immediately began dragging the sword across the bug’s enormous body, summoning more screeches from the creature as his teammates leaped down and started following him. By the time half of the centipede’s body had been scrutinized by Airon’s weapon, the giant insect had taken all it could bear and feel lifeless to the forest floor. Upon touching the ground, the five genin quickly leaped off and continued towards the tower, leaving Nakama to deal with the other two, …only ninety seconds and nine hundred meters still standing between them and Gaara’s record.
Airon: (Come on, come on, come on, come on!)
He continued to look behind him every other second to ensure that no one was lagging behind, the surrounding trees passing the group by one after the other, until at last, the tower’s entrance was in their view. His eyes widening with joy, Airon motioned the rest of the team to pick up their pace as he held out his arms, ready to burst through the door with only seconds to spare.
Kei: We’re home free, guy-!
As if by some stroke of bad karma, Kei’s last stride towards the door was ended by a small case of misplaced footing, sending him crashing to the ground as his siblings, Minto, and Taigen rushed inside, cheering in celebration of their apparent victory. It was only when they turned around that they found Kei struggling to stand back up, and with both teams now inside the tower missing one of their members, their victory was officially null and void.
Airon: Huhhh…you’ve gotta be kidding me.
Inase: (Beyond disappointed by this unfortunate turn of events, she rubbed her eyes in utter aggravation.) Kei, you idiot. …Huhh, even still, what’re the odds he’d be the one to mess up in the end?
Kei: (Hastily returning to his feet, he pointed at Inase in resentment upon hearing her words.) Rrrgghh, can it, sis! If you’re gonna blame someone, blame Airon! We lost like twenty minutes cause of him!
Inase: I was just getting to that! Airon, you-
Turning to face her brother as she spoke, both Inase and those standing around her found themselves at a loss for words upon seeing what he was doing: holding his hand over his face as he cackled almost uncontrollably.
Minto: …Uhhhh, Airon? …Why the heck are you laughing right now?
Inase: That’s what I’m wondering. Airon, in case you never realized it, this was ultimately your fault from the start! If you had just used-
Airon: (Holding out his hand to stop her, he gradually ceased all laughter before turning to face her, his amused expression still intact.) …That was the point, though, right?
Kei, Inase, Minto, and Taigen: Say what?
Airon: Hehehehe, guys, just think about it for a second. We all knew from the very start that we would’ve beaten the record easily if we actually applied ourselves…and was I really the only one who thought that sounded absolutely boring?
Catching on to his meaning almost immediately, Inase and Minto continued to stare at him in near disbelief, Kei and Taigen joining in once they reached the same conclusion.
Inase: So, what’re you saying? That you were holding back? Hoping there might be a last-minute slip-up?
Minto: Just to boost the suspense?
Airon: Hmhmhmhm, why not?
The silence persisting another moment longer, it was finally ended as Minto began chuckling uncontrollably, his face buried in his right hand after a failed attempt to compose himself. He was joined shortly after by Taigen and Kei, even Inase finding it impossible to overlook the absurdity of it all.
Inase: Huhhh, why am I not surprised?
Airon: Hmhm, too caught up in the moment to remember how our big brother thinks, were we?
Inase: (Ahh, save it.)
Taigen: And was Kei slipping supposed to be part of that equation?
Airon: (Turning to face Taigen, he quickly redirected his attention towards his brother before applying a faint touch of sarcasm to his voice.) No, that was all him. I can’t believe you, Kei, stumbling in your moment of triumph.
Kei: (Ignoring the aforementioned sarcasm, his face quickly became distorted with rage.) Grrr-cchh, why the heck are you pushing this back on me!!? It’s still your fault for not taking this thing seriously!! Why don’t you take the blame for once instead of-
Airon: Hehehahaha, Kei, it was a RECORD! One that NOBODY cares about! Why are you still so worked up about it?
Inase: Hmhmhm, he just doesn’t like losing, Airon. You know that.
Airon: Which is an even bigger concern for me, considering no one else even seemed interested in beating it aside from us.
Kei: Arrrrggghh, both of you can it already!!
Nakama: Hmhmhm, the five of you seem to be having fun.
Taken aback by her sudden arrival, everyone quickly turned towards the doorway to find Nakama standing there, her ever-present smile illuminating her face. Her teammates immediately ran up to her to exchange greetings, following shortly by Airon’s siblings and lastly, Airon himself, sporting the same amused expression which he normally wore while in Nakama’s presence.
Airon: I thought I told you you had sixty seconds to catch up.
Nakama: Hmhm, oh, I’ve been standing by that doorway for a few minutes now. …Just thought I might enjoy the spectacle while it lasted.
Airon: (Pleased to hear that his personality was beginning to rub off on her, he chuckled softly to himself before responding.) Hmhmhmhm, not too surprising, to say the least. …So, I take it you’ve already heard everything you needed to hear?
Nakama: (Her face immediately adopted a more serious look, though sarcasm was still present.) That I have. …You must feel so disappointed right now.
Airon: (Playing along, he assumed a serious tone of his own, perhaps even more convincing than Nakama’s.) Huhhh, yeah, I guess so, …especially considering how close we were. I mean, just a few seconds more is all we needed and that record would’ve-
Kei: Oh, come on! Would you stop that!? Seriously!
Finding themselves unable to hold back, Inase, Taigen, and Minto quickly joined Airon and Nakama in their laughing ensemble, which carried out for nearly a full minute on end as Kei sat nearby, his arms crossed like a child as an angry, yet obtuse, expression took over his face. When he had finally had his fill of hilarity, Airon quickly regained his composure while bringing to light something that had gone surprisingly unnoticed until now.
Airon: Hmhmhm, I’m sorry, Kei. …Besides, right now, I suppose we should be celebrating instead of arguing. Whether we reached the tower in ninety minutes or not, we were still the first two teams to complete this stage of the exams.
Airon’s group falls just short of their goal, but have nonetheless completed the second stage of the Chūnin Exams!!!
The End
Author’s Note:
Yeah, I know, but making them beat the record just seemed too mediocre, so I went ahead and did the opposite. Kinda works as a growing experience for them, though, so it all works outxd
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