[GUtW]—❈—48:: Round One: Fight [I]

So I made some changes to the last chapter (again). You don't have to reread it if you don't want to, I don't think, but it is about six hundred words longer now so... Yeah.

—❈—

The first match lasts fifteen minutes, dragging on for so long because of how evenly matched the opponents are.

The fight is hardly dull though, both because of the effort both fighters are putting in, and because the announcer gives the pro-wrestling commentators from Caleb's world a run for their money in milking every drop of excitement from the crowd.

I don't know if the man is a ninja or not, but his comments are always insightful, hilarious, engaging, or a blend of all three, and the crowd just eats it up.

When the fight finally ends, it's only because the Rain-nin just can't push through anymore, his body having accumulated too much damage for him to keep going.

To be fair, his opponent, the Grass-nin, looks little better, not with the many ugly bruises on her and her bleeding left arm that hangs limply from where he'd scored a hit with a water bullet.

Regardless of who looks better off though, the match is over, and the crowd celebrates the winner before they both exit the arena, headed, no doubt, for the medbay.

The second names are called; Kurotsuchi (no last name, of course, as is the case with all Stone-nin [something about a law they passed because of a civil war, I think]) and Zaku Abumi, the dour looking boy of the Sound trio.

Zaku watches Kurotsuchi as they rise, but the Tsuchikage's granddaughter doesn't even seem to acknowledge his existence, making her way out of the loge with a scowl on her face; Kakashi was right, the Stone-nin does look like someone stole her spot in a long queue.

Both contestants make it to the fighting field below in a few minutes, and the announcer, as with the previous fighters, gives us a little history on both: Zaku is fourteen years old (well into his golden years), and has been a ninja for two years; Kurotsuchi is my age, twelve, and like me she's been a ninja less than a month.

I lean forward, my sharingan activating. Let's see what she can do.

Zaku looks amused at his opponent, and he gives a mocking line about how he'll make sure to go easy on her.

Something tells me Kurotsuchi won't be needing him to.

In fact, this same thing tells me that Zaku will need every weapon in his arsenal to—

The gong rings.

Fights, and by that I mean committed fights, between ninja are generally not lengthy affairs. They're only so in situations where the ninja involved happen to be evenly matched, like in the case of the opponents before Zaku and Kurotsuchi.

This is not to say that fights between ninja are instantaneous either. No, that usually only happens when one party far outclasses the other.

The fight between Kurotsuchi and Zaku isn't instantaneous. But it isn't lengthy either.

It lasts precisely nineteen seconds, and at the end of it, half the field is covered in cooling lava, and the proctor has needed to intervene to keep Zaku from being burnt completely to death.

The arena goes silent, the only sounds those made by the medic-nin rushing in to take Zaku away in the hope that they might save his life.

His life and little else, because with both his legs and his left arm as irreparably damaged as they are, it's pretty clear to everyone that we've just watched Zaku's career as a ninja come to an abrupt end.

Despite the brutality and sheer power she just displayed, the announcer doesn't miss a beat.

"What a stunningly decisive victory from Kurotsuchi," he screams. "Lava Release!? How amazing! And from one so young! Have we finally found our rookie to take the exam by storm?"

Slowly, then with growing fervour (since, let's be honest, this is what they came to see), the crowd gets back into it, and in no time, Kurotsuchi's name is on most lips.

Next to me, safe up here in the loge, Sakura asks: "We have to beat her?"

Her voice squeaks a not-insignificant amount.

I don't judge her too harshly for it.

Kakashi looks at us, then raises a timid thumbs-up. "You can do it?" he says.

"Are you telling us or asking us?" Naruto queries.

Kakashi laughs.

"You guys really shouldn't be so worried," he says lightly, dropping the act. "I mean, yes, Lava Release is very powerful, and she certainly has a lot of chakra to throw around—" she does. She really does. I wouldn't go so far as to call it Naruto level reserves, but it's nothing to sneeze at either "—but at the end of the day, all three of you have solid defences against her."

Kakashi points at Naruto. "Wind defends poorly against fire, but it's great for lava; cools it down. Turns it into brittle rock. Sasuke already has the coolest defence ever made by anybody ever, and Sakura…" Kakashi pauses, actually thinking for a second.

The hope that had begun to bloom in Sakura's eyes quickly morphs into dread the longer Kakashi stays quiet.

"Sakura what?" the girl asks almost desperately. "Kakashi-sensei, what about Sakura?"

"Stay out of her range?" Kakashi tries.

Sakura looks at the jōnin like he's just given her the most ridiculous piece of advice ever, but then she seems to actually think about it.

After a moment, she nods seriously, looking thoughtful but confident.

I wonder what that's about?

Kurotsuchi returns to the loge, and everyone looks at her differently now.

Most gazes are assessing. Others apprehensive. A few openly fearful.

Two sources of killing intent spike in the room, and all gazes converge on the Sound team.

The two genin stare at Kurotsuchi, and the Stone-nin stares back, almost seeming to dare them to do something.

The Sound team's sensei, the woman who may or may not be Orochimaru clears her throat suddenly, the sound ringing out unnaturally even in the quiet of the loge.

Her genin settle down.

Kurotsuchi scoffs, then she marches calmly to her seat.

"I don't like her," Naruto says angrily. "She's a dick."

Sakura elbows him. "Please, don't insult the girl who spits lava," she says, almost pleading.

Naruto scowls, staring at the fuming Sound team.

"Hey, sensei," he says, "is their teammate gonna be okay?"

Kakashi sighs. "No, Naruto. I don't think so."

Naruto's face falls. "They should go to him," he says. "He'll need them."

"Zaku will be in surgery right now, Naruto," Sakura says softly. "He likely won't be out for some time."

"They're better off here," I say. "There's nothing they can do for him there, and information they get from here could save them from winding up like him."

Naruto looks unhappy with our response, but he nods all the same.

The fighting field takes a few minutes to put back together, and when it's done, the next fighters are called:

Sasuke Uchiha (Leaf) vs Kami Neko (Cloud)

My turn.