Uchiha, Yusuke vs. Haretsu, Inzei [Concluded]

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Spoiler:

The Jounin Proctor stands at the center between Yusuke and Inzei. The proctor waits for a few seconds once both combatants appear ready to start. He raises a white flag high into the air for a second to acknowledge the beginning of the match. After three seconds he brings the flag down in a blur and yells start. The Jounin moves out of the way instantly to watch the match.

Let the match begin!

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The golden king sneered at the arena presented before him. It was an obvious handicap to him, a doton user. He knew that someone had intentionally set him up in such a situation. His first thought was the Raikage however that would have to wait. His opponent stood before him, Inzei's mind wandered to why he was even here. I didn't even want to be here. Why am I here? Regardless, I will have to demonstrate my strength to these dogs. Inzei's red eyes scanned his opponent carefully making note of any irregularities. However all seemed normal, he was average height with black hair that hanged low. His skin was fair and his build wasn't exceptional. One thing caught Inzei's eyes though. The bandages on his opponent's hands. The tyrant's eyebrow raised slightly at the sight of them.

Probably a taijutsu user. Fantastic. Inzei thought to himself as his right hand's mouth slowly began to open. He was eager to finish this quickly. But one thing kept pestering at him. That woman also seemed an easy target. He might rush me like she did. I'll have to brace for such a tactic. His mind was racing while his knees slowly bent beneath his golden cover. His bare chest was slowly moving up and down rhythmically. The king was calming himself before the jounin signaled for the fight to start. The white flag went down while Inzei instantly reacted. His right hand lodged itself in his clay pouched and quickly began to mold clay while he did a small leap backwards. He covered at least three meters with his leap giving him a total distance of eight meters.

As he landed his eyes remained focus on the enemy before him. Any sudden rush and Inzei would be able to react almost instantly. The young ruler's confidence wasn't obviousness like it usually was. He was cautious now. He was prepared for a long ranged attack or a physical encounter. Regardless, he wouldn't let anything get past him.

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” Oh, look, a Kumogakure ninja with sword fetish and an irrational hatred for shirts. Color me surprised, ”

What was it with Lighting Nin that they insisted on carrying around such ludicrously ostentatious blades everywhere they went? Was it a requirement? Hidden Cloud graduation ritual? A small penis thing? Yusuke didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t care to know. He was just disappointed he was getting the standard Hidden Cloud fitness-freak swordsman as his opponent. What a waste of a good opportunity.

Of course, this particular fitness freak was suspiciously scrawny. Inzei Haretsu stood only an inch taller than Yusuke did, but he was almost a full twenty pounds lighter. Their negligible height difference probably wouldn’t end up playing a role in this fight, but their relative weight difference might. Yusuke made a mental note of that as the proctor set them up and announced the match.

Yusuke had arrived ready to fight. He was representing Konohagakure, the Uchiha Clan, and Team 3; he had every intention of putting his best foot forward. Wearing a short-sleeved blue high-collared shirt with the Uchiha uchiwa emblazoned on the back, Yusuke had on white arm warmers that extended to his elbow. Over the alabaster sleeves he had segmented steel arm protectors, which covered the back of his hand and the topside of his forearms. His forehead protector, fastened by no visible cloth or wire, was fixated across the boy’s pale forehead above onyx eyes. Charcoal pants that ran down to mid-shin completed the outfit. As Inzei had noted, he did in fact have bandages wrapped about both legs and his left hand beneath his sleeve. Standard sandals were on both feet and a kunai holster on the left thigh with the ninja tool pouch on the back of his left hip. The Uchiha had a bloodthirsty coil of wire fastened on the side of his right hip like some kind of ill-equipped gunslinger. All in all, he looked good.

Let the match begin!

Yusuke readied himself for his opponent’s inevitable assault. Shifting his position, Yusuke assumed the standard Strong Fist stance, with his knees slightly bent and his left arm resting behind him at the small of his back. Raising his right arm up, he exposed the segmented steel plates to his opponent and studied him carefully. What was coming now? Some insane, sword-riddled flip? A standard slash? A stab?

None of these things. Instead, Inzei ran away. Yusuke furrowed his brow in reaction to his opponent’s retreat – That’s not right . . . – and pursed his lips. Inzei was twitchy, on edge. He had been gyrating his exposed torso at the beginning of the match like a belly dancer, and as soon as it had started, he ‘instantly’ leapt backward. He was nervous.

The fact he didn’t reach for either of his swords and expanded the distance instead of closing it worried Yusuke. This wasn’t how Kumo nin were supposed to fight this wasn’t the type of guy Yusuke had pegged him for. This match was going to be more exciting than he had anticipated. While Inzei landed and his hand, unbeknownst to Yusuke, munched hungrily on clay, Yusuke’s eyes changed. The Uchiha’s midnight pools transformed into fiery orbs, twin tomoes, one for each eye, materialized within his crimson irises. Spinning, his eyes completed a single turn, rotating like sorcerous pinwheels before settling into position; the Sharingan had entered the fight¹.

Sadly, however, it couldn’t tell Yusuke much more about Inzei than his regular eyes had. The kid was cautious, that much was evident by his stance the fact he had retreated as soon as the match started. He was scheming; those determined red eyes – incidentally, he really had red eyes? What cheap knock offs, – were scanning Yusuke. And what of that hand? He had it stuck inside that pouch of his, doing . . . something. Yusuke’s Sharingan couldn’t tell what was happening, but it did discern the faint hue of chakra emanating from the boy’s bag-covered appendage. Something sinister was happening.

Yusuke shifted his stance. Drawing a kunai out of his holster, he held the blade vertically in his right hand toward Inzei, quirking a brow. The Kumo kid still hadn’t reached for either one of his swords that bugged him. Something about this whole thing didn’t add up. Yusuke was going to venture a guess.

” You’re not a close-range fighter, are you? ”

It made sense. Scrawniness, coupled with a comfort at range, and the fact he hadn’t drawn a blade? This kid was no swordsman. He was some kind of poser, a nerdy kid with decorative ornaments he pretended were actual weapons. Whatever this kid’s game was, it was going to be coming from that pouch.

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Inzei's red eyes widened in surprise. To those who knew him, it was scary. He looked genuinely surprised at what the boy before him said.

"When did dogs learn how to talk?"

He asked as his faux surprise faded immediately. His face reverted back to its taunting smile as his right hand left his pouch with his left replacing it. It was obvious now that Inzei was just mocking the boy now. However his eyes intrigued the young Haretsu. They were different and unique with their design. Weren't they a different color a second ago? A dojutsu? God forbid this is an uchiha or hyuuga. Inzei thought to himself as he took a small step backwards. His right hand remained balled in a fist as he kept his creations hidden. The blonde ruler's red eyes narrowed as if to signal the true start of the fight. His second creation was done now. The king would show his power now.

"Bow."

He muttered as both his hands flung forward to reveal two birds and wolf figurine. With a single hand seal the creations came to life. The two birds sprung into action and flew towards the Uchiha. Each one going at his sides leaving his front and back open for a quick escape. However the wolf stood before Inzei waiting for the boy to charge its master. Inzei's right index finger was now ablaze as he inscribed three seals into his wolf within two seconds. By now the boy would have reacted to the birds and if he was foolish enough have charged Inzei. If he tried a physical confrontation the wolf would immediately leap into action and bite at his throat with the birds coming back around to attack his back. While the worst the birds could do was pecking and scratching it was enough as a distraction.

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In the grand scheme of things Inzei would have to really work on his bad-guy talk. Not matter: Yusuke watched Inzei’s creations spring to life with a fascinated disgust.

” Eww, ” Yusuke said once he got a quicker look at his opponent’s palms. ” You have vaginas on your hands!? ”

Mouths. They were mouths. Yusuke’s Sharingan caught sight of some teeth while they were busy puking out some characters from Noah’s Ark, but being a teenage boy and all his first thought was that they were . . . Ahem, his Sharingan studied each of Inzei’s monstrosities closely.

Clay?

Each creation appeared to be made of some modified earthen material, imbued with the Kumo-boy’s nefarious chakra. As the birds took flight and the wolf remained stationary, Yusuke discerned that the small amounts of energy Inzei had given them afforded them movement, no doubt under his own command. How many could he control at once? And, more importantly, what else could they do other than move?

Without even trying, though, Inzei had answered Yusuke’s question: this lighting punk was definitely a ranged fighter. He’d summoned two birds to do his bidding from afar while his wolf protected him up close; Yusuke figured out that much at a glance. What else was Inzei willing to show him?

As the birds split off and attempted to do their pincer thing, Yusuke backtracked and drew the wire coil off of his hip. Just how fast were these things? Worth finding out: Yusuke decided to give them a taste of his own speed²; well, ¾ of his speed to be exact, but who’s counting. As his hands busily worked to combine the wire with his knife, a sudden dash placed Yusuke three meters behind his original position and an additional meter north; he was standing in front of the lip of the platform, now, just beyond the two stone arms. Keeping both the birds and Inzei within his line of sight, his Sharingan studied closely: how easily was Inzei able to keep up with his movements? How quickly could he redirect those birds of his of his – how fast could they fly?

Based on their initial speed, they were barely half as fast Yusuke was at full speed, and Inzei hadn’t seen full speed yet. Presumably, the birds would be comparatively slow to react: Inzei wasn’t keeping track of him, after all. He was too busy fingering his wolf’s butt, or whatever it was he doing. While Inzei had been writing the seals into his creation’s clay backside, Yusuke had performed his dash and tied off the end of his wire to the kunai’s eyehole. Tying a simple knot wasn’t like writing seals; any academy student could tie some wire around a kunai in their sleep, it was basic, and Yusuke hadn’t lost track of the birds, wolf, or Inzei within during his dash. Scratching in seals took a little bit of time, it required concentration – both focusing chakra to one’s finger tip in order to perform the Shikoku Fuuin and then also making sure that you drew the seal just right.

Point being, Yusuke’s repositioning and relatively simple gesture didn’t have split his concentration like Inzei’s actions did. Controlling three chakra creatures, focusing chakra to his finger tips, drawing a seal, and simultaneously trying to keep track of a rather speedy opponent likely meant that Yusuke would get to watch Inzei’s process of redirecting his creations almost from scratch. He’d watch Inzei relocate him and do . . . whatever it was he did to communicate with the birds that they had a new place to go. All within a matter of seconds, of course, but thanks to his keen gaze, a matter of seconds was enough time for him to gauge the other boy’s reaction time.

He would, of course, react. There was no reason to assume that Inzei would halt his attack just because Yusuke moved a little bit, in fact there was every reason to assume that by moving further back Inzei would feel more confident and send the birds after him. Assuming he did, Yusuke’s position would have placed him slightly closer to the bird that had taken off for his right and slightly further from the bird that had taken off from his left. Because he hadn’t moved directly back, and since the width of the bird’s arc was never stated, it was fair to assume that the birds had failed to flank him and that Yusuke was now lined up with his northern-most aviary-adversary. His speed relative to the bird’s, he was approximately seven meters away from his first flapping foe and roughly eight to nine from its counterpart.

So he let the kunai fly.

At this point, no doubt Inzei had accounted the bird’s course in some way to accommodate for Yusuke’s new position on the battlefield. Keeping tabs of the bird’s speed and movement pattern, Yusuke adjusted his aim accordingly; assuming that the bird continued its rather direct line of assault and took no defensive actions the knife would pierce the bird’s breast approximately three inches and fell the clay creation.

Yusuke was still feeling him out. He wanted to see what Inzei could do when he was multitasking, what his creations could do, what his reaction time was, what his clay-creatures reactions time were. It was basic, but necessary; Yusuke had never seen a technique like this before, and he had already been wrong about Inzei once before. He didn’t want to make that mistake ever again.

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Despite what Yusuke thought about the clay creatures, they were not simple puppets. Despite being out sped the birds held true to their objective given at birth. Engage him physically. They reacted as soon as he moved with out Inzei so much as lifting an eyebrow. His wolf still on its guard from its original purpose, Defend your creator. The golden boy was not an idiot, he understood how his clay worked. He knew the best way to use them was to give orders that could last for an indefinite amount of time. As the fore most right bird, now nicknamed 'Righty' was assaulted. It reacted almost like a real bird would and swerved out of the way. It's purpose was to engage Yusuke, not be taken down by him. If it had to use self-preservation to achieve that goal it would.

Inzei's left hand was hungrily molding more clay as he finally took notice of Yusuke's position. Lefty was trying its best to glide after the speedy shinobi while Righty was trying its best. The two had roughly six meters left to cover by the time Inzei faced Yusuke. Ten meters had separated them and he enjoyed it. However even the young tyrant understood that standing back and putting all his chips on offense would be his end. Him and his wolf dashed forward, with the wolf acting as a shield leading the charge. Surely Yusuke's special eyes would have seen this coming. However with his kunai not being in his hands he wouldn't be able to stop this assault immediately.

Inzei's left hand was finished with its creations now. If Yusuke stalled for time the birds would have only three meters left while Inzei and his wolf had only seven. If Yusuke tried to relocate then Inzei and his followers would pursue him. Despite the dangerous implications it held, Inzei would risk it. Getting in the face of the taijutsu user would only end in pain if he let it. He thought about prematurely releasing his spiders to pursue but decided that he would save them as he did for Seika. It would help him get out of a sticky situation should it arrive.

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They may not have been puppets, but Inzei’s creations were certainly simple.

As Yusuke’s kunai neared, Righty ‘reacted almost like a real bird would and swerved out of the way,’. Nothing else was stated about the nature of the clay pigeon’s dodge. Thus a world of assumptions could therefore be made. For starters, the bird didn’t possess its creator’s intelligence. The creation was operating off of a rather ill-defined command that was almost as vague as the description surrounding its swerve: ‘Engage him physically’. With nothing else to go off of, Inzei was arguing for a bird’s self-preservation instincts, a bird that, by its very design, was destined to blow itself up. Inzei was literally relying on the survival instincts of a creature made for self-destruction. What a silly strategy.

With no further details espoused, the circumstances surrounding Righty’s dodge cannot thusly not be refuted. For example, it cannot be rightly refuted that instead of a wide-arcing loop, Righty arrogantly deviated from its path in only the slightest of degrees in order to narrowly avoid colliding with the kunai. It cannot further be refuted that Righty ebbed toward its right, Yusuke’s left, south toward Lefty and Inzei. Finally, there is no reason to presume that Righty adjusted its body position, and therefore further actions can be plainly predicated on the notion that the bird’s wing was mere centimeters to the left of Yusuke’s kunai.

With no details provided to counteract any of this, these are the assumptions that can be justly made, and are therefore the basis of Yusuke’s reaction.

Righty had veered ever so slightly off of its path in order to avoid Yusuke’s kunai, and why shouldn’t it? Its command was to engage Yusuke, and the tiniest of swerves kept the most momentum en route toward the Uchiha. A hair’s width between Righty and the kunai didn’t matter; a dodge was a dodge. After all, it’s not like Yusuke could miraculously redirect the kunai’s path.

Could he?

Enter the wire. This particular piece of equipment had been conspicuously absent from both Inzei and Righty’s reaction. Yusuke – who was, for clarity’s sake, facing west; Righty was on his right, and as previously mentioned was toward the north, the direction of the platform and the stone hands – had tied it to the kunai during his aforementioned dash. Perhaps the poor King had just missed it. As Righty veered ever so slightly, Yusuke snapped his wrist, pulling the wire taught. The kunai, attached to the coil, froze in the air for the slightest fraction of a second. Swinging his arm across, Yusuke’s kunai served as a counter weight and, attached to the wire, flew south toward Righty and his compatriots like a makeshift flail.

The result would be messy. Righty, who had carried on just past the kunai, would almost certainly end up getting its wing and most of its tail clipped by the kunai’s handle. Ruining its flight pattern, a collision of that magnitude would throw the entire bird’s course off, bringing it spinning ‘round into the devious wire that trailed Yusuke’s blade. Wires were such underappreciated tools. Even in the hands of a weapon novice like Yusuke, they were infinitely adaptable tools of destruction, and every shinobi was instructed on their basic use.

Against normal opponents, wires could restrain, damage, and with enough force, they could even cut through skin. Imagine what they could do to clay. Righty’s momentum, combined with the force of Yusuke’s swing³, would send the wire straight through Righty’s little body. The tail, which would have been the first thing on his form to get hit, was quickly followed by the wire slicing clean through Righty’s left wing – Righty’s flying days were, in all likelihood, over. The kunai carried on, barely scathed by its brief foray into clay bird territory. The wire passed through the rest of the bird easily enough, its small surface area practically unimpeded by the bird’s mushy body. Slicing Righty in half horizontally, the pieces of clay would drop straight from the air and harmlessly onto the ground.

So much for a suicidal bird’s survival instinct.

The rather hasty ordeal would have occurred while Righty and Lefty had been, roughly, at the six-meter mark. Inzei had apparently saw it fit to dash forward during this little fiasco under the false assumption that since Yusuke’s kunai wasn’t in his hands he ‘wouldn’t be able to stop this assault immediately’. How wrong he was. The kunai was already swinging in Inzei’s general direction after having (presumably) dispatched Righty. Yusuke loosed the wire and let the kunai fly. If Inzei didn’t adjust his dash at all, the kunai would fly over the wolf – rather silly prospect using a creature that, at most, was waist-height as a shield, wasn’t it? – and hit him at an angle in his exposed belly. After its confrontation with the bird the kunai’s specific angle was difficult to control, but its trajectory was locked: whether it penetrated the boy’s flesh or not, the kunai had been released en route to Inzei’s gut. With any luck that knife would end the fight and that would be that, but Yusuke doubted it.

He released the kunai and jumped back atop the lip of the platform. He was two feet above Inzei, Lefty, and the wolf now and only five meters away from the great big stone arms to his rear. Amidst the leap, Yusuke abandoned his wire – his kunai truly was flying free now. Hands coming together, a short string of hand seals were performed in rapid succession while Inzei would be busy dealing with the kunai coming his way.

” Suiton! Mizuame Nabara!⁴ ”

Yusuke’s cheeks swelled and suddenly he erupted. A large volume of water, enough to cover 20m x 20m, exploded from out of the Uchiha like a tidal wave. From his slightly elevated position, Yusuke canted his head up and down in order to send the viscous water crashing down over Inzei, Lefty, and the wolf. Lefty, whose only purpose in life was the same as Righty’s, probably possessed Righty’s inept dodging abilities as well. Not that it mattered: Lefty was bee-lining for Yusuke exactly like Inzei had been bee-lining for Yusuke, and by the time of his attack, they would be lined up with each other; each in the center of Yusuke’s jutsu. Approximately four meters closer to Yusuke than Inzei or the wolf were, Lefty was surrounded on all sides by a gelatinous blob coming down on it; on either side it had about ten meters to fly before it would be free of the water’s sticky grasp, and it had approximately fifteen meters behind it. Its only hope was to try and fly straight ahead in order to intercept Yusuke, but the startlingly-handsome Uchiha had seemingly anticipated this by canting his head up and down; the water nearest to him would crash down seconds before the water further away from him did. Lefty’s hopes of escape seemed bleak.

Inzei’s were, perhaps, not as bleak – but they weren’t all that great either. Roughly seven meters away from Yusuke, the boy had vainly decided to charge in despite it not being his forte, and his wolf shield wouldn’t be able to save him from this attack. For starters, he would need to appropriately react to the remnants of Yusuke’s last action: the kunai. Once he had dealt with that, he was in the center of the 20m x 20m tidal wave of stickiness. The liquid, rather film-like in its expulsion, was coming down from overhead; on either side he had approximately ten meters before he’d be free of its grasp. Behind him he had thirteen. Like Lefty, the shortest distance he had to travel was to run straight ahead at Yusuke, but the canting almost guaranteed Yusuke’s attack’d blast him before he made it.

Assuming Yusuke’s attack landed, Lefty’s entire body would be consumed by Yusuke’s jutsus’s gelatin-ish nature. Lefty would be pinned to the ground, left to writhe and suffer hopelessly, its small form unable to break free. The wolf and Inzei would be similarly covered. Unlike Lefty, both Inzei and the wolf were strong enough to perhaps fight their way out of the attack – this technique was not, after all, meant to trap down an opponent’s entire body; that was just a creative way of using it Yusuke had opted to employ – but their movements would be nevertheless temporarily impeded.

Inzei had to somehow get out this, but seeing as moving hastily wasn’t necessarily his strong suit and he was about to be engulfed by a blanket of creepily warm sticky liquid expelled by another male, his options seemed limited. By the time he managed to create any more clay things or put together a competent bout of handseals, he’d be covered – to the outside observer, his fate seemed sealed.

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Inzei's eyes scanned the situation as fast he he could. It wouldn't be good for the king to be so stupidly unaware of his own situation. Righty was taken out with six meters left to reach Yusuke. He watched as the Kunai sail around and redirect itself towards the monarch himself. He already how the boy could redirect the kunai and make a decision immediately. He did a small hop in sync with his wolf towards the right allowing roughly two feet of breathing room from the kunai. In that small motion Inzei tucked his spider figurines into his clay pouch as he now noticed the boy was leaping away from him. While the blonde genin didn't have the sharingan, he understood his situation just as well without it. His birds would be taken out but Inzei would be able to save him and his wolf. As Yusuke preformed the last of his hand seals Inzei quickly did his.

The starch syrup that Yusuke expelled was disgusting watch make its way towards Inzei. Disgusting. The blonde tyrant thought as he expelled a massive gust of wind. It wasn't enough to completely push back the syrup onto its creator but enough to stop its advance. The Haretsu observed the syrup and growled at the fact his doton was useless in this arena. His left bird struggled while the right one laid in defeat. They both knew their situation as Inzei gave a mental command for them to stop. As long as Yusuke didn't know they were explosive he would be fine.

"Interesting."

Inzei mumbled as he leaped three meters back along with his wolf. Thanks to his wind jutsu there was a 'v' shape where the syrup missed. The syrup was slowly coming closer and closer to him and his wolf. He understood from how the bird was trapped that he needed to not step in it. He didn't like it but with enough distance between him and Yusuke he would be better off. The king called for a retreat as him and his wolf left to go on the other side of the arena. Of course it would be stupid to turn your back to your enemy as you ran. Inzei knew this and kept his head tilted to watch Yusuke for anything he would try. The genin's right hand instinctively grabbed the spiders out of his clay pouch again. He wasn't willing to move without some sort of back up plan.

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Inzei was quite something. For starters, he somehow ‘understood the situation’ and the impending jutsu Yusuke was using . . . despite having never seen it before. How miraculous he had come up with the perfect counter to Yusuke’s attack without even knowing what kind of attack he was using – after all, ‘As Yusuke preformed the last of his hand seals Inzei quickly did his,’; he had literally chosen and performed his technique without even seeing Yusuke’s attack. Good thing Yusuke wasn’t using a Katon jutsu. If he had, that wind technique would have gotten Inzei killed. Man, how lucky he was that he had chosen the right jutsu by pure happenstance. Hopefully, Inzei’s clairvoyant powers had completed their guest appearance for the remainder of the match.

Inzei’s hand seals must have been quite something as well. Mizuame Nabara, the Suiton technique Yusuke had employed, required two hand seals to perform. Daitoppa required five. Inzei must have performed that technique twice as fast as Yusuke had performed his; impressive, sure, but let’s not make a habit of Inzei’s hand seals literally dwarfing Yusuke’s, hn?

But, for whatever reason, Inzei got away with it. Lefty was covered in sticky goodness and Inzei managed to punch a v-shaped space into Yusuke’s thin film in order to save himself and his wolf. Jumping back, Inzei . . . ran away?

” HEY! ”

Yusuke shouted after his fleeing adversary. Inzei was literally sprinting across the arena as far away from Yusuke as he could, with his head canted slightly to keep an eye on the angry Uchiha. What the hell was this!? This was supposed to be a fight and now he was running away? Evidently, Inzei didn’t have a flair for violence like Yusuke did.

Jumping off of the platform, Yusuke sailed rapidly through the air, only a meter off of the ground at his highest point, and landed seven meters out, right where Inzei’s v-shape had been punched into his syrup. Inzei had a ten-meter head start when he started running away and, at the time of Yusuke’s landing, was approximately eight meters away – Yusuke was quite the speedy jumper. Running after him, Yusuke began gaining on his comparatively slower opponent⁵.

” I’m getting really sick of you running away all the damn time! ”

Yusuke’s left hand seemed to reach for his ninja pouch for the briefest of moments before both hands met in front of him to start another round of hand seals. During their chase, Yusuke had closed the distance quickly. Inzei had neared the far wall, but Yusuke was now only three meters away from the King and his cowardly wolf. Comparatively, assuming that Inzei had continued this ludicrous exercise, Inzei only had another five meters in front of him before he ran into the arena’s wall. He wasn’t quite cornered, but if Inzei didn’t play his cards right, the Kumo kid would end up with his back against the wall.

Running away wouldn’t do Inzei much good any more. Having sufficiently closed the distance, Yusuke completed his set up and brought a hand up to his mouth.

” Katon! Housenka no Jutsu!⁶ ”

At three meters away, Yusuke halted and assumed a stable base for accuracy’s sake. His chakra-infused voice echoed throughout the arena, mysteriously sounding off in tandem with his technique’s initiation. Similar to before, Yusuke’s cheeks puffed out and a rage exploded from his lips. Unlike before, Yusuke’s new attack was much more serious than a simple restraining jutsu.

Fireballs shot out of Yusuke’s mouth like automatic gunfire. Approximately thirty inches in circumference, the fireballs flew through the air at tremendous speed; Inzei wasn’t going to be running away from this one. Adjusting his aim with each blast, Yusuke released five blasts in total, all with a slightly different trajectory to make avoiding his technique significantly trickier. Yusuke started his assault from bottom to top. The first fireball was approximately two and a half feet off the ground and it wasn’t meant for Inzei – it was meant for his wolf.

The wolf’s position relative to Inzei had never been specified, but seeing as the boy was keen on using him as a shield, it was fair to assume that he was running directly behind Inzei; the wolf’s mandate, ‘Defend your creator,’ necessitated he stay between Yusuke and Inzei at all times. At two and a half feet off of the ground, the fireball would hit the clay creature center mass if it did nothing to change its course. The katon jutsu’s heat and explosive properties would almost ensure that the wolf would be reduced to a liquid/scorched pile of worthless earth should it find its mark.

The other four fireballs were all meant for Inzei, but only two of the four were on line with him. The second fireball Yusuke launched was set to hit Inzei center mass, in the middle of his back. The third was actually fired just overhead – if Inzei maintained his current direction of travel, the third fireball would scorch the top of his head and ruin the Kumo boy’s scalp, but it wouldn’t directly hit him. It wasn’t intended to. The third fireball was just in case Inzei thought that jumping was a good idea.

Fired just over Inzei’s 5’6 frame, Inzei would have to leap 8 feet into the air in order to avoid the fireball via jump. Standardizing our units of measurement for simplicity’s sake, he’d need to jump just over 2.4 meters in order to clear the 30-inch (that’s 76.2 centimeters) fireball. He could dodge it easily enough by ducking, of course, but that would still leave him vulnerable to the fireball aimed center mass – and the fallout of whatever happened to the first fireball that was en route for his wolf.

That left his sides, but Yusuke’s last two fireballs ensured that wasn’t any better of an option than jumping was. Spaced perfectly – that Sharingan accuracy was so useful from time to time – the fireballs were shot at just enough distance that leaping left or right would almost ensure they would hit Inzei center mass. He could overcommit and attempt to speed left or right faster than the fireball was traveling, but overcoming his current momentum combined with redirecting his travel would practically ensure he didn’t have solid footing; this was the course of action Yusuke was, perhaps more than any other, hoping for. Should he attempt a pivot and turn his profile toward Yusuke, the fireballs were spaced so that the center mass fireball and his flanking fireballs would still graze him. Not nearly as bad as direct hits, sure, but he’d end up with burns covering his back and torso, which wasn’t particularly preferable.

Despite his intentions, turning his back on Yusuke had been a poor decision, even if he was looking over his shoulder. Turning his back practically guaranteed he wouldn’t be able to turn to face the incoming attack; any defense he could muster would almost certainly not be directed toward Yusuke’s fireballs in time to intercept them. Furthermore, every ability Inzei had shown him thus far was poorly suited to counter this particular attack: the wolf, his biggest creation, didn’t have the mass necessary to deflect multiple fireballs. His wind jutsus were at an elemental disadvantage for countering Yusuke’s fire technique. If Yusuke’s fireballs were the only incoming threat – and, hint, hint, there was more to this attack than met the eye – Inzei had to deal with, both his body position and previous abilities were incapable of appropriately countering them. Inzei’s lack of offense, poor defense, and passive strategy had placed him in a terrible position; his only good option was to execute a high jump, but that would almost certainly leave him vulnerable to additional fireballs. If Inzei wanted to walk away from this in a battle-ready condition he had a few decisions to make and none of them were very good.

Yusuke, for his part, remained in a quarter-squat ready to move. Weight centered on the balls of his feet and secure in the knowledge that every other threat was securely trapped beneath his sticky syrup, Yusuke raised both hands in a defensive position. He was like a coiled snake ready to strike. Whatever response Inzei orchestrated to his attack, Yusuke was sure to provide a rapid rebuttal.

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The ninja world was strange. Where some things never were truly specified and others made assumptions. Inzei had his fair share of assumptions made about him however that was about to change. The biggest problem with shinobi of this era is that they decided to announce their jutsu. The king saw the hand seals the boy was preforming and thought to using another fuuton jutsu since his doton was almost entirely useless. During this time he tucked his spiders away, not wanting to risk them falling out of his hand. The announcement of it being a katon jutsu changed his mind entirely. He would have to risk his jutsu being useless. As the Katon left the Uchiha's mouth Inzei immediately went to work. Inzei preformed the snake and tiger handseals, the only hand seal required for most doton jutsu. And spun on his heels, slamming his hands on the ground. It was lucky for him he was flexible and quick on his feet. If he wasn't use to turning on a dime he'd surely be toast.

A massive wall erupted from the ground just behind Inzei's wolf. The fire balls, slammed into the wall with little to no effect done on it. It was really funny how the world worked. Snakes were possibly the most simple design in the book. Yet they were so useful for what they did. Immediately after Inzei's hands struck the ground, his left one quickly ate clay to mold out a snake. His right hand grabbed his three spider figurines. Unknown to Inzei, his wall served two purposes. Saving him from Yusuke's shuriken and hiding from his eyes. The Sharingan couldn't see past physical objects, it was funny how that worked. This took him off the map for what he was planning. His left hand finished after two seconds and the snake sprung to life from his hand. The one meter long creations burrowed underground from the exposed earth the wall made in the arena.

Completely hidden from Yusuke. That was all Inzei needed. His wolf was guarding him in the mean time. If Yusuke tried to rush him it would react by lunging at him. Followed by Inzei's surprise bombing. Surely the young Uchiha wouldn't fight a wolf and an mad bomber. The snake would go towards Yusuke. Inzei popped his head around his wall just to find the young Uchiha's position. That was all he needed. With a single hand seals his two birds, formerly trapped, now exploded. This would cause anyone to do a quick double take at what happened. The snake would break from the earth under Yusuke at this time and wrap around his lower body. This only made it more effective due to his squatting nature. If the snake managed to successfully wrap around Yusuke, it would detonate immediately. One explosive tag's worth of force upon contact would crack bones. Surely one without unnatural endurance wouldn't be able to so much as move after taking such a hit. As only professional fighter would tell you, fractured bones could not be walked off. The wolf would come into play as a final charge. If all these attacks had landed. It would rush out there and detonate on Yusuke with all five tags worth of damage. That would end the match surely.

However much like the theory there are multiple universes, there are multiple situations. If Inzei's snake failed to hit, it would only pursue Yusuke in an attempt to bind him. The king himself would keep on the defense using his wolf as his makeshift body guard. His hands still on the ready with his three spiders in his right fist.

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‘The Haretsu observed the syrup and growled at the fact his doton was useless in this arena.’

What could have changed his mind?

Small point of contention: Yusuke didn’t announce his attack. Hearing Yusuke shout out the name of his jutsu would give Inzei practically no tangible benefit or reaction time. Yusuke’s voice sounded off ‘in tandem with his technique’s initiation’; i.e., as the first fireball was leaving his mouth, his voice was sounding off. If someone were to listen to Yusuke’s voice in order to gauge his attack type, by the time they’d heard it and processed the information, they’d be hit with his attack. Just for future reference.

Inzei had made a particularly unusual choice. By manipulating the earth underneath the stone, Inzei’s wall had burst through the arena’s stone panel, making all kinds of a mess. Large chunks of stone had crunched off on either side of the wall and shattering stone made a terrible wail. Similarly, the sound of fire and metal crashing against an earthen construct wasn’t exactly quiet. These sounds were all important to note, because in the face of this entire din, Yusuke’s footsteps might as well have been soundless.

Having been ready to strike since his attack’s execution, Yusuke took action as soon as the wall rose and he lost sight of Inzei. Unlike Inzei, Yusuke wasn’t comfortable losing sight of an opponent. While Inzei hide behind his wall under the foolish assumption he was safe, Yusuke was on the move. Sprinting the three meters between the two in a blaze of speed⁷, a small hop placed Yusuke atop the ten-foot wall. Inzei had made no mention of the fact he was paying attention to his surroundings, he had made no mention of the fact he was even aware of his environment. Instead, he was molding clay and busy planning his next attack. He’d left his personal security to his watchdog.

The wolf would indeed find Yusuke, but not immediately. Falling rock and explosions had muffled Yusuke’s dash, and even if it hadn’t, shinobi weren’t exactly loud folk. The dog was keeping a lookout, sure, but there were so many areas to scan! In order to mount an effective defense the wolf had to scan behind them and either flank, constantly. Considering the wolf’s defensive patterns hadn’t been specified, it was fair to assume it wasn’t watching for attack’s coming over the wall at all times; if at all. Its sense of smell, if it even had one, would undoubtedly be marred by the small amount of dust Inzei’s large wall had kicked up and the sulfur still lingering in the air from Yusuke’s fireball. All in all, while Inzei had left himself comparatively blind to the world, the wolf was in sensory overload.

It gave Yusuke just enough time to prepare a simple attack. Perched atop the wall in a deep crouch, our hero from Konoha arrived in time to catch a fleeting glimpse of Inzei’s burrowing snakes. What a silly directive to give his creations. Since burrowing underground meant that they had lost contact with Inzei, he wouldn’t be able to redirect them in the event that Yusuke moved – and what, so far, had convinced Inzei that Yusuke was a stationary fighter? Also, how was he anticipating they were going to break through the arena’s stone ground? Clay wasn’t exactly known for its penetrative properties. It was moot anyway: for the time being, the snakes were out of play.

When Inzei ‘popped his head around his wall to find the young Uchiha’s position,’ he was in for a fright – Yusuke had vanished. Immediately after the sinking fear set in, Inzei’s wolf spotted Yusuke atop Inzei’s wall, weapons drawn. Arms cross over each other in an X-position, Yusuke’s right hand held three shuriken and his left three kunai. Incidentally, he was down to two remaining shuriken and two remaining kunai. ‘If Yusuke tried to rush him, it would react by lunging at him,’ – Inzei’s wolf had decided on its course of action without even fully evaluating the situation. As soon as it spotted Yusuke, the wolf did exactly what it was told to do and lunged at Yusuke.

Bad call, beastie . . .

As the wolf jumped at Yusuke in a vainglorious effort to protect its master, Yusuke’s arms crossed over each other and let the metal fly with terrifying force⁸. The shuriken, meant for the wolf, would find its target just after the poor thing had left the ground. Meanwhile, the kunai were meant for Inzei.

The wolf was only a foot and a half off the ground by the time the shuriken would eviscerate it. Airborne, the wolf’s overzealous attempt at protection left it defenseless; it was incapable of redirecting itself in the face of Yusuke’s shuriken. It was almost certainly going to be hit. One of the shuriken would slice into the wolf just below its right shoulder. Given clay’s malleable properties, the spinning metal disc would (if successful) slice through the wolf’s front right leg. Carrying on, it would do the same to its back right leg. Even if the wolf somehow survived this relatively in tact, it wouldn’t be able to move any more.

Not that it was going to survive this relatively in tact. The last two shuriken would hit the wolf in the neck and chest respectively. Crashing into it relatively center mass, the wolf’s jump would be instantly counteracted and it would be knocked back to the ground. Again, given the clay’s consistency, the shuriken to the wolf’s neck would likely decapitate it and the one mean for center mass would split the wolf’s body down halfway its length before finally embedding in the remaining clay. Three metal discs would turn Inzei’s champion into a useless pile of clay. Of course, Inzei couldn’t focus on that now. He had other things to worry about.

Remember that sinking fear Inzei would have undoubtedly experienced when he realized he’d lost his enemy? Yusuke and the wolf’s attacks had been executed shortly after, and there was no reason to believe Inzei would naturally be able to locate him in time. In fact, given the wolf’s movement, there was every reason to believe that his canine’s lunge would draw his attention first. Point being: by the time Inzei was aware of the kunai, there was every reason to believe they’d be in the air and well on their way to their target. Yusuke had caught Inzei by surprise.

One kunai was meant for the boy’s diaphragm, just below his sternum. The next flew for the spot just below his left collarbone. The third, if successful, would cut deeply into his hip but wouldn’t penetrate straight through: its true target was his clay pouch. Unimpeded, the third kunai would slice into Inzei’s flesh with its edge and cut the pouch from his person while the other two buried themselves into his torso.

Yusuke had, mostly likely, caught Inzei and his wolf by surprise. The simplicity of his attack was by design, as it gave his effort speed: Inzei would almost certainly be unable to conjure any hand seals in order to counteract the metal flying toward his person. By the time he located Yusuke and processed what was happening, he would, in all likelihood, be hit. He wasn’t going to be able to magically Ninjutsu his way out of Yusuke’s attack this time.

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Multiple universes, multiple situations. With each change in environment, plans would change. It was natural to breathe. Just as it was natural to never let your guard down in a fight. Inzei was not an idiot, he at all times remained on his guard. He listened for anything that would give away his opponent and indeed his foot steps were muffled. But his landing on the wall wasn't. The wall was thin enough and close enough to allow Inzei to feel the vibrations of Yusuke landing on it. The golden king had a hidden smirk across his face. His wolf took notice of the boy almost immediately after he landed on the wall. After all, the Uchiha couldn't use doton. He would only come from the right, left or over the wall. It was silly to think that the wolf would waste time looking behind them. Just as Yusuke drew his weapons Inzei's right hand flew upwards revealing the three spider bombs he threw. Sharingan or not, the boy's body wasn't trained to dodge so quickly. While his hands were busy with weapons, no hand seals could be made. It was a shame.

The explosion rang out, three explosive seals worth of damage. It wasn't enough to take out Yusuke, but that wasn't the point. The concussion force at such a close range, roughly one meter, would knock him off the wall. While in the air one couldn't move. It was impossible, then the wolf came into play. As the spiders left Inzei's hand the wolf ran to the other side of the wall ready to catch Yusuke. While the poor Uchiha was mid air, the wolf would leap detonate with five tags worth of damage. That would end the fight. Without some sort of training in the art of evasion, the boy's body wouldn't be use to last minute dodges. His mental reaction time meant nothing if he couldn't move his body in time. It was a shame that the poor Uchiha gave the Haretsu the element of surprise.

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There were, perhaps, more tactful ways of putting this, but in the interest of clarity: no. Just, no.

As many times as the laws of common sense, physics, and fairness had been suspended for Inzei throughout this fight, his luck had run out. For starters, while breathing may be natural, it was also natural to become consumed with one’s own actions; it was natural to devote one’s self to their craft; it was natural to lose sight of the big picture and succumb to the allure of the microcosm – particularly when the microcosm included jutsus as complicated as Inzei’s. It was unnatural to remain calm in the midst of combat. Inzei had never noted that he was purposefully making a conscious effort to monitor his environment while he was directing multiple subordinates and giving birth to multiple more. Retroactively claiming such didn’t change that fact; Inzei had been focused on his creations. It didn’t make him an idiot to momentarily lose sight of his environment; it simply made him a Genin. Besides, it’s not as if he’d completely foregone his personal security. He’d left defense to his arbiter.

Which did, after all, make sense – division of labor and all that. What didn’t make sense was that both the wolf and Inzei somehow knew that ‘the Uchiha couldn’t use doton,’. How could he possibly know that? The mysteries of Yusuke’s kekkei genkai eluded Inzei, and given the wealth of abilities Inzei himself had displayed, how could he possibly be secure in the assumption that Yusuke couldn’t utilize the Earth element? How could he possibly know Yusuke didn’t have some other trick that would allow him to assault him from the rear? How could Inzei be certain, to the point that he was willing to risk his life that Yusuke was incapable of somehow sneaking behind him? It would be suspiciously lucky if it had elected not to monitor its master’s flank. Inzei had already been suspiciously lucky a few times thus far. Like Inzei, the wolf could simply not be certain Yusuke had no method of getting behind them; it was either an incompetent guardian or it was keeping tabs on their rear.

It was sloppy ninja work not to monitor their rear, which seemed out of character. Inzei wasn’t sloppy.

Nor was he superhuman. He had noticed Yusuke through the vibrations in the wall? Poppycock. This wall had been constructed for defense, it was constructed to save his life; it was not constructed to be thin, or to transmit sound waves. This was the same wall that had ripped through the building’s foundations and stone floor. This was the same wall that had stopped five fireballs with ‘little to no effect done on it,’ It was a wall that could literally stand up to explosions and tear through solid rock, but it was somehow thin enough to transmit a 120 lb boy’s landing? A landing that, as was previously mentioned, wasn’t particularly loud to begin with? Inzei’s wall was either sturdy enough to save his life or it was thin enough to transmit light sounds. It couldn’t be both, and since it was already the former, it couldn’t miraculously become the latter just to suit its creator’s whims. No, between the commotion, concentration, adrenaline, sturdiness of the wall, and Yusuke’s (nay, every ninja’s) natural affinity for sneakiness, there simply wasn’t a convincing case that could be made for Inzei or his wolf to have heard him land.

So where did that leave us? Well, Inzei had previously committed to the fact that his wolf would lunge at Yusuke if it ever detected him. Since the wolf operated off of vague directives, its reactions were naturally basic and relatively predictable. Its master had predicted that it would lunge directly for Yusuke. There was no reason to believe it would deviate; even if Inzei possessed enough rational thought to appropriately respond to external stimuli, Inzei’s wolf was (by Inzei’s own admission) operating off of a single narrative. Inzei said the wolf would lunge and therefore, it should lunge.

Barring some miracle, Yusuke’s attack would go more or less how it had been previously stated. There were only a handful of variables.

Did Inzei’s wolf jump? It should. He had already said that it would, according to its directive it had every reason to jump. Jump or not – and if not, there had better be a damned good reason why not – it still had three shuriken to contend with that would ruin it. And, of course, its master still had three kunai.

Once more: Inzei could not have heard him land. Even if it was only by a second or two, Yusuke had him by surprise; Inzei had made a habit of putting himself into positions of reaction instead of action. He wasn’t on the attack right now, Yusuke was. He’d been on the defensive ever since he turned his back and started to run. Every action he had taken since then had been in response to Yusuke; Yusuke was controlling the flow of combat right now. Unless Inzei somehow broke contact successfully and afforded himself the opportunity to go on the offensive, it was fair to assume his actions wouldn’t take priority over Yusuke’s.

Thus, Yusuke’s metal was definitely airborne by the time Inzei could locate him and react. If he wanted to react by throwing the spiders he could, but it would practically guarantee that he’d be hit by Yusuke’s kunai. Inzei was stuck in a cycle of reaction, a cycle he’d locked himself in. He could focus on defense or offense, but it was rarely possible to focus on both adequately. Inzei would almost certainly have to sacrifice one in favor of the other.

Perched atop the wall, from Yusuke’s vantage point he could clearly see both Inzei and his wolf. Ten feet off the ground, he was in a crouched position on the balls of his feet with his arms out in front of him. He had the high ground. As the kunai and shuriken flew through the air for their previously mentioned targets, he was ready to carry on; after all, unlike his opponent, he wasn’t on the brink of exhaustion.

The mental and physical stress of manipulating so many creations over this period of time was sure to be taking its toll on Inzei by now. While Yusuke was comparatively fresh, Inzei’s chakra reserves were running dangerously low – a fact Yusuke’s Sharingan confirmed. Any reaction he took, therefore, should be tempered against his battle-weary state. To suggest he was operating at 100%, with full control of his mental and physical faculties, was ludicrous. The longer this fight dragged on, the more it became a contest of stamina, and in that endeavor, Yusuke held the advantage.

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The golden king was not one for surprises, yet this Uchiha decided that he was full of nothing but them. Inzei heard debris falling all around the wall but the sound of a human's weight was distinct. His red eyes shot up just as Yusuke was locking eyes with the golden boy. He didn't think, his body moved as his right hand lobbed the spiders towards the unsuspecting Uchiha. Inzei saw his wolf in the corner of his eye, a mental command for it to heel was given. Within a meter from Yusuke they detonated, the concussive force would be enough to make him lose his balance. However the wall itself was not meant to survive such an explosion causing the top half of the wall to crumble along with Yusuke's footing. Inzei brought his right hand back to shield from debris in his eyes as he leapt a meter to his right. Standing up fully, he drew his sword with his right hand. His chakra was running low, all he had was this snake and a wolf.

"Mongrel."

Inzei growled as he strafed towards his right, his wolf lagging at least a meter behind him. The snake in his left hand finally fully made. Inzei was looking for Yusuke. When he located him he would fling the snake towards him in an attempt to bind the Uchiha. His red eyes trying to keep track of his situation. Inzei mentally started to break down everything happening. He can react to anything I do. Those eyes must do something for him. He has Katon and Suiton. He can't use Raiton to disable my clay. He is faster and stronger than me. But I just need to land my wolf and I can finish him." Inzei's eyes narrowed as he gritted his teeth in that short second. He came upon a realization he didn't want to admit. I might lose to him. I can't win with those eyes on his side. I won't let him win easily. Even if I have to detonate this wolf on top of us both, I won't let him have an easy victory. Despite these thoughts Inzei kept his strafing up roughly seven meters away from his original leap.

He was nearing the syrup that slowly began to fill in the V-shape making the safe spot almost entirely gone. This was not going in Inzei's favor no matter how he looked at it. His only good response this fight was his surprise bombing.

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Yusuke’s eyes widened as they zeroed in on the incoming spiders. On the large list of ‘Terrifying Shit To Have Thrown At You,’ spiders were definitely near the top. Yusuke’s Sharingan showed him the chakra molded into the clay and from his vantage point he could catch a glimpse of Inzei behind the spiders. He watched the Haretsu make a single seal, and suddenly, the chakra within the spiders radically changed.

Shit!

From his crouch, Yusuke was already prepared for movement. His body position had reflexively started to shift his weight to his heels when he saw the incoming projectiles and his arms raised in a defensive posture. When he caught glimpse of the hand seal, he pushed off of the wall and leaped back with all the strength he could summon⁹. It wasn’t enough to free him completely from the blast, but it was enough to save his life.

The blast’s concussive force was split between Yusuke and the wall due to the spiders’ trajectory, sparing our Uchiha protagonist from the full, unbridled power of Inzei’s attack. Since Inzei had detonated the spiders a meter away from Yusuke – Yusuke’s jump didn’t add much more distance on top of that, but it added enough – he had been lucky to have been on the edge of the spiders’ effective range. Regardless, the explosion caught Yusuke’s airborne body and propelled him away from Inzei just as the Haretsu had intended. Yusuke’s arm guards took the brunt of the blast for him, saving his torso and face from the explosion’s combustion and shockwave. Yusuke ended up landing about two meters back from the wall and slid a few more feet across the stone flooring.

Yusuke’s left forearm protector had stopped the small spur of fire that had reached him; its shiny steel had been charred black. The blast’s concussive force had been enough to knock him backwards, but his muscular frame and arm protectors were able to take it; he hadn’t been knocked out or otherwise seriously injured from the shockwave, mostly thanks to the range. Yusuke had escaped serious injury, but Inzei had accomplished his goal: Yusuke was further from him, now, and he had lost all the momentum. They’d be starting this fight back from scratch.

The rest of Yusuke’s wounds were superficial. The earth from Inzei’s shattered wall had kicked up dirt and debris and an errant piece had left Yusuke with a scratch on his right cheek. His left forearm protector had been compromised – he couldn’t trust it against another explosion or even Inzei’s sword for the remainder of combat. Adrenaline coursing through his veins left his heart pumping loudly in his chest and his breathing quickened; he took the briefest of moments to compose himself and ensure he had an awareness of his surroundings.

” Mongrel. ”

Yusuke heard Inzei’s voice through the dust and debris.

” What’s with all the name calling, man!? ”

That was when Inzei found him.

Yusuke’s Sharingan alerted him to the danger in Inzei’s hand a split second before he threw his weapon; Inzei’s clay creations gave off a distinctive chakra aura like small lights. The larger ones, like Inzei’s wolf, Yusuke could even perceive through the clouds of dust. As it had before, Inzei’s hand was glowing; he’d made more clay creatures.

This time it was a snake. Was Inzei just going down the large list of ‘Terrifying Shit To Have Thrown At You’? The fact Yusuke had identified the threat within Inzei’s palm before he’d thrown it gave Yusuke that fraction of a second for a more competent reaction than simply dodging. The pair were relatively close to each other, just over two meters. Back-peddling, Yusuke quickly drew three shuriken and let them fly toward the airborne snake. Accounting for the creature’s wriggly nature, two of the shuriken were on a small arc around the snake’s left flank, the third was flying straight at the monster. If it tried to wriggle to the side to avoid the straight shuriken it’d be hit by the flanking discs, if it tried to wriggle up or down it would likely still be cleaved (at least partially) from the straight shuriken. If it did nothing, the snake would get cut into two pieces by the flanking shuriken and then sliced in half length-wise through its mouth from the straight disc. With any luck, Inzei’s snake would get cleaved and turned into useless hunks of clay on the ground.

During Yusuke’s evade/throw, Inzei would have presumably begun his dash back north toward the syrup and the platform. Yusuke eyed him carefully and hesitated; he wasn’t going to give chase just yet. Assuming the snake had been dealt with, he’d jog a large arc around the fallen beast just in case Inzei could still detonate it. Running a few meters past the wall, Yusuke would halt about four meters away from Inzei (assuming he stopped at the V-Shape in the syrup). Yusuke patted his ruined forearm protector.

” It’s a neat trick. I’ve never seen anyone fight like you before, ”

Yusuke’s talking was also cover for his own mental calculations. Barring the snake’s survival, he had two shuriken remaining and five kunai left. His tool kits were beginning to run low. The battlefield was a mess; between the ripped up panels and the blown up wall, they’d really made a wondrous wreck of things. The proctor was no doubt agitated. Staring down Inzei, Yusuke was facing north, toward his gelatinous pool, the platform, and the hands. Yusuke’s hands remained suspiciously close to his kunai holster, like a gunslinger twitching to make a draw.

” So . . . what’s next? ”

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Inzei studied his opponent carefully, he was smart and quick on his feet. He thought for a moment after the genin complimented him on his 'trick'. The king new that he had met his match and decided that it was best for him for to speak now. He wasn't sure what Yusuke's eyes did but that wasn't important. It gave him an advantage and that was all Inzei needed to know.

"Now? You surrender. I don't want to kill someone as formidable as you."

Inzei spoke calmly, his tone held no intention of what he was planning. But his stance changed. His wolf was now to Inzei's left by one meter. He positioned his right side to face Yusuke, effectively hiding his left from the Uchiha. His left hand idly went towards his clay pouch in an attempt to mold on last creation with what little chakra the tyrant had left.

"The last person who I bombed like that lost her hand. She was a jounin from that former village of Kirigakure. You have proven to be faster than a jounin and much harder to combat. I will not apologize for calling you a mongrel up to this point."

Inzei's red eyes narrowed as his spider finished. He stepped slightly to his right, inching close towards the syrup in an attempt to distract Yusuke. The both were on edge. One movement and Yusuke would react, Inzei knew this. He cleared his throat as he watched for any possible movement in the Uchiha.

"But you are a person. My adversary. You are worthy to be called my rival. If you wish to think of it like that. I will acknowledge your strength and intelligence despite how much it angers me to do so. However, the king can not surrender nor lose. I'm sorry to say, you have to do that today."

As he finished speaking Inzei's wolf rush Yusuke followed by Inzei leaping to his left. During his leap he flung out the single spider that would latch onto the wolf. If they both got within a meter of Yusuke they would detonate. The spider, while being watched by Inzei, would leap off the wolf within two meters of the Uchiha. This attempt was to make him choose which one was the bigger threat. Inzei during this mess, had leapt only two meters to his left. Now he was starting to back up, he leapt in order to avoid walking into the syrup. His sword was drawn and ready to engage Yusuke physically if he managed to slip by the golden ruler's creations.

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Inzei had won. At least, it certainly appeared that way.

Yusuke sent the wolf and the spider on a chase across the arena. Back-peddles, handsprings, and strafes sent the Uchiha over a dozen meters south, the direction Inzei and Yusuke had just come from, approximately nine meters from where Inzei’s broken wall still stood. The wolf and his spidery companion were keeping pace; by the looks of things, Yusuke was fatigued. His hands came together and formed a single hand seal in preparation for some kind of jutsu, but it was too late: the wolf was upon him. The wolf ran for his knees while the spider jumped off of its canine transporter right for Yusuke’s face. Then, they detonated.

The explosion was calamitous. The entire arena shook. Yusuke was consumed by the blast and the ensuing cloud of smoke and dust. No doubt Inzei would, perhaps, feel a sense of calm wash over him; no one could have survived a blast like that at point blank range. As the dust settled, however, Inzei wouldn’t find Yusuke’s charred corpse lying in the explosion’s crater. Instead, there was a rock¹⁰.

By manipulating the earth underneath the stone, Inzei’s wall had burst through the arena’s stone panel, making all kinds of a mess. Large chunks of stone had crunched off on either side of the wall,

” People are always telling me I’m special because of these eyes, ”

Yusuke’s voice seemed to echo throughout the arena, it would take Inzei a moment to locate him, but he would. Yusuke had replaced himself with one of the pieces of stone Inzei had created with his wall, and by the time Inzei found him, he’d be coming from that direction. Running full speed¹¹, Yusuke had a kunai drawn and was holding it vertically in his left hand. Yusuke was closing the gap between himself and Inzei at an alarming rate.

” But it’s not the eyes that make me special! ”

Yusuke dashed around the sticky concoction he’d expelled onto the ground, giving it a wide berth, and flanked around Inzei. Adjusting his positioning so that he was now running straight at his opponent, Inzei would find an angry Uchiha running at him from the front and the sticky gelatin five meters to his back.

” It’s the fact that I’ll never stop fighting! ”

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.

During his run across the arena Yusuke had scanned Inzei with his eyes, noting the placement of his hands, his pouch, and any chakra resonance that his signature clay monsters gave off. Assuming his eyes found nothing to give him pause, Yusuke would attempt to close the distance on Inzei for the first time in the fight. Rapidly approaching him from the front, Yusuke would dash forward and thrust his kunai right toward Inzei’s chest. If the boy did nothing, he’d get stabbed through the heart with Yusuke’s knife.

Presumably, however, he would react to save his own life and the match. Yusuke had been analyzing the boy’s movements throughout the fight and his crimson Doujutsu was watching for any tells the would-be King’s body would give off. With a kunai drawn and on the attack, Yusuke’s right arm remained poised to block should the need arise.

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The golden genin almost celebrated for a moment. He thought he had the victory finally secured. It wasn't until the boy's voice was heard once more. Inzei did not want to kill the opponent anymore, he was actually a challenge. However, it would seem that he had no further choice. The opposing genin would not give up no matter what Inzei did. His red eyes scanned the area in front of him trying to see if he would appear again. Inzei spun around on his heels trying to track down the Uchiha. He realized that he was now against the wall once he located the boy. To his back was the sticky liquid and in front was a charging genin. The golden king scowled as he finally drew his second sword. But something was off about Inzei, he wasn't trying to run.

He stood his ground waiting for Yusuke to finish his charge. His chakra levels were too low to do much else. I'll have to dodge at the last minute. I need proper timing or else I'm dead. My shoulder guards can take a blow but I can't miss this chance. I'll lean left and impale him in the stomach. He is too fast to spin on his heels. I might get my arm impaled but I can finish him. Yusuke was a meter away now. He was so close that for once Inzei felt something start to move. His adrenaline starting pumping at full blast. The king smiled now and his eyes gleam. His body didn't show the slightest hint of his plan.

It happened so fast that only Yusuke would be able to fully appreciate the king's movements. Inzei kept his feet firmly planted using the age old academy jutsu. The smallest flare of chakra in the golden tyrant's feet appeared within the time Yusuke was within a meter of Inzei. Truly a last minute ass pull made by the arrogant genin. He twisted his body to the left, leaning with his left shoulder moving his chest out Yusuke's path. In the same motion, he raised the eight centimeter long weapon in his right hand and stabbed for his gut. The weapon in his left was pulled back and stabbed forward aiming at the center of mass. Yusuke's kunai would stab into the King's shoulder plate only to smash through it thanks to the brute strength the younger genin had. This would be the final strike of the match.

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For a far-ranged fighter Inzei sure moved like a Taijutsu practitioner. The entire match he’d been slipping past Yusuke’s attacks, performing acrobatic maneuvers the Konoha shinobi didn’t expect him to. This was no different. Yusuke only had the slightest hint that treachery was afoot: a meter away, Inzei’s feet had started to glow.

In the heat of battle, Yusuke didn’t appreciate what was happening; it seemed like an odd technique to employ considering the circumstances. Then Inzei melted away, and it all made sense. Yusuke’s enemy needed the added grip in order to perform such a last minute door-swing maneuver; the speed with which Inzei spun would have knocked him down otherwise. This was going to hurt.

As Inzei predicted, Yusuke did adjust his aim toward his adversary’s shoulder. Cutting through Inzei’s shoulder plate thanks to the power behind his attack¹², Yusuke’s knife ultimately cut into the King’s shoulder and sliced through as a result of the Uchiha’s continued movement. Inzei would walk away from this encounter with a 2 inch gash in his left shoulder; it would hurt, but he’d live, and the wound almost certainly wouldn’t impact his swordplay. Still, a hit was a hit.

Yusuke had two things going for him against Inzei’s attempt at stabbing him: first, he had held his right arm protector in reserve, specifically to block in a situation like this. Second, thanks to their close proximity and the length of Inzei’s weapons, Yusuke had the advantage. At a certain range, the length of swords made them awkward to maneuver in close combat situations like these; knives like kunai were better suited for the task. That’s not to suggest Inzei didn’t cut him, he did, but in order to properly maneuver his sword with Yusuke right on him like this he had to hold his arm especially far out in order to ensure Yusuke hit the tip of his weapon, and that meant a weaker grip than usual. The Sharingan noticed.

Yusuke’s right arm flew forward in an effort to intercept Inzei’s blade; it was marginally successful. Yusuke’s superior strength combined with the awkwardness of Inzei’s hold on his weapon meant it would be easy to knock the sword off course. Unfortunately, Inzei’s expert timing combined with Yusuke’s momentum meant there was little he could do to save himself entirely. He was getting cut.

Yusuke’s forearm protector would, in all likelihood, crash into Inzei’s sword at his forearm’s midpoint, knocking it off course. Instead of stabbing into Yusuke’s gut, Inzei’s sword was knocked back toward Inzei’s own body with its edge up against Yusuke’s side. With Yusuke moving forward, Enki slashed into his left side. Pushing off with his forearm protector and eager to avoid any retribution from Inzei’s other sword, Yusuke adjusted his path and broke contact; he’d end up rapidly¹³ putting two meters of distance between himself and Inzei. Yusuke spun around. They traded sides. Now, the sticky syrup was three meters behind Yusuke. Inzei had four meters until he’d be up against a wall.

With the distance established and both of them likely reeling from their wounds, Yusuke took a moment to examine his cut. It wasn’t deep, but it was long; four inches across his left side, and it was bleeding. Being on his torso, complicated or especially powerful maneuvers would probably rip the wound further. This was bad.

Yusuke’s right hand grasped onto his side. Blood was slowly pooling into his palm as he applied pressure in an effort to slow the bleeding. He wasn’t going to bleed out, nor would Inzei bleed out from the wound he (likely) sustained, but it was still more of his own blood than Yusuke cared to see. Bending slightly at the knee, Yusuke held his kunai up vertically in a defensive position.

” Nice move. You’re pretty good with those things. Here I thought you could just make birds, ”

Yusuke was hurt and therefore wasn’t in a big hurry to rush forward, particularly considering how his last attack had turned out. Besides, his Sharingan told him the kind of condition Inzei was in; his body was weaker than usual, it was slower. It probably took more of Inzei’s stamina than he’d be comfortable admitting to perform that little maneuver. The fight was indeed coming to an end, but unless Inzei had it in him to surrender or fainted at the sight of blood, that wasn’t going to be the final strike of the match. Before it was done, there would be more blood.

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The king had to keep up appearances right? Inzei was a strong believer in that, but he felt the toll weighing more and more on his body. He wasn't meant to endure a long fight. But he would never admit such a thing in front of his opponent. He turned to face Yusuke, ignoring the cut on his right shoulder. It hurt, but he wouldn't risk letting go on his swords just to comfort it. His wrist hurt and he certainly wasn't in the mood to keep this fight going on longer. If they kept fighting like that exchange, Inzei would be the first one gone. Despite all of this, he smirked at Yusuke's compliment.

"I should say the same. I didn't think you'd be able to react in such a tight situation. Regardless, we both exchange wounds. Don't you want to call it a day with this?"

Inzei knew he didn't need to state how low his chakra reserves were. It was obvious to Yusuke's eyes. Any statement would be simply admitting it to thin air. The king didn't know that Yusuke understood how low they were, but he knew it was written on his face. A taijutsu user was able to tell that Inzei isn't in any condition to keep up an exchange of blows like that. He tried to think of anything to do, something that would finish this. In an hour or so he will bleed out. That seems perfectly reasonable to wait it out. Inzei humored himself mentally as he narrowed his eyes observing the Uchiha. The wound couldn't be seen clearly but it was obvious that Inzei left him a reminder of their battle. Though the tyrant couldn't talk much, Yusuke had done the same to his shoulder.

"If you surrender we can continue this fight another time, doesn't that sound better? We can actually try to make a strategy for each other instead of playing this cat and mouse game."

Inzei wasn't sure how Yusuke was mentally. He had no idea how his personality worked and was trying to put on his rational face. It was probably fruitless to convince the other genin to give up. Inzei knew this, which is why he wouldn't let his guard down. He took a step forward, he knew that within four meters he could cross it in half a second. The average speed was eight meters a second. However, that was a full sprint. Inzei could cross it in a second, Yusuke probably less. It was risky to run forward, even if he was trained to dodge and evade last minute. Yusuke had something with him that let him get put on pair with Inzei.

"Come on now, I can tell your eyes let you have the advantage here. But that advantage is gone if you can't move without worsening that wound right?"

The king of bluffs, that should have been Inzei's title. He couldn't count how many times he talked people out of fighting him with bullshit logic. He took another step forward. His weapons still on the ready, his knees bent beneath his skirt. It was impossible to notice this small detail due to the skirt reaching down to his ankles. However Inzei was trying to approach him in a friendly manner without risking his own life.

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” I thought I told you . . . ”

Yusuke leaned forward, still clutching the wound at his side. His voice was low, a growl. He was angry, enraged. He had obviously lost control.

” I never stop fighting!!! ”

Yusuke began to dash forward. Pulling his kunai back, he readied a throw. A throw at this range would certainly require either more evasion than Inzei had the energy for or a block from one of his swords. Moving his hand forward, his fingers—

Suddenly Yusuke’s right hand shot forward; he hadn’t lost control at all. Just over a meter away from one another, Yusuke’s right hand flew out in a short arc. The blood that had pooled in his hand flew off of his finger tips in a small stream, right for Inzei’s eyes; he was going to blind him. Inzei had never seen Yusuke perform a feint, he’d never seen him lie, and he had every reason to believe Yusuke’s previous posturing. This whole fight, Yusuke had been fairly straightforward with his tactics. He played the part of a madman, had pulled his kunai, and telegraphed a throw specifically to draw Inzei’s attention away from what was really happening. Between Inzei’s exhaustion and Yusuke’s trickiness, there was no reason to think Yusuke’s deception would fail: a small stream of blood would almost certainly hit Inzei’s eyes, obscuring his vision. Inzei’s reflexes were dulled with fatigue, but even if he somehow managed to move his head away at the last minute and successfully evade the spatter of blood Yusuke had sent his way, it wouldn’t matter.

The point of the blood was to draw Inzei’s attention, and whether it temporarily blinded him or not, it would necessitate Inzei’s attention.

That gave Yusuke time to act. Gritting his teeth, Yusuke summoned his strength and executed another vicious burst of speed¹⁴. Running didn’t affect the wound in his side, contorting or twisting his torso did. This was going to hurt.

With Inzei’s attention momentarily drawn to the incoming stream of blood – especially so if Yusuke had succeeded in blinding the poor boy – Yusuke’s form would seemingly to vanish. Without his full perceptive faculties at work, Yusuke’s form faded away. Rushing around his opponent in a tight circle, Yusuke attacked him from behind. Crouching low, Yusuke attempted to deliver a violent¹⁵ sidekick to the base of Inzei’s spine at an upward trajectory. The kick, if successful, would send Inzei’s frail 100 lb form skyrocketing up towards the ceiling. Delivering the kick to the base of the spine ensured two things: one, Inzei’s entire body would radiate pain as back was wrenched from the force of Yusuke’s kick. Two, attacking that low on the boy’s center of gravity guaranteed a whiplash-like effect if it succeeded. Inzei’s head would snap back, probably giving him a nasty headache, and almost certainly dulling his reaction time for just a fraction of a second. A fraction of a second was all Yusuke needed.

Right about the time Inzei would be coming to his senses and realize he was airborne he’d feel the cold edge of Yusuke’s metal against his throat. Yusuke had leapt up after Inzei and mirrored his body’s position perfectly¹⁶. With no ground to run on or wall to land on he’d made practically no sound in his advance; besides, even if he had, Inzei had (assuming he had made it to this point) been momentarily knocked senseless. Yusuke was upon him, with a knife against his neck.

A shaking knife, mind you. The crouched kick had torn Yusuke’s wound slightly. While the resulting blood loss wasn’t life threatening or enough to affect his performance significantly, the pain he was fighting through was considerable. He was able to tough it out for this last burst of sadism, but if Inzei somehow managed to overcome his current predicament, the pain Yusuke was enduring would almost certainly make him a little less offensively-inclined for a moment. He’d be on the defensive. It was a trade off, but one he felt confident in making.

If Yusuke had succeeded in both sending Inzei airborne and also in arriving at his backside with his knife at the ready Inzei’s options were limited. At such close proximity he wouldn’t be able to effectively employ his swords, particularly with Yusuke behind him, without Yusuke knowing and able to slit his throat first. With Yusuke right on him like this, he couldn’t substitute out of it. No, with the Sharingan trained on him, the slightest movement would result in all the King’s blood being spilt. As far as Yusuke was (read, would be) concerned, one of two things was going to happen:

The proctor was going to stop the fight or Inzei was going to die before they landed.

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Inzei's eyes widened as the genin charged him. That wasn't good for the king, he could barely use jutsu. The king didn't feel fear, but he felt anger. He didn't want this to continue any further. Inzei hadn't realized it but he felt the last of his chakra sap away. He was officially unable to do jutsu anymore. However wind started to blow, the blood would have blinded Inzei if it wasn't for this. It was instead blown backwards as the wind came from behind Inzei. The tyrant watched Yusuke charge him and make a tight turn around him. It was obvious that Inzei wasn't strong, or capable of using a substitution to get out of such a situation.

His immediate reaction was to prepare to impale Yusuke, upon witnessing the turn his instincts kicked into action. Run. Inzei did just that. He ran forward to avoid the fatal kick that would end the match. The kick, if Yusuke continued it, would miss the by a hair's breath. There was only one and a half meters from Inzei and his original spot when he spun on his heels. His swords could cross that almost effortlessly.

He took a step forward and swung in a diagonal cleaving motion. His right sword came for Yusuke's left and his left came for Yusuke's right. Effectively Yusuke could only go up on backwards. The spikes on Inzei's hand guards would stop any advances unless Yusuke was willing to impale his stomach. Inzei was not one to show mercy, and yet people kept rejecting the mercy he offered them. The golden genin grew tired of this treatment. He would make a mental note later to stop trying to reason with people. It never would work out for him.

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Yusuke let the kunai fly.

While the blood hadn’t blinded Inzei, it had successfully drawn his attention away long for Yusuke to get behind him. Yusuke had ducked down in preparation for the kick, uncomfortably contorting his wound, but without the jump or the kick stretching his flesh to the breaking point he wouldn’t end up tearing it. Not right away, anyway. Like broken record, Inzei was running away again.

Yusuke was, fortunately, used to it by now. Even if he wasn’t, Inzei wasn’t moving like his old self. The gust of wind he had summoned was the last usable amount of chakra he had left in his body. Yusuke had never seen someone use this much of their chakra reserves before. The chakra running through Inzei’s body was just enough to keep his blood moving and his brain working. His agility was, at this point, seriously compromised.

Yusuke had cancelled his intended kick when he spotted Inzei’s movement. He had crouched low to the ground behind him in anticipation of his attack, but instead of kicking Yusuke drew his knife back and sent the blade after the fleeing Cloud ninja. With Inzei’s back still to him and the negligible distance between the two the kunai would only be in the air a second or two before it reached Inzei. If he didn’t turn in time, the blade would cut into his left kidney, burying itself two inches in. There was always the chance it could catch him in the side as he was turning. Less likely, but it was possible that Inzei could turn around in time to swat it down with one of his swords. Ultimately, though, the kunai was like the blood; it was a set up for something else.

This was going to hurt.

Having been spared further injuring himself due to never kicking or jumping, Yusuke displayed his resolute commitment to victory by leaping forward out of the crouched position shortly after the kunai left his hand. Dashing forward – obligatory comment about the fact Yusuke was fast¹⁷ – the sudden burst of speed strained his wound, but the promise of hurting another human being temporarily numbed his suffering; he’d certainly feel this in the morning, though.

Inzei had to contend with his kunai somehow. Regardless, whether it had hit him or he had managed to block it, Yusuke was upon him. Having traded positions again, Inzei’s back was to the syrup. Yusuke was going to make him pay for that. Rushing forward, Yusuke’s arms shot forward and attempted to grasp onto Inzei’s wrists. Controlling his wrists would be easy enough¹⁸ if he could actually get control of them, and his Sharingan’s perceptive qualities ensured that Yusuke could adapt to any kind of exhausted movement Inzei conjured up in order to thwart his efforts. If he had to move around some sharp metal to get to his target’s arms, so be it, but Yusuke was fairly committed: he’d grab onto Inzei’s wrists and impose his will in order to prevent Inzei’s swords from playing a factor unless Inzei could somehow force him to do otherwise. Again, Yusuke had attempted to eliminate the distance and make this fight startlingly close. Inzei’s swords wouldn’t be much use at this proximity.

Assuming he’d successfully established control over Inzei, Yusuke’s forehead immediately went to work. Throwing a nasty and rather unsporting headbutt, Yusuke’s forehead would smash into Inzei’s nose if unimpeded. The headbutt would cause Inzei’s eyes to water and likely break his nose – like the kick was meant to be, the headbutt was a successful enough strike to stun Inzei just long enough for the winning maneuver.

In this instance, the maneuver was a rather simple shove. Throwing his weight and superior strength into a barbaric throw, Yusuke would thrust Inzei back toward the congealed pool of water and chakra. Yusuke’s aim was to throw Inzei off balance. If his push was completely successful, Inzei would end up on his back stuck in Yusuke’s lingering Mizuame Nabara. The syrup would cling to the boy’s body like glue; it would bind to his skin, his hair, his skirt, his sandals, even his swords. He would be trapped, helpless. The fight would be over.

Nothing was certain, of course, but Inzei had been staving off exhaustion for some time now. At the very end of his chakra capacity, Inzei had just barely managed to avoid Yusuke’s last attack. Now, as he was undoubtedly even more fatigued than before, the likelihood of Yusuke’s superior physicality ultimately clinching this match had increased exponentially.

Inzei was on his last legs, and there wasn’t a second wind coming. How much longer could he really stand up to Yusuke’s constant assaults?

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The golden ruler was quite skilled at controlling his body, even when exhausted. That much had been proven, however this was were he would falter. The spinning on his heels didn't let him deflect the blade, but it let him avoid his kidneys being stabbed. It let a nice cut along his right side that was roughly two inches long. Inzei would definitely feel that before he had a chance to react. Gritting his teeth he saw the Uchiha sprint again. Why does he not just become a courier ninja with such stamina? Inzei questioned internally as he positioned his swords to impale the oncoming genin. Sadly, Inzei wasn't a weaponry expert. His prowess was above average but not enough to keep Yusuke at bay with his chakra supply so low. It wasn't hard, but Inzei wasn't going to make it easy. As the Uchiha slipped through the King's blades Inzei pulled his arms back.

Then the two shinobi from two separate villages had the same idea. Yusuke grabbed onto Inzei's wrist and the kick reared his head back only to be met with Yusuke's forehead. The two idiots had managed to smash into each other's head. You god forsaken idiot Inzei thought to himself as he tried to twist his body around. it was a desperate attempt but still an attempt none the less. When the two's foreheads clashed, Inzei tried to spin and throw his weight into the younger genin. A weak attempt to bring them both onto the syrup. How Inzei would shudder in thought later at such a plan. But if it worked, the fight would end in a draw or with one on top of the other. It would be very awkward for the one stuck in the syrup, because either Inzei failed or Yusuke got trapped in his own technique. No one wanted that, now did they?

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That hurt.

Yusuke and Inzei’s heads bounced off of each other like retarded gongs. While Yusuke focused on retaining control over his opponent’s arms, Inzei reacted by twisting and attempting to throw them both onto the sticky syrup Yusuke was driving him toward. Fortunately, this had turned into a contest of physical strength. Yusuke was sure to win that contest¹⁹.

Yusuke struggled against Inzei’s twist in order to retain control over his opponent’s movements. While Yusuke’s form was indeed forced toward the syrup by Inzei’s efforts, he maintained both his balance and positive control over Inzei’s body. This was where Yusuke’s strength training and weight advantage came into play. With Inzei already attempting to hurl them both that direction, Yusuke drove forward, shoving Inzei back onto the syrup. As they both neared, Yusuke attempted to pick Inzei just off of the ground and hurl him straight into the sticky abyss.

Inzei’s fragile form would crash into the syrup-covered rock unless he somehow managed to free himself from Yusuke’s relentless grasp. He’d land less than a meter away from his Konoha tormentor. As was previously stated, the syrup would trap him in the prone position; his arms, swords, head, neck, back, legs, hips, and hands would all be stuck by Yusuke’s mystical adhesive. From this position, he couldn’t fight anymore.

And what of Yusuke? Fortunately, since he had managed to maintain a superior position during their little wrestling match, our Uchiha hero had the vantage point, forethought, and chakra in order to prepare for an excursion into his Mizuame Nabara. Before his feet had even hit the liquid’s surface chakra had rushed to his soles and buoyed Yusuke²⁰, protecting him from his technique’s sticky grasp. While Inzei would, most likely, be restrained and helpless, Yusuke had full range of movement.

Taking stock of the situation, Yusuke’s eyes scanned his immediate vicinity and ensured that Inzei’s trapped birds weren’t anywhere nearby. They weren’t. Both of Inzei’s lifeless hunks of clay were over seven meters away, well outside the range his explosives had displayed in their previous encounters. Inzei didn’t have any more cards up his sleeves to play. Breathing heavy, the pain from Yusuke’s wound set in from the struggle and he grasped his side with his left hand. The match seemed over, it seemed certain he had won, and it was for that exact reason he wasn’t letting his guard up; the best attacks always came when you had managed to lull your opponent into a false sense of security.

Yusuke took stock his environment and of his opponent before making a move or sound. Assuming his heightened senses didn’t locate any traps, he’d look down at his prostrated adversary. A funny thought occurred, and a smirk came across his thin lips.

” Heh . . . you know, from here, it looks like the King is the one who’s bowing, ”

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