Let the match begin!

Battle Mod: Faker

A tournament had seemed like a great idea at the time of joining but having arrived, the boy had second thoughts. He had gone through all the proper processes, listened to all the rules and agreed, albeit with great reluctance, to by all means "behave" and represent Kumogakure.  Well, frankly, that was the last thing he gave a shit about. Still Norio had finally gotten past the admin BS and onto the first stage of this fighting extravaganza.

Having caught a glimpse of genin from many other countries, the boy was quite curious to see who he would be paired up with. He hoped for someone exotic, perhaps from a smaller land, whose prowess and shinobi talent was untested and unheard of. A shinobi from the Bear Country would be quite something, and certainly one of the things the boy wanted to see during the contest.

However it only took a quick glance at his chosen opponent, for Norio to figure that this was not a Bear-native. The forehead protector found on the other's forehead (were bears particularly fond of leaves?) told the youth that unfortunately, a denizen of the Land of Fireflies and Fairies stood before him. At a taller height too, which was annoying. He had hair of a dirtier shade than Norio's, behind which he hid his eyes. Was he shy? Aww.

The other genin was clearly athletic, but Norio wasn't sure if that was because he was healthy or just had poor eating habits, or lack thereof. His body seemed tainted by the presence of tattoos, piercings and other body "modifications", though how one put a hole in their ear and thought themselves "bettered", was beyond the young boy. Maybe it helped to filter the needless sounds of the every-day.


"Seems like a good deal" the boy remarked sarcastically, completely disregarding the threat aimed at him. But though he acknowledged the other's words, which was in itself surprising, even if he did so with a overtly cynical tone, he did not extend his hand. Instead, the boy opened his lips once again. "Sweeten up the offer" he told his opponent, though the challenge was more so a joke, than a serious suggestion. "If I shake your hand, you will surrender. That seems fair" the boy was not expecting his opponent to agree, but, heck, there were a lot of idiots in this world. Maybe the other genin would turn out to be one of them and just give up here and now.


At last, the Jounin Proctor raised a white flag, signifying the beginning of the match. That seemed like an odd colour to choose for a flag. Really, choosing a flag was in itself excessive... but white, of all colours? Maybe Konoha-face should borrow that flag and make himself useful.


The white haired, white eyed boy, clad in a white long-sleeved top and blue sweat-pants began to move as soon as the other jumped back. Both of his hands raced instantly to the genin kit that was attached to his belt, slightly above his gluteus maximus. This meant that Konoha-face would not be able to see what the boy took out from the pouch, unless he was directly behind him, in which case Norio was likely screwed anyway.

As the other jumped away, Norio's fingers grasped for three shuriken, and with a quick movement of his right limb, his right hand resurfaced from the pouch to curtly fire off these three projectiles in the direction of his opponent. The shuriken would be spaced out, one roughly aimed for the neck, the other the heart and the last, for the stomach. Thus, neither a jump nor a crouch could remove the threat completely.

Once he landed, his opponent began to make hand seals; it would be about this point that the shuriken would be reaching him. Norio's eyes were naturally sharp so he made note of the hand movement as soon as it began, but frankly, he didn't really have to as Konoha-face announced the technique he was using quite loudly, almost with pride and then smashed his hand onto the ground, as if words alone were not enough.

The boy noted two things calmly: Ninjutsu; Doton.

That said, the boy had no idea what the technique entailed. Fortunately for him, the ripping and crunching sounds of the earth from the ground and walls nearby, alerted him both visually and audibly to a possible danger. Perhaps it was lucky or intuitive, but the boy jumped to the right, moving about two metres from his original spot. It seemed that the spot where he had originally stood served as a focal point for the rock that he had heard and seen crumbling, for that's where it flew, some from in front of him, the rest from behind, crashing into each other, where his flesh had been seconds ago.

Safely away from the effects of this jutsu, the boy stood calmly, anticipating another attack. His left hand casually left the safety of his genin kit, tentatively holding a scroll. It seemed however that he was not going to use it just yet, as his arm fell to his side. The scroll was thirty centimeters in height, and so his opponent would be able to see it rather clearly, for better or for worse.

Combat Log:

Unsurprisingly, one of the three projectiles the youth had fired hit its mark. It was a result that wasn't exactly pleasing, for the boy hoped for all three to hit and kill his enemy here and there. But, it would have to do. Something was better than nothing after all, even if this something didn't really gain him much in terms of the short-term.

As it stood, the enemy fired two kunai in the boy's direction. The distance between them had increased since before, so this gave Norio more time to react that his opponent had to his shuriken. The youth had some choices available to him. He could dodge yet again and get away further from Konoha-face... however seeing as the other genin was a Ninjutsu user, a longer range might not be all that useful. On the other hand, he could risk reaching for a kunai of his own, and try to deflect the two incoming projectiles. That could work. But he could also unseal his puppet and get this fight done and over with much more quickly.

So, the boy opted for the third choice. He made a simple seal with his right hand, as his left hand opened the scroll, and it quickly unrolled to the ground, revealing a large mark upon its surface. A cloud of smoke seemingly burst out from the scroll, hiding, for the moment, what came out of it as well as the boy. Using that cloud of smoke, the boy performed another seal with his right hand, causing veins around his eyes to pop out hideously. "Byakugan" he had muttered under his breath.

The sound of two metal objects hitting wood could be heard. While the smoke was still in the air, the boy reached out into his kit, and having grabbed three smoke pellets, he threw them down, releasing three more-permanent clouds of thick smoke, that expanded away from him and his creation, which he could now clearly see. The Warrior. His favourite puppet, and the only thing he needed to win this fight. He could see the kunai stuck in its body, though they had done little to no damage. He could also see his opponent through the wooden form. In turn, his opponent could neither see him or the six foot humanoid creature, that stood menacingly in front of the boy, shielding him for the time being.

The boy quickly moved behind the puppet, reaching out around it to grab the two kunai that were lodged in its body. He armed the kunai with an explosive tag each. The youth was meanwhile following the movement (if any) of his opponent with ease, being able to see wherever he went within 50m, that is, the whole arena, at all times. Thus when he was done attaching the tags to the kunai, he threw them towards where his opponent currently was.

His opponent had, meanwhile, covered himself in what seemed like... crystal? Maybe ice. He had heard of ice users, so the latter was more likely. Konoha-face had also created a makeshift ice-crystal spear in his hand. All good and well, though Norio wondered just how well those would fair against explosives.

The kunai would be blanketed by the smoke, until almost the very end of their flight. The youth would have timed the throw so to either aim slightly in front of where the other was moving, or to throw them directly at where the other was standing. When the kunai reached the necessary proximity to hurt the opponent, Norio would make a simple seal with his left hand and whisper a deliciously, sweet "Katsu".    

Combat Log:

Puppet Unsealed:

In the interest of keeping the tournament moving, the 72 hours rule will be more strictly enforced. If a combatant fails to post within 72 hours, they automatically forfeit.


Due to the failure of Kazama posting, this battle goes to Rokudo, Norio.