Chapter 247 Part 1: Onimushi
December 26, morning, a few hours before Keiko's match.
"To my rrrrright, we have Akimichi Chōji! The towering titan of terror! The man with iron flesh that shrugs off the strongest taijutsu! The ultimate gourmand who feasts on victory while his enemies drown in the waters of defeat! Hold on tight to your seats, because today his footsteps are going to shake the earth!
"To my lllleft, we have Aburame Shino! General of his own army, commander of creeping death, he reduces his enemies to dried-out husks without ever lifting a finger! No use begging for mercy, because his insects won't understand… and he won't care!"
Aburame stared blankly at Akimichi, who stared blankly back, their expressions concealed by a high collar in one case and a mask depicting a wrathful oni in the other. The demon had sharp horns, narrow snake-like slit pupils, giant bared fangs, and a long, twisted tongue that seemingly reached out to entangle the viewer. It somehow gave the impression of a roaring ape and a striking snake at the same time.
"You… are aware that my partners have no special interest in your face?" Aburame asked curiously. "And that, with your identity already known, this will in no way prevent your humiliating defeat from being made public?"
Akimichi offered no explanation.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Shino?" he asked in a kindly, muffled voice. "You know I have more than enough chakra to crush you before your insects can do anything, and nobody will blame you if you bow out now. You've already done your clan proud by making it this far, and sometimes people just get bad match-ups, you know?"
"Yes," Aburame said smugly. "Yes, I believe they do. Perhaps you should know that over the past week, my partners have been stealthily tasting your chakra, one insect at a time, in one body part at a time. I am well aware of your reserves, as well as a variety of other interesting details about your capabilities, and I think you should be the one to surrender. Why? Because we will be forced to drain your chakra at near maximum speed, and as I lack sensory powers myself, we may not be able to stop at exactly the right moment.
"The current crop of Hyūga medic-nin is still in training, and no one else can reliably repair damage to the chakra system. Undetectable damage that manifests only in the long term, and cannot be provably traced to a given source, does not qualify as maiming. Still, I have no desire to risk the health of a fellow Leaf shinobi if it can be avoided. Please choose surrender over the risk of permanent damage."
Akimichi's voice turned a little less kindly and more shaky. "You're bluffing," he insisted, "and you're not even good at it."
"Is that so?" Aburame asked calmly. "I suppose we will soon find out."
"All right, that's enough of that!" the judge snapped. "You're creeping out the audience. Get in there, you two!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Akimichi was gone, and, looking over the edge, Aburame could already see a pair of giant grasping hands waiting to grab him as he came down.
"Substitution Technique!"
Lacking in easy targets within range, Aburame was forced to swap with a log almost within Akimichi's expanded reach. The oni mask grinned in anticipation. The hands reached out—
—then swiftly recoiled as Shino leapt backwards, leaving a vast cloud of insects in place. The audience leaned forwards, struggling to see past the dark, living miasma.
The insects reshaped themselves into twin blade-like formations, resembling nothing more than the mandibles of an ant. Akimichi froze for a second at the sight of the twin swarms bearing down on him, but forced himself into motion before the pincer movement could trap him completely. He rolled through the middle, towards Aburame, in a simultaneous dodge and attack… and towards one final group of insects that surged up from the grass, left there like an invisible bear trap in the seconds after Aburame's Substitution.
For a second, there was nothing visible but a black, writhing cylinder that had formerly been a ninja.
Then a giant arm burst out like an earth demon punching through solid rock. A fist opened, revealing a seal that must have been concealed in Akimichi's palm all along.
With one dramatic motion, Akimichi cast the seal at his feet, and it exploded into a long, red carpet in front of him. Without hesitation, he dropped onto it, and began to roll.
The screeching of the dying insects was loud enough to be heard from the stands, as rising smoke revealed the red of the carpet to be smouldering embers. Akimichi continued to roll up and down it as if oblivious to the heat.
Finally, he staggered up, perhaps a quarter of the insects still clinging to his charred uniform. It took him only a couple of seconds to spot the boulder behind which Aburame had concealed himself. He began a slow, heavy walk, heading inexorably for his opponent.
Aburame shifted to keep the boulder between himself and Akimichi—
—only to be punched viciously in the face as Akimichi's enhanced arm reached all the way around. Aburame flew through the air in a graceful arc, then hit the ground hard and kept going for a few metres from sheer momentum. It didn't look like he'd be getting up again.
Akimichi, his movements growing more sluggish with every step, reached Aburame's prone body, pulled back his fist for the finishing blow—
—and collapsed with a thud. His mask rolled away, knocked off by the impact, transforming him back from a vengeful demon into an ordinary mortal genin.
After several attempts, Aburame climbed to his feet, gave Akimichi's motionless form a wary look, then turned towards the audience and recalled his remaining insects. As they streamed into his sleeves, he picked up the cracked mask and held it aloft.
"He surrenders."
-o-
This is (probably) not the entirety of the update, though it sure feels like one after all the planning and dice rolling and redoing the whole thing again because I miscalculated one thing. I don't know how
@eaglejarl does it. I have a half-written draft for the rest which I'll try to whip into shape if I have time tomorrow.
Fair warning that either way the update will cut out early because I'm not sure you realised that Finals are today, and may want to replan accordingly.
