Chapter 151: Red Eye vs. Shikotsumyaku
Inherit the name of "A"?
Then I can't use "Dana" or "Dada" anymore?
Strictly speaking, even the surname "Yotsuki" would be rarely used.
And in the future, the way to distinguish between me and my father would be "Third A" and "Fourth A."
I don't really want that.
The name "A" has a special meaning in the Cloud. It is the name of the Raikage, the name of the A-B combo, and the name of the next in line to the Raikage.
Has my father already decided that he wants me to be the Fourth Raikage? Though he's not going to step down right away.
But then he thought of Arashi, who had always aspired to become "A." In recent years, he hadn't heard him talk about it as much.
And according to the Cloud's tradition, a new "A" needs a "B." Arashi seemed to be the best choice, in terms of age, strength, and prestige.
Except for his name.
Kirabi? What kind of stupid name is that? Does he wear a short skirt?
"Dad," he said, "let's not rush. I need some time to process this."
The Third Raikage did not push him. "Dana," he said, "besides you, there is no one else who can inherit the name of 'A'."
This was not just his own opinion, but the opinion of the Yotsuki clan and the entire village. No one was qualified to compete with Yotsuki Dana for the name of the next "A."
Three days passed quickly. The third round of the Chunin Exams, the Wudou Tournament, was about to begin.
Early in the morning, everyone had gathered in the underground space from the second round. The special climate of the Land of Rain made it better to hold such an event underground. Otherwise, the audience would have to watch in the rain.
The mock town from the second round had been leveled. A small stadium, or perhaps an arena, had been built in the massive underground space with Earth Release, and it had been decorated, no longer a simple earthen structure. Though it couldn't compare to the large stadiums of his previous life, it was still a considerable undertaking.
Sometimes he had to marvel at the incredible productivity of ninja, to have completed so much work in just three days.
The stands were already filled with people, and more were still coming in. In the center was a VIP area, where the high-ranking officials and Daimyo of the various countries were seated. Hanzo and the announcer's platform were also there.
In this era, there were no electronic screens. Instead, on the side of the arena, were four large, torii-like structures.
At the top of the torii were the characters for "One," "Two," "Three," and "Final."
The seats for the twelve contestants were on either side of the VIP area. Dana, as the team leader, was seated among them, with the four finalists—Hiroto, Kayo, Konan, and Yusuke—behind him.
Hanzo began his speech. By the third round, he had already run out of things to say. Much of what he said was a repeat of the first two rounds, about his hopes for the contestants' performance, about this being a grand event, and so on. But it was clear that he was in high spirits. The Joint Chunin Exams had indeed brought the Hidden Rain a great deal of influence.
The temporary venue was already full. Dana estimated there were at least two thousand people. This was not some celebrity concert. The people who had come to the Land of Rain to watch the exams were all from various merchant guilds, organizations, nobles, and wealthy individuals. Even with their entourages, the prestige of this event was immense. No wonder Hanzo was so happy.
When he had finished his speech, three Rain ninja appeared in the center of the arena. "Will the team leaders of each village please come and draw lots for your contestants," one of them announced.
Dana looked at the four nervous contestants behind him and gave them a reassuring look, then jumped down from the stands.
Having the team leaders draw the lots was a way to prevent any accusations of rigging. If your own leader drew a death match, you had no one to blame but yourself. Luck was a part of strength.
The contestants in the stands all watched their leaders nervously.
The rules were simple. Twelve balls. 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, and so on.
"Lord Dana's luck should be good, right?" Yusuke grumbled. "I don't want to fight a teammate in the first round." As the village with the most finalists, a civil war was a high probability. He just hoped it wouldn't be in the first round.
"A civil war is one thing," Konan said. "I really don't want to face that Kaguya. She's so scary."
In the arena, Dana, Fugaku, and the other team leaders drew their numbers, in the order of their second-round rankings.
After all twelve numbers had been drawn, the Rain ninja recorded the results.
From the torii marked "One," two scrolls unrolled, each with a name written on it, along with the symbol of their respective village.
"Yusuke Akahoshi" and "Tsuki Kaguya."
Almost at the same time, the Rain ninja examiner announced, "First round! Yusuke Akahoshi of the Hidden Cloud Village versus Tsuki Kaguya of the Hidden Mist Village!"
In the stands, Yusuke's face fell. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He stiffly turned his head to look at Tsuki. She was emotionless and had already jumped into the arena.
With a grimace, and with the encouragement of his teammates, he entered the arena.
The two of them stood about five meters apart. The eliminated contestants in the stands began to whisper. Ganseki and Akane were clinging to each other, worried about their teammate.
Tsuki had made a name for herself in this exam, though not a good one. Almost all the deaths had been caused by her.
"Come on, you water-drinker!" Tsume shouted from the stands. "Show her what you've got!"
Kuromaru, who could not yet speak, also cheered with a howl. "Woof!"
The Rain ninja examiner came to the center. "If you surrender, the match will stop immediately," he said. "Otherwise, it's a loss."
Yusuke nervously nodded. Tsuki was much calmer.
Seeing that both of them had agreed, the examiner raised his hand high and then brought it down. "Begin!"
In an instant, one advanced and one retreated. Yusuke shot back, and Tsuki, with her bone blade, closed the distance.
The audience, who had not expected such an intense start, was captivated.
Yusuke threw a volley of kunai to slow her down.
This guy, she thought, his taijutsu is strong! She was surprised to find that she couldn't catch up to him. Not many of the contestants could do that. His skill was clearly not in line with his clumsy appearance.
Seeing that she couldn't close the distance, she pointed her fingers at him. "Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Ten finger bones shot out. He dodged most of them and blocked the rest with his kunai.
The force of the impact made his heart skip a beat. If he had been hit by one of those, even if a Healing Talisman could have saved him, he would have had to have the bone removed. The thought of it was painful.
The audience, who had never seen the Shikotsumyaku before, was horrified. What kind of ability was this? It was so creepy.
The Daimyo, in particular, had a look of fear and disgust on their faces.
"Ninja," the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers muttered to himself, "are so disgusting."
The Thunder Daimyo glanced at him but said nothing.
The finger bones had slowed him down, and Tsuki closed in, her bone blade swinging.
But the next moment, a large amount of mist erupted from his body, and he disappeared.
The bone blade cut through the mist, but hit nothing.
In the stands, the Sand elder, Chiyo, was watching the battle intently. "The Red Eye," she said to the Stone elder next to her. "It is recorded in the ancient texts of the Sand. Decades ago, it was said to be on the verge of extinction. It has the ability to see through things, like the Byakugan, and also to control the evaporation of water from the body to create a mist for stealth, and even for a genjutsu-like effect. I didn't see it clearly in the first two rounds. I never thought the Cloud had actually found such a clan. I heard they were in the Land of Birds."
The Land of Birds was on the border of the lands of Wind and Earth, a long way from the Cloud. And yet, this Kekkei Genkai had been obtained by them.
Though it was a belated realization, both elders felt a pang of regret.
But in this world, inaction always leads to regret.
"Yes," Haido sighed. "But the ones who are probably most upset are the people of Konoha."
"Oh? Why is that?" Chiyo asked.
"Before its decline in the Warring States Period, the Red Eye had another nickname: the 'Byakugan Killer'!"
Chiyo looked over at Koharu. Sure enough, the woman's face was grim.