The Other Jinchūriki - A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 50

Hayate coughed a bit before speaking. "Step forward, please." Both contestants obeyed, and Zaku smirked.

"So you're the unlucky sucker," he said cockily. "This will be a breeze."

"I wouldn't say that," Shino said in his monotone and slightly creepy voice. "If you fight me, you won't be able to recover. Forfeit and withdraw if you wish to do so." Zaku rolled his wrists in his sling as he chuckled.

"Heh, but what do you know? I got a little movement in one of them." He pulled his left arm out of the sling with a sick grin. "One good arm is enough to beat you!" He jumped at him and was about to grab his head until Shino blocked it with his own arm.

"You couldn't beat me even if you had both arms," he said casually, making his opponent growl.

"Stop pestering me! Take this!" Air pressure was appearing around Zaku's hand. "Slicing Sound Waves!" He pulled his arm back and shoved it into Shino, making the boy fly back and roll across the ground. "Come on, get up."

Surprisingly, the boy had done his command, easily getting up as if he was barely hurt at all. When the dust cleared, everyone could see Shino's little bugs crawling all over his upper body, including his face.

B-Bugs?! Zaku thought, eyes wide. T-They burst through his skin...through inside his body?! What a creep...! "What kind of trick are you trying to pull?!"

Shino didn't say anything, but pointed a finger behind his opponent. When he looked, he was overly shocked to see a whole army of bugs crawling up behind him.

"Oh god..." Sakura shuddered. "I'm lucky I'm not against him..."

"These guys are called Kikaichū bugs," Shino explained, holding one of them up with his finger. "They attack their prey in groups and consume its chakra."

"So cool!" Naruto, Lee and Rizaki chorused with stars in their eyes.

"If I attack you with this many, you may not be able to fight again." Zaku grunted as Shino smirked behind his shirt collar. "If you don't want that, give up. It is recommended. If you use that move of yours with your left hand, I will make the bugs attack you from behind. If you use your move on the bugs, I will attack you. Either way, you can't get out of this situation." Shino made a hand sign as he stared. "It's always good to have a trump card at the very end."

"Now you've done it!" Zaku roared. "Now you've made me mad!" Angrily, he pulled his other arm out the sling, one facing Shino and the other facing the bugs.

"What the hell?!" Rizaki exclaimed. "Sakura, didn't you say they were broken before?!" Sakura nodded, just as surprised.

"Yeah, I don't know how that happened!"

"He must've had a medic on his team," Sōma said with a thoughtful look. "Then faked it with the arm sling to use as a trump card or something."

"That's no excuse to fake injury!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's unfair!!"

"Like you said yourself," Zaku said, opening his hands as he was ready to blast both things to smithereens. "Always have a trump card in the end, right? I'll blow you away!" He looked like he was putting a lot of pressure into his hands when, suddenly, chakra seemed to burst out his arms. Zaku yelled in pain. "My arms! What's wrong with them?!" He turned them over and noticed little black dots crawling in and out of the holes in his hands. Bugs?!

"Earlier," Shino began to explain. "While I was distracting you with my helpful advice, I was also sending some of my bugs to plug up those bothersome wind holes in your hands. Both hands, just to be sure. You see, while one trump card is good, it's even better to have two." Zaku roared in frustration and tried punching Shino, but he was quick to dodge and punch him square in the face, making him fall to ground with a groan.

The proctor walked to Zaku and looked him over, hands in his pockets. "I'd say this one's had it," he concluded. "The winner is Shino Aburame."

"YEAH SHINO!" Rizaki cheered. "NICE ONE, MAJI!"

"Man, that Shino is good!" Naruto commented, Lee nodding in agreement. "Who woulda thought it with him being so quiet? I can't wait to get my shot at him, dattebayo!"

"Whoa," Sakura mumbled. "I thought Shino was weird before, but now..."

"There isn't anything weird about it." Everyone turned to Sōma. "Really, it's kind of cool. Besides, the quiet ones always turn out to be what we don't expect, am I right?" Everyone except Sakura nodded, who sighed with exaggeration at her brother and shrugged.

"Whatever you say, Sō..." Just then, smoke appeared beside them.

"Hey guys," Kakashi said casually.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Is 'hey' all you can say?" Sakura asked with a glare. "What about Sasuke? How is he?"

"He's doing fine," the scarecrow-looking man replied. "Sleeping soundly in the infirmary." He then looked to Sōma. "Kezuka should be coming back in a few minutes as well. Sasumi is doing just as fine as her brother." The boy nodded in response with a relieved smile.

The board began randomizing again.

"Imma go next!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"No, it'll be me!" Rizaki countered.

"No, me!" Lee yelled.

SAKURA HARUNO vs INO YAMANAKA.

"DAMMIT!" All three cursed as they sulked. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at Ino. Ino looked back at her. When they both walked up to stand in front of each other, they glared.

"I never thought I'd fight you," Ino said. "Or, at least, I didn't think it would happen this soon. Don't expect me to go easy on you." Sakura smirked a little.

"You better not. Because I'm definitely not going easy on you."

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979 words

The 50th chapter and we're barely even halfway through the actual first part of the series😭 I wonder if I should make a second book of this before the possible sequel, idk-

But how come I see the name Kikaichū (literally means "Parasite Destruction Bugs" from online) I'm thinking of the Chia Pet commercials-

CH CH CH CHIA

But hope you all enjoyed this chapter! <3