Another path

Although there is nothing

< Hi everyone, how are you lots doing ? I wanna mention two things : first, the battle order and some of the pairs are actually randomized so I just roll with whatever the dice says. Second, that cliffhanger last chapter wasn't planned. At all. My brain just went "hey, how about this ?" and I allowed it. So yeah, sometimes stuff drops in the story because why not after all !
Anyway, thanks for reading as always and I hope you'll enjoy ! >

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A shocked whisper coursed through the audience. Onoki looked like he both was about to burst a blood vessel and crown his granddaughter while holding a parade for her.
Kurama laughing but her gaze was as calculating as ever.

Higure chuckled and jokingly answered :

"- We'll, you must be pretty sure you'll beat me to suggest this...

- Of course I am.

- Then I suppose it's only fair I give you a run for your money. So the winner can demand anything from the other's village, is that it ? Fine, let's do this.

- Ooh, did I upset you ?

Higure merely smiled knowingly. His team and fellow Uzushio shinobi shivered a bit upon seeing this. That didn't go unnoticed by the other contestants and all briefly wondered why they'd react like this.

Until an explosion enveloped half the arena. Surprised cries resonated everywhere, the smoke preventing anyone from seeing down there. The noise rang loudly in the ears of the people that had been the closest to the field.

Kurotsuchi emerged from the dust cloud, a few burns on her left arm underneath her cremated sleeve. She went through several hand signs and a large dirt wall shielded her from an upcoming fireball. She then placated her hands on her construction and it shot a storm of projectiles. It was hard for anyone to make out the details but the fiery pits that were left after those projectiles met the ground were a good clue. Those were a lava based attack - Kurotsuchi seemed to have morphed part of her protection into a weapon.

The dust was finally blown away and nothing but small craters were left. No traces of Higure anywhere. Kurotsuchi looked for him all around her, her muscles tense with apprehension. A hand then grabbed her ankle and she felt herself being dragged through the ground.
Thanks to her alertness and proficiency in Dōton, she managed to stop the jutsu by conjuring a wave of soil to lift her up, both effects annihilating one another. Her right foot remained stuck though and she was about to get it out when a hard blow collided with her left side, making her fly away a few feet from her spot.

It effectively got her out of the trap but her left arm was less and less usable. Glancing up after landing hard on her elbow, she could see Higure had kicked her and was now readying another jutsu. Well not if she had a say in this.

The ground suddenly became unstable under Higure's feet and he could feel something akin to mud clinging onto his calves. Well, that was a bother. Maybe he could just...
Kurotsuchi went through a series of hands signs and shot a ball of quicklime out of her mouth. Higure looked unphased though, seemingly not bothered that scorching lava was about to hit him.
Kurotsuchi readied a Suiton technique as she figured he might be able to tank the hit as Higure simply made the horse sign.

A wall of flames engulfed the arena as the Gōka Mekkyaku created by the white haired Uchiha collided head on with Kurotsuchi's attack.
For a moment, she disappeared within the flames and all held in their breath. The blaze was drying their skin and eyes and the air left a burning sensation in their mouth and nose.
When the flames finally dissipated, a strange black mass stood in the middle of the arena and the shinobi understood that Kurotsuchi had managed to protect herself.