WAB: Chapter 12

Immediately, I drew on my chakra, engaging the Kōton: Kōtetsu no Tai (Steel Release: Body of Steel), Gogyo-Ken (Five Element Fist), and the Oni no Karada no Jutsu (Ogre Body Technique), though I did not manage to do so unmolested. Instead, as soon as I had engaged the Body of Steel, the Female Kanibōzu summoned Nature Chakra to her and condensed the moisture in the air, firing a stream of high-pressure water at me. I was forced to dodge to the side as the stream carved through the stone of the back wall of the shrine like a knife through butter. As I dodged, however, the Male Kanibōzu slammed a Pincer into my face, punching me away. I skidded to a halt, my metallic cheek dented inward slightly from the powerful blow, though the space that punch gave allowed me to engage the Ogre Body Technique. A second high-pressure water stream was dodged away from using the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), and I was finally able to engage the Five Element Fist as I reappeared in normal view.

This, it turned out, happened just in the nick of time, as the scything pincers of the Male Kanibōzu slashed out for my throat and groin in a double attack that would have both gelded and decapitated most Shinobi. I wasn't most Shinobi, though, and I managed to dodge back away from the twin attacks. Another high-pressure jet of water was flung at me from the Female Kanibōzu, and this time, it managed to clip my shoulder slightly. Between my techniques, armor, and the grazing hit, it wasn't a deadly wound, but it was still bad enough that my metallic shoulder dented inward, and I could feel my bones bruise even through my techniques. Regardless, I was sent spinning away and into another Pincer Punch by the Male Kanibōzu, denting the side of my head.

"Just die already and let us devour you!" Demanded the Male Kanibōzu.

"Not a chance!" I snarled.

"You have no way to survive, why fight the inevitable?" Questioned the Female Kanibōzu.

"You've landed a few glancing shots, and you think I'm done?" I queried.

"Most Shinobi would have perished by now, it is true, but your stamina cannot hold out indefinitely. Why fight what is destined to occur? Why not surrender to the inevitability of death? We can make it swift if you do. Why draw it out?" Asked the Male Kanibōzu.

"I don't quit. Besides, I have not yet begun to fight." I insisted.

"Was that a quote? I do not get the reference." Responded the Female Kanibōzu.

I didn't respond verbally. Instead, I went through the hand seals for the Raiton: Taiyoken (Lightning Release: Solar Flare), the flash of electric light blinding both Kanibōzu for a few precious moments. I blurred into motion and smashed a flying knee into the mandibles of the Female Kanibōzu, smashing her through the stone of the outer wall of the shrine, before ducking a wild, clumsy swipe of the Male Kanibōzu's pincers and lashing out with an Akimichi-Ryu Karate Yoko Geri Gedan (Akimichi Style Karate Low Side Kick), that smashed into the side of one of the Male Kanibōzu's legs at the joint, cracking the Crablike Yokai's leg and bending it inward. A follow-on Akimichi-Ryu Karate Mae Tobi Geri (Jumping Front Thrust Kick) smashed the Male Kanibōzu back, and a second flying knee plowed him through the Stone Outer Wall of the Shrine.

Now alone in the shrine, I went through more hand seals, performing the Shiyoken (Four Witches) as a pair of extra arms sprouted from my back. Then, I reached for my storage seals to pull a weapon, hopefully to end this, drawing the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami. As I did so, however, another, much larger, much denser stream of high-pressure water was shot from the Female Kanibōzu through the hole I had smashed her through. I surged Futon (Wind Release) Chakra through the Blade as I blurred forward and lashed out. Spiritual Energy and Futon Chakra-enhanced Chakra Metal met super-dense, high-pressure water, and it was the water that gave way. The Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami cut through the Female Kanibōzu's stream the same way the Futon Chakra cut through the raging waterfall during my training with the Wind Nature Transformation Exercise. The twin streams that split apart from the initial jet carved through the stone outer walls of the shrine building, but not me.

Unfortunately, as I exited into the courtyard, that damage proved too much for the shrine building, and it began to creak and rumble. As I struck out for the Female Kanibōzu with the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami, that creaking and rumbling reached a fever pitch, and the main shrine building collapsed in on itself. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for the Female Kanibōzu as my blade lashed out at her. The Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami parted the pilfered silk of her kimono and thunked into her carapace, carving a gouge into it, but failing to penetrate. I parried her riposte, a pincer slash at my neck, but was forced to use the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement Technique) to avoid a point-blank jet of high-pressure water to the face.

The log that appeared in my place in a puff of smoke was obliterated by the stream. As I came out of the Replacement Technique, however, the Male Kanibōzu smashed one pincer into my chest and tried to decapitate me with the other, though I managed to snap off a wild Parry to deflect the blow. My ribs ached from the initial punch, however, and I felt a bone bruise forming on one of them. Snarling, I lashed out with the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami, once again gouging a chunk out of the carapace and wrecking the kimono of my opponent, but failing to do any substantial damage. I had to use my shoulder-blade arms from the Shiyoken to parry a pair of pincer swipes the Male Kanibōzu sent at me as a Riposte, using Utau Haru Kenpo (Singing Spring Kenpo) Huen Sau (Circling Hand) techniques to both parry the slashes at the wrist and then grip onto the arms of the Male Kanibōzu before smashing a pair of headbutts into its mandibled face.

The headbutts weren't elegant, but between my techniques and my Happuri-style headband, they got the job done, bending one of the Male Kanibōzu's mandibles in half backward and bursting one of its compound eyes. Unfortunately, my disembowling swipe failed once more to penetrate the Chitin, and I was forced to pull the Male Kanibōzu into a Seoi-nage (Shoulder Throw), hurling him at the Female Kanibōzu just as she managed the Senjutsu (Sage Technique) that would once again summon high-density, high-pressure jets of water. The pair went down in a heap, and I frowned, flashing away with the Shunshin to rethink my strategy.

'They're Crabs, how do you crack open the shell of a crab to eat? Not with the knife, but with the mallet!' Intoned Inoshishi-no-Kami from the back of my mind.

"Right. That figures." I muttered.

As the twin Kanibōzu untangled themselves, I put the Blade of Inoshishi-no-Kami back into my storage seal and withdrew a staff. Staves had been one of the first Bukijutsu Styles I had learned. Maybe this will be more effective against the supernaturally toughened chitin of the Kanibōzu's Carapaces. I had to believe that would be the case. After all, Inoshishi-no-Kami hadn't steered me wrong yet. Spinning the staff around and taking up a Sarutobi-Ryu Bojutsu (Sarutobi Style Staff-Fighting) Stance. As the Kanibōzu finally managed to untangle their mess of limbs, I blurred forward with blinding speed, striking out for the Male Kanibōzu with the Bojutsu: Sanjūrosshitsu Kōgeki (Staff Technique: Thirty-Six Chamber Attack). The technique was meant to be used on human opponents, or at least reasonably humanoid ones. However, with an extra surge of Doton (Earth Release) Chakra through the staff, I figured it would still be more or less effective.

I would be proven right, as the crushing force of the Earth Release Chakra Enhanced Chakra Metal of the Staff smashed through the Male Kanibōzu's defenses, cracking carapace and breaking limbs. Nine hits to each of the Male Kanibōzu's remaining functional limbs smashed legs and pincers to uselessness and rendered the Male Kanibōzu an immobile wreck, groaning in pain in the courtyard. The Female Kanibōzu, seeing this, shrieked out in anger and summoned more Nature Chakra with Senjutsu. This time, when she did so, the water-based attacks came not as tightly focused surgical jets, but as a raging torrent of churning water. Three massive churning waterspouts sprang up as if out of thin air, surging toward me and ripping through the stone tiles of the courtyard in the process.

I was forced to dodge for all I was worth, the raging torrential waters smashing through statuary, wrecking outbuildings, and bursting through the outer walls of the courtyard in their attempts to get at me. Nothing proved useful as cover, not trees, nor buildings, nor stones or statues. Even barriers put up with Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return) only provided momentary cover. In the end, I was forced to test my chakra against the Female Kanibōzu's Senjutsu, summoning the Katon: Karyūdan no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) to try and counter the raging tempests that were demolishing the once-proud Shrine Grounds in their attempt to slay me.

The roaring dragon of flame formed and lashed out at the trio of waterspouts, smashing through one and turning it to steam before curling around another and sublimating it into steam as well. With each successive attack, my flame dragon got smaller and weaker, going from larger than the waterspouts to the same size, to smaller than them by the end. It still managed to turn all of them to steam. I had the feeling that if not for Fire being my Primary Natural Affinity and the fact that I had also mastered the Fire Nature Transformation Exercise, I would have failed to accomplish this, but in the end, my Fire Dragon had just enough steam to destroy all three waterspouts, no pun intended. As soon as it had, winking out as it bit into the last Waterspout and turned it into steam, I leaped down into the courtyard from where I had been using the Kabe Aruki no Jutsu (Wall-Walking Technique) and the Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding With Camouflage Technique) to hide up on one of the few still-standing bits of outer courtyard wall remaining.

'To your right!' Warned Inoshishi-No-Kami in the back of my mind.

I nodded, spinning and swiping out with my staff in that direction. As I did so, the Female Kanibōzu emerged from the steam, carapace sweating from the parboiling she'd taken and screeching bloody murder, but still alive and clearly able to try and ambush me with a Pincer Slash from the cover provided by the steam. Fortunately for me, I literally had God on my side, or at least, A God. My staff smashed out and into the Female Kanibōzu, interrupting her sneak attack and cracking her carapace along the side. She was sent stumbling to the left, and I pulled my staff back before thrusting it at her face, using the opening provided by my interrupting of her sneak attack. With the Earth Chakra flowing through it, and my triply-enhanced muscles powering the strike, my staff literally caved in the Female Kanibōzu's face, killing her.

As the steam cleared, I saw what was left of my opponents and the shrine. It wasn't a pretty sight. The Shrine had gone from an abandoned but still intact complex of buildings to a broken-down ruin that looked like two armies had clashed here. None of the buildings were intact, and even the very ground of the courtyard was torn up. The Battle with the Kanibōzu had wrecked a complex the size of the Hokage Tower with its intensity. I would have to sift through the rubble to retrieve the Scriptures. My opponents, meanwhile, were no better. Both Kanibōzu were dead, with the Male having had all ten of his limbs shattered, one of his mandibles broken, an eye popped like a grape, and had been parboiled to death in his carapace. Meanwhile, the Female had been parboiled, had the carapace on her right side shattered, and her face staved as if I'd been smashing a barrel with a hammer. Neither was alive.

In the end, it took me the rest of the day to sift through the rubble and try to find the Scriptures. While there, I also found that the Staff that the Female Kanibōzu had thrown at me at the beginning of the battle, which had punched through the stone and terracotta of the plinth and statue of Suijin, was still remarkably intact. The Fuuinjutsu running along its side not only strengthened it, but also seemed to give it a measure of variable weight. Not only that, but it seemed to bear some sort of spiritual energy power as well. A snuffling in the back of my mind alerted me to Inoshishi-no-Kami's presence.

"Do you know what this does?" I questioned.

'I do.' Affirmed Inoshishi-no-Kami, mentally.

"And will you tell me?" I queried.

'It's an imitation of the staff wielded by that Lout of a Monkey, likely made by one of the fools in Earth Country that still worships him as a God, even though he's no Kami, just a very powerful Yokai.' Answered Inoshishi-no-Kami Telepathically.

"Monkey? You mean this is a replica of Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang?" I asked.

'A rather poor one, but you cannot expect immortal craftsmanship from Humans. The Spiritual Energy Powers it bears allow it to extend in size up to five times the length of its normal form, and return to the wielder's hand once thrown. It has neither the extendable length nor the independent capability of the genuine article.' Informed Inoshishi-no-Kami in the back of my mind.

"Good to know. At least something interesting came out of this." I grinned.

As I did so, I took the staff and sealed it into my Storage Seal, along with the Scriptures and the mandibles of the two Kanibōzu, which would be proof of my deed and would allow me to get the bounty on Yokai that every priesthood in the Five Great Elemental Nations had out. Not only would I be getting a kickass new staff out of the deal and the Water Nature Training Exercise Scroll from Ebisu, but I would also get paid. Granted, payment of bounties for two Kanibōzu would only equate to mission pay for a C-Rank mission, and this was at least a high B-Rank and likely more of an A-Rank in terms of danger, but still. It meant I wasn't leaving here having just done the favor and only getting the bare minimum out of it.

I wound up making camp in the woods that night, though thankfully, nothing else seemed to want to try their luck against me. I would head back to Konoha in the morning, stopping only briefly to let Taro the Woodcutter and his Brother, Eiji the Charcoal Merchant, know that they wouldn't have to worry about Kanibōzu at the Shrine of Suijin anymore. I made it back to Konoha a few hours before sunset. Of course, when I finally managed to track down and report back in to Ebisu, he was actually pretty miffed that he missed out on his chance to actually gain something out of this favor he had farmed out for his Priestly Contact in the Capital. He still coughed up the Water Nature Training Exercise Scroll, though. A deal was a deal, after all.

"A Shinobi's word is his bond, Akimichi-San. Without keeping our word, no one would hire us, after all, and our way of life would be pointless." Lectured Ebisu.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hand over the scroll. I'm overdue for a bath." I sighed.

"As promised, Akimichi-San. Good luck with this, you'll need it." Nodded Ebisu, handing over a scroll with a blue stripe on the scroll case.

I took it and headed back to my Clan Compound. Taking a long soak in the tub before managing to get to sleep. When I woke the next morning, I found Tetsumaru, my Mom's Ninken Partner, curled up in bed next to me, softly snoring. His leg was twitching like he was chasing down something in his dream. I didn't want to wake him up. Mom and Tetsumaru had been on a recent rotation to the Hotsprings Country Border Patrol, and that was one of the potential trouble spots in the Elemental Nations right now, meaning they'd likely been run ragged as a Clan Jonin and Veteran Ninken Pair. I lost half the day like that, just lying in bed, softly petting Tetsumaru while he snoozed away.

When I finally did manage to get to training, after the Sun was already high in the sky, and cracked open the Water Nature Transformation Exercise, I found that the first stage was similar to most of the others, save for Lightning. The Goal here was to take a fresh leaf and draw the moisture out of it to gather in the center of the leaf like dew, without completely turning the edges of the leaf into a brittle, dehydrated mess. This, it would turn out, would take me far longer than any of the other exercises to Master, owing to Suiton (Water Release), being by far my weakest element, though Inton (Yin Release) was a close second.

In the end, the First Stage took me a long time to figure out. At first, I kept completely overdrawing the leaf of moisture, dehydrating it, and turning it brown and brittle along its entire length. Getting it to not completely dry out was a challenge that took me a long time to master, and it went by slowly, painfully so. In the end, however, it took me twenty days to gradually reel back the area of effect, until I finally managed to gather only the moisture of the center of the leaf into a few droplets of dew. With that done, I could finally begin to move on to the Second Stage of the Water Nature Transformation Exercise.

This, it turned out, took the principles learned in the first stage and applied them to a much more demanding and rigorous task. I had to literally squeeze water from a stone, which had been a colloquialism for doing the impossible back in my old life. However, with Shinobi Powers, many things were possible that would have seemed impossible from back on Earth. The idea here was that you took a river rock and tried to draw the water out, as most river stones held trapped moisture from years of being submerged. However, the trick was to do it without damaging the stone itself. If you did it too swiftly or harshly, the stone would literally shatter in your grasp.

This took me just over a month to figure out. Thirty-two days, to be exact. I spent the first week and a half just learning not to shatter the stone in my grip and suddenly have to worry about cutting up my hand. The next week and a half was spent largely getting a feel for how I would have to move the moisture to continuously draw it out in an appreciable time frame without shattering the stone. Finally, by the end of the thirty-two-day period, I had managed to do it, literally squeezing water from a stone. As in, the water that I had drawn from the palm-sized river stone was now filling a cup instead of being trapped in the now completely dry rock. I had finally managed to attain Mastery of every basic Elemental Nature except for Yin, and that could be done with Ino's help once she returned.

Speaking of which, both Ino and Shikamaru were scheduled to return the day after I had managed to complete the Water Nature Transformation Exercise. I couldn't wait to catch up with them, and possibly, to actually get into the relationship that Ino and I had to put on pause for our respective diplomatic postings. We would wind up meeting at Yakiniku Q for a welcome home meal, and I would get to hear everything about what had been going on with them while we had been separated. What I hadn't expected was that Shikamaru would bring a guest to our meetup. It seemed that Suna had sent Temari of the Kazekage Siblings to Konoha with Shika as Suna's Ambassador to Konoha.

I would find out over the course of dinner that the pair had begun dating while Shika had been in Suna, as well. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. Choji not only manages to beat the Kanibōzu, but also manages to grab a Human-made replica of the Ruyi Jingu Bang that the Kanibōzu stole from a wandering Monk who had previously attempted to slay them. He also managed to finally get the Water Nature Transformation Exercise Mastered just in time for Shikamaru and Ino to return home to Konoha. That Kanibōzu fight straddled the line between Tokubetsu Jonin-level and Full Jonin-level, as well. They wrecked up an entire Shrine Complex in the course of their battle. You can bet that Choji's name is in the running for promotion to Jonin right now, and he's only just about to turn sixteen. That's no mean feat.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the meetup with Shikamaru, Ino, and, surprisingly, Temari of the Sand. We'll hear all about Shikamaru's adventures in Wind Country and Ino's adventures in Rice Country. Afterward, we'll get a bit of Ino and Choji just trying to pick up where they left off.

Stay tuned. . .