Chapter 29 Part 3
Next match...
"Ya-hoooo! Go, Sakurai-kun—kick his ass!" Naruko shouted for the entire hall to hear, yet attracted almost no attention: shinobi adapt quickly.
Sakurai, muttering something under his breath, descended to the arena and stood opposite his opponent.
"So we meet, thick-skulled big-forehead!" Ino threw at him, mocking, flinging his bangs back with a theatrical flick of his fingers.
Ha—it seemed fate had brought these two together in the semi-finals.
"Something's making my fists itch! Seems I haven't fixed someone's smug mug in a while!" Sakurai cracked his knuckles, furious, radiating an aggressive aura. "Tonight's dinner—pork chops!"
"What did you say, bastard?!"
"Need me to repeat it, pretty boy?!"
"Grrrrrrr!"
"Grrrrh!!!"
"Ho-ho-ho... Such spirited rascals." The Hokage was visibly entertained, charmed.
"Hah..." Akashi muttered, rolling her eye.
"Well... they're boys," Sarutobi Asumi simply shrugged.
Fight!
At the referee's signal, both opponents sprang into motion. An exchange of kunai and shuriken began: both opponents maintained mid-range. Sakurai used illusory clones; Ino retreated and dispersed them with a thrown volley of shuriken. Haruno abruptly went for a close-in rush, and a contact skirmish erupted between the young men. They probed each other's defenses...
"Bastard!"
"Tch—just drop dead already!"
...and bickered without pause—indeed. Honestly, the boys' fight was even less spectacular than the battle between Stone-chan and Grass-san. Everything these two were showing right now was Academy-level—nothing more. Though, in fairness, it was worth noting that neither Ino nor Sakurai were front-line combatants. Haruno was a novice medic who had neither a fighting style nor the requisite skills. Well, and the Yamanaka were never known as outstanding fighters: their techniques could seize enemy bodies and crack open their minds... but at that moment, they were completely defenseless. The techniques Ino could wield at present were far too ineffective in a direct clash. In the end, it all boiled down to a common, vulgar fistfight. I'm fairly certain these two had already settled matters with their fists more than once, so they knew what to expect from each other.
O-hoo... Ino-kun managed to throw Sakurai off him and attempted to use some technique from the clan arsenal. It didn't work: his opponent instantly assessed the danger and immediately detonated a smoke pellet beneath his feet. The blond tensed and began carefully studying the dark cloud, hunting for his adversary.
Mh?.. It seemed many of those present had started to grow bored. Yeah... it had already been over ten minutes! Even the previous match—where one opponent had been trying with all his might to flee from the other—had ended faster!
At last, Sakurai grew tired of hiding in the smoke and lunged into attack. The same tactic: vanish among several clones and close the distance for a strike. Ino again fended him off with bits of metal.
"Aww..." Tears welled in my eyes from the incredible strain of battling a yawn. Oh gods—I can't hold back anymore! This is the most depressing fight of all I've ever seen!!! Lord—on one side, a narcissist, and on the other, a lazy bookworm! And Haruno's only barely begun developing—and that only after an esoteric kick in the form of my presence near the object of his puppyish adoration, plus an acquaintance with a sweet woman in bandages from the Mist!..
Uf! Goodness—it seems I do have limits to my courtesy after all.
Huh? Looks like something interesting is finally happening!!!
A shuriken slashed through one of Haruno's pouches with a whistle, and a jumble of varied objects spilled out from it—among which my gaze caught on small brown pellets.
Kami—did he just shove THIS in there without a care?!
"Bite it!!!" As a matter of fact, Sakurai oriented himself quickly. Emitting this howl, he snatched up a few pellets and hurled them at Ino. With a barely audible "poof!" the projectiles detonated against the floor and the blond's clothing, concealing him head-to-toe in a rapidly settling cloud.
And when the airborne substances settled, everyone beheld the picture of an adolescent writhing on the floor, emitting rasping wheezes. Huh... Could he really be dea—
"Kh-kh! Winn—!" Gekko began, but at that moment, an especially loud "POOFF!" sounded, and a brown cloud billowed up to engulf Sakurai as well.
"Spirits—make me un-see this." I felt an abyss of despondency in my soul.
This. Idiot. Simply. Stepped. On. The. Poison. Capsules!!!!
"M-hmm... That was... unexpected," the Hokage commented, with a complex expression: it seemed she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Yes—I understood her: on one hand, the situation was stupidly funny; on the other—both of these idiots were from Konoha! They were her—the Hokage's—"charges," the next generation. And... they're idiots.
Maybe I'm too biased?... No. They're idiots, and I need to come to terms with it.
"I hope this passes without consequences..." Asumi murmured, anxious, following her charge with a worried gaze as he was carried off by the responsible medics.
"It's not life-threatening," I hasten to assure the woman. "This particular compound is non-lethal."
"But will he be alright? Judging by the medics' actions—a serious poison was used?" The younger Sarutobi doubted.
"Nothing fatal," I repeat my words, raising a didactic finger toward the ceiling. "Although... this id... Sakurai-kun accidentally detonated several different poisons, and while none of them were lethal or in any way critical, I could expect some synergy between them..."
"Hmh... How bad is it?" The Hokage asked, packing her pipe and watching as the iryo-nin team deftly removed the toxic mixtures from the arena floor with some technique. The shinobi standing nearby listened to the conversation attentively.
"Hm—let me think?..." I calculated in my head and, as if casually, closed my eyes. Had I not done so, I wouldn't have been able to prevent them from widening in time: the overall result came out... spectacular. "If we estimate the aggregate of all effects: Headache, nausea, severe shortness of breath, and general exhaustion... upon contact with mucous membranes—such as the nose, throat, and eyes—intense pain begins, itching, difficulty breathing, coughing... possible bouts of intestinal irritation, profuse tear and mucus secretion... dizziness, auditory hallucinations... partial or complete failure of the vestibular system... constipation or diarrhea..."
"Hoo..." Those around exhaled, stunned, looking at the unfortunate boys with pity. Yes—there was nothing lethal in those poisons—but they would Suffer. And all because one particular idiot doesn't follow the storage regulations for chemical warfare agents! Know what?... I'll just give up. I don't even want to think about it.
And no more poisons until that fool learns the safety protocols!!!
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation story. It's a crossover of Toaru and One Piece... Well, the only Toaru element here is one cute Misaka. This is all that came of my desire to translate a Toaru fanfic, but I'm not complaining—even though I've only just started reading and translating it, I'm really enjoying the story. It has plenty of slice-of-life elements, and the pacing is quite slow and detailed. It's written in a sweet, positive way—at least for now. There likely won't be any romance, as there were no tags indicating such, but I won't say for sure until I've finished reading it myself. I'd recommend it to those who aren't craving violence, carnage, or excessive cruelty. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile story, though it's definitely a matter of personal taste—especially since the protagonist is a girl, which isn't everyone's cup of tea (though it doesn't really matter for now—at least as of 30+ chapters in, Misaka is still 6 years old). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.
One Piece: Railgun Misaka Misaka https://www.webnovel.com/book/one-piece-railgun-misaka-misaka_37195209600636405