Chapter 29 Part 4
A new match... which one was this now?
Ah.
Gaara versus a Sound shinobi.
That guy—Kintoki—was out of luck. Senbon and little bells were absolutely not the weapons to bring against an opponent with powerful automatic defense.
I turned away.
There was nothing to say:
When Gaara grew tired of the darting and noise around her, she simply crushed the unfortunate with her favorite "Sand Coffin." Cruel, bloody, indifferent. Kintoki didn't even have time to shout words of surrender—the sand swallowed him, crushed him, and compacted him, squeezing out every last drop of blood. He wasn't given even a shadow of a chance.
And the atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. After all the idiocy, absurdity, and foolishness—a sudden, brutal, impassive killing. Killing one's opponent wasn't prohibited, and no rules were broken—but such a thing was still not welcomed. Having smelled the scent of blood and seen the dispassionate murder with their own eyes, everyone instantly lost their merry and relaxed mood. Many candidates followed Gaara's path back with trepidation and tension—the girl who, seconds ago with an impassive face, had left on the arena floor the mangled and twisted corpse of a Sound shinobi.
True—this was a shinobi exam, and the weak could perish here. Gaara's actions drove that home to everyone present. I looked at Naruko: her face was pale, and her fingers tightly gripped the railing. She was shocked by the Sand jinchuriki's cruelty—Gaara could well have won without killing; Naruko understood that, and thus felt indignation. Sasuko, for her part, was no less stunned. Only, in her case, I think the Uchiha was less concerned with the killing itself than with how easily and swiftly it had been committed. The squint of reddened eyes said the brunette had acknowledged Gaara's danger and was now attempting to accurately gauge the limits of her strength.
And then—my gaze was caught! Cold, indifferent turquoise, concealing something terrible behind it, bored into my eyes with a fixed stare. Without blinking, Gaara looked across the entire arena straight at me—eye to eye. The staring contest lasted just under a minute, after which the girl just as abruptly broke contact and turned back toward the arena.
Alright—that's already creepy. I hope that wasn't a "You're next!" kind of look?..
Meanwhile, the medics removed the body, and the exam continued.
New match: Naruko versus Zako—a Sound shinobi with augmented arms.
Frowning, the girl jumped down from the participants' gallery and stared challengingly at the Sound shinobi. From yesterday's gatherings, I knew the group had clashed with the Sound shinobi whom the White Snake had sicced on them. Evidently, she wanted to conclude that battle with her victory. But I could see she was a little nervous?..
"Naruko!" I called, loud. When the girl turned toward me, I waved at her and smiled broadly: "Do your best!"
"Haaaai!!!" Heh—it worked! Feeling the support, Naru-chan instantly cast off her grimness and gave me her signature bright smile.
"What a loud brat you are," Zako threw out, haughty.
"Shut up, crippled old hag!" The blonde reacted sharply, nearly spitting toward her opponent. Speaking of crippled: one of Zako's arms rested in a sling. That, as I understand, was Sasuko's handiwork?..
"You little bit—!"
"Kh-kh—" Gekko "delicately" cut off the exchange of "greetings." "Seventh match. Does anyone wish to withdraw? Kh. Good—begin!"
"Who do you think will win, hm, Kaoru-kun?" The Hokage addressed me with a light squint.
"Naturally—Naruko!" I answer without hesitation. For me, it was so obvious I expected no other outcome.
"Hoo?" Judging by the tone, they wanted justifications from me.
"This Zako may be more experienced, as well as well-versed in tactics and strategy; her technique may also be better than the average genin's," I began, watching the battle closely. Naruko remained true to herself, using her advantage—numbers—to the fullest. "But. Naruko, though younger, is far stronger than her opponent. In chakra as well as physical qualities. Moreover, the advantages 'Shadow Clones' grant are indisputable: she can bury Zako in bodies. Even if they're fragile, they're material—and there are many of them. Besides... oh—look at that! It seems she's forced Zako to pull out her trump card." As it transpired: Zako's other arm wasn't incapacitated—it had been simple pretense. Feeling the pressure, the Sound shinobi had to discard her bluff and fend off the shadow copies pressing from all sides with all her strength. "Ahem. In addition to what I've already mentioned—Naruko has a good head on her shoulders. Perhaps she rarely uses her potential in ordinary life... But all her pranks to date have remained unnoticed until the very last moment. Lacking foundational tactical knowledge, she's intuitive in this, and a good improviser. Even a fraction of that is enough to defeat an enemy like this. Zako has no chance."
And so it was. The only thing that distinguished Zako from other shinobi was the weaponry built into her arms. But that was it—take away those tubes, and you'd get an average genin, perhaps even worse: the Orochi minion's entire battle tactic was built on "firing" air through the augmentics. In essence, she hadn't particularly developed herself in other combat areas, and was thus vulnerable against someone who could neutralize her sole meaningful ability.
Naruko was exactly such an opponent: her clones were material, numerous, could take blows and deliver them. Moreover, upon "death," they left a substantial smoke screen that significantly hindered visibility. Naruko, however, receiving the last bits of information from her clones, could calmly orient within this haze—unlike Zako. And Naruko made full use of her advantage, slowly wearing the enemy down and backing her into a corner. Beyond that, Naruko had always been distinguished by inventiveness and improvisation. But against Zako, no special tricks were needed, so the girl didn't particularly strive to "switch on" her brain—simply overwhelming her opponent through brute force.
In the end, a pained cry rang out from the smoky haze, followed by a brief scuffle, after which all fell silent. When visibility returned, the spectators beheld the picture of five blondes, with proud smiles, having planted their right feet atop the defeated enemy's body—like a hunter on safari over a slain lion.
As I'd said—an easy victory.
"Kh-kh... Winner... kh... Uzumaki Naruko."
"Yatta!!!" The girls cried out, victorious, joyfully jumping in place. The "place" groaned in pained protest, but the "twins" were entirely untroubled.
Next match...
"Fight seriously, damn you!!!!" Inuzuka screamed for the entire hall to hear.
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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