32 The Summit of swords

"GO!" Yoriichi signals the start of the competition and everyone makes a mad dash up the hill at full speed. "Aye, everyone's full throttle right off the bat…even Souma and Rana look fired up. Ok let's see who wants to win more."

Making their way up the hill both teams were met with traps of various kinds immediately. The Shinsengumi squad is immediately scattered when a series of rock spires start to explode out of the ground shifting in various angles. "Everyone look alive! Yo isn't playing favorites," Souma shouts slashing his way through a wall that appeared out of nowhere.

Rana's agility was more than enough to avoid all of the initial traps. Leaping over a rolling log she rushes ahead. "You saying this is challenging?"

"Of course not, but think of the trainees too!" He says deflecting a wave of shuriken bursting from a hidden seal when he accidentally stepped on a trigger.

Unlike the two of them who had no problem with the overwhelming number of traps laid out before them. It took the three trainees a perfect synchronization to be able to keep up. Using shared senses to cover for one another the three of them advanced more slowly but still steadily.

"Remember the rules of the game. FIRST to take the peak wins! I'm not letting anyone beat me!" Rana states with a burning fire in her eyes. She kicks a falling boulder into another trap that activated and blew everything around it away, opening a way for herself. "Babysit if you want! I have no intention of losing, even to you!" She kicks another large rock at Souma before rushing ahead.

"Crazy bunny girl," Souma sighs slicing through the rock and speeding to catch up. "Don't get me wrong. Being a responsible senior doesn't mean I'm going to give up the win! As a leader my job is to carve a path for my juniors…from the front of course!"

"Hahahaha! Catch me if you can little piggy!" Rana says still taking the lead.

"The audacity! To openly sabotage each other when they are competing against elite ninja?!" Do they actually think they'll win like that?" Danzo fumes.

"Hmmm, they're even leaving their subordinates behind. However, from what we've seen so far even the so-called trainees are very capable themselves." Hiruzen speculates.

"We've already seen overwhelming force isn't the only way to secure victory. Even so, the ninja we sent out are far from weak.

On the other side of the hill the ninja also fought to evade boulders that rolled down the hill as well. When one of them stepped in a particular spot, a hidden bomb seal engraved in the earth appeared and went off causing a huge explosion. The ninja in question was sent flying and almost crushed by a falling rock when Kakashi swooped in and grabbed him. "If this is too much for you, go back down." His normally aloof gaze was replaced with an infuriated scowl.

"S-sorry," his comrade says picking himself up. He basically said it to himself as Kakashi had already pressed on.

"Oop didn't mean to give him PTSD…" Yo says thinking about Obito. He still doesn't know he's alive, again only Minato was present at that fight. "It's only going to get worse from here though. If this is the best they can do, some might die." Yo's watches as they struggle to get the first level. "Oh? Who's that?"

A girl in her teens catches his eye moving swiftly up the hill. Medium length purple hair flows behind her as she darts around carefully avoiding traps and boulders. Though not as fast as Kakashi or Gai she manages to keep up following in the paths they've broken through with efficient and swift movements. Anything they miss is met with a swift sword, set off by kunai at a safe distance or completely avoided.

"She wears an anbu uniform with a cat mask, definitely Yugao. She's so lucky the era of swordsmen is coming. Her swordplay is solid, and she moves so smoothly…maybe I should try and recruit her…" Yo says thinking her swordsmanship isn't bad at all, but with proper breathing and posture it could be amazing.

Gai was the first person of the ninja's team to make it to the first platform. "Haha! It looks like the power of youth has gotten me here first," Looking up it seemed he still had a good climb to reach the peak.

"Dream on green freak!" Across the way Rana steps onto the platform at the same time as him. "I got here first for the shin- what the!?" She and Gai both nearly drop to the ground when a sudden force bears down from nowhere.

"Look those two in the lead are struggling for some reason!" Naruto points out.

"Wait we've seen that before…Increased gravity," Sasuke says remembering the power Yo used against Itachi.

"Yo can even control gravity?" Toneri says growing more impressed with his new master by the day.

"Yes, and if that's any indication of what's to come. This game is going to get much more dangerous as they climb higher." Benimaru says thinking of the elder brother he's come to know and his volatile personality. "I doubt he put in much consideration for the competitor's safety when designing this…Maybe he won't kill anyone."

"If a mere game proves to be too deadly for these people, they should give up going to the battlefield…this is a demonstration of strength for people trained to slay hollows. It is work as bloody as that of being a ninja." Kimimaro says plainly. No one has anything to say to that so they just go back to watching the game in silence. He spoke a simple fact.

On the first platform Rana attacks Gai relentlessly trying to knock out one of their key players as soon as possible. With kicks that cut like slashing blades she keeps aiming for decisive blows. Even under the amplified gravity it was clear Rana was faster, but Gai's combat experience allows him to keep her at bay. He fights more defensively, aiming to get passed her and go up the hill, but she doesn't give him an opening to escape.

"Honestly, I had would have preferred it if I could have saved my strength for farther up but you're not going to make this easy on me are you little lady?" Gai asks blocking a high kick with his raised shin.

"Whatever gave you the impression I'd do something like that?" Rana asks playfully. She is about to throw another kick when she steps back to avoid incoming shuriken. "Damn I played around too long…"

"I've come to assist you," Yugao says, still adjusting to the heavier atmosphere.

"Be careful, I don't have to warn you do I?" Gai asks her without taking his eyes off Rana.

"No, I'm well aware." Yugao says fully prepared to put everything into this fight. Against a zodiac she can't afford anything less.

"Hey little kitty, you want to play too?" Rana beckons for her to join the fray. She notices Kakashi and the others using them as a diversion to take the next climb first. "Oh no you don't!" She dashes off after Kakashi when a foot comes flying into her view, flipping back to avoid the attack Rana is now cut off by the person she was just trying to delay.

"How the tables have turned," Gai says with a smirk.

Rana looks back at Kojiro who gives a nod of approval before addressing the two of them. "No not really…but today is your lucky day, I'm going to show you something cool…that is, if you can follow it." Rana relaxes most of her body except for her legs, her muscles visibly straining as she crouches down and takes a position similar to a track star on their mark.

"Get ready, here she comes," Gai warns.

"I know," Yugao reaches her sword. They both notice the massive surge of chakra welling up in her legs.

BOOOOM! Rana explodes forward so fast they only see the ground torn up from where she kicks off. Yugao doesn't have time to fully draw her sword as Rana's kick plants square in her stomach sending her smashing into a rock, which set off a bomb seal. The girl barely has a chance to recover, narrowly avoiding the explosion. She tries to compose herself but a heel is raised high overhead, "Good night."

"Gate of life opened!" An explosion of chakra sounded of ass the prelude to Gai's counterattack. His skin takes a deep red color and his hair is being blown upward by flowing chakra. "Dynamic entry!" He roars as he flies in to kick Rana, even faster than her last kick.

Rana breathed in deep and went to meet him. Widening her stance and letting her entire upper body go limp she focused everything into her legs again. Chakra focuses in her legs and she bursts forward with a single powerful step, swinging her foot forward the built up chakra in her leg shot out like a cannonball when she kicked at full force. "Front kick!" She's shouts.

Gai meets the attack head on but gets pushed back to the far end of the platform. Suddenly Rana drops low to avoid a sword slash from behind and donkey kick's Yugao in the stomach, spinning on her hands another kick sends Yugao rolling away. "That all you two got?"

"Heh don't be silly, my fire is still getting hotter!" Gai says rising to his feet. To Rana's surprise Yugao rose again too.

"Rana! Let me help-"

"Ugh! Can't you read the mood! Take the rookies after the copy ninja! He's in the lead!"

"O-oh ok! I'm going then," Souma says as he makes his way after Kakashi. Despite still competing against each other, someone from the Shinsengumi still has to win.

"Sometimes I wonder how that guy made the zodiacs…" Rana says shaking her head. Giving the others back her attention, "Now where were we?"

"So those are some of the postures you spoke of?" Hiruzen asks Kojiro over on the sideline. Even from there he could sense the times when excesses of chakra amplified her movements. When she took certain stances, her strength temporarily increases.

"That would be correct, in short a more perfect form means a more perfect attack." His creation, postures, was making it's debut with nice results.

Farther up Kakashi leads the pack as they move on towards the second platform, when he notices Souma in hot pursuit. "Look alive everyone! We have company!" He says trying to warn them but it's too late, in a fraction of a second Souma closes the gap after exhaling deeply.

"How's it going? Is it me or is the gravity getting heavier as we go up?" Souma starts with a friendly smile. Without any warning Kakashi swings a kunai at him, but it's easily blocked with one of his own blades. "Ooops almost got me there! You'd have a better chance if you used an actual sword though…judging by the way you move, a short sword would suit you nicely." He states deflecting the additional attacks.

Kakashi uses his sharingan to search out any openings on the boy who casually ran alongside him. Though he looked so easy going, he's fully on guard, watching Kakashi like a hawk. It seems he wasn't taking this a lackadaisically as he originally presented himself. There was no point in trying ninjutsu, Souma would take his fingers off in the blink of an eye.

'This guy's going to be annoying," Kakashi thinks to himself as he jumps away from Souma, throwing a Kunai to trigger a nearby trap he noticed. Instead of exploding or sending shuriken everywhere, black sludge spilled out of the spot covering an entire area.

"Oh, they tripped a fun one!" Yo claps with a sinister smile. "Now things are going to heat up a bit."

The sludge that spilled out rolled downhill separating the others from Souma and Kakashi who led by a good margin. However, oddly enough the sludge flowed uphill too, accompanied by a horrifying wave of spiritual pressure. That spiritual pressure was one many leaf village citizens of all walks of life would never forget. Giant white masks begin to emerge from the black tsunami forming the towering bodies of over a dozen gillian. When those red eyes light up they all let out ear splitting shrieks to announce their arrival. Immediately attacking the competitors.

"T-those are the giant monsters from five years ago!" A villager in the stands shrieks. She like many others were in cold sweats and trembling. These giant mindless creatures nearly stomped the village flat, slaughtering many comrades and loved ones in the process.

"There are so many! They expect only a handful of people to slay them all? This is madness!"

"Mommy I'm scared I wanna go home!" A young boy cries, and pees his pants as his mother tries to comfort him.

"Look one is looking right at us!" Another villager points out seeing that a gillian changed it's sights to the area with the most panicked spectators, and then it opened it's mouth wide and started preparing a red cero. Panick set in as they all clamored to get out of harm's way.

"HEY!" Yoriichi shouts out to them. "HAVE YOU ALL FORGETTEN WHO STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND THOSE PUNY HOLLOWS?" His voice sounding out stops spectators who see the gillian in question's head drop to the ground as it disintegrates. "THIS ISN'T LIKE FIVE YEARS AGO, NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE ME YOU HAVE THE MIGHTY SHINSENGUMI ALONGSIDE YOU!"

From the top of the hill where he stood Iori holds his blade, having decapitated that Gillan with one stroke. The spectators calm down seeing they have nothing to fear. Applause took the place of pandemonium almost immediately. All according to Yo's plan.

"Hey, how long are you guys going to keep me waiting? I'm getting bored up here," Iori yawns at everyone below. "I can come down and help you guys out if you want?" He asks with a condescending smirk. "Of course, I'd still beat you all afterwords." Now his sword was pointing down at those clamoring to reach him, they could feel the pressure he was giving off. It was like a dauntless sword was pointed at all their throats.

"Piss off Iori!" Rana shouts angrily. "Souma! We're taking this hill now! Let's clean up quickly!"

"I already know," Souma says taking a moment to tie bandage around his wrist like a long white headband. When one of the gillian reaches for the only one not moving it suddenly falls to pieces cubes "Gourmet breathing third form: mincemeat". Both blades in hand Souma moved like another person entirely, he was now as cold and sharp as the steel he carried. "Shinsengumi, one me!" He commands rushing at the hollows.

"I guess we can put our differences aside to deal with these guys for now. We can finish this later," The burning green beast suggests, holding one of the two zodiacs was a big enough help to Kakashi and the others. However now the presence of those hollows made advancing difficult for everyone…and this is an anti-hollow event.

"As much as I hate to acknowledge it, we probably should." Rana sighs finally taking out her sword. You guys better not- hmm?" She stops when she noticed Yugao had made a mad dash to climb the hill. Her entire demeanor had changed, the efficient role player was now rushing to catch up to the front. Even as gravity got heavier and heavier she pressed on without fear of any obstacles ahead.

"Sasuke where are you going?" In the stands the young Uchiha suddenly starts to make his way down the steps to the railing. Naruto starts to go after him and the rest of the Rose Quintet are right behind him.

"I have to reach that peak…" Sasuke says almost entranced, still marching downwards. "If I can get there I know I'll see it for sure…"

"Get to the peak?" Toneri asks.

"Are you interested in scaling the hill?" Kimimaro asks. "We will assist you."

"You don't have to do that," Sasuke says coolly.

Naruto went and threw an arm over his shoulder. "Stop acting all tough, you know we got your back Sasuke. Belie-" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the sharingan in Sasuke's eyes. "S-sasuke your eyes…"

When Sasuke turned back to face everyone his eyes had that trademark red glow of the Uchiha, the sharingan. "I don't need any help." He brushes passed Naruto and descends the steps to the railing and as if on cue the barrier opened for him to enter. An overwhelming pressure spilled out nearly blowing Sasuke back but he stood his ground and stepped onto the railing.

"Sasuke stop!" His mother calls out to him, but Fugaku just holds up a hand to stop her. "But-"

"Let him go. Yoriichi, Kojiro and lord third are down there in case it gets too dangerous." Fugaku says to reassure her.

'He has to do this, I see Sasuke has developed a deep love…for that of the sword itself. Loving it so much just seeing someone else on the Summit is despairing. Chasing swords better than that of his own will drive him as if it was an Uchiha grudge, selfishly covetening the spot as the best will spur his u uchiha blood, especially after the bloodline refinement pills. Now go Sasuke carve out your own path.' Benimaru also never got up to go with Sasuke, what called him was something that only spoke to him and he realized that the moment he saw his eyes change.

Yoriichi began to notice that the young swordmen of the leaf felt their blood boil when Iori sent out that last message. He showed them a new peak they could never hope to reach unless they feel it's weight for themselves. He was ecstatic watching them rush in, knowing it was for no other reason than that. Even Kakashi who recently retired his sword began to rush with a newfound vigor. "Hahahahahaha! Sasuke good job but this is only the beginning! So you can feel it in your souls huh!? Are your passions for the sword bursting to life? Isn't it exhilarating? Doesn't it make your heart dance? Come swordsmen old and young and seek out the summit!"