97 The Finals Begin

The fortunate person is none other than... Hinata!

I expected this for any of the Konoha members, ensuring they have a member with all the energy while the others will expend stamina or chakra in their initial battles.

Among the three, she was the most likely. All three come from village clans, but the difference between Aburame and Akimichi compared to Hyuga, who faced off against the Uchiha in the past, is clear.

It even smells a bit like bribery to ensure the heiress has this opportunity.

Moreover, I'm SURE we won't see something like Shino VS Choji; they won't risk it against each other at all.

And it seems I'm right because the first match doesn't involve anyone from Konoha, so one of the two "foreigners" will be eliminated while the other reveals information for their future opponents.

Who will face off now?

Temari VS Kimimaro.

Under normal circumstances, this match would have a clear disadvantage for Kimimaro. Temari is a long-range fighter, and although Kimimaro has some attacks like the bone bullets technique, he truly prefers taijutsu.

But Kimimaro stopped being normal a long time ago, in a good way.

—Let the opponents come down to the field and take their respective positions!

Genma calls them, and, oh, right, I forgot that Hayate must have been killed by this point.

Anyway, it's not relevant, and I can't keep track of all the characters I remember.

Wait, did Sarutobi confirm that he would change Naruto's last name in the end, or did I overlook it?

—That Kaguya boy has grown quite a bit —comments the Raikage as he leans forward a bit, taking me out of my train of thought— How about engaging him with one of my kunoichis? —he asked interested— Or several! —he laughed, giving me "the look" that every man understands.

—He's still young; let him grow a bit more before asking him —I told the Raikage lazily.

Although I know he's interested in the Kaguya clan's bloodline limit, I won't give Kimimaro a commitment if he's not interested in that. Besides, his descendants have a high chance of inheriting the golden bones for a few generations, and I think people would realize it has something to do with me or the village.

Temari is examining Kimimaro up and down, and her first question to the stadium audience makes me choke on the apple while the Raikage starts laughing loudly.

—Are you going shirtless to imitate Pakura-sama's husband?

Kimimaro blinks as he lowers his head to look at himself, and after a second of immobility, he nods seriously as if he did it on purpose.

I know you didn't do it for that!

Great, now it's not just Haku who has been corrupted...

It's just that Kimimaro is tired of the scolding he receives from Karin for tearing kimonos during combat practice and finds it easier to move during a fight this way.

Pakura is blushing in the stands, but I can see her happy smile from here.

—Well, I won't underestimate you, so I hope you go all out too —says Temari as she prepares, adopting a fighting stance and unfolding her giant fan, revealing the three painted purple moons.

—Agreed —Kimimaro unfolds his bone spikes and also adopts a stance.

—I'll say it once, and it will apply to all subsequent fights —announced Genma— If the opponent surrenders, cease your attack immediately. Victory will go to the other party if you become unconscious or something worse. Clear? —he looked on both sides and raised his hand— Begin!

—Fuuton: Sickle Weasel!!

Temari doesn't waste a second, and the moment Genma raised his hand, she began releasing chakra for the wind technique.

Kimimaro starts running towards her, crossing his arms as he passes through the cutting air currents, causing wounds on his body and revealing that beneath the skin, he is using his yellow bone armor.

In the original story, he would need to activate the first stage of the Earth Curse Mark, but it's incredible what intense long-term training with Ameyuri can achieve.

This technique ended up emerging with the sole purpose of lasting longer against her, which it actually achieved, until Ameyuri increased the intensity to ensure breaking the armor (which are his bones) and making it stronger upon restoration.

—Ten Finger Piercing Bullets!

Kimimaro shoots the phalanges of his fingers at Temari to gain time and finish covering the distance between them, but Temari jumps back after using another burst of air to disperse the bone projectiles.

It's clear she wants to avoid close combat after witnessing how it turned out with Sasuke. I don't think she's thrilled about ending up full of holes in her body.

And speaking of the little Uchiha, it seems that despite needing another month to recover, he came to watch the fights in a wheelchair with his legs bandaged like a mummy. Sakura is the one pushing the wheelchair from behind, of course.

I wonder if the grimace on his face is from seeing Kimimaro, who took away his chance of ranking up, or because he has Naruto shouting by his side.

Both are also possibilities.

The fight continues like this for several minutes with a catching game, but Kimimaro seems to be losing patience, and Temari also seems annoyed by not having other ways to cause him significant damage after the revelation of the bone armor.

She barely makes a few superficial cuts on his skin, and I think she's saving her aces in the sleeve for when the real attack begins, so it's a stalemate.

I spoke too soon. I see Kimimaro stop his pursuit and raise his left hand. It seems the time has come to get serious.

—Dark water.

His hand turns black and starts sucking forcefully. Temari seems to stick out her chest inappropriately due to the attraction of her body towards Kimimaro's hand, but she tries to resist by folding the fan and sticking it into the ground to have an anchor point.

Yes, this is the fruit I gave to Kimimaro, Teach's dark fruit.

Of course, it's not the genuine version, and I had to make MANY adjustments, like eliminating the flaw of causing double the pain (although being Kimimaro, he could probably endure it).

In short, I discarded the part of stealing other powers in exchange for a more general use of gravity but keeping its dark recovery ability, so it's more like having a hybrid devil fruit that is half logia and half paramecia between Teach's Yami Yami no Mi and Admiral Issho's Zushi Zushi no Mi.

At the end of the day, the power in his hands is that of gravity and is very practical to ensure that his enemies are within reach of his bones, no matter how they try to distance themselves or escape.

But that's his absolute limit, and believe me when I say I tried to make it more OP.

I tried to take advantage and, by the way, add Shiki's Fuwa Fuwa no Mi to the mix, which also essentially involves gravitational laws, but the fruit was unable to withstand the set of forces and collapsed on itself no matter what I tried, reduced to a pile of unappetizing-looking mush.

Well, I guess I'm the first to make a devil fruit that belongs to two different categories at the same time, even if it's partial, so it's really an achievement to feel satisfied with, in my opinion. And Kimimaro has no complaints, so everyone's happy.

—I don't remember the Kaguya clan being able to do that —Sarutobi comments as he watches Kimimaro, frowning.

—And do his bones seem to have undergone some kind of mutation? —"Rasa" comments with great interest, not taking his eyes off Kimimaro.

Temari is unable to hold on as the suction force increases, and moments before being dragged, she hits the ground with her feet to generate additional momentum and prepares to strike with her giant fan, adopting a baseball pose.

Kimimaro seems to have predicted Temari's action and adjusts his posture slightly.

—Larch Dance!

A mass of sharp bone spicules grows all over his body as he advances as well, and Temari's expression changes from determined to scared, as if she doesn't find a way to avoid it, her fate will be even more tragic than Sasuke's.

I don't know if it was a desperate act or a spontaneous idea, but instead of using the fan as a bat, she goes from using it as a shield, making sure her body is aligned behind the plates.

Both collide, and a sound of metal collision resonates in the stadium, causing some people to feel dizzy.

The good side is that Temari managed to avoid being impaled on Kimimaro's bones.

The bad side is that the internal shock she received from the impact left her unconscious, so she was disqualified, giving the victory to Kimimaro.