| abstract | - It was a huge island with many different types of fields that most adventurers would only dream of going to. And now, many ninja are able to experience this island firsthand. With a huge floating island above it, this island was known to be deserted. But it has been discovered and will be used for the event that is transpiring today. What is this big event that a deserted island has been chosen? Why, it's a world tournament of course! Every nation in the whole world has come together for the main event. All Shinobi who participate will be forced to face many challenges along the way, so it is no ordinary tournament. Who will win? Who knows? Only the skills and brains of the participants will decide on the winner in the end and who earns the huge cash prize and title of best shinobi in the world! In the center of the island was a huge coliseum, built many years ago. This indicated that this island used to be inhabited by ancient tribes, but only the coliseum remains of their history. Near the top of the coliseum was a balcony where, normally, the emperor, empress and a few servants would stand or sit to watch the performance. A man was sitting on one of the chairs and an announcer was sitting right next to him. The whole coliseum was filled with many individuals who came to watch this tournament. Due to some advancement of technology, a huge plasma television was seen at the coliseum, where everyone can see what is going on throughout the island. However, since the actual tournament had yet to begin, the television was off. The announcer ate an apple, stood up, and said through a microphone, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen! I would like to present to you, Ikido's first annual, world tournament! The man sitting next to me is Ikido, the one who first started this tournament. He wishes to remain quiet for now, so he'll talk later. First, before we explain all the rules and how the first part of this grand tournament will be like, I would like to first have all of our participants introduce themselves!" The announcer points to some iron gates near the bottom portion of the walls of the coliseum. Everyone watches as the iron bars open. "First participant, please come out!" Ameshizu Uchiha is the first participant to exit the gates, and in the midst of the cheering crowd, he waves his gloved hand around whilst maintaining a charming smile. Ignoring the Death Spirit, Shenron attention was directed towards something else. The cries and cheers of a crowd was not uncommon, but something just seemed off. The idea of people cheering to see competitors beat the bloody shit out of each other was strange and considered dishonorable in the land he lives in. "Shinobi, such ignorant savages, they have no boundaries...Yet...here I am, competing in such a vulgar event such as this. What does that make me, do I still share some of the same beast qualities." - "Come out" the speaker yelled, interrupting the young leader's thought. A loud screech could be heard as the door of the historical structure scratched the ground as it slowly opened, eliciting a brief silence from the crowd. A mysterious feminine silhouette took slow steps towards the light. Upon reaching the bright and vibrant, chants roared across the arena as her being was revealed to be the infamous Futsunushi-no-Kami herself, adorned with her signature white kosode, a black hakama, a pair of black geta as well as black calf-length tabi to finish off her clothing. However, instead of being let loose as usual, her kosode was tied at her torso with a white ribbon. Her jet-black hair was combed backwards and tied into a shoulder-length ponytail. Her entrance was accompanied by vibrant cheers from the crowds, some shocked and some excited to see her in the tournament. "Represent the Iron nation my foot..." she spoke from within her psyche. "why should anybody enter a meaningless battle just to show superiority." she continued to ponder as she walked towards the entries whom have currently arrived, analyzing them with her eyes. Her right hand was tightly grasping the hilt of her infamous bird-named blade as she eyed her competition. Entering the massive arena gates was a lone shinobi, sporting slick black jeans, a matching black jacket with numerous straps lining its sleeves. Looking at the crowd, the shinobi took note of its many spectators. "The view is quite amazing" Yuu stated within the confines of his mind as he smiled. He then looked at the other contestants before joining them in the wait, taking note of their features. Eyeing the female with the sword, he deduced that she was skilled in the art of Kenjutsu. Looking over to the red-head, he clearly recognized the former Uzushiokage, Shenron Uzumaki, known for his immense arsenal of Fuinjutsu. Looking even further, he spotted another man, cheering on the crowd as he waved. "I hope this tournament commences soon. I see that things will get quite interesting with our current contestants" Yuu stated to himself as he looked into the blue sky, eyeing the clouds and brilliant sun. “Was there something you needed?” the mouse troop's leader, a sleek black gerbil, asked. “Yes, listen closely,” Yuzume spoke sharply and bluntly as usual, and quickly delivered her instructions. She placed a handful of seeds in front of the mice, one for each of them, and they swallowed them down dutifully. “With these I’ll be able to track you,” she said, “No matter where you are. If you notice something, alert me immediately.” Soon the mice had dispersed to all four-corners of the island, each on their own, individual task, and Yuzume rose gracefully to her feet. The one exception had been the gerbil, who rode on her shoulder as she made her way towards the colleseum, his tufted black tail swinging back and forth with her easy pace. “I hope you know what you're doing,” he growled in her ear. “If any of my men are injured—” “You are discrediting the competence of your own spies,” Yuzume cut him off, “They are skilled enough, they will be fine.” As she neared the wide, square entrance leading to the subterranean level of the stadium, Yuzume squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. She was not wearing her Anbu uniform, instead opting for a comfortable pair of cargo trousers and the minimalist sarashi chest binding that suggested a woman of action. Her dark hair was tied back and her eyes shone with quiet determination, the sleeves of the long, light-gray jacket draped across her shoulders floating behind her casually as she continued her confident pace towards the arena. But she felt anything but confident. Yuzume was not here for the money. No, things were never as simple as that. She was here because others were here for the money. Namely, certain powerful shinobi who were considered to be volatile, potential threats to the world at large. She could not vouch for the other lands, but she knew any significant gathering of a ninja force such as the one present for this “tournament” would arouse the suspicions of the Land of Fire. Or at least the suspicions of the leader of Root. And that is how she found herself in her current position, strolling towards the stone entrance of what she feared would soon be her tomb. She soldiered on nonetheless, a mission was a mission, after all. All she needed to do was to gather intelligence on the motives of both the tournament's hosts and participants and return to Konoha alive. The mice were meant to help her in accomplishing that purpose. There was one other reason. While it had not been an absolute command, she had been ordered to seek out and dispatch a certain individual, so long as it did not jeopardize her original assignment. She knew he would be there at the stadium, but in reality dreaded meeting him face to face. After all, she did not know if she could kill him, even if she had the chance to. Yuzume tasted sweat on her upper lip as she waited in the shadows at the entrance of the arena. What made the mission even more perilous is that she had entered the tournament under her own name, as she had known that as soon as she used her signature technique she would have been recognized —by someone at least— as a member of the Sugiki clan. It was thus prudent to distract the onlookers with a flashy Konoha clan member than to call attention to the cool precision of an assassin’s demeanor. Still, she felt naked without her mask, which only caused her own nervousness to settle more firmly into the pit of her stomach. She fiddled absentmindedly with the tail of the gerbil. “Would you stop that?” he hissed. “Sorry,” she whispered. A red-haired man clinging ominously in the darkness on the edge of the arena had caught her attention, and she felt an electric shiver run down her spine. There were others there too: an elegantly dressed Samurai woman, a blonde-haired boy who was waving like a drunken idiot at the cheering crowd, and a man in a heavy, dark trench-coat who, for some unknown reason, seemed to arouse every feeling of disgust within her when she looked at him. “Everyone is in place,” the leader of the mice told her. Taruto Uchiha walked out of the gates and looked at the crowd and then at Ikido. Taruto had a reason for being in this tournament, and Ikido was part of his plan. Taruto decided not to make a single reaction to the crowd's cheering and decided to just wait for the next participant to come out. Nisashi Uzumaki Walked out last. He had been quite bored and figured a tournament would be entertaining. He made no attempt to get attention or make himself look like anything special. He already knew his way of living would lead to very people having heard of him, if any. The silhouette of a person could be seen from the distance to anyone looking directly at the entrance. As the person got closer, distinct features could be seen. Broad shoulders hinting the gender as a male. Long black hair that flowed with the wind. Two swords with one of his hands perched on the hilt on both swords. The man walked in after Nisashi and his appearance could be made out. A samurai people thought as his attire was consisted with that of a Samurai. One distinct feature of the man that dazzled people were his purple eyes, how devilish they and his look was. So much so that some people didn't look into his eyes out of this unknown feeling. But, many fans could care less about the man, they just wanted the tournament to start as their cheers were deafening.
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