I somehow made my way back to the arena after all the shit I went through in the toilet.
"That's one long shit you took," Naruto says, looking at the arena.
"Who's up?" I ask.
"Tenten-san," he answers.
"Senpai..." I correct him.
"Oh shut it! I ain't calling her senpai just because I failed a few exams," Naruto snaps.
"Tenten-senpai is older than us," I facepalm.
"Yeah, but that feels... weird."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, dude. Call her whatever the fuck you want," I sigh, leaning on the railing.
Naruto grinds his teeth.
"Jeez, you started it," he says and looks away.
"Dude... I just have a lot on my plate." I wipe my face again with my palm.
I don't know why, but pulling at my face with my hands seems to calm me down.
"Oh yeah? Got another job from Kakashi?" he asks, flashing a few hand signs. No point letting people eavesdrop.
"No...?" I dodge the question.
"Is he gonna pay for the last one?" he asks.
I raise an eyebrow.
"What?"
"We kidnapped a girl in the middle of all this heat, in a room full of jounin. Shouldn't that be at least a B-rank mission?" Naruto points out.
"I... didn't talk about money with Kakashi when he asked me," I admit.
"You're stupid," Naruto smirks. "Who's gonna pay for all those fireworks I used?" he sighs.
I scratch my head.
Naruto's right. Legally, a genin isn't obligated to take on emergency assignments.
"That's a Hokage mentality right there," I slap his back.
"Hehe... I *am* gonna become Hokage! Gotta start thinking like one, right?" He sticks his chest out.
"Yeah... I can clearly see you taxing stupid people like me into poverty and bankruptcy," I nod thoughtfully.
"Ehh? That's not what I meant!" Naruto flaps his hands.
**\[BAAAAM!]**
The arena explodes.
Looks like Tenten-senpai has already started her Kunai Rain—with added explosives.
One of the blasts catches the Sand Princess.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!" she shouts, forming a sign and unsheathing her humongous fan.
A pressurized burst of wind bursts from the fan's edge so hard it blows the explosion backward.
Senpai almost gets hit by her own shrapnel.
"She'll have to get close," I comment.
And so she does.
Tenten-senpai unseals a staff and charges in.
But Temari is swinging that massive wooden fan like it's weightless, holding her ground against senpai's taijutsu.
"Rich girl ain't winning this one," I mutter.
"Rich girl?" Naruto's confused.
I stare at him for a moment.
"Tenten-senpai. Yeah... she's the richest rookie among us," I state matter-of-factly.
"I know she's well off... her father owns a weapon shop," Naruto shrugs.
"You think that's the *only* shop her dad owns?" I ask.
"He's the only legal weapons dealer in the Land of Fire. He even made shuriken for the Uchiha," I say, tapping my clan crest.
"So, yeah. I got it. She's rich," Naruto brushes it off.
"She's not just rich... she's 'eat all the ramen in her life without ever working' type of rich," I point out.
That got a reaction out of Naruto.
"Then why's she a ninja?" he asks.
I'm at a loss for words.
Why *did* Tenten-san become a ninja when she could've lived an easy life?
I've seen her get beaten black and blue in spars with Rock-senpai.
I've seen the sadness when Neji insults her.
I've seen her smile when Guy-sensei pushes her to become better.
Why?
Money is the ultimate weapon—and she has *plenty* of it.
Why!?
Senpai gets struck in the gut with that fan.
*Oof!* That knocked the wind out of her.
But she's not done yet.
She jams her stomach into the fan, wedges it, locks it in place.
"What the fuck?!" Temari struggles to pull her fan free.
Senpai swings her staff.
Temari easily dodges the predictable swing—but has to let go of her weapon.
That's when she knew.
She fucked up.
Senpai swings her staff—now transformed into a triple-sectioned one—it cracks through the air like a whip.
It smacks Temari in the head with a nasty **\[THUD]**, like someone broke a clay pot.
She drops, holding her head.
Even the pressure in the room isn't enough to stop the blood.
I can see part of her skull on the floor.
Nasty.
**\[AAAAAAAAAHHH!!]**
With a roar, Senpai brings her elbow down on the fan—and snaps it in half.
"OOOOUUUU!!! That was fucking cool!" Naruto cheers.
But then she coughs up blood and stumbles.
That last strike must've broken a few ribs.
Temari's vomiting from the concussion.
But she's not tapping out.
Senpai might be in better shape, but Temari still has chakra to spare.
One well-placed chakra wind blade, and there'll be body parts flying.
They stand there for a few silent seconds.
The next move will decide the match.
Senpai takes a deep, painful breath.
Her punctured lung probably won't let her breathe much longer.
Temari... she *should* be dead.
Or at least unconscious.
But there she is. Alive. Kicking. Planning.
I've heard sand shinobi are particularly hard to kill but—damn, that's just badass.
Scary.
Tenten-senpai tries to move—but Temari's faster.
She weaves twelve hand seals in a blink and casts Wind Blade.
In that moment, all Tenten-senpai does is whip out a scroll.
It's spring-loaded—opens on its own when pulled.
Six strands of paper shoot out at right angles, forming a circle around her.
Then—the jutsu hits.
The scroll paper takes the full brunt of it, exploding into flakes of torn parchment.
The shinobi in the stands stare in awe as Senpai flies *through* the smoke,
and kicks the Sand Princess in the gut one last time.
But that's not enough to knock her out.
She grits her teeth—and punches Temari in the face.
The girl grins with bloody teeth.
"Fuck you, bitch!" she spits.
Senpai pauses for a second at the sight.
Then she continues.
Pretty sure her knuckles are cracked now.
A green flash passes by.
Guy-sensei appears beside her, catching her arm.
"It's over, Tenten," he says.
Not with anger.
Not with disappointment.
With concern.
Temari finally collapses.
Unconscious.
Or dead.
"I don't know why she hated me..." Senpai mutters.
Guy-sensei stays silent—for once.
He just pats her head and steadies her by the shoulder.
Hayate-san declares her the winner.
"I think I understand why she became a ninja," Naruto says.
I raise an eyebrow.
But...
I don't ask.
Understanding people—that's Naruto's thing.
Me?
I just kill.
---