Chapter 81: Scales of Justice (Part-12/12) [The Reaper Remains]

Chapter 81 - Scales of Justice (Part-12/12) [The Reaper Remains] {Let's end this with a double.} When Shunpei saw Juichi step into the arena, his frown deepened. His gaze dropped from Juichi's face to the long, slightly curved saber in his hand. Then back up again. "Well, well..." Shunpei said with a thin, mocking smile. "The Twin Reaper of the Leaf. What an honor to meet you." His voice was loud enough to carry to the platforms above. "Many people here were wondering what happened to you all these years. Disappeared like smoke in the wind. But who would've guessed..." he paused, eyes drifting to Juichi's empty right sleeve, "that you'd go on and lose one of your arms." The sarcasm in his tone was sharp. "Can you even fight in this state? Does your body even remember how to wield a sword after so long? Do you still deserve the name of the Twin Reaper of Konoha?" Juichi didn't respond right away. He simply raised his left hand, the one gripping his long saber, and rested it on his shoulder. He yawned lightly and tilted his head. "To be honest," Juichi said, "it did get a little tough at first. Adjusting to this body. Especially since I never even trained with a single sword before." He grinned. "I used twin blades all my life, or well, for the few years I even bothered to learn the sword. Unlike you, who's probably been holding one since birth, yeah?" Juichi's voice dropped an octave, mocking now. "But really, you shouldn't be worried about me." He pointed with his chin to the Konoha platform above. "One of the strongest villages in the world picked me to fight here. Do you think they'd throw a broken man into a death match just for fun?" Juichi lowered his saber and took a stance, side profile, blade in his left hand, held diagonally in front of him. Loose but precise. "Or maybe you just believe so much in your own strength, that even a stand-in from Konoha is nothing in front of you." He smirked. "Enough talking. Come at me." ~~~ Above them, Takeshiro narrowed his eyes. He leaned to the side and whispered to General Ryuma. "How high are Juichi Takahashi's chances?" Ryuma answered flatly, not bothering to hide the faint hint of distaste. "Unless he's completely changed his fighting style, less than twenty percent." Takeshiro hummed quietly, expression unreadable. ~~~ In the arena, the moment of stillness ended. Shunpei moved first. With a burst of speed, he rushed forward, unsheathing his katana in a fluid motion, the blade gleaming as he struck from the draw. "First Stance - Bladed Rain!" A flurry of three precise slashes came toward Juichi's neck, chest, and knee in a blur. Juichi stepped to the side. One step. The blade at his neck missed. Two steps. He twisted his torso, and the second cut grazed air. Three. He brought his saber up and parried the last strike with a clean metallic clang. No wasted movement. Shunpei's feet skidded on the iron floor. He narrowed his eyes and charged again. "Crushing Point!" A thrust meant to break balance but Juichi didn't block. He shifted his weight and leaned just barely. The tip passed by his ribs. The arena echoed with the sudden sharp sound of metal scraping metal as Shunpei reversed the motion mid-thrust, turning it into a side slash. Juichi stepped back. His blade flicked outward. Another block. Another clean deflection. Not a single strike had landed. "Don't run!" Shunpei snapped, his voice sharp. He jumped forward again, now using footwork to press into Juichi's space. "Third Motion - Iron Guillotine!" A powerful overhead slash came crashing down toward Juichi's left side, aimed to destroy the grip he had on his saber. But Juichi didn't block it. He stepped inside the arc and shifted his blade slightly, letting the force pass behind him as he turned his shoulder. The attack fell heavy and missed. Again. Juichi stepped back into his stance. His breathing was light. Calm. Shunpei's face was twisting now. Not with anger, but with pressure. "I asked you a question," he growled. "Do you even deserve the name Twin Reaper anymore?" Juichi tilted his head slightly. "I don't need two swords to prove I can bury you with one." Shunpei took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling as he eyed Juichi across the arena. "Your arrogance hasn't changed," he said, voice sharp with disdain. "I thought maybe you'd grown up a little after I heard you had a son." Juichi didn't reply. Shunpei continued, his tone laced with venom. "Right, does your son even know what you did in your youth?" He sneered now, eyes narrowing. "Imagine how he'd feel when the father he looks up to" He paused deliberately, letting the moment hang. "Oh wait, does he even look up to a cripple like you?" There was a beat of silence. Then Shunpei rushed forward again, fast and vicious. Up on the platform, Ren frowned as he heard the words echo across the arena. Even though he didn't really care what his dad had done in the past, something about not knowing still unsettled him. 'It feels weird, I am not really bothered by what it was, but I still want to know.' He glanced over to the side where Utakata stood, arms folded, expression unreadable. 'Sensei probably knows. but I doubt he'd tell me.' Ren mentally shrugged and turned his attention back to the ring. 'Oh well.' Below, the fight resumed in full. Shunpei moved like a man trying to drown his own thoughts in steel. His strikes were aggressive, honed, each one a burst of precision and fury. He slashed, spun, and thrust. "Mountain Cutter!" His blade came sweeping low with a twist of his body, the momentum meant to shatter Juichi's stance. Juichi parried. A clean deflection. Shunpei twisted mid-flow, following up with a tight arc slash toward the ribs. "Silver Slash!" Blocked again. Juichi didn't retreat. He just repositioned. Always one step out of reach. Always calm. Shunpei pressed in harder. His frustration was bleeding into his movements. Then it happened. Juichi tilted his saber just as Shunpei overcommitted to a thrust. The angle shifted. Juichi didn't parry. He guided the blade, redirected it, using Shunpei's own momentum to throw him slightly off balance and in that moment, Juichi stepped in. His blade moved fast. Not a wide arc. Not a slash meant to kill. Just one sharp, efficient strike. The blade cut cleanly into Shunpei's left shoulder, slicing across and cutting across, severing muscle, tendons, and control. Blood burst out in a wide spray. Shunpei stumbled back with a cry, clutching the stump that used to be his non-sword arm. The arm was lying on the platform, blood collecting around it. A sharp gasp echoed across the silent arena. Juichi slowly lowered his saber and looked at him, expression unchanged. "Well," he said casually, "now we're both alike." He tilted his head. "Isn't that great?" he grinned. ~~~ Up above, the mood had shifted. On the central platform, General Sayo finally broke her silence. "Looks like he really did change his entire fighting style." Takeshiro's brow furrowed deeply. "How is this possible?" he muttered. "Just three years ago, he was an aggressive dual-blade user. Now he's fighting like a completely different person. A pure counter-style with a single sword." Sayo looked over at him. "Did you forget what Mifune-sama once said about Juichi?" She turned back to the ring. " 'If Juichi had discovered his talent for the blade when he was a child, Konoha would have had another S-rank in their ranks. One who focused only on the sword.' " Takeshiro's eyes remained locked on the fight. Juichi had stopped walking. He let Shunpei gather himself. But everyone watching could feel it. The tide had shifted. Shunpei growled low in his throat, anger and disbelief mixing into a roar. "You damned bastard. How dare you do this to me!" His face twisted in rage, but his eyes told a different story. They kept darting frantically to the side platform, as if looking for someone to step in, to stop this. Juichi, who had been calm and casual since the start of the duel, raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Oh? You stepped into the Arena of Final Accord and now you complain?" He let out a low whistle as he glanced toward the Land of Iron delegation. "The quality of samurai's really dropped, huh?" A few silent frowns formed on the platform, but no one spoke. Juichi casually rested his saber on his shoulder and began walking slowly across the arena floor. "You asked me a few questions earlier," he said. "I didn't answer then because I figured I'd show you instead." He gave Shunpei a glance, making no effort to stop him from trying to treat his injury. Instead, he just kept walking, talking with the same laid-back tone. "Can I still fight in this state? Well, you tell me, you're the one who lost an arm." He shrugged. "Does my body remember the sword? Probably better than yours. After all, I've been countering you the whole time." Shunpei's face tightened, still pressing on the wound at his shoulder. "As for the name 'Twin Reaper'. Hmm... I guess that doesn't work now, right? Kind of hard to be a twin when one of your blades is gone." Juichi turned to the platforms and raised his voice. "Hey! Think of a better nickname for me, would you? I'm open to suggestions." Up above, Ren grinned. He could already tell what his father was about to do. Juichi smiled and continued. "And about the last question, no, my son doesn't know what I did in the past. But that's not your concern." His eyes met Ren's on the platform. "That's for me to think about. For me to talk about. And for him to know about when the time comes." He pointed up. "Wait a little longer, brat." Ren nodded once, grin widening. Juichi finally turned back toward Shunpei, who had steadied himself, teeth clenched and katana gripped tight in his only good hand. "I guess that settles everything," Juichi said calmly. "That should let you rest in peace." Shunpei's eyes widened, just as Juichi's figure flickered. A sharp wind blew past and in the next moment. Shunpei's head fell. His body dropped just a moment later. Juichi stood behind him, sabre now lowered to his side. He didn't speak. He just stared quietly as the blood spread across the cold steel of the arena floor. ~~~ Up on the platform, Ren's eyes widened. The moment the final blow landed, a notification blinked on in his system. [Target: Juichi Takahashi - Level: 79] 'That's' Ren inhaled, startled. His system wasn't the only one that noticed. From the Konoha delegation's side, Utakata's voice broke the silence. His tone was hushed but filled with a quiet thrill. "Did he...?" Homura, standing beside him, shook his head slowly. "Not yet," he replied. But his tone held unmistakable excitement. "He just needs one more push." Ren's eyes widened further. 'So it's true, Dad really can become an S-rank. But then what the hell happened before? I can only see 20 levels above mine, but the system showed me dad's, and, how the hell did his level increase so much. System?' He asked mentally, but no response came. ~~~ Up on the platform, Takeshiro thought, 'It seems that the reaper remains.' General Takeshiro's voice rang out across the arena, breaking any thoughts anyone might be having. "The winner of this duel is Juichi Takahashi, stand-in for Ambassador Shikeru Nara." He looked across the arena, his voice now solemn. "As per the sacred code of the Arena of Final Accord, Shikeru Nara is cleared of all charges. Further diplomatic matters shall be discussed between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire." "You are all free to leave." Without waiting for anything else, he turned and stepped down from the platform. General Ryuma followed him, silent as ever. General Sayo lingered for a moment longer, her eyes still on Juichi. Then she gave a subtle nod to no one in particular, and walked away. ~~~ As the Konoha delegation began to make their way down the stairs, Ren jumped straight from the platform into the arena. He landed smoothly and walked over to his father, who was still staring at his sabre, blade slightly stained. Ren grinned, "We don't have to go rogue anymore." Juichi looked down at him and gave a wide grin, "Damn right we don't." Both of them laughed. There was something strangely comforting in that moment. Ren looked at his father, really looked. 'Stronger. Deadlier. Closer to S-rank than before.' He thought, 'The stronger Dad is, the better. At least then, no one can ever threaten me through him. And he can protect me until I am ready and surpass him. His thoughts were interrupted as someone shoved him aside. He turned with a frown, only to see Yugao standing in front of Juichi, eyes practically glowing. "Please teach me!" she shouted. Juichi blinked, taken aback. Then he laughed and reached out to rub her head. "We'll talk about it later." Just then, Homura, Utakata, and Shikeru arrived, each offering quiet congratulations. The group gathered for just a few moments. Because with the duel concluded, and justice delivered. The crisis in the Land of Iron had finally come to an end. ~~~~~ {Well, we are finally done. There were some problems, but I promise that the future arcs won't have such problems.} {Juichi wouldn't be reaching S-Rank for quite some time, at least not before the Uchiha Massacre, but you also wouldn't be seeing him for some time now (he would be going on a personal training arc LOL)} {I'm not just randomly making Juichi strong because he is Ren's father, but he should have had the potential for being strong if he was in Jiraiya's squad, and I just utilized that. Anyway, there will be some explanation about this once back in Konoha, so wait for a while. (Recommend me some names for Juichi in the meantime.) I won't just be making allies stronger; the enemies would be stronger too, but only the canon ones.} {This is also a part of Yugao's future strength being different, so tell me what you think. This would be one of the major changes, so I really need some opinion.} {This arc has also finished; just some touch-up left. So, I want you guys to tell me what your thoughts are regarding this arc, any problems, any good points, any suggestions, any criticism; everything is welcome. Just tell me.} {Anyway you know what else to do} {STONES!!!!!} {STONES!!!!!}