In Naruto: Reborn with Talent

"Could Kimimaro Kaguya and Tayuya come down to the arena?"

When Rei heard Hayate say that, he groaned and mumbled, "So it was not a coincidence."

It wasn't impossible to have teammates fight each other in this kind of event since the matches were 'usually' chosen at random but it was very rare.

The problem with that was that Konoha was the sole party who chose who would fight who and this matchmaking was starting to appear very fishy not only to Rei but also to his girls.

Tsunade expertly ignored three unamused pairs of eyes gazing in her direction, opting to enjoy the delicacy in front of her. It was just an excuse for her to not raise her head and meet these looks but it worked.

When Orochimaru heard who would be fighting, he couldn't help but perk up in curious interest. He definitely had a bone to pick with Tayuya for deserting but when he found out that she was included as a genin from Uzushio, he couldn't help but find it funny.

That feeling left him the second he attacked the Uzushio team in the Forest of Death.

He briefly scowled remembering that encounter. It should have gone entirely his way but...

The Uzushio brats were strong and he wondered how Tayuya became so strong in such a short while.

But Tayuya didn't seem like her usual self-assured mocking self right now. Considering that the Kaguya kid was in a team with her, that could mean only one thing. She was not sure of her victory.

'Interesting...' Orochimaru subtly licked his lips.

After all, he was very interested in a survivor from the Kaguya clan, and in the fight against him, Kimimaro did not do much. His prowess was mystery and Orochimaru did not like mysteries.

If nothing else, Tayuya could prove as a tool to test the boy's skill before Orochimaru deals with her in the invasion. The last time the girl was lucky to have teammates around her but no matter her improved prowess, Orochimaru was certain he could take her on in one versus one.

After all, strength was not everything in the ninja world.

Hayate started the match off and jumped back but unlike the previous one, the two combatants didn't instantly jump at each other.

Kimimaro and Tayuya stared at each other in the arena, Kimimaro stoic while Tayuya was visibly in a bad mood from this match-up. As part of the same team, they sparred with each other on a regular basis so they knew how the other fought, and needless to say, Kimimaro was not Tayuya's favorite opponent.

"Oi, bonerhead. I am gonna wipe that indifferent mug of yours outta your face." Tayuya scowled as she saw Kimimaro's perpetually unbothered expression.

Most of it was because Kimimaro's uninterested facade was pissing her off though. Surprisingly, they were honestly quite evenly matched most of the time.

That's also why Rei suspected foul play with this match-making. So many match-ups would have been a total curb stomp for one of the participants, yet, two matches already were quite evenly matched. Coincidence? He thought not.

"You are welcome to try." Kimimaro indifferently spoke, not rising up to her insult.

He was focusing too much on shifting his bones to create a layer of chakra-reinforced bone armor under his skin. Honestly, they fought so many times already... he wondered when Tayuya realized the trick in beating him in the most efficient way was to strike fast and not give him time to create this armor layer.

Tayuya, on the other hand, thought that he had his armor up since they entered the arena so she didn't bother stopping the initial banter. The slitted yellow eyes of a certain pale shithead boring a hole into the back of her head were creeping the funk out of her. She needed to center herself and insulting Kimimaro seemed like a good way to calm herself down.

She would naturally prefer sending a shockwave at the pale pervert but he was currently in the Kage box and pissing off Lady Pakura and Lady Ringo was suicide.

She could only grumble under her nose about lucky pale shitheads before focusing on Kimimaro again. She knew this fight would be an extreme pain in her ass. Not only will she have to hold back to a degree but Kimimaro was not the easiest opponent to counter with her abilities.

'Fine... let's do this!'

As that thought passed through her head, Tayuya swiftly raised her flute towards her mouth.

She knew Kimimaro could and would wait for hours on end for her to do the first move if only to get the initial advantage since he was a close-quarters combatant.

Worse yet, the bastard's bone armor took almost no chakra to maintain because it was concentrated in his body, hence, the chakra was not really leaving it so he could preserve it.

As much as she hated to give the advantage of reaction to him, she had no other choice. She once tried to wait him out and it ended in them staring at each other for four hours before she cracked and furiously attacked, screaming bloody murder and various colorful insults at him.

Four hours of her life were totally wasted by that bastard!

The second Tayuya started to move her hands, Kimimaro also shot forward in a burst of speed, disappearing from his spot in the eyes of most of the audience and appearing in front of Tayuya, his arm ready to strike as a sharp, sword-like bone was pushed out of his palm.

Tayuya was very experienced fighting Kimimaro so she expected this and prepared her first attack accordingly. She did not panic from him being so close. She just blew into her flute, sending a melody into the surroundings while watching with the corner of her eyes as Kimimaro's bone sword neared her neck...

Kimimaro pushed himself to his physical limits, fighting them for just a bit more speed... but he instantly realized he was not fast enough when a shockwave appeared out of nowhere and impacted his stomach, bending him over and sending him flying towards the wall behind him at speed most chunin had trouble following with their eyes.

Tayuya noticed that Kimimaro's body created a small dent in the wall surrounded by a multitude of spiderweb cracks before the impact of his body to the wall sent the surrounding dusk into the air and denied her visibility.

Resisting the urge to click her tongue, Tayuya blew into her flute a few more times, sending shockwave after shockwave into the dust cloud, straight at the place where Kimimaro should be embedded into the wall.

It was such a brutal display that many ninjas in the audience winced despite not being able to see through the dust cloud. The redhead was clearly ruthless and they wondered if there would be something more than just a bloody smear left from the Kaguya boy.

After twenty shockwaves, Tayuya finally stopped her onslaught and jumped back a few times to widen the distance between her and the place where Kimimaro landed. She also didn't go far enough to reach the wall behind her to leave herself some place for maneuverability if it was needed.

The dust started to clear out and the audience waited with bated breaths, wanting to see Kimimaro's state when....