Chapter 11
That evening, the king heard Kakashi's message and allowed Tobi to remain in the kingdom on one condition. He was under house arrest and could only move freely under Kakashi's supervision, which suited both of them. At the moment, the king was more worried about Naruto, who wasn't very interested in the idea of the tournament. Now Minato was beginning to worry, as Jiraiya devised the second task himself. He hasn't told anyone about the task and he intends to announce it only at the beginning.
The next day, they all gathered in the courtyard, which was decorated with garlands, lanterns, and where jugglers and the like walked. In the middle of the courtyard stood a small podium on which sat the royal family. The competitors lined up in front of the podium and waited for their next task.
„Hi everyone. I'm quite surprised you got up so early for that,” Jiraiya laughed as he took over Minato's duty to greet the guests.
„Today's task will be special. Every amateur can shoot a bow, but since you're running for my grandson's hand, you have to get along well with people. That is your next task. As you can see, there are many groups of beautiful ladies walking through the courtyard and between the alleys, each with one ribbon. Your task is very simple. The winner will be the one who gets the most ribbons at the end of this discipline. And when will you know the end? The end will be announced by the sound of fanfare. The fanfare will sound exactly twenty minutes after the start. Does everyone understand their task?” he asked at last. Minato held his head. He knew that only Jiraiya would think of something so stupid. The contestants first looked at each other and had no idea if he was serious.
„To add, all the ribbons are the same colour, but there is also one golden orange among them, which symbolizes Prince Naruto. Whoever gets it automatically proceeds to the last task. If there are no questions, get ready. We'll start,” he called, waving his hand, and at his signal came the fanfare announcing the start of the task. All three young men mingled with the crowd among the beautiful women who had to be deprived of ribbons.
Sasuke immediately headed for the first group. He didn't even have to try, the ladies flirted with him, they tried to seduce him, and they gave him their ribbons almost voluntarily. All he had to do was say a few words from time to time, a smile, a wink, and so on.
Shukaku had a bigger problem with that. The ladies clung to him too, but out of their natural curiosity to know the secret hidden under the hood. They surrounded him with questions about his identity, his origin, what his taste was and so on. Shukaku was silent, focusing more on his goal. He wobbled his eyes, where the girls could have hidden ribbons when he suddenly saw the only one with that golden-orange ribbon. He walked over to her, and she immediately surrounded him, like the others, with questions. He just nodded at the answers, trying to use the sand discreetly with a ribbon. As soon as he succeeded, he left. He got lost in the crowd and set to work in a quiet, inconspicuous place with a proper view. He used sand to get as many ribbons as possible, but his work was slow.
Third, let's look at Neji, who thought it was a waste of his time and potential. He was walking and didn't have much success with the ladies.
As soon as twenty minutes passed, a fanfare sounded and the competitors lined up again in front of the grandstand, where Jiraiya inspected their catch. After evaluating the candidates' efforts, he returned to the stands, where he intended to announce the winner and the order.
„The boys finally proved their worth. The greatest success in this social discipline was Prince Sasuke, who collected the most ribbons. Congratulations. In second place was Shukaku, who no longer had so many ribbons, but on the other hand, he managed to get a gold-orange ribbon. Congratulations...”
„I want to resign,” Neji interrupted.
„Why? The tournament isn’t over yet,” Jiraiya asked.
„I have changed my mind. I don't want to apply for Naruto's hand anymore. It's just a waste of time,” he replied and left. The people just looked at each other in shock. They didn't expect this.
„Be that as it may, this makes the situation easier for us for the third and final task, which will take place in the evening. I believe that until then you will all have a good time and whoever needs it can relax. I wish you a lot of fun,” Jiraiya smiled and turned to Naruto, who frowned. He just had to smile in his mind, for the plan worked out for him, and he was sure that in the end, Naruto would get the right thing for his aching heart.
The sun was falling lazily over the woods. A small boxing ring was built on the square, in which the last task was to take place. Lanterns lit up in the area and the eager ones had already found their places as close as possible to have a proper view. The royal family also took their seats and the last two participants of the tournament prepared in the corners of the ring.
„The last task of the tournament is the match. Whoever wins has the right to marry Naruto. This match will show your true strength and determination. It is forbidden to use any weapons during combat. Let your fists talk. I hereby declare the match started. Begin,” said the king, and with a hand signal, the battle has begun.
The two candidates walked slowly into the centre of the ring, measuring their opponents as they walked. They tried to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. In the beginning, they made several practice lunges, testing their opponent. Subsequently, Sasuke attacked and didn't spare his opponent at all. He gave him no chance to attack. Even so, he couldn't touch Shukaku until he took advantage of a series of fake lunges and eventually tripped his legs. Shukaku fell on his back and Sasuke leaned over him with a triumphant grin.
„You are weak. You're no match for me,” he said through gritted teeth. „And what is this?” he noticed a pendant peeking through his tunic. He grabbed it and yanked it from his throat. „How pathetic,” he grinned as he examined it and tossed him into the sand.
„You'll pay for it,” Shukaku growled, and behind his hood, you could see his eyes gleaming gold. In an instant, Shukaku kicked him, got to his feet, and with new force and even greater determination threw himself at his opponent. With incredible force and speed, he struck him with crushing blows. He kicked him in the back of the knee so that his legs broke, he rolled forward and with a single blow struck him in the jaw until Sasuke fell a few feet behind him. He tried to get up, but Shukaku stepped on his hand.
„What are you?” Sasuke asked with a trembling voice.
„It's none of your business,” Shukaku growled, kicking him in the stomach. When he was sure that his opponent would not rise again, he turned to the podium and raised his hand triumphantly.
There was immediate strong applause and whistling from the audience. The referee who was at the match encouraged the winner to appear in the stands to the royal family, who were to personally congratulate him. The whole royal family stood up and waited for the winner to arrive. The king was the first to come to him, thanking him for his incredible performance.
„Congratulations on your victory. You will receive your reward exactly tomorrow when a giant ball will take place at the celebration. As the winner, you will have a dance with Naruto and then there will be an official engagement. Please accept this ring with the emblem of our family in honour of the victory. Now Naruto…” he turned to his son, who reluctantly approached him, „would you like to say something to our winner?” he asked.
„He doesn't have to. There's nothing to say if he doesn't want to, "Shukaku said, kneeling in front of the prince and kissing his hand. „Your Majesty, I will be honoured to dance with you tomorrow,” he said mysteriously, emphasizing Your Majesty when Naruto thought he heard a familiar voice.
„It doesn't matter,” Naruto muttered, slipping his hand and leaving without turning once.
„I am very sorry for my son...”
„It doesn't matter, I'm sure it will all improve during the ball. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go get some rest,” Shukaku replied, bowing to the others and heading for his room, completely forgetting his lost medallion. He had his head full of his reunion with Naruto.
„What if we went to rest too? Tomorrow will be a big day,” Kushina led Minato away. Jiraiya, meanwhile, watched everything and noticed the medallion. He walked to the ring where he thought it was. He rummaged lightly through the sand and found what he was looking for. Pendant in the shape of a fox. All he needed now was to calm Naruto down and convince him that everything would be fine. And this will help him.