So I’ve managed to not throw up. Feeling pretty good about that… Thinks a lethargic Jin as he holds up Fubuki by her neck, planning out what to do next.

“Let me go!” Fubuki cries, struggling to break free.

The snow ninja repeatedly tries to punch Jin in the face and kick him in the stomach, but the unfazed Jin just ignores her and continues to think. Jin’s shadow clone is sitting down off to the side, removing the armor from the now deceased bodies Nagare and Mizore and cleaning them.

“Ice Style: Tsubame Blizzard!”

Since I’m in the past… I’m gonna take a small detour to the Village of Artisans! Jin schemes as he feels himself being pelted.

The rogue ninja comes back to reality, seeing a cluster of ice needles in the shape of miniature swallows out of preexisting ice. They all shatter upon making contact with Jin, leaving no signs of damage.

Oh, yeah, she’s still here… Six Paths: Mind Eater Jutsu! Jin chants in his mind as he gently puts Fubuki on the ground. “Hand over your chakra armor.”

While under the effects of Jin’s jutsu, the kunoichi follows his orders and removes her armor. Once finished Jin hands her some of his spare clothes to wear.

As Jin tosses Fubuki’s armor to his shadow clone, he turns to Fubuki and tells her, “When Princess Koyuki arrives, you will…”

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“It’s pretty awesome that ya were training to be in the Olympics.” Rito tells Ayanami. “So what was the plan if ya didn’t make the cut?”

“I was going to go to business school and build my own makeup company if I couldn’t get in.” Ayanami answers, sitting comfortably on a desk.

Jin enters the room and announces, “Here’s Johnny! And I brought presents!”

“You got all four armors?”

“I also got Doto’s chakra disruption device and the four weapons from the Village of Artisans.” Jin tosses the scroll containing the materials to Rito. “Well, Ayanami? How did it go?”

Not saying anything, Ayanami smirks as she gets off the desk. She looks at Jin and blinks not once, not twice, but three times. On the third time, her eyes change, her ordinarily featureless white Byakugan gains blue pupils filled with what resemble overlapping white flower patterns. Green flames erupt from her, covering her entire body in a cyan-colored chakra shroud. Additionally, nine orbs appear, floating behind the leaf kunoichi.

“Oh thank god, I really do need a… training… partner…?” Jin’s attention suddenly diverts to a new chakra signature. “Hey, do you guys sense that?”

“Yeah, I feel it too?”

Lost, Rito looks at Ayanami and then Jin to ask, “What--what are you guys sensing?”

“There’s someone else here…” Jin walks to the wall on Rito’s left. “...behind this wall.”

“Let's say hello, Dynamic Entry!”

At the speed of light, Ayanami jumps toward the wall and performs a flying kick. The wall completely shatters upon impact, filling the room with a dust cloud. The commotion causes both Mecha-Naruto and Echo to enter the room.

“*cough* I see you’ve trained with Lee and Guy… *cough* *cough*” Jin tries to cover his face to keep from breathing in the dust.

“The fight with Kakazu and Hidan made me realize that the Gentle Fist wasn’t going to be enough anymore…” A bashful Ayanami scratches her head, her eyes darting to the side of the room. “And the fight with Pain only confirmed it.”

“I’ve been using this hideout as a base for about a year and I’ve never seen this room before...” Echo points toward the secret room's interior.

“What is this place? It’s weird…” Ayanami asks, looking around the room.

The dust finally settles, letting Jin and Rito be able to see clearly. They both peer into the room and see that it has not been in use for quite some time due to the fact that the room is covered in dust and there are cobwebs everywhere and at the center, is a man floating in a tank.

Hey, I know this guy… Jin thinks as he enters the room, walking closer to the tank. “It’s Lars, Lars Alexandersson from Tekken.”

“Tekken? I used to play that game with my brother at the arcade sometimes, but I’ve never heard of this Lars guy.” Ayanami adds as she gets closer to the tank. Mesmerized, she covers her mouth.

“Lars first appears in Tekken 6 and is a bonus character in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.”

“He is so handsome…” Ayanami deactivates her chakra mode.

Feeling smug, Jin turns his head to Ayanami and asks, “Do you want a napkin? Ya know for the drool…?”

Embarrassed and flustered, the leaf ninja slaps Jin on the shoulder. Rito walks across the room to a computer, dusts it off, and goes through its files.

“Crikey, looks like that bloody cunt of a snake was trying to make clones.” Rito informs the group as he reads the files. “Apparently, he wanted an endless supply of strong, spare bodies.”

“I’m not surprised… I mean Shin Uchiha was the basis for a lot of his experiments.” Jin roll’s his eyes.

“This one is brain-dead, thus deemed a failure.”

Jin puts one hand on the tank and not even five seconds later, the clone’s eyes open and It begins to furiously bang against the tank. Its mouth opens for air only for bubbles to come out.

“OH SHIT!” A startled Jin jumps back. “The hell, Rito?! You said he was brain dead!”

“He was--at least that’s what the computer says!” Rito argues.

“He’s drowning, do something!”

“Okay, okay--Purple Lightning!” Jin gathers lightning in his right hand.

The rogue ninja quickly swipes at the tank, causing the incubation fluid to gush out of the hole. The combined pressure from fluid pouring out and the clone’s banging result in cracks forming, the tank breaks open with the clone falling to the ground, regurgitating the fluid in his lungs.

“*cough* *cough* W-was ist los… wo *cough* b-bin ich?! *cough*” The shocked and confused clone asks, gasping.

“Du wurdest gerade in Naruto reinkarniert.” Rito quickly answers, catching on to what’s happening.

“Is that German?” Jin cocks his head to one side.

“Nah yeah, I learned it in high school.” Rito walks up to the new reincarnation. “You two go out and train, I’ll get our new mate up to speed.”

“Okay, but before we go… snake or hawk?” Jin asks.

“HUH?”

“Which do you prefer, snakes or hawks?” Jin clarifies.

“Uh… hawks, I guess…?”

Jin tilts his head back and a bulge forms in his neck, the bulge moves upward and Jin reaches into his mouth. He pulls out a scroll and hands it to Rito.

“It’s the contract for summoning hawks, just sign your name in your blood and stamp the fingerprints of one hand in blood beneath your signature.” Jin explains to his friend. “We can do the rest later.”

“Got it.” Rito replies.

Jin and Ayanami proceed to make their way out of the room and out of their hideout to begin their training. After jogging a full mile away from the hideout, they find a nice patch of land to train and take their positions.

“Heh heh… it’s funny that we never had our match back in the Chunin Exams…” Ayanami smiles as her Tenseigan Chakra Mode reactivates. “I wonder which one of us is stronger?”

Three weeks left until the fighting starts, huh…? Jin broods as he and Ayanami make the Seal of Confrontation. More than enough time to become fully aware of our newfound powers and abilities.

The wind blows, causing tree leaves to fall all across the field. The very instant the final leaf makes contact with the ground, Jin and Ayanami dash towards each other.