Chapter 1: The Chuunin Exams, Third Round Preliminary; One-on-one Battle Royal!
It was the third round of the Chuunin exams and there were eight teams left. Out of the eight teams, only two had made it to the tower without any serious injuries. Standing before each genin team was the Lord Hokage, and behind him were the Jounin in charge of each genin team that had passed.
'So, only twenty-four genin passed. This is the first time it's ever happened in years.'
"Lord Hokage..."
"Yes Anko, I know." The Third Hokage turned towards all the genin.
"Before we begin, I would like to say congradulations to all of you who passed the second test, however, some of you will have to end your journey a little short." There were a few whispers between the genin.
"We had not been expecting so many of you to pass, so we are force to hold a preliminary round."
"Preliminary rounds?!" someone yelled out. Suddenly a ninja wearing a chuunin vest stood in front of the group. He looked over his shoulder at the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, let me, Hayate Gekko, proctor of the third exams, take over." The Third gave a short nod and Hayate faced the group.
"We're holding a prelimenary round. Anyone who-" Hayate's sentence was cut short when he began a coughing fit. He cleared his throat and apologized for the sudden interuption. "As I was saying, anyone who doesn't feel fit to continue with the exams, please leave now."
"Excuse me, but why are we having a preliminary round?" asked Sakura, a kunoichi from the rookie genin team. Another girl, wearing an Iwagakure hitai-ate scoffed at Sakura question.
"Don't you know anything? I mean you're from this village but you don't even know how the exams work. Pretty pathetic if you ask me." Spoke the Iwa ninja. "The preliminary is held to lessen the number of combatants. Very important people come to the third exams to view the power of the villages being represented. Not only are they there to see the best, but if all twenty-four of us partake in the exam, then those old geezers will be bored out of their minds, and it's not good for the Kage's and the village's reputation." Sakura glared daggers at the Iwa ninja, but she just ignored her. A kunai came flying passed the Iwa ninja who spoke up. A tall man stood with his hand up, indicating that he was the one who threw the kunai at his own student. He was wearing skii-goggles that were a deep maroon color to hide his eyes.
"Don't interupt when someone is talking." The girl gulped down her held breath and nodded her head.
"Gomen, sensei." The jounin from Iwagakure put down his head and looked over to Hayate.
"You can continue. I'm sure the gaki know now not to interupt someone." He nodded at him and turned back to the genin.
"The Iwa kunoichi is correct, that is exactly why we must hold a preliminary. The rounds will consist of one-on-one battles. If one combatant dies or admits defeat he/she looses. If I feel the battle is getting out of hand, I'll step in at anytime to insure less deaths. Now then, again, anyone who does not feel they would like to go through with this, raise your hand and you are free to go."
"Hayate, wait." Hayate turned towards the hokage.
"That won't be necessary . We have an even number of combatants and it would be unfair to force anyone who does wish to participate to leave just because of an uneven number." Hayate nodded and turned back to them.
"No one will be permitted to leave, my apologies. So now we will begin the preliminary." Behind them in the top left corner of the room a pannel opened and a large black screen appeared.
"Each name will be picked at random." The computer began to shuffle around all twenty-four names. Finally the computer stopped on two names. The screen read Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado.
"Will the two combatants please step up, as for the rest of you, please wait in the upper wing." Everyone began walking towards either side of the room and stood waiting for the first match to begin.
(Okay, look, I'm skipping to the third match, which was suppose to be Kakuro vs Tsurugu, but I'm changing it to Kankuro vs one of the Iwa ninja's. It's going to be a boy from the Iwa team. Now then, I'm not gonna put in a description because I honestly don't want to, so I'll just put in like a side note chapter that has the appearances of all the new OCs.)
The screen read Kankuro vs Ichigo, indicating the two fighter for the next fight. Kakuro quickly stepped into the ring and waited for his opponent. After a few seconds no one entered the battle ground.
"Hmph I bet whoever that Ichigo person is must've chickened out." A scoff came and a blob of pitch black stood in front of Kankuro. The blob took the form of a little boy. His emerald eyes held no emotion in them. Kankuro snorted and shook his head at the boy.
"You're kidding? I'm suppose to fight a kid? How old are you, anyway?" Ichigo just stared at him.
"I'm five-years-old." he said in a cold whisper. Kankuro lightly shook at the boys tone. Kankuro looked carefully at the boy and noticed his eyes were a mixed hue between blue and green, not just emerald green. (I know I said I wouldn't discribe, but this is to get an idea of how creepy like the kid is. His stare remind Kankuro of Gaara in a way.)
"Why don't you give up now kid? I don't want to end up killing a little brat."
"Then I guess you have a death wish."
"Wha'?"
"Can we get started? I'm already bored. I don't care who goes on and who doesn't, I just want to get this over and done with."
"Cocky little..." Kankuro didn't bother finishing his insult. Hayate looked at both of them. He nodded his head and looked in between them.
"The third match, Kankuro vs Ichigo, Begin!" Hayate jumped out of the ring to give them a bigger fighting range. Kankuro held his mummified puppet and stared at Ichigo. Ichigo memorized the design of the puppet and let his eyes lock with Kankuro.
"You're puppet, it was made by Sasori the Red Scorpion, correct?"
"Good eye kid, it was. This one here is the-"
"The Crow." Ichigo interupted. Kankuro stared at Ichigo intently.
"Too bad, really. I'm sorry, but I will have to obliterate your prized Crow." Kankuro snorted.
"You're pretty cocky kid, you know that? Why don't you shut up and get started already."
"I have every right to be cocky, and I've already made my move." Kankuro blinked. Ichigo's eyes flashed down towards his puppet and then back. Kankuro looked back down at the Crow. A white arm shot out of the puppet and wrapped itself around Kankuro's neck. He moved his eyes to stare at Ichigo.
"Admit your defeat, or your neck will be broken." Kankuro sucked in air. The hand aroud his neck tightened.
"Why did you make your move?" he asked.
"When I was talking... a ninja never reveals his jutsu until the very last second. My own puppet had made it's way through the cracks in the tile to your puppet. It removed the entire component of the Crow's combat system. Just one word, and my puppet will break your neck. Killing is something the Iwa ninjas are renowned for." Kankuro glared at Ichigo, but sighed and nodded his head.
"I give up." he muttered. The hand shot back into the Crow and it fell to pieces. Hayate appeared again and looked at them both.
"The winner, Ichigo." he announced. Ichigo sank into the ground, shrowded in a black mass, and appeared next to his teammates. Kakashi turned towards the Iwa ninja's and began walking towards them. Guy turned his attention and watched as Kakashi began walking towards them.
"Yo." he called casually.
"We are the liaison between Iwagakure and Konohagakure, requested by the new Tsuchikage. I'm just bringing my genin to show the Hokage our strength, techniques if you wish to copy, Sharingan, and to help them become genin without having to kill one another. Nothing more, nothing less. The old ways of the last four Tsuchikage has been eradicated. The Godaime Tsuchikage wishes to start over. Foreigners from the west are coming into Iwagakure. The Godaime wishes to insure the saftey of the people, and the way of the ninja incase anything were to happen. You can go back to your genin... Hatake." Replied the sensei calmly. Kakashi could feel a cold chill run down his spine as the Jounin spoke. There was a certain malice to his voice, as well as a familiar tone that Kakashi couldn't quite put his finger on. He shrugged off the feeling and walked back to his group. As he passed Guy he gave a short nod. Guy nodded back and watched the Iwa ninja from corner of his eye. The next pair of names shown on the screen signaled the fourth match. One of the Iwa kunoichi sighed out rudely and dropped to the floor in disappointment.
"Why, why, why...?" she muttered as she began banging her head on the railing. The screen had read Tsukiko vs Sakura Haruno. The girl from Iwa sighed and hopped over the railing and into the ring. Sakura had been looking around the room trying to figure out who Tsukiko was when she paled. She didn't expect the Iwa ninja from earlier to be her opponent. She shook her head and took in a deep breath. "I'm not going to loose. I have to prove myself to Sasuke-kun and Ino-pig!" "CHA! NO WAY I'LL LOOSE!" her inner Sakura boasted. She ran towards the staircase and soon found herself staring at the Iwa ninja with confidence. From the stand she could hear Naruto and Lee rooting for her. She took a fighting stance but her posture crumbled when she noticed her opponent was busy picking her ear.
"Can we get this over with already. It's pretty pointless. I already know I'm going to win, might as well save the girl from the humiliation of defeat." she spoke cockily as she flicked her fingers to remove the few small twigs that got stuck around the rim of her ear. Sakura fummed as she pointed a finger at her opponent.
"Listen here sister, I was the top kunoichi of my class when I graduated!" Sakura boasted proudly. Tsukiko stared at her, her left eye twitching in shock.
"You've gotta be shitting be, a girl like you top kunoichi? I highly doubt you could stand a chance of beating that Hyuuga girl, or any other girl for that matter. Oh well it's your funeral."
"Don't kill her!" her sensei shouted down. Tsukiko turned around and flipped the birdie. She shot her head down as she dodged a kunai to the head.
"Are you trying to kill me?!" she glared at her sensei.
"A life for a life, remember that before you try something stupid." he told her casually. Tsukiko sighed but nodded her head solemnly.
"I'll show you I'm no push over!" Sakura shouted.
"Oh shit, you still here? I thought you left since it got so fucking quiet." she taunted. Sakura screamed her annoyance.
"LET'S JUST GO ALREADY!!" Tsukiko's eye twitched again. Hayate coughed to get their attention.
"Alright, fourth match, Tsukiko vs Sakura Haruno, begin!" Hayate left and Sakura quickly pulled out several shuriken, hurling them at her opponent. Tsukiko grabbed a kunai knife and deflected all the shuriken. Tsukiko yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"I haven't been this bored before." she muttered. In a rage Sakura charged and pulled her fist back. When she threw her fist at Tsukiko, she stepped to the side and watched as Sakura stumbled on her failed attack. She regained her footing and glared at her. Sakura stood up and got a snobby smirk on her face. Tsukiko tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she watched Sakura dust off her shirt.
"Hmph I see now." she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. Tsukiko blinked and stared at the girl in front of her.
"You're just all talk. You're trying to get me to exhaust my energy, since you're too weak to attack me head on. If this is what an Iwa ninja can do, than it's no wonder you guys lost that war to us." Something snapped in Tsukiko and she glared murderously at her. Sakura shook her head and wagged her finger, muttering "Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"What a weak ninja." Sakura started, as she took the time to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"I bet you're parents must be pretty disappointed at such a sorry excuse for a ninja." Ichigo's eyes widened and he turned towards his sensei. His sensei nodded, and said man turned towards the proctor.
"Stop the match now, before we end up having ourselves a blood bath." He stated calmly and shifted his gaze towards his student. Tsukiko had her fist clenched, tears running down her cheeks. She grinded her teeth together as she worked to control her anger.
"My... parents," she began as she lifted her head towards Sakura.
"My parents died in that war." she stated and Sakura looked at her with a hint of sorrow in her eyes. Sakura lifted a finger to her lips and chewed at the bottom one.
"I-I..." Hayate glanced at the Hokage but before anyone could blink Sakura shouted out in pain. All the jounin whipped their heads to stare at a very distraught Iwa kunoichi, and Sakura laying at the base of the large statue that resembled the Ram hand sign flipped. Sakura groaned in pain and tried to get her body off the floor.
"Stop the match, now." stated the Iwa Jounin yet again, but each jounin were to preoccupied on how the Iwa kunoichi could have flung Sakura in such a short time without them seeing anything. Tsukiko charged at Sakura we lighting speed, fists raised. She let out a shout as she gave a quick punch to Sakura's abdomen. Sakura gasped at the pain, the wind knocked out of her. Before her body could slump down on the floor, Tsukiko punched Sakura again. In a flury she repeatedly punch Sakura in the exact same area, with enough speed to rival Lee's high speed Taijutsu. Tsukiko grabbed Sakura by the collar of her shirt and delivered one last punch, that shattered the statue on the wall where the pannel had been placed. She dropped Sakura on the ground and grabbed a kunai, holding it over her head. She swung the kunai, but instead of hitting Sakura, all she did was cut through her top, horizontally and over her belly button. She threw the bottom part of Sakura's top over her shoulder and with her hands glowing green she tended to the bruise dealt on Sakura's stomach.
"What... what are you...?" Sakura looked up at Tsukiko in shock. It took all her will power to not punch Sakura silly.
"I'm a mother fucking medical ninja. I'm healing your fucking bruises."
"O-oh... but..."
"These bruises aren't just external. I also delt damage to the internal tissue around your diaphragm. Your ninjas can't heal that as fast as I can." Soon all the markings on Sakura's body was gone and Tsukiko stood up angrily.
"Do you give up?" Tsukiko asked. Sakura dumbly nodded, but it was big enough to be seen. Hayate appeared beside Tsukiko, coughing slightly.
"Winner, Tsukiko." Tsukiko's sensei stood in back of her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"C'mon, bring the girl up." She began muttering something when he interupted.
"If I do it, it won't get her sensei to calm down. Now get going." He stood back with his team shaking his head. He turned towards Ichigo.
"What made her calm down?" Ichigo looked back up at him.
"She remembered our promise. We are sworn to serve you, sensei." He patted the five-year-old's head, earning a grunt from him.
"Can it, shorty." Tsukiko effortlessly picked Sakura over her shoulder, jumped over to her sensei and blonde team, dropped her flat on her ass and snorted.
"I'm sorry I got mad... or something like that. Whatever, I don't do apologies." Naruto glared at her and snorted.
"What's your problem?! You could've killed Sakura-chan!!" Tsukiko snapped her head back and glared at him, cracking her knuckles.
"I could have also left her with your stupid medics to wait a full week before they could even Bslightly/B heal the interior bruises I gave her. When I fight, I attack the outside of the body, and the inside of the body. It takes your medics weeks to heal interior bruises, while it only took me a few seconds. She got me pissed off! I'm sorry I've got a short fucking temper!"
"Tsukiko, get your ass over here." Before Tsukiko could retort to her sensei's comment the two names for the fifth match were selected. Tsukiko snorted at the name pairing. It was going to be a fight with a Konoha kunoichi and her female teammate. She stood her ground, shooting quick glares at her sensei. He sighed and began walking over to Kakashi and his group. Ichigo followed quickly while their last female teammate hopped over the railing, gracefully and into the ring. Their sensei stared at Kakashi and he could feel the watchful eyes of the other Konoha jounin.
"My apologies for my students behavior. It was intended for your student to get hurt the way she did, however the subject of the last war makes my students very uneasy, seeing as how the older ones lost their families to it, and I know family troubles can be a most sensitive subject, seeing as how you don't have any left alive." Kakashi glared at him but couldn't see the Iwa ninja's eyes because of his skii goggles.
"I brought up that subject to show you how it made my genin feel, and unfortunately she's not as level headed as you are, Hatake. But you already saw the results." He turned back towards the match in front of them, whacking Tsukiko in the back of the head. She groaned and was about to make a comeback when he glared at her. She decided to not bother and started rubbing her sore head. He chewed the bottom of his lip, worrying it a lot.
"Sensei, what is wrong?" He could feel Kakashi staring at him, but that wasn't what was bothering him.
"Ichigo, stand by, when I give the word you are to perform your healing jutsu."
"On who, sensei?"
"This Ino girl. She's about to do something that may cost her, her life."
"Understood."
"Hey, you, Iwa." He turned his head and noticed Asuma standing their with his genin, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akamichi. He moved his body to show he was giving his full attention.
"Yes?" Asuma chewed on his cigarette before glaring at him.
"You're pretty confident about your genins' abilities. You shouldn't underestimate your opponent, that was your down fall during the war." He could tell Tsukiko had tensed but he ignored it as he stared down at Asuma, being a few inches taller than him.
"I'm not underestimating your genin's ability. I'm worrying about your genin and the chance that she lacks other abilities."
"What are you implying?"
"Does that girl know any jutsu besides her families specialty?" Asuma considered the odds but truthfully shook his head.
"No, she doesn't." He tensed greatly.
"Fuck. I was afraid of that." She turned towards her student.
"Tora, forfeit." he stated calmly. She turned towards him and gave him her full attention. She nodded at her and he nodded back at her.
"Due to the fact that my student is a mute, I'll answer her for you. Tora withdraws from this match, isn't that right Tora?" Tora nodded her head and left towards the stands. Hayate stared at her in shock, along with the rest of the genin.
"Ino Yamanaka (fuck that's a lot of fucking 'A's) wins." Hayate announces. Ino smirked smuggly and he could only shake his head. As she approached Sakura she smiled at her in a smig attitude, silently gloating over her win and her rival's lost.
"Make no mistake, Yamanaka." Ino turned towards Tora and her sensei. Her sensei stared down at her.
"You did not win because you were more powerful than my student. You won out of dumb luck and your poor jutsu range."
"What do you mean?!" Ino shouted. Asuma gripped his pants pockets angrily.
"Tora is only one of seven split personalities that lay dormant in her mind." Ino's faced unscrunched as she stared at him.
"If you would have used the mind transfer jutsu, and had entered Tora's mind without permission... then you would have faced the personalitiy that was responsible for the Yun Clan Massacre." The Yun were an enigmatic and mysterious clan whose name predates many of the modern families and societies thereof. Possessing sensitive bodies to the mystic arts and latent powers that are activated through rituals and magic, the Yun are an extremely revered branch upon where their influence, discipline, and power has been known to dwarf those considered of equal footing. For the Yun are heritage that is ever growing in power, even when they don't pursue strength themselves, a divine rite to always progress over and above the typical mortal as it were. (Got this info from konaha./index.cgi?boardstone) Word spread like wild-fire when such a prestigious clan head been massacred. The sole survivor, and person held responsible for the massacre was an actual member of the clan, whose name was whispered through the winds as...
"Reikon za Tora..."
"Hai, and she has a jounin level Koton: Koikkatsu. And with that sadistic personality she improved it to be loud enough that it sends chakra waves through the body, destroying it from the inside out. That could have been you if you had performed that jutsu." (Again, all Iwa jutsu info is from the website mentioned before. I don't know if the second sentences is actually true, I made it up. It says at jounin level it has the same oomph as Daitoppa. I just added a few things to make it see like it's a really bad move to be caught in, especially a full blast from a sadist)
(The rest of the fights went in the exact same order and happened the same way except Kabuto faced against his own teammate and won.)
The Next chapter will be about the conversation over the arrangements for Iwagakure's peace treaty