Well, I think I deserve a round of applause (insert readers clapping at my sheer awesomeness). Welcome to another chapter of The New Devil. I want you all to know how happy I am that this story is doing. So, out of appreciation for my now close to 386 subscribers, growing by at least two per day, I have made this chapter like incredibly long. Next time you'll see a chapter this long though might be either when I reach 500 or 600 So I hope you will enjoy it.
Before we begin, I'd like to address some reviews.
Nara110: Very good question. Naruto didn't fight with either the Rinnegan or his Devil Arms for a few reasons. One, he didn't want to kill them. Unlike in other stories, Naruto won't just kill willy-nilly. Yes, he will kill humans, but he just didn't feel the need to kill these guys. Using the Rinnegan or his Devil Arms would defiantly kill them.
Reason Two is because he doesn't have control of the Rinnegan yet. He doesn't know how to instantly do all those gravity moves, absorb chakra based attacks, or turn his body into robotic stuff yet. He has to practice at it. Pein knew how to perform the abilities because he had years to practice and master them. Naruto hasn't had the chance yet.
Tristan76: Did Naruto take all the Iwa teams scrolls? Well, just wait and see.
Ccebling: Really wasn't planning on doing Kingdom Hearts xover too. As for Kyūbi's appearance, just wait and see. As for the Yin-Yang affinity thing, I will confirm this. It really just is like an expected Rinnegan thing.
NaruAndHarrHaremFan: No, Naruto and his girls will not be immortal. They will live lives longer than normal humans will live and age differently from when they were normal humans. Naruto most likely will outlive them though. I mean, Sparda lived for over Two-Thousand years without dying, and that was without his full power too! My theory is that half devils will life half as long as a normal devil. Get it?
If you however talking about on the battlefield where no matter how many mortal blows he takes he doesn't die, than no. Naruto, while he may not seem like it now, is still very killable. He can die on the battlefield. Later in the story, not to spoil anything, but you will find out this.
CrescentMelody: Give Naruto a hobby or something huh? Good idea, I'll have to agree with that. As to the rest of your review:
Harems- Yes, I agree, it is extremely cheesy at times. I really don't care how the pairing and stuff are done, as long as the action is good. However, I do it because it's what the fans want. I want them to enjoy my story as much as I like writing it. And I don't mind writing it, as long as I can find some way to do it right.
Falling in love with an angel thing- That's almost the same as falling in love with a fellow demon. In Devil May Cry 4 and a few other points in the series, Angels and Demons are almost qualified in the same fucking category. And the only Devil May Cry games where this is different is the new one coming out. But since I haven't played it yet, I don't know what to think.
Thinks he's above everybody thing- Yes he's part Devil, but remember he's also part human. Humans have a sense of right and wrong, which he has as a half-devil. It is with this in mind that he can still maintain his non-arrogant personality, though this is just my theory. Also, Dante and Nero never had this mentality. Nero has a human girl friend. Dante has a hot and somewhat crazy human chick as a friend too. Sparda fell in love with a human and protected them too. The only one that ever had the mentality was Vergil, so yeah.
Annoying Hinata Fan Boy (Also known as ( ), who is an anonymous reviewer): First off, never said I hated the pairing. I enjoy the pairing done right. For this story, I did not think I could do it right. Sorry.
Second off, I find it offensive that you are calling my story trash because it does not have your pairing of choice. A story is not trash for those reasons. A story is trash if it has no plot. A story is trash if it has no character development or such. To judge a story on its pairing is simply ridicules in my opinion. That mean you are calling hundreds of other authors on this site trash. The Sealed Kunai- not trash, Freedom Has a Price- not trash as well, just some good example to name a few. But you are entitled to your opinion and I will respect that.
By the way, thought of the perfect name for when you get a page: Annoying Hinata Fan Boy. It really describes you well.
Thanks to everyone (almost) who wrote questions.
There is one thing I would like to address. Right now, during this part of the story, Naruto may seem invincible for a while. Do not be discouraged. Even if he is like this now, he will find challenges that are hard to overcome later in the story. So anyway, please stay tuned to find out what mean.
Finally, down below, you will find your picks that you made for the Harem. Though fair warning, afterwards some of you may want to bludgeon me to death with a dull and rusty knife. Without further ado, please enjoy this especially long chapter of "The New Devil!"
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Devil May Cry. However, I do own all original characters and some devil arm designs that may appear. Yeah, those Iwa Genin came from my mind. You hear that Kishimoto, fuck you! They are mine and you can't have them!
Speech Key:
"This party's gettin' crazy! Let's rock!" – Normal Speak
"Oh shit!" – Normal Thought
"I will destroy you boy!"- Demon Speak
"My Jinchūriki is a fool!"- Demon Thought and Jinchūriki-Bijū or Naruto-Weapon Communication "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"- Jutsu or important place or thing name
Mission 3: A Sparda's Reveal
(Evening of Day 2, Tower)
Naruto sat on the bed in the room his team was provided with during their stay in the tower. It wasn't too big but the just large enough in size house three people comfortably. They each had cot to sleep on and there was a small table in the middle of the room. The rest of it was pretty bare however.
After they left the room with the inscription of the beliefs of the Sandaime Hokage, Iruka gave the team a tour of the facilities. He first took them to the mess hall where they could get something to satiate their hunger. While they were there, they also saw the team from Suna had just finished a meal. Passing them by to exit, Garra glared at Naruto and Sasuke while Naruto flirted with his sister Temari, who blushed from his complements. Iruka had honestly found it strange while Sakura seemed angry for some reason.
Afterwards, they were given a tour of the other facilities. On one level, there were private training areas and facilities that individuals or teams could use to practice. On that same floor, there had also been a shinobi supply shop that, if you had money with you, allowed you to restock supplies or buy equipment and parts as special orders from a dealer in the village. He would be using that one later.
Finally, Iruka showed them to their room. He explained that rooms were co-ed that they must sleep in the same room as their team. They also had a ten o'clock curfew that required them to be in their rooms or else they would be disqualified. Before he left, he explained that showers and the bathroom were down the hall. When Sakura blushed, he told her that they were separate gender, which made Sakura very happy.
When Iruka left them for the evening, Sakura and Sasuke went straight to bed, not even a word passing between the three of them. They had every right to though in his opinion though. It had been a tough two days. In that short span of time, they had fought a fucking Sennin and almost died twice. True, while they didn't fight a demon or a team of Chūnin level Genin from Iwa, they still had gone through a lot and deserved to be tired.
Naruto however could not sleep. He had a lot on his mind. He unlocked his two Kekkei Genkai (Blood Limit) just today and he was already using one of them to the fullest of his capabilities for the most part. The other one he had no clue what it did. He filed it away to speak with Kyūbi later about it since he knew.
Another thing on his mind was that mark Sasuke had on his neck. When Naruto asked about it, he was told that it was given to him by Orochimaru after Naruto had fallen below. Nothing more was said about it, which worried him greatly.
When he was approaching the field he had found the other Genin in, he and his two companions felt a surge of Yokai (Demonic Energy) in the air. When he arrived and saw Sasuke appearance, he concluded that it was being released by Sasuke. This prompted a new thought to appear in his mind: where had Orochimaru gotten it from. He was not a demon. Before he was sealed away, Kyūbi hadn't even felt any Yokai leaking out at all. The only other way he possibly could have gotten it was through contracting with a demon. All he knew was this needed looking into.
Naruto's thoughts however were interrupted by a knock at the door. Sighing, he stood and walked to the door. He opened it and was surprised. Standing in front of him was one of Hokage-Ojii-san's ANBU. He was dressed in standard ANBU attire and had messy brown hair. His mask resembled that of a cat's face, with green and red markings.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked in monotone. Naruto grinned at him.
"That's me," Naruto stated casually.
"Hokage-sama requests your immediate presence. He says it is urgent that you speak with him."
Naruto nodded in confirmation. Stepping outside, he closed the door quietly so he wouldn't wake his team and followed the ANBU down the hall. "So," he asked, "what's it like to be an ANBU?"
Silence.
"Yeah, I thought so. What are the missions like?
Silence.
"You know, to converse, at least two people must be willing to exchange words."
Silence.
It continued like this the rest of the journey to the Hokage's temporary office.
(With the Hokage)
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat back in his chair, smoking on a pipe in the chair he had been provided for his temporary office inside the tower. He had found out many things today, including that his former student Orochimaru was back and was inside the forest. When he first heard his wayward student had returned, he almost had a heart attack. He immediately began to wonder what he wanted and from the new information that had come to light, he guessed it was Uchida Sasuke.
Since he was young, Orochimaru had wanted two things. One was immortality. The other was knowledge on all of the world's jutsu. An Uchiha would be perfect for these goals. And since Itachi was most likely out of reach for him because he was off the grid, his only other option was Sasuke. They would have to keep an eye on Sasuke from now on with this information.
Another new thing that had come to light was news of Naruto's new appearance. The boy was like family to Hiruzen; he had been with Naruto since he was born that fateful night. He would do anything for the boy. He had a good heart and a strong will. He was the very embodiment of the will of fire that his sensei's had so full heartedly taught him.
However, today when Iruka reported in about team seven's arrival and gave a report, he told the former Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi) some interesting things about Naruto. His appearance had changed to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. Not only that, but his personality seemed to have changed as well. He was flirting with women now for Kami's sake. He, the boy who was oblivious to women, was now flirting. And that was just one of his many new personality quarks supposedly.
Was it the Kyūbi that was influencing his actions? Could the seal be breaking? These were all questions that he needed answered and that is why one of his former pupils, Jiraiya, was standing next to him.
His former student was a tall man with dark green kabuki pants and a kabuki shirt. Under it was a fishnet shirt as well. Over shirt, he wore a red sage coat with matching yellow circles in front. He had long spiky gray hair and a noticeable wart on his nose. On his back was a large scroll and on his forehead was a forehead protector with kanji for 'oil'.
"Sensei," the man asked, his voice serious, "do you have any clue what's wrong with Minato's kid?"
"Jiraiya," the older man began, his voice calm, "if I had any idea, you wouldn't be here right now."
"C'mon sensei, I really don't see a problem here. From what you told me, he's really just flirting with women. Is that really such a bad thing?"
The older gentlemen turned his head and looked at his student with disappointment. "If you had been there for him like I had encouraged you to be, you would know by now that this is unlike him." He had never told Jiraiya to stay away. He had wanted him to at least see the young man every so often, just so he could know what family was like. But Jiraiya never visited except once. Naruto was too young to remember, though he did give Naruto his Gama-chan wallet.
Now it was his students turn to look him in the eyes. "You know why I couldn't be here. I have a spy network to maintain, one that has stopped many threats to this village and save thousands from dying. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… no matter how much I would prefer they didn't."
Before Hiruzen could retort, a knock was heard at the door. He glared at his student silently saying they would finish this later before turning to the door. "Enter," he said with authority. In came a young spiky silver haired teen in tattered clothing. He had almost asked where Naruto was until he saw the marks on the boy's cheeks. His eyes widened for a moment before they returned to normal. He smiled at the young man.
"Hello Naruto-kun," he said in a jovial tone. He motioned toward all ANBU in the room. "Leave us," he commanded. He felt the hidden signature in the room leave. He smiled at the boy again. "Please, come in my boy. Take a seat."
"Actually," Naruto said coolly, "I'd prefer to stand Ojii-san."
"That's also fine Naruto." Was this really Naruto, the little ball of energy that shouted out he was going to be Hokage. He looked so calm and collected now. Could this maybe be for the better? If he wasn't being influenced by Kyūbi, then of course it was a good change.
"So, watch do you need, Ojii-san?" Before Hiruzen could respond, Naruto cut him off. "It's my appearance isn't it?" Hiruzen face gained a serious look.
"Yes Naruto-kun. Tell me, have you had any contact with Kyūbi? Does he have something to do with this?"
Naruto was on the fence here. On one hand, he could have, he could tell him. For one, the old man was basically his only family. He was with him for as long as he could remember and knew had taught Naruto a lot of the things he knew about the world. He was always patient with his antics and taught him right from wrong as well. Another thing is that he was Naruto commanding officer, the Hokage. Lie to him and you are fucked for life.
Then there was the part of him that did not wish to tell. While the old man had down a lot for him, he had also lied to him about some important things. Mainly, he lied about him having Kyūbi in his gut. For all of those years, he wondered why he grew up without friends or a family to take care of him, anything. Then to find out he knew the entire time and never told him hurt a lot. Did he not trust him? What else had he lied about?
Finally, he decided it was only right for him to know the truth. There would be consequences if he found out more that Naruto didn't tell him later. At this point, regardless of how he felt, he had to tell. How else was a commander supposed to lead without knowing the capabilities of his troops?
"Yes," he finally stated neutrally. "Before you say anything else Ojii-san, he only activated the Kekkei Genkai, nothing else."
Hiruzen and Jiraiya felt their eyes widen at what he had just said. Kekkei Genkai? Neither of his parent's had one unless you counted his mother's special chakra, but initial tests showed Naruto hadn't gotten that.
Finally regaining cognitive brain functions again after what felt like his second heart attack of the day, the old kage looked at Naruto with seriousness. "And what perhaps does this Kekkei Genkai do?"
Naruto scratched his neck. "Sorry, it wasn't one Kekkei Genkai, but two." Cue third heart attack. Hiruzen decided then and there that he was defiantly too old to be dealing with this. He could already feel the stress ulcers forming in his stomach. Rubbing his temple, he sighed again. This was going to be a long conversation.
"Woe, hold on there kid," Jiraiya began, "what do you mean you have two!"
Naruto looked towards Jiraiya. "Um, Ojii-san, who the fuck is this guy and why is he here?"
Jiraiya grinned at him. He started doing a Kabuki dance and pulled fans and began to wave them. "My name is known by millions in the world! Men call me sir out of respect! Women swoon from just my manliness alone!" He slammed his hands on the ground and there was a giant poof of smoke. He now sat atop a giant toad. "Mt. Myoboku-gama's holy Gama Sennin, I am the gallant Jiraiya!"
Naruto sweat dropped at the action while Jiraiya dismissed the toad. Well, that was one question he really wished he hadn't asked. He looked toward his Ojii-san. "This is your student, one of the legendary three?" Hiruzen just nodded. "And you trust him with what I'm about to tell."
"If it involves Kyūbi, Jiraiya is a seal master of the highest caliber. He even taught the Yondaime Hokage all he knew about Fūinjutsu (Sealing Arts). If anyone could fix a problem with the seal, it would be him." Naruto nodded in confirmation. Residing to his fate, Naruto began to explain.
"We really wouldn't need him anymore though because the seal is gone." Before either of them could say anything, Naruto cut them off. "Well, technically it's still present, but it's just for show now."
"Why do you say that Naruto-kun?" asked the Sandaime trying to keep calm at what the boy just said. The seal no longer has any functionality! This could be bad.
Jiraiya was fairing no better in that respect. "Kid, you realize what you're saying right?" he asked with no self restraint in his voice. "If that seal has stopped working, that bloody kitsune could get out at anytime!"
"No he can't Jiraiya-sama," Naruto stated with finality. "The Kekkei Genkai that made my appearance this way is holding him back." Noticing the looks the two gave him telling him to explain, he sighed. "The Kekkei Genkai didn't have a name until recently when I decided to name it. I call it Akuma Sōru (Devil Soul). It has only been held by few in history. Basically what it does is turn us into what are called Half-Devils, people who are half higher demon, half human." He ignored their looks of shock and continued. "One of the abilities granted to me is called Akuma no Ude (Devil Arm). This ability allows me to take a demon's soul and turn it into a weapon. Another ability called Akuma no Dōka (Devil Assimilation) takes the power of that demon and gives it to me. So in a sense, I'm a Jinchūriki without a demon."
The two older gentlemen looked at Naruto in shock. He just told them that he was now half demon. That in itself was a shocker. The kicker however was when he told them about what he did to Kyūbi. They didn't know wither to believe him or call him crazy.
Deciding to believe the former for now, the old Hokage chose to ask for proof. "Show us," he said with seriousness. It was the only way to confirm if this was true right now. And if the Kyūbi did try to escape during the attempt, they had back up options to fix this. Better deal with the problem now then later.
Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. Opening them, he spoke with an air of command. "Front and center, Kyūbi!" They felt a massive wave of chakra be released akin to that of the kitsune's. They saw a pair of bladed chakrams appear in Naruto's hands that were lit on fire. Said chakrams felt like they were releasing parts of Kyūbi's power in waves.
The two older men looked at each other and now knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was not joking around. Kyūbi's power was his now and by the looks of things; he intended to use it to its fullest extent.
Deciding it was enough, the Sandaime told Naruto to stop. The young man nodded and made the weapon disappear. He lifted his shirt and showed them his showed them his left pectoral muscle, which had a tattoo of a fox head on it. "This is Kyūbi's sealed form. Any weapon I get is automatically sealed on my person into a tattoo like form."
"Do you have any other weapons yet," Jiraiya asked curiously.
"Yes," replied Naruto. "The other one is called Gilgamesh. I got the other one fighting the demon of the forest of death. Her name was Echidna and she was a demon with the ability to control plants. She was the one who gave the Shodaime Hokage the ability to use Mokuton (Wood Release) and the reason he built the forest of death because of the pact he made to get it from her when he was still young."
Forgetting about what had just been said by him about one of his former teachers, he asked with no hesitation "Naruto, do you have Mokuton now as well?"
"Yes," Naruto answered with no hesitation. "I have not been taught how to control it yet however."
This was a shock to them. This boy had the abilities of the Shodaime Hokage now. He'd be able to suppress demonic power as well. This would help the village tremendously to finally have someone able to use the power again. But the boy said these were only two powers of the Kekkei Genkai, but now the wanted to know more.
"What other powers does this Kekkei Genkai have?" asked the old kage seriously.
"It has three other powers. Akuma no Chi (Devil Blood), which added with Kyūbi's ability to heal gives me an almost instantaneous healing factor for things like minor wounds and sprained limbs. Breaking them would probably take five to seven minutes to fix. Mortal wounds would maybe take ten minutes, but I might pass out while they fix.
"Sparda no Āmu (Sparda's Arm) allots me the ability to transform my right arm into that of a demon's. I can use it as a grappling hook or create an ethereal arm to grab people with, stuff like that. It is incredibly powerful.
"Finally, I have and ability called Debirutorigā (Devil Trigger). While in my normal form I have increased strength, speed, and reflexes, Debirutorigā multiplies those abilities by three times by turning me into my demon form. I have yet to try and figure out how long I can hold the form though because I haven't used it yet."
It took a moment for it to sink in with the two other men in the room, but they both immediately came to the conclusion that Naruto would become a power house in the future. These abilities would make him incredibly strong, stronger than them most likely. It would also be more lucrative for the village because with this ability, they could get him to do demon extermination missions.
While the Bijū were the most well known demons in this age, there were still others out there that were less known. Sometime villages would lose platoons just to fight demons. Kages usually had to have back up with them just to defeat one. Even other Jinchūriki had to go all out to fight them. But this kid could change the business in that respect and bring in more money for the village, especially if he trained others in this line of work too.
Then they remembered they that he had one other Kekkei Genkai that he had not talked about yet. They could only wonder what it was.
"Thanks for the info gaki," began Jiraiya, "but I believe you had one other Kekkei Genkai that you wanted to tell us about."
Naruto nodded. "Right, I haven't used this one yet to be honest. I haven't practiced with it either. Hold on one second." He contacted Kyūbi. "Hey, Kyū, how do you activate the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye)?"
Kyūbi growled at him. "You moron," he raged, "How do you activate any blasted Dōjutsu (Eye Technique)! Channel chakra to your eyes you baka!"
"Thanks asshole!" Naruto closed his icy blue eyes and channeled his chakra toward them. "Rinnegan," Naruto chanted. He opened his eyes. In place of his icy blue orbs was now a pair of pale purple eyes with three rings inside and a black pupil.
Cue heart attack. And instead of just the Sandaime having one this time, Jiraiya actually joined him. For Hiruzen, these were the first time he had seen the fabled eye of the legendary Rikudō Sennin (Sage of Six Paths). It looked so magnificent; he could hardly believe he was looking right at it. And the best of all, Naruto had it.
For Jiraiya, he felt like he was staring at a ghost from the past. One of his previous students, Nagato, had the exact same eyes. The only difference was that this kid could turn them on and off. He never knew what happened to Nagato, but he now knew that these two were without a doubt somehow related. Maybe this one was different though. "Could he be the child of the prophecy?" he pondered. Only time would tell.
Coming out of his trance, the old Hokage asked with slight hesitation, "Is that the Rinnegan?"
"Yup, it is Ojii-san," Naruto confirmed. "Though I really have no idea of its abilities though; Kyūbi keeps saying he'll tell me later when he gets the chance. Now that I've finally used it, probably after this conversation is over."
"And how would Kyūbi know?" asked the Sandaime curiously.
"He doesn't say how he knows. But since we began this partnership, he hasn't lied to me yet." The other two looked skeptical. "Look, he told me that since I had demon blood, because of my family, and because of my personality that I had his respect. I am placing my trust in him. And even if he was lying, he can't get out once he has become one of my weapons, so he has no reason to lie either."
His point was valid. If his hold was as strong as he claimed it to be, then Kyūbi really did have no reason to lie to him. It just didn't make sense. For now, all they could do was trust Naruto's judgment and watch how things play out.
"Very well Naruto-kun," said the Sandaime. "Jiraiya and I will trust your judgment on this matter. However, if Kyūbi does try something, inform us immediately." He saw the boy nod and deactivate his eye's ability. "Also, due to the nature of these abilities, this has become an S-Rank secret. The punishment for revealing anything said outside this room will be dealt with swiftly and accordingly." He looked towards his student. "This includes you as well Jiraiya." He turned back to Naruto. "Use your devil abilities freely Naruto, but be careful in how you use the Rinnegan. We don't want people to know about it just yet. However, if you have to, use it for emergency purposes."
Naruto nodded and grinned at him. "Will that be all then, Ojii-san?"
Hiruzen smiled at him. "Yes, that will be all. Have a good evening Naruto-kun." Naruto promptly walked out. As soon as the door closed, he sighed and leaned back into his chair. "I'm getting to old for this shit."
"Been a while since you cursed sensei," said Jiraiya, who sported a small grin despite all that they had learned.
The old Sarutobi lit his pipe. "Yes, well, I believe the situation called for it." They continued to discuss the event that had just occurred.
(With Naruto)
Naruto finally made it back to his room. Closing the door tiredly, he walked to the cot and began to meditate. He and Kyūbi needed to talk.
(Inside Naruto's Mind)
Naruto opened his mind to find himself sitting in the water of his mind. Kyūbi sat in front of him, his gigantic tails waving lazily behind him. Next to him was Echidna, who looked happy to see her master.
"Welcome, Naruto-sama," she stated with a smile. She was happy to see him. While she may be trapped here, he was being so nice even though he was not required. She liked this.
The kitsune next to her opened a single eye. "Hello, kit," he said, pleased he was here. "We have much to discuss."
"Yeah," Naruto sighed, "I figured as much." He looked at them. His size was smaller in comparison, greatly smaller in fact. "So, can you guys take human form her something like that. It's kind of a pain in the ass to talk to you like this." The two demons looked at each other. They were surrounded with light until it died down, revealing human forms.
In place of Kyūbi was a tall tan man, at least six foot two. He had a mane of long spiky red hair and glowing red eyes. On each cheek, like Naruto, he had three whisker marks. He was dressed in a crimson colored shirt and black pants. His face was plastered with a grin.
Next to him, in place of Echidna was a green skinned woman. Her hair was brown and tied into two long pig tails. She had a cute face that was devoid of any blemishes, like the rest of her skin. Her eyes were a dark brown. She had a dark green dress with a v-cutup top that accentuated her plump assets. She looked beautiful in his opinion.
"That you, Kyūbi, Echidna?" he asked. They nodded together. "Wow, you guys got perfect human forms! Especially you Echidna, you look hot, babe, though you did look cute in your demon form too though."
"Really," her tone in this form silky and smooth, "but I thought you said I was ugly?"
"I was lying to get a rise out of you," he replied as he walked up to her. "But, you really did look beautiful." She blushed in response.
"Enough," said Kyūbi, who in this form took on a gruff voice. "He came here to talk, not flirt. Now sit your asses down."
"Oi, fuzzy," began Naruto with a slight grin, "who do you think you're bossing around here?"
"An idiot that refuses to sit down," the red haired male replied. "Now, do you want to know how to control those damned eyes of yours or not?" He noticed them sit down. He nodded his head, pleased with the results. "Ok gaki, so you want to know about the Rinnegan eh?" Naruto nodded. "Well, we already got the history down, so let's move on to the actual abilities.
"First off, like I had originally told you, the Rinnegan gives its users the ability to control all five elements. Fire, water, earth, lighting, and wind techniques, they are now all at your disposal. You will however have to capture other demons to gain the ability to combine them. Also, you have the ability to use Yin, Yang, and Yin-Yang chakra. Inton (Yin Release) gives you the ability to manipulate your spiritual energy. You can use it for attacks or other various purposes. Yōton (Yang Release) gives you the ability to manipulate your physical energy for the same purposes. Onmyōton (Yin-Yang Release) makes use of both Yin and Yang chakra's. This ability is the source of all non-elemental related techniques and allows you to use the Sennin'sBanbutsu Sōzō (Creation of All Things), which lets the user basically make anything he can think of. However, this has nothing to do with the seven paths of the Rinnegan."
"Woe," Naruto interrupted, "Hold on their chief! If there are seven paths, then why the fuck is he only called the Sage of Six Paths? Why not the Sage of Seven Paths or some shit like that?"
Kyūbi growled at him. "How the hell am I supposed to know? The stupid humans gave him that name, not us! The only reason I even know its fucking abilities is because I have the most memories from Jūbi when the tailed beasts were whole. Now shut up and let me continue!" Naruto glared at him, but allowed him to move on.
"Now, as I was saying, the Rinnegan has seven paths, each with a different power, that it allots its user. The first path is the Shuradō (Asura Path), which grants the user the ability to summon or turn parts of his body into machines. Any part of his body could be turned into a deadly weapon in an instant.
"The second path, the Ningendō (Human Path), allows the user the ability to pull souls out of people's bodies. When the souls are out, it also allows them the ability to read their minds. Thus, if you're not worried about killing the guy, than you'll have no problem taking the soul out. This ability was also used by the Rikudō Sennin to remove Jūbi's soul from his body when the Sennin sealed it inside himself.
"The third path, the Gakidō (Preta Path), gives the user the ability to absorb all chakra based attacks. Any attack that is chakra related can be absorbed. Not only that, but if you touch somebody, you can also absorb all of their chakra as well. It's a useful ability to help quickly and swiftly defeat your opponents.
"The fourth path, the Jigokudō (Naraka Path), gives the user the ability to summon the King of Hell, a being used to pass judgment onto others. If the person you are holding is lying, their life force is sucked out and they are killed. If they are telling the truth however, than they survive but are left extremely exhausted. It is the perfect ability for interrogation.
"The fifth path, the Chikushōdō (Animal Path), allows the user the ability to summon any animal with a contract without the use of blood sacrifice. It also gives you the ability sign an unlimited amount of contracts if you wish to make one with that clan, though those you will have to sacrifice blood for that one. The final ability even allows you to summon imaginary creatures. I won't explain that one because it's self explanatory.
"The sixth path, and my personal favorite to be honest, is the Tendō (Deva Path). This path allows for the user to control gravity. You can use it to push or to pull enemies toward you. You can also use an attack to repel everything, so powerful that it turn things into a crater. You would even be able to use an attack called Chibaku Tensei (Heavenly Body Bursting from the Earth), which will suck up anything in its path though if enough energy is fired at it though, the attack will cancel out. It is my favorite because of all the destruction you can create with it!" Kyūbi giggled in a perverse manner, day dreaming about its destructive capabilities, while the other two just sweat dropped at his giggling.
Naruto slapped him on the back of the head, causing the former demon lord to pout playfully at the ruining of his dreams. "Move on. And stop giggling like that, you sound like an old pervert who sounds like he found the mother lode of all peep spots."
Grumbling to himself, Kyūbi continued. "Finally, we come to the last path! The great and powerful Gedō (Outer Path) give the person the ability to transcend life and death. It takes a massive amount of chakra, which you are in no short supply of by the way, but it allows the user to revive people, even those they have not killed but who have just dies recently while their souls still linger or are in the King of Hell statue. These are all of the powers of the Rinnegan!"
Naruto, for the lack of a better word, was stunned. He had all of these abilities at his disposal and with the proper training… the possibilities were endless! He decided to sum it up into words for his friends. "Well… shit," was the best he could say.
Echidna giggled at her master's face. She decided to add her own two cents. "Shit indeed, master." She smiled at him. "While you are here, we must also discuss your Mokuton training."
"Which reminds me," Kyūbi interjected, a scowl set on his features, "what possessed you to make it so the Mokuton could fucking suppress Yokai? I had my fucking ass handed to me by that damn Hashirama Senju when that even bigger asshole, Madara Uchida, possessed my mind and summoned me to the Valley of End!"
Echidna blushed in embarrassment. "Well..., he kind of tricked me into doing it."
Naruto and Kyūbi stared at her. "How did he trick you into doing that?" asked Naruto calmly.
"Well…, when I talked about giving him the power originally, he asked what was useful about making trees grow from the ground or his palms. Know that he was like seven when I gave him the ability. But the question he asked made me angry, so I stupidly told him I could give it the power to suppress demonic energy too if I had wanted. He bet I couldn't and I gave it to him. The only demonic power he wouldn't be able to suppress was my own of course." She laughed sheepishly.
Kyūbi gave her a pointed stare. "So let me get this straight: you, a conniving demon, were tricked by a seven year old into giving him the power to suppress yokai?" She nodded her head in shame. Kyūbi stared for another second before bursting into laughter. "Kami… my ribs… I can't breathe!"
Echidna looked down. She had always really been ashamed of it. That brat tricking her would always follow her. She however was broken from her thoughts when he felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. She turned her head and found Naruto there. She blushed hard. No one had ever really hugged her like this. She never had anyone to do that. But this feeling, this warmth, it felt so nice to her.
"It's okay, Echidna," he spoke softly to her, "we all make mistakes. It is only natural. Nobody, human or demon, is perfect. So just relax, ok." He grinned at her, which made her heart pound in her chest. She smiled at him in return.
"Thank you for your concern, Naruto-sama," she said happily. He let go of her, causing her to become a bit upset from the lack of warmth.
"You're welcome. Now, while fuzz butt," he pointed in Kyūbi's direction, "is still laughing over there, tell me about Mokuton, won't you please." She nodded.
"Mokuton is the ability to use wood Ninjutsu (Ninja Techniques). The user can create wood from anywhere, including their body. You can even transform parts of your body into wood. It also has the ability to suppress yokai from demon, though they must be severally weakened to do it. This is the basics of the ability. However, it will take time to learn this and the other abilities I have to teach you."
"Don't worry Echidna, I won't let you down." He grinned at again, intensifying her previous blushes.
"I know you won't, Naruto-sama." "What is happening to me, when I look at him, I blush like a stupid human school girl? Could I possibly like Naruto-sama? But it hasn't even been a day!" She pushed it to the side and watched as Naruto walked over to the still laughing Kyūbi and kicked him in the side, causing her to giggle. She could get used to this.
(Outside World, Next Day, 5:00 AM)
Naruto yawned as he stood up from his cot. He stretched his arms and legs before cracking his neck. He really hated mornings. No, correction, he despised mornings with a burning passion. However, he needed to be up early to get to one of those training grounds. Those were a first come, first serve basis, and he needed to get to one desperately.
He put on the tattered remains of his clothes before he walked to the door. He opened it and walked out, going toward the mess hall to grab some breakfast before he began to train. He had spent a lot of time with Kyūbi and Echidna in his mindscape, swapping stories and other tales with them, getting to know them better. He found out some rather interesting things.
Kyūbi, for example, loved to prank people like he did. They swapped pranks, one trying to outdo the other. One of Kyūbi's most favorite pranks from the ones he had done was when he had filled the men's bath two hundred years ago with purple dye; effectively turning all the men's lower half's purple. There were a couple guys who even had to walk around looking like plumbs for days on end. Naruto however had topped that when he painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight, which was still considered one of the best pranks of all time.
Echidna on the other hand, shared his love of gardening, though he already knew that. He asked her for some tips on how to make certain things grow or make plants look a different color or shade, to which she was all too happy to answer. He also told her about the plants he himself had grown, which left her slightly surprised by the end.
It had really been nice to talk to them like that. It was through that experience that he had come to realize that though their strengths and ability levels may be different, that humans and demons had similar interests to some extent and weren't so different after all.
After he quickly woofed down breakfast that had been provided, he walked to the level bellow. Turning the corner, he entered the Shinobi Supply shop that had been there. All around him were various weapons and tags, poisons and venoms, seals, all sorts of supplies a shinobi could need. He walked up to the counter and hit the bell that was there. Out of the backroom came a lanky older gentleman in Chūnin garb. He smiled at Naruto.
"Welcome," he greeted politely. "How may I help you today?" Naruto pulled a scroll out of his back pocket and handed it to the man.
"I need these supplies by tomorrow at the latest," Naruto stated as the man looked over the scroll.
The man looked back with a serious expression. "This is a tall order kid. All of these parts and supplies can be made by the village but I don't know if it will be done by tomorrow." Naruto grunted in acknowledgment. "Very well then, adding up the totals for what you're asking to be made, the amount of time, and the level of craftsmanship, as well as delivery will bring you up to three thousand yen."
Naruto grimaced. That would put a dent in his account. He probably wouldn't be eating out for a while, but he would still have plenty for other living expenses. Nodding, he handed the man a piece of paper with his account number on it. The man took it and handed Naruto a receipt. "Thank you for your business." Naruto walked away toward the training fields.
The scroll he had handed the man was for some parts that he needed made to build some weapons. He had drawn up the designs of the parts needed before he went to bed last night. He had been hoping that they would get here as soon as possible, but they might take longer than he had thought to make. Hopefully, the man at the shop had been wrong.
He walked along sets of doors that lead to various areas that could be used to train. Entering the first open door, he turned around and shut it, then flipped the switch that would show the room was occupied. He turned around and looked at the small lush training ground that had been provided. At the very end near the wall that enclosed the ground was a giant tree and near that was a small pond. The training ground was big enough for a team to be able to use and practice comfortably. Good, because he himself was a one man team. He made a hand seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!" Around two hundred clones appeared around the field. He had them line up. "Alright, here what's up," he said, speaking like a commander briefing his army. "We've got a lot of new abilities and a small window of opportunity to work on them because who knows what'll happen next during this bloody exam. Now, I'm going to be giving you all specific duties. Each group will have a squad leader who will watch over training of the exercises. Now, form ten groups of twenty each and line back up to receive your assignments."
After they formed groups, he gave them their assignments. "Group One, you will be working on fire chakra exercises. Grab leaves from that tree and place them between your palms. Use fire chakra to try and burn them between your palms. Group Two, you will be practicing to control water. Grab a bowl I stole from the kitchen and fill it with water. Then try and make the water rise out of the bowl with water chakra. Group Three, you will attempt to control lighting nature chakra." Naruto pulled out a sealing scroll and unsealed twenty metal rods. "Use these. Try to make electricity flow through the rod to the point where you can start to see sparks coming of it. Group Four, you will be working on the earth affinity. Your objective is to try and get small slabs of stone to raise from the ground with earth chakra. Group Five, you will be working on wind chakra. I want you to grab leaves from the tree and try cutting them with wind chakra. Group Six, you will be working on learning to control gravity. Each of you will take a pebble and try and lift it into the air without touching it. Group Seven, you will be attempting to control Inton, Yōton, and Onmyōton. Use the exercises Kyūbi thought for them. Also, you will be attempting to use Banbutsu Sōzō. Group Eight; you will be working on using Mokuton by trying to make a small seedling rise from the ground. Group Nine, you will be learning to use the abilities of the Shuradō path. Finally, Group Ten will be doing various chakra control exercises. Are there any questions?"
One clone raised his hand. "What will you be doing Oyabun (Boss)?"
Naruto grinned at them. "While you guy are practicing those things, I'll be working on physical ability and training with Echidna and Kyūbi in their weapons forms. Are there any other questions at all?" Seeing no one nod their head, he grinned. "Alright, let's get to work." The clones all sprinted toward their objectives as he began his own training. They all had a lot of work to do.
(14 Hours Later)
Naruto walked away from the training grounds that he had used the entire day, tired and bruised up. He and his clones had worked the entire day on training. Going this long wouldn't have really been possible for him before, but now he could do it with ease. He loved every second of being able to do it too. He had accomplished a lot today.
In each element, he had progressed to the point where he was sure he would be able to start using D and C Rank Ninjutsu by the end of tomorrow for each element. In the area of Gravity control, he had been able to lift the pebble of the ground and keep up for ten minutes straight. Tomorrow would try lifting a larger rock into the air and work his way up. He had gotten farther with his control of Mokuton and had been able to make a small tree rise from the ground. His control Inton, Yōton, and Onmyōton was making some small progress but he figured he had a long way to go. His clones completed chakra exercises for wall walking and water walking, which he had found out about through Kyūbi. And finally, his clones had been able to summon mechanical parts to attach to their body with the Shuradō path, but turning parts of your body into it would be tricky. All in all, he had made some great leaps and bounds today.
Deciding he would head to the mess hall later, he really wanted to take a shower. He walked toward the shower rooms, intent on removing the grim from his body.
He entered and swiftly took of his dirty clothes and placed them into one of the baskets provided. When he placed it back, he noticed Sasuke's clothes there as well. "He and Sakura have probably been wondering where I was all day," thought Naruto. He grinned. "Well, if emo-teme tries anything, I'll just punch him out." He walked toward the open showers. "I mean it's not like he could kick my …" All of Naruto's cognitive brain functions stopped at the sight before him.
He was looking directly at his teammate, Sasuke, who was humming while washing with 'his' eyes closed. However, that wasn't the abnormal thing here. He was staring right at Sasuke's developing chest area, which instead of a flat man chest, had two still developing, round and perky b-cup breasts. He looked down and confirmed something he wished he hadn't. Sasuke had no penis either, which he was silently thanking Kami for not letting him stare at another man's junk like he would in some stupid yoai fan fiction. He came to an interesting conclusion at this moment: Sasuke wasn't a man. But he was a woman.
Deciding if he was going to die that he should go out smiling, he grinned. "My, my, Sasuke," he said with a perverse tone, breaking her out of her trance and causing her to stare at him, " you've got quite a pair of breasts there. I really didn't know men had those! When will mine start to come in?" Again, if he was going to die, he would go out with a laugh.
Sasuke on the other hand was mortified. For all of these years, she had been able to keep a secret from everybody that she was a girl. She had been extremely careful not to let anyone notice. On pool days at the academy, where they would go to a local pool to swim, she had even faked being sick just so people wouldn't find out.
Things were a bit harder when she was put on a team however. She would always take separate baths and swims from Naruto and the others. She had to make sure not to get wet at all in front of them. She even had to use a voice masking technique she had learned from the Uchiha library just to help keep up with her male appearance and voice. Everything had gone so perfect, no one suspected a thing.
She had really wanted to take a shower today. She lied to Sakura saying she would meet her at the mess hall after she had finished her shower. She had even made sure there were no men in here before she went to take her shower. She hadn't even heard the Naruto come in. Her thoughts returned to the intruder, causing her to blush.
Standing in front of her, with a smirk plastered on his face, had been Naruto. But that wasn't what had caused her to blush. No, what had caused her to blush was what Naruto had been hiding under that shirt and jumpsuit of his. He had a developing six pack, which she begrudgingly admitted that he could work. His body was toned and finely sculpted. However, when her eyes trailed down south, her face went deep red. One thought came to her mind. "Big."
Her mind finally processed what was going on and what Naruto had said. She growled at him and began stalking toward him. "NA-RU-TO," she said in a slightly higher tone then from what he had known as Sasuke's voice.
Naruto closed his eyes and waited for a second. And then the pain came.
(Few Minutes Later, Team Seven's Room)
Naruto and Sasuke sat across from one another on their respective cots, neither saying a word, just staring at one another. After the incident in the shower, the duo opted to go back to the room where they could talk about what had just happened. Sasuke had left off her breast bindings, leaving her nipples visible through her tight navy blue shirt, which now barely fit.
Sasuke had been somewhat stunned after the incident. She never once thought she was going to have to explain this to somebody, yet alone Naruto. The boy had become her somewhat friend, somewhat rival. They hadn't needed to share words really to know what the other was thinking sometimes. That was just how friends were. Now how was she going to explain this?
Naruto had been having similar thoughts. He knew he was dumb before, but the signs stared at him directly in the face! Even when he was an idiot, who could he have not noticed. Come to think of it, how come nobody had ever even commented on all the strange stuff 'he' did. Avoiding swim days, baths with the other guys, she never participated and no one ever questioned it! Sighing to himself, he pondered how to deal with the situation.
Finally breaking the silence, Naruto grinned weakly at her. "So," he began as if he was stepping on eggshells, "how long have you been a girl?"
She sweat dropped. "Since I could remember," she replied sarcastically.
He growled at her. "You know, I'm just trying to take all of this in!"
She growled back. "Maybe if you didn't ask stupid questions then it would be a lot easier!"
Naruto was about to retort before realizing she was right. Deciding fighting was not the best answer right now, he backed off a bit. He changed the question. "Okay, so why did you lie about this being a girl?"
That was a question she could answer, but decided to answer by asking a question of her own. "Let me ask you a question, Naruto. What do you think would happen if an entire clan died out and had only a woman left to bring it back to life?"
"We'll, I really don't know to be honest. Until recently, I really had not interests in clans or things like that. My only guess however is that they may wish to use you as breeding stock, setting you up with incredibly strong men, until you were able to conceive a male heir. Am I correct in this assumption?"
She could only nod at his statement. She was somewhat surprised and also amazed by the new Naruto's deductive reasoning skills. Explaining this to the old Naruto would take hours. This one just seemed to catch on to whatever she said.
"That is correct, Naruto," she stated simply. "If I were to have let them known, as soon as I was of child bearing age, they would most likely have a strong shinobi impregnate me so that the child would have a good lineage. A male heir would then be produced and he would be put under the Clan Restoration Act. Who knows what would happen to me after a male heir had been conceived.
"The Sandaime wouldn't allow that to happen to me, however. He created false documents to make it look like my parents had a son instead of a daughter. Since all of the other Uchiha were killed in the massacre, no one would be able to reveal I wasn't a boy except for him. However, he is a missing-nin, so he would never be able to get close enough to tell anyone."
Naruto nodded in understanding before he asked her a different question she never thought he would ask. "So, what's your real name then?"
"Huh," she replied, not understanding.
Naruto sighed. "I asked what your real name is! What you were called before you put on the persona of 'Sasuke'?"
She thought for a moment on wither or not she could give it to him. Could she trust him? Could she place her faith in him? He was already learning a lot about her past yet she really did not know anything of his. Maybe there was a deal to be made here.
She gave him a pointed look. "How about this, I'll keep telling you about myself but in exchange you must answer any question I have about you, including about your Kekkei Genkai. Do we have a deal?"
Naruto shrugged at her question. "Of course I agree." He really had no reason to lie at this point. Not only that, but the Sandaime only said not to let people know he had the Rinnegan, he didn't say anything about not telling people about Akuma Sōru. "Now," he continued, "would you please tell me your name?"
"My name real name is Uchiha Saki."
Naruto grinned at her slightly before getting up from his cot and walking over to her, his right hand extended outward.
She was surprised. "What is this?" she asked with suspicion.
He grinned at her. "Well, when people meet someone new, they signify it with a handshake."
She frowned at his explanation. "But you and I already knew each other."
He waved his index finger in a motion signifying that what she said was wrong. "Correction Saki, I know 'Uchiha Sasuke'. However, I just meet Uchiha Saki." When she stared at him with a questioning look, he chuckled at her. "You're opening up Saki. Before, I knew the mask you wore that was called 'Sasuke', but now I look forward to getting to know the real you." He chuckled again. "I do hope you don't have a huge stick up your ass like 'Sasuke' does though."
She looked at him, a small blush adorning her cheeks. Never before had she heard him speak in a manner like this before. But, he still managed to hold that same aura that he held when he was the old Naruto. This was one of the things she was slowly coming to admire about her friend. He was the only one now that knew the real her. Maybe eventually 'Sasuke' could go away, but for now 'he' had to stay. But at least she had someone she could really talk about stuff to now. However, she did not like the 'stick up his ass comment', even if he was talking about her mask.
She scowled at him. "Yeah, well I prefer to have a 'stick up my ass' than be class idiot, dobe."
Now it was his turn to scowl at her. She just ruined their moment of bonding! "Teme (Bastard)," he growled out much like the old Naruto did.
She just smiled at him in return. A true genuine smile that surprisingly made him blush. "Arigatō, Naruto," she said softly. He looked away, but nodded in confirmation to her thanks, a blush still adorning his face. She giggled at the sight.
Hold on, she just actually did something she hadn't done in a long time. She actually giggled. She hadn't done that since the Uchida Massacre. She hadn't even made a small squeak when an actually good joke was told. But now she was giggling again. Did spending so little time with Naruto like this really crack part of her shell that much?
Naruto sat back on the other cot and looked at her again. "So," he asked with seriousness, "if you're all opened up now, tell me, do you still want to kill that man as you so 'affectionately' call him?"
Saki's eyes grew dark and a grim frown appeared on her lovely face. "Yes," she answered without hesitation. "However, unlike my 'Sasuke' persona, before I kill him, I want to know why he really did it. He gave me an answer that was unlike what he would normally say. I want to find out what his real reason was."
Naruto nodded at the answer. He had no problem with her wanting to exact revenge. True, an eye for an eye made the whole world blind, but who was he to say wither or not the world should lose an eye? But there was still on thing he wanted to know. "Who is 'him'?"
She scowled at him. "None of your business," she stated curtly.
"And now were back at square one," Naruto thought. One minute she was acting all nice and friendly, next she was brooding like her other persona. "Then again, part of her had to go into that persona. She probably just channeled her inner emo!" Yep, that was the definite answer. He decided not to press the issue. She had already told him a lot today.
"Are you done asking questions?" she asked.
"Yep," he sighed, "that's all for me."
"Good, because it's my turn to ask you questions." She smirked at him slightly while he grunted in acknowledgment. "First question: What happened in the Forest of Death that gave you a Kekkei Genkai?"
Naruto smirked. "Before I answer, let me ask why you're curious about it."
She frowned. "Because you fall to your doom and the next thing Sakura and I know, we have a strange silver haired kid claiming to be Naruto, but is a lot stronger than the Naruto we knew. Obviously it's a body-based Kekkei Genkai from what I've been able to gather, but I haven't seen it in action, so I don't know its abilities."
The smirk never left his face. "Exactly, a shinobi must always be prepared for any situation. Though the less the enemy knows about you, the better of a chance you will have. I may be fighting you in one of the next rounds. What reason should I tell you anything about it?"
While she had to admit his line of thinking was correct, she was irritated. "What about 'not breaking your promises', huh? Didn't you promise me you were going to tell me anything I asked?"
Naruto was about to reply when there was a knock at the door. "Sasuke-kun," came the voice of Sakura through the door, "are you in there?"
Sasuke looked at Naruto. "We aren't finished with this conversation yet," she whispered in a tone that had no room for refusal. Noticing his nod, she then started to panic. "But what can we do, I can't let Sakura see me like this."
"Then Henge (Transform) into something and I'll distract Sakura by getting her to leave," he whispered back. Nodding at his plan, she ran over to Naruto's bed and transformed into a small brown box.
Sakura peered her head in. "Sasuke-kun?" She looked around the room, but only saw Naruto sitting on the bed, one hand on a brown box. He waved at her.
"What's up Sakura," he asked politely, shifting his hand on the box, unknowingly groping Saki's breast and almost causing her to moan.
Sakura shuffled into the room and began to look around. "That's funny, I thought I heard another voice in here," she said in a confused manner before shrugging and looking at Naruto. She scowled at him. "And where have you been all day, Naruto?"
"I've been training, Pinky," he replied curtly, surprising her. Ever since the team had been reunited and he had activated his supposed Kekkei Genkai, he had been distant from her. He no longer affectionately called her 'Sakura-chan' and told her that she was beautiful every hour. He hadn't pestered her for a date at all. She didn't know wither to be happy he had stopped or to miss it.
Ever since the incident in the Forest of Death with Sasuke and the Oto Genin, she had been looking at him a bit differently. The incident had made her think about what could happen if he didn't get that seal under control. It also made her feel for her life somewhat and think that he could transform into that monster version of himself again. Naruto's emotional support would have helped her in these times.
Not only that, but she now actually felt weird about him flirting with other women. Yesterday, for example, he had been talking it up with that hussy, Temari. He had her laughing and blushing, making her almost feel something akin to jealousy. Even more annoying was the fact that Sasuke had been scowling at their conversation as well. This led her to conclude that Sasuke had to like Temari, hence Sakura believing she was a hussy. Maybe she could collaborate with the former blonde to get what they wanted.
She pushed those thoughts of to the side and focused on Naruto. "So, what kind of training you been do 'in?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "You know, normal training stuff," he replied cryptically.
She frowned. "You know, that's not very specific?"
"And why do you suddenly care about what I do?" he asked in annoyance.
"Why are you acting like this?" she asked, clearly upset by the distance he had suddenly put between them.
"I don't know? How am I supposed to respond to this Sakura?" he asked bitterly, shocking both Saki and Sakura because of it. "You never cared before! It was always Sasuke-kun this, Sasuke-kun that! You never once gave a damn about me before."
Sakura gave him a look of sadness. "Naruto, you know that's not true."
"And how the hell am I supposed to know that? All you ever did was beat the crap out of me!"
Losing her previous look, Sakura growled at him. "Yes, because you kept asking me out on dates when I've told you I don't like you like that! I like Sasuke-kun!"
Saki almost felt like groaning when she said that. She was always cold to them because they wouldn't leave her alone and move on. Maybe she would have been nicer if Sakura hadn't always gone goo-goo-eyed over her and actually focused on her training to be an effective kunoichi instead. Also, she could tell it was just a crush. All girls got them… except her of course, she had never had one… that she would ever admit to at least.
But she actually had never really noticed this. Naruto had asked Sakura on dates before? He was an idiot back then, Saki fully understood that, but did he really get rejected that much by Sakura? Even she was begrudgingly willing to admit that he was a nice guy. But she beat him up for doing it too? Saki actually felt a little pissed at the pink haired fan girl.
Speaking of Naruto, she felt him grab her breast a little more roughly, forcing her to bite back a moan. Did he even realize where he was grabbing? If he did, then she was definitely going to kick his ass later. Finally she heard him ask lowly, "What is it you like Sasuke so much?"
No, he wasn't going to tell Sakura the truth about 'him' being a girl, was he? "If that bastard tells her anything…" she thought heatedly, already planning ways to torment the former blonde if he told.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked back.
Naruto looked back at her, the frown never once leaving his face. "I mean why do you like him? What exactly do you and Ino see about Sasuke Uchiha that the rest of us, even Shikamaru, who is a genius, included, cannot see about him?"
Sakura looked like she took a moment to think it over before replying "Because Sasuke-kun is just amazing. Everyone girl I know likes him! He's smart, handsome, and is the last of his clan! Not only that, but he just has this mysterious…" she growled in anger when she saw Naruto struggling not to laugh. "What's so funny, Naruto-baka?"
Naruto stopped his sniggering and gave a slight smile in return. "Sakura, what you just described to me was not love, but a crush, and it sounds more like it's a shallow one at that."
"What do you mean," she asked, a bit frustrated by his questioning of her love.
"What I mean is that you're basically following everyone else's idea here. It's not love if you don't know a thing about him." He saw she was about to fire back, so he stopped her. "Sakura, what's Sasuke's favorite food?"
She pondered a bit. "Sasuke-kun hasn't mentioned anything of…"
"Udon," Naruto said quickly. "That is Sasuke's favorite food. He said something about it once in Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves) to Tsunami-san, who had offered to make it for him." He paused when he saw her eyes widen before continuing. "I'm not on the best of terms with Sasuke, yet I know more about the person you love than you do. How sad is that." He chuckled somewhat.
"Shut up, Naruto-baka and its only one thing I didn't know!" He stood up and walked to the door. "Where are you going?"
He turned to her. "I am going to go train. I need to think about things. One of them is why I even liked you in the first place." He left the room, leaving Sakura and the unknown Saki to their thoughts.
Sakura just stared off into space. Naruto was right; she didn't really know a thing about Sasuke. And even when she had tried to learn something, he was always so cold and distant. What was she doing wrong when it came to Sasuke?
And Naruto, she had just learned something from their talk. Naruto was a complex person in his own way. Before, he was an idiot, but was strong. Now this Naruto was stronger than the Naruto she knew. He, while seeing him usually not serious since his transformation, held a powerful aura. It was way more powerful than Sasuke's too. Not only that, but the Naruto she had always known have never even thought of what he had just said. Just what had happened to him? She found herself wanting to know.
She now had two mysteries on her hands and both of them were in her team. She got up and ran out the door, determined to find out, starting with Sasuke first.
As soon as she left, Saki undid the transformation and sighed. "Great, now I'm going to have to deal with her," she thought as she searched for the wrappings for her chest. While searching though, she blushed a bit. "I can't believe he actually remembered that."
(3 Days Later)
A shirtless Naruto sat inside the training room that he had stayed in for the past three days. Since his conversation with Saki and his fight with Sakura, he had been in the training area only leaving to shower and grab a bite to eat. He had just wanted to avoid any of it all together.
He had improved by leaps and bounds. He would definitely say he was faster than the average run of the mill Jōnin and his physical strength was probably far superior to that of his sensei's physical capabilities. However, he honestly thought Kakashi might win in a spar though considering he had more experience, which Naruto would eventually rectify.
With his clones, he had been able to use the basics of the five chakra natures and with some of the money he had on hand bought a scroll that contained some c-rank elemental Ninjutsu. He currently had one low rank offensive and one low rank defensive ninjutsu for each element, though they were not completely mastered but proficient to where he knew he could use them properly.
His abilities in the use of Mokuton, Inton, Yōton, and Onmyōton had only progressed somewhat. With Mokuton he could now, by forcing his palm onto the ground, summon massive trees. He however had yet to learn any jutsu for the ability or how to change parts of his body into wood. Inton was slowly coming along because of the exercises Kyūbi had given him. He knew that Inton basically the control of one's spiritual energy. Continuous use, as he found out from his clones, would cause a disruption because of the unbalance between the Yang portion of the chakra and the decreased Yin portion. Yōton chakra was also coming along as well. He had found the like Inton covered the spiritual half of chakra, Yōton chakra was the physical half. Using it would allow him greater speed and an increased healing rate should he ever need one farther than what he already had healing wise. However, like with Inton, using this continuously would result in unbalance chakra.
What he had really been able to have fun with though was Onmyōton. This chakra was used in all non nature related ninjutsu. However, he had really been having fun using this chakra type for the Rinnegan's Banbutsu Sōzō technique. If he mastered it, who knows what he would be able to do. Right now, he could only do small stuff like make various weapons and things like chains made of chakra, but he would get the hang of it eventually.
He had also been working on the Rinnegan's path abilities. Shuradō had been coming along fairly nice. He had finally been able to turn parts of his body into weapons and such but now had to find a way to hold it longer than five minutes, which probably just required more training. He had finally been able to try his Gakidō abilities. His clones would send some elemental attacks at them and they would try to absorb the attacks chakra, ruining it. The usage of said ability only had a forty-five percent success rate so far, so he shouldn't count on using that in a fight just yet. The only other path he could currently work with was the Tendō path and he shuddered when he thought about that one.
Yesterday, while his clones were practicing elemental Ninjutsu, one of his asinine clones from the earth manipulation group decided it would be funny to hurl a giant stone at the Tendō group. One of the members of said group used gravity chakra with all of his might. He added a little too much might because not only was the boulder blown away, but so were all of the other clones in that group. He had found out from Kyūbi that that ability was a nifty one the legendary Sennin had called Shinra Tensei (Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God). Using repulsive force, he could level an entire area the size of the Forest of Death to a heap of rubble. It would be a useful ability if he could practice it enough to reduce the time delay to use the next gravity attack, which he was currently at one a day Kyūbi had estimated.
When a clone asked why they didn't try and use the Chikushōdō path, he had simply replied that the area was too closed in for him to even attempt it. He hadn't even practiced it yet and he did not want to take the chance of destroying the tower like had nearly been done with that Shinra Tensei. Regardless, he had done extremely well these past few days and in the end was happy with the result.
Standing up, he walked toward his clothing and supplies, which he had laid out on the ground. He picked up a black muscle shirt off of the ground and stared at it for a minute. "Let's see," he thought passively, "muscle shirt or impress the ladies with my rock 'in body, tough choice." Opting to keep the shirt off, he sealed it away inside one of the storage scrolls and went to his supplies. He picked up a black belt with the symbol of Konoha as the belt buckle and slid it around his black ANBU styled pants. Next he attached a black pouch with his shinobi supplies in it and also placed a holster to his belt. He looked at what he was about to put in it.
It was a two barreled revolver, similar to his ancestor Nero's Blue Rose. The gun had a black barrels and a black body. The grip was a bloody red color. He had it modified so that instead of taking bullets, it would take chakra and upon firing it from the barrel, it would take the chakra channeled and shape them into chakra bullets. He also had them make it so that it could take basic chakra natures as well, so he could turn the bullets into elemental ones. It had cost a lot in his opinion, but it was worth every cent, especially since they had gotten it done so fast. He had named the gun Purotekutā (Protector).
He placed the gun in its holder and moved on. He placed various items in the sealing scrolls he had and sealed them into a bigger sealing scroll before he went to his final items. He took a set of black fingerless gloves and placed them on his hands. He then looked toward the purple trench coat that hung from one of the braches, the symbol of Konoha patched on both arms and slipped it on and activated the gravity seals he had etched into the fabric. He moved around to get used to the feel of it before heading to leave the training area.
He honestly wondered what they were doing right now. Saki was probably pissed he left before he could finish their conversation. Sakura was still probably upset about what happened, but he honestly didn't care at this point. He also wondered if Kakashi ever showed up to inspect the team.
All these thoughts were in his head were interrupted as he entered the hallway and heard the intercom sound. "Would all Genin please report to the main room for a speech from the Sandaime-sama," it announced. "Competitors who do not attend immediately will be disqualified from the exams."
Naruto grinned at what he heard. "So, Ojii-san is finally gonna let us out of this place? Finally, it felt like we had been here forever." He walked toward the direction of the main hall, knowing now that he would find everyone there.
(In Main Hall, With Everyone Else)
Eight Teams stood in single file line as they waited for the Sandaime to begin his announcement. Twenty Three competitors gathered with the same goal, to win their right to be called Chūnin.
In front of them stood the Jōnin from various villages, many from Konoha and one from Suna, Sound, and Iwa. The old Hokage stood before them in the center. Though looking out, he noticed Naruto was not there yet. Deciding to ask just in case his sight was failing him, he turned to Anko, who had a clip board in front of her. "Anko my dear," he asked, "is Uzumaki Naruto here yet?"
She shook her head. "Afraid not, Hokage-sama," she replied. She smiled. "To bad, his blood tasted good too." She turned toward Team Seven's direction, shooting 'Sasuke' and Sakura a look. "If he isn't here in the next minute, your team is disqualified."
The rookie Genin all looked shocked, each having their own various thoughts.
"Where are you Naruto-baka, Sasuke-kun is about to get disqualified," Ino thought angrily.
"Troublesome blon- wait, silver haired idiot," thought Shikamaru with indifference.
"!,"Choji thought as he ate a bag of chips. Way for thinking Choji.
"Heh, blonde haired idiot couldn't handle the pressure," thought Kiba with a grin.
"This is unlike Naruto-san, though he is a very illogical person," Shino pondered.
"Where is… Naruto…-kun," Hinata thought with great worry.
"I didn't think he was this upset, I have to fix this," Sakura thought, clearly upset now with what she had done.
"Where are you Naruto," thought Saki, unhappy that he was not here.
(With Kakashi)
With the Jōnin, Kakashi actually looked up from his book searching with his one eye for his former blonde student. After taking the time to use Fūja Hōin (Evil Sealing Method) to seal up the Ten no Juin (Cursed Seal of Heaven) located on Sasuke's neck, the Sandaime explained some of what had happened to Kakashi when he and the other Sensei arrived this morning. Naruto had supposedly unlocked a Kekkei Genkai that had allowed him to tame the Kyūbi as well as giving him a few more powers as well. Not only that, but said activation had changed his appearance and personality somewhat. He was actually interested in seeing it.
"I can't see it if he doesn't show up however," he thought.
His thoughts were interrupted by the chain smoking Jōnin next to him, Sarutobi Asuma. "Well Kakashi," he began with slight amusement, "looks like your team will be disqualified before they even have a chance to fight it out, all because of that gaki of yours too. Looks like you may have taught him some of your habits, ne?"
"He better not have," stated the red-eyed beauty next to Asuma, Yūhi Kurenai. "If I find him walking around with a little orange book, I will pummel him. And then Kakashi, I will put you into a Genjutsu so strong that you will never get out."
"Kurenai-san," Kakashi replied casually, "if he walks around with it, then it will be because he realized how great it is of his volition." He turned another page in his book, missing a scowl from Kurenai direct toward him. Why was it women just didn't understand Icha-Icha's greatness?
Finally after about a minute, Anko was about to disqualify Team Seven when the back doors to the room slammed open.
(At the door)
"You know Ojii-san," Naruto began as he walked into the room, ignoring the shocked looks he was getting about his appearance, "you really know how to throw a great party." He strolled up to where everyone was standing, the grin never leaving his face. "I mean, you got the stage and lights, there's going to be entertainment, and you've got such a crowd of beautiful women. I might just have to give you an award for this!"
Sarutobi smiled at Naruto with at tick mark on his head. He was both slightly peeved at Naruto and happy at the same time. Slightly peeved because he didn't need such a flash, loudmouth entrance and happy because Naruto had actually shown up. "I'm glad you approve Naruto," he said, slightly amused by his actions. "However, you must line up with the other Genin now."
Naruto nodded and walked to his team, who were showing a mixture of emotions between anger, relief, and more anger. They really looked angry. He just stepped into line and stood next to Hinata, who was currently thinking a mile a minute.
"This… is Naruto-kun," she thought slightly as she looked at him. "He …looks and is acting so different." She noticed he had flashed her flirtatious grin. She blushed like a tomato. "He is very different indeed."
As the old kage began to talk, Naruto tuned him out, humming a jaunty tune to himself. He heard two sets of yawns in his head.
"Good morning Naruto-sama," chirped Echidna happily. During their training together with his Mokuton and learning about the uses of Gilgamesh, she had been slightly closer to her master. She didn't know why, but she had just felt so attracted toward him. The more she learned about him, the more she felt that strange feeling she had in her chest rise. It was almost as if she felt somewhat attracted to him and not his power like normal demons usually are. She intended to try and figure out this feeling soon though.
"Ugh, my head," growled the giant kitsune in his head, "I feel like I just got run over by Shukaku after she had too much of her sake that one time the great demon lords had gotten together." The Ichibi was a female huh. He stored that one to talk to Kyūbi later. He wanted to know all about his friend Gaara of Suna, including his tenant.
"Do both of you realize what time it is," he asked and feeling their head shake no, he sighed. "It's eleven o'clock in the morning! And as for you Kyūbi, in case you've forgotten, you had me make sake for you in the mindscape while I was training. You got drunk of your ass and got into a little scuffle with Echidna because you groped her after which she proceeded to knock the living shit out of you."
"You did what!" the great demon roared at her in his mindscape.
"You groped me you Baka," she supplied in return, slightly annoyed. "You're not going to get away with copping a feel!"
"You've got some nerve woman! Besides I was drunk!"
"Is that supposed to give you an excuse?"
Naruto decided to stop them before they broke out into fighting. "Both of you shut it. Don't make me come in there damn it! I will open up a can of 'whip ass' on you!" The abruptly shut up. One of them mumbled something about 'disrespectful gaki' while another… moaned something akin to 'Naruto-sama is so strong.'
"…"
"…"
"Was that just…"
Kyūbi cut him off. "Just. Don't. Ask." Naruto was about to ask him something else when his hearing turned in enough to hear the phrase 'preliminary battles.' Naruto's grin grew three sizes that minute.
He could use the prelims to gain battle experience. He started listening in as their proctor for this test, one sickly looking man named Gekkō Hayate, as he explained the rules of the prelims. Killing your opponent was allowed, though frowned upon, unless your opponent conceded, in which case you were not allowed to kill them. Otherwise, unless the proctor called the match for some reason, there were no rules of engagement. Fight anyway you want, he liked that.
He offered everyone the chance to back out now. He noticed the guy with the info cards that helped them before the first exam, Kabuto, had decided to quit. Naruto stayed quite on the issue, but for some reason felt he could not trust the man. There were remnants of Yokai on him and where there was Yokai, there was a demon lurking nearby. He began to listen again.
"Finally," Hayate said, "we now have an odd number of challengers, so that means one person would not have an opponent. We are offering to let someone fight twice. However, if that person loses either of his matches, they will not continue to the finals." He pause to let the info sink in for them. "Do we have any volunteers?"
Naruto's hand shot up. "I'll do it." He was itching for some good fights. Maybe he would be able to find one.
Hayate looked for any objections before confirming Naruto's request. "Very well, you will fight two rounds." He looked to his kage and received a nod before turning to Anko. "Please begin match selection."
The match selection board lit up, flipping through given names before landing on two. The board read "Akimichi Chōji vs. ShiinaRenji!" Chōji grimaced about fighting first but put away his chips for later. Renji of Iwa however looked towards Naruto, his eyes saying 'you're next after this loser.' Naruto just scoffed.
"Would everyone but the competitors clear the stage," said Hayate in a monotone leaving no room for argument. The sensei's left to be with their students while Naruto walked to the two non-fighting members of the Iwa team.
"You know," Naruto began in a bemused tone, "I thought I left you guys without any scrolls! How the fuck are you here?"
Ayane smirked at him before walking closer to him, swaying her hips a bit, causing her remaining teammate to growl, knowing she was going to flirt with the Konoha Genin. "Well," she said huskily running her fingers against the silver haired boy's chest, "we wouldn't be shinobi if I gave away something as precious as that so easily." She grinded his leg, trying to get him riled up. "I had a separate scroll with another pair of scrolls within them."
"Smart," Naruto replied with a grin. "I like that." He felt the eyes of his peers watching the engagement, but continued on regardless.
"Of course you do, kitsune-kun," she purred before being yanked away by her teammate.
The Hayate from Iwa gave Naruto a glance. "We will get revenge on you for that humiliation in the forest. We'll start with your fellow Konoha Genin and then, we'll get you." He turned and walked up the stairs toward a bulky looking Jōnin he assumed was their sensei. Ayane was following him, but she turned back to give Naruto a sexy wink before following. Yup, he and Ayane would get along great, when not on the field of combat of course considering their village's relationship with one another.
Sighing to himself, he walked toward the area where the Konoha genin and their sensei had gathered. He ignored their looks and walked toward his teammates only to be stopped by Kakashi. "What's up, Cyclops-sensei?" he asked innocently.
"Kid," Naruto turned noticing Team Ten's sensei had decided to speak, "you do realize you were just talking to, I'm sorry, flirting with an Iwa kunochi, don't you?" Naruto stared blankly at him. "You know, Iwa, the whole 'we hate Konoha' bit didn't throw you off there?" He didn't notice the expectant looks from everyone who wanted to hear. Hinata was slightly upset because Naruto hadn't been flirting with her like that. No one had even noticed 'Sasuke' was silently fuming either.
Naruto looked at Asuma. "Well what can I say," he shrugged his shoulders casually, "I love a woman who can fight damn well like her. The fact that she can stab me in the back at any moment just makes her even sexier in my opinion."
The four adults and some of his fellow genin stared at him, their mouths ajar. Well, Kakashi's mouth was as well, but you couldn't notice it behind the mask. Hinata was upset by the revelation, wondering what had happened to her Naruto-kun. 'Sasuke' was silently fuming at the revelation. Sakura also looked somewhat upset by the revelation as well, which surprised her in itself.
Kakashi finally mustered up the courage to ask, "And what were you two talking about, ne?"
"Sorry sensei, but what a man does with a lady should not be told," he replied happily. He saw their eyes bulge out of their heads at the implication and noticing the others were about to but in, he stopped them. "Look, we can argue about my flirtations with Iwa genin later," Naruto stated calmly as he turned to watch the upcoming match. "Right now though, Chōji needs our support."
Everyone followed his lead, gearing up to watch the match between Asuma's student and one Iwa genin.
(On the Battlefield)
"Are both contenders ready?" He received two nods. "You may begin!"
Renji flashed through hand signs. "Doton: Rokkutoreiru (Earth Release: Rock Trail)" He sent a trail of sharp rocks toward the chubby Genin, who dodged to the right. While he was still landing to the ground, Renji rushed him. "Kuma no Toraianfu (Bear's Triumph)!" He rammed Chōji in the stomach, causing the genin to grunt in pain as he was forced into the wall.
Renji stood tall. "Really now, is that all you have fatty?"
(Stands)
"He really shouldn't have done that," Shikamaru stated a bit anxiously.
"Why's that?" asked Naruto, who was somewhat curious about what Shikamaru meant.
Asuma answered instead. "Chōji gets a bit upset when people call him fat."
"So," was the reply he received from Naruto, who still wasn't getting it.
"Just watch and you'll see," Shikamaru stated slightly on edge.
(On the Battlefield)
Chōji rose out of the dust left by the impact. His face was red with anger. "What did you just say?" he growled.
"What's the matter; the fatty doesn't like being told the truth," stated Renji, smirking up a storm trying to get a rise out of his opponent. It worked really well.
Chōji saw red. "Fuck you," he shouted rather uncharacteristically, "because Chubby's Rule!"He flashed through hand seals. "Baika no Jutsu (Multi-Size Technique)!" His stomach region inflated to the size of a boulder and he began to spin. The now boulder rushed Renji, who was actually surprised by the transformation, not realizing he was an Akimichi and silently cursing to himself. He knew he wasn't going to be able to get away, so he let the fleshy bolder hit him.
Chōji didn't stop until he reached the other side. He dispelled the jutsu. He noticed the proctor was about to call the match when the body he believed to have sent into the stony floor stood up. He smirked at Chōji, who still looked slightly angry. "So, my opponent's an Akimichi, huh? Well looks like you and I are the perfect match. Let's see which will win, my perfect body or your expansive body!"
He rushed at the young Akimichi, who pulled out a kunai upon noticing his opponent's gloves now had knife like nails jetting from them. He reared his right arm back, ready to strike. "Kuma no Tsume (Bear Claw)!" His attack hit the kunai with a force so strong it almost forced the Akimichi to let go. He sent a quick kick that bounced off the younger boy's stomach as Chōji punched him in the face.
They both slide back, Chōji looking a somewhat tired while Renji slide back unharmed. He smirked at the plump boy. "Well, I'm done with this! Looks like I'll end it now!" He moved forward, his hands and feet on the floor, rushing forward in a bear like sprint. A bear like image appeared in over him. "Eat this, one of my strongest techniques! Hokutoshichisei wa Reisuda (Great Bear's Wraith)!"
Chōji prepared to move, but found a pair of arms wrapped around him. He looked behind him and saw an exact replica of Renji. He immediately noticed what it was. "When did he cast Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu (Rock Clone Technique)!" He was about to break when he noticed his opponent was right in front of him.
In a flash, Renji appeared behind him and stood up. The Iwa Bunshin behind Chōji disappeared and left him standing for what felt like ages before cuts appeared all over his clothes, blood flying from them. He fell to the ground with a face that held an expression full of pain. Renji smirked as the medics were called and he was declared the winner.
He then looked at Naruto and saw the frown upon his face. He stared at Naruto, smiled cynically and pointed toward him. "Did you see that Sparda?" he asked loudly enough for everyone to hear. "What happened to your friend there is going to happen to you next!" He turned and walked back toward his team, not a care in the world.
(With Naruto)
Chōji's team prepared to go back to see him, but were stopped by Asuma. "You can't, he you haven't had your matches yet." He then looked toward Naruto, who was standing there gripping the railing, his eyes looking at the place his friend had fallen. The others followed Asuma's gaze. "What did you do to them, Naruto?" Chōji's teammates and Naruto's own friends looked at him expectantly.
"I did what I had too to make sure my team passed," he replied enigmatically.
"That answer isn't good enough Naruto," said Shikamaru, slightly angry at him for being like this. The old Naruto would boast about anything he did. If he had done something to the Iwa genin team before, they would know already. But this new Naruto, he didn't give up anything. He was smart, probably not as smart as him, but smart none the less. He didn't know yet, regardless of the current situation, what to think of the change yet. But he knew right now that he was pissed for having his best friend put in danger for what another of his friends had done.
Naruto turned and looked them all in the eyes, showing them that he had lost all of his previous bravado. His eyes had turned serious and cold. "You want to know?" he asked stoically. "I beat them and took their scrolls. I had thought I had left them with nothing, but apparently I was wrong."
"So you mean to tell me…" began Ino only to be cut off by Naruto.
"Yes, the scroll I gave you that helped you complete the exam was one of the scroll's they had collected." They were shocked by the revelation. He had beaten that team and got their scrolls. One of their members just single handedly decimated Chōji and he supposedly defeated their entire team.
'Sasuke' was unhappy with the news. He defeated that entire team by himself? 'He' wasn't sure 'he' could even do that. "Just how strong have you gotten, Naruto?"
Before anyone could say anything further, the next match was spun on the board. "Aburame Shino vs. Sabaku Kankurō!" Shino nodded and walked toward the steps, intending to defeat his opponent. On the other side, Kankurō smirked, following Shino's lead down the stairs.
Finally, when they were at the center, they stood on either side of Hayate. "cough, Are both genin ready?" He received two nods. "Very well, Begin!"
Shino went into strike Kankurō, who was jumping back to avoid attack.. After watching only Gaara do anything in the second exam, they had no clue what he could do. However, he assumed it was logical to try and force him to use his abilities.
Shino then noticed something different about the person in front of him from previous encounters. His bugs felt small amounts of chakra being threaded into the Kankurō in front of him. That's when he began to realize something about the shinobi in front of him. He was from Suna, so the logical guess is that he was a user of the Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique). The question was where the real Kankurō was.
He spread out his arms. "You're not the real Kankurō," he stated simply, shocking most people in the room.
(With Naruto)
"So he noticed, huh," Naruto said smirking lightly.
"What do you mean Naruto," asked Sakura in curiosity.
"What I mean pinky," he stated in an amused tone, a change from his previous one, "is that he finally noticed that the guy he is fighting right now is a doll." He noted the skeptic looks from the genin around him. "Look, don't believe me, just have Hina-chan over there looks with her Bayaku-thingy."
"Um… Naruto-kun…. it's… called… um… Byakugan (White Eye)," the lavender eyed girl stammered. She however nodded none the less, determined to show the object of her affections her strength. "Byakugan!" She looked toward her friend's opponent and saw small chakra like strings lodged into its back. However, what was even more surprising was that there was a person in the gourd on the puppets back. "Um… Naruto-kun is… correct. There are several strings made of chakra… elongated from Shino-kun's opponent's back."
"So," Sakura continued from where Hinata left off, catching their attention, "it's the Kugutsu no Jutsu, an art used primarily in Suna. Using Chakura no Ito (Chakra Threads), the user is capable of controlling puppets from far distances depending on the users control. A user would be able to do something like this."
"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner here people," shouted Naruto, throwing his hands up into the air before point at Sakura. "And pinky wins the prize! I'd like to thank all of our contestants for playing!"
Sakura looked at him, her eye twitching dangerously. "Why do you keep calling me pinky?"
"Maybe it has something to do with your pink hair," he supplied in a friendly manner. She blushed in embarrassment as a few of her fellow genin laughed at her misfortune. She even saw 'Sasuke' smirk a little. Deciding to ignore the embarrassment, she posed Naruto a different question. "How did you know it wasn't the real Kankurō?"
He shrugged at her. "Would you believe lucky guess?" Everyone face faulted.
Kiba got up from his face fault and looked toward the battlefield. "We should tell Shino!" He was about to shout out to Shino only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw his sensei behind him.
"Kiba," the red-eyed beauty began, "we can't help him. It's against the rules. All we can do is watch."
Reluctantly, Kiba agreed while everyone else turned back to watch the match.
Naruto mused over the situation. "What will you do now, Shino?" he pondered silently.
(On the Battlefield)
Instead of denying it, Kankurō chose to confirm his suspicions. "You're right," his voice projecting through the puppet, "this isn't me at all, it's one of my puppets, Karasu (Crow)!" Another pair of arms, long and wooden, burst through his sides. 'His' face started to peel away, revealing one wooden eye. "But the question is this: where am I?"
The puppet fired smoke pellets from one of its hands, covering the floor with smoke and obscuring Shino's sight. Shino, for the lack of a better term, was blind. He couldn't see anything in this smoke. His sixth sense kicked in, allowing him to avoid a stab from one of Karasu's arms and push it away. He dogged another strike and swung around; placing his hands on the gourd attached to the puppets back and pushed off., jumping out of the smoke.
He landed on the ground, his hands at his sides. Suddenly, while the smoke was clearing, they heard a shout of 'what' coming from the smoke. As it cleared, they found that the gourd on Karasu's back had disappeared and Kankurō had appeared at his puppets side. What was strange was that bugs were crawling all over his fingers.
Shino pulled on his glasses. "It seems my suspicions were correct," he stated in monotone.
Kankurō growled at Shino, knowing this was his doing. "What is this?"
"These are my kikaichū bugs. They are primarily used by my clan for tracking and other various purposes. However, they are extremely useful for the purpose of eating opponent's chakra. Why, you ask? Because their primary source of nourishment is chakra itself. Thus, allowing me to act as a hive to them in turn for use of their services." He pointed toward Karasu. "Right now, they are eating at the chakra sting that you are using to keep connected to Karasu. Your movements with him will become sluggish until you eventually must disconnect from him to conserve what chakra you have left."
Kankurō growled, knowing he was right. He now remembered the lessons that were given in the academy on their allies in Konoha. Shino's clan was renowned for their use of bugs during and outside of combat during the 2nd and 3rd Shinobi World Wars. They were the nightmare of anyone any team combat team encountered because they would end up expending more chakra while fighting.
Kankurō knew the situation was dire, so he prepared to pull out a soldier pill, only to notice Shino was now in front of him, kikaichū bugs crawling all over him. Some were flying onto his body and began to eat his chakra as well. He began to fell light headed and dropped the pill to the floor.
Shino looked towards him. "Why did you lose, you wonder? You were arrogant and brash. You should have kept quiet and tried to conceal the fact that Karasu was a puppet. You could have done so much better. Though, it is still illogical to say you would win unless you had some way to counteract kikaichū bugs because then we would fight until you had finally worn out." Shino's opponent's feet sank, likely from chakra exhaustion. "You lose, Kankurō-san." He began to walk back up the stairs as he was declared the winner. Kankurō was taken by the medic-nin to the hospital wing.
(With Suna Team)
Temari could only shake her head at the lack of strategy that her brother had shown. "Not only that," she began to think, "but we just lost another factor that would help us in the setup for the invasion." She looked toward her youngest brother and saw the fact that he looked bored with the current matches. "Hopefully he doesn't freak out on us."
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, who was disguised as a sensei from Oto, was silently cursing the boy who had just lost. Because of him, they may have just lost good positioning and time needed to make it a success. The boy would pay for this.
He then looked to the enigma that was the new Uzumaki Naruto, who was looking at him almost with a knowing smile. He saw the boys eyes flash red for a second and then turn back to their normal icy blue.
He was slightly surprised when he had found the boy had survived and actually unlocked a Kekkei Genkai in the process do to his actions. Now this could be interesting and actually useful for him. "I can't wait to see what you've got to show me now, Naruto-kun."
(With Naruto)
"What are you up to, Orochimaru?" Naruto thought. He knew that the sensei for Oto was Orochimaru. From what his teammates had informed him of, Orochimaru had the ability to take the faces of others for his own. Coupled with the fact that they share the same chakra signature too and you get instant identification that this was Orochimaru. He had to inform Ojii-san and make sure that he knew.
He saw Orochimaru smile at him as well. "Just what are you up to Hebi-teme?"
"Knowing who you're talking about, anything is possible," said the giant kitsune in his mind. "He could be planning to steal something, he could be planning to kill somebody or destroy something, you just don't know till he does it because he's done it all from what I understand."
Before Naruto could reply, he felt a pulse of Yokai from Orochimaru, cutting off his thoughts. The Yokai defiantly did belong to Orochimaru. It now explained that curse seal on Sasuke. He had filled the seal with his corrosive Yokai, which he could use to influence a person. But the question was how he got Yokai. Did he transform into a demon? Also, how was he able to make the curse seal?
"The curse seal one I can answer Naruto-sama," stated Echidna. He beckoned for her to continue. "You see, Naruto-sama, when demons started Kekkei Genkai contacts, one was given to an upstart clan whose name has been forgotten through the ages. However the ability they had been given to them allowed them to transform their bodies almost like a demonic form and shape. It was truly impressive. But from what I heard, they were wiped out by humans that were angry at them for trying to take demonic forms, even for clan purposes. Apparently, someone from their clan must have survived the onslaught, so Orochimaru could have isolated the activation enzymes in their DNA that was used to cause the transformation."
Naruto nodded at the answer. If what she said was correct, it was the only logical conclusion. But what did Orochimaru do to his body then? He still needed to figure that out. He sighed and looked at the board for the next match up. It read, "Yamanaka Ino vs. Hyūga Hinata!"
He looked toward Ino, who held a confident look on her face as she made her way down. He then heard Kurenai word of encouragement to Hinata as she made her way down. When they were both standing in the middle of the field, he smirked. "Oh mama, chick fight," he thought eagerly, pushing the thought of Orochimaru's plans to the back of his mind at the present moment. He prepared to watch to his heart's content.
(On the Battlefield)
"Are both competitors ready?" He received a confident nod and a shaky one. "Very well, begin."
Ino got into a basic academy Taijutsu stance and smiled at Hinata. "Get ready Hinata, because I'm going to give it my all," she said.
Hinata just stood there before nodding and slipping into the stance of her families famous Taijutsu, Jūken (Gentle Fist). She activated her infamous Dōjutsu (Eye Techniques). Veins appeared all around her eyes. She looked at Ino's and found it to be at low Chūnin capacity. She also knew that Ino was a Yamanaka, so she had to be careful to make sure that she wasn't able to hit her with a mind destabilization or a takeover jutsu.
Hinata was bold enough to move first and attack at her fellow kunochi's tenketsu (Chakra Points). Hinata was fast, but Ino was slightly faster than her. Ino kicked Hinata in the side to avoid being hit in a tenketsu, but Hinata had managed to graze one in her leg region before she was kicked out of the way.
Hinata skid across the ground as Ino stood across from her, grabbing the leg where she had managed to hit the chakra point. Ino smirked at her, one filled with confidence. She went at Hinata this time and moved to strike. Ino struck at her leg with a quick sweep and Hinata jumped over it. Ino reared her fist back and brought it forward to hit Hinata, only to have to avoid it before being hit in the tenketsu on her arm. She kept up like this until she finally managed to place a fist into Hinata's gut, forcing her back.
Both girls panted and looked at each other before running toward one another, releasing a fury of strikes along the way.
(In the Stands)
"This is all Hinata-sama has," began Neji in a tone that showed disappointment, "she truly is a disgrace." This caught people's attention. Kurenai clenched her fists, ready to go over there and throttle the boy for saying that about her, but was stopped by Gai, who shook his head. "She does not deserve the title of heiress or…" Neji was silence when a pebble hit him in the face, catching him of guard. Everyone looked at the offender and was surprised to find it was Naruto who had thrown it. Neji stood and looked at Naruto with a glare. "How dare you…"
Naruto shushed Neji, causing him to become even more upset. "You're interrupting the chick fight. You don't ever interrupt a chick fight." The men sweat dropped as the temperature in the room dropped and saw most of the women of their group glaring at Naruto. 'Sasuke' was also sending a very subtle glare in his direction as well and Sakura was even preparing to throttle him but was stopped by what he said next. "However, you must also recognize that Hinata is not weak. She is far from it. She is keeping up with Ino, who is considered to be one of our graduating class's top kunochi. Not only that, but to see her with such confidence in her eyes, which has been unseen by us before now, is somewhat surprising. So don't call her weak because you know nothing about the situation."
Many were surprised by his insight on the situation and realized he was right. This was the first time they had all seen her with such confidence. Not even Kiba, Shino, or Kurenai, her own team members, had seen her this confident before. Of course, they knew why though.
Kurenai looked at him in slight surprise. From what she had heard around the village, Naruto was a trouble maker and a big idiot. Form her fellow shinobi; she had heard he had no talent. But here he was, giving an accurate idea of why people should be proud of Hinata because of her growth. It made her respect the boy a bit. "Your quite interesting Naruto," she thought with a slight smile. "I think that despite this recent change, I'm starting to see why Hinata likes you so much."
Neji however did not like his response and choose to speak further on the matter. "Yes, I will admit she has improved slightly. However, her younger sibling, Hinabi-sama, is already much stronger than her. She beats Hinata in every spar. And this fight is pitiful, their movements are so slow."
Naruto just continued to stare out onto the field and watched the fists of feminine furry fly before replying again. "And everybody evolves at their own pace Mr. Brooder." He received many snickers for that comment. "I will be the first to admit, their movements are really painfully slow." That stopped his friends who actually thought they were going pretty fast. "However, Konoha wasn't built in a day and neither will their strength as shinobi. As long as they work hard, they'll become strong. And who knows Neji-san, Hinata may even end up stronger than you."
He went back to watching the fight again, missing the many smiles and smirks of approval as well as two shouts of 'what a youthful answer' and one glare in his direction. "Now, all we need is them to rip each other's tops off and then we'll have a party!" He giggled a bit perversely.
(On the Battlefield)
Ino and Hinata continued to go at it. Ino would dodge Hinata's strikes a bit roughly while Hinata would dodge Ino's with beauty and grace. Ino weaved around another pair of strikes from Hinata and was able to land a solid punch to her gut while Hinata tapped tenketsu on her shoulder. They both slide back once again, Hinata grabbing her stomach while Ino held her shoulder.
Ino smirked at Hinata. "You've been doing great," she said. "But now I need to finish this. I'm sorry Hinata!"
Hinata was curious about what she meant until she came across a thin piece of wires all over her jacket attached with chakra, holding her in place. She was about to cut them when she noticed fluctuation in the current of the chakra attaching the wire, meaning Ino was about to use a jutsu.
She quickly looked toward Naruto, who stood up in the stands and was watching the fight intently. "I want to show Naruto I'm strong!" With new found confidence and greater speed, she ripped off her jacket and threw it to the floor and jumped to the right as Ino had prepared to fire her jutsu. She was left in a tight fit shirt that showed of the curves she had received from all of her training and nice still developing chest.
"This fight isn't over Ino-san," she said with confidence and charged in again, faster than before. The young Yamanaka, thinking on her feet, threw an explosive tag on the ground where Hinata was about to charge. It lit up and exploded, forcing Hinata to jump back to avoid being hit. She looked at Ino with a fire in her eyes.
Ino was shocked. Hinata never spoke so confidently in her life. In the academy, she was always quiet, always standing from afar, and always watching that loser… She was abruptly snapped from her thoughts. She looked up and saw Naruto there. She smirked. "So that's why she's so confident now," she thought gleefully now with a plan drawn up in her mind. "This can work to my advantage."
She was about to say something when Hinata rushed forward with even greater speed than before. She sent a strike toward Ino's pelvis. Ino barely dodged the attack and kept at it, looking for the opportune time to move her plan into action. Finally seeing an opening, she managed to get behind Hinata. She whispered to Hinata, "So this if all for Naruto eh, Hinata?" Ino felt the young pale eyed girl tense up and smiled. "Well then…" she whispered the rest really quietly.
Hinata with each passing second grew redder and redder. She looked toward Naruto and went so red that she looked like she was on fire. Finally, Ino let go and left Hinata dazed. Now, with Hinata's guard down, she could strike. "Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Transfer Technique)!" Suddenly, Ino's body went limp and a couple seconds later, so did Hinata's.
A second passed and then Hinata raised her head and smirked. "Infiltration success," the now taken over girl said proudly. She looked at Hayate and said "I, Hyūga Hinata, forfeit this match."
The proctor knew what was going on but none the less acknowledged. "Very well, Hyūga Hinata has forfeited the match. Therefore, the winner is Yamanaka Ino!"
Hinata smirked before once again going limp and regaining conciseness again. "What… happened?" she asked the proctor.
Hayate looked at the girl with some pity before pointing to the now awake Ino. "Ino-san used cough her family's jutsu to take over your mind cough and force you to forfeit the match," the sickly man stated.
All of that former confidence left Hinata when she looked at Ino, who looked at her apologetically. "Sorry Hinata," she said, sadness evident in her voice, "but I didn't think I could win, so I exploited your weakness. I'm so sorry."
Hinata nodded her head in sadness. "It's ok… Ino-san," she replied sadly as she and Ino walked up the stairs toward their friends. When they got there, they received claps and shouts of nice job from their friends. Kurenai and Asuma each walked to their students.
"I'm very proud of you Hinata," she said with a smile. "You've really grown since the beginning of our team."
"Good job Ino," congratulated Asuma, not noticing the glare from Kurenai sent in his direction. "We knew you could do it. Admittedly it was a dirty win, but we are shinobi. We fight dirty and without honor. Not saying that is how you should live your life, but you know what I mean." He finally felt Kurenai's glare and noticed it was so strong that it was as if she was trying to burn a hole in the back of his head.
The two went back with their fellow sensei. Finally, Naruto came over. "Well, well, nice match! I was in suspense every moment of the way. Ino, congrats on your win and Hinata, even though you didn't win, you kicked ass! I mean, when you threw you're coat to the floor and got that determined expression, I thought that I was all over. Great job girls, though next time if it is a chick fight," he leaned in, "remember to rip off each other's tops. You can't have a chick fight without that, you know." One girl blushed extremely pink from embarrassment and the other had a light pink on her checks but smirked back.
"Fine kitsune-kun," Ino purred, "But then you've got to take it all off." She expected him to sputter or blush, but she received a grin instead.
"Of course, it is a fair trade I think. Maybe we could have fun with some other activities too." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and then he walked away, leaving a sputtering Ino and a still bright red Hinata, one because of the innuendo and the other because she received a complement from her beloved.
Finally, the board landed on another set of names. "Inuzuka Kiba vs. Uzumaki Naruto!"
Kiba smirked. "We got an easy one boy," he shouted as he picked up Akumaru and jumped over the rails. Naruto just smiled and walked past his fellow genin and the instructors. He was stopped by his teammates.
"Good luck, dobe," 'Sasuke' said with a smirk. Saki had wanted to say something a bit more, but she couldn't. She didn't even know why she said what she had. Maybe it was because he was the first person to know her secret? She didn't really know.
"We will be cheering you on," said Sakura with a smile. She had to make an attempt to be nicer now, so he would open up to her and 'Sasuke'. She wanted, for some strange reason, to be accepted by him again.
Naruto smirked in return. "C'mon, it's Kiba," he said as he walked past them. He stopped though and without turning said, "Thanks though, 'Sasuke'… Sakura." He walked down the steps.
Sakura was happy. "He used my name again," she thought. There was still no 'chan' suffix, but she began to realize over the past few days that she had hurt him. Now she was determined to get that suffix back, but for reasons she herself could not explain.
(With Suna Team)
"He has a strange aura emanating from him," thought Gaara as he watched the match with slight interest. "Mother is telling me to stay away, that she doesn't want his blood. Why do you not want his blood mother?"
"Because," a female sounding voice said in the back of his head, "he has their blood. If he is not friend, he will destroy us."
Gaara did not wish to know what she meant for once.
(With Orochimaru and OtoTeam)
"Yes Naruto-kun," thought a certain Hebi Sennin as he watched Naruto walk to his opponent, "show me your new power!"
(With Iwa Genin)
"So it's finally his turn, huh," said Renji with slight distain.
"Is that the one that beat you in the forest?" asked their sensei, a large muscular man with a big grey mustache.
"Yes," said Hayate with bristled anger. "He defeated us and almost left us without a scroll." Hayate clamped his hands shut. "He better beat this amateur, because we will get our revenge in the finals." His twin only nodded his head in agreement.
Ayane was silent the whole time, but she stared at the field regardless. "Let's see what you've got, kitsune-kun," she thought as she licked her lips slightly.
(On the Battlefield)
"Are both fighters ready?" He received a nod from Kiba.
"Hold it," shouted Naruto. Kiba and Hayate stared at him. "I need to warm up first." Without waiting for a reply, he began shadow boxing, throwing jabs left and right. He then did a spin kick. He back flipped finally and then walked back to the proctor. "Okay, now I'm good."
Hayate stood there for a moment before he nodded his head. "Very well, you may begin." He jumped back, leaving the two young shinobi to their fight. Kiba stood there cockily. Naruto stood across from him; a smirk embedded on his face and held an air of confidence. Kiba finally broke the silence.
"So, you ready to lose dobe?" asked Kiba cockily. Naruto smirked in return.
"You know Kiba, your all talk. You've got nothing to back it up though." He looked at Akumaru. "You also apparently need a puppy to do your fighting for you. You are so tough Kiba!"
Kiba growled at him. "He doesn't do my fighting for me! Akumaru, stay out of this until I tell you to help out, ok." He received a whimper in response. "What do you mean that we shouldn't fight him?" Another whimper was received from Akumaru. "He is an alpha? Please, I'll show you he isn't."
"You should listen to your partner Kiba," Naruto replied casually, as though he was already bored. "I don't wish to hurt you unless I really have too."
Kiba grew angry. "I'll show you Naruto!" He blew through hand signs. "Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)!" Kiba got down on all fours as chakra rose from his body. He rushed at Naruto with great speed, intent on knocking his block off.
(With Konoha Teams)
"Kakashi," Kurenai began with a slight smirk, "I like the kid, but you know well Naruto can't beat Kiba. He was the dead last of his class."
"No really Kurenai-san, tell me how you really feel," said someone above the Jōnin, startling all of them. They looked above and saw Naruto hanging down from the ceiling right above them.
"Gaki, I thought you were fighting Kiba," stated a startled Asuma. This kid had even snuck up on them, Jōnin. It may be peace time, but they still shouldn't even be that rusty.
"Technically, Oyabun is fighting Kiba. I'm just a Kage Bunshin who was left up here." He looked back at Kurenai. "Now, what was it you said about us losing this fight?"
Kurenai looked at him. "You were the dead last of your class Naruto-san and while I admit the fact you can use Kage Bunshin shows some skill, that doesn't mean you can beat him, even if you spammed him with them."
"So if I can't beat him, then you wouldn't have a problem if we make a bet."
"What kind of bet?" The others were shocked she was going to take the bet of a genin, but said nothing.
"If I win, you owe me a favor that is within reason of course, maybe something like Genjutsu training or something along those lines."
"Fair enough, but what if I win?"
"Then I owe you a favor. Hell, I'll even do stuff that isn't within reason. Want me to wait on you hand and foot for a week, you got it. Want me to be your teams punching bag while they train for a few days, you got it. You name it, I'll do it. So, what do you say, we got a deal?"
Kurenai thought of the possibilities for a moment. Anything she tells him? This could work to her advantage. She could force him to go on a date with Hinata, which would be a real self confidence boaster for her. Who knows, maybe he may even actually like it and will begin to date Hinata. Oh, the possibilities she could create with a self-confident Hinata.
She smirked and began to shake his outstretched hand. "You've got a deal." She had just made a deal with the devil, literally.
The clone above her grinned at her for a moment before letting himself drop next to the four sensei and walking to the railing. "Oyabun, she took the bet." This caught the attention of his fellow genin, who were wondering what the bet was but did not ask.
(On the Battlefield)
"Really," Naruto asked. He received a nod and Naruto smirked and looked toward the oncoming Kiba. "Sorry dog-boy, but I have a reason to fight you now." Kiba got within his range. He jumped over Kiba's strike and slammed his foot down into Kiba's back, sending him to the floor and creating cracks from the impact.
Naruto jumped to the side and let Kiba get up from the ground as his dog ran to his side. Kiba looked at Akumaru. "Not yet boy." Kiba, still on all fours, rushed at Naruto again, believing the hit Naruto had managed was just a fluke. He swiped at Naruto, who dodged the attack with what seemed like practiced ease. Kiba continued to strike, but Naruto just kept weaving around the attacks. Kiba jumped back but then ran forward again on all fours, intent on ramming him to make him lose balance and make it easier for him to get a fit. Naruto would have none of it however and preformed a spin kick to his ribs, sending him skidding back toward his animal partner.
Kiba began to recognize that the fight wasn't going in his favor and decided a different approach would be best. He looked down toward the dog and smiled. "Looks like I will need you bud." The dog hesitated at first, but then nodded. The dog jumped on Kiba's back and after a serious of barks, he transformed into an animalistic form of Kiba. "Jūjin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone)!"
The one Kiba jumped off the other and they both ran toward Naruto like bats, or in this case, mutts, out of hell. Naruto just stood there calmly as the approached. "Oh," he faked horror, "whatever shall I do! Is there now way to stop these beasts?" Suddenly Naruto's hand went to his holster. "Psyche, got you dumbass!" He drew his revolver and fired two rounds of non-elemental chakra bullets.
The bullets hit their marks and sent them sailing as the skid across the ground, bruises forming on their cheeks where they had been shot. "What the hell is that," asked Kiba in slight disbelieve. Everyone in the room was listening at this point, curious what the device he used was called. Tenten, being a weapons mistress, was listening especially now.
Naruto twirled the weapon on his finger in a showy manner. "This, my dear mutt," began Naruto, "is called a revolver. It's a special type of weapon that I know how to make when I have the right parts. The type of weapon it's called falls under the category of gun. This gun is called," he stopped spinning it and pointed it at Kiba again, "Purotekutā."
Kiba and Akumaru growled at him. "I don't care what it's called," snarled Kiba. "Don't think it's going to change the outcome of this match. Let's go Akumaru!" The two Kiba's rushed forward again and both went low and attempted to slash at him. Naruto avoided it, spun, and whipped his pistol on top of one Kiba's head, knocking him away while he kicked the other Kiba in the face.
The duo was forced away again and looked at each other and nodded. "Gatsūga (Fang Passing Fang)!" The jumped and began to spin rapidly, like drills, and sped toward Naruto from different directions.
Naruto dodged to the left avoiding one of the drill like attacks, then he leaned back to avoid another one. As the attack continued, dust began to obscure his vision. It was getting harder and harder to see and he couldn't use the Rinnegan without it being reveled, so he had to do the next best thing. He released a blast of wind chakra all around him and cleared the dust, just to see Kiba and Akumaru come around again from separate sides. He dropped the gun and held out his hands and grabbed their hands, stopping the drills and shocking everybody.
Naruto held them sideways in the air, like their weight was nothing. Kiba and Akumaru were struggling to getaway. "You know Kiba; you weren't very good for entertainment. And you know what that means." He spun his foot and kicked up the gun into the air as he threw them above him. "If you have no entertainment value, then get the fuck out!"He grabbed the gun and jumped up to near impossible heights. He performed a hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He created two clones, who kicked his two opponents back toward the ground. He then fired fire chakra bullets at them, which scorched their bodies. Then he fired lightning bullets at them, sending their bodies into spasms. Then he fired wind chakra bullets, shredding their clothes and gave them deep cuts. Finally, he charged two bullets with demonic energy and chakra. He smirked. "Jackpot," he shouted. He fired the two blasts of multicolored energy directly at them.
They hit them and exploded, sending them rocking faster to the ground. Naruto landed before them however and turned around when they hit the floor. "Naruto Rendan: Akuma no Fukushū (Naruto Combo: Devil's Revenge)!"Dust clogged their vision and when it cleared they saw Akumaru had returned to his true form and was knocked out. Kiba was trying to stand up but kept falling back to the cracked floor where he had landed. He was glaring at Naruto's back. He continued trying to stand when he heard Naruto voice ring out. "Damn, you're still awake," he said without turning. "Don't get up man; I don't want to hurt you any further."
Kiba growled and with his remaining strength got up and ran toward Naruto. Naruto turned only to get slashed across the face with a clawed hand, knocking his head up. Kiba smirked, believing he had won, only to get surprised when Naruto face, which had his scratch marks on it, came down and he grinned at Kiba. "Nice shot, Kiba," he said, grin never leaving his face. "But," he brought his fist back, "not good enough!" He clocked Kiba and sent him spiraling to the ground, knocking him out on contact.
The proctor rushed forward and looked at Kiba. He checked Kiba's pulse, confirming he was alive but knocked out. He stood up and looked at Naruto with a bit of shock at the match before looking to the general crowd. "The winner is Uzumaki…"
"Actually," Naruto cut him off, "it's Sparda Naruto. I forgot to tell you before, but I changed my last name."
Hayate nodded in confirmation. "Very well, the winner is Sparda Naruto!" He turned toward the medic squad. "Get him to the medical wing." The squad rushed over as Naruto walked away, ignoring the stunned group.
(With the Hokage)
"So, this is the power of Naruto-kun's new Kekkei Genkai," the old kage thought with shock. "There is so much power leaking off of him in battle. If he learns to control it and the Rinnegan, he will be incredible!"
(With the Sound Genin)
"I see," thought Orochimaru with curiosity, "so this is Naruto-kun's power, hm. Funny thing is that he was even holding back as well. He is a magnificent specimen. Yes, he will do nicely." He giggled quietly to himself.
(With Suna Siblings)
"So," Temari said with a shocked expression, "this is Naruto-san's strength, huh. He seems pretty strong." She looked toward her brother. "But this feeling I'm getting from him, it's almost like Garra's!"
"Yeah," commented Baki, the team's sensei, with a small frown. "He might become trouble in the near future, however."
Meanwhile, Gaara was conversing with his own beast. "Mother, he has such strength. He could prove my existence!"
"No girl," replied the great tailed beast, "he is incredibly strong. I can feel it. Do not fight him, child. Spill other blood, but not his!" 'Gaara' did not reply. 'His' mother thought that boy was too strong for 'him'.
(With Iwa Genin)
"I see why you want to beat him," commented the team's sensei.
"Hai, sensei," stated Renji, his eyes never leaving Naruto's walking form.
"If he does pass his second fight, I will train you all harder than before to beat him."
"Thank you, Sensei," said Hayate as he too stared at the boy.
"My, aren't you strong, kitsune-kun?" thought Ayane with a grin. "but your still hiding your true strength, aren't you?"
(With the Konoha Genin)
Naruto stopped in front of Kurenai and looked at her. "I'll be collecting on that favor eventually, just so you know." He walked toward his fellow genin, leaving a still shocked Kurenai and the other Jōnin to their thoughts.
"Kakashi's kid is incredible," thought Asuma, his cigarette almost falling to the floor from what he had just witnessed. "I even saw him use wind chakra to clear the smoke. Abet it was a small fraction of wind chakra's capabilities, but still, a genin who knows nature manipulation is a dangerous genin!"
"Kakashi's student is so youthful," thought Kakashi's 'eternal rival', Gai. "His speed is maybe just a bit slower than Lee's with his weights on. I think I saw a gravity seal on his coat though. Could that mean that he is faster than he lets on?"
"Naruto," thought Kakashi, eyes still on his book. "Your new abilities will only increase your strength. I could tell you were going to be someone strong before, but now, I just don't know. Worst is that I had nothing to do with it."
"Kiba was one of the best Taijutsu users in his class," thought Kurenai, still in shock. "Naruto just beat him like he was nothing. He maybe had a weapon, but even before then. And to be able to just grab Kiba like that during his technique… I don't even think Gai could do that." Then she remembered something. "Kuso, I just lost a bet to him too! What is he going to make me do? He said it would be something within reason, so he better not go back on his word."
All while they were thinking this, Naruto had returned to his fellow genin. They all looked at him, but before any could comment, he was blindsided by Tenten.
"Naruto-san," she all but shouted, "please, let me see your weapon!"
"Which one babe, I've got a few," he said, motioning to his holster, then the black case on his back, and then to his pants. The females in the group blushed at the innuendo. 'Sasuke' found it hard to keep down a blush 'himself'.
"Stupid horny idiot," thought Saki in anger for reason she herself could not explain.
Tenten regained her composure, ignoring his insinuation. "I want to see this thing you call a 'revolver', Naruto-san," she said. Naruto nodded and quickly drew it and spun it around before he held it by the handle. Everyone looked at the weapon curiously, but Tenten looked at it in awe. "Naruto-san, you realize this could change the shinobi world, right?"
Naruto looked at Tenten. "Ten-chan," she blushed at the suffix due to how smoothly he said it, "this weapon design is from the old world anyway. I just modified the design to use chakra instead of lead for the ammunition."
"The old world," thought the group curiously. Hinata slowly walked up to Naruto, a cream jar in her hands.
"Here… Naruto-kun," she offered it to him. "It's so… me med… ical ointment for that cut Kiba-kun… gave you." Naruto looked at the jar before handing it back to her, showing everybody the side of his face had already healed.
"Sorry, Hina-chan," he said causally, "but one of my Kekkei Genkai's abilities gives me an amazing healing factor, so I don't need it." He noticed her down look. "Thank you for the offer though Hina-chan." Her face brightened and blushed brightly. It was by then his friend Shikamaru had decided to take the floor.
"What was that Naruto," ask Shikamaru.
"Whatever do you mean Shika?" he feigned in ignorance.
"I believe what Shikamaru-san means Naruto-san," began Shino, "is that in the academy you were the worst student. You Taijutsu was inefficient, your Ninjutsu was shabby at best, and you could not perform any Genjutsu. It is illogical to suggest that one could improve in leaps and bounds like this in just three months and from what we had heard from the others before the forest of death, you had not been at this level. You might have been able to beat Kiba-san then with your skill set, but not to the point of thrashing." He adjusted his glasses slightly. "Not only that, but with your change in appearance and slightly in personality, one can conclude that your Kekkei Genkai made great improvements to your body. What however, I cannot be sure of without confirmation."
Naruto looked at them all, knowing each one wanted answers. Not only that, but Saki had asked for some answers anyway. Now she could get some, but in front of everybody so he didn't need to repeat himself to every person who asked.
"Fine," he said, "I'll tell you all a bit about it." The genin, team nine included, and the Jōnin leaned inward, intent on hearing his answer. "Listen up, because I'll only explain this once. The Kekkei Genkai I posses is called Akuma Sōru. One of the abilities it grants me is reflexes, speed, and strength three times faster than that of a normal human's after initial activation, in which case it can continue to get better with training. The other ability, as I've just showed you, is called Akuma no Chi. It gives me an advanced healing factor that is beyond anyone you will ever encounter. There are other abilities, but you'll see as we go along."
"Is that really all you're going to tell us right now?" asked Shikamaru.
"Yup," Naruto chirped almost happily. "I'll only tell you more if you beat me in a fight." He ginned at Shikamaru. "But that would be just too troublesome for you, wouldn't it?" He could hear the pineapple haired boy groan something about 'troublesome silver haired bastards', which caused his grin to widen.
'Sasuke' smirked at Naruto. "Don't get cocky, Naruto," 'he' stated, "because if I fight, you will lose faster than how you beat Kiba." Inside however, Saki knew that he was strong and it infuriated her to no end. True, unlocking her Sharingan (Mirror Wheel Eye) had helped her strength greatly. She could predict the enemy's movements without a second thought. Not only that, but since Kakashi had sealed her curse seal during Naruto's albescence, she could use her Sharingan to watch the battle. However, when she tried reading his movements, she could barely see it, yet alone predict it. It was annoying her to no end.
"Sure you will Teme, sure you will." They stopped arguing when they heard Hayate call for the next match to be brought up on the board. "Akadō Yoroi vs. Rock Lee!" Lee let out a cheer of 'prevailing youth' and told Sakura to watch him before running down to face his opponent. Said opponent just walked down to the battle ground. They stood in front of each other with Lee bouncing around, visibly excited while his opponent stood there calmly.
"Are both opponent's ready," asked Hayate for the fifth time that day. Yoroi nodded while Lee's reply was more than needed.
"My youthful opponent let us have a fair match!" Lee gave a nice guy pose and his teeth sparkled brilliantly. Lee was about to ramble on when he was interrupted by Hayate, who asked if he could start the match. Lee blushed in embarrassment and nodded.
"Now that we can start," said Hayate while throwing a glance at the still happy Lee, "Fight!"
Lee rushed in and preformed a series of kicks to his opponent. "Konoha Senpū (Leaf Whirlwind)!" Yoroi managed to dodge the high kicks from the attacks but then was subjected to the powerful low kicks. Lee's final kick sent him flying. "Kage Buyō (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf)!" Lee appeared under the flying Yoroi and kicked him in the back, sending him up into the air. Lee planted his feet on the ground and quickly jumped up into the air and appeared above Yoroi. He flipped and kicked downwards, smashing his leg into Yoroi's exposed stomach region and sent him crashing to the ground.
Yoroi hit the ground with great force and dust spread over the field. Lee landed feet first and walked over to inspect the ground where his opponent had landed. The dust was beginning to settle when a hand shot out and grabbed Lee's leg. Yoroi, while getting up, threw Lee to the side and ran toward him and pinned him to the floor.
"You fool," Yoroi practically shouted, a bit of blood from the previous attack dripping down from under his mask. "You may have gotten those hits in, but now you're trapped." He began trying to pull chakra from Lee's body. "I have the ability to absorb chakra. You won't be able to use chakra to speed your movements anymore."
"Sorry my friend," Lee shouted back, not even struggling under his opponent's grip, "but I can't use chakra!" He kicked up and sent Yoroi rocking into the air. The green clad shinobi then pushed up and crouched down before jumping off into the air after Yoroi. He got above Yoroi, his heel placed above his opponents head. "I will become a great shinobi without the use of chakra. Sorry my youthful friend, but I cannot lose to you today!" He sent his heel down and smacked Yoroi in the face, sending him crashing face first into the pavement.
Hayate walked up to him and lifted up Yoroi's head only to find him unconscious. He waved the medics over and looked toward the excited Lee. "The winner is Rock Lee," he said.
"Yosh," he shouted with great enthusiasm. He jumped up to the side near where his team was and was greeted by his enthusiastic mentor. "I did it Gai-sensei, I won!"
"Yes my youthful student," Gai said, suddenly grasping Lee's shoulders. "Your youthful fires have shown amazing passion! I am proud to call you my student!"
Lee's eyes watered. "Gai-sensei," he said passionately.
Gai returned his student's gaze. "Lee," he replied with equal passion.
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
The hugged one another. The air around them distorted to give the scenery a look of a beach at sunset, the ocean waves behind them swaying slowly. If it weren't for the two men in green training uniforms hugging one another, it would be a beautiful sight. Sadly, the two men ruined it. The scene had lead to various reactions around the room.
Lee's teammates cringed at the sight of the ability, despite seeing it almost every day. It was just something they would most likely never be used to.
Team Kurenai, or at least the members present, wondered how such an evil Genjutsu could be created. Hinata had tried activating her Byakugan to see through the technique, but for some reason could not and only managed to receive an intensified version in return. Shino tried to have his bugs eat away at the chakra for the technique, only to find that none was being used. Their sensei however was incredibly frustrated at failing to dispel the Genjutsu.
Team Asuma's remaining members looked at the technique in horror, Shikamaru actually thinking it would be more troublesome to let go on, trying to figure out how to break it.
The teams from Suna, Iwa, and Oto, with the exception of 'Gaara' and Orochimaru, managed to share a single praying thought: "Please don't let there be any more Konoha shinobi like this!"
The Hokage and his advisers, as well as those who knew Gai well, kept their composure despite seeing the monstrosity before them.
Team Seven's reaction… was not gotten to due to the fact that a loud bang resounded across the room. A chakra bullet struck the background, destroying it like glass. Pieces of said glass then fell on top of Gai and Lee, who were knocked from their hugging session. They looked and saw Naruto's gun drawn and his eye's twitching dangerously. An evil aura appeared around him.
"Look," he began comely, "I really don't care what you do in private. However," his eyes glowed dangerously, actually eliciting a gulp from the two Taijutsu users, "if I ever see that again, and it is not a pair of hot chicks instead of you clowns, I will end you! Do you understand?" They nodded their heads in confirmation, the normally happy Taijutsu users still shaking. He turned back to everyone else, who looked shocked for what felt like hundredth time that day. He shrugged nonchalantly about the situation. "What, I really hate that Genjutsu, it's like the second time I saw it this week." Everyone sweat dropped, but nodded slowly and looked back toward the board to see the next match setup, not wanting to question a good deed such as his.
The board read "Shinichi Ayane vs. Haruno Sakura!" Ayane smiled and jumped over the railing, landing on the floor with a loud thump. Sakura on the other hand told 'Sasuke', and surprisingly Naruto, to watch her. She then ran down the stairs and made it to center field. Hayate confirmed that both opponents were ready before beginning the match.
Sakura made the first move by pumping chakra to her feet and releasing it on impact, speeding up her run. She pushed her fist back and brought it straight forward for a punch, only for her opponent to side step it and kick her straight in the ribs, sending her sliding across the ground until she held her hand out to stop herself. She stood and held her side, still feeling the kick Ayane had on her ribs.
Ayane began to laugh at the girl's plight. "Kami-sama," she said calming down from her laughing fit, "are all you Genin Konoha kunochi this bad. I mean the match between that pale eyed girl and dumb blonde was pathetic." She ignored the indignant cry of 'hey' from said girl before continuing. "I would think that someone from the stud's team," she pointed at Naruto, "would be so much better than this."
Sakura growled. "And what would you know about Naruto?"
Ayane smirked. "Well, my team and I fought him in that stupid forest. He managed to beat me and my team…" she stopped and blushed before finishing with "while naked. And let me tell you, he's well endowed."
A cry of "What!" was heard around the room.
(In the Stands, With Naruto)
Naruto felt everyone's eyes on him, including the two competitors in the arena. He smiled. "Hey," he put his hands up in a placating manner, "in my defense, those guys thought it was a good idea to fight me while I was washing up in the river."
'Sasuke' then growled out, "Then why didn't you wear your boxers in the river!"
Naruto looked at 'him'. "Well, how else am I supposed to get clean? Can't do that in my boxers now can I?" He noticed everyone's eyes still on him and smirked. "But yeah, anyway, I will confirm I beat their asses butt naked without weapons."
"And what a fine ass you have," he heard Ayane shout from the battle field below.
He looked down at her. "And what gives with you? Not that I don't mind, but you weren't this flirty in the Forest of Death."
She smiled saucily at him. "Because we were trying to kill each other, we aren't now, stud."
He then tried to gauge the rest of the reactions in the room. Asuma and Shikamaru were actually gawking at the idea. Asuma because he thought that was somewhat badass to fight while naked and Shikamaru because he was wondering how much more troublesome Naruto could get. Ino was blushing madly, repeating 'I love Sasuke-kun' over and over again to drown out what she had just heard.
Team Kurenai seemed to be handling it better. Shino was standing motionlessly, but if one looked close enough they would be able to see his eye twitching. Kurenai's face, despite being an adult, was also slightly blushing. Hinata… was surprisingly growling at the Iwa kunoichi below. The normally bashful and quite Hinata was growling at the female Iwa-nin below? When the hell did that start and why the hell was she being over protective of… fuck he was an idiot.
"Revelation of the century, gaki," snickered the giant kitsune that resided in his body.
"Bite my shinny metal ass, fuzz face," replied Naruto.
(In an Alternate Universe)
A robot in a certain future stopped drinking his beer and became enraged. "Some bastard is stealing my catchphrase!" He threw his bottle at the closest thing to him… which happened to be his best friend Fry.
(Returning to Naruto)
"In all seriousness you silver haired dolt, how in the hell did you not notice this sooner?" Really, was his container that much of an idiot before the transformation?
"Well, excuse me for not noticing how a girl felt when I was stupid. I would like to take this opportunity to blame you."
"Me! What are you blaming me for?"
"Because your damn seal impeded on my thinking capabilities," he responded simply and then cut the connection between him and the demon. He went back to thinking. "Damn! Now that I actually think about it, it explains why I always felt a pair of eyes on me when I was walking home from the academy." He was struck by another revelation. "Oh my god, she blushes all the time because she's look 'in at my tool with those dang x-ray eyes of hers! That perverted girl!"
He looked at her figure as she continued growling at the kunoichi below. "Damn girl probably hides a nice figure under that coat." Great, that was another thing to put on his to do list. He continued gauging reactions.
Team Gai had varied reactions, some of which had managed to freak him out. He saw that white-eyed bastard, Neji's, eyebrows raise and his eyes widen. Tenten was blushing while talking about weapons. He was somewhat hoping it wasn't his weapon, because apparently that girl is obsessed with interesting weapons, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on one's perspective. He was horrified when Gai and Lee decided it was a challenge of manliness and promised to run laps around the village while naked to catch up to his 'youthful skill level.' That one was going to come back to haunt him, he just knew it.
He saw that the Suna and remaining members of the Oto group only looked shocked, nothing more really. The Iwa-nin were of course growling at him in anger, but that was a giving, although, their sensei was chuckling somewhat about the fact that his students were beaten by a naked boy.
The Hokage was giggling perversely while some of the other shinobi up there were chuckling. He noticed that crazy snake lady was looking at him with bedroom eyes, which caused him to smirk slightly. He could also hear his sensei actually giggling behind him.
He finally looked at his 'male' teammate only to see her unhappy as well. 'He' too was glaring at the Iwa-nin. If looks could kill, he believed Ayane would be extra crispy from that kind of glare. He smirked as 'Sasuke'. He was beginning to think he could use this as dirt for later against 'him' should the need ever arise.
(On the field)
"You know," Ayane said to Sakura in a pondering like pose, "if I had to estimate, he's probably around six or seven inches." Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "And he's not even fully grown yet too. He'll probably be around…."
She was cut off by an angry Sakura. "I don't want to know my teammates size," she roared while blushing. She clumsily leapt forward to attack her with a swift punch to her stomach area. Ayane grabbed the younger pink haired girl's arm with her hand, stopping that attack. She then delivered a swift uppercut to Sakura's jaw, sending her into the air.
Sakura, even though she was in a great deal of pain, recovered in the air and tried to use it to her advantage by firing several explosive tag kunai at Ayane. Ayane avoided the kunai and the bombs as they went off, creating a large amount of dust. Sakura then landed in the dust and used it to her advantage.
Ayane began to caustically wait until the dust cleared. She saw something in the dust sparkle and avoided the three kunai that had been thrown at her by her pink haired opponent. She looked at the wall only to find that they had exploding tags as well. She cursed as she avoided the explosion that caused part of the wall to crumble. She saw something running from the dust and three Sakura emerged running toward her.
Ayane simply put her hand in a ram seal and broke the simple Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique). The multiple illusionary Sakura's shimmered from existence and as the dust cleared, Sakura was not there. She felt a presence behind her and ducked as a fist flew overhead. She grappled the pink haired kunoichi's and lifted her over her shoulder and gripped her by the legs, her head facing toward the ground.
"Well, it was fun pinky," she taunted slightly, "but I've got to end this." She let her feet fall out from under her and her butt, along with Sakura's head, slammed into the ground. "Sukarukurasshā (Skull Crusher)!" After Sakura's head hit the floor, Ayane let go of Sakura's legs, allowing Sakura's body to fall to the hard ground.
Ayane stood up as Hayate walked over and checked Sakura's pulse to see if she was alive. She was very much indeed alive. He waved over the medics and walked to Ayane. "This match is over. The winner is Shinichi Ayane." She winked in Naruto's direction before walking back to her team.
(With Naruto)
"Well," the former blonde sighed with slight sarcasm, "didn't see that one coming." He turned to Kakashi, whose face was surprisingly out of its book. Naruto feigned a look of shock. "Oh my Kami-sama, were all going to die! The end of days is upon us! Kakashi-sensei's face isn't buried in his porn book! We are all doomed!"
Kakashi looked like his bottom lip was sitting out under his mask and gained a fake tear in his one uncovered eye. "Hurtful," he said in a comically before becoming serious. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you Naruto?" He saw Naruto nod his head. "Then why did you let her go through with it?"
Naruto looked at Kakashi with slightly apathetic expression. "Kakashi," he began seriously, "there are a few reasons why I did not say anything. One, she probably would not have listened. From what I could tell, even if I spent little time with the team since the Forest of Death, she wishes to prove that she is not useless and that is very admirable. And two, by fighting a strong kunoichi, she will now be able to see what a true female nin should be capable of at this age and strive to become like that."
Kakashi was surprised at the stoic look Naruto had and was beginning to think his student was bipolar considering he has gone from silly to serious at the drop of a hat. It was incredibly weird seeing him like this because before Naruto's emotions were so easy to read and predict, now it was sporadic.
However, Kakashi knew he could not deify Naruto's logic on the subject. Sakura had the possibility to become a great kunoichi. She took to tree walking and other chakra control exercises like a fish out of water. Abet, her chakra reserves were a bit smaller than the others, but she had slowly been expanding them. He knew that this match however would be a good wakeup call and show her that she needed to train harder to become stronger.
Both silver haired individuals stopped conversing when he saw the board light up again. "Abumi Zaku vs. Hyūga Neji!" Kakashi and Naruto looked to see Neji smirking slightly as he walked down, passing Hinata coldly as she tried to tell him good luck. This action caused Naruto to frown slightly.
"This asshole just walked past her casually even when she did it to try and be nice," he thought impassively at the pale eyed boy's disregard for his cousins attempts to make amends with him for whatever reason. He didn't know Hinata too well like he knew everyone else. He usually hung with Kiba, Chōji, and Shikamaru. He knew about Sakura and Ino because he had liked Sakura and thought it would be good to gain her praise if he knew Ino as well. Shino and he had conversed once and a while and 'Sasuke' just ignored everybody. He remembered making a couple attempts to talk to Hinata, but she would always blush and then pass out. Despite his new personality and character traits, he really didn't get it. However, he knew Hinata was a good person at least, so Neji shouldn't have brushed it off so casually.
He also noticed Kurenai bristle with anger and it made him question the relationship between the student and sensei. During this entire exam he always saw the red eyed beauty trying to help Hinata with her courage issue. Sensei usually just taught the young Genin basic shinobi characteristics up until they were strong enough to move to the next level, so you never really saw them interfere with someone's personal problems before. Or it could be that Kakashi just doesn't care and leaves them in the dust, he didn't know which to be honest.
He knew noticed the match was about to start and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.
(On the Battlefield)
The two starred each other down, almost not even noticing that the match had already started. Zaku smirked at the Hyūga. "You know, I've wanted to fight you since we got out of that creepy forest," said Zaku sadistically.
Neji kept a serious expression however, almost ignoring his opponent's words. "Your fate is to lose this match," he remarked stoically. "I will give you this chance to concede to me. If not, you will find that fate has dealt you a rather unfair hand."
Zaku growled in annoyance. "What's with this fate bullshit?" He lifted up the arm not in the sling. "I can beat you with one good arm. Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!" He fired a highly pressurized blast of air at Neji, who promptly avoided the blast and with great speed, got behind Zaku with his Byakugan active.
"You should have given in," he stated simply. "However, it is too late because… you're in my range of deviation. Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" He smacked Zaku twice with is palms, knocking him forward. "Two Strikes!" He appeared before Zaku and hit him again twice more. "Four Strikes!" Zaku was forced backward and appeared Neji appeared again by his side. He hit Zaku eight times. "Eight Strikes!" His movements increased pace and before Zaku could be forced away, he appeared at his other side. He hit another eight times. "Sixteen Strikes!" He forced Zaku away and appeared before him to hit him sixteen times. "Thirty-two Strikes!" He hit his opponent backward and appeared behind him. "This is the end for you!" He hit Zaku thirty-two more times. "Sixty-four Strikes!" Zaku was pushed forward, skidding across the ground until he fell to the floor.
Hayate went and checked Zaku's pulse. He called in the medics, which he had been doing a lot that day. He stood up and addressed the audience. "The winner is Hyūga Neji!" The room was silent as Neji walked away, mostly because he had defeated his opponent so quickly. The match was about thirty seconds in total.
(With Suna Team)
"This tournament really does have some monsters," commented Temari, a bit shaken about how a member of the joint Suna-Oto invasion force was defeated so easily. She was really starting to have some second thoughts at this point in time. Konoha shinobi were dominating in their matches, abet even when they fought each other they were still strong. However, despite Neji having a faster time, she could tell Naruto was still far more dangerous. These facts were beginning to unnerve her.
She then looked toward Gaara and silently wondered what he was thinking through all of this. Was 'he' enjoying the bloodlust? When she thought about it further however, she really didn't want to know, but was about to find out because the next match was "Shiina Hayate vs. Sabaku Gaara!" She looked at Gaara only to notice that 'he' had disappeared in a swirl of sand and appeared down on the field next to his opponent.
(On the Battlefield)
"This kid is crazy," thought Hayate with some lose of his former bravado. It was just when he was looked into his opponent's eyes, he saw nothing. There was no life in them, no soul, only unbridled fury. "Regardless, it's probably just nothing. Yup, that's it." Regaining some of his former confidence, he smiled at Gaara. "Are you ready to lose, Suna chump?"
Gaara just continued staring at him, a permanent frown etched upon his features. This boy was mocking 'him', yet he was not worthy food for mother. 'He' wanted to give something that would satisfy 'his' mother's cravings. That silver haired boy, Naruto, would be a great satisfaction. He would be a worthy way to prove 'his' existence, yet 'he' was not allowed to touch him because mother said not to.
Very well then, if 'he' was not allowed to touch him, then he would use this boy as a sacrifice for his mother.
The proctor came forth. "Are both fighters ready?" He received two nods. "Very well then, let the match begin!"
"Finally," Hayate shouted as he ran forward, running like a bear. "Kuma no Toraianfu (Bear's Triumph)!" He tried to ram his shoulder into Gaara, only to run into a wall of sand. Said sand then slapped him away from his opponent, forcing him to skid across the ground. He ended up stopping and glared at his opponent, who stood there with sand slowly swirling around him. "What the hell is this?"
"My sand," the other 'boy' replied in monotone. He held out his hand and the sand swirled in front of his hand in a streak like form. "Suna Shuriken (Sand Shuriken)!" Spinning clots of sand were sent from the streak at and incredible pace toward Hayate, who looked at him in surprise.
"This 'guy' can control sand almost unnaturally," he thought frantically. "Could he be like that silver haired bastard? Is he a Jinchūriki as well? The academy taught us extensively about the abilities of Jinchūriki from other nations should we run into them. Suna has Shukaku, which gives their container… absolute sand control! Kuso."
Hayate, noticing that his thinking had made it impossible for him to get out of the way in time even with his speed, flipped through hand seals. "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return)!" He slammed his hands on the ground and channeled earth chakra, causing a large piece of the stone arena floor to rise in front of him. The shuriken hit the wall, impacting it hard but not breaking through. After the barrage was finished, he kicked the wall in front of him. "Doton: Chikyū Shotto (Earth Release: Earth Shot)!" Clumps of rocks were fired from the wall toward 'Garra', who stood there impassively. "Is he not even going to move?"
When the rocks were about to impact, Gaara's sand moved to protect him, forming a small barrier to block attack sent by Hayate. The shots of rock did not come close to piercing the shield at all, causing Hayate to grimace.
"That sand moves around him like a fucking shield," Hayate thought while shocked. "How the hell am I supposed to fight a guy that can defend from every attack?" He noticed Gaara's sand breaking down the rocks into smaller pieces to become sand like grains. "Shit, he can even break down rock to become sand. All I have are earth techniques and my Taijutsu? I can't hit him with either unless I come up with something."
Hayate was forced to jump away when he noticed some sand trying to grab him by the feet. In the air, he flashed through hand seals and when he landed called out "Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu (Rock Clone Technique)!" He spewed rocks from his mouth, which conformed to take his shape, and slapped two explosive tags onto their backs. He sent them running toward Gaara, himself running right behind them with a small explosive tag kunai prepared. The three jumped from side to side, avoiding attempts to crush him as he went in. When they were finally in range, they struck.
Gaara put up a shield to block the attack. The first one impacted 'his' shield and exploded, which caused some of his sand to be removed during the impact, creating a small gap in the defense. The second one came right after it and exploded, making the gap widen. The gap was about to close up when a small kunai with an explosive tag slipped through the shield when it closed.
A small explosion occurred inside Gaara's shield of sand, causing everyone to wonder what was going on in there.
(With Suna Team)
"How did an attack like that get passed Gaara's shields?" Temari, while she may not show it as much for certain reasons, truly does love her 'brother'. The fact something got passed his defense like that scared her. More experience shinobi they had fought had never even tried an attack like that on Gaara.
Baki just said nothing and continued to stare at the sand shield. The ultimate defense was not as strong as he had thought. Consecutive blasts at the same point in the shield could apparently create a small gap. Those explosions would blast away some of the sand and create a small gap. A second explosion would widen that gap enough for something small like a kunai to get in. It was a good plan. But, they didn't know about Gaara's second defense.
(With Konoha Teams)
"He got 'him'," shouted Ino, who locked in shock at what was occurring.
"You're wrong, Ino-chan," said Naruto with a slightly frowning at what had happened.
Those listening turned to Naruto. "And why is that, Naruto," asked Asuma, who was convinced that the attack had gotten the red haired 'boy'.
"Because, Asuma-sensei, 'he' is like me," the silver haired boy replied grimly, shocking the adult Jōnin who knew what he meant while his fellow Genin wondered what he was saying. Naruto just continued on by saying, "If 'he' is like me, that won't bring him down."
(On the Field)
Everyone watched as the cracked a bit before falling apart, revealing Gaara to the world, except 'he' looked different as patches of 'his' skin and hair were turning into sand and were falling off of 'his' body. Eventually, the rest of his skin turned to sand and fell of revealing something shocking. 'Gaara's' face and body gained a slightly feminine look and 'his' hair was a bit longer whereas instead of being a mop, it fell down straight to the middle of 'his' neck. 'He' also had a set of b-cup breasts on 'his' chest, meaning that 'he' was in fact a she. She was in fact and surprisingly cute. To top it all of that off, she had a psychopathic smile on her face while she was staring at Hayate.
(With Suna Team)
Temari and Baki stared in shock. Gaara was a girl? How is he… no, she, a girl? How had they not noticed? Did the Kazekage know this fact or would he be shocked as well? There were so many questions running through their minds that they could not think straight.
(With Konoha Teams)
"Ok, this has to be like 'Mindfuck Week' or something," Naruto thought in some shock. "This is like the Haku thing all over again except instead of the girl being a guy; the guys turn out to be the girls and smoking hot ones at that! I swear to Kami-sama, if it turns out more of the guys I know are girls, the fucker who made this fan fiction is going to die!"
(AN: That's right, he broke the forth wall. Want to fight about it?)
(Down On the Field)
Hayate was staring at his fellow red head in shock. This 'guy' was in fact a girl? To add to the situation, said girl did not have a scratch on her. Only one phrase came to mind to describe the situation. "What… the … fuck?"
Those were his only thoughts as sand snuck up on his body and began to cover him as the girl held out her hand. Her smile widened, causing the boy to panic somewhat as he struggled to break free from the sand that now surrounded him. "I've got you now," she screamed psychotically. "Sabaku Kyū (Sand Binding Coffin)!" The sand finally wrapped completely around him, leaving his head out in the open. "You know, mother only wants the blood of the strong, but she says you will suffice!"
Hayate, knowing he was beaten and about to die, called out to the sickly proctor. "I give," he shouted frantically. "I give up!" The shinobi in the room were about to move in and stop them, but sand began to cover the floor. To get to the boy and get the girl to stop, they would have to risk their lives.
The proctor tried calling out to the girl. "Gaara of Suna, if you do not cease and desist, we will be forced to drop you from the exams and possibly use lethal force," he shouted to her. The girl however would not budge. Her sand was across the floor. She knew there was nothing they could do.
(With Iwa Team)
"No, Hayate," shouted Renji as he began to worry for his brother's life. He saw the memories he and his brother shared as children. He saw them playing and training with their father. He remembers them both standing at their father's grave for hours after his funeral when he died from illness. He began to remember the promise they made to each other about becoming strong together.
He prepared to jump over the railing to get to his brother only to be stopped by his sensei. "Stay," he commanded in a sad tone. "If you go, that girl will only get more blood. That sand down there will ensnare anyone that jumps onto that floor and since it covers the entire floor, you wouldn't be able to get to him."
Renji's eyes widened. His sensei was right. There was nothing he could do to stop the girl. Hayate was a goner. What would his mother say when he returned home after the exams without his brother? He wished could only hope there was a way to stop this to avoid finding out.
(With Suna Team)
"Stop Gaara," shouted Temari. However, it fell on death ears. If her brother… no, sister, killed that boy, then that would mean trouble for Suna. Their team could be removed from the exams and the plan would be ruined.
Baki knew this as well, but did not voice it. He knew that once Gaara had gotten into this state, there was nothing they could to stop it unless the Kazekage interfered. And he was not here. That boy was going to die and their standing would be compromised.
(With Konoha Teams)
Naruto knew the situation was bad and that he had to stop it. While he didn't like Hayate, he knew that Hayate didn't deserve to die like this. "Kakashi, 'Sasuke'," he called out to the two, catching their attention, "move away. I can save him, but I need some space to prepare."
Kakashi, who was still wondering about his student's new abilities, moved out of the way as told. 'Sasuke', even though knowing the situation was dire, did so reluctantly. The Konoha teams, who were in range and heard what he had said, looked at the boy as well, waiting to see what he would do.
"Kyūbi, I need your help," he thought while reconnecting to the giant kitsune.
His devil arm spirit nodded in agreement. "Yes, it seems you do. Why does that woman always have to fuck with her container's mind?"
"Don't know, but it sounds like a personal problem." He held his hands out and called fourth his devil arm. "Kyūbi!" Flames slid down his shoulders and Kyūbi's chakrams appeared in his hands, shocking those around him.
Not caring if anyone saw at this point, Naruto ran to the rail and jumped off the edge. He shouted over to Hayate, "If you want to live, close your eyes!" Seeing the boy do so frantically, he threw his chakrams toward the boy. "Jigoku no Arashi (Hell Storm)!" The chakrams circled the boy in a pillar of fire as Gaara attempted to crush him with her hand. Finally, the chakrams came back and revealed that Hayate was now trapped in glass instead of sand.
Hayate, deciding that he would use the chance Naruto had made for him, broke free from the glass and jumped toward the wall he was closest too. Some of the sand covering the field attempted to capture him again, but was stopped by Naruto's chakrams by cutting through the sand, turning the particles connecting the sand to glass. Finally, he made it up into the safety of the stands and ran toward his team.
Naruto however fell to the ground after he had made it to the stands. Sand tried to approach him, but he spun the bladed disks around him, creating a huge whirlwind of fire around him and stopping it from advancing.
Naruto, now knowing his position was safe because of the small ring of fire around him due to that last fire attack, looked at the Gaara, who was now growling at him. "Gaara, the proctor told you to stop," he berated in a mock scolding tone. He then smiled cheerfully at her. "Please remember to stop when told, ok?"
"Sparda," she growled out, her sand that was once spread out around the field retreating. "Mother want's your blood Sparda."
"Yeah, well the only way your mother is getting my blood is if she is a hot MILF, then I'll consider giving her my blood for her sick fetishes."
Gaara stopped raging for a moment to look confused. "MILF," she began, "what is a MILF?"
Naruto looked at her before bursting out into laughter. He then suddenly had to dodge a torrent of sand coming toward him. He looked to see Gaara blushing slightly with an angry look on her face.
"Mother told me to kill you for being… perverted," she said with slight anger. She was about to attack him again but was stopped by some of the Jōnin in the room. The proctor stood in front of her.
"You are lucky that Naruto-san stopped cough you from killing that kid cough else you would have been disqualified," he said as sharply as he could despite the cough. "Now please, return to your team."
Gaara's hand twitched as if contemplating to adhere to his order. She looked around her and noted that many of the adult shinobi were prepared to fight her if she chose to disobey. Her mother began to soothe her. She lost her psychotic look as it went back to a frown etched upon her face.
Nodding to them, she walked away and used Suna Shunshin no Jutsu (Sand Body Flicker Technique) to appear next to her team, who began trying to pry about the whole 'being a girl' thing. They received a glare in response.
Naruto chuckled at the situation before jumping back to the Konoha group. When he landed, his fellow Genin were looking at him with their mouths agape. Even the normally stoic Shino lost his calculating personality for a moment to stare in shock. He grinned at them.
"What, you act like you've never seen chakrams before," the silver haired teen stated. He was then almost tackled by Tenten, who was staring at the weapon in awe. He sweat dropped. "Take a picture Panda-chan, it'll last longer."
Tenten ignored the snarky comment and tried to touch the demonic weapon, only to get burned when her finger was about a centimeter away. She quickly pulled her hand back. Getting over the fact she had just been burned by the weapon, she looked at Naruto. "Naruto-san, please remove the anti-theft seal so I can examine it," she pleaded.
"No can do, Panda-chan," he said without a care. "This weapon is sentient, so it has a mind of its own." The sensei and some of his fellow Genin were listening close now. "He wouldn't allow you to touch him unless he likes you. He says he doesn't like you."
"But I barely even know you," she exclaimed in frustration. "How can it hate somebody it doesn't know?"
He shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, he doesn't really like anybody except me and some other demons." He heard his friends and their sensei shout out 'Demon!' before an explanation. "Look, I told you guy my Kekkei Genkai had five main abilities. I told you about one of them. The second one is called Akuma no Ude. This ability allows me to take souls of demons I kill and turn them into sentient weapons."
The others began to talk amongst themselves while the Jōnin circled Naruto. Asuma spoke for them. "Was that name we heard what we think it is," he asked slightly hesitant.
Naruto nodded. "Yes, he has become a one of my weapons," he responded casually. He noticed the looks they shot him. "Look, Sandaime Ojii-san knows about this already and as discussed, ifKyūbi ever tried anything, then I had to tell him immediately. So far he has yet to try a thing and I am not expecting him to. He and I are partners, so I trust him." He saw Asuma about to say something again and growled in annoyance. "Look, I know you're only asking because you're worried, but please just trust me; I know what I'm doing. Besides, the next match involves one of your students anyway."
Asuma turned his head and found that Naruto was indeed correct when he found that his remaining student's name appear on the screen. "Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsurugi Misumi!" Misumi smiled under his mask and hoped over the railing. Shikamaru just sighed and walked down the steps, ignoring the shouts of good luck from his friends.
Hayate stood before them and nodded at them. "Are both fighters ready?"
"Oh, yes," said Misumi sadistically as he rubbed his hands together. "I'm going to enjoy this."
"Mendokusē (How Troublesome)," said the lazy shinobi. Hayate sweat dropped as and took the response as the Nara's version of 'yes'. He began the match.
Misumi dashed forward in an attempt to capture Shikamaru only to be forced to a halt. Shikamaru sighed lazily with his hands in the rat seal. "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) success," he stated in a bored tone. He noticed Misumi trying to struggle free and sighed. "Don't try it, it won't work." He noticed Misumi's glare. "You shouldn't have been so cocky out of the gate. It was annoying but a good advantage. Not only that, but it seems you forgot that a Nara can control his and another person's shadows if it's within range. You came into mine and fell right for it."
"This will change nothing," Misumi sneered at him. "You will run out of chakra eventually and when you do, I'll just spring from here and break your limbs!"
Shikamaru gave him a lazy grin. "You really thought I didn't think about that?" He moved his hand toward his pouch, causing his opponent to do the same. He pulled out a kunai with and explosive note attached while his opponent just threw a regular kunai. They both threw the kunai and each back flipped to avoid it.
Misumi however ended up flipping into the wall where the kunai was lodged into, causing him to fall face forward. The kunai overhead then exploded and rubble from the wall fell on top of him.
Shikamaru released his shadow as the medics ran over to check on Masumi while he was declared the winner by Hayate. He sighed and placed his hands in his pockets and walked back up the stairs toward the teams from Konoha. When he got there, he found everybody, Naruto included, looking at him with a sweat drop. "What, why are you all staring like that," he asked.
Naruto just looked at him. "That was just so… boring," said Naruto in a monotone, making him sound as if he was dead. "I mean, I think the battle between Lee and that Yoroi guy was more fun to watch… and Lee kicked his ass in a matter of thirty seconds."
Shikamaru's brow furrowed in annoyance at his fellow Genin's comment and made him ask, "You think I did this to entertain you?"
Naruto nodded his head like the answer was obvious. "Yeah, why else would we be a part of this tournament?"
Shikamaru decided to point out the obvious. "To be promoted to a higher rank."
Naruto stared blankly at him. "So, this isn't a battle royal just for fun?"
"No you idiot," shouted all of the Konoha teams present.
Naruto held up his hands. "Hey, I was kidding! Give me a break. Do you all really think I'm that dumb?" Everyone gave him a deadpan look, including Hinata as well. "Eh, fuck you all."
He began to grumble as the next match was announced. "Tsuchi Kin vs. Sabaku Temari!" Temari, from across the way, jumped over the railing. Her opponent did so as well. The met at the center of the field and Hayate stepped forward.
"Ready to lose, Suna bitch," commented Kin offhandedly.
Temari growled in annoyance. "Not on your life, you Oto whore," she stated back before smirking at her. "So, how many times did they blow up inside you, hm? Twice… maybe three times?"
The Oto kunoichi lost it. "You bitch," she shouted.
Hayate, knowing that a cat fight was about to ensue, yelled for the match to start and then jumped away to escape the wraith of the two females. He wasn't stupid; he knew not to get in front of a brawl between two pissed off kunoichi. He actually wanted to keep his balls.
Kin jumped at Temari, who batted at her with the fan she carried on her back. Kin dodged under the swing and managed to give Temari a swift uppercut to the chin and then kicked her in the stomach, forcing her back a bit. Kin continued with her assault, punching her in the gut and then performing a sweep kick to knock her off of her feet.
Temari, to save herself, planted the fan's but on the ground to keep her up and then brought it up to block a attack from Kin to her chest.
Kin's hand recoiled in pain from hitting the giant metal fan and was forced back to avoid being hit from a direct attack. She noticed Temari had a bruise on her cheek and decided to try and rile her up. "What's the matter Suna bitch, can't take the heat," she mocked.
Temari kept her cool when she noticed Kin had a bloody fist, most likely gotten from hitting her fan and showing that she was a bit beaten up as well. "I don't know, whore," Temari began, "I can take the heat fine. But you aren't looking so good, your hand being a prime example."
Kin growled and quickly threw some senbon. What that girl didn't know was that it had her special bells on them. They would distract her and then she would get hit by the senbon in the neck, putting her in a death like state. So technically, Suna couldn't get mad at Oto before the invasion for killing one of their kunoichi.
That was supposed to be the plan had she actually taken into account the fact that Temari carried a fan, which usually signified a wind user. So when Temari saw the senbon coming right at her, she smirked. She held out her fan, allowing it to open up. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Sickle Weasel Technique)!" The wind blew away the needles back toward their thrower, who jumped away to avoid it. But that was all that Temari needed to finish the match.
The blonde aimed her fan toward the still airborne Kin. "I got you! Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" She waved the fan and a huge column of wind surrounded the young Oto kunoichi. The girl put up her arms to try and block the wind that kept her afloat, but she could not. She continued to be cut up by tiny blades of wind, causing her to scream in pain. Finally, when the wind calmed, the girl fell to the floor and a sickening crack was heard as her body hit the concrete.
Kin lay in the crater completely motionless. The medics rushed over and knew she was alive, but had severe fractures all over her body. They rushed her away and Hayate declared Temari the winner. She walked back up the stairs toward her sister and sensei.
(With Konoha Teams)
"Wow, that was really brutal," was the only comment that Asuma could think at the time.
"Brutal is the understatement of the century," said Naruto as he stared at the field. "To be honest, I would have preferred them ripping each other's clothes off instead of the bloody mess." Naruto was smacked on the back of the head by 'Sasuke', who looked slightly annoyed. Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Ok, what's with you?"
"You preferred they take their clothes off during the fight," she asked with an eye twitch.
"What's it matter to you 'Sasuke', you think you wouldn't mind either. I mean, after all, any male would enjoy staring at female flesh, even if it only is a little."
"Not if he isn't a pervert," 'he' replied.
"Everyone is a pervert 'Sasuke', some are just better at hiding it. Besides, it's a natural human instinct at work." He leaned forward. "You know, ever since I found out your secret, you've been acting differently, hell you've even started socializing more. Care to explain."
'He' looked at him. "Well, isn't that what you told me to do? You wanted me to interact with others more and I'm doing that." Seeing Naruto continue to stare, 'he' sighed. "Look, now that someone else knows my secret, I can kind of let loose a bit more. I mean, you promised to back me up should people start asking questions, so I guess just some of the pressure is gone, you know."
Naruto continued to look at 'him' before smirking. "Ok, 'Sasuke', whatever you say, though you might want to get your ass down to the field so you can fight Panda-Chan."
Looking at the board, 'Sasuke' read "Uchiha Sasuke vs. Higarashi Tenten!"
'Sasuke' smirked at Naruto. "Well, that's my cue!" 'He' jumped over the rail and met Tenten at the center of the arena. 'He' grinned at Tenten in some excitement. "Give me a good match, weapons girl."
Tenten sweat dropped. "Ok, is this 'guy' bipolar or something?" In the beginning, 'Sasuke' was all broody. But ever since their team got to the tower, 'he' was socializing a bit more a showing some emotions. She had heard fan-girls talk about 'him' a lot, but not like how 'he' was acting now. It was somewhat suspicious.
Instead of bring it up however; she decided to indulge 'him'. "Whatever, 'Sasuke-san', just be prepared to lose," she stated with confidence.
Hayate looked at them both. "Are you two ready," he asked. He received two nods. "Very well then, let the match begin."
Tenten quickly pulled out a scroll and channeled chakra to it. A puff of smoke filled the air and when it cleared, Tenten held a pair of wooden tonfa's to battle with. She began jumping around before rushing toward 'Sasuke', who could see her slow movements even without 'his' Sharingan active. 'He' pulled out two kunai for each hand and went to meet her.
She ran in and attempted to strike 'him' in the stomach, but 'he' parried the attack with ease and brought his left hand forward in a stabbing motion. She blocked with her right tonfa. The kunai had enough force to lodge it in the shaft of the weapon.
Seizing an opportunity where she saw it, she sweep kicked him while he was shaken up and smacked 'him' with the butt of her weapon, sending 'him' backward and allowing her to continue her assault.
She hit 'him' in the stomach, causing 'him' to lose 'his' breathe and kept at it, hitting 'him' in various places like the shoulder and the leg, causing 'him' to lose his balance at one point. She finally hit 'him' in the face, sending 'him' to the floor.
She smiled, thinking she had beaten Konoha's supposed prodigy, but was shocked when she saw the 'boy' stand. 'He' looked up and revealed a two tomoed Sharingan in all of its glory. She looked at the red eyes that had two black comma like marks in shock. These were the glorious eyes of the Uchida clan? They didn't look like anything special to her.
Thinking she would win despite her opponent's new eyes, she rushed forward, intent on defeating 'him'. She swiped at 'him', only for him to shock her by dodging the attack like it was nothing special. She tried to hit 'him' in his legs, but 'he' jumped over and kicked her in face, sending her tumbling to the ground. She attempted to get up, only to find a kunai near her throat. She looked to see the Uchida looking down at her, 'his' two tomoes rotating slowly as if trying to hypnotize her. 'He' was smiling at her.
"Give up," 'he' said casually. "You can't substitute because you have nothing to substitute with, so you can't get out. I'm also holding a knife to your throat, so if you went for anything, then I could just slit your throat. Give up, for you have lost."
Knowing she was defeated, she conceded to the proctor and was released from 'Sasuke's' hold. They both went back to the stair only to find Naruto now walking down them. He walked past 'Sasuke' and patted him on the back. "Nice job, 'bro'," he said.
(With Orochimaru)
"Kukukuku," laughed the Hebi Sennin as he watched the events below unfold. "'Sasuke-kun's' performance was quite interesting. I knew 'he' would be a worthy subject." He then looked to Naruto, who was approaching the last of his remaining members from Oto.
He knew that the boy, Dosu, would not win against the Sparda, so he figured he would use him to draw out to see more of Naruto's abilities. He was expendable, wasn't he?
"Let's see some more of your power, Naruto-kun!"
(Down on the Field)
Naruto noticed that Dosu was at the center waiting for him. When they had their first encounter, the mummy like boy got away from him before he could do damage. Well, it was a one on one match now. There was no place to run or to hide for him. However, he knew that he needed to have some kind of self restraint. He needed information that the mummy probably had.
Why would he care if the mummy was intact or not? Well, he knew Orochimaru was obviously up to something besides wanting to make Saki his personal little slave. This bandaged kid probably knew the real reason why. So after he beat him to a bloody pulp her, he would extract the need information after the exams were over.
Naruto stood in front of the bandaged boy and smirked. "I told you I would get to you, didn't I?"
The boy smiled underneath the bandages. "Well, let's just say I'll be tougher for you than that Inuzuka boy."
"I'll be the judge of that," Naruto replied happily. Hayate approached them and before he even asked if they were ready, received two nods. Finding it a little freaky that they practically read his mind, he began the match.
Immediately, Dosu rushed forward and jumped to a spot near Naruto, who just stood there with a grin waiting for the attack. Dosu got next to him. "This is the end for you. Kyōmeisen (Resonating Echo Drill)!"
Naruto felt a small sting in his ear, but that was pretty much it. He looked at Dosu, who looked surprised that Naruto was not on the ground screaming in agony. "Sorry," he apologized, "but was that small sound supposed to do anything?" Naruto sighed when he saw Dosu dumbly shake his head. "Well then that was anti-climatic! And here I thought I would be able to show off more of my badassery! Just had to ruin it, didn't you, mummy man?" Naruto growled in fake frustration. "Well then, I'll end this quickly. Sparda no Āmu!"
Naruto's arm morphed into a demonic one, shocking all in the room except for the Iwa Genin who had already saw it, and picked Dosu up by the head. His arm covered in raw energy, he slammed Dosu's head down gently. Well, gently enough where he could survive the blow but would be knocked out as a result.
Dosu's head was slammed into the ground. Naruto let his body fall to the earth as the medical teams rushed in to bring him to the medical wing.
Naruto looked at the shocked expressions all over the arena and did the sensible thing at the moment: he bowed, as if he was receiving applause and praise. Yup, he knew he was going to have to explain a lot later, but he didn't care. He just basked in the moment.
(Ten Minutes Later)
The chosen few for the next round of the exam were now standing in front of the Hokage, each with a number in their hand. "The numbers you have selected will decide your match for the next portion of the exams. Please, tell us your number when you are pointed too. We will start first with Nara-san."
"Mendokusē, I have number seven," the lazy boy said.
"I have number three," said Ino with great confidence.
"I have number one," growled the male Iwa-nin.
"I have number two," Shino said without any emotion.
"I have eleven," said the new feminine like voice of Gaara.
"I have eight," Temari said simply.
"I received ten," Neji said also with no emotion.
"I have four," shouted a cheerful Ayane.
"I have received the youthful number of six," guess who.
"I have nine," 'Sasuke' said gruffly, glancing over to see the number 'his' teammate had received.
"I got five, lucky me," said the silver haired boy with a grin, knowing full well who he would be going up against.
The proctor nodded in acknowledgment. "Everyone," he began, "if you look at the board, you will see your match placements." Everyone looked at the board and saw the placements.
Third Round Placements:
Match 1: Shiina Renji vs. Aburame Shino
Match 2: Yamanaka Ino vs. Shinichi Ayane
Match 3: Sparda Naruto vs. Rock Lee
Match 4: Nara Shikamaru vs. Sabaku Temari
Match 5: Uchiha 'Sasuke' vs. Hyūga Neji
Buy Match: Sabaku Gaara
There were murmurs of excitement going around the room. Naruto was no exception. Rock Lee would be a good opponent for him to fight. Lee was hopefully someone who can match his speed. He was interrupted from his thoughts by the Hokage.
"Everyone, you all have one month to train before this last portion of the exam, so use it wisely. Many important people will be coming to see your performances and will judge if your village is fit to receive missions from them, so show them your best. I wish you all good luck." He and his advisers disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto looked at all the people who would be participating and couldn't help but allow his grin to spread wider across his face. This truly would be a fun exam, regardless if Orochimaru had something planned or not. And if he did, well then he would have to deal with Konoha's new devil.
Next Time: Training Missions!
AN:
Well, I hope you enjoyed the special edition chapter. If I get up to a thousand subscribers next, you'll see one of these long bad boys again. Now there are probably a lot of complaints I will address now.
Rinnegan: Look, he will keep it a secret for the time being. Sure, have him go flaunt it around to the rest of the elemental countries; they won't try anything at all. He's strong right now, but do you think he could handle the entire fucking continent on his ass. The answer is no and when they saw heard he had it, they will work hard to get rid of him immediately. Enough said. But don't worry; you'll see him use it soon.
Gilgamesh: He will defiantly be using it next chapter, trust me.
The Tower: Not many teams got there early, so we don't know what kind of amenities the tower provides to those who finish early. For all we know, they could actually provide these services.
Saki Changing Her Opinion too Fast: Think about it, if someone knew about a secret about you that was as bad as hers, but that person promised not to tell, wouldn't you feel some of the weight on your mind disappear? That's just like her situation. Someone knows about her now and that person has always managed to keep a promise. Of course she will start to open up more now because she now has someone that can help her hide her secret and doesn't have to rely on herself the whole time.
Sakura: For the time being, Naruto is going to be a little indifferent. He knows that it was just one of those petty crushes everyone has, but it still hurts. So you will see a bit of a divide between them for a bit.
Evil Sealing Method: Explained it in one sentence before the prelims. Saki had the mark sealed up this time before the prelims due to the fact that she had gotten there earlier than other teams, so she would be able to rest and let the initial sealing effects wear off before the matches. That is why she could use chakra and such without worrying about the curse seal.
Prelim Battles and Reasons for Wins:
Chōji vs. Renji: Renji won because I made him stronger than Chōji. It's just that simple.
Shino vs. Kankurō: Shino won because he had his chakra eating bugs eat at the strings. Add to the fact the Naruto data book put him a bit above Kankurō in strength and Shino would come out on top.
Hinata vs. Ino: I swear to god I am going to get the most hate mail for this one. First off, according to the official Naruto data book, and I can't believe I am saying this, but Ino had an overall average of two points higher than Hinata, so basically she is stronger much to my shock and awe all things considered from the manga and anime. Second off, Naruto could be used as a weakness to Hinata just as much as she is empowered by him. Many people say Hinata is in love with Naruto, so if someone made sexual suggestions like the ones I had Ino made, you would be damn dazed too. The Ino would have enough time to perform her takeover Jutsu, so she would win.
Naruto vs. Kiba: Not going to explain it because it's pretty damn obvious.
Lee vs. Yoroi: Look, Yoroi wasn't tough to begin with plus Lee has no chakra and is incredibly fast. It would be over that quick.
Ayane vs. Sakura: Some of you die hard Sakura haters must have gotten a kick out of this one. She distracted Sakura in battle and caused her to trip up and not think straight. I personally think I gave Sakura a bit of a chance to fight back. And I use actual techniques she knew at the time too.
Zaku vs. Neji: The match was quick because I went by the data book on this one. Compared to Neji, Zaku was incredibly weak so yeah, this one also explains itself.
Hayate vs. Gaara: To be honest, I thought this was one of the better done matches in the chapter and I actually enjoyed writing this one as much as the Naruto matches. It shows some struggle between the two. I also think that it worked into a nice reveal of the female Gaara. Hayate lost though because he was out of his element though really.
Shikamaru vs. Misumi: I know, almost the same way he defeated Kin. According to the data book, he was weak to begin with and usually let his cockiness get the best of him according to his profile, so yeah, enough said.
Temari vs. Kin: Another fun match for me to write. It was just a kind of cat fight sort of match. It was great really. By the way, fun fact, Kin doesn't know how to do like anything unless it involves a needle with a bell attached. So that's why she lost; projectiles are ineffective against Temari.
Tenten vs. Saki: Sasuke was stronger than her in the first data book information, so yeah. Add to the fact that those damned Uchida eyes can basically predict almost what is about to happen, then she would defiantly lose.
Naruto vs. Dosu: Bastard only knows one damn Jutsu and that the one with his melody arm. Otherwise, his taijutsu it terrible and he isn't even that smart. So yeah.
That's pretty much anything. Want to complain about the battles or something, PM me and we will discuss why thing happened the way they did further.
Harem: Yes, many of you have been waiting for this list. There are two on there for my personal amusement and other reasons; the other eleven are your top picks. Though just so you know, the poll will be open a bit longer, so this may be subject to change. I do however just want to point out; he may or may not marry all of these women. Some may just be lovers and such considering situations. Your last two picks tied, so I'm using both,
Naruto's Harem: Mei Termui (Not surprised actually)
Yugito Nii (Again, not surprised)
Anko (Not surprised)
Samui (I'm not saying 'not surprised' again… damnit)
Fem. Gaara (Actually surprised)
Konan (Not surprise… ha, didn't say it)
Kurenai (Somewhat surprised)
Fem. Sasuke (Ha, I am surprised on that one)
Guren (This is going to be a hard work in)
Tayuya (Foul-mouthed girl, interesting pick)
Fu (Rare pairing choice, happy it made it)
Now my picks:
Ayame: Rare, check. She's a civilian, so I think that might be a first in the Devil May Cry/Naruto xover area. If I can do that, I'm all for it.
Last on is a secret, but will be revealed later in time.
If I get enough complaints, I might not add Sakura if it bothers you all, but I really do hope the parings don't stop you from reading and enjoying.
Also, I'm still taking OC Devil Arm idea's, so send in your submissions now.
Anyway, any questions or comments you wish to keep private then please PM me.
I'm out,
Dark Naruto 101
