Chapter 3: Demons and Sharingans
Arriving in Konoha was quite amazing. The huge wealthy village had at least Two Hundred Thousand people there already, and a slew of different buildings. Men, Women, and Children, coming and going as they pleased. The vibe was almost that of a tourist destination, tho I wasn't sure how much the Chunin exams effect had. This was the highest number of merchants gathered in one area I had ever seen in my life. With so many people on the street selling different items out of carts. The array of shops were almost overwhelming, and the transactions never slowed. I couldn't help but be reminded of how poor my Homeland was. The heavy amount of traffic didn't stop my team from easily maneuvering through Konoha.
First, we uneventfully registered for the chunin exams, a large building with two Konoha shinobi at the desk. Then we found our temporary rooms, the circluar hotel roof sort of reminded me of home. Finally came bathing, having been a full week since my last cleansing. Tensai had allowed the three of us to explore Konoha, but it would have to wait for the morning. The rooms available were average at best, tho the fact they could provide many different teams with rooms showed wealth. "I will return Kirigakure to glory." Was my last thought before sleep conquered me.
Before we got on the boat to the land of fire, my shark like Sensei had given me his old Kirigakure Hunter nin mask. He told me I must wear it anytime I used the eyes, his code word for my Sharingan. Tensai instructed me to keep said mask on my person at all times. The mask was mostly white, with the bottom third being dark grey. The dark design was like a pyramid with a rounded bottom. The white top half featured the insignia for Kirigakure engraved in the forehead, four distinct lines, and three small lines under the right eye. I appreciated the gift, and thought about wearing it even afternoon the exams.
In honor of the late Zabuza Momochi, but mostly for the Chunin exams, I decided to start wearing a set of bandages around my face. The former Kirigakure nin was apparently killed by a Konoha team during a mercenary assignment. Tho Zabuza was labeled a missing nin of Kirigakure, after his death the Village began honoring his legacy. Many young boys such as Suigetsu wanted to be like The Original Demon of Kiri, and the older ninja had never stopped respecting his abilities. The higher-ups only started to praise Zabuza after a while, tho I'm sure he would have liked the support earlier. He had tried to assassinate our currently deceased and disgraced Fourth Mizukage. Overall, I really wanted all the ninja of the world to feel our presence, and I knew my temporary new bandaged look was vintage Kirigakure.
Awaking the next morning refreshed, my fellow genin and I started through Konoha. Kiri, Suigetsu, and I began our journey in a random direction. "I need food" Suigetsu proclaimed while his stomach growled for effect. I was hungry as well, and I had seen a restaurant that we would never have back home. The smell of the place had caught my attention during the walk to register for the Chunin exams, and hadn't left my senses since.
"You're right for once, Fishcake." Kiri replied tauntingly. The last Yuki knew Suigetsu hated the nickname, which caused her to say it as much as possible. The relationship was like a bickering brother and sister, but with a little more violence. Behind the constant petty arguing we all treated each other as family.
Suigetsu was furious with Kiri's reply, And he would let it be known. "Fishcake?" The white haired boy questioned before exploding. "FISHCAKE!" the boy repeated, his face nearly red.
Before Suigetsu could continue a running young Konoha child bumped into him. The boy was small in size, with unkept brown hair, and a pair of goggles on his head. The impact did little to either party involved. After gathering him self the young boy rose and stuck his tongue at Suigetsu, then ran off again. This was the last straw for my Sharp toothed teammate, he took off after the kid. Not entirely sure what he was going to do, Kiri and I followed in pursuit. The boy had ran down multiple alleys trying to elude us, as well as whoever was pursuing him originally. He wasn't extremely fast, but clearly he was more familiar with the territory. After one reckless turn to many the leaf kid crashed into a hooded shinobi of Sunagakure.
The Suna ninja was dressed in all black, with something similar to a cat's ears protruding from his hood. He carried a large tightly bandaged item on his back. The boy was accompanied by a cute faced blonde haired girl. The girl carried a large fan on her back, and looked rugged overall.
"What the fuck is your problem kid" The Suna male started aggressively, while single handedly lifting the leaf kid by his blue scarf. The boy was squirming and screaming something about being the "all powerful" Konohamaru Sarutobi. The Suna ninja had a bad look in his eye, a look of bloodlust to be exact. The hooded Ninja's face was as if he had already decided the little Leaf boys fate.
"Hey... he didn't mean any harm." a girl's voice spoke from behind the Suna nin. A blonde, and pink haired leaf genin tandem came into my view. The girl with pink hair looked distressed, and worried, while the male seemed frustrated. The boy of the two wore a orange jacket with a white and blue collar, and matching pants. His forehead protector was aligned to Konoha.
"Yeah put him down, and pick on somebody your own size." The blonde boy yelled. His outburst had the effect of causing both Sand ninja to laugh. The sand ninja tightened his grip on the young boy therefore challenging the leaf genin. The boy with whiskers ran towards Konohamaru's attacker with heroics in his eyes. His efforts fell short after the Suna ninja used a ninja wire to trip him up. The cat faced boy started to taunt the Konoha genin, then he loaded his arm up to punish the young leaf kid.
Before the hit connected another leaf genin announced his presence by throwing a rock at the Suna Ninja's arm, therefore freeing Konohamaru.
"SASUKE" The pink haired girl exclaimed with hearts in her eyes.
Suigetsu had begun loudly laughing at the situation, drawing the embarrassed Sand Ninja's ire. "What the hell is so funny punk?" The sand boy questioned angrily. "Last time I checked your village is barely surving because all the good ninja left." He finished with a smirk. The cat boy's faux arrogance was very off-putting, and it had now started to irritate me. Tho I never underestimated an opponent, I would bet Kiri, Suigetsu, or myself could beat him in a one on one fight. My cleaver wielding teammates eyes got bigger, and his mock laugh louder, purposely triggering the Suna nin even more.
"That's it, I'll handle all of you little punks right now." The now furious Sand boy exclaimed. He reached around his back and retrieved the large item. The item's bandage came slightly unraveled, revealing a tuff of brown hair.
"You're going to use crow?" The female suna ninja questioned her teammate, obviously worried. She hadn't spoken much besides a loose compliment to Sasuke, calling him kinda cute. "I know you don't think any of these brats are worth it." The girl concluded.
I mentally ready myself for an attack, while my teammate continued to laugh. Before things could get started another Suna boy with blood red hair appeared. His location was on the other side of the same tree as the Konoha nin with rock throwing skills. I noticed the boy they called Sasuke didn't feel the Ninja's entrance, this made me question Konoha's new generations abilities. The boy had a red kanji for love tattooed on his forehead, and carried a large gourd on his back. He was standing upside down using his chakra to stick to the thick branch.
"Stop, Kankuro." The boy announced his presence with a malicious, yet plain tone. Everyone in the small alley that wasn't from Kirigakure visibly tensed. I noted Sasuke's reaction as one of extreme shock. The scene's newest member had an energy of bloodlust, power, and hate.
"Ga.. Gaara." The cat boy stuttered out. It was clear to see Kankuro's fear.
"Kankuro, you are a disgrace to your village." Gaara stated before flipping down from his spot in the tree. "Hello, my name is Gaara, of Sunagakure." The emotionless boy introduced himself to the Konoha genin. "And you are?" He asked, his voice errily calm, and anything but polite. The boy dressed in Orange was first to speak.
"NARUTO UZUMAKI, KONOHA'S NUMBER ONE NINJA!" The boy yelled loudly and proudly. Of all things, this announcement peaked my interest. Was this blonde haired boy really a descendent of the Great Uzumaki clan of Whirlpool? I thought. I knew it was unlikely, but very much possible because I was a half Uchiha from Kirigakure. If this loud boy was indeed a Uzumaki, he possessed the potential to change the word for the better, or worst. I started to note his features, then I remembered Mito, and Kushina Uzumaki's storied whisker like marks. Both were Jinchuriki of the Great Kyuubi, and both were significant to Kiri and Konoha history. I needed to know more about this Naruto Uzumaki.
"Actually, I wasn't talking to you." The red head crushed the young Uzumaki's pride with his response. "You, what is your name?" He questioned again, this time pointing at his target. The boys index finger was directed at Sasuke, which visibly pained Naruto even more.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha of Konohagakure." The boy responded confidently. The Uchiha had only confirmed my suspicions with his reveal. His features being similar to mine, but with much shorter hair, his being a slightly lighter color aside from my single white stripe. Those Jet Black eyes had already made me wonder if he was a Sharingan weilder from the beginning, and now I wanted to know whatever he knew about our common gift.
Gaara's voice drew my attention again. "Thank you, I apologize for my brother's rudeness." The boy concluded before he turned to my group. "I assume you heard my name, but if not I'm.." Gaara started, but was interrupted by Suigetsu.
"Dude, we heard you the first time. Now what's your point?" Suigetsu rudely questioned. Gaara's ice blue eyes locked with Suigetsu's violets. The red head waited a few seconds before responding.
"Not him, You." Was the young Sand Ninja's reply, this time pointing at me. Suigetsu was now a little pissed off, but before he could retaliate to Gaara's dismissal I spoke.
"I am Sokudo Samebaito of Kirigakure." I said in my own emotionless voice. Gaara simply nodded his head in response, before leaving with his team in tow.
"That was intense." Kiri started. Her face expressed an unfamiliar level of excitement. "The competition here is going to be interesting" the girl concluded. She was then interrupted by the Uzumaki boy.
"Hey, why are all you foreign ninja in Konoha?" Naruto questioned. Tho his manors were lacking, he clearly didn't mean any harm.
"You mean you don't know?" Suigetsu asked rhetorically, a grin on his face. "We're here to kill you of course." The water user concluded with a now fang bearing smile. The Konoha nin tensed again, but the female of my own team quelled their discomfort.
"Actually we're here for the Chunin exams." She spoke in a soft calming tone. The girls announcement caused Suigetsu to frown, as well as lightening up the mood. "Fishcake here just likes to try and scare people." She concluded, much to Suigetsu's annoyance. After a brief childish argument between the two, we made our proper introductions with the three Leaf genin. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha.
"Are you a descendent of Whirlpool?" I asked hopefully. The boy didn't have the clans signature red hair, but the name couldn't be a coincidence. He looked oddly familiar, but I had never met him. Maybe I was mistaken, but Naruto bore a minor resemblance to the late Fourth Hokage. I wanted to know more about him, as well as the Uchiha.
Much to my dismay the boy responded with an ignorant "What's Whirlpool?" while scratching his head. The answer left me mentally defeated.
History of the Elemental Nations was the only subject to interest me in the academy. From the formation of The Hidden Villages, to the wars the ensued. The tales of Konoha ninja like Hashirama Senju, Mardara Uchiha, and Minato Namikaze were told around the world. Don't get me wrong, Kirigakure and other villages alike had legendary shinobi as well, it was just the previously mentioned names who had inspired me the most. The world was a place of less espionage, and more ruthless violence back then. The ninja of the past generations had all fought in a minimum of one world war. I always dreamed of living life in the war torn battlefield, and I was sure I would experience it at least once.
"Ye..Yeah." the boy stuttered, slightly confused. "Naruto Uzumaki, believe it." He concluded. The blonde Uzumaki's confidence now back on display. My reply was a simple nod, before I turned to leave with my teammates.
"Why do you want to know Naruto?" I heard a feminine voice ask. I answered her without turning around.
"Where I'm from, the Uzumaki clan was the most powerful group of people in existence." I could almost feel the leaf genin behind me fill with surprise and suspicions. "The Uzumaki clan of Whirlpool are legendary within The Land Of Water." Adding effect to my voice, but before I could continue the history lesson, Suigetsu's stomach growled angrily. "We will meet again at the exams leaf nin, so for now have a good day." I concluded, before finishing my teams exit.
After finally eating at what I discovered to be the delicious "Akimichi's BBQ and Seafood", the team and I were now back at the hotel. The Chunin exams set to begin in the morning.
The morning came, and my team minus Tensai were now at the Chunin exam building. After seeing a few leaf ninja including the three from yesterday make a brief spectacle, we proceeded to the first test. The test was quite simple, we basically needed to cheat to pass. The instructor had bluffed that if we failed this test we would never be allowed to be Chunin again, but our home villages decided our rank so it was easily detected. I made eye contact with Kiri before equipping my sensei's mask. A little chakra to the eyes and a lot of copying later, the espionage test was over. Not before Naruto made another spectacle, also I noted how much attention that team seemed to attract overall.
Next came the Forest of Death. I had a rare bad feeling upon entering, tho I brushed it off. In hindsight, I was mistaken to ignore my gut. After Kiri had easily poisoned a group of Iwagakure ninja we secured our second scroll. During our hike to the final round we encountered a snake like man. The feeling was a level of bloodlust I had never felt, now barely able to breathe I slipped the mask to my face. This snake man was clearly not a genin, and he was surely out to kill.
He looked like he had been in a minor fight before he encountered us. "Kukukuku." The man started with a strange laugh. "What do we have here?" He hissed out. In response, my team and I wordlessly prepared for battle. "If I was wasn't in such a rush I would play with the children of Kirigakure longer, but now is no time for games." The man stated before attacking.
The man swiftly incapacitated my teammates with chops to the neck, then turned to me. I was frozen for second to long, and the man closed in instantly. He attempted to chop my neck as well, but my now active Sharingan allowed me to dodge. "What do we have here?" The snake questioned in a hiss, his eyes filled with more intrigue than before. He then launched himself at speeds my body couldn't react to. The man connected a solid right punch to my gut, then flipped into a standing axe kick. As a result I crashed face first, and my body almost shut down from the pain. But the Snake man's attack was far from finished. He picked me up by the throat then proceeded to shatter my recently cracked mask with an elbow. "I knew Kirigakure had secrets, but I never expected this. Kukukuku" the man concluded with a laugh. "I'll grant you a taste of true power boy, and in return you'll seek me in the future." The man the beared his fangs before taking a bite into my wrist. His teeth easily ripped through my bandaged arm, and the pain was to much to endure. Falling after being released I felt a horrible sensation in my wrist. All I could do now was feint.
"What the hell was that?" Suigetsu awoken with a question, to no answer. "Kiri?" ... "Sokudo?" The young ninja called out. He was confused and worried.
"I'm right here Fishcake." Kiri responded. "Sokudo's knocked out, so we need carry him and get out of here now." Traveling by tree, they completed our Forrest of Death test. Now would come the final step towards making a new name for Kirigakure.
A/N: I could really use any decent OC ideas, especially Water user's and Sound ninja. I need Jounin level Ninja for the latter story. Your OCs can be Good or Evil.
