After reading the chapter, Sunset Shimmer closed the book.
"Well...how about some rest. Digest the information? she asked.
"...That would be best." Celestia said, glancing at Minato and Kushina, who nodded and the group got up and headed toward the rooms, Sunset carrying Naruto into his room.
Naruto yawned and forced his eyes open. Sheesh...he felt great! He stood up and stretched then rubbed his eyes to clear the rest of the sleep from them...and his jaw hit the floor.
He was wearing a burnt orange-colored sweat suit as a form of sleepwear (how he got into it, he didn't think he WANTED to know) and was in somewhere that he guessed was one of the rooms Shimmer had created.
The suite was nicer than any place he'd ever lived in, nicer than any place he'd ever visited. It was shaped like a cross, with four sections radiating from the central atrium. Each wing was as large as an airplane hangar. One was the entry hall where we'd come in. The next was a bedroom with a king-size bed. Despite its size, the room was spare and simple: beige covers and fluffy-looking pillows on the bed, beige walls with no artwork or mirrors or other decoration.
Looking at this bedroom, Naruto felt like somebody had reached into his mind and pulled out exactly what he wanted and needed to be comfortable.
The wing to the left was a dressing area/bathroom. The perks included a sauna, a hot tub, a walk-in wardrobe, a walk-in shower and a separate area that was walled off to hide the toilet.
The suite's fourth wing was a full living room. At one end of the living room, a big leather couch faced a plasma-screen TV. On the other side, two recliners sat in front of a crackling fireplace and a wall of books.
"You seem well rested, Darling."
Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice speaking to him from behind him, and when he turned around he was met with Sunset Shimmer, standing behind him, dressed in a set of magenta-colored pajamas, hands on her hips and an amused smile on her face.
Naruto froze...then immediately slammed his hands together. "Kai!"
She stared at him. "What are you doing?"
Seeing nothing had changed, he grinned at her sheepishly. "Ah, sorry, I thought this might be a genjutsu."
"What's a genjutsu?"
"Uh, it's an illusion…Seeing as...well," he gulped, "I-I...I figured this can't be real real."
"Ah. Release the energy in your body, break the illusion. I get it." Sunset nodded.
"Wait...nothing changed..." Naruto said, staring at her with a dawning look.
Sunset nodded "Mm-hmm."
"And you're still..." he said, pointing to her, his legs starting to shake.
Another nod, "Mm-hmm."
"And we're both wearing..."
Sunset started to grin as she nodded again. "Mm-hmm. And can I just say you actually have a very, very, VERY nice figure, by the way. Back included. Back especially as a matter of fact."
Naruto didn't know if it was possible to blush and pale at the same time, but he was pretty sure he did at that and he swallowed a huge lump in his throat.
"So...that means...we...?" he said faintly, then...
"YYYYAAAAAGGGUUUURRRRRAAAAHHHIIIIEEEKKKAAAGGGHHHMMMMMMMMAAAAAA!"
At the loud shout that rang out through the entire pocket dimension, Minato, Kushina, Shino, Sai, Choji, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, Might Guy, Kurenai, Kakashi, Tsunade, and Anko, along with Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Chrysalis all burst into Naruto's room and saw that Sunset Shimmer stood in front of the room's closet.
"What're you doing here?!" Hinata snapped, glaring at the girl. She already didn't like her, but seeing Sunset Shimmer in NARUTO'S room was just over the line so badly that it didn't exist any more!
In reply, she pointed at the door to the room, her attention focused on the closet.
At the indication, the group turned to the door and saw it was Sunset Shimmer's Cutie Mark, but the group noticed something off about the red and yellow shimmering sun: in the red and yellow sun was a spiral crest reminiscent of the Uzumaki's symbol and the metal plate had Naruto's name with a pair of double 'S's.
"S.S Naruto Uzumaki? What is he, a ship?" Choji asked.
Twilight gasped and her jaw hung open,turning to Sunset. "Wait...S.S...no way! Those are your initials! Sunset Shimmer!"
"SAY WHAT?!" Minato and Kushina shouted as everyone else jumped and dog-piled Hinata.
Sunset made a motion to ask of a moment with her hands to the others, then turned back to the door, "Come out of there." she said in a soothing tone.
"Don't wanna!" Naruto's voice cried from the other side. "As soon as I do, I'm dead!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Darling. No one's going to kill you!" Sunset said.
"Have you MET Sakura?!" Naruto demanded from the other side of the locked door, causing the girl in question to growl and rub her knuckles with a scowl.
Sunset herself gave the young medical kunoichi a disapproving once-over before turning back to the door and calling out to the panicked young man behind it.
"Sakura...you mean the one on your team, right?"
"Yeah..." Naruto said uncertainly.
"Red outfit...green eyes...pink hair..." the redheaded unicorn-turned-human shot Sakura a glare and a smug smirk as she leaned against the wall next to the door, arms crossed under her assets in the chest department. "Absolutely no figure whatsoever...forehead the size of a sovereign nation?"
"HEY!" Sakura yelled.
"To my great regret, I've met that gorilla! Come on, Darling! She won't kill you. None of us'll let her hurt you, your Mom and Dad in particular! You're safe with us." Sunset assured.
"...But what about...? I mean...what it looked like...!"
At that, Sunset Shimmer blushed, knowing what he meant, and judging from the upset looks she received from Kurenai, Tsunade, Celestia and Luna, they did too.
Anko hung back next to Chrysalis, both of whom looked like they were trying to decide on if they should or shouldn't laugh.
"...All this great stuff, and me without a camera...karma, thou truly art a two-faced bitch!" Chrysalis muttered.
"Straight up, damn right, and amen, sister. I hear you loud and clear." the special Jonin said empathizing. So much tease material, so little time to commit it all to memory without being able to tape it. And who to heckle the crap out of first? It was agonizing trying to figure that out!
The two shared a look at one another and grinned. They could each honestly say they liked the other's style.
"That was my bad, I didn't have enough energy to make a separate room for the both of us along with all the other alterations to this space we're in." Sunset explained.
"...No kidding! Lucky it didn't kill you!" Twilight muttered, shuddering.
"I take full responsibility." Sunset said, half talking to Naruto, half to everyone else.
Kushina walked up and put a hand on the shoulder of Celestia's former student "Sunset...we'll talk about this later, but you don't need to worry... I know nothing happened. Just keep it platonic as far as being roommates and we're cool."
Sunset gulped and nodded, sure she'd said it causally, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Kushina made it sound like she was doing Sunset a favor, but there was an undertone that was downright menacing. And even without the threat, she already believed it that Kushina was scary!
"How can you tell?" Tsunade asked.
"Because I'm his mother!" Kushina said, as if explaining everything were as simple as that, letting go of Sunset and looking to Tsunade, "but seeing as you're at least fifty-three and have never had kids yourself, your ignorance as to a mother's ability to know these sorts of things is understandable, Tsunade." Kushina said, hands on her hips.
Tsunade fumed and veins bulged in her forehead at that.
Naruto was hanging from the ceiling with chakra, spread-eagled, and as far from the door as possible. His eyes were as big as silver dollars, and he was drenched in sweat while he was even paler than Orochimaru was!
"What's with him?" Rainbow asked.
"Its obvious: he's scared." Sunset said, walking into the closet, Naruto shrinking away from her as she neared him. "Come on, Naruto...take my hand. It'll be ok, trust me..." she cooed softly to him, offering said limb to him. Sure, she didn't like treating him like a frightened animal, but that was pretty much what he was a the moment.
Naruto gulped and looked up so that he was facing his father, who nodded.
Naruto slowly lowered himself down and took her hand and allowed himself to be lead out to the others, though his did flinch and try backing away at the sight of Sakura.
"Scared? What for?" Sakura said.
"I'm not surprised. You're so short-tempered and overly aggressive towards him for just about everything to the point where its because he simply exists, that you've psychologically-conditioned Naruto into be Gynophobic to the point where he feels safer turning to homosexuality." Sai said thoughtfully in his usual monotone.
At that, Kushina rounded on and lunged at Sakura, but Sunset lunged and grabbed Kushina under her arms, holding her back, "NO!"
Kushina turned her head and glared at the other redhead "Shimmer...I like you, but if you know what's good for you, you'll let me go so I can rip her apart!"
"Ms. Kushina, Please think about it! I understand why that would make you furious, but if he's been mentally scarred to see women as...as..as a bunch on mentally unstable, overly-aggressive time bombs like that, what's he supposed to think if he sees his OWN MOTHER acting like this! Please-FOR NARUTO'S SAKE!" Sunset cried.
At that, it was like a switch had been flipped and Kushina froze. Then her arms dropped to her sides. "...For Naruto's sake..." she repeated with a soft sigh. Dammit...! She felt the anger drain out of her and Sunset let her go.
"Just add it to the list of what she's gonna answer for later." Anko said.
Kushina nodded.
Sai blinked "...Did I say something wrong again?" he asked. While he had made great progress ever since meeting Naruto, he was still socially awkward about things due to his training and programming from ROOT.
"Can we finish here so we can freshen up, have some food, and get back to the book? That insensitive, creep piece of garbage Sasuke's getting beaten on this chapter, remember?!" Fluttershy snapped, shocking everyone.
"Right-a-rooney! I wanna see Mr. Broody Butt get clobbered!" Pinkie cheered in agreement.
At the words from the ones who were more or less the living incarnations of the Elements of Kindness and Laughter, Celestia and Luna shared a worried look to one another. Sasuke was an nasty piece of work, they'd even call the Uchiha the complete antithesis of the Elements of Harmony all on his own, but to see that Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were WILLINGLY acting like they had been when Discord had corrupted them and reversed their affinities to their elements when it came to him...NOT good at all!
Less Sasuke was involved in the book, the better! The fact that Sakura just mindlessly followed Sasuke's lead didn't help either.
The group all headed into the mess hall.
"Pick a seat and grab a plate." the reformed mare/girl said.
"Why? Where's the food?" Choji said, looking around.
"That depends on what you think you'd like." she told him.
"Wait...so we just think of what we wanna eat, and no matter what kind of food it is and no matter how much, it'll just appear on these dishes?!" the Akimichi asked, drooling. The reasoning behind the way the mess hall worked clicking into the food-loving young man's mind instantly. Then he instantly had a plate in his hands and was sitting at the table, a variable MOUNTAIN of freshly-cooked barbecue of every kind of meat imaginable right in front of him, which Choji instantly, happily started digging into.
"Yeah. and what doesn't get eaten just fades away, so no need for clean-up either. But they only work in this dimension we're in right now." Sunset said, telling him how the enchanted dishes she'd generated for this place worked.
"Book ending, bad. Must destroy." Choji said almost robotically as he looked up from his food, barbecue sauce covering his face.
Naruto smiled at that. So now he wasn't the only one who wanted that book incinerated? Good!
The reading group all looked surprised, but then again...considering what their rooms all looked like and how exhausted Sunset Shimmer had become after creating this place along with the rooms, that made sense that there wouldn't be any spared expense.
Sitting down and picking up plates of their own, everyone had their preferred meal conjured and they started eating. Once they were all full, the group of twenty-nine made their way back to the main room to resume reading. Much to Hinata's rage, Sunset took up Naruto's lap as her seat again. Sure there weren't any chairs left, but did she HAVE to sit in Naruto's lap?! She could just sit on there floor, but nooo! Sunset Shimmer had to be that close Naruto! What made it worse was that Naruto's mother seemed to support how much that human-shaped horse was all over him! It made her blood boil seeing it!
Kakashi took the book in his hands. "Not my usual read, but I'll do it this time." He said.
"Thank all things holy and damned alike...Kakashi CAN read something that isn't X-rated!" Kurenai muttered.
At the looks he was given, Kakashi laughed nervously before clearing his throat and stuck his nose in the book, the projector starting up on its own as the silver-haired man started.
Chapter 4: Prelims
Naruto stood next to Kakashi and Sakura as he stared down at the two Genin about to take part in their Preliminary Battle; Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji.
"This'll be good." Shino said.
His crystal blue eyes focused on nothing else but the two Top Rookies of their years; Neji being the Top Rookie a year before Sasuke was.
"So experience-wise, His Royal Emo-ness is already at a disadvantage?" Rainbow dash said, smirking. "GOOD! Kill him, Neji! Kill him and eat the face right off his skull!" she cheered, to which the rest of the Mane Six shouted in agreement.
"Ok...I'm enjoying this side of the six of them! Makes it really hard to know what to root for. One one hoof...er...hand, I mean, I don't like this Uchiha guy any better than they do, but on the other, I like how nasty he makes them be and wanna see more of them acting like this..." Chrysalis muttered.
"You're Genin may be of a renowned clan,
"He does know they both are, right?" Tenten muttered, shaking her head. Sad thing was, with her teacher, he really was that dumb!
Kakashi," began Neji's sensei Might Gai, "but Neji is much more experienced as a fighter."
"Basically, what Darling pointed out a second ago." Sunset said.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Naruto asked, still sounding pretty uncomfortable with the sheer a of everything that had happened since Sunset Shimmer had arrived here.
She just smiled and snuggled deeper into his lap, "Tell you later, promise." she said.
It was no secret that Gai and Kakashi had a long standing rivalry between one another.
At the mention of the so-called rivalry, Kakashi had to stop and moan in sheer annoyance. "Not that again! It isn't a rivalry, Guy just never left me alone unless I agreed to some silly contest!"
At that, Guy, still unable to speak because of Chrysalis' magic, looked hurt.
"Then why not just challenge him to stay away from you and avoid talking to you for as long as possible, missions not withstanding?" Twilight asked.
Kakashi stared at her, everyone able to tell he was gaping is shock, even with his mask on, then he groaned, "So obvious...! How could I have missed THAT...?! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!" the man raved, pulling at his hair and banging his head against the table until Ino caught him in one of her family's jutsu to get him to stop.
"...Here, I'll take that." Celestia said, holding out a hand and being passed the book, it was obvious that the Copy Ninja was too upset to read any further. Finding the place where Kakashi had left off, the sun princess continued from there.
Seeing their most recognized students
The mares all snorted, the only thing they recognized about Sasuke was that he was a jerk!
going against one another was just another way to see which of the two Jonin was better.
Lee pouted at that. Sure he understood it, but it still upset him that his rival was the most recognized member on his team! After all, he'd beaten Sasuke once! Granted, Sasuke proved he couldn't tell the difference between day one Academy basics about telling ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu apart even with a Sharingan in both eyes, but still!
"That may be, but Sasuke has been known to surprise people, Gai," retorted the masked Jonin with his patented eye-smile.
"Really is amazing how he can be so expressive with just that one eye." Luna noted.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens."
"Die, emo-jerk! Die!"
"...Anyone else getting freaked out by how bloodthirsty and into it those six are getting?" Naruto asked everyone on his side of the table in a loud whisper.
The Konoha group and even Sunset, Celestia, and Luna all nodded at that, muttering in agreement.
"Good...didn't wanna be the only one..." Minato and Kushina's son said.
Anko stood between the two Genin and smirked at the glares they were giving one another. "Alright, let's get this fight underway! Ready…begin!" she yelled before she moved out of their way.
"Because of course Sasuke would be the type to use human shields." Rarity said, her nose wrinkled in distaste.
Naruto blinked. "Ok...I know that what the alternate Sasuke and Sakura did to the other me last chapter was messed up, but that's a LOT of hate thrown Sasuke's way, even if he does deserve it."
"See why we're worried about the negative influence Sasuke and Sakura have on Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity?" Celestia asked, pausing in her reading.
Everyone nodded before she resumed.
The two jumped back simultaneously and launched shuriken at one another at high speed. The ninja stars clashed against each other, the ringing of metal filling the room, before they rushed each other with kunai drawn. Both of them activated their respective dojutsu as they met in the center of the arena, their knives meeting in a flash of sparks.
"Stop playing monkey-see-monkey-do and waste the duck-butt already!"
"Would you guys cool it?! I get it, and so does everybody here: Sasuke's a creep and the six of you don't like him, but you're getting so worked up, you can't even realize you're all starting to lose sight of who you all are! You're starting to act like him without even realizing it!" Naruto said, making the Mane Six freeze and look at one another, horrified.
They gulped and looked down in shame at that. Last thing they wanted was to be anything like Sasuke.
"Sorry..." the mares all winced.
"Bad begets bad, what Sasuke's been like so far is understandably upsetting, but no need to let that make you sink to his level because you don't like him. Think about it, loyalty, honesty, generosity, laughter, kindness...how much of those things were in how spiteful you all feel towards Sasuke right now? You all care a lot and that's why Sasuke's way of treating others has you so upset, I get that and I'm grateful, but at least try and tone it down with how mad he makes you all, ok?" Naruto said to them soothingly.
"Nicely said." Celestia said, smiling at the young blond. It was easy to see the boy was a good soul. It was heartening to know he'd snapped them out of it with them loosing themselves to their own feelings of contempt like that.
Minato and Kushina beamed, proud of seeing just the kind of person their son had become. Kushina even had to whip tears from her eyes.
"...And this is why I call you 'Darling'." Sunset said with a small smile.
While they each had one hand holding the kunai they were using, they both tried to strike their opponent with their free hand.
"Two hands for a reason, fellas. Use 'em!" Anko said, grinning.
Sasuke went for a fierce punch while Neji went for a jab with two fingers. Only the Jonin, Hinata, and Neji's teammates saw the significance of the jab and they all cringed as Neji's arm seemed to snake around the Uchiha's arm and strike him on the bicep.
"Why's that?" Twilight asked.
They both pushed away from each other while Sasuke held his aching arm and Neji smirked.
"His arm aches from that one little tap?" Sunset shook her head, either something was up or Sasuke was as delicate as he was lousy with people skills, and she bet the former. What did Neji do?
"What the hell?" asked the Uchiha in confusion as the pain didn't subside in the slightest. "What did you do to me?"
"Yes, please explain." Twilight said, curious.
"Your chakra point on your arm… I struck it with my own chakra and forcefully cut it off from your chakra network. The pain your feeling is the chakra trying desperately to flow even with the new 'roadblock'.
"...Whoa...he can do that? Just by tapping someone?" Rainbow dash said, while she didn't get everything, she understood enough to where she could figure that Neji wasn't someone to go against up close.
"Better believe it. I had to face him once and I can testify to that." Naruto said.
There's a reason why we Hyuuga are more feared than the Uchiha, and you're experiencing it now. Who would go against someone who could cut you off from your chakra with the slightest of taps?"
"Hmm...seems kind of cocky, but then he does have a reason for it." Luna said. If chakra was like the energy of Equestrian magic, that would explain why these Hyuuga were seen as frightening. They just tap you and you couldn't even be able to move your body where they did? Scary stuff.
Sasuke growled as he tried to ignore the pain and assumed his taijutsu stance.
"Taijutsu?" Twilight asked.
"Term where we're from for hand-to-hand." Ino said.
Rainbow dash burst out laughing at that. "Up close and head-to-head against this guy?" the Pegasus looked at Naruto, who once again had to rest his head on Sunset's shoulder to be able to see, "Man, Blondie...what did they offer you in exchange to babysit these two morons?! Better have been something grate!"
"That would've made more sense, actually. An egotistical, santamony-drunk coward and a desk drone that's just there to fill a slot to give them a full three people...should've payed him to put up with the two of them." Tenten said.
Meanwhile, Sakura was asking about the Hyuuga and was being informed about them by Kakashi, Gai, and Rock Lee. Naruto only half paid attention
"So pretty much the same as usual when it comes to him paying attention?" Sakura said.
"...Care to repeat that?" Kushina asked in a strained tone as her fingers twitched dangerously.
Everyone frowned at Sakura, Naruto had already pointed out he learned best by doing so that things involving paperwork, test scores, and lectures only served to confuse and bore him more than once. What did it take for her to listen?
since he kept on feeling a tingle in the back of his mind, warning him of ill intent in the area.
"Well...that's a handy trick." Applejack said.
Chrysalis, on the other hand, cringed at that. He could sense ill intent and negative emotion? As far as she and her species were concerned, that would be utter hell to deal with! Their transformations would be completely worthless in the face of an ability like that! And the one with that ability was on good terms with her enemies! Dammit! There had to be something she could do to turn things around! There just HAD to be!
His eyes scanned the room, trying to see who would cause him to worry so much, before they passed Sasuke and the feeling grew.
"Well, that figures." Shikamaru drawled, not at all surprised.
His eyes narrowed as the feeling seemed to originate from Sasuke's left shoulder,
Everyone from Konoha winced at that, Anko worst out of all of them.
confusing the Uzumaki greatly. The tingle in his mind pulsed every few seconds right after he felt it pulse from Sasuke's shoulder. 'What the hell could be causing this feeling? What is Sasuke hiding on his shoulder?'
"Part of me still really wishes I hadn't found that out, but the other wished I knew sooner...things might've been different." Naruto said, shooting a pointed look at Sakura, who withered under his gaze.
Tsunade nodded, "Agreed. Would've studied a way to remove that mark first before getting Sasuke out of that Tsukuyomi-induced coma...Sasuke was useless to Orochimaru's needs as far as possession went as long as he was in that state. Itachi actually did everyone a favor making it so he couldn't take Sasuke's body for himself."
Sakura sunk lower at that.
Back to the fight, Sasuke was trying to keep his distance after being struck a couple more times by Neji; twice in his arms and once in his leg when he went for a kick.
"So he finally wised up, eh? And all it took was nearly loosing being able to use three limbs." Kiba shrugged. "Still, fact that it came to that for him to get it is just pathetic."
His hands weaved through handseals, focusing his chakra from its core to his lungs,
"Three...two...one..." Naruto winced. Sure this was back when Neji was a fatalistic jerk, but that was still going too far on Sasuke's part!
before he held his hand to his mouth and released his jutsu. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball)!"
"SAY WHAT!?" The mares all cried in shock.
"He can breath fire?!" Twilight gasped
"Chakra can be applied to allow quantum-defiant actions depending on how its used. Is magic really all that different? There's a reason the two energies were compatible enough to create this space." Minato said.
At that, the mares all looked thoughtful.
From the Uchiha's lips came a fireball wide enough to burn three people standing side-by-side. Neji's eyes narrowed as he didn't have any techniques to counter the flaming sphere.
"So no Rotation...Sasuke, you lucky...!" Naruto grunted. Sure, the Hyuuga Clan's so-called "ultimate defense" had a GIANT GAPING HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF IT, but the spinning dome of energy was still a pain to deal with!
So, he focused chakra into his legs and leaped over the fireball. However, Sasuke saw Neji's intentions with his Sharingan and was already in the air with his fist cocked back. Neji wasn't expecting the Uchiha to be there, but he was able to raise his arms for a weak block against Sasuke's punch.
The strike pushed Neji back to the ground, but the Hyuuga was able to recover and land on his feet. But Sasuke wasn't done and he launched another jutsu. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Sage Fire)!" A cluster of small fireballs shot from the Genin's mouth, each forcing Neji to jump out of harm's way. While the fireballs tried to strike Neji, Sasuke pulled out a folded windmill shuriken and unfurled it before he threw it with all of his might.
Neji dodged the last fireball just in time to see the large shuriken coming at him. His eyes narrowed and he leaped over the shuriken and smirked as he looked back and saw it stab into the wall behind him.
"Neji, look out!" Higurashi Tenten, his other teammate, called out to him.
"What? My team actually gets supporting each other and watching one another's backs." Tenten said.
"Any chance YOU'D be willing to take Sakura's place as the kunoichi my kid has for a teammate?" Kushina asked.
The brunette shrugged, "Not my call to make. All higher-ups, know what I mean? But for the record, he and I've worked together before and he's easy to depend on. Keep things simple, there won't be a problem. My only issue is how he's easy to worry about."
"I can believe that." Rainbow dash said, recalling what his other had done and sent her counterpart away before taking on Orochimaru.
"He just cannot stop getting into risky situations because he cares about everyone else around him so much that he doesn't have any concern left for himself, but for the record, not only do I understand that, I like it about him. Thing is, he throws too much on his own shoulders without a second thought about making everyone else worry about if he's ok. And he's had to live and grow up in a way where he's had to be utterly self-reliant, I get that and how it makes it hard not to do everything alone, but still..." Tenten said.
Naruto flinched, yet the mares all nodded, they understood that easily. Both sides of it, Naruto's and Tenten's, as a matter of fact.
"Heh, knew it...just knew he and I were gonna get along great. He's the same as me." Rainbow dash said, shaking her head, fully amused.
"So you like and respect him, as well as never want him to change that aspect of who he is about helping whoever needs it...just that he be more conscious of how his actions affect the ones that care about him so he isn't so reckless." Celestia said.
Tenten nodded.
The Hyuuga turned back to Sasuke and instinctively jumped to his side to avoid whatever threat was approaching. A sudden plume of smoke clouded his vision
"How could that even work with the Byakugan?" Kurenai scoffed.
and the next thing he knew was intense force striking him from under his chin and launching him into the air.
"And here we go with copying Lee..." Naruto droned.
From the smoke, Sasuke was seen crouched low with his leg in an upward kicking position, much like Neji's taijutsu-using teammate. He then disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind the Hyuuga who looked back with a scowl.
"Typical Uchiha; unable to fight without using the skills of others," he stated while Sasuke held two fingers against his back.
"So other than fire, he's just a copycat? Lame!" Rainbow dash cried.
"While it's true that the first kick was someone else's, from here on it's all original!"
"Doesn't know the meaning of originality." Tsunade shook her head. As a Senju, she had met plenty of Uchiha, and being unoriginal was the family trademark for all of them.
He then lashed out with a kick, but Neji blocked it with his forearm and smirked. However, Sasuke smirked as well as he used the blocking arm to help him spin in midair and appear above the Hyuuga with punch to his chest. He then continued his spin and kicked his face, forcing the Hyuuga's body to have his torso become more exposed. With a final spin, Sasuke slammed the heel of his foot against Neji's stomach and into the ground beneath them with a cry of, "Shishsi Rendan (Lion Combo)!"
"A mid-air dropkick...big whoop. Get high enough, anybody could do that." Twilight said, then blinked and turned to the princesses as well as the two Pegasus "No offence." she said quickly.
"What for? You're right about that." Luna said.
Neji's mouth was agape with a silent scream of pain as the wind was knocked completely out of his lungs and the force of Sasuke's kick made him cough out blood with the air. Sasuke stumbled back slightly as he tried to fight off the fatigue his body was feeling at the combo he pulled off.
Anko saw that Neji wasn't getting up and gestured to Sasuke. "The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"
The Mane Six scowled. They wanted to see Sasuke loose!
Most of the Genin of the Leaf were speechless at Sasuke's win, especially Team Gai, but the silence was cut as Sakura cried out happily for Sasuke's victory.
"Of course she starts cheering him on." Rarity said, annoyed.
Ino was quick to follow
"So glad I'm over that schoolgirl crush on Sasuke..." Ino muttered.
while Kakashi just gave another eye smile. Naruto was silent, but he couldn't help but see the fight as interesting and knew that Sasuke worked hard for that win.
"Sasuke working hard...yeah right, that'll be the day!" Kiba muttered, if Sasuke knew squat about hard work, he wouldn't have turned to Orochimaru for shortcuts to getting stronger.
"Now, for the next match…" Anko said as the board shuffled through names again. When it stopped, the Tokubetsu Jonin called out, "The second match will be between Abumi Zaku and Akamichi Choji."
Shikamaru paled. He remembered this guy. Deliberately provoking an Akamichi wasn't smart. Not with those size-enhancing techniques of theirs.
The medics had just finished taking Neji to the infirmary while fixing up Sasuke on the arena floor as the next two combatants stepped down to the arena floor. Sasuke made his way to his team where his sensei and Sakura congratulated him. His eyes turned to Naruto who merely gave him a blank look before he looked back down to the arena.
[The Uchiha really had to push himself for that win,] Dash said to Naruto through their mental link.
"Still find those telepathy seals awesome!" Rainbow dash grinned.
'Yes he did… Neji wasn't an easy fight and I have no doubt that Sasuke is still feeling the sting of those earlier strikes.'
[Who do you think you'll end up facing?]
'No idea… I just have to wait I suppose,'
"I hate waiting." Naruto muttered
answered the blonde as he saw the match begin and Choji increase his size with the Baika no Jutsu (Multi-Size Technique), making him look like a giant ball with hands, feet, and a small head.
"Looks kinda silly." Pinkie said.
"It's just the start-up." Naruto said quickly before Choji could get out of his seat.
"Oh...! Sorry then!" Pinkie told the Akamichi.
Choji nodded.
Zaku smirked at this and called out, "What do you know? The fat ass made himself fatter!"
Choji stiffened in outrage while everyone else from Konoha paled.
As he laughed at his own joke, many of the Genin cringed as they saw Choji become enraged at being called one of the most hated words of his clan.
"Not good!"
With a roar, he pulled his limbs and head tight against his body and began to roll forward at incredible speed for something his current size. "Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)!" cried the Akamichi as his rolling form tore up the arena floor.
"He's like a bowling ball." Twilight observed.
"Fitting since this Zaku guy is such a pinhead!" Applejack said.
Choji actually laughed at that.
Zaku never lost his smirk as he held out his hands in front of him with his palms facing forward. Some of the shinobi in the balconies were able to see small holes in his palms with tube-like openings filling them. "Let's see you handle this; Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!"
From the openings, highly compressed blasts of air were fired, halting the rolling mass in its tracks; though it still rolled in place. Zaku's smirk turned positively bloodthirsty as he shifted the output from his tubings.
Everyone winced at that.
The air being blasted was a mix of air and sound waves, resulting in the blast being formed. However, he was able to change the output at will if he wished.
Choji winced. That didn't sound good for his other self!
'Alright… Take away the air and make it 100% sound!'
Suddenly, the blast shifted and a horrible screeching sound was heard throughout the arena. Those with sensitive hearing covered their ears at the sound while Akamaru whined in pain. However, Choji was given the full brunt of the screeching and it was amplified by his increased size. The water in his body was acting like an amplifier for the screeching and it rushed to his ears without abandon.
"That can't be good..." Applejack winced.
The result was the Akamichi forcibly dispelling his technique and falling unconscious with his ears leaking blood. Zaku stopped the technique when he saw this and grinned at his downed opponent. "Guess it's true; the bigger they are, the harder they fall," he commented with a bark of laughter.
Anko gave Choji a pitying glance and called out, "The winner is Abumi Zaku!"
Team 10 looked on sadly as Choji was carried out to the infirmary on a stretcher. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at Zaku for what he did to his best friend
Choji and Shikamaru grinned at one another. As hard as it was to see his other self loose, it was heartening to see that, even across time, space, and even other realities, that they'd always be friends.
and the usually lazy Genin actually found the desire to do something. And that something was getting back at Zaku for what he did.
"Damn right I would...insult and mess with my best friend like that, let me at him." Shikamaru said, narrowing his eyes.
"The next match will be between Kinuta Dosu and Inuzuka Kiba!" Anko called out
"Oh, yeah! I got this in the bag!" Kiba cheered.
while mentally checking this match off in favor of the Oto Genin.
"What?!" Kiba shouted, glaring at the snake-summoner.
It was no secret that the Inuzuka had heightened senses of smell and hearing, and facing a sound user with an increased sense of hearing was a sure-fire way to lose.
Akamaru whined at that while the dog's master paled. Oh shit! The other him was in trouble! Kiba may have been brash, but he knew that wouldn't work out to his advantage!
She was proven correct when the match proved to be the shortest one yet.
Kiba winced at that.
All Dosu did was pull out a kunai and drag the blade across his melody arm, making it sound like the scratching of a chalkboard multiplied by ten. Kiba and Akamaru were down before they could even pull off a jutsu.
At that, Fluttershy walked over to Akamaru and hugged the dog around the neck and scratching him behind the ears, muttering soft assurances to the animal.
Kiba couldn't help smiling at that, sure his alternate self's loss was a nasty pill to swallow, but as an Inuzuka, he couldn't help but feel touched for someone who was such an animal-lover.
...Besides, at least his other didn't have to deal with the shroud of having lost because of a fart! He STILL hadn't gotten over how humiliating that was!
"The winner is Kinuta Dosu!" called out the purple haired proctor.
Naruto shook his head in pity at Kiba's match. True it meant one less competitor, but Kiba at least deserved a chance to fight back. 'It looks like his family's strength became his biggest weakness…'
[Geez… What a way to go…] Dash commented and Naruto imagined her shaking her head in pity.
"Thanks." Kiba told Rainbow dash.
"The next match will be between Subaku no Kankuro and Tsurugi Misumi!" called out Anko as the two Genin made their way down.
[Unknown Location]
A certain silver haired 'Genin' walked through the torch lit halls of a hidden bunker as he made his way to his master.
Naruto growled. Kabuto and Orochimaru...damn them both!
He fixed his glasses as he walked with a smirk on his face, making those who passed him avoid his gaze.
When he made his way to an open room, he kneeled and bowed his head to his lord. "Everything is going according to plan, Orochimaru-sama."
Everyone either flinched or glared at that name.
"Kabuto works for that...that...I can't even say!" Rarity said.
Naruto, Tsunade, and the collective Jonin all nodded with grim anger.
A dark chuckle echoed through the room as snake-like yellow eyes bore down on his most loyal subordinate. "Excellent… I take it Sasuke-kun is advancing to the finals?"
"Should've disqualified the punk!" Anko muttered.
"Yes, my lord. He was able to prevail against the elder Hyuuga Genin in the preliminaries."
Orochimaru gave a cruel grin at that, but it faltered slightly when he saw the confused look on Kabuto's face. "Something on your mind, Kabuto?"
"Anyone else not liking where this is going?" Ino said.
Everyone nodded.
"No, my lord… At least I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning or not." When Orochimaru motioned for him to continue, the silver haired man said, "I'm mainly curious as to why you allowed Uzumaki to live… I understand that he is needed for Sasuke to advance, but you could have easily fooled the others with a clone in his likeliness."
Naruto gulped and his parents paled.
"So, you're confused as to why I did not do that and let him live…" Kabuto nodded, making Orochimaru smirk. "Truly, Kabuto, you have a keen mind but even the simplest things can escape you at times."
"My lord…?"
"This is a golden opportunity, Kabuto," the snake man declared as he stood and began to pace the floor slowly. "An opportunity to see an Uzumaki go farther than that of Lady Mito ever did. She was held back by her ties to Konoha and her husband, but Naruto…" He chuckled darkly as a gleam appeared in his eyes. "Naruto has nothing holding him here.
"Drop dead, you supped-up maggot!" Sunset hissed, causing Anko to give her a double thumbs-up at what her opinion of Orochimaru was. Supped-up maggot...now THAT was a good insult!
His family is dead,
Minato and Kushina flinched.
the man he trusts has lied to him for his entire life,
Celestia and Luna both scowled, they took back what they thought of the first impression of the Third Hokage at that.
and anyone else he cares for won't be an issue unless they try and stop him. He already has an extensive knowledge of the sealing arts, has a tremendous amount of chakra, the Kyuubi to call upon, and lastly his mother's famous Chakra Chains." His gleaming eyes turned to Kabuto while his smirk turned into a fanged grin. "Imagine…if we were able to persuade him to join our cause.
"LIKE HELL!" Naruto roared. Then he winced and turned to the girl in his lap, "Uh...sorry for shouting like that." he said.
"No need, Darling," she said, removing a pair of earplugs, I conjured these in my ears the moment the deluded maggot started talking." Sunset shrugged, "I know how to read lips." she explained.
Then she grinned and clapped her hands onto Naruto's cheeks holding his head in place and leaned in as if she were going to kiss him before they both froze.
"What the...?!"
"Shadow Possession success." Shikamaru drawled as Hinata slipped him a fifty under the table.
"Shikamaru..." Ino said crossly.
"What? We're here to read the book, not watch Sunset and Naruto make out." he defended.
"Still, either we hear Orochimaru blathering, or that. You mean you like it when the snake's plotting?" the flower shop girl asked.
Shikamaru sighed and undid his jutsu. 'Sorry Hinata...but seeing a horse that's turned into a human make out with Naruto sure beats hearing Orochimaru talk...no refunds.' he thought.
Hinata was twitching up a fit as both what Sunset had almost done AND at Ino for pointing out why it should've been allowed. That settled it...Sunset Shimmer was going to DIE!
Pulling back, Sunset grinned, "I can't believe they bought that!" she said. Naruto blinked, then his eyes widened in realization and he whistled with a smirk. "Damn...you're good!"
"Thank you, Darling. Figured something like that would take everyone's minds off the snake creep for a bit. Sorry I didn't let you know, but-"
"But nothing. As a prankster, I know how sometimes desperation demands improvisation! Don't gotta tell me that!" Naruto said as Sunset let his face go and turned back around in his lap.
Kushina tried not to laugh. Damn...Shimmer was pretty bold with teasing. The Uzumaki woman loved it! Besides, she needed the diversion right now!
While I wouldn't be able to possess his body, I could always do so to any child he sires so long as they do not receive the Kyuubi."
Minato and Kushina grit their teeth and their breathing picked up, Went without saying the idea of Orochimaru going after their grandchildren left them furious!
Realization dawned on Kabuto. "So, you let him live to see if he's worth recruiting;
"WOULD NEVER JOIN YOU! KEEP DREAMING CREEPS!" everyone fro Konoha and Equestria all shouted at that.
if he's worthy of his clan's name and heritage…"
"He IS! With or without anyone's approval!" Kushina shouted in outrage.
Another dark chuckle echoed through the room as Orochimaru sat back down on his throne. "Precisely…" he practically hissed as the gleam never left his eyes.
[Central Tower (Arena)]
"The winner is Subaku no Kankuro!" called out Anko as said Genin made his puppet let go of the now dead Misumi.
"WHAT?!" the Mares cried, horrified.
Many of the Genin couldn't help but cringe at the brutality of the win since they had never seen someone have so many of their bones broken…in a single moment.
"...Glad we missed it then." Twilight shuddered.
"The fifth match will be between Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura!"
"This could be interesting." Sakura said.
"What...seeing a wallflower beat you into the ground?" Kushina smirked.
Sakura gaped at the woman and was about to retort when a kunai zipped past her and embedded into her chair's backrest, quivering ominously right next to her jugular.
"Something to say to my mother?" Naruto said calmly.
"Takes after her all right." Minato said, shaking his head, amused.
Said kunoichi both made their way down to the arena. While Sakura was confident in her ability to win, Hinata seemed incredibly nervous. Naruto couldn't help but think that Fluttershy put Hinata to shame in confidence. At least the pegasus was able to talk without a stutter and even willed herself to hug him when they first met.
Hinata hung her head, crushing disappointment filling her face. Sure it wasn't her Naruto who thought it, but it still stung to be seen as inferior to a horse.
He couldn't help but sigh and shake his head as the fight started and Hinata appeared to doubt every decision she made while Sakura attacked with a mixture of basic Bunshin (Clones) and shuriken. Hinata was able to evade the ninja stars, but she was so worried about which Sakura was the real one that she forgot to activate her bloodline.
Hinata flinched at that as her teammates winced sympathetically. Hinata's low self-esteem had caused her to make that same mistake in the past when she was starting out.
"C'mon, you can't be this weak can you?" taunted Sakura, making a few of the Genin scowl slightly.
Sakura gulped at the spikes of killer intent Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, and Kurenai sent at her, "Other me, other me, other me, other me! It's the alternate me in the book! I don't know why the other me is such a bitch!" she said pleadingly.
Sure, Sakura was named Top Kunoichi of their year,
"Complete lie." Naruto said at that, "As it turns out, Ino was our graduating class's top Kunoichi, best overall grades in the Academy. She had the highest grade in assertiveness and the second-highest grades in ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, cooperation, and class attitude, being beat by Sasuke in ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. I checked."
"How'd you know that?"
"No way...you broke into the school's records room?!" Twilight gaped, looking horrified.
"Yet he was still seen as the worst in our year according to the records after graduating." Shikamaru pointed out.
"So you could've...then you didn't...but you didn't change your grades?" Applejack said, surprised, then grinned and tipped her hat to Naruto, impressed with his honesty about that. She didn't know anyone who would've left their records alone rather than changing them to be the best the way he had if they had that chance.
but Hinata was from a high standing clan and could easily push back Sakura. However, they all knew of her incredibly passive and timid nature.
Fluttershy, being an incredibly passive and timid individual herself, nodded supportively.
Surprisingly, it was a normally quiet Genin who spoke up. "Hinata… You can do this. You may see yourself as a weak caterpillar, but you have the makings of a noble butterfly. Now, prove that to us here and now."
Everyone looked at Shino in shock, before Naruto broke out into a grin and applauded the insect-tamer. He may have been the silent type, when the guy spoke, it was worth listening to!
Every Konoha Genin looked to Shino in shock at his words. While he may not have yelled out to her, his words easily broke through the sounds of the fight. Hinata was the most surprised. She knew that Shino was always looking out for her, but she never knew he believed in her so much.
"That last part's untrue, I've always known you believed in me." Hinata smiled at her teammate.
Shino smiled.
Determination filled her eyes as she finally activated her dojutsu and entered her clan's famous taijutsu stance. "I-I won't run away; not anymore," she softly declared as she finally took the offensive and charged Sakura. Her eyes easily saw through the Bunshin that Sakura sent at her and she continued to advance on the pinkette who was looking more and more worried by the second. Hinata finally got into her guard and hit the girl's stomach with an open palm interlaced with chakra.
"Comeuppance!" Rarity grinned.
The result was Sakura being blown back a few feet and sent tumbling. The pinkette tried to stand back up, but the pain was so intense and she had some trouble regaining her breath.
Anko saw that Sakura was done
"Really? One hit and you're already out of it? And after all that big talk when you were ahead, too! You're pathetic!" Chrysalis laughed.
and gave the Hyuuga a smirk. "Not bad, girly… Not bad at all. The winner is Hyuuga Hinata!"
Yuhi Kurenai, her Jonin sensei, and Shino bother applauded for Hinata as she made her way back up to the balconies. As they congratulated her, Anko called out the next match.
"Match Six will be between Nara Shikamaru and Higurashi Tenten!"
The lazy Genin sighed in annoyance. "Great, I get to fight a girl… Troublesome…"
"What was that?!" Tenten demanded.
"Alternate self. Don't get mad at me for it." the Nara pointed out.
Tenten took offense to that and called out to him from the floor. "Hey, get your lazy ass down here so that I could kick it all the way into next week!"
"...I like you already." Rainbow dash grinned at Tenten.
"Likewise." the weapon mistress said back, smirking herself.
"Should be-MURRPH!" Twilight started to say, only for a baked potato to go flying from the mess hall and into her mouth.
Everyone turned to see a pair of clones of Naruto standing in the room the spud had come from.
"Guards." Naruto explained."Nobody raiding the mess hall that way."
Choji shot Naruto a glare.
"AND the added bonus of making it so we don't owe Rainbow dash an arm and a leg because Twilight's OCD, too! Good on ya, Naruto!" cheered Pinkie Pie.
Shika just muttered his clan's famous catchphrase once again as he made his way down. However, while it looked like he was simply complaining to many of the spectators, his mind was working at full force in hopes of coming up with a strategy. 'It looks like there isn't anything to take cover behind, so weapons won't be hindered. There's an artificial light source, so our shadow output is a constant. However, her skill set is still unknown at the moment so I have no idea what to expect for now.'
"So you're a tactician?" Twilight asked.
Shikamaru grunted "What about it?"
The lavender-hued girl held up her hands "Nothing...I just really respect someone that knows how to think, is all." the brainiac said.
"You should see him at a game of Shogi." Choji chuckled.
At that, Twilight hummed and looked thoughtful before she grinned. "That so? Well...how about a game then next break we have from the book?"
At that, the Konoha side of the reading group all gawked at the idea of Shikamaru openly being challenged to one of his best games, except for the shadow-user himself, who sized up Twilight and smirked then held out a hand to her, which she shook, "Looking forward to a good game in that case, Twilight."
"Alright, let the sixth match begin!" Anko yelled as she moved out of the way.
Tenten was the first to attack as she jumped back and pulled out a storage scroll. She unrolled it, having the seal point at Shikamaru, and poured some of her chakra into it. The seal lit up and began to fire volley after volley of various weapons ranging from typical shuriken and kunai to small sickles and senbon.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at the attack and he quickly moved around the arena while throwing his own shuriken at the weapons he knew he couldn't dodge. He kept his eyes on Tenten though in case she tried to blindside him. However, the girl just kept on using ranged weapons and nothing else.
Tenten sighed, "I've said this before, but three members of Team Guy specialize in close-contact battles, so I'm often rendering aid from the distance. I don't mind providing back up, but I'm always hoping to find new ninja tools that would enable me to fight on the front lines for a change."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "And like I said when I heard that: if that's what you want, then stop thinking about it so much and just do it."
Tenten shook her head, smiling fondly at Naruto at that. Simple and sweet...that described him very well in the eyes of the bun-haired girl.
"Talk about a one trick pony," he muttered,
"WHAT'D YOU SAY?!" all the readers from Equestria except Chrysalis shouted, glaring at the shadow-user.
though many people heard him and a certain pegasus took offense to it.
[Oh, he did NOT just say that! He had better hope that he doesn't meet me…] she growled as his comment got under her skin.
'Calm down, Dash… He's just annoyed and used the saying that came to him first. He wasn't insulting you or the others.'
At that, the Equestrians all calmed down.
Dash just huffed in annoyance and stayed quiet as the arena floor was slowly being covered in the many weapons. Shika, now covered in many cuts and having a few senbon stabbed into him, finally decided to take the offensive and threw a flash bomb at Tenten. The resulting flash hit the metallic sheen of the many weapons, increasing the glare of it all while Shikamaru held his hands in a seal. "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession)!" he cried while Tenten was forced to shield her eyes. Due to the increase in light, Shika's
"So it's not even saying my full name, now?" Shikamaru asked, a little annoyed.
shadow was able to quickly attach itself to the weapon user's, trapping her in place. He then moved his body to grab a weapon, forcing Tenten's to move the same way, and had her grab one of her own kunai. As he made her hold it to her throat, he said, "Give up, or else I'll have you slit your own throat."
Tenten winced.
Tenten growled in annoyance before she reluctantly called out, "I yield…"
"Hate having to do that, but it beats the alternative..." Tenten muttered.
"The winner is Nara Shikamaru!" called out Anko as the lazy Genin made his way back up and Tenten picked up her many weapons with Lee and Gai helping her. When the arena floor was clear, Anko declared, "The next match will be between Aburame Shino and Tsuchi Kin!"
"And Shino's won." Naruto said.
"I've seen the kind of stuff you can do. You're the same as Shikamaru, and a bit of a one-man army." the blond said matter-of-fact.
Shino blinked at that behind his goggles, then his lip twitched.
The two Genin made their way down and stared at one another as Anko called the match to start. Shino merely stood there and kept his shaded gaze locked onto Kin's, unnerving her slightly. Soon, a growing sound was heard throughout the arena as dark 'clouds' appeared out of Shino's sleeves. When they appeared, the sound was revealed to be the buzzing of many insects and realization dawned on Kin.
"Those bugs are coming from you!"
At that, Chrysalis looked interested. She was part insectoid, after all.
"Correct… My clan has each of their members act like a living hive where our insects live and feed off of our chakra to grow. In return, they assist us in our endeavors."
"OH!" Chrysalis grinned deviously, eyeing Shino with wicked approval, " 'One-man army' he says, ha! I get it! Ahahah~! You're a single person with an army of insectoids at your command! Love it!" she cackled.
Kin's eyes narrowed as she pulled out some senbon with small bells on them and threw them at the bug user. Shino was able to easily evade them and noticed the ninja wire on each of them, but he wasn't worried. When Kin pulled the wire and made the bells ring, she expected the bug user to experience vertigo and fogginess of the mind.
"Expected?" Twilight said.
But Shino stood there unmoving and with no signs of being affected. "While your tactic is god for a Genin, you looked over a crucial detail; the buzzing of my insects has nullified your bells. As a result, your bells' tones have not reached my ears and they won't so long as my insects keep buzzing. You also never noticed the insects now surrounding you."
"And she's done." Chrysalis grinned.
Kin immediately looked down and saw many insects clinging to her sandals before they crawled onto her legs and began making their way all over her body. She tried to swipe them off, but they just kept coming and relentlessly covered her form.
"EWWWW!" Rarity cried.
"HEY!" the changeling queen shouted. She found that insulting. The bugs were just doing what Shino wanted them to, and doing what bugs did naturally anyways: swarming and getting just about everywhere.
"Surrender or else they will suck your chakra dry," stated the Aburame.
Kin glared at him
"Didn't cover her head, huh?" Chrysalis said.
"No reason to." Shino stated.
before she hung her head in defeat and nodded, making Anko call out, "The winner is Aburame Shino!"
"Called it." Naruto said.
As soon as the words were announced, Shino called back his insects and the two Genin made their way back up to the balconies. The board shuffled through the names of the remaining six Genin before it stopped on two names that made some of the Genin gasp.
"The eighth match will be between Rock Lee and Subaku no Gaara!"
The Konoha group who saw the fight all winced, Damn...thew ONE fight they wanted to go differently! None of them liked what had happened to Lee!
Gaara was quick to appear on the ground in a swirl of sand while Lee flipped over the railing and onto the ground. He assumed a stance where one arm was behind his back and the other was raised in front of him with the palm facing upwards. He stood straight with no bending of the knees, making some of the Genin doubt the usefulness of the stance.
"Then we see what he can do, and the doubting stops." Kakashi said. Seriously...the may have been weirdos, but Guy and Lee were utter monsters with taijutsu. Anyone that didn't acknowledge their prowess at it was insane!
Lee suddenly swiped his front hand and caught the cork of the gourd that Gaara carried on his back. "Don't be so impatient, Gaara-san. The match hasn't even begun yet."
Naruto stared down at them with his eyes narrowed at Gaara. He sensed something from the redhead Genin, but he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Shukaku..." Naruto winced, damnit! He should've know earlier that Gaara was the same as him! He could've warned Lee and things would've been different!
He also felt a tug on his mind, and he tried to ignore it. However, as soon as Anko called for the match to start, the strongest tug was felt and his consciousness delved deep into his subconscious.
"Oh joy..." Kushina said. She knew where this was gonna go!
The first thing he noticed was the sound of water dripping down onto a larger source of it. His eyes opened and he saw that he was standing in ankle-deep water in some large hallway. Pipes ran along the ceiling, making it look like he was in the lower levels of a large building or even a sewer.
Rarity looked at Naruto as if trying to find a comment that described how wrong she found the idea of a person's brain being a sewer.
"...Sounds like someone could use a plumber." Rainbow dash said.
A whisper of his name was heard coming from the direction he was facing, but it felt cold; malicious even.
The mares winced.
"Still spooky and moody, huh?" Kushina asked her son.
Naruto nodded. "At the time, yeah. He did get better though."
He couldn't help but want to stay away from it and turned to face the other way. This path felt cold as well, but it wasn't a foreboding type of cold. No, this cold felt natural like a very cool breeze…or snow.
"Huh?!" Naruto said. "Ok...what's with that?!"
His eyes narrowed at that and he made to take a step toward the colder path. However, as soon as he raised his foot, he felt his body being pulled towards the more malicious feeling while his foot was being dragged through the water. He felt the pull was strongest around his stomach and looked at it, only to see that a crimson colored energy was stretching out of it and pulling him along the path.
"Not liking this..." Luna said.
When the pulling finally stopped, he fell to his knees from the momentum shift and heard a deep breathing. He looked up and saw a set of incredibly large steel-barred gates with a tag on it that had the kanji for "Seal" written on it.
"How the heck can that little slip of paper hold those bars shut?!" Applejack asked.
"Wait a minute…" he murmured as he stood to his feet and kept his gaze on the seal tag. "This place is-"
He was interrupted by a crimson orb with a black slit in the middle of it appearing out of the darkness behind the gate followed by a second one. The breathing he heard before grew louder as the eyes seemed to come closer. When they got close to the gates, the furred face of a towering fox was seen, with the body following soon after.
"Knew it..." Kushina muttered, as the previous host of the fox, she wasn't all that pleased at seeing this. Sure, Kurama got better...but he was still unpleasant right now, so she wasn't looking forward to this.
The fur was a deep orange while its ears seemed longer than normal foxes. Its eyes and lips were outlined in pitch black fur, enhancing the gleaming white teeth and blood colored eyes. Its upper torso looked human in shape with its forepaws having opposable claws that acted like thumbs. To finish it off, the feeling of malice and anger coming off the fox was palpable and the blonde felt that just breathing it in would affect his thoughts.
"...the seal," the Uzumaki finally finished.
The fox narrowed its eyes at the blonde and lowered its head to get a closer look at him. As soon as the lower part of its jaw was level with the teen's, it spoke. "So, you've come at last… You sure took your time…"
Its voice was deep and almost whispery, making the blonde unconsciously shiver. "Trust me; I wasn't planning on coming at all… I was forced to come here and talk to you…Kyuubi."
"Wish I'd known his name was Kurama back then...might've helped his grumpy attitude." Naruto said.
"I know… I was the one who pulled you into your subconscious. It's time we spoke…face to face."
"Not gonna end well." Twilight said.
"Why do you think I'd want to talk to you? You killed my parents, you attacked Konoha, and the lives of my mother and ancestor were ruined out of fear of your power."
Rainbow dash stared at Naruto, then felt a grin tug at her lips "Wow...look at you, tearing into him without a scrap of fear. Credit where it's due, Blondie...you got guts!" she said, impressed.
The fox's eyes narrowed at the blonde's words. "You speak as if I personally did all of those things. True, I did kill your parents and attacked your pathetic village, but I didn't ruin their lives; the other villagers did out of their own fear.
"That's sickening." Celestia said.
"How do you think the lives of anyone who had to deal with that felt? Most went insane." Naruto shuddered.
And besides…what makes you think I just up and decided to attack your village? Better yet, how do you think I was removed from your mother in the first place?"
At the mention of that, both Minato's and Naruto's eyes blazed.
Naruto grit his teeth in frustration at the fox's questions. "How the hell should I know? What if you're just lying to make me trust you?!"
"Good point..." Pinkie said.
The Kyuubi roared at him, the wind being pushed against him by its force, and yelled, "I couldn't care less if I have your trust or not, you foolish whelp! I am merely telling you that things are not as they may seem!" The fox then calmed itself and continued, "Your mother and Mito wouldn't have removed me on their own unless they had no other option. Mito was the only one who did when she transferred my power to you. As for Kushina… My freedom from her was more…forceful."
Minato, Kushina and Naruto all winced.
Blue eyes narrowed at that. "What do you mean by more 'forceful'?"
"Another time… Perhaps when you're away from outside distractions like your teacher trying to get your attention."
Naruto glared at his sensei.
"How was my other supposed to know?!" Kakashi yelped, seeing Naruto's expression.
"What are you-?"
His question was interrupted as he was forced back into the focus of the 'real' world and saw that Lee was being pulled out on a stretch while his left leg and arm looked crushed and covered in blood. Gaara looked banged up as well, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Lee.
Everyone winced.
'What the hell did I miss?' thought the blonde in shock.
[You weren't paying attention?]
'No… My mind was…elsewhere at the moment.'
"Understatement..." Kushina muttered. She always did hate that, spacing out because the fox wanted to talk. It was annoying when she had to be caught up on things.
[Well, Lee wasn't able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu since his chakra network is apparently too messed up to fix. So, he focused on taijutsu and was actually pushing Gaara back; he even landed a clean punch on the guy! But then Gaara was revealed to have – not only an automatic defense of shifting sand – but a skin-level layer of sand armor that absorbed many of Lee's attacks.]
'So, how did Lee do all of that damage to Gaara?'
[He opened something called the Celestial Gates… I didn't get the details, but I saw that it increased his physical ability WAY above the peak level and his skin even turned red! He then moved so fast that I was barely able to see them clearly and went for a finishing blow. But…]
'But it ended up not being enough to win and Lee was open for a counterattack that crushed his leg and arm…' finished the blonde.
[Yea…]
Guy and Lee both hugged one another and would've started ranting if they could still talk.
"How long is that trick you did gonna keep those two completely mute?" Kakashi asked Chrysalis.
"For as long as we're stuck here...unless someone gives either of them the book so they'd have to read." the insect/equestrian-hybrid said with a shrug.
Kakashi looked shocked at that, feeling like falling to his knees and thanking God.
Naruto, seeing that, had to try very hard not to snicker and keep a straight face. 'That's it, folks. That's it...just keep on stockpiling reasons to destroy that damned book!' he thought, delighted. It was humiliating having people read his thoughts out loud like this! Sure he knew it was an alternate version of himself, but still, that didn't make it any less mortifying. Besides, if he were honest, he LIKED things this way! His parents were summoned her and brought back to life here in this pocket dimension, there was plenty of food, a good place to sleep, his friends were here, and he was able to make new friends out of the Equestrians, too. If the book being finished meant loosing all this, he wanted that thing destroyed! Sure it would mean being trapped here forever, and sure it was selfish, but compared to how happy he was with things being this way, he just didn't care!
"Naruto, are you there?" asked Kakashi as he waved his hand in front of the blonde's face. When Naruto grabbed it to make him stop, Kakashi said, "I've been trying to get your attention for about three minutes. You're up next."
"Finally!" Naruto and Rainbow dash cheered.
The Uzumaki looked down to the arena floor and saw that his opponent was the blonde kunoichi from the Suna Team. She had a look of impatience on her face and he quickly jumped over the railing down to the floor.
"So me against Temari..." Naruto said, then grinned at Shikamaru from over Sunset's shoulder, a too-perfect bit of teasing coming to his mind. Sure it was bad, but he couldn't help it! "Shikamaru...If the other me wails on your girlfriend, will we still be friends?" he asked.
"WHAT?!" the Nara cried, going red in the face as the others all laughed.
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Shikamaru cried.
"Then why are you so defensive about this?" Rainbow dash snickered.
From the look Shikamaru gave him, Naruto knew he'd be paying for this later, but this was so worth it!
Anko smirked at him and asked, "Was the last match really that amazing that you were left speechless, gaki?"
"For the record, my alternate may have missed it, but I saw thew fight in my own world, and the match was amazing." Naruto said.
Naruto just gave her a slightly annoyed look, but she took it in stride and just grinned at him. "Can we just start the match now, Anko-san?"
"Yeah...the fox made there be enough of a hold up, start already!" Rainbow dash said.
"Yea yea,
"Whoever wrote this sure liked the term "yea", didn't they?" Luna asked, to which Celestia nodded
keep your pants on, Blondie. The seventh match will now begin!"
As soon as she jumped away from them, the two blondes moved away from one another and Naruto pulled out a kunai and seal tag while Temari removed the large item from her back. She opened it slightly, revealing that it was a very large fan, and swung it at him.
"A fan?! So she's trying to beat him with wind power? Oh please...as if I'd let that happen!" Rainbow dash said rolling her eyes.
"True. But what if he doesn't need you to expose yourself?" Fluttershy said.
Rainbow dash shrugged "Then all the better, helps prove further that Blondie's tough." she said.
Minato, Kushina, and Naruto grinned at that.
The effect of the swing was an instant release of a galling wind that forced the Uzumaki to brace himself to stay up. As he braced himself, he wrapped the seal around his kunai and activated it, making chakra surround it and stretch past the knife blade to the length of a ninjato. He took a few practice swings with it before he held it in a reverse grip and stood with his knees bent and his blade behind his back in his right hand. In his left was another seal tag, which made Temari narrow her eyes.
'So, he specializes in fuinjutsu… This could be a problem since I have no idea what these seals will do unless he activates them.'
"Which you never WANT to happen if you're the one facing someone that specializes in fuinjutsu to do!" Kushina informed happily.
At that, the mares winced as they grasped the implications. The psychological effect of facing seal-users was just as nasty as the seals themselves! How could you do anything once that level of paranoia got you?
She decided to force the Konoha blonde to stay a good distance with her fan pushing him back whenever he got close. So, she just had to wait for him to make a move.
"She thinks that like she'll be able to pin him down...guy needs to stay in constant motion as Pinkie." Twilight giggled. Getting Pinkie to stop moving was impossible.
Naruto pumped chakra into his legs and rushed at Temari in hopes of reaching her before she swinger her fan. The two stood a distance of forty-five feet away from each other and his speed easily covered twenty-five feet before she made to swing at him. His eyes narrowed as he dropped the seal tag in his hand and jumped to the side to avoid the blast of wind.
"Sure...blow the seals around so they can help pin you down!" Kushina said.
He was crouched on one knee after his dodge while he saw the seal tag he dropped light up faintly. He then thought over his opponent's attack as she stood and waited for him to move. 'It looks like her fan only pushes the wind in one direction…
"I so wish..." Tenten muttered, recalling how Temari had caught her in a cyclone.
I can use that to my advantage.'
With a plan slowly forming in his mind, he held his hands in a cross seal and summoned forth twenty clones while he used the smoke created by their appearance to quickly make a new seal tag. As the clones rushed at the Suna blonde, he had finished the tag and placed it on one of his rushing clones.
"This is gonna be awe~some!" Rainbow dash grinned.
Temari opened her fan up to its second 'star' and swung at the clones, sending forth a gale of wind that had small wind blades mixed in with it. The clones hit by the blades of wind were instantly dispelled while the others used chakra to stick their feet to the ground and kept advancing. The Suna kunoichi's eyes narrowed as she jumped back and swung her fan downward, sending wind crashing downward on the clones while she rode on top of her fan and glided over them toward the one she assumed was the original.
"Assumption...that'll get you killed in the field." Tsunade said, shaking her head. She'd seen that plenty of times.
Naruto's clones were forced down by the downward wind, but one was able to reach the seal tag that the original had dropped around the beginning of the match. He stuck the seal to his palm and pointed the writing at Temari with the kanji giving a bright green glow.
"Hit the dirt!" Kushina cackled. This was a good display of why the Uzumaki's skill with fūinjutsu earned them both respect and fear throughout the ninja world to the point where some of the world's nations banded together to destroy Uzushiogakure, believing the village was too powerful to be allowed to continue!
"Temari, behind you!" called out Kankuro, making said kunoichi turn to look behind her just in time to see her own technique being fired at her from a seal tag.
"Nice!" Chrysalis said, nodding. She loved stuff like this! make your enemies too freaked out to trust their own actions! HA! Naruto was GOOD!
She maneuvered herself in midair to have the flat side of her open fan take the brunt of the attack, but this forced her to leave her form exposed on the other side.
"Break out the butter and jam...she's toast!" Pinkie cheered on Naruto's other.
As a result, the clone that the original placed a seal on before jumped toward her while the original held up a half ram seal. "Fuinjutsu: Bakahatsu Fuiin (Sealing Art: Explosion Seal)!"
"HELLO!" Kiba said, if this was what a seal that made a chakra-absorbing paper bomb was like, Gaara's sister was gonna be EXTRA crispy seeing as who she was fighting!
The seal tag shined a fierce red before it exploded and pushed Temari back with its force. She tumbled a little while her fan flew out of her hands.
"And now she's disarmed!" Tenten said gleefully. Sure it was an alternate Temari, but she was glad to see her rival from Sauna getting beaten!
As she struggled to stand, Naruto had a chain poke out of his right wrist before he moved at full chakra-enhanced speed and began to circle the kunoichi, unknowingly doing the same thing Lee did to Gaara in their fight.
"The Adamantine Sealing Chains the Uzumaki made of their own chakra..." Kushina grinned, she loved seeing those things at work. This was gonna be great!
She was finally able to stand back to her feet and braced herself for any attack on her person, but Naruto wasn't known as unpredictable for no reason. As soon as he saw she was up, he had the chain stab itself into the ground and 'uncoil' as he moved around Temari repeatedly. With each run around her, the chain fell around her in a circle, but she was more focused on waiting for him to strike her.
"Bad move, Temari." Twilight said as she shook her head.
Because of this, she was unprepared for Naruto to suddenly have the chain stop 'uncoiling', which forced it to pull tight against her form and hold her in place.
He pulled his arm back forcefully, making the chain squeeze her slightly and causing her to groan in pain. "Give up," he ordered as he held up another seal tag. "This seal is meant to send an electrical current into whatever it's touching, and I'm sure you realize how conductive this chain is…" Temari glared fiercely at him as he repeated, "Give up… Unless you prefer that I shock you into unconsciousness?"
"And Naruto for the win!" Pinkie cheered happily as the rest of the mares nodded. This made up for Sasuke advancing!
The Suna kunoichi kept glaring at him and he slowly moved the seal tag next to the chain before she relented. "Alright, you win! I give up…"
Anko grinned at the Uzumaki for his unique way of fighting as she called out, "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Darling...you're brilliant at improvising, just pointing that out for the record." Sunset told Naruto, twisting around in his lap and hugging him.
Naruto nodded and flexed his wrist, making the chain quickly 'coil' back into his arm. The fact that the chain went inside of his arm shocked many of the shinobi present, especially Kakashi and Sarutobi,
"Heheh...I love shocking people with what I do!" Naruto chirped happily.
but Naruto ignored their looks in favor of returning to the stands.
He paid no attention to the last fight between Yamanaka Ino and Akado Yoroi and mentally conversed with his pegasus friend. 'So, how did I do?'
[Not bad at all, Blondie… I'm impressed with how quick you can think up plans on the fly. That could save your life one day.]
'Thanks… But, I need more training… I can't always rely on my seals, clones, and chains. I need more variety in my skills.'
"Always did hate that NONE of my teachers ever helped with that part of my development...!" Naruto growled.
[We'll go back to Ponyville after these Preliminaries are over. Maybe Celestia or Luna could come up with something.]
"Of course!" both sisters said at that.
'Yea… Maybe…'
"The winner is Yamanaka Ino due to Yoroi forfeiting the fight!"
"Wait...how come I get skipped?!" Ino demanded.
Naruto refocused on the now finished fight and saw 'Yoroi' make a seal while a seemingly unresponsive Ino suddenly perked up and cried out in victory. 'She must've used her clan's mind related jutsu to win.
"Oh..." Ino said.
Not a bad strategy, but it won't always work for her.'
Ino winced. "Don't gotta tell me..." she muttered, rubbing her arm.
The Genin who won were then called down to pick a number, which would then tell them where they stood in the finals of the Chunin Exams.
The resulting numbers and fights ended up being:
Aburame Shino (#1) vs. Abumi Zaku (#2)
"Up for getting back for Choji for me?" Shikamaru asked the insect-tamer.
Shino nodded.
Yamanaka Ino (#3) vs. Subaku no Kankuro (#4)
"Other me's in trouble...jutsu's useless against puppets." Ino muttered.
Nara Shikamaru (#5) vs. Uchiha Sasuke (#6)
Seeing the "You BETTER win!" glared the Mares sent his way, Shikamaru gulped.
Kinuta Dosu (#7) vs. Hyuuga Hinata (#8)
Subaku no Gaara (#9) vs. Uzumaki Naruto (#10)
Many of the Genin looked to Naruto in slight worry when they saw who his opponent was,
"NO KIDDING!" everyone cried.
but the blonde merely turned to his redheaded future opponent and the two narrowed their eyes at one another.
'No question about it; I need more training if I'm going to face him,' thought Naruto as the Genin were excused from the Central Tower and escorted out of the Forest of Death.
After a month of last minute training, they would meet back at Konoha Stadium for the Chunin Exam Finals.
"And that'sit for this chapter." Celestia said.
