Apparently, miracles do happen: it's only been nine months since I updated this story, rather than two years. There are actually several reasons for that.
So, usually spiel about apologies for how slow updates are, yada yada, as well as an admission: I have no idea how well updates will progress on any of my stories. I'm almost constantly busy these days, and it's a relatively rare moment of relaxation when I can actually sit down and write.
Anyways, I won't talk more up here. Please enjoy.
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.
"Those not participating in the match please follow the senior ninja to the overhead catwalks," said Anko. She waited a moment for the floor to be clear of anyone except herself, Tenten and Misumi, who now stood facing each other.
"I'm sure we'd all like to get on with this," said Anko. "With that in mind: begin!"
Misumi immediately rushed forward as Tenten leapt back, withdrawing a storage scroll from one of her many belt and leg pouches. She was just unfurling it when Misumi caught up to her, thanks to his longer legs and moving forward instead of backwards as Tenten was.
Then, to almost everyone's surprise, Misumi's body started to twist at an odd angle, as if every joint in his body became dislodged, allowing him to twist and stretch around Tenten, wrapping his limbs around her neck, arms and legs, knocking the scroll from her hand in the process.
"Ugh… what kind of technique is this?" muttered Tenten.
"It's a bit more than just a technique," said Misumi. "It's the result of a surgical procedure that allows me to separate at the joints. I then use chakra to control my body."
"Sounds unpleasant," said Tenten. "But then again…" To everyone's surprise, Tenten suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, swapping places with her fallen scroll. The scroll, already unfurled, then activated, spilling out the contents in all directions. Since the contents were a large number of sharp and pointy objects, and Misumi's body was still stretched around the scroll, this resulted in him getting quite a few nasty cuts.
Then, Tenten came in from the side, slamming a weighted chain into Misumi, knocking him to the ground and onto the weapons scattered beneath him, drawing a howl of pain. Tenten withdrew the chain and, as Misumi attempted to move, wrapped it around one of his limbs.
"Your joints may be detached, but the same isn't true of all the meat on you," she said as she pulled him towards her in an impressive display of strength. She released the chain as he came flying at her, drawing a pair of nuchakus instead, spinning one end rapidly before slamming it into Misumi's oncoming face.
"H-how?" groaned Misumi as Anko approached—he was obviously in no condition to fight.
"My own combat style doesn't use a lot of jutsu," said Tenten. "However, that's given me time to perfect what I do know so, while it's difficult, I can perform them without handseals if necessary."
Anko smirked slightly.
"Nice, quick and painful… just how I like it," she said. "Winner, Tenten!" With a nod, Tenten proceeded to quickly clean up her weapons, resealing them in her scrolls before heading up to join her teammates. Meanwhile, a first aid crew removed Misumi from the chamber.
"With that out of the way, let's continue," said Anko, diverting everyone's attention to the screen as she began the reels again. Soon, they came to a stop and, with a smirk, Anko called down the next two contestants. "Would Hyūga Hinata and Akadō Yoroi please come down here?" It only took a minute for them to join her. Yoroi had the same cocky air about him as Misumi, Kabuto had a faint smirk, and Sakura was giving Yoroi a pitying smile.
"Second preliminary match, Hyūga Hinata versus Akadō Yoroi, begin!"
Like his teammate in the previous match, Yoroi went charging forward, performing a few quick handseals to initiate a jutsu that left his hand glowing faintly. Hinata, arms behind her back, rocked idly on her heels with her eyes closed, though there was the slightest bulging of veins around them.
Yoroi closed in and it was all over.
Never opening her eyes, Hinata suddenly ducked under Yoroi's swing and brought her arms out from behind her back, gently grabbing his wrist in one hand and giving the slightest squeeze while patting his chest just below the heart with her other hand. Her opponent went flying backwards, trying to scream in pain but with the sound drowned out by the gurgling of blood.
Anko blinked slightly, walked over to inspect Yoroi's prone form, and shook her head.
"Really now… a destroyed wrist and who knows what kind of internal damage… the winner is Hyūga Hinata! Now can we get some medics? I don't like his odds of survival even with immediate treatment."
As Hinata returned to her teammates, Team Miyuki eyed her with varying degrees of vicious smiles. Naruto's was perhaps the biggest.
"That was so hot," she murmured softly. Miyuki shook her head slightly, wishing that Naruto hadn't infected the other two with her… particular brand of bloodlust.
"YOSH!" cried an enthusiastic voice suddenly as Rock Lee leapt down into the ring, with his teammate joining him.
"Teammates or not, I expect you to not hold back," said Anko. "Third preliminary match, Rock Lee versus Hyūga Neji, begin!"
Both boys immediately assumed taijutsu stances, eyeing each other wearily, though there was an obvious excitement to both of them, and each was sporting a feral grin or smirk.
Lee was the first to make a move, shooting forward and launching a vicious punch at Neji. The Hyūga prodigy evaded and lashed out with an open palm strike, but Lee deflected this into the ground, which exploded from under them, forcing both momentarily into the air where they attempted to trade blows only for each strike to be deflected or dodged. They returned to the ground and Lee threw his whole body into a vicious roundhouse kick, but Neji maneuvered himself into the air and pushed the leg into the ground, producing another crater.
Almost everyone was now gaping at the spectacle, at the unbridled display of taijutsu might and skill from mere genin.
"Come now Lee, aren't you going to take this seriously?" asked Neji as he deflected one blow and countered, only for Lee to twist aside.
"Only if you swear on your honor to respond in kind," said Lee, launching another roundhouse kick, which Neji ducked under before launching yet another strike at Lee, who used his arm to push off from the ground, putting some distance between them when he landed. The two friends and teammates smirked at each other.
"Only one of us may advance my friend," said Neji. "So let it be the strongest."
"You truly deserve the rank of chūnin," said Lee. "But I shall make myself your greatest obstacle." With that, Lee leapt back onto the statue that dominated one section of wall. He removed the weights concealed under his leg warmers with a broad grin. Gai and Tenten could be seen burying their faces in their hands just before Lee released the weights.
Several jaws might've hit the floor when the weights produced two giant craters on impact. If they did, no one was stepping forward to claim any of the jaws as their own.
Then, Lee shot forward like a cannon ball, rushing around Neji at high-speed and launching continuous attacks from all directions, but Neji remained still, deflecting and dodging all of Lee's attacks, his body like a human whirlwind as he spun and defended and even launched his own high-speed counters.
Are these two really only genin? wondered Miyuki with an awkward smile. Down on the floor, Anko was looking a bit dizzy from trying to follow the battle.
"Unbelievable," whispered Temari. "It's a good thing neither of us had to fight them, huh Kankurō?"
"Y'think?"
"You really are too much Gai," said Minato, shaking his head. It was about this point that Kakashi suddenly appeared on the catwalk next to him. "How's Sasuke?"
"The seal's holding just fine," said Kakashi. "Kiba and Chōji are sticking close to him, and I've put an ANBU detail around him as well."
"That's good, but it may not be enough," said Minato. "You should stay close as well. Also inform Hiruzen-sama; I know he's retired, but under the circumstances, I'd like for him to keep an eye on Sasuke."
"Yes, Hokage-sama. How are things here?"
"Well, Gai's pupils are putting on quite the show…" Kakashi chuckled at that. "Hinata also made short work of her opponent."
"I see… Gai's really too much," said Kakashi, glancing down at the battle. Lee had torn up quite a bit of floor, but Neji remained unmoved. "I'd love to watch more, but…" He shook his head and disappeared.
On the ground, Lee had finally begun to slow and, soon enough, stopped entirely, standing in front of Neji.
"You still haven't moved me," said Neji, smirking.
"Indeed," said Lee, nodding in agreement. "If we continue in this way, I shall exhaust myself long before you. Therefore…" Lee loosened the wraps on his arms. Tenten gasped, Gai shook his head slightly, and Neji tightened his stance.
"Then come," he said softly. Lee's body began to emit power… and then he launched forward once again.
This time, even knowing what was coming, Neji did not react fast enough and was caught by a kick to the chin, launching him into the air. Lee followed him up, shadowing his movements before wrapping him in Lee's loosed arm bandages and gripping him with all his might. The two descended back to the ground head first, spinning faster and faster the whole way.
"Omote Renge!" roared Lee a split second before impact. A massive cloud of dust kicked up, blinding the observers.
When it cleared, both combatants were down on one knee, shaking and panting. Neji was bleeding slightly and covered in bruises, but Lee wasn't looking much better, though he wasn't sporting injuries like Neji was.
"You used… my own rotation… to shield yourself?" questioned Lee.
"Yes," said Neji. "I released my chakra and used the corkscrew to create a rotating barrier. Without dōjutsu, chakra is invisible under most circumstances." Lee nodded and managed to rise to his feet, as did Neji. The two resumed combat stances despite still shaking. But then Lee rushed forward and, strained but uninjured, managed to outmatch Neji's speed and land a single punch to the face that Neji just failed to block or dodge, sending the Hyūga prodigy to the ground.
"Winner, Rock Lee," called Anko. It was either that or declare a draw at this point—even if Neji could stand again, he would not be able to win. He seemed to realize that as well, and did not protest her declaration, instead turning himself over.
"Congratulations, Lee," he said.
"It was a difficult fight," replied Lee, collapsing to one knee. "I shall endeavor to grow strong for a future rematch." With that said, Lee promptly allowed himself to collapse completely. Anko sported a broad grin as the two combatants were carried out of the ring. Minato threw a brief glance at Gai, who had the decency to appear sheepish for having taught Lee the Lotus techniques.
"If I could have all of your attentions, I'm quite enjoying these matches," said Anko. "Now let's get some more bloodshed!" With that, she activated the randomizer again. Her grin widened when she saw the results.
"Would Tsukino Miyako and Yakushi Kabuto please join me?" she said. Kabuto walked sedately down to her, but Miyako simply swung over the railing and playfully jumped off, landing on her feet and stepping forward.
"Fourth preliminary round, Tsukino Miyako versus Yakushi Kabuto, begin!" called Anko as soon as they were both in front of her.
"That's an interesting outfit for combat," said Kabuto idly, drawing a kunai while Miyako tugged idly at her archery gloves.
"Oh, I'm primarily a miko," she said lightly. "Being a kunoichi is just a hobby." That comment seemed to tick a few people off. The redhead pretended not to notice.
"If you were thinking I'd underestimate you for a comment like that, think again," said Kabuto. "I've done what homework I can on you and your team, so I'm aware of just how strong you must be." He tossed the kunai at Miyako, who continued to inspect her gloves rather than respond… or so it appeared until a barrier of swirling water maybe two inches across suddenly formed in the air, blocking the kunai's path. As the whirlpool disappeared, Miyako released her yume from its glove seal, inspecting it before giving a slight nod.
"A ranged combat type," muttered Kabuto, eyes narrowing. "Very well." He then went charging forward, creating several illusory clones as he did so, and drew a kunai in each hand. Miyako raised her yume overhead.
"Ameshinsei no Jutsu," she intoned without handseals. To almost everyone's surprise, a brief wind kicked up before rain began to fall from overhead, the water dispelling Kabuto's illusions.
Then, quick as a flash, Miyako produced an arrow from thin air, nocked it, aimed it at Kabuto, and released. The silver-haired genin just managed to evade, allowing the arrow to collide with the wall behind him and clatter to the floor. Smiling sweetly, Miyako nocked another arrow from nowhere and took aim at Kabuto, though she did not immediately release it this time.
Kabuto, meanwhile, was wondering what was up with this rain and how it had dispelled his clones. Allowing her to see through the illusions would've made sense, but dispelling them entirely? That was a whole other story. He chuckled.
"Remarkable rain," he said. "Can I ask how it works?"
"You can," said Miyako sweetly, still aiming her arrow straight at his heart. Kabuto shifted nervously and she released the arrow. Better prepared this time, Kabuto leapt to the side, but was surprised when the arrow passed him and he got several cuts in its wake. The arrow struck the wall with a split-second flash of light and embedded itself deeply inside, far too deeply for any ordinary arrow, much less one without a metal or stone head like Miyako's arrows were.
"So then… how does this rain work?" asked Kabuto nervously—not that he doubted his ability to deal with this girl if he really needed to, but still weary of her unknown abilities.
To his disappointment, Miyako's only answer was a smile and another arrow in his direction. The results were much the same as last time.
With how strong those arrows are, I can't risk getting close without using diversions or revealing my true abilities, thought Kabuto. So, let's see what kind of techniques work…
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" cried Kabuto, spitting a large fireball at Miyako, but it completely dissipated before the technique even finished. He tossed both kunai, then several shuriken at her, but the mini-whirlpool shield formed again, several of them this time, intercepting all of his weapons.
"I see," said Kabuto. "So, this rain disables my nin- and genjutsu, while those whirlpools defend you from ranged attacks. But if I try to move into close quarters without my jutsu, I get speared by your arrows." Miyako just continued to smile. Kabuto shook his head. He made a show of trying to come up with strategies while Miyako kept an arrow trained on him before he focused on Anko. "Proctor, I forfeit. I have no means of taking the offensive." Anko nodded, looking mildly disappointed.
"Winner, Tsukino Miyako," she called. With a slight nod, Miyako stored her yume and arrow, and ended the rain technique. Surprisingly enough, while Anko and Kabuto were soaked from their time under the water, Miyako was perfectly dry. All the puddles that had begun to form on the ground around them vanished with the rain.
Slightly annoyed by the lack of blood, Anko activated the randomizer as soon as the two combatants had returned to the catwalk. What came up was a huge surprise, and Anko gaped slightly. She wasn't the only one, as most of the jōnin were also quite surprised, as was Minato. The two combatants simply descended to the ground.
"Well, Anko-san?" The proctor shook herself out of her stupor.
"Uh, right," she said. "Well then… fifth… fifth preliminary round… Uzumaki Naruto versus Sabaku no Gaara, begin!"
And with that, Anko quickly fled up next to Minato, leaving the jinchūriki and bijū on the floor facing each other.
Much as Hinata had done, Naruto was rocking on her heels slightly, hands behind her back.
"Are you really going to force this?" she asked softly as sand emerged from Gaara's gourd.
"Mother… mother says you deserve to die…" snarled Gaara, shocking his teammates a bit. "Mother says you should never have been born!" There was a mad glint in his eyes as he raised one hand at her. "We shall grant you mercy!" With those words, the sand blasted forward, but Naruto simply continued to rock on her heels, showing sadness that seemed completely foreign on the normally cheerful blonde. Just as the sand was about to crash into her, nine tendrils of golden chakra so intense they were visible to the normal eye and solid enough to act as a barrier shot forth from Naruto's body and blasted the sand away.
"Even you don't understand," said Naruto softly. "Are you incapable of understanding? Or do you simply not want to?" Gaara said nothing, and the sand began to try and attack Naruto from different angles. The blonde never looked away from Gaara though, even as her chakra continued to intercept everything he attempted to throw at her. "Why do you still insist on causing pain? What will it take for you to understand that there's another way?"
Gaara snarled slightly and, to almost everyone's surprise, his gourd began to dissolve into more sand. Instead of trying to press the attack, Gaara began to gather the sand around Naruto.
"Are you going to force me to kill you?" asked Naruto. "You know that I can. You know that even in my current state, I can crush you and the boy with ease. And make no mistake, if that's what it takes, I will do it, no matter how loathe I am to put you through that. So please, don't make me kill you."
The only response she got was the sand all rushing at her at once, Gaara attempting to encase her. He never got the chance, as the nine tendrils of chakra coalesced around her before blasting out in a wave that knocked back all the sand.
"Your sand won't be able to grip me," said Naruto, her tone hardening slightly as she finally settled on her feet fully. "So let me ask you again: are you going to force me to kill you?"
"To kill…" hissed Gaara. "That is the proof of existence. If I cannot kill you, then my existence is meaningless." With those words, the sand began to gather around Gaara.
"Wait, Gaara, you can't!" shouted Temari, but Gaara ignored her. Naruto shook her head.
"You've really messed the kid up, haven't you, little brother?" she muttered too softly for anyone to hear. She shook her head. "Do you really want to play it like that?" Naruto didn't wait for any sort of answer this time—instead, she formed a cloak of chakra around her and finally moved, shooting forward so fast that even some of the jōnin were unable to properly follow… and delivered a brutal haymaker to Gaara's face that sent him spinning through the air to smash into the wall. To the shock of Temari, Kankuro and Baki, they heard a cry of pain from Gaara.
As the dust cleared, Gaara became visible, clutching his face where Naruto had hit him, a web of cracks spreading out from the point and blood dripping between his fingers.
"You don't have any grace or form," said Naruto. "You don't fight strategically either… you're a brute. Both of you. There's no way for you to win this—I'm a smarter and better combatant than you and even in your specialty arena of brute power, I'm so far out of your weight class that it's not even funny." Naruto's eyes flashed red for a split second. "Your power is barely even a fraction of my own. No matter what you try to bring to bear against me… it won't work."
"ARGH!" screamed Gaara, sending all of his sand at Naruto. The blonde's eyes narrowed before she simply rushed forward, plowing through it with her chakra cloak, turning the sand to glass as she passed it, before delivering another powerful punch to Gaara's stomach. The redhead hacked up blood, eyes wide from pain and shock such that he couldn't even scream. Then he slumped forward, finally falling unconscious.
For a few seconds, Naruto sensed Shukaku trying to seize on the opening to escape before she sent a blast of her chakra into Gaara's body, specifically targeted at the seal, and effectively knocked Shukaku out along with Gaara.
Naruto let Gaara collapse to the ground, stepping back, shaking her head slightly.
"They're not getting up for awhile," she called to Anko, who was looking a bit flabbergasted as she returned to the floor.
"Um… winner, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto gave a slight nod, then disappeared, back up next to her teammates, while a team of medics rushed in to retrieve Gaara.
"I'll go with the medics and keep an eye on Gaara," said Baki to Kankurō and Temari. "You two watch yourselves."
"Y-yes sir," they said in near unison.
"You okay, Naruto-chan?" asked Yoshimi softly.
"I will be," she said. "I think in a way it's hardest with him. He's the youngest and weakest of us."
Down on the floor, Anko activated the randomizer once again. There weren't very many people left—five only, leaving only two matches to go. She smiled in relief when she saw the results and called the combatants down.
"Alright, almost done! Nice to see we made this quick," said Anko. "Now, sixth preliminary match, Haruno Sakura versus Temari, begin!"
If anyone had still been anticipating a sudden jump to action after the last several matches, they were sorely disappointed, as each girl merely shifted stances slightly, staring intently at one another.
What wasn't readily obvious to anyone was that the two were rather distracted at the moment, both of them by the same thing: the preceding match. Just what was going on? What was the true nature of those girls from Hakumei?
And for Temari, what was the connection between Naruto and Gaara? Was it the bijū? Was that how Naruto was able to break through Gaara's defenses so easily?
Eventually, Sakura became the first to act, tossing three shuriken at Temari. There was a sudden gust of wind that blasted them wildly off-course, but Sakura just caught Temari's motion.
The blonde was certainly skilled… but it still wasn't anything Sakura couldn't handle. Straightening out of her taijutsu stance, the rosette instead began a genjutsu. Temari stiffened slightly, gripping the handle of her fan, wondering just what her opponent was about to do.
After a few seconds, there was a brief whirlwind of leaves, which Temari attempted to blow away with her fan.
What was that? Some kind of genjutsu?
Sakura tossed several more shuriken at Temari, who shook her head disdainfully as she again blasted them away with wind. She became a bit more uncertain, however, when she saw the rosette smirking.
"You're certainly quick with that fan," she said lightly. "It must be nice—to be a ranged combatant able to nullify conventional ranged attacks. Unfortunately for you, it's not gonna work against me."
"Oh? And just what do you think you can do?"
Sakura merely smiled before performing a clone technique without hand seals, to the shock of Temari and most of the observers, and about half of the Sakuras went charging at Temari.
"You think you can beat me with some clones?!" demanded Temari furiously. She hefted her fan and gave it a single good swing, creating a whirlwind that she then manipulated to plow through all the Sakuras coming out her… which all turned out to be illusory. "What?"
It was at that instant that a monster made of sand burst through the wall, letting loose a bloodcurdling scream. Temari let out a scream of terror as the monster slammed into the ground where she'd been. Distracted as she was by this, she failed to notice the shuriken coming her way and received several cuts for her trouble… along with one sinking into her thigh, causing her to lose her balance and collapse to the ground.
It's just an illusion, she thought to herself as Shukaku raised another arm to strike at her. Focus on what is real, not the illusion. Shukaku's not real, it's not real, it's not real…
She tried her hardest to focus on the pain from Sakura's shuriken, using it to anchor herself in the knowledge that Sakura had simply used a genjutsu and Shukaku hadn't really come after her… but then the monster's arm smashed her into the ground and she screamed in pain.
Shukaku vanished and Temari felt a new weight fall atop her; she looked up to see Sakura straddling her with a kunai at her neck, the blade nearly resting on flesh.
"The blade's poisoned," said Sakura, too softly for most anyone but Temari to hear. "If you try to struggle or throw me off, I guarantee I'll be able to get at least one cut on your throat. The poison is quite potent and spreads quickly, and I'm afraid there's no antidote for it. In addition, I've put down explosives all around us and will be able to escape them easily, while you won't be able to. So…"
Eyes wide with shock and her body trembling in pain, Temari nodded just slightly. Sakura lifted the kunai away just a bit.
"Proctor… I forfeit," called Temari. Anko nodded.
"Winner, Haruno Sakura!" she called. A few seconds later, medics burst in again while Sakura stood up, casually gathering up the explosive tags she'd laid out. Kankurō trembled slightly as he stared down at Temari being picked up by the medics.
They were both beaten so easily… he thought before jumping over the railing.
"Temari, you gonna be okay?" he asked, rushing over to her.
"The shuriken in her leg is the only major damage," said a medic. "She'll be fine." Assuming it wasn't poisoned, of course…
"Watch yourself Kankurō," said Temari, hissing slightly from pain. "These genin aren't like anything we've faced before."
"Yeah, I understand."
Meanwhile, Naruto was discussing Sakura's genjutsu with her teammates.
"It's pretty impressive," she said. "Most genjutsu are superficial, which is why so many people dismiss them. But Sakura-chan can really unlock the true potential of genjutsu."
"Pain is just another chemical reaction in the brain and body," said Miyako. "Even still…"
"There's more than just that," said Naruto softly. "When she was threatening Temari with that poison, she was completely calm and in control. I don't think she was bluffing about the poison, but even if she was, holding a kunai to her throat like that… Sakura-chan was ready to kill Temari and would've done so without undue hesitation."
"There's definitely something different about her…" said Yoshimi. "Ah, I'm up." With that, she leapt down to the floor and stood in front of Anko, facing her opponent. She smirked at him. "Don't think that I'll go easy on you, just because we're friends."
"I would expect nothing less," said Shino calmly. On the balcony, Kankurō was letting out a small sigh of relief that he wouldn't have to be the one fighting, given that he'd just watched his sister and brother get curb-stomped into the ground.
"Alright, let's wrap things up," said Anko. "Final preliminary match, Aburame Shino versus Reikanna Yoshimi, begin!"
Both combatants were absolutely serene, even as they shifted into combat stances, with swarms of kikaichū emerging from Shino's sleeves.
Shino made the first move, sending a small swarm of kikaichū flying at Yoshimi. The brunette jumped to her left, but the swarm simply turned to pursue her. On seeing that, she came up short, instead running through several hand seals in quick succession.
"Katon: Hono'o Shōgai!" she said before spitting out flames that quickly formed into a barrier that the kikaichū ended up flying into. Yoshimi quickly released the jutsu, instead turning to face Shino again. Shino's response was to form two insect clones and release two swarms, quickly surrounding Yoshimi. With a small sigh, she performed another juts, just as the first insect clone attempted to punch her. "Raiton Yoroi!" Yoshimi's body began to crackle with electricity and she spun slightly to take the weight out of the clone's attack while allowing the electricity to race through the swarm, causing the clone to fall apart as some insects died and others withdrew.
"Well Shino-san, maybe this will be a fair fight after all," said Yoshimi, looking back at her opponent with an open smirk. Above the battlefield, Minato had an odd look in his eyes as he studied Yoshimi, recalling another ninja who used lightning armor techniques…
Shino's response to Yoshimi's lightning jutsu was to toss a half-dozen shuriken her way with small swarms of kikaichū attached to each. Yoshimi easily dodged out of the path of the weapons, but the kikaichū then altered their trajectory to continue tracking her. Yoshimi smirked slightly before a barrier of ethereal feathers suddenly formed and blocked all of the shuriken… with the attached bugs all falling to the ground dead.
"Clever," she said, even as Shino came running at her along with his previous swarms. "Metal and electricity is a pretty unpleasant combination, even for me. But still…"
Yoshimi didn't want to admit it, but Shino was proving… difficult. He was intelligent and the kikaichū represented a somewhat unique problem for her, especially as her usual combat style would involve simply beating her foes into submission. It was painfully obvious that that wouldn't work on him.
Which left her with just one real option, as her fire and lightning ninjutsu were ultimately rather limited.
"Reiton: Soshina Tenshi," murmured Yoshimi, quickly running through hand seals with which few, if any, of the non-Hakumei ninja would even recognize. Shino wisely pulled up short of the attack, instead allowing his insect clone and swarms to assail Yoshimi. None of the attacks landed, however, as the ethereal feathers from before appeared once again, this time surrounding Yoshimi entirely, the floating feathers casting off small sparkles of light as more of them appeared at her back, the light forming an angelic silhouette complete with wings. Any of the insects coming into contact with the silhouette immediately fell to the ground, dead.
"So… that's your real power," muttered Shino. Yoshimi focused her eyes on him.
"My kekkei genkai offers me a wide variety of unique abilities," she said softly. "This is only one of them. Now…" Yoshimi suddenly launched forward with incredible speed, tearing up the ground beneath her. Shino attempted to dodge the punch she threw at him, but she immediately compensated, widening her swing and delivering a heavy blow to Shino's stomach… only for him to suddenly turn into a dead swarm of kikaichū.
"So I see…" said Shino. "It enhances your physical abilities… as well as your perception." Yoshimi said nothing, instead sweeping her ethereal wings forward… and then launching them at Shino, who suddenly found himself pursued by two missiles of ethereal feathers. He quite suddenly found the situation reversed, with him being attacked from three angles at once, but unlike Yoshimi, he wasn't able to find an out… not with the way these feathers seemed to affect his kikaichū. Nevertheless, he had no intention of submitting without a fight, drawing a kunai and quickly attaching explosive tags to it.
After setting the tags, he tossed them straight at Yoshimi, who crossed her arms over her chest in response.
There might have been a bit of a groan from Shino when the explosions failed to do anything at all—Yoshimi's skin wasn't even blemished, protected as it was by the ethereal barrier.
"I see," he said, charging Yoshimi head on with a kunai in hand. The two missiles were following behind him, but he didn't entertain any illusions of them hurting Yoshimi for more than a split second. "Then I have no choice!"
Shino attempted to drive the kunai into Yoshimi, but was ultimately unsurprised when she easily caught his arm and stopped the attack cold, holding him in place for her ethereal missiles to strike.
And strike they did, hitting Shino simultaneously. He let out a faint cry of pain as the missiles burst apart in twin explosions of light.
Yoshimi stepped back, releasing her jutsu while Shino collapsed to the ground on all fours, struggling to hold himself up.
"Yes…" he muttered softly. "I see… proctor, I forfeit."
Anko, though confused, nodded in affirmation.
"Winner, Reikanna Yoshimi! Now, are you going to need a medic?"
"No," said Shino, though his trembling body suggested otherwise. "I just need some time to recover."
Sakura and Hinata landed on the ground and walked over to Shino as Yoshimi stepped back, soon joined by her teammates and sensei. The rest of the observers were making their way back down to ground level.
"Shino-kun, what happened?" asked Sakura as she and Hinata helped him to his feet.
"Her attack seems to have affected my insects specifically," he said. "Most of my hive is dead. I'm currently breaking down the deceased to replenish my chakra and swarm, but it will take several minutes."
"Shino-kun, you're a very dear friend, but let me reiterate that you are incredibly creepy."
Asuma rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration after hearing Shikamaru's explanation for just what happened in the forest.
I need to ask Hokage-sama about replacing Muramase, he thought. The arrogant Uchiha had proven a rather substantial burden on the team, unwilling to work with Shikamaru and Ino. This wouldn't have been quite so egregious if not for the fact that Ino had been working almost seamlessly with Shikamaru after their encounter with Team Miyuki. The blonde had been unusually quiet since then, and whenever asked for her version of their encounter, she simply blushed more intensely then Asuma had ever thought possible and started stuttering like mad.
Unable to work cohesively, they ended their time in the forest without any scrolls at all, losing every one they acquired. Ino credited Shikamaru with getting them the ones they did obtain, which meshed well with what Shikamaru had related. Muramase's version of events was, unsurprisingly, completely at odds with the other two, essentially blaming them for the team's failure and painting himself as the only competent member.
With a small sigh, Asuma left Shikamaru, instead heading down to the room where Sasuke was recovering. He found Kakashi standing outside of it.
"How is he?" asked Asuma. Kakashi shrugged slightly.
"As well as can be expected, given the circumstances," he said. "Chōji-kun and Kiba-kun are battered, but otherwise unharmed. Sasuke-kun's okay physically, and the seal should hold just fine, but it's exhausting."
"Just as well they didn't make the third exam then," said Asuma, leaning against the wall. "None of them were actually ready for promotion, but I think your kids might've made it if not for Orochimaru."
"Too bad we can't say the same for yours."
Asuma snorted, shaking his head. "I somehow doubt that arrogant brat will ever make chūnin," he said. "I've tried—I really have, but… he just refuses to be reasonable."
"Hmm… how do you think Kurenai-san's team is doing in the preliminaries?"
"You really need to ask?"
Seven of the eight advancing ninja stood arrayed in front of the Hokage and exam officials.
"First," said Minato, "I'd like to congratulate you all on making it this far. You've all worked hard to earn your shot in the third exam. The matches for the third exam will be held in a month's time." There were murmurs from the genin at this.
"Why a month?" asked Tenten.
"Several reasons—first, we need time for our guests to put their affairs together. After all, many of them are important individuals with very busy schedules. Second, this will give all of you time to rest and recover—certainly Lee-kun's not ready to jump into the next exam. Third, it is so we may continue to test you. Unlike the prior exams or these preliminaries, you will have foreknowledge on your opponents, so you may train and prepare yourself to face them. Now, before I let you all go, I need you to each take a slip of paper out of the box Anko-san is holding." With that, he gave a slight nod to Anko, who stepped forward, starting with Kankurō on the right.
"Just take one," she said sternly as he reached in and pulled out a slip. Anko proceeded down the line, stepping away when they'd each gotten one. She pulled the last slip out and looked at Ibiki. "It's one." Ibiki nodded and jotted something down on the notepad he was holding as Anko looked back to the genin. "Everyone, tell us your numbers… in the order you received them, please."
"Eight," said Kankurō.
"Four," said Tenten.
"Five." Hinata.
"Three," said Sakura.
"Six." Naruto this time.
"Two," said Yoshimi.
"Seven," said Miyako, finishing off. Ibiki nodded as he quickly wrote down the information.
"As I said before, the final exam will be a traditional elimination tournament," said Minato. "You've just drawn your bracket positions." At that, Ibiki turned the clipboard to show what he'd written down to the genin.
Rock Lee vs. Reikanna Yoshimi
Haruno Sakura vs. Tenten
Hyūga Hinata vs. Uzumaki Naruto
Tsukino Miyako vs. Kankurō
"Oh? The tough guy huh? This should be fun," said Yoshimi with a small smirk.
Sakura glanced at Tenten and mouthed good luck, while Tenten eyed the rosette intently over Hinata's head.
"Naruto-san…" murmured Hinata uncertainly.
Darn it, I was hoping to get Sakura-chan! We could've made a mud-wrestling match of it! Oh well, Hinata-chan's got a great body too… Naruto was, as ever, a fox at heart.
"So an unknown for now… that should make this coming month more interesting," said Miyako. Kankurō was merely wishing that Kabuto had put up a better showing so that he could know more of what Miyako could do.
"Keep this list in mind," said Minato. "How you prepare for these battles will be a factor in your promotion. Victory will not assure that, merely make you look better—it's entirely possible for everyone here to earn the promotion… or for none of you to make it. That will be all—dismissed!"
Author's Notes: So, yeah, preliminaries wrapped up in one chapter. I honestly don't remember how much randomness I actually threw in—I think Naruto vs. Gaara was planned, and the rest were randomized. Lee vs. Neji might have been deliberate, I really don't recall. Likewise, I have no idea any more how randomized the final match-ups were, but my guess is that I did it semi-randomly, only re-rolling a match to prevent teammates from facing off in the first round. Moving on:
Just about all of these fights were blatantly one-sided; Shino put up a good showing, but Yoshimi is more experienced and can make it difficult for his bugs to consume her chakra. Sakura is scarily competent because I made non-Tsukuyomi genjutsu actually good for something (or we could say "Genjutsu not used by Itachi"). Misumi and Yoroi are both completely pathetic. Gaara, well, Naruto pointed out exactly why he couldn't win against her. Kabuto could have completely mopped the floor with Miyako, but because he was throwing the fight, it ends up looking in-universe like she had him completely outmatched (but we all know better). Lee and Neji were about the only combatants on a fairly equal level, and I don't see Neji being able to deal with the absolute brute power and speed of the Lotus techniques, which is not to say he wouldn't have trounced almost any other opponent; I imagine only Naruto, Yoshimi and Gaara could've beaten him (and Kabuto, but he doesn't count).
Anyways, while I don't think this was a great chapter, I enjoyed it overall myself. Hopefully I can have fun with future chapters utilizing the Konoha nin and having Naruto interact with them. Team Asuma and Team Kakashi will get more spotlight next chapter, I promise you that, but I'll probably only use the single transitional chapter before hopping into the main event, because the only thing I'm genuinely competent at writing is fights, and only barely at that.
Please leave a review, and here's to hoping I have another miracle and somehow manage to write in another chapter soon rather than later!
Jutsu Translations:
Omote Renge - Front Lotus
Ameshinsei no Jutsu - Sacred Rain Technique
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Katon: Hono'o Shōgai - Fire Release: Flame Barrier
Raiton Yoroi - Lightning Release Armor
Reiton: Soshina Tenshi - Soul Release: Little Gift Angel