Author's Note: Naruto nor the characters of the story belong to me unfortunately and belong rather to Kishimoto Masashi. All I am doing is writing another version of his story according to my creative vision.
AN: Thank you so much for the reviews and Kazztar, I owe you a big one, that Medusa idea was amazing.
"Um, now let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary consists of one on one fighting. You will basically be fighting as if your life is on the line in a real life confrontation. Since we now have 23 contenders, one lucky person will receive a free pass to the next round with the winners of the other twelve matches. There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you is knocked out or admits your defeat. Umm, if you don't want to die, admit your defeat quickly. But when I decide a winner has clearly been established, umm, since we're trying to decrease the amount of corpses, I'll jump right in and stop things. And the object that controls your destiny is.." Hayate said.
"Open it," Anko said into her microphone headset. A panel in the wall moved up to reveal an electronic scoreboard.
"Is this electronic scoreboard which will show the matches for each fight," Hayate said and then added, "Now, this is sudden but let's announce the names of the first two contestants."
Everyone watched the scoreboard while wondering if they would have to go first. The board suddenly revealed two names: Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi.
"Sweet, I'm first." Sasuke grinned.
"Will everyone but the participants please move to the observation balconies?" Hayate asked. Everyone did as the sickly Jounin asked. The other Jounins stood by their teams but Kakashi however had stopped to talk to Sasuke.
"Don't use your Sharingan, got it?" Kakashi whispered.
"So you know about it, huh? Don't worry though, senpai fixed it for me so I'll be just fine." Sasuke smirked.
'Senpai? He is talking about that Kyo guy? I may have to tell that to Hokage-sama soon.' Kakashi thought, "Alright then, go get him but I will butt in just in case it gets out of control" Kakashi then said to his student and then went up meet the rest of the team.
Sasuke then walked up and met Yoroi face to face.
"Now, let the first match of the prelimanaries begin!" Hayate said.
Namikaze Hokage
Chapter 9: The Preliminaries begins
"So, any last words before I bash your face in?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
"You're one cocky punk, aren't you? However, if I were you, I wouldn't underestimate my opponent." Yoroi growled.
"Oh, I'm not underestimating you. I just know that I'm going to win, that's all." Sasuke smirked.
'Isn't that the same as acting cocky?' Team 7 all thought.
"Why you little punk! I'll shut you up!" Yoroi said and then dashed at Sasuke and punched him hard, making him skid to the ground several feet back.
"So, did you like that, punk?" Yoroi said but then was taken aback when Sasuke started to laugh, "What's so funny?" Yoroi asked.
"Nothing, it's just that I expected a punch, not a lovetap." Sasuke smirked as he got back up.
"Man Sasuke's cocky." Shikamaru said.
"You would too if you were as strong as him." Ino said.
"Maybe, but being cocky is way too troublesome for me." Shikamaru replied.
'Everything for you is troublesome.' Ino thought.
"Damn it Sasuke. This isn't the time to be overconfident, finish him off now!" Naruto growled.
"Chill Naruto. I got this under control, just having a little fun that's all." Sasuke replied.
'That fool...he doesn't understand what happens when an opponent is allowed to linger on too much.' Naruto said mentally.
Yoroi growled and then rushed at Sasuke and threw a punch but Sasuke parried it and then countered with a hard backhand punch to the stomach, sending Yoroi flying to a wall.
"Come on now, you can't be down after that, I wasn't even trying." Sasuke said.
"I refuse to lose...until I have proven myself stronger than him!" Yoroi said and then gets back up from the wall and then dashes toward Sasuke. He throws another punch and Sasuke parries but then Yoroi grins and grabs Sasuke's arm and then, his hand turns blue. Suddenly, chakra from Sasuke is starting to be absorbed by Yoroi's hand.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke yelled.
"Simple, fool. I am using my kekkai genkai to absorb all of your chakra in order to make myself stronger, faster while making you weaker." Yoroi answered.
Sasuke tries to pry Yoroi's hand off his arm but then started to slump to the ground as he began to feel weak.
"Sasuke!" Sakura said.
'That idiot! This is why I told him to finish off the opponent right away!' Naruto said mentally.
"Now that I got what I needed, here's payback!" Yoroi said and then lifted Sasuke and started to pummel him with a volley of punches with the last punch sending him flying to the wall on the other side.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, now I win and you lose, Uchiha!" Yoroi said as he laughed.
'Now what will you do, Sasuke-kun? If you want to win against Yoroi and his kekkai genkai, you will need your Sharingan but if you use it, then my curse seal will take effect.' Orochimaru said mentally
"Hmm, looks like I can't play around any longer. That's too bad," Sasuke said as he started to get back up, "You said that ability is your kekkai genkai, correct? Well then, let me show you mine!" Sasuke said and then the Sharingan appeared but what surprised most was no sign of the curse seal.
'WHAT? Where is the curse seal? Why didn't it activate after he unleashed his Sharingan? It should have activated...unless someone negated it but that's impossible, it's full-proof!' Orochimaru yelled in his head and he tried to use the same seal he did on Anko to activate her curse seal but nothing happened, angering him even more, 'THAT CAN'T BE! WHOEVER DID THIS WILL PAY!' Orochimaru growled mentally and then did a seal and poofed away.
'It looked like that Kyo guy did negate the seal after all but the only people I know that can do something like that are the Hokage and Jiraiya the Toad Sannin and I never heard of a Kyo person so who the heck is he?' Kakashi asked.
"So what about it? In case you've forgotten about it, I've absorbed nearly all of your chakra and thanks to it, I've gotten much faster and stronger!" Yoroi laughed and he then started to move around Sasuke at high-speeds, so fast that he was invisible to the naked eye.
"Well, he definitely got faster." Kakashi said.
"You really are stupid, are you? Sasuke said with a smirk, and then twists to his right and punches Yoroi in the face, knocking him down.
'How? I'm faster!' Yoroi asked mentally.
"Yeah you are but to me, you're still slow. I don't need all my chakra, just enough for my Sharingan, and this." Sasuke said and his hands then started to become engufled with chakra, "I think I should listen to my teammate now and put an end to this." Sasuke added and then the chakra turned into fire.
"That's new." Kakashi said as he wondered what his student had in mind.
"Eat this! Uchiaryuu: Ken No Jigoku Ryuu Kaen! (Uchiha Style: Fist of the Hell Dragon Flame!)" Sasuke yelled out and then punched Yoroi multiple times with his burning fists and then knocks him through the wall, full of burn marks and unconscious.
"It seems Yoroi is unable to continue this fight. The winner of the first match then is Uchiha Sasuke." Hayate said followed by a cough.
"I told you I could handle this." Sasuke said as he walked up to his teammates.
"Well, you did almost lose because of your overconfidence." Kakashi said.
"I could have beaten much earlier but then what fun would that be?" Sasuke asked.
"That can get you killed Sasuke." Naruto warned his teammate.
"I know, I won't do it but even if I do, I don't plan on dying just yet." Sasuke said.
The next two fights were pretty much one-sided. Aburame Shino was able to defeat Zaku from the Sound by clogging up both his airholes with his bugs despite Zaku pretending to have an injured arm in a cast. However, what was discovered about Shino was the main highlight of the fight as Neji was able to discover that Shino actually housed the bugs in his body and Kakashi ended up explaining that the Aburame family use their bodies to house bugs in exchange for their combat abilities. This creeped out alot of the examinees.
The second one was between Kankurou and Mitsumi Tsugiri. The latter had used his ability to wrap his body around Kankurou like rubber and snapped the sand ninja's neck. But what he truly snapped was the puppet Karasu's neck as the real Kankurou walked out of the bandages he originally used to hide his contraption. He then got his puppet wrap its arms around Mitsumi and then used it to crush his opponent's body. The other genins except for the boy's teammates were shocked by the boy's ruthlessness.
"Alright, we will not proceed to the next match." Hayate said, coughing, and the screen began to once go through the names of the remaining participants until it stopped on two names: Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. The girls looked at each other for a while and then nodded and went down to the stage.
"This should be interesting." Naruto said.
"This should be an easy win for Sakura considering Ino is just another fangirl." Sasuke smirked.
'That's what you think Sasuke but you know nothing about Ino. Out of everyone here, she is the most improved by far.' Shikamaru thought as he heard what Sasuke said.
"Now, let the match begin." Hayate said.
"Before we begin Sakura, I want to tell you something. I'm much more different than I was in the academy, much different." Ino smirked.
"I do not bear any grudge against you Ino but I will defeat you!" Sakura said.
"Hmm. Tell me Sakura, what do you think of my hair?" Ino asked as she got rid of the rubber that was holding her ponytail.
"What the hell does hair have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked with a sweatdrop behind his head.
'Something's not right...' Naruto thought but then his eyes widened as he saw some of Ino's hair move, "Sakura! Get out of the way!" Naruto yelled, startling everyone.
Ino then grins and her hair shot at Sakura but the latter was about to see it coming and dodged out of the way. Ino's hair ended up piercing the wall like a bullet.
"W...what is that?" Sakura asked, surprised.
"If it wasn't for Naruto, then my attack would have worked. You see Sakura, I decided to infuse my hair with chakra, turning it into a living weapon." Ino explained.
"She turned her hair into a weapon by infusing chakra into it? Incredible." Naruto said shocked.
"And on top of that, Ino's mind is too strong for any genjutsu of Sakura's to work on, thus making it much harder for Sakura to beat her." Shikamaru added on.
"The bigger question however, is what brought on that chance? The Ino I know would have never been able to come up with that." Sasuke asked.
"I did, by giving her a talk." Asuma said.
Flashback:
"Shikamaru, Chouji, you guys go train while I talk to Ino about something." Asuma said to his team in one of the training grounds. The two boys nodded and headed deeper into the training ground.
"What did you want talk to me about, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.
"It's about you Ino. To be honest, I don't think you're cut out to continue being a shinobi." Asuma said with a stern tone.
"What? What do you mean I'm not cut out! I have my jutsus and I was one of the best in the academy!" Ino argued.
"It's not about jutsus or the academy, it's about determination." Asuma replied.
"Determination?" Ino repeated.
"Yes, determination. You and many of the girls in your class had determination but that determination was only to impress boys, not to become great kunoichis. That is the kind of determination you lack and until you do you can never become a true kunoichi." Asuma said.
"But you're wrong, sensei! I do want to become a great kunoichi, I don't want to be a fangirl anymore! Shikamaru and Chouji, they are so more useful than me in missions and even though I know some of my family jutsus, I still feel like I'm a burden to this team. Please, help me sensei!" Ino said as she realized what her sensei was talking about. She realized that she has been toying her around with her duty as a kunoichi and that she needed to become stronger.
"Unfortunately Ino I can't." Asuma replied.
"What?" Ino yelled.
"Ino, if you want to change and become strong, then you need to find your determination and protect it with your life. Once you have found something to put one hundred determination into it, then you will become strong, I guarantee it." Asuma said as he kneeled to look face to face with the girl and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you, sensei." Ino said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
End Flashback
"Since then, she became a different Ino, a much stronger and focused Ino. A true kunoichi." Asuma said.
"I have trained constantly ever since that day and as I did, I have found something to put one hundred percent determination into; To prove myself as a true kunoichi, and that is something I am willing to put my life on!" Ino said and then spun her hair toward Sakura. Sakura put up her hands to block but the force of the hair was too great and knocked her back before she landed on the ground hard.
"Take this!" Medusa Raid!" Ino said as she jumped in the air and then her hair then turned into fists and struck Sakura all at once, punching her over and over again while the poor girl was trying to block them.
"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled.
"Had enough, Sakura?" Ino said as she stopped her attack and landed back on the ground.
"I'm not done yet..." Sakura said, all bruised up as she got back up.
"Give up girl, you can't win or rather I won't let you win!" Ino said.
"You said you had your determination or goal, right? A reason to become a true kunoichi. Well, I have mine as well. You see, the reason I decided to be a kunoichi in the first place, the true reason for my dreams, is become of my mother." Sakura said.
"Your mother?" Ino asked.
"Yes, my mother because you see, I destroyed her dreams." Sakura replied.
"Destroyed her dreams?" Ino asked as she and everyone were startled by the girl's revelation.
"Yes. She was a kunoichi on the rise to becoming one of the best in all of leaf but then she had me and as you know, once a kunoichi gets a child, their chances of remaining a kunoichi fall to zero and on top of that, she had to take care of me all by herself because my bastard of a father abandoned her." Sakura explained.
"But then your father is to blame, not you!" Ino said.
"I know, but still, she ended up having to take care of me and because of me, she had to quit as a ninja. I know she hates me, even if she tells me no, even if she tells me she loves me, even when she used to put me to bed, I know she hates me because I was born and her dreams where shattered, "Sakura said with closed eyes even though tears were flowing them, "I felt that I needed to do something to make up to her, to make her proud of me and that is why I decided to become a kunoichi and a serious one, so that way I can become a powerful kunoichi and fulfill not only my dreams but also hers as well and that is why I can never give up!" Sakura said as she then open her eyes full of determination, and then she went through seals.
"Ninpou: Sakura Kakuhan! (Ninja Art: Blossom Whip)!" Sakura said and then a whip out of petals was formed out of her chakra.
"You said that Ino had improved Shikamaru and that is very true. However, Sakura has also improved even more and hence why she will win." Naruto said.
"Now, let's fight!" Sakura said and then lashed out her whip. Ino lashed out her hair and the two weapons started to clash at high-speeds through the arena.
"Amazing, they're really going at it!" Ten-Ten said.
"The question is, who has the stronger weapon?" Lee said.
"Medusa Needles!" Ino yelled out and then show needles out of her hair toward Sakura who used her whip to knock them down.
"My turn! Sakura Hitoame (Sakura Shower)" Sakura said and then her whip dismantles into a bundle of petals which then flew toward Ino.
"Like that's going to do anything!" Ino said and then shot out her hair to pierce the bundle but then the petals split apart and then struck Ino over her body, creating small cuts on her, causing to yell in pain before falling to the ground.
"Alright, she did it!" Sasuke yelled out.
"Ino!" Shikamaru and Chouji yelled out in shock.
"Hmm, it seems Yamanaka Ino is unable to continue, the winner therefore is..." Hayate started to say but then was cut off by Sakura's painful scream. When everyone turned, they saw that Sakura was pierced by Ino's needle hair that Sakura had knocked down and then the hair turned into wrappers that gripped Sakura's legs and arms and pinned her to the ground.
"What the heck? How is this happening?" Sasuke asked.
"That girl's pretty good." Temari smirked.
"She's still just a weakling though." Gaara said bored.
"You forget that these needles were formed from my hair and thus I can use them whenever I want." Ino grinned as she got back up, "Now, just hold still while I do this." Ino said.
"She's really going to do that jutsu." Shikamaru said as he realized what Ino had in mind.
"Ninpou: Shitenshin No Jutsu!" Ino yelled out and then performed her mind switch technique, causing her body to slump to the ground and her mind to enter Sakura's.
"I see now, she used those needles to hold Sakura in place so she can use her jutsu. Pretty clever. Now, Ino has this in the bag." Shikamaru said with an added smirk.
"I would not be so sure." Lee said, catching everyone's attention.
"What do you mean by that? Ino's technique allows her to take over any mind she wants, basically invading it. There's no defense for that." Shikamaru asked.
"Just trust me, she will find a way out." Lee said firmly.
'Does Lee know something we don't about her? And if he does, what is it?' Naruto asked mentally as he looked at Lee.
Meanwhile, Ino was in Sakura's mind, fully in control.
"Now, to make her quit and wins this match." Ino said.
"Excuse me but what the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice said and when Ino turned around, Inner Sakura was there with a smirk.
"What's going on? Who are you?" Ino asked.
"It doesn't matter who I am, all I know is that you're in our head and I want you out you bitch!" Inner Sakura said and then punched Ino so hard that it cancelled the jutsu.
"W...what? My jutsu was cancelled..." Ino said and then fell unconscious.
"No way, Sakura overcame the jutsu? Impossible!" Shikamaru exclaimed.
'So my theory was correct, she does have split personality hence why she was able to beat those sound genins and still not know what she did.' Lee said mentally as he remembered the events in the forest.
"Then the winner is..." Hayate began to say again but then Sakura also fell to the ground unconscious.
"Sakura!" Both boys exclaimed.
"It seems her injuries were too much for her in the end." Kakashi said.
"Since both combatans are out..this match results in a draw." Hayate said.
Asuma and Kakashi looked at each other and nodded before going down there and getting their students.
'I'm really proud of you Ino. You really showed true determination.' Asuma thought.
"It looks like not even Sakura had a happy childhood." Naruto said to Sasuke, who nodded.
"By the looks of things, it looks like Sakura will be able to recover in 25 minutes and with that she can heal Ino afterwards." Kakashi said as he checked on the girls.
"So she's your medical specialist?" Asuma asked.
"Yeah, you can say that. However, one thing is for sure, I'm glad I entered them in the Chunnin Exam, she has grown so much more." Kakashi said.
"The fifth match..Ten-Ten vs Temari, come forward." Hayate said to get everyone's attention and both girls quickly jump into the floor and stared at each other face to face.
"Now, the second member of the sand team. This could prove to be interesting." Neji said, 'However, Ten-Ten will lose because of the inrefutable gap between her and her opponent that she can never overcome with her skills.' Neji added mentally.
"Good luck Ten-Ten!" Lee yelled.
"Well, Temari is weak but her opponent is much weaker so she should have no problem defeating her." Gaara smiled.
"Begin!" Hayate said and the match was underway.
"Hmm..." Ino said as she started to wake up.
"I'm glad you're awake, Ino." Sakura said as she was still healing the girl's injuries.
"Our match is already over, it was a draw." Sakura added while Lee and Gai were cheering for their friend.
"I see, so we both lost, huh?" Ino said.
"Yes we did, but I don't regret it at all since I know I did my best." Sakura smiled.
"So did I." Ino agreed.
"I will say this however. You have bloomed into a strong flower, Ino." Sakura grinned.
"Sakura.." Ino said as she looked at her friend and then smiled.
"Just like I thought, she never stood a chance." Neji said.
"Ten-Ten..." Lee said as he could not believe his friend had just lost.
Up on the floor, Ten-Ten was on the handle of Temari's fan as all of her weapons were rendered useless against the sand girl.
"How boring." Temari said.
"Like we'd lose here." Kankurou grinned.
'Those guys are dangerous.' The Hokage thought.
"The winner of the fifth match is Temari." Hayate said.
Temari then grinned and threw Ten-Ten off her fan and into the floor full of weapons but luckily for Ten-Ten, Lee appeared just in time to catch her.
"Nice catch." Temari smirked.
"What are you doing? Is that how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?" Lee asked.
"Shut up and take that loser and get out of here." Temari replied.
This made Lee mad and he jumped to perform his Konoha Senpuu but it was blocked by Temari's fan.
"Just as I thought. You're as pathetic as you look." Temari smirked.
"What?" Lee said.
"Lee, stop right now!" Gai said as he jumped into the floor.
'Damn.' Temari thought as she saw Lee's sensei.
"Temari, get up here now. You've been declared a winner. You need to stop wasting time with those weaklings or else you'll get weaker." Gaara said, earning a glare from Lee.
"Lee, that's enough." Gai said that to calm his student, and then grinned, and looked up at the sand team.
"Sand team...there's something I would like to warn you about if you don't mind." Gai said.
"This kid is strong. You better prepare yourself." Gai said.
"I wouldn't want to pick a fight with any of them." Kiba said.
"They all seem so strong." Hinata added.
'Gai, Lee may be strong but Gaara is just a monster.' Naruto thought.
"The next fight will be between Nara Shikamaru and Kin Tsuchi." Hayate said.
"Aw man this sucks. I have to fight a girl." Shikamaru sighed as he headed toward the battle floor and so did the sound girl.
"YOU BETTER NOT LOSE, SHIKAMARU!" Ino yelled out.
'Damn, that girl can be so troublesome.' Shikamaru thought.
"Begin!" Hayate said.
"Listen, I don't really like fighting girls so just give up." Shikamaru said.
'Well, isn't he sexist.' Sakura said mentally.
"There's no way I'm giving up. Besides, it should be easy for me to win this considering how scrawny you look." Kin grinned.
"And I thought this couldn't be easier." Shikamaru said with a grin.
"What do you mean by that?" Kin growled only to to find herself unable to move, "What in the? What did you do?" Kin asked.
"Simple, I used my Shadow Possession Technique to capture your shadow." Shikamaru smirked.
"I see, so that whole conversation was just a distraction to catch her shadow. Pretty clever for a lazy-ass." Naruto said.
"Now, to end this troublesome fight. We'll play 'let's dodge the shuriken' game." Shikamaru grinned as he took out his shuriken and so did Kin.
"Wait a minute, this is crazy! You could die! " Kin said.
"Well, I guess sometimes you gotta take risks. Hyah." Shikamaru said and then threw his shuriken and so did Kin. Shikamaru then went back and ducked the shuriken.
"Ah stupid, I'll just end doing the same." Kin said and then also ducked it but ended smacking her head into the wall, knocking her out.
"O..kay. That was lame." Sasuke said as everyone sweatdropped at the ending of this fight.
"A ninja always uses his environment to his advantage. But man, this was too troublesome, and I hate doing troublesome things." Shikamaru sighed and then walked back up.
"Ahem, now we'll move on to the next fight." Hayate said and then the screen began to go through the names once again.
'Let it be me, let it be me!' Lee thought.
The screen stopped on two names; Inuzuka Kiba and Namikaze Naruto.
"Talk about a heavyweight fight. One of the best in Taijustu from our class versus the best ninjutsu user in our class." Chouji said.
'I wished I had fought Sasuke instead but fighting Naruto isn't so bad too.' Kiba smirked mentally.
"Well then, wish me luck." Naruto said and then he and Kiba both walked down to the floor for their fight.
'Now, we'll get to see if Naruto truly lives up to his father's reputation.' Kurenai said mentally as she recalled what Kakashi said.
Flashback:
"His old man? Who was his old man, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked as she and the two male jounins were waiting for the results of the first test.
"What I am about to say cannot leave this room at all," Kakashi said, causing the other two to gulp in suspense. "His father was none other than the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato." Kakashi revealed.
"No way! He's the son of the Yondaime Hokage! But how? The Hokage never had a son" Asuma exclaimed.
"Yep. The reason why most people did not know about it is because Minato never disclosed his last name to the public. Only me, Hokage, and a couple of others know his last name. Also, any information about Minato having a child was disclosed to the public." Kakashi explained.
"So then that child he used, was his own?" Kurenai asked.
"Exactly." Kakashi said.
"No wonder, he's good, his old man was probably on the path of becoming the great ninja ever known to man, even surpassing my father." Asuma said.
"I can see why you would hold him to such esteem Kakashi but I still need to see him in action for myself before I buy into the hype." Kurenai said.
End Flashback
'And now, I'll see him for myself against Kiba.' Kurenai thought.
"Okay, the eighth match of these preliminaries, Inuzuka Kiba versus Namikaze Naruto. Begin!" Hayate said.
"I can't believe I get to fight you Naruto. However, even though we are comrades I can't afford to lose to you!" Kiba said.
"And I feel the same, Kiba." Naruto said.
"Alright Akamaru, you stay put. I'm going in first to soften him up and then we'll finish him off together with our combination techniques." Kiba told his dog. "Ninpou: Shikyaku No Jutsu! (Ninja Art: Quadruped Technique)!" Kiba said and then clapped both hands together and then his nails and fangs strated to grow bigger and he then got out on all fours like an animal about to pounch on its prey.
"What is that?" Sakura asked.
"That must be the Inuzuka's clan specialty, the ability to become more animalistic and thus gain great strength and speed." Kakashi explained.
"Here I come!" Kiba growled and then headed straight for Naruto at high speed and to Team 7's surprise tackled the young blonde, knocking him a few feet away, hitting the ground.
"Kiba's fast but not that fast. Naruto should have been able to react to that type of speed and counter." Sasuke said in disbelief.
"Yes but he somehow couldn't. I wonder why?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto slowly got up and started to breath heavily.
'What's going on? My body, it wasn't able to react on time despite me seeing the attack coming but why?' Naruto thought.
"Now to use this technique! Tsuuga! (Piercing Fang)! Kiba said and then started to spin so fast that he turned into a mini-tornado and then headed straight for Naruto and was able to hit the blond, knocking him back down again.
"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?" Sasuke yelled at his teammate.
'So I guess he's all hype after all.' Kurenai smirked mentally.
Naruto tries to get back up but then falls on his knees and starts to cough some blood, surprising everyone.
'My body...it's still injured from the fight with Gaara but how? Sakura-chan said she healed me.' Naruto thought in disbelief.
'What the? I know I hit him hard but not this hard to wound him that bad.' Kiba thought.
"Sakura, I thought you healed him?" Sasuke asked.
"I did, I did. I healed all of the bruises on his body, he should be fine!" Sakura replied.
"Unless these wounds are internal wounds that you were unable to heal. Wounds that are from the inside are much more serious and can truly affect an individual's performance." Kakashi said.
"No...Naruto-kun." Sakura said as she looked on at the blonde.
"Damn it Naruto, get up already so we can get on with this!" Kiba growled as he did not want to win this way.
'Naruto's got no choice, he has to quit the match so he can be properly examined. But who could have done this to him?' Kakashi asked mentally, "Guys, did Naruto meet someone in the forest of death?" Kakashi asked his other students.
"Well let's see. Oh yes, he told me that he fought Gaara." Sakura said.
"You mean that red-haired guy! He fought him? Damn, this is bad." Sasuke said.
"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked intrigued.
"We met him earlier before the exams and afterwards, Naruto told us that this guy was a monster and had a bloodlust even worse than Zabuza's and that we should avoid him at all costs." Sasuke explained.
"A bloodlust worse than Zabuza's? If that's truly the case then it's no wonder he's in this shape." Kakashi said.
"Since Namikaze Naruto is unable to continue physically, the winner of this match is..." Hayate started to say but was cut off by Naruto.
"Don't you dare stop this fight, proctor!" Naruto growled.
"Just stay down Naruto! If rhis go on, you might die!" Kiba said.
"So you rather win because I'm too injured to continue, is that it? Where is your pride as a shinobi, Kiba?" Naruto smirked.
"Alright then, if you want to end up worse than you already are, then it's fine by me but I warned you." Kiba said.
"Kage Bushin No Jutsu!" Naruto said and then spawned 20 clones and dashed toward Kiba
'Kage Bushin? Hmm, that won't work against Kiba's sense of smell.' Kurenai thought
"You think he's got a plan?" Sasuke said.
"Definitely." Kakashi answered.
"Okay Akamaru, time for you to also have some fun." Kiba grinned and then inserted a purple pill into Akamaru's mouth and the dog swallowed.
'A soldier pill. This isn't good, Naruto.' Kakashi thought.
Then, Akamaru's fur turned red and he then jumped on the back of Kiba.
'Kiba intends to end it here.' Kurenai thought.
"Time to do this, buddy! Juujin Bushin! (Beast-Human Clone)!" Kiba said and then Akamaru turned into another Kiba, "Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled out and then both he and Akamaru perform a Tsuuga and then shredded into the clones and then headed for Naruto, who was standing there with his eye closed and breathing.
"Naruto, get out of the way!" Sasuke yelled out.
'It's over!' Kiba thought and then the clones were inches from hitting Naruto when the blonde suddenly vanished.
"What the hell?" Kiba growled. He and Akamaru stopped and turned to see Naruto right behind them.
"What just happened? I thought his body couldn't move." Shikamaru asked shocked.
"I have absolutely no idea." Asuma said.
"I don't know how you moved that fast but you not getting away a second time! Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled and they both started up again, heading toward Naruto. They seem to hit Naruto but then veer off course and each land on the opposite side of the blond.
"What's going on? I know I hit you!" Kiba said.
"I might as well tell you what's going on. You see, the clones I sent were just a mere diversion to stall you so I can create a new technique in order to help me move." Naruto said.
"You just now created a new technique?" Kiba asked.
"Yes, and I call this one Fuuton: Tenkazedou No Jutsu (Wind Element: Heavenly Wind Body Technique). By basically emitting my chakra around me and then adding my wind affinity to convert it to wind, my whole body becomes controlled by the wind and I simply have to tell the wind a command and it will do it, basically like how a puppet is controlled by the strings of its puppetmaster. So for the first attacks, I simply wanted to move out of the way and the wind carried my body at high speeds away from you. For the last attack, I simply had the wind knock your attack away by using a wind current. It's pretty complicated but I believe the actions justifies the explanations." Naruto explained, leaving everyone shocked on how he could devise such a technique in a short amount of time.
"I see now. Basically, he uses the wind as a replacement for his body in order to continue to fight without being slowed down by his injuries. Incredible." Kakashi said.
"But the level of that jutsu, it's easily A-class and yet he came up with it in less than a minute. He's truly amazing." Kurenai said in awe.
"Like Kakashi said Kurenai-chan, he really takes after his old man." Asuma smirked.
"I don't care what that technique does, I can still beat you!" Kiba said and then started up his Gatsuuga again but when they were getting closer to Naruto, one of them decided to go behind Naruto in order to attack.
'He's trying to attack me from both sides!' Naruto thought as he realized Kiba's plan.
"Try to deflect this!" Kiba yelled out.
"Tatsumaki." Naruto whispered and then a twister sprung from underneath him and sucked Kiba and Akamaru in, cutting them all over before dropping them to the ground. Akamaru then returned to its original form.
"He countered both at the same time with one move. I knew Naruto was good with ninjutsu but this is unreal." Shikamaru said.
'Namikaze Naruto...if your father and mother were here to see you, they would have been very proud of you.' The Hokage said.
Kiba tried to get back up but then Naruto had his hand pointed to him.
"Give up now Kiba or else I will attack." Naruto said sternly, causing the Inuzuka boy to gulp. When he saw his animal partner down for the count, Kiba knew he stood no chance against Naruto.
"Proctor, I give up." Kiba said.
"If that is the case, then the winner of this match is Namikaze Naruto." Hayate said.
"Alright, Naruto-kun!" Sakura and Anko both said at the same time, causing them to glare and growl at each other, earning a sweatdrop from everyone.
"That Naruto, he sure had me worried." Sasuke smirked.
"That guy is strong, no wonder he survived against Gaara." Kankurou told Temari, who nodded in agreement.
'Namikaze Naruto...killing you will truly be an exihilarating pleasure.' Gaara thought.
Meanwhile, Kabuto and Orochimaru were outside the arena where the preliminaries took place.
"What? The curse seal failed? But that's impossible, it's absolutely flawless, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said in disbelief.
"I know but someone did and I want to know who! Kabuto, did you see anyone with Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked.
"No sir, I was the only one that was with them." Kabuto replied.
"This is throwing a wrench into my plans! I cannot let this go unpunished!" Orochimaru growled.
"Yare yare dase. Looks like we have an angry snake here." A voice said and Kabuto and Orochimaru turned only to see Kyo standing near a tree.
"You..." Orochimaru growled.
"It's been a while, little Orochimaru." Kyo grinned as he walked up to them.
"Who is this man, Orochimaru-sama? I can feel tremendous chakra coming from him." Kabuto asked.
"That man...That man is none other than the one the legends call the Blue Dragon...His name is Uchiha Kyo, the brother of Uchiha Madara." Orochimaru said.
"Now little Orochimaru, we need to have a little talk." Kyo glared with his dragon-like Sharingan flaring.
Who is this Uchiha Kyo and what does and Orochimaru have to talk about? Also, who will fight next in the preliminaries? Find out in the next chapter called "Destinies and Tragedies."
AN: As always, read and review.
