Ichiro vs. Sasuke: Lion's Barrage Unleashed!
The first match got off to a quick start as both boys threw shuriken at each other.
"Not so fast." Ichiro smiled.
He charged forward and began throwing punches at Sasuke, who flinched when he dodged. But Sasuke managed to break Ichiro's foothold, and brought them both to the ground.
Ichiro smiled and put his left index and middle fingers to his chin, closing his eyes. Then, he began to sink into the ground.
"What the hell?" Sasuke grunted.
Ichiro came back up, standing with his hands clasped together, forming the 'Mi/Snake' sign, one that's woven more in Earth Style than any other nature.
"Earth Style: Mud Ropes." Ichiro shouted, and strings of wet earth wrapped themselves around Sasuke, restricting his upper body and arms.
Sasuke glared at Ichiro as he hovered over him, gripping the fabric of his blue shirt.
From the upper level, Orchi and Miyuki smiled at their teammate's apparent upper hand.
Ichiro released his hold on Sasuke, but still kept him pinned down, "Now, for the fun part." he smirked, doing a small sequence, Snake-Rat-Bird-Ram, "Earth Style: Snake Bind."
The topes of mud soon turned to snakes, live snakes that hissed and swayed.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked, looking at Orchi.
"It's a jutsu our mother taught us." she replied. "Ones to use to bind our enemy, and crush them."
"Crush?" Sakura repeated, looking at the arena floor with worry.
"It's a very powerful jutsu." Miyuki added, leaning into the railing.
The snakes constricted their bodies and hissed, and another, larger one, emerged from the ground and wrapped itself around Sasuke's midsection, restricting him further, causing him to grunt in pain.
Ichiro smiled, "Now with this jutsu, I don't have to do much of anything, just stand back and let my snakes do all the work."
From the other side of the upper level, the Sound Jōnin was watching the battle closely, smiling at Ichiro's use of his jutsu.
Ichiro kept his hands together in the sign for 'Ram', feeding the jutsu with his own chakra.
Sasuke clenched his fist and kicked Ichiro in the stomach, breaking the jutsu. He jumped to his feet, panting and rubbing his arms. Ichiro charged in for another hit, and Sasuke barely dodged it.
"C'mon Sasuke." Sakura whispered, gripping the railing.
Naruto gripping the railing, more in frustration then worry. "Hey Sasuke!" he yelled. "C'mon man, what the hell was that? And you call yourself an Uchiha?"
Sasuke looked back at our loudmouthed teammate.
"C'mon man, you keep fighting like that and this goon's gonna walk all over you!" Naruto taunted, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Man, he's got a mouth on him." Miyuki said, putting her hand to her ear.
"Where the hell have you been since the start of the exams?" Orchi asked her teammate. "He's always had a mouth, remember he painted a big, bull's-eye on us Rookies since his outburst during the first exam." she reminded.
Miyuki rolled her eyes.
Ichiro was beginning to loose his cool, "Okay, try this one on for size." he smirked, biting the underside of right his thumb, drawing blood. He did a small sequence of hand signs, Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram.
"Summoning Jutsu." Ichiro yelled, slamming his hands down on the stone floor of the arena.
In a puff of smoke, a medium sized, purple Boa with black rings on his body and two horns coming from his head appeared, hissing.
"You summoned me, Ichiro?" he asked, turning his head to look at the aforementioned Rookie.
"Papuru, I require a little more assistance than I originally thought." Ichiro informed, "Would you be so kind as to help? I'll make it worth your while."
"Is he bribing the snake?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It had to be that one? But he's so, moody." Orchi sighed.
"Kakashi-sensei, is that even fair?" Naruto asked. "I mean, he brought in something else, that's got to be against the rules, right?"
"Not really, it's part of Ichiro's jutsu, so it's within the rules." Kakashi answered.
"But what can a stupid snake do anyway?" Naruto asked.
Miyuki giggled, "More than you think Naruto." she answered. "More than you know."
Konoha crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. "He's not holding anything back."
The Boa slithered around the arena, as Ichiro charged forward.
Sasuke dodged Ichiro's advancements and managed to avoid Papuru's attacks as well.
Just as Ichiro was going in for another punch, Sasuke dodged and was suddenly underneath him, kicking him in the jaw.
"Ichiro!" Orchi and Miyuki screamed in unison.
Konoha gasped. "That couldn't be." she muttered, glancing at Kakashi.
"It sure looks like it." Kakashi replied, meeting Konoha's eyes.
"I'll admit, I borrowed that move." Sasuke said, as he hovered behind Ichiro in mid air. "But from here on out, it's all original."
But suddenly, Sasuke's body froze, and the Mark on his neck began to glow and started to spread over his body. Then the look in Sasuke's eyes changed, and the marks began to recede, and the glow died down.
"You really think a cheap trick like the 'Dancing Leaf Shadow' is gonna be enough to beat me, Sasuke?" Ichiro asked. He smirked and extended his arm, and Papuru jumped and wrapped himself around Ichiro's right arm, hissing.
Sasuke punched the snake in the head, damaging it. Then he swung his leg and kicked Ichiro in the stomach, sending him flying downward towards the ground.
Sasuke slammed his foot down on Ichiro once more, "Lion's Barrage!" he yelled, as Ichiro slammed into the ground.
With a soft grunt, the purple Boa vanished, and Ichiro lay unconscious, blood trickling from his mouth and arm.
Sasuke landed on his stomach, grunting. Both boys laid motionless. Sasuke coughed and slowly got up, kneeling for the time being.
"I'm declaring this match over." Hayate announced. "As the winner of this first match in the Preliminary Round, Sasuke Uchiha advances to the finals."
"Yes! Alright!" Sakura and Naruto cheered. "Way to go Sasuke!"
"He was overconfident and that's what led to this outcome." Orchi muttered.
"He's gonna be okay, right Konoha-sensei?" Miyuki asked.
The dark haired Jōnin smiled, "Yeah, once he sleeps it off, he'll be fine." she leaned up off the wall. "I'm gonna go see how he's doing." Konoha smiled and vanished, reappearing down on the arena floor, next to Ichiro's unconscious body.
Sasuke was about to fall backwards, when Kakashi appeared and held him upright with his knee.
"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto called, "You won but in such an un-cool way. You came out looking like you're the one who got beat up." he chuckled.
"Idiot." Sasuke breathed. "Give me a break you little-whatever." he sighed.
"You're out of your league with this one." Kakashi said to the medical ninja. "I'll take care of him."
He then whispered something to Sasuke, and the two proceeded to leave the arena.
Konoha watched as Kakashi and Sasuke left the arena. She kneeled down next to Ichiro and slung one of his arms around her shoulders, supporting his weight. In a flash, she reappeared on the upper level and sat Ichiro against the wall.
"Well, he did great, considering who his opponent was." Miyuki noted, smiling.
Orchi nodded in agreement.
The screen clicked on and the names began cycling through, choosing the next two competitors. After a few seconds, the next pair was decided.
Shino Aburame vs. Zaku Abumi
The two ninja took the floor, it was a match of the Sound verses the Leaf.