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"Naruto" - Speech
'Naruto' - Thinking
Naruto - Flashbacks
Naruto - Technique and Bloodline Limits
'Naruto' - Soul Speaking
Five Way Uzumaki
Battles Escalate!
Last time on Five Way Uzumaki,
And yet, with all the flair, Tenten let her guard down when she thought that she had finally got Hinata. Only to see that her work had only proved herself a complete failure at wood carvings. Not with a badly damaged log with all its pieces around the main body with a large carving. Then Tenten felt like someone had hit a certain spot on the back of her head before the world turned dark, silent and numb.
"I wish you will realize that we were taught the basics for a reason and I learned my own way with the help of y team and my love Tenten. And to think I was going to let you marry Oni-san when I become the next head of the clan." Hinata said without any stuttering or low self-confidence at all. In fact, Hinata was always scary without both.
Regardless, everyone cheered for this great match even if it was one sided. It was like how a senior does a freshman when it came to Genin. But then came something that set everyone's expression down to tension. The board showed another set of names but it was the combo that made everyone tense. And the source of it that passed to the civilians was the Genin who did to a couple of the Jonin as well.
Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga
That was to be a match never to forget for anyone who loves a good Shinobi duel. But just how will both Hinata and the Hyuga Clan take the aftermath? No one was to be certain or sure but only time will tell.
Silence. That was to be the noise or better yet, lack of that which everyone heard when the board showed those two names. 'So you are going against Hinata's cousin huh?' Naruto then heard the voice of his uncle speak to him.
'Yeah, I wonder what she will think of me whatever I win by beating on Neji or lose to him.' Naruto responded, 'Even with Neji treating her like his life-long enemy, she still loves her. What do you think Kaa-san, Karin-nee-chan and Mito-obaa-chan?' Naruto then asked for his female occupants for some advice.
'I will say that if you try to forfeit then you will hurt your girl twofold Naruto-kun.' That was Kushina's voice and it was true. Forfeiting wasn't really the way out of a possible lose-lose situation but the coward's way out of a tough decision. And being like that is the last thing Hinata needs in her boyfriend.
'How about you do it anyways Naruto-nee-san. If you win then you can make up to Hinata-chan by helping her with her cousin.' Naruto then heard Karin taking her own turn.
'I believe that to be the case Naruto-kun. You can at least talk Neji down until he is exhausted then the boy should be willing to listen to just about anyone, even your girl.' Naruto nodded when his great aunt Mito spoke as the last of the bunch to speak to her great nephew.
'Okay, I will try. I will not let anyone down and not Hinata-chan especially.' Naruto spoke to them all and got ready to walk down to the fighting area.
XXXXX
"Are the two combatants ready?" Hayate asked and both Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga nodded. "Then…*cough*…begin!" The proctor announced and threw his hand downward to signal the beginning of the latest match in the Preliminaries.
"You might as well quit right now. You will spare yourself of humiliating not only yourself but Hinata-sama for choosing the wrong boy to be her man." Neji tried to taunt Naruto, something that the former thought he was a master of. "Think about it, even if you win then Hinata-sama…"
Neji tried to go further but suddenly found himself feeling like he was suffocating. The air had gotten so heavy that his voice drowned in his attempt to regain steady breathing. "I have thought about it Neji." Naruto spoke, almost like he was possessed by a demon or the devil himself. "I think that I am going to fight not for my promotion but because fate had gave me a chance to help your family. The Hyuga Clan of Konohagakure! Something that you are hoping to break apart while you stand on the sidelines, laughing."
Neji could only croak worse than a sick toad to all this. "And that is something that I will never allow to happen. Even with a man who is just too afraid to admit that he was wrong to hate his own cousin or that there was no way for Hinata-chan to escape a Jonin's grasp at three years old or that your father willing allowed himself to be killed." Naruto said and that got Neji to growl instead of just croaking.
"You don't have the right to talk about this like it is your business!" Neji shouted but since he was no longer confident or even smug, just words couldn't even get children to flinch.
"Your right. I shouldn't be involved so soon but since you are getting Hinata involved with some deadly business when she never did anything that bad to you, here I am." Naruto said and Neji growled again. "And don't give me that since she is weak that Hinata will always be. She is not weak in body, not weak in mind or weak in soul. You are."
"I am not weak!" Neji finally got up, albeit with shaking legs. "I was the Rookie of the Year in the Academy! My team are miles ahead of you thanks to me!"
"I am not taking about the Academy or your team." Naruto barged in. "And if you were weak in body then you should have been promoted much earlier than today and without the need to take the Exams. No you kept yourself weak so you will still take the exams and take a twisted opportunity to try and kill Hinata-chan. Only that you your match with me instead." Naruto explained. "All I see is a boy who is angry at the wrong people because he doesn't want to face the ones that really killed your father, the Raikage and Kumogakure!"
"Shut up! If Hinata-sama…!" Neji shouted but only swallowed his words in boiling anger to see that Naruto only showed the emotion of annoyance, topped with the 'whatever' gesture flap of his hand.
"We all know and we are tired of the same old story. It is still as boring, stupid and unbelievable as ever." Naruto said with pure disrespect in his tone that only got Neji angrier, if that was possible. "So, how can you still deny that you hated the wrong people for so long? Now that is stupid."
"I said shut up!" Neji shouted trying to go for the killing stroke this time. But Naruto just dodged every single one of those, taking his unspoken vow to heart. "Hold still!"
Naruto just shook his head at Neji, like a disappointed teacher to an unimpressive student. "If you are giving so much of your energy into such words, then you should really think that I will obey you. Why is that? You are a Genin like me and even someone like you can't have the rights and authority of a Chunin." Naruto said but found himself needing to dodge quicker as Neji increased the barrage of strikes.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Neji was not trying to even hear Naruto's words. But it was hard to block out the blonde's voice when both hands are grinding against the air to get a hit at Naruto. Then Neji tripped. He tripped, over his own feet. Neji, who was a prodigy in his clan techniques and had been a Genin a year longer than Naruto or any other team, tripped over his own two feet.
"Looks like taking the evasion tactics was better than going all out on a target that you know you couldn't even hit." Naruto said and it was true, the blonde didn't even have a bead of sweet n any section of his hide. "Now then, you want me to hold still so be it!" Neji took the chance with the energy he got back to finally touch Naruto. But the blonde didn't budge.
"Oww!" Neji tried not to say like a little kid who scraped his knee. But it felt like he was trying to bash into a steel statue. "What…?" Neji said before he suddenly felt lightheaded and then the rest of his body no longer felt sagging down due to his exhaustion. Instead, Neji felt like he was flying upward, nonstop to the clouds. And for some crooked way, he was.
"With you feeling like you can reach the clouds, you will instead be sent down to the earth hard." Naruto said, "Futon: Unjou Enro (Wind Release: Journey to Above the Clouds)!" Naruto then made a downward motion with his arm. That caused Neji to fall hard indeed back on the area ground, causing some bruising and blood to spill out of the mouth.
Neji tried to get up from this sudden joint of pain, "B-but Hinata-sama will…" Neji tried to understand why Naruto is actually taking action and doing so physical damage after the impression and the vow Naruto made. Only for Naruto to appear in a blur and forced Neji to face the stands, where Hinata was clear all this on.
"One of Shinobi's greatest weapons are still deception Neji." Naruto said and Neji couldn't believe that the latter had gotten himself fooled by the former. "Let's see the 'Rookie of the Yester Year' fight still." And before Neji could do anything else, the uplifting feeling came again. "Futon: Unjou Enro!" And like before, Neji felt a sudden joint throughout his body.
"Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)!" Neji finally got his nerves together to launch a sudden displacement of pure air to hit Naruto. Too bad that it barely did anything to the blonde compared to Naruto's damage to Neji himself.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)!" Naruto counteracted with a strong burst of fast moving water at Neji. The Hyuga barely evaded it and got a cut on his right cheek when he underestimated the real range of the water wave. "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique)!" Next, Naruto sent a large bullet of water into Neji's direction.
"Hakke Kūshō!" Thankfully for the Hyuga, he was able to counteract this time. "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!" Neji then moved in with his strength and speed finally returning. And yet when Neji tried to begin the technique,
"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Wall)!" Naruto halted Neji hard with a large wall, once again, of water. Now that was an inventive way to use a technique made for basic defensive tactics. "You will have to try harder than that." Naruto said while Neji was trying to gathered himself together when the wall of water also launched hi hard into one of the surrounding walls of the arena. "Futon: Unjou Enro!" Naruto then sent Neji flying above and down below yet again.
But this time, "Hakke Kūshō!" Neji distracted Naruto with yet another vacuum wave attack. But this time, Neji moved in and actually managed to hit Naruto; the distraction tactic worked rather well in Neji's favor after all. "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" Neji then gave Naruto no chance to counterattack this time.
"Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!" In quick sequence, almost like a machine gun, Neji shouted his attacks that doubled in damage for each strike. And Neji felt like he had this in the bag when 'Naruto' burst into pure water, soaking the Hyuga once again to the bone. 'Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)?! What the hell!?'
"Now what did one of my clones ever did to you?" Neji growled to hear Naruto's voice, mocking him for all this. "It took a good hour to pump the chakra into that Mizu Bunshin to fight someone even of your prowess."
"Dammit, you made your point!" Neji shouted at the blonde who happened to be lazing around without a care in the world. "So why should we delay our fight for something like that! Fight me seriously for once!" Neji then saw that Naruto's smirk was still present.
"I am and been fighting like that since the match started. Haven't you noticed already?" Naruto said and Neji gasped to see that the water from the Mizu Bunshin hadn't dripped off his body like water usually does. But before Neji could do anything else, the water on his body started to move irrationally. It was like it all grew and covered Neji in a water sphere! "Suirō no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique) is a very helpful Jutsu if you are patient enough to try it out." Naruto said, "And I did. That is how I learned to do this!"
Neji felt something that he never did in his life. The water that surrounded him had suddenly collapsed with force like a bomb exploded in the sphere along with him. The trauma was incredible and Neji could no longer gather any strength to get on his knees even. It was like Neji's body had doubled, no tripled in weight. "Enough." Neji said through it all, "All this is enough. I forfeit!"
Neji felt no regret tossing in the towel since it was clear that Naruto was a Shinobi that deserves to be a Chunin, not to remain a Genin. And he felt relieved to see Hayate appear in the arena. "Winner by forfeit is Naruto Uzumaki!"
XXXXX
"That was so cool!" Naruto sighed to hear Kiba act like the kind of kid that the blonde could have seen himself be the same if he hadn't meet the souls of his relatives or Hinata-chan. They all have pounded some maturity and manners into Naruto's head, both literally and figuratively. "Do you think I can do something like that to kick ass and take names!?"
"I think that you should save that attitude until you actually start learning how to control the elements. And I can't be completely sure that you can use the wind element like I can." Naruto said, a bit of a smartass. "I guess that when your teacher is convinced enough then you and your teammates will take that huge step."
"Really!?" Kiba shouted, like a kid who was promised a new toy if he behaved accordingly. A nod from Naruto was all Kiba needed to excited all over again. But the Preliminaries are still not over yet. After a short while, the board then showed two more names,
Shikamaru Nara vs Kin Tsuchi
And when those two were pitted against each other, it was a very short match. One that Shikamaru had only won because he didn't want to face his mother if he lost. So when he finally showed motivation to fight, it was an easy match and even easier for Shikamaru to trap his opponent in his signature Jutsu. And all Shikamaru had to do was force Kin to knock herself out conscious since he forgot that she was facing a wall while her opponent was in the wide open.
"Shousha: Shikamaru Nara!"
Compared to Naruto's 'epic' battle with Neji, this one was like a simple soap opera. Yet, not even the housewives that love the soap operas were excited in the aftermath of this battle. Everyone didn't even look at Shikamaru who won his match easily, they just want to see the next pair of Genin to fight each other. And then the board finally showed two more names,
Kiba Inuzuka vs Kankuro
"Alright!" Kiba shouted and grabbed the little white puppy partner of his for his Preliminary battle. "We are going to win this for sure!" Kiba showed enthusiasm for this battle, if only it was appreciated better. Because later,
"Is that it?" Kankuro said, with a puppet that once impersonated him by his side. "I thought you clan heirs were more than all this bullshit." And right in front of Kankuro was a very badly beaten Kiba and Akamaru tied to the ground. "Oh well, let's end this!" The puppet user then used the life sized one that he called 'Crow' to give a beat down on Kiba until the dog trainer wasn't even conscious.
It turned out that the Kankuro that everyone saw walk down to the arena was a puppet, cleverly and masterfully molded to not only look but also act and talk like the owner. That was to be the mistake Kiba made to try and destroy the puppet who was agile enough to dodge the dog boy's attacks. And when Kiba burned half his energy into finally striking the puppet, it was easy for Kankuro to reveal himself and take advantage of Kiba's exhaustion.
It was a real pity that Kiba never learned what Naruto had proven when the blonde fought against Neji; that you should never tire yourself out, failing to hit your opponent. It was just giving them a golden opportunity for an easy win. The Inuzuka Clan sure didn't look happy about how their heir had made such a stupid mistake of letting his huge ego get the best of him.
Later, when the area was cleaned of the blood and the two fighters removed, the board showed another pair of names. And this time, no one was expecting much and we just content to see one of the random pairs that include this one.
Choji Akimichi vs Misumi Tsurugi
XXXXX
And when Choji showed signs of hesitation, he heard from his teacher that a free trip to his favorite place to eat. That got someone who loves food to get down to the arena in a blur. And when Misumi joined Choji, Hayate announced the match to begin.
Misumi was the one to make the first move and surprise everyone with his ability to dislocate his nerves and bones to treat his body like rubber. This allowed Misumi to bond his victims until he crushed them. And when he attempted to do the same for Choji, Misumi underestimated the clan heir's power.
Not to mention that Choji finally found a way to use his weight to his advantage. Which includes crushing Misumi into the ground and grinding the rubberly Genin around when Choji used a technique he called the Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank). And pretty soon, Misumi couldn't hold on to his target while Choji won't let up rolling like a boulder down a hill.
And after that brutal showdown, everyone was just begging for more. And they got it when the board showed two of the few remaining names on the list. And this time, they can expect a fierce match with an expert in hand-to-hand combat going against a mistress of the wind. And the names are;
Temari vs Rock Lee
End of Chapter 10.
*Hope you like it!*