A Brother's Return
Ch.9
Speaking: normal.
Thoughts, flashbacks, and notes: italicized
Jutsus, summons, witch language, demons, etc…: bold
Summons's and demon's thoughts: bold italicized
Disclaimer: I do not Naruto. If I did, Kushina would still be living.
As the prelims of the Chunnin Exams continued on, Hayate called the next match. He looked to the screen and said, "The next match will be between Kabuto Yakushi of Konoha and Garfield Logan of Kage."
Kabuto watched as Beast Boy flipped over the railings and landed in the arena. He then jumped down and said, "Let's make this quick. I've got something that needs to be done and our mutual friend doesn't need to be kept waiting."
Beast Boy just nodded and said, "I just hope you're ready to go down."
Hayate then called the match to a start, prompting Kabuto to activate his chakra no mesu. Beast Boy looked at his technique and said, "Who in high Heaven did I piss off to be put against a medic-nin?"
Heaven…
Kami, Yami, and Shinigami were all laughing at the green boy's situation. They were only doing this out of boredom and a sadistic sense of humor.
Arena…
Mark and Kabuto had been trading blows for almost an hour when Mark overstepped an attack. Kabuto quickly took advantage of the situation by slicing through Mark's right Achilles' tendon.
He then swiftly sliced through other muscle tendons until Mark couldn't even twitch correctly. Once he was finished, he looked Mark over and said, "Now that you can't move, your kekkei genkai is useless. Your transformations won't save you."
As Beast Boy heard this, he smirked and said, "I wouldn't be so sure of that. I do have one transformation that I was saving for a special occasion, but you've forced me to play it early."
Kabuto quickly jumped back as Mark was surrounded by a gold light. The light grew brighter and brighter until it engulfed the room. Once it cleared, Beast Boy was on his feet again.
What was strange was that a pair of red and gold wings was protruding from his back. Everyone also noticed that long red and gold feathers were coming out of the spot where his tailbone would be.
Stands…
Blackfire laughed as she watched her teammate. Temari, who had earlier won her match, looked at her and said, "What's so funny?"
Karina looked at the blond girl and said, "Kabuto-san has just lost this match. That is Garfield's ultimate form. A form like that can only be learned by being blessed be the master of the Phoenix Contract. Only two people have been seen in this form."
Temari looked down at Garfield and said, "If he's one, who was the other?"
Blackfire pointed at her hitai-ate and said, "Our leader, the Yamikage, is the only other person to be truly blessed by the Phoenix clan."
Arena…
Mark looked at Kabuto and said, "It's over."
He then vanished in a burning flash, only to reappear behind Kabuto. As Kabuto turned around, Garfield punched him with a fire encased fist. Kabuto slid to the other side of the arena before getting back up.
Beast Boy quickly noticed that Kabuto's wounds were quickly healing. Mark then jumped into the air and said, "I can't hold this from for long, but I can finish this."
With that, he surrounded Kabuto in a tower of flames. Within moments, the medic-nin passed out from the heat. As Beast Boy's phoenix mode ended, the fire extinguished itself.
Hayate checked over Kabuto and said, "Winner by knockout: Beast Boy."
As Mark walked up the side of the wall, the screen came to life again. Hayate then shouted, "The next fighters will be Hinata Hyūga and Neji Hyūga of Konoha."
As the two Hyūga jumped into the arena, Neji faced Hinata and said, "Give up now, Hinata-sama. Fate has declared me the winner of this match."
Meanwhile in Heaven…
The goddess of Fate looked down on Neji and said, "I never declared that boy as the winner of anything.Just for that, I think I'll have Hinata smack some sense into his head."
Kami looked at her sister and said, "How are you going to do that? It's not like you can just go down there, possess the girl, and beat up her cousin."
Fate looked down at Naruto, who had earlier woke up and returned to the arena, and said, "I think I have an idea that should work in both of our favors."
Fate then whispered in her hand and waved it at Naruto.
Arena…
Naruto almost jumped over the rails and killed Neji when he felt a strange feeling wash over him. While most people wouldn't have noticed anything, Kakashi had felt the strange presence before and knew that Naruto was possessed.
Before the Jonin could react, Naruto looked at him and said, "I'm not going to hurt your ward or anyone else. I'm only using him to get my message across."
Kakashi nodded and said, "If you double-cross me and try anything, I just so happen to have a friend who can make your afterlife a living Hell."
Naruto smirked as he jumped into the arena and strolled over to Hinata. Just as Hayate was about to protest, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her into a full blown kiss.
Almost a minute later, he pulled back and said, "Do not doubt your abilities, Hinata-chan. You are a hard worker and a strong kunoichi. I know you can win this, Hinata-chan."
Hinata's thoughts were racing at a mile a minute. The one thought that stood out the most was, "Naruto-kun believes in me. He believes that I can win. I can't let him down!"
Hinata then pulled away from Naruto and said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
Neji looked at Naruto and said, "You're a fool if you believe that she can win. She's nothing more than a weak child trying to be a shinobi."
Hinata looked down at the floor and said, "Neji nii-san, I think the time for words is over."
She then looked back up at Neji and gave him an evil glare while removing her headband from her neck. Neji watched on in silence as she placed it around her forehead.
As Naruto left the arena, Hayate regained his composure, and wiped a few tears away, before saying, "If there are no more interruptions, let the match begin."
Neji wasted no time in his attack. The moment he reached Hinata, he noticed that something was wrong. She had been matching him blow for blow. Neji then shouted, "How are you doing this? You should not be this strong."
Hinata just dodged another one of his blows and said, "You've been blinded by your own hatred, Neji. For so long, you've hated me for something that I had no control over. In short, you need to let go of the past."
Neji clenched his fist and said, "How dare you speak to me in that tone. I shall prove to you that I far surpass you. Hakke: Rokujū Yōnsho!"
Hinata held out her hands and said, "Shūgo Hakke: Rokujū Yōnsho!"
As Neji tried to strike his cousin, she blocked his attack. The more he tried to strike her, the more she would block his hits. He soon noticed that she had fended off his attack without getting hit once.
Hinata then deactivated her Byakugan and said, "Solar flare!"
Neji reeled back as he was temporarily blinded by her attack. Hinata then moved in and said, "You are now within the range of my divination. Hakke: Sanjū Ni shō."
Hinata pelted Neji with an onslaught of attacks. When her attack ended, Neji fell to the ground. He then said, "I don't understand it. How did you beat me?"
Hinata crouched down to him and said, "People believed in you because you are a genius. However, the underdogs are the ones who shine brighter when they succeed. Also, I know you might be wondering why I never tried to use the caged bird seal against you."
Neji nodded and said, "You've had countless chances to use it during our fight. What made you decide against it?"
Hinata just chuckled and said, "Neji, I didn't use the seal because I can't use it. When the elders tried to make me learn it, I blatantly refused them. I hate that damned seal and I hate what it's done to our family."
Neji just nodded and said, "Call the match, proctor-san. I resign to defeat."
Hayate smiled and said, "Winner by forfeit: Hinata."
He then looked at Neji and said, "A caged bird, when it truly desires freedom, will learn to pick at the lock until it opens. Once it does, the bird will take flight and come to know freedom."
As Hinata walked back to the stands, she was greeted by Shino who said, "That was impressive, Hinata-san. Naruto-san was right about you. You are indeed a strong kunoichi."
Kurenai nodded and said, "It's true. You've gotten so much stronger. Also, when you next talk to Naruto, tell him that I was wrong about him. I was always taught to never judge a book by its cover and I did that to him without a second thought. I can only hope to earn his forgiveness."
Unbeknownst to them, Naruto's hyper sensitive ears picked up on their conversation. He let out a small smile as he heard what Kurenai said about him.
He then looked at Gaara and scowled. The blonde had seen what the redhead did to Lee, and was thankful that Gai-sensei made it in time. If he hadn't, Gaara would've crushed Lee's arm and leg.
When asked why he would interfere, Gai simply stated, "This boy is a precious person of mine who dreams of being a talented shinobi, and I'll be damned if I let you take that away from him."
He swore to himself that if he and Gaara faced each other, he'd make the redhead pay. He then watched as the last match was called. The final competitors were Starfire and Dama Gamari.
Kakashi…
Kakashi walked over to the Kage team and said, "Have any of you seen Cairo? He's missing the fights."
Blackfire just waved it off and said, "Don't worry about it. Cairo-sama isn't here because he had something to take care of."
Kakashi just nodded and said, "It's such a shame that he's missing this."
There was a black flash behind Kakashi that turned out to be Raven. She then walked past the white haired man and said, "Cairo-sama isn't missing anything. He has a watcher placed on the Hokage's shoulder."
Sure enough, there was a small bat with the Rinnegan on Hiruzen's left shoulder. Kakashi nodded and said, "Well then, good luck with your match Kori-san."
Arena…
Hayate looked to the screen and said, "The final match: Starfire of Kage versus Dama Gamari of Iwa."
As the final combatants jumped down, Dama looked at Kori and said, "I'm not like my brother. He was too stupid to see power before it hit him in the face. I, however, won't be underestimating you."
Kori just nodded and said, "While I appreciate you taking me seriously, you will still lose this match."
Hayate then called the start of the match, causing the two gennin to jump back. Dama took the initiative by calling, "Earth style: Massive quake!"
As he slammed his foot on the ground, the entire room shook. Kori used chakra to steady herself and said, "Ninjutsu: Kagegakure no jutsu."
Once again, the room was engulfed in darkness. Starfire's voice then called out, "Lightning style: Subsonic tracker."
A loud scream was then heard, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. When the darkness cleared, Dama was out cold on the ground. Hayate then shouted, "Winner of the final match: Starfire."
Meanwhile…
Cairo and Kushina were currently in one of the rooms of the tower, where Tsunade was checking them over their unconscious forms and Itachi was guarding them. She then turned to Itachi and said, "Cairo will wake up in about another hour. Kushina, however, should be up within a matter of minutes."
Itachi just nodded and said, "I still can't believe that the seal was a success."
A feminine voice then said, "That's because it was no ordinary seal. You've just done your first ritual."
The two ninja turned to the door where Bayonetta was currently standing. She then entered the room and said, "That was a ritual that you just did."
Itachi looked at her and said, "I'm sorry but who are you?"
Bayonetta just chuckled and said, "My name is Cereza, but everyone knows me by the name Bayonetta. I'm part of the reason that Cairo is so strong. I was one of his many teachers."
Itachi nodded at this and said, "It's still kind of a shock that I helped perform a spell."
It was at that moment that Kushina started to stir. She sat up on her bed and said, "Where am I? Why am I out of the seal?"
Tsunade pulled up to her side and said, "Lay back down, Kushina. You're in for a long story."
Exams…
Hiruzen stepped forward and said, "This concludes the second portion of the Chunnin Exams. You are to report to the stadium in one month for the finals."
Shino stepped forward and asked, "Why are we waiting for a month? Wouldn't it be better to finish it now?"
The Hokage shook his head and said, "There will be feudal lords coming in from all over to watch you compete. It also gives you some time to practice new moves for the finals. Now, if everyone would be so kind as to draw a number."
After everyone had drawn, Hayate shouted, "The first rounds will be as follows: Naruto vs. Dosu, Shino vs. Kankuro, Sasuke vs. Gaara, Temari vs. Shikamaru, Blackfire vs. Hinata, and Starfire vs. Beast Boy. You all have one month, so don't waste it."
Naruto walked to Kakashi and said, "Will you be training me, sensei?"
Kakashi just shook his head and said, "I wish that I was, Naruto. Sadly, I've been given the task of training the Uchiha."
He then pulled out a scroll and said, "I will, however, give you a special jutsu to learn. With your creativity, you might even be able to do it one better."
Naruto just nodded and said, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I'll find a way to put this to good use."
At that moment, Konan appeared and said, "Naruto-sama, you are to come with me at once."