On the floor Kiba stood across from Naruto, a confident grin on his face.
"Guess it's time to see what you really got Naruto"
"Bring it on dog man"
"Stay back Akamaru. First round's mine. Shikaku no jutsu!"
Kiba went to all fours as his jutsu took effect. He then charged Naruto, knocking the startled genin hurdling back.
"Heh. Guess you didn't have anything after all"
"Shows what you know"
"What the?"
Naruto had stood up and finished a series of hand seals with a smirk.
"Futon: Reppushou!"
A gust of wind raced from Naruto's palms and threw Kiba for a loop. The Inuzuka landed in a heap next to his dog.
"What'd ya think of that, huh?"
"I think I'm gonna kick your ass! Akamaru!"
Kiba tossed smoke grenades at Naruto, covering him on all sides. Naruto again used his Reppushou to drive away the smoke but by then Kiba's trap had been set. He rushed Naruto from the front while Akamaru attacked from the rear. Their assault worked, only for Naruto to poof away. Kiba stumbled for a moment catching Akamaru.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
Suddenly a dozen Narutos crowd the man/dog pair. But before they could attack Kiba was quick to feed Akamaru and himself a hyourougan.
"Juujin Bunshin! Now you're in for it! Gatsuga!!"
Twin whirls lanced forth, smashing their way through the shadow clones and sending the real Naruto sprawling. Sakura turned to Kakashi.
"What the heck did Kiba just take? It looked like some kind of pill but he-"
"It was just a hyourougan. It'll temporarily increase Kiba's chakra, but it'll wear off soon with how much he's using"
Kurenai was concerned as well. She was satisfied with how she had trained Kiba, but was unsure of his chances against Naruto. Back in the battle Kiba decided to gloat a bit.
"Not so tough now are you? That's twice I've sent you flying"
"So what? Even if you knock me down a hundred times, I'll still get up a hundred and one times!"
"You're just bluffing"
"Wanna bet? Kakuheki: Ichijin no jutsu!"
"Ha ha! Nothing happened! Come on Akamaru, let's end this! Gatsuga!"
The rotating attack once again took shape; aimed at Naruto. The blond confidently stood his ground. As the tag team drew closer they were suddenly rocketed back by a massive gust of wind. Kiba and Akamaru's unconscious forms slumped to the floor from where the wind had slammed them.
"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto"
Naruto danced a victory jig as he bounded back to the upper level.
"So what did you think of that Hinata-chan?"
"You were wonderful Naruto-kun"
"Really? He he he"
A sudden gasp forced their attention to the screen. The two names displayed were Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji. The girl paled as she walked down; not heeding the words of those around her. Neji just glared at his cousin until Hayate started the match.
"Give up Hinata-sama. You have no place here. A weakling like you should just stay out of the way of those trying to advance"
"N-no I w-wanted to-"
"You're only here because your teammates pressured you into it. A failure like you is nothing but dead weight in battle"
"You'r-re wrong I-"
"The reason we have words like elite and failure is because our fates are determined at birth; none can escape it"
Neji's words made Hinata cringe, shrinking in on herself. Seeing this go on sent Naruto over the edge.
"SHUT UP!! HINATA-CHAN DON'T LISTEN TO THAT STUPID COWARD! SHOW HIM WHAT YOU CAN REALLY DO!!"
Bolstered by her love's words Hinata activated her byakugan. She confidently took a juken stance.
"Prepare yourself, Neji-niisan"
"As you wish"
Neji charged with Hinata easily evading his strikes, almost dancing around him as she struck back only for Neji to block her strikes just as easily. The exchange was watched intently, Naruto never ceasing with his cheering.
"It would seem that Hinata-san's training with Ruto and me is paying off"
The Konoha genin minus Naruto jump back, not expecting Naraku to appear among them so suddeny.
"What? Is it that strange for me to be social?"
No one had the courage to answer yes, so Naraku kept talking.
"I wonder if Hinata-san will use her original techniques…"
"What kind of techniques are they?"
Naraku chuckled.
"A defensive jutsu so complete not even my airborne toxins can penetrate it"
"What? She created something like that on her own?"
"Yes. I was also able to aid her in making it an attack as well"
"You people sure are scary. And what does Naruto have?"
"A jutsu capable of demolishing an entire neighborhood in one shot"
"That was the A rank one Kabuto read off his info card?"
"That would be the one-ah, Hinata-san is using it"
Back in the battle Hinata jumped back from Neji to begin her assault.
"Mai no hakke: Rokujuyonshou!!"
Hinata dashed forward, hands a blur. Neji was dodging admirably yet still recived a few scratches. But Naraku noticed something off.
"Impossible… he can't-"
Hinata suddenly was knocked back by a smirking Neji. Naruto angrily grabbed his brother, slamming him against the wall.
"Raku! What the hell just happened? That attack was supposed to puree Neji!"
"I don't know! Neji was ignoring Hinata-san's left hand. Somehow her chakra just wasn't there"
Naruto turned back to the fight. Hinata had just stood up, shakily. Neji had a superior smirk on his face.
"Look at your arm, Hinata-sama. There you will see the difference between us"
Hinata slid back one sleeve revealing small red dots on her arm. Her face betrayed her shock.
"No… you…"
"That's correct. I can accurately target the tenketsu in battle; completely shutting off my opponents chakra. You never had a chance to win"
Disregarding her injuries and lack of chakra in her arms Hinata drew two kunai and charged. Neji was a bit surprised by this, but it was to no avail. Again Hinata was knocked away, coughing up blood. Naruto grit his teeth as he watched, clenching the railing so tight his knuckles popped. Hinata still stood up, intent on finishing her battle.
"Why? Why won't you just give up? You're only making your suffering worse!"
"No Neji-nii-san… you are the … one that's suffering… caught between the two houses"
"Shut up! What would you know? The pampered daughter of the main house!"
Neji charged at Hinata, aiming for a kill shot. He was stopped by a group of jonin.
"More special treatment for the main house?!"
Hinata coughed once more and collapsed.
"HINATA-CHAN!!"
Naruto was instantly at her side, followed by Naraku. Naruto held her hand tightly as Naraku did a diagnosis.
"You did great Hinata-chan. It was so amazing"
"Na cough ruto-kun cough"
"Just hang on we'll get you all fixed up"
Internally Naraku was panicking. Hinata's injuries were beyond his capacity to heal, not that he wouldn't try. Putting as much power as he could into the Shosen no jutsu he went to work. Neji saw this and decided to comment.
"Just stop it. Failures banding together are still failures"
"What'd you say?!"
"Her fate was decided when she faced me in battle. Just like all you failures"
"YOU BASTARD!!"
Naruto's eyes flashed red and he charged Neji. Naraku dashed in front of his brother, punching him across the face.
"Stop it Naruto! She needs you now!"
"But he-"
"Get her to the medics. I can't do anything else for her here"
"Right"
Naruto gently picked up Hinata and headed off towards the door. The tower med nin met him there and took Hinata to the emergency room. A distraught Naruto followed. Naraku glared at Neji.
"You're lucky I stopped him. Otherwise you would have the dubious honor of being the first person my nii-san has ever killed"
Hayate coughed to distract everyone from the glaring match and announced the next two competitors. Rock Lee and Subaku no Gaara took the floor.
"Yosh! We shall turn the unyouthfulness of the previous match back with our own flames of youth!"
"…"
Back in the upper level only Gai responded.
"Oh Lee-kun! You are such a shining example of youth!"
Deciding he had had enough of these fools Gaara lashed out with his sand. Lee evaded it and retaliated, only to have his kick blocked by a wall of sand. He leapt back and threw shuriken at Gaara. They were also stopped by the sand.
'That sand will be difficult to overcome. My opponent did not seem to need to see the attack coming to stop it'
Lee's musings were interrupted by a flood of sand hurtling at him. Lee dashed around Gaara, peppering him with strikes at all levels. None went through the sandy barrier. Dodging a particularly large mass of sand Lee flipped onto the statue at the end of the room opposite the main door. He received permission from his sensei and took of his weights. To himself at least he admitted to enjoying the shock on the spectators' faces as his weights hit the floor.
"Now I can move much easier!"
Gaara never saw it coming. His sand was still stopping the impacts, but Gaara himself could no longer trace the movements his green clad opponent was making. Just in case he stiffened his Suna no Yoroi, after all you never know what's going to happen in battle. And that's just what happened. Gaara was clipped by a kick that cut his cheek.
'I finally got in a hit! But it was only a glancing blow. I need to get in a solid hit'
'Ow… this is… this is pain. Now I know what it is… we should thank him, shouldn't we, Mother'
Gaara upped the aggressiveness of his attacks, tearing bits of floor and wall apart in their wake. But since he was using more sand for offense, there was less available for defense. A fact that Lee took advantage of, and landed a blow that sent Gaara soaring across the floor.
'That one was solid'
Gaara glared at Lee as he stood up. Parts of his face were cracked and falling off; a sure sign of the Suna no Yoroi. He was glad he had the foresight to reinforce it. He again sent a large wave of sand at Lee. A few more near misses and Lee was able to land a second hit.
'That armor around him s too strong for me to break this way. It seems I must disobey you this one time Gai-sensei'
Lee unwrapped some of his arm bandages. He narrowed his eyes at Gaara then opened the first gate. He dashed around Gaara and got past the sand shield and kicked Gaara into the air. Gaara was repetitively pounded into the air; his sand armor beginning to crumble. Lee paused momentarily and Gaara took the opportunity to replace himself with a Suna Bunshin and hide in the floor below. He was astonished to see the results of Lee's attack.
'That would have done significant damage; possibly even destroying my armor. He must not be allowed to do it again'
In his weakened state Lee could do little to dodge the incoming sand. He was batted around easily. Gaara almost felt remorse for doing this; this Lee character was the first to ever injure him. But as Gaara's sand closed in for the kill Lee was able to dodge just as fast as before. Gaara allowed himself a pause to reevaluate the taijutsu specialist. As he was doing that Lee began to turn red. Gaara was unable to think on that as Lee began to treat him like a human pinball.
'Where is he getting this power?! Any more and I might die!'
"URA RENGE!!"
Lee finished his attack with an earth shattering blow to Gaara's midsection. Gaara turned his gourd into sand to cushion his landing. It worked, and he was able to reach his sand out to break Lee's arm and leg, but he leap out of the way before he could finish him off. Gaara tried again but was stopped by Lee's sensei. The act caused Gaara to remember his uncle, Yashamaru. He appeared back with his team in a swirl of sand. Temari looked at him.
"Gaara, you okay?"
"Shut up"
Dosu and Chouji, the last two fighters went down to the floor. Chouji didn't waste any time in attacking.
"Baika no jutsu: Nikudan Sensha!"
Dosu dodged and punched the ball of flesh.
"Ha! I know you use sound but my ears are plugged so I can't hear it!"
"Is that so?"
Dosu flicked his gauntlet. The reverberations sent through Chouji's expanded body knocking him unconscious. Thus the final competitors chosen they were lined up before the Hokage.
"You here are those who have qualified for the final completion. We will meet again in one month. Use this time to rest and train so that you may compete at your best. The finals are conducted in a tournament style exhibition. Where judges will determine which are qualified to be genin. Now to chose the order of the matches you will draw a number"
Anko pulled out a box and walked in front of the line of genin. Kankuro drew five, Gaara drew four, Temari got the eight, Neji drew two and Shino six. Naraku drew one for Naruto and nine for himself. Dosu got ten, Shikamaru drew seven and Sakura eleven meaning the three was left for Sasuke. Ibiki filled in the fight schedule and showed it to the genin. The final order of the matches was first Naruto versus Neji, second Sasuke versus Gaara. The third match was Kankuro versus Shino followed by the efourth match of Shikamaru versus Temari. The final match was Dosu versus Naraku with the winner set to face Sakura. The genin were then disbursed to their own devices.
zzzzzzzzzz
hyourougan – soldier pill
tenketsu – 361 node on the keirakukei that can control the flow of chakra; note only Neji can see these, that's why it's such a big deal
keirakukei – chakra circulatory channels
jutsu
Shikyaku no jutsu – four legged technique; increases speed and strength of the user while slightly adjusting users limb joints to have better movement on all fours
Juujin bunshin – man beast clone skill; allows an Inuzuka to transform his/her canine partner into a clone of themselves in their post Shikyaku activation state
Gatsuga – twin piercing fang; usable only after both the Inuzuka and their partner have gotten into the Juujin Bunshin state, the two users spin rapidly spin and dive forward into their targets shredding a hole through it
Reppushou – gale wind palm; wind from users palms that can push opponents back or increase speed of thrown weapons, narrow focus compared to Daitoppa
Kakuheki: Ichijin no jutsu -- barrier wall: gust of wind; trap jutsu that leaves invisible wall of compressed air in front of user triggered by an attack, as soon as opponent enters wall he/she/it is blown backwards at high velocity
Mai no hakke: Rokujuyonshou – dance of the eight triagrams: sixty four hands; Hinata makes sweeping strikes and slashes while a narrow blade of chakra is extended from her hand, capable of killing but she prefers to cut muscles and tendons to immobilize opponents, variation of her ultimate defense (as if you can't guess what that is)
Shosen no jutsu – mystical palm technique; healing jutsu used to heal light to moderate wounds
Suna no Yoroi – sand armor; coats Gaara's body to prevent damage, needs conscious application of chakra to work
Ura Renge – reverse lotus; only available after the third of eight chakra gates and/or beyond is opened
Baika no jutsu – expansion technique; greatly increases size of user
Nikudan Sensha – meat tank; after using the Baika technique user can retract limbs and head into expanded body and roll like a ball