Whew, I've been trying to dedicate time during my time off from school to continuously work on this story. I've found that the longer I put it off the less likely I'll get started and the more annoying it seems to work on. So here is to discipline! I've been on quite a tear lately though with my updating (or I like to imagine anyways hahaha!) Hopefully this longer chapter makes up for how long I took to update! Enough of that, let's go!
Reviewer Reponses
Twisted Ambitions: Tokusatsu and Naruto? Sign me up. Couple questions, though. Will the Riders have their Ride Machines or whatever? Ninjas on motorcycles! Also, is one of the creative liberties Sasuke being Joker and not Double? I don't quite recall how that works.
Ah haha, I hadn't thought about the rider machines to be honest. As amusing as Ninjas on motorcycles sounds, I probably won't include it just because it seems really out of place for the Narutoverse haha. Uh, I wouldn't quite call it a creative liberty for Sasuke's main form being Joker rather than Double right off the bat. I don't wanna spoil anything TOO big as the reasoning behind why he has the Lost driver and not the W driver is actually a plot point that will be explained later (soon! Hehe) so I won't spoil it! A hint to you though, if you've seen Kamen rider W then you should remember that the core memories are categorized between Body and Soul….and if I recall correctly…Sasuke did mention he was having trouble using half the memories…hehe..
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Kamen rider or anything that references games/shows
"Talking"
Thinking
Creatures (Chimera, Dragon, Phoenix, Summons, etc.)
Kyuubi and or other tailed demons
Chapter 11: Calm before the Storm
Sakura began sweating bullets as she tried to come up with some sort of plan in her head. Sasuke had seemingly gone nuts, and Naruto might potentially be on the verge of death. Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts as a rather large cracking sound was heard as well as a loud scream. Sakura quickly turned her head to the side and saw that Zaku was on the ground holding onto his shoulder in pain as Sasuke stood over him. Sasuke slowly turned his attention over to Kin and Dosu before walking over to them.
"Hehehe…this power….is unreal. I understand what I must do now…even if I must eat the fruit of the devil…this path to power….is glorious…"
Sakura couldn't believe the bloodthirsty aura that Sasuke was emitting. The Joker form always had an aura of mystery surrounding it, but this feeling that was hanging in the area right now was incredibly unsettling. Memories of the small moments that Team 7 had started flashing through Sakura's head as she remembered the begrudging smiles that Sasuke slowly had as he began to warm up to his team.
No…No…none of this….this isn't Sasuke at all!
Sakura quickly ran in front of Sasuke and put her arms on his shoulders.
"STOP!...please….stop…."
Sasuke was still for a moment before he slowly brought his arms up and shrugged Sakura off. Sasuke made eye contact and saw tears welling up in Sakura's eyes which lead him to pause for a moment. The jagged edges of Joker seemed to fade away into the normal appearance before Sasuke grunted a bit and the bloodthirsty aura faded away as the Joker memory ejected out of his neck and fell to the ground. Seeing, this Dosu couldn't help but sigh. That fearsome power that Sasuke had displayed was receding which meant that he was most likely saved. With that thought, Dosu walked over to his two teammates and withdrew a scroll from his pouch.
"Here is a gift to you…please allow us to leave. This may seem convenient, but there is something we must find out as of now. However, I promise you that if we meet again…we will neither run nor hide."
Dosu helped both his teammates onto their feet as they slowly began to walk away before Sakura walked forward a bit and yelled to get their attention.
"WAIT!...Who is Orochimaru….and what did he do to Sasuke?
Hearing this statement baffled Dosu even further, so that power that the Uchiha had shown was not entirely his own?
Telling us to kill Sasuke but then going ahead further to implant some strange power within him….what are you trying?
Dosu looked at Sakura and merely shrugged before continuing to walk away, "I don't know, we were merely told to kill Sasuke."
Neji could only stare down as Team 7 managed to stand on their feet and bid their farewells to Team 10 and his own teammates.
What a fearsome aura…I've never felt Chakra as abnormal as that one….is this the power of the Uchiha clan?
Both Sasuke and Sakura looked as Naruto rapidly consumed food in an amount even more outrageous than usual. They had gladly relinquished most of their portions to him as it seemed to help him back on his feet easier as opposed to simple bed-rest that had allowed them to recover. Naruto finished off another fish before slowing down his chewing and frowning before looking up to his teammates.
"I think this is as good as it's going to get for me….I don't feel any better and to be honest, I'm getting uncomfortable with the amount of food that I have in me now."
Sasuke looked to the side and grunted a bit as Sakura reached out and took the Earth scroll that they had retrieved from Dosu.
"You know…there may no longer be anymore Heaven scrolls…"
This particular sentiment caught Sasuke's attention as he perked up and raised an eyebrow at Sakura.
"What do you mean?"
"It's the fourth day which means that the time duration of this exam is already 80% over…moreover, the way this test is setup is to only allow a maximum of 13 teams because the scrolls are only worth something in pairs. Orochimaru already burned one scroll…which means that the total amount of teams that could pass already dropped by one which also means there's one useless Earth scroll. We also have no way to know if other scrolls are intact or how other teams have interacted which means that even having the maximum amount of teams that the scroll total can pass is unlikely. We also need to take into consideration that some teams have already gotten to the tower and finished. Also, various teams are fairly likely to come across and battle another team that has an identical scroll. It's somewhat likely that some teams that managed to finish had more than one copy of a scroll which further shrinks down the total amount of teams that can pass"
As Sasuke went over Sakura's line of thought his eyes darkened a bit as he realized that Sakura was indeed right. They were put in a fairly bad situation given all the variables.
"The next enemies we face….will probably we our last chance….let's not waste that one too."
"My my my…you three are in quite the pickle if you really meant that…"
Team 7 quickly turned their attention in the direction of the new voice in a rather alarmed fashion as none of them managed to sense anyone incoming. Kabuto had appeared before them with a rather bemused grin on his face. Seeing their rather defensive stances, Kabuto lifted his hands up in a gesture which he hoped would show that he meant no harm.
"Relax guys…I can help you out."
Sasuke turned his attention towards Kabuto as they were travelling towards the destination of the tower.
"Are there really enemies left?"
"Yes, no doubt about it. Think about this logically, you don't automatically succeed when you gain both scrolls, you need to actually make it to the tower with both of them on you. Considering how late into the test we are, the easiest place to get a scroll is by waiting near the tower and intercepting a team that already has what they need."
Sakura's eyes lightened up as she began to realize where Kabuto was going with his train of thought.
"So basically, we just set up an ambush for a team that has both scrolls and is heading towards the tower, right?"
Kabuto chuckled a bit before turning back to Sakura and responding, "Well, in theory yes. But you aren't the only ones that have realized this. Your current situation is most likely what many of the remaining teams are facing as well so they'll no doubt have similar thoughts going through their mind."
Something had been bothering Sasuke since the appearance of Kabuto as Sasuke couldn't think of a reason for Kabuto to randomly travel with them.
Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before speaking once more, "The nature of this test also gives birth to another type of opponent; one I like to call collectors. They gather additional scrolls for emergency purposes or for trade or simply to weed out the amount of teams they might have to potentially deal with later. This is a rather terrible opponent to come up against as these are the ones that are rather strong and also confident in their skills."
At this revelation, Sasuke could only smirk, "Ah, so that's why you appeared before us….you're scared."
Kabuto mirrored Sasuke's smirk before responding, "Exactly…"
Naruto dragged his feet across the floor as he continued walking with his Team and Kabuto towards a seemingly distant tower before groaning and complaining.
"Ugh…why does it seem like…..this tower….is just never getting closer…"
A vein bulged on Sakura's forehead as this was not exactly the first time Naruto had voiced his complaints.
"Dammit, just be patient. We're also walking, I doubt we move that quickly."
Kabuto narrowed his eyes as he took a look around his surroundings before noticing something and voicing his concern.
"No…maybe Naruto is onto something…perhaps…we've already found the welcoming committee."
Sakura and Sasuke took a moment to look at their surroundings as well before they noticed the same path and positioning of various trees and bushes. Sakura closed her eyes to focus her senses for a moment before coming to a conclusion.
"Genjutsu…it would appear they took advantage of our caution and have been trapping us…no doubt waiting for us to tire out before making their move."
Just as Sakura finished her prediction, a multitude of ninja began appearing at all corners; poised to strike. Naruto looked around for a moment before realizing they all looked identical.
"….Are these all shadow clones?"
Naruto dashed forward to test his theory as he landed a punch on one of the clones square in the face. Naruto's fist went right through the clone causing it to seemingly dissipate and dissolve away. Sasuke quickly closed his eyes before reopening them to reveal the Sharingan. He gazed around left and right at the surrounding clones before he released the Sharingan and quickly called out to Naruto.
"Don't bother Naruto…none of these are real….I checked with my Sharingan."
Naruto's posture relaxed for a bit until a Kunai seemed to whizz by him which sliced up a part of his jacket. At this, Naruto was rather alarmed as this cut felt very real.
'What….I thought you said they were…"
Kabuto pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he turned towards Naruto.
"No, Sasuke was right. The enemy is most likely hiding somewhere and syncing up attacks with the clones so it would seem as if they are attacking, this prevents us from accurately locating the enemy. No doubt they individuals have weak stamina and are lackluster in Taijutsu to pursue a tactic like this. They probably won't reveal themselves until we tire ourselves out."
Sasuke grabbed a Kunai knife and stood in front of Sakura in a rather defensive stance as he shifted his eyes around.
"Sakura, can you use Pegasus to try and locate them? We can defend you from incoming attacks until then."
Before Sakura could answer, Naruto's face seemed to light up as he dashed forward into the center of the clones and took an offensive stance.
"What're you doing you idiot? That's what they want you to do, don't accelerate your own energy loss and give the enemy what they want!" Growled Sasuke.
"Hehe, I don't intend to get tired, you said these were all clones right? Well, I think I'm about to find my second wind…"
Sakura, Sasuke, and Kabuto looked on in confusion as they had no idea what Naruto could possibly be planning. As Naruto reached for his rings, Sakura's eyes widened as she began to panic a little.
"Don't! Did you forget what almost happened back there? There's no way you can sustain any more significant Chakra loss!"
Naruto didn't answer as he unsealed his driver and went through a familiar set of hand motions.
SET! OPEN!
L-I-O-N, LION!
Naruto assumed the form of Beast and quickly also reached for the Buffa ring and inserted it to the driver as well.
BUFFA! GO! BU-BU-BU-BUFFA!
Naruto cracked his knuckles and smirked as he eyed all the surrounding clones.
"It's lunchtime!"
Naruto focused a large portion of his remaining Chakra in his arm as he slammed it down on the ground causing crimson tremors to be released. As the tremors pulsed outwards, they destroyed the surrounding clones leaving only glowing blue orbs where they previously were. The orbs then flew inward and seemed to be absorbed by the Beast driver. Naruto felt his fatigue begin to recede as he put his hands together and faced his team.
"Man, what a great meal….I feel awesome!"
Before his team could respond, more clones seemed to crawl out from nearby crevices which caused Naruto to smirk.
"Oh boy…it's like an all-you-can-eat-buffet…"
"Haha! I found it….and it's a Heaven scroll too!"
Naruto waved the scroll over his head excitedly as his team let out a sigh of relief that their trek through the forest was finally going to end. The trio and Kabuto then quickly made their way over to the tower in a few moments before bidding Kabuto goodbye as he scouted outwards for his team and made his way over to his waiting teammates.
"See you three later, best of luck with the rest of the test!"
The individuals of Team 7 had a smile on their face as they waved but as they entered the tower, they immediately had a rather serious look on their demeanor. Sasuke gave one fleeting glance in the direction of Kabuto before turning back to his team and closing the doors of the tower entrance.
"….I'm not the only one bothered that Kabuto knew about our abilities before we met him….am I?"
Naruto and Sakura stared at the ground for a bit before both shrugging and looking around in the rather large empty room they seemed to be in. They gazed upward before focusing in a rather large poster that was hung on the wall with a long message written across. Sakura read it thoroughly for a moment before scratching her chin with a scrunched up expression of thought.
"Without Heaven…..it seems like some words are missing…maybe…it's telling us to open up the scrolls?"
Naruto and Sasuke hesitated a bit before nodding at each other and began to open both scrolls simultaneously. The scrolls seemed to release rather large puffs of smoke which caused Naruto and Sasuke to both drop them, as the scrolls collided with the ground there was a rather large explosion of smoke before a faint shadow could be made within the obscurity. The figure reached for something in his pocket and pulled out a device with a ticking side which caused Team 7 to tense up.
"Whew…looks like you three just made it….I guess you had some trouble. "
As the smoke began to fade away, Naruto's face lit up as he realized who had been summoned to greet them.
"Iruka-Sensei!"
Iruka grinned for a moment before giving Team 7 thumbs-up as he gestured towards the large inscription on the wall.
"Congratulations on passing! I'm here to relay to you the importance and the motto that the Hokage has set as the standard for those whom are granted the title of Chuunin. The Heaven that this message is referencing is towards the Human mind whereas the Earth is in reference towards the Human body."
Naruto had a rather puzzled look on his face in the middle of Iruka's speech. But before Naruto could speak, Iruka raised a hand up to denote that he was going to explain it further.
"If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom and be prepared. For example, if Naruto's weakness is his brain, he should gain knowledge to prepare himself for his missions," Iruka paused for a moment as Sakura giggled and Sasuke smirked at Naruto who scowled at the implications. Iruka then turned his attention towards Sakura, "If Sakura's weakness is stamina, then this message eludes that you must train hard to build yourself."
Team 7's expressions became rather unfocused as they let their thoughts wander through the words that Iruka had given as his message slowly began to sink in. Iruka cleared his throat once more in order to grab their attention before speaking once more.
"These 5 days of survival were to test the exam taker's basic abilities needed to become a Chuunin. Chuunin's are at the rank of military captain meaning they have the responsibility of guiding a team. Knowledge, stamina, and inner wisdom are all needed for future duties. I want you guys to challenge the next step of this exam with this motto in mind."
Team 7 gave Iruka a rather swift nod towards Iruka which caused a small smile to appear on Iruka's face but he could not help but still voice some concerns.
"But this third and final test….don't push yourselves too hard…"
Before Iruka could continue, Naruto immediately stepped forward and cut him off, "From the moment I received this headband, I left the academy behind me. I accepted my future responsibilities head-on so there is no need to worry!"
Surprisingly, after Naruto's bold declaration, Sasuke stepped forward as well to address Iruka.
"Naruto's right, this headband symbolizes that we have reached adulthood within the ninja world. We are no longer academy students at this point as you yourself deemed us worthy of the title, Ninja!"
Sasuke then stood up straight and saluted at Iruka which surprised even Sasuke's teammates as they had never seen Sasuke show such respect and focus to anyone.
Hmmmm, is something on your mind Sasuke? I've never seen you act like this before….this is quite a surprise to even me…
Hah, we all have to grow up some time Dragon. Maybe it took the near death encounters to remind me or maybe it was because I realized what path is in front of me. After seeing my teammates almost fall in front of me, I realized that the time for wanting to be stronger has passed. It is now about NEEDING to be stronger…and maybe just not for me. This village recognizes me as an adult, so perhaps I should start playing the part….
Iruka could not possibly help but recall the conversation he had with Anko as he requested to be the one that appeared before this team.
"I know their strength best, since they will fail I want to prepare them for the worst!"
Anko sat rather bored behind the desk as she witnessed Iruka stressed out about greeting Kakashi's kids.
"If you are that passionate then feel free I suppose…it's not like it's a job in demand…but these are Kakashi's students. The first team that he has ever deemed worthy of passing….I'm expecting them to be rather impressive…..
Iruka watched as the three former students of him grin at each other as they began idly chatting; clearly still filled with excitement that they had passed the second portion of the exam.
Perhaps you knew what you were doing when you nominated them, Kakashi….
The remaining Genin in the exam stood in front of a large amount of Chuunin and Jounin as well as the Hokage. The rookie 9 looked around and expressed some happiness at noticing their peers whereas the Jounin were talking amongst themselves for whose students would come out on top. Gai smirked as he put his finger to his chin and closed his eyes.
"Your team isn't too bad, hehe…but maybe they were lucky. But as long as my team is around, getting any farther is impossible. It's all about real ability from now on, and the youth burns far greater within my team!"
"Huh, did you say something?"
Gai turned around and fumed to himself as he only saw red at the response of Kakashi.
Grrrr not bad for my eternal rival…you're hip ways gets on my nerves!
The Hokage took a puff of his pipe as he stepped forward and grabbed the attention of all the Genin.
"For the coming third test….there is something I'd like you to know which concerns the true reason for this exam. Why do we have all the alliance countries taking the exam together? On the surface, it is to promote friendship among the countries and raise the level of shinobi. I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning….this exam is meant as a replacement for war among the allied countries. If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other for supreme rule. In order to avoid wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle is where the origins of this selection exam lies. This exam is under watch by many influential leaders and individuals who make up the clients of Shinobi. Those who perform strongly in this exam represent that their country is strong while the opposite happens to those who perform poorly."
A rather trouble-stricken look seemed to appear on the faces of several of the remaining Genin as the Hokage's words began to sink in. The Hokage once again cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention.
"This is a life-risking battle….with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."
Before the Hokage could continue, a rather sickly looking Jounin appeared before the Hokage and whispered a few words. The Hokage slowly nodded before backing up and allowing the Jounin to take his place which captured the Genin's attention. The Jounin coughed for a moment before speaking.
"Hello, my name is Gekkou Hayata and I will referee this portion of the exam. Initially, the plan for the third portion of the exam was to have a simple tournament bracket in order to evaluate your abilities. However, perhaps the 2nd and 3rd test was too easy this year around as there are quite a number of you left. The Daimyo's and higher ups who wish to spectate the finals do not have all day, so for time purposes, we will hold a preliminary right now in order to further shrink down the total numbers. Let it be known that this test is now no longer team related, if you wish to bow out now the choice will be on yours alone."
Silence fell amongst the remaining Genin as they began gazing around wildly seeing if anyone was considering quitting. After a few moments, Kabuto slowly began to raise his hand which caught Naruto by surprise. Hayate looked over for a moment before taking a clipboard out and making a tip mark and then nodded in Kabuto's direction. Naruto opened his mouth to protest before he felt his arm getting pinched and his face immediately winced in pain. Naruto looked to his right and met the cold stare of Sasuke who silent shook his head as if to tell him to shut up. Sakura looked at the floor for a moment before turning her gaze to Sasuke.
"You should also quit this prelim! That mark the Orochimaru guy gave you still hurts right? Continuing on in such a state might be dangerous for your body!
Sakura returned her gaze back to the ground as she began recalling Orochimaru's final words which predicted that Sasuke would seek him out for power.
"Please quit….I'm scared….of what might happen…"
Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment before exhaling and reopening them and glaring at Sakura.
"No…I'm not going to quit. Remember when Kakashi asked us why we chose to be ninja? I couldn't care less about the nature of this exam. Remember, I became a ninja out of convenience, I have an ambition to hunt someone and the only way to achieve that is to become stronger….this test is a gathering of supposed outstanding individuals who possess the highest of skill for their age…and I want to measure up. I want to challenge all of them…to test my own power."
Naruto simply scowled at this, "Punk, stop acting all aloof, Sakura is worried for you and.."
"More importantly, I want to challenge both of you as well…," smirked Sasuke.
Hayate coughed once more before he finished waiting for anyone else who might've considered quitting.
"Well, let us begin this preliminary then. The preliminary will consist of one on one fighting, basically you will fight as if this is a real life confrontation. Since there are exactly 20 of you, we will go ahead and just conduct 10 matches. There are basically no rules, the fight continues until one of you dies or is knocked out or admits your defeat, so if you don't want to die then you should probably quickly acknowledge your defeat. However, if I decide that the winner has been clearly established I will end the match seeing as how we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corposes."
Hayate coughed and pointed upwards along the wall to show an electronic scoreboard that was suddenly revealed behind a rather large piece of wood.
"This electronic scoreboard will randomly generate two names amongst the remaining participants, so let's begin!"
UCHIHA SASUKE
VS
AKADA YOROI
One of Kabuto's teammates walked forward and faced Sasuke as the crowd began to disperse onto the balcony area in order to give way for the upcoming battle. Sasuke winced as he felt another sharp pain burn on his neck.
"You probably should avoid using the Sharingan….if you don't that seal will release…and…you might die," whispered Kakashi as he passed by.
It seems this curse seal thing reacts to my Chakra. If I try to release my Chakra it violently reacts and tries to pull out all of my body's Chakra….that control is also what's stopping me from using the Lost Driver…..oh boy…this should be…fun
Hayate made a motion gesture to begin and Yoroi quickly threw some shuriken in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke quickly reached for his own kunai knife and swiped several times to deflect the incoming projectiles. Sasuke then noticed that Yoroi was no longer in his original starting position which caused Sasuke's eyes to widen. A glint off the side of a forehead protector above him caught his attention and Sasuke quickly rolled out of the way as Yoroi came from above and slammed his fist into the ground. Sasuke stabbed his knife into the ground to kill his momentum as he rolled so that he was only inches away from Yoroi. Sasuke then did a sweeping with his foot causing Yoroi to tumble over. Sasuke then used his arm and leg to restrain him. A sudden feeling fatigue hit him which weakened his hold and Yoroi immediately kicked Sasuke off of him. Sasuke was in a daze as he tried to get back on his feet. What had happened to him? He had suddenly felt weaker from nowhere almost like his energy was being sapped.
"Hehe, so you began to notice my ability brat? I can freely drain out the Chakra from your body which will leave you a sitting duck."
Sasuke grunted and tried to prepare himself to counterattack as Yoroi began rushing at him again. His gaze caught sight of Lee who happened to be standing by Naruto and Sakura which caused a lightbulb to go off in Sasuke's head. As Yoroi closed in to try and sap the rest of Sasuke's strength, Sasuke quickly leaned all the way back and took a position very similar to Lee as he kicked Yoroi's chin and sent him directly upward into the air.
"T-that's m-my…." Stuttered Lee, who was still rather flabbergasted.
Sasuke turned around on all fours and quickly leapt upward so that was directly under Yoroi.
"Hehe, but from here out though, I gotta reach into my bag of creativity," Smirked Sasuke
Sasuke aimed a kick from the side which Yoroi managed to block before Sasuke turned halfway and swung his fist around which collided with Yoroi's weakened guard and also gave Sasuke the momeutm to be level with Yoroi on the side rather than directly under. Sasuke then proceeded to release a barrage of punches and kicks as the duo began to pick up speed as they fell rapidly on the ground. Sasuke then aimed a kick which slammed downward into Yoroi's gut right as they both hit the ground.
SHI SHI RENDAN!
Hayate walked forward to the motionless Yoroi and began waving his hand over Yoroi's eyes for a moment before turning around and declaring Sasuke the victor. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief but also winced in pain as his muscles were now aching from the sudden rapid movement.
Ugh, Lee….thanks to you I was able to survive, if I hadn't seen your technique earlier I would've been in trouble…but my body isn't quite ready to handle movement such as that right now…
Lee's eyes narrowed as he gripped the railing harder and clenched his teeth a bit. The move he worked so hard on….
You duplicated my technique after experiencing it simply once…the power of the Sharingan. What a person you are Sasuke…you didn't even have transform like you did earlier in the forest meaning you held back in this fight…you continue to get stronger and stronger…I'm even beginning to fear you a little…
Gai looked at Lee before returning his gaze back to Sasuke who was being helped up by Kakashi
Mastering even part of the super taijustu technique of "Lotus" is impossible without grueling training…even with the Sharingan, it's not something that can be perfected that quickly…and not to mention the on-the-fly creativity of that finishing move….this boy reminds me quite a bit of you when you were young, Kakashi.
Kakashi put his hand up to halt the medical ninja that were dispatched to help out the participants.
"Don't worry, I can take care of this one."
Kakashi moved over to the side before whispering to Sasuke.
"I'm going to take you to the back, and seal up that curse of yours."
"Wait until after the prelims…I want to see the other matches."
"No, if it is not dealt with now it will be too late. Besides, this will allow you to recover easier and probably stop the inhibition of your techniques."
Sasuke sat in the center of a circle that was marked up by Kunai as well as Kanji as he began to feel a bit impatient. How much longer would this process take? He might be missing some matches between strong opponents!
"Hang in there just a bit longer…almost done…" Said Kakashi, almost as if he could read Sasuke's thoughts. Kakashi went through a series of hand seals before slamming his palms on Sasuke's back.
Evil Sealing Method!
Sasuke grunted as a prickling feeling seemed to shoot through his spine as the symbols on the ground seemed to recede upward into his body. Kakashi then sighed before returning to his slouched posture.
"The next time that curse tries to become active…this seal should contain and keep your power and psyche in check. However, this seal new seal relies on the strength of your will. If you lose belief in yourself and your will weakens or you attempt to willingly call on its power…the curse will become wild and violent through your body again."
Sasuke quietly nodded as he got back on his feet and threw his shirt over himself again. As Kakashi and Sasuke were both about to return back to the prelims, a new voice caught their attention.
"So…you can even use sealing justu now….how much you've grown…Kakashi."
Kakashi and Sasuke's eyes both widened as a familiar face appeared from the shadows. Sasuke grit his death as he quickly took the Lost Driver from his pouch and attached it to his waist.
"Orochimaru!...You got a lot of shit to answer for…from me!" Shouted Sasuke as he reached into his pocket for a memory.
Kakashi quickly put his arm in front of Sasuke to stop him from doing something rash.
"Stand down Sasuke, this one is on a different level, you also need to take time to recover…don't do something stupid."
Sasuke merely spat at the ground and shoved Kakashi's arm out of the way. This guy had almost royally screwed him and his team and there was going to be hell to pay for that.
"You said this seal should keep my power and psyche in check right? Well, there's something I want to test then!"
Sasuke reached and grabbed a memory he hadn't been able to use much and quickly inserted it into the driver.
FANG!
YAMANAKA INO
VS
HARUNO SAKURA
Sakura's eyes widened a bit as she saw who she was matched up against. A small smile appeared on her face as she made her way down and faced Ino faced-to-face. Ino grimaced a bit before she turned her face off to the side, "I never thought I'd be fighting you…"
Sakura remained silent, but in one swift gesture she removed her forehead protector, which she had been using more like a ribbon to tie her hair, and tied it to her forehead. Sakura smirked at Ino as her thoughts raced through the long history that these two had.
I was teased by my peers, all I did was read to entertain myself. I became an outcast to the other females growing up as they continued to laugh at my physical features. I didn't have such a terrible past growing up like my two teammates, but to my child self...the loneliness I felt was unbearable. But you stood up for me, I don't even know why you did but it didn't matter to me then. I found a friend…and I found the joyfulness that came with it. But I spent those years following you….and watching your back. You once said I was like a flower bud and that a bud had potential to blossom into even the most beautiful of flowers. When we graduated, I felt a small need to grow stronger….a desire that I had never felt as I stayed with you and felt sheltered by your kindness. Now that I stand on my own two feet, allow me to show you the kind of flower I've become!
"I'm no longer the cry-baby that follows you everywhere Ino…with this headband….we fight as equals!"
Ino could only return Sakura's smirk as she did a similar gesture and repositioned her headband so that it was on her forehead as opposed to on her hair. Sakura then reached for the Decadriver at attached it to her waist which got the attention of Ino and everyone else in the venue bar Naruto and Kakashi.
"…are you finally going to show me that power you claim to be hiding in that belt, Sakura?" asked Ino.
"Of course, we're fighting as equals now aren't we? I won't disrespect you with anything other than my full strength!"
DECADE!
In a flash, Sakura quickly took the form of Decade and went through several handseals and created two basic clones next to her and dashed forward. Ino leapt back and kept her gaze on the ground where the trio of Sakura's were running
"Pfft, do you think you can defeat me with such a textbook technique? This isn't the graduation exam!"
Sakura then dispelled her two clones as she was closing in which surprised Ino for a moment, but before she could bring her guard up Sakura gathered some Chakra into her feet and quickly closed the gap between her and Ino and connected with a punch which sent Ino sliding back. As Ino got up, Sakura quickly inserted another card into the Decadriver.
FORM RIDE: BLADE!
Sakura took the form of Blade and dashed at Ino while scanning another card in front of her driver.
Beat!
Sakura's fists seemed to ignite in flames as she got closer to Ino. Ino barely had time to roll away and dodge before Sakura's flaming fists managed to collide with her. As the dust kicked it from the attack began to clear, Ino merely smirked at Sakura.
"Hehe, feisty aren't we? Still, a simple textbook direct attack like that only makes you easier to read, maybe you haven't changed as much as you thought!"
Sakura growled as she scanned another card as she dashed towards Ino to prepare another attack.
Mach!
Sakura suddenly had a large burst of speed and closed the distance much quicker than before but Ino still had a smirk on her face. Ino made L's with both her hands and formed a sort of childish makeshift camera and aimed it right at Sakura who was now right in Ino's face. To the spectators, a small flash appeared very briefly between the two which seemed almost harmless but Sakura had jumped back and screamed as she covered her eyes and ears. Confusion spread through most of the spectators as they didn't understand what was happening. Kurenai looked over at Asuma in a questioning manner before Asuma spoke to quench everyone's curiosity.
"That Ino….is quite the creative one. Sakura was always someone who was familiar with the idea of the "correct move" in terms of strategy. You could almost say she was trying to solve the idea of battle with perfect textbook responses. Ino on the other hand, was always a bit fascinated with elusive maneuvers and out-of-the box solutions to strange problems. You could almost say she had similar thought processes to Naruto as a prankster. That technique she did was something she came across randomly and she named it the Chakra Flashbang. It creates a small flash and those who look into it directly are blinded and hear a loud ringing sound for several moments, a good way to effectively paralyze your opponent. The only drawback is that the range is fairly low."
Kurenai raised her eyebrow at this, a Genin coming up with such an odd but effective technique such as this? That was fairly impressive for her age. Ino chuckled a bit as Sakura finally returned to her senses and managed to regain her footing.
"Tsk tsk, moving so quickly and directly at me would make it difficult for you to see any quick counterattacks…you know better than that Sakura."
Sakura returned Ino's smirk before inserting 2 more cards into her driver.
FORM RIDE: KIVA!
BASHAA MAGNUM!
"You're right Ino, I thought I could just overwhelm you by putting pressure on with my powers…hmph, maybe you've grown a bit as well."
Asuma's attention was caught by Kakashi and Sasuke as the two re-entered the balcony in the middle of Sakura and Ino's fight. Asuma was a bit curious though, as Kakashi was giving Sasuke rather worried looks as the two were walking up. Kakashi walked up next to the other Rookie 9 members as well as Gai's team and greeted them.
"Yo."
Asuma took a puff of his cigarette and smiled at Kakashi, "Just in time to see my student run circles around yours, Kakashi."
Kakashi raised his eyebrows as he tossed a glance into the arena and noticed that Ino and once again gained a slight upper hand in a small skirmish exchange between her and Sakura.
"Eh, I wouldn't count her out just yet…"
"Your student has strong fundamentals and a strange but strong power, but Ino is outthinking her rather soundly, " piped in Kurenai.
"Sakura won't lose so easily! She trained really hard with us!" Yelled out Naruto in annoyance.
Kurenai sighed as she turned her gaze at Naruto, "Look at what's happening, Sakura hasn't managed to get anything started, Ino is simply too elusive for her."
Everyone seemed to slowly nod in agreement except for Naruto and Lee before they all heard a dissenting grunt. Everyone then turned their attention to Sasuke who was sitting on the ground and watching the battle closely.
"No, Sakura won't lose, Ino lacks the tools to defeat her."
"What makes you say that?" Asked Asuma with a rather bemused look on his face.
"Because….that power that Sakura has… is potentially the most fearsome of them all. Ino's elusive and strange techniques are holding Sakura back for now….but once that bag of tricks runs out, it's game over. No technique will ever work on Sakura twice. Sakura may not know it herself, but the power of Decade is immense and has ridiculous potential. She can change into 9 other forms from the base form of Decade which you all saw moments ago, and each form has a different specialty as well as augmentative states that are designed to adapt Sakura to the current battle situation. I doubt there's a more adaptive ninja in the world than her once Sakura learns to fully control everything."
Hearing this, Asuma's eyes widened a bit; Sakura really had that much power? He had known about the rather arrogant personality of the Uchiha kid so hearing this praise, albeit begrudging praise, from him was rather surprising.
"….So…she's holding back?"
Sasuke put his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment before speaking, "I wouldn't say holding back…so much as playing it safe."
Just as Sasuke finished saying that, Ino had attempted another flashbang attempt as Sakura got in her face yet again, a small flash of light was released but this time Sakura had no reaction to her. Her punch connected with Ino's jaw which sent her flying up and falling flat on her back. Ino struggled to sit up and found that the strength had disappeared from her legs.
"U-ugh….how…did you avoid that? I was sure you took it dead on!"
"Haha, I did….I took it straight on, but I also knew you wouldn't be fast enough to evade so all I had to do was stick out the discomfort of the blinding light and ringing and keep my attack dead on and it would land."
"W-wow…haha, I didn't think you had it in you…..you win this time Sakura, but don't think it'll be as easy when we rematch!"
Sakura smiled and nodded at Ino as she cancelled her transformation and Hayate had declared her the winner. As she climbed back up the steps and rejoined her team, she spotted Sasuke on the floor. She quickly knelt down to his side with a rather worried look and asked, "Are you okay? Does your neck still hurt?"
"Relax, Kakashi dealt with it, more importantly, what did I miss?"
"Well, after your match, Shino beat that Zaku guy…that Temari girl beat thickbrows teammate, Tenten….Shikamaru managed to beat Kin…Dosu whooped on Chouji…and that's it I think, " recounted Naruto. As Naruto finished speaking, the next match was immediately put on display.
UZUMAKI NARUTO
VS
INUZUKA KIBA
"Yahooo! We got a free victory Akamaru!" Cheered Kiba as he immediately jumped off the railing and landed onto the arena. Naruto slowly made his way down and smirked right back and Kiba and let out a rather loud and exaggerated sigh.
"I was hoping for someone worthy to battle, but I suppose I can live with taking out the trash."
Kiba scowled before kneeling down and putting his hand on Akamaru's head, "Pfft, acting all tough. Whatever, stay out of this one Akamaru, I'll deal with him alone."
Kiba went through a series of hand seals before getting on all fours with a rather feral smile on his face.
Beast Technique: Quadruped Style!
Kiba dashed forward and immediately punched Naruto in the gut causing him to fly back and hit the ground. Kiba smirked and turned towards the referee, "he won't be opening his eyes for a while, referee."
From the stands, Kurenai had a bit of a smug smile directed in Kakashi's direction.
Sorry Kakashi, but there's no way he can beat Kiba…
Before Kiba could exit the arena, Naruto's voice caught his attention as well as everyone else's.
"I sure hope that punch was a warmup…..or else you're gonna need a lot more than that dog to even dream about defeating me."
Naruto got up and wiped a bit of blood off his mouth before pointing at Kiba, "I let you hit me, to test your strength….you should probably stop acting tough and use your dog….or it's going to get ugly for you."
Kiba grit his teeth before reaching for something in his pocket and dashing forward along with Akamaru.
"I'll make you eat those words, let's go Akamaru!"
Kiba threw a smoke bomb on the ground as he got close to Naruto which caused Naruto to bring his arms up to cover his face as he was enveloped in a large smoke cloud. Naruto tried to run out of the smoke, but as his vision began to clear up when he reached the edge of the smoke, Akamaru had suddenly jumped into his face causing him to flail his arms and fall backwards back into the smoke. As the smoke began to clear away, all that remained was Akamaru sitting up and Naruto laying there on the ground which caused Kiba to cheer.
"Haha Yes! You did it Akamaru! Woohoo!"
His celebration was cut short as there was a puff of smoke which revealed Naruto in the place of where Akamaru just was. Naruto then leapt forward to close the rest of the distance between him and Kiba and punched Kiba in the jaw causing him to fly back. Kiba sat upward and rubbed his jaw as he was infuriated that Naruto had managed to pull that trick on him. He then saw a clone of Naruto holding Akamaru by the hands and dangling him. The Leaf Genin's were expressing shock at the development that Naruto seemed to have during his time as a Genin.
Shikamaru's jaw droped, "No way…that Naruto just combined his Shadow Clones and Transformation technique together?"
Ino expressed similar sentiments, "What?! That's Naruto?! He's going even with Kiba…"
Kurenai and Asuma had similar thoughts going through their mind as they watched the supposed "dead-last" of the academy going head to head with a supposed above average student. They began pondering on what Kakashi managed to bring out of this kid.
Kiba reached into his pouch before pulling out another pill and smirked at Naruto, "Well I guess you've gotten a bit stronger…doesn't matter, I'm going to be serious from here out."
Naruto scoffed as Kiba flicked the pill into Akamaru's mouth which caused Akamaru to growl and turn red before kicking off the Shadow Clone causing it to dispel and Akamaru returned back to Kiba's side with a rather feral stance. Kiba proceeded to intake a pill as well as Akamaru jumped into his back. Kiba then went through another series of seals before Akamaru suddenly poofed and became a splitting image of Kiba.
Beast Technique: Beast Human Clone!
Naruto smirked as he raised the sleeve up of his right hand and looked right at Kiba.
"That punch I gave you earlier hurt didn't it? Let me tell you….that was me being nice and giving you a warning as well as warming up. You've taken soldier pills meaning you're serious now….good, well, let me warn you right now. If you send Akamaru recklessly at me again like you just did….."
Naruto trailed off before immediately punching the ground causing a sizeable disfiguration in the ground as well as smashing the tiles apart.
"…..I'll smash his cranium apart….wouldn't want that….now would we?"
Kiba froze a bit as he now began to feel a little afraid of approaching Naruto with that threat hanging in the air. Kakashi grinned as he looked at Kurenai, Asuma, Gai, and their students before returning his eyes back to the match.
"Naruto's pretty loud…but he's grown a lot since his academy days. I also have to say…his punches do kind of hurt."
Sakura had a rather surprised look on her face as well as those words came out of Naruto's mouth. First and foremost, Naruto knew what a cranium was? Sakura then turned to Sasuke with a rather worried look.
"Do you think….he really would kill Akamaru? That seems…kind of harsh."
"I doubt it, he probably just said that to get in Kiba's head. Kiba's also probably hard-headed enough to believe him on face value too," scoffed Sasuke.
Kiba paused for a moment before dashing in with Akamaru. They approached Naruto from both sides who then back up and put his fingers in a familiar cross symbol. Naruto created two clones and sent his two clones to deal with Kiba while he approached Akamaru. Kiba realized after a few moments that he was dealing with clones and his eyes widened as he dashed in Akamaru's direction and quickly pushed him out of the way causing Naruto to land a direct punch in his face. Naruto smirked as his clones dispelled and he crossed his arms before looking at Kiba.
"If you challenge me….I'll whip you like a dog."
Kiba growled before throwing another smoke bomb and running at Naruto while going through another series of hand seals.
Beast Technique: Twin Fangs!
Akamaru and Kiba began turning rapidly and gained enough speed to turn into a blur and nearly a strange funnel cloud before darting in and out of the smoke, tearing up the ground in the process. Naruto was leaping around in the smoke based on the surrounding sounds to avoid taking serious damage from this technique, but he knew he couldn't keep this up forever. Once the smoke cleared, Kiba was going to be MUCH harder to dodge.
Kiba's keeping me on the defensive with this tactic…I need to create an opening and attack somehow!
With that thought in mind, a lightbulb went off in Naruto's head as he quickly formed some handseals. Kiba and Akamaru did a 180 and both turned around for the finishing blow as the smoke began to clear while they were inside, something caused them to halt their technique. The smoke cleared revealing three Kiba's standing around and looking at each other which caused Sakura to cheer and Sasuke to smirk as well as a small chuckle from Kakashi.
"So that's your plan….but I gotta warn you Naruto…I wasn't focused so I didn't notice last time. But, transformations won't work anymore because you smell!" Yelled out Kiba as he punched the Kiba on his right. As one of the Kiba's fell to the ground, Kiba smirked, "Don't underestimate our noses, Naruto."
The Kiba on the ground exploded in smoke, as the smoke faded away, Kiba's eyes widened. There was Akamaru lying there all beaten up….had he made a mistake? Kiba snarled before he turned around and punched the remaining Kiba in the face sending it to the ground as well.
"Then you must be Naruto?!"
As smoke exploded over that Kiba, Akamaru also appeared which surprised everyone else in the venue.
"Hehe…well considering he used to be a former prankster…creativity such as this is to be expected," chuckled Kakashi.
The Akamaru behind Kiba burst into smoke, revealing Naruto who then dashed forward and landed a kick into Kiba's chest sending him back to the real Akamaru.
"Hehehe…looks like I didn't have to bash your dog's head in after all…you did it for me!"
Kiba snarled as he bit his wrist and tried to calm down and gather his thoughts.
Exchanging words with this guy is a waste of time…don't get caught up in his pace…gotta calm down. He can't keep up with my movements…I still have the advantage, as long as I watch for his attacks and look for openings…this match should be easy!
Kiba quickly threw several Shuriken at Naruto causing Naruto take several side steps to dodge in which Kiba quickly dashed forward while Naruto was still in the process of dodging.
Yes! I can get behind him with my spe-
Kiba was snapped out of his thoughts as Naruto had suddenly disappeared from his view and Kiba then felt something colliding with the back of his head causing him to ram face first into the ground.
"You probably shouldn't assume you outclass me in speed just because I spent most of this battle on the defensive…"
Hayate moved forward and rolled Kiba over and waved his hand in front of Kiba's face. Kiba was conscious, but it seemed he had reached his limit. Hayate then declared Naruto the winner.
"Hell yeah! Great job Naruto!" Cheered Sakura.
"Haha wow, that Naruto actually beat Kiba, " smirked Shikamaru.
Naruto ran to the top of the balcony and began cheering with his team before Hinata shyly tapped his shoulder. Naruto turned around with a rather confused look as Hinata avoided eye contact and handed him a small container.
"What's this?" Asked Naruto
"I-it's M-medicinal cream…..f-for your w-wounds.." stuttered Hinata
"Oh…why are you giving this to me?" Naruto asked, still clearly confused.
"Just take it," sighed Kurenai as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Hinata's eyes widened as the scoreboard lit up and displayed the next match.
HYUUGA HINATA
VS
HYUUGA NEJI
As both the ninja made her way down to the arena, Hinata held her hands together and gazed towards the floor after seeing Neji's hard glare.
"Brother Neji…"
"I never thought I would be facing you….Lady Hinata."
"Whatttt?! Are they siblings?" Asked Naruto
"They are members of the Leaf's oldest and greatest bloodline…the house of the Hyuuga Clan…however they aren't siblings…," explained Kakashi.
"Then what are they?" Questioned Sakura with a rather blank look on their face.
Kakashi thought for a moment before answering, "Well…they are members of the Hyuuga clan's Main house and Branch house…"
"Yes! Hinata is a member of the main house while Neji carries the Hyuuga blood but is in the lower house," piped in Lee.
"Huh? So they're cousins? Then fighting must be difficult for them…family..," pondered Sakura.
"Yes but…many things have happened between both houses over the years…and right now they do not get along together very well…I'm not sure about the specifics but this is actually common with many houses that have old roots. In order to protect the blood and the Main house of the Hyuuga family, many clan rules are established which put the Main family in an advantageous situation which causes feelings of resentment from the Branch house," explained Lee.
As the referee made the hand motion to begin, Neji looked over and cleared his throat to gain Hinata's attention.
"Before we begin the fight…I'd like to recommend a course of action for you Lady Hinata. Forefeit!"
Hinata's eyes widened in surprise as did everyone else in the venue.
"You don't make a good shinobi…you are too kind…you wish for harmony and avoid conflict. You agree with others…never resisting…and you lack confidence in your abilities. I thought it would be best for you to remain a Genin but I'm willing to bet you took this exam simply for the sake of your teammates."
At this, Hinata simply could do nothing but object, "I-I…N-no that's n-not true….I j-just….w-w-wanted a chance…to…c-change myself…"
Hearing this, Neji simply scoffed, "Lady Hinata, as I thought…you are a spoiled brat of the Main house. People cannot change themselves…losers remain losers and their personality and strength will not change. I have seen through many things with this Byakugan…so I know….you are just acting strong…deep inside you just want to run away from here."
Hearing his rather long speech, Sakura turned to Kakashi with a rather confused look on her face.
"What's the Byakugan?"
"They say that the Uchiha clan's origins lie with the Hyuuga clan. The Byakugan is one of the advanced blood abilities passed down in the Hyuga house. It's an eye ability similar to the Sharingan…but in terms of ability of insight it surpasses the Sharingan."
Sasuke, who had been sitting in silence for a while, piped up to ask a question that had been bothering him.
"Why does the branch family need to exist? My family had an advanced bloodline and I don't recall having a Lower and Upper division within the houses."
Kakashi thought for a moment before coming to an answer, "The Hyuuga offspring are more likely to inherit the Byakugan through genetics as opposed to the Uchiha. It could be possible that there weren't enough Sharingan users for your forefathers to justify the need for a Branch house for protection."
Sasuke stared at the two and could not help but empathize at their situation, "So…those eyes tore their family apart huh….?"
Naruto finally snapped at Neji's rather long irritating rant and shouted at the duo in the arena, "Don't listen to him Hinata! Don't let him decide your life for you or push you around! You have the power to change yourself!
Neji's eyes narrowed at the sudden outburst from the side before he returned his gaze back to Hinata who no longer looked terrified of him.
A sudden burst of confidence….
Hinata made a single gesture of concentration near her face before her eyes opened and revealed the same eyes as Neji.
"Brother Neji…..we fight."
The two both adopted a similar stance before they both dashed forward and began exchanging blows. Naruto had a rather puzzled look on his face as it seemed to him like the two Hyuuga were only tapping each other.
"That is the Hyuuga's special taijutsu that has been passed down," explained Gai as he took note of Naruto's confused look.
"The taijutsu that Lee and I use causes damage by injuring the body and breaking bones. It's a fighting style that aims to cause damage to the outer body. You could call it an "iron fist" style. However, the Hyuuga causes damage by flowing their Chakra into the opponent's inner Chakra coil systems which can cause damage to internal organs at even the slightest tap…..which is why it is labeled the "gentle fist" style."
Hinata stepped inward in an aggressive manner and aimed a strike towards the upper left side of Neji's body to which Neji intercepted. Hinata quickly then maneuvered her other arm in the same area under his initial guard which forced Neji to scrunch up his body in order to bring his arms together to block both of Hinata's techniques. Hinata then quickly brought one of her hands back and struck under Neji's arms; landing a direct hit.
"Heh…so this is it…the extent of the Main house's strength…," Sneered Neji as his arm had also struck Hinata's chest. However, Neji's other hand was pressed at the side of Hinata's striking arm. Neji pushed HInata's sleeves up revealing several small bruised areas on her arm that he had been striking. As Hinata began to realize what Neji had done, Neji struck her in the chest causing her to fall back.
Neji shook his head as Hinata struggled to get back on her feet, "There is no need to suffer anymore Hinata…this is something you cannot change…"
Hinata coughed out some blood before speaking, "That's not true…brother Neji….because my Byakugan can see that the suffering is not from me at all…the person lost and suffering within the destiny of the Main and Branch houses is you.."
Neji's eyes suddenly hardened and took a dark turn before he broke out in a dash towards Hinata. Hayate's eyes widened as he felt Neji's intent radiating outward, "Neji! This match is OVER!"
In a flash, before Neji could reach Hinata, Hayate stood between them with two fingers against Neji's headband as well as Kakashi and Kurenai each restraining one of Neji's arms with Gai having an around wrapped around Neji's neck. Surprisingly, even Sasuke was behind Hayate with his arms up; seemingly prepared to guard against Neji's attack. Seeing this, Neji only scoffed, "Why do even other Jounin jump in? More special treatment for the Main family?"
Hearing this, Gai only shook his head and sighed, "Neji, give it a rest. You promised me you would not lose your head over this Main Family stuff."
Hinata's eyes widened as she suddenly felt a huge pain in her chest as she began coughing violently and fell over before the world suddenly began to fade to black. Naruto hand quickly jumped and landed at her side as he called out her name hoping to get her to wake up.
"Hey loser, if you're a shinobi then cut out the pathetic cheering of others….also..people can't change. You are just like Lady Hinata….as worthless as they come and destined for nothing worth noting," Stated Neji rather coldly.
Naruto's face darkened as he turned around and glared right at Neji. Silently Naruto reached for one of his rings and slipped it over his finger before putting his hand over his waist.
Driver On!
"YOU WANNA FUCKING TRY ME PUNK-ASS?!" Screamed Naruto as he ran forward while inserting the Beast ring.
SET! OPEN! L-I-O-N! LION!
All the surrounding individuals were surprised as Naruto took the form of Beast and ran directly at Neji. Before he could quite reach him, Lee and intercepted with his hand out in front of Naruto to block him as well as, surprisingly, Sasuke who looked rather peeved. Sasuke immediately snapped out of it before looking a bit flustered and backing up towards the balcony. Lee then turned to Naruto and gave him a rather sympathetic look.
"Naruto, I understand your feelings quite well, but the fighting should occur in the matches….whether a loser can defeat an elite through the power of hard work, that's something to look forward to in the main test. Although…his opponent might be me, but even if it's you Naruto, there will be no hard feelings!"
Naruto glared at Lee for a moment before undoing his transformation and re-sealing the Beast Driver back within him. Naruto paused over a small amount of Hinata's blood that he coughed up before scraping a small amount over his knuckles. He then turned around and pointed right at Neji with a dark glare.
"You're going down….."
Kakashi kept his gaze on Sasuke as even Kakashi himself was surprised that Sasuke instinctively jumped in to help Hinata as well as feeling the same sense of rage that Naruto felt towards Neji. It seemed that family issues was still a rather touchy subject for Sasuke, but that was no doubt to be expected.
You've hated him for several years now I'd imagine Sasuke…but seeing how you react to other siblings and their quarrels….I can see that you loved your brother more than anyone else…
Gai teared up as he held onto Lee after the conclusion between him and Gaara.
Even after opening 5 gates….you remain standing…unconscious but still determined to prove your own way of the ninja…Lee…you are already a truly great Ninja…
"I know this might be hard for you to hear as his teacher…..but while he'll live…the damages he suffered….he will never be able to return to his life as a Ninja…"
Naruto and Gai both looked in shock as the medical team carried Lee away.
"If that's so…..what's Lee supposed to do now? He was always saying how he wanted to fight against Sasuke…..and Neji…can't you….do…anything?" Cried out Naruto.
Before he knew it, Naruto had tears well up in his eyes as he took in and thought about what Lee had endured in order to reach his level and prove himself to everyone….it was such a sad story. Lee had put everything he had on the line….he risked it all….and everything caved in as he was approaching his goal. Kakashi appeared behind Naruto and put his arm around his shoulder.
"Perhaps that is what caused this tragedy….the decision to use even the most forbidden of techniques to win and reach for his own skies no matter the cost. To fulfill that silent promise that he made to you…Sasuke…Neji…he put his life at risk so that he could reach that final stage to prove himself to you all."
Hayate coughed before gesturing for everyone remaining at the venue to listen.
"This concludes the prelims! We will now use a similar random system in order to generate the bracket for the main event. From then on, the third exam will take place a month from now to give you time to rest and train now that you all have some semblance of knowledge of your future opponent!"
With that, Hayate gestured for everyone to look onto the electronic board once more as the bracket for the finals formed onto the screen.
Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji
Gaara vs Uchiha Sasuke
Kankuro vs Aburame Shino
Temari vs Nara Shikamaru
Dosu Kinata vs Haruno Sakura
Seeing his opponent, Naruto growled as he turned and pointed right at Neji with a glare.
"When we fight in the finals destiny-boy….your fate…will be MINE to decide…"
TBC
First thing, I'm sorry that I'm no longer explaining what each of Sakura's forms look like but it is just a massive chore that I'm almost 100% confident I'm doing very poorly due to the craziness of Tokusatsu suit designs. I will do my best to describe their abilities but for pure aesthetics I encourage you to just google image (Just add Kamen rider in front of the form name, in this case, Kamen Rider Blade) as that is going to do FAR more justice than my words can describe! Sorry!
Holy shit that took forever! Haha…I kept this chapter really long as sort of a pseudo apology for taking so long to update xD. But also because I REALLY didn't want to split this section of the story into two. There aren't many arcs left before I get to fully take my creative spins and push the story in the direction I want so I'm getting kind of excited haha. I know I know! I copped out and cut the Gaara vs Lee battle but I was getting really drained after going through all those other fights. I felt pretty sure that if I took a break it would just be forever before I got back to finishing this chapter. Do you guys like how I portrayed Ino? I've always thought that the idea and rivalry behind Sakura and Ino had soooo much potential when it was first revealed through their flashbacks and backstory. But Kishimoto seemed to squander it by having it so Sasuke-love-rivalry centric when it was so much more interesting to view it as Ino being Sakura's mentor and Sakura needing to grow on her own. There's a freaking flower metaphor used! Also, I was really annoyed when the actual story makes note of Ino being an exceptional Kunoichi but it seems like she never knew anything aside from her family technique. She always struck me as a very indirect trickster sort of fighter. What do you guys think?
But as for now, I shall take a small break! My goal is be starting on if not getting EXTREMELY close to the Shippuden time skip by the time the end of January rolls around. Let's keep our fingers crossed that I remain disciplined and diligent!