Chapter 11 – Chunnin Tournament pt.2
While the waiting time was up, Naruto and Neji were talking about the first round and what they expected on the second round. Tenten for her part was slowly gaining her breath after using such a powerful jutsu while going berserk after the guy from what he told of her. She knew that the man deserved all right, but she also knew she let her emotions get the best of her and that would cost her when she was to be evaluated from her performance at the exam. Out of a sudden, words of wisdom appeared inside her memory and Anko-sensei's voice was like a slap on the face, from letting the enemy get to her as easily as that.
Upon looking around, she noticed her two other teammates talking about something and sighed, slightly worried since both of them showed chunnin type abilities. Naruto on his fight, had devised an effective strategy with his shadow clones and a C-rank raiton technique just to paralyze his opponent. Neji won his fight with one sweet and fast attack (well, more like 64 instead of one, but one taijutsu attack nonetheless). Tenten, surprisingly enough, was the complete opposite of the boys. While they were calm and collected, managing to beat their opponent with strategy and speed, she let the guy take advantage of her anger and made her lash out her most prized katon jutsu, therefore costing her up to 80% of her chakra.
Quietly thanking Kami from already advancing to the final round because of uneven numbers of chunnin hopefuls this year. Because of that, she could focus on recovering some of her chakra and just watch as the fights continued until she had to fight the winner of the next round. One thing she was certain, though. No matter who would advance to fight her, she wouldn't be able to win or even force to a draw, since all four of them were stronger than her. Looking down, her pride slipped a little bit and the thought of maybe both of respective fights end it in a draw and she wouldn't need to find anyone. But then again, she wasn't a part of the famous Team 5 that happened to break into Kumo and Iwa camps ever now and then.
Team 5 was the pride of Konoha right now; being complimented by their sensei constantly on their training and being praised by nothing less than the hokage, congratulating them after a successful mission. She was so focused, though, that she didn't even hear Genma shout the end of the break and call Namikaze Naruto and Kaguya Yazo to approach the center of the arena. Towards the center of the arena, Naruto was thinking of what he and Neji discussed about their respective matches. Although Naruto joked that if he and Neji switched places, it would be easier for both of them; he secretly wished to fight the Kaguya member. He knew that Yazo was holding back on his first fight; however Naruto was confident about the fact that he held his back as well on his fight.
From what he saw of Yazo's fighting skills, he concluded that although Yazo knows some of his clan's techniques, he tend to use suiton ninjutsu as well to which unfortunately Naruto didn't have one single advantage over the man. That's why he joked with Neji, since Neji was not only almost a master on the jyuuken, but also a doton user who has an elemental advantage towards suiton. Nonetheless, if Naruto played his cards right, he can use the water to his advantage with some raiton jutsu, since water tends to conduct electricity, therefore, enhancing the blow.
After both of them stopped staring at each other, Naruto was focused on his opponent and Yazo for his part was smiling in recognition to whom was standing in front of him, which caused Naruto to wonder why the sudden change of humor at the man's normally stoic face. "May I ask why you're smiling, Yazo-san?" – Asked Naruto, though his muscles were already twitching in future anger, since that smile on his opponent's face was very familiar to him. "I'm smiling because I'm about to fight the Yondaime Hokage's Legacy. By beating his son, I'll prove to everyone that the Kaguya clan are truly worthy of respect" – Said Yazo, smiling once again, to which this time things were different for Naruto.
---Up on the stands---
After the Kaguya's challenge on Naruto, Anko bit her lip in annoyance from what the guy said to her student. She was downside furious at the Kaguya clan and didn't make any efforts to control her anger at the moment, to which some of the presents noticed and were quite worried about seeing Anko becoming angry about something. "Anko-san, what's the matter? Are you okay?" – Asked Asuma, mirroring Kurenai's concerns since she wanted to ask that too. "That bone fucker just said the worst thing he could ever say to Naruto." – Muttered Anko, now making Asuma and Kurenai even more worried. "Why would you say that? Isn't Naruto, Yondaime's son, what's the problem about it?" – Asked Kurenai clueless of what the blonde must be thinking right now to which Anko stood there not giving the answer for a while.
"Kurenai-chan, since Naruto graduated as a genin, the only acknowledgement he'd ever gotten aside from his parents, was because he is the Yondaime's son….No matter what he did or how he did it, people always would say that he was strong just because of his father being the Hokage. However, Naruto works up to exhaustion every day in order to eventually step away from his father's shadow and start making his own reputation." – Said Anko to which Kurenai understood. Asuma for his part was remembering how it was to step off the Sandaime Hokage's shadow and he understood more than anyone what the kid must be thinking right now. "Naruto-kun is like me, then. The way he is now, was just like me and my father, the Sandaime Hokage….It was especially hard to gain recognition for something you did simply because of who are your parents." – Said Asuma to which Anko nodded and turned to say.
"There was this one time when Naruto was victorious against two iwa-high level genins, crippling them for life with his twin knifes. When Naruto approached one of the two beaten up with blood running freely, he managed to muster his last words. The man had the audacity of cursing the man to whom he thought was responsible for his death and therefore he cursed Yondaime in front of Naruto, in terms of saying that it was the Yondaime that killed him…not Naruto. I swear, when I saw the kid's eyes, I almost shitted my pants. He was devoted of emotion, but his muscles were tightening uncontrollably, demonstrating his rage. He ended up living them to die and walked away but I knew he was feeling like shit because of the man" – Said Anko before seeing Asuma and Kurenai's interest at the story.
Needless to say the Kaguya clan member was in serious trouble.
---At the Hokage's booth---
To say that Minato was angry it would be an understatement. He was furious at what the Kaguya said to his son. He knew more than anyone how much his son despised being compared with his father and the thought of someone wanting to fight Naruto simply because he was the Yondaime's son was truly despicable. However, Naruto had to realize that these things do happen and he had to hold his own against them. Naruto made him swear that he would be judged just like anybody else and it wouldn't be fair for him. Back at the time, Minato turned to look at his son's eyes and was thrilled to see the genin's determination to become a chunnin no matter what. Therefore, it was safe to say that Minato was even more proud of his son than before. Naruto-kun, you can't let your emotions get the best of you in times like this. Being a chunnin, means you'll be sometimes the team captain, therefore a leader controlled by emotions will get your platoon killed. Overcome this, my son and beat the crap of this Kaguya guy' – Thought Minato as he watched his son looking fiercely at the Kaguya member.
---With Naruto---
Naruto for his part, was furious at the man that compared him with his father. "You'd do best not to compare me with the Yondaime Hokage. Our styles are totally different and I have my own techniques. So when this fight is over, you won't have fought against the Yondaime's Legacy, cause that isn't my name, nor I'll ever be known for. My name is Namikaze Naruto and I'll be the one who defeated the last of the Kaguya clan." – Said Naruto looking with determination at Yazo, earning the smiles of every one present as well as Genma who happen to look at the blonde genin and remember that same look six years ago. Naruto, show me your abilities. Show me that you are chunnin material. Beat the hell of this guy.' – Thought Genma as he authorized the beginning of the match.
Seconds after the authorization, Yazo sent his bone finger bullets at Naruto who dodged and threw two kunais with exploding tags to which Yazo smiled, but when he was about to escape the future blast, he was taken aback by the sudden explosion that engulfed him as a result. Little did he know of course that Naruto knew a thing or two about seals and also happens to knows how to control the seal's timing. The result sent Yazo flying towards the nearby wall, having to focus on his kekkai genkai so not to break any bones and absorb the impact a little bit.
To say that Yazo was pissed was an understatement. He was downright furious at his supposedly lack of ability to lose to an exploding tag, however he knew better than to think that was a simple attack. He used chakra to activate the seal before time and caught me by surprise, clever. After that, Yazo got up from the hole in the wall unscathed and charged Naruto now with a sword made from his bones. Naruto for his part, knowing that Yazo's weapon would be almost unstoppable, reached his twin knifes and channeled fuuton chakra, but a little bit more than he would, so to defend against the attack. When Yazo attacked, Naruto lifted both his knifes up and caught the sword. Quickly, Yazo used the momentum and continued the attack with a horizontal slash which managed to cut Naruto's arm.
Quickly jumping away, Naruto made some hand seals and whispered calmly "Raiton Kusari Raikou (Lightning Style: Lightning Chain Jutsu). Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared engulfing the stadium and started shooting a series of lightning at Yazo who had no other choice than dodge and evade the attack. However, he was caught by surprise when another Naruto emerged from behind Yazo and slashed his chest with his fuuton charged knife. Because of this, the last lightning ended up hitting Yazo and he screamed in agony. The normal body Is composed by 70% of water, however Yazo's body composition made it up to 80%, hence the effect of the attack was higher than expected.
Naruto, not even bothering to wait for Yazo to recover, made another series of hand seals this time for Raiton Raikou Dageki (Lightning Style: Lightning Strike Jutsu). This time, focusing raiton chakra through his feet, everyone was amazed when his feet began to sparkle with electricity. When he was done charging, he sprinted towards the still convulsing Yazo and attack with a raiton powered roundhouse kick at the man's chest, making the Kaguya member scream even more in pain and fall on the ground unconscious.
To say that most of the people watching were impressed, it was an understatement. Everyone except for the few who knew this attack, had their jaws on the ground since not only they didn't even heard of this attack but also were surprised to see the damage of the attack. When the medics arrived, they were astounded to see that the attack not only damaged Yazo's inner organs but also managed to send raiton chakra inside the man, paralyzing him in an instant. "Don't worry about it, I hit one of his pressure points, hence why he is in such a state. He'll get up eventually" – Said Naruto to which the medics nodded and Genma pointed Naruto's victory with a smile on his face. Although he wondered why Naruto didn't use fuuton attacks, since he knew of Naruto's two affinities from Yuugao, he figured that the blonde must be saving his best for last.
---On the audience---
After Naruto's victory, the jounin part of the audience that happen to use that attack wondered how Naruto was able to do it, since they all thought that the Yondaime was the creator. Anko couldn't miss this opportunity to gloat about her student and immediately answered the other's questions. "That technique was his creation, not the Yondaime's. Naruto has the ability of channeling raiton chakra to any point of his body, therefore using it for both offensive and defensive issues." – Said Anko with a smile on her face that showed everyone her real intentions. Kurenai for her part, was smiling upon seeing the person who until two years ago, never even dreamed of taking a genin team, now gloating about Naruto's abilities.
Meanwhile with the recently graduated genins, everyone was amazed by the display of power. Sasuke was furious upon seeing that the man was more powerful than him, an elite Uchiha. Itachi was right, this Naruto is indeed powerful, but when I activate my sharingan, I'll be able to copy his jutsus and use it against him. – Thought Sasuke as he kept smiling deviously. Kiba for his part chose not to say anything bad about the blonde anymore from fear that the blonde could fry Kiba with an raiton jutsu. Kiba knew from his family's histories, how Kumo jounins used such attacks and ended up taking a lot of Inuzukas.
Shikamaru smiled at Naruto's display, although he didn't voice an opinion, simply because it would very troublesome thing to do. Doesn't mean he wasn't thrilled to see Naruto's jutsus though. Although he found out about his doton affinity back in the academy, he wished he could use raiton attacks. Now that he saw Naruto doing it, he wanted even more to learn about raiton jutsus.
---Up on the Hokage's booth---
Upon seeing Naruto delivering the final blow, Minato smiled at his son from being able to overcome his enemy's taunting and managed to beat a member of the Kaguya clan in a clean fight. "Quite impressive your son Hokage-dono. I've never seen that last jutsu, what is it?" – Asked the Raikage to which Minato smiled, seeing the man's intention of trying to learn the jutsu to use against a Konoha-nin on a later date. "That jutsu is called Raiton Raikou Dageki (Lightning Style: Lightning Strike Jutsu), however I'll refrain from telling you more since It's a Konoha's jutsu." – Said Minato to which the Raikage scowled the man from such secrecy. "The raiton element is our village's pride Hokage-dono, while yours in katon." – Said the Raikage to which Minato just smiled and replied. "Doesn't mean I have to share with you my son's jutsu, though" – Said Minato to which the Raikage turned to think of a possible negotiation.
"How about a trade then?" – Asked the Raikage, making Minato think about it. In one hand, he could add a couple of B ranked raiton jutsus to Konoha in exchange for Naruto's A ranked jutsu. However, he knew his son wouldn't appreciate that his jutsu would be exchanged simply like that. In fact, he already knew what his son would say as a counter-argument. But Tou-san, would you exchange the rasengan or the hiraishin in exchange for doton jutsus?
Minato as hell took a lot of time to create those jutsus and see it being exchanged like that, he could understand Naruto's refusal. "Thanks, but no thanks, Raikage-dono. That jutsu was created by my son and it's the pride of Konoha. Trading it would be like treason against Konoha, therefore no deal." – Said the Yondaime to which the Raikage sighed in defeat from such a technique.
---At the genin's waiting booth---
Neji and Tenten smiled at Naruto's fight. Both of them knew that he would win. As he got up the stairs, Naruto stood next to his teammates and smiled towards Neji. "Your turn now Neji and we'll see each other at the semi-finals." – Said Naruto while being attended by a medic-nin who appeared to fix the damage from Yazo's attack. Neji for his part smiled and nodded towards the blonde. "This time I'll win Naruto. Just hold on and I'll take you when the time comes." – Said Neji before he started moving towards the stairs in order to reach the center of the arena.
As he walked calmly, Hizashi up on the stand, smiled upon seeing his son walking calmly but no less determined about winning this fight and then battling his rival. Hizashi smiled in nostalgia upo seeing the second generation of the Hyuuga x Namikaze rivalry and just knew that his son will be the pride of Konoha, together with Naruto. "Neji, go ahead and show the future of the Hyuuga clan. Show them that what you're made o
f and I'll be seeing you advance through Konoha's ranks with a smile of pride on my face." – Thought Hizashi as he watched Neji stopping in front of the genin from Iwa who in turn was smiling at the thought of defeating a Hyuuga clan member. Hizashi somehow knew that smile and somehow made him remember of the last shinobi war which he fought alongside Minato and Kakashi. Could it be that this guy comes from that clan? -Thought Hizashi as he remembered the only clan known at the shinobi world who managed to block the jyuuken strikes and feared that this iwa genin was one of them. Hizashi's brother looked at his brother who seemed to realize who Neji's opponent was right now.
"It seems you know Hizashi. Neji won't be able to use the jyuuken. I know your son is very good, but he had yet to face an opponent such as this one" – Said Hiashi to which Hizashi grinned deviously, earning his brother's worry since Hizashi rarely smiled at all. "Hiashi, Neji is sure to surpass us at the jyuuken surely in no time at all, however the jyukken isn't his only ability." – Said Hizashi to which Hiashi scowled at his brother from keeping such mystery.
---With Kakashi and Yuugao---
After seeing Naruto's magnificent display of raiton ninjutsu, Yuugao and Kakashi were smiling behind their masks. Yuugao smiled upon seeing that raiton induced roundhouse kick and imagined how Naruto managed to create such an attack. "I didn't know Naruto could channel raiton chakra so easily, Kakashi-sempai." – Said Yuugao to which Kakashi nodded. "Naruto-kun's chakra control is limited due to his immense chakra supply, but because of this, Naruto can channel fuuton and raiton chakra through every tenketsus of his body. Huh, I remember some of our Anbu peers praising the Yondaime for supposedly creating such a jutsu. Imagine their faces when sensei told them that his 10 year old son created it." – Said Kakashi, earning a giggle from Yuugao, since she stopped being surprised at the blonde's creative abilities.
"However, I'm afraid that Neji has a tough opponent up ahead. His opponent is a part of the only clan that managed to stop the jyuuken strike. I know Neji is tough but his family techniques will be useless against him" – Said Kakashi to which Yuugao smiled and turned to answer. "Neji and I share Naruto-kun's rivalry. Anko-chan told me that Neji has other abilities outside of the jyuuken strike, but she refrained from telling me what. I guess that Neji isn't limited to only the jyuuken as his family is" – Said Yuugao, earning a nod from Kakashi. "Let's see the outcome"
---With Neji---
As Neji arrived at the center of the arena, he was studying his opponent with the byakugan in order to understand which abilities the guy possesses. Doton affinity, he's from Iwa, so nothing new. After he deactivated the doujutsu, his opponent started taunting Neji. "You're a hyuuga, right. Then I've already won this fight." – Said Yahiko to which Neji scowled at the guy from already assuming his victory, but little did he know that his most prized taijutsu style would fail him miserably. "The battle did even started and yet you assume something without even knowing me." – Said Neji, after looking towards Genma who smiled and gave his authorization for the battle.
Quickly, Neji picked four shurikens and threw at Yahiko, actually surprising him a little bit, since Yahiko thought that Neji would use the jyuuken. However, he eliminated the threat by using a kunai and reflecting the shurikens. Seconds after, Yahiko charged Neji with a kunai to which Neji deflected by using his own and engage in a kunai battle. Slice after slice but no opponent managed to land a hit on the other. After Neji attacked with a horizontal slash, Yahiko dropped to the ground, speeding through the hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground. Doton Jishin (Earth Style: Earthquake Jutsu). Seeing the chakra being released with his byakugan, Neji jumped quickly avoiding the attack and throw a few shurikens at the opponent to which two managed to hit on Yahiko's legs, earning Neji some screaming from Yahiko who yielded in pain from the cold metal being impaled through his skin.
After Neji landed on the ground, he smiled upon seeing that the guy wasn't aware of his surroundings, dropped into his family position. "You are in my field of divination. Hakke Rokujuuyonshou(Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand)." – Said Neji before charging to an unsuspected Yahiko, slamming his first two strikes.
Four Strikes…
Sixteen Strikes…
Thirty Two Strikes…
Sixty Four Strikes…
After the last attack, Neji sent Yahiko flying towards the wall, however but to the surprise of everyone present, including Neji, Yahiko used the momentum, by flipping and landing on the ground with a little blood coming out of his mouth, while smiling at Neji. Neji for his part was dumbfounded at Yahiko, simply because of the fact that he just blocked one of the Hyuuga's most powerful taijutsu attacks and came out unscathed. "Surprised Neji-san? That's why I said you can't beat me in this fight. My clan has an absolute doton affinity and we're able to protect our tenketsus from your attacks. With the Doton Kouka no Jutsu(Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu) we can protect ourselves against any sort of attacks." – Said Yahiko to which Neji gritted his teeth in annoyance, since his family taijutsu wouldn't help him in these, well at least not the offensive ones. After looking at his opponent, he remembered his all time rival once saying that someday someone will find a defense against the Jyuuken and when the time comes, Neji would be defenseless. Neji remembered how Naruto one time convinced him to learn doton ninjutsu, just in case the jyuuken doesn't work.
---With Naruto---
"So, Neji finally found such an opponent, huh. Let us see what he'll do right now." – Said Naruto to which Tenten scowled at him for not believing in his teammate. "Tenten, Neji is my friend and my rival, of course I'm cheering for him, but I remembered once saying to him that he needed to learn doton ninjutsu in case such as this one. Guess he's thinking in this same line as well" – Said Naruto to which Tenten turned to study the two's relationship for a while.
Tenten knew that Naruto and Neji were close, but she never understood how deep they were. Some would consider them to be friends, other considered them to be rivals, but as time passes, only word came to mind to describe their relationship. Neji and Naruto grew up together, they fought against each other since they were strong enough to stand, they went to the academy together and now they share the same genin team. Upon realizing the truth, Tenten smiled seeing such brotherly love that both of them share for each other. While they weren't connected by blood, they were connected by spirit and will to never abandon the other behind.
"Neji-kun is lucky to have someone like you in his life, Naruto." – Said Tenten, earning Naruto's attention to which Tenten continued to speak. "My father once said that the Hyuugas, while extremely proud of their abilities, behaved like everyone had to worship them. However Neji, although reserved, turned out to be completely different from the other Hyuugas and I'm think the reason for this was you Naruto. No matter how strong the opponent is, no matter how skilled he is, Neji will regard you as his equal; his rival; his brother." – Said Tenten to which Naruto smiled and nodded at Tenten's kind words. "Neji is a genius. While other Hyuugas would lose this battle, he will analyze the opponent and then see the best attack. However, Neji will have to use his doton ninjutsu in order to win this battle or at least use his jyuuken when the enemy is unprepared, either way he'll win and we'll have our match next" – Said Naruto, earning a smile from Tenten who turned to reply. "Yes, but don't count on me cheering for you, you know." – Giggled Tenten to which Naruto smiled. "Of course not, Tenten" – Said Naruto.
---Back with the fight---
Quickly returning to battle, Yahiko started making some hand seals for Doton Doryuudan no Jutsu (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Projectile Jutsu). With that, a mud dragon head suddenly appeared and shot mud balls at Neji who in turn, decided to use the Hyuuga's absolute defense. Hakkeshou Kaiten (Heavenly Spin). While Neji was spinning, the Hyuuga brothers were amazed at Neji's growth, from not only managing to use one, but two attacks from the Main Branch was nothing short of amazing and the fact that he was only twelve, made his parents even more proud of the prodigy. After Neji stopped spinning, he quickly threw a kunai to which Yahiko dodged but was enough so that Neji could attack without the man knowing. Much to the surprise of everyone present, except those who knew that he knew doton ninjutsu, Neji began making hand seals and said Doton Tsuchi Yari (Earth Style: Earth Spear Jutsu). Suddenly, an spear appeared from the ground and landed on Neji's hand. After that, Neji aimed and threw the spear with all his strength, giving it quite a boost of speed. Yahiko smiled since while the spear was dangerous, he thought he could dodge it with ease.
However when he was about to dodge, he heard Neji scream the word Hanshoku (multiply) and became terrified. Now coming after him, not one spear but four spears. Quickly trying to get away, Yahiko used his doton evasive technique, but he was far too late since the spears ended up piercing his shoulders, sending him to the stadium walls. Seeing that he was trapped at the wall, Neji charged the man with a kunai, meaning to get the final blow. Yahiko just stood there waiting for the blow which never came. When he opened his eyes, he was scared to death at the sight of Neji's kunai a few inches from his jugular, while smiling.
Neji, upon seeing the proctor telling him to stop the attack, just used it to scare his opponent. "Winner, Hyuuga Neji" – Shouted Genma, earning shouts of joy through the whole stadium. Hizashi was smiling towards his son and Hiashi wasn't pleased to see that Neji chose not to use the jyuuken to win the battle, even it was impossible to. "Hizashi, your son has just diminished our pride techniques, by reverting to use elemental ninjutsu" – Said Hiashi to which Hizashi sighed, already seeing that coming. "Neji is our family's prodigy. He knows more of our family's stances than anyone double his age. However, in order to win this battle, he knew that the jyuuken would suffice. He has shown abilities far greater than our own at his age, Hiashi. Elemental ninjutsu, while sometimes inferior to our style can sometimes be our triumph against unsuspecting enemies like the Satoshi clan" – Said Hizashi.
"You're not saying that we should learn elemental ninjutsu, Hizashi. This is absurd. Outside the Satoshi clan, no one can beat us." – Said Hiashi to which Hizashi smiled since he used to think like this a long time ago before Minato came in. "Not true. I seem to remember a annoying blonde kid always managing to beat both of us back then and I've also seen Minato's son beating Neji by using elemental ninjutsu" – Said Hizashi, making Hiashi remember getting his ass kicked by the Yondaime lots of times.
---With Neji---
After Neji appeared at the genin's booth, he locked eyes with Naruto for a minute and smiled. "Now it's our turn, Namikaze Naruto. Ready to lose?" – Asked Neji to which Naruto smiled and turned to reply. "We'll see about the loser part, Hyuuga Neji. I trained very hard just for this fight and I can tell you right now, it won't be easy." – Said Naruto, making Neji nod and smile once again. "Wouldn't like any other way.
After Genma ushered a ten minute rest for the semi-finals, the audience turned to get up and start chatting about the amazing fights that happened until now. Of course, they were speculations of who will be winner of the fight between Namikaze Naruto and Hyuuga Neji, seeing that both were easily the best fighters of this chunnin tournament. With the jounins, they were debating over Neji's victory and the next fight. "That's new, Anko. Teaching a Hyuuga, doton ninjutsu." – Said Asuma to which Anko smiled. "Yep, it wasn't easy though, convincing him to do it. Although Neji is different from other Hyuugas, his pride for the jyuuken is still present." – Said Anko, remembering her wondering at the time if she killed the stubborn Hyuuga, would anyone miss him.
---10 minutes later---
After the time was up, Naruto and Neji faced each other at the center of the arena. Both were smiling because they were hoping to face each other at the tournament. "Hey Naruto, what's the count?" – Asked Neji to which Naruto turned to think. "I believe we're even, 22 x 22. However, after this one, it will be 23 x 22 for me" – Said Naruto, earning a smile from Neji. "We'll see about that"
Genma, after seeing the boys rivalry, smiled and ushered the beginning of the battle. Not even a second passed and Neji made some hand seals for Doton Doryuudan no Jutsu(Earth Style: Mud Dragon Projectile Jutsu). After that, the mud dragon appeared and fired mud balls towards Naruto who was already making his own series of hand seals for the "Fuuton Shouheki (Wind Style: Wind Barrier Jutsu) and created two typhoons in front of him, guarding him from the attack. After the last mud ball was stopped by the shield, Naruto made some quick hand seals once again. Fuuton Chakra Daitoppa (Wind Style: Enhanced Breakthrough).
Because of the shouheki, the force of the gust nearly doubled, sending Neji flying towards the wall. Seeing that Neji was about to hit the wall hard, he flipped and by channeling chakra through his feet, he managed to absorb the impact and landed safely on the ground, however he scowled at his stupidity from using so much chakra for nothing. Neji forgot that Naruto had a fuuton affinity, since on missions Naruto hardly ever used it against enemies, other than channeling it through his trench knifes. Quickly picking a couple of shurikens from his weapon holster, he threw at Naruto and then made some hand seals for a jutsu he learned from Tenten. Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken shadow clone).
Naruto, after seeing the incoming of which appeared to be forty shurikens, had no other choice than to revert to one of his first techniques and replaced himself with a tree log nearby. Since the log was near Neji, Naruto wasted no time and charged Neji this time focusing raiton chakra through his attacks, therefore obliging Neji to focus chakra through his arms so as to defend the attacks. When Naruto's punch was blocked by Neji's arm, lightning began to lick from where the two stands until Neji jumped in order to get away from the onslaught and use his taijutsu style but Naruto didn't stop and charge him once again with his raiton taijutsu style. Blow after blow, Naruto attacked and Neji defended.
While they're going at it, the audience was impressed by the skills in which Naruto and Neji were displaying. The jounins were impressed by them and upon looking at Anko, her satisfying grin upon being the one who trained them was quite noticeable. The academy students, however, couldn't voice their opinion, since their focus were entirely on seeing the battle and nothing else.
Back to the arena, Naruto managed to hit a solid kick at Neji's chest, however the kick wasn't filled with raiton chakra, therefore, Neji wasn't paralyzed, only was sent flying because of the kick. Utilizing the momentum, Neji flipped and landed on the ground, showing first signs of fatigue. However upon seeing Naruto, he was pissed at the boy's high chakra capacity and stamina. Naruto for his part started making some hand seals, ending with the mi (snake) seal sending waves of electricity towards Neji. Raiton Jibashi no Jutsu (Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Pulse Jutsu). Quickly dodging the attack, Neji focused some chakra through his palm and by trusting it forward, Neji sent an invisible wave of chakra, sending Naruto towards the nearby wall.
Being caught by surprise, Naruto managed to substitute himself with another log upon impact and turned to look at Neji. "How do you like my new attack Naruto?" – Asked Neji, already showing signs of slight exhaustion to which Naruto now slightly tired, answered. "Quite the punch, that one. What's it called?" – Asked Naruto smiling to his rival who in turn replied. "Hakke Kuushou (Eight Divination Signs Air Palm)"
"I'm really impressed Neji. Let's continue the fight, okay." – Said Naruto before charging once again at Neji this time using regular taijutsu to which Neji still managed to block even though he was tired as hell. Neji for his part, was tired and he only had chakra left for another Kaiten. Naruto was tired as well but slightly less than Neji. After they both parted ways, Naruto smiled seeing that he would get to test his all-time technique against Neji. Jumping through a quite considerable series of hand seals, Naruto extended both of his palms forward, channeling raiton chakra in order to form an lightning sphere. Up on the stands, Yuugao and Kakashi watched the technique with interest, seeing that they didn't know the blonde perfected it.
Once finishing the ball, Naruto channeled some fuuton chakra so as to create a wind field around the ball. Up at the jounin's area, Asuma smiled deeply upon seeing Naruto using the Fuuton Suiran Reppuwhich didn't get unnoticed by Anko and Kurenai. "What's the smile, Asuma?" – Asked Anko to which Asuma blew his cigarette and turned to look at the snake mistress. "That's Suna's most prized control technique taking place. By using it around the lightning ball, he can control the sphere's direction, therefore making one strong attack. Neji will have to watch out for this attack." – Said Asuma, earning an exclamation mark from both women.
Back at the arena, Naruto finished the preparation, while barely able to stand. This technique although strong, uses way too much chakra, therefore if Naruto wasn't able to beat Neji with this, he would collapse from chakra exhaustion. "Neji, you showed your technique, now let me show mine. Raiton Ikazuchi Butoukai (Lightning Style: Thunder Ball Jutsu)" – Said Naruto before sending the sphere towards Neji at an alarming speed. Upon seeing the impact, Neji was scared shitless of such a ball. The energy inside is overwhelming, is this jutsu even real?" - Thought Neji who started spinning for the heavenly spin. After the ball collided with the dome, both of them fought for dominance over the other.
After a while, Naruto, kneeling on the floor from near exhaustion, focused his last bit of chakra at the technique. The result surprised everyone when the lightning ball broke the Kaiten and hit Neji scare on. Even though the lightning ball wasn't as powerful as before, it did quite a damage to Neji, making him fall unconscious. Genma, upon seeing Neji falling smiled, however when he was about to declare Naruto the winner, the jounin was surprised to see the blonde falling as well from supposedly chakra depletion. "Seeing that none of the fighters are able to stand, I hereby declare this match a draw" – Shouted Genma, but his voice was interrupted by the audience's loud cheer for Naruto and Neji.
---Up at the Kage's booth---
Minato was surprised to see Naruto finally mastering that jutsu, even if he altered a little bit. In all truth, that jutsu was a challenge from Kakashi and Minato in order to see Naruto's resolve and commitment to it. True to his word, Naruto managed to do that jutsu, but not only that. Seeing the way his son controlled the lightning ball, made him regard his son as some sort of working hard genius. Wow, Naruto-kun, using fuuton jutsu to control a raiton attack, pretty impressive and damn creative.
The Kazekage for his part now understood what the Yondaime Hokage meant and smiled at the boy's abilities. Surely, the boy would do well in Suna with his fuuton affinity; however he knew best than open his mouth to the Hokage. Upon looking at the raikage, who was downright furious at the moment upon seeing the blonde diminishing the technique that made him become the next raikage, the Kazekage turned to look at the blonde down at the arena and smiled once again wondering what else the blonde would show in the future.
---With Yuugao and Kakashi---
"Naruto managed to do it, after all. He fought beautifully, don't you think, Yuug…" – Said Kakashi before noticing that the woman was nowhere in sight. Sighing, he vanished since he knew where the girl would go.
Down at the arena, Yuugao appeared next to Naruto and started to caress his hair a little bit. Upon seeing his quiet and peaceful face, Yuugao understood this feeling. It was the aftermath feeling of a great battle and the fact that Naruto would've won if he had a little more chakra, seemed to fill her heart with pride at this. After seeing the medics arriving and tend to his chakra exhaustion, Yuugao stood next to him, just waiting to escort him to a hospital.
Meanwhile, Kurenai and Anko were smiling upon seeing the Anbu showing her affection towards the unconscious Naruto. "Our girl grew up Anko-chan." – Said Kurenai to which Anko nodded and smiled deviously at the new source of blackmail, making Asuma flinch since he knew that look. Back to the center of the arena, after the medics attended to Naruto, Yuugao volunteered to take him to the hospital to which the medics nodded and turned to the other two medics that were attending the unconscious Neji.
Kneeling next to Neji was his father and Tenten, smiling at the sight of Neji's face after the match. Tenten felt her heart get filled with warmth upon seeing Neji smiling so peacefully. Naruto and Neji both of you did great and I'm proud to have been a part of your team. I know both of you will be promoted to chunnin easily. Wait for me, though. I'll be coming very soon" – Thought Tenten since she didn't get to fight her second fight, therefore the judges would only analyze her first fight in which she fall for the enemy's taunting. After a while, Genma arrived near Tenten and grabbed her arms to the air. "Since no one advanced to the finals, I hereby declare Tenten, the tournament champion" – Shouted Genma, earning the cheer from the audience and the respect of the fellow shinobis.
---At the Hospital---
After issuing a room for the unconscious blonde, Yuugao tool off her mask and turned to look at Naruto. She was proud of him for the fights and knew that he would be promoted to chunnin. Getting closer, Yuugao once again caressed his hair softly, being this her new hobby. Yuugao was amazed by the softness of Naruto's hair and found that she could do this all day long. However, when she looked at his face, she felt the sudden urge to kiss the blonde. She knew that he was unconscious, therefore wouldn't return their first kiss, but she couldn't control herself. Suddenly, her dream came to her mind and she began to touch her lips with her fingers, trying to remember how she felt while on her dream.
Unfortunately, she couldn't remember and she was eager for the feeling. "Naruto-kun, I know I shouldn't do this until after you were conscious, but I can't help myself. I want to feel your lips caressing my own, so I'll kiss you now" – Said Yuugao as she moved her head forward and stopped when she was looking directly at his eyes. Not managing to wait any longer, Yuugao landed the kiss and immediately felt the bliss she was eager for. Somehow, she was feeling calm and peaceful, like this was the right thing to do. Nothing could stop her from getting a kiss from her beloved blonde.
However as she was kissing the blonde softly, she failed to realize that one red-head pregnant was watching everything with a smile on her face. Kushina was at the hospital, checking on her soon to be born baby when she heard Yuugao checking in with a chakra-exhausted Naruto. When she heard what Yuugao said, her heart filled with joy upon seeing that her son had stolen Yuugao's heart and was already envisioning her son starting a relationship.
After Kushina left, Yuugao put on her mask again and proceeded to leave. However, her mistake was when she turned to see the sleeping blonde only to hear someone clearing the throat and turned to see Anko and Kurenai there smiling at the now Anbu member. "When I saw you and Naruto leaving the stadium, I thought that you'd be taking him elsewhere, Yuugao-chan, but then I guess his chakra needed to recover" – Said Anko to which Yuugao sighed and vanished by using the shunshin, leaving Anko and Kurenai together with Naruto.
After some giggling courtesy of the two girls, Anko went to see if the blonde was okay. After some verification, Anko smiled and summoned a scroll on the hebi style of fighting and took a seat near her genin. Kurenai, upon seeing this, was caught wondering about the snake mistress's actions. "Anko-chan, what are you doing?" – Asked Kurenai to which Anko looked at her. "Until he gets promoted for chunnin, he is my responsibility and since Tenten is with Neji on his room, I figured that I'd stay here and wait for him to wake up" – Said Anko to which Kurenai nodded.
"Chakra exhaustion takes a while to heal. He'll be unconscious for some time." – Said Kurenai before seeing Anko smile and turned to reply. "To normal shinobi, yes. But Naruto has high stamina and chakra capacity; he'll be up in two hours, give or take. So, until he does, I'll be here reading these advanced katas so as to pass the time." – Said Anko, making Kurenai sigh and just turn towards the door, leaving the place.
---2 hours later---
True to Anko's word, Naruto opened his eyes only to see that he wasn't at the chunnin tournament anymore. Looking up, he saw white ceiling and wondered how the hell he ended up in the hospital in the first place. Then as the memory came back, he smiled upon being a part of such a thrilled battle. However, he was wondering why he felt something touching his lips on occasion, but he shrugged it off seeing that it must've been some dream.
"I see that you woke up, Naruto-kun. Had a good sleep?" – Asked Anko, making the blonde turn his neck towards Anko's direction. "Anko-sensei, so Tenten won the tournament after all, right? After me and Neji fell unconscious, she was the only one left on the tournament. Did they announce the promotions yet?" – Asked Naruto frantically to which Anko called some timeout so that she could answer one question at a time. "Yes, Tenten was the winner and no they haven't announced the promotions yet. In fact that will only happen a week from today, since the Hokage will gather the judges and assemble your performances" – Explained Anko to which Naruto nodded and turned to seat on top of the bed.
"I see. Well, thanks for staying here Anko-sensei. I think I'm heading home. Kaa-san must be worried about me" – Said Naruto before he got out of the bed and stood in front of Anko. "Do that. You guys have the week off. Go do what you feel like." – Said Anko, earning a nod and a fuuton shunshin later from the blonde, vanishing instantly. Anko for her part shrugged it off and vanished as well, leaving the room empty. After a while, a nurse came to see the patient only to see that the room was empty.
---Five days later---
Minato was going through the judge's reports on Team 5's abilities during the chunnin exams. He smiled upon seeing that according to the judges, both Naruto and Neji had shown abilities both in strategy and combat. Minato smiled even more at Naruto's display of ninjutsu during the exam and Neji's usage of doton ninjutsu, which even though the hokage knew, it was quite surprising that Neji knew high level techniques.
Overall, both of them deserved to be promoted to chunnin. However, he wasn't so sure about their female teammate. Although Tenten displayed strength peculiar to a chunnin with a high level katon ninjutsu technique, she did fall at the enemy's taunting. A chunnin had to be calm and be able to control his emotions while on a mission. Being that said, what would happen to her team in case Tenten falls for the trap once more. He needed to be objective with the promotions. Once he rested the report on top of his office, he got up and turned to watch the village below him, mirroring the past Hokages who happened to do this on occasions.
However, when he was wondering about what to do, he heard a knock on the door. "Come in" – Shouted Minato, authorizing Anko's entry to the room. "You called me Hokage-sama?" – Asked Anko to which Minato nodded and ushered her to sit down for a while. "Anko-san, in my hands here are the reports from your team's performance at the exams and I'm happy to say that Neji and Naruto are capable of being chunnin. However, I'm uncertain about Tenten-san and that's where you come in" – Said Minato to which Anko nodded and Minato continued.
"Even though she displayed great fighting skills, you know as well as I do, that she can't have that behavior while on missions. She could end up hurting or even killing her team, by falling directly to the enemy's trap. Also from your team's mission reports, I managed to see that this already happened before, doesn't it?" – Asked Minato, rhetorically speaking. "Therefore, Anko-san. I would like to ask you a question, completely off the record. Do you believe she is capable of performing chunnin assignments?" – Asked Minato to which Anko sighed and turned to look at the Hokage, wondering what to say to the man. In fact, she also wasn't sure about promoting Tenten if she had the power to do so. The girl had talent, that was for sure, however if the same thing happens while on a mission, thing could get ugly real fast. However, no one was better suited to work as a team than Tenten and team 5 did wonders together.
"Hokage-sama, even though her conduct was inexcusable, I believe that she's the best suited to work with Naruto and Neji's team. Therefore, it's my opinion that she would get the promotion, however Naruto and Neji would be a must at any mission she goes, since both of them are capable of handling the first missions, only until she gets familiarized with the position" – Said Anko to which Minato choose to just stare at the snake mistress while pondering on the idea.
Minato was rather pleased that after the exams, clients from all over Fire Country and some from Wave Country requested Naruto and Neji for high C and B ranked missions. And according to Anko, Tenten would be the third man of the team. Suddenly, Minato had a terrific idea. While he believed that the three could handle the requested missions, if a jounin were to be with them, they will be able to pick A ranked missions, therefore selecting high A ranked and S ranked to the elite jounin and Anbus.
"Anko-san, I'll go with your idea, regarding Tenten-san. Team 5 will be promoted to chunnin. Also, I would like to advance a piece of information with you. After Neji and Naruto's battles, mission requests are up the roof in here. Therefore, I will be assigning the promoted Team 5, high C, B and A ranked missions throughout the Fire Country and Water Country as well. This will be a test for you as well Anko in order to see if you're qualified for S ranked missions in the future." – Said Minato, making Anko squeal at the possibility of an S ranked mission. "However, I'll be frank with you. Team 5 will be doing missions after mission for at least two months; you think your team can handle it?" – Asked Minato to which Anko closed her eyes to think about it.
She would answer it right away only to have the Hokage's blessing and possibly give her a S ranked mission. However, she knew that doing middle to high ranked missions continuously would be dangerous and quite taxing. Nevertheless, she had faith on her team and knew that they would make it. "We are more than capable, Hokage-san" - said Anko, earning a smile from Minato.
After Anko was dismissed, Minato turned to look at the village once more. On one side, he was slightly afraid of sending his son to do so many missions, however, he knew better than to think stuff like this. Team 5 had a great reputation. Naruto and Neji back each other up and Tenten manages to back both of them with long-ranged jutsu. Not to mention that Anko is there as well, so she is a jounin.
'Team 5. Quite a team, you got there Naruto-kun'
