Demon of the Hidden Leaf
Ch.11- Battle for the top spot: Kiba vs Sasuke!
xXx
The arena was quiet, nobody up on the platforms made a sound, and all eyes were trained on the pair that stood enter stage in the middle of the floor.
Well, one was standing, while the other lay dead in a pool of his own blood.
Naruto had just finished doing battle with Dosu, and while some didn't worry about the blonde's chances to pull out a victory, none of those supporters would have guessed just howNaruto would claim the win.
He'd killed his opponent.
Yes the chunin exams did often include genin taking their first life, but many of the shinobi present didn't think the Uzumaki had what it took to actually take the life of another human being...and then look so calm about it. It was just strange.
Most had even expected Naruto to lose his match; as in their minds he was still the brainless prankster from the academy.
But all those doubts and expectations were washed away by the bloody picture that had been presented to them.
"K-Kakashi, what...what in the world have you been doing with this kid?"
The Jounin in question turned to Kurenai, the one who'd spoken, and told her that he hadn't really done anything with the blonde youth down at the bottom floor.
"Bull-shit," Asuma cut in. "A twelve-year old kid doesn't just go from dead-last to death-bringer in half a year by themselves. You must have been giving him private lessons."
This time Kakashi turned his eye towards Naruto, who still happened to be waiting for Hayate to dismiss him, and spoke with a sense of reverence as he explained himself.
"I didn't say he didn't get training from me; he is my student after all. But I had nothing to do with this new Naruto that you all see down there, for thatyou can all thank one Zabuza Momochi."
Kakashi's fellow Jounin were caught off-guard by this bit of information, and it was Guy who jumped to ask, "What exactly do you mean by that Kakashi, what does Kiri's demon have to do with anything?"
"Everything. Naruto met him during our first C-rank mission, and after the mission ended, my student decided to honor the memory of a shinobi who opened his eyes to the realities of our world."
Kurenai was the one to ask, "And so he's honoring a serial killer by trying to become him?"
"When you think about it, aren't we all just a bunch of serial killers Kurenai-sensei?"
The red-eyed beauty in question flinched at hearing Naruto's voice behind her.
'He must have been declared the winner while we were talking,'the raven-haired beauty thought as she turned to look at the young genin she'd just been wondering about.
Doing her best to put on a disarming smile, Kurenai went on to answer the blonde Uzumaki's question. She told Naruto of how, in a sense he was correct, but the distinctive difference between the average shinobi and those like Zabuza was that the Demon of Kiri held no regard for the life of others.
"He kills for the sake of killing, or personal gain."
Whatever reaction Kurenai was expecting, the sharp-eyed look she got was not it. Naruto's normally ocean-blue eyes had darkened to an icy, almost sapphire color. His wrapped jaw could be seen clenching in anger at the statement and even anyone paying attention could see the way his neck muscles bulged from the restrained lash out that Naruto no doubt wished to let loose.
'But that wouldn't be what Zabuza would do,' he thought before responding to Kurenai's assessment.
"Zabuza Momochi killed so that he could achieve his dream of one day ruling Kirigakure as the Mizukage, and any killing he did before becoming a rogue ninja was done in service to the currentMizukage, just like any other shinobi of a hidden village."
"But Naruto," Ino butted in, "what does that say about him if this guy wound up becoming a run away ninja? He couldn't have been a very honorable guy; sounds more like a slime-ball to me—hey!"
Ino's two cents were thrown out when Naruto jumped in her face.
"What do you know about anything Ino? You and your team haven't done anything other than walk villagers dogs and weed gardens, so what do you know about honor or even what it really means to be a shinobi?"
"Hey!" Asuma jumped in after seeing his student get verbally assaulted by one of her fellow genin. "Naruto calm down, there's no need to be so hostile alright? Ino was only asking, she wasn't trying to offend anyone."
"Well maybe you should get her a shock collar for that big mouth of hers, to teach her not to open it unless someone's actually talking to her-"
"Naruto," Kakashi cut him off. "That's enough, you've made your point. Ino's sorry for being inconsiderate of your feelings and her lack of understanding, but I'm also going to need you to apologize to Asuma for being so rude."
"And what about me?" Kurenai wondered. "He disrespected me too Kakashi, or did you forget that?"
The silver-haired Jounin in question just 'hmm'-ed in response and went on to say, "Actually Kurenai I wouldn't say that; you actually disrespected Naruto and his feelings. So if anything, you owe him an apology."
"You know what, never mind, this is a pointless argument. Everyone has their own opinion and it won't be changed without examples, so why don't we just go back to watching the fights, because it looks like Kiba and Sasuke are up next."
Hearing this everybody turned their heads to the selection board and found that, yes, Sasuke was indeed up next with Kiba being his opponent.
Naruto, the one who'd pointed it out, just crossed his arms and eyed his team-mate as the raven-haired genin made his way down to the arena. The blonde-headed youth was curious to see how Sasuke would do in his battered state.
'We'll see if his spot as Rookie of the Year outweighs Kiba's Alpha-male instinct.'
Down below with the two clan heirs, Sasuke and Kiba were busy eyeing each other with fire in their eyes.
For Sasuke it was about showing off is superior skill and putting the Inuzuka pup in his place.
For Kiba, it was bout proving that hewas the top dog and the Uchiha was nothing but a poser.
In the end it was really just a battle of egos.
"Alright...(cough) (cough)...you two know the rules. The match stops when either...(cough) (cough)...one of you surrenders, can't continue, or I...(cough)...declare a winner based on what I see." Hayate explained.
Then, after explaining to Sasuke that Akamaru was considered a tool, and not a partner so the nin-ken could be part of the battle, the Jounin swordsmen declared the match a go.
Sasuke's first move was to actually not move at all. He knew that Kiba would want to start things off, so the Uchiha youth simply waited to counter whatever it was his opponent thought up. With the days of rest he'd gotten after being brought to the tower, and having the mark sealed by Kakashi, Sasuke was more than ready to get used to his body again. And, thankfully, Kiba remained predictable and attacked first.
The hooded genin shot forward with his elbow aimed for Sasuke's sternum, crying out how he'd end the match in one hit, only to miss when Sasuke leaped into the air. Kiba managed to stop himself soon enough though, and had time to block the ax-kick that came down at his head. The Inuzuka threw up an arm, stopping Sasuke's leg with his forearm, before gripping the offending appendage and using it to fling the Uchiha away.
When Sasuke recovered though, managing to flip in the air and land on his feet, Kiba decided it was time to use his signature jutsu.
"Gatsuga!"
Kiba twisted his body at rapid speed, moving like a drill through the air, and heading straight for Sasuke.
But Sasuke saw this coming and was able to avoid being hit by dodging to the side. As he hung in the air, the Uchiha attempted a quick counter attack and threw a small hail of kunai at the rotating vortex...only to watch as they bounced off and away, leaving Kiba unharmed.
'Well that didn't have any effect, and I'd rather not waste any chakra trying to hit it with my fireball, so that just leaves waiting it out and hitting him once his jutsu ends.'
And good for Sasuke, Kiba's signature technique wasn't famous for its hang time. The Inuzuka member spun out soon after his opponent assessed the situation, and was back on his feet ready to be engaged.
Something Sasuke took prime advantage of.
With the enhanced speed he'd acquired during his first C-rank mission, Sasuke quickly closed the gap between himself and Kiba, where he then went on to open up with a sweep-kick.
But Kiba, always just a few steps behind Sasuke, was still fast enough to avoid being knocked off his feet; if only just barely. And once he was in the air, Kiba decided to try a counter, and threw his legs out in a double-kick aimed for his opponent's head.
When Sasuke ducked to avoid it Kiba used the momentum to flip backwards, onto his hands, and then springboard up into the air.
Unfortunately for him, this was Sasuke's plan all along.
With the Inuzuka boy stuck so close in mid-air Sasuke knew there would be no time for him to activate his Gatsuga, or even dodge a fireball. So, still crouched against the arena floor, the Uchiha avenger quickly flashed through his three favorite hand-sign's and let loose a medium-sized Great-Fireball.
"Argh!"
...Or at least, he wouldhave, had he not just got bitten by Akamaru.
The little ninja-dog had noticed his partner was in trouble and chosen just the right moment to step in and lend a hand.
Akamaru now had his teeth sunk down into Sasuke's calf, forcing the Uchiha to lose control of his attack and sputter as he dropped to the ground. It was then, after seeing Kiba land safely, that Akamaru let go and returned to his partner's side.
"Great job Akamaru," the Inuzuka boy praised as he scooped up his pal. "I would have been turned into burnt toast if I didn't have you watching my back, way to go buddy."
Turning his slightly-feral gaze over to his downed opponent, Kiba began to gloat.
"How do you like that Sasuke? Looks like you aren't as tough as everyone makes you think; it's a shame you're all that's left of the Uchiha clan, they must be crying in their graves at how weak you are. Or maybe, all those stories we heard about them were just that, stories, to cover up for how big of an embarrassment they were as shinobi."
As he broke out into boisterous laughter Kiba failed to notice the change in Sasuke's demeanor. While he wasstill on the ground, the lone survivor of the Uchiha Massacre was stock still and rigid. His right hand, which was angled back and clutching the injured leg, was now squeezing down on the bite marks to the point of drawing blood. Sasuke's left hand, which was set against the floor so as to steady him, was trembling as it clawed into the tile below.
And yet, despite all this, there was a much worse expression of Sasuke's barely concealed rage that trumped everything the spectators couldsee.
It was his eyes.
Underneath his raven-black hair Sasuke's eyes were hard and cold. They spoke volumes of emotion, which bled through in the form of his Sharingan.
Only, this time, the colors were switched. Red lay in a pool of inky-black.
xXx
Up on the platforms Kakashi was reprimanding Kurenai for her students mouth.
"I think you and I both know that was completely uncalled for Kurenai; you need to have a word with Kiba about keeping his mouth shut. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of just how sensitive that subject is to Sasuke."
The genjutsu mistress did in fact look apologetic as she replied to her senior Jounin's words. "I do know, and I'm sorry about Kiba's...brashness. I'll have a talk with him, and his mother, after the preliminaries."
"I hope so, because next time we'll be having this discussion in front of the Hokage."
While the combatants respective sensei were discussing punishment for the loud-mouthed Inuzuka, over with the genin some had their own opinions about what should happen to Kiba.
The loudest of which calls came from the Uchiha boy's two most loyal fans.
"Would you two quiet down already, geeze. Yeah what Kiba said crossed a line but that doesn't mean you gotta get so loud about it; this whole preliminary thing is troublesome enough without you girls' squawking."
"Shut up Shikamaru," Ino shouted back in response. "That mutt shouldn't have said that about Sasuke-kun's family and you know it; he should be fined, or something!"
"What kind of punishment is that," Temari butted in from the side. She'd been close enough to hear the bickering and was now curious to know what made this 'Sasuke' so special that someone would be fined for speaking ill of the kid's family. "Is he some relative of your Hokage or something?"
Ino turned to her fellow blonde and answered, "Well no...but his ancestors helped create the village, and he's the last surviving Uchiha."
Temari waited for a minute, and when she realized that the Konoha kunoichi was done speaking asked what else was there?
"He was Rookie of the Year in our class."
"...Is that all? Because from what I'm hearing this kid is just another headband in the crowd. I mean, sure, having a tool like the Sharinganis a rare and powerful thing now a days, but from what I've seen he can't even use it to its full potential so he's not really any better than his opponent down there."
"And then there's the fact that last year's Rookie of the Year is at least ten times stronger than Sasuke."
Heads swiveled on their necks to turn and look at who'd spoken, and all eyes landed on Ten-Ten, who had broken away from her team-mate's to put in her two cents.
Something that Sakura didn't appreciate. "Oh, and how would you know?"
"He's on my squad," Ten-Ten answered with a smug smirk. "Neji Hyuga is reported to be the strongest genin of his generation; a prodigy."
It was Shikamaru who spoke next, and his words popped the bubble of superiority that the bun-haired girl had blown around herself.
"I'd be careful about throwing that word around if I were you, because last time I checked, the last person to be named a prodigy wound up murdering his entire clan in cold blood. Maybe you should make sure this Neji isn't secretly a sociopaths; how do you think Konoha will fare in the world with the destruction of its second strongest clan too?"
For the first time since she'd met him, Ten-Ten began to wonder about Neji and the actual possibility that the hate-driven Hyuga might actuallyattempt such a thing.
"Stop scaring her Shikamaru, Sasuke's brother was a special case and you know it. Remember, my sensei was a prodigy too, and look at where he is now," Naruto chimed in.
The blonde had moved away from the Jounin after pointing out that the match's opponent's had been selected and now stood with his fellow genin. He'd originally not wanted to get involved with the conversation, but the Uzumaki felt he should lay Ten-Ten's obvious fears to rest.
Something the weapon mistress was grateful for, as shown by the small smile of relief she sent Naruto's way. She looked as if she was about to say something too, but whatever Ten-Ten had planned was blown into the wind by a powerful chakra pulse.
One that made her knees buckle and the hairs on her neck stand on end.
At first, Ten-Ten thought it was just her that had felt it, but she soon realized that wasn't the case as every genin soon snapped their head back to the arena...where Sasuke was seen surrounded by a swirl of blackchakra.
He was pushing off the ground and getting back to his feet, where the Uchiha went on and entered into his clan's standard fighting stance, Sharinganblazing in all its...glory?
'What the heck happened to Sasuke's Sharingan!?'
xXx
'Who does that mutt think he is, disrespecting my clan that way. He knows nothingabout whathappened that night or what our history is; his blasphemy is unforgivable!'
Sasuke slowly rose up from the arena floor and back to his feet. His knuckles popped as the Uchiha flexed his fingers, emotions of rage and anger radiating off of Sasuke's hunched form.
And yet, despite this, Kiba still opened his mouth for another insult.
"Ooh, a little slow getting up there pretty-boy. What's the matter, did we have the match before your nap time little baby? Maybe we should go find mommy so she can tuck you-" Kiba's mockery was ground to a halt by Sasuke snapping his head up and staring him down with his inverted Sharingan.
'What the...' The Inuzuka thought before his opponent began to speak.
Sasuke's voice was guttural, and rumbled like thunder. "Don't. Talk. About. My. MOTHER!"
Then, the furious Uchiha disappeared from Kiba's view in a burst of unexpected speed. It was beyond anything Kiba believed Sasuke to be capable of, and was caught completely off-guard by the backhand that smacked against his cheek.
Kiba didn't have the time to even think about channeling chakra to his feet to keep himself planted, and instead wound up rocketing through the air with Akamaru clutched to his chest. The hooded genin hit the ground hard, cracking the tile on impact, and then rolling another few feet before coming to a stop. From his place on the arena floor Kiba spat out the mouthful of blood that stained his teeth before raising himself up, shakily, onto his knees.
The first thing Kiba did was check on his nin-ken, making sure the little pup was okay, before turning his animalistic eyes onto Sasuke.
He saw how the Uchiha was, literally, looking down at him. Sasuke's head was up high, nose in the air, and his reverse-colored Sharinganeyes bore down at the Inuzuka boy. Kiba's opponent stood at his full height ready to continue the match, looking on as if the fanged youth wasn't even a threat.
This angered Kiba.
'Look down at me huh? Well we'll see how high and mighty you feel after I break out my clan's secret weapon.'
"What's the matter Kiba," Sasuke broke the downed Inuzuka out from his thoughts. "Where's all that talk? You were just shooting your mouth off a minute ago, disrespecting my clan, so what happened? Did I hit you too hard, maybe knock out that tiny brain of yours?"
Kiba laughed mockingly. "Feh, You're the one who's shooting their mouth off Uchiha, but not for long, not after I use this."
Sasuke watched as his opponent pulled out a pair of red pills, feeding one to his pup before ingesting the other himself. And while the raven-haired youth knew about food pills and their properties, what happened next was something that far exceeded any normal chakra booster.
First, Kiba dropped Akamaru and let the pup fall on all fours before falling after the animal himself. While arcs of neon-blue chakra began to weave their way around the young Inuzuka, his puppy partner's snowy coat turned a blazing crimson. Then, while Akamaru was engulfed in a flare of chakra of his own, Kiba's arcs upsurged into a raging flame. And that's when Sasuke's eyes saw it.
Kiba was changing.
The tattooed youth's teeth gnashed as they elongated from canines into fangs, and his fingernails sharpen into claws. Along with that Sasuke could see, from the other boy's calves, that Kiba's muscle mass was increasing too; he was getting stronger.
'And if that pill is what I think it is, then he's going to be faster too.'
And, oddly enough, the thought of an increased challenge only made Sasuke more excited. It made his blood rush and his own chakra flare, the pitch-black energy pulsed as its flow increased. What nobody noticed though was that the mark on Sasuke's shoulder was lit up like a flare.
The stand-off was brought to a halt when, in a final flash of chakra, Kiba's transformation finished; leaving a werewolf-looking Inuzuka in his place. His hair was shaggy and now reached his shoulders, while his jaw had extended to a small snout. Kiba's feral, bloodshot eyes were turned up and staring into Sasuke's own.
"Now," he began to say as he set his hands into the 'ram' hand-sign. "Let's get wild!"
A puff of smoke later and Akamaru was gone; replaced by an exact copy of Kiba.
xXx
Sasuke's inverted Sharinganwatched watched Kiba's transformation, and then as the Inuzuka sat his Man-beast clone technique on Akamaru, turning the raging pup into an exact copy of the newly improved Kiba.
And yet despite this, Sasuke felt no fear.
No the Uchiha felt only one thing and that was a burning desire to bring his opponent to their knees. He wanted to make Kiba pay for insulting him, insulting his family, and nothing was going to get in the way of that.
'Nothing!'Sasuke raged internally. He was ready for this, he was-
"Grhk!"
That was only sound that managed to make its way out of Sasuke's mouth as he was caught under the chin by an uppercut. It seemed Kiba was faster than he'd anticipated.
'Or maybe I was stupid and let my guard down,'he chastised himself in the air. But Sasuke recovered quickly and was ready for his opponents follow up. Kiba had followed him into mid-air, more than likely assuming he'd get another free shot, and was directly underneath Sasuke.
'Got you,'the last Uchiha thought smugly before righting himself and landing an ax-kick down on the other boy's skull.
Sasuke watched as Kiba's body quickly descended from the sky, only to have to twist so as to avoid being run through by a high-speed tornado. He'd already forgotten about Akamaru.
And that cost the Sharinganwielder dearly, as his right side suffered from close contact with the spinning death trap. Sasuke let himself fall back to the ground, only to hunch over as he held the bleeding area around his ribs.
Akamaru's tornado stopped and the transformed dog landed on his feet. He turned an eye towards his partner, and was relieved to see Kiba getting off the ground and back on his feet. Akamaru barked to his friend, asking if the Inuzuka boy was alright.
Kiba rubbed his aching head, thankful for the huge adrenaline rush that came with taking his family's special food pill. "Yeah, I'm fine buddy, he just got in a lucky shot is all. But now I'm ready, so let's show this pompous pretty-boy who's the real top dog around here."
And with that the two primal partners were ready for action again.
Kiba took the lead again, but this time he tried for something other than a frontal assault. The Inuzuka boy reached into his hip pouch and produced a pair of smoke bombs. Knowing that just throwing them at Sasuke would do no real good, as the Uchiha could just jump away before being engulfed, Kiba signaled to Akamaru to create a distraction.
The transformed pup nodded in understanding before rushing in. Akamaru got close, but veered off at the last second, showing the attack to be a feint. The real attack came next in the form of an attempted leg sweep from behind.
Thankfully for him Sasuke was much faster than Akamaru, so the Uchiha had no problem jumping to avoid the attack, and only a little difficulty flipping over Kiba as the Inuzuka boy came barreling by.
His side throbbed in pain, yes, but it was better than the alternative.
Unfortunately though, Sasuke had been nursing said wound while Kiba had pulled out the smoke bombs, so he wasn't prepared for his vision to suddenly be clouded by a thick purple haze.
This left him open to the spartan-kick to the back that sent him stumbling into a punch to the gut. As he doubled over in pain, the Uchiha avenger was struck a third time by a bicycle-kick that sent him rocketing into the air.
Sasuke quickly managed to right himself though and turned his inverted Sharingantowards the heavy cloud of smoke. And that's when he noticed it...he could see.
It wasn't a completely clear picture, but Sasuke was able to make out the forms of both Kiba and Akamaru from inside their little trap. Something that the young Uchiha knew wasn't possible before that day.
Movement in the smoke drew Sasuke's mind away from that though and back into the fight.
One of the Kiba's was moving, gearing up for another Gatsuga. Moments later, a whirling tornado came ripping through the shroud and barreling straight for the airborne Uchiha. And that's when Sasuke was hit with a wave of nausea.
'What the—huh?'
Were Sasuke's eyes playing tricks on him, or was there another tornado ghosting itself from out behind Kiba's? Either way, the Sharinganwielder's body reacted; avoiding his opponent, only to be forced into narrowly dodging a second tornado that came from underneath.
As he let gravity bring him back to the arena floor Sasuke's ears caught the tail-end of Kiba's conversation with Akamaru as their attempted double-team failed.
"I don't know how he managed to avoid that one buddy, but don't worry, we'll get him next time."
And that made Sasuke think: how did he manage to dodge that last attack? It was like his body just moved on its own after that weird double-vision he'd been hit with.
But like last time, Kiba and his partner didn't give Sasuke much time to ponder these thoughts before going back on the offensive.
One of the two came rushing in and engaged the last Uchiha in close combat. Sasuke ducked the swipe to his head, and threw up a cross-block to stave off the ax-kick that came after, before grabbing his opponent's leg and striking out at the pit behind their knee. The Kiba copy let out a rough grunt of pain, revealing himself to be the real Inuzuka. From there Sasuke threw the leg aside and caught Kiba in the chest with a swift combo of punches.
It was after he jumped back to finish off with a double kick to the chest that Sasuke saw it; there was a hole in the ground.
And then he was hit with another nausea attack.
A ghostly copy of Kiba was angled at the ground and performed a Gatsuga, creating the hole, and then vanishing in a wisp of smoke.
'Behind!'
'Sasuke's instincts screamed at him to flip back, and being from a warrior clan the raven-haired youth was taught to trust his instincts. For good reason too, because mid-flip Akamaru exploded out of the ground and flew right underneath his intended target.
At such speed and so little time to move though, the nin-ken had no choice but to keep going forward...straight into Kiba.
"Gaah!"
The Inuzuka was sent rocketing backwards, before slamming against the arena floor, and then rolling to a stop. Akamaru quickly ended his attack and stared blankly at the beaten form of his downed friend.
He stared, and stared, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.
And then he started twitching.
First it was just a tick in his shoulder, but soon it escalated to jerks of the arms, until finally Akamaru was having almost seizure-like fits. His slit pupils shrunk until only the whites of his eyes were left, and foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth. It all finished when the transformed nin-ken snapped his head up and let out a guttural roar.
The sound reverberated off the walls and shook the arena's occupancy to the bone with the deep levels of sorrow and regret that mixed with the animalistic rage and hatred that came at the forefront of the battle cry.
Akamaru's head quickly snapped to the side once his cry was finished and the nin-ken's primal eyes glared hatefully at their target; Sasuke.
The last Uchiha had been the one Akamaru was supposed to hit, and because the raven-haired genin moved out of the way Kiba got hurt, meaning in Akamaru's instinct-driven mind that what happened to his partner was Sasuke's fault...and for that he must pay!
For Sasuke it was a surprise; Akamaru's power had just doubled!
The feral nin-ken's body was wrapped in a fiery cloak of chakra and the air seemed to be thick with the dog's protective instinct. The combination made it hard to breath. It made it hard to react.
And that's why, when Akamaru dashed towards him, Sasuke wasn't able to duck away from the swipe aimed at his face.
"Aaargh!"
Blood spattered the floor, and Sasuke stumbled backwards in an attempt to stay out of Akamaru's reach while his hand clawed tightly at his face...at his his eye. Blood oozed thickly from the wounded optic organ; it coated Sasuke's face as well as his hand.
On Akamaru's end he just stood there with a satisfied look etched across his face, bloody claws raised high with pride.
xXx
Up in the stands though, the only emotions being felt were disbelief and anger.
Kakashi in particular was glaring hard at Kurenai, his fellow Jounin at least having the decency to look ashamed as he berated her.
"What was that just now Kurenai; what is that pill your student and his pet just took? Because whatever it is, if it causes them to lose all sense of reason, I don't see how you could allow them to use it against a fellow Leaf ninja."
"I-I don't actually know Kakashi," the genjtsu mistress answered back quietly. "It's an Inuzuka secret, so Kiba wasn't allowed to tell me. All I was allowed to know was that it amplified the users chakra, senses, and physical ability by at least twice that of a normal food pill."
Kurenai ducked her head in shame as she then went on to explain how she'd allowed the two to bring them into the test to help ensure they passed.
"Without knowing the side effects," Kakashi finished sternly. "That was very irresponsible of you, especially as a Jounin, and could even be seen as petty by some of your peers. You do understand that don't you?"
The red-eyed beauty shot her head up at that. "But I didn't know, what was I supposed to do?"
"Tell Kiba that, if he couldn't give you a better explanation, then his pill could only be used out in the field against enemy ninja. The chunin exams are meant to inspire friendship and build relationships, not tear them apart and start civil wars!"
"That's a bit harsh don't you think Kakashi?" Asuma jumped in to defend Kurenai. But he shrunk back a little when the silver-haired ex-Anbu captain turned his lone eye on him.
"No Asuma, I don't. Because of her pride, and her desire to prove herself as the rookie Jounin, Kurenai has cost this village one of its last remaining Sharingan; something I know many citizens won't be happy with, and the other nations may take as a sign we're losing control of our forces. This was a very bone-headed mistake, one that can't just be fixed by an 'I'm sorry'."
"But I don't understand, whydid it happen," Kurenai went on to ask. "Akamaru has never acted so viciously before. Not even when Kiba was harmed during practice. So why now?"
This time it was Guy who threw in his two cents.
"It must be an ingredient they use in their food pill; we saw how it enhanced Kiba's dog-like traits, turning him into some sort of werewolf. If it does something like that to a young genin with humangenetics, just imagine what it does to a ninja dog, bred from wolves, with no human gene. It would regress the nin-ken's mind to run purely on instinct."
"Meaning the only one he'd listen to was the pack leader; who in this case was Kiba. And if something were to happen to that leader, Akamaru wouldn't know what to do, all sense of rationalizing has already been diminished, so whatever was left would be overloaded by pure instinct," Asuma continued.
"An Instinct to make Kiba's attacker pay...an instinct to kill Sasuke," Kakashi finished ominously. His lone eye was now staring down at the arena, drawing his fellow Jounin's gaze as well.
xXx
Back down below, Akamaru was gearing up for another assault on Sasuke, his blood-soaked hand reared back and ready for another swipe at the boy's face. But when he launched himself at the injured Uchiha, the transformed canine was in for a surprise when Sasuke caught his wrist with his free hand.
And try as he might, Kiba's animal partner was unable to wrench his hand free.
Instead he dropped to a knee when Sasuke put pressure on the bone, filling the arena with the sound of breaking bone.
"Raaw!" Akamaru roared in pain. One eye was closed shut in pain, but when he turned the other one up to glare at Sasuke, the feral ninja dog was left shaking as his rage was overshadowed by fear.
With one hand covering his right eye, Sasuke stared down at Akamaru with just the Sharinganin his left, and what the dog found there frightened him to the bone.
It was dark, and cold, and spoke of a an unprecedented level of madness that one usually only found in the most battle-hardened shinobi.
It was Sasuke's words that clinched it for Akamaru and let him know what came next was going to hurt.
"You're going to pay for this," he whispered with an icy calm, "with your life!"
Throwing the damaged wrist to the side Sasuke finally let his other hand pull away from his eye, which he then used to grip the side of Akamaru's head and cram it into the floor. The impact point exploded, leaving a permanent dent in the tile as spider-web cracks funneled out from underneath Akamaru's bleeding skull.
But Sasuke wasn't done yet.
He changed his grip to take hold of the transformed dog's jacket collar, lifting the bloodied nin-ken onto shaky feet. "This is it," Sasuke told him before burying a fist into his gut. The Uchiha followed it with another, and third, before sending Akamaru into the air with a flip-kick.
Sasuke wasn't far behind, launching himself not long after. Angling himself in mid-air Sasuke grabbed Akamaru's ankles and flipped the transformed dog over.
Then, locking his legs around his opponents torso with his arms holding the ninja dog's legs, Sasuke called out his technique: "Uchiha Clan secret technique: Falcon Drop!"
"Akamaru no!"
Kiba had managed to recover enough from being railroaded by Akamaru so that he was able to push himself off the ground on trembling arms and see his partner be sent soaring into the air. From there the Inuzuka watched as Sasuke wrapped around Akamaru like a constrictor snake and pulled the transformed dog down like a stone weight.
'What's that jerk thinking,' Kiba berated the Uchiha in his mind, 'doesn't he know that from that height and angle he'll kill Akamaru!?'
With his adrenaline pumping, flooding his system with another dose of the food pill, Kiba was able to scramble to his feet and rush towards where he knew the two would land. He had to make it, he had to save his partner, he had...
'BOOM!'
The crash reverberated off the walls like a thunder clap. Sasuke had pulled away at the last possible moment and used his push-off to further accelerate the nin-ken's descent.
Kiba was blown back by the force of the crash and sent rolling across the arena floor a second time. But when he finally managed to stop himself, the Inuzuka snapped his head up and began to claw across the floor towards the crash site.
His frantic efforts were ground to a halt though when, as he arrived, the dust cleared away enough so that everyone could see the body that lay on the destroyed tile.
The impact must have canceled the transformation, because what greeted Kiba's eyes was the broken body of Akamaru's original dog form. One whose neck was broken. The pup's spine had snapped apart, and both ends had forced their way out through the small dogs neck, staining Akamaru's once pristine coat a dirty crimson.
Slit eyes looked on in horror and disbelief at what lay before them. This couldn't be happening, not to Akamaru, not to his best friend.
At first Kiba couldn't feel anything; his entire body had gone numb. And then it was like he was on fire. It was instant, the rush of heat erupted from the pit of Kiba's stomach and flooded the Inuzuka's body.
The fire was so hot that Kiba was left to claw at his jacket in a crazed attempt to alleviate some of the feeling. Once the hoodie was in shreds, all eyes that watched the scene could see Kiba's muscles spasm under his skin, breaking down and repairing themselves to increase the young genin's strength.
Like with Akamaru before him Kiba's mouth was quickly filled with foam as he thrashed around on the arena floor. He slammed his fists into the tiles, leaving bloody holes in the ground, as he howled out in a pained sort of rage.
It finally stopped when Kiba's enhanced hearing caught the sound of Sasuke's voice; the voice of the one who'd killed his partner.
"Feh, look at that, the Inuzuka clan heir turns out to be nothing more than a primitive beast. Is it really a wonder why no other village wanted your people; a clan of animals, not warriors."
Hearing the insult to his pack, added to Sasuke's murder of Akamaru, sent Kiba farther into the depths of his feral rage. He turned to look at the Uchiha avenger and revealed to his fellow genin that his pupils had vanished.
"YOU!"
Sasuke was hit with a third attack of nausea, and this time he had a better understanding of what was happening, so when he saw the ghostly image of Kiba rush him with a feint the Uchiha was ready to lean back out of the way of the real attack that came moments later.
The feint was meant to cover a roundhouse, which Sasuke ducked under, and countered with a palm to the gut. Sending Kiba back a few feet gave Sasuke time to reach into his hip pouch and grip the ninja wire he found there.
'I'm seeing his next move before he even makes it, like quick view of the future. This is amazing. I've never heard of the Sharingan doing anything like this before, but if it helps me win this fight I won't question it.'
That turned out to be a good idea because it gave Sasuke enough time to pay attention to what was coming next.
Kiba came torpedoing towards him, but Sasuke flipped to the side and avoided him, then when his lone eye showed him Kiba's next move the avenger twisted his body and flipped over the shot to his back as the Inuzuka re-positioned himself.
And that's when Sasuke's plan came to fruition.
He yanked hard, and the ninja wire he'd wrapped around his opponent pulled taut, canceling out Kiba's attack and dropping him to the floor.
Once his sandal-clad feet hit the ground though Sasuke continued with his attack. Tensing his muscles Sasuke pulled on the wires that kept Kiba bound, and began to pull as he spun on the ball of his foot. Soon enough the force had Kiba being swung around like a sack of potatoes.
Sasuke did this for a few rounds before letting go and launching the captured Inuzuka skyward.
Like with Akamaru the last Uchiha followed his prey, but unlike before, he got there too late. Kiba had been thrashing about since the moment of his capture and had finally managed to break apart the wire that constricted him.
So when Sasuke matched heights with Kiba, the feral genin actually caught him off-guard with a sucker punch to the face. Then, while the raven-haired Uchiha was stunned, Kiba grabbed a fistful of those black locks and kept his head straight for a headbutt. The crack wasn't anything like when Akamaru impacted the arena floor but the damage done helped to throw Sasuke even further off his game.
Kiba took advantage of that by wrapping Sasuke's neck in the crook of his elbow and squeezing down hard on the young fighter's windpipe.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Akamaru you trash," the Inuzuka heir seethed in Sasuke's ear as gravity began to take hold of them again. "I'm going to send you out just like you did him, and rid the world of that stupid eye of yours. Good riddance to the Uchiha clan!"
Sasuke struggled hard as he listened to Kiba's plan to kill him; he couldn't afford to die, not here. Not when his family's legacy needed him, not while his brother was still out there needing to pay for his crimes.
No!
Sasuke wouldn't allow his journey to stop here, not at the hands of someone as weak as Kiba!
"That's what you think!" The battered Uchiha shouted back before slamming his elbow deep into Kiba's gut, not once, but three times.
The force of each blow weakened the other boy's hold until, finally, he had no choice but to let go and give Sasuke his freedom.
Seeing that they were only halfway to the ground Sasuke decided to use that to his advantage. Flipping his body, the young Sharinganwielder landed a devastating kick to Kiba's stomach, which sent the animalistic heir hurtling the rest of the way down and crashing right beside his fallen partner.
Sasuke let himself descend slowly after that, and by the time he'd reached the ground the dust had cleared and he was able to see Kiba.
The Inuuka heir wasn't dead but he was unconscious, and he seemed to have hit his head because there was a growing pool of blood seeping out from beneath his hooded head.
Medical ninja came rushing out from the double doors as Hayate declared Sasuke the winner.
But, with everything that had just happened, and all that had been lost, was it really a victory?
xXx
The matches came after were ignored by many of the Konoha Jounin, as they either didn't have to do with one of their students, or it was one that ended too quickly to take notice of. Like Shikamaru's victory over Kin Tsuichi of Oto or Sakura and Ino's cat fight that ended in a double knockout.
And while these matches were going on, many of the Leaf's adults were trying to figure out what was going to happen next concerning both Kiba and Sasuke.
"Kakashi your student just killed a fellow Leaf ninja," Kurenai argued, "that kid needs a serious mental evaluation if he's just going to fly off the handle like that!"
"While I do feel for your team's loss Kurenai you need to understand something; Akamaru had no ninja I.D.. He wasn't considered a shinobi, he was a tool, just like a kunai or a shuriken...lust like those pills they both took against Sasuke." The Jounin in question answered back harshly.
It was true, he did feel bad that his student had killed the ninken, but the dog was out of control and Sasuke was technically defending himself.
"Then what about what he did to Kiba? Sasuke could have very well killed him with that last move. I know you saw the blood!" Kurenai threw back as a rebuttal.
But Kakashi would not allow his student to take the fall for the matches outcome.
"Unfortunately for you Kurenai, that's part of the rules, and he would have been well within his rights too since Hayate didn't call the match. These are the chunin exams; death is inevitable, even among our own ranks, no matter the age. And if you can't get on board with that then maybe you aren'tready to be a Jounin instructor yet."
This got the red-eyed beauties' anger to boil, but before she could say anything Anko came up and pulled on the raven-haired woman's arm to drag her away.
"Come on Kurenai, you need to settle down before you start any real trouble. Look, you can go check on the kid and I'll let you know if either of your other students names get called okay?"
"Yosh! Then you'll not want her to go just yet, because another of young students has been chosen to do battle with my own!" Guy hollered with enthusiasm.
All eyes turned to the selection board and, sure enough, Shino's name was shone in bright yellow letters across the board.
And his opponent: Ten-Ten.
xXx
A/N: And there's chapter 15. Hopefully it was enjoyable to you guys, and I apologize for the wait. To be honest the chapter should have been up like two weeks ago but something went screwy when I saved it and I had to start over.
Anyway, two of the inverted Sharingan's abilities have been introduced here: the Byakugan-like ability to see inside the smoke and the ability to partially view the future of the fight. Make of that what you will.
Character death was something I thought of while I was planning out my Avatar story and decided to try it out here. Yeah, it was only Akamaru for right now, but it's a starting point. The fact that no one really died in the chunin exams got to me, as well as the fact that throughout the entire series only one of the younger generation dies...and it's near the end of the series -_-.
Just know that this won't be the only time you see death, and it will eventually become more gruesome. These guys are ninja and death should be a real factor in their lives.
I tried to think of someone for Ten-Ten to face in the exams besides Temari, someone she could actually do something against, and Shino was my best thought really. I was thinking of Hinata at first but I just didn't think that'd make her think enough. And Shikamaru wouldn't have been active enough for her, so Shino was the best option to me.
Anything I'm missing feel free to question me about in a PM or a review and I'll answer it.