Author's Note: Whoa, this may be the longest chapter I've written for this story so far. Man did I pack some stuff in here. By the way make sure to read the notes at the end cause I've got some news, but for now, enjoy!
Naruto and Suigetsu were on opposite sides of the clearing, the former's stance in a typically fighting position as he held his hands up while he kept his knees slightly bent in case he needed to move quickly, while the latter stood tall and relaxed, looking at the boy with mocking grin while he returned one of ferocity, or tried to. Suigetsu smirk to himself, even before the battle he could tell the genin was slightly unnerved by him, and if he couldn't deal with it during the battle than this was gonna be quick.
Off to the side, the others were staring on with curiosity and anticipation, each wondering how the Genin would hold his own against the white-hair swordsman. But Karin herself was also preoccupied with other thoughts, as she saw the symbol present on the back of Naruto's jumpsuit.
But before she could linger on those thoughts any longer she felt Naruto's chakra surge, signaling the start of the battle as he quickly reached into his back pouch, the sound of metal clanging against each other being heard before he threw a fist full of shuriken in both his hands at his opponent with high speeds and force.
Suigetsu only smirked at the attack, as with one quick jump he was above the spinning blades, keeping his gaze on the blonde as he heard the whizzing of the shurikens fly under him. But Naruto didn't let that slow him down he already held two kunai in his hands, shooting them at Suigetsu with as much precision as he could.
Suigetsu responded by grabbing his blade with a hand, Naruto noticing his previous slim arm expanding exponentially to a muscular form, veins clearly visible on the skin as with a single motion, he took out his blade and swung it at the incoming projectiles, a gust of wind blowing throw the air that sent the kunai off curse while Naruto could feel its power from his position. Even so, he didn't look down even as the kunai started to plummet down, cause the attachments he had on were ready to go.
Two loud booms shook the area as the paper bombs that were carried by the kunai detonated, blocking the two opponents from each other's view. Suigetsu smirking in delight as he felt the force of the explosion blow past him, keeping him up in the air for a bit longer.
'Looks like this kid not gonna pull any punches, good, this wouldn't be any fun if he held back.' Suigetsu thought to himself as the blast smoke blocked his forward vision until he heard a loud whizzing sound get closer. And before he knew it a Demon Wind Shuriken appeared through the smoke, cutting the air around it as it headed straight for him. Gripping his blade once more the swordsmen gave another swing, at the spinning projectile before it could reach him, its force stopping the projectile a couple of meters away. Only for the giant shuriken to transform in a puff of white smoke, revealing his blonde opponent, smirking at him before throwing several shurikens at him as well.
Suigetsu was a bit surprised at the appearance, transformation or not if he had sliced into the shuriken he would've cut through the boy as well, even so, he felt a bit irritated from the repeated attack, "If it didn't work the first time, why do you think it'll work a second!?" He mocked while swinging his sword once more to block the projectiles, not seeing the smirk on Naruto's face widening.
"Maybe because it's not the same as before." He stated, revealing his open hands, and the wires that were wrapped around his fingers, as with a quick motion, some of the shurikens dodged Suigetsu's strike as the curved around his body. But they weren't the only ones, as Suigetsu heard multiple whizzing sounds below. Turning his head downwards the swordsmen saw a multitude of wired shuriken heading towards him, before wrapping themselves around his body, restricting his movement as his large blade was forced to his side.
"Pull!" Naruto shouted, and just like that, Suigetsu felt the wires, along with gravity, shoot him down fast towards the ground and past the smoke, revealing multiple Naruto as they waited for him to land, the one in the air being pulled down with him but was higher.
'Clones huh? Neat.' Suigetsu commented in his mind, despite the circumstance, he didn't feel any fear as the ground came closer to view. And when he was near enough for the clones, they all threw a punch simultaneously at him, with the Naruto above him giving a gravity enhanced punch right to his head.
To the sidelines the others of the group watched with an impressed gaze, the combo Naruto had just landed was impressive and clever, however, they all saw that with Suigetsu, that type of technique didn't work.
"What the?" Naruto gasped, as instead of his attacks hitting flesh, the sound of water splashing could be heard, with his and his clones' fists being buried inside of Suigetsu's body, the areas of penetration being turned into water while trapping the intruding limbs in place.
'Water Clone?' Naruto thought as he placed his foot on the ground, but when he felt his fist struggle to break free, he realized that wasn't the case, 'No, no, a clone would've dissipated by now, his whole body must be made of water!'
"So I'm guessing this was why Orochimaru was experimenting on him" Jiraiya commented about Suigetsu's revealed ability as he watched the battle.
"Yep, bodies that can turn into water are his clan's thing, though apparently, it seems he was more gifted than others," Kakashi replied while keeping his eye on the battle as well, noticing the wires that wrapped around Suigetsu starting to slip past his body as water onto the ground.
"Gotta say, kid, that's one hell of a combo," Suigetsu commented as he said eyed Naruto, not minding the fist that was buried in his head, "But I've had worse."
Naruto didn't even get time to reply as he heard the sound of his wires dripping to the ground with some water, Suigetsu's body a bit unproportional as part of his arm and sides were leaking the liquid, but what came to his view was the large butchered shape broadsword that was swung in a circle taking out his clones before cutting into him, his body dissipating in a puff of white smoke as well.
Finishing his swing Suigetsu's body returned to its original shape as he dug his blade to the ground, a look of mild surprise on his face, "So that one was a clone as well," He muttered before taking a look around, not seeing his opponent anywhere in his sight, clicking his teeth he decided to go for a taunt.
"You know I expected you to be more head-on, not hiding away!" He called out loud enough for the boy to hopefully hear.
And hear he did, as Naruto clenched his fist as he kept his position hidden away behind a tree, on one hand, he felt like a coward for letting his clones battle the man first while he hid and observed, on the other hand, he knew it was the smart thing to do. That aura he felt from him before sent a chill down his spine in a way that he knew he couldn't just rush in, he knew there was something different about his opponent. But thanks to his clones sacrifices he now knew what was different, and even though he only had around an eighth of his chakra left, that was more than enough for him to start a counter attack. Biting his thumb he made the familiar seals he's been practicing for the last couple of days, before slamming his hand down and shouting out his next move.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Sasuke immediately narrowed his eyes at the source of the sound, seeing past the smoke, seeing Naruto say something quickly to the figure who appeared. Smirking to himself, he couldn't help but be reminded just how similar Naruto and his sister were.
Suigetsu meanwhile smirk, 'A summoning huh? This battle got a bit more interesting.'
But what happened next surprised him even more.
"Toad Oil Stream!" A booming voice shouted inside from the smoke, a tightly pack stream of oil shooting straight at him from the smoke.
'Shit!'
Leaving his blade in place the swordsman let his body completely transform into its liquidated state as it ducked under and around the oil, Suigetsu hissing inwardly from the feeling of a few oil droplets landing on his current form and causing him to lose some control on its placement.
"Oh no, you don't!" Naruto shouted as he rode atop of the now ending stream of oil as he threw a pair of kunai at the puddle of water, Suigetsu's watery head on top as he gave him an annoyed look.
'Why bother dodging when it can't even hurt me?' Suigetsu told himself as he let the kunai go through his form, only to be surprised as he felt the targeted areas solidify a bit as something else sunk into it, pushing his form closer together.
'He covered the kunai in oil!' Suigetsu realized, surprised by the genin's clever and quick thinking, a bit impressed but also annoyed, oil and water didn't mix, and in his case, it made it harder to move his liquidated body around.
Seeing his assumption looking to be correct Naruto smirked as he jumped off the ending stream of oil, the bottom of his sandals coated in the substance as he positioned himself for a landing kick to the white-hair man's face.
Grunting to himself, Suigetsu quickly reformed his upper half and crossed his arms to the boys kick, stopping him in place as Naruto felt his foot somewhat sink into his opponent's flesh.
"Don't get cocky kid, all you did with that oil was making it harder for me to move my water body as freely, your attacks still can't hurt me." Suigetsu warned, a little pissed off at brat. It was gonna take an hour to make sure he got all the oil out of his body. And the kick Naruto was giving him was only adding more.
"Oh really?" Naruto questioned as he planted his other foot on the ground to help with his now stomp, the oil on his foot making it hard for Suigetsu's arm to get a proper stop on him, and Naruto took advantage of that as he turned around, "Gamakichi, let it rain!"
The Orange toad smirked as he brought his hands together, "You got it!" He replied, his mouth filling with a second batch of the fluid, his cheeks expanding exponentially before he tilted his head upwards and opened his mouth.
Suigetsu took a moment to look at the source of all the small shadows covering the ground, and when saw the batches of oil being shot over the area and falling down towards him, he couldn't help but inwardly groan, but then he heard something whoosh through the air, seeing what he could only describe as a pink colored bumpy looking tongue wrap around Naruto's waist before pulling him away with impressive force, but not before Naruto let something fall from his hand and in front of Suigetsu.
The Swordsmen didn't even need to look at what the object was as he heard a familiar sizzling sound, staring at the Genin with dead eyes, the oil raining down about to cover him as he said, "You little-"
*BOOM*
The explosion engulfed Suigetsu's body and the surrounding area, Naruto barely getting out unscathed as Gamakichi roped him back, unwrapping his tongue from his body and looking towards the smoke, waiting to see the effects of his blast.
"*Pftt*" Karin snickered, holding a hand up to her mouth to keep herself from full-on laughing, she'd forgotten just how much she enjoyed watching the white-hair swordsmen get his ass kick, noticing Sasuke and the others smirk a bit in pride as well. Their superior senses allowing them to see through the smoke and see Suigetsu holding his head down in shame, clearly annoyed and irritated from the attack as he reformed his entire body as the smoke started to clear. But while they all gave Naruto credit for his work so far, they could tell the battle wasn't gonna last much longer, as they felt Suigetsu's aura change, the man was done playing around.
Naruto and Gamakichi saw the last of the smoke clear from the field, revealing Suigetsu standing there, looking a bit off but appeared unscathed, with his head held down. Hand reaching to his side to grab the water-bottle tied to his belt. Bringing it to his head he took in the straw and tried to drink, only to feel nothing coming out. Clicking his teeth in annoyance he unscrewed the cap and held it upside down into his mouth, the only thing coming out being a single droplet of water that landed on his tongue.
Dropping the bottle Naruto felt the world go into slow motion, as while the bottle fell he saw Suigetsu grab his sword, his arm appearing to be keeping the same size as the rest of his body unlike before, the swordsman giving him a dead stare and disappearing. And when the bottle was halfway to the ground he saw him reappear in front of him, his sword already swinging down at him with one hand as Naruto felt his own body start to move in slow motion, not fast enough to escape the incoming blade.
"Oh no, you don't!" Gamakichi interrupted as he swiftly bumped Naruto out of the way before stopping the blade with both his hands clasped on either side of it, struggle to hold the stance as Suigetsu kept up the force in the blade as Gamakichi put all his energy into keeping it in place. Grunting as Suigetsu's arm expanded just a bit more with each second, bringing him closer and closer to going through the stop.
Naruto knew he had to try something, something to land a good hit, something that could actually hurt him. Then something came to him. Quickly grabbing Suigetsu's blade at the hilt he stared the cold looking man in the eye, his grip on the blade appearing to do nothing to slow him down as Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Gamakichi! Launch us!"
Gamakichi nodded in confirmation, as he put in the rest of his strength with his last move. Keeping his grip on the blade, he brought some chakra to his hands to keep a hold on it as he used his legs to launch himself up and over the two, hands still on the blade before he spun around and launched the blade into the air. Naruto and Suigetsu both being launched as well. The Toad giving a thumbs up to his summoner before puffing away, having used too much chakra just to try and stop the opponent.
The two found themselves well above the clearing, reaching their highest point on the launch. With Naruto seeing Suigetsu look at him, the cold look he had being replaced with one of laughter.
"God damn kid, been a while since I've had a match as interesting as this!" Suigetsu roared, while Naruto felt himself sweatdrop, one second the guy was carefree, the next it felt like he could end him with a swipe, he really couldn't understand this guy and what he was about.
But he had a plan to try and do, and by planting his feet on the Suigetsu's blade he launched himself even higher as he placed his hands together in a seal.
'Come on come on, I can do this!' Naruto thought as he felt gravity start to slow him and Suigetsu down, he was running out of time, if this was gonna work, he had to do it before the latter hit the ground.
'Ku?' Naruto asked, hoping to the god above she would pity him somewhat as he felt his chakra start to pile up around his stomach, a light glow emanating from it as well. But if this was gonna work fully, he needed one last thing.
"You owe me."
Naruto smirked at the voice, "HYYAAAHH" He roared as he felt his jumpsuit lift up a bit, exposing the seal on his stomach and causing Suigetsu to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Only to widen them in surprise as he saw a golden line of chain shootout and make his way to him, wrapping around his body before feeling a tug on the chain as it stopped him for a moment while Naruto fell past him to the ground, pulling him down as well.
As he fell Naruto made sure to keep his feet flat and knees bent for the landing, his hands still in a seal while he focused on keeping his chains out, smirking to himself as he saw them sway in front of his eyes. They were much smaller than before, no bigger than half the size of his wrist. And even though he could feel his chakra draining fast, it was an immense improvement to when he tried earlier in the day.
Landing on the ground first Naruto twisted his body, tugging at the chain with force as he aimed it straight into the hard ground. Seeing his goal Suigetsu felt a bit of disappointment in the boy, 'Does he not remember those types of physical attacks don't work on me?' He thought, 'Welp, better slip past these chains I guess'
But as Suigetsu continued to fall, he realized something, he couldn't turn his body into water.
'What the!' What's going on!' Suigetsu panicked, not understanding what was happening, he should have enough chakra and liquid to get out of these chains quick, so why wasn't his body liquifying?
'The chains!' He realized, taking a look at their golden glow as they wrapped tighter around him as he finally recognized them, 'You gotta be kidding me!'
"Take this!" Naruto shouted as with one last tug he threw Suigetsu down to the ground, a large crack being heard with a cloud of dust kicking up as well. And Naruto could swear he saw Suigetsu cough up a bit of blood. The Genin getting a proud look on his face until he clutched his chest in pain and fell to his knees, the chains he summoned quickly dissipating in a golden puff as he started to cough a bit violently, doing his best to get his breathing under control.
"And here I thought Karin was the only one who could use those things."
Naruto was able to look at the source of the voice through the dust cloud, revealing Suigetsu on his side, his face appearing a bit roughed up with some dry blood on the side of his mouth, but from the blank stare he gave the blonde, it seemed as though he didn't care. And while his blade dug into the ground behind him, Naruto giving a surprised look when he saw the swordsmen waist, revealing his hips to be in some sort of watery jelly-like state.
But as Naruto tried to get up, he felt his strength failing him, before he tumbled back to the ground and past out. His chakra mostly depleted from the fight.
"Hmm, guess I win." Suigetsu snickered, he was still conscious, even if he was unable to regulate his body at the moment.
"Well then you should be disappointed in that win, I thought you said you were gonna collect all the blades from the 7 ninja swordsmen, yet look at what a Genin did to you."
Suigetsu frowned at Sasuke, who choose not to look at him as he kneeled down to Naruto, making sure the boy was alright.
"Hey, you and I both know those chains are ridiculous, not to mention my body's still out of whack from all those experiments Orochimaru did!" Suigetsu defended
Sasuke just ignored him though as he checked Naruto, "Karin, get over here." He called out to the red-head.
Obeying the order, Karin made her way to the Uchiha and Genin, her expression to the latter one of curiosity and puzzlement.
"Heal and take care of him." He told her, Karin nodding in understanding as she kneeled next to the boy, starting her own assessment on his current health.
"Hey, what about me?!" Suigetsu asked, clearly he was in much more need of the medical attention right?
"You wanted to fight him, you'll deal with the consequences" Sasuke replied before making his way to Jiraiya and Kakashi.
"Oh come on." Suigetsu muttered, before giving out a groan as his sword fell on top of him.
Naruto was just about able to crack his eyes open as he started to regain consciousness, his vision being filled up with the dark sky, blanketed with the light of countless stars. Shifting around he found himself without his jumpsuit with only a white shirt and boxers on him, his body encased in some sleeping bag from what he could tell. Oh, and his body felt fatigue, like really fatigued.
"I would recommend not moving for a bit." A voice told him.
Turning his head to the side he a small fire burning a few feet away, and to the side sat a red hair girl with glasses, leaning her back against the tree behind her while she poked the flame with a stick, glancing at him for a moment before looking up past the flame.
Turning his head to the direction as well Naruto saw Suigetsu, eyes closed as he appeared to be sleeping from the light snoring he heard, however, his waist still appeared to be in that jelly-like state from before.
"Oh, is he ok?" Naruto asked, generally worried about the guy.
Not looking at him Karin replied, "He'll be fine by morning, his chakra just a bit out of whack from the battle so he can't properly regulate his form in the affected area."
"Oh," Naruto breathed out, eyes blinking a bit before groaning in pain as he felt a sudden soreness come from his stomach.
"You should be lucky that's all you'll feeling." Karin flatly stated, the boy shooting her a 'what?' look as she decided to elaborate.
"Those chains are not something you use without proper training and regulation, and from what I saw, you've only recently started using it." Karin stated, but before Naruto could reply she continued, "And even with those ridiculous chakra reserves of yours, if you run out, you'll feel even worse than you are now." She warned, smirking as she heard the boy gulp.
But Naruto than eyed the girl a bit questionably, causing her to become somewhat uncomfortable from his gaze, "What?" She asked, a bit irritated.
"How do you know about the chains?" He questioned.
Karin smirked with a scoff, "Cause I can use them as well."
Naruto's eyes went wide-eyed, "You're, you're an Uzumaki?"
Karin simply nodded, not caring about him knowing, however, his reaction is what surprised her.
"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, catching the redhead Uzumaki off guard.
Karin felt shocked from the comment, but immediately stopped when Naruto sat up quickly, only to groan and clutch his chest in pain.
"I told you not to move!" Karin berated him with irritation as she made his way to him, placing a hand on his covered stomach to make sure he didn't do any unnecessary damage.
"Sorry, One-san." He apologized with a grunt, causing Karin to tense up from the word, she couldn't remember the last time anyone referred to her with a prefix like that.
"Why did you call me that?" She asked a bit fluster, not looking at him.
Naruto looked at her in confusion though, "Well, your an Uzumaki, right? That makes us related, so we're family."
Karin felt her eyes widen at the comment, "You don't even know my name." She pointed out.
But Naruto just gave her a toothy smile, "Well then you can tell me, my name's Naruto."
Karin couldn't help but look at him, his enthusiasm was contagious, and she felt a small smirk come onto her face from his innocence.
Naruto though than proceed to look around, slowly though as to not strain his body, noticing he didn't see Sasuke, Kakashi, or even Jiraiya.
"Hey, where's everyone else?" He asked.
"Out in town at the moment. And, its Karin by the way." She replied as she helped to lay him back down.
"Karin," Naruto repeated as he looked up at her, "So, how'd you meet Sasuke Nii-san?" He asked as she went back to the tree to rest, the girl giving him a raised eyebrow from the question before lowering it and sighing. She didn't know why, but Naruto was giving off this sort of aura she rarely sees, it was pure, and warm, though it seemed to be a bit off near his center though.
"Meet him a while back, bumped into each other over the years, and now I've chosen to follow him for now." She answered while keeping her eyes on the flame, deciding not to elaborate on the exact reason she followed Sasuke before giving a light chuckle, "Now get back to sleep, the longer you're awake the less chakra that's being replenished, rest up."
Naruto decided not to argue with her as he shifted around in the bag to make himself comfortable, but before he decided to drift back off into sleep, he had to request something.
"Hey, Karin One-san, I was wondering, you said you could use the chains as well, do you think you could teach me as well?"
Even though Naruto couldn't see her, he could swear she seemed to freeze up before responding.
"That's not a technique I myself am efficient in, not to mention my group is leaving tomorrow as well, there wouldn't be enough time to actually teach you." She told him
"Than give me some tips?" He asked with a pleading tone. He knew if he wanted to use this technique in the exam he was gonna have to make it practical, and with how much chakra this technique was taking, he had to do it fast.
He heard Karin give a sigh as she seemed to ponder the plea for a moment before relenting, "Go to sleep, I'll wake you up before the sun even rises."
Naruto smirked, "Thanks, Karin One-san".
Karin smirked as well, she didn't know why, be it they were from the same clan, his relationship with Sasuke, or whether or not she just liked the kid. She couldn't help but want to help him somehow, that and he did give her a good show of Suigetsu getting his ass handed to him.
"Hey, kid, time to get up."
Naruto groaned at the voice as he tossed in his sleep, turning to his side as he heard an annoyed huff and some muttering.
"Come on, you were the one who agreed to get up this early, you wanna learn about the chains or not?"
Naruto's eyes burst open as he immediately sat up, looking around he turned to his side, fining a pair of black knee high boots in front of him, looking up the path of their long legs he saw a hand placed on a hip and a redhead looking down at him, a lighting dark sky above her.
"Good, your up." Karin stated as she turned around and started walking, "Come on, I only got around 3 hours to teach you so you better get dressed and hurry."
Quickly following her advice the Genin put on his orange jumpsuit before running to Karin as they made their way to a more secluded part of the clearing, away from the group. Once they were far enough away, Karin leaned up against a tree as she beckoned Naruto to stay still and listen.
"Ok, first off, during your battle you had the right idea of making the chains smaller, that way they won't take as much chakra as a full version does," She started, seeing Naruto nod his heads in acknowledgment as she brought her hand up and extended a finger upwards, "However, you still have the chains give their full effect, and that includes their sealing properties, and I'm gonna take a guess here, but I assume your sealing techniques aren't the most polished out there, and for those chains, even the best would have trouble." She took another sigh before continuing, "But there is a way to get around that, by using an incomplete version of the technique."
Naruto's eyes widen at those last words, "Incomplete?" He repeated, Karin nodding in confirmation.
"The Adamantine Attacking Chains, that's what they're called,"
Naruto's eyes blinked for a moment, "What's the difference between them and the Sealing Chains?" He asked.
Taking a moment to gather her words Karin closer her eyes, before opening them and staring straight at the boy, "Well, as you could probably guess from the names, one is for attacking, the other for sealing, with the sealing one being more powerful as it has the same properties as the attacking chains but with more effects, and thus, a lot more chakra consumption." She explained, seeing Naruto listing very closely to her explanation but still seemed like he needed a bit more explaining.
Crossing her arms she tried to think of an example she could use before one popped into her head, "Well, for example, when your chains wrapped around Suigetsu, they completely sealed off his chakra, meaning not only could he not turn his body into water, he couldn't perform any jutsu as well, and with no way of summoning his chakra, his body weakened enough for your attack to do damage him more than an attack like that would've normally." She started, making sure Naruto was paying close attention before adding on, "The Attack Chains, though, would not have sealed away his chakra, however, they still would've hurt him. So with those chains, while you might not be able to capture Suigetsu like you did, you could have swung it around and all he'd be able to do would either be guarding or dodging for the impact. And if you're quick enough, you could have them wrap around quick enough to control his movement for a second or two before he could get out."
Karin finished the explanation, seeing that Naruto had his eyes closed while he held his chin, clearly processing the information just heard before opening his eyes, "Ok, I think I understand the difference. But, how do I use the attacking chains? All I know how to do is, well, summon the chains in general, I don't think I've been given a choice of which version I'd like to use." He told her.
But Karin only smirked, "And that's why we're gonna have you practice using the chains, right now, all you know how to summon are when the chains have their full sealing effects. So we're gonna have you use the chains for an extended period of time. And eventually, they'll lose their sealing effect and turn into the Attacking Chains. Once you know what it feels like, you'll be able to summon that version."
But Naruto gave her a questioning look, "An extended period of time? But I can barely keep it summoned for under 10 seconds!" He pointed out, but Karin continued her smirk as she reached into her back pouch and pulled something out, extending her palm to Naruto and opening it up, revealing a small pill.
"Take it and eat it," She told him, the Genin doing as he was told and swallowed the pill with a gulp, "That pill will suppress your chakra output, meaning you can't output much chakra during a jutsu. For something like the chains, it can't take as much chakra as before and thus, stay out longer, however that'll make them much weaker and harder to summon at first." She explained before removing herself from the tree she was leaning on, "Now, you'll focus on gather your chakra and try to summon the chains to wrap around this tree. It may take a couple of tries but once you got it, make sure to keep it active for as long as you can. And once I've noticed the chains are in their attacking state, I'll let you know and you can remember that feeling so you can train on your own, got it."
"Got Karin One-san" Naruto replied as he put his hands in a seal, gathering chakra and immediately noticing the way the pill seemed to affect his chakra.
Looking at him Karin smiled, "Good, now make sure not to mess up, you'll only get one shot at this while I'm here to help."
"All right, just a little more, you're almost there."
Naruto grunted a bit as Karin gave him words of encouragement, despite barely moving since they began, he could feel sweat dripping down the sides of his face, his eyes stinging as he could rarely blink without losing focus. As just one misstep could puff away at the chains that were currently wrapped around the tree, its size about as big as his pinky, while its once golden glow seemed to dim much more. It took Naruto a couple of tries but he finally was able to summon the chains in this state, the chakra suppression pill helping him from overflowing it with his chakra, but that just made it harder to keep it out.
'At least I'm not passing out.' Naruto thought as he noticed Karin inspect the chains closely once again before a smirk came on her face.
"You're there, they've completely lost their sealing effects," She stated while looking at him, hand on her hip, "Now remember this feeling, it'll be how you'll call these chains again in the future at this level."
Naruto didn't nod, but Karin knew he heard her, he was just focusing on actually memorizing the chains, eyes closed as his body seemed to go still, in fact, he looked so still Karin wondered if he was even breat-.
" *cough*! *cough*! *cough*! "
Oh, Karin realized, he actually wasn't. The loss of breath and coughing fit causing the boy to lose his hold on the chains, their form dissipating in a familiar golden puff as Naruto got on his knees, his body finally starting to allow the fatigue of his focus come over him while trying to get his breathing back to normal.
Karin just sighed, she knew she didn't have to check on him, he just needed to rest. But what made her sigh was the white-hair swordsman walking towards them. Taking a glance at the panting Naruto before giving the redhead a look that she immediately understood.
Suigetsu made his way back to the others. Leaving the Uzumaki's by themselves. Walking up to the boy Karin put a hand on her hip while the other one rummaged through the pouch on her lower back.
"Its time for me to go," She told the boy flatly, not really caring to see his reaction but could see the nod of understanding he gave. But then had one of confusion at her extended hand, a capsule containing multiple pills inside resting atop of it.
"Here, these should be more than enough pills for you to practice with." She stated, shaking the capsule in front of him, jiggling the contents within in an attempt to get him to take it, which he did. Putting the pills in his back pouch as he looked up to his relative, who waited for his full attention.
"Listen here, it'll usually take a few hours for your chakra output to return to normal. However, if you want to use the pill again, then you gotta wait another two hours after your normal chakra is back for the effects to be safe." She explained, her stare being as stern as he's seen in Sakura a couple of times, "Are we clear?"
Naruto nodded up and down as quickly as his tired from could, "Yes, Karin One-san,"
"Good,"
And with that, Karin turned to the other side of the clearing, Naruto looking over there as well as he saw Sasuke and Kakashi ready to go as they look over at them. But just as she was about to join them, the older Uzumaki said one more thing to the blonde.
"Oh, and good luck, Naruto."
And with she disappeared with a swoosh, Suigetsu, Kakashi, and Sasuke all following it as well. The last two giving him a wave before disappearing. And as Jiraiya made his way over to the boy, he saw the smile he had on his tired face. Letting him rest for a few more minutes before saying.
"Get ready to leave, only five more days tills the tournament starts, so we should start to head back." He stated, seeing Naruto nod in understanding.
*2 days later
Naruto could feel his insides burning, one of his hands formed into a seal placed on his stomach, while his right was also in a seal extended outwards, the burning sensation traveling up his body, to his arm and through it, before reaching the palm of his hand. It was so close, he was so close, just a little more.
"AHHHH!" Naruto screamed, sweat dripping down his face as his body shook yet tensed up as well. Before he saw those familiar golden chains exploded from the palm of his hand. Shooting towards the rocked in front of him and wrapping around, their dim golden hue confirming to Naruto they were in their attacking state.
Off to the side Jiraiya smirked at the scene, it took a whole day of planning and preparation, along with a couple of seals to help him focus, but Naruto was learning how to summon the chains from other parts of his body, and if they kept this up. By tomorrow it could be possible he wouldn't need to constantly keep a hand seal going to have them out. Though that's only if luck was really on their side. Jumping down he saw Naruto release the hand-sign, the chains disappearing as well as he placed his hands on his knees and took a couple of deep breaths. Hearing the footsteps coming towards his side Naruto tilted his head to Jiraiya, widening his eyes as he saw the Sannin through something at him that the Genin was barely able to catch in time.
"Chains?" Naruto asked as he extended the metal linked items in his hand, noticing their weight and size.
"Yep, did my best to make them feel like the ones you've been producing, but even so it won't truly feel like the real thing," Jiraiya stated as he saw Naruto extended the chains in his hands slightly, his energy slowly returning to him as the Toad Sage continued, "So, considering how you plan on using those chakra chains of yours. I think it'll be good to have those as practice."
Naruto smirked, looking at Jiraiya the two quickly made their way to opposite sides of the clearing, ready for the Genin to practice some new skills.
Naruto looked up at the ceiling above him, back flat against the bed beneath him while the sound of sand blowing and the light of the sun filled his senses in the motel room he was currently starting out. Turns out the tournament wasn't gonna be held in the Sand Village itself, instead it was gonna be in a town close to the border that was apparently used as a place for officials of the sand and other places to meet when the trek to the Sand village itself was deemed too risky. That and apparently it was just safer to get more tourist to come and watch, this exam needed to make a profit somehow for the village, and the town looked like a mini village to Naruto, with one side leading out into the cruel desert, while the other lead into the forest borders. And currently Jiraiya was out in the town, while Naruto decided to rest a bit more, he could've been doing some last minute training but.
"Did he really have to tape them up?" Naruto muttered, bringing up one of his hands he saw the white bandages wrapped around it, a seal with the picture of a toad wrapping its tongue around his hand visible on his palm. Jiraiya didn't want him to overexert himself before the tournament, so he put a seal to stop him from doing any major training, he could still use jutsu, but there was no way he would be able to do any type of summonings, be it Gamakichi, or the chains.
"At least I'm as prepared as I can hope to be," Naruto told himself, his chains were as good as he could make them for now, he just hoped that when the time came, all he had to worry about was ending the battles quickly with them, even with the training, they were still taking up more chakra than he would like.
Getting up from the bed the blonde walked to the window, pushing the covers out more and looking out to the town in front of him, trying to spot something for him to in the meantime. But as he was about to just go back to bed, one building caught his eyes.
"I could take a dip in the hot springs," Naruto stated as he quickly grabbed his stuff and left.
"Man this place sure does look nice."
"No kidding, reminds me a bit of the Leaf."
"Well, that's cause this place was originally made to help form a truce between the Leaf and the Sand by the each of their first Kage" Temari explained to the group consisting of most of the Konoha 12, minus Sasuke of course, as they walked around town. The group was currently here to watch the final part of the exam, and cheer on their representatives too. But the Jonin of the group, Shikamaru and Neji, also knew they were here to buff security for whatever reason. And even if they didn't know the reason, they made sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.
But while they kept their eyes open, and the rest of the group continued onwards, a certain Hyuuga and Uzumaki held to the back, the Hyuuga looking more down than her Uzumaki companion.
"Hinata?" Naruto questioned, making sure her friend was still alright as she walked with her hands behind her head, only for the Hyuuga to give no response.
"Hinata!" She stated louder, knocking the girl out of whatever daze she was in.
Whipping her head around Hinata realized just how out of it she was, "Sorry Naruko," She apologized as she brought a hand to her head, closing her eyes as she leaned on it.
Looking at her friend with concern the blonde slowed down her pace, "You ok?"
Stopping in her tracks the Hyuuga shook her head, "No, I just feel so worried for Hanabi, even with all the training she's gotten over the past month I still don't know if it'll be enough, what if I could've done more." Hinata explained, Naruko hearing the solemn tone in her voice.
Giving a sigh the blonde could relate to the dilemma, "I get what you mean, I've been doing my best with Konohamaru, but even then I'm still new to all this teaching. And then there's Naruto, god knows what he's been doing with Pervy Sage." She joked, noticing Hinata giving a light chuckle from her words but still appearing a bit down. Closing her eyes the blonde tried to think of a solution to her worrying friend.
Clicking her tongue the Jinchuriki brought a hand to Hinata shoulders, giving her a bright smile when she turned to her, "Hey, I got an idea, why don't you go take a dip in that hot spring we saw a bit back? I'll go and meet you in the bit while you relax, ok?" Naruko suggested, seeing Hinata ponder the choice for a bit before giving a tired smile.
"Sure," Hinata agreed, figuring it would just be easier to accept, than have Naruko try and find something else, maybe a quick dip would be all she needed.
"What do you mean they're all closed!" Naruto shouted unbelievably at the attendant, a clear look of disappointment on his face as the attendant could only give him a sorry expression.
"I'm truly sorry sir, but all the male bathhouses are being renovated for now, the best we can say is that they'll be ready by tomorrow." She explained to the blonde, who she saw give a sigh as he nodded in understanding. Turning on his heels as he walked out, a disappointed step in his stroll. But as he was rounding the corner to the bathhouse he heard what could only be described as screams of embarrassment, coming from within the building. The reason? Well, it fell right in front of him.
"AHHHH!" Jiraiya screamed as he landed back first on the ground in front of Naruto, the blood coming from his nose, and the multiple slap marks he had on his face were all Naruto needed to know in order to figure out what had happened.
"Uhhhh" Jiraiya let out in a daze, stars floating around in head as he seemed content to just lay there, but the booming voice that Naruto heard next made that a bad idea.
"Where is he!"
Naruto could immediately hear the massive amounts of footsteps coming from within building as he could hear them making their way out. Quickly picking up the dazed out Toad Sage Naruto brought him to a nearby alleyway, placing him against a covered wall as he hid the two of them. Hearing the group of Woman that ran by as they search for the peeping tom.
Naruto was ready to leave Jiraiya there and head back to rest. But he realized if Jiraiya's peeping caused the woman to leave the bathhouse, and they dared not to go back until they made sure he was dealt with, then he would be able to have the bathhouse to himself. All he needed to do was get in.
Smirking to himself the blonde quickly brought his hands together, "Transformation Jutsu!"
A puff of white-smoke surrounded the blonde, dissipating just as quickly as it came, revealing not Naruto, but an image of his older sister. Spinning around Naruto made sure the transformation looked convincing, making sure his sister's copied clothing looked the same and not out of place. Satisfied with the result, Naruto quickly made his way back to the bathhouse, giving a nod to the attendant as she allowed her in. And as Naruto made his way inside the bathhouse, his suspicions were right, as the entire room was empty, a light steam coating the room as not a single clothing was left on the shelf.
Quickly undressing, Naruto made sure to get towel for his, or well, his sister's body, not caring much of the new parts he had, wasn't like they were the real thing, plus he had to have some sort of standards for himself, he didn't want to be labeled a perv, though considering what he was doing at the moment, he may have been stretching his defense.
'Don't think that way about your Sister!' Naruto berated himself as he went over to the showers to prepare himself for the bath, standing under the showered he let the water flow over his skin, noticing the different ways it seemed to flow as compared to his normal form, 'Just cause Kaasan gave me permission to ogle at her doesn't mean I can do the same with Nee-chan'
Placing the towel nearby for when he got out, the transformed blonde let his new body sink into the stone covered springs, letting out a satisfying sigh as the water wrapped around his body, immediately relaxing the bones and muscles within. Throwing one leg over the other the blonde placed his arms out on the stone perimeter while he leaned back, his body sinking under the water as only his head remained.
The peace and relaxation he had were amazing, but actions had consequences. And for going into the woman's bathhouse, he was about to get his.
"Naruko? How'd you get here before me?"
Naruto immediately opened his eyes, his gasp muffled by the water as his face immediately went a shade of red. 'No! No! No! No! No! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HINATA!'
Said Hyuga gave who she assumed to be her friend a confused look, hand clenching the topknot of her towel which was located between her two large breasts, their top being visible to Naruto as he saw the towel she wore was just barely able to cover her decency as it stopped just above her upper thigh.
Naruto could feel his heart racing, 'Keep it together Naruto, you slip up you could undo the jutsu and Hinata will look at you like a perv for the rest of your life! Play cool for now and find a chance to escape!'
"Gh-y Hin-gah-a" Naruto tried to greet, only for the water to block his submerged mouth, 'Damn it!'
But thankfully for him, Hinata just chuckled as she planted a foot into the water, undoing the knot of her towel as she unwrapped it from her body, placing it on a rack nearby as she let herself submerge into the water, luckily for her Naruto made sure to close his eyes as to prevent getting a look, taking all of his willpower not to even peak. A smile on her face as the water wrapped around her smooth, pale skin, her arms covering the top of her breast to prevent them from floating upwards.
Resting her eyes she leaned back into the wall behind her, letting the water do its work as she let her worries wash away for now. Naruto meanwhile, peaked his eyes open to check if Hinata was in the water, thanking the gods that she was, with the water being shaded enough as to not be translucent for him to look under. While Hinata relaxed in the waters, Naruto decided to try and escape. Planting his feet he was about to stand up, but froze when Hinata began to talk to him.
"Thanks so much for inviting me here, Naruko, it's been so long since I've been able to take a dip in a hot spring, and it's been even longer since we've been able to relax together like this." The Hyuuga stated with a happy tone, a tone that made Naruto sit back into the water quickly as he covered his new mounds with his arms, copying Hinata's stance as he didn't know how to act in this situation, plus he couldn't just leave now! That would be too suspicious!
Opening her eyes at her companion Hinata raised an eyebrow at her friend's peculiar nature at the moment, as Naruko only gave her an awkward smile. But she thought it must have been all the stress she'd been feeling recently so she ignored it.
Closing her eyes once again the Hyuuga spoke once more, "So, how has your training with Konohamaru been going? You didn't go into much detail before?" She asked, Naruto knew he had to say something, bracing his mind as best he could he mentally slapped himself.
Raising her hand up from the water, Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head a bit in mock annoyance, "Oh, you know, I try and teach him something, he doesn't understand, we argue for a bit and then he starts to get it." Naruto explained, hoping to the god above that he sounded and looked convincing.
And thankfully it looked like he was as Hinata gave a bit of a giggle from his words, covering her mouth with the side of her hand, "Oh my, well that certainly sounds like a regular training session with you, hopefully, he'll be able to get it down in time for his match. Naruto did say he wanted a strong opponent after all." She smiled
Deciding to roll with the conversation Naruto continued to make small talk as his sister, placing his arm on the stone perimeter he leaned his head on his propped hand while giving Hinata the best blank stare he could, "So what about Hanabi? How has she been doing this last month?" He inquired, not only hoping this would cause her to focus on something else, but because Naruto also curious as to what his teammate had been doing.
Hinata's smile fell a bit, but was still a bit present on her face, "Well, she's learning, but I'm afraid she's been pushing herself too hard, it took way too much convincing to actually get her to rest for the day, but maybe I can get her to come here before tomorrow as well?" Hinata wondered, "It would be a nice way for her to relax, but then again, I think she might be at the age where she's become really self-conscious of her image."
As Hinata pondered the option, she noticed Naruko sit up, and widen her eyes for a moment, as something, or well, the lack of something came into view, "Naruko, can you stand up for a moment" Hinata asked, Naruto mentally sweat dripping from the request, but decided to follow it as to not risk his cover.
And as he stood up, water reaching up to his hips while he placed an arm to discreetly cover his mounds as best he could, he saw Hinata widen her eyes, mouth agape as well.
'That's not a good sign.' Naruto realized, and thought it may have been time to try and leave before any damage to both his body and reputation could be made.
But he couldn't do anything as what Hinata said next made him freeze.
"You don't have the scar," She pointed out, surprise clear in her voice, Naruto eyes widen.
'Nee-chan has a scar?' He'd never seen a scar on her, she'd never even mention having something like that.
Hinata saw the shock on his face, but it didn't come from being found out, but from the information learned instead, 'Don't tell me?' Her eyes widening even more, "Naruto?"
Naruto felt his world crack, 'Shit.'
Time seemed to stop for a moment as he stood there, the two looking at each other for what felt like hours.
"I think I know how I what to cash in my favor," Naruto heard a voice within say, a voice that sounded very sinister in tone.
'Ku,' he pleaded, but to no avail, as he felt his chakra become disrupted, his body going, puff, smoke surrounding it. Gone was the body of his sister, now stood the naked form of his actual body, both his and Hinata's face going into shock. Naruto's only saving grace behind that the water covered his lower area.
Hinata was the first to speak as Naruto saw her face turn into a mix of embarrassment and anger he had never seen in her. Clenching both her fists in front of herself, the Hyuuga closed her eyes before shooting him a look that made feel Naruto simply a disappointment in himself.
"What are you doing!" Hinata demanded, making sure she covered her breasts as best she could with her arms as she scolded the boy, "I'm so disappointed in you right now." She sternly stated, Naruto never hearing her sound like that before.
His face fell massively, arms slumped to his sides as he stood there, disappoint, regret, and self-loathing filling his mind as he didn't know what to say. And Hinata saw this, her anger fell a bit as she took a quick, deep breath to try and calm her emotions. "Why are you here?" She asked, her voice much lower and less stern, giving the blonde a chance to explain himself.
Deciding it was now or never, Naruto gave her the truth, "I wanted to take a dip in the hot springs to relax, but the men's side was closed, I was about to head back but then I noticed all the girl occupants leaving the building quickly. So I figured if they were all gone I could use their side, so I transformed into Nee-chan. But I didn't expect anyone else to come into here as well." He explained, "I'm really sorry Hinata-nee,"
Hinata could hear the regret and honesty in his voice, with a heavy sigh she was ready to forgive and have him head out, but…
"Man, you could've let us go with Hinata too."
"Sorry, but I wanted to give some time for herself, just relaxing with no girl talk, get it?"
"Yeah, shame about the guys though, some of them seemed really deject with their side being out."
"Well at the very least, we don't have to worry about them listening in!"
'Oh no,' Naruto and Hinata thought, the familiar voices of Naruko and their friends getting closing.
Naruto was the first to freak out, "NoNoNoNoNo!" He muttered as he quickly flopped out of the water, grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his body, "What am I supposed to do Hinata-nee, I don't want them to find out I'm here!" He pleaded, desperation clear on his face.
Looking around Hinata tried to look for some escape route for the boy, he couldn't go through the front for obvious reasons, but as she looked up, she noticed the open roof that was present, and while the rest of the walls were high, one was shorter, which should've to lead to the men's side.
"Go up the walls and into the men's side, hurry!" She urged, Naruto nodding as he quickly went for the lower wall, gathering chakra in both his hands and feet as he was about to scale it. Giving a jump to the wooden construct and latching onto it, only for his body to fall down.
"What!" He gasped, surprise on his face as well as Hinata as panic was also expanding on it as their friend's voices came closer.
"Damn it! Why can't I climb it!" Naruto cried, no matter how much chakra he gathered onto his palms and feet, they kept sliding off, 'Wait, don't tell me!' Looking at his wrist, the genin's suspicions were proven right as he saw the wrapped seal around his skin glowing, its toad drawing laughing at him as Naruto realized it was messing with his chakra control as he hopelessly tried to scale the wet surface.
Naruto was about to give up, let fate do its work and take him out of the exam a full day before it even began, but luckily for him. Fate decided to be kind to him as he suddenly felt himself being lifted, an arm wrapped around his waist as he heard the sound of bare feet slick against the wooden surface, his skin pressing into something much silkier and smooth. before he knew it he was at the top divider between the two rooms, before feeling the air rush past his face as he fell into the men's section below. Being laid on the ground as he looked up, seeing Hinata giving him a shoosh as she did her best to cover her body, one arm covering her breast while she turned her body so that her side would face him, bending her knee to make her shapely rear not stick out as well. Being thankful that Naruto immediately had the respect to look away and not try and take advantage of her current bare state as they each heard the sound of their friends making it to the other side.
"Huh? Hinata's not here?" They recognized as Naruko say.
"Weird, I swear I saw her clothes by the shelf," They heard Sakura chime in.
"Maybe she went to the bathroom?" Ino suggested, Hinata thankful to the blonde for a good excuse she could use for when she returned, however, she felt her body suddenly tensed up as she felt a wet object land on her side. Looking at whatever it was she saw a towel draped over her side, covering it as well. Looking at Naruto she saw that he was now bare, his back turned to her as she saw his arms pointed down, most likely covering his groin. She would've been more touched by the gesture, if another problem didn't come for them here as well and interrupt the moment.
"Hey, did you hear something?"
Hinata froze from that sound, her head immediately turning towards the entrance where it originated from, the sound of a pair of footprints heading their way. But before she could move she felt an arm now wrapped around her waist, bringing her to the ground and behind the perimeter of the springs near them She would've been more relieved at being hidden, if it weren't for the position she and Naruto were currently in now.
They looked at each other with shaky eyes, her body propped above his as her legs were planted on each of his sides while her arms rested on either side of his head, her long hair spraying down past her head and dripping onto Naruto's chest and bottom face, thankfully obscuring his view should he try and look below. But he remained looking up at her, feeling, and she him, not even trying to remove the arm he still had wrapped around her waist as they saw each other blush furiously, but kept still.
At least until they heard the pair of footsteps enter the room, at reach point Hinata immediately plummeted her body downwards to try and hide more, incidentally pressing herself into his body. Her large, soft, breast squished against his toned chest, causing Naruto to tense up and accidentally tighten his hold on her waist and bringing her lower half pressed against his, their only saving grace being that the towel fell between their two sexes preventing direct contact.
Hinata felt her blood rush and heartbeat from the warmth his skin felt against her's, but that didn't stop the embarrassment and shame she was feeling as her only action was to bury her face into Naruto's shoulder, doing the best to suppress the embarrassed whine she was emitting.
Naruto would've tried to comfort her at the moment, if he didn't similar feel embarrassment and paralyzed by the contact they were having, doing his best in a losing battle not to get an erection.
"Huh, guess I was just imagining it." The two heard a voice say.
"See, I told you it was nothing, now come on, let go get something to eat, we'll be stuck here for the rest of the day making sure everything is ready for tomorrow." They heard another say.
And with that the pair of footsteps made their way out, leaving an embarrassed Chunin and Genin by themselves as they couldn't find the will to move with the embarrassment they were feeling. But as Hinata continued to try and mentally convince herself everything that had and was happening too just be a dream, her face still in Naruto's shoulder, she felt a hand land on the top of her head, before being lovely stroked down through her locks, the action being repeated once more. It made her feel, relaxed, at ease, lifting her head slightly up she saw Naruto staring at her, keeping his eyes on her's as he gave the best shaky smile and eyes he could muster, doing his best to calm her down by stroking her hair as their bodies kept themselves on each other.
Hinata couldn't help but smile, her heart fluttering a bit as she couldn't help but ignore for a moment the position their bodies were in, almost ready to just ignore their problem and let him continue as she was about to lay her head back down and just enjoy the moment. However, that was not meant to be as she let out a small yelp, feeling something poke her from down below.
Naruto's face turned white from realization, he was so focused on trying to calm Hinata that he forgot to keep fighting another battle with himself, Hinata seeing the results of that battle as turned her head to her back, fearful of what she might see but curiosity and instinct keeping her on course. And when her eyes were in position, they widened in socked as her blushed went into full force. Past the crevice of her rear cheeks she saw a pole, or with the towel covering it, tent rise past it. A small pulse being recognized from the way the towel slightly shocked around the top.
Naruto let his head hit the ground beneath him, it was over, any chance of their relationship going back to normal was shattered as he saw Hinata stare at his thankfully covered erection, and at that moment, he would've gladly given up on the tournament if it meant making this interaction between the two of them became nonexistent.
Hinata meanwhile, despite how on the outside she was incredibly embarrassed and shocked at the sight, that along with the slight shiver she gave from his muscular chest, she couldn't help but feel a bit excited deep down, both her lips quiver slightly in response. The two keeping like that for what felt like hours, neither moving.
Naruto sighed as he opened his eyes, the morning sun peaking through the cracks of the curtains as they landed on his bed, giving the blonde his wake up call as today was the day, the day he would have a chance to prove himself. Getting off the bed he quickly went through his morning routine to get ready, seeing he had a few hours till he had to be at the stadium.
Finishing his shower, he put on his clothes, his thoughts drifting back to the interaction with Hinata from yesterday. After he sported his erection things just went silent between the two of them, none of them talking as they silently made they're way out, Hinata not even looking at him as she handed him his clothes as he left.
'Calm down Naruto! You can focus on that blunder another time, today you have to focus on the tournament!' He berated himself, tying his headband tightly around his head as he made sure he had even necessity he could stock in his pouches. Giving a look in the mirror, he gave himself a smirk, looking at his wrist he pulled off the bandaged seal Jiraiya placed before heading off.
Making his way onto the streets he noticed just how desolated it seemed, only a few people wandering around while most of the shops were closed, and the few people that he saw moving, headed towards the large stadium by the edge of town, situated between the dunes of the desert and lush trees of the forest. He was about to head towards that direction with jumps among the rooftops, but a familiar voice brought him out of it.
"Naruto?"
Turning towards the source he saw Hanabi standing there, giving the blonde a blank stare as she held a hand on her hip.
Naruto blinked a few times, before smiling at Hyuuga, the heiress herself smiling back. And with a nod, they found themselves jumping from rooftop to rooftop, no words needing to be exchanged as they could feel the change emanating from each other, and they couldn't wait to show off the results of their training.
Landing on the last building near the stadium, they took a moment to pause and look at where they would prove themselves to the words, and they each couldn't help but shiver from the massive crowd still trying to get in. They were about to head inside through the hidden entrance they were given access to. But paused when they heard a pair of familiar voices.
"Naruto! Hanabi!"
Looking towards the sound they Matsuri and Yukata clad in much casual clothing, waving excitedly at them as they waited to go inside.
"Good luck you two!" Matsuri shouted, Yukata nodding her head as well as the two sand ninja wish their friends good luck.
Hanabi gave a simple nod to the pair, smile on her face as well. Naruto though gave a thumbs up. The two leaving the top of the building and heading towards the back of the stadium.
Naruto and Hanabi walked through the halls of the stadium, only a few Sand Ninja dotting insides the corridors as the lace was only available to the participates and other high ranking shinobi. Making their up a few steps they found themselves in a large room, the wall to the inside of the arena cut out completely as a rail stood their instead. The other participates quickly noticing their entrance, Samui's team giving them a quick look before facing back into the inside of the arena while Konohamaru motioned them to stand by his team, the two Leaf teams nodding to each other before looking out into the arena below. Naruto noticed how it appeared very similar to the Leaf's own arena, a mostly grassy plain with a hard dirt center, and a couple of trees dotting the outsides near the wall.
In all honesty, this probably wasn't the best terrain to test a Ninja's true ability, as it would mostly just turn into an all-out brawl of which opponent could at last the other with not much where to hide. But then again, Naruto knew this part of the exam was mainly for the spectacle, and it would be boring for an audience member if they couldn't see the fight.
Looking up Naruto's eyes scanned the top edges of the arena, looking for the extra tall stands that would house the most important spectators of the tournament, the Kages themselves. And he found their box that held their seats, its roof thin as it shaded the inside from the sun, it's front unrestricted by any obstacle as to allow the kage a full view of the arena below. But what caught Naruto's eye was not the kage themselves, his dad noticing his stare a giving a small wave to his son which Naruto returned. But it was the third seat that sat on the side next to Gaara, and on the other side of his father.
"It seems all the participants have arrived," Gaara stated as he saw Minato finish waving to his son, the two blonde appearing to have bright smiles on their faces.
Laying back in his chair, Minato nodded in agreement, before looking at the filled stands of the stadium, with even more people coming in, "I guess that means will be ready to start in a bit," He replied, before looking at the empty seat beside them and giving a sigh, "That's if our honored guest would show up,"
Gaara was about to nod in agreement, but the large, heavy steps he and the Hokage felt brought their attention to the side, seeing a large man standing there, a white coat over his body which had its front open, exposing his tan-dark skin. The two other Kage saw the small mustache and goatee on his lower face, shaded by his large dark- yellowish hat which covered his eyes, the bottom of his large fists being seen through the sleeves of his coat as he sat down, the two ninja by his side standing near the back against the wall, giving a nod to the other bodyguards as well.
"You know, for claiming to be the fastest Ninja alive, you sure took your sweet time getting here." Minata joked to the man, who gave a small chuckle in response.
Tilting his head to the side, the man's hat moved slightly, exposing one of his eyes to the two Kage, showing its passionate yet furious look it held, "My my, Hokage, I didn't take you for a jokester," He replied, "Besides, considering my nation is on the other side of the continent, I thought I made good time, especially considering I didn't originally have plans to be here, the biggest challenge was actually making sure the village would be safe in my absence."
Looking at the stadium the Raikage's eyes fell on the small cut out wall that housed 8 participates, 3 he recognized from his own nation, "I must say, Kazekage, it's a shame a team from your nation didn't make it into the finals as well. That would've been a nice spectacle for the fans, especially considering it's your village hosting the exam the tournament this year." The Raikage commented, Gaara clearly hearing the clear undertone of disappointment in his village's power. But that was politics, and from what Minato had told him, the Raikage was a man who respected strength.
Closing his eyes, Gaara made sure to gather his words before speaking, "Perhaps, but I'm proud at how my Genin performed, their skills may not have been enough to get to the final round, but the bonds they made and their willingness to push on has impressed me." Gaara defended, noticing the Raikage give a low chuckle as he saw the smirk on the man's face. Gaara taking it as a good sign, "Now then, I believe it's time to begin."
Raising a hand up to his bodyguards, he didn't even need to give them a look as Temari jump forward, taking her fan from her back as it expanded under her, allowing her to glide down as she passed by the participates, nodding at them to get read as the whole stadium watched her descend towards the center of the arena.
Landing in the center, Temari placed her fan back on her back, eyes closed for a moment before opening them up at the crowd around her, "Welcome, to the final round of the Chunin Exam!" Termai greeted with a booming voice, reaching the very back of the stadium's seats, "As you all know this is a place for the Genin who have made it past the previous parts of the Exam to give their final performance of becoming a Chunin, to show their best to the world watching!"
Extending her arm out she pointed it towards the Genin in their box, all eyes from the crowd going towards them, "And here are those eight Genin,"
The crowd cheered for them, excitement clearly in the air as the Genin smirked in anticipation, but inwardly were all shaking in anxiousness on the inside.
Up in the stands, a familiar group of Leaf Shinobi sat together, thankfully having a good view of the action due to their ranks. Some of them cheering louder than the others.
"Well, at least it looks like your brother didn't come as late as you did," Ino teased her fellow blonde, smirking as she saw her tense up in embarrassment.
"We-well, I had to make a ground entrance! I was fighting in the first match after all!" Naruko defended as she puffed her chest out and gave a smirk, only to than slump down a bit as she heard the chuckle her friends gave.
"Well, either way, a Hyuuga is still in the first match," Neji pointed out, a small smirk on her face as he gave a glance at Hinata, "And she's gonna win," She finished, looking at her sister down below.
Naruto kept on waving to the cheering crowd, it gave him something to keep him occupied from his anxiety. But the scoff he heard on his right made him pause. Moving his eyes he saw the cloud Ninja known as Karui give him an annoyed glare, the one he knew as Samui keeping her eyes forward while the other one, Omoi, gave his red-hair teammate an annoyed sigh.
Noticing Karui caught his stare, Naruto decided to have a little fun. "You know, if you've been giving me that same annoyed look all for the exam," He pointed out, his statement catching the attention of the other participates as they saw Karui give the blonde a lethal glare.
Turning to face him, Karui spoke her mind, "You still have that care-free smirk you've had since the beginning, thinking things will always go your way. But they won't, and I wanna be the one to wipe that smirk off your face." She told him.
But Naruto continued to widen his smirk as he now fully faced her, "Maybe so, but I like to hope for the best, cause it gives me a goal to strive for," He explained, "But unfortunately, you won't get the chance to wipe that smirk off my face."
Before the cloud Ninja could react, Naruto stepped to the side, allowing Karui to look at his teammate instead, "Cause she'll be the one moving on."
Hanabi and Karui stared each other down, the Hyuuga feeling the cloud's intense emotions from her gaze as she shot back a passionate look of her own. Noticing the look Naruto was giving her, was this his way of getting her fired up? She gave a small smile as she thought of it.
"Will the participants of the first match, Karui of the Hidden Cloud and Hanabi of the Hidden Leaf please come down!" Temari called, smirking as she saw the two opponents already getting into gear in the box. This was gonna be an interesting match.
A/N: We're finally here, the tournament of the chunin exam reach I've been building up for a whilenow. The Naruto vs Suigetsu fight, development between two Uzumaki, Naruto learning how to use his chains better, that scene with Hinata THAT I'VE BEEN PLANNING ON DOING FOR A WHILE! God, to think we I started this story I was planning on just making some smut with some fluff, and yet, here we are. I plan on making the next few chapters a culmination of everything I've been setting up, the teasing, the relationships, the training, man am I excited to get it to you guys. But, I wanna make sure its good, that it meets the standards you guys deserve, which is why with a heavy heart. This stories gonna go on a bit of a hiatus, no new chapters for the rest of January, and probably most of February as well, I know, it sucks for me too. But I really want to focus on this next few chapters and get them at an amazing quality for you guys. Man, thinking about, January might be the first month in reach I don't update any of my stories, I should start planing the next chapter of Morgan and the Milfs in the meantime too. Also be sure to tell me what you've thought of my fight scenes, considering there will be a lot of the, in the next couple of chapters and I still don't know how good I am at them yet. Which is why I'm gonna need some readers, beta readers! That's right, if you want to help out by pre-reading my chapters and giving them feedback before they're out, than send me a message giving a reason why you want to, and what you can bring to helping me out. But, until than, thanks for reading, and I hope you'll enjoy what I've got planned for next.