Hey readers. Sorry for the wait. Good news, I've finally managed to finish the next chapter of Legends of Two Jinchuriki. It'll be uploaded shortly after this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
The only sound throughout the large room were the footsteps of Gaara as he made his way back to his team, and those of the medics who took away Misumi's body, covered in a blanket. Naruto frowned as he watched the body be taken away, kicking himself for not making a move on his own.
"Damn." Asuma said, shaking his head with his face etched in a deep frown. "I thought that kid had an evil look in his eye, but I didn't expect that..."
'Naruto didn't exaggerate in the slightest. I should've been ready to step in.' Kakashi thought as he watched Gaara make his way back to his team. 'But... something about that jutsu...'
Yoroi snarled and slammed his fist against the railing, drawing all the Konoha Genin's eyes to him. His sensei put a hand on his shoulder. "I know. There's nothing more we can do, save it for your match."
Naruto gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry about your teammate." He said, getting their attention. He looked down and balled his hands into fists. "Kabuto helped me out back in the forest... I owe you guys. I knew how dangerous Gaara was, I should have done something."
Yoroi gave a sigh, feigning sorrow and understanding. Compassion and camaraderie were rare commodities among spies, especially under employment under a master like his. Truthfully, all he was feeling at the moment was frustration at his own weakened position, but he easily suppressed that. "You couldn't have known that Gaara would end it that quickly. And this is just how the world is. Being a shinobi means you could die any day, there's no telling when your number will be up."
Naruto didn't seem the least bit placated by that. "I know that, but..."
"But it doesn't make losing comrades any easier." Kakashi answered for him, causing his students to look at him. The look in his eye made them remember he had a lot of experience with that.
In the arena, Hayate cleared his throat, cutting off any further statements. "Excuse me, but as this was well within the allowances for the exam, we'll be continuing the prelims now." At that, the scoreboard sounded again. The Rookie 9, eager to get their minds off what they just saw, turned their attention to it. In a few moments the next match was decided.
Kiba vs Mubi
"Looks like it's our turn. I think we got one of those losers Naruto took down, this should be a piece of cake." Kiba said before looking down at the dog. "Let's show 'em what we got, huh Akamaru?" The dog barked in response.
"You're our last shot. Don't screw this up." Oboro said to his teammate.
"Relax; I'm up against a boy and his mutt. How tough could they be?"
Kagari face palmed as his teammate tempted fate. "We're doomed."
The two genin stood across from each other, both ready to fight. Kiba would normally be smirking, but the stench of the blood surrounding him dampened his excitement somewhat. Akamaru leapt out of his coat and stood on the ground beside him.
"And what's that tiny little runt gonna do? Growl at me until I cower in fear?"
"Word of advice. Don't taunt Akamaru." Kiba said seriously and the dog growled at his side.
"I'm positively shaking."
"If you're ready." Hayate said, looking from one to the other. "You can begin."
Kiba immediately leapt back as Mubi shot forward to attack and landed in a crouch, forming a single hand seal. "Alright. Ninja Art: Beast Mimicry! All Fours Jutsu!" Kiba declared as chakra began to visibly leak from his body. As the jutsu implied, he got down on all fours, his nails lengthening and his canine's growing larger, giving the boy a more feral appearance.
Mubi immediately halted his advance and sunk into the ground using the Underground Projection Fish Technique. 'Beast Mimicry huh? The name says it all. Animals are stronger and possess more powerful senses than humans, so this jutsu probably brings its user closer to the animal kingdom to enhance their abilities... so direct attacks are out. Good thing that's not how I fight anyway.' Mubi smirked. 'Problem is, that mutt might be useless in a fight, but it'll probably sniff me out... unless...'
Kiba's eyes scanned the arena as he waited for his opponent to surface. When he did, rising from the ground on the far side of the arena behind him, Akamaru immediately noticed and promptly barked in his direction, alerting his master of his presence. However, as Kiba turned to launch himself at his opponent, Mubi made a series of hand seals. 'Mist Follower Jutsu.'
As Kiba jumped and whirled around to face his opponent, he vanished into a mist that seemed to cover the entire arena. "What the... some kind of mist jutsu?" He turned to his dog. "Akamaru, can you tell where he's hiding?" The dog looked around for a moment before shaking its head. "Tch, he must have covered his scent. Where-" Suddenly a black shape began to rise from the stone nearby. "Huh?"
The shape gradually took the form of an Ame genin wearing all black, contrasting Mubi and his teammates matching yellow jumpsuits. "You don't stand a chance."
At those words, dozen more shadows began to raise, each taking the form of another black cloaked Ame shinobi, all slowly turning their heads towards him, mocking him.
"What the hell's this? Some kind of clone jutsu?" Kiba glared at the copies as they slowly began making their way towards him with eerie, zombie like gaits. "It's gonna take more than this to stand a chance against me!" He charged towards the nearest clone, its movements far too slow to mount any kind of defense. He slashed at it with his claw and struck true, but frowned. It was almost like punching through molasses. Its body melted into tar where it was struck and as Kiba skid across the ground and turned to face his enemy, he found that there was another clone growing out of where the first was wounded. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief as both heads turned to regard him
"What in the-?"
"What's he doing?" Ino questioned, seeing Kiba appear to attack thin air. Akamaru was looking around uncertainly.
"He must be under a genjutsu." Sakura theorized.
Kiba continued to strike at the clones that came near him, but every time he struck one, the things multiplied. He would have gotten out of their encirclement, but they were everywhere. More and more kept coming and already there was barely a spot that didn't have one of the black cloaked shinobi almost in arm's length. The ones surrounding Kiba had been mangled and were now grotesque amalgams of bodies, with masses of limbs sticking out were they didn't belong, multiple heads and much constantly leaking tar out of unhealed wounds on their forms.
"Damn it, there's no end to these things!" He snarled before a canine cry of alarm caught his attention. "Akamaru!"
Turning to his partner, he found the tiny dog was in the hands of the Ame genin, his front paws held together in his hands and a kunai held to the dog's neck as more of the dark shinobi took up defensive positions around him.
"You seem like a pretty tough guy. I'm guessing it'll take a while for my friends to tire you out." Mubi began. His jutsu only manipulated three of the five senses: sight, hearing and feeling, but fortunately, the blood Gaara had scattered across the arena had covered his scent. "Lucky for me, you seem to care about this mutt so much." He brought the kunai closer to the dog's neck, causing it to whimper. "Forfeit now and your little friend won't get hurt."
Kiba snarled at the Ame genin. "You bastard!" His opponent simply chuckled... before Kiba grinned and vanished from sight. Before Mubi knew what happened, he'd been struck and sent flying, safely away from the little dog that landed on his feet rather like his hated adversaries: the felines.
"You should have tried that from farther away, dumbass. I could close that distance in a heartbeat." Kiba boasted; looking around as the various clones vanished. "Oh, I get it. Those were just illusions. So, I guess the game's over, huh?" He asked as Mubi got up and glared. "But I think Akamaru's gonna want some payback for that stunt you pulled, right?" Akamaru barked in response and Kiba kneeled down, letting the dog jump on his back as he made the tiger hand seal. "Ninja Art:-" There was a puff of smoke and the two vanished from sight. When the cloud cleared, it revealed that Akamaru had been turned into a copy of the feral genin. "Man Beast Clone!"
'Shit! There goes his biggest weak spot!'
The two Kiba's launched themselves forward, zig-zagging as they closed the distance and moving so fast the spectators lost all hope of telling them apart. Mubi could hardly rise up any defense as the two blitzed him. He managed to duck under an attack from the first Kiba and jumped back as the second swiped at him with his claws, only to take an elbow to the face when the first shot forward again. His guard shattered, he could do nothing as one of the animalistic twins slammed him in the stomach, launching him back to where the other appeared to send him away with a sweeping kick.
The Ame genin was ragdolled by the pair before finally, the launched him into the air. The pair of wolfish genin stood beside each other. "Man-Beast Taijutsu-" One of the two, the real Kiba declared before both leapt after their opponent, both spinning in the air so quickly their forms resembled drills before they began rotating together into a single twister. "Fang over Fang!" The two blurs slammed into Mubi, who let out a cry of pain as they drove him to the ground and dragged him across its surface digging a groove into the stone before slamming into a wall, kicking up a cloud of debris. Both jumped out of the resulting smog and when it cleared, it revealed the Ame genin was unconscious.
"Winner: Kiba Inuzuka."
"Ha! Looks like those Ame genin weren't so tough." Kiba declared triumphantly as he stood up straight, releasing his jutsu and retaking his normal appearance. A cloud of smoke engulfed his copy that reverted back to his true form and barked at his master.
"I knew Kiba wouldn't lose to that guy." Naruto said, grinning slightly.
"Damn it!" Oboro slammed his fist against the railing.
"Heh, looks like those guys are O for 3. Pretty sad." Temari commented, looking at the pair of Ame genin with a smirk. "They made it all this way for nothing."
"Congratulations, Kiba." Hinata said as her teammate returned to her side.
"Eh, it was nothing. Besides, we still have the finals to worry about." Kiba replied, suddenly serious. "We've got to show our stuff for Shino, and there are two guys here even I want to get into a fight with."
"Looks like things are winding down." Naruto commented as the scoreboard came to life once again.
Yoroi watched the lights dance across the screen. 'There are only three possibilities left, and all three are just run of the mill rookies. Lord Orochimaru tasked us to test Sasuke, and since Kabuto backed out and Misumi bit it, I'm all that's left.'
In moments the penultimate match was decided.
Sasuke vs Kankuro
"Looks like you're up Sasuke." Naruto said, turning to grin at the Uchiha. "You better not blow it, there's a lot riding on this."
Sasuke raised a brow. "You'll have to enlighten me on that."
Naruto's grin widened somewhat as he pointed at the Suna genin. "Both our teams are two for three. Whoever wins this match's team is undefeated."
Sasuke blinked before smirking. "Heh. I get it. Show everyone we're the best of the best. Fine, I won't be the one to blow our winning streak." He made began his walk to the stairs. "I wasn't planning on losing anyway."
"That brat huh?" Kankuro commented across the arena.
"Don't screw around with this one, Kankuro." His sister said.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry so much. I've been looking forward to this."
Shikamaru was glaring at the screen. 'Great. This means I'm up against the guy who just lost his teammate... what a drag.'
Sasuke and Kankuro stood apart from each other; the black clothed genin took the wrapped object off of his back and slammed it on the ground, resting his hand on its top.
"Get him, Sasuke!" Ino cried from her place on the railing, getting no reaction from the Uchiha heir.
"I'm going to give you some advice." Kankuro began. "Once I unleash the Crow here, you're gonna want to give up."
Sasuke smirked. "Funny, I was going to say something along those lines to you." 'Should I go all out and use the Sharingan to end this quickly?' He thought on it for a moment. 'Why the hell not? The finals probably won't be today anyway if they have to call up VIPs from other nations, so I don't need to conserve chakra. It's best if I end this quickly, and don't show off anything the spectators don't already know I've got.'
"And... Begin!"
Sasuke immediately crouched down, ready to dodge or launch himself at his black clad opponent as he drew a kunai and spun it by the ring at its base into a reverse grip and activated his Sharingan. When he saw what truly lied in front of him, he couldn't help but let his smirk widen before he burst into blurred motion.
'Damn! He's seen through me.' Kankuro's expression twisted into a grimace. He'd hoped Sasuke wouldn't activate the Sharingan right off the bat. Clearly, he'd hoped in vain. He instantly began to move, grabbing the wrapped Crow and preparing to jump a moment too late. Sasuke reached them but at the last moment, diverted away from Kankuro and targeted the Crow. Something shot out of Kankuro's side, a blur that the spectators couldn't make out but the Uchiha heir ducked beneath it. He slashed at the bandaged object, managing to catch it as Kankuro leapt away.
As he sailed through the air, Kankuro threw out a free hand and dozens of senbon suddenly shot out, seemingly from out of his palm. Sasuke leapt back to dodge, leaning back in midair until he was parallel to the floor to let a second wave pass over him and then planted his hands on the ground to launch him backwards, and evading one final barrage.
"Idiot." Gaara said dismissively.
"Ugh," Temari face palmed. "Didn't I tell him to take this seriously?"
Both Sasuke and Kankuro landed and glared at each other, and for a moment all was still. Then, a crimson stain grew from the side of the bandaged object. Moments later the bandages unraveled to reveal... Kankuro, his right arm bleeding slightly, throws a fierce look at the Sharingan wielder.
"Huh?" Sakura voiced her surprise before looking to what she thought had been Kankuro. "Then what...?"
The clearly fake Kankuro's form cracked, its entire body seeming to break down into sand, revealing a new figure. An odd, four armed and three eyed wooden construct with jagged teeth, spikey brown hair and wearing a tattered brown cloak.
"A puppet?" Sakura questioned with a frown.
"Apparently, Kankuro's one of Suna's infamous puppet users." Kakashi commented, drawing all the Genin's attention. "Rather than fight directly, they use threads made of their chakra to control puppets to fight in their stead."
Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms, closing his eyes although you couldn't see it through his sunglasses. "So they spend all their time playing with dolls? Real intimidating."
"I'm with Naruto on this one. These guys sound like pushovers." Kiba agreed.
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Kakashi shook his head. "Like you just saw, they're loaded with all kinds of hidden weaponry, all of which are typically poisoned." That caused both previously unconcerned genin to look back at him, their brows furrowing. "Not to mention that no part of them is essential, so they're very hard to disable without directly targeting the puppeteer and the chemical knowledge and fine chakra control required to control their puppets and create their poisons make them natural medical ninjas. Some of Suna's most dangerous ninja have been puppeteers."
"So, that's what you were hiding under those bandages." Sasuke commented.
Ignoring his wound, Kankuro smirked. "That's right. This here's my favorite puppet: The Crow. I inherited it from one of the greatest puppeteers in Suna's history. It might not look like it, but it's deadly."
"One of the greatest, huh? You must have a lot of faith in it." Sasuke replied. His eyes narrowed as he thought back to the exchange moments ago. The puppet wasn't a living thing; it had no muscles to give the minute signals his crimson eyes used to read his targets. 'My Sharingan won't be able to predict that thing's movements as well as they could a living being...'
Kankuro grinned. "Yeah, want to see why? Actually, why don't I just show you?" With a slight movement of his hands, Crow shot forward, extending its right arm forward to reveal a dagger below the wrist. Sasuke easily dodged the puppet, leaping to the side and charging at Kankuro. However, alarm bells went off in his head when Kankuro's grin widened and he once again moved his hands. Sasuke heard the faint sound of weapons being fired and turned just in time to see two daggers flying towards him, aimed at his head.
The Uchiha heir ducked under the weapons and responded by throwing his kunai at the puppet, aimed at the now revealed launching mechanism in the puppets mouth, only for it to weave to the side. However, that gave him all the time he needed to close the distance between himself and Kankuro. The puppeteer quickly cut his strings and ran through hand signs and Sasuke's eyes widened when his Sharingan told him what the jutsu was. He quickly deduced what the black clad teen was planning.
Sure enough, a moment later, Kankuro was replaced by the Crow, as Sasuke expected. What Sasuke didn't expect however was for his footing to suddenly be yanked out from under him. His crimson eyes looked down at his foot to find chakra threads connected to it before they snapped. 'Damn! He used his chakra threads to trip me up.'
Kankuro immediately reconnected to his puppet and had it raise all four of its arm, releasing a hail of senbon. 'You're mine now, you punk.'
Sasuke began to run through hand signs the moment the puppet raised its arms, taking in a deep breath as they fired at him. 'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!'
He put his hand to his mouth and released a stream of fireballs at the ground in front of him, erupting into small explosions that deflected the needles and obscured him his form behind a wall of fire.
"Damn, I almost-" Kankuro began as he gestured for the Crow to return to him when suddenly he had a kunai at his throat, causing him to halt all movement and his puppet to come to a stop in midair. Making a slight turn of the head, he saw Sasuke holding the dagger out of the corner of his eye.
"Nice try, but the game's over. Your jutsu tells me all I need to know. You rely entirely on that puppet, which means you're probably helpless without it, and if I see those strings so much as twitch, you're finished."
Kankuro glared at the Uchiha before shrugging. "Alright, alright, I get it. You win, I give."
"Winner: Sasuke Uchiha."
"Great job, Sasuke! I knew that guy was no match for you!" Ino cheered.
"Will the final two combatants please step down to the arena so that the final match can begin?" Hayate said as Sasuke and Kankuro vacated the arena.
Shikamaru sighed. 'This sucks...' he thought as he began the walk down to the arena as Ino called after him, "Don't you dare throw this match, you hear me!?"
Temari glared at her brother when he finally rejoined his team. "Nice going, Kankuro. That's why I told you not to hold back."
"Yeah, sorry, I know. I screwed up. Rub it in why don't you?" The black clad teen replied as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, getting no response from his older sister and a scoff from his younger brother.
"Congrats Sasuke. You made it look easy." Sakura said with a smile as the Uchiha heir returned to his team.
"Looks like we're all going to the finals." Naruto said, grinning.
"Were you expecting something else?" Sasuke questioned.
Asuma looked at his student as the final match was about to begin. 'I can at least count on Shikamaru to win. Out of all the genin here, he's probably the one with the best shot at making chunin.'
Down below, Shikamaru and Yoroi had taken their places. Shikamaru let out a sigh, looking at his opponent with a somewhat irritated expression as he reached into the pouch on his back. "Sorry about your teammate, but my teammates wouldn't appreciate it if I let you win. It sucks, but-" He pulled out kunai and flipped it into a reverse grip. "- this Kunai's going to end your shot at the exams."
Yoroi scoffed. "What? You expect to take me down with a kunai? I thought you Nara were supposed to be smart."
Shikamaru made no response and a moment of silence passed before Hayate raised his arm. "Let the final match... begin!"
Yoroi immediately launched himself at his opponent, who slipped into a fighting stance and held his place as the purple clad man closed the distance. Yoroi lunged to grab the Nara heir when they reached each other only for Shikamaru to slip around the attack, dodging to the right and making a swipe at his torso with his kunai, which the older genin easily dodged. Yoroi made an attempt to sweep Shikamaru's leg out from under him, but the lazy genin leapt in the air to dodge, slashing the kunai at Yoroi's head only for him to duck under the attack.
Before Shikamaru could make another move, Yoroi had reached up and grabbed the lazy genin by the face and slammed him into the ground near where Sakura has emerged after dragging Tenten under during their match, his head impacting the stone with an audible crack as the older genin restrained the arm holding the kunai and pinning him to the ground. Shikamaru grabbed at the hand holding him down with his free hand before his eyes widened as he realized his strength was leaving him.
'This is... he's absorbing my chakra!'
Yoroi grinned behind his mask. 'That's right brat, give all your strength to me.'
After a few moments of fruitless struggle, Shikamaru released his hand and managed to grab another kunai which he stabbed at Yoroi, forcing him to jump back. As Shikamaru rose to his feet, breathing heavily as he tried to recover his lost strength, he glared up at his opponent and said, "You know, not that I'm complaining, but if you weren't such a glutton for chakra, you could have ended the fight right there."
"Maybe, but where would the fun in that is?" Yoroi replied.
"You should be more careful about underestimating your opponent. It could cost you."
"We'll see about that." Yoroi replied. 'I have to keep his hands occupied. It's the easiest way to avoid the Nara's Shadow Possession jutsu. Failing that, I just need to stay out of his range. This fight's in the bag.'
Shikamaru leapt backwards and threw his kunai at Yoroi's head, but he easily evaded the weapon with a simple tilt of his head as he continued running. "Ha! Didn't you say you were going to end this with that kunai!?"
Shikamaru just grinned in response and made a hand sign. Suddenly, blinding light burst from the spot just behind Yoroi, the same spot he'd held Shikamaru down at moments ago. 'What? A flash bomb!?' He thought as he turned his head slightly to look back at the light as. Focusing on Shikamaru once again, he saw him make the rat hand sign and realized the Nara was standing in the shadow cast by the flash bomb. 'Shit! I have to-!'
Too late. Yoroi felt his body freeze and knew he'd been caught. As the light from the bomb faded, his and the Nara's shadow remained unnaturally connected. "Shadow Possession Jutsu- success."
"You planted that flash bomb in the cracks while I held you down." Yoroi snarled as his body trembled, fighting in vain against the jutsu.
"Figured it out that quickly?" Shikamaru responded.
"So what? All you can do is restraining me, and you can't hold me here forever."
"What are you talking about? Did you already forget?" And with that the Nara heir turned around, forcing the purple clad man to imitate the action, and walked away. Yoroi frowned as he fought against the jutsu before his eyes widened as his gaze landed on the kunai. Shikamaru forced him to step past it and turn around so they were facing each other. He then reached down and made Yoroi grab the kunai before making him bring it to his throat. "This kunai will end your shot at the exams. It's time for you to give up."
Yoroi growled. 'Bested by a brat...' "Fine, I give."
"Winner: Shikamaru Nara!"
"Whoa, that was quick." Naruto commented.
"He had that whole match planned out from the beginning." Sasuke commented.
"With this the preliminaries have been completed. I ask that all the winners come down to the floor." In short order, the winning genin had assembled together, standing in a line before Hayate. From left to right were Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Lee, Temari and finally Gaara. "First off, I'd like to congratulate everyone who made it this far. Now, Lord Hokage will explain how the final stage of the exams will work."
The Third Hokage nodded to the proctor and stepped forward, taking in a deep breath from his pipe a blowing out a cloud of smoke before putting it away and addressing the assembled genin. "As I said before, these exams are an opportunity to not only showcase your own capabilities, but to represent the strength of your respective villages. Therefore, I'd like you to fight without holding anything back. This is why the finals won't be held until one month from now."
That statement got surprised reactions from all the genin, mostly raised eyebrows or narrowed eyes, save Gaara who as usual showed no response.
"Wait, 'in a month'? What gives, why do we have to wait so long?" Naruto questioned, perplexed by the delay. It shouldn't take that long to round up all the VIPs. He'd figured the invitations had already been sent out.
Sasuke frowned, thinking along the same lines. 'I didn't think the finals would be held today... but a month from now? Why wait so long?'
"You could say this break exists to give you time to make preparations, in addition to allowing us time to contact the various lords and shinobi leaders and make final arrangements for the third stage. Now that you have witnessed one another's abilities, you will have this month to analyze the information you've collected, estimate your chances of winning and prepare yourselves to face these final challenges. Up until now, the exams have simulated missions where you faced unknown opponents. Now, however, many of you have revealed your abilities, and some of you may be injured and unable to perform at your best." He briefly looked at Lee, who was still not in the best condition after using the Primary Lotus. "To make things fairer, we're giving you this month to rest and advance."
He paused for a moment to let this sink in before he continued, "Now, I'd like to say you're all dismissed, but there's still one last thing we have to do first." With a tilt of his head, he gestured to Anko, who stepped forward, carrying a small, unremarkable box. "There are pieces of paper within the box that Anko's holding. Each of you is to take one."
The purple haired kunoichi added, "I'll come around, so wait your turn." as she moved to the closest end of the line of genin, holding out the box for Sakura to reach in.
Sakura raised an eyebrow as she opening the paper to reveal... 'A seven?'
'One?' Naruto frowned at what he drew, not that he was surprised he drew number one, before looking up at the Hokage as Anko moved on to Sasuke. "What's this about? Are we drawing lots or something?"
Surprising the blond, who'd only been guessing, Hiruzen nodded. "That's it exactly."
The Rinnegan bearer looked slightly surprised before staring back at the number. 'Huh... And here I thought we'd be using something like the scoreboard again... Guess they don't want us going in blind this time around.'
"So then, the final round is going to be a tournament?" Rock Lee questioned.
"More or less." The God of Shinobi confirmed. "Of course, the conditions for winning aren't what you would call traditional for such an affair."
"How so?" Neji promted.
"Obviously, there can't be just one winner." The Hokage replied, bringing his hands together behind his back. "Rather, your performance will be evaluated by judges, such as myself and Lord Kazekage among other prominent shinobi from the villages with participating genin. Those of you who are judged to possess the necessary qualities will be promoted, regardless of how far you actually make it in the exams. In other words, making it to the final round simply gives you more opportunities to display your capabilities. It's entirely possible for someone who lost their first match to become a chunin."
"So that means... is it possible for all of us to become chunin?" Temari asked after drawing her lot.
Hiruzen nodded to her in response, however his next words were slightly disheartening to many of the assembled genin. "However, by that logic it is just as strong a possibility that none of you will become chunin." He glanced at Anko as she stepped away from the group before saying, "All right, now that you've all drawn your numbers, I'd like you to say them aloud starting from the left."
"Seven." Sakura said.
"Number one, of course." Naruto said with a grin.
"Six." Sasuke stated.
"Ten." Shikamaru revealed.
"Three." Came from Kiba.
"Four." Hinata voiced.
"Five." Was Neji's response.
"Two." Came from Lee.
"Nine." Temari said.
"Eight." Was Gaara monotone statement.
Hiruzen nodded and turned to Ibiki, watching as he finished documenting their names. When he saw the scarred Jōnin had finished, he said, "Now Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."
Ibiki nodded and turned the sheet he was holding around; revealing the order divided into two blocks with one final match up whose lucky winner would get to rest a round. The genin and all the spectators took stock of their opponents and the other matches.
'So I'm up against bushy brows, huh? That'll be one for the books.' Naruto grinned as he looked at the first match; Naruto Uzumaki vs Rock Lee. His gaze swept over the following fights; Hinata Hyuuga vs Kiba Inuzuka, followed by Sasuke Uchiha vs Neji Hyuuga and then his eyes bugged out when they landed on the fourth match. 'Oh shit!'
Sakura Haruno vs Gaara.
"Gah!" Was the pink haired kunoichi's strangled reaction to seeing her match, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening to solid white orbs as she stood frozen in place. Sasuke's eyes narrowed when he saw the same.
Up on the balcony, Ino sucked in a hissing breath as she winced in sympathy. 'Ooh! Tough break, Sakura...'
Gaara simply let out a brief, contemptuous snort when he saw his match.
'Crap.' Kiba thought when he saw he had to fight his teammate, said girl averting her gaze and looking to the ground. Turning to her, he said, "Let's have a good match, huh Hinata?" Hinata nodded and smiled weakly in response.
Sakura finally unfroze from the horrified stance she'd been in for the past dozen or so seconds, slumping forward and closing her eyes, her face twisted into a look of despair. 'I'm screwed... I'm screwed... I'm SO screwed...'
"Now, if there are no final questions, then you'll all be dismissed." He paused, giving anyone with questions the opportunity to speak up. Seeing that no one was going to take him up on the offer, he nodded. "Very well. You are all free to begin strategizing, training, or resting as you please. The following month is yours to do with as you wish. I suggest you use your time wisely."
With that, the genin dispersed, gathering together with their teams. Naruto frowned, giving his pink haired teammate a grim look before asking, "Sakura, are you all right with this?"
Sakura threw him a slightly irritated expression. "And just how would I be all right?"
Naruto held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I know, I know. I mean, are you going to fight or...?"
Sakura raised her fist to her chest, a determined look coming across her features. "Of course I'm going to fight. Would you just give up or would you fight this guy with everything you've got?"
Naruto grinned, resting his hands behind his head. "Do you even have to ask?"
"Well I'm not just going to back down either." The pink haired girl said, smiling. "Besides, at least I can probably soften him up for you guys. It's my job to make sure you don't get in over your heads, and chances are one of you is going to wind up fighting him later. I can't just stand by and let him go in fresh when you'll be worn out."
"You sure about this?" Sasuke questioned, his usual stoic expression showing a hint of concern. Honestly, Sakura was probably the worst out of the three of them to fight Gaara.
Sakura's smile became a little uncertain. "... I'll think of something. I'm sure of it!"
Up on the balcony, Gai chuckled and shook his head, "Well, Kakashi. I've got to admit those kids of yours are something else. But I'm afraid they may have gotten in a little over their heads this time." He turned to the man he proclaimed to be his eternal rival and continued, "Naruto doesn't stand anymore of a chance against Lee than Sasuke has against Neji, and with Sakura up against Gaara... well, no offense to her but she might want to back out before she gets hurt. Those kids made a good try, but it looks like they've hit a dead end."
Kakashi paused for a moment, watching his team as they conversed and made for the exit, his single eye hinting at his usual, inscrutable look before he turned to Gai. "Maybe. But I have faith in them. I'm sure they'll surprise you yet."
Gai chuckled again. "It's only natural that a leader wants to believe in his subordinates. Still, I gotta say it's good to see it from you." That drew a curious look from the silver haired Jonin. "After all the teams you turned down, I didn't think you'd ever know the joys of being a teacher and watching your students flourish."
"Well, I was just waiting for the right ones." He began to walk away. "Those three are probably expecting me, so I should get going. We've got a lot of planning ahead of us." He made it five steps before turning to the Jōnin with the oversized eyebrows. "Oh, and Gai?"
"Yeah?"
Kakashi gave the green clad man an eye smile. "Three for three!" And with those words, he vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Gai blinked at where his rival had stood before the meaning of his words hit him. His eyes widened and he jaw dropped before he roared to the heavens, "DAMN YOU, KAKASHI!"
Kakashi reappeared before his students just after they left the room. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Are we going straight back to training?"
The Jōnin eye smiled at his students. "Well, not right away. I figure you could all use a bit of rest and a hot shower after what you've been through. I did, however, want to invite you to celebrate about all of you making it to the finals. Your choice, my treat."
Both Naruto and Sakura lit up at that. "Awesome!" The blond said.
The pink haired girl turned to her crush and asked, "Are you coming too, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha heir looked from one of his teammates to the other before settling on his teacher. "Kakashi, you plan to talk about our upcoming matches after you're done eating, don't you?" Kakashi just continued to eye smile at him. Sasuke sighed. "Then I guess I don't have a choice."
Naruto ginned while Sakura seemed ecstatic at his acceptance.
Meanwhile, on the roof of a building, standing in the shadows cast by the columns holding up the extended roof, was a certain snake like shinobi and his right hand man. Orochimaru leaned against the stone pillar behind him, staring out at Konoha while Kabuto kneeled at his side, his arm resting on his propped up knee and his head bowed in subservience to his master and teacher. Though the serpentine Sannin would never admit it, he did feel a bit nostalgic about returning to the place of his birth, though there were few positive sentiments going through his mind as he gazed out at the peaceful village.
"The preliminaries should be over by now." Kabuto voiced to his master. "The preparations for the finals should begin soon enough."
Orochimaru made a brief noise of agreement but didn't move nor avert his gaze. His attention was briefly draw tot a small flock of doves that landed nearby. "It's all so serene, isn't it? This village has become accustom to peace, even though they say the rest of the world is gathering their power."
Kabuto rose to his feet. "Do you think we could take it, if we attacked now?"
"Perhaps..." Orochimaru mused, though his tone suggested he wasn't really interested in the thought. "Though, it wouldn't be satisfying to take the old man's head under these circumstances."
"Oh really?" Something about Kabuto's tone drew Orochimaru's attention. "It seems like you're still hesitant to act." The traitorous Sannin made no response as he continued to stare at his subordinate. The grim expression on his face would have warned many against continuing, but Kabuto paid it no mind. "You plan on pitting all the hidden villages, even Oto, against each other, kicking off another period of war and bloodshed..." He pushed up his glasses with his index finger and stared at the Sannin"... and the bullet to set it all off... is to be Sasuke Uchiha, right?"
Orochimaru closed his eyes and let out a chuckle. "Intuitive as always, Kabuto."
"Not really." Kabuto disagreed. "I didn't know about that bunch you sent to test Sasuke. As part of my assignment to gather information on him, I decided to test them myself and acted foolishly, purposefully taking on their attacks. You think too much of me."
"It seems you don't fully trust me." Orochimaru replied. "Was there any need to inform you about something as insignificant as those three? One way or another, I had no intention of them surviving this affair, and they didn't even manage to make an attempt at their objective, let alone accomplish anything. And you were able to discern their purpose immediately upon seeing them. The fact that I didn't tell is proof of my faith in you."
Kabuto paused for a moment before smirking. "Well, it's hard to turn down such praise. Although, this is exactly how you manage to win the loyalty of poor souls like those three discarded genin, am I right?"
Orochimaru chuckled once more. "You're far too clever for such tactics to work on you. Anyway, just put your feet up and relax. For the time being, I don't have anything for you to do."
"Oh? And here I thought you'd be worried about your quarry, and a certain Jinchuriki."
"Oh, that has weighed on mind." The Sannin replied. "I have to admit, I was surprised. I hadn't expected Sasuke to be so willing to throw his life away before he had a chance at vengeance, yet he chose to fight me alongside his team when Naruto chose to try and hold me off, knowing they had almost no chance of winning. I'd imagine it's so gradual that Sasuke himself hasn't noticed it, but contact with the Kyuubi boy is changing his heart and mind. If it continues, he might even abandon the path of the avenger... we can't have that, now can we?"
Kabuto's eyes narrowed. "So, you plan to target Naruto then?"
"In this blood-soaked hell that is the world of shinobi; it would be all too obvious what befell him if he were to just vanish. His loss would drive Sasuke back into the darkness, and I'm sure he'd jump at the possibility to avenge his friends along with his clan... even if it means taking advantage of the one responsible for their loss... or perhaps that will make it all the more appealing. Besides, once our plans for Konoha are complete, he won't have anywhere else to turn, will he? And we'll claim the blond's precious eyes in the process... after I lost my last chance at those eyes; I imagined it'd be a decade before I had another chance."
"I suppose not." The spy acknowledged. "I take it you don't intend on having me do the deed, so who?"
"Oh, I have someone in mind." Orochimaru replied, his mouth widening into a twisted mockery of a smile, licking his lips like a predator whose prey lies helpless before him. "A tool that will all too soon be worn out completely. I should get as much use out of him as possible before he's lost to us, wouldn't you agree?" Kabuto's expression made it difficult to gauge his opinion.
At about that time, another student teacher duo were having a private meeting of their own. Having quickly returned to his office, Hiruzen sat at his desk, inhaling deeply from his pipe as he half turned to look at Jiraiya, who leaned back against the wall behind him, looking out the window at his side. I hate to say it, but things might not be peaceful around here much longer." The toad summoner said with a sigh. "When do you think Orochimaru will make his move?"
The Third Hokage took out his pipe and breathed out a cloud of smoke. "It's impossible to say for sure. There's a good chance he'll try to take the visitors hostage during the finals. We'll have to have agents hidden amongst them, if he hasn't attacked already by then." Jiraiya grunted in agreement. "Were you able to dig up anything on Oto during the past week?"
His student shook his head. "I've been able to find out its general location, but I can't go snooping around over there right now for obvious reasons. Beyond that, nothing but whispers. Still, at least we know where he disappeared to after the Akatsuki kicked him out."
"And we still know next to nothing about them and their plans. Even once we deal with Orochimaru, another threat's looming on the horizon." Hiruzen said with a shake of his head. His voice sounded tired and for once his face showed the weight of every one of his 60+ years as a shinobi.
"Isn't there always?" Jiraiya replied, taking on a weary tone of his own. "That's how this world works. There's always someone out there, waiting for you to show weakness so they can pounce on it. That's part of the reason you kept Danzo around for all these years isn't it? That's old war hawks good for two things, and one of them is dealing with what we can't see.' Unfortunately, the other thing he was good for was making enemies, but he had too much influence within the village and with the Feudal Lord and other nobles to just ousts him and he was always looking over his shoulder.
The god of shinobi sighed. "For the past few years, I've been trying to find some way to limit his power... I was too lax. I should have done something sooner."
"Oh? What brought that change on? Far as I know you were content to let him do what he wanted as long as he stayed in the shadows and didn't try to seize power or something?" Hiruzen's eyes narrowed and he stared at the ground, clearly not wanting to talk about whatever had changed his views of his old friend. Jiraiya shrugged and looked out the window. "Fine, keep it to yourself." After a pause, he turned to his sense again. "Say old man, do you have any back up plans for Konoha if you bite it?"
Hiruzen chuckled. "Have you so little faith in me, Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya smirked back at the man and shrugged. "Well, it's not like you're getting any younger. Those old bones must be fighting you every step of the way. You should kick your feet up and go back to retirement."
"You say that when you're no spring chicken yourself."
Jiraiya appeared mock offended by that statement. "Hey, I'll have you know 50's the new 40."
"Well, I'd say I still have another decade to two left in me."
"Yeah, I could see you sitting in that chair 20 years from now. And I'd like to." Jiraiya replied before his smirk vanished, his expression becoming grim. "Seriously though. If I thought there was any chance I was going to check out anytime soon, I'd be sure to have an insurance policy or two."
The Third Hokage leaned back in his chair. As much as he hated to admit it... he wasn't entirely sure he could defeat his serpentine former student. Not for the first time, he wished he'd had the strength to do what needed to be done years ago when Orochimaru left. He'd hoped he'd find his way again, but after seeing what he'd done in the lab... he supposed he should have known better. That he boy who'd been as much a son to him as Asuma and his brother had died long before that day.
In what seemed to others like a brief moment, his mind, honed to think run through thoughts in moments by years of battle, ran through everything that could go wrong if he were to fall... many of the possibilities were not to his liking. "... You may have a point. Either way, all we can do is making sure we're ready when he plays his hand." He took another deep breath of his pipe, gathering his thoughts before blowing out the smoke. His eyes turned to the pictures of the Hokage that rested on the wall, lined up in order. He looked across them until his eyes landed on the final photo, one of a blond man with tan skin and ocean blue eyes. "I wonder... would things have gone this far, if I'd been the one to make the sacrifice that day."
Jiraiya followed his gaze before closing his eyes. After a moment, he shook his head. "Don't start thinking about that. Kami knows I've done it enough to know you'll get nowhere quick dwelling on what ifs."
"I'm well aware of the folly of falling into that particular trap. Forgive an old man for his musings." A moment of silence fell over the student and teacher before Hiruzen reached into his desk, the sound of a draw sliding open catching the Toad summoner's eye. "For once, there's a distinct lack of paperwork tying me down." He turned to reveal a white bottle and two cups. "Care to share a drink with your old sensei?"
"Well, I should really go see those brats I've been helping so I can weigh in before they come up with a plan of their own..." Jiraiya smirked, kicking off the wall and rubbing his hands together. As expected of the head of an old and powerful clan, Hiruzen always had the best sake you could find in Konoha. "But how can I say no to that? Just be sure to break out the good stuff, old man."
Hiruzen chuckled. "Would I keep anything else in arm's length?"
Ten minutes later and Jiraiya sat on the corner of the desk, throwing back his cup before reaching over to the bottle again.
"You're lucky she didn't finish the job." Hiruzen said; his amusement as he recalled the one-time Jiraiya almost died. "How many times did I tell you not to peak on Tsunade again?"
The Sannin chuckled deeply and raised his glass. "More times than I care to count old man, and you I gave you the same answer every time!"
"Yes, yes, 'I won't quit until I, Jiraiya, pervert extraordinaire have seen every vivacious example of the female form in the world!'" Hiruzen shook his head. While he was always fond of his white haired student, he couldn't deny that hearing him say that, loudly and proudly... in public, had been more than a little embarrassing. "I'd always said that would be the death of you, but I never thought my words might have been prophetic. I almost thought I'd have to bring her in for team killing when I saw you flying out of that city. And Orochimaru..." He laughed once again as he recalled the look on the future traitor's face. "I'd never seen him so shocked." Had it not been for the situation, it would have been refreshing to see something other than apathy in the boy's expression.
"Heh. You know she's got herself a new epithet these days?"
"How could I not?" Hiruzen shook his head, smiling ruefully. "'The Legendary Sucker'. I still remember when Mito found out Hashirama, Lord First Hokage and co-founder of Konoha had managed to turn their three year old granddaughter into a gambling addict... that was one of the few times she lost her composure. I'm surprised his suffering that day didn't become a part of his legend; it was certainly the stuff of it. They could be heard halfway across the village."
Jiraiya burst out laughing, slapping his hand on his knee at the mental picture the legendary First Hokage utterly cowed before his irate wife. "Yeah right! Can you imagine anyone in Konoha letting THAT spread outside Konoha? I just wish I'd been old enough to remember it."
"And Tobirama just shook his head and said, 'And I'm destined to be his keeper... truly the gods have smiled on me'."
... And this was the man who built the first hidden village...
Jiraiya gave a few last chuckles and sighed. "Sounds like good times... shame it all fell apart."
Hiruzen nodded, his expression shifting to a solemn one. "The ninja world may have lost sight of it, but the hidden villages were built in the hopes of forming a peaceful world. That was the dream of Hashirama, Tobirama... even Madara before he lost his mind, according to the First the one time he talked about him. For a brief time, even the other leaders were swayed."
"And it's our job, and that of the next generations, to carry on that dream. Maybe one day it'll actually come true." Jiraiya stated before raising his cup in a toast. "To the bonds we share and those we've lost."
The God of Shinobi raised his cup and held it next to Jiraiya's. "May they never be forgotten."
The four members of Team 7 had moved to Naruto's apartment after their celebratory dinner Mainly because they needed somewhere they probably wouldn't be overheard and the blond's home happened to be the closest to the sushi restaurant they wound up going to. As Sasuke looked over the apartment, his mind wandered back to the meal they shared earlier. He hadn't said much throughout the evening but he had enjoyed the outing a little, not that he'd ever admit it out loud. It brought back memories of a happier time, before is brother had revealed his true colors. Back when he had a family. Though the Uchiha household had never been so... lively. He'd actually been a bit of an oddity in their clan, clearly happy and outgoing... at least until that day he lost everything he cared about.
Deciding to abandon that line of thought before it led to dark places, he turned to look at Sakura. He may not show it but he was worried about his teammate. While he could now say he was proud of his team, she was up against a killer and a very strong one. He was somewhat impressed by her growth as the old Sakura would probably have run screaming for him to help her but that didn't change the fact that there was a very real possibility this was a fight she wouldn't survive, forget about winning.
Naruto was thinking along the same lines. It was still a long way off and he had confidence in his teammate so it didn't show, but he did not like the idea of her fighting Gaara alone, especially after what he did to Misumi. That said if she was committed to this, he would just support her all the way and cheer her on. And if things went too far, he'd be ready to step in this time. He wouldn't just leave it to the proctor and let him drop the ball again.
Sakura was trying to keep her mind off of it until it was time to plan. As she took the first few steps into the apartment, she absently looked over the main room and noted it was surprisingly well taken care of. She also took notice of the flowerbed in his window, full of yellow and red flowers and clearly well taken care of. "So this is where you live? Kind of small, isn't it?"
Naruto stood up, revealing a green watering can which he placed in the sink before turning to Sakura. He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, it's not much, but its home."
"Somehow I expected... well..." Sakura trailed off, somewhat hesitant. "... a mess."
Naruto waved his hand in dismissal of the idea. "I learned a long time ago it sucks living in your own trash heap. Besides, I've always been on my own, so I had to learn to take care of myself."
"Always?" Sakura blinked. "But I thought... I mean, I knew you were an orphan, but... you don't remember your parents at all?"
Naruto frowned slightly as he shook his head and shrugged. That was a bit of a sore subject for him. "Nope. I don't even know what they looked like. And I was kind of a loner at the orphanage..." Well, more like the caretaker wanted nothing to do with him and told the kids to stay away from him. "... so I've always had to look after myself."
Sakura regretted bringing it up. "Oh... sorry. I didn't know."
"Eh, don't worry about it." Naruto replied as he grabbed a pair of chairs from his table, seeing Sasuke had beaten them all to the couch and was leaning on its arm with his usual dispassionate expression. "You didn't know."
Sakura didn't look any less troubled, but Kakashi interrupted. "Well," he began as he flipped a chair around so it was facing away his team, sitting down in the chair backwards with his arms resting on its back. "I think it's about time we got started."
"Right, what kind of training do you have in mind for us this time?" Naruto asked excitedly as he set a chair for Sakura and then himself.
Sakura didn't look the least bit fearful of what their training might entail this time. Honestly, she'd welcome anything that might give her a better chance of surviving now that she was determined to face the redheaded Suna genin.
"I think it goes without saying that you've got your work cut out for you. All of you ended up drawing some of your most dangerous rivals. First off, does anyone have any plans on how they can counter their opponent's strengths?" He had some of course, but he wanted to see if his students had any ideas of their own.
Naruto grinned, confident in the plan he'd come up with after seeing Lee's skills, even if it wasn't one he'd normally like to use. "I got one! I just need to learn a few tricks and work on what I've already got working for me, and I think I'll be all set for my fight with Lee."
"Is that so?" A familiar voice cut into their conversation along with the sound of an opening window, drawing their attention to Jiraiya sat, watching them from outside.
"Pervy Sage?" Naruto exclaimed, surprised no one had noticed him. Then again, he wasn't Konoha's spymaster for nothing.
Jiraiya had long since gotten used to the name and thus no longer felt a sting to his pride when he heard it. "Yo." He raised a hand in greeting. "When I heard about what happened at the prelims and I figured you could all probably use a hand." He then turned to Kakashi with a knowing smirk. "I'm guessing your planning on teaching Sasuke that Chidori of yours, huh?" Sasuke's eyes gained an interested gleam at that, remembering what he'd heard of Kakashi's signature jutsu during his discussion with Zabuza.
"Well... it depends." Kakashi said, causing the Uchiha to frown. "Sasuke doesn't meet the speed requirements for the jutsu just yet. If he can pull it off, then certainly. It would give him an edge and I'm pretty sure it could pierce the Hyuuga's rotation, but I'll need to come with something else if he can't pull it off." Kakashi easily resisted the urge to smirk at the fierce look in Sasuke's eye. Challenge accepted.
Kakashi almost chuckled. The Uchiha's pride was legendary. Poke it the right way and the normally stoic and dispassionate clan members would become as fiery as Kushina. "Considering who he's up against, Naruto could use to boost his speed too. Considering he's Gai's student, he's probably a lot stronger than he let on."
Jiraiya nodded. "I hear you. That goofball Gai's a hell of a lot stronger than you'd think. Wouldn't surprise me if Lee had a few tricks up his sleeve. Actually, mind if I take over the brat's training until the next round. I've got something in mind that should give him the edge he needs if whatever he's got in mind doesn't pan out."
Naruto's looked like a kid at his first Rinne Festival at that. Being trained by the Fourth Hokage's teacher? Who wouldn't jump at that chance?
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Kakashi asked, having a few suspicions as to what the Sannin intended to teach him.
"Oh, I'll let that be a surprise." Jiraiya replied before turning to Sakura. "Sakura, I hear you're up against Gaara. Tough luck there. I heard about what he did during his match. Think you're up to fighting him?"
Sakura nodded, her expression determined. "Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't back down, so I won't either. Besides, even if I can't win I can at least soften him up some for them. Sasuke at least will probably fight him, and looking out for each other is part of what it means to be a team, right?"
"Well said." Jiraiya reached into his kimono and pulled out a scroll. "Try this out. It might give you the edge you need, but I gotta warn you it does gonna be a tough trick to learn. Whether you want to work on it or not, it's up to you."
Sakura smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Master Jiraiya."
"Oh don't thank me. You're going to need all the help you can get with who you're up against. Just be sure you know to back out if you're in over your head. I know far too many people get themselves killed because they didn't know when to quit." He turned a sly smirk to the blond present. "Kind of like a certain someone we know."
Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms stubbornly. "Better to stand tall and meet all your problems head on then chicken out!"
"Trust me kid, that depends on the situation. There are some times when you've just gotta know when to throw in the towel."
"Like when?" Naruto shot back.
"Like when pursuing something means not being there to save someone close to you." Naruto made a strangled sound. Jiraiya closed his eyes. "That's what I thought. You've got a lot to learn. But then, you're still young. That's what it means to grow up."
"... Maybe." Naruto conceded before looking at the Sannin. "But I won't back down no matter what's in front of me. I won't let myself fail, or let anyone close to me die; no matter what kind of hell I have to put myself through."
Jiraiya stared before shrugging with a grin. Chances are life would disillusion him but... it was a good dream to have. And maybe, just maybe, if he stuck to it and didn't back down, he might actually be a hero who protected everyone.
Just like the Fourth tried to be.
As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Anyway, please review.