-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-
Italics are thoughts, or information on the setting. It should be fairly obvious which is which
On the outskirts of Kumogakure there was a large stadium, the site for the Chunin Exam Finals when Kumo hosted. Each of the 5 Elemental Nation Hidden Villages had their own stadium, as they were the only shinobi villages with the population and infrastructure to host such a large event. In many ways Kumo's stadium was similar to the other 4.
One of the main differences was that, while in many villages, such as Konoha, the assembled Kage sat at the top of the stadium, Kumo's stadium had suites built into the stadium in which Kage, Nobles, Daimyo's, and other VIPs would sit. Inside the Kage suite sat A, Tsunade, and Onoiki, the Tsuchikage.
Standing beside the Kage were one attendant and one bodyguard each. For A these were once again C and Dodai, while Tsunade was attended by Jiraya, and guarded by a member of Konoha's ANBU. Not trusting Tsunade, Onoiki had opted for two members of Iwa's ANBU. The atmosphere in the box was tense, as Onoiki refused to speak to Tsunade. Iwa's hatred of Konoha ran deep, and the diminutive, elderly Tsuchikage was one of the most hateful men in his village.
In a nearby suite the rest of the Konoha delegation was just settling in. The remaining members of the Leaf 10 and their sensei were all present, excluding Shikamaru, whose work as part of the delegation working to repair Konoha and Suna's relationship made it impossible for him to attend the finals. Also present were the families of the Konoha shinobi who had made it into the finals, most notably the heads of three of Konoha's clans, Shibi Aburame, Choza Akimichi, and Hiashi Hyuga.
While most people in the suite were excited to cheer on their comrades Kakashi, Asuma, and Hiashi were all a bit more somber. At Asuma's request Hiashi had been asked to use his Byakugan to study the Yotsuki finalist, adding to Kakashi's Sharingan, though the Hyuga Clan head was not aware of why the request had been made of him.
The Yotsuki clan had also purchased a suite for the finals, and in addition to many of the higher ranking members within the clan the members of Cloud 9 who weren't participating along with their Sensei were invited to join them.
The Clan had set up a number of privacy seals within the suite, allowing those within to cheer Naruto on to their heart's content without having to worry about revealing the secret of his identity to those in nearby suites and seats. The mood in this booth was completely joyful. Everyone was excited to cheer Naruto and Karui on in their quest to bring glory to their village.
The seats in the arena were packed full. The Capacity of the arena was about 40,000 people, and there wasn't an empty seat in the house. The vast majority of the spectators were civilians and shinobi from Kumo and the Land of Lightning, giving Naruto and Karui a home team advantage, that being said pockets of Iwa and Konoha supporters could be found throughout the stadium. The atmosphere was electric, and Kumo stood to make a fortune between ticket sales, concessions, and betting in the stadium's in-house bookies.
Several meters below the spectators, on the arena floor, there was a section of the wall which was see-through. On the other side of the wall was the finalist's waiting area. In addition to the view of the arena the waiting area contained lockers, restrooms, showers, seats, massage tables, vending machines, and anything else a contestant could possibly need while waiting for their next fight.
It was undoubtedly the most luxurious contestant waiting area amongst the 5 nations. The Konoha shinobi were amazed at how nice the waiting area was compared to their own. Within the short tunnel connecting the waiting area to the arena Darui had the 7 finalists line up. The contestants were ready to go, all that remained was for the Raikage to kick off the event and the finalists would be introduced.
Darui took advantage of the brief down time to explain the rules: "Because there are 7 of you one of you will end up with a bye to the Semi-Finals. There will be three 1st round matches, 2 semi final matches, and 1 final match. Each match other than the final will be randomly determined. After each match up is announced there will be a 15 minute wait so that the audience can place bets. The rules are the same as the preliminaries. Each match goes until one of you either forfeits or dies. I can also interfere if I think the match is over. Remember that winning or losing doesn't guarantee or rule out promotion to Chunin. All of that will be based on the skill that you show. Show the judges that you not only have the skill set of a chunin, but the mental capacity of one, and you could lose your first match and still wind up being promoted. In a few moments Raikage-sama will welcome everyone and then I'll introduce each of you. When your name is called head out and stand in a line in front of me. You can be flashy if you want, part of this whole thing is just entertainment for the nobles, but you don't have to. Keep in mind that if you are too flashy it could impact the judges' decision on if you have what it takes to be a chunin."
Just then a booming voice called out: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I, A, the 4th Raikage welcome you to the finals of these Chunin Exams. 7 brave shinobi from 3 villages have made it to this round, and we hope to see some incredible fights. Before we meet the competitors let me introduce the proctor. One of my top assistants despite the fact that he's only in his 20s. Please welcome Darui."
Darui headed out to the arena, where he too greeted the crowd and explained the rules and format before proceeding to introduce the 7 finalists. "Our first finalist hails from Konoha, and is the heir of the Akimichi Clan, please welcome Choji Akimichi!" Choji headed out to polite applause from the largely Kumo audience, loud cheers from the konoha fans, and silence from the Iwa fans.
"Next, also from Konoha, the heir of the Aburame clan, Shino Aburame." Shino headed out and received the same reception. Sakura and Neji received the same reception from the audience as well. The applause for Kurotsuchi was noticeably louder, Kumo was allied with Iwa after all. Finally it was time to introduce the hometown favorites. It turned out that Darui had an excellent stadium announcer voice, and for the home town shinobi he put it to good use.
"Next up is a killer Kumo Kunoichi, a student of B-sama, please welcome Kkkkkkkaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrruuuuuuuiiiiiiiii!" The crowd roared as Karui ran out and waved to the crowd. "And our last contestant, from the Yotsuki Clan, another one of B-sama's students, it's Z Yooooooooooooooooot suuuuuuuuuuuuuukiiiiiiiiii!" Again the crowd erupted in cheers, the loudest of which were coming from the Yotsuki Clan suite, though no one could hear them due to the privacy seals. Naruto smiled and offered a polite bow to the audience, trying to keep a relatively low profile with so many Konoha and Iwa nin in attendance.
"Now, let's see who will fight first!" stated Darui as the arena's video board began to shuffle through the 7 competitors. The tension in the stadium noticably grew as everyone waited with baited breath to see who would fight first. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the competitors, the names began to slow down before landing on two names: Shino Aburame and Neji Hyuga.
In the kage box Tsunade swore "Damnit! I was hoping for an all Konoha semi-finals!" "Careful who you bet on, Tsunade-Hime, knowing your luck who ever you bet against will win." Tsunade glared at Jiraya before pulling out a betting slip and filling it out. She gave it, along with some money, to the bookie who was assigned exclusively to the Kage box.
"This will be a very interesting match, Aburame heir vs. Hyuga genius, I'm interested to see just how strong this new Konoha generation is, eh Tsuchikage-dono?" asked A. Onoiki just snarled in response, his blatant hatred of Konoha showing through in his disgust at having to sit through this match.
The two competitors moved to face each other and Neji somewhat somberly addressed his opponent. "You are a fine shinobi, Aburame-san, worthy of becoming a chunin, it's unfortunate that your exams end here, but it seems fate has other plans for you."
"I would not be so confident of your victory, Hyuga-san, that's because, I've a Hyuga as a teammate, and I know how to fight one." "Hmph! Don't you dare call that weakling a Hyuga, I should have killed her in the last Chunin Exam, it would have been doing my clan a favor."
"I would be careful of you choice of words, Hyuga-san, that's because Hinata is a precious teammate to both Kiba and I, and neither of us have forgiven you for what you did to her last time." "She deserves it, how is it that someone as weak as her is from the main branch, while I, the greatest prodigy in the history of my clan am treated no better than a glorified slave?"
"Sorry to interrupt, but the 15 minutes are up, so without further ado here we go." interrupted Darui "Shino Aburame vs. Neji Hyuga, Go!". As the fight began many people watching it were reflecting on the young Hyuga's words.
What a jack-ass. His clan sucks, but that doesn't mean he can just be an jerk about everything thought Naruto.
His hatred of the main branch is as strong as ever. It's true that my eldest daughter is worthless, but Neji may be more trouble than he's worth. thought Hiashi
My son your hatred of the main branch is justified, but Hinata-sama is the one member of the main branch who shows us kindness, don't let your hatred of the Main Family cloud your judgement of her, though Neji's father Hizashi.
"Gai Sensei, Neji-kun is a most youthful shinobi, but his words just now were the pinnacle of un-youthfulness were they not?" asked a curious Rock Lee. "Indeed that is so my most youthful pupil." stated Might Gai "I am most concerned about young Neji, I heard his fight in the preliminaries had most un-youthful motivations as well."
"That is it then, I shall challenge my eternal rival and beat him, showing him the Power Of Youth! If I am unable to beat him I will ask Sakura-chan on a date 100 times a day, for each time she rejects me I shall run 1000 laps around Konoha with my feet tied together!"
"Oh Lee!" "Gai-Sensei!" "Lee" "Gai-Sensei" as the two green clad shinobi with endowed eyebrows sobbed and hugged while shouting each other's name Team Gai's other team member acted on her anger at the two and embarrassment at being associated with them. "Shut up you two and watch Neji-kun's fight!" Yelled Tenten as she beat them with a fan that she had summoned.
Meanwhile on the battlefield the action had started, and both combatants were sticking to their clan techniques. Neji was trying to get in close to Shino in order to close off his chakra points using his Gentle Fist Taijutsu and Byakugan, while Shino was using evasive maneuvers and insect clones in order to avoid Neji, snd and swarm of his beetles was attempting to stick to Neji and eat his chakra.
Neji used his clan's rotation technique to prevent the insects from accomplishing their mission, as the high speeds at which he spun around knocked the beetles off of his body, while the chakra he expelled while spinning pushed them away from his body. Shino would use the few seconds it took for Neji to use the technique to put some distance between himself and the Hyuga, and the three way chase between the Aburame, the Hyuga, and the insects would resume.
"It seems that our group sessions with Gai-sensei have helped you quite a bit, Aburame-san. You are much faster than I remember you being, however you must realize you are at a disadvantage here. My rotation technique prevents your bugs from doing their job, nullifying your clan techniques. Your sensei is a genjutsu specialist, but I have the Byakugan, so if you were to fight me with your sensei's techniques they'd only fail."
"Are you so sure my beetles aren't having an effect, Hyuga-san? Their job is to drain my opponent's chakra reserves, either by eating it or by forcing my opponent to expel large amounts of chakra to deal with them. Having Hinata as a teammate I know how much chakra your rotation technique takes, based on how many times you have used it you should have used more than half of your reserves, on the other hand I have hardly used any." Damn, He's right, I'm using too much chakra dealing with these bugs. I need to get rid of them now. Time to reveal my secret weapon.
-Flashback No Jutsu-
Gai and Neji were standing in a training field having an argument. "Gai-sensei I need a secret weapon for the finals, why won't you teach me to open some of the eight gates?"
"I cannot do that my young pupil! Your motivations for fighting are most un-youthful. If I were to teach you to open any of your gates you would use the extra power for un-youthful purposes. Until you have proven you have embraced the springtime of your youth I refuse to teach you that technique." "Fine! then teach me some ninjutsu, you know some don't you?"
"Of course, unlike your youthful teammate Lee I am fully capable of using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu and have an arsenal of both amongst my youthful skills, however as Taijutsu is the most youthful of the ninja arts I have dedicated myself to specializing in Taijutsu. Why would a Hyuga want to use Ninjutsu? I was under the impression that your clan used only the most basic of ninjutsus, like body flicker, and specialized exclusively in your clan techniques when in youthful combat."
I can't just tell him I want to learn some to spite the main family, Gai-sensei will know if I'm lying. I have to add something else to convince him. I can't believe I'm going to stoop this low, but I have no choice. "That rule was established by the main branch. Of course I know the Byakugan and Gentle Fist are superior to all other forms of combat, but I refuse to be a slave to the main family. I will not specialize in ninjutsu, but I want to have a couple of them to pull out in order to *sigh* prove my youthfulness to Hiashi-sama."
Neji's last few words were barely audible, but Gai heard them and embraced his student in a bear hug, while tears poured out of his eyes. "Oh Neji Your youthfulness has moved me! I shall do my best this month to teach you ninjutsu, and if I fail I shall borrow one of my eternal rival's un-youthfull books and read it front to back!" When Gai finished crying he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "This paper will show us what your chakra element is, using all of your youth run some of your chakra through it."
-Flashback no Jutsu Over-
Neji ran through a series of hand signs before calling out "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" a fireball shot from the Hyuga's mouth and enveloped Shino's insects. In the Konoha suite Hiashi yelled out in rage "Gai-san What is the meaning of this ?! How dare you allow him to sully the Byakugan by sinking so low as to having to use Ninjutsu. Even the Branch Family is superior to the rest of you pieces of trash that have to use such as disgusting and impure art as ninjutsu. This is a disgrace to the Hyuga Clan, the pinnacle of Humanity! I have half a mind to activate his seal right now and kill him for such a transgression!"
"Please, Hiashi-sama. I'm sure my son has a good reason for sullying the clan name, why not hear him out before deciding anything?" "Silence! First this whelp uses techniques forbidden to the branch family in the last chunin exams, now ninjutsu here, unacceptable!" I can't believe it. Hizashi is his little brother, yet he treats him as a servant. The Hyuga clan are truly despicable. I need to get Hinata out of there as soon as possible. thought an enraged Kurenai Yuhi, Team 8's sensei.
On the battle field Neji was grinning. I did it, I burned his bugs to a crisp, I've won! "Surrender, Aburame-san, as I said you are an exemplary shinobi for a non-Hyuga, but this battle is over." "This battle isn't over, Neji-san. That's because you haven't burned all of my beetles, and also because if you think you're the only one to bring a secret weapon to this tournament you are sadly mistaken."
-Flashback, Shino version-
On the first day of the training regimen Tsunade had set out for the 4 Konoha finalists, the same day that Neji had approached Gai about Ninjutsu, Kurenai and Shino were also discussing what Shino should train in.
"Well Shino-kun, you'll be improving your speed and stamina with Gai before breakfast every morning, and working with your father in the afternoons, what should we work on between breakfast and lunch? You already know some of my Genjutsu, would you like to work some more on that?"
"I'm not sure that's the best idea, Kurenai-sensei, that's because thanks to your training Team 8's Genjutsu skills are already almost chunin level. I would argue that for these exams it would be most beneficial for me to add some other skill to my abilities, that's because, if I end up having to fight an opponent like Neji-san I' be a severe disadvantage." "Hm, well that's true, but as a Genjutsu specialist I can only do so much for you when it comes to other areas."
"You can still be a great help, Kurenai-sensei, that's because I believe you know some people who can help train me in what I'm thinking. Also, I would like to improve my ninjutsu and taijutsu, and even if you are a Genjutsu specialist I believe you can still help me in those areas, that's because, they don't let just anyone become a jonin-sensei."
-End Flashback-
As the fireball dissipated Neji, along with most of the audience, was shocked. Shino's bugs had been unaffected by the fire! "What is this? everyone knows that Fire and Water are the two biggest weaknesses of the Aburame Clan insect techniques!" Yelled an incredulous Neji.
"I must commend you, Neji-san. I was not expecting you to use Ninjutsu in this match, that's because, you're a Hyuga. However, even your unforeseen use of elemental ninjutsu is not enough to save you from the plan I developed for use in the event of our having to fight, that's because, unless you have suddenly become a toad summoner this plan is full-proof."
Neji fell to his knees and suddenly realized that his chakra reserves were practically empty, much lower than he had assumed they were. "What did you do to me? I'm a Hyuga Genius, I deserve to be main branch, you can't beat me!"
"It was quite simple, Hyuga-san. I simply put all the skills I gained over this past month into one plan." "Neji Hyuga is out of chakra and unable to continue, the winner is Shino Aburame!" announced Darui.
"Neji-san. I'm guessing your clan will be very mad at you, that's because many of your actions today will be viewed as going against your clan's doctrine. I suggest you reconsider your relationship with your cousin. My teammate may be a pariah amongst some of the main branch, but she is much beloved amongst the branch family and still does have a bit of influence in the main family. Despite all that you've done to her she still views you as a pseudo-big brother. I advise you not alienate what could be your last supporter in your clan's main branch."
"Kurenai-sensei? How did Shino beat Neji?" asked a confused Kiba. "Shino-kun may not be Shikamaru, but he's far and away the 2nd best strategist in your class." responded a smiling Kurenai
"He developed a possible plan to use against each of the other finalists, of course since he knew more about the other Konoha finalists those plans are much more detailed and more likely to work. As you know Shino-kun loves Etymology and is always trying to breed new varieties of beetle with new skills. During his clan training each afternoon he had focused on creating a type of beetle that didn't fly, but crawled to their opponent. He unleashed a hive full of them at the very beginning of the match. The next problem was to hide them from the Byakugan. To do so he and I worked on a type of pseudo-Genjutsu. He permeated the arena with a base level of chakra equal to that of one of his beetles, making it so that not even a Byakugan could see them, he had Hinata help him, making sure that he got the level of chakra to expel just right so that it was not possible to tell what he was doing. Some of the beetles burrowed into Neji's sandals and burrowed into his heels, where the callouses most people have made it difficult for Neji to detect anything. Rather than sucking out chakra, these beetles inject their own chakra, inflating their victim's chakra reserves. All Shino had to do was use the extra speed and strenght he got from Gai to avoid Neji until Neji had drained his own natural chakra reserves, then he had his beetles withdraw. Because the beetles had been inflating Neji's chakra he didn't realize he was as low as he was, and when the beetles withdrew all he was left with was his own, nearly empty, reserves." "How did his bugs survive the fireball though?" "Shino asked some of my other jonin friends and I to help him develop an Insect Shadow Clone Jutsu, much like the Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu usually associated with the Sarutobi clan."
"Oh, so those were clones. I can't believe he actually beat that pompous jackass."
Hiashi Hyuga was absolutely furious. First he dishonored the main branch in the last exams, learning techniques that are forbidden for the servants to learn, then he dishonors the Byuakugan by resorting to that disgusting ninjutsu, then he fails to beat an Aburame! Granted the Aburame are superior to most of the mindless rabble Konoha calls clans, but they are far beneath even the servant Hyugas. If Hokage-sama hadn't taken some what of a liking to the boy I'd kill him right now!"
In the Kage Box the Raikage spoke first. "Truly a phenomenal fight. The Hyuga boy showed a master of advanced Hyuga Clan techniques and more skill in elemental ninjutsu than I've ever seen a member of the clan use. The Aburame was also superb. In addition to mastery of his clan techniques and a chunin-level of Genjutsu manipulation he showed jonin level strategic planning, I intend to vote for both of them. Your thoughts, Tsuchikage-dono?"
"Hmn. As you know the only name more despised than Aburame within Iwa's walls is Namikaze, but I must admit the brat is clearly chunin level, as is the Hyuga." "Damnit, I had 20,000 ryo on Neji!" yelled a frustrated Tsunade.
As the medics whisked Neji to the stadium's infirmary and Shino made his way back to the green room Darui motioned for the video board to start scrolling through names again. When the board finally stopped Naruto couldn't help but grin at what he read: 'Z Yotsuki vs. Sakura Haruno".
"You can do it Z-kun! Pinky-chan has nothing on you!" Yelled Karui at the top of her lungs. Naruto, who had yet to leave the waiting room, and was standing next to Karui, covered his ears. "Geez Karui-chan, I'm right here, No need to make me go deaf!"
"Oops just got kinda excited. Go get em, Z-kun." said Karui as she gave Naruto a good luck hug. As she broke the hug she released a bit of killing intent. "Of course you realize if you embarrass Team 2 there will be severe consequences." Karui-chan can be really scary when she wants to be, thought Naruto, who practically ran into the tunnel and out into the arena. The crowd roared when one of the hometown finalists entered the arena, and Naruto acknowledged them with a little wave. After the mandatory 15 minute break Darui called out: "Z Yotsuki vs. Sakura Haruno, ready? Go!"
Almost immediately Sakura used her super strength to punch straight into the arena floor, leaving a medium size crater, as if showing off her strength. Taking the offensive she then charged at Naruto. It's Ok Naruto, you knew she was strong, just can't get hit by her. thought Naruto, as he made a few shadow clones, which counter-charged.
Soon Sakura was surrounded by Naruto's shadow clones and a furious Taijutsu battle began. Sakura quickly gained the upper hand, as her strength made it so that she could take out a clone only using one finger. Furthermore, as she was a natural talent with medical ninjutsu she was able to heal whatever minor wounds the Naruto clones caused.
As the last clone dispelled the real Naruto lunged at Sakura, katana drawn and ready. Sakura jumped back to the crater, where she pulled out a scroll and unsealed a large amount of water, turning the scroll into a small lake. She walked out onto the lake and began running through a series of hand signs.
"The very first mission I went on outside of my village we ran across a missing-nin who used this technique. Kakashi-Sensei copied it, and since it turns out I have water affinity he taught it to me. It's only D-Rank, but I think you'll see it's very useful. Water Style: Kirigakure no Jutsu."
-Flashback-
"Alright Sakura, it looks like you have a water affinity. It's a very versatile affinity that I think will complement your natural affinity for medical ninjutsu and genjutsu." "But I don't know any Genjutsu, Kakashi-sensei."
"That's true, but I promised I'd never fail you again Sakura, so maybe I'll teach you one or two in addition to some water techniques. Let's get to work."
True to his word Kakashi was a very involved sensei this time around, at times he bordered on doting. Sakura knew he was going above and beyond in part to make up for his past transgressions with her and in part because he simply couldn't emotionally handle losing another teammate, but she wasn't going to complain about the extra attention.
Her mornings were hell. From Gai's ridiculous and extreme work out regiment to Tsunade, who was very strict and often beat the living hell out of Sakura in their spars, only to heal her before dismissing her. Afternoons with Kakashi, who while now far more attentive still retained his laid back style, seemed almost like a vacation to her, a vacation where she got a whole lot stronger. I need to get stronger, Sasuke-kun, I need to get stronger so I can bring you back home was a thought that she had almost every day during the month of training before the finals.
-End Flashback-
As a fog bank over took the arena and obscured his vision Naruto stopped charging and switched to a defensive stance. From behind him he heard something, so he turned around and instinctively swung his blade. He was surprised to see that he had beheaded his opponent, and was even more surprised when the body turned into water. A Water Clone. Karui-chan didn't mention anything about this girl being able to use water style. She told me this girl was just a stubborn girl who used medical ninjutsu and super strength. She must have been holding back in the last exam.
In the Kage Box Kumo was testing out a new technology, Infrared, to allow the Kage to watch the fight on monitors even though the arena was obscured by mist. This girl's really good. She could give Naruto a run for his money, thought the Raikage before he spoke: "I must say Hokage-dono, this girl is very talented."
"She better be, she's been my apprentice for the last couple of months. There will be hell to pay if she disappoints me." "To be the apprentice to the famed slug princess, such an honor for this girl, I hope she realizes how fortunate she is, eh Raikage-Dono?" stated the Tsuchikage, who still refused to directly speak to Tsunade. "Indeed, To think Hokage-Dono would be willing to take a second apprentice, this girl is lucky indeed."
Back in the fog bank Sakura had moved off of the lake. I needed the water source for the mist and water clone techniques, but now that he's distracted and can't see me I think I'm going to try something else. Having snuck up behind Naruto she made the snake hand seal, followed by the ram seal and whispered "Demonic Illusion, Hell Viewing Technique."
Ever since her days in the Konoha Academy Sakura had been told she had talent with Genjutsu, but until the past month no one had bothered to teach her. No Academy teacher knew much about Genjutsu, and "Kakashi 1.0" as she had now taken to calling the Kakshi of the old Team 7 days had ignored her.
Tsunade's teachings were too focused on medical skills and taijutsu for anything else. Only "Kakashi 2.0" had bothered to tell her anything about this field that she was supposedly a natural in, and even then he had only taught her the 1 D-rank technique. That said due to her own personal experience with the technique, it was the one "Kakashi 1.0" had cast on her during the bell test, she new it was extremely effective.
Naruto was cautiously making his way through the fog trying to find Sakura, when he was able to just barely discern the silhouettes of two figures. As he approached them he recognized one from his experiences training with Yugito, and the other from a picture in an Academy textbook.
"Kaa-san? Otou-san? You're dead? What is this?" Standing in front of him were none other than his biological parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. "Hello Demon." said the 4th Hokage "So you survived huh? My seal was supposed to kill you. Demons like you don't deserve life."
"I guess we'll have to finish the job ourselves, Minato-kun. We brought this monster into the world, we have to take it out." said the red headed Uzumaki as she drew her Katana and the Blonde Hokage pulled out one of his famed trident-esque kunai.
Naruto's mind was working overtime trying to figure out what was going on. But...Kaa-san, when I met you in my mind you were really happy to see me! You told me you loved me! Why?" His body froze as tears welled up in his eyes. Just as his parents were about to deliver the killing blow a new emotion took him, Anger!
From deep within Naruto the Kyuubi's chakra, which Naruto had been suppressing since the end of his Genbu training in order to hide his Jinchuuriki status, began bubbling up. Naruto's eyes turned red and he suddenly had a moment of mental clarity.
Genjtusu! Of course. The Kyuubi's chakra exploded in a massive burst breaking the Genjutsu. Naruto quickly realized what had happened and regained control. Crap, I got so emotional Kurama's chakra leaked out and broke the Genjutsu! Hopefully the mist hid what happened.
In the Konoha Box all of the Byakugan users present saw the chakra burst. It seems Hokage-sama was right to have me observe this fight. That boy let out a strange red chakra in order to break the Genjutsu. I know I've seen a chakra like that before, but where? I'm probably still to mad to be thinking straight about this. I'll report it to Hokage-sama after the fight, and once I've calmed down I'll meditate on where I've seen that chakra before. thought the head of the Hyuga clan. What w-w-was that? That chakra was so...d-d-dark and angry. Though his eldest daughter.
Naruto, now free of the Genjutsu, had developed a plan of his own. First I need to get rid of this fog. That should do the Trick! Tiger, Ox, Dog, Rabbit, Snake. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto unleashed a large and powerful gust of wind, clearing the battle field of the mist. He quickly found himself staring at Sakura, who was 10 feet away from him. Step 1: Locate the girl, complete. Now for step two. Yotsuki Clan Secret Technique: Silver Tongue Genjutsu, Naruto Version.
-Flashback, Two weeks ago-
"All right Naruto, your uncle and I think we know why you've been having so much trouble with the clan secret techniques." "Isn't it because I don't posses the Kekkai Genkai, Otou-san?" "No my boy, the Kekkai Genkai of hearing chakra certainly makes our aural based genjutsu easier to understand, but just because you lack the Kekkai Genkai doesn't mean you can't learn the techniques."
"It doesn't, then what's the problem Gennai-oji?" "The problem is that like all Genjutsu our techniques don't take very much chakra, and require very fine chakra control. Considering how much chakra you have your control is great, but it's not physically possible for you to produce such a small amount of chakra. The solution is therefore to simply modify the jutsus to make them use more chakra. Let's try this out..."
-Flashback over-
Yotsuki Clan Secret Technique: Silver Tounge Genjutsu, Naruto Version. "I must say Haruno-chan, your combination of the mist jutsu and the genjutsu are a potentially lethal combination, but I think this fight is over now." The Silver Tounge Genjutsu was the most basic of the Yotsuki Clan's genjutsu. As Aural based genjutsu they assaulted the brain via the ears, where as most genjutsu, especially in Konoha, home to the famous Sharingan genjutsus, aimed for the opponent's eyes.
Naruto channeled chakra into his tongue, so that the very words he spoke were laced with chakra, which upon reaching Sakura's ears, would begin the assault on her brain. What the hell is he talking about? I'm winning this fight, when a new voice, and for Sakura a very familiar voice, called out "Long time no see, Sakura."
Sakura looked over to where the voice was coming from to see a shirtless Sasuke Uchiha. "You've grown so much stronger Sakura. I need you with me now. You're the only one who can help me revive the Uchiha clan. Please, come with me to Oto, become my wife, and become the mother of the new Uchiha Clan."
"Oh Sasuke-kun, Yes!, Yes! I'd do anything for you Sasuke-kun. I Love you Sasuke-kun, I'll gladly leave Konoha and join Oto if I can be by your side!" Cried a joyous Sakura as she ran over to her beloved. She reached Sasuke and tried to envelop him in a hug.
As she went in for a kiss the image of her beloved disappeared, revealing one of Naruto's shadow clones. She was taken completely by surprise as a fist connected with her forehead. As darkness consumed her she could just barely make out "Winner: Z Yotsuki!" followed by the crowd roaring in approval.
"HOW DARE SHE!" Tsunade slammed her fist down into her chair, completely shattering the chair, and forcing her to make a quick movement so that she didn't fall over. "After all I've done for that girl, not only does she fall for a genjutsu, but she reveals she'd leave Konoha to go serve Orochimaru if that Uchiha bastard asked her!"
The only thing that stopped her rant was the maniacal laughter coming from Onoiki, clearly enjoying Konoha's misfortune and the Hokage's humiliation. It was a good think that Onoiki had the ability to fly, because his chair quickly disintegrated beneath one of Tsunade's fists.
Inside the waiting room Choji, Kurotsuchi, and Karui watched the video board with baited breath, waiting to see who would get the first round bye and who would have to fight. As Naruto re-entered the waiting room the video board landed on the names: Choji Akimichi vs. Karui.
In the Kage Box Onoiki smiled. So Kurotsuchi has the 1st round bye. Excellent, I know my granddaughter is strong enough to win this tournament. I only hope she gets to embarrass some of those useless Konoha genin in the process. From the Konoha Box came a loud, shrill scream: "Go Choji! Show Tomato Head the power of Team 10!"
So I'm fighting the Akimichi huh? According to the scouting reports we got on him the main thing is that I can't call him fat. Who would though? The Akimichi are a major clan and their techniques are well known, I guess some idiots who don't know how the clan techniques work decided to pick on him and make him self conscious.
Karui stood confidently across from her opponent, waiting for the fight to start. The Cloud 9 had all shared information on the finalists they had worked with or fought throughout the previous exams, and the Akimichi Clan were well known throughout the ninja world, so she was confident that she had a good idea of Choji's abilities. "The final match of the 1st round: Karui vs. Choji Akimichi! Ready? Go!"
Choji started off the match very predictably. He employed his clan's expansion and human boulder techniques to roll around the stadium in an attempt to crush Karui. Shit, he's faster than I thought he'd be. Who knew big guys could move so quickly! thought Karui. I'm using too much energy to try to dodge him, I need to get on the offensive, now.
Karui knew she had a tight window for her plan to work. When it looked like Choji was about to emerge from the boulder technique she channeled lightning chakra into her feet, drastically increasing her speed, and lunged towards her opponent. She timed it perfectly, and just as Choji emerged from the technique she was on top of him, Katana drawn. What happened next was surprising to just about everybody in the arena. Choji had blocked Karui's Katana with a blade of his own.
-Flashback no Jutsu, Akimichi Version-
Choji, Choza, Asuma, and Shikamaru were sitting in a booth at Yakaniku Q. The Akimichi clan head had met the three as they left the Hokage's office after debriefing on the first two rounds and preliminaries of the chunin exam, and had treated his son, and his son's sensei and best friend to lunch. Team 10's other member, Ino, had also been invited, but was forced to decline as she had to work at her family's flower shop.
Choji was ravenously devouring the BBQ meat. His father, while also eating more than his fair share, he was the Akimichi Clan Head after all, was involved in a discussion with Asuma and Shikamaru about Choji's training.
"Sarutobi-Dono, I'm glad you'll stay involved in my son's training over this next month. I'm hoping you'll teach him some new skill or ability that he can use as a secret weapon in the finals."
"I was thinking the same thing, Choza-dono." "Pa, why are you calling Asuma-sensei -dono?" "Because, as you know your sensei is the son of the 3rd Hokage. When Lord 3rd died your sensei became head of the Sarutobi Clan, and as such is a member of the village council, like me." Choji briefly grunted his acknowledgement and understanding before he dug back into the heaps of meat sitting on the grill.
The next day Choji showed up for training to find Asuma joined by Raido Namiashi, whom Choji knew as a former teammate of Asuma's known for his Kenjutsu and assassination skills.
Raido was also famed as a member of the Goei Shotai, the Hokage Guard elite group of non-ANBU shinobi who, along with an ANBU team, were the Hokage's personal bodyguards. Members of the Goei Shotai were also famed for being able to use a modified version of the 4th Hokage's famous teleportation jutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique, allowing them to work as a team to teleport their charge out of danger.
"Ah, Choji, good. Raido and I are going to work on giving you a secret weapon." "Yeah, Choza-sensei is going to be working with you on using a Bo Staff, since it is something your clan is known for wielding, but we're going to give you a little ace in the hole, some training with blades." "Wait, Raido-san, was Pa your sensei?"
"No, but I was a genin at the same time as Team Choza, and much like you call Kakashi and Kurenai sensei we all called the other team leaders sensei as well. Minato-sensei, Choza-sensei, and a few others. Your father's students were Genma, Ebisu, and Gai." "Gai-sensei is Pa's student?!" "Yeah, hard to believe I know, but it's true."
"Anyways..." said Asuma hoping to get the other two to focus. "Raido will give you some sword training, but I think for the finals it will be better to have something hidden, so while Raido will train you in swords I'll be training you to use some of these." said Asuma, motioning to his trench knives.
-End of Flashback-
Just as Karui had begun to slash at Choji with her Katana Choji had pulled out a trench knife and successfully parried the attack. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!" he yelled, as the arm not holding the trench knife grew to a massive size, and a gigantic fist connected with Karui's stomach, sending her flying across the arena. Choji pulled out a scroll and quickly summoned a staff.
He crossed his arms in front of him in an X position. In one hand he held the trench knife, facing downwards, in the other the bo staff, smaller than normal, ran almost parallel to his arm. Not good thought Karui Akimichi Bo-staffs are said to grow and shrink in size along with their owner's expansion jutsu, but based on the size of his staff it looks like they can simply grow or shrink at their user's will, regardless of the user's size.
Choji's confidence had grown as the fight progressed, and this time he took the initiative to charge forward at Karui. A fierce battle ensued as Karui used her Katana to fend off the staff and knife. Since Choji had shrunk his staff down to about half of its normal size he was easily able to wield it one handed, and it worked in excellent combination with his staff.
Karui focused on blocking the knife, knowing that while the staff caused incredibly pain it was less likely to cause major injuries, so she was taking a beating from the staff. She was able to dodge some of the hits, but was taking more hits than she would have liked. All of a sudden Karui felt something connect with her jaw that sent her flying to the ground.
Choji had managed to get a clean hit to her face with his staff. This is not good, I can't lose here. As Darui looked like he was about to call the fight Karui managed to stand up. I won't lose here. "You should give up, I really don't want to hurt you, hurting people isn't fun." said the kind, if still a bit naive, Akimichi. "That's very sweet of you, but I can't loose here." Naruto and Omoi wouldn't give up, so neither will I. His Sensei is known for using knives like that to channel Wind Chakra, however it appears that this boy is no blade master, he's probably only recently begun learning how to use them. He's good, but I doubt he's learned to fuse chakra into his knife yet. I'm almost out of chakra, so this is a huge risk, but I don't have a choice.
-Flashback-
"So let me make sure I understand you Samui-sensei. In the mornings I'll train with you and Omoi-kun will train with B-sensei. Then at lunch the 4 of us will discuss my possible opponents and strategies for beating them, then after lunch I'll train with B-Sensei and Omoi-kun will train with you."
"Exactly Karui. In the prelims you showed a good mastery of the first two steps of one of our village's ultimate kenjutsu techniques. You know how to channel lightning chakra in to your feet to make you run faster, and into your blade to make it stronger. I also understand you know the kenjutsu move "Cloud-Style Front Beheading", so all you need is one more step and you'll have one of our ultimate Kenjutsu moves, so that's what we'll be working on."
-End Flashback-
Once again Karui channeled lighting chakra into her feet and charged her opponent. Choji held both his staff and knife in front of him, as if to block her strike. At the last possible second Karui channeled her lightning chakra into her blade as expected, but also into her arms, allowing her to swing the blade with more speed and strength than normal.
"Raiton: Cloud Style Front Beheading!" She called as a single slash broke through both Choji's knife and staff. Thankfully for Choji the knife and staff were at least able to weaken the blow enough that the slash he received across his chest wasn't fatal.
"Choji Akimichi is unable to continue, the winner is Karui from Kumogakure!" As the crowd erupted with cheers Karui knelt down and started bandaging the Akimichi's wounds.
"You fought well, Choji-kun. You should have more confidence, once you believe in yourself you'll be unstoppable. "You really think so?" "Of course I do, baka!" "Thanks, Karui-san." As the medics arrived and carted Choji away she called out, "Please, call me Karui-chan!" Above the roar of the crowd she almost thought she heard "Now you all see how awesome she can be, Karui, the awesome kunoichi student of me, the rappin' host of the Hachibi!"
"Not only an impressive display of kenjutsu, but an excellent display of sportsmanship after the fight. You should be proud of that one Raikage-Dono." "Indeed Hokage-Dono, I'm very pleased by her results."
"Hmph, but on a battle field would you really heal your opponent's wounds? No! You'd finish them off!" stated the Tsuchikage. "This isn't a war zone though, Tsuchikage-dono, these are just kids." Countered Dodai. "While I agree with your thought process I hardly think the Chunin exam finals are the place to go out of your way to kill some one."
From the arena floor Darui called out "In order to allow the fighters time to rest and recover their chakra we will now take a 3 hour break. You are allowed to leave the stadium, however you must have your hand stamped on the way out, and will need both the stamp and your ticket stub to re-enter the arena. In the interest of giving those of you placing bets the maximum amount of time to place them we will now determine whom will fight in each semi-final match.
The arena's video board began cycling through the names of the four remaining finalists before finally stopping on "Match 1: Shino Aburame vs. Karui. Match 2: Kurotsuchi Kamizuru vs. Z Yotsuki."
-End of Chapter-
Next time on Naruto Yotsuki: Hiashi reports Naruto's 2nd chakra to Tsunade and Jiraya! How will they react! Also the Semi finals are underway as Shino takes on Karui and Kurotsuchi clashes with Naruto! Who will make it to the finals?
Hey I tried something new! Flashbacks. Since the show uses them all the damn time I figured I'd try out a couple here. Previously I was just explaining background information. Not sure if I prefer using flashbacks or just explanations.
Yes I know Shino's method of victory is a bit strange, but my plans for the other matchups made a Shino vs. Neji match up a necessity, and Shino is one of my favorite characters and I really wanted him to win, so I had to come up with some way for it to happen. I get that even by Naruto standards it is fairly ridiculous, but it is what I came up with on short notice.
References from Chapter 9:
The chapter is named after Duke Ellington's 1938 classic "Prelude To A Kiss" one of my favorite Big Band Jazz Ballads.
Thanks for reading,
-Col. Bogey