Naruto is a manga series by Masashi Kishimoto published by Shueisha in Japan's Shonen Jump and VIZ Media in the American Shonen Jump. The anime series is produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex for TV Tokyo and Animax with VIZ Media having gone through multiple networks over the years. I don't own the series, I make no money out of doing this. Please support the official release.
Alright guys, another day, another Slug and Dosu's alive! Did anyone see that coming? Huh? Did ya? You did? Well, I don't believe you. :P
On another note, last chapter I asked you guys if you wanted me to do a separate fanfic that was like this one, except the main story's threesome would be two guys and a girl instead of three guys. This was in response to people complaining about the slash romance planned for this story. And the response was… no. So if you complain about it any further then all I can say is; you had your chance so blow it shut up and GTFO. :P
Chapter Fourteen: Alive! The Melody Continues!
On the night of a full moon in Konohagakure, during the month allotted for training before the final round of the Chunin Exams, the youngest child of the Kazekage of Sunagakure sat on the roof of a tall and elegant building. He stared up at the bright orb in the night sky and felt Shukaku's blood lust rise up within him. He had chosen the roof because it separated him from the rest. He knew he would have killed the one who claimed the title of Team Leader and the two who called themselves his siblings if he had been near them on that night, a night when Shukaku's blood lust could overpower his self-control. He started to wonder what sleep felf like when he sensed the approach of another. The figure's face was almost completely covered in bandages and he wore a Hitai-ate that indicated him as one of Orochimaru's ninja. He couldn't remember his name, only that he had been the one who beat the roly-poly blob Genin. 'A mistake on your part snakeling, Shukaku is hungry and you're here.'
"You sure got me," Kinuta Dosu, leader of Otogakure's premier Genin Squad, Team Dosu, called out to the Suna Genin. "I guess you really don't sleep. That's a shame for you then; I was going to get you quiet-like while you slept. Now, we'll have to fight. Right here, right now. And my chances of facing the Uchiha boy will get ever higher." He pulled his sleeve back to reveal the Melody Arm. "I know about your Sand Armour Suna-kun, how about we see how it holds up against my Kyomeisen." Dosu was sure of himself. He had made it to the final round, he was the team leader and he was the smart. The sound from his Melody Arm could make it through whatever thickness the sand could offer and rattle the bones of the boy inside. He had tools, kunai, throwing stars and exploding tags. If push came to shove then he always had…. 'Is he laughing? That Suna freak is actually laughing!'
Gaara stood and looked down at the Oto-nin. "Foolish. 'He' gets thirsty during the full moon." Gaara's eyes closed and everything seemed to disappear into blackness. For a moment he felt calm, relaxed. 'Is this what sleep feels like?' He wondered. It didn't last. Soon his body was surrounded in pain, he felt like he was being eaten by millions and billions of little ants. Shukaku was devouring him again, just like every other time he had tried to sleep or let Shukaku take over. He pulled himself out of his rest and forced his eyes to open, to wake up. He woke to see three hideous rips across the roof. Like a gigantic animal had scratched into it. In the midst of this was a blood-stained corpse. 'Shukaku has fed then.' With that, he turned away and left, having no further interest in the site.
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On a separate rooftop, Kinuta Dosu watched the red-haired ninja leave. He turned his attention back to stitching the cut across his chest. He knew it was more luck than skill that had saved him. The straw raincoat he wore was a rare artefact from Kusagakure that he had taken for himself during a mission. The Wara Shroud allowed him to manipulate straw for a number of uses. In this case he had created a straw dummy and had it filled with a number of blood packs that he kept for just such an occasion. The dummy didn't move, talk or attack like a Kage Bunshin could but it didn't disappear after either. With this, the higher-ups would think he was dead. This gave him the perfect chance undercover reconnaissance. 'Orochimaru set us up. My Team were gonna be lambs to the slaughter for his experiments with the Uchiha. Way it is now, I have three options; One, finish the mission I was given and kill Uchiha. Two, let everyone think I'm dead and run. Three, kill Orochimaru-sensei. If I kill Uchiha, Orochimaru will either kill me or reward me. My money's on kill. If I run, Kin and Zaku will be killed since they probably still think Orochimaru was only testing us. Killing Orochimaru-sensei probably has the best payout but if I can't beat that Suna Brat, then what chance do I have against my own sensei?' His thoughts are disturbed when he realises he's not alone on the roof. He sees an old man covered in badages.
"That was an impressive move there Oto-nin, Kinuta Dosu," said Shimura Danzo. "Perhaps we can go downstairs for some tea and we can talk about Village allegiances."
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Dosu watched the first fight of the final round from a concealed spot, deciding to keep his distance from the red-headed Suna-nin. He was dismayed by the Uchiha brat's non-attendance, but that was another matter. For now, he decided to map out the battle capabilities of his future opponents. Uzumaki was clearly a master of his stealth, indicated by how cleanly, quickly and quietly he had tunnelled through the ground. Dosu knew servants of Orochimaru who could turn into giant moles that were messier. He was also an intuitive fighter with ridiculously efficient regenerative powers and a gruesome long range attack. 'That guy will have to fight Uchiha or Gaara before getting to me, I should be safe then. As for my side of the exams….. that Aburame guy is someone I'd want to keep my distance from, after what he did to Zaku. The Nara seemed unmotivated in his fight with Kin but he's obviously capable and powerful. He's probably more of a tactician than a fighter, like me. Given the time, by the time we get to our fight, most of the arena will be shadow and I'll have nowhere to run. Then there's Gaara's brother and sister. She seems reliant on her fan, a long range fighter with a Wind Nature. Zankuha should dispel any wind attacks, then I should get close and separate her from the fan. The guy is a Puppet-user and doubtless he's able to use it for a lot more things than simple substitution. Probably holding back. Still, the puppet's made of hollow wood and sound can still break it, or try to get past it and hit the Puppet-Master.'
He watched as a scarred ninja, that Danzo-sensei had identified as Namiashi Raido, appeared next to the Proctor and after a small conversation the Proctor stepped forward and raised his voice to the audience. "Ladies and Gentleman! Due to an unforeseen delay in the arrival of one of the combatants we are going to move onto the next battle!" Dosu squinted his eye in annoyance. He had hoped to see his once-target in combat again but it seemed he had either run off or been taken care of prior to the match. But for it to be delayed rather than disqualify Uchiha….. Likely there were some higher-ups with deep pockets that wanted Uchiha to fight whenever he got here, to see how the Last Uchiha performs. The Proctor wasn't finished. "Aburame Shino v.s. Subaku no Kankuro! Will the combatants please come on down!"
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"Shoot." Kankuro looked out at the arena floor and then at the puppet strapped to his back. 'My match doesn't really matter. That shady guy looks easy enough but after what he did the other guy he faced I don't wanna risk damaging Karasu so soon before the Invasion. Damn, I don't like backing out of an easy fight like this…..' He raised his hand into the air and shouted down to the Proctor. "I forfeit!"
In another side of the stadium, Kinuta Dosu watched as the Aburame Genin's clothes rustled with activity and the noise of clicking and screeching could be heard. Like a beehive that had just been poked with a stick. Dosu remembered once when Kin had used her senbon to knock a beehive on one the Sound Five's heads. It was the eight-limbed Kidomaru, if he remembered correctly. It was hilarious until the spidery ninja started eating the bees. He couldn't read the Aburame from such a distance but at a guess, he was almost certain that Aburame Shino looked like he was ready to blow a gasket.
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'We need to play for time. If the plan is to wait till this Uchiha kid shows up then I better make this look good.' Temari unhooked her War Fan and with a great swing she surrounded herself with a great gust of wind. As it settled she disappeared, only to jump out of the tornado that had started right next to the Proctor. She walked out and waited for her opponent to come down.
'A powerful gust that masks high speed movement, making it look like teleportation. Rather flashy really, not very in keeping with the image she was presenting. She's playing for time.' Surmised Dosu. 'They must be waiting for Uchiha to show up before they attack. And yet for the Puppet-user to forfeit, to conceal his full capabilities…. They're waiting for Uchiha to show up.' He shifted his weight and considered his next step, entering the public view. 'Obviously I could just drop down now and begin with Nara, but then I'll have to face the Suna-nin. If I wait for them to start then I have a chance of seeing her in action but I could risk disqualification….'
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"Hey! Hurry up and get on with this crappy fight!" There were other shouts that followed basically the same theme being hurled out as Shikamaru made his way down the steps and onto the arena floor.
He sighed. "Everyone is so eager to see Uchiha fight. They're probably annoyed that after that long-ass intermission they're being forced to watch a pathetic excuse of a match between two side acts, wouldn't you say Proctor?" Genma could only nod, agreeing with the pineapple-headed Genin's summation of current events. From his hidden spot, Dosu also nodded in agreement. As he did so, he saw the blond Kunoichi ruash forward and a third option for this fight came to him.
"You bastard! Don't stick me with the same label as you!" She leapt into the air, swinging her War Fan in a huge, viscous arc. A huge gust surged toward Shikamaru, who ducked out of the way to avoid being hit. Two more gusts came, from opposite directions and as Shikamaru tried to decipher a way out of it…
"Zankuha!" Another blast from another direction struck the gust and dispelled them. The Proctor and the two Genin turned toward the approaching figure. The figure was holding a strange pipe in his left hand and as he approached he lifted his voice. "Sorry I'm late, but I was meeting a teammate whilst he was convalescing and lost track of time."
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Up in the stands, Gaara showed a rare display of emotion. Shock. Team leader Baki was also shocked as he looked at the approaching figure. "Gaara…. I thought you…."
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"Kinuta Dosu, reporting for duty." He stood at full height, his hunching would have made his entrance rather anti-climactic. He had also updated his wardrobe. He still had his Otogakure standard issue boots, snake-patterned scarf and trousers with the Wara Shroud. However, he was now wearing a short-sleeve black jacket that was open and stopped above his midriff. His scar from Shukaku's attack was very visible, as was his previously hidden weapon, the Melody Arm. He held the long, chakra-enriched pipe in his left hand and slid it into a holster on his boot. There was another change he had made that the others were staring at intently. His Hitai-ate. "Kinuta Dosu, leader of Team Dosu, formerly of Kusagakure, formerly of Otogakure, currently a Konohagakure Genin, ready to fight sir." He gave a small bow to the Proctor. The Suna Kunoichi was having none of it.
"He's late for his match with the Pineapple-head, he's forfeited his match by default. Now get him off the field or I'll-ugh!" Her speech was cut off as Dosu, channeling air out of the pipe, rocketed towards her and punched her in the stomach with his Melody Arm. He activated his Kyomeisen and punched again. She fell back a short distance, clutching her stomach until she started retching, throwing up in the middle of the arena.
Dosu turned to the Proctor. "It was supposed to be a one-on-one between the Nara and myself and the young girl over there attacked my opponent before you gave the mark. I could petition for her disqualification," he noticed a horrified look on her face between bouts of retching on the floor, "however, I actually think we should continue the fight with all three of us. It ought to make up for certain matches being skipped over." He made it sound as logical as he could and beneath his wraps he smiled as the Proctor nodded in agreement.
The Proctor raised his voice again to the audience. "Ladies and Gentleman! This Match will be a Three-Way-Battle! Nara Shikamaru of Konoha! Versus Subaku no Temari of Suna! Versus Kinuta Dosu of Konoha! If the combatants are ready?" Temari pulled herself off the ground and nodded. "Then, BEGIN!"
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In the audience, Baki gripped the railing tightly. One of Orochimaru's men had switched sides? How much did he know of the Invasion? "It is of no concern Baki." He turned to face Gaara. "He was one of Orochimaru's crash-test dummies for whatever he did to Uchiha Sasuke. He was never part of the Invasion Plan." Baki sighed in relief and returned his attention to the fight.
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Underneath his disguise, Orochimaru felt a knot of rage tighten in his stomach. That one of his experiments didn't have the good grace to die when he was no longer needed was something he hated, and worse still that disobedient whelp had joined up with Konoha as well. 'You shall pay for your insolence Dosu-kun. With your life.'
Sat beside him, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and had an extra-long puff of his pipe. The Kinuta boy had been a tough egg to crack but after much negotiation, he had agreed to help them. His knowledge of all the faces of Otogakure's Elite and his talent for sketching meant that all the Jonin and ANBU had pictures identifying all the lead combatants in the service of Orochimaru. Forces had been scattered to watch over them, ready to attack at any moment. The Suna Forces were still unknown but it still meant that the Invasion Force's overall efficiency had been more or less cut in half. 'Excellently done old friend. I hope Orochimaru likes your next surprise, Danzo.'
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Temari launched another massive wind strike at her opponents and both jumped away. 'Heh, these Leaf Rats are good at running away then?'
Shikamaru peered out from behind a tree and watched the kunoichi work while trying to analyse the recent developments. 'I'm not going to lose this fight, but now it's two at once? Besides, a guy can't just go around and hit a girl so…'
From the balcony; with a voice that disturbed the wildlife in Nami no Kuni, such was the volume it was at that time Ino yelled, "BUST HER UP! SHIKAMARU! GET HER WITH A SIXTEEN HIT COMBO! YEAH!" Ino punched the air and Shikamaru sighed, feeling tired out just from the force of her… resonating voice.
On the other side of the arena, hidden behind a tree, Dosu shook his head in an attempt to stop his ears ringing. 'If that kind of voice is hereditary, she would be ideal as the first Oto-nin to wield a related Kekkei Genkai.' He returned to analysing his match. His attack on the Kunoichi told him her skills were more in the long-ranged field of fighting but she wasn't without some skill. She had tensed at the right time and would likely have been able to counter his attack had it not been for the sound penetrating her. He also knew that she would keep her distance from him and would probably target him first. Her first mistake. At this time of the day, Nara would be the ideal first target. His shadows won't reach far, so he's the most vulnerable.
Temari spotted Shikamaru in the patch of trees to her left. 'Let's see, he's a ninja that uses shadows, so he'll obviously try to lure me into the shade. Like I'll fall for that! That other one uses sound waves and he has that pole that can fire airwaves. Like my war fan but a great deal more suited to stealthy, specially aimed attacks. I can't see him but I can't let him get too close. Heh, I was going to make this flashy to play for time, but it looks like this match will take a while without any grandstanding.'
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Ino felt her jaw drop when she saw Choji pull out yet another bag of crisps. "Is your stomach really fully recovered Choji?" Choji chose to ignore the question.
"Isn't Uchiha supposed to be fighting now?" He noticed a vein on Ino's temple that was quivering and steadily getting more pronounced. 'Best change the subject from that skinny mute…' mused the next head of the Akimichi Clan. "Hmmm, for Shikamaru to be in the Finals…. It seems really out of place for him, don't you think?"
Ino considered what Choji was saying. "You were given time off training so you could recover Choji, so you haven't seen it. But Lately Shikamaru has been training properly and while he can't breathe fire or make solid clones, he's really good at devising strategies. Like when he co-ordinated some of our missions instead of Asuma-sensei? And I don't think we'd have made it as far as we did in these exams if it hadn't been for him. He walked down there and he wasn't pushed and he didn't whine or anything. He seems like he's really revved up for this." She again burst from her seat and her words woke the Kumogakure Jinchukiri Killer Bee from his dreams of rapping with the stars. "GO SHIKAMARU!"
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Shikamaru moved to another tree to get a view of the arena, looking for some clue as to how he might be able to beat two Ninja that clearly approach fights the way he does. It was as it had been at the end of the match between Neji and … Naruto. He looked up at Naruto, who was cheering him on loudly and with a smile on his face. And then he looked at the arena ground. 'That's right… he went and….. and then he… that…. that should work.' He stepped down from the tree and turned slightly, entering Temari's field of vision with a large, knowing smile on his face.
Temari scowled. 'What is doing with that dumb expression on his face? Is he making fun of me?' She pulled her War Fan back. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" A powerful gust rolled out of her. Up in the crowd Tenten gasped at the attack that had banished all of her weapons as it tore into the trees that Shikamaru was standing by.
Dosu watched from his hiding space. He looked over to where Nara had been looking, hoping to discern his opponent's plan. 'Wait…. that's…. oh, that is clever. That is very clever. And I know just how to beat it. But let's see him do it to her, thin the competition for me.' Dosu rushed forward and launched his Zankuha at the blonde Kunoichi, forcing her to leap and launch her Kamaitachi at him. Her attack overpowered his and he pulled back, hiding away again.
As she landed and the dust cleared, Temari saw a thin black mass rush toward her. 'A shadow!' She leapt back, again and again. As she did so, 'It's…. it's starting to shrink!'She finally stopped and scored a line across the ground in front of her. "Ha! I have seen through your Kagemane no Jutsu!" She saw a tired look on his face, along with a long cut across his cheek. "There's a limit to how much you can stretch and shape your shadow isn't there? You can't stretch it any further than the original surface area of the shadow, am I right?" He nodded. 'Which would mean…. Judging by the distance from where he attacked from his shadow; from the furthest point the shadow from the stadium wall stretched…. Taking into account the possibility of him using the stadium's shadow as his own….. there!' She scored another line into the ground, a more solid one this time. 'The absolute limit of his shadow from him his fifteen metres and thirty-two centimetres.'
Shikamaru knelt down against the wall and closed his eyes. He then formed his hands into a shape with his fingers and thumbs touching their counterpart with his thumbs the closest to his head.
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Yuuhi Kurenai, Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha turned to Sarutobi Asuma, Shikamaru's Jonin Instructor, "What sort of Hand Seal is that? I've never seen anything like it." Asuma chuckled and had to catch his cigarette as it fell from his lips.
"That's no seal."