After Tatsu had given the shout, it was as if a gun went off in the brains of both Sasuke and his opponent. Axel was keeping his guitar behind his back, and the Oto-nin leapt towards him at a fierce speed, about to unleash a devastating haymaker.
Fortunately for Sasuke, it was clear that Taijutsu was not obviously Axel's strength. While it might have been somewhat difficult for Sasuke to have dodged this attack beforehand, the month of training he had spent in the Danger Room had obviously done wonders for the young Uchiha. His speed and reflexes in dodging the punch were nothing short of astonishing. Axel was not to be deterred however. He sent a fast sweeping kick in the air towards Sasuke, but this time, the Uchiha ducked and used the momentum to spin while ducking, landing a crushing kick onto Axel's jaw. The sound ninja was sent skidding on the grasslands, taking more than a second to skid to a halt.
"Oh! Looks like Sasuke really got that pansy waist this time folks! Our young contender has proven himself capable in the art of Taijutsu, but I wonder if Axel has any other tricks up his sleeve?" Tatsu announced to the roaring crowd.
"Tatsu-san, I'm not sure that it's such a good idea to call a Genin from a new village a 'pansy-waist'."
Umino Iruka had been drafted into the role of second commentator, as Tatsu had found most of the others who had applied for the position far too annoying. "However, I too would like to see if Axel-san has any other abilities. He didn't seem to be much of a threat in the preliminaries."
Apparently tired of being seen as a fool, Axel took the guitar off his back to show that he wasn't playing around. Sasuke however, wasn't playing either. To Axel and the other's surprise in the crowd, Sasuke quickly took out a pair of small white plugs (for lack of a better word) and stuck them in his hand. Axel seemed to be convinced that they were some kind of new exploding tag of some sort, and hastily began playing on his guitar. Sasuke stuck the plugs into his ears and then made hand seals.
"Doton: Doryuuheki!"
A wall of earth erupted from the ground as a defense and covered Axel's view of the young Uchiha. Still playing, Axel played a tune different from the one he had tried at the preliminaries, this causing a massive wave of sound pressure to come flying forward. Fortunately for Sasuke, the wave only hit the earth wall, although the wall caved after only one of the blasts.
"Looks like Sasuke is playing it smart today folks! Using ear plugs to lower the effects that Axel's phat beats may have on him, Sasuke seems to have planned well for this. Sound-nins seem to specialize in sound after all!"
"I agree that it was a smart move Tatsu-san, but it may have been a bit risky. Sasuke-kun has effectively lost most of his hearing by doing so." Iruka cautioned.
"A good assessment Iruka-kun! Oh, it looks like Sasuke's got a trick up his sleeve now!" Tatsu shouted excitedly.
In the wake of the earth wall's demise, there now appeared five different Sasuke's, most of which were obviously Bunshin. Four of the Bunshin ran forward, with the last one waiting behind them.
"As if that trick will work baka!" Axel shouted triumphantly. Readying his guitar, he sent a blast of sound at the stationary Sasuke… which passed right through him!
"I'd say it worked just fine."
The Bunshin dispelled and another Sasuke burst out of the ground, a kunai in his hand. Like lightning, he threw the kunai into Axel's prized weapon and quickly used Chakra to rocket backwards. Axel managed to fire off one last burst of sound, but after he did, his guitar literally exploded in his face. The explosion sent him rocketing off into a wall, clearly defeated.
Those who thought that Sasuke had been cornered by the burst of sound were in for a surprise. As the compressed air reached the young Uchiha it hit… and he promptly burst into a cloud of smoke, indicating that he had used his teammates' prized Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. The real Sasuke was quick to emerge from the ground and rose up to an enormous chorus of cheers. Many in the audience in what seemed like an instant took down their signs for Axel and began putting up signs in support of others instead.
"Sasuke's sure gotten better, eh Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked from within the waiting room.
"Yeah, but he's not the only one. Besides, you know he was holding back Naruto." Sakura cautioned him. "If any one of us was going all out, we would have flattened that guy in seconds."
"That might be true Sakura, but the judges are looking more for Shinobi who don't waste their abilities." Ino said. "Sasuke has a pretty good chance of becoming Chuunin at this rate."
Meanwhile, Tatsu had called the match in Sasuke's favor and had now gotten back to the commentator's box.
"WHOAH! An amazing victory for Uchiha Sasuke everyone! Carefully using deception, tactics and stealth on his side, Sasuke managed to take out an opponent with only one major attack, and he didn't even need the vaunted Sharingan to do it! It looks like the Uchiha clan may be coming back in style! What did you think, Iruka-san?"
"I would have to say that I was both surprised and impressed Tatsu-san. Sasuke-kun never fought as well as this back in the academy; he seems to have held back quite bit in an effort to prove that he possesses the necessary Chuunin attributes. He had enough power to be a Chuunin before, but now… I think he might just be ready for the title." Iruka said, somewhat breathlessly.
Tatsu gave a short laugh. "That might be, but I think it's just because he wants to conserve his energy to fight my son; and speaking of Naruto, you all probably assumed that his fight was next, right?"
The crowd gave a loud shout, obviously pumped to see Muhi Naruto against the Mist's secret weapon, Tri-Edge.
"Sorry, but that might not happen next! We're not going to do the fights in order minna-san! Instead, we're randomly going to select the next fight to come!"
The crowd muttered in distaste, hoping that the younger Muhi would fight next. Tatsu pressed a button, ignoring a sweating Iruka giving him a panicked look and pressed the button again.
"Sorry everyone, but it looks like you're going to have to wait a bit for that fight! Next up are Inuzuka Kiba and Yamanaka Ino. Do your best guys!" Tatsu cheered.
An enormous groan was let out from the audience, some of them booing and others going so far as to throw tomatoes at the unlucky Muhi. He surprisingly took it in stride, catching the tomatoes and then eating some of them. Others he put in a box labeled 'Sasuke's prize'. (1)
Kiba and Ino tensed up and looked at each other.
"Kiba, I know that you might think me weak, but DON'T hold back on me!" Ino demanded.
Kiba's shoulders relaxed. "Don't worry, I won't. We all worked too hard for this to let it end quickly!"
Kiba motioned Akamaru to join him, then slowly began taking off the weights he had been inspired to use so long ago, now having considerably more weight. While they might have not been as heavy as say Lee's, the crack they made in the floor indicated that they still were quite a lot of weight to carry around.
To his astonishment, Ino began mirroring his routine and also took off a pair of ankle and wrist weights, these looking smaller yet about the same weight as Kiba's own. She merely smirked at him and began walking out of the waiting room.
Naruto was watching this little exchange and narrowed his eyes when he noticed something about Ino that didn't seem to have been a part of her before. He looked at Sakura and noticed the same thing on both her and Hinata. He walked over to Hinata (who blushed at his smile) and asked something in a low voice.
"What was that, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked sweetly.
"I said, have your Chakra reserves increased in the last month?"
Hinata gave a small start. "Yes, Naruto-kun. The constant training we all did in the Danger Room helped us gain a lot more Chakra than before. Ano, and also, Sakura-san, Ino-san and myself found a few techniques in hopes of increasing our reserves. How did you know?"
To her amazement, Naruto of all people began to blush and avert his gaze at both her and Sakura's bodies.
"Well, I guess you all just looked a little… stronger to me." (2)
Hinata gave a pleased smile, and to the astonishment of Tatsu's protégé, Hinata gave him a smoldering kiss, smiling at the end.
At the same time, Tatsu was getting into his role as commentator a bit too much while waiting for the two fighters.
"Remember audience members, in just a few short weeks, you'll be able to see all of this again when the video 'Chuunin Exam Greatest Hits Vol. 1' comes to stores everywhere. We are now accepting pre-orders throughout the exam; however, a full payment of 200 Ryo per copy is required! Also, we don't accept the heads of missing nin, nor do we accept trade in kunai or Cash on Delivery! Order now!"
Beside him, Iruka was getting quite irritated. "Tatsu-san stop plugging your products and get back to your job! Ino and Kiba are still waiting for the go ahead!"
"This stadium sits sixty thousand people Iruka. I couldn't build this stadium for free you know."
"But they're commercials for YOUR products!"
"Exactly. I save money on licensing that way."
"Just get on with it!"
Tatsu cleared his throat. "Right you are Iruka-san! Now, before we begin, does either of the fighters wish to make a boast?"
Ino and Kiba glanced at each other. Both shook their heads in Tatsu's direction.
"Okay, it looks as though neither fighter wishes to boast at this time so without further adieu, let's get started!"
The stadium area began to change yet again. What was once a plains area was now a boggy swamp.
"Round 2… BEGIN!"
Both fighters quickly ran away to seek cover amongst the terrain. Kiba began by trying to sniff out Ino's sent.
Realizing what the dog boy was trying, Ino sighed. Realizing that this was no time to be vain, she looked for the nearest mud puddle and dove in, making sure to thoroughly cover herself in the substance. Afterwards, she took a vial of an odd concoction she had made with the help of the female grass-nin and poured it over herself.
Kiba's eyes narrowed as he noticed that Ino's scent had seemingly all but disappeared and was now being replaced by a truly horrible smell that he simply couldn't take; it was difficult, but he managed to cut off the instinctual trait of the Inuzuka clan and stopped the Chakra going to his nose. He quietly motioned Akamaru to hide in case of trouble. Making a small leap out of the tree he had been hiding in, Kiba redirected Chakra to his ears in order to try and find the blonde's hiding place.
"Well Iruka-san, it looks as though both Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba are off to a great start! Ino-san has managed to throw Kiba-san off track by replacing her scent with the use of a stink bomb. Quite ingenious I must say."
"You're right Tatsu-san. Not many realize one of the Inuzuka clan's weaknesses, but it seems as if Kiba-kun has trained hard to overcome it." Iruka concurred.
Kiba closed his eyes in quiet concentration. He could hear three distinct heartbeats, one of which he could tell was being moved at an insane rate underground. He waited, waited, waited… and struck!
Kiba burst forth like a rocket onto the being he was sure wasn't in Akamaru's direction. When he opened his eyes however…
"Akamaru?" he gasped.
Akamaru seemed to whimper pathetically. Kiba picked him up, remaining cautious, now noticing that neither of the heartbeats that wasn't his was no longer underground. What was especially curious was that another Akamaru came barking towards him.
It was after Ino hit his jaw that he realized the mistake he had made. (3) The blow had sent him sailing back, but Kiba was able to redirect his momentum so that his landing would be softened. Akamaru soon came to his side and seeing no other choice, Kiba fed his friend a soldier pill.
"It looks like things are heating up Tatsu-san! Ino-chan displayed quite a clever tactic by transforming herself into Akamaru in order to catch Kiba off guard."
"Definitely. What's even more impressive is that Ino-san hasn't even used any of her special abilities yet!" Tatsu exclaimed cheerfully.
"Like what Tatsu-san?" Iruka asked curiously.
Tatsu wagged his finger at the man. "You'll just have to wait and see."
Meanwhile, Ino was calming herself for Kiba's Beast Clone ability to start, knowing that the next move she made would take absolute concentration. Despite the fact that she was incredibly dirty, Ino still looked rather impressive as she began walking on some of the deep swamp water. As she did, the dog duo took advantage of the opening.
"Let's do it Akamaru! GATSUUGA!"
The duo sped forth like a bullet. Almost as quickly however, Ino formed the ram seal.
A second later, the crowd was driven wild.
Both Kiba and Akamaru had been trapped by vines that had seemingly grown overnight and were coated with deep thorns. The two were being held aloft seemingly through Ino's own will and Chakra, and after they began to tire, the vines grew limp.
Akamaru and his master lay panting, and Ino took out a kunai, ready for anything that might occur. Kiba turned to his partner and his face grew serious.
"Akamaru, I think the only way we can beat her at this rate is to use our secret weapon." Kiba panted.
Akamaru let out a series of yelps and barks.
"Yeah I know but… you know, we trained so hard. I want to show everyone what we can do, you know?"
Akamaru reluctantly agreed, and the two began getting up. Both still in their 'man-beast' form, the two started a strange little dance.
"What the hell?" Ino asked herself.
After about three seconds, the dance ended with the partners holding out their fingers to the side and then twisting so that each other's finger tips touched each other. As this happened, a bright light emerged. (4)
"Human-beast transformation: Werewolf!"
When the light ended, even Tatsu was astonished at what met his eyes.
What was once Kiba and Akamaru apart was now something… new. Apparently, this technique combined the power of both into one and the changes were rather significant.
Kiba's ever present jacket was gone, and he was now bare-chested with a smooth set of pectorals. His hair, once short and brown, was a long flowing mane, and his eyes looked absolutely feral. He was taller, and the 'fangs' of the Inuzuka clan, which normally didn't set in until just before the end of puberty, were fully matured and his face looked decidedly canine if not wolfish.
"How do you like us now, Ino?" The person asked.
Ino's hearing began noticing something… odd. It sounded as if this 'person' was still two separate minds, now both in partial control, instead of completely unified like it probably should have been. After noticing exactly how much Chakra this Kiba had compared to the other one, there was only really one thing she could do to stop him.
This new Kiba was much faster than the other one, and as he sped forward like a bullet, Ino decided that it was now time to use her trump card. She closed her blue eyes once, and when they opened, Ino's eyes became an entirely lavender color for some reason. She put her hands up in a seal.
"Shinrashin no Jutsu!" (5)
When the dust settled, Ino could be seen still clutching a Kunai protectively and amazingly wasn't that tired. Kiba however, was seen clutching his head in pain, and after a few long seconds, he fell down, defeated. When she was convinced that he was down for the count, Ino undid the Jutsu and her eyes returned to their normal blue after a single blink.
Tatsu finally cleared his throat. "Winner, Yamanaka Ino!"
A second or two later, the crowd roared in approval, especially the sections with Kunoichi. Kiba was also given cheers when he was taken away by the medics, even by those who were mainly supporting the Yamanaka girl. Inuzuka Hana and Tsume were especially impressed, having never seen a Jutsu like that ever before by the Inuzuka. Tsume's face gained a tear.
"He's growing up faster than I thought Hana."
Hana's eyes narrowed. "Did you see, Kaasan? Right in that last attack… Kiba was even faster than I am."
Tsume's eyes narrowed as well. "Yes, I saw that. He was much more calm than I've ever seen him in training." Her eyes began to tear up. "My little boy is growing up so quickly!"
Hana awkwardly patted her mother on the back as she began sobbing into her daughter's jacket.
Kiba was shocked. As the medics carried him through the waiting area, all of his friends congratulated him, even Ino. Finally growing very tired, the Inu-nin went to sleep with a smile.
At the same time, Ino was being given nice congratulations of her own by Naruto, as the VERY red face she displayed while being kissed thoroughly was any indication.
In the meantime, Tatsu was busy chatting up a storm.
"That match was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be Iruka-san. Much more exciting than Sasuke's fight! Who are you looking forward to seeing next?"
Iruka looked flustered for a second. "Oh! Er, I guess the match I'm looking forward to most is Naruto against Tri-Edge-san. Naruto was very clever back at the academy, yet Tri-Edge seems quite powerful. It will probably be intense!"
Tatsu looked slightly impressed. "I would definitely bet on that. Let's go to the next match folks!"
Tatsu pressed his selector again. Again, the result was not quite what the crowd had wanted.
"The next match is between Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru. Will both fighters please come forth?" Iruka asked.
Curiously, when both came out, Shikamaru raised a hand.
"You want to surrender Nara-san?" Tatsu asked.
When Shikamaru nodded, the crowd let out a groan.
"Okay, I guess because of a surrender, Aburame Shino goes on to the next round everyone! Let's see who is next on the docket!"
Tatsu paused after seeing what was on his selector and Iruka was astonished to see the absolutely EVIL grin that adorned his face.
"THANKS for being patient everyone! We now approach the match you've all been waiting for! It looks as though the next match shall be…"
He paused, the crowd still silent.
"MUHI NARUTO VS TRI-EDGE!"
While the arena was changing yet again, the crowd cheered for up to three minutes while the combatants approached the arena. Naruto was wished luck by his friends (and girlfriends) but looked very somber as he walked out; Tri-Edge followed, his lone visible eye swerving wildly from side to side. The Mist-nin drew his two tri-bladed weapons and he stared, unblinking at his opponent.
Naruto tensed as he faced the other side of the arena. This wouldn't be an ordinary fight, that was for sure. His mentor had warned him that something was amiss the day before the exam.
Naruto and Tatsu were enjoying a rare day off. Tatsu had finally finished the preparations for the stadium the day before and Naruto had felt satisfied that he had trained at a good level; so, the two had decided to spend some now rare time together and had retreated to a Yakiniku restaurant that Chouji had recommended.
The two had made idle chat for a little while, but eventually, the topic of Naruto's match came up, and Tatsu's protégé was startled to see an unusually serious look on his mentor's face after having mentioned Tri-Edge.
"Naruto," his teacher had intoned. "For the first time outside of our training sessions, I'm giving you permission on using THAT power."
Naruto looked a little confused. "Sensei, are you talking about some jutsu that is supposed to be really powerful, yet I never get around to using?"
Tatsu gave him a look. "What? No! I'm talking about the Muhi clan abilities I taught you. I'm telling you this because that Tri-Edge kid… well, let's just say that I don't think that even you're impressive ninja abilities will be enough."
Naruto frowned. "How can you be so sure, sensei? What is it about Tri-Edge that makes you think he's so powerful?"
"Because I've done some investigations into EVERYONE in this exam; after what happened with Gaara, I figured that it wasn't just Sunagakure who would be trying to start something. Your little teaching methods did manage to show off Konoha's strength, but in the process, the other ninja villages were essentially forced to tip their hands." Tatsu paused. "Both Tri-Edge and Raiden were meant to be the respective futures of their villages; I'm sorry to say that they lost much of their humanity in the process."
Naruto wasn't to be deterred though. "Well, why aren't you as concerned about Raiden then? Is he just less strong or something?"
Tatsu sighed. "No. It's because Raiden managed to retain more of his humanity after he killed the former Raikage. Tri-Edge wasn't so lucky; he was taken from his mother when he was only a year old and was essentially forced to become the living weapon of the Mist. It didn't help that he was the last of the bloodline users left in Mist after The Great Purge."
Naruto paused for a moment and thought. "I assume that when Raiden killed the old Raikage, said Kage was sick or old?"
Tatsu nodded. "Almost everyone in Kumo wanted the old fuck-up dead after the stunt he pulled with Sinobi Gasir and the Hyuuga, but they apparently didn't want to lose the village's 'respect'. All that meant was that Raiden had more courage than almost any of the other ninja in that sorry excuse for a village."
"I don't get it though sensei. If the Mist was trying to eradicate bloodline limits and Tri-Edge had one, why didn't they kill him?"
Tatsu took a long draught of his water. "Because most people didn't know that Tri-Edge possessed a bloodline in the first place. He is essentially the trump card of Kirigakure for emergencies and because his bloodline was not as well known as say, the Kaguya, he was trained in secret under the old Mizukage in order to make sure that no one could touch him. Unfortunately for that Mizukage, even Tri-Edge wasn't enough against one of the former Seven Swords of the Mist."
Naruto motioned for his mentor to continue.
"After Hoshigaki Kisame, the former leader of the swords left a dead damiyo in his wake, and after Momochi Zabuza's assassination attempt failed, the Mizukage became increasingly paranoid to the point where the only people he thought that he could trust were Tri-Edge and a Jounin who went by the name of Shini Ryo. He never thought that either would ever betray him and that was what led to his death. Ryo was the new leader of the Swords, and he was in a very important position serving as the Mizukage's other hand. When he had his chance though, he immediately assassinated the Mizukage, for turning his own son into a monster."
Naruto's eyes widened. "You-you mean that TRI-EDGE was his SON?!"
Tatsu nodded again. "Indeed, that was the case. Now here's where the story really turns tragic; Tri-Edge was so ingrained with loyalty that almost immediately after the killing blow was dealt, Tri-Edge murdered Ryo-san. He was so cold, so lifeless, that not only killing his own father phased him."
Naruto's brows furrowed. "Wait a minute sensei. Did Tri-Edge know that Ryo was his father?"
"Not until later. When he found out though… that was the scary part. After finding out, Tri-Edge did absolutely nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nope. The only bond that the blue-haired boy remembered was to his mother, a woman who went by the name of Aura. I'm guessing that if you dig deep enough into his memories, you'll be able to get an edge on him through that method."
The two paused in their conversation for a little while.
"So… you're letting me use THAT power huh? What about during that invasion?"
Tatsu gave his son a long, hard look. "Naruto, now that you've finished your basic training, that's pretty much up to you. I honestly think that if you reveal our secrets so soon, enemies will come knocking to Konoha's doorstep sooner than they'd like and such a prize would probably force some of the more… unsavory elements in the village to threaten everything you hold dear."
Tatsu's expression cleared. "However, I don't think you have to worry too much about the invasion. Training of Muhi Corps members 2 and 3 has finished, and they're eager to help out, so you'll have quite a bit of backup when fighting those Sound-nin. I'd honestly say that if you need the edge, you can use some of the more subtle abilities, but you probably shouldn't use abilities that can be noticed."
"Like my specialty?"
"Yes. That sort of thing stands out, even among Shinobi."
Naruto slowly bowed his head, acknowledging his father's point.
"Wait… what do you mean members 2 and 3 of the Muhi Corps? I thought that I was the only member so far!" Naruto asked.
"I've recently gotten some new recruits, kid. I did a favor for both of them, and they granted me tribute in exchange for the strength that the Corps offers."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. These two members… they couldn't be…
"What kind of tribute would this be sensei?" he drawled.
Tatsu smirked. "That… is none of your business."
Naruto shook his head. Now wasn't the time to get lost in the memories of Tatsu-sensei and his annoying impersonations of Anime characters. Said sensei's voice rang out.
"Does either fighter wish to make a boast?"
Naruto knew that he had to do this fight with everything he had. Both he and Tri-Edge shook their heads, and he finally noticed what shape the arena was in now.
The area was what one might find in a canyon area. For the most part, tall, jutted cliffs stood on either side of the area, with a mostly dirt-like ground and several outcroppings, with rock jutting out of various parts of said ground.
"ROUND 4… FIGHT!"
Tri-Edge decided to start things off and began forming hand seals. Naruto decided to play it safe for a counter and his eyes began to glow the same lavender color that Ino's had in the previous match, though they were less noticeable behind his shades. Tri-Edge didn't actually say the words loudly, but Naruto's hearing barely picked up the name of the jutsu.
"Suiton: Bakusui Shouha!" (Water Element: Explosive Water Shockwave!)
To Naruto (and the spectator's) amazement, gallons of water began to come out of Tri-Edge's mouth, absolutely covering the ground and forming the beginnings of a small pond, if not a lake as a series of waves formed and lifted the Azure haired boy above Naruto. Naruto quickly jumped to one of the rocks that was jutting out and awaited the Mist-nin's next move. The waves rose even higher now as Tri-Edge rode them, now charging for the young Muhi.
Having no other choice, Naruto leapt high into the air, eventually coming down on the rushing waters. He lost sight of Tri-Edge for a moment, then spun, throwing a shuriken into what he presumed was the Mist-nin's heart. Unfortunately, what he struck immediately turned into water.
"Mizu Bunshin?"
The real Tri-Edge had come up behind him, and had now plunged one of his blades into Naruto… who exploded, sending the Mist-nin flying. Many Jounin's eyes bugged out, seeing the Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin in action. Unfortunately for Naruto, this version of Tri-Edge also dissolved into a puddle of water.
Both of the REAL ninja were hidden. Naruto had hidden himself within one of the canyon's rocky caves while Tri-Edge was underwater, the only sign of his presence being a tiny hint of an underwater breathing tube.
Naruto was currently having an inner crisis. On the one hand, his Muhi abilities would probably allow him to easily win the match. On the other hand, he wanted to show his growth as a ninja, without using just Tatsu's power. He then decided to only use it if needed… or his promotion was in jeopardy.
Naruto readied a kunai that he had prepared specially for this match, a specific seal engraved onto it. He instinctively reached out for the presence of Tri-Edge and set to work.
Naruto leapt out of his hiding spot and threw one of his Shuriken at the spot in which he was fairly sure that Tri-Edge was hiding. The Mist-nin hurriedly dodged said shuriken, only taking one step onto the water in order to make a leap that would put him within killing range of the now open Naruto.
It happened almost instantly, and if it hadn't been for just how skilled the Mist-nin was, Tri-Edge would have been finished. He felt that the 'shuriken' that Naruto had sent was transforming into either the real Naruto or another Bunshin, which was now throwing a kunai that featured a special tag tied onto it. Tri-Edge was just about to leap when the kunai hit the specific patch of water that he was stepping on; a loud shriek erupted and an enormous amount of electricity began coursing through the Mist-nin's body.
This proved to be both disastrous and advantageous to the young Muhi; for once, Tri-Edge didn't dissolve into water, but was replaced by a small log. The enormous amount of electricity had fried the remaining Mizu Bunshin; however, the log that Tri-Edge had replaced himself with was covered with exploding tags which would have finished the young Muhi if he himself hadn't also used Kawarimi no Jutsu at the last moment.
The real Tri-Edge had finally emerged from his hiding spot and in the meantime, Naruto took off his training weights. The waves were still rushing by, and Tri-Edge had apparently decided that playtime was over if the expression on his eye was any indication. He quickly formed more hand seals at an insane pace, and an enormous mass of water began forming out of the waves. Again, Tri-Edge didn't say the Jutsu, but Naruto could see him mouthing it.
"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" (Water Element: Water Dragon technique!)
A giant dragon formed purely out of water sped straight for Tatsu's protégé. Naruto bit his lip and took out the second of the 'special' kunai he had prepared after studying seals and threw it at the approaching water dragon. Tri-Edge moved to dodge it, but the dragon was simply too big and the kunai moving too quickly.
The kunai's effects were not immediately apparent, but after a few seconds, the dragon began to solidify as it froze. Being an experienced ninja, Tri-Edge took advantage of the momentum that the now frozen dragon offered him and appeared as a blur to the young Muhi. Fortunately, Naruto was prepared.
As the powerful Mist-nin sliced through 'Naruto', onlookers could see that he had taken a page out of the book of his enemy. Naruto had used Kawarimi no Jutsu again, but this time, replaced himself with a rock that was covered in exploding tags. Tri-Edge hurriedly leapt back but was still given the shock of the explosion and didn't notice what was behind him until it was too late.
"RASENGAN!"
Tri-Edge turned at the yell of this technique, but it was too late. Naruto slammed a ball of blue, spinning Chakra into the living weapon's stomach. Tri-Edge was sent spinning straight into one of the canyon's walls… and dissolved into a puddle of water.
Naruto's eyes widened, but it was too late. The real Tri-Edge had now plunged one of his blades into his shoulder, making sure to keep his grip on the young Muhi. He was startled to see one final Mizu Bunshin have its arms turn into water and begin to engulf him. Even though he couldn't see it, Naruto gained the impression that Tri-Edge was more satisfied than usual.
"Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu." The Mist-nin whispered.
Without access to his weapons, no way to form jutsu, and to his alarm, the real Tri-Edge beginning to access his bloodline ability, Naruto then decided that this was one of those times that he absolutely needed THAT power.
To the amazement of the onlookers, Naruto's aura began flaring with the same purple aura he had only displayed once before against Lee. This time however, the sheer immense power of the aura could be felt pressing down and engulfing certain people, and was especially noticeable to those in the Kage's box.
The aura disappeared for a moment… then exploded! An enormous wave of energy came forth from Naruto's small frame and caused the water prison to literally explode from every angle, causing most of it to turn into steam. Knowing that he had no time to waste, Naruto gathered this energy back inside of him and hastily took off his shades.
Now that Tri-Edge's Mizu Bunshin had been killed, all that was left was for Konoha's finest Genin to peer into Tri-Edge's lone eye. Surprisingly, a predatory smirk came onto the young Muhi's face as he began to use his 'special' power.
"Now you're mine… Shini Kite!"
Tri-Edge only had the briefest of moments to widen his lone visible eye before he was finished.
Although to most people it wasn't noticeable, quite a few ninja (especially Naruto's friends) noticed that the young Muhi's eyes had not only become pupil-less like the Hyuuga, but said eyes had become nothing but a light lavender. While Tri-Edge was at first only dazed, five seconds into the 'attack' had the Mist-nin finally making some noise.
What came from the sword nin's mouth could only be described as an inhuman wail. Several people swore that the sound was so awful that their very souls were being tormented by the wail; it was as if Tri-Edge was being purged of the darkness that had inhabited him and said darkness was being forced out through sound.
In the Kage's box, most of the viewers were gazing in confusion and shock, while Sandaime looked out in sadness. Jiraiya gave him a serious look.
"Sarutobi-sensei… what exactly is that kid doing? When I was training him, he never showed any signs of a power like this! Is it because of… it?"
Sandaime sighed as both Tsunade and the new Raikage glanced at him. "Iie Jiraiya, it has nothing to do with…THAT. I cannot say much at the moment, but the ability that young Naruto possesses would allow him to take out any Jounin-level ninja who wasn't highly skilled in Genjutsu. It can be used for torture and interrogation, but it can also force a person to come to terms with themselves." Sarutobi took a long drag off of his pipe, idly noticing the new Mizukage (a rather beautiful Azure-haired woman) looking at Tri-Edge with what seemed to be a mix of anxiety and… hope? "Tri-Edge-san is now being forced to confront his inner demons. If he succeeds, he will have regained himself for the better. If he cannot… he'll die."
The Mizukage gasped and the others lowered their heads somberly, save for the 'Kazekage', who actually showed a trace of fear and excitement as he gazed at the young Muhi.
Tri-Edge finally stopped wailing. While he had once been held aloft in the air by his own Chakra, and by proxy his bloodline, he was now plunging towards the water like a comet. Naruto's eyes returned to their natural blue; he rushed and quickly caught the boy in his arms, now fighting an unconscious battle. Naruto whispered something almost inaudible to the boy, but it seemed to calm him down as the medics arrived.
Tatsu and Iruka, having been far too caught up in the action to even think about commentary, were finally taken out of their daze. Tatsu shook his body, regaining himself.
"Well, I think I speak for everyone here when I say… GREAT MERCIFUL CRAP! WINNER, MUHI NARUTO!"
It took a few seconds, but before long, the stadium quickly raised its previous noise level by several decibels, praising the incredible match that had just taken place.
For Naruto though, it wasn't the cheering that had made it worth it to him. It was the three female bodies that pressed against him when he came back to the waiting room.
A/N: Chapter is finally done. Hope you all enjoy the fight, as it gives quite a bit of insight into what exactly the Muhi power is.
Why did Shikamaru surrender so soon? Well, mainly it was because both he and myself were lazy (it's HARD to think up good strategies for Shikamaru.) but also because even against Shino normally, do you honestly think he could win?
Please review.
Chapter notes:
It's official. Sasuke does indeed love Tomatoes and are his favorite food, which is why Tatsu was collecting them.
The reason Naruto mentions 'Chakra Reserves' is a joke taken from a story called 'The Hyuuga Way'. In this particular story, the theory is that you can tell the size of a woman's Chakra reserves by the breast size.
What Ino did to Kiba, transforming into Akamaru is essentially what Naruto did to Kiba in the original series without Kage Bunshin.
Kiba and Akamaru's new move? Picture the Fusion dance from Dragonball.
(Shinrashin no Jutsu-Mind-Body confusion technique): Yamanaka clan technique that confuses the minds of those it hits. The fusion was especially weak to it due to the fact that Kiba and Akamaru hadn't practiced the technique very much and their minds were somewhat out of flux.
Suiton: Bakusui Shouha (Water Element: Exploding Shockwave!): A VERY advanced water technique which involves the user keeping a stored amount of water inside their own body and having it leak out to form a series of waves to both gain ground and use for Water jutsu. Exactly HOW the technique works is unknown, but it is most likely an S-rank due to the complexity and control required. Used by Kisame in Shippuden: E.13.
Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Dragon technique): First used by Hatake Kakashi and Momochi Zabuza. An A-rank jutsu that turns and shapes a body of water into an enormous dragon that can engulf almost anything.
Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Prison): First used by Momochi Zabuza, this technique involves the user using either the closest water nearby or that of a Mizu Bunshin to form a gigantic sphere of water which engulfs a person. If a person does not have sufficient training, they'll drown in a matter of seconds.