-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release.-
Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-
"Italics in quotation marks represent the Mind Body Transmission Jutsu/Shindenshin Jutsu (Telepathy) of the Yamanka Clan"
-Konoha Stadium, 1 hour before the Chunin Exam Finals-
Karin and Ino sat in the contestants' box and watched as the stadium slowly filled with spectators. Both were silent, mentally getting in the zone for their upcoming fights.
Both had changed their attire for the finals, having gone shopping together on one of their light training days and purchased new outfits specifically for the tournament. Or, rather, Ino had dragged Karin along.
Ino's outfit was a black top and black pants. Unlike her normal outfits, her stomach was not on display. Purple, Ino's favorite color, and the color her clothes normally were, was still present along the edges and seams. On her back was a crest than Ino had personally designed. It was a large circle, that began with the Uzumaki spiral pattern, but in the center the spiral ended, and a small Yamanaka crest was found. The crest was, of course, in purple.
Karin had also opted for black as a primary color, in fact her outfit was very similar to Ino's. The main differences were that Karin used the same shade of red as her hair for the secondary color, and on her back was just the Uzumaki Crest, also in red.
Around them, the other finalists were also getting ready for their own fights, and an eerie silence hung over the competitors box.
-With Naruto-
Naruto had the utmost confidence in both Ino and Karin, but that didn't prevent him from being a nervous wreck as he sat in the stands. That being said, the fact that he was surrounded by friends and family helped keep him, at least outwardly, calm.
To Naruto's right sat his pseudo-brother, best friend, and teammate: Sasuke Uchiha. On Sasuke's right was his wife, and Naruto's other teammate, Sakura Uchiha. Seated on Naruto's left was his future clansman, Kiba, and on the other side of Kiba sat Tsume, Hana, and a variety of members of the Inuzuka clan.
Directly behind Nartuo were Inoichi and his wife, his future in-laws, and seated around them were Shikaku, Yoshino, Choza, Choza's wife, Shizune, holding baby Nawaki, Kurenai, holding baby Mirai, and Asuma.
In front of Naruto were many of the other members of the Konoha 12 and their friends. Choji, Tenten, Shino, Lee, Neji, and Hinata to name a few. It seemed like the whole of Naruto's group of friends was around him supporting Ino and Karin, something for which he was truly thankful.
-The Kage Box-
Gaara and Tsunade were seated in grand chairs overlooking the whole of the stadium. Gaara was attended by his brother Kankuro, and two guards, while Tsunade was with Jiraya, members of the Hokage Guard Platoon, and Kakashi, the proctor for the day's events.
When it was time to begin the tournament, Tsunade stood and strode to the front of the Kage Box before speaking in a loud and booming voice.
"Ladies & Gentleman, I welcome you to the finals of these Chunin Exams. Before the tournament begins I would ask you all to join me in a moment of silence, as we honor the memory of my Sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Lord Third, who gave his life in defense of this village during a chunin exam final held in this very stadium just a few years ago."
The stadium fell silent, one could have heard a pin drop on the other side of the arena. Tsunade silently offered a prayer for the memory of her sensei, before continuing.
"Thank You, as you know, blame for the death of Lord Third lies solely with Orochimaru. He had murdered the Yondaime Kazekage, and was impersonating him. Suna was manipulated, but they have atoned for that and remain firm friends of the Leaf. As such, the sitting Kazekage is here in Konoha for these finals, the first time the sitting Kazekage has been in Konoha in more than a decade. I would like to formally welcome the Godaime Kazekage, Lord Gaara, to Konoha, and offer my wishes that his time here only serve to further the bonds between leaf and sand."
There was a roar of applause as Gaara stood and joined Tsunade at the front of the box, before offering everyone in the stadium a bow. He lingered for just a moment, before quickly returning to his seat, the Kazekage wasn't one for pomp and circumstance.
Tsunade then quickly moved to wrap up her speech, eager for the days events to begin. "And now, let's meet the proctor for these finals. A shinobi who doesn't need an introduction, but I'll attempt to do so anyways. He is one of Konoha's most famous ninja, and according to rumor he has copied over one thousand jutsu. He is a student of Lord 4th, and was the sensei to the current heads of both the Uzumaki and Uchiha Clans. Just last week, he became a father to an adorable little boy that I'm proud to call my grandson. Ladies & Gentleman, My son-in-law, Kakashi Senju!"
As Tsunade turned around and returned to her seat there was a swirl of leaves on the floor of the arena as Kakashi shushined into view. "Maa. Thank you for the introduction, Hokage-sama. We will begin the day with 4 1v1v1 matches, after which there will be a one hour break before the remaining four shinobi will participate in more traditional 1v1 matches, and we will conclude the night with the final match."
Kakashi then gestured towards the competitors' box and said "Now let us welcome the first set of combatants: Karin Uzumaki of Konoha, Tsubasa Hamida of Suna, and Hokaido Kamiya of Taki!"
The crowd roared as the genin of the sand and waterfall made their way out into the arena. Karin was only a few feet behind them, but before she could get out of the competitors box a hand grabbed her own, holding her back.
Karin turned around to find Ino, staring at her with a look of determination. "Show them our power." Ino had been thinking of and referring to herself as an Uzumaki, and not a Yamanaka, ever since she had realized she was in love with Naruto.
"Of course, Ino-sama. I won't fail you." Karin replied. No further words needed to be said. Both of them were on a mission. After a quick nod from Ino, Karin turned around and marched out into the arena.
The three genin took up their positions, standing in a triangle around Kakashi. He took a brief look at each of them, confirming that they were ready, before beginning the fight. To the surprise of everyone in the stadium, including the combatants, all three of them made the exact same opening move.
Each of the genin jumped back, putting more distance between them and their competitors. As they did, each one of them pulled out a scroll and unsealed the contents.
For Tsubasa Hamida of Suna, the contents of the scroll turned out to be a puppet. This particular puppet had the lower body of a horse, and the upper body of a human. "I've heard that in a far away land, the people live in fear of creatures like this." The genin taunted, "let me show you why, meet my puppet, the Centaur."
The Waterfall shinobi, Hakaido Kamiya, unsealed a large amount of water, which settled into large puddle, or perhaps a small pond, in one portion of the circular arena.
For Karin, what she unsealed was a scroll and a pen. Normally, Fuinjutsu was not capable of being written in the middle of combat, but due to their natural affinity for the sealing arts, the Uzumaki were the exception.
Karin was fortunate, her scrawny appearance had caused both of her opponents to write her off as not being any challenge, and were focusing on each other, assuming that once they knocked the stronger opponent out, the weak looking kunoichi from Konoha would prove an easy victory. That was their mistake.
Karin took advantage of the fact that she was being ignored to study her enemies. Hamida-san is clearly from the puppeteer core. I need to be on the watch for hidden weapons, and I can't let anything touch me, it will likely be poison. The trick will be taking out the puppeteer himself. Perhaps I can use the fact Kamiya-san is taking up all of Hamida-san's focus to my advantage and sneak up without being noticed.
Karin then studied her other opponent. Kamiya-san unsealed water, and is probably much more skilled with the water element than I am, after all I've only been working on it for a month. It would be a mistake to try to use elemental ninjutsu in this fight.
Kamiya-san also seems to be a long range fighter, as all I've seen is the use of water ninjutsu to keep the puppet away, though that may just be due to the fact that fighting a puppet at close range is a risky move, too easy to get poisoned. Still, Kamiya-san isn't even using shuriken or kunai, just ninjutsu. Could it be that my opponent is a ninjutsu specialist whose skills in other areas are lacking?
At that moment Karin's mind was made up, a strategy had been decided. She quickly began writing on some paper, making a couple of different seals before she put her plan in action.
-With Karin's opponents-
The fight between sand and waterfall had been raging for five minutes. The Centaur puppet was armed with a bow and a quiver of poison laced arrows, and was constantly firing on its opponent. The Taki-nin countered by using the Water style: Water Bullet and Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu to either deflect the arrows or counter attack. Neither combatant seemed willing to turn it into a close quarters battle, instead preferring to trade volleys from long range.
Suddenly, from the opposite end of the stadium, a small cluster of Karin clones, approximately eight of them, charged forward, rushing the puppeteer. The Centaur puppet was able to hit 4 of them with arrows, dispelling them, but with a final burst, the remaining four clones managed to sneak past the puppet and attack its master. The application of a tag cutting Tsubasa's ability to use chakra, and a barrage of Uzumaki Taijutsu, were all it took before Kakashi announced that the unconscious Suna-nin had been eliminated.
Karin was immediately under attack from the Taki-nin, as a barrage of water bullets dispelled the remaining clones. Hakaido then looked around, attempting to locate the original Karin, but she was well hidden, and the Waterfall genin was unable to do so.
Hakaido quickly moved, standing in front of the water before turning around to face the rest of the arena, assuming that would prevent Karin attacking from behind. "Where are you?" The Takin-nin called out, and was surprised to hear "right behind you" as two arms grabbed ahold, and soon a kunai was being held in front of the shocked Waterfall genin's neck. "Please surrender," Karin said, "I don't want to have to kill you."
Quickly, Hakaido tried to run through the hand-signs for the water bullet jutsu, but found the water unresponsive, "Huh?" Karin then forced her captive to turn around, revealing the original Karin standing on top of the water, which had been turned into a solid block of ice by a Fuinjutsu tag she had applied. "I said, please surrender" the clone holding the captive said again. Seeing their primary weapon frozen and unable to be used, the Taki shinobi had no choice but to surrender, and Kakashi quickly declared Karin the winner of the bout.
"Yatta! Thattaway Karin-chan! You Won! Believe It! Dattebayo!" Naruto was out of his seat and screaming as soon as the fight was called, but Sasuke quickly reached out and forced his friend to sit down. "You're a Clan Head dobe, act like it and show a little restraint." The Uchiha chided.
"You're right, Sasuke. I just got real excited and couldn't help myself, sorry." Naruto said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, having realized he committed a faux pas. "Hn. If you got that loud for your clanswoman, I'm going to need some ear plugs if your fiance wins her fight." Sasuke remarked.
"You mean when Ino-chan/Ino-pig wins, Sasuke/Sasuke-kun" both Naruto and Saukra said in perfect unison, causing Sasuke to almost appear to be pouting at the fact that his wife had sided with Naruto over him. Almost.
Unnoticed due to the fact that Naruto's boisterous celebration had drawn everyone's attention, Kiba had a small grin on his face. Way to go Karin! He thought, before looking down to see Akamaru, tail wagging, clearly celebration Karin's victory in his own way.
Kiba reached down to pat his constant companion on the head. "Our girl did well, huh Akamaru? I guess she can be pretty badass when she wants to." "Arf." Akamaru barked in agreement.
-The Kage Box-
"An impressive display, she looked weak. I can't believe she beat both Kazekage-sama's puppeteer and one of my top genin." Shibuki, the leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village remarked. While not technically a Kage, as the leader of a village that had finalists in the competition he was allowed to sit with the leaders of the great villages.
"Kankuro" Gaara calmly said, calling for his brother. "As the leader of our puppeteer core, please analyze Tsubasa's performance for Hokage-dono and Shibuki-san."
"Tsubasa's puppet is dangerous and well designed, there's no doubt about that." The Sand Village's top currently active puppet user began "but the kid committed one of the cardinal sins of being a puppet utilizing ninja and forgot about one of their opponents. The kid's got skills, no doubt about that, but I don't think the awareness of a chunin is there."
The village leaders nodded, all three agreeing with Kankuro's assessment. "I think your shinobi is too one dimensional to be promoted, Shibuki-san." Tsunade said, changing the focus. "Karin isn't very physically strong, and Kamiya-san could have easily broken free from her hold, but as soon as the water was neutralized the match was over." "I agree, Hakaido-san needs to work on being a more balanced ninja" Shibuki said, completely in agreement with Tsuande. "I concur as well" Gaara added.
"As for the Uzumaki" Shibuki said. "Very resourceful, the girl clearly has a good head on her." "She doesn't look like much, but the Uzumaki are a stubborn, resourceful, and determined bunch. I'd never bet against one." Tsunade said, while thinking about the money she had won as a result of a bet she had placed on the match.
"I think she has potential, but I will withhold judgement until after her next match." Gaara said, wrapping up the discussion since the next fight was about to begin.
-The Competitor Box-
As Kakashi began the next match, Karin returned to the competitor box, only to be practically tackled by Ino as soon as she set foot inside. "You did it Karin! That was so cool!" the blond kunoichi said.
"Thank you, Ino-sama." Karin said, offering a bow after she recovered from Ino's surprise attack. Then, Karin began to get something off her chest. "Ino-sama. If we meet in the next round I'm going to forfeit, it is more important that you get promoted than I do. I'd be glad to do my part to make sure you take your rightful place as my superior, and the lady and matriarch of the Uzumaki."
*Slap* "How. Dare. you." Ino said, glaring at Karin. "Ino-sama?" Karin was hurt and confused. She had only offered to help...why had Ino reacted so violently?
Ino wasn't done though. "That's such an obvious ploy, you surrender to help me advance, the judges won't give me any credit for that. I need to show off my skills, not advance on technicalities. If we fight, I need you to fight me at your best, Karin. That's an order."
"But Ino-sama...I could never forgive myself if I hurt the lady of my clan." Karin protested. Ino, mini-rant over, just smiled back. "Then it's a good thing I'm not technically part of the Uzumaki Clan yet, huh? Now come on, we need to watch this fight and scout our possible opponents."
-The Stadium's Control Booth-
The Co-Coordinators for the exams took in the second fight, not really paying too close attention, with the tournament firmly in the hands of Kakashi, and to a lesser extent Tsunade, their jobs were largely done.
"So Naruto's clanswoman looked impressive." Temari said, trying to spark a conversation. "I heard she's now betrothed to Kiba. That's what, the fifth and sixth members of your little group to be put into arranged marriages, I didn't realize Konoha's clans relied on that practice so much."
Shikamaru sighed, I was enjoying the silence and she has to go and try to have a conversation? What a drag, now I have to pretend like I've been paying attention instead of just cloud watching. "It's troublesome, but there will only be more of them soon." "Oh, how so? Temari asked, glad she had gotten a response from her on-again-off-again crush that would allow her to continue the conversation.
"It's a drag, but this next year we'll all be turning 17 and 18. Most of us are Clan heirs, and those that aren't are high ranking clan members, except Lee. Shinobi live short lives, but having kids is important for the clans, so they like to have their high ranking members married by the time they turn 19. Many clans will arrange a marriage if the heir or heiress isn't already engaged or in a serious relationship by the time they turn 17."
"Does that include you?" Temari asked, somewhat hopefully. Not that she wanted to get married, or leave Suna, but she definitely had a thing for the lazy Nara. "It's a drag, but yeah probably. I don't see myself getting engaged of my own choice between now and my birthday. I'm hoping my dad will just set me up with an average girl from one of the more respectable civilian families."
He turned back to pretend to watch the fight, but actually watch the clouds, causing him to miss Temari glaring daggers at him. The nerve of him she thought.
"Do Konoha's clans not require the spouse of the Clan Head to be a shinobi as well?" "They do, and it's troublesome, because all I want is an average wife, and none of the eligible kunoichi are anywhere close to average." Shikamaru responded, prompting Temari to smack him in the back of his head with her fan.
What the hell was that for? Troublesome woman. Shikamaru wondered, before putting it out of his mind, and resuming his covert participation in his favorite hobby.
-The Arena Floor-
The second fight was over, and the three combatants for the third fight, Ino Yamanaka, Daisuke, and Kazuo Hyuga, all of Konoha, stood around Kakashi in a triangle, ready to go.
Ino was both nervous and pumped up. She was fighting a main branch Hyuga, so Taijutsu was out of the question there, and Daisuke, her teammate whose abilities she did not know all that much about.
As Ino tried to come up with a strategy, the Foundation Shinobi was also trying to finalize his plan. He knew he was going to attack and take out the Hyuga first, but he had yet to figure out a way for him to throw the fight against Ino while making it look like he had been going all out.
If he managed to pull it off, it would make Ino look very good in the eyes of the judges. He'd have beaten an unbranded Hyuga, and she'd have beaten him, so via that transitive property she'd have beaten an unbranded Hyuga, an impressive feat.
He had been racking his brain for several days, and thought of a million different ways to defeat Kazuo, but had yet to come up with a good way to hide the fact that he was going to let Ino win.
When Kakashi began the fight, Daisuke immediately lunged for his Hyuga opponent, who had headed towards Ino. The future Uzumaki had followed a similar strategy as her soon to be clanswoman, jumping to put more space between her and her opponents as she decided on her next move.
Daisuke wasted no time, his blade was drawn and he was attempting to best Kazuo in a battle of Kenjutsu vs. Taijutsu. Normally the sword would have the advantage over the bare hand, but as a member of the main branch of the Hyuga, and a member of one of the most prestigious houses within the Hyuga Clan, Kazuo was an expert in the rotation technique, more than enough of a defense against the Foundation genin's blade.
Out of the corner of his eye, Daisuke noticed that Ino was writing in a scroll, and while dodging one of his opponent's gentle fist strikes, managed to launch a shuriken in his teammate's direction, he didn't want it to seem like he was going easy on her after all. He threw two more for good measure, before jumping back on the offensive against the Hyuga.
Ino had to stop writing for a moment in order to concentrate on dodging, but continued to work on her Fuinjutsu. Over the 10 months since she had been betrothed to Naruto, and with the benefit of a plethora of Uzumaki manuals on Fuinjutsu, Ino had become quite adept at the sealing arts, she was solidly high chunin level in the area, maybe low jonin.
Most people took years to get that far, but it seemed that the Uzumaki were just as good at teaching Fuinjutsu as they were at mastering it, because the scrolls she had read had helped her to learn the skill at an alarmingly fast rate, even without the natural affinity for sealing that member of the Uzumaki Clan possessed.
In fact, some of the scrolls were specifically geared at helping non Uzumaki who married into the clan learn their Fuinjutsu with the goal of getting non-blood members of the Uzumaki Clan up to par in the sealing arts as quickly as possible. Those texts had been especially helpful.
Having not been able to come up with an acceptable strategy, Ino had decided to take a gamble, and was working on one of the most advanced and complex Fuinjutsu she knew. One that, if she was able to get it off, would essentially guarantee her victory. The problem was that it took her several minutes of uninterrupted writing time to finish it.
As she wrote, the crowd roared, causing her to look up and see what caused the commotion. Her eyes widened, Daisuke was down. Kazuo had managed to land a couple hits. Daisuke had been able to dodge several and avoid the brunt of the damage, but a couple of his chakra points were sealed.
Assuming Daisuke would be down for a while, the Hyuga rushed towards Ino, planning to come back to finish off the Foundation genin later.
-The Stands-
As Hinata watched Ino dodge her clansman's attacks, a small smile broke out on her face. While she had initially been understanding of the fact that Ino didn't have a say in her betrothal, the more it looked like Naruto and Ino were falling in love, the more jealous the Hyuga had become, and there was a part of her that hoped that Ino failed to become a chunin, thus delaying the wedding.
She was well aware of the fact that her Father was actively soliciting marriage proposals for her from the various other houses within the Hyuga Clan, and that she would never be allowed to be with her beloved. There was even a part of her that, like the stuttering, shy, weak Hinata of old, just wanted Naruto to find happiness, even if it was with someone else.
There was also certainly a selfish part of her that wanted Naruto to stay single unless he was with her. This Hinata, a reflection of the confident, strong medic that she had become, viewed Naruto as being rightfully hers, and hers alone. Even if she wouldn't be allowed to wed him, perhaps she could convince him to carry on an affair on the side of her, most likely loveless, marriage.
In short, Hinata was conflicted and confused. Ino was a friend, but she was also Hinata's biggest obstacle to achieving her dream of standing by Naruto's side, as his lover. I'll root for my fellow Hyuga. She decided. I need more time to sort all of this out. I'm not ready for Naruto-kun to get married yet. If I eventually decide that I just want Naruto-kun to be happy, then I'll root for Ino at the next chunin exams.
-The Arena-
Thankfully for Ino, Yamanaka Taijutsu was largely based on evasion, because the Hyuga was on the attack, and she couldn't allow a single hit to land on her. I don't have the chakra reserves to force a chakra point open like Naruto-kun did against Neji, I can't let this guy hit me!
As Ino continued to frantically dodge, and try to think up some way to counter attack, Daisuke was struggling to try to release his chakra points. Due to the fact that only some of his points were sealed, he could move his limbs, but his mobility was severely restricted. As it was, he would be unable to do anything to complete his mission, or even stave off his own elimination.
-A Private Box in the Arena-
Danzo scowled. It was clear that the plan was in jeopardy. Perhaps it is time then, he thought. If the Yamanaka is to get promoted it seems my agent will need to assist her, but with him holding back so much it will be rather difficult. This may raise some questions from the Hokage, but there is nothing pointing him to me, so I should be fine.
All of the Foundation members that Danzo had put through the academy were far stronger than their classmates. Most were high genin upon entering the academy. Thanks to the intense training Danzo had personally put him through since joining Team Sasuke, Daisuke was currently a Jonin in all but name.
In order to keep their true strength secret, Danzo had seals placed on his covert agents that had gone through the academy. These seals prevented them from accessing most of their chakra network. Currently, Daisuke was only able to access about a high genin's worth of chakra. Now it seemed that Danzo would have to allow him access to more of his network.
Danzo ran through a few hand seals, and while directing his chakra towards his downed minion, released the seal on Daisuke. Then, satisfied, he resumed his analytical analysis of the fight.
-The Arena-
The sudden rush of chakra Daisuke felt coursing through him was enough to force the chakra points that were closed back open. As he stood up, making sure to stagger to try to continue to hide his true strength, it was perfectly clear to him what had happened.
Danzo-sama must have released the seal on me. He's likely quite upset that I almost failed the mission. If I don't succeed I'm in for quite a punishment. Once he made a show of regaining his footing, he immediately picked his blade back up and rushed into the fray. Hold on Ino-san, I won't fail my mission!
As he ran towards the other combatants, he recognized hand signals that Ino ran through, and was surprised to see a wall of dirt appear between the Yamanaka and Hyuga. An Earth Style: Mud Wall? I wasn't aware that she had begun working on elemental Ninjutsu.
Ino meanwhile was crouched behind the wall, frantically writing on a scroll, desperate to finish the Fuinjutsu she had been working on. I can't match this guy in Taijutsu, he's moving around too much for me to use a Yamanaka Jutsu, and while Earth is my element, it took me a while to get the basics down, and the Mud Wall was one of the only techniques I had time to learn. I need to buy myself more time.
She quickly finished a couple of paper bombs, which when using Uzumaki Secret Fuinjutsu, took just a couple of seconds to make, as they required only a couple of strokes. It was perfect timing, because just as she finished them, and started the detonation process, her opponent leapt over the wall.
Ino had been expecting something like that, and quickly stuck a paper bomb to him while he was in mid air, and then channeled a bunch of chakra into her feet, allowing her to jump far enough to be relatively safe from the blast.
It was only a low level explosion, Kazuo wasn't down, but he did take some damage. As soon as the smoke cleared Daisuke was immediately upon him again, and Ino quickly took advantage of the situation to continue working on her more complicated Fuinjutsu. Within one minute, she finally put the finishing touches on it, and with the ink still wet, activated the technique.
"Uzuamki Fuinjutsu: Massive Chakra Trap!" She called, before quickly scrunching the paper into a ball, which she then flung towards her opponents.
The Massive Chakra Trap was a much more complicated version of the same Chakra Trap she and Karin had used in the 2nd Round. It covered a much wider area, and unlike the original, was not a stealthy technique. Enemies would be able to see it coming, the question was: would they be able to avoid it?
With his Byakugan, Kazuo clearly saw Ino throw a ball of paper at them, but was primarily focused on beating back the blade of Daisuke's Tanto, and didn't really have time to react. Daisuke purposely chose to ignore it, after all, he was planning on letting her win.
Ino's throw was a good one, and the ball of paper and seals landed right next to the other two genin, and immediately began to work.
Unlike the original Chakra trap, which sent out small tendrils of Fuinjutsu to snare their unaware opponents, in something similar in appearance to the Nara's Shadow Possession Jutsu, The Massive Chakra Trap took the appearance of ripples on a pond, as a solid black wall of Fuinjutsu headed out like waves from all sides of the ball.
Both Daisuke and Kazuo were helpless against it, quickly trapped and paralyzed by the seals. Ino had originally planned on using the Mind Transfer technique, in a Uzumaki/Yamanaka Combination attack, to get her opponents to surrender, but after barely surviving her encounter with Kazuo, thought that it would be better if she ended the match as quickly as possible. So instead she ran forward and held kunai to the throats of both the other combatants.
Resigned to their defeat, both surrendered, and the crowd roared in approval as Ino was declared the winner. Though the voices of a certain blond man and pink haired woman were clearly louder, and stood out amongst the cries of the audience.
-The Stands-
Sasuke Uchiha was a proud man, but at the moment he couldn't possibly be more embarrassed. On either side of him, his wife and his best friend were on their feet, roaring at the top of their lungs in celebration of Ino's victory. Clan heads and their wives were supposedly to appear to be cold and emotionless when in public, at least according to several Uchiha texts, this display was absolutely shameful.
His body seemed to shrink, as if he was trying to make himself invisible or hide himself away, their behavior was unbecoming for such high ranking members of clans. Didn't I just tell them after the first fight? I guess I understand the dobe, he's my brother, but he's still the dobe. But Sakura? Why does she insist on shaming the Uchiha Clan like this?
-With the Kage-
"The boy with no last name was able to force open a couple of chakra points? Impressive. What is it about your village having orphans that become incredibly strong shinobi, Hokage-dono?" Taki's leader asked.
"Indeed, he was most impressive." Gaara added. "The Hyuga wasn't bad either. Yamanaka-san was lucky that the boy was able to return to the match. Her Fuinjutsu was impressive, but it took too long, clearly she wouldn't have been able to beat the Hyuga without help." His voice had just a tint of sadness in it.
Uzumaki Naruto...I want you to be happy my friend, I want this girl to show she is worthy of being a chunin. But I'm not going to compromise my honor as a Kazekage, she hasn't shown enough yet. For your sake I hope she does."
Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Ino won, but you're right, it had more to do with luck than skill. We'll see what happens in the next round."
-The End of the First Round-
When all four fights concluded, Kakashi brought the four semi-finalists back onto the arena floor. Karin and Ino stood next to each other, along with ninja from Taki and Suna, waiting to hear who their next opponent would be.
Kakashi stepped forward to address the crowd. "We'll now have a short 1 hour break for the competitors to rest. That being said, let's go ahead and fight out what the semifinal matchups will be."
The crowd roared in agreement, and at the top of the stadium a video board began shuffling through the four names.
For the Uzumaki and soon-to-be Uzumaki, the board seemed to take forever, but the matchup it finally displayed caused their heart to sink.
"The first semi final matchup will be Karin Uzumaki of Konoha vs. Ino Yamanaka of Konoha!" Kakashi announced, getting a mixed reaction from the overwhelmingly pro-Leaf Village crowd. It was certainly going to be an interesting fight, but most in the stands would have preferred that it happened during the finals, not the semis.
-The Stands-
Naruto was especially distraught, and appeared visibly dejected at the fact that Karin and Ino would be forced to fight each other. In the several minutes since the hour break had begun, he had said nothing, and done nothing but silently stare at the floor.
Suddenly, his inner turmoil was interrupted, a hand was on his shoulder, and his future father-in-law was asking Naruto to join him for a walk.
Naruto followed Inoichi as they descended down several flights of stairs, before arriving on the ground level of the stadium, underneath the spectator stands. They then made their way over to a door that led into the stadium's bowels. The door was guarded by two Akimichi, but given their close relationship with the Yamanaka, they let Inoichi and Naruto pass and enter into the contestant area.
They found Karin and Ino sitting in a small room in the medical wing, silent, and staring off into space, lost in their thoughts. The two girls were snapped back to reality by Naruto and Inoichi's appearance, but before any congratulations could be offered, Karin blurted out:
"Naruto-sama! Please, order me to forfeit or throw the fight. I don't want to endanger Ino-sama's chances at promotion, but she insists that I fight her at my best." "Oh no you don't!" Ino roared back. "Naruto Uzumaki I swear, if you order her to not fight me at her best I'm going to make your life a living hell up until the wedding!"
"Ladies, please!" Inoichi implored. "Naruto's already upset enough about the fact that his two most precious people are going to have to fight, don't make this any harder on him."
Both females stopped arguing, and looked over to Naruto. The whole time he'd been in the room he hadn't said a word, and instead had been looking down, staring at the floor. He hadn't actually said a word since the fight between Karin and Ino was announced, and had been rather distant the whole time.
Naruto was at the center of both Ino and Karin's universes, though obviously in different ways. For one, he was a ray of sunshine, the person who had lifted her out of despair and brightened her world.
For the other, he was the hero who saved her from abuse, he was the banner around which all other Uzumaki could rally, he was the master to whom she owed her life, and had sworn her total devotion and obedience. Both hated seeing him like that. It reminded them of his birthday, or the time he found out who his father was.
"Naruto-kun" Ino said softly as she approached him, quarrel with Karin completely forgotten, focus entirely on her ray of sunshine. She interlocked one of her hands with his, while her other hand forced his head up, letting her look into his eyes, those eyes that always gave away what he was feeling, no matter how much he tried to hide.
"I knew there was a chance you two would have to fight, but I hoped it wouldn't come to this." Naruto said, very softly, eyes full of sorrow. "Family shouldn't have to fight family."
"That's right, Naruto-kun. We're a family." Ino said, smiling. She then gave him a quick kiss before resting her head on his shoulder. "You and I are a family, and in time we'll grow our family. As for Karin, she's family too, and I don't just mean in the sense of being from the same clan. As far as I'm concerned she's my sister."
"Ino-sama..." Karin sounded astonished that Ino valued her so much. "Sometimes families face challenges, Naruto-kun. But we'll get through this. Karin and I are only going to be enemies for a few minutes, and as soon as the match is called we'll go back to being sisters. Besides, this is a great chance for the Uzumaki Clan to showcase its talents."
"My daughter has a good point, this is an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your clan to potential clients, Naruto." Inoichi added.
Naruto seemed lost in thought for a few moments, as he held Ino close to him, resting his own head on hers, which was still on his shoulder. As with the previous times he had been this distraught, she seemed to have a magical ability to calm him down, comfort him, and uplift his thoughts and spirit. Holding her close allowed him to focus, and to think. Finally, raised his head and opened his eyes, having made up his mind.
"Alright Karin-chan. I want you to fight Ino-chan at full strength. Make this a great fight, but also make sure Ino-chan shows off enough that the judges will promote her. Once you're confident she's done enough to become a chunin, I want you to beat her." "Huh?" came the response from both Karin and Ino. Wanting Karin to win...that was unexpected.
"Between the two of you, show the world that the Uzumaki can't be messed with. Then, Karin, show the world how powerful our Kekkai Genkai are. I order you to let Ino show enough to get promoted, but beat her. That being said, I'll be rooting for Ino-chan."
"I understand, Naruto-sama." Karin said, still not liking it, but unwilling to disobey. Ino meanwhile was still a bit upset that her fiance had ordered Karin to beat her, but at least he'd be rooting for her.
"Don't think I'm going to let you beat me that easily, Karin." Ino said, getting fired up for the fight. "Ino-sama...did you mean what you said? About me being your sister?" Karin responded, still moved by the words.
Ino quickly separated herself from Naruto and gave Karin a warm embrace. "Of course I did, Karin. We've spent so much time together these past few months, and we've gotten really close. At first I thought you might just be my best friend, but then I realized that you're not just my friend, you're a part of my family. As far as I'm concerned, we're sisters, except for during this fight."
"Then I'll do my best to give you a good fight today, Nee-sama." Karin responded.
Their touching moment was interrupted by Inoichi coughing. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Naruto and I need to get going. Whatever happens Ino, your mother and I are very proud of you."
After the goodbyes and well wishes, Naruto and Inoichi left the room, leaving Karin and Ino alone again, though this time in a very different mood. Instead of despairing about the fight, both of them were focused, getting pumped up for their bout.
As Inoichi and Naruto returned to their seats, Inoichi switched to being an overprotective father, and asked Naruto about his orders to Karin. "So, Naruto. You really want Karin to beat my daughter?"
Naruto shook his head. "Not at all, as I said, I'm rooting for Ino-chan. That being said, I think Karin wins this fight 9 times out of 10, and I was just making sure that she allows Ino to show off enough to be considered for promotion before her victory."
"And what makes you think Karin is better than my daughter?" "I'm really proud of Ino-chan, she's improved a lot since I came back from my training trip, but she's not on Karin-chan's level." "How so?" Inoichi asked, eager for an opportunity to stand up for his daughter, and curious as to why Naruto thought his own fiance would lose.
"Let's go skill by skill." Naruto said. "Ino-chan has an advantage in Taijutsu, I'll give her that. Turning this into a close quarters fight is her best beat for beating Karin-chan, but both of them know that, so Karin-chan will be actively trying to avoid one.
"Ino-chan's Fuinjutsu is better than probably 90% of the shinobi in this village, and she knows plenty of Uzumaki Fuinjutsu, but just because she knows the techniques doesn't mean she has the Uzumaki affinity for Fuinjutsu. It takes way less chakra for Karin-chan to make a seal than it takes Ino-chan to make the same one. Also, that Fuinjutsu that took Ino the whole fight to write, Karin can make it in less than one minute."
"Ok, so Taijutsu to Ino and Fuinjutsu to Karin...what about Ninjutsu?" Inoichi asked.
"Based on that last fight, Ino-chan has an earth affinity. Karin-chan has a water affinity, so again advantage Ino-chan." Naruto began, "That being said, thanks to the shadow clone training technique Karin-chan has a pretty good command of her water affinity, and knows a couple high level techniques. Given how long it takes for people without access to multiple shadow clones as a training technique to learn their affinity, I'm guessing Ino-chan only knows low level Earth techniques."
Inoichi nodded, Ino had the type advantage, but if Karin used a higher level technique they would essentially cancel each other out. "So that's a draw then. I still don't see how you think Karin beats Ino 9 times out of 10." "Well, we're just getting to the two big ones." Naruto said. "First up is strategy. Ino-chan is certainly smart, easily smarter than me, she's good at strategy, but Karin-chan is almost Nara-level in terms of her genius, she has the advantage."
And finally, we come to chakra reserves. Karin-chan has Ino-chan totally outclassed here." Naruto said. "Uzumaki naturally have insanely high levels of chakra. As a genin, Karin has enough chakra to make 12 shadow clones and still have enough to fight at close to full strength. She also didn't use very much chakra in her first round fight."
Inoichi suddenly realized just why his daughter was outclassed: "Ino doesn't even have enough chakra to make one shadow clone and fight, she can make one, but it takes way too much chakra for her to have much left in the tank."
"And on top of that, the Fuinjutsu that Ino-chan used in the first round took probably 1/3 of her chakra reserves, she can't recover all of that in just one hour." Naruto added.
"Don't get me wrong, Inoichi-san, there is absolutely no question in my mind, and in my heart, that I want Ino-chan to win. I believe in her, and I think she can, but I'm trying to make sure that above all she gets promoted. If Ino-chan loses but has a good fight, it's more likely that she'll be promoted than if she won because Karin-chan wasn't going all out."
"I suppose I see your logic, but that's still an awfully big risk, Naruto." Naruto just smiled back at his future father-in-law. "Trust me on this, Inoichi-san. The person who wants Ino-chan to get promoted the most isn't me, or even Ino-chan herself, it's Karin-chan. She'll do everything possible to get your daughter promoted." "I hope you're right, Naruto."
-After the 1 Hour Break-
With the audience settling back into their seats, Karin and Ino stood on opposite ends of Kakashi as he welcomed back the crowd and reminded them who the first fighters were. Both kunoichi had worked out some sort of strategy, and were preparing to put them into play.
Ino wanted a close range fight, and she wanted the fight to be over quickly. She knew she was at a disadvantage in chakra, and that her best chance at besting Karin was in Taijutsu. She planned to charge straight into battle with the Uzumaki Style, and use her limited elemental ninjutsu as back up if necessary, unaware that Karin also knew elemental ninjutsu now.
Karin meanwhile planned on making it a fight that was long and drawn out, preferably at long range. She wanted to outlast Ino. Of course, she would still have to fight in close quarters at some point, after all her orders were to allow Ino to showcase enough of her abilities to get promoted, but even at close range, where she was at a disadvantage, she was confident she had enough chakra reserves to be able to outlast Ino.
Kakashi quickly began the fight, and Karin decided to indulge Ino for a bit. Both rushed towards each other, and a Taijutsu battle broke out. Karin was primarily using the Uzumaki style, while Ino was countering by using the defensive and evasive style of the Yamanaka Clan, planning to take advantage of the poor defense offered by the Uzumaki style to switch over to said style and counterattack when Karin's attack lost steam.
In the meantime, Karin was forcing Ino back, over to a particular corner of the arena. Not all of the water from Karin's first round match had evaporated, and there was still some that she could use. Just as she got close enough to the water to be able to use ninjutsu, Ino began to see openings and launched her counter, switching from the Yamanka to the Uzumaki style herself.
Karin ran through a few hand signs, launching the Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu to try to force Ino back. Ino was forced to interrupt her attack and run through hand signs of her own. "Earth Style: Mud wall!" She got hit by a couple water bullets, but the wall was soon up, and as she hid behind it, she took the opportunity to set up one of the few other earth style techniques that she knew.
Karin frowned as Ino got the mud wall up, though on the inside she was actually pleased. Despite her words to Ino in Naruto and Inoichi's presence, she was still quite conflicted about this fight. When her jutsu was over, Karin ran towards the wall, intent on taking the attacking initiative once more. She leapt over the wall, launching a kick at the spot she thought Ino would be in, only to find that her "sister" wasn't there.
Karin stopped for just a minute, but that was all Ino needed. Hands reached up from underground, pulling Karin down until only her head was above ground, the rest buried in the dirt, then, Ino emerged.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu, complete." Ino said, grinning. She had practically begged Asuma to teach it to her, having heard about Kakashi's use of it from Naruto. Asuma had then gone to Kakashi in order to learn the technique himself, before teaching it to Ino.
Despite all of that, she took no time to enjoy the success, even as she emerged she was already running through more hand signs. "That was something Asuma-sensei taught me, now take a look at something Kurenai-sensei taught me." she said, mentally thinking: I'm sorry Karin, but I need to do this if I'm going to win. Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique.
Karin, hearing Ino bring up the Sarutobi Clan head and his wife, looked over to the area of the stands where she knew many of the clan heads, including Naruto, were seated. Caught in the Genjutu as she was, instead of seeing a group of people engrossed in the fight, she saw Naruto frowning, and glaring at her.
"Pathetic. I told you to win, Karin. You've failed me. You're a disgrace to the Uzumaki Clan." She heard Naruto say. In her mind, Naruto stood up, leapt down to the arena floor, and walked over to her. "Naruto-sama, I'm sorry, I've failed you." she said. "Get out." Naruto responded. "What?" "Get out. I herby cancel your membership in the Uzumaki Clan. Get out of Konoha and never come back, go back to Orochimaru or Kusa." "No….Naruto-sama, please, please no!" Karin said, tears now flowing freely, the Uzumaki Clan was everything to her, to be removed from it was...unthinkable.
In her state of heightened emotion, she accidentally activated a Kekkai Genkai, one that she and Naruto had both been trying to learn, but with very little success. Chains materialized from her body, shooting out of the ground and towards Ino, passing through her as if she wasn't there. ...Genjutsu? Karin realized, quickly dispelling the technique.
Still trapped in the Headhunter, but now free of the Genjutsu, she spared a glance towards the stands again, Naruto was there, seemingly engrossed in the fight, but clearly nervous and perhaps still upset that Karin and Ino had to fight, confirming to Karin that it had all been a genjutsu. She then located Ino a few meters away, writing in a scroll. Fuinjutsu, what ever it is, I can't let her get it off, Karin decided.
It took Karin a few seconds to figure out how to control her chains, but it was fairly intuitive, and she sent one of them to disrupt Ino while the other focused on digging her out. It seemed that the hard part of chakra chains was actually getting them to materialize. Once she had them, she could will them to do whatever she needed.
-The Kage Box-
"Is that girl related to Kushina-sama?" The Taki leader asked, only knowing of the Adamatine Chain technique as something that the famed kunoichi Kushina Uzumaki used. "No, it's just an Uzumaki Clan Kekkai Genkai" Tsunade said, Naruto's own relationship with Kushina was still secret to most people, better to just flat out deny any connection between Kushina and the current Uzumaki Clan.
"Impressive though." Shibuki said, still caught up on the famed technique. "I've been more impressed with Ino-san this fight." Gaara said, pleased that his "brother's" finace was finally showing some skills. "By my count she has used two different styles of Taijutsu, elemental ninjutsu, genjutsu, and fuinjutsu in this tournament." "Yes, much more impressive." Tsunade agreed, also quite pleased at Ino's showing thus far.
-The Arena-
Once again, Ino was forced to postpone working on a Fuinjutsu, though this time it was due to the interference of an Uzumaki instead of a Hyuga. The two "sisters" were currently duking it out using the Konoha academy style. Karin had become much more familiar with the style over the past month, but Ino still had the advantage, and was winning the Taijutsu spar.
She was caught of guard when Karin switched to the Kusa style for a counter attack, and was able to land a few good hits in before jumping out onto the small pond that remained. Ino-sama uses Earth Style, if my water style is going to be effective, I need to use more powerful attacks.
Karin ran through 45 different hand seals before calling out "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" It was the most powerful ninjutsu she had in her repertoire, and she had only learned it thanks to having multiple shadow clones practice it every day for three weeks. Ino was caught out in the open, and immediately threw up another mud wall. Both the Water Dragon and the Mud Wall were B-rank ninjutsu, so theoretically the Mud Wall had the advantage since Doton was strong against Suiton.
However, thanks to the multi-shadow clone training method, Karin was far stronger in her water affinity than Ino was in her earth, and the Dragon slowly overpowered the wall. Meanwhile, Karin was already preparing her next technique, a Fuinjutsu.
I have to hope that Ino-sama has shown them enough, it's too difficult for me to go easy on her while making it look like I'm not holding back. If I don't end this soon, it will become clear that I'm purposely prolonging the fight.
As Ino jumped back into the open, the Water Dragon having ruined her Mud Wall, Karin's skill and great speed with Fuinjutsu meant that she was already activating her seal.
A single line of Kanji ran across the water, making the ground around Ino turn into a field of mud. Ino began to move again, but found that this mud was quite sticky, and that while she could still move, it slowed her down considerably. She was running low on chakra, and didn't have enough left to take advantage of the mud with her earth style.
Running across the mud like a shinobi over water, Karin charged and again engaged in a Taijutsu spar, only this time the mud was slowing Ino down, and Karin had the advantage. Ino took blow after blow, until she became desperate, and tried to fire off a Yamanaka Clan Mind Transfer Jutsu, only for it to miss.
When she returned to her body, Karin was holding a Kunai to her neck. "Please surrender, Ino-sama. I'm sorry." Ino just smiled back at her, "Don't be sorry, nee-chan, that was a great fight." she then turned to Kakashi "I forfeit" "The winner is Karin Uzumaki!" Kakashi called out, as the crowd roared in response.
As a precaution, both Karin and Ino were taken to the medical area underneath the stadium. Ino would stay there until discharged, Karin would be allowed to rest until the final match, as would her opponent once the other semifinal match was concluded.
-The Kage Box-
"I was impressed with both of them. The Uzumaki continued to look like a chunin, building on her first fight. The Yamanaka's first fight was very sketchy, but I think she had a much better showing this time around. It's just a shame her opponent had those chains or she probably would have won with that genjutsu." Shibuki observed.
"I agree. I believe I can support both of them receiving a promotion." Gaara said. "Then it's unanimous from the Kage" Tsunade said, absolutely beaming. "We'll see what the other judges say."
-The Stands-
"If I were judging, I'd say they both showed enough for promotion." Sasuke said, trying to calm down a clearly nervous Naruto. "But you're not judging, that would be a conflict of interest since they were both part of 'Team Sasuke.'" Naruto responded. "For that matter none of the clan heads sitting around us are judging.
"Come to think of it," Sakura chimed in, "I don't think it's ever been explained to me exactly how the judging at these things works." From behind Team 7, Inoichi chimed in to explain:
"The number of judges varies from exam to exam, but all civilian nobles, Daimyos, Kage, and other village leaders who attend serve as judges. Usually, when Konoha hosts, all three of the elders and two clan heads serve as judges as well. The votes of actual shinobi are worth double the vote of the civilian nobles."
"So who are the clan judges this time around?" Kiba asked. "Just Shibi Aburame, everyone else was considered to have a conflict of interest. Tsume responded. "After all, one of the finalists is my future daughter-in-law, another has pretty obvious ties to just about everyone else except Hiashi, but there is also a Hyuga in the finals."
"Well I hope Aburame-dono liked what he saw." Choji spoke up from the row in front of Naruto. "I wouldn't worry too much." Choza responded from two rows above. "Karin-san showed more than enough, she has nothing to worry about. As for Ino-chan, let's just say that Aburame-dono knows how important it is to all of the clans that Uzumaki-dono gets married." he said, nodding to Naruto when he mentioned him."I'd say Ino is on the border of promotion, but I think that securing the future of the Uzumaki clan will be enough to convince Shibi to vote for promotion. I'd be more worried about the civilians."
While the discussion was taking place, the second semi-final was going on, and it wasn't even close. The Suna genin was wiping the floor with the Waterfall village's last remaining participant, and by the time the discussion about judging was over, Kakashi had called the match. There was now another hour break, after which Karin and the Suna genin would fight for the right to be champion of the chunin exams.
For Naruto, Ino, Karin, and most of their friends, there was still a painfully long amount of time that they would have to wait before getting word on if a wedding was in their near future or not.
-End of Chapter-
Sorry for the late update, lots going on and I've not had time to write. In the future I'll try to keep the status of where I am in the writing process in my profile.
For those of you who also read Yotsuki Naruto: I'm almost done writing the next chapter, so that should be up relatively soon. All I have to do once I finish writing is go through my review process, which, since I lack a Beta reader/editor, consists of me reading the story several times, at least one of which is out loud, making changes and corrections as necessary. Obviously, I don't catch all of the grammatical errors, unintentional plot holes, and etc. but it does significantly improve the chapter.
Q: Don't the Hatake have dog summons?
A: So first of all, in this story the Hatake aren't a clan. To simplify things, I cut some of the clans, even if characters from those clans still appear. This includes the Hatake, Kurama, and Shimura. As such, in regards to the specifics of this story, it's a moot point since the Hatake aren't a clan. That being said, from Narutopedia's article on Pakkun: "...some time after Pakkun and the other ninken made a contract with Kakash..." To me, this implies that it was a contract that was new with Kakashi, not something handed down through his clan. I don't know the actual answer to your question, but based on that quote I'm inclined to say no. Also, I think it would be weird for there to be two dog using clans in one village.
As always, thanks for reading.
-Col. Bogey