Hon3ydew: I know… it felt so short to me as well… but somehow it did not feel as good when I prolong the fight. I guess the story wants it to be a quick knock out punch…
Kung Fu Truffle: Sorry about the fights… I don't know how to explain it… and as for the blond thing… Ino is Sakura's best friend… I think it would be obvious to Sakura that Naruto is no relation to Ino.
MKTerra: hmmm… I'm not entirely sure about Naruto's outfit but Sakura's has already changed… maybe you should go back and read.
Salamander Hanzo: umm… I don't really understand German… so if you would please comment in English…
Bub23453: read and find out ;)
Naruto: (weird talking to the main character of my story :/ ) yeah I understand, your opinion maybe different from anyone elses but I treasure it none the less… and Sakura has NOT found out yet, she has linked it but not confirmed it… Don't worry though… even if Sakura finds out, maybe Naruto won't
Bathman: hehehe me too me too… though I'm pretty sure neither of them will go full out yet.
My advice to all you writers out there… A story is like life… you have to live it from the beginning to be able to write every single twist and turn it takes… and like life, the story will never tell you what is coming up next… have a plot sure, but do not limit yourself to strict guidelines, let your story play out by itself, as you would let your life play out itself. Taking charge does not mean you dictate each and every step of it.
X—X—X—X—X
Without Uchiha Sasuke
Chapter 21: Bad Blood
"Oto-san." Spoke a tiny voice in the spectator stands and Hyuuga Hiashi looked to his right at his youngest daughter, Hanabi. "Who is that boy?" she asked as she pointed towards Hisemi. "His name has our family name, yet I have not seen him in our compound."
"Neither have I." spoke Hinata who sat on the other side of Hanabi.
Hiashi frowned as he looked upon Hisemi. Somehow the boy seemed familiar to him, yet Hiashi could not place his finger on who the boy was.
"I do not know." Was all the Hyuuga clan head could say to both of his daughters. "I do not know."
The words that her father spoke worried Hinata for she knew that Hiashi was one not to miss anything that happened to any one of their clan, be it main branch or common branch.
"Second Match! Begin!" came Hayate's voice and the three Hyuuga in the stands averted their eyes towards the arena.
Maybe we will find out during the course of this match. Thought Hiashi.
X—X—X—X—X
"Byakugan!" yelled both Hisemi and Neji at the same time, both activating their clan Doujutsu straight from the start. Neji slipped into the Jyuuken stance, ready for Hisemi to attack him. However, the elder Hyuuga was caught off guard by Hisemi's next move.
"How do you know the Jyuuken?" asked Neji, shocked as he saw Hisemi slip in to the exact same stance.
"How else? I'm a Hyuuga just like you." Said Hisemi a smile on his face.
"Imposter!" spat Neji. "No Hyuuga have brown eyes like you!" he said as he charged Hisemi, the two exchanging Jyuuken blows.
"I am every bit of a Hyuuga just as much as you are!" roared Hisemi as he pushed Neji back, dodging and countering the blows his elder family member gave him.
"Genjutsu! You are no Hyuuga!" retorted Neji as they continued their exchange of both blows and words.
"And you are the one to decide?" hissed Hisemi as he flashed through the hand seals for the Goukakyuu, unleashing a large ball of flame at Neji.
"No Hyuuga would need ninjutsu!" Said Neji before he started spinning around, a dome of chakra appearing around him as it blocked the oncoming fireball.
"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" yelled Neji as he completed his defensive Jutsu.
Hisemi just laughed as he rushed in towards Neji, chakra gathered in his palm. "Unlike you, I do not plan to limit my strength just because I will not learn other jutsu!"
X—X—X—X—X
Meanwhile in the stands, Hyuuga Hiashi was having the most surprising day of his life. Not only was there a non pale eyed Hyuuga boy on the field, but Neji, a branch member had learnt one of the Main branch Jutsu's the Kaiten.
"Father, how does Neji-nii-san know the Kaiten?" asked Hanabi, the ever curious one.
"It seems he has learnt it himself." Said Hiashi.
"Hello Hiashi-kun." Came a female voice and Hiashi's eyes widened. The Hyuuga clan head turned around in his seat very slowly, coming face to face with one woman he had thought dead.
"Himiko." He breathed as he laid his eyes on the woman. "How? I thought you were dead."
Masamo Himiko took the empty seat behind Hiashi. "A simple body double, Hiashi-kun. Did you think it was so easy for them to kill me?" she asked with a smile.
"But Hizashi thought." He said but Kimiko interrupted.
"Hizashi knew. He hid it from you for good reason. What you did not know you could not tell even under the most painful of torture. He was the only one that knew from your clan and then came along the Cloud incident."
"He took my place to keep you safe?" asked Hiashi.
"No. He took your place to keep you safe. He loved you more than he loved either of us."
"Why did you not come back Himiko-chan? Neji's life would have been much more different with his mother around."
"I'm sorry Hiashi-kun. Hizashi asked me not to go, he asked me to take care of Hisemi, not to make the mistakes we made when we raised Neji."
"Hisemi?"
"It is a wonderful thing, Hiashi-kun. Wonderful but scarier than anything else in the world. To watch both your children fight each other. Something you will understand when you see Hinata and Hanabi fight each other."
"You mean that Neji is fighting his younger brother?" spoke Hiashi as his head snapped back to the fight going on.
Himiko nodded, smiling. "Isn't it wonderful?" she asked. "Neji is no longer an only child."
X—X—X—X—X
Hisemi and Neji traded blows, Jyuuken against Jyuuken, kunai against kunai. Each dodging and countering the other's blows.
"Imposter!" yelled Neji as he increased the chakra output in each of his strikes. "You have no caged bird seal! And every Hyuuga knows that the ones who do not get it are the main branch!"
Hisemi dodged the first blow, adjusting the chakra he fed to his body. "At least you had a clan! I was not even allowed in!" spat back Hisemi as the younger boy attacked his brother with renewed vigor.
"A clan?" laughed Neji, as he blocked every attack Hisemi threw at him. "You wouldn't call them a clan if you had been the one living with them!"
Hisemi was slightly taken aback at Neji's statement. The Hyuuga were one of the strongest and famous clans in all of Konoha. How could it be that Neji despised them?
Neji, seeing the confusion in Hisemi's eyes, stepped back before taking off his Hitai-ate and revealing the caged bird seal.
"You know what this is?" asked the elder Hyuuga genin. "This is the caged bird seal. A seal that is given to all branch members of the clan, a seal that is given to each and every one of us, so that the main branch members can control us. One hand seal is all they need to send us into a world of pain and possibly to our deaths. Fate has made us slaves to the head family of the clan, slaves that could be tortured if they don't obey their orders. Slaves that can be killed and sacrificed, much like my father before me."
Hisemi was still in shock about Neji's revelation when the Hyuuga took a different stance. "You are within my range of divination." Intoned the boy as he charged Hisemi, delivering sixty four hits before the younger and less experienced genin could mount a defence.
Hisemi fell to the floor, barely able to move. It was not the attack that left him in such a helpless position. No, it was the mere fact that the loving clan he had always imagined had turned out to be cruel slavers. Hisemi fell to the floor, with no bones broken, but his dreams shattered.
X—X—X—X—X
Hyuuga Hiashi watched as Neji spoke out to the world, tears trying to fight their way down his cheeks.
The clan leader stood up from his seat and made for the stairs when a soft voice stopped him.
"Oto-san? Where are you going?" asked Hinata.
Hiashi looked at his elder daughter, the one he had mistreated, the one that had proved him wrong during the second phase. He had seen the determination that was strong in Hinata as she fought Sakura and he had realized then that it had been him that had not given her anything to fight for, him that had not given her something to aim for.
"I am going to do something I should have done a long time ago, Hinata-chan. For your mother, and my brother." He said, giving one final look towards Himiko as he walked down the stairs.
Himiko stood up as well, following Hiashi.
"What are you going to do?" she asked as she caught up with the clan head.
"Apologize to my nephews." Said Hiashi. Himiko could clearly hear the pain in his voice.
"For what?" she asked.
"For letting their lives be hell on earth."
X—X—X—X—X
"Proctor. This match is over." Said Neji as he turned away from Hisemi's fallen body.
"This… is not… over." Grunted the younger genin as he stood up groggily. Neji turned around, his face an angry scowl.
"Know when you have been fated to lose." He said as he charged, his index finger and the middle finger the only ones fully stretched in the classic Jyuuken style.
Hisemi let the blow slip past his cheek as the younger genin tried to ram a knee into Neji's stomach. Neji caught the knee as Hisemi caught Neji's arm, the both of them struggling to break free from the other.
"Never." Hissed Hisemi. "If I have learnt anything in my time being a ninja assigned to a team, it is that fate never decides anything about you. It simply gives you an option. Fight, be it to change things or defend things and people, or run simply blaming destiny for every slight that had been made to you. I choose to fight, I will fight for my dreams and for my precious people and you will not be the one to end my fight!"
Hisemi smiled in Neji's face as his free hand came up touching Neji's chest with the palm.
"Hakkeshou: Gekitai. (Eight Trigrams Palm: Repulse)" Was all the words Hisemi said as both of the boys went flying apart, slamming into the wall of the arena, the force of the repulsion driving them a few feet into them.
Hayate immediately formed a clone as he ran towards Hisemi, the clone immediately moving to inspect the form of Neji. Hisemi was out cold, by Hayate's estimates, with a few broken bones and in dire need of a medic. Neji was in a similar state but still conscious, the clone dispelled, telling Hayate that neither of the boys would be able to fight any further.
A team of doctors rushed onto the field, two stretchers each heading for a boy. They wasted little time in extracting the bodies before rushing out faster than they had came in.
"As neither contestant is able to continue any further, this match has been declared a draw!" spoke Hayate and the crowd erupted into murmurs.
X—X—X—X—X
In the contestant's seats, both Naruto and Shikamaru stood up to walk down to the arena. The intensity of the wait, the pressure as the both of them came up with scenarios and strategies to beat each other, had finally gotten under their skin, each of them eager to get on with the battle.
Sakura was the first to note that she would be virtually left alone with Gaara and Lee and she stood up in a hurry as well, stating that she wanted to go and see how Hisemi was doing. Unbeknownst to many, both Naruto and Sakura had developed an easy going relationship with the so called half-ling during their days in Wave and they had kept in contact over the weeks since their return. Sakura decided that they least she could do was visit him in the infirmary.
X—X—X—X—X
Inside the infirmary, once the doctors had deemed Hisemi stable, everyone left the room, letting the two boys rest. Hyuuga Neji closed his eyes as he fought the pain of the impact. The technique was an altogether new technique, one of immense strength, yet one he had never heard of. One that definitely belonged to the ninja of his clan. Neji knew that only the main branch members were the ones that were taught the Hakkeshou techniques, their secrets guarded even more tightly than the Kaiten.
A shadow fell across his face and Neji opened his eyes and saw the face of Hyuuga Hiashi staring down at him. Neji flinched as Hiashi's hand touched his arm lightly, but it was not until Hiashi spoke that he calmed down.
"Calm down Neji-kun. If I wanted to kill you, I could have just activated your seal." He said.
Neji looked at Hiashi. Was it just him or did he actually hear some sorrow in the clan heads voice.
"I wish to apologize to my nephew, on the death of his father, and more importantly, on how bad his uncle has failed him."
Neji's eyes were wide open by now, the tears that fell from Hiashi's eyes as clearly visible as rain on a stormy day.
"I wish to apologize on failing to prevent the seal being placed on you. I wish to apologize, for failing to stand up against my brother as he took my place."
"You… you did nothing to stop him." spoke Neji as he closed his eyes once more. No, he wouldn't believe it.
"It is true, Neji-kun." Spoke a voice, a voice that he had not heard for many years, a voice that he remembered as clear as daylight.
A face came into view on the other side of Neji's face, the face in the picture he held dearly every night, a face that he had seen smiling at his fathers side when he was a boy.
"Kaa-san." He said. "Am I dying?" he asked.
People always said that they only saw their most loved departed ones only when they were close to dying themselves.
"No. You are not." She spoke as she caressed his cheek. "I am sorry my son, for leaving you just as your father did. Your uncle is not at fault. It was your father that drugged him into sleep that very night and he was the only one who ran to the site and cradled your father's headless body."
Neji heard a sob and turned his gaze to Hiashi and saw the clan head's body racking with sobs as he cried.
"But worry not, me and your brother are here with you now, and we will not leave you again, ever." She said as she gave Neji a kiss on the forehead, the exact place he had never ever thought he would be touched or kissed.
"Brother?" asked Neji, still too weak to form complete sentences.
"Yes, Neji-kun. You have your father's eyes, he has mine. Yet you two are born of the same blood, two years apart."
"Hisemi?" croaked Neji as he looked over to his opponent, struggling to stand up and walk over to him.
"Rest, Neji-kun. You will have enough time to catch up with him. But first you must rest." Said Himiko in a soothing voice and soon, Hyuuga Neji was asleep.
"If only you had come sooner, Himiko-chan." Said Hiashi as he wiped his eyes. "Maybe we all could have had better lives."
X—X—X—X—X
Sakura had the misfortune of arriving in the infirmary the same time as Hiashi said the last words. The pink haired girl eeped audibly as she discovered that she was interrupting a moment.
Hiashi's head turned to face her and Sakura reddened.
"I can go back upstairs if you would like Hyuuga-sama." She said in a timid voice.
Hiashi smiled. "Now, isn't that attitude a bit meek for someone who soundly beat the Hyuuga heir in the preliminaries?"
"I just came to check up on Hisemi, Hyuuga-san. With your permission, I would like to give him an over all scan." Finished the girl.
"Sure Sakura." Go ahead, spoke Kimiko and the pink haired genin walked forward.
"You know medical ninjutsu?" asked Hiashi, his interest piqued.
"The basics, Hyuuga-sama, only enough to keep myself and my team mate alive. I'm afraid there isn't a proper medic-nin in the village to train me." Said the girl as a green glow formed around her hand.
Hiashi watched in amazement as the girl hovered her hand all over Hisemi's body before the glow disappeared.
"Well?" asked Hiashi.
"The good news is that he hasn't suffered any fatal injuries."
"And the bad news?" asked Himiko.
"His spine has fractured in multiple places, he will heal, but I don't think he will be able to continue being a shinobi."
"There is no chance of correcting this?" asked Hiashi, eager to make up for the slights he had done to his nephews.
"I cannot say Hyuuga-sama. You would have to ask someone the stature of Tsunade-sama for an answer to that question."
It was then that Hayate's voice cut through the murmur of the crows.
"Fourth Bout, Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha against Nara Shikamaru of Konoha. Are you both ready?"
"It seems as if your team mate is about to fight. Are you not interested in watching it?" asked Hiashi.
"Truth to be told, I am. I have heard that Shikamaru is a hard man to fight against due to his tactical ability. But, I do not trust the others in the contestant box, that is why I am not there at this very second."
"Would you like to come sit with us then?" offered Kimiko.
"I thank you for your offer." Said Sakura bowing. "But I am not too sure Hinata would be pleased with that."
"Nonsense." Spoke Hiashi. "If nothing, that girl needs to learn from you. I insist that you come along."
Sakura was trapped. Here was the Hyuuga clan head inviting her to come with them to watch Naruto's match and she knew that it would look bad on her if she refused. So, nodding, Haruno Sakura followed Hyuuga Hiashi and Himiko up to their seats to watch her boyfriend's match with a girl who had a crush on him.
X—X—X—X—X
Sakura was barely able to sit down next to Kimiko when Hayate gave the signal to begin. Naruto kicking things off, forming some Kage Bunshin as the five of them rushed Shikamaru.
The Nara immediately leapt backwards, throwing some kunai which the Kage Bunshin dodged easily as they continued towards him. Shikamaru leapt and bounded from place to place, drawing the five Kage Bunshin closer and closer towards him.
Naruto noticed that Shikamaru wore his kunai pouch on his left side rather than his right and smiled. Nice plan Shika, thought the blond boy as he let his Kage bunshin be drawn in closer before Shikamaru used his trademark Kage Mane no Jutsu. With one flick of his left wrist, Shikamaru dispatched all five clones, shuriken dropping to the floor as they disappeared.
Shikamaru cursed as all the Kage Bunshin vanished in puffs of smoke. He cursed Naruto for knowing the technique, he cursed Naruto for knowing that Shikamaru did not have as much chakra as he did, he cursed Naruto for making him waste such vital chakra on a few clones.
Shikamaru chose to position himself behind a tree as he adopted his strategizing position, trying to play out every move possible and come up with a winning strategy. He was about to get a fix on one when a kunai embedded itself next to his year making him instantly lose track of his thoughts.
Shikamaru ducked behind the tree as a dozen more kunai embedded itself beside the first one and before he knew it Shikamaru was on the run again, avoiding kunai and dodging falling clones, taking out a few in the process.
The Nara stole a quick glance at the sun and noted how slow it was setting. Just a little more, He urged himself, just a little more and we'll have the upper hand.
X—X—X—X—X
"What is he doing?" asked Hanabi in wonder as they saw Naruto chain the Fuuton: Reppuushou along with the Kage Shuriken no Jutsu. "Doesn't he know that he is just wasting chakra?"
"N-Naruto-kun." Whispered Hinata, worried about the object of her affection as she saw him try attack after attack against the Nara.
"Naruto has more chakra than you can imagine." Spoke Sakura. "You must have noticed, right Hinata?"
Hyuuga Hiashi smirked inwardly as he saw his daughter give the pink haired genin a glance. No, Hinata had not noticed and it seemed as if Sakura was driving the point home. It looked as if they were both fighting over him.
"Your boyfriend is quite amazing, Haruno-san." Said Hiashi causing Hinata to elicit a slight gasp at his acknowledgement. "It seems he has mastered the Kage Bunshin to a limit that he no longer needs the intonation nor the handseal to form one. It will be quite interesting to see what else he has up his sleeve."
"Just like Arashi." Spoke Himiko.
"Arashi?" asked Sakura, the name reaching her ear.
"Just a friend we had when we were Jounin." Said Hiashi, dismissing the name. "He was quite unpredictable much like Uzumaki over there."
Hiashi was not worried in any way over Sakura's interest in Arashi. No one but someone who had been friends with them and Minato would know the nickname they had for him. Minato's unpredictability had been one of the reasons they had started to call him Arashi in the first place, playing a pun on the fact that Arashi was like the lightning, hitting places and things randomly, yet with lethal force. It had been one of the names they had made after he had been coined the Yellow Flash of Konoha.
He reminds me of you so much, Minato. I wish you were here to see your legacy. You would be so proud.
X—X—X—X—X
Nara Shikamaru sighed as the sun finally reached a suitable height, the shadows covering his half of the arena.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I'm afraid it's time I stopped playing with you." Said the pineapple haired boy.
Naruto stood in the sun, a little confused until he saw a tendril of shadow snake out at him. The boy made a run, but Shikamaru's shadow caught him before he could jump to safety.
"I see. So that's how your jutsu works." Said Naruto with a smile. "No matter how you stretch it or turn it, your shadow can only cover the same area that it covers normally."
"I'm impressed Naruto. I never thought the Dobe would be the one to figure out my secret."
"Oh it wasn't so hard. I noticed that your shadow had more range as time went along, since you increased the number of clones you destroyed each time."
"That's very good Naruto." Complimented Shikamaru as he put his hand in an imaginary pouch before picking up something, Naruto's arm mimicking the same movements but instead putting his hand in the kunai pouch and bringing up a kunai to his own throat. The crowd gasped as they saw the Kunai at the boy's throat, among them one Hyuuga Hinata.
"It seems your boyfriend has lost this match, Sakura." Said Himiko.
"No, I don't think so." Stated Sakura as a matter of fact.
"He has a kunai to his throat, how can you say he has not lost?" asked Hiashi curious.
In response Sakura simply unbuckled her kunai pouch before handing it to Hiashi, who studied the very lightweight pouch and caught sight of the seal in it.
"A seal?" he asked and saw Sakura nod.
"Naruto came up with a way to seal Kunai in our pouches as well as our gloves, so that we could have an almost endless supply yet not be burdened by their weight. Shikamaru has no idea about the seal, I have not told a single person and I'm sure neither has Naruto."
"So you mean to tell me that the Nara was able to trap Uzumaki because he let the boy trap him?"
"Exactly." Said Sakura as she took back her pouch.
X—X—X—X-X
"Forfeit Naruto. You have lost." Spoke Shikamaru
"No." said Naruto as he struggled to free himself from the shadow bind.
"Why? It is clear that you have lost. Don't make me slit your throat." Said the Nara.
Naruto laughed out loud. "I haven't lost by a long shot Shika. You forgot about one clone of mine." Said the blond boy.
"Which one?" asked the Nara, curious.
"Me." Said the clone before it impaled itself on the kunai, vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Shit! I've been tricked! Was all that Shikamaru was able to think before a dark blur broke out of the ground, a long pink tongue binding him tightly.
"Gomen, Shikamaru." Came the voice of Naruto as he appeared in front of the stunned Nara. A blur appearing behind Shikamaru knocking him in the back of the head with the hilt of a sword.
Once Naruto was sure that Shikamaru was out cold, he spoke to the two that had come to aid him in the fight.
"Gamazuka, Gamakyou, Arigato. You may leave now."
The two toads vanished almost immediately, the crowd in a stunned silence before they rose, clapping and cheering.
X—X—X—X—X
Sakura jumped up along with the crowd and the Hyuuga's as they gave the winner a standing ovation at his performance.
Sakura barely heard Hiashi's words through the din before she ran downstairs.
"My apologies, Haruno-san, it seems I have underestimated Uzumaki."
X—X—X—X—X
"Winner of the fourth bout, Uzumaki Naruto!" came Hayate's voice, followed by a loud cheer.
A blushing Naruto quickly took to the stairs, stopping halfway as a screaming Sakura jumped into his arms, giving him a deep kiss. It was not until a minute later that both of the realized that they were actually kissing each other. The couple separated immediately, full blushes on their faces just in time for Nara Shikamaru to walk up to join them.
"What are you two blushing for? It's not like you did something you shouldn't." said the Nara as he walked on, passing them by.
The two blushed furiously as they realized that Shikamaru had seen them, but soon got their faces under control. The two ran up behind Shikamaru, Naruto the one to speak to the now conscious boy.
"You okay Shika? I hope Gamakyou didn't hit you too hard." He said.
"No. That's fine." Replied Shikamaru as he found a seat in one of the back rows. "Besides, who expected you to know how to summon toads." He said.
Sakura had seen the summons at work and she now realized that Naruto himself had improved as much as she had. Shikamaru was right, not even her who knew him the best had expected him to summon a pair of toads to win the fight.
Naruto laughed nervously. "I was quite scared really. Those two are normally summoned for assassination missions and summoned only when required to kill. I was worried Gamakyou might put his blade in you."
Sakura saw Shikamaru pale at the news and couldn't help but burst into laughter herself. Sakura as well as Shikamaru himself was amazed that he had not peed his pants the moment Naruto had said they were assassin toads.
X—X—X—X—X
Inside the forests of Konoha, the Aburame clan withdrew from their section, racking up a number of twenty enemy shinobi dead. They withdrew only when their Kikaichuu started dying of chakra poisoning. A later report by Aburame Shibi stated that the Oto nin had impure chakra as if some experiment had been conducted with them and this chakra was poisonous to any Aburame bug that fed on it. The Aburame were deployed on a different section of the wall, from which direction they assumed that the Suna nin would attack from.
Likewise, Nara Shikaku and his ANBU squads fell back from their section when a group of five different Oto nin appeared and took control of the enemy detachment. They were asked by the Hokage to fall back to the edge of the forest where they lay in wait to ambush the oncoming forces. Konoha had few ninja after the Kyuubi's attack, the bijuu causing them huge losses and the Hokage could not risk their defences running thin because of their sorties.
Hatake Kakashi and a few of the ANBU captains waited patiently in different areas of Konoha waiting for the invasion to begin and for the enemy to fall into their traps. Konoha had the upper hand as well as the element of surprise over the invasion forces and they would be damned if they let Konoha fall during their watch.
X—X—X—X—X
"Hokage-sama." Spoke an ANBU member as he approached his leader. "There seems to be a problem. It seems that Uchiha Sasuke has not yet arrived."
Sarutobi sighed. Of all the people to cause him problems it was Sasuke, one of his own genin. To make things worse, he was the main reason that most of the villagers had attended the finals. They wanted to see the Rookie of the Year fight. They wanted to see the Last Uchiha use the Sharingan for the good of the village. They wanted to see the sole survivor of one of the strongest clans in Konoha history fight and destroy his opponent much like the other Konoha nin had done. And he was late.
"Are there no other fights that can take place?" asked the Kazekage. "I must say I am very interested to see how Uchiha fares against my best genin. Surely you do not wish to rob your village of such a spectacle."
"I am afraid not, Kazekage-sama. This match was arranged to be the last in the first round."
"Can we not start the second round?" asked the Kazekage and Sarutobi frowned.
"That would mean the same as disqualifying him."
Just then, the crowd started cheering and both Kage's looked down into the arena, to the place where one Uchiha Sasuke stood alongside a man, a man that the Hokage hated with all his heart. The old war hawk, Danzo.
X—X—X—X—X
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" came a voice from the speakers, one that definitely did not belong to Hayate. "Now for the moment you have all been waiting for! Suna's undefeated Sabaku no Gaara! Against our very own Rookie of the year, Uchiha Sasuke!"
The crowd roared at the mention of Sasuke's name, the raven haired boy waving to the crowd as Danzo calmly walked away. Sasuke loved every moment of it, the entrance, the cheers, and now, the crowds chanting of his name. This was what he had always wanted to be treated like. Royalty. Maybe he would come back to the adulation once he had had his revenge.
"Sabaku no Gaara, will you please step into the arena." Asked Hayate, the red head appearing across Sasuke in a burst of sand. The Kazekage looked down upon the demon container before he leaned back and whispered something to his guard.
Get the men ready, it seems we might have to go sooner than planned.
X—X—X—X—X
BooyA! Another chapter done! And satisfied!
As always only one favour to ask…
REVIEW!