This is a little late X-mas present for all my readers, sorry for how late it was, but finals were a bitch and I needed to get X-mas shopping done. But I have finally up dated! Yea, me!
A week had pass since the beginning of the second part of the Chunnin Exams and the deadline for the second portion was fast approaching. All the teams that had already gotten to the tower were told to meet in what was referred to the Beating Room since it was so beaten up and that was where most of the sparring or training for the shinobi took place. Nevertheless, there were not many teams that had arrived, but the shinobi that were running the exam said that most of the groups would make it in just before the deadline. There were actually very few teams, only two, that made it to the tower before the day of the deadline for the exam, most of the genin needed all the time to complete the exam. It was only a select few that did not need all the time that were given. However, it did not mean that they were guarantied to pass the Chunnin Exams and were ready to become chunnin. It just meant that they excelled in that area of the exam.
Even though the two teams had already passed the second part of the exam and had free time that did not mean that they were not doing anything. Once they were all rested up and healed properly, both teams took to training to keep themselves in shape and ready for the next part of the Chunnin Exams that was to come. Well, not all the genin took to training after they had just come out of the Forest of Death, one decided that they were not going to train and relax instead. This person being one very wormy person in Naruto's mind and who else could it be, but Kabuto? No one. He had not trained once since they had arrived at the tower neither had he done anything worth mentioning. Well, that is, if one were to ignore the fact of his spying and gathering information on them.
Unlike Kabuto, Team 7 and the other two Uzumaki brothers had done some training, but nothing to serious. They all wanted to be at their prime for whatever the next portion of the exam was and to do so they had to keep in shape, but they also had to be rested and rejuvenated as well. Another reason that they did not do anything to serious was the fact that they did not want to show all of their cards at one time and to have an ace up their sleeves just incase. So for the few days they teams had off, they were training their bodies and minds while also relaxing and they were not the only ones relaxing.
Ever since Team 7 had arrived back from the Forest of Death, everything seemed to settle down somewhat in the village. Orochimaru had been spotted by the ANBU leaving Fire Countries borders, his failed plans probably the reason for his retreat. With the confirmed information that the Snake Sannin was no longer within the Country, the overworked shinobi could finally relax some. The tension building up in the village seemed to dissipate and the cool air of September seemed to be more than welcome. Shinobi that were once sleep deprived and looked like the walking dead now looked like their normal selves once again.
Arashi had finally taken a break from his Hokage duties for a couple of days and slept most of them away while catching up with some much needed relaxing time. Iruka and Kakashi, after getting some sleep, had taken only a day off and the two of them went of their first official date, all with the prompting and help of a blue eyed blond genin and a fox kittling. Nonetheless, the date was kind of ruined with Obito and Zabuza following along and Kakashi yelling at the two to leave them alone. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, after much laughing on Zabuza and Obito's part, Iruka gave Kakashi a goodnight kiss on the cheek and told him it was the best date he ever had. The scarecrow than gave both Obito and Zabuza a hug -him being on Cloud 9 and not even realizing what he was doing- before he happily went home.
Both Shizune and Rin had gone to an onsen for their day of relaxing and fun, but they managed to over look one little thing. Jiraiya was in town and he was relaxing as well. It did not take the two women look to notice the occasional giggle and the other odd sounds that the man made that they were being watched. It also did not take them long to figure out who it was either and with both of them working together, the two managed to have Jiraiya on his own little relaxing vacation. In the hospital. However, the two did not know if what they had done was a good idea, since the perverted old man seemed to be enjoying the fact that he was surrounded by all the women nurses that were taking care of him. So just to make sure he was well cared for, Rin and Shizune had Olga, one of the most unappealing nurse, take care of him. The terrified screams told the two women they did the right thing.
As for Tsunade, well, she was with her grandsons for they were her way of relaxing. Naruto had finally even introduced her to his teammates, trying to keep his word that he would introduce his family to them before they officially meet. However, the two had almost had a heart attack finding out that the Slug Sannin was their teammate's grandmother. It made for some very interesting reactions, but other than that everything went over smoothly. It was a nice couple of days for the shinobi, but now it seemed to be all over, for the next section of the Chunnin Exams were about to commence.
Naruto was just running a little behind in getting to the Beating Room, but he was not late. He just was not early either. Instead, the boy was scurrying down the hallways towards his destination with Kyuubi right on his heels and a gleeful smile on his face. Now one may wonder why a boy that was running a little behind schedule was so happy and it was simple really. The Heir of Foxes had just switched Kabuto's nin-cards with his own seat of blank cards. All that information he had been gathering on the village and the shinobi for the evil snake was now lost to him, forever. And he did mean forever, because right after he switched the deck of cards, Naruto had burned them.
Finally, Naruto and Kyuubi arrived in the Beating Room and quietly joined his team and his brothers' team in the small mass of genin. He was pleased to note that as he made his way to stand beside Haku and Sakura that Kabuto seemed to be fidgeting a whole lot and he held the blank nin-cards that Naruto had switched with the original. After he getting over the satisfying fact that he had out thieved a spy, the blond took the time to look around the room to see what all teams had made it. Other than his brothers' and his team, only three other Konoha genin teams made it and surprisingly he knew all of them. There were Team 8 and Team 10 from his year and Team Gai from his brothers' graduating year. Excluding the five Konoha genin teams, there were only two others that seemed to make it into the finally part of the Chunnin Exams, one being from the Suna and the other team, one that Naruto was not happy to see, being the Oto nins that they had encountered in the Forest of Death.
"Congratulations to you all on passing the second portion of the Chunnin Exams," Anko's voice rung out across the room, causing Naruto to turn his head from analyzing the teams that passed to look towards the front of the room. There, in front of where all the genin stood patiently waiting that was slightly higher than the rest of the floor was a raised area which the Hokage stood on. Behind the Yondaime Hokage stood what Naruto assumed were all of the passing genin teams' sensei, judging by the way all three of his own sensei were up there, and all the shinobi that had taken part of organizing the Chunnin Exams, since Anko, Ibiki, and Iruka were all up there as well. Behind them a statue of two arms that looked to be coming out of the wall and were in the seal to perform the kage bunshin rested.
"Now Lord Hokage himself will explain about the third exam. Listen up and take every word he says to heart!" Anko barked making sure all turn their attention towards her. When she was sure she had everyone's attention, the snake mistress turned the reins over to the Yondaime. "They're all yours, my Lord."
"Very well," Arashi said, falling into his Hokage mood once again now that his relaxing days were over for the moment. "The third examination was about to commence… but before I go into the specifics on how it will be conducted, let me make one thing perfectly clear!!!" Now if what the Yondaime had said before had not gotten all the ninjas' attention or the fact that it was the Kazama Arashi speaking to them, then his next sentence did. "It pertains to the underlying reason behind the Chunnin Exams."
Many of the genin seemed to have a confused expression on their faces; they did not know that there was an underlying reason behind the Chunnin Exams. They just thought it was there for them to move on to the next stage of their shinobi careers, but did they think there was any other reason for the Chunnin Exams to take place. Did that mean that it was held for the amusement of other? For them to watch in entertainment as they risked their own lives for others to watch as they almost die? It was something that was a little disturbing to think about if that was the reason at all, but other ideas that were running through some of their minds were much more demented than that.
"Why do you suppose an examination of the nature is being jointly conducted by all of the nations in our alliance?! To '…promote friendship and alliances among nations and raise the level and standards in the arts of the shinobi…' maybe that perhaps?!" the Yellow Flash continued, taking a well known shinobi quote out of one of the Academy handbooks. "However, you should all be very clear about what those fine-sounding phrases actually mean! This so-called examination is in fact-" all of the finalists of the Chunnin Exams seemed to be hanging on to every word Arashi was saying, well that is everyone but Team 7 and the Uzumakis. "-a war-in-miniature between all of our lands."
A surprised gasp went throughout the rookie genin, and some of the older genin as well, at the Hokage's rather blunt and to the point statement. It was not how they had imagined what was truly behind the Chunnin Exams, but it was also a lot worse. They were still just children and the way he made it sound just then was like they were full blown warriors ready to battle at a moments notice. Thankfully, their fears were put to rest as the man continued on with his explanation, reassuring them that were not going to be going into any real wars anytime soon.
"If you were to study our recent history -and consult a map- it would swiftly become apparent that our alliance is, in fact, a temporary and mutually beneficial agreement between groups of geographically contiguous lands," the Yondaime deadpanned. "But made no mistake. When this is done, it will have the side effect of winnowing out any applicants unfit to ascend to the level of chunnin. But even more importantly, it serves as an arena wherein, for the honor of their respective homelands, young shinobi may fight to the death, if needed be! This third examination will be conducted under the watchful eyes of a number of distinguished guests, including the rulers and nobility of the various lands you all aspire to serve. And among their number will be those who rule over each country's own Hidden Villages. They all will be watching you.
"If any one nation's demonstrate outstanding skill and superiority, the noblemen from ever land will be quick to commission work from those trained in that superior nation. Conversely, if a particular country's applicants are shown to be incompetent or feeble, commissions to agents of that country will dwindle. And when one land is strong in battle and the village coffers overflowing with the fruits of the many outside commissions this begets then that village may say to its neighbors, ' Beware, for we possess prowess and riches and the influence of political power'!"
"SO?!" Kiba shouted out, causing his sensei to shake her and feel humiliated for her student's outburst. "Why is it necessary to stake out lives and fight…?!"
Seeing the rambunctious Inuzuka and hearing his question caused a slight smirk to appear on the Hokage's face. One that seemed to go unnoticed by all around. "The strength of a country is derived from the strength of its village and the village draws strength from the shinobi who live there and the greatest strength of those shinobi only emerges in the midst of a desperate Life-and-Death battle! These exams provide a public arena for each country to show off and boast of the strength of its warriors. Hence, the strength of the country itself! This test has meaning and great consequence. As you struggle for the sake of your very lives and your people, you help to fulfill the dreams that were envisioned by our ancestors."
"But, you're always emphasizing the concept of 'friendship' …why?" Tenten yell out, making herself and her question be known to the ones around her.
"Though meaning is subtle, I chose my words with care. To preserve the balance of power at the risk of lives…is the essence of friendship in the world of shinobi," Arashi explained, leaving some of the genin even more confused than before. Seeing this, Arashi had to fight off the will power to smack himself at their mental knowledge. Maybe he needed to emphasize the meaning of one's mentally knowledge as well, that and have the Academy curriculum increased before one could graduate from and become a genin. It would solve a lot of headaches that way. "Let me reiterate before the third exam begins, you are taking no ordinary test! You risk not only your own futures and your dreams, but the dignity and prestige of your home village as well."
It was silent. That was the best description one could give after the Hokage's speech. All the genin were too involved in their own thoughts to even witness the others around them and see what their faucal expressions and body language gave away about their own thoughts. It was a lot to handle after all, having the genin know that not only their career, but the well being of their village, rest solely on how the performed during their exams. Some were too deep within their own thoughts that when a puff of smoke signaled the arrival of a jounin caused some of them to jump.
"And here is the next Chief Examiner for the third part of the Chunnin Exams. I now leave you in the capable hands of Gekko Hayate," Arashi announced, sweeping his hand around so that it pointed to the new arrival.
The man was kneeling down in front of the Hokage to show his respect towards the higher shinobi, but when he was introduced he made the move to stand up. However, anyone that was not skilled in the field of med-nins could tell that the man was sick at how slowly he stood up. The man had bags under his eyes and he had chronic coughing that sounded like it hurt as well as looked it. He also looked to be dead tired and he should have been in bed sleeping and not there. Black eyes and brown hair that was partially covered by his bandana hitai-ate stood out greatly with his sickly pale skin. He wore the standardized jounin uniform of the Konoha, but nothing else really stood out about the man.
"Thank you Hokage-sama," Hayate said, before turning his attention to the genin. "Hello everyone, I am Gekko Hayate, the third Chief Examiner of the Chunnin Exams. Uhh, before we start the exam, I must ask you to do something for me… Ummm, you see… there are some preliminaries to the exam proper and whether you proceed to the main exam is contingent on how well you manage those."
A loud outburst came from the genin, all violently reacting to having to do the preliminaries. They just came out of the Forest of Death -well most of them anyways- and lost over half of the participants of the exam that way. Why did they have to do some stupid preliminaries? It was unfair!
"Well… I don't want to say that the first two exams weren't demanding enough… But the truth is…we still have too many applicants…" Hayate explained in between his coughs, his permanently tired expression not giving away any of his true views on the preliminaries. "Under the traditional of the exam… we have to have a preliminary test to reduce the number of applicants proceeding to the third exam. As Hokage-sama mentioned… a number of honored guest will be observing the third exam, so we must make the exam… intense, tight, and fast-moving… Hmmm… So anyways…Now that you know something… of what it is all really about… Let the preliminaries begin!"
"Wait!" Kabuto shouted sounding more alarmed than he should have. "Aren't you going to let the genin that don't feel up to the challenge walk away? Like the years before?"
Smiling his best smile, which did not look all that great at all and made him look sicklier than he already did, Hayate answered the teenager's question simple. "No."
Kabuto looked to be stunned at first glance and then he seemed pissed off for some reason unknown to all but himself. He was about ready to yell at the sickly man about that not being fair, but he was not given the chance to, as the Hokage spoke and he did not dare interrupted the Hokage while he was speaking. It was would not go along with the good-boy façade he had been using. It also did not help that he was slightly scared of the man that in the Konoha-Iwa war, shinobi had been told to flee on sight if they came across the man. Not someone he really wanted to mess with.
"The rounds will be conducted as a tournament would and the victor of each round will advance to the real third exam. Since there are twenty-one participants and the preliminary rounds will be a one-on-one battle, the three remaining finalist that have been paired up will be fight against one another in a three way fight," Arashi told the group as a rumbling sound was heard and an electronic scoreboard was revealed. "The matches will be paired up by this scoreboard and the only way the matches will end is if your opponent is dead, knocked unconscious, or they admit defeat. Something that everyone should take to heart is if you know your opponent is overpowering you, admit defeat if you value your life. However, since we don't want a total bloodbath on our hands, Hayate, one of the other Chief Examiner, or I will step in and choice a winner, thus end the match if it is getting too out of hand."
"But don't count on that happening," Hayate said as the screen behind him started to flash all of the names of the genin entered in the preliminaries. "Now… Get off the area so that we… may begin the preliminary rounds…However, Uchiha Sasuke and Kinuta Dosu… please stay here…it seems you two are the first two to fight…"
Turning his head, the young Uchiha saw that his name was indeed up on the board, nominating him to be the first one to fight along with the Sound nin.
"You can take him Sasuke," Sakura whispered to him as she passed him by on her way upstairs to the gallery and gave him a quick hug for good luck. He did not try to push the girl away, knowing that she did not have a crush on him anymore, but he still felt slightly uncomfortable in her embraces. After she left, his attention turned to Naruto who was still standing besides him and he could not help the stray thought that he would not mind having the blond give him a hug, but pushed that thought to the back of his head. Instead, the raven just raised his eyebrow and through body language, Naruto understood that he was wondering why he was still standing there.
"Good luck," Naruto said to him, giving him a cheerful smile before he too made his way towards the gallery after Sakura with Kyuubi on his shoulder.
Watching the blond boy jog a little bit to catch up with the cherry blossom, Sasuke's features soften. He was so relieved when he woke up that day to find that Naruto was back to his normal self. That his eyes were once again their unique blue color that shown with an inner purity that none other could match instead of the sickening yellow color surrounded in a pool of black that held pain. He was even more satisfied to find out that his sensei had been about to remove the seal from the blond completely, though Arashi had told both him and Sakura to keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary with the blond that could have been caused by the cursed seals presents. Luckily, as of yet, there did not seem to be any.
Turning towards his new opponent, Sasuke fought the urge to give a sadistic smirk. It did not work. After all, he was the one that wanted to have Naruto killed when he was injured and Sasuke did not take to kindly to him even thinking of having the blond murdered. He was going to show him why it was unwise to cross an Uchiha. They did not get mad, they got even, and Sasuke was definitely going to get even. He was just sad that it was not the one that had actually tried to kill Naruto and not the one standing in front of him, but since beggars cannot be choicer… He was getting the one that had order Naruto's death instead, so he was content.
Walking up the flight of stairs after Sakura, Naruto followed the girl to a spot a little ways away from some of the other groups, but not that far away from them. The spot was just perfect to see the match from, though others might not thinks so, since all they saw was the back of Sasuke. Others, mainly the fangirls, would have rather been able to see the Uchiha's face and not his back, but for his teammates it was different. While others saw the back of the Uchiha, they saw a wider span of what the Sasuke saw letting them see almost like the same thing the raven saw. Something that let them better determine what their teammate would do next and what to anticipate from him.
Seeing that the match was not going to begin right away for whatever reason unknown to Naruto, the boy took the time to look around the room. The first thing he noticed was that all of the teams' sensei had followed their students so that they were watching the exams together as a team. However, looking over to where their four sensei were, the Pure One could see why they would not be joining them anytime soon. Actually, he could not see why, but being the Heir of Foxes had its perks, increased hearing was one of them. Apparently, the council members had just summoned Arashi and their other sensei, for what, he did not know, but judging by the way the ANBU had sounded, it was going to be awhile before they saw any of their sensei again.
Next, Naruto took in the different teams that had made it into the preliminaries. The first being the foreign shinobi that were not form the village, but the he was still slightly familiar with, they did act his team when he was knocked unconscious. Or, at least that was what his teammates told them, though he knew that there was more to the story, since Kyuubi had been mumbling something about '…snake smelling sound that [he was going to maim for even thinking about having [his friend killed…' there had been more to what the fox was saying, but Naruto choice not to remember that, it made even him shiver to think about it. Well, after a little information gathering and spying, Naruto had found out a little about each of them.
The first one, the one Sasuke was going to be fighting, was Kinuta Dosu, the leader of the group. The boy was fourteen and had a special speaker implanted into his wrist that served to amplify sound waves and dramatically increase the strengthen of his sound-based jutsu. He was most infamous to use his implant to use damage the eardrum of his enemy to not only throw them off balance, but also make them nauseous and kill them slowly. He could also control the sound waves in midair and redirect them at will, making sure he always hit the mark. The teen was also the most levelheaded one out of his whole team and could adequately gauge an opponent's strengths and weaknesses in little time. Naruto also observed the fact that Dosu seemed to have a friendship or a brotherly bond with his teammate Zaku, but he could careless for Kin.
As for Zaku, the boy's whole name was Abumi Zaku and he was also fourteen years old. He also had implants like Dosu, but his were different. Zaku's implants were hollow air tubes that extended through his arms and opened through his palms. With his air tubes, he could properly form a combination of air pressure and sound in various ratios that were strong enough to crack stone and wipe out anything in its path. He was the type to act quickly without thinking and did not care about his own wellbeing but was only clouded with the thought of power, something Naruto did not like about him at all. The boy was cocky and overconfident that did not think about the consequences of his actions. He someone the Pure One could see falling because of his own faults to a weaker opponent.
Lastly was Tsuchi Kin, also fourteen and the only girl in the group. She seemed to be an outcast in even her own team and was real resentful for that fact, but she never tried to change it either. Naruto had found that she used senbon with bells and nin-wire attached to them as her main weapons. However, the bells were no ordinary bells, but ones that could ring at a high frequency that affected the average human's mind. It would cause her opponents to see multiple copies of her that they could not tell the difference between them and with a constant exposure, the opponent would start to find that their body would start to shut down.
Their sensei did not look like the kind of guy to be trusted for the plain fact that he looked too much like the one that had put the cursed seal on him, Orochimaru. The guy even reeked of the snake so strongly that he would have thought that the man was Orochimaru if he did not already know what the shinobi looked like and he knew that the guy was not using a henge. But just because he was not Orochimaru did not mean he was not going to keep and eye out on the guy, he reeked too strongly of the snake not to watch him and the ones he associated himself with. Like the sensei standing next to him, Baki if he remembered the name correctly. They seemed to be on too friendly terms for the blond's taste, so he would have to watch him and Baki's team, because if their sensei was involved, they most likely were too.
The next team that Naruto looked over surprised him greatly and it was not because of their sensei was talking to the Orochimaru-look-alike nor was it the fact that it was the place where he was sold into slavery. It was because he had heard so much about them from his Ani. They were his real siblings. Temari and Kankuro. Turning confused blue eyes towards his brothers' team, Naruto was met with guarded emerald eyes that he seemed to be the only one that could read and watched as their owner nodded his head positively in answer to his unspoken question. Sending Gaara a look that told him everything would be okay, the blond turned his eyes back onto the Sand team.
Temari, from what his Ani told him, had gained her looks form their mother having bright blond hair and teal eyes. She was also the oldest, being sixteen years old, and was very independent when she was a child. She always spoke her opinion and never changed it just because that was what the crowd thought, which was the reason why Gaara missed her somewhat. She had been one of the kinder people towards him and did not treat him like a total monster, but she did not treat him like a brother either and stayed as far away from him as she could. Like he said, Gaara only missed her somewhat. The Heir of Foxes was unsure of if the girl had changed for the better or worse since Gaara had last seen her, but he did know a few other things about her via the wind.
Apparently she also had an affinity for wind the same as him and the wind seemed to like her. Well, at least that was what the wind told him anyways and he briefly wondered if given the chose would the wind take her side or his? He crushed that thought; instead he studied her choice of weaponry, it being a rather large fan strapped to her back. Something about it looked rather heavy and Naruto preferred to not be hit by the thing if given the choice. With his eye for weapons, he could tell that the thing was made of iron and was well crafted as well.
Next to her, was Kankuro, or what he could only assume was Kankuro with what description Gaara had given him. The boy was fifteen, but with the way he looked, Naruto could not really tell. The guy looked like a kabuki actor with the face paint he was wearing and he wore an outfit that was fit for a bunraku puppeteer. Something that gave away the face that he was a puppet master right away to many if they took the time to think about it, but most shinobi at his level now did not. The blond assumed that the giant wrapped thing on the teen's back was one of the puppets he used and had to wonder what it looked like. The teen was very distant and did not like children when he was a kid from what Gaara had said, and by the looks of it, he did not seem to change much.
Finally, the third member of the Suna shinobi looked to be very strange. The man was covered head to toe with black and wore black lenses over his eyes, no glasses just lenses, creepy if you would ask Naruto. All Naruto really knew about this man was that his name was Akado Yoroi and he could not be trusted. The man smelled heavily of snake and had Kabuto's scent mixed in with his own, meaning that the two had been next to each other for long periods of time; it could have also meant they were involved with one another, but their scents were not that strong on the man to be true. Besides, Naruto could not smell Yoroi's scent on Kabuto meaning that they definitely were not involved with one another.
"It's starting!"
Kyuubi barked, pulling Naruto from his evaluation of the teams and turning his attention towards the arena instead. He could analyze the teams later or each person individually while they were battling, because he definitely was not going to miss Sasuke's fight."All right…" Hayate said before dissolving into a coughing fit that did not last long. "Please… begin…"
And so it did. Sasuke made the first move by simply drawing his katana from his back before pointing it downwards at a slight angle with the tip touching the ground and his extended arm straight. The Uchiha's other arm was merely at his side as he stood up straight with both feet together. However, his right foot was facing towards Dosu while his left was at a ninety degree angle and facing to the side. His face was flawless, there was no emotion evident on his being and the boy looked like a statue standing there. He even had shut his eyes and did not show any sign that he was even concerned about his opponent.
Seeing that the Uchiha was not taking the battle seriously -having his eyes closed and all- Dosu growled in anger. Shifting his eyes towards where Orochimaru stood in disguise watching him, the Oto nin decided to make the first attacking move. Grabbing a handful of shuriken out of his pouch, the teen throw them with great accuracy at the raven. However, Sasuke did not even try and make a move to dodge or deflect the attack and just continued to stand there with his eyes closed. He paid no heed to the shouting coming from a blonde haired kuniochi in the background to neither move nor her shriek of terror when the shuriken just whizzed pass him only causing a few strains of hair to sway in the current they made as they passed him by.
Instead, Sasuke eyes snapped open and he whirled around backwards on the ball of his left heel, just in time to dodge the sound wave that was meant to hit him. Stopping all movement, the Uchiha once again fell into the same stance before, but this time his eyes were open and a slight smirk played on his lips. One that only served to make Dosu even angrier that he had seen though his plan and had not taken the shurikens bait. The boy was not supposed to see that the shuriken were merely a distraction that was meant to keep him busy while the sound wave destroyed his eardrums. However, it also served to show him that his opponent was not one to take lightly. It looked like he was going to pull out his special attack sooner than he thought he would have to.
"Kyōmeisen," Dosu shouted with a triumphant look on his face after expelling a vast amount of chakra just to make sure the attack caused enough damage while also making sure he had enough control over the attack to redirect it in the way the Uchiha would try and dodge it. However, the Sound ninja was quite shocked when Sasuke did not even try and move to dodge the attack. But he was not as shocked as what happen next. His attack hit the raven full force and nothing happened! The boy was not even fazed by his attack at all! He just stood there in the small position, his superior smirk on his face and his hair slightly ruffled by the attack. That was it!
There was no sign that he was affected by the attack. No nauseous signs. No teetering on his feet showing that his eardrums had been damaged. Nothing!
Something that surprised Dosu to no end and put him into a mental shock of sorts. While he was in a small paralyzed state, Sasuke's smirk just grew larger and he made his first move. Dashing forward, the young sharingan wielder had his katana pointed at a slight angle behind him as he ran and both his hands now rested on the hilt of the sword. When he was only ten feet in front of the Sound nin, Sasuke jumped up into the air and brought his katana to rest high above his head. The momentum behind his attack along with momentum behind his descent and his own weight would have been enough power behind it to serious injure Dosu, even cut him in half, if it was not for the cheering from Ino that snapped the Oto shinobi out of his demeanor.
Seeing the attack, Dosu lifted up his arm with the implant and once again sent chakra through it.
"Kyōmeisen," Dosu yelled, but this time he did not mean for the attack to cause his opponent to become ill-balanced and nauseous, he already learned it did not work. No, this time he was used his implant to cause more of a disruption in the air, pushing the air outwards away from him and effectively not only causing Sasuke's attack to be thrown off, but throwing the Uchiha rather painfully into one of the wall. It was a spur of the moment thing, something that the shinobi did not even have any idea that he could accomplish himself and just rearranged how the chakra went into the attack. He did not think that it would have had such a devastating outcome judging by the huge crater had formed around in the wall caused by Sasuke's own body and he like it.
Grinning madly, Dosu just found that he had more than one use for his attack than he thought he did and he was going to tryout the full extent of it on the Uchiha. Sasuke on the other hand did not like being thrown into the wall and his eyes flashing for a second to his sharingan showed how much so. Pulling himself out of the crater formed in the wall courtesy of his body, the raven barely had enough time to get out of the way of a horde of kunai and shuriken coming his way. However, he was not worried about weaponry, but the sound wave behind them. Thinking that he had dodge the attack completely, the Uchiha was taken completely off guard by behind hit once again and thrown to the ground before skidding to a halt.
"What the hell?" Sasuke groaned out while pushing himself up and glaring over at Dosu. "I was sure that I had dodged it."
"Kyōmeisen!" Dosu yelled, laughing as he watched it head towards the unprepared raven. However, propelling himself up into the air, Sasuke tried to dodge the attack once again, but it only managed to make him a sitting duck up in the air. Throwing his hands upward, the Oto shinobi laughed as his attack changed directions and flew up at the defenseless Uchiha. He was sadly disappointed though when the attack did not connected, for the Uchiha had focused chakra into his feet to pull him towards the wall and held him there. It was easily fixed.
Bringing his hands down, Dosu again redirected his attack towards the unknowing raven's back. The attack slammed into his being with such force that it not only knocked him off of the wall, but enough to cause him to spit up blood. His body plummeted to the ground and he did not even have the time or the strength to stop himself from hitting the hard ground. The pain was not something that was pleasant and hurt like hell, but Sasuke was determined to not let it bother him. Something that was very hard to do.
Lifting his head, the first thing the Uchiha saw was his katana that he was skill holding and the three dragons made into it. For a second though, he could have sworn he saw the three dragons move, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind when he saw further beyond that to where Dosu was preparing to attack him again. Pushing himself up off the ground, Sasuke narrowly dodged the attack, but he was not going to be fooled twice. Spinning on the balls of his heels, Sasuke whirled around to see if the attack was going to come back at him. However, he was caught by surprised when he was hit in the back, again, with the Kyōmeisen, but not the one he dodged. He had made a mistake by turned his back on the enemy and left himself open for the attack, which Dosu took advantage of and attacked.
Grinding his teeth, Sasuke weakly picked himself up off the ground and mentally cursed himself for making suck a stupid mistake. Turning towards his opponent, the Uchiha saw his team in the gallery behind Dosu and a thought hit him. He was going about this for revenge on the blond's behalf and it was clouding his judgment. At that moment he reminded himself about the vow he had made after his brother killed their whole clan save three, he vowed not to grow stronger so he could get revenge, but so that he could protect those important to him. What he was doing now was almost going against that vow, but he was going to change that.
Standing up straight, Sasuke fell into his fighting stance once again, but this time he cleared his mind of thoughts of revenge. Snapping his eyes open, just in time too, the raven dodged an incoming attack by jumping to the side. He did not stay still thought and keep on moving to make sure that he would not be an easy target for Dosu. Something that seemed to be keeping the Oto nin on his feet and keeping him on edge. It was also annoying him greatly, but that was because he had to waste a lot of chakra to either redirect his original attack or create a whole new one.
Suddenly, Sasuke found himself trapped in a corner to speak; there just was not a corner. Dosu had somehow managed to control three different Kyōmeisen to make it so he could not dodge to neither side nor jump upwards and was somehow able to keep them in a rotating current so that it did not give him the chance to escape. Smirking, the Sound shinobi did not see anyway for the Uchiha to get out of his predicament and knew he had the cat in the bag, so to speak.
"Kyōmeisen." Dosu smirked as he watched Sasuke hands fly up to cover his face knowing that he could not dodge the attack. The Sound nin could not help but smirk when he saw that. Holding his hands up would do nothing to protect him from his attack. His last attack had been filled with so much chakra and then some that he figured would tear the Konoha shinobi to pieces. The Uchiha seemed to realize this when the attack was almost upon him and his eyes widened when he realized, which only caused Dosu to laugh.
Sasuke could feel the power behind the attack coming towards him and he had no idea what to do. He could not move away from the attack, for the other three attacks circulating around him preventing him from doing so, and he could not form any hand seals with his katana in his hand. His katana…
His katana.
Zabuza had said something about the seals on it becoming stronger the more he trusted himself and the katana. He already trusted himself and the katana was made by Naruto, who Sasuke trusted as well. So if he put his trust in Naruto and applied it to the katana, would that count? Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke knew his answer when the attack hit him.
Nothing happened.
Well, nothing happened to him physically, but something was sure happening with his katana. It had not been an illusion before, the dragons were really moving and it was then that the second part of what Zabuza had said about the katana had come back to him. As he developed and evolved, so did the blade and what it could do. What he did next, Sasuke himself could not understand why or how he did what he did, but he did it all the same. His eyes turned towards Dosu, his mutated sharingan spinning wildly in his eyes as he looked over the stunned shinobi that could not believe that his attack had been stopped.
Holding his blade so that it was parallel with his face, Sasuke put his left hand covered in chakra flat against the backside of the blade near the Uchiha clam crest and the dragons seemed to react to his hand and chakra. They seemed to move around on the blade more and their ruby eyes and gold claws seemed to shine brighter than before.
"Takama-ga-hara no Ryu."
At first it looked like a circle of the black fires of Amaterasu had surrounded the boy, startling a few of the jounin that had seen the attack before. However, his katana was also covered by the fire, yet it was not hurting him. It was then the fire from his katana and the surrounding fire shot forwards towards Dosu taking the shape of three serpent like dragons with ruby red eyes and claws of white gold. The dragons were not very big considering the snakes they had encountered in the Forest of Death, but they were not small either and once three of them reached Dosu, they seemed to consume him. The trio of dragons wrapped themselves around the Sound nin so that no one could see the teen before they exploded in a black fiery blaze.When the blaze finally died down, they seemed to be no harm done to any of the surrounding environment. The only thing that it seemed to harm was Dosu and there were no signs of the shinobi at all. The black flames had totally consumed him, leaving nothing left for any to find.
"…Umm…the winner seems to be Uchiha Sasuke…seeing as there is no sign of the other opponent…" Hayate announced to the audience, most of which were stunned after seeing Sasuke's last attack. The only one's that did not seem effective were his fangirls in the crowd that seemed to be cheering him on and Naruto and Kyuubi that were beaming at his victory. "Well then… Right! Let's get the… next match going."
As Sasuke made his way off the field and up the stairs of the gallery towards his teammates, the rest of the teams watched the electronic scoreboard to see who was going to be going next. It was by mere luck that the Uchiha saw who was going next, even though he did not care, and had to growl in anger, but he also had to smirk. Abumi Zaku was facing off against Aburame Shino. The damn Sound nin that was going to get what was coming to him. Unlike others, the raven did not underestimate the silent bug kid and knew of his strength. He would most definitely make Zaku pay for trying to kill Naruto. He would not dwell over it anymore and made his way over to his teammates.
"Thank you Sakura, they really helped," Sasuke said, pulling the special earplugs she had discretely given him during her hug before his match.
"You're welcome Sasuke, what are teammates for anyways?" Sakura said, giving him a happy smile and waving him off. "Besides, now you owe me one."
"That's bribery," Sasuke stated, only causing the cherry blossom's smile to brighten.
"Exactly," Naruto said with a foxy smile on his face. "After all, we are a part of the few people that know you best and what better way to use that information than to exploit it? Just be happy we aren't blackmailing you, since we have very valuable information that your fan-club would just die to have. It wouldn't be our fault if they just happened to find your training schedule and daily planner, right Sakura?"
"Of course not Naruto," the kuniochi gasped with fake appall, bringing her hands up near her face to add to the act. "I mean anyone could know our training schedule and sneak into the Uchiha compound, ste- borrowing his daily planner as well. We would not give your schedule or daily planner away, Sasuke-kun."
"However, selling them to the highest bidder would not be against my morals though," the Heir of Foxes piped up causing Sakura to giggle and Kyuubi to bark in agreement with the blond.
"Gee, thanks, blackmailing and bribing, what are teammates for anyways?" the Uchiha said rather sarcastically, while rolling his eyes.
Anyone else would have gasp at seeing the cold emotionless Uchiha Sasuke, talking and joking around with others acting his own age for once, but to Sakura, Naruto, and Kyuubi, it was now normal. Being put through hell and back while in the Forest of Death had really changed them. Their teamwork and shot up drastically since they had come out the forest, because what they had been through during the second part of the Chunnin Exams. Each of them had been able to save the others lives and put their own lives in danger while doing so, which served to strengthen their teamwork and create a sort of bond between them. One that allowed them to open up more with one another then they already had and let them act like kids their age for once and not shinobi, something that they found was very relaxing at times.
"Aw but you wouldn't have us any other way, you loves us the way we are, right?" Naruto asked in cute voice with his head cocked to the side and his bright blue eyes looking at him sweetly.
Something that caused Sasuke to blush slightly and turn his head the other way while he answered his blond crush. "Yea."
"Yeah! Sakura-chan, did you hear that? Sasuke-kun loves us the way we are!" the blond faked squealed before looking over towards Sakura. Sasuke did not miss how the blond held a gleam in his eyes that seemed to spark with untold mischief and he did not feel comfortable with it. He felt even less comfortable when Sakura gained that same gleam in her eyes as well and nodded her head in the blond's direction. It was when the two turned their gleaming eyes on to him that the Uchiha felt the need to run far, far, away from his teammates. He was not given the chance.
Before he even knew what hit him, the two genin tackled him to the ground in a giant hug, trying to smoother him with affection. Literally. "Gahh! Get off me!"
"But we love you Sasuke-kun and want to shower you with our love!" Sakura pouted in a babyish voice, holding tight to the squirming teen as to make sure he did not get out of her hold.
The raven under her just seemed to try harder and get out of hers and Naruto's grasp, but no matter how much he tried, they were not letting go. Besides, if he really wanted to get out of their holds he could, but that would no doubt able hurt them and as much as he was not going to admit it, he enjoyed their antics. Especially Naruto's, cause the boy he like was giving him a hug, even if it was just in a friendly, playful matter, it still caused him to blush. Somewhere between all of the Uchiha's squirming and his two teammates holding on to him, they had somehow managed to end up with Sasuke sitting cross-legged on the ground with Sakura kneeling next to him hugging onto his neck and faced pressed up against his and Naruto ended up sitting in his lap, arms wrapped around his torso. Even Kyuubi had somehow managed to end up in the mess and was lying on Sasuke's head. However, their fun and games had to come to an end sometime, but they did not like that their fun and games were interrupted.
"FOREHEAD-GIRL! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY SASUKE-KUN?!"
Letting go of Sasuke, Sakura stood up and replied back to the enraged blonde haired girl that was once her best friend. However, she did not start yelling at the girl like had had once done, but instead replied back to her calmly and without any signs that the girl agitated her. Something that she did for one of two reasons. One being that she was not even the slightest bit concerned over what the girl claiming Sasuke was her -she was no longer interested in the boy after all- and the second reason was for a totally different reason. She knew that it would piss the girl off even more than her doing anything else would have.
"I'm doing nothing to your Sasuke, Ino. I'm just giving my teammate a congratulatory hug," the cherry blossom replied, causing Ino to loss it and start on a long rant about Sasuke being hers and he would never be Sakura's.
"Women, so troublesome," Shikamaru stated coming to stand right next to Naruto -who had let go of Sasuke as well once Sakura had, much to the Uchiha's displeasure- with Chouji by his side. Sasuke had also stood up at that time, snorting at something Ino said about him being hers and joined the group of boys with Kyuubi still on his head. He had just come in time to hear what the lazy genin had said, and had to mentally agree with him. He had found out he was gay after all, and girls did not do a thing for him. The blond standing right next to him on the other hand, while his crush on him spoke volumes in Obito's opinion.
"Agreed," Naruto said while covering his sensitive ears as Kyuubi laid his flat against his head when Ino went into a screeching fit of rage. Once he deemed it safe again, the Pure One let go of his ears and turned to face the two boys from Team 10. "Long time no see Shikamaru, Chouji. How has it been?"
"Troublesome," the lazy boy replied.
"Shikamaru, everything to you is troublesome," the Heir of Foxes deadpanned. "You are the laziest genius I have ever met, you know that?"
"And you are the most complex enigma I have ever known," Shikamaru retorted without skipping a beat while still being able to sound idle.
"Guys, don't start this again. It's too early in the morning to hear this," Chouji complained, in between him munching on his chips.
All the Akimichi got in reply was a 'troublesome' and a slight 'sorry' from the two boys and an odd look from the Uchiha. Apparently, the raven did not understand what had just transpired between the two boys, yet that was understandable. Only a few people could understand what went on between the genius and the enigma and Chouji just happened to be one of them. He himself did not know when it really started, but he guest that it would have been the day that Shikamaru and him had first meet Naruto. Unlike the other kids his age that did not hang out with Shikamaru and him at lunch because they were the outcasts, the blond had walked right up to them and ask if he could join them during the lunch break.
Shikamaru had just mumbled something about troublesome and Naruto had taken that as an okay. They really did not talk to each other during the lunch break, Shikamaru and him thinking it was a one time deal and he would not hangout with them again, but they were surprised that the next day he came. Not thinking it over to much, the two thought it was a fluke that he had come again, but they did not tell him to go away either. They were surprised that he came again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that until they started to open up to him and he them. By that time they had become friends sort of and Shikamaru had started to noticed that there was something off about Naruto. He never had a lunch.
It was then that Shikamaru started to notice other things that were off about the blond, like the fact that he never left any traces of himself anywhere. Or the fact that no one ever came to pick him up from the academy and he was always there when they got there, if he was at the Academy at all that day. He seemed to miss school on a regular base too and all those little things did not add up. He was one puzzle the genius could not figure out and if Shikamaru was not so lazy, he would have been determined to find out what. But alas he was not and he just settled for calling Naruto an enigma and the blond telling him he was a lazy genius before the cycle began again, much to Chouji's displeasure.
"At least my sensei showed up to support my team though!" Chouji heard Ino yell, snapping him out of his reminiscence of his Academy days with the lazy genius and blue-eyed blond.
It also served to get Shikamaru's attention, noticing that however harsh the comment was, Ino was right. He did not see Team 7's sensei anywhere around them. Hell, he did not even know who their sensei was, his or her name was not called out when they were assigning teams, Iruka just mentioned that their sensei was going to be different than the rest. Maybe that was why their sensei was not there; maybe this difference in sensei was what caused the person not to be there. The only explanation that the lazy genius could come up with that was possible was that Team 7's sensei not being there and being a little different then the rest of their sensei was that their sensei was a shinobi still on active duty for solo missions.
"But their sensei are here, we're just got tied up for a little bit, but we wouldn't miss this for the world," a cheerful familiar voice said.
Hearing the voice caused all of Team 10 to stiffen, because none of them had been able to sense anyone approaching them much less standing behind them. They also stiffened because; they all were quite familiar with that voice, even though they had not met the owner of it personally. Ino just really, really, hoped that it was not the same person she thought it was or else she would feel really embarrassed. Turning around slowly, Ino, and the rest of Team 10, almost did not breathe at the sight of the person, for it was indeed the person she wished it was not.
There standing before her was the Yondaime Hokage and behind him were his famous students. Hatake Kakashi, the Copycat nin. The medic nin, Rin. And one of the last surviving Uchiha, Uchiha Obito.
"Arashi-sama! You're here, and so is everyone else!" Naruto exclaimed upon seeing his sensei.
Smiling fondly at the hyper little ball of sunshine, Arashi had to chuckle at not only him, but the other three ninjas' reactions. Their face held a look mixed of pure shock and awe. Shock at probably seeing him and the three behind him and awed because they were standing there in front of him, more so him than the others. He seemed to have that kind of effect on people. He was not sure if it was the fact that he was Hokage or if he was the Yellow Flash. That, or it could have been a mixture of both being the Hokage and Yellow Flash, so it was probably the last choice.
"Yes, we are here," the Yondaime said chuckling slightly at seeing the blue eyes looking up at him with wonder, something that never seemed to get old, before turning his attention towards Sasuke. Walking over to him, Arashi set one of his hands down on the young Uchiha's shoulder and smiled down at him while he looked up with no emotions on his face. "You did a good job with that fight, you didn't let your negative emotions get to you and that was what help you win."
"That, and the new kick-ass move," Obito commented, coming up to him on his other side, and lightening the mood. It also seemed to get Team 10 out of their shock on seeing Team 7's sensei.
"The winner is Aburame Shino!" Hayate voice called out, causing the all of their attention to turn towards the battlefield where the battle was going on. Something that Ino was very grateful for since she did not want to think about how she indirectly insulted the Hokage. Team 10 seemed to totally drop the fact that the Hokage and his original students were they and turned towards the battlefield along with everyone else. Well, all of them but one mischievous Uchiha. One that had his attention turned towards his cousin with a smirk on his face. Something that really started to annoy the other until he finally turned his head to face him.
"What?" Sasuke asked, his annoyance showing.
"You do know Kyuubi is sleeping on your head, right?"
"Shut up," Sasuke growled and turned away from his cousin just in time to see Sound genin get carried away in pieces.
The next fight was boring for Naruto to watch, since he could tell who was going to win right off the battle. No offense to Ino, even though he really did not know the girl -which was simply because they not once talked due to the fact that she never notices his existence being so wrapped up her 'love' for Sasuke- but she was not a real good shinobi. She did not take her career seriously and lacked the necessary skills to defeat the Sand shinobi, Akado Yoroi. The Sand genin had a bloodline limit that allowed him to absorb other peoples' chakra and use it as his own and the blond kuniochi needed that chakra to use her family's mind-jutsu, without it she was doomed to fail. Naruto also had to admit she was doomed to fail from the beginning for the reason was that all her jutsu were that of her father's and his were all used in combination with the Ino-Shika-Cho Team. In other words, her jutsu and skills were developed solely around teamwork and she had no chance at beating the Suna shinobi on her own.
And Naruto was proven right when the girl was knocked unconscious by a simple punch to the stomach after Yoroi had taken all of the girl's chakra. Sighing, the Pure One rested his head on top of his folded arms which were lightly resting on the railing. The boy just wished that something more interesting would happen. Nothing dangerous, just something to keep his mind occupied while he was suck inside waiting for his turn to come. As if answering his question, a shout of pure excitement when through the whole room before their was a declaration of love was made.
"YOSH! SAKURA-CHAN, IF I WIN THIS BATTLE, WOULD YOU GO OUT WITH ME?!" a very hyperactive and enthusiastic voice called out from the group.
Opening one of his eyes, when he closed them Naruto did not remember himself, the Heir of Foxes saw that standing down on the area was a familiar green and orange clad figure that he had not seen in ages. The last time he himself had saw the boy was when Lee and the other students of that year had been assigned their teams and he had to stay another year in the Academy. The boy was nice and all and they had kind of become friends when they were in the same class, but the young taijutsu specialist never came to visit him in the Academy after he graduated.
Turning towards Sakura, Naruto saw that the girl turned her head away from the boy making her braided hair swing around her shoulder and seemed to have a disapproving look on her face. However, seeing as the Heir of Foxes was so close to the girl and was pretty good at reading others emotions, he could see the slight content smile on her face and saw her aura slightly brighten. Even when she turned the boy down with a simple 'no' there was a satisfied feeling to her aura and the blond found out why a few seconds later. An inner fire seemed to burn in Lee's eyes and he started to get worked up, making it hell for his opponent having to fight an emotional worked up teen like Lee was. Naruto had to feel sorry for Chouji, who was the unfortunate soul that would be fighting against Lee.
Turning his head towards Sakura, while Lee was still going on about his love and proving himself to Sakura, Naruto gave the cherry blossom a questioningly look. One of which she returned when she saw him giving her the look as if she was asking why he was giving her that look. After a few seconds on trying to find a rather nice way of wording it and partially failing, the blond boy asked the question straight out.
"I didn't know you like Lee," the blond whispered at a loss. He did not say it too loud figuring that since she had declined him, she did not want anyone knowing she like the boy or having a different reason all together for not wanting others to know. "I didn't even know you two knew each other."
"We actually just meet before the Chunnin Exams and it took me a little while to get to see him in the light I do now, but I'm not sure how I feel about him exactly. Please don't tell anyone about this," Sakura whispered back with a small blush on her face. "I want to focus more on my shinobi career at the moment and not boys. That's why I won't accept his dates," the cherry blossom tried to explain herself to Naruto, but he already understood.
Smiling back at the girl brightly, Naruto reassured her that he would not tell anyone about it. "I won't Sakura, but just because you are focusing on your kuniochi career doesn't mean that you can't hangout with Lee. It wouldn't be a date per se and you two can get time to get to know one another better. I know!" the Pure One said, brightening up at his own idea that would better help his teammate figure out her own feelings for Lee. "You two could train together. That would even get through Lee's thick mind that it wasn't a date."
"That's a good idea," the girl said with a thoughtful expression on her face, her blush still present. "Thank you for the advice Naruto."
"You're welcome, what are teammates for anyways, eh?" Naruto said grinning his foxy smile, before the two of them turned their attention to the on going match.
However, it was like Naruto's last prediction. Chouji, like Ino, lost his fight against the rambunctious Lee for pretty much the same reasons. Also being apart of the recreated Ino-Shika-Cho Team, he too learned his skills from his father and was used to using them with his teammates together in battle. Nevertheless, just like his teammate, when he was on a one-on-one battle with someone, he could not handle it. It did not help that Lee was his opponent and the boy was determined to prove himself to every that a person who could not use genjutsu or ninjutsu could still be a great ninja. Chouji did not stand a chance against him.
When Lee started to leave the area, Sakura smirked and called out to the boy, surprising many. "Hey Lee! After the preliminaries are over, how about you and me go get something to eat? Not as a date, but as congratulation for winning your match, what do you say?"
"YOSH!!!" the boy yelled with joy, his eyes yet again burning with an inner fire and shinning with happiness. "I WOULD LOVE TOO SAKURA-CHAN!!!"
His reaction caused Sakura to giggle a little making Lee even more thrilled than he already was -if that was even possible- and began to jump around happily.
"Man that's one hyper kid, not even Naruto and Kyuubi combined are like that," Arashi said nervously watching what he knew would be the next Green Beast of Konoha and taking Gai's place. "I'm glade I'm not his sensei."
"I have to agree with you there, sensei," Rin said watching the boy as well. "But I blame it on Gai's influence on the kid."
"MY ETERNAL RIVAL! OUR STUDENTS ARE BASKING IN THE YOUTHFULNESS CALLED LOVE!!!" Gai shouted, as he appeared right next to Kakashi making the poor man wince at the proximity between the two while he was yelling and also the fact that he had found him.
"See what I mean?" Rin asked flatly, causing the Hokage to laugh uneasily as he rubbed the back of his head.
Thanks for waiting and I hope you all had a Merry Chirstmas and Happy Holidays!
Don't kill me...
Shi no Tenshi 902