Still own a grand total of De nada of the Marvel & Naruto Franchises.
As everyone's eyes were on the screen none of them noticed the smirking Kabuto as he adjusted his glasses." Well Akadō, it doesn't look like you'll be obtaining that second in command position to Lord Orochimaru that you were hoping to wrest from me." The white haired teen noted in an amused tone. "At this rate, it looks like you'll be lucky to live through all of this. Perhaps it will teach you the price for reaching farther than you can actually grasp and what happens when it comes time to pay the piper." The boy smiled as he turned to look at the disguised Orochimaru who didn't appear to be overly bothered by the near death of one of his undercover agents. If anything he looked more impressed by the display of power that Gaara had managed than anything else.
"Come on already, show me my name." Naruto said eagerly as he looked at the counter.
"No, show my name." Lee said just as eagerly, as he looked up at the names that were speeding by. A moment later the counter stopped and the two boys shoulders slumped as they realized that neither of their names had made it to the counter this time.
Hyūga Neji vs. Abumi Zaku
"What, but why?" Naruto demanded angrily while glaring at the screen as if it was the fault of the machine for his name not having been chosen yet. "Why couldn't it be me?" He demanded into the air.
Neji smirked at the blonde as he turned to make his way down the steps. "It would seem that fate has decreed that I show the others what I can do before watching your own feeble attempts." The boy said arrogantly earning several eye rolls in return from the other Leaf ninja Gennin. Naruto merely glared at the boy angrily.
Peter stopped the long haired boy for a moment. "Remember our deal." He told the older teen.
Neji smirked darkly at the other boy at this. "Oh I remember alright, I shall take great pleasure in teaching this third rate ninja village miscreant just what happens when they mess with a member of my team." The Hyūga boy assured the masked figure. Peter patted the boy on the back before letting the stuck up boy pass him.
"Um Neji," Sakura said nervously as she approached the aristocratic boy. The teen looked at her with his pale eyes but waited for her to say something. "His jutsu is a wind based one that comes out of his hands, it means throwing weapons are useless against him if he gets his hands up in time. His taijutsu also seems really weak."
"I thank you." Neji said somewhat reluctantly as he made his way past her.
"The so called Hyūga Prodigy brat huh?" Zaku said as he stared at his opponent. "This could be interesting, besides I owe him for that trash talk of his from the other day." The ninja held his hand up in a clenched fist in anticipation for the fight that was coming up." Yeah, I think that I'm going to enjoy this." He said with a feral smile on his face.
The two ninja stared at each other across the length of the arena from their spots on opposite sides each of them trying to find a weakness in the other. Zaku was cocky while Neji was emotionless, Zaku had a wildness t him that the obviously well cultured boy did not have. Neji seemed self-assured while Zaku was nervous. Both boys stared at each other with the arrogance of people that knew that they were going to come out on top of the confrontation.
Hayate stepped back into the middle of the arena. "Will Hyūga Neji and Abumi Zaku please join me. The Jonnin requested the two Gennin quickly began going down the steps. Neji had the silent support of the various other Leaf Ninja while on the other side no one seemed to care who won the fight or not as long as they got their shot. Soon the boys were now facing off with each other. "Neji Hyūga Gennin student of Jonnin Might Guy, Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey, and member of Team Guy. The rules are simple, you may use any ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu in your arsenal that you deem necessary to win. Do you have any reason not to fight against Abumi Zaku?"
"I'm actually looking forward to this one, my only problem is that it's not Dosu." Neji returned to the Jonnin proctor as he glared darkly at the other boy who had his arm in a sling due to the injuries that he had sustained thanks to Sasuke. According to his Byakugan the shoulder had merely been pulled out and in of its socket, and the boy was merely resting the arm up before he tried to use it. Against any other opponent he could have used the injury to make someone underestimate him, but to try it against a member of the Hyūga clan was actually slightly insulting to his skills with his bloodline. Even Hinata, despite her skills in using the Gentle Fist would have been able to easily see through the ploy that the boy was using.
Hayate ignored the angry tone of the Hyūga Gennin as he focused on the Sound Village Gennin. "Abumi Zaku Gennin student of the Jonnin Yowakusuru Sune-Ku , and member of Team Dosu. The rules are simple, you may use any ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu in your arsenal that you deem necessary to win. Do you have any reason not to fight against Neji Hyūga?"
"Heh, no problem at all let's just get this over with already so that we can deal with him though." Zaku said cockily, as he grinned at the Leaf Ninja as if daring him to attack before they were given leave to start the match.
"He's flaunting it at us." Anko ground out angrily, as she looked over at the figure of the Sound Jonnin who was watching with a casual smirk as he leaned against the wall. "Seriously, the Sound Snake?" She questioned the others, as she looked across the way at the figure. "I mean he's barely even tried to disguise himself this time either." She added in as she looked at the figure. "How did he even get into the village when he looks like that?" She hissed angrily as she saw her former mentor acting as if he belonged here. "The gate guards should have noticed him right off and informed someone that he had come through even if they didn't confront him."
The Hokage sighed as he looked toward the taunting figure of his former student. It was true that the figure was rather obviously Orochimaru, but then again he wondered how people would recognize the Snake Sannin these days. "Calm yourself Anko, remember that it has been many years since Orochimaru has come to the Leaf Village." What he didn't say was that they had allowed most people to believe the man dead so as to allow the people to forget about him. The fact that his teammates were rarely if ever seen by anyone made it even easier to make people believe that the Snake Sannin was dead. The fact that he had henged his outer form to take on a more human like appearance helped as well. The small subtle changes in skin and eye color meant that only those that knew him well were likely to recognize him. "Keep yourself calm Anko, there is nothing that we can do for the moment."
"But I can deal with him right now and end the threat potential before he becomes a danger to the rest of the village and its people." The Kunochi argued with the man.
"We cannot." The Hokage told her firmly. "The peace treaties that allow us to continue things like the Chunnin Exams between villages would be broken if we were to destroy him now. To attack a member of a visiting Team while he is acting the part of ambassador is the same as declaring war between villages. No, whatever we do, will have to wait until he makes the first move we cannot be seen as the aggressors in this matter."
"That could be a mistake." Ibiki said dubiously. "But it is of course you're choice on how we deal with the matter of Orochimaru andhis followers Lord Hokage."
"I don't really like it personally, but Orochimaru has cornered us in this position and until he makes the first move there is simply nothing that we can do to counter him. He has been planning this move for some time and has made sure that we are powerless to stop it without bringing the ire of all of the other various Ninja Villages."
"Well it is when most villages scout the opponents out in case they ever need to." Ibiki reminded the Hokage. The older man merely nodded his head in agreement. They were all ninja, they all understood the need to gather information up no matter how trivial it may seem at the time. Sometimes knowing a person's preference in fixing their hair or a favorite piece of jewelry mattered just as much as knowing the layout of an enemy village and the favored fighting style of an enemy.
"Very well then." Hayate said with a nod to the two boys that were looking somewhat eager to fight each other. "Then as the Proctor I declare the 5th match of the Chunnin match to begin." The ninja stepped back to allow the fight between the Sound and Leaf Ninja to start. All those that knew what was going on watched with interest as in some ways this was the second skirmish between Leaf and Sound, and could help them figure just how the coming confrontations between the two villages might go.
Neji and Zaku both stared at each other as they looked each other over. Neji was in the first position of the Gentle Fist style which had an extended leg and his arms ready to attack or intercept and counter any attack. Zaku on the other hand was so confident that he wasn't even in a real combat stance. "You might as well take your arm out of the sling already. My eyes can see that your arm is perfectly capable of combat." Neji said in contempt. "To try and fool me with such a pathetic tactic is merely insulting and makes you look all the more the fool."
"So you want me to be serious about this then huh?" Zaku questioned, as he gingerly pulled his arm out of the sling. He grimaced a bit as he moved the arm around but showed that he had complete control of the movements. "Let's do this then. Slicing Sound Wave."
Moving with an easy cat-like grace Neji sidestepped the attack. "Is that really all you've got?" The boy asked contemptuously. "I see I was right when I said that the ninja from your village were only third rate, then again you might even be fourth rate ninja."
Zaku growled as he began sending small bursts of wind out of his hands alternating hands between each blast. Neji merely moved out of the way at the last moment of each attack so that the only thing that was affected was his long hair flying around him. "Hold still damn you." Zaku said, as he continued send small blasts at the boy. The boy finally brought both of his hands up and fired at the same time. "Dodge this. Slicing Sound Wave!" The blast moved toward Neji who seemed ready for the attack as he seemed to disappear a moment or two before the strike would hit him. A cloud of dust rose up from all of the attacks making it harder for a person to see. "Where are you?" Zaku demanded, as his eyes looked all over for the ninja that had been making a fool out of him. "When I get my hands on you I'm going to rip you apart." The Sound Ninja swore as he tried to find the other ninja. With all the dust surrounding him though he couldn't see enough to find him.
Neji suddenly reappeared behind Zaku. "That was rather sloppy work." Neji noted to the boy in a calm matter of fact way. "You were so determined to blast away at me that you never noticed when you blinded yourself, or when I came up behind you. Just what kind of ninja are you." He scolded his opponent.
"You might be right." The Sound Ninja said reluctantly before he grinned at the Hyūga. "Then again, at this range I can't not miss you either." Spinning around Zaku raised both arms at Neji. "Super Slicing Sound Wave." He shouted out gleefully, as he felt the power build up in the tubes of his arms.
Neji saw the glow, but rather trying to dodge the boy he batted both of Zaku's arms up over his head. The overpowered attack that would have hurt both of the boys at the range that was in-between them flew upward instead. The blast sailed up and through one of the upper walls.
"That was a waste of power." Neji said, as he struck the Sound Ninja several times in the chest sending him flying back.
Zaku groaned as he felt his chest where he had been hit. He quickly placed both of his hands on the ground and the surrounding earth began to crumble. The ninja slowly climbed back to his feet and got ready for the next assault." Come on, then show me what it is that you got." He taunted, as he ushered the Leaf Ninja back at him.
Neji moved forward to engage the boy and finish him off his foot fell into the dirt a bit. "You changed the density of the dirt surrounding you." Neji noted as he looked around them and realized that several feet around the boy the hard packed earth had been sifted with Zaku's chakra. "You are attempting to change the battle field in hopes that it will make it more difficult to fight." He observed with a sneer a pathetic last ditch effort to try and win a fight that you've already lost."
"It'll make hitting you easier when you can't use that fancy footwork of yours to dodge." Zaku returned with a confident grin. "Soon you'll be singing a different tune when you're the one eating that dirt."
"You can certainly try." Neji returned, as he grinned of course that would require you being able to attack me as well.
"As long as you're standing there I can." Zaku said, as he raised his hands. "Slicing Sound Wave!" He called out only for nothing to happen." What, but how?" He said, as he stared at his open hands in shock and disbelief.
Neji crossed his arms and smirked at the boy. "I cut off you're chakra coils in your chest where most of your energy is generated what you were using when you softened the dirt you used the last of the chakra that you could access." As he spoke Neji began to slowly walk toward the weakened other boy. "All that time you were letting loose with your overpowered and barely aimed attacks I was studying your style. Without those wind attacks your nothing."
"Oh yeah, we'll just see about that." Zaku declared, as he reared back with his fist and tried to connect with the other boy.
Neji didn't even bother trying to dodge it as he caught the arm with one hand with his other struck Zaku in several places all over his body faster than most of the Gennin watching could keep up with. He released the arm, and performed a double palm strike that sent Zaku slamming into the wall the boy seemed frozen for a moment before he fell to the ground unable to move anymore. "You might as well call it, I've closed all his primary chakra coils off, and I've made him too weak to go on. To continue on would be likely to invite death. I doubt this third excuse of a ninja is even capable of walking out of here anyways." Neji said with a superior and knowing smirk. "This is what it means when one challenges the very fates themselves."
Hayate nodded, as he looked at the fallen form of Zaku. "I declare Neji Hyūga as the winner by knockout." He said, as he ushered the medics forward. The white robed ninja quickly appeared to help the fallen figure onto a stretcher.
Neji walked up the steps to stand alongside of his team. He paused as he saw that Team 7 were standing before him waiting. Each member of the group bowed respectfully towards the Hyūga boy. "Thank you for restoring the honor of myself and our team." Sakura said as she looked at the young teen. "If you ever have any requests do not hesitate to ask us and we will try to help."
"It was an honor to return the pain to one that inflicted pain on someone that fought to protect my Teammate when he could not." Neji returned. "Perhaps the fates of our teams are bound together in ways that neither of us can perceive yet."
Naruto glared at Neji. "I still think you're a jerk with the way you were talking about Hinata and that you need a good ass kicking."
"Naruto!" Sakura growled out at her teammate angrily.
"Let him finish." Peter hissed to the girl.
Naruto nodded his thanks to the other members of his team. "However, despite that you also showed that you've got honor and look out for those that need it."
Neji nodded to the boy. Peter then stepped forward. "You kept your promise to our team, and we only hope that we have a chance to return the favor. Congratulations on your win as well."
"Thank you." Neji said, as he bowed back to team 7 as a whole. "It was an honor to repay the debt that my teammate acquired."
"I look forward to meeting in combat someday." Peter said.
"They are all doing so great." Guy said proudly as he watched the young Gennin all talk. He smiled proudly as Lee and Tenten joined the group and now congratulated their comrade.
"He did well, you should be proud of him and his accomplishments." Kakashi said in agreement. "They are all doing well."
"Yes, but there is something else you should consider." Guy said smugly to his rival. "My team is up a point compared to yours." He said proudly.
"Is that the new challenge, who's team does better during the Exams?" Kakashi questioned his fellow Jonnin idly.
"Yes, and as it stands I am one point over you after this I shall have 52 wins over your 50 wins." Guy bragged.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens." Kakashi calmly returned to the other ninja." My students may yet surprise you and all the others Guy."
"For that, we shall see." Guy said confident that his three Gennin could outperform Kakashi's students. "Is that not right my youthful students?"
"Are they always like that?" Peter questioned curiously, as he watched their mentor interact with a fellow shinobi.
"Unfortunately yes they are." Neji said grudgingly with a scowl, as he watched his Sensei make a fool of himself against the usually unflappable Hatake Kakashi.
"Interesting." Peter said with a shrug before turning his back on the pair much to Guy's shock.
Tenten and Sakura giggled while Naruto snickered at the flabbergasted face on Guy's face. "You are teaching your masked protégé the secrets of how to be hip and cool?" He exclaimed in shock while nearly yelling in the silver haired ninja's ear.
"Did you say something?" Kakashi asked, causing the man to squawk indignantly.
"Do not worry Guy-Sensei, we shall show all that are gathered here just what is that we can do." Lee assured the older looking version of himself. "We shall show him just what it shall mean to have the overflowing power of youth to be flowing through our veins as we do."
"Huh, and people say that I talk a lot." Naruto noted, as he looked at his new friend that was causing such a commotion.
"Look." Tenten said, pointing toward the screen where the names were once again flashing through a random order. They all turned to watch as the names finally settled on a new pair and held.
"Why is it still not me." Lee said as he fell to his knees in disappointment.
"Just take it easy Bushy-Brows, you'll get your chance." Naruto said as he comforted the other boy. They all looked at the new names that flashed down at them.
Yamanka Ino vs Tenten
huh after a large period of nothing this chapter wrote itself in like 2 days.