Kumogakure Ninja
Posted: 03-06-11
Updated: 28-06-11
CH25: The Preliminaries Part I
(Two Days Later: Naruto's Mindscape)
Chakra flowed out of Naruto's hand slowly but surely, solidifying as it stretched out and weaved into long chains. The chains were faintly glowing white and transparent, they held no weight yet they felt powerful and Naruto knew as soon as he touched the solidified chakra these chains were powerful, extremely powerful.
"I think I've got it…" Naruto raised his arm and made a swishing movement to his right. Instantly the chains ripped through the sakura trees around him like nothing, tearing them down without meeting any resistance whatsoever. "Woah… These things are pretty dangerous."
The Kyūbi exhaled through its nostrils."You cannot wait for the opportunity to arise for you to use those chains and strike me, don't you, Uzumaki Naruto? Even now you wait with anticipation, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike me as you comfort yourself under the pretence I deserve the punishment. These chains allure you, do they not?" Naruto gripped the chains tighter and the fox smirked knowingly. "And why wouldn't they? Here you are, facing the divine being that murdered your parents and those chains are capable of harming me more than you could imagine. Yes… you are simply marvelling at its power, but soon you will seek to test them out. Soon, you will want to see the effects that they have on me," the Kyūbi bared his gigantic teeth, in a blaringly mocking sign of defiance, "You are in some ways far more sadistic than I, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto face-faulted slightly. "Stop being such a bad host Kyūbi. I told you, I'm not interested in hurting you like my mother did. And when will you let that go, she's only human. A lot of people would've done worse to you if they had the power to harm you." Naruto then added with a mumble, "Even I'm considering it."
The Kyūbi bristled with annoyance and retreated into its cage. Naruto had changed the uncomfortable looking iron cage into wicket basket and added a giant red cushion for the Kyūbi to rest on. It was still as powerful as the iron cage, but more comfortable. He was actively trying to get in the Kyūbi's good books to master its power sooner, as he would have to with the seal losing its integrity at a stronger rate. He didn't dare guess how many years it would take for the remaining three-quarters of the seal to fail and unleash the Kyūbi. It might not even take that long, perhaps when it burned down to half, the Kyūbi would be strong enough to escape… Fūinjutsu was a complex matter and Naruto was nowhere near skilled enough to be considered an expert but even he knew that seals could become far weaker, even fall apart, if they were ripped only slightly.
Naruto resisted the urge to shudder and wiped the perspiration off his forehead. He had been in his mindscape for a solid two days, continuously training on the use of chakra chains whilst in the real world he was in a meditative state, allowing his body to heal faster. He had tried to use the Kage Bunshin training method for this, having decided he could no longer afford not to with the impeding danger of the seal weakening, but had been bitterly disappointed to find out it didn't work in the realms of his mind.
The chakra chains, he learned, were a true phenomenon. They were incredibly tough to create, or to even comprehend the structural force behind them. Had it not been for the knowledge Uzumaki Kushina imparted with him before she left, he doubted he would ever come to realise he was capable of using them. The Kyūbi had mostly been unhelpful, however from its behaviour and occasional petty shots at his technique, Naruto had come to understand from the beast's implications that chakra chains were something only the Uzumaki were capable of. The Uzumaki used these chains for their Fūinjutsu (Naruto had no idea how) and for other forms of jutsu. And from what his mother had told him, it was apparently possible to give chakra chains physical form, although this was extremely difficult and not many were capable of doing this.
"You do not even come close to Uzumaki Mito's power, let alone your mother's. Uzumaki Kushina, for all her faults, was powerful by your human standards... perhaps even mine. She wielded these chains with skills even superior to Mito."
"You sound disappointed," Naruto observed. He then decided to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while now. "Kyūbi… did you love Uzumaki Mito?"
And in an instant the Kyūbi's eyes glowed brightly and it snarled, dashing forward to the wooden wicket basket bars holding it back and rammed its head against the cage with a roar louder than Naruto had ever heard."SILENCE Uzumaki Naruto or I will RIP you to SHREDS! Do not even THINK to begin associating your petty emotions to me. I do not know what love is nor do I desire to know!" the Kyūbi bellowed so loud Naruto and several now un-rooted sakura trees were blown backwards.
Naruto got to his feet, rolling a sakura tree off him as he did so and glared at the Kyūbi. "Alright, alright, just calm the fuck down you giant shitty fur ball!" Naruto could put up with snide remarks from the fox everynow and then but he had his limits. "Don't fucking blow a gasket at me Kyūbi, don't mistake my being nice to you as weakness!"
The Kyūbi glowered but fell silent, retreating to its enormous cushion where it turned its head the other way."Leave me be… go, you have attained the power you came for. Leave me to my solace, now!"
Naruto gritted his teeth with an angry glare at the Kyūbi and turned around, "Fine, have it your way!" he shouted on his way out. As he neared the 'exit' of his mind he could hear the Kyūbi speaking quietly, despite its booming voice.
"Perhaps if I could feel those feelings you speak off… I would have felt them for Uzumaki Mito."
Naruto froze for a moment, his eyes wide as he turned to the Kyūbi to speak.
"Leave me be, Uzumaki Naruto. I will not answer your question," the Kyūbi's booming tone felt even softer as it flicked its giant tails.
Naruto merely nodded and closed his eyes.
-ooo-
(The Real World)
Naruto's eyes cleared after much blinking, it took his eyes a minute to adjust to the light. He reached for the IV strap Hari had attached to him before he entered his trance and took it out with a content sigh. Naruto raised his arm and grimaced at the smell of his own stench.
The genin got to his feet slowly; his legs were asleep and felt stiff after not being used for such an unusually long time. Stumbling over to his bed where his possession had been left, Naruto stretched his limbs, reached for his pouch and went into the shower room attached to the room. Yugito had switched rooms and was now down the hall somewhere with other Kumo kunoichi, leaving Naruto and Hari to share the room with Kenji and Kenichi. None of his roommates were around so Naruto stripped down to his underwear and ripped at the bandages around his arms and torso.
Naruto looked into his reflection and swallowed hard. A long and thick scar went down from his right shoulder to his left hip, slightly thinning on the end. Naruto sported several scars over his heart as well as his abdomen, only the scars on his lungs had faded away.
A growl escaped Naruto's throat, why hadn't the Kyūbi healed these wounds? Why had it left his body so mangled? It was such a dirty, snide and uncalled for move of the fox. Especially now that Naruto had actually tried to rebuild bridges! Why had the Kyubi-
'It's a reminder,' Naruto realised. 'The Kyūbi wants me to remember what happened the first time I fought an opponent that overwhelmed me.'
Naruto punched the mirror angrily, hating his own reflection with a passion. As the shards of glass popped out and some of the blood seeped back into the new wounds, Naruto growled again. 'Never again… I swear it.'
...
Naruto emerged from the shower a good thirty minutes later and tied a towel around his waist as he walked back into the room and froze as he realised an attractive white-haired kunoichi with red eyes was sitting on his bed in a rather seductive pose, her kimono robe parted over her shoulder.
"Shira, what are you doing here? This is the boys' room, you know," Naruto said sternly, as he neared her. "Come on, get out before somebody sees you."
Shira laughed softly and strode over to him. "Now why, Naruto-kun, would you want me out of the room?" she leaned closer, a hand on his bicep and another on his chest. "Oh my, you have a magnificent body, even for a shinobi, Naruto, and these scars… they're quite attractive." Shira leaned in and planted a light kiss on the diagonal scar and looked up, her hand trailed downwards and rested on his abs. "Oh my indeed."
Naruto held one hand on his towel and gently pushed her away with the other. "Shira, I- I'm flattered and all, but this isn't going to happen. I'm sorry, but I'm kinda seeing someone-"
"Oh, I know," Shira said in sultry tone. "It makes me go mad when I think of her doing this to you."
Shira promptly kissed him and Naruto was so caught off guard he didn't push her back until he noticed her tongue down his throat. "Woah, Shira!" Naruto exclaimed, pushing her back with both hands firmly. "Look, Shira, you're very attractive and all but you're not my type. I'm kind of seeing Yugito now and this is not going to happen. I'm not that guy, sorry."
The white-haired kunoichi began to unbutton her kimono. "Are you sure?" she asked in seductive tone. "She doesn't have to know…" Shira then lowered her kimono to her hips, revealing her creamy white skin, attractive abs and generous bust only covered by her red piece of undergarment. "She doesn't need to know, Naruto-kun… We can take this as far as you like."
A flash of memories regarding him and a Kiri kunoichi who snapped his neck only a few days ago prompted Naruto to shake his head vehemently and glare at Shira. Naruto strode over to the door and pulled it open. "Please leave, Shira. This isn't going to happen. Ever."
Shira bristled and fixed her kimono. "Fine," she spat, "Enjoy your time with Yugito instead. You two were a match made in heaven!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded. 'Did the others tell her about the Kyūbi and the Nibi?' Naruto clenched his fists.
Shira didn't answer and stormed out of the room, brushing past Naruto and disappearing a moment later.
Naruto closed the door with a loud slamming noise and ran a hand through his hair, giving a heavy sigh as he did so. What did she mean with that last remark? What was her deal anyway, she never expressed any interest in him. Not in that way. If anything, he was positive she was out to kill him as she had tried multiple times, including the time when they ambushed him as he tried to find Yugito.
'What the hell is going on?'
Another knock on the door snapped Naruto out of his thoughts and he quickly did a Henge to cover his slit eyes, feeling a sense of a dread as he did so because Shira must have seen them. "Who is it?" Naruto called out, nearing the door.
A fist smashed through the door and drove square into his nose and a second later Hari entered with his chikutō drawn and a death glare fixed on Naruto. Hari was wearing a pair of black trousers with shuriken and kunai holsters strapped to his left and right leg respectively along with matching shinobi sandals along with a light blue, long sleeved shirt under a darker shade of blue kimono robe with projectile holsters weaved into his sleeves. Hari wore his headband strapped to his forehead and had his chikutō sheath on his left hip attached to a belt and pouches strapped in a row from the small of his back to his right hip.
"Hari, what the fuck was that for?" Naruto held his nose, glad it wasn't broken but still in somewhat pain. Hari packed a mean punch…
Hari gritted his teeth and slammed the door behind him. "I just saw Shira adjusting her kimono as she walked out of the room. Something tells me you weren't having a cup of tea, Naruto," Hari said coldly. "You're my best friend, but if you're cheating on Yugito I'll make you suffer and let her have the final blow."
Naruto's lids fell into a deadpan stare. "Seriously, you think I would be cheating on Yugito with Shira of all people?" Naruto got to his feet, smearing blood on his towel before taking a swing at Hari and sending him bouncing off the door and nursing his jaw.
Hari held his jaw with his free hand as he came to realise Naruto's indignation. "Nothing happened…"
"Damn right nothing happened, Hari! Come on, you're my best friend, you should know me better than that!" Naruto sighed heavily and reached for his scroll and unsealed a set of clothing. "I'll be right back, stay here."
...
Ten minutes later and Naruto was dressed in black cargo trousers styled specifically for shinobi, a forest green t-shirt made of breathable fabric and a black, sleeveless flak jacket with many pockets that were filled up with sealing scrolls of different sizes and thickness. Naruto had put on a salmon coloured utility belt on to which he had a two large salmon coloured pouches that covered the small of his back and two smaller black pouches on each hip. Strapped on to both his left and right thighs were kunai and shuriken holsters. Naruto had his goggles tied around his neck and had his black clothed headband tied around his forehead. Strapped to his back was his ninja-to Hari had returned to him. Naruto puton black, fingerless gloves with metal plates on them as he finished telling his story.
"Okay, I have to commend you for not going along with it, Naruto," Hari said finally. "I mean, I'm not exactly seeing Miyabi but I'm not a hundred percent confident I would've been able to resist temptation. I mean, Shira is hot. Like the kind of 'hot' men would kill their best friends over." Hari shot him a playfully dark glare with a childish grin.
Naruto shrugged. "I don't care for her much, she creeps me out and every time I see her, apart from this time, she tries to kill me." Naruto checked tightened his utility belt as he spoke. "Besides, I think I really like Yugito, she's… I don't know, perfect."
"Ahuh," Hari replied sceptically. "Naruto you aren't even officially seeing her. How do you know you love her?" Hari snorted. "You're going a bit fast here, don't you think? A few days ago you weren't even speaking, and now it's all sunshine and flowers and whatnot. You're freaking me out."
Naruto shrugged once again. "I don't, that's why I said I think I do, you dumbass." Checking his equipment once more, Naruto then nodded and his stomach growled loudly. "I'm hungry. Mind showing me where the food hall is?"
"Sure, just follow me."
Naruto followed Hari out of the room, noting he was a little taller than him now through due to his early on-set growth spurt the other day, it was more noticeable now as he walked aside his friend. The tower's hallways were rather narrow and grimy but Naruto didn't mind one bit, all he wanted was to get some food in his stomach. Hari told him of what conspired the past two days, noting that so far all of Kumo's teams had reached the tower, although team Kodama, Hitaro and Nadara had failed to achieve the scrolls and had simply given up. The brown-haired genin was particularly happy to report Nobori, his nemesis of team Hitaro, refused to speak to his teammates since they arrived as it was their idea to give up.
Naruto was relieved to hear none of the other Kumo genin had died or gotten hurt. Zenzō's death had upset all of them, except for team Ryūsa (none of them knew their sensei's name), who kept to themselves at all times and hadn't so much batted an eye when news of Zenzō's death reached them.
"Where's Yugito?"
Hari shrugged. "I don't know. She seems a little distracted lately, I haven't spoken to her much."
Naruto nodded as Hari led him down the hall. Hari had started telling Naruto about the other victims of Orochimaru's attack. Apparently thirteen genin had died in the attack, amongst which two genin from Konoha, even one from Hyūga Neji's year. Genin from other villages had died and though this was unfortunate, Naruto's mind was elsewhere. He was frowning and clenching his fists as he wondered how those genin had felt when they attacked the Sannin. Orochimaru wasn't a well liked S-ranked shinobi, if there were any for that matter, as he worked indiscriminately, targeting every village if it could gain him something of value. When those genin had seen him, they all thought they could stand a chance if they attacked with numbers.
How wrong they had been.
Naruto wasn't even listening to Hari anymore as they turned the corner, nor did he spot the mop of black hair and he collided into another person. He heard a shriek and looked down to find a kunoichi sitting on the floor and glaring upwards.
"Hey, watch where you're going, dick!" she spat.
Naruto raised an eyebrow as the kunoichi glared up at him. Aside from short black hair, she had pupil-less pink eyes. She wore a long red kimono, the sleeve on her right arm and the bottom left side missing, the brown Iwagakure flak jacket (worn by all ranks in Iwa), fishnet tights and shorts over them. She looked to be around Naruto's age and was rather attractive in a tomboyish kind of way but that was overshadowed by her obnoxious disposition. Naruto shook his head, clearing his mind of that thought as he focused on what she was saying.
"Aren't you going to offer me a hand?" the kunoichi snapped at him.
Naruto's eye twitched at her brazen attitude. "Sorry," he apologised and offered his hand. "I didn't look where I was going," Naruto said as he pulled her to her feet with just a small tug. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto."
The kunoichi tensed and abruptly let go of his hand, prompting Naruto to react instantly and grab her by the elbow before she fell. "Easy there," Naruto pulled her to her feet again, letting go of only when he was sure she had her balance.
"Did you say Uzumaki?" the kunoichi asked with a curious expression.
Naruto and Hari exchanged brief looks and Naruto then smiled brightly. "Nope!"
"Hahaha, Kurotsuchi-chan he's funny!"
Naruto looked upwards and noticed and stared with wide eyes atthe absolutely giant figure behind her. It took considerable self-restraint not to swear out loud. Naruto blinked as he took in the guy's appearance, surprised it took him so long to notice him. He was massive in every sense of the word. The giant had dark eyes and hair that spiked out at the back from underneath his forehead protector which he wore like a bandanna. He also had big cheeks and a plump nose and wore the red double sleeved Iwagakure uniform underneath his flak jacket in addition to a yellow scarf hanging around his neck.
"Woah," Hari said almost breathlessly. "You're a big one aren't you?"
"Hehe, name is Akatsuchi. You are funny puny boys, I like."
"Eh?" Naruto face-faulted. Akatsuchi was absolutely massive but he spoke in a childlike fashion, as though he was severely stunted as a child or simply mentally challenged. Naruto's eyelids dropped in a deadpan expression, then again who needed brains if you looked like you could crush a mountain with just one finger?
Kurotsuchi elbowed Akatsuchi and winced a little. "Thanks for giving away my name!" the kunoichi said sarcastically. She then did a rather embarrassing hair flick and sighed, "I'm sure you two must know all about me. The beautiful, cute and super sexy Kurotsuchi of Iwa, the granddaughter of-"
Naruto interrupted at her as he picked his nose with his eyelids dropped into an uninterested stare. "Who?"
Kurotsuchi comically face planted on the concrete floor and quickly got to her feet flushing with embarrassment. "Oi, don't play games! You know who I am, don't you bastard? Oi, don't ignore me!"
Naruto was staring off to space, flicking his boogie away withhis pinkie in a bored fashion. Naruto winced as Hari elbowed him and he looked at Kurotsuchi to find tick marks appear on her temple and cheek. "Sorry, I was thinking."
"About boogies?" Kurotsuchi spat sarcastically.
"Yes," Naruto deadpanned, getting a face-plant out of her and Hari. "What?" he then asked as they stood up with glares aimed at him. "She asked, I answered."
Kurotsuchi regained her composure and smiled slyly. "Tell you what, you're kinda cute. If you tell me your name I'll let you take me out on a date."
"Not interested," Naruto replied flatly, poking his finger up his nose again.
Kurotsuchi raised her fist in an angry gesture. "Why, you!"
Hari quickly drew Naruto behind him with a nervous laugh. "Don't mind my teammate, Kurotsuchi-san, he's a little crazy from time to time. Ah, excuse me, my name is Seido Hari. It's a pleasure to meet you," Hari introduced himself politely only to find his own temper getting the better of him as Kurotsuchi was picking her nose like Naruto and looking the other way. "Oi, don't go copying him! I'm being polite here!"
Akatsuchi clapped his hands like a giant infant. "Hahaha, you funny puny Kumo boy."
Hari's eyes narrowed and he instantly unsheathed his chikutō with his Iaidō swordsmanship and parried a blow aimed for Naruto's head.
Clang!
The air began to disrupt and appeared wavy before another Iwa genin became visibly. Hari's eyes widened at discovering the newcomer to be a young boy, perhaps not even ten years old of age.
Kurotsuchi bonked the child on his head. "Haruko-chan, don't try to kill everyone that talks to me!"
Haruko(1) was a young boy with mid-length, sea foam green hair, pink eyes, and pale skin. He wore a purple hood over a black shirt, with matching black shinobi pants and sandals. His headband was tied around his arm, and his tantō dagger strapped over his back. Haruko look frail and ill, which made him look deceptively weak, but if his introduction was anything to go by, underestimating him would be a fatal mistake in any situation.
"But Kurotsuchi-neechan, you told me to kill anyone that approaches you with impure thoughts," Haruko said with childlike innocence.
"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm not having impure thoughts about anyone!" he said waving his hands, feeling the need to deny the accusation in case Yugito was nearby. "I don't even know this tomboy chick."
Kurotsuchi reached over and grabbed Naruto by his flak jacket. "Eh, what was that, bastard?"
Naruto instantly substituted himself with Haruko who found himself grabbed by the throat as Kurotsuchi's grip changed on reflex. The young boy in return reached out with a hand and groped her breast unperturbed.
"Kyah! You little pervert!" Kurotsuchi began to strangle Haruko with both hands as the boy flailed his hands and Akatsuchi clapped his hands in an amusement.
Naruto and Hari promptly took the opportunity to leave, both sweat-dropping as they heard Kurotsuchi swear like a sailor and Haruko trying to calmly explain there wasn't much for him to grope down there.
As the two Kumo genin walked off, Kurotsuchi eyed them, Naruto specifically, with a dark sneer. "You guys heard his name, didn't you?" she turned to Haruko, not bothering with the simpleton Akatsuchi.
Haruko nodded, "Uzumaki, why does that sound familiar, Kurotsuchi-neechan?" The boy reached for her breast again.
Kurotsuchi slapped his hand aside, not bothering to inflict further injury. "My old man once told me Jii-chan once fought an Uzumaki, even older than he was. The Uzumaki's were the founders of a village known as Uzushiogakure, they got wiped out a long time ago during the Third Great Shinobi War, but a few survived. One of them was Konoha's Chishio's no Habanero, Uzumaki Kushina."
Haruko tilted his head in childlike confusion. "Was she great?"
Kurotsuchi didn't answer right away. Being the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage naturally meant she knew more than most people, a lot more actually. Her father and grandfather often indulged her in stories of the olden days; she was after all going to be the wife of the Yondaime Tsuchikage, whoever that would be now that Deidara had defected. "My old man and Jii-chan used to tell me a lot of stories about the Yondaime of Konoha," Kurotsuchi began, "A few times here and there, they would mention his lover, Uzumaki Kushina. Apparently she was incredibly strong, some say she was stronger and more beautiful than Tsunade of the Sannin. They didn't have any kids known of but…"
Haruko, and even to her surprise Akatsuchi, gasped.
Kurotsuchi shook her head. "It could just be coincidence. Who knows, maybe Uzumaki is a common name wherever he comes from."
-ooo-
The food hall was crowded, segmented in portions of seats where genin of the same villages grouped together and ate in silence. Most spoke, some didn't, but everyone listened. It was strange, Naruto thought, as he found himself being eyeballed by the vast majority of his fellow participants and the handful chūnin present. Word of him facing Orochimaru and apparently dying by said Sannin's hands had spread fast, it was after all not every day a genin went toe-to-toe with an S-ranked shinobi and survived.
Naruto caught a look of some Kusa genin. His heart clenched for a split second, remembering what had happened to Karin, another victim of Orochimaru he had sworn to remember if he ever came to face the Snake Sannin again. Also sat at the Kusa tabkem were the genin of the other villages who had aligned with them. Quite a few made a point of shooting him a dark look for inadvertently killing their leader. Fortunately, Tsukuyo, shot him a nervous smile, unsure whether to be fearful or friendly.
Naruto pretended not to notice, not wanting to put her in bad standing with her allies and pressed on. A few tables down he saw Kumo genin, oddly enough Ryūsa Hideaki and his teammates were sitting with team Manako and the others. Yugito looked up as he approached them and scooted aside; Naruto sat next to her with a nod to the others.
"Yo."
Ryūsa eyed him, sizing him up curiously. "I heard you fought Orochimaru of the Sannin," he stated, apparently waiting for an explanation.
"Yep, I lost big time." Naruto did not indulge him, he did not like Ryūsa in the slightest. "Have I missed anything?"
Ryūsa scoffed and stood up; his silent teammates followed him immediately without a word, taking their half eaten plates with them and disposing of them on their way out. Naruto still didn't understand how they could be so blindly obedient but didn't pay it any further mind.
"Team Shikūyo, Ryūsa's team – really, who is their sensei? - team Manako, team Nadara and us are the only ones that passed this stage," Yugito informed them.
Tokashiji tensed and tried to play it off by taking a bite of his plate but Naruto spotted it and patted his back. "Don't feel too bad, Toka, you'll get it next year."
"Of course he will," Nobori's eyes gleamed, "Maybe when he can for once stop trying to get in Miyabi's pants and stop agreeing with everything she says. Thanks to that weak bitch and this weakling, we dropped out."
Hari's eyes rested only a second on Tokashiji, who visibly flinched as his eyes moved on to Nobori. "You know, Nobori, you can keep pushing people around you, thinking you can get away with saying whatever the fuck you want, but one of these days you're gonna push too far and when that happens no one will be there to have your back. Being a comrade gives you only so much leeway."
Disappointed with how little he was annoying Hari, Nobori scoffed a "Whatever" and got out of his seat and left. Tokashiji turned to Hari and opened his mouth but Hari shook his head and they both fell silent. Naruto frowned, as did the others, and changed the subject to diffuse the tension.
"What time does the second stage officially end? It's," Naruto looked up at the giant clock in the food hall, "Around twelve. How long we got till it's time for the third stage?"
"Two more hours," Kenji replied. He was wearing an actual eye-patch now, supplied by the medical ninja in the tower to cover his blind eye. "It's strange, they're not just telling us what the next objective is. I'm pretty sure we're getting down time would think they could just hand out the next set of objectives as soon as possible rather than wait for everyone to gather."
Yugito nodded, "It would be a good incentive to get here faster."
Naruto dragged Yugito's barely touched plate of food and helped himself to her rice with bean paste and chicken, shooting her a grin as she raised an eyebrow. Hari had already eaten and had gotten involved with the conversation. "I'm hearing some strange rumours being spread by this crazy Kiri kunoichi who apparently fought that Uchiha kid at some point," Hari eyed Naruto and was surprised to see the blonde unbothered, "She said he was brought in screaming in pain. They say he died."
Naruto snorted and the others looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Oh, come on," Naruto shook his head, "Konoha's not going to let their only Uchiha alive die, his blood is too important. If he had died, then you would've heard it confirmed by those Konoha genin over there that keep staring at me like I'm a ghost."
All the Kumo genin followed Naruto's gaze to see a handful genin with Konoha headbands look at them, Naruto winked at Ino, who simply glared back whilst Yugito subtly elbowed him in the ribs. 'She couldn't have found out it was me that found her scroll, did she?'
"Did you guys hear there's a Kaguya clan member participating on Kiri's behalf?" Kenichi questioned, raising a few more eyebrows. The Tomaro sighed and began to explain, "Everyone here knows about their blood purges, right?" They all nodded, it was one of the most important topics discussed in the academy. "Well the Kaguya were known for their kekkai genkai that allowed them to manipulate their bones and …"
As Kenichi continued to explain, Naruto only half listened. Something was off and no sooner had he looked to the far right did he spot a tuft of red hair and teal eyes staring at him intently, almost…longingly. Naruto shot Sabaku no Gaara a single glance, brief eye contact lasting no longer than a second but it said all it had to, 'I'm not afraid of you, just try it'. Gaara inclined his head ever so slightly, acknowledging him as his next prey and stalked off with his siblings in tow, the pigtailed kunoichi shot him one last look of pity, it infuriated Naruto more than the smug grin the war paint wearing giant had plastered on his face.
Yugito nudged Naruto with her elbow. "What is it?" Naruto caught her dry deadpanning look and wondered why her eyelids drooped and her eyebrow arched in a questioning manner. "Am I missing something?"
"You gotta be kidding me," Hari groaned with a face-palm.
Now the other genin were looking at him with similar deadpan expression and Naruto ran a hand over his face, nope there wasn't anything on his face or stuck between his teeth either. "OK," Naruto put up a matching deadpan expression, "You can shoot me those looks all day long but if don't know what the hell it is I'm supposed to be noticing, I can't really do anything about it." Even team Shikūyo was looking at him strangely and he didn't even know them that well. "What! What is it?"
Yugito sighed exasperatedly. "It's your birthday, today. How did you manage to not notice that?"
"Oh, that's right!" Naruto exclaimed. The exam started on the first of October and his birthday was on the tenth. "I see," Naruto chuckled sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "My bad. It's not a big deal though, I mean since when do shinobi celebrate their birthdays? It's not like we've got a cake or anything."
Kenichi smiled, "Actually we do."
"You've got a cake?" Naruto lit up.
Everyone shot him another deadpan expression and replied with a dry tone to match, "No, of course not."
Naruto's hopeful expression fell. "I hope you all burst into flames and die."
"Naruto!" Miyabi exclaimed much to their laughter.
"What, you don't tempt a man with cake and then turn around and say you don't have any!" Naruto crossed his arms angrily. "When I become Raikage, I'm going to make it punishable by death!"
-ooo-
(Two Hours Later: Tower of Death Assembly Hall)
All the genin were standing in a huge assembly hall on the seventeenth level of the Tower of Death. This floor was absolutely massive; it took up almost the entire tower's width and length, allowing little space for a set of elevators, a flight of stairs behind the genin and a giant pair of arms, of which the hands were formed into the ram hand seal, the hand seal best known to be associated with the shinobi arts. Two more stairs were on either side of the assembly hall. Going up fifteen feet to the balconies and suspended twenty feet up, slightly above the hand-seal-forming arms was an enormous screen.
This particular floor was used to assemble all the shinobi present in time of war to brief them on the battle plan. In fact, it was said the Shodaime Hokage created the Tower of Death, or the Shi no Mori, after the first siege of Konoha in the First Great Shinobi War. The Nidaime converted it into a proper stronghold with impressive defence mechanisms and thus the Tower of Death became one of Konoha's foremost bastions.
The genin were all ordered into five rows of twelve and instructed to be silent by a handful chūnin staffers working in the tower as the double doors behind the giant arms opened and figures swept in. The Sandaime Hokage of Konoha strode in with his posse of elite jōnin. Following, were several jōnin representatives of all the villages participating, totalling roughly twenty or more shinobi, amongst which were Genryūsei, Darui and Shi, the quirky Manako and several other jōnin. Naruto spotted a drop dead gorgeous jōnin with the Kumo flak jacket and headband, silver coloured hair and two swords strapped to her hips.
'Who are the lucky bastards that have her as their sensei?' Naruto wondered, eyeing the kunoichi appreciatively. 'She kinda looks like Mabui-' said train of thought had Naruto almost vomit over himself as his mind jumped from her to Mabui and from Mabui to Mabui and Kirabi – 'That should be illegal!' Naruto quelled his upset stomach with an absentminded pat. Naruto focused himself on the kindly smiling Hokage as he rested his eyes on the genin and glanced over them slowly with a regretful look in his eyes.
"You have all seen and experienced firsthand what you are capable of," the Hokage began; his voice took a grave tone. "The Forest of Death's soil has been soaked with the blood of many before you and it will continue to be a battleground where the young come to test their limits. What you have done and what has been done to you out there however is only a fraction of the true horrors the real battlefield holds." The Hokage slowly glanced to his right and rested his eyes on Naruto and his lips twitched almost into a wry smile as he continued his speech. "The second stage of the Chūnin Exam is meant to wash out the weak, those who do not have the stomach to kill for the good of their villages... those who do not have the will to commit unspeakable acts for the sake of their village."
Naruto swallowed, those 'unspeakable acts' had become the centre of rumours these days. Some were so horrible they sent a shiver down his spine. Apparently a kunoichi from Ame was raped and killed in the forest by Iwa shinobi not too long ago, Naruto had heard. She was found hanging from a tree alongside with her teammates. Naruto sincerely hoped it hadn't been the kunoichi of the team he had attacked, hell he hoped it was just a stupid rumour altogether. Shaking his head, the blonde focused on what the Kage was saying, having zoned out and missed a few words already.
"This year's exam was the largest in nearly two decades. A hundred-eighty genin were entered by fifteen villages, sixty teams in total," the Hokage's demeanour grew dark, "Sixty out of a hundred-eighty genin did not accomplish their task and failed to obtain all scrolls. Another sixty of you were killed or injured too gravely to further participate. Know that your villages care very little at the end of the day," a few genin gasped and even a few of the senior shinobi's looked at the Hokage with shock, "That is the harsh truth. The shinobi world has gone through many changes over the past few decades. No longer are kunoichi strictly used as agents of seduction, no longer are academy students forced to fight to the death to graduate, no longer do you have to learn to kill at a young age… Still! What remains the same, what remains unchanged even to this day is that you are all tools!"
Nobody had the gall to make a joke or even crack a smile.
"Who you are, what you feel, what you experience- your villages care not! What you are is what matters! Are you a sharpened tool, a weapon to be used by your village to do what is necessary for country and village or are you a dull blade of weak mettle?" The Hokage gave them all a hard stare and many looked away. "Many of you will die in the line of duty and believe me when I say it will not be pretty. You will not all die a glorious death. You will not all go down history. You will not all be remembered by the populace you gave your life for."
Finally a lone timid genin with of the Hidden Forest raised his hand and the Hokage nodded. It had been a speech, not a lecture, but the Hokage nodded nonetheless and allowed the question to be asked.
"Then why do we do it?"
"Because someone has to," the Hokage answered quietly, but everyone present in the hall heard and understood the gravity of his answer. "Genin, I have nothing more to say to you. If you have not caught the meaning of what I have said, then so be it. Now, we move on to the next matter at hand. Hayate!"
One of the jōnin behind the Hokage stepped forward brushing past a silver-haired jōnin as he did so and moved next to the Hokage who simply nodded to him. "My name is Hayate Gekkō, I will be the proctor of the Chūnin Exam preliminaries for the third round."
"What!"
"Prelims? What the fuck is this?"
Naruto clenched his fist in anticipation along with many other genin as the outrage soon settled and Hayate went on to explain. The jōnin coughed sickly as he spoke and took a few seconds to take a deep breath between sentences.
"Due to the high amount of genin this year and due to more genin passing the second stage than anticipated, all of you will have to fight two one-on-one matches with whomever the computer randomly picks. This is not negotiable, all of you must agree to these terms if you wish to pass to the next stage. The rules are simple, you may not leave the building to continue the fight nor may your allies help you. Killing is frowned upon but is not prohibited. Know that I will call the match should the match already been decided," Hayate coughed a dozen or so times and continue with a raspy voice, "Those whom do not wish to participate may surrender on the beginning of their match, but all of you must stay for the duration of the preliminaries to avoid any foul play."
A few genin outraged, one even loudly called it bullshit and the likes but no further reaction was given. The proctor then gestured to one of the staircases to his right and said with a cough, "The preliminaries have begun, climb to the balconies and await your calls."
As the genin trudged towards the staircases the Hokage walked to another set of stairs leading to a private chamber-balcony from where he could observe the fights himself. The jōnin and chūnin staffers swiftly disappeared and reappeared on the balconies with a quick Shunshin.
-ooo-
Naruto followed Yugito up the stairs and helped himself to a pleasant view of her backside as they walked up to the balconies and grouped together with the other Kumo genin who stood close to some Hidden Forest and Konoha genin. It made only made sense to stick close to your comrades for support and most genin understood this although some preferred to walk around the intricate balcony set ups and mingle, no doubt some of them were fishing for information.
Naruto met Yugito's angry glare as she caught on why he was staring at her intently and he grinned sheepishly, odd enough, she shook her head and sighed 'pervert' exasperatedly. 'I wonder what else I can get away with on my birthday,' Naruto wondered as he stood beside her and Hari amongst their peers. "Anyone nervous?"
Out of the seven teams Kumo had sent in, three had failed and it was now down to teams Kirabi, Shikūyo, Manako and Ryūsa's team (really, what was their sensei's name?) to pass the exam. There was a new sense of camaraderie between the teams as here on out they wouldn't be fighting as teams but as individuals. They could now at least count on each other for support outside of the matches, for the time being or so Naruto thought. Apparently Ryūsa didn't quite think so as he and his teammates abruptly walked past them without even looking at them, but nobody commented.
Fūjihara shook her head to Naruto. "If I fail this stage, it doesn't matter. Not for my team anyway."
"Why's that?" Yugito asked.
"We've done the most missions of all genin teams in Kumo. We're bound to get promoted soon, exam or no exam," Hibari answered.
Kenichi ran a hair through his hair and commented, "You lucky bastards. I still don't get how you guys got more C-ranked missions than we did."
"Maybe if you weren't in the hospital being treated for chakra exhaustion after each mission we would have," Kenji said dryly. It was odd how much different he looked with the new eye-patch on; it was as if he was someone else. "Personally, my biggest worry is to face a fellow Kumo shinobi right off the bat."
They all nodded to that, none of them wanted to be pit against one another from the start.
Down below Hayate Gekkō walked up to the middle and gave a thumbs up and shortly after the enormous TV screen went on and it began to switch through letters and digits rather fast before it read out in giant letters: "AKIRA ARATA(2) VERSUS SASAKI GENJI(3)".
The shinobi from Kusa and Kiri walked descended from the stair cases and walked to the centre of the hall and stood opposite of each other with serious expressions. Hayate looked at both very briefly, reiterated the rules and then distanced himself and shouted, "Begin!"
Naruto paid attention for perhaps the first minute or so before he looked away, knowing the Kusa genin was about to get butchered. The gap in skills were too big for him and soon enough Naruto was proven right as the genin fell on his back, unconscious no more than three minutes into the match. The Kiri Nin swiftly sheathed his blade, cleaning it with a flick and walked away with a smug, satisfied expression. To prove his strength, he had purposefully cut the Kusa genin in face, as a reminder.
Naruto frowned, "That's a bit excessive, don't you think? What a dick." Naruto leaned on the railing next to Yugito and took her hand into his, squeezing it lightly to convey he missed her in the past two days he was 'gone', off to train in his mindscape to unlock the gifts bequeathed unto him by his parents. Yugito looked at him and nodded, squeezing his hand in return; then turned her attention back to the fighting as the next pair was announced, a Konoha genin and a Hidden Forest genin went at it.
"Yo."
"Heya."
Naruto turned to see Darui and Shi approach them along with the other jōnin sensei of Kumo. Shi shot Naruto a wink and an approving smile upon seeing Naruto and Yugito, prompting Naruto to greet them quickly before Yugito could feel uncomfortable. "Heya, Darui-sensei, Shi-sensei. It's been a while."
"Only ten days," Darui counted but nodded understandingly no less. "Must have felt like more, huh?" the jōnin then turned to Nobunaga and greeted his nephew and struck a conversation with him.
Shi however glanced at Naruto suspiciously, or more specifically his eyes. Being a genjutsu specialist, he caught onto the low level Transformation jutsu Naruto had used and he mouthed, 'genjutsu' at Naruto, who nodded in return and mouthed 'later' in return. "So, Yugito-chan, how was it out there? Something interesting happened?"
Naruto face-faulted at Shi's approach to the subject but kept quiet as Yugito glanced at him and then at Shi. "A lot happened, Shi-sensei," she replied evenly. "I'll be happy to tell you after this is all over."
Shi nodded and then turned to Hari and struck up a conversation with him, having bonded quite a bit with the brown-haired member of team Kirabi over the past few months as he had taught him medical jutsu. Naruto shrugged at Yugito in response to her questioning glance.
"Looks like the next match is about to be announced," Fūjihara said evenly, eyeing the two genin below going at it. The Hidden Forest genin was putting up a good fight, his moves just screamed desperation, but it wasn't enough and soon the Morigakure genin fell to the ground and was forced to yield. The Konoha genin nodded respectfully and backed away, a stark contrast in behaviour to the Kiri shinobi, and left as soon as he was announced the winner.
The proctor cleared his throat as the genin parted and looked up to the board. It read: "HYŪGA NEJI VERSUS TOMARO KENICHI". Kenichi tensed up at the prospect of fighting a Hyūga and though he tried to harden his disposition, his comrades noticed his anxiety. Naruto smiled and walked over to his senior and slapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, Kenichi, don't be afraid of that guy. I fought him and I managed to beat him."
Kenichi swallowed hard and exhaled deeply to calm his nerves. "You did? Got any tips?"
"Sure, he's a close range fighter so try to keep your distance; I doubt you can take him in his field of specialty. Use strictly ninjutsu, don't even bother with genjutsu since his Byakugan will see straight through it. Avoid even the slightest touch if you can, that bastard uses a fight style that's deceptively strong. He broke through my shin guards with less than three hits, so you know what'll happen if he lands one on you."
"Tomaro Kenichi!"
Kenichi nodded to Naruto and went to descend from the stairs when Naruto slapped him on the shoulder so hard he doubled over the ledge and ploughed into the ground.
"Th- thanks a lot, Naruto!" Kenichi shouted as he got to his feet, slightly red in the face with embarrassment.
"Just fight already!" Naruto shouted back, cupping his mouth to project his voice louder. "He's nowhere near as strong as he thinks! I would know!" He then added with a reassuring wink, "You took on Orochimaru, so you definitely can't be afraid of this girly bastard. He doesn't have the freakishly long tongue!"
Kenichi had to crack a smile at that, Naruto did make one hell of a point there.
-ooo-
(Fighting Area)
Neji eyed Kenichi intently as they stood opposite to each other. "A Tomaro, not my intended target but it will have to do for now," Neji sneered, sliding into a lax stance of the famed Hyūga Jūken and his eyes zeroed in on Kenichi; a graceful incline of his head to the proctor.
"You're a cheerful one," Kenichi smiled wryly, "I know why you hate me-"
"I don't hate you. I nothing you," Neji sneered. "I am very well aware you could not possibly have anything to do with what happened years ago."
Kenichi's eyes drooped into a deadpan stare, "Then why take your anger out on me?" he shook his head, "Never mind, I don't really care. I'm ready, proctor." Kenichi nodded to Hayate and slid in a stance of his own.
Hayate looked at both contestants and nodded. "Begin!" The proctor then drew back.
"No, you will mind!" Neji spat. "Your clan is responsible for the death of Hyūga Hizashi, my father-" Kenichi visibly tensed at this – "Yes, my father was killed in order to appease Kumo after your clan, the Tomaro Clan, exploited our times of weakness and demanded a Hyūga life for the attack on Shinobigashira Seido Tadashi and murder of another jōnin!"
…
Up in the balconies, Hari flinched and his eyes widened as did those of his peers. They all stared at him with questioning glances.
…
"I know there is a Seido attending the Chūnin Exam, Tomaro." Veins began to pop out by his eyes and temples. "Apparently the son of Seido Tadashi had the audacity to come to Konoha to participate, I would like to see the son of the man that caused the death of my father. Tell me who he is and I will spare you."
"What happened to your father was tragic and I can't say I agree with what happened but know that I will never give up my comrade," Kenichi matched Neji's glare, "Enough talking. Let's settle this!"
No sooner had he said it,Neji surged forward with Byakugan eyes blazing and slammed into Kenichi's weak defences. The clash was brutal and Neji's Gentle Fist finger jabs struck Kenichi in his thigh, his left forearm and shoulder. With little remaining strength in said limb, Kenichi swung it at him in a back-fist but found himself thrown over Neji's shoulders in a judo throw and slammed into the ground painfully. Quickly, to avoid another jab, Kenich slammed his fist on the ground as he fell; a thick tile launched off the floor and served as a distraction for Kenichi to roll over the ground and draw back as Neji sliced through the tile with a quick chop.
"The Jūken sure is dangerous," Kenichi gritted through his teeth as his left arm fell weak to his side.
Neji sneered, "Of course, it is unbeatable. Now that you can no longer use ninjutsu, I will take my time crippling you." Neji slid into an altered Jūken stance, leaning forward in a crouch as he spread his arms.
Kenichi rolled his eyes, "You'll have to stop underestimating me if you really want to win this fight," and with that Kenichi raised his remaining arm in front of him and slowly proceeded to form strange hand seals that vaguely resembled some of the twelve basic hand seals.
"Single-handed hand seals?" Neji sneered, "Impressive as it may be, it is useless against me!"
Neji darted forward once again, however Kenichi was already done and took a deep breath and spat a jet of fire, "Katon! Hidō no Jutsu!"
A jet of fire spread across the floor and swept towards the charging Neji. The Hyūga burst through the fire, singing the rims of his sleeves as he executed his next jutsu.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"
Screams followed.
Two strikes, another two strikes, four strikes, eight strikes, sixteen strikes, thirty-two strikes.
Neji's hands moved in blurring motions, creating after-images so fast only a few could follow. With each strike, his own chakra closed off another tenketsu in Kenichi's Chakra Pathway System, causing incredible pain and suffering in the process. To his credit, Kenichi remained standing as Neji broke bones and bruised muscles and rendered his body incapacitated and stricken with pain.
And the jovial shinobi remained standing once it was over, craned forward to an dangerous angle but standing nonetheless. His mind and body long since disconnected through the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.
"Winner, Hyūga Neji!"
Author's Notes
It's been a while since I updated.
Apologies for the unannounced hiatus, but I had no other choice, what with exams and whatnot popping up everywhere. T'was a necessary break from writing stories, really. Now that I've got a few weeks to myself, I'm looking forward to getting back in routine. A word of warning, it's been a while and I had to write bits and pieces of this chapter whenever I could, so yeah, it won't be my best but shouldn't be too bad… I hope.
This chapter we'll see some cameo appearances of reviewers who submitted original characters. Some will be recurring, some won't even show up till other arcs start, but hey, it's all in good fun. So, have fun and review!
Character cameo appearances!
(1) Kaoru Haruko – James Krieg and Jack Crusade
(2) Akira Arata – James Krieg and Jack Crusade
(3) Sasaki Genji – Kojiro-kun
More to come in later chapters and/or arcs.
…
Jutsu Used:
(Katon! Hidō no Jutsu - Trace of Fire!) – C rank, supplementary, short to midrange. The user draws chakra to his lungs and breathes a jet of fire to hold off, detain or isolate the intended target.
(Hakke Rokujūyon Shō - Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!) - ? rank, offensive, short range. The Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is a manoeuvre of the Jūken fighting style that is reserved only for the main branch of the Hyūga Clan. This technique is used to close off the flow of chakra through sixty-four chakra-points of an opponent's Chakra Pathway System. This eliminates their ability to use chakra for quite some time and makes it difficult for them to move due to pain caused by closed off tenketsu. The Rokujūyon Shō uses sixty-four strikes and each set of strikes is done at an exponentially increasing pace and strength. The attack not only disables the enemy but also knocks them back with every set of strikes. Parent jutsu: Jūken (Gentle Fist).