The next few matches following the sand siblings aren't nearly as one-sided, despite none of the teams being as balanced as the Suna and Kiri teams were. Most consist of two genin, while some unlucky shinobi are forced to go it alone due to the hammering the last two tasks put on their teammates. In those fights the single genin always loses, but not as decidedly as the Kiri team lost to Gaara.
But just because the matches aren't as lopsided doesn't mean they're any less vicious.
I wince as yet another match ends with an Iwa nin slamming their opponent's head against the wall, this time with a slab of rock torn from the floor courtesy of an earth jutsu. That has to be the third one so far. "Those guys are brutal."
"Iwa's had a complex about the Chunin Exams since the debacle that proctor talked about," Hatake says, buried in his orange book. He took it out as soon as the teams for the second match were announced, and hasn't lowered it since. "It's a point of pride for them that they've had the most total genin make it to the finals since the new system started. They're very, ah, determined to maintain that record."
"Who's had the most wins?" Sakura asks.
"Kumo."
"Makes sense," I grunt, leaning forward on the railing. "If they send as many genin as they sent this year all the time, they'd have to suck pretty bad not to get some wins." Hatake nods, turning a page in his book, and across the stadium the samurai clears his throat. Down in the arena the two Iwa genin have moved back up the stairs and the two Kusa genin have been Body Flickered away by the Kumo and Suna proctors. The samurai pulls out another slip from his box.
"Match six," he intones. "Team 5 of Taki, consisting of Tommii Noriko and Fu."
Two staircases to the right of us on the circle, a pair of kunoichi break off from their jonin sensei and head down into the arena. One of them is sporting a long, spiky black ponytail and a gray-blue battle dress, while the other has a crop of short green hair and a bizarre combination of a short skirt, a cut off shirt, and separated sleeves making up her wardrobe.
The light gray cloth shifts as she walks down the steps, revealing the short fishnet shorts hugging her tan legs and the fishnet shirt clinging to her chest, and I'm reminded of Mitarashi.
The samurai plucks another piece of paper. "Versus… Team 9 of Konoha, consisting of Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee."
My teammates and I turn to look at Gai's team as one, and find Neji and Lee both standing at attention in front of their sensei. They look up at him as he turns from the arena, both of their gazes as hard and unyielding as steel. Gai claps a hand on each of their shoulders.
"There is no such thing as an easy fight," he says. "Do not underestimate either of your opponents, no matter what you might think of them now. Remember what I have taught you, and remember why we are here." Both of them nod firmly.
"Yes, Gai-sensei."
A smile breaks through the sudden seriousness hanging around the three of them, and Gai's teeth shine. "You can do this. I will be with both of you every step of the way." He squeezes their shoulders and lets go. "Good luck."
Lee grins. "We won't let you down, Gai-sensei!" Neji heads for the closest set of stairs, and the spandex-wearing genin shoots us a thumbs up before jogging after him.
"So," I say, turning and leaning on the railing again. "How long do you think it'll take them to win? One minute?" As much as I can't stand Neji's guts, there's no way for me to deny that he's strong. That Sixty-four Palms technique of his is ridiculous, and the Revolving Heaven is even more so if it's everything Hinata cracked it up to be. And Lee…
Yeah, I don't even know why Lee is still a genin.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Hatake says, hands draped over the railing and orange book closed. "That kunoichi with the green hair, Fu, is one of Taki's most talented genin. A real prodigy with water techniques. People say she's going to be the one to take over as leader of the village when Shibuki steps down."
"How do you know about all of the contestants?" Sasuke asks, cocking an eyebrow at him. It's not a bad question. Both of the jonin have provided some sort of commentary on each of the matches so far, whether it's just a breakdown of their fighting styles or a full on description of their careers as shinobi so far. It's starting to get a little unsettling.
Hatake reaches up and taps his flak jacket. "Jonin." Sasuke and I share an eye roll.
"Indeed," Gai agrees. "We spent much of this past week with the other villages' jonin sensei, and learned quite a few things from their spirited praises of their genin."
Hatake sighs. "That isn't what I meant, Gai."
"Spirited praises, huh?" I glance up at Hatake. "Did you brag about us?"
"Of course," he says, eye quirking up. "I made sure every jonin in the Land of Iron knew that I have the cutest little students in all the Elemental Nations." The sad thing is that I don't think he's lying.
"Quiet you guys," Sakura hisses, waving a hand back at us. "The match is starting."
Down in the arena the two teams stand across from one another, the Konoha proctor standing in the middle of them. Neji is settled into his Gentle Fist stance and Lee is bouncing from foot to foot, stretching out his arms and rolling his neck. The Taki kunoichi with the ponytail, Noriko, is set in a tense stance with her hands held out in front of her. And Fu-
Fu leans forward, reaches around the Konoha proctor, and holds a hand out to Neji and Lee while shooting them a smile that could give Gai a run for his money. "Hey, good luck!"
The low din of chatter floating through the stadium from the spectating teams comes to a screeching halt, and every eye in the building falls on the scantily clad kunoichi. Off to the right her jonin sensei sighs and palms his face.
Neji scoffs, not even bothering to move out of his stance to slap her hand away, but Lee's face lights up. He lunges forward and gives her the most enthusiastic handshake I've ever seen. "To you as well, kunoichi-san! I look forward to seeing your flames burn!"
"That's my Lee," Gai says in a choked voice beside us. Is he actually tearing up? Yup, he's about to cry. How the hell is he a jonin?
The Konoha proctor coughs and the two cheerful genin drop their handshake. "Okay, all of you remember the rules, right?" They all nod, and he raises his arm. "Good. Match six, between Teams 5 of Taki and 9 of Konoha- begin!"
He drops his arm and disappears in a Body Flicker, appearing crouched on the wall, and Neji and Lee blur forward.
Neji makes a run at Noriko while Lee bull rushes Fu, and both of the kunoichi jump back. Noriko jumps first, having already been coiled and ready to spring, and her hands come together in a string of hand seals. She lands several feet back and slaps both hands against the floor. A wall of earth claws its way up from beneath the stone tiles, blocking Neji's path and allowing her to make more space while he moves around it.
Fu forms hand seals of her own, flitting through them twice as fast as her teammate and locking on the hare seal. Lee jumps up to her at the height of her jump, fist cocked back, and then a wave of water spews out of her mouth and hits him full on in the face. He's thrown away from her, swept up by the massive wave and smashed against the far wall.
Neji changes course as soon as she lets loose the jutsu, hopping up onto the earth wall just before the wave hits. He leaps off at Noriko who's in the middle of another string of hand seals, forcing her to retreat farther back lest he rope her into a close encounter.
Fu slaps her hands in a tiger seal and two huge fins of water burst through the layer of water covering the floor from her jutsu, speeding towards Neji in a pincer attack. He stops his pursuit on a dime and pivots, spinning.
"Eight Trigrams: Revolving Heaven!"
The twin blades of water hit the dome of chakra and a screech rings out as they rail against the Hyuuga clan's ultimate defense. A second later they give and glance off the whirring technique, racing in opposite directions and tearing gouges into the walls large enough for me to stand straight up in. The Revolving Heaven fades to wisps and Neji darts out from the middle of it, sights still set on Noriko.
Fu forms the tiger seal again and two more fins burst into being, but before she can send them after Neji again a green blur slams into one of them and it explodes into a thousand harmless droplets. She slides back a step, flicking her hand seal and sending the other fin rocketing at Lee while he's distracted by the scattered remains of the first. By the time he sees it, it's too close and moving too fast to for him to dodge. Not without those gates of his, anyway. How fast can he activate those things?
He doesn't try to activate his gates. He doesn't even try to dodge. He just braces himself, spins, and throws a roundhouse kick at the water jutsu powerful enough to tear a hole in a stone wall.
"YOSH!"
His foot slams into the front of the fin, causing a shockwave that throws ripples across the water covering the floor, and then the fin breaks.
I jerk forward over the railing. "Are you kidding me!?"
"That's my Lee!" Gai bawls, the tears flowing freely down his cheeks now.
Fu slides farther back, eyes wide. "Nice!"
"Thank you, kunoichi-san!" Lee replies in kind. He rushes forward again. "And you as well!"
On the other side of the arena Noriko is putting the breathing room given to her by Fu's jutsu to full use. She locks her hands into the last seal of her jutsu while Neji is still over two yards away from her and swipes a hand out at him. The veins surrounding his Byakguan pulse, and he leaps to the side. An invisible force rips through the air beside him, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake until it hits the wall on the other side of the arena, cutting another deep scar into the stone.
"She can use wind jutsu, too?" Sakura blurts.
"She probably has a double affinity for earth and wind," Hatake says, tracking the kunoichi as she hurls another wind blade at Neji with one hand while keeping the other held in the last hand seal. "It's pretty rare, but learning to manipulate an element contrary to the one you have an affinity to as a genin is even more so. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"
Sasuke grunts, Sharingan locked onto her hands.
"Are you actually going to be able to use all these jutsu that you're copying?" I ask, turning away from the fight. He shakes his head. "Then why are you bothering?"
"I have a photographic memory while the Sharingan is on," he explains, tomoe spinning. "So I can hold onto any jutsu I copy with it until I'm ready to use them."
"And?" Hatake prods. Sasuke rolls his crimson eyes.
"And knowing how they work will let me counter them whether or not I ever learn how to use them myself."
"Almost. You don't learn anything about a jutsu from copying it aside from how to use it. The benefit will be that you'll know when and what they're about to use before they use it, and act from there." He chuckles. "That particular ability is half the reason why it's said Uchiha can see the future."
Sakura blinks, looking over at him. "You can get all that just by looking at them once?"
"Yes."
I shake my head. "Those pretty red eyes are ridiculous."
"Uh oh," Hatake murmurs before Sasuke can retort, dragging my attention back to the arena.
Neji is still dodging jutsu from Noriko, who's switched from wind blades to earth spikes, and despite the sheer volume of crap being thrown at him he doesn't miss a single step as he weaves through the earthen constructs. He's gaining ground. Not much, but enough for me to notice, and more than enough for the Taki kunoichi to notice by the way she's backing herself up against the arena wall step by step. I look over to the other fight, and my stomach drops.
Lee is stuck in the middle of the arena, doing his best to fend off a distorted water dragon that breaks and reforms into a massive shark that snaps at him when he kicks out at it. He tries to dodge as the jutsu shifts again, this time into a charging bull, but for some reason he's too slow to get out of the way. It clips him in the side of the chest and sends him skidding across the water.
"I… I don't understand." His voice drifts up from the stadium, almost too soft to be heard. He pushes himself to his feet, a faint tremor going through his legs. "Why do I feel so tired?"
"Lee!" Gai calls, and the boisterous genin looks up at us. "Take off the weights!"
"Yes, Gai-sensei!" He gives his head a rough shake, and then bends and pulls down his orange legwarmers.
"What good is tossing some weight going to do?" Sasuke asks. "That jutsu is going to hit him before he even gets them off." Sure enough, the bull has turned itself around and is making another run at Lee, who's too busy unhooking the weights strapped to his ankles to even roll away.
"Lee does not use normal weights," is all Gai says. Lee finishes unhooking the weights on his right leg and lets them drop into the water. He moves on to his left leg while the bull closes in on him, lowering its horns gore him.
My brow furrows. "Those look like normal weights to me. How are they going to-"
Lee drops the second set of weights into the water, the bull lunges forward, and he disappears.
The bull hits the water head first and disperses back into its element, and I gape at where he just was. Beside me, Sasuke's crimson eyes are riveted on a point behind Fu. "I could barely track that," he says, voice tinted with disbelief.
"How heavy did you make those weights, Gai?" Hatake asks, and even he sounds bemused.
"Lee has been building them up since he graduated," Gai says, chest puffed out with pride as Lee flickers around Fu below, breaking her hasty guard punch by unforgiving punch. "He's gotten them heavier than mine were when I was a chunin."
"You can't be serious."
"It's true! He's the brightest example of youthful determination I've ever seen. He's going to surpass me someday, I know it." As if to prove his point, Lee leaps up into the air right then and launches a kick at Fu's head, and when she goes to block it he spins low and kicks her in the stomach.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The Taki kunoichi is thrown back, bouncing off the wall and landing on her hands and knees. She shoves herself up to her feet, hunched over and clutching her stomach, and for some reason Lee sits back in his Strong Fist stance and lets her. She sucks in a couple gasps of air, and Lee continues to sit back, apparently willing to wait until she's ready to fight again.
And while he waits, and her hands are concealed by her hunched over position, she flits through three quick hand seals.
I open my mouth to shout a warning, but the kunoichi has already thrown her hands forward. Water springs up from the pool beneath their feet and swirls in her palms, and before Lee can say 'youth' she fires both of them at him. They scream through the air twice as fast as the fin blades did, but Lee just blurs and appears a couple feet to the right.
More water springs up into the kunoichi's hands, and when he charges her again she leaps to the side and fires another round of water bolts at him. They move across the whole arena like that, Lee avoiding the water shots with ease and putting Fu on the constant defensive. She throws a couple of them down at the water beneath their feet, kicking up huge waves of water in an attempt to obscure his vision, but she can't even get another handful of water before he's made it around them and started towards her again.
He pushes her all the way up against the wall, and when she fires another two rounds at him he just spins and destroys both of the bolts with another roundhouse kick. He locks back on Fu, caught halfway through her next two bolts, and surges forward for the finishing blow.
He gets two steps before he stumbles and collapses to one knee.
"What the hell?"
Lee raises a hand up to his face, and I can see it shaking from all the way up here. "Again? I don't…"
Fu lets her jutsu drop and pushes off from the wall, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "Jeez, you're crazy. I thought you'd drop a lot faster than that." Lee looks up at her in confusion.
"Wha-?"
"I poisoned you when we shook hands," she explains, smiling mischievously. She wiggles her fingers. "You couldn't feel it because the blade is so thin and harmless. Not so much for the poison."
"I feel tired," Lee murmurs, wavering.
"Yup. You should be out in another minute or so. Though it was only supposed to take three minutes, period, and we're already past that point." She taps her chin. "You don't have a bloodline, do you?" Lee doesn't answer, wavering in place. Her smile softens.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry I took advantage of your kindness like that. I wasn't expecting to get anyone with that trick."
"She's apologizing," Sasuke murmurs. "Why?"
"Taki and Konoha have been allies for years," Hatake says. "And she isn't loved by her village for nothing. All of the sensei from Taki say she has the charm of a leader to go with the skill." I take a quick look at Gai to see what he thinks of Fu's charm, and find him looking down at Lee with an even, expectant gaze. Almost unworried.
A faint memory gnaws at me while Fu closes the distance between them and crouches down, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can forfeit now and I'll give you the antidote. If you don't, I'll make sure you don't drown when you drop." What had he said, back then?
Lee mumbles something, too quiet for even Fu to hear. She pulls her hand back, ready to move but not all that worried. "What was that?"
"Gate of Opening," he says. Fu gasps and jabs at his throat. "Open."
Lee reaches up and catches her fist.
My eyes narrow while shocked exclamations go up around the ring. His arm is still shaking. It's even worse than before, now. The poison is still hurting him.
Fu tears her hand free and jumps back, flitting through seals. The same shifting construct from earlier bursts out of the water in front of her, except there are two this time. Both of them take on the shape of a distorted version of a dragon again. They dive down into the water and reappear twice as large, as one dragon, which opens its maw wide and barrels towards Lee. Lee, who still hasn't moved from his spot. His whole body is starting to shake from his efforts to move and the effects of the poison. It wasn't the first gate that I remember. Which one was it?
"Gate of Healing: Open."
There we go.
Chakra explodes out from the youthful genin, potent enough to form a visible shroud around him. The tremors wracking his body disappear all at once, and he jumps up to meet Fu's jutsu. He slams a lightning fast punch into it and the resulting shockwave tears it apart.
Fu jumps back until her back is pressed flush against the wall again, and starts running through a ridiculous amount of seals at a ridiculous speed. "You really are something!" She calls. "I don't know much about the Celestial Gates, but I know that they're not a genin skill for sure." Her blurring hands come to a stop on the bird seal, and the water beneath her feet lurches. "I can't let you win, though!"
Water rises up in front of her, spiraling in a circle larger than she is. It spins faster and fast, pulling at the water pooled on the floor and growing even larger in size. Lee rushes forward in an attempt to disrupt it, but the second water dragon breaks through the surface in front of him. The two didn't merge at all.
"Shit," I mutter.
Fu's jutsu continues to ramp up in size until the tip of it is on eye level with the proctors. Tendrils of water lash out of it at random, tearing chunks out of the walls and slapping waves into being tall enough to splash over the top of the arena and soak my feet. The roar of a hurricane fills the stadium.
Lee's Leaf Whirlwind knocks the second water dragon into oblivion, and Fu shouts, throwing her hands forward. "This is it! You better brace yourself!"
Neji steps inside her guard and taps the inside of both of her wrists. She jerks back, crying out in pain, and the mini hurricane wavers around her.
"Two palms."
Before she can react he's already brushed aside her hasty defense and tapped four more spots on her right arm, causing it to fall limp at her side. Her jutsu heaves one last roar and then collapses. "Four palms."
She doesn't have a chance after that. He weaves through her desperate attempts to defend herself and fight back, and doesn't give her the slightest chance to escape as he taps more and more points on her left arm, stomach, legs, and chest. He hits sixty-four palms, his arms little more than a blur as he shuts down her tenketsu one by one, and she collapses into the water, unable to maintain the slightest of chakra currents in her feet.
Neji watches with dispassionate Byakugan eyes as the proctor from Kiri dives into the water to fish her out, while the proctor from Kumo does the same for Noriko on the other side of the arena. When both have left in twin Body Flickers he allows his bloodline to fade and straightens up out of his Gentle Fist stance. Then he sighs.
"I told you to stop toying with your opponents, Lee. You could have ended that fight as soon as you took your weights off."
Lee cocks his head, hair still on end from the chakra flickering around him. "I did not toy with her. All I did was allow her to collect herself so we could continue our fight."
"Sometimes I wonder why you're a shinobi."
The Konoha proctor touches down on the surface of the water and raises his arm. "Winner of the sixth match between Team 5 of Taki and Team 9 of Konoha- Team 9."
"Hell yeah!" I whoop, and then I'm quickly overtaken by Gai as his mask of intensity breaks and he flies off into hysterics. Through the Green Beast's bellows I catch a few Taki nin booing, and I flip them all a one-fingered salute, as is customary.
Neji and Lee start up the stairs, and halfway up Lee's chakra shroud fades and he stumbles on the next step. Neji catches him with one hand and a moment later he regains his bearings and continues on, a lot more sluggish now. As soon as they make it back to us Gai wraps them both up in a bear hug, praising them in between uncontrollable sobs.
I observe the spectacle, along with everyone else in the stadium, and then give Hatake's sleeve a tug.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"I appreciate you, sensei."
He smiles. "Why thank you. I appreciate you, too."
Down in the arena the Iwa proctor has dropped down and is draining the arena with an earth jutsu. When that's done she moves onto the numerous holes and gouges in the walls, filling each in with a slab of wet earth that dries and hardens into stone in seconds. Less than five minutes after the end of the match the arena looks good as new, and the samurai rustles through his box again.
"Match seven. Team 13 of Iwa, consisting of Taro."
A single Iwa shinobi walks down the steps on the opposite side of the stadium, walking up to the middle of the arena and crossing his arms over his chest. He's wearing a loose, parted shirt that shows off his collarbone and the very top of his chest, along with a baggy pair of shinobi pants. Both are red, in typical Iwa fashion, but he's foregone the vest for a thick brown sash tied around his waist.
The samurai pulls out the second slip. "Versus Team 4 of Suna, consisting of Shijo, Kinzo, and Terao."
"Ouch." Even I have to feel bad for the guy, Iwa nin or not. "That really sucks."
Sasuke nods in agreement. "None of them even look tired."
"He's going to be crushed," Neji says.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks suddenly.
"Yes, Sakura?" He asks, book still held over the railing.
"Did you learn anything about Taro while we were taking the first task?"
"Afraid not."
"Nothing?" I ask, tilting my head.
"Well, no." He shrugs. "Their sensei wasn't exactly thrilled to trade stories with me and Gai, even if only to brag."
"It's true," Gai agrees. "The jonin from Iwa were all most unyouthful. Even more so than my eternally hip rival."
"Thanks, Gai," Hatake says wryly.
The Suna team, a trio of shinobi geared up in navy blue and black clothing with beige flak jackets, marches down the steps and stand at attention across from Taro. The Konoha proctor clears his throat with a harsh cough.
"We'll start once the other proctors get back. You all remember the rules?" All three of the Suna nin answer in firm unison. Taro just stares straight ahead at a point over their shoulders. Seconds pass, and the Suna nin in the middle steps forward and bows his head a fraction.
"Good luck, Iwa nin," he says, voice taught with subdued politeness. The Iwa nin doesn't respond or return the gesture at all, and flash of rage steals across the Suna nin's face. A breath later it's gone, and he steps back between his teammates, expression carefully blank.
The two missing proctors return a couple minutes later, crouched up on the walls, and the Konoha proctor raises an arm. "Match seven, between Teams 13 of Iwa and 4 of Suna- begin!"
He retreats back to his spot on the wall, and the Suna team leaps into action.
The shinobi on the right and the left jump away, to either side of the arena, while the one in the middle slings a metal slab off his back and cracks it open. Another fan. He swings the hulking weapon and a gust of wind erupts from its edge, similar to when Temari used hers, except on a smaller scale. Still, it's stronger than anything I could throw out without any preparation. Maybe I should invest in a fan?
The wind burst tears through the short distance between him and Taro, and hits the Iwa nin full on. It tears at his loose clothing, pressing it flush against him and setting it to flapping behind him. But the shinobi himself doesn't budge an inch.
The two shinobi flanking him each pull out their weapons of choice, a katana for one and dual ono for the other, and then they charge. The one with a hatchet in each hand reaches Taro first, swinging at his neck and the soft spot just below his ribs with twin horizontal slashes. The second shinobi isn't far behind, stabbing down at his chest from the opposite side. A textbook pincer.
Taro uncrosses his arms and forms the serpent seal and, an instant before the blades can bite into him, stomps the floor with his foot.
Two pillars of earth burst from the ground beneath each of the Suna nin and hit them square in the chest, sending them flying away from him and into the walls. The one with the dual ono lands on shaky feet while the other stumbles and falls to one knee after hitting the ground. The fan-wielder snaps his fan open wider when he turns his sights back on him, swiping it with two hands and sending a burst of wind on par with Temari's roaring gale at Taro.
The Iwa nin slides one foot back, settling into a steady stance, and when the wind hits him the results are the same as the first burst. Once the jutsu passes he brings his hands up and runs through three seals, then takes off at a dead sprint towards the Suna nin. Said shinobi jumps back to the edge of the arena, swinging his fan again, and this time Taro runs straight through the gale that follows. He cocks his right arm back, and the Suna nin dives to the side.
His fist meets the wall and sinks into it like it's water, until his arm from the elbow down is lodged into the stone. Then he yanks it out in one smooth motion, bringing a stone gauntlet with it. He does the same for his other arm and turns around to meet the shinobi with the twin ono.
He brings both of his stone gauntlets up to block and the hatchets grind off them. He takes a step forward and plants his feet, pivoting in place to build momentum, and hits the Suna nin so hard in the chest that instead of flying back he's slammed directly into the ground. The Suna nin bounces up, back arching, and blood sprays out of his mouth.
He collapses back to the ground, making no move to get up, and Taro kicks him aside. The shinobi with the fan, halfway through helping his teammate up, grits his teeth at the sight. His teammate steps away from him, running over to retrieve his katana, and the Suna nin raises his fan again.
He cracks it open for a third time, to its widest point. Taro runs through the same three hand seals from before, and then the Suna nin cleaves through the air with his fan.
Something close to a Great Breakthrough roars from the edge of the rice paper fan. It hits Taro with all the fury of a raging Bijuu, tearing his shirt clean off and whipping at his pants and hair. But somehow, he remains rooted to the ground. After a few seconds the jutsu dies down, the dust it kicked up settles, and Taro's feet are unveiled.
Earth surrounds both appendages up to the ankles, running down the length of each foot and merging with the floor beneath his feet. He really was rooted to the ground, then. When the jutsu finally dies he jerks his left and then his right foot up, breaking them and his new stone boots free from the floor.
The Suna nin with the katana charges up from behind him before he can pursue the shinobi with the fan, giving his teammate time to catch his breath after that last jutsu. Taro spins around and catches the katana in one gauntlet, lashing out with the other. The Suna nin hops back, tearing his blade free with a sharp grating sound. He circles around the Iwa nin, wary, looking for an opening.
Taro forms the serpent seal and stomps the ground, and the Suna nin dives out of the way as another stone pillar bursts from the earth beneath his feet. He turns the dive into a roll and jumps up, stabbing his blade at the Iwa nin's heart.
Taro catches it again, and before the Suna nin can yank it free he lashes out with his other gauntlet at the base of the blade. With a loud snap, the sword breaks in two.
The Suna nin jumps back, running through hand seals and pulling a ring of kunai from his weapons pouch. "Wind Release: Knife Point!" He lets the wind-enhanced throwing knives fly, and they whistle as they cut through the air. Taro claps his gauntlets together in front of him, and the kunai sink into each of them with a series of dull thunks.
They don't pierce all the way through, though, and they clatter to the ground bloodless when he brushes them off. The Suna nin's expression tightens, and he starts running through a different set of hand seals.
Taro rushes forward before he's gotten through three, bearing down on him with a sudden burst of speed before he can even try to dodge. The Suna nin flinches back as a stone gauntlet flies at his face.
A gale of wind rams into both of them, not quite managing to move Taro, but throwing the Suna nin off his feet and out of range of the hit. Taro turns, just in time for the other shinobi to descend on him, massive metallic fan snapped shut and held high over his head like a club.
Taro raises both gauntlets up, and metal meets stone. His arms jerk beneath the force of the Suna nin's blow, but they don't fall. And while the other shinobi is off-balance from the jarring clash, Taro grabs hold of the fan with both hands and rips it out of his grip. Then he rears it back over his shoulder and clubs the Suna nin in the side of the chest.
A loud crack followed by a strangled gasp rings throughout the stadium, and the Suna nin staggers and falls to his knees. Taro cocks the fan back again, and this time he hits the other shinobi over the head with it. His face meets the floor with another loud crack, and he falls still.
"Shijo!" The last Suna nin left shouts, his silent, controlled façade finally breaking at the sight of his teammate being slammed to the floor. Anguish and fury clash in his eyes as he runs through hand seals. "Iwa bastard. Wind Release: Blade Edge." He pulls two kunai from his weapons pouch, gripping one in each hand, and charges at the Iwa shinobi.
Taro drops the fan and the two clash in a flurry of wind-enhanced kunai and stone-enhanced fists. The Suna nin ducks and dodges around the slower Iwa nin's punches, swiping and stabbing with his kunai at Taro's vitals. Every strike is blocked, but they leave gauges and holes in the gauntlets where hatchets and katana had glanced off.
The Suna nin starts to push him back, step by step, with his furious assault. He starts dealing out blows so fast that the Iwa nin doesn't have time to retaliate with attacks of his own, too busy blocking. He hacks and slashes at the stone gauntlets, focusing all his attention on them, and then he feints and stabs at the other shinobi's throat.
"Enough."
Taro whips his right arm around, slapping one of the Suna nin's kunai out of his hands with the back of his gauntlet. The other shinobi stumbles back, and he slaps his hands into the serpent seal for a third time. A pillar of stone shoots up and crashes up into the Suna nin's other arm, disarming him of his second kunai and shattering his arm in the process.
He cries out in pain, clutching his arm, and Taro closes the distance between them with two quick steps. He raises both arms above his head, stone gauntlets interlocking together, and brings them down on the Suna nin's head.
The Suna proctor appears between them in an explosion of chakra smoke and catches the blow with a kunai. The force of it shoves her back, almost into the genin behind her, and then she jerks her arm to the side and throws the gauntlets away from her. She straightens up, looking down at Taro coldly.
"The match is over. Return to the stands."
Taro meets her gaze without flinching, flicking both arms and dislodging the gauntlets. They fall to the floor with twin thuds and he turns and walks towards the nearest staircase, stone boots chipping away from his feet with each step. The rest of the proctors drop down, picking up the other two genin while the Suna proctor takes gentle hold of the last genin standing and Body Flickers him away.
The Konoha proctor coughs. "Winner of match seven, between Team 13 of Iwa and Team 4 of Suna- Team 13."
The Iwa genin in the stadium roar their approval, and I look over at Sasuke. "… Did that really just happen?"
"Every single jutsu," He mutters in turn, Sharingan fixed on the Iwa nin climbing the steps.
I shake my head. "I really, really hope I don't go up against that guy in the finals." Sakura nods in silent agreement, but Sasuke and Team 9 just watch the Iwa nin as he rejoins his sensei and is surrounded by his fellow shinobi, and it isn't fear shining in their eyes.
It takes a long while for the cheers for Iwa's underdog victory to die down, and by the time they do the proctors have all returned from the infirmary. When the noise has fallen to excited chattering and scattered shouts, the samurai raises his hand for silence. When it comes about a minute later, he pulls the slip for the next match.
"Match eight," he says. "Team 2 of Kusa, consisting of Yone Rosanjin and Hori Seitaro. Versus..." He pulls out the second slip, gaze flicking over it.
"Team 11 of Kumo, consisting of Omoi, Karui, and Samui."