Naruto: An Alternative Story
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters, or Auron. Kishimoto owns Naruto, and Square Enix owns Auron. Well at least I own this fan fiction... that won't pay the bills... DAMMIT I WANT TO OWN NARUTO AND AURON!
ARTIST STILL WANTED
Well people sorry this chapter took so long, between school, wrestling, my other two stories, and now my overwhelming fear of clowns, and spiders (I'm reading Stephen King's 'It', don't make fun of me) I'm finding myself hard-pressed for free time to write this story. So please do bear with me.
Onto the reviews;
ZoneshifterD- Yeah I didn't like that too much either, but hey, it was either between that or "Hoo-wah!", and I thought that Al Pachino wouldn't appreciate me using his line so...
Leon Darksword- Don't worry I won't, oh and just to tell ya, I reconstructed that story into another one, so please try that one out.
Dragon Man 180- Well who do you think is going to take Sarutobi's place when he dies?
NARUXHINAFREAK- Thanks for the tips.
Deres- Thanks for the compliment.
windmaster324- No comment.
Well let us get rolling with the next chapter of Naruto: An Alternative Story!!!!
Chapter 25: Preliminary Matches?! Sasuke v.s.Yoroi, Haku v.s. ???
The tower had been the scene of many, rather interesting events over the past few days. First of one was the reopening of the Dojo on the base floor, a secret which not many of the younger generation knew about. Many ninja were allowed to train in there, whether they be Leaf, Sound, or Sand. Odd enough, very few fights broke out whenever the villages trained together in the cramped space. It was said that no one wanted to fight while in the presence of an Uchiha, and the weird sand-kid with the gourd.
The next event was the speedy recovery of Auron, the guardian of Naruto Uzumaki. So far in the history of Konoha, there has not been one singular ninja, who was able to recover from the effects of such a damaging seal so quickly. Many of the medic-nin said it had to be some kind of miracle for him to have gotten back on his feet only after a couple days, they said they expected him to be in the hospital wing for a week, at least. Auron was found later saying;
"When you've lived my life, miracles are a common occurence." Auron was quoted saying.
The next event was the strange amount of blackmail being built up on the ninjas staying in the tower. Many ninja's said that they had recieved threatening letters, telling them about how if they wouldn't do what was demanded that certain 'pictures' would be shown around. Needless to say, many of the ninja were forced to do tasks that were apparently less embarassing than what would be shown on the photos, one ninja even ran through the entire tower with only a pair of underwear on, while a kunoichi had to agree to pose for the author of Make-Out Paradise (When the news got to the author, it was said that he was jumping for joy).
All the while, the deadline for the Third Exam was closing in on everyone...
The Day Of The Exam
It was only a few minutes past dawn when all of the ninja in the tower were woken up for the Third Exam of the Chunin Exam. There were grummbles of 'Too early' and' if I ever have to wake up this early again I'll kill someone' and on plain and simple 'I'll kill you'. As the examinees went down the hall, Naruto and his team found the rest of the Rookies and quickly joined in with them. "So any rumors about what this next Exam is going to be?" Kiba asked as everyone just shrugged.
"Not sure, but whatever it is, its going to have to be able to weed out a lot more of these participants." Shikamaru said as everyone nodded in agreement with him.
Said participants were entering what appeared to be a arena type area. Upon entering Naruto Uzumaki froze upon seeing the area. 'What the...' Naruto thought as he looked at the area. The room looked almost exactly like it did in the dream Naruto had about a week ago, and the one before that one. It had the giant stone hands in the shape of the ram seal, the ledges with rails on their edges, seperating anyone who would stand behind them from the main area. Naruto stood there for several seconds, as the final image of his nightmare, the one of Hinata falling in front of some figure came to his mind.
"Naruto? Something wrong?" Naruto heard Haku ask as he turned around to face his teamate.
"No." Naruto lied, shaking his head. "Just kinda spaced out there for a second." He said as Haku shrugged and continued walking foward. Naruto took one last look around before continuing ahead. They all lined up in rows, each one of them with only three people in each row (except for Team 7, who had four). Naruto looked to see several Jonin, Chunin, Sarutobi, and even Auron standing in front of them. He also saw Ichiraku and Ayame up on the railed ledge thing, waving to them all. Anko then stepped foward, wearing a headset on her head, and a smirk on her face.
"I would like to say congratulations to all of you for passing the 2nd phase of the Chûnin exam." Anko said as small amounts of dicussion broke out amongst the Genin. Anko's thoughts began stirring as she counted the amount of the participants.
'Wow, 21 out of 78 passed. When I said I was going to cut those numbers in half, I was going for a single digit number...' Anko thought while the Genin continued on with their own conversations. But while the Genin were talking, Naruto could hear a conversation going on between Kakashi, and that Gai.. guy...
"Your students made it; didn't they, Kakashi. But, since my team's here, they will most likely be eliminated. Personal skill will be tested in the next test and your students probably made it by luck. Youth can be bittersweet and strict sometimes, eh Kakashi?" Gai said as Kakashi turned to him.
"Hmm, did you say something?" Kakashi said, either out of trying to annoy Gai on purpose, or out of actually not being able to hear him.
"CURSE YOU KAKASHI, CURSE YOU AND YOUR NEW AGE, HIP FLAMES OF YOUTH!!!!" Gai screamed as tears came rolling down his face as everyone in the room, minus Rock Lee, hell even Gaara, EVEN OROCHIMARU, sweat dropped at the display.
'That's a Konoha Jonin?' Many of the foreign-nin thought.
'Is that what my old home village has been reduced to...' Orochimaru thought.
'By God he's embarassing us all...' All of the Konoha-nin thought as they held their heads.
'Poor Gai-sensei! His youthful rival has once again used his 'hipness' to defeat him!!!" Rock Lee thought as flames suddenly appeared in his eyes.
Anko cleared her throat to get everyone's attention so that she could continue. "Now, we will hear an explanation of the next test from Lord Hokage! Everyone listen to his words carefully! lord Hokage, will you do the honors?"
Sarutobi stepped forward as he spoke to the genin. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate all of you for making it this far! Now, before I describe the 3rd exam, I would like to make something clear. Do not be confused when we say that this exam is to promote healthy relationships between the allied nations. There is a true purpose." Sarutobi looked around and saw the confused looks on all of the Genin's faces and decided to continue.
"The Chunin exams are a replacement for war between the allied nations. At first, the neighboring villages would constantly attack each other, creating a waste of military power. Then the nations decided to put a stop to that by determining a set place and time to fight one another. That is the beginning of the first Chunin exam." Sarutobi asked as Sakura raised her hand.
"Wait; does that mean that this exam is not for the purpose of promoting genin to chunin?" Sakura asked, confusion obvious on her face.
"Actually, the exam does give proof to whether or not a person is truly worthy of having the title "chunin". However, this is also a place where ninja fight people and carry on their village's dignity. In the third exam, feudal lords and famous people will be watching your battles and examining your strength. These people are potential clients that watch to see where the best country to send their requests to is. If there is a significant power difference, the strong country will be showered in requests. If a country is seen as weak, there will be a loss of jobs. At the same time, the villages have the opportunity to show how their country has grown in military status. If nothing else, the villages can put foreign pressure on each other." Sarutobi said as he took a drag on his pipe.
At this point, Kiba spoke up. "Why do we fight here if we could lose our lives!"
The Hokage took the pipe out of his mouth to answer that question. "The country's strength is the village's strength. The village's strength is based on the strength of each of the ninjas within it. Also, a ninja's true power comes from a life-or-death struggle. The ninjas before have participated in this exam to maintain the pride of your respective countries so you must as well to maintain your country's honor and to maintain your own dreams and ambitions!"
Tenten spoke up next with a question that was pulling on everyone's curiosity. "But, why do you say it is to maintain good relations with the allied countries?"
"I said to not be confused about that. Fighting in life-or-death battles and eliminating life to maintain balance is the very core of good relations in the shinobi world! Now, I can explain the 3rd exam." Sarutobi said as a Jonin suddenly appeared in front of Sarutobi.
"Lord Hokage; can I, Hayate Gekko, have the honor of explaining the next round?" Hayate said in a strained voice as he kneeled in front of Sarutobi.
"Please do, thank you Hayate." Sarutobi said as Hayate turned then turned to the crowd of genin and started to speak, freaking most of the Genin out with the bags under his eyes, and the paleness of his skin.
"Now, before we proceed to the 3rd phase of the exam, (cough) I (cough) need you guys to do something." Hayate started to have what appeared to be a coughing fit after he finished speaking. Nobody moved since they were all looking in confusion. He began to speak with coughs every so often. "Now, we need to hold a preliminary exam to see who will proceed to the main event." Hayate proclaimed as shouts of protest erupted from a few people in the crowd as some people just looked confused.
"That's not fair! What do you mean!" Ino suddenly shouted, using the tone of voice she normally saved for fan girl shouting.
Sakura spoke calmly from the back. "But, Hayate-sensei, I don't understand. Why is it that not everyone present is allowed to participate in the finals?"
"As Lord Hokage said, there will be feudal lords watching your actions in the final round. We may exceed our time limit if everyone present is allowed to participate. So, if you are not up to the task…" Hayate said as he began coughed violently a few times before going into a large coughing fit. Everyone though one thing.
'How the hell did this guy make it to Jonin? Are the Jonin Exams really THAT easy?' Everyone thought as Hayate's coughing subsided.
"Excuse me," Hayate continued, "Those who wish to quit after this explanation can step forward since we will be starting the preliminaries immediately. By the way, as of now, you are able to make your own individual decisions. Your team will not be affected by your departure." Hayate said as there were more shouts of protest coming from the Genin. Kabuto was about to raise his hand when all of a sudden he froze... he could feel a massive amount of killing intent focused on him.
He looked around for the source, and found himself looking into the eyes of the Sound Jonin, he immediately knew who it was and got the message that went along with the intent;
'Drop that hand.' Kabuto thought as he lowered his hand. 'But why Lord Orochimaru... why..." Kabuto thought as a few minutes passed Hayate looked around and then cleared his throat.
"Sense there appears to be no one quiting, let's see who will be the first two participants for the first Preliminary Round." Hayate said as he turned to face a section of the wall that was rising up to reveal a sceen, a screen with the participants being flashed through, like some kind of roulette. The names eventually slowed down, down to the point where it stopped all together. The names on the board were Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado. "Alright then, would anyone who is (cough) not one of the combatants please exit the arena immediately and go to the upper level viewing area." Hayate said, pointing to the ledge.
'Viewing area my ass, it doesn't even have any chairs...' Naruto thought as he walked up the stairs with everyone else, and waited for the battle to begin. He saw Kakashi saying something to Sasuke, he couldn't make it out to well, but it went along the lines of seal, your will, under control, and ANBU guard. Naruto watched Kakashi join the rest of them in the 'viewing area' and figured it had something to do with the curse mark, so he left it at that.
(REMEMBER THE SEAL IS ON SASUKE'S CURSE MARK, DO NOT FLAME ME FOR THIS FIGHT)
Sasuke and Yoroi were facing each other in the center of the arena. Sasuke was feeling very certain that he would beat this guy to a pulp, he had free use of his jutsu and Sharingan, he could get this guy out of here in a few minutes. But, though he was free to use whatever he needed, he still felt a little drained from the sealing a few days ago. He was going to HAVE to end this quick if he was going to capture his certain victory. He went into his stance, put a kunai into each hand, and activated his Sharingan.
Meanwhile Yoroi settled for a more basic fighting stance, but as he stood there his hands suddenly began to glow blue. Sasuke saw this and checked it out with his Sharingan, and as far as he could tell he was just focusing chakra into his hands. Seeing no problem they waited for Hayate's mark. "Let the first round of the Preliminary Matches begin!" Hayate said as Sasuke ran towards his opponent at break neck speed. He tried to slice into Yoroi's neck with the kunai in his right hand, which Yoroi dodged by leaning his head back. Sasuke then swung his left hand's kunai towards Yoroi's head, which Yoroi once again dodged by leaning farther back. Sasuke's swing that time had so much force in it that it caused his entire body to swing around.
Yoroi tried to take the opportunity to attack, but as Sasuke spun in place he brought his right foot up, and as he completed his spin he struck Yoroi square in the jaw with his heal. Yoroi was sent a few feet to Sasuke's right with that kick, and as he got to his feet he rubbed his lower jaw. He got back into his stance, and Sasuke got back into his. Sasuke began running towards Yoroi again, this time he went for a stabbing motion with his right kunai which Yoroi ducked under. Sasuke had him now, he went for the same stabbing motion with his left kunai.
But Yoroi, as far as he could tell underneath that cloth covering his lower face, smirked as he reached his right arm to grasp Sasuke's forearm. Sasuke watched with his Sharingan as he saw what could only be described as Yoroi... stealing his chakra, he felt his left arm slow down, he even watched it slow down to the point where Yoroi simply bent his entire body backwards to dodge the stab. And as Sasuke stood there, Yoroi brought his right leg straight up, kicking Sasuke up, and foward into the air.
Sasuke flipped in mid-air to see Yoroi throw two shuriken at him, which he deflected by tossing his kunai at them. Yoroi threw another pair of shuriken, which Sasuke dodged by flipping backwards in the air, and as Sasuke landed on the ground he went through several seals, and then brought his right hand to his mouth. "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he blew a medium-sized fireball at Yoroi, who jumped up to dodged it.
Sasuke began flashing through another set of seals as Yoroi threw three shuriken at him from his spot in the air. Sasuke finished his seals and brought his hand back up to his mouth. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted as he blew three plumes of fire towards the shuriken. As the flames and the shuriken collided, Yoroi's shuriken, as well as three others fell to the ground.
'He had his own shuriken in the flames?!' Yoroi thought as the flames were fast approaching. Yoroi quickly twisted his body around, able to dodge the flames to the point where they only slightly burnt the the hairs on his skin. Sasuke stood stunned while Yoroi plummeted towards him and flipped around to give Sasuke a solid punch to the face. Yoroi, as he landed, then sprinted towards Sasuke, jumping up into the air above Sasuke, and punching the Uchiha into the ground. He then put his glowing hands on Sasuke's head, causing the Sharingan to fade.
Sasuke began panicking, this guy was stealing his chakra, and there was barely anything he could do. He couldn't force the guy off of him, he was too strong. He couldn't use any jutsu, and on top of all that he couldn't call on his Sharingan. Sasuke looked around till he saw Rock Lee... then he got it. Sasuke planted his hands on the ground, and dragged his feet out from under Yoroi and then got himself into position (you know like when a person does a handstand and they bring their knees to their chest) and then sent both of his feet into Yoroi's lower jaw, sending him flying into the air. Sasuke got on all fours, leapt up into the air behind Yoroi, mimicing Lee's Dancing Leaf Shadow.
'But that's...' Naruto, Sakura, Haku and Gai began thinking.
"My move..." Rock Lee finished as he watched Sasuke 'float' behind Yoroi.
"From here on its original." Sasuke muttered into Yoroi's ear as he tries to send a kick into Yoroi's left side. The kick is easily block by Yoroi.
"Heh, nice try you amateur!" Yoroi said as Sasuke smirked.
"Amateur indeed." Kakashi muttered as Sasuke spun around, and sent a backhand to his opponents face (Once Again: WHERE'S MY MONEY HOE!?!?), along with a straight punch to the gut, sending Yoroi to the ground as Sasuke moved to finish.
"Its over!" Sasuke shouted as he sent a spinning kick and sent his left heel into Yoroi's gut as he impacted the ground. "Lion Combo!" Sasuke shouted as he pivoted of his left heel, sending him towards, well actually falling towards the ground on the right side of Yoroi. Sasuke stood up for a moment, breathing a bit heavily, as Hayate walked over to Yoroi, who had been knocked out cold.
Hayate stood and cleared his throat. "Yoroi Akado is not able to continue, the winner of the first match is Sasuke Uchiha!" Hayate shouted as an assortment of cheers came from the crowd, mostly from Sakura and Ino. Most of the guys just chose to sit there and watch as Sasuke stood up and made his way back to the upper level.
"Well done Sasuke." Kakashi said as he flipped a page in his book. Sasuke nodded and leaned up against the wall, Sakura running over to check on him, earning her a glare from Ino. On the other side of the arena, the Sound Jonin (COUGHOROCHIMARUCOUGH) looked on at the Uchiha and smiled. Hayate cleared his throat, getting attention from everyone again.
"Alright then, let's get on with the second round." Hayate said as the screen on the wall once again began to light up with the names of the Genin. As the roulette slowed down, and eventually stopped, it showed the names on it were Haku and... Kabuto Yakushi! "Alright then, would the two combatants please (cough)(cough) come down to the arena." Hayate said as Kabuto and Haku made their way to the arena, Haku recieving cheers from Ayame, Ichiraku, and Naruto on the way down.
Haku stood in front of Kabuto, both of them staring each other down. While up in the stands, one thought circulated between Naruto, Auron, and the rest of Team 7 for that matter. 'This won't take too long.' They all thought as they watched Haku pull out two senbon needles and put one in each hand, while Kabuto got down into a stance similar to Yoroi's, except without the glowing hands. They boh stood there, just waiting for the signal...
"And let the second round of the Preliminary Matches begin!" Hayate shouted as Haku shot towards Kabuto, who looked shocked at the incredible speed Haku was using to run at him. Though shocked he brought his left arm back, and prepared a punch for Haku's head. He let the punch loose, but Haku quickly ducked underneath it, and jammed a senbon into his left arm's elbow. Kabuto gasped as Haku ran underneath his arm and got behind him with speed that a Chunin, maybe even a Jonin, would envy. Haku thrust the other senbon into Kabuto's right shoulder, and then leapt away from Kabuto and pulled out another two senbon, as Kabuto's entire right arm went limp, and the elbow to hand part of his left went limp.
Everyone besides Team 7 looked on in wonder at Haku. All of them having their own thoughts about him.
'No way... I'm the Hokage's son and I...' Asuma began thinking as the cigarette fell out of his mouth. 'And I don't think I would be able to keep up with him for long.' Asuma thought while his three students had similar thoughts.
'Wow... he's faster than Sasuke...' Ino said as she looked at Ayame. 'Too bad he's taken...' Ino thought as she continued staring at Haku.
'He used those senbon needles to paralyze that Kabuto guy's arms by hitting the nerves and joints... genius...' Shikamaru thought as he continued looking at Kabuto trying to move his arms, but failing to do so.
'Those needles remind me of toothpicks... I'm hungry!' Choji thought as he rubbed his stomach.
'Man... that kid was fast...' Kurenai thought as she watched and began chuckling. 'If I had faced someone like him in the Jonin Exams... hell I might not even be a Jonin right now.' Kurenai thought as she looked upon the arena.
'He's faster than last time...' Kiba, Hinata, and Shino all thought at once.
'Ahhh. There's someone with burning flames of youth!' Gai thought as he began tearing.
'Such burning flames of youth! They almost surpass my own, I must train, I will start by...' Lee began thinking as flames entered his eyes.
'Woah, he's better with those things than I am that's for sure.' Tenten thought as she stared at the senbon.
'How could he have been so accurate without a Byakugan!?!' Neji thought as he used his Byakugan to see that the senbon had hit their marks perfectly.
'Haku... you're incredible...' Ayame thought as she watched her Haku stand.
'He's a good ninja afterall...' Ichiraku thought as he stared at the damage done by Haku to Kabuto.
'Such speed... if only he had a powerful bloodline, then I might've made him my next host instead of Sasuke.' Orochimaru thought as he stared at Haku.
'That's the same thing he did to me...' Temari thought as she subconsciously rubbed the places in her arm where the senbon were.
'Woah, definetly wouldn't want to get hit with those, it would keep my from using my puppet.' Kankuro thought as he shuddered.
'...' Gaara thought, just staring at Haku through bewildered eyes.
Kabuto stood up and faced Haku, who was merely standing looking at him. "If I were you I would quit now, while your still ahead." Haku said as he brought the senbon to a cross shape. Kabuto thought about it for a few minutes, considering the option of quiting, afterall without his arms, he was pretty much toast. So Kabuto sighed and tried to raise an arm up... to find that he couldn't... at all. So Kabuto sighed again and just looked at Hayate.
"I give up." Kabuto said as he began walking back to the balcony.
"Kabuto Yakushi has surrendered (cough) the winner of this match is Haku!" Hayate shouted as Haku sighed and put his senbon back into their place.
"Excuse me, Yakushi." Haku said getting Kabuto's attention. Haku walked over, and plucked the senbon from his shoulder and arm, causing him to give out a 'yelp' in pain. "And don't worry, you'll be able to feel them again in a couple hours." Haku said as he walked up to the balcony, and was congratulated by the entire team 7, well Sasuke just gave him a grunt, and Ayame hugged him, and Kakashi and Ichiraku just shook his hand.
Well the end to another chapter. REMEMBER TO REVIEW!!! ALSO PLEASE CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER STORIES!!!! JA NE!!!!