Alright, moving right along to the tournament. This is where shit starts to go down, guys!
Looking at the poll as it stands, Karin will probably be landing in Konoha after everything's done.
Stuff:
euroteres: Yep, I was trying to see what happens with Naruto in the driving seat. Considering he was basically going from 'holy shit, everyone's being really cool about the Kyuubi thing' to 'why the hell is no-one worried about the Kyuubi?', I figured his thoughts would be all over the place. Good to know that worked.
princessbinas: Deidara's currently working on Itachi's plan to undercut Akatsuki, looking for anyone else that they could bring in. I should really come up with a name for their group at some point. I've been leaning towards Aozora, the Blue Skies... does that work? Anyway, Team Seven will meet Deidara briefly in a few chapters' time, and he'll have a bigger role in Part II. That okay? We cool? Yeah, we cool.
MuffinMan9223: Not so much 'DODGE' as 'DON'T DIE WHILE I SLICE YOU' but other than that, pretty much.
...
Fight time!
...
"Ah, Hokage-sama, so good to see you again," greeted the masked figure of the Kazekage, signalling for his guards to move away as he took a seat beside the older man. "I heard you're nearing retirement age."
"Ha! Not yet, I'm afraid. These old bones still have a few years left in them," Hiruzen chuckled good-naturedly. "In any case, you're not here to commiserate with me about my age. You must be very proud of your children. For all three of them to reach the finals of their first chuunin exam, it is a great accomplishment."
"Well, I can hardly claim all the credit. They have most assuredly earned their place here," the Kazekage deflected, glancing down as the genin assembled in the centre of the arena. "Although I hear a rookie team from your own village managed to make it through, as well. The Uchiha clan head, I had expected, but the other two were... surprising."
"Ah, Team Seven. Yes, they have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few months. They're a very close-knit team, especially the two boys. Almost like brothers, actually."
"I see... that's something I wouldn't have expected; the prodigy and so-called 'dead last' of their class bonding like that."
Hiruzen frowned slightly. Those class reports and standings were supposed to be kept within Konoha, to keep their genin's capabilities under wraps. Although, it wasn't explicitly a secret, and the civilians who had children in the programme would be inclined to discuss progress... it could be a coincidence.
"It has been known to happen on occasion." he replied, a little more tersely than he normally would.
Below them, the newest generation of shinobi were readying themselves for battle as Hayate officially announced the first match.
"Uzumaki Naruto and Aburame Shino, wait for my signal to begin. The rest of you, please make your way to the stands until it is time for your battle.
OoOoO
"Sakura-chan! How wonderful to see you again! Are you as excited for our upcoming battle as I?" Lee beamed, his teeth sparkling.
"Hello, Lee-kun. Honestly, I'm kind of nervous-"
"Sakura, you're more than ready. If you survived... that for a full month, I'll expect to meet you in the finals." Sasuke interjected, glancing suspiciously at Lee, who simply gave a second blinding smile.
"Thanks for that, Sasuke-kun," Sakura sighed as her teammate rubbed at his eyes. "So, kenjutsu? Any particular reason?"
"My mother was a master of the Uchiha sword styles. Plus, it gives me that much more room when I'm fighting close-quarters."
"True, true... how do you think he'll do it?" she asked abruptly, gesturing towards their last teammate, who was stood at the ready.
"... Explosions." Sasuke eventually decided, paling.
"...Well, Konoha was a nice place while it lasted." Sakura groaned, completely missing the looks they were getting from the other assembled genin.
It was sad how quickly they'd gotten used to being considered crazy.
OoOoO
"Match One! Aburame Shino and Uzumaki Naruto! Hajime!" Hayate cried, leaping out of the way as Naruto sent a squad of clones to test the waters.
"Your clone techniques will not work against me, Naruto-san," Shino stated, waving a hand and firing a cloud of insects from under his sleeves. "Not when I can destabilise them with my allies."
"True, but they can't drain my chakra fast enough to incapacitate me. Should we skip this part and go straight to the fun stuff?" Naruto replied, pulling out a smoke bomb and vanishing in the cover it provided. Shino stood wary, his kikaichu forming a ring around him as he sent a few to scout the area.
"Your stealth is impressive, but I would not refer to it as 'fun'." he muttered, not really expecting an answer, but eager to keep the Uzumaki distracted. He well remembered the blond's propensity for ruining plans when they were in the academy.
"I dunno, it's got its merits," came the instant response, as a pair of kunai came flying out of the trees that stood at one side of the arena. "Lets me get a head start on things." Naruto commented, as both kunai exploded, creating a wall of fire that advanced on his opponent.
Who promptly burst apart into a cloud of insects, flying up and out of range of the flames. "Do you require a head start in order to fight? I would be very disappointed if that were the case."
OoOoO
Kiba's jaw dropped as he listened in to the conversation, barely audible even to his enhanced sense. "Sweet Kami, Shino's making jokes. I think we need to get out of here." he whispered to Hinata, sat beside him.
"Seriously, Kiba? I get that you're trying to be funny, it's just that you're failing at it." Ino groused, leaning forwards and gesturing forChouji to do the same.
"Ha. Ha," Kiba retorted, before lowering his voice. "I'm being serious. Shino only makes jokes when he's nervous. It's almost like a signal. Maybe it's just 'cause of the tournament, but..." he trailed off, glancing at his female teammate.
"Kiba-kun has a point... we should be careful, just in case." Hinata advised distractedly, scanning the area with her Byakugan. While the arena seemed clear, there were several strange... things hovering at the very edge of her range. She passed the information along to the other rookies and a curious Tenten, all of whom started preparing for the worst.
Of course, if they'd figured it out, surely the rest of the village had.
OoOoO
"So you can evade my long-range techniques, and I can power through yours," Naruto grinned. "Let's give them a real show!" he whooped, ducking under the cloud of insects as he charged into melee range. While neither of them were specialists by any stretch, the exchange of blows was impressive; Naruto's raw power against Shino's methodical proficiency.
"It would seem we are quite well matched in taijutsu, Naruto-san. However, there is still one aspect of the shinobi arts in which you are lacking," Shino muttered as his presence seemed to vanish. "And it is one I have been studying recently." Naruto pouted, drawing a kunai from his pouch.
"I really hate genjutsu," he groaned, slicing his palm open. The sting left him gritting his teeth, which he turned into a wide grin as he saw Shino reappear, one hand held over his head. "But I know how to break through it."
"That strategy will not be viable in the long term, Naruto-san. Mushidama." Shino intoned, sending a huge sphere of insects to try and overwhelm the blond as he began a second illusion.
"Owowow- Log damn it! Fuuton: Daitoppa!" Naruto snarled, blasting the insects away with a barrage of wind and dust from the ground and pricking himself with the kunai again. "Yeah, yeah, Sakura-chan's been through it all with me already. Repeated breaking of genjutsu through application of pain causes gradual accumulation of pain within the so-called 'base' for the genjutsu and as such becomes less effective. I get it."
OoOoO
Sasuke glanced at his kunoichi teammate. "Did you tell him that? And he understood it. Something bad is going to happen, we should be careful."
Kankuro and Temari stared at the duo, who sudddenly looked paranoid. Konoha was a strange, strange place.
OoOoO
"If you're just going to keep reapplying the same genjutsu over and over, this will be a really boring match," Naruto groused, noting that the slashes in his arm were closing up as quickly as ever. "And that'll cut both of our chances down." he continued, muttering the last part under his breath.
"I no longer need to stall your attack, Naruto-san. Hiden: Kora Kago-te!" Shino announced, his insects molding theselves around his forearms to form chitinous gauntlets. He flexed his new weapons slightly, adjusting to the weight, before clenching his fists as mantis-like blades formed at his wrists. "I trust you will no longer be 'bored'?"
"That. Is. Awesome," his opponent breathed, before turning serious. "I guess it's time I showed you one of my new tricks." he smirked, pulling a scroll from his pocket and unrolling it to reveal a strange repeating pattern. He called up a squad of clones to hold off the Aburame's attack as he wrapped the scroll around his right arm, one end covering his knuckles as he made a fist.
"Fuin: Gokakyu no Jutsu! he called, the symbol covering his fingers glowing brightly before launching a fireball at the surprised Shino, who was forced to sacrifice part of his hive to evade the blast.
OoOoO
"What," Sasuke began, brows furrowed in confusion. "When did he- you can't just- What?"
"I think he made a seal to copy your clan's technique," Sakura replied. "Iruka-sensei did say fuinjutsu was the most versatile shinobi art."
"No, that I got. How did he know it would work? His tags work maybe half the time!" Sasuke pointed out, exasperated. "If this keeps up, he'll try and convince Iruka-sensei to let him use them in training. With us."
Sakura gulped before composing herself. "Iruka-sensei wouldn't do that. He likes us."
"Kakashi-sensei might."
"Oh, we are so screwed it's not even funny."
OoOoO
"You... learned Katon ninjutsu?" Shino ventured, as a second and third fireball narrowly missed him. "I did not expect this." he managed to say before being forced to discard his now-charred left gauntlet as the fourth came just a little too close to dodge.
"Yeah, I'm awesome," Naruto grinned, pulling the scroll around to show yet another of his seals. "But it's not really Katon. I just sealed the fireballs away in a single-use redirection seal. Uses, like five or six times as much chakra as the real deal, but that's not too much of an issue for me."
"I see... then it seems our fight will be ending soon."
Naruto's grin morphed into a confident smirk, even as he panted slightly. "If that's how you feel, then let's give them a grand finale!"
Shino nodded seriously, any kikaichu not forming the weapon on his right arm swarming around his legs and slowly raising him into the air. Naruto drew a kunai from his pouch and both genin charged forwards, intending to deal a finishing blow.
Shino's form fell apart into bugs as Naruto struck, reappearing behind the blond as his cloaking genjutsu faded. "You should surrender now, Naruto-san. You are a great fighter, but you should not have pressed your assault at the end."
"Heh. I should have guessed you'd try something like this." Naruto laughed, before bursting into smoke.
"A bunshi-" Shino began, before being caught off guard as a dropped tag exploded, Naruto erupting from the ground nearby, hacking up globs of dirt.
"Yeah, you're not the only one who can pull that trick," Naruto coughed, dust flying out of his mouth. "Pity I didn't have a cool illusion to hide with, though..."
Shino groaned softly, unable to properly form a response with his head still ringing. Hayate nodded, using a quick Shunshin to appear next to Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto is the winner and wlll advance to round two!" The announcement was met with polite applause and several cheers from a very specific section of the seats.
"Here you go, Shino, let me give you a hand," Naruto grunted, hoisting the taller genin's arm over his shoulders as they headed towards the medics to one side of the arena. "That was a good match. Thanks for not using the biting bugs genjutsu."
"Well, there are some abilities... unsuitable... for use on allies." the Aburame rasped. Though his injuries were mostly superficial, he'd been blindsided by the last explosion. It seemed he would need to step up his training in future.
OoOoO
"A very interesting fight. I notice the Uzumaki boy seemed to have a number of seals available to him. He wouldn't happen to be a full-blooded Uzumaki, would he?" the Kazekage mused aloud, adjusting his mask slightly.
"We don't actually know," Sarutobi hedged, suspiciously. "But I hardly think that's relevant to this competition, now, is it?"
"Of course not, Hokage-sama. Just idle curiosity on my part. And even if we were enemies at one point, I don't think anyone from Suna expected the Uzumaki to fall. So many lives lost in one battle... such a tragedy," the Kazekage placated his couterpart, eyes growing distant as he spoke. "But enough dwelling on the past. I believe it is one of your Hyuuga clan to fight next. I look forward to seeing what he is capable of."
OoOoO
"That... wasn't as bad as I thought," Sasuke admitted, leaning back in his seat as he watched the next two competitors make their way down. "The arena's still intact, even."
"Oh, would you two just shut up!" Kankuro snapped. "We all know you're trying to psyche out the competition. It's really pissing me of-"
"Kankuro. Stop embarassing yourself or I'll kill you." the youngest of the Suna trio stated, as easily as discussing the weather. "The more they praise one another, the sweeter it becomes when they give their blood."
Sakura couldn't suppress the shudder at his pronouncement. This kid... could Naruto have turned out like this? A remorseless killing machine?
Hayate, stood in the centre of the arena, looked somewhat confused as he read the 'urgent' message he'd been handed. He shook it off and began the announcement for the second match. "Match Two! Hyuuga Neji and... Uzumaki Karin!"
Sasuke choked. "Wait, what?"
"Hajime!"
...
And I'mma leave it there for now.
Anyway, to everyone who's reviewed, faved or followed this story: you guys are awesome. Even if some of you... scare me sometimes. But that's okay! Helps me get my shit together and write. Sometimes. Occasionally. Point is, I think you guys are awesome, and I hope that I can keep to a standard that you can appreciate.
Anyway, see you next time!