Disclaimer: I don't own nothing but my laptop which I use to write these chapters. Everything else belongs to other people.
"And now, we continue on with the second half of the first round." Kin announced. From the entranceway the next two shinobi appeared. First came the small figure of Konohamaru, his staff still attached to his back.
"Sarutobi Konohamaru of the Hidden Leaf versus Uzumaki Naruto of the Hidden Leaf."
But the last part of Kin's announcement had been lost in the sudden shouts of the crowd. Naruto had walked out and despite his new outfit, it seemed like the entire ninja world had recognized him
"IT'S TEMPEST!" a loud, male voice shouted the moment Naruto's blond hair was in clear sight. All over the arena other people started calling as well.
"TEMPEST! TEMPEST!" "HE'S BACK!"
The sudden outbreak of noise seemed to surprise even the cool-headed Kin, but she quickly regained her composure and raised her hands to beckon for silence. The crowd seemed to ignore her for the most part, continuing its loud welcome for the blond-haired ninja. Up in the crowds, all the visitors of the other villages were – to say the least – surprised by the welcome, but none more so then the group from Konoha.
Down in the arena, Konohamaru only looked up for a second before quickly drawing his eyes down to the ground again. Only when Naruto raised his own arms and waved them to signal for silence did the crowd fall silent and sat back in their seats. Kin immediately took advantage of the opportunity and addressed the two fighters.
"Shinobi; to your positions," She ordered. At once the two Leaf Ninja stood at attention, assuming fighting stances of their own and at least five meters removed from one another.
"Begin!"
As with all matches, Kin immediately poofed out of the arena, but before she had even made her seal, Konohamaru had already charged forward.
Much to the surprise of Jiraiya and Naruto, Konohamaru immediately began the fight far more aggressively then he normally would have. In a single fluid motion he had drawn his staff and made a vertical slash at Naruto's head. For his part, the blond only looked slightly surprised by the sudden aggression but easily sidestepped the staff.
As soon as the heavy tip of the staff touched the ground, Konohamaru used it as a pole to boost his jumping-height and easily flew over Naruto's rather slow counter-punch. While in the air, the young genin started spinning his weapon over his head and suddenly released the weights from either end of the staff, turning his weapon into a double ended meteor hammer. The heavy-weighted ends flew around Konohamaru, forming a protective barrier which would heavily damage anyone or anything caught inside it. Once again Naruto simply evaded it, jumping back until he was well clear of the danger-zone. At once Konohamaru used the chakra-strings from the staff to pull back the weights and assumed his stance again.
"Not bad Konohamaru, but what's gotten into you?" Naruto asked, still in his battle stance. "You look different from normal."
"What'd you think!?" the young Sarutobi barked back as he charged again. "My uncle is dead!" this time the opening-attack was horizontal, but Naruto bent backwards enough to let it pass harmlessly over him. Just as he got back up so he could counter-attack, Naruto saw that the heavy weight at the end of the staff was missing. A second later, the weight flew through the air where Naruto's head had been; the blond had barely ducked in time to keep the weight from violently meeting with his temple. From that position Naruto couldn't attack, so he did the next best thing; he pushed off, crashing his shoulder into his teammate and sending him flying back some distance.
"I know that, Konohamaru, but you have to try to control yourself." Naruto stated, getting back to his feet.
"Shut up!" Konohamaru yelled in very uncharacteristic rage. As he got up, Naruto was shocked by what he saw. Before now, when Konohamaru was attacking, his entire face had been formed into a mask of intense rage and concentration. Now it seemed like his bravado had been broken by the shoulder-push and now he suddenly looked confused and pained, obviously barely able to hold back tears. "I have to do this! I have to win, no matter what!"
"Why?"
"Because I'm a Sarutobi!" with that the junior genin charged forward, the weights of his staff already disconnected and flying towards Naruto. The blond suddenly dashed back at Konohamaru, easily running past the weights, and took hold of the weapon. With a single push, he had disarmed the boy and quickly sent him flying into a wall. Spinning the weapon around, Naruto slammed the two heavy-weighted ends of the staff into the wall in such a way that the staff now held its owner in place.
"Listen and listen well." Naruto said, standing across from Konohamaru and looking at him with disdain on his face. "It's cruel to say it like this, but your name isn't worth anything. It's no motivation for anything, not in this world."
"It is." Konohamaru weakly argued, struggling against the staff as it held him down. "I'm now the last Sarutobi… Grandpa… Uncle Asuma… even my parents… they're all dead. I have to make sure that… that our clan's name is honored."
"And how are you going to do that?" Naruto now asked, his voice perfectly calm to oppose Konohamaru's near frantic shouting. "Fight an opponent you can't defeat? Take on missions you can't complete? Avenge them? How?"
"I… I don't know…" suddenly Konohamaru dropped his head as sobs shook his body. Glittering diamonds fell from his face, but no-one in the crowds made a noise.
"I'll tell you. Live. Live your life, just like they did. Don't try to go further then you can. You are now the last of your clan, as you yourself said. Doesn't that mean that it falls to you to ensure that the clan is restored? That it is your duty; to ensure that those who come after you will know how to live their lives, following the example of those who came before."
"But… what about… those men… the ones who killed him…" Konohamaru's sobs grew stronger with each word.
"What about them? Do you want to go out, hunting them, killing them to avenge a fallen family member? Don't be a fool. What were the most important aspects of life to your grandfather, your uncle and even your parents? Wasn't it protecting those that you care about, guiding them and teaching others? Didn't they always show kindness and understanding to those around them? Then tell me; where amongst these things do you see a desire for revenge!? Did they ever ask you to avenge them, to restore the family honor after they had died in the line of their work? Well, did they!?"
"No…. no they… didn't." Konohamaru finally admitted. Naruto stepped closer and kneeled down in front of him, forcing Konohamaru to look him in the eyes.
"Then don't. The dead are dead. They don't ask for revenge, nor do they desire restoration of their honor. They're simply dead. So honor them if you want, mourn them when you need to and remember them always. But remember them… in here." Suddenly Naruto placed one hand on Konohamaru's forehead and the other over his heart.
"Remember them in your memories and your heart; but never in your fists. Remember them as they were; how they lived and died. But don't use their death as an excuse to seek your own death. Don't let the dead become your guides, or you will walk into the valley of the shadow of death before you even know it. From there it's only a short way to the land of the dead yourself."
Konohamaru's entire body went limb, as the boy looked down at the ground again. Naruto stood up and turned around, giving him some space. Kin re-appeared in the arena but before she could proclaim the match over, Naruto raised his hand to silence her.
"We're not done yet."
As Kin disappeared again, allowing the fight to continue, Konohamaru seemed to recover a bit as well. He raised his head, looking directly at Naruto as he took hold of his own staff again.
"Thank you, Naruto-nii-chan." With a grunt of effort, Konohamaru focused chakra into his arms and pushed, freeing his staff again. On the other side of the arena, Naruto smiled for a second, since Konohamaru had returned to himself, even calling him 'Nii-chan' once again.
This time, both ninja charged forward, meeting each other halfway through the arena. Konohamaru kept the staff in front of him, allowing him a lot of freedom with attack and defense, the weights already detached and ready to attack. On the other side of the arena, Naruto was leaning forward so far he could almost run on all fours.
Both weights shot forth at the same time as Konohamaru suddenly stopped his dash and jumped back, keeping his distance from Naruto and apparently choosing to fight him at a distance. It was a good tactic, because the young Sarutobi knew that close-range was and always would remain Naruto's best range, but even so it did not save him.
Adding a burst of speed before the weights hit him, Naruto had already caught up with Konohamaru just as the two weights passed through the area he had occupied a split second before. Naruto's left knocked the staff aside, making it easy for his right to strike the stunned and un-guarded Konohamaru straight in the Solar Plexus, temporarily paralyzing him and literally knocking the air out of him.
As Konohamaru fell to the ground, hardly able to move and desperately trying to get air back in his lungs, Naruto stood up and looked his teammate over. Kin re-appeared in the arena and this time she did stop the fight.
"Winner; Uzumaki Naruto of the Hidden Leaf!"
XxX
"Damn… he won that so easy it isn't even funny." Kiba complained as the crowd once again burst out into cheers. "That kid had no chance whatsoever. In the end he never even once touched Naruto."
"Yes, Naruto-kun has indeed improved admirably over these past years." Lee said, jumping up and down next to the dog user, following the rhythm of the 'Tempest' calls. "I can't wait to have a friendly sparring with him myself."
"I'm surprised as well…" Sakura softly said, sitting back in her seat. "Naruto's… really changed."
"What makes you say that?" Jiraiya asks, having been the only one who had really heard the whispers. The others were all far too excited by Naruto's fight, having not seen him in action for three years. The pink-haired kunoichi seemed happy enough with the distraction, because it allowed her to confide in the aged shinobi safely.
"Before Sasuke-kun left, Naruto had taken a real liking to him. They were always hanging out together one way or another. They had odd ways of showing it, but I think they where really good friends. Naruto had never said anything about Sasuke-kun's desire for revenge, nothing good or bad. But just now… he looked really angry and disappointed with Konohamaru-chan when he hinted at wanting revenge."
"Losing your best friend can do a lot to a person." Jiraiya softly said, also sitting down. "Sasuke betrayed Konoha, but more importantly, he also betrayed Naruto when his desire for revenge took over. When we were traveling, Naruto would think about it a lot. He was angry at Sasuke for doing it, but before long he realized something. He explained it to me as; 'it doesn't matter what someone does, but what matters is why they do it.' And because revenge had been Sasuke's motivation when he became a traitor, Naruto developed an intense dislike to people who act on revenge."
Up in the box of the kage's the six village leaders were once again thinking about what they had just seen.
"Hmm… It appears that he is wiser then I would have thought." The Raikage rubbed his small beard in deep thought, looking down on the arena as Naruto exited under loud applause. A group of medics rushed in and lifted the defeated Konohamaru up to carry him out. "He accepts his emotions, even his negative ones, but keeps them at bay when needed and does not let them control his actions; the mark of a true shinobi."
"I'm more surprised that he is the famous Tempest." The Tsuchikage said from his own seat. "I've heard the rumors for a long time now about a young man by the name of Tempest, but I had never known that he was in fact from the Hidden Leaf."
"Yes, he has been training and traveling under a different name for his own protection." Tsunade supplied, knowing there was no harm in it now that his second identity had been revealed. "But I had no idea he was so famous."
XxX
"Omoi of the Hidden Cloud versus Warupo Teken of the Hidden Rock. Begin!"
As with all matches, Kin disappeared from the stadium, leaving the two males to fight their battle in peace. Just like Suigetsu and Karui, this was to be a sword-match. Both shinobi had already drawn their sword and stood at the ready. Omoi stood in the same stance as his sister, holding the blade in front of him, but it was a mirror image of Karui's stance. While Karui had wielded her sword left-handed, Omoi held his in his right. Even the form of his sword was a mirror of Karui's, having only a guard on the right side of the blade and the left side of the blade itself held a multitude of small spikes and holes.
Opposite of the black-skinned Cloud nin stood the massive, brown-haired figure of Teken. He was at least a foot taller then Omoi and almost twice as broad at the shoulders. Unlike most swordfighters, he held his sword in a backhanded stance, hiding most of the blade behind his massive arms. His left hand was held in front, the metal bracer on it ready to deflect Omoi's sword if needed.
They stood like that for almost two minutes, simply staring at each other. After waiting that long though, Teken's patience seemed to run out. With a look of annoyance on his face he charged forward, his sword still hidden behind his body.
Omoi dashed to Teken's left, staying away from the sword that he couldn't see, and touched the larger man with the tip of his blade as he passed. Teken had simply deflected the blade with his bracer, negating any damage it might have done, and turned around to run after Omoi.
Without any time to form a seal for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, Omoi charged right back at his opponent, aiming the tip of his sword at Teken's heart. With surprising agility for someone his size; Teken leaned back to evade the stab and slashed his sword upward. Omoi could barely pull back his head in time to avoid decapitation. At once he spun around and slashed with his sword.
The backhanded blade easily stopped the strike, allowing Teken to shoulder-bash Omoi away. As soon as he had regained his footing, Omoi realized that Teken was the superior swordsmen and would no-doubt win in a straight fight.
Fortunately, Shinobi never had straight fights.
"Grow, Zaigou." He whispered. The blade didn't change, but Omoi could feel the effect taking place. Again he charged forward.
Teken raised a bracer to block the strike, but it was much slower then he had anticipated. And when it did reach him, the blade was almost twice as heavy as it had been before. The Rock ninja quickly jumped back to avoid having his arm cut off and it wasn't a second to late. As soon as Omoi's sword touched the ground it cracked and exploded outward, not able to bear the weight of the sword and the speed and power behind its arrival.
Omoi dashed forward, the sword now as light as a feather again, and reached Teken before he had a chance to prepare. Holding off the blade with his own, supported by the bracer on his left hand, but the sudden weight behind the sword still overpowered the large man. He was sent flying back some meters, and while he was recovering, Omoi had already started forming seals.
Before he had a chance to finish them, Teken had recovered and saw what the Cloud nin was up to. At once he threw his sword to the sky, forming seals of his own.
"Water Element: Hydrogen Spray!" Omoi yelled. At once a spray of thick water shot from his hands, covering the entire area around Teken.
"Earth Element: Earth Shore Return!" Teken yelled as he slammed his hands into the ground. A square block of earth rose up to act as a shield for him, stopping Omoi's spray from hitting him.
Back at his own position, Omoi stopped his technique when he saw the entire area was drenched and smiled. Removing the lollipop from his mouth, he twisted it around a couple of times before it suddenly burst into flames. The lollipop was not an actual lollipop, but a highly burnable substance that tasted very sweet and addicting but would already combust if it met even the slightest resistance.
He tossed the flaming lollipop towards the remains of his spraying technique and as soon as it had made contact, the liquid violently exploded. With a grin, Omoi turned around to leave the arena, confident that he had won; he suddenly heard something behind him.
He was just in time to see Teken's sword flying through the air toward him, barely evading the weapon from cleaving his head in two. Teken himself followed a second later, his clothes a bit burned but otherwise perfectly fine. His barrier had absorbed most of the explosion, keeping him relatively safe.
But since Omoi was still surprised, he couldn't do anything as Teken closed in on him and grabbed his head with one hand and slammed him into a wall. Pulling his sword out of the wall behind Omoi, Teken placed it at the black ninja's neck and grinned.
"I win."
"Winner, Warupo Teken of the Hidden Rock." Kin announced, making Teken release Omoi from the wall.
XxX
"Wow, another special sword." The Mizukage was nearly jumping in her seat as she saw Omoi sheath his sword and leave the arena, holding his head with his opposite hand. Obviously he had a headache after getting his head smashed into the wall. "And no doubt it's the sister-blade to the one that the girl used."
"Indeed it is…" the Raikage slowly said; taking a sip of a drink that one of his servants had brought him.
"I really must have a meeting with them at one point. One weapon is able to change its length, while the other can change its weight. Interesting… very interesting."
"Kukuku, you truly are like a small child, aren't you Sessha-san?" Orochimaru chuckled. "So very easily excited when presented with a new toy even if it isn't yours?"
"Oh really, I'm like a child?" The Mizukage replied, immediately switching to a deadly smile. "Then, Orochimaru-san, I'm sure that you have never experienced a child's rage, have you? A pissed off child is more deadly then any other's."
XxX
"Jugo of the Hidden Sound versus Yuko Narato of the Hidden Rock. Begin!"
As Kin disappeared from the arena neither fighter made a move. Jugo, despite being twice the size of his opponent, didn't make a single move. On the other side of the arena, standing in an academy-level stance, Narato was shaking in her boots as she looked at her opponent.
"Won't you please surrender?" Jugo's soft voice suddenly sounded, startling the blond girl. "I dislike harming other people, but I fear that I may lose control."
"I cannot do that." Narato said as she pulled out a handful of Shuriken. "I have made it this far with Rurii and Teken; I can't just give up after everything that we've been through."
With that, the small girl tossed the shuriken at Jugo's direction, but the large orange-haired man simply jumped to the side to perfectly evade all projectiles. Gathering up her courage, Narato chased after him, throwing more shuriken and kunai all the while. Jugo, despite his considerable bulk, easily kept his distance and evaded all the thrown weapons with perfect ease.
"Please, I'm begging you, surrender." Jugo said, his voice now sounding slightly strained. "I can not promise that you will survive if I start fighting back. So please, surrender while you're still unhurt."
Narato didn't listen to his words, instead throwing another kunai, this one with an explosive tag attached to it. Like all other projectiles, Jugo effortlessly evaded it, although the explosion that followed after it had hit the wall surprised him. Narato tried to take advantage of Jugo's confusion by closing in, but a sudden burst of killing intend from Jugo stopped her in her tracks.
Jugo dropped to his knees, clutching his head as if he was in pain. Narato quickly backed off, scared by the sudden bout of killing intend. She was still breathing heavily almost a minute later, when Jugo finally managed to calm down and stand up once again. He was also breathing heavily, sweat gathered on his face, dripping down into his clothes, turning his light-grey shirt a dark, wet grey.
"I'll ask you again, will you please surrender?" Jugo tried again.
"I can't." Narato said, reaching for another set of kunai and prepared to throw them.
"In that case, I'm sorry." Jugo crouched down before suddenly shooting forward before the girl was even able to throw her two kunai, Jugo was already upon her. He literally crashed himself into her, sending them both falling to the ground, where he quickly pinned her down.
"Now, surrender. You cannot escape from me, not like this. So please, surrender before I end up really hurting you."
Narato, for her part, looked surprised at her sudden capture but quickly accepted her fate.
"Very well; I give up." She finally said. As soon as the words left her mouth, Jugo stood up and took his distance from her, waiting for the examiner to appear and announce his victory.
Narato was already on her way to the exit of the arena, when Kin finally appeared and made the announcement.
"Winner, Jugo of the Hidden Sound."
XxX
"That was most un-gentleman-like." Lee complained as he saw Jugo get off Narato. "She was clearly an inexperienced combatant and he jumped her like that…"
"Yeah, he fought like a wimp. All he did was running and jumping. What a big wussy." Kiba added.
"I must disagree, Kiba." Shino said, standing next to his friend. "I am most impressed with his ability to win without showing his true ability in a fight. His next opponent will not know anything about his fighting ability. He has managed to keep it an even better secret then Naruto has."
"Not just that." Jiraiya said. "But unlike Naruto he actually won without hurting his opponent in any way. At worse she'll feel a bruise from where he tackled her. But that leaves us with a big problem: we don't know what he was so afraid of about himself. And if his next opponent can't draw it out, Naruto will have to face him while it's still a secret."
XxX
"And now we move on to the final match of the first round." Kin announced. From the entrance, the last two shinobi entered the scene.
"So wimp, ready to get your ass kicked?" Minu taunted as they neared the centre of the arena. "You're going to end up just like that red-haired bitch from your team."
"You goddamn bitch!" the green-haired Sand-ninja suddenly shouted, already losing his cool. "I swear I'll kill you! I'm going to make you pay for that, and once I'm done with you that other bitch from your team is going after you! You'll pay for what you did to Kinhara."
"Don't worry, you'll see your little bitch soon enough."
It took all of Manato's willpower not to attack her then and there, but if he would attack before the examiner allowed it, it would mean that he was disqualified from the exam.
However, Minu's train of thought was the exact opposite from what she was actually saying.
'I have to keep him angered.' She thought to herself. 'From what I've seen in our short skirmish in the caves, he's probably the most dangerous of his team. If I can keep him angered, his concentration will be low and I can easily defeat him.'
"Spira Minu of the Hidden Mist versus Potamaru Manato of the Hidden Sand. Begin!"
As soon as they had started the fight Manato shut up, his face a mask of intense concentration. Within an instant, there were two puffs of smoke as his weapons appeared.
The first puppet he had summoned was almost humanoid in its appearance, as it was draped over Manato's shoulders. It had a head, eyes, two arms and even two legs. Even so it was obviously mechanical in nature. It was one of the more mainstream puppets, the all-round offensive puppet Karasu.
The second puppet was significantly larger then either Karasu or Manato himself, standing well over seven feet tall. Unlike Karasu, who was designed to be extremely flexible and break apart and reassemble at a mere command, this puppet was much more massive, obviously intended for inflicting – and taking – heavy damage. This was the rather rare, but powerful bear-based doll: Ursine.
"Ah crap." Minu muttered to herself as she saw Manato instantly focus. Apparently he was disciplined enough to set aside his feelings as soon as it was needed. "Guess there goes that plan." With a single fluid motion she extended the blades from the battle glove on her right hand and moved into her battle stance.
Taking initiative, Manato attacked first, letting Karasu shoot a variety of projectiles as it dissembled itself. Needles, smoke bombs and even entire daggers were shot from various hidden caches over its body. The puppet itself broke apart, its limbs and even head growing daggers as they started flying around, easily defying gravity. Meanwhile, the large Ursine charged forward and smashed its fist straight at Minu.
The mist ninja had been scraped by the projectiles, paralyzing her in her tracks as the poison quickly took effect. Ursine's massive paw crashed right into her chest, instantly making Minu erupt in a burst of water.
Suddenly the ground behind Manato exploded as Minu shot up, slashing at the Sand ninja with her claw. Her claw easily moved through the body, not feeling any resistance of bone or muscle. Instead Manato's body was made completely of wood; it was a third puppet. And as soon as Minu's claws had pierced the body, the puppet's mouth shot open to reveal another needle-launcher.
As the needles shot forth, Minu was barely able to jump back and escape being skewered. Even so, she couldn't avoid all the needles; three needles graced her left shoulder, leaving a burning sensation that spread from the injury itself.
'He's using a poison, but it's not a very potent one.' She realized as she backed off. 'But where's the sneaky bastard hi-'
"Wow!" she yelled as she barely ducked underneath a sudden low-flying bird. It's wings where oddly shining as it flew in an a dive no real bird would ever perform.
"What the… a fourth puppet? And a flying one!" This was a new model, one that hadn't been in use for long and was hard to control, because it needed constant motion to stay in the air. This was the new puppet-model; the Taka.
But before Minu had any time to consider how to fight the hawk off; the other two puppets were on her again. Karasu's arms flew by, daggers nearly stabbing the Mist Kunoichi's head, shaking her awake just in time to see Ursine strike again. Again, Minu evaded the strike, but it was so powerful that the bear-shaped doll cracked the very ground it struck; giving Minu very limited maneuvering space.
She jumped aside, slipping under Ursine's large and slow arms, and quickly dashed away, desperately trying to get some breathing room. Before she could even move five paces, a thin, quick shadow shot forth from the area that Ursine just smashed. Within five paces it had caught up with the kunoichi and wrapped itself around her legs, tripping her.
Catching herself with her hands and pushing off the ground to evade another barrage of poison needles, courtesy of Karasu, Minu looked at her legs. A fifth puppet was wrapped around her ankles, keeping her from moving. This one was formed like a snake and obviously intended for light, high-speed movement and using the element of surprise. It was just about to sink it's fangs into her leg – obviously poisoned as well – but she was just in time to prevent it. Swinging her claw at the snake, she quickly cut it to shreds.
However, the time it had cost her to dismantle Hebi, the snake puppet, had forced her to drop her defense, which was a signal for the falcon-puppet Taka to resume its attack. It swooped down on her, only entering her vision at the last second. Instinctively, she raised her hands to block it, deflecting the bladed wings and again stopping a decapitation.
Minu cursed out loud, but hardly had time for more language. Ursine had caught up to her and prepared to smash her once again. But by now, Minu was completely cornered. Karasu was hovering behind Ursine, ready to barrage her with projectiles if she would try to escape to the sides. Taka was flying circles above them, preventing her from jumping out of the danger zone and she was pushed back into a wall.
Minu could barely bend to the side to evade the stomp, but the amount of rubble nearly send her off-balance and into Karasu's range-of-fire. But even so, she had managed to evade the first strike. She wildly swung her claw at the bear, hoping to create an opening, but the puppet had been solidly build; it took her blow without falling apart.
'I have to get out of here!' Minu desperately thought, looking all over for an escape route. In front of, hulking over her, Ursine readied for another swung, drawing back its paw completely. This was all the time she was going to get and she knew it. Improvising as best she could, Minu jumped off the wall behind her and flew straight at Taka. She caught the hawk before it could be pulled back and with a single swipe of her glove cut it into pieces, rendering it useless for the remaining fight. Landing on Ursine's back and pushing off, she managed to escape Karasu's suppressive fire of poisoned needles and looked over the field.
Suddenly she saw what she had been looking for all the fight; one of the trees had grown an additional branch, one that hadn't been there in the previous matches, and it she closed her eyes a bit she could almost see a very thin line connecting to the Manato-look-alike puppet that was still in the middle of the arena.
Ursine was on her tail, but the massive bear was too slow to catch up to the agile Taijutsu mistress. Karasu fired one barrage after another, but Minu kept moving sideways to evade the projectiles. In a matter of seconds she had closed in on the suspicious tree and slashed at it, just as the branch tried to move away. Manato was too slow in moving aside; Minu's claw cut him in the chest, piercing flesh and bone and lung as easily as it would cut through butter.
The green-haired ninja let out a gurgling scream of pain as the air left his lungs through new and unnatural holes. Already blood was propping up inside the lungs, preventing him from breathing. At the other end of the arena, the three dolls that where still intact fell to the ground, his control over them shattered.
Minu doubled over, desperately trying to catch her breath as she saw the real Manato fall to the ground and twitch in pain. Kin appeared next to her and immediately announced her as the winner, giving the mist kunoichi an excuse to leave the arena immediately and treat herself for the poison that was still running in her veins. She had used chakra to contain the spreading of the poison in her blood, but had been draining and only worked so much. Thankfully, it wasn't a lethal poison, but a paralyzing one.
XxX
"Five puppets?" the Tsuchikage exclaimed in surprise as the fight below was unfolding. "My, it has been quite some time since I heard of so many puppets being used efficiently by one person… I seem to recall that only about twelve people in the past two decades had been able to properly use more then four puppets at a time, is that not true, Kazekage-dono? And not only that, but he also managed to conceal his location rather well while controlling all those puppets."
"Indeed it is." Gaara answered; his eyes still on the fight as Manato now cornered his opponent skillfully. "However, Manato has proven himself to be a highly talented puppet-user, one of the best our village has seen in well over a decade. And to add to his natural talent, last year he had also been granted the rare honor of serving as an apprentice to our most skilled puppet-mistress, Lady Chiyo. He has been taught by her personally for four months, which have greatly increased his skill."
Gaara silenced himself as he watched the Mist kunoichi escape the situation by a combination of daring and good luck, and suddenly notice her opponent. She quickly closed in on him and attacked, critically injuring him.
"Unfortunately, it seems that his skill has not yet been improved enough." Gaara dryly said as Manato fell to the ground spouting blood.
"Well, it looks like the first round is over." The Mizukage said with a large grin on her face. "And all three of my shinobi passed it. I can't say I can complain."
Down in the arena, medics rushed in once again to attend to Manato, while Minu quickly left the scene.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will now take a half-hour break before moving on to the second round of the exam's battles." Kin announced.
And another chapter filled with smaller battles, hope you liked them. Next chapter we'll move on to the second round.
Thanks to my beta Kushin-eX for going over this chapter for me.
And as always, please leave a review telling me what you think.
Some answers to some questions:
Drk Kitsune asks if Naruto will be getting revenge for his mom:
No he won't go out looking for revenge. This chapter and the actual chapter in which the act was revealed serve to prove the point that Naruto is NOT out for revenge. And aside from that… he didn't even know his mom.
Ancestor's Dragon asks if Izayoi is based off of a character from another series:
No Izayoi is my completely original character.
ChristinaAngel asks if Kushina became pregnant from the rape:
No she did not. If you recheck it, you'll see that Jiyu stated that the war – and consequent rape – happened a little under 24 years ago. Naruto is 16. do the math and you'll discover that there were quite a few years between the event of the rape and Naruto's birth.