Chapter 46: Finals, part 2
Everyone in the crowd started to sweat at the chakra that Naruto was pouring out. Everyone who experienced that day was fearful of what was happening. Anko, Hiruzen and his teammates watched with worry, hoping that Naruto could keep it together. Even the Kazekage watched with some type of worry. Midoshi just watched Naruto as the red chakra he produced began to take shape and shroud him. He gained two ears and red chakra tail. His features were more pronounced and he had claws.
After some intense moments, Naruto took a few breaths to calm himself down. He looked at the chakra and flexed his hands. When he first used the shroud, which Jiraiya called the yōko no koromo (demon fox shroud), it hurt like hell and he was very injured after its use. Through determination and a little cooperation, he managed to use it with a little difficulty. He turned to Midoshi and went down on all fours.
In the Kage's box, Hiruzen looked at Naruto with a smile. The Kazekage turned his attention to his fellow Kage.
"So he's a jinchūriki? It also looks like he has some sort of control?" he said.
"Yes, through training and guts, he has found some sort of control. Now we will see just how good his control is." Hiruzen said. They turned back to the fight just as Naruto vanished from sight. Midoshi was surprised when Naruto appeared in her view. Naruto launched his attack and a loud explosion was created. From out of the dust, Midoshi appeared in the air.
'He's fast, really fast.' Midoshi thought.
"Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu! (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique)" Naruto shouted. Midoshi twisted to avoid the blade of wind. She landed on the ground only to see Naruto again. She quickly substituted with a log that was destroyed on impact. Naruto turned and fired another Kazekiri no Jutsu that Midoshi had to dodge. She quickly did some hand seals.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)" Midoshi shouted and spat out a bunch of fireballs at Naruto. Naruto was too fast and dodged every attack. He took to the air and unleashed a deafening roar. Midoshi raised her arms to block and felt her feet drive into the ground. She found herself in a small crater. She quickly ducked Naruto punch and launched a punch at Naruto. Naruto moved and caught Midoshi with a kick to the gut. Using the tail, he wrapped it around her wrist. She winced at the burning feeling she got but it hurt less than the explosion of the fist that connected with her body. He launched her in the air and hit her with a haymaker that sent her toward the wall. He did another set of hand seals.
"Katon: Karyū Endan! (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)" Naruto roared and fired a huge stream of fire. Midoshi was consumed by the flames as it crashed into the side of the stadium. Naruto poured on the heat and some of the wall was starting to melt. Naruto suddenly stopped and ducked a spear-hand from Midoshi. He lashed out with a kick that sent Midoshi back some. Naruto turned to see that Midoshi was covered in slime and breathing very hard. She quickly got some distance and made it to her sword. She began to vibrate the blade and started to attack. Naruto met her and the two were engaged in an intense fight. Naruto still could not predict the sword but it did not really matter. Midoshi saw this as well due to every cut being healed quickly. She broke away and thought about her options. The short break had everyone gather their thought about this fight.
It was just awe inspiring. The pariah was using the reason for the hate of the village and he was in control. Seeing that he had some type of control over the beast that caused such destruction, the crowd began to change their minds about Naruto. Midoshi was another one that they were worried about. They knew that the moves she used belonged to their greatest traitor, Orochimaru. They wondered if she would attack but it looks like that she was way into the fight. They could only watch as the fight continued.
Midoshi needed a way to deal with Naruto. Her chakra was dwindling due to the fact that she had to use the Hebishe Kawarimi no Jutsu (Snake Shedding Body-Replacement Technique). She needed to end this fight and she needed to do that now. Lucky for her the break gave her an idea on how to do that. She made a move that made Naruto launch himself at her. She quickly did some seals and slammed her hands on the ground.
"Doton: Retsudo Tenshō! (Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm)" Midoshi called out. The ground spiraled into itself and Naruto began to lose his footing. Midoshi quickly did another set of hand seals, making Naruto jump into the air. "Doton: Tobi Tsubute! (Earth Release: Flying Thrown Stones)" A large amount of stone created by the loose earth attacked Naruto. With another roar, Naruto destroyed the rocks and quickly launched his arm upward. Midoshi was very surprised as a chakra arm caught her. She cursed as she was now caught.
Naruto flung her into the ground with some speed and charged at her dazed form. He slammed his knees into Midoshi, making her spit up some bile. Naruto stood over the out cold Midoshi only to watch her dissolve into mud. Naruto suddenly went rigid. He looked down at his stomach to see a blade through it. He looked back to see Midoshi behind him. She pulled the blade out and Naruto dropped to the ground. The shroud had disappeared and Naruto was struggling to stand. The heavy breathing Midoshi just looked down at Naruto.
"That was intense huh?" she asked Naruto. Naruto grunted and got to his knees. This made Midoshi smirk a little. "A brave attempt Naruto but you will bleed out if you don't stop. You did well. You've excited me like none other. However, this victory is mine."
"I wouldn't… be… too sure… of that." Naruto said weakly.
"Oh? Why is that?" Midoshi said.
"Because, you allowed me to get that first punch. Fuin! (Seal)" Naruto exclaimed and Midoshi froze up. Marks began to appear all over her skin and Midoshi could not move.
"W-What is this?!" Midoshi exclaimed.
"If I activated that seal earlier, you would have easily broken it." Naruto said. He did a seal and summoned a clone. The clone helped Naruto up. Midoshi could see that the red chakra was around the wound that her sword pierced through. Naruto held out his hand and the clone began to work with the chakra that Naruto released. "From what Ero-Sennin told me, the guy that you work with would use a Kawarimi that was similar to a snake. From what I understand, it takes a lot of chakra to do. You shouldn't have used those last two jutsu because it dropped your chakra more."
"You've had a plan since the beginning?" Midoshi said.
"More like a contingency. Now," Naruto said holding a familiar jutsu that had the crowd gasping. "This is my victory. Rasengan! (Spiraling Sphere)" Naruto slammed the ball of swirling chakra right into Midoshi gut. The girl screamed as the ball grinded into her. She was sent flying in the air and crashed right under the crowd. She was on her feet and leaning in a man size crater. Naruto just kept watching and was shocked to see Midoshi take a step. She took another and another before falling flat on her face. Everyone watched and waited but Midoshi was no longer moving. The fight was finally over. Genma walked over to Naruto.
"The winner of the first match is Uzumaki Naruto." Genma said. There was a loud cheer that rang throughout the stadium. Naruto just looked on before dropping to his butt. He held his stomach, which had finally closed.
'Thanks fox, I owe you one.' Naruto said to the Kyūbi. The fox just scoffed at him. That's when Anko appeared next to her student and smirked.
"Hey sensei," Naruto said with a slur.
"How are you doing kid?" Anko asked.
"I'm just happy. I'm going to pass out now." Naruto said and passed out on the ground. Anko just smiled, proud of her student. She lifted him and placed him over her shoulder. She turned to see Midoshi's sensei holding Midoshi in her arms. The two stared at each other before Guren vanished with her. Anko made her way to the medical bay to get treatment for Naruto.
XXX
"Man, that pipsqueak had me worried there." Jakken said.
"Yeah, he took a gamble on that move. Midoshi had him dead to rights. But that should teach us that we should never underestimate Naruto." Yakumo said with a relieved sigh. Temari looked at her little brother who had a crazy smile on his face. She looked very worried and hoped that Gaara would keep it together. In the crowd, Kotetsu and Izumo were going over the match they just watched.
"Well, what do you think?" Izumo asked.
"That was a great match. I don't see how it can be topped." Kotetsu said.
"So do you think that Naruto deserves to be promoted?" Izumo asked.
"They both need to be promoted. Both showed amazing power, cleverness and the ability to think ahead. I think either one could lead a group of ninja into battle and come out well. Naruto has my vote for chūnin." Kotetsu said
"Mine too. Anko has a gem of a student." Izumo said. In the Kage's booth, the Kazekage turned to Hiruzen.
"You have been keeping secrets Hiruzen. Your jinchūriki is very strong and the fact that he could control such power without losing himself is impressive. You are still a crafty man." The Kazekage said.
"You praise me too much Kazekage. However, that was a very intense match. I'm very confident that my ninja will be promoted after this. What do you think?" Hiruzen asked.
"Very much so, he does deserve the promotion." The Kazekage said.
XXX
Guren laid Midoshi down and checked her over. She would be alright but she was really hurt. She figured that it would take her weeks to heal up. She heard about that last jutsu the blond used as it was the jutsu of the Yondaime Hokage. How did that brat learn it, she would never know. However, Midoshi would have a nasty burn on her stomach.
As Guren thought about her next move, something popped out of the ground. It was Mamushi and she did not look to be in good health.
"You look like her." Guren said.
"The fairy and that monkey double teamed me! Once I return home and heal, I'm going to hunt them down!" Mamushi hissed angrily. She then looked at Midoshi. "To think that she would be defeated, I'm glad to have seen it. I feel sorry for the blond thought. Father will not be happy to see her in this state." Mamushi wrapped Midoshi carefully before vanishing with her. Guren stood alone until she was joined by Kagerō.
"Where is the mistress?" she asked.
"She is being taken care of." Guren said without looking at her. She then faced her student. "Let's go and watch the next match."
XXX
Everyone was excited for this upcoming match. They were hoping that it was just as exciting as the last. On the field, which had to be fixed due to the major damage caused, Shino faced Sai. The pale boy smiled at Shino whose expression you could not see. Genma stood between the two and looked to see if either one of them were going to say anything. With no words said to each other, he started the match.
Sai moved fast and pulled out his tanto. Shino ducked the slash and got some distance. As he moved back, he released a swarm of kikaichū (Parasitic Destruction Insects) at Sai. The boy dodged the swarm and ran away as the swarm chased him. Shino unleashed another swarm to try and cut him off. Sai quickly vanished and appeared on the side of the stadium. He quickly took out his brush and paper. He drew a bird and channeled his chakra.
"Chōjū Giga. (Super Beast Imitating Drawing)" Sai said. A bird popped off the paper and Sai jumped on the bird. Sai looked down at Shino who had his swarm return. Sai did another Chōjū Giga and several lions charged at Shino from the air. Shino did some hand seals and called out his jutsu.
"Mushi Kame no Jutsu. (Insect Jar Technique)" Shino said. The kikaichū surrounded Shino as a shield. They were flying in a dome shape at high speed. As soon as the lions hit the dome, they were destroyed. Shino stopped the jutsu and faced his opponent. Sai told his hawk to go higher just as a swarm nearly caught him. Shino looked at the smiling Sai and kept his expression. This battle was just getting started.
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Authors' Notes: Here's a new chapter. I liked how the match ended between the two and things are just getting better. Shino's and Sai's match begins. I redid the last chapter because I did not like it. Anyway, enjoy this latest chapter.
