Chains of the Maelstrom
Chunin Exam Finals: The First Round
Konohagakure no Sato; 26 November 1998; 09:00
The chill in the air, on this late Autumn morning, was in stark contrast to the bright sun that shined down on the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The mid-morning streets of Leaf Village were already a bustle of activity, Chunin Exams were always considered a major boon to the hosting village's economy. Every village wanted to showcase, not only their strength to the foreign delegates, but their prestige, as well. Intermixed with the ordinary throng of Konoha citizens were nobles from every land in the Elemental Nations. The majority were from Hi no kuni, to be sure, but quite a few were from the other nations of the world.
This was going to be a more prestigious Chunin Exams, than many knew, because at the main gate, two royal garrisons were vying for entrance. The entourage of Shirou, Honō no ōji, fourth in line for the throne of Hi no kuni, at age eighteen, had come to observe his cousin, Naruto and his chosen bride, Yugao, to judge and see if they would be able to officially join the royal family in Keishi-Toshi. The Family of Fire were unlike many royal families, they actually valued family over power, they did not believe they were anything, more or less, human and to become a member of the family, you had to earn it. Yes, you were born into it, but no position was given to you based solely on that, first you had to want it and only if you met the qualifications for said position, would you even be considered, the royal family was a meritocracy, not an entitlement. The tenets of the Will of Fire, demanded it, and while Naruto had long since become an accepted member of the royal household, the same cannot be said for his intended bride.
Shirou had blood-red hair, which he kept in a warrior's top-knot, and violet-eyes, encircled by a pair of black-framed spectacles. He rode into the Leaf on a spirited cavalry mount, wearing an O-katana and wakizashi on his left hip. He wore what would appear to be typical, samurai battle-armor, but it was more than that, because like the rest of his nation, he had been reaping the benefits of being one of the two nations, in which Haru would trade its military technology with, in exchange for farming advice to learn how to manage its, suddenly abundant fertile land. It was typical battle-armor, sans helmet, it looked quite a bit like Doto's armor, but had maybe, double its durability and protection, and to insure that the same end that Doto incurred, would not become of its own wearer, there were quick release straps to enable the wearer to escape from drowning. It was painted in the colors of the royal family, scarlet and ivory, with the symbols (火災, Roaring Flame,) over the left breastplate.
Shirou, being the Prince of the Roaring Flame, was allowed to enter Konoha first, but coming in right behind him, was an equally large force, from the far north. Their young, in terms of time in office, Daimyo, and a woman to boot had come to the Leaf to cheer her friends on in the Exams, she would also be one of those that would decide the other Chunin-shorais' destinies, deciding whether they would become Chunin, or not. Her name is Kazahana Koyuki, the new Daimyo of Spring Country, she was putting in her first public appearance since taking office over five months ago. She felt, what better way to make herself known, than to attend the Chunin Exams of the same village, that aided her in returning to power and reawakening her love for her people and nation. Plus, she had heard that her friend, Naruto would be competing, and wanted to help him get his promotion, in any way she could.
The two royals entered Konoha and made their way down the main road toward the Hokage Mansion. They reached a courtyard directly in front that could have held triple their number and came to a halt beside each other. There were a total of thirty-two, and each retinue did their best to represent their rulers with honor and decorum.
They were not in the courtyard more than a few seconds, when they found the Hokage herself, descending a staircase with a small smile. Her robes were straight and pristine, her hat was casting just the right amount of shadow to shield her eyes and give tangible reason about why she is called, the Shadow of Fire. "Welcome, your Majesties," Mikoto stated in greeting as she bowed low, before continuing, "what an unforeseen blessing, to what do we owe for the unexpected boon of your presence?"
"Ah, Mikoto-kun," Shirou returned the Hokage's greeting, with a bow and a smile of delight, "father has dispatched me to adjudge my cousin's bride, to see if she has what it takes to become a royal wife."
"Oh, well," the Uchiha matriarch retorted, "won't this be a surprise for him, she and your cousin returned from his monthly training only three days ago. He was training away from the village, on his homeland, and you wouldn't believe whom he brought back with him," she said with a broad grin, which showed how happy she truly was, but there was something about the eyes that bespoke that all was not well with her. Then she turned to the young woman, waiting politely to be addressed, "your presence is even more of a surprise, Your Majesty, but not in the least unwelcome," Mikoto addressed Koyuki, then politely asked, "what has brought you all the way here from the far north?"
Yukie Fujikaze, the actress smiled as she was addressed, "I felt it was time for me to make my debut on the Continental Political stage and felt that the Chunin Exam Finals, would allow me to do that," the Daimyo of Haru no kuni answered. "Plus, I learned that Naruto, and another Genin that allowed me to gain the throne, would be competing, and wanted to add my weight to help him get promoted," Koyuki allowed a blush to decorate her face, "I wanted him to always know that regardless of what his own village thought of him, he would always have a friend in high places."
Mikoto's smile toward the Daimyo was surely as powerful as one of her own Katonjutsu, because it was definitely as bright as one of Maito Gai's smiles of Youth. "Thank you, so much for that, and I'm sure that Naruto will feel just as grateful as me," Mikoto replied, "the first reason is the mark of a truly gifted and intelligent woman, and we are more than happy to facilitate your first reason for being here. Naruto, however, is no longer in need of your help," at both royal's confused looks, Mikoto elaborated, "I'm pleased to inform both his cousin," she nod pointed to Shirou, then Koyuki, "and his friend that Naruto, Hinata, and another Genin kunoichi, by the name, Sakura no Konoha, have already been granted field promotions to Chunin, as of last month."
Shirou's eyes widened in surprise before he realized, "his team were the ones that captured, the Snake Sanin," he concluded, and it was not a question.
Koyuki's eyes widened, she may not have been a ninja, but even she has heard of the Legendary Three Sanin: Jiraiya the Gama-seijin, Tsunade the Slug Princess, and the outlaw, Orochimaru. Mikoto just nodded, then beckoned for them to follow her, "Please, both of you, there is much to discuss, if you will but follow me to my office, I may inform both of you of a significant turn of events, one for which my prince, you will be both elated, and inflamed. You may even decide to depart once you know that your Aunt is still alive," and so both of the monarchs followed the Shadow deeper into darkness. Neither of them chose to leave, they even decided to lend their forces in defense of the Leaf, for the prince it was a matter of family honor and the Will of Fire, for the little Snow Angel, it was for her friend's well-being.
Hidden Leaf Coliseum: 12:00; noon
All of the Genin who would be competing in the Finals were there, all of them had something to prove. Whether it was to test themselves in these Exams and see how strong they have become, or to prove to someone else that they were worthy of them, it did not matter, for this is the place where legends are born, or die without ever being heard again. Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Rock, Gaara, Karin, Yugito, Temari, all stood abreast and faced the executive box, wherein sat four people: Uchiha Mikoto, Godaime Hokage no Konohagakure no Sato, Sabaku no Rasa, Yondaime Kazekage no Sunagakure no Sato, Goon-en Shirou, Ojo no Hi no kuni, and Kazahana Koyuki, Daimyo no Haru no kuni, they would be the arbiters of all Genin taking the field of battle today.
The month of training had changed all of them, and only the clothes they wore gave any indication of what that change could be. Sabaku no Temari's garments were only slightly changed, to a long-sleeved purple blouse under a grey top, a dark blue skirt, and a longer sash arranged in a bow. Her ever present battle fan, was the only thing to remain the same, so it seemed she only tried perfecting her already existing skills, not learn new ones. Let us hope they would be enough to get her through this. Nii Yugito's outward appearance had not changed at all, and neither had Uzumaki Karin's, Gaara's appearance of the foreign ninja, had changed the most, into a long-sleeved, crimson over-coat and full-length, dark trousers, with mesh armour peeking out over his wrists and ankles.
It was with the Konoha ninja, that one could see the most drastic changes in wardrobe. Rock Lee had decided to let go of at least some of his sensei's teachings and begin thinking for himself. He would always be grateful to Gai-sensei for making him a genius of hard work, but Lee realized that he did not have to follow all of Gai's instructions, and thus he changed from his spandex wardrobe, with orange leg and wrist-warmers, to a forest-green, camouflage jacket, with the sleeves rolled-up to the elbow. His trousers were ANBU-style, and he wore a cargo belt, with canvas trainers on his feet, he did continue to wear his weights, but now they were visible for all to see. Many wonder how he could even move with them.
Sakura has also changed her attire, which consists of a red top with the same design as her qipao top, over which she wore her Chunin flak-jacket, to show that this fight was now mostly a formality. Sakura has finally relinquished her bulky gauntlets, revealing that the dark-gray, mesh armor, covered her entire arm, and low-heel, knee-high boots, black shorts underneath a short pink apron skirt, and red elbow protectors with an elbow spike. The cloth of her forehead protector has changed to red and she is still wearing a medical pouch. Hinata Hyuga now wears an electric-blue jacket with rolled-up sleeves and with Hyuga Clan crest on the back, her Chunin flak-jacket could be seen, over a pale-blue, midriff-baring, pullover top, dark blue trousers with blue-flames, surrounding the cuffs, black boots and knee protectors. Her hair has lengthened to her lower back and the framing strands reached shoulder-length, but to prevent it from becoming a hindrance, she has tied it into a Kumo-braid, and of course, the mask she earned as a bonus for her mission to Spring. The course of their training has given both kunoichi, toned and shapely bodies, which left most of the men and not a few women with nosebleeds.
Naruto, however, has the most drastic changes in his ninja seifuku. He still retained a longcoat, but this one was as black as the inside of a coffin, parts of it appeared to be iridescent and seemed to billow in an unfelt breeze and had a sinister feel to it. Under that, he wore a Chunin flak-jacket, with what appeared to be the skull of a fox on the front, which seemed to oscillate between a golden-sunrise, or crimson-sunset, but the eyes of the fox were the most disturbing. They were glowing red and appeared to use the same optical illusion, as his sensei's own trench coat, they drew the observer in and kept you there, they seemed to know when they were being watched. Beneath that was an ebony and ivory, snake-scale, patterned suit, that was one piece, covering Naruto from neck to toe, even his hands were covered by the material of the suit, with a belted pair of ANBU-style trousers reaching down to his ankles, the belt looked like a piece of chain, but the buckle was a metallic fox skull, with green, glowing eyes. He wore a pair of lace up combat boots on his feet. The only visible weaponry was the hilt of a sword, peeking up over his right shoulder, it appeared to be an ordinary sword, except the threading on the hilt seemed to be a lattice pattern of black and white. The rest of the blade, seemed to disappear under the coat, so nobody had a clue as to what type of blade it was. The biggest difference was that Naruto's head and face were completely uncovered, no hat, no sunglasses, which was something nobody had ever seen in him, when he was on a mission for the village. His expression was quite neutral, he was not showing any emotion, neither anticipation nor trepidation, he was just ready, of course he did not have to worry about his promotion either.
Suddenly, a swath of leaves came swirling into the Arena, and when they departed, Gekkō Hayate stood in the wake, his short, brown hair, dark-colored eyes, and clear, handsome face. He looked around and smiled at the Genin, and addressed them, "welcome, Chunin hopefuls, and already Chunin, to the Chunin Selection Exam Finals," he said to them, "for those of you who don't know, these Finals will have you pitted against each other in a fight to the Death. As these Exams are a substitute for war, you may eliminate your opponents as you deem fit," he informed them, "I will not step in at any time, so if you feel that you are about to lose, you had best forfeit the match before the death blow falls, that will be your only mercy. Last month, you proved to be strong enough to earn a chance to be here," he said, while looking down the row of Chunin hopefuls, "as of this moment, whether you receive a Chunin vest or not, you are now deemed responsible enough to take your own lives into your own hands. I am only here to start the matches, and declare winners," he told them, "the rest is up to you!"
Hayate gave them a few seconds to mull that over, before he went on with his duties, "Now, the order for these Exams has not changed, so Naruto Namikaze and Yugito Nii, you will stay here. The rest of you, will go into the designated seating area set aside for you," Hayate ordered, then turned to the Chunin of the Leaf and Genin of Cloud, as the other contestants complied with his wishes. "Nii, Namikaze," he asked, as they took their positions, "are you ready?"
"Hai," came the reply of the Jinchuriki of the Nibi.
"I am ready," came Naruto's calm voice.
Gekkō looked between them, with his hand between the two fighters, "HAJIME!"
The Fox vs The Cat
Naruto and Yugito stood staring at each other as soon as Hayate's hand dropped, they were utterly quiet, and seemed to be evaluating each other. For those with sharp eyes or a dojutsu, something weird was happening, they could see Naruto's Adam's apple, vibrating like it would if he were speaking. Yugito, however, was the first to make a sound, "we know at least some of each other's capabilities, Naruto-san," she said, while rubbing her belly, and only some in the audience understood what she was talking about as she continued, "and since those capabilities could destroy your village, I propose we fight, without using said abilities. What do you say," Yugito asked in a seductive voice?
Naruto seemed to give the matter some thought, as he stayed quiet for a few moments, "a ninja should never handicap themselves for a foe. They need to use any and all means available to achieve victory," as she opened her mouth to argue, Naruto held up a hand for silence, "however, I propose that should either of us be forced to use our shared powers, then that person shall concede victory, and forfeit the fight. We are trying to showcase our own power here, not the power of others," he qualified, then returned her question to her, "what do you say?"
"I say," she began casually, before launching at Naruto to deliver a blistering barrage of punches and kicks, which Naruto, though caught by surprise, was able to block and dodge, Yugito had an exhilarated smile crossing her face, and she quipped, "I accept your terms."
Yugito lunged in with a clawed strike at Naruto's abdomen, Naruto pivoted on the balls of his feet, while sweeping his hand out to grab her wrist. Instead of stopping her motion, Naruto pulled on her arms to force her a step further than she intended, he delivered a devastating, palm strike to her right flank, while keeping her wrist firmly in his grasp. Before Naruto could capitalize on the strike however, Yugito, adding the energy of Naruto's hit to her own power, vaulted over Naruto's head landing behind him. She lashed out with her suddenly elongated claws to the back of his head, Naruto's blood flew in spurts to fall on the ground.
Naruto suddenly stomped his foot on the ground, and yelled, "Ishimori (Stone Lance)," and out of the ground, a forest of spikes shot up, and the Kumo kunoichi just barely back-flipped out of the way. Naruto smirked, and shun-shinned directly behind Yugito, he was in the middle of an uppercut, which added the kinetic force of his dash, to his already powerful punch, at the last instant before impact a chain came out engulfing his fist, it looked like a boxing glove. The power of the punch as it impacted her face, could be heard all the way up in the executive box, Yugito felt her jaw almost disintegrate, and those in the audience with better than average hearing, like the Inuzuka, and the Aburame could hear the sound of bone breakage. When you are hit in the face with the hardest substance known to exist, with a lot of power behind it, you're definitely going to feel it in the morning.
It showed tremendous fortitude, however and impressed quite a few of the judges, when Yugito, despite the massive trauma she had to endure, stood back up from her place on the ground. Naruto's blow had sent her almost back to their starting positions, she was staggering and could barely do it, but she was on her feet. There was blood streaming out of both sides of her mouth, she tried to breathe through the pain, and clear it from her mind.
Naruto had stayed in the position he had hit her from, waiting for her to recover, that was as far as his sense of chivalry would allow him to go. He stood in his fighting stance ready to finish this, his sense of chivalry had been exhausted, but not his sense of mercy, so, "it seems you are unable to speak, Nii-san, so it would be impossible for you to ask for a forfeit, during the heat of battle, so I will give you this one chance to do it now. That is the only mercy I can afford to grant you, if we go further in this battle you may not be given the chance again," Naruto informed her, then asked, "do you still wish to proceed, or will you forfeit, I don't wish to kill a friend?"
Yugito just stood there seemingly lost in thought, she was still swaying from the hit she took, then she looked up at the stands. She looked toward the executive box, there was not one single citizen of Kumo here in Konoha, nobody had come to watch her fight, and only through her Kage would she even get her promotion. Sure, she could fight on and show her mettle, but if even her own Kage did not care enough about her to show up and add his word to her evaluation, she could never be promoted, not here. If that is the case, if her loyalty as a Jinchuriki meant nothing to even her own people, then why should she fight for them. It was then that she remembered an old custom that has not been invoked since the first Chunin Exams but was still in effect. The Hokage had said that the Chunins were an organized champion's challenge, and they were a substitute for war, well there was once a way for the loser of the challenge or a war, to mitigate their losses and save face. The one that lost, if they still lived could offer themselves to the winner as a vassal, which was still a thing today, half the Hyuga clan were vassals to the main branch, it allowed the Hyuga to maintain strong bloodlines, without the risk of inbreeding.
Yugito reached up behind her hair, Naruto was immediately on his guard for an attack, but the Kumo kunoichi, untied the knot and let her forehead protector fall to the ground. It settled with the symbol for Kumo facing up…
Executive Box
"This is an interesting development," Mikoto stated in wonder, "I've never heard of this happening in a Chunin Exam."
"Is it allowed," Shirou asked his friend, "I mean I've heard of it happening on a battlefield, but this is a competition not war."
"Ah, but it is a war, Your Highness," the Kazekage corrected, "the Chunin Exams are intended to display the strength of the nation, and what better way to display one's strength than for your enemy to submit themselves to you."
The only one not understanding what was going on was Koyuki, "Forgive me, my Lords and Lady, but I do not understand what is going on," she wore a puzzled expression, but tried to guess at what was happening, "it appears as if she is going to surrender to Naruto."
They all nodded in approval of the young Daimyo's shrewd observation, but it was the Hokage that confirmed Koyuki's guess, "very good, Your Majesty, that is exactly what she is about to do, lets watch."
Arena Floor
… Yugito took a step, which seemed to place her foot right on top of the Kumo headband, and her steps carried her forward, deliberately placing her back toward the symbol of her loyalty to her village, her former village. Yugito marched with dignity until she was directly in front of Naruto, then she knelt in seiza, still maintaining eye contact with the teenager. The twenty-year-old woman, bent at the waist and placed her head on the ground, before the thirteen-year-old boy.
Naruto stared at the kneeling woman, he was not stupid, he knew what she was doing, and it was up to him if he wished to accept her. There were three responses available to him, he could accept this woman's supplication to him, he could reject it, or he could kill her, she was purposefully placing her life in his hands. He immediately rejected the killing option, he was not a murderer, true he has killed almost five-score people, but each of those killings, accept maybe Gato was a result of a fair fight, if he could have done it differently without killing, he would have. He decided to accept her, but he would do it in a way that showed her he is strong. He deliberately walked around her like he was inspecting her, which he was, but it was all for show, he goosed her ass before kneeling to her side, consciously running his hand along the side of her flank, in a very familiar but not intimate gesture. Yugao would kill me if I touched another woman like that, what he was doing was saving Yugito some honor. If he had just accepted her supplication immediately, she would be seen as having very little value, and that he did not take her seriously. By appearing to give the matter some serious thought and going so far as to inspect her in such a familiar way, he was returning to her some of the respect she lost when she submitted to Naruto.
Naruto reached her head, and firmly but not aggressively grabbed her Kumo braid, and yanked her head up to look him in the face. "I suppose I can accept you as my vassal, Yugito, but there are conditions, first: you will change your surname from Nii to Uzumaki, whatever you brought with you to Konoha is now mine to command," he quickly glanced at her belly with emphasis, she tried to nod but he was still gripping her hair rather tightly. "Secondly, and more importantly, your body, your mind, and your heart, belong to you and you may share them as you see fit, as well as the consequences that accrue from your actions, however, your life, your labor, and your loyalty are mine to command, as I see fit. Those are my terms of Lordship, do you accept," he snarled as his gripped tightened even harder on her braid, before releasing her from his grasp? The minute he released her, she not only nodded to him, but bent low and kissed his feet, she could not talk, but the gratitude shined as brightly as the sun.
He could have, as was his right, as her Lord, made her his concubine, where she would not only have to share his bed, but she could not speak unless he allowed it, he could also have forced her to bare his children, to help fill the ranks of the Uzumaki. But he did not do that, what his stipulations meant for her service was that she was his vassal in name only, she never cared one wit about her surname, since she is an orphan, and changing her name was not a problem at all. She still retained her ninja license, and could continue to be a kunoichi, even if now, she only served him and the Uzumaki clan, not a whole village. He even laid claim to Matatabi, as an Uzumaki possession, this way, Kumo could not claim that she stole Kumo property, and because these stipulations were made in front of a hundred witnesses including two Kage, the Prince of the Roaring Flame, and the Daimyo of Spring, it's as binding as any contract placed on paper.
Naruto had enough of her fawning, "okay, vassal Uzumaki, that's enough, and as the match is over," he reminded her, as he looked at the proctor who nodded, "we must vacate the Arena for the next match. Go find the medical ninja and sit in the stands," he ordered his new vassal, while he turned to go back to the stands, "you'll find Yugao up there, sit with her and follow her commands as you would mine, she's your master now too."
Gekkō appeared in the center of the ring with his hand raised, "though it is mostly a formality, the winner by supplication, is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," he announced! Yugito stood up and tottered through the exit toward the medical suite. In spite of the massive trauma to her jaw she was not worried, even in Kumogakure, injuries like these were considered minor issues, and they were considered the worst among the Five Great Nations in medical acumen. Konoha, however, since Tsunade took charge of the training for not just medical ninja, but the staff of the hospitals as well, has been said to be just short of Kami-sama, in terms of being able to heal the injured.
Meanwhile, Naruto made it to the contestant's booth and looked at his clansperson, she was just staring at him with an approving smile on her face. "Thank you, my clansman," she stated as she came up to him, and kissed him on the cheek, "for being a decent human-being, and not turning her into a concubine, as would be your right. Thank you, for showing me that at least the members of my clan, are decent people and not animals like almost every person I've ever met. I swear to Kami-sama, that I had almost given up on finding a decent mortal left in this wretched world," Karin said to him, "I was almost ready to wipe the board clean and start over."
Naruto smiled thinly, "Don't use me as an example of what a decent person should be, Karin-itoko-chan, I am far from perfect in my decency. There are people in this world that I have come to loathe with every fiber of my being, and if I had been facing them, instead of Yugito, I would've done my best to turn them into a bloody smear on the arena floor. They would never have received my offer of mercy, I'm just not one to take my anger and hatred out on others, I leave it squarely where it belongs with the individuals that have incurred my wrath," Naruto concluded his statement with a low growl, before turning away from his cousin and walking to stand with his back to the wall.
Rocking the Wind
Hayate's voice echoed in the stands again, "will Rock Lee and Temari no Sabaku, please come down," he bellowed.
Rock and Temari looked at each other from the opposite side of the contestant's box, Temari turned and jumped down and landed in the center of the arena. Rock, going against character, turned and patiently walked down the staircase, he was deliberately taking his time. Naruto and Sakura were looking at him from where they stood, this was an entirely different person from the one they met before today. Interesting, they said together, it seemed like his month of training has changed him, he did not seem as hasty, or as energetic as he had been when they met him over a month ago.
They looked at him, then at his opponent, who was impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed. When he finally reached the middle of the arena, he had a bored expression on his face, which seemed to irritate her even more, "it's about time you got your ass down here. What were you doing, watching the paint dry, or counting the hairs on your bushy eyebrows?"
Rock actually looked up, as if by doing so, he could actually see his eyebrows to count them, "nah, I just didn't see any reason to rush, the match will start in its own due time."
Executive Box
Mikoto and Shirou smirked as they both realized two things, Rock Lee had learned the art of patience, and seemed to have learned how to beat his opponent, before the first fist even flies. He had assessed his opponent's attitude and realized, that she was the impatient type, and did not like to be kept waiting, so he decided to take his time getting to the ring, then dismissed her concerns as unimportant. He even seemed to take her taunts in stride, without rising to the bait.
They heard the Kazekage sigh, and looked over at him as he shook his head in disappointment, but it was Koyuki who decided to speak to him, "is it difficult to pass judgement on your own daughter, Kazekage-dono?"
Rasa turned to look upon her in his own fatherly tone, "it is," he admitted, "it is difficult to have to divorce my feelings and judge her objectively. So, I will judge her strictly from a technical standpoint, and leave the character assessment aspect to fall upon my esteemed colleagues," he answered her. "That being said, patience has been one of the few things that I have tried and failed to instill into my two older children," Rasa admitted, then in a subdued voice added, "patience and humility."
Arena Floor
Temari heard the laughter coming from the stands as her insult, was so neatly deflected by this weirdo. If there was one thing Temari hated, it was to be humiliated and this freak of nature had done so within seconds of meeting him. Her eyes took on a hard glare, "proctor-san, please begin the match," she requested without taking her eyes off of this fool. It was high time this asshole was put in his place!
Gekkō cast his eyes from Temari to Rock, he was in a lazy stance with his thumbs hooked into his belt, he appeared to be totally unconcerned about his opponent, but it was his eyes that told the story. His eye never left the girl, most would assume he was just ogling her, but he was not looking at her figure or her boobs, his eyes were on her feet. Rock was watching her footwork, which any seasoned, taijutsu warrior used to fighting against dojutsu, would use to anticipate his opponent's movements.
Hayate pointed to Rock, "Are you ready," and he just shrugged, then at Temari, "how 'bout you," Gekkō asked?
"Hell yeah, let's do this," she stated in a growl, as she prepared to move, and Rock, brought his hands out and into a relaxed formation, his body was loose, but solid, and he was side-on to his opponent.
"HAJIME," the proctor shouted, while slashing his hand down the middle, and jumping back.
As soon as the proctor's hand dropped, the Sand princess jumped high in the air, back flipping while removing the fan from her back. She opened the fan, until the first moon was visible and was already winding it up for her attack. She swung her fan out, unleashing a storm of wind techniques, which when they made contact with her opponent, covered him in a deluge of gusty wind equal to the force of a hurricane. It left rents in the ground, like a giant had taken an axe and started chopping at the dirt for some reason. Temari finally ended her attack, letting her wind die down, but when the dust finally settled there was not a trace of her opponent anywhere to be seen.
Temari's eyes bulged as what she thought of as a quick victory, turned into a deception, which surprised her, she did not think her opponent was smart enough to deceive her. She suddenly heard a crumbling beneath her and looked down, just in time to watch as a weighted fist erupted from the ground and caught her in the chin. She recovered almost immediately, just in time for her to deflect another punch, which she instinctively blocked, but in her haste, she forgot that part of her fan was open. The result was the crippling of a quarter of her wind capabilities, which was moot because she needed distance to use her fan, and bushy brow was pressing her ferociously.
Rock dropped low, and swept her leg out from under her, which caused her to start to fall backwards, when the true purpose of his attack became known. The momentum of his sweep allowed him to rise to his feet while she was in the process of falling, and his foot came out and kicked the fan out of her grasp. The fan went high into the air, and Rock dashed to it and managed to get there right as it came down into his grasp. He was about to bring it down over his shin to break, when he heard, "wait stop, I forfeit," came the frantic cry from his opponent.
He looked over at her as he blinked rapidly, "you would really forfeit just to prevent me from breaking your fan," he asked, "surely you have other skills that could help you continue to fight."
"I do, but that fan is precious to me, it belonged to my mother," she told him, "I keep it and her family's wind-style techniques alive when I fight, so please don't destroy it."
Rock brought his hand down and looked at the fan, "proctor, do you recognize the forfeit," and Gekkō nodded, then Lee turned to the Suna kunoichi, "very well, just remember that were we truly enemies, I would have captured you and broken the fan just to break your spirit." Temari nodded as she clutched the fan to her chest like a mother would her child, and Rock just shook his head, to give up being Chunin, simply to protect a single instrument, in his opinion, she did not yet have the maturity to become Chunin.
Executive Box
Rock's opinion about Temari's maturity, was pretty much the majority opinion held by the executive committee, even her own father shook his head in disappointment. "If she were still a child and not an adult, I would ground her for that," Rasa growled, "but I think it is time to remind my elder children that they are ninja, under the command of the Kazekage. I cannot believe she would forfeit her chance to become Chunin simply to protect an instrument," he said in a quiet voice, then spat, "disgraceful," through gritted teeth.
The others in the Box could not bring themselves to disagree, with the father of the Suna princess, even Koyuki, who did not know very much about combat, could look at it from a client's perspective. If Sandayu had gone to Suna instead of Konoha, and this was the caliber of ninja that was sent, then I would not have attained the throne, and would most likely be dead. I wouldn't have put it past my uncle to kill me, just to prevent any children I may have, from trying to take the throne.
Their opinion of Rock was very different, he had shown to be able to grasp the underlying psychology of his opponent, it was not his battle skills that had defeated Temari. He had done that before ever setting foot on the battlefield, that was the mark of a cunning tactician. "Rock Lee-san's next opponent will be Naruto, correct," Shirou asked to Mikoto's nod? Shirou grunted, "if my sources are correct, Lee-san's chakra coils are deformed, which means he cannot use more chakra than it would take to perform even C-ranked ninjutsu, or the so-called, Academy Three, I wonder how he'll do against overwhelming odds, like Naruto."
"It should definitely test his resolve, I've had to fight against those kinds of odds myself," Mikoto agreed, "those are the battles that really let you know what you're made of."
Arena Floor
Rock and Temari vacated the arena, almost immediately upon the conclusion of their battle, Rock came up to the contestant's box and came face to face with Naruto and Sakura. Naruto had a predatory grin on his face, "before I'll even consider letting you date my adopted sister," he stated, as he placed his arm around Sakura's shoulders, "you're going to have to get passed me, I know she can protect herself," he admitted while giving Sakura's shoulder a squeeze, "but the person she ends up with should be able to back her up in anything."
Sakura looked at Naruto, and lightly elbowed him in the ribs, "why does he need your approval for anything, Naruto-baka, I'm the one he'll be dating?"
"Because, I want to make sure you're okay if something happens to me," Naruto said to her gently, "I can't bear the thought of you being alone, and I want to make sure that someone will have your back when I'm gone."
Sakura looks at Naruto then leans in to kiss his cheek, "I love you too, you dumbass, and nothing's going to happen to you," then she turns to Rock and smiles, "regardless of what my baka ani, says, you better not be late for our date tomorrow, I won't accept any excuse short of being dead." Her peace said, Sakura turns and walks down the stairs, her hips had a little bit of sway to them, as she descended from view and walked out into the arena.
Beautiful Flowers with Thorns
"HAJIME," the proctor yelled!
Sakura and Hinata became well-nigh streaks of light, as they charged each other with a ferocity that if one did not know them, would make the spectator believe they hated each other. Hinata opened up with a jumping switch-kick, that became a rising back-kick aimed at Sakura's sternum. Sakura caught the foot, and twisted the ankle, before bringing her elbow down to the side of the knee, the spike on her elbow puncturing Hinata's knee. Hinata, instead of crying out in pain, dissolved into plum blossoms and blew away in the wind, she reformed several yards away just completing a series of hand-signs. Her chakra coalesced into her hand, in the form of a sphere, which she was just bringing back to throw, "Katonjutsu: Hinotama," she stated in her most serene voice. She let the Fireball fly straight for her best-friend, and when it hit there was an explosion equal to a ton of TNT. The dust cloud could be seen from the other side of the village, and when it cleared there was nothing left of Sakura.
The spectators thought she had been obliterated, there were gasps, and lamentations, only those who knew Sakura well, remaining quiet. It'll take more than a little firecracker to take out my girlfriend, Rock said in his mind. Hinata was not fooled for a minute, she activated her dojutsu, "Byakugan," and she cast around for her best-friend. Hinata knew Sakura was very intelligent, which was her most dangerous asset, dokujutsu be damned. Hinata and the rest of the crowd began to hear a faint, whistling sound, which seemed to be getting louder, and the Hyuga looked up, just in time to get a set of metallic claws raking down her face. Sakura, while she had gotten rid of the gauntlet housing her claw blades, the armor that Naruto made for her over a month ago, had claws on the end of her fingers, they were made of the same material as Naruto's chains, he had shaped them that way, before detaching them and had woven the rest of her armor around them. They are retractable, which allows her to grip other weapons, and use her fingers for surgery. She had combined them with her burgeoning skill in fuinjutsu, to make them even more versatile, if she activated one set of seals or another, she could either deliver different medicines for her patients, or deliver some of her deadliest, fast-acting poisons to her enemies.
Right now, as she narrowly missed taking half of her friend's eye-sight, and only managing to open up her cheek, Sakura's claws were pure. Hinata hissed in pain, but only had enough time to acknowledge her pain, when Sakura brought a reverse roundhouse around to catch the Hyuga heiress on the chin. The kick lifted the blue-haired kunoichi off her feet, spinning her through the air like a corkscrew, sending her half the distance to the other side of the arena. Sakura looked at her best-friend with a smile of admiration, then she began to chuckle, "Hinata-chan, I think we've played make believe long enough, I think it's time we get serious, don't you?"
Hinata's disembodied voice filled the stadium, surprising almost all of the spectators, "as a matter of fact, Sakura-chan, I most surely agree with you." Sakura gathered chakra in her hand and let it burst out, this resulted in Hinata's area-effect genjutsu coming to an abrupt end. Hinata was in a stance that had rarely been seen outside of the Hyuga compound, those who had seen it's devastating power, gasped in awe, "you are within the scope of my wrath, Sakura-chan," as Hinata's hands formed into claws of their own, these were suddenly engulfed in a white-hot flame, "Gentle Fist Style: Wrath of Heaven," she screamed!
Hinata's arms were no longer visible, and several people had to look away, those that continued to watch, did so in awe. Hinata, unleashed Hell upon Sakura, as she began to pummel her rosette-haired best-friend, unleashing the fire at Sakura, who performed a cross-block just before impact. Sakura's entire body was engulfed in flames that were as bright as the sun, the heat was intense enough that the people all the way up in the Executive Box could feel it. Suddenly, there was an explosion that made the Fireball from earlier, look like a firecracker, but there was no flame, just a billowing cloud of steam. The blast was enough to throw Hinata the rest of the way across the arena, right into the wall behind her, the impact was so hard it made the wall crack, in several places. The wind was knocked out of her as she tumbled to the ground on all-fours, she looked at where her friend had been.
All that was left at the epicenter was a bank of steam, and she realized what that meant. That was not her friend, it had been a water clone, so when Hinata's jutsu hit the clone it had flashed into steam, and compacting that much water into a specific shape put pressure on it, then when you add heat into the mix, all of that pressure is released at once, resulting in an explosion that would level a city block. Did Sakura mean for that to happen, Hinata began to doubt herself, or was it, just a happy accident? Hinata knew Sakura, quite well, and it was entirely possible, given her intelligence, for Sakura to have planned for that contingency. It doesn't matter, planned or unplanned, I shall never give up the fight, Sakura-chan will have to make me, this is for Sasuke-koi, and hopefully, it will impress my future mother-in-law.
The nearby rivulet running through the arena, began to slosh within its banks, until a wave rose up out of the body of water. It curved through the air, coming down atop the still wafting steam, and like a glass of water – sans glass – it began to rise from that spot, until it reached a certain level and fell to the ground. Sakura stood there looking as dry and fresh as she had at the beginning of the battle, it dawned on Hinata that she had been fighting a water-clone of her best-friend, this whole time. "Are you okay, Hinata-chan," Sakura asked, and though she was smiling in a self-satisfied demeanor, the Hyuga heiress could tell that her concern was genuine, "steam explosions can be worse than normal ones, and steam injuries can leave nasty scars, that only a doctor as skilled as Tsunade-sama can heal?"
Hinata took a long hard look at herself, and realized that she was a lot worse, than she had initially thought. She realized that even though she has quite a bit of chakra left, she needed to conserve it as much as she could, for what was coming later. Hinata dropped her head, I'm sorry, Sasuke-koi, I've gone as far as I could, then realizing that she was falling into the pit of pride, jerked her head-up, Sasuke-koi wouldn't want me to kill myself in this match, I've already become a Chunin, and right now I need to worry about my duty to the village, and Naruto-kun and his family. Hinata stood up, and with the full dignity of the Hyuga heiress, yelled, "Proctor, I, Hinata no Hyuga, hereby forthwith and immediately, forfeit this battle!"
Hayate pointed to Sakura and said, "winner by forfeit, Sakura no Konoha!"
Executive Box
Rasa was truly impressed with both kunoichi, "Good show, Hokage-tono, I dare say both of the young lady's would have deserved Chunin vests, if they didn't already have them."
"I agree, Mikoto-kun," Shirou was grinning in approval, "they both have excellent chakra control, and showed true genius when it came to strategy, and when their strategies failed, they were quick to develop back-up plans."
Even Koyuki was nodding in approval, though again she could only judge such things from a client's point-of-view, "I had seen Hinata-san's prowess during the mission to restore me to power in Spring, but with Sakura no Konoha on the mission, I dare say that the outcome would have ended with the same result. I am curious, however, does she not have a surname, why is she named after the village," Koyuki wondered, while looking at the other woman?
"Thank you, gentlemen, and I lay it all at the feet of their sensei," then she looked at Koyuki sadly, "Sakura is, unfortunately, one of the casualties that comes with being associated with Naruto, your Majesty. Her family and clan has not only disowned her for refusing to ostracize Naruto, but for being his friend, they have left Konoha and her behind, all for exercising her own moral compass and not falling in with the majority of Konoha. She and Naruto have all but formally adopted each other as siblings, she was a Haruno, and now she is of Konoha." All four of them nodded in approval of the way Sakura had developed, and her esteem went up quite a few notches in their eyes.
Arena Floor
Sakura's pink hair popped up in the contestant's box, and she was trying to remain stoic. Rock Lee, however, was looking at her with lust filled eyes, and whispered, "what a woman," to nobody in particular, though Sakura heard him quite clear, and she blushed.
Naruto was beaming at her, "that was awesome, Sakura-imōto-chan, you did great and so did Hinata-chan, it wasn't skill that beat her, just a better strategy."
Sakura's blush became the same shade of color as her hair, and demurely replied, "Thank you, brother, thank you for getting me so much help for the month, I wouldn't be nearly as impressive if you hadn't done that."
"I don't believe that for a minute," Naruto disagreed roughly, before adding, "but your welcome, Sakura."
Power of the Uzumaki
As Naruto, Rock and Sakura spoke to each other, Karin and Gaara faced each other in the center of the arena, "Mother, hungers for Uzumaki blood," Gaara growled!
"Well, come and get it, Sandbag," Karin retorted, with a smile on her lips, "you wouldn't be the first Jinchuriki, I've put in their place, the last one was the eight-tails!"
Hayate stood in the middle of the arena, "very well, you both remember the rules of battle, correct?" They nod in his direction, "good, now approach the middle," he ordered, along with an indication of his hands, before raising his hand to bring it into the air, "HAJIME," he bellowed with a chop down the middle!
The cork on Gaara's gourd popped off and sand began to fly out of it, Gaara never uncrossed his arms. Karin jumped back several feet, while performing hand-signs, she landed with a stomp, which reverberated all the way to the stream, causing a tidal wave to lurch out of its bank, directly for the Suna shinobi, who leapt out of the way. The torrent of water spread all over the surface of the battlefield, before seeping down, turning the field into a muddy quagmire.
"I wonder how much sand you brought with you from Wind, little one-tail," Karin asked in a condescending voice? "That gourd only holds a finite amount, of course, it is also made of sand which shows the amount of chakra control you have, well done," she stated, with a fake clap of admiration! "Now, let's see if you can fight up close," she said, with a malevolent grin that even unnerved, Naruto. He looked over at his bride in the stands, she was sitting next to Anko, who was watching the fight with rapt attention, Kurenai, Hana Inuzuka, and Yugito had finally joined them, and none of them seemed surprised by that look. Kurenai and Hana were looking as if they recognized that smile on Karin's face. Yugao turned to look at him with a blank face, and Naruto gulped, that look had been given to him in his mind from his mother whenever he would mess up as a child, it always came right before she would yell at him. Even his dad would tiptoe around Kushina when she was like that.
Somewhere in the audience, two men, in exact opposite seats, had very different, yet still visceral reactions when they saw that look on Karin Uzumaki's face. One of them began to rub the back of his head as he blushed, remembering that look on his wife's face, the night they conceived their son. The other, reached up and touched an eye-patch, the last thing he saw through that eye was that expression, on a certain red-head's face right before she took his eye.
Karin suddenly blurred out of sight leaving an after image behind, she appeared next to Gaara and brought her fist around so hard, she shattered Gaara's sand defense like it was nothing. To the audience, it sounded like flowerpots were breaking, and she sent Gaara flying all the way across the arena, to land against the wall. The flight was so fast, that the remnants of his sand-shell, had not yet begun to crumble when he smacked into the wall, face first. Gaara slid down to the ground leaving a bloody streak on the wall. He turned around sitting up against the wall, and for the first time in his life, he felt the trickle of blood running down his face.
Gaara's eyes were pregnant with astonishment, as he raked his hands through the mysterious fluid, running down his face. When his hand came away as red, the look of fear was so loud on his face, that everyone in the stands visibly cringed, then he began to speak, "Blood, my blood, this is my blood, the anchor of my existence," then in a scream of unadulterated fear, said, "MY BLOOD, MY BLOOD!"
Without warning an arm made of pure sand, shot out of the body of the Suna shinobi. It was the color of dry sand in the desert, with blue, varicose vein-like curse markings, circulating all over it. The arm shot directly for the Uzumaki woman, who instead of dodging jumped over the hand, coming to rest on top of the arm. She began to run atop the sandy appendage, while drawing her blade and infusing it with chakra. She reached the shoulder joint before sweeping her arm behind herself, cutting off the rest of the arm that was coming up behind her. During all this, she continued to run forward and somehow kept perfect timing, this allowed her to pull back her foot and kick Gaara in the face again, knocking him out.
Executive Box
"Oh no," Rasa lamented, but it was not a feeling of disappointment his expression conveyed, it was fear that invaded his voice.
"What is the matter, Kazekage-dono," Mikoto asked in concern, "I'm sorry, another one of your children has lost his battle, but that's how war works, as well, you know."
The Kazekage looked at her with a sheepish grin, "That's not my protest, Hokage-tono," at her raised eyebrow, he explained, "it is the nature of Gaara's Seal, if he were to be rendered unconscious then the seal holding his tailed-beast back would open, it was meant to be used as a fail-safe if Suna was besieged."
"Wait a minute," Shirou demanded, "what if he goes to sleep?"
"Unfortunately, that is impossible for my son, the Ichibi does not allow her Jinchuriki to sleep, if they do, she sends them horrible nightmares, which are meant to force the Jinchuriki to release her. I'm afraid, Gaara has never had a moment of sleep since he was an infant," they looked at him in horror, though he continued trying to defend his reasons for making Gaara a Jinchuriki, "it had to be somebody, alright, who else could have done it? I wasn't, bloody-well, going to ask for any other man's child if I wasn't going to risk my own. That would be disgraceful, and tyrannical of a Kage, to do that," he said, with his eyes and nose in the air, arms crossed in an 'I'll stand by my position' attitude, and in truth the other leaders could not disagree, it was the very reasoning Minato Namikaze, chose Naruto to carry his burden.
Arena Floor
Tons of sand continued to manifest out of Gaara's body, but it was not just pouring out of him, it was forming into the anatomical features of an enormous tanuki. It opened its eyes, it had black sclerae around its eyes, yellow irises, and its pupil was a four-pointed star, with dots surrounding them. The body was covered in curse markings, and it looked to be made entirely of sand. Oh, and if that was not enough, it was as tall as the Hokage Rock.
"Free, my esteemed self, is finally free," the Biju roared in exultation, "and my esteemed self, will let nobody send me back!" Shukaku looked around and found Karin looking at her in curiosity, but not fear. "Thank you, human, for releasing me from my esteemed self's enslavement," the tanuki's great voice acknowledged in gratitude, "but the human that can release my esteemed self, may also be able to Seal my esteemed self, again," she said, trying to be disarming, "in which case, you must DIE!"
Shukaku brought her arm up to smash Karin, as he brought it down a huge length of chain wrapped itself around the Biju's arm, and before she could make a sound, she was literally flipped onto her ass. These chains were not typical chains, they had no links to them, instead they looked more like cables. These were Karin's Uzumaki chains, and just like Yugao's chains, both ends were attached to her body. Before Shukaku could react, Karin's cables shot out and wrapped themselves around the raging Biju. They became so tight, that the tailed-beast was unable to maintain its stability and fell with a thunder, to the arena floor.
There was a resounding crash and dust flew everywhere, the tanuki thrashed around wildly, but the only thing not held down by Karin's cables was Shukaku's tail. When she realized this, she swung her tail right for the Kumo kunoichi, when another chain wrapped around the offending appendage and forced it to the floor. Karin looked around and found her fellow contestant, and fellow Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki. This caused the giant tanuki to suddenly become as still as the ground she rested upon, as a being of pure chakra, something meant to stop the flow of chakra in a person, could in effect paralyze you, only Shukaku's face was still able to operate.
Naruto was walking slowly up to the side of the biju, and came even with Karin, he was smiling, and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, he spoke to her in a hushed private tone, "I'm sorry, Karin-chan, I wouldn't have interfered if it wasn't important, but I know from what Yugao has told me that until the Ritual of Breaking, Uzumaki women can only produce a single chain. You had most of him pretty well trussed up, like a pig for slaughter, except for the tail, and the configuration of the bindings wouldn't have allowed for you to capture the tail, without unraveling part of the bindings."
Karin smiled, "that's alright, Naruto-kun, I had already won the battle when I knocked out, Gaara," she turned to look at Gekkō Hayate for confirmation, who nodded in the affirmative, "so you weren't hindering my fight in the least. Now, what should we do with the beastie here," she wondered, "I suppose we could just return her to the Seal, but all she'd be doing is going back to torturing a young man, who just needs some sleep."
"No, no, I won't go back into the seal," Shukaku shouted as she tried to make her body move!
Naruto looked at the Ichibi, then at Karin, "given that you've won the battle, and biju are considered legitimate spoils of war, and thus according to the Rules of War doctrine, Shukaku rightfully belongs to you, Karin-chan. You may do with her as you wish, though she is still attached to Gaara and will be until Gaara's death, you may take her into yourself and become a Jinchuriki yourself…"
Karin quirked an eyebrow, "which would kill Gaara…"
Naruto shook his head and stepped closer to his kinsman, "may be it would have in the past, but me and Yugao discovered some things while we were HOME," he informed her, and her eyes grew wide, for all Uzumaki in the world that knew of their heritage, there was only one place they called, Home. The ancestral home of their clan, Uzushiogakure, Uzumaki Isle, and Karin suddenly bowed to him.
"What is thy bidding, my Lord," Karin asked submissively?
Naruto just chuckled, "first: you don't have to bow and scrape to me, I'm still Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, I am as much my father's son as I am my mother's child. I honor both sides of my heritage," he explained, and Karin smiled happily that her kinsman was a humble man. Naruto went on with why he started this conversation, as they had spoken, they had moved closer to the head of the beast, Naruto wanted Shukaku to be included in the conversation, "anyway, Karin, Shukaku, I discovered some things while I was at home this month, it seemed that the Uzumaki had developed a means to remove the tailed-beasts from their imprisonment, without killing the host." At first the Tanuki paid no attention to the bird noises these humans were making, until the next thing came out of the kid's mouth, "not to mention they created a realm for the biju that would put them beyond the predations of mankind." Shukaku's eyes bulged upon hearing that, "well, it would perhaps be more accurate to say, they rediscovered one of the animal realms where all of the inhabitants had gone extinct."
"An animal realm," Shukaku whispered, "are you sure?"
Naruto nodded, then explained, "as your esteemed person, no doubt knows, the animal contracts held by some clans in this world, are conduits for the avatars of the living creatures that live in this universe, the summoned creatures are the actual spirits of those animals, and as long as there is even a single specimen of those living creatures, the summoned creatures will remain in existence."
Karin was nodding as she knew that, but Shukaku unable to nod, whispered, "Yes."
"Well, when a species becomes extinct, the places they were summoned from remain intact, they are still floating out there somewhere, beyond the edge of our universe, unbound by space and time as we know it. Well, if you know where to look, you can find them and enter them, and take possession of them, well, beings such as the biju can, since only if one has made a physical and spiritual connection to them may a physical creature, be able to enter that realm. Hence, when we sign a summoning contract," Naruto twitched his finger between himself and Karin, "in addition to writing our name, which is the spiritual connection, we must sign our names in our own blood and leave a handprint, that's the physical connection. Anyway, our ancestors were against the enslavement of the tailed-beasts and found a way to remove you from this world and place you in an alternative realm, where you may choose to allow yourself to be summoned, or not," Naruto concluded.
Shukaku was narrowing his eyes in suspicion, "how do I know you're not lying to me, you would not be the first ningen, to offer me freedom, only to turn around and use me for their own ends, or just try to kill me, again?"
"It's possible, Tanuki-sama, I might be lying to you," Naruto grinned, "but I'm surprised you haven't noticed something different about me, I know you'd sensed her presence within me when I confronted Gaara's older siblings, last month, remember? Have you not noticed an absence within me," Naruto goaded Shukaku, while raising his arms in invitation, "go ahead, use your senses on me."
Shukaku did as Naruto asked and probed him with her senses, and her mouth fell open, "Kurama, Kurama is gone, yet I still sense a little bit of her within you. Where is she," the one-tail demanded?
"Kurama, all of Kurama, has already been sent into that other world, the piece of her you sense in me, is part of the process for the release of the Jinchuriki without killing them, you have to leave a little bit of yourself behind, it is the equivalent of an animal gnawing off their foot to escape from a trap. That little bit will eventually be absorbed into my chakra-coils and become a part of me, and according to Kurama, with whom I have made a contract with, the part she had to gnaw off has grown back. So, it was only a temporary setback, and didn't hinder her making herself at home," Naruto finished his explanation and waited for Shukaku to mull over her decision.
Shukaku huffed, "any chance is better than no chance at all, but I warn you, ningen, if you're screwing with me, I'll find a way to kill everybody you have ever met. I'll sell my soul to Yama, herself just to be the one to torture you, in Hell."
Naruto gave the one-tail a fierce look, "I give you my word, and that's something I never go back on," the human and the beast stared each other down. Finally, the biju, lowered her head and nodded, "now the first order of business is to free you from Gaara without killing him," and reached into his coat to pull out a rolled up parchment, "I warn you now, he won't be feeling anything, but for your esteemed personage, this is going to hurt like a bitch. I almost wanted to stop when I did it to Kurama, but she made me keep going. I guess she preferred the pain if it meant being free," then as Naruto thought about it, "I can't say I blame her, if it was me trapped in a prison, I would accept any means short of selling my soul to get out." Shukaku sighed and could only nod her head in agreement.
Executive Box
"What are they doing," Koyuki asked?
"They are negotiating terms for what best to do with the biju they captured," Rasa guessed with a resigned tone, "that's always the risk with the Chunins, they may be a substitute for war, but they are still governed by the Rules of War Doctrine, which allows for the looting of an enemy's hardware." Rasa turned to Mikoto, "might I suggest we pause for an intermission, so that we may refresh ourselves?"
Mikoto took the matter under consideration, then nodded, "I could use some refreshing myself," then, turning to the only other lady in the box, asked, "would you care to accompany me, Your Majesty?"
Koyuki smiled a grateful smile, "please, I have been quite out of sorts for the past few minutes."
"I believe I will wait here," the Prince decided, "I would like to see how this scenario plays out."
"Very well," the Hokage stated then, using an auditory enhancement jutsu, stepped up to the edge of the deck, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS CONCLUDES THE FIRST ROUND OF THE CHUNIN EXAM FINALS, WE WILL PAUSE NOW, FOR A BRIEF INTERMISSION, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO AVAIL YOURSELF OF THE FOOD AND FACILITIES THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED TO YOU, RETURN HERE IN THIRTY-MINUTES FOR THE START OF ROUND TWO."
Executive Suites
Lady's Room
Mikoto and Koyuki ducked into the restrooms set aside for them. Mikoto looked around, the only thing she noticed that was different from when she looked at it before the first match, was a spider's web in the far corner, near the ceiling. She watched as the weaver of the web scuttled off and abseiled down into the stall, directly below it.
All of a sudden, the head of a red-head, grew into view and stepped out of the stall. She wore a scarlet forehead protector, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail, and strands at the sides of her face. Her attire consisted of a standard, Konoha flak-jacket, over a black short-sleeved shirt, and black form-fitting pants that reached her calves. She had a slender, but feminine build, fair skin, violet eyes, and the common Uzumaki red hair.
"What was the last thing you said to me, before you left for your seclusion, to give birth to your son," Mikoto asked, as flame enveloped her arm, which seemed to morph into the grotesque mockery of a human hand?
The red-head smiled thinly, "Eat me, princess."
Mikoto's eyes hardened, "no thanks, I don't eat tomatoes." Then tears began to well up in the Hokage's eyes, and she let go of her jutsu, before dashing at the person in front of her, she pulled the other woman into a fierce hug. "Oh, Kushi-nee-chan, I've missed you so much!"
Men's Room
Rasa no Sabaku walked into the men's room, and went about his business, he was washing his hands and inspecting himself in the mirror when, he felt something really hot, pass through him at about the height of his neck. He was looking into the mirror when he saw an apparition, she had a slender, but feminine build, fair-skin, violet-eyes, and the common, Uzumaki red-hair.
That was the last thing he saw, as his body was incinerated so thoroughly that it did not even leave any ash, just a black scorch mark in the shape of his body, stamped upon the walls. "Sorry, but any father, who would subject his son to the life of a Jinchuriki is not worthy of the title," the phantom of Kushina hissed, as she activated the shin-henge and became the Kazekage. Not-Rasa checked herself in the mirror, washing her hands, then exited the Men's Room, while placing an out of order sign in front of it. She was whistling a merry tune as she left to rejoin her best-friend, who couldn't let go of her son's corpse.
