Chains of the Maelstrom
Chunin Exam Finals: Round 2
As the contestants and the audience in the coliseum take a well-deserved break for recuperation, an army of ninja takes position in the trees surrounding the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The headbands they wore had the symbol for Valley etched in them, and every single one of them found their place of concealment within one of the trees of the forest. The leader of this army was Garath, the Sorcerer, and as he settled into position to study his surroundings, he received reports from a secured communication line that his forces were in place. {Yagi clan reporting in position on the North, Garath.}, the goat clan sent over the air. {Kuma clan at the southern gate, Garath.}, came the bear clan's report. {Uma clan standing by, Eien no otoko.}, came another mode of address specific to the Village of the Hidden Valley's leader, from the Horse clan, that meant, Eternal Man. {Kawauso awaiting further orders, Garath.}, the Otter clan reported over the radio. "All commands have reported in, Grandfather," came the report from his own clan, Ōkami, the Wolf clan, standing by to act as reinforcements, if the situation calls for it.
"Very good, we will attack, only once we receive the signal," Garath informed all commands, "until then we will remain silent, so until further notice, everyone will remain hidden." There were several clicks over the radio to acknowledge the order, and once more the forest returned to its serene state, with only the tree leaves blowing in the wind. In the midst of the trees of the forest, a sudden, emission of sap oozed from the trees, and attached itself to the organisms inhabiting the trees. At the same time, a gas other than oxygen began to emanate from the trees, a gas engineered by Hashirama as a first line of defense for Konoha.
Inside the village, sitting within a tea stand from the Land of Waterfalls, sat the Chief of Takigakure, Bradley, the Furious Swordsman. He had just entered the establishment, and despite his age his physique told the story of the decades of brutal training he underwent, to reach his exalted position. He wore a brown muscle-shirt, a pair of blue trousers, cut in the ANBU style, with a yellow stripe running down the out seam of the pants, and a pair of non-steel-toed, combat boots. His weapons consisted of two pairs of long, thin-bladed swords, with a hand guard on the hilts to protect his grip, and on his head, was a beret in the same color scheme as his trousers, the yellow came from his forehead protector, which held the symbol for 怒り (Fury).
Accompanying him, and comprising the only force, he was willing to risk on this venture, were half-a-dozen other people dressed in the same color scheme. These individuals were quite the eclectic group when it came to appearances. The largest of them, stood over two-and-a-half-meters tall, and was even more muscular than Bradley, he was dressed in a brown t-shirt, blue and yellow trousers, with large, yellow sport straps over his torso. Except for a few, dark strands, hanging down his face, most of his hair was concealed under a skull-cap, but around his wrist were two iron, manacle-like bracelets, with the character 怠惰 (Indolent) on both wrists. He looked around with a complete lack of interest in anything he saw, barely even turning his head, but staring straight ahead, with dull, disinterested eyes.
Standing in front of the behemoth was an extremely, obese ninja, rivaling many of the Aburame clan in rotundity. He was completely bald, with a bulbous nose that was continually sniffing the air. He seemed to follow the smells of food before they even came into his line of sight, and his mouth seemed to water at the thought of that food. He shared the same type of eyes as Indolent, with the same disinterested quality, except when he found a smell that he liked, which brought a rather innocently, voracious smile to his face. He wore a wrestler's one-piece leotard, in a flashy display of blue and yellow, with 大食い (Gluttony) stamped on his huge belly.
Next in the panoply of weirdos, was a pale-skinned, androgynous youth with a lean, muscular build. He has long, dark, wispy hair, violet eyes with slit-like pupils, and wears a Navy-blue, form-fitting bodysuit, and a matching headband with 妬み (Envy) on it. His eyes were quite a bit different from his brothers in arms, when he looked around, his eyes were filled with barely concealed contempt for every human-being he saw. Next to him, was a fairly tall, and beautiful woman. She is slender, yet voluptuous in build and has a pale complexion, with narrow, lilac eyes and long, black, wavy hair, reaching her lower back with short bangs parting at the center of her face, curving to the right, and partially obscuring her left eye. She is wearing a form-fitting, black top, with a low backside and no straps, and equally form-fitting, capris leggings, black, high-heel boots, and elegant, black gloves with claws over the glove's fingertips. Appearing on her sternum, just before plunging down the valley between her breasts, that she emphasized by crossing her arms over her stomach, was the symbol 欲望 (Desire).
The most unusual member of this group, a little boy, who looked to be about 8 or 9 years old, with dark-hair in bangs, and dark-eyes, but dressed just like a little boy going off to school, in a suit and tie. The lapel pin on his left lapel had 誇り(Pride) facing outward, and despite his age he was the most powerful and feared of Takigakure's elite ninja, known collectively as, 七つの大罪 (The Seven Deadly Sins), or the Sins. Their leader, however, second only to Bradley, the Furious, is 貪欲 (Avarice). Avarice is a tall, and muscular, young man with short, spiky black-hair that is kept slicked back, into a subtle widow's peak. Among his most noticeable features, are his purple-eyes with thin, cat-like pupils, and razor-sharp teeth. He smiled with a huge, predatory grin on his face, dressed in a short, leather, black jacket with a fur collar, black, leather pants, and shoes with upward tips. There were four black, leather wrist guards with metal spikes, and he wore a pair of sunglasses with round lenses.
Each of them on their own, were a match for a group of Jonin-level ninja, but as a group they were an unstoppable, force of nature. Each of them had specific targets, for their part in the invasion force, key targets that would weaken Konoha, and leave it ripe for conquering as soon as their mission here was concluded. Which was why Bradley had only included members of his own personal bodyguard unit, and his Jinchuriki was nowhere in sight, this was a risky gamble at best and a political disaster in the making, at worst, if he failed in this mission, he had ordered his village to disavow him and the Sins.
The man before Bradley, and serving him tea, if he could still even be classified as that, had been a legend even in his grandfather's time. A legend that was filled with infamy, when he slew all of the village elders after botching the mission to kill the First Hokage, then escaping his just punishment, and absconding with their Village's kinjutsu scroll. He was under a henge, because his face was well known in the Leaf, but Bradley knew that it was Kakuzu, because of the discreet hand gesture the man had made when Bradley entered the tea shop. It was an old gesture, known only to those of Bradley's grandfather's generation, and had been ordered to be discontinued, shortly after Kakuzu's defection. Any caught using the signal were to be arrested at once, and it was not taught in Taki's ninja academy after that time, therefore only one person alive, aside from himself and every other village chief should know, and willingly use the mannerism.
Kakuzu placed a cup of tea in front of Bradley, "Never thought I'd be fighting on the same side as my former village again," the man stated in a neutral tone, he had been ordered by the red-headed bitch to keep a tight rein on his temper, "but a job is a job, so as long as you do your part for this endeavor I can tolerate you as my allies, for now." He finished his statement with a glint in his eyes, before asking, "do you know who your targets are, Furious," then turning to stare hard at the others arrayed behind Bradley, "do they? I gotta say they don't look like much, not like my colleagues in the Sins," Kakuzu sneered, "they don't look like they could take out a child, let alone the likes of Kakashi Hatake."
Bradley snorted a chuckle, that barely wrinkled his mustache, "you mean the Sins you killed when you were Greed," the jibe from Bradley, hardened the Akatsuki's eyes even further, before he continued, "not to worry, they know their purpose here, and they have never failed a single mission from me."
Kakazu's grip tightened so hard on the dishtowel he had picked up after serving the tea, which Bradley had not touched, that the cup he was continually polishing, to pull off the deception of being a tea-merchant, was nearly crushed. It was only his fear of the red-headed bitch, that kept him from saying screw it and killing Bradley and his half-trained cadre of freaks. The voice that came from him was raw with barely contained rage, "just make sure they do their job, we don't have time to waste on amateurs."
"You don't have to worry about my people, they know what to do," Bradley assured him, as he stood up to leave, "just make sure you keep your zealot on a short leash," Bradley reached the entrance before turning his head to gaze at the Missing-nin from Taki, "or I will put him down, the way I would a rabid dog." The curtain separating the tea-stand from the rest of the world, swished as Bradley went through it, not even bothering to look back.
Outside the Uchiha Prison
Their spies within the gaol itself had told them that their target, was in the east wing of the compound, which was where the medical facilities for the jail were located. Sources within the wing itself stated that he had just awakened from chakra exhaustion, and aware of his surroundings, but not much else could be determined, since their source was a new recruit not privy to confidential details. He did not betray his family or anything, he just had a big mouth, too eager to brag to all the women in the bars, about his position in the Uchiha Police Force.
Kabuto was sitting in a coffee shop across the street from the Uchiha Fortress, he was projecting an affable smile and reading a novel, while having a cup of coffee, at least on the outside. Inside, he was running through the scenarios and plans he had devised over the past month, to break in and rescue his leader. He had toyed with just leaving him to his imprisonment, but as it turned out, none of Orochimaru's forces would follow him, they were loyal only to the Sanin. They would entertain no initiatives from Yakushi, unless they pertained to getting their master, out of Konoha's clutches.
So, his hand had been forced, because even if he tried to force them to comply with his rule, that would end up killing them, which was such a waste of power. Plus, it would interfere in his plans too much to leave Orochimaru to languish in Konoha, he needed the Snake Sage to keep his own initiatives a secret. He thought of all of this, while watching the Uchiha changing of the guard, like clockwork, three of the most feared clan in the Elementals, a watch commander, and the guard reliefs for the current guards came out of the guard house.
It may have seemed ludicrous to try attacking the seat of the Uchiha in broad daylight, but with the influx of so many 'visitors' to the Village, the UPF was spread thin. Those that were not used to patrol the streets, were providing additional security at the stadium, therefore, every able-body they could spare in the compound was out on duty, leaving a skeleton crew to guard their base. Those that remained were either too new, or too old to be out in the streets, or too inept, and this part of the compound was separated from the living areas of the Uchiha Estate, by a thick wall. So, no deaths among the innocent members of the clan, he may be ruthless, but even he got squeamish about killing children and pregnant women, he is a doctor after all.
He looked down the street as the crowd in the stadium began to grow louder, before looking in the other direction, to see five figures in cloaks approaching the Uchiha guardsmen. He began to smile more brightly as his strategy entered the opening phase, he brought his cup to his face to conceal his expression. For all of his training, Kabuto Yakushi failed to notice a woman sitting a few paces behind him, concealing her own grin behind her own cup, decaf for her, caffeine would be bad for her baby.
Konoha Coliseum
Executive Box
The ladies were the last judges to return to the box, the men were sitting on opposite sides of the booth. They seemed to be more interested in what was going on in the arena, than making small-talk, which saved Kushina-as-Rasa from trying to socialize with the Prince. Even when she was living here in Konoha, she never socialized with the Daimyo of Fire, so she was unsure how to approach him. He's not why I'm here, but maybe once I've unmasked the Demon in my son's body, the royal family will start taking more interest in the village.
Koyuki entered first and with an excited smile, moved quickly to take the seat next to the Prince, "Your little highness, how are you enjoying the Finals," she asked, while pointing down into the arena? She kept the fingers on both hands in unusual hand signs, the hand closest to the prince was vertical, with the little finger and thumb extended, while the hand furthest away from him, was horizontal, with the index and little finger pointing out into the stadium.
Shirou smirked, "I'm thoroughly delighted, Your Majesty, the strength of Konoha is something to behold," then he glowered, and drove his finger in her direction, there seemed to be a slight tremor as he delivered his order, "but please don't call me, your little highness, unless you want me to call you, old lady!"
Koyuki crosses her arms over her chest and turned her nose up in the air, "I was just trying to get familiar with you, Jerk-san!"
While that exchange was taking place, Mikoto stepped up to sit next to Kushina-as-Rasa, the Hokage and Not-Kazekage, remained quiet as they looked out over the crowd, when the Uchiha began to speak. "I'm sorry about your son, Rasa-san."
Kushina-as-Rasa whipped her head around to find the Hokage staring straight down into the arena, and realizing she was referring to the One-tailed Jinchuriki, who was Rasa's younger son, and his daughter, and nodded, "it is rather disappointing that none of my kids have the power and maturity to earn a Chunin vest," she admitted, "your first Chunin Exam is always an eye-opener, my own was a rather humbling experience. Perhaps this'll give them incentive to branch out and try to learn different tactics," she was only guessing from the way Mikoto was speaking about how Rasa's children did in the First Round. "I've always found it easier to judge my children in their skills, since I was their first sensei," Kushina-as-Rasa admitted, "I like to leave technical appraisal to others, in case I let my bias overcome my objectivity."
Mikoto turned her eyes toward the Not-Kazekage, but her face remained pointed at the stadium, "I agree with you, if my son had made it here, I think I would've felt the same way, but he had to bow out for clan considerations."
"The Uchiha Police training, correct," Kushina-as-Rasa replied automatically, before turning to look at the Hokage, "you did that before your first Chunin Exam Finals, if my intelligence is correct."
Mikoto's eyes returned to looking straight ahead so fast, they appeared to blur into position, "yeah, that's right," she said, appearing to answer absently, but the moment she had sat down next to Rasa, her instincts had been nibbling at her that something was wrong. Now with just a few words from Rasa, her instincts had graduated from nibbling, to gnawing, but she needed to gather more information before she could be sure of what her gut was telling her. She gave a discrete hand seal to one of the hidden ANBU bodyguards, who appeared next to her, and she whispered, "Go get some refreshment for us, and detail someone to check our security measures," she knew Kushina-as-Rasa would be able to hear her but it did not matter, the words coming from her mouth were not her real instructions, because she had activated her Sharingan, as soon as the ANBU put his face on the side she indicated, and began rotating the tomoe in a specific pattern. Mikoto was one of the few Uchiha who could control the spinning of those points perfectly, with millimeter precision, and she had devised a code that allowed her to convey messages with just her eyes alone. Only a few people had ever learned that code, mainly her family, and friends, and yes, her teammates, before she took office, after she took office her ANBU were also taught that code and had been trained to look at her eyes when she activated her dojutsu.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," the ANBU affirmed, "consider it done."
Mikoto had turned her head away from Kushina-as-Rasa, and her eyes were in full view of those she knew were her allies. Koyuki was looking in her direction, whipped her head back toward the stadium, and began drumming her fingers on the railing. The Prince, who had been trained as a ninja and a samurai since his birth, not to mention politics, was canny enough not to give away anything to an adversary. Whomever this was in Rasa's face, they were not very good at infiltration, Mikoto surmised, as she deactivated her bloodline, before turning to smile at Kushina-as-Rasa, "I was so out of sorts during the intermission, I forgot to get me something to gnaw upon," she chuckled a little, "it's good to be the leader of a village is it not, Rasa?"
Before the faux-Wind Shadow could reply, the crowd began to clap as the proctor from the first round shun-shinned into the middle of the arena. She could not suppress the gasp of shock that escaped her mouth, when she realized that a person, she thought she had killed, was alive and well, and serving the Leaf as if nothing had happened. Kushina-as-Rasa did retain enough of her wits to prevent herself from saying anything, but she had to think fast if she wanted to keep her cover intact, and began to cough violently, and fan herself, "sorry, I had saliva go down the wrong way," then smiled, "I agree, leading other people has its incentives, but they're balanced by the sacrifices we all must make."
Too late, Kushina-as-Koyuki surmised, I felt an echo of my own chakra signature as soon as I stepped foot in this booth. I just could not be sure until you revealed your surprise when you saw, Gekkō-kun, she guessed, you're not exactly like me though, it feels similar to mine, but I can tell the difference.
Arena
The final four contestants marched into the center of the arena, Naruto was leading the train, with Rock bringing up the rear, while Sakura and Karin stood in the middle. Naruto's first match had allowed him to exorcise much of his anger over, the clone of his mother, being his enemy. The intelligence they were briefed on by Jiraiya was that there was a group of S-ranked ninja, called Akatsuki, who were trying to acquire the biju, for what purpose was unclear, but they were some of the most powerful ninja in the world, and their roster was shrouded in mystery. The clone of his mother was apparently one of the last bits of intrigue plotted by that bastard, Danzo, to gain the seat of the Hokage. While her body lay in the mortuary, Danzo acquired some of her hair, and using the same technology Orochimaru used to transfer kekkei genkai to others, he and a select group of ROOT scientists, tried to grow a new Kushina, one that they could control.
They hoped to be able to take the biju from me and give her back to Kushina – she is not my mother, I don't care what her outward appearance shows –, the documents they discovered, say they tried to make her hate me like the Villagers, but had absolutely no success with that endeavor. It seems that the love of a mother for her children is ingrained in her DNA, they did however, succeed in convincing her that I am not her son, that Kurama has indeed possessed me and consumed my soul.
I was upset with Mikoto-kaa-san for keeping this information from me, even if Kushina hated me, I could've had a mother, at least that was what I would've thought before bringing mom back to this world. But as far as Mikoto was concerned, her sister in every way that matters, died that night, regardless of what she looked like, and I was only upset, this one omission, could have never erased the years of love and affection between us.
Danzo and ROOT, did their work well, too well, Kushina has a manic-depressive personality and her only purpose, according to the ROOT documents, is to kill me, or in reality the husk that she believes to be me. Why and how she escaped from ROOT, was never discovered, nor was why she joined the Akatsuki? Their purpose is to acquire the biju, not kill them, it is unclear, and it hardly matters anymore, with the removal of Kurama and Shukaku from this world, their goals will no longer matter.
Naruto came out of his thoughts, when the Hokage stood up, and addressed the stadium, "NOW THAT WE HAVE ALL BEEN FED AND WATERED," she quipped, to a polite spate of laughter from the crowd, "I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN YOUR ATTENTION TO THE CENTER OF OUR ARENA. WE WELCOME BACK THE CANDIDATES OF THE CHUNIN EXAM, PLEASE JOIN ME IN RECOGNIZING THEIR COURAGE AND POWER AS THEY CONTINUE TO SHOW US WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ACCOMPLISHING." There was a round of applause from the crowd, "NOW, LET THE SECOND ROUND OF THE FINALS OF THESE CHUNIN EXAMS COMMENSE!"
The roar of the crowd could surely have been heard outside of the whole village, and indeed, if the attacking force from the Hidden Valley, were not asleep in their positions, they would have heard the commotion. Hashirama grew this forest from a single acorn, and these trees, while they appeared to be separate organisms, were still connected through their roots to each other, and the Village Hidden in the Leaves, always knew where everything in the forest was, and could use the trees as a first line of defense to incapacitate most enemy forces.
Back in the arena, the ladies had returned to the contestant's box, leaving the boys on the tarmac, and both of them were smiling. Naruto had exhausted his aggression with his first match and was actually looking forward to testing himself, against his Konoha counterpart. Rock was also looking forward to this fight, to test himself against the Genin capable of defeating and capturing one of the Legendary Three Sanin, was a dream come true. "Naruto, we are finally going to be able to fight," Rock declared with enthusiasm, with a fist in the air, "I have looked forward to this, almost as much as I look forward to my date with my beautiful cherry-blossom!"
In the stands, Sakura ducks her head to hide it from the other kunoichi in the booth, she could not help the blush that was kindled, and the secret smile that bloomed on her face, when her boyfriend spoke about her like that. Wait, she wondered, when did I start thinking of him as my boyfriend?
Naruto secretly approved of Rock's new priorities in life, but let's see how much he cares about my sister, he mused, "that's sweet, Rock, really, but if you want my permission to date her, you have to show me how strong you are, because I won't approve any relationship with one of my precious jewels, if the person they're with is just going to abandon them, when times get tough!" He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and when he opened them again, his Rinnegan blazed forth, rippling out in a wave pattern. "I'm going to go all out on you, Lee-san," Naruto grinned sadistically, "I'm going to try to kill you, so you better do the same! Kai," Naruto deactivated his gravity and resistance seals!
Those in the audience knowledgeable of such things were whispering, the Rinnegan, in astonishment. Bradley's one eye was as wide as it could go, and the eye-brow under the eye patch was as high as the intact eye, he sent a signal to the Sins which told them to abort the mission. If they have the Eye of the Sage of Six Paths, we would be no match for them, there are only legends about those eyes, but if even half of what is said about them is true, then Konoha has just become unbeatable. He narrowed his eye, we will not leave empty-handed however, I believe there is a Taki traitor here in the Leaf, and a rabid dog that needs to be euthanized. Another signal and the Sins fell back to regroup and receive new instructions, it is not cowardice to withdraw from an engagement if there is no chance of victory, it is however foolish and prideful to go ahead with a battle if defeat is a sure thing. This must be how he defeated the Sanin, Bradley, as did many, assumed falsely, as he marched with his Sins to meet his Fate.
Rock hardened his fist and his eyes blazed with their own internal power, "I will prove to you, that I am worthy of Sakura-chan," he declared, as he moved to unbuckle his ankle and wrist weights, "even if I must slay you to do it, I will be there for her even unto my dying breath!" Rock stood up straight, holding his ankle and wrist weights out to the side, he let them drop, the impact of their drop punched craters into the ground, causing a billow of smoke to rise into the air. Then he reached up to unzip his camo-jacket, he shrugged it off and when it hit the ground, it also gouged a shallow crater in the deck. When Rock revealed his torso, many of the women in the stands, even some old enough to be his grandmother, began to drool, and Sakura began to emit her KI, I'm going to have to teach some bitches in this village to keep their hands off what's mine. Now, I know where Yugao-chan's possessiveness over Naruto came from, now I have new incentive to keep training, so I can skin any of these whores who so much as laid a finger on my man.
"Except for what I need to live, and for my dates with Sakura-chan," Rock Lee explained, pointing to the weights and the coat, "those represent the sum total of all the money I accumulated on my missions, they are made of the heaviest natural element in the universe. I practiced all of my katas for the last month, even sparring with Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei," Rock declared as he neared the proctor with Naruto approaching from the opposite side, "the strongest taijutsu fighter and the best ninjutsu user in our whole village, and I am happy to say that I was able to hold my own against them, even when they partnered against me, fighting me with everything they had, I truly felt like they were going to kill me, if I showed any sort of weakness or defect!"
Naruto quirked an eye-brow, Hayate-san was looking between them, "I am flattered that you would put yourself in such danger, just to fight me," Naruto questioned, as he got into his Daiuzu fighting stance, "though I am surprised that my father's student, and my big brother would help you fight against me?!"
Rock also entered his fighting stance, he raised his head but refrained from looking Naruto in the eyes, though his eyes remained on Naruto's chin. "They did not train me specifically to fight you, Naruto-san, nor did I ask for any specifics about your fighting style," Rock corrected, hearing the note of betrayal in his fellow Leaf ninja's voice, "for to do so would insult every person who made it to the Finals, including my cherry-blossom, my Flames of Youth would not allow for such disrespect, not to mention my feelings for Sakura-chan! I merely asked them to train me to fight against any shinobi whose main focus is on ninjutsu and genjutsu, which was the majority of the finalists!"
Naruto's grin became genuinely happy, to realize that his trust in his surrogate brother was not misplaced, "that's smart thinking, Rock, most ninja do rely on chakra a little too much!"
"If you two are finished chatting like kunoichi," Gekkō Hayate broke in, "there is the matter of this little Chunin Exam to consider," they looked up at the older man in confusion, "these people have come all this way for a fight, not to hear your prattle!"
"Really," Naruto quipped, "we were waiting on you, Tokujo-san."
"Truly," Rock said following along with, his blonde, fellow Leaf ninja, "I was beginning to wonder if we would be here all day, before you started the match!"
There was some laughter coming from the stands, most from the direction of Gekkō's girlfriend, and her friends, so with a gruff sounding voice and a raised hand, "HAJIME," he bellowed, before jumping back but not before adding the word, "brats," as his parting word!
Rock moved so fast, that without sufficient training, many in the audience were not able to see him as he moved like lightning into the offensive. Rock did not know what he was seeing after all, he had studied, but had not gotten to the tales of the Sage of Six-Paths, his assumption, This must be the Akumagan, as mentioned by that other Leaf shinobi before the first test, but I have not looked into his eyes so it should have no effect on me. He feinted a kick at Naruto's head, who moved his head to the side, as Rock pivoted on his leg to launch a back kick at Naruto's gut.
Naruto deflected the kick down and to the outside, but that was another feint, as Rock Lee continued his spin in the same direction but lowered to the ground, to sweep Naruto to the floor. The Rinnegan, however, even without using any of the Path Powers, is a formidable weapon, because it shares the same passive abilities as the Sharingan, the Eye of Insight, and the Eye of Hypnotism. Since Rock has been teamed up for over two years with Neji, and over the past month training under Kakashi, has learned how to fight someone with a dojutsu, specifically not to look them in the eye, but watch their feet. On that issue he was doing good and was successfully avoiding the Eye of Hypnotism, but you cannot avoid the other passive power of these eyes, as long as there is light to see by, there is no stopping the Eye of Insight. Naruto was seeing Rock's movements as if they were moving at normal speed, and after spending an entire lifetime fighting and sparring with Sasuke, who even without using weights like Rock, was even faster than this guy.
So, Naruto hopped neatly over the sweeping leg, and as soon as one of his legs was down, he planted it and with the leg that was still floating, struck out faster than a chameleon's tongue catching its dinner. The velocity made up much of the force as it sent Rock back a few paces, but Naruto capitalized on this distance by performing a lunging, spinning roundhouse that would have taken off a weaker man's head, but it still stunned Rock enough to give Naruto enough time to perform his own rounded, sweeping kick. Before jumping high in the air and attempting to perform an atomic knee-drop, on his downed opponent, but being dumped on his head woke Rock from his stupor. In time for him to raise his legs up to connect his feet with Naruto's chin, which sent Naruto off to the ground a few meters away, while Rock somersaulted backward onto his feet.
Naruto was on his feet in seconds, this time he threw three shuriken at his opponent, who easily dodged them, which was what Naruto was counting on, "Flying Thunder God," he bellowed, and with a Yellow Flash, he was gone. Before Rock knew what had hit him, he was smashed from behind, "Second step," followed by another Yellow Flash, and Rock was kicked forward, "Third Step, Rasengan," Yellow Flash, and Rock was smashed in the gut by a swirling mass of chakra from above him.
Rock slammed into the ground so hard the impact left a sizable crater where he landed, and Naruto, even though he would normally never do such a thing, began to ridicule the downed Genin. He always respected his opponents, but he needed to see what kind of stuff this Rock Lee person was made of, among other things, so he started taunting him, "I hope that isn't the best you've got, Lee," Naruto jeered, "because so far you haven't impressed me." Which was a lie, if he did not have the advantage of nearly unlimited chakra, and his kekkei mora, Naruto would be taking more of a thrashing than he was, while he was not being pushed to his limits yet, all Lee needed, would be a little ninjutsu to go along with his taijutsu acumen and speed, and he would be unstoppable.
Since the beginning of the match, Sakura had sat on the edge of her seat, she did not know whom to cheer for, did she want her brother in all but name to win, or someone she had barely met over a month ago, yet she was beginning to grow feelings for. We haven't even been out on a date, yet, Sakura fumed, "if you want to cheer for him, you know that Naruto would understand, right," came the voice of her next opponent? Sakura whipped her head around to face the red-head, "I've only known him for a little over a month now, but I believe he would understand the need to root for someone he cared about. If it were you out there, fighting Yugao-chan, he would shout for her," Karin added, "would you feel slighted if he did that?"
"No," she agreed, "but she's his fiancée and I'm just his adopted sister, Rock and I haven't even been out on an actual date yet, it's just not the same."
"So, you're saying, that he would disown you, simply for rooting for someone other than him," Karin asked in wonder, "maybe I have misjudged my clansman?"
"No, he wouldn't, he loves me, and I love him, nothing short of trying to kill one of his precious jewels…" Sakura stopped short as she realized what she was saying sunk in, then getting a delighted grin on her face, she dashed to the railing, and began yelling, "Get up, Rocky-baby, is this the limit of your strength, I know you can do better than this, and you'd better if you want to get that date tomorrow!"
Rock was on his feet in an instant, upon hearing his lady cheer for him, but it was his method of rising that took Naruto by surprise. He rose by doing a rising somersault with a kick, right into Naruto's jaw, the kick knocked Naruto on his butt, but Rock capitalized on Naruto's apparent weakened condition, by trying to stomp him. But Naruto, called down a bolt of lightning on his and Rock's position, Rock on instinct, was able to dive out of the way, and when he looked back Naruto was gone.
The wind began to blow unrelentingly, it was all Rock could do not to be blown off of his feet. "Asura Path: Goliathan Transformation," came Naruto's disembodied voice, the dust finally cleared and what stood there, only vaguely resembled the shinobi known as Naruto. He had grown to be over three-meters-tall, he had four arms, his overall, physical power was probably off the charts, for a human-being, the only thing that reminded anybody of Naruto, was the clothing and weapons he wore, the wisps of blonde hair, and the intelligent, sky-blue eyes. Rock was astonished, he had never seen anything like this, Naruto caught him looking as he shun-shinned directly toward the other Leaf ninja, the punch in the gut felt like a mountain had fallen on him, not even Maito Gai had ever punched him this hard.
Naruto picked up the stunned Rock Lee, holding him in his lower arms, as he raised his upper two arms, preparing to strike down upon the genin, finally showing his newfound wisdom, Rock Lee shouted, "Proctor, I forfeit!" His voice despite his fear was as steady as, well, a rock, it was not cowardice that drove him to end the match, but there was fear, fear tempered with understanding, he had quit because he knew it was only his life on the line, and only he could look after it in this venue.
Naruto set him down and was instantly himself again, he had a relieved grin on his face as he looped an arm around his new friend's neck. "You had me worried there, Rock," Naruto chided, "do you have any idea how much Sakura would beat me, if I had to send you to the hospital?" Naruto visibly shuddered, as they walked back toward the contestant's box, "I don't even want to think about it," he cast a wary look, over toward the rosette-haired kunoichi, then he grinned conspiratorially, "but you'll find out more tomorrow."
Executive Box
Kushina-as-Rasa was stunned, she knew that the demons did not have the Rinnegan, only extremely specific circumstances allowed one to acquire those eyes. You had to have the blood of the Sage of Six Paths, not to mention the blessing of the Sage's chakra, or another Rinnegan user had to gift you the eyes. How can it be that the Demon would earn the Sage's blessing, and did he have the Sage's genes, Kushina-as-Rasa wondered? Could I have been lied to, how did I come to believe that my son had been possessed by the Kyūbi, the only one person who told me that was one of the scientists, one of the few female scientists, she seemed to be the only kind one, Kushina-as-Rasa remembered, as the woman's image entered her mind, a young woman with shoulder-length, light brown hair, and emerald green eyes? She wore a white lab coat, over a black dress, with sandals. She had circular glasses, which were replaced with a pair of square-framed glasses, given to her by her son, she was there for about two years. She was the one who tended to my feminine needs, she befriended me, and would tell me stories about her son. I told her about my son, wondering how he was faring without me, I know I am a clone of the original Kushina, it took me some time to come to terms with that, but after a while, I began to realize clone or not, I was still Kushina Uzumaki, mother of Naruto Uzumaki, known as Akai Shi in the Book of Shinobi.
All taught to her by Danzo, who did not know about her royal lineage, and thus, she did not know about it, either. The cloning process can replicate the body, but it cannot recreate life experiences, Danzo and Nonō had taught her the basics of ninja training, before she escaped. That was right after, Nonō told her that her son had been possessed by the Kyūbi, that she had a son was not something they told her, it was the first thing she asked about when she woke up, it must be a part of what it means to have a chakra network for a woman. When we're pregnant, we share our chakra with the fetus, and women, who have mastered chakra even a little bit, can learn the number, health, and genders of their unborn children, before they even go to the doctor, so I knew, I had a son, before I even woke up from that cloning tube. Danzo had acquired samples of my hair and blood, from my dead body, and from physicals performed at the hospital while I was pregnant.
Nonō-chan was there for me for about three years, during the third year, one day she was sent on an intelligence mission to the Land of Earth, and never returned, Kushina-as-Rasa remembered feeling alone again, my one lifeline, after learning my son had been consumed by that damned fox, was gone. After Nonō's passing they became more cruel, as if the last of their humanity had died with her, one of the scientists, who seemed to be a hentai, tried to force himself upon me, he seemed to forget that I was not some village tramp, I was a kunoichi. I pretended to give in but just as he opened his pants, I took a bite of his sausage, which was all there was to it, then before he could cry out I broke his neck, before spitting out his male flesh, it seems my chakra network remembered its Uzumaki blood, so I shin-henged into his façade and made my way out of the ROOT HQ, which luckily led to beyond the Village wall.
Intelligence from Zetsu, when I joined the Red Clouds, told me that ROOT had other things to worry about than me, it seemed Mikoto had decided to make her move, on the night I escaped, Kushina-as-Rasa smirked, I know that the biju cannot be killed, no matter how powerful you are. So, in order to exact revenge upon them, I decided to capture them and put them to better use than as weapons of mass destruction for their respective Villages, they would be used as a battery to empower the Akatsuki ideal of a perfect world. A world without war or conflict of any kind, or whatever each person chooses to believe as their perfect world, Kushina-as-Rasa thought, I don't care, all I want to do is relieve my son of his suffering and go to the Land of Death, to meet him. The Red Clouds can have this world, as I no longer care for it, Kushina-as-Rasa declared in her mind!
She looked over at the others who shared her booth, who were conversing among themselves, but Kushina-as-Rasa did not mind, it gave her time to think upon their strategy. The ultimate purpose of this invasion was to serve as a distraction, while Kabuto liberated his master, but the revelation that Hayate-kun was alive has changed things entirely. Its highly improbable, that he would not have reported the specifics of what he heard to his Hokage, as would be his duty as a shinobi of the Leaf. How he survived is not important, what this means is, Kushina-as-Rasa concluded, if I remember, our little coalition had talked about our overall strategy, no specific details which were meant to be left up to their direct superiors. We talked about Garath's participation, Bradley's and Kabuto's purpose, and had just about gotten around to me, when I sensed my former student's presence – I don't truly remember him, when I was reborn I had no memories of my former life, but Danzo provided me with copies of reports from my former life, and even progress reports Tsunade-sensei made. I'm not exactly like I was before, for one, my nature affinity is now fire, whereas before it was water, plus while I can shin-henge, which was instinctive, I cannot use shadow clones, nor have I learned how to use my Uzumaki chains – I shun-shinned away to kill him, and since I thought the only threat to our plans had been eliminated, there was no need to alter our strategy.
Kushina-as-Rasa watched the fight between the two Leaf shinobi, she was no fool, she knew the fight was about more than earning a Chunin vest, for the both of them. The demon seemed to be toying with the emotions of the other Genin, over the affections of the pink-haired girl, who seemed to have some sort of relationship to both of them. Oh, she's decided to cheer for the speedy-kid, at least she understands whom the demon is, at least she's not a fan-girl, Kushina-as-Rasa presumed, and the fast one shows promise, a pity he only seems to be using taijutsu, if you add in some ninjutsu or genjutsu, he could be difficult to stop. If I gave a damn about whom to give a vest to, if he really were my son, I'd still give it to the demon over the Lee character, and not simply because he was my son. Once you get up high enough, taijutsu becomes practically useless – taijutsu alone at least – if you could couple it with genjutsu, you could apply misdirection to a confrontation, which has won more battles than any technique.
The wind suddenly began to rise, taking on almost tornado-like speeds, then the demon's voice began to fill the atmosphere, "Asura Path: Goliathan Transformation," the wind had caused several stone worth of dust to coat the air in a thick miasma. When the dust finally cleared, what emerged was monstrous, a great behemoth of a creature, with four arms, a bald head, and everything else about her son's body, including his clothes and weapons, had enlarged proportionately with his size change. Kushina-as-Rasa could not blame the Lee kid for gawking, if she were in his position, she would have been doing it too, which would have resulted in the same thing to happen. Leader-sama has never shown us these kinds of capabilities, Kushina-as-Rasa thought in wonder, as the demon launched his attack, I've only ever seen him work through his Paths of Pain, does that mean he's more powerful than he lets on, or… is the demon stronger than Nagato?
In spite of the size augmentation, Naruto had lost none of his speed, in fact the amplification of his leg muscles probably added to his pace, because he combined that muscle-power with the shun-shin technique. Rock Lee probably felt like his guts were going to melt, the power of the punch made everyone in the stadium wince, and nobody thought of it as cowardice when the Genin chose to stop the fight before it turned brutal. Prince Shirou had to admire his cousin's skill, he was already more powerful and cunning, than many of the Jonin stationed in Konoha, and beyond the military ranks of a ninja, he was already an A-ranked shinobi. His capture of Orochimaru had catapulted him into the minds of the ninja culture, because it is one thing to kill such a powerful enemy, but to capture him and even hold him as a prisoner-of-war was a feat that nobody else could even fathom. Konoha had added that to his entry in their own Bingo Book, he was bringing this village and this nation prestige, and he was still only a Chunin.
Beyond his ninja skills, Naruto also seemed wise beyond his years, he seemed to care about his friends and surrogate family, it was no secret among the royal family about how the thirteen-year-old, felt about Konohagakure in general. He held no love for this place, the buildings and shops and the walls, not to mention the people that he had no acquaintance with, meant little to him. Sure, he would step in and stop someone from harming a child or an elderly villager, but that is what any decent human-being would do, the village as a whole, could go rot for all he cares. Only a few people in the whole village have embraced him, and accepted him, not so with the royal family.
Grandmother, sister of Kushina's mother, who is a full-blooded Uzumaki, absolutely adores him, it was not just Konoha that had strong ties to Uzu, the royal family of Fire, viewed them as extended members of the family, she used to talk about the family members she lost in Uzu. When Naruto, along with Yugao-chan allowed Hi no kuni to annex the island, she told us, she felt as if a piece of her being had been returned to her, she had been dying to return to the island ever since Naruto brought it into Fire's domain. Not just the Island, but the entire nation of Wave, who have named the bridge-builder Tazuna, interim governor, have been in talks with dad about annexing Nami no kuni into Fire, they feel that it would be in their best interests to be under the protection of one of the Great Five, in perpetuity.
Then the diplomatic treaty we have with Haru no kuni, which gives Fire, the sole rights to acquire and deal in the military technology from that nation. In exchange for us sending a few farming experts into that nation, to teach their government how to manage its suddenly abundant farmland, Shirou had to smirk, no doubt they'll create new innovations in farming technology that the rest of the world will benefit from. They're not just sending technology to us either, they're smart enough not to rely too much on one nation for its economy, so they trade their commercial tech to the other nations for shipping and exchange rights. Every ninja village who have the money, have placed orders for Chakra Blockers to use in their prisons, the prince remembered the intelligence reports from the royal ninja corps, Spring doesn't consider them to be military tech, they're classified as law enforcement equipment.
All of that can be laid at Naruto's feet, he has done more to extend the power and influence of our nation, than any members of the royal family, and he hasn't even been formally inducted into the family. Yet, the prince of the Roaring Flame determined!
Arena
In the contestant's box, Sakura ran over to hug Naruto, and whispered in his ear, "thank you, Ani," she kissed him on the cheek, and broke away from him just as Hayate called for the next contestants. Rock had to visit the medical facilities, a requirement made by Tsunade for both contestants, but Rock did not object, he was still feeling the aftereffects from that punch at the end of the match. Naruto had not required anything be done for him, not even a little chakra replenishment. It was as if he had not expended any chakra at all, when they know it was not the case. There are monitors all over this stadium, and attendance was not the only means by which the clients could learn about the ninja villages, the Chunin Exams were major sporting events all over the Elements. So, the medical wing of the coliseum could watch the events as soon as they were finished with their duties, they did not know how chakra intensive the Rinnegan, the Lightning shun-shin, or the titanic transformation were, but there should have been at least some drop. When they examined him, however it was as if he had experienced zero chakra loss.
Sakura met Karin in the middle of the field, they were quiet at first, then Sakura decided to speak, "thank you for that earlier talk we had, I was so divided in my loyalties, I didn't know which of my relationships was the most important."
Karin had a small smile on her face, which grew bigger as Sakura showed gratitude for guiding her to a decision, she was unable to make on her own, "your welcome, I could tell you were having an internal conflict, just from the look on your face. My Mind's Eye was just overkill in that situation," she shared a giggle with her sister kunoichi, then grew serious, and introspective, "my own situation over my divided loyalties, between my mother and my own well-being, gave me a similar perspective on everything. I came to realize that favoring one over the other, did not mean I cared for my mother any less, but that I had different priorities in my life than before. Naruto did not seem like the type to hold a grudge over who rooted for him in a Chunin Exam," Karin believed, "as long as they showed their love for him at other times, he'd still see them as precious to him."
Sakura thanked her again, "I wanted to say that before we get started, just to clear the air before things got serious."
Karin's grin became predatory, "I totally understand, when we get done, we may not have the chance to talk like this," she looked at the proctor with a side-long expression, "were you awaiting an engraved invitation before starting this thing, or what?"
Gekkō looked up at the Executive Box, where an ANBU, was just bringing the Hokage and her guests something to drink and whispering in her ear. As the ANBU faded back into cover, she looked down at him and gave a barely perceptible nod, who in turn looked at Sakura, who had turned her eyes to him in mirth, and also nodded to her. Sakura did not respond but turned back to her opponent, and entered her fighting stance, Karin entered hers as Hayate raised his arm, and brought it down swiftly, "HAJIME!"
The proctor jumped back out of the way, Karin waited for Sakura to begin her moves, Hapkiyosu was a purely defensive taijutsu style, but Sakura suddenly exited her stance, and bowed formally to her opponent, "I concede victory to my esteemed opponent," she said loudly enough for everybody to hear her.
Karin just blinked, then said the only intelligent thing she could think of, "What?"
Sakura merely shrugged, "I see no purpose in continuing in this Exam, I've already attained a Chunin vest, and I believe I showcased most of my talents for perspective clients. So, there really does not seem to be a plausible reason for me to continue in this exam," Sakura explained to her confused friend, "but don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunity to display your talents for the judges. When you fight, Naruto," Sakura said, pointing to the shinobi as he made his way to the center of the arena.
Hayate raised his hand above the kunoichi from Cloud, "winner by concession of her opponent, Karin Uzumaki!"
Naruto reached the center of the arena battlefield and smiled encouragingly, "no need to protest, Karin-itoko-chan, this was always going to happen, we were always going to fight."
"Wait, you mean all of the previous fights were staged," Karin asked in outrage, "how could you do that, with Yugito or Gaara?"
Naruto held up his hands to forestall her diatribe, "no, only if, you, me, and Sakura-ane, made it to Round Three. Before this time, everything was up in the air, nothing was sure," then he leaned forward to look at her intently, "there are more things going on right now, besides these Exams, please understand." Karin merely nodded in acquiescence and retreated back to her side.
Gekkō looked up at the Executive Box and nodded, at which time, the Hokage stood up and began to address the crowd, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOU, SOMETHING THAT HAS NOT BEEN SEEN IN NEARLY HALF-A-CENTURY. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, NEARLY FIFTY-YEARS-AGO THE ISLAND NATION OF UZUSHIO WAS RAVAGED BY THE FORCES OF KUMO, IWA, AND KIRI, IT RESULTED IN THE NEAR EXTERMINATION OF THE UZUMAKI CLAN. UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, KONOHA HAS HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING HOME TO FIVE UZUMAKI: MITO UZUMAKI, WIFE OF OUR ESTEEMED FIRST HOKAGE, MY BEST FRIEND KUSHINA UZUMAKI, HER SON, NARUTO UZUMAKI, HIS BETROTHED, YUGAO UZUMAKI, AND HER FATHER, KATSUKI UZUMAKI. TODAY, FOR THIS CHUNIN EXAM, WE WILL HAVE THE HONOR OF WITNESSING A MATCH BETWEEN TWO UZUMAKI, ONE FROM KUMO AND OUR VERY OWN NARUTO UZUMAKI." The crowd roared its approval, as the Godaime concluded her speech with, "WE PRESENT TO YOU, KARIN UZUMAKI OF KUMO, AND NARUTO UZUMAKI-NAMIKAZE OF KONOHA!"
Executive Box
Kushina-as-Rasa watched as the abomination masquerading as her son, and her fellow clanswoman squared off to do battle, her delusion that he was not her son was gradually starting to fade. Did she have any proof, other than the word of one of her imprisoners, that her son had been overcome by the Kyūbi?
"Are you surprised by the growth of your son, Kushi-chan," came the soft voice of her best friend, "you needn't be, he is much like you were at that age?"
"No, Koto-chan," Kushina-as-Rasa responded, almost without thinking, "if he has Mina-koi's blood along with mine, and good teachers that could train him properly, then I am not surprised he has become this powerful, even without me here to guide him." Kushina-as-Rasa suddenly gasped as she not only realized what she was saying, but the note of absentminded pride she seemed to be displaying towards Naruto, she jerked her head up to see her best friend, smiling down at her, like Mikoto had just pulled off an ingenious prank. The impostor knew there was no point to maintaining her cover, but she also knew she was trapped, so with her near speed of light reactions she deactivated the genjutsu, hiding her Onikiba (Ogre Fang), drew it and lashed out at the Hokage.
Mikoto was suddenly substituted with the Daimyo, who also had a genjutsu disguising her weapon. The skies turned a crimson-red as Akai Shi's new superior sister blade, Ryūketsu no ken (Sword of the Bloody Heavens), came out and blocked the swing of her copy. Kushina divested herself of her Koyuki disguise, to the wide-eyed expression of Utsushi(copy)-Kushina, there was a wicked chuckle from Kushina's lips, as she taunted her duplicate, "surprised, little sister? Let's show the world the difference between a copy, and the real thing."