To recap the Chuunin Exam finals so far...
Neji Hyuuga def. Kongou no Karui via knockout
Naruto Uzumaki def. Haku Yuki via forfeit
Mikazuki no Omoi and Rock Lee fought to a draw
Shino Aburame def. Shikamaru Nara via forfeit
Sabaku no Gaara def. Karasu no Kankuro via forfeit
Naruto Uzumaki def. Neji Hyuuga via knockout
The crowd was on their feet, still cheering for Naruto after his victory over Neji. As Neji was taken to the infirmary, Hiashi Hyuuga got to his feet. "Hanabi, I will be back shortly...it's time for me to tell Neji the truth about your uncle" the Hyuuga patriarch said solemnly as he exited the stands.
Naruto arrived back in the competitors' box, unsure of how his friends and classmates would react to his revelation. "Oh god...they'll hate me even more now..." he thought, letting depression overtake him for a brief moment.
Much to his surprise, however, the first thing that happened was Shikamaru and Shino walking over to him, each placing a hand on one of his shoulders and nodding sympathetically. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner, but it all makes sense now..." Shikamaru trailed off.
Kankuro stared at the blonde in an odd sort of awe. "He's a Jinchuriki? But he's so...normal! Why are he and Gaara so different?" As Sakura gave Naruto a quick hug, and the Kumo and Kiri Genin nodded in acknowledgement, Gaara himself walked over to Naruto, staring at him with piercingly blank teal eyes.
"Naruto Uzumaki...you are like myself, yet so very different" Gaara said neutrally, before his features sharpened. "I look forward to fighting you in the finals." The redhead then walked away from the other stunned Genin as if nothing had happened.
Before anyone could think too hard about it, Genma called for the next two competitors. "Shino Aburame, Satsuki Uchiha, please come to the ring."
The Aburame and the Uchiha looked at each other, silently nodded, and both disappeared from the competitors' box, reappearing in a Body Flicker in the center of the arena. "You sure showed up quick. I like that" Genma chuckled, chewing his senbon a little.
Satsuki eyed Shino cautiously. "Hn. Looks like I'm fighting arguably my only equal from the Academy."
"May the best of us win, Satsuki-san" Shino said neutrally; the Uchiha nodding in silent agreement.
"So, who do you think will win?" Naruto asked the other competitors.
Shikamaru scratched his nonexistent beard for a moment, before answering. "I think Satsuki will win, but it'll be close. She may have been Rookie of the Year, but Shino was never that far behind her - I imagine the only reason he was never as well-recognized as her was because he didn't stand out, and because of his clan's reputation."
"Begin!" Genma shouted, as Satsuki slowly began circling her opponent. "I don't want to use that just yet...I'm saving it for Naruto or Gaara, although it'll work well on the Hozuki if he beats Gaara" she thought, before hurling a swarm of shuriken. "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" The small, sharp discs doubled in number, so that a dozen or so were flying at the Aburame. The attacks hit head on, but Shino seemed unaffected.
A few moments later, the Aburame melted away. "A Bug Clone, eh?" the Uchiha wondered, stiffening slightly before activating her Sharingan as she whirled around, the three tomoe spinning in each eyes as she caught sight of the real Shino. "My apologies for the Bug Clone, Uchiha-san" he said politely, before moving forward with deceptive speed and engaging her in hand-to-hand.
At first, the taijutsu battle seemed even enough between the two, but after a little under a minute, it became clear that Satsuki's Sharingan and its' predictive abilities were slowly allowing her to gain the upper hand, but the crowd - and various judges whose input went into the Chuunin selections - were more than impressed that the Aburame was keeping up with the Uchiha prodigy.
Finally, Satsuki gained the upper hand with a surprise eruption of electricity off her body. "Raiton: Electromagnetic Murder!" The attack shocked Shino, disorienting both him and his kikaichu long enough for Satsuki to immobilize him and level a kunai at his throat.
The Aburame looked impassively from behind his glasses, before turning to Genma. "Shiranui-san, I surrender" he said, before nodding to Satsuki, who nodded right back. For once, the Uchiha had found someone who was somewhat of an equal to her.
A quick intermission later, and the crowd was gathered again. "This is the first match of the semifinals, and the final match for Block B. The winner of this match will face either Naruto Uzumaki or Satsuki Uchiha in the finals!" Genma announced as the crowd cheered, before looking to the competitors' box. "Sabaku no Gaara, Suigetsu Hozuki, please come to the ring!"
In a swirl of sand, the son of the now-deceased Kazekage appeared in the center of the ring, while a ball of water exploded in midair above the arena, with the Hozuki reforming from the rain on the arena floor to much fanfare. "Let's shed some blood, why don't we?" Suigetsu said, reaching for the Blast-Sword on his back.
"Yes...Mother agrees" Gaara responded, as the sand swirled around him a little more vigorously.
The two most bloodthirsty Genin in the tournament were about to go head to head, but one phrase still echoed in Suigetsu's head. "Remember the plan, Suigetsu..."
"Begin!"
As Gaara shot a tendril of sand forward, intending to crush the Hozuki before the fight could even begin, Suigetsu drew Shibuki off his back and unraveled a short section of the exploding tags inside it, detonating them as the sand made contact. The blast scattered the sand as Suigetsu leapt backwards, throwing shuriken at his redheaded opponent. Gaara's and caught the shuriken, as it slowly formed into a Sand Clone, which lunged forward to fight Suigetsu.
The Hozuki cleaved the Sand Clone apart with Shibuki, before flashing a sharp-toothed grin at Gaara. "So, Sabaku no Gaara...they say that you've never, ever gotten hurt on a mission, and that your sand protects you from even the smallest of scratches" Suigetsu said, raising his right hand in the shape of a finger gun. His expression darkened. "Let's put that to the test, why don't we?"
A bead of water condensed on the tip of Suigetsu's index finger. "Water Gun Jutsu!" The small projectile fired from the Hozuki's fingertip with incredible force, pierced effortlessly through the sand clone, then passed through Gaara's Absolute Sand Defense like it wasn't even there...and, to the shock and horror of every Suna shinobi present, exploded through Gaara's right shoulder before embedding itself into the concrete of the arena wall, as blood gushed from the redhead's wound.
"Mother...what is...is this...?" the redhead thought, before his brain (and the pain) finally caught up with him. "My...MY BLOOD! IT'S MY BLOOD!" he shrieked, as the sand swirled violently around him, forming into a thick ball.
In the stands, Suna Jonin Baki, who was the sensei of the Three Sand Siblings, stared in horror. "Shit! The Hozuki got through Gaara's defenses and is causing him to go insane already! It's too early!"
Through a small hole in the sand ball, Suigetsu froze in horror as he spotted a strange golden eye amongst the swirling particles within the cocoon. Then, the ball collapsed, revealing a panting Gaara, who was gripping his own shoulder. "You...made me bleed" Gaara began shakily. "...And...I can't get...your...blood." Then, a feral grin crossed the redhead's face, as he turned to focus on the crowd. "I guess...I'll take their blood instead!"
A shower of feathers descended from above the arena, slowly causing the audience to drift off to sleep just as the sound of chaos - fighting, screaming and destruction - filled the air outside the arena. Hiruzen turned towards the "Kazekage", knowing what was happening.
The Konoha Crush had begun.
Author's Notes:
I've been getting a lot of flak in the reviews on Fanfiction for the decision to make Sakura have Uzumaki heritage and use the chakra chains; claiming that it "ruined the story". I get that it ain't necessarily your cup of tea, but this is my AU, so if you don't like it, leave or just keep your comments to yourself, understand?
That being said, I kinda expected this to happen, given that one of this story's biggest inspirations was "White Eyes" by adamant39, which I consider arguably one of the best Naruto fanfictions of all time...but it was also one of the most polarizing, so no surprise that a fic inspired by it would have the potential to get flamed pretty hard.
On another note, however, with the last chapter we officially hit the halfway mark for Part 1. The "Naruto" era will end at Chapter 50, and the "Shippuden" era will pick up starting with 51!
Positive reviews and constructive criticism gives me life, so review away!