Naruto: Shadow Legion
Naruto: Shadow Legion – Chapter 18 [ Preliminaries Complete! One Month of Preparations! ]
Disclaimer: I Do not own Naruto or its Characters
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
"Congratulations." Hayate said Neutrally, followed by a short bout of coughing as the ten victors stood before him in silence. "Now that we have thinned the heard to a manageable number, allow me to explain the true final exam." Looks of excitement were plastered on most of the faces around the group, even if it was only a slight amount. The single exception being Gaara, maintaining his composure. "As we have ten competitors, the bracket will not be in a traditional format." He began to explain as he brought out a board. "Essentially there will be two matches that will determine who will move on to a more traditional bracket. These positions will be determined at random so that we may maintain some level of fairness."
"Which is where this comes in." The proctor Anko interrupted as she wheeled in what looked to be a bingo cage with 10 numbered balls in it. "When you come up to receive a ball, it will correspond with a position on the bracket.
Following several nods of understanding, Hayate continued. "Precisely, now if you would each go up one at a time to claim your number, I can properly fill out the bracket." The sickly jonin finished as he gestured to the second proctor.
"I mean I might as well get this over with." Shikamaru said as he approached the mechanism, turning the wheel until a ball fell out. "Number 1" he said over his shoulder.
"Looks like you'll be fighting to fight a bye." Ino pointed out as she walked up behind him.
"Great. I get an extra fight." He said sarcastically as he lazily walked back to the group.
After rolling the Bingo machine, Ino pulled out her number. "What do I get for 5?" She asked as she showed off her number.
"You will be in the bye for the first block." Hayate stated as he filled in the bracket.
"Well that's just perfect…" Shikamaru mumbled as he watched Hayate right Ino's name right above his.
"You better make it to me lazy!" Ino teased as she rejoined the group.
"I suppose I shall go." Neji interrupted as he calmly walked to the machine, ignoring the growls of the Inuzuka eyeballing him. Grabbing his number, he quietly showed it to the proctor, who wrote his name into the untouched half of the second block, not having to deal with the bye.
"I'll go then." Yugito then said as she similarly went to claim her number, casually holding it up as she was placed on the block.
"I guess I'll go next." Naruto said with a smile, giving Satsuki a quick look as she nodded, confirming something for him. "Well then, I guess it's my pick of the litter." He thought with a smile as he activated his sharingan, now knowing that his henge was still active. "Now let's see…" Naruto thought as he began spinning the mechanism. As he watched the balls bounce around, he gradually changed his speed to get the number he wanted the most. Picking up the number, he turned with a smile to show the proctor.
"Number 6 then, looks like you will be fighting Yugito." Satsuki said as she gave him a sly smile.
"Yeah, I know right? What luck!" He said as he glanced in the Nibi Jinchuriki's direction. From the look of it he could tell she was suspicious, but still clueless.
"I guess I'll go up there too." Satsuki responded as she moved to spin the ball.
"Looks like you'll be getting a bye determination match." Hayate announced as he penciled down the result.
"Looks like I'm up." Sasuke followed as he briefly spun the crank, receiving a number quickly.
"And it looks like you found your opponent." Hayate said as Sasuke showed the number that corresponded to Satsuki's.
"This is gonna be good." Naruto chuckled. "One of you two better meet me at the finals!"
"A little confident, are we?" Yugito said in her usually calm demeanor.
"I'm gonna have to agree with her. Your gonna have to get through us first!" She said with a smile, challenging her silver haired companion.
"I guess that's fair enough." Naruto said with a chuckle as the usually loud Kiba walked towards the machine, with stoic and serious attitude.
"By the looks of it there are only a few balls left. We should be finished soon." Sasuke replied as he watched the boy begin to spin. As Kiba grabbed his ball, a wild and animalistic smile crept across his face. He showed the ball to the proctor as he quietly began writing down the name. It didn't take a genius to know that Kiba was staring down the opponent he had just drawn. Neji Hyuuga.
Walking back to the group, the blonde-haired sand nin Naruto knew as Temari, passed the Inuzuka as she annoyingly spun the wheel, quickly grabbing the second to last ball. "2" she simply said as she rejoined her teammate.
"Looks like that's your fight then." Ino once again teased as she elbowed Shikamaru in the side.
"And it just keeps getting better…" Shikamaru replied, before Hayate cleared his throat.
Retaking the reins of the exams, Hayate began to go down the list of fights. "Now that the tournament has been finalized, allow me to go over the scheduled fights, as well as all additional information regarding the final exam. I will now read the fights in order of which they are taking place. In the first block, Shikamaru will fight Temari for the spot to fight Ino. Then in the second block, Sasuke and Satsuki will battle to determine Gaara's opponent. Returning to the first block, Naruto will Fight Yugito. Then finally the first round will end with a battle between Neji, and Kiba." Following the announcement of the first-round matches, Hayate waited a moment until he knew the information had been absorbed. "Following the exit from the forest, each genin will have exactly one month to train for the final tournament. For those of you not from Konoha, you may either return to your home village to train for the fight, or you may stay in the quarters that are provided to you. It is requested that you do not attempt any attacks, or other forms of violence on any other contest prior to the tournament, directly or indirectly." Hayate finished.
"That sounds like a plan!" Naruto said excitedly, clearly not reading the room as his excitement, while normal to a portion of the group, many of the other contestants were both confused, or annoyed by the genin's antics.
"We will depart the tower in a few hours. Until then you may check in on your teammates or friends in the med bay, gather your supplies from your temporary quarters, or just sit around for all I care." Anko said professionally as she dismissed the genin to do as they were told.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Hana stood in grave concern as she looked over an x-ray of her last patient. The word 'shocked' didn't describe her expression near well enough as she analyzed the injury. "I…I've never seen something this dire." She said as she glanced towards Sakura, who was eyeballing her with both confusion, and concern.
"We all thought the same thing when we were taking it. He's been unconscious since the fight. It looks like the strain that he was putting on his body, combined with the sheer force of the attack, caused the injury to amplify in its severeness." The nurse reported as she read off the various findings from her clipboard.
"What's the problem? It's only a few broken bones right? We just did a case like this in a more critical area. Surely we can handle this right?" Sakura asked in her confused state.
"Come over here." Hana ordered as she sat the picture on a nearby desk. Quickly complying with the command, Sakura walked over to the x-ray. It didn't tale long for both her attitude, and her expression to change as she looked down at the bones, or what was left of them.
"His bones are… shattered…" Sakura managed to speak as she looked at the appendages. In both cases, the bones were no longer one solid mass, but rather the forearm and shin barely resembled their old shape as they were in pieces the size of pebbles. The hands and feet were worse as the already small parts were rendered into pieces themselves. On top of that, the muscles, tendons, and nerves were all over the place.
"Now you understand what I mean." Hana began, as Sakura simply nodded. "I may be a medic, but this is far passed my expertise." Hana confirmed as Sakura's head shot up toward Hana, recognizing what her mentor was saying.
"So… we can't do anything?" She asked in an extremely concerned fashion.
"We can attempt to mitigate the pain, fix the muscles to the best of our ability, but frankly it would be near impossible for us to put this puzzle back together without seriously injuring the patient. It also doesn't help that we can't exactly see inside his arms to solve it." Hana explained as Sakura simply stared at the photo, then towards the unconscious fighter before her.
"I'm going to prepare for the operation." Sakura said as she looked up at her mentor, a slight hint of determination, out shadowed by the guilt and nerves she was feeling.
"I should go speak to the mentor outside. Please make all the necessary preparations." Hana asked. The nurse bowed as she exited the door. Standing before her was Gai.
"How is it…" he asked in a surprisingly calm manner.
Hana froze for a moment as while she knew this was coming, unlike the other situations that day, she was powerless to do anything meaningful. On top of that, their were no alternatives. "Well…" Hana stammered, causing Gai to look at her with one of the most serious faces she'd seen on the jolly jonin.
"Please, I need to know. I'm his sensei." He said in his own passionate way, while staying calm and composed, letting a smile creep onto his face.
Filled with more confidence, her normal self-returning to her, Hana resituated her notes and reports as she began giving him the run down. "The minor wounds he sustained from the battle are being taken care of by my junior, and one of our on-hand nurses, they won't be an issue. However, I'm certain that your more worried about the appendages that were crushed. As of right now we can only do so much." Hana began as she handed Gai the x-ray. "His bones have been crushed to a degree that it is near impossible to reconfigure them. Furthermore his nerves, muscles, etc. have been thrown out of their place. The most likely cause would have been the crushing done by the sand nin, on top of the massive strain he had already put onto his body. We can most likely restore the muscles and such to a semi-functioning state, however the bones…" Hana paused again as she looked towards Gai, who was intently staring at the sheet. "The bones may never heal. We don't have the technique, or talent to perform a surgery like that."
"I see…" He said, maintaining his attitude, only faltering for a moment as he allowed a tear to slide down his eye, before quickly wiping it away, pulling his smile back onto his face by force. "I'm going to go wait in my other student's room, I heard she recently regained consciousness. Thank you for that. Please let us know when we can see him." Gai said with a bow, walking in the direction of Tenten's room.
Hana watched as she initially thought that he took the news well. Her mind was changed when she noticed a trail of blood following him as he left. Her eyes meeting his clenched fists, seeing his nails dug deep into his palms as he walked away.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Following the few hours granted to the genin to prepare to leave, a contingent of shinobi arrived to escort the genin, medical staff, and patients out of the forest. The exam may have been over, but the area was still dangerous. They were mainly there to defend the injured that couldn't defend themselves. Outside of a few run ins with some small wild animals, the trip went off without a hitch. Upon exiting the forest, the medical staff and contingent of guards made their way to the hospital, taking the likes of Tenten, Lee, Hinata, and various other shinobi that had major injuries to the hospital.
"I have an idea!" Naruto spouted out as the group waited a moment in the area they were given their orders for the second exam, catching the attention of all the remaining teams. They weren't the only ones to stay however as Hana and Sakura, also overheard the declaration, deciding to stay back a moment.
Kin was standing at the back of the pack when she heard the declaration. Instead of immediately heading for the gates like she had intended, she instead decided to hang back and listen herself. To her surprise, the genin's proclamation even managed to halt the sand and cloud nin. The one they called Neji kept moving however, probably due to his team being transported to the hospital.
"Since we're the only teams that made the cut, even if it was just one of our teammates, we should celebrate before we start our training to beat one another!" He said excitedly as he pumped his fist in the air.
"And how would you recommend that?" Ino asked in clear interest of the activity.
"Easy, since there are plenty of us, how about we go have a buffet of barbeque at Yakiniku!" Naruto proposed, contrary to his usual spot, knowing that the small location couldn't handle five genin teams and Naruto himself.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Satsuki agreed as she gauged the room.
"Of course we're going." Ino said, speaking for both Choji and Shikamaru.
"I don't really—" Shikamaru tried to say before Ino's glare stopped him in his tracks. "Fine…"
"I would, but I should really check on Hinata and Shino." Kiba said in a conflicted tone.
"I'm sure she's going to be alright. You haven't left her side since the tournament ended. Plus the only reason Shino is still there is so they can run a few tests on his insects." Ino tried to convince Kiba, wanting him to celebrate.
"I don't know…" Kiba said in a surprisingly meek tone, reminiscent of the absent Hyuuga.
"Tell ya what, if you can outpace me eating, I'll pay for your food!" Naruto added with a devious grin.
His mouth watering, Kiba answered. "DEAL! But after this I'm heading straight to the hospital, got that?!"
"Alright!" Naruto expressed victoriously as he turned to the resident foreign nin.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I believe Lord Raikage intends to stay regardless; we may as well indulge them." Yugito stated as her comrades looked at her in disbelief.
"Are you sure about that?!" Omoi asked in jittery confusion, not expecting such a casual response from Yugito. "I'm not going! No way! What if I—"
"Nobody is forcing you to go. Let Samui and the Raikage know. It's not like they'll try anything stupid, and if they do, the Raikage will deal with them.
"How about absolutely NOT!" Karui roared at the blonde Kunoichi.
"I'll offer you the same deal as Kibaaaaa." Naruto said in a tempting tone, causing Karui to falter for a moment.
"It's fine Karui, we may as well go. I mean, he is offering to pay the expenses for you. Not to mention, it's a challenge. You don't want to get beaten again do you?" Yugito asked, making sure to emphasize 'again' with an uncharacteristic smile as she watched her comrade debating it in her head.
"YOUR ON!" she screamed as she eyeballed Naruto with sheer determination.
"I-I'll go tell sensei then." Omoi said cautiously as he sped off in the direction of the Raikage's quarters.
"What about you guys?" Satsuki asked towards the Suna nin, receiving fairly cold glares in return.
Temari was the first to respond. "Sorry, but we need to find our sensei." She said plainly as the two turned to leave.
Kin watched for a moment as she saw Temari catch a look from Baki. He had turned seemingly to link up with his team, but it was clear that he had overheard what was happening. After a clearly uncomfortable talk, something odd happened, Temari turned to return to the group.
"My sensei has decided he would like me to join you to… strengthen ties with other villages." Temari obviously forced out as she gazed behind her shoulder, where Baki and Gaara were walking away.
"Ooookay. Glad to have you with us!" Naruto said slightly weirded out, but still happy to increase their numbers. "How about you Sasuke?" He continued. Unbeknownst to him, Sasuke had already disappeared, seemingly already set in his answer. "Guess he's the same as usual. Always training." Naruto mumbled to Satsuki, causing her to chuckle.
"I'm okay to go too!" Sakura called. Behind her Hana was giving a thumbs up.
"Alright! That just leaves one more person." Naruto said, confusing Kin.
Kin began looking around the group, not understanding the implication. She had overheard on the trip back that their various sensei were going to be staying with the bowl cut shinobi with insane speed, and everyone who wasn't going had already left. "He couldn't possibly mean—"
"So whaddaya say uhh you told me your name, I'm sure…" Naruto semi-asked, stunning the Kunoichi.
"It's Kin." She reminded, not even remembering if she gave her name in the first place. "I-I should probably find my sensei and leave…" Kin said as she began to walk away.
"Actually, I'm afraid that's not possible." Hana piped up, causing Kin's shock to arise once again. "Ever since he visited you, he's vanished without a trace. If you want to go ahead and go with them, you should. I'll have Sakura bring you back to the hospital when your done so when he's found, we can release you. As of right now, technically you're in our custody as y patient.
"Did Lord Orochimaru abandon me?" Kin thought as she looked back towards Naruto, the doctors words echoing in her head.
"I'm telling ya, the foods REALLY good!" He pleaded as if he hadn't heard the part she was technically under their custody.
"I mean, I guess it's better than hospital food." Kin admitted as she agreed to accompany the group.
"Great! Lets head over! I'll lead the way!" Naruto cried in further excitement as he marched in the direction of town, followed closely by the blonde girl Ino and the rest of the group.
"I guess I'm stuck here for the time being. I may as well get any information I can. Not to mention real food" Kin thought as she reluctantly trailed behind the group of ten genin in front of her.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Hana walked into a room drowning in a clear aura of unease. She made quick glance around the room to see a handful or jonin that were aware of the situation, on top of the Hokage, and his remaining three advisors. "Sorry I'm late, the reports post relocation took longer than expected." Hana said professionally as she took a seat next to the two jonin that she had known to be Kakashi, and Anko.
"That's quite alright, the health of our future is of paramount importance." Hiruzen expressed, receiving a concurrent nod from two of the three advisors. "However now that you are all here, let us properly discuss this report." Hiruzen began as he presented a set of documents. "Who would like to begin?"
"I'll start." Kakashi said after a few moments of tense silence. "As you've already read in my portion of the report from a few days ago, my students were the first to encounter Orochimaru in the forest. Not only were Satsuki and Sasuke gravely injured, but Sasuke was left with a curse mark akin to the one he gave to Anko."
"Was there any information that became privy to you following this report?" Danzo asked from beside the Hokage.
"Yes, however aside from my average seal placed on the mark, that would be in Hana's jurisdiction." Kakashi responded, before quickly being asked another follow up question.
"In regard to the seal, what would you recommend in terms of dealing with that? As you say, it is unlikely to hold indefinitely." Homura asked with a concerned diction, a sentiment shared by the half of the table he was representing.
"I would recommend a seal team properly seal the jutsu, as it has never been my specialty. Another option would be to rely on the expertise of a colleague I have recently called in as a result of the three of my students requiring their own master for the final tournament." Kakashi recommended as he passed the conversation back to his superiors.
"Ah yes, Lord Jiraiya is returning correct? Perhaps we should have him take a look." Koharu admitted as her fellow councilors seemed more hesitant.
"I would use caution Koharu, perhaps we should allow our on-hand experts handle this." Homura interjected, having Danzo nod in agreement.
"Perhaps we should do both, have our experts handle it now, and have Jiraiya take a look at it when he arrives. He is very gifted in that field" Hiruzen offered, with no objections outside of the grumpy appearance of Danzo. "Now, Young Mitarashi, about your report…" Hiruzen pivoted, shuffling through the few papers he had.
Maintaining her composure and professionalism, Anko went through her own report. "As I trust I don't need to remind you of the grass-nin incident, or my own personal encounter with him, there isn't much else to report, other than he matched the description Kakashi's team reported, along with the incident regarding Hana."
"Very well, if that is all, let us move the discussion towards you." Hiruzen said in a tone that had much more interest than when he was questioning the others. "We have not received a written report from you, however there was your concern about the medical examination before we had left. Have their been any further developments?"
"Following the exit of the jonin sensei I did a full exam of her mental state, and outside of my instincts, there were plenty of signs to point toward extreme fear of the man. As you know, the sensei disappeared following the incident, thus resulting in myself taking personal custody and responsibility for the patient. Following—"
"Who gave you the authority to do that?" Danzo questioned in his usual pessimistically neutral manner.
Not skipping a beat, Hana allowed some of her aggressive nature to take over. "Following the discussion with Anko and Kakashi, I used emergency medical powers to take responsibility of the patient, which is in my right considering the disappearance of her guardian in enemy territory. Following that, due to the sensitivity and mysterious nature of the disappearance, Anko claimed temporary custody of the patient, differing the responsibility onto me as her medic." Hana explained, giving Anko a sly smile, which she returned in kind.
"And what precisely are you doing to watch over her? From what our anbu have reported she seems to be walking around with the genin of the chunin exams." Danzo asked with an accusatory tone, causing Hana's anger to grow.
Maintaining her professionalism, Hana replied. "I currently have the triplets tailing them. Furthermore my student is with the group observing the patient. Two of my clanmates are also observing from a distance in case things get heated."
"That's quite enough lord Danzo, it is clear that she has that particular matter under control." Hiruzen stated firmly, simply resetting the aggression building up withing the Inuzuka.
"I have not informed the girl of the entire extent of her status; however she does know that she is under Konoha's jurisdiction for the time being." Hana said in an attempt to ease the council, succeeding for the most part before continuing. "Now regarding our conversation. After understanding the severity of the situation, and unraveling the true identity of this jonin, most likely being Orochimaru, I would suggest that we have eyes on that Kunoichi at all times. It is clear that he has some plan for her, but it is unclear what."
"I would be inclined to agree." Homura stated. "It would be wise to use her to draw out the snake."
"Then we could be rid of him for good." Koharu added confidently.
"While that isn't my true intention, I will admit that it would be a consequence." Hana admitted as she stood. "Are there any more questions? If not, I must return the hospital. I will continue to give you regular reports on the girl as well."
"Very well, you are dismissed. I'm sure that they could use your assistance" Hiruzen said with a smile as Hana turned to leave the room.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Naruto walked out of the Barbeque restaurant with a full belly, and damaged wallet, yet he still had a smile on his face. "I'll get you next time Kiba! Mark my words!" He said with a chuckle as the wild nin walked out, an equally wide smile on his face.
"I'll take a free meal whenever you want to offer!" he said confidently, letting out a powerful belch.
"That mean any restaurant? You know not to challenge me when Ichiraku is on the line!" Naruto shot back as the rest of the group began filing out.
"I recognize that, but you challenged me to barbeque and meat. The only one able to keep up with me here is Choji!" Kiba admitted as the mentioned shinobi walked out behind him.
"You're just lucky he wasn't involved this time!" Ino teased as she compared the two's receipts. Choji had beaten him by two entire servings.
"I just feel bad about poor Karui." Choji admitted embarrassed as Yugito helped her comrade out the door.
"Don't worry, you'll get him next time, I'm sure." Yugito tried comforting with a less than comforting tone.
"One… plate… off…" she complained before nearly throwing up.
"Thanks for the evening, but I should probably get her back to our quarters." Yugito stated briefly as she led the stuffed kunoichi down the street.
Naruto watched them waddle away as he felt something hit his head. moving his hand to feel the oddity, he was met with a barely wet patch in his hair before another droplet hit the top of his hand.
"Looks like rain, we should probably call it a night." Naruto stated, but as he turned around, he saw that Shikamaru and Choji were already halfway down the street.
"Waaay ahead of you." Shikamaru called back as he disappeared around the block corner with his hefty friend.
"Temari, do you need somebody to go with you?" Naruto offered as he mentally cursed the two that had just abandoned the group.
"I should be—" she attempted to say before she was quickly interrupted.
"I can walk her back." Satsuki offered, surprising the group. "It's not too far away from our compound, we're basically heading in the same direction anyway." Satsuki explained.
"Suit yourself." Temari replied in a partly hostile, yet partly thankful manner as she started to walk on her own, forcing Satsuki to catch up.
"She's been like that all night." Sakura pointed out when she knew they were out of earshot.
"I know, but at the very least I think we left a slight impression on her." Naruto replied as a small smile appeared on Ino's face.
"Well anyways, it was nice hanging out with you!" Ino said as she turned to Sakura. "It feels like it's been forever!"
"It really has!" Sakura replied thankfully. "Training doesn't leave a lot of time for leisure, especially in my case." Sakura admitted as she had a look of remembrance plastered on her face.
"Rough lessons?" Naruto teased, causing the kunoichi's fiery temper to return in force.
"Actually yes! Not to mention all the time I would have to spend with her is taken up by someone else!" She said in an equally mischievous manner, slowly shifting her gaze from Naruto, to Ino."
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, why am I a target here!" Ino complained to Sakura's delight.
"It's not like we're that clo—" Naruto began to say before both Sakura and Kiba's eyes fell onto him with an accusatory glare, knowing what he was about to say was utter nonsense. "Okay, maaaaaybe we hang out pretty often…" he said as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.
"Mmhmm, that's what I thought." Sakura replied triumphantly before turning back to Ino. "Any way's, I gotta get Kin back to Hana, I'll see you around!" She stated quickly, turning to leave.
"I'm gonna go with her. I'm probably gonna spend my night at the hospital anyways." Kiba added as he went to leave with the two remaining girls.
"Thanks for the meal. I'm sorry you had to pay for me, I didn't realize that I lost my money." Kin said quietly as she held her elbow with her hand embarrassed.
"It's fine, I'm the one who hounded you to tag along anyway!" Naruto said casually, signaling a normal occurrence. "If ya ever want somebody to show you around, don't hesitate to ask one of us!" he said with a smile, causing the girl to flinch almost, not expecting the hospitality of the offer.
"Sure." She said as she, and the others with her, began their walk to the Hospital.
The rain was in full force by now as Naruto and Ino were the last to leave the restaurant. "That was a little odd, wasn't it?" Naruto asked as the pair casually walked through the mild storm.
"Yeah, I was observing the foreign nin throughout the meal, but I also noticed Sakura was doing the same." Ino admitted as their pace slowed. "I'm sure you noticed that the sand girl, and the sound girl, were listening in on every word."
"Of course I did, but I can't blame them for that." Naruto said in an understanding tone. "Temari is a finalist, she was probably just observing the rest of her competition. And Kin was certainly out of her comfort zone there."
"True enough, it just seemed odd. When I was watching Sakura, she seemed to keep most of her focus on Kin. That has to mean something right?" Ino pondered, causing Naruto to think on the situation.
"Well to be honest, it may have something to do with the incident in the forest. Hana was the one who looked over her, so it's likely that Sakura has had plenty of time to observe. Maybe she was seeing how Kin would react with me in such a close proximity to me?"
"Maybe, but she didn't seem all too concerned about that during the prelims. Not to mention Kin seemed much more engaged during the matches. Almost like she forgot about, or understood what happened between you and her team" Ino countered, causing Naruto to reevaluate.
"True. Not to mention her personality seemed to do a 180 ever since we got to the tower."
"It was fairly gradual though. Maybe something you said has her thinking?" Ino said with a smile, remembering overhearing a conversation the two had. "She's probably processing this clearly different environment that she's been thrust into."
"Fair enough. Other then those two, Yugito and Karui seemed to enjoy themselves, albeit Yugito was clearly analyzing me. Though to be fair, after the stunt I pulled with the brackets, and the fact we're fighting, I can't say I'm surprised."
"Not to mention You and Karui seem to get along, I mean, in a certain way." Ino added as she pointed out the peculiar relationship the two found themselves in. "And don't think I forgot about what happened during your match."
"Of course not…" Naruto said defeated, remembering the chastising he got because of his little stunt. "But let's not forget that you and Yugito seem to get along pretty well."
"What of it? That doesn't mean I'd blurt out my secrets to her." Ino sharply redirected the comment back to Naruto.
"Fair enough." Naruto said as he laughed it off, repeating the phrase.
The pair eventually arrived at the Yamanaka household as the conversation drew to and end. As she stood at the door, Ino was the first to speak. "I had a great time with the rest of our friends." She said thankfully as she gave Naruto a kiss on the cheek. "But next time, let's just have a smaller group."
"No problem." Naruto said with a smile, embracing Ino into a hug before she went into her house.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Kabuto looked upon a magnificent sight as one of his henchmen lay on the top off a roof, reduced to paste before the might of Gaara. "He's quite something!" He said in eccentric glee.
"Of course he is. In his true form, Gaara is invincible." Baki replied stoically as the beast receded back into its host. "Why is it that the Otokage requested this demonstration?"
"Well there are a few reasons. Not only did the scare during the final round of the preliminary exams prompt this evaluation, but Lord Orochimaru is currently dealing with another breach of security from the shadows." Kabuto replied snidely.
"You mean the kunoichi from the assassination mission? It shouldn't be difficult to deal with her." Baki replied as his men retrieved the unconscious Jinchuriki. "I put Temari in that group so she could observe and contact the genin personally."
"It isn't a matter of 'dealing with her'" Kabuto began to explain. "She has a purpose that while easily replaceable, Orochimaru is giving her the opportunity of redemption, similar to how he has given Yoroi and Misumi."
"I see… that is her purpose." Baki replied in an understanding manner. "If it is for such an important task, why hesitate on her retrieval? Furthermore, why pull out her sensei? It has drawn many eyes onto her."
"Simple. He wants to crush her mentally as punishment." Kabuto said devilishly, pushing up his glasses for the moonlight reflects on the lens. "I'm sure by now she has been made privy to the general atmosphere of this village, along with its core principles. He wishes to allow her to feel safe and changed… before he stamps out any insubordination."
"That's… Torture…" Baki said uncomfortably as he imagined the torment that the girl must have already felt.
"Regardless, the plan can still proceed without the little bird. However that is enough discussion for now. I trust that your preparations are nearing completion?"
"Of course." Baki replied confidently. "And yours?"
"Don't be so formal. You should know by now that we've been prepared from the very beginning." Kabuto replied with an innocent smile, clearly hiding his true intentions. "Oh, one more thing." Kabuto added, as Baki looked at him, already understanding. "Would you be so kind as to take care of our little eavesdropper?"
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Naruto awoke to the next morning as he quickly readied himself to meet at his usual training grounds. Arriving at an area just outside the Namikaze compound, he was met by the disapproving gaze of Sasuke, and a napping Satsuki.
"You're late. Again." Sasuke said bluntly as Naruto joined his team.
"Sorry about that, but if I can beat Kakashi sensei here, am I really late?" Naruto asked, thinking that he had properly defended his tardiness.
"In that case, your still late." Sasuke said with a smile as he pointed behind Naruto.
Slowly turning around, Naruto was met by the sight of his jonin sensei looking down at him in an intimidating fashion.
"Well, well, look who decided to show up." He said ominously, causing Naruto to be taken aback.
"Heeeey Kakashiiiiii, just who I was looking for!" Naruto tried to say, in hopes of winning over his mentor.
"200—"
"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto interrupted, already knowing what his teacher was requesting of him as he dropped into a pushup position.
"You know, you'd think that Kakashi would use a more practical form of punishment." Satsuki said as she awoke to the sight.
"It's not about practicality. It probably just feels more authoritative." Sasuke answered as Naruto continued his reps.
"Alright, now that we're all here, allow me to explain the training regimen I have for you." Kakashi said with an understood smile. As Satsuki and Sasuke fell in beside the still working Naruto, Kakashi began. "Due to all three of you passing the preliminaries, it is going to be impossible for me to train all three of you at the same time. Especially considering two of you fight in the second round." Kakashi stated as his eyes fell on the Uchiha. "That being said, I will be presiding over Sasuke's training."
"WHAT!" Naruto expressed as he paused between reps. "How come Sasuke is gonna—"
"You better keep going." Kakashi said, briefly reverting back to his more malevolent tone, resulting in Naruto quickly returning to his punishment.
"Anyway, I'm going to be working with Sasuke, as he would benefit the most by training with me. Satsuki, you will be training with Haku and the twins, as Haku is more fit to your fighting style, and the twins will make good punching bags." Kakashi said as he glanced in the direction of the compound.
"Naruto, I have a special mentor in store for you. Meet him at Ichiraku in 15 minutes to begin your training." Kakashi said simply as the genin finally finished his reps, returning to a standing position.
"Alright, but he better be good." Naruto huffed as he skeptically looked toward the direction of the ramen shop.
"Don't you worry, I'm sure you wont be disappointed." Kakashi replied. "You better get going if you want to make it in time." He said in a similarly malicious manner, prompting Naruto to quickly begin his journey toward his new sensei.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
"Asuma said that I'd find my sensei here, but this is just absurd." Ino thought as she arrived at a dongo stand she frequented whenever she and Sakura would hang out as kids. "Why would my sensei hang out here? I may as well grab a treat while I wait." She thought as she went up to the counter devoid of a line.
"How can I help you?" The cashier asked in a very customer service oriented fashion.
"Could I just have one dongo please?" She asked, grabbing a few coins out and handing it to the worker.
"No problem! Here you go!" She replied obnoxiously as she handed Ino the treat.
"I think I remember why I stopped coming here" Ino thought as she took a seat at one of the various tables. As she was about to take a bite into the treat, she was suddenly stunned when she heard the distinct sound of her teeth making contact with one another. Upon quick examination, the dongo had vanished from her hand.
"Man, you really do need my help." A familiar voice said from behind her. Quickly turning around, Ino was shocked to see a purple haired woman covered in fishnets eating the very dongo she had just bought. "Now lets get started on the special training I have in store for you." She said with a villainous smile.
"Wait, you're the proctor for the second exam! Isn't this like, a conflict of interests or something?" Ino asked in confusion.
"You passed the exam so there's no need. Besides, it's not like I can leak any info on the last part, you already know everything." Anko explained as she took another bite out of the dongo stick.
"Fair enough… but why you? Why me?" Ino continued in confusion, wondering what her sensei could be thinking.
"Well it should be obvious. I'm one of the best torturers in the department, not to mention you have a kekkei genkai that I would KILL for, my line of work and all. I'm going to help you harness it to its fullest! Along with some additional… skills." She added with a devious smile akin to a snake's.
"I mean, when you put it that way…"
"Exactly! Now lets get to work!" Anko finished energetically as she downed the rest of Ino's dango, cartoonishly marching off towards an unknown location.
"Hey! You better pay me back for that!" Ino cried as she quickly jumped up from her seat in pursuit of her new teacher.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
"That should *Huff* Be good for today." Kurenai said as she relaxed her fighting posture.
Kiba was standing before her rather winded, but still full of energy. "I can keep going! I feel like 100%!" He complained as he two relaxed.
"That may be the case, but the sun is setting, we should call it for today. Shino will be released tomorrow so your training is gonna get a lot tougher." Kurenai stated as she began walking back towards the training ground entrance with Kiba.
"Is their anything that I should be working on?" Kiba asked as the two continued on through the forest.
"All I can say is that while your fundamentals are solid, your performance in the preliminaries makes me think that you've been skipping out on your control exercises." Kurenai explained as the two arrived outside the area. "When you get home, that's the first thing you'll do, yes?"
"But I—"
"No buts. I know it's been hard to do given the current circumstance, but you need to focus." Kurenai said, laying a hand on his shoulder.
Kiba, now understanding what she meant, started making his way in the direction opposite of the hospital, towards the Inuzuka compound.
"I know she's right, but I can't just focus on these damn exercises when she's stuck in the hospital!" Kiba thought as he traveled down an empty road. Kiba's walk became more and more sullen as he couldn't keep his mind off of Hinata.
The road that Kiba typically traveled was unused for the most part as the Inuzuka compound wasn't exactly known for its hospitality, however it was easy to spot when something was amiss, especially when you were an Inuzuka. When a dense fog began appearing around the young genin, he quickly sprung into a defensive stance, ready for any attack that could come his way.
"Little cub all alone can't seem to focus…" a deep and dangerous voice called from inside the mist. "I heard about the preliminaries, and of the tantrum you threw in the ring…"
"SHOW YOURSELF!" Kiba roared as his animalistic nature took over, his instinctual form taking shape as he scanned the dense fog.
"How disappointing, I thought that you could at least detect me in that form. I suppose we have a lot of work to do." The voice proclaimed as Kiba was quickly dropped to one knee. A phantom blow landing itself into his gut. "I heard what your sensei was saying, you are lacking in control."
"WHAT OF IT! MY INSTINCTS ARE ALL I NEED!" Kiba roared again as he frantically swiped at the fog.
"Clearly. If not for your dedication to that girl, or the potential I see in you, we would not be having this conversation. However if you are going to utilize your instincts to their fullest…" The voice continued as a figure showed itself to the boy. While he couldn't make it out initially, he soon recognized the form as an unlikely sensei appeared before him. "You are going to need to control that killer instinct." The demon from inside the mist spoke.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Naruto had been waiting by Ichiraku all day, and his master had yet to show himself to the growingly impatient boy. "I don't think he's coming." Ayame said as she placed a bowl before him.
"Gee, what gave you that idea." Naruto responded sarcastically. "Thanks." He said, not wishing to forget his manners.
"Don't worry about it." She said as another customer sat down next to the boy.
"You have any recommendations?" the man asked to the waitress.
"Well the miso pork is popular; I'd say at this point it's the main attraction." Ayame responded in her usual laid back yet positive manner.
"I'll take that then." The man said, deciding to take the waitresses advice. As Ayame went to go start the food, an awkward silence fell on the stall. "Say, you're a regular right? How is the miso pork?" the man asked Naruto.
Naruto looked up at the man, observing the various features of the oddly dressed man. He had long spikey white hair, red marks under his eyes, and a red outfit fit for a nobleman. "It's my favorite personally." Naruto responded neutrally as he returned to his bowl.
"Here you are sir." Ayame said with a smile as she delivered the bowl.
"Thank you miss." The man said in an oddly appreciative manner as he grabbed the chopsticks off the bowl. Naruto could hear the man slurping loudly as he clearly understood the delicious nature of the ramen. "You weren't kidding kid! If Kakashi paid for my food, I understand why he wouldn't take you here on his treat!" The man said enthusiastically as he continued to plow through the bowl.
"Thanks." Naruto simply thanked the man for the compliment as he returned to his meal. Upon going back in his mind to rehear what the man said, he quickly shot his attention to the man who had just finished drinking the broth in the bowl. "Kakashi? You wouldn't happen to be…"
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna be your sensei." The man replied casually as he put an order in for a second bowl.
"WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG!?" Naruto yelled, causing the man beside him to chuckle.
"Well I WAS gonna meet you at the proper time, but Kakashi asked for me to… what was it… Give you a taste of your own medicine?" He said with a hardy laugh.
"Says the one who's always late…" Naruto mumbled as the man continued his laugh. "Who are you anyways?" Naruto asked, as knowing the identity of his supposed teacher would probably be important.
"Well I'm glad you asked!" The man expressed excitedly as he stood up, making an interesting pose.
Naruto watched as the man went through what looked to be a complicated dance or something, spouting off various nicknames like "Toad Hermit" and "Toad Tamer" before eventually landing on his last line. "My name is… Jiraiya the Toad Sage!" he expressed with an eccentric head twist; his clogs being used seemingly as a base to emphasize the declaration.
"Okay then… So Jiraiya, when do we start?" Naruto asked as he simply moved past the exaggerated introduction.
Jiraiya looked straight ahead, maintaining his posture, however it was clear the embarrassment had hit him. Quickly returning to a normal posture, he cleared his throat. "Meet me at the village gate tomorrow at 8am. If your late, then we won't train." The man quickly exclaimed.
"Wait, so your telling me you wasted an entire day, and you don't think we should do the least bit of training?" Naruto questioned heatedly as he looked the sage up and down.
"Well you might have wasted today, but I spent the free time researching for my newest book!" Jiraiya pointed out as he pulled out an enclosed notepad. He also had a strange look on his face as he flaunted it, making the atmosphere weirdly uncomfortable for the genin.
"Great… well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto said annoyed as he turned to walk away. "This guy is clearly nuts, but if Kakashi says that this guy is qualified then…" Naruto looked back as the man had returned to his second bowl. "He can't be that bad I suppose." Naruto thought as he cracked a smile, making his way back to his home.
O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O
Authors Notes: I hope the slowed down chapter helped break up the action a bit but let's get right into some quick explanations. In terms of the bracket, the only way to describe it technically is to have you look up a 10-man bracket on google, otherwise, I'd just pay attention to the order I outlined. The matches, while in canon are "random" all have significance to the story. In terms of Lee's injury, I thought I'd give some explanation on why this injury was so much more severe than the others. I cannot remember if there were any specifics in the show, but it seemed like this was the most likely explanation. The meetings between Hana, the jonin, and the elders, along with the Baki and Kabuto meeting we're familiar with, were meant to give us a look into the mindsets regarding a specific individual, as well as the knowledge regarding the Konoha Crush event. As described, Konoha is suspicious, but not in the loop. Now for the sensei of the members that had not participated in the canon tournament. Keeping Satsuki with Haku made sense because she was already doing specialized training with her, and it didn't really affect the other shinobi. Ino being paired with Anko was decided due to the fact that Yamanaka are common in interrogation teams, and honestly, I couldn't picture a better mentor. Kiba is the one that most people will be conflicted about, so allow me to elaborate. There is definitely a reason for him to be trained by the Demon of the Mist. (If you didn't catch that, apologies for the spoiler.) I feel like adding this additional dynamic, along with the team 8 training he's going to be participating in, it will result in a very nice arc for the Inuzuka. That's all for this chapter, I hope you guys join me in [ The Next Level ]