"The terrain may be different but, like the preliminaries, there are no rules in your battles," Genma announced to the genin. "The matches will continue until one or the other dies or acknowledges defeat. However, if I judge a match to be over, it will stop there. Arguments are not allowed. Understood?"
The genin were silent and tense, all standing straight for the crowd.
"All right," Genma said past the stick in his mouth. "The first match will be… Yuki Haku vs. Hyuuga Hinata. Those two remain in the arena while the rest of you go to the stands."
Turning my eyes to the crowd as the six genin left the field, I saw Kiba notice the ANBU monitoring the arena. I watched as he narrowed his eyes and talked to Akamaru before turning back to Hinata-chan and Haku.
"Do you want to say something?" Hina-chan asked as she shifted into the Jyuuken stance. Haku smirked and withdrew a senbon from her pouch.
"Not much, just that I hope we're still friends after I beat you," Haku shrugged. I smiled proudly at my genin, so confident. Hina-chan laughed.
"Don't worry, you'll still be invited once I finish with you," Hina-chan smiled, activating her Byakugan without a hand seal. Haku chuckled, jumping away from my mate.
Good luck, I thought to Hina-chan through our seal. Glancing at me in the Kage box, she threw me a smile.
Won't need it but thank you anyway, she thought back, looking back on Haku. I chuckled and leaned on the wall. Mei glanced at me questioningly.
"I recommend watching this match closely. Both kunoichi are wearing over a hundred pounds in chakra weights which they will probably deactivate for this match. Hinata-chan has mastered her family's Byakugan. She has complete knowledge of tenketsu and has mastered both the Jyuuken and the first stages of my own style, the warau akuma. She has also signed the fox summoning contract, like myself. On the other hand, Haku is one of my own students. She is your former missing-nin, Mei; I'm sure you know that she is intimidating. She has been furthering her ice techniques with the assistance of one of my summons and has been absorbing my medical ninjutsu. With her medical knowledge and ice senbon versus Hinata-chan's Jyuuken, this will be a very close match."
At the end of my explanation, all five Kage leaned forward in their seats, watching the two rookie kunoichi as they narrowed their eyes at each other.
"Now then, round one," Genma said. "Begin!"
Taking the first move, Haku experimentally threw senbon towards Hina-chan. The Hyuuga heiress did not draw a kunai to counter the rain of ice; she smirked and, following each shard, rocked back and forth on her heels and dodging each one. The senbon stopping, Hina-chan leaned towards Haku and released a small wave of killing intent that made a number of people in the stands freeze. Haku only laughed and drew another senbon.
"Naruto-sensei already taught us how to negate killing intent. That trick won't work on me!" Throwing the senbon, she created a hand seal that I knew well. "Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou!"
"I've always wanted to see this technique…" Hina-chan chuckled as the twenty one mirrors surrounded her. "I've heard a lot about these mirrors… You can move from one mirror to the next, create clones, and attack your opponents with waves of ice senbon. It's resistant to fire except for the strongest of jutsu. How will it fare against me?" she asked, her hands moving through seals. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"
Water condensed from the air, rising from the ground, and began to spin around Hina-chan. When the vortex was large enough, it exploded outwards, the A-rank technique smashing the mirrors and sending Haku out of the ice. The Yuki chuckled as she stood up, soaking wet.
"Silly Hina-chan… Ice is made from-" she was interrupted as Hina-chan's foot collided with her jaw, her right hand attacking the tenketsu in Haku's arm. Stepping back from the blow, Haku attempted to lift her arm, only to find that it was paralyzed.
"Silly Haku-chan… I mastered the Jyuuken," Hina-chan smiled deviously. The smile melting away when Haku's left hand glowed with green light and the ice user held it to her damaged tenketsu. Finding me in the Kage box, Hina-chan frowned. "You just had to teach her medical ninjutsu!" she shouted at me. I smiled and shrugged, pointing at Haku as she flexed her right hand.
"Sorry to interrupt," she coughed. Hinata-chan glanced back at her, sighing.
"Kai," she murmured, releasing her weights and disappearing in a blur. She reappeared seconds later, disabling Haku's arms once more. "Can't do that technique without your hands," she said in a singsong voice. Haku chuckled and picked up a fallen kunai in her mouth. Talking around it, she smiled.
"Don't need to," she chuckled. I glanced down, seeing Zabuza in the stands with the rest of Team Seven. He was laughing under his breath as Haku used his technique.
"I was actually talking about releasing your weights," Hina-chan replied, returning into the Jyuuken stance. Haku narrowed her eyes before sighing.
The ice user raced forward towards my fiancée, gripping the kunai between her teeth. Hina-chan let her approach, not moving until the kunai came dangerously close to her neck. Hina-chan leaned back, one leg flying up to meet Haku's side. The Yuki survivor stumbled to the side, grimacing. Hina-chan took advantage of the pause and sprang forward, her hands glowing with chakra.
Haku ducked and kicked as much as she could, trying to push the Hyuuga back, but she was helpless to avoid each jab and the assault on her tenketsu eventually overpowered her will to keep fighting. Hina-chan crouched over Haku, now almost completely paralyzed. Haku spat the kunai out of her mouth and chuckled.
"I think I'm done," she said, glancing at her frozen limbs. Genma jumped down from his vantage point and stared at the two kunoichi.
"That ends the first match," he announced. "Winner is Hyuuga Hinata!"
The crowd cheered as a couple of medical ninja rushed into the arena and lifted Haku onto a stretcher. Hinata-chan walked out with them, laughing with Haku. I glanced at the Kage, most of whom were staring with wide eyes at the two kunoichi. I laughed under my breath as the 'Kazekage' coughed uneasily.
"That was shorter than I thought it'd be," I commented. "Hina-chan must have wanted to end it quickly; she doesn't usually use the Jyuuken." Sandaime chuckled, shrugging.
"Good work, Naruto. Haku has made progress since she was assigned to your team," he said approvingly. He glanced at Hina-chan, smiling. "Your fiancée has also fought well. I hope she makes it to the finals," he commented. I smiled and nodded.
"Hina-chan is confident that she'll win the tournament. I wish her luck against Araiguma; he won't back down like Haku did." At mention of my student, Raikage glanced up at me.
"He's competing? Shouldn't he already be a chuunin, if not a jounin? What village is he from?" A asked. The 'Kazekage' took over.
"He is from Suna," he said, narrowing his eyes as he studied Gaara in the stands. "I was ready to promote him but he wished to be placed on a team with his siblings."
The Raikage followed the 'Kazekage's eyes and found Gaara. Feeling the stares, Gaara looked up at the Kage box. I smiled at him and he waved.
"Hokage-sama? Do you need me here? I'd like to go find Haku and Hina-chan and congratulate them."
"Go ahead," he nodded, smiling under his hat. I returned the smile, walking away until I paused at the door.
"Sabaku no Gaara is fighting Uchiha Sasuke next. I would pay attention to that fight; both were taught by me." Hiruzen nodded and turned back to the arena as Genma announced the next fight. Not following my own advice, I closed my eyes and followed my chakra to Haku's wolf charm. I opened my eyes, only to find a number of medical ninja jumping away from me in shock. Haku glanced at me and rolled her eyes, still unable to move.
"Hey, Haku," I smiled. Hinata-chan stood from a chair at Haku's bedside, walked over to me, and kissed me on the cheek. "Hey, Hina-chan. You two fought well."
"Kakashi said the same thing. He already left, said he didn't want to miss the next match," Haku explained, the medics returning. I waved them away.
"I'll take it from here," I said. My hand lit up with green energy and I activated demon eyes so I could see the targeted tenketsu. I moved my hand over each of the chakra points, repairing the damage done by Hina-chan's attacks. Hina-chan pouted apologetically to her friend.
"Haku-chan…"
"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. Think about it this way, you won't be bruised up for your wedding." Hinata-chan chuckled at the reminder and smiled at me with pure happiness. I winked and returned to healing my student.
"I could heal bruises in seconds, tenketsu are usually more difficult," I shrugged, finishing up. Haku glanced at me, eyebrows raised, before flexing her right hand.
"Not bad, sensei," she commented. I chuckled and held out my arm.
"Grab on, I'll take you back up," I offered. A medical ninja began to protest in the background and I turned to her. "I am her sensei and probably a better medical ninja than most people in Konoha. I won't let her out of my sight until I'm sure she's recovered."
The medic frowned but stepped back as Sasuke and Gaara were both brought in on stretchers. I sighed, missing the entire fight. I glanced at Hina-chan and Haku.
"You can stay here, Naruto-kun. I'll take care of Haku-chan," Hinata-chan offered. I nodded and she led the ice user back into the arena, leaving me with the two injured genin. Glancing at them, I sighed.
"Seeing as you're still conscious, I guess you won?" I asked Gaara. Green eyes shifted to me and the redhead chuckled.
"Barely," he shrugged, wincing at the movement. I walked to his side, my hands glowing. "If I could move, I'd kill you for teaching him the warau akuma."
"He used it?" I asked, surprised. "I thought he would've depended more on his ninjutsu. I taught him some fire techniques that could dent your ultimate defense."
"Again, if I could move, I would kill you," he said. I chuckled, staring at his damaged body with my red eyes, counting broken bones.
"How did he- Maybe I shouldn't have taught him so much," I said, studying his cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, and broken ankle. "The famous Araiguma, lying broken at the hands of a twelve year old genin."
"Who knows the warau akuma and released his weights. How much is he wearing, anyway? I could barely see him."
"He was wearing 220 when I started training him for the exams. Did he use Kamisora?"
"Yes, another thing I have to kill you for," he glared while I finished the worst of his injuries. "I'll be fine, Shukaku can handle the rest. You go work on Sasuke."
Obeying my student, I left his side and walked to Sasuke, already crowded by medical ninja. I shooed them away and put my hands on his heart and forehead, ready to perform a chakra exchange. Opening my eyes, I glanced at the medics.
"Watch this. You won't see this technique used anywhere else, and with good reason. This technique is extremely dangerous for anyone with chakra stores less than those of a jinchuuriki," I said, separating Kyuu and my chakras. I pressed my chakra into Sasuke's stores and he jerked at the transfer.
The medical nin gasped as they saw Sasuke's wounds healing at an extraordinary rate. I stumbled back, the loss of chakra taking its toll before Kyuu could give me more chakra. A medic rushed towards me but I waved him away as my skin began to glow red. When the color receded, I stood back up, examining Sasuke.
"What- what did you do?" a kunoichi asked. I glanced back at her and chuckled.
"Something extremely dangerous that will cut his recovery time from months to days. I call this technique the chakra exchange. It's more of a transfer though, as I don't take any of his chakra. Simply put, I separate my chakra from Kyuubi's and inject it into Sasuke's tenketsu. Then, instead of dying from chakra exhaustion, Kyuubi lends me more chakra until my own stores recover enough. That was what the red glow was."
I saw a few medics nod, impressed and stunned at the same time. Sasuke opened his eyes slowly and groaned.
"I lost, didn't I?"
"Sasuke, you were up against the Araiguma, an A-ranking ninja. Not many shinobi could last so long, let alone injure him that badly." As I spoke, Sasuke glanced at his body, noting the lack of broken bones and cuts.
"Chakra exchange?" he guessed. I nodded. "You should go back up, I'll be fine."
"All right," I shrugged. I glanced at Gaara, sitting up in bed against the wishes of the medics. "Gaara, when you are ready, come up to the Kage box. Raikage wanted to apologize."
"Really? A wants to apologize?" he asked incredulously. I nodded, chuckling.
"That and I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to annoy the 'Kazekage'. Who knows if you'll get another chance to threaten him in front of the other Kage."
"True," Gaara smiled. He stretched, hiding a wince as Shukaku helped heal his wounds. He sat up for a few more moments before standing gingerly and walking over to me. "Let's go."
I held out my arm and he laughed under his breath.
"How many Hiraishin seals do you have in this village?"
"I lost count. Are you including the necklace charms and the kunai?" I asked as he gripped my arm. We both closed our eyes and I made the trip as fast as I could, in between blinks. At our arrival, Onoki and the 'Kazekage' jumped. Onoki growled, recovering.
"I really hate that technique," he muttered, remembering all the damage my father had caused Iwa single-handedly with his Hiraishin kunai. The 'Kazekage' only narrowed his eyes, scowling behind his mask.
"Araiguma," the Raikage began, grinning. Gaara glanced up before ducking the inevitable greeting punch. "Long time no see."
"Sorry, I had the impression that neither myself nor my shishou were allowed in Kumo," Gaara chuckled good-naturedly. A shrugged, smiling. I growled quietly.
"I told you not to call me that, Gaara."
"Sorry, taicho," Gaara grinned sheepishly. Onoki studied us with narrowed eyes before glancing towards the 'Kazekage'.
"Your son seems very comfortable surrounded by Konoha nin," he speculated. The 'Kazekage' only narrowed his eyes, not responding as Kankuro forfeited in the arena. Gaara glanced at his brother, groaning.
"Gaara, you know he would've lost. The Aburame are famous for their bug techniques. Your brother's wooden puppets wouldn't have stood a chance," I pointed out. Gaara still pouted. "Think about it this way, Temari is up next. She'll be fighting Shikamaru."
Gaara grinned as the two genin entered the arena, studying each other. Even from the Kage box, I could hear Shikamaru mutter 'troublesome'. I smiled, noticing Sandstorm curled around Temari's shoulder.
"Shikamaru won't be winning this one," Gaara smiled deviously. Hiruzen glanced at the Suna ninja, eyebrows raised. I coughed, turning attention to me.
"Temari won't be fighting this alone. When I came to Suna the first time, I was introduced to Temari, Gaara's sister. When we left, I left a kit in her care. She named the kit Sandstorm and they have been training together ever since. They have a relationship similar to the Inuzukas' friendship with dogs. The biggest difference is that Sandstorm can perform jutsu without Temari's assistance," I explained. The 'Kazekage' smiled, leaning back. "Shikamaru's only chance to win this match will be to defeat both quickly, something he already won't want to do."
"Why not?" Mei asked, studying the shadow user as he sighed. Gaara took over, grinning like his summons.
"Because Shikamaru likes my sister," he chuckled deviously. "He won't do anything too direct in this fight."
"He'd probably let her win anyway so he doesn't have to deal with her being mad at him during the wedding," I pointed out. Gaara smiled, nodding as Shikamaru's shadow extended towards Temari.
The Suna kunoichi let herself be caught in the shadow as Sandstorm jumped away from her, transforming in midair. When she touched the ground in a crouch, she grinned sadistically, fully human. Turning to the dumbstruck Kage, I chuckled.
"Did I mention that Sandstorm is a kitsune?"
Silence and shock were my answers, especially from the 'Kazekage'. Gaara and I grinned and turned back to the battle, ready to watch Shikamaru lose to the Wind Mistress.
Needless to say, Shikamaru walked out shame-faced as Temari and Sandstorm hi-fived each other. Genma jumped into the arena, announcing the end of the first round and giving everyone a twenty minute recess. Gaara and I walked to a secluded hallway, questions ready to be answered.
"When is Orochimaru planning the attack?"
"The final round. He expects me to be in the last match, in the arena so I can go Shukaku and rampage the village."
"Good… Careful against Hina-chan, she's determined to get to the finals."
"Then Orochi-teme will probably tell me to rush the attack to my match with Hinata. I'll stick to the plan if you do."
"No problem on my end. I just need Hebi-teme to get to the roof. I'll break through the barrier." My mind went back to our last venture before returning to Suna. We were watching Oto slowly form.
~Flashback~
A base was being constructed a mile away from our campsite, still visible thanks to our animalistic vision. Gaara was pacing the camp, his mask on. I stared into our small fire.
"So the plan," Gaara began. I nodded, glancing at him through my own mask.
"What about it?"
"Go over it, one more time." I sighed but complied.
"From the original timeline, Orochimaru will infiltrate Suna, defeat your father, and take his place as Yondaime Kazekage. You'll know when they make the switch; Hebi-teme will still smell like snakes, no matter which face he steals. You go on with whatever you were doing, pretending to be oblivious to his plans and identity. When the time for the Chuunin Exams come, get to Konoha a few days early and find me in the village.
"You'll go through the exams. The first is a written exam designed to test your information gathering opportunities. I'll leave how to you but I will say that, last time, you used your third eye. The next will be the Forest of Death. Get the other scroll then make your way to the tower in the center. Using akuma no me to locate my chakra signature might help; I'll be in the tower as soon as I prevent Sasuke from getting the cursed seal from Hebi-teme. Next, you will go through the preliminaries. Try to take your opponent, Rock Lee, out as soon as possible without killing him. If you let him have hopes of defeating you, he will unlock the first five chakra gates and cause ridiculous damage to himself. After that, you'll have a month of free time and training before the final exam, the tournament. In the first timeline, you were ambushed by Dosu. If you want to maintain the timeline as much as possible, kill him. Do whatever Orochimaru tells you for that exam, otherwise it'll look suspicious. If you can avoid it, don't kill anyone else though.
"Once Orochimaru makes his move, summon Shukaku and tell him to make it look good. Hebi-teme will attack Sandaime on the roof. I'll join them while you go around Konoha and keep track of everyone. Basically, go around and take out Orochimaru's pawns. Baki will be fighting with a Konoha ninja named Gekkou Hayate. I hate to say this, but let them fight it out.
"Once Orochimaru is either dead or escaped, hopefully Sandaime will still be alive. He'll choose a successor and I'll recommend Tsunade. The end, most people are happy and the rest are dead or Orochimaru," I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. Gaara nodded, gazing at the base.
"Why don't we go and destroy Oto now?" he asked, clenching his fist as he studied the ninja.
"Because that would mess up Hebi-teme's plans. It's easier for us if we let him have his way for now, cataloging each of his bases as we go," I said, glancing at the map lying flat on the ground, marked with X's for each Oto base and O's for each Akatsuki base, provided to us by Uchiha Itachi.
Gaara nodded slowly and sat down by the fire.
~End Flashback~
After a while, Gaara leaned against the wall, thinking.
"What do you think will happen after the invasion?"
"Konoha will offer Suna a treaty after you find out how Orochimaru tricked you. After that, I'm not exactly sure. In the last timeline, you became the Godaime Kazekage. I'd love to see that happen again, but it is your choice if you are offered the position."
"I don't know about it… I don't think I'd be ready for that type of responsibility."
"Either way, I'll be standing beside you. Konoha will back Suna if you ever need our help," I said, turning back towards the arena. Gaara paused before nodding and following me back into the crowds.