Naruto sighed heavily as he splashed water of his face. All Tobi did was stare at him and Naruto got the jitters. The blonde's eyes moved upward as he thought for a moment before giving himself a dead gaze to himself in the mirror. Kiba would most likely crack a joke about Naruto being scared and coincidently having to go to the bathroom. Naruto shook his head then turned the water off. The blonde looked up and his entire face went pale with fear. Tobi was standing at the other side of the bathroom, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall.
"Heya," the masked man greeted calmly. Naruto remained frozen, eyes fixated on the man's reflection. "Tobi wanted to apologize for the battle out there."
"What was that genjutsu you put on me," Naruto snapped as he whirled around, facing the masked man. "You suddenly became stronger, and you had a different voice and you had the Sharingan!"
"What, Tobi doesn't have the Sharingan."
"Then show me otherwise." Naruto lowered his head, glaring intently at Tobi whose expression remained a mystery. "Let me see under that mask and prove to me you don't have the Sharingan, or I might tell Danzo and the others about it!" Tobi's shoulders shook as he started to laugh. Naruto tensed, expecting the same, dark voice that he heard in the genjutsu.
"Tobi doesn't think that'd be such a smart idea," the man-boy replied. Tobi turned to the door then walked off, waving to Naruto as he left. "See ya later alligator!" As the door closed, Naruto relaxed a bit. Why shouldn't he tell the others that Tobi might have a Sharingan, and could be more of a danger than he's letting on?
'Son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki,' the dark voice went off in Naruto's head. The boy closed his eyes, almost as if he regretting asking the question. 'And Jinchuriki host of the Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox spirit.'
Naruto sighed heavily, looking back at his reflection in the mirror. Danzo would be more interested in retaking his Jinchuriki than some goofy idiot with the Sharingan. Naruto shook his head then walked out of the bathroom.
A few days later, the second stage of the Exams had closed, and there were a large number of new teams that had been brought in. The teams stood in rows, one behind the other while facing their senseis, the third stage proctor and the Hokage himself with Orochimaru on one side and an ANBU captain on his other. Naruto leaned out from the back of the line and looked at Yahiko, who gazed upon the boy with his piercing blue eyes.
Yahiko didn't show it, but he was proud of the boys for surviving and making it to the third stage. Anko looked over at the Hokage to her right and then to her team, smiling with approval. Sakura and Zaku flashed a visible smile back as did Dosu, but his couldn't be seen. Kakashi's eyes were hardened upon his students as if ordering them that they'd better pass this too or else. Guy looked at his team with proud admiration, smiling down at Lee. The young Genin in the red jumpsuit smiled back at his sensei, eyes burning with the flames of youth.
Danzo stepped forward, his single, tired eye scanning the Genin carefully. Finally, his eye fixated forward before he spoke, "First, let me congratulate each and everyone of you for making it this far. To make it through the second stage is no small feat. It took discipline, skill, and ruthlessness to make it as far as you did. With that said, there are too many of you to take to the third stage of the Exams."
"What," Sasuke snapped, practically snarling with rage. Kakashi's eyes widened with rage at the incompetence of his star pupil.
"We didn't expect for eighteen of you to make it this far," Danzo explained. "And we cannot afford to take you all to the next stage. So instead, we'll be holding a preliminary between the second and third stages to weed out the weaklings. We'll hold a series of one-on-one matches against opponents selected at random. The winner of these fights will move onto the third stage, and the loser will not. These matches are no hold bars. You fight with the intention to kill. You may choose to either incapacitate your opponent or simply knock them out. You do not have to kill your opponent to win. With that said…" Danzo turned around, looking at a giant black screen. "Choose the first match."
The screen lit up and everyone's names started to fly across the board at unreadable speeds. After a few seconds, the screen froze with the first two contestants named. Dosu huffed, smiling under his bandages. Choji's eyes narrowed as he growled lowly to himself.
"Choji Akimichi and Dosu Kinuta, step forward." The two Konoha shinobi walked forward while everyone else went up to the stands with their teammates and sensei.
Guy and his students stood next to Yahiko and his team towards the center of the right railing. Anko's team stood closer to the stairs on the same half of the arena, as oppose to Danzo, Orochimaru, and the ANBU captain who stood at the opposite end. Kakashi and his pupils stood on the opposite side of the arena, facing directly across from Guy and Yahiko's teams. The Suna team stood closer to the wall, keeping their distance from the mysterious Tobi who was directly across from Danzo. Two Kiri shinobi, along with their sensei, stood across from Anko's team.
"This'll be interesting," Zaku murmured to Sakura. "You think old tubs of fun will win against Dosu?" Sakura shrugged as she leaned forward on the railing.
"We'll just have to wait and see," the pink haired kunoichi finally said. Zaku smirked, confident in his friend's abilities.
The proctor had a small fit of coughs before he signaled for the match to begin. Choji made a quick hand signs, "Partial expansion jutsu!"
The brunette threw his arm forward as it expanded to massive proportions. Dosu bent backwards, standing on his hands and feet, as Choji's fist smashed into the back wall. Dosu groaned with stress before Choji's arm shrank back down. The hunched over Genin lifted his hands off the ground, sighing with relief as he was back in his normal hunched over state. Choji scowled as he rushed forward, screaming as he pulled his fist back. Dosu chuckled with amusement. Anko's student sprung into the air as Choji swung forward. The husky boy's eyes widened with shock until Dosu landed behind him. Choji swung backwards at Dosu. The hunched boy grinned before he lifted up his arm. Choji struck the metal device on Dosu's arm, causing it to vibrate and hum loudly. Dosu moved his only visible eye back at Choji as sound started to flow into the boy's ears. Choji groaned before he staggered back, becoming disoriented. Everything was spinning and Choji was seeing a constant blur. The husky Akimichi bent over then heaved on the floor before falling on his side with a heavy thud.
"Disappointing," Dosu muttered.
"The winner is Dosu Kinuta." The hunched ninja took his time and walked towards the stands.
"Wow," Naruto murmured. "He took him out in less than a minute."
"Don't be too surprised," Shikamaru replied lazily, leaning against the back wall. "Choji forgot what Dosu's abilities were and paid the price for it to say the least."
"Indeed," Guy added, "The flames of youth don't burn that brightly in Choji." Shikamaru sighed before glancing over at his sensei.
'Again with the flames of youth…'
"Perhaps you made the wrong call by letting that boy go Orochimaru," Danzo mused. The Sannin simply chuckled then watched as Dosu walked towards his team.
"I don't think so. His potential is limited, same as Zaku's." Danzo hummed quietly before turning to the proctor to continue.
"Next match up…" All eyes went to the screen as it flashed a series of names with blinding speeds. The names stopped, "Ryu and Temari." Naruto's eyes widened with astonishment.
"Alright," Kiba exclaimed, slapping his teammate on the back. "Go get em tiger!"
"Y-yeah, sure." Naruto looked across the room, seeing a blonde kunoichi with a giant fan on her back jumping off the railings and landing smoothly onto the ground. Naruto placed both of his hands on the railing, lifted himself up with his legs straight up in the air, before he dropped off onto the ground.
"Heh, Temari won't have any trouble with a squirt like that," Kankuro stated with a cocky smirk.
Orochimaru's eyes widened briefly while Danzo's narrowed. "It couldn't be," Orochimaru muttered. He leaned towards Danzo and barely whispered, "Naruto Uzumaki?" Danzo's eye hardened on the boy, his reflection shining in the old man's eye. "What do we do Danzo?" The Hokage remained silent, eye fixated on the boy.
Tobi, by himself and directly across the room from the Hokage, looked up at the old man then down at Naruto. 'Don't do anything too foolish now boy…' Tobi's eye went up to Danzo, 'Same goes for you old man…'
Temari had her brother's smirk on her face, but Naruto's face remained blank, observing his opponent carefully. He took extra careful note of the giant weapon the girl had a hold of. "Begin," Hayate snapped.
Temari's eyes widened as she threw her fan outward, unleashing a powerful gust of wind. Naruto gasped with shock before shielding his face before he was thrown into the back wall. Temari smiled deviously before she sent another gust of wind, this time unleashing small blades of wind. Naruto quickly threw his feet up against the wall, shot up, and grabbed the railings where the other shinobi watched. Temari's attack blew against the wall, leaving a few small cuts across the stone.
"What's wrong," Temari asked smugly. "Come and get me little brat!"
"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you!" Naruto focused his chakra into his feet before launching himself forward.
Temari saw the boy pull out a kunai into his hand. The blonde kunoichi cried out as she swung her fan back and forth twice, unleashing two powerful gusts of wind. Naruto hurled his kunai slightly to the left. Temari watched the blade as it imbedded itself into the wall behind her. The kunoichi's eyes widened with realization, seeing a chain welded to the end of the knife. Naruto pulled forward on the chain, swinging himself out of the way. The blonde rolled across the ground then ran as quickly as he could. Temari had to bring her fan around before attacking. Naruto was already closing in on Temari. The Jinchuriki shot into the air, spinning head over heels as he fell towards Temari. The kunoichi raised her closed fan up to shield herself. Naruto hooked his knee around the fan, placed his hands on Temari's shoulders, and then shot back. Temari cried out with fear as her fan was pried from her grasp. Naruto slid across the ground in a crouched position before standing up and slamming the fan on the ground by his side.
"I'd say that qualifies as a victory," Naruto stated with a smug grin. Temari's eyes widened with rage. Naruto's eyes hardened on the blonde, "Give up now."
"No way," Kankuro murmured. "This kid…bested Temari! Nobody beats Temari! She's the smartest Genin in all the village!" Gaara remained silent and unaffected by the fact his older sister was beaten.
"Give up," Naruto repeated. "That way you can walk away without any bruises."
"Screw off," Temari shouted as she sprinted forward. Naruto sighed, lowering his eyes to the ground.
"Ah crap," Neji murmured.
Naruto grabbed Temari's fan with both hands then swung it forward without opening it. Danzo's eye flickered a bit, but his curiosity went away once he realized the boy was just using it for a blunt object. Temari ducked under Naruto's strike and attempted to move around him. Naruto spun around then slammed the fan in Temari's path, resting his hand on top of it and preventing her from running. The blonde kunoichi stopped, gasping with shock before she gave a glance towards the unblinking Naruto. Temari quickly reached forward and seized her weapon with both hands. Naruto dove forward, tackling Temari to the ground. The two blondes rolled around on the ground for a moment until Naruto had Temari lying on her stomach and he sat on her back with one of her arms behind her back and Naruto's extra hand pressing against the back of her head. Temari scowled angrily, glancing up over her shoulder before looking for her fan which was well out of reach.
"Give up," Naruto snapped, his tone hardening.
"Never!" Temari started to squirm and move as much as she could, trying to throw the Genin in disguise off her back.
Naruto sighed then removed his hand from Temari's head, "Fine then. Don't say I didn't warn you…" Naruto pulled out a kunai, which Temari could clearly see. The kunoichi's eyes widened with shock as Naruto twirled the blade around, moving his hand up high above his head. "Last chance…"
"Y-you won't do it," Temari stated. "You're bluffing!"
Sakura looked on with worry. She was use to Ryu being cheerful and bright. Now he was threatening to kill a defenseless girl unless she gave up. It was an unsettling sight for the pink haired kunoichi.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Naruto said as he sighed with disappointment. The boy quickly threw his arm up, ready to bring the blade down upon his enemy. Sakura quickly turned her head to the side, shutting her eyes tightly.
"I GIVE UP," Temari shouted, her eyes also sealed tight. The blonde kunoichi shuddered with fear for a moment before she cracked one eye open. To her shock, Naruto never even lowered his arm.
"The winner is: Ryu." The blonde grinned widely before putting his blade away and getting off Temari.
"Y-you've gotta be kidding me!"
"Nope," Naruto replied with a chipper grin.
The boy held his hand out to help Temari up. The kunoichi angrily scoffed before slapping Naruto's hand away. In her rage, Temari walked up to her fan, picked it up then stormed off next to her brothers. Sakura sighed with relief that the blue eyed boy didn't kill someone in front of her own eyes. Naruto shrugged before jumping up on the railings next to his teammates.
"I was worried there for a second," Kiba replied with a devious sneer.
"You almost hit a woman," Neji added with a taunting grin.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Naruto murmured, leaning on the rails next to Kiba.
Danzo stared at the blonde the entire time. There was an unmistakable resemblance to Minato Namikaze, that could not be denied. Still, the boy didn't show enough during his battle to be linked to either Kushina Uzumaki or Minato Namikaze. Minato wasn't afraid to kill in cold blood, much like the boy almost did with Temari. The fact that he didn't meant that there was no solid connection if Minato was the father. Kushina on the other hand, would've beaten the girl to a pulp with her own fan until Temari gave up, or she would've used brute force until one of the two of them couldn't move. The boy showed skill, that was for certain, but Danzo needed more than a resemblance before he was going to jump to any rash conclusions. The old Hokage turned away and nodded to Hayate to continue.
Naruto moved his eyes to the side before turning his head to look back at Yahiko. The orange haired man gazed back at Naruto who jerked his head to the side. Yahiko huffed, actually impressed he noticed Danzo watching him. The blue eyed man looked over at the Hokage to make sure he wasn't looking before turning back to Naruto. Yahiko simply nodded forward. Naruto nodded back then turned to the screen just as two more names came up.
"Shino Aburame vs. Zaku Abumi," Hayate announced just before he started coughing.
"Go show that loser what you're made of," Hinata said with a devious glint in her white eyes. Shino seemed to ignore her completely as he jumped over the railings and landed on the ground.
"Ah crap," Zaku murmured as he started to stretch out his neck. "I didn't even have enough time to set up some traps…"
"You can do it Zaku," Sakura replied. "Just stay focused and watch out for those bugs. You remember what he did with Gaara."
"Remember, he's a member of the Aburame Clan and Kakashi's student," Anko added, "So whatever you do-,"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah I got it," Zaku shot back before diving over the railing. Anko smirked and rolled her eyes. Zaku stuck his hands out to catch himself before he rolled forward, crouching before Shino who had his hands in his pockets. Zaku stood up and waved casually with one hand on his hip, "Yo."
"Shino Aburame, Zaku Abumi, are you both ready," Hayate asked.
"Ready," Shino replied.
"Yeah, why not," Zaku shrugged.
"Begin!"
The two stood motionless, staring at one another. The room fell deafly silent as the two combatants looked one another down. Shino's expression was unreadable due to his sunglasses and face being covered by the high collar. Zaku simply looked annoyed and bored at the same time, while his eyes studied his opponent carefully. Naruto growled impatiently before turning to Yahiko.
"Yo, what gives? Why are they just standing there?"
"Clearly you don't recognize a battle of wits when you see it," Shikamaru replied with his arms folded over his chest. "Those two aren't the type of person to just duke it out immediately. They both know each others' abilities inside and out. Shino always gives a hundred percent against any opponent. And if Zaku can study his opponent before a battle, he'll obsess over some way to beat him. It's only luck that their two teams hate each other. They've gotten into so many fights since graduating the Academy, it's ridiculous."
"So…they're fighting with their minds," Naruto questioned.
"Yeah, I guess we'll just wait until one of them falls asleep," Kiba exclaimed.
Shikamaru cracked a smirk, his lazy eyes glinting faintly, "Just watch…"
Zaku's eyes snapped to life as he flung a kunai forward while twirling backwards. Shino grunted as he jerked his head to the side, pulling his hands out of his pockets. Zaku came back around, throwing two shuriken forward as he slid to a halt. Shino's sunglasses reflected the light before he spun to the side, narrowly avoiding one shuriken as another narrowly grazed his face. The young Aburame looked up and barely had time to gasp before a pair of feet met his face. Shino was pushed back, nearly lifted off both feet. Zaku quickly twisted around in a flash before he threw his right palm up. Shino scowled as he lowered his head before he was looking down the barrel of Zaku's palm. A powerful blast of compressed air and sound threw the boy upward, causing him to smash the back of his head against the railings right in front of Hinata and Sasuke. The young Hyuga heiress cried out with shock as the impact caused the bars to hum dully. Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes before Shino hit the ground with a thud. Zaku slowly strutted backwards, keeping his eyes fixated on Shino.
"Whoa," Naruto murmured.
"That's what you get when you think things through," Shikamaru stated. "Rushing in to things and thinking of a plan on the fly is such a drag…"
"Man, that kid is fast," Kiba said with awe in his tone.
Zaku kept his breathing steady while his eyes narrowed in solely on Shino. He wasn't going to rush in if the boy was just playing dead. "Shino Aburame, you have five seconds to get up," Hayate announced. Just then, Shino's arms began to move under him, pushing his body up as the boy rose to his feet.
Zaku cracked his neck before waiting for Shino's move. The Aburame boy raised his arms up, summoning a massive swarm of bugs from behind his body. Zaku's face dropped at the sight before he started moving backwards again. Shino's bugs remained aloft for a second before he threw both arms downward. Zaku stopped and narrowed his eyes on the bugs. One swarm of them shot downward, forming a sharpened pillar. Although Zaku doubted they could impale him, he still didn't want those bugs touching him. The Abumi rushed to the side, running as quickly as he could. Shino moved his bugs towards Zaku and the path he was running in. Zaku ducked, jumped, dove, and rolled to avoid the swarms of bugs, and overall not a single one touched him. This annoyed Shino to no end. Finally, Shino just threw both of his arms forward, summoning a whirlwind of tiny insects to surround Zaku.
"Ah crap!" Zaku looked around as the swirling mass of microscopic bugs closed in around him. The boy looked up, seeing that none of them were blocking above his head. "Of course," the boy murmured sarcastically. With his hands opened, Zaku launched himself into the air with his air holes, all the way to the ceiling. Zaku slapped his hands on the ceiling, hanging there while looking down. "Woo, look at the view from up here!"
"Childish tricks," Shino stated.
"Childish," Zaku repeated. "Hey, I'm not using chakra here. It's all suction baby!" Shino huffed before launching his bugs forward.
Zaku lifted his lower body up, using the chakra in his feet to stick to the ceiling before he ran on all fours like a primate. Surprisingly enough, Zaku was rather fast as he scurried across the ceiling, once again avoiding all of Shino's swarms. Zaku looked down, seeing a swarm was coming to block him off. Letting the chakra in his feet explode outward, Zaku launched himself forward towards the railings. Shino cried out as he sent his bugs forward. Zaku landed on the wall behind a few observers. Shino gasped before he stopped his bugs suddenly. Zaku was standing on the wall behind Danzo and Orochimaru with a smirk on his face. All eyes were widened with shock as Shino's bugs floated harmlessly in front of the Hokage.
"How dare you," Orochimaru seethed. Danzo simply remained still, watching the smirking boy closely. Zaku's eyes were focused on Shino, and despite using the Hokage as a human shield, Zaku was grinning widely.
"Zaku, you'd better have a good excuse for this," Anko muttered softly. Even she doubted she could do anything to save the boy from something like this.
"Are you going to hide or fight," Shino demanded.
"Wait for it, wait for it…NOW!" Zaku threw his hand forward, pointing to Shino. All eyes snapped back to the young Aburame who simply stared at Zaku. The room fell in dead silence as Shino looked around his proximity carefully.
"What type of game are you playing? Get down here and—UGH!" Shino lurched forward, clinging to his chest.
"Okay, I was a few seconds off…" The young Aburame fell to his hands and knees, still clutching his chest as he found it hard to breathe.
"H-how did you…"
"I'm sorry, what," Zaku shouted obnoxiously with his hand cupping his ear. "I can't seem to hear you! You're blacking out in three…two…one." Shino fell to his side and began shaking violently. "And that ladies and gentlemen is what I do best: distraction!"
"Distracting him from what," Danzo questioned as two medics quickly rushed in.
"A small, slow acting, but very dangerous poison," Zaku replied, hardly even realizing he was talking to the Hokage. "It's something we picked up in the Forest of Death. Sakura had been learning some medical ninjutsu and poisons and junk, and we decided to pick some up and use it for ourselves. I dosed my shuriken with them. All it took was a tiny graze and the poison was inside of him."
"The Aburame usually use their insects to fight off any poisons…"
"Yeah, but that's what that whole display at the beginning was for. I wanted to piss Shino off so that he'd use all of those creepy crawlies inside of him to try and finish me off before I got another beating on him. Besides, according to Sakura, the poison lies dormant for a few minutes, remaining unnoticed and undetected until it strikes."
"Lord Danzo," Orochimaru snapped. "This boy used you as a means of defense!" Zaku's grin disappeared as he looked down at the old Kage who turned to him, single eye fixated on the black haired boy. Zaku immediately dropped from the wall and bowed on his hands and knees with his forehead to the floor. "You should make an example out of him."
"I'm sorry lord Hokage," Zaku immediately droned, all humor or lightheartedness from his tone gone. "Please forgive me sir…" Danzo took two steps forward, towering over the now frightened Genin. All eyes were on Zaku, waiting to see what the ruthless Hokage would do to him. Zaku closed his eyes, waiting for a beating or even death.
"Stand up," Danzo ordered. Zaku was on his feet in a second. Danzo turned to Shino, who was being tended to, before looking back at Zaku. "Well done my boy." Zaku's eyes nearly popped out of his head while everyone else gasped or gapped with shock.
"W-wait, what," Zaku asked.
"What is the meaning of this lord Danzo," Orochimaru snapped. "This boy put you in harms way for a simple preliminaries match and you're telling him well done?"
"Indeed," Danzo replied. "The boy only needed time, and he stalled Shino Aburame perfectly. He planned ahead, all the way from the second stage, and used a tactical advantage to his benefit. I'd say that offers congratulations in my books." Zaku's jaw dropped with amazement at the Hokage. "Just don't do it again."
"Y-yes sir," Zaku stammered, "Never again sir." Danzo nodded to Zaku before turning back around.
"The winner is Zaku Abumi," Hayate announced. Zaku quickly moved towards his team as if worried that Danzo may strike him regardless. Sakura was the first to congratulate Zaku with a good punch in the back of the head.
"OW! What the hell was that for?"
"You IDIOT," Sakura snapped. "You could've gotten in so much trouble for what you did!"
"Yeah, because my plan wasn't freaking ingenious! Do you know how hard it is to dodge millions of tiny bugs at one time? It's not easy sister!"
"Hey, just be happy you got through," Dosu stated. "Now if we can get Sakura through her match we'd have our whole team going to the third stage."
"Yeah, so try not to screw it up kitten," Zaku snapped. Sakura's eyes narrowed, burning with rage towards Zaku who gave her an equally intense stare, causing sparks to fly between their death glares.
"Hey, enough," Anko exclaimed, stepping between the two of them. "If you both don't stop acting like this I'll hand you to Kakashi for a week." Zaku and Sakura huffed, snapping their backs to one another with their noses up in a snobbish manner. Anko sighed as she looked to Dosu for an explanation. The hunched over Genin simply shrugged before turning around.
"Ah crap," Dosu murmured. The boy's teammates turned around curiously before looking up at the screen.
"Kankuro and Sakura Haruno," Hayate announced. "Please come on down."
"You're freaking kidding," Sakura snapped. "Damn it, now I've gotta follow up the kid who used the Hokage as a shield…"
"Is that my official title now," Zaku asked, turning to his sensei. "Boy who uses his leader as a lifesaver?" Anko sighed, shaking her head as she watched Sakura walk down to the ground floor. The kunoichi stood across from the smirking Suna Genin.
"GO SAKURA," Naruto called out, "Kick his ass!" Sakura's head snapped down as she used her bangs in a vain attempt to hide her blush. Kankuro moved his eyes up to Naruto and then back at Sakura.
"So, that's your boyfriend huh?"
"He's just my friend," Sakura snapped, glaring daggers at Kankuro.
"Well, if I beat you that little brat is gonna be upset, and I'll have a chance to take him on in the third round. I'd say that'd be good enough to avenge my sister."
"Well it'd be hard to avenge her without getting to the third stage now wouldn't it," Sakura questioned. Kankuro huffed before pulling something off his back. 'Wonder what that could be…'
"Begin," Hayate exclaimed.
"Bring it on girly," Kankuro muttered with a dark tone.
Sakura quickly made a hand sign, causing Kankuro to spring into action. The bandages around the object Kankuro carried on his back unraveled themselves, revealing a puppet that shot forward. Sakura gasped with shock as she was suddenly tangled within countless limbs of the puppet. Kankuro chuckled as he tightened his puppet's grip on Sakura, causing her to cry out with pain.
"I give up," Sakura shouted.
"Nah, I think I'll just break everything but your neck!" Suddenly, Kankuro felt a blade at his neck, causing his eyes to widen with shock. The boy glanced over his shoulder, seeing Sakura standing behind him, holding the kunai at his neck. "Wh-what the hell? Shadow clones?"
"Nope," Sakura pointed forward. Kankuro followed the finger and was horrified with what he saw. His puppet, Crow, was clinging to nothing but itself.
"H-how though!"
"Genjutsu," Sakura replied simply with a small shrug. "I figure that since you're from Sunagakure, and judging from your fingerless gloves, that you're a puppeteer. From what I hear, only Jonin rank or higher puppeteers broaden their abilities past puppetry. Mostly they focus on taijutsu in case an enemy gets near them, which makes a lot of sense. I haven't heard of a puppeteer that was skilled with genjutsu."
"Sakura Haruno is the winner," Hayate announced. Sakura pulled the blade away from Kankuro's neck, and then pumped her fist in the air before cheering in her victory. Kankuro scowled with pure rage, unable to fathom what'd just happened.
"THAT'D A GIRL," Anko shouted at the top of her lungs while leaning over the railing. The Jonin looked up at Kakashi with the world's biggest grin on her face. "How do ya like THAT Kakashi? My entire team is going to the third stage on their fist try!"
"That's right," Zaku added. "We freaking ROCK!" Zaku and Dosu slapped their hands against one another's before they chest-bumped. Kakashi was glaring angrily across the arena at Anko and her celebrating students, much like Hinata was. Sasuke didn't really care, as long as he got to the third stage.
"Record timing too," Dosu exclaimed as Sakura walked towards them. "That took like what, ten seconds?"
"Yep, and I didn't have to use anyone as a hostage to win," Sakura replied, looking smugly at Zaku.
"Hey, you can insult me all you want, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO THE THIRD STAGE!"
"Give me a freaking hug," Anko shouted as she embraced her three students at once. "I swear once this is done we're going out to eat, and I'll actually pay!"
"Seriously," Zaku asked energetically.
"Not an all-you-can-eat though."
"Awe," Zaku murmured disappointedly.
Naruto was watching the team celebrating with a smile on his face. The Jinchuriki kept his eyes on a specific kunoichi. Sakura glanced over, catching Naruto's eye. The blonde blushed faintly before waving to her. Sakura giggled then waved back before she was celebrating with her team again. Kiba, Neji, and Yahiko were all watching the blonde, grinning like idiots until Kiba approached Naruto.
"Man…what if you had to fight her in the third stage?" Kiba ducked a second before Naruto spun around, trying to punch his teammate's head off. Kiba stood back up and started laughing before Naruto got in his face.
"DON'T SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"
"And she's good with genjutsu no less," Neji stated. "Isn't that your worst area of expertise?"
"I hate you both…"
"Hinata Hyuga and Hizashi come down here," Hayate announced. Neji's smile was immediately wiped clean from his face. Naruto, Kiba, and Yahiko's eyes widened with shock before they turned to the screen to confirm the names. Sure enough, it had Hinata's name and Neji's alias.
"Alright, it's finally my turn." Hinata hopped over the railings.
Yahiko quickly knelt down next to Neji and pulled him close, "Listen Neji, I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you, but don't blow our cover. I've learned a bit about Konoha just in the few days the second stage was going on. You can just give up now."
"Not a chance," Neji replied. The young Hyuga quickly shook off Yahiko's hand from his shoulder before he started to take his time walking across the walkway.
"Hey," Sakura called out as Neji moved in front of her. The Genin in disguise stopped and looked over in the kunoichi's direction. "Hizashi right?"
"Yes ma'am," Neji confirmed.
Sakura smirked before moving her eyes towards Hinata, "Give her hell." Neji smirked before he nodded. Sakura's smile widened before Neji started to walk towards the stairs.
"Naruto has good taste in women," Neji whispered to himself.
Neji stood across from Hinata, staring at her through his headband. Hinata grinned cockily at her opponent, almost finding it unfair that she had to fight a blind kid. However, she didn't care who she had to beat before becoming a Chunin, as long as she got it. Neji could scarcely contain himself. A chance to beat on the Hyuga Clan's heiress was a dream come true. Granted he couldn't use the Gentle Fist, or any other type of Hyuga fighting style, but he'd go out swinging nonetheless.
"Begin," Hayate snapped.
Hinata lunged forward, striking her palm at Neji. The brunette spun to the side and stood frozen as his hair fell back behind his head. Hinata spun around, jabbing her fingers at Neji. The Genin in disguise could've laughed before he ducked and spun under Hinata's strike. Neji then quickly thrusted his fist forward at Hinata. The heiress swatted Neji's attack away then thrusted her fingers at Neji's skull. The brunette jerked his head back, feeling the wind off Hinata's strike. Neji grabbed Hinata's wrist, twisted her arm before pulling it downward. Hinata winced with pain before thrusting her other palm forward. Neji pulled his head back and moved Hinata's arm downward as well. The heiress scowled while the rogue threw his head forward. The two heads collided as Hinata staggered backwards. Neji quickly rushed forward, intending to land another hit before she recomposed herself. Hinata shook her head before spinning around, summoning a swirling ball of chakra around her whole body. Neji stopped then quickly moved back until Hinata's rotation stopped.
"Nice headbutt," Dosu shouted.
"Give her another," Zaku demanded. Neji smirked, which only made Hinata angrier when she saw it.
"Fine, I guess I'll have to stop toying around," Hinata murmured. "I thought using an all seeing Doujutsu against a blind guy was unfair, but now I guess I'll just have to use my Byakugan anyway." Neji's smirk was now pressed into a hard line. "Yeah, I'd be scared too if I where you."
"Neji," Yahiko whispered, "Please give up…" Hinata's eyes closed for a moment before reopening with her kekkei genkai active.
"Alright…round two, lets go!" Hinata rushed forward with her arm already cocked back.
Neji narrowly avoided Hinata's strike towards his chest. The brunette quickly moved backwards, barely dodging each of Hinata's attacks.
"Come on man," Kiba shouted. "Get her good!"
"He's pretending to be blind, remember," Naruto murmured to his spiky haired companion. "There's not a whole lot he can do offensively without blowing his cover."
"Yeah I remember, but he still got a good headbutt in right?" Yahiko's eyes were wide with shock, trembling slightly with anxiety.
'They don't understand. The Byakugan requires the user to flow chakra into their eyes when active. If Hinata's is active that means she can see a person's chakra flow, and if she hasn't said anything about Neji's eyes then…Neji literally is fighting blind…'
Neji ducked under Hinata's jab, feeling her hand passing through his hair. Neji made a guess as to where she would be and threw his fist at her face. Hinata watched the fist coming at her before she pulled her head back with an even expression. The Hyuga heiress moved behind Neji in the blink of an eye then jabbed him twice around the shoulder area. Neji winced through his teeth as his whole arm hung limply by his side. Hinata grinned with pleasure. Neji quickly swung around, brining his limp arm flinging towards Hinata's face. The heiress ducked in surprise before pivoting around Neji. Her cousin quickly threw his foot outward before Hinata could prepare for a strike. The heiress pulled her head back, watching the foot come dangerously close to her chin. Hinata slid back a few feet as Neji spun around again before throwing a pair of shuriken at her. Hinata smirked as she noticed the shuriken were horribly thrown. She didn't even have to move as they passed by her. However, Hinata noticed something strange on the shuriken. As they both came to either side of her, she noticed there were needles four needles on both sides of the two shuriken with a small steel string attached to them. Hinata's eyes widened for a moment as Neji pulled his fingers back, launching the needles off the shuriken. Hinata quickly swatted one group of needles away, but the other four struck her in the back. The heiress scowled before turning to Neji in her classic stance.
"Well, aren't you quite the sneaky one," Hinata questioned.
"I do what I can with no eyes," Neji replied with a frown. Hinata grinned before lowering her stance.
"Well, I really didn't want to show this, but I guess you've left me no choice." Hinata held one arm forward and the other arm back, crouching as low as she could.
"That's," Sasuke began to say. Kakashi nodded once, his eyes focused on Hinata.
"That's the end of this match…"
Next chapter should be out sometime this weekend.