Authro's note: And now we reach the preliminaries. At least, the first half. I've seen some fics in which the authors barely touch the "unimportant" fights and focus on the ones they deed important (like those involving Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, maybe Sakura and Hinata...). I'm not going to do that, since that's so lazy, even Shikamaru would disprove. While not all the fights will be equally long, I tried to make them exciting and meaningful to some degree.
And as much as I'd like to ignore it, I know that AT LEAST one of the fights just in this part only is going to be controversial. Still, I hope the review section isn't on fire after this chapter. Still, I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter:
Chapter 23:
Preliminaries, Part I
or
More than just hurt feelings
"By the way, let me introduce you the lovely proctor of the third and final phase of the exam, Yugao Uzuki" Jiraiya motioned to the purple haired woman, wearing the usual Konoha uniform as opposed to her ANBU gear. Jiraiya looked at Haku. "But I'm sure that some of you already know her."
Yugao took a step forward. "Alright, I'll be the referee during the fights, both now and during the actual finals. The fight will end when one of the combatants is knocked out, gives up, dies, or I declare a winner. Any questions?"
Sakura raised her hand. "What happens if it's a tie? Like a double KO?"
"In that case, there is no winner and both combatants are eliminated," was Yugao's answer. Sakura looked uneasy. "Anymore questions? No? If that's the case, let us being."
Everybody watched the screen as it flashed names at an imperceptible speed. After no less than thirty seconds, it finally revealed two names.
Tenten VS Omoi
"Alright, everybody but Tenten and Omoi, to the stands! Tenten and Omoi, get over here!" Yugao called.
While Tenten and Omoi got ready to fight, the Genin sat on the stands on the left side, where they were joined by their respective Jonin-sensei. Jiraiya and the rest sat on the stands on the opposite side. The stands were elevated several meters in the air, to both give the spectators a better view, and to protect them from any stray attack.
"Tenten is so lucky! I wish I was the first one to fight!" Lee pouted.
"Don't worry Lee, you will have your chance! Now Tenten needs you to cheer her on!" Gai replied.
"Right! Come on Tenten! Blind everybody with your flames of youth!"
Tenten smiled awkwardly at Lee's overly enthusiastic cheers. She then glanced at Tsunade, who was watching the fight about to begin. A painful memory from the previous year resurfaced once again...
FLASHBACK
Tenten was in a classroom inside Konoha's Hospital, alongside other ninja, studying under Tsunade to be a medic-nin. All of her classmates were already adults, her being the only Academy student. So far, medicine proved to be harder than she had expected, but she had a good feeling about the last test she took.
That is, until Tsunade show her the results of that test.
"What?" Tenten asked, disheartened.
Of the fifty questions the test had, she only answered eight correctly.
Tsunade sighed. She didn't like what she was going to say, but she had to. For the girl's sake, at least.
"Tenten, this is the third test you fail in a row," Tsunade began.
"I know! But don't worry, I'll work harder to make sure I pass the next one!" Tenten was quick to answer.
Tsunade sighed once again. "It's not just the matter of failing. I mean, on this test, you only got eight questions out of fifty right. That's not even a twenty percent," Tsunade held up a hand when Tenten was about to protest to silence her. "Tenten, don't you think that maybe medicine isn't for you?"
"But...but...I always wanted to be like you, Tsunade-sama! You were –are– my inspiration for becoming a kunoichi!" she begged.
"And I'm glad that you see me in such light, but that doesn't mean that you have to follow the same path I did. You can be an awesome kunoichi. I saw your grades at the Academy, and they're promising. You only need to find your right calling. Right now, you're only wasting both our times. Do you understand?"
Deep down, Tenten knew she was right. Being a medic-nin was a delicate job in which the tiniest failure could have horrible repercussions, and she wasn't doing a very good job. Maybe she should quit now and find something else more suited to her.
"Alright, Tsunade-sama. I'll pick another specialty then," Tenten replied, holding back the tears.
Tsunade smiled at her and place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let this get you down, okay? I know talent when I see it."
END FLASHBACK
"Now is my chance to show Tsunade-sama how strong I am," Tenten thought.
"Omoi can't lose this fight, he'll impress all with his might, and his opponent better sees that the best path is to flee!" Killer B rapped, while waving his arms in front of his face.
Everybody stared at the Kumo Jonin, though he didn't notice, or if he noticed, he didn't care.
"Hmmm, so the Raikage sent one of the Jinchuriki here, unprotected? Strange. I'll better keep an eye on him," Jiraiya mused.
All eyes were on Tenten and Omoi, both ready to fight.
"Begin!" Yugao made a chopping motion with her hand and jumped backwards.
Losing no time, Omoi unsheathed his katana and charged at Tenten, who smiled, and pulled out a sealing scroll. She unsealed another katana and a shoto, and charged against the Kumo ninja. Their blades crashed against each others' with loud clangs, producing sparks upon contact.
"I'm glad that you're my opponent. It's been a while since I was able to fight against another swordsman!" Tenten said as she pressed in the offensive.
"Soon you will regret that. Kumogakure is home to some of the best swordsmen of the entire Elemental Nations!" Omoi replied.
They continued trading blows, with none of them appearing to have the upper hand. That moment, Omoi decided to reveal one of his tricks, and made several hand seals.
"Now you will feel to power of Kumo's swordsmen! Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"
Omoi channeled lightning through his katana, which started to crackle with electricity, and charged forwards. Tenten tried to block Omoi's vertical slash, but much to her shock, Omoi's katana sliced through hers as if it was made of butter.
"What!?" Tenten asked in shock, as she jumped backwards to avoid the slash.
"Still glad to fight against me?" Omoi asked, smirking at her.
Tenten smirked back. "Hmph. This was just a setback. If you're superior to me in close quarter combat, I'll simply switch to mid range instead!"
Tenten leaped backwards, and in mid air, she pulled another sealing scroll. Doing a somersault, she opened the scroll, facing Omoi.
"Manipulated Tools: Steel Storm!"
Multiple kunai and shuriken rained upon Omoi, who did his best to deflect them while jumping backwards and sideways to avoid those he couldn't block. Still, some of them managed to graze his skin, causing some superficial cuts.
"I can fight mid-range too!" Omoi stabbed his katana on the ground and made several hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"
Omoi cast his hands forward, releasing multiple lightning bolts, all which impacted on Tenten, still mid air. However, much to his surprise, Tenten disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving a kunai in her place.
"What?" Omoi turned around and saw Tenten smiling at him. But he had no time to react, and the short haired kunoichi greeted him with a kick to his jaw which sent him a few meters back.
"What the hell was that?" Kiba asked, a bit confused.
Knowing that she had no time to waste, Tenten unsealed a kusarigama from one of her scrolls and leaped at Omoi again. The dark skinned boy knew he had no time for ninjutsu, so he pulled out a couple kunai to block her attack. While on mid air, Tenten swung the spiked ball at the end of her kusarigama and tossed it at Omoi tried to block it, but much to his horror, the spiked ball was aimed lower than he had predicted, and the chain wrapped around his ankles. Tenten's foot then slammed against his face, knocking him down like a fallen tree. Tenten then placed the sickle of her kusarigama on Omoi's neck.
"Say it," the kunoichi said, pressing the sickle against his neck.
"Okay, okay, I give up!" Omoi replied. Tenten unwrapped the kusarigama, and helped Omoi on his feet.
"Winner of the match, Tenten!" Yugao announced.
Tenten jumped and squealed in joy. Gai and Lee loudly cheered her as well. Both Tenten and her felled opponent returned to the stands.
"Good fight," Omoi spoke up. "Using Body Replacement with one of your kunai was a neat trick."
Tenten smiled at him. "Thanks. And sorry that you're out of the finals."
"It's okay. I can try the next time."
"Seriously, what the hell was that?" Karui angrily asked to her returning teammate. "First fight of the day and you lose!"
"Hey, calm down! That girl was strong as hell. Plus she caught me off guard" Omoi replied.
Karui scoffed. "Yeah, I saw that."
Meanwhile, Tenten was being congratulated by her teammates, when somebody else approached her.
"Congratulations for your victory, Tenten-sa,n" Haku praised. "Now I see that you were holding back when we sparred yesterday. You're a really strong kunoichi."
"Thanks, Haku! Haha, yes, I usually don't show my best tricks unless absolutely necessary," Tenten replied with a warm smile.
"The next match is about to begin," Neji interrupted and pointed to the screen, where more names were being flashed until it finally stopped after another good half a minute.
Tamaki VS Kegon
"Alright!" Tamaki excitedly said as she jumped into the arena. "Time to kick some ass!"
"Tamaki, be careful," Kiba warned. "According to Akamaru, that guy's chakra level is way above the average Genin."
"I know, I know! Don't worry, I have a plan," the cat kunoichi reassured.
Her opponent, one of Fu's teammates, stepped in without much fuss. Once the two were in front of each other, Yugao motioned them to start.
"Begin!"
Tamaki jumped backwards, bit her thumb, and made five hand seals, before slamming her hands on the floor.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
From a cloud of smoke, two cats wearing blue and red kimonos over a mesh armor appeared at Tamaki's side. Kegon visibly cringed.
"Are those...cats?" the Taki ninja asked, visibly scared.
"Ninja cats" Tamaki punctualized, as she put on two gauntlets with three long metallic claws each. "Why, are you afraid of cats?"
"No, it's not that, it's that- ACHOOO!" the Taki ninja violently sneezed. "I can't stay near cats because- ACHOOO!"
Tamaki couldn't help but chuckle. "You're allergic to cats? Oh boy, this isn't your lucky day, is it?"
"Tamaki-chan, what do you want us to do?" the cat with the blue kimono asked.
Tamaki's mouth formed a wicked grin. "Denka, Hina...tear him to shreds."
The two cats nodded and suddenly disappeared. Kegon was assaulted by two red and blue blurs, which left multiple scars on his body, all while sneezing constantly, and trying to flail his arms aimlessly in a vain attempt to fend off his feline attackers.
"Leave me-ACHOOOO! I can't -ACHOOOOOO! This is-ACHOOOO!"
"Time to end this!" Tamaki rushed towards forward, her claws glowing with a blue light. "Cross Slash!"
Tamaki made two diagonal slashes from opposing angles, forming an X. Kegon managed to pull two kunai and block the attack, but the chakra released blew the tools out of his hands, and knocked him on his back.
"And now-"
"I surrender! ACHOOO! Just take those beasts away from me! ACHOOOO!" Kegon pleaded.
"Winner, Tamaki!" Yugao declared.
"Good job, guys!" Tamaki praised her cats while tossing each of them a tasty treat.
"It was a pleasure, Tamaki-chan," Hina replied as she bit her treat.
"Call us again when you need us," Denka said before both he and his sister disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Tamaki returned to her teammates, which congratulated her. From his seat a couple meters away, Shikamaru stared at her with incredulous eyes.
"A kunoichi who summons cats to combat fights against a guy who's allergic to cats. What are the chances?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, it's like if I fought a ninja that fights with food!" Choji added.
"I don't think such a ninja exists, Choji," Ino rolled her eyes.
"Still, it would be nice to fight against an opponent like that. I wish I had her luck."
Meanwhile, Tamaki's defeated opponent returned to his team as well.
"I didn't know you were allergic to cats," Yoro told his teammate.
"And I'm not" Kegon replied in a whisper. "But it was a believable way to lose. And you may better start thinking in a way to throw your match without raising suspicions."
"Alright, time to start the third match!" Yugao announced as the screen started flashing names once again, until it choose two.
And it was that moment that Shikamaru realized that he didn't have Tamaki's luck. His mouth formed a grimace upon seeing the names of the next match.
Shikamaru Nara VS Temari
Shikamaru groaned. "Why'd it had to be her?"
As they both walked into the arena –or in Shikamaru's case, dragged himself–, Asuma leaned towards his two other students.
"Do you know her?" the bearded Jonin asked.
"We fought against her team during the second phase," Choji explained, and cringed upon remembering how . "Her team is really strong."
"Well, except for that hooded guy with the painted face," Ino's eyes rested on Kankuro. "He refused to use his jutsu so not to give us intel on him, so we don't know how strong he is."
"The girl has some monstrous wind jutsu that not even Shikamaru's fire jutsu were able to counter," Choji continued.
"So, luck didn't smile at Shikamaru. Still, he's an intelligent and resourceful kid. I'm sure he'll manage to overcome his opponent's superior strength" Asuma said.
On the arena, Shikamaru and Temari were in front of each other, Temari smirking evilly, while Shikamaru had an apathetic expression.
"I'm glad that I got to fight you again. That way we can finish the fight we started at the ship," Temari spoke up. "Since I hate to leave a job half done."
Shikamaru snorted. "Well, at least one of us is happy to be here."
"Don't worry. I know you're friends with Naruto, so I'll try not to hurt you," her smirk grew. "Much."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, now I feel much better."
"Ready?" Yugao asked, looking at both of them. "Begin!"
Temari wasted no time and unfolded her massive war fan and prepared to unleash her devastating wind jutsu. However, Shikamaru was faster and got into position to use his.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"
Temari was forced to cancel her attack in order to jump and run away from Shikamaru's shadow. She zigzagged in hopes of slowing down the chasing shadow.
"Dammit, I have nowhere to run!" Temari cursed inwardly as she started to search through her tool pouch for something that could help her. "Come on, come on...! There has to be something that can help me-oh, yes, like this!"
Showing a triumphant smirk, Temari threw a smoke bomb at an intermediate point between herself and Shikamaru, and soon both of them were engulfed by a growing cloud of gray smoke. Unable to see his opponent, Shikamaru canceled his jutsu.
"Your jutsu is useless if you can't see your opponent, isn't it?" Temari said in a taunting manner.
"Maybe, But your wind jutsu will dispel all the smoke the moment you use them. You had a good idea, but you didn't think how it would affect you," Shikamaru retorted as he looked around for Temari's more than likely counterattack.
"Oh, I thought about it just right!"
Much to his shock, Temari appeared in front of him, her fan folded and raised over her head, ready to slam Shikamaru with it. This time, it was the lazy genius' turn to dodge and run away from Temari's melee attacks.
"The shadow and fire jutsu, your underdeveloped muscles...it doesn't take a genius to see that you're a mid-range specialist, aren't you?" Temari asked while attacking ceaselessly.
"I was going to say the same thing about you," Shikamaru replied, while dodging a swing to his head.
"True, but I also trained in melee combat just in case," Temari smirked confidently.
"You don't have to swear it. Those mannish arms speak for themselves," Shikamaru pointed out.
"Just because my arms are strong doesn't mean they're mannish!" Temari protested.
Shikamaru pulled a pair of kunai and blocked the incoming fan. The blow was devastating, and the kunai flew out of his hands. That hit nearly cost him his forearms. Now that he had measured his opponent's strength, there was only one thing he could do.
"I give up!" Shikamaru said as he raised a hand.
A chorus of "what!?" and similar exclamations followed Shikamaru's statement. The loudest came from Ino.
"...uh?" Temari asked, mildly confused. "You do?"
"Just like you said, I'm a ranged specialist. My jutsu work fine when fighting alongside my teammates, but they don't much when I'm alone. You clearly are the superior fighter, and I can't hope to defeat you, hence this is the best course of action," Shikamaru explained.
"Oh, come on!" Temari protested.
"Are you sure you want to give up?" Yugao asked Shikamaru, who nodded in return. "If that's the case, then the winner of this match is Temari!"
In the stands, Kankuro cheered, while Gaara smiled a bit. Despite her victory, Temari didn't look as happy as one would expect.
"This is first match between a Konoha and non-Konoha ninja that is won by the latter. Thanks goodness it was somebody from our team," the puppeteer stated.
"That's not fair. Shikamaru's jutsu are to fight alongside others, not on his own. He's smart and talented enough to become Chunin," Choji complained.
"Maybe, but there are times in which a ninja will be alone and won't have any help, and being dependent on your team isn't good," Asuma replied.
"Besides, look at how easily he gave up" Kakashi noted. "I don't think somebody who quits when things get difficult is ready to become Chunin. Maybe he should train to become a better solo fighter for the next exams."
As Shikamaru and Temari returned to the stands, the screen once again started to flash the names of the possible next match.
"All three matches so far have been a boy versus a girl, and the girl always won. I'm glad to see that there are so many good kunoichi this year, even if some aren't from Konoha," Kurenai noted with a smile of satisfaction.
"Well, it seems that the winner of the next match will be a boy regardless of the outcome," Shizune pointed out.
Everybody looked at the screen, and knew that this was going to be a fight worth watching, given the skill level of both combatants.
Sasuke Uchiha VS Neji Hyuga
Both prodigies eyed each other before getting to the arena. Most Konoha Genin were relieved that two of the most powerful competitors were going to fight each other, and at least only one of them would make it to the finals. The adults, however, thought pretty much the opposite.
"Come on Sasuke-kun, you can do it!" Sakura cheered.
"Yeah, show everybody how awesome you are!" Karin shouted as well.
"I wanted to fight against either of them," Lee pouted, while Tenten rolled her eyes. "Nothing seems to go my way."
"Pity this fight didn't happen in the finals," Jiraiya mentioned. "A clash between these two would surely gave Konoha plenty of publicity."
"Don't underestimate the rest of our Genin, Jiraiya," Tsunade replied. "I'm sure that they will give quite the spectacle as well."
Sasuke and Neji were in front of each other, both eagerly waiting for the proctor to start the match.
"They say that you are among the strongest Genin in Konoha," Sasuke spoke up. "Good. I wouldn't want to go to the finals because I had the luck to fight against a weakling in the prelims."
"Soon you will regret those words, Uchiha. And you will realize that luck had nothing to do with it," Neji replied.
"Ready? Alright then, begin!" Yugao announced.
As expected, the first thing both Genin did was to activate their respective doujutsu before dashing at each other. Neji attacked relentlessly with quick palm strikes. However, Sasuke was able to match his speed and block or deflect all of Neji's hits before they could touch Sasuke, though not without some difficulty. Seeing that in close combat all what he could do is defend, Sasuke jumped backwards.
"Very few people are able to fight a Hyuga in hand to hand combat. Judging by your movements, you have experience fighting against a Gentle Fist practitioner?" Neji asked.
"You could say that. And I know what the so called 'Gentle' Fist can do if you touch me, so that's not gonna happen," Sasuke remarked.
Neji chuckled. "I guess that you sparred against Hinata-sama then," the Hyuga genius concluded. "But don't think that that gives you an edge over me. The skill gap between Hinata-sama and me is as wide as it can get. You can't hope to defeat a lion just because you fought against a cat."
"No, but fighting against Hinata allowed me to learn ways to fight your kind. Such as the fact that as close combat specialists, you have no way of attacking me from afar, a limitation I don't have!" Sasuke's hands then flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke breathed a massive fireball at his Hyuga opponent. But far from being intimidated, Neji just smirked, and in a display of impressive speed, jumped aside to dodge the fireball, while dashing at Sasuke until he was once again in close combat range. Neji managed to land two successful strikes which shut down some of Sasuke's tenketsu before the Uchiha jumped back and drew two kunai.
"Such arrogance, believing that you have figured me out," Neji replied, his smirk still present. "Is it how you are, or is it a Uchiha trait? I believe to be the latter, otherwise, your clan wouldn't have been stupid enough to try to take over the whole village."
Sasuke was doing a pretty good job keeping his cool and staying focused, and that comment pretty much ensured that it would no longer be the case. Then again, that might have been Neji's intention.
"Measure your words, Hyuga, before you say something you might regret," Sasuke coldly threatened, as his grip on his kunai tightened.
Neji, however, was undaunted, and continued with his verbal beat down. "Or else what? Do you think you can intimidate me, Sasuke? Then again, it was the Uchiha who ever managed to make me experience true terror, so maybe I am underestimating you?"
"I'm warning you..." Sasuke started to grit his teeth.
Meanwhile, in the stands, people were listening intently to the exchange between the two prodigies, wondering if Neji resented Sasuke, or was there something more.
"What the hell is that brat doing?" Tsunade asked.
"I believe he's trying to rile Sasuke up so he loses his focus and fights more recklessly" Jiraiya deduced.
"I don't like it. Neji is playing a dangerous game. The fate of our clan is a touchy subject for Sasuke" Shisui commented, uneasy. "He's underestimating Sasuke."
"I don't think I will ever forget about the events of that night. Fights left and right, the sound of metal clashing, the smell of burning wood and spilled blood, my clansmen dying, all while father and Hikari-sama tried to bring Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama and me to safety...and everywhere I looked, there were those red eyes glowing in the dark," Neji recounted. "Where were you that night, Sasuke? Where you comfortably asleep in the safety of your home while your clansmen massacred mine, unaware of the blood that they were spilling?"
That did it. As Sasuke's restraint was completely obliterated, the youngest Uchiha launched himself at the Hyuga prodigy, who was already expecting him in the usual Gentle Fist stance, and a smirk on his face, all the while marveling at how easy it was to goad Sasuke.
However, the Hyuga prodigy found that Sasuke's onslaught wasn't as easy to counter as he had expected. Sasuke's attacks were fast, and put a lot of strength in them, making them hard to block or parry. Still, Neji managed to find and capitalize an opening and stroke Sasuke in the chest with his palm. The Uchiha dropped his kunai, jumped backwards, and coughed some blood.
Neji's smirk widened. "I can sense your killing intent. It's quite potent, might I add. But your desire to hurt me won't become a reality, just like your clan's desire to rule over Konoha."
Sasuke let out a bone-chilling yell, and dashed at Neji once again. The Hyuga prodigy knew that the next time Sasuke made a mistake, it would be the end of the match. Sasuke threw his fist at Neji's face, the latter raising his palm to block it...and then his Byakugan revealed that Sasuke was somehow behind him.
"What?" was all the confused Hyuga could say before Sasuke brutally kicked him in the back, making him fall into the floor face-first. Before Neji could get up, Sasuke kicked him once again in the gut with such force that he was hurled mid air.
Upon getting up, Neji saw multiple shuriken flying at him. Despite his aching body, the Hyuga prodigy managed to nimbly dodge them. Unfortunately for him, Neji didn't notice that the shuriken had ninja wire attached to them. Sasuke pulled back the strings, and the shuriken flew in a circle around Neji, wrapping the wires around him, leaving him immobilized and with his arms pinned to his body.
"Sasuke-kun's chakra is growing darker..." Karin spoke up, as she held her hands together. "I don't like where this is going..."
"Calm down. Neji made Sasuke angry, but I'm sure that he'll be able to keep his anger in check," Shizune reassured.
Or at least, that was what the black haired medic-nin was hoping.
"You want me to be bad? Fine! I'll show you how bad the Uchiha can be!" Sasuke snarled as he made hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Sasuke breathed a stream of flames and used the strings to direct them at the immobilized Neji. At the last second, Neji managed to make enough force with his body to pull Sasuke and thus canceling his fire jutsu, loosening the wires and freeing his arms. Seeing this as his chance to counterattack, Neji dashed at Sasuke, ready to hit any part of his body with a palm strike. However, just like it happened before, Sasuke vanished and appeared behind him once again.
"That's the Body Flicker! How could you-" Neji quickly turned back, but did so in time to receive a painful fist to the lower jaw. Not giving Neji time to react, Sasuke continued his violent onslaught, throwing punches left and right that the battered Hyuga could barely avoid or block.
Everybody in the stands winced. Lee and Tenten got more worried by the second, while Gai lost his ever present cheerful smile, and was replaced by a serious and stoic mask. Hinata squeaked in horror, and she brought her hands to her mouth.
"I never saw Sasuke-kun this angry and hate-filled before..." Sakura mentioned, horror-stricken.
"What's wrong, asshole? Afraid of the big, bad Uchiha?" Sasuke mockingly asked before finishing with a punch to the gut that knocked Neji on his back.
Neji tried to say something, but all what came from his mouth was a pained grunt. Gathering what little energy he had left, the beaten Hyuga managed to get back on his feet
"Okay, I think I already saw enough," Yugao mentioned as she was about to declare Sasuke the winner.
"What is it, do you still want more?" Sasuke snarled as he pulled out another pair of kunai. "Alright, I'm more than happy to oblige!"
"Sasuke, no, stop!" Shizune yelled.
Sasuke then leaped at Neji, ready to stab his kunai into the Hyuga's flesh, but suddenly a grey blur crossed the arena and slammed Sasuke back into the ground. Upon realizing what happened, he saw an angry Shisui pinning him to the floor, while Yugao's sword was centimeters' away from his eyes.
"That's enough, Sasuke," Shisui calmly said.
"Release me! He has to pay for what he said!" Sasuke screamed as he squirmed, but Shisui's hold was too tight for him. "Why are you stopping me? Didn't you hear what he said about our clan!?"
"I did," Shisui replied. "But that doesn't deserve such a comeuppance. You already beat him, let it go. Doing this, you're only dishonoring our clan even further," Shisui then looked at Yugao. "End the match already."
Yugao nodded, and sheathed her sword. "Winner of the match, Sasuke Uchiha!"
Neji couldn't take it anymore and fell on his knees, before laying on the floor, completely still. Tenten and Lee quickly rushed to check him.
"How is he?" Lee anxiously asked.
"I don't know but...he doesn't look good" Tenten replied as she stared at Neji's bloodied form.
"Maybe I can be of help," a new voice said. Lee and Tenten realized that Karin was now with them. "Lift his head, please. Trust me, I'm a medic."
Deciding to trust Karin, Lee and Tenten did as she instructed them. Karin rolled up her sleeve, and placed her forearm near Neji's mouth. "Bite my arm."
Neji wondered what Karin wanted to do, but he didn't have any energy left to argue with her, and decided to obey. As he sank his teeth on her flesh, Neji felt a wave of chakra coursing through his body, restoring his energy, closing his wounds and erasing the pain. At least to some extent. After a few seconds, Neji was able to stand on his own.
"Thank you," the Hyuga replied. "But why did you help me?"
"The duty of a medic is to help the wounded. Though if you want, you can think of it as me trying to make up for Sasuke-kun's beating," Karin admitted a bit sheepishly. "Though I believe you should go with them, my ability only patched you up a little."
The three Genin of Team Gai turned back to see a couple of uniformed medic-nin carrying a stretcher. Neji agreed, and left with the medic-nin.
Back at the stands, Sakura was also healing Sasuke from the wounds caused by Neji. While healing Sasuke is something she usually enjoyed, there was no joy this time around.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura spoke up.
"Drop it, Sakura. Whatever you want to say or ask, just don't" Sasuke icily said before the pinkette could finish.
"O-OK..." Sakura stammered, and continued healing him until she finished. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes " the Uchiha grumpily replied. "Thank you."
Everybody soon remembered that the exam was still going on. The screen once again started to flash names, until it stopped after thirty seconds or so.
Naruto Uzumaki VS Sakura Haruno
"Aw yes, finally, my turn!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fists.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.
"Sakura isn't the worst opponent you could fight against, but don't lower your guard, understood?" Kurenai warned him.
"Don't worry! I have been developing a special jutsu that I'm sure will grant me victory!" Naruto said as he headed towards the arena.
Meanwhile, Shizune was also giving her student some pointers before the fight.
"...and don't let him fight you in a war of attrition. Naruto-kun has a monstrous stamina and chakra levels, and you will exhaust before he does," Shizune explained. "I know that you're smarter and have a better chakra control than him, so use that to your advantage."
"Don't worry sensei, I will," Sakura replied before walking to the arena as well.
Naruto and Sakura walked towards each other until there was only a small space between them, with Yugao on it. Both of them stared at each other, the fire of determination burning in their eyes.
"Are you ready? Begin!" Yugao announced.
Naruto jumped backwards while made a hand seal that preceded his favorite jutsu. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A dozen Naruto's appeared from small clouds of smoke and rushed at Sakura and quickly surrounded her. The clones charged at her, and Sakura expertly dodged their attacks before dispelling them with her chakra-enhanced punches. The original Naruto, who wasn't part of the attack, analyzed the experience he received from his clones.
"Damn, your super strength improved a lot," Naruto commented. "Fighting you in close combat is not an option then."
"Wise decision," Sakura smiled in satisfaction. "I should thank you for showing me this technique. It fits like a glove with my excellent chakra control. I bet now you regret teaching this to me, don't you?"
Naruto just smiled and shook his head. "Absolutely not. This only adds to the challenge. And if I can't beat you, then I don't deserve to advance any further."
"Well said," Sakura then cracked her knuckles. "Then, it's my turn to attack!"
The pinkette launched herself at Naruto, her fist already raised. Naruto knew that under any circumstances, he couldn't let Sakura to hit him not even once, or the match would be over. Sakura seemed to think that her enhanced strength would be enough to win the fight. Naruto decided to show her how wrong she was. The orange-clad ninja jumped backwards, and once again summoned more shadow clones.
"Get her!" the original commanded, and the clones charged once more.
"Very smart, Naruto, wearing me down with your clones while you comfortably watch from the distance," Sakura said as she met the army of blondes. "But like hell if I'm going to let you do that!"
Sakura plowed through the clones, dispelling some, ignoring the rest, and going for the original. She gathered chakra in her arm.
"Uh?" Naruto dumbly asked.
"You're mine!" Sakura sank her fist into Naruto's gut, who wheezed as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Sakura smirked triumphantly.
...and much to her confusion, Naruto smirked back at her. Then he poofed in a cloud of smoke.
"What the hell?" Sakura asked in shock.
She turned around and saw the rest of the Naruto clones –she guessed the original should be among them–, charging at her, kunai in hand. Sakura pulled her own kunai and tried to parry the rain of slashes.
"What happened? Sakura saw the original Naruto creating and sending the clones," Sasuke commented. "How could he trick her?"
"Easy. Naruto used the Body Replacement Jutsu with one of his clones. That way, if the original is in danger, he can just switch places with a clone and the enemy will be none the wiser," Shizune explained.
Sasuke pondered her sensei's words. That combo wouldn't be very useful for a normal person, since even the ninja with the biggest chakra reserves couldn't create more than a few clones at a time. However, Naruto could create dozens and dozens. That meant that as long as Naruto had clones, he could avoid almost any kind of harm.
"Sakura will have a hard time countering that kind of defense," Karin mentioned.
"Don't underestimate your teammate, Karin. Sakura is a very resourceful girl," Shizune replied, confident in her words.
Back to the fight, Sakura was fending off against the multiple Naruto clones, parrying their attacks and dispelling them when she had the chance, when she was left momentarily wide open, and a Naruto clone stabbed his kunai on her shoulder.
"HA!" the clone shouted in triumph.
...and much to his shock, his kunai shattered, as if somehow the pinkette's skin was made of steel. The rest of the clones shared his shock.
"What the hell!?"
Sakura smirked, grabbed the clone by the arm, and used it to beat the rest of the stupefied clones until only one was left behind, the original Naruto.
"What the...don't tell me that you can use the chakra-enhanced strength to harden your skin! Because not even mom can do that!" Naruto asked, still in awe.
Sakura smiled. "It's much easier than that, Naruto," and then, Sakura's peach colored skin turned grayish brown, while her pink hair turned a shade of dark silver. "The name of the jutsu is Earth Release: Iron Skin. Usually you cast it beforehand, but I tweaked it a bit so it remains hidden and automatically triggers upon being hit. That way you can catch your opponents off guard, kinda like the Body Replacement."
"So you do have an impressive defense as well," Naruto replied.
"Of course. I'm a medic-nin in training, and medics are among the first ones targeted in a fight. I need to have a way to protect myself that does not rely on an escort," Sakura explained.
"Interesting. And how long does that jutsu last?" Naruto asked.
Sakura smirked at him. "Like hell I'm going to tell you. But then again, I'm not going to let you to drag out the fight for you to find it either."
"Well, good luck with that then" Naruto then formed ten Shadow Clones. "You have no way of stopping me from creating clones, and you will run out of chakra long before I do, and then you will only have your taijutsu, which no offense, isn't very impressive."
"Fortunately, Shizune-sensei taught me a jutsu that I can use to hit you and all your clones at once," Sakura made a hand seal and puffed her cheeks. "Poison Mist!"
Sakura exhaled a huge purple poisonous cloud, forcing Naruto and his clones to jump backwards and put some distance. He started making hand seals to one of his wind jutsu, when Sakura spoke up again.
"And if you're thinking in using your wind jutsu to dispel the poison, keep in mind that doing so may send the poison mist towards the people watching us, and you wouldn't want that, wouldn't you?" Sakura replied. Naruto couldn't see her, but he knew she had a smug smile on her face.
"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Naruto asked.
"Indeed I did. So you better give up now. The poison is not lethal, but it will inflict you great amounts of pain," Sakura explained.
"Give up? I don't know the meaning of those words" Naruto said with a confident grin. "Besides, just because I can't use wind to dispel the poison cloud, it doesn't mean that I can't get rid of it."
"Really? How so?" Sakura asked.
"Did Shizune nee-chan tell you that the poison she makes is extremely flammable?" Naruto asked.
"Of course I do. It's a good way to get rid of it in a fast and easy way, as well as being used as a makeshift explosive," Sakura replied. "But I know you don't have any fire jutsu."
"No… but I have explosive tags" Naruto stated.
Sakura stared at him blankly. "...shit."
Naruto tossed a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, and upon exploding, the purple cloud went up in flames. One of the clones used a light wind jutsu to dispel the ensuing smoke.
"And now, it's about time to end this," Naruto declared as he cracked his knuckles.
"Okay, maybe you neutralized my strategy, but we're still back at square one! With my Iron Skin, you have no way of inflicting any harm on me!" Sakura said as she angrily pointed at Naruto.
"No, but I have a jutsu that will knock you out, one that your impressive defense won't protect you from!" Naruto retorted.
Sakura scoffed. "Ha! If you had such an impressive jutsu all along, why didn't you use it before?"
"Because I didn't think it would be necessary. And frankly, because I don't think you deserve to have this jutsu used on you. You're a nice girl. Most of the time" Naruto's words were laced with a feeling of regret.
"Are you implying I'm weak!? Because I'm not! Come on Naruto, do your worst then!" Sakura taunted him.
"Alright...don't say I didn't warn you," Naruto dispelled his clones and charged at Sakura, who adopted a defensive fighting stance. "I'm very sorry Sakura, I hope you don't hate me for doing this."
Back in the stands, Tsunade was trying to figure out what kind of jutsu Naruto was talking about.
"Jiraiya, what is Naruto talking about? Because so far I can only think in a jutsu that can pierce Sakura's defense," the Slug Sannin commented. "Did you...?"
"I know which one are you thinking of, and I can tell you that I didn't teach him yet," Jiraiya replied. "It has to be something Naruto came up on his own."
"By the way he talked, it doesn't seem to be anything short of an A-Rank jutsu," Tsunade replied.
Everybody shared Tsunade and Jiraiya's curiosity about Naruto's fabled jutsu. Still, they were only a few seconds from finding out.
"Here it comes!" Naruto said, forming a hand seal.
"Whatever it is, I am ready!"
However, Sakura wasn't ready for the power Naruto was about to unleash. The poor girl would never be ready.
"Uchiha Harem Jutsu!"
"...wah?"
Multiple clouds of smoke appeared around Sakura, and when the smoke dispersed, the pinkette found herself surrounded. But not surrounded by Naruto clones, at least not normal ones. These clones were transformed into Sasuke. Into a naked version of Sasuke, with only a wisp of smoke covering their crotches. The naked Sasukes were in a variety of sexy poses, some of them blowing kisses to the stunned Sakura.
"Hey there, beautiful," one of the Sasuke's said in a very un-Sasuke-y way.
"Why don't you come to play with me?" another one said in a very sultry voice.
"I'm all yours," another one said.
Everybody else in the stands had different reactions to Naruto's "Ultimate Jutsu". Most of the girls his age (including Ino, regardless of how much she would deny it later) were staring at the many naked Sasukes, drooling with blood coming from their noses. The boys and some adults cringed at the display. Many women, including Tsunade, Shizune and Kurenai felt a mixture of disappointment and unbridled rage. But it was nothing compared to the fury that Sasuke was feeling right now.
Wherever Sakura looked, all she saw was naked Sasukes. She could barely move. She tried to close her eyes, but they didn't obey the brain's orders, since they were too busy eating the eye candy before them. Until Sakura couldn't take it anymore, and the high pressure blood coming from her nose launched her into the air as if she was rocket, until she slammed into the –very high– ceiling, only to crash down into the floor.
Yugao checked the pink-haired kunoichi. She was still alive and breathing, though unconscious. A lewd smile adorned her face.
"Uhhh...winner, Naruto Uzumaki," Yugao unenthusiastically declared. The naked Sasuke's disappeared, leaving only a smiling Naruto.
"Yay!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fists.
Upon returning to the stands, Naruto was congratulated by Hinata and Haku. Kurenai, however, didn't look as happy.
"A well earned victory, I must admit," Kurenai said in an icy tone. "But you and I need to have a talk about that last jutsu you used there."
Far from being intimidated, Naruto just shrugged. "Hey, if a vision of a naked guy sends Sakura into such state...well, I wouldn't say she's ready to be a Chunin, don't you think?"
Kurenai pondered his words for a few seconds. "I guess that there's some truth to that. Still, I wish you used a more conventional way to defeat her. You won't be able to turn your enemies' libido against them all the time."
"Eh, I thought it was a good way to knock her out without harming her much. I mean, I could have summon a toad, but I thought that was a bit overkill. Though I have would have done it if I had no other options," the blond replied.
Hinata started to wonder if she would have been able to resist a vision of a dozen naked Naruto's around her, or if she would have the same reaction as Sakura. She would never know, and she realized that maybe it was for the best.
After the medic-nin reanimated Sakura, the defeated pinkette returned to the stands, saddened.
"Well, there goes my chance of being Chunin," Sakura said, letting out a sigh.
"Don't be so glum. You did pretty good against Naruto. And you can always try again in six months," Shizune tried to cheer her up, though right now it was of little help.
Once again, everybody directed their attention to the screen, names flashing at an imperceptible speed once again, until it stopped on two names:
Choji Akimichi VS Yoro
The Akimichi clan heir and the Taki ninja went into the arena.
"Come on Choji, I know you can do it," Asuma told Choji with a genuine smile that Choji returned.
"Dammit, how the hell I'm going to lose against this fat ass and make it look believable?" Yoro thought, while his mind raced through the possibilities.
Once the two fighters were in front of each other, the match was ready to start.
"Begin!" Yugao announced, while making a chopping motion.
Choji wasted no time and charged at his opponent while doing a hand seal. "Partial Multi-size Jutsu!"
Choji's arms suddenly increased their size, and with his newly giant hands, tried to crush Yoro as if he was trying to kill a mosquito. Yoro, however, merely jumped to avoid the giant clap, and while in air, tossed a shuriken before doing several hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"
The one shuriken turned into a dozen, and Choji instinctively covered himself with his giant arms. The shuriken embedded themselves into his arms, but at that size, they hurt as much as being poked with a needle. After wiping the shuriken away, Choji's arms returned back to normal.
"Not bad, kid, not bad," Yoro complimented, as he smirked at Choji.
Choji smirked back, or at least, tried to smirk. "That's only one of my clan's many secret jutsus There's more when that came from!"
"Why don't you show me, then?"
"With pleasure!" Choji made another hand seal. "Multi-size Jutsu!"
Mucho to Yoro's surprise, Choji's body bloated and inflated until turning into a human balloon with tiny arms and legs sticking from it. Then, the head and his limbs disappeared inside his clothes, as if Choji was a turtle, and the human boulder started to roll towards Yoro at an impressive speed.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
Yoro saw his opportunity and wasn't going to waste it. He made several hand seals. "That's not bad either, but that's not good enough! Water Release: Water Gun!"
Yoro expelled a stream of water from his mouth against the human boulder, managing to slow it down considerably. Yoro knew that if he poured more chakra into the jutsu, he could push Choji back. So naturally, he started to subtract Chakra from it, allowing Choji to gain speed and momentum until he finally slammed against the Taki ninja, violently hurling him backwards.
"UGH!" everybody cringed at the thought of being steamrolled by such an attack.
Yoro was now regretting his tactic. That jutsu was way more powerful than it appeared at first. At the very least, his defeat would be believable now. Gathering his strength, he managed to get back on his feet.
"Proctor, I can't keep going!" Yoro shouted, raising a hand.
Choji apparently heard this as he canceled his Human Bullet Tank, and returned to his usual form.
"Since Yoro has forfeited, Choji is the winner of the match!" Yugao declared.
"Alright!" Choji cheered enthusiastically as he returned to the stands.
As for Yoro, he was carried away by a couple of medic-nin.
Upon returning to his team, Choji was approached by his teammates.
"You did it, Choji!" Ino cheered, patting him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, good one," Shikamaru added. "It's good to see that at the very least one of us will go to the finals."
"Make that two! I have no intention of losing my match!" Ino defensively replied.
"I wasn't implying anything about you, Ino," Shikamaru just shook his head.
"You know, given their age, those Takigakure ninjas are surprisingly weak," Haku commented.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Well, let's say that when this round began, I wasn't betting on Tamaki-san and Choji-san making to the finals, given that of all the present ninja here, they have to be among the weakest," Haku explained.
"Well, Tamaki-san had the luck of fighting an opponent who was allergic to her summons," Hinata piped in.
"Too bad there are no people allergic to toads, or so I think," Naruto commented. "But then again, there would be no fun in winning like that."
Sasuke overheard Team Kurenai's conversation. It seemed that the Taki ninja wouldn't be able to maintain their cover for much longer. It was a stroke of luck that Sasuke's team was the one keeping their secret. Karin would have noticed Yoro purposefully decreasing the power of his jutsu to let Choji win. Ino, being also a sensor, would have noticed it as well, but she was just too happy for her teammate's victory to notice or care.
"Alright, so far so good," Jiraiya said, pleased. "We had half the matches, and with the exception of that Suna girl, all the finalists are Konoha Genin. And I'm sure that there will be more in the second half."
"Well, there are still plenty of Konoha Genin," Tsunade observed, and scanned the remaining competitors. "I'm glad that Naruto won, but it's a pity that he had to fight against Sakura. I want at least one of my medic students to make it to the finals. The world needs to see the value of our medic-nin."
"I'm sure some of them will pass. Sakura merely had bad luck," Jiraiya replied.
Once again, the screen started to flash names, until it stopped and displayed the next two combatants. There was a collective gasp, followed by a deafening silence.
Gaara's mouth curved into a smirk. "About time. I was getting tired of waiting."
...
Author's Note: Okay, a lot of discuss here.
First of all, sorry for the Shikamaru vs Temari fight. I pride myself in being original, yet I went with one of the biggest cliches when it comes to the Chunin Exams in fanfiction. They were going to fight against different people, even if Shikamaru was stll going to lose and Temari was going to win. But in the end I ended up making them fight each other since I wanted more interaction between them, and this is a set up for a scene between them in a future chapter.
Speaking of Shikamaru, despite what this chapter might made you think, let me assure you that I don't hate him (far from it). But I'm sick and tired of seeing how Shikamaru always gets a promotion no matter what (sometimes he's the ONLY ONE who gets a promotion). The last straw was a fanfic in which he was promoted despite not fighting in the finals. So sorry for Shikamaru and his fans, but he won't be Chunin yet.
I always wanted to see a Sasuke vs Neji fight (at least before the gap between them was too big for such a fight not to be hilariously one sided) and I was very disappointed that neither the manga nor none of the fanfics I've read ever had one. Well, with the exception of "War of the Bijuu". I also want to write a rematch when both of them are more powerful, and their fight can be the focus of the chapter instead of having to share it with other five fights.
A Hinata vs Sakura fight is something very common to see (the winner is usually the one who happens to be Naruto's love interest), but I never saw a Naruto vs Sakura or Naruto vs Hinata, and thought that it would be interesting. Guess that most writers don't do this since Naruto is usually way stronger than either girl, and indeed it was hard to write since I wanted Sakura to be at least a moderate challenge (and Naruto still had to hold back a bit), but at the same time I didn't want her to be too overpowered. I guess it's up to you guys to decide if I was succesful or not.
And on one last note, let's talk about nobody's favorite character, Tenten. I always hate how she's always canon fodder in the Chunin Exams (again, just because she was cannon fodder in the manga), so I'm going to treat her with a bit more respect here, and hopefully show the raw potential of her abilities (but fear not, I won't make her into an overpowered Mary Sue).
Guess that's all. You know already that Gaara will open the second part of the prelims, but who will be his unlucky opponent? In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!