Preliminaries begin; Blood Sport!
Two pairs of eyes; one blue, the other brown, stared in disgust at the hideous black mark that was imprinted on Sasuke's neck.
"Damn it," the owner of the blue pair cursed.
Naruto was upset that he'd allowed Orochimaru the opportunity to get within marking distance of his raven-haired team-mate.
'But then, judging from the power I felt coming off that monster, there wouldn't have been anything I could have done to stop him anyway if he'd been fighting seriously.'
"This isn't good," Anko growled from beside the blonde genin. The Special-Jounin hung off of Naruto's shoulder, her body still drained from fighting off the effects of her own curse mark.
Sakura, who was still kneeling down beside a pain-stricken Sasuke, heard the older kunoichi and immediately asked, "Why? Anko-san what's wrong with Sasuke-kun; what did Orochimaru do to him?"
Before the woman could answer though, Sasuke let out a particularly loud wail, "Aahhrrgh!"
Everyone's attention was drawn to young Uchiha heir as he rolled around on the large branch in agony. The Sharinganwielder clutched his neck tight, as if getting ready to rip away the section of skin causing him so much pain.
Anko noticed this and quickly called out, "Quick, pull his hand away from there!"
Sakura jumped at the loud order, but none the less did as she was told. With trembling hands the pink-haired girl gripped her loves own shaking one and gently pried his fingers away.
"His hands...they're on fire!"
"From what I can remember that's normal for the first stage," Anko explined. "He's going to have an intense fever for a while; and if he lives through that, the kid's gonna wish that was all he had to put up with."
"If he lives!?"
The purple-haired kunoichi sent the younger girl a glare. "Did I stutter?"
"B-But Anko-san I don't understand; what is this thing? What's it doing to Sasuke-kun, and why does it sound like it might kill him!?"
"Because it just might."
Then, Anko turned her attention to Naruto," Do you and your team have both scrolls? Because if not, you'll unfortunately be disqualified once we reach the tower."
"We do," was the blonde's quick response. "I'm guessing you wanna tell the old man about this?"
Anko nodded, "Yeah, he needs to know that Orochimaru was, and still might be, here. And there's also the matter of seeing what he can do about the kid's new little tattoo; if this is a newer version, then there might be a way to actually undo it."
"Alright."
And with that, Naruto created a clone and had it settle the fevered Uchiha on its back.
Sakura, seeing that they were getting ready to head out, stood on her feet and wiped the tears from her emerald-green eyes. Sniffling, she sent a hopeful smile in the other two ninja's direction, "If anybody can help Sasuke-kun it's Lord Hokage. I'm sure he'll be just fine."
Brown and blue eyes peered at each other in concern before the group began their trek towards the central tower.
What would Sakura do if Sasuke didn'tmake it?
They made it to the tower quickly; many of the teams had stopped for the night, leaving them a clear window. And with Anko's knowledge of the terrain, it was easy to navigate through the dark.
Once they were about to exit the main area of the forest the purple-haired woman called a stop. Naruto eyed her warily, thinking she was still worn out from being subjected to her seal, while Sakura looked antsy.
"What is it, what's wrong?" The pinkette questioned.
"Nothing. In fact, it's what's right that caused me to order a halt." She turned to look at the genin that had helped move her through the forest, "You can let me make the rest of the way by myself kid, I'm definitely okay enough to walk."
"Are you sure Anko? I don't mind-"
"I know you don't," the Special-Jounin cut him off. "And I appreciate the help, but, there's no way I'm going in there sung over the shoulder of a genin."
The blonde's response was to give her a look of annoyed disbelief.
Anko gave Naruto a playful glare, "Don't give me that look short-stack. It's nothing against you personally; I'm a Jounin. How do you think it'll look to the other shinobi in the tower if we go in there with me all slung over your shoulder? Especially me being a kunoichi; it'd be bad for my reputation."
Blue eyes lit with understanding. "Oh, right, okay Anko."
And so the two ninja untangled themselves. At first, the older woman almost thought she'd have no choice but to re-accept the blonde Uzumaki's aid, but with a deep breath, Anko managed to pull enough of herself together to where the Special-Jounin felt help wouldn't be needed.
From there, the group walked the remaining few yards to the tower, and upon entering were confronted by a large scroll hanging along the main wall. As Sakura began to read it though, Anko stopped her.
"That's not important right now little girl, we need to open those scrolls now."
Sakura looked at the superior shinobi with trepidation, "B-But you said-"
"Oh for crying out loud!"
Anko pulled the Heaven scroll from the pinkette's hand, which had been given to her during the trip, and then motioned for Naruto to pull out the Earth scroll he had. "Alright, now once we crack their seals we're gonna throw them on the ground, got it?"
When Naruto nodded his affirmative the proceeded to do as she'd said, and once the two pieces of rolled parchment hit the ground, a huge plume of smoke appeared. They had summoned something.
Or rather, someone.
Once the smoke cleared away, the group was met with the sight a Iruka standing proudly before them with a big grin on his face. Although, that soon turned into a distressed look of shock when he saw the state his former students were in, as well as their company.
"You guys, what happened!? And Anko, what are you doing with them; I thought outside help was forbidden?"
"Explanations later scar-face, right now, I need you to report to the Hokage and tell him to get down here immediately. Tell him That it's urgent, and if he give you any drivel about the 'rules of the exams' then tell him that that kind of thinking might cost this village its last Sharingan user."
While at first he was miffed about the 'scar-face' comment, Iruka caught the tail end of his superiors order. Once look at a writhing Sasuke, and the chunin's face set like stone as he shunshin away to carry out his orders.
Once he was gone, Anko turned her attention back to Naruto.
"Alright gaki, I want your clone to take the Uchiha whelp to the infirmary; it's through those doors at the end of the hall," she pointed to a pair of brown double doors over on the far right. "After that, just make sure you're easy to find for when the Hokage finally gets here."
"What about you Anko?"
The Special-Jounin ran her hand across her face before rubbing her eyes, "I'm gonna go see if I can catch a nap before the old man gets here. I'm more ragged out than I thought."
And with that, the woman followed Iruka's lead and exited via shunshin, leaving Team 7 alone.
Sakura took this moment to vent her frustrations and to ask questions.
"What kind of Jounin is she? Shouldn't she have taken us to the infirmary herself instead of walking off to take a nap?"
"Sakura," Naruto interjected, "be quiet. Anko had a rough time out in the forest; worse than anything you'll probably ever go through, so leave it alone. If she's tired, let her rest, and stop needing someone to hold your hand everywhere."
With that, the blonde motioned for his clone to carry Sasuke to the infirmary before he himself went in the opposite direction.
Sakura noticed this as she followed his clone and called out, "Hey wait, where are you going Naruto?"
"I told you before," he replied over his shoulder, "I'm hungry. Just because the teme's got a new tattoo doesn't change that."
Then, before Sakura could berate the young blonde, he walked through a separate set of double doors and was gone. The pinkette decided to simply glare at the Uzumaki's clone, and then huff and walk towards the medical facility.
After making his exit Naruto concentrated his senses on finding the cafeteria; going so far as to apply chakra to his nose. With this boost, it didn't take the blonde more than a moment to sniff out the scent of food.
"Just because I can go a few days without food, doesn't mean I like it," he muttered before slinking through the halls.
It was a few minutes before Naruto found his way to the food hall. But once he arrived, the young jinchuuriki decided it was more than worth the walk. The delightful smell of rice and chicken greeted his senses, and made the genin's mouth water. He loved chicken.
Naruto quickly strode up to the serving line and received his plate. Alongside the rice and chicken the blonde spotted a pile of vegetables; he grimaced. In spite of everything, the Uzumaki boy still couldn't get the pro's of eating the ground-grown food to outweigh their unsavory taste.
Once he had his share of food, the blonde looked around at where to sit; the choice was made for him by a waving brunette with buns in her hair.
"Hey Ten-Ten," Naruto greeted politely as he came upon her team's table.
The girl in question gave a friendly smile as she returned the greeting, "Glad to see you managed to make it through the forest; and so fast too." She motioned for him to sit.
Naruto pulled Kubikiribocho from its strap and leaned it against the table, "Yeah, it only took us most of...yesterday to get the scroll we needed."
The bandaged genin had checked the clock, and noticed that it had entered into the second day of testing.
"Really? That's impressive; who'd you take it from?"
"From some punk named Ranmaru," the blonde said through a mouthful of rice. Across the table, Neji gave Naruto a disgusted look before picking lightly at his own food. Naruto glared at the male Hyuga, "You got something you wanna say pretty boy?"
"Nothing that an uncivilized mongrel like you would understand," the white-eyed genin snarked.
Naruto's jaw tensed. But before he could make a comeback Ten-Ten intervened. "So, what was this Ranmaru guy like? Did he have a special jutsu he was known for yet?"
"Actually," the blonde bit out, "he wielded a giant club, and pretty much said that ninja who only use jutsu aren't real shinobi...right before using a wind-style technique."
The guy's choice of weapon caught the bun-haired girl's attention, as she had yet to get a hold of one, "What was it like; fighting against a tetsubo I mean."
"Not too sure really; I never personally clashed steel with the guy. My clone did once, as part of a distraction, but other than that nothing. I used my mist throughout the entire fight."
"Oh, well that's a little disappointing," Ten-Ten sighed, "he must not have been very skilled with it then. I hear that you can make it so the spikes eject from the base, so they can be shot from a medium-range distance. Guess I'll never really know."
That confused Naruto.
"Why not? Can't you just buy one from one of the shops around the village?"
Ten-Ten shook her head. "No. The war club isn't native to the Land of Fire; it has to be purchased in either Earth or Wind. Our native weapons are all blades."
"Oh," Naruto looked down at his half-eaten plate. "Sorry I didn't think to bring it; I didn't have anywhere to put it."
"You don't know basic sealing?"
The blonde's response was a shake of the head.
"Then I guess I'll have to show you how, so that something like this doesn't happen again. Wouldn't want you to come across Ameyuri and have to leave Kiba behind because you had no way to bring it back."
While the prospect of learning sealing intrigued Naruto, there was something that had nagged at him since their last talk.
"How are you so sure I'll run into this Ameyuri anyway Ten-Ten? You make it sound like it's just gonna happen."
The bun-haired girl finished the last of her chicken before replying, "It's because, each of the Seven Swordsmen keeps tabs on their fellow members; just like any other group. They would need to know when and if somebody dies, so that they can find a replacement, or test the one who defeated that member to see if they deserve the honor of wielding their former comrade's blade."
Naruto hummed in understanding, and went to say something else, but was interrupted by the appearance of Anko; who had just arrived through the cafeteria doors.
"Hey kid, the Hokage's here, I need you to come with me to report on what happened."
Naruto nodded before getting up from the table and returning his broadsword to its place. Turning to Ten-Ten, the blonde gave a small apologetic smile, "Sorry about the interruption. We can talk more later, okay?"
Ten-Ten just gave a reassuring grin and motioned for him to go. "Yeah, sounds good."
Seeing as he had the okay, Naruto turned his attention back to Anko and waited for her to lead the way.
xXx
The two shinobi made their way quickly towards the administrative part of the central tower. Once they entered into the room Naruto and Anko were greeted with the sight of their Hokage sitting in his makeshift desk with Kakashi and Iruka standing on either side of him.
Anko bowed to her leader and greeted him respectfully, "Lord Hokage, I've retrieved genin Uzumaki for his part of the report."
"Thank you Anko, Naruto's input is imperative for us to take any further action against Orochimaru." Hiruzen turned his hardened eyes to the blonde in the room and motioned for him to proceed with his report.
Naruto stepped forward and began to speak. He explained how he had been drawn away from his team-mates by Orochimaru's underling and how he dispatched the enemy ninja; too the shock of most of the shinobi present. After that, the blonde told of how he caught up with Orochimaru and his team, and then Naruto gave his superiors a play-by-play of his skirmish with the legendary genius.
"Wait," Iruka stopped him as Naruto got to the part where Anko had intervened, "you know water and wind style?"
Blue eyes crinkled in confusion, "Um, Iruka-sensei what's so weird about that? I saw Kakashi-sensei use water and lighting jutsu against Zabuza in Wave.
His response was a number of shocked and surprised looks.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed in curious scrutiny as he stared down Kakashi. "So you mean to tell me that you've already taught your student a C-rank and D-ranked water jutsu as well as another which happened to be a Jounin-level B-rank? And, on top of that, he was taught a wind-"
"Actually," Naruto jumped in, "sorry old man but, Kakashi-sensei didn't teach me the Air-Bullet jutsu, I taught that to myself."
Iruka eyed his former student with surprise and pride. Gone was the trouble-making loudmouth it seemed, and in his place was a young man who was willing to do whatever it took to succeed as a shinobi; even if it meant learning a jutsu that may not even be in alignment with his chakra nature.
In the scarred chunin's eyes, there seemed to be no doubt that Naruto would indeed be Konoha's next Hokage.
Anko seemed to share a similar sentiment, as she slapped a hearty hand across the blonde's back and laughed with mirth. "You're a riot, you know that gaki? Not even a chunin yet and already playing around with different chakra natures; and one of em's rare to boot."
"I don't get it," Naruto questioned, "what did I do?"
"Kakashi will explain to you later Naruto, for now, would you please get back to your report? We've gotten far too side-tracked." Hiruzen ordered lightly.
The blonde's brows rose in realization before his face settled back into a serious look. "You're right, sorry old man. Anyways, after Anko showed up, Orochimaru activated this seal that she has on her neck before taking off to find Sasuke. He knew that I would take care of a fellow Leaf shinobi before chasing after an enemy."
"And that's when my old student gave the young Uchiha his curse seal," finished the Hokage.
"That's right," confirmed the Uzumaki.
Hiruzen steepeld his fingers in front of his mouth and hummed lightly in concentration. The room was blanketed in silence for a time before Iruka finally asked, "Lord Hokage, w-what do you intend to do?"
"Unfortunately, at this moment, we can't do anything about Orochimaru. He's always been a master of concealing himself, so it's highly unlikely that we'll find him, and I'd rather not cancel the exams without some measure of assurance that we'll catch him."
Anko raised her hand to signal that she had something to say.
When her village leader nodded for her to voice her thoughts the woman offered that they didn't have to cancel the exams, "But, I think it'd be a good idea to pull the Uchiha from the exams. It's obvious that my old teacher's goal is to get his hands on the kids Sharingan, and there's no telling what that new curse seal may do to him during the final test, so I believe it'd be best if the genin didn't participate."
"Hmm," the Hokage mumbled. "I see your point Anko. However, if we do bar him from competing, we'll more than likely be forced to place a small platoon of Anbu as his guard until they are over. Orochimaru, as you said, is aiming for the Uchiha's kekkei genkai and so no doubt he has a hole somewhere near by where he's waiting for the right time to pilfer it. If we give him a guard, that would do little to stand in his way, and ultimately cost us a number of skilled ninja."
The snake mistress could see where this was going and sighed, "So then you're going to allow him to continue."
It wasn't a question, she already knew the answer.
"Yes. At least so long as young Sasuke doesn't show any signs of the seal taking control of his actions."
He saw the disagreement in is subordinates brown orbs. "I know how you feel about Orochimaru and that seal Anko, but I believe the best course of action is going to be keeping Sasuke in the exams."
Anko wanted to argue, but managed to hold her tongue. He was the Hokage, and in a ninja village, his word was law.
"In any case, I think this may give us an idea as to what young Kabuto has been compiling that information for; it's very likely that he's a spy for Orochimaru."
"What would a Sannin want with skill assessments of a bunch of genin," asked Naruto.
The Hokage sighed, "Unfortunately that's classified information; something a genin has no jurisdiction knowing. But if it's for what I'm thinking, then we'll need to increase village security during the coming months. We'll say that it's to protect the incoming nobles."
"So we're basically doing nothing with the information we have," Naruto rebuked in disbelief. "We're letting Sasuke participate with that weird hickey on his neck, and just letting Orochimaru go?"
"Before you came in," Kakashi interjected, "Lord Hokage sent for the worlds most renowned master of fuuinjutsu to come and take a look at Sasuke. If anyone can help, it'll be him."
Hiruzen nodded in silent agreement before finishing, "And there isn't much we can do about Orochimaru at the moment Naruto. As I've already said, he's highly skilled in the art of concealing himself, we won't find him until it's either too late or he wants to be seen."
"So then what's left?"
"For the moment; we continue as we have been. The second exam will finish, and then we'll see whether or not we need a preliminary round before going on to the final stage."
That caught the blonde's attention. "Preliminaries?"
Anko decided to explain this part. "Yeah gaki, if too many people pass the second test then we need to hold a small tournament to help cut the numbers down to size. The main event is watched by a number of important dignitaries and feudal lords; they don't wanna be here all day, their only interested in seeing the best."
The more he thought about it, the more Naruto realized that made sense. And as he was dismissed from the Hokage's sub-command center, the blonde allowed his feet to simply carry him through the halls.
Naruto wasn't sure how long he'd walked before a voice stopped him.
xXx
"Naruto Uzumaki I'm glad to see you made it through...this exam would have been a waste of time if you were killed off before I could feed mother your blood."
Said blonde turned at the sound of his own name, and his blue eyes immediately landed on the form of one Sabaku no Gaara. The red-head stood at the end of the hall, just before the next corner, with an air of complete calm.
But Naruto could also feel the blood lust seeping out and filling the hall.
Tensing his body, in case of a surprise attack, Naruto sarcastically replied, "Well I knew you'd be expecting me, and I just hate disappointing a fan. So, mind telling me what you're doing skulking around in the halls?"
"I could ask you the very same question Uzumaki."
"My Hokage wanted to congratulate me one passing the exams so quickly; I was just coming from his office. Your turn."
'Looking for you."
Gaara's answer was short and to the point, but it made Naruto cautious. "And just what do you need from me?"
"To prove my existence to the world."
Naruto was thrown for a loop when he heard this. And it was only made worse when the cork that capped off Gaara's gourd popped out, followed by a swift wave of sand shooting out, before it was aimed at the startled blonde.
Ocean-blue eyes looked on, wide and filled with shock, as their owner was confronted by a beast made of sand flying towards him. The monsters' maw is wide open, and its diamond-shaped eyes bore into Naruto's very soul, as it roared at him.
Then, finally, Naruto's will clicks in and his eyes harden; shock being immediately replaced by the fire of a budding warrior.
Naruto reached behind him, feeling the familiar safety that came with holding Kubikiribocho'shandle, and then whipped the blade out in front ready to fight off the sand demon that was quickly making its way down the hall towards him.
Not wanting to just stand at wait though the blonde let out a roar of his own, and then pushing off his right foot, ran forward to meet Gaara's attack head on.
xXx
Naruto's eyes snapped open and he leaped into a battle stance the moment he could feel his legs. However, the blonde felt his heart leap into his throat when he didn't feel the familiar grip of his blade'shandle.
'What the...oh,'
Naruto let out a relieved sigh upon finding that he was inside the room granted to him during the chunin exams, and that his blade rested only about two feet away against the wall.
"So then it was just a dream."
'But not all of it,' Naruto mused as he moved over towards his clothes, intending to get dressed for the Hokage's announcement.
The remaining days of the second exam had come and gone, leaving the preliminaries to be all that was left to take care of before the third and final exam could be announced.
The blonde's dream was an exaggeration of his meeting with Gaara a few days ago. He'd left the Hokage's make-shift office and ran into the dangerous red-head in the halls.
Gaara had indeed been looking for him, but not so they could fight, just to make sure Naruto had indeed survived the Forest of Death. After very little word exchange, which included a veiled threat from the Suna ninja, the two shinobi went their separate ways.
And now, days later, it was time to begin the preliminaries.
Naruto knew that they'd be needed after counting up the number of shinobi who'd made it to the tower, but he was interested to know how the others would react to the news that not everyone who passed would go on to the final exam.
'But then, all those important clients aren't going to care about the bottom feeders. They're only interested in the sharks.'
And it was this thought that pushed Naruto out the door and towards the indoors arena.
The walk wasn't very long, and within about ten minutes of making his way through the halls, Naruto found himself at the double doors that lead to the fighting area where the preliminaries would be taking place.
Placing his hand on the door, the blonde stopped himself, and allowed his eyes the opportunity to peer into the room and see just who his competition could be.
Almost immediately Naruto found Gaara; the boy's crimson mop-top an easy identifier. And then his blue eyes traveled over in Sasuke's direction, as well as Neji and Lee's.
In Naruto's opinion, those four were the ones who would give him the best chance to show off his skills.
'Now I just hope I don't have to face one of them in these knock-out rounds. The finals will be boring if there aren't enough high-level opponents.'
As he thought this, the Uzumaki boy pushed open the doors and made his way inside. The sound of his entrance reached everyone's ears it seems, as the entire haul of shinobi turned to look at him. It was during this time that Naruto noticed the different reactions his presence received.
He noticed the smile on the elderly Hokage's face; the Sandaime was most likely relieved the blonde showed up on time. Next to him were both Anko and Kakashi-sensei, each with their own looks of approval on his timely appearance.
Ten-Ten sent the Uzumaki a smirk of her own; likely glad that she'd have a chance to battle him again.
Another kunoichi who was glad to see him Naruto realized was Hinata, who had a red tint in her cheeks and a grateful smile; as if she were thanking the gods above for his arrival.
But where there was positive, there was also negative, mainly from those who looked at the blonde as just either more competition; in the case of the Oto trio and Neji, or a nuisance that needed to just go away; in the case of the remaining competitors.
"Ah Naruto, so glad to see you up and able to join us," the Sandaime greeted him kindly. "A little more promptness next time though; the Daimyo won't be so inclined to forgive such disrespect."
For his part Naruto simply rubbed the back of his head as he apologized "Yeah sorry about that, I had a hell of a dream and it was a doozy to fight my way out of it. I'll be sure to be on time for the finals."
With that the Hokage turned his attention back to the assembled crowd in front of him. Clearing his throat the elderly shinobi began to speak.
"Now, as I was saying, it's great to see so many promising young genin this year but as you've just heard me tell one of my own shinobi, there will be important clients coming to the finals. This means that we'll be cutting the current number of you in half."
This was met with cries of indignation and disbelief; how could they do this to them after all the hard work all the genin put in?
"I know many of you are upset," Anko intervened, "but those Daimyo and leaders won't be interested n seeing anything but the best; they also have their own lands to govern, so it'd be best that we don't keep them for too long."
Shikamaru rose his hand at this point, indicating he had a question, and when Anko gave him the go ahead he asked when the preliminaries would be taking place.
"That'll be done right now to give the finalists an entire month to train for the finals, as well as test the resolve of each and every one of you. Those of you who can't pull out a win in your current condition will just have to strengthen your skills and your will before trying again next time."
Now this information nearly caused a riot with some of the genin present, but the feeling of the Third Hokage's chakra pressure settled them all quickly. Once he saw that no one would interrupt his next words, the elderly warrior began to speak again.
"Now then, you don't have to take these preliminaries. If you feel that you aren't in any condition to fight simply raise your hand and we'll take down your name, then you'll be free to leave."
As he said this Hiruzen counted out the number of candidates; if nobody opted out then they'd be uneven matches, meaning someone would need to fight twice.
Thankfully, someone did quit. And the person who chose to cut loose strangely didn't surprise the old Kage.
"I guess that'll be me; I quit."
It was Kabuto.
The bespectacled youth had his gloved hand raised high in the air, making sure everyone could see that it was him who quit. Then, after Anko marked him off, the silver-haired genin made his exit. No one saw the conniving look in his eye, or the secret smirk that etched its way onto the Oto Jounin's face.
But even without those Anko and her Hokage still shared a look as they both thought the same thing. That was no coincidence; Kabuto had dropped out around the same time during each of his other tries.
While it may be normal for a genin not to make it on their first, or even second try, when you've taken the chunin exam six times any normal person would assume you'd simply give up being a shinobi by that point. This was beyond strange.
Unfortunately those thoughts and questions would have to be out on hold, as the preliminaries needed to get under way quickly to give everyone optimal time to rest. So, after clearing her voice, Anko went to speak again...only to stop as another Jounin appeared using shunshin.
"Lord Hokage, Anko-san, if you..(cough)...don't mind I'd like to be the one who explains the...(cough)...preliminaries."
Anko looked to her fellow Jounin with a worried look. Hayate had gotten an unfair deal in life; caught in a gas explosion during a sting at one of Orochimaru's hidden labs. The devious snake had been working with an experimental toxin and Hayate had breathed it in during the battle with Orochimaru's guards.
'And since only that bastard knew the compounds of the gas no one's been able to help Hayate. It's a sad bit really; he saves thousands of lives by ruining his own. I can still remember how hard Yugao took it when she heard the news.'
And yet the swordsmen didn't let that stop him, never losing his place as Konoha's most powerful kenjutsu user...after his mentor of course; the ever-feared Red Death. One of Konoha's most famous Anbu members.
With those thoughts filling her head Anko relented. "Of course Hayate; if you feel up to it I mean."
"I'm fine Anko-san...(cough)...but thank you for your concern."
The sickly-looking Jounin turned from the purple-haired woman to the group of genin and spoke again.
"Now first off my name is Gekko Hayate and I...(cough)...will be the proctor for the preliminaries. Before we begin however, there are...(cough)...a few rules you all need to be made aware of."
From there the master swordsmen went on to explain that the matches would be done randomly using the match board that appeared behind him. Anything goes during the matches, including killing your opponent, but as proctor Hayate had the right to step in before anything too gruesome happened as well as if it looked like the fight was unfair. There was to be no outside help, and a match ended when someone gave up, was unconscious/unable to continue, or Hayate himself called it.
"So if there aren't any question, I'll proceed to the first matches selection." And as he said this the board above him began to race through the different names in its system, what it came out with was something interesting.
'Naruto Uzumaki VS Dosu Kinuta'
"(cough)...If all but the chosen fighters could exit the arena and head up into the upper platform we can...(cough)...get this started."
With the instructions given all the genin, minus Naruto and his opponent, began to walk towards the stairways. As both Hinata and Ten-Ten passed the blonde though each had their own words for him.
"G-Good luck in your match N-Naruto-kun, I'm sure you'll do great."
Naruto gave the blushing bluenette a kind look, thankinging her for her words, before watching her shuffle off after that. Almost immediately after though the blonde found himself confronted with the bun-haired visage of Ten-Ten.
"You better win," she threw out immediately, "if you don't then I'll think it was a mistake asking you to help me with my dream; besides, who else will I clash steel with in the finals if you aren't there?"
This time, the Uzumaki gave his fellow Leaf shinobi a challenging smirk. "The finals huh? Won't you need to get past the preliminaries first, Ten-Ten?"
She scoffed. "Che, other than you I can only think of maybe two or three other people I don't think I have a sure chance against; and two of them are on my team." Ten-Ten then patted Naruto on the shoulder and began to walk away. "Anyway, good luck, and I'll see you in the finals partner."
With that she joined the other genin up on the platform with the Jounin, leaving just the blonde and his mummified partner with Hayate standing between them.
"Alright, you both know the rules, so if each of you is good to go I'll begin the first match of the preliminaries."
"I'm good," Naruto affirmed as he set his hand on Kubikiribocho's handle.
"Let's get this over with," Dosu grumbled. He was upset that he and his team's mission had been ruined, and was in no mood to be playful.
"Very well then...begin!" With that the sickly-looking man leaped away from the pair to a safe distance, allowing them more than enough room to do battle with.
"I suggest you just give up now," Dosu offered as he eyed his blonde opponent. "I'm not in a very good mood right now, and if you stay, I can't be held responsible if our match ends in your shinobi career stopping short on account of my killing you."
If Naruto was thinking of the offer he didn't show it, instead the blonde pulled his giant cleaver from its place on his back and brought it down aiming for Dosu.
Smirking behind his bandages, Naruto gave his reply. "Funny...I was just about to suggest the same thing for you."
Hearing this just made the Sound shinobi sigh. He'd tried to give the kid a way out, he really did, but the blonde idiot insisted on standing in his way.
So, pulling back his sleeve, Dosu revealed his large bracer and said, "Very well then, if death is what you choose, then I will do my best to get you there as quickly as possible."
"Age before youth you old mummy; save me a seat will ya?"
That was the last straw for Dosu; who did this little twerp think he was? The cycloptic genin reared back and then, with a huff of exertion, rushed towards the sword-wielding blonde.
But he never made it there.
Naruto had recalled the little incident during the first exam; when Dosu attacked Kabuto, and knew better than to let whatever was on the older boy's arm anywhere near him. Instead, as the Oto shinobi made it half-way over to him, Naruto jumped back to re-widen the gap between them.
Once he landed, Naruto returned the legendary blade in his hand to its sheath before going into a small chain of hand-signs. After finishing, the blonde called out his attack; to the shock of many who knew him.
"Wind-style: Air-Bullet!"
A large shot of compressed air hurtled its way towards the one-eyed Sound ninja at great speed; however, it didn't move quiet fast enough because Dosu managed to dodge it. Only feeling the passing razors edge shred the ends off his long sleeves.
But as he landed, the teen realized that this had been part of the blonde's plan.
Seeing the large, sharp weapon coming down at him Dosu did the only thing he could think of in order to keep from using his bracer as a shield.
He used his bare hand.
With the weight of the blade pushing down, and how easy it is for the Kubikiribocho to slice through flesh, it was no surprise that blood was soon splattering to the floor; dribbling from Dosu's hand like milk from a spilled carton.
Yet in spite of this, and any pain the spectators were sure he was feeling, the Oto-ninja was smiling. Although one could only tell if they looked closely.
Naruto was one of those people.
"What are you all happy for, I just made you a permanent handicap. There's no way you can use that hand again."
Dosu just laughed.
"It's more than worth it though, because now I've got you right where I want you!" With that declaration the older boy swung his free hand around and knocked it against the side of Naruto's head.
'With the amount of chakra I funneled into my bracer that blow should pop his head like a cork,'were the over zealous thoughts of the Oto ninja as he waited for the blood bath.
...But it never came. Instead, in its place, was a large cloud of smoke as the shadow-clone of Naruto was destroyed.
"What, a clone!?"
"Well of course," came Naruto's voice from up above, "do you really think I'd come at you myself after I know how your technique works?"
Everyone, including Dosu, moved their eyes around the stadium in an attempt to find where Naruto's voice was coming from, but it wasn't until Anko laughed out loud that they noticed jut where he was. The blonde had stuck himself to the roof.
It seemed the air-bullet was meant as more than just a wall so Dosu wouldn't seethe blonde change out with a clone, no, it was made just the right size too so that the one-eyed genin wouldn't be able to see Naruto leap up to the roof either.
"Of course part of me thought the clone would have been enough, but I didn't anticipate you having the guts to sacrifice your own hand for a killing blow; I'm impressed."
Naruto cut the chakra feed to his feet and allowed himself to fall back to the arena floor. Once he was situated again the blonde continued speaking, "In fact, I'm so impressed, I'll give you a quick death; instead of the slow, humiliating one I had planned before."
As he gave his respects the blonde once again pulled his cleaver from its sheath, and set it to touch the ground. Then Naruto closed his expressive blue eyes, tensed his muscles...and he was gone.
"Hrk!"
That sound drew everyone's attention, and then made those with weaker stomachs look away, the sight being much more than they were used too; this was mainly the rookies, as all the others had seen death many times over.
Naruto stood in front of Dosu, with about half his blade between them, while the remainder was lodged so far into the Sound shinobi's chest that it came out his back. The bandages that were wrapped around his face were quickly stained with all the blood that gushed from the teens mouth.
And while the cut was fairly clean, that didn't stop the copious amounts of blood that oozed from the open wound and onto the tile floor...or at least, the blood that didn't already find itself dribbling down Naruto's blade and painting it a deep, crimson red.
With a sickening squelching sound Kubikiribocho was pulled from Dosu Kinuta's chest cavity, and then returned to its home on Naruto's back. The blonde simply watched as his opponents body crumpled like a bloody rag doll to the ground, where the older boy continued for a few moments to choke on his own blood before forever going silent.
It was safe to say that Naruto Uzumaki had won the first match of the preliminary rounds.
The arena was quiet, nobody up on the platforms made a sound, and all eyes were trained on the pair that stood enter stage in the middle of the floor.
Well, one was standing, while the other lay dead in a pool of his own blood.
Naruto had just finished doing battle with Dosu, and while some didn't worry about the blonde's chances to pull out a victory, none of those supporters would have guessed just how Naruto would claim the win.
He'd killed his opponent.
Yes the chunin exams did often include genin taking their first life, but many of the shinobi present didn't think the Uzumaki had what it took to actually take the life of another human being...and then look so calm about it. It was just strange.
Most had even expected Naruto to lose his match; as in their minds he was still the brainless prankster from the academy.
But all those doubts and expectations were washed away by the bloody picture that had been presented to them.
"K-Kakashi, what...what in the world have you been doing with this kid?"
The Jounin in question turned to the one who'd spoken, and told Kurenai that he hadn't really done anything with the blonde youth down at the bottom floor.
"Bull-shit," Asuma cut in. "A thirteen-year-old kid doesn't just go from dead-last to death-bringer in half a year by themselves. You must have been giving him private lessons."
This time Kakashi turned his eye towards Naruto, who still happened to be waiting for Hayate to dismiss him, and spoke with a sense of reverence as he explained himself.
"I didn't say he didn't get training from me; he is my student after all. But I had nothing to do with this new Naruto that you all see down there, for that you can all thank one Zabuza Momochi."
Kakashi's fellow Jounin were caught off-guard by this bit of information, and it was Guy who jumped to ask, "What exactly do you mean by that Kakashi, what does Kiri's demon have to do with anything?"
"Everything. Naruto met him during our first C-rank mission, and after the mission ended, my student decided to honor the memory of a shinobi who opened his eyes to the realities of our world."
Kurenai eyed her senior Jounin wearily, "And so he's honoring a serial killer by trying to become him?"
"When you think about it, aren't we all just a bunch of serial killers Kurenai-sensei?"
The red-eyed beauty in question flinched at hearing Naruto's voice behind her.
'He must have been declared the winner while we were talking,'
Doing her best to put on a disarming smile, Kurenai went on to answer the blonde Uzumaki's question. She told Naruto of how, in a sense he was correct, but the distinctive difference between the average shinobi and those like Zabuza was that the Demon of Kiri held no regard for the life of others.
"He kills for the sake of killing, or personal gain."
Whatever reaction Kurenai was expecting, the sharp-eyed look she got was not it. Naruto's normally ocean-blue eyes had darkened to an icy, almost sapphire color. His wrapped jaw could be seen clenching in anger at the statement and even anyone paying attention could see the way his neck muscles bulged from the restrained lash out that Naruto no doubt wished to let loose.
'But that wouldn't be what Zabuza would do,' he thought before responding to Kurenai's assessment.
"Zabuza Momochi killed so that he could achieve his dream of one day ruling Kirigakure as the Mizukage, and any killing he did before becoming a rogue ninja was done in service to the current Mizukage, just like any other shinobi of a hidden village."
"But Naruto," Ino butted in, "what does that say about him if this guy wound up becoming a run away ninja? He couldn't have been a very honorable guy; sounds more like a slime-ball to me—hey!"
Ino's two cents were thrown out when Naruto jumped in her face.
"What do you know about anything Ino? You and your team haven't done anything other than walk villagers dogs and weed gardens, so what do you know about honor or even what it really means to be a shinobi?"
"Hey!" Asuma jumped in after seeing his student get verbally assaulted by one of her fellow genin. "Naruto calm down, there's no need to be so hostile alright? Ino was only asking, she wasn't trying to offend anyone."
"Well maybe you should get her a shock collar for that big mouth of hers, to teach her not to open it unless someone's actually talking to her-"
"Naruto," Kakashi cut him off. "That's enough, you've made your point. Ino's sorry for being inconsiderate of your feelings and her lack of understanding, but I'm also going to need you to apologize to Asuma for being so rude."
"And what about me?" Kurenai wondered. "He disrespected me too Kakashi, or did you forget that?"
The silver-haired Jounin in question just 'hmm'-ed in response and went on to say, "Actually Kurenai I wouldn't say that; you actually disrespected Naruto and his feelings. So if anything, you owe him an apology."
"You know what, never mind, this is a pointless argument. Everyone has their own opinion and it won't be changed without examples, so why don't we just go back to watching the fights, because it looks like Kiba and Sasuke are up next."
Hearing this everybody turned their heads to the selection board and found that, yes, Sasuke was indeed up next with Kiba being his opponent.
Naruto, the one who'd pointed it out, just crossed his arms and eyed his team-mate as the raven-haired genin made his way down to the arena. The blonde-headed youth was curious to see how Sasuke would do in his battered state.
'We'll see if his spot as Rookie of the Year outweighs Kiba's Alpha-male instinct.'
Down below with the two clan heirs, Sasuke and Kiba were busy eyeing each other with fire in their eyes.
For Sasuke it was about showing off his superior skill and putting the Inuzuka pup in his place.
For Kiba, it was bout proving that he was the top dog and the Uchiha was nothing but a poser.
In the end it was really just a battle of egos.
"Alright...(cough) (cough)...you two know the rules. The match stops when either...(cough) (cough)...one of you surrenders, can't continue, or I...(cough)...declare a winner based on what I see." Hayate explained.
Then, after explaining to Sasuke that Akamaru was considered a tool, and not a partner so the nin-ken could be part of the battle, the Jounin swordsmen declared the match a go.
Sasuke's first move was to actually not move at all. He knew that Kiba would want to start things off, so the Uchiha youth simply waited to counter whatever it was his opponent thought up. With the days of rest he'd gotten after being brought to the tower, and having the mark sealed by Kakashi, Sasuke was more than ready to get used to his body again. And, thankfully, Kiba remained predictable and attacked first.
The hooded genin shot forward with his elbow aimed for Sasuke's sternum, crying out how he'd end the match in one hit, only to miss when Sasuke leaped into the air. Kiba managed to stop himself soon enough though, and had time to block the ax-kick that came down at his head. The Inuzuka threw up an arm, stopping Sasuke's leg with his forearm, before gripping the offending appendage and using it to fling the Uchiha away.
When Sasuke recovered though, managing to flip in the air and land on his feet, Kiba decided it was time to use his signature jutsu.
"Gatsuga!"
Kiba twisted his body at rapid speed, moving like a drill through the air, and heading straight for Sasuke.
But Sasuke saw this coming and was able to avoid being hit by dodging to the side. As he hung in the air, the Uchiha attempted a quick counter attack and threw a small hail of kunai at the rotating vortex...only to watch as they bounced off and away, leaving Kiba unharmed.
'Well that didn't have any effect, but I'd rather not waste any chakra trying to hit it with my fireball, so that just leaves waiting it out and hitting him once his jutsu ends.'
And good for Sasuke, Kiba's signature technique wasn't famous for its hang time. The Inuzuka member spun out soon after his opponent assessed the situation, and was back on his feet ready to be engaged.
Something Sasuke took prime advantage of.
With the enhanced speed he'd acquired during his first C-rank mission, Sasuke quickly closed the gap between himself and Kiba, where he then went on to open up with a sweep-kick.
But Kiba, always just a few steps behind Sasuke, was still fast enough to avoid being knocked off his feet; if only just barely. And once he was in the air, Kiba decided to try a counter, and threw his legs out in a double-kick aimed for his opponent's head.
When Sasuke ducked to avoid it Kiba used the momentum to flip backwards, onto his hands, and then springboard up into the air.
Unfortunately for him, this was Sasuke's plan all along.
With the Inuzuka boy stuck so close in mid-air Sasuke knew there would be no time for him to activate his Gatsuga, or even dodge a fireball. So, still crouched against the arena floor, the Uchiha avenger quickly flashed through his three favorite hand-sign's and let loose a medium-sized Great-Fireball.
"Argh!"
...Or at least, he would have, had he not just got bitten by Akamaru.
The little ninja-dog had noticed his partner was in trouble and chosen just the right moment to step in and lend a hand.
Akamaru now had his teeth sunk down into Sasuke's calf, forcing the Uchiha to lose control of his attack and sputter as he dropped to the ground. It was then, after seeing Kiba land safely, that Akamaru let go and returned to his partner's side.
"Great job Akamaru," the Inuzuka boy praised as he scooped up his pal. "I would have been turned into burnt toast if I didn't have you watching my back, way to go buddy."
Turning his slightly-feral gaze over to his downed opponent, Kiba began to gloat.
"How do you like that Sasuke? Looks like you aren't as tough as everyone makes you think; it's a shame you're all that's left of the Uchiha clan, they must be crying in their graves at how weak you are. Or maybe, all those stories we heard about them were just that, stories, to cover up for how big of an embarrassment they were as shinobi."
As he broke out into boisterous laughter Kiba failed to notice the change in Sasuke's demeanor. While he was still on the ground, the lone survivor of the Uchiha Massacre was stock still and rigid. His right hand, which was angled back and clutching the injured leg, was now squeezing down on the bite marks to the point of drawing blood. Sasuke's left hand, which was set against the floor so as to steady him, was trembling as it clawed into the tile below.
And yet, despite all this Sasuke's barely concealed rage was made clear in a way that trumped it all.
His eyes.
Underneath his raven-black hair Sasuke's eyes were hard and cold. They spoke volumes of emotion, of fury, which bled through in the form of his Sharingan.
Only, this time, the colors were switched. Blood-red now lay in a pool of deadly black.
xXx
Up on the platforms Kakashi was reprimanding Kurenai for her students mouth.
"I think you and I both know that was completely uncalled for Kurenai; you need to have a word with Kiba about keeping his mouth shut. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of just how sensitive that subject is to Sasuke."
The genjutsu mistress did in fact look apologetic as she replied to her senior Jounin's words. "I do know, and I'm sorry about Kiba's...brashness. I'll have a talk with him, and his mother, after the preliminaries."
"I hope so, because next time we'll be having this discussion in front of the Hokage."
While the combatants respective sensei were discussing punishment for the loud-mouthed Inuzuka, over with the genin some had their own opinions about what should happen to Kiba.
The loudest of which calls came from the Uchiha boy's two most loyal fans.
"Would you two quiet down already, geeze. Yeah what Kiba said crossed a line but that doesn't mean you gotta get so loud about it; this whole preliminary thing is troublesome enough without you girls' squawking."
"Shut up Shikamaru," Ino shouted back in response. "That mutt shouldn't have said that about Sasuke-kun's family and you know it; he should be fined, or something!"
"What kind of punishment is that," Temari butted in from the side. She'd been close enough to hear the bickering and was now curious to know what made this 'Sasuke' so special that someone would be fined for speaking ill of the kid's family. "Is he some relative of your Hokage or something?"
Ino turned to her fellow blonde and answered, "Well no...but his ancestors helped create the village, and he's the last surviving Uchiha."
Temari waited for a minute, and when she realized that the Konoha kunoichi was done speaking asked what else was there?
"He was Rookie of the Year in our class."
"...Is that all? Because from what I'm hearing this kid is just another headband in the crowd. I mean, sure, having a tool like the Sharingan is a rare and powerful thing now a days, but from what I've seen he can't even use it to its full potential so he's not really any better than his opponent down there."
"And then there's the fact that last year's Rookie of the Year is at least ten times stronger than Sasuke."
Heads swiveled on their necks to turn and look at who'd spoken, and all eyes landed on Ten-Ten, who had broken away from her team-mate's to put in her two cents.
Something that Sakura didn't appreciate. "Oh, and how would you know?"
"He's on my squad," Ten-Ten answered with a smug smirk. "Neji Hyuga is reported to be the strongest genin of his generation; a prodigy."
It was Shikamaru who spoke next, and his words popped the bubble of superiority that the bun-haired girl had blown around herself.
"I'd be careful about throwing that word around if I were you, because last time I checked, the last person to be named a prodigy wound up murdering his entire clan in cold blood. Maybe you should make sure this Neji isn't secretly a sociopaths; how do you think Konoha will fare in the world with the destruction of its second strongest clan too?"
For the first time since she'd met him, Ten-Ten began to wonder about Neji and the actual possibility that the hate-driven Hyuga might actually attempt such a thing.
"Stop scaring her Shikamaru, Sasuke's brother was a special case and you know it. Remember, my sensei was a prodigy too, and look at where he is now," Naruto chimed in.
The blonde had moved away from the Jounin after pointing out that the match's opponent's had been selected and now stood with his fellow genin. He'd originally not wanted to get involved with the conversation, but the Uzumaki felt he should lay Ten-Ten's obvious fears to rest.
Something the weapon mistress was grateful for, as shown by the small smile of relief she sent Naruto's way. She looked as if she was about to say something too, but whatever Ten-Ten had planned was blown into the wind by a powerful chakra pulse.
One that made her knees buckle and the hairs on her neck stand on end.
At first, Ten-Ten thought it was just her that had felt it, but she soon realized that wasn't the case as every genin soon snapped their head back to the arena...where Sasuke was seen surrounded by a swirl of black chakra.
He was pushing off the ground and getting back to his feet, where the Uchiha went on and entered into his clan's standard fighting stance, Sharingan blazing in all its...glory?
'What the heck happened to Sasuke's Sharingan!?'
xXx
'
Who does that mutt think he is, disrespecting my clan that way. He knows nothing about what happened that night, or what our history is; his blasphemy is unforgivable!'
Sasuke slowly rose up from the arena floor and back to his feet. His knuckles popped as the Uchiha flexed his fingers, emotions of rage and anger radiating off of Sasuke's hunched form.
And yet, despite this, Kiba still opened his mouth for another insult.
"Ooh, a little slow getting up there pretty-boy. What's the matter, did we have the match before your nap time little baby? Maybe we should go find mommy so she can tuck you-" Kiba's mockery was ground to a halt by Sasuke snapping his head up and staring him down with his inverted Sharingan.
'What the...'
Sasuke's voice was guttural, and rumbled like thunder. "Don't Talk. About My. MOTHER!"
The furious Uchiha disappeared from Kiba's view in a burst of unbelievable speed, moving beyond anything Kiba believed Sasuke to be capable of, and backhand the Inuzuka against his cheek with a thunderous 'thwack'.
Kiba didn't have the time to even think about channeling chakra to his feet to keep himself planted, and instead wound up rocketing through the air with Akamaru clutched to his chest. The hooded genin hit the ground hard, cracking the tile on impact, and then rolling another few feet before coming to a stop. From his place on the arena floor Kiba spat out the mouthful of blood that stained his teeth before raising himself up, shakily, onto his knees.
The first thing Kiba did was check on his nin-ken, making sure the little pup was okay, before turning his animalistic eyes onto Sasuke.
He saw how the Uchiha was, literally, looking down at him. Sasuke's head was up high, nose in the air, and his reverse-colored Sharinganeyes bore down at the Inuzuka boy. Kiba's opponent stood at his full height ready to continue the match, looking on as if the fanged youth wasn't even a threat.
This angered Kiba.
'Look down at me huh? Well we'll see how high and mighty you feel after I break out my clan's secret weapon.'
"What's the matter Kiba," Sasuke broke the downed Inuzuka out from his thoughts. "Where's all that talk? You were just shooting your mouth off a minute ago, disrespecting my clan, so what happened? Did I hit you too hard, maybe knock out that tiny brain of yours?"
Kiba laughed mockingly. "Feh, You're the one who's shooting their mouth off Uchiha, but not for long, not after I use this."
Sasuke watched as his opponent pulled out a pair of red pills, feeding one to his pup before ingesting the other himself. And while the raven-haired youth knew about food pills and their properties, what happened next was something that far exceeded any normal chakra booster.
First, Kiba dropped Akamaru and let the pup fall on all fours before falling after the animal himself. While arcs of neon-blue chakra began to weave their way around the young Inuzuka, his puppy partner's snowy coat turned a blazing crimson. Then, while Akamaru was engulfed in a flare of chakra of his own, Kiba's arcs upsurged into a raging flame. And that's when Sasuke's eyes saw it.
Kiba was changing.
The tattooed youth's teeth gnashed as they elongated from canines into fangs, and his fingernails sharpen into claws. Along with that Sasuke could see, from the other boy's calves, that Kiba's muscle mass was increasing too; he was getting stronger.
'And if that pill is what I think it is, then he's going to be faster too.'
And, oddly enough, the thought of an increased challenge only made Sasuke more excited. It made his blood rush and his own chakra flare, the pitch-black energy pulsed as its flow increased. What nobody noticed though was that the mark on Sasuke's shoulder was lit up like a beacon.
The stand-off was brought to a halt when, in a final flash of chakra, Kiba's transformation finished; leaving a werewolf-looking Inuzuka in his place. His hair was shaggy and now reached his shoulders, while his jaw had extended to a small snout. Kiba's feral, bloodshot eyes were turned up and staring into Sasuke's own.
"Now," he rumbled; his hands settling into the 'ram' hand-sign. "Let's get wild!"
A puff of smoke later and Akamaru was gone; replaced by an exact copy of Kiba.
Sasuke's inverted dojutsuwatched watched Kiba's transformation, and then as the Inuzuka sat his Man-beast clone technique on Akamaru, turning the raging pup into an exact copy of the newly improved Kiba.
And yet despite this, Sasuke felt no fear.
The only one thing the last Uchiha knew was a burning desire to bring his opponent to their knees. He wanted to make Kiba pay for insulting him, insulting his family, and nothing was going to get in the way of that.
'Nothing!' Sasuke raged internally. He was ready for this, he was-
"Grhk!"
That was only sound that managed to make its way out of Sasuke's mouth as he was caught under the chin by an uppercut. It seemed Kiba was faster than he'd anticipated.
'Or maybe I was stupid and let my guard down,' But Sasuke recovered quickly and was ready for his opponents follow up. Kiba had followed him into mid-air, more than likely assuming he'd get another free shot, and was directly underneath Sasuke.
'Got you,' the last Uchiha thought smugly before righting himself and landing an ax-kick down on the other boy's skull.
Sasuke watched as Kiba's body quickly descended from the sky, only to have to twist so as to avoid being run through by a high-speed tornado. He'd already forgotten about Akamaru.
And that cost the Sharinganwielder dearly, as his right side suffered from close contact with the spinning death trap. Sasuke let himself fall back to the ground, only to hunch over as he held the bleeding area around his ribs.
Akamaru's tornado stopped and the transformed dog landed on his feet. He turned an eye towards his partner, and was relieved to see Kiba getting off the ground and back on his feet. Akamaru barked to his friend, asking if the Inuzuka boy was alright.
Kiba rubbed his aching head, thankful for the huge adrenaline rush that came with taking his family's special food pill. "Yeah, I'm fine buddy, he just got in a lucky shot is all. But now I'm ready, so let's show this pompous pretty-boy who's the real top dog around here."
And with that the two primal partners were ready for action again.
Kiba took the lead again, but this time he tried for something other than a frontal assault. The Inuzuka boy reached into his hip pouch and produced a pair of smoke bombs. Knowing that just throwing them at Sasuke would do no real good, as the Uchiha could just jump away before being engulfed, Kiba signaled to Akamaru to create a distraction.
The transformed pup nodded in understanding before rushing in. Akamaru got close, but veered off at the last second, showing the attack to be a feint. The real attack came next in the form of an attempted leg sweep from behind.
Thankfully for him Sasuke was much faster than Akamaru, so the Uchiha had no problem jumping to avoid the attack, and only a little difficulty flipping over Kiba as the Inuzuka boy came barreling by.
His side throbbed in pain, yes, but it was better than the alternative.
Unfortunatelythough, Sasuke had been nursing said wound while Kiba had pulled out the smoke bombs, so he wasn't prepared for his vision to suddenly be clouded by a thick purple haze.
This left him open to the spartan-kick to the back that sent him stumbling into a punch to the gut. As he doubled over in pain, the Uchiha avenger was struck a third time by a bicycle-kick that sent him rocketing into the air.
Sasuke quickly managed to right himself though and turned his inverted Sharingantowards the heavy cloud of smoke. And that's when he noticed it. He could see.
It wasn't a completely clear picture, but Sasuke was able to make out the forms of both Kiba and Akamaru from inside their little trap. Something that the young Uchiha knew wasn't possible before that day.
Movement in the smoke drew Sasuke's mind away from that though and back into the fight.
One of the Kiba's was moving, gearing up for another Gatsuga. Moments later, a whirling tornado came ripping through the shroud and barreling straight for the airborne Uchiha. And that's when Sasuke was hit with a wave of nausea.
'What the—huh?'
Were Sasuke's eyes playing tricks on him, or was there another tornado ghosting itself from out behind Kiba's? Either way, the Sharinganwielder's body reacted; avoiding his opponent, only to be forced into narrowly dodging a second tornado that came from underneath.
As he let gravity bring him back to the arena floor Sasuke's ears caught the tail-end of Kiba's conversation with Akamaru as their attempted double-team failed.
"I don't know how he managed to avoid that one buddy, but don't worry, we'll get him next time."
And that made Sasuke think: how did he manage to dodge that last attack? It was like his body just moved on its own after that weird double-vision he'd been hit with.
But like last time, Kiba and his partner didn't give Sasuke much time to ponder these thoughts before going back on the offensive.
One of the two came rushing in and engaged the last Uchiha in close combat. Sasuke ducked the swipe to his head, and threw up a cross-block to stave off the ax-kick that came after, before grabbing his opponent's leg and striking out at the pit behind their knee. The Kiba copy let out a rough grunt of pain, revealing himself to be the real Inuzuka. From there Sasuke threw the leg aside and caught Kiba in the chest with a swift combo of punches.
It was after he jumped back to finish off with a double kick to the chest that Sasuke saw it; there was a hole in the ground.
And then he was hit with another nausea attack.
A ghostly copy of Kiba was angled at the ground and performed a Gatsuga, creating the hole, and then vanishing in a wisp of smoke.
'Behind!'
Sasuke's instincts screamed at him to flip back, and being from a warrior clan the raven-haired youth was taught to trust his instincts. For good reason too, because mid-flip Akamaru exploded out of the ground and flew right underneath his intended target.
At such speed and so little time to move though, the nin-ken had no choice but to keep going forward...straight into Kiba.
"Gaah!"
The Inuzuka was sent rocketing backwards, before slamming against the arena floor, and then rolling to a stop. Akamaru quickly ended his attack and stared blankly at the beaten form of his downed friend.
He stared, and stared, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.
And then he started twitching.
First it was just a tick in his shoulder, but soon it escalated to jerks of the arms, until finally Akamaru was having almost seizure-like fits. His slit pupils shrunk until only the whites of his eyes were left, and foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth. It all finished when the transformed nin-ken snapped his head up and let out a guttural roar.
The sound reverberated off the walls and shook the arena's occupancy to the bone with the deep levels of sorrow and regret that mixed with the animalistic rage and hatred that came at the forefront of the battle cry.
Akamaru's head quickly snapped to the side once his cry was finished and the nin-ken's primal eyes glared hatefully at their target; Sasuke.
The last Uchiha had been the one Akamaru was supposed to hit, and because the raven-haired genin moved out of the way Kiba got hurt, meaning in Akamaru's instinct-driven mind that what happened to his partner was Sasuke's fault...and for that he must pay!
For Sasuke it was a surprise; Akamaru's power had just doubled!
The feral nin-ken's body was wrapped in a fiery cloak of chakra and the air seemed to be thick with the dog's protective instinct. The combination made it hard to breath. It made it hard to react.
And that's why, when Akamaru dashed towards him, Sasuke wasn't able to duck away from the swipe aimed at his face.
"Aaargh!"
Blood spattered the floor, and Sasuke stumbled backwards in an attempt to stay out of Akamaru's reach while his hand clawed tightly at his face...at his his eye. Blood oozed thickly from the wounded optic organ; it coated Sasuke's face as well as his hand.
On Akamaru's end he just stood there with a satisfied look etched across his face, bloody claws raised high with pride.
xXx
Up in the stands though, the only emotions being felt were disbelief and anger.
Kakashi in particular was glaring hard at Kurenai, his fellow Jounin at least having the decency to look ashamed as he berated her.
"What was that just now Kurenai; what is that pill your student and his pet just took? Because whatever it is, if it causes them to lose all sense of reason, I don't see how you could allow them to use it against a fellow Leaf ninja."
"I-I don't actually know Kakashi," the genjtsu mistress answered back quietly. "It's an Inuzuka secret, so Kiba wasn't allowed to tell me. All I was allowed to know was that it amplified the users chakra, senses, and physical ability by at least twice that of a normal food pill."
Kurenai ducked her head in shame as she then went on to explain how she'd allowed the two to bring them into the test to help ensure they passed.
"Without knowing the side effects," Kakashi finished sternly. "That was very irresponsible of you, especially as a Jounin, and could even be seen as petty by some of your peers. You do understand that don't you?"
The red-eyed beauty shot her head up at that. "But I didn't know, what was I supposed to do?"
"Tell Kiba that, if he couldn't give you a better explanation, then his pill could only be used out in the field against enemy ninja. The chunin exams are meant to inspire friendship and build relationships, not tear them apart and start civil wars!"
"That's a bit harsh don't you think Kakashi?" Asuma jumped in to defend Kurenai. But he shrunk back a little when the silver-haired ex-Anbu captain turned his lone eye on him.
"No Asuma, I don't. Because of her pride, and her desire to prove herself as the rookie Jounin, Kurenai has cost this village one of its last remaining Sharingan; something I know many citizens won't be happy with, and the other nations may take as a sign we're losing control of our forces. This was a very bone-headed mistake, one that can't just be fixed by an 'I'm sorry'."
"But I don't understand, why did it happen," Kurenai went on to ask. "Akamaru has never acted so viciously before. Not even when Kiba was harmed during practice. So why now?"
This time it was Guy who threw in his two cents.
"It must be an ingredient they use in their food pill; we saw how it enhanced Kiba's dog-like traits, turning him into some sort of werewolf. If it does something like that to a young genin with human genetics, just imagine what it does to a ninja dog, bred from wolves, with no human gene. It would regress the nin-ken's mind to run purely on instinct."
"Meaning the only one he'd listen to was the pack leader; who in this case was Kiba. And if something were to happen to that leader, Akamaru wouldn't know what to do, all sense of rationalizing has already been diminished, so whatever was left would be overloaded by pure instinct," Asuma continued.
"An Instinct to make Kiba's attacker pay...an instinct to kill Sasuke," Kakashi finished ominously. His lone eye was now staring down at the arena, drawing his fellow Jounin's gaze as well.
xXx
Back down below, Akamaru was gearing up for another assault on Sasuke, his blood-soaked hand reared back and ready for another swipe at the boy's face. But when he launched himself at the injured Uchiha, the transformed canine was in for a surprise when Sasuke caught his wrist with his free hand.
And try as he might, Kiba's animal partner was unable to wrench his hand free.
Instead he dropped to a knee when Sasuke put pressure on the bone, filling the arena with the sound of breaking bone.
"Raaw!" Akamaru roared in pain. One eye was closed shut in pain, but when he turned the other one up to glare at Sasuke, the feral ninja dog was left shaking as his rage was overshadowed by fear.
With one hand covering his right eye, Sasuke stared down at Akamaru with just the Sharinganin his left, and what the dog found there frightened him to the bone.
It was dark, and cold, and spoke of a an unprecedented level of madness that one usually only found in the most battle-hardened shinobi.
It was Sasuke's words that clinched it for Akamaru and let him know what came next was going to hurt.
"You're going to pay for this," he whispered with an icy calm, "with your life!"
Throwing the damaged wrist to the side Sasuke finally let his other hand pull away from his eye, which he then used to grip the side of Akamaru's head and cram it into the floor. The impact point exploded, leaving a permanent dent in the tile as spider-web cracks funneled out from underneath Akamaru's bleeding skull.
But Sasuke wasn't done yet.
He changed his grip to take hold of the transformed dog's jacket collar, lifting the bloodied nin-ken onto shaky feet. "This is it," Sasuke told him before burying a fist into his gut. The Uchiha followed it with another, and third, before sending Akamaru into the air with a flip-kick.
Sasuke wasn't far behind, launching himself not long after. Angling himself in mid-air Sasuke grabbed Akamaru's ankles and flipped the transformed dog over.
Then, locking his legs around his opponents torso with his arms holding the ninja dog's legs, Sasuke called out his technique: "Uchiha Clan secret technique: Falcon Drop!"
"Akamaru no!"
Kiba had managed to recover enough from being railroaded by Akamaru so that he was able to push himself off the ground on trembling arms and see his partner be sent soaring into the air. From there the Inuzuka watched as Sasuke wrapped around Akamaru like a constrictor snake and pulled the transformed dog down like a stone weight.
'What's that jerk thinking, doesn't he know that from that height and angle he'll kill Akamaru!?'
With his adrenaline pumping, flooding his system with another dose of the food pill, Kiba was able to scramble to his feet and rush towards where he knew the two would land. He had to make it, he had to save his partner, he had to...
'BOOM!'
The crash reverberated off the walls like a thunder clap. Sasuke had pulled away at the last possible moment and used his push-off to further accelerate the nin-ken's descent.
Kiba was blown back by the force of the crash and sent rolling across the arena floor a second time. But when he finally managed to stop himself, the Inuzuka snapped his head up and began to claw across the floor towards the crash site.
His frantic efforts were ground to a halt though when, as he arrived, the dust cleared away enough so that everyone could see the body that lay on the destroyed tile.
The impact must have canceled the transformation, because what greeted Kiba's eyes was the broken body of Akamaru's original dog form. One whose neck was broken. The pup's spine had snapped apart, and both ends had forced their way out through the small dogs neck, staining Akamaru's once pristine coat a dirty crimson.
Slit eyes looked on in horror and disbelief at what lay before them. This couldn't be happening, not to Akamaru, not to his best friend.
At first Kiba couldn't feel anything; his entire body had gone numb. And then it was like he was on fire. It was instant, the rush of heat erupted from the pit of Kiba's stomach and flooded the Inuzuka's body.
The fire was so hot that Kiba was left to claw at his jacket in a crazed attempt to alleviate some of the feeling. Once the hoodie was in shreds, all eyes that watched the scene could see Kiba's muscles spasm under his skin, breaking down and repairing themselves to increase the young genin's strength.
Like with Akamaru before him Kiba's mouth was quickly filled with foam as he thrashed around on the arena floor. He slammed his fists into the tiles, leaving bloody holes in the ground, as he howled out in a pained sort of rage.
It finally stopped when Kiba's enhanced hearing caught the sound of Sasuke's voice; the voice of the one who'd killed his partner.
"Feh, look at that, the Inuzuka clan heir turns out to be nothing more than a primitive beast. Is it really a wonder why no other village wanted your people; a clan of animals, not warriors."
Hearing the insult to his pack, added to Sasuke's murder of Akamaru, sent Kiba farther into the depths of his feral rage. He turned to look at the Uchiha avenger and revealed to his fellow genin that his pupils had vanished.
"YOU!"
Sasuke was hit with a third attack of nausea, and this time he had a better understanding of what was happening, so when he saw the ghostly image of Kiba rush him with a feint the Uchiha was ready to lean back out of the way of the real attack that came moments later.
The feint was meant to cover a roundhouse, which Sasuke ducked under, and countered with a palm to the gut. Sending Kiba back a few feet gave Sasuke time to reach into his hip pouch and grip the ninja wire he found there.
'I'm seeing his next move before he even makes it, like quick view of the future. This is amazing. I've never heard of the Sharingan doing anything like this before, but if it helps me win this fight I won't question it.'
That turned out to be a good idea because it gave Sasuke enough time to pay attention to what was coming next.
Kiba came torpedoing towards him, but Sasuke flipped to the side and avoided him, then when his lone eye showed him Kiba's next move the avenger twisted his body and flipped over the shot to his back as the Inuzuka re-positioned himself.
And that's when Sasuke's plan came to fruition.
He yanked hard, and the ninja wire he'd wrapped around his opponent pulled taut, canceling out Kiba's attack and dropping him to the floor.
Once his sandal-clad feet hit the ground though Sasuke continued with his attack. Tensing his muscles Sasuke pulled on the wires that kept Kiba bound, and began to pull as he spun on the ball of his foot. Soon enough the force had Kiba being swung around like a sack of potatoes.
Sasuke did this for a few rounds before letting go and launching the captured Inuzuka skyward.
Like with Akamaru the last Uchiha followed his prey, but unlike before, he got there too late. Kiba had been thrashing about since the moment of his capture and had finally managed to break apart the wire that constricted him.
So when Sasuke matched heights with Kiba, the feral genin actually caught him off-guard with a sucker punch to the face. Then, while the raven-haired Uchiha was stunned, Kiba grabbed a fistful of those black locks and kept his head straight for a headbutt. The crack wasn't anything like when Akamaru impacted the arena floor but the damage done helped to throw Sasuke even further off his game.
Kiba took advantage of that by wrapping Sasuke's neck in the crook of his elbow and squeezing down hard on the young fighter's windpipe.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Akamaru you trash," the Inuzuka heir seethed in Sasuke's ear as gravity began to take hold of them again. "I'm going to send you out just like you did him, and rid the world of that stupid eye of yours. Good riddance to the Uchiha clan!"
Sasuke struggled hard as he listened to Kiba's plan to kill him; he couldn't afford to die, not here. Not when his family's legacy needed him, not while his brother was still out there needing to pay for his crimes.
No!
Sasuke wouldn't allow his journey to stop here, not at the hands of someone as weak as Kiba!
"That's what you think!" The battered Uchiha shouted back before slamming his elbow deep into Kiba's gut, not once, but three times.
The force of each blow weakened the other boy's hold until, finally, he had no choice but to let go and give Sasuke his freedom.
Seeing that they were only halfway to the ground Sasuke decided to use that to his advantage. Flipping his body, the young Sharinganwielder landed a devastating kick to Kiba's stomach, which sent the animalistic heir hurtling the rest of the way down and crashing right beside his fallen partner.
Sasuke let himself descend slowly after that, and by the time he'd reached the ground the dust had cleared and he was able to see Kiba.
The Inuuka heir wasn't dead but he was unconscious, and he seemed to have hit his head because there was a growing pool of blood seeping out from beneath his hooded head.
Medical ninja came rushing out from the double doors as Hayate declared Sasuke the winner.
But, with everything that had just happened, and all that had been lost, was it really a victory?
The matches came after were ignored by many of the Konoha Jounin, as they either didn't have to do with one of their students, or it was one that ended too quickly to take notice of. Like Shikamaru's victory over Kin Tsuichi of Oto or Sakura and Ino's cat fight that ended in a double knockout.
And while these matches were going on, many of the Leaf's adults were trying to figure out what was going to happen next concerning both Kiba and Sasuke.
"Kakashi your student just killed a fellow Leaf ninja," Kurenai argued, "that kid needs a serious mental evaluation if he's just going to fly off the handle like that!"
"While I do feel for your team's loss Kurenai you need to understand something; Akamaru had no ninja I.D.. He wasn't considered a shinobi, he was a tool, just like a kunai or a shuriken...lust like those pills they both took against Sasuke." The Jounin in question answered back harshly.
It was true, he did feel bad that his student had killed the ninken, but the dog was out of control and Sasuke was technically defending himself.
"Then what about what he did to Kiba? Sasuke could have very well killed him with that last move. I know you saw the blood!" Kurenai threw back as a rebuttal.
But Kakashi would not allow his student to take the fall for the matches outcome.
"Unfortunately for you Kurenai, that's part of the rules, and he would have been well within his rights too since Hayate didn't call the match. These are the chunin exams; death is inevitable, even among our own ranks, no matter the age. And if you can't get on board with that then maybe you aren't ready to be a Jounin instructor yet."
This got the red-eyed beauties' anger to boil, but before she could say anything Anko came up and pulled on the raven-haired woman's arm to drag her away.
"Come on Kurenai, you need to settle down before you start any real trouble. Look, you can go check on the kid and I'll let you know if either of your other students names get called okay?"
"Yosh! Then you'll not want her to go just yet, because another of young students has been chosen to do battle with my own!" Guy hollered with enthusiasm.
All eyes turned to the selection board and, sure enough, Shino's name was shone in bright yellow letters across the board.
And his opponent: Ten-Ten.
