Chapter 11
Victor-ko: There are others?! Wow, news to me.
It had been a couple of days since we arrived in the tower. I looked out the window. Only a little bit more to wait, then the second exam would be over. I looked down at the scroll in my hand. It took me twenty four hours, but preparing a Level 7 Earth Seal was well worth it, especially with Gaara around. Now, if only I can use it when I need to...
"Umm, Janus-kun..." I turned around. I saw Hinata looking sad. Probably because of the news we heard from Rock Lee. His team showed up a day and a half after us and we asked him what news from the forest. It turned out that sometime on the first day, Team 7 had been attacked by a powerful foe of some sort and Naruto and Sasuke were seriously injured. Hinata had been in a depression since. She would look out the window for hours looking for him to come walking up to the tower. I had actually talked Shikamaru later when he arrived and heard about Sasuke's transformation. That was what worried me more. What kinda of enemy did they run into?
"What is it, Hinata? Did Naruto show up?"
"Umm, yeah. Everyone is being summoned to the main floor."
"Ok, thanks, Hinata." I followed her to the main floor. Kiba was already there, waiting. Hinata got in line behind him and I pulled up the rear. I looked around. It appeared that seven teams have passed the second exam.
"Seven out of twenty six..." I said. "All nine of Leaf's rookies made it, though. That has to say something about our graduating class."
"Because we're the greatest!" Naruto said, laughing. I glanced over at Temari's team. Gaara glared at me and I cringed. I couldn't read Kankuro face, but Temari was wearing a smile. The last couple of days we kept meeting in the kitchen and talking for a bit. Nothing really important, we just wanted to see each other. I guess you could actually call us a couple now.
"Congratulations for passing the second test!" Anko shouted from the front of the room. All the teams senseis were there behind the Hokage with the examiners flanking him. Most of the teams looked kind of beaten up, except for Gaara. The team from Sound looked really bad. Sasuke really had broken the guy's arms. I returned my focus to the examiners in front of us. I noticed Sasuke grab his right shoulder. For some reason it attracted my attention. I don't now why.
"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test." I looked over and listened to him explain how the Chuunin Exam was used to replace war on the world. It was interesting, but I had already read it in the some of the treaty documents. I was bored when I was about seven and I spent a month reading every current treaty Konoha had. When new ones were made, I read those to. Why, I don't know. Come on; get to what we need to know.
"I would like to explain the third test, but..." At that time another examiner appeared in front of him.
"Please, Hokage-sama, let me explain from here, as referee." The man said. The Hokage nodded and the referee turned around. "I, Gekkou Hayate, would like to ask you to participate in a preliminary exam." The room was heard with bustle talking about it. "The reason is that there are too many of you to participate in the time allowed for the third test. Our clients who are going to show up only have so much time allowed. Any of you who are too injured to continue, please make yourselves known now. All who want to continue, we will be starting the preliminaries immediately. Oh, and from here on out, the battles are individual, so feel free to raise your hand for yourself." Who would want to stop now?
Suddenly, I saw Sasuke tense up for some reason and grab his shoulder again. Sakura commented on this. She said something about him dropping out and Orochimaru. My jaw almost dropped. Orochimaru. I remember that name, from somewhere long ago. Then Sakura said something about a mark. I strained to get a better look at it when he turned. I opened my eyes wide. If I didn't know I would have to say it was some kind of seal. Did this, Orochimaru give it to Sasuke? It looked like it was really hurting him. I looked up at the jounin. They seem to know about it. I strained to hear, something about forbidden jutsu and should be dead was all I caught. I looked over to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, if you continue, be careful. I'd like to check out that mark of yours later."
"Shut up! What do you know?"
"Sasuke, I might be able to figure out a way to stop it or even remove it." Sakura looked at me, happier. The jounin were paying close attention, especially the Sound jounin.
"That's great, hear that Sasuke?" He just glared at me. I sighed. You can't blame me for trying. I looked back at the jounin. All the instructors were looking at me as well now. I could see it in their eyes. What can this genin do? "I would like to quit." I looked over. Kabuto! "The last fight took to much out of me, sorry." Hayate coughed.
"Very well then, you may leave at once."
"Kabuto-san!" Naruto shouted, getting his attention as he left. "Why, why are you leaving now!" He gave some pathetic excuse that he couldn't go on. From the look of things, Naruto was more beat up than him. But Kabuto made his way out of the room. Why did Kabuto quit? I thought he was one of the strongest guys here.
"So, if nobody else wants to quit, I will explain the rules of the preliminaries. You will be paired up in one-on-one matches verses another candidate. Because we now have exactly twenty participants, we will have ten matches. There are no rules. You will continue fighting until one of you dies, is knocked out, or admits defeat. But I will step when a winner is clearly determined, there have already been enough deaths." A scoreboard revealed itself on the wall. "That board will decide who you will be matched up against. But now let's get things started off by selecting the first two who will fight." We all looked up at the scoreboard and watched it turn on and start cycling through the names.
The first names that came up were Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Yoroi was one of the guys on Kabuto's team. Against Sasuke, I say he doesn't stand a chance. I didn't pay much real attention to the beginning of the fight. I was kinda curious why Sasuke was only using taijutsu. He probably didn't want to so off any of his special moves until the finals. I almost dozed of till I heard everyone gasping in shock. I looked up and saw Yoroi grabbing Sasuke's face with a glowing hand. What was he doing? Sasuke kicked him off, looking much weaker than before. Did Yoroi just drain Sasuke's chakra or something? I looked over at Hinata.
"Did what I think just happened happen?" She nodded, eyes never leaving the fight. I looked back just in time to see Sasuke appeared beneath a flying Yoroi. I watched as what appeared to be flaming waves started expanding all over his body from the location of the mark. It soon receded and Sasuke finished the fight with a new move, the Lion Combo. I was looking at him with concern. Seals don't expand like that unless they are very powerful. Kakashi appeared down by Sasuke and took him away. I have got to talk to him about that thing. And I have to get a better look at it.
After they had cleaned up the floor, the scoreboard began again. I chuckled. Abumi Zaku and Uzumaki Janus. Now I get to see how powerful Sound Nins really are.
"Bro," Naruto said, looking over at me. "You better not lose here." I chuckled.
"Naruto, I'll only ever lose to you." I replied.
"Good luck, Janus-kun."
"Yeah, Janus. Kick his ass."
"Yes, Janus, lets see how powerful you really are."
"Thanks Hinata, Kiba, Kurenai-sensei." I looked over at Temari, who gave me thumbs up. I nodded and jumped down into the field. I looked over my opponent. Both his arms were in slings. How did he think he'd defeat me with only his legs? He saw his teammate succumb to my bind seal, and he has no way to remove them. This looked almost to easy.
"Let the second match...Begin!" I quickly jumped back.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I created seven clones and quickly switched places with one. "So," we all said in unison. "How do you expect to beat me without your arms?" He slowly pulled out one arm.
"This one moves a little bit and one arm should be more than enough to defeat you!" I had all my clones' advance within striking distance of Zaku.
"You only have one shot. There are seven of us and only one of you. So, I'll say this, do you feel lucky?" The clone I had switched with was on the other side of Zaku than me. Pathetic. Suddenly, he turned.
"Zakuuha!" He blasted me with his compressed air palm jet. My clones all disappeared. I rolled on the ground for a bit. I started to get up, only to get blasted again. Luckily the blasts weren't strong, but it kept up I was going to lose to not even a full man. I got blasted again. I started flying through the air. I saw people screaming at me from all sides, but I couldn't hear them. Think, Janus, think! What jutsus do you know that can deal with this! I can't get close enough to try seals. Explosive notes don't do enough damage...Scroll of Seals! I remember a jutsu that could be of use. I'm so glad Kakashi and Sasuke aren't here; the Hokage would have my ass. I started forming hand seals: Serpent, Boar, Tiger, Horse, Rabbit. I landed on my feet and dodged Zaku's next blast. Here goes, I did the seal unique to this jutsu. I pushed my hand forward hard, supporting it with my other arm at my elbow.
"Zakuuha!" Zaku cried, attempting to blast me again.
"Shield of Deflection no Jutsu!" I could instantly feel my chakra start to slowly drain. I quickly tried to dodge the next blast, to no avail. It hit me; well, not really hit me but glanced off my chakra shell and away part of the wall. I gasped and fell to one knee. No wonder the scroll said the jutsu was just shy of being forbidden. Zaku stopped his blast. He appeared to only have one left. I should have waited. I could only take one more of those myself with this shield. What to do what to do. I noticed Shikamaru out of corner of my eye. Strategy requires logic. Logic requires math! Geometry!
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I created two more clones with mirror shields of their own. I didn't move. I had positioned my clones in front of me.
"Come on, hit me, if you dare..." Zaku screamed, pulled out his other broken arm, pointed them both at me and screamed.
"Ultimate Zakuuha!" I quickly moved myself the three inches to the right I needed. It hit my shield. I fell to my knees. Must hold up for a little longer. The blast hit the next clone. I screamed. More chakra, I need more chakra! Finally, it hit the last clone. I just barely kept from fainting right there. But I needed to hold until... Zaku screamed in pain. When the smoke cleared the floor, both my clones were gone and Zaku was on the ground, unconscious. I slowly stood up, swaying back and forth.
"Winner, Uzumaki Janus. I heard cheers from the crowd. I glanced up at Hokage above me as the spherical shimmer around me faded. He was smiling. I started to fall only to be caught by Naruto and Temari. Gasps were heard from every genin team.
"Naruto, meet Temari. Temari-chan, meet my brother, Naruto." And I fell unconscious.
I slowly opened my eyes. I was in a dark room with white ceilings. I tried to move my head to see where I was. It looked like a hospital room. Besides me it was empty. I looked out side. The stars were out. I tried to sit up. I fell back onto the bed. Why was I so weak...? Oh yeah, I used up all my chakra fighting Zaku... Wait, were the prelims over? I forced myself to sit up. I saw a pair of crutches next to my bed. I put them under my shoulders and walked over to the door. It opened in front of me, knocking me off my crutches and onto the floor.
"Janus-kun, I'm so sorry! What are you doing out of bed?" I looked up, squinting my eyes against the bright lights in the hall.
"The preliminaries, I need to know how they turned out." The person bent down. It was Temari. She helped me back up and to my bed.
"You used up a lot of chakra in that fight. Everyone was wondering how you got an impenetrable defense though. I thought only Gaara had one." Se said, sitting in a chair near the bed. I settled in.
"I guess there are several different impenetrable defenses out there in the world. But I doubt there are any true ones." Temari gasped.
"Like when Gaara fought Rock Lee." I looked over at Temari. "Rock Lee fought Gaara? No, wait, tell me who fought who and the outcomes of the fights, please."
"Well, after you beat Zaku, Kankuro went up against the other member of that pathetic dropout's team. Kankuro won, so one team got completely eliminated from the finals. Next were the two pathetic girls who knocked each other out." I laughed.
"Let me guess, Sakura and Ino?" Temari nodded. "They haven't changed. They're both still chasing Sasuke for some reason. He's not all that. He's far to cold."
"Anyways, after they fought, I had my match against Ten Ten. The girl was good, I have to say that but she was only good at weapon combat. Unfortunately for her she didn't stand a chance."
"You fan is an offensive and defensive weapon against thrown implements. That is why diversifying jutsus is usually best. I so need to find some special jutsus to call my own that aren't forbidden." I sighed. "I'm starting to think that's the only way I can fight on the level of some of the people here." Temari sat down next to me and put her arm around my shoulder.
"Don't worry; I'm sure that you'll find your specialty. Anyways, the next fight was between Shikamaru and the Sound girl. I was quite surprised when Shikamaru won."
"Why would you be? I've told you how intelligent he is. I'm sure you'll find out yourself in time."
"Yeah, maybe. The next fight was an upset though. Your brother went up against Kiba." I opened my eyes in shock.
"Your kidding! Who won?"
"Naruto. I have to admit, he is a quick thinker."
"Naruto? Only during combat, any other time mention ramen and he'll do almost anything." Temari giggled.
"Who fought next? I'm kinda worried how Hinata did, all the ones are incredibly strong, save Chouji but I think Hinata would still have a hard time against him." Temari lowered her head.
"She was pitted against Neji."
"She forfeited immediately, right?" Temari shook her head. "Oh no, Hinata..."
"She's in the hospital a few doors down being tended to by Hyuuga nurses. She's recovering, just not quickly. She took a few nasty blows. The 'Gentle Fist' is nasty. Gaara was even slightly impressed with Neji. Anyways the next fight was Gaara vs. Lee. Lee, he...was able to hurt Gaara." My eyes widened. "His speed got past Gaara's sand shield and started knocking off Gaara's sand armor."
"Gaara has sand armor? He must weigh a ton."
"But that's not the scary thing. What was really scary was when Lee started opening the inner Gates of his body." My mind stopped. A memory floated into my head.
"I...I can open my Gates to?" Temari looked at me confused. "I don't know how, but I remember, I can open the Gates of my body and I did, at a very young age. It almost feels like I knew how before...I was born."
"How, how can someone know that?"
"I...don't know...They don't mention any forbidden jutsus in easy to get locations. You either need to study them or get taught them. It's to protect the jutsus and the users."
"How did you get yours?"
"Off an ancient scroll, sorry but I've been sworn not to say more. But what's scary is that, I remember opening not just one Gate, but all eight Gates. And yet, I live!"
"How...how!"
"I don't know. So, who won the fight?"
"Gaara, but only because his gourd saved him. Lee nearly did the impossible, defeating Gaara." We both shuddered, having seen his power. "The next fight was Chouji and the last Sound. The last Sound won easily." I punched the bed
"I can't believe I messed the fight between Gaara and Lee. They were both people I was afraid to be matched up against." I laid back down. Temari laid down next to me.
"The main matches will start in month from now. Well, a month minus the two days you were out for. We are supposed to train ourselves and know our opponents."
"What is the setup?"
"First match is Neji vs. Naruto, then Gaara vs. Sasuke, then you vs. Kankuro, then me vs. the winner of Shikamaru vs. the Sound Nin." I chuckled.
"Lucky me, I get to face my own girlfriend in the semi finals. I was hoping to put it off to the finals, but I get what I get."
"Oh really," Temari got up on her elbow and looked at me. "And what makes you think you can beat Kankuro?"
"Hey, I have to know if I have to be the one protecting my girlfriend or if she will be protecting me." I grinned sheepishly. Temari giggled then rested her head on my shoulder.
"I hope you get to find out." I heard a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Hokage-sama wants to see you first thing tomorrow. I have to go train, so I won't be here when you wakeup. Just take care of yourself, or I'll hunt you down and hurt you."
"I promise. Temari-chan..." With that, we both drifted off to sleep.
I awoke alone, as Temari said I would. I stood up much easier. A doctor walked in and gave me the ok to leave, even though he warned me to take it easy for a couple days while my chakra finished restoring itself. I went to check up on Hinata. Unfortunately, she was asleep so I left. I quickly made my way to the Hokage's office. I felt like this was becoming a habit, always showing up at his door early in the morning for important things he needs to tell me. I was quickly ushered into his private office.
"Janus, I bet you wondering why..."
"Stop trying to use forbidden jutsus, I know."
"Not really." I looked at the Hokage curiously. "I've never seen someone hold up the Shield of Deflection for so long before and yet still be able to make clones with it to. I think that if you practice some more with that jutsu, you might be able to find a way to control it and be able to turn it on and off at will."
"Interesting. I look into that. Now if you excuse me, I need to make up a strengths and weaknesses board for my opponents at the finals, and cry knowing I'm the weakest." I turned around, preparing to leave.
"Janus, stop." I turned around. "There is something I would like to give you. Consider it a non-forbidden jutsu that will keep you on par with everyone." He walked over to his wall and picked up a scroll. He walked over to me. "This scroll was given to me by the Second. It's one of his original jutsus and I'd like you to have it. It may take some effort to master, but I believe you can do it by the finals"
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" I smiled gratefully. "I need to get going now to see how Hinata and Kiba are doing." I waved as I raced out the door. As I was running towards Kiba's house, a question appeared in my mind. Why was the Hokage helping me so much. First he just accepted me reading the Scroll of Seals, then he gave me scrolls on every fuuinjutsu he knows, and now this? I'll have to ask him sometime. I arrived at Kiba's house. I knocked on the door. His older sister showed up.
"Is Kiba around?"
"Kiba? Oh, he left just a few minutes ago to meet with his sensei at the hospital."
"Ok, thanks!" I raced off to catch up. I arrived just in time to enter Hinata's room behind them.
"Umm, morning Kiba-kun, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said weakly.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Kiba and Kurenai turned.
"Janus!" Kiba jumped at me, I quickly dodged to watch him fall face first onto the floor. I heard Hinata giggle weakly. I walked over and took a seat in the chair next to her bed.
"So, Hinata, I heard what happened, are you ok?" Hinata coughed.
"I'm fine, for now at least. How about you? What was that jutsu you used during your fight?"
"Yes, Janus, I'm also quite curious." Kurenai said, Kiba just scowled at me. Akamaru, however jumped up and sat between Hinata and me.
"Heh heh, that was the Deflection Shield no Jutsu. It's a forbidden technique I shouldn't have used. I incorrectly judged how much it would drain me."
"You've never used it before?"
"If I had, I would have known not to use it. Yes, it may be an impenetrable defense, but to keep it up causes a drain on your chakra and whenever you get hit by a chakra based attack. Weapons can't touch you though. Another problem with it is that currently, there isn't a way to turn the jutsu off, so it drains you dry. That's actually why I fainted after my fight. I didn't have enough left to keep my self awake."
"Oh, another thing, Temari-chan?" Kiba asked, looking at me suspiciously. I chuckled a little putting my hand behind my head.
"She was the local in Sand who took me in out of the storm. We've...kinda stayed in touch." I blushed, slightly. Realization dawned on their faces.
"You're dating the Sand chick? Well done, Janus. Isn't she like three or four years older than us?"
"Janus-kun, did she help you with your depression while we were there?"
"Yeah, she did."
"Janus, could your relationship effect your performance if you get matched against her in the semi-finals." Kurenai asked, concerned.
"Not really, Kurenai-sensei. We've talked about it and decided that the winner will show who will protect who. Anyways, Hinata, get better. I need to go home, think about how powerful my opponents are, and cry for a bit. See ya. Oh, Kiba, Kurenai-sensei, you think you could come with me? Since I missed on the fights, I need your help with analyzing my opponent's strengths."
"Sure, let's go." Kiba said, Akamaru jumping from the bed to his shoulders. Kurenai follows the two of us out.
"There, done. Everyone's strengths and weaknesses that we currently know of." I looked at the wall of my dining room. Around the entire room were posters listing the strengths and weaknesses of every participant.
"First, Hyuuga Neji. Strengths: Genius of the Hyuuga Clan, Byakugan, Taijutsu. Weaknesses: Hyuuga Training, little to no Ninjutsu and Genjutsu." I read.
"Due to his eyes," Kurenai started. "Genjutsu is ineffective against him. You're not confident enough to take him on hand to hand, so Ninjutsu may be you best tool against him."
"True, means I need to learn some new ones. Next, Uzumaki Naruto. Strengths: Iron Will, Master of Kage Bunshin, Instinct." Kyubi I mentally added. "Weaknesses: Brash, Chakra Control, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu skills."
"Naruto right now would be a harder opponent for you than Neji," Kiba said. "You've never won against him before, but you've fought him enough to know his style as well as your own. That is probably what you'll have to do, out predict his moves."
"I know, but it hasn't worked yet. Then we have Gaara of the Sand. Strengths: Sand Shield, Sand Armor, Sand-based-attacks. Weaknesses: Speed." I sighed.
"Don't even think about it. If you're matched up against Gaara, resign. You can't." Kiba said, worry in his eyes.
"I know, I'm nowhere near as fast as Lee and even training non-stop for a month I won't be fast enough. Next, Uchiha Sasuke. Strengths: Sharingan, Fire Jutsus, Training From Kakashi." Kurenai suggested the last one. "Weaknesses: Speed."
"If you can find a way to fight without your eyes," Kurenai suggested. "Then you might able to fight him easier. But when he starts copying your moves, you will be in trouble."
"I know, I'm thinking of forfeiting again. I just glad I won't have to worry about it till the finals. Next, Uzumaki Janus. Strengths: Fuuinjutsu, this planning session. Weaknesses: Weak at Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu, kinda slow."
"Hmmm, I think training with Kiba and Akamaru at the same time could improve your speed and your Taijutsu. I can teach you a couple more Genjutsu skills..."
"And looking over the scroll I got from Hokage-sama, it appears to be a jounin level Ninjutsu. And if I train with Kiba and Akamaru blindfolded, I could heighten my other skills if I ever have to fight Sasuke. I don't know if all this will cut it, but it's the best I can do. Next, Kankuro. Strengths: Puppet, Hiding. Weaknesses: Due to his use of puppets, Taijutsu skills will probably be weak."
"This fight should be easy for you," Kiba said. Akamaru barked agreement. "You just disable his hands and stay away from the puppet you can finish him off easy. You're lucky to get him in the first round."
"Let's just hope your right. His puppet could have hidden distance weapons, so I have to look out for those. Next, Temari. Strengths: Wind Jutsus, Fan. Weaknesses:... I can't believe we couldn't think of any."
"That's because you ignored me saying that she's your girlfriend and would be less inclined to actually hurt you."
"Maybe, but I'm not going to count on that. Next, Dosu. Strengths: Sound-Based Weapon, Speed. Weaknesses: Relies to heavily on his weapon."
"If you could disable his right arm, victory would be assured."
"Yeah, but even if he got past Shikamaru, he wouldn't get past Temari. Speaking of Shikamaru... Strengths: Shadow Copy, Strategy. Weaknesses: No Drive."
"You know, Janus, you really lucked out on placement. Save for your 'precious' Temari, most of your opponents are pretty easy to beat." I turned to look at Kiba.
"Which is why I'm having this planning session, so I could figure out just how well I should do against my competition. And I am not going to misjudge my opponents in battle, I just want to be a little better prepared for when I have to fight them. Now then," I looked at the clock. "Kurenai- sensei, I'll leave you to go figure out the best genjutsu to teach me over the month and how the best way for me to learn the jutsu on Hokage-sama's scroll." Kurenai nodded, took the scroll and left. "Kiba, I think its time to start working on my speed, you coming?"
"Heh, come on, Akamaru. It's 'bout time we both went up against our 'powerful friend.'" They both grinned mischievously. "Be prepared for the pain, Janus." We all laughed as we walked out of my apartment heading for Field 8.
Victor-ko: There are others?! Wow, news to me.
It had been a couple of days since we arrived in the tower. I looked out the window. Only a little bit more to wait, then the second exam would be over. I looked down at the scroll in my hand. It took me twenty four hours, but preparing a Level 7 Earth Seal was well worth it, especially with Gaara around. Now, if only I can use it when I need to...
"Umm, Janus-kun..." I turned around. I saw Hinata looking sad. Probably because of the news we heard from Rock Lee. His team showed up a day and a half after us and we asked him what news from the forest. It turned out that sometime on the first day, Team 7 had been attacked by a powerful foe of some sort and Naruto and Sasuke were seriously injured. Hinata had been in a depression since. She would look out the window for hours looking for him to come walking up to the tower. I had actually talked Shikamaru later when he arrived and heard about Sasuke's transformation. That was what worried me more. What kinda of enemy did they run into?
"What is it, Hinata? Did Naruto show up?"
"Umm, yeah. Everyone is being summoned to the main floor."
"Ok, thanks, Hinata." I followed her to the main floor. Kiba was already there, waiting. Hinata got in line behind him and I pulled up the rear. I looked around. It appeared that seven teams have passed the second exam.
"Seven out of twenty six..." I said. "All nine of Leaf's rookies made it, though. That has to say something about our graduating class."
"Because we're the greatest!" Naruto said, laughing. I glanced over at Temari's team. Gaara glared at me and I cringed. I couldn't read Kankuro face, but Temari was wearing a smile. The last couple of days we kept meeting in the kitchen and talking for a bit. Nothing really important, we just wanted to see each other. I guess you could actually call us a couple now.
"Congratulations for passing the second test!" Anko shouted from the front of the room. All the teams senseis were there behind the Hokage with the examiners flanking him. Most of the teams looked kind of beaten up, except for Gaara. The team from Sound looked really bad. Sasuke really had broken the guy's arms. I returned my focus to the examiners in front of us. I noticed Sasuke grab his right shoulder. For some reason it attracted my attention. I don't now why.
"Hokage-sama will now explain the third test." I looked over and listened to him explain how the Chuunin Exam was used to replace war on the world. It was interesting, but I had already read it in the some of the treaty documents. I was bored when I was about seven and I spent a month reading every current treaty Konoha had. When new ones were made, I read those to. Why, I don't know. Come on; get to what we need to know.
"I would like to explain the third test, but..." At that time another examiner appeared in front of him.
"Please, Hokage-sama, let me explain from here, as referee." The man said. The Hokage nodded and the referee turned around. "I, Gekkou Hayate, would like to ask you to participate in a preliminary exam." The room was heard with bustle talking about it. "The reason is that there are too many of you to participate in the time allowed for the third test. Our clients who are going to show up only have so much time allowed. Any of you who are too injured to continue, please make yourselves known now. All who want to continue, we will be starting the preliminaries immediately. Oh, and from here on out, the battles are individual, so feel free to raise your hand for yourself." Who would want to stop now?
Suddenly, I saw Sasuke tense up for some reason and grab his shoulder again. Sakura commented on this. She said something about him dropping out and Orochimaru. My jaw almost dropped. Orochimaru. I remember that name, from somewhere long ago. Then Sakura said something about a mark. I strained to get a better look at it when he turned. I opened my eyes wide. If I didn't know I would have to say it was some kind of seal. Did this, Orochimaru give it to Sasuke? It looked like it was really hurting him. I looked up at the jounin. They seem to know about it. I strained to hear, something about forbidden jutsu and should be dead was all I caught. I looked over to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, if you continue, be careful. I'd like to check out that mark of yours later."
"Shut up! What do you know?"
"Sasuke, I might be able to figure out a way to stop it or even remove it." Sakura looked at me, happier. The jounin were paying close attention, especially the Sound jounin.
"That's great, hear that Sasuke?" He just glared at me. I sighed. You can't blame me for trying. I looked back at the jounin. All the instructors were looking at me as well now. I could see it in their eyes. What can this genin do? "I would like to quit." I looked over. Kabuto! "The last fight took to much out of me, sorry." Hayate coughed.
"Very well then, you may leave at once."
"Kabuto-san!" Naruto shouted, getting his attention as he left. "Why, why are you leaving now!" He gave some pathetic excuse that he couldn't go on. From the look of things, Naruto was more beat up than him. But Kabuto made his way out of the room. Why did Kabuto quit? I thought he was one of the strongest guys here.
"So, if nobody else wants to quit, I will explain the rules of the preliminaries. You will be paired up in one-on-one matches verses another candidate. Because we now have exactly twenty participants, we will have ten matches. There are no rules. You will continue fighting until one of you dies, is knocked out, or admits defeat. But I will step when a winner is clearly determined, there have already been enough deaths." A scoreboard revealed itself on the wall. "That board will decide who you will be matched up against. But now let's get things started off by selecting the first two who will fight." We all looked up at the scoreboard and watched it turn on and start cycling through the names.
The first names that came up were Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Yoroi was one of the guys on Kabuto's team. Against Sasuke, I say he doesn't stand a chance. I didn't pay much real attention to the beginning of the fight. I was kinda curious why Sasuke was only using taijutsu. He probably didn't want to so off any of his special moves until the finals. I almost dozed of till I heard everyone gasping in shock. I looked up and saw Yoroi grabbing Sasuke's face with a glowing hand. What was he doing? Sasuke kicked him off, looking much weaker than before. Did Yoroi just drain Sasuke's chakra or something? I looked over at Hinata.
"Did what I think just happened happen?" She nodded, eyes never leaving the fight. I looked back just in time to see Sasuke appeared beneath a flying Yoroi. I watched as what appeared to be flaming waves started expanding all over his body from the location of the mark. It soon receded and Sasuke finished the fight with a new move, the Lion Combo. I was looking at him with concern. Seals don't expand like that unless they are very powerful. Kakashi appeared down by Sasuke and took him away. I have got to talk to him about that thing. And I have to get a better look at it.
After they had cleaned up the floor, the scoreboard began again. I chuckled. Abumi Zaku and Uzumaki Janus. Now I get to see how powerful Sound Nins really are.
"Bro," Naruto said, looking over at me. "You better not lose here." I chuckled.
"Naruto, I'll only ever lose to you." I replied.
"Good luck, Janus-kun."
"Yeah, Janus. Kick his ass."
"Yes, Janus, lets see how powerful you really are."
"Thanks Hinata, Kiba, Kurenai-sensei." I looked over at Temari, who gave me thumbs up. I nodded and jumped down into the field. I looked over my opponent. Both his arms were in slings. How did he think he'd defeat me with only his legs? He saw his teammate succumb to my bind seal, and he has no way to remove them. This looked almost to easy.
"Let the second match...Begin!" I quickly jumped back.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I created seven clones and quickly switched places with one. "So," we all said in unison. "How do you expect to beat me without your arms?" He slowly pulled out one arm.
"This one moves a little bit and one arm should be more than enough to defeat you!" I had all my clones' advance within striking distance of Zaku.
"You only have one shot. There are seven of us and only one of you. So, I'll say this, do you feel lucky?" The clone I had switched with was on the other side of Zaku than me. Pathetic. Suddenly, he turned.
"Zakuuha!" He blasted me with his compressed air palm jet. My clones all disappeared. I rolled on the ground for a bit. I started to get up, only to get blasted again. Luckily the blasts weren't strong, but it kept up I was going to lose to not even a full man. I got blasted again. I started flying through the air. I saw people screaming at me from all sides, but I couldn't hear them. Think, Janus, think! What jutsus do you know that can deal with this! I can't get close enough to try seals. Explosive notes don't do enough damage...Scroll of Seals! I remember a jutsu that could be of use. I'm so glad Kakashi and Sasuke aren't here; the Hokage would have my ass. I started forming hand seals: Serpent, Boar, Tiger, Horse, Rabbit. I landed on my feet and dodged Zaku's next blast. Here goes, I did the seal unique to this jutsu. I pushed my hand forward hard, supporting it with my other arm at my elbow.
"Zakuuha!" Zaku cried, attempting to blast me again.
"Shield of Deflection no Jutsu!" I could instantly feel my chakra start to slowly drain. I quickly tried to dodge the next blast, to no avail. It hit me; well, not really hit me but glanced off my chakra shell and away part of the wall. I gasped and fell to one knee. No wonder the scroll said the jutsu was just shy of being forbidden. Zaku stopped his blast. He appeared to only have one left. I should have waited. I could only take one more of those myself with this shield. What to do what to do. I noticed Shikamaru out of corner of my eye. Strategy requires logic. Logic requires math! Geometry!
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I created two more clones with mirror shields of their own. I didn't move. I had positioned my clones in front of me.
"Come on, hit me, if you dare..." Zaku screamed, pulled out his other broken arm, pointed them both at me and screamed.
"Ultimate Zakuuha!" I quickly moved myself the three inches to the right I needed. It hit my shield. I fell to my knees. Must hold up for a little longer. The blast hit the next clone. I screamed. More chakra, I need more chakra! Finally, it hit the last clone. I just barely kept from fainting right there. But I needed to hold until... Zaku screamed in pain. When the smoke cleared the floor, both my clones were gone and Zaku was on the ground, unconscious. I slowly stood up, swaying back and forth.
"Winner, Uzumaki Janus. I heard cheers from the crowd. I glanced up at Hokage above me as the spherical shimmer around me faded. He was smiling. I started to fall only to be caught by Naruto and Temari. Gasps were heard from every genin team.
"Naruto, meet Temari. Temari-chan, meet my brother, Naruto." And I fell unconscious.
I slowly opened my eyes. I was in a dark room with white ceilings. I tried to move my head to see where I was. It looked like a hospital room. Besides me it was empty. I looked out side. The stars were out. I tried to sit up. I fell back onto the bed. Why was I so weak...? Oh yeah, I used up all my chakra fighting Zaku... Wait, were the prelims over? I forced myself to sit up. I saw a pair of crutches next to my bed. I put them under my shoulders and walked over to the door. It opened in front of me, knocking me off my crutches and onto the floor.
"Janus-kun, I'm so sorry! What are you doing out of bed?" I looked up, squinting my eyes against the bright lights in the hall.
"The preliminaries, I need to know how they turned out." The person bent down. It was Temari. She helped me back up and to my bed.
"You used up a lot of chakra in that fight. Everyone was wondering how you got an impenetrable defense though. I thought only Gaara had one." Se said, sitting in a chair near the bed. I settled in.
"I guess there are several different impenetrable defenses out there in the world. But I doubt there are any true ones." Temari gasped.
"Like when Gaara fought Rock Lee." I looked over at Temari. "Rock Lee fought Gaara? No, wait, tell me who fought who and the outcomes of the fights, please."
"Well, after you beat Zaku, Kankuro went up against the other member of that pathetic dropout's team. Kankuro won, so one team got completely eliminated from the finals. Next were the two pathetic girls who knocked each other out." I laughed.
"Let me guess, Sakura and Ino?" Temari nodded. "They haven't changed. They're both still chasing Sasuke for some reason. He's not all that. He's far to cold."
"Anyways, after they fought, I had my match against Ten Ten. The girl was good, I have to say that but she was only good at weapon combat. Unfortunately for her she didn't stand a chance."
"You fan is an offensive and defensive weapon against thrown implements. That is why diversifying jutsus is usually best. I so need to find some special jutsus to call my own that aren't forbidden." I sighed. "I'm starting to think that's the only way I can fight on the level of some of the people here." Temari sat down next to me and put her arm around my shoulder.
"Don't worry; I'm sure that you'll find your specialty. Anyways, the next fight was between Shikamaru and the Sound girl. I was quite surprised when Shikamaru won."
"Why would you be? I've told you how intelligent he is. I'm sure you'll find out yourself in time."
"Yeah, maybe. The next fight was an upset though. Your brother went up against Kiba." I opened my eyes in shock.
"Your kidding! Who won?"
"Naruto. I have to admit, he is a quick thinker."
"Naruto? Only during combat, any other time mention ramen and he'll do almost anything." Temari giggled.
"Who fought next? I'm kinda worried how Hinata did, all the ones are incredibly strong, save Chouji but I think Hinata would still have a hard time against him." Temari lowered her head.
"She was pitted against Neji."
"She forfeited immediately, right?" Temari shook her head. "Oh no, Hinata..."
"She's in the hospital a few doors down being tended to by Hyuuga nurses. She's recovering, just not quickly. She took a few nasty blows. The 'Gentle Fist' is nasty. Gaara was even slightly impressed with Neji. Anyways the next fight was Gaara vs. Lee. Lee, he...was able to hurt Gaara." My eyes widened. "His speed got past Gaara's sand shield and started knocking off Gaara's sand armor."
"Gaara has sand armor? He must weigh a ton."
"But that's not the scary thing. What was really scary was when Lee started opening the inner Gates of his body." My mind stopped. A memory floated into my head.
"I...I can open my Gates to?" Temari looked at me confused. "I don't know how, but I remember, I can open the Gates of my body and I did, at a very young age. It almost feels like I knew how before...I was born."
"How, how can someone know that?"
"I...don't know...They don't mention any forbidden jutsus in easy to get locations. You either need to study them or get taught them. It's to protect the jutsus and the users."
"How did you get yours?"
"Off an ancient scroll, sorry but I've been sworn not to say more. But what's scary is that, I remember opening not just one Gate, but all eight Gates. And yet, I live!"
"How...how!"
"I don't know. So, who won the fight?"
"Gaara, but only because his gourd saved him. Lee nearly did the impossible, defeating Gaara." We both shuddered, having seen his power. "The next fight was Chouji and the last Sound. The last Sound won easily." I punched the bed
"I can't believe I messed the fight between Gaara and Lee. They were both people I was afraid to be matched up against." I laid back down. Temari laid down next to me.
"The main matches will start in month from now. Well, a month minus the two days you were out for. We are supposed to train ourselves and know our opponents."
"What is the setup?"
"First match is Neji vs. Naruto, then Gaara vs. Sasuke, then you vs. Kankuro, then me vs. the winner of Shikamaru vs. the Sound Nin." I chuckled.
"Lucky me, I get to face my own girlfriend in the semi finals. I was hoping to put it off to the finals, but I get what I get."
"Oh really," Temari got up on her elbow and looked at me. "And what makes you think you can beat Kankuro?"
"Hey, I have to know if I have to be the one protecting my girlfriend or if she will be protecting me." I grinned sheepishly. Temari giggled then rested her head on my shoulder.
"I hope you get to find out." I heard a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Hokage-sama wants to see you first thing tomorrow. I have to go train, so I won't be here when you wakeup. Just take care of yourself, or I'll hunt you down and hurt you."
"I promise. Temari-chan..." With that, we both drifted off to sleep.
I awoke alone, as Temari said I would. I stood up much easier. A doctor walked in and gave me the ok to leave, even though he warned me to take it easy for a couple days while my chakra finished restoring itself. I went to check up on Hinata. Unfortunately, she was asleep so I left. I quickly made my way to the Hokage's office. I felt like this was becoming a habit, always showing up at his door early in the morning for important things he needs to tell me. I was quickly ushered into his private office.
"Janus, I bet you wondering why..."
"Stop trying to use forbidden jutsus, I know."
"Not really." I looked at the Hokage curiously. "I've never seen someone hold up the Shield of Deflection for so long before and yet still be able to make clones with it to. I think that if you practice some more with that jutsu, you might be able to find a way to control it and be able to turn it on and off at will."
"Interesting. I look into that. Now if you excuse me, I need to make up a strengths and weaknesses board for my opponents at the finals, and cry knowing I'm the weakest." I turned around, preparing to leave.
"Janus, stop." I turned around. "There is something I would like to give you. Consider it a non-forbidden jutsu that will keep you on par with everyone." He walked over to his wall and picked up a scroll. He walked over to me. "This scroll was given to me by the Second. It's one of his original jutsus and I'd like you to have it. It may take some effort to master, but I believe you can do it by the finals"
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" I smiled gratefully. "I need to get going now to see how Hinata and Kiba are doing." I waved as I raced out the door. As I was running towards Kiba's house, a question appeared in my mind. Why was the Hokage helping me so much. First he just accepted me reading the Scroll of Seals, then he gave me scrolls on every fuuinjutsu he knows, and now this? I'll have to ask him sometime. I arrived at Kiba's house. I knocked on the door. His older sister showed up.
"Is Kiba around?"
"Kiba? Oh, he left just a few minutes ago to meet with his sensei at the hospital."
"Ok, thanks!" I raced off to catch up. I arrived just in time to enter Hinata's room behind them.
"Umm, morning Kiba-kun, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said weakly.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Kiba and Kurenai turned.
"Janus!" Kiba jumped at me, I quickly dodged to watch him fall face first onto the floor. I heard Hinata giggle weakly. I walked over and took a seat in the chair next to her bed.
"So, Hinata, I heard what happened, are you ok?" Hinata coughed.
"I'm fine, for now at least. How about you? What was that jutsu you used during your fight?"
"Yes, Janus, I'm also quite curious." Kurenai said, Kiba just scowled at me. Akamaru, however jumped up and sat between Hinata and me.
"Heh heh, that was the Deflection Shield no Jutsu. It's a forbidden technique I shouldn't have used. I incorrectly judged how much it would drain me."
"You've never used it before?"
"If I had, I would have known not to use it. Yes, it may be an impenetrable defense, but to keep it up causes a drain on your chakra and whenever you get hit by a chakra based attack. Weapons can't touch you though. Another problem with it is that currently, there isn't a way to turn the jutsu off, so it drains you dry. That's actually why I fainted after my fight. I didn't have enough left to keep my self awake."
"Oh, another thing, Temari-chan?" Kiba asked, looking at me suspiciously. I chuckled a little putting my hand behind my head.
"She was the local in Sand who took me in out of the storm. We've...kinda stayed in touch." I blushed, slightly. Realization dawned on their faces.
"You're dating the Sand chick? Well done, Janus. Isn't she like three or four years older than us?"
"Janus-kun, did she help you with your depression while we were there?"
"Yeah, she did."
"Janus, could your relationship effect your performance if you get matched against her in the semi-finals." Kurenai asked, concerned.
"Not really, Kurenai-sensei. We've talked about it and decided that the winner will show who will protect who. Anyways, Hinata, get better. I need to go home, think about how powerful my opponents are, and cry for a bit. See ya. Oh, Kiba, Kurenai-sensei, you think you could come with me? Since I missed on the fights, I need your help with analyzing my opponent's strengths."
"Sure, let's go." Kiba said, Akamaru jumping from the bed to his shoulders. Kurenai follows the two of us out.
"There, done. Everyone's strengths and weaknesses that we currently know of." I looked at the wall of my dining room. Around the entire room were posters listing the strengths and weaknesses of every participant.
"First, Hyuuga Neji. Strengths: Genius of the Hyuuga Clan, Byakugan, Taijutsu. Weaknesses: Hyuuga Training, little to no Ninjutsu and Genjutsu." I read.
"Due to his eyes," Kurenai started. "Genjutsu is ineffective against him. You're not confident enough to take him on hand to hand, so Ninjutsu may be you best tool against him."
"True, means I need to learn some new ones. Next, Uzumaki Naruto. Strengths: Iron Will, Master of Kage Bunshin, Instinct." Kyubi I mentally added. "Weaknesses: Brash, Chakra Control, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu skills."
"Naruto right now would be a harder opponent for you than Neji," Kiba said. "You've never won against him before, but you've fought him enough to know his style as well as your own. That is probably what you'll have to do, out predict his moves."
"I know, but it hasn't worked yet. Then we have Gaara of the Sand. Strengths: Sand Shield, Sand Armor, Sand-based-attacks. Weaknesses: Speed." I sighed.
"Don't even think about it. If you're matched up against Gaara, resign. You can't." Kiba said, worry in his eyes.
"I know, I'm nowhere near as fast as Lee and even training non-stop for a month I won't be fast enough. Next, Uchiha Sasuke. Strengths: Sharingan, Fire Jutsus, Training From Kakashi." Kurenai suggested the last one. "Weaknesses: Speed."
"If you can find a way to fight without your eyes," Kurenai suggested. "Then you might able to fight him easier. But when he starts copying your moves, you will be in trouble."
"I know, I'm thinking of forfeiting again. I just glad I won't have to worry about it till the finals. Next, Uzumaki Janus. Strengths: Fuuinjutsu, this planning session. Weaknesses: Weak at Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu, kinda slow."
"Hmmm, I think training with Kiba and Akamaru at the same time could improve your speed and your Taijutsu. I can teach you a couple more Genjutsu skills..."
"And looking over the scroll I got from Hokage-sama, it appears to be a jounin level Ninjutsu. And if I train with Kiba and Akamaru blindfolded, I could heighten my other skills if I ever have to fight Sasuke. I don't know if all this will cut it, but it's the best I can do. Next, Kankuro. Strengths: Puppet, Hiding. Weaknesses: Due to his use of puppets, Taijutsu skills will probably be weak."
"This fight should be easy for you," Kiba said. Akamaru barked agreement. "You just disable his hands and stay away from the puppet you can finish him off easy. You're lucky to get him in the first round."
"Let's just hope your right. His puppet could have hidden distance weapons, so I have to look out for those. Next, Temari. Strengths: Wind Jutsus, Fan. Weaknesses:... I can't believe we couldn't think of any."
"That's because you ignored me saying that she's your girlfriend and would be less inclined to actually hurt you."
"Maybe, but I'm not going to count on that. Next, Dosu. Strengths: Sound-Based Weapon, Speed. Weaknesses: Relies to heavily on his weapon."
"If you could disable his right arm, victory would be assured."
"Yeah, but even if he got past Shikamaru, he wouldn't get past Temari. Speaking of Shikamaru... Strengths: Shadow Copy, Strategy. Weaknesses: No Drive."
"You know, Janus, you really lucked out on placement. Save for your 'precious' Temari, most of your opponents are pretty easy to beat." I turned to look at Kiba.
"Which is why I'm having this planning session, so I could figure out just how well I should do against my competition. And I am not going to misjudge my opponents in battle, I just want to be a little better prepared for when I have to fight them. Now then," I looked at the clock. "Kurenai- sensei, I'll leave you to go figure out the best genjutsu to teach me over the month and how the best way for me to learn the jutsu on Hokage-sama's scroll." Kurenai nodded, took the scroll and left. "Kiba, I think its time to start working on my speed, you coming?"
"Heh, come on, Akamaru. It's 'bout time we both went up against our 'powerful friend.'" They both grinned mischievously. "Be prepared for the pain, Janus." We all laughed as we walked out of my apartment heading for Field 8.