Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (unfortunately). I do own all of my own characters.
Thank you to all my reviewers!!! you ppl r so nice :-)
"blah" = speech
'blah' = thoughts
'blah' = Kyuubi's speech
Q: will sasuke get the clot kicked out of him because he's an ass?
A: he'll have an interesting fate... in chapter 10
Q: does naruto have a way of protecting his jutsus styles, abilites and skills from Itachi and Sasuke or not?
A: u'll find out soon.
Q: what happened to sakura did she choose not to enter this exam?
A: i'll talk about that in this chapter. however that annoying bitch will rear her ugly head later. (ah i feel so much better saying that)
Q: will the leaf nin find out who killed there fellow nin and ask Nazashi about it?
A: will also discuss in this chapter
Q: now will naruto take hinata with him or is this not the pairing you have in mind?
A: i wont talk about what happens btwn them beforehand
Q: why is it that the exam is kinda like one of the tests for the Hunter Exam in where they will need six points to pass and they will need to stay for a few days? Did you get the idea from there?
A: yea i did actually; (i was wondering who would pick up on that)
popular opinion was for me to write in detail about known characters (leaf). however kyandisu has a point i mean how much variation can u have in taijutsu only.
Chapter 9 – Taijutsu Exam
Two days later all the participants came to the 29th training area.
The training area was kind of like an arena except no stands and it was all underground, as a sort of pit. It was obvious that they were going to be fighting down in the pit.
At exactly 11:00am a cloud of smoke appeared next to the participants and out stepped the examiner.
"Good morning everyone!" yelled Gai.
'First it's Kakashi, then his eternal rival,' thought Nazashi exasperated 'who's next Ero-Sennin doing the third exam.'
'Damn it! If only the mission were going a bit better… I might have already been out of here already.'
"We will now start the second exam. The fighters will be picked at random," continued Gai "the only weapons you can use are shuriken and kunai. However will be watching to make sure you don't chakra enhance any of your weapons. Also you may NOT use any blood limits, from now until this exam is over. That INCLUDES the times when you are not fighting."
'That first rule was meant mostly for me,' thought Nazashi while surveying the people around him and not finding anyone else with a katana or any other type of mid-range weapon. 'However it is nice to know that my skills won't be copied by that bastard.'
"All of the fights will occur down there," said Gai while pointing into the pit "the Pit of Doom…"
Everyone sweat-dropped.
"Well that's the un-official name at least…" said Gai.
'Idiot…' sighed Nazashi.
Gai then made his way down into the pit and the participants seemed to sort themselves out, in terms of village again, on the ledge above. Nazashi found himself standing on the far side away from the Leaf-nin, closer to the Cloud and Snow ninjas.
"First match will be: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Umino of the Stone." (A/N: I don't want to introduce OC's that will probably never be used again, so I'll just BS a name and say which village they are from)
Sasuke and the Stone-nin jumped down to the floor and stood facing each other.
"Begin!" yelled Gai.
Sasuke instantly pulled out 3 shuriken and threw them at the Stone-nin, who threw his own to counter. The shuriken collided in mid-air and fell to the ground. The fighters at this time had already launched themselves at each other and were fighting a kunai battle.
Sasuke tried to punch and kick at the same time, only to have the Stone-nin easily counter.
Nazashi stifled a yawn, 'jeez, it's an elementary battle. I know they are testing each other, but this is pathetic. How can chuunin be testing each other on a genin level?'
Losing a little interest in the fight, Nazashi threw his attention over to the remaining Leaf-nin.
"This is so troublesome… Even if bloodlimits can't be used the Hyuga have a definite advantage over everyone and I kind of feel sorry for anyone that has to face Lee," said Shikamaru annoyed.
"Yea that's true, and anyone who fights Lee is sure to lose," replied Tenten. "It also seems as if Sasuke is playing around with his opponent. You worried about any of the foreign ninjas?"
"Why do you ask me?" said Shikamaru in an annoyed tone.
"Because you're the genius and probably already know who to watch out for," replied Tenten in an amused voice.
'True I have been observing everyone since before the test started… and that Grass-nin is somehow unsettling,' thought Shikamaru.
"I'd watch out for the Grass-nin, and also the Snow and Cloud," said Shikamaru.
"You seem to single out the Grass-nin," said Lee joining the conversation "any reason?"
"He seems more relaxed than anyone here, and didn't even care that he's not allowed to use his katana" replied Shikamaru.
"So? Most people that use a katana are good at taijutsu" said Lee.
"But katana wielders get used to having their katana and become somewhat dependant on it in close combat," mused Shikamaru.
"Well we'll see," said Lee. 'He really does seem like a worthy opponent,' thought Lee of Nazashi.
'That Grass-nin doesn't strike me as a taijutsu expert, yet I can't seem to sense any chakra around him and have to concentrate to be able to sense his presence. In combat the ability to erase your presence could be a deadly advantage,' thought Shikamaru and eyed Nazashi cautiously.
'Damn that Shikamaru! Maybe I should have killed him instead of Ino. Although he doesn't seem to suspect me for ME, which is a plus, but… I need to find a way to throw him off… fighting him to the death might do the trick, that is if I get that lucky…' mused Nazashi 'Anyway, back to watching the battle…'
As Sasuke parried yet another kunai strike, his lips curved into a slight smile as he twisted his foot and disappeared. His opponent was shocked. Sasuke then reappeared right behind the Stone-nin and punched him straight in the back of the head, sending the Stone-nin flying across the arena.
'Fast, to the normal spectator, but I can easily see. His vest seems to be weighted down and also his shins… I wonder how much,' commented Nazashi thinking about his own weights. Namely the 500 pounds in his jacket and 250 on each shin. 'I wish I'd brought my cloak it has another 500, but it does have the Akatsuki pattern on it.'
Sasuke waited until his opponent got up and then ran straight toward him. His opponent, thinking this was a reckless frontal attack, simply waited in a semi-defensive stance. Right before reaching his opponent Sasuke disappeared and throwing off the Stone-nin once again. Sasuke then re-appeared with a vertical kick straight into the Stone-nin's jaw, sending him flying through the air, and jumped after him.
'This move, huh Sasuke?' thought Nazashi 'I wonder if you're actually going to use Lee's technique or if you're going to do that one combo you have?'
Sasuke then put his hand on the Stone-nin's back and went to kick him. The kick of course was blocked, but that was the plan. Sasuke instantly twisted around and hit him in the jaw sending him down to the ground, then he brought the back of his foot to his solar plexus to re-enforce the collision with the ground.
'Sasuke, Sasuke…' Nazashi slowly shook his head 'you developed that five years ago, don't you have something better?'
He then took a moment to re-analyze the last part of the battle, 'foolish Sasuke, you're to used to that move… you do it by instinct, and ASSUME that your opponent will play along… but you simply can't do that… I mean look at you, even before your opponent fully blocked that kick you were already going for the punch. A more skilled opponent will read through that as easily as a hot knife goes through butter.'
The Stone-nin was knocked out instantly, "Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!" yelled Gai.
There were a few cheers by some of the Leaf-nin, but the participants mostly stayed quiet.
'That's what's been bugging me…' thought Nazashi as he felt a slight mental pressure lift, 'where the hell is Sakura? Why isn't she here cheering on her "boyfriend?"'
There were a few silent congratulations as Sasuke re-joined his comrades. Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and congratulated him.
'That damn bastard and his prize student… oh how I want to just…' Nazashi had to stop that train of thought of else he would end up releasing his killer intent or worse. After a few deep breaths he decided to just listen in on their conversation.
"Hey Sasuke, not much support for you now that your fan-girl isn't here, huh?" said Lee grinning.
"Yea…" replied Sasuke in a bored tone.
"They said they might come visit during lunch break," said Shikamaru.
"That would be nice, I haven't seen Chouji or Sakura in quite a while," said Hinata.
"Yea since they started teaching at the academy, they don't go on regular missions like the rest of us, so it's only natural," replied Shikamaru.
'So Sakura is an academy teacher. Well she could easily be, with her brains and all. She's probably replacing Iruka since, I'm guessing, he's a jounin,' thought Nazashi.
"She didn't participate in the last jounin exam either?" said Tenten as more of a question.
"No, she seems content where she is now. Don't know how anyone could be content teaching a bunch of brats," said Shikamaru with a slight smirk.
Their little conversation and Nazashi's listening-in session was interrupted by Gai, "the second match will be: Rock Lee vs. Nazashi of the Grass."
"Yes, it's finally my turn" yelled Lee.
Everyone around him sweat-dropped, "it has only been one match," said Tenten.
"But I should have been first!" said Lee with fire in his eyes. The sweat-drops got bigger.
Nazashi chose to ignore Lee's antics and instead un-strapped the katana from his back and put it on the ground beside him. He then proceeded to jump down into the pit, soon after followed by Lee.
'Of all the people to fight, I get the most difficult' thought Nazashi with a smirk, 'this should be interesting. However I'm not quite sure which style to use on him… hmm… I suppose I'll play around, let him hit me a few times and it should come to me…'
'This guy is way too calm…' thought Lee, 'and that cold look in his eyes reminds me of… Neji…'
"Begin!" yelled Gai.
Lee instantly went into this signature stance with his right hand stretched out, palm facing away from the opponent. Nazashi didn't even move a muscle, instead just kept staring at Lee dead in the eyes.
'Damn… his gaze is unnerving, such coldness… and he's not even bothering to get into any kind of stance…' Lee shivered at the thought that just hit him, 'he's so much like… Gaara…'
'You can begin Lee,' thought Nazashi with amusement.
Lee then instantly dashed forward and attempted to kick Nazashi. Nazashi simply ducked right before the kick would have connected. Lee spun back around, preparing a low kick that would hit his crouching opponent in the face, only to find that Nazashi was no-where to be found. Lee turned around to find Nazashi standing at the other end of the arena in that same stance with his arms crossed.
'He's fast,' thought Lee.
Lee then rushed over and performed a series of fast consecutive kicks and punches that were aimed all over Nazashi's body. Nazashi managed to dodge all of them except the last one, which he had to block. Lee had performed a kick aimed at Nazashi's right side, Nazashi blocked with his right arm and disappeared, to re-appear right behind Lee and kick him in the back. Lee was a little surprised that Nazashi went on the offensive so suddenly and being unable to block, ended up flying into the wall in front of him.
The observing Leaf-nins were shocked to see that Lee was caught unawares with his back open, "Damn that guy is fast," commented Shikamaru, 'I was right, he is strong. To be able to dodge and block Lee like that.'
'That's impressive, but Lee isn't using his full potential yet,' thought Kakashi, 'I might need my sharingan to keep up with the battle, later on.'
'That was just a lucky opening since he was distracted by attacking and he is most likely not going all out yet…' mused Nazashi, his mind instinctively re-analyzing the last segment of the battle. 'I need a way to slow him down… injury is probably the best option. He's much too fast for launching shuriken… kunai, I haven't used them in a long time so I don't the necessary speed to be effective. That narrows it down to just my hands… perhaps I could… yeah… that will work rather well.'
Nazashi jumped back a little bit and waited for Lee to get back up. Lee bounced up and seemed unaffected by the attack, excluding the bruises on his face. He proceeded to take off his chuunin vest and threw it on the ground with a loud thud.
'Just as I suspected it's weighted, but he's carrying less in that vest than I have in my jacket.'
Lee rushed at Nazashi again this time he was significantly faster and even though Nazashi did a great job blocking and dodging he was finally caught off guard as Lee punched him in the middle of the chest. Nazashi was thrown back by the impact, did a flip in mid-air and landed on his feet several yards away.
Lee, meanwhile, opened and closed his fist several times, "so your jacket is weighted too?" asked Lee and Nazashi shrugged a little.
'That's got to be quite a bit of weight if Lee had to check his hand like that,' thought Sasuke.
Lee ran at full speed toward Nazashi, 'he's obviously going to do the vertical kick. Now, do I dodge or show off the counter I developed?' Nazashi smirked.
Lee disappeared right before reaching Nazashi, however Nazashi just stood there unmoving and waited with his hands at his sides.
'He's not the least bit surprised!' thought Shikamaru worried.
'It's as if he's waiting for it…' thought Kakashi.
Lee then re-appeared in front of Nazashi with a vertical kick straight to his jaw and sent Nazashi flying through the air. Nazashi waited patiently for Lee to begin the Leaf Shadow Dance. Once he felt Lee's presence below him, Nazashi began preparing for his own move.
Lee quickly undid the bandages surrounding his arms and was about to bind Nazashi with them, when he suddenly felt a slight tug at the bandage on his left hand. The next thing he knew Nazashi had turned around and was staring him dead in the eyes.
As soon as Lee had released his bandages, Nazashi instantly grabbed the bandage on his left side with his right hand. Nazashi then pulled the bandage sharply and while twisting his body at the same time.
It had worked perfectly, Lee was thrown off by what Nazashi had done and had given Nazashi the opportunity of first strike.
Nazashi punched Lee in the solar plexus, causing the distance between their bodies to grow. Within two seconds after the punch, Nazashi bent his legs and brought his knees up to his chin, all the while causing himself to do a quarter of a back flip. He then kicked Lee in the face with both his feet, sending Lee down to the ground at a rather fast speed.
Everyone in the crowd, especially the Leaf-nin, was absolutely shocked that Lee's technique had failed. The Leaf chuunin didn't even have time to gasp before Lee slammed into the ground at full force. A large cloud of dust rose from where Lee had crashed.
Lee then proceeded to tumble for several seconds and finally his body came to stop several dozen yards away from what was now the crater that his impact had created. Nazashi meanwhile landed softly in a crouching position, in the middle of the arena and stood up at a leisurely pace.
The Leaf-nin gasped loudly and stared in absolute shock at Nazashi. They could not believe that Nazashi had not only successfully countered it, but had also managed to give Lee about the same amount of damage that the Leaf Shadow Dance should have done to Nazashi.
Nazashi noticed that all eyes were on him and decided to speak for the first time during the match, "Leaf Shadow Dance counter," he said in a cold tone.
'A counter…? No way!' thought Kakashi wide-eyed, 'Though it is possible, but to be able to think of one instantly… that's too unrealistic.'
'How the hell? That counter was thought up and executed within five seconds… is he a genius?' Sasuke was absolutely bewildered. 'I couldn't even see a counter with my sharingan that fast, but he… who is he?'
Shikamaru suddenly broke the silence in a shaky voice, "he knew Lee was going to do that…" everyone instantly looked at him, "I knew something was wrong when he didn't even budge as soon as Lee rushed him. That counter was not thought up just now… No… He already knew it."
"That's impossible!" said Tenten "Then he would have had to have seen it before."
"Yes, that is the only logical explanation," replied Shikamaru.
'Oh good, so he's not a super-genius. But still how did he know about the technique?' thought Sasuke relieved and worried at the same time.
"Still to be able to come up with a counter for this kind of technique… truly amazing," said Kakashi 'I'm not sure… but he may have done something else too…'
Lee slowly got back up to his knees, and coughed out a little bit of blood before jumping up to his feet once again… but something was wrong. Lee tried lifting his arms, but to no avail. He could easily move his shoulders and even raise his elbows, but couldn't really move anything below his elbows. His wrist, hand and fingers shook as he desperately tried to do something with them, but his muscles seemed to not respond.
'What the hell is going on here?' thought Lee confused and a little scared that he was now at a disadvantage because of his arms. At this point Lee didn't even care about the blood at the edge of his mouth, nose and forehead.
"Don't worry too much about it," said Nazashi in a cold and slightly amused tone, "those pressure points will release naturally… after the match."
All the chuunin were shocked, none of them had even managed to see when he pressed the pressure points.
'There's NO WAY he could have pressed anything, without me seeing it. Plus he must have been pretty distracted trying to perform that counter combo perfectly,' Sasuke stared at Lee's condition, 'Still I can't deny the fact that Lee's lower arms are now useless. This guy must be some sort of pressure point specialist.'
Kakashi suddenly spoke up startling the chuunin, "he pressed them right before punching Lee in the stomach."
'I was right, that guy is definitely a force to be reckoned with,' thought Shikamaru his eyes wide at the entire scene.
"He lured in Lee…" Shikamaru started, "that time when Lee punched him in the chest, he was thrown back, but landed very gracefully." Shikamaru started explaining, "He gave Lee the perfect distance for the Shadow Dance and intentionally let the vertical kick go through. All the while knowing that Lee wouldn't be able to do any significant damage, but instead would be in a position to TAKE significant damage."
Nazashi couldn't wait any longer, knowing that those pressure points are not the kind to hold for very long; Lee was already figuring out that his lower arms were becoming more and more responsive. He rushed at Lee using his normal attack speed, which was about the same as Lee's speed without his vest.
Nazashi jumped up and kicked Lee in the right side of his head. Lee would have flown half way across the room had Nazashi not grabbed him by his right arm and pulled him back, instantly pressing a point on Lee's right shoulder. Nazashi then rotated around, kneed Lee in the stomach with his left leg and at the same time crouched down and hit a pressure point on Lee's thigh. At this time Lee could only bend over, cough out more blood and try to stand up.
Nazashi then jumped up, preparing a mid-air kick that then connected with the left side of Lee's chest and sent him into the wall behind him. (A/N: think Trinity in the Matrix)
The impact caused a Lee to make a rather large indentation in the wall and fall down into a crawling position. He coughed out more blood, but did not give up and struggled to stand up.
Once back up on his feet he rejoiced when he found that he could once again move his left hand, it was extremely sore, but that was better than nothing. However his happiness instantly disappeared when he found that he had lost all control over his right arm. It wouldn't even twitch slightly, but just hung useless. He also found that if he put more than 30 percent of his weight on to his left leg, that it wouldn't hold him.
'Damn it! What the hell is he doing? He's somehow numbing my muscles… Oh NO!' thought Lee as his eyes slightly widened in horror. 'He must be using some form of the Kyusho style… pressure point techniques… I have no idea how to fight this style.'
'Now that his arm is going to be out for several hours, I could play around with him, hitting more pressure points and make this a very painful defeat,' mused Naruto, 'but I have nothing personal against Lee, I actually somewhat respect him, so I'll just end it.'
Nazashi then suddenly disappeared and re-appeared on Lee's right side, he made it look like he only grabbed Lee by the right shoulder, but in reality he was actually pressing a hard to reach pressure point on Lee's cerebellum. Nazashi then punched Lee in the lower back, however Nazashi's hand wasn't in a traditional fist formation instead his index finger was sticking out slightly. This enabled Nazashi to hit a pressure point with a lot more force than one or two fingers could provide.
Lee fell face forward onto the floor of the arena and didn't get back up.
Everyone including Gai was horrified. As far as the Leaf-nin were concerned some unknown ninja from the Hidden Grass was able to beat their taijutsu specialist in a pure taijutsu battle. Everyone just sort of gaped at him for several minutes.
Nazashi looked at Gai, calmly and patiently waiting to be announced the winner. Gai was just looking at Lee as if waiting for him to get up any second now. Nazashi was getting annoyed, "Lee is not going to get up any time TODAY, so this match is OVER!" said Nazashi forcefully enough to gain Gai's attention, but not enough to appear rude.
'Not get up today… no way… LEEEE!!!' cried Gai in his mind, then slowly regained his composure. "Winner: Nazashi of the Grass…" said Gai somewhat uncertainly. There was no clapping mostly because everyone was still gaping.
'Lee you were a strong opponent,' thought Nazashi 'it was an honor to have had the opportunity to fight you.'
Nazashi nodded slightly and jumped back up to the top, to where his katana was. While the medics were removing Lee's body and Nazashi was re-strapping his katana, the Leaf-nins were able to come out of their daze and talk amongst themselves.
"H-h-how did t-that just happen?" asked Sasuke shocked.
"What was that style he was using?" asked Hinata confused.
"H-h-how… j-j-just how?" asked Tenten bewildered.
Shino and Shikamaru just stayed quiet, but were asking those same questions in their mind.
"Pressure point techniques…" replied Kakashi slowly, "I don't really know any… we'll ask Gai after the test…"
"I've read about pressure point techniques and styles," said Shikamaru uncertainly, "but I couldn't recognize any stances he did… however some attacks did look familiar…"
"Familiar?" asked Tenten.
"Yes, the one where Nazashi kneed Lee and then bent down a little lower to hit a pressure point in the thigh," replied Lee "the problem is those are individual techniques, but that guy uses them in combination with something else…"
"He's combining styles…" said Kakashi.
"Huh? What do you combining style? Aren't you supposed to use only one at a time?" asked Sasuke somewhat confused.
"That's not what I meant, high level taijutsu masters take all the styles they know and combine into one. Their own style…" explained Kakashi.
"Wait you said 'high level' so how strong do you think that Nazashi is?" asked Shikamaru.
"Jounin level probably," replied Kakashi "it's difficult to tell, I haven't seen his ninjutsu and genjutsu." 'Though I don't really think I need to…'
Gai had finally regained his composure enough to get the fights underway again, "Third fight: Sato of the Sand vs. Shalimo of the Rain."
Anyone could clearly see that Sato was faster and stronger than Shalimo. Sato rushed at the Rain-nin and fiercely attacked him from all directions. At first Shalimo was able to parry and block, but soon took several kicks and punches to the stomach and was thrown back. The Sand-nin immediately rushed at Shalimo covering him in punches and kicks. Just was Sato was going to deal the final blow, the Rain-nin panicked and used Kawarimi. The match was instantly stopped and the Rain-nin disqualified.
"Winner: Sato of the Sand!" proclaimed Gai.
'The Sand-nin was going to win anyway,' thought Nazashi.
'That guy's speed was pretty good, I liked his taijutsu style a sort of a no mercy attack and don't give your opponents any time to recover' thought Sasuke passively.
"The fourth match: Aburame Shino vs. Kurono of the Snow" announced Gai.
Shino and Kurono both jumped down to the arena floor and glared at each, Shino through his sunglasses and Kurono through her bright green eyes.
"Begin!" said Gai.
Instantly Shino took out 3 shuriken and threw them at Kurono, while himself jumping off to the right. Kurono took out her kunai and easily deflected 2 of the shuriken and dodged the other one and instantly did a spin kick backwards. Shino barely had time to duck to avoid her kick.
He took out his own kunai and tried to cut her other leg. Kurono noticed this and jumped back throwing 2 shuriken at Shino. He deflected one, but the other hit him in the left shoulder.
Shino cried out in pain and looked up at his opponent only to find an empty arena. 'Where the hell did she go?' thought Shino looking around. Just as Shino turned his head to look behind him, a foot connected with his jaw and sent him flying, head first, into the wall on the opposite end of the arena. Shino collapsed and lost consciousness.
"Winner: Kurono of the Snow!" said Gai.
'Smart girl!' mused Nazashi approvingly.
"Wait, that's not fair!" exclaimed Tenten, "Gai-sensei said that you couldn't add chakra to your attacks."
"No, he said that you can't chakra enhance your weapons," replied Shikamaru "he didn't say anything about your body."
"A ninja must read underneath the underneath" said Kakashi proudly.
"The fifth match: Sumeto of the Mist vs. Kili of the Rain" yelled Gai.
The fighters were about equal in strength, but Sumeto was definitely faster. After several punch/kick and kunai/shuriken attacks the Rain-nin started getting visibly worn out and it was then that the Mist-nin caught Kili from behind and held a kunai to his throat until the Rain-nin surrendered.
"Winner: Sumeto of the Mist!" said Gai.
'The Mist specialize in stealth killing' mused Nazashi, 'plus, the Rain-nin seemed to be a long-range type anyway.'
"The sixth match: Nara Shikamaru vs. Haruko of the Mist" yelled Gai.
"Good luck Shikamaru!" said Tenten.
'This is so troublesome…' thought Shikamaru, but jumped down anyway.
Shikamaru stood there facing his opponent with his hands in his pockets looking like he didn't give a damn… which he probably didn't. His opponent on the other hand was standing in a battle position with stern expression on her face.
"Begin!" yelled Gai.
Immediately Haruko launched 3 shuriken at Shikamaru, which he dodged easily. She then appeared right behind him and attempted to kick him in the back, but Shikamaru dodged that too.
'Is he too lazy to attack?' wondered Nazashi.
The Mist-nin did not relent in her attacks and came at him once again punching and kicking at high speeds. Shikamaru managed to block and dodge most of her attacks, but was hit by several punches in the chest and a kick to his right side sent him tumbling on the ground.
The mist-nin waited until Shikamaru go back up and then threw 2 shuriken at him. This time Shikamaru parried the shuriken with his kunai. Then suddenly jumped forward, while throwing his kunai behind him.
Shikamaru smirked when he heard the Mist-nin cry out in pain; Shikamaru's kunai had hit her in the right shoulder. Shikamaru then jumped back and did a spin kick which hit the Mist-nin on the left side of her head and knocked her down to the ground. He bent down grabbed his kunai and twisted it while pulling it out, making the Mist-nin scream out in pain.
"Wow, I didn't know Shikamaru had it in him," commented Tenten.
"Yeah…" agreed Hinata.
Just then an ANBU appeared next to the group and walked over to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-san may I have a word?" asked the ANBU.
"Of course…" said Kakashi as he excused himself walked out of earshot of the participants.
"What is it?" asked Kakashi.
"We found the missing Leaf chuunin…" answered the ANBU somewhat hesitantly.
Kakashi looked at him significantly, expecting the worst, and when the ANBU shook his head, he got it.
"All of them?" asked Kakashi.
"Yes."
"How?" asked Kakashi somewhat angrily.
"Three by fire, one had her throat slit and the other…."
"The other…?" asked Kakashi suspiciously, "Who? And what exactly happened?"
"Kiba … we found him… with a hole in his chest," answered the ANBU uncertainly, "and his dog seemed to have been electrocuted."
"A Cloud-nin?" asked Kakashi.
"Perhaps… does look like a Raiton jutsu…"
"But?" inquired Kakashi.
"Well, as you must know, there was only one person who brought in Leaf scrolls" Kakashi nodded, "and that person was not of the Cloud."
"Yes, but he might have taken the scroll from the Cloud-nin afterwards" said Kakashi trying to be objective.
"That is possible… considering the three groups were all killed using different styles."
"Wait, three groups?" said Kakashi.
"Yes, when I said three people killed by fire, I meant they were all killed in a group."
"Using one fire jutsu?" Kakashi was surprised.
"From the looks of it, yes."
"Hmm… well thank you for the information…" said Kakashi.
"Oh there is one other thing," said the ANBU while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a note. He handed it to Kakashi and said, "this was clipped to Ino's jacket."
On the cover it read: "To Shikamaru."
"I would appreciate if you gave it to him," said the ANBU.
"Of course, by all means" replied Kakashi.
The ANBU turned to leave then stopped and said, "the bodies are being delivered to the morgue and the funeral will probably be in two days…" with that he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Kakashi pocketed the note and walked back to the testing area, refusing to answer any questions about the ANBU.
Meanwhile
Shikamaru held the bloody kunai in his hand for a second without moving, then jumped away letting his opponent get up. The Mist-nin got up, but found that because of her shoulder wound she could barely control her right arm. 'Damn it! I don't stand a chance if I can't use my arm.'
She pulled out her own kunai and rushed Shikamaru. She viciously attacked him kicking, cutting and stabbing at him, but was greatly hindered by the fact that she couldn't use her right arm. Shikamaru read through this and managed to lead the fighting in such a way that he soon found himself at her right side. Knowing that she couldn't do anything, Shikamaru jumped behind her and held his kunai to her throat telling her to surrender or else. The Mist-nin knowing that resistance would be futile, gave in and surrendered.
"Winner: Nara Shikamaru!" yelled Gai.
"YAY!!! Bravo Shikamaru! You did it!" yelled Tenten.
Shikamaru quite calmly took the stairs back up to the ground level where his friends waited. After the congratulations were through, Kakashi approached Shikamaru and beckoned him to follow him a little ways away from the arena. Shikamaru followed silently.
Kakashi took out the note from his pocket and gave it to Shikamaru, "I'm sorry Shikamaru," said Kakashi as he placed a hand on the chuunin's shoulder.
Shikamaru looked down at the note in his hands and noticed that the words were written in blood; his heart skipped a beat. With shaking hands he opened the note, it read:
Shika-kun,
Ino-chan loved you very much. Her last words were about you. But this was a calculated risk.
I'm sorry…
Shikamaru couldn't take anymore of this and broke down, falling to his knees with tears rolling down his cheeks. "Why?" was the only coherent thing that Kakashi could make out of Shikamaru's muttering. "I'm sorry… I don't know…" said Kakashi sadly.
By now, Tenten had noticed that something was wrong and ran over to her friend. "What happened?" she asked. Shikamaru couldn't answer properly just sort of motioned to the note, which had already fallen out of his hand. Tenten picked it up and read it quickly, then instantly hugged Shikamaru and tried to comfort him.
Kakashi was able to hold his emotionless mask and walked away slightly, making a note to call Tenten when it was her turn to battle. When he came back to the group, he was instantly bombarded with questions about Shikamaru. He told Sasuke that he could go and talk to Shikamaru, but did not allow Hinata to go reasoning that she hasn't fought yet. Hinata reluctantly agreed, but vowed to talk to Shikamaru after her match.
"The seventh match: Manoto of the Sand vs. Hikoma of the Cloud." Said Gai.
Hikoma used an interesting tactic; in the very beginning she pulled out 3 shuriken, but never threw them all of them, just two. At the same time she charged at his opponent, still holding the one shuriken. The Sand-nin thought that Hikoma had thrown all of her shuriken, so relaxed a little bit after parrying the first two. Hikoma meanwhile had thrown the last one, when she was on the Sand-nin's side and so when the Cloud-nin attacked the Sand-nin from behind the shuriken freely hit Manoto in the middle of the chest.
Not willing to lose the opportunity, Hikoma kicked the Sand-nin in the back then grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the stomach, causing a mass of blood to pour out of the Sand-nin's mouth. Hikoma then jumped up a little bit pulled her right knee up to her chest and proceeded to kick the Sand-nin with the sole of her foot right where the shuriken was still lodged. The result was a sickening crunch as the shuriken made its way further into the body and the lifeless body of the San-nin fell onto the floor of the arena.
Most of the other participants were shocked that Hikoma had actually killed her opponent. Nazashi on the other hand was pleasantly surprised that at least some villages had ninjas that weren't afraid to kill.
"Winner: Hikoma of the Cloud!" said Gai.
"The eighth and final match: Tenten vs. Hyuga Hinata." announced Gai.
Kakashi walked over to Tenten and told her it was her turn. She nodded slightly and went down into the arena where Hinata waited.
As the two fighters stood there facing each other, anyone could clearly see that Tenten was not in a fighting mood.
'Shit! I shouldn't have told him until after this exam,' regretted Kakashi.
'What the hell has her shaken up that bad?' wondered Hinata.
"Begin!" yelled Gai.
Hinata immediately rushed straight at Tenten, Tenten however seemed to recover a little and threw 3 shuriken at Hinata. Hinata dodged them and continued her charge. Tenten leaped sideways hoping to avoid Hinata's strikes, knowing that she stood no chance in hand-to-hand combat and would have to rely on her weapons.
Hinata noticed that her opponent was simply dodging and trying to lengthen the distance between them, so she increased her speed and managed to catch up. She then instantly hit Tenten in her shoulders, thighs and arms; her hands becoming a blur to the observers.
'Wow! This isn't the Hinata I remember from five years ago,' thought Nazashi, 'she's good. As fast, if not faster than Neji.' Nazashi was impressed.
Hinata decided to end it and for her final move, hit Tenten straight in the jaw sending her flying half way across the arena. Tenten tumbled on the ground for several seconds and then lost consciousness.
"Winner: Hyuga Hinata!" yelled Gai.
'Good job, Hinata! A lot better than your fight with Neji' thought Nazashi. 'Damn, really, so much has changed around here.'
"Congratulations to those of you who have passed this test!" said Gai.
"The next part of the exam will take place a week from now," said a voice behind the participants.
As Nazashi turned around he saw the familiar face of a jounin, but could not remember his name.
"My name is Asuma, I will be the examiner for the third test."
'Oh yeah, him. He was Shikamaru's teacher… that's why I couldn't remember him, he's not smoking…' thought Nazashi slightly amused.
"The third test will also be one-on-one fights, but without rules. The fighters have already been randomly selected," said Asuma. "They go as follows:"
Nara Shikamaru vs. Sumeto of the Mist
Hyuga Hinata vs. Hikoma of the Cloud
Kurono of the Snow vs. Manoto of the Sand
Nazashi of the Grass vs. Uchiha Sasuke
Nazashi grinned contently, 'good… I get to see how much he has advanced… among other things.'
Sasuke was also pleased with the arrangement, 'a strong opponent to test my strength.'
"As I said you have a week to prepare. The next test will take place in the stadium, it will not be a public event, however some shinobi may come to watch. The Hokage will definitely be there and maybe another Kage."
Asuma talked and/or babbled about the next test for about 15 minutes, most of which Nazashi tuned out and simply disappeared when they were dismissed.
Several Days Later
Nazashi was sitting in his hotel room, contemplating the recent events, when suddenly a familiar voice kicked him out of his thoughts.
"Shouldn't you be starting the mission by now?" it says. "I know how much you're enjoying these reunions, but you do have a purpose here, Nazashi."
"Jeez! Can't you like say hello?" Nazashi said in an irritated voice. "Did you at least sound-proof the room?"
"Of course, I'm surprised you didn't notice… by the way that was supposed to be my 'hello' to you," said Itachi. "So, about the mission you REALLY should start it."
"Have you seen that place!?" cried Nazashi angrily, "It's harder to get into than the Akatsuki headquarters! I can't even get within 50 yards without being spotted."
"God, how I wish I could just obliterate it to hell!" angrily replied Nazashi.
"Well since you can't do that, then perhaps you need another way in," coolly said Itachi.
"Yea... I just don't know what yet," said Nazashi calming down, "I'm sure there will be an opportunity in the future."
"What makes you say that?" inquired Itachi.
"Instinct. Something is telling me to stay in the exam... a sort of wait for it," replied Nazashi.
"Telling you? Or you just want to kill a few more Leaf-nin?" chuckled Itachi. "My habits seem to be rubbing off on you."
"Hey! I only took care of a few liabilities. You would have done the same, I know you." Nazashi countered and Itachi just shrugged.
"Uh-huh… and what about this kid you beat up using the Kyusho Dimmak?" asked Itachi.
"Lee is just going to be out for a couple of days," Nazashi half yelled, "I didn't hit any of his pressure points that hard."
Then remembering what Itachi said before the start of the mission, "Weren't you supposed to be outside the village?" Nazashi asked.
"Yea, and you were supposed to start your mission." Itachi said sarcastically.
Nazashi's head suddenly perked up, "that reminds me, I'm going to be facing your 'foolish little brother' in a few days... want me to bring you a souvenir?" Nazashi's eyes squinted in amusement.
Itachi just smacked him upside the head, "idiot, you know the history..."
"Yea, yea I know" said Nazashi while rubbing his head. "Alright I won't kill him, but I'll definitely have fun with him," Nazashi said in a sadistic tone.
"You want to use IT, don't you?" Itachi said coldly.
"What's wrong with having him have a little brush up with death?" asked Nazashi innocently.
Itachi looked at him with a stare that said "you do anything funny and I'm gonna put you through so much torture you will be begging that I send you to hell."
"Hahaha... don't worry so much, would I really kill the brother of my onii-chan?" said Nazashi with a small nervous laugh.
Itachi just gave him an 'I'll be watching look' and disappeared. Nazashi sighed as he felt the sound-barrier decompose.
"Why is life always more of a bitch in this village, compared to anywhere else?" Nazashi asked no one in particular.
'Yes, I DEFINETELY want to use IT on Sasuke…' chuckled Nazashi demonically.
katon means something like "fire style", so does anyone know what "poison style" is?
i had to disqualify the rain-nin, for variety and b/c he had the stupidest name... =)
u know i only realized AFTER i wrote it, but i made shikamaru fight a girl again...
i'll try to have the next chapter out by the 5th, cause im leaving on vacation until the 17th, but no promises.