Well it's about time I posted another chapter. I won't bother explaining myself. Suffice it to say I've been thinking about things besides Naruto lately. I did go to my first Con though. KumoriCon in Portland Oregon was a blast. Even though it was only the con's second season I thought it was great. There was a huge turn out of Naruto cosplayers and several Naruto fanfics won awards in the Fanfic contest. I didn't get mine in because I was only there for Monday but I did read several of them and thought they were really good. To any of you writers who were there and won I say congrats. To anyone who was there in general I again! Oh, if you saw a tall guy with a pigtail and a robotech shirt on following a female Squall character around you saw me.
The next afternoon the teams that had made the cut off time for the test assembled in a large training room. The room came complete with poised hands and viewing balconies.
As the teams filed in Anko noted with pleasure the small numbers. Only six teams walked through the doors to line up before the huge raised hands. Four Leaf, one Sand, and one Sound team had made it through. But it wasn't the numbers that impressed Anko the most. It was the number of rookie teams that had made it through. Three of the four Leaf teams were made up of the Academy's most recent graduates. Of course considering who their Jounin sensei were she shouldn't have been surprised.
Down on the main floor the assembled genin were gauging the competition that had made it this far.
Team Seven was slightly alarmed by the fact that Kabuto's team was no where in sight. A few whispered thoughts between them led to the conclusion that either Kabuto's teammates hadn't made the cut off or that he had been set upon by another team while he waited.
Further thoughts were cut off as Anko announced that the Hokage would explain the next test. The old man stepped forward and cleared his throat. But instead of going into the specifics for the next test he began to spout something about friendship between countries, replacement for war, pride of nations, and so on.
Most of it washed right over Naruto. He was too concerned about the next test to let the Hokage's words sink in much. Instead of opening his ears he opened his eyes.
One of the first things Naruto noticed was that the Sound ninja's sensei was conspicuously absent. Naruto wondered about that for a moment but decided it was of no great importance and filed the thought away.
Naruto gave the Sound team a quick glance. They looked slightly better then when he had seen them last. The one he had fought looked bruised but well. The one Sasuke had fought however looked as pale as death. Multiple bandages dotted his body and he seemed to be having a hard time breathing. That was something to note if they had to fight again any time soon.
His eyes wandered farther a field as the Hokage spoke about gaining and losing clients because of prestige. He gave Jiriaya a wink when they made eye contact and made a general sweep of the room.
But his wanderings came to an abrupt end with the arrival of a young Chuunin who introduced himself as Gekkou Hayate, the referee. After a cough or two Hayate began an explanation.
"You will be participating in a preliminary match to decide who is to go on to the main third exam event."
Eyes blinked and jaws opened. 'Preliminary' was muttered under almost everyone's breath. Sakura spoke up after a rather loud yell from another Leaf nin.
"I don't understand. What do you mean by preliminary sensei? Why can't everyone here participate in the third exam?"
Hayate sighed and began to explain the process further.
"The first and second tests may have been too easy this year. We have too many people remaining so, according to the exam rules, we have to have a preliminary to reduce the number to a more manageable amount for the third test."
Sakura, deflated somewhat with the answer she had gotten, seemed to sink back into herself.
Hayate continued. "As Hokage-sama said. There will be many important guests at the third exam. Country Lords, Head's of Hidden Villages, etc. The fights, if we didn't have a preliminary, would possibly go on longer then our limited time allows for. So...any who are feeling unwell..."
A coughing fit interrupted his speech for a long moment but he continued on gallantly.
"Any who are feeling unwell or who feel like quitting after this explanation, please raise your hand or come forward now, since we will be starting the preliminaries immediately."
More startled yells and groans greeted this announcement. Some of the teams had obviously not gotten enough rest. Team Seven, thankfully, was not one of them.
Hayate spoke up louder amid the general rumble of voices. "Oh, I forgot. Matches from here on will be one on one. Be your own judge for whether you should stay in or not."
Silence reclaimed the room as Hayate stopped talking. No one spoke up. No hands were raised. No one stepped forward. After a respectable time elapsed Hayate nodded. "Very well then...let's begin the preliminary. This preliminary will be one on one fighting. Since we have eighteen entrants we can have nine matches and the winners will advance to the third exam. There are no rules. The fight will continue until one of you dies, gets knocked out, or admits defeat. If you don't want to die then admit defeat quickly. But if I decide a the win has been clearly established I will jump in and stop things. We don't want a pile of corpses if at all possible."
A stone slab part way up the wall began to move aside as Hayate spoke. When it had fully opened he motioned to it. "And the thing that holds your fate...is this. An electronic scoreboard. It will randomly generate matches for each battle." Hayate paused for effect then continued on. "I know this is sudden but lets announce the contestants for the first battle."
Eyes turned upward as the screen blinked to life and began to rapidly cycle through names. People broke out in nervous sweats and a gulp or two could be heard as fate made it's choice.
Two names flashed to life and a collective intake of breath could be heard around the room.
Uchiha Sasuke Vs. Inuzaku Kiba
Naruto's face split in a huge satisfied grin. Sasuke was first, which was ok, and he was also fighting dog boy, which was also ok. Naruto would have liked to do it himself but having Sasuke deal out the pain to the flea infested idiot was pretty good too.
"Would those two please come forward," Hayate said in his monotone voice.
Sasuke was wearing his patent smirk as he stepped forward. Kiba didn't look like he was enjoying his moment of glory though. He looked confident enough but there was a slight jerk in his legs as he stepped off that betrayed his unease.
As the two faced off Hayate stepped up between them. "The first two fighters are Uchiha Sasuke and Inuzaku Kiba. Are you ready?"
The two fighters nodded
"Very well then. We will be starting the first match. cough Everyone else please move to the upper levels."
Naruto gave Sasuke a thumbs up before turning towards the stairs. Sakura gave him a half hearted smile and followed after her blond teammate. Kakashi walked by after them and gave Sasuke a pat on the shoulder and a whispered 'do your best'.
Kiba received a quite whisper of support from Hinata then from Kurenai before his team took to the stairs.
The teams seemed to divide silently, as if the whole thing was prearranged. All the Leaf teams to one side and the foreign teams to the other. The Hokage and his staff joined the Leaf side a few moments later.
The room was quiet except for the patter of feet as they made their way up to the balconies. Then another sound intruded, the sound of someone falling. Heads turned from all over the arena to see what had happened. Eyes were drawn towards a prone figure half way up the right hand stairs. Older heads nodded as they noticed who it was.
Zaku had apparently succumbed to his wounds as he made his way up the stairs. His teammates, already farther up the stairs then their wounded friend, simply stood there and stared. They seemed totally uncaring for they moved not a muscle to help him. Sharp eyes could pick out fresh blood on his bandages.
Hayate contemplated the fallen boy for a moment before glancing up at his Hokage. The old man nodded slightly, giving the referee the go ahead. Hayate didn't hesitate after that. He called for a medic team who promptly removed Zaku on a stretcher.
Once they were out of sight Hayate spoke up. "Uh, due to injury Abumi Zaku has been removed from the running. That leaves one spot open which means one of you will get by without a match and move strait on to the third test."
Genin eyes flickered from one to another as if trying to guess who the lucky one would be. Hayate noticed it and quickly spoke again. "We will continue as before. The passer will not be announced before hand."
A groan could be heard from the direction of Team Ten but beyond that no one reacted. People finished moving to the upper balconies in silence.
Once they were all situated Hayate spread his arms to encompass the two combatants. "Very well...you may begin."
Both fighters took up a ready stance as the referee chopped his hand downward. After a few intense moments of staring Kiba huffed.
"I didn't expect to get matched up with you Sasuke-kun. But since I am I don't suppose I should waste energy with opening moves," Kiba said as he crouched down and dug around in his hip pack. Akamaru growled and hunched himself on his masters back.
Kiba produced two black beads no bigger then a normal pill. Sasuke's eyes widened. 'Are those food pills?,' he wondered. Kiba promptly popped one in his mouth then tossed one to his animal friend.
Sasuke could easily hear the gasps of astonishment coming from above him. Considering the loudest were both female he figured they belonged to Kiba's teammate and his sensei. If they seemed startled at their teammate's tactics it had to mean something big was happening. Sasuke quickly activated his Sharingan and focused his attention back solly on his opponent.
Kiba's smirking smile grew as he felt the increased power coursing through his body. On his back he could feel a similar reaction happening with his dog partner. For the audience and his opponent it was a very unusual show.
Akamaru's fur began to thicken and spike out in all directions. It began to turn a dark brownish red as well. The dog seemed to be going through a bit of a growth spurt to boot. Kiba on the other hand seemed to be bathed in fiery blue chakra, more then he should have had in the first place. Together, dog and master made a fearsome spectacle as they beefed themselves up.
Once the transformation was complete Kiba crouched down even more and brought his hands together. He smiled as he activated his jutsu. 'Gijyuu Ninpou, Shikyaku no Jutsu'
The boy's chakra danced around his body now, dancing to a faster more primaeval beat then before. His hands came down on the floor. As they did his fingernails noticeably lengthened until they resembled claws.
Akamaru barked as Kiba rose back up, a feral light in his eyes, and spoke his next jutsu.
"Gijyuu Ninpou, Jyuujin Bunshin!"
A cloud of smoke enveloped Akamaru. When it cleared a perfect clone of Kiba sat on the real Kiba's back.
Sasuke's eyes had watched the entire process.
The Kiba duo snarled fiercely at their opponent who had yet to make a move.
"Here it comes!," Kiba yelled as the pair launched itself into an attack on the Uchiha boy.
Their speed impressed Sasuke, as did their attack pattern. If he dodged one way the clone would get him. If he dodged another way the real Kiba would strike. It was a brilliant double envelopment attack and something that no normal genin could hope to beat without taking a lot of punishment. Sasuke, however, was not a normal genin by any standards.
The Sharingan wheels spun, analyzing the attack and picking it apart for weaknesses. A split second plan formed in Sasuke's mind and he took it without question.
Sasuke turned into a flying blur headed upwards just as the Kiba duo began their deadly spin. Sasuke felt the wind of their passage below him. Turning in mid air, Sasuke ran through a few lightning fast seals and gathered his chakra. The deadly Gatsuuga sped by beneath him as he let loose his attack. 'Katon, Housenka!'
Balls of plasma fire rained down from on high, pelting the fast moving double fangs. Kiba and Akamaru's spins stopped and they skidded to a stop together, both a bit crisp but otherwise unharmed. Sasuke landed on the other side of the room and turned to view his work. His lip curled in disgust as he saw how little damage his attack had done. 'Their speed combined with the spin of their attack must partly nullify fire damage. Looks like my fire jutus's are out unless I want to burn a lot of my chakra on a Ryuuka no Jutsu or a Karyuu Endan.'
Kiba seemed lost for words. He had known the Uchiha would be a challenge but to be able to avoid his most powerful attack all together hadn't even entered his mind. Akamaru looked uneasily at his master. Gears were spinning fast inside the dog nin's mind as he tried to think of another way to beat his opponent. Unfortunately for him Sasuke thought faster.
With a glance up at his team Sasuke took up his stance again. 'Looks like I'll have to fight fire with fire,' he thought as his hands formed a seal he still wasn't used to using. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Jiriaya smiled as one as the words for the jutsu leapt from the raven haired boy's mouth.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Eyes widened all over the arena as a second, very real, Sasuke appeared next to the first. Whispers of 'Jounin level' and 'Unexpected' could be heard among the older ninja in the crowd. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear in a most disturbing way.
Both Sasuke's smirked as they drew out two kunai each. "Looks like I'll have to fight you on your terms Kiba. Here it comes," they said together.
As a fluid pair the two Sasukes charged. Kiba, seeing his prey charging him as he had just done, called to his clone. "Let's get him!" The Kiba pair ran to meet their opponents.
The distance closed incredibly fast. Kiba and Akamaru went into their spins as they neared but the two Sasuke's continued on without pause, watching the rotation closely. Two pairs of Sharingan eyes spun and a collective "Now!" was yelled. Both Sasukes stopped dead and held out their kunai side on towards their onrushing opponents.
Kiba and Akamaru had split their attention, each one going for a single Sasuke. If they had concentrated on one their attack might have worked but by splitting themselves they sealed their fates.
The whirling fangs came down on the waiting boys and, with a sickening clang and clash, went flying off in opposite directions. Deadly whirls became painful tumbles as both Kibas crashed to the ground beyond their targets. Animal yells of pain could be heard from both. A burst of smoke turned one Kiba into a pathetic lump of red fur.
Even before the two had come to a complete stop Sasuke and his clone were on them, a kunai at each throat and one at each belly.
Hayate noted the way Kiba cradled his hands. His sharp eyes spotting at least six fractures in each hand. Akamaru looked even worse. The dog was trying to curl up into a ball which was impossible at first because of the kunai pricking at him. But after a few seconds a second puff of smoke announced the removal of both the kunai and the clone Sasuke.
Hayate nodded once and raised his arm. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"
I know it was kinda rushed sounding but I think it was a pretty good battle for a pair that I have no idea how to write together. Sorry to any of you Kiba fans out there. And if this chapter didn't alert you I am changing the line ups for fights. Look forward to it!
I'm really bad with answering questions I know...but there's one that seems to keep popping up. For all who want to know if Sasuke does have the curse seal I think this chapter answered your question. No he did not receive Oro's present. Jiriaya jumped in and saved them. His presence and the fact that his attack was stopped is the reason why he wasn't present at the beginning of the prelims. It's also part of the reason why Kabuto's team isn't there.