Chapter 9

(Sadako's POV)

After the match between the Hyuga siblings ended, everyone once again looked at the screen on which were the names of next competitors.

Miyazaki Sadako VS Ebina Kodaka

"Go Sadako, beat him up!" Ryu kun cheered.

I went down to the arena.

"Alright, if you both are ready, then begin" said our proctor.

"I have to fight this weakling of a shinobi? This will be no fun, the match will end super quickly. Girl, you can quit before we start fighting...though I'll try not to hurt you much...but considering how tough I am, you might go to the hospital in worse condition than that Hyuga"

"One question, is that your idea of girls?"

"No. I know girls are strong. It's just I'm stronger"

"We'll see"

"Sadako wouldn't need to pull out even a shuriken for this guy" Ryuichi said

"Eh? How can you be so sure?" asked Naruto

"See for yourself"

Ebina san pulled out two kunais and ran over to me. Close combat type?
He stopped at quite a distance and threw them in my direction. I guess not. I dodged.
He threw another pair of kunai, I dodged again. This went on for a while that everyone was starting to look bored.

"What's with the dodging? You too scared to get hurt?" he mocked

He is only fighting with weapons, saving his chakra for crucial moments. As I thought, he has low reserves of chakra. He can't afford to waste it on pointless attacks. That's why he is mocking me, so I charge at him out of anger and get in his range of attack. Unfortunately, I've had a fair share of looking after little kids so I have a little patience.

"This is getting boring. I guess I'll just end it quickly. You can hop around all you want in the hospital"

Wot?

He pulled out 5 kunais and threw them me. Left, Right, Duck, Roll Left, Jump.
I brought my hands together to weave signs but a kunai flew towards my face and grazed my cheek. Ebina san had vanished. I looked in all directions. Suddenly the all the air in my lungs escaped as I received a kick on my back. I fell on the ground. Kodaka pinned my hands on my back. I whimpered in pain.

"Give up before I break your arms" He said, twisting my arm.

"Oye, you said she will have no problems in defeating him then what's this?" Naruto turned towards Ryuichi. "Hey, I'm saying something" he said a bit loudly when Ryuichi didn't respond

"Watch" he said simply.

"WHAT'S THE MATTER? NOT GIVING UP EVEN WHEN YOUR ARMS ARE SECONDS AWAY FROM BEING BROKEN?" Ebina laughed "You should know when to give up...You know what, I don't like your attitude of acting so mighty. I'm just gonna end this fight now."

"I would not consider moving as an option if I were you"

"What do y—" he stopped midway in shock as our positions reversed "...Genjutsu...but when?" he looked back at me, and his eye widened in surprise

"Oh, so you seem to have noticed"
"The..mark on your cheek...since then? How?"

I tightened my hold and put my leg on his back. "That doesn't matter. As for your position right now, you know very well that you can only get out by breaking your arms. Now, it's up to you, break your arm or give up. Though if you fail do decide, I'll gladly decide in your place"

"I..I g-give up"

"Good thing you did" I said and released him

"The winner: Miyazaki Sadako"

(Normal POV)

"Kurenai, did you see her weave the signs?"
"I did, half of them at least. Looks like she specializes in genjutsu. She was very quick to weave signs when she ducked. Her eyes never left that kid during the whole fight"

"It was just like watching little Itachi fight"

.

"Akira sensei! Did you see that? How did I do?" Sadako asked her sensei, tackling her in a hug

"I did. You did very well dear" Her sensei replied, patting her head.

"Really? Thank you!"

"Looks like you and I are advancing to the third round from our village" Ryuichi said, patting her head.

"Yeah"

"I wanted to pass this round so bad" Nanami whined

"Its okay, Nanami chan. Let's train together after these exams so that you can pass them next time." Sadako winked

"Mmhmm, Sure"

"The preliminary selection is now over. The eleven of you who passed, congratulations to you all. Now Hokage sama will tell you about the final round of the exam."

Everyone straightened up. The hokage looked around the room and then addressed the kids in front of him.

"As I have said before, the final match will be seen by everyone, so I want you all to fight with all your powers, without any reserves" His gaze stopped at the black haired girl, before he continued " This is exactly why the finals will be held one month from now. I wish that you all utilize this time to prepare and hone your skills to utmost perfection."

"What do you mean by that?" The hyuga kid asked

"You will prepare yourself for the next battles by the information you gathered till now. I wish good luck to you all. You will draw a lot and we'll decide your opponent according to that. You are free to leave after that "

(Sadako's POV)

"Man, I'm hungry and tired too" Ryuichi said, stretching.

"Let's get something to eat then, what about dango?"

"Nah, let's get ramen"

"I'm gonna eat dango. Oh by the way sensei, will we go back to the village or stay here until the exams get over?"

"You both will stay here with Kaito sensei, while the rest will go back to the village with me"

"EHH!? But sensei we wanna see their match." Itsuki kun said

"No, you're all going back to the village to train."

"Oh, wait a minute" I stopped them, took out a paper and a brush from my pouch "Nanami chan, please give this letter to Kanna. I promised her that I'll be back soon, but looks like it will be a month before I see her again"

"Okay, I'll play with her till you come back Sadako. You can focus on training"

"Thank you Nanami chan. I really appreciate it"

*bonk*

"OUCH! What did you hit me for?" I said, feeling the small bump on my head

"Because you're still an idiot Sadako. Figure it out yourself idiot"

"We'll be leaving now. Ryuichi, Sadako, do your best out there dear." Akira sensei said

"We will"

"Hey, you were amazing in the match, didja know that?"

I looked up and saw Naruto kun's grinning face. I put the stick of dango I was about to eat, back on the plate

"Oh hello Naruto kun. Why don't you have a seat? Want to have some dango?"

"Yeah sure. I'm really hungry"

"Eat all you want then and congrats on passing the prelims. That was some quick thinking you did back then"

Uzumaki Naruto. He is a type of shinobi who relies on instinct rather than thinking things through. He can, though, come up with effective plans quickly if he tries to.

"Thanks. I don't even know how that came to my mind. I was like 'Let's try this and see if it works and well it did'. You were amazing too, you know. I still don't know when you weaved the signs for genjutsu. I would have been a goner if I was the one fighting you" He said, while stuffing his face with dango. I giggled, shaking my head at his innocence "What happened? Why are you laughing like that?"

"Naruto kun, I might end us your opponent later. You shouldn't just tell people, who can be a potential threat later, about your weaknesses like that"

"Oh you're right, damn.." he said pouting

"Well, let's make things even then so that if I end up as your opponent, we'll have a fair fight. So just betwen you and me" I leaned a little closer and whispered "I am not that good at taijutsu and I lack stamina"

Naruto blinked for a moment and then said "You told me two things"

"I know, we're fair now. You told me two things too"

I grabbed the last stick of dango, put the money on the table and left

"Bye, Naruto kun. See you in the finals"

Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry again for being so late. Was kinda struggling with this chapter (not the very best chapter, I know. I kinda don't know how to write fight scenes) and there was also a lot of workload. I'm not sure when I'll update next but I'll try my best to do as soon as I can.

EDIT: If you want to see what Nanami chan looks like, search this story on wattpad.