Chōji vs. Kankurō.
"This'll be interesting." Naruto thought as the combatants came down to the arena.
Chōji gulps as his opponent glares at him confidently.
"This'll be too easy." Kankurō chuckles.
"Don't take the crap from him, Chōji!" Ino roars. "Kick his ass with your fat!"
Kankurō audibly snorts at the cheer, doubting that this fatass could possibly harm him.
"I'll finish this quickly!" Chōji roars, his timid tone suddenly replaced with blinding rage. "Then I'm coming after you, Ino!"
"Worth it." Ino thought.
"Start!" Hayate snaps.
Almost immediately, Chōji instinctively used his clan's Multisize technique to transform into a huge ball and automatically charged at the Suna Nin. "You can't be serious. Maybe I'm supposed to laugh my self to death!"
Kankurō hurled a surge of kunai, only for the high speed spinning to deflect the weapons with ease.
Kankurō's eyes widened as the giant ball of crushing death came closer at a fast pace.
Boom!
A exploding kunai blew the Genin back, but he got back up rather quickly and preformed the technique again.
However, this gave Kankurō ample time to bring out his puppet entirely and charge him with it, getting himself out of the wrappings with ease.
Naruto blinked. "He was controlling a puppet in that state." He thought. "Tricky, yet not very useful in this fight."
The Suna Nin now knew his Crow could not take the giant Genin head-on, the massive rolling ball would crush it with ease.
Fortunately for him, brute force was not needed in this fight.
Blades came out of the puppet's many hands as he braced himself for the attack.
Right as Chōji was about to run him over, he leaps out of the way while Crow slashes at him.
The blade near-instantly snaps off from the spin, to Kankurō's displeasure.
While the attack did prove successful, evidence being the bloodstain trailing behind Chōji, Kankurō was still getting cornered quickly.
Temari was staring at the fight very incredulously. "Kankurō's losing to the fat ass? What the heck?"
"I heard that!" Chōji snaps, rolling ever faster.
"Fuck!" Kankurō yelps, narrowly dodging the ball again, again slashing at the monster with Crow, and again losing a blade for his trouble.
"This is good." Shikamaru says. "As long as Chōji can keep up the pressure and stop him from pulling anything, he's golden."
"Feels weird to see Chōji kicking ass." Ino says. "Not complaining though."
Kankurō whipped his puppet's arm out just as Chōji was approaching for another pass and slashed at him with another blade, but this time it lost the entire arm due to Kankurō tiring and not reacting fast enough.
Naruto expected Kankurō to be on the verge of panic right now, but focusing more the damage on Crow than Chōji's attack.
More concerning, was Kankurō's expression, which was more annoyed than scared.
Odd.
A quick glance at his teammates showed that they had noticed as well.
Meanwhile, Kankurō had managed get some distance somehow and was now firing Senbon from Crow's mouth at a insane rate.
Most of them were deflected with ease, and the few that got through were quickly crushed.
Despite this, a smirk was forming on Kankurō's face.
"Something's wrong." Shikamaru said.
"What do you mean?" Ino asked. "Chōji's been kicking ass since the fight started."
"That Suna kid's way too calm." Shikamaru says. "Either he doesn't care if he wins or he's up to something."
They saw that Kankurō had gotten some distance again and was firing more Senbon at Chōji, along with a few explosive kunai, albeit weaker than the first one as none of them were sending Chōji flying back...
Wait.
How was Kankurō getting distance at all?
Both Team 7 and 10 frowned as they noticed something.
Chōji was getting slower.
"What the..." Naruto stated in confusion.
"What's going on?" Ino asked.
"Poison." Shikamaru realized.
"What?" Ino asked.
"Poison." Shikamaru repeated. "The guy covered his weapons in poison. Suna's known for having ninjas talented with poisons."
At this point, Chōji was slow enough for Kankurō to start dodging rather easily.
"Crap." Chōji thought, the poison now blurring his vision. "Getting dizzy. Hard to keep moving."
Kankurō smirks, readying Crow for one last attack. "It's over."
A explosive kunai shot out at Chōji, this one just as powerful as the first.
Boom!
Chōji sailed into the wall, before collapsing, out cold.
"Chōji is unable to battle. The winner of the second match is Kankurō of the Desert!" Hayate stated.
"Aw." Ino groaned, as the medics took Chōji. "Chōji was doing so well."
"He still did great." Shikamaru stated.
"I'm going to get him some barbecue after this." Asuma stated. "He deserved it."
Kankurō scowled as he examined his puppet, it took far more damage than he expected it to take.
It would take weeks to fix it completely.
"Next match." Hayate stated, turning to the screen.
Sakura vs. Ino
"Well then." Sakura stated.
"I'm starting to doubt the randomness of this computer." Naruto thought as the girls headed toward the floor.
"Oh," Ino said with a dark grin and a drawn kunai. "I'm going to enjoy this!"
"Likewise," Sakura smirked. "Pig."
Ino practically snarled at the old nickname.
"Begin!" Hayate called.
Sakura rushed toward Ino, making seals for chakra scalpels, before swinging her hand like a sword. "En garde!"
Ino blocked the attack with the kunai, intent on avoiding the strange Jutsu.
"Well that's interesting." Orochimaru thought. "The only person I know capable of using chakra scalpels in battle in Kabuto. And yet a Genin is accomplishing the same feat. Nothing too worthwhile, but noticeable."
Sakura tried to cut Ino with the other scalpel, only to cut into a log.
Sakura's eyes narrowed, doing a quick 360 to see where Ino went.
She saw her just in time to avoid a kunai thrown at her.
"Crap." Ino thought. "I don't think I can win without pulling out the mind transfer Jutsu. But if I miss that, I lose!"
Ino drew another kunai. "I need to keep her still."
While the fight was going on, Naruto and Sasuki were looking on intently.
Ino didn't have any attack Justus, so Sakura had the distinct offense advantage.
However, the mind transfer Jutsu will win the game in Ino's favor's if it hits.
"Sakura merely needs to keep moving." Sasuki says.
"I know a good hit with those chakra scalpels could end the fight." Naruto stated. "All she needs is a good hit without getting hit herself."
"The essence of any Shinobi fight." Kakashi stated.
Meanwhile, the two Kunoichi were glaring at each other, daring the other to make the first move.
"Come on forehead." Ino taunted. "You give up and I won't have to embarrass you in front of your team."
"Seriously?" Sakura snorted. "My team would never let me forget if I dropped out now. Besides, why give up a fight I'm know I can win?"
Ino started hurling kunai, roaring. "I doubt that!"
Sakura expertly dodged the weapons, getting closer all the while.
Soon, Sakura her scalpel again, aiming for one of her arms.
"As long as I get an arm, I win!" Sakura thought.
However, the arm was once again stopped by a kunai.
Sakura curses, feeding more chakra into the blade while still maintaining control.
The scalpel started to cut into the metal, only a little longer and it go straight throu-
Flump!
Suddenly, and without any warning, Ino's hair flopped onto Sakura's face, before wrapping around it as it were alive.
"Agh!" Sakura screamed. "What the fuck?!"
"Hair Animation Jutsu!" Ino said with a huge grin.
One of Sakura's hands came up to her face to pry off the hair on her face, with little success.
The other swung blindly, trying to strike Ino before she used the Mind Transfer Jutsu.
Unfortunately, she's already gotten behind her.
"Game over." Ino laughed. "Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique)."
Sakura froze in place, before leaning over to catch Ino's falling body.
"Shit." Naruto growled.
"And she had her too." Sasuki frowned. "One more second and she would've cut right through that kunai. Who'd think something as asinine as hair would beat her."
The possessed Sakura rose her hand. "I, Sakura Haruno, would to re-"
Sakura froze, before going again. "I'd like to re-Glrk!"
"Get. Out." Ino heard.
"What?" Ino gasped. "How are you resisting me?!"
Sakura trembled, almost dropping Ino's body to the floor.
"GET. OUT!" Sakura roared, pushing against the influence with her rage, soul, and chakra.
"Arrgh!" The possessed Sakura yelled.
"I-Is Sakura resisting the mind transfer?" Sasuki said incredulously. "How?!"
"Hell if I know," Naruto said. "But I'm not complaining. Sakura, kick her ass!"
"Don't let that annoying girl beat you!" Sasuki roared. "You're better than that!"
"My Jutsu is unbeatable!" Ino snapped. "You can't do this!"
Sakura smirked. "I'm kinda totally doing it. Goodbye!"
And with one final push, Ino was pushed right back into her own body.
Ino gasped, trying to figure out how the hell Sakura beat the Mind Transfer, only to suddenly notice Sakura still has her in her arms.
"Glrk!" Was the only sound Ino could make as Sakura put her in chokehold.
"Say it!" Sakura roared. "Say you quit!"
"Never!" Ino gasped.
Sakura and Ino rolled on the ground as Ino tried to get of Sakura's grip.
Sasuki stared at the fight with extreme intent, barely keeping her Sharingan from activating.
"You got this, Sakura!" Naruto roared. "Win, and I'll get you a treat!"
Despite the ferocity of Ino's thrashing, there really was only one way the battle between the two Kunoichi could have possibly gone at this point.
Ino didn't have half the strength needed to get out of the chokehold, and the lack of oxygen going to her brain stopped from thinking of her Hair Animation, and that's taking the assumption that Sakura would let her go to rip off the hair anyway.
Eventually, the lack of air and blood getting to the brain forced it off, causing Ino to slump in Sakura's arms.
"Ino is unable to battle. The winner of the second match is Sakura Haruno!" Hayate stated.
"YES!" Both Naruto and Sasuki jumped for joy and gave each other a high-five.
They then proceed to realize what just happened and quickly withdraw their hands.
"What the hell was that?" They both thought, looking at their hands.
"It looks like they're finally becoming friends." Kakashi thought.
"Guys!" Sakura screamed. "Did you see me out there!?"
"You did good." Naruto said.
"I thought she had you there." Sasuki stated. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know." Sakura said. "I just grabbed her chakra and pushed...if that makes any sense."
"Fourth fight." Hayate stated.
Temari vs. Tenten
The fight between these Kunoichi was short and one-sided.
Temari's wind Jutsu made Tenten's exceptional throwing skills useless, and when Tenten used her Taijutsu from Gai, Temari merely used her fan as a bludgeoning weapon before blowing her away.
Eventually, a blast of wind introduced her to the wall and into unconsciousness.
"Winner of the fourth match: Temari."
"Too easy." Temari snarked.
"Looks like she had an easier fight than me." Kankurō said.
"Tenten...her flames of youth were extinguished so easily..." Lee stated solemnly.
Neji said nothing, yet his eyes showed a bit of concern.
"Next match." Hayate stated, pointing to the screen.
Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka.
Both Naruto and Kiba grinned as if they hit the lottery.
"Yeah! This is going to be cake!" Kiba grinned, making her way towards the stairs.
Akamaru barked in agreement.
"We will see." Naruto stated.
Naruto wasn't very concerned; his pheromones would easily deal with this bitch.
Up on the balcony, Sasuki couldn't help but watch this match closely.
Kiba had been one of the best Taijutsu users in the academy.
Even when her special clan Taijutsu wasn't allowed, she frequently beat everyone but herself.
"When you're ready." Hayate said, moving back out of the way. "Begin!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Kiba dropped down to her knee as she flashed through hand seals.
"Gijū Ninpō: Shikyaku no Jutsu (Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique)!" She roared as chakra surged through her body.
She then charged at Naruto, planning on beating him quickly.
Naruto simply used his normal strategy clone spamming.
A few dozen clones popped into existence as the Inuzuka girl charged.
Kiba's Taijustu moved some of them down rather quickly.
Her attacks were feral and wild and unpredictable, and Naruto, for all his training, focused more on his Ninjutsu than his Taijutsu.
Fortunately for Naruto, his training with had allowed him to get the hang of making clones of multiple elements at once.
Every clone Kiba hit either turned to stone, exploded into wind, or became liquid and drenched her, greatly confusing the Genin.
All the while, Naruto's pheromones slowly wafted through the air as the clones fought back.
"Kiba is at a notable disadvantage." Shino stated. "She's used to out numbering her opponents, not the other way around."
It wasn't soon before Kiba knew her plan wasn't working.
"Akamaru!" She yelped, backing away and pulling out a pair of spheres from her pocket.
Her puppy, which had been hanging back for the fight, immediately leaps to her side as she threw the spheres at the clones.
Poof!
Purple smoke enveloped them, but not before a smirk crossed the original's face.
He could use his wind to blow away the smoke covering their sight, but using his sensor abilities from Karin would allow him to lure Kiba into a false sense of security in the smoke and expose her to more of his scent.
Silently, he made the seals for the Underground Fish technique as Kiba and Akamaru attacked the clones.
She lashed out with clawed fingers, her clan's kata guiding her through the battle.
Akamaru assisted, snarling, diving and biting at the same opponents to make up for the holes in Kiba's offense, the two making a potent team.
However, the Naruto clones were hardly idle, throwing punches and Water bullets with pinpoint accuracy by utilizing Karin's sensor abilities.
Hinata had her Byakugan out, trying to keep track of the fight between her teammate and her crush.
"What's happening?" Shino asked.
"Kiba and Akamaru are taking care of the clones rather easily, but I can't find the original anywhere." Hinata explained.
"Tch." Kiba, panting heavily, looked around and saw a lot of clones still around in the smoke. "We can't keep this up Akamaru, let's try the big guns."
Akamaru barked in agreement.
Kiba pulled out a red pill from her pocket and fed it to Akamaru.
"Man Beast Clone!" She roared, signaling to her team that this fight was about to get serious.
Kiba's claws and teeth quickly grew longer and sharper as Akamaru transformed into a copy of her.
"Jūjin Taijutsu Ōgi: Gatsūga (Beast Human Taijutsu Secret Art: Fang Passing Fang)!" The two of them pounced, spinning in midair at high speeds, turning them both into large drills.
The smoke was blown away by the rapidly spinning drills, revealing all the clones being mowed down.
When the two landed, the area was completely clear.
"What the..." Sasuki questioned. "Where'd he go?"
"Hah!" Kiba laughed. "He ran awa-"
Wham!
Multiple jaws dropped as a powerful uppercut from underground knocked Kiba clean into the air.
The girl tried to right herself in mid-air and managed to fall on her cushiony ass instead of on her back, utterly winded.
"Damn." Kiba panted, her shirt quickly becoming a little matted with sweat, revealing tantalizing hints of the bare flesh underneath as it clung to her.
She growled at the tricky Genin, but her frustration was replaced with curiosity as she noticed Akamaru sniffing the air for some reason.
Deciding to see what the commotion was about with the dog, she sniffed the air for herself.
The scent, musky and strong, abruptly filled her head and made her stumble.
"What the…?" The Inuzuka thought. "Where's that coming from?"
She registered her heart was beating far faster than it should have, and she was getting oddly dizzy.
"Poison?" She thought. "When?"
"You look a little tired, Kiba." Naruto taunted. "Maybe you should give up."
Kiba froze. That sentence got her attention.
"Like hell I am!" Kiba roared, shaking off the scent's affects as much as they can.
Naruto smirked; he intended to drag this out for a while so Kiba would breath in more pheromones.
She knew from the history lessons in the academy that Inuzuka women naturally submitted to strong "Alpha" men.
And the longer she fought him, the more she would recognize him as one.
If all went well, she'd be begging to get on his dick the next time they meet.
"Ah well." Naruto stated in a smug tone, making seals. "Your funeral."
"Quit trying to act cool, you stubborn bastard!" Kiba snarled, spinning into a drill again with Akamaru and charging down Naruto with a vengeance. "Gatsūga!"
Naruto didn't move.
"Earth Release: Iron Rock Fists!" Stone condensed around Naruto's fists as he grabbed the spinning drills and held on.
Kiba and Akamaru's Jutsu collided with Naruto's full force and for a while nothing happened.
Then, the drills started to slow down as Naruto's grip tightened.
Soon, the two stopped completely, showing Naruto holding Kiba's and Akamaru's arms before throwing them both in different directions.
Kiba, like Tenteni, was firmly introduced to the wall.
She slumped to the ground, completely out cold.
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki." Hayate stated.
Sasuki smirked. "Excellent performance."
"YES!" Hinata silently cheered happily. Then guilt quickly followed. "Sorry, Kiba, you did try you're best though."
Naruto, smirking widely, walked out of the arena.
"You did great Naruto!" Sakura squealed.
"Indeed." Kakashi added. "You've grown very well."
"Sixth match." Hayate stated, pointing at the screen shuffling names.
Neji Hyūga vs. Hinata Hyūga
Hinata almost expected that, but went white when she saw it.
"I'm dead." Hinata thought, knowing how outclassed she was.
She couldn't even forfeit because Naruto was right there.
"Then again, would him knowing how weak I am be any better?" Hinata thought.
She looked at Naruto, and thought how people isolated him and treated him like nothing.
Yet his determination to fulfill his dream never wavered, only was strengthened by their cold glares and swinging fists.
The fact that he'd had the strength of will to do this day after day in the face of such overwhelming opposition was what greatly endeared him to her.
And right now, she wanted to do the same.
She headed down the stairs and faced her cousin.
She was pretty aware this was not going to end well for her, but she had to try.
"You should give up." Neji stated, with his voice calm yet conceited. "A failure has no hope of beating me."
Hinata swallowed, but stood her ground.
"Begin!"
Veins bulged across both of their eyes, their Dōjutsu in full affect.
The next few seconds were intense, if one-sided.
Jyūken strikes clashed with explosion discharges of chakra as the Hyūga battled.
Hinata was clearly trying her best in the battle, but Neji was simply older and more experienced.
It didn't help that Neji could monologue and fight at the same time.
Every hit he made was punctuated by a scathing comment.
"You have no right to be a Kunoichi."
Another strike, this time nearly disabling the Kunoichi's right arm.
"A failure is a failure."
Left femur.
"You can never change."
Stomach.
"You can never get better."
Face.
"It's simply impossible."
All the while, the other members of the Rookie 9 looked on in, rage, fear and concern.
Shino was glaring at the match, his insects buzzing with their master's desire to rush Neji right now.
Kurenai was having flashbacks to her recruitment of Hinata, and her father's harsh words to her.
Both were reluctantly grateful to Kiba being unconscious for the match, they highly doubted Kiba could control herself seeing her teammate beaten so mercilessly by her cousin.
Inuzuka were firmly about the pack or family above all else, seeing this would go against the very way she was raised.
Kiba would likely jump off the rails to tear the boy a new one, or at least try.
Naruto was also abnormally angered by this display, knowing from experience that people can change to get stronger, as did himself and Sasuki.
Speaking of whom, he was mildly surprised to see the Uchiha glaring at the fight with a greater intensity then he ever saw before.
Her eyes were red, implying they had been activated through sheer rage.
Deciding to address this later Naruto returned his attention to the fight, not taking his attention away
Eventually, he could take it no longer.
"Are you going let him say that, Hinata?!" Naruto snapped.
Hinata froze for a second, before her eyes bulged with defiance.
"No." She said simply.
"That's more like it." Naruto smirked, as did the other members of team 8.
"Kick his ass, Hinata," Ino growled, voice low. "Kick his ass hard."
Cheers from her other classmates rang through out the room.
Neji frowned at the crowd's reactions. "Are all of Hinata's classmates blind? No matter, they will see that I'm right quickly."
Despite her classmates cheering her on and her second wind, Hinata still failed to do much in her fight.
She did manage to enrage Neji though.
"Don't you understand?" Neji snapped, countering a blow. "This is pointless."
"It may be to you." Hinata replied. "But it's not to me. If fate says I'm useless, then I'll defy fate."
Wham!
A particularly flinch-worthy hit to the chest sent her back a foot or two.
Hinata rasped, clutching her chest and almost dropped to the floor.
And yet, she still raised her hands to fight.
"How?" Neji thought. "She shouldn't be able to move."
Hinata charged, a Jyūken strike in her remaining arm.
Unfortunately, a second strike to the heart stopped and she finally went down.
"Winner: Neji Hyūga."
"Damn it." An almost visceral growl came out of Sasuki's mouth.
Naruto merely went down the stairs, prompting Sasuki to follow.
Hinata gasped for breath, the last things she saw being her sensei and crush. "Sorry I couldn't win." She thought.
Kurenai carried in the girl in her arms, slowly lowering onto a stretcher.
Meanwhile, Sasuki and Naruto followed behind her, concern and anger on their faces.
"Will she be okay?" Sasuki asked.
"She'll be out for a few days, but it's nothing too lethal." A medic stated.
"Too lethal?" Naruto thought. "Was he actually trying to-"
Yanked from his thoughts by a voice he'd come to resent, he glared at Neji as he spoke. "Hey, Uzumaki, a few words of advice."
Facing the arrogant Hyūga, he quietly waited for the boy to continue. "A real Shinobi warrior wouldn't degrade himself to making a spectacle of himself by cheering in a serious match, and one more thing…A failure is always a failure, accept who you are."
"You-" What was keeping Sasuki from exploding finally snapped as she stormed toward Neji with red eyes. "I'll-"
Before Sasuki could say anything to Neji, Kakashi wrapped an arm around her and placed a hand over her mouth. "Your seal's glowing." He whispered.
Sasuki froze before pushing Kakashi away and storming back up to balcony.
Part of Naruto was curious about Sasuki reacting the way she to the fight, considering she and Hinata didn't really know each other that fight.
Filing that thought away, he stood to glare at Neji.
"Be warned Neji Hyūga." He growled. "The finals will not be pleasant for you."
And with that, he walked away.
"Next match." Hayate stated, pointing at the screen.
