Hey, another chapter!
So I just wanted to say that the Chunin Exams will follow canon
The difference is that certain things will happen at a different time
or
happen a different way
I had some trouble writing this chapter not gonna lie
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or League of Legends
Chapter 4: A Tanuki and A Gumiho
Naruto leaned against the railing, watching the fight with a soft laugh escaping his lips. The sound mummy ninja was definitely out of his league. Facing off against Shikamaru needed a certain tact, a way of thinking, a mindset even, if victory is the goal. If someone wanted to get their ass kicked with maximum or even minimal effort, acting the way the fur-back was acting is the surefire way to go. Shikamaru while being a lazy good for nothing bastard almost ninety-percent of the time, his mind and his strategical genius was unrivaled except by his father, the clan head of the Nara.
Naruto took a moment to think of the Return of the Mummy's name. It didn't sit well with him to not know the name of the guy, after all, a name is needed for the epitaph. He snickered to himself. There was no way in hell Shikamaru was going to throw all of this away for the sheer sake of watching clouds or taking naps. Maybe, the blond was overestimating his friend's fear of Ino and his own mother. That was not to say that Shikamaru would fight with an ounce of seriousness in his actions. Ever since the end of the preliminaries he'd complained and whined about the prospect of fighting two opponents consecutively.
Now that the Uzumaki thought about it, the whole calculation behind setting up that fight algorithm was strange. Of all the poor bastards that had to fight two in a row, it had to be the laziest person he'd ever met, Naruto was going to make sure the Nara would never live it down. Bringing his mind back to the fight, the boy with a bandage fetish rushed at Shikamaru, digging his metal arm into the dirt creating a small pocket of space for the Nara to take advantage.
Taking a kunai, Shikamaru kicked the cyclops knocking his hitai-ate from his head. Dosu struggled to stay steady and rip his arm free from the dirt that held him in a prison. To make sure the sound shinobi couldn't make another move, within seconds of his previous assault, Shikamaru sliced the bandages from the shinobi revealing burn marks and cuts across his face. Naruto was caught aback and how docile the shinobi became the instant the bandages were removed. Dosu bowed his head in defeat with rage in his eyes. Genma appeared, raising a red flag signifying the end of the fight. It was rather anti-climactic in Naruto's eyes. The crowds roared out praise for the Nara heir but Naruto could barely fight back the laugh growing within his stomach. His blue eyes trailed over to the fiery sister to the redhead Gaara.
Temari. Naruto said her name in a mere whisper to himself. The instant her name was called by Genma, she hopped over the edge of the railing with an already victorious smirk spread across her face. Despite being a genin, she was as graceful as a chunin. Naruto took a moment to gauge her powers, thinking back on what he knew. She was smart and powerful, and she knew it. She was very proficient with wind techniques and the fan of hers accentuated that trait. Naruto frowned thinking about Shikamaru's mental state; the boy was probably annoyed and exhausted.
No. Naruto frowned, narrowing his eyes at the Nara. The little bastard might try to surrender.
"Oh you know how the Nara are." Ahri cackled. "I'd be surprised if he even tries this round."
So would I. The boy snickered to the Gumiho. But hey, I'm open to surprises.
"After all, you surprised most, if not all, of your generation." She smirked. "But…I don't know. A Nara actually not wanting to take a nap?"
Be careful, Ahri. Naruto warned with a wary eye. Saying such heresy could bring destruction to the village! If I actually get the chance to fight Shikamaru, I promise you, the village will go up in flames.
"Aw." Ahri bellowed with laughter. "The amount of confidence you have for your dear friend is severely low."
Only because I know him so well. Naruto rolled his eyes. Seriously…if Shikamaru wants to fight me, then the next thing you know, women will start thinking I'm a stud.
"Oh?" The fox raised a brow, flashing the Uzumaki a provocative smile. "Who says you already aren't?"
Oh no. Not this again! Naruto felt sweat growing on his brow. The last time you did something along the lines of this, we were in the Hot Springs…and…
"Don't lie to me. You liked it. Not many humans, if any, have had the pleasure of seeing me...naked." Ahri crossed her arms over her buxom chest. "You must be a liar or gay to not like what you – oh…you are, aren't you?"
I'm not! Naruto glared. And for your information, I did like what I saw…I'm just…more…oh who am I kidding.
Ahri's cheeks grew a slight tinge of pink. "You're adorable when you get flustered. I'm going to have fun corrupting you."
Corrupting?! Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. A-Ahri! Remember! This is a professional agreement between the two of us!
"Look at you, throwing big words around." The fox giggled. "You demanded professionalism but did you ever hear me agree?"
No loopholes! Naruto shouted, turning his eyes away from the vulpine seductress. P-Please, Ahri…when you do the things that you do…it gets really hard to concentrate.
"Concentration won't be the only thing that'll be hard." Ahri licked her lips.
Naruto glared at her with a deadpanned mirth. Ahri returned with a playful pinkish tinge in her eyes. They were silent for almost twenty minutes, staring into one another's eyes.
I hate you.
"You're just no fun."
I know how to have a lot of fun; you on the other hand, just have a sick sense of humor.
Ahri stared at him once again, almost as if he'd silenced her for good. "Huh…well you're goddamn right about that."
Hey Ahri… Naruto suddenly said after a few minutes of silence. Remember the fuinjutsu you were teaching me?
"Yes?" Ahri asked with a raised brow. "What of it?"
Naruto placed a hand behind his head. Just…exactly how powerful is fuinjutsu…?
"Powerful enough to seal a rampaging demon within a baby boy." Ahri replied. "Great enough to warp time-space; err…teleport. Close distances, the list can go on and on, Naruto. Fuinjutsu is a powerful and difficult style of shinobi abilities that honestly has little to no uses for most beyond sealing things into scrolls."
With all of this sealing…is it possible to seal someone's chakra within them or seal it into yourself? Naruto asked. You know…negate their ability to control chakra.
"Your big brain is beginning to worry me." Ahri said with a blank expression. "Who are you and what have you done with my adorable Byeong-shin?"
Ahri. Naruto tried to hold his laugh. I'm serious though…is it possible?
The Gumiho stayed silent looking at the blond boy's serious expression. She wanted to tell him more, but she felt he'd lose concentration on the fights to come. Memories of Kushina's Kongō Fūsa rushed into her mind filling the fox with a mixture of rage and contempt. "Yes. It is. I might even help you with what I know. But for now…watch the fights. You need to build up knowledge on every competitor."
Having received the answers he hoped for, he brought his eyes to the fight below. Shikamaru did a few backflips, dodging blasts of wind and even a few slicing gusts. Naruto watched him carefully, doing his best to ignore the fox within his gut. He fell to another stance, waiting for the blonde woman to make the next move. Shikamaru was clearly on the defensive, in other words; not his forte. Naruto held onto the railing, teeth grinding in excitement. Suddenly, just as Temari reared for another attack, she froze mid-step with her fan still in her hands. Shikamaru managed to catch her in his shadow possession!
Eyes trailed about, taking in the sight of the various holes and burning patches of land. Shadows were everywhere. Sure thanks to Temari's wind techniques, a few of the fires were put out, but it wasn't enough. Along the arena floor, there were great holes, remnants of Shino and cat suit's fight. Never had Naruto been so disgusted with a fellow comrade until that fight. Never had the blond seen bugs that large or with that many clawed legs. Their faces were non-existent, unless giant rotating teeth count as faces. It looked like a slug mixed with a child's acid trip nightmare; either way, it was in the past and Naruto knew he could never look at Shino the same again.
But from the holes those burrowing freak-shows created, Shikamaru took advantage. Good thing the proctors don't use Earth techniques to clean up the arena floor. If they did, Shikamaru would be at a severe disadvantage and he might have had to delay and drag out the fight even further. Naruto's eyes trailed up to the sun and to the shadows hugging the base of the arena floor. While the shadows haven't touched Shikamaru yet, he would have waited at most, another five minutes before the shadows were favorable. Temari knew his techniques, judging by how she was careful in the beginning to keep him away from the shadows and towards the light of the fires.
But Shino's bugs had burrowed all over the place during the bug man's fight against cat suit. While that was almost an hour ago, the effects were definitely affecting this fight in more ways than one. Poor Temari overestimated the amount of light that fire emits. From light, there will always be shadow. Temari dropped her fan, following Shikamaru's actions. Everyone watched with wide eyes as the Nara made the woman unclip her kunai pouch and draw out a knife.
Huh… Naruto tilted his head slightly. That's interesting. So how much do you want to bet that Shika will surrender?
"Wow. You really don't trust him to stay in the fight!" Ahri fell to the floor laughing her lungs out. "Uhm…okay…what are you offering?"
Damn… Naruto took a moment to think. If I win…I get to eat ramen again.
"If you lose, you have to get rid of the orange." Ahri quickly replied.
The boy paled at how quickly she responded. U-Uhm…but…
"Or would you rather do chakra control exercises for a week straight?" Ahri smiled
Easy!
"Without sleep and food." Ahri smiled.
Oh that's just cruel. The boy bawled.
"Don't you dare surrender!" Naruto could hear Ino roaring over the silent crowd. "I swear to every god I will beat your ass if you do!"
In the arena, Shikamaru's demeanor changed. Judging by the seriousness in Ino's voice and the fear on his face, the Nara might actually stay and continue this fight. Naruto clenched his teeth, knowing that if he lost, he'd might as well kiss his venerated orange jumpsuit goodbye now.
"Sorry Temari." Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes. "She scares me as much as my mom does…now do us both a favor and surrender."
"Like hell I will." Temari glared at the Nara.
Shika sighed once more. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
Suddenly, he brought the kunai to his jugular. The kunoichi followed suit putting her kunai to her throat. Sweat began to pour down her brow, especially at the cheeky expression on the Nara's face. Up in the competitor's box, Naruto slammed his forehead against the railing holding in his broken heart. All the while, his life was rocked with the dulcet tunes of Ahri's incessant, but with actual reason this time, laughter. Back to the fight below, he gave her one more look, almost mentally asking her to surrender. When she responded with a scowl it only solidified his victory.
"Don't say I didn't warn you…"
Suddenly, the Nara pressed his kunai against his throat. Across the way, Temari followed suit with her blood running cold. She watched him, terrified of his tactic. He was this interested, so intent on winning that he would try to kill himself? Even in the beginning he acted like he could give any less of a damn, what changed?! She saw the red trickle trailing down his kunai. She herself could feel the blood rush from her sliced skin, damn kunai and how sharp they are.
"Alright…" Temari struggled to hold herself back from following. "I SURRENDER!"
Naruto gave Shikamaru a strange look. "Why?"
"What?"
The Uzumaki wasn't convinced with his passive attitude towards his victory. "Don't avoid the question with another question."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Shika flashed an aloof expression.
Naruto deflated, pressing his forehead against the railing. "I like that you used the fake kunai trick."
"Like hell I'd put a real kunai to my throat." Shikamaru drawled. "You must have me mistaken for someone else."
The pair snickered and turned their attention to the possible fight below. Gaara stood below after using his sand to vanish and reform in the arena floor. His eyes were planted on the Uzumaki making Naruto all the more interested in the redhead's ploy. There was something in those eyes of his that spoke with a burning fury and rage, rage directed at him nonetheless. The blond thought back to his deep threats at the hospital, how he spoke of fulfilling himself, making his life worth something. There was only one reason; Ahri. Naruto's hands wrapped around the railing of the box as he glared back.
"If Uchiha Sasuke does not arrive within the next five seconds, he will be disqualified." Genma called.
Naruto's eyes trailed over to the crowds to hear their whispers and words of doubt. He couldn't believe that Sasuke or Kakashi would intentionally be late. Especially if Kakashi purposely cast him aside to train Sasuke for the entire month. An entire month would have been wasted on talent if he can't show it off. Naruto clenched his teeth feeling the silence permeate throughout the arena and audience. Sasuke was supposed to be the main feature of Konohagakure in the chunin exams. Naruto looked over to the Nara beside him and was replied with a careless shrug.
Shino shrugged his shoulders as well. He frowned when the Aburame told him not even the insects he'd sent around couldn't sense the two shinobi. Naruto gritted his teeth. There was no way in any hell, any heaven or any dimension that Sasuke would pass up a chance to show off his power. It was what made Sasuke well…Sasuke. He was a cocky, arrogant bastard and hiding from a chunin exam just went against everything that made him, him. Something else must have been happening behind the scenes that either he didn't have clearance or importance to see.
"Alright." Genma called. "Uchiha Sasuke is now disqualified."
The crowds were groaning and Naruto could have sworn he heard Sakura bellow out a cry of despair. The rest of the Konoha Twelve frowned and sighed in defeat. Lee looked like he'd been hit with a ton of iron. Sasuke was disqualified from the one thing that everyone wanted to see. From the corner of his eye. There were various men and women worried and he even saw a few daimyo stand and leave the scene. Sure they didn't get their show, sure they didn't get what they wanted, but Naruto…he got the one thing he wished would never come to pass.
He fell to his knees, cold and almost numb even. His hands gripped to the railings almost as if he were holding for dear life. All the training, all the hard work he did could not prepare him for this. Even within his mind, Ahri understood what all of this meant. She tried to console him, but the Uzumaki wouldn't listen. She tried to hype him, preparing him, but he could not listen. He wasn't fast enough and sure as hell wasn't strong enough. He could try to outsmart him, but that defensive sphere he had was unstoppable, even by the fastest genin that he'd ever seen.
He hid himself behind the wall, trying to disappear. But he couldn't leave, he couldn't surrender before the fight had begun. He shivered knowing what was to come. Ahri never prepared him for this fight. Ahri, Jiraiya, hell even Asuma never prepared him for this fight.
"Now with the disqualification of Uchiha Sasuke, we will have no choice but to push up the fights." Genma called. "Uzumaki Naruto. Please come down."
Color disappeared from Naruto's face, along with the rest of the Konoha Twelve. Lee especially. Naruto could feel their stares and their sympathetic looks. Taking a few deep breaths, all the while listening to the raving Gumiho within him, he rose to his feet. He ran a nervous hand through his blond hair, catching a few of the shinobi and kunoichi already impressed with his abilities, off guard. Those who witnessed the redhead's brutality during the preliminaries were beyond impressed at this point. While the blond was terrified, almost shitless, he wouldn't dare show it. He beamed slightly showing off his pearly whites alleviating the heavy feeling reigning over the crowds.
It wasn't long for him to reach the arena floor. Like the fight he had with Neji, he just had to keep a level head and think his assault through. Gaara had a defense unlike anything Naruto had seen. If anything, the fight he had with Neji simply prepared him for this. The sand the redhead used acted on its own accord, much like the fox fire. Naruto immediately went over strategies and possible plans of attack. He took his time stepping along the field, relishing the waving grass against his sandaled feet. Genma was patient but given the dark shadowed glare the redhead was giving him, Gaara was clearly beginning to lose said patience. He stood before his fellow genin and once more fell into a haphazard stance.
"Gaara, are you ready?!" Genma called. He was responded with a simple grunt. "Alright. Naruto. Are you ready?!"
"Yes!"
And with that; the jōnin jumped back. Once he disappeared, Naruto knew it was the beginning of the end. Once the jōnin was gone, there was no way he could rely on their shield. Blue eyes trailed over to the seething ginger in front of him. Sand flowed from the massive gourd, slowly flowing to form a platform of sorts.
"Die, Uzumaki!"
The first tendril shot forward, grazing his cheek. Immediately, Naruto released all inhibitions and jumped back. As he dodged a few rushing tendrils, he channeled chakra throughout his tenketsu. With energy blowing off of his legs, arms and torso, he was ready to blast through the sand walls. Almost like a blink of an eye, Naruto vanished for a moment, only to reappear behind Gaara's defenses. He was met with disappointment; the sand was faster than the Spirit Rush. Sand began to wrap around his arm filling him with fear. It was the attack that caught Lee and disabled him. Naruto's blue eyes glared daggers into the redhead.
"Sand Coffin!"
Sand wrapped around the Uzumaki's entire arm as he struggled to fight back against the weight. Having never been the target of this attack, it almost felt as if Gaara's own hand was wrapped around his arm. It tightened suddenly. Even though he was caught, his bravado hadn't been shattered. He yelled obscenities and continued trying to rip himself from the wall of sand. He came to a sudden halt; judging by the series of cracks he'd just heard, he could assume that a few bones had shattered already. But thankfully, the sand numbed and cut off blood circulation to his encased arm. In a last ditch effort, he channeled chakra through his abdomen forming the three motes of flame that he'd practiced for. They launched out almost like seeker jutsu. From what he could see, Gaara was unaffected and let the sand defense take the hits.
"Sand Burial!"
Oh fuck.
Shikamaru watched, gripping the railing. Every competitor had seen firsthand what the Sand Burial/Sand Coffin combination can do to a man. The Nara gritted his teeth, worried for his blond friend. After all the training he'd gone through and witnessed, there was no way that the Uzumaki could lose already. Naruto continued fighting down there, doing his best to pull his arm free from the entrapping sand. The blond was yelling and desperate even. He kicked slithering sand tendrils trying to grab his legs and Naruto even tried to knife his way out of the sand wall.
While Shika was worried, he was also confused and surprised once more. The fact the boy vanished and reappeared just as quickly sent shivers up and down his spine. Just what exactly did the idiot learn during the last month?! Suddenly, Naruto began to shout, screaming as the sand noticeably tightened. He was stuck like an entrapped boar. Flashbacks of Lee's decimation was more than enough to frighten the Nara. Gaara yelled once more channeling chakra into the sand.
"Not today!" Naruto cried valiantly.
Just like all surprises, Naruto always made them noticeable. Three giant motes of fire were born, orbiting him without touching the sand wall. Men and women jumped at what they saw; even some of the jōnin were terrified. Trailing his eyes over, the sight of a few ANBU coming to the scene gave the Nara more questions than answers. But as the orbiting fireballs began to spin, they shot into the air at almost lightning speed before arcing and returning down to the redhead below. While such an attack might work on others, this redhead had some sort of secret weapon under his sleeve. As the motes of fire grew close, great tendrils of sand shot up, absorbing the flames.
Judging by Naruto's hunched back, the blond had already lost the fight within him. Shikamaru's heart raced. He gritted his teeth shooting his head up to the Kage box, finding his own leader, the beloved Hokage, watching in earnest, even taking a few laughs and smoking instead of doing something to stop the fight before Naruto was brutally killed! He scowled. Killing was allowed in the third stage of the exams. Of course the Kage would do nothing to end a fight as exciting as this. Sand slowly surrounded the blond up to his neck.
"Sand Burial!"
Shikamaru winced when the sand crunched. After the first bone crush, Naruto would have dispelled if he was a clone. Neji's palm attacks were strong, but they did more chakra damage rather than physical damage. He assumed that was the reason Naruto's clones lasted longer after being hit. But now, if it was a clone, the clones arm was crushed first…he should have dispelled. He was supposed to dispel. Shika clenched his fists; he's supposed to dispel!
Across the arena, men and women were silent. Sakura's eyes were as wide as plates with her face almost devoid of color. Ino fared no better and Choji had even dropped his chips. The competitors were silent, even Gaara's own siblings. Naruto was dead? Naruto was defeated? Naruto…
"Nice try!" A voice echoed above.
Men, women, children and shinobi alike shot to their feet, bringing their hands to their eyes trying to adjust to the burning light of the sun. Gaara, while his face didn't betray the indifference, his heart was racing, surprised at the Uzumaki's tenacity for the underhand and tricking his opponents. Surrounding him, a great burning halo. Upon closer inspection, it almost looked as if Naruto was levitating. How he did so without catching the attention of the Kage or shinobi more experienced than him was beyond the Nara. Thinking back to his previous attacks, Shikamaru's fear and worry dissipated and was replaced with a great relief.
He's making the motes spin so fast that they generate their own wind and it's keeping him levitated. Shikamaru eyed the blond watching the fight from the air. How did…huh. What is that in the sand…?
In the aftermath of Gaara's sand burial, a kunai was glinting softly as Gaara brought sand over to shade his eyes from the burning rays of the sun. Piecing two and two together, Shika facepalmed at his naivety. In the chaos of the first tendril attacks, Naruto must have thrown that kunai into the air in preparation for this. He knew this would happen.
But why use…oh you sly bastard.
"Let's have some real fun!" Naruto roared over the howling crowds.
From what Gaara could see, the Uzumaki began to descend. Throwing more sand to defend his head, Gaara did not take into consideration the kunai hidden within his sand. Naruto was closing distance similar to how he rushed at Neji's Kaiten. Channeling chakra to the floating motes orbiting the Orb of Deception, he created the spiraling ball of destruction, as he dubbed it, and channeled both wind and fire chakra into his rotation. As the wind mixed with the great fire halo surrounding him, he created a trailing inferno behind him that spiraled around his speeding form like a bullet in rotation.
"Kai!"
Gaara's eyes bugged. "What-?!"
A great explosion destroyed his wall of sand, sending the granules in every direction leaving the redhead free for attack. Naruto's spiraling bullet technique only picked up speed and power. Just as he hoped, Naruto rammed his spiraling ball of doom into the redhead's chest, breaking the first line of defense. Not intending to kill him or rile the demon within the Suna shinobi, Naruto dispelled the technique creating a great buffer cloud of chakra and wind between the two of them. Unlike what it might seem, he was not being merciful; in fact he was trying to end this as quickly as possible without awaking the demon within.
Before Gaara could have a chance to retaliate, Naruto rammed his fist into the redhead's gut, breaking his control over the incoming sand tendril. With Gaara's guard down, he channeled chakra into his arms, launching his fists at near lightning speed. Each punch resonated, echoing within the various boxes watching the fight. He counted in his head; he landed almost two punches every second. Gaara grunted and the sand pulsated with each landed attack. Like Naruto had assumed, the shinobi relied exclusively on his sand to operate at full capacity. With each chakra enhanced punch and strike, the sand withered along with the redhead's strength.
From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the redhead already gearing for a counter attack. Without thinking, Naruto's leg shot forward with an explosive roundhouse kick. Gaara flew back before being caught in his trusty sand. The boy wiped the dirt from his lip and patted down his clothing, unimpressed with Naruto's assault. While the redhead did his best to hide it, Naruto's attack did more damage than what he'd like to let on. Cracks had formed on his cheeks and small particles of sand chipped slowly.
"This ends now."
Naruto cursed himself when a tendril wrapped around his ankle as he geared for another assault. If the Suna shinobi's expression was anything to judge, Gaara was infuriated. Suddenly, the blond found himself swung into the dirt, cracking the thick topsoil and even finding the sand digging him into the land. With each impact, Naruto could feel bones cracking and maybe a few shattering. With a sigh, he had to amplify his plans and push a few steps forward.
Without a thought, he disappeared once more revealing a kunai laced with an explosive tag. Gaara growled and jumped back, trying to avoid getting more sand turned to dust. It was futile, the explosive tag was stronger than most and destroyed almost a gallon of sand much to Gaara's ire. Bringing his arms up, sand tendrils rose almost like an octopus, surrounding and dancing around him in another form of defense. The trees rustled slightly in the distance bringing Gaara's attention. From the trees, the redhead got exactly what he expected out of the blond now.
He's using shuriken instead. Gaara watched from behind his wall of tendrils and sand. The idiot must have run out of kunai.
Shuriken were caught and blocked, surrounding the redhead in what looked like an arsenal belonging to at least an entire regiment of shinobi. How the Uzumaki carried around that many shuriken was beyond anyone in the crowds. But the more Gaara pondered and blocked the attacks the less he paid attention. He didn't notice the sheer amount of shuriken was beginning to wither his tendrils and defenses. No matter how much control over sand he had, sand was like snow and crumbled under pressure no matter how solid it may seem. The more the blond and his shadow clones threw, the more the tendrils were eaten away.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a small flash of light heading his way. His first instinct was to send a tendril to block the incoming bogey, but when he finally took the time to look at his defense, the shuriken had weighed down and weakened his solid tendrils having chipped away enough to render them useless. But just as the kunai passed his face by mere centimeters, Gaara could have sworn he could feel the steel slice across his sand armor. With eyes planted on the kunai, he didn't notice the second coming right behind it.
In almost slow motion, Gaara watched the first kunai explode into smoke to reveal Naruto holding his own kunai, laced with an explosive tag. A roar echoed from within his stomach, showing that the damned tailed beast within him was paying attention. He whipped his head over to his right to see the second kunai coming in, also laced with an explosive tag. Gaara's eyes shot from his head and for more than a few moments, he froze. The sand wasn't responding and Shukaku wasn't helping enough. With little to no choices remaining, Gaara somersaulted forward, surprising Naruto and even his own siblings. The redhead rolled about, creating a large pocket of distance between the two of them.
In the split second decision that Gaara made to evade, Naruto grabbed the second kunai just in time. "I didn't think you could do that with that huge-ass gourd on your back. Impressive."
Gaara didn't respond, only glaring with his eyebrow devoid forehead. Sand slipped free of the shuriken weighing it down and began to flow steadily at the redhead. Naruto gritted his teeth and hurled both kunai at the flowing sand just before it could fully encase the genin. Gaara glared sending a small tendril powerful enough to send the already burning paper bombs back towards their owner. Naruto scowled, jumping back and speeding through hand seals.
"Fuuton: Ryūsui!"
Pointing his head down, the great blast of wind shot him into the air in a reversed arc. Channeling more energy into the trail of wind, he dodged incoming strikes and spikes of sand. What Gaara hoped would break his evasion, it only helped in a way. With each projectile interrupting his wind path, it only created a springboard of sorts propelling him further. Finally, cutting the chakra, he let physics do the rest. As he flew through the air, a pointed obelisk of sand shot up like bamboo, nearly impaling the Uzumaki. A split second decision was made and he quickly grabbed onto the pillar and shut his eyes examining the sand.
Ahri. Naruto thought to himself. What are the odds that I can rip the chakra from the sand and create another Orb of Deception, without having to strain my chakra reserves?
"I'd give you a fifty-fifty-percent chance." Ahri responded doing her best to remain calm. "Kick his ass already. I'm beginning to lose my mind. All of that malicious chakra is infuriating me!"
As another tendril of sand snaked up the obelisk, Naruto took that as his cue to attack. Taking to the air once more, he hurled another flurry of kunai, expecting Gaara to simply catch them once again. Like he'd hoped, the boy relied too much on his sand to keep himself safe and didn't even move an inch. The kunai exploded like usual, giving off a beautiful lightshow of orange and red along with a few flashes of yellow. Like his fight with Neji, the crowds were enthralled with his performance, outsmarting perfect defenses and practically unstoppable opponents.
As the sand collapsed around Gaara, his arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes bore a look of indifference almost as if he wasn't impressed. Naruto shook his head, speeding through hand seals as he descended to the arena floor.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
Naruto growled viciously, realizing that it was to no avail. Gaara's sand was too numerous and too well under his control. He was running low on projectiles and options. Most of his strategies and steps involved usage of explosives, kunai and shuriken to wither the defense the genin relied so much on. To wither his defense was to wither Gaara's chances of withstanding a prolonged assault. That was what made Lee so successful at fighting the Suna genin in the beginning of the preliminaries. He was consistent and beat down the sand defense to the point that Gaara couldn't keep up. Lee's mistake; he underestimated the sand shinobi and his cunning tactics.
Like Lee, if Naruto hadn't witnessed the fight, he would have assumed that once the sand was destroyed and removed from the tendrils and Gaara's control, the sand would be rendered useless. Judging by how debilitated the redhead looked after his beat-down, Naruto would have been fooled to believe the sand techniques were a gimmick and Gaara wasn't as powerful as he made himself seem. But of course; Lee overestimated himself and paid the price for his carelessness. Naruto would not make the same mistake. Thankfully, with his training in wind chakra, he had a plan to turn the sand to aerial particles rather than solid granules. At least he could save his remaining kunai and explosive tags.
While he had a handful, it would not be enough to have another fight like the ones he's been having so far. They were cost effective but there was no way he could resupply during the fight. As far as cleaning went, kunai and shuriken were the only things removed from the battlefield; which made absolutely no sense to the Uzumaki. Either way, he was going to have to find a way to weaken the tendrils acting as first line of defense without exploding everything in his path. Drawing a kunai, Naruto fell to a stance garnering the attention of the redhead standing triumphantly.
"You still wish to fight?" Gaara asked with a glare. "While I won't drone on about destiny…you are going to lose this fight. Whether you want to or not…I will prove myself and my existence through your blood!"
Shikamaru watched as the tendrils of sand snapped back and forth, slicing and tearing through the blonds clothing. Naruto did his best to hide his pain but he couldn't hide the wince. He kicked and dodged each incoming strike but the attacks were as fast, if not faster than Lee when the bowl-cut activated the celestial gates. He tilted his head watching as Naruto paced away from the redhead. He sliced and jumped back. He kicked and jumped back. He'd dodge and punch and jump away. There were moments where Shikamaru thought he'd make a shadow clone and make an advance toward the redhead's flanks but Naruto continued to retreat.
The Nara followed the path the blond was taking. He was evading and purposely staying on the defensive. Why? Shikamaru couldn't see past the massive amount of sand the redhead was channeling. Stealing his eyes away from the fight for a few moments, he took in the sight of the borders and the base of the arena walls. Naruto's clones weren't there, unlike his fight with Neji. By now, clones and shuriken and kunai would have bombarded the sand shinobi relentlessly if they were. No, with the brains and the knowledge that Naruto had shown so far, he would be an idiot to use the same strategy against an opponent who witnessed everything beforehand.
Maybe the old Naruto would, but something within him changed. Be it his courage, his brain grew a few sizes or he was holding back all along, Shikamaru couldn't decipher. Dragging his sight along the battlefield, he noticed a few holes remaining from Shino's fight against Kankuro, the puppeteer sibling. But as far as Shikamaru could see, there were only two holes and neither of them were anywhere close to Naruto. Gaara's sand was all consuming and practically held Naruto in a chokehold. Judging by how quick Naruto reacts and evades, the boy came to the same conclusion that even the slightest bit of pressure on the sand could activate some sort of automated attack and trap him.
Naruto roared, gaining the Nara's attention. The Uzumaki sped through hand seals once again, channeling chakra for another assault. Like every other time, fire exploded forth only to be blocked by a thick wall of sand. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the fight, watching the blond's movements. As the fire radiated, pulsating off the great wall of sand, Shikamaru lost all visual of the blond. As far as he knew, the fire continuing was a good sign; it meant Naruto was still channeling his chakra. Suddenly, just as Gaara closed enough distance, two pops of smoke appeared well behind the redhead, free from the sand shinobi's sand.
Thankfully, as Shikamaru assumed, in Gaara' wake, despite using the sand almost exclusively, there was little to no sand in his wake. That left patches of solid earth for the clones to traverse without tipping off the redhead of his plan. Both clones charged for the redhead's back as he continued his advance at Naruto. But just before they could reach their destination, two tendrils sprang from the sand wall and impaled both clones, rendering the assault just as useless as everything else. Shikamaru grunted, sighing in despair; there was practically no way around the defense unless one were to go as fast as Lee did, or whither the defense as much as he did beforehand.
But he doesn't have an infinite amount of shuriken and kunai. Shika droned. I can only wish you luck here, Naruto.
Naruto jumped back, dodging the great pillar of sand embedding into the dirt. He struggled to keep dodging, while the sand was automatic, it seemed to have a mind of its own. It was thinking and building information on his movements. Judging by how it's catching onto his attack and dodging patterns, it would only be a matter of time before the Uzumaki had run out of tricks. The sand was catching up, getting faster and aiming for places that both knew he couldn't get to in time. Thankfully, Ahri was his extra brain and she had better perception than most could ever wish for. Using her chakra, she'd pull his leg slightly in one direction or even move his entire torso towards a side, dodging a pillar or striking tendril just in time. His reaction time was slowing down as he grew tired of the automated sand.
In his eyes, this wasn't even chakra! As far as he knew, this could have just been a swarm of tiny machines. If they could have computers, what made robots so strange? Naruto fell back, dodging a great lunge of sand. Naruto smiled softly when he found what he was looking for. Speeding through hand seals once more, another great blast of fire escaped his lips, smashing against the sand wall. But in the midst of his repetitive attack, a shadow clone popped into existence next to him under the cover of fire. With the sand coming to a halt to protect Gaara, the clone jumped into the great burrowing hole Shino's fight had left behind.
Once the fire had completely escaped his lips, Naruto back-flipped throwing shuriken at the sand shinobi giving him a tantalizing piece of prey. He once again kicked and bashed the tendrils away, awaiting Gaara's mindless advance towards him. With the trees and the base of the arena walls to his back, he seemed to have locked himself into a corner with little to no options remaining. Gaara came closer, sand filling the area but thankfully, the hole Naruto had sent his clone into was left unattended. The sand simply slithered around it thinking the hole empty. How convenient.
"Good. I hope you know your fuinjutsu as well as I know you do." Ahri sighed.
Me too…
Naruto took a deep breath awaiting the inevitable. "Hey, Gaara. I have to warn you."
The shinobi continued on his advance with an uncaring expression. "What is it now, idiot?"
"With all of that sand…" The Uzumaki spoke cleverly. "Your peripherals must be complete shit. How do you even see with all of that sand in the way-?"
"Shut up, Uzumaki." Gaara roared. "You are out of places to run and you are out of tricks."
Naruto cackled loudly, freezing the redhead in his place. The crowds watched with wary eyes and even Shikamaru was confused as to what the Uzumaki was intending to do. Infuriating the opponent, especially one proven to be untouchable is a terrible strategy. But Naruto continued laughing. His laughter continued to flow and as long as the blond laughed, Gaara remained confused. Almost as if his brain had shut down from how ridiculous the idiot looked. The redhead snapped his head to the crowds confused and even shot the Kage the same look. In the stands, Shikamaru had to admit as for surprise effect, this had been his most effective. While his previous attacks had his opponents awestricken for a few good moments, five seconds at most, he had Gaara planted and visibly confused for almost six times that length. What the fuck is Naruto doing?!
"Alright!" Gaara roared, continuing his walk. "Enough!"
He continued his advance, sand building around them preparing for the ultimate sand coffin. Taking a great step over the hole, Shikamaru's jaw dropped with eyes twice as large. Holy shit.
"Well sandy pants." Naruto said with a smirk. A few civilians and shinobi stifled their laughs at the poke. "I was distracting your dumbass!"
Suddenly, from the hole a shadow clone jumped free. In his hands a slip of paper was held, drawn with little inklings of characters. But upon closer inspection, this Naruto's jacket was unzipped revealing a chest covered in explosive tags. Naruto smiled when Gaara's face fell pale. Gaara's sand had avoided the hole, leaving Naruto's clone free reign to attack as he pleased. A good thing that Naruto managed to drop a clone in there before the real hostilities took place. It was too deep for Gaara to have true control over it. If the Suna shinobi was dumb enough to try to send sand down into the kilometer deep burrowing hole, Naruto shouldn't have anything to worry about.
"For the boss!" The clone roared before wrapping his arms around Gaara's gourd and body.
Gaara's sand defense fell slightly leaving a great opening for the Uzumaki to take advantage of. While the sand shinobi fought against the clone on his back, the real Naruto fell into a stance holding his hand forward with chakra channeling to his palm. Sand rushed up to the clone piggybacking on its owner but the concentration was broken, Gaara had little to no control over his only tool. The struggle ensued with a great portion of sand rushing over to the clone. Speaking of the clone; its legs wrapped around Gaara's waist and gourd, effectively locking him to his body. As they fought, Naruto's clone used his weight to force the shinobi away. With all the paper bombs stuck to his body, the damage would be severe to all of them if Naruto was too close.
Ahri… Naruto concentrated, feeling a burning sensation on his open palm. Are you sure this fuinjutsu will work?!
"I've forced knowledge of this technique into your ample little brain since it'll really help your dumbass." Ahri said, yawning. "I can never do that again…it takes too much chakra and spirit essence to do…be happy. I just gave you a cheat code. Ass."
Ahri. Naruto growled. You didn't answer my question.
"It'll fucking work." She growled back. "I stole this technique from someone almost twenty years ago."
But how are you so certain it'll work? Naruto asked with sweat dribbling down his brow.
"Because it worked on me, you dolt!" Ahri shouted, having returned to her violent fox-demon form. "Don't give me that look…it'll be a story for another time…if I give enough fucks to remember. Now finish the fight already! I can't return to my regular form until I'm calm…URGH. I'm sorry Naruto…I can't control my anger when I'm like this…"
He gave the giant raging fox within his mindscape a look of sympathy. Forcing his chakra to his palm, the burning sensation turned into a red hot inferno upon his flesh, knocking him from his thoughts. As the clone and Gaara reached the center of the arena, the clone's chest began to glow. Naruto concentrated on the clones glowing explosive tags, prepared to take the shinobi down. With panic and fear running rampant, Gaara roared, screamed and fought with all of his strength, but the clone would not let go. In the stands and boxes, the civilians and witnesses were screaming and shouting in excitement and worry. A few mothers covered their children's eyes and shinobi shifted in their seats prepared for the shower of blood and guts.
"Kai!"
In the wake of the explosion, chakra radiated off of Naruto in waves. It flowed around him like a blue luminescent steam. He glowed with his palm burning as the centerpiece. People roared, shaking the arena in their stomps. Smoke began to clear revealing Gaara's backside instead of the angry face he'd become accustomed to seeing. The gourd had disappeared, obliterated beyond comprehension. His clothes were ripped open with burning threats and strings waving in the powerful gusts of wind. But what really caught Naruto's attention was what lied beneath it all.
Like the cracks on Gaara's face, there were cracks on his pale back. Sand withered away, blowing in the wind like dust. But Gaara was silent. He wasn't screaming or howling in pain. His spine was revealed, shattered and a few vertebrae turned to dust, with muscles and lacerated flesh burned and spilling blood now that there was skin to hold it back. How Gaara was still alive and well made Naruto's skin crawl. Slowly but surely, the remaining sand from the fight rushed up to Gaara's exposed skin and bone. He groaned softly, feeling himself lose control and consciousness. Rising to his feet, gasps and cries of surprise resonated from the stands.
Sand climbed and spread across his body. It rose, building together and hardening into a great clawed arm. Strange seals also took form and color, spreading from the fingertips to his sand-covered shoulder. The sand didn't stop there. Upon his back, the sand merged once more to create the great gourd that Naruto's shadow clone committed suicide to destroy. He was beginning to look like a monstrosity. But the sand didn't stop and continued crawling across his body but came to a halt to cover half of his face, turning his right eye into that of a demon with yellow pupils.
So the demon emerges. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Jinchuriki.
"I don't think so, Gaara." Naruto smiled.
Chakra exploded from his glowing body. Naruto was propelled forward with wisps and trails of steam-like chakra roaring off of his body. With speed unlike any the people had seen, he blew past the barely responsive tendrils of sand. Tendrils, tentacles and obelisks were turned back to sand as he shot past the constructs. He was too fast. A blink of an eye later, his fist had dug into Gaara's sand covered chest, eliciting the most pained screech either of them genin had ever heard in their lives. The sand tightened around his embedded forearm brining gritted teeth and a wince of pain.
The fuinjutsu met its mark though allowing the Uzumaki enough to have a sigh of relief. Gaara didn't know and simply stared at Naruto with color devoid eyes with his jaw slack. The two held each other steadily like statues. In the Kage box, Hiruzen watched with calculating eyes. The redhead was obviously more than the Kazekage had let on and Naruto's ferocity and willingness to go for kill shots really spoke to him on a deeper level. Up to the elbow, Naruto's arm was embedded into the sand armor that covered Gaara's small body. Judging by the latter's frozen and horrified statuesque facial expression, Naruto punctured something.
Suddenly, sand began to crumble away and fall to the ground. Crowds and shinobi were silent, their voices stolen from their lungs. The great sand claw arm shattered and fell to the ground to become a great pile of sand. Soon enough, Gaara remained. His spine revealed and skin flayed, revealing his defeat to everyone present. The difference this time, Naruto's open palm had blown through the boy's chest, almost as if he'd opened his palm after he forced his arm through his body.
"It's over…" Naruto groaned, pulling his arm free of Gaara's chest cavity.
The redhead fell to the ground, hunched over, but not dead yet. "M-My blood…"
"Pardon?" Naruto raised a brow.
"M-Mother…" His arms weakly rose to his disheveled red hair. "I-It's my blood!"
Temari and Kankuro's eyes widened and their skin paled catching Shikamaru's attention immediately. From the corner of his eyes, the two siblings had reached for their weapons and ninja tools. Without thinking, Shikamaru fell to his knees, throwing up a ram hand seal. His shadow shot forward, catching Shino off guard. Kankuro and Temari were frozen where they stood. If their expression were of any merit, Shikamaru would have assumed something else was afoot. He held them straight, making sure that not a single step was made.
"Mother!" Gaara cried out suddenly. "Mother where are you?!"
The redhead struggled to his feet, feeling a slower regeneration rate of his wounds. But before he could make it any further, he collapsed to his knees spitting up blood. "M-Mother!"
"Gaara!" Temari cried. "Stop moving!"
Kankuro struggled against the shadow possession. "Gaara!"
The redhead continued fighting his defeat. "I will kill you Uzumaki! When Mother returns…when Mother awakes…"
Naruto backed away, sheathing his final kunai. "Good luck with that…"
"Stop walking away from me, Uzumaki!" Gaara howled. Before he could make another statement, he fell to his chest, blood already beginning to pool around him. "SAND COFFIN!"
Naruto continued walking away. The sands simply blew in the wind instead of complying with his commands. Gaara struggled, throwing his hand up fully intent on ensnaring his opponent but like before, the winds were the granules master. His eyes were wide as the hole in his chest began to close. With skin as cold as ice, the sweat he felt was as warm as fire. He began to drag himself through the slick grass and blood, roaring at the blond victor.
"Wow…" Ahri popped her neck. "It's damn good to be back to my normal form…"
Good thinking on the seal. Naruto smiled. A shame that I had to cripple him like that though.
"He'll be fine." The Gumiho smiled. "Even though the demon's chakra and his own are sealed for now, the healing effects are still available."
So he won't be a problem? The Uzumaki asked hopefully.
"Don't get your hopes up, Dong-Saeng." Ahri adopted a thinking pose. "The seal is imperfect and will break if enough chakra blows through it like a battering ram. I give him at least a day or two before the seal breaks on its own. But to be safe…head up to the Kage box and tell them everything."
So you're telling me… Naruto paled. I used up everything I had on that guy but he'll be kicking and screaming within a day or two…but that's without me kicking his ass?
"Pretty much." Ahri frowned. "The more strain and stress the seal is exposed to…the weaker it becomes. Remember, you're not a fuinjutsu master. This was also the first time you've put this technique to use."
About that… Naruto smirked. Think you could smash another technique into my brain again? Maybe?
"No." The Gumiho deadpanned. "Unless you want me to permanently stay as a giant lumbering demon fox, then sure. Why not?"
Okay… Naruto deflated. Forget I asked then.
"Don't worry, Dong-Saeng." Ahri placed a hand on his fallen shoulders. "Eventually you'll be able to effectively use fuinjutsu in conjunction with your new repertoire of attacks. I mean…it is in your blood to do so."
What-?
"Uzumaki Naruto…" Genma's voice appeared. "Is the victor!"
So yeah.
next chapter will have a fight I will honestly have so much fun writing
Please guys! Drop more reviews! Those really help me a lot!
I really want to know more about what you all think about this
Either way
Ja ne!
gottahavekyuubi
