Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
AN: Chapter Title: My Nindo
The explosion rocked the crowd. Excitement moved through the air. People were anxious to see if the Uchiha, the odds heavily in his favor to win the entire tournament, could pull through from the explosion. Others wished he didn't. Others wanted the matches they betted on to happen already.
"Ino knows your Jutsu?" Kurenai had her suspicions when the Yamanaka had reached into her ninja pouch but they were all confirmed thanks to the explosion that had just engulfed the Uchiha. "Since when?"
"I had a month to teach her." Asuma's eyes shined with pride as Ino landed on the ground, panting from using so much Chakra, but she remained standing nonetheless. "I decided to figure out her Chakra Nature during it and I can't tell you how surprised I was." He chuckled at the memory.
"What am I supposed to do with this? Throw it at Sasuke?" Ino wasn't impressed with the paper in her hands and Asuma chuckled.
"Don't throw the paper away just yet. This is designed to show which of the five Nature Transformations you're naturally attuned to." Asuma held up his own paper and it split in half a moment later. "You see that? That means my Chakra Nature is Wind."
"I already knew that Asuma-sensei." Ino rolled her eyes, the paper held between two fingers at her side. "Everybody in Konoha knows you have a Wind Nature."
"Mainly because it's pretty rare in the Land of Fire." Asuma drew his Chakra Blade in his now free hand and it was consumed by Chakra. "My Chakra's pretty good when it comes to cutting things so I learned Chakra Flow, created the Flying Swallow, and, eventually, ended up a Twelve Guardian Ninja and a Jonin."
"You sound SO modest right now Asuma-sensei." Ino smiled despite her tone. Her eyes looked down to the paper in her hands. "Are you going to show me how to do this or what?"
"Just flow Chakra to it. About the same as when you activate a basic seal." Asuma lowered his Chakra Blade and cancelled the flow of Chakra to it. "Once I figure out what you're Chakra Nature is, I'll be able to see what I can teach you. Got it?"
"I'm not an idiot." Ino did as instructed. A small blaze erupted in her hand and ash gathered at her feet.
"You've got a Fire Nature then. A natural from the fact you actually caused a fire. Most Uchiha couldn't manage that when they took the test." Asuma didn't let himself laugh. "This is almost bad luck, if I was a normal Sarutobi I could probably teach you plenty of techniques to use but my Wind Chakra Nature made that kind of training useless for me, could never get a good grasp of most of the techniques my old man tried to teach me day in and day out." His mind was racing at the discovery. He chuckled. "If I was an Uchiha I could teach you more through, a couple good Fire Release techniques. Maybe one would even try to teach you if they figured out your Chakra Nature. Most would jump at the chance to get a girl like you to notice them."
"Don't even joke like that Asuma-sensei!" Ino stomped her foot, glaring at the Jonin who finally gave in and broke into laughter. "Don't laugh about this!"
"I-I'm not!" Asuma began to cough. "This is definitely a cough!"
"No it's not!"
"It is." He slowly came to a stop. "Besides, I've got a few Fire Release techniques I can teach you. I've even got one I created myself for you."
"Really?" Ino's personality made a complete one eighty, from angry and annoyed to excited. "What is it?"
"We'll get to that later." The Jonin cracked his neck. "For now, let's see how well your Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu is."
"I figured she needed a secret weapon against the Uchiha and so taught her it." Asuma couldn't help but chuckle. "The look on the kid's face was probably priceless. Right before Ino ignited the cloud."
'I really wish you would see sense already.' Sakura could only sigh from where she looked on. She overheard the bearded Jonin and couldn't help but almost pity him. 'Sasuke still isn't taking this fight seriously. He still hasn't activated his Sharingan.' Sakura was growing more and more worried for her friend. 'He has some type of plan but what is it?'
In the arena, the smoke from the blast was clearing, Ino anxious to see the results of the Chakra taxing technique she had made use of.
Silence passed for several moments. No movement came from the smoke and dust in front of her. The heiress didn't drop her guard. She remained vigilant with a kunai in one hand. She searched for the Uchiha but her eyes could see nothing in the dark cloud.
Finally she heard a groan.
As if that was a signal, a sudden wind blew away the smoke. The Uchiha was within the center of the cloud smoke but he wasn't untouched by it. A circle of towering shields had taken the majority of the force of the explosion around him and had probably saved his life but his armor was scorched. He glared at the Yamanaka Heiress from where he knelt, one palm placed on the ground.
"I didn't know you learned your sensei's technique." Sasuke slowly rose from where he had dropped to a knee on the ground, his face contorting with pain even if he refused to let it stop him. "I should have expected as much now that I think about it."
His hand fell to the hilt of his sword but, with a sigh, he drew it away just as quickly.
"I wish I could kill you." Sasuke was in pain. It was as clear to Ino just as it was clear to anyone watching. Only stubborn pride allowed him to stand like he was. "I should kill you, rules be damned, but I can control myself for a little while longer." He began to take measured steps forward, his arms crossing over his armored chest. "I would challenge you to see which of our fires burn hotter but it would be worthless to test the Ninjutsu of a Yamanaka like you against the might of an Uchiha like myself."
"Really?" Ino hid her tiredness well. No one could tell from her voice how close she was to exhaustion. She also hid the disbelief on the fact that he was standing rather easily as well. "Are you sure I can't beat you like you are now Sasuke-kun? From the looks of things, you can hardly keep yourself standing."
It was clear, both were doing their best to keep the other talking while they recovered. Caught their breath, try to focus beyond the pain, and think up a plan on how to defeat their opponent. So far, both of them had accomplished the first two but the last remained a distant dream.
Ino had unleashed her trump card early in a bid to end the match and that had failed. Sasuke was cautious to approach her after seeing the rather impressive Ninjutsu she had under her belt but wouldn't be for long. He would eventually call her bluff and make his move and she could only hope she was ready for it.
"No matter what you think you can do, the impossible will forever remain impossible." The Uchiha rolled his shoulders. His breathing was slowly becoming more even. The pain on his face was becoming less prevalent as he moved his mind beyond it, forced it away and to the abyss he sent all of his pain. "You don't stand a chance against me using my natural element."
"I thought you did better research on everyone with how confident you've been. You're not the only one with a Fire Nature in the Exams. It's mine too Sasuke-kun." Ino smiled at the fact Sasuke couldn't hide the surprise her words brought on. "I figured out during my training with Asuma-sensei, I'm especially gifted with Fire Release it seems. He actually told me I put some Uchiha to shame."
"If only told me that when we were both still in the Academy together." Sasuke smiled at her. "I may have considered looking past your more annoying habits and seeing you worth my time. If only a little."
"If only you weren't insane now." She allowed herself to blush. "I could almost imagine actually caring about what you think of me."
"I may consider you worth my time if you do the right thing and forfeit now." His breathing was under his control now. She knew he was going to attack any second now.
"I didn't know you had a bit of a crush on me Sasuke-kun." Ino smiled as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I might consider taking you out on a pity date later once I beat you if you ask nicely enough."
"Funny." He was behind her, tried to grab her in a full nelson. She turned and tried to kick his head off only for his armored forearms to come together to stop her foot. She didn't wince as her shin met his armor. He didn't wince at just how strong her kick was. "I was thinking the same thing."
She drew back before her leg could be grabbed and the Uchiha took several steps back. Ino threw a kunai forward that he deflected to the side with one in his hand and she charged him in the midst of doing so. He threw his kunai at her but she vanished in a puff of smoke using the Shunsin. He didn't get a chance to search for her before she planted her hands on the ground and her feet in his stomach. She managed to send him into the air with the unexpected attack. He tried to grab hold of her but she pushed off of him once he was airborne.
The Uchiha's eyes followed her hands as they were filled with kunai.
He dodged them by tucking himself in before landing on his feet on the ground before Ino kipped up to her feet. The two looked at each other for a moment before racing forward and meeting each other in a clash of Taijutsu.
The toil of the battle put both on even footing surprisingly enough.
"Come on Ino." Shikamaru and Choji were of one mind despite being away from each other. Both were anxious to see the Yamanaka end the match. The longer it went on, the more they began to worry for her. Both knew her rather well, knew how she fought, and stamina wasn't that big a part of it.
'A month of training with Asuma-sensei or not, don't waste time with a guy like Sasuke.' Shikamaru wanted to be down there with his teammate, with his friend, but knew Ino would hate him if he got her disqualified from the Third Stage. 'You've got to have something beyond Taijutsu, right?'
"Why don't you give up?" The two broke away, both falling onto a single knee as they hurried to catch their breath once more.
"You wouldn't understand Sasuke-kun." She was mocking him with the name.
The two clashed again, Ino landing a kick to his side as he did the same. Both drew back and dropped a hand to their sides for a moment before blitzing the other, hoping to deliver another strike when their fists collided between the two.
"Try me Ino-chan." The name was the same from him. He was mocking her with something she would have once given anything to hear him say. Now she didn't care at all, could hardly stand seeing the Uchiha smile at her the way he was now.
"Alright." She smiled as she tried to kick his head off and flip. He dodged her by stepping back. She came up on her feet and throwing a shuriken at him that he dodged by ducking under it. "I have a new Nindo."
"New?" Sasuke charged forward with a kunai in each hand, Ino spotting them and drawing a pair from her ninja pouch. "I never thought you even had one. Most people don't care for them beyond whatever their village's creed told them to believe in."
"Trust me, I did." Ino and Sasuke struggled to push through the other's defense but neither could. It was a stalemate. "My old one was ridiculous: I wanted to be a Kunoichi perfect for Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha chuckled and Ino did the same. "Yeah, it was stupid. It was all because I had that stupid crush on you Sasuke-kun."
"Is that why you have long hair?" Ino really did blush as Sasuke hit the nail on the head. "I have to wonder who started that rumor. I like girls with short hair actually."
"Good to know." Ino broke away and tried to slit his throat with one kunai and stab him in the stomach with the other. Sasuke maneuvered both of his kunai to stop her, catching the points of hers on the rings like he had done several times already. "I'll make sure to keep mine long just so you know I'll always hate you."
"I can't begin to tell you how childish that is of you, Ino-chan." Sasuke broke away, attempted to pull her kunai from her hands, failed, and didn't try for longer than a moment. He lunged forward, slashing at her as she met his strikes with the blades of her kunai. "I thought you would cut it for me."
"I would have if I didn't change for the better." Ino pressed her attack when Sasuke tried to lock her in a clash of blades once more. "I would have done anything you said if I didn't finally see you for what you really are, if I didn't see who you really are, if I didn't see how insane you really were until a month ago!"
"I almost wish you were the same stupid girl right now." Sasuke deflected her blows with ease. At least he was trying to express a lackadaisical air to his opponent. He was rather good at it if she didn't press her attack any further than she did before pulling away. "I would get to see just how far you would go for that stupid crush you had on me in the Academy."
"Trust me, I would have done anything to hear you call me 'Ino-chan' back then." Ino spun, kicking at him and throwing her kunai forward. Sasuke deflected her thrown pair with his own thrown pair and trapped her arm at his side with his arm. He spun and released her, sending her into a tree that was somehow still standing despite the fires burning around it. Ino landed in a crouch, Chakra channeled to her feet kept her there for a moment, before she threw herself back towards the Uchiha. "Now I know better."
"You do." The Uchiha ducked, crossing his arms above his head to stop a kick he didn't want to risk connecting with the top of his head. Helmet or not, it would leave him open for whatever else she had planned. "You can almost impress me now."
"That's all because of my new Ninja Way." Ino didn't let Sasuke forcing himself back up to his full height unbalance her. She landed on her feet in front of him and the two clashed again, Ino blocking his blow to the side of her head with a raised hand crossed over her chest. She attempted to drive her elbow into his collarbone when he drew back and pulled his trapped fist free. "I'm sure you're anxious to know what it is, right?"
"Sure." Sasuke gave his best shrug as he caught Ino's punch and threw his own kick only to find his leg trapped under her arm like he had done only moments ago.
"I don't care if you think it's just as childish as my hair." Ino spun, the Uchiha quickly drawing back his free leg and trying to plant it in her stomach. She released him before he could and his back hit the ground. He rolled as he landed, coming up on his feet and launching himself forward.
The two clashed with kunai once more.
Neither surpassed the strength of the other.
"My new Nindo is simple Sasuke-kun." Ino pushed and Sasuke gave way. His eyes widening in surprise at her strength would be a memory she knew she would cherish. "I'll be a strong Kunoichi for myself, to protect my friends, and beat people like you!"
The Uchiha was pushed off balance but he swiftly recovered. He didn't let his back hit the ground and broke the blade lock the two held. He threw his kunai forward but Ino dodged to the side to avoid them as she threw her own forward.
The two formed their own hand signs.
"Katon: Gokakyu!"
They produced the same stream of fire.
They met in a clash in the middle for only a moment. Both threw themselves over the clashing flames to attack the other.
"You dare to mock me, mock the Uchiha?" Sasuke and Ino clashed with blinding speed even in their current state. Both passed the other and landed in a crouch, their backs to the dying inferno behind them. Sasuke turned and threw his kunai at nothing but air.
Ino dashed to the side before darting towards the Uchiha with her kunai.
"Katon: Hosenka!" Sasuke was not considered a prodigy among a clan of warriors without reason. He unleashed a barrage of a dozen fireballs while backing away from the soon to be inferno.
Ino dodged what she could by moving from side to side with short use of the Shunsin before she took to the air with a powerful leap to dodge the others.
'Let's hope this works.'
"Like I said when we started, you probably can't beat him head on. You need to get his focus off the match, let his emotions guide him instead, and strike him when he's completely off his game."
"But what if none of that works?"
"Then have a backup plan. You still have a few days to prepare."
"A backup plan…I think I have just the thing Asuma-sensei!"
She landed and immediately pursued him with a kunai in each hand. He spun a kunai into each hand by the rings at the end and stopped both of hers with ease. He smirked at her but it was quickly gone when she once again made to kick his head off. Her kunai were free to fall as he rose a forearm up to block her strike. He aimed to slash at her side with the kunai in his other hand and she forced herself away from him by making use of his raised arm as a launching pad.
She flipped across the ground on her hands and the Uchiha glanced down at the kunai at his feet.
The smoke bombs tied at the hilts exploded and he was consumed by a dark cloud. He coughed within, bringing one hand up to his mouth to attempt to stop it and failed. His coughing grew worse as he leaped out of the cloud. His vision immediately grew hazy when he struck the ground and his eyes widened.
'Poison?'
"Hm, I feel sorry for whoever bet on the Uchiha to win." Asuma chuckled as he saw the Uchiha struggle to keep himself up, his eyes widening as he realized what had happened. "Ino's got this match in the bag it looks like."
"You trained her well." Kurenai congratulated him with a kiss to the cheek. "I hope Neji beats the brat he's fighting."
"Looks like Asuma trained that girl pretty well." Anko talked to no one as she leaned on the railing, her perch a bit too dangerous for most of the civilians watching but perfect for the proctor. "She knew she couldn't beat him without first taking away as many of his strengths as she could." She shook her head. "The idiot should have ended the match as soon as he had the chance." Anko could have guessed the Uchiha's game plan in a second. "So what if he's trying to conserve energy for the next round? It doesn't matter if you can't beat your first round opponent."
"Are you sure that's his plan?" Ibiki Morion stood on the other side of the railing. His eyes searched the crowd even as he spoke to Anko.
"Of course it is. He got paired up with a weak fighter and is saving his strength for the real heavy hitters later, like the kid with the sand." Anko didn't take it kindly when the scarred man chuckled.
"And here I thought I taught you better." Ibiki was unconcerned with Anko's glare.
"Don't try and make this into one of your little lessons Scarhead." Anko's eyes narrowed when she looked to the head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation. "Anybody who's been in this kind of situation would do the same."
"You should have been watching those brats better Anko." Ibiki spoke no more, he only gave her an almost pitying shake of his head.
"Shut up." Anko rolled her eyes and turned back to the match.
'He's just messing with me…right?' Regardless of knowing she was right about the Uchiha's strategy, she would be paying closer attention to the prospective Chunin from now on.
The Uchiha couldn't believe what was happening even as he fell to a knee, his coughing growing worse. He could hardly keep his head up as each cough brought out more and more gas.
'What the hell?' He looked down at his hand, his vision failing him. He looked and saw hand after hand when there should only be two. He tried to shake his head clear but only brought on the desire to hurl, he tried to focus on what he knew to be there, the fact that he only had two hands, but he failed. 'What the hell did she do to me?'
He struggled to rise back to his feet but Ino was suddenly in front of him. A straight punch to the face knocked him onto his back and she smiled.
"That was unbelievably satisfying you know." She couldn't help but gloat as she slowly brought her extended arm back. "I've wanted to punch you in the face ever since I figured out how insane you really are." The Uchiha struggled to raise his head up at her from where he rested on his back.
His glare revealed enough of what he felt about her. He hated her. He wanted to get back on his feet and clobber her. He was scared of whatever poison coursing through his veins. He was close to panicking with the idea of dying here and now firmly entrenched in his mind. He hated her for making him feel so helpless, so powerless.
"Don't bother looking at me like that." Ino rolled her eyes as she stepped back from him. "It's nothing lethal."
The Uchiha succeeded in sitting up, still coughing but nowhere near as much as before. He struggled to keep his eyes open but that was all. Ino let him rise back up to his feet and threw a pair of kunai at him from one of her hands.
The Uchiha was capable enough to avoid them even if briefly, one struck the side of his helmet at the cheek and left a narrow scratch in the metal. He lifted a hand up to it in almost shock before his hands were a blur. Ino's eyes widened at the sight of something that should have been impossible and she immediately put distance between herself and the Uchiha.
"Katon: Hosenka!" He fired a number of fireballs from his mouth that Ino didn't even need to worry about, be it his aim or the fact that most fizzled out before they reached her. She didn't try to do anything else to the Uchiha and avoided one of the fireballs by twisting her body to the side. Each came with less and less intensity as the Uchiha rapidly dropped to a knee once more until eventually no more came.
He had hardly managed to fire six. The last was so pitiful it burned itself out before it even reached a fourth of the distance between the two Genin.
"You…" He slammed a fist into the ground as he tried to glare at the girl in front of him. "I'll incinerate you for this!" The very nature of his threat was marred by harsh coughing, gas escaping his lungs through his mouth.
The Uchiha vanished in a poorly executed Shunshin and appeared, hardly standing, behind Ino. She easily avoided his sloppy blow to her back and threw a shuriken into his chest. His armor deflected it but he still stumbled back. He was clearly trying to attack her with everything he had and it was failing.
He let out a wordless bellow of rage as he threw a number of shuriken from each hand. His normal pinpoint accuracy was ruined, each of them wildly missing their target as Ino remained stationary.
"That's such a shame Sasuke-kun." The endearing title was spoken with nothing but mockery as Ino slowly shook her head, acting as if he was misbehaving toddler instead of a Shinobi. "Is your vision possibly getting hazy?"
She formed several hand signs with deliberate slowness and the Uchiha suddenly lurched. His stance became worse as the world shifted wildly around him.
"I'm sure the Genjutsu doesn't help you at all." She was mocking him. She was enjoying every second of what she was doing. He tried to step forward but nearly fell as his balance was shot to hell. He seemed to be on the verge of hurling actually as he closed his eyes, ceasing all movements.
"That's a mistake." A kunai scratched the other side of his helmet, once unmarred unlike the other. Her miss was completely intentional. "You need to keep moving." The next drew a thin line across the side of his neck, a thin bead of blood rolled down his exposed skin a moment later. "Go ahead Sasuke-kun, open your eyes."
He did so. The Sharingan wasn't in them but it wouldn't have helped. They were half lidded when they were forced open by will alone, unfocused no matter how much he tried to focus on his opponent. The only thing that was clear in them was the hate he must have been feeling towards Ino. He hated her for rendering him helpless like this, hated her for mocking him, hated for her making him weak.
He staggered forward and Ino rose an eyebrow at the sight.
'He's stronger than I thought. The gas I used should have laid him out by now.' Ino began to slowly step back as Sasuke tried to move faster and failed. He couldn't move faster than a drunken gait, nearly falling to the ground more than once. 'I'm going to need to give him another dose.'
A number of specially made senbon rested in her ninja pouch and her hand reached into it, drew one coated in the drugs she had used and the other two with nothing. Sasuke's eyes actually did sharpen when he saw them but it was still useless.
He could do nothing to block them.
He rose his armored arms up, stopping one of them by letting it bounce off of his armor. The other two sailed past as he made a drunken turn to the side.
'He dodged it.' Ino's eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to be capable of pulling something like that off after everything she had thrown at him. 'I need to hit him with the second dose now.'
She didn't waste time, drawing a pair of the drugged senbon to each hand and throwing them forward. He vanished in a burst of smoke right before they reached him. He hit the ground hard not too far away from where he had begun but it was enough to avoid her needles. She quickly dashed forward, drawing a kunai to her hand.
He spotted her through his renewed coughing and multiplying double vision and held one hand forward. Ino recognized what he was doing from earlier and she vanished using Shunsin just as dozens of shuriken soared through the air where she had been standing. Her back hit the trunk of a tree not too far from the Uchiha as he fell onto his back, his heavy breathing clear to her ears.
"I didn't believe the Legate would prove true to his word." Naruto stepped up to the railing, the centurions with him wordlessly doing the same. "This match has proven itself entertaining enough." He rested his arms on the railing as he leaned forward. "We will discuss more later but for now you both are dismissed. Go to your men and await my command."
Both centurions brought a fist to their armored heart and bowed their head before vanishing in twin clouds of smoke.
'Your match has been as enjoyable as you promised it would be Legate but I do not need the outcome to bring a poor end to it.' Naruto's eyes focused on the coughing form of his Legate and his eyes shifted to red. 'Do not prove to be a disappointment to my Legion.'
He had foolishly allowed the disgrace of defeat without fitting consequence once. He would not allow it again.
Only one sentence could fit such a crime. It had proven successful in his newest lands and would prove successful when showcasing the consequences of daring to come before him after defeat.
"Dammit…" Sasuke rolled over from his back to his stomach, not wanting to admit just how much of a struggle it was to do so. "Dammit…" He could hardly force himself up on shaking arms. "DAMMIT!" His rage let him force his body to rise.
He could not get to his feet but he would not be forced to hold himself like a dog on the ground. He could consent to the embarrassment of being forced to be on his knees.
"What does it take to put you down?" Ino didn't let him rise any further even if he could, a solid kick connecting with his chest and nearly sending him back to the ground. His hand shot to the ground and he glared at the Yamanaka as he forced himself to rise back up. She struck him again the instant he managed it. He refused to fall once more.
'Why isn't he down yet?' Ino kicked him again, aiming higher this time, and didn't fight down the satisfaction when her kick to his throat made him fall forward. One hand grabbed at his throat as the other almost failed to keep him up.
"You're too stubborn for your own good Sasuke." Ino let him rise back up partly. He turned his head to glare at her and she kicked him in the face without a moment of regret.
'I don't have the Chakra to use the Mind Body Switch Technique anymore.' She wanted to curse her own mismanagement of her Chakra. She shouldn't have edged the Uchiha on to use the signature technique of his clan and then match it. She had burned through her Chakra like an idiot. 'Asuma-sensei is never going to let me hear the end of it if I don't manage to win.'
His helmet flew through the air and hit the ground with a clatter when she kicked him again, tried to force him to the ground with no success. The hand that had held his throat fell to his side, helped force his body to remain at least partly up instead of collapsing on the ground.
"Just forfeit already!" Ino struck him again, blood striking the ground in a number of strands. "You've lost!"
The Uchiha told her his refusal when he refused to open his mouth. She kicked him again to show her disapproval of such an action.
"He should forfeit." Shino's voice carried over to the other participants. "With the drugs Ino used on him, he doesn't stand a chance of even standing back up. He's only making this worse for himself the longer he wants to refuse."
"My Legate will never forfeit the match you fool." Naruto's voice was louder than Shino's even if he spoke lower than him. His red eyes never left the form of his Legate as Ino's blows left him more and more battered, split more of his blood. "To bring the disgrace of defeat to my Legion is the same as to invite death to your doorstep. He knows such a thing awaits him if he is to forfeit and understands what must be done. Victory is his only option, death will be his punishment if he dares to forfeit. If the girl has the stomach to beat him to death then so be it." His eyes turned to Ino. "Perhaps she would make a more capable Legate even. She possesses an almost frightening intelligence with her plan and she has other desirable traits. The ruthlessness necessary to kill a beaten foe is perhaps the one quality my current Legate lacks."
"How can you say such a thing Naruto?" Lee looked to Naruto with something approaching disgust, a completely foreign expression on the usually energetic and friendly Genin. Few could say he was the same after what had happened with Tenten but the disgust he looked at the Genin with was new. "I thought I understood you but I see I was wrong. I have no problems with you despite everything I have heard about you but I will not sit here and allow you to speak words such as those about one such as Sasuke Uchiha! He may be my rival but I have seen a dedication like no other, will rarely glimpsed, and more in eyes that once lacked all but hatred and pain! Is the life of one so loyal to you so easily dismissed by one like you! He devotes his very life to your cause and you consider it as nothing but expendable?"
Naruto laughed. It was nothing but a chuckle but it spoke volume without him speaking a single word.
"Of course." Naruto rose from where he leaned against the railing. He rose to his full height and the room seemed to get smaller. "The life of one, the lives of a hundred, of a thousand, no quantity truly matters when one is in my position. If death claims one weakling or another, I am not concerned with them or their pitiful life. Death simply shows me any who fall to it do not deserve to live on the lands of my grand Uzumaki Empire. If death itself would not take one so weak, the countless blades of my Legion shall send one to death for daring to bring defeat to the name of my Legion, to my name." His eyes focused on his Legate as Ino continued to strike him, try to force him to surrender from the pain. She was failing. "If my Legate is to die, he was unworthy of leading my glorious Orange Legion, of seeing my grand Uzumaki Empire, and being in the presence of a Caesar like myself." Naruto's eyes seemed to shine as more and more blood was drawn from his Legate, his struggles to rise useless. "If my Legate is too weak to triumph in the Chunin Exams, he was never deserving of his title. The Yamanaka will be doing him a favor by killing him here and now. I would not be so kind as she."
"How can you dare to call yourself a Shinobi of Konohagakure when you speak words that are the very antithesis of the way of the village?" Lee left where he was standing. He walked towards the armored Genin. "How can you throw away your comrades so easily? How can you stand to look at yourself knowing you are nothing but an insult to the title of Shinobi?"
Naruto was silent. Lee glared at him. The Uzumaki turned.
Power washed over them all.
"You do not address me properly." Red eyes locked with Lee's, dared him to speak again and he didn't. "I am a Caesar."
He did not speak to the Genin again. All was silent as he turned back to the match.
"Give. Up." Each word was accompanied by another kick to the face, Ino hardly restraining herself from stomping the Uchiha's head in. "The match is over! You've lost!"
"Tch." The Uchiha could see his reflection in the blood on the ground below him. "You must not understand anything yet Yamanaka."
Coal black eyes shifted to red and black.
She struck out at him again only for a hand to catch her leg. She tried to pull away but the grip proved crushing.
"I could have ended this match at any time but I chose not to." The Uchiha looked up at her and his Sharingan burned with hate. "But now?" Despite the drug in his body, the more than one explosion he had been in the center of, and the beating he had just taken, the Uchiha slowly rose to his feet. "Now this match is over."
"W-What the hell are you?" Ino tried to pull away but she could only scream when a crack came from her leg. The Uchiha had effortlessly broken the bone. "H-How the hell are you standing?" She managed to scream the question through her pain and Sasuke gave her a bloody smirk.
"The answer to both of those questions is simple." He pushed her away. He seemed to tower above her as she struck the ground. He laid a hand on the undrawn blade at his side. "I am the Legate of the Orange Legion." He looked down to Ino. "I am expected to stand."
Smoke bombs, hastily drawn out by Ino, concealed her from sight. By the time the smoke dispersed, she had vanished to elsewhere in the arena.
Red and black eyes discovered where she had gone with ease.
He drew his blade from his side at last. Chakra consumed the blade with an almost roar.
"Playtime is over Yamanaka. Prepare for your defeat."
AN: Nothing still.