Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
AN: Chapter title: The First Round Concludes!
"What was that?" Ino moved with Sasuke back down the halls. The Uchiha didn't answer her for a moment before he paused, began to undo the cord keeping a bracer in place.
"Caesar's seal." Sasuke held his arm out to Ino, allowed a black mark to appear to her sight. He covered it just as swiftly as it had appeared, began to retie the cord once Ino had gotten a good luck at it. "His centurions and myself were gifted it."
"You're not going to explain anything else, are you?" Ino's question received the obvious answer in silence from the Uchiha. The only sound was of the movement of the cord as his arm was concealed beneath the armor he wore once more. "I should really be demanding some kind of answer but, for some reason, I'm not going to bother with it."
"You are intelligent Ino-chan." Sasuke began walking again and Ino rolled her eyes as she quickly caught up with him despite her crutches.
She didn't know why she was at ease with her opponent but she felt alright being in the Uchiha's presence so far.
"That…" Naruto struck the closest wall. He wanted to growl but he refrained. He wanted to curse but he refrained. He wanted to take Hiashi Hyuga's head but, somehow, he refrained. He wanted to continue his battle with Neji Hyuga but it was impossible now. He would be lucky to awaken by the end of the day after Hiashi's use of the seal against him. "I am infuriated."
Rock Lee looked to Naruto. His dark eyes narrowed in thought.
'You are not like I once thought you were Naruto.' Rock Lee's eyes almost showed approval. 'Despite the actions you take, despite how you see those loyal to you, and despite that army you call yours, you desire a battle to test your limits. You fought Neji to test those limits and that battle was ruined by his uncle. You…You are confusing to a Shinobi like myself.' Lee resisted the urge to pull at his dark hair. His bandaged fists only tightened at his side. 'You view others as possessions, as tools, but you refuse to see an opponent such as Neji as anything but a foe to be surpassed in a battle between yourself and him. I can almost understand you but you are so callous with the life of others. You do not accept defeat from anyone, not yourself, not those who serve you, and not those you view as belonging to you, but you didn't attack Neji with overwhelming numbers like I once thought you would. You showed him your power, made him show you his skills, and then you fought to match those skills.' Lee's eyes did not leave Naruto's nearly enraged form, his surprisingly high level of self-control being the only reason the green clad Genin could see why he hadn't attacked the Hyuga Clan's head. 'You are confusing Naruto Uzumaki.'
"Caesar." Sasuke Uchiha stepped in through the door he had exited, Ino Yamanaka followed after him. Sasuke dropped to a knee, bowed his head, and brought his fist to his heart. "I have done as you o-"
"Rise Legate." Naruto interrupted him and Sasuke rose without another word. Ino, from where she stood, could swear she saw a sliver of fear enter his eyes before it was ruthlessly suppressed. "The second round of the exams will begin soon. Before they begin, see to it that Neji Hyuga understands he and I will fight again. I do not care if it is with spectators or without. Our battle will have a victor."
"Yes Caesar." Sasuke once again brought his fist to his heart and bowed his head. "I will see to it."
"Then you are dismissed." Naruto's eyes briefly moved to Ino. She did nothing but match his glare. No humor or amusement entered his eyes at the sight of such a thing. His rage remained his focus, his rage remained veiled in his eyes. "Converse with your defeated foe if you so wish it. I do not care for what you do. I care only for my orders being followed." Naruto turned away, moved to where he once watched the matches from, and resumed his silent observation. He did not care that the arena was empty. He distracted himself from his rage with the sight of the sight of what had been an exciting fight before it was ruined.
"Shino Aburame and Gaara of the Sand, get down here!" Anko called up to the viewing box. The jacket wearing Genin rose from where he sat next to Shikamaru and the red haired boy began walking.
"Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara didn't continue as he came near Naruto's still form. He looked at him and some of the Genin actually choked on air. The sheer desire for death flowed through the air, flowed through their beings, and they knew they were nothing but ants to this power. None of them could handle it. Fear, terror, panic crossed the face of Temari. She was frozen despite her desire to run. Shikamaru was shaking, his eyes snapped open as he looked towards the two Genin. Lee was motionless but his eyes were wide. His body would not fall to terror but his mind had, for a moment, lost control. Shino's body shook, the insects within stirred up into frenzy. Ino nearly fell as her arms turned limp, as fear made her cold, and the Uchiha's hand snapped out. She could feel it trembling as it supported her. He was terrified but he could at least move even if it was simply his arm. "Mother wants your blood."
"Hmm?" Naruto shifted, allowed red eyes to meet the teal eyes of Gaara of the Sand. "I hear nothing but the snarls of a beaten dog from your lips." Power filled the space between the two, power roared to life but was invisible. A clash, a clash none could see but all in the room could feel, took hold. "You will need to repeat yourself."
"You will die." Gaara was not afraid.
"My time has not yet come." Naruto welcomed the beast.
Gaara continued on his way. Naruto turned back to the arena.
Death left the room.
'W-What was that?' Shikamaru was almost glad he was on the floor already. He saw Temari nearly fall once the feeling was gone, Lee's body was rigid where it had once been relaxed, and he looked to Ino with worry only to find her supported by the Uchiha. He could see the tremble, however faint, from his arm. 'How did those two do that?'
His eyes turned to Shino, the Aburame still.
'There's no way Shino can win against him.'
"HEY! Get down here before you're both disqualified!" Anko's voice snapped Shino's focus towards the stairs. Gaara had already descended down them without a pause in his step.
"Shino Aburame." Naruto called out to Shino but his eyes didn't leave the arena, leave where Gaara slowly walked over to where Anko impatiently waited. He drew the Aburame's attention regardless of Anko's impending time limit. "What do you say to a deal?"
Several minutes later, Anko glared at Shino as he arrived.
"What took you so long?" Anko didn't expect an answer and once again modeled the Seal of Confrontation. "No more wasted time. Do it or you're disqualified."
She didn't receive any complaints. The two Genin performed the seal without issue or conflict. Shino looked at Gaara. Gaara looked at Shino. Both dropped the seal at the same time. Anko looked to both, didn't find anything amusing to laugh at, and began the match.
Gaara's blood drenched sand burst free of the gourd on his back. Shino's frenzied kikaichu swarmed forward.
Gaara showed the barest hint of surprise when they consumed his Chakra through the sand, consumed more and more until the sand began to fall inert. Gaara did not allow anymore surprise to show, sand burst free of the gourd in a greater quantity and burrowed into the ground. He remained with his arms crossed over his chest, remained where he stood, and the bugs sent against him were consumed by his sand and crushed.
"It's useless to fight me and you're not the one Mother wants." Gaara looked to Shino with nothing, no bloodlust and no desire for a fight. "Surrender if you value living."
"That would be an insult to my sensei." Shino placed his hands in his pockets, the kikaichu settled on the ground around him as a dense dark and writhing carpet. "I can't surrender and look her in the eye ever again so I'll have to fight you Gaara of the Sand."
"Then you'll have to die." Gaara didn't sound like he regretted it. He didn't relish it. He was numb to everything with his focus elsewhere. Sand surged forward, kikaichu leaped into the air and sought to stop it. The sand crushed them, batted them aside, ripped them to shreds. Some latched on, some began to take his Chakra and render the sand worthless as it turned inert, but the kikaichu were not able to stop the claws of sand that ripped forward.
'What it that thing doing?' Rasa kept a careful eye on the match. The dark markings that briefly flashed on the sand were of some concern but they vanished before he could properly do anything. 'Why is he wasting time with the boy? Its bloodlust was supposed to be sated earlier today so that's not the problem so what is? Why is he delaying the attack? What is that thing's idiotic reasoning? Release the beast!'
The signal was his match so why was It not doing anything? What was making it forsake the plan?
The Kazekage's eyes drifted to the participants and he found the watching eyes of Naruto Uzumaki.
'The Jinchuriki. That thing wants to fight the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi for whatever reason.' It was incredibly easy for a man like the Kazekage to piece together the why of what was happening. 'It wants to fight the boy and is willing to jeopardize the entire invasion for it.'
He wanted to curse but nothing showed on his face. His body did not so much as twitch as he observed the match taking place below.
Shino dodged the clawed arms of sand, jumping back as the black carpet moved. It swarmed across the floor of the arena and raced towards his opponent. He didn't expect it to make it. The swarm dispersed when the sand Gaara commanded threw itself onto the ground in an attempt to crush them. The kikaichu took to the air and swarmed around him, formed a near vortex of insects around him. Shino landed further back in the arena and threw his arms out, allowed more kikaichu to escape and settle in the air around him. Gaara attacked those closest to him first of course, his sand lashed out with precision that didn't surprise Shino.
He had seen the battle with Tenten.
Nearly nothing bypassed Gaara's sand.
'I need more time.' Shino sent his swarm out, made it sweep towards Gaara from the left and right as he drew back the kikaichu spread throughout the air. More joined them from one of two packs he wore on his back. They swarmed in front of him as the bugs surrounding Gaara began to attack. The sand fell inert but it was rising back up into the air faster than Shino's kikaichu could drain it. He didn't seem surprised as his hands fell into his pockets as a good portion of his swarm surged towards Gaara in a near omnidirectional attack.
A sphere of sand wrapped around the Sunagakure Genin and the kikaichu were trapped by it moments later. They were crushed and the sphere fell away as Gaara looked to Shino. Annoyance entered his eyes as he lifted a hand from his chest. He moved it towards Shino and sand shot forward.
Shino threw an explosive kunai. He hoped to disperse the sand but it failed when one strand utterly consumed the kunai, crushed it, ripped the explosive tag to shreds before it could detonate, and threw the remains back at him. The Aburame didn't allow the failure of the projectile to impact him in the slightest. He sent his kikaichu forward once more, allowed them to swarm forward once more, and Gaara's sand was there to crush the swarm, scatter it, and then surge towards Shino.
The Aburame brought the swarm around him in front of him, let it take shape as two identical clones of himself before he leaped back with them. The three Shino were a blur in that moment, crossing the paths of the other two until they were certain the original could no longer be distinguished. They broke away. One leaped straight back, the others took up positions on either side of Gaara. Kikaichu sent out regrouped around the three, formed a carpet of darkness at their feet. The three made no movements but the swarm advanced, surged forward.
"That's worthless." Gaara returned his arm to his chest as three strands of sand lanced through the air at blinding speed. Two Shino burst into a swarm of kikaichu and the last faded from sight as Gaara struck the illusion of the Genin. His eyes widened slightly before they narrowed and sand shot into the air before raining down.
'Where is he?' A rarely performed sensory net did not reveal the location of Shino Aburame. Gaara wasn't foolish. He formed a platform at his feet from his sand and took to the air before he could fall prey to whatever plan the Aburame had developed. 'It doesn't matter what he plans. I have an absolute defense. Once he springs his trap, I'll kill him.'
Below ground, in a hollow burrowed out by his kikaichu rather quickly, Shino sat motionless. A shroud of Chakra consumed him as the kikaichu around him began to multiply. Several pockets of insects had formed beneath the floor of the arena where he rested, his insect clones had stood, and where Gaara now suspended himself over.
'I knew I didn't stand a chance but I didn't expect him to be this capable.' Shino had vanished before his clones had performed their scramble, using the kikaichu to hide him from sight as they blanketed the area in a mixture of his and Gaara's Chakra. With Shino as deep below ground as he was and Gaara possessing little aptitude for sensory techniques, he was hidden from sight.
"I'm going to crush the arena." Gaara lifted an arm from his chest and made a fist. The sand he had been forming underneath the arena destroyed it within moments. Shino was too deep to be found. All Gaara unveiled was a black sea of kikaichu.
"My offer is simple Shino Aburame." The kikaichu burst free of the ground and into the air. Gaara's eyes widened as the frenzied insects consumed the Chakra in his sand, tried to consume the sand, and seemed to only grow the more they ate. They began small and swiftly grew in size. "I will provide you with my Chakra to battle Gaara of the Sand. All you must do in return is provide me with some entertainment during your match."
The kikaichu ripped through the sand that tried to stop them, driven mad by Shino to attack Gaara, and the red haired Genin looked on with some shock as the bugs so easily ripped their way through. He quickly brought both hands away from his chest and a dense sphere of sand consumed him while more took hold of the kikaichu in the air. Innumerable spheres of sand compacted around the mad swarm attacking him as Gaara clenched his hands into fists. The maddened kikaichu still attempted to swarm forward when Gaara opened and closed his hands before bringing his palms together in his defensive sphere.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral." The spheres of sand condensed, liquefied the bugs within before they began to circle around Gaara. "Third Eye." He shifted one eye close as sand spiraled from the top of the sphere that floated in the air, took the form an eye high above the arena and away from the kikiachu. "Sand Drizzle."
The sphere of sand fired downward as a barrage of bullets. The remaining kikaichu in the air were ripped apart before they could proceed with another attack. Gaara allowed his defensive sphere to collapse, his Third Eye to fade, and allowed his platform of sand to shrink slightly.
"I know where you're hiding now." Shino was briefly revealed before the black ocean below him had sealed itself once more. Blood came from a number of superficial wounds from the bullets of sand and Gaara allowed the gourd on his back to break down into more sand. "Die."
The sand around the arena, buried further than Shino hid, ripped itself upward from the center like a geyser before spreading out to consume the black ocean it had punched through. It covered everything in a solid layer of sand before Gaara let himself drop down from the air and rested his hands on the grainy surface.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral." The sand surged inward, compacted into a sphere but Gaara's eyes widened at the sight before him.
The kikaichu had dug out a cavern somehow. A cavern with branching paths that Shino had dropped himself into to escape his foe's latest wide scale attack. His eyes searched for the Aburame but streams of darkness emerged from each opening, Gaara felt them begin to consume the sand and his Chakra, and felt the sphere destabilize.
'This shouldn't be happening.' Gaara engulfed himself in sand once more, hid himself from sight in a sphere as he was lifted into the air once more. He didn't bother with worrying about attacking, the sand automatically lashed out at the bugs that came close to him. It batted them away, crushed them, did everything it could to destroy the swarm.
"I see it now." Naruto watched the madness of the sand in its offense and the attacking swarm of frenzied kikaichu with interest. "Aburame would have been a match to Gaara's attacks if he possessed more Chakra, if he possessed a greater experience he would win. Their styles clash. His sand is controlled by Chakra and such a thing is useless against the Aburame it seems. His kikaichu will continue to consume the Chakra, force his foe to expend greater amounts of Chakra, and, if who he battled was a normal Shinobi, he would be dead." Naruto didn't chuckle, didn't laugh, he did nothing but observe. "Aburame would have stood a chance against him if he wasn't a Jinchuriki."
"You can't hide from me." The sphere broke down, Gaara clenched a hand into a fist and sand shot down each path. "I'll find you and I'll kill you eventually."
'If I was still below ground you would most certainly kill me.' Shino spoke to himself. He had put Gaara's absorbed Chakra to good use, covering himself in a dense layer of his bugs and sitting within Gaara's sand. It shifted around him but the Sunagakure Genin couldn't detect him any longer. As long as he didn't try a direct attack this way, the sand wouldn't attack him. He was safe for now.
Shino moved slightly, brought his hands in front of him.
'I only have once chance it seems to win.' Shino adjusted his glasses before he burst free, his insects bursting free ahead of him and consuming more Chakra, growing to the size of his palm. He landed on a group of them, took to the air with a Chakra backed leap, and forced himself to rise higher. Gaara spotted him, sand was sent towards him, and the Aburame sent his large kikaichu forward. They were ravenous, driven to frenzy intentionally.
His father had showed him just how powerful they could be when all they thought about was feeding an all-consuming hunger.
"Time to die." Gaara threw his hand forward and clenched his fist, sand moving into the air around Shino. The Aburame showed no concern for it as his kikaichu swarmed around him, ripped the Chakra from the sand with enough force for it to be visible for a moment before it was consumed, and the sand fell to the ground.
'I can't do that again.' He was calm. He had to remain calm to keep the bugs from turning on him. He had a number of females on his person, each excluding a certain pheromone. The multitude came together and rendered the kikaichu docile around him. It required focus to maintain, focus that could not be dropped if he wanted to avoid being consumed by his own swarm.
The swarm surged upward. Gaara brought more sand around him, clawed hands bearing black markings ripping free from the pillars of sand he created. Shino ignored the countless kikaichu they crushed, obliterated, destroyed. He focused on the goal of Gaara and Gaara alone. If he could take him down.
'Damn.' He was too focused. A clawed hand took hold of him and he froze. His eyes widened when dark markings pulsed around his skin, his clothing, and he found himself truly locked in place. 'What is this?' His kikaichu already swarmed to the source of Chakra but he was immediately worried when one landed on him.
The bugs on him were frozen just like he was.
He was now a source of food.
A frenzied insect bit into his hand, drew blood, and Shino couldn't even bother to wince.
'What will give first, my hand or the sand's Chakra?' He could only hope the second gave first. He personally liked having both hands. It would be rather difficult to perform hand seals with only one after all. 'Of course, I could always shape a second from kikaichu or have a prosthetic controlled by Chakra…I would need to learn the Puppet Technique for the best results or would I?' Shino forced himself to remain calm. The bugs would be drawn to him if he stressed himself.
He preferred one to one hundred if he was being honest.
"Admirable." Naruto looked down to Shino, his frozen form restraining the panic others would be feeling if their beasts turned against them. "Shino Aburame is rather impressive, is he not Legate?"
"He is Caesar." Sasuke nodded from where he stood. His Sharingan followed the progress of both the insects devouring the Chakra in Gaara's sand and the bug feasting on Shino himself.
'Shino…where is this power coming from?' Kurenai, for the first time in her life, wished her eyes could see Chakra. She had a suspicion on where Shino had gained such power but she wished she was wrong. Even if it was most likely the sole reason her student had lasted as long as he had. 'I know it's the only reason you can fight like this, match a killer like Gaara of the Sand, but you didn't do what I think you did, right? Please tell me you didn't accept anything from Naruto Uzumaki.'
The sand broke first. Shino squashed the bug on his hand and ignored the way it tore at his heart.
'Sorry my friend, I couldn't risk it. If you had returned to the swarm you may pass on traits undesirable to the swarm. Tastes are at times genetic after all.' Shino slipped his wounded hand into his pocket and ignored how warm his pocket was growing. He focused on the task at hand as the pheromones across his body once again protected him from his mad swarm. 'I was lucky only you decided to sample a foreign Chakra source. If any more had followed you, I would be dead.'
Shino sent his crazed swarm towards Gaara. Gaara responded with a new shield of sand to stop him. The Aburame expected as much and sent another wave of his swarm forward, the rest encircled the arena and several settled on the walls. A moment later they vanished from sight. Shino directed his swarm, having grown larger than he had thought possible, to begin attacking with a new direction in place.
"Secret Technique: Bug Bomb." The Chakra in the bugs bulged, took shape, and ruptured the bug that contained it when they landed on Gaara's sand sphere. The bombardment continued, masking the approach of others to the sphere of sand where they dropped onto it.
'His defense can handle multiple threats but certain things take priority.' Shino observed the fact in action. Hundreds of his bugs were exploding, their carapace turned into shrapnel. The sand stopped them instead of the bugs that gently landed on the sand, allowed it to consume them. Their shells were hardened via the massive amounts of Chakra they had absorbed. It wouldn't last long with what he had planned but it would last long enough.
"Why won't you die?" Gaara didn't scream with madness, he didn't shout in rage, his voice was a whisper of confusion.
"I've decided I won't die in this match. Why? Because I will wait for each of my teammates to achieve the rank of Chunin before I decide it is my time to die." Shino may have been smiling beneath the rim of his jacket or his face could still be blank. It was impossible for most to know.
'Kiba, Hinata, don't think I'll allow either of you to catch up to me easily.' Shino swung an arm up, sent his swarm to attack Gaara to no avail. They failed to burst through his defenses, failed to wound him, but that wasn't the plan. His other bugs would work to make sure their sacrifices were not in vain as they detonated, ruptured from within by the built up Chakra. 'I need to win this.'
Shino focused once more.
'The bugs on the walls are in place.' He briefly focused towards them, felt their muted signature. 'The bugs attacking him are keeping him distracted.' The longer this went on, the larger the blasts became as the kikaichu consumed by Chakra from sand Gaara could not afford to lose. He pumped more Chakra to it to keep it up and, if he was a normal Shinobi, would have exhausted himself by now. 'And the bugs that landed on his sand are about ready.'
"This has gone on long enough." Gaara and Shino spoke as one even if they didn't know it. "Time to end this."
Eggs the bugs that had been consumed by Gaara's sand played host to began to hatch one after the other. The beetle like creatures within began to feast on the unfamiliar Chakra even as Gaara's sand reacted as swiftly as it could. The bugs grew from multiple points, burst through the relatively thin barrier of sand just as Gaara closed his eyes.
'This match is over.' Naruto let his head fall and shook his head. 'There is nothing Aburame can do against this power.'
Shino seemed to be of the same mind as Naruto. He saw what was happening and lifted his hand into the air as the sphere of sand burst outward. Black marks consumed it, took hold of the and as clawed arms began to move through the air.
"Proctor, I forfeit." He turned and walked away without another word.
'I can't fight a Jinchuriki.'
"Ah, it was just getting to the interesting bit." Anko grinned as she landed on the sandy arena floor and reached to raise Gaara's hand. "I tho-Hey, what do you think you're doing?" A wall of sand repelled her hand. She tried again and received the same results. Gaara looked on as she tried twice more with nothing in his eyes. Anko was growing somewhat annoyed as she inched her hand forward and found it repelled once more. She glared at the air before sighing, throwing her hand up in a half-hearted gesture towards the redhead. "Gaara of the Sand wins his first round match against Shino Aburame. He advances to the second round."
AN:...