Gallivanting God
Chapter 10
In the next four days, Naruto had spent his time adjusting to the strength he had gained in the forest. The blonde had also spent his days around Karin, talking to her more. It felt great to talk to someone that he could consider "Family". It was a new feeling that Naruto didn't want to lose. Speaking of Karin. After his report to the Hokage yesterday, Naruto had spoken with Hiruzen privately afterwards. The end of their conversation left the room with a stifling feeling, which made the blonde walk away. Hiruzen had said to Naruto that he would try to sort the redhead's situation out but made no guarantees. That had been what caused Naruto to lose his temper.
The blonde stopped the memories of that encounter from surfacing. It was something that put him in a foul mood and today he didn't want that kind of mental baggage. Those who were in the tower had been ordered to station in the bottom floor. Team 7 were now stood in front of many of the Jonin in the village, alongside the Hokage and the first and second proctors. Around them were the other Genin who survived the forest. Surprisingly, Team Ten had made it. Even after the setback they were given, they managed to make it. Karin's team was obviously there, alongside the Team from The Hidden Sand. Then, both Team 8 and Team 3 from Konoha.
Naruto watched as Hyuga Neji of Team 3 looked over the others, his gaze darkening when it landed over Hinata. Naruto then observed that Kabuto and his team had made it. And finally, his gaze landed on the Genins of The Hidden Sound. The blonde had noticed that the one he knocked out before was looking at him with malice clearly broadcasting, to which he grinned back. Naruto still had a bad feeling about Kabuto but was stopped from using analyse on him by the Hokage clearing his throat. The second proctor of the exam, Anko, spoke.
"Nice job on passing the Second Exam you lot, with this done you're ready to move onto the Third Exam." Anko spoke as best as she could in front of the Hokage, this was technically a formal event. The purple haired Kunoichi counted that there was 24 people left out of the 60 that started the second exam. She felt great, Anko had kept her promise of cutting their numbers down by half. Although, this many did present a problem.
"But before that, Hokage-Sama would like to speak to you all first." Anko looked to her right and nodded to her leader.
"I too would like to offer you a congratulations. Before moving onto the Third Exam, there's something I would like to clear up with all of you." The Hokage took a drag from his pipe, letting the murmurs of the Genin fill the room before speaking again. "For the Chunin Exams, you were all told that these were held for a "friendly" competition between nations, to help the standard of each other's Shinobi rise. However, this all a façade, sweet words to cover up the real intention of these Chunin Exams."
Naruto recalled back when they met Kabuto, the bespectacled Genin had said these exams had a different purpose, but never explained it fully.
"Real intention?" Tenten of Team Three parroted loud enough for the Hokage and all in attendance to hear.
"To phrase it simply. The Chunin Selection Exams are a replacement for war between each nation. Back in more turbulent times, each village would select a place of neutral standing and battle there, this was the founding roots of the Chunin Exams. Those were all bloodbaths that usually ended in one victor."
Naruto and the other Genin were all shocked by that. Their murmuring began to build again, before Rock Lee of Team three spoke up.
"Hokage-sama! Does this mean that these examinations are not with the intention to promote us to the rank of Chunin?" His stiff posture and his way of speaking made some of the others laugh at him a bit, but the teen paid it no mind.
"No, these exams are still to find those who will become Chunin, however, they are also to preserve the delicate Power Balance between each of the five Great Nations as well as the minor villagers too. In these exams, all of your skills are tested. This is so that each nation can keep track of the upcoming generation of Shinobi in each village."
"How does that keep the Power Balance then?" Temari of the Sand queried. The Hokage looked towards her, then shifted his gaze back to the rest of the Genin.
"With each time these exams are held, the Feudal Lords of each country are invited alongside other numerous important guests. These people are all clients who give Shinobi Villages missions. Showing off the upcoming Shinobi's talents like this, is a declaration of strength to everyone else. Those Shinobi who perform well for their nation's sake, attract more attention and more missions. This in turn enables us to exert pressure on those who lose mission requests for a poor showing in the Exams. It is a show of power, which shows both, the strength of our military that we are developing and have presently."
Kiba of Team Eight, who was irritated by all this important stuff flying over his head couldn't hold in his voice any longer.
"So then why! Why do we have to fight for our lives!?" Hiruzen looked over the genin present, his expression becoming stone cold.
"The Nation's strength is the Village's strength. The Village's strength is the Shinobi's strength. And the true strength of Shinobi is only brought in a true battle, a deathmatch. This exam, is a place to see the strength of each nations own Shinobi, and a place to display that strength!" The Genin present all tightened their expressions.
"The reason why you all fight with your life on the line, is to give it that "meaning". It is for this reason that those who came before you fought in the same manner you do today. Each and every Shinobi present has a dream they fight for. This life-or-death battle, makes that dream worth fighting for!" Hiruzen lowered his pipe, carefully eyeing over the Genin before him. "This is a custom, where "Balance" is preserved by fighting and removing life. That is the concept of "Friendship" in this Shinobi world. I will once again, reiterate. This is a fight for your life, with the pride of the village and one's own dream at stake!" The aged leaders calm words struck a chord within those present.
Silence reigned over the room for a few seconds, many of the Genin thinking to themselves about many of the things said here. The silence was interrupted after 15 seconds.
"Anything is fine. Just tell us the content of that life-or-death battle." Gaara's dull monotone pierced the crisp silence around the Genin, the Hokage nodding to the young boy.
"Yes, this is where I would explain the third exam, but actually…" Hiruzen felt he had lost his momentum from his speech and trailed off embarrassingly. The man cleared his throat prompting another Leaf Jonin to appear in front of them all. Already on his knee, the man greeted the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, please allow me, Gekko Hayate, who was given the task of Judge, to explain." The Hokage gave his approval, which in-turn caused the Jonin to stand up.
"Nice to meet you all, everyone…" The man's greeting was cut short by a fit of coughing, causing many to question if the Jonin was physically able to be here. "To begin, there is something… I'd like all of you present here to do… and that would be to participate in a Preliminary Exam of the third exam, with said exams participation on the line in each battle." This sent everyone for a loop, and those who made it in today, on the fifth day couldn't help but speak out.
"Did you say, a preliminary!?" Shikamaru shouted, the Nara heir was looking forward to some relaxation before the Third Exam. Naruto looked towards Hayate with his face bunched up in confusion.
"Why do we have to fight in a preliminary? Surely we can take the third exam with everyone here?"
"To answer, I don't know if the First or Second exam were too easy or not, but, there are too many examinees who have made it through, obeying the rules set out for the Chunin Exams, we will hold a Preliminary set of matches to whittle that number down. As Hokage-sama said before, in the third exam we have important guests coming, as such, we can't afford to have long pointless battles. Our time is also limited as well." A majority of the Genin present couldn't stop the surprise flashing across their face, with some mutterings of disbelief scattered among them.
"Those of you who are not in top physical condition…" The man was interrupted by a particularly violent coughing fit, again, many questioning if he himself was in top physical condition. "Those of you who wish to drop out, please speak up now. The preliminary will begin immediately, so speak up whilst you can."
"Immediately, you say!?" Kiba questioned, his temper getting the better of him.
"But we just made it through the second exam…" Ino whined, her teammates expressions matching with her look of disbelief.
"So troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered behind her.
Everyone mentally prepared themselves, and many building up their resolve.
"I believe I may have forgotten to mention, it is individual battles from here on out, so please raise your hand if you wish to drop out." Sasuke smirked at the proctor haughtily.
"Who's going to quit!?" The Uchiha Survivor thought, giddy at the prospect of battle. The tension began to build in the room before someone raised their hand first.
"I-I would like to retire!" Naruto swivelled around so fast he almost broke his neck.
"Sakura!?" The blonde exclaimed.
"It's fine, Naruto. I know my limits; I can't go any further than here." The pinkette smiled towards Naruto, touched by his worry for her. But she wouldn't kid herself on any longer, she was finished here. Gekko crossed out Sakura's name, before looking around for any others, noticing one other genin with their hand raised he spoke to him.
"Yakushi Kabuto of Konoha, you too are forfeiting yes?"
"Y-yes, unfortunately I've used up all my chakra. My body is also quite sore as well."
"Very well, you two can either leave for medical attention or stay to watch. Either is fine."
Naruto used Analyse on Kabuto as he walked away from the arena. His eyes narrowed, that bad feeling the Genin gave him only got worse. "What a liar." The blonde seethed at Kabuto.
Chakra Capacity: 672,234/723,674
The blonde removed his gaze from Kabuto and turned back around to Hayate.
"Alright, everyone is now here to stay. There are now exactly, twenty-two people, so we will conduct eleven battles. The winners will advance to the third exam. There are no rules. You will fight until someone dies, collapses…" The man started to cough again. "or admits defeat... If you do not wish to die, please admit defeat right away. However, if I judge a match to be over there will be no more conflict. I don't want to needlessly increase dead bodies, so I will intervene and stop the match, or something to that effect."
Hayate then turned around to Anko and nodded. Understanding what Hayate meant, she spoke into the microphone fitted around her ear, and one of the slabs on the wall behind them, opened up to reveal a large screen.
"On this electronic signboard, names will be chosen at random and those two will partake in combat against each other immediately, now then, let's get this started and announce the two names of the first battle." Hayate explained. The screen flickered to life, various names running across it over and over continuously for 4 seconds, until it stopped. Stunned silence filled the room.
Nara Shikamaru vs Akimichi Choji
"Could the two displayed on the signboard, come forward." Hayate commanded the Genin, forcing them out of their shock.
"Oi! Is stuff like that even allowed! They're from the same team!" Kiba yelled, it wasn't right to have to fight your own team, that's what Kiba believed.
"It is all decided at random." Hayate reinstated, leaving no room for argument. The two Genin of Team Ten stood in front of Hayate, who raised his arms to both competitors.
"For the 1st battle, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji have been selected." Asuma Sarutobi couldn't help but feel like this was going to be a very quick match.
"We will now begin the first battle, could everyone aside from the two fighters, please move to the upper area." Hayate manged to hold in his coughing fit until he finished his sentence. Everyone then began to file their way up the stairs to watch over the coming battles. The Jonin's of their respective teams also went to the upper area. Hayate looked between the two Genin, seeing Choji's obviously disturbed face.
"Now the, please begin!" The man swung his arms down, signalling the start of the match. Choji looked ready to cry. He didn't want to fight his best friend, let alone try to hurt him, Shikamaru looked equally put out by the matchup.
"Oi, Choji, I-"
"I-I can't do it, Shikamaru! I don't want to hurt you! You're my best friend!" The Nara heir couldn't help but feel embarrassed, he had been somewhat prepared to go through with the fight. But, Choji would always be Choji. The biggest softy in all of Konoha's Genin squads. "Proctor, I forfeit this fight!" Choji exclaimed to Hayate. Who instantly called the match, causing foreign shinobi to snicker at the boy. Naruto looked down at Choji, and couldn't help but feel like the boy was better off being a civilian than a Shinobi.
"Man, Choji really isn't suited to be a Shinobi." Naruto spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, causing the rotund boy to flinch, whilst Shikamaru looked at the blonde heatedly. Sakura would usually try to reprimand Naruto for saying something so thoughtless, but she also thought it was true. She had been willing to fight Ino, who she would consider her best friend. With that match done with, Shikamaru and Choji joined back up with Team Ten in the upper stands. Once everyone was ready, the signboard began to flicker again before displaying the next names.
Rock Lee vs Tsurugi Misumi
Naruto watched as the bow cult Genin of Team Three jumped from his place in excitement, before leaping down to the floor below. The other was one of the other Genin on Kabuto's team. Both of the Genin met in front of the proctor.
"Oouh! It is most fortuitous that we have met this day! Let us have a wonderful fight, my youthful Konoha comrade!" Lee roared in passion, before setting into his Taijutsu stance. Misumi looked at the genin like he had a screw loose.
"Hmph, let's just get this started kid, I'll show you what a real Konoha-kin should fight like." With the foreplay out the way, Hayate quickly declared the match had begun, which resulted in Lee shooting off from his spot on the floor, taking the offensive. The bowl cut Genin lashed out a with a punch to his foe's solar plexus, the sensation of his punch connecting felt odd to Lee but continued on with a roundhouse kick to Tsurugi's face. That time, Lee felt the clear connection of hitting someone, but had no time to think about, as his fellow Konoha-nin began to wrap his body around Lee's. Slithering around the spandex clad teen, he began to exert pressure and constrict the Genin.
"W-what is this technique!? Your body has lost it's form!" Lee exclaimed in shock before recoiling at the pain shooting through his body. Tsurugi grinned underneath his face coverings.
"I am able to freely move any part of my body in any way I wish after bodily modification! Now, if you want to live, surrender! Otherwise, I'll break your neck." The Konoha-nin spoke with bloodthirst which sent Lee into shock. This was not a regular fight, or even a spar. It was a fight to the death, and the Genin felt like the man behind would carry out his threat. Adrenaline coursed through Lee's veins as his body moved into action. Bringing forth all the strength he could muster, Lee began to loosen the constricting limbs of Misumi. One of Lee's legs slipped through the constrictors grip and moving on instinct, the Genin brought his foot straight up and connected with Tsurugi's face. The pain of the kick caused the stretching Genin to let go of Lee and fall to the floor in a tangle of his own stretched limbs.
"I have figured out your weakness, stretchy-man! Whilst your limbs may be loose like a serpent's tongue, your skull has remained sturdy like stone! I will now commence with your defeat!" Lee charged towards Misumi who had gotten himself back together and stood up with a dazed head. Not being able to react to Lee's speed, the bowl cut Genin leapt into the air and began to spin.
"Konoha Senpu!" (Leaf Whirlwind) Lee called out the name of his technique as he struck out with a vicious kick to Misumi's head. When the kick connected, Lee forcefully rotated himself in the air again, kicking with his right leg this time. Coming back down to the ground, Lee settled into his fighting stance. Misumi had once again fallen to the ground and showed no signs of getting back up. Hayate looked over the Genin.
"Tsurugi Misumi has been knocked unconscious and is unable to continue…" Hayate's coughing fit returned. "Winner, Rock Lee!" The Genin who had fought broke out into a shout of passion, whilst his Jonin teacher, Might Gai praised him, saying his "flames of youth" burned brightly. The medical team was quickly brought out to the field and took the still unconscious Genin to the healing station. Many of the Genin from Konoha and even those from other countries, looked at Lee with an appraising eye. Sasuke himself was baffled.
"That weak looking guy, was able to beat his opponent in 3 hits? His physical strength must be amazing! Alongside the fact he showed no jutsu, he's kept his abilities hidden as well…" The last Uchiha analysed his fellow Genin, his thoughts were full of praise and even respect. Naruto had watched the fight with no interest, despite Misumi's unique disposition, the blonde did not think for one second that Lee would lose. With the field below cleared, the signboard flare to life again, it came to a stop and displayed the third matchup.
Tenten vs Hyugi Neji
Once again, it was a matchup between people from the same team. But this time, there was no looks of worry or anything. The two Genin – the other members of Lee's team – leapt down onto the field below. The two of them look ready to go at any second.
"The third match of the preliminaries, Tenten vs Hyuga Neji, will now begin!" Hayate called, prompting both the Genin into action. In a great show of speed and dexterity, Tenten filled her hands with Kunai and Shuriken before throwing them at Neji. The Hyuga eyed the trajectory of each bladed projectile and dodged appropriately. After dodging all the Shuriken and Kunai, he was forced onto the defensive as Tenten came at him with a long reaching metal staff. She wielded her staff like an expert, using it's range to her advantage. The young Hyuga weaved his way out of her strikes until she feinted him with a strike to the head, which he leaned back to avoid. When Tenten saw this, she poured Chakra into her limbs aiding in the speed of flipping her staff backwards, catching it and ramming the butt of it into Neji's gut, sending him off his feet and onto the concrete floor. The downed Hyuga had been surprised. His only experience in fighting Tenten was in Taijutsu spars, which he dominated every single one. But this was different, her reach was longer and she had access to her weapon arsenal.
Neji quickly picked himself up and decided to take this seriously. Activating his Bloodline Limit, the Byakugan, veins bulged around his eyes as his vision expanded. Tenten noticed the activation of the Hyuga Kekkei Genkai and palmed a scroll of her own. Unfurling the parchment, she channelled Chakra into it as she whipped it towards Neji. From the scroll emerged balls of spikes that threatened to skewer the Hyuga.
The calm face of Hyuga Neji changed into a smirk as he ran towards the projectiles. Leaping over them with ease, the brunette landed in front of his teammate, she tried to swat him away with her staff again, but the Hyuga with his Byakugan active had more vision on her and could see her strikes and bodilyy motions, enabling him to predict her movements. With great patience, Neji waited until Tenten tried to thrust her staff at him again. After an extended barrage, the kunoichi did indeed try a chakra enhanced thrust again, but Neji, with great precision avoided it and struck many of the Chakra Points on the girls torso before hitting her with a palm strike in the gut.
"Sorry, Tenten. But we both know there was no helping this outcome." The Hyuga spoke in a condescending tone, whilst his teammate winced in pain on the ground.
"I forfeit!" She called as she clutched her stomach and coughed up blood, the medical team immediately rushing on the scene and taking Tenten away.
"The winner of the Third Match, is Hyuga Neji." Hayate proclaimed the result of the match. Naruto watched the Hyuga come up the stairs with the feeling of disdain building up. He knew of the Hyuga Taijutsu style and how it affected the body, that last palm strike to Tenten's stomach had severely damaged her insides. Even Naruto wouldn't do something like that to his own teammates. The blonde watched the screen above flickering through the names of the remaining competitors. When it stopped Naruto couldn't stop the smile coming over his face.
Karin vs Kin Tsuchi
"Go get 'em, Karin-chan!" Naruto cheered for his clanmate as she landed down on the floor. Before on the way to the tower, Naruto had talked about the Sound Genin that he fought. And told her of Kin's Genjutsu ability. However, Karin was very adept at Sensing Chakra, so she would know when a genjutsu was trying to be used on her, especially since she knew it operated off sound. The redhead blushed and looked back towards with a smile on her face, causing all of the Konoha Genin to look at him strangely. Kakashi, who was behind him, spoke up.
"Naruto, who's the girl? I never knew you had any contact with people from The Grass Village?" Naruto looked back towards his teacher and decided not to lie about it.
"I met Karin-chan when I got separated from Sasuke and Sakura in the forest. She's got tons of Chakra!" Kakashi looked over the girl again and noticed her red hair and red eyes as she was still looking towards Naruto with a blush on her face. The scarecrow Jonin could only think of one collective of people who had those genetic traits. "And ya know what the best part is Kakashi-sensei? She's got the family name I've got! Uzumaki!" Naruto's voice carried all over the arena, Hiruzen of course already knew about Karin, but the other Jonins were surprised. Hayate cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"We will now begin the 4th match of Kin Tsuchi vs Karin. Begin!"
Karin ran towards the black-haired girl in a full-on sprint. She was very aware of the girls genjutsu and was ready to dispel it at a moments notice. Despite only being used for her healing abilities, Karin had a lot of physical strength. Kin threw her senbon towards the redhead, who dodged them. The bells rang out as they impacted into the wall, when Karin heard that, she immediately built up and dispersed her chakra shouting "Kai!" (Release). Kin was shocked when the girl in front of her already knew of her auditory Genjutsu, and was about to question how the girl knew when she was socked in the jaw. The genjutsu user stumbled back from the punch, having to use defensive Taijutsu.
"How the hell did you know about my Genjutsu!?" Kin demanded as she unsuccessfully tried to deflect a punch to her stomach. Karin then whipped her leg back and punted Kin in the temple, causing the poor girl to see stars. It felt like getting hit by a bag of bricks.
"You fought Naruto-kun in the forest, he was getting my team a scroll and told me of the fight!" Karin supplied to the dazed girl, before bringing out her kunai. Just before Karin brought it down on Kin's heart, Hayate quickly disarmed Karin.
"That's enough, Kin Tsuchi is no longer capable of battle, thus, Karin is the winner." Before Karin could even turn around to look at Naruto, she was pulled into a wild hug from behind, causing her to let out an eep again. Naruto had used a shunshin to get behind her.
"Nice going, Karin-chan! You totally beat her ass!" Naruto laughed as he spun her around before putting her down on the ground again. Karin couldn't stop herself from laughing along with Naruto. Naruto then walked with Karin back up to the stands, telling her she did great. The redhead made her way back to her Team. Naruto came back up to join his Team with a big toothy grin. Everyone found it strange how attached to the girl Naruto was. Although, Sasuke understood it somewhat. The next fighters were already announced by the time Naruto had joined back up with his team.
Abumi Zaku vs Temari of the Desert
The sound Genin hopped down to the arena and was impatiently tapping his foot.
"Oi,oi! Hurry up and get down here and stop wasting my time! I've got a promotion to get!" The Oto-Nin grinned, his fingers flexing. Temari then hopped over the railing herself and landed down with grace. Her expression was calm as she looked over her opponent. Already analysing how he might fight and taking his attitude into account as well. "Seriously, some chick with an oversized fan? Don't let it slow ya down girlie, I'm about to blow you away back to the Desert!" Zaku taunted, which caused Temari's temper to being rising.
"Oh, big talk for a Minor Village Ninja. You seem like nothing special, so I'll wrap this up quick for you." Temari taunted the Genin with a haughty smile, not actually caring about his village, but looking to get into his head. Zaku began to get angrier, a mere woman was demeaning him, and his Great Leader's Village.
"With this, the 5th match, will now begin!" Hayate jumped back, having already read the profiles of both the Genin in front of hm and knew of their destructive ninjutsu. And it was for the best as Zaku immediately raised his arms and shouted his technique's name.
"Zankuha!" (Decapitating Air Waves) An explosive force of sound shot out from the small holes in Zaku's palms. Temari reacted quickly and dodged by running to the side. She didn't need to see what it did, she heard the techniques name. She then began to analyse the Jutsu after it impacted the wall behind her.
"Hmm, a blast of sound propelled by the user's Chakra. And clearly, it does not lack in destructive power either." During her thoughts, Zaku had tried to use the same technique again and again, with Temari nimbly dodging each blast.
"Are you just gonna run the whole fuckin' time!? Huh!?" Zaku demanded hotly. Temari did not rise to his provocations, instead she had been taking note of how long it took him to fire his Jutsu. Once he fired and she dodged, there was roughly two seconds to take advantage of before Zaku fired again.
The Sound Genin fired his technique again, with Temari once again dodging. Then, she used the fan on her back to attack. To most other Genin it looked like she just put her hand on it, but to Naruto, Sasuke, Rock lee, Neji and the Jonin, they saw her open the fan and launch a Wind Jutsu at the Sound Genin. Zaku was so caught up in the pattern of her dodging and his own rising impatience, that he didn't see her actually attack. When he was hit by the blast of wind it took him completely off guard as Zaku was sent rocketing back into the wall of the arena.
"Well would you look at that, you're just all talk. Pathetic." Temari taunted him, which made the Genin even angrier, Zaku picked himself up, but was barraged again by another blast of wind.
"Hmm, Isn't her fan unfurling more?" Sakura observed as Temari was now holding the fan, it was unfurled showing two purple dots on it. Naruto had been observing Temari's Jutsu this whole time.
"Wow, her Wind Style is really strong. Not to mention the amount of control she has over it. I guess that's what you'd expect from someone of the Land of Wind." Naruto admired her skills as he watched Zaku get back up.
"What's the matter, Naruto? Falling for her?" Sasuke taunted the blonde. Naruto looked towards the black-haired teen, knowing Sasuke was trying to rile him up.
"For a Kunoichi like that? Oh, hell yes." Naruto responded, immediately afterwards, everyone heard the sound of metal bending. Looking towards the direction of it, you could see Karin's hand crushing the guard rail. When Naruto looked at her she blushed, smiled and waved at him using the hand she destroyed the railing with. Naruto waved back at her with a smile too.
"Man, she's strong. Wonder why she broke the railing like that?" Naruto seriously questioned it but couldn't think of an answer. Back in the arena below, Zaku had gotten up from the second blast. But Temari, who was a tiny bit flustered from Naruto's admission, immediately launched her Jutsu.
"Futon: Kamaitachi no jutsu!" (Wind Style: Sickle Weasel Technique) Temari guided the Wind Chakra into the shape of a tornado that swallowed Zaku up in the middle of it. The Genin's body began to litter with cuts all over, soon enough, his blood began to seep into the vortex of wind before Temari stopped the Jutsu. Closing her fan up, she placed it directly beneath where Zaku was landing. Everyone couldn't stop the cringe they performed when hearing the sound of his back making contact with the butt of her fan. The Sound Genin coughed out blood before falling unconscious.
"Abumi Zaku is no longer able to continue battle, Temari of the Desert is the winner." Temari threw Zaku off her fan, leaving the medics to pick him up. Naruto watched in fascination as she walked back to her team. On her way up the stairs, she looked towards him and winked at him. Naruto smiled back at her and gave a thumbs up.
"Oi, Naruto stop looking at your crush and pay attention to the board." Naruto grinned at Sasuke, completely unashamed and observed who was going to be next. The names stopped being shuffled and were now finalised
Hyuga Hinata vs Takami
The fight itself barely lasted a minute. Takami, the other member of Karin's team besides Shigeri, was extremely inept at Taijutsu. Which was bad for him because the Hyuga Clan lived and breathed in Taijutsu. Throughout the years at the academy, Naruto had seen this same shy girl many times. She was always either red in the face or stuttering whenever they spoke. So, it was a surprise for him to see such a strong, unbending fighter. Hinata had quickly shut down the boy's Tenketsus, disabling his use of Chakra. At that point, Hayate called the match. As Hinata walked by him, Naruto whispered to her a message of encouragement.
"Nice fight!" The blonde smiled, and her reaction made Naruto confused again. She went red in the face and smiled at him. Returning to her team, Naruto saw the looks his team was giving him, the pity in their faces irritated him.
"Huh? You guys wanna say something?" His teammates all shook their heads whilst Naruto turned around to see who was next.
Yamanaka Ino vs Dosu Kinuta
"Well this is going to be over quick." Naruto thought to himself. Naruto had completely destroyed Dosu's gauntlet and his forearm. Even if he was a superior fighter, there was no way he was accustomed to fighting with one arm. Soon enough it ended with Ino catching Dosu off guard and using her Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Transfer Technique), she made Dosu surrender from his body.
Sakura was really fired up about her friend doing well. Naruto had noticed that Sakura and Ino got along a lot better recently. The blonde figured their fight in the forest had to do with it. Sakura did tell him about how it went, but not much of what was said.
"Hell yeah, let's do this Akamaru!" Kiba hollered at the top of his voice leaping down to the floor below. Naruto had been too busy watching Sakura and Ino get along normally to notice the match-up that was announced. Hearing Kiba, the blonde looked at who he was against.
Akado Yoroi vs Inuzuka Kiba
The blonde was getting slightly impatient now. Including all the current fights, this had meant there had been 8 out of the 11 total matches possible. Naruto couldn't stop his posture from slumping. He really wanted to fight someone. In the arena below, Hayate called the start of the match, spurring both combatants into action. Kiba quickly made use of his Shikakyu no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique). Despite Kiba's lesser intelligence among the graduating rookies, after being tagged in passing by Yoroi, he realised his opponent was capable of absorbing Chakra. Deciding to end it quickly, Akamaru and Kiba both finished the Genin off with a combination Taijutsu of the Inuzuka Clan known as the Jūjin Taijutsu Ōgi: Gatsūga (Beast Human Taijutsu Secret Art: Fang Passing Fang). The medical team carried off Yoroi's body after Hayate declared Kiba's victory. Kiba celebrated his victory with his team, whilst everyone else waited for the next match up. Everyone watched the screen with great interest, and when the names came up, you could see that had Naruto stopped slouching anymore.
Gaara of the Desert vs Shigeri
The redhead of The Sand Village performed a Suna Shunshin and appeared down in the arena below. Shigeri himself leapt over the railing and landed down. The two Genin stared each other down, but Shigeri felt unnerved by the cold dead stare of Gaara in front of him, it reminded him of the look Naruto gave him in the froest. Hayate quickly declared the start of the match. Gaara calmy stood with his arms folded, drawing Shigeri's ire. The Grass Genin charged towards the Sand Shinobi with a kunai in hand. Right as Shigeri was going to plunge his Kunai into Gaara's chest, a barrier of sand erupted and protected the young Genin. Shigeri couldn't contain his surprise at the fact the sand appeared out of nowhere. That same sand travelled along the Genin's kunai up to his arm and slowly began to encroach him. Before Hayate could make the call to end the match there, another coughing fit seized him. This allowed Gaara to perform one of his deadliest techniques.
"Sabaku Soso!"(Sand Waterfall Funeral) The cold voice of the Sand Shinobi rung throughout the arena. There was no scream from Shigeri, as his death was instantaneous. The only thing that remained of Shigeri were the parts of his flesh that were scattered around the arena. His blood sprayed down like rain as the sand crushed him, leaving no remains. There were horrified screams around from the spectators whilst many bore grim expressions. Hayate finally brought his coughing fit under control but had seen what had happened the whole time.
"T-the winner… is Gaara of the Desert." The Jonin proctor called as Gaara shunshined back up to his siblings, who kept a wide berth from himself. Naruto had watched the fight with interest but was unrewarded for it.
"Then again, Intel is a reward in and of itself, and now I know he uses Sand… wait… couldn't I have used my new analyse to figure that out…?" Naruto felt like crying. It was hard to remember his "Analyse" skill had been upgraded and could now see people's jutsu. The signboard flickered to life again. The names were raced through like before, and then stopped.
Uzumaki Naruto vs Kankuro of the Desert
Naruto grinned excitedly; he had been waiting patiently for this the whole time after all. But the blonde still had some patience left in him, and calmy walked down the stairs to the fighting stage. By the time the blonde had gotten to the bottom of the staircase, his opponent Kankuro was already waiting in the arena. Naruto walked up casually, looking towards Kankuro the whole time. When Naruto stood in place in front of the Sand-Nin, the older teen looked over the blonde and couldn't hide the cocky smirk that came over him.
"Hey, brat. This time you don't have that little brat to use a shield. Besides, what's with that outfit, you trying to be a monk or something?"
"I used as a shield? I seem to recall you were the one trying to harm the Hokage's Grandson for running into you by accident." Naruto smirked back at Kankuro. "And let's not talk about my clothes, you're still stealing your sisters make-up and her pajamas." Naruto grinned, this talking was wearing his patience thin, he wanted to fight. Kankuro was pissed off immediately by that.
"It ain't make-up, it's warpaint! And this ain't my sisters either!" Naruto made a disbelieving expression before Hayate coughed, getting their attention.
"Since you two have enough time to talk, let the match begin!" Naruto instantly used Analyse on Kankuro again and looked at his Jutsus. The blonde then discovered Kankuro could use puppets. The blonde deduced Kankuro was weak in Taijutsu but didn't want to end his fun so soon. He has finally gotten to fight someone after all.
"You know, runt, I heard a bunch of rumours going around during the exams, that you're Kakashi of the Sharingan's star pupil. I don't see how, you're just a fresh genin brat after all." Kankuro sneered at the blonde, whilst Naruto cooled his gaze.
"If you were a ninja, then you should learn to not underestimate your opponent's so much, crossdresser." Naruto taunted Kankuro as he made Shadow clones beside himself. Kankuro was positively seething at that and came in close to Naruto. The blonde instantly ran through five Hand Seals before expelling his jutsu.
"Futon: Daitoppa!" (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) Kankuro was swept up by the intense winds expelled from Naruto and was slammed into the statue of the Ram seal behind. Immediately many could make out the broken form of Kankuro, his legs and arms twisted at odd angles. Many cringed at that, but Naruto knew better, he had switched to a Sensory Mode immediately after Kankuro slammed into the statue. The blonde had to focus slightly , but could tell, Kankuro's chakra signature was not the body that impacted the stone, but rather, the one in the bandages. The body of Kankuro fell to the ground, with him remaining unmoving for five seconds, Hayate was about to call the match until the prone form of Kankuro launched Senbon and Kunai at Naruto, who easily dodged out the way of them.
"Come on, crossdresser, I can sense that the body that hit the statue wasn't you, I know you're the one in the bandages." Naruto called out Kankuro, whose form twitched in the bandages, before they unfurled and revealed the real Kankuro, perfectly unharmed.
"How did you know that it wasn't me? Even through sensing, Karasu's chakra signature is almost identical to mine." Kankuro immediately asked, his eyes narrowed.
"I spied on you during the forest, or rather, my shadow clones did. I sent out hundreds of them soon after we got in." Naruto lied to the boy and everyone in front of him, getting a prompt for the system for a successful use of the "Lying" and "Acting" skills. Even his own teammates believed it, thinking that he did it when they were separated.
"Che, you got lucky is all kid, but now I don't need to hold back anymore." Kankuro supplied with a healthy dose of arrogance in his words. Before Kankuro could even move his fingers, he heard Naruto's voice behind him.
"I was thinking the same thing." With a chakra enhanced kick to the head, Naruto sent Kankuro careening into the wall of the arena. Kankuro's head then rattled off the stone as his figure slumped down, his pupped also falling down to the floor. The Genin in the stands were floored, they hadn't seen him move. The Jonin themselves were also stunned, none more so than Kakashi himself. Before the Chunin Exams, Naruto had been at a Chunin Level, in all aspects of himself. But now, Kakashi observed both the speed and power of someone of Jonin class. The Copy-Nin smiled at the blonde.
"To have that kind of speed without a shunshin, he's already started his journey to surpass his predecessors… me included."
Back in the arena, Hayate called the match declaring Naruto to be the winner, which allowed the Genin to return the viewing area. Walking back to his team, Naruto saw Sasuke look at him with determined eyes. The blonde returned the stare with a grin. After Kankuro was taken off by the Medical team, the final matchup was announced.
Uchiha Sasuke vs Aburame Shino
Both of the Genin walked down to the proctor. With them standing in front of each other, their stoic visages did not betray any of their internal thoughts and processes. Hayate called for the match to begin, which saw Sasuke leaping forward to engage Shino in Taijutsu. The Aburame heir did not hesitate, the boy also met Sasuke in the middle, and began their exchange. Kakashi who was watching, was curious as to what Sasuke what do.
"Sasuke could be in trouble…" Kakashi stated to himself, earning surprise from the Jonin and Genin around him.
"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's brow crinkled in slight worry for her teammate.
"I don't think Sasuke knows, that engaging Shino in Taijutsu was the worst decision he could have made there." Kakashi's lone eye narrowed, wanting to see if Sasuke could overcome his error.
"I mean, I know Shino's strong and all Kakashi-sensei, even though I hate to say it, Sasuke was the Rookie of the Year! There's no way that bastard could lose!" Kiba countered Kakashi hotly, the Jonin looked at Kiba and smiled.
"As his teammate, you should know what clan Shino hails from. And as such, you should know why it was bad for Sasuke to engage in Taijutsu against him." Further conversation was interrupted as Sasuke's pained grunt was heard in the arena. The Last Uchiha could feel his strength leaving him, his breathing becoming laboured. The raved-haired teen had to deactivate his Sharingan as well.
"What did you do!?" Sasuke demanded through gritted teeth.
"I did not do anything myself, I merely engaged you in Taijutsu. However, the reason for your query is because you feel your strength deteriorating, yes? That is because, my Kikaichū (Parasitic Destruction Insects) have landed on your body and are absorbing your Chakra as we speak." Shino's calm and monotone voice reverbed throughout the arena. Sasuke's eyes widened, being wary of the few insects that he could now feel on his body. Quickly shaking them off, even squashing some, Sasuke could feel his Chakra no longer being drained, he didn't have much left in the tank after how much they took. The Uchiha was about to make distance between him and Shino until he heard a noise behind himself. Turning around, Sasuke saw copious amounts of Kikaichu behind him cutting off his backpedal. Sasuke turned around to Shino again.
"Surrender, Sasuke-san, otherwise you will lose here with your chakra drained." The cogs started to turn in Sasuke's head, and then, the Last Uchiha smirked.
"So you like your little bugs, huh, Shino?" Sasuke mocked in rhetoric, before jumping into the air and running through Hand Seals as fast as he could. "Let's see how you handle this then!" Sasuke thought to himself whilst outwardly he called out his technique. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique). The searing fireball impacted the ground shortly after leaving Sasuke's mouth, leaving a wake of devastation underneath him. The raven-haired teen landed back on the ground and got ready to fight again. Once the smoke in the area cleared, Sasuke saw Shino standing far away from the blast area. Tensing himself as Shino raised his right hand.
"Proctor, I would like to forfeit. Why you ask? Because I deemed the rest of this battle to be too much of a loss to my colony." Everyone stared at Shino in shock, whilst Kakashi smiled.
"Congratulations Sasuke, for figuring out how to threaten an Aburame." Kakashi praised Sasuke to himself, whilst the Last Uchiha was still down in the arena.
"Alright, with this, Uchiha Sasuke wins, and the preliminaries of the Chunin Selection Exams are over. Could the winners of all previous rounds come down please." Hayate spoke to all in attendance with the Genin complying with his order. A minute later, all the winners stood in a line. The sickly Jonin now stood in front of them, with a box beside him on a stool.
"If you all could please reach into this box and read out the number you pull." The Genin were confused by this, but nonetheless complied. After reading out all their numbers, Gekko wrote something onto the paper in his hand.
"Alright, with this, the matchups for the Third Exam have been decided. Please remember this." Hayate turned around the sheet of paper he was holding and displayed it to the winning Genin. The young Shinobi couldn't believe their eyes.
"The third exam is a tournament!? You have to be kidding me man…" Shikamaru complained.
"Yes, this was the reason for these preliminaries, to whittle down the numbers for the final tournament. I will now declare the match ups for each fight." Many of the Genin had already saw who they were fighting, but what Hayate was doing was in line with the rules and regulations of the Chunin Exams. "The first match will be, Inuzuka Kiba vs Hyuga Neji. The second match will be, Nara Shikamaru vs Yamanaka Ino." That caused Shikamaru to groan, lamenting his luck.
"Why do I have to fight my other teammate again…geez troublesome…" Shikamaru grumbled lowly.
"The third match will be, Uzumaki Naruto vs Gaara of the Desert, however, because of having one extra competitor, Uzumaki Naruto will also fight Rock Lee."
Naruto couldn't stop the excited grin on his face, to be able to fight who he fought was the two strongest Genin of the exam, was exciting.
"Alright, this is gonna be great!" Naruto shouted, hearing a roar of approval from Rock Lee too.
"The fourth match will be, Hinata Hyuga vs Temari of the Sand, and the fifth match will be, Karin vs Uchiha Sasuke."
The last competitors of their matchups stayed silent, waiting for the proctor to speak again.
"Now, with the matchups done, I will hand you over to Hokage-sama once again." Hayate started spluttering again as he stepped to the side. Hiruzen waited for the Jonin's coughing to settle down before speaking to the Genin.
"Thank you, Hayate. Now, to explain the Third Exam. As you all saw, it is a tournament. It will be held one month from now."
"Huh? We aren't fighting now?" Naruto asked, that was the pattern most of the other exams followed, doing them right after the previous one.
"Yes, this is to allow us a period of preparation. For you all to better yourself to best your enemies." The third stated.
"What does that mean, I don't get what you're saying!?" Kiba queried his leader, who took a drag from his pipe.
"Quite simply, this month-long period is to allow you to analyse what you have learned about your opponents today and prepare for it. It is also to allow the Feudal Lords and the other important guests to arrive in Konoha. During this time, the matchups and participants will be announced to the public, which will let them build expectations and even stake money on who can win." The Hokage supplied the Genin, letting the information sink into their minds.
"So, this month-long period is both for business and for the competitors? It allows us time to create counter measures against our opponents, but it also creates entertainment for the spectators." Naruto concluded on the information given to them, looking forward to this period of training.
"You will have one month to train yourselves and develop more techniques and strategies, use it wisely!" The Hokage finished with a smile on his face, looking over the faces of the future. The Third had counted that there was 8 finalists from Konoha, two from Suna and one from Kusa. "This year, the finals are going to be very special, I feel." Hiruzen's gaze rested over the Genin as they all walked away, out the building.
AN: Lengthy Chapter. Tis really all I can say. The speed of the updates are going to drastically slow down, I've been on holiday from my job this past week, and I'm back today.
Absolute madman Chad guest reviewer said the Kyuubi was not called Kyubi no Yoko. Clearly he's never watched the English Sub of the anime, where Hiruzen who narrates the Nine-Tails attack calls it that, and Mizuki when revealling it to Naruto says "You are the Kyubi no Yoko".
I've started to put thoughts in italics now, so the difference between speech and thoughts looks like this
"Sasuke, raaa, you know you had mad peng tings in the Academy right?"
"Raa, Kiba thinks he can stand up to the big man, that's peak."
Some guy who reviewed Chapter 7 said this "I love the concept of gamer stories, but when set in the real world you shouldn't have HP be a stat... that means he can die from being hit in the toe enough times. Luck is another stat I dislike... how is he lucky?" Where is this real world bro?
This is set in a fictional world. HP is part of The Gamer system, do you know why they have HP values? Because they are given the perspective of a Game Character, and what do Game Characters have? Hit Points. HP. It's a way to denote how close you are to beating any kind of enemy or how much damage you hav taken. The Luck stat in and of itself is used to determine drop rates and other such things of items, like, if Naruto was to go into a dungeon, and the final loot had a 0.25% chance to be some God Tier, he would get that. Luck is in all aspects of anyones life, the people you meet, the paths you take. Luck is an aspect of it all, and you may think it doesn't, but it does. Luck boils down to choice, and you always have to make a choice.
That being hit in the toe thing is borderline idiotic btw. If that persons attacking power and potency is enough to overcome Naruto's defences and such, then it's fair that they can kill him like that. Achilles weakness was the heel he was held by when dipped in the River styx. Achilles then, by someone else's luck, gets an arrow shot into his heel, which kills him. Being ignornant of the effects of Luck and what having "Luck" really means, you should educate yourself more on these things before you speak. I don't claim to know all of it myself, I barely know anything about it.
I do not Speak Spanish, So i had to run this review through Google Translate. I am very sure I do not want this to be a harem. I could easily make it a harem, but I will not. Temari does not show romantic interest in Naruto, she just thinks he looks good. Hinata at this point admires Naruto for his never give up attitude. And well, Karin certainly does have an infatuation with him. But Naruto does not see any of these people, or any girls as romantic partners. The concept of Romance and Love is lost on him as he does not understand it. It's perfectly summed up in "The Last: Naruto the movie." Naruto didn't know the difference between liking a girl and liking the food he ate.
And finally, the review I got, 7 hours ago as of writing this Note. If the person who reviewed Chapter 5 reads this, I only have a few things to say to you. You have judged me as projecting my own fantasies of being a "Badass" on Naruto and portraying him as uncaring. You do not understand the "Naruto" I write. I do not have any such fantasies of being a badass. I am perfectly aware of who I am. An ordinary male who's favourite show is Naruto and it's main character. I have absolutely nothing special going for me. I care deeply for my family and friends, and people. I also know that I am a prick. But, am I a prick for being outspoken? You called me a prick for all my author notes up to and including chapter 5.
Going over those Notes, I can see how you can come to that conclusion. But when I say, I don't care for "reviews" I mean ones like you've submitted. Blatant defamation of my character and "Comments" that don't show any understanding of what I've presented so far. I refuse people's suggestions because I have a clear cut idea of what i want from my story, if they want to have those idea's they're perfectly capable of writing their own story with those suggestions of their own.
But, you, who is quite clearly an LGBTQ+ snowflake - I checked your favourite stories - I'm surprised you have the nerve to judge me. Go back to reading your favourite Male Haikyuu ship rim each other, or how the Nine-Tails refers to Naruto with "Proper Pronouns". I don't have a prejudice against the LGBTQ+ as a collective, I just dislike you, so don't go try spinning my words to satisfy your fragile sense of identity as a man or woman, or whatever the hell "Pronoun" you use to make yourself feel more at ease with the world. You would be slobbering all over me with praise if I published my Infinite Stratos story, which includes Ichika and Charlotte being an actual gay male couple.
No doubt, I'm gonna have some more hateful comment "reviews" come in for this, with some guy trying to defend the LGBTQ+. Don't care. Or even some guy saying "But your Naruto doesn't have a set character, he flips between personalities all the time" or something similar to that effect, saying I don't understand the character i've sought to make and develop. Naruto does care about the people around him, just those who he respects and forms bonds with.
Anyway. The match-ups for these preliminaries were entirely random, I just used a tournament thing on google after using "tournament chooser" as a search term. The matchs up for the Chunin Exams, bar Rock Lee fighting Naruto were also done on that tournament thingy.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.
Adios.