Chapter 12: The fights of a generation
And here we go ladies and gentleman it is time for what you have all been waiting for, the chunin exams. Lets get right into it!
(Morning of the Chunin Exams)
"Naruto get up we have to meet someone at the front gate." Naruto heard the voice of Minato saying, causing the boy to open his eyes and see his father.
"Huh whats up Tou-san?" Naruto asked as Minato smiled.
"We gotta meet the tsuchikage you and Kurostuchi are coming with me." He explained as naruto groaned but got up nonetheless much to temari's annoyment.
Getting dressed Naruto decided to wear black ninja pants and a burnt orange long sleeve shirt. Overtop of that was a blue vest with a white puffy collar that held all his scrolls and supplies. Naruto also decided to wear his katana as his waist instead of sealing it. To round out the outfit he had grey bracers on his arm with a series of storage seals on his arms and gray leg guards.
Leaving his room he saw his father and Kurostuchi making small talk at the front door once he made it to them they set out leaving at a shinobi's pace for the front gate which didn't take them long to make to. There was already a morning crowd watching everyone enter and leave the village.
Setting down near the gate the three watched before spotting a man floating their way with an anbu leading the way and two Iwa jounin. Smiling Minato stepped out in front of the delegation as anbu and jounin appeared to make sure the path was clear of civilians.
"Hello Onoki-Dono it's good to see you once again and in better times." Minato said, extending his hand for the Tsuchikage who stared at it for a while before he hesitantly extended a hand of his own.
"Minato-Dono I'm happy we could come to this agreement… This must be your son Naruto, he's almost the spitting image of you." Onoki said as the delegation began to enter the city much to the surprise of civilians and shinobi alike, many of which lost family to Iwa in the war.
"So I've been told by many." Minato said with a smile as the two teens fell in behind the two kage.
"Kurotsuchi I'm sorry that I didn't tell you but I wasn't sure how you would take it." Onoki said sadness and regret in his voice.
"I forgive you gramps… Just never do something like this to me again." Kurostuchi told her grandpa, causing the old man to smile as they walked through the rather quiet street.
"Jeez old man not many people seem to like you around here." Naruto spoke up causing Onoki to sigh and nod.
"Iwa and konoha have very strained and tense relations after fighting 3 wars against each other but I hope to change that." He said before long the group made it to the hokage tower.
"Naruto I believe it is time for you to make your way to the arena, good luck me and your mom will be rooting for you!" Minato said, giving his son a hug.
"Kurotsuchi will go with you… your clothes will be delivered to where you're staying." Onoki said shooting his granddaughter a smile before the two kage walked into the tower. Turning Naruto led Kurostuchi to the Konoha Arena.
(In the Kage tower)
"I'm surprised you'd warn us like that but… thank you Onoki." Minato said with a smile.
"I couldn't sit idly by and let them try and destroy your village… I thought about leaving you to the wolves but I realized that I would be grateful if you came to the support of my village." Onoki said, returning the smile before entering a room that was sealed behind them. In the room was Shikaku, Ay, Rasa, Ao, B, Shibuki, and one last member.
This member was a tall, slender woman with fair skin. She has green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin. She wore a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that fell just below the knees. It seems to be closed at the front with a zipper, and is kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covers up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wears a mesh armour that covers slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wears a skirt in the same colour as her dress and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wears a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left along with high-heeled sandals, shin-guards reaching up over her knees, dark blue nail polish on her fingers and toes, and is usually shown with purple lipstick.
"Onoki, this is Mei Terumi leader of the Kiri rebels." Minato said as the two nodded to each other.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Onoki-sama." Mei said with a bow.
"And to you as well I'm sure everyone here has been following the civil war in Kiri and are happy to hear of a potential end to the civil war." Onoki said, causing the Mei to smile and nod as everyone took their seats at a large u-shaped table around a map of the Elemental continent.
"So according to Onoki's intel Orochimaru has created an alliance of almost every major nation with a military with plans to invade Konoha today. We plan to repel this initial force at the walls or at least hold them as far back as possible. To lure them in we will keep the chunin exams going as promised." Shikaku explained as all the leaders in the room nodded.
"Once this invasion force has been repelled we begin the counter attack. Every nation has been cut off from each other except for Iwa through Taki. Once the chunin exams are over we will send a platoon from our 1st jounin battalion with each of you to make sure you get home and coordinate the fronts on each end." Shikaku explained getting another nod.
"Will we expect reinforcements from Konoha?" Asked Mei.
"Once our defenses are set and the front line stabilizes a little and our battalions are mobilized we will send the newly created 3rd regiment to join the Kiri rebels." Shikaku said as he moved a Leaf piece into Kiri.
"Each nation will have to fight onto their own until more breaches are formed but we will strive to link up with each other." Shikaku said. "But for now we will send what we can but we can't promise much except to kiri." Shikaku said as all the kage nodded.
"Sorry to interrupt but we have another problem on the horizon that might require our combined support." They heard the voice of jiraiya as he entered the room.
"Oh Jiraiya sensei I thought you were going to be out on the wall?" Minato asked, confused to see his master here.
"Mah Mah I have a clone there taking care of things I just received important intel
from my spy network… Has everyone heard of the akatsuki?" Jiryiya asked. Getting a nod from every he sighed before saying it.
"They've taken an interest in being more than just a mercenary group of S-class missing nin. For some reason they are preparing to capture jinchuriki and by extension their biju. My intel is saying maybe four years at the earliest before they're even close to ready to make a move but there's something deeper to what they want.. My spy network can't figure it out and we need a spy within the organization." Jiryiya explained as the kage were all troubled.
"Four years is almost all we have?" A asked as the sanin nodded. "Well why don't we take them out now?" He asked.
"We could but the problem is we have no idea where their hideouts are and they're constantly on the move they also always move in pairs." He explained as the kage looked between each other.
"Everything must go to the war front for now once the war is over we can speak on how to deal with the akatsuki." Minato said as the kage nodded however this didn't sit well with anyone.
(Konoha Arena)
All 14 of the contestants stood silently in the waiting room of the Konoha arena they checked and then double checked all their gear over and over again as they prepared to make a show of their abilities.
They could hear the crowd forming over their heads as their nerves only served to increase from the sound. Each contestant was here to prove they were ready to be a chunin and that's what they aimed to do today.
Finally a man entered the room. This man had brown, shoulder-length hair which hangs about his face and brown eyes. He wore his hiate-ate like a bandanna, and the standard jōnin outfit and had a senbon in his mouth.
"Alright guy's everything is set up and we're ready for you. I'm Genma and I will be assisting Hayate in protracting the exams." Genma explained before motioning everyone to follow him. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel everyone's stomachs dropped before they rose as they heard the cheers once they all started to enter the arena grounds. Coming to a halt they all turned and faced the kage box.
(Kage Box)
"Quite a showing from Kumo and Konoha this year." Rasa said as he stared at the contestants.
"What can I say Ay has some quite formidable shinobi and mine worked hard to make it." Minato said with a smile.
"Three of your contestants are all from one team right?" Mei asked as Minato nodded.
"Yup they are from genin team 7." He said before standing up at walking out of the kage box to the cheers of the crowd that was gathered.
"Hello everyone and welcome to the 15th Konoha chunin exams!" Minato announced once again to the cheers of many.
"We are excited to welcome so many people from across our continent here and we hope that you enjoy what each nation has to show. Standing before you is the best and brightest genin that each of the nations present had to offer. Today they will fight to show and prove that they are ready and capable to be chunin in the service of their village and I wish them all the best!" Minato announced as the cheers rose once again.
"Without further ado I give the reins over to the protractors of this portion of the exam, Hayate Gekkō and Genma Shiranui!" Minato announced before returning to the Kage box and taking his seat.
"Very well spoken Minato." Onoki said as he watched the contestants below.
(Arena Floor)
"Our first match will be Naruto Namikaze vs Chōjūrō of the kiri rebels!" Genma announced as the other contestants walked up to the contestants box the two turned as they stood off facing each other, a katana held between them.
"Are both contestants ready?" Hayate asked, getting a nod from both of them he nodded raising his hand before dropping it quickly.
"Hajime!" He shouted before jumping back next to genma. Both contestants stood staring off each other, a mental game beginning. The crowd watched in anticipation before the two swordsmen exploded in action.
Naruto took a swing at Chōjūrō's neck who blocked the strike pushing the katana back before dropping the blade bringing it up in a diagonal direction which Naruto parried away before he sealed his katana and unleashed a tanto and Sai.
"That's a rather interesting mix." Chōjūrō said in confusion before naruto went back on the attack Chōjūrō swung his katana to try and fend off the teen however he caught the blade in his sai as he slid down the blade much to Chōjūrō's fear as he lashed out with a kick which naruto blocked with the flat end of his tanto as the two stood in a tug of war trying to push the other of them to no avail.
"Jeez you're stronger than you look!" Naruto shouted
"Thank you?" Chōjūrō said hesitantly before naruto finally pushed the swordsman off of him. Dropping a pelt of smoke, Naruto hid himself inside it causing Chōjūrō to frown before he heard something large spinning. Preparing himself, Chōjūrō saw a large fuma shuriken heading his way that the teen simply ducked under. Standing up quickly he blocked another katana swing from naruto who had burst from the smoke.
"Behind you!" He heard another shout as he turned his head to see what happened as the shuriken burst into smoke and turned out to be another naruto who threw another shuriken his way.
Clicking his teeth, Chōjūrō pushed Naruto off of him before jumping over the fuma shuriken which Naruto caught and sealed away.
"Zabuza sensei was right, you really are a good swordsman." Naruto said with a grin as surprise appeared on Chōjūrō's face.
"As in the Zabuza of the mist?" He asked as naruto nodded with a grin.
"Yup that Zabuza." Naruto said before rushing forward once more their katannas clashing causing sparks to fly. Naruto grinned as he pulled his katana back slightly and suddenly brought Chōjūrō off balance as naruto landed a strong kick on Chōjūrō's stomach who was sent flying and tumbling before he came to a halt slowly getting up.
The Teens dangersense went off as he blocked a swing that was going straight for his head as naruto was once again on him. The two exchanged swing after swing as neither were able to get the upper hand with Chōjūrō not falling for any of Naruto's tricks to take on the man with kenjutsu. Both teens swung at each other causing their katanas to go flying away from the two as they jumped back.
"Well… that's quite a pickle." Naruto said with a deadpan as Chōjūrō dropped into a stance with kunai in his hand now. Pulling two kunai of his own out of his holster. Naruto charged forward swiping and swinging his kunai at Chōjūrō with kunai which the teen was hard placed to block as they came from everywhere.
(Kage Box)
"They haven't used any ninjutsu yet." A said he was rather bored at this point as he watched the show for swordsmanship between the two of the first fight.
"Both want to move on so I think they are conserving their chakra for the later fights." Minato said as A rolled his eyes.
(Contestants box)
"Narutos certainly become a better swordsman after a month." Temari commented to Shikamaru who simply nodded.
"Yeah he worked himself to the bone I heard trying to reach the next portion of his Kenjutsu form. Though he hasn't made it there yet from what I've heard." Shikamaru said as they continued to watch the fight below.
(Arena Floor)
Both contestants stood staring at each other as they breathed a little heavier; neither were able to get an upper hand as they proved to be rather evenly matched.
"I was really hoping to hide some of this till later." Naruto said before he started running through hand signs causing Chōjūrō to go on the defensive
"Fūton: Shinkūgyoku(Wind release: Vacuum sphere)!" Naruto shouted as he blew several bursts of air causing Chōjūrō to try to flip and cartwheel out of the way however a few of the bursts of the air managed to hit the teen causing him to hiss in pain as cuts appeared on his skin and clothes.
Chōjūrō however kept standing as his hands trembled from the deep cuts on his arms as his kunai shaked from the pain. Charging forward once more Naruto hit the kunai with enough force to send them flying out of the boy's hands and knock him back before a kunai was at Chōjūrō's throat.
"G-Go ahead and do it." Chōjūrō said as the adrenaline left his body and his confidence fled him.
"Yield." Naruto said in a firm but kind voice as the boy nodded, raising his hand to yield.
"And the winner is Naruto Namikaze!" Shouted Hayate as the crowd erupted in cheers as Naruto stepped back, helping the teen to the medics who took him from there. Naruto looked up and flashed the victory sign to the crowd before heading up to the contestants booth.
(Kages box)
"Well that was an interesting end… that was an A level Futon jutsu I wonder what else that boy has up his sleeves." Rasa said as all the other leaders nodded Minato shone with pride for his son before signalling to begin the next match.
(With the Namikaze family)
"Yeah that's my boy way to go Naruto!" Kushina shouted excitedly as Kurostuchi said nothing.
"Naruto-Nii is the greatest!" Aiko shouted or more like squealed in excitement as everyone was happy that naruto won, well almost everyone.
"The kid's becoming a monster of kenjutsu but Chōjūrō was a good match. He might be a good candidate for the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū( seven nija swordsmen of the mist)." Zabuza said he was happy the rebels had good talent in swordsmanship.
(With the jounin)
"It's just the first match. Kakashi don't get too excited." Anko said as Kakashi smiled watching his little brother figure win the first match.
"I'm just saying he has a lot more to show." He said with an eye grin as the other jounin rolled their own eyes but watched Naruto intently.
(Contestants Box)
"Good job Naruto-kun!" Temari said, giving the boy a kiss.
"Yes you did g-great Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a smile giving the boy a hug.
"You're up next Temari." Naruto said with a smile. "I know you're going to do great." He said as Temari and Karuis names were called. Shooting her fiance a grin temari hopped on her fan surfing down to the arena floor before placing it back on her back.
(Rookie 12)
All the rookies that didn't make it through were talking amongst themselves as they stared watching the arena floor.
"I didn't really expect Naruto to do that well. I expected him to win but he did better than I thought he would." Ino said with a smile
"Meh Naruto did prove himself in waves." Yakumo said as she sat excited to see what shikamaru would do.
(Arena floor)
Temari and karui stood apart from each other with temari holding small fans in her hands and karui her katana.
"Are the contestants ready?" They heard Genma ask getting nods he gave control over to hayate who shouted.
"Hajime!" And with that Karui started charging forward as temari swung her fans causing the wind to slice through the air as karui jumped out of the way and flipping out of the way as the slices of wind tore up the earth where Karui once stood. Seeing a blade of wind coming directly towards her Karui fused her blade with chakra before slicing the wind in half as a small cut appeared on her cheeks.
"Jeez that's a pretty good defense you have there" Karui said catching her breath as he sword pulsed with the chakra flowing through it.
"And you're fast to be able to keep up with my wind." Temari said as she caught her own breath before Karui charged forward once more this time slicing through the blades of wind to make it close enough to actually be able to strike Temari who closed her fans using them to block the sword strike.
The two exchanged blows as Temari used her small fans as a replacement for kunai. When Karui pulled back for another swing temari threw one of her fans hitting the Kumo girl in the face causing her to back up as temari caught the fan hitting the girl once more sending her flying and sprawling.
Karui quickly jumped back up ready for another onslaught of wind blades but she bit back a laugh as temari opened her fans only to find them shredded. Growling the girl pulled her large fan off her back and opened it causing Karui to tense up waiting for the attack.
"Fūton: Kakeami(Wind release: Cast net)!" Temari shouted as she began to swing her fan a huge gust of wind forming that sliced the ground and everything in its way as karui stabbed her sword in the ground quickly slamming through hand signs.
"Katon: Karyūdan(Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet)!" Shout karui as she released a torrent of flame that turned the wind release on its head shooting it way back towards temari who cursed and jumped out of the way of the large fireball that exploded when it reached the spot temari stood before.
Out of the smoke jumped Karui who brought her sword down only for Temari to jump to the side swinging her fan which slammed into Karui's side. However the girl held onto the fan rather than going to fly. Landing on her feet Karui grunted as she flew Temari with her fan towards the wall.
Landing with a huff and on her feet Temari breathed heavily as did Karui who didn't take a rest before charging forward once more Sword striking down on fan over and over again. Temari fumed as she tried to force karui away over and over again but the girl was too agile, always ducking underneath or jumping over a strike from the fan.
Temari also felt her arms growing tired as her great fan was to heavy to use as a weapon like this. Temari felt her grip slip off the fan as it was sent flying away and a sword tip at her throat as temari sighed and signaled that she yielded.
"You fought well Temari-san… you almost had me there." Karui said offering a hand which temari stared at before accepting and shaking with a smile.
"And the winner is Karui of Kumo!" Shouted Genma as Temari was taken to the infirmary to be checked on and Karui returned to the contestants box.
(Kage Box)
"That's how Kumo does it!" A shouted and laughed as he watched Karui return to the contestants box excitedly.
"I'm kinda surprised she could use fire release not many outside Hi no Kuni can." Minato said he was shocked to see the girl use that technique.
"We do have some Katon users and Karui is becoming one of them." A said with a grin.
(Arena floor)
"Next up is Shikamaru Nara vs Hinata Hyuga!" Shouted Hayate as the crowd cheered ready to see two clan heirs go against each other.
(Contestants Box)
"Man I can't believe Temari lost and I can't exactly wish both of you luck." Naruto said as shikamaru shook his hand.
"Meh don't worry about it Naruto we know you wish us both well." Shikamaru said as he lazily walked down the stairs with hinata as the two took their stances.
"Hajime!" Hayate shouted once he saw they were ready. Hinata's byakugan flared to life as Shikamaru kneeled down strategies running through his mind.
"A-are you going to do anything Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked confused as shikamaru held up a finger.
"Yeah yeah give me a second." He said before he sighed and stood up making a come hither motion. Confused, Hinata rushed forward nonetheless trying to strike the Naras chakra points however when she went for the first strike she noticed the shadow that snaked its way towards her.
Hinata frowned as she jumped back watching the shadow that came from the arena come to a halt halt just before her. However the girl quickly caught on to what was going on as she frowned.
"I'm sorry Shikamaru." She said as she focused the chakra in her hands before thrusting them forward.
"Hakke Kūshō(Eight trigrams vacuum palm)!" She shouted as air was blasted at shikamaru making the lazy genius jump away and into the woods that held one sector of the arena floor a shadow once again shot from the forest towards hinata who jumped away just out of range once more.
Shikamaru threw a handful of kunai with explosive tags causing Hinata to gasp and back up away from the explosion only to feel herself freeze as she looked down noticing her shadow was caught.
"How did you get me shikamaru?" Hinata asked, confused as her hand began to raise.
"I used the smoke to increase the range of my shadow as well as this." She heard shikamaru say as she looked up, noticing Shikamaru's jacket hanging to a kunai as a makeshift parachute. "I give up." she heard shikamaru's voice causing the girl to gasp in shock as did the crowd.
"Um why are you giving up shikamaru?" Hayate asked as the smoke cleared.
"Simply put I don't have much chakra left and trying to complete further would be too much of a bother." Shikamaru said nonchalantly as the crowd booed.
"I guess the winner is Hinata Hyuuga?" Gemma said confused as shikamaru simply shrugged.
(Kage Box)
"Leave it to a Nara to take the easy way out." Onoki said with a small sigh.
"Actually I think it was a real show of genius… He knew he couldn't go much farther so he decided to yield rather than hurt himself later." Minato said as mei nodded in agreement.
"He surely has the strategic mind of his father and that of a chunin." She said as Minato nodded in agreement a small smile on his face.
"The next fight shall be Rock Lee vs Omoi of Kumo!" Shouted Hayate to the crowd's cheers of another fight.
(Arena floor)
Rock Lee hopped out of the contestants box with a cheer and whoop as he stood ready to take on Omoi who was a little more nervous.
"What if I accidentally kill Lee and that causes an international incident and it leads to the 4th great shinobi war." He muttered to himself in fear unable to leave the box before he felt himself shoved out by Karui,
"Just fight idiot!" She shouted in rage as Samui sighed at the antics of her fellow genin.
"Hajime!" Genma shouted when he saw the contestants were ready and Rock lee burst out in a show of speed as he went to kick omoi straight in the face and the boi blocked the foot with the side of his katana holding the tip with his arm as the boy slid back.
"Holy shit!" Omoi shouted in fear as he pushed Lee back only for the boy to charge once again trying to kick the boy in the side as he hoped back only to get decked by Lee's fist and sent flying back a large bruise on his face as Omoi sprawled out seeing stars.
A hand from Omoi quickly shot up as Hayate sighed nodding to genma who called the fight.
"And the winner is Rock Lee… Sorry kid." Genma said under his breath knowing the way Lee was more than likely trained. Omoi was taken rather quickly off the field.
(Contestants Box)
Everyone stared in stunned silence not expecting the fight to end in under a minute as they stared at the grinning face of Rock Lee who returned from the arena. Everyone gulped fearing going against the teen monster.
"The next fight shall be Gaara of Suna vs Fu of Taki!" Announced Hayate as the two jinchuriki looked and nodded at each other in understanding.
"Good luck guys." Naruto said with a smile excited to see what his fellow jinchuriki could do.
The two stood apart from each other as they mentally prepared. All jinchuriki agreed not to use the chakra of their biju against each other and it was a promise they intended to keep.
"Hajime!" Shouted Hayete as sand burst out of Gaara's gourd and wings out of the back of Fu and two water swords formed in her hands
Fu Flew up and dived down upon the Suna jinchuriki as tendrils flew up causing the girl to evade them however one slammed into her stomach knocking the wind out of her and causing the girl to fly higher.
Catching her breath the girl once again began to evade tendrils of sand that followed and flew ahead of her. The girls stomach expanded before she blew out a torrent of water causing the sand to clump up and fall to the ground.
"Your sand really is pesky." She said with a small grin as she dive bombed down towards gaara once more, going for a slice at him only for her water sword to hit a sand wall that absorbed the water before falling apart once more. Clicking her tongue she went for another strike which again only met sand. Jumping away Fu sighed in frustration as she started to go through a long chain of handseals only for sand to race towards her once again.
Jumping back the girl continued as sand impacted every spot that she stood in causing the girl to keep jumping before her stomach expanded once more.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu(Water Release: great waterfall technique)!" She shouted as a large volume of water poured out of her mouth before coming crashing down on the arena. Gaara seemed to be engulfed into the torrent of water which finally settled down to reveal gaara on a cloud of sand the entire arena grounds was now a lake. Fu hopped down walking on top of the now flooded arena.
"You really are a pesky one to keep down." Fu said with a grin as he swords of water formed once more as the two jinchuriki stood off against each other.
(Kage Box)
"...How are we going to get rid of all that water?" Minato asked with a deadpan as all the village leaders stared in shock at the sheer show of force by the Taki Jinchuriki.
"You're on your own for that matter." Shibiki said with a soft smile as he watched Fu becoming a strong shinobi in her own right.
(Contestants box)
All the genin stood still barely breathing as they stared at the destruction that fu had caused.
"Oh fuck I want to fight her now." Naruto said as a large grin threatened to split his face.
"Phrasing Naruto." Was all Sasuke said as he gulped in fear for anyone that had to fight that girl.
(Arena Floor)
Gaara frowned as he stood on his cloud of sand as he and Fu continued to stare each other down.
"It appears we're at a stalemate here…" Gaara said before he raised his hand everyone sat at the edge of their seats however Gaara's hand turned into a point motion. Fu confused, looked up only to see a large cloud of sand .
"How… how did you have the time to gather all this sand!" Fu asked in confusion.
"Most of it stayed there when I sent my sand after you when you began to fly. More of it was gathered from around konoha." Gaara said simply as he grabbed onto the sand before dropping it.
Fu Grinned before taking off once more into the sky using another torrent of water to slice a path straight through the sand much to Gaara's annoyance before the sand became useless once it fell into the water.
"I'm out of chakra I yield." Gaara said simply turning to walk back inside the arena.
"Winner Fu… you're getting all this water out of here." Said an annoyed Genma who stood next to an equally annoyed Hayate who were covered in sand and soaked to the bone.
(Kage box)
"What a fight Rasa your kid is amazing to be able to use magnet release in such a way I think he definitely has proved himself worthy to be a chunin." Minato said as rasa nodded.
"Fu appears to be rather strong as well. I wonder if anyone will be able to compete against her." A said as onoki and shibiki nodded.
"She's a force to be reckoned with for sure… All three of them are really." Minato said as the water was drained from the arena. A stared at Naruto for a while before he looked at Yugito who was the same age as Naruto and a thought came to his mind. Pulling out a scroll he wrote in it for a while before handing it off to Minato.
Minato read it for a while before he sighed, putting his hands in his head.
"A I thought we already established an alliance. Why do you feel the need for this." He said muttering to himself that Kushina was going to kill him.
"I think it's the last thing we need to cement it and I've heard about what he was placed under." A said simply as Minato waved his hand.
"You can explain this one to Kushina but I accept." Minato said much to the confusion of everyone in the kage box but they shrugged it off.
A signaled Yugito and whispered in her ear before she became irate and stormed off. The girl stopped before a large blush appeared that she shook off and continued to storm away.
"Sasuke Uchiha vs Samui of Kumo!" Hayate announced, causing the leaders to snap back to the fights.
"Sasuke Uchiha I wonder how he will live up to the legends of Itachi Uchiha." Mei commented as all the kage nodded.
(Arena Floor)
The crowd was silent in anticipation, everyone was excited to see what sasuke uchiha could do being the brother of Itachi Uchiha and one of the last Uchiha for that matter.
"Hajime!" Shouted Hayate as the two genin pulled out their own katanas and in a blink they met in the middle sword grinding against sword as sparks arched out from their blades. Both genin swung their katanas again and again however like earlier in the match between Naruto and Chōjūrō both were evenly matched as the two couldn't find an opening.
The Kenjutsu fight continued for a while longer before the genin jumped away from each other Flashing through handseals sasuke's cheeks puffed up and Samuis tanto was coated in lightning.
"Raiton: Raiga(Lighting Release: Lightning Fang)!" Samui shouted as the lightning fired off her tanto towards Sasuke.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu(Fire Release: Great Fireball technique)!" Sasuke shouted at the same time as a large fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth towards Samui. Their two jutsu met in the middle causing a large explosion.
Sasuke quickly followed up the smoke with a barrage of kunai and shuriken that burst through the smoke as Samui jumped to the side and out of the way of what would have surely injured and maybe killed the Kumo girl. Tossing Shuriken of her own Sasuke ran the same way as Samui the two met on the edge of smoke as tanto clashed against tanto once more before they were pushed back from each other.
The two genin huffed before they charged once more however this time something was different as sasuke activated his sharingan two tomoe spinning in each eye as he now blocked each strike perfectly. Spotting his opening Sasuke landed a kick in Samuis stomach causing the girl to grunt as she slid backwards blocking another sword swing from Sasuke only to receive a punch across the face. Landing on her feet Samui huffed as she stared at sasuke.
However Samui made a fatal mistake at the moment as she stared into sasuke's eyes her eyes widened however it was too late as sasukes trapped her in a light genjutsu knocking the girl out.
"Winner is Sasuke Uchiha!" Hayate shouted to the cheers of everyone in the stadium.
(Kage Box)
"That was quite a show on both genins, however it was over for the girl as soon as she looked in the uchiha's eyes." Onoki said with a frown.
"With not many uchiha left in the world it's not common to train against them anymore." A said with a sigh as kumo was down to just one more genin in the exams however he was proud of the show that team B had put on.
"Neji Hyuga Vs Hōki of Taki!" Genma announced as the genin entered the arena. The fight was short lived as the boy rushed in head first and was quickly knocked out by Nejis use of the byakugan.
"Another short match from Team Gai… Maybe he should have entered them sooner." Minato said with a sigh knowing that gai had a knack for training his students beyond what a genin should be. Stepping up Minato walked out of the kage box as the crowd quieted down.
"With the quarter-Finals set we will have a short hour intermission to let the genin rest and regain their chakra and stamina please sit tight as we wait to see what the genin has in store for us. As for you genin you have given us all an amazing show so far and we looked forward to seeing what more you have to give us!" Minato announced before stepping back inside.
"I wonder who's going to win this chunin exam." Mei said as she stared at the remaining genin in the contestants booth who all sat around eating and drinking as they prepared mentally.
"I'm not going to comment on my personal thoughts but I have a hunch… I hope we have enough time to see the end of the final fight." Minato said with a frown as all the other leaders sighed and nodded knowing they were all on borrowed time before the war began in konoha.
(Contestants booth)
Naruto sat talking with Hinata and sasuke when he felt a tap on his shoulder looking back he saw yugito.
"Oh hey yugito what's-" Was all naruto got out before he was dragged off by his ear.
"Ow. Yugito. Ow. Why are you pulling me along? Ow!" He shouted till yugito stopped in a secluded corridor.
"We're engaged now." Yugito said, catching Naruto off guard. "We're engaged and you're already engaged." She said, causing Naruto to frown, rubbing the back of his head.
"So we're being married to cement an alliance huh?" He said as Yugito frowned and nodded. "I'm sorry yugito I didn't want this for you." He said with a small sigh as yugito shook her head.
"I know it was an idea I just didn't expect it is all but what can we do now?" She said before walking off to rejoin her kage as naruto stood there sighing as he returned to the booth.
"What was that about?" Sasuke asked as naruto simply shook his head showing he didn't want to talk about what had just happened. The hour passed by uneventfully as naruto was stuck in his own head thinking about what yugito had told him.
"Naruto… NARUTO!" Sasuke shouted in his year waking up the teen from his own thoughts.
"Yo whats up?" He asked much to the exacerbation of sasuke.
"They just called you name your up against karui." Sasuke said annoyed as naruto grinned as he hopped out of the contestants box.
"Sorry I'm late." He said with a sheepish smile as genma simply rolled his eyes.
"We now begin the quarter finals of the chunin exams with Naruto Namikaze vs Karui of Kumo!" Announced genma to the cheers of the crowd that had gathered in the stadium. Genma looked at both fighters who appeared ready as he brought his hand up and dropped it quickly.
"Hajime!" He shouted, jumping back and out of the way of the fight. Naruto didn't move once again much to the frustration of karui.
"Are you going to do anything?" She asked only to receive a shrug from Naruto causing karuis frustration to grow as she charged forward swinging with a downward slash. Naruto brought his sword up parrying it to the side as he slashed from left to right only for karui to block and push his sword back causing naruto's stance to falter.
Seeing she would have an advantage Karui moved forward with another slash coming diagonally causing naruto to jump back away from the sword slash. Naruto once again swung at the girl as the two began a back and forth. Naruto grinned as he formed two shadow clones behind him.
Karui instantly went on the defensive as she hopped back creating some room for her as she held her sword before her. The first naruto charged forward which karui easily slashed right through only for another naruto to jump through the smoke causing her eyes to widen as she blocked an overhead slash. Pushing up on her sword Karui sliced through the clone causing more smoke to fill her vision and cover her area.
Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and listened as the smoke covered her. Hearing a slash coming from the left she quickly blocked it causing sparks and a clang to ring out. Then she blocked a strike from the right and before she knew it karui was blocking strike after strike.
Finally having enough of this dance Karui jumped out of the smoke to reveal 5 Naruto's that had been pestering her the entire time she was in the smoke. Each naruto ran forward towards the spot she was going to land. Karui clicked her tongue as she fought off the clones, dismissing them rather easily with a few well timed slashed and strikes.
"You really are annoying." Karui said as she stared as the last naruto who simply smiled.
"Aw you noticed." He said with a grin causing Karui to huff in annoyance at the antics of the blonde before her.
"You know what? I'm tired of this game." Karui said as she began to run through a series of hand seals as lightning erupted along her katana that she then pointed at Naruto who began running through hand seals of his own when he saw the lightning form.
"Raiton: Raiga(Lighting Release: Lightning Fang)!" Karui shouted as the lightning shot towards Naruto.
"Fūton: Daitoppa(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" Naruto shouted as he blew a strong gale of wind towards Karui dissipating the lightning and causing the girl to slide backwards.
Hearing a whistling sound she looked up and noticed Kunai and shuriken fast approaching her. Karui dropped underneath the flying blades and hopped back up as the wind dissipated only to be forced to block a punch from naruto.
Naruto brought a knee up to try and hit karui in the face however the girl blocked the knee pushing the teen away. Naruto once again charged karui throwing punches and kicks that karui found herself hard pressed to block a few managing to hit the girl. Karui managed to land a kick causing Naruto to slide back as she huffed sweat building on her brow.
Naruto on the other hand while breathing a little heavy still looked ready to go as he got back into his stance.
"What kinda Stamina freak are you?" Karui asked as she once again got into her taijutsu stance.
"Its pretty simply actually I'm an uzumaki." Naruto said with a grin as she felt something suddenly stuck to her neck and her ability to move vanished.
"I or rather one of my clones put a paralyzing seal on your neck. As soon as the paper is removed you will be able to move." Naruto explained as Karui stood motionless for a while before she mumbled something. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."
"I yield!" She shouted in rage that she had been beaten like this.
"Winner is Naruto Namikaze!" Announced genma as the seal was removed from karuis neck the girl stomped away in rage. The crowd erupted in cheers as naruto walked back up the contestants box.
(Kage box)
"Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu what doesn't your brat know?" Onoki asked minato.
"Well genjutsu and iryojutsu and that's probably because he has way too much chakra for each of those." Minato said nonchalantly.
"Does he know Hiraishin?" A asked as Minato shook his head.
"Know he's been working on replicating the seal for himself. He's almost broken through it but he'll need some more time." Minato said as the kage looked at the teen in awe.
"He's going to be the second coming of you at this rate." Onoki said, he was happy he was fighting with konoha this time and not against.
(Namikaze booth)
Another cheer erupted from the booth as Kushina and the twins grinned seeing naruto make it to the semi finals.
"See Kurotsuchi I told you he would go all the way in this tournament." Kushina said looking back at the iwa girl who shrugged.
"Still one more match before he's in the finals." She said simply however she was interested to see if he would actually win the chunin exams.
(Arena Floor)
"Next up is Hinata Hyuuga vs Rock Lee!" Announced Genma as the two genin walked down the stairs before standing before each other in their respective taijutsu stances.
"Hinata-san I am asking you to give up. I don't want to hurt a fellow comrade and relative of neji." Lee said with a bow which caused hinata to give him a gentle smile.
"Do not worry about me Lee-kun I will be fine." She said with a smile as Lee frowned but nodded as he stood in his normal stance. Seeing the fighters were ready genma signaled for the fight to begin.
"Hajime!" Shouted Genma jumping away as Hinata activated her byakugan. Lee flew forward going for an overhead kick that hinata ducked under as Lee followed it up with quick jabs that Hinata flowed between and around not allowing herself to get hit.
Striking out Hinata managed to hit a few pressure points however it didn't seem to slow the boy down as the two engaged in a quick and fluid taijutsu battle. Feeling the pressure, Hinata began to back up however Lee didn't give her enough space to do anything besides dodge and attempt to hit a few pressure points. However most of her strikes were swatted away by Lee
Feeling her back almost literally to a wall at this point Hinata began to spin as chakra flew up around here.
"Hakkeshō Kaiten(Eight Triagrams palms revolving heaven)!" She shouted as Lee was finally forced away when the wall of chakra died down Hinata was huffing and puffing as she returned to the gentle fist stance as Lee frowned.
"Protractor I don't think Hinata-san is in a good enough place to keep fighting." Lee said a hinata shook her head.
"No I am fine!" She yelled as Lee frowned before he moved quicker than anyone could see giving her a light tap to put her to sleep.
"Winner is Rock Lee!" Genma shouted as the crowd cheered from the amazing show of taijutsu and speed.
(Kage box)
"So far we've only seen taijutsu from that boy… can he use chakra?" Mei asked as Minato shook his head.
"No he's like Gai in that manner and he strives to be a shinobi that only uses taijutsu like his sensei." Minato explained as all the other kage nodded excited to see more of what the boy had in store.
"Fu of Taki vs Sasuke Uchiha!" Hayate shouted below.
"This one will be close I feel like." Onoki said as the other leaders nodded a runner appeared in the kage box.
"Hokage-sama, the invasion force headed by Orochimaru, has been spotted about three hours from konoha." He informed the kage who sighed and nodded.
"Thank you for the heads up start to evacuate civilians discreetly. Have the walls on alert and all shinobi available ready to respond." Minato ordered as he returned to watching the fight below.
(Arena floor)
"Hajime!" Shouted Hayate as Fu charged forward towards sasuke only to be forced to jump between two fuma shuriken grinning Fu kept running forward only to see wire running behind here as she saw sasuke pull on the wire the two shuriken started coming back towards the girl who brought her swords up in an X blocking the two fuma shuriken grinding them down to a halt.
"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu(Fire Release: Dragon fire technique)!" Sasuke shouted with the wires in his mouth as fire began to travel along the wire straight towards Fu much to the shock of the girl who quickly ran through hand seals of her own.
"Suiton: Suijinhek(Water Release: Water formation wall)!" Fu shouted as she quickly spit out a wall of water blocking her from the fire. However her reflexes went off and she turned to the right to see Sasuke appear throwing a barrage of kunai and shuriken.
Fu jumped back, slicing and blocking away any of the kunai and shuriken that she couldn't dodge. Fu huffed being on the defensive so quickly deciding to see a change of pace Fu charged forward.
Moving to fast for sasuke to keep fu back sasuke pulled out his tanto blocking a X slash from Fu. Quickly pulling out a kunai Sasuke blocked a slash as one of the blades down and from right to left. The two stood there pushing blade against blade before Sasuke finally was able to push the girl back.
Quickly running through hand seals, Sasuke's cheeks expanded before he spit out a large fireball. Fu felt herself get singed as she jumped back away from the fireball as more kunai and shuriken burst through the flame.
"Someone doesn't like me getting close do they." Fu said as she once again returned to blocking kunai and shuriken once the barrage ended fu stood waiting for sasuke's next move as the fireball died down to reveal sasuke standing there tanto ready.
Seeing that he wasn't going to move, Fu charged forward only to watch in horror as Sasuke formed a ram seal and the ground around her lit up before exploding, the girl only barely managing to escape most of the damage.
"Your way more nimble than the dobe." Sasuke said as he burst through the smoke going for a slash that Fu quickly blocked however she didn't account for the first that impacted against her face sending her flying back a little further.
Sliding to a halt the girl took a deep breath as she steeled herself as sasuke charged again slashing with his kunai this time which the girl blocked before going to kick the girl and springboard away however the girl cough his foot as she twisted the boy before slamming him face down in the ground.
Bringing her swords down Sasuke rolled in the middle of them before lifting his legs up quickly kicking fu in the face causing her to back away giving sasuke the time he needed to hop to his feet going for a punch his blades now discarded.
The two engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle as blow was exchanged for blow both of them were unable to gain real advantage as they stood apart from each other panting, bruised and bleeding. Charging forward once more sasuke went from a quick jab to the face the fu dodged underneath the arm sliding over her shoulder as she punched with all her might hitting sasuke square in the jaw sending the teen sprawling knocked out. Seeing that sasuke wasn't getting up, genma called the fight impressed by the two genin.
"Winner is Fu!" Announced Genma as the crowd cheered excited from the spectacle.
"With that we now move to another intermission and begin the semi finals!" Hayate announced as the final four of the tournament were set. All four genin looked at each other knowing they might have to fight one another.
(Kage Box)
"I think that was the best fight so far. Both sasuke and Fu were rather impressive. I'm kind of surprised she managed to pull out the win being on the defensive the entire time almost." Onoki said as everyone nodded.
"I think it was a rather even match but Sasuke over extended himself in the end he's definitely proved he can think tactically and has the skills to be a chunin." Minato said he was happy so many of the genin before him had proved their abilities.
"I'm curious who will win between Naruto and Lee. They've both shown great skill in Taijutsu today." A said as Minato nodded.
"Well I don't think naruto will rely solely on taijutsu at least once he's ready to win." Minato said with a shrug.
"He still hasn't used his full arsenal and I don't think he will till the end. If we make it to that point it is." Minato said as everyone stared at Naruto.
"I don't think Neji has much of a chance against Fu." Mei said as the village leaders nodded.
"She has too much chakra and can literally fly around neji… and she is a jinchuriki so she has a second source of chakra." Shibiki said as all the leaders nodded once more wondering who would go on to the potential finals.
(Arena Floor)
Seeing the how was up Genma and hayate nodded to each other before genma cleared his throat.
"The Semi Finals of the chunin exams will finally begin." Genma announced giving the floor to Hayate.
"This first match will Be Naruto Namikaze vs Rock Lee!" Hayate announced as the crowd cheered. The two genin quickly came to the arena floor standing in front of each other with grins.
"I wish you luck Naruto-san!" Rock Lee shouted with a bow which Naruto returned.
"And to you as well lee you've fought hard to this point with just taijutsu and you should be proud of this achievement." Naruto said as the two straightened up adopting their own taijutsu stances.
"Hajime!" Genma shouted and jumped away as the two exploded lashing out with punches and kicks that the two jumped and weaved over and through. The two took their fair share of punches and kicks but neither took enough damage to make the other back down. Naruto and Lee both landed punches to each other's faces as they stood there pushing and shoving each other before they jumped away. Charging once more the two through a kick that was intercepted by one another before Lee lashed out with a punch that Naruto ducked under as he went for a punch to Lee's stomach that the teen simply pushed away throwing an elbow in Naruto's face.
Bringing his hands up, Naruto pulled himself into a flip overhead of Lee as he went to kick the boys head over lee springboarded backwards with his feet aimed right for Naruto's face. Leaving Naruto was expecting a foot to circle around towards his head causing Naruto to bring up his arm to block the kick. His arms felt wobbly but he steeled himself as he pushed lee away.
Lee was quickly back up as Naruto jumped away watching Lee for a second before he charged in once again trying to get into Lees guard however the green clad boy jumped away going for another kick to the face that Naruto simply ducked under as he sent a hook straight for Lees face which managed to land causing Lee to fly upwards before he landed flipping away.
The two stood staring off at each other as they both huffed Lee pulled out a pair of nunchucks and Naruto pulled out two kunai. Charging at each other Naruto blocked one nunchuck and deflected the other. However he wasn't ready for how quickly it came back and hit him in the head causing him to see stars for a second. Lee Kicked one of Naruto's hands causing a kunai to go flying as naruto retaliated by throwing a shuriken which caught the chain of one of the nunchucks sending them flying into the wall of the arena.
"I think we should get serious Lee." Naruto said much to the shock of everyone in the arena.
"I agree Naruto-kun." Lee said as he lifted his leg warmers revealing a set of weights as Naruto made a ram sign causing wind to burst away from the teen. Lee took off the weights dropping them which caused two large dust clouds to rise in the air.
(Jounin Lounge)
All the jounin gathered stared in shock except kakashi and gai at the two genin that stood in the arena. As they stared at kakashi and gai.
"Just how much weight were they under?" They asked as the two looked at each other and shrugged.
"I lost count after a while at how much weight Naruto was at." as gai simply nodded.
"Their flames of youth surely shine brightly." Was all Gai said on the matter.
(Arena Floor)
Discarding their weapons Lee and Naruto once again returned to a pure taijutsu match as some people found it hard to keep track of the teens as their kicks landed the two ducking, dodging back and weaving through each other's strikes. Two clones burst out from naruto as they kicked at lee who simply caught the two kicks however he couldn't block the punch he received from naruto who sent him flying backwards. Landing on the wall Lee created a crater as he blasted off the wall kicking the first clone bursting it as the second clone tried to retaliate but only received a punch to the face for his efforts.
"Kage Bushin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted as a platoon of clones literally dogpilled on top of Lee trying to keep the boy down however smoke erupted from the pile of narutos as more were sent flying bursting themselves. Everyone gasped as they saw what naruto was doing.
"I can't believe you've pushed me to this point so early." Naruto said as a clone helped him make a rasengan. As lee grinned before charging forward trying to take care of the rasengan however the naruto making the blue sphere burst in smoke as another naruto came from above.
"Rasengan!" He shouted however Lee kicked the blondes hand sending him flying towards the wall which burst into a noticeable dent as naruto laughed.
"Guess I put too much chakra into that one." He said before moving his torso to the right as Lee came swinging with a punch as Naruto swiveled on his foot, kicking Lee away.
"You really are a skilled fighter Naruto-kun I was hoping to not use this till maybe the finals but I might have to." Lee said as he took a stance that Naruto knew instantly as he formed a ram seal. A series of seals lit up around Lee's body as he came to a halt.
"Sorry Lee this entire time I was leaving paralysis seals on your body just in case you tried to use the gates." Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai holding it to Lee's neck.
"Do you yield?" Naruto asked as Gaara frowned but conceded the match before the seals disappeared..
"You fought amazingly Lee I hope to fight you once again in the future." Naruto said with a bow which Lee returned his smile returning as well.
"Thank you Naruto-kun." He said.
"The winner is Naruto Namikaze!" Announced Genma as the crowd burst cheering and whooping for Naruto. Taking a step back naruto smiled as he calmed his breath however it caught in his stomach as he felt a dark presence was over the stadium.
"Hello Konoha I have returned." He heard Orochimaru announce before Oto Ninja flooded the arena as the Kage box exploded as the kage leaped into action in their combat gear.
"Ah I see you knew I was coming… I didn't expect this treachery Onoki." Orochimaru said his eyes flaring with anger as Jounin burst from the crowd as small battles started to take place all over the stadium.
"We end this here orochimaru!" Minato shouted as the kage stood protectively of naruto.
"Perhaps we will but I don't think we will." He said before the orochimaru before them turned to mud.
"Hokage-sama the sound four has kidnapped Sasuke Uchiha!" Announced A chunin who knocked away a kunai. Turning to his son Minato sighed before he spoke as the hokage to a genin.
"Naruto I need you to gather a team of shinobi to retrieve Sasuke uchiha at all costs. We can not allow Orochimaru to take the boy." Minato ordered as he turned to a runner.
"Inform both battalions to support the front gates and bring the Iwa troops forward as well I will be there soon." Minato ordered as the runner nodded before jumping over the walls of the arena as naruto jumped into the contestants box.
"Sir Jiraiya-sama and tsunade are at the gates already and are leading the defense; they are reporting multiple snake summons." Announced a runner as Minato nodded before he flashed away to the gates.
The fourth great shinobi war had officially begun with the first battle in konoha.
And that concludes chapter 12 I was going to have Fu and Neji fight but it was just two troublesome for the time being. I figured that would be a great place to begin our new arc, the Fourth Great Shinobi war. As always I am setting up a couple arcs ahead but don't expect any showings of the akatsuki for a loooong time out. Also! We have made it over the 200 favorites mark and I want to thank everyone for their support. We are also just 15,000 or so words from the 100,000 mark which I am really excited for.
I hope the fight choreography was good. I've never really been great at it but I'm trying so please. Favorite and follow if you want to see more of the fourth great shinobi war. As always feel free to leave a review of your thoughts and comments. Naruto uzumaki-namikaze 101 out!