Second Chances
By: FlameXFullmetal
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
A/N: I'm back! Sorry this took so long to get to you but there are some reasons that we need to discuss. First and foremost I was trying to find a way to end the chunin exams in this chapter so that it doesn't stretch out to long. To be honest I just don't think that is going to happen without the chapter being super long. The problem is that the timeline I made for this story should have had the exams end two chapters ago. I'm sure many aren't complaining about the extension because that means I was able to be more detailed but still the exam wasn't supposed to stretch for this long. It will end in this chapter unless the exam's end makes the chapter a ridiculous length as many of you seem to like when I keep the chapter between 10-15 pages. I'll try my best.
Second thing we need to discuss is the number of people that keep reviewing every chapter just to tell me to go and kill myself. I have tried to ignore it at first, however, the last two or three chapter there were multiple people doing it some that even have accounts on the site. While I try to keep my private life out of things I can't keep silent anymore. The fact is that I suffer from depression. I have for almost two decades now. When I was younger, I did in fact try to kill myself.
These comments are not funny as the reviewers seem to think. They are only making my depressive episodes worse, just as I finally got them under control. All they have done is make me not want to update because I know that I am going to get those comments. The funny thing is that they are reviewing within 24 hours of the story being posted so it is obvious they are following me or the story itself. Just do everyone a favor, if you don't like a story or an element in the story just stop reading it. Click out of the window and forget that it exists. That's all you have to do. Now then, on to the reviews and then the story!
Vallavarayan: This is true the second did want to keep an eye on the Uchiha but he didn't make his intentions or reasons clear enough. Thus instead of concern for their well being, it came off as distrust that was picked up by the whole village. Danzo did in fact make a backroom deal with Itachi, however, while the Sandaime had no part in it he also did nothing to stop it either. The Sandaime was going to go with the last resort however, as everything else had failed. He knew that Danzo wanted them all dead he had never hid that opinion yet the Sandaime did nothing to curb his behavior or keep a watch on him. He did nothing after the fact either. So I feel that he is just as much to blame for the massacre as Danzo and Tobirama.
ZyiareHellsing: Hinata did reveal the Tenseigan earlier than originally planned but after thinking over how I wanted to end the exams, I felt that it was necessary.
Guest: I am really glad that you are enjoying it! I didn't notice that the character development was going faster than intended so I will try to slow that down. Thank you for pointing it out.
Ninja6345: I am happy that I managed to write a story that involved an element that you normally dislike and make it into something that you love. I am trying my hardest to make sure that it is completed for the sole purpose of getting it out there and using the experiences with this and my other story to write even better ones.
"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking
'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals
"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling
"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking
'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking
hello jutsu
************Leaving nothing behind********
"Will Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara please come down to the arena floor?" Taking a deep calming breath Naruto jumped over the railing and met Genma in the middle of the ring. Gaara followed no to much later in a suna shunshin though it seemed somewhat harder for the boy than normal. Looking at both fighter Genma nodded to himself.
"The final match of the semi-finals may now begin!" He jumped away quickly as Naruto, much like the Uzumaki before him, rocketed forward and sent a punch straight to the face of the Suna genin. Gaara had no time to react but to everyone's surprise, the sand still came to the boy's defense just barely making it to prevent him from receiving any injuries.
"Well would you look at that? I guess it wasn't Shukaku protecting you this whole time, was it?" Naruto chirped. Gaara stared at the sand in confusion before a memory of his uncle flashed to the front of his mind.
"Is this...what Yashamaru meant?"
"Say something?" Naruto replied with an irritating smile.
"My uncle once told me that the sand that protected me was doing so by my mother's will even after her death...Is this what he meant?" Gaara asked quietly. Despite being whispered, the words echoed over the entirety of the stadium and many Suna shinobi winced. Like Gaara they to had believed the defense to be Shukaku's however, Shukaku had been cut off from Gaara. So it was obvious that it wasn't, now they were questioning everything that they knew about him.
"Looks like it. Besides from my understanding a parent's job is to protect their child and a mother tends to do so on a level that a lot of father's can't."
"From your understanding?"
"I'm an orphan. Never knew my parents. So I wouldn't know from experience but I have spent a lot of time watching families trying to picture my parents and me in their places. Trying to imagine what it would have been like if they had survived the Kyubi attack." Naruto confessed fibbing a little about not knowing his parents.
"You...no..you wouldn't understand what it feels like...what I feel! You don't have a monster in you!"
"Yes I do." The stadium went dead silent at the declaration. Gaara staring in confusion.
"Where do you think the Kyubi went after it vanished from the battle field? The Yondaime sealed it inside of the only child born that day, me. I know how it feels to be hated and feared for something beyond my control. I live it everyday here in the leaf. It's human nature to fear what we don't understand and the bijuu are the one thing on the planet that shinobi know next to nothing about. So naturally they fear them. Label them. Label the jinchuriki who have had them forced upon them. Monsters. Demons. Insist that we don't deserve to live or have the same rights that everyone else do." Naruto stated making the genin stare in shock.
"However, while it is in our nature to fear what we don't understand it is also our choice not to. I'm certain that if people had sat down centuries ago and made an effort to try and understand the bijuu we wouldn't be here right now. There wouldn't be any need for jinchuriki and the bijuu and humans could live side by side in peace. Protecting each other. I'm sure you have felt it Gaara. Shukaku's madness grew with each attempt on both of your lives. It's not you they are trying to kill but the tanuki in you. This is how they must have lived for centuries, constantly being attacked for merely existing. It's no wonder they behave the way that they do." Naruto took a breath and tilted his head towards the crowd so he could seem them and Gaara.
"After finding out about my status ten months ago I did a lot of thinking about it and no matter how I try to find a different conclusion I can't. Bijuu just like their jinchuriki are nothing more than a product of their environment and attitudes towards them. Humans may label us but the fact is that they are the reason that jinchuriki exist in the first place. They spent so long hating the bijuu and attacking them that the bijuu have begun to hate them back. They learned from experience to attack before they are attacked. Just as you have."
"However, we jinchuriki also have a choice. We can choose to give in to the hatred and retaliate or we can prove them wrong by rising above it. Right now we stand apart from each other opposites in almost everything. You are one, I am nine. You gave in, I fight against it. You don't think anything will change no matter how you act. I know things will. For me they already have. I have found people that I trusted enough to tell my secret to and they have accepted me and my status. Someday I hope to befriend even the bijuu inside of me to prove to the nine-tails that not every human is the same. I'm sure with enough patience and perseverance you can get through to Shukaku as well." Returning his attention to the red head he grinned.
"I propose that this fight between us be for our ideals Gaara, not a promotion exam. We put our beliefs and ways on the line. The loser has to concede that they were to one dimensional in their thinking and concede that there are other possibilities."
"What do you mean?"
"I win, you try my way of life. Try persistently to reach out to those around you no matter how many reject you until you find that one person that accepts you. Then the two of you look for a second. Until in no time, you've surrounded yourself in friends. You don't need many friends, just those that accept you no matter what. After all, quality is better than quantity. You win and I will admit that perhaps I am a bit naive in thinking that things can change by using my words instead of my fists."
"You have an advantage." Gaara ground out bitterly.
"No I don't. This is between jinchuriki not the bijuu. I won't use Kyubi's chakra. With Shukaku sealed away that means that any victory you have is yours and is not tainted by Shukaku. Right now everything you have done is overshadowed by Shukaku's presence. This gives you a chance to make the world remember and acknowledge Gaara, the individual not Gaara, the vessel of Shukaku. Do you agree?"
"...Yes..." He said after a minute. Naruto nodded and slipped back into his stance smirking.
"TenTen said that you should still be able to control your sand Gaara. Don't hold back on me." The redhead smirked and after a few seconds the rings slowly but surely appeared once more around his eyes covering the now prominent bags. Without a word the sand shot forward attempting to ensnare the blonde genin. Jumping out of the way Naruto nodded to himself. 'Step one, complete.' Dodging a second wave Naruto formed a singe seal and turned to the incoming sand.
"Futon: Daitoppa." As the wind blasted forward Naruto was already focusing his chakra for a second jutsu. Just as the wind met the sand and blasted it apart Naruto jumped in the air and drew a kunai.
"Kunai kage bunshin no jutsu." The kunai he launched began multiplying rapidly in the air as a metal rain of death descended on the genin who grimaced forcing more of his chakra into the sand and with the aid of his mother created a shield to block the projectiles. As the rain stopped, Gaara twitched in annoyance and made the decision to drop his sand armor. He didn't have the chakra to keep it up nor the concentration at the moment. Glancing where he had last seen the boy his eyes grew wide as he began to rapidly scan the arena for the blonde. Try as hard as he wanted though he couldn't find him.
"Where are you Uzumaki?" Naruto grinned and then schooled his expression. He only had one chance and if he screwed this up then there would be hell to pay and Gaara would die.
'Kurama, I know that I have had this planned for awhile but can I really do this?'
'Brat, did you or did you not defeat the Jubi, a deity and fight against Madara and live at less than one tenth of your current strength?'
'Good point. Thanks for the pep talk.' He thought rolling his eyes. Re-focusing on the task at hand he pushed all thoughts of having to explain what he had done and how he had learned it from his mind.
Gaara was getting annoyed. The blonde had slipped into hiding in the few seconds that his vision had been impaired and had yet to come out. Growing tired of the hiding he nodded to himself and moved away from the center of the ring. Landing on the top of the wall he did the one thing that no one expected and began forming hand seals. Granted without Shukaku it wouldn't be as powerful but it should do it's job.
'What's he doing?'
'How should I know?'
'I should have had enough time for an area as small as this.'
"Ryūsa Bakuryū." He called clapping his hands in front of him his visage quickly being obscured by a massive wall of sand.
'WHAT THE HELL?' Naruto yelled jumping from the cover of the trees in shock. The sand almost seemed to grow tendrils as they began to attack the blonde attempting to trap him under the surging sea. As Naruto was grabbed by the sand he gritted his teeth and nodded his head as he diverted some of his chakra away from the technique he had been preparing for. A cloud of smoke temporarily obscured everyone's vision as Naruto displayed his monstrous reserves. Replacing with a clone he began to use the clones as trampolines to get above the cloud. Each clone popping as the sand collided with them. As he reached the last one it grabbed hold and threw him as high as it could with not a second to spare.
"That was close." Naruto commented twitching in annoyance. Looking down at the arena that had just turned into Gaara's personal playground. Glancing towards the redhead he noticed he was breathing heavily and his reserves were almost depleted. Making another clone he launched himself across the arena right at his opponent forcing him to jump back into the arena. Returning to the original plan Naruto nodded and to himself. Landing on the wall he took another calming breath even as the ground began to shake.
Gaara's eyes narrowed at the tremors before widening as he jumped into the air just as a sharp golden kunai attached to a chain flew past his face. No sooner than he landed he was forced to dodge again and again as more burst from the ground and the ones that had missed changed direction mid-air. With Gaara occupied Naruto jumped on one of the chains and began running along it as if it was the ground itself.
It didn't take long for the exhausted boy to make a mistake as his legs failed due to exhaustion and before he knew it Gaara was wrapped by the chains all his chakra being suppressed. Before he could yell in surprise Naruto was behind him his hand resting on Gaara's back.
"Kai!" He yelled even as his left hand was forming half-seals. "Sabaku no hogo-sha no jinja! Fuin!" Chakra raced through Gaara's system as he felt his body getting almost lighter, less burdened. After a few seconds the chains lowered them both to the ground and Naruto removed his hand and nodded at Genma who looked like he had just seen the Shodaime resurrect himself.
"Winner Uzumaki Naruto!" Releasing his old friend Naruto extended his hand to help him up.
"The strategy and jutsu would have worked against almost anyone else. Thanks for the good fight Gaara." Hesitantly, the sand nin took the offered hand and felt himself being lifted from the ground.
"What did you do?" Naruto raised an amused eyebrow. "Something feels different from before."
"Oh that!" Naruto giggled nervously. "Something I am definitely getting in trouble for later. I broke the half-assed seal Suna put on you and Shukaku and replaced it with a much stronger seal that will allow you to sleep and not interfere with your chakra so you can use it freely without Shukaku's over-powering yours. That's why it was harder for you to use your chakra. Shukaku's was so saturated in yours that when it was removed you had to use chakra you haven't really been trained to use before."
"You...broke...my seal..." Gaara said slowly as if Naruto was an idiot.
"It was fine! Those chains would have prevented Shukaku from escaping anyway. Since you've used so much of his chakra by now anyway it wouldn't have mattered if your body was flooded with it. Besides TenTen's seal was still in place so that helped." Naruto laughed even more nervously before smiling. "By the way, I'll be your first friend if you like."
"What?"
"You lost meaning you have to try things my way. That includes making friends. So I'll be your first friend." Naruto explained making Gaara nod numbly. "I also suggest when you get home you try patching things up with your siblings. I guarantee that they were afraid of Shukaku and the amount of influence he had over you. Now that he doesn't have that control and they have seen the real you, they shouldn't be afraid anymore. Well, they are your siblings they will always be afraid for you safety."
"Thank you Uzumaki Naruto." As the sand genin left the arena Naruto grinned and looked at the proctor who was twitching.
"Is it going to be a three way or two single matches?"
With the kages...
"That genin of yours is reckless and an absolute genius! To use the Uzumaki clan's unique bloodline in combination with a secondary seal to replace a poorly made jinchuriki seal in the middle of the village takes a lot of balls." A declared staring at the sandbox that used to be an arena. Rasa was quiet as he watched the red haired jinchuriki leave the field. He knew that there was no way that he would get him to fight and with Shukaku sealed it wouldn't matter if he did. 'Damn it!'
"I have every intention of having a long discussion with him about that." Hiruzen gritted out knowing just how reckless that had been. To have so much of his focus on restraining the jinchuriki and perform such a high level seal in the process could have gotten the village destroyed. Not even Minato and Kushina would have attempted that!
"Don't be so harsh on him that was a brilliant strategy and one that no one would have expected! Besides it shows that your village has quite the up and coming seal master in their midst." A countered in amusement. He had never expected Hiruzen to get so flustered by his own shinobi. Let alone a bunch of genin. There was no way that he couldn't have known that the genin were that skilled. After all a month isn't nearly enough to make that much improvement so it had been happening ever since they left the academy.
"I don't care for one of your genin tampering with my village's seal and then having the audacity to call it half-assed. How are we to know that the one he used is up to par?" Rasa grit out angrily.
"If it will ease your concerns we can ask Jiraiya to examine it after the finals end." Hiruzen placated.
"Very well."
With the jonin...
"What? Why? How? When? I have so many questions!" Asuma spluttered turning to look at Jiraiya who was unnaturally serious.
"I told him not to do that." He sighed in frustration.
"Do what?" Zabuza said trying to shake the shock from his system.
"Use his chains in conjunction with any seal over intermediate. He still needs to use far more focus then he can afford to divert from fuinjutsu to use them."
"What level was that seal then?" Gai asked curiously.
"In Konoha's standards it would be ranked as a level 15 seal, mastery level. In Uzu's standards though, it would still be a level 15 but that is only advanced level." Karin explained to the jonin and genin nearby listening.
"Just how good is he with fuinjutsu?" Asuma whispered.
"I finished his training over the month break and smoothed out the roughness. He is a level 30 seal master in Uzu's standards and that seal is one of his own design." Jiraiya admitted.
"Damn."
"Yeah he got pretty far on his own and in all honesty Sasuke isn't far behind. He is currently sitting at level 10 in Konoha's standards."
"Damn it. We're all getting shown up by genin!" Asuma cried out comically making everyone sweat drop. 'Did he forget that the two of them are time travelers?' Was the collected thought of those listening.
Back in the arena...
"There's no way we are cleaning this is there?" Genma sighed in exasperation.
"I could seal all of the sand and give it to Gaara as a present." Naruto suggested helpfully. Raising an eyebrow in thought Genma contemplated the offer and then shook his head. He should have accepted but he wasn't allowed to let the genin do the cleaning.
"Nah. Look alive kid." Genma whispered and then looked to the crowd.
"The final match of the Chunin exams will be a three way fight between Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata. Will the remaining two contestants report to the battlefield?" Sasuke appeared instantly in a quick shunshin and Hinata followed suit with a fire shunshin. After a second a thought occurred to Genma and he groaned.
"Let the final match of the Chunin exams between genin team seven begin." At his declaration everyone in the stadium, including the aforementioned genin, sweat dropped. Genma was right as the last three contestants were in fact members of the same team. In the stands Kakashi had a victorious eye smile at the declaration.
"So just like team training or shall we do this as a progress match?" Naruto queried dropping into his dragon style. Hinata followed suit with her Juho and Sasuke calmly slipped into the Interceptor fist's opening stance.
"We haven't had a progress match in awhile and we have all made progress so..." Hinata trailed off smirking flaring her chakra and reactivating the Tenseigan. Sasuke smirked as well and activated the Mangekyou Sharingan in response. Naruto smirked and looked at the two of them.
"No holding back!" He yelled flying towards Hinata who quickly back pedaled to keep distance between them. No matter style you used the dragon style was to flexible to fight against openly. Naruto's charge was stopped however, as Sasuke intercepted him with a right hook. Twisting his body to the side to avoid the hit, Naruto lashed out with his foot hoping to catch Sasuke off guard. He had no luck as Sasuke caught it and then quickly released it to avoid being hit by Hinata's strike. In the end, Hinata and Sasuke wound working together to try and prevent Naruto from gaining any traction in the fight and setting the pace. Something that they knew they couldn't allow. To the spectators, however, the three genin were merely a blur of movement that very few could follow. The civilians only catching glimpses of them as they halted their movement or as they ended in a deadlock. To the veteran shinobi they were certain that they were watching a jonin level spar between friends. The kage however, were the most surprised. A watching in fascination as what was clearly the strongest team to come out of the village since the sannin focused on only the match. Each strike being executed with pinpoint accuracy and every attack launched with no wasted energy or exaggerated movements. It was almost as if they were watching war veterans fight.
"Progress match?" A queried making Hiruzen look at the lightening shadow.
"Apparently every so often Kakashi will spar with his team at full strength with the stipulation that they act as if their opponents are enemies that need to be taken alive with minimal injuries as the team doesn't have a medic with chakra to spare. Thus forcing them to show him everything that they have improved on with and without him and their teammates get a better idea of what they are capable off." A felt his eyebrows raise drastically at the description.
"He runs the team ragged doesn't he?"
"According to him, they run him ragged. Mastering everything that he gives them quickly and without complaint then turning around and asking for more."
"I really wish they were Kumo genin right now...I'm kind of jealous right now."
"I'm forced to agree with A on this. I wish they were my genin instead. Such dedication to training is very rare in the children now and should be nurtured when found." Rasa commented, obviously impressed at the intricate dance that was being displayed.
"I suppose Konoha is lucky to have those three. Their improvements have motivated the rest of their classmates and the genin from the year before to try and keep up." Hiruzen laughed lightly. Inside however, he was sweating. There was no way that was their full strength and he felt his anxiety grow. With the level of teamwork they had they could easily do massive damage to the village with just the skills they were showcasing. If they did turn traitor, he wasn't sure if even Jiraiya would be able to take them on alone. How had everything turned so complicated so quickly?
"You've definitely improved Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered as the three stood apart from each other catching their breaths.
"You have as well Hinata-chan!" Naruto chirped at his future wife. A gagging noise caught their attention and the three laughed at Sasuke's annoyed expression.
"You've improved to Sasuke-san/chan!" They chorused making him twitch in annoyance. However, instead of replying verbally he inhaled.
"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" Both genin separated and raised a single hand into a half seal.
"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu."
"Futon: Daitoppa!" All three jutsu clashed and violently exploded as Sasuke and Naruto clashed with swords above it, Hinata nowhere to be seen. That was until they were forced to dodge a hail of arrows from her Aro Kage bunshin no jutsu. Once again on the defensive from the long distance fighter the two males focused on dodging and blocking the projectiles never once acknowledging the glass under their feet from the earlier explosion.
"Aro Kage bunshin no jutsu."
"Kunai Kage bunshin no jutsu!"
"Chidori Nagashi." Sasuke took advantage of the hail of metal weapons and in a move reminiscent of how TenTen had died directed the lightening through each weapon.
"Doton: Doryudan no jutsu." Naruto called sending the dragon at Sasuke who quickly countered with a hail of his Chidori Senbon. Unfortunately, the senbon merely ignited the explosive seals hidden on the dragon causing him to dodge anyway to get out of range of the explosion.
"Bansho Ten'in." Naruto cursed as he felt himself being pulled towards his girlfriend and began a replacement jutsu only to stop as he felt the first of Hinata's Hakke rokujuyon sho make contact disrupting his chakra.
'Feels just like old times, eh Kurama?'
'How did you get hit a second time with that technique?' The bijuu asked in annoyance as Naruto crashed to the ground and quickly sprang to his feet to dodge another fireball from Sasuke. Finding no room to counter attack, Naruto called on his chains once more surrounding himself in a dome in order to get some breathing room. Seeing the barrier Naruto erected, Sasuke cursed and was forced to divert his attention as Hinata turned her assault towards him barely managing to get Susanoo up in enough time to prevent himself from being hit in the same manner as Naruto had. Lashing his sword out he coated it with lightening chakra in the hopes of breaking Hinata's concentration only to be repelled and sent sprawling to the ground by a Shinra Tensei. 'I hate that jutsu.' He thought angrily just as Naruto's barrier fell and a surge of chakra erupted. Grimacing as he reopened his chakra points he bit his finger making both of his opponents curse and Sasuke quickly copied his actions.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" They both called out smoke obscuring their forms. Within seconds both erupted from the top of the cloud each on top of their respective summons.
"Sasuke-sama, I was beginning to think you had forgotten about us."
"Not a chance Takamaru. Right now though we have an aerial battle to worry about. Hinata has the Tenseigan so be careful." Sasuke instructed to the medium sized hawk he was standing on.
"Hai."
"Naruto-sama."
"Hibana, hope you don't mind. I know that we still have far to go in regards to our bonding but Hinata decided to take this battle aerial."
"Of course I don't mind Naruto-sama." The crimson dragon replied. Turning to look forward Hinata smirked as they began something akin to a game of chase in mid-air. Every time they grew close enough beginning a brief taijutsu fight in mid-air before being caught by their summons to chase Hinata who would speed off laughing.
With the jonin...
"DRAGONS?! NARUTO CAN SUMMON DRAGONS?!" Asuma yelled in shock not noticing as his cigarette fell from his mouth.
"Yup!" Kakashi laughed at their expressions.
"Since when can he do that?!"
"Well when he defeated Ryusuke back in Nami he found a sealed scroll on his person. It took him a while to break into it and he finally managed to about four months ago but he didn't have the time to sort through the contents. Something he finally did in Uzu over the last month and the summoning contract was among the items stored inside. Apparently it was a clan contract that Ryusuke stole when he deserted Uzu."
"Sasuke's hawk?"
"Again I told him what had happened when he mentioned not being able to use his," Jiriaya whispered, "when I did it without a contract and since theirs were locked until they re-signed them we gave him permission to go ahead and see where it took him. It was hilarious when, instead of the snakes like we thought, he would up with the hawks." Jiraiya laughed at the astonished looks on the other jonin's faces.
"I know right? Small world." Kakashi giggled.
With the kages...
"Dragons. That is a dragon..." A seemed to have lost the ability to form a coherent sentence at the sight of the mythical creature.
"Yes...that is a dragon..." Rasa replied just as shocked as his fellow kage.
'OH COME ON! NOW THEY HAVE SUMMONINGS THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT?' Hiruzen yelled mentally as tears began to fall from a chibi Hiruzen's eyes.
In the arena...
Realizing that nothing was getting done, all three landed back on the ground and Sasuke and Naruto dismissed their summonings. Hinata stared right at her teammates in contemplation. She had expected a hard fight but this was ridiculous. After a second she laughed mentally. They were war veterans! She still had nineteen years of experience and three wars before she caught up to their battle instincts. Despite that she had no intention of backing down.
"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu." Naruto yelled sending the water dragon at the heiress even as he raced towards Sasuke quickly forming his signature technique, the Rasengan. Cursing Hinata brought her hands up to prepare her defense as a chirping sound filled the air.
"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō!"
"Chidori!" Came simultaneous yells as Hinata's defensive jutsu tore right through the water dragon and Sasuke's collided with Naruto's causing a massive explosion and hurtling both boys backwards. A second explosion sounded almost immediately as the arena was covered in a thick layer of smoke. The sound of clanging metal could be heard for a few seconds before everything went silent. The audience leaned forward anticipation rising as they waited for the smoke to clear. Kakashi sighed as he heard the clanging.
"So that's it, huh?"
"What do you mean Kakashi? We still don't know what happened!" Ino snapped and then pouted.
"I know this tactic they have used it before and the fact that there is no movement tells me it ended the same way as before as well." Just as Ino was about to ask what the outcome was the smoke began to thin and the combatants became visible. Sasuke had his sword at Naruto's throat frozen in place by the chains that were connected to the boy's arm. Hinata was pointing a drawn arrow at Sasuke's head also restrained by the chains. Naruto was on one knee hand clutching Sasuke's wrist to stop the path of the sword while his other hand was stuck in a half seal a single senbon piercing his neck. Genma blinked in confusion not knowing how to call the match.
"It's a draw." Kakashi said approaching the wall between the spectators and the arena catching everyone's attention.
"Eh?"
"Sasuke, nor Hinata can move away from the explosive seals on the end of those chains and while it would take a mere pulse of chakra to detonate them, the explosion would cause Hinata to release the arrow and Sasuke to fall forward since the seal is on his back. Meaning Sasuke and Naruto would be fatally wounded while Hinata may very well be blown in half. Naruto would move but as long as that senbon is in his neck he can't physically move. If he molds the chakra necessary for the replacement he detonates the seal. Thus by the rules of the exam all three are incapable of continuing and it is a draw." He explained making quite a few eyes widen in shock at the complexity of the situation that the genin were currently in. Genma turned to look at Sasuke who slowly nodded confirming their positions.
"None of the competitors are capable of continuing. This match ends in a draw. This concludes the Chunin exam finals." Kakashi laughed and jumped down slowly untangling the genin from their awkward positions and sighed at the three of them.
"This happens every time you use this attack plan, so why do you keep using it?" All three genin looked at each other and smirked.
"To keep them from winning." They chorused. Kakashi sweat dropped and then narrowed his eyes at a slight movement that most would have missed.
"Showtime." He whispered just as feathers began to rain down on the spectators and an explosion sounded outside of the village.
"Did you?"
"Yes." Naruto replied losing his playful tone. "We sent the shadow clones throughout the village while we were in the smoke."
"Good. Hinata get to the hospital, they will need your help clones or not. Sasuke escort her there. Naruto get to the academy." Saluting to the jonin, they separated into different directions. Kakashi turned and looked at the barrier that had been erected on top of the kage box and nodded so far everything was going according to the plan they had devised. Turning to Gai he nodded and then headed to the barrier.
"There is no way in Hatake-san." One of the ANBU gritted out. Kakashi shook his head and looked at the assembled ANBU.
"Only three of you need to be here! The rest of you spread out and make sure that the civilians and genin escorting them are safe!" He barked. The ANBU jolted before looking to their captains who nodded. Returning his attention to the fight inside Kakashi uncovered his sharingan, and activated the seal over his right eye. A seal that Naruto had made for this very reason.
"The barrier will fall. When that happens the red head on the corner over there is to be captured preferably without injury and held pending release into the Uzumaki clan's custody." The ANBU's eyes widened but they nodded regardless. Focusing and activating his mangekyou sharingan he felt the familiar pulling sensation he had gotten used to over the month. Within seconds he was standing by the Sandaime's side much to elder's surprise.
"How did you do that?" Orochimaru snapped in anger.
"My sharingan as you may have guessed is evolved. On the same level as Itachi's. The seal on my right eye tricks both my body and sharingan into thinking I have the complete set when I don't. This allows me to access all of the abilities the original wielder would have been able to. One of which allows me to slip in and out of this dimension and reappear anywhere I want." Kakashi shrugged.
"Let me guess, Naruto?" Hiruzen said tiredly.
"Hai." Shaking his head the Sandaime turned his attention back to the snake sannin and narrowed his eyes. He didn't have time for this.
"I really want to get my hands on all of your students Kakashi they are simply wonderful! To think that the byakugan had an evolution similar to the sharingan and that the Uzumaki kekkai genkai still exists. Simply marvelous. Now I can't decide, should I take Sasuke-kun's body or Hinata-chan's?"
"You know if you touch Hinata, Naruto would hunt you to the lowest levels of hell itself just to kill you right?" Hiruzen felt his eyes widen.
"So the Kyubi brat is in love with the Hyuga princess is he?"
"Sorry you got caught up in this Raikage-sama, but there was simply no way to alert you without tipping off Orochimaru." Kakashi apologized to the lightening shadow standing off to the side.
"No problem. This could be interesting." After a second A turned and looked towards the Kumo nin standing outside of the barrier. Making a decision he nodded to himself.
"All Kumo nin are to aid Konoha in this invasion." He yelled getting everyone's attention before they bowed and sped off.
"Thanks!" Kakashi replied with an eye smile and then looking back to the snake.
"Now it's time to skin a snake."
***********T.B.C***********
A/N: Well I succeeded in finishing the exams so that's an accomplishment. So after the next chapter which may turn into another long one like this we can finally put this arc behind us. I never meant for it to be a 9-10 chapter arc like it turned into but oh well. I will try to stay motivated despite the trolls but I promise nothing. I also noticed some obvious spelling and grammar mistakes in the last few chapters. I intend to go back and correct all of them once I finally end this arc. Ja ne!
shinra tensei – almighty push (heavenly subjugation of the omnipresent god)
bansho ten'in – universal pull (heavenly attraction of all creation)
hakke rokujuyon sho – eight trigrams sixty four palms
kunai kage bunshin no jutsu – kunai shadow clone jutsu
Ryūsa Bakuryū – Sand tsunami
Sabaku no hogo-sha no jinja – Shrine of the desert guardian
Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō – protection of the eight trigrams sixty four palms
Kuchiyose no jutsu – summoning technique
futon: daitoppa – wind release great breakthrough
Katon: gokakyu no jutsu – fire release fireball jutsu
chidori nagashi – one thousand birds current
Suiton: suiryudan no jutsu – water release water dragon jutsu
Aro Kage bunshin no jutsu – arrow shadow clone jutsu
Chidori – One thousand birds
Rasengan – Spiraling Sphere
Doton: Doryudan no jutsu – Earth release earth dragon jutsu
Susanoo – Tempestous god of valor (literally – he with the ability to help by all means)
Chidori Senbon – One thousand birds senbon