Underneath the Underneath
By: FlameXFullmetal
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
A/N: Hello! How has everyone been? I hope that everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving this year. First, I would like to thank everyone for their support on this story and sticking through what one person called my "commitment issues". In any event, in the last chapter I asked if people wanted a translation for the jutsu that I used in this story and a fair few have asked for them. I may go back and place them in the previous chapters later but for now I will start placing the translations in the story for those people that would like them. Anyway, you know the drill!
Multiple people: I understand that you don't think that the shuriken should have been enough to break the seal however, in all of your reviews and examples you have missed many key problems with them that were present this time. First, the bijuudama would not have stressed the seal because he already had Kyuubi's chakra at that point so there was nothing between him and the chakra. Thus no stress to the seal. Second, neither the chidori nor any of the techniques he was impaled with throughout the entire series struck the seal. They struck around the seal. Furthermore, none of it struck the center of the seal while laced with chakra. There is a reason that Kakashi panicked when he felt Naruto using the Kyuubi's energy in Wave and that was because it was possible for the seal to break.
ZabZab: Since Orochimaru was already dead they had no need to grill him for information. Furthermore, it was more of a risk to let Kabuto have a chance at escape then just to kill him off.
Rocketaleks: "f"... what were you trying to say? If you were trying to say that I failed at something you will have to be far more specific.
Erebus1200: I'm not entirely sure what you were attempting to say in your review outside of the first few words as the coherency of the rest of the text has evaporated.
HellsMaji: Yes, he has been training for years. However, he is also twelve. I don't care how much laser focus anyone has a twelve year old will lose focus. Furthermore, Kishimoto himself already showed that time moved differently in the mind and out of it. However, I don't buy the whole hour long conversation is occurring in the span of half a second argument. This while time moves slower, it is still possible to lose track of time.
MrFloridaMan: She didn't make it through the forest. One of many teams that failed in the second phase.
Blitzstrahi: He is holding out an olive branch to a team that has earned his trust about information that, again, could be easily deduced by merely watching her in battle. Technically, as Kumo already made a grab for the Uzumaki bloodline it is not unbelievable to think that they didn't already know about it. They were just more interested in the chakra chains as they could neutralize the jinchuriki.
Lara5170: I know right? Unfortunately, as I was doing the research on all of the characters in the story that appeared many of them weren't given last names by Kishimoto and I am really bad at naming things. From what I have seen only the characters that would have focus in the actually story were given any name at all. Most of Naruto's classmates didn't even have first names.
"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
**********New Dawn*******
The second exam had ended a few days prior and yet the village was still as charged as rumors of a massive announcement occurring spread throughout it like fire. Wild theories on what it was and whether or not it had to do with Sasuke's current condition were thrown around and discarded just as quickly as many of the citizens made their way to the base of the tower where the announcement would be made. Among the massive group of people were the most recent class of genin who were anxiously discussing the results of the preliminaries and the final exam amongst themselves. Some were angry they had failed while others were excited over the prospect of advancing. However, their chatter quieted as Sakura spoke up for the first time since meeting up with her team and their friends.
"Hey, where's Hinata, Naruto and that other girl?" Ino turned to look at the pinkette and slightly flinched when she noticed the bandages and cast covering her arm.
"Don't know Sakura but forget that what happened to you?"
"Obviously I got hurt Ino-pig." Sakura snapped.
"Jeez, I was just asking."
"I think it has something to do with what happened in the preliminaries." Shikamaru said catching their squabbling girl's attention.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked in curiosity.
"Both Naruto and his teammate Kimiko were using the Yondaime's family name." He said looking at the girl from the corner of his eye.
"What?! Really? Why didn't the Sandaime do something about that?! It's illegal to do that!"
"It's not illegal if he was a blood relative Sakura, only if he was falsely claiming to be a member of the clan." Ino countered making her shrink in embarrassment.
"Quiet. I think it's starting."
On top of the tower...
"Are you sure about this Minato?"
"Naturally. A slight spin on what really happened. This way it is more believable. Plus, they deserve to know the truth about what happened four years ago." Sighing, Hiruzen walked towards the edge of the tower and gazed out at the crowd quickly spotting and noting which of the foreign teams still remained. A quick flare of his chakra caught the crowd's attention and they quieted.
"Twelve years ago this village was attacked and nearly razed to the ground by the Nine-tailed fox. In order to save the village and stop the beast, our Yondaime sacrificed his life. This is what you have been told and I'm afraid to tell you now that was a lie." Minato had to give the village credit as he had expected a massive out cry at the news that they had been lied to for so long.
"The truth is, that night the Kyuubi only made it as far as it did because the Yondaime had not been in the village. He and the woman he married in secret were out of the village for the birth of his child. It took him so long to arrive as he was attacked during the birth and his child taken hostage. As of now we have yet to identify the assailant however, we have determined that the assailant was able to steal a sharingan and used the stolen eye to control and command the fox to attack the village, but only after attempting to kill the Yondaime and his family."
"Despite his injuries and the fact that the jutsu he used was self-sacrificial, the Yondaime managed to survive and fell into a coma along with his wife. In order to prevent any assassins from going after him while he was in a coma, I publicly announced his death and had him placed in a secret medical facility with staff that were sworn to secrecy over his status. Afterwards I disguised his newborn child, hid any evidence of their connection, gave him his mother's maiden name and placed him in the orphanage with all of the other orphans in order to protect him."
"I am informing you of this deceit today because the Yondaime and his wife have not only regained consciousness but have made a complete recovery. As such, I will once again be stepping down as Hokage and returning the title to Minato. Now I Present to you the Yondaime hokage, Minato Namikaze, his wife the crown princess of Uzu no kuni Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, their son Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and their adopted daughter Kimiko Namikaze." No sooner than he finished a very familiar kunai struck the tower in front of the Sandaime who took a few steps back as a yellow flash filled everyone's vision for the briefest of seconds before their hero was in front of them once more looking over them silently.
"I am glad everyone is doing well however, I must say that I am quite disappointed in the way that the village has behaved in the last twelve years in regards to my son and your fellow villagers. The jutsu I used sealed the nine-tails inside of my own son in order to protect you and the fox from being controlled once more against it's will. However, due to the sharingan pattern appearing in the nine-tail's eyes many of you cast blame on the Uchiha clan. As a result the same hatred you sent to them and my son was returned by the clan. The same anger and resentment. The same hatred. Furthermore, despite many of you being saved by the Uchiha clan that night you purposely accused them of hiding away and organizing the attack. If many of you aren't aware that behavior is a part of why the clan is now dead."
"The anger built and despite knowing that they were innocent and that they would only be proving your suspicions correct, they decided to plan a coup de tat. I think a part of them decided that they were already being accused of being traitors so why not earn the accusations. Despite this there were those that were against the idea but only two of them came forward with information and their concerns. Those two were Uchiha Shishui and Uchiha Itachi. Three years of negotiations began between the Sandaime and the clan that, unfortunately, yielded no results."
"This occurred in part to the Uchiha's stubborn pride, the Sandaime not being as forceful as he could and because the village was increasing hostilities and suspicion for no reason. Shishui was murdered before he could act having devised a plan that would have ended the coup and Itachi was forced to act. We don't know why but Itachi acted prematurely when he slaughtered the clan and for some reason the innocents which should have been spared were not. It is because of this that we believe that there was another party involved that wanted the clan dead. I believe that it was the assailant that attacked twelve years ago. After the clan's murder Itachi chose to hide the coup and begged the Sandaime to keep the information secret to save what little pride and honor the clan had left in the eyes of the village."
"Leaving only his brother alive he left the village carrying the title of traitor and accepted hatred and scorn in place of honor and love. He has since been recalled and I will be reinstating him as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf which is why you are being told. The death of the clan could have been prevented had you not been so quick to believe rumor and hearsay. The same goes for my son. The seal had no chance of breaking as long as it was left alone. You would be safe from the Kyuubi for as long as he lived if. However, instead of trusting me to protect you, you chose to doubt my skill and the power of a god who helped to craft the seal and ostracized him for no reason. All while celebrating my sacrifice. You should feel lucky that he didn't snap and decide to release the Kyuubi in his anger and resentment. Instead, he chose a different route and decided to prove all of you wrong."
"Normally, I wouldn't have addressed this issue with so many foreign shinobi present however, I felt that it would be a good learning experience for us and them. Hatred begets more hatred. You will never solve anything with hatred. This is the lesson that all of us need to learn and take to heart with the Uchiha clan being the visible outcome of why. I look forward to returning the hidden leaf to the ideals that the Shodaime had when it was founded. However, I can't do that alone. It has to be a joint effort between the shinobi and the civilians. I look forward to serving the village once more." With that said the family vanished once more in a flash of yellow light leaving a silent and ashamed crowd behind.
Several days later...
The village was somber as the Yondaime's words still rang loudly in the ears of everyone who heard them and many were unsure of what to make of them. The ones most surprised were the people who had gone to school with Naruto as they had never once suspected anything despite the now glaring inconsistencies. They had searched the village top to bottom for the blonde and yet no one could find him. Furthermore, any inquiries made to the Yondaime who had quickly gotten back into routine were redirected with a quick "let him come to you". After a while Shikamaru merely suggested that they focus on their training to which they all agreed. Even those that hadn't passed. However, some like Sakura and Sasuke were still in denial and refusing to see logic.
For many of the genin this meant focusing on the two areas that they knew they lacked, reach and speed. Unfortunately, this was a lot easier than they thought. Especially for Shino, whose clan focused on ranged attacks utilizing their Kikkaichu. However, he also knew that he was no where near fast enough to match Naruto and for once regretted his decision to focus so much time on his clan techniques. Granted training under a Hyuga had minimized a lot of his inadequacies in close combat but had not rid him of all of them. Currently, he was taking a break from the speed training that Tokuma-sensei had been putting his team through. Hyuga Tokuma had decided that despite the fact that some of his genin hadn't made it to the finals he would train all of them as if they had. It would only make them more prepared for the next exam after all.
"Sensei, what would you say Naruto's weakness is? Even now I am unable to discern any from his fights." Shino confessed. Tokuma sighed and sat down in front of his genin.
"Naruto is one of the most difficult opponents in the exam due to genetics. The Uzumaki clan of Uzu no kuni have advanced regenerative abilities which allows for them to recover at a speed that we can't hope to match. Add in his massive chakra reserves without counting in the Kyuubi and he will outlast everyone there except maybe Kimiko. Wearing him down won't work and I have no doubt that Minato-sama will most definitely work on any strategy deficiencies. Kushina-sama will definitely be honing his kejutsu and both were absurdly strong in taijutsu. Honestly against other genin he has no weaknesses."
"The only problem I can see him having at the end of the month would probably be the one weakness that all jinchuriki and Uzumaki have and that is chakra control. However, I don't see how you would be able to take advantage of that. Add in the fact that no one knows exactly how strong he is except for maybe Kakashi and you have a lot of unknown factors. My best advice is to set the pace of the fight. Don't let him do it. Never forget that he excels in traps either. Keep your mind open and be careful to monitor your stamina and reserves. Also, the test isn't about winning. Do not feel ashamed to forfeit."
"Thank you sensei." Shino said trying to dissect all of the information and grimacing at the many problems he found.
"Perhaps a lot of feints and misdirection."
"What do you mean Sai?"
"Uzumaki are masters of fuinjutsu and have quick tempers. Meanwhile Namikazes are more collected and analytical while still be second best in fuinjutsu. Minato-sama's fighting style focuses on speed and debilitating blows aimed at the joints to disable an enemy. While a full idea of his ability and jutsu aren't known he relies heavily on the Hiraishin and the Rasengan. Kushina-sama's skills lie heavily in kenjutsu, taijutsu and the use of her bloodline the Kongyo fusa. Chains capable of restraining bijuu and creating near impenetrable barriers. However, they can also be used for offense. Uzumaki are well known for their usage of combat fuinjutsu. Despite this he knows that your insects are useless against him." Sai pointed out.
"So instead of using them to attack him use them to set your own trap. Train in using your kikkai to set up exploding tags and other traps while keeping his attention on you."
"Thank you Sai."
"Jinchuriki also have enhanced senses. So you could try and overwhelm them as well and look into finding a summoning contract." Nodding to himself Shino gazed off into space and furrowed his brows. Even now he found his thoughts straying to his inaction in the academy when it came to the blonde. He never taunted him but he never stood up for him despite his treatment being similar to his clan's due to the nature of their jutsu. He wasn't the only one having these thoughts either.
Across the village another genin could be found quietly contemplating the recent events while training which was an unusual sight for him. Nearby, his sensei and one of his teammates looked on in concern. They wanted to ask what was wrong but felt that they needed to wait for him to bring it up himself. Thankfully they didn't need to wait to long.
"Gai-sensei, did Konoha really betray the last wishes of the Yondaime and what did he mean when he said that he was disappointed by the village's behavior?"
"Lee...The truth is that the Yondaime had requested that Uzumaki-san be treated as a hero for restraining the nine-tails. However, as soon as the council found out they called for his death and despite a gag order on the information, it was still leaked to the village somehow and the response was a village wide outcry and riot. Many of the people that had lost loved ones to the nine-tails wanted his head in order to get justice for the deaths that had occurred."
"How would killing a new born achieve that?!" TenTen demanded appalled at the information and reactions of the village.
"Fuinjutsu is a very obscure art that many do not understand and as a result they don't know how it works. They believed that the nine-tails had lost it's immortality and was now able to be killed so long as it was trapped in the seal. Some even believed that since no relatives had stepped forward to claim Naruto that, he himself, was the human form of the bijuu created for the sole purpose of being killed. The truth is, killing Naruto would only have released the nine-tails once more. Even if it did "die" it would merely reform somewhere in the world over the course of several years."
"Of course their hatred, anger and grief caused them to ignore this information when it was provided to them and decided that they wanted to believe what was most convenient to them. Of course there were laws put into place to protect young Naruto from physical harm but that only deterred a few and only after several examples were made of in the beginning. Afterwards they did something far worse then targeting him physically, they targeted him mentally and emotionally. The few caretakers assigned to Naruto only doing the bare minimum in order to avoid getting reprimanded." Turning to look at his student's Gai winced at the horrified expressions.
"You heard that the exams for the most recent batch of graduates was done differently, yes?"
"Hai Gai-sensei."
"That is because Mizuki attempted to kill Naruto to "rid the village of the demon." Of course he was killed in response but the fact remains that there were some that disregarded the laws and attempted to assassinate him. Many of them were stopped by the ANBU but some were successful. It is a miracle that he still protects the village and hasn't taken to killing anyone that angers him like some jinchuriki have in the past."
"What do we do now Gai-sensei?"
"Be yourself. If you truly wish to befriend Naruto then do so. Make your feelings clear and make sure you don't pity him. It is the last thing that he will want. Never try to to become his friend for forgiveness or because of his status as the Yondaime's son as many are most likely to do now."
"Hai Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted as his enthusiasm returned once more, Smiling at Lee Gai found himself wondering if the Yondaime's decision to reveal the truth of the massacre the way he did with so many foreign ninja present was for the best. However, he knew that there was nothing that he could do. Glancing at Lee once more he grinned as an idea hit him.
"Lee I think we have something new I want to try with you."
With Hinata...
"Now Hinata, I want to work some more on developing your dojutsu to try and achieve the level that was described in those scrolls you were given in Uzu. We will also need to work on your close combat, weapons and jutsu as well. That will help to combat most of your opponents in the finals." Kakashi instructed making Hinata nod in determination.
"Now tell me what you observed of your possible opponents."
"I'll set aside Kimiko and Naruto for now as I know the most about them. Gaara, Temari, Kurotsuchi and Shino seem heavily reliant on ninjutsu and most likely don't perform well up close. However, getting close to both Shino and Gaara would be dangerous as their jutsu are perfect for almost any range. The best bet would be to neutralize Shino's kikkaichu while removing the sand as a factor from Gaara. Despite that we have to consider that Gaara knows a way around that. So the best idea would be to change the terrain drastically in a way that it benefits me."
"Temari is wind based and getting close will be difficult however, not impossible. I think that I just need to separate her from her fan. Karui, Omoi and Samui are pretty balanced in regards to ninjutsu, kenjutsu and taijutsu if their drastic change in performance from our last mission is any indication. I also have to factor in that they have prior knowledge to what we can do as well so they will be more prepared to face me. Lee and Neji are purely taijutsu, through no fault of Lee's. However, this inability to use chakra based techniques makes him lethal in close combat, more so than Neji who focuses purely on the juken."
"Iwao seems to have a good grasp on his jutsu and excellent training to utilize them quickly. Katsuki on the other hand we know nothing about and that makes him the most dangerous opponent. However, based on his body structure and chakra reserves I would say that he is most proficient in chakra enhanced taijutsu with supplementary ninjutsu but that is just a guess. Kimiko and Naruto are the most balanced as well as the strongest and fastest of all of the competitors and trying to shut down their chakra points or outlast them in a ninjutsu battle is pointless. As I am now, I would lose against them."
"Very good Hinata. You broke down each of their skills that you saw and accurately based their abilities. However, how would you fight Omoi, Karui and Samui?"
"Blocking off their chakra points and forcing them to focus on taijutsu and kenjutsu would be the best idea to prevent being electrocuted. However, that requires me to get close enough to risk it. Most raiton jutsu are mid to close so staying at a distance would most likely be ideal." Smiling at his student Kakashi nodded. She was easily chunin and thinking closer to jonin level. The only thing that she lacked was experience.
'Then again she did assist in Orochimaru's death.' Kakashi sweat dropped realizing that at this rate he would be passed by all of his genin. 'Even if Kimiko isn't technically a genin.'
"Alright, we'll start with your speed and dojutsu." He declared making her nod.
With Kimiko...
"Are you sure about this Kimiko?"
"Hai. I think that this is for the best." Kushina smiled and nodded a little sad that she wouldn't be able to train with her adopted daughter for the month but also understanding why.
"Okay. Just be careful? Despite everything you are now my daughter and I don't want you getting hurt."
"...I...will.." Kimiko whispered unsure of how to proceed with such concern and kindness. Smiling she stepped back and disappeared as she was reverse-summoned to the fox summon's den.
"Are you ready Kimiko?"
"I am, Hitoshi."
"We will not go easy on you even if you were our former leader."
"I don't expect you to. As for the current time I am to play the part of a human and in order to do that I need to get my power more controlled. I also need to get more variation and figure out what I can and can't use as of now. Right now my power is to dangerous to use properly or around my...new...family..." Kimiko trailed off as the foreign concept distracted her once more. This caused the foxes around her to smile at the vixen. For so long she had only seen the negative aspect of the human race and as a result had isolated herself but now she was confronted with the positive and had no choice but face the challenge to her beliefs. Add in the fact that a human family had accepted her, and they knew that the vixen would change. For better or worse had yet to be seen. Many of them however, believed it to be the former.
"Very well. We will start at the beginning with chakra control. All of your chakra. You might as well remove the limiters that you had applied to keep in control. Any loss of control here will not affect your human partner."
"Hai."
Kushina and Naruto...
"We will be working on your control, master more of your jutsu and finally putting everything that you have learned over the years to practice now. We will also need to work on your focus and daydreaming habit. Finally, your dojutsu needs a lot of work. We have to figure out more of it's powers before we can do anything with it. So to start make, let's say, three thousand clones." Naruto sweat dropped and sighed knowing that she wasn't joking. Clones made Kushina quickly made her own set to act as leaders and separated the clones into smaller groups, each to work on a different thing.
"We will be splitting your original's time between physical and your dojutsu as we don't know how the shadow clones will affect it or if it can even be used by them. Have you thought of a name yet?"
"I was thinking of Hasu no me due to it's design."
"Lotus eye huh? Sounds good. Anyway, let's review what we know about them."
"First and foremost it is banana yellow on pale turquoise and I have two abilities that I can use with it. Hansha (reflection) that allows me to change locations traveling the path that the light would take to get there when reflected as the name suggests. However, right now this is linear and it takes a lot of chakra even for me. Then there is the Hamon (ripple) that allows me to create a pulse of chakra that ripples outward disrupting any jutsu used in it's path. The problem is that I can't control the pulse so it is just as dangerous to my allies as it is to my enemies and I don't control how much chakra is used. Like you saw in the forest it drains me, a lot. Almost to the point of chakra depletion. Furthermore, it deactivates my dojutsu forcing a recharge for lack of a better word."
"Outside of the techniques I have better perception much like the sharingan and I can see through most obstructions similar to the byakugan. However, unlike the byakugan I need some sort of reflective surface like a mirror, glass, water, or even heavily polished metal. Technically in combat that counts for any shinobi that properly cares for their headband and weapons but I feel that it isn't that useful in an open area if those are the only surfaces."
"I see. There has to be more to it so we are going to try and get it to the next stage and as much as I think it is a bad idea considering it's you, we need to increase your reserves."
"My control.." Naruto whined in defeat making Kushina laugh in amusement.
Elsewhere...
"Ebisu-sensei, do you think I have a fair shot at chunin considering who is still in the exams?"
"Of course Aimi. Remember that the goal isn't to win it is to prove that you can think and fight like a chunin. That means that we need to work more on your strategy and versatility in battle. Right now of the remaining shinobi you have a heavy bias towards ninjutsu users. Afterwards it is taijutsu and kenjutsu. So we will need to work on your ability to fight against those fields and the best way is with strategy, traps and genjutsu. So, while your ninjutsu is passable we will need to shift our focus. Just promise me that you won't do anything reckless. If it seems that you are being overwhelmed, forfeit." Aimi felt her eyes widen before she smiled at the jonin.
"Of course sensei."
"Now then we will start by purchasing chakra weights and working on your speed and taijutsu. We will break the month up into blocks that will be dedicated on a certain area. When you are resting you will work on genjutsu and if we find we have time some iryo-jutsu."
"Sensei?"
"If you can heal, even just a little, a serious wound your chances of surviving on the battlefield increase drastically. It will definitely help with three Iwa nins in the exam as they still hold a grudge against the Yondaime. With his return they may try targeting the Konoha genin as an act of revenge. I don't want you hurt."
"I promise I will try my best sensei!" Ebisu nodded as they headed towards the shop to get her weights and looked towards the sky.
'I'll have to thank Kakashi for having his team watch over her.'
Several weeks later...
As the energy in village seemed to overflow the morning of the finals the participating genin could barely hold in their excitement and nervousness especially since they didn't know if they prepared for the right opponents. It seemed that the shock from the Yondaime's return had worn off as many speculated on who would win the exams this year. Many were betting on Neji, as he was considered a prodigy but other had their doubts. However, it seemed that a majority of people were still angry over what they saw as an insult to their precious Uchiha who had not made it to the finals. Despite that, the buzz of the crowd only grew louder as people packed the stadium in order o witness what appeared to be a heated tournament that boasted four of five of the great nations.
"Ah, Tsuchikage-dono I do hope that the trip was pleasant and the accommodations acceptable." Minato greeted the diminutive nin who twitched upon seeing him. His guards were no better.
"The trip was irritating though I do find that the accommodations were better than expected. I had hoped that the rumors of your return had been exaggerated though."
"I do apologize for disappointing you." Minato said humorously to which Onoki frowned.
"A, it is good to see you again and in good health. The trip was uneventful I hope?"
"It was. To think that you would survive the nine-tails itself. Not many can boast that accomplishment."
"I was expecting to so you can imagine my surprise when I came to."
"I can indeed. It seems as though some of our genin have gotten rather close."
"I have in fact heard of their friendship and as long as nothing is betrayed I could care less."
"You haven't changed at all."
"I have changed quite a bit I'm afraid I just haven't showed it. Kazekage-dono, I trust there were no issues on the way here?"
"None." Minato raised an eyebrow at the curt greeting and turned as he glanced out at the arena.
'Everyone is here. Might as well.'
"Welcome to the bi-annual chunin exam finals! I'm sure that you will find the participating genin to be among some of the best that this year's competitors have produced. Now then, I will reveal the format for this part of the exam. As we have fifteen competitors the first round will consist of five three-way battles that will end only when there is one genin left. Participants are allowed to forfeit during the fight and that forfeit must be honored by their opponents. Anyone found dishonoring the forfeit will be removed from the tournament, no exceptions. The second round will consist of three one-on one battles with one of the participants fighting twice. Afterwards will be the final round which will consist of, naturally, one last fight. There will be intermissions between each round during which the advancing contestants are permitted to seek medical attention should they desire."
"Only the usage of kinjutsu and juinjutsu is forbidden, outside of that feel free to use whatever is in your arsenal. Now then let the chunin exams begin!" He declared getting raised eyebrows from the visiting kage.
"You didn't limit them much you know." Onoki snorted. "I wasn't expecting such brutality from you tree huggers."
"I assure you they will need it. Also, the last time I hugged a tree was when I was learning the Hiraishin and slammed into it face first." A few second of silence followed the statement before A burst into laughter at the confession.
"You are something else aren't you Minato?"
"I try."
Down in the ring the genin had looks of shock and nervousness at the announcement. They hadn't expected so few limitations or to fight two other opponents at once. Shaking his head and snickering Naruto glanced up at his father.
"Leave it to him to try and make this harder than it needs to be."
"What do you mean, leaf scum?"
"You'll see."
"Alright then if I could have your attention. The first match will be Kimiko Namikaze vs. Gaara no Sabaku vs. Iwao. Will the rest of the contestants leave the arena so that we may begin?" It didn't take long before the three were left alone in the arena and Kimiko raised an eyebrow at Iwao's glare and began inspecting her nails.
"Don't act so nonchalant! I'm gonna put you leaf nin in your place, especially in front of your father!"
"Can we begin? This annoying buzzing is beginning to irritate me." Hayate sweat dropped but took a step back regardless.
"Let the first match of the chunin exam finals begin!" No sooner than he finished his sentence sand rushed forwards in an attempt to ensnare the other two contestants. Jumping out of the air Kimiko smiled and quickly began forming two different sets of one handed hand seals.
"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (1). Futon: Daitoppa (2)." As the already large fireball raced towards the sand, it doubled in size and potency turning from the red-orange it normally was to a bright yellow color and exploded upon impacting with the sand. Not even taking a moment to check on her opponent she quickly created a shadow clone and had it throw her out of the way of some rocks shot in her direction by Iwao, who cursed upon realizing he had only hit a clone.
The Iwa nin spun pulling his arms up to block only to be sent spiraling away as Kimiko's fist made contact and he winced as he felt the bone in his left forearm crack under the force. Kimiko had no time to relax as Gaara''s sand shot at her now mixed with shards of glass from her earlier attack. However, she noticed that they were noticeably slower.
'So he used what was left of his sand to grind the ground beneath him into more. His chakra isn't as saturated slowing it down drastically. So long as nothing changes he will have an infinite amount of sand to work with. The rings around his eyes aren't just from his bloodline though. What have you done to your vessel, Shukaku?'
"Impressive amount of force from a girl in a weak country."
"Impressive amount of sass from a nin that has yet to do much of anything." Kimiko retaliated dodging another wave of sand. Iwao gritted his teeth and began to rapidly form seals before jumping out of the way of Gaara's sand as well. Kicking Iwao away Kimiko began to form another set of hand seals but this time they were different and Rasa felt his eyes narrow slightly.
"Shakuton: Yudaina Chikyu no arekuruu kaze (3)." A massive wave of blue flame shot from Kimiko's mouth once again and headed straight for the ground.
"Again? Didn't she already try this before? It won't work." Onoki scoffed and Minato just smiled.
"How does one of your genin have the scorch release?! That is one of Suna's bloodlines!" Rasa nearly exploded.
"She combined elements. Any shinobi can do that." Minato replied without losing his smile making the other three twitch. "Also the results will be different this time. I just hope that Iwao and Gaara can adjust to the terrain change."
"Terrain change?" A questioned just as the flames struck the ground. A massive wave of heat washed over the arena and steam could be seen rising and creating a screen that obscured their vision. Almost immediately, a shout of pain was heard from Iwao followed by a growl of rage from Gaara.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu (4)." More steam rose which Kimiko quickly dispersed to reveal that parts of the arena had become molten in nature and there was a large patch near Iwao that had hardened thanks to his quick water jutsu which seemed to have drained him immensely, favoring his right leg which seemed to have been severely burned. Gaara was perched precariously on a thick layer of glass that had been his sand. He had been forced to divert all of his sand to creating a protective barrier that had just barely held both around and under him.
"There will be no more sand for you Gaara. It will take far to long for you to tunnel through to the ground now. Furthermore, you would have to move Iwao from his spot to get to something that won't superheat what little you have left and render it useless."
"You bitch!" Iwao growled as he looked around at the drastically smaller area he had to fight on. Add in the chakra depletion from the water jutsu he had used and he knew he couldn't waste anymore time. Granted he could take a soldier pill that would leave him more drained as he would have to use another water jutsu just to make the arena usable. His leg was badly wounded as well. Clicking his tongue he turned back to the red-head and then gaped as he realized something that the kages themselves had just noticed as well.
"How the hell are you standing on lava?!" Kimiko giggled and looked over at him.
"Why should I tell you that?" Gritting his teeth he glanced at the proctor who was sweat dropping and standing on the wall.
"Tch. I don't have a choice, I'm in no condition to continue even if I could with the Lava everywhere. I forfeit." He bit out making Hayate nod as he used a quick shunshin (5) to leave the molten arena. Kimiko once more turned her focus towards the unstable jinchuriki and surged forward startling everyone in the arena. Appearing in front of him she created ropes of chakra that wrapped around him holding in place as she forcible entered his mind.
There she found a massive expanse of desert that seemed subject to a never-ending sandstorm. Growling she raced towards the tanuki's chakra and let out another curse as sand darted up in her way blocking her path. Dodging the pillar she glanced behind her and raised an eyebrow at the sandy form of a woman that seemed to be controlling the sand.
Outside of Gaara's mind...
For a moment everything came to a standstill making many hold their breath in anticipation. Then, without warning, Gaara's eyes closed before he fell forward sound asleep in Kimiko's arms making many Suna citizens and nins feel panic begin to rise rapidly in fear of the bijuu breaking free. However, the transformation never started and the red-head continued to sleep soundly. Kimiko shook her head in disgust at the state she had found Shukaku in and lifted the boy into her arms.
"Call the match. If he wakes up or starts fighting in his sleep, it will be a miracle." Hayate coughed in exasperation at the rather anti-climactic end and looked at the floor and cleared his throat from his spot on the wall.
"Winner of the first match: Kimiko Namikaze. We will take a quick intermission to solidify the floor before the next match."
"That was risky, Kazekage-dono, sending your unstable jinchuriki with such a poorly designed seal into the exams. Be glad that we were aware he was here and his issues with sleeping." Minato said without batting an eye making the other kage blink rapidly at the accusations.
"What did your daughter due to him?" He demanded.
"Confronted the bijuu and forced him into submission, why?" Minato asked coyly making the sand shadow growl in anger and Onoki narrow his eyes.
"How, pray tell, did she do that?"
"Now, why would I tell you that?" The three shook their heads at the causal dismissal and watched as the shinobi below used water jutsu to harden and cool the lava that had been created by Kimiko's last jutsu. None of them could help but think that if this was how the exams started then the rest may be just as interesting.
*********T.B.C*********
A/N: For some reason I had difficulty writing this chapter. I have no idea why. In any event,, we have started the finals and will hopefully be out of the chunin exam arc in the next couple of chapters. I would have had this chapter posted yesterday but my computer crashed twice and I had to write the same scenes three times including the original. I gave up and went to bed to cool down before trying again. Let me know if you like the new format with the jutsu. I didn't like the way that it looked when the translations were put next to the original and I have never liked the way the english versions looked. So I am trying this instead. The Hiraishin is not included because if you don't know what that is by now, there is no hope. Let me know what you think! Ja ne!
(1) Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu - fire release: fireball jutsu
(2) Futon: Daitoppa - wind release: great breakthrough
(3) Shakuton: Yudaina Chikyu no arekuruu kaze – scorch release: majestic earth searing wind
(4) Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu – Water release: Great waterfall technique
(5) Shunshin – Body flicker