Chapter 13
The Third Exam - Round of Eight
Minato's mind was racing. He'd just watched his two eldest children contest their first-round matches, it had been near effortless for Tri who didn't even get personally involved, his battle had been fought by a Kage Bunshin, a Kage Bunshin capable of using Fūton Ninjutsu. That raised so many questions for the Yondaime Hokage. 'Where did he learn to create Kage Bunshin? Who taught him? Who taught him Fūton Ninjutsu?' Minato could only name two Shinobi who could possibly teach Fūton and he was one of them and the other Sarutobi Asuma had only recently returned to the village following a several year stint as a member of the Shugonin Jūinshi (Twelve Guardian Ninja).
Then there was Naruto's fight, he'd had to work a little harder but he was still easily holding back, he'd used no Ninjutsu, he hadn't needed to. He'd effortlessly taken apart his opponents Kenjutsu and killed him. After he'd insulted his wife. Minato was expecting Naruto to beat him senseless but to kill his opponent was on a whole other level. Yes, the Genin competing in the Chūnin Exams were permitted to kill one another but deaths in the third round in front of an audience were rare and many of those were the result of accidents or post-match medical complications.
It wasn't just Naruto either, '"If you don't, then I will"'. Tri would have done it in his place. His eldest sons were still only ten. He was brought out of his thoughts by a voice, "Tou-san!" Minato knelt down to scoop his youngest son up in his arms. "Hey Reza-chan, have you been good for your Kaa-chan?"
"Uh huh," he said nodding his head vigorously.
Minato had left the Kage box and made his way to the concourse behind the Konoha contingent, as before flanked by Jiraiya and Kakashi. The rest were already assembled, his villages three competitors were in discussion with those they'd spent the previous weeks training with. Kushina with Minusha in her arms was staring at her two eldest as they conversed with Tsunade and Hiruzen.
Minato moved to stand next to his wife, "Omae [1], are you ok?" he asked after kissing her cheek, snapping her out of her daze. "Hai, Anata [2], I'm fine," she replied with a weak smile. Minato gave her a smile in return, he could tell hers was forced. "Is it about the fatality?" he whispered to her. Seeing no point in denying she meekly nodded.
The blonde Hokage wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close, "I know it was tough to watch, it made me feel uncomfortable too, hearing about your own children killing is one thing, seeing it is another. But I'm happier knowing that they've overcome it, how many young Shinobi have been lost because they freeze up when it truly matters. They don't have that problem," he reassuringly said to her. It seemed to have the desired effect as her smile strengthened and she leant her head on his shoulder.
"It's not just that though, Tri-chan has to face a Jinchuriki next. Fights against developed Jinchuriki never end well."
"I know, it's not ideal but we have to trust in him." Kushina turned to look him in the eyes, a serious expression on her face. "Minato, promise me. Promise me you'll step in." Minato thought about it a moment before conceding, "Only if absolutely necessary," a look of relief washed over her face, "Thank you, Anata."
"Are you absolutely sure you want to face Fū, Tri-kun?" Hiruzen asked, "We now know for certain that she's Takigakure's Jinchuriki."
"Yes Hiruzen-sama sensei, my plan of action was devised under the assumption that she was, in fact, a Jinchuriki. So my plan is still good."
"Ok, but understand that if it looks like your about to be killed we will likely step in, you are simply too talented to lose to a Chūnin Exam." Tri nodded in understanding.
"Naruto, are you ok?" Tsunade asked him, she knew he'd killed before but to do so in so public a manner as she had just witnessed. "Yeah I'm fine Tsunade-sensei, I did what was I felt was necessary. You heard him, he was out to kill me but he insulted my Kaa-chan and I will not stand for it. Whether he had been facing me or Tri it wouldn't matter, we both would have done it," Naruto explained. Tsunade wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer, she felt he went overboard but he seemed to be making clear that the topic wasn't up for discussion so she let it drop.
While Tsunade would have let it drop Hiruzen would not, not yet anyway as he and Tri joined them. "Naruto-kun, Tri-kun, I ask this to both of you. Do you understand why killing him was the correct response to his comments?" Tsunade was floored, she had expected him to berate them for going too far. Tri replied for both of them, "Yes Hiruzen-sama sensei, Shurki's comments were heard around the world by Shinobi from numerous villages, to do nothing would convey a lack of conviction and strength to all those watching."
The Sandaime Hokage nodded as he listened, "Correct, to allow comments such as those to go unanswered in so public an event would reflect badly on both the village and you since it was your family who was insulted. The Raikage knows this too, its why he won't kick up a fuss over it."
It was as Hiruzen finished talking that they were joined by the rest of the Hokage Family. Rezano wiggled out of Minato's arms and rushed over to Tri, "Nii-chan! I watched you, it was so cool!" the five-year-old cheered as he wrapped his arms around his older brother. "Arigato, Rezano-chan," he replied ruffling his blonde hair
"Tri-chan?"
"Yes, Kaa-chan?"
"Where did you learn the Kage Bunshin?" Kushina asked. Tri looked over at Hiruzen who nodded. "Hiruzen-sama sensei noted that I had very limited control over my substantial chakra reserves so he taught me the technique to aid me," he explained. "How is your chakra control now?" Minato asked. "24 clones for an hour every day has meant my control is now superb."
"Should there be something that forces it of him, he has something that will display just how great his control has become," Hiruzen added.
Itachi was listening in on their conversation, he was silently cursing Lord third's decision to be vague. He was barely listening to his father as he gave what sounded like another monologue on Uchiha superiority and how he was expected to sweep aside all before him. Itachi had long grown tired of his fathers and by extension a large portion of the clan delusions of superiority.
In Itachi's eyes, the clans Dojutsu was all they had going for them, their contribution of high calibre or highly talented shinobi to Konoha felt limited to only him, his mother and Shisui, he considered his father to be little more than a middling Jōnin. He knew he had been one of the three considered to become the Yondaime but Itachi didn't really understand why.
Even as a clan their contribution to the village was somewhat limited, Uchiha Shinobi almost exclusively worked for the Konoha Police Force, Shisui was the only clan member serving in ANBU and there were no Jōnin sensei.
Frankly, Itachi didn't think very highly of the clan he was next in line to lead. He'd spent hours thinking about how he might better integrate them with the rest of the village and how he might repurpose the clan to make a greater contribution overall.
"You understand Itachi, yes?" The young Uchiha was brought out of his musing by the end of his father's latest monologue, "Mmm," was his mumbled response. With his piece said, Fugaku walked away leaving his two sons and smirking wife behind. "You weren't listening were you Itachi?"
"No Kaa-chan, why did tou-san say something important?" Mikoto laughed before answering, "Not really." Itachi shook his head before fussing Sasuke still held in his mother's arms.
"Well, Kurotsuchi-san, what are your thoughts after the first round?"
"My match was easy but I think I showed too much, I revealed Ninjutsu of two natures, no one else had revealed more than one, the Hokage's kid Naruto didn't show any."
"What do you think of this Naruto?"
"He was sandbagging, same with his teammates, my greatest challenge will come from them. You'll remember that I told you what I learnt of them from the second Exam."
"A greater challenge than Deidara?"
"Hai," she replied with surety.
The Tsuchikage nodded, "Yes, the Uchiha used Genjutsu, the blonde used medical Ninjutsu and the other supposedly tackled the island single-handedly. Your being with the Uchiha and Namikaze lends credence to this. And you were very much right, he is fast, I'd say that sword was about a foot away from him before he moved. But I don't see how he'll beat the Jinchuriki."
A klaxon brought their conversation to an early conclusion. It signalled the end of the half-hour recess and the beginning of the second round.
Kushina temporarily handed Minusha over to Minato so she could pull Naruto and Tri into a strong hug, "Good luck both of you."
"Thanks, Kaa-chan," they both replied. Kushina looked around to see Mikoto doing similar with Itachi. And while she'd never say it out loud, she liked to think their lifelong mutual rivalry would continue by proxy through their children.
After Kushina had released them both the others were able to bid them farewell and good luck.
-A few minutes later on the arena floor-
"Ladies and Gentlemen," C called, "Welcome back to the second round now as you can see the arena has been prepared to better resemble a more realistic battlefield."
The once bare arena floor now featured a deep pond and several stone buildings, they'd even brought a small borough of trees in and planted them up against the wall. "Without further ado let the first match begin, Uchiha Itachi and Deidara to the ring please!" C called as cheers from the crowd answered his call.
The two competitors made their way to the ring, Itachi taking the stairs while Deidara jumped over the railing and walked down the wall. The blonde gave the stoic Uchiha a wide grin, "Are you ready to learn? Un."
"Let me guess…" Itachi trailed off, Deidara bit, "Yes! You already know don't you, allow me to once again show you that true art is an explosion!" Deidara's laughing took on a crazed tone that Itachi raised an eyebrow at.
"Deidara, ready?"
"Un!" he loudly grunted. Shaking his head, C looked to Itachi, "Uchiha Itachi, ready?" Itachi nodded, never taking his eyes off of Deidara. "Competitors ready, Hajime!"
Immediately Deidara threw a pair of shuriken that Itachi dodged by jumping to his right, throwing two shuriken of his own as he landed. Deidara ducked under one and rolled to his left to avoid the other. Down on one knee, Deidara flashed through hand-seals, "Doton: Doryūheki," (Earth Release: Mud Wall). In front of him, a wall of mud rose from the ground and an instant later two more shuriken embedded in the hardened mud. Itachi had thrown them as soon as Deidara began his roll.
"You did well to spot them," Itachi called out as Deidara stood from behind his wall. Deidara didn't reply with words but instead his trademark smirk. Whilst partly hidden behind his wall he had been given a moment to withdraw some of his clay. For a few seconds a silence pervaded over their fight, it was broken by the mouth in either of his hands spitting out a small clay bird.
"It is time to begin your art lesson, Un" he cheered as the bird in his right-hand shot towards Itachi. The Uchiha, however, didn't panic, he withdrew another shuriken and a flick of his wrist cleaved the clay model in two. The halves exploding as they hit the ground. "I see, well we'll have to skip to advanced lessons then won't we!" Deidara formed a SOC on his right hand, as he did so Itachi heard the faintest of sounds around his feet, he almost missed it entirely. Looking down he found ten or twelve small white spiders. With wide eyes, he quickly looked back up at Deidara as he shouted, "KATSU!"
Gasps and cries filled the Konoha section as the explosion engulfed Itachi. As the smoke cleared many expected and were dreading the revealing of a dead or gravely injured Itachi but as the smoke finally cleared they saw neither. Instead, they found Itachi uninjured well outside the blast radius and what looked like the battered remains of..
"Is that a kunai?" Kushina asked as relief washed over her life-long rival Mikoto who was sat not two seats to her right. Genma, Hiruzen, Tri and Naruto were all chuckling, they'd seen this trick before. "Seems he's been copying you, Tri."
"So it would seem, well those eyes are good for copying so why not, heh."
"How did you escape my art?" Deidara shouted over to him. Itachi gave the slightest of smiles before resetting his stoic look. "I borrowed a trick from one of my teammates," he replied aiming a thumbs up towards the enclosure. "My Fūinjutsu loving teammate figured out a way to combine a Henge and Kawarimi onto a paper seal. You place the tag on something, in this case, a kunai and you can disguise it as whatever you wish, in this case a clump of dirt."
"That's really simple, yet clever," Kakashi noted, Minato nodded before adding his own thoughts, "Almost as if it were a far less effective form of the Hiraishin."
"It wasn't without risk though, he had no idea where his henged kunai was, he might have been standing on top of it." Again, Minato nodded in agreement with his former student.
"When did he place it?" Kushina asked. "They were placed before the first round matches started when the Proctor had them all lined up in the arena," Hiruzen explained as Mikoto spoke, "Kushina-san, I owe your son a big hug."
"So, how did I do in your advanced lessons?" He saw a flicker of annoyance flash cross Deidara's face before his smirk returned. "Better than most, Un." His spare hand went back into his clay pouch as he fired the bird in his left hand at Itachi. Predicting its trajectory with his Sharingan he threw another shuriken aiming to cut it down. This time, however, the bird banked right as the shuriken flew past.
'Oh great, they can dodge too,' Itachi grumbled as he began running, casting more shuriken at the suicidal clay sculpture. He skidded to a halt and threw three more shuriken before weaving hand-seals, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," his three shuriken became thirty and finally the bird was struck on the wing, again it exploded upon contact with the ground.
Itachi quickly cast his eyes over the arena floor, he easily located Deidara, he also spotted a solitary tree away from the others, then an idea struck him, 'I need to get him in front of that tree'.
More hand-seals was followed by, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu," (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Instead of a ball of fire, the flames better resembled a flame-thrower as he cast them in an arc that forced Deidara to move to his left towards that isolated tree. Deidara continued moving closer, 'Almost… Almost… There!' Itachi threw a kunai from his left hand.
"What's he doing, that kunai is way off target?" Naruto pondered. Tri watched on, "Why did he need him in front of the tree?"
"Huh?" Naruto replied. "That tree, it's away from the others but Itachi used his Katon Jutsu to drive Deidara towards it." It was as Tri finished speaking that the kunai started curving towards the tree. "Okay, so the kunai is attached to ninja wire. But why?" Naruto asked to no one in particular. "I'm not su… Deidara hasn't seen the kunai, oh you clever boy."
"What? What's he up to?" Tri only grinned, "Keep watching."
Itachi kept his face neutral as he finished the trajectory change for his kunai, it had passed the tree before Itachi began curving it back. The wire the kunai was attached to came into contact with the tree and began to wrap around it. It brought the kunai back on target as it bore down on an utterly unaware Deidara.
Itachi kept his eyes focussed solely on Deidara, trying everything he could to ignore the kunai now aimed at the back of the blonde's neck. His inactivity confused Deidara, 'Why is he standing still? And why is his left arm held in a different stance to his right?'
*Slash*
Deidara was abruptly brought out of his thinking by a sharp pain at the top of his spine. A confused expression clouded over his face as he raised his left hand up to the back of his neck. Immediately his hand felt wet so he pulled it back, 'What th…' his hand was stained red. "Blood?" he exclaimed looking up at Itachi with wide eyes before looking behind him 'How?'. He spotted the offending kunai a few feet away, he could also just make out the wire attached to the hoop, he followed it back to the tree then around back to Itachi.
"You.. You… You DARE!" Deidara screamed before launching the clay model held in his right hand as his anger rose. This time it wasn't a bird that appeared but a centipede, a centipede that began burrowing into the ground. 'Oh, that's going to be a pain to keep track of' Itachi thought as he sought higher ground. He made for one of the stone buildings, he reached the roof of the nearest only for the clay creature to burst up from underneath and wrap itself around him.
"Ha, HA, HAHAHA," Deidara laughed as his centipede trapped his Uchiha opponent. "Now you will feel the full power of my art! Un."
"Are you sure about that?" Itachi called back. A flicker, the briefest of flickers at the periphery of Deidara's vision. 'Genjutsu!' As quickly as he could he formed the ram hand-seal and whilst looking at his hands flushed his network with chakra, "Kai!" Looking back at the Uchiha, however, he found he was still there, squeezed by the centipede. His smirk returned, "It seems even your Genjutsu has failed you Uchiha, now Katsu!"
The Explosion consumed Itachi and the entire structure throwing chunks of stone across the arena. Deidara boisterously laughed at his opponent's demise, he continued laughing for several seconds before looking up at the Konoha section of the crowd, they weren't reacting. 'I've just killed their Genin, why aren't they reacting. In fact, why aren't any of the crowd reacting'.
*Crack* That was all Deidara heard as he was struck on the back of the head by the blunt end of the very same kunai he'd been cut with. "H-How..," the question died on his lips as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.
"Winner, by knock-out, Uchiha Itachi." This time the crowd did react, loud cheers mixed with sighs of relief from the Konoha supporters were balanced out with a wave of groans from the Iwa section of the crowd.
"Genjutsu? Deidara very deliberately avoiding looking at Itachi's eyes, so when did he get him?" Tsunade asked. "I believe it was just after he saw the blood on his hand, for just a moment he looked up at Itachi-kun," Shizune replied, Hiruzen nodded at her explanation, "Yes, I agree Shizune-san." The crowds had all watched Deidara acting out of sorts, the Genjutsu was only used on him. They could see two Itachi's, the shinobi in the crowd could assume that Deidara could only see one and unfortunately for him it was a shadow clone.
Itachi returned to the enclosure to polite applause from his two teammates, "Subtle use of Genjutsu, Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Jutsu) I believe," Tri applauded, Itachi nodded. "Both layers were the same, weren't they? You removed yourself from both," he added to which Itachi again nodded.
Deidara had made one tiny mistake, he had looked him in the eye for a fraction of a second. With the Genjutsu in place he created a shadow clone and hid himself behind his double layered illusion. The blonde completely dropped his guard after detonating his clay centipede thus Itachi simply walked up behind him and knocked him unconscious.
"Looks like it's your turn Tri," Naruto said pointing at the medics who had finished withdrawing Deidara's unconscious form. "Next match, Uzumaki Tri vs Fū, competitors to the ring."
Tri immediately shunshined to the arena floor and watched Fū descend the steps in the enclosure before vaulting over the railing and falling the near twenty feet straight down, landing with a light thud. His eyes were momentarily drawn to the roof of the arena, 'What? Can't be, again?' he thought as he noticed a black bird perched on the edge of the roof.
Fū's cheery facial expression was gone, her eyes had hardened as she stared at her next opponent. "Well, go on then, say it," she shouted over leaving Tri confused. "Say what?" he replied which only seemed to annoy her further, if her clenched fists were anything to go by, 'I need to keep her as calm as possible otherwise she'll decorate the arena with what's left of me,' he thought as she shouted back, "How I'm a demon, a monster."
C interrupted them before Tri could respond, "Fū, ready?" She gave a firm nod of the head not taking her eyes off of Tri. "Uzumaki Tri, ready?" He took a deep breath, "Ready, Proctor-san."
"Competitors ready, Hajime!"
Immediately Fū vanished, she reappeared a few feet above Tri, her fist cocked back ready to strike. Tri shunshined to the left leaving Fū's fist to strike the ground, her punch cratered the ground as the fractures quickly arced around her. "No clone this time?"
"No, you're legitimate competition, I have to take you seriously," he replied as he placed his hands on the opposite forearm, "Weight seals, Kai."
Tri formed the Tiger seal and began using the Shunshin technique rapidly leaving a dozen after-images around the arena. Fū narrowed her eyes slightly before launching herself at the nearest after-image, she passed straight through it as the image faded away. "Your quick, I'll give you that," she commented before removing a further eight after-images in a matter of seconds. "As are you, Fū-san," Tri's voice replied.
She couldn't tell where the voice had come from so she blitzed the remaining two after-images which left just the original who was knelt down in front of the pond. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Tri called out as five clones appeared around him. The clones and the original split into three teams of two and spread out in a semi-circle around Fū. One of each duo weaved a set of hand-seals while the second weaved another set.
"Suiton: Mizurappa."
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."
The Jutsu all shot towards her but were angled slightly to collide with one another right in front of her showering her with fire, water and steam. Fū was forced to bring her arms up in an X shape and call on her Bijū's chakra to protect herself.
'He seems to have forgotten that I know where the original one is'. Before the steam cloud had subsided Fū reappeared from within rushing straight for the Tri on the far left-hand side. She planted a fist into Tri's chest, she wasn't even able to form a grin on her lips before Tri vanished in a puff of smoke. 'A clone.. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I know I'd swap myself out with a clone. Oh well, one down, five more to punch'.
Wasting no time she planted a punch into the head of a second Tri, again it went up in smoke. So did the third, the fourth and the fifth. Levelling her gaze upon the sixth and final Tri, "And that makes you the original," she said before shunshining behind Tri and planting him with an overhead Ax kick. Her victory, however, was short-lived as this sixth one too went up in smoke. "What? So where the hell is the real one?" she complained looking around the arena.
She finally located him in front of one of the stone buildings, again he was knelt down. "That's getting really annoying you know," Fū complained, Tri just shrugged his shoulders as he stood, "We all take advantage of what we're good at. I use my speed and while I won't claim to understand your relationship with it, you take advantage of your Bijū's chakra."
Fū's face darkened immediately, 'Aww cra..' He didn't have time to finish his thought as she appeared in front of him, he just about managed to duck under a kick that might have taken his head clean off, he was forced to kawarimi with one of his disguised kunai to dodge the follow up punch. Luckily for him, he reappeared behind one of the buildings. 'Great, now she's as fast as me only she hits harder.' Tri created another shadow clone, the clone knelt down as Tri handed it something he'd pulled from one of his storage seals.
They nodded to one another before the original shunshined away.
After completing his Shunshin It took less than a second before he was dodging another punch, this time side-stepping the attempted strike. Seeing an opportunity he aimed a palm strike at her temple and connected fully.
It did nothing, her head didn't so much as budge. She slowly turned her angry gaze on him as she grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. She slowly pulled back her right fist as Tri desperately tried to free himself. 'I hope you've finished clone', Tri Kawarimied just as Fū unleashed her fist, the clone taking his place with millimetres to spare.
Tri took a deep breath and looked at the ground as he began thinking, 'That was way too close, the clone finished at least but I still need to do this twice more. I need to slow this down, I'm fighting on her terms right now, I need a little more time.'
Kushina was a bag of nerves, tightly gripping little Minusha in her arms. She'd watched Tri's palm strike did nothing. She'd closed her eyes after he'd been lifted off the ground, the sighs of relief around her forced her eyes open again in time to see the puff of smoke.
"I reckon she might actually be faster than he is," Naruto said to his other teammate sat next to him. "I think you might be right, Naruto. Outside of those who teach us, I've never seen anyone push him as hard as Fū-san is right now."
Minato was sat on the edge of his seat, he had almost stepped in when Fū had Tri by the throat, the small puff of smoke that indicated the kawarimi was all that stayed him. Ōnoki and A noticed how on edge he was. Ōnoki held back on mocking him over his nervousness, after all, it could well be his granddaughter facing the Jinchuriki should they both made the final.
'Okay, that should get me the time I need, it's still a risk though,' Tri concluded, his thinking done. Luckily for him, Fū, for some reason hadn't moved from the centre of the arena. As her eyes looked away from him he made his move. Emerging from behind the shattered remnants of the house Deidara had demolished, he moved at full speed for the grove of trees to his right. Fū's enhanced hearing allowing her to locate him immediately as she rushed after him.
Tri threw two kunai over his shoulder at her, the first struck and bounced off the veil of chakra surrounding her. The second also bounced off only for the smoke bomb tied to it to explode. Fū lost sight of him and when the smoke vanished, so had Tri. "Really? Come on now, do you think I'm stupid, I know you're in the trees."
No reply.
"If you don't come out then I'll just have to flush you out," she shouted her ultimatum. Again, no reply. "Ok then, flushing you out it is." Fū slowly began weaving hand-signs, she got about half-way through when Tri make a break for it. In the blink of an eye, she was on him. She cut him off and launched a fist at his chest, she was slightly surprised he didn't have an escape plan.
Then she discovered why as the clone began to glow, *BOOM!*
A brief flash of light was followed by a big explosion, shrouding the entire arena with smoke and dust. Hiruzen nodded approvingly, 'Good use of a Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion) Tri-kun.'
It took almost a minute for the smoke to start to clear. When it did, it revealed a Fū still surrounded by the veil of thick green chakra, again she didn't have a scratch on her. The further clearing of the smoke revealed Tri out in the open, again he was knelt down.
"You are really slippery, you know that, right? Why can't you just stay still long enough for me to punch you! And why do you keep kneeling?!" A few seconds past in silence before Tri stood once more. He looked her directly in the eyes, "This is why," he replied forming the SOC in his left hand and withdrawing a kunai from storage in his right hand. "Dai Chakra Yokusei, Fūin." (Great Chakra Suppression, Seal).
The design at Tri's feet immediately started glowing bright blue, four more points around the arena also sparked into life and the seal design spread to encompass both competitors in a huge Pentagon.
Fū looked around her at the intricate blue lines, "So, is there a purp…." She was cut off as her chakra veil dissipated. "It's in the name Fū-san," Tri called out as he slowly walked towards her. "Thanks to this seal array, neither of us can use chakra. So no Ninjutsu for me and no Bijū chakra for you," Tri finished, making his point by levelling the kunai's point at her.
The look of anger mixed with confidence drained away from Fū's face to be replaced by fear. Without her Bijū's to call on, Fū was now incredibly vulnerable, as Tri continued to walk towards her, she took a step back. "No! Stay away!" she shouted, another step left her on her backside as she tripped on a piece of rubble.
She tucked her legs into her chest and covered her head with her arms and started crying, "Please, please don't hurt me!" she begged through her tears. Tri was disconcerted to see her utterly break down in mere moments. "How old were you?" he asked in a soft voice. Upon hearing him, she lifted her head from behind her arms, she could see he'd stopped moving towards her, "Wh-What?" she sobbed. "How old were you when they sealed it inside you?"
"T-T-Two," she replied in a voice filled with anguish and bitterness.
Tri looked on sympathetically as Fū bawled her eyes out, this girl who seconds earlier looked set to punch his head off. "Why did they choose you?"
"I-I'm an o-orphan, I had n-no one to watch o-over me so t-they u-used me."
"How do they treat you?
"They h-hate me. They m-make me live one my o-own, I-I'm only a-allowed in the village p-proper when they s-say so, I have almost n-no friends and everyone c-calls me monster or d-demon," she wailed.
Throughout their verbal exchange, Kushina found it harder and harder to suppress her anger as she listened to the Taki Jinchuriki talk while Konoha's Jinchuriki was sat next to her, blissfully unaware. "You are not a monster, Fū-san. Nor are you a demon, you are simply Fū," he tried to reassure her. "You were unfortunate enough to have had a Bijū sealed inside you. If that makes you a monster, then what does that make them," he said while staring daggers at the Takigakure contingent in the crowd.
Tri's words had stemmed most of the young girls tears.
"Unlike most who would call you such things, I have seen what a true monster looks like and it didn't have mint green hair. It had nine tails and orange fur. It didn't cry, it only killed. The very first memory I have is me staring into the eyes of the Kyūbi just before it was sealed away. You and the one it was sealed into are forced to bear burdens the rest of us simply can't understand and you should be seen as heroes for it."
Tri started walking towards Fū again. He squatted in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "As for having few friends, I'd be happy to call you a friend if you'd let me, Fū-san."
The tears returned as she processed his words, Tri had only just stood again when a green-haired missile hit him in the chest. Tri smiled before returning her hug. A few seconds passed before Tri looked around, noticing the now bored crowd and the just as bored Proctor. "Uh, Fū-san, we still have a match to finish."
"Huh?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Oh," she added when she too realised, quickly breaking the hug and jumping back with a look of embarrassment. "So how are we ending this?"
"Don't suppose you'd fancy removing the seal?" she inquired. Tri laughed, "Nope." Fū laughed back, "Yeah, I didn't think so. Guess I've no choice really. Proctor, I concede." C along with a portion of the audience sweatdropped at the anti-climax as Fū started making her way back to the enclosure.
"Well, a wins a win I guess," Shizune said, breaking the silence. Hiruzen broke into light-hearted laughter as Tri cancelled the seal, "If ever there were a greater advert to the power of Fūinjutsu," he said to a chorus of nods.
Unfortunately, some in the crowd didn't agree as a few boos rang around. Tri just ignored them as he too made his way back to the enclosure.
"His ability with Fūinjutsu is far greater than I could have imagined."
"I'll admit Sensei, when Kushina-sama said Tri-san had a level 7 knowledge in Fūinjutsu, I had my doubts. But this utterly dispels them," replied a deeply impressed Kakashi. "I know what you mean Kakashi. It seemed beyond belief but he really does. While that seal design wasn't unique, it was a sizeable modification." Jiraiya meanwhile said nothing, Tri's continued success irking the Sannin.
"Well Itachi, did you learn anything this time?" Naruto received his answer in the form of a slight scowl. "I'll take that as a no then," the blond laughed which only made him scowl more. "Don't you have a match to attend to?" Itachi bluntly replied as Fū re-entered the Enclosure, Tri a few seconds behind her. Tri noted the foreboding look on Itachi's face and the mirthful smile on Naruto's, "What? Didn't he learn anything aga…"
"Shut up Tri! Not another word!" he snapped which only made it worse for the Uchiha as both brothers started laughing.
"Hey Fū-san, you're welcome to sit with us since you're on your own," Tri called up to the Kunoichi. She was halfway up the stairs when she'd heard him, she turned on the spot, "Uh, sure. Thanks." Descending back down the stairs she took a chair in the row just behind them. She introduced herself to Naruto and Itachi, the blonde gave her a wave as Itachi composed himself to politely greet her.
"You're pretty strong Fū-san," Naruto complimented, "I…We've never seen anyone push Tri that hard."
"Uh, thanks," she replied with a wry smile. "And he's right, no one beyond our Sensei has pushed me that seriously before, you forced me to start improvising towards the end. I don't particularly enjoy improvising. Whether this one here," Tri said nodding towards Itachi, "will do better, we shall see later."
"Next match, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto vs Karui, competitors to the arena floor!" Naruto gave a final nod to his teammates as he shunshined down below. Karui following a few seconds later. The two stared each other down, "So, am I going to end up in the morgue too?" Karui asked accusingly. Naruto entered his Taijutsu stance, "Just keep the insults to yourself and you'll be fine." She gave him a brief nod and slipped into her own stance.
"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, ready?"
"Hai."
"Karui, ready?"
"Hai." C raised his arm and quickly brought it down again, "Hajime!"
Naruto went on the offensive immediately, "Suiton: Mizurappa," (Water Release: Water Trumpet). Karui rolled to her right to avoid the jet of water before replying with her own Jutsu, "Raikyū," (Lightning Ball). Four spheres of electrical energy sparked into life around her before she sent them towards Naruto. 'Seems I have the nature type advantage' he thought as he performed more hand-seals, "Fūton: Daitoppa," (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The gust of wind threw the spheres right back at her forcing her to cancel the Jutsu before they struck her. "Tsk, of course you know Fūton," she bemoaned, "why couldn't you use Doton or something." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "What's to say I don't, but it'd useless against your Raiton," he replied.
Minato watched on while his mind whirred, 'Hmm, Two different Ninjutsu natures and he's insinuating that he knows a third. Suiton, Fūton and Doton make for a strange combination to say the least. A good balanced mix though. Counter fire with water, lightning with wind, he's perhaps susceptible to other Doton users. I wonder if Tri knows more than just Fūton.' He was pulled out of his thoughts as the fight restarted.
"Raisen," (Lightning Flash) Karui shouted as she threw a stream of shuriken bathed in Raiton chakra. The shuriken discharged arcs of electricity behind them. "Suiton: Mizurappa," Naruto fired another jet of water at the shuriken, upon contact the electricity discharged through the water. More hand-seals as Naruto unleashed the second half of his plan, "Fūton: Reppūshō," (Wind Release: Gale Palm) Naruto channelled more chakra than he normally would as he unleashed another gale of wind. It was powerful enough to stop the shuriken and turn them back towards Karui.
She went wide-eyed as the electrified stream of water charged towards her. Again she rolled to avoid but it wasn't enough as her foot was caught in the water. It was brief but not brief enough, "AGGH!" she screamed as her own lightning coursed up her leg.
'Well done, Naruto-chan. You amplified her Jutsu then turned it against her', Kushina mentally complimented with a proud smile on her face.
Karui was down for a few seconds before she tried to stand again, she couldn't feel anything in her right leg, it was completely numb. 'Gah, great. How do I fight on one leg.' She drew her katana and as her fellow Kumo Genin had in the first round, she used it to lean on as she stood.
'Guess she can't feel her leg. Soo.. Why am I standing still?' He immediately shot forward, drawing one of his tantō. He slashed with the blade and she dodged, 'Huh, she can still move well enough despite being down a leg.' And she kept it up, using her natural flexibility and agility to weave her way through Naruto's Taijutsu and Kenjutsu bombardment even though she couldn't counter-attack.
'Just a little longer,' rang through her head, with every second that passed she could feel her leg coming back to her. Naruto's offence continued, Karui bide her time, looking for her opening.
'There!' In an instant, Naruto was forced on the defensive as a chest-high thrust was deflected leaving him wide open. He shifted his body weight over and leant left dodging the counter thrust from Karui. He still received a shallow cut on his right side, just above his hip.
Naruto jumped back as his hand instinctively went to his side. "You baited me," he joked. A small smirk spread across Karui's face, "Yep and now I know your Taijutsu and Kenjutsu styles." Naruto smirked back, "Well in that case then, I'd better mix things up a bit," he replied as he reversed his grip on his tantō and changed his stance.
"Wait does Naruto-chan know more than one style?" Kushina wondered aloud, Tsunade and Guy both grinned while Hiruzen answered her. "Yes Kushina-san, both Tsunade and Gai here taught him their Taijutsu styles, by melding them together Naruto created a third as well as incorporate Kenjutsu into all three." Kushina then noticed Naruto's hand was glowing green, "He knows medical Ninjutsu too? Is there anything you haven't been teaching them?"
Before she could receive her answer Naruto attacked with an angled diagonal slash that Karui only just avoided with a small jump back. A counter swing was blocked and she got a punch on the shoulder for her efforts. The punch was followed by a swift kick which she was able to block with a leg of her own. Karui countered with a head-butt.
*Clang* The metallic sound echoed around the arena as their Hitai-ate's slammed against one another. The two broke away before rushing at one another, this time their swords collided, a constant grinding noise as the blades fought for dominance. With the blades engaged both felt back on Taijutsu as punches, elbows, knees and kicks were thrown, blocked and countered.
This continued for the next five minutes; They'd block one another's sword, engage in Taijutsu, break apart and repeat. Initially, Naruto had the advantage thanks to his shorter weapon and his unknown second combat style but Karui had adapted by now leaving it an even affair, both had had close calls.
They broke apart again, 'Okay, this isn't working anymore. It's frustrating but I need to use my hybrid style. I was hoping not to have to use this until the semi-finals at least.' Naruto's hybrid style was incredibly effective, it combined the elements of Tsunade and Gai's styles that played to Naruto's strengths along with Naruto's own additions. It was, however, lacking in complexity meaning it was easy for an opponent to learn.
"You know, overall, out of the two of us, I'd say you're the better at Kenjutsu," he admitted. She raised an eyebrow at his comment, "Is that right, well I'd best kick it up a gear." As she spoke she changed the way she held her sword.
"Oh, I know that stance," A grinned. Naruto assumed a defensive posture as Karui closed her eyes. She opened them again and made her move, using speed she had not yet displayed, "Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri," (Cloud-Style Front Beheading) A single swing, that's all it was. If it wasn't for his training alongside Tri and that he'd improved his speed over the previous month he'd of been left with more than the long laceration down his arm he got.
Naruto's hand immediately covered the cut and glowed green. 'I don't have the time to fully heal this, I'll just staunch the bleeding and have Tsunade-sama sensei see to it afterwards.' In short order, he stopped the bleeding. "Okay, that was pretty good. Let's see how I stack up."
He drew his second tantō and set himself. Just as he had before, Karui took a defensive posture as her opponent readied himself. "Ni Ha-Ryū Chōkin Katto," (Twin Blade-Style Engraving Cuts) Naruto vanished in a blur of speed, that's when the cuts started appearing across Karui's body. She was powerless to stop the quick shallow cuts from digging into her flesh. She simply couldn't respond fast enough to block much less counter. Soon it was tens, then it became dozens, then it broke into triple figures.
Naruto ceased, the edges of both tantō were painted red with blood. Karui herself was unsteady on her feet, her outfit was almost in ribbons, her Hitai-ate fell to the floor, the material holding it to her forehead cut through, a great amount of her hair joined it. While her face had been spared, her arms and legs were riddled with cuts, some bled, some didn't. Karui took a wobbly step and almost collapsed, her sword slipped from her grasp.
She took another step, this time she did collapse. She was still conscious but she struggled to move her arms and legs.
"Karui has until the count of ten to stand," C declared as he began the count in his head. Karui tried desperately to move her joints but she couldn't, as C's count reached 8 she lost what little progress she'd made flopping back to the ground. The count hit 10, "Karui is unable to continue, Winner is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto."
Karui let out an exacerbated groan, "Damn it." All the cuts littering her body weren't that painful but they stung a lot. Naruto knelt down next to her and held his hands over her knees. "What are you doing?" She asked the pain in her knees lessened. "I'm healing the cuts around your joints so you can move unless you want to be carried out of here." Her only response was a grunt.
By the time the medics reached them Naruto had undone the damage dealt to her knees and elbows allowing her to limp to the hospital under her own power.
A sighed in resignation, one of his two remaining competitors was now out and while Atsui was regarded as the strongest of the Kumo Genin, he didn't fancy his chances against Ōnoki's granddaughter. "Why do I get the feeling we're looking at an all Konoha finals," Rasa mused. Ōnoki snorted at his comment, "I'm not doubting your granddaughter Ōnoki but even you have to begrudgingly admit that their title of 'Prodigal Three' is justified."
"Minato, how does Konoha keep doing this?" A asked. "What do you mean A?"
"What I mean is how does your village keep producing shinobi of this quality. First, it was Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara, then it was Hiruzen and his three Sannin then came you and your wife Kushina and Kakashi behind you. Now it seems these three are destined for great things." Minato thought on his comments a moment before Kakashi spoke. "I have to agree with Raikage-Dono. Konoha does seem to have a knack for producing S-Rank or borderline S-Rank Shinobi at a far greater rate than the other major villages."
"Hmm, you raise a good point, we do seem to find substantial quality every decade or so. Perhaps this is a palpable effect from the will of fire."
"Well, that's three out of three," Tsunade grinned while Gai's joyful display continued unabated. "One guaranteed finalist too," Shizune cheerfully added, she had a proud smile on her face. She'd just watched Naruto claim victory, heal and then shake the hand of his opponent. "Yes Shizune-san, Itachi and Tri's fight especially looks like it'll be one for the ages. I'm sure you have planned for just such an eventuality haven't you Mikoto-san?" Hiruzen asked with a grin, getting one in return. "Don't worry Sandaime-Sama, Itachi-chan has an answer for Tri-san."
"And I expect Tri-kun has an answer for Itachi-kun, right Sandaime-Sama?" Shizune asked. "He does indeed Shizune-san."
"Well done Naruto," Tri said greeting him as he returned to the now very empty Enclosure. He, Itachi and Fū were down the front. The last remaining Kumo Genin Atsui was stood in front of the railing waiting for the call while Kurotsuchi was sat near the back, her legs propped up on the seat in front of her. The pink-eyed Genin was pondering on how to combat the blonde Namikaze she was confident she would be facing in the Semi-finals. 'My next opponent uses Katon with Kenjutsu. Sure I know Suiton and Doton to counter his chakra nature but for that sword. I may have to use it..'
"Next Match, Kurotsuchi vs Atsui, competitors to the arena." Atsui was there in an instant, his opponent, however, took her sweet time. Getting out of her seat and descending the steps to the railing at an agonisingly slow pace.
Tri turned his head to see what was keeping her, it took a second or two but when he realised he burst out laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Fū asked him. "She's clever. Her next opponent seems rather eager, eager to the point where he doesn't like waiting around. So how better to annoy him and get under his skin than making him wait."
While he spoke Atsui had already begun pacing back and forth. And as he finished speaking Kurotsuchi reached the railing. "You know, you three are too smart for your own good when you want to be," she muttered before vaulting the railing. Naruto's laughter joined his brothers as she dropped to the arena floor.
"Finally!" Atsui exclaimed. 'Too smart but not incorrect' she thought, a wide grin spreading across her face. 'But thanks to that, I already have a way to beat him.' She mentally chuckled, 'Helped out by a Konoha Shinobi, what would my father and Grandfather think'.
"Atsui, ready?" Kurotsuchi thought his head was going to fly off given how eagerly he nodded his head. C noticed it too, "Okaayy then, Kurotsuchi, ready?"
"Hai."
"Hajime!"
"Finally! Now let's turn up the heat!" Atsui shouted as he rushed forward Katana drawn. He swung the blade in front of him several times, each time a small jet of fire the length and width of his katana appeared and headed straight for her. "Creating fire by channelling chakra through your sword huh. Not too bad I guess. "Suiton: Mizurappa," (Water Release: Water Trumpet) the jet of water consumed the fire, completely extinguishing them. The water, however, didn't stop, it continued rushing towards Atsui but he easily dodged, jumping to his right.
"Hmph, seems my flames weren't hot enough, let's crank it up a few gears." His katana started glowing before it was suddenly wreathed in flame. "You know whenever I hold my sword like this, all covered in flame. I can't help but imagine myself as a hero in a far-off land, leading from the front, valiantly charging the enemy, my name would be something like 'Thoros of Myr'.
Kurotsuchi was confused, she turned her head towards the Kumo contingent in the crowd. "Is he normally like this?" she shouted up to them. "Yes!" a busty blonde shouted back, getting a ripple of laughter from amongst the Kumo nin. "Sis!" Atsui complained. "Just get on with it! Your heat based japery is grating!"
"Hmph," he muttered, ignoring his sister's comments as he set himself again. "So, your one for heat are you. Well then, let's see how you handle this." She weaved her hand-seals ending with bird, "Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu," (Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique) Kurotsuchi aimed into the air and released a canopy of fluidic lava over the top of Atsui.
"Yōton?" Said a bewildered Tri, "Yōton's a Kiri bloodline. I wonder how it found its way to Iwa?"
Atsui didn't wait around as he rushed to get out from under the descending liquid fire. A final jump into a roll got him clear as the lava hit the ground with a thud/ splash, hissing as it flash boiled any moisture on the ground.
"Well, I'll admit lava is certainly hotter than fire. Now let's both get hot and physical!" he loudly declared. Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow, most cringed and Samui buried her face in her hands, "Oh for Kami sake, Baka." Meanwhile, Atsui looked utterly clueless to his double entendre. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to say no," Kurotsuchi bluntly replied, seeing an opportunity to test his patience.
The seconds dragged on in near silence, the look of frustration building on Atsui's face. The silence continued until finally, he snapped, That's it, no more waiting around! I'm going to end this now!" he shouted, levelling the tip of his katana at her. She let out a tiny smirk as he rushed headlong towards her.
He almost missed her hand-seals, "Doton: Doryūheki," (Earth Release: Mud Wall) the wall of mud shot up in front of him and he couldn't stop in time as his katana embedded itself in the wall. Unlike all the previous uses of the Jutsu, however, instead of a straight wall, it was shaped like a horseshoe and far higher at 10ft high. The only break in the wall was directly behind Atsui. A brief moment to think passed, he decided to abandon his sword and get out of what was clearly a trap.
That moment proved to be too long, by the time he'd turned around Kurotsuchi had blocked him in. "Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu," (Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique) Kurotsuchi released a large ball of quicklime that enveloped Atsui up to his shoulders. "What the hell is this?" he yelled.
"It's my quicklime, it's fantastic for trapping things and holding them still."
"Holding them still? Ha, I'll be out of here in no time." She simply shook her head at his ignorance. "Suiton: Mizurappa," a jet of water struck the quicklime and it set solid in seconds holding Atsui completely still. "Concede."
He looked at her as if she'd gone mad, "Concede? Me? Never!" he defiantly roared. The pink-eyed Kunoichi let out an exacerbated sigh before kneeling down and placing her palms on the ground, a mud wall rose behind her to completely enclose Atsui. "You either concede or die," she stated, jumping on top of the wall.
"Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu," the stream of lava was aimed at the ground and began pooling, it had nowhere to go but up. It quickly passed Atsui's feet, then his knees, quickly followed by his hips. He could feel the heat through the set quicklime. As the lava passed his stomach he gave in, "OK! OK! I CONCEDE!" he wailed having decided he didn't want to be buried under molten rock.
The second mud wall she'd raised immediately collapsed allowing the lava level to recede through the gap. C joined Kurotsuchi on the larger wall and together they started casting water Jutsu to cool down the lava that remained. After doing so he declared to the crowd, "Winner by concession, Kurotsuchi."
The Iwa nin cheered while the Kumo nin groaned as their final competitor was defeated. "Wow, that was an impressive display," Naruto said to the three around him."
"That it was Naruto, she used a lot of chakra though," Itachi added noticing she was drawing breathe a little harder than before. "If she's not considerate of her chakra usage then that's your opportunity, Naruto. You have far more chakra than she does, simply outlast her." Naruto nodded, taking in Itachi's advice.
"Ōnoki, I'm intrigued as to how you've cultured a Kekkai Genkai one would usually associate with Kirigakure," asked an interested Rasa. "Village secret I'm afraid, Rasa." A snorted while Minato laughed, "I think that's code for 'mind your own business' Rasa."
"Certainly seems that way Minato," the Kazekage sheepishly replied.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, that brings the second round to a close, we will now take another thirty-minute recess before the semi-finals. The matches during the next round will be Uchiha Itachi vs Uzumaki Tri and Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto vs Kurotsuchi." C shouted to the crowd triggering an exodus to the concourses. There was food to be bought and bets to be made.
End Chapter
And there's another four fights completed. Only a few more remain but now I can move on to writing the Tri/ Itachi fight, the one I've been wanting to do for a while.
You'll have to let me know what you think of the Tri, Fū fight, I needed it to end on an anticlimax but I can't decide if I'm happy with it or not.
1 – Omae/ Kimi is a term a husband may use to refer to his wife, the term is used in place of their name.
2 – Anata is a term a wife may use to refer to her husband, the term is used in place of their name.