AUTHOR NOTE
This is my very first fic.
"Blah" talking.
'Blah' thinking.
"Blah" Bijū talking or jutsu move.
'Blah' Bijū thinking.
"Blah" Bijū talking to partner through their mind.
I do not own Naruto nor make a profit from this.
Chapter 17
"Umm can Shikamaru and Chouji *Cough* remain behind while the rest move up to *Cough* the balcony," Hayate said.
Everyone except Shikamaru, Chouji and Hayate moved up to the balcony. The jōnin instructors joined their teams on the balcony while the Hokage, Ibiki, Anko and Iruka remained in front of the statue.
"Asuma-sensei will they be alright?" Naruko asked while looking at Shikamaru and Chouji.
"That's if they even fight. Shikamaru is too lazy to bother and Chouji is too gentle and refuses to hurt his friends," Asuma replied also not sure how this will turn out.
"You guys ready?" Hayate asked looking between Shikamaru and Chouji.
"No I'm not," Shikamaru replied with a yawn.
"Umm ok," Hayate said with a twitch in his eye.
"This is too troublesome. Come on Chouji let's get this over with," Shikamaru said looking at his best friend.
"Do I have to do this? Can't I just forfeit?" Chouji said whining a bit not wanting to fight his best friend.
"Chouji if you forfeit now I will ban you from going to baroques," Asuma shouted out.
"Asuma-sensei…" Chouji started speaking.
"Ey fatso you going to fight or just sit there getting fatter?" Shikamaru asked plainly loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Oh boy," Naruko said knowing what will happen next.
"What did you call me?" Chouji asked loudly, taking offense with fires in his eyes.
"I called you fat so what you going to do about it?" Shikamaru replied while casually picking his nose.
"Please start the match," Chouji said not taking his eyes off of Shikamaru.
"Right. Begin!" Hayate said while jumping back a bit.
"I am not fat. I am big boned!" Chouji declared while making a hand seal.
"Ninpō: Baika no jutsu," Chouji called out before his chest and upper legs expanded greatly in size.
"Zu" Chouji said while his arms, legs and head retracted into his body making him a big round ball.
"Nikudan Sensha" Chouji called out before his body started spinning at a high speed and rolling towards Shikamaru.
Shikamaru jumped out the way letting Chouji roll right past him. Chouji suddenly turned sharply surprising a few people and rolled towards Shikamaru again. Shikamaru barely had time to evade the attack. Shikamaru led Chouji so he would roll into a wall while having to dodge the constant attacks.
Eventually Shikamaru got where he wanted to be and moved out the way just before Chouji reached him. Instead of slamming into the wall Chouji reacted quickly and stopped his spinning while shrinking back to his normal self.
Chouji swung his feet forward just in time and landed on the wall rather hard causing him to grunt and his legs to buckle a bit from the impact. Chouji quickly recovered and summersaulted off the wall but couldn't move when he landed.
"Kagemane complete," Shikamaru said while walking to the centre of the floor forcing Chouji to mimic his actions.
"You should give up Chouji," Shikamaru said from behind Chouji.
"Yea I give up. Not that I had chance against you Shikamaru," Chouji said giving up a bit disappointed with himself.
"Chouji forfeits. Shikamaru wins and advances through to the main event," Hayate declared.
Chouji and Shikamaru walked up to the balcony and joined their comrades and friends.
"No hard feelings Chouji you know I didn't mean what I said," Shikamaru said feeling a little bad for insulting him.
"Yea no hard feelings," Chouji said with a smile.
"Hey Chouji, Shikamaru both of you did great there," Naruko said with a smile after running over to them.
"Thanks but I didn't stand a chance against," Chouji replied.
"No Chouji I didn't stand a chance it's just that your heart and kindness held you back," Shikamaru said while shaking his head.
"Do you really think that?" Chouji asked.
"He is right. You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for," Naruko answered.
"Thanks you guys," Chouji said with a smile.
Everyone turned to the board to see who would be next. The screen quickly flipped through the names before coming to a stop and showing the next two name.
"Kin VS Sasuke. Kin and Sasuke please make your way down," Hayate said after reading the screen.
Sasuke jumped down from the balcony along with Kin. Both Kin and Sasuke had a smirk on their faces.
"You ready?" Hayate asked while looking at Sasuke who just nodded in return.
"Are you ready?" Hayate asked while looking at Kin.
"Oh I'm always ready for pretty boy over here," Kin replied and gave Sasuke a seductive look and pose.
Sasuke didn't react to her seduction attempts at all which made Kin a little mad.
"What am I too pretty for you?" Kin asked in a sweet voice.
"I couldn't care less and besides there is only one person that's beautiful in my eyes," Sasuke replied while looking up to Naruko and making her blush.
"Her? Please she isn't half the person I am," Kin said after following Sasuke's gaze and seeing Naruko.
"Like I said I couldn't care less what you think but you shouldn't judge a person by their looks," Sasuke said unfazed by Kin's remarks.
"A girl dressing up for you tells me more than enough," Kin said rolling her eyes after seeing Naruko's ears and tails.
"This just proves my point, you are quick to judge and label someone but I don't need to defend her she is more than cable of doing that on her own," Sasuke responded before looking up to Naruko and giving her a smile and a wink making Naruko blush a bit harder.
'Thank you Sasuke-kun,' Naruko thanked mentally.
"The match begins now," Hayate said starting the battle.
Kin instantly jumped back while throwing a set of senbons at Sasuke. He easily dodged the senbons before charging at kin and suddenly reappearing right in front of her. Her eyes widened when she suddenly saw Sasuke right in front of her.
Sasuke used his left hand to punch Kin in the stomach fairly hard sending her flying into the wall behind her. A crack in the wall formed when Kin hit the fall before falling onto the ground out cold. Sasuke remained in his punching pose with his left hand extended in front of him.
Sasuke was rather surprised by how quickly the fight ended and how weak the girl actually was or was he just that much stronger than he realised.
"Wow Sasuke is a lot faster and stronger than he was before," Ino said with wide eyes.
"Yea he is a completely different person," Kiba agreed with amazement.
"Seems like we got the easy fight Chouji. This just got a whole lot more troublesome," Shikamaru said also quite surprised by Sasuke's growth.
"Sasuke is the winner by knockout," Hayate said after checking on Kin to see if she was ok.
Sasuke started walking up to the balcony still quite surprised while wondering how strong he actually is.
"Yosh Kakashi you student's flames of youth shine bright," a voice said from behind the group.
Everyone turned around and saw a man the same height if not a bit taller than Kakashi. The man had black hair and eyes with really thick eyebrows. He was wearing a full green body spandex suit with a green Konoha chūnin utility jacket.
He had an orange strip cloth around the bottom of his legs that reach up to the bottom of his knees and blue shinobi sandals. This strange man had a wide smile showing his shiny white teeth. Naruko and Sakura thought that Lee had suddenly grown taller.
Though that thought changed when the saw Lee, Neji and TenTen behind the taller Lee clone. Kakashi turned his head to the side to look at the strange green man.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Kakashi asked with a dead tone.
"Gahhh, Kakashi you and your hip attitude," the man said while tears came pouring out of eyes.
"Umm Kakashi-sensei who is this weird person?" Sakura asked fairly freaked out by this weirdo.
"Why my youthful comrade I am Kakashi's eternal rival and Konoha no Kedakaki Aoi Mōjū, Maito Gai!" the person now known as Gai exclaimed with a big smile while holding his thumb up.
"So you are the two people I see every morning running around the village," Naruko said while looking between Gai and Lee.
"Yes that is us you see Naruko-san. We have also seen you training every morning, you should join us," Lee said while walking up to Naruko.
"I would love to join you guys," Naruko said happily.
TenTen would have normaly advised against this but didn't as she was a bit scared of Naruko.
"Yosh your flames of youth burn bright," Gai said while holding up his thumb again.
"Sasuke-kun!" Naruko said while hugging and giving Sasuke a kiss when he got there.
Sasuke was suddenly brought back to reality only to get a hug and a kiss from someone. He quickly realised who it was before welcoming the kiss and returning the hug. Sakura, Hinata and TenTen blushed when they saw Naruko kissing Sasuke while Ino was getting jealous again.
"Well done Sasuke-kun you really showed her," Naruko said with a smile.
"Yea I did. I'm quite surprised. I thought she would put up more of a fight," Sasuke said still not quite believing it.
"Well that's Sasuke-kun for you, no doubt the strongest genin here," Ino said still being a fan-girl when it comes to Sasuke.
"Sorry to burst your bubble here Ino but I am not the strongest. Naruko is much stronger than I am. I don't come anywhere near Naruko's level," Sasuke said while shaking his head.
"Sasuke-kun you are just being modest," Ino said not believing that Naruko is that strong.
"No I'm not. I have yet to even come close to beating Naruko in a spar," Sasuke said shaking his head again.
This got Lee's hopes right up while Neji was curious by what Sasuke had said. Ino didn't say anything after hearing that while taking glances at Naruko while TenTen wondered how strong Naruko truly is which only made her fear Naruko more.
The fear in TenTen's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Naruko but before she could say anything or even think about it the screen started flipping through a bunch of names which got everyone's attention. The screen than stopped at the next set of names.
"Neji VS Misumi. Neji and Misumi please make your way down," Hayate announced while looking up towards the balcony.
Both Misumi and Neji made their way down to the arena. Misumi didn't look like much and had a mask that covered his face leaving his eyes visible. Misumi shifted his glasses up a bit when he got to the bottom of the stairs.
Neji and Misumi stood facing each other a few meters apart while staring at each other with a hard glare.
"You ready?" Hayate asked to which both nodded.
"Begin," Hayate said after seeing the two nod.
Misumi charged at Neji right after Hayate had said begin. When Misumi reach Neji he through a left punch towards Neji's face which was easily deflected by Neji. Misumi through a few more punches but all were easily deflect before he was struck in the chest.
Misumi jumped back feeling that the hit did more damage than it should of.
"That was just a weak attack. I'd suggest you give up if that is all you can do," Neji said emotionlessly.
Misumi only responded by heading back in and throwing another punch at Neji which was easily deflected again. What happened next caught Neji off guard and confused him a bit. Misumi stretched and slithered around him and his limbs several times.
Neji found himself unable to move due to Misumi stretching his limbs and body to unnatural length.
"My body has been altered so I can fit into any space. I can keep squeezing until your bones break. I suggest you give up," Misumi explained while squeezing a bit tighter.
"It is you that should give up," Neji said while remaining calm.
"You're in no position to give demands. You could really die here," Misumi warned.
"I warned you," Neji said before closing his eyes.
Neji concentrated before expelling chakra all throughout his body. Misumi was hit by the burst of chakra and due to the close contact and amount of chakra it instantly killed him. Misumi's grip loosened before he slumped down to the ground.
Hayate appeared next to Misumi and tried to feel for a pulse only to find none.
"Misumi has been killed. Neji advances to the main event," Hayate said standing before shaking his head while Neji headed up to the balcony.
"Surely he must know what a Hyuuga can do," Hayate said softly knowing that taijutsu against a Hyuuga is a death wish.
"Kakashi-sensei what happened?" Sakura asked not sure as to what happened.
"Normally he would release a small amount of chakra from his palms when he strikes a target but this time he instead released chakra throughout body which is what killed him," Kakashi explained.
"Why would that kill someone?" Sakura asked.
"That is because Neji forced his own chakra into Misumi's chakra network which disrupts and damages his network system. As the chakra coils are intertwined with one's organs an attack on one's chakra network is almost always lethal," Kakashi explained.
"But how can he attack his chakra network when you can't see where it is?" Sakura asked intrigued by this.
"The Byakugan allows a Hyuuga to see the chakra pathways and tenketsu located throughout the body. The Hyuuga use this ability to attack the chakra network and tenketsu directly and accurately. Their fighting style is known as the Jūken style," Kakashi explained.
"The inside of one's body is the most vulnerable as you can't train the inside of your body," Naruko said fully realising how deadly a Hyuuga can truly be.
"Correct Naru-chan. This is why the Hyuugas are known for their taijutsu and why a taijutsu fight against them is suicide," Kakashi said with an eye smile.
Everyone's attention was brought back to the screen when it started its routine to select the next two contestants. After a few seconds the screen stopped making Naruko perk up at the next battle.
"Gaara VS Yoroi. Please make your way down to the arena," Hayate called out loudly.
Gaara wasted no time and dissolved into sand before reforming near Hayate. Naruko mumbled something about Gaara showing off and that she can also do that. Yoroi jumped down also not wanting to waste time.
"A bit of a show off are we? No matter I will put you in your place," Yoroi said with a smirk.
Gaara didn't responded and remained looking at Yoroi with an emotionless expression on his face. Yoroi gritted his teeth annoyed at the lack of response. Hayate exchanged looks between Gaara and Yoroi before starting the match.
"Begin!" Hayate called out while jumping back giving them space to fight.
Yoroi ran towards Gaara at a medium speed that everyone could keep up with. When Yoroi reached Gaara he threw a punch which was blocked by a small wall of sand surprising Yoroi. Yoroi jumped back a bit before going back in and sending punches and kicks Gaara's way.
Each punch and kick was blocked by sand that seemed to act on its own. Yoroi tried to attack Gaara from behind but the sand blocked his attacks again without Gaara having to turn and face him.
"What the..? How can he block attacks like that?" Sakura asked seeing Gaara block attacks without having to look.
"His sand has a will of its own. Whether he wills it to or not his sand blocks all attacks," Kankuro said while he and Temari walked up to them.
"That means…" Sakura said with her eyes going wide.
"Yes all attacks are ineffective against him," Kankuro said nodding his head.
"Yes that may be true but I already see two weaknesses here," Naruko said while watching Yoroi failing to land an attack.
"Two? Temari asked with wide eyes.
"I don't understand, I haven't seen anyone that can lay a hand on Gaara" Kankuro said confused.
"Orochimaru managed to," Naruko said making Team Seven along with Kankuro and Temari's eyes go wide remembering that Orochimaru had being able to inject Gaara with a drug of some sorts.
"I don't see what weaknesses a jutsu like this can have," Ino said not being able to see what Naruko was seeing.
"I won't say what they are, it will be unfair for Gaara and you should discover them for yourself," Naruko said while shaking her head.
"Awww please Na ru ko?" Ino asked dragging out each syllable of Naruko's name.
"Sorry Ino. If I tell you his weakness it might harm your chance of becoming a chūnin and this is a tournament and would be unfair for Gaara as this is a place where you can test your current abilities. If you can't understand this than you have much to improve," Naruko said while turning to face Ino.
'She already understands the whole point of this exam. You might just become a chūnin Naruko,' Kakashi with an eye smile feeling proud of Naruko.
-Back with Gaara and Yoroi-
Yoroi had spent the past five minutes trying to get past Gaara's defence. Gaara was now very board of this fight and decided to just end it. He raised his hand making his sand shoot out towards the charging Yoroi.
Yoroi couldn't react fast enough and found himself completely covered with sand only leaving his face visible.
"Give up. You cannot escape this," Gaara said in an emotionless tone.
Kankuro and Temari were a bit surprise as Gaara would normally just kill them without saying anything. Yoroi struggled and struggled trying to free himself.
"Your struggling is futile. You have no way out of this. I suggest to give up," Gaara said while making his sand squeeze Yoroi tighter.
Yoroi gritted his teeth in pain but refused to give in and continued to struggle trying to free himself. Gaara just shook his head before slowly increasing the pressure making Yoroi scream in pain.
"Give up if you don't want to die," Gaara said seeing Yoroi continue to struggle and Hayate considered ending the match himself.
Gaara increased the pressure again making Yoroi's screams increase in volume.
"Yoroi is unable to escape. Gaara wins and advances to the main event!" Hayate said ending the match seeing no point in it continuing.
Gaara released his sand and dropped Yoroi down on to the ground. Yoroi passed out before he hit the ground. Gaara used a sand shunshin and reappeared next to Kankuro and Temari.
"Well done Gaara," Naruko said with a smile while her tails slowly waved from side to side.
Gaara just nodded in return with a small smile of his own. Everyone turned to the screen watching it spin through the names for a few seconds before coming to a stop and landing on the next two names.
"Zaku VS Sakura. Umm Please make *Cough* your way down to the arena," Hayate announced.
Sakura was very nervous for her fight as she didn't know what to expect and didn't want to disappoint her teammates. Naruko saw this and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Sakura turned her head and saw Naruko with a smile on her face.
"Sakura don't worry give it your all and you will be fine, I know you will. Just relax and forget what others think," Naruko said trying to reassure Sakura and giving her a few tips.
"Sakura you will be fine, you are much stronger than you realise," Sasuke said with a smile all trying to reassure Sakura.
"Thank you, you guys," Sakura said with a smile feeling really happy while Kakashi eye smiled feeling really proud of his team.
Sakura walked down and saw Zaku waiting impatiently for her. Sakura stopped a few metres in front of Zaku and waited for the match to start.
"Does miss cry baby need some comforting from her team?" Zaku mocked before laughing out loud.
Sakura just frowned before getting into a basic stance and stared intently at Zaku. Zaku laughed before getting into a stance himself. Naruko wasn't too please with Zaku mocking Sakura but held back for Sakura's sake.
"Begin!" Hayate said seeing the two already in their battle stances.
"Zankūha!" Zaku instantly called out while he brought both of his hands up and shot a gush of wind towards Sakura.
Sakura held her hands in front of her face to block the attack. The attack pushed Sakura back a few inches and cut her several times on her forearm. Sakura grunted and gritted her teeth before lowering her arms slightly so she could get her sights on Zaku.
"So you survived that? Let's see if you survive this?" Zaku mocked before sending another gush of wind at Sakura.
Sakura wasn't going to take his mocking any longer and easily dodged the attack surprising Zaku. Out of anger Zaku sent several gushes of wind to Sakura and continued to send more. She effortless dodged the attacks while continuing to evade them.
Sakura made no effort to go on the offensive and waited out a bit to see how long Zaku could keep this up. She was quite surprised at how she could effortlessly dodge the attacks. After a few minutes Zaku did start to get tired from constantly attacking and failing to hit Sakura.
Sakura noticed that Zaku's attack rate slowed down tremendously and his movements were getting sluggish. She suddenly went on the offensive and quickly closed the distance between her and Zaku. Zaku was very surprised by Sakura almost instantly appearing in front of him.
When Sakura reached Zaku she went all out and punched him in the chest as hard as she could. Her fist connected with Zaku's chest and a sickening crunch and crack could be hard throughout the arena. Everyone cringed at the sound while Zaku was sent flying to the wall behind him.
When Zaku hit the wall he coughed up blood while his eyes widened while a hole was created from the impact. He remained in the wall with his eyes and mouth wide open completely still. Sakura looked at Zaku with wide shaking eyes while trembling slightly.
Hayate quickly approached Zaku and saw that it was clear as day that he didn't need to check of a pulse as Zaku remain motionless in the wall with no light behind his open eyes. Hayate shook his head at Zaku before signalling for medics.
'There is no way this kid survived that attack. His chest is completely crushed and no doubt died shortly after hitting the wall,' Hayate though while looking at the lifeless Zaku.
"Zaku is dead. Sakura advances to the main event," Hayate announced just loud enough for everyone to hear.
Sakura fell to her knees before she bent over and emptied her stomach's contents. She remained on her hand and knees while her eyes were wide open, replaying what just happened in her mind. Naruko instantly reappeared next Sakura along with Kakashi.
Naruko brought Sakura into tight hug and wrapped her tails around Sakura while trying to calm her down. She could feel Sakura shaking badly in her arms and was able to hear Sakura whimpering softly. Kakashi placed a hand on Sakura also trying to calm her down.
Naruko used a shunshin along with Kakashi and reappeared on the balcony while she kept embracing Sakura and tried to calm her down.
"Shhh. It's ok Sakura its ok. Shhh, I'm here, I'm here," Naruko said softly trying to comfort Sakura who was crying softly into Naruko's shoulder.
Sasuke and the rest of the rookie nine ran to Sakura to which Kakashi only let Sasuke get close and kept the rest back including Ino. Naruko sat down with Sakura on her lap facing towards her and still had her tails wrapped protectively around Sakura.
"Hmmph, pathetic. A weakling like her has no place here. Fate would have her suffer and cry like the weakling she is," Neji scoffed.
Naruko eyes turned blood red and sent a cold hard stare to Neji while releasing her and Kurama's killing intent. Neji buckled and started sweating from the amount of killing intent Naruko sent his way.
"Fellow comrade or not you will watch your tongue. If you even think of laying a hand on her or anyone of my friends nothing in this world or any world will save you from my wrath," Naruko growled in a low cold demonic voice that made Neji start to sweat furiously.
"Neji-san I suggest you leave now," Kakashi said with an eye smile and in a happy tone which Neji mistook for friendliness.
Gai got in front of Neji and moved him along to the other side of the balcony as he has only seen Kakashi like this a few times and knew he was anything but happy. The rest of the rookie nine made a mental note not to get on Naruko's bad side ever.
"Temari VS Dosu. Umm please make *Cough* your way to the arena," Hayate announced bringing everyone's attention.
Both Temari and Dosu jumped down and stared each other down. Temari had a smirk on her face as she was excited and more than ready for this fight. Ever since Naruko defeat Shukaku and discovered the weights Team Seven use she upped her training and started training with extra weights.
"Are both of you ready?" Hayate asked a rather pointless question in Temari's opinion,
Both of them nodded while Temari lifted her large fan and got in a stance.
"Begin!" Hayate declared, starting the match.
Temari jumped back gaining distance from Dosu before opening her fan so one star was visible. Temari started waving her fan sending bullets of air straight for Dosu. He dodged the bullets of air and closed the distance between him and Temari.
When Dosu got close Temari closed her fan and swung it aiming to hit him in the head. Dosu ducked underneath the fan while Temari used the momentum to spin around with the fan bringing it back around.
Dosu brought his left arm up and used the strange tool on his hand to block the attack. Dosu quickly regretted this decision when fan connected. The force of the impact sent Dosu skidding back several metres back and flinched in pain when he lost control of his arm and it flopped down while blood started pouring out of his arm.
Dosu gritted his teeth in pain as knew that his arm was broken and possibly even shattered. He kneeled down on one knee while holding his arm that was in great pain.
"I'm surprised you still have an arm after block an attack from my fan. I guess that thing on your arm protected you somewhat," Temari said with a grin.
"Gahh, damn you!" Dosu said while charging back in recklessly.
Temari jumped up and spun while extending her left foot when Dosu reach her. Temari's foot connect with Dosu's face sending him flying forcing Hayate to move out the way. Dosu landed on the ground before skidding and coming to a stop in front of Anko.
Hayate appeared by Dosu and saw that he was alive but unconscious.
"Dosu has been defeated. Temari advances to the main event," Hayate said to which Temari grinned before walking up to the balcony.
Temari walked passed Naruko and Sakura and gave a small smile knowing what it's like to experience one's first kill. Naruko had managed to calm Sakura down but Sakura still trembled occasionally.
The screen rolled through the next set of names for a few seconds before coming to a stop which made Naruko sigh.
"Naruko VS TenTen. Umm please make your way down to the arena," Hayate said loud enough for all to hear.
Naruko reluctantly unwrapped her tails that were around Sakura and stood up still holding Sakura. Sakura let go of Naruko and gave her a warm smile. Naruko jumped down from the balcony while Sakura slowly made her way to the edge to watch the match.
TenTen jumped down and slowly made her way to the centre before stopping several metres in front of Naruko. Naruko could see fear in TenTen's eyes and knew that the fear was directed at her. Naruko's tails and ears dropped feeling a bit sad.
"You're afraid of me. I can see it in your eyes," Naruko said loud enough for only TenTen and Hayate to hear.
"Is it what I said to Neji?" Naruko asked wanting to know why TenTen feared her.
"N-N-No but that didn't help," TenTen replied with a bit of fear in her voice.
"No? Then why are you afraid?" Naruko asked.
"I wasn't at first but that stunt you pulled before the exam… you really did scare a lot of us there," TenTen answered.
"I…I see, sorry about that. I'm just very protective over the small amount of friends I have," Naruko said with a small smile.
"Well it's no wonder you have so few friends if you go around doing that," TenTen asked relaxing a bit at the small warm smile on Naruko's face.
"I…maybe now yes but it's mostly…always because of another reason," Naruko said with sadness.
TenTen could see the sadness in her eyes and regretted what she had just said.
"For what it's worth I'm sorry for scaring you like that," Naruko apologised while bowing towards TenTen.
TenTen was quite surprised by this. She honestly didn't know what to expect from Naruko but this wasn't one of them.
"Fight me with all you got and we will call it even," TenTen said with a smile.
"Umm I don't think that's a good idea but I will respect your wish," Naruko said standing up straight. Naruko would fight hard but not at full strength as she might end up hurting TenTen or even killing her.
"Begin!" Hayate said after seeing the two get into their respective stances.
TenTen began immediately by pulling out a scroll and opening it. She started throwing at Naruko a volley of weapons that were sealed in the scroll. Naruko easily dodge the weapons, weaving in and out fluently showing off her agility and flexibility.
When her scroll was empty TenTen took out another two scrolls before repeating the process of emptying the scroll's contents and throwing them at Naruko. Naruko was a bit surprised by the amount that TenTen was throwing at her and was surprised by the accuracy of them.
Naruko continued to effortless evade the weapons being thrown at her while occasionally using a tail to knock a few weapons away from her. TenTen seeing that throwing weapons at Naruko was pointless and changed tactics by unsealing a Bo and charging towards Naruko.
When TenTen reached Naruko she attacked Naruko with a fluent combo of jabs, swipes, swings and strikes. Naruko really showed off her agility and flexibility by weaving, bending and jumping to avoid TenTen's vicious attacks.
"You… Are… Holding… Back… Fight… Me… Seriously," TenTen said in between her attacks getting annoyed that Naruko was clearly holding back.
Suddenly Naruko allowed the Bo to hit her before disappearing in a puff of smoke surprising TenTen enough to stop her dead in her tracks. TenTen suddenly felt her feet get swept from underneath her.
TenTen looked down while falling backwards and saw Naruko currently spinning low on the ground with a foot extended out. Naruko caught TenTen before she could hit the ground and gentle put laid her on the ground with her claws pressing against TenTen's neck.
"I win," Naruko said with a smile while looking at a very surprised TenTen.
Only a few of the elite jōnin actual saw what happened while the rest suddenly saw Naruko puff up in smoke and then appeared behind TenTen crouch low on the ground mid spin.
"TenTen has been defeated. Naruko advances through to the main event," Hayate said declaring Naruko the winner.
Naruko helped TenTen back on to her feet.
"How? What happened?" TenTen asked confused as to what happened.
"Before the match started I created a bunshin which planted itself on the roof," Naruko said point to the roof and TenTen looked up.
"When you charged in I switched with the bunshin on the roof. When you hit the bunshin it dispelled and I dropped down from the roof, landing behind you and well you know the rest," Naruko said with a smile.
"No one ever looks up. I don't know why but no one looks up," Naruko said while walking up the stairs the balcony with TenTen.
The rest of the rookie nine except for Sakura and Sasuke were surprise as they still didn't know what actually happened. Before more could be said or done the screen started flipping through the next set of names leaving the last few people in suspense.
"Kiba VS Ino. Please make your way down to the arena," Hayate announced after reading the screen.
Kiba and Ino looked at each other with different expressions. Kiba had a big grin on his face while Ino had a nervous smile. Kiba jumped down before putting Akamaru down from sitting on top of Kiba's head. Ino made her way down the stairs not looking forward to this fight.
Ino stopped a few metres in front of Kiba who was still grinning which made Ino even more nervous.
"Ready?" Hayate asked while looking at Ino.
"Let's just get this over with," Ino said with a sigh while getting into a stance.
"Are you ready?" Hayate asked while looking at Kiba.
"I'm always ready," Kiba said while also getting into a stance.
"Begin!" Hayate said starting the match.
"Sorry Ino but I am going to end this quickly with one punch," Kiba said while making a Hitsuji hand seal.
"Ninpō: Shikyaku no jutsu!" Kiba called out before going on to his hands low to the ground.
Kiba's expression became more animalistic while his nails grew into long claws. Ino gulped before steadying herself and preparing for anything. Nothing at this point could prepare Ino for what happened next as Kiba suddenly appeared in front of Ino with his fist cocked back.
Sasuke, Sakura and Naruko along with the rest of the rookie nine were surprised by Kiba's speed. Kiba shot his fist out towards Ino's face to which Ino narrowly evaded by titling her head to the side.
Kiba ended up shooting past Ino but quickly recovered and bounced back towards Ino. With her back faced towards Kiba, Ino could only watch as Kiba bounced back after shooting past her. Kiba used his left hand to grab Ino's left arm and pulled it while pressing it behind Ino's back.
Ino let out a short scream from the rough treatment. Kiba placed his right hand by Ino's throat and growled while squeezing his hand choking Ino slightly.
"Give up. I don't want to hurt you," Kiba said into Ino's ear.
"Ahhh. You already hurting me," Ino said in a slightly higher pitched voice.
"Sorry Ino but please give up," Kiba said while pressing her arm harder into her back making her release another short scream in pain.
"I… I give up you win," Ino said not being able to get out of this.
"Ino forfeits. Kiba goes through to the main event," Hayate said announcing the winner.
Kiba released Ino from his hold before Akamaru ran towards him barking and wagging his tail. Ino started rubbing and stretching her arm trying to ease the pain. Kiba took out a small round container while walking over to Ino.
"Here it's a cream my sister made to relax and ease muscles," Kiba said while holding out the small cream container.
"Oh. Thank you," Ino thanked while taking the cream.
"Pleasure and sorry if I hurt you too badly," Kiba said while rubbing the back of his head.
"You know not all girls like it rough," Ino said seductively and winking at Kiba before turning around and walking towards the balcony.
Kiba blushed quite hard while watching Ino's hips sway from side to side as she walked back to the balcony. Kiba soon followed after Ino keeping his eyes on her the whole way back. Akamaru kept looking between Kiba and Ino before getting a few ideas in his mind.
"Well done Kiba-kun," Hinata said softly when Kiba got back to his team.
"Thanks Hinata. You must also do your best, I know you can do it," Kiba thanked.
"Hard lines there Ino. I hope you see now that there is still much for you to improve," Asuma said to Ino who nodded in return.
"Yea I know. Even forehead here has improved a lot since the academy. I hope she is alright." Ino said with a sigh while looking towards Sakura.
Naruko continued to stay close to Sakura keeping a few tails wrapped around her. Though Sakura had calmed down she was still pretty shaken from her first kill. Ino smiled softly happy that Sakura has found a good friend in Naruko.
Everyone turned back to the screen when it started going through the last few names.
"Yosh since I have come this far so I will go all the way to the end. I want to go last!" Lee shouted out.
"That's it Lee let your youth burn bright. We shall save the best for last. If you don't fight last I will run around Konoha on my hands until the sunsets!" Gai shouted while holding his thumb to Lee and a big smile on his face.
"Gai-sensei! I will show you my spring time of youth. If I don't fight last I will run around Konoha on my hands backwards until sunset!" Lee said with stars in his eyes while looking at Gai.
"That's my Lee!" Gai said with tears pouring out of his eyes and hugging Lee.
"Gai-sensei!" Lee said with tears pouring out of his eyes and returning the hug.
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
TenTen and Neji deadpanned at the two with a sweat drop on the back of their heads while their eyes twitched continuously. The whole of the rookie nine sweat dropped at the two while wondering how and why they knew such weirdoes. Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai just shook their heads at Lee and Gai.
The board stopped showing the contestants for the next fight.
"YOSHA!" Lee shouted out along with Gai.
Hayate sighed wondering what kind of people existed within Konoha.
"Hinata VS Kankuro. Please make your way down to the arena," Hayate announced.
Chapter 17
Sorry all for the slow update been busy this past week. But anyways this is the end of Chapter 17. All match ups were drawn from a hat and I gave myself a rule to not change the match ups no matter what.
This was a bit of a challenge as the match ups seemed rather one sided. I saved the next two fights for last so I could think and plan them as they were an interesting and unusual line up.
I hope the match between Shikamaru and Chouji was alright. I honestly can't see them going all out on each other especially this early on. It has to take great motivation for Chouji to even think of fighting and even then he will hold back.
MorganPaigeR: You seem rather hyped these past few chapters and for the next one to come lol.
LilPrincess95: Honestly the chances here were slim. Next chapter I'll leave an author note about the match ups for the third exam.
RoseeAnn: You are just going to have to wait and see what happens though I might surprise you. Though the Kazekage is alive he can't walk at the moment and in this chapter you can see how much Gaara has calmed down.
Arianna Le Fay: Really happy you like this version of Sasuke. Hehehe you shall soon see what I have planned for Itachi hehehe.
As requested here is a... not sure what to call this. I guess an overview of Team Seven's abilities.
Kakashi:
Strength: 7
Intellect/Intelligence: 9
Speed: 7.5
Stamina: 7
Chakra Capacity: 7
Chakra Control: 7
Ninjutsu: 9
Taijutsu: 8
Genjutsu: 7
Kenjutsu: 6
Fūinjutsu: 6.5
Handseals: 9
Score: 90
Rating 7.5
Naruko:
Strength: 9
Intellect/Intelligence: 8.5
Speed: 9
Stamina: 10
Chakra Capacity: 10
Chakra Control: 2
Ninjutsu: 8.5
Taijutsu: 7
Genjutsu: 1
Kenjutsu: 1
Fūinjutsu: 4
Handseals: 7
Score: 76
Rating 6.3
Sasuke:
Strength: 5
Intellect/Intelligence: 7.5
Speed: 5.5
Stamina: 5
Chakra Capacity: 5
Chakra Control: 5
Ninjutsu: 7
Taijutsu: 6
Genjutsu: 5
Kenjutsu: 2
Fūinjutsu: 0
Handseals: 8
Score: 61
Rating 5
Sakura:
Strength: 6
Intellect/Intelligence: 7.5
Speed: 5
Stamina: 4
Chakra Capacity: 3
Chakra Control: 8.5
Ninjutsu: 5
Taijutsu: 5
Genjutsu: 7
Kenjutsu: 1
Fūinjutsu: 0
Handseals: 5
Score: 57
Rating 4.7
Team Seven Score: 285
Team Seven Rating: 5.8
I will put up the stats for team 8, 9, 10 and team Gaara over the next few chapters.
