Alright! 19th Chapter!
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...Yeah...Timeskip over the course of one month...
Disclaimer! I don't own Naruto or Elric...much...ON WITH THE SHOW!
"Blah"-person speaking...'Blah'-person thinking..."Blah"-Demon speaking...'Blah'-Demon thinking..."Blah"-Memory speaking(they don't think)...'Blah'-Pyron speaking through mental pathways.
Leaves of Steel, Chapter 19
Naruto's Mindscape- 1 month later
"SO CLOSE! I only have to move...wait...let's think...that line up, rotate to the left..." The rabbit thought, having never tried one of these puzzles before, "And...GOT IT!"
The Cube was solved, and fell to pieces. A fleshy blob of brain was revealed.
A message was sent to the rabbit's brain, "DO IT! STRIKE THE SHARD INTO THE MIND!"
The rabbit twirled the shard on his paw, and deftly stabbed the surface of the brain with the dark shard, "It is done" the small mammal stated.
Real World: 7:05AM
Naruto woke with a start, and felt a pain in his head. He had not been able to fight the monsters in his mind for the longest time. When he had asked Stormbringer of these changes, it only responded, "Renovations"
Clutching the head, he walked to his mirror, gazing into it. He saw the reflection of a strong youth. He had slowly made alterations to his body, darkening his "hair", thickening his "muscle", increasing his height. None of these meant a thing though, as the blond could change his physical appearance at any time. he just needed the subtle alterations to make sure nobody noticed.
"Yonshu, I know you are there, come on out." Naruto ordered. swinging the closet door open.
The door opened to reveal Yonshu hanging by the neck, his eye sockets empty after he figured out he could eat those as well, "I think you have a skeleton in your closet...wouldn't want the council to find out about this, now would we?" the undead stated, as he unhooked himself.
"Ha-ha, very funny. Grab your sword, we're going." the necromancer commanded, before making a demonic seal, summoning a yawning dragon.
"Hi, Naruto-sama...Do we have a mission today?" the mythical creature asked.
"No, we have the finals of the chunin exams today." Naruto didn't stick around to finish his sentence, walking out of the door.
Pyron and Yonshu nodded, and followed closely behind, with the skeleton locking the door.
As they walked down the street, Yonshu slipped into the shadows, Pyron choosing to jump onto Naruto's head. The reason for this action was the familiar auras of a pink, loudmouth failure, and an "Avenger".
The two were walking up to Naruto when Sakura tripped and fell. She looked to see what she tripped over, only to find a grinning skull on the ground. She shrieked and threw the skull against the wall, only to have it be caught be a bony arm.
"That wasn't very nice..." Yonshu stated with a smile.
"Where have you been for the past month, Naruto?" asked Sasuke.
"You know; slaying vast amounts of bandits, eating more ramen then should be humanly possible, reaching absurd levels of power, having a girlfriend, or, in other words: Things. You. Can't. Do." Naruto stated blandly.
Sasuke rushed his face with a fist, only to have it be stopped by a skeletal hand, delivering a massive crushing force on his method of attack, "You can't even get past my skeletal assistant, what makes you think you have a chance at beating me?" Naruto said coldly, walking to the stadium.
Sasuke nursed his hand while Sakura fawned over him, "It'll be okay, Sasuke-kun, you are the strongest of the Genin."
At the stadium: 7:22AM
Naruto was sitting in the contestant's box, rapidly drawing seals onto paper, as he remembered that his Teacher would be gone for a while yet.
Flashback!
"I'll be gone a while, Naruto. Train your sense of seals, until you know the entire book. When I come back, you have to be better than I was." Elric had said, making a slight joke at the end as he departed on his horse, Kawska.
End flashback!
Tenten walked into the box, and, as she saw Naruto, squealed and ran up to him like the very hounds of hell were at her heels, "NARUTO-KUN!"
He caught the girl in his arms, who swiftly moved up to his lips, captivating them in her favorite pastime. Not too hard to figure out.
"Naruto-kun," she said, in gasps between kisses, "I mastered the move we were talking about, it is simply awaiting the seals."
Naruto pulled out the pieces of paper, "Well then, here you go," he said, handing them to his girlfriend, "Make sure you stay safe..."
Tenten nodded, and put the seals in a pocket. She then proceeded with her previous course of action.
Hyuga Estate: 7:30AM
Hiashi was on the ground, panting. His chakra system was nearly depleted, and he had just lost the title of Main House Head. The one who claimed the title was leaving the estate, head held high, with a branch member following. The rest of the branch members were bowing to the departing person.
'How could I, Hyuga Hiashi, lose to that person? I am...I...I was...powerful...How could I be beaten without "that person" breaking a sweat? How did they do it in one move!? What shall become of me?' thought the bleeding man, before he looked at the-one-who-surpassed-him's dark blue hair, and lost consciousness.
Stadium: 7:40AM
The last of the competitors filed in, much to the pleasure of the cheering crowd. The stands were full, with copious "We love Uchiha" banners. The Sandaime looked over at the clan seating, only to see that Hyuuga Hiashi was absent. He slowly got off his throne, and made his way to the plethora of lavender eyes.
"Hanabi-chan?" the Hokage asked, drawing the girl's attention, "Where is Hiashi? I've looked around for him, but his reserved 'Clan Head' seat is empty."
Hanabi looked down at the ground, before raising her head in a weak smile, "Tou-san..." the young Hyuuga began, "Lost a challenge for Clan Head." suddenly Hanabi smiled, "But that was because his conqueror was stronger...We never thought the person that beat him was worth our attention, so we were blind to the training they undertook in the past month." Hanabi raised a finger, "One. Tou-san was beaten in one move." she raised a second finger, "Two. Tou-san must spend two days recovering his lost chakra." the girl raised a third finger, "Three. I will be declared official Heiress in 3 weeks!"
Sarutobi smiled, and patted Hanabi's head, "Good, good. Who is the new Clan Head?" Sarutobi asked, looking at the vacant seat.
"You'll find out soon!" Hanabi giggled, and patted the Hokage's head, in vengeance.
Sarutobi looked down at the field, finding Neji and Hinata standing as if nothing had happened. He looked around at the other Hyuuga members, and found that all of them ,or at least the ones that were capable of using the Byakugan, were sitting in their seats, waiting patiently for the tourney to start. He flipped over his Data-book cover, and reviewed the list of all active Hyugas, to find that nearly all were here, with only the bodyguards and medics remaining at the estate.
'Curious...' the old man thought, before returning to his throne by the Kazekage, who had an uneventful trip to Konoha.
"Hokage-sama," began the man sitting beside him, "Do you care to wager on the outcome of the tourney? 5,000, perhaps? A small sum, I know, but just enough for a bar tab..." The Kazekage said, reminding Sarutobi of that man's drinking habits.
"...Fine, old friend. 5,000 on Uzumaki Naruto." the Hokage proudly stated, pulling out his wallet.
"5,000 on Sabaku no Garra." the Wind-Leader stated, "As it is only proper for me to bet on my son."
The two shook hands, combining the shake with one they had developed countless years ago.
Down on the field: 7:45AM
Hayate stepped forward, and raised a hand for silence., "The final stage of the Chunin Exams will now commence!" he called out, signaling the massive data boards to be withdrawn from the sidelines, and raised to the middle of the stadium, where they were kept aloft by an intricate system of steel wiring.
The board displayed the first fighters: Lee vs. Sabaku no Kankuro
Hayate called out again, "Will the first two fighters please remain on the field. The ones who are not competing at this moment may wait on the competitor's observation deck!"
Everyone but Lee and Kankuro went up, leaving the puppet-master and Die-Hard Taijutsu specialist standing on two points, with Hayate in the middle. The man pulled out a whistle, and jumped back, signaling the start of the match with a shrill sound.
Lee dropped to one knee, and carefully unfastened his weights. He laid these gently on the ground, and took off at a high speed towards the Sand-nin.
"FEEL THE HEAT OF MY FLAMES OF YOUTH!" shouted Lee, as he launched into a roundhouse kick, sending Kankuro flying into a tree, his wrapped object lodging itself into a branch.
The recently hit boy got up, and brushed himself off, only to find Lee's fist collide with his head. The head started spinning around, and lifted itself off of the body, which grabbed Lee in a bear hug. Kankuro burst from the wrappings, and twitched a finger, sending the poisoned spike, protruding from the neck of the puppet's head, straight to the boy's heart.
Lee spun himself around, hoping to use the puppet to block the attack. Kankuro spun him back, before realizing that Lee was waiting for him to do this.
'Ha! The puppet is now off-balance, so...' the boy thought, before shouting, "Konoha Senpu!" launching the puppet into its own attack by force.
Lee moved as a wisp to the back of the puppet-master, and delivered a knee to the small of the back, restraining Kankuro as soon as he did so.
Lee finished wrapping Kankuro's hands, rendering his Puppet jutsu useless, before Hayate declared the victor.
"Winner! Lee!" shouted the man, "He will go on to fight the winner of the round-one-match between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji in round two!" Hayate then pointed Lee to the observation deck as the Medic-ninja untied Kankuro, dragging him off the field.
The plaques that displayed the stats of Lee and Kankuro was covered over by ones for Naruto and Neji.
Naruto let go of Tenten's hand, much to the girl's dismay, and walked down to the floor of the stadium. Neji walked down calmly, and took the classic Jyuken pose. Naruto grabbed hold of his large trench coat, looking ready to take it off.
Hayate looked at both competitors, and then jumped back, blowing his whistle to signal the start of the match. Neji waited for Naruto to make the first move, and that he did. Naruto took his jacket off with one hand, throwing it into the air. Pyron swooped down to catch it in his claws, and then set it on a tree, where he stood guard over it.
The blond was soon the target of many young ladies' stares, as his, now chiseled, body drew much attention. He drew Stormbringer from its case, which he threw at Neji.
The throw was so powerful, Neji was only able to twist away, as it shot through the region his head was occupying a few seconds ago. The mighty throw ended up lodging the sheath in the wall, even though it was very flat on the tip. The crater shook the wall, and was clearly an intended head-shot.
Neji gazed back at the wall with his Byakugan, then rushed towards Naruto, stopping just short of his sword's reach, "You are in the range of my divination! Hakke Hyaku Nijuchachi Sho: 2 strikes!" he called out, slamming his fingertips into Naruto's Tenketsu, "4 strikes! 8 strikes! 16 strikes! 32 strikes! 64 strikes! 128 strikes!"
As he finished, Naruto laughed, backhanding the boy across the arena, "Did you really think that would work on me?" the blond asked Neji, before ripping off his own vest, "You. Are. Weak." he taunted, running up to the boy and slamming the flat of his sword into Neji's back.
Naruto failed to see Neji switch out with a log, which was reduced to sawdust. The crowd gasped at the display of strength. Neji however, jumped out of the tree and hit more Tenketsu. The blond genin stood still, and let Neji wail upon him.
"Are you quite done?" Naruto asked in a bored tone.
'Why do my fingertips hurt?' wondered Neji, as he prepared hand seals for a Katon Jutsu that he had been allowed to learn, "Katon: Karyuu Endan!" he shouted, launching a large flaming dragon from his mouth.
Naruto's eyes widened at the fire. It hit. He screamed in pain.
Neji thought, 'It isn't supposed to hurt that badly...is he faking it?'
The truth was that the metal acted as a conductor. His cells were not made of metal, only lined with it. The metal coverings became like little ovens, baking Naruto's cells all crispy-like. Naruto fell to the ground, still aflame.
Naruto's mindscape
The castle was on fire. The fields were on fire. Hell, even the moat was on fire! Naruto stood at the gates to the castle, Stormbringer calling to him.
"Naruto! Get into the castle! Their should be one of my shards left in a room! Hurry and get it! Before you burn to death!" the god called, urging Naruto to enter the flames.
Naruto nodded, he didn't want to die just yet. He ran inside, to find that a battle had taken place between the memories. Now, all of them were working together to control the blaze, pushing rubble out of Naruto's way as he ran through.
Suddenly, the rabbit appeared, and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him along, "Hurry Naruto-sama! The shard is in this room!"
They entered a room, the only one not ablaze. There lay pieces of a colored cube, but that wasn't important. Naruto ripped the shard out of the pulsating pink glob, removing whatever taint it had passed. The rabbit flinched at this, but Naruto didn't notice. He ran at full speed out of the tower, pushing objects and figments from his path.
He appeared at Stormbringer's tower, and kicked the doors open. Not wasting any time, he slammed the shard into the empty portion of the sword imprint, filling it. The world shuddered, and Naruto faded out.
Real World
Tenten and Hinata were crying, until they saw Naruto rise, the fire being washed away by a black fog. Pure power emanated from the sword in his hand,as it changed form again. The blade grew less wide, and only a small bit shorter. The handle shortened as well, and could only fit two and a half hands now. It retained it's black taint, and grew spikes at intervals where the sword grew wider then smaller. A serpent that swallowed itself appeared at the hilt, and the cross guards became its wings. Naruto pulled the sword behind his body, and charged at Neji.
The Hyuga Branch-house prodigy could not move for the fear of death was at his heels. He closed his eyes to await the inevitable. Naruto slowed down, and brought his sword, with a strong grip, to Neji's vulnerable neck.
"Do it. End his existence for inflicting that pain unto you." Stormbringer goaded Naruto, as he was only audible to him, as the blade vibrated ever-so-close to Neji's skin.
Naruto struggled against the sword, keeping it in place. Neji still didn't move. A black fog began to drip off the sword, starting as what seemed like a black water droplet, then splashing into such a fog as it hit the ground. From the fog emerged images of Naruto killing Neji in varying ways, each more brutal than the last.
He wanted to do it. he WANTED to. He pushed the blade closer, and it hummed with intent. Naruto raised his left hand to the wall, and the sheath came back to him. He flipped it onto his back.
"No." Naruto whispered, as he lowered the sword.
Stormbringer thought to itself, 'Nobody says "No" to me, NOBODY!' as the sword extended, unnoticed, and made the tiniest incision, less than a paper-cut, on Neji's skin, covering his collar-bone.
'The link is made, there is no stopping it now.' Stormbringer thought to himself, as it was sheathed.
Neji raised his hand in defeat, "I surrender" he said, and ran out of the arena, knowing that, if he had continued, NAruto would have ended his life.
Naruto walked slowly to the stairs, as his metal-based skin repaired itself at a speed seen never before. As he took his first step, he heard clapping, a second step, and 10 more hands joined, another, and soon the entirety of the west corner was applauding him, on the third step, the whole stadium was cheering and calling his name. His cheeks raised in a grin.
Hayate cut it al short by calling out the next competitors, as the signs were replaced by Chunin, "Will Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke please come down to the floor?"
Gaara cut the trip short with his sand, teleporting down. Sasuke just walked, hoping not to waste chakra. Hayate blew his whistle, and Sasuke rushed at the red-haired boy, thinking that he could beat him quickly.
Gaara stared impassively at the boy, then flipped him into a wall with his sand. Sasuke gripped onto said wall, and began a number of seals, activating his Sharingan, showing 2 tomoe on each eye, and the chirping of birds came into audible range. He rushed at Gaara again, as the Sand ninja made a dome to protect himself. Sasuke dodged the giant sandstone spikes, and pierced the sand.
Gaara was fine, the sand constricted around the boy's arm, and Gaara broke it. Sasuke screamed in pain, and Gaara threw him into a wall, knocking him unconscious.
"Hokage-sama, you are lucky I didn't feel like killing you precious Uchiha, because he was annoying." Gaara called out, before returning to the booth.
The board was changed again, showing Tenten vs Nara Shikamaru
Hayate was about to announce this when the Nara called out, "I quit, I don't want to face what Choji went through. She scares me..."
Hayate nodded, and Shikamaru left the stadium. Hayate then shrugged, and the Chunin moved new plaques into place, ones reading Hyuga Hinata vs. Abumi Zaku.
Before Hayate could call anything out, Gaara raised his hand, "Sorry, but he pissed me off a week ago...I killed him...
Hayate sighed, and wrote a "x" through the sound-nin's name.
"Alright then, we'll take a thirty minute break, and then get back to this." called Hayate.
End of Leaves of Steel, Chapter 19
So...Yeah...Chapter 20 will be the conclusion of the Chunin Exams...which I am actually going to finish! Surprise I know that most perople actually do teh invasion, but I don't feel that Orochimaru is ready, after he was nearly beaten and all..
Also, Naruto has a weakness!cue dramatic music
-Johnhamsta