A/N: I'm back from the depths of my mind, bringing a new chapter with me! By the way, at the end of my last chapter, I took a page out of Arganaut's book and put some out-of-series characters in. I wonder if you can guess who they are. Here's a hint: it has to do something with Naruto's choice in sword style. I hope you like it…
NOTE: This chapter has been rewritten due to confusion among the reviewers. I'm also making it longer. There aren't really any changes until the Naruto vs. Temari fight.
Here are the Review responses.
VFSNAKE: I'm glad you liked the factors. Just wait until the next chapter…
Dragonzice: Yup, very interesting; I'm glad you liked it.
Ame-no-hana: Do you know your name means Flower's Rain? It's really nice. Anyway, I stopped using Japanese in my story beyond Techniques and whenever I feel like it. I thank you for your corrections nonetheless.
BioDragon: I didn't make it too obvious, but I can tell you that a few reviewers guessed it already.
Dragon Man 180: When I say that that's one of my favorite fights, I mean it's one of the BEST fights in Naruto, in my opinion. I did change a little, but I kept it mostly the same because I liked it so much. I think Kiba is really thanking God that Naruto didn't use it on him.
Causeiambetta: Thanks for clearing that up. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter.
Midnight-angel-of-darkness: I said it was one of my favorite fights. Neji got his ass royally kicked by Naruto, the Dropout. I really loved that.
Silver Warrior: You're right; I checked his age after I put him in my story and I said, "Oops, I guess I'll have to up Hayate's age a little," so I did. He's around 35 in my story, as is Keiko.
Tsugiko: I'm glad you liked it. I'll update soon…
VenomLord: Yes, giving people a taste of the unexpected is really fun. Anyway, I'm glad you liked my chapters. I thank you for your suggestions about adding the funny, but battles are a little serious, especially in battles like this. I'm glad you liked the interactions within Naruto. I'm going to include a lot of them because I like them too. About Hinata and bringing her along, I already planned on doing so. You'll see when I get there.
Light of the Demons: I couldn't use it word for word, but I did keep it similar. At least you guessed who they were. I didn't make it really obvious, but I made it so people could figure it out.
Clone Daniel: I'm glad you thought so. I gave this fight some (unusually) great thought before writing it. Anyway, I like the arguments within Naruto's belly. They're great.
Lochar: Hmm, you know, I forgot about that. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Anyway, just so you know, they're not brats. They're three characters from a certain other source.
Conan98002: HAHAHAHA! Nice one! Thanks for your review. I'm pretty sure he won't be able to do certain things for a while. Anyway, about Kiba, I think some people will have some cleaning up to do. Also, Tatsumaki was a pretty good idea, seeing as I made it up as I walked through school one day.
Novoxz: Looking back, I agree with you about my crappy ass beginning. After reading my own story over, I did notice that I made my changes pretty smooth despite having not much of a plan about writing the story. The only thing I really had in mind was, "You know, I need to make my freakishly short chapters longer so people won't whine about my chapters." I'll keep your suggestion in mind as I write my future chapters. Thanks for your excellent review.
Anime-Boy07: I'm glad you liked my chapter.
Tellemicus Sundance: I'm pretty loyal to this fight so I purposely kept it similar in some parts. If you read my Disclaimer Part 2 in my last chapter, I you would've been warned. Anyway, about the Raiton technique; Neji didn't see him cast it. He was hiding in his swarm of clones while going through the seals. Also, Neji wouldn't really know about the effects of the technique after activation so he would've thought that hitting the tenketsu would block off the flow of chakra to the hand, therefore deactivating the technique. I really didn't goof up in that little aspect. Thanks for your concern, though.
Manwaithiel: That's nice. I'm glad you like my story.
ShadowBack: I'm glad you like it. They're not a couple, but they sure act like one.
Korigo starless: I did say that I wanted to keep it similar.
Chidori vs Rasengan: It's nice that you check.
Kitsu Maharu: I see that now. Thanks for pointing that out. Here's a little food for Guu Gagu Lolo the 6th of the Kataro Kohei Tsuki no Tsubasa tribe. You're not that bad. You don't need to change yourself unless you feel you have to.
Hybrid thing: That was a good typing day.
Marine Brother Shran: Thanks for the overly praising review. I mean, it's great that you like it so much. I'll put in the funny when I can factor it in. I mean, a misplaced funny can ruin a story, right? I'll admit that I took an idea (one in the entire story; Jûkai Enmu) from Tellemicus but all of the other similarities are only coincidences. I'm sorry, but it'll ruin everything if I answered your questions. Thanks for the excellent review!
Era-chan: Thanks for making the effort to check for me. I make mistakes all the time that I accidentally forget.
Shadowkeeper113: Think about it; when the Third uses the same sealing technique against Orochimaru, he says that the two souls would be trapped in the Death God's stomach, fighting for eternity. Since the Yondaime sealed the Kyûbi's soul within Naruto's body instead of himself, the Death God couldn't eat it. Also, the Death God couldn't get the Yondaime's soul either since the two were supposed to be fighting in the same place. So, since the seal the Yondaime did was one for a shape-shifting, nine-tailed demon and not a human, he could escape easily while the Kyûbi was trapped.
NewSon: Actually, the Swastika is a reversed Manji turned 45 degrees. As for the pairing, I haven't thought about it. How about a suggestion?
Trenchcoatgirl-Kyo: Thanks; I enjoyed writing it.
Freedomforlove: Ok, sure.
Rago Dragovian: Thanks for saying so. I mean, I wanted it similar, but not TOO similar.
LunaSphere: I stopped writing Japanese for trivial things like that. I only use it for ninja tools, technique, and honorifics.
Black Saint: Thanks for saying so. I have a question, though. I thought there were only three stages to the Rasengan. Is there more? If so, please tell me what they are.
Engelmohr2004: Thanks
WarShadow: I'm sorry, but I can't really factor it in right now. After the invasion of Konoha, I'll start concentrating on the fluffy.
SilverNightsFreedom: …
Divinechaosdragoon: Thanks; I'm glad you guessed who they were.
Kyuubi-Dono: Um, Why'd you do that?
Dark-Dragon-Chick: HA, I'm glad someone agrees with me! I have to go to YouTube and look at the Japanese version to save my ears.
Jeefus: I may do this later on. Right now, he probably won't be able to.
Awlric Havell: I'll be looking forward to it. Also, it may be a misunderstanding, but I like useful reviews, not necessarily long ones.
Gohan-Chan: No, she didn't. You'll see.
TheWraith1: First of all, you'll find out. Second of all, I like useful reviews, not necessarily long ones. I can forgive a person who has given me a good review in the past, but doesn't have an idea at the moment. Thirdly, you'll find out in this chapter. Fourthly, it will, but Naruto will make something else during that time. Fifthly, he will, I don't know when. Finally, I'm not sure. I'll have to think about it.
Shikyo Yaiba: That's a technique of my own design.
Storm Master Tempest: If you have any ideas, then by all means, review and tell me! I update relatively quickly, but I have a few problems in the real world that need my caring to. I might not be able to update as soon as I'd like.
Now, to clear things up, I have something to say. I thank most of you for actually listening to me when I said I wanted better reviews. There seems to be some confusion about what I really meant, though. I did say I wanted better reviews, but I really meant that I wanted reviews that may be of some use to me. It doesn't necessarily mean that I want an extremely long review, unless you have a lot of questions/suggestions. I hope I cleared things up.
Disclaimer:
Here's the 21st installment of "Cheerfulness Incarnate". I'm starting to consider changing the title, though.
(Chapter Start)
"Holy crap; I didn't know he was that skilled. He's been hiding a lot, hasn't he? Also, I'm pretty sure that he hasn't revealed everything he is capable of," Shikamaru thought as Naruto left the arena ground and walked up to the participants' box.
"Oh, crap; I thought Naruto was in the not-so-cool group like me," Shikamaru said.
"What do you mean; not-so-cool group?" Shino asked beside him.
"Naruto's victory against that Hyûga is going to put him in the cool group for sure. I'm in big trouble."
Naruto walked in at that moment and smiled at Shikamaru and Shino, holding the back of his head with both of his hands.
"That was a nice match, Naruto. Where did you learn that wind technique?"
"Somewhere," Naruto said suspiciously with a glint in his eye.
"That technique was very…interesting. I am also curious regarding the origins of that technique," Shino said.
"I know, wasn't it? I'm not telling where I got it, though," Naruto said.
"You are impossible to get information from, aren't you, Naruto. I'd have to probably torture the info out of you, but that would be way too troublesome."
"You got that right. I'm not telling anyone about where I got that one; at least, not yet."
"Hmm, he's not dropping any hints in his choice of words. He's really good at hiding things when he really wants to. The only thing that irks me is the fact that he said "not yet". Does he plan on telling someone else? If that's true, who would it be?" Shikamaru thought.
Shikamaru was interrupted by a large gust of wind. Shikamaru walked to the railing and focused in front of him to see that Temari was gliding down on her fan. Shikamaru started to think again.
"I really don't feel like fighting right now. I should just give up."
Shikamaru was ripped out of his thoughts rather rudely as Naruto smacked him on the back and yelled.
"Go, Shikamaru; SHOW US YOUR STUFF!"
Shikamaru lost his balance as Naruto's rather hard hit shoved him over the railing. Naruto had his eyes closed and he didn't notice that he pushed the lazy boy over the edge of the box, sending him to a semi-painful greeting with Terra Firma.
"Damn you, Naruto; that really hurt."
Shikamaru merely looked up to the sky and stared at the clouds. Lying on the ground, the people in the stands were getting impatient. They started to throw debris in the arena, some of which hit Shikamaru on the head.
"I really don't feel like fighting…"
Shikamaru was ripped out of his thoughts by a feminine voice.
"What; are you going to give up?"
Shikamaru looked to see Temari and he thought again.
"Why am I always stuck fighting women? I fought one troublesome woman in the preliminaries and I have to face one now?"
Shikamaru was interrupted by 2 voices this time. The first came from Naruto.
"Shikamaru; get off your lazy butt and fight!"
The second came from Temari.
"If you're not going to attack, I will!"
Temari charged forward and swung her fan downward as Genma tried to stop her. He stopped protesting a moment later when Shikamaru pulled out 2 kunai. Temari slammed her fan down where Shikamaru was lying and a large dust cloud appeared. Temari looked down and was surprised to note that he wasn't there anymore. Temari then looked up and she saw Shikamaru on the wall, standing on his two kunai.
"You know, a man can't lose to a woman. I guess I'll have to fight."
Temari swung her fan again towards Shikamaru, sending another dust cloud upwards. When it cleared, Temari saw that Shikamaru had escaped again.
"He's really good at running away. He uses the shadows as a weapon so he's trying to lure me to a shady spot. It won't work, though," Temari thought.
Up in a tree, Shikamaru was thinking.
"But, of course, men aren't supposed to hit women. I don't want to get hit, either. Why am I the only one who gets a woman as an opponent?"
Shikamaru looked upward into the sky and sighed.
"The clouds are so nice. They look so free. I only became a ninja so I could have a fun life. It seems that it's not that easy…"
Temari scowled and swung her fan again; this time, saying something at the same time.
"Ninpô: Kamaitachi (Ninja Art: Cutting Whirlwind Technique)," Temari said, creating a large gust that was felt by everyone present. Tenten in particular scowled fiercely at the wind.
The trees near Shikamaru were slashed with the technique as a large dust cloud appeared. Temari looked down to the floor and began to jump back as Shikamaru's shadow shot out of the cloud. Temari flipped backward over and over as Shikamaru's shadow gained quickly. Temari was about to flip again, but she knew she was going to be caught by the extremely fast shadow. She braced for the paralyzing effect of the technique when…
…it stopped, not 6 inches from her shadow. Temari jumped back again and scraped her fan's edge across the ground, marking it. She then smirked and began to speak.
"I get it now. Your Kagemane no Jutsu allows you to stretch your shadow at will, but it can only stretch while maintaining its surface area."
Shikamaru nodded and looked upward as Temari did some calculations. Shikamaru then squatted down and placed his fingers together, creating a U-shape with the top shut off by his thumbs. Shikamaru closed his eyes and began to think as Temari watched in confusion.
Naruto looked down from his position in the participants' box and smirked.
"Shikamaru has got this in the bag."
About 5 minutes later, Shikamaru opened his eyes showing a somewhat determined look. He then reached behind him and placed his had in his weapons' pouch. Temari smirked.
"It seems you're a little bit more motivated now," she said as she opened her fan. She swung it violently, creating another great gust.
Drawing a kunai, Shikamaru dove behind a tree and took off his jacket. He remained there and fashioned his tool as Temari unleashed wave after wave of wind.
Naruto was getting a little bored. To kill time, Naruto started to practice using the metal heating technique and the metal cooling technique without seals. He melted the railing with his left hand and reformed it with his right. He was pretty discreet about it, so no one really noticed. Also, he was thinking about how Naruto would fight against either of them if they got matched up.
"Let's see. If I fight Shikamaru, he'll probably be pretty exhausted since he used Kagemane no Jutsu so many times. Unfortunately, that would mean an easy win. If I fight Temari, I'll be able to show off more of my skills, but I don't really want to reveal that much. I think I can use my new kunai to help me out, though. That Kamaitachi doesn't seem that tough."
Naruto then started to devise a strategy to defeat Temari while continuing his heating/cooling exercise. By the time Naruto got the hang of the heating and cooling, it was about 30 minutes later and Temari was swinging her fan for another wave.
"You can't hide forever!"
A large dust cloud appeared and distorted the view in that direction. Temari was on guard when a kunai suddenly flew out. She jumped back and moved her fan to block a second kunai. Temari then, staying behind the line, saw that the shadow was heading towards her again.
"It's okay. As long as I stay here, I'm perfectly…"
The shadow was closing in on the line without showing any slowing down. Temari widened her eyes and jumped back, dodging the technique. The shadow suddenly stopped very close to Temari, but it didn't recede like last time.
"He was waiting for the sun to set so he could use more of the wall's shadow. That's really a sneaky technique."
Temari sighed as she heard a voice.
"Temari; look above you!"
She immediately looked up to see Shikamaru's floating jacket. The jacket floated to the end of Shikamaru's shadow and Temari recognized it easily.
"Shit," she said as she struggled to dodge the shadow and its newfound extension. The shadow finally stopped and Temari jumped back.
"Perfect," Shikamaru thought as he let his shadow recede.
Temari slammed her fan into the ground, creating a small wall between them. She then ducked under the fan to shield her body as she thought up a plan.
"This ends here. I'll create a clone to distract him and then I'll attack after the clone is bound."
She peeked over her fan to see that the shadow was going back as she started to create the seals for the technique. In the middle of her seals, though…
"What's going on? Why can't I move my body? His shadow shouldn't be able to reach me!"
Shikamaru smirked as Temari looked over to see that her involuntary movements were the conscious movements of Shikamaru. She saw him smirk as he spoke.
"I think you're wondering what happened. Here, I'll show you."
Shikamaru turned his head and Temari did the same, allowing her to see behind her.
She saw that Shikamaru's shadow originated from the hole behind her. Shikamaru walked forward as he explained, making Temari walk forward as well.
"I connected my shadow to yours by moving it through that hole. The hole that Naruto dug up to win his match was the one I used."
They met at the edge of the wall's shadow and Shikamaru slowly raised his hand. Temari winced, thinking of Shikamaru's finishing blow as he said something that no one expected.
"I give up. I lose."
Everyone was basically shocked out of their chairs. Even Naruto, who may have expected this, almost fell out of the box by applying too much physical pressure on a newly cooled railing, breaking a small section of it off. Shino knowingly stepped away from him, patiently waiting for the explosion that was Uzumaki Naruto. He also thought about how Naruto broke the railing.
Temari was equally stunned. She stared in exasperation and was only able to stutter an inquiry.
"W-what are you saying?"
"I'm almost out of chakra from using Kagemane no Jutsu so many times. I can probably hold you for another 10 seconds. I've thought up all the possibilities and I found that it's too troublesome to continue. One match is good enough for me."
Shikamaru shrugged and Temari noticed that she wasn't doing the same. Temari felt her body being released and moved a little to check as Shikamaru started to walk off. She then used her fan to get back up to the participant's box.
Meanwhile, Naruto was beginning to fume. He started to yell out in rage as Shino smirked.
"Why did he give up? All he had to do was knock her down to win! That was just pathetic!"
"Naruto-san…" Shino started, trying to calm him down.
"I'm going to go down there and give him one hell of a scolding!" he yelled as he jumped from the railing, careful to avoid the breakage from earlier.
Naruto landed and ran over to Shikamaru's position and started to yell.
"You idiot! Why did you give up?" Naruto yelled.
"Shut up; super idiot; what's done is done. It's all good."
"No it's not! That's totally unacceptable! You had to give up just before you won, didn't you?"
"Shut up, Naruto; let's just go up so we can watch the next match. Hopefully, Shino could make his quick so we could watch what's next."
Naruto only smirked as he thought of what Sasuke would do in his match.
Naruto started to walk off as Genma called the next match.
"Aburame Shino and Sabaku no Kankurô; come down here to start your match."
Kankurô glanced toward Temari with a questioning look in his eye. Temari nodded and Kankurô raised his hand.
"Examiner; I'm giving up. Go to the next match."
Genma nodded as the crowd instantly got excited. Naruto, on the field, was also getting excited.
"Finally, I get to see what Sasuke is capable of after this month's training."
(Meanwhile)
"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Sasuke has not arrived. What shall we do?" a jônin asked.
"Hmm, according to the rules, we are to disqualify him," the Hokage said
"Are you referring to Uchiha Sasuke? He's disqualified?" the Kazekage said in response.
"I must."
"I see; but is there any way to postpone his disqualification?" the Kazekage asked.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but there is no reason to wait for him if there isn't a valid reason for his tardiness," the jônin said.
"Well, I have a good reason for him."
"What might that be?" the Hokage asked skeptically.
"I can safely say that most of the head ninja and the feudal lords have come to watch the next match. I am included."
"But," the jônin started.
"He is the survivor of the Uchiha massacre. We of the Sand would love to see him fight our Gaara."
The Hokage furrowed his brow and a small pause rose. He then spoke, since the Kazekage was so adamant on waiting.
"So, Kazekage-dono (-dono is a ranking of respect higher than –sama); do you have any ideas on how we are to proceed?"
"That I do, Hokage-dono. Both matches of one bracket have been completed. Why can't we wait for Uchiha Sasuke while watching the second match of the first bracket?"
"Hmm," the Hokage said as he thought. The jônin waited patiently for an answer. The Hokage sighed and nodded and the jônin disappeared. The Hokage spoke.
"Kazekage-dono; you don't usually say that much."
"Well, you could say that I'm excited to see the match between the best of Leaf and the best of Sand."
(On the field)
Genma was currently listening to a jônin that appeared behind him. He frowned slightly and sighed before saying the news to the crowd.
"Seriously, between the crowd's screaming and the fights today, I'm getting one hell of a headache."
"Ladies and Gentlemen; I'm terribly sorry, but one of the contenders for the next fight is not present. We will proceed with the next battle."
The crowd roared out in protest, making Genma scowl. Naruto, who was still on the field, was confused.
"What "next battle" is he talking about? After Sasuke's fight, there shouldn't be any more…"
Genma continued after the crowd settled down a bit.
"Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Temari; please come down for your match."
Naruto and Temari both had their jaws dropped to the ground. In unison, they yelled out in indignation.
"Are you serious? I have to fight him/her now? You've got to be kidding me!"
Naruto stormed up to Genma and started yelling some more as Temari floated down on her fan.
"What happened to Sasuke's match? His match is before this one!"
"Hold on, Naruto; Sasuke will fight after this fight. He has to arrive before your match is over or else he's disqualified."
Temari looked up in shock after landing.
"The plan is screwed up enough. He has to show up or else the plan is completely destroyed! I'm going to have to kill time so he can show up. I can only hold out for so long, though."
Naruto was still growling as he thought.
"Damn; I thought I would have more time to recover and think up a strategy. I'm not as good as Shikamaru at this, you know. I guess I'll have to use my old abilities so I won't have to reveal much more."
Naruto reluctantly went to the center and faced Temari. Temari stood with her hand on her fan, ready to fight. Genma raised is hand and started to speak.
"The next match begins NOW!"
Temari jumped back instantly. Reaching her hand into the weapons' pouch on her side, she drew a small red pellet. Naruto gasped as she popped it into her mouth and swallowed. Clutching her fan, she prepared to swing it. Naruto tried to run, but he had some trouble.
"Damn it; what's wrong with my weights? Why can't I move that well? Move, damn you, move!"
Naruto was hit with a wave of wind, knocking him over. Naruto had difficulty standing up. Temari the swung her fan again, creating a larger gust.
Naruto was carried upward with the gust and he righted himself in the air while blocking the blades of wind. When he came down, he braced his fall, but he still felt the weight. Naruto, deciding that he can't move that well, thought of something else.
Naruto drew his new kunai and hit it using his wrist and arm. When Temari swung her fan, Naruto was ready.
"Ninpô: Kamaitachi!" Temari shouted, sending an extremely large gust towards Naruto. Naruto brought his kunai out of hiding and got into position just as the winds hit him. Temari scowled.
"Oh, come on; don't say you're out of it already!" she shouted towards the large dust cloud. As the dust cleared, Temari saw…
…Naruto smiling with his hands behind his back. He had both of his hands behind him and he was looking like he won the lottery. The best thing about the scene (or worst) was the fact that Naruto (for the most part) looked completely unharmed. There were a few scratches on his person, but people could assume it was from the fight before or the gusts of wind in the beginning of the battle. Naruto immediately grinned wider as he thought.
"Wow, I didn't think the Minishimirukaze Kunai (Piercing Wind Kunai) would work so well! The seal is working perfectly! I didn't expect to use it so soon, but it's still amazing! I need to get her to do that again!"
Naruto continued to smile, confident that Temari would get annoyed and swing again…
…and she did not disappoint.
Another Kamaitachi attack flew past and Naruto, once again seemed unharmed.
Temari thrust wave after wave of air, but she was getting very annoyed since she wasn't getting anywhere.
"How the hell are you blocking my attacks? My Kamaitachi should be powerful enough to level a section of forest!" Temari yelled. Naruto simply brought the mysterious kunai into view.
It was a kunai made from normal metal, but the blade was much flatter and sharper, stretching it to around 3 inches from side to side. The thing that stood out the most was a seal that spanned the width of the blade on both sides. The seal was glowing yellow and was fading as Naruto smiled. He was smiling so much; it was starting to give many spectators the creeps. Hinata in particular only giggled, since he got this way whenever a new technique works perfectly.
"What the hell is that?" Temari asked angrily. Naruto relaxed his smile (much to the relief of many spectators) and started to explain.
"Well, I'm not going to tell you everything, but the name of the kunai might give you an idea. This," Naruto said, holding up the kunai, "is the Minishimirukaze Kunai. It's pretty self explanatory after that."
"Piercing Wind Kunai; what does he mean? Does that tiny thing have the ability to block my Kamaitachi?"
Naruto's face turned from happy to serious in less than a second as he charged forward, slowly but steadily. Temari swung her fan, causing a gust, but Naruto brought the kunai in front of him and sliced the wind she made, dispelling it. The seal glowed as he did so. Temari was barely able to jump back as Naruto slashed the air in front of her. Temari mysteriously got a diagonal slash on her shoulder as a medium-sized gust of air came forth. Naruto smirked.
"I think you get how I did it, right?" Naruto asked.
"Damn; how did you get a wind seal into a kunai that small?" Temari asked in shock.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Naruto asked slyly in response as he charged forward. Temari was forced to use her fan as a shield as Naruto sent waves of wind towards it. Temari tried to bolt away from Naruto's onslaught and she was able to, but her fan was too heavy to maneuver with and she was hit with an extremely painful wave of wind.
Temari was blown away from her fan and she stood unsteadily as Naruto clutched his kunai, panting. Naruto stood next to her fan mockingly as Temari glared daggers at the boy.
Temari scowled before reaching into her pouch again. She brought out two little rods and held one in each hand. Naruto looked puzzled as she opened the rods, revealing battle fans. Naruto got ready for battle as Temari charged forward.
Naruto stood steadily, still unable to move properly.
"What the hell is wrong? Why can't I move that well? At best, I'm probably moving at about half my normal speed with my weights on! This is so infuriating!"
Temari reached Naruto's body and began to swing the battle fans. Small gusts of bladed wind came from the fans and Naruto had to struggle to keep up with Temari's onslaught. Facing two weapons, Naruto was reminded of how he trained with Keiko in the sword arts.
"How did she defend against me back then?"
(Flashback)
Naruto was huffing as Keiko held her weapon steadily. Keiko had decided to use a good portion of her abilities against Naruto this time around and Naruto was (obviously) losing badly. To make things worse for Naruto's pride, she was using only one dull kunai. Naruto looked at her in shock as she held her ground.
He then stubbornly charged again, unleashing an onslaught of attacks Keiko as she calmly blocked each attack as it came towards her. She smiled as she blocked an overhead strike with her kunai. Keiko then ducked under the blade and swept her leg below Naruto, breaking his stance. Naruto fell to the ground and stayed there, having no energy to rise again. Keiko knelt down to Naruto's level and said one statement before walking inside.
"Your swords are not your only weapons. Your body can be your greatest asset in a battle. Remember that."
(End Flashback)
Naruto was rudely brought out of that specific flashback by an unusually fierce gale from Temari's two battle fans. Unable to charge any chakra into the kunai, Naruto was blown away.
Temari yawned and looked at Naruto mockingly.
"This is getting boring. Do something interesting, will you?"
Looking back to that specific moment, Naruto remembered how calm Keiko was as she blocked his ferocious attacks. Deciding to do the same, Naruto took a deep breath as he thought back.
"Calm down, Naruto. You can't focus on your target if you're too panicked to think."
Naruto closed his eyes as he heard sounds of annoyance coming from across the arena. As he tried to calm down, Temari spoke.
"Oh, come on; don't tell me you have a weird habit like deer boy."
Naruto stayed still, feeling his heart rate slow and his breaths growing calmer. As he did this, he felt that he was becoming aware of his surroundings. He could hear the blowing of the natural winds. He could hear the crowd's chatter. He could hear…
…Chôji eating potato chips in the stands. Naruto chuckled.
Finally, he could hear…
…rushed footsteps, growing louder every second.
Naruto widened his eyes and smirked as he looked in front of him. He saw Temari's battle fan going for an overhead strike. Blocking it with his kunai, Naruto thought.
"Well, doesn't this scene feel familiar?"
Sweeping his foot under Temari, Naruto disrupted her footing as she became unstable. Naruto decided to add something to what Keiko did to him. Channeling chakra into his kunai, Naruto unleashed a gust of wind which blew Temari a few feet away. Taking the opportunity, Naruto made some clones and had them charge forward.
Temari stood as she saw a horde of orange people coming towards her. Clutching both her fans, she spun her body around and channeled chakra into the fans, creating a small whirlwind, blowing the clones away and making them vanish. Temari stopped spinning to see that another Naruto was swinging the kunai towards her. Dizzy and temporarily uncoordinated, she took the gust in the back.
She unsteadily regained her footing a few feet away. She started to face Naruto with eyes full of anger and hatred. She was thinking, "How the hell can he match me in my own element? I'll show what the power of wind is truly capable of."
It was then when she noticed that she was standing right next to her large fan. In rage, she grabbed her fan opened it and forced a large amount of chakra into the fan, making…
…a Naruto fly across the arena and vanish on impact with the ground?
Naruto smirked as Temari looked shocked at the discovery. Looking around, she saw that her fan was on the other side of the arena, behind Naruto. Deciding to end this annoying battle, she started to run towards Naruto, drawing her two fans. Naruto copied her action and started to run as fast as he could in his weights while drawing his wind kunai.
Rushing to the center and clashing their weapons, they held a relatively small conversation.
"Okay, this is getting really boring," Temari said as she trapped Naruto's kunai between her two fans.
"I know; we should really do something else," Naruto said in response.
"What do you suggest?" Temari asked.
"I say we keep fighting," Naruto said.
"I have a better idea," Temari said, "Why don't you just let me win?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Not a chance," he said.
Naruto slashed upward with the kunai with extreme force, slicing through the centers of Temari's two fans and giving her a shallow wound in the neck. She groaned as she fell to the ground. Naruto looked over her and then looked to Genma. She looked slightly ill as she struggled to attempt to stand.
"Oh shit, that soldier pill's side effects are kicking in. I can't fight any more."
Temari raised her hand and turned to the Examiner.
"I'm giving up. My soldier pill is giving me a hard time."
Genma smiled as he declared Naruto the winner. Temari then stood unsteadily and picked up her fan. The medic team came to take her away moments later. Naruto put away his kunai and thought.
"Wow, the wind seal actually works! I can't wait to put this on one of my swords! Now, I have to make a lightning one…"
Naruto thought about the dynamics of the seal as he walked up the stairs to the stands instead of the participants' box. He was sick of standing and the box didn't exactly have seats. Naruto also thought about one other thing.
"Whose bright idea was it to make these stairs so damn long? I mean, seriously, it's like they're trying to torture the participants or something."
By the time he got up to the stands, he looked down onto the field and saw a big swirl of leaves. Two figures standing back to back appeared within the vortex as the leaves settled. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Naruto knew it was some sort of lateness excuse from Kakashi.
Walking down to where Chôji was sitting with Sakura and Ino, Naruto immediately made his presence known.
"DAMMIT KAKASHI-SENSEI; YOU'RE LATE! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO GO DOWN THERE AND KICK YOUR ASS RIGHT NOW!"
Sakura tried to hit Naruto up the head and he dodged it easily. Naruto then saw Sasuke's lips move. Naruto read his lips and got one word.
"Idiot," he said.
"SHUT UP, SASUKE; YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS KAKASHI-SENSEI! YOU BETTER WIN YOUR MATCH SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS LATER!" Naruto yelled in indignation.
Sakura then got Naruto this time and bashed his head into the stairs. Calming down slightly, Naruto spoke.
"Hey, Sakura-san, why did you do that?" Naruto asked as he saw Sakura and Ino rubbing their ears. Naruto then laughed when he saw earplugs in Chôji's ears.
"You idiot; you are so lucky I can hear right now. You were shouting at about 180 Decibels, moron!"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head as Lee arrived beside him.
"Oh, hello Lee-san, I see you're doing better."
"Oh, hello, Naruto-kun, how have you been?" Lee asked. Naruto could detect a tinge of sadness in his voice.
"Is he upset about something?"
"I've been fine," Naruto said, "I mean; I was able to beat Neji!"
Naruto saw Lee's expression flicker slightly. Naruto inwardly smacked himself.
"Oh shit, now I've gone and made him jealous. I've directly defeated Neji and I've indirectly defeated the other members of his team, including him. I mean, Neji was an opponent that Lee wished to defeat and Temari was the opponent that Tenten couldn't defeat! Damn, how am I going to fix this?"
"Hey, Lee-san, I'm sure you'll be able to beat Neji with a bit of hard work. I mean, look at me. I'm dead last in my class and I kicked the top rank of your class. Since you're not dead last, it should be slightly easier for you, huh?"
Lee smiled as Naruto smirked. Gai behind him was about to shout his praises to Naruto when a puff of smoke interrupted him from behind.
"Now, now, Gai, I'm sure the hearing ability of the people around us has been damaged enough."
Naruto instantly got angry at Kakashi and walked over to yell at him.
"ARGH; Kakashi-sensei, I hope you have a good reason this time or else I'll kick your ass so hard…"
"Relax, Naruto; I have a good reason."
"Okay then; tell me!"
"Whatever are you talking about, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, closing his visible eye into an upside-down "U".
"Well, what good is a good reason if you don't use it to prevent a pissed off student from sending you flying across this arena?" Naruto asked deceptively calmly.
Kakashi got slightly nervous by Naruto's presence and immediately changed the subject.
"Heh, heh; Gai, how are you?"
Gai then opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Naruto.
"Don't change the subject! Why are you late?" Naruto yelled indignantly.
"Be quiet, Naruto. Some people here are trying to watch the match," Kakashi said before turning his attention to Gai and Lee.
"So, Lee-kun, how's your body?"
Gai turned and held a slightly grim expression.
"Kakashi…"
Sakura noticed that Kakashi had appeared earlier, but she didn't have any opportunity to speak between Naruto's screaming and Kakashi's nervousness.
"Kakashi-sensei…"
Kakashi turned to Sakura and began to speak.
"Oh, sorry, sorry; you must've been worried. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about this."
Meanwhile, behind Kakashi…
"You bet we were worried! Now, tell me why you were late before I impale you with one of my kunai!" Naruto yelled.
Sakura looked down onto the field and noticed that the curse mark wasn't visible where she was sitting.
"Kakashi-sensei…there was a bruise on Sasuke-kun, am I right?"
"Don't worry about it." Kakashi said, making Sakura's head jolt up. Sakura smiled with relief and went back to looking at Sasuke.
"Thank goodness. I don't know what Kakashi-sensei did, but Sasuke-kun looks fine. Now, I can concentrate on cheering for him."
Kakashi then looked around the arena, as if searching for something. Naruto went a little closer so he'll be able to hear what he was saying.
"Gai," Kakashi said in a whisper, "there are only 3 ANBU squads here. Are you sure it's enough?"
"Not really, since Hayate gave us the idea of what would happen, the Hokage placed more ANBU forces near the attack points. We still don't know how they'll start the attacks," Gai responded in the same volume.
"I see; we'll have to stay on guard, won't we?"
"Yes, but we still have to at least look like we're watching the match."
Gai increased the volume of his voice so the others could hear.
"I'll be evaluating how you've been training Sasuke, Kakashi. Since you're my eternal rival, it is my duty."
Kakashi was currently looking down onto the field and turned to Gai.
"Hmm, did you say something?"
Gai screamed out loud and said something like, "Kakashi, curse you and your hip replies!" but no one was listening. Even Naruto had calmed down and walked off to where Kiba and Hinata were sitting. He was currently sitting next to Hinata's row and watching the fight.
"Sasuke…don't die," Naruto thought.
"Naruto," a voice called. Naruto looked towards the voice and saw Kiba and a shy Hinata attempting to fade into the background…and failing.
Naruto said a short greeting and Kiba started to speak.
"Yeah, hi; I wanted to ask you something." Kiba said a little too quickly.
"What?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing; I just wanted to know where you got that awesome kunai!" Kiba said enthusiastically.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, trying to feign ignorance.
"You know what I'm talking about! The kunai you used to beat that Sand girl!"
"I don't know what you mean." Naruto said calmly.
Kiba grunted and looked back down into the arena where Sasuke and Gaara were about to fight. "You know; forget it! I'll ask you later. I have a match to watch!"
Naruto smiled at Hinata and then looked down to the field. He was interested as much as everyone else, if not, more so.
(POV change; in the arena)
"Begin!" Genma shouted as he jumped back.
Gaara's sand gourd opened and a cloud of sand formed over his head. Gaara chuckled evilly as Sasuke jumped back.
"This must be the sand Kakashi-sensei was talking about. Impressive," Sasuke thought.
Suddenly, Gaara seemed to get a headache or something. He began to mutter something.
"Don't get angry, Mother. The blood I gave you earlier was foul. Don't worry, this time, it'll taste better."
"What is he talking about?"
Gaara then looked as if he was shocked by something and the sand above his head fell to the ground. Releasing his head, he spoke in his usual monotonous voice.
"Come forth."
Sasuke stared for a moment and drew a couple of shuriken. He threw them at Gaara only to be caught by Gaara's sand. The sand then morphed into Gaara's figure and held the shuriken. The clone then seemed to explode as a stream of sand gushed from it, making Sasuke jump into the air. The clone, still standing, threw Sasuke's shuriken back at him as Sasuke blocked them with two more. Sasuke then kicked the arms of the clone and then hit the neck of it with his right arm. The clone didn't vanish, but the clone seemed to try and absorb the arm. Sasuke punched the face of the clone, making it dissipate. Sasuke charged forward, determined to punch the real Gaara square in the face.
Gaara instantly raised the sand shield in front of him.
Sasuke smirked as he disappeared before Gaara's eyes.
Gaara looked slightly shocked as he thought.
"His movements are just like…"
Gaara was rudely thrown out of his thoughts via a fist to the face. Gaara was sent flying 10 feet away and he stayed sitting on the ground as Sasuke took a familiar stance. He looked smugly into Gaara's eyes and spoke.
"Come forth."
Gaara didn't move. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and spoke again.
"Come."
Gaara stayed put. Sasuke dropped the smug smile on his face and spoke one more time.
"If you're not coming to me, I'll come to you!"
Sasuke ran forward as Gaara raised the shield again. Running around it, Sasuke circled Gaara until he found an opening and kicked through it. Gaara was sent flying again, the sand going with him. Sasuke spoke as he stood where Gaara once was.
"What's wrong? Is that all you have? I'll tear down that armor of sand and destroy you!"
Sasuke rushed forward again and ran in a circle around Gaara while the sand around Gaara rose waist high, prepared to block an attack. Sasuke removed that factor by simply ducking under the ring of sand and kicking him in the face. He then grabbed the cloth on this shirt and pulled, bringing his knee to Gaara's face. Sasuke then continued to beat him up for a bit and finally threw him over his shoulder about 15 feet away.
(Up in the stands)
"What kind of training did you make him do?" a voice asked.
Naruto looked over to where Gai was standing with Kakashi and listened. It was only one row over so he didn't have to try that hard.
"How can he be that fast in just a month?" Gai asked.
"Sasuke," Kakashi started, "has already copied Lee's fighting style with his Sharingan. So, during his training, I had him recall Lee's movements. Sasuke knew Lee-kun, and therefore; was able to copy him. He did go through a lot of trouble, though," Kakashi said.
Gai and Lee kept silent as Naruto thought.
"Geez, is Kakashi-sensei stupid or something? He knows that Lee had his ass handed to him by Gaara last time. Why did he just teach him taijutsu? Also, how could get that fast in so little time?I mean, I bet that Lee had to train forever to get those skills and he only got them in a month! I wonder what'll happen if he gets his hands on my techniques…" Naruto thought as he narrowed his eyes.
(On the field)
Sasuke gasped as he saw the sand rise to form a sphere around Gaara. Sasuke charged forward, determined to strike Gaara before the sand closed up. The sphere began to compress around Gaara and the sand surrounded him. Sasuke struck just as the orb closed.
Sasuke was then seen punching the orb in the center of the field. Trickles of blood came from his cheek and the hand that hit the orb. The orb had a few sand spikes coming from it, impaling Sasuke slightly on various parts of his body. Sasuke jumped back as the spikes went back into the orb.
"What the hell; I never would've guessed that merely compressing sand would make it that hard. This must be what people call an absolute defense."
An eye of sand appeared near the orb.
Sasuke wiped the blood from his cheek. He then scowled before unleashing an onslaught of attacks on the orb. He first charged forward and tried to impact the orb with his forearm. The spikes that appeared on the orb scratched his leg and shoulder as he hit the orb. Jumping back, he dodged another set of spikes coming from the orb. Sasuke then kicked the top of the orb, making spikes raise from that point after Sasuke jumped off of it.
Landing, he began to think.
"It's not working. I'm going to have to do something different."
Sasuke then noticed a weak spot where the sands converged. He raised his hands up to his face and thought of something.
"I have an idea. He's rooted to that spot by his own sand. I don't know what he's doing, but it's good for me. This new technique of mine takes time."
Focusing his chakra to his legs, Sasuke back-flipped up unto the wall of the arena performing three seals, he thrust his right hand downward while holding onto the wrist with the left.
Ushi, U, Saru (Ox, Hare, Monkey)
A blue flash came from underneath him.
(In the Stands)
Naruto started to hear voices again as he listened in. Like last time, it seemed that the audience was too awestruck to care about their surroundings so it was basically silent in the stands except for a distinct sound that sounded like birds.
"Is that…" Gai said, trailing off.
"I supervised Sasuke's training because he's a lot like me."
Naruto then saw Sasuke move his right arm to the side, creating an arc with his hand. He then started to run down the wall, creating a line of destruction in his wake. Naruto then listened to Gai and Kakashi's conversation while keeping his eyes on Sasuke and Gaara.
"So, you taught him body activation. That's why you made him master taijutsu moves to increase his speed."
"That's right," Kakashi said in response. Naruto then heard another voice join the fray.
"Amazing; I can see the chakra easily with only my eyes. How is he doing it?" a voice that Naruto identified as Sakura's asked.
Naruto began to think.
"Wow, that's a pretty good kick-ass move. I wonder where he got it from."
Naruto watched as the line of destruction from the wall spread to the ground as Sasuke ran forward, towards Gaara's orb. Naruto heard Sakura's voice again. This time it was a little louder.
"That technique is really noisy. What is it?"
"It's just a straight thrust. But, it's also the Copy Ninja's only original move."
Naruto looked over at Gai at that point.
"It's an assassination move and its power lies in the speed of the thrust. Also, it relies on body activation so the move can use a lot of chakra. The chakra is then concentrated in the arm and, because of the incredible speed, it emits a sound which is like the chirping of a thousand birds."
Naruto looked down to the field as he continued to listen to Gai. Sasuke was moving closer and closer to Gaara's orb and he was rapidly dodging the spikes as Gai spoke.
"That is why the move is called…"
Sasuke pierced the shell and jammed his hand deep into the orb.
"…Chidori (Thousand Birds)."
The audience looked in shock at the power of the technique. The people who knew Gaara were shocked out of their gourd and those who knew where the technique came from were smirking and thinking, "This Gaara guy's toast. That's what you expect from an Uchiha."
Those who knew either Kakashi or Sasuke personally had their own personal thoughts. Gai only looked somewhat happy.
"That was the Chidori in action. It's also called the Raikiri (Lightning Edge)."
"Lightning Edge; what do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"That is an alias it took when Kakashi said that he once cut a lightning bolt in half with the technique. The secret lies in the human's fastest attainable speed, the speed of the thrust and the chakra accumulated in one arm. The arm then turns into a sword that could cut just about anything."
Turning to Kakashi, Gai spoke again.
"You've taught him a reckless move, though."
"I don't want to hear that from you," Kakashi said, narrowing his eye.
(Back on the field)
Sasuke still had his hand inside the orb. Now, he was hearing a voice from inside it.
"What is this warm stuff? It's…it's…my blood! MY BLOOD!"
Everyone in the stadium heard that. Sasuke suddenly felt something grab his arm. Sasuke immediately tried to pull it out, but was failing. As a last resort, he began to scream as his hand became charged with the Chidori attack. Sasuke was able to pull his arm out, with difficulty, but something came out with it.
It was an arm made completely of sand.
The arm receded into the hole created by the Chidori and Sasuke peered inside from a distance. He saw an eye, but he knew it wasn't human.
Sasuke was shocked as the orb cracked from the hole that was created, revealing an injured Gaara. Gaara's sand was turned into a large pool as Gaara stood, clutching his wound.
(Up in the Stands)
"What the heck is this?" Naruto thought as he saw feathers rain from the sky. Kiba was knocked out, and Hinata was slowly getting drowsy. Naruto himself was feeling the effects of the technique. Knowing the feel of a genjutsu, Naruto dispelled it easily. He then turned to Hinata and woke her up as well after shoving Kiba out of the way. Pulling her down, Naruto began to speak.
"Hinata-chan, I think I know what's going on. Sound village and Sand village are now attacking us. We have to stay down for a bit as things get messy."
Hinata, too scared to blush at the moment settled for a small nod and stayed down like Naruto was.
Naruto heard a large boom and looked up quickly to see that it originated in the area where the Hokage was sitting. Naruto could only watch as the Kazekage took the Hokage and held a kunai to his throat, retraining his movement. He then saw four figures surround the area they were in and he saw a purple shield thing come up. Naruto jumped out his seat to try and help the "Old Man" but he stopped as soon as he saw an ANBU being fried by the shield.
Unfortunately, this drew the attention of one of the Sand ninja as he rushed towards him. Naruto was beginning to draw his wind kunai, but a shadow headed the Sand ninja off, throwing him to the side. Kakashi was there.
"Hey, Naruto; stay there for a bit, will you?" Kakashi asked with what he could assume was a smile.
(In the arena)
Sasuke watched as a purple field appeared over where the Hokage's box was. Gaara's team came down to take Gaara away and he heard a conversation.
"What are you three doing here? The mission has started!" Gaara's sensei, Baki, said.
"Gaara is injured and he's almost out of chakra. He's in no condition to fight!" Temari said.
"Then take him to a safe location and heal his wounds. Continue the mission after that!" Baki said.
Kankurô nodded and scooped Gaara up, supporting him. Temari and Kankurô then jumped over the stadium wall, disappearing over it. Baki faced Sasuke for a moment and smirked.
Then, Genma appeared in between Sasuke and Baki and spoke.
"I'll take care of this guy. Follow Gaara and fight him. Make sure he's not able to fight. He's Sand village's trump card. Be careful, though; it's different now. It's not an exam."
"It's exactly the same," Sasuke said as he jumped off.
(In the stands)
Drawing his kunai, Naruto blocked off any straying attack heading towards him or anyone around him. Around him, Naruto saw Kakashi and Gai killing many of the ninja with powerful attacks or fatal kunai strikes. Many other ninja were using fire attacks and projectiles to ward off attacks or to attack the enemy. Landing next to Sakura, who was also awake, Kakashi spoke.
"Sakura, this is sudden, but I have a mission for you. Go about one row over and find Naruto and Hinata, who are awake. This is an A-class mission."
"Don't bother looking for us," Naruto said as he blocked a kunai, "we're already here."
Hinata was next to him, blocking attacks and using Jûken strikes on her foes.
"Okay, good; the leader will be Naruto. Sasuke left and followed Gaara. The four of you will follow Sasuke and help him if need be. I'm not sure, but the other jônin may assign their respective genin to help you. Stay alert."
"There are only three of us. What are you talking about?" Naruto asked as he blocked a set of kunai.
"I'll tell you in a moment," Kakashi said while cutting his finger with a kunai and performing five seals.
Naruto smirked as a puff of smoke appeared below Kakashi. A small dog appeared.
"Is that little doggy coming with us?" Sakura asked.
The dog jumped up to Sakura and spoke. "Don't call me a little doggy."
"Yes," Kakashi said, "Pakkun will help you track down Sasuke by scent. Now, go!"
Naruto, Hinata, Pakkun and Sakura went out swiftly. Naruto was about to get hit from behind when Gai appeared out of nowhere and blasted him through the wall. The four nodded to Kakashi and left through the hole.
Landing on the ground, a voice stopped them. Naruto turned to see the three figures from earlier.
"Excuse me," the blonde figure said, "can you tell me where the seats are? We're a little lost."
Naruto was about to answer when a large amount of kunai came from nowhere.
Unable to prepare himself, Naruto ran in front of the blonde girl and braced himself for the impact. He closed his eyes, waiting for the distinct feeling of being hit by bladed objects. Focusing on his sense of hearing, Naruto listened to his surroundings.
He heard a set of rushed footsteps, the distinct sound of a blade being unsheathed, and a single word.
"GUARDIAN!"
(End Chapter)
A/N: I hope I did better this time. I was really rushed as I posted this chapter last time that I just forgot to add some important elements. I hope you liked this version better than what I wrote before I replaced this chapter. By the way, if you want to review to me and you already reviewed for this chapter, I advise that you PM me; not that I'm saying you have to. Thanks for not flaming me for my last lousy job of a chapter. 'Til next time!
Revision Notice: Thank you Era-chan for pointing out my error earlier in this chapter. The AutoCorrect feature is useful, but it sometimes replaces Naruto with Narrator. Thanks for your input!