Disclaimer; This fanfiction uses existing ideas, characters and or worlds, but is an independent work of art. I own nothing, hence the reason for publishing my writings here instead of in real books where I could make some money.
"First off," announced an old man sagely. "Congratulations on passing the second test!"
Naruto was unsure whether to grin madly, or bellow out another whoop of glee as the Sandaime Hokage stood before the teams that had passed.
Due partly to Ranma's influence, he settled for grinning and shaking with excitement.
The Genin were lined up in three rows in a large hall with a balcony along the edges a few metres up, and in front of them were their sensei, and the Examiners along with the Hokage. Behind the adults, a giant statue of a pair of hands forming the Ram hand seal stood along the wall.
There were twenty-one Genin in all, so the Examiner had made good on her promise to cut the passing group of seventy-eight from the First Exam in more than half.
"Sasuke-kun's team passed too!" squealed a girl from Naruto's left quietly in excitement.
'Why are girls so attracted to him?' Naruto asked himself. 'He's moody, dark and hardly ever speaks to anyone if not to insult or command them around … why do girls find that sort of thing attractive?'
'You mean instead of going for a loud, energetic boy, who strives to make others recognise him?' asked Ranma. There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, but Naruto didn't feel confident enough to respond, fearing he'd make another outburst if he was insulted.
Something prickled against his awareness – almost like killer intent, but without any hostility or malicious feelings … for some unknown reason, even to himself, Ranma shivered.
"Something doesn't feel right," Naruto heard Sasuke mutter into his sleeve as he wiped his face free of dirt with it.
"HOKAGE-SAMA WILL NOW EXPLAIN THE THIRD TEST!" declared the Second Examined, Anko was her name – if memory served. One simply didn't forget such an entrance as hers … "SO LISTEN CAREFULLY!"
The old man took a step forward and puffed his pipe one final time before removing it from his mouth.
"Before I explain the Third test, there is something I'd like to share … something I'd like you to know," the man started solemnly. "This concerns the true purpose of the Exams."
Every Genin looked confused.
'Isn't the true purpose to make us into Chuunin?' Naruto asked himself.
'Focus, and we might hear something interesting,' interrupted Ranma before the train of thought could consume his attention entirely.
"Why do all the allied countries take the Exam together?" continued the Sandaime. "'To promote friendship among the countries,' 'To raise the level of shinobi,' I don't want any of you to get confused about the true meaning: This Exam is … a replacement for war among the allied countries."
"What?" Naruto didn't know who had said it, but it reflected his own unvoiced question.
"If you go back a while in history, you'd find that the allied countries were enemies who fought each other over who would rule," the Hokage lectured. "In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the countries chose the Chuunin Selection Exams as a proper setting to vent our aggression."
Naruto wanted to scream out a question about whether or not this was about becoming Chuunin, but Ranma managed to detect and restrain his question to a strangled growl.
"The fact of the matter is; this exam decides which ninja has the potential to become Chuunin," Sandaime continued. "But, there is a second purpose for the exam … where each country's ninja risk their own life to protect their land's prestige. Leaders and influential people from many countries, who make up the shinobi's clients will be at this Third Exam to watch each of your battles. If one country shows greater strength than the others, then that country gets more clients … and conversely, if a country appears weak, they will lose clients.
"It will also send a political message to other countries; This is the power of our village."
"Yeah, but why do we have to risk our lives in battle?" growled the beast-like Kiba loudly enough for all to hear. A tense moment of silence followed.
"The strength of the country is the strength of the village," the Hokage explained. "The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi, and a shinobi's true strength is only born through life-risking battle … This exam is to show other countries' strength, and to show off our own. It only matters because lives are at risk, and that's why those that came before you have fought in the Chuunin Exam."
"But," interrupted another girl from the ranks of the Leaf ranks. "Why did you say all that stuff about it being for 'friendship'?"
"I said that to begin with," admitted the old man. "I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this exam. The shape of friendship in the Shinobi World is in losing life and establishing balance. However, there is one more revelation remaining before we start the Third Exam; This is not just a test … this is mortal combat with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."
'I see …' Ranma muttered as Naruto declared in a confident tone: "I understand."
"I don't care about this, just tell us what this mortal combat entails," stated the redheaded kid coldly.
"I'd like to explain the Third Test, but-"
"Actually," a sickly-looking man appeared between the Genin and the other ninja in the room, bowing to the eldest of them. He was coughing, and his eyes had heavy bags under them, reminding Ranma of someone called Gosunkugi. "I apologise, Hokage-sama, but from here on, as the referee, will you allow me, Gekkou Hayate-"
"By all means," the old man agreed.
The man rose to his feet from his respectful bow, and turned to the Chuunin candidates. "My name is Hayate," he greeted and finished with a cough. "Before the third test, there is something I'd like you to do."
Another fit of coughs interrupted his speech for a moment, giving the Genin time to wonder how this man could be fit for the job as a ninja. Ranma, though Naruto did his best to mentally argue with him, saw that the man was acting weaker than he was even though he was sick. Lies and deception are a ninja's best tools.
"A preliminary for the Third test," Hayate finished his former sentence. "To decide who will participate in the main event."
"PRELIMINARY?" Shikamaru demanded in near outrage, a feeling reflected on nearly all the Genin. After all, they had already passed the first test, and nearly gotten themselves killed in the second, with varying times to recover ranging from a little over four days to mere minutes. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
"Sensei," Sakura meekly asked, not as confident as she had been. "Why aren't all of us allowed to participate in the Third test?"
Groaning uncomfortably to withhold a cough, the new examiner turns to the pink-haired girl. "Because the first two tests must have been too easy this time," he answered. "There are too many of you remaining, so the rules state that to reduce the number of participants, we must hold a preliminary. As Hokage-sama said, there will be many guests watching the Third test, and the fights could take too long. We are limited on time.
"Anyone who can't fight, or feel they've had enough should forfeit now so we can get on with it."
"NOW?" an incredulous Kiba roared next to Naruto.
Watching everyone briefly, Naruto mentally chants to himself that he wasn't going to give up when he had gotten that far.
"Uhm, I'm going to quit," announced Kabuto sheepishly down the line, drawing the attention of all watching and surrounding him.
"Yakushi Kabuto-kun of the Leaf," Hayate confirmed from his list, and coughed once more. "You may leave. Does anyone else want to retire? From now on it will be one-on-one battles … raise your hand if you don't feel up to it."
"Coward," Ranma managed to restrain Naruto into growling, instead of making an unseemly and loud outburst where he would have demanded to know why the elder boy had given up.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," the silver-haired Genin apologised, apparently being under the assumption that he had disappointed him somehow. "But my body is all beat up, and I haven't actually been able to hear out of my left ear since I was attacked by the Sound-nin in the First test … and now we have to risk our lives, I just …"
Shaking his head, Kabuto lowered his head as he walked off from the crowd, giving the appearance of shame and fear – Ranma was not fooled and informed Naruto that the boy had enough in him for one more fight, and for someone who had just resigned his chances of making Chuunin for another six months, the boy was awfully confident and satisfied.
The boy had a quick conference with his team mates before he continued away, giving Naruto an awkward wave.
When Kabuto was out of sight, Ranma registered an increase in activity with the mark on Sasuke's neck, which corresponded with a pained grimace on the boy as he raised a hand to clasp the spot. And the last Uchiha thought he could hide this from him … pheh.
"No one else?" Hayate coughed.
Though he didn't bother to listen to the specifics, Naruto heard Sakura encourage Sasuke to quit before becoming too affected by the mark. She would have quit or notified the examiner if Sasuke hadn't stopped her hand from rising and told her not to.
There was a brief and silent squabble among the Jounin that had undoubtedly seen the interaction, but no action was taken.
"Then let's begin the preliminaries," announced Hayate when no one else volunteered to leave. "This preliminary will consist of one-on-one fighting. You will essentially be fighting as though this was a real life confrontation."
A moment of silence was allowed for the Genin to understand the situation.
"Since we have exactly twenty participants, we will have ten matches," Hayate continued. "The winners move on to the Third test.
"There are no rules. The fight will continue until death, unconsciousness or surrender. I recommend you surrender if you don't feel like dying … however, when I have clearly determined a winner, I will jump in and stop the fight – we wouldn't want to pointlessly increase the number of corpses, would we?
"To decide on the match-ups for each battle, we will use this-" a board whirred out of the way above the large statue of the pair of arms, displaying a scoreboard. "Now, to decide on the first match-up."
The suspense was nearly tangible as lights started blinking on the electronic board.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi
'This can't be a coincidence,' Ranma commented as those who weren't supposed to fight moved to the upper level where they could observe the battle safely. 'They must have rigged it so Sasuke would fight first after arguing about him so he'd be one of the first to go.'
A few moments after everyone had gotten comfortable against the metal rail guard along the upper level, Hayate stepped between Sasuke and the masked older boy.
"Please begin," Hayate announced.
Naruto watched the unfolding battle below them avidly, while Ranma kept a running commentary of their skills and mistakes.
'Too flashy, he should have simply side-stepped those shuriken … his mark is acting up again … very nice, almost bashed Sasuke's skull in with that one … acceptable leg sweep, but the mask guy is charging somethin' … looks like Hinako's draining technique without a hoop …
'Oh, come on! That was barely a love-tap, why is Sasuke clutching his ribs? Get over it and get on with the fight! Don't give him time to think up a strategy, you broody bastard!
'He deserved that one … honestly, just laying there instead of trying to recover, he was beggin' for it!
'Okay, that guy got cocky and ignored Sasuke's legs … nice work on that kick for someone who had most of their energy drained … I could have done better, though.
'What are they doing? Is this a fight or a tea-party? Throw some punches, damnit!
'Ooh, nice rising kick … reminds me of what we saw Lee do to him before- THAT BASTARD STOLE FUZZY-BROW'S TECHNIQUE! He barely altered a thing! Okay, that's a little different, Lee used bandages to bind his opponent … Sasuke must have changed that part because he doesn't have bandages and never experienced the end of the attack … nice finish, though, using gravity to increase the damage done by his kick … bet that masked guy has at least a few cracked ribs, vertebrae and skull plates … wimps.'
"I'm stopping the fight here," Hayate declared immediately after checking Yoroi's vital statistics. "The winner of the first fight, and candidate for the Third test: Uchiha Sasuke!"
'What the- that redheaded guy is feeling a strong desire to kill someone after seeing that … freaky … wouldn't want to face him in a dark alley under the effects of a Moxibustion Point while hogtied by angry fiancées for looking at some girl the wrong way … and that Sound instructor almost feels sexually aroused … not a good thing when he's watching two guys fight … better stay away from that pervert …'
Sasuke's opponent was being carried out on a stretcher by medic-nin, strapped down for his own protection.
Sasuke and Kakashi disappeared somewhere, and Hayate stepped into the middle again.
"We will now start the next match," the Jounin announced after clearing his throat.
The electronic score board flashed to life, cycling through the letters available until they came to rest.
Zaku Abumi vs. Aburame Shino
'Why is that guy walking out to fight when he has both arms in a sling?' Ranma pondered inside Naruto's head.
"Maybe he's stubborn," Naruto suggested, as he squinted at the pair who were to fight.
"What was that, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Nothing," Naruto laughed and grinned in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head. "Just thinking out loud!"
'That guy really needs to have something up his sleeve if he's planning on fighting …' Ranma continued, not bothering to comment on trying to keep their conversation internal.
'We'd continue even without the use of our arms,' Naruto commented.
'That's different,' Ranma argued. 'We have the power and stamina to back it up, though we have to work on our skills a bit … and we heal much faster than normal people do, so we can take more of a beating – but that guy can barely- hey, he's pulling an arm out of the sling …
'That hit didn't seem to have any power behind- cool … how did he get that blast right so fast?
'Are those bugs crawling out of the hole in Shino's cheek?
'Interesting description of their qualities … wouldn't want to have that skill in a million years, but still cool. Ooh, a flanking move with an army of bugs! This guy doesn't seem that strong, but he has a head for tactics …
'Ah, he could use both arms … sneaky. Now he has one weapon aimed at both fronts … what are those things in the palm of his hands?'
-Bamph!-
'Ouch, that has got to hurt! Losing an arm and barely having the other remain attached in a twin blast … goes to show you that you have to rely on your body first, gadgets second …'
"It seems it's over," Hayate coughed after examining the broken-down Sound-nin where he had been knocked down by Shino.
Zaku was carried away on a stretcher, his detached forearm and hand placed on his stomach. That guy couldn't possibly resume a life as a ninja after such a severe injury.
"Winner; Aburame Shino!" Hayate managed to say without coughing or clearing his throat.
"I always thought he was creepy, but …" Sakura muttered in awe. "He's strong …"
"Uhm, I think we should go on to the next match," Hayate stated, followed by a cough.
In an instant, Naruto grabbed a kunai from his pouch and swung it to meet the sudden appearance behind them.
"Hey," greeted Kakashi casually as he stopped Naruto's hand with one of his own. "Feeling a bit twitchy, eh, Naruto?"
"Your own damn fault for sneakin' up on me!" Naruto snapped off before Ranma could stop it. The reflex action of attacking was one both Ranma and Naruto would have done under the circumstances, but that didn't mean they had to like it.
"What do you mean, 'Hey'?" a worried Sakura demanded. "How is Sasuke-san? Is he alright?"
"He's fine," Kakashi admitted. Ranma informed Naruto that he was hiding something, though. "He's sleeping in a hospital bed."
Sakura sighed in relief just as a pair of unfamiliar names appeared on the score board.
Ranma found the battle going on very interesting. One of the two, the Leaf-nin who also had on a veil-like mask, bent his limbs almost like he had no bones in them and like a python coiled himself around his opponent to squeeze the life out of him. The tables turned very quickly when the opponent turned out to be a puppet – the puppet master had been hidden in the bandaged bundle the puppet had been carrying around, and had been ignored as unimportant.
The Leaf-nin barely managed to wheeze out a cry of surrender as the puppet trapped him with additional limbs and superior strength, returning the favour of squeezing the life from his body.
"Winner, Kankuro!" Hayate declared, ending with another cough.
"I thought this was a one-on-one battle …" Naruto mused.
"That's just a puppet, Naruto," Kakashi corrected.
"It's a tool, just like a shuriken or kunai, using chakra to control it – Puppet No Jutsu," Sakura added for clarification.
"But now is not the time for lectures," Kakashi interrupted and tapped Sakura on the shoulder before pointing to the score board where Sakura's name was lit up along with Yamanaka Ino.
While the injured Leaf-nin was removed by medic-nin, Sakura and Ino took their places, exchanging intense stares. It was well known to all the recently graduated Genin from Konoha that the two were the fiercest rivals for the affections of Sasuke, and this rivalry seemed to have sustained itself since they last crossed paths before the exams.
In a surprise move, Sakura removed her hitai-ate from where it acted as a hair accessory, Ino removed hers from her hip, and after a few exchanged words, the forehead protectors were placed where they were intended to be, which seemed to be the signal for their battle to start.
'Come on, a simple Bunshin?' Ranma groaned. 'Didn't Sakura learn any new techniques after the Acad- oh, I see, it was a trick … speed boost to catch the blonde off guard with a blow to the face … not bad.
'Stop talkin' and get on with the fighting!
'That's just pathetic! They both know the exact same amount of taijutsu from the Academy and know exactly how to counter attacks of the style! See! They blocked each other's attacks!
'Is this a double knock-out? No, they're getting back up … wow, it's been ten minutes already! And none of them has shown the least bit of dominance! Come on, show us something new!
'Okay, I have to admit, cutting off your own hair to prove a point in battle is new … why are they just standing there?
'Ah, special technique … slow one if what they say down there is right … is there energy going along the hairs on the ground? Cool, a trap made of her hair! Now Sakura can't avoid the special technique!
'Mind-control? Huh, never thought of that … now what?'
"Get on with it!" Naruto yelled, reflecting Ranma's commentary tone.
"What is it," Hayate asked Sakura, who had suddenly doubled over, clutching her head. "Do you want to forfeit?"
"LIKE HELL I WILL!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed in a near rage.
In what seemed like desperate and jerky movements, Sakura's hands performed a seal that caused both girls to move.
After some staring and panting between them, both kunoichi scrambled to their feet and rushed at each other, intent on finishing the fight.
'Double Knock-out,' Ranma commented. 'Just as I thought … they're both equally strong and skilled. They should have tied their forehead protectors on better, though …'
"Both fighters are unable to continue!" Hayate announced. "The fourth preliminary match has no winner!"
The respective team leaders of the two picked them up, and jumped back up to the upper level where they leaned the two against the wall.
Oddly enough, both of them seemed to have contented expressions under the bruises and grit.
"They don't even seem to need medical attention," commented Ino's Jounin Instructor around his cigarette. "They should wake up in about half an hour."
Naruto tuned them out after hearing that they'd be fine, and instead focused on the score board to see yet another pair of unfamiliar names.
Temari of the Sand vs. Ten Ten of the Leaf
'Not bad,' Ranma commented as he and Naruto observed their approach in the ring. 'Absolutely not bad … they've both put a lot of work into their training beyond standard styles … weapon-users, though …'
'How d' you know all that?' Naruto chanced to ask, squinting in an effort to better see what Ranma was apparently seeing.
'Easy,' Ranma nearly laughed. 'The way they walk practically screams extensive training, and the calluses on their hands indicate wear on the palm and fingers, which is common among either weapon-users or grunt-workers in construction or farming. Based on their occupation, they rely on weapons … and the giant battle fan Blondie there has with her gives her away …'
"Begin!"
'Whoa, that's almost as fast as I was with my Chestnut fist,' Ranma commented as the fight ended almost before it began, with Ten Ten unconscious in what must be a very uncomfortable position on the battle fan. Strewn around the pair were a slew of weapons, mostly sharp and thrown. Ten Ten had used a scroll to call out her weapons, unlike Mousse, who had pulled them from within his voluminous clothes.
That trick hadn't helped her much as Temari had used her fan to block or repel the onslaught of weapons, then knocked the Leaf-nin into the air to land on her back on the folded battle fan, unconscious, battered and bruised.
"Winner of the fifth match," Hayate called out. "Temari of the Sand!"
'She's up to something!' Ranma warned Naruto as the victorious girl smirked.
Next to Ranma and Naruto, Lee noticed as well, and disappeared just as Temari threw the unconscious girl away like a sack of garbage. Lee caught her and almost managed to pull off an attack at the girl who had disrespected his team mate if she hadn't been prepared for that eventuality and blocked with her fan.
"Lee, stop!" commanded the Jounin who looked like an adult version of Lee, or was it the other way around?
"Temari," stated the redheaded Sand-nin from the upper levels coolly, yet audible to all. "You've been declared the winner, stop wasting time with that pathetic guardian and get up here."
What followed was a standard cautionary banter about being stronger than he appeared - he'd better be prepared, etc.
Ranma, however, decided to announce that they should get better weapons to specialise in … kunai and shuriken were all well and good, but they were disposable weapons and could easily be used against the former owner – as this was a world where weapons were necessary, Ranma insisted they visit a weapon smith as soon as possible, because he had an idea or two about what they could get.
"Don't lose to those guys, Naruto!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed next to him. Either more time had passed since she had lost consciousness, or the smoking guy couldn't tell time.
"Okay," Naruto agreed, starting to get excited despite Ranma's request not to use all his energy before the fight.
"Thanks for earlier," she added. "If you hadn't yelled back there, I would have lost."
"Yepp," Naruto agreed, while Ranma was shaking his head. That was a trap, one he most likely had fallen into on numerous occasions, but at least he learned to recognise them. The sudden reverse of Sakura's mood proved his theory correct.
Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi
"Mah, lazy guy's turn …" Naruto moaned impatiently.
'Just because he's lazy doesn't mean he's no good,' Ranma cautioned as both fighters slouched in their approach to the middle. 'My pops was lazy all his life, and I have to admit that he was very good … of course, I could beat him seven times out of ten by the time I was eighteen and made sure he couldn't fight dirty. Just look at those calculative eyes, he's got more going on that he shows.'
"Don't lose, Shikamaru!" called Ino, who had also recovered from her fight.
"Begin!"
'Cool, he's lengthening his shadows with his … chakra, was it?' Ranma commented. 'But what good does it do? Why is she avoiding the shadow? Oh, she's throwing around senbon with bells on them … if I recall, she'll eventually remove the bell from one needle, making it difficult to detect … a bit out of date, but a good trick- cool, she's modified it by attaching wire to the needles and shook them instead of throwing new ones and distracted Shikamaru so she could attack him when he's distracted.
'Ah, so that's what the shadow does … neat, but must be very energy consuming to maintain …
'Okay, remember, Naruto, to always be aware of your surroundings … or we could end up like that chick, with a massive concussion at best.'
"Now, the next match," Hayate called and looked to the score board as it finished. "Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba!"
"IT'S ABOUT TIME!" Naruto crowed triumphantly, much to Ranma's chagrin.
Naruto confidently strode down to his place across Kiba, the dog-like boy with a puppy peeking out of his jacket.
Kiba, it seemed, was equally excited about the match as Naruto.
"It's like we've already won!" the boy crowed. "Lucky, eh, Akamaru?" he asked his puppy, who barked happily in reply.
"Don't count your chickens until they hatch," Ranma made Naruto retort, instead of the snapping and yelling he would have. "And if you don't want your puppy to get hurt, you shouldn't bring him into a fight."
"Idiot!" laughed Kiba as he took Akamaru out of his jacket and placed him on the ground. Apparently he had misunderstood the warning. "Akamaru's fighting with me!"
"Animals and bugs are the same as tools," confirmed Hayate. "It is allowed."
"Fine," Naruto huffed. "If you feel you need the help …"
"Hah," Kiba laughed, though Naruto's words had hit home. "Quit acting so tough … Akamaru, you stay out of it. I'll fight him alone."
"DON'T LOSE TO HIM, NARUTO!" roared Sakura from the upper levels.
"I feel bad for you," Kiba continued after a very brief moment of thought. "So I'll beat you with one punch."
"Do your worst," Ranma made Naruto grouse in what would have been a cool tone if not for his child-like voice.
"Then begin!" Hayate interjected before things could escalate to a full-out shouting match.
Immediately, Kiba crouched down to the ground, and performed the Ram seal with his hands. "Shikakyu No Jutsu!"
A build-up in energy was almost tangible to Ranma, and both Ranma and Naruto saw the changes in Kiba. His face grew more feral, though that could just be his normal battle face, and his hands grew claws instead of nails.
Though Ranma could read what Kiba was about to do in the next second, Naruto did not have the training to react as fast, so when Kiba suddenly appeared in front of them with his elbow and shoulder ramming into their abdomen, all Ranma could make Naruto do, was raise his knee a little more than momentum should allow, scoring a glancing blow under Kiba's poorly guarded face, and sending them both into the air – though Naruto got distance and Kiba barely left the ground before landing on his feet.
Naruto impacted the ground near the wall, actually cracking the solid stone, while Kiba landed on his feet and rubbed his sore chin, where a bruise was already forming.
"He won't be waking up for a while," Kiba smugly informed Hayate and got up to triumphantly face the crowds, who had been surprised at how quickly this had ended.
'We're not gonna let that love-tap put us down, are we?' Ranma more stated than asked.
Naruto's mouth twitched into a grin as he slowly got to his feet.
That blow had been hard. Not as hard as Zabuza's clone had hit, a little harder than Sakura usually hit him when he annoyed her, but the whole game of being a ninja was about deception – and if Kiba thought he would win against an injured opponent, then that ruse would have to be kept up until he realised that the injuries weren't as severe as first assumed.
"'S that th' best y' got?" Naruto demanded, intentionally adding a bit of a slur to his words.
"Stop acting so tough, you're bleeding!" Kiba yelled back.
"I let you hit me!" Naruto grinned, not entirely true, but deception is part of being a ninja. After all, people truly believed he was a complete idiot for failing the Genin exams so many times – and despite that, he always put up a brave front. "To test your strength! You should take your own advice and not act touch! Use your dog if you feel you need the help …"
"I'll make you regret that," Kiba promised. "Akamaru, let's go!"
The feral boy reached into his hip pouch as he and his dog ran towards Naruto.
As his hand returned to Naruto's view, he saw it held two smoke balls.
-Bamph!-
'Get down!' Ranma commanded, and as though he had not done so himself, Naruto dropped to the ground to feel the air move in the smoke above him. 'Jump!'
Obeying Ranma's instructions, Naruto jumped into the air, and his head peeked out of the smoke for a moment, to see a puppy waiting outside, while something passed underneath him.
'Duck and sweep!' as Naruto landed, he crouched down, as per instruction, and swept his leg in a half circle.
He felt Kiba's shins impacting his own, and took delight in the sound of someone falling to the ground.
'Okay, there's only one way to finish this,' Ranma stated as he felt Kiba roll to his feet. 'Make sure to follow my instructions to the letter! Throw all our smoke balls out, detonate them all over to blanket everything!'
Not arguing with Ranma, as he had not steered him wrong yet, Naruto reached into his freshly refilled hip pouch, and pulled out a handful of smoke balls, which he transferred to the other hand as he reached in for the last of them, then tossed them randomly around, filling the entire room and upper levels with smoke.
Understandably, everyone was a bit unsettled when they were blanketed in smoke – as the battle was usually confined to the lower level.
"It's no use, Naruto!" taunted Kiba. "My sense of smell is a thousand times more sensitive than a human's! I don't need to see you to get you!"
-chink!-twang!-
-ka-chink!-twang!-
-chink!-twang!-
-ka-chink!-twang!-
-chink!-twang!-
-ka-chink!-twang!-
-chink!-twang!-
-ka-chink!-twang!-
-chink!-twang!-
-ka-chink!-twang!-
-chink!-twang!-
"I wouldn't move if I were you," Naruto's smug voice floated through the smoke. It was the same smugness he usually displayed after pulling off a great prank, but a good deal of his loudness was gone. Had he had his own theme music, it would have risen to a delightful crescendo at that time. "You might set something off."
The smoke screen soon started to thin out, and the spectators noticed that several kunai had been attached to the walls at seemingly random intervals and heights.
Naruto was the first fighter that was visible, undoubtedly due to his bright blonde hair, and screaming orange jump suit, and he was standing confidently with his arms crossed, holding a kunai in one hand.
Kiba soon also became visible, and he was surrounded by very familiar strips of paper: Explosive notes, attached to nearly invisible ninja wire, which had been tied to the kunai that were lodged in the walls, trapping the feral boy in a tight explosive net.
"Give up?"
"Like hell I will! Akamaru!"
"He's indisposed at the moment," Naruto gloated, and the final corners of the room cleared of smoke to reveal a second Naruto holding a hogtied, muzzled puppy. "Do - you – give - up?"
"If you do not," coughed Hayate from the side-lines. "Or can't get out of there, I will declare you incapable of continuing."
With a reluctant snarl, Kiba admitted defeat.
"Cool," Naruto cheered and started pulling on the wires. "I won! Now to get back my supplies …"
"NO! YOU'LL SET THEM OFF!"
As several kunai loosened from the walls, everyone cringed and braced for a massive explosion, most of all Kiba, who looked about ready to soil himself.
Harmlessly, the kunai clattered to the ground, and Naruto pulled them back to him like he was fishing, reeling in the wire, while peeling off the explosive notes as though they were unimportant or harmless.
"Heh, fooled you!" Naruto taunted upon seeing their shocked expressions. "D' you really think I'd set off that many explosive notes indoors while I was still here? These were just dummy notes I made and attached while waiting for the smoke to clear! I'm saving the real ones for later!"
"Winner of the fifth preliminary match: Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate announced to the surprised and slightly awed crowd.
Naruto was feeling great as he marched up to the upper levels … he had just beaten Kiba, and proven to his peers that he wasn't as far behind them as they had thought. Of course, he had gotten a little careless while he detached the kunai from the wires, and gotten a few cuts, but the dull sting was worth it to see the expression on Kiba's face when he thought he was about to be blown to bits.
"N-Naruto-kun," a nearly unheard voice said timidly.
Naruto stopped and looked around to see Hyuuga Hinata. She was holding something as she addressed him, but was afraid to look him in the eye.
Shakily, the girl held out her hands, revealing a small jar which she was presenting him.
"What's this?" Naruto asked cautiously. He had after all just beaten her team mate, so it wasn't too paranoid to expect retaliation.
"Medical cream," explained a rather well endowed woman with red eyes behind him. The girl's Jounin Instructor.
"For me?" Naruto asked. 'Why isn't she talking on her own?' wondered Ranma.
"Just take it, Naruto," the Jounin urged him.
"Uh, sure," Naruto accepted and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't used to people giving him stuff. "Thanks, that was really nice of you, Hinata."
The girl blushed deeply, but only Ranma noticed, as Naruto was too engrossed in the concept of being given something for no reason. Ranma didn't say it, but he recognised that look … he'd been on the receiving end of it once or twice when his fiancées weren't around. Hinata was smitten with them. How long had that been going on?
"Wow, this works well," Naruto commented, drawing Ranma's attention to the cuts on their hands being healed in a hissing noise as Naruto applied the cream. "This is great medicine!"
"Next match!" Hayate called out. "Hyuuga Neji versus Hyuuga Hinata!"
Hinata, who had just seen her humiliated team mate, timidly stepped out to Hayate, opposite a long-haired guy with similar eyes to hers.
While a conversation took place around them concerning the relation between Hinata and Neji, Ranma was focused on the contestants, reading them as best he could.
Neji clearly despised Hinata – his posture and scowl said as much.
Hinata did not share her cousin's feelings, and was uneasy about having to fight him. Her posture also reflected a low self-esteem and insecurity in her own skills.
"Begin!" Hayate called, and retreated out of the way.
Unlike most of the fights, this one did not start off right.
Neji did his best to get Hinata to surrender, playing mind tricks to weaken her already fragile confidence.
The longer this went on, the more enraged both Ranma and Naruto became.
That bastard had no right to do this! And his opinion and theory was WRONG! People can change!
Finally, it became too much to hold in, and Naruto erupted.
"SHUT UP, TEME!" he roared. Ranma felt a rush of power, and struggled to keep it in check. "JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO STOP OTHERS FROM CHANGING! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND GET ON WITH LETTING HINATA-CHAN BEAT SOME SENSE INTO YOU!"
Naruto's speech seemed to have emboldened Hinata, because after a brief moment to reflect on something, she activated her family ability, the Byakugan, and slid into a smooth defensive battle stance.
The blood vessels around the eyes of the combatants tightened and became visible as they jutted out under the skin, and the battle was on.
'These have to be the most skilled hand-to-hand fighters so far … except for me …' Ranma commented. 'Smooth style, fast movements, precise strikes and blocks … pressure points, and acupuncture points if memory serves … very damaging if they land a hit, if I'm not mistaken …
'Not difficult to replicate if you know where to hit … but those eyes look almost unnatural … especially now, with all those veins popping out …
'Close one, Hinata, you almost had him!'
'What would have happened if she did?' Naruto could not help but wonder.
'She was aiming for a cluster of nerves that control respiration,' Ranma lectured. 'Had she hit properly, she would have seized his breathing for a moment, which would have been long enough to incapacitate him or kill him … though given what we know about her, she wouldn't kill a relative unless it was absolutely necessary … the qualities of a good leader …'
'Was there anything where she did hit?' Naruto asked quickly as the two Hyuuga circled each other, trading and blocking blows.
'I seem to recall a nerve that would shut down the kidneys for a second, but as it wasn't necessary for combat or first aid, I didn't bother remembering it,' Ranma admitted.
Energy practically trailed behind every movement as the two fought.
Listening to the chatter around them, Ranma and Naruto learned more about the Byakugan than they had known earlier … it seemed it was very useful for seeing pressure points, acupuncture points, general nerve clusters and energy flow.
The Hyuuga trained to introduce a pulse of their own chakra into the opponent's system, disrupting the flow through certain clusters, and disabling either organs, limbs or the ability to manipulate chakra. 'If we're gonna face people like that, we definitely need some sort of primary weapon,' Ranma affirmed from his earlier statement.
Naruto's reply was cut off as Ranma roared out an internal 'NO!' that gave the blonde a headache.
'Her heart's been hit, it's beating irregularly!' he explained when Naruto complained.
Neji pushed the injured girl back, knocking her down.
Despite the pain she must be in, Hinata got back up, shaking, bleeding, sweating and barely able to draw breath. Her shaking steadied after a look up at them, though – but Ranma could tell she was ten minutes from death unless someone interfered.
Before she could even take another step, she doubled over and coughed up blood that spattered onto the ground.
Both Ranma and Naruto were shaking with rage at Neji for hurting family that way.
On the other hand, Hinata didn't look like she would surrender until she was dead, so Naruto could not withhold a yell of encouragement to her.
The show of support worked, somewhat, and Hinata rushed back into combat with her cousin – who was barely scratched.
Hinata's injuries cost her, as a blow to the liver was followed by a backhand that sent her stumbling back a step.
Ignoring her pain, the girl once more returned to fight, but was defeated by a palm heel blow to the solar plexus.
After a moment, the judge was about to declare Neji the winner, when Hinata slowly started pushing herself to a hunched standing position.
She was holding her side, one arm was limp, but determined not to show weakness.
When his taunts were not answered or reacted to, Neji let his temper get the best of him, and he rushed in.
Naruto didn't know what happened, but one moment he was on the upper levels, seeing Neji's muscles tensing – he blinked and found himself between Neji and Hinata, right leg extended in a kick aimed for the boy's reproductive organs but halted barely before contact, Hayate standing next to him with his finger tapping Neji's forehead protector, Kakashi standing closer with a grip on the boy's extended arm, Gai standing behind Neji with a grip around his neck, and Hinata's sensei kneeling with a grip on Neji's other arm.
Everyone seemed as surprised as Naruto to find him there, but he didn't have time to voice his confusion as Hinata's injuries caught up with her, making her collapse to the ground in a violent series of coughs.
Ranma pushed Naruto's control out of the way for another moment as he helped the girl lay on her back – moving his hand over her ribs. If Naruto couldn't feel his fingers, he would not have noticed the slight flicker of them moving faster than normal, pressing a few points that caused the nearly unconscious Hinata to breathe easier.
"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," he assured her. Naruto found it very weird feeling and hearing himself speak without actually doing it. "You'll be okay. Promise."
Hinata smiled a little before her eyes closed.
Allowing Naruto control again, Ranma nearly faded completely away, leaving Naruto feeling exhausted.
He stepped back to allow the medic-nin access to the now unconscious girl, and she was rushed out at greater speeds than any of the other injured combatants.
"Hey," called the obnoxiously confident Neji. "Loser. If you're trying to be a shinobi, then cut out that annoying habit of cheering for others … in the end, a loser is a loser – they cannot change."
"You're wrong," Naruto growled. "People can change if they want to …"
He took a step closer, but found his path blocked by Lee. "Naruto-kun, please calm yourself. Save the fighting for the matches – if he faces either of us in the Third test, we will prove to him that hard work can enable a loser to defeat the elite."
"Fine," growled Naruto. Looking around to avoid enraging himself further, he spotted a puddle of Hinata's blood – using every possible means, he kept his emotions under wraps and marched over to the puddle. Once there, he swiped his hand through it to the point where his fingers were dripping. There was so much …
Raising the blooded hand, Naruto clenched it into a fist, which he directed at the male Hyuuga.
"I'm gonna take you down," he promised grimly.
Neji didn't seem to take him seriously, but Naruto didn't care – he had been warned.
In his own place on the upper levels, Sandaime Hokage looked thoughtfully on the pariah of Konoha as he wandered up the stairs back to the upper levels.
"It seems five days in the forest has improved Naruto-kun's skills more than we thought," he mused.
"Beg your pardon, Hokage-sama," Iruka interrupted. "But Naruto couldn't have gotten good enough to teleport down there that fast, even with his vast reserves. What he did looked more like what Gai did – purely physical."
"Indeed …" agreed the aged man. "And he seems more restrained and mature than before entering this exam …"
"You don't think …"
"No, I do not," the Sandaime disagreed. "We would have been able to feel it if that had been the case."
"Then what?"
"According to reports, Orochimaru was in the area, and might still be …"
"So Naruto-kun could be possessed?"
"Not in this case, but their team did run into him, and my wayward student appeared when Kakashi was sealing the mark he left on Uchiha Sasuke … the boy mentioned he had been acting strange since the encounter," Sarutobi continued. "But his sudden leap in speed isn't what troubles me about our resident prankster."
"What is it, Hokage-sama?"
"While he was apparently checking for broken ribs, young Hinata started breathing easier."
"I don't understand …"
"I've seen the Hyuuga perform healing and fighting techniques for a long time – and what I just saw resembled this somewhat … that he knows some of their secrets would mean one of two things: he has been injured enough in his lifetime to know where to press in order to alleviate pain … or …"
"Or what, Hokage-sama?"
"Or he snuck into the Hyuuga compound and copied their technique and medical scrolls …"
"But only those with the Byakugan can see them!" Iruka protested. "And Naruto doesn't have those eyes!"
"The tenketsu are still there whether the Byakugan is in use or not," Sandaime mused. "Only extensive use of the tenketsu would allow someone to easily find them without using the Hyuuga gift."
"Hiashi-san will not be pleased to hear this," Iruka decided, looking at Naruto as he walked away from an irate Sand-nin in kobuki getup.
"Precisely," Sandaime Hokage agreed. "So it would be in Naruto's best interest not to tell him … perhaps he will reveal it in time, and be accepted by the Hyuuga - But at the moment, it is more likely that they will attempt to assassinate him and take him apart to learn how he found out their secrets."
'There's something seriously wrong with that redhead,' Ranma commented as the boy appeared on the ground in a swirl of sand for his battle with Lee.
'He looks kinda strange,' agreed Naruto. 'Who tattoos "love" on their forehead in red ink?'
'That's not it,' argued Ranma. 'His aura is seriously disturbed – unnatural. It feels like a failing spirit ward keeping an oni in place …'
'Nii-san, you've fought oni?' Naruto asked in awe. Ranma ignored the familiar reference.
'Worst I ever fought was a demi-god phoenix king,' he bragged. 'I won, of course …'
'Wow,' Naruto couldn't help but mentally exclaim. 'But … why did you take control of my body?'
'Sorry, but you wouldn't have responded fast enough with me yelling instructions,' Ranma replied. 'Wow, Lee's fast!
'That sand is not natural … it's responding to this Gaara like it's reading his mind or has a life of its own!'
'That guy's got better control over sand than Haku had over ice!' Naruto chipped in. 'And at least give me a warning the next time you take over, okay?'
"LEE! TAKE THEM OFF!" Gai called to Lee, who had after a series of failed attacks retreated to the tip of the statue fingers, where he was catching his breath.
"BUT GAI-SENSEI! THAT'S ONLY FOR PROTECTING MANY PRECIOUS PEOPLE, ISN'T IT?" Lee called back.
"IT'S OKAY!" Gai replied confidently, and stretched out his fist with a thumb extended upwards. "I'LL ALLOW IT!"
'Those things are almost as heavy as Ryoga's umbrella,' Ranma commented in deep thought. 'We should ask Lee or Gai where they got them …'
"LEE! GO!" Gai instructed.
Ranma had a great deal of difficulty in tracking Lee, even with the ki senses he enjoyed using so much. One moment the green-clad fuzzy-brow was on the statue, then in a shimmer, he was crouching behind Gaara.
Gaara's sand, which reacted to protect Gaara, according to his team mate, was fast enough to stop the super fast punches and kicks, but the force behind them was enough to plough through to such a degree that the limbs were visible through the walls of sand, stopping just short of striking the racoon-like boy.
Lee suddenly appeared above Gaara in a flipping kick that got through the automated defences to strike Gaara's head, scoring a scratch along one cheek.
"LEE!" Gai roared. "EXPLODE!"
"YES!"
One moment, it seemed like he was about to appear behind Gaara, and he actually felt that and turned – but then Lee appeared in front of him a split second later, delivering a punch strong enough to propel the redhead several metres in a spin, sand trailing around and after him.
The Leaf-nin assembled started feeling good about their guy down there, but Ranma felt something about the redhead. It felt like a combination of Ryoga and Kuno's aura mixed together. Blood-lust … that was the best description he could come up with.
As Gaara rose to his feet, his face started cracking, like plaster, falling off in chips to reveal an insane grin underneath the former unmoving neutral expression … it had been a mask!
Gaara's entire body was covered in dense sand that acted like a personal armour set and Hunter mask in one!
Sand slithered along through the air to coat the uncovered areas, his neutral expression and insane grin replaced with an angry scowl. Cracks lined the face of Gaara, as well as his clothes and arms – revealing that it was still a protective armour.
Lee unwrapped part of his bandages, and suddenly vanished in favour of a ring of dust kicked up around Gaara where the fuzzy-browed boy was running.
Suddenly, Lee appeared inside Gaara's guard with an upwards kick like the one he had used on Sasuke, which the bastard had copied and already used in his preliminary fight. The difference between Sasuke's version and Lee's, was that Lee could get his opponent much higher, and catch up with him faster.
Gaara was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, and Lee started guiding their plummeting descent – head first and spinning tightly.
'That landing's gonna hurt,' Ranma cringed.
-Crack-oom!-
Just as Gaara impacted, Lee leapt away and landed lightly.
The point of impact was riddled with blocks of stone jutting up from the hole that was several metres deep.
Naruto was cheering his fellow Leaf-nin on, but Ranma felt something was wrong – the armour was crumbling and dissolving in on itself … it was hollow!
'There! Behind him!' Ranma pointed out to Naruto, assisting him by focusing his eyes on the indicated spot.
Rising out of the broken ground was a mound of sand that started taking form of a human.
A tidal-wave of sand washed over Lee and smashed him against the stone wall.
A second wave that an exhausted Lee blocked ploughed him into the wall, forming a crater.
A third attempted to finish the job, but Lee managed to roll out of the way.
'The boy can barely move after that cool technique,' Ranma asserted. 'But he doesn't give up … very admirable, but it won't do him any good in the long run – unless he can pull a miracle out of those sleeves of his …
'Apparently, he has one ready …' Ranma corrected as Lee managed to rush out of the way of a crushing blow by the sand, and stood confidently facing his enemy again. The floor was by now mostly composed of jutting rock, rather than the smoothly cut stone they had been. 'Seems he's removing his mental blocks one at a time …'
'His what?' Naruto asked, scratching his head in confusion.
'They're known as the Celestial Gates … they are blocks your mind puts on your body to keep you from killing yourself or damaging your every muscle,' Ranma lectured. 'From the looks of things, he has gotten one block undone – more specifically the one for healing, which would explain why he's suddenly more energised than earlier. There goes another one!'
Power swirled around Lee, his face flushed with life, veins throbbing, hair tousled in a wind that kicked up dust from around him.
"Another one," Naruto muttered as Lee crouched down a little, screaming as the wind picked up and small rocks were kicked into the air around him. Lee's colour was turning deep red, and a slim trickle of blood came out his left nostril as he grit his teeth.
An explosion of displaced air replaced Lee, and on the other end of the battle-field, Gaara's head snapped back from a kick that carried him up into the air.
Almost sluggishly by comparison, the sand followed Gaara.
Suddenly, a blast of displaced air erupted in front of Gaara, sending him flying, only for a moment later having a repeat performance that sent him back.
The next twenty seconds made Gaara look like a pinball in a ring of flippers sending him around bouncing off seemingly invisible barriers, cracking the armour and scattering it a little each time it was hit.
'He just snapped a muscle,' Ranma commented.
'How do you know that?' Naruto demanded. 'Just a little ago, we could hardly feel Lee for his speed, and he must be much faster now!'
'First off, I am very good at adapting and learning, so while Lee speeds up, I am learning to read faster movements,' Ranma answered importantly. 'Second, his speed slowed somewhat just as it happened, and I could see a distortion under his sleeves … Thirdly … Kakashi just said it.'
"FIFTH ELEMENT GATE: OPEN!" roared Lee from somewhere in the tower.
'Ouch!' Ranma commented as Gaara was struck down towards the ground by his stomach – scattering air like he broke the sound barrier.
As everyone prepared for Gaara to hit the ground, he halted, his sash grabbed by Lee who was still in the air and used the piece of clothing like the Sand-nin was a yo-yo, pulling the redhead back up into the waiting fist of Lee.
The following impact with the ground caused dust to scatter all over the lower level, almost masking Lee's rough fall next to the crater.
As the dust cleared, Gaara lay in the crater, head turned to Lee and arm extended.
Sand slithered out and wrapped around Lee's left limbs, and before anything else could be done, Gaara closed his hand and a crunching sound reverberated all over the tower, immediately followed by the pained scream of Lee.
Before any more damage could be done, the sand burst apart between Lee and Gaara, revealing Gai, who was very grave. Even Ranma had not registered the green-clad man moving – though that could be from a combination of factors including distraction by means of the fight.
Naruto couldn't hear the words exchanged between Gaara and Gai, but as Gai intervened on Lee's behalf, Lee lost by default – not that there as much of a likelihood of Lee being able to continue fighting, though …
"Winner, Gaara!" Hayate declared.
It came as a great surprise when Lee suddenly got up to his feet into a ready stance, despite his shattered arm and leg.
'He's still unconscious,' Ranma observed.
'How can you tell?' Naruto asked and tried to see for himself. He thought it was strange having another voice in his head, but it beat being ignored by everyone all the time – and Ranma had been very helpful so far.
'I was trained to evade attacks in my sleep – so I've learned to recognise when others do something similar. Lee is still unconscious – just look at his unfocused eyes, half-closed, and his slumped pose. He's trying so hard to become a ninja without all the fancy ninjutsu or genjutsu that even when he's comatose, he gets up to fight … I don't know enough pressure points to heal him from something like those serious fractures,' he added regretfully. 'But maybe I can still do something …'
Naruto nodded and jumped over the edge from the upper levels, managing to reach Lee at the same time as the medics arrived.
'Oh, this kid's a mess!' Ranma exclaimed as they got a closer look. The medic took Gai aside, possibly to inform him of the same thing. 'Let's see … torn muscles all over, shattered bones in his left hand and forearm, and left foot and shins … he has no chakra worth mentioning, but his ki is strong … had he known how to use it properly, this could be fixed in a matter of weeks.
'Okay … when I broke a bone somewhere, my ki flow altered to repair it faster – I can't recall having had a broken bone for more than a couple of days. If I could just alter Lee's ki to full healing mode similar to opening his- that could work … I force open his healing gate, using our energy instead of his – and leave it open a crack to accelerate his recovery! Excuse me …'
Naruto once more got the feeling of being nudged aside, and was along for the ride as his body knelt to the ground above Lee's head, cupping the right side above the right cerebral hemisphere. Concentration was felt, and a tiny spark of the energy Ranma called ki shot from his hand, into Lee's head.
It was an odd sensation, as he could almost feel the spark moving around inside Lee's head until it found what it was looking for and latched on … Naruto then felt a tingle in his left arm and leg, and saw an almost ethereal glow from Lee's left-side limbs that no one else seemed to notice.
Lee started breathing with more difficulty, and Naruto's hand jabbed a point on Lee's neck before the medics noticed he was there and pulled him off. They then checked to see if he had done any harm.
"What did you do, brat?" one of the medic-nin demanded.
"I did all I could," Ranma replied for Naruto, crossing his arms in confident defiance. "Unlike some people."
"Naruto-kun," Gai stated. "What did you do to my precious student, please tell me."
"I forced his second gate open a crack to help his healing," Naruto answered after hesitating only a moment, relieved to be back in charge of his body. "But it caused him pain so I numbed him from the neck down. It should wear off in an hour or two … he still needs to operate the bone fragments back where they belong, but I think his chances of returning to normal increased by about thirty percent …"
"Then you are a good friend," Gai announced, extending his hand in a fist with his thumb extended upwards, a typical good-guy pose – his teeth even momentarily gleamed and made a crystal ping. "And you do credit to my eternal rival, Kakashi! But when Lee is back in shape, I will challenge my rival once more to see who has the best student!"
"Did you say something, Gai?" asked Kakashi casually as he walked up to Naruto.
"OOOH! ANOTHER HIP RESPONSE BY MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Gai seethed in exaggerated envy.
"What?" Kakashi dismissed. "Naruto-kun, we should clear the area and make room for the next battle."
'He's suspicious,' Ranma added 'If he's as suspicious as I think he is, he will ask about our newfound abilities soon.'
True to Ranma's predictions, Kakashi laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and guided him away. "That was an interesting performance," the masked man commented. "I can't recall having seen anyone outside the Hyuuga clan perform something like that … Be careful – the Hyuuga might not like someone having figured out how to copy their healing techniques and rogue elements of the clan might act in a way they think is necessary to prevent the secret from spreading."
"I had to figure something out since all you've taught me is tree-climbing," Ranma commented on Naruto's behalf, going with Kakashi's assumption that he had gotten the techniques from observing the Hyuuga clan.
"Not entirely true, Naruto-kun," Kakashi argued lazily. "I also taught you to work with your team mates even if you don't like one of them … but let us forget this for a moment and watch the match."
"Would Dosu Kinuta and Akimichi Chouji please step forward for the final match?" Hayate requested.
'I did not expect Kakashi to mistake our actions as independent study of another clan,' Ranma admitted. 'That's an interesting technique …' he added after Chouji inflated himself like a balloon and rolled around like a runaway boulder trying to squash his opponent.
"I'M NOT FAT! I'M PLEASANTLY PLUMP!" roared the overweight boy as he charged his opponent.
'Ouch, I'd hate to be the one to rebuild this place with all the holes in the ground and walls,' Ranma remarked as Chouji crashed into the wall and was attacked by Dosu. At first it seemed like the attack was useless, but then the noise came – muffled. It was Chouji's pained scream. 'The human body is composed of mostly water, and water conducts sound … he would have been better off not using that technique and gone for proper airplugs.'
"Winner, Dosu Kinuta!" Yelled Hayate. "The preliminary trials for the Third test has been completed! Would the winners please assemble to be assigned their opponent for the Third test?"
Eight teens made their way to the ground level, and lined up facing the statue. Naruto noticed that Sasuke was not present despite being the winner of his fight … he was apparently still in the hospital.
"Congratulations to all of you who earned the right to compete in the Third test of the Chuunin exam, even if one of your number is missing. Hokage-sama, if you would …"
"Very well," agreed the old man and took a step forward as Hayate retired to the sides. "I'd like to explain the main test …" 'Finally!' Naruto exclaimed internally. "As I said earlier, the main matches will be seen by everyone. Each of you will fight to show the strength of your countries. Please do not hold back when your time comes.
"To give you time to prepare, the main event will take place in one month from now. This time will also be used for the Lords and Shinobi Leaders to be informed of the participants and arrange for the gathering. Take this time to familiarize yourselves with your opponents, work out a strategy, calculate your chances and review the fights you have seen today.
"So far, the battles you've fought have been against unknown factors. This will not be the case next.
"Some of you have shown all your tricks – some competed against a stronger opponent and got injured. This month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves … though resting to regain your strength is not frowned upon.
"As much as I'd like to dismiss you now, there remains something that has to be done before that happens," the Hokage looked the group over once for suspense, anticipating an interruption. "Anko will come around with a box. This box will contain slips of paper … each of you will take one piece of paper."
"Only one," Anko declared as she held the box out to Dosu.
Eventually, the box made its way to Naruto, who gingerly reached in and pulled out a slip of paper with the number One on it.
"Would you all please read your number," the Hokage requested when Anko finished her round. Ibiki, the examiner from the first test, took out a pad and wrote down the numbers next to the names that had not been crossed out. All the numbers from one to nine were read, with the exception of four, which became the default number of the missing contestant. Naruto had a shrewd feeling that had that missing contestant been anyone but Uchiha Sasuke, they would have disqualified him for not being there during the final arrangements. "Ibiki, would you kindly show them the match arrangements?"
"Of course," the scarred man agreed, and held up his pad after some scribbling on the next sheet.
The paper showed a tournament hierarchy system with their names arranged by numbers at the bottom … Naruto's name connected with Neji!
Author's Notes: As some may have noticed, I have retold the lines of some characters rather freely, rearranging sentences or using different words. This is because I only have Fansubs of both Manga and Anime, and so don't feel I should follow everything to the letter – basically because those that translated seemed to have done so either poorly or directly without taking grammar or context into consideration. I am therefore forced to occasionally reinvent parts of sentences based on what was said and figure out what they MEANT to say.
I apologise for not deviating from canon in the match pairings and described moves, but to avoid being yelled at too much, I deliberately shortened the description into a running commentary for the most part.
The more avid fans of Naruto will probably recognise where I got the idea for Naruto's trap from … that's all I'll say about that.
I am aware of canon Ranma not knowing much about pressure points etc. except for the Yama Sen Ken meant to cause great pain for the victim by thrusting spear hands into certain spots along the spine – but this Ranma died at age nineteen, so it's reasonable that he could have picked up quite a few new tricks since canon ended at around age seventeen.
Furthermore, I know I abhor writing from the perspective of other characters than the main, but in this chapter, I thought it necessary.
Lastly, this chapter is rather long, which I am sure some people will enjoy, but please don't expect me to attempt to maintain this length for each chapter. The reason the chapter is as long as it is, was because it didn't feel right to split up the Preliminaries into different chapters. It's been done before, but I'd rather save up the fights for one large chapter than many small ones.