I don't own anything from the manga/anime Naruto. It is Masashi Kishimoto that owns Naruto. This is a fan fiction based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga and anime: Naruto.
"Ordinary conversation"
'thought'
"Wolf/Kyuubi speech"
'Wolf/Kyuubi thought'
"VERY LOUD YELLING"
Authors note: a comment from me about the story.
-- paragraph and scene change
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"Seventh fight: Sabaku no Gaara vs. Rock Lee. Begin!"
As soon as the fight started, sand started to flow out of Gaara's gourd.
'He controls sand. That could be annoying.' Lee thought. He then charged Gaara, who just stood there, his arms crossed, looking almost bored. Lee threw a punch, only to find it blocked by sand. A kick, punch, kick, kick, punch. All blocked by sand flying from Gaara's gourd. Jumping backwards, Lee let out a frustrated sigh before attacking, again with taijutsu.
"Konoha Senpuu (whirlwind)" Lee said and gave a powerful spinning kick towards Gaara, but it was blocked again.
"What is Lee-san doing? Shouldn't he realise that taijutsu isn't going to work? He should do some ninjutsu." Sakura said.
"He can't." Tenshi said.
"Huh?" Sakura, Ino and Naruto asked.
"It isn't that he isn't using them, it is that he can't use them." Gai said.
"Lee can't use chakra like us. So he can't use nin or genjutsu." Tenshi explained.
"But that is why he will win." Gai said.
Gaara apparently got bored of being attacked, so he sent he sand towards Lee, who took out a kunai and began to slash the sand. He tried to punch trough the openings he made with his kunai, but was always blocked. Then he saw out of the corner of his eye that sand was coming up behind him and he had to dodge backwards.
However, sand caught his foot and threw him towards the wall. He managed to stop him self from crashing into the wall by some impressive display of reflexes and flexibility.
"Um, I don't think I can follow this match." Tenshi said.
"Why not?" Naruto asked.
"He is Gai's student." Tenshi simply replied, making Gai put his chest out prudly.
"That's right. Lee's flames of youth burn more brightly than ever." Gai proclaimed to the world. The world, or rather Gaara's sand replied by slamming Lee into the wall.
Lee quickly got on his feet and threw some shuriken at Gaara. They were effortlessly stopped by the sand, which once again rushed at Lee. Lee jumped away from the wall and jumped backwards, but he tripped on some sand on the floor. What looked like a hand of sand came rushing towards him, intent on killing him.
Ino and Sakura gasped as they thought Lee was crushed.
"Oy, oy!" Shikamaru said, but Gai smirked and laughed slightly. Everyone then saw Lee doing backwards flips trough the air before landing on the statue.
Lee frowned in concentration, looking at Gaara's impassive face.
"Now you'll see why he'll win. LEE, TAKE THEM OFF!" Gai yelled.
"But Gai-sensei. I thought that was only for protecting someone important." Lee objected.
"I don't care. I'll allow it." Gai said. Lee laughed with glee, and Tenshi briefly wondered if he was going to cry. Then Lee sat down and removed his leg warmers.
"Are those…?" Shikamaru asked.
"You still use that, huh, Gai?" Rin asked.
"Yosh! Now I can move better." Lee said while holding up two straps of weights. The weights had the signs for 'Guts' written on them. He then let go of the weights.
"Crap." Tenshi said and covered his ears. Not a moment to soon, since the weights hit the ground and made a deep impact, creating massive clouds of smoke.
Most of the audience, including Hayate, almost popped their eyes out of their skulls, while Gai beamed at his student.
"Isn't that a bit much, Gai?" Kakashi asked.
"Go, LEE!" Gai yelled.
"Yes sir!" Lee yelled back and vanished. Gaara's eyes widened and he looked around for where Lee was. Suddenly the green clad boy appeared in front of Gaara, punching clean trough the sand Gaara used to protect himself, but the punch didn't hit Gaara, since it was slowed down too much by the sand shield.
Lee disappeared again, and reappeared behind Gaara, throwing a kick towards his head. Gaara whirled around, shocked at the display of speed.
Lee kept disappearing and reappearing all around Gaara, punching and kicking. The sand kept up with Lee at first, blocking and protecting Gaara, but as Lee increased his speed even more, the punches and kicks came closer and closer to Gaara, who by now looked very surprised and confused. Almost scared.
"He's so fast." Naruto said.
"I've lost track of him. What's happening?" Tenshi asked. But before anyone could answer, Lee appeared above Gaara, spinning and got a drop kick in. Gaara staggered backwards, a cut clear in his cheek.
"No…no way. Gaara was wounded." Temari stammered, fear very clear in her voice.
"What's going on?" Kankurou asked.
Lee vanished again and the next thing Gaara knew was a fist in his previously unharmed cheek. The force sent Gaara sprawling. Lee got into his ready stance, a confident smile on his mouth. Gaara got up, shaking heavily. Sand fell from his face.
"What…?" Lee and Gai exclaimed at the same time.
"Someone tell me what's going on." Tenshi said, becoming more and more agitated.
"Lee hit Gaara two times, but now his face is crumbling. It looks like armour made of sand, stuck to his skin." Haku said and Tenshi frowned.
"He's a defensive ninja. That sand shield and armour. He's very difficult to damage." Kakashi said. Lee had apparently come to that conclusion as well. He started to undo the bandages covering his arms. He glanced up at Gai, who nodded and Lee smiled.
Lee crossed his hands in front of his face, while half crouching down.
"Prepare yourself." he said.
"No way. Gai, you didn't!" Tenshi said as he felt the change within Lee.
"Huh?" Sakura asked.
"He just opened one of his chakra gates." Tenshi said and Gai smiled with pride.
"Chakra gates? Those eight things that regulate chakra flow?" Ino asked and Tenshi nodded.
Lee then charged towards Gaara, moving even faster than before. He moved in a circle around Gaara, kicking up dust behind him.
Gaara, for some reason, looked confident again, his sand armour repaired again.
"Hurry up and come." Gaara said.
"As you wish." Lee said and appeared under Gaara, kicking him upwards in the air. He followed up with several kicks, sending Gaara higher and higher into the air. Tenshi had trouble following Lee's movements, but he had no problems sensing Gai clamp his hands together in a praying motion. When his attention returned to the fight, Lee had begun to wrap his bandages around Gaara, before grabbing him and spinning towards the ground.
"Take this. Omote Renge. (initial lotus)" Lee shouted, and just before they hit the ground, Lee jumped away, leaving a defenceless Gaara to crash into the arena floor, leaving a huge cloud of dust, which cleared to show a rather large crater, and a Gaara that was staring emptily at the roof.
"Yes. Lee's won." Gai whooped loudly, while Lee smiled, although he was panting quite hard.
"No, he hasn't." Tenshi said and everyone gasped to see the Gaara lying there, collapsing in on himself, showing that it was only a shell of sand, formed to look exactly like Gaara.
"Kawarimi. But how?" Gai asked.
"When you were praying, Lee hesitated a brief moment." Kakashi said.
"That was all the time Gaara needed." Haku added.
"But it is not surprising Lee paused. The pain of using your muscles at their very limit, is huge. You can literally feel them tearing and screaming." Rin said in a very serious tone, indicating that she knew the feeling herself.
'What? Where is he?' Lee thought, looking wildly around him. That is, until Gaara rose from behind him in a pool of sand, smirking crazily.
'Oh no, it's him' Temari thought
'Those eyes. He awoke.' Kankurou thought, gripping the railings tightly.
Tenshi too noticed the change in Gaara. He turned to Rin.
"Honey, how does Gaara look?" he asked. Rin looked at him curiously, before replying.
"To be honest, he looks like he's crazy. His eyes hold a wild, almost feral look, practically screaming bloodlust." She said and Tenshi sighed.
Before he could say anything, their attention returned to the arena, where Lee was frantically dodging the sand attacks that Gaara sent his way, Gaara never loosing his sick grin of satisfaction. Lee was having trouble, and more often than not, Gaara's seemingly half hearted attacks hit and sent Lee flying.
"Why isn't Lee-san dodging?" Sakura asked.
"With his speed, he should be able to dodge easily." Ino pointed out. Gai closed his eyes solemnly.
"It's not that he's not dodging…" Gai began
"But he can't." Tenshi broke in, making the Genins look from Gai to Tenshi, almost spraining their necks.
"Right now, his muscles are hurting so much that he can barely move. The result of using them without the usual restraint." Rin said and only Sakura looked like she understood.
"Um, Sakura-chan, what does that mean?" Naruto asked.
"The human brain usually limits how much of our muscles we can use. If we used more, we would tear up our muscles. That is what Lee-san just did. He 'unlocked' his muscles." Sakura explained and Tenshi and Rin smiled brightly at her.
"Good job Sakura." They both said, making said girl blush slightly.
"So, he's going to loose then?" Naruto asked and instantly Gai brightened up.
"No, he won't." Gai said, teeth sparkling, before he gave Lee, who looked up to his mentor and idol when he heard that statement. Lee was meet with a smile, which seemed to trigger something inside the boy. When Gaara tried to crush Lee again, Lee moved away easily, coming back to the speed he had before the omote renge.
"How did you get your speed back?" Gaara asked, almost sounding curious.
"Gai-sensei smiled at me. That's enough to make me much stronger." Lee said confidently.
'I have to use that. Sorry Gai-sensei, but I can't be the only one that looses here.' Lee thought, looked up at Gai, who nodded again.
Lee then started to…vibrate. Or more precisely, the air around him did.
"No, not that." Tenshi exclaimed, not exactly calming down the already anxious Genin.
"I'll end this now." Gaara said.
"That's right. What ever the outcome, this will be the end." Lee said as even more air started to vibrate. The floor started cracking, and pieces of it lifted up around Lee by the sheer power.
"What's he doing?" Naruto asked.
"He's opening his gates." Tenshi replied. Kakashi, who had revealed his Sharingan, turned to Gai.
"How many gates does the boy know how to open?" Kakashi asked.
"Five." Was the short reply, followed by gasps of surprise from the Jounin listening, and Sakura.
"Why did you teach him that move? It's a double edge sword, it'll hurt him just as he hurts his enemy." Kakashi said, before receiving a cold glare from Gai.
"What do you know about him? He has a wish to prove that he is a capable shinobi with just taijutsu, and I don't plan on stopping him." Gai said seriously. The onlookers noticed that Lee was growling, turning red, veins were popping out on his body and some droplets of blood flew upwards with the power. Tenshi turned his attention away from Lee to Gai.
"Never the less, he will probably not be able to be a shinobi after this. You should know how much that damages the body." Tenshi said. That seemed to strike a nerve, if Gai's shudder was any indication.
"He opened the third gate. He'll start now." Kakashi pointed out, but Gai shook his head.
"Not yet."
Lee crouched down, being very red now, eyes wide and white and everyone could literally see the power around him.
"Fourth gate: Kai!" Lee yelled, and even more veins popped out, throbbing wildly. The floor under him was virtually disintegrated.
"Here I come." Lee said and in an instant he was under Gaara with a fierce kick to the chin. The floor behind, previously between the two, had been completely decimated, a testament to Lee's power.
Gaara flew upwards again, but this time was different. Instead of following like last time, Lee disappeared again.
"Where is he?" Ino asked. Gai smiled a little at that, knowing full well where Lee was.
Said boy appeared behind Gaara, giving him a strong punch to the back, sending Gaara flying towards the wall. Lee appeared in front of Gaara, giving another punch.
"That's…so…fast. Is he faster than sensei?" Naruto wondered out loud. He didn't get a reply.
Lee kept appearing, hitting and disappearing, making Gaara look like a pin ball, his sand armour getting peeled more and more off. Then Lee appeared above Gaara.
"You are a tough one. Take this. Fifth gate: forest gate: KAI!" Lee yelled, a blue outline was around him for a moment. Gaara looked frightened and brought his guard up. But just before Lee hit, he disappeared and reappeared beneath Gaara's guard, with a powerful punch to Gaara's stomach. Gaara was sent towards the ground, but was stopped by his own belt, which Lee had grabbed onto. Lee roared and pulled Gaara towards him.
"Take this. URA RENGE (primary lotus)!" Lee yelled and hit Gaara with a punch and kick, simultaneously. The next thing the audience knew, was that an explosion went off, filling the entire arena with dust. They could also hear Lee's scream of pain.
When the dust cleared, they saw Lee lying on the floor, panting. A crater was also very visible, and in the middle, a very beat up Gaara lay. Unfortunately for Lee, Gaara had managed to use his sand to form a cushion that he landed on, reducing the damage significantly. Even with the cushion, Gaara was barely able to move, but he shakily lifted his hand and pointed it towards Lee. Lee tried to get up, but fell down right away.
'No way. I hit him, and he can still move.' Lee thought, and continued to try and move. But his muscles had ripped under the strain, so he couldn't move much.
Sand started to flow towards Lee, and even though Lee tried to wave it off, sand surrounded his left arm and leg.
"Sabaku Souso.(desert coffin)" Gaara said and closed his fist. Lee gave a scream, while the sickening sound of crushing bone could be heard.
'Not…not yet.' Lee thought as he fell to the ground. More sand moved towards him.
"Die." Gaara said, but a green blur stopped the sand. Gai stood protectively in front of Lee, a grim look on his face.
Gaara stared at Gai, before suddenly clutching his head in agony.
"Why…why did you save him?" Gaara asked, his very words indicating pain.
"Because, he is a important subordinate that I love." Gai said firmly. Gaara got a look of confusion on his face, before all the sand laying around the arena, went back to form his gourd again.
"I'm done." Gaara said and walked towards the stands. Rin looked at Lee, and saw he was about to stand. She, along with Tsunade, jumped down and placed the still unconscious Lee on a stretcher.
"Winner, Sabaku no Gaara" Hayate said
"He tried to stand, even when unconscious?" Gai asked, tears sliding down his face. Rin and Tsunade looked grim. Tsunade followed Lee and some other medics away from the arena, while Rin turned to Gai.
"We don't know for certain yet, but…it looks like Tenshi was right. The damage done is huge. We'll try, but we can't be certain yet." Rin said before walking up to stand next to Tenshi, who hugged her.
After a while, and some very hasty improvements to the destroyed arena, and after leading a apparently shell shocked Gai away, the next fight could start.
--
coughCough"Can Tsurugi Misumi and Sabaku no Kankuro come down please?" Hayate asked. The two of them moved down, and stood in front of each other.
"Fighters ready? coughEight fight, begin!" Hayate said and jumped away.
Kankurou reached behind him and pulled of the wrapped bundle behind him. Misumi wouldn't let him prepare in peace though.
"I won't let you. The victory goes to the fastest." Misumi said and charged Kankurou. Kankurou blocked the punch but was shocked when Misumi wrapped his hand and body, quite literally, around Kankurou. Not unlike a snake.
"Interesting ability." Haku said and Rin nodded.
"He uses chakra to do that. Right?" Ino asked and Tenshi nodded.
"I don't know what your tool is, but I won't let you use it. Now give up, before I break your neck." Misumi threatened.
"Heh, idiot." Kankurou said. A loud breaking noise came and Misumi gave a sound of disgust.
"That idiot. Now I broke his neck." Misumi said but then Kankurou moved his head completely around. Sand fell from his face, revealing a puppet. The wrapped thing, that had fallen to the ground earlier, unwrapped and revealed Kankurou, chakra threads coming from his hand and to the puppet.
Said puppet moved quickly and wrapped its hands around Misumi.
"If I break your bones, you'll be even softer, right?" Kankurou asked and the puppet tightened its hold.
"Ugh, I…I give…AHHH" Misumi didn't even get to finish giving up before a loud cracking sound came and he didn't say anything else.
"coughWinner Sabaku no Kankurou." Hayate said.
--
"How cold. He broke his back, just like that." Ino said and Tenshi sighed sadly.
"Yes. We shinobi have to be cold. It's the only way to stay alive." He said. Rin tightened the grip she had on his arm.
"I wonder who's next?" Naruto said and Ino gulped slightly, since she hadn't fought yet.
The names flashed again, and when they stopped, several people groaned. When he heard the names get called, Tenshi tensed noticeably.
"Ninth fight: Hyuuga Hinata against Hyuuga Neji. Begin!cough" Hayate said.
--
Hinata stood in front of Neji, shaking slightly. She looked like she wanted to run, rather than fight. Neji, the 'genius' of the Hyuuga clan, noticed this.
"Hinata-sama, you should give up. You can't win." Neji said coldly.
"Neji-niisan." Hinata said.
"Niisan?" Sakura asked.
"They are cousins. Hinata is from the main house, while Neji is from the branch house." Tenshi replied.
Neji then activated his Byakugan, veins pulsating next to his eyes, which suddenly got…cracks in them and palled from pale violet, to white.
Hinata started shaking more and more, bringing a hand up in front of her, touching her lips. Neji remained motionless.
After a few minutes of Neji not moving, and Hinata shaking, Neji spoke up.
"Give up. Hinata-sama, your body says clearly that you are scared. The way your eyes move tell me that you are recalling a past incident, and that you are remembering pain. The way you put your arm in front of you shows that you want to put a wall between you and me, and touching your lips is a sign that you are trying to calm yourself down." Neji said in a monotone voice.
"You will always be weak. There is a reason for the words 'genius' and 'drop-out'. It is our destiny to always be separated by a unchangeable void called birth right. Some are born to be strong, while some, like yourself, are born to be weak. You should…" Neji said, but was cut off by two sumiountanious yells.
"SHUT UP!" Naruto and Ino yelled together, both so mad that their killing intent startled Neji, not that he let it show. Hinata though, looked shocked at the two.
"Hinata, don't just stand there. Show the bastard that you aren't weak. Show him just how strong you are." Naruto yelled. Neji snorted and looked back at Hinata. And was shocked to see that she didn't look scared any more. She looked determined.
'Thank you Naruto-kun, Ino-san. I won't give up. That is my nindo. (ninja way)' Hinata thought. She looked up at Tenshi and Rin, and found that both were smiling brightly at her, encouraging her to do her best. She smiled back, before activating her Byakugan and sliding into the Jyuuken stance, her right leg bent and in front of the other, her left hand pointed towards Neji, palm first, while the right hand was by her hip.
"So, you aren't going to back down. Very well." Neji said with a smirk and mirrored Hinata's pose.
"Jyuuken." Rin said and Tenshi frowned.
"What is that?" Shikamaru asked.
"A taijutsu style that attacks the chakra pathways. It is the Hyuuga clans most feared weapon." Tenshi replied.
Then the two combatants were off, charging at each other. The meet and started hitting each other with their open palms. The most of the audience, it looked rather dull, since they were only palming each other. Hinata tried to palm Neji's stomach, but Neji blocked and sent a palm towards Hinata's chest. She dodged to the left and tried to strike back. Neji dodged as well. This went on for a while.
"Um, sensei? What are they doing?" Naruto asked.
"Jyuuken. You can't see it, but if you stop focus on seeing, you'll sense what's happening." Tenshi replied. Immediately, Naruto, Sakura and Ino closed their eyes and tried to sense what went on. Then they felt chakra, not all that much, come from each palm strike that Hinata and Neji sent towards each other.
"When their attack lands, they push a bit of chakra into their opponent. It isn't strong enough to be felt while you are trying to see what they are doing." Tenshi explained.
The fight continued like that for a while, neither of the two Hyuuga gaining the upper hand. Then Tenshi sighed.
"What?" Rin asked.
"Playing. He's just playing with her." Tenshi said. True enough, Hinata looked winded, while Neji had a confident smirk on his face.
Then Hinata charged Neji and got in a palm strike to his chest.
"Yes, she did it." Naruto and Ino cheered. Sakura, who was looking at Tenshi, saw the grimace on his face.
"Sensei?" she asked hesitantly. He didn't answer.
Hinata panted before coughing up blood from Neji's counter attack.
"What? But she hit as well." Naruto said.
"Yeah, with a palm." Haku replied. Just then, Neji lifted Hinata's sleeve and revealed angry red bruises on her skin, each bruise as large as one of Haku's needles.
"You…all this time?" Hinata panted forth.
"That's right. I sealed your tenketsu. Now you can't use Jyuuken." Neji replied. Hinata looked crushed, before she took a glance up at Naruto and Tenshi. Confidence and determination filled her again, and she slapped Neji's hand away and tried to strike him again. Neji acted quickly and struck Hinata in the chest, sending her flying backwards. She rolled a few times before stopping, and when she tried to get up, she started coughing up blood. Shaking, she got up, and got into her taijutsu stance again.
'She's going to continue?' Tenshi asked. He was impressed with Hinata's courage and determination, but he knew she should give up.
Hinata the rushed towards Neji again, trying to hit him, but he just dodged and blocked, before he struck Hinata in the chest again, this time with a much larger chakra attack, so large it moved straighty trough Hinata and out her back, sending her flying again.
"Give up. You can't win. When you got me as your opponent, you were fated to loose. You can't change your fate." Neji said. Hinata tried to stand up, and after some failed attempts, and a lot of shaking, she managed to stand up, holding her chest and wheezing painfully.
"YOU CAN! Hinata, show him who's boss." Naruto yelled. Hinata smiled at him before she looked at Neji again. Neji looked angry.
"So everyone sides with the precious heir. You really are a spoiled main house member. I can see your suffering because of your weakness and the main house." Neji growled.
"You're wrong, Neji-niisan. I'm not the only one suffering in the Hyuuga. I can see you suffering as well." Hinata said. Neji became very angry at that, and charged towards Hinata, fully intent on killing her.
"Wait, Neji-kun. This fight is over." Hayate yelled while trying to intercept the Hyuuga. Kakashi, Gai and Kurenai also tried. All four of them were beat however, by Tenshi and Haku.
Haku grabbed Neji's right hand, held it in a vice like grip, while holding some needles to Neji's neck. Tenshi grabbed Neji's left hand, while holding a Rasengan towards Neji's head. Both Tenshi and Haku had moved so fast, Neji had only been able to take one step. The four Jounins stood around the three as well.
"Does the main house get so much special treatment." Neji asked. Tenshi looked impassively at Neji, squeezing his hand harder.
"Hinata does. And you won. She can't fight on." Tenshi said, his voice so very cold. He and Haku then let go of Neji. Gai looked disapprovingly at his student.
"Neji, you promised me you wouldn't argue about the main and branch house." Gai said. Just then, Hinata started coughing and fell down. Before she hit the ground, Tenshi caught her. Kurenai rushed over, and Rin followed closely behind. Rin started treating Hinata, looking really grim.
"He was aiming to kill her." she commented. Naruto had jumped down just in time to hear her. He turned to Neji, just resisting attacking.
"You look like you want to say something, drop out." Neji taunted. Naruto didn't reply, instead he turned to look at Hinata.
"You should stop cheering for people you don't know. A ninja…" Neji started, but stopped when he felt a strong killing intent. Naruto waited until he saw Hinata open her eyes, before speaking.
"For Hinata, I'll make you pay." Naruto said. Tenshi smiled at that, and Hinata looked like she wanted to cry.
"I'll have to get her to the hospital." Rin said to some of the medics. They nodded and gently lifted Hinata in the air. Before they could walk away, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand, gave it a gentle, but firm squeeze before letting go. He watched as Hinata was rushed away, Rin running along to help. Tenshi grabbed Naruto's shoulder. They walked up the stairs together with Haku, ignoring the smug Neji.
"Winner, Hyuuga Neji." Hayate said, but he sounded like he didn't want to say that.
--
"Will the two remaining Genin come down here?cough" Hayate asked and Ino and Tenten walked down. Both looked anxious to get going.
"Tenth fight, Yamanaka Ino against Tenten. Begin." Hayate called. The two jumped back, putting some distance between each other.
"COME ON! YOU CAN DO IT, INO-CHAN!" Naruto yelled.
"GO TENTEN. SHOW EVERYONE YOUR BURNING FLAMES OF YOUTH." Gai yelled, and everyone else wondered who was more loud.
DON'T LOSE INO!" Sakura yelled, joining the 'who's loudest contest'.
"Geez, our cheer leaders are really loud." Tenten commented. Ino smiled.
"Yeah, although I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want mine any other way. I just wish sensei could get out of his weapon mode a little faster." Ino said.
"You can do it Ino." Tenshi said, back to his normal self, loud enough for them to hear, not loud enough to join the contest.
"Never mind." Ino said, a bright smile on her face.
"At least your sensei isn't insane." Tenten mumbled. Those that heard, Ino, Naruto, Tenshi and Hayate, snorted and/or coughed to hold in their laughter.
Silence lowered itself over the arena, the two combatants stood staring at each other.
"Wow." Rin said and Tenshi nodded.
"Yeah, Tenten is amazing." He said.
"Hey, what about Ino-chan?" Naruto asked, angry that his sensei apparently liked the opponent more than his student.
"Calm down, Naruto. I only meant that Tenten was good. Look at the distance she has to Ino. She's not too far, or too close." Tenshi said.
"This way, she can deal with defence and offence without much problem." Rin joined in.
"Oh." Naruto and Sakura said.
Ino, who heard Tenshi and Rin, frowned.
'So, she can deal with my offence and defence in a moments notice. Oh, I got it.' Ino thought and grinned towards Tenten, who got slightly uneasy because of that grin.
'She has something planned. Can't let her.' Tenten thought and threw four shuriken towards Ino. Suddenly, right before they hit Ino, the shuriken stopped and fell down on the ground.
"What? I missed?" Tenten asked. She looked at Ino, who smirked confidently, completely missing the very proud look Tenshi wore.
"Chakra came from that blondie." Neji said, having activated his Byakugan.
"Chakra pulse. Sensei taught it to me. I can't use it to see, but I can use it to stop projectile weapons. Like shuriken." Ino said, pride evident in her voice. Naruto and Sakura glared at Tenshi, who sweat dropped.
"You didn't teach us that." They said. Tenshi chuckled nervously before scratching his head and sighing.
"Sorry?" he tried. Naruto and Sakura sighed before turning back to the fight.
Tenten was impressed.
'So, she can stop weapons with her chakra. Kind of like Neji. Let's test how many weapons she can stop.' Tenten thought before she started running around Ino, going in a perfect half-circle. She took out a scroll and jumped into the air. She unrolled the scroll and started spinning, the scroll around her. She picked up speed and became a blur. Ino gawked as weapons, lots and lots of weapons came flying out of the spinning blur that was Tenten. Realising the danger she was in, Ino formed some seals and a visible wall of chakra formed in front of her. Just in time too, since not even a second later, the first weapon, a katana, hit the wall and bounced off. More and more followed, katana, kunai, shuriken, needles, throwing knives. All sorts of weapons came flying, and Ino started sweating more and more, struggling to hold up the wall. Suddenly Ino's eyes widened as a spiked ball, probably weighing…a lot, hit the chakra wall. The wall shattered and Ino had to dodged and jump away as the remaining weapons hit the ground, where Ino stood a moment ago. Tenten landed and smiled at Ino, her scroll floating down beside her.
"So, your wall isn't that strong is it. That means I just have to destroy the wall and make it so you can't dodge." Tenten said and took out two scrolls.
"She is going to use that already?" Gai said. Neji didn't reply.
"I won't let you." Ino said while doing some seals.
"Oh no, not that." Naruto said, recognising the seals. Tenshi, who understood what was going to happen, grabbed his sunglasses and handed them to Haku, while holding a hand over Sakura's eyes. Naruto closed his eyes and held his hands over his eyes as a safety measure.
"Ninpou: Furasshu no jutsu." Ino called, holding her hands out and forming a triangle shape with her fingers. A flash came, so bright it looked like the sun had been thrown into Ino's hands. Everyone closed their eyes, and yells of pain came, since most of the people watching felt like their eyes were burning.
After a while, everyone's sight began to clear.
"Thank god she held back." Naruto mumbled.
"She did?" Tenshi asked.
"Um sensei? You can let go now." Sakura said. Tenshi did and scratched his head while smiling sheepishly. The effect was somewhat ruined by the empty eye sockets.
"What happened to Tenten?" Gai asked after his sight returned, although he was somewhat annoyed by the huge white blob in the middle of his sight. When he heard a groan behind him, he turned to see Neji, who lay on the floor, clutching his head.
"Um, Neji? You alright?" Gai asked.
"bright light….…" Neji mumbled and Gai sweat dropped. Gai decided to ignore the Hyuuga and turned back to the arena. There he saw Tenten laying on the floor, twitching, holding her eyes shut. Hayate was remarkably similar to Tenten, only his twitching was interrupted by coughing fits. Ino was nowhere to be seen.
After a few minutes, Tenten stopped twitching and got up. She looked around, blinking a lot.
"Where are you?" Tenten asked, still blinking.
Then Ino appeared in front of Tenten, smirking.
"You should be glad you are a comrade. I don't kill comrades." Ino said, confidence literally rolling of her voice.
"What are you talking abou…" Tenten said, but stopped when Ino puffed into a cloud of smoke.
"Kage bunshin." Tenten said. She looked around and gasped loudly. In a circle around Tenten, eight Inos stood, all holding one seal each.
"One of sensei's assassination tactics. Overwhelm the enemy. If you don't give up, you'll be hit with eight jutsus, all of them deadly." The Inos said.
"And if I dodge?" Tenten asked.
"Well, that will be difficult, since you can't move." Ino said. Tenten wondered what she meant, but sure enough, her body refused to move. She looked down and saw chakra strings attached to her feet and arms. The strings went to the Inos. Tenten gulped and nodded.
"I give up." She said.
"Winner: Yamanaka Ino." Hayate said. Immediately Ino let Tenten go, and her seven kage bunshins puffed away.
"Good match. You almost had me with those weapons." Ino said, smiling happily.
"As much as I hate to say it, you were good as well. Much better than me. Tenshi must be a good teacher." Tenten said, making Gai glare at an oblivious Tenshi.
--
After lots of congratulations for Ino, the winners of the matches assembled in the arena.
"Congratulations on passing the preliminaries. coughIf you would all come and draw a number from this box." Hayate said and indicated to a box Anko was holding. After the nine finalists that weren't in the hospital, had drawn their numbers, each told Ibiki their number. He then scribbled something down on a note of paper. When he finished, he held it out foe everyone to see.
'He must be seven then.' Ibiki thought, referring to Sasuke.
"This is the match up of the main matches, which will be a tournament. Take a good look at the line up." Ibiki said.
--
First match: Yamanaka Ino vs. Nara Shikamaru.
Second match: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji.
Third match: Haruno Sakura vs. Sabaku no Kankurou
Forth match: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Sabaku no Gaara
Fifth match: Aburame Shino vs. Dosu Kinuta
--
"You have a month to train before the main matches. I suggest you use that time well." Sandaime said with a kind smile on his face.
"Why a month?" Shikamaru asked.
"Because we have to send out invitations for everyone who has to be here to witness the exam. The judges that will decided who becomes Chuunin and not." Sandaime replied.
"Judges?" Sakura asked.
"In this exam, the ones who get promoted to Chuunin are those that show the judges that they have the qualities of a Chuunin. A ninja's true strength can only be measured in combat, and that is the purpose of the main matches. Judges are made up of important people from the villages, as own as the daimyo of the different countries." Sandaime explained.
"The second exam is finished. Meet in the main arena in a month. Dismissed." Anko barked.
--
Tenshi, Haku, Gai and Kakashi were talking to the Hokage, when Naruto came running over and stopped next to Tenshi.
"Um, sensei? Can I ask you something?" Naruto asked, sounding very nervous. Ino and Sakura came walking over, looking like they didn't know what was going on.
"Sure, what is it, Naruto?" Tenshi replied with a smile.
"Can you tell me about my parents?" Naruto asked. Sakura and Ino looked at Naruto, while Sandaime, Haku, Gai and Kakashi looked at Tenshi, who stiffened noticeably. Tenshi turned to Naruto, as if looking at him. After a few moments, he sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Alright, but not here. Come to my place tomorrow. We'll talk there." Tenshi said. Naruto beamed.
"Thanks, sensei." He said. Tenshi simply nodded in response.
"So, what now Tenshi?" Sandaime asked.
"I'm going to the hospital. To see how Hinata is doing." Tenshi replied before turning to leave.
"Say hello to Rin from me." Kakashi said.
--
A very nervous Naruto, and two concerned girlfriends walked to their sensei's apartment. Naruto had asked Sakura and Ino to join in. He wanted them to hear this as well, although he wasn't completely sure why. When they arrived, it was Haku that answered. She nodded at them and lead them towards the garden. There they saw Tenshi sitting on his favourite place, under the Sakura tree. He looked like he hadn't slept at all.
"Um, sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Are you alright?" Ino wondered.
"I'm fine." Tenshi replied, although he didn't sound fine at all.
"How was Hinata?" Naruto asked. Tenshi smiled slightly at that.
"Let's just say that Rin deserves her reputation as a excellent medical nin." Tenshi said.
"So, Hinata will be alright?" Ino asked and Tenshi nodded.
"Yeah, she will make a complete recovery soon. Although Neji doesn't have anything to do with that. He really tried to kill her. You better beat some sense into the bastard when you fight, Naruto." Tenshi said and Naruto nodded.
"Will do. I have a punch with his name on it." Naruto replied. Tenshi chuckled at that, before he became serious again.
"So, you wanted to hear about your parents?" he asked and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, when I was signing the summoning contract for the toads, I saw the Yondaime's name next to mine. What I hadn't noticed before, was that he was named Uzumaki as well. Ero-sennin wouldn't answer any questions. He told me to ask you." Naruto said.
"Yeah, of course he would. Now that I can't beat him up. Damn pervert." Tenshi grumbled before sighing and straightening.
"Alright, listen up. I'll tell you about your parents." Tenshi said. Naruto, Sakura, Ino and Haku shifted so they could hear easier.
"As you probably guessed, your father was Uzumaki Arashi, also known as the Yondaime Hokage. Your mother…" Tenshi sighed and took a few calming breaths.
"Your mother was Kazama Motoko. They kept their marriage a secret, mostly to protect your mother. She was a civilian, and your dad had a lot of enemies that would love to use her against him. They married before I was born, and she helped raise me. Actually, she probably saved my life a few times." Tenshi said and chuckled slightly.
"How?" Naruto asked.
"How she saved my life? Well, she fed me for one. And stopped Arashi from training me all day long. He would sometimes forget that I needed to eat and sleep. Motoko wouldn't though. She was a very kind woman, although I remember she was very scary when she was angry. She was also the kind of person, never to be brought down by anything. She would always smile and see things from the bright side. Something you have inherited, Naruto." Tenshi said and smiled at Naruto before continuing.
"Motoko was a very beautiful woman. Heh, I often thought she was a angel. A lot of other people, both men and women, thought like that as well. Arashi had some competition, but she never had eyes for anyone but him. If I remember right, she said she had a crush on him since they were both kids. Although he didn't realise until…um, as she put it, she 'grew' up. Then he fell heads over heels for her. She told me it was rather amusing." Tenshi said and chuckled.
"My dad, tell me about him." Naruto asked eagerly.
"Well, he was the Yondaime Hokage, and every bit as great as the stories say. Even before he became Hokage, he was very strong, but kind and gentle at the same time. He always took care of his comrades, and he was feared by his enemies. Konoha's Yellow Flash was the nickname that he was known by, mostly because of his blonde hair and a jutsu that enabled him to move in a flash. He…" Tenshi said but was interrupted by Ino.
"Can you do that jutsu?" she asked.
"Um, I could. But now that I can't see, I'm not too sure. I haven't really tried yet." Tenshi replied.
"So, who was faster? You or my dad?" Naruto asked.
"He has always been faster. Even at my fastest, I haven't reached his speed. I have been close, but not quite. As far as I know, Arashi was the fastest ninja ever." Tenshi replied, making Naruto feel proud.
"Um, sensei? What happened to Motoko-san? We know Yondaime-sama died sealing the Kyuubi into Naruto-kun, but not what happened to her." Sakura asked. Tenshi sighed and 'looked' at the sky.
"When Motoko said she was pregnant with Naruto, I have never seen anyone as happy as Arashi was. The two of them had so big plans for you, Naruto. But then Kyuubi attacked, right before you were born. We were able to drive him back several times, but it was clear that we were fighting a lost battle. Arashi and Sandaime-sama spent long hours planning how to fight the fox. But they couldn't think of anything. And the fact that Motoko was in labour was a very distracting factor for Arashi. You were born, but something had gone wrong. Motoko were only able to hold you for a short while before she died."
"How…how did mom die?" Naruto asked. Tenshi suddenly looked ten years older.
"I…don't remember. Something about being in labour for too long, or the stress of the situation. I didn't really pay much attention to that at the time. But it broke Arashi. He lost a large, very large, part of his life. I wasn't too happy either, but I had to leave Arashi and you. I went to help hold of Kyuubi, and the next thing I knew after using the Tenhi was that Arashi was there on Gamabunta, holding you and doing something. He sealed Kyuubi inside you and died, his last wish was that you'd be seen as a hero. We all know how that went." Tenshi finished sadly.
Sakura and Ino looked at Naruto, who had his head bowed. When he spoke, his voice sounded gruff.
"How…how did mom and dad really feel for Konoha?" he asked.
"They both loved this whole village very much. And they wanted you to help protect it. Which I am sure you will, some day. I know that they loved you very much, and that they would be proud of you if they saw you now." Tenshi said and Naruto smiled.
"I'll make them proud. I'll surpass dad, and make the villagers see who I am." He said, while jumping up and pumping his fist into the air. Sakura and Ino smiled at him, while Haku looked at Tenshi.
"Can you tell us more?" she asked. Naruto stopped his little rant and sat down again. Tenshi frowned a bit.
"No, I don't think so. I don't remember much more. What I do remember I'm sure that you four know already. At least slightly." Tenshi replied.
"What?" the four, eagerly listening kids asked.
"Well, Arashi was known to be able to defeat a whole army of enemies by himself, using one of his three signature jutsus. That jutsu is called Hirashin. I can still use that, even though I am blind. What it does, is that the user throws a special kunai with three prongs. When that kunai is thrown, the user, originally Arashi, feels it. When it lands, the user can use the Hirashin and instantly move to where the kunai is. For instance, if I were to throw the kunai from here and to the Hokage monument, then I would feel that it was thrown, I would feel that it hit the ground and I could instantly be where the kunai is now, even before it hits the ground. It is a very difficult jutsu, and dangerous if used wrong." Tenshi said and his audience looked shocked.
"Wow…that sounded like a really useful jutsu." Sakura said.
"But does it have to be the user that throws the kunai?" Ino asked. Tenshi shook his head.
"No. In fact, I have been meaning to get you three one each, so that if you need me, you could just throw the kunai, and I would feel it. I just haven't had the time to go and get the kunai made." Tenshi replied.
"That's so cool. Do you think I can learn it?" Naruto asked.
"That…you have to ask Jiraiya. He is the one going to teach you before the main matches. Which reminds me, make sure you show Tsunade that you can summon Gamabunta. Better make it soon." Tenshi said and Naruto nodded.
"Thanks…for telling me about my parents. At least I know a little bit about them now." Naruto said sadly.
"Cheer up, kid. They wouldn't want you to be depressed." Tenshi said and Naruto nodded before jumping up.
"Yeah, I can't sit around, feeling sorry for myself. I have two beautiful girlfriends. I don't need anything else." Naruto said, not noticing the blushes his girlfriends had. Which only increased when he bent down and gave each of them a kiss.
"Alright, now get out of here and get training." Tenshi said.
"Yes sir." Naruto said and started to leave, but Tenshi stopped him.
"I just remembered something else. It seems that taste for certain foods are heritable." Tenshi said with a smile.
"You mean?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, Arashi was a ramen fanatic, like you. And Motoko hated vegetables, unless they were cooked by Arashi, and that was just because he made them. So it seems you got more from your parents than just looks." Tenshi said amusedly.
"Wow, my mom didn't like vegetables. She sounded like the best mom ever." Naruto said. the other four in the garden laughed at that.
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Yo, Kin-Ryu Chikara here. 15 chap finished. Whew, that took some time.
The Hirashin jutsu, I'm not sure if the Yondaime actually had that, or if he was named Arashi. But both are popular in the fanfic society, so I decided to use them both. Hope everyone enjoyed the preliminaries, although they were mostly like the anime/manga. Sorry, I didn't want to use too much time on those fights.
Next chapter will be the month of training, and perhaps I'll throw in some more romance. It has been a while, right?
The translation page I use for my original jutsus: www. freedict. com/ onldict/ jap. html (minus the spaces.)
--
Tenshi is Katon/Suiton while Rin is Doton/Futon.
--
Jutsu list: Jutsus that team 7 now knows (not counting the basics):
Naruto: preferred element: Katon/Raiton
Knows:
Rasengan (spiral ball)
Kage Bunshin no jutsu
Kage Shuriken no jutsu
Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu
Katon: Housenka no jutsu
Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu (dragonfire technique)
Doton: Doryuuheki
Raiton: Dageki Tesaki no jutsu (shock fingers)
Raiton: Raikyuu no jutsu (Lightning Ball)
Kuchiyose no jutsu, frogs and foxes
Mikazuki no mai (dance of the crescent moon)
Tsubaki no mai. (dance of the camellia)
Ninpou: Fukashi no jutsu (ninja arts: invisibility technique)
--
Sakura: preferred element: Katon/Doton
Knows:
Kage Shuriken no jutsu
Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu
Katon: Housenka no jutsu (Phoenix fire technique)
Katon: Karyuu Endan (fire dragon flame missile)"
Doton: Doryuuheki
Doton: Shinjuuzanshu no jutsu (suicidal beheading technique)
Kuchiyose no jutsu, wolves and slugs
--
Ino: preferred element: Futon/Suiton
Knows:
Kage Bunshin no jutsu
Kage Shuriken no jutsu
Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu
Doton: Doryuuheki
Futon: Tei tama (air bullet)
Suiton: Sujinheki (water barrier)
Shintenshin no jutsu
Shinranshin no jutsu
Shinheisa suru no jutsu (mind close down)
Kuchiyose no jutsu, wolves
Furasshu no jutsu. (Sun Flash)