I wanna get out as many chapters as I can before my Microsoft Word expires.
"Five-thousand, eight-hundred, forty-seven…!" Naruto croaked out from his odd position. He was standing on his left hand, the other tied behind his back, pushing upwards. Sweat caked his face and dripped onto the ground, forming a large mud puddle in the dirt. It waited for him if he fell on accident.
"Naruto, you can stop there. It's time you got the Toad thing out of the way," Jiraiya said.
It had been two weeks since the fight with Itachi and Kisame. Jiraiya took Naruto out of the village immediately to do some hardcore training, mainly with Naruto's Susanoo. Naruto's Susanoo took on the form of a yellow samurai with a long oodachi in his right hand and a shield in his left. He had two other sets of arms, but he had yet to assign anything to them.
Naruto had also learned what the odd chakra rods he could create were: manifestations that were only usable by someone who possessed the Rinnegan. He had yet to delve into the applications of this technique, because the Kyuubi told him that he wouldn't need it anytime soon, and that the paths were something he should concern himself with instead.
Naruto flipped back onto his feet and applied chakra to his bound arm, gaining the strength to release himself from the restraints. His outfit had changed slightly: he now wore a mesh t-shirt under an orange tracksuit with black stripes. His zori were also black now, as was his hitai-ate cloth. "Does that mean I get to learn senjutsu?!" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Not yet. After you become chuunin, and you learn a few more secrets that we must tell you, I'm taking you away from Konoha for three years to train. I'm certain you'll come back an S-Ranked threat." Jiraiya said, making Naruto pout.
"Oh, sensei, my eyes have been hurting. I'm not sure if the Susanoo is the cause or not, but this hasn't happened before." Naruto said.
Jiraiya hummed. "Deactivate the genjutsu around your eyes, and activate your Susanoo."
Naruto did so. Jiraiya looked at Naruto eyes, noticing that the rings had dilated towards the nonexistent pupil, and they were a darker shade of purple. Almost maroon… "Naruto, your eyes are evolving. I'm not sure what the changes will mean, but the color is starting to match the Sharingan slightly. Also, both you and Itachi had the same jutsu, it just looked different. I think that they're related doujutsu."
Naruto's eyes widened, "So, that means that I may be related to Sasuke?"
Jiraiya nodded, although he already knew that the Uzumaki and Uchiha were very distantly related. "After the exams, we'll see if we can unlock any more paths. Maybe if you unlock all of them, your eyes will evolve fully. How many do you have, again?"
"Deva Path, Asura Path, and one technique for the Outer Path," Naruto said.
"Well, from what we know of the Sage's title, there are six paths, right? You're halfway there." Jiraiya encouraged. "Now, I'd like to get this out of the way. You may be wondering why I have all of this food here. You'll figure it out soon enough. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
In an abundant puff of smoke, a very large toad appeared under their feet. "Sugoi~! I can summon toads like this?!" Naruto shouted.
"Huh? Jiraiya, who's the gaki?" the toad asked.
"Gamabunta, this is your newest summoner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Jiraiya said.
Gamabunta's eyes widened. 'So, he's Minato's brat…' "Well, how am I supposed to know that you're good enough to be my summoner, huh? Can you even stay on my head during a battle?"
Naruto snorted. "What kind of idiot do you take me for? OF course I can stand on your head!"
"Then prove it! Stay on my head until the sun sets, and I'll accept you as my summoner."
"Bring it on!" Bunta started jumping high, while Naruto stood stock still, eyes shining with resolve, arms folded across his chest. The hours crawled by, with Bunta jumping and jumping; by this point, Naruto and Jiraiya were sitting down, enjoying sandwiches. "Gamabunta, are you hungry?" Naruto asked.
Gamabunta stopped jumping for a moment. "Yeah."
Naruto tossed a few sandwiches into the air, "Here ya go!"
Gamabunta jumped and caught them with his tongue, "You ain't half bad, kid!" he resumed his jumping.
Naruto grinned. "Thanks!"
Soon, the sun climbed down from the sky, and Gamabunta stopped hopping. "Well, kid, I'm impressed. You used chakra to stick to my head for an entire six hours. What are you, a chuunin?"
"Chuunin hopeful," Naruto grinned.
"Well, I'm sure you'll make chuunin, whenever the exams are. You passed my test, and you thought about me while I was giving it to you, so you doubly pass. You're our newest summoner. Congrats. Wanna drink to it?" Gamabunta asked.
"I'm fine, thank you." Naruto and Jiraiya hopped off of Bunta's head.
"Well, Bunta, I've gotta get Naruto back to Konoha. We'll catch up soon, I promise." Jiraiya said with a smile.
Bunta waved him off. "Yeah, well, I've got business to take care of, as well, so you two have fun. Ta-ta now." Bunta disappeared back to his summon realm.
"Whoo… I'm beat! Let's head back now!" Naruto said, walking off. Jiraiya looked up at the sky.
'Minato… look at where he is now. Though, you're probably surprised at the differences in your eyes…' Jiraiya thought, before turning and catching up to Naruto.
…
The day of the finals was here. Naruto had spent the morning meditating about some new information he had heard. Jiraiya had told him that the Sand and Sound villages had prepared to invade Konoha during the exams. Naturally, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura knew this as well. So, they had to hold back to stay fresh for the real fight, but still do good enough to pass.
Sasuke hadn't been told that Itachi came back to the village. It might've caused him to act unprofessionally, or distract him when the time comes to protect the village. His reason for returning was a need-to-know basis anyway, so this wasn't much of a problem.
Naruto had only seen Sasuke one time since coming back to the village, and the only thing Sasuke said to him was this:
"You aren't leaving me behind, dobe."
Naruto wasn't sure, but he felt as if that sword that Sasuke was carrying was a real threat. If he was anything like Samui, Karui, and Omoi, then Naruto'd have a problem on his hands.
Naruto wondered how Sakura would fare against Samui. From what he'd seen, Samui was just as analytical as Sakura, only more powerful. He didn't know if Samui did any training in the one-month period, but Sakura definitely had. He wanted to see it in action.
Naruto stood up. Regardless of how the actual exams played out, Naruto had been assigned a mission: detain the Ichibi. He would not falter in the face of the weakest of the bijuu when he held the strongest. But, Naruto couldn't just let a fellow jinchurikki suffer. There was a reason Gaara acted the way he did, and Naruto would make sure he did all he could to help Gaara.
But if that failed, Gaara would die today.
Jiraiya had been tasked with protecting Hiruzen, so nothing could go wrong there. Still, Naruto had requested that he be able to leave a clone by the Hokage's side in the event that his help was necessary. Jiraiya should've been able to handle Orochimaru by himself, however.
Naruto walked out of his apartment and hit the rooftops.
…
He arrived in the middle of the large arena to see that besides Sasuke, everyone was there. "Naruto-kun!" Sakura squealed, rushing him with a hug.
"H-hey, Sakura-chan! It's been too long! How've ya been?" Naruto said, returning the hug.
Sakura pulled away. She wore pink shorts and a red t-shirt now. "I think I have a pretty good chance of beating Samui. There's no way we aren't making chuunin; you know that, right?"
Naruto grinned. "Of course. And in a few years, after I come back to the village, we'll be jounin!"
Sakura's smile faltered slightly. 'Right. I forgot, I won't see him for three years.' "You know, if you're gone too long, I'll have passed you!"
"Heh. I hope so, Sakura-chan!" Naruto studied the other competitors. 'Most people here won't be a problem. The first round is a guaranteed win for me; taijutsu users are no match for my ninjutsu. Shikamaru, Misumi, Temari, and Shino won't be able to touch me, either. I was worried about Gaara before, but I should be fast enough to counter his sand, and if my base speed fails, there's always my Rinnegan as a backup…. Hmm, the only ones I really have to worry about are Mui-chan, Sakura-chan, the Bastard, Tomato Head, and Omoi. I'll make chuunin for sure, dattebayo!'
For some reason, there was a new host for the exams. This wouldn't be weird if this was a different section of the exams, but technically it was still the third, so Hayate should still be the proctor. 'I wonder where he is?' Naruto pondered.
The new proctor called for attention. "Hello, everyone. My name is Shiranui Genma, and I am the proctor for the Third Exam. The rules are as follows: Killing is allowed only by a technicality, and is frowned upon. Once I say a match is over and declare a winner, that's that. If you are deemed unable to fight, you lose the match. Leaving the arena is grounds for disqualification. Interference by another contestant is grounds for disqualification for both parties. Additionally, you need not win the tournament, or even your first match for that matter, to be promoted. You need only show skills befitting of the rank Chuunin. This means that all of you could be promoted, some of you could, or even none. If everyone understands this, we can begin. Will Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji stay here, while the other candidates wait to be called on in the booth?"
"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Sakura said, walking back to the seats. Naruto turned to look at Neji.
"Fate has decreed the victor of this match, Uzumaki Naruto. I would resign if I were you." Neji spoke condescendingly.
Naruto took off his track jacket, leaving only his mesh shirt to cover his torso. "I don't want to hear it. Let's just fight, already."
"First Match: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji. Hajime!"
Neji charged forward at chuunin speeds, not knowing that Naruto had been training with an S-Ranked threat for the past month. Naruto held his right hand out, charged a purple Rasengan, and pumped chakra into his legs, blasting forward, "Asura Path: Rasengan!"
Neji's eyes widened at Naruto's speed; he pulled back and began spinning. "Hakeshou Kaiten!" The rotating spheres collided, making a loud boom and sending Naruto flying.
Naruto landed on his feet to see his arm was busted, and wires hung loosely from his wrist. "Shit. And I thought this was going to be easy." Naruto ejected the remainder of his arm and regrew it. "Luckily, I was using the Asura Path, or I wouldn't have gotten my arm back so quickly."
…
Hiruzen sat in the VIP booth with the Raikage and Kazekage. The Raikage spoke, "Hokage-dono, isn't that the Yondaime Hokage's jutsu?"
Hiruzen smiled, "Yes, that boy is a student of Jiraiya."
The 'Kazekage' smirked. "It seems as if Konoha has another prodigy besides the Uchiha. It's a shame they won't face each other, since my son will defeat Sasuke in the next fight."
Hiruzen chuckled, "Oh, I wouldn't count on it. Sasuke received training from Sharingan no Kakashi. They'll be here any minute, I'm sure."
The Kazekage's eyes became snake-like, 'Your eyes interest me more than Sasuke-kun's, Naruto-kun. However, I can't risk your body due to the Kyuubi's presence. You'll make an excellent servant, anyhow. Kukukuku…'
…
Neji looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes. 'That jutsu was an offensive version of the Kaiten. Also, he regenerated his arm. What was with the mechanical parts? Is he not entirely human? Is it a kekkei genkai?' "You will not emerge victorious here, Uzumaki. Grow new limbs all you like. I am the superior opponent."
Naruto laughed. "I have quite a few different ways to beat you; I just haven't decided on one yet." Naruto thought for a moment. "Oh, I know… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two Narutos came into existence and began running towards Neji's 3 and 9 o'clocks. Naruto held out his hands and called, without any handseals, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" A great wind pushed Neji into the air; the clones were behind him at this point.
"Asura Path: Kage Bunshin Rasenrengan!" Both clones shoved a purple Rasengan each into Neji's back, sending him flying back towards Naruto.
'Im-impossible… he knows so many jutsu!' Neji thought.
'Hmm… he's not unconscious yet, even though he took two of them head on. Oh, this should finish him.' "Asura Path!" Naruto launched his fist off of his arm like a missile, and it impacted against Neji's stomach, sending him back into the air. The clones latched onto Neji's almost unconscious form.
"Bunshin Daibakuha!" An explosion went off in the air, and Neji fell to the ground with a thud, covered in burns and blood. Naruto's arm returned to its spot.
After a check to make sure Neji wasn't dead, Genma said, "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"
It took a moment, but the stadium erupted into cheers. Naruto's smile was truer at that moment than it had ever been. 'They acknowledged me… I knew the day would come!" Naruto ration: shunshined back to the contestant box.
"You were great, Naruto-kun!" Sakura gave Naruto a high-five.
"What did you expect from the future Hokage? Also, where's Sasuke? It's his turn to fight!" Naruto said.
Sakura began chewing her lip. "Kakashi-sensei wanted to get some last-minute training in, because he had a feeling that Gaara is the strongest among us. Well, I'm not sure if he can beat you, or even Sasuke, but Kakashi-sensei had another jutsu he wanted to teach Sasuke. It's apparently from the uchiha archives, and so far, Sasuke can only use it once. It's pretty scary; I'm not sure if you can do anything to counter it."
The grin on Naruto's face was battle-hungry. 'So, Sasuke's taking this more seriously than I thought. If you can't beat Gaara, Sasuke, then you have no right to be my rival.' Naruto made a clone and dispelled it.
"Huh? Why'd you do that?" Sakura asked.
"I needed to relay a message to Jiji, so he could postpone Sasuke's match. This way, we can still tire Gaara out before the Invasion starts, because if he doesn't get to fight anyone, he'll be tougher to beat. I really want to fight Sasuke, and I can't do that if he gets disqualified." Naruto said, whispering halfway through.
"Ahh, I see. Good idea," Sakura said.
Shikamaru walked over to Naruto, "Hey, Naruto, have you noticed?"
Naruto looked at Shikamaru, not knowing what he meant. Shikamaru explained, "There sure are a lot of ANBU Black Ops scattered throughout the bleachers. I figured that you'd know more about it, since you have a clone near the Hokage."
Naruto had a lie planned for this already, "Oh, I'm not sure about the ANBU, but the reason my clone is near the Hokage is because I asked to be a faux judge. The Kages are asking for my opinion of the fighters as long as I remain a participant. Since I want to be Hokage, Jiji has been showing me various things that Kages have to do, so I can be sure if I really want to go down this path. It's been fun so far, dattebayo!"
Shikamaru's facial expression didn't lose its obvious suspicion. "So troublesome…. Alright, if that's all you know, I'll just wait for the next fight."
…
"Hokage-dono, how would you rate the Uchiha, anyway?" the Kazekage asked.
Hiruzen smirked inwardly. 'Don't get too eager, Orochimaru.' "Well, I'd say he is already high-Chuunin in terms of skill. His mastery over Raiton, from what Kakashi tells me, is prodigal. He's also picking up kenjutsu." Just then, Naruto's clone relayed the message
Hiruzen stood up and laced his vocal chords with chakra, expanding his voice, "The bout between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara has been postponed until the end of the round. If Uchiha Sasuke does not show before then, he will be disqualified. That is all." Hiruzen sat back down.
"Thank you for allowing my son the chance to do battle with the Uchiha, Hokage-dono," the Kazekage said.
Hiruzen smiled. "Well, the entire reason this crowd is here is for that battle. Who am I to deny them?"
…
"Would Samui of Kumo and Haruno Sakura please join me?" Genma asked.
Sakura had a strange look on her face- anxiety mixed with conviction. Naruto rubbed circles into the small of her back. "Sakura-chan, I believe in you. I want you to go down there and prove that you're a strong, proud kunoichi of the Village hidden in the Leaves."
Sakura smirked and made as if she was about to hop over the railing. She turned to Naruto. "This is for you, Naruto-kun." Then she jumped.
Naruto walked over to the railing and impatiently tapped his foot. 'This is annoying, dattebayo. On one hand, I want my teammate Sakura-chan to win. On the other, I really want to fight Mui-chan. Aaaah, I won't be totally happy either way!'
…
Samui rose an eyebrow at Sakura. "You seem to have some sort of vendetta against me. I've never really spoken to you before, so why is that?"
Sakura stopped the scowl she hadn't even known she had sent towards her opponent. "I just want to win. Really, really badly." 'If I win here, Naruto-kun will definitely see that I'm better than her! Heh. And why shouldn't he? I'm fabulous!'
Samui unsheathed her tanto, charging it with ration chakra. "I won't go down easily, you know? I'm the strongest member of my team, and you're the weakest of yours. No offense, of course."
The scowl returned to Sakura's face, before quickly being replace by a sardonic smile. "Well, if I'm the weakest, and you're the strongest, this battle will show something about the strength of our villages, won't it?"
A small smile creeped its way onto Samui's face. "I hope your bite is as big as your bark."
"Haruno Sakura vs. Samui of Kumo: Hajime!"
Samui charged at Sakura at a breakneck pace, swinging her sword with her right hand in vertical arc.
But it was blocked.
Sakura held a kunai in her palm.
And it was laced with Katon chakra.
Samui was surprised enough that Sakura could force her back. Sakura then lengthened the blade and engaged Samui in a frantic dance of death. Sparks of red and blue flew everywhere, and both women were sweating profusely. There was no room for error on either party's front, as any small slip-up could end the match, and even their lives.
…
"Naruto, what's happening? How can Sakura keep up with her?" Ino asked in jealous shock.
Naruto glanced at her, then back at the match. "She trained. Hard. Anyone can do it if they really want to. If you can't match them, I guess you don't really want to be a kunoichi, then."
Ino growled, but looked away. 'He's right. At this rate, Sakura will get Sasuke-kun before me!'
Naruto turned his attention away from the match for a moment, taking note of a multitude of Suna and Oto shinobi in the crowd. He made another Kage Bunshin and dispelled it, so the placement could be noted by Hiruzen.
…
Sakura had managed to press Samui into defensive maneuvers, where there was no room to breathe. 'So uncool…. Guess I'll have to start using some mid-range ninjutsu.' "Raiton: Jibashi!" Sakura rolled out of the way of the lightning bolt, but the jutsu had fulfilled its purpose: to get Samui some much-needed space.
Samui went in for the kill, but suddenly, an elbow caught her in the back of her head. Sakura shimmered out of existence.
As Samui gained her bearings, she cursed. 'Genjutsu…'
Sakura smirked, "Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu. I've got plenty more where that came from."
Samui gave a cheap grin. "Alright, I see you as a dangerous opponent. So I hope you don't mind me going all out. Ranton: Reiza Sakasu!" A beam-like wave of lightning flashed towards Sakura, who narrowly dodged. Then, Samui started firing smaller, more compressed beams at her opponent, who could only just barely keep up.
…
In the stands, Naruto chewed his lip. "I didn't know she had a bloodline… but that kekkei genkai is supposed to be extinct."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto. "You seem to know an awful lot about things, Naruto. So, let me ask you this: why are there Sound and Sand shinobi moving around in the stands?"
Naruto gave Shikamaru an annoyed look. "Stop asking questions. You'll live longer."
…
'Damn it,' Sakura thought, frantically dodging the laser beams. 'How can she have enough chakra to do this?!' Sakura charged a kunai with Katon chakra and shunshined through the blasts, coming at Samui's throat. Suiddenly, Samui's body was covered in black chakra, small black lightning sparks cackling in the air surrounding her. She disappeared….
...And Sakura was on the floor, out cold.
Samui came back into view with her fist outstretched, and the aura still surrounding her. "Kuro Rai no Yoroi. An A-Ranked Jutsu, only known by two people. I'm still a little new at it, but it gets the job done. Proctor, call the match." The aura dissipated.
"Winner of the second match: Samui of Kumo! Medics!"
…
"Tomato Head. Did you know she could do that?" Naruto asked Karui. "I mean, that's an intense variation of the Raikage's jutsu. And on top of that, she has Ranton."
While Karui scowled at the nickname, she did answer. "Our entire team knows some variation of Black Lightning. What mine and Omoi's are, you'll have to wait and see."
Samui joined the contestants. "Ruto-kun, I apologize about being so brutal towards your teammate, but she was a tough opponent. Rather cool, I'd say."
Naruto nodded, barely worried for Sakura's safety. "She should be fine, though. I mean, I've done worse to her in a spar before… Though, I am glad that you passed; that means I'll get to fight you, dattebayo."
Samui smiled at him, then turned to her teammates. "You'll need to pass. I won't leave you behind."
Karui and Omoi threw her a couple of sideways smirks. "Don't doubt us when we're this close." Karui said.
…
[A/N: Don't think anyone cares to see Temari or Shikamaru fight, so I'll skip to Omoi's fight. Ja ne!]
"Will Omoi of Kumo and Aburame Shino please enter the arena?" Genma said.
Once Omoi and Shino were facing each other, Genma called the match. Omoi held out his hand. "Raiton: Kaminaridama." A ball of lightning arced towards Shino.
'Hmm… I can't just dissipate into bugs, since the air around the ball is electrified. I'll have to actually dodge.' Shino ducked to the side, throwing a few shuriken and subtly releasing his kikaichuu into the air. He'd already given them orders.
"Oh, no you don't! Raiton: Gian!" Omoi destroyed the bugs convergeing on him, which were attempting to drain his chakra. Then Omoi rushed forward, blade charged with Raiton chakra, and thrusted deep into Shino's chest. Shino managed to shunshin away using his bugs, but some died from the electricity.
Omoi began furiously slashing at Shino, who couldn't counter. Shino then slipped into Omoi's guard- a major feat for someone with a significantly smaller reach- and delivered a haymaker. Omoi stumbled back, spat blood, and continued his assault. Shino proved to be rather nimble, as well as clever, dodging when he could and using substitutions when he couldn't. This pattern of battle continued for a lengthy seven minutes. 'He'll slip up at some point…' Omoi said.
He was right.
Shino had expected Omoi to slash downwards with one hand. He hadn't, however, expected the black lightning-infused punch that came straight into his Solar Plexus. In extreme pain, Shino crumpled to the ground. Omoi pointed his blade at Shino's throat. "I- I yield." Shino wheezed.
"Winner of the third match: Omoi of Kumo!"