Hey y'all. I'm back with the next chapter of HSD Naruto! I hope that this chapter measures up to the standard that my loyal readers deserve to recieve. A couple more characters from HSD Kenichi's world will make their appearance in the chapter, too, so keep your eyes out for them!
CHUUNIN EXAM STADIUM
It was around high noon as the nearly everyone in the village and several foregin shinobi and dignitaries were in attendance, eagerly awaiting the start of the third and final phase of the Chuunin exams. Sarutobi, flanked by Jiraiya and Tsunade, made his appearance in the Kage's box along with the 'Kazekage', and his two bodyguards. The two Kage greeted each other formally and sat down to get the ball rolling. Underneath the disguise (Aww come on! We all know it's Orochi-pedo in disguise!), Orochimaru was livid with rage.
'What are THEY doing here? Now, this will be MUCH harder!' He inwardly snarled before turning to the chronologically advanced Hokage.
"A fine crop of Genin this year, Hokage-dono. My son Gaara, the Hyuuga boy, and the Uchiha in one group. Quite exciting." He said cooly.
Sarutobi smirked as he saw one Genin in particular. 'As always, overlooking those that aren't natural geniuses due to arrogance. I should have been a better teacher, but I'll take whatever advantage I can get...' "Yes...but I wouldn't be surprized if another contestant surprizes us yet again." He casually mentioned, causing the Wind Shadow to give him a puzzled look.
'He couldn't mean...' Orochimaru wondered as the exams began.
Sarutobi stood up to address the crowd. "TO ALL THAT HAVE GATHERED HERE TODAY...WELCOME TO THE FINAL STAGE OF TEH CHUUNIN EXAMS! TODAY, WE WILL SEE THE DISPLAY OF SKILLS THESE YOUNG GENIN HAVE TO SHOW US AND SEE WHO AMONG THEM WILL BE CHOSEN FOR THE HONOR OF ADVANCEMENT TO THE RANK OF CHUUNIN!"
The crowd roared in applause in response to his announcement, causing his two former students to snicker. "You still know how to whip up a crowd, sensei." Jiraiya chuckled.
"Yes...I've still got it." Sarutobi replied with a smirk.
Down in the stands, the Ryouzanpaku gang plus Miu and Renka, Hiashi with his daughters, Tenmon and Raichi were all waiting with antcipation for Naruto's first match and were talking amongst themselves. Hinata, Renka, and Raichi got their first glimpse of Naruto's new ensemble and blushed prettily at the sight.
'Wow...Naruto-kun looks good in these clothes.' Hinata thought.
'He was cute before, but now he looks kind of...heroic...' Raichi thought as her blush got darker.
Down in the arena, his new ensemble caught the eye of another kunoichi.
'Is that the loudmouthed shrimp from last month? He's looking pretty scrumpcious...er, I mean, good!'
A certain Snake Mistress was also taking in the young Genin with interest. 'I wish they made 'em like THAT when I was his age!'
Nearby, the members of the Rookies that didn't make it were sitting together, Sakura letting her thoughts be known on Naruto's new look.
"That baka...If he thinks he can look even HALF as good as Sasuke-kun, he's even more of a loser than I thought! He'll never beat Neji, nevermind Sasuke-kun! " The foreheaded terror ranted, completely embarrassing Ino who was sitting next to her.
"Sakura...That's kind of mean. I mean, he's your teammate. I'd never treat Shikamaru or Chouji like that." Ino tried to reason with her to no avail. However, Ino had to admit that Naruto looked FAR better in this new outfit.
'Where was he hiding those muscles at? I'm starting to see what Hinata sees now...' The blond girl thought.
"Hmph. Why stick up for those losers? I mean, it's not like they're Sasuke-kun or even have feelings or anything stupid like that." The pink haired harpy countered.
Next to Ino, Chouji was getting really pissed at Sakura for talking about his friends like that, but Ino put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from caving her face in. He, Shika, and Naruto hung out in the Academy all the time and Naruto wasn't really all that bad.
Miu was the one to hear her rantings and nearly ended her existance on the spot, but her grandfather held her back, saying that such a person was beneath her if she would so willingly slander and dishonor her comrades.
Down in the arena, Naruto was looking around for Sasuke, but he was nowhere to be found along with his useless ex-sensei. Shikamaru noticed him looking around.
"Sasuke's not here...Know where he is, Naruto?" Shika asked.
The last thing he expected was for Naruto to scowl and actually leak a hint of Ki at the mere mention of his ex-teammate and ex-sensei if he had any say in it.
"No. I don't." Naruto replied curtly.
Genma Shiranui, the replacement examiner, turned to them. "Hey, pop tall. All of these people are here to see you, so don't dissapoint them."
He then cleared his throat to announce the first match. "FIRST MATCH OF THE FINALS...NEJI HYUUGA VS. NARUTO UZUMAKI!" He bellowed.
The other fighters lept into the contestants box while Naruto and Neji remained.
Tenten was sitting near the others up in the stands with her sensei as she shook her head. "Naruto certainly looks stronger than before, but he just can't beat Neji. He's too strong." She said aloud.
"Really? Why do you think that?" Raichi asked, surprizing her.
"Well, Neji was the Rookie of the Year for our year, from a famous and powerful clan, and he's a genius." She replied.
"Oh? Is that all? Isn't one's worth decided on who they are inside? That's what Uncle Gai and my Tou-san always taught me, that geniuses are never what they're cracked up to be. Besides, Naruto-kun's a tough customer, too. I've got faith in him!" Raichi replied with a wide grin.
This left Tenten grasping for answers but drove home one fact that she didn't want to face : She sounded just as bad as those fangirls she despised.
"Uncle Gai! Hello! Where's Lee?" Asked the blond girl in pigtails upon spotting her uncle.
"Oh? Raichi-chan! How are you and your father doing? As for Lee-kun, he is still resting in the hospital today, saving up his youthful vigor to heal faster!" Gai proclaimed.
"That's nice! Daddy's sitting over there if you wanna talk to him!" Raichi told him cheerfully, pointing him out.
Tenten watch all of this with a wierded out look on her face. "Uh...You're, related to Gai-sensei and LEE? You don't look anything like them!" She exclaimed.
"Oh! Lee-kun is my cousin!" She explained as she left to rejoin the Ryouzanpaku group.
"I didn't know you had a nephew and niece, sensei?" Tenten asked.
"I do. I also helped her fiancee train a little for the finals today. Neji is facing him." Gai told her.
"Naruto? He's her fiancee?" Tenten whispered. Tenten remembered the girl from the Academy. Raichi was in her class and was just below her in the class rankings for Kunoichi of the year and the only person to have ever beat Neji in a spar. She remembered that he took it pretty badly, constantly challenging her to duels to save face and that she always rejected him. For some time, Tenten thought that Neji was crushing on her due to how much he hounded her for a fight, but it was just Neji being a sore loser in the end.
Hell, the girl didn't even bat an eye at the Uchiha that everyone seemed to fall apart over, as sickening as it was to see. From what she heard, Sasuke was trying to ensnare her into a betrothal contract, but Raichi's family, mainly her father and Raichi herself, vehemetly refused. She was the sort of girl that didn't care for titles or status, seemingly drawn towards another person in the Uchiha's class, the dead last.
It was finally time for the match to start as Neji and Naruto faced one another. The tension in the air was THICK. You-could-cut-it-with-a-knife thick, as the two glared at each other. Neji had been told by the elder council that if he defeated Naruto and Hinata was married off, he would take her place as the heir to the family. That meant that his curse seal would come off. He'd be damned if he missed out on both trashing a loser, getting rid of Hinata, AND getting rid of his curse seal all at once.
For Naruto, the stakes were even higher. He knew that Neji would not stop at only defeat. Neji WILL kill him if given the chance, not to mention that Hinata's future was riding on how well he performed this day. No. Neji will have to be defeated. Destroyed if he had to, but either way, he had to go.
Neji decided to call out his victory right off the bat. "Fate has already decreed me to be the winner of our match, Dead Last. If you decide to fight anyway, I'll just kill you and have Hinata-sama watch as you die. I couldn't care less who's bed she winds up in after this." Neji sneered, making Naruto's blood boil.
Thankfully, his lessons with Akisame and Kensei taught him patience and from Sakaki how to channel his anger properly. No, he won't let Neji get him riled up and start playing his game. No, sir. Instead, the blond sucked in a deep breath and let it out, using some breathing control exercises taught to him by the masters before he replied.
"No. I will not allow anything to happen to Hinata-chan. She is very special to me and I will not fail her when she needs me the most, so bring it on, butt munch." Naruto replied, calmly at first, but let out a razor sharp and controlled burst of Ki at the end that made Neji flinch.
"Alright you two. Enough trash talk. FIGHT!" Genma announced, leaping out of the way of any potential blows.
Neji didn't like having his feathers and confidence ruffled, so he decided to kill Naruto right now and save some face.
As he charged in, some of Kensei's words came back to him.
"Naruto-chan, when facing the Jyuuken, it is best to just avoid the attack completely. Even a glancing blow could prove fatal if there is enough chakra in it and in the right spot."
To that end, he was trained to evade and counter, ensnaring the attacking limbs if possible. Luckily, Shigure's chainmail armor was able to be reinforced by his own chakra and since his chakra force is unlike anyone else's due to his...unique circumstances, that was something he had by the ass ton. For now, he didn't want to let that nasty little surprize out now did he? That would ruin the fun of owning this pompous
Sure enough, Neji's palm thrust was aimed right at his heart. Naruto slipped in low, allowing the blow to pass over him as he grabbed the arm and wrenched it as hard as he could. This resulted in Neji's shoulder being forcefully yanked from it's socket and limited his effectiveness greatly. Next, Naruto chambered a roundhouse kick that impacted on Neji's lower ribs, cracking a few of them and brusing the rest.
The Hyuuga prodigy stumbled back as he tried to regain his bearings. How was it possible for someone that struggled to defeat Kiba in the prelims to go toe-to-toe with him thus far? This new Naruto was dangerously skilled and knows about the Jyuuken from the way he countered. He then watched as Naruto slipped in a familiar stance, one that he'd seen Gai use before.
"Hey dobe...Where did you learn that style?" Neji demanded.
"It's none of your business." Naruto replied. His patience had worn out when Neji threatened to take Hinata from him. This asshole was going down.
Neji popped his shoulder back into place to continue fighting through the pain as he began a barrage of super fast thrusts, too fast for Naruto to catch and counter like before. After a moment of being bombarded. Neji finally scored a direct hit to Naruto's abdomen.
'Ooof...there! Time for Phase two!' He thought. The first phase was to attack Neji's limbs while letting him think his Jyuuken was still effective. Now, the second phase was complete and total annhilation. Thanks to Shigure's armor, he was nearly immune to the Jyuuken.
From there, Neji used the Hakke Rokujyuyonsho to put Naruto out of business for good.
After the rain of blows, Naruto lay on his back, seemingly down for the count to the horror of his friends and family. However, the Ryouzanpaku crowd were calm. They knew what Naruto had in mind.
"Proctor-san...call the match. That trash is done for." Neji scoffed, but was met with silence.
"Didn't you hear me? I said call the..." He yelled, only to get interrupted by the sound of laughing. Looking around, he saw that the laughing was coming from Naruto, who was slowly getting up and brushing himself off like nothing happened.
Neji was now getting very worried. He knew he had executed the Sixty Four Palms perfectly, but Naruto just stood right up and shrugged it off like it was nothing. "Thanks of the massage, Neji-chan, but I like Hinata-chan's better. At least she can pack a wallop with her attacks, not like your stupid little love taps." Naruto taunted, goading Neji into a rage. As his Greatuncle told him, anger makes one sloppy and careless.
Neji screamed in rage as he charged Naruto again, but Naruto was ready for him this time. After deflecting Neji's attacks, he opened up with a series of blows form the Hakkyoukuken style. Palm to the face here, reverse kick to the stomach there. All of if ending with the first technique that Kensei showed him after cheering him up.
SHOUTENSHU!
A dual-palmed attack, using his entire body like a living piston, sent the prodigy flying away and rolling to a stop some ten yards away.
Shocked faces dotted the crowd at what the Dead last had pulled off. He was beating the Hyuuga genius like he owed him money and shrugged of the most powerful form of Taijutsu the world had ever known. However, loud cheering could be heard from a couple of places.
"WAY TO GO, OTOUTO-KUN!" Miu.
"THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! THAT'S OUR FUTURE HUSBAND!" Raichi, Renka, and Hinata.
"GO NARUTO-KUN! FIGHT WITH THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Come on...You know who this is.
"YOU CAN DO IT NARUTO!" Chouji
"OI! COME ON GAKI! QUIT FARTIN' AROUND AND FINISH THIS PUNK!" Sakaki, obviously.
"APA! GO, NARUTO-CHAN!" Really? Who else do you think talks like this?
Kensei was obviously proud that Naruto had all but mastered the Shoutenshu to be able to pull it off like he did, and so quickly too.
Neji stood up and was waiting for Naruto to make his move. Naruto, wanting to put Neji down for good, charged right in. Hinata saw what was happening, the chakra building around her cousin.
"NARUTO-KUN, NO!" She screamed, but was too late.
Neji smirked as he released chakra from every point on his body and began to spin.
KAITEN!
The rapidly rotating dome of chakra exploded out and slammed into the blond, tossing him back. He recovered in the air and began to think of a counter strategy.
Up in the stands, Hiashi was stunned that his nephew knew that technique. 'That was supposed to be a Main House only move...The elder council had to have taught his that.' He reasoned. The council will have much to answer for once this was all over. He could only hope that his future son-in-law could find some weakness in the jutsu to exploit.
'That was all chakra! I think it's tme to unleash the Rasengan!' He decided. Making a quick Kage Bunshin, he charged up one of his mini-cyclones and charged in to see which was stronger. Rasengan met Kaiten, both of them struggling for dominance. Finally, Naruto was forcefully thrown away, his Rasengan dispelled.
"Damn...I need more force..." He muttered, racking his brain for anything that could help him. Finally, he remembered back during his training, he created something that might work...
FLASHBACK
Akisame had been wathcing him train and raised an eyebrow at what his student had done and accomplished. He noticed that he combined the movements for all of the Marital Arts he'd been taught into one, single blow and walked over to the dumbfounded boy.
"Naruto-kun. Do you even realise what you just did?" He asked calmly.
"Uh, n-no, Akisame-sensei." He replied, thinking he'd done something wrong.
The moustachio sighed. They were still having a rough time breaking him of feeling that everytime they stopped him he did something to anger them. "Naruto-kun, I want you to try what you just did again on another target."
Naruto gulped, but wanted to succeed. "HEYAHHH!" He roared as he repeated the process again, only this time adding more force into the blow. The training post was nearly reduced to sawdust as Naruto pulled back his fist, looking in awe as Akisame smiled.
"What you just did was combined the basic movements for all of our styles into one blow, exponentially increasing the power of the punch. Now, all Marital Arts have a rythmn of sorts, but this had no rthymn at all, making the blow extremely difficult to predict or percieve. I think you just created your our signature techique, unique to only you. I'm proud of you." The wiry Jiujitsu Master applauded him.
FLASHBACK END
'I never even named it...No rythmn, zero beat...Mubyoshi!' He mentally exclaimed as he charged up another Rasengan.
Neji noticed and scoffed at his efforts. "A wasted effort, trash, but try if you will. None can break through this, the ultimate defense of the Hyuuga."
'Yeah, just keep talking, jackass.' Naruto thought as he got himself ready for another attack run.
"RRRAAHHHH!" Naruto roared as he barrelled down on Neji.
"HA! WORTHLESS!" Neji yelled.
KAITEN!
Naruto stopped just shy of the shell of rotating chakra and got into his stance, then, combining all that he was taught, thrust the mini-cyclone at the Kaiten.
MUBYOSHI RANSENGAN!
With multiple times the force from before, the Rasengan broke through the Kaiten with force to spare, hitting it's intended target and sending him flying end over end, finally impacting the arena floor and leaving Neji near unconscious in a smoking crater.
"H-h-how... It was your destiny to die at my hand. How d-did a failure like you beat me?" Neji asked, his breathing ragged.
"If fate decided everything, I wouldn't even be alive right now. Quit being such a damn baby and take some responsibility for your life instead of letting everyone boss you around." Naruto replied harshly.
"Y-you don't...know what it's like t-to carry a seal that...controls your life against your will!" Neji shouted angrily.
"I DO KNOW YOU SON OF A BITCH! More than you could ever imagine..." Naruto trailed off, clutching his stomach, where the Kyuubi's seal resided.
Genma smirked. "He's a hell of a kid...The Fourth sure picked the right kid for the job." He whispered with a grin as he raised Naruto's arm.
"WINNER...NARUTO UZUMAKI!"
The entire crowd was awe-struck. The dead last had defeated the genius completely, totally, utterly. He also broke through the most powerful defensive technique they knew of to do it with a move that was thought to be lost with their beloved Yondaime.
Akisame was smiling down on his student. He was the one who helped Naruto develope the move he just used and thought on the name. 'Mubyoshi? Zero Rythmn, huh? It fits, Naruto-kun. It defininately fits.'
The Hyuuga council was livid with the fact that with all that they did to tip the scales in their favor, Naruto STILL won! They just couldn't believe it! Now, their plans to get Hinata out of the way were ruined and Hiashi's political power within the clan was secured, along with his choice of heir.
Hiashi, on the other hand, was extremely proud of Naruto for coming through for his daughter, fighting with all of his heart for her sake. His belief that Naruto would be a good husband for his daughter was reinforced. He stood up and left to go talk to his misguided nephew, to tell him the truth.
Hinata was crying happily, their future together now assured. The other two girls were glad that Hinata wouldn't be taken from them.
Elsewhere in the stands, two Chuunin were also impressed with the young blond and the skills he showed in beating a Hyuuga at their own game.
"Heh, the squirt's not half bad, eh Takeda?" A short, petite red-headed young woman of at least 18 commented.
"Yeah...the bozu was really something out there. He has the right attitude, in that he's not an arrogant jerk. I might wanna work with him if he makes Chuunin. What do you think, Chibi-chan?" Kisara Nanjo's much taller companion, Takeda Ikki, called out.
"Don't call me Chibi-chan, you jerk! But yeah, he might be fun to work with." She admonished, but also agreed.
Ino and Chouji couldn't believe what they just saw. This new Naruto was certainly a sight to behold. He carried himself differently, with more confidence and a determined gait. Although, Ino caught that bit about an unwanted seal. 'Maybe that's what my dad was trying to tell me back when he asked me to be Naruto's friend. But what kind of seal could be so awful as to have the whole village hate him over it? What happened to you, Naruto?'
Sakura in her seat, just huffed in annoyance. "I don't see what's so special. Sasuke-kun could have done it, too. He would have been better than that baka." She said, making everyone around her roll their eyes in annoyance.
Tenten had to scrape her jaw off of the ground. "N-no way...Neji lost?" She stammered out.
"See what I meant about geniuses?" Raichi chirped with a wink as she made her way over to the contestants box to see him, Renka and Hinata hot on her heels.
Miu watched her cousin and little brother as he lept back up into the contestant's box. She was very proud of how far he had come in only a month with them. When he first came to them, his form was a real mess, his psyche was nearly damaged beyond repair, and his control was shot, yet he could still put up quite a fight. Now, she wasn't too sure that if he was going all out that she could match him before long. She knew about the demon within him and the distinct advantages it gave him, such as his superhuman stamina and endureance, and his superhealing. A good night's rest would fix nearly anything, no matter what the masters did to him, and he'd bounce right back, a little stronger than before.
Tsunade and Jiraiya watched their Godchild with pride. They were angry with both the village and themselves, the village for keeping them away from him, Tsunade at herself for not bothering to check for herself, and Jiraiya for not being able to do more. But that was the past. Now, they have their Godson and they would be damned if they didn't make up for lost time. Tsunade was willing to adopt Naruto, to take him in as she intended to the night he was both born and orphaned, but she would have to run it by Hayato first. He established Legal Guardianship over Naruto a month ago.
While the proctors cleaned up the arena as best they could, Naruto was visited by his future wives in the box in the way of nearly getting mugged. Shino raised an eyebrow, Shikamaru's jaw was on the ground in shock. Kankuro huffed in jealousy and Temari was feeling a little jealous, too. Gaara was...well, just Gaara.
"Hey Naruto...You know these girls?" Shikamaru asked his former classmate, gesturing to Renka and Raichi. He already knew Hinata.
"Yeah!" He replied, making introductions to his two buddies in the box. The three girls were asked to leave by a few of the proctors and did so reluctantly. They refused to leave without giving and recieveing some affection, in the form of kissing him on the cheek for luck in his next match.
"Man...I hope you know what you know what you got yourself into, Naruto. One woman is troublesome enough." Shika whispered to Naruto, who shook his head.
"They encouraged me and cheered me on, and even love me. To someone like me, who's been alone for almost all of my life, they mean the world to me. They'll never be troublesome to me." He replied with a smile, Shika matching it.
"Well, if anyone could even remotely pull this off, I'd bet on you." The lazy Nara answered with a lazy grin.
Down in the arena, the proctors had finally finished making the field useable as Genma called for the next match.
"SECOND MATCH, UCHIHA SASUKE VS. GAARA!"
Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand down in the arena, awaiting his opponent. Muttering rippled through the crowd, wondering where their precious Uchiha was. Up in the Kage's box, Sarutobi and his two loyal students were wondering just that, as well.
"Where the hell is that idiot Hatake? He should have been here at the opening on the tournament!" Tsunade growled.
"I don't know, but his and the Uchiha's reps won't save them here, right Sensei?" Jiraiya said.
Sarutobi gave them a grim nod. "I know the council will throw a fit over this, I will not tolerate this tardiness on such an important day. Sasuke Uchiha is disqualified." The old Hokage agreed with his two students.
The Kazekage looked as if he had been struck physically. "Let's not be too hasty now, Hokage-dono. Many of the people here, dignitaries included, have come simply to see my son and the Uchiha fight."
"No. Rules are rules. If you arrive late to a battlefield, you may have just gotten your comrades killed. If he is not responsible enough to show up at an appointed time, he does not deserve to be a Chuunin." Sarutobi replied, his tone as cold and firm as it was in his prime.
Not wanting to push his luck any further, Orochimaru backed off of the subject. 'Damn that old man! Now of all times, he decided to grow a spine!' He fumed as he sat there, awaiting another opportunity to enact his plan.
Sarutobi relayed his instructions to one of his Jounin, who lept down to Genma, who shook his head. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! SINCE UCHIHA SASUKE HAS FAILED TO SHOW UP FOR HIS MATCH, HE HAS BEEN DISQUALIFIED! WINNER IS GAARA BY DEFAULT!"
As Sarutobi and the proctors expected, this decision was met with a massive outcry from a mass majority of the populace who wanted to see their precious Uchiha in action. The older shinobi in the crowd, along with many of the dignitaries, understood why Sarutobi made the decision he did and supported it. A shinobi who could not show up on time in unreliable and is a liability, therefore is unworthy of becoming a Chuunin. Gaara with a scowl of disappiontment, teleported himself back up to the waiting area.
"WHAT? THEY CAN'T DO THAT! SASUKE-KUN NEEDS TO GET HIS PROMOTION! COME ON INO-PIG! LET'S GO TELL HOKAGE-SAMA OFF FOR DOING THIS TO POOR SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura ranted, trying to drag Ino with her.
"Let me go! He got disquailfied because he couldn't even bother to show up on time like everyone else did! Do this by yourself!" Ino yelled at her. Her friendship with the pink haired girl at this point was now looking to be permanently severed.
"I can't believe you're abandoning Sasuke-kun, you traitor! He doesn't need hussies like you or those skanks that Naruto-baka hangs around with to help him build his clan!" The She-Banshee raged as she stomped up to the Kage's box.
A few minutes saw Sakura up in the Kage's box, where she just stormed past the guards and stomped up to the elderly shinobi leader.
"Why did you disqualify Sasuke-kun? He needs that promotion more than these other losers, especially that blond Dobe, Naruto!" She screehed.
After everyone in the booth let their hearing come back, they all glared death at the girl. Even Orochimaru was getting really annoyed with her.
'What an unpleasant little girl...Tsunade wasn't anywhere near this bad.' The Snake pedophile thought with a scowl.
"What do you want you little shit?" Tsunade yelled at her.
"Shut up, you big breasted cow! I want Hokage-sama to let Sasuke-kun fight and get promoted and I won't leave until he does!" Pink-zilla demanded, her rail thin arms crossed defiantly.
Tsunade did a slow burn as her temper was quickly reaching an meltdown of Chernobyl-like proportions. Noticing this Jiraiya grabbed her and restrained her.
"Tsunade, calm down!" Jiraiya yelled at her.
"Damn you, Jiraiya! Let me kill this little shit! Nobody talks about my godson or especially me like that! Especially not some scrawny little Uchiha slut of a fangirl!" She roared.
The names to the two clicked inside of her Uchiha riddled brain. "Ji-Jiraiya? T-Tsunade?" She whimpered. She had just insulted two of the legendary Sannin, the Slug Princess Tsunade and the Toad sage, Jiraiya. On top of that, one of the contestants she had just insulted was their GODSON. She was officially up to neck deep in shit creek with no canoe in sight.
Two ANBU appeared by the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, do you wish for us to remove this...intruder?" The cat masked female captain asked, turning what everyone could tell was a disgusted gaze at the sniviling fangirl.
"Yes. Detain her until the end of the Chuunin exams in an ANBU cell. We WILL have a nice long chat about this with her parents present." He ordered as she was apprehended and taken to the ANBU jails until further notice.
"Now that she has been taken care of, we will continue." Sarutobi ordered.
Genma, seeing that the disturbance was over, announced the next match.
"NEXT MATCH...ABURAME SHINO VS. KANKURO!"
"Proctor...I forfeit the match!" The black suited puppet user called out.
Shino's usually stoic face now showed a scowl. He had wanted to fight and try to get his promotion, but now his chances were not looking too good.
"NEXT MATCH...TEMARI VS. NARA SHIKAMARU!" Genma yelled, just wanting to get this over with.
Temari, her patience finally breeched, whipped out her fan and floated down to the floor on an air current, folding her fan with a dramatic flourish of movement. Kankuro palmed his face. "She just can't resist the urge to show off..." He muttered.
Shikamaru just groaned. "Aw man...I gotta fight another girl? I'll just forfeit like that Kankuro guy..." He whined until Naruto reminded him of something.
"If you forfeit now, your mom's gonna kill you later, you know that right?" He told Shika, who went white as a sheet.
"Yeah...I see your point." The lazy Genin stammered, having locked eyes with said woman, who gave him a glare that foretold of hellish suffering should he cop out. He quickly hopped down to the arena floor without wasting anymore time.
"Come on...Let's fight already!" Temari yelled out impatiently.
Now, since everyone KNOWS how the fight goes, we'll press on to the entree of the matches...NARUTO VS. GAARA!
But first...
Naruto's friends, loved ones, and family were all pensive about this match, as it would truly test the fruits of his training to it's limits. Jiraiya had taught him multiple Suiton jutsu with which to combat Gaara's sand, just in case he fought with him. Even so, Naruto's Ninjutsu arsenal needed the updating, considering all he had before was two Academy basics, the Kage Bunshin, and the Tree Climbing exercise. Now, he had several Suiton jutsu, a few basic Fuuton jutsu, a Doton jutsu, the Rasengan, and the Kuchiyose : Gama.
Genma was glad that the first round was over and they were now in the semi-finals.
"WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE SEMI-FINALS! FIRST MATCH...GAARA VS. UZUMAKI NARUTO!"
The crowd was sitting on the edge of their seats about this match. For those who knew about Naruto's little tenant, this would be demon against demon. For the others, this was promising to be the fight of the century. Naruto, the underdog who soundly defeated the Hyuuga prodigy, against the best Suna has to offer.
Shino and Shikamaru both gave Naruto a nod, with Shikamaru warning him to be careful, as Naruto vaulted down to the floor near the proctor. Gaara teleported himself down there, eager to fight his fellow jinchuuriki.
Naruto knew what he was getting into with Gaara, and trusted that his Godfather and Greatuncle had prepared him for this, helping him craft the tools needed to survive. He sighed at the thought of not getting to prove himself against Sasuke and prove Kakashi wrong about him, but he wanted to get a measure of payback for what happened to Lee and possibly rescue a fellow demon container from himself. Beating some sense into someone usually works where words fail, right?
Just before Genma could start the match, a plume of smoke erupted inbetween the two contestants. A swirl of wind and leaves blew away the smoke to reveal Sasuke and Kakahsi, standing back to back in a dramatic pose. Everyone glared at them, but Kakashi spoke first.
"Hey everybody! We're not late are we?" He asked, pulling out his imfamous Icha Icha book.
"Yes, you are, Kakashi. Get out of the arena." Genma ordered harshly.
"What about Sasuke? Won't he get to fight?" Kakashi asked, pressing for leniency.
"Uchiha Sasuke has been disqualified, Kakashi. Now leave the arena now." Genma repeated himself.
Sasuke was livid. His chance to showoff was now ruined and given to someone else.
"What? Give me the Dobe's spot and let me fight!" Sasuke demanded.
Both Gaara and Naruto were not amused by the braggart. "Go away, Uchiha. You do not interest me." Gaara told him in his dead, monotone voice.
"He's right, teme. You're in the way." Naruto added, agreeing with his opponent.
Sasuke's rage built to it's peak as he lept at Naruto, his Sharingan spinning in his crazed anger. Naruto waited until he was right on top of him, then he sidestepped the blow, spinning to the side and delivering a harsh knife hand chop to the base of his skull, like Akisame-sensei and Ero-sensei taught him. The blow left Sasuke dazed and confused, wobbling around like a helpless baby animal.
"Too scared to fight me like a man, Dobe?" Sasuke sneered drunkenly, still reeling from the hit.
Naruto snapped. "Genma-san...I'll fight the Teme, if only to prove that I deserve to be here." Naruto muttered turning to Gaara, knowing what he wanted most.
"Gaara, you okay with this? This way, you'll face a truly strong opponent." He reasoned.
Gaara seemed to accept this. "Hurry. Mother's hunger grows." He said in his dead fashion, but with intoned urgency.
Sasuke chortled arrogantly. "This will be easy."
Naruto's features hardened at this. "Really? Do you think it'll be that easy?" Naruto asked, amused.
Naruto's eased posture sent Sasuke into a tizzy. "Why are you so calm, loser?" The self-proclaimed avenger yelled in anger.
"I just feel really good right now." Naruto replied, grinning like a fox.
Sasuke always hated that smile of his as he barrelled down on the smiling Genin, his Sharingan blazing.
Naruto had been training for this. He flooded the arena with as much chakra as he could muster, effectively hiding him form the Eye of Thieves.
To Sasuke, it was like staring at the sun. The kind of chakra output Naruto was packing seemed inhuman, too much for his vaunted eyes to endure, so he had to shut them down.
"Fine, then. It's not like I'll need my Sharingan to beat down a loser like you." He snarled as he de-activated his eyes, sliding into the Uchiha fighting form.
Naruto simply looked at his with carefully maintained calm, looking for any telltale signs of movement, something Sakaki-sensei taught him to read...
"Listen up, gaki! Every opponent has a some kind of tick or habit that can give away their movements. Look for it!" The mountainous Karate master's words echoed in his head.
Sure enough, he picked up the tensing of Sasuke's leg muscles and prepared for the inevitable frontal assualt. Sasuke raced forward and tried to drop Naruto in one blow, using a spinning roundhouse kick to the face, but thanks to his grappling training from Akisame-sensei, he grabbed Sasuke's attack at the ankle and used Sasuke's momentum against him, sending him flying away in embarrassment.
Sasuke punched the ground from where he knelt down. 'Damn that dobe! First, he does something to my Sharingan, now he's making look like a fool! I'LL KILL HIM!'
Black markings were beginning to appear on his skin as his face contorted into a vicious snarl, rage and embarrassment plain as day in his eyes. He threw himself at Naruto again, attempting to strike at another percieved weakness, Taijutsu.
Naruto slipped into Apachai's Muay Thai, dodging the first blow from Sasuke and countering with a flying knee, which was followed up by a series of jabs, forearms and elbows to keep Sasuke from getting at breathing room. Finally, Naruto caught him with a forearm shot to the jaw, disorienting and stunning him, then a gut shot and a powerful front kick to his ribs that left the supposed prodigy sprawled out.
"Had enough yet, Teme?" Naruto asked. Naruto wanted to put Sasuke down with minimal fuss, as he still had to face Gaara.
Sasuke slowly scraped himself up, nursing his injured ribs as he stood. He was livid, furious, that his dead last teammate was the one who was dominating this fight and he was holding back. Naruto pointed out an ugly truth about the Uchiha, that nearly all except for very few, were mediocre at the very best without their Sharingan to aid them. It was a crutch which had made them arrogant, and now that Naruto had found a countermeasure, he was returning the favor from all of the times the Uchiha ever beat, embarrassed, and abused him. This shame didn't sit well at all as he lept back to get some room.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed madly as he formed the killing move he was given by Kakashi.
CHIDORI!
Naruto was alarmed that Sasuke would pull out something that looked so lethal during an exam, but was staying calm. All of his sensei told him that losing his cool could cost him his life in situations like these.
Off to the side, Kakashi's face held a triumphant smirk, wanting his star student to put this blond upstart back where they felt he belonged, at their feet. Genma was frowning at the usage of a known killing jutsu against a fellow Konoha shinobi in an advancement exam. Sarutobi's two students and Naruto's Godparents were fuming mad. They knew who taught him that jutsu, and he was going to be dealt with after the exams.
The Ryouzanpaku masters were calm. They had come at Naruto at far greater speeds than this boy could even dream of achieving, so they had faith that Naruto could counter.
"Hmph. No technique at all. All show." Sakaki harrumphed.
"I agree. Should a so called assassination jutsu made such a racket?" Akisame added.
Ino's first reaction was going to be to cheer Sasuke on and boo Naruto, but lately, Sasuke just lost his appeal and now with her blinders off, she saw just how bad Sasuke really was. She also talked with the girls who had been around Naruto as of late and discovered that he's really a good guy. That annoying exterior was shed once people paid attention to him, since he didn't need it anymore.
'Naruto...after the exams are over, I'm going to apologize to you for being such a bitch to you for all these years.' She made up her mind on her course of action.
Sasuke raced in, his lighhtning coated fist leading the way and aimed directly at his heart, aiming to kill. Naruto knew that Sasuke wasn't around when he fought Neji, so the same tactic he used to counter Neji's Kaiten. So, Naruto readied himself, and charged up a Rasengan and waited until Sasuke got within range. He was careful to adjust the Rasengan's power, because he didn't want the villager's accusing him of trying to kill their precious teme. Finally, Sasuke was in range and Naruto let his attack fly.
MUBYOUSHI RASENGAN!
The Rasengan and the Chidori clashed in a brilliant light, but only for a second. The Rasengan, with the added force of the Mubyoushi, completely destroyed the Chidori before it disappeared. Sasuke's now normal arm sailed over Naruto's, allowing the full force the blond's powerful Taijutsu move to impact Sasuke's stomach. End result? Sasuke nearly got his stomach forcefully shoved out of his asshole and thrown back into the stadium wall, cracks from his impact leaving spider web like patterns on it.
Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "Whoa...Sasuke just got his ass handed to him." He commented before getting back to his usual self.
"Whatever, that punk ass Uchiha had it coming, anyway." He added.
"I quite agree. Uchiha-san's arrogance has been quite intolerable." Shino agreed.
Kakashi was enraged at his prize jutsu being beaten so easily, leaping down to confront who he thought was still his Genin. However, he was even more angry at what jutsu Naruto used to deflect the Chidori.
"What? How does he know that jutsu and who could have taught it to him?" The copy-nin growled as he lept down into the arena. He knew that it was the Fourth's own original jutsu, but it was never taught to him and that was what drove him to create the Raikiri, in an effort to compete with him.
"Naruto! Who taught you that jutsu? WHO?" Kakashi demanded angrily as he bore down on the blond, but Genma intervened.
"The Uchiha was in the way and so are you, Hatake. Now scrape him up and leave before I have the ANBU make you." The toothpick chewing Jounin ordered.
"This isn't over..." Kakashi growled as he picked up Sasuke and left the arena.
"Now, before we were rudely interrupted, let's get this started." Genma told the two Genin.
"SEMI-FINALS FIRST MATCH...GAARA OF SUNA VS. UZUMAKI NARUTO OF KONOHA! FIGHT!
Naruto and Gaara watched each other, having seen each other fight before. Gaara had to admit that Naruto had gotten much better and faster than he was before, and felt that he wasn't out of tricks yet.
On the other hand, Naruto just had a gut feeling that Gaara was just holding back what he could really do, hiding something other than the Shukaku. Remembering back to Lee's match against the bloodthristy Genin, he knew that his sand had to be avioded at all costs.
Naruto weaved through handseals and fired off a Suiton jutsu to start things off.
SUITON : TEPPOUDAMA!
Naruto spat out a large ball of high velocity water at his opponent. Like clockwork, Gaara's sand rose to protect him from the projectile. But something was wrong afterwards. His sand was sluggish in returning to him. Gaara looked down at his sand and saw that it was soggy and muddy. Glaring at the blond, who was weaving through more handseals, he sent out multiple tendrils of sand to impale his enemy. Naruto ducked and weaved his way through the spikes of sand and fired off another jutsu.
SUITON : MIZURAPPA!
A torrent of water lightly flooded the arena floor to about ankle deep due to how much chakra Naruto poured into the jutsu. After recovering from the jutsu usage, the blond lept on top of the water, running right at his opponent a top speed. Gaara tried to erect a sand shield, but it wouldn't obey his commands. Just as a look of shock took over his features, Naruto was already on top of him, laying into him with everything he had. Slowly, Gaara's Suna no Yoroi cracked, giving out under the intense punishment Naruto was dishing out. With a final spinning roundhouse kick to the face, Gaara was sent sprawling to the ground.
Slowly, Gaara stood back up and uncorked his gourd on his back, tapping into his emergency supply of sand and using it to encase himself in a cocoon of some sort to protect himself.
"So, he's gonna try to hide? Maybe the Rasengan'll break through the barrier." Naruto reasoned as he made a Kage Bunshin to help him concentrate. After it was finished, Naruto pelted at the barrier at full tilt but as soon as he was within a certain range, more sand spears shot out of the sphere, nearly impaling him and disrupting his jutsu.
'Man...I never thought I'd be thankful for Shigure-sensei's dodging practice!' Naruto thought as he backed off to regroup.
After creatin several Kage Bunshin to be on standby to launch more Suiton jutsu when the sand attacks him while closing in, he finally made it past Gaara's defenses and manages to plunge his Rasengan into the Sand Shell and a subsequent explosion that ripped into Gaara's shoulder, drawing blood.
Gaara screamed in pain as he held his shoulder, pulling his hand away to inspect the warm, sticky fluid that was no flowign from his person.
"Blood...You made me bleed...my own blood! I'll KILL YOU!" Gaara screamed as he began to transform into some kind of grotesque monster, half human, half tanuki.
Up in the Kage's box, Orochimaru smirked. This was the signal to begin to invasion as white feathers fell upon the stadium and it's occupants causing all those caught unaware to be caught in a sleeping genjutsu. Suna and Oto shinobi began to lay siege the village, overrunning the gates and flooding into the village. More shinobi invaded the stadium and began to clash with the defenders.
Orochimaru threw off his disguise and revealed himself to the world and his old teacher, holding him with a kunai at his throat. "Orochimaru. You've fallen even further, I see." Sarutobi sighed.
"Kukuku...I see that you've gotten soft and senile, old man. You couldn't even see through my disguise, neither could that Dobe Jiraiya or our dear princess." Orochimaru sneered, also making jabs at his former teammates.
To his surprize, neither one of his ex-teammates made a move against him to save their sensei, his suspicions rising. Suddenly, Sarutobi vanished in a plume of smoke along with his teammates, leaving behind logs with exploding tags on them.
'Shit! They knew!' He thought as the tags exploded. He and his personal elite guard managed to get away from the explosions and found the three on the roof, Sarutobi in his black battle gear and armor, ready to fight. Orochimaru responded by spitting up his Kusanagi sword, getting into a basic Kenjutsu stance.
"You've grown even more arrogant, Orochimaru. That will be your downfall." The old Hokage addressed his former student and one of his biggest regrets. He then bit his finger for some blood and went through a series of seals, slamming his hands down.
KUCHIYOSE NO JUSTU : ENKOU ENMA!
In a plume of smoke, a large monkey summon appeared next to Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen, I told you that we should have killed him when we had the chance." Enma growled, glowering at the Snake Sannin.
"I know, old friend. Now, we will rectify that mistake." Sarutobi replied in a steeled voice, showing the man he was in his prime.
HENGE : KONGONYOI!
Enma had been transformed into the Adamantine Staff, an homage to the legendary Monkey King, Son Goku, from times beyond ancient.
A barrier of purple fire erupted around the edges of the roof they were on, killing three ANBU who tried to jump in. Orochimaru gave his former team a sinister grin as he weaved through handseals.
"Now, sensei, Jiraiya-dobe, Tsunade-chan. There is no escape. Who's being arrogant now?" Orochimaru sneered at them, a trio of coffins rising from the roof behind him.
As Gaara thrashed in pain, Baki, his team's Jounin sensei along with his siblings, all piled in front of the demented Genin.
"Damn! He's losing control!" Bako cursed, turing to the other two.
"Temari! Kankuro! Get him out of here!" He ordered, the two genin obeying their orders. Grabbing Gaara, they lept over the village walls, bounding off into the forests to make their escape.
Naruto was about to go after them, but Baki moved to stop him. Just before he could strike, Genma blocked the attack, giving Naruto some cover. "Give 'em hell, kid!" Genma told him as Naruto took off.
Shikamaru and Shino both shook off the genjutsu and saw what was happening. Naruto had already been through two tough fights and now he was throwing himself into a larger one. The two of them decided that they couldn't let him do this alone so they went after him to cover his back.
Up in the stands, Sasuke had recovered and was seething with anger and jealousy, his calling cards. He then tore off after Naruto to settle the score for his humiliation.
Dispelling the Genjutsu, Kisara and Takeda were fighting back to back with their signature fighting styles. The lithe and limber Kisara was using her powerful legs in conjunction with a powerful, but obscure Taijutsu style called Tae Kwon Do, which focused on the lower body and on ones core, along with incredible flexibility and acrobatic skill.
"Deeyaahh!" She roared as she unleashed a powerful, sweeping roundhouse that killed an Oto nin instantly.
Near her was her partner since her Genin days, Takeda, utilizing a fighting style that was even more obscure in the ninja world which came from over the seas from the far west, called Boxing. This style relied of a powerful core and upper body to deliver truly devastating punches that hit like a frieght train packed full of anvils.
"Orrraaahhh!" He yelled as he snapped out with a hellishly powerful haymaker that knocked a Suna nin into the next zip code.
"Hey Chibi-chan! You holdin' up alright?" He asked his long time friend.
"Yeah...I'm alright. And don't call me CHIBI-CHAN!" She ranted as she vented her frustration on a few hapless enemy nin.
"Stay safe, Kisara..." He whispered. He made a promise to his dead teammate and friend since he was in diapers, Kouzo Ukita, to protect her at the cost of his own life. This was a promise that meant everything to him.
Kabuto, Orochimaru's assistant who was dressed as an ANBU, smirked as his genjutsu took hold and did its job. However, as his eyes fell upon a certain group of spectators, the genjutsu didn't effect them at all and they were all glaring at him!
A group of Oto shinobi he had sent attempted attack them, but let's bear in mind that the key word here is ATTEMPT. The combined Ki from all of the masters, Hayato, Miu, Hiashi, and Tenmon caused them all to pass out in shock and fear, a couple of whom had a heart attack.
They all took stock of the situation : It was open warfare with innocent civilians caught in the crossfire here and many more in the village. They knew what had to be done.
"I guess I'll handle things here." Sakaki said while he stretched his back with a loud pop.
"I'll help out here too, Sakaki-kun." Kensei spoke up.
"I'll help you papa!" Renka piped up, the other two girls nodding in agreement.
Hayato shook his head. "No, Renka-chan. Naruto-chan will need help. Follow him to help fight the Suna genin. The rest of you girls should follow along. I have faith that you all." The Ryouzanpaku elder told them seriously.
As they took off, Miu blocked a blow from another Oto shinobi and kicked him away. "Jii-san, I'll follow them and help Otouto-kun." Miu told her grandfather.
"No...I'll go and...help him. Stay here and...help protect the...civilians." Shigure Spoke up, a determined look on her face.
Miu was about to protest, but her grandfather stalled her. "Miu-chan, we will need to you help protect the defenseless civilians." He told her gently as he turned towards where Sarutobi was.
"Where are you going, elder?" Akisame asked.
"To help an old friend." Was all he said as he vanished in a burst of pure speed.
The remaining masters split up to different parts of the village : Sakaki and Kensei at the stadium, Apachai and Akisame into the village to help repel enemy forces, Shigure to help Naruto and keep him covered, and finally Hayato went to help out Sarutobi. Tenmon and Hiashi both nodded to each other and left to defend their respective families, mowing down any and all Oto and Suna shinobi they encountered along the way.
The battle was reaching a fever pitch as Apachai and Akisame arrived in the village proper and lent their support. At first, they were laughed at and told to go a wait in a shelter, but after Apachai booted one Suna Jounin over the horizon and Akisame turned another into a pretzel with only a single movement, they accepted aid. The normally gentle giant became a raging berserker when he saw that children were getting hurt, decimating all enemy shinobi in his area and getting the children to the hospital, where he stood guard and wiped out ANY enemy that approached. Akisame lent his medical skills to the hospital staff by treating the wounded that came in along with providing extra security.
Back at the stadium, Kensei and Sakaki made a small competition to see how many enemy shinobi they could take out. Nearby, Kakashi and Gai were watching on, stunned at what these two non-shinobi could pull off and they were making it seem so easy, too. Kakashi turned to his side and noticed that Sasuke was gone and had taken off after Naruto.
"Damn..." He muttered, summoning one of his hounds.
"What is it, Kakashi?" Pakkun, his main tracking hound, asked in a bored tone.
"I need you to lead me to Sasuke." He ordered the small pug.
Pakkun sighed. Again, Kakashi was more worried about the Uchiha than his other students. He sniffed the air "Fine. He's off this way. A few other scents are off this way, as well. One of them has a demonic scent." Pakkun warned.
Kakashi's eyes went wide at the news. "Let's go. Now." He ordered as they took off at full tilt in the direction the Genin left in.
Back on the roof, Orochimaru wasn't out of tricks yet. Running through handseals at a blinding pace, once fininshed he slammed his hands down on the rooftiles. Doing this caused a trio of coffins to rise from the roof. With a sickening smirk, he finished his jutsu.
KUCHIYOSE : EDO TENSEI!
The lids of the coffins slid open to reveal three of the village's greatest heroes. The Sho, Nii, and Yondaime Hokages stepped from the coffins, their faces deviod of emotion. Orochimaru, true to his nature, wanted to savor the looks on the faces of his enemies before acting. Both Sannin, and Sarutobi gasped in horror at who Orochimaru had dragged from their rightfully earned eternal rest.
"How dare you disturb the dead, Orochimaru? Have you no shame? No low to which you will not sink?" Sarutobi growled.
"Saru...you have grown so old." Hashirama called out to his former student.
"Heh, he always called ME old...How the tables have turned." Tobirama teased. The two brothers noticed Tsunade.
"Tsu-chan...You've certainly grown up into a beautiful woman. Mito would be so proud." Hashirama said, smiling sadly.
"I'll say! Where was Mito-chan hiding those?" Tobirama commented on Tsunade's more than generous bust only to be conked on the head by his elder brother.
"Tobi, that's my granddaughter and your Greatniece." Hashirama admonished.
"Fine. Spoiled sport." Tobirama sulked, crossing his arms.
Minato opened his eyes and peered around him, his eyes locking onto his old sensei.
"Ero-sensei!" He called out to the Toad Sage in an almost singsong voice while waving.
"Gahh! Little brat! Even in death, he STILL calls me that!" Jiraiya pouted indignantly, folding his arms across his chest.
Orochimaru was growing tired of this little reunion and was about to plant his control seals on the three living corpses when a massive shock made the building they were standing on tremble as if a great earthquake had struck.
Just beyond the barrier, Hayato Fuurinji had landed and was getting briefed on the situation by the ANBU Captain on scene. Orochimaru saw the man and nearly wet himself.
'NO! NOT HIM? HE IS A MONSTER IN HUMAN FORM!' Orochimaru mentally screamed in terror. He remembered the one time that the "Invincible Superman" dropped in on his team's training when he was a genin and offered to train them for a day while Sarutobi tended to his wife, who was giving birth to their first child. The insane man's training methods made the normally unflappable pale prodigy scream for mercy, an embarrassment that he never lived down.
Jiraiya noticed his discomfort and smirked. "Hey, Orochi-chan. I thought that snakes were supposed to hiss, not squeal like little piglets?" He snickered.
Orochimaru's temper flared as he attempted to retort when the entire roof shook again. Hayato slammed his fist down into the corner of the roof, where one of Orochimaru's Lieutenants was trying to uphold his end to the barrier. Jiroubo's concertraition was broken when he fell to his death, crushed by the debris of the falling building.
The barrier flickered and died out, allowing Hayato access inside. The massive old man noticed his nephew and smiled sadly.
"Uncle!" Minato called out, running up to his relative.
"How is Naruto? Is he well?" Minato asked of his sensei and uncle.
"Minato, now isn't the time. We have to take care of a little problem first..." Jiraiya explained. He and Tsunade told the three ex-Kage's of Orochimaru's treachery and it made them very angry. They now turned on their summoner.
"You should be obeying me! I summoned you!" The Snake Sannin snarled.
'Damn! I would have had a hard enough time fighting off the old joke and his two loyal dogs, but now that insane lunatic and three Kage's? I cannot hope to win...' Orochimaru reasoned as he signaled to his remaining guard, who beat a hasty retreat.
As the ANBU squads made to take off in pursuit, Sarutobi halted them, re-directing their efforts into repelling the remaining invaders. The figures of the three Kage's didn't have much longer now that Orochimaru wasn't there to hold the jutsu. Minato was told of his son's life and he was rightly angered by it, especially with Kakashi for all but abandoning his son. But, he was extremely proud of the way his son pulled through. However, he didn't want to cause his son more pain than he already has.
"Don't tell him about this." Minato pleaded. It would hurt Naruto more to know that he was brought back only to die again. They all agreed to do so for the boy's sake. Minato pulled Jiraiya in close.
"Sensei...Inside the forbidden scroll, there is the scroll for the Hiraishin and one of my kunai for it with the seal inscribed into it. I want you to teach it to him when the time is right. I trust you, Sensei, Uncle Hayato. Please...take care of my son." Minato asked of them as he and the other two ex-Kage's faded away.
In the forest near the borders of the village, the Sand Siblings were beating a hasty retreat until they felt Naruto catching up to them and Kankuro stopped suddenly. He stopped to stall their pursuers long enough for her to escape with Gaara. Just after she took off again, Naruto caught up with the puppet user and a fight ensued. Only a moment later, Renka, Raichi, and Hinata arrived and took over, with Hinata staying behind to fight him.
"What's a timid little thing like you gonna do to stop me?" Kankuro taunted. He remebered her from the prelims as a scared and meek little girl. However, the fierce glare on her face was neither meek of timid. She was going to introduce him to a world of hurt...and enjoy every minute of it.
Striking out before he lost his nerve, Kankuro lashed out with Karasu, his puppet with poisoned blades. He wasn't totally stupid. He saw the kinds of damage a Hyuuga could inflict if let close enough, so he would just keep her at bay until she either wore out or the poison took her down.
Unfortunately, Hinata had an idea. Since the Jyuuken required the hands to be encased in a thin shroud of chakra anyway, she could cut the chakra strings Kankuro was using to manipulate his puppet and render him defenseless. She remembered how a man from Suna, a puppeteer, was moving little puppets in a small show when she was a small child and knew that this was how Kankuro was doing it, too.
Acting quickly, she dodged and let Karasu sail over her and inone clean swipe, she severed teh string controlling Karasu and the puppet fell silent. Not wasting any words, she lept in as fast as her still recovering body would allow and disabled Kankuro, tying him up and leaving him in a safe place for retrieval later as she took off to rejoin the boy she loved.
With Temari, she felt Gaara's demon beginning to awaken, so she seperated herself from him. It was then that Naruto caught up with her, but this time, before she could fight, Renka intervened. She told Naruto and Raichi to keep going and take down Gaara before something bad happened.
Temari gauged the girl before her carefully. Temari knew that she herself was pretty goo, but was also smart enough to not underestimate an opponent. She had never seen this girl fight and to dismiss her would be a mistake, she was sure of it. Unfurling her fan, she shot out a blast of wind but she had to be careful. She expended a good portion of her reserves during her match and she would soon run out. All she could do was buy some time at this point.
Renka dodged form branch to branch with cat-like grace, easily avoiding the wind blasts as she gor closer and closer to her target. Finally within striking range, Temari tried to swing at the dark haired girl with her fan, hoping for a lucky hit, but she couldn't have missed by a bigger margin. Renka was already behind her and placed both palms to her back.
"Time to say goodnight." Renka whispered.
TANPA!
The twin palmed blow launched the pony tailed Suna kunoichi at least a dozen yards through the air until she hit the forest floor. As Renka scooped her up and placed her in a place where she could be retrieved later, she realized that she didn't have any gear or supplies on her. She decided that after a blow like that, she wasn't going anywhere for a while. Her job taken care of, she sped off in the direction Naruto and Raichi chased that demented red headed boy.
Behind them, Sasuke had found Hinata and Renka fighting their opponents, but offered no aid to them. He simply waited for them to lead him to where Naruto and Gaara was, intent on proving who is the strongest and see what he could copy from either one of them before one of them died, like a vulture circling overhead.
Shigure, being much faster and stronger than the Genin, had caught up rather quickly, but was waylaid by a squad of Oto and Suna nin that were combing the forests for easy kills. The first Oto nin spoke out, leering at her choice of clothing.
"Hey guys...why don't we forget this stupid fighting and have ourselves a little victory party right here?" He leered at Shigure, her rather eye-catching ensemble consisting of black thigh-highs and a very short kimono. However, they failed to see that she was armed, or even who she was.
"Get out...of my way." She warned them, drawing her blade.
The shinobi all laughed as they continued what they were doing, all but ensuring their visit by the Angel of Death. The first shinobi that spoke out got his hand lopped off in an eye blink as he grabbed at her.
"EEEYYAAAAGGGHHHH!" He screamed as he clutched the cleanly sliced stump of what used to be his left hand.
"You BITCH!" One of the Suna shinobi cried as they all lept in to take her down.
The fight began and ended in less than a couple of seconds. In the span of an eyeblink, three of their number were cut down by the blade that was forged especially for her by her adoptive father, the Akabanetou, or Red Feather, for how it could slice the very air. The rest came in quick succession until they all lay dead at her feet. She had no time to reflect, though.
'I have to find Naruto-kun!' She thought as she lept off to find him and the girls again.
Back with Naruto and Raichi, they had finally caught up to Gaara who's tranformation was nearly completed. He now looked like a miniature Shukaku, grotesquely deformed and grinning like a psychopath.
"Blood...I WANT BLOOD!" The Tanuki screeched as it launched a small barrage of sand projectiles at them.
Naurto saw the sand bullets first and took the first shot meant for Raichi right in the chest.
"Oh Kami...Naruto!" She screamed as she pulled him behind a tree to check the wound. To her surprize, there was only a hole where the bullet penetrated his top, but the chainmail vest Shigure gave him saved his life.
"I'm fine, Raichi-chan." He assured her as they continued to dodge the hailstorm of sand schrapnel as it shredded the trees hiding them. Gaara was getting tired of them hiding from him until he saw Renka and Hinata pelting at him. He then gave a sickening smirk as he thought of a way to draw them out.
While the two were in mid leap, he launched a pair of sand claws at them pinning them to the trees and knocking the wind from them.
"NO!" Raichi yelled as she tore off to help her two friends get free, leaving herself vulnerable in the process.
"Foolish!" Shukaku-Gaara cackled as he fired off another sand claw, this time pinning Raichi to a tree next to her fellow brides.
Naruto looked on in horror, the three girls who had captured his heart and earned his affections were just a breath away from death. Slowly, that fear turned into rage, a burning rage that threatened to consume him.
"UZUMAKI! FACE ME! SHOW ME THAT YOU ARE WORTH KILLING OR THESE WENCHES DIE BEFORE I KILL YOU!" The now demonic Gaara roared as his sand claws wrenched tighter around the girls, making them cry out in pain.
Naruto snapped. Ever since the fight with Haku, he'd hadn't been so angry. He came out to face down the insane jinchuuriki.
"Let's do this. I'll make you pay for this." Naruto snarled prepping himself to attack.
"Eh? What makes these three whores so valuable to you that you would risk yourself for them?" He taunted.
"BECAUSE I LOVE THEM, YOU SICK BASTARD! THEY SHOWED ME WHAT LOVE REALLY IS AND I'LL KILL YOU TO PROTECT THEM IF I HAVE TO!" Naruto roared back, weaving through handseals as fast as he could.
SUITON : SUIRYUUDAN!
A water dragon roared to life and slammed into the sand demon with crushing force, throwing him back some twenty feet and into a rather thick tree, where his sand caught him. Unfortunately, Gaara was only spurred on even more.
"Yes...YES! ENTERTAIN ME MORE, UZUMAKI!" He roared as began to grow in size at an alarming rate. Soon he tower above the forest canopy. Now, Gaara truly had become the demon he contained.
As the giant sand tanuki loomed above the forest, Naruto cursed. "Damn...I don't know if I have the chakra to do this, but I have to try!" He yelled as he bit his thumb for the blood he needs to summon, smearing it on his summoning hand and flipping through the handseals, ending with slamming his hand down.
'Come on, Boss. I need you!' Naruto thought frantically.
KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!
A towering explosion of smoke erupted from where Naruto once stood, now replaced by a massive toad that equalled Shukaku in size.
"Oi, brat! Where the hell am I?" Gamabunta yelled, looking for either of his clan's summoners.
"Yo, boss! Up here!" Naruto yelled from on top of his head, explaining the situation to the Chief of the Toads.
Hidden some distance away, Sasuke was boiling over with rage and jealousy at the feat Naruto had performed. He had heard of summons and it was how the Sannin got their name. He also knew about the toad summons being the summon of the Toad Sage, Jiraiya. If Naruto was able to summon toads, then the dobe must have been trained by the Toad Sennin himself! This new information was driving the raven haired avenger wannabe insane with jealousy.
The girls were amazed. They had all heard stories about the summons of Konoha, but seeing one of the in real life before them was a real treat. The kicker that topped even that was that Gamabunta was summoned by none other than Naruto.
"So, gaki...you want me to help you save your girlfriends, right?" The massive toad teased the blushing boy.
"Er...Yeah! Now let's kick that bastard squirrel's ass!" Naruto yelled.
"Okay gaki! Hold on tight...This rides going to get a little rough." Bunta called out, drawing his dagger while Naruto braced himself.
Gaara was growing impatient and decided to get the ball rolling.
FUUTON : RENKUUDAN!
Gaara concentraited some wind in his demon form's belly and let it fly by punching itself in the gut.
Bunta saw the blasts bearing down on them so he took to the air. As he did so, Gaara fired off another round of blasts.
"Damn! He's tough..." Bunta grimaced, putting his webbed forefeet into the Ram seal.
SUITON : TEPPOUDAMA!
Bunta fired off water blasts to intercept the wind, but he was one short.
"Boss! Watch out!" Naruto called out as he flipped through seals of his own.
SUITON : SUIRYUUDAN!
Now, one couldn't POSSIBLY expect this to cancel out a massive wind blast fired from Bijuu, but it did buy Bunta the time he needed to draw his blade and parry the massive bullet.
"WHAT?" Gaara yelled in shock that somebody managed to survive his assualt.
As Bunta decsended form his jump, he also sliced into the arm of the demon, but had trouble following through with his strike. His Tanto dagger was wedged into the sandy arm and the demon wasn't letting go. After a short tugging match, Bunta managed to tug free and take the arm with it.
The demon just looked at the arm and scoffed like it didn't even bother him. He just grew it right back.
"That's it...I'LL KILL YOU!" Gaara screamed.
TANUKI NEIRI NO JUTSU
"ERRAHHH! I'M FREE! TIME FOR YOU TO DIE, DIE, DIE!" The now fully released Shukaku cackled with murderous glee.
Naruto was confused by this jutsu, but Bunta knew what it meant.
"Uh oh..." Bunta muttered.
"What's up, boss?" Naruto asked.
"That kid's like you, a demon vessel. From what I can tell, if the boy sleeps, the demon has full control and full power! We need to wake him up again!" Gamabunta told him, already thinking of ways to get his summoner in close enough to do the job.
"Hey, kid...know any fire jutsu?" He asked.
"Uh, no. Why?"
"Damn...there goes the Gamayu Endan." He sighed, explaining the method of the Gamayu Endan to him.
"So all you need is fire? I got an explosive tag for that!" Naruto told him with a smirk.
"Good thinking, kid! Let's do this!" Bunta roared, puffing up with the extremely flammable Toad Oil.
KATON : GAMAYU ENDAN!
The massive stream of oil met the explosion caused by the tag, igniting the oil and creating a hellish tongue of flames that Shukaku caught full blast. Bunta and Naruto were careful to aim it away from where the girls and the village was. After the flames died down, Shukaku was encased in a shell of super heated sand that had turned to glass, rendering him immobile.
"Gaki! Here's your chance!" Bunta hollered, getting Naruto within striking distance.
Naruto ran down Bunta's nose and lept from there, landing on the slick surface of Shukaku's face before Gaara's sleeping form.
"TIME TO WAKE THE HELL UP!" The blond roared as he reared back.
MUBYOSHI!
The blow broke right through the glass shell that was protecting Gaara, hitting him with impressive force and waking him from his forced sleep.
Gamabunta, who was completely out of chakra, only had time for one thought as he went back to teh Toad domain.
'That kid has a lot of his father in him...He'll become even greater.' The old toad though with a sad smile as he left the battlefield.
"NO! YOU BASTARDS! I WANTED TO PLAY SOME MORE!" The giant Tanuki whined as it shattered like a massive pane of glass, dumping both demon vessels into the forest floor below.
Temari, who had regained consciousness, had followed the fighting Along the way, she found Kankuro and set him free. They were in awe that someone had managed to match her brother blow for blow, and a Genin at that! The two lept down near the two exhausted fighters, waiting for their chance to jump in and get Gaara to safety.
Gaara panted from where he lay, battered and unable to move while Naruto, not really in much better shape, stood over him.
"Why...Why are you...so strong?" Gaara asked.
"Because...Those girls, my friends, my masters and family...they mean everything to me. I'll give everything to protect them." Naruto told him solemnly.
Gaara looked into his opponent's eyes, seeing pain and loneliness in them, but even more so than that, understanding.
"You have...something like me?" Gaara asked, to which Naruto nodded.
"Yeah...I have the Kyuubi inside of me." Naruto confirmed.
"I see...I have much to think about. Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara thanked him in a tired voice. It was then that Temari and Kankuro jumped out and hoisted Gaara up, Naruto allowing them to. After a quick nod of thanks from the two siblings, they jumped off, bound for the Wind Country border. As Naruto watched them leave, he felt a blow hit him from behind and his world went black.
The sand around the girls had dissolved and let them go when Shukaku's power was broken. They immeadiately rushed to Naruto's side, but they were beaten there by Sasuke, who was smirking nastily while standing over Naruto, lightning crackling in his hand as he prepared to strike.
The three girls were enraged at what the last Uchiha had the nerve to do, Raichi kicking him away into a tree, knocking him unconscious while Hinata and Renka started to tend to Naruto's wounds. Unfortunately, the wrong person saw them fight off Sasuke, Kakashi. He rushed into the middle of the fight and took Sasuke's side.
"I hope you girls know that attacking a fellow Leaf shinobi during a time of war is treason." He told them dangerously.
"He attacked Naruto first! He was going to kill him!" Hinata yelled angrily.
"I saw nothing of the sort. Now, come along before I use force." He ordered them.
He didn't even make it two steps toward them as another blur intercepted him. It was a woman with long dark hair in a pony tail, a dangerously short kimono and thigh highs. Kakashi knew who she was instantly from his ANBU days.
"Kousaka Shigure..." He said, his eyes narrowed.
"Hatake...I saw what...happened here. The Uchiha...attacked Uzumaki while he...was weakened from his fight with Suna's...weapon." She toldhim in her usual fashion, a stoney look on her face. She never liked Kakashi, as she found him to be rather arrogant due to his implanted Sharingan eye. He once challanged her for leadership of the ANBU team she led, but he was soundly beaten and she did it without even breaking a sweat. He had been especially wary of her ever since.
However, he had grown cocky again from being praised as Sasuke's sensei. "I don't think I believe you. In fact, I think it was Sasuke that defeated Gaara, Naruto just getting in the way. It really doesn't matter what happened. Once I tell the council my story, yours will just be a lie." He sneered, picking up his prized Uchiha and leaping away.
Shigure didn't like where this was heading. She turned to Naruto and picked him up. "You girls...Follow me and...stay close." She ordered.
The woman was extremely fordmidable and following her orders seemed to be the logical thing to do, so the followed without question.
A/N: Hey there, y'all! Another thrilling installment of HSD Naruto is up in the place and in yo face! Chuunin Exams, y'all! Neji got his ass kicked and Sasuke got schooled! Gaara just got his giant, Tanuki/Squirrel ass handed to him by the Naru/Gama dynamic duo! Our blondie is an ass kicking machine that would make the Almighty Chuck Norris proud! Orochimaru turned tail and ran like John Wayne Bobbit AFTER his dick got shanked! Chuck Norris, Mr. T, AND the Dude form the Big Lebowski have whipped out their note pads and are scribbling down notes furiously!
This one took me a while to pump out, since I've been busy as of late. The fighter squadron I'm stationed at just got de-commissioned and we all got absorbed into another command, so we've been really busy. Sorry 'bout that! I'll try to make my next updates a little quicker, but I'm also getting out of the Navy soon, in a few months and that'll end a 10 year career, so I'll be looking for a job.