The Second Half
Next up were Shikamaru and Kin from the Hidden Sound. Shikamaru started out by staying calm and got into his opponent's head, making her rushed into his trap which was his Shadow Possession Jutsu. The boy smirked and the girl cursed at herself for being so careless. While Shikamaru proceeded to use his Strangulation Jutsu, the girl was very terrified for her life. The boy noticed she kept looking at the Sound Jounin, begging for her life. Shikamaru stopped and ended up constricted her instead, making her no longer able to fight.
While Shikamaru was walking back to the platform, he had his eyes on the Hidden Sound team as he felt weird that they didn't said anything but only had expression of disappointment. "Hey, congratulations, Shikamaru!" Said Naruto and watched his friend walked past him, and his team. "Hey, what's the big deal? That's your teammate down there." Said Shikamaru, stood in front Team Dosu. Dosu scoffed, "What does it matter to you? You won, you should be happy instead of minding other people's business." He said and walked away. Harawa smiled at the boy and followed Dosu while Zaku followed behind them. Mugen watched the whole thing and found it odd as well but assumed that they were just strict. It doesn't mean he will stop watching them.
Asuma patted Shikamaru's shoulder with his usual relaxed smile. "Come on, don't worry about them." He said. Shikamaru gave one last look at them before he sighed and nodded to his sensei. When Naruto's name was announced for the next fight, he was jumped for joy. He finally got the chance to show everyone how strong he has become. Mugen stopped leaning back against the wall when he heard the boy's name and had a smile on his face. The Hokage looked at him at the corner of his eye and chuckled. Naruto's opponent was the young Inuzuka, Kiba. And his dog, Akamaru. "Hey, you can't bring your dog into this!" Naruto yelled at him and pointed at the little white dog. "Hmph, Akamaru and I work as a team and it's not a violation against the rules. Am I right, proctor?" Said Kiba, earned a nod from Genma.
"I guess it doesn't matter since I can still kick your ass." Said Naruto and got into his stance. Kiba smirked and got into his stance as well. "Ready, Akamaru?" He asked and the dog let out a bark. Genma signaled the fight had begun and the dog turned into his master while still being on his back. "Let's do this, Akamaru! Fang Over Fang!" Kiba said and they both charged at the blonde with their fast spinning attack. Naruto was caught with surprised and got a few hits in. Mugen watched and tightened his grip as he watched the boy. "Give up, Naruto. You're weak as hell, how are you going to be a Hokage? A loser become a Hokage? Ha! Don't make me laugh!" Kiba said and kept attacking him. Naruto was pushed and sent flying all over the place but he kept getting himself up.
"I won't give up…it's always has been and still be my ninja way! I'm going to be Hokage no matter what you say!" Naruto said and did a hand sign to mold his chakra. Mugen smiled and chuckled, he felt proud towards him. Kiba clicked his tongue and both him and Akamaru charged towards him, doing the same attack. At the last second Akamaru jumped off of Kiba and snuck up behind Naruto while Kiba engage him form the front. Naruto was surprised and ended up letting out some gas. The arena was quiet both from being surprised and some were, "Are you serious?"expression on their faces. Mugen almost bursted out laughing but he managed to held it in while Hiruzen tilted his head down, covering his face out of embarrassment.
Both Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground, covering their noses and wriggling around. "Dude, what the heck did you eat?!" Kiba yelled and coughed. Akamaru changed back into a dog and fainted, while Naruto summoned a few clones of himself. "Attack!" They all surrounded Kiba, punched and kicked him into the air. "Na-Ru-To! Uzumaki Barrage!" The real Naruto jumped up and kicked Kiba back down to the stoned floor. Kiba was knocked out and Naruto was announced as the winner of that round. Shikamaru and Chouji cheered for him after almost laughing at him for what he did to Kiba. Hinata was blushing and didn't say anything. Despite of her joy that he crush one, she was worried about her injured teammate. "Don't worry, Hinata. Kiba will be fine, go congratulate Naruto." Said Kurenai. Hinata looked at her and gave a quick nod before she ran towards him. The woman giggled at her student's flustered attitude.
When Naruto was on the platform and got congratulated from his sensei and everyone else, he looked at Mugen, who smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Naruto smiled widely and gave him a thumbs up as well. "Rest easy, Minato-Sensei…Kushina-San. Your boy is doing more than well. He's going to become the Hokage!"
Hinata was happy after giving the ointment to Naruto until she heard her and her opponent's names. She froze and looked at the other Hyuuga from Guy's team. Neji just stood there with his arms crossed and looked at the girl, with hatred in his white eyes. Naruto noticed Hinata's nervousness and patted her shoulder, got her attention. "Don't be afraid of him, Hinata. Just give it your all!" He said and smiled at her. That encouraged her and she gave him a nod before she jumped off the platform, facing Neji.
Both Hyuuga's get into their stance and activated their Byakuugan. Genma signaled the match has begun and Neji charged towards Hinata, not giving her time to think of a strategy. So far, Hinata managed to block his attacks but Neji picked up his pace and hit her faster and faster until she was pushed back and fell to the floor. "Get up, Hinata! You can do it!" Naruto cheered loudly and Hinata slowly got onto her feet, get back into her stance. "Hmph, just give up. It's pointless to continue this fight." Said Neji and rushed towards the injured girl, performing the Sixty-Four Palms technique on her. Hinata failed to guard his attacks and was pushed back once more.
"No…I won't back down…I won't give up and I will give it my all!" Hinata said and this time she charged towards Neji. Just as she was about to hit him with her palm, he evade it easily and counterattacked. Hinata was down and unconscious. Genma announced Neji was the winner and Hinata was carried away to the infirmary. "Hmph, pathetic." Neji simply said and turned away from the fallen Hyuuga. Naruto was in rage and he gripped on the iron railing tightly before he jumped down. "What the hell is the matter with you?! She's from the same family as you, isn't she?! What gives you the right to act so high and mighty?!" Naruto said and panted after letting out his frustrations.
"You who do not know anything about our clan should just shut up. It's not your business. It was her destiny that she was weak and lost to me." He said and Naruto grabbed him by his shirt, glaring at him while gritting his teeth. Neji just watched him until they were broke apart by Genma. "That's enough, both of you. Go back to the platform, you're stopping the exam." He said and Neji slapped the blonde's hand off of him. Naruto just watched him and turned to look at Hinata who was already rushed out of the arena. "It's not right…"
On the next round, Rock Lee jumped from the platform as he was excited that it was finally his turn to fight. He didn't show any fear when Gaara stepped down into the arena. Guy cheered at his student, loudly and youthfully. The fight began and Lee stood on the hand sign statue, holding something in his hands. "I will not hold back and give you everything I have!" He said and dropped the objects. It made a loud crushing sound and caused a cloud of dust, it was weights. "Ankle weights?! That heavy?! As expected from Guy, he never holds back in both training and battle…" Mugen thought and shivered when he remembered the days he and Guy trained together. Along with his ridiculous challenges.
Gaara just stood still with his arms crossed but surprised how quickly Lee reached him. Lee kept kicking at Gaara but failed to hit him and instead he hits sand. "Just a little more speed!" Lee said to himself and increased his speed. Gaara was keep being surprised as his eyes couldn't keep up with the green beast and got pushed slightly when his sand protected him at the very last second. Then, something inside him took over and he controlled his sand, finally taking the offensive as he stopped Lee's movements by holding his leg. Lee tried to get his leg out from the sand until he felt very sharp pain and yelled loudly.
Everyone leaned forward to the railing and as Gaara was about to squeeze his leg even tighter, Mugen jumped towards them and pulled out his katana. "Water Style: Tail of the Water Dragon!" He said and swung the sword that was covered in water. As he swung the sword, the water from his sword increased in size, followed Mugen's swing and cuts the sand in between Lee and Gaara. The boy from the Sand was stopped by Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma and Guy from doing any further damage. "What are you doing? He's already down and can no longer fight." Said Kakashi Mugen overdid himself and done some damage to the wall along with the ceiling. He sheathed his katana and quickly check on Lee who was still groaning in pain. "Sensei…I think my leg is broken..!" Said Lee in between hissing and groaning. "Save your energy, Lee. We're getting you to the hospital. Hey, where's the stretcher?!" Mugen asked and he pulled out his small blade which was covered in green chakra. He pushed the blade into Lee's leg but not deeply so that he doesn't damage his bones.
"I only ease the pain, that's all. The doctors will take it from here." Said Mugen and earned a nod from the boy. "Guy, go ahead and accompany Lee. I'll watch over your team while you're gone." Said Kakashi, patted his frustrated friend's shoulder. Guy nodded and thanked everyone before following the medics. Genma had already told Gaara to go back on the platform and Baki jumped down, apologize for such tragedy and that he will have a word with Gaara. "That's good but it's not us you should be apologizing, Baki-San." Said Mugen. The man nodded and said he will apologize to Guy and Lee personally.
"Your Jounins are very dependable, Lord Hokage. My apologies for what had just happened." The Kazekage whispered and lowered his head slightly. "It's okay, Lord Kazekage. I'm sure it was just an accident and besides it's a fight so things like this are to be expected." Said Hiruzen, being fair and friendly towards the Kage. "You're too kind. I will repay you when the time comes." Said the Kazekage, bowing his head.
After everyone had calmed down from the accident, the final fight was about to begin. Asuma and Shikamaru wished good luck to Chouji as it was finally his turn. "Good luck, Chouji!" Naruto cheered from the platform and got a thumbs up from the boy. Dosu just watched Chouji and chuckled. "Some friends you got there, fatso. Are you sure you can handle lil ol' me?" He mocked and got Chouji's attention. Shikamaru tried to calm him down and make him not think about what the opponent said to him. "Calm down, Chouji! He's just trying to get into your head!" Shikamaru said and Naruto told the same thing. Dosu scoffed, "That kid acting all badass but actually he's just a weakling." He mocked again and crossed the line. "Hey, calm down with the insults. Are you ready- Hey, Chouji! Begin!" Chouji rushed towards the Sound Genin, using his Meat Tank Jutsu.
Dosu easily evade Chouji's attack and he managed to evade more because Chouji was enraged when he made fun of Shikamaru. Dosu used his Sound technique on Chouji, slammed him into the wall without as much as an effort. Chouji stopped moving and his Jutsu was canceled. Genma went ahead to check on the boy and announced that he cannot continue, making Dosu the winner. The medic unit picked up Chouji and took him to the infirmary. "Poor, Chouji…Don't worry, buddy. We'll kick his ass for ya!" Said Naruto and punched his fist into his palm. Shikamaru watched his friend left the arena and clenched his fist.
Those who won were lined up in the arena as the Hokage wanted to congratulate them, both the winner and the loser. "Now, all of you return to your homes and rest. Rest and train for the next days but do not overwork yourself! I expect top condition from all of you! I'm looking forward to your matches in the finals! Dismissed." Said Hiruzen and the Genin bowed to him before leaving the arena. Some headed home while some headed to either the infirmary or the hospital to check on their injured teammates.
Mugen sighed and rubbed the back of his neck while he was walking out of the Forest of Death. Then, he received a shocking and painful feeling on his back. "Hey, how was the preliminaries?" Anko asked, after spanked his back. Mugen mumbled something while rubbing his back and Anko chuckled at him, apologized to him for the sudden and tough greeting. Mugen sighed, "It was good for the most part but damn, this year's Genin…they pretty tough." He said while he and Anko walked towards the bar. "Awww, did poor Mugen got his ass kicked by a Genin?" Anko teased him and made both him and herself laughed. "Shut up, you idiot." Mugne said and pushed her gently.
"I do agree that this year is different…judging from the enemy's attacks…I think we should be prepared for the finals." Said Anko, put on her serious face. Mugen nodded and looked at the full moon, "Yup…"