Disclaimer: when I say I don't own Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho, I actually mean that I am currently in the process of trying to find a way to buy them out. I will eventually own these two money makers, it's only a matter of finding the proper blackmail.
Ah, blackmail, the shit that makes the political world go round.
Chapter 8: Bringing Your A Game
A light breeze blew through the arena, kicking up a small cloud of dust that passed between the two opponents who were standing on opposite ends of each other. Naruto had a light smile as his face, his posture was somewhat slouched, and he looked for all the world like he wasn't about to face the kid who was last years Rookie of the Year. Neji on the other hand was sneering.
The long-haired Hyuuga genin opened his mouth to speak. He had found out a long time ago that if you insulted people while remaining as cool and collected as possible, it made your opponents angry and unable to think clearly. And because all Hyuuga were taught to read other people, and keep an impassive face at all times his mocking was made even more effective.
However, before he could even get a word out of his mouth, the Hyuuga prodigy found a foot being smashed into his face, hard. It felt as if the entire right side of his face had caved in, and his jaw had cracked. There was a moment where his head was snapped to the side, right before he was sent flying backwards. So surprising and painful was this hit that he couldn't even flip himself around to land on his feet, and ended up eating dirt. Neji skidded back across the ground for several feet, leaving a decent sized trench in his wake before skidding to a stop. For several seconds he just laid there, wondering what the hell had hit him.
What he hadn't seen and the entire audience had, or to be more accurate, seen but couldn't keep track of was Naruto. The blond had noticed Neji had been about to open his mouth, and already knew the overrated Hyuuga boy had a propensity for flapping those gums of his. So he had decided to act before Neji could say anything, making liberal use of Shundo to appear in front of the long-haired genin and plant a boot in his face.
The speed technique wasn't as effective as it usually was, Naruto figured it was about four times slower then his normal shundo. Not that he hadn't expected something like that. Naruto was not using his youki, as that was poisonous to any human that was not a Jinchurikki - and he didn't want to kill the prick, just make him suffer - and even they would have trouble with his youki. Instead he was using his human chakra, which while much stronger then any genin and on par with a Kage, was no where near as vast as his youki.
'I can't use to many of those,' he decided as he checked his chakra stores. That one move had used 1/4th of his reserves. That was the soul reason only high A or S class demons could use Shundo, because it required vast reserves of power that most demons simply didn't have. 'I'll rely on my normal techniques from now on. Still, I'm rather pleased how this match has started out.'
Not wanting to lose his advantage Naruto blurred as he ran towards the just now getting up Neji. The older genin saw him coming and if the slow widening of his eyes and the dilation of his pupils were any indication, he was rather surprised by the blond's speed.
Neji was only just able to block the blond's first attack, a palm thrust to the chest. He used the fluid style of the Hyuuga clan, the Jyuuken to redirect the attack. At the same time he poured chakra into Naruto's arm, knowing that even if it wouldn't be as effective since he had yet to get the chance to turn on his Byakugan, it would still hurt the blond attacking him.
However, once more to Neji's shock, it seemed as if Naruto was completely unaffected by the invading chakra. The blond merely twisted his body and launched a reverse heel kick, one which Neji dodged effectively by moving to the side. As the blond continued to attack, Neji continued to block. Even without his eyes he could see the boys movements, even if just barely.
Little did the Hyuuga prodigy know that all of Naruto's attacks were merely a distraction. The blond Uzumaki's true plan came to the front when several hands sprung from the ground and grabbed onto to Neji's feet and legs. Said boy looked down in shock. "What -" he didn't have a chance to say any more then that as Naruto grabbed the boy by the head and launched a devastating attack with his knee into the boys face. The clones disappeared and once again the Hyuuga prodigy was sent flying.
Birth of the New Demon King
Up in the stands everyone was staring in utter shock as Uzumaki Naruto, the dead last of his class and who many people thought of as either the loser, or the demon, depending on their prejudiced against him, beat the kid being hailed as the greatest prodigy to a bloody pulp.
"Holy shit!" Kotetsu said, his voice denoting just how shocked he was, if the currently gaping jaw he had didn't. "Uzumaki is pounding the Hyuuga into the ground!"
"Really? I hadn't noticed?" replied Izumo in a dry tone. Though from the way his wide eyes never left the battle, it was clear he was just as surprised as his partner. "I think we may have to reavaluate our opinion of the kid, he's nothing like I expected. Kami, he's brutal."
"Oh man, this is gonna ruin me," Kotetsu whined. "I out nearly one-thousand ryu on the Hyuuga to win."
"That should just teach you not to gamble," said Izumo in a chiding tone.
Kotetsu just slumped in his seat. "Whatever."
Birth of the New Demon King
Every single Hyuuga in attendance winced as they watched their prized shinobi receive an earth shattering punch to the stomach that sent him flying backwards, where he crashed into the wall and left a large crater.
"Neji-Oni-San is getting really beaten," said a small little Hyuuga girl. Hanabi was the little sister of Hinata. She had dark brown hair with long bangs, and white eyes, a common trait shared by all Byakugan users. She was wearing an armless blue v-neck shirt with a mesh blouse underneath and blue shorts. "I was told no one could beat a Hyuuga in taijutsu. Isn't our Jyuuken suppose to be the best? Father?"
She looked up at her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, who was the current clan head of the Hyuuga clan. He had long dark brown hair and featureless white eyes like all members of his clan. He was wearing very traditional, loose fitting robes with a cloak. The man didn't even look at his youngest child as he stared in shock at seeing the son of his brother and the best Hyuuga in generations get decimated.
Birth of the New Demon King
"Can't do much when you can't even activate those white eyes of yours, can you?" taunted Naruto as he launched a barrage of fists Neji, who grimaced as he did his best to block them. Several managed to get through, and each one made Neji feel like he was being hit with a steel bar. Even those that barely touched him hurt worse then anything. Not even Lee could hit as hard as the blond before him could!
Neji was once again launched away when Naruto managed to sneak a foot in between his ribs. The long-haired Hyuuga winced as he skidded back, falling to his knees the moment he stopped. Neji managed to lift a hand to wipe off the blood that had accumulated near his mouth, spitting the amount that was in his mouth out as he glared fiercely at the boy in front of him. "Everyone knows the Byakugan is the most powerful Dojutsu in the world! Your just afraid to face off against me at my full power!"
Naruto chuckled. "Is that your way of trying to trick me into letting me use your eyes." He grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Still... I don't want anyone saying I didn't fight you at your best. Very well, I'll let you use those eyes of yours, and I'll even going one step above. Here, catch."
Neji blinked as his hand instinctively caught the tiny object that Naruto had thrown at him. "What is this?" he asked, looking at the small green bean in his hand.
"It's called a Senzu Bean," Naruto said. "They have amazing regenerative abilities, by using your chakra to promote healing. Eating a Senzu Bean can heal even people who are on the verge of death. They are very rare, in fact, I only know one place that grows them." 'And it's not in the human world,' the blond said to himself. Senzu Beans were actually grown in Makai, and were a secret of the Kitsune Clan. Kyuubi had told him that she had created the Senzu Bean by splicing several different plants and herbs she had found in both Makai and the Human world. And only she knew how to make them.
"How do I know it's not poisoned?" asked Neji with a sneer.
"Hahaha! Are you serious?" asked Naruto, laughing the boy's comment off. "I don't need to poison you to beat you, I've been kicking your ass for the past few minutes just fine without help. Of course, you can just toss it if you want. Though if your going to do that I would rather you give it back. Those things are pretty rare after all."
Neji grimaced as he realized that Naruto was right. Much as he didn't want to admit it, the blond was beating him handily. He placed the bean in his mouth a swallowed. The effects were almost instantaneous. All of his wounds regenerated in an instant, his broken bones healed, his cuts left his body, all in all it felt as if he had not just had his ass kicked.
However, rather then be grateful, Neji gave Naruto an unpleasant grin. "Your going to regret healing me. Now that I'm at full strength you stand no chance. It seems fate is on my side."
"Heh, you think so? Alright Hyuuga Neji, let's see if you can beat me." Naruto reached up to his face and pulled off his sunglasses, crushing them in his hand before he let them drop. The grin he was wearing threatened to split his face in half. "Let's test your Dojutsu against mine."
Birth of the New Demon King
All around the stadium people were talking about the eyes of Uzumaki Naruto. Not many people knew of the Rinnegan, the most powerful Dojutsu (Great Three Eye Techniques) in the world and the one that was said to hold mastery over all the worlds jutsu. Some wondered if this was some kind of trick of the demon. After all, there was no way the Kyuubi brat could have a Dojutsu. Was there?
For those who were in the know however, and knew the legend of those eyes, stunned would be to small a word to describe what they were feeling. Many couldn't help but wonder, how did Uzumaki Naruto, the dead last, the loser, the demon of Konoha, gain the most powerful of all three Daisan Dojutsu?
None were more stunned then Jiraiya, who had hidden himself in the very back row of the stadium to see his godson. "I can't believe it," he muttered with a voice that would have let anyone near him know that he was in a state of shock. "Twice in a lifetime, it shouldn't be possible. How could he have the Rinnegan?"
Birth of the New Demon King
Likewise, up in the kage booth, Sarutobi was in a similar state. "The Rinnegan," he breathed, feeling like he had just gone through three heart attacks. "When did he get that? How did he get it?"
the disguised Orochimaru was also having a hard time coming to grips with what he was seeing. 'How is this possible! He has the Rinnegan! The same eyes as the Rikudou Sennin, who was said to have given us Jutsu! The same eyes as 'him'.' He cursed his stupidity in writing the boy off now, the Sharingan was a pittance compared to the power of the Rinnegan, the ability to master all five chakra elements. With that power there was no telling what he could accomplish. 'I can still get him if I play my cards right. It may not be now, but those eyes will be mine after the Chunin Exams.'
Birth of the New Demon King
"Asuma, are those what I think they are?" asked Kurenai, her voice in a state of shock.
"I don't know, what do you think they are?" asked Asuma. There was no sarcasm in the man's words, he too couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"The Rinnegan..."
"Yep, looks like it."
"I don't get it," said Sakura. "Who cares if Naruto-Baka has that Rinne-thingy. It's nothing compared to Sasuke-kun's sharingan."
"And yet again the little slag opens that big flap of her before she knows what she's talking about," said Anko. "Listen up, pinky. The Rinnegan is the most powerful of the Three Great Dojutsu, more powerful then both the Sharingan and Byakugan combined. It is said that the wielder of the Rinnegan can completely master all five forms of Nature Transformation that form the basis of ninjutsu. It was said that in times when the world is in disorder, a person is sent down from the heavens to become either a "God of Creation" who will calm the world, or a "Destroyer" who reduce everything to nothing. Very little else is known about those eyes, but the legend goes that the man who gave us chakra, the man who due to his power and desire for peace was known as the Kono Yo no Kyūseishu (The Savior of the World)."
Sakura gawked for a moment, before huffing and turning away. "Sasuke-kun's still better."
Anko, Asume and Kurenai all rolled their eyes at the girl, no longer caring if they got to her or now. As far as they were concerned, Sakura was a lost cause.
Birth of the New Demon King
"What are those eyes?" asked Neji as he stared into the dark blue eyes with the silver ripple pattern.
"They're called the Rinnegan, a Dojutsu that was said to have belonged to the Rikudou-Sennin, the man who brought us ninjutsu," Naruto said, smirking at the look of shock upon his opponents features. "Now, I didn't heal you just so you could gawk at me. Come," Naruto lifted his hand and made a get over here gesture.
Neji hesitated for a moment before charging towards Naruto who stood completely still. When Neji was less then a foot away Naruto pointed his palm towards the boy and muttered, "Shinra Tensei." The Hyuuga genius only had enough time to see the flare of chakra before he was sent flying backwards. He slammed into wall, feeling as if he had just been hit by an Akimichi trying to run him over. He barely had time to even register just how much pain he was in before he heard the blond mutter, "Banshō Ten'in (Heavenly Attraction of all Creation)," and Neji was once again flying. This time he came soaring towards Naruto as if someone had hooked his chest with a fishing line and was reeling him in.
Naruto cocked his fist back, and the moment Neji came within range, smashed it right into the older genin's gut. Neji hacked up blood as his stomach caved in on itself. He flew off the fist, smashing into the ground and skidding along before coming to a stop. He would have tried to get up, but it felt like all of his internals had been liquidized. He couldn't anything save the pain he received from the punch. As his vision began fading out, Naruto came into view.
"Huh," the blond said, that smirk still on his face. "Looks like having your dojutsu turned on didn't change a single thing, did it?"
Those were the last words Neji heard before darkness claimed him.
Naruto yawned as the fight finished. He couldn't help but find fighting humans to be boring, even those Saint Beast guys gave him a better fight, and they were pathetic. Well, except for Suzaku, he was pretty decent though half of that was on account of Naruto being arrogant. "Oh well, can't pick all your fights," he looked over at the proctor who was currently gaping at him, face pale like he had seen a ghost. "Yo! Proctor-san, how about calling the match!"
Genma blinked several times as the words registered. "Um, uh, right... Shousa! Uzumaki Naruto!"
The silence was so vast it was like you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was so shocked by what had transpired that no one even knew what to think.
Naruto shrugged as no one clapped, he didn't rightly care what these people thought. Hundreds of years from now, he would barely even remember these faces. He was beginning to walk off the arena floor when it started, clapping coming from the kage booth. Soon enough the Fire Daimyo, who had come to view the villages talent, began clapping as well. Applause began coming in from other area's, Naruto could make out Asuma, Kurenai and Anko clapping enthusiastically, with Anko even yelling 'way to go gaki!' at the top of her lungs. He thought it was odd that she was so psyched about him winning, but shrugged it off as irrelevant.
Smiling Naruto held a hand in the air. The crowd began to roar it's approval, truthfully, there applause didn't mean much to him. Only the approval of the few people he cared about in this village really counted. Still, he couldn't deny the feeling was nice. He looked up at the Kage booth and looked at the Sandaime, who was clapping and smiling proudly at him. He nodded once before turning around and making his way up to the fighters booth.
As soon as Naruto walked into the fighters booth, any and all conversation that had been taken place stopped. Everyone turned to stare at him, expressions ranging from shocked to fearful. He couldn't hold in a chuckle when he noticed that no one could meet his gaze, even Gaara was unable to keep his stare. He walked over to where Shino was standing and greeted the other genin with a nod. Shino returned the nod with one of his own before going back to staring at nothing.
Birth of the New Demon King
"Neji lost..." Tenten couldn't help but rub her eyes several times, thinking it would fix her vision, because there was no way this could have happened. Neji lost. Neji never lost. Ever since they had been genin, Neji had never lost a match, never lost his cool. Neji, never, lost. "I can't believe Neji lost..." What's more, he did not only loose, but he lost to the dead last.
An extremely powerful dead last who just beat Neji in an almost straight up taijutsu match. A dead last who, if the mutterings around her were to be believed held the most powerful Dojutsu in the entire world. A dead last who in the span of one week went from a skinny loser with a loud mouth, to a hunk with muscles on his muscles and a typical bad boy attitude to boot.
'Just who are, Uzumaki Naruto?'
Birth of the New Demon King
"Oh man, Raikage-Sama is not going to like hearing about this."
"Hearing about what? That one of the Hyuuga he's so set on getting just got his ass kicked? Or that Konoha now has a person wielding the single most powerful Dojutsu to have ever existed."
"Both."
"Well there's not much we can do. We'll just inform Raikage-Sama of this latest development and let him figure out what to do."
"...right."
Birth of the New Demon King
"Hah!" Anko crowd as she danced around in her seat. It was rather disturbing, or highly erotic, depending on which gender you asked, to see the woman squirming and dancing in her seat. "Did you see that Nai-chan! Did you? Did you? I knew that gaki was going places after I saw him during the prelims!"
"Yes, yes, I saw what happened, same as you." Kurenai rolled her eyes at her friends joy. "I'm not sure what your getting so worked up over, you look like someone just gave you Orochimaru's head on a silver platter." The red eyed beauty was the only person besides the Hokage who could even mention the Hebi-Sannin around Anko without getting her head bitten off.
"Yeah... I just feel this connection with the kid," Anko said, calming down. "We're the same, him and I, you know?"
"I do." If anyone could understand how Anko felt it would be Naruto, who was even more hated then Konoha's Snake Mistress. "Hmmm... you know, I was thinking, seeing as he did such a good job, maybe I should give him a... reward."
"Anko!" Kurenai looked scandalized as Anko licked her lips. She knew her friend was just joking, or at least partially joking. It would surprise most people who didn't know, but Anko was a virgin. Another surprise would be that Kurenai, who most considered to be colder then ice towards men and a hater of perverts, wasn't.
"What?" said Anko, grinning as she noticed the blushes on the faces of damn near every girl within hearing distance. The little Hyuuga girl had already passed out from a nose bleed. "You can't tell me you weren't thinking of fucking him as well. I mean, look at the gaki! He's got muscles on his muscles, and you know what the ANBU have said about his stamina..."
Kurenai blushed a deep shade of red. Naruto's stamina was rather legendary, able to keep the ANBU chasing him after a prank for hours on end. No one knew the true limits of the blond's stamina. If that same endurance could be applied into the bedroom...
"Damn it, Anko!" Kurenai shouted, shaking her head. "Why do you do this to me? You said something very similar about the Yondaime when he was still around too! And besides, Naruto's what? Twelve? Thirteen? He's way too young for us to even be thinking about... about..." The red eyed woman trailed off and blushed at what she had been about to say.
"Aw, don't be such a prude Nai-chan!" Anko chirped with a laugh. "He's a shinobi, isn't he? That means he is more or less and adult. Old enough to kill, old enough to drink, old enough to fuck. Besides, look at that body, does that look like a thirteen year old body to you?"
Asuma listened to the two women talking and sighed. "Maybe Shikmaru was onto something when he said woman are troublesome..." Unfortunately for him his words must have been too loud, as both Anko and Kurenai stopped talking and turned to him with full on glares and killing intent. 'Damn, I should learn to keep my mouth shut.'
Birth of the New Demon King
"Will Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku No Gaara get down here for the next match!" called Genma after the nurses had managed to get Hyuuga Neji on a stretcher and left. Genma actually felt pretty bad for the kid. While getting pulverized like that would be tough for any one to cope with, getting the crap beaten out of you with thousands of people watching was just humiliating.
A few feet away Sabaku No Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand, arms crossed in his standard pose. His face held a look of impatience about it, though even that was barely visible to others due to how impassive his face was.
The crowd began to grow restless when Sasuke had yet to show up, many were wondering where the last loyal Uchiha was. Boos began to sound from the people who had come here just to watch the Uchiha fight.
"Uchiha Sasuke, come down to the arena floor or you will be disqualified this instant!" Genma said again after five more minutes of waiting.
Birth of the New Demon King
"Sir, Uchiha Sasuke still hasn't shown up," Raido whispered into his Hokage's ear. "The crowd is starting to get restless."
Sarutobi sighed in both disappointment and worry. Raido was right. The Hokage could hear boos being shouted out. People wanted action, especially after seeing such an incredible battle from the previous match.
"It seems we have no choice," Sarutobi said. "Uchiha Sasuke is hereby disqualified from the Chunin Exams for being late."
The Kazekage turned to look at him, "Hokage-Dono, I think you should reconsider. Many of the people here came to see the Uchiha heir; not showcasing him could cost you a lot of business."
The aging Hokage looked at the Kazekage, or to be more accurate his disguised student. He pondered the benefits of bumping up Sasuke's battle for later in the day. However, he remembered the message that Naruto had given him.
'When Uchiha Sasuke is late, and considering who his sensei is we both know he will be, disqualify him. That will disrupt Orochimaru's plans long enough for you to somehow get a message to your forces to let them know what is going on and prepare.'
Yes, the Sandaime decided that Naruto's idea held more merit then Orochimaru's. "I had not realized you cared about how much business Konoha received, Kazekage-Sama," Sarutobi said in a slightly chilling tone. It was the kind that you let know you had stepped over a line, and going any further would be unwise. "If Uchiha Sasuke can not show up on time for something as fundamental as an exam for his own promotion, then I can't expect him to show when something even more important comes up. Thus, Uchiha Sasuke is not qualified to be a chunin anyways. Uchiha Sasuke is to be disqualified." He looked over at his jonin guard, "relay that to Genma."
"Hai!" said the jonin before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
'Damn that old man!' Orochimaru seethed at the Hokage's words. 'Of all the times for him to grow a backbone it has to be now!' He calmed down after a few seconds, he could still make this work. 'I will have to change my plans, but that's alright, this could be an opportunity for me. That Hyuuga boy was not able to give Naruto-kun a proper test of his abilities, and I doubt the other genin here will be able to from what I have seen. However Gaara can.'
Yes, the plan was perfect. He would use Naruto and Gaara's battle as the new stage on which his invasion would begin. He might even get lucky and Naruto would be weak enough from fighting Gaara for capture.
"I understand, Hokage-Dono," he said to Sarutobi. "Forgive my impertinence, I was just so excited to see how my Gaara stacked up against a shinobi of Sasuke's caliber that I forgot myself."
Sarutobi nodded, "it happens to the best of us I'm afraid. Now, let's get the matches started."
Birth of the New Demon King
"Due to not showing up on time, Uchiha Sasuke has been officially disqualified!" Boos were met with Genma's announcement and from the look on Gaara's face he also seemed displeased that he would not get to spill someone's blood. "The next match will be between Sabaku No Kankuro and Aburame Shino! Will both contestants please come down to the arena floor!"
Birth of the New Demon King
'Shit! This isn't good,' thought Kankuro. 'I don't want to show off any of my new abilities with Crow before the invasion starts!'
"Proctor-san!" Kankuro called out. "I forfeit!"
More boos were met with that announcement, with many of the people beginning to get angry. They had come here to watch people fight, yet only one had happened so far and the one everyone had been waiting for had been canceled. Needless to say, Kankuro's forfeiting had not gone over well with the people watching.
However, Genma merely called out the next two people who would be fighting, those being Tmeari and Shikamaru. Temari Opened up her fan and flew down to the arena, making a big show of her abilities. Shikamaru on the other hand...
"What are you still doing up here, Shika?" asked Naruto as he looked at the lazy genin with his Rinnegan eyes.
"This is all to troublesome," Shikamaru said, yawning. "I think I'm just going to forfeit..."
"If you even think of forfeiting I am going to kick your ass to the moon and back, Shikamaru. Actually no," Naruto smirked as a thought came to him. "If you don't compete, I'm going to tell Yoshino-san that you quit the Chunin Exams before your first match."
Shikamaru paled. "You wouldn't!" He knew what would happen to him if his mom heard he quit before he even fought. She would use her special Frying Pan No Jutsu (copyright patented '_') and beat his ass so hard it would make anything the blond in front of him could do pale in comparison. Every Nara feared that jutsu, which had been specifically created to get a lazy male Nara off their ass and work.
Naruto gave the lazy boy a very disturbed grin, the fact that his eyes were being overshadowed by his hair and all he could see were those creepy swirl eyes only made it worse. "You are obviously forgetting who your dealing with. Remember, I'm the guy who died the entire Hyuuga Clan's clothing bright orange and hung their underwear in the streets of Konoha. The guy who snuck into ANBU HQ and put itching powder in their clothes. The guy who -"
"Alright, alright, I get it! Geesh! I'll go fight the troublesome woman, ya damn troublesome blond," Shikamaru grumbled.
"Good. Oh! And Shika!" Shikamaru turned back from where he had been walking to see that creepy smile on the blonds face. "Make sure you work hard or I'll still tell Yoshino you were slacking off." Shikamaru gulped but nodded as he scurried from the room. Naruto watched the lazy genin go and leaned against the railing to look out at the arena with a content smile on his face. "This should be interesting."
Birth of the New Demon King
Temari waited with a scowl on her face as she watched Shikamaru move towards the ring at a snails pace. Seriously, it had taken this kid like, fifteen minutes just to walk onto the arena floor. "Get your ass over here before I beat the crap out of you with my fan, lazy bones!" she shouted in a threatening tone.
"Whatever, troublesome blond," Shikamaru muttered as he stopped two meters away from Temari. It was hard to tell since his typical slouched posture and lazy expression hadn't left him, but the few who knew Shikamaru could tell he would rather be anywhere then where he was.
"Are both fighters ready?" asked Genma. His answer was for Temari to fully unsheathe her fan and for Shikamaru to just let out a lazy lawn. He sweat dropped. "Right, well, hajime!"
"Kamaitachi No Jutsu (Sickle Weasel Technique)!" Temari launched her jutsu the very moment Genma started the match. She swiped her fan at the Nara genin and launched a powerful gale of cutting winds. The wind tore up the land as it headed for Shikamaru, smashing into him and sending him flying backwards.
Only for him to disappear in a puff of smoke and a log to take his place.
"Where are you!" shouted Temary as she looked around the clearing with narrowed eyes. "Come out or I'll force you out!"
'Man, this is so troublesome,' thought Shikamaru as he crouched down behind a thicket of trees. He looked up at the clouds that were lazily passing by and sighed. 'Man, sometimes I wish I was a cloud. Just floatin' along, going where ever the breeze takes me. That's my style. I just don't like putting effort into doing anything troublesome. The only reason I became a ninja was to do whatever I wanted. Gah, who knew this would be so much work.' Maybe he should just quit the Chunin Exams now. That would show everyone, it's not like he cared what these people thought.
'All I ever wanted n life was to marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of my life playing shōgi or Go. Then die of old age before my wife.' Nara Shikamaru, like his father before him, the famous Nara Shikaku, and his father before him, Nara Shikamu, held the same uninspiring dream to be relatively average shinobi. Which was why it was so unfortunate that all males of the Nara clan held a vast intelligence and propensity for planning innumerable strategies against superior opponents.
"Fine! If that's how you want to do it!" Temari made another swipe with her fan. "Kamaitachi No Jutsu!" the large gale of cutting winds tore into the trees, slicing through many of the branches like they were made of paper. Shikamaru was thankful that he was hidden off to the side of the trees that got hit. Of course, as was his lot in life, Temari sent another wind jutsu into the tree line, this one getting dangerously close to hitting him.
'Huh, it's troublesome but I get I've got no choice,' Shikamaru thought to himself as he made several hand-signs. Temari's next jutsu slammed into the area he was in, covering the entire spot in a large cloud of dust.
Temari looked at the devastation her jutsu had caused and smirked. "Heh, that ought to take care of him. What!" the smirk left her face as a shadow shot out of the dust, moving towards her at a fast pace. Acting quickly, Temari folded her fan and began to back pedal as she attempted to keep away from the shadow that was chasing her. It was surprisingly fast, and almost got her. Thankfully it stopped, it's form staggering, before it was forced to retract. Temari used her fan to draw a line where the shadow stopped.
"I see your angle now," Temari said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Shikamaru, who was holding a hand seals. "You almost had me for a second there, your pretty clever. With that Kagemane Jutsu of yours, you can manipulate any shadow your in. the walls shadow for instance, or the trees. But there's a limit, isn't there? No matter how far you stretch it, your shadow can only move so far. Isn't that right?"
Shikamaru's face twisted into a grimacing smile. "You got me."
Temari smiled as she found out the weakness of his jutsu. He could only stretch his shadow to a total of fifteen meters give or take. So long as she stayed out of his range, he wouldn't be able to touch her. Staying over fifteen meters away from him meant she would have to use long-range attacks, but those were her specialty so she wouldn't have any problems. This battle was as good as over.
Shikamaru sighed as he closed his eyes and put his hands together in a circle pattern. Temari and everyone else that didn't know Shikamaru wondered if the new hand sign was some kind of jutsu. Only Asuma and his team new otherwise.
Birth of the New Demon King
"What kind of hand sign is that?" Kankuro wondered out loud as he too saw what Shikamaru was doing. "Is he going to use a new jutsu?"
"Doubtful," said Naruto, who had heard the cat suited genin from where he was standing. Kankur turned to his, shuddering a bit as those creepy eyes came into view. The blond saw this and grinned. "That's not one of the standard twelve hand-signs that ninja use for jutsu. I doubt Shikamaru knows any jutsu that are not of his clans, and all of those rely on a specific hand sign. Even if that was a seal of some kind, it wouldn't do any good. The only jutsu that rely on hand-seals that don't follow the standard twelve zodiac system are the Kekkei Genkai elemental jutsu, such as Hyoton (Ice), or Yoton (Lava). No, this is something else."
"Hmph," Kankuro snorted as he turned away from the blond. "What ever he's doing it won't matter in the end. Now that Temari has figured out his range, that kid is toast."
"I wouldn't sell Shikamaru out just yet," Naruto warned with a grin. Everyone still in the fighters booth looked at him. "He may be the laziest bastard I've ever known, but Shikamaru is probably the most intelligent person you'll ever meet. That might not mean much when it comes to a straight up fight, but in the world of ninja, when strategy is the most important factor in battle, he's got it where it counts."
"When did you become so smart?" asked Ino. Naruto turned to his fellow blond and gave her a stare, his left eye brow partially raised. Ino blushed and looked away, unable to meet his gaze. "W-What I mean is, you've never said anything this, well, intelligent in, like ever."
Naruto shrugged. "I was never stupid, Ino. Uneducated? Maybe, probably. But then, I never had any parents in my life to teach me how to do basic things like reading and writing, so naturally I struggled when it came time to enter the academy. Unlike everyone else, I was still trying to teach myself these basic skills when you and all of your friends had parents who would help you. By the time I had caught up to everyone else in those skills, I was so far behind that I just didn't care anymore."
"O-Oh," Ino's face fell at his words. Truthfully, she had never really thought of how badly Naruto would have had things as an orphan. She only knew him as the trouble making kid her parents told her to stay away from. Thinking back on it, she remembered that when their sensei had first asked Naruto to come up and read her fellow blond had struggled with it, and that had been the start of when people in her class made fun of him. "S-Sorry, I guess I didn't realize how hard that would be."
The Rinnegan bearer looked at Ino with slight surprise. He hadn't interacted with her much, but she had never been very nice to him. Then again, no one his age had been nice to him. The closest people he could consider friends when he was younger were Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru, and that was only when they were doing something Iruka wouldn't approve of. Once school was out, they were the same as everyone else.
"It's fine," he said. "Most people never think about what it's like being an orphan, especially kids. They usually tend to take things for granted, like having parents to teach them, help them with their problems, or even just tuck them in at night. Most think what they have is what everyone else has, and don't really realize that some of us are less fortunate then others."
Everyone looked at Naruto with varied reactions. Some of the genin looked like they were reevaluating their opinions of him, a process that had already happened several times in the past month since the blond's change. A few, like Ino, couldn't help but feel bad about how they had treated him in the past, without even thinking about how hard it would be to try and do things without having parents to help you.
Gaara was likewise thinking about the blond Uzumaki. 'So he is like me? He has had to rely on himself, and yet, he doesn't fight for himself? What is it that makes him so strong? Why is mother afraid of him?'
Birth of the New Demon King
Shikamaru opened his eyes. They looked different this time, no longer were they a pair of lazy eyes that didn't seem to care about anything. Instead they held a look of determination. It was an odd change and only Temari was close enough to see it.
"So you do have some fighting spirit," Temari said with a smirk as she opened her fan. "I was beginning to wonder. And now that you seem to be taking this seriously, I think it's time we get the fun started. Kamaitachi No Jutsu!" the blond Suna kunoichi launched another fierce gale of cutting winds at Shikamaru, who was forced to cover his eyes as the jutsu came at him. He pulled a kunai out of his pouch and quickly ran towards another tree. Temari scowled. "Hiding isn't going to do you any good!"
Shikarmaru grit his teeth as the wind howled around him. Gashes appeared on the trees and several branches were sliced off, with a few of the smaller ones hitting him in the face. Acting as quickly as he could, he began taking off his jacket, leaving him in just his mesh shirt. The wind storm soon died down and Shikamaru got ready to make his first move.
"Come on out, coward!" Temari said as she threw another Kamaitachi No Jutsu at the tree line.
'Troublesome woman,' Shikamaru thought to himself as he tossed a kunai threw the dust cloud.
"What!" Temari's eyes widened as she saw the kunai sail towards her, she jumped out of the way, not wanting to use a jutsu on a single kunai. Before she could even begin thinking she was in the clear however, another kunai came at her, this one having been hidden in the shadows of the first. Like the previous one, Temari dodged this one too, moving to the side and letting it sail past her.
She looked back towards where she knew Shikamaru to be hiding and saw his shadow coming towards her. She smirked, thinking she was safe because she had already gotten his range down and was still behind the line.
Only the shadow moved past the line.
Temari's eyes widened as she jumped back, the shadow stopped. She looked over at Shikamaru who was smirking at her. "You know, your pretty quick on your toes," he commented idly.
"Now I get it, you weren't hiding, you were biding your time. The longer the shadows on the more range you have on your jutsu." She figured that was the correct answer because Shikamaru just smirked at her. This meant there was a new variable to Shikamaru's reach, the longer this went on the more reach he would have. She would have to end this quickly or he may end up being capable of reaching her anywhere.
A sudden shout of "Temari above you!" caused her to look up. There was something floating in the air.
"What is that?"
as it came closer she realized it was Shikamaru's jacket! Her eyes widened as it cast a shadow on the ground, right over her opponents. "Crap!" she shouted as she jumped back, just in time Shikamaru's shadow began to expand and chase her again. It stopped about at about a meter.
Temari realized she would have to end this soon and was just about to launch another wind jutsu when she heard something. A sizzling sound coming from behind her. Turning her head her eyes widened as she saw the kunai she had let pass her directly behind her, a small explosive note attached to it and currently sizzling. Reacting on pure instinct she jumped back just as the note sizzled out. Yet it didn't explode.
"What?" she questioned, right before she felt her body freeze. Moving her eyes down, as it was the only part of her body she could move at the moment, she saw that Shikamaru's shadow had caught her. They roved back over to the kunai with the explosive note, which still had not gone on. "I see, the explosive note was a dud. You threw that first one, knowing I wouldn't waste chakra on a single kunai. I would let it stop in front of me, but you kept one hidden in the shadows, making it so that I would instinctively dodge it. After that you used your jacket to extend the range of your jutsu, all the while bringing me closer to the kunai I dodged. When I heard the sizzling sound, I would think it was a real explosive note, and would be forced to jump back. Right into your shadow."
"Yep, you definitely catch on quick," Shikamaru said with a lazy grin. "And now this is check mate." He began to walk to the center of the arena, forcing Temari to follow his movements. The two stopped in the middle of the ring, Temari struggling to move every step of the way. Shikamaru raised his right arm into the air, forcing her to do the same. Everyone held their breath, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a kunai. The entire crowd was now watching in anticipation, wondering what Shikamaru's next move would be.
"Ok, I forfeit."
A mass round of face faults accompanied Shikamaru's announcement.
"W-What?" stammered Temari, her eyes wide and a look of shock evident on her features.
"I'm almost out of chakra," Shikimaru explained. "This technique will only last fifteen more seconds before I run out, then I'd have no chakra left to fight with. I don't know about you, but I don't really feel like going up against guys like Naruto and your younger brother when I don't have any chakra to use." As he finished speaking the shadow that had Temari obeying his every will withdrew from her shadow. "See?"
"Shousa! Sabak No Temari!"
There was no clapping as Shikamaru began walking towards the arena exit, leaving a stunned Temari behind. The lazy genin looked up at Naruto, who was staring back at him with those new eyes of his. 'Truth be told, I still have around half my chakra left. But if what Naruto said is true, then I'm going to need it for later.'
Birth of the New Demon King
Flashback...
"Hey Shikamaru, Shino, mind if I speak with you two for a moment." Shikamaru looked over at Naruto for a moment before shrugging. As he and Shino made their way over, Ino made a bid to follow them. "Sorry Ino," Naruto said, "however, this is a guys meeting only."
"What? What do you mean a guys meeting?" Ino said with a loud huff. "Why can't I listen to what you have to say as well?"
"Oh, do you want me to tell you about how I think Temari should fight topless?" asked Naruto, just loud enough that Temari could hear him. He grinned when both her and Ino's faces turned beat red, whether from embarrassment or anger didn't matter, it was still amusing.
"You pervert!" Ino shouted, her face was red and there was anger in it. But if the way she was glaring at Temari were any indication, it was not anger at him. At least not all at him. Thankfully she didn't try to hit him. He would have had hurt her if she did.
"Your just saying that because you want me to say the same thing about you," Naruto replied airily. He left the angry blond and walked into the hall.
"So what is this about Naruto?" asked Shikamaru, noticing the sudden change in the blond's demeanor. He looked a lot more serious now that he wasn't in the fighters booth.
Naruto looked around for a moment before leaning in, forcing the other two Konoha genin to do the same. "Some time during the Chunin Exam Suna and Oto are going to launch an invasion of Konoha." Shikamaru's eyes went wide, and though no one could see Shino's features, a buzzing sound could be heard coming from his Kikai bugs. "I want you two to be careful not to expend too much chakra in these fights. Your going to need it when all is said and done."
"How do you know this?" asked Shikamaru, his tone no longer lazy. While he may not like having to work, he knew that there was a time to be lazy and a time to work.
"Lets just say on my way back to Konoha during the one month training period, I ended up running into some foreign ninja where they shouldn't be." It was an evasive answer but Shikamaru and Shino both understood the gist of what he was saying.
"Would this be the same month where you got those new eyes?" asked Shikimaru.
Naruto chuckled. "Sure, let's go with that. Anyways, you should be getting ready for your match Shino. You know Kankuro is a puppet user, but he also uses poisons. So be careful."
"I appreciate the advice," Shino said with a nod.
"Try not to kill, I'm hoping to convince Suna to side with us since Orochimaru killed there kage."
"But wait," said Shikamaru, "if Orochimaru killed the Kazekage then who -"
The lazy Nara's eyes widened and Naruto nodded. "Yes, Orochimaru is the one currently sitting next to the Hokage. Not a pleasant thought. Anyways, I want you to be prepared to do your part."
As Naruto began walking back into the fighters booth, Shino began moving down to the arena, and Shikamaru followed the blond demon-shinobi, his mind a whirlwind of activity. When had Naruto gotten so serious? How had he gotten that information on Oto's and Suna's invasion? That wasn't like the old Naruto, nothing at all like the goofball he knew.
This new Naruto was something else. Something troublsome.
"Proctor-San! I forfeit!"
Shikamaru looked at Kankuro when the Suna genin spoke. Why would he forfeit? Especially when he had been so keen on bragging about making Chunin during the Prelims. Unless there really was an invasion about to happen. Which meant Shikamaru would need to keep on his toes.
"What are you still doing up here, Shika?"
Flashback end...
Birth of the New Demon King
Shikamaru sighed, 'I have a feeling this exam is about to get a whole lot more troublesome.'
I've gotten a lot of responses on my last 'food for thought' spiel, and while some of them are good, I've come up with my own ideas on Madara and godlike, super-powered opponents. the answer is... it's a Plot Device. Every single Shonen Jump manga uses two plot devices that you can count on them having in every single manga, from DBZ to Naruto to Bleach. These plot devices are Power ups, and a stronger opponent every time a new enemy reveals itself.
I think Power ups are fairly obvious. For Dragon Ball Z it was the Super Sayain versions, from super sayain 1 to super sayain 1001 and the fusion ability. For Bleach it was becoming a Shinigami, learning the name of his Zanpaktou, learning the Getsuga Tensho, learning to work with Zangetsu, learning Bankai, his hollow mask, and the final Getsuga. For Naruto it was kage bunshin, using Kyuubi's chakra for the summoning jutsu, rasengan, Oodoma Rasengan, Rasenshuriken (I don't count learning wind nature chakra because Naruto only uses it for the rasenshuriken), Sage mode, and now his Chakra Cloak. You can ALWAYS count on your main character to gain a power up every time he needs it in a Shonen Jump manga.
The second is overpowered villains. Every time a new enemy reveals themselves they will always be more powerful then the protagonists. That means no matter how powerful the main character is, the enemy will always be stronger. Naruto could become a SSSS-rank ninja, and the next enemy he faces will be a SSSSSSSSS-rank character simply because the bad guy HAS TO BE more powerful then the hero.
This is why Madara is so overpowered, despite the fact that the Shodai is actually supposed to be more powerful then him. Because if Naruto were to face the Shodai as we saw him during the invasion, Naruto would be about dead even, maybe even a little stronger. I guarantee, if Kabuto had brought the Shodai back, he too would be ten times more powerful then his previous Resurrection, and it has nothing to do with Orochimaru making the Senju brother's weaker during the invasion. That doesn't even sense. Why would Orochimaru purposely make his weapons weaker? And it's not because the Edo Tensei was incomplete or anything like that. That Jutsu was made by the Nidaime Hokage long before Orochimaru was even a twinkle in his father's eye. It was already complete before Orochimaru got his hands on it. And it has nothing to do with Hasharima being emotionless. In fact, that would make him MORE dangerous, because he has nothing holding him back. The Edo Tensei doesn't get rid of someone skills and strategic thinking, it only has the capability of getting rid of their emotions. They are still the exact same as they always were power and skill wise.
Winners of the poll:
Botan, Yukina, Natsume
Harem is finalized:
Kyuubi, Mei, Yugito, Anko, Konan, Samui, Kurenai, Botan, Yukina, Natsume
The harem is final and there will be no changes to it or add ons.