Previously on NARUTO TCG…
"Hey, did you hear? For the first time in 5 years, there are going to be rookies in the tournament selection exam."
"No way! It's probably some stubborn jonins in competition or something."
"No the story is that three of them are students of that Kakashi person."
"Hm, sounds interesting." One genin throws a kunai at the other… and hit a bulls-eye just over his head.
"But in the end… you have to feel sorry for them."
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NARUTO TCG: CHUNIN BATTLE TOURNAMENT DUELS-
COILS OF THE SNAKE
Chapter 4:
Selection
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stand on the short bridge waiting for Kakashi.
"Argh!!! Why? Why? Why? I'ts always the same!" Sakura shouts."He sets the time, then we have to wait hours for him!"
"It's not fair!" Naruto says.
"What about my feelings? I rushed here so fast, I didn't even have time to blow-dry my hair!"
"And I didn't even have enough time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!"
"You, uh... didn't? That's really disgusting, Naruto."
"First thing in the morning and they're already driving me nuts." Sasuke thought.
Kakashi arrives, late as usual. "Guess what, I've nominated you guys for the tournament selection exam." He gives everyone an exam permit. "This is all voluntary; it's up to each of you. If any of you don't feel ready, you can wait till next year."
"ALL RIGHT!!! Kakashi-sensei, you rock!" Naruto jumps onto Kakashi.
"Hey! Don't slobber on my vest! Anyway, those who wish to take it should sign those papers and turn them in at room 301 by 4pm tomorrow. That is all." Kakashi disappears.
The next day, Naruto meets Sasuke and Sakura in front of the academy. "Hey, Sakura!" he calls out.
Inside, a boy in a green jumpsuit is getting beaten up, and he is taking it pretty badly.
"Hah! You plan to take the selection exam with that?! You should quit right now!" one of them taunts.
"Yeah, you're just a little kid!" the other said.
A girl stepped forward to defend him, but to no avail.
"Listen. This is for the best. The Chunin Battle Tournament isn't easy… even we've failed 3 times straight. And chunin often become captains of military squads. The failure of a mission is the death of a comrade. That's the captain's responsibility. Yet, kids like you think you can even pass? We're thinning out those failures. What's wrong with that?"
"I agree," Sasuke steps forward. "but you'll let us pass. And by the way, drop this genjutsu. I'm going to the 3rd floor."
The bullies were surprised. "So you noticed the Genjustu, huh?"
Sasuke looked at Sakura. "Go ahead, tell them Sakura. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did."
Sakura looked up. "Huh?"
Sasuke confronts them, praising Sakura's analyzing skills and illusionary technique know-how, in the process. "You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on our squad; you must have seen this coming a mile away."
"I must have… because this is the second floor."
"Hmph." The bully said. "Not bad… but all you did was see right through it!"
The main bully and Sasuke go at it, but both of their advancing ankles were stopped by the fallen person, stopping their attacks their attacks.
"Lee, what happened to our plan?" one of the Lee's partners is a person named Negi Hyuga. "You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."
Just then Lee spots Sakura and blushes. It appears he's taking a liking to her. He walks up to her. "My name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura, right?" he said. "Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!"
"Definitely...not."
"Why?"
"Because you're a weirdo!"
Negi starts to notice Sasuke and walks up to him. "Hey, you. Over here! What's your name?"
"It's common courtesy to give your own name before you ask someone else's."
"Hey, you're a rookie, right? How old are you anyway?"
"I'm not obliged to answer."
"Hey, Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura calls out, "Let's go to the exam room!"
Lee watches as the three walk away.
"C'mon, Lee!" Lee's other partner is a girl named Tenten. "What are you waiting for?"
"You guys go ahead. There is something I would like to do."
Lee then spots squad 7 from the balcony. "Hello!" All three look up to their messanger. "I challenge you to a duel!"
"A duel? Right now?" Sasuke answers.
Lee leaps up from the balcony and lands gracefully onto the floor.
"My name is Rock Lee. When you want to learn a person's name, you introduce yourself, right?"
"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke introduced. "So you know?"
Lee equips himself with a shinobi shield and converted it into duel mode. "I want to test my deck against the offspring of the Uchiha clan. Plus… "
At that moment, Lee winked at Sakura. Rock Lee is not only interested in seeing how his skills match up against a descendant of the Uchiha clan, but he also has a mad crush on Sakura…
"Ahh! Those eyebrows can't be real! No!" …much to her dismay. "Your hair style is horrible too, and those eyebrows are so bushy! You're such a weirdo!"
"You are an angel, sent from heaven!" Lee blows a few kisses to her, which she dodged as if they were dodge balls. After many misses Sakura lie on the floor tired.
"Hey! Keep your creepy little valentines to yourself! I was dodging for my life there!"
"You do not have to be so negative Sakura."
Sasuke Uchiha is up to the challenge. He takes out his shinobi shield and puts it on. "Hmph, challenging me knowing the Uchiha name… frankly, your're a fool. You're about to learn what this name means… Bushy Brows."
"Yeah, right." Lee puts on his shield as well. 'I am lucky to already get to face the #1 Rookie. I will prove myself, Sensei.'
At that moment Naruto steps in. "Hold it!" he said, "I get him first. This weirdo is mine!"
"No thank you." Lee said. "My battle is with Uchiha."
"Sasuke, don't duel him." Sakura said. "We only have 30 minutes until the meeting."
"I'll be done in 5. Alright, Lee. Whoever gains 3 battle rewards wins this duel."
"You are on!"
Both players converted their shields to duel mode. Both duelists draw 6 cards from their decks.
"DUEL!!!"
"The first move is mine! (7)." Lee says. "I will play Tortoise Ninja (E:0/C:0/healthy:1-1/injury:0-0) and end my turn (6)." A red tortoise appears in front of Lee.
'Why did he play that card?' Sasuke thought. 'It doesn't even have much combat points.' "My turn (7). I play Sasuke Uchiha (E: 0/C: 0/3-0) and attack." Sasuke's avatar attacks the turtle with a fire-style jutsu, putting in into injured state (0-0). Your turn (6)."
"That tortoise you just attacked is only a decoy to distract you from my primary strategy(7). So I play Rock Lee(E: 1/H: 0/3/0)." His avatar now appears next to Tortoise Ninja. "Now my new ninja will attack Sasuke! But since Lee's combat power is equal to Sasuke's, it is a tie." Lee's avatar dashes to Sasuke's and lands a roundhouse kick on him, forcing both ninja to injured state (Rock Lee: 2-0/Sasuke Uchiha: 0/0). "But on my next turn, Rock Lee will attack Sasuke and receive a Victory. I send 4 cards to my chakra zone (CZ: 4) and end my turn."
"(7) I place 3 cards to my chakra zone (CZ: 3). Next I use 2 chakra card (CZ: 1) to equip Sasuke with a Cross-Shaped Shuriken (3-0). Attack!" his avatar throws a star at Rock Lee, but he dodged it.
"Sorry, Sasuke," Lee says, "But I counter with my Leaf Hurricane jutsu card! By using I chakra card (CZ: 3), Rock Lee's combat power increases by 3 (5-0)! Now the tables are turned! Rock Lee, attack with Leaf Hurricane!" Lee's avatar counters Sasuke's kunai. He performs a full 360 degree low sweeping kick that sends Sasuke soaring into the air, discarding him in the end.
'I can't believe it. This guy easily wiped out my defenses as if it were just dust. There's nothing I can do.' Sasuke thought. "I end my turn (3)."
"Alright! It is time to end this(2)! I place 1 card in my chakra zone (CZ:4)! Before I make my move, I must make a few adjustments." As Lee draws he surrounds himself in a white chakra. Sasuke, who is watching him with his Sharingan, is surprised that there is such mysterious power. Lee clapped his palms together and shouts…
"NINJA ART: SHINOBI SYNCRO!!!"
"Shinobi Syncro?" Sasuke said.
"Yes. It is a special jutsu that activates only in a duel. When that player uses it, the rules change dramatically! Now, Tortoise Ninja, attack Sasuke directly!" the turtle coiled into its shell and slid at Sasuke, knocking him in mid-air. "Next I discard my last 4 chakra cards (CZ: 0) to play my ultimate jutsu: PRIMARY LOTUS!" Both Lee and his avatar jumps toward Sasuke, synchronizing into 1 being. Lee undid the bandages on his arms and uses them to wrap himself to Sasuke.
"Dou you know," Lee says "that among powerful decks, there exist genius-types and hard-working-types? If your Sharingan deck is a 'genius-type' from the Uchiha Clan, then my Taijutsu deck is a 'hard-working-type' with only taijutsu-based cards. You could say that my deck is the worst match-up for yours. And here is proof: Primary Lotus can destroy any ninja battling against the user! And as soon as your defense is demolished, I will lay a direct attack, and then it is game over!"
Suddenly, a windmill flew straight through the tip pf the bandage an into a wall, stopping Lee's jutsu in its tracks. That windmill was tossed by…
"That's enough, Lee!" a giant tortoise with a red Shell?
As Sasuke falls to the ground, Sakura rushes in and catches him. "Sasuke, are you alright?" Sasuke just sat there shivering and scared. 'He's shaking.' She thought 'He didn't protect himself from the fall.'
"You know that jutsu is forbidden!" The turtle says as he reprimands Rock Lee for using his forbidden technique.
"But sensei," Lee said. "I was not planning on using the other one!"
When Naruto gained conscience, he saw the turtle talking to Lee. He joins his 2 teamates and turns to Sakura. "That weird thing he's talking to is a turtle, right?"
"Obviously! What'd you think it is?"
Naruto observes more of the conversation. "He's...talking to the turtle. The turtle is...talking back. Now, he's apologizing...to the turtle."
"You fool!" the turtle yelled. "You think you can get away with an excuse like that?! You already know what it means for a duelist to reveal his techniques! Are you ready for your penalty!?"
"…yes, sir."
"Then here comes Guy-Sensei!"
Gai then appears on top of the turtle. He's a lot like lee. Only difference: light-green vest and bushier eyebrows. "Hey, what's shakin'? How you doing, everybody? Life treating you good?"
The 7's trio stare at him with their mouths wide open and their eyes the shape of volleyballs. They never seen brows quite like those.
"So, that's where Lee gets it from." Says Naruto as he looks at Lee and his Sensei. "Same soup bowl haircut, and even bushier eyebrows."
"Hey!" Lee yells "Do NOT insult Guy-sensei! He is one of the greatest men in the entire world!"
"Well, excuse me for not noticing his greatness! I was too busy watching him crawl out from underneath a turtle!"
"He did not crawl out!"
Guy positions Lee to come to him and punches him hard in the face. "You fool!" Lee pummels to the ground with tears in his eyes. Guy gives a hard look at Lee, and then he shed tears too. The two hug and a sunset and beautiful waves are seen in the background. "Yes! That's what youth's all about!"
Naruto and his teammates just kept on staring at this emotional and somehow "disturbing" moment. "Actually, it's kinda sweet the way they're all huggy and stuff." He says.
Too bad Sakura didn't think so. "Huh?! What are you saying?! They're both totally crazy!!"
We now go back to their emotional conversation. Gai and Lee continue to cry and hug each other. "It's okay! It's okay! It's only a phase!" Guy says. "But you did start a fight and almost broke my rules. Your punishment… will take place at the tournament! Is that clear?!"
"Sir, yes sir!!" Lee thows one open hand to his forehead and salutes his teacher.
"Now, run into the setting sun! Run and suffer...but don't mess up your hair." Then when Guy looks at the three shinobi, he recognizes that they're Kakashi's. "Tell me, how is Kakashi-sensei?"
"Do you know him?" Sasuke asks.
"Do I know Kakashi?" Guy replied. He then disappeared from the scene and, to their amazement, reappeared right behind Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. "Well, people say...he and I are archrivals for all eternity! My record is 50 wins and 49 losses. Which is one better than his, by the way."
"No way! You're kidding!" Naruto exclaimed "How'd he beat Kakashi?"
"The fact is, I'm stronger than Kakashi! And faster!" Guy pulls out a kunai and throws it to cut the bandage. When Naruto looked at Lee's hand he could see it was all bruised and battered. He must've been working hard. Guy vanashes once again, leaving Lee to talk to Sasuke.
"Sasuke," Lee says as he rewraps his bandages. "I will say one more thing: the reason I challenged you is to test my abilities. When I said I was the strongest, I lied. Most likely, the strongest duelist in the Leaf Village is on my squad. I entered this tournament to defeat him… and now you are also my target." Lee leaps up to the balcony and prepares to leave. "Be prepared!" Watching Lee takes his leave, Sasuke sulks in anger with his fists clenched.
"Looks like the Uchihas aren't exactly strong as everyone thinks they are." Naruto claims.
Sakura annoyingly stares at him. "Grrr...Naruto!"
"Don't be stupid." Sasuke said. "Next time, I'll beat him."
"Really? Did you just watched yourself dueled back there? You got your butt handed to ya! And did you see the bruises on his hand? That bushy-brow must've trained hard everyday, way more than you."
"Hmph. That's all it is." Then Sasuke lessens his fists. "Ya know, this 'Chunin Battle Tournament' is getting more and more interesting." Sasuke prepares to go and face new perils and new challenger, siding with the rest of squad 7.
"Naruto, Sakura, are you ready to do this?"
"Yeah!!!"
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Tune in for the next chapter of NARUTO TCG.
Next time: Assemble
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