"What good is a life without love, existence without purpose, strength unable to protect, and the Sun without the Moon?" ~Naruto
The crowd erupted into roars of consent, the vibration alone setting Naruto's nerves on edge. Strangely, or unsurprisingly, he was filled with anger over the show of approval by the huddled masses. These were the people that torture his very existence when he was defenseless, and now that acted like nothing had ever happened, in his mind, it showed just how far gone hope was for the civilians.
Looking around, he found the surprised look of Lee in the section reserved for Jounin-senseis and teammates. Smiling, he sent a thumbs-up at the bowl-haired Taijutsu specialist, who seemed to shake off his shock and return the gesture. Nodding, Naruto turned and looked for his target, spotting her off to the side, clinging tightly to the iron railing of the small box reserved for competitors. Tensing his legs, he leapt to her side, grasping the edge as he popped up right in front of her, spooking the skittish Hyuuga.
"Eep," she said, stepping back as Naruto smirked, entering the box, dusting himself off. That accomplished, he took in Hinata's new outfit, blushing as she looked away shyly.
Gone was her jacket, now replaced by a darker blazer style jacket that went to slightly passed her elbows, leaving her forearms exposed. Under her blazer jacket, she wore a pale lavender shirt that showed her growing bosom, which hung down to her hips where her pouch hung. She was also wearing a dark blue skirt which ended at her knees, her smooth legs hidden by her pair of boots which came up to mid-calf, sparing the Hyuuga any further stares by the male population, not that she didn't like it when Naruto looked at her that way. Her outfit was completed by a small white ribbon tied in the back of her hair, marking where her ponytail started. She had found out that Naruto liked her with long hair, and had endeavored to let it grow out.
"Hey, Hina-chan, you look… beautiful." He mumbled the last part, Hinata blushing furiously as she heard his compliment.
"Thanks." She mumbled back, both turning away slightly as they tried to hide their individual blushes.
"Hey, Hina, after this you-" Naruto's question was cut short as Genma announced the next match starting.
"Next match, Gaara no Suna vs. Temari no Suna, if both combatants will join me on the field." Genma said, only for the blonde Suna-nin to glance nervously at her youngest sibling.
"I forfeit, I can't fight my little brother." Temari announced, and the crowd groaned as the prospect of another great fight was cut short. But you could still feel the tension building in the stadium as Genma nodded, going straight into the next pairing.
"Okay, then will the next fighters come down please. Sakura Haruno and Dosu." Sakura nodded to Naruto, leaping down to the ground several feet below. However, it ended up not being necessary as Dosu still hadn't shown up and was forced to forfeit, although Naruto suspected something was up by how Gaara had grinned maliciously at the mention of the Sound-nin.
All around them, the crowds began getting restless, wanting to see some more fighting. The first match had gotten their blood pumping, and no they were left with no follow-up, not cool.
"Okay, then, unless we have some objections, we'll continue to the next match. Kankuro no Suna against Sasuke Uchiha." Genma said, and Naruto chuckled darkly as Sasuke still hadn't shown up. It'd serve him right if Kakashi's perpetually tardiness caused him to be eliminated.
But no such luck, as the last Uchiha appeared at the last second, glaring at Kakashi, who was scratching the back of his head auspiciously, while still managing to look guilty. Genma quickly explained the rules to Sasuke, who answered with his usual gruff, 'hnn'. With that out of the way, Genma leapt back, signaling the start of the fourth match in the first round of the Finals.
Sasuke opened by flinging several shurikan at Kankuro, who simply twitched his fingers, Crow, his puppet, opening its mouth and firing off a small hail of Senbon that deflected the metal stars. Sasuke was forced to dodge to the side as to avoid being hit by the Senbon that got through his attack. They struck a small bush behind him that began to wither seconds later.
"Poison, just like Kakashi thought." Sasuke mumbled as he was kept moving by the repeated hail of Senbon. He was slowly pinned in, Senbon littering the ground and wall around him, limiting him from running. However, he'd activated his Sharingan once the match had begun, and had the swirling red eyes trained on the Suna puppeteer. He saw his other hand twitch, and watched closely from any changes with the strange puppet.
However, he had tunnel vision with his eyes trained on Crow, and it almost cost him as a second puppet erupted from the ground, its chest cavity like a gaping maw as he started to fall in. His training paid off as he quickly substituted with a log, escaping the trap as Kankuro frowned. Now the Uchiha would be on the watch out for both his puppets. He'd brought a third, but it was a purely defensive puppet, and he didn't have the training to manage the three puppets simultaneously, not to mention he didn't like showing all his cards.
"I almost had you there, Uchiha." He exclaimed, trying to bait the Genin into attacking him.
"Do you hear yourself? I am an Uchiha, as if I would fall for such a trivial trick. You should forfeit now, and save yourself the embarrassment of embarrassing your village." Sasuke growled out, his eyes half-lidded as Kankuro felt his ire rising.
Swinging his arms in an X motion, Crow's mouth opened once more, firing off a large hail of Senbon, to which Sasuke 'hnn'd.
"Do you not have anything better than firing Senbon? How pathetic, how you got this far, I don't know." Sasuke spoke superiorly, his hands flying through quick seals before he breathed out a large fireball which incinerated the Senbon, continuing on to blast through Crow as Kankuro was forced to dive to the side.
As he rolled over to take in the field, Sasuke appeared over him, a kunai held to his throat. Sighing, Kankuro held up his hands in forfeiture. "I give up." Rather than crack a smile in victory, Sasuke kept staring him down, even when the proctor called the match.
"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha." Rather than say anything, Sasuke simply stood, nodded at Kakashi, and walked over to the competitor's box. Keeping with the stoic image he had going on, Sasuke didn't say anything to his two teammates, the couple mirroring him as they watched the match. Meanwhile Gaara was watching Sasuke with glee evident in his eyes as the voice in his head called for his blood.
"Now then, will the next two competitors come down to the field? Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame." Genma called out as the crowd fell silent. The two boy's teammates fell silent, knowing that this would be a battle of strategy rather than actual skill.
"Hajime." Genma said, leaping back, careful to avoid the Senbon still littering the field. Just as predicted, both boys stood still, observing their opponent, although Shino's surveying gaze was covered by his sunglasses, and Shikamaru simply yawned.
"If I could have my druthers, I'd simply forfeit now, this whole thing is too troublesome for me. However, my mother threatened me with housework if I didn't at least try. So, I'll try not to exert myself too much." Shikamaru confessed, yawning a second time. Shino's eyebrows raised slightly, the only thing showing that he'd heard the Nara's words. As if in response, he extended his arms, small bugs flying free as Shikamaru watched them advance, his eyes flitting around observantly.
Leaping back, the bugs stopped short as if hitting a shield. Nodding as if suspecting this, Shikamaru looked around for something to turn the fight in his favor.
"Your bugs can only go so far away from their host, just like our Shadow Possession Jutsu." The Nara observed, Shino making no indication that he was heard. Slowly, the bugs retreated back to Shino, vanishing within the folds of his jacket sleeves.
Crouching Shikamaru made a seal, mumbling beneath his breath, "Shadow Possession Jutsu." As his shadow extended towards Shino, who dodged back, outside of the shadow's range. Shikamaru made no indication that this was unexpected. However, he felt a small tingling sensation as his eyes tried to find the source. He finally located it near Shino, deducing that some of his bugs had been snared in the jutsu. Quickly, he pulled it back to himself, knowing that he had to be careful about overexerting himself.
"And I can't use my jutsu can't restrain all those bugs for prolonged amounts of time." He said; sitting on the balls of his feet as his hands changed to a new seal, the Nara closing his eyes as he tried to think of a plan.
However, before he could form a plan, he was forced to leap back to avoid being hit by Shino's who's charged the boy, sensing that he was distracted. Remembering the Preliminaries, Shikamaru quickly used his jutsu to check for any resistance. Finding none, he looked at the Aburame, who calmly watched his opponent, waiting outside the distance his shadow could reach. Finding safety in the shadows of the walls, Shika stepped back, his shoe catching on something.
Risking an attack, he glanced down to see one of the Senbon discarded by the previous match. Suddenly, a plan formed in his mind. Quickly grabbing Senbon from the ground, he was careful to avoid the poisoned ends as he began throwing them at Shino, who leaped back as they sunk into the ground. Shikamaru was able to throw several more before Shino's bugs began to stop the Senbon, dropping them harmlessly to the side. Slowly but surely, more Senbon began to join the others in the ground.
Smirking, Shikamaru sunk to his feet, gathering chakra for one final jutsu. Slipping one final Senbon into his hand, he threw it, quickly forming the seals for his family's signature jutsu. Shino glanced furtively at the Senbon coming at him. However, knowing that his bugs would block it, he caught sight of the advancing shadow.
He leaped back, only for the shadow to reach the first Senbon thrown, and start anew as it added more shadows to its network, pinging between the Senbon stuck in the ground. Before Shino knew it, he was surrounded on all sides by shadows, only his bugs keeping the shadows at bay as Shikamaru couldn't hold many more creatures in place. Even now, Shino could see the signs of exertion on the boy's face as he struggled to hold back the slowly growing horde of bugs.
While they may look tiny and weak, Shino knew that bugs were capable of moving objects several times their own body weight, besides the facts that thousands were fighting against Shikamaru. It was only a matter of time, and Shino could wait him out. However, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arms, looking to see that his limbs had gone limp, with a Senbon sticking out.
He must have looked shocked, because Shikamaru chuckled, sweat rolling down his face. "I knew I couldn't fight that many bugs and I knew you would use that to your advantage. But while you have all those bugs out, you have to compartmentalize while controlling your bugs. I threw that last Senbon moments before using my Shadow Possession Jutsu, which you probably noticed. But rather than block the Senbon like you thought, I took control of them for a second, just long enough for the Senbon to slip through their guard." Shikamaru revealed, breathing heavily as he tried to maintain his jutsu as Shino fell to one knee.
"Then it is merely a waiting game. Which will give in first, my body or your jutsu?" Shino said, reaching for his waist as he pulled out a kunai, aiming for Shikamaru as he threw it, hoping to make the Nara move and end his jutsu.
However, the kunai went wide, missing Shikamaru and Shino's vision swam and he saw double as he grabbed his head, forcing his vision to realign, his ears ringing as he heard someone call out, "I forfeit, I don't have the chakra to continue." Followed shortly by, "Winner, Shino Aburame!"
Even so, he couldn't bring himself to look up as he felt the last of his strength ebbing away as he fell forwards, only managing to catch himself as someone caught him. Blinking his eyes, he saw it was Shikamaru, who got an arm under him, helping him back to the competitor's box.
He noted that the faint ringing in his ears was probably the roaring of the crowd above. Then, his vision went black as he fainted.
"Hey, you, Kankuro. Give me the antidote for your poison." Shikamaru, his voice stern, at least for the usually relaxed boy.
"Why should I?" The puppet using boy said; his arms crossed across his chest. "There's no need, anyways, and I'm not going to just give over the antidote to my poison that easily." He continued, and Naruto turned to glare at the Suna-nin.
"What's that supposed to mean, Doll Boy?" Naruto growled out, Hinata surprised at his sharp tone.
"I mean he'll live, Father wouldn't let me use my more potent poisons for the Finals. And antidotes are a closely guarded secret among puppeteers." He said, returning Naruto's glare evenly.
"Fine, you don't wanna help, that's your purgative. But don't look to us for help when you need it." Naruto said, walking over to check on Shino. The Aburame groaned.
"Hey Hinata-hime, give her hell, and don't worry, he'll be fine." Naruto said, leaning over to touch Hinata's hand as she came over to look at Shino. Nodding, she walked to the side, walking down the stairs to the ground.
"Last match of the first round, Nerissa Tsuin vs. Hinata Hyuuga, Hajime!" Genma called out, leaping back as both girls watched for any tricks as they both, with a flick of their wrists, caught their respective weapons in their hands.
In Hinata's was her whip, the tip now a barbed mess of crystal as she let it hang limply at her side. In Nerissa's was a medium length scythe, the blade gleaming in the light.
"Hey, Blue," Nerissa called out, Hinata looking annoyed at the name, "About Aimee, don't worry, I don't hold it against you. Honestly, if you hadn't done it, I probably would've. She was constantly degrading me and my sister. I can handle someone belittling me, but when you start on my sister, well…" She trailed off, and Hinata breathed easily, nodding as she gave a small smile.
"Yeah, I have a little sister, and even though we're constantly at odds with each other, I'd probably murder someone if they hurt her. So, how about it, shall we fight so we don't disappoint our sisters?" Hinata asked, clenching and unclenching her fist around the grip of her whip.
"Sounds good to me, Blue." And with that, Nerissa leapt at Hinata, swinging her scythe like a reaper.
A/N: So, I may have not been very clear with Shika's explanation, but hopefully you got the general message. Also, next chapter will be Hinata's fight, as well as the break between rounds while I add in some non-canon things. And one last thing, with the skipped fights this chapter, they do serve a purpose, and it wasn't because I didn't want to write out the fights.