Kumogakure Ninja
Posted: 14-06-11
Updated: 28-06-11
CH26: The Preliminaries Part II
Medics ran to the fallen Kumo genin and laid him out on the stretcher just as Hyūga Neji turned his back and left the ring. A few cheered, mostly Konoha nin, but the majority of the genin fell silent. This had been the first inter-village grudge match for reasons everyone knew. In the past Kumo had wronged Konoha and as a result, an innocent man was sacrificed to save his older brother. Hyūga Hizashi did not have to die that day. Hyūga Neji did not have to become fatherless that day.
None of that would have happed had it not been for Seido Tadashi.
Naruto shook his head solemnly and turned to face his peers, "Kenichi fought well."
Kenji gripped the railing tightly and nodded curtly, Taiko laid her hand on his comfortingly. "He'll be fine. He's stubborn that way."
"Greetings."
The Kumo shinobi turned to see a tall, grey-skinned man with black spiky hair in Kumo's regular jōnin attire accompanied by Ryūsa and his teammates. The jōnin team leaders present greeted him curtly; Ryūsa had an inexplicable smug twitch of a smile on his face as though his sensei was some highly esteemed figured. Though he probably was from the respect he commanded from other jōnin present.
"Your sensei?" Naruto held up a peace sign. "Nice to meet you…"
Ryūsa sneered at him. "As if you don't know who Kazuo-sensei is."
Naruto didn't. He had no idea who Kazuo was, but from what he would hear later, he was apparently a very renowned shinobi, often regarded as Kumo's equivalent of Hatake Kakashi and coincidentally one of the few that had butted heads Sharingan no Kakashi on more than one occasion. Having never met the man before, the first impression Naruto had of the grey-skinned man was rather superficial. 'This guy should go out some more.' Naturally, he would never voice these thoughts.
Being around Kirabi since he was a kid didn't mean Naruto hadn't picked up any good manners, he wouldn't have if it weren't for Raiden whose disciplinary Iron Claw was extremely painful, that and his version of 'shock therapy' Naruto had suffered. This form of 'therapy' as Raiden called involved the Raikage prodding him with a lightning-infused finger whenever he stepped out of line. Yugito never got this kind of treatment, mostly because she never pissed Raiden off and he actually treated her like a normal uncle would.
"It's nice to meet you, Kazuo-sensei." Naruto made sure he sounded as respectful as he could without appearing to be trying too hard.
Kazuo merely nodded, "We'll be going now. I think it would be for the best we let our genin mingle in the crowds, perhaps gain some perspective and insight."
"And prepare for the possibility of having to face a comrade?" Shi added rhetorically.
Kazuo made no attempt to deny it. "Of course, that too. Now then, we'll be going."
'So much for camaraderie,' thought Naruto as he followed his team.
-ooo-
(A Few Minutes Later)
"Glad we got out of there," Hari commented leaning onto a wall. "You guys don't think I should tell them, do you? I mean, Hyūga Neji pretty much said it all."
"Don't sweat it, Hari. It's none of their business." Naruto eyed the giant screen across the hall, catching a glimpse of two kunoichi of Rock and Waterfall being paired up, gaining a few catcalls from immature teenagers.
"We can talk about that later, I think it's time you tell us what happened in the forest. How did you survive against Orochimaru, and why are you using a genjutsu that can be detected by an academy student, Naruto?" Shi questioned.
"We ran into some trouble," Yugito said. "Orochimaru of the Sannin infiltrated the Forest of Death and-"
"It was my entire fault," Naruto cut her off. "Orochimaru was after Uchiha Sasuke and for some stupid reason I thought I was supposed to save him. We clearly bit off more than we could chew and Orochimaru kicked our asses big time. In that one fight, I've never been overpowered like that before. Every move I made, he just countered with something deadlier. I thought we stood a chance when it was me a Yugito but…"
"You can tell us the rest later," Darui told him, noticing the pained expression on Naruto. "Drop your genjutsu though, you'll have to sooner or later."
Naruto, Hari and Yugito shared a look. Shi caught on, "What, what's that look?"
"I don't think I should drop this genjutsu, Shi-sensei, it's a little…" Naruto trailed off and conceded with a nod. "Alright, alright, I'll drop the genjutsu. Kai!"
"What the fuck happened to you?" It was the first time they ever heard Darui swear.
Naruto made a ram hand seal and reapplied the genjutsu. "For the time being, it's not a problem. Can we talk about this later, please? I know Kirabi's not going to be happy, or the Raikage for that matter… anyway, it's not a huge problem. OK, maybe it is but for the time being it's perfectly safe, I think."
"You think?" Shi face-palmed. "As soon as these prelims are over, you're coming with us. We need to examine your seal."
Naruto groaned, "Yes, Shi-sensei."
"Winner, Misaki Yakushi!(1)"
"Come on, let me go next!" Hari put fist to palm. "We need to win two out of two if we want to pass, don't we? Losing even one match means disqualification."
"You should be fine," Yugito told him. "We've come a long way in the past few months. Succeed or fail, we are a team and if this doesn't work out, we'll have to work even harder on our missions."
Darui chuckled at them, "You three really want to fight that badly, huh? Well, with all the training we put you through- well look at that, Naruto you're up."
Hayate stepped forward as the genin left and looked up to the screen that read: 'Uzumaki Naruto versus Sabaku no Kankurō.'
"Finally!" Naruto flashed them a smile and promptly to jump over the railing.
-ooo-
(Konoha Genin)
"Looks like Naruto's up," Shikamaru pointed out, leaning on the safety railing with a lazy expression. "Whoever ends up being his opponent better be prepared."
Ino nudged her teammate rather hard with herelbow. "Quit being such a loser, Shika! He beat us once, and he got lucky."
"He can't be that strong," Kiba agreed easily. "Just look at him, there's no way he could have won if you guys took him seriously. Chōji is the strongest of our year, physically speaking I mean."
Shikamaru firmly shook his head, "The only way I can beat him is if I've got the element of surprise, strategies and contingency strategies. If he can force a Kawarimi through my Kagemane that easily, he's not someone to take lightly. Just watch, you can tell by the Sand kid's expression he's not taking Naruto seriously, he's giving his teammates thumbs up and now he's telling the proctor to call the match already. This guy is in for one hell of a loss."
"Yosh!"
The Genin nine turned to see their seniors of team Gai approach them. As always, Rock Lee greeted them with exuberant enthusiasm. "You have faced Naruto-kun in combat?"
"You guys fought them too?" Haruno Sakura spoke up. She seemed somewhat dishevelled but her wounds were treated. "I bet you guys had them, right? I mean, you're more experienced than they are, right?"
Tenten's expression turned sour in remembrance of her one-sided match. "Even Neji lost."
"Hn." Neji sneered, "I underestimated him and he defeated me. Had I not underestimated him, he would have not stood a chance."
Shikamaru groaned loudly, nearly swearing under his breath rather uncharacteristically.
"What was that, Shika?" Kiba challenged.
"You guys are being idiots," the shadow-user said bluntly. "Losing is losing, underestimating your opponent is just a part of that. It's not an excuse… I learned that the hard way."
-ooo-
(Naruto VS Kankurō)
Naruto eyed the tall Suna genin standing opposite him with a hard stare fixated on his opponent's body language. He was tall but didn't seem to be the taijutsu type, he also smelled of oil and wood for some reason.
Kankurō smirked in knowingly fashion. "If I were you, I would just give up now and save myself the embarrassment. There's always next year… midget."
Naruto twitched out of habit more than anything. "Oh, that's real funny coming from a guy that uses his sister's makeup." There was a sting to that comment that caused a vein pop up on Kankurō's forehead.
Hayate sweat-dropped, "If you two are done with the trash talking…"
"I'm ready, proctor," Kankurō nodded to the jōnin.
Naruto emulated his opponent and slid into his own stance. 'Bring it, bitch,' Naruto's expression turned into a twisted smile. 'His stance is easily readable, this guy is a mid to long range fighter. As soon as the match begins, he's going to distract me and retreat to set up whatever that thing is on his back.'
Hayate Gekkō looked at both of them, returning their nods and made a chopping motion as he jumped back, "Begin!"
As anticipated, Kankurō reached for a purple ball stuck to his vest and threw it on the floor. Purple smoke bellowed over the fighting area and masked his opponent's movements, but Naruto was already going through a few hand seals, "Fūton! Daitoppa no Jutsu!"
Naruto's chest expanded briefly before he unleashed a strong gust of wind that blew away the smoke away, revealing the Sand genin gritting his teeth in frustration. Naruto burst forward, ninja-to unsheathed and covered in a Shippū Shūren poised to impale.
Sure of his victory, Naruto intended to stop the blade only inches away from Kankurō's face, however suddenly the genin reached out and caught the blade with his hands. Naruto's eyes widened momentarily, however once he heard an unnatural sound of the grinding of wood Naruto increased power and stabbed straight through his opponent.
CRACK!
The Hurricane Drill encased sword plunged straight through Kankurō, however instead of blood and flesh being shed, bolts and jagged chunks of wood flew through the air. At the last moment, the thing shoved the blade upwards, removing half of its face but saving itself from being destroyed.
Naruto's focus faltered. "What the fuck-"
The wooden creature reared its metallic-wooden fist and drove it square into Naruto's face, slamming him backwards. Naruto skidded over the floor but gained footing and quickly threw a kunaito keep the puppet on its guard. Blood streamed down his face and stung his eyes, but his sight remained on the hunched back humanoid constructed out of wood and metal.
"A puppet… of course, I thought you smelled like wood cause of the forest but this explains the oil. You clever bastard." Naruto had to laugh a little and wiped the blood away. "You can come out now, I know it's you."
The bandaged figure on the puppets back unfurled theatrically and revealed Kankurō, who seemed rather pleased with himself. "In Suna, we specialise in the art of puppetry. This masterpiece is Karasu, a creation of none other than Akasuna no Sasori, the greatest puppeteer Suna ever produced."
Karasu was a seven foot tall humanoid puppet with brown spiky hair, three eyes, one of which was missing, jagged teeth; four arms of which two were folded to its chest. The puppet was lined with metal and covered for the most part by a black cloak. As if to mock Naruto, the puppet made rattling noise with its mouth and proceeded to pick up the blonde's ninja-to and snap it in half.
"Now that was just mean," Naruto drawled getting to his feet. "Looks like we underestimated each other, how embarrassing. Don't worry though, from here on out I'm going to give it all I got!"
Kankurō pulled the strings to move Karasu in front of him. "Bring it!" Karasu's remaining arms unfolded and the hands fell off to reveal cannon- appendages. "Kurohigi! Yakushin no Sattō!"
(Jutsu: Kurohigi! Yakushin no Sattō – Black Secret Technique! Onslaught Rush!)
Karasu surged forward, its cannon-like appendages spitting fire and its arms extending through additional segments to enlarge them at least a foot. Naruto made a hand seal and formed a Kage Bunshin and attacked head on, much to the spectator's confusion as well as Kankurō's. As the clones rushed forward, Naruto jumped up and ran over their shoulders, bypassing the rampant puppet and making a dash for Kankurō.
Naruto was less than a foot away when Kankurō's feigned expression of fear settled into one of arrogance; not a second later he found himself tackled by Karasu and driven into a wall, pinned by its legs and arms and the cannons shoved to his face.
"This match is ov-" Hayate dashed forward to call the match but fell into a fit of coughs.
Kankurō smirked and pulled the strings. "Finish him Karasu!"
Fire erupted and engulfed Naruto in an inferno so hot, when it was over the entire wall was black. Naruto, or what was left of him, slumped forward and fell to his face unmoving.
A moment of silence went by when Kankurō turned to Hayate with an annoyed expression. "Call the match already, the kid's dead."
Hayate's lips twitched into a smile and a second later, a second too late, Kankurō turned to see the 'Naruto' exploding in a puff of smoke. "Oh shi-"
From under the lanky genin, a pair of hands grabbed his ankles and tore him down to his knees, effectively immobilising him for what came next.
Hanging upside from the roof, Naruto dove to the ground with his arm reared back. "Shippū Shūren! DAI GIRI!"
The enormous Hurricane Drill screeched loudly as its tip sharpened and grew three times its size and reached eight feet in length.
"Karasu!"
The puppet dashed forward mechanically and jumped high to meet the drill, spreading its arms to protect Kankurō. It was a last ditch effort on his part and from the regrettable expression on his face, the puppeteer knew it too. Kankurō closed his eyes as Naruto's attack sliced through his puppet like it was nothing as chips of wood fell to the ground. The Sand genin kept his eyes closed in anticipation of certain death when… nothing happened.
"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Kankurō opened his eyes to find Naruto stomping his foot on the ground and propelling him out of his knee lock.
"See ya." The blond then turned around and left the fighting area, cheered on by a few of his peers and others who merely respected his victory.
Naruto turned only for a brief moment, looking across the hall to the Hokage's balcony, smiled and left.
-ooo-
(Hokage Balcony)
Hiruzen stifled a croaky laugh. "That was a good fight, don't you think, Genryūsei-san, Asuma-kun?" The Hokage glanced to his right and his left, sitting between two of Konoha and Kumo's most reputable shinobi.
Though Genryūsei Gekkō was not one of his own men, the Hokage was well acquainted with the man and held his respect, as did Genryūsei hold his though to a lesser extent. "It certainly was," Genryūsei agreed, "Although Uzumaki could have avoided the initial strike had he not underestimated his opponent."
Sarutobi Asuma eyed the blond across the hall. "He's got impressive control of his affinity. That jutsu isn't an easy one, I actually never got the hang of it, but to think he's actually developed it further…"
"It's an impressive jutsu," the Hokage agreed. "Genryūsei-san, how did Uzumaki Naruto fair in Kumo's academy?"
The Shinobigashira chuckled. "Uzumaki Naruto was not hailed as a prodigy if that is what you are asking, Hokage-sama."
Asuma raised an eyebrow, "He isn't? From this fight alone, I can tell he has the mindset and skills that would suggest otherwise."
"Uzumaki graduated as seventh in his class in overall scores. I believe the reports indicate he enjoyed setting traps for his peers as a practical joke instead of attending all his classes. Still, he has been accredited with taijutsu skills that could see him bumped to tokubetsu jōnin if he completes another fifty or so C to A-ranked missions."
"Jōnin level taijutsu?" Asuma sounded doubtful. "That is quite impressive, very impressive actually."
Genryūsei shrugged casually. "He's known to go at it with Yotsuki Kirabi in intense taijutsu matches that destroy much of their surroundings. In case you don't know, Yotsuki Kirabi is-"
"Raikage-dono's younger brother and Naruto's guardian, yes I know," the Sandaime finished. "Interesting."
-ooo-
(Team Kirabi)
Naruto ascended the last few steps of the stairs. "Well, that was fun." Naruto held up his hand to Hari, "Save your energy. The wound's already closed." Naruto indicated his temple, the wound had closed and the blood had already dried up. A cloth and some water would get rid of that.
Green chakra died on Hari's hand. "You know the fox is robbing me of experience here, right?" Hari joked. Then looking across the hall where Kankurō had regrouped with his team, had smiled. "That was a good fight. You've gotten a lot faster, Naruto, I didn't notice you using a Kawarimi with a hidden clone."
"Yeah, I guess I have," Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a satisfied grin.
"You still could have avoided that one hit," Yugito pointed out. "This would have been a flawless victory if you hadn't shed blood."
Naruto sweat-dropped, "Thanks, Yugito, I am very proud of myself too."
"That was a good fight," Darui affirmed, bumping fist with the blond.
"Though you could've avoided that hit," Shi pointed out with a snigger. "Just kidding, you handled yourself well."
Fifteen minutes later after another four quick fights, the electronic generated displayed on the giant screen came to a stop and read: Seido Hari versus Samidare.
"My turn already, great." Hari held up a hand to his teammates and quickly ran down the stairs and made his way to the fighting area.
Samidare had spiky brown hair with a ponytail and short spiky bangs hanging over his forehead protector; he wore a green scarf around his neck, a grey jacket and a blue-pinkish body suit, to which he had an oxygen tank attached and an umbrella on his back.
"Are you even a ninja, you dress like a housewife."
'Not even ten seconds and already he's breaking out the trash talk.' Hari's eye twitched. "This is hunter ninja garb."
"You dress like a girl," Samidare spat. "What kind of man puts on a kimono to fight?"
Hayate looked at both participants and deciding to cut off the trash talking stepped back with a chopping motion of the hand. "Begin!"
Samidare reacted quickly and reached for his weapon, a customised kunai easily three inches longer than usual. With a confident smirk on his face Samidare threw the projectile with somewhat impressive speed and accuracy, aimed for an artery on Hari's neck that would cause instant death.
Strangely enough Hari didn't move yet the kunai never made contact.
Samidare blinked a few times. "What the…" the genin took out three regular kunai and dashed to his right, throwing them in quick succession an attempt to move his opponent from his spot.
Again, for the kunai just simply disappeared without ever making contact.
"How are you doing that?" Samidare demanded.
Hari's lips twitched into a smile… as did Hayate Gekkō, the proctor couldn't keep himself from stifling a bemused snort.
Having his opponent and the proctor openly mock him ticked the Ame genin off. "I'll show you!" Samidare reached into his holsters, withdrew handfuls of projectiles and then proceeded to run in a circle and lodge the blades at Hari. "Come on, die already!"
This went on for a good two minutes and stopped only when Samidare noticed he had ran out of projectiles to throw. The Ame genin panted heavily, swearing profusely as perspiration ran down his temple.
"What… are you… doing with… my kunai?" he managed to pant between shallow intakes of air.
Hari crossed his arms and merely pointed to the ceiling.
Samidare looked up slowly.
On the ceiling was a crookedsmiley face made out of kunai. It was one kunai away from a full set of eyes and looked more like it was winking and giving him a lopsided smile. "H- how did you d- do tha- that?" Samidare's voice broke as he screamed.
"Maybe I would've told you if it wasn't for those comments on my wardrobe." Hari reached for his chikutō and rested a hand on the guard.
Samidare glared at him and reached for his umbrella. Hari dashed forward, as did his opponent, and the two surged past each other. Hari turned around and sheathed his blade, it made a clicking noise just as Samidare's umbrella fell apart in three large pieces. Turning around with an incredulous look Samidare's eyes looked like they were going to pop out, then a look of rage set etched onto his face. "I'll kill you!"
The genin rushed forward, bringing his arm in a swing when Hari dashed forward, ducked under his arm and half-way unsheathed his chikutō and slammed the butt of his sword in Samidare's gut with enough force to send the genin flying backwards.
"Winner, Seido Hari!"
-ooo-
(Hokage Balcony)
Genryūsei Gekkō eyed the Hokage with mild interest. Of course the son of Seido Tadashi coming to attend the Chūnin Exam in Konoha had turned some heads, some had even suggested the son of Tadashi to be prohibited from attending.
Asuma blew a puff of smoke and chuckled. "Interesting match, that kid sure knows how to use a sword. Was that some Iaidō? Looks like Kumo brought a talented bunch this year," the jōnin offered a cigarette to Genryūsei, who declined respectfully. "What do you think, old man?"
The Hokage lit his smoke pipe and nodded. "Very skilled with a blade, much like Tadashi…" the Hokage's eyes glanced meaningfully at Genryūsei for a moment, "I believe he is another student of Yotsuki Kirabi and a teammate of Naruto. I can tell he is a fine young man."
"Indeed he is, Hokage-sama. He is nothing like his father from what I've seen." Genryūsei then added, "Once again, I thank you for allowing him to participate in the exams this year."
The Hokage waved a dismissive hand. "I have always believed we shouldn't judge one for the actions of another. It is a rule I live by, and the reason I believe my tenure as a Kage has been successful. It's a rule I passed on to Naruto when he was a child, I believe."
"You are wise, Hokage-sama." Genryūsei bowed his head, wisely choosing not to comment on the Hokage's interesting use of words.
-ooo-
(Team Kirabi)
Naruto punched Hari in the arm. "Show off," they grinned at one another, "That was a good match. You actually for once humiliated someone, I didn't think you had it in you."
Hari rubbed his arm. "Ouch... and thanks. I only did it cause he said I looked girly."
Shi smiled and Darui gave him an approving nod. "You've improved a lot on your Iaidō swordsmanship, well done."
Hari turned to last present member of Team Kirabi. "What do you think, Yugito?"
Yugito crossed her arms and looked him in the eye. "You handled yourself well, though you have likely given up on any chance your opponents will underestimate you or hold back," seeing his cheerful expression falter, "You did great compared to Naruto. At least you didn't take any unnecessary hits, or any at all for that matter."
"Oh I see, he gets all that and all I get is 'you could've avoided that hit'? OK, I see where this is going!" Naruto outraged dramatically.
…
Forty-five minutes later the preliminaries were still going on and the fights became increasingly brutal as grudges between villages came to surface, increasingly so with each fallen member. Of Konoha, Shikamaru won his first match with his Shadow Possession jutsu, forcing his opponent to knock himself out. Shino merely swarmed his bugs onto a kunoichi from Taki and she fell seconds later, drained from what little chakra she had. Kiba fiercely took down his opponent with his Gatsūga, destroying a few tiles in the process. Sai won his first match rather quickly with a fierce kenjutsu battle that lasted about two minutes before his opponent respectfully yielded. Sakura won her match with her Mythical Palm jutsu, disabling her opponent with strikes on her muscles and tendons. Tenten won a dragged out match with another long range fighting kunoichi and only won through a fluke when her opponent tripped and fell.
Kumo's Team Shikūyo all performed admirably and defeated their opponents quickly and without wasting time or energy (Darui revealed their sensei to be Mabui's sister, which came as no surprise considering their resemblance). One of the most interesting and unusual fights Naruto had seen so far was Taiko versus a tall and muscular genin from Iwa. Since he had never seen her fight, it came as a big surprise when she revealed her style to be gentaijutsu, a rare shinobi art where the user would engage their opponent in what seemed to be a regular hand-to-hand under the guise of genjutsu. With every strike she landed however, her opponent would feel twenty times the pain. Naruto made a note to never, ever mess with Taiko. Her taijutsu didn't come close to his but then again, his skill with genjutsu (including cancelling them) was mediocre at best.
Yugito had become rather tense and unresponsive and Naruto could tell she was becoming increasingly more impatient. "Don't tense up so much, Yugito. You'll be up any time now." Naruto found rather amusing to see Yugito so uncharacteristically tense and impatient but refrained from pointing it out, she could be rather violent when she was in a bad mood.
"I am not a child, Naruto." Yugito ceased her ironclad grip on the railing and her expression lit up as the board began to generate new fighters.
'Uchiha Sasuke VS Yoroi Akadō.'
Naruto's eyes scanned the area and he found the last Uchiha accompanied by a tall man with gray gravity-defying hair and his headband pulled over his eye. 'That's got to be Hatake Kakashi.' Naruto remembered the memories his father had shown him. 'Under that headband he's got a fully matured Sharingan, given to him by Obito Uchiha… Dad said this guy is a prodigy, he made jōnin at thirteen. I wonder what kind of guy this Kakashi is.'
Sasuke descended the stairs and stood opposite his opponent who politely held up the 'combat' sign, which the Uchiha emulated though he didn't seem toohappy doing it. Naruto noticed Sasuke was paler than usual and he appeared to be favouring his left side as though he was in pain. Whether that was true or not, Sasuke seemed to be handling himself just fine although he refrained from using any ninjutsu and for some reason seemed to be adamant in confronting his chakra-absorption type opponent head on in taijutsu instead of keep his distance.
"Naruto," Hari nudged his best friend and jerked his head to the right.
"What is it?" Naruto turned away from the fight and noticed Hatake Kakashi was walking over to them, putting a way a book as he did so and nodding to Shi and Darui, the latter of whom merely eyed him with indifference whilst Shi seemed visibly disdained.
"Uzumaki Naruto, my name is-"
"Hatake Kakashi," Naruto finished and Kakashi nodded. "I know who you are, you were my father's greatest student, Sharingan no Kakashi."
Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed momentarily but the Copy Ninja retained his composure. "So they told you?" Kakashi looked at Darui and Shi who shared questionable expressions. "From what I can see neither of you knew."
"This is the first time we're hearing about it," Shi was first to regain his composure and shot Naruto a questioning look. He then eyed Kakashi with the same disdain as before. "It doesn't matter. Naruto's a Kumo shinobi through-and-through and he trusts us, if he didn't tell us then there's a good reason for that."
"So I heard," Kakashi said easily. "Listen Naruto, I came by to thank you for saving Sasuke. From what I heard you went through a lot out there, going as far as risking your own life."
"It was stupid of me to challenge Orochimaru. I got overconfident and my teammates nearly died because of that," Naruto glanced at Yugito and Hari and then looked back to Kakashi. "Still, as stupid as it was, I'm glad Sasuke's OK. Last I saw him he was getting bit by Orochimaru… what did he do to him?"
Kakashi briefly glanced at his student below in the fighting area and Naruto followed his gaze. "On his left shoulder, where Orochimaru bit him, Sasuke had a juinjutsu placed on him. It's essence from Orochimaru allows him to draw on immense chakra to empower himself and his techniques."
"Sounds like one hell of a parting gift," Hari mumbled.
"Not quite," Kakashi said. "Naruto, from what I hear you're quite gifted in fūinjutsu. Am I correct to assume you know what juinjutsu are?"
"You are," Naruto nodded. "Juinjutsu are a branch of fūinjutsu that dabble in inhumane areas of fūinjutsu applications. These Cursed seals can vary in what they do and what they are capable of, but in most cases there is an element of mind control and submission."
"Correct." Kakashi jerked his head in Sasuke's direction. "The juinjutsu on Sasuke's shoulder, though powerful, is foul of essence. At the moment there's not a lot we know about Orochimaru's Cursed seals other than it corrodes the mind and will of the user the more they use it. In the past, whoever had a Cursed seal put on them were driven mad because the seal places dark thoughts in one's mind."
Naruto frowned. "What seal did you use to suppress it for the time being?"
"You may not have heard of it, but I used the Fūja Hōin to suppress it," Kakashi answered.
"I've heard of it. Written in blood, causes tremendous pain and temporary loss chakra and muscle degeneration. It relies on the subject's willpower… explains why Sasuke isn't using ninjutsu and fighting like a three year old."
"Impressive."
"Do you think that was a smart move? I can imagine how tempting it can be to use a Cursed Seal when you're in a pinch. Actually, I probably can't," Naruto grinned.
At his current stage Naruto was capable of a handful fūinjutsu, most of which were low level jutsu anyone with enough time and dedication could get the hang of. Though his arsenal was limited, Naruto had quite extensive knowledge on all kinds of seals accumulated over the past few months of studying said art. For example, Naruto knew the previous Hachibi's jinchūriki had a different seal than Kirabi, a combination of several mind altering seals including the Fūja Hōin with the San Chūseki Fūin (Three Pillar Seal). This setup had failed to restrain the Hachibi's influences on the jinchūriki. Kirabi believed the previous jinchūriki lost control because he went mad with loneliness and was consumed with hate and resentment and though Naruto hadn't said it outright then, it was likely to have to dowith the Fūja Hōin messing with the jinchūriki's mentality.
"Anyway, I suggest you get a professional to do the sealing, Kakashi. No offence, but copying fūinjutsu with your Sharingan and then using them on others seems a tad risky to me. Did you know the Fūja Hōin can close tenketsu up to a week? Or that if used improperly, some can be closed permanently? There's a good chance Sasuke will have to relearn moulding chakra if you screwed up."
Kakashi sweat-dropped. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Let's hope so," Naruto said dryly. "By the way, dad says 'hi' and my mother told me to inflict serious harm to you for not looking after me when I was a kid."
Kakashi's eye looked like it was about to pop out. "You spoke to Minato-sensei?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head smiling. "It's a long story… oh look, it's your turn now Yugito."
(Jutsu: Fūja Hōin – Evil Sealing Method!)
…
By the time Yugito returned from her one-sided match against a Iwa genin she beat rather easily with a Raigan barrage and bone-breaking taijutsu, Naruto had told Kakashi the gist of what he had been through. He hadn't told Kakashi all of it, there was no way he could do that in just a few minutes, but he told the scarecrow ninja the essentials, those being what his father had told him and a few playfully snide comments from his mother.
"So all these years Minato-sensei was with you?" Kakashi repeated.
Naruto nodded. "I didn't know he was with me, I probably wouldn't have found out for another few years if it hadn't been for Orochimaru. Looks like that snake bastard's visit wasn't all bad." Perhaps it was a little too soon to joke about that, Hari and Yugito were giving him disapproving looks. "Anyway, Kakashi I'd love to have a chat but you should probably check up on Sasuke. He's in the middle of being fawned over by Sakura and it looks like he's about to set her on fire."
Kakashi chuckled. "I look forward to seeing you in the finals, Naruto."
Once Kakashi left, Shi and Darui turned to Naruto with matching questioning expressions.
"Right, this was one of those things I was going to tell you about later," Naruto rubbed the back of his head again. "The Fourth Hokage was my old man, who knew?"
Darui almost cracked a smile but kept his expression neutral under the scolding gaze Shi shot him and Naruto. "I can't believe this… you're actually the son of Konoha's Kiroii Senkō, Naruto." The sensory-type shinobi looked at Hari and Yugito. "So you two knew?"
"Yeah."
"We did." Yugito nodded.
"How ironic."
"What's ironic about it, Shi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Raikage-sama and the Yondaime were arch enemies. Before his passing, the Yondaime was the fastest man alive and the only one to have ever defeated Raikage-sama and Kirabi-sama. Interesting how this all worked out, Raikage-sama's rival dies and he ends up allowing his brother to raise the son of the only man faster than he was."
"Right." Naruto didn't exactly know what to say to that. As much he loved Kumo, he couldn't deny something had changed in him over the past few days. Kumo's cutthroat strategies to abduct shinobi with bloodline limits had happened more than once in the past, and the Hyūga Incident, which was allegedly unauthorised, was not the first one. Not to mention the fact they had attempted to abduct his mother when she was a girl and how they had tried again years later when Minato clashed with the Raikage… Still, his parents had seen how his life had gone and they didn't seem to disapprove of how Kirabi had raised him. Why didn't it bother them? It should have bothered them their only son was raised by the one village that had caused them both so much grief… shouldn't it have?
An agitated expression crept to Naruto's features.
A few years before his father's death he had fought with Kirabi and Raiden whom were going to 'retrieve' the Kyūbi, which at the time was still sealed within his mother. It made Naruto think, think more than he ever did and it was both nerve wrecking and frustrating. If Kirabi had tried to abduct his mother, even if under orders from Kumo's higher ups, and killing her in the process of extracting the Kyūbi… was it possible that all those years ago he wasn't simply on border patrol? Was their encounter more than coincidence? Naruto didn't want to believe it but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Why would Kirabi have been the one to be on a mundane mission such as border patrol when he was one of Kumo's finest? None of it made sense. Why didn't it make sense?
"Something wrong?" Darui asked.
Naruto snapped out of it, willing himself to put those thoughts out of his mind and save those questions for the next time he saw Kirabi. "No, I was just thinking." Naruto looked across the board in the hall and leant on the safety railing, pretending not to notice the shared glances amongst his teammates and teachers. "I want to get this over with and get some sleep.
"You were in a meditative state for two days," Hari pointed out.
"That's not sleep, that's resting. There's a difference, a big red one." Naruto had to force himself from snapping at Hari, he couldn't allow those dark thoughts to surface now and affect both his judgement and personality. There was a time and a place for those thoughts and they certainly weren't now.
Hari was about to reply when Yugito interrupted, pointing towards the giant screen as it read: 'Saito Kenji versus Sabaku no Gaara.' "This doesn't look too good for Kenji," Yugito said. "We've never seen him fight all out but if Gaara goes at him like he did at me, Kenji won't stand a chance."
"This guy must have made one hell of an impression on you Yugito, if you think of him so highly."
Yugito frowned. "I don't think highly of him, I simply acknowledge he's powerful and shouldn't be underestimated under any circumstances." Yugito made sure to emphasise on the last three words, not at all liking the glint in Naruto's eyes as he watched Gaara and Kenji take their places.
Unbeknownst to Yugito however, Naruto was more concerned with the fact none of Gaara's peers were cheering him on. Not even his teammates who seemed preoccupied with going at it with one another.
-ooo-
(Kenji VS Gaara)
Kenji drew his blade and held in a vertical guard, eyes fixated on the red-haired Sand genin. "I'm ready, proctor," he took a deep breath. Gaara had his arms crossed over his chest and he didn't seem to acknowledge the need to enter a proper fighting stance. Either he was very arrogant or he was very powerful, either way Kenji wasn't going underestimate his opponent. That was a mistake not many in his line of work could live to regret.
Gaara inclined his head ever so slightly, the proctor hesitated for a few seconds to make the chopping hand motion and shout, "Begin!"
Being the heir of a clan that excelled in kenjutsu, Kenji was never one to needlessly unsheathe his blade. A long time ago when his clan had less passionate leaders, it was forbidden for a Saito to sheathe their blade without having drawn blood. Such barbaric traditions were no longer upheld however the principle against needlessly unsheathing one's blade was still in effect.
Kenji's katana was made of white and silver metal, engraved with rippling patterns. Its guard was covered with black leather and its butt was a thick silver square engraved with the Saito Clan coat of arms: dual kunai threaded together by lightning.
"Useless."
Kenji kept his composure and held his katana horizontally, stroking across its metal. "The Saito-Ryū kenjutsu is one of Kumo's most feared techniques," Kenji swiftly sliced the air, making a whirling sound as he did so. "The wavy patterns on the metal are necessary for the Saito-Ryū to be used effectively."
Gaara tilted his head in a childlike state of confusion.
"I see you're intrigued," Kenji raised an offensive stance. "Allow me to demonstrate!"
Kenji rushed forward at a high speed and brought his sword down with such force the air screeched louder with whirling noise, however the Saito heir was in for a surprise when he was met with a sudden resistance that caught him off guard. Gaara's sand retaliated by driving into his chest with enough force to send him flying and land on his back with a painful groan. Kenji rolled over the floor and got tohis feet, narrowly avoiding a wave of sand and entered another stance. 'How does he control the sand without hand seals? Is it a bloodline limit… no, that can't be it. As far as I know no one in Suna has a kekkai genkai like this.'
Gaara was unimpressed. "I see… useless."
Kenji didn't rise to the comment, it would be undignified to so. Instead he held up his katana and rushed forward whilst charging chakra to his blade. "Saito-Ryū! Sazanami Tsurugi!" Whether it was an optic illusion or not, those who faced this technique usually never found out. Kenji's sword began to go into rippling motions so fast it began to project screeching sounds at a high frequency.
Now Gaara seemed somewhat impressed.
(Jutsu: Saito-Ryū! Sazanami Tsurugi – Saito Style! Rippling Sword!)
Kenji rushed forward and Gaara sent a rush of sand to buffet him but as the sand collided, Kenji's sliced clean through it and closed in on Gaara with a diagonal slice. As the blade came down however Gaara's sand had already reacted and crashed into Kenji's side and flung him way with enough force he formed a crater in the wall upon impact.
Gaara waited, easing his sand back and allowing Kenji to try again.
It was rather humiliating but Kenji believed in 'pride before a fall' and vowed to make Gaara regret underestimating him.
Breaking out of the concrete hold, Kenji got to his feet and held up his katana above him in a vertical guard. He had hoped to avoid using this technique until the fourth and final stage of the Chūnin Exams but it couldn't be helped. His katana began to glow a vibrant shade of blue as he channeled his chakra through it and brought down the blade. "Saito-Ryū! Sazanami Kire!"
(Jutsu: Saito-Ryū! Sazanami Kire – Saito Style! Rippling Slice!)
A screeching noise followed by an eight feet tall wave of rippling chakra soaring through the air, crashing into Gaara's ultimate defence and resulting in a loud bang. As the dust cleared up Gaara was still standing, a cocoon of sand reverting to its regular mass.
"That was my strongest technique…" Kenji's grip weakened and his sword ceased going into rippling motions. Sabaku no Gaara was not one to be trifled with, that much had been established already, but for his strongest attack to have been brushed off like that was more than just a little disheartening. The eye-patch wearing genin glowered, he couldn't accept this and refused to even acknowledge it. Kenji dashed forward, his sword going into rippling motions once again as he neared Gaara. "Sazanami-!"
Gaara's sand burst forward and slammed him into the ground. It then proceeded to tightening around him and tight grip, levitating him a good three feet off the ground as Gaara's soulless teal eyes bore into him. "You are weak. Hesitant before each attack frozen with fear." The Ichibi jinchūriki spoke the truth. "Shall I kill you now?"
Kenji glared at him. "I'm not afraid of you," he spat with venom.
"You do not fear me, not yet." Gaara's arm unfolded, his right extended towards his prey, fingers curling slowly. "You fear death. And through death, you will fear me."
The sand began to constrict tighter around Kenji, smashing his arms and legs together painfully. His joints excruciating but the Saito heir refused to scream.
"Sabaku Sōsō!"
A bloodcurdling scream followed by a rain of blood rang through the tower. Hayate dashed forward to call the match but sand swept before him and blocked his path. Kenji was alive, barely so but still alive. He was covered in blood, his legs bent in otherwise impossible angles and patches of skin were ripped of his arms, legs and face. Sabaku no Gaara's sand rose into a crashing tide and swept towards his downed enemy intent on delivering the killing blow.
As Gaara's sand came crashing, Kenji reached into his pouch with all his might and retrieved a green scroll.
A wave of energy and a powerful blast of wind collided with the sand.
BOOM!
Hayate Shunshined to the fallen genin and inspected his wound. Medics arrived so the proctor stood up and raised his hand in Gaara's direction. "Winner Sabaku no Gaara!"
-ooo-
(Team Kirabi)
Naruto's eyes were fixed in a glare aimed on the retreating form for Gaara. As the Sand genin ascended the stairs and walked back to his team, all the genin in his way parted to open passage as though he was a prophet. "That bastard… he could've let the proctor call the match." Naruto gritted his teeth.
The angry look in his eyes was a telltale sign of retribution and Hari knew it. "I know what you're thinking but it's not worth getting kicked out of the exams, Naruto." Truth be told Hari felt the same way, he had half a mind to let Naruto go ahead with it and restrain Yugito in case she tried to stop him but when it came down to it, getting kicked out of the exam after having worked their asses off and nearly getting killed in the process, it just didn't seem worth it. Especially not if they had a good chance at payback during the third and fourth stages.
"I know, but seeing that bastard completely indifferent to what he just did doesn't make it any easier." Naruto gritted his teeth, vowing to get back at Gaara at the next opportunity.
Darui broke the tension filled silence by pointing out the next match.
'Uzumaki Naruto VS Rock Lee.'
-ooo-
(Naruto vs Lee)
Rock Lee pumped his fist in his usual exuberant manner. "Naruto-kun, though your friend was injured, have faith he'll be back on his feet with his youthful flames fully rejuvenated!" Lee took his stance with a nod to the proctor. "Forgive me for being selfish but I would like to face you at your best, so please, Naruto-kun, put those thoughts out of your mind and fight me with all you have."
Whether it was just him or not, Naruto didn't know but there was just something about Lee's disposition that seemed to be cheer up anyone he spoke to. Perhaps Lee was as special as he was but in his own way, perhaps Lee lifted the spirits of those around him like Naruto, and bonded with those he met. Nevertheless a smile broke out on Naruto's face and he took his own stance with a nod to the proctor.
"I know you're incapable of using ninjutsu and genjutsu," Lee nodded to this, "That's why I've decided to face you with all I've got using only taijutsu, Lee. I don't want you to feel I'm giving you a handicap, because I'm not going to underestimate you for even a second!" Naruto dashed forward and jumped high in the air, spinning forward rapidly and brought down a vicious heel drop on Lee.
The Azure Beast raised his bandage covered arms in an X-shaped guard and blocked the attack. "Yosh! Then this will be the upmost youthful battle I have ever fought, Naruto-kun!" Lee retaliated with a roundhouse kick of his own and sent the airborne Naruto flying.
Naruto touched down with a back flip and charged forward once again, meeting Lee head on. This time he had no weighed clothing, he wasn't saving his best for last and he sure as hell wasn't going to hesitate to capitalise on openings and weaknesses. For his part, Lee had no inhibitions of his own and the spandex clad genin smashed his fist against Naruto's.
A brief sparkle went through Naruto, a sensation he hadn't felt before. Whatever it was, now wasn't the time to give any thought and he ducked to the ground and kicked at Lee's legs. The Konoha genin jumped high and swung his leg in rotating spin, "Konoha Senpū!"
The impact caused Naruto's arm to shake involuntarily. "Ouch, you've got one hell of a kick on you, Lee!" Naruto drew back avoiding a flurry of kicks and punches rather easily. "You pack a punch but you're on the slow slide. Whatever it is you're holding back, I suggest you break it out before it's too late!" Naruto ducked under another roundhouse kick and drove his fist into Lee's gut, then followed up with a brutal shoulder throw that smashed Lee into the concrete.
The blond backed away with a series of hand flips and allowed Lee time to get to his feet.
"I apologise, Naruto-kun. It is true, I have been holding back," Lee looked up to the stands to a man who seemed to be an adult version of himself. "Gai-sensei, I'm taking them off!"
Gai gave him a thumbs up, "Go all out, Lee! Show him what the Springtime of Youth is all about!"
Lee nodded and jumped back a good twelve feet and landed on the giant pair of hands forming a hand seal. Lee reached under his leg warmers and withdrew two sets of weights with the kanji for 'Guts' inscribed on them. "From here on, Naruto-kun, see if you can keep up!" Lee dropped the weights and they created deep craters the size of a small house as they made contact with the floor.
Naruto's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets. "Holy fuck-" He never got to finish that sentence as a fist connected with jaw and sent him flying at such a speed he hardly registered the pain as he was lodged into the wall with enough force to crack a rib or two. "Ouch!"
Lee wasn't done yet however and unleashed a storm of rapid, bone breaking punches to Naruto's chest and face. He was moving so fasts his arms turned into blurs and the impact of each strike further lodged Naruto deeper into the concrete wall. However as Lee went for a finishing blow Naruto's hand shot forward and caught in an ironclad grip. Blood streamed freely down his chin, mouth and nose but Naruto didn't care. The onslaught had cancelled out his genjutsu and he knew as soon as Lee saw his eyes there was an opening.
"You just broke two important rules, Lee." Naruto increased the pressure and began to crush Lee's hand. The Azure Beast struggled and punched Naruto with his remaining hand but the pressure only increased and the jinchūriki retaliated with a head butt. "You never ever give up an opening and you never allow your opponent to surprise you!" With each word Naruto increased the pressure, it was rather impressing how Lee managed not to utter a single sound of pain despite veins popping up on his face that grew increasingly red.
Naruto's remaining arm broke out of the wall and connected with Lee's face, he then followed up with a neck hold and knee to Lee's face, smashing his knee thrice into Lee's face. Naruto then raised Lee by the elbows and ran forward, jumping a good ten feet into the air. "See if you can take a punishing of your own!" Naruto began to spin forward, gaining enough speed to become a blur of black and green as he finished with a pile-driver and drove Lee's head into the ground.
Lee's feet twitched, it was a sign he was alive. Naruto hadn't anticipated otherwise, having noticed the guy had an incredibly hard head when he head butted him. Knowing Lee would be up in his feet soon enough Naruto began to freely let his chakra flow out in order to vitalise his body so he could keep up with Lee. When it came down to strength, he had Lee's number but when it came down to speed, Lee was tough to keep up with. As he expected Lee broke free out of his hold and surged forward almost untraceably shouting, "Gōken!"
More out of pure reflex than foresight Naruto sidestepped the attack narrowly and threw a punch of his own which Lee also dodged. The two held onto each other in a grapple as a line of blood open on their cheeks and they grinned at one another. Lee raised his knee in a show of extraordinary flexibility, however Naruto leant back and pulled him down and launched him into the air with his feet. Lee turned midair and touched the ceiling with his feet briefly before rocketing downwards at Naruto with a heel drop intended for his skull.
Naruto ducked to the side as another crater formed where he had just been. He regained his footing just on time to intercept Lee's fist with his own, resulting in a shockwave emanating from the pair. In an instant they broke their clash and begun a high speed battle where the two of them would disappear and reappear to clash. Naruto had to thank Kirabi properly for all the beatings he'd been given, he was able to keep up mostly on pure reflex and reading Lee's movements, which were rather straightforward but downright lethal nonetheless.
-ooo-
(Konoha Genin)
The Konoha genin had been observing the fight with a steadily increasing sense of dread. The initial shock of seeing Naruto's genjutsu cancelled was overshadowed by the fight, dismissed as a way of tricking his opponents into underestimate him. Seeing Naruto take on the fastest genin of Konoha and matching his speed was disheartening and filled them with a sense of defeat as the odds of having to face Naruto increasingly rose.
"I can't believe he's able to keep up with Lee!" Tenten's expression matched her thoughts. Nobody could blame her, Lee was hands down the fastest of their generation and not even Sasuke or Neji could keep up if it wasn't for their dōjutsu and even then all they really could do was anticipate Lee's movements. Yet Naruto seemed to be matching Lee's speed without much trouble and was winning the majority of clashes.
"Uzumaki is going to win this." Shino was analysing their every move and gave reason for his thoughts. "Lee is faster but Uzumaki is stronger, that much is clear. However, one of them will run out of energy eventually and it does not look like it will be Uzumaki, considering he has more chakra than all of us combined."
"You can't be serious," Yuhi Kurenai challenged her student, feeling somewhat apprehensive Shino would say such things. "Lee's opponent has a lot of chakra, that's true but it can't be more than all of you combined."
"I was including the jōnin, too, Kurenai-sensei."
"Excuse me?"
Kakashi decided to interject. "Shino is correct, Kurenai. There are a few people in this world born with incredibly large chakra reserves like Naruto, including our own Hokage as well as the Raikage. Hokage-sama was noted to have incredibly large chakra reserves in his days of youth, and though he may not look like it now, his chakra was said to be comparable to the Kyūbi's in sheer volume when he was still in his prime. I haven't witnessed it myself, but apparently the chakra he's unleashing now doesn't come close to his full reserves."
They were all visibly shocked, although Gai was entirely convinced. "Large reserves alone do not conclude a battle, Kakashi. Your reserves are below average due to the constant siphoning of your Sharingan, yet you are one of the strongest shinobi Konoha has produced."
"He has a point," Kakashi conceded. "Lee may very well win this fight."
Gai smiled, satisfied with winning that argument and then turned cupped his hands to his mouth, "LEE! You have my permission to use that technique!"
-ooo-
(Naruto VS Lee)
"LEE! You have my permission to use that technique!"
Naruto paused and Lee looked up and gave his sensei the thumbs up. He then looked at Naruto and smiled, "Naruto-kun, I have enjoyed our battle immensely. You are one of the very few to have seen this technique." Naruto was confused but just as curious and so waited as Lee closed his eyes.
"Hachimon!" Lee's skin began to take on a red-orange tinge and chakra erupted from his pores. Lee's eyes became pupil-less and a green tinge formed around his body along with two steams of chakra around him forming in a spiral.
"Kaimon Open!"
Naruto's eyes could barely follow what happened next as Lee was standing still at one moment and standing still in front of him the next. Naruto blinked and went to punch him but Lee had disappeared and began running in a circle around him. Naruto was tempted to raise a tile and trip Lee but that would be cheating and he didn't want to go back on his word now.
Wind kicked up in small hurricane and Lee was upon Naruto instantly, crouched before him and delivering a powerful kick. As Naruto soared through the air, Lee continued to kick him further upwards until Naruto was mere inches from face planting into ceiling. Lee was behind him instantly matching his body's every move. "Kage Buyō." Lee wrapped his arms around Naruto and constricted him in a hold of gauze. "Here we go! Omote Renge!"
Naruto tried to break out of the hold but found it impossible to move as he rotated rapidly and was pile-driven into concrete floor headfirst.
BOOM!
Lee touched down in a crouch held his arm as the strain coursed through his body causing immense pain, but he forced himself to stand. The Omote Renge was a lethal kinjutsu that was much like a double edged sword, it hurt him nearly as much as his victim, sans the fractured skull, vertebrae and broken neck. Still, his opponent was powerful and if hadn't been for this technique he would have most likely ran out of steam before long and lost.
Hayate looked at Lee and then at the dust cloud emanating from the newly created crater. "Winner-"
"Not yet!" Naruto's voice sounded disembodied.
Hayate's eyes widened but he regained his composure and took a few steps back, "Continue."
Naruto emerged from the crater with clothes torn and bleeding profusely but he was still standing,.
"I can't believe you're still standing," Lee panted. "Nobody's ever survived that technique."
Naruto wiped some blood away and stood tall. "I have to hand it to you, Lee, you are going to be one hell of a fearsome guy one day. I've never such an even-matched fight before, even if did use ninjutsu there wouldn't be any difference." Naruto's grin was animalistic; it was as if he could barely restrain himself from attacking Lee. "I heard about the Hachimon but I've never seen them used before. How many gates can you open?"
"Five gates are my maximum," Lee answered as he got to his feet, standing proud by the compliments paid to him.
Naruto's grin widened and his eyes took an intense gaze, he resembled a predator of the highest calibre. "Open them."
"What?"
"You're going to want to open them for what follows, Lee." Naruto's chakra suddenly rose to incredible heights and as soon as it happened the chakra visibly receded. Naruto focused on preparing his body with his own chakra before calling forth the Kyūbi's chakra and entering his initial jinchūriki mode. "I hope you're ready!"
The red slit eyes that met Lee's own was all the Azure Beast needed.
"Second gate, Kyūmon Open! Third gate, Seimon Open!"
Chakra erupted out of the Azure Beast.
Lee's skin grew a darker shade of orange, veins began to appear all over his body visibly pumping blood through his veins; the green energy expanded as did the chakra spiralling around him. "You are a tough one, Naruto! There's no more holding back!"
BOOM!
Their fists connected once again and spend shockwaves of energy through the hall, kicking up strong gales. Naruto called forth more of the Kyūbi's chakra and was now matching Lee's speed perfectly, trading blows at untraceable speeds and becoming nothing but blurs as they moved, only briefly appearing in their stalemates and disappearing. Naruto curved his head and narrowly avoided a powerful punch that sent a shockwave behind him and retaliated by grabbing onto Lee's head and head butting him. Two more shockwaves followed before Lee's hands shot up and pushed his head back from delivering another blow. The spandex wearing genin shot up his leg and kicked Naruto in the jaw and followed up with a storm of kicks and punches to Naruto's gut and face.
"Fourth gate, Shōmon Open! Fifth gate, Tomon Open!" As Naruto plummeted, the bandages on Lee's left arm coiled around Naruto and pulled him back just as Lee opened another gate. Lee pulled Naruto closer for his final and most powerful technique. "URA RENGE!"
The foot and fist smashed into Naruto with such force he plummeted straight through the floor at such a velocity, huge chunks of concrete raised up as he crashed into the sixteenth floor below and dust kicked up. Midair Lee's energy left him and the excruciating pain had him fall through the same gap.
A silence went through the entire hall, nobody uttered a word and some even held their breaths as Hayate looked down the huge, twenty feet wide gap in the floor to check on the contestants. The proctor had to step back immediately as a green blur shot up and flew another fifty feet or so in the air and crashing in the ceiling. Naruto jumped high in the air, torso bare and trousers ripped to all hell, as he began kicking Lee further into the air as the Azure Beast had done to him. Naruto switched with Lee on the way down, continuously delivering punches to the face that created small shockwaves. He cocked back his arm for one final hit when he suddenly stopped.
Lee was already unconscious.
Naruto grabbed onto to Lee and switched again and braced himself for the pain as he cushioned his unconscious opponent's fall with his own body.
The floor made a plonking sound as he lodged into it with a painful groan. Naruto hadn't felt this much pain since he had fought Orochimaru and even then he couldn't remember having shed as much blood, his entire body was covered in scrapes, bruises and gashes that were bleeding profusely. With his remaining strength Naruto hauled out of the wreckage and dragged Lee out with him, panting heavily and close to losing consciousness.
Hayate nodded to the medics and called the match. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!"
-ooo-
(An Hour Later)
Naruto woke up with a sense of nausea and a headache much like the time he had fought with Takeshi Takezo, albeit without the chakra exhaustion. One of the first things he noticed was that he was laid on a comfy bed close to several medical apparatuses including a defibrillator, IV straps and other assorted machinery one would find in a hospital. Secondly he noticed he was wearing nothing but his trousers which now more or less resembled shorts worn by teenage punks in the big cities. His chest and arms were bandaged up, as was his head although it covered mostly his jaw and chin.
As he sat up in his bed he looked across the room and saw an unconscious Lee bandaged up like a mummy fast asleep. A medic nin walked into the room and smiled at Naruto. "Oh, you're awake already? How impressive." She spoke like a kindergarten teacher would to a child who had just finished a crude drawing, it kind of rubbed Naruto the wrong way. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, how's Lee doing?" Naruto reached for the IV strap and took it out; he didn't need to be hydrated by a machine now that he was awake. To prove he was fine he poured a cup of water from the jug placed next to his bed and downed the cup in one. "Is he alright?"
The medical kunoichi reached for the clipboard on Lee's bed and began to read. "Hmm… the patient, Rock Lee, was admitted with symptoms in accordance with severe beating… symptoms include severe bruising, three broken ribs, several contusions, internal bleeding… Looks like Rock-san went through a painful ordeal."
"You should've seen the other guy," Naruto mumbled, hoping the Kyūbi's healing factor would kick in already.
The medical professional gave him a curious look but did not follow up with a question however she responded fiercely as Naruto got out of bed and put on his sandals. "Where do you think you're going, Uzumaki-san? You are being kept overnight for observation." The kunoichi pushed him back onto the bed shook her head as Naruto was about to retort. "No buts. You need your rest."
Just as she said that the door opened and Hari and Yugito entered the room. Naruto's expression lit up and ceased resisting the medic's orders, dutifully lying back in his bed and stretching his limbs. "I've been awake for nearly ten minutes, what took you so long?"
Hari pulled up a chair and sat down, as did Yugito. "The preliminaries just finished, and yes we also passed the prelims, thank you for asking." Hari poured a cup of water and took a sip. "Twenty of us passed in total. Not bad considering there were sixty of us to begin with." He then went on to explain the details of the next stage. "They told us there was one more stage left and it's a tournament styled process of elimination. The winner will be presented with an award and guaranteed the bump to chūnin. For anyone else it comes down to it, good performance to get the bump and that's up to our Kage to decide. Anyway, until then we've got a month to prepare."
"Hold on, they're giving us a month to prepare?" Now that was odd, why would they be given so much time to prepare. Surely by now they would be prepared as they were going to be and even if they weren't, a month was simply too long. "Did anyone else say anything about that?"
"They did," Yugito informed him. "Apparently the finals will be out in the open in a specifically stadium created for this part of the exam. Some of the world's most important figures will be there to watch us fight as though we are gladiators. Organising such would take considerable time."
Naruto frowned. "Wouldn't they have organised that beforehand? I doubt they decided to make the final stage public on a whim."
"I agree," Yugito cupped her chin in thought. "I believe there will be another hidden stage during the next month. I do not know what or how, but I simply cannot believe they would give us this much time to prepare for a tournament."
"You're on to something there, Yugito," Hari agreed.
"I think so too, but how do we know who we'll be facing?" Naruto caught the ambiguous expression on Hari's face. "What, what is it?"
After the preliminaries were over, the twenty that passed were called to stay behind as the rest left. It was explained to them they would face each other in a tournament one month from now on the tenth of November. Each of them were given a number at random generated by the giant screen. Yugito drew number two, Hari's was eight and Naruto got nine – the irony would be rather amusing in the future. Other noteworthy drawers were Ryūsa with number five, Nobunaga fourteen, Sasuke three, Gaara one, his sister Temari with thirteen, Shikamaru seven and Neji with six. There were a few others but Naruto didn't particularly care, "Who am I supposed to fight?"
"Number ten, a kunoichi of Iwa by the name of Kurotsuchi. She and her two teammates made it to the finals like we did," Yugito answered. "I drew seventeen as my opponent, Kaguya Tetsuya, the one Kenichi mentioned earlier. His kekkai genkai anomaly puts me in an advantage but he will undoubtedly be a tough opponent."
Naruto turned to Hari, "What about you?"
"Number six, Hyūga Neji."
The universe really was stirring things up.
"And you're put off by this because…?" Naruto knew why, but he asked anyway.
Hari glared at him. "You know why. My dad was the reason his father was killed."
"No, Hari, it was the higher ups that demanded a body. What your dad did was stupid, but that doesn't mean you have to feel guilty!"
Yugito decided to step in before this got out of hand, Hari's self guilt was always a confrontational topic between the two and could very well end up getting physical. "Sensei, can our teammate leave? I'll make sure he has plenty rest, we have plenty of time for that anyway."
The medic frowned but relented. "Do as you like, don't blame me if he comes down with anything though."
"Thank you," Yugito said politely. "Put on some clothes, we're leaving."
Naruto didn't need to be told twice and quickly got dressed.
Author's Notes
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, I am particularly pleased with Naruto's match against Lee, who is also one of my favourite characters. I know there were quite a lot of fights but believe, if I were to write out all the fights I had in my head we'd reach 'The Preliminaries Part X' so I had to skip quite a few. I'll probably write a few lines in the next chapter how everyone else passed. I'm getting back in the writing grove so hopefully the next chapter will be out in a couple of days; lots of interesting developments are coming up so I hope you guys will enjoy that.
Kumo Nin reached 1000+ favourites and alerts! Let's see if we can make it to 700 reviews barrier today, I'd really like to reach my 1000+ reviews goal so if you guys can help me out, it'll be hugely appreciated.
Character cameo appearances:
(1) Misaki Yakushi – Marutectz552
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Jutsu Used:
(Jutsu: Kurohigi! Yakushin no Sattō – Black Secret Technique! Onslaught Rush!) – C rank, offensive, short to midrange. Kankurō rushes his puppet Karasu forward armed with multiple blades and fire spitting cannons to make quick work of his enemies.
(Jutsu: Fūja Hōin – Evil Sealing Method!) – A rank, supplementary, short range. A quick but excruciating piece of fūinjutsu that relies on the willpower of the subject to suppress evil thoughts and emotions. This jutsu has also proven to be capable of suppressing kekkai genkai in the past.
(Jutsu: Saito-Ryū! Sazanami Tsurugi – Saito Style! Rippling Sword!) – C rank, offensive, short range. Kenji channels his chakra through his katana and arm to set his blade in waving motions to make its metal ripple for increased cutting power. Derived jutsu: Sazanami Kire (Rippling Slice).
(Jutsu: Saito-Ryū! Sazanami Kire – Saito Style! Rippling Slice!) – B rank, offensive, mid range. Kenji's strongest technique, similar in theory to his Sazanami Tsurugi however the Rippling Slice is considerably stronger and designed to fight enemies on midrange distance. Its cutting power and speed are also greatly enhanced in comparison its parent jutsu. Parent jutsu: Sazanami Tsurugi (Rippling Sword).
(Jutsu: Kage Buyō – Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!) – C rank, supplementary, short range. Preceded by a kick, Lee jumps high in the air and matches his opponents exact movements midair when they are vulnerable in preparation for his Omote Renge. Derived jutsu: Omote Renge (Front Lotus).
(Jutsu: Omote Renge – Front Lotus!) – B-rank, offensive, short range. Lee unlocks the first gate to increase his strength by five times and then proceeds to use his Shadow of the Dancing Leaf to match his opponents movements in preparation for the Front Lotus, a technique that requires him to wrap his gauze around his opponent and rotate rapidly as he pile-drives them into the ground. This move is extremely dangerous and is considered a kinjutsu for the strain it puts on the user. Parent jutsu: Hachimon (Eight Gates) & Kage Buyō (Shadow of the Dancing Leaves).
(Jutsu: Ura Renge – Reverse Lotus!) – A rank, offensive, short range. This technique is an advanced and more destructive version of the Front Lotus, which requires that at least three chakra gates. Once enough gates are open, the user launches the target into the air and strikes them at inhuman speed before hitting them with one arm and one foot, sending the target crashing into the ground. This is usually fatal due to the speed and power behind the attack and is consider a kinjutsu due to the stress it puts on the user's body, often resulting them in being unable to stand. Parent jutsu: Hachimon (Eight Gates) & Kage Buyō (Shadow of the Dancing Leaves).