Shinobi no Kami
Chapter 5
A/N: I'd like to thank frankieu, angel11xpr, sinedd662, Guest, Pat123, shapeshirter340, fan naruto, anarion87, Spark681, Guest, EPIC-FEIRYWOLF, Phantomsoul2015, bigfan22, Beastyd22, Guest, kamui5, Guest, Guest, DrkMidget, BlackDragonShinigami, volfwildman, ChunkyFunkyMunky, Fee-fi-fo-fum, CapriSunnyD, Clearhorse and Guest for your reviews.
Sinedd662: I'm a little confused on what you mean about old voices, but if you mean old votes then no they don't count.
Guest: It will be quite similar to canon in some areas, but the rest will be different. With the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, that to will change though I won't tell you what happens as to not ruin it.
volfwildman: No, Temari won't be part of the harem because I'm a ShikamaruxTemari shipper. As for Kin, she works for Orochimaru whether it be willing or not and Naruto hates the Snake Sannin and anyone with him with a passion. And while I don't mind OC's, I don't want to add one.
Fee-fi-fo-fum: What I'm basing the rank off isn't the power of an individual, but experience and past accomplishments that they have done. Also in terms of power, Naruto is powerful yes, and has gone up against powerful Shinobi and won in some cases however, that's only because they weren't taking him seriously. Look at the fight between Kakashi, the only time he was caught off guard was when Naruto summoned the water/lightning dragon technique.
As for the harem right now it currently stands at:
1) Mei – 145 votes.
2) Yugito – 140 votes.
3) Anko – 122 votes.
4) Shizuka – 99 votes.
5) Ino – 88 votes.
6) Hinata – 81 votes.
7) Tayuya – 78 votes.
8) Karui – 43 votes.
9) Sakura – 20 votes.
So far, it seems that Yugito, Mei and Anko will be in the harem. If those three aren't the ones you want and you still haven't voted, then go do that right now. Plus, Samui and Kurenai so if those five aren't the ones you want then once again, go vote now. By the time the next chapter is out, the poll will be closed.
"Normal speech."
'Normal thought.'
"Demon/Jinchūriki speech."
"Demon thought."
"Jutsu/translations."
-X- Line Break -X-
Naruto shook his head as he watched more and more Genin leave the room as they gave up. He had to hand it to Ibiki, he sure knew how to test them. The final question was all about not giving up until the mission is complete even if it means death. Of course, Ibiki couldn't threaten to kill the Genin so he instead threatened their chance of becoming Chūnin.
It shocked him to know that some many had fallen for such a simple trick. Ibiki didn't have the permission nor the influence to ever make that happen. Not only that, but the Chūnin exams was just one of two ways to become Chūnin, the other way was Field Promotions. In fact, on average eight out of ten Chūnin earned their rank through Field Promotions. The exams were more just to showcase the power of the next generation to ensure the continued trade and mission influx from clients.
As he looked round the room, Naruto could tell that no one else was contemplating leaving the exams. Except the pink haired girl who seemed to be torn between giving up and staying. However, whenever she looked towards Sasuke she would flinch and lower her arm once more.
Naruto shook his head at that, teammates looked out for one another and Sasuke was doing exactly the opposite. Sakura if he remembered her name properly, was far too scared and unprepared for these exams. Even an idiot could tell that, but Sasuke was purposely ignoring that in favour himself. There was a very high chance that she would die in these exams. It mattered little to him anyway, it's her own fangirlish tendencies that will get her killed. Better here than on a dangerous mission that could potentially result in multiple deaths.
Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto turned back to face Ibiki who was studying each and every single Genin.
"Alright those of you are still here…" There was a dramatic pause in which Ibiki allowed their nerves to build. "Pass." Shock and confusion were the main feelings that Kurama was feeling as a result of Ibiki's statement.
"W-wait, what about the tenth question?!" Temari shouted out her question.
"That was the tenth question." Ibiki answered. "Out in the field you will sometimes be faced with a choice, surrender or continue with the mission even if it means death. To be a Chūnin you have to know your limits, but you must also know that you must push yourself beyond those limits." It was an inspiring speech, Naruto would admit that. It would been even better had a brown ball not jumped through a window, confetti exploding everywhere and a banner saying, "Proctor for the Second Exam, the Sexy and Single, Anko Mitarashi."
Naruto snorted in amusement and watched as many of the male Genin shamelessly ogled the scantily clad Anko stood proudly before them. He was no different, but he knew how to do it differently and he had also seen Anko far too many times to be distracted by her.
"You're early Anko." Ibiki informed her.
"Oi! What the fuck, you allowed sixty-one teams to pass!" Sighing, Ibiki shook his head. "No matter. I'll cut 'em down by at least half when I'm finished." It was then Anko took note of her favourite blonde. "Oi Gaki! What'd you think? Pretty cool entrance!"
Standing up, Naruto just barely avoided the blur that was Anko before she sat on his seat. She pouted up at him, but Naruto simply shook his head in amusment.
"But Naru-chan, don't you wanna play with mama Anko." She whined pitifully. Though from the tone of her voice, most men and teens had to hold their nose to quell the blood threatening to spill free.
"I would however, you're definition of playing is trying to dismember me with Kunai or your summons." Anko puffed her cheeks out childishly as her fun was been denied to her. Before tings could continue though, Ibiki cleared his throat and Anko shot to her feet.
"Alight kiddies, get your asses moving towards Training Ground 44." Then she jumped through another window leaving the confused, terrified and some aroused Genin in her wake. Naruto shook his head in amusment and disappeared using the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique). This action got the rest of the Genin moving as well.
-X- Line Break -X-
It took another good fifteen minutes until all the Genin that passed to arrive once more. Though three additional teams did turn up a few seconds afterwards and had been disqualified. None had argued due to the sadistic smile on Anko's face that just begged for anyone to argue against her.
Naruto then looked back towards the Forest of Death. He would admit that the oppressive feeling it gave out had made him a tiny bit wary when he first entered. However, after fighting everything that was inside Naruto learned to ignore the feeling and instead took comfort in it. For some reason it made his blood pump and Naruto was looking forwards to entering the forest.
"Welcome kiddies, to Training Ground 44 also known as the Forest of Death." There was a pause as the Chūnin hopefuls digested what she had said. "Or as I like to call it, home. Now then, for the Second part of the exams you will be given one of two scrolls, Heaven or Earth. Your task is to collect the opposite scroll to the one you have so you have a Heaven and Earth scroll. Then you go to the tower in the centre." Many people nodded at the straight forward test, some had protested at the fact they had to stay in the forest for five days with only the provisions they had.
The Akimichi was the most vocal and Naruto had to admit it was very funny to watch him deflate.
"Kit!" Kurama shouted, breaking Naruto from his thoughts. Instantly he noticed the Kunai been thrown towards him. Reacting on instinct he twisted his body to the side dodging the Kunai, but just as it passed him he caught it in one hand and brought it down so that the tip was resting against the underside of Anko's breasts.
"Nicely done, Na-ru-chan." Anko purred into his ear and Naruto pressed his kunai further against her as a result of her doing the same to the kunai at his neck.
For a few moments neither did anything until Anko disappeared and reappeared in her original positon. Naruto meanwhile copied her and returned to his original position. Many sweat dropped at the way the two acted like nothing had just happened.
Time went by quite slowly after that, having to sign a form that would make it impossible for Konoha to be sued or declared war upon as a result of a foreign Shinobi's death in this part of the exam. After that they were each directed to an entrance to the forest in preparation for it to open.
As soon as it opened Naruto shot forwards and instantly channelled Chakra to his nose, ears and eyes. This further enhanced the three corresponding senses allowing him to see, hear and smell better.
'Kurama where's the nearest team?' Coming to a stop on a branch, Naruto gripped the blade of his Tantō in preparation of an attack that may never come.
"I've got three possible locations." Naruto allowed Kurama to further pinpoint their locations and put a lock on the Chakra signatures. "There is one to your left about a few minutes away. It's going further and further away from you directly towards another team. They're going to meet. There is also another team that is coming directly for us. They will be hear in exactly five, four, three, two and one."
Naruto expected an attack straight away, to his shock the Genin team landed in the clearing below him. It was stupid and an amateur mistake, but then again fighting Konoha Shinobi in the trees was even more foolish. Konoha Shinobi excelled at combat in the trees.
Running through a set of hand seals, he took a deep breath. "Katon: Haisekishō (Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning)." It was one of his favourite Jutsu as it had two separate uses, the ash could explode with the flint or it could suffocate the victim as it got into their lungs.
Ash descended upon the group of Genin and each of them began coughing to free their lungs from it. However, soon one of the Genin dropped as the ash solidified in their lungs choking him to death. The other Genin also tried to rush out, but the ash had spread too far and they to collapsed to the ground.
Naruto took a calming breath and dropped to the ground, thankful that he had put a seal that only allowed Oxygen and nothing else to pass through the fabric. It was perfect when using the Jutsu he had just used.
Two clones formed and checked the other two Genin for their scroll and to his disappointment, he got another Earth scroll which he then sealed away.
'Kurama?'
"The two teams are still fighting, but I suggest you hurry up as they've nearly finished." Nodding his head, Naruto shot forwards and soon found himself looking upon a Konoha team fighting against a team from Kusa. The Kusa Shinobi were already finished and the Konoha team were collecting the scroll. One person stood out the most to him and that was the Kabuto fellow.
Narrowing his eyes, Naruto slinked back into the shadows just as Kabuto turned to face the place he once stood in. He would allow Kabuto to continue on in the Chūnin exams until he proved himself a spy, that didn't mean he wouldn't inform the Hokage on him being a possible spy.
-X- Line Break -X-
Three hours, that's how long he had been in the Forest of Death and in that time Naruto had run across six teams. Two of which had no scroll and tried to take his. He beat them easily. Another had been a Konoha team and he allowed them to go. Then there was a team from Oto and a team from Suna which both had an Earth scroll. He beat them and took their scrolls. It had only been the last team, one from Ame that had a Heaven scroll and now Naruto was making his way towards the tower.
"Kit, I'm sensing a very potent Chakra North-East of you. I can also sense the Uchiha's Chakra as well." Kurama informed him.
'Since when did you care about the Uchiha?' Kurama growled in anger and Naruto chuckled at the fox.
"I could care less about the damn Uchiha, but whoever the Uchiha is fighting it's someone who shouldn't be in these exams and I doubt you would let someone like that mess with it or anyone from Konoha." There was a pause as Naruto adjusted his direction and went in the direction Kurama told him. "Besides, these exams have been boring so far and I want to see some proper action."
Shaking his head in amusement, Naruto landed on a branch and watched as one individual extended his neck and bit into the neck of the Uchiha. He couldn't see what it did, but by the way Sasuke went unconscious as a result of pain it was obviously not good.
"Kukukuku, you can come out now Naruto-kun." Naruto shivered at the way his name was said. Still, he did as the Shinobi wanted and revealed himself and the Shinobi in turn turned to face him, revealing Orochimaru. Clenching his fists tightly, Naruto gripped the handle of his Tantō at seeing the person who betrayed Konoha and orchestrated the death of Shisui.
"Orochimaru." Naruto growled and some of his Chakra seeped out cracking the branch he was on.
"Kukukuku, Jiraiya-kun sure does know how to pick out the diamonds in the rough." Orochimaru gave a soul chillingly, creepy smile. "Oh, you look angry. Is it because I killed Shisui-kun?"
"Don't you dare speak his name! You don't have the right!" Naruto roared as he allowed Kurama's Chakra to course through his body.
"Oh, so I'm not allowed to say, Shi-su-i." That did it for Naruto as the branch he was on splintered and he shot forward in a blur of speed. Orochimaru bent his body at an odd angle as Naruto's Tantō sliced through air. Naruto wasn't done as he spun round and brought his raised foot down for an axe kick. It struck and Orochimaru struck the branch only for him to break apart into mud.
'Shit! Doton: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Earth Style: Shadow Clone Technique)!" Naruto felt the air disperse behind him and looked behind him to see a leg swinging around towards him. He was unable to even to guard against the strike and so it collided against his face with such force that he was launched into another tree.
Spinning around in mid-air, he planted his feet on the bark before pushing off straight towards Orochimaru once more. This is what Sannin expected as he jumped in the air and lashed out with a spinning hook kick. Due to his mind been clouded with anger, Naruto was unable to do anything except take the kick and get launched in a different example.
"Ara, ara I am so disappointed Naruto-kun." Orochimaru smirked as he placed one hand on his hip. "I expected so much more from you. Yet you are so easily angered." Growling, Naruto got to his feet and wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I guess we can't expect much from anyone these days."
"You want to see something special?" Naruto summoned five clones and each of them ran through a set of hand seals. "Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)/Fūton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu (Wind Style: Wind Dragon Bullet Technique)/Suiton: Suiryūdan (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)/Raiton: Rairyūdan (Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Bullet Technique)/Doton: Doryūdan (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet)!"
A dragon of each element shot towards Orochimaru who raised his eyebrow in surprise. Smirking, Orochimaru allowed his body to fall off the branch he was on completely avoiding the attack.
While he escaped unharmed, the tree did not and was split in half as a result of Naruto's combination attack.
As he landed on the ground, Orochimaru smiled. Inwardly however, he was seething. 'Damn Kyūbi brat. Now the Chūnin will be rushing to his area as we speak to see what happened.' Sighing, Orochimaru felt the oppressive aura of the Kyūbi Jinchūriki rushing towards him. Instead of trying to block the strike, he let himself be hit and when he did he turned into mud.
Naruto landed and growled angrily. "Calm down kit." Kyūbi ordered and with it Naruto felt Kurama's Chakra leave him. Instantly he felt much calmer, but he was still filled with anger. "God damn it brat, calm the fuck the down before you do some more stupid shit."
Taking a deep breath, Naruto went on to one knee and allowed his breathing to even out. Once he was done, he looked around the clearing to see that Orochimaru had left along with Kakashi's Genin team. With it, Naruto left towards the tower. Unwilling to stay in the area in which he had suffered a humiliating defeat.
-X- Line Break -X-
After the battle against Orochimaru, Naruto spent the remainder of the time holed up in the room provided for him in the tower. His humiliating defeat at the hands of the Snake Sannin left a bad taste in his mouth and so, he spent the entire time meditating in hopes of stopping himself from been driven into a blind rage once more.
A knock at the door alerted Naruto to someone outside waiting for him. Whoever it was, didn't wait for him to answer as the door opened revealing Kakashi.
"Yo, Hokage-sama is asking for all the Genin to meet in the main auditorium." Nodding his head, Naruto stood up and followed after his older brother figure. While neither had talked about what had happened between him and Orochimaru, Naruto knew that Kakashi was worried for him. It made him happy to know that Kakashi cared for him.
Once the two entered the auditorium, the Genin all lined up and faced towards the Hokage. Naruto just caught a glimpse of a grumbling Ibiki handing over a large roll of money to a grinning Anko before he turned to see who else had made it. There was the Rookie teams, Lee's team, a team from Kumo, Oto and as he suspected, the Ichibi's Jinchūriki's team had made it through. Kabuto's team had also made it through though it hardly mattered to him.
It was only when a sickly cough made him turn to face the Jonin that stood before them did he realise that he had missed the Hokage's speech.
"My name is Gekkō Hayate and I am the judge of this exam. However, before we begin the third exam there will be a set of preliminary matches, the winner of these matches progress onto the Third Exam." Throughout his speech, he would occasionally break down into a coughing fit to further prove that his sickly appearance wasn't just for show.
"Why can't we all just move onto the Third Exam?!" Exclaimed Kiba in shock.
"As the Hokage said previously, there will be multiple dignitaries who will come down to watch the matches. Due to the amount of you who passed, we can't have you all fighting as we only have a small time space to work with, therefore the preliminary matches will only allow those capable to pass through." Gekkō informed them and Naruto nodded his head in agreement with this.
The Chūnin Exams had a secondary purpose besides providing Shinobi the chance to gain a promotion, they also promoted the village as a whole. It would not do to have weak Shinobi who only made it this far because of their teammates (*cough* Sakura *cough*) and have them waste the time of the dignitaries as it would reflect badly on the village as a whole. Therefore the preliminaries would only allow those that had some measure of skill to pass through.
"That matters little, but if you wish to leave then you may do so." Gekkō waved his hand towards the door as extra proof of his claim and once again Naruto found that he had missed something due to his mind wandering.
Naruto turned to face Sasuke and Sakura to see the two whispering heatedly. His enhanced hearing managed to pick out what was being said.
"Trust the Uchiha to not know when to quit." Following this was a few more 'colourful' word choices from his Bijū as he bitched about the Uchiha, a common thing.
"Proctor, I wish to withdraw." Kabuto replied, the proctor nodded his head though his eyes had narrowed in suspicion at the fact that Kabuto looked as good as new. Something which many other Shinobi picked up on, but chose not to comment.
"Does anybody else wish to quit?" He waited for a few moments as no one else raised their hands. "Very well, now we shall see who shall be in the first match." They turned to a screen and watched as multiple names flashed on before it stuck on two.
Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akadō.
"Will everyone else please make their way towards the balcony and wait until you are called down for your match." Naruto moved up towards the balcony and leaned against the railing as he watched Sasuke and Yoroi fall into their own stances and wait for the proctor to call the match.
"Hello, Naruto-kun." Looking to the left, Naruto smiled as he saw Yugito walked towards him with a smile on her face.
"Yo, Yugito-chan." He gave a lazy wave as Yugito stood beside him and looked down as Sasuke and Yoroi began the match. While surprised that Yoroi had the ability to steal Chakra, they showed very little interest as the rest of the match was pretty much Sasuke avoiding Yoroi. "How come you're here anyway, I didn't know you took on a Genin team."
Yugito smiled. "Yea, Bee-san wished for me to take on his Genin team because if he turned up it could be taken as a declaration of war." Naruto nodded his head in understanding at what she was trying to say. In the eyes of Konoha, Yugito was too weak to pose any real problem to their higher tier Shinobi. "So I kept it secret and decided to surprise you."
"Well, you surprised me alright." Naruto replied gaining a small giggle from Yugito. "Anyone on your team I should be worried about?" Yugito gave him a raised eyebrow and placed one hand on her hip.
"You're cute Naruto-kun, but not that cute." Laughing, Naruto nodded his head and turned back as he watched the ending of the fight.
"It was worth a try." Yugito nodded her head in amusement. Neither noticed the sly smile forming on Kakashi's face as he watched his little brother talk to a girl. It took all his self-restraint to not go over and thoroughly embarrass him however, he would wait to later on. Wait till his little brother had his guard down and then he would strike.
Zaku Abumi vs Shino Aburame.
"Who do you think will win this one?" Yugito asked and Naruto hummed as he judged the two fighters. From what he could see, Zaku had only one functional arm, but Shino had both plus his clans techniques.
"Shino, there's no doubt."
-X- Line Break -X-
"Hajime." Gekkō jumped backwards and instantly the two Genin went into action. Shino raised both hands and from his sleeves a large swarm of bugs shot forwards straight towards Zaku. The Oto shinobi gasped in shock and quickly swung his functional arm.
"Zankūha (Decapitating Airwaves)!" A blast shot forwards and shot straight towards the bug, but all they did was break apart and avoided the blast completely. The blast continued straight towards Shino however, as soon as it struck he dissolved into bugs that joined their attack against Zaku.
After firing off a few more of the same techniques, Zaku felt himself getting more and more tired. It got to the point where his breath became laboured. Hearing a buzzing noise, Zaku turned around to see a new swarm of bugs flying towards him.
Growling, he pulled his injured arm free from its sling and then thrust them forwards. "Zankūyokuha (Extreme Decapitating Airwaves)!" However, to the shock of them all watching, Zaku's arms exploded in a shower of blood and gore. Screaming, Zaku collapsed to the ground as he stared wide-eyed at the stomps that used to once be his hand.
-X- Line Break -X-
"See." Yugito nodded her head as she acknowledged Naruto's prediction.
"It was really smart of him to clog up the airways in his arm tube thingy with his bugs." It was Naruto that nodded in agreement this time. "Very Shinobi like." They watched as the screen flashed through more names until it stopped on the next two.
The two stood, occasionally sharing a few barbs and laughs as the matches progressed. So far, Kankurō had been the only one besides Shino to pass. Naruto had found it especially amusing when watching Ino and Sakura fight. There had been quite a large range of vulgar language released from her mouth all the while she complained about how they were a disgrace to Kunoichi.
Tenten Higurashi vs Temari.
"These two will prove that not all Kunoichi are hopeless fangirls like the last two." Yugito crossed her arms over her chest in a huff, she was still frustrated with how the Kunoichi were presented as a whole in the last match.
"They better." Smirking, Naruto turned back to the match. As soon as the match began it was obvious who the victor was. While both Kunoichi were skilled in their own respective arts, Tenten was pitted against a wind user who simply knocked all her weapons off course. "Seems you were right, though I do feel sorry for Tenten, she could have probably done really well if only she hadn't been paired with her worst matchup."
"Yea. From what I've heard from her teammate, Lee." He gave a wave of his hand towards the green spandex wearing individual and Yugito tried to restrain her laughter. "Apparently her skills lies in all things weapons."
"Ah I see." Yugito nodded her head. "Then she really did have the worst of luck, to go up against a wind user that simply only has to swing her fan to knock all your weapons off course." Naruto turned back to the arena and felt his eyes narrow as he remembered how Temari had finished the match.
"The ending was uncalled for and arrogant." Yugito regarded him curiously before shrugging her shoulders. While she wouldn't admit it, she knew that Naruto was right, but also wrong. Konoha had always been known as the strongest Shinobi village and they had all become a little arrogant because of it. To see a Shinobi from Suna, the weakest of the Big Five beat a Konoha Shinobi was deserved and long overdue in her opinion.
"True, but we are Shinobi." Grunting, Naruto turned to the screen and read the next two names.
Shikamaru Nara vs kin Tsuchi.
The fight was one that everyone expected. Kin was arrogant and instantly went on the offensive expecting this to be an easy victory on her part. What she didn't know, was the fact that she had been dancing to Shikamaru's tone since the match started. Despite his lazy and lack sidle appearance, Shikamaru's mind was going through plan after plan to find the best possible way to end the fight.
Both Naruto and Yugito had been impressed along with most of the Jonin Sensei's watching at the tactical genius of the Nara. Though, they expected nothing less as the clan had become infamous for their ability to strategies.
Kiba Inuzuka vs Karui.
"Isn't that one of your team?" Yugito nodded her head as she leaned further forwards as she watched Karui and Kiba take their starting positions.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Hajime." Gekkō jumped backwards as Karui instantly drew her katana and got into a ready positon. Kiba meanwhile, arrogantly stood with his hands in his coat pocket as Akamaru stood beside him.
"You sit there, Akamaru. This won't take long." He boasted as he got into the Inuzuka Taijutsu stance. Karui on the other hand grit her teeth in anger at the arrogance of the Konoha Shinobi.
"You think just because you're a Konoha Shinobi that you can win this easily!" She shouted angrily as Kiba gave her a cocky smirk. He dropped onto all fours as Chakra wafted off his form.
"No. You're just a girl and I'm an alpha." With a shout of anger, Karui charged forward, her earlier plan of waiting for Kiba to make the first move forgotten.
-X- Line Break -X-
Yugito face palmed and groaned in annoyance. "Dammit Karui. We talked about this." Pulling her hand away from her face, Yugito directed an annoyed glare towards the chuckling Naruto. "What?! It was plainly obvious he was baiting her."
"I doubt it." Naruto replied.
"Wait, you mean?"
"Yep, Kiba's just sexiest. At least that's what I've heard." Hearing this, Yugito directed a glare towards Kiba, righteous feminine fury burning furiously in her eyes. Many men took a fearful step away from every woman near them as they all directed their glares down at Kiba.
-X- Line Break -X-
Kiba smirked as his fingers and canines changed into claws and fangs respectively. "Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)!" With that said, Kiba shot forwards at great speeds and landed a solid kick to Karui's chest flinging her backwards. "You can't beat me with this Jutsu active, you might as well give up." He boasted once more as Karui rose to her feet and got into a ready stance.
Seeing this, Kiba shot forwards once more, but this time Karui was prepared for him. "Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri (Cloud-Style Front Beheading)!" Gasping, Kiba applied Chakra to his feet instantly stopping his movements before jumping backwards, it wasn't quick enough as his jacket was cut.
"That's it, Akamaru!" He growled out as Akamaru landed on his back. Expelling Chakra outwards, he called out his next technique. "Jūjin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone)!" Before their very eyes, Akamaru turned into an equally feral looking Kiba. "Gatsūga (Fang Passing Fang)!" Both Shinobi and ninken spun at great speeds till they looked like drills as they flew towards Karui.
The Kumo Kunoichi managed to avoid both by mere inches as she skidded across the floor. Getting into a crouch, she embedded her blade into the floor and ran through a quick set of hand seals. "Raiton: Raikyū (Lightning Style: Lightning Ball)!"
As a result of this technique, around five balls of lighting formed and waited in front of her. Then, as soon as the first drill got close to her she allowed the balls of lightning to rush towards it. Instantly, the drill dissipated revealing the limp form of Akamaru with lightning occasionally flashing to life around him.
"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted out in shock as he rushed towards his downed partner. He had made a fatal mistake, he had forgotten about his opponent and it cost him as Karui decked him across the face sending him collapsing to a heap on the ground.
Growling, Kiba went to stand up and attack the Kunoichi though he stopped when he found the cold tip of Karui's blade pressing against his throat. "Try it. I dare you." She taunted before he conceded defeat.
With her victory accomplish, Karui sheathed her blade and confidently strode towards her teammates. As she passed Naruto she gave him a challenging stare before continuing on. Naruto followed her with his gaze before he found himself staring into the cold blue eyes of her teammate. He returned the stare, but she broke the staring contest first as she stared down at the arena.
The fight between the two Hyūga cousins was interesting to say the least. Both were very skilled in their family arts and both kept a calm mind-set throughout however, the greater fighting experience of the older Hyūga eventually allowed him to emerge as victor. Though there had been altercation at the end when the male Hyūga tried to kill his cousin. Thankfully, the Jonin managed to interfere before any more damage could be done.
"That was unnecessarily cruel." Yugito spoke up with a glare directed at Neji.
"I know. I may not like the Hyūga as they are all a bunch of arrogant pricks with a pole shoved up their asses, but trying to kill your own family is just not acceptable." Naruto agreed with her sentiment. "If I fight him in the Third part of the Exams, I'm gonna rip that pole out of his ass and beat him with it." Yugito laughed at that and turned back to the arena as the next fight commenced.
It was a back and forth fight throughout. Lee used his superior speed to avoid Gaara's sand will retaliating with his own strikes that did no damage. Gaara on the other hand was unable to do anything as Lee kept avoiding his attacks, but lucky for him his sand stopped Lee from getting to him.
Things changed however, when Lee got rid of his weights and launched a second wave of attacks. At first things continued like before, but then Lee managed to outpace Gaara's sand and finally connected with a punch.
Gaara won eventually, but it was not without damage on his part. One thing Naruto very informative about the fight was the depth of Gaara's abilities. They were quite worrying, his control over sand was great and Naruto knew that if Gaara fought a battle in a desert he would be unstoppable. Lucky for him, Gaara didn't have that advantage.
Samui vs Sai.
The two combatants came onto the field and Naruto could tell instantly who was going to win. Samui had a certain confident air around her, not arrogance, but confidence in her abilities. It was obvious to him that by her muscle definition and the way she held herself that Samui was easily Chūnin level in strength. Hell, she could probably give him a good fight.
"I'll tell you one thing, Naruto-kun." Turning to face his fellow Jinchūriki, he waited for her to elaborate. "Samui is my equal in everything from Taijutsu to Ninjutsu. The only reason I win is because of my Bijū. She may not have as much Chakra is I do, but her control is almost perfect and she uses it much more wisely than I ever could."
"I thought I wasn't cute enough for information on your team." Yugito smiled as her words were spoken back to her.
"I may have lied, but the information I gave you is something anyone could figure out after watching her fight." Nodding his head, Naruto turned back to the fight with renewed interest.
-X- Line Break -X-
As soon as the match began, Samui was instantly on the offensive. To the Genin, her speed was almost similar to that of Lee's with his weights on as she disappeared and reappeared in front of Sai.
Wide-eyed at the display of speed, Sai managed to raise a hastily made guard that blocked the strike. Though the force behind it sent him skidding backwards slightly. Samui followed after him, but he was ready for her and parried her strike before lashing out with one of his own. Samui caught the strike and lashed out with a front kick to his stomach which was avoided by Sai stepping to the side.
Both opponents jumped backwards before rushing towards each other once more. Samui was mainly on the offensive as Sai dodged her strikes while parrying those he could not. Occasionally he would capitalise on an opening presented to him, but Samui would block and then lash out with greater ferocity.
Jumping over a low sweep, Sai threw his leg out in hopes of kicking her in the head. To avoid this, Samui rolled forwards before performing a flawless spinning hook kick that Sai dodged through the use of a back hand spring.
With a poof of smoke, a bottle appeared in Sai's hand as he allowed its contents to pour onto the floor. It was revealed to be ink much to the confusion of those watching.
"Sumi Nagashi (Ink Flush)." He whispered as the ink changed into snakes that rushed towards Samui.
The blonde Kumo Kunoichi jumped backwards as she pulled out multiple Shuriken. With a flick of her hands the deadly projectiles collided with the snakes turning them into ink once more as Samui drew her Tantō and rushed forwards to engage Sai who drew his own blade and met her charge.
-X- Line Break -X-
Naruto turned towards the grinning Yugito and shook his head in amusement. He too was enjoying this fight and his blood was pumping as he thought of fighting Samui. She was smart and powerful and he could tell that what he was seeing was only the beginning.
"You were right." Yugito gave him a cocky grin and turned back to the fight as the two engaged in a clash of steel. Sparks came from their blades every time they connected as the tow rushed around the arena. It was obvious though, to anyone with knowledge on Kenjutsu that Samui was by far the more skilled. It didn't hurt that she much faster and stronger than Sai also.
His smirk returned as he watched the fight intently. His eyes followed Samui as he studied her fighting style. If he was to fight her in the Third Exam then he would have to know as much about her as he could. Otherwise he would be on the back foot.
-X- Line Break -X-
Sai grunted as he felt his arm nearly buckle under the power behind Samui's swing. Each time she took a slashed and hacked at him, Sai would be forced to constantly step backwards to avoid fatal injury. 'She is very skilled.' Sai analysed the situation. 'Danzo-sama will wish to know of her strength as to plan accordingly.'
Parrying one strike, he lashed out with a back kick to her stomach before leaping backwards. In his hands he now held a scroll and a brush. To the shock of those watching, his hand blurred over the paper.
"Chōjū Giga (Super Beast Imitating Drawing)." From the scroll, multiple Tomoe lion heads shot towards Samui. In retaliation, Samui threw multiple kunai with explosive tags wrapped around the handles. They collided with the floor directly where the beasts were passing and a few landed around Sai.
"Kai (Release)." The explosive seals glowed shortly before exploding. At the same time, Sai jumped backwards, but braced himself just in case he was caught in the blast. Luckily, it was nothing except a dud.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Samui rushing towards him and with a quick push off the wall, he wrapped his arm around her neck and put her into a chokehold. To his surprise, Samui smirked before her form collapsed in on its self. 'A clone?!' Lightning coursed through his body as a second Samui shot towards his limp form. Before he could do anything, he felt something hit him in the back of the neck and everything went dark.
"Winner, Samui of Kumogakure." Hayate pronounced. "Will Dosu Kinuta and Chōji Akimichi come down to the floor." Once the two combats came down, Gekkō announced the beginning of the match.
-X- Line Break -x-
"Well done, Samui-chan." Yugito congratulated the busty blonde Kumo Kunoichi. A small smile formed on her face at the praise given to her.
"Thank you, Yugito." She then turned to Naruto. "I hope to see you in the finals, Uzumaki-san." Naruto smirked and nodded his head. "You're up." Looking towards the screen he saw his name along with Samui's teammate's name, Omoi.
"It seems I am. Wish me luck?" He cheekily asked Yugito.
"I was under the impression you didn't need luck." Yugito replied gaining a laugh from Naruto as he jumped down to the arena floor.
"He's interesting." Samui said as she studied Naruto's form. "I never talked to him when he came to Kumo." Yugito narrowed her eyes as she felt annoyed at how Samui's gaze continued to linger on Naruto's form more than she liked.
"You didn't talk to him now." Her voice was also a little too harsh, something Samui picked up on if her confused gaze was anything to go by. That soon turned into amusement as another smile formed on her face, this time larger.
"No you're right. Perhaps I should fix that." Yugito's eyes narrowed even further as her grip on the railing tightened. Samui smirked and turned back to face the match that had just begun. She would have so much fun teasing her usually distant friend. Though, her teasing would also be done for herself as well. Naruto Uzumaki was an incredibly interesting individual.
-X- Line Break -X-
Omoi knew that as soon as the match started that he would have to end it quickly before Naruto could do anything. He remembered what Naruto could do when he was eleven, he could only imagine what he could do now.
That's exactly what he did.
Unsheathing his blade, Omoi shot forwards intent on finishing the match before Naruto could do anything. "Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri (Cloud-Style Front Beheading)!" To counter this, Naruto raised his blade which was coated in Chakra. Omoi's strike hit the blade, but Omoi was unable to cut through the blade. Hearing movement from behind him, Omoi decided on a second move. "Kumo-Ryū Uragiri (Cloud-Style Reverse Beheading)!"
Jumping backwards along with his strike, he heard the tell-tale sound of a shadow clone been dispelled before he shot forwards once more.
"Kumo-Ryū Mikazukigiri (Cloud-Style Crescent Moon Beheading)!" Naruto jumped over the blade and his shin hit Omoi in the face. Grunting, Omoi stumbled backwards and tried to react as Naruto rushed towards him, but could do nothing as he felt a palm slam into his chest with such force that he was flung into the wall.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure." Hayate announced after the one sided battle had ended. "Will all the winners of the fights, please make their way down to the floor." There was a few moments as the winners lined up on the floor. "You will all walk forwards when your name is called and take a ball. Take note of the number and then show it to me."
Dosu came forward first. "Eleven."
Shino came out next, "Five."
"Ten." Temari said.
"Six." Samui presented her ball for the proctor to see.
"One." Kankurō pronounced.
"Eight." Neji said in his monotone voice.
Gaara came forth and took a ball. "Two." Kankurō paled as he heard this.
"Troublesome, eight." With his peace said, Shikamaru stepped back in line.
"Three." Sasuke grunted.
"Seven." Naruto showed his ball gaining a glance from Neji.
"Four." Karui replied quickly.
Gekkō nodded his head and then turned to the Hokage. "You have one month to train in preparation for the Third Exam. Spend it wisely." The Hokage warned in a deathly tone of voice. "That is all." Finished, the Hokage indicated for them to leave and the Shinobi did so without hesitation.
A/N: A short chapter and nowhere near as good as my other ones. I was really annoyed with the way this chapter went because no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to go the way it should do. It was only near the end of the chapter that I seemed to be able to make it flow. I promise to make the next one better.
Current Harem:
Samui, Kurenai, Mei, Anko and Yugito.