NARUTO
Drifting
High Speed Flickers
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
By this point in time into the Naruto vs Neji fight, Kurotsuchi's jaw was hanging just inches above the ground, "THAT… was them warming up?" From the very outset of the match it looked like they had been fighting each other full on.
The large boy of the squad, Akatsuchi, blinked alongside his baffled teammate as he too was absolutely stumped. "If that's them warming up, then I can't imagine what their fight will actually be like going full throttle." Their lantern wearing partner could only nod dumbly in agreement. For all their accumulated skills, these two Genin currently in the ring were top class.
The best of the best it seemed.
"Amazing," Sakura mumbled, eyes shimmering in disbelief as she and Sasuke saw Naruto fight for real for the first time ever. Both of them were visibly overwhelmed by what the blonde just brought to the table, with the Uchiha tensing up in excitement at seeing how much his rival had, in a few words, bulked up in the past month.
Kankuro was also looking just as stunned as the people sharing the same balcony. "Yeah… if I have to fight one of those two super freaks somewhere down the line… I'm quitting. I'm not too keen in getting pummeled into the ground." He then looked across at his sister, who he could see was also staring in shock at the two competitors. "By the way, good luck in advance, sis. If you win your first fight, chances are you're going to have to face one of those two bastards in the next round."
The golden haired girl gawked for a moment before laughing nervously, "Y-Yeah…"
Still, despite her astonishment drawn on from the match currently playing out, she couldn't help but wonder at the blonde haired boy's fighting ability. Since everyone was pretty much used to witnessing conventional combat on the field, to see someone actually using moves and techniques not even recorded in textbooks was an interesting change of pace for those with sound knowledge of battle etiquette.
Not to mention it was the Naruto boy who had been so charming with her back in the first stage. His personality was definitely an attention-grabbing one in contrast to many of the others she knew well, and since no one had ever tried to hit on her before due to who her younger brother was, you could say she had been moved by his approaches. Temari couldn't help but invest interest in him, despite how she normally viewed others outside of her group.
Out of all the competition here, he was showing some awesome stuff right now and it brought somewhat of a smile to her face.
Gaara and Kankuro seemed to notice this, but neither of them wanted to delve further into it because one of them simply didn't care and the other one didn't want to get branded by the girl's war fan… again.
Over on their end of the line, the Kirigakure team was also observing the fight with great interest and intent, all three of them showing expressions of varying shock and seriousness.
Grinning from ear to ear, Kiyoko swung her legs back and forth as she leaned forward excitedly, "WOW! THEY'RE SO AWESOME!" She looked up at Utakata in glee, "I want to fight them next! When's it going to be my turn?"
Adjusting the collar of his robe, the ever calm and collected boy with the sharp eyes smiled back down at his teammate. "Later, Kiyoko. Just focus on getting past the first round, okay."
The boisterous blonde with the wild mane nodded affirmatively, "Yes sir!" She was pumped. She wanted to fight now. But unfortunately, just like everybody else she too had to abide by the universal law established by the world: that all good things come to those who wait.
Tsubaki on the other hand was glaring down at the ring with a mixture of gravity and concern reflected in her expression. More so the former than the latter, but that was mainly because it was the Hyuuga that was giving her something to think about.
Actually, both of the boys facing each other in the arena were proving themselves to be amazing in their own rights.
She'd read the statistics on each of the Genin and had gotten a feel for the rest of the competition before the contest had even begun. Apparently, this Neji character was touted to be one of the top five in this tournament most likely to secure a promotion and to advance into the final rounds. Not only did he have a genius level of intellect and ability, but he was also one of the strongest and most talented members of the Hyuuga clan to emerge from this generation. His skills alone rivaled that of a Jonin's and that was being made abundantly clear to the world from his match.
The others stated to be of high class included Sasuke Uchiha, Subaku no Gaara, her teammate Utakata, and herself. That meant if either one of these big names advanced to the finals, she was going to face the toughest possible opponents in this competition.
Even so, to her, they were all simply cannon fodder. Though admittedly the Hyuuga would give her some problems in the long run to the point of exhausting her, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that nobody in this tournament or stadium could defeat her in a straight-up fight. She was the best and she believed that adamantly, but didn't voice this opinion out loud.
However, what was surprising her most in the competition thus far, outside the range of talent and appeal, was the blonde haired boy currently fighting it out in the ring. On his record, it said that he had no real outstanding qualities, average intelligence, had a tendency to get into trouble and didn't have any natural aptitude for anything whatsoever; a true blue, average Genin in a lineup of unique and gifted individuals.
Strangely enough though, while the file said different, this boy whom she'd met once before not only had a strangely magnetic personality and adventurous spirit, but was also proving to be an equal to that of Neji Hyuuga, the so-called prodigy of Konohagakure. This had the girl's immediate intrigue and drew all of her attention to lock onto their fight.
"Naruto Uzumaki…"
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Readying themselves for the highly anticipated second round, both Naruto and Neji held the ground that they'd managed to acquire and began setting themselves into their respective battle modes.
However, just as the Hyuuga was preparing to start off another exchange with his opponent, the blonde haired troublemaker suddenly started doing something the prodigy had never seen before in an adversary.
Watching closely, Neji narrowed his eyes when Naruto, who had just started to sway from side to side in his usual, odd manner, just stopped dead in mid-motion before unexpectedly beginning to bounce on his toes. His bouncing then slowly transformed into hopping, which then turned into skipping, and then, finally, his feet began tapping along the ground at a rapid and preposterously fast pace, repeatedly switching him from orthodox to southpaw and, from the audience's perspective, lacking any distinctive form whatsoever.
Neji recoiled in complete bewilderment when he saw his foe start to move about on the spot, going left, right, backwards and forwards over and over again in the one area, using randomly executed footwork and what could only be described as a wacked up dance rhythm.
The sudden change in Naruto's pace and his on the spot skipping and shuffling caught everyone sitting in the stadium off guard.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
"What in the world?" Sasuke blinked, seeing his teammate's feet blur out as he picked up speed.
"Is Naruto… dancing?" Choji asked in confusion, earning a baffled shake of the head from Ino.
"I believe the technical term for that is shuffling," Samui responded, furrowing her eyes at the blonde busting out the impressive and well-coordinated steps. Though he had his feet spread into a fighting stance and was moving with spectacular rhythm, he did in fact look like he was dancing on the spot. His hands were at his sides, his head was turned and everything.
All those who were versed in close-combat were actually intrigued by what the boy was doing, as he was now using something they'd never actually seen in a fight. Even Karui and Omoi were astonished, since their teacher, who was known for his sporadic and fierce fighting style, never used a rhythm like this.
Tayuya smirked as she watched her boyfriend pick up the pace. "So that's your game, is it shithead?" She knew exactly what this was and what he was now doing.
This was Naruto's real fighting style…
The one he created specifically to render a doujutsu's perceptive abilities useless.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
"What is he doing?" Neji thought, watching the boy's feet shuffle across the ground left and right, kicking up dust. For the next minute or so this continued, with the blonde's strange movements bewitching the entire crowd including all the Jonin and Kage looking on, who were now watching in utter bewilderment. Eventually, the visibly stumped Neji shook his head and brought his guard back up, having seen enough of the teen's performance. "I don't know what skipping on the spot will accomplish for you, but I can tell you now that it's not going to help. Not against me!" He then sprang forward in a mindboggling dash.
Neji's speed was incredible. Even without any weight-training whatsoever, the boy had shocking agility, which only served to enhance his fighting style and make it more dangerous. In just under a second, he managed to cover the several yards of distance between both him and his opponent, which had only increased ever so slightly when Naruto started to dance around.
The Hyuuga advanced, leading with his left that he cocked back for a blow. However, just as Neji's palm was closing in on his skipping opponent and was only a millimeters away from landing, the blonde suddenly swayed to the side, avoiding the blow that cut the wind with a burst of chakra. A baffled Neji followed the blonde's dodge and responded with a right cross, beginning to strike out at the jinchuriki with swift, piercing palm strikes that had the potential to cause serious internal injury.
However, every time Neji jabbed out, Naruto's form would jerk sharply to the other side or slip around his extending limbs, avoiding every single blow that came his way. At the same time as he dodged, the jinchuriki backed away, with the Hyuuga advancing step by step to keep him within his range.
Slipping and weaving around Neji's blows effortlessly while smiling cheekily, Naruto then saw the boy swing in with a wide right, a blow he saw coming from a mile away. Grinning, the blonde then lowered his head and moved directly towards the attack. From the Hyuuga's point of view, all he saw was his opponent move to intercept the hit with his face, but just as his palm was extending to drive through the boy, his opponent's form suddenly faded to transparent, before passing straight through the Hyuuga and disappearing completely.
"What?!" Neji's palm ended up striking nothing but thin air, stunning the older teen as he stared ahead of him with his Byakugan fully activated.
Even though he could see a full 360 degrees all around him with it, he'd completely lost sight of his opponent.
"This… is just like before… from our last fight… only faster!" Neji thought in shock, remembering back to when he had Naruto cornered against the tree before he suddenly vanished into thin air right in front of him.
His disappearing was all due to his light footedness and his way of motion. Naruto would move from side to side at high speed, causing his form to blur out before darting off in a random direction as fast as he possibly could. With his full view of the battlefield granted to him by his Byakugan, Neji believed his opponent would not be able to do the same thing to him twice, as he'd familiarized himself with his speed and knew the numerous elements that made up his fighting style. He thought that he would be able to follow him no matter where he went if he gave it his all in keeping his complete attention fixed on him.
But no. He couldn't.
Whatever the hell he just did, Naruto had managed to slip away from him while he was standing directly in front of him and in full alert mode, prepared to face off against his ridiculous fighting style. That speed he used was simply unreal.
Hearing the sounds of footsteps tapping behind him, Neji spun around to see that his opponent had reappeared directly behind him, and was shuffling on the spot again. The smile Naruto wore flashed across to his opponent, who hardened his glare and turned to face him once more. As soon as he did, Neji took on a much wider stance, holding his left out front and right arm back, preparing to execute one of his clan's most complex and dangerous techniques.
Due to the amount of pressure he was feeling now, he had no choice. He needed to turn this around and fast otherwise he was going to lose.
"I planned on using this later on when I managed to catch you. But it appears I'll have to play this card early in order to counter your speed, Naruto," Neji thought with a determined look in play as he concentrated. "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)
OOO
(Stadium – Middle Section)
Up in the stands, Hiashi, who had come along with Hanabi and some of his other clansmen to watch the Chunin Exams live, nearly stood up in shock when he saw the stance Neji just took. Due to the fame of the Hyuuga clan and that particular technique, a lot of the other people from Konohagakure also appeared stunned when the boy set himself into that position and took on that form.
"That wide stance… it can't be. He actually learned that technique?" Hiashi blinked in astonishment. Being the most gifted to be born from his clan of this generation, the head of the household expected a great deal from the teenage prodigy, but he never expected a member of the Branch Family to have actually learned this move.
Hanabi, noticing her father's shock, looked between both him and the battlefield, where she saw her cousin ready to execute what she assumed to be a very dangerous technique. Understandably, when the clan head expressed concern over it, so did she, and the young Hyuuga gradually started to worry for Naruto's safety.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
After setting himself into the stance and calculating the distance between both him and his target, Neji threw himself into action, following up with the first two blows with his fingers. "Two palms!"
Telegraphing the motion, Naruto grinned and stepped in, responding immediately to the lightning fast strikes flying his way. However, from the jinchuriki's point of view in spite of his adversary executing his fastest attack pattern, to him the Hyuuga prodigy was moving in a considerably slower timeframe. As a result, the blonde was able to step in and dodge the leading blows with a quick slipping action to the side.
The chakra coated attacks missed him by an inch, but Neji wasn't done yet and neither was Naruto, the latter moving to literally within a foot of distance between him and his opponent, who proceeded to drive home his assault despite the clear miss.
"Four palms! Eight palms!" Neji shouted, unleashing a barrage of lightning fast strikes one after the other, bursts of chakra occurring as he attempted to strike down his opponent. However, in spite of coming at his foe with such elaborate and speedy attacks, Naruto continuing slipping, swaying and evading around every single one of them at super close range.
It was due to this range that Neji couldn't catch him, because he was so close and the Hyuuga required a certain distance to mark his target. His strikes required him to be at middle-range of his foe, but the jinchuriki had shaved away the meters to only a couple of feet, meaning the Hyuuga could not realize the full effectiveness of his attack.
Even though the distance seemed lethal, Naruto was able to dodge every one of his opponent's shots effortlessly, a serious look on his face as his eyes followed every individual strike and his body responded accordingly. The following dozens of palm strikes grazed past the blonde in orange, who backed up in time with every step forward Neji made.
"Sixteen palms! THIRTY TWO PALMS!" Neji yelled out, pushing his opponent back with his combinations. However, despite his increase in speed, the blonde kept slipping between his attacks in the form of an orange blur. Though his eyes could see him clearly, the Hyuuga just could not catch him, even when he increased the rate of his attacks from split second hits to literally millisecond hits.
Naruto dodged. Neji struck. Naruto dodged and dodged some more. He kept on dodging and at the same time advanced, closing the inches of distance between them quickly.
A desperate Neji growled in mid-swing, spinning on the spot and finishing his combo with a double palm strike he then threw forward in a last ditch effort to land a hit. "SIXTY FOUR PALMS!"
However, the instant his arms shot forward, Naruto ducked straight under it and reappeared directly between the Hyuuga's two extended limbs, his nose just centimeters from brushing his opponent's.
The exact second the blonde reappeared directly in front of his face, Neji's eyes widened in horror.
"Impossible," he gasped, seeing the jinchuriki's dilated irises hovering directly in front of him.
Remaining frozen for about two seconds, Neji then realized his exact position and reacted instinctively. Pulling back sharply, the Hyuuga cocked his right behind him before throwing it forward, intent on striking his target down. But the instant he let his attack fly, Naruto vanished, reappearing several meters behind the Hyuuga a split second before the genius had even finished thrusting forward.
Sweat appearing on Neji's face, he turned around, where he saw Naruto skipping on the spot and still wearing a smirk.
"Hi," the jinchuriki chirped, "Nice day, isn't it?"
He had to admit, dodging all of those blows at that range had been one hell of a thrill ride.
Neji's body trembled in disbelief. "No way… there's just no way."
OOO
(Stadium – Middle Section)
"I… don't believe it," Hiashi choked, having finally risen to his feet after watching what had happened down below. Even the clansmen and bodyguards sitting around him were stunned, and were now looking down at the arena with jaws unhinged. "That boy… he dodged them… every single one of them." As far as the Hyuuga head knew, no one in the history of their clan had ever avoided those attacks before.
No one.
Hanabi, who had watched the entire scene for herself, also appeared stunned. However, when she finally realized that the boy she had come to respect and view as an older sibling had managed to slip through one of her clan's most renowned techniques without receiving a single scratch, a wide smile appeared on her face and she silently cheered.
Fists clenched, the young girl brought them up in an expression of triumph. "Yes."
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
"That was… amazing," Mei said, having leaned forward in her seat from the intensity of the moment. In fact, almost every Kage who had previously been lying back in their chairs had moved forward, having expected the Hyuuga to down his opponent with one of those blows. But, much to their utter disbelief, none of the prodigy's lightning fast attacks even came close to touching the blonde haired boy.
"Those reflexes, that speed and that flexibility… they're incredible," Hiroto spoke up from his seat, his own eyes reflecting his disbelief. For every second he watched the engagement unfold he believed he was about to see the opponent of the Hyuuga fall under the hail of super fast hands as they attempted to slice through him and his chakra circulatory system. But against all odds, Naruto managed to pull off something no one had ever seen before.
Instead of standing in place and letting his body get hammered by the rain of finger jabs, the youngster slipped past every one of them.
The Fourth Kazekage blinked in wonder, "He didn't stand there and try to block them. He actually managed to slip into the middle of that storm and avoided every single strike while standing close to his opponent." For any shinobi with any sense about them, a strategy like that would not only have been close to impossible to pull off, but damn near terrifying. If you messed up even once, dodged wrong and got hit during the attack, you would've found yourself at the complete mercy of your opponent.
However, this Naruto boy had managed to push aside all fears and concerns, and did the one thing few had ever thought of doing and emerged completely unscathed.
Onoki, also appearing shocked, smirked and looked across at the leader of Kumogakure. "Even someone like you would have trouble avoiding attacks like that at close range, Raikage. As fast as you are, you aren't exactly the most nimble of shinobi, are you?"
A, still trying to shake off his own incredulity at seeing the event firsthand, frowned when he heard this and glared back at the Tsuchikage, "Watch yourself, Onoki."
Taking in everything that was being said by the other Kage had Hiruzen, who had initially been watching the entire scene in astonishment, smile under the shadow of his hat and nod. "Incredible, Naruto-kun. Simply incredible." His response time, instincts and speed were razor sharp today. There was no question about it. Not only that, but it seemed that he had this idea planned from the very beginning.
It was just like back in the academy in Iruka's classes, when he gradually switched from a hitting style to a dodging style of fighting more befitting his character that completely threw his sparring partners for a loop. He avoided every attack like he knew they were coming and took advantage of his opponent's 360 degree field of vision by using his unorthodox fighting style to mess with his depth perception and focus.
He was sure that everybody else was thinking the exact same thing.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
The competitor's box was stunned into silence. Not only were the members of Team 10, Team 7 and the Iwa team staring with their jaws hanging open and eyes wide, so were the Suna Genin, and the Kiri team. Even Utakata had stopped long enough to watch the Hyuuga execute that lightning fast combination of strikes, all of which were dodged expertly by his opponent.
Karui, who had been absolutely livid minutes earlier, was now silent and gazing in awe, as was a now liberated Lee and Omoi, who'd inadvertently dropped the sucker in his mouth when his jaw swung ajar.
Samui and Tayuya, who were standing side by side in silence, just couldn't wipe the sight from their minds.
"Unbelievable," the blonde haired Kumo kunoichi whispered, her eyes shimmering in amazement.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Neji just couldn't fathom at it. "That was my fastest attack! At the range I engaged him at and the speed I executed each strike he shouldn't have been able to dodge any of those." It wasn't just the speed either.
The motion in which all of the attacks were thrown allowed masters of the sixty-four palm combination to advance on their targets while moving forward and around. The rotations combined with the angles of each blow also prevented people from effectively blocking the assault, since each finger thrust would penetrate a guard by slipping around it or going straight through it. Furthermore, every step in should have been deep enough to prevent a retreat, because the direction of advancement placed unwarranted pressure on a target and threw off their timing.
However, what Naruto did was step into elbow's reach of each blow, inside the most effective range of the technique, and dodged at a ridiculously close proximity. He was able to telegraph the motion and direction of every strike to follow, like he had some sort of foresight of the events, and stayed out of the way of the deadly chakra bursts. This prevented Neji from executing the attack properly, and due to his awkward swaying and on the spot footwork, the jinchuriki was able to slip, duck and weave around even the worst of the assault.
Bewildered, Neji clenched his fists and teeth, turning to face the jinchuriki again as he began skipping backwards, following the invisible circle encompassing the Hyuuga. "This is not going as I planned." They were out in the open. Neji had practiced trying to circumvent super fast opponents and cutting off their use of the area in preparation for this very fight. But Naruto was still able to slip past him, even with his increased speed and improved technique, and completely outmaneuver him.
What's more, it appeared that the jinchuriki had learned how to fight a Hyuuga better since the last time they met. He could even disappear in full view of the Byakugan without leaving even a trace of him behind.
It was like he'd trained specifically to combat doujutsu users. What was up with that?
While Neji was setting himself defensively, he saw his opponent grin.
"It takes more than just good eyesight to be a strong shinobi. Here, let me show you," Naruto spoke up.
While he was still skipping on the spot, the jinchuriki lifted his left fist slightly and turned side on to his adversary, where he then began to rock his left arm from side to side. His arm swung there like a pendulum in a very provocative manner, but in a way that had Neji immediately on edge.
Eyes following the motion of the arm, Neji gritted his teeth and took a defensive stance. He advanced slowly on his foe, not exactly sure what Naruto had planned next but knew he had to be prepared for it.
Calculating the distance between them, the Hyuuga made it out to be about five meters. That was nowhere near the distance he needed to mount an effective assault. He would need to fix that later. But for now, he had to figure out how to catch his opponent and keep him from running away.
Hell, he hadn't even thrown an attack of his own yet following their reengagement. It was that fact alone that had Neji worrying more about what Naruto was now doing rocking his left arm from side to side.
From the angle and its position, the boy's swinging arm looked almost like a scythe.
Before the Hyuuga could continue on his train of thought, Naruto allowed a very mischievous grin form on his face, before taking aim at his foe.
"Tracer."
All of a sudden, Neji got hit.
From out of nowhere, Naruto's left fist suddenly shot up and struck the Hyuuga across the face, smacking the genius backwards with sweat flying off of him in a cloud of perspiration. The impact was marked by a loud 'whip-crack', which echoed throughout the entire stadium. As a result, Neji stumbled, looking across at his opponent in bewilderment before suddenly, he was hit again… and again and again and again.
"W-What the?" Neji gasped, only to be silenced when the same attack slammed across his face a tenth time, causing him to stagger some more, before being hit repeatedly by another round. "What the hell is this?"
Looking across at his opponent, Neji saw Naruto's left fist hovering in front of his waist suddenly come up and shoot towards him in a blur. However, instead of traveling along a straight line, it changed directions sharply before hitting him from a different angle, refusing to be dictated by the known motions of a conventional punch. The left jabs Naruto began throwing and pushing Neji back with shot out like a whip, cutting through the air and hitting him in the face repeatedly, continuously and without contest.
What's more, not only was Naruto able to hit the Hyuuga with clean, incredibly fast attacks, but he was also hitting him from several feet away, way outside of even the older boy's reach.
"What kind of punches are these?" Neji thought in shock, only to have his mind cut off by more jabs slicing across his face and knocking him from side to side, sending sweat blasting off of him with every blow
OOO
(Stadium – Team Instructors Section)
Asuma blinked in surprise when he saw what was happening down below, "Hey. Aren't those…"
"Jabs," Gai spoke up, eyes wavering in shock as he watched Naruto dance around Neji and continue to nail him from a meter or so away. "They're not ordinary ones either. Naruto-kun is using some kind of flicking variant of an ordinary punch to reach his opponent and to keep him at a distance. With that speed and that stretch, he can attack Neji continuously without fear of repercussions."
"B-But… what kind of punches are they?" Hinata asked, looking up at her instructor sitting quietly beside her and her team. It was worth noting that Kiba and Shino were just as stunned as everybody else in that row and was simply gawking at the battlefield in their respective manners. "They're too fast for ordinary jabs… a-and they cover such a long distance as well."
Kakashi frowned as he watched the fight unfold. "It's a simple attack with a complex mechanism. Naruto does this by making his arm as loose and as flexible as possible. With his raw speed, power and natural flexibility, he can attack his opponent even at middle range and force them to back down. He must have spent days working on that attack to get it right."
Shino's glasses flashed, "That's incredible."
OOO
(Konohagakure – Chunin Exam Stadium)
Sitting in the stands of the village's main coliseum and looking up at the big screen, the crowd from the hidden leaf that had gathered there to watch the tournament were currently witnessing the taijutsu match of the tournament unfold. Many of them were looking on in shock as their resident troublemaker and delinquent stuck it to the Hyuuga prodigy using a fighting style neither of them was used to.
All of his attacks shot out in a blur, and unless you had super fast reflexes, you couldn't follow them at all.
Kin and Isaribi, sitting up in the front row, gazed in shock as Naruto pressed home his advantage.
"He's strong," the former Genin from Otogakure thought in awe.
"Go Naruto-kun!" Isaribi cheered loudly, showing no hesitation in giving the boy her support.
Up in the back row, out of sight of most of the crowd, Jiraiya stood with his arms folded and a serious look on his face. When he saw his apprentice start busting out moves that had everyone watching bewildered, a proud smirk crossed his face.
"That's it kid. Stick to your strengths."
He didn't appear surprised by this development at all. In fact, it seemed like he'd been expecting it.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Trying to block the hail of blows, Neji quickly became fed up with being on the receiving end of the string of punches and, responding accordingly, lashed out with vicious palm strikes. He let out a yell of frustration, forcing his opponent to back off and evade to the right when the prodigy, eyes shut, came swinging wildly at him.
After managing to force his way through and stop the assault, the visibly battered and bruised Hyuuga panted heavily and turned around, intent on facing his opponent again.
When he lowered his guard and flashed Naruto his face, the proctors as well as those in the audience able to catch a glimpse of his expression became shocked at what they saw.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
Mei was baffled as she looked at the big screen. "His right eye is swollen shut."
The Fourth Kazekage bit his teeth together, "It's that jab that boy was using. Because he's flicking the punches out rather than following through with them, the punches are light and hit like a whip. Though they lack piercing power, the blows irritate the skin and cause swelling." He was pretty sure the arms Neji had tried to block with were also starting to swell and develop welts.
"But why would he want to hit with a loose punch rather than a piercing one to take down his opponent in one go? He's got speed hasn't he? Why doesn't he just use it?" A asked, completely baffled by the turn of events.
Hiruzen blinked in surprise when he figured it out for himself and smiled. "It's because he doesn't want to risk getting close to his opponent and receiving a counter. Neji is still in good condition and capable of mounting a fierce defense. His Byakugan is also an extremely powerful one, allowing him to see the chakra network of his opponent and the entirety of the battlefield, right down to the movement of his target's muscles. By disabling one of his eyes, Naruto's not only blinded him, but he's also cut his abilities in half."
The Kage looked alarmed at that information and continued to watch on with invested interest.
It was official. Naruto had this planned out all along.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
"He wanted to take out my eyes from the very start. Shit," Neji growled, unable to see anything on his right side thanks to his eye being swollen over. Due to the bilateral functionality of his doujutsu, he needed to have both of them active in order to give him his full 360 field of vision. But now that one of them had been taken out, he could only see 180 degrees of the field. Not only that, but some of his other muscles around his face had started to swell. "He got me."
Continuing to skip around, Naruto grinned. "See. You're starting to panic now that you've lost half your sight. If you become reliant on a bloodline or a special ability passed on to you by your family, you lose out in other areas that are important."
Gritting his teeth, Neji lunged forward. "I can still fight!" He then began assaulting Naruto once more, chasing him round in circles as the boy continued to dodge every attack thrown at him. The way he moved looked like he blurred around every attack and, thanks to his footwork, the jinchuriki was able to stump his opponent's depth perception by repeatedly switching from orthodox to southpaw, messing up his timing.
While anyone else would have been dazzled by the Hyuuga's sheer agility and unexpected ferocity, Naruto wasn't even fazed in the slightest as he effortlessly slipped right under his opponent's leading jab, literally bending sideways to avoid. The second he did so, Naruto then threw a swift, heavy left uppercut straight into his adversary's exposed chin, right into his blind spot.
The impact of Naruto's blow landing was accompanied by what sounded like a gunshot that echoed throughout the stadium as his opponent's head was sent reeling upwards, a cloud of sweat and blood blasting into the air. The jinchuriki then shimmied off to the side and allowed his opponent to stagger forwards. While everybody gawked, Naruto feigned a cringing expression when he got a good look of Neji's stunned face when he eventually stumbled around.
Not only was the older boy now bleeding from the mouth, his eyes were also glazed over in a semi-consciousness state. Furthermore, every time he stumbled his legs would occasionally cross, and his swaying form made it look as though he was going to fall over at any second.
The counter Naruto threw had, without a doubt, landed some serious damage on him.
"Oooh," Naruto groaned, tilting his head when he saw Neji, now facing him, stagger back to a safe distance. Grinning, the blonde cheekily started imitating the Hyuuga's movements, "Ooh, when you start doing this I know what that means. I know what this means." Naruto 'staggered' left and right, copying his opponent and watching him back away in a clear sign of fear. "I know what this m-m-m-means when you do that." His eyes then twinkled with mischief as his grin became that much more sinister. "Yeah, I'm gonna knock your ass down now, Neji-kun."
Deep inside his head, the blonde heard the booming laugh of a familiar partner. "You know what kid… you can be a real bastard sometimes."
Yeah. And he wasn't afraid to admit it either.
Naruto charged forward in an attack, alarming the bleeding Neji and forcing him to jump away.
"No!" Holding his hands out, the Hyuuga then began to rotate, wind and dust picking up around him at speed as he pulled out the last jutsu in his arsenal. His last resort. "Hakkeshou Kaiten!" (Eight Trigrams Palm Rotating Heaven) Expelling chakra from every pore on his body, Neji expanded his defense as his body started to spin like a top, a sphere of wind and chakra encompassing him in a shell of twisting death.
Spotting his opponent's response, Naruto dug his feet into the ground and stopped just inches away from the sphere. Using his chakra, the jinchuriki planted his body to the floor to prevent being blown away by the high winds, and stood calmly watching the technique unfold. Since it was stationary, he didn't need to worry about being hit by it and at this range, it worked out for him perfectly.
He knew that this technique was meant to protect Neji from all sides. The perfect defense against any form of attack.
However, there was one serious weakness in it that Naruto quickly took note of and knew instantly how to exploit. Even just seeing it once, the jinchuriki knew what Neji had to do after starting it.
He eventually had to stop.
When Neji did, and the winds eventually died down, allowing him to look back towards his opponent from the epicenter of his temporarily erected barrier, he saw Naruto standing just a couple of feet outside of the smoking crater he'd formed. His rotating defense had prevented the boy from advancing on him and had also stunned the crowd at how far he'd managed to come along in his clan's techniques. But once the shock of its unveiling ebbed, this allowed the jinchuriki to respond the best way he knew how.
By using his Tracer jab to hit Neji outside of his defensive range.
Just like before, Naruto's left fist flew out and slammed the now grounded Hyuuga in the face. He did so repeatedly. But after several successful hits in which Neji was unable to block any of them thanks to its various, unpredictable paths and sporadic use, the genius soon staggered backwards and collapsed to his knees outside of the crater he'd made. When he did, dropping his hands to the grass to help support him, blood began dripping freely from his mouth.
As he knelt there, the crowd watched on in silence and shock as Naruto stepped away, guard up and looking at his opponent in anticipation for a response.
Unfortunately, due to the number of jabs he'd taken to the face and the fatigue of fighting such a high paced battle where he'd pretty much fallen prey to his opponent's rhythm, Neji just couldn't hash it anymore.
"I can't… beat him," the Hyuuga thought, looking up through a blurry vision at his opponent standing several feet away from him and set in his unique fighting stance.
He was fast. Naruto could dodge every single attack he threw at him at close range even from a bad position, therefore preventing him from targeting his chakra system or his internal organs. Furthermore, whenever Neji came in with a big hit or suddenly over-flourished an attack, the blonde countered him with a staggering hit. His flexibility also allowed him to unexpectedly change directions and evade unconventionally, and with his almost instantaneous responses, it made hitting the boy impossible.
That speed was above high class. What's more, his unique jab could also hit well outside of an opponent's reach and strike from unexpected angles. The fact that they didn't have any motion to go by, were also blindingly fast and came at you without warning, Neji just could not time any of them to block or counter. He wasn't even able to expel chakra from his body to block using his Juken style. He couldn't dodge them either, because whenever he tried to move to the side, they'd hone in on him and hit him anyway.
Naruto's weird footwork and dancing around wasn't some way of provoking Neji into making mistakes either. The Hyuuga made none. Naruto moved the way he did to get an idea of his opponent's rhythm, a feel for the terrain and allowed him to move a lot easier. His skipping and shuffling kept him in a constant state of motion, and with the repeated changes from orthodox to southpaw fighting stances he was also able to mess with Neji's depth perception and sense of timing.
It was a perfect combination of superb fighting discipline, creativity and unpredictability.
Panting and wiping the blood from his mouth, the swollen and bruised Neji rose to his feet and took another stance. A serious Naruto faced him down, as the blonde could see how much his foe was shaking from all the damage he'd accumulated. He knew he had to be feeling the strain of continuing the fight, so he was not going to continue unless his opponent was up for it.
The only reason he was keeping his distance was in case his opponent was feigning damage in order to lure him in. He had to be careful here.
"Neji… are you…"
"I won't give up," the Hyuuga replied quickly, smirking across at the boy. "If I get beaten today, then I'll just beat you another day. All I have to do is learn from the mistakes I make here… and make sure that I don't repeat them in future battles." He then slid into the stance of the Hyuuga's sixty four palm technique, left hand held far forward and right held back as he balanced himself. In spite of his blurred and badly hurt view of the world, he was still intent on fighting it out to the bitter end. "All I have to do is do better next time. Right?"
Blinking, Naruto gave a smile and slid into a wide stance as well, cocking his right fist back.
"Yeah."
"I won't hand over the win to you that easily though. I intend to fight you for it."
Naruto nodded, "If that's what you want, then come."
Face becoming serious once more, Neji then let out a yell of effort and charged forward. "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" With superb form and speed, the boy spun in with a double palm thrust, covering the distance between him and his opponent in the blink of an eye.
However, Naruto saw that coming. In fact, he had been waiting for it. So, telegraphing the motion of Neji's attack perfectly, the jinchuriki held his right fist at his side and took aim.
"White Fang!"
Once the Hyuuga stepped into range with both his hands shooting out to cut him down, the blonde swung up with his right and hooked the boy across the face with a well-placed counter, which he also followed up with a left hook. These two blows came in hard, diagonally and fast. So fast in fact, that it looked like only a single attack had been thrown as the Hyuuga's head was smacked from both sides and his brain was quite literally rattled.
The clap of two gunshots molded together echoed throughout the stadium, silencing everyone and earning shocked looks from the observing proctors. Blood splattered across the ground like it had been thrown from a cup, showing exactly the kind of damage a counter punch did to such a direct attack.
It was a blow that stunned all those present to see it.
After firing off the attacks, Naruto swung around and backed away, watching Neji stagger forward before, with blood trickling down from his head and a vacant look slapped across his swollen face, he collapsed to his knees and fell flat onto his front. The thud that followed rang out over the speechless crowd, leaving an unscathed Naruto standing victor in the field.
Seeing the results, Mizore rushed over to check to see if Neji was still alive. From her spot, that counter had looked really bad, because the Hyuuga's skull had been mashed from two sides and hit hard. However, after checking for a pulse and checking his pupils, which had reverted back to normal thanks to his Byakugan deactivating, the woman sighed in relief and stood up.
She gestured to Naruto, who slipped his hands into his pockets. "Winner of Match 5 by knockout: Naruto of Konohagakure."
At that, the crowd was knocked out of its stupor and, after several seconds of silence, cheered. The applause that came up following the amazing battle had the jinchuriki grin and blush in embarrassment while rubbing his head. Waving to the crowds as he started towards the competitor's box, he then remembered something important he still had to do.
Under the adulation of the crowd, he broke out into a run, ripped off his jacket and waved it in the air above him like he'd just scored the greatest goal ever. After running his victory lap, he then skidded across the grass on his knees and cheered, pointing up towards the stands.
Following the direction of his finger, you could see one Tsunade, the legendary sucker, sitting in the front row. Upon spotting her, Naruto grinned smugly and gestured to himself before giving her a 'what up' gesture.
OOO
(Stadium – Front Section)
The blonde haired, busty woman furrowed her brow as the child on the ground pointed up at her, gestured something especially irritating, before watching him rise back to his feet and start blowing kisses toward her and the rest of the people. His little showboating act did rouse the crowd a little more as he sauntered with his hands in the air back towards the competitor's box, but that all slowly started to calm as the announcer called the names of the Genin who were going to fight next.
Hearing familiar clapping beside her, Tsunade turned to see her apprentice Shizune applauding the boy for a job well done, while Tonton sat comfortably on her lap and voiced her own approval. Sensing a pair of eyes boring a hole into her and the frustration accompanying it, the dark-haired woman expressing her praises looked over to see her master glaring straight at her.
"What?" Shizune asked in confusion, before gesturing towards the ring. "That was a really good fight."
Frowning deeply, the woman looked back towards the battlefield with a sigh, "Well… I guess that means I'm out a hundred thousand ryo… unless some of my other investments are able to pay me back in dividends."
Shizune, hearing this, stared wide-eyed at the Sannin in shock. "WHAT? You spent a hundred thousand on that one bet? You said you only spent ten thousand!"
"Hey, it seemed like a safe call. How the hell was I supposed to know his taijutsu was fantastic?" Tsunade asked incredulously, pointing down towards the kid who disappeared shortly afterwards through the arena's exit. "If you want someone to blame, blame the brat."
This had the assistant in the dark kimono frown distastefully. "I blame you, Tsunade-sama." As if reading her thoughts, the pig in her lap gave an 'oink' of agreement.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
A smirked as he folded his arms, sitting back in his chair. "That was a great fight. Sure… it was a bit one-sided, but the one who ended up winning was not who I expected it to be."
"I'm certain a lot of people were under the impression that the Hyuuga was going to win that fight," the Fourth Kazekage said while closing his eyes. "That's understandable, seeing as those gifted with natural talent and touted to be the best of their generation are always asserted to be successful. However, that was not the case here. In the end, the one with natural talent lost. It was certainly a lesson worth learning on my part."
"Is it that natural talent won't always be enough to win battles?" Mei asked, looking across at the other men to see the Kazekage nod. The woman giggled in amusement at this. "I can certainly agree with that statement. Sure, it's a major contributing factor, but if you go into battle possessing one thing and lacking too much of the other… you're immediately at a disadvantage."
"That Naruto kid down there is something else," Onoki chuckled while rapping his fingers against the chair's arm. "To be able to face off and win against an opponent who would've been able to defeat any other Genin in this competition. That Hyuuga kid was tough… but his opponent was even tougher." There was also good reason for that as well.
The clan conformed to a strict discipline and practice of perfect, textbook based techniques for their special brand of Gentle Fist taijutsu. Naruto did not. His fighting style consisted of many different forms, one that wasn't constrained by rules and boundaries, and allowed him to fight as freely as he wished. That meant he had the potential to replicate any form he wished and produce counters toward any approach.
That meant anyone who intended to come to blows with the boy, would need to advance on him with extreme caution.
"Unfortunately for Neji, he was matched up against the wrong person. That's how it is in life sometimes," Hiruzen spoke, getting a few nods from the other Kage. At that, the elder smiled and gazed down at the arena with more focus. "Naruto-kun has always been one for surprises. He was able to defeat someone who would have otherwise proven to be more than a handful for others without receiving any damage at all. He also showed an incredible level of ingenuity, restraint and strategy in this match."
Taijutsu, when used effectively, could be as persuasive and hard hitting as someone possessing superb ninjutsu and genjutsu skill.
This fight alone showed that even in pure hand-to-hand combat, how you fought and used the skills given to you could easily determine the outcome of an entire battle.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
Whistling a jaunty tune, Naruto finally returned to the balcony where all the other Genin were with a smile on his face and his hands behind his head. When he arrived, he had to high five Tayuya on the way through because she was expecting it and was waiting for his return. After which she then latched onto his arm, followed by him picking her up and spinning her around, with the girl letting out a 'whoop' as he did so.
"You crazy bastard, you. I knew you could win," the redhead cheered, giving him a big hug.
"Great job, Naruto," Choji also said, coming over to pat his friend on the back. "That was an awesome battle you fought, and with a really scary opponent too. I never knew you could fight like that." He'd seen him scrap and seen him dodge before in the past, particularly that fight with Sasuke all those years ago. This one was like a… steroid induced version of that fight.
"It was incredible," Ino chirped, smiling as she too joined those in greeting Naruto at the entrance to the box. She approached him with a warm gaze and her hands behind her back, eyes reflecting her admiration. "Wow. You never told us you were so strong." The performance had her heart racing like she never felt before. "He's so cool…"
"YOSH! IT WAS AN UNBELEVABLE BATTLE!" Lee practically cheered as he rushed up to the blonde with fire in his eyes and took him by the shoulders. "I never thought I would ever see someone hand Neji such a defeat. Your battle was absolutely splendid, Naruto-kun." He then clenched his fists and allowed his excitement to burn in his heart. "I only wish I too had a chance to fight my talented teammate. But as this is a tournament designed to test the strength and will of all those who advance, it saddens me that we can only fight the opponents who are deemed worthy to make it through."
Blushing under all the vocal praise, Naruto looked to see Sasuke smirking across at him. The raven haired boy in black shook his head at the hilarity of it all. "What was with all the dancing around dobe? Couldn't keep still? Lice in your pants?" Dare he say rash brought on by unanticipated tropical wildlife?
"More like it's something I came up with," the blonde replied, rolling his shoulder as everyone moved back over to stand at the railings, most of who were gathered around Naruto, including a beaming Samui, who offered him her silent appraisal. Gripping the bar tightly, the jinchuriki looked out over the arena floor towards the center in anticipation for the next battle. "Sakura-chan is up next, isn't she?"
The Uchiha nodded. "She got restless from watching your fight and jumped over the side before you could return. After everyone was done gawking, she just left without saying a word." Or at least he thought she didn't say anything. She mentioned something about 'walking alongside them in the future' or something like that, and then left. He didn't quite catch it all. "When her opponent saw her do it, the sand girl did the same thing." Apparently the habit of going over the edge to get down to the ring and ignoring the stairs had been passed on to everybody else.
Speaking of the opposition, Sasuke then turned his attention towards the other side of the balcony, where, past the Iwa team that remained and also keeping their distance from the Kiri team, he focused his glare on the siblings from Sunagakure.
Since it was their sister's turn to take the plate, this left Gaara and Kankuro to spend some quality time with each other. Not exactly the most exciting place to be for the older brother, but it was the best he got.
"All of them are going to be extremely tough opponents," the Uchiha murmured.
Naruto smirked when he heard that, "Don't worry about it so much, teme." He fixed his eyes on the center of the coliseum. "We still have a long way to go."
Hopefully their squad's kunoichi would be able to make it.
The call of the proctor for the match to start and a powerful gust of wind that hit the stands signaled the beginning of the fight.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Emerging from the enormous cloud of dust brought on by her opponent, Sakura skidded across the ground and took a defensive stance. Biting her teeth together hard, the pink haired kunoichi had wound up not only getting cut up from being grazed by the attack thrown by her fan-wielding foe, but was also covered in all kinds of crap that had been lifted by the winds. Since she hadn't expected her opponent to just open up the second the whistle was blown, at least she responded in time to avoid the typhoon that ripped apart the center ring where they started off the fight.
Now she was pushed off of the field and standing at the base of a rocky plateau surrounded by some trees. In spite of her success in getting away, this was still not going to be an easy battle.
"She's quick to start," Sakura commented dryly, only to look up in surprise when the air parted and she spotted her opponent Temari flying at her from up high, her primary weapon folded up and held above her head for a downward strike. The smirk on her face could be seen clearly even in her descent. "Whoa!"
The kunoichi of Team 7 leapt out of the way to avoid, the older girl slamming her weapon straight into the ground, which blasted upwards in a shower of dust and debris.
Rolling across the ground, Sakura skidded to a stop on all fours and glared up again.
"She's got one hell of a swinging arm." Opportunity given and seeing the enemy kunoichi occupied by a dust screen, the pinkette jumped to her feet and charged at her.
Temari stood up and looked around, backing up in surprise when she saw her opponent lunge at her with a right overhand. A loud whooshing sound echoed out as the pink haired girl drove it forward, cutting the wind like a cannon ball.
"SHANNARO!" Sakura cried.
The sand kunoichi held her fan up just in time to block the blow, a loud clang ringing out as the older girl was sent skidding along the floor. Temari winced at the force behind the hit, looking up in time to see her opponent advancing on her and kicking up dust. Reading her zigzag approach, the fan-wielder timed her next combination of attacks and, using her fan like a staffed weapon, began blocking hit after hit that was sent flying at her. The sounds of metal clanging echoed throughout the entire arena as the golden haired girl was forced back along the grass.
Retreating when a side kick slammed into the side of her weapon Temari back flipped and landed with her weapon cocked behind her. A serious look appearing on her face as she attempted to circle, the fan user then saw her adversary leap to the side as well and cut her off, ending with both of them running alongside one another before the pink haired girl slid to a stop a lunged with another killer overhand.
"Damn. This girl has some wicked punching power," Temari thought, worrying if her fan was able to take the punishment before jumping out of the way just in time to avoid the punch that barreled into the ground.
When Sakura's fist hit the hill, she punched a small crater into it that sent a blast of debris and dust rocketing into the air, with the new indent encompassing her completely. The shockwave that rang out hit the stands as well, surprising the audience at the show of brute strength the girl just displayed.
OOO
(Stadium – Front Section)
A slightly shaken Shizune blinked when she saw the familiar sight of landscape reducing power before looking across at her master, whom she saw had her hand on her chin and was watching the battle with great interest. "Tsunade-sama… that girl."
"No. Those aren't chakra enhanced punches," Tsunade replied, furrowing her brow more in thought. "If they were, the damage they'd cause would be much greater. Those attacks are just a combination of body strength and raw power."
Her apprentice looked down at her pet pig in confusion before looking back up at her. "Those are still abnormally strong punches though. With someone of her build, she shouldn't be able to execute attacks like that."
At that, the blonde haired medic nin folded her arms and gave the situation a much more serious stare. "That's because she has a talent for power punching. Even with someone with a frame that seems frail, if you're born with the ability to do so, you can. Just like with kekkei genkai, natural talent can take on many forms and can appear at the most unexpected of times. It can remain dormant for ages, but then suddenly surface whether or not the situation calls for it." A small smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes. "Funny. Her talent for hard punching is exactly the same as mine when I was younger."
Ah yes. Back in the days when she would clobber around Jiraiya whenever he was being annoying or causing trouble for the rest of her team. When she first started out as a Genin fresh out of the academy, she didn't have her chakra enhanced strength to rely on back then and had to resort to other means to survive. As her practice in ninjutsu developed into her older teens, that's when she started dipping her brush into applying chakra to her blows and creating miniature earthquakes in small regions whenever she was engaged in combat. It was a natural process and an example of how a shinobi's skills evolved over time.
Those with the body suited for power punching and superb chakra control would be able to combine the two and create attacks capable of immense destructive power. However, not everyone would be able to pull it off. Shizune for example. Even though she had the talent and great skill, there was just one aspect about her body that she lacked that prevented her from being able to use chakra enhanced punches. It was because of this she wasn't able to progress into other areas of practice.
Talent, growth, abilities passed on through blood or naturally born, they all varied from person to person. You either had it or you didn't.
This Sakura girl had a talent and natural ability in spite of her build. It made Tsunade wonder if maybe she could add other elements to this and grow in combat just like she did.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Yanking her fist free from the ground, Sakura looked up to see her opponent land a safe distance away and snap her fan open to form two circles, as opposed to the first she started off with.
As soon as she swung it back, Temari threw it forward, "Second star!" She then fired a blast of wind straight at her adversary, which funneled towards the girl at high speed.
Reacting instantly, Sakura leapt out of the way, barely avoiding getting hit by the attack and rolling across the ground. After which she then reached into her pouch, pulled out a few smoke pellets and chucked them forward. The pellets detonated several feet ahead of her simultaneously, clouding the air space in purple smoke and hiding her inside of it.
Seeing the purple wall shoot up and block her view had Temari respond accordingly. The older girl swept her fan through the air twice, creating another gale of wind that cut across the ground and sliced away at the cloud, clearing the air in a matter of seconds. However, once the body of smog dispelled into the atmosphere, it revealed that her opponent had used the few seconds she managed to buy to make a quick getaway.
Turning around from her back-skipping retreat and dodging the wind attacks that had come through her smokescreen, Sakura made a full sprint across the field, heading towards the nearest rise. Not bothering to look back, she went over it, sliding down the grassy knoll just in time to get beneath another gust of wind that followed after her only a second later.
The ground overhead was cut up by the blades of wind accompanying the jutsu. Though this was by no means Temari's strongest attack, she was merely testing her opponent's courage and agility.
"Aww. Leaving so soon? If I had known you weren't as forward as your blonde haired teammate, I wouldn't have come at you so quickly," Temari shouted, her voice carrying across the field as she ambled after the rookie.
It was clear she had her on the run now, but even so, she wasn't inclined on charging after her blindly.
She was going to pursue her at her own pace, for her own safety.
"If you think you can get away, you're sadly mistaken." Folding up her fan again, Temari propped it over her shoulder and fell into a brisk jog, coming to the same rise her opponent had dived over, only to find she was no longer in the area.
Sakura broke into a sweat as she managed to slink out of the ditch she slid into while running from her opponent's wind attacks and made it onto the dirt ground of one of the many expanses of rocky areas dotting the arena. Disappearing into the maze of bedrock sticking up out of the ground, the girl began conducting a strategy, at the same time putting as much distance between her and her powerful foe, "Okay. I got away from the crazy chick. Now I have to figure out how to beat her."
Darting through the rocks, she leapt into the treetops, where she then hid herself and glared back the way she'd come to make sure she wasn't being followed. Seeing nobody coming through the same area, she decided to catch her breath. "She's older than me. Has more experience. Carries around a massive war fan she can use to hurl wind attacks with a wide range. That's comforting…"
"Don't forget she also has a better fashion sense than you," Inner-Sakura exclaimed.
"Shut up. Not helping. She can also aim with them… and that's a really bad thing." Because of its sheer size, Sakura assumed the girl would only be able to lay waste to whole areas as opposed to being able to take out specific targets. But after seeing her crack it open to what she called the 'first star' and trying to clip her with it right from the get go, it was revealed she could actually control the wind attacks she threw and narrow their blast range. That was quite impressive. "Naruto would have a ball fighting against her."
He used wind based attacks too. Unfortunately, since her teammate had already had his epic battle and he drew his number, Sakura was stuck fighting the sand girl.
"Since she uses wind attacks, I can't use any of my own jutsu against her. If I did she'd just hurl them right back at me. And she's a long-ranged specialist too that's good at fighting up close." This left her with one option. "The only way I'll be able to beat her is to ambush her in a tight space and force her into close-range when her guard is down. MY range." That settled she took off flying through the woods.
Following the trees as far as they would go, Sakura made it back to some flat plains with a lake nearby. There was a patch of grass in this area too, and since the hills sloped down towards this part of the arena, this was the perfect place for Temari to come. Logically a chase would force someone into the lowlands, giving the opponent the high ground advantage. The pink haired girl could use this to her advantage.
For the next several minutes Sakura waited there with a kunai drawn. She ran her hands over it uneasily as she waited for her foe to show up. Since she had practically been moving around the arena in a wide arc and hadn't left her that far behind, she was positive the fan-wielder would be right on her tail.
Nothing happened for the most part. But then, up on top of the ridge, the Suna Genin finally decided to show up. Fan on her back, Temari gave the area below a quick look over, a clear glare on her face as she looked for any signs of her opponent.
Smirking when she managed to catch sight of her, the pink haired kunoichi made her way quietly through the woods towards her position. Staying close to the shadows and hidden inside the thick brush, Sakura found a good branch to land on and knelt there, concealed behind a cluster of leaves. Looking out, she saw her opponent scan the area again, and even snap her head in her direction when she thought she heard something.
Ducking behind the trunk Sakura gave a sharp breath and relaxed herself. Once she was ready for an engagement, she then held her kunai forward and, quickly poking out from behind the trunk, pitched it straight at her target. The knife cut through the air like an arrow, going straight for the fan-wielder's blind spot at speed. However, just when it seemed like a sure hit, the golden haired blonde suddenly went up in a puff of smoke when the kunai passed straight through her and embedded the ground on the other side.
Sakura's eyes widened, "Wait. A clone?" Shit. When did she…? Oh no. "Back when I ducked behind here. Crap! She pulled one right under my nose!" She didn't even notice that it didn't have a damn shadow. The original did.
But where the hell was…
The sound of twigs and branches snapping overhead pulled Sakura's gaze straight up when she saw her opponent diving straight at her from the canopy, folded fan in hand and swinging straight at the younger girl.
"Busted!" Temari shouted, uncorking a blow that she rammed straight into her target, who crossed both her arms to block.
The metal fan smashed against Sakura's guard and sent her careening out of the woods, a cry of pain leaving her lips as she was tossed across the open ground and down to the spot where the original Temari had previously been standing. When the girl crashed into the hillside, she bounced and tumbled before sliding to a stop, ending up flat on her stomach.
The sand kunoichi wound up perched on the very same branch her opponent had previously been hiding on. Fan under her arm, Temari grinned, "Thought you could get me from behind? Sorry girl, but you're going to have to do a lot better than that."
Shaken from the sneak attack, with her face still buried in the grass, Sakura took a moment to push herself onto her hands and glared back at the tree her opponent was in. When she did, a pained grin formed on her face.
Wondering what she was smirking about, Temari then became aware of the smell of burning and a crackling sound, and quickly looked straight down. When she did, she noticed smoke rising up from underneath the branch she was positioned on, where several explosive tags had been placed under by her opponent. Eyes widening, the fan wielder prepared to jump when she saw a spark.
"Damn!"
Just as she was in the middle of her jump the branch exploded, followed immediately by the entire canopy, which went up in flames. Sakura had to shield her face from the blast and the wall of heat that followed, which washed over the plain she was on and rocked the field with a shockwave. Once the hot winds died down, the kunoichi of Team 7 smirked at the response she received from the crowd, after which she then pushed herself to one knee and glared straight up at the burning canopy.
"That should've shaken her up a little," Sakura breathed.
However, her little victory over her adversary was short-lived when a shadow overcame her and, caught off guard, she looked up toward the sky. When she did, she discovered to her shock the familiar form of her opponent's giant fan gliding through the air at altitude, with all three of the purple circles exposed. Trailing small embers from the blast, the fan drifted above the stunned teen, with her opponent riding atop of it and smirking down at her.
Sakura was baffled. "What? But… how?"
Singed from barely making it out of there, Temari grinned as she looked down at her opponent and dusted her shoulder. "That was a good try. You nearly got me there. But did you think I would just jump at you from behind and not expect a trap?" She let out a boisterous laugh as she eclipsed the sun before gliding further forward and dropping back down to ground level. Flipping as she descended, she then landed gracefully and spun around, sending a breeze cutting across the grass towards her baffled foe, who continued to stare at her in shock. "We're high level ninja… and this is a high level ninja battle. You have to be prepared for anything."
Thinking on it for a moment, Sakura then realized how the girl must have done it.
That giant fan she was carrying wasn't just a one-dimensional piece of hardware. Not even close. It was a war fan, with a frame made of metal and canvas material able to take some of the worst punishments imaginable. Since she was a wind user, it wasn't that much of a stretch to imagine that Temari used her fan to block the explosion, and use the blast of hot air to ride the streams out of there, and escape the devastating effects of the blast.
Gritting her teeth at her plan being foiled, Sakura slapped her hands together to form a seal.
She could still turn this around, and she had just the technique to do it.
"Well, I hope you're prepared for what I have for you next. Ninpo…" Sakura began, her lower body suddenly starting to become transparent and break apart one the wind like she was dissolving.
The shifting atmosphere around her foe and the sight of her suddenly starting to evaporate caught Temari's attention. Knowing exactly what was coming next, the fan-wielder snapped her primary weapon back and focused. "I've reached the third star. And you know what that means?" Temari asked, grinning. "It means we're done. Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" (Sickle Weasel Technique)
With a mighty swing of her war fan, Temari unleashed a massive blast of wind in the form of a gale, which cut away the genjutsu Sakura was producing before knocking the girl off her feet. Caught right in the center of the attack, the pink haired kunoichi let out a cry of agony as she was lifted into the storm and sent tumbling through the current before crashing into the tree line. Slamming into the thickest trunk and covered in cuts, the pink haired girl spat up blood before crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap.
Smirking at her success, Temari folded up her fan, spun it expertly, before sheathing it onto her back. "It was a good bout, girl." She shrugged off the cinders covering her and once more dusted down her shoulder.
The Suna Genin watched the proctor and medic check the unconscious Sakura. After being assured that she was okay, Mizore stood up and waved to the crowd, "Winner of Match 6 by knock-out: Temari of Sunagakure!"
Cheers went up that saw the golden haired girl smile and raise a fist in triumph, before placing that same fist on her belt and, with a sashay of her hip she turned and strolled back to the waiting area. As far as she was concerned, she did well here, and hoped that this battle was enough to convince the judges that she was worthy of a promotion.
Up in the competitor's box of course, Naruto and Sasuke were looking back at the arena with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
While the latter was able to hold it together better than the other, the former was visibly overwhelmed. Of course, a smile did manage to make its way onto his face after he saw Temari return and Sakura get carried away to the sick bay.
That was an alright battle, and one that had been worth watching and experiencing.
OOO
Sometime later…
Eyes flickering open, Sakura found herself staring up at a white ceiling in a room she'd never been in before. Though it took a few more persuasive blinks for her to adjust to the bright light, the girl then gave a startled gasp when she recalled her last memories and sat up sharply, only to wince when a bolt of pain shot through her side and she gripped the afflicted area, clenching her teeth.
"W-What… where am I?"
"Hello sleepyhead."
Jumping a little, Sakura glanced to her side to see Naruto and Sasuke standing by her bed, with the former having been the one to speak up. Upon acknowledging that both of her teammates were present with her, she saw the blonde one, who was currently squatting on top of a chair, grin in her direction and greet her in his regular, characteristic way.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yeah… just…" Sakura hissed when she felt more shots of pain and decided to lie down. "I think I busted a couple of ribs… and seriously messed up my back. Anyway… what are you two doing down here?" She guessed she was in the medical bay inside of the stadium, since she could smell all the medical related material and identify the atmosphere of it all around her. Heck the curtains around her bed were a dead giveaway. "Aren't you supposed to be up top watching the fights?"
Sasuke looked back at her with his unchanging expression and arms folded, "It's an intermission period."
"Since we already went through half the fights already, they're giving the audience and the competitors an hour break to stretch their legs, mentally prepare themselves and whatever else people need to do. You just can't leave the stadium otherwise you'll have your seats stolen." Not that they had anything like that to worry about. THEY were the competition.
Sakura smiled as she looked back at the two boys, reaching up and scratching one of the cotton patches on her cheeks, as she'd received quite a few cuts from Temari's wind release technique. "You… guys… came down here to see me?" She saw the jinchuriki nod enthusiastically while Sasuke just looked away like how he normally would. The girl's eyes shimmered as she then turned away and blinked back tears, "E-Even though… I lost…"
Noticing her getting upset, Naruto quickly hopped off of the chair and stood up, taking Sakura's visible hand in his and squeezing. "Hey. It's alright." When the kunoichi looked at him, the blonde beamed. "We're not mad at you or anything like that. What? Did you think we would get disappointed and angry with you because you lost? I think you did amazing out there."
"R-Really… but…"
"Look, there are some fights you win and some fights you lose. In the end, it's the experience you get from them and the knowledge you're able to take home with you that counts. If you can make it through to the next day, then that's awesome, because that's the most important thing," Naruto said with a smile, hoping he was using the right words to cheer her up. "So what if you lost? So what if you fell down? You can just come back and try again next semester… and maybe next time make it all the way to the end."
Hearing the comforting words Naruto had to say to her to keep her from falling out, Sakura, in spite of her best efforts, shed a tear and nodded in understanding. Squeezing her friend's hand back, she then released it and watched the blonde step away, and turned her attention to Sasuke. When she did, she saw the boy chance a couple of glances her way, before glaring off in the same direction he was trying to focus on.
"What the dobe said." This answer seemed to fit well in with the conversation, even though he said it like a tool. However, Sakura nonetheless smiled and acknowledged his words just as she did the jinchuriki's.
Proud that he'd managed to keep his friend's spirits up, even though she was confined to a bed, the blonde threw his hands up behind him and grinned. "Well! Since I'm already here, I'm going to see who else needs a little more morning glory!" He then moved off to check some of the other beds.
This left Sakura and a very perturbed Sasuke staring after him.
"Sometimes he really needs to think before he speaks," the Uchiha murmured.
While his teammates got a little quality time with one another, Naruto started his own quest working his way around the curtains and moving over to where he knew Tenten was posted. Peaking in to see if he wasn't intruding on anything, he found the girl lying under the covers, wrapped up in bandages and her hair undone. Resting there and looking up at the television playing what was equivalent to a half-time show in the stadium, she then noticed the presence of another in the area and looked across to see the jinchuriki staring in.
"Hey."
"Hey," Tenten greeted back with a fond smile, her cheeks warming up when she saw the boy stroll in and take a seat in the chair next to her, "How'd the fights go?"
"They went great," Naruto chirped before pointing up at the TV, "You probably saw them, so you should know how they went… unless they had you in the emergency wing the entire time, in which case you probably didn't."
Tenten grinned, "Well… I may have missed one of them, but yours I definitely saw." When she noticed his concerned stare focus on her injured state, she poked at the bandages wrapped around her face and beamed. "Don't worry. They're just some really bad bruises, muscle tears and a couple of cracked bones. Nothing too serious."
"Well, after seeing what that Gaara jerk did to you, I'm surprised the damage wasn't worse." Those sand attacks looked heavy. There was no way an ordinary person would be able to survive them. However, being shinobi they were a lot more tolerable towards those sorts of things. Naruto grinned when he saw her shrug, "I'm really glad you're okay though."
The brown haired girl smiled, "You're sweet." She reached over and took his hand, which the jinchuriki wasted no time in returning by squeezing and massaging the back of hers with his thumb.
While the pair were having their moment and Tenten was about to ask what the other fights were really like in person, they were suddenly interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Looking around, the two teenagers saw Neji lying in the bed directing behind Naruto and looking at them, having pulled back the curtains enough to see if his teammate was okay. Immediately, the two of them saw the results of his fight reflected on his expression in the form of a swollen face and bruising.
As for the Hyuuga, he expected his former opponent to pass by eventually. After all, the blonde had this strange attachment to Team Gai's sole female member, the nature of which he was not going to question right now.
"I assume from the ruckus across the room that your teammate didn't make it," Neji said, seeing the blonde nod, which had the boy close his eyes… well… the one that didn't have disinfectant and a patch over it. "Things like that often happen out there on the field… something I learned myself the hard way. I'm sorry."
Naruto gave a wry smile, "Why are you apologizing for? I should be the one apologizing to you for hitting you as hard as I did." The guy was barely able to keep his footing in the end and the jinchuriki went ahead and smacked his brain from both sides. He felt like an ass for doing that, but Neji had been determined to finish what he started.
"It was a battle. Both of us were doing everything that we could to beat each other," the genius stated with eyes shut. "Had the situations been reversed and I held the advantage of superior individual skill over you, I would not have hesitated in cutting you down either." A battle between shinobi was fought to the bitter end.
That's what they thought anyway, since they were two very stubborn and very powerful ninja. Of course it would have turned out the way it did.
"It was an honorable defeat."
"If you say so. It always helps to have a little bit of positive reinforcement every now and again, even in battle." He then grinned across at Tenten, "We're human before we're ninja." The kunoichi smiled.
Neji opened his good eye and glanced at the blonde. "Even though you defeated me, do not get complacent with yourself. I still intend to beat you one of these days."
"I don't plan on getting comfortable. I still have a lot I need to do in the future and a tournament I still need to win," the jinchuriki stated, keeping his smile up as he leaned back in his chair and laid his hands on his lap. "Believe me when I say this, I have no intention of stopping where I am. I'm taking the title of first place."
"Then… I advise you to tread with caution," Neji continued, his calm stare turning into a glare. "I took some time to analyze the rest of the shinobi participating in this contest. While the team from Sunagakure will pose somewhat of a problem… watch out for the team from Kirigakure." No one in the competitor's box went amiss by the eagle eyed Hyuuga. He used the time he had up there watching the fights to survey a great majority of the lineup, and he could say with absolute confidence that he did not like what he got from the shady team from the hidden mist that had been standing on the far side of the balcony. They meant business. "All three of them have really powerful chakra signatures; especially the one I believe was responsible for defeating Hinata-sama's team and putting them in the hospital in the second test. The girl with the orange hair…"
Naruto's look became serious when he remembered that particular individual and nodded firmly. "Yeah. I was getting a lot of strange vibes from them the entire time I was up there. I'll keep a close eye on them."
Once he was assured he'd gotten his message across to the blonde, Neji wished him the best of luck before allowing him to give his wishes to Tenten for a speedy recovery. The girl expressed her appreciation for his visit and hoped for him to do well in the coming fights, the pair trading a few more words before the blonde decided to take his leave and go for a walkabout. He vacated the medical bay several minutes later and began making his way down the concrete lined corridors back for the competitor's box. Sasuke was currently still standing by Sakura's bedside and chatting with her, but Naruto was certain he'd come along when he was ready. There was still plenty of sights to see, stuff to do and businesses to settle.
And the fights that were scheduled next would be the focus of everyone in the stadium.
Naruto and the others before him had only been the opening acts. It would soon be time for the main events.
While the jinchuriki was strolling down the hall, adjusting his orange, short sleeved jacket and dusting off the blue arrow marks on his shoulders, he suddenly spotted the familiar face of the Kirigakure girl with the orange hair walking towards him. With the trench coat hanging off of her shoulders blowing in the wind, the gorgeous girl sauntered in his direction while he strolled on with his hands placed casually behind his head. The two of them soon passed each other in the hall.
It was at that exact moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the pair marched forward without even looking at each other, both their clothes waving in sync with their motions and the breeze, before the clock reverted back to its previous state of progression. They moved past one another without hassle or hesitation.
However, after several feet out, Naruto stopped dead.
He had to for a very good reason because not only did he get a good bead on the taller girl and the way she presented herself with poise, but he also caught a feel for her presence and chakra signature.
Her energy level was ridiculous.
Eyes wide, dilated, and expression stone cold serious, the boy glared over his shoulder towards the teenager as she headed off on her own way. When she vanished further down the hall, she left the blonde haired jinchuriki standing as still as a statue in the empty hall with his fists clenched so tightly his nails were cutting into his skin.
After a moment, a grin formed across Naruto's face.
"If she makes it through to the semi-finals… I want to be there waiting for her," the boy thought excitedly.
He didn't know what it was. The fear, the adrenaline or the nature of this tournament, but for whatever reason that was beyond comprehension or explanation, Naruto wanted to fight that girl. Out of all those participating in this tournament, the blonde felt that she was packing the most heat. Not even Neji or Gaara's presence could compare to hers. Hell, he was pretty sure even his sensei couldn't even measure up to her.
She was that physically imposing.
OOO
An hour later…
"Hopefully we'll get to see a lot more action in these next rounds," the Raikage exclaimed as he sat back down, immediately propping his elbow on the chair and resting his head on his hand. "At least that's what I'm expecting, since the charts say that the most promising candidates are fighting in this half."
Mei, sitting quietly on her end drinking tea, glanced across at the other Kage to see them getting comfortable and smiled, "I will say that the first and fifth matches of this tournament were pretty exhilarating. All four competitors that fought in those rounds showed incredible skill and ability, especially the winners."
"Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki?" Hiroto inquired, getting a nod from the sole female Kage present. "They certainly are tenacious, those two."
"Not so much the Nara as the Uzumaki," A replied, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "I like that blonde haired kid. He's got style."
"I doubt he'll be able to progress to the end of this tournament though," Onoki stated while folding his arms. "As good as his battle style is he looks like the type who would get himself killed early. He didn't use any jutsu whatsoever. It's an important asset for a shinobi to have. It makes me wonder whether he even has any talent for the stuff. All he showed out there was that he was good at hitting people… at least that's what I gathered."
Hiruzen frowned at this.
Having been analyzing all of the battles closely from the very start, the elder had good reason to disagree with the Tsuchikage, only he didn't feel like voicing these concerns just yet. As judges as well as spectators, it was also up to the village leaders to assess the quality of their shinobi, and that meant taking everything about them into account. They had to add everything, combat efficiency, battle style, personality, on and off the field conduct, strategy, jutsu and the ability to execute plans with minimal loss.
As far as he was able to gather from Naruto's strictly taijutsu-based fight, the boy executed all of his moves perfectly. This was evident by how he took a completely different approach in engaging the Hyuuga prodigy. Instead of putting a great distance between him and his opponent and transforming the battle into a game of chase that a lot of shinobi tended to fall into the habit of, the jinchuriki confined their battle to the open area in the center, controlled the entire pace of the fight and robbed the genius of not only his sight but middle range advantage. His battle involved gradually applying pressure to his opponent and wearing him down before then going in for the kill.
While some would call it tenacity and unruliness, Hiruzen viewed it as tactical brilliance in a specific field. If you can control your opponent and lead them around, you can decide the ultimate outcome of a battle. Furthermore, if you are able to decide the fate of your opponent through that style of fighting alone without wasting needless energy on big moves like jutsu, that alone is warrant enough for a promotion.
Shikamaru Nara was the same in respect to his own style of battle. He was a languid person who, while reluctant to engage, showed brilliant strategy with minimal excretion. Unlike Naruto who confined individuals to a certain space using movement and lured them at his own pace, Shikamaru used positioning to control his opponent. He could utilize his surroundings and the aspects of a fight provided for him to turn the illusion of a one-sided battle in his favor, when in reality he'd had the fight decided from its very outset. He only used a handful of kunai and his shadow to force stress upon an opponent. It seemed like testing the waters at the beginning, but once he'd gotten his opponent to relax, he surprised them by first extending the reach of his shadow, before forcing them into a spot where he could use the same technique to trap them.
Both opponents showed absolute control with minimal loss. That was merit worthy of a Chunin.
"I know what you're thinking, Hokage-dono," the Kazekage spoke up, interrupting the elder's train of thought and getting everyone to turn to the leader of the sand village. "You've already decided who you wish to promote."
Smiling, the Third leaned back in his chair and rested, "If it were up to me, yes… I would move forward on my decisions and deal out the promotions myself. However, it isn't just me who has word in this. The clients and the other judges in this tournament do too." They would need to wait till the end of the exams before any decisions could be finalized. "In the end, it is up to the judges to decide who is worthy to take on the titles."
It was an end all of them were willing to be patient for.
The Kazekage looked back ahead of him and settled comfortably into his seat. "Just like you, I too have come to one decision so far. However, we still have a lot of fights to go through before anything can be officially written."
"I believe it's your Genin who's fighting next, Mizukage-sama," Onoki spoke up, looking over at the fair looking woman sitting at the other end, "One of those from your supposedly 'terrifying' and 'invincible' team."
Mei giggled cheekily as she set her cup down on the small table beside her. "I wouldn't say invincible. They are still children after all."
"And yet you express so much confidence in them."
Placing her fingers together, the woman closed her eyes momentarily before glancing up towards the big screen on the other end, where the names of the two next to fight appeared to the audience. All attention fixed on the giant TV, as the appearance of the names signified the approaching start of the next bout.
"It's a leader's job to believe in their subordinates and to encourage them to do their best, no matter what the circumstances," Mei stated firmly and with a warm smile. "They are my precious villagers as well as my shinobi, so I will put my faith in them."
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
All those Genin who had survived into the next round, were up next or were able to stand under their own power, had returned to the competitors section to begin the next half of the exam. The team from Kumogakure had gathered beside the two members of Team 7 who were there, with Lee and surprisingly Neji, who had recovered enough to right himself, the two members of Team 9 and Team 10.
As expected, the squad from Iwagakure held their space in the center not too far from the group from Sunagakure, with the former group talking amongst themselves and getting psyched up for the next rounds. For the siblings, Gaara was being his usual quiet self, while Temari and Kankuro both flanked him on either side and stayed as silent as they possibly could, at the same time looking expectantly out over the arena. Every so often the three of them would glance across toward the Kirigakure team.
Now that it was the turn of one of them to step out onto the field, they couldn't help but put them under intense scrutiny. The one and only team from one of the five great shinobi nations sent to participate. It was hard to ignore them.
As the competitors relaxed themselves at the railing and watched the rest of the audience file back into their seats, the voice of the proctor Hayate blared up over the speakers, silencing the rabble.
"Could the competitors Ino and Kiyoko please make their way down to the field? We are about to begin the next match."
"YATTA!" Kiyoko shouted joyfully, jumping onto the balcony railing and crouching on top of it, grinning wildly. "Alright! Let's rock this joint!" She then sprang from the bar and down to the field, landing hard on the earth before sprinting across the battlefield towards the center. Her immediate response had some in the audience laughing.
Grinning, Ino slammed her fists together before deciding to follow suit. "Awesome. I'm up! See you guys in a bit." Grabbing the metal rails, the kunoichi prepared to jump over as well, only to be stopped when she felt a firm hand grab her wrist and force her to look back. She was perplexed when her eyes fell upon a serious looking Naruto, his actions also baffling everyone else around him. "W-What? What's wrong?"
"Ino," the jinchuriki began, his expression showing his concern for her, "Watch out for that girl's finger."
These words surprised the Yamanaka. "Huh? Her finger?" What the heck was he on about? "Why should I be worried about her finger?"
"Listen, I know it sounds stupid and that I'm probably saying something completely ridiculous, but trust me when I say this," Naruto continued on without skipping a beat. "This girl is seriously strong. If you see her extend any of her fingers to point or hit with during the fight, get the hell away from her. Because if you don't…" He didn't want to say anything after that, since he didn't want to throw the kunoichi off her game. He was certain that he managed to get through to her.
Seeing how grave the boy was and how tightly he was holding her wrist, Ino looked around at Shikamaru and Choji for support. When the boys took in the expression the jinchuriki threw their teammate's way, both of them also looked towards their fellow comrade and nodded affirmatively. Knowing Naruto, if there was something that worried him, the boy who wasn't afraid or scared of anything, it should definitely worry everybody else.
Acknowledging Naruto's words and the agreements from her squad, Ino then proceeded down to the field. Leaping from the edge, she landed atop the dirt and began jogging towards the middle.
When the boy in orange pulled back, Lee turned to him in confusion, wanting to address the question he'd reframed from going into further detail about. "Why did you tell Ino to watch out for that girl's finger, Naruto-kun? Does she have a dangerous weapon hidden in it or something?"
Folding his arms, the jinchuriki glared across the ring towards the two participants, who took up their positions across from one another and faced off. "Back in the second stage of this exam, Sakura-chan, Sasuke and I stumbled across a kunoichi from one of the other teams beaten up and bleeding from holes punched all over her body. We didn't know what had done that to her and assumed she just got stabbed repeatedly by another shinobi she'd fought with. But when I asked her later on that same day when she regained consciousness, she said that it was the blonde haired girl from the Kirigakure team that defeated her and her entire team and punched all those holes into her. She said she did it using only her index finger."
Choji looked stunned, "Are you serious?" When the blonde nodded, the rotund Genin with the bandana slinked back a bit in worry, "That's scary."
"But she looks so innocent," Lee murmured, glancing back out across the field. "She's cheerful, happy and bright, and she looks like she wouldn't even want to hurt a fly. How can she be so dangerous?"
"Don't be deceived by appearances, Lee," Neji spoke up, his arms crossed and his good eye fixed firmly on the stadium center. "That's the first mistake a lot of shinobi make going into battle for the first time. Just because she acts playful and timid that doesn't mean her battle style is exactly the same as her personality. For all we know… she could be a vicious fighter."
Hearing this had the boy in the spandex nod before clenching his fists.
"Could she be acting then?" Samui asked, looking over at Naruto to see his eyes glued onto the competition. "Could her playful nature just be a front for a dreadful personality underneath?"
"I doubt it," Naruto said, furrowing his brow, "I know acting and I can read a person's nature like a book. She's a good girl inside and out, and she's incredibly free spirited. However, even if that is how she really acts 24-7, then maybe she's using her playful nature to mask her analyzing of an opponent's abilities and the battlefield when it's necessary for her to do so. For all we know, she could be just as smart as Shikamaru."
Sasuke frowned at that and lowered his head slightly. "In this case that might be a very bad thing."
OOO
(Konohagakure – Chunin Exam Stadium)
Isaribi, who was still sitting in the front row and watching as the fighters of the next match were called up, suddenly became distracted when she became aware of an incredible tension in the air. Looking across, the purple haired girl in bandages saw that her roommate and rival for Naruto's affections Kin was sitting in her seat with her hands fisting the leggings of her pants and was trembling from head to toe.
At first figuring her jittering to be merely excitement bubbling at the surface, when the teen got a good look at the girl's face, she saw she had sweat dripping down her forehead, her jaw was locked, and her eyes were dilated and shimmering. It was clear from her expression that the girl was both stressed and terrified, and looking up at the screen again and seeing the camera fixed on the blonde haired girl from Kirigakure, Isaribi quickly figured out that it was that girl that had the new apartment resident so bothered.
The diver reached over and tapped Kin on the shoulder. "Hey… a-are you okay?"
Gulping, the raven haired kunoichi furrowed her brow in anger. "That girl… she's the one that beat my entire team."
Yeah. There was no way she could forget that cheerful face…
…because there was a monster hiding directly underneath the surface…
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
When Ino found herself facing off against Kiyoko, the Yamanaka just couldn't help but feel… well… relaxed.
Looking the girl in the tight yellow and black body suit with exposed midriff up and down and seeing her standing there with her hands behind her back like a giddy high school girl, the kunoichi from Konoha just didn't see why Naruto had been so bent out of shape. It was hard to smile at the playful expression she wore and how she just seemed to giggle and wave at the crowds as she looked about. Hell, she even had a butterfly land on her shoulder and smiled at it, allowing it to rest on her nose before shooing it away.
Honestly, how was that in any way threatening? She'd seen how this girl acted before. She sung with Naruto for crying out loud.
If she was some kind of terrifying demon with bloodthirsty intentions, then hell must be losing touch with reality.
"She looks like she'd cry if I hit her too hard," Ino thought, a smile tugging at her lips as she let her shoulders relax. "She's sweet."
Of course, Naruto acted charming, happy and carefree too, and look what he did to Neji.
With memories of the earlier battles still fresh in her mind, Ino allowed herself to fall back into competition mode and held her ground firmly. When her opponent turned to look at her, the Kiri Genin beamed, waved at her, and then went about rocking back and forth on her feet patiently.
Once he was certain he had the right people down in the ring, Hayate looked between the two opponents cautiously before raising a hand between them. "Are you guys ready?"
"Yep!" Kiyoko chirped brightly while swaying from side to side.
"Absolutely," Ino replied, a smirk forming on her face.
"Good," Hayate said, raising his hand. "Match 7: Ino of Konohagakure vs Kiyoko of Kirigakure." Pausing for barely even a moment, then man then dropped his arm and leapt away. "Begin!"
Reacting immediately, Ino sprang backwards, putting space between her and her opponent, and watching Kiyoko respond in kind. Landing and sliding away, the Yamanaka reached behind her and drew a handful of shuriken, which she then held in front of her and, without hesitation, hurled them at her opponent. The stars cut across like arrows in flight and converged on their target.
Kiyoko spotted them easily at the speed they traveled at and, at first appearing surprised, suddenly developed a serious look and glared at the approaching projectiles.
Just like she anticipated Ino saw her opponent lean to the side and evade the weapons. Upon sliding to a stop, the Yamanaka set herself into a stance and smirked across at her foe, which she knew she'd gotten the full attention of. After that frontal attack, it wouldn't surprise the clan heiress one bit if the girl retaliated likewise.
"Come on then! Show me what you've got!" Ino shouted, urging her opponent to attack.
Frown deepening into a tight scowl, the girl from Kiri straightened up and turned side on. When she did, she reached behind her and opened up the large pouch on her back, her movements alerting Ino to danger and getting her to become more defensive. The Yamanaka widened her stance and clenched her fists, her adrenaline pumping through her like noss in an engine, and putting her on high alert.
Expecting a retaliatory strike, Ino prepared to jump.
However, a few moments after reaching back into her pouch, Kiyoko brought her hands back around and revealed what she'd been reaching for. There, nestled comfortably in her hands, she held a pair of chopsticks, a thermos, and a cup of instant ramen.
The sight baffled Ino and she looked up in confusion, "What the?"
Before she could finish asking what the hell she was holding, the still serious Kiyoko suddenly sat down, opened the instant ramen cup, opened her flask, poured the hot water in, and snapped the chopsticks apart. After which she held it up to her, sniffed the contents, and grinned in delight as her cheeks became a rosy red.
"Ahh, miso ramen. The greatest food mankind has ever created." Stirring the contents, she lifted it to her and closed her eyes in joy. "Itadakimasu." She then started eating.
The moment she started eating, everyone in the stadium, including Ino, the proctors and the Kage, all face planted the floor in perfect unison. It was in fact so perfect the entire stadium shook as the collection of bodies all hit the floor at once with those in the competitor's box having to hold onto the railings to keep themselves from falling over the sides.
The only people who didn't fall flat onto their faces were Gaara, Naruto and Tsubaki, the latter of which had face palmed and looked away with a distraught expression.
"Kiyoko you idiot. That's not how this works," the orange haired girl grumbled.
OOO
(Stadium – Team Instructors Section)
"What in the world is she doing?" Kurenai asked, pulling herself back up onto her chair.
"She's eating in the middle of a battle? Why?" Asuma also asked in shock, his headband now sitting lopsided on his head.
Kakashi, also pulling himself back to his feet and standing before everyone else, offered the only answer he felt was appropriate for that time and place. "Maybe she's hungry." It seemed within reason.
The girl had the personality of Naruto and Lee. Of course she would pull a move like this in the middle of a serious situation, however useless it was.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
Onoki, who was holding his back from getting to his feet too quickly, groaned as he sat up, "This… This is one of Kirigakure's strongest Genin?" The question was metaphorical. However, it was well heard by all the other Kage, who chose to voice their opinions in the only safe way they knew how.
"She's a complete dunce," the Fourth Kazekage said straight out, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
The leader of the mist village ran her hand down her face as she looked up from her embarrassing fall to reestablish presentation. Unfortunately, due to the shock of the moment, a full recovery was not expected to take place for a while. "I'll admit she doesn't have the best timing for a kunoichi… but she's got other good qualities that make a great ninja."
"Yeah… like what?" A asked, looking absolutely mortified in his distressed state.
"She's kindhearted and free spirited…" Mei answered with a sheepish expression. "That's got to count for something, yes?"
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Groaning from the fall, Ino shot back to her feet with an enraged look on her face and pointed towards the girl eating ramen just several feet from her. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU EATING?"
Kiyoko, noodles dangling from her lips, smiled back at her angry opponent, "Why? I'm hungry. That's why."
"HUNGRY?"
"Yeah. Why else would I be eating?"
"WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING!" Ino screamed, trying to keep calm but was unable to. "TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, DAMN YOU!"
"Oh, well, if you want to fight me so badly go right ahead. I'm as excited about this match as you are, but I can't fight back on an empty stomach, so you're going to have to make do with what you have." The main reason her expression became serious for a moment was because her stomach growled at her, telling her she was running on an empty tank. It made her uncomfortable, so she quickly tended to the problem. Mixing the contents of her cup some more, the girl with the blonde mane slurped up some more noodles while at the same time beaming brightly. "I'll be done in a moment. Just keep the hits above the waistline and I'll be happy."
Gritting her teeth, Ino gave the girl a quick look over before hurriedly coming to a decision.
The match had already started. As far as the rules went, as soon as the fight was started at the consent of both opponents, then that meant it was free reign for both Genin from that point onwards until one of them was beaten. It was as simple as that. Ino knew that the fight was still in motion, and with her opponent now on the ground, legs crossed and everything, and currently occupied with food, then this was as good a shot as any as she was going to get. With her guard completely let down, the Yamanaka could hit her with anything.
Her eyes flashed deviously. "If I attack her now, I can win!" Crouching low, she exploded forward with all the power she could muster from her legs, sprinting the few yards of distance between herself at the seated Kirigakure kunoichi. "I'll knock her out with one blow. No need to kill her." As bad a taste as this was in, Ino had decided the moment she entered this tournament that she was willing to do everything she could to win.
This was both a test of skill, intelligence and judgment. As soon as an opportunity presented itself, you were expected to take it.
And she was going to take it.
Launching herself at her opponent, Ino let out a cry and threw a fully corked, right straight down at the sitting Kiyoko. Positioned directly in her line of attack and still eating noodles leisurely, there was absolutely no way for her to respond in time to dodge.
She was completely at her mercy.
…
…
Well… she was, until Kiyoko's cheerful visage suddenly became deathly serious and in the blink of an eye she spun her chopsticks between her fingers before blocking Ino's punch with them. In that one instant, she managed to slip them between her fingers, hold them up in front of her, and effectively stopped a hit dead in its tracks. The punch that connected echoed out with a loud crack, the Yamanaka's momentum being halted cold and the blonde heiress looking up in shock.
Still fixed in an executed punch position, the Konoha Genin attempted to push against the flimsy utensils stopping her. However, no matter how much weight she put behind her arm and no matter how much strength she applied, she could not budge the hand an inch. And yet, Kiyoko continued to sit in front of her, a cheerful smile on her face and her eyes, now considerably sharpened from their cute roundedness, were fixed squarely on her.
"Now that's just rude. I said you could fight me… not punch me in the face," Kiyoko said plainly.
Stunned, Ino growled and removed her fist, spinning on the spot and cutting at the girl with a full power spin kick. However, the moment she let the attack fly, Kiyoko used her chopstick hand to block it, knocked it straight down into the floor before jabbing her behind the knee with her utensils. Due to her weight being moved to her forward foot, Ino buckled, a split second before Kiyoko grabbed the edge of her sandal with her chopsticks, before literally flipping her.
Ino spun twice in the air and crashed flat onto her back with her legs over her. Cracking the ground with her landing, the kunoichi let out a shout of agony. At the same time, blood flew out of her mouth.
OOO
(Stadium – Team Instructors Section)
After the whole pulling-the-ramen-out-of-the-pouch gag, all of the Jonin sitting in the front row and the audience behind them, who had now fully recovered from the incident, had expected Ino to rush up to her opponent, deck her in the face, and win this whole thing straight up. It seemed like a sure bet, since Kiyoko was clearly more interested in eating than fighting.
When they saw the Yamanaka rush up to her with her fist pulled back for a superb, spearing right, they figured it would all be over the moment her knuckles bounced off of the Kiri girl's face and sent her to the world of happiness.
However, all their incredibly low standards and expectations for the fight they had imagined were literally shot out of the sky when Kiyoko effortlessly blocked Ino's full power punch and flipped her on the spot. The next thing they knew, the girl was on her back and spitting out blood. The impact she had with the floor had been loud enough to silence all mutterings and stun all of the doubt-filled members of the audience.
The Jonin especially, all of whom were now looking out at the field with wide eyes.
"Umm… what just happened?" Anko asked from her new seat beside Gai. She must have missed it because she was busy checking her nails.
Blinking in shock, Kurenai frowned, "Ours just got sent to the floor."
"But… how?" Asuma asked. That was his kunoichi out there. If he remembered correctly, he trained all three members of his team in taijutsu to help improve their combat skills and knew full well how hard each of them could hit. Choji and Ino were tied for first place if you didn't count the former's clan techniques to help buff up his fighting style.
Ino however had the most versatile and perfect form of taijutsu. It had both grace and balance to it. As far as the Sarutobi knew, his student wasn't that easy to knock over. She could even give Sakura a run for her money on technique alone.
However, when he initially believed Ino had this one in the bag, her opponent just came out of nowhere from a completely disadvantageous position with a simple move that effectively shocked the entire world. When the realization that Kiyoko had actually goaded her opponent into attacking her, even when in a vulnerable state, hit the young Sarutobi full in the face, the leader of Team 10 knew right then and there that Ino was up against an enemy that was out of her league.
Kakashi and Gai slowly realized this too as they glared down at the arena.
"That girl. She's…"
"Powerful," the silver haired Jonin finished. "She was able to perform a perfect disarming technique with only her fingers and her arm." That was ridiculous control and strength application. There was no way they could have seen that coming.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
Up in the competitor's box, all those Genin that had previously been on the floor, were now up and looking at the battlefield in shock. After seeing the spectacular block and flip, performed by none other than the Kirigakure Genin, all doubts everyone had about the teen were flushed down the toilet. Now everyone, including Lee, was looking at the girl seriously.
"Did you see that?" Omoi asked.
"Yeah," Lee murmured.
"She was able to cushion the power of the blow through the flexibility of the chopsticks and hold her ground by pushing her upper body weight forward," Karui stated, her glare tightening on the blonde with the mane for hair. "Her defense is superb."
"And that disarming move was something else entirely," Neji added on with a flicker of alarm visible in his expression, "The setup, grab and follow-through was flawless."
Samui's brow furrowed deeply as her fists tightened, along with Tayuya and Shiho who were now investing all of their time and energy towards observing.
Sasuke, who was also visibly surprised, frowned and looked over at Naruto, to see the blonde had not reacted in the slightest. In fact, he had been one of the only people who had managed to keep it together all the way through the whole ramen thing. Nobody had even noticed since every one of them had face-planted the concrete.
"Hey, Naruto…"
"I know," Naruto murmured, reaching up with his thumb and biting down on the tip. "Her taijutsu… is strong…"
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Realizing she had been floored, the wounded and shaken Ino quickly rolled away from her foe and leapt to her feet. When she got up several meters out, she wiped the blood from her chin and glared across at her adversary.
She had to take a moment to steady herself since the fall had resulted in a pretty nasty knock to her head and she was seeing two people now rather than one, but she eventually righted herself. Once she was certain she was only facing one opponent and not two when the distortion cleared up, the Yamanaka widened her stance and clenched her teeth together. At the same time, a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead.
"Okay. I wasn't ready that time," Ino stated, even though that was a big fat lie. She'd put everything she had behind that hit. She just didn't expect her opponent to turn her own force against her and topple her in one go. This was the reason why she was now shaking in her sandals. "What the hell was that? I didn't even see her move?"
Not willing to chance another counter, Ino stood back and waited for her opponent to finish eating. Eventually, after eating up all of the noodles and drinking the broth from the cup, the blonde haired Kiri girl then set the empty plastic and chopsticks down, pocketed her flask, stretched, and stood up tall. Breathing a sigh of relief, indicating that she had enjoyed every drop and morsel of the three minute meal, the kunoichi patted her sated stomach before rounding on her opponent. Upon doing so, she slid forward with her hands on her hips and grinned.
"Alright! Let's do this."
Ino flinched and backed up a bit more. Now that her opponent had fixated all of her attention on her, there was no telling what she was going to do next. While it relaxed her somewhat knowing she'd gotten her opponent's attention, it still didn't change the fact that even when she wasn't paying attention, she was still able to seriously hurt her. That didn't exactly give her much confidence in her ability to do well here. But if there was a chance that she could take the pace, she was going to take it, no matter how impossible it seemed.
"I'm going to win this match and show forehead how much stronger I am compared to her," Ino thought with determination.
Kiyoko smiled when she saw her opponent glaring at her hard and slide into a fighting stance. In response, the girl with the long mane of hair placed her hand on her hip and rested her weight on one side. Though it seemed like provocation from the Yamanaka girl's point of view, it was just her getting comfortable for the big showdown.
Teeth baring, Ino shifted her weight to her back foot, "I'm taking you down right here!" The moment she said that, she threw herself forward and charged.
Dashing across the grass, Ino closed in on the confident looking teenager and jumped at her with a swinging right overhand. However, the moment she let her punch fly, her opponent leaned sharply to the side, raised a hand, and casually chopped down at her back when she passed her. The blow sent Ino straight into the ground, where she slammed into it on all fours before spinning around and lashing up at her opponent with furious combination after combination.
Throwing various punches followed by a kick, Ino watched her opponent slip between them at speed, moving her shoulders and upper body gracefully. After slipping around a hook, the smiling Kiyoko then spun around with a backhanded chop, which Ino barely ducked under.
Letting out a fierce growl, Ino threw a roundhouse kick and a reverse spin kick, followed by a straight, only for her opponent to slip around them as well before suddenly countering with a left palm strike, which cut through the wind like a blade. A surprised Ino moved to the side to avoid, dodging the hand, only to have a foot slam into the side of her head from Kiyoko sending a kick straight up into a perfect split, throwing Ino off the ground and spinning her at the force of the blow.
Sporting a bruised chin with blood running from the corner of her mouth, Ino let out a curse when she realized she'd been smacked away from her opponent at the same time. Gaining control of her spiraling descent, she landed on all fours on the ground, moved to the right and began to sprint a circle around her opponent. As she ran, Ino watched her target rotate on the spot, her hand still on her hip and a cheerful smile in play. Finding a mark, the Yamanaka converged on her adversary and lunged at her again with a hook.
Just like before, Kiyoko swayed around it and shifted towards her enemy with her shoulder, setting up for a ram. Ino spotted her movement and pulled back sharply, landing hard on the ground and springing at her with a left straight, only to have the Kiri Nin slip around it and ram a left palm strike straight into her stomach while she was hanging in the air. The blow dug deep into the Yamanaka's stomach, a split second before a loud bang of a shockwave rang out and Ino was sent blasting back with spit flying from her mouth.
The entire crowd looked on in shock when the shockwave hit them, watching as Ino slid backwards on all fours, clutching her stomach.
Growling, the girl lunged once again, launching punches, kicks and hooks at her enemy, who slipped and weaved around all of them. When Kiyoko dodged to the left, she then sent a hard elbow straight across the Yamanaka's face. Another loud crack echoed out when Ino was thrown back. Blood dripping down her nose, the Konoha teen leaned back and threw a hard kick in a swift counter, only for the blow to slam into Kiyoko's arm, which she lifted to block.
In that instant, Ino only got a split second look at the smile on Kiyoko's face before the Kiri Nin's other hand came out from behind her, with her index finger formed into a hard point.
Alarmed and remembering what Naruto had said to her, Ino sprang away as fast and as far as she could, sliding to a stop several yards away before looking back up.
Kiyoko, still smirking, relaxed her index finger back into an ordinary hand.
OOO
Sasuke frowned when he saw the whole thing from his position through his Sharingan. "Dobe… did you see that…?"
"Yeah," Naruto murmured, brow furrowing.
Samui, who was also watching the fight with great interest, balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. "She's toying with her…"
OOO
Letting out a cry, Ino charged again, launching a barrage of shuriken at her foe, who managed to slip around them before blocking a punch from her approaching opponent. The Yamanaka pressed forward with her assault by attacking with a fury of straight punches at blinding speed, only for her adversary to casually parry all of them aside with one hand.
Frustrated, Ino launched another right hook, swinging it in at full speed. The second she let it fly, she was hit in the face by a counter thrown by Kiyoko, her fist impacting against the block the Konoha Genin managed to bring up at the last second, but the force still managed to travel through. Winded and sent flying backwards, Ino slammed her feet into the ground to stop and, trying one last time, launched herself at her opponent. She began throwing more diverse attacks, hooks, elbows, uppercuts and kicks, which Kiyoko effortlessly batted away and slipped around.
Immediately following the combination, Kiyoko retaliated with a series of punches of her own, which she launched casually at her opponent who ducked around them, only to stop when one punch halted in mid-swing.
Caught off guard, Ino was unable to respond when a hook slammed across her face and sent her tumbling violently across the ground. When she managed to stop herself and look back up, she not only had a black eye but a bruised cheek. From the way her legs were shaking as well, the damage she was getting from her opponent was getting to her.
Seconds immediately following the fierce exchange, the crowd launched into a series of wild cheers and applause, which drowned the entire arena in a storm. While many in the audience were stunned, the great majority was thoroughly entertained by the pair's engagement that they wanted to spur on for another bout. Though not as heavily involved as Naruto and Neji's battle, this one was turning into a fight all of its own.
While Ino panted heavily from the effort she'd been exerting just to have her opponent start deflecting her blows, Kiyoko gave an excited giggle and pointed at her. Though confused by her sudden gesture, the Yamanaka then saw the Kiri Genin point at the ground at her feet, which she made clear to the entire stadium watching her.
"What's the matter? I still haven't moved a step from where I started."
Ino's eyes widened in shock and she looked at the floor. "What? Really?" Shit. She was right. Since standing up after eating her ramen, the Kirigakure Genin hadn't moved an inch from the center of the ring. Hell, her empty ramen cup and chopsticks were still sitting on the ground directly next to her. This had the Yamanaka growl in frustration and stomp the ground with her foot. "Damn it!" She set herself into another stance. "Just you wait!"
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
"She's holding back," Shikamaru informed while grinding his teeth and clenching his fist, "That girl can finish Ino off whenever she wants, but she's purposefully restraining herself so that the fight can last longer."
"B-But that's…" Choji stammered, also gritting her teeth. "Why is she doing that?"
"For two reasons; so that she can show the judges she's worthy of carrying the title of Chunin," Omoi started, getting everyone to look at him to see his serious expression develop an ominous shadow, "And that she can have some fun. She's clearly the type that favors close combat and enjoys the thrill of a battle, which is why she hasn't bothered to move back or use hand seals for jutsu."
Lee's own brow narrowed hard into a scowl, "So… she's a taijutsu specialist… just like me."
"It seems that way," Tayuya stated.
Completely overwhelmed by what she was seeing, Samui looked over at Naruto to see his eyes set squarely on the center of the arena. "What do you think?"
Naruto looked up at the Kumo girl, where he then noticed that everyone else was now looking at him. Seeing as he seemed to know the most about this girl, despite only meeting her once and hearing about her skills from somebody else, he also appeared to be the most invested in this fight. Breathing deeply, the boy turned to glare out over the field again. "Her taijutsu, her sense of timing and her technique is flawless. She's in complete control of the fight and I know exactly the reason why." His teeth clenched tightly, "She's a master of positioning."
"Master of positioning?" Karui repeated.
Understanding what he was saying, Samui, Neji, Sasuke and Shikamaru glued their attention back onto the blonde haired girl in the figure-hugging uniform.
"She avoids taking hits while landing the most damaging ones from the best spots," the Hyuuga elaborated.
"B-But she doesn't appear to be moving around that much," Choji said, looking at his best friend and teammate in confusion. "In fact… she hasn't moved around at all. She's just been standing in the same place since the whistle was blown."
Samui placed her hand on her chin thoughtfully, "We just saw Naruto-kun and Neji fight. For the two of them, they secure their positions by moving around a lot. But this Kiyoko girl doesn't need to do that. At least… she doesn't have to right now; not when she has a clear advantage over her foe in terms of battle skill and fighting ability. She makes her opponents move instead."
"Ino is reacting to hand and eye feints," Shikamaru led off. "She's being manipulated into entering danger zones without even realizing it."
Lee was stunned at this. "S-So she manipulates the person that she's fighting using only her body? But… that kind of thing doesn't normally happen unless there's…"
"An enormous gap in their skill," Tayuya concluded, filling everybody with a sense of dread.
Overhearing the conversation going on in the Konohagakure and Kumogakure corner, the teams from Iwa and Suna also felt nervous as they looked back out onto the battlefield. After seeing the entire battle for themselves thus far, the other teams also had a reason to be concerned.
"So that's why Kirigakure only sent one team to participate," Kurotsuchi murmured with a distasteful look on her face. "That's just downright depressing."
"Even though that girl seemed so nice and cutesy before, she's really a terrifying beast in disguise," Akatsuchi added nervously.
Kankuro, sweating nervously, clenched and unclenched his fists to showcase his discomfort. "This could get ugly."
"Yeah," Temari agreed, trying not to appear anxious but failing in that respect. "It makes me wonder what her other teammates are actually capable of." Granted the fan wielder knew what she was capable of and how strong she was compared to others, even though she had no doubt in her mind she could defeat the Yamanaka girl with ease, the way her opponent was going about it made her ideas and strategies seem like wasted efforts. That Kiri Genin was taking this battle way too much in stride.
On that note, Gaara, having kept quiet throughout all of the discussions, glared in the direction of the rest of the Kirigakure team.
When his eyes landed on the ever calm and collected Utakata and Tsubaki, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
The spiritual body inside of him, the voice that was his 'mother', was restless and uneasy. This gave him good reason to be concerned about the team from the hidden mist.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
Mei blinked as she looked at Kiyoko's face on the big screen, and saw the cheerful smile she was wearing. The other Kage noticed this too.
"That girl is enjoying herself," the Fourth Kazekage pointed out, getting the two Kage beside him to glare.
"She's good," A stated with a serious tone in his voice. "She's manipulating her opponent like that Nara kid did in the first round."
"The only difference is that she's only using her hands and shoulders," Onoki stated, rubbing his nose uneasily.
Hiruzen, having also watched the fight close, linked his fingers together and leant back, his face shaded by the wide brim of his hat. "In terms of actual skill alone, there's an insurmountable gap between Ino and Kiyoko. But in spite of her enormous level of skill and experience, she still has one serious weakness." This comment earned looks from the other village leaders, especially Mei, whom had been completely calm throughout the fight. "Kiyoko knows that she's stronger, so she won't retreat. That gives Ino an opening."
Sure, it was a good analysis.
But if your opponent was in full control of the fight, how was the Yamanaka going to capitalize on that advantage?
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Finger twitching, Ino clenched her hand into a fist and reached behind her into her pouch and fumbled around for some weapons. Once she'd gotten a hold of them, she took aim.
"Okay, I can't beat her using taijutsu. Hell, I can barely even touch her, even when she's parrying," the Yamanaka stated with sweat bleeding down her face. "If that's the case, I'll just hit her from long range and corner her with my jutsu."
If she could make sure her opponent couldn't move, then that was good enough for her.
Pulling both hands out from behind her, the blonde haired girl fanned the shuriken she'd gotten hold of between her fingers before pitching them at her target. The projectiles separated in midflight and cut through the air towards the Kiri girl, who continued to stand in place with her hand on her hip. That posture was really starting to irritate Ino something fierce, and she was determined to change that as well as their roles in this battle.
So far she'd been playing to her opponent's fiddle. Well, now the Yamanaka was going to take the pace of this fight and orchestrate it how she wished for it to go.
When the shuriken converged on her foe, Ino was certain she was finally going to score a hit or at least get her opponent to move from her spot. Any one of those would be a serious accomplishment on her part.
However, the moment the shuriken were just inches away from hitting Kiyoko, she did something that no one in the entire stadium was expecting her to do. Lifting her left hand from her hip and holding it back, the Genin from Kirigakure effortlessly slapped all of the shuriken out of the air, while at the same time letting those that missed her fly past her without even touching her. The wave of shuriken she did hit scattered across the floor at her feet, getting the audience to gawk and her opponent to look up in horror.
In their shock, they failed to notice her hand change from black back to its normal skin color.
"What? H-How the hell did she do that?"
She blocked them with her bare hand. They didn't even scratch her.
Kiyoko grinned cheekily, "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to deal me any damage. Shuriken and kunai just won't cut it for you."
Baring her teeth angrily, Ino reached for another knife, yanking it out and cocking it back. "Oh yeah! Well block this if you can!" She then hurled the knife straight at her opponent, leaping back for distance.
Raising an eyebrow at the Yamanaka's sudden attack, Kiyoko's hand shot out in front of her and effortlessly caught the knife by the blade before it could even hit it. Looking down at it momentarily, the blonde from Kirigakure stared oddly at it, wondering why she felt the need to throw just one kunai. It was a split second later when she figured out exactly why when the explosive tag hanging from the end of it ignited before detonating with concussive force.
The explosion consumed the girl completely in a fireball, which also punched an enormous crater in the ground and sent smoke and dust hurling in all directions. The audience swooned at the blast while Ino, who'd managed to back off enough to throw the thing, shielded her eyes when the hot winds cut across her face.
Moments later, the forces emitted by the explosion died down, with Ino looking ahead with a grin, knowing she'd gotten her target good.
"How'd you like that?"
She wasn't sure if her opponent heard her or not, since she was probably knocked out or blown into a million pieces. However, Ino was certain she'd gotten the kunoichi and was just now waiting for the curtain to fall on her first round match.
But then, when the fog and aftermath of her attack finally lifted and revealed the space where Kiyoko had been standing, Ino's jaw drop, as did everybody else's.
In the middle of the crater, with her hand held out in front of her and smoking from taking the explosion at pointblank range, a still smiling Kirigakure kunoichi could be seen completely unharmed and unscathed by the fire. Save for her hand being covered in soot, from head to toe the girl looked like absolutely nothing had happened to her. It was almost like the explosion had been nonexistent.
Feeling the heat from the blast die down, the girl then dusted her hand on her top. "You scorched my fingernails."
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
"How the hell is she still standing?" Choji shouted.
"Wrong question. How the fuck is she still alive?" Tayuya asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
An explosive tag was no joke. When one went off, the power behind it was capable of punching a sizeable crater in the ground, could destroy a small area of forest while setting fire to it, and when used en masse could lay waste to an entire battlefield. It was one of the most useful devices in a shinobi's arsenal, as it added an extra kick to their capabilities if they were lacking in jutsu. A human being, no matter who they were, would not be able to survive one at pointblank range.
Sure, a paper bomb being placed under you or within a few feet of you could cause serious damage. You could get cut up from the debris or blown to bits, but this girl had been holding one when it went off, and she was still in one piece. She also still had an entire arm and wasn't on the ground, rolling around and screaming in agony.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and, Sharingan blazing, clenched his fist, "What is she?"
OOO
(Stadium – Front Section)
In spite of all her years of experience and seeing things other people would not, Tsunade just could not fathom what she was seeing right now. Teeth visibly bared and eyes narrowed in shock, the blonde haired woman rose from her seat and glared across the arena towards the girl standing in the center of the smoldering crater.
Shizune responded to the woman's actions by panning up to her, "Master?"
"It doesn't matter who you are or what kind of resistance to physical damage you have. There's just no way a person can just shrug off an explosive tag going off in their hand and not even flinch," Tsunade said with absolute seriousness in her voice.
Sure, she'd heard of stories about the Third Raikage of Kumogakure; the man with skin that could withstand anything. In the end, the very thing that killed him was an entire army of shinobi fighting with him over a three day period. What allowed him to get that strong was just good, old-fashioned hard work, serious training and revolutionary use of his lightning release abilities.
This girl however, she was just a Genin with excellent taijutsu and a colorful personality. Just how was she able to withstand a concussive explosion and not even lose her footing?
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Ino, completely overwhelmed with shock as she watched her opponent dust off her hand, took a step back when sweat began to drip down her head. Shaking from head to toe, she attempted to harden herself under the gaze of her foe. But no matter what she tried, no matter what she thought and how much she tried to psyche herself up, she couldn't stop herself from feeling scared.
"H-How? How did she survive that? Nobody could've survived that. Not even my sensei could've," Ino thought, clenching her fist and biting her bottom lip nervously. "Fuck. Now what am I going to do?"
Her opponent wasn't only superb at taijutsu, had terrific reflexes and could bat throwing weapons away like they were nothing, but she could take an explosion to the face and still stand. It was just beyond reason. Shinobi defied the laws of physics as well as the rules established by the world on a daily basis. They could lift boulders, move water, spew fire, climb trees and cliffs with only their feet, walk up walls, jump great distances, carry immense loads, and communicate with animals.
Knowing this, Ino shouldn't have been as surprised as she was. But knowing how effective an explosive tag was from her lessons in the academy, it was incredibly hard for her to shake off her bewilderment.
Kiyoko sighed and grinned across at her opponent. "Well… this was fun and all… but I think I'm going to end this now. Though it was a good warm up, you're not the opponent I want to fight. You're not nearly strong enough to handle me going at full throttle." Cracking her neck to the side, the blonde haired girl took a step forward. "Thanks for a good time."
Seeing this had Ino react in panic. Gritting her teeth, she threw her hands up in front of her to form her jutsu specific hand seal, her fingers looping to form a telescopic sort of sight. It was the technique her clan was most famed for and something a majority of the audience recognized, including all those up in the competitor's box.
Since her opponent was physically superior to her in every way, and could not be harmed by either blades or explosives, she had to change the pace of this battle.
By taking control of her.
"Shintenshin no…"
However, before Ino could finish the incantation, her opponent suddenly vanished from her line of sight. A split second later, the Yamanaka let out a cry of agony when her fingers were crushed by a powerful hand grabbing hold of them and were lifted up. After staggering back and looking to see what had happened, Ino's eyes widened in horror when she saw her enemy standing directly in front of her and holding both her hands by the fingers in her grip.
With her arms lifted, this left her entire body open to attack, which was exactly what Kiyoko had in mind.
While holding her opponent with her left, the Kiri Nin raised her right and formed an index finger, which she held behind her. The sight had Ino react in alarm.
"Sleep tight," Kiyoko exclaimed, rotating her body and cocking her finger further for launch.
Before Ino could speak another word, her opponent attacked.
"Koton: Shigan no Mai 'Madara'!" (Steel Release: Dance of the Finger Gun 'Spots') The audience missed the sight of her hand turning a metallic black.
In an instant, her finger shot forward and blurred out of focus. She struck Ino in the stomach once for the first hit, a split second before the Konoha Genin's midsection was suddenly bombarded by an onslaught of attacks that moved and hit her so fast Kiyoko's arm literally vanished as she struck her planted opponent again, and again, and again. The audience, the Jonin watching and even the proctors could do nothing as they watched the blonde haired clan heiress get cut into by her adversary.
The only signs of an attack actually taking place were Ino's body jerking violently on the spot under the invisibly fast assault like she was having a seizure, her upper body hunched forward as she was struck in the stomach and chest, and the sounds of a rapidly firing machine gun going off and echoing throughout the entire arena.
Each hit was marked by a loud and sharp thump sound. People were in fact stunned by how loud it was. The assault only lasted about three seconds, and as soon as it ended, Kiyoko brought her hand back and released her hold of her opponent's hand. The Kirigakure Genin smiled as she returned to her previous standing position; her hand on her hip and her weight shifted to one side.
Ino on the other hand was in no fit state to stand up straight.
Hunched over and hands still extended, the Yamanaka remained staring straight ahead of her with a horrified look on her face and eyes bugging out of their sockets. Moments of still shaking and statuette form later, Ino's cheeks suddenly puffed out before, all at once, she vomited blood all over the floor. The amount she heaved out was immense, but immediately after doing so, she staggered backwards clutching her stomach, before dropping to her knees and keeling flat over onto her face.
Her only consolation for all this was that she didn't fall into the blood she just choked up.
The proctors immediately went over to Ino the moment she fell, with Mizore quickly doing checks to make sure she was still alive. Thankfully, she was, and with a single nod to Hayate, the man rose to his feet and raised a hand in the air, waving it clearly towards the crowds.
"Winner of Match 7 by knockout: Kiyoko of Kirigakure."
There was no immediate response from the crowd, since everyone was completely shaken up from what they saw. The silence allowed Kiyoko time to let out a cheer, wave to everyone, and then begin a cheerful skip back towards the competitors section. While she was on the move, the audience eventually gave her a round of applause and started to cheer, by this time a stretcher had been ran out for the downed Yamanaka girl, which she was gently hauled onto and taken straight to the emergency room.
She was still bleeding and in a lot of pain. Immediate surgery was required.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
Looking across the way, Naruto saw Shikamaru and Choji's shocked expressions fixed on the arena. Reading their faces and knowing what they must be feeling at that very moment the jinchuriki turned to them completely and spoke to get their attention. "She got hit bad, guys. Go to her. See if she's okay."
They didn't need to be told twice to get their butts in gear. Without another word, the pair quickly hurried down the stairs and into the stadium corridors, where they wasted no time in heading for the medical bay. After seeing their comrades off, Naruto and the others looked back around at the Kirigakure team, where they saw Kiyoko jump up, perch herself on top of the railing like some monkey, before beaming brightly. Utakata congratulated her and Tsubaki nodded to her in respect, after which she then went about waiting with them in the same spot she left off.
Sitting between the railings with her legs dangling over the side.
"It looks like she's going to be your next opponent, Lee," Neji informed.
The boy in green hardened his glare, "Yeah." If he could get past that boy from Sunagakure, then he was home clear. As excited as he was to fight for an opportunity to face off against the blonde haired girl, he was still put-off by the one-sided bout he just watched. That actually came quite close to a slaughter.
"That's crazy," Shiho exclaimed, holding her hands together in worry, "How can someone be so strong?"
"I'm asking myself the same question," Tayuya replied, her eyes narrowed and an uncomfortable glimmer in her eyes. "Unfortunately, this doesn't look like a mystery that's going to be easy to solve."
Samui, arms folded, was also keeping her eyes glued on the team at the end of the balcony. "Only one team from their village was sent. That means that either Kirigakure has become conceited about their quality of ninja and just sent the one as some sort of publicity stunt, or they are actually serious about sending the one team since all their other comrades backed down because they knew that they would be participating." She rolled her shoulders uneasily when she thought on it some more. "I'm starting to believe that it's more the latter than it is the former."
"In any case… whoever ends up facing any one of them isn't going to be in for an easy fight," Naruto concluded, getting nods of agreement from Omoi, Sasuke and everyone else around him.
And they thought they had enough to worry about with Gaara from the Sunagakure team. Now they knew they had big problems from the hidden mist.
It wouldn't be the first time for some of them…
OOO
(Konohagakure – Chunin Exam Stadium)
Looking over at Kin again, Isaribi saw the look of displeasure and unease on her face. After seeing the battle Ino ended up losing badly, there was no doubt in the purple haired girl's mind that her roommate was feeling more shaken up than the rest of the audience. Having experienced the receiving end of the punishment the Yamanaka suffered, only to a greater extent, she understood that battle more than anybody else would.
"Kin…"
"That's the same move she used to cut through Zaku to get straight to me," the raven haired kunoichi stated with a deep frown. It was the second stage for her all over again, which her feelings on the matter were made perfectly clear when her fists clenched tightly. "Only then… I don't think she was holding back as much."
Isaribi gave the other girl a sympathetic look and nodded in acknowledgement, "You were lucky to get away."
"So was that Ino girl," Kin replied, glancing across at the person sitting next to her and speaking with her. "She was lucky to get away with her life. If her opponent had been serious, then the attack she just used on her would have been a lot worse. I'm pretty sure she could have killed her with that combination." She looked back to the screen and watched the next names flicker across. "It's a good thing she was kind-hearted enough not to make it fatal."
"Then… how come she killed your teammate?" Isaribi asked, tilting her head. "You said your whole team fought her and that you barely managed to get away and so did your other teammate. If she's so kind, why did she end up killing the other one?"
Having expected this question, Kin's face scrunched up in thought as she remembered back to when she and her former team had engaged the girl. Recalling every aspect of the battle she could, the raven haired girl tensed up before answering her purple haired roommate.
"Because Zaku pissed her off…"
That was not a comforting fact…
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: So… can anyone guess what Kiyoko's Kekkei Genkai is now?
I loved writing these matches.
Naruto and Neji's fight I was inspired off of Saeki and Ippo's fight, with the jinchuriki using a Flicker Jab variant he calls a Tracer. With it, he could hit his opponent and mess up his timing, so he couldn't Juken or parry it because of its unpredictable nature. His speed has also excelled to a whole other level, making him the 'Speed Star' of this story.
Sakura and Temari's fight obviously, with Temari emerging the victor despite Sakura's efforts.
And Kiyoko vs Ino. Kiyoko's fighting style is very much like Lucci's from One Piece and Hisoka's from Hunter X Hunter, and her fight with Ino I was inspired from the Gon vs Hisoka fight. She also uses one of the Kekkei Genkai from the Naruto Shippuden Movie 3: Will of Fire, and I'm pretty sure you know what that is. It's the same one that split Sai's tanto in two.