Author's Note: For all those wondering who the three characters are in the very first part of this chapter, you can look up their names in Naruto wikia. I'm sure you'll know who they are.
NARUTO
Drifting
Narrowing the Competition
With the next match of the tournament well underway, somewhere in the back of the stadium, hiding in plain sight in one of the many special boxes reserved for esteemed members of the public and people willing to pay top ryo for the best seats in the house, three faces could be seen sitting in a row looking down upon the arena. Expressions scrunched up in varying levels of interest, disinterest and excitement, the small group kept their attentions fixed on the competition and any words they had to say to one another quiet and strictly focused on the purpose of their presence here.
The one at the end furthest away from the edge with the shoulder-length, spiky orange hair, wearing a blue shirt with pants and a white vest, a headband with no village symbol on it, and weird gloves wrapped around his limbs, sat as the obvious leader of the group with his arms folded and a smug smile on his face. Next to him on his left sat a gorgeous woman wearing an outfit not from this continent; a blue knights armor with a cape, long golden hair framing her face and sharp red eyes. She was currently resting her head on her hand and elbow on the seat with her legs crossed. The last member of their group sat on the other end, a tall, skinny man with a pointed chin, a tattoo on his forehead representing 'ichi', and was wearing a tight, leather bodysuit with buckles and straps, and had a cloak on his right side and his bangs of hair hanging on his left.
All of them were sitting in the same area and, though they were dressed different from one another, were clearly allies with each other. The reason people didn't take any particular notice of them of course was due to the festive nature of the event, because everyone was dressed uniquely for the occasion, and since they were a part of a much larger crowd, no one would be going out of their way to search for these three.
While they watched the next fight open up, the head of the group, Ishidate, chuckled in amusement as he bounced his left leg eagerly, "I must say, these last few fights have been quite entertaining so far. I especially enjoyed that Hyuuga kid's battle. Watching him get beaten into the ground after his opponent hit the area around his eye to block out the complete right side of his face with his own chakra to disable his Byakugan really made my day."
"No kidding. He may have looked like a wimp, but he was no slouch, and neither was his opponent," the woman in the center, Fugai, grinned as she glanced across at the man, "So… who is our target today? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt the big man sent us all the way down here just to enjoy the show."
The tall individual at the other end of their row smirked as he too crossed his arms, "The boss wants us to find and acquire information on the user of the kekkei genkai Steel Release before making any attempts to capture her. He says that she is an integral part of his plans."
"I see," Fugai murmured as her eyebrow quirked in interest. "Well then, have we found her yet?"
"Oh, I believe we have," Ishidate said in a low voice, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "That girl from the last fight, the one with the blonde mane… she's the one the boss is looking for."
Ichi nodded affirmatively as he rested back in his seat, "Her fighting sense and kekkei genkai are truly extraordinary, definitely on a level above your average kunoichi." The grin that formed on his face showed just how serious about this he was. Being one of his boss's closest henchmen, you could say he had a lot to gain from this little mission of theirs. "She's an ideal specimen. Master has already acquired the users of the Swift Release, Dark Release, and Storm Release kekkei genkai, and all he needs now is hers to complete the formula so that we can move on to the next stage of the plan."
"I'm so excited," Fugai chirped, licking her lips in a clear expression of her feelings, "We've acquired the mines, the fortress, the beast, and the wealth from that little shrimp Gato. All we need now is the 'manpower'. I just can't wait. The day our utopia… the perfect utopia, is finally realized is drawing nearer."
"We all have stake in this one. It's best that we stay focused," Ishidate informed, nodding his head upwards. "The boss also wants information on any other candidates of interest, so keep an eye on the board."
It was safe to say at this point that there were some very interesting scouts in the audience this year. But it didn't seem like they were there looking for players to recruit…
In the traditional sense anyway.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
"Get back here!" Kankuro shouted, throwing his hands out and across, actions of which commanded the wooden, multi-armed puppet Crow he had called upon to do battle for him against his opponent who was currently giving him the fight of a lifetime. Now he was wishing he actually took some of those taijutsu lessons with his sister over the month seriously. "Stupid kid! You can't dodge me forever!"
Back flipping to get some distance on the open field, Lee slid to a stop and glared up, where he saw the cloaked, ghoul-like form of his 'opponent' jitter to a halt in the air in front of him. Clicking repeatedly with the haunting melody of its gears and joints, the puppet hung suspended above the ground for several moments before lunging after its target once again, its arms flailing behind it before one of them shot forward and a blade popped out of its sleeve in a deadly jab.
"Fast!" Lee thought in alarm, jumping out of the way when the arm suddenly extended and struck the ground where he'd previously been standing. While he was sailing backwards through the air, the boy took note of the small pool of purple liquid that collected where the blade made contact and frowned worryingly. "Poison? So he intends to inject me with toxin to slow me down. Not going to happen!"
However, just as the determined Lee was about to land, the puppet's other free arm pointed at him and the forearm popped open, revealing a tube. The taijutsu specialist only had a split second to react before a cylinder was suddenly shot out of it like a rocket, forcing him to evade at the last second when it suddenly exploded in an enormous cloud of smoke. The blast sent the fumes in all directions at speed, with Lee barely staying ahead of it by jumping quickly off of the ground and gaining distance.
"A smoke bomb? No… it cannot be that simple. There must be a greater purpose to it," Lee thought-shouted, only to hear the loud clicking of the puppet suddenly echo up from behind him and force him to look over his shoulder. The moment he did so, he saw the form of the artificial creature come out of nowhere and aim directly at him. The Genin's eyes widened as he turned to face it, only for it to lunge at him at full speed.
Lee was forced away when the puppet struck out with its arms, blades appearing out of its chest to accompany its flurry of deadly combinations. It was then, a few paces later, the taijutsu specialist realized he was backing up into the cloud of smoke still hanging in the air, getting him to look behind him in alarm. He skidded to a stop, just outside of the drifting wall of fumes.
"So that's it! He's pushing me into the smoke. It must be laced with poison as well!" Gritting his teeth, Lee glared back at the puppet charging him down and, deciding on an appropriate course of action, charged it as well, meeting it half-way. "If he's forcing me to move, then I'll just move how he doesn't want me to! By attacking!" Leaping through the air, the Genin coiled back before spinning straight towards the puppet with a flurry of kicks. "Konoha Senpu!" (Leaf Whirlwind)
The puppet opened up to counter with its limbs, but the following blow came in hard and fast, slamming it in the midsection and sending it blasting back through the air. However, the moment the hit connected, the puppet suddenly burst into a puff of white smoke, revealing it to have been a log that was struck and not the actual puppet. This had Lee look up in surprise when he finally landed before quickly scanning the area.
"He used a replacement technique? B-But… how?" He didn't know the Suna shinobi could do that with his puppet.
If he used a replacement though, then the real one shouldn't be too far away.
And it wasn't.
While Lee was searching, the purple cloud blocking view of the arena behind him suddenly burst open and the real puppet Crow came flying out of it with its arms flailing about. The moment it got within range of its target, the marionette opened its mouth and fired off a barrage of senbon, at the same time the taijutsu specialist spun around to see his foe launch its surprise attack. Lee responded immediately by crouching down, only to let out a shout when some of the needles buried into his flesh, and leapt straight into the air to avoid the puppet's swing of its blades.
Landing several feet away, Lee gritted his teeth and sprinted towards the wooden man, which clicked and cackled as it backed up. However, the puppet didn't move fast enough, and received another spinning kick to the chest. The attack plowed into the midsection and visibly cracked the wood. The sound of the blow landing echoed throughout the stadium as the puppet was sent tumbling across the ground. After bouncing along the grass violently, it stomped in a crumpled heap in the middle of the open field against a boulder.
The clicking from its joints and gears ceased momentarily, as the puppet Crow seemingly lost consciousness. This allowed Lee to drop back down to ground and begin searching the area for his foe once more.
Eyes cutting left and right and set in a defensive stance, Lee sweated nervously when he couldn't find any sign of him. Looking across at the cloud of smoke the puppet emerged from, he saw it lift completely from the area and clear up his sight.
Still no sign of the puppeteer.
"Blast. He must have used the smoke as a diversion as well, so that he could slip away undetected." It was then, the determined taijutsu specialist let out a pained groan and collapsed to his knees, suddenly feeling a heavy weight overcome him and his muscles become chillingly numb. Struggling to breathe and feeling the burn of a sickening feeling bleed through him, Lee reached over to his shoulder and pulled out the senbon that had become lodged there. "These weapons… they're also coated with poison."
This was bad. If he didn't find his opponent soon, this match would be over for him.
Hiding away behind a thick bush of leaves, Kankuro smirked victoriously as his fingers continued to twitch and the wires tugged on the limbs of his synthetic partner. "Got him. Let's see you try all of those fancy moves with poison pumping its way through your bloodstream." It was then he tried to get Crow to move and finish him off, but then realized to his shock that his puppet was refusing to budge. Expression of confidence faltering, the boy gave an irate growl and tried to will the marionette into life again, but couldn't. "Shit. The gears inside and the joints connected to the body are jammed."
That kick must have damaged the framework and some of the vital components inside that allowed its weapons to function. Now he couldn't even get Crow up and running again.
While Kankuro struggled to get his partner back into the fray, Lee was desperately trying to think up a solution to his predicament. Unable to see his foe, he now had to use every bit of power his brain could muster to figure out how to get him out of hiding. Since he was no longer in open ground, he had to have gone somewhere where there was cover.
It was clear to Lee that his opponent didn't like close-range. In fact, from the very beginning of the fight his adversary had been actively avoiding it. The moment he drew his puppet from his back and sent it at Lee in full attack mode, it became glaringly obvious that the sand shinobi preferred long-range fighting to trading physical blows, relying on his ability to manipulate his wooden mannequin to do battle. The poison, smoke, blades and unorthodox design also meant that the puppet utilized every possible mechanism to strike at its target and make them easier prey for the user by slowly weakening his targets, putting them under pressure, and getting them to tire themselves out with excessive movement. A single scratch or tap from the puppet could end the battle, which Lee figured by how his body was starting to crap out on him.
His opponent was a smart one. The teen could dictate the fight using only his fingers, leaving his foe to deal with the marionette.
"I must find him!" Lee growled in his head and clenched his fist, willing up whatever reserves of stamina he could find. "I must!"
"THAT'S IT LEE! DON'T GIVE UP UNTIL THE VERY END! THINK! USE YOUR HEAD!"
"Geez. Calm down, Gai."
Eyes scanning the battlefield, Lee began thinking about all the possible places his opponent could've gone.
Looking around at the puppet he'd managed to drop, hearing it click and watching its arms jerk sharply, the taijutsu specialist quickly deduced his opponent was trying to reestablish control over it.
Lee wasn't exactly sure he could continue outrunning the puppet forever if he somehow managed to get it up and running again. With its speed and the fact that he was poisoned put him at an enormous disadvantage. He wasn't too keen on being on the receiving end of its sharp blades either.
From what he knew, puppets were moved by strings, which meant the chakra threads had to be connected to the puppeteer. The puppeteer played in the shadows, so he had to be in a place that not only gave him a good view of his surroundings but also granted him free control over his tool's movements. Lee was in an open field with only two trees and bushes surrounding him. The only high points in the area were the trees, so that meant his opponent was hiding in one of them, or was sticking close to the ground.
Counting out three possible areas, Lee drew a handful of kunai out from his pouch and began dashing around in a circle. "Come out!" Leaping into the air, he pitched one cluster after the other into the trees and bushes he could see, determined to force the boy out of the shadows.
While a scattering of throwing knives seemed like a pointless endeavor to try and drive out an opponent from his perch, the fact that there were very few places to hide in this part of the arena and that some of the weapons had explosive tags attached to them meant that the effect would be more potent than on their own. When the areas that fell under the assault exploded into balls of fire one after the other, it meant that the spots the puppeteer was possibly using as cover was blasted away little by little. Eventually, after peppering the chosen areas with enough throwing weapons, with the occasional concussive explosion, Lee then spotted a feint shadow leap out from where it was concealed in a bush furthest away from the puppet.
Jumping out of the flames, a slightly scolded Kankuro cursed and tumbled across the grass. When he landed, he looked up in time to see the slowly weakening Lee dashing straight at him.
"Found you!"
"Stupid brat! That was a lucky shot!" Kankuro shouted, also beginning to run. "Damn it! I hate open ground fighting. There are very few friggin' places to hide out here and I can only stretch Crow's abilities so far." However, while he was trying to pull away from his adversary and lose him so that his poison could take full effect, the puppeteer found that his opponent was still closing in on him across the hill. With every step the Suna Genin took, his foe slowly advanced on him, and he was moving at top speed. "Shit! How fast is this kid?!"
Even when being weighed down by toxins, he was still able to move like that? Damn.
Realizing he wouldn't be able to break away, Kankuro decided on one last option and twitched his fingers again. When he did, he managed to catch Lee around the leg with one of his chakra threads and, with a quick pull, he tripped him. The determined boy in green let out a shout of surprise as he was sent face first into the grass, where he tumbled across painfully before rolling to a stop. Once Kankuro saw the boy go down and stay down, he smirked and stopped as well, bringing all of his fingers up and reattaching the strings to his puppet, who was still lying on the ground several yards away.
"Did you think I was going to let you separate us so easily? Think again!" Since the internal structure of his puppet was cracked, as that last shot had the force of a horse's kick behind it, he had to rely on the other components to do battle. If he tried to move it as it was Kankuro knew he risked damaging his marionette beyond repair. However, he had other ways of fighting with it. "Every part of Crow is a weapon. I don't need his body!" With that, Kankuro popped the head off of the wooden man and sent it flying straight at Lee.
The taijutsu specialist looked over his shoulder in time to see the three-eyed face flying towards him and its jaw crack open, a tube popping out of its throat to take aim at him again. Gritting his teeth, Lee watched as the puppet suddenly fired a barrage of kunai in his direction, forcing him onto his feet before leaping out of the way at the last second.
"Shit!" Kankuro cursed, jumping as well when he realized he was standing in the line of fire too. He completely forgot his positioning, which had him bare his teeth in annoyance. When he skidded away, he willed the head of his marionette to come about and reestablish its line of sight onto his opponent. "I could've sworn I had you. You shouldn't even be able to move, let alone dodge. This time though, I'll be sure to get- AH CRAP!"
Unfortunately for him, his adversary was a lot quicker to recover than he thought. A mere trip wasn't going to wound him, even if he did fall onto his face, and the poison was acting fast enough. The kid was a machine.
Just as Kankuro was willing the head of his puppet to cut across and fire at the boy, Lee was already right on top of him and spinning at his opponent with the same flurry of kicks he used to drop Crow in the first place. The green blur shot at the puppeteer and landed a devastating blow to his chest. "Konoha Senpu!" With the sound of a loud bang ringing out on impact, Kankuro was lifted off his feet and sent rocketing across the open ground, his expression frozen in shock.
When his body hit the grass, he tumbled hard across the area, where he eventually coasted to a stop on his side, coughed up blood and lost consciousness.
The proctors immediately jumped down from wherever they were hiding to check on the sand Genin, hoping the damage wasn't too severe. Upon checking the puppeteer, Mizore stood up and raised a hand. "Winner by knockout: Rock Lee of Konohagakure!"
"Yatta!" the boy in green exclaimed, jumping into the air and punching the sky at the same time the crowd erupted into applause. The loudest part of the stadium came from the ever exuberant Gai, whom the camera immediately trained on due to the fact that he was announcing to the world that he was the winning boy's sensei and was making a big show of it.
Honestly, you wouldn't be able to find a happier pair of lookalikes even if you tried.
However, just as Lee was jumping about and receiving congratulations from the people praising his success his legs suddenly gave way and, unable to regain his footing, fell flat onto his face. After checking up on Kankuro, Mizore quickly rushed over to Lee when she saw him drop to check if he was okay. Seeing that he was still being affected by the poison, the woman quickly began putting an antidote together for him.
Thankfully the poison Kankuro had been using was regular shinobi grade and not custom. A single shot would be enough.
Lee was lucky to have actually landed that winning blow before the fight's end. Any longer and he would have keeled over.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
"I will say this… that boy has one hell of a kick," Onoki said, feeling a little bit cheered up after watching the Sunagakure boy get sent to the floor with a single blow. "Your kids don't seem to be all that tough if it takes only one hit to floor them, Kazekage-dono."
The Fourth sitting directly next to the short leader of Iwa closed his eyes to acquire some sort of calm before breathing in and out deeply. "Kankuro, Temari and Gaara are mostly middle and long-range fighters. While they're equipped and skilled enough to deal with most opponents, there are some shinobi out there that can still cause problems for them." He opened his eyes again to look back at the field. "That Rock Lee kid was a juggernaut, a powerhouse and a hard-nosed close-range fighter. The specifications on him make that all too clear."
"Not to mention he had the build and speed of a hard fist type," A added, still feeling a little bit put off by the winning kid's outfit. It was a green, figure-hugging spandex suit, and looked like a single piece one to boot. Who in their right of mind would be caught dead walking outside in that. Obviously his sensei too, looking up at the jumbo screen at the other end of the arena to see the man himself jumping about in view of the cameras. "His taijutsu alone was enough to shake his opponent up."
"The puppeteer was able to keep his adversary on the defensive throughout most of the fight until the very end," Mei pointed out while rubbing her chin thoughtfully over the match. "The fact that Rock Lee had superior speed and agility over him made it impossible for Kankuro to effectively corner him, and the area they were in didn't give Kankuro much cover to use, so he was driven out easily. However, in spite of his loss, the puppeteer was still able to realize his strategy and hit him with his poison. Lee tried to force his way through when he thought he was cornered, but he paid the price for his actions. A direct assault in a dangerous situation like that isn't really the best approach."
"His senses are good though," Hiroto pointed out in consolation.
"Regardless, he's still too reckless," Hiruzen spoke, getting everyone on that balcony to turn to him. "To only be able to fight using taijutsu is a remarkable thing indeed. Lee should be proud of himself for making it this far with his skills. However, even with all his strength and ability, he acts too quickly and doesn't take the time to consider the dangers fighting against an opponent who is able to lead him around like Kankuro. Though he only endangered himself with his actions, against a foe who uses misleading tactics and plays to fight at his own pace, it still isn't enough I'm afraid." Lee still got poisoned. If this were an actual battle on the field and the proctors weren't there to help him, then Kankuro would have ended up winning in the end if Lee didn't finish him.
The boy from the sand village fought tactically, and that was exactly the quality the other Kage were looking for.
"This will affect Lee badly in the end, I'm afraid," Hiruzen concluded.
Unless he could find a way to strategically apply his taijutsu, then all of his efforts here would be all for naught.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
Neji sighed, "Well… Lee did his best. But even though he won, it's still a hollow victory."
Samui, Sasuke, Shiho, Naruto and Tayuya could only nod in agreement.
"His opponent was a really difficult one to do battle with," the blonde girl with the swirl-pattern glasses said while pushing them up her nose. "While Lee's taijutsu is spectacular, if you rush into battle intent on engaging your opponent without considering your approach, you not only abandon and potentially endanger your team, but you also endanger yourself."
"You need to have a plan of attack and a sense of caution when facing an opponent you don't know anything about, otherwise you'll just get fucked up and killed," Tayuya stated with a firm voice. In her fight with Kaede, she knew many of his abilities back to front, including his ability to summon partners to aid him in his fights. They both fought each other with a good grasp of what the other was capable of, and formulated battle strategies accordingly.
Her next opponent was going to be a tough bout too. While she knew some things of what the Iwagakure kunoichi was capable of, it was a foe she has yet to face and knew little about. This meant she was going to have to pull out all the stops in order to trap her and put her down.
Speaking of Kaede, while the group was standing their stressing over the little details, the boy eventually returned from the medical bay in order to join the festivities. When he arrived, he announced his presence through a clearing of his throat, and when everyone turned around, they found themselves facing a cheerful boy with cotton up his nose and a bandage slapped across it. Despite having his face caved in during his fight with Tayuya, he looked pretty happy.
"Hello everyone," the teen greeted, his voice sounding like he had crap stuffed up his nostrils.
Shiho smiled brightly, "Hey Kaede-kun. You're up."
"And apparently looking pretty spry," Karui mused, arms folded and grinning at the boy with the broken schnoz.
"Shouldn't you be resting?" Omoi asked, looking a little bit worried for the boy's injury. "You took a pretty bad hit in your fight. You might even have a concussion or something. Something like that can go easily missed, even by medical ninja. Actually, a lot of things can go easily missed. You might have hemorrhaging in your head or a few broken blood vessels." He was about to go on with his usual antics and stress out his teammates, but thankfully he was stopped by Kaede chuckling good-naturedly and shaking his head.
"Oh, no. Tayuya-chan was kind enough to only knock me out and break my nose. The doctors said that I was fine after I regained consciousness and said that I could move around now," the youngster responded. Though someone getting the shit kicked out of them would be more livid then he was, the boy was apparently not an easy one to upset. Well… the only thing that really upset him was criticism towards his cooking, so really, 'nothing physical could upset him' would be the more appropriate statement to use.
Stepping forwards, the member of Team 9 held up the large tray he was carrying, which had on it a plate of fried squid with a pot of tea and cups for everyone. The moment he held it forward and the heavenly aroma of the freshly cooked food hit everybody in the nose, the entire Konoha contingent backed away in a clear sign of fear, with the exception of Neji and the Kumogakure Genin standing with them, who instead looked towards the offering in interest.
"I made some tea and squid for everyone. We can eat while we're watching the next fight if you like."
"Oh, that looks delicious," Samui said lightly, reaching over and plucking some squid up with the picks provided.
"A Konoha shinobi cooking for the rest of the competitors? Now I've seen everything," Karui chuckled, along with Omoi, both of them taking some squid for themselves.
Beaming, Kaede looked over at his friends and teammates practically leaning against the safety railing at this point. "Don't be shy guys. Have some."
Incredibly hesitant, knowing exactly what lay in store for all of them, the groups stepped forward, joining with Neji in grabbing some squid and holding it at arm's reach. Those aware of the boy's cooking, Sasuke, Naruto, Shiho and Tayuya especially, held onto their snack items and looked at them with apprehension, while at the same time watching the Kumogakure team and Neji hold the snacks up to their lips eagerly. Not wanting to completely destroy Kaede's confidence, his friends watched and waited as the other group not a part of theirs took in one last whiff of their treats before resigning to their fates.
Poor bastards.
The moment Samui, Karui, Omoi and Neji put the squid in their mouths and started to chew, all four of them immediately turned blue and their eyes widened in horror. A split second later, all of them rushed over to the guard rail and threw up over the side.
At that, a nervous Naruto and company came up with creative ways of 'eating' their food so as to avoid upsetting their fellow Genin. While Kaede wasn't looking, Sasuke pocketed his, Naruto yawned and threw his squid over the balcony, and Tayuya handed hers over to Shiho, who shuffled over to the nearest bin and threw it in.
While the unfortunate four were coughing, retching and choking, Kaede smiled, "Like it? I know it's a little bit spicy to begin with, but bare with it. The tea should help ease the pain." That only hammered the nails further into the coffin, because the moment the two of them who'd picked up the tea tried to drink it they immediately spat that up as well. "Delicious?"
"N-Not… entirely," a pale Samui groaned as she looked back at the Konohagakure Genin.
A panting Neji waved his hand in front of his face. The shock of eating the food had caused him to activate his Byakugan unintentionally, but he found shortly afterwards that he was having problems with it. "M-My vision's fading."
"What is this pig swill?" Karui asked, glaring across at Kaede to see the boy look back in confusion. "Your squid and tea tastes nothing like the stuff! The squid tastes like dog food and the tea tastes like garbage water!"
At that, Kaede stepped forward in shock, "Y-You do not like it?"
"How can we like this shit? It's horrendous."
Seconds later, on the verge of tears, Kaede could be found on the other side of the balcony with his hand pressed up against the wall, head lowered, and a storm cloud over him pouring rain down upon his disenchanted form. Everyone in the area sweat dropped, including those in the Suna, Iwa and Kiri teams present, as they watched the boy sulk and literally change the weather patterns surrounding him.
"I am a poor excuse for a human being."
Staring at him momentarily, Shiho then breathed out a sigh and wandered over to provide him with some comfort. "Don't take it so harshly, Kaede-kun."
Omoi, leaning against the bar, looked over at Naruto with sickly face; his body recovering from the expulsion of toxins. "You know some really strange people in your village."
The blonde haired boy shrugged and gave a sheepish grin in return. "Yeah. It's pretty awesome."
OOO
(Stadium – Front Section)
While watching the names zip by on the massive screen at the other end of the stadium and seeing a replay of all the finishers in each of the fights to have taken place so far, including Kurotsuchi's surrender to Shikamaru, Neji's spectacular knockout by Naruto, and Sakura being handed a clean shot from Temari, Tsunade and Shizune saw the two names for the next match flash into view. As soon as the screen zoomed in on the round at the bottom of the diagram, with pictures of the two participants and their statistics, Shizune recoiled slightly when she got a good look at the Kirigakure kunoichi next up.
The stats that appeared under her name were ridiculously high. Each of the categories was out of five points and looking at each of them, Shizune saw that the competing kunoichi's only falling point was in genjutsu. In other words, she was powerful.
Baffled, the apprentice shook her head as she read through the list. "That can't be right. Her specifications classify her at Jonin level." She looked across at her master, who was at that moment staring seriously up at the big screen while the two participants of the next match walked out into the middle of the field and took up positions in the ruined center. "A Genin should not have stats that high. There has to be some mistake."
"I highly doubt the officials would make a mistake as big as that, Shizune," Tsunade replied, her brow furrowing deeply. "This is a world stage event, after all." She also wanted to point out that both Neji and Gaara had stats that would classify them as Jonin level too, but didn't bring it up for the sake of variety. Plus she wanted her next setup to carry less impact to it… not that it was going to help her any.
"But then… what does that mean?"
Tsunade smirked when she heard that question and looked down at the ring. "It means I can make back all of the money I lost in the previous rounds. I put 500,000 on her head to win this fight, so I think I'm pretty much set."
Shizune's eyes bugged out of her head, "WHAT?! 500,000!"
"Relax Shizune. It's a safe bet."
She could always put forward her necklace as collateral if she didn't win, of course…
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
Blinking when he saw the next two names, Onoki smirked, "Oh would you look at that. It's scrappy young Akatsuchi's turn." He looked across at Mei to see the woman smiling confidently down towards the field. "I hope your girl is ready for a tough fight, Mizukage. You may have gotten lucky facing the Konohagakure kunoichi, but against this boy, chances are she's going to end up getting kicked around quite a bit. His strength is quite immense after all."
All of the Kage turned towards Mei, expecting an immediate rebuttal. However, everyone was surprised to see the gracious young woman remaining absolutely calm, even in the face of the Tsuchikage's would-be challenges and taunts. Instead of responding likewise, she merely crossed her leg, pulled up her cup of tea, and blew on the steam that wafted off of it.
These actions earned a tick-mark from the short old man, who then folded his arms and leant back in his seat stubbornly. "Grr. Damn Mizukage. Thinks she's so hot."
Actually, she was. It was just that all of the men present were polite enough not to bring anything about her attractiveness up in conversation. After all, they were village leaders that were highly regarded by all the civilians of their respective homelands. They needed to convey a sense of professionalism in the face of… well… all of the cameras that were positioned all across the stadium and probably trained on them for reaction shots.
OOO
(Stadium – Team Instructors Section)
While the Jonin all looked on with interest as the next two Genin stepped out onto the stage, the entirety of Team 8 seated beside Kurenai couldn't help but stiffen at the sight of the familiar face. With all of their expressions tightening respectively at seeing the orange haired girl, they watched as she strolled out into the center and stood calmly before the crowd. Amidst all this, Akamaru gave a quiet whimper, as he too recalled that nightmare that all three of his partners had had to go through.
"It's her," Shino murmured.
"Th-The one that we couldn't touch," Hinata stammered, while trying her hardest not to shake.
Growling furiously, Kiba formed a fist with his hand and glared angrily at the girl who pretty much sat them into submission. "I hope she gets her face pounded into the ground!"
He wanted to see it. He desperately wanted to see that girl get her smug, arrogant face smashed in. However, this would only be possible if their opponent was capable of touching her. Back during the second stage even when it was three on one, not only did this girl make no moves to counter any of them except Hinata, but she was able to take down their entire team without receiving any damage whatsoever.
The chances of just one person beating her, no matter who they were, seemed slim to them.
They would just have to wait and see if their hopes could be lived up to in the end.
(Stadium – Arena)
Tenga stood between both Tsubaki and Akatsuchi as the pair faced each other at the center. Having taken up prime position, the young man from Kumogakure looked between the pair, noting the incredible size difference between the Iwa Genin and the Kiri kunoichi. The former was obviously larger and more physically imposing than his female counterpart, which really made him believe how badly this fight would probably go for the orange-haired beauty if her abilities weren't that up to scratch.
However, it wasn't his position to pass opinions and make suggestions. He was only a referee. His job was to start and end matches when given the opportunity, and make unbiased decisions. So, with his hand held out between them, he looked at the pair one last time, "Are the two of you ready?" Receiving a nod from Akatsuchi and a small one from Tsubaki, Tenga acknowledged their response before bringing his hand up. "Match 9 between Tsubaki of Kirigakure and Akatsuchi of Iwagakure." He then dropped his hand in a clean chop, "Begin!"
He then leapt back, looking up just in time to see Akatsuchi leap away as well and set himself into a fighting stance.
Once he'd gotten comfortable, he watched as his opponent unfolded her arms and began skipping on the spot. At first thinking she was going to attack, the Iwa Genin tensed up, only to look oddly when he saw Tsubaki bring her hand up to cover a yawn, before slipping her hands into her jean pockets. From that point onwards, she didn't move an inch, and remained standing in place with her eyes closed.
"Is she playing games with me?" Akatsuchi thought, gritting his teeth a bit as he clenched his fists. "Tsk. If she thinks she can take it easy in this fight, then she's got another thing coming!" With a grin, the boy then sprang forward. Advancing on his adversary with surprising agility, the attacking Genin then brought his fist back and launched a fully corked punch straight for the girl's face the moment he came within range.
However, just as his knuckles closed in on her, the orange haired kunoichi suddenly moved to the side and avoided the blow completely, allowing the teen to stumble past before spinning around to face her again. After stopping himself from the embarrassing miss, Akatsuchi then launched himself at her a second time, throwing hooks and kicks to try and bring his target down. Punch after punch swung at the Kirigakure girl's head, but despite the speed and power behind each of his attacks, the girl just kept slipping around them effortlessly.
With her eyes still closed, Tsubaki casually avoided every strike sent her way, backing up step by step before moving to the side and allowing her opponent to overshoot on another overhand. Akatsuchi let out a shout of surprise and stopped himself from falling over. After which he then spun around and faced his foe once more, seeing her just standing there in the middle of the field, eyes closed, looking like she wasn't even paying him the slightest bit of attention.
Clenching his teeth angrily, Akatsuchi launched himself at her again, swinging out with a hook that she leaned back to avoid, before she skipped away effortlessly. Her movements were so light and graceful it was almost like she was walking on air.
"Hey! Fight back already! Come on!" Akatsuchi shouted, springing at her through the air with a swinging punch. When he dove at her, his fist led him, but he ended up slamming it into the ground and blasting a sizable crater into the new hill. When the dust, rubble and debris cleared, he saw his opponent standing directly next to his embedded fist looking down at him with a bored look on her face.
Getting a little bit frustrated, Akatsuchi immediately sprang away and put space between both of them. Once he managed to retreat to a safe distance, the big boy from Iwagakure set himself into a defensive stance again as he looked upon the unchanging expression of his opponent. After securing his position, he flipped through a couple of hand seals before bracing himself.
"You're pretty good at dodging. There are few people out there who can keep up with my speed and size. Looks like I'll need to take you on with my special friend. Doton: Gōremu no Jutsu!" (Earth Release: Strong Servant Warrior Technique) Immediately upon speaking the name, Akatsuchi threw his head forward and opened his mouth, which he then expelled an enormous amount of earth from. The earth solidified immediately upon being exposed to the air, taking on shape and form, landing upon the ground before rising up above him in the form of a giant man made of rock. Once he'd fed it all the chakra it needed, the boy smiled brightly. "Play nice, okay?"
The audience awed at the sight of the massive stone creature regurgitated by the boy as it came to tower over his opponent, while the Kirigakure kunoichi simply looked up at it. The massive golem marched forward upon being summoned and brought one of its massive fists back to strike at its target, who didn't seem surprised at all by the sight of it or even want to move from her place, even when faced with such an imposing figure. The Kage, Jonin and the other competitors watched with baited breath as the giant swung and plowed its fist straight into the young girl's face.
Or… it tried to at least.
Because the moment the rock knuckles of the golem brushed the kunoichi's nose, not only did it fail to budge her or affect her in anyway, it barely even touched her. In fact, the entire statue came to a sudden stop the second it came within millimeters of her and a spark of electricity ran up its arm. Fist falling apart first as it was the closest to the girl, the golem then let out a cry of pain as whatever managed to get to it caused it to crumble, and returned it to the ground to the very element it belonged to.
After seeing the giant statue turn into a pile of rubble and dust, the Kirigakure kunoichi looked down at it before glancing up at the stunned Akatsuchi.
"Was that it?"
The shocked Iwagakure Genin gawked at the girl and his failed attack for several seconds, before frowning and setting himself into another stance. His opponent was several yards away from him and looked completely unfazed, mostly because none of his approaches were getting to her. So far he'd been throwing anything at the girl in a hope of bringing her down. However, no matter what he tried, he just couldn't touch her.
Hell, she dodged all of his punches and kicks but then held her ground against his golem, which just dispelled the moment it tried to attack. Clearly, this girl was not normal.
Before Akatsuchi could respond with a follow-up or a counter in any way, the girl with the orange hair flicked her hair back, let out another tired yawn, before focusing on her opponent once more. "If that's all you have to show me, then I'm just going to finish this fight now."
Akatsuchi blinked.
The instant he did so and opened his eyes again, he was no longer looking at his opponent.
He was in fact rocketing across the arena after feeling the equivalent of a freight train smash into his chest, which propelled him across the open field at bullet speed. It could have been a train for all he knew, but what really happened was his foe covering the fifteen meters of distance between them in a heartbeat and tapping him in the chest with her finger. This single attack sent him hurling over the arena from the center straight into the barrier wall covering the stands, which he smashed into and sent a cloud of dust, debris and rubble blasting into the air.
Tsubaki was standing normally again before her target even hit the wall, and was looking in the direction she sent him off in with a calm expression in play.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
The shocked crowd of Genin could only look on with open mouths as the cloud of dust settled at the end of the stadium and revealed the results of the Iwagakure boy being sent flying into it.
His squad was beside themselves, as Kurotsuchi was gripping the guard railings in disbelief and her fellow kunoichi partner was also looking on horrified, with the former shouting at the top of her lungs. "WHAT HAPPENED?! How the hell did she do that?!" Neither of them had seen their friend's opponent move a step from her spot, and yet she somehow managed to wind up directly in front of their teammate and sent him blasting across an impossible distance at speed. Hell, she only lifted a finger to accomplish that.
It was exactly like back in the hall before the first test.
While the Konoha contingent remained silent, with Sasuke and Neji having activated their respective doujutsu to give them a better view of the fight, the Sunagakure team was tense as hell. On one hand, Temari was looking on in disbelief, and on the other Gaara had his eyes wide and his attention fixed squarely on the field and the girl with orange hair.
His inner voice was going crazy right now, wanting nothing more than to rip into that girl due to the threat she posed. However, Gaara restrained himself and suppressed the voice for now, unwilling to listen to it due to the battle he was witnessing.
Things were heating up.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Grunting indignantly, Tsubaki turned around and prepared to make her way out of the arena. However, while she was walking along, she suddenly heard the distinct sound of more rubble crumbling away followed by the distant groan of her opponent. This combination of noise had her stop in her tracks and look over her shoulder, where she saw Akatsuchi stumble out of the massive hole he'd made in the wall.
Bleeding down his face, covered in serious bruises and dirt, the boy staggered out into the open, panting heavily with more blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. Grinding his teeth together after stomping over the rocky terrain and back onto the grass fields, he began making his way towards his opponent, who was looking at him in disinterest.
"Y-You think you can just flick me across the arena… and just walk away?" the boy asked, coming into middle range of his foe and grinning, "This is the Chunin Selection Exams. It'll take more than throwing me into a wall to bring me down. I'm not done yet."
Blinking, the orange haired girl murmured, "Oh, you're still up?" Tsubaki quickly turned to face him again. She had to admit the boy was pretty tough to withstand that attack and still have the strength and sense of mind to remain standing. "You're pretty tough. Guess I'm going to have to hit you harder this time."
Akatsuchi grinned and took a stance again, left held forward and feet wide apart. "Bring it on! I'll show you what a shinobi of Iwagakure can do!"
And that's all he was able to get out before the same thing happened to him again, only with a couple notable differences.
He didn't blink. He didn't even blink this time but just like before, his opponent vanished while she was standing directly in front of him before reappearing just feet from him. However, moving in a completely different time frame several thousand times faster then what the human eye could see with her hands in her pockets and a bored look on her face, the girl sent a left roundhouse kick straight into the boy's face, which plowed into him and sent him careening across the field a second time.
A heartbeat later and Akatsuchi ended up smashing straight into another wall, caving it in again and leaving Tsubaki the only one standing in the ring. When the dust settled after the attack, revealing the poor, still breathing boy buried under several rocks and his face busted in, it was clear that the battle had been won.
With Mizore immediately rushing over to make sure the youngster was still alive, Hayate, having seen enough, threw his hands into the air and waved. "Match over. The winner by knockout is Tsubaki of Kirigakure!"
She received no applause though.
Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the orange haired girl let out a yawn before beginning to make her way back to the competitor's balcony at her own pace. The coat hanging over her shoulders and blowing in the wind, she returned to the waiting area under the peace and quiet, feeling somewhat unsatisfied at what she'd been able to accomplish.
OOO
(Stadium – Upper Section Corridor Exit)
Chuckling, Kisame gave a smirk as he watched the orange haired girl vacate the arena under the silence of the crowd.
"She sure has grown in leaps and bounds from the little speck I remember she used to be."
At that statement, Itachi looked at his partner inquisitively, "You know this one?"
The swordsman gave a short laugh and rolled his shoulder. As much as he despised his village, he still couldn't ignore some of the memories he'd managed to accumulate in his time there. He was once a respected member amongst his group, as well as its most feared. His popularity varied from person to person depending on their relationship to him.
"She was my student at one time… years ago," Kisame answered, getting Itachi to raise an eyebrow in what the swordsman immediately identified as his look of surprise. "I taught her everything she knows about ninjutsu today… and I can tell she's excelled beautifully."
Itachi gave him an intent stare, "Why didn't you take her along with you if she was so good?"
"Let's just say she's more… individualistic than I am." The grin he wore conveyed his amusement at that statement. "She's both stubborn and powerful… quite a rotten combination if I'm honest." Yeah. They were usually the most annoying types to deal with.
It made the swordsman think he should have killed her too before he left the village, considering how much potential she had as a kunoichi. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances saw that plan falling apart and inevitably failing in the end. You could say that Kisame's transition into another career path didn't exactly go as smoothly as he'd originally planned.
But that was all in the past now. He'd made his decision and took the actions he needed to take, so he had nothing more to say on the matter. All he could do now was sit back, watch, and hope his one little oversight didn't become an even bigger problem for him and his crew in the long run.
OOO
(Stadium – Jonin Section)
Everyone was in disbelief at what they had just witnessed. Not only were the Jonin on their end absolutely stumped, but so were the village leaders who'd watched the entire fight. Remaining silent as they watched the victor march off of the field under the stares of all those in the stadium, the team instructors couldn't help but turn their shocked gazes into scowls, as they were now trying to figure out how the girl did what she did.
She moved way too fast for a Genin. Hell, she moved even faster than a Chunin level shinobi, and their group was composed of two of the quickest ninja in their village.
Gai was sweating nervously as he watched Tsubaki vacate the field with poise. "There was no telling on her face or in her movements. She didn't even position herself for a dash. Was it a shunshin?"
"It may have been," Asuma stated with an incredibly worried look on his face. "If it was, then it was one of the fastest I've ever seen. She's about as fast as you are, Gai."
"So she combines her fighting style with the Shunshin no Jutsu?" Kurenai murmured, looking over at her team of Genin to see all of their expressions twisted into serious and nervous glares. Seeing how they were all shaking somewhat and sweating after watching the exchange, she knew that all three of them were replaying the same battle they'd fought with the girl in their heads. After all, she'd been the one who put them in the hospital wing. "If we're having trouble keeping up, then it's not surprising they were beaten by her."
She was a monster.
Kakashi narrowed his one eye as he saw the girl hop up onto the balcony effortlessly. "I don't like this. A Genin should not have that kind of speed, but judging from her age, she must have had a lot of training and a great deal of experience under her belt. The fact that she is intelligent too means that she knows to be patient, to be analytical in battle and knows not to lose her composure. A shinobi with such a high level of skill and roundedness in their capabilities is a dangerous one."
It was clear that the kunoichi was in a class of her own. If it were any of them down there on the field back in their youths, they would have wound up in the same position Akatsuchi was now in; being carted out of the arena on a stretcher.
This was not good.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
The moment Tsubaki returned to the waiting box and rejoined her team, she was immediately confronted by a pissed off Kurotsuchi. In spite of seeing her teammate get floored by the powerful kunoichi, the Iwa Genin was not afraid to stomp up to the offender, grab her by the scruff of the coat hanging from her shoulder and shove her arm into her. The orange haired girl looked back at her sudden antagonist blankly as the raven haired youngster glared at her in fury.
"What the hell was that, huh?" Kurotsuchi shouted, drawing everyone's attention to her. "What the hell kind of attack did you use? Tapping an opponent with your finger? THAT'S BULLSHIT!"
Tsubaki blinked as she gazed at the angry girl. "A jutsu is a jutsu, no matter how small or big it is. Even the smallest attack can have devastating effects on the target. Shinobi of any class and creed should know this."
Kurotsuchi growled and pushed against her, finding herself able to do so as she backed her up into the side wall. "Do you think it's funny to mess with your opponents? Akatsuchi was already bleeding heavily and you fucking ploughed him into another wall! If he dies from this… I'll…"
"He won't die. He's a tough one. He'll live," Tsubaki replied straightforwardly, her own brow furrowing as she looked down at the furious teen. "I don't kill if I don't have to. That wouldn't look good on my record, nor is it an appropriate thing to do in an exam meant to test Genin."
Gritting her teeth and clenching her fist to sock the kunoichi, Kurotsuchi then calmed herself and backed off. With this being a competition, she didn't want to risk disqualifying her one teammate who was still in the game and backed off. When she did, she adjusted her top and marched over to rejoin Shirotsuchi, who was looking concerned for the safety of both her male teammate and the one who went to confront the Kiri team.
Having watched the shouting match at the other end of the balcony, the Konoha and Kumo contingents focused their attention on the hidden mist group. There, they saw the winner receive congratulations from her ever cheerful companion Kiyoko. In a complete turnaround from her previous outlook, the orange haired girl smiled warmly at the blonde, but then responded in annoyance when Utakata seemed to criticize her, whom she glared at distastefully.
This showed the teams looking at them that she wasn't a completely stoic bitch. In fact, she appeared to be a pretty normal girl when hanging with her squad and off the field.
Nevertheless, it didn't stop everyone from glaring seriously at her.
"Whoever wins this next fight is going to be facing her in the next round," Sasuke said, glancing across at Omoi, who looked back at him seriously as well.
"Better you than me. But I don't intend to throw in the towel just yet," the Genin with the sucker in his mouth replied as they both moved towards the exit upon hearing their names called over the loudspeakers.
It was time for their fight, and they were determined to put on a good show.
OOO
(Stadium – Back Aisle)
Tapping her finger patiently, an observing Haku couldn't help but feel a little shaken up after watching that last fight. From the point of the match's beginning to its end, the teenage girl was able to catch a complete glimpse of the winner's capabilities, as well as make an assessment on her overall skill and strength thus far.
She was fast. No. Not just fast. Her movements were instantaneous and her attacks came without warning. If she was to make an accurate comparison, Haku concluded that Tsubaki's speed rivaled her top speed when using her mirrors to teleport between them… maybe even faster. Furthermore, her reflexes and evasive maneuvers were razor sharp, capable of moving her around an opponent's hits at range and keep her out of harm's way. Furthermore, there was also a question as to her physical strength. While Haku was able to see the kick she launched as her last attack, there was also that technique she used with her finger.
It wasn't an attack that used physical strength. It was clearly a jutsu.
However, she wasn't able to get an accurate bead as to what nature type or kind of technique it was. That was where her current problems lay.
"She's powerful that one," Haku thought while tightening her stare.
She would need to keep a closer eye on the Kiri Genin and her next fights to make a proper evaluation.
After watching all of the battles that had already played out, the ice user had been able to identify several competitors who were top class. There was that Neji, but he was beaten by Naruto whom she already knew was an incredibly strong ninja. Then there was that Gaara from Sunagakure with the terrifying eyes and the Kiyoko girl from Kirigakure. The former had an incredibly strange and scary type of jutsu, one that even she would have difficulties circumventing, while the latter had superb physical and taijutsu prowess that would give any close-range specialist problems. And then there was Tayuya, the girl with the aptitude for genjutsu. She'd met her already and only heard about her abilities through conversation. Now that she was able to see them for herself, Haku could see the strength and potential she had. She was already a top-of-the-range kunoichi.
It was still the first day of the competition and Haku was certain she hadn't seen everything there was to be seen yet. She held her ground and kept her eyes trained on the field, watching as the next competitors Sasuke and Omoi went out, took up positions, and began their match at the proctor's call.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
"That girl from the previous match was quite impressive," A remarked with a smirk, arms folded as he leaned back in his seat. "As far as having a well-rounded skill set goes, I'd say Tsubaki's combat prowess and abilities are top of the line. It's rare to find a kunoichi that possesses not only the right character but also the right strengths befitting her profession."
"She's also incredibly fast," the Kazekage spoke, also looking a bit surprised from watching that last fight. "It's been a while since I've seen a shinobi who could move that quickly in battle."
Onoki, who'd previously expressed shock at seeing one of his best and own defeated by the kunoichi from Kirigakure, had now fallen into silent displeasure as he sat waiting there for the next match to start. Upon drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair for a minute or so, listening to the other Kage discussing the match between the Genin from his village and the hidden mist, he then raised an eyebrow when he clued onto something and glanced over at the other leaders. When he did, his gaze fixed upon the composed Raikage sitting there with his own thoughtful expression in play.
"Her shunshin speed is quite fearsome. If I was to compare it to somebody else's, I'd say it's very similar to that of the former Raikage's agility. While not nearly on the same level as him, she's still much faster than a lot of the other competitors we've seen so far, even Jonin level shinobi," Onoki spoke, his brow crinkling curiously in the Mizukage's direction. "Now isn't that a little bit suspicious?"
Having sat back in silence listening to the announcements and watching the big screen following the success of her own team, Mei gave a small giggle and looked back at the elder. "Not at all. It's actually quite simple."
"Then explain it to us," Onoki pressed, a small smirk of his own forming.
Pressing her fingers together, the leader of the hidden mist sighed, "She's a remarkable child, Tsubaki. She came from an orphanage in our village when she was found wandering the streets after losing her family in the strife of one of the country's many civil wars. The day she signed up to the academy following the reestablishment of control and government to Kirigakure, she was immediately recognized for her incredible talent and skill as a kunoichi." The auburn haired woman developed a warm smile at that information. "She was a prodigy unlike any the hidden mist had ever seen before. In a few words… she is the embodiment of a natural genius… talent personified."
A smirked at that info. "We'll be the judge of that."
"Even so, you cannot ignore the fact that young Tsubaki has already displayed quite a number of unique traits and skills you would find in an individual possessing a high level of natural ability," Hiruzen spoke, rubbing his chin in thought as he looked back on the match he'd just witnessed alongside the others. "She's calm, is always alert, and knows her limits well, while at the same time seemingly exerting little effort in situations that require strain."
"Tsubaki was also trained by one of the former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist earlier in her life, in a hope that she would one day become one as well," Mei added, getting the collective Kage's attention, before shrugging. "However, she said she was not interested and declined the opportunity, saying that her dream was to become Kirigakure's guardian and bodyguard to the Mizukage instead. It's an opportunity I wouldn't think of depriving from her."
"She definitely is one hell of a gem," the Raikage spoke, eyes focusing onto the balcony across where said girl was now standing. "Strength, speed, power, intelligence… she has it all."
"Still, it makes me wonder if there are a couple of other Genin in this tournament who can match her," the Kazekage spoke, a small smile jerking at the corner of his mouth as he planted the same idea in the heads of the others. "Akatsuchi was simply matched up with the wrong opponent. But I wonder how the others would fair against her."
With the competition reaching its final stages of the first day, things were certainly starting to get a lot more interesting for them and the rest of the audience.
OOO
(Stadium – Team Instructors Section)
While some still held the results of the last match firmly in hand, there were others who were currently having trouble keeping hold of all of the facts due to the amount of noise Sasuke's fight with Omoi suddenly brought to the ring.
As soon as Sasuke Uchiha's name and face popped up on the big screen, and the star himself could be seen walking down into the ring, every thirteen year-old girl in the audience couldn't help but squeal in delight and start cheering for him. This went double for the row of cheering girls directly behind the section where the Jonin and Team Kurenai were currently sitting, as a group of girls held up a banner and cried their hearts out.
Needless to say, the squad of youngsters was causing more than a little bit of grief for a certain Inuzuka sitting in the very row in front of them.
"SASUKE-KUN! GOOD LUCK!"
The cries, squeals and cheers had Kiba grinding his teeth in anger, with his arms folded tightly across his chest and Akamaru whimpering from the volume of the noise.
His aggravation did not go missed by his other teammates. Both Hinata and Shino looked across at him uneasily to see the amount of killing intent wafting off of his shoulders, which was also acknowledged by his teacher, who couldn't help but look down at him in amusement. As the cheering continued, the boy let out a low growl.
"I don't care if the whole stadium is against me! I'm rooting for his opponent, Omoi!" Kiba grumbled.
Honestly, what the fuck was so good about the pretty boy Uchiha? Sure he had the face of a swimming magazine's trunks model, but his personality was shit. It was like cramming fast food meat inside of a delicious, five-star restaurant steak.
Hinata giggled slightly at Kiba's fury, while Shino simply shook his head.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Some minutes later…
Running a full circle around his opponent, Omoi spat the stick from his lips and lunged in, sword held back and ready to strike. He changed directions and lunged in, watching Sasuke skid to a stop as well and take a stance, his Sharingan blazing.
"Kumo-Ryū Mikazukigiri!" (Cloud-Style Three Days' Moon Beheading) Omoi shouted, striking out with his sword in a swift and shockingly long reaching attack.
The strike had Sasuke's eyes widen as he attempted to block with his kunai, only for the attack to phase through it due to its speed and slice into him, a spray of blood escaping his chest as he was knocked away and nearly bifurcated. Doejutsu still active, the Uchiha looked ahead of him with a stunned expression on his face, which Omoi took careful note of before suddenly seeing the raven haired boy's body go up in a puff of white smoke. When it faded, it revealed a tree log with a cut across its front and an explosive tag attached to it.
Seeing it ignite, Omoi's eyes widened before springing back, holding up his sword when the falling piece of wood detonated and filled the entire area with fire and smoke. The Kumo Genin used his blade to shield as much of his body from the explosion, but still got burnt and cut by the debris and heat blast. It was thanks to his timely retreat he was able to avoid much of the damage.
Sliding to a stop, the boy glared up through the black cloud that hung in the air, eyes searching it for any sign of his foe. He even checked over his shoulders, making sure he wasn't getting flanked. However, while he was looking around, he suddenly saw the smoke in front of him part and several shuriken come flying at him. Using his keen sword play, he deflected and blocked the metal stars that cut at him one after the other, backing away at the same time.
However, while he was back-stepping, his foot suddenly pressed on soft ground, with the sound of paper pressing catching his attention. Omoi looked down in shock, seeing the spark of a carefully hidden tag ignite and forcing him to leap prematurely. That tag went up in a massive fireball as well, seemingly consuming the boy.
As the thick cloud filled the ring, Omoi emerged from the side coughing and sputtering, his pant legging burnt off and much of him covered in ash. With blood running down his leg, it was clear he'd been caught by the explosion, leaving him in a charred and shaken state. All of his running around was all due to his opponent attacking him from the shadows, which basically meant he was playing into his hand every time.
"A hidden shinobi is a dangerous shinobi. He can employ so many maneuvers one after the other, and they're all basic. Truly, he's a brilliant fighter," Omoi thought, bringing his sword up and holding it in a horizontal position, while at the same time taking a stance. Eyes cutting around him through the clear, he attempted to seek out his target in the surrounding trees and bushes, but to no avail. "I've trained hard to face him, but his skills clearly outmatch mine. I'll need to change this pace quickly, otherwise I'll lose out."
Decision made, Omoi rushed out of the area, sprinting across the clearing and away. When in doubt, pull back and rethink your strategy. But even with this quotation in mind the Genin from Kumogakure was certain his opponent wouldn't let him off so easily, which came in the form of a series of fire balls that flew out from a nearby tree to cut him off. In response, Omoi bravely and boldly dodged the falling blasts that ripped apart the ground around him, before managing to get outside of range and continue forwards.
However, while he was running, he suddenly spotted a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it flying straight at him from the woods again, driving Omoi to the right in a spectacular flip. But after avoiding it and watching it land he realized it was a dud that was thrown, and that he was driven over an area with explosive tags littering the ground. Gritting his teeth, Omoi then did something he wouldn't think of doing and, stabbing the tip of his sword into the ground before he could land, he perched on the handle of its tip and jumped straight into the air, just as a series of concussive explosions ripped the earth apart.
The entire area Omoi had been in went up in flames, leaving scorched earth. However, the intended target was nowhere in the center of it, having leapt away just in time, but with even more burns then before. Having lost his sword in the blast, the Kumo ninja looked back regretfully and suddenly collapsed to his knees, panting heavily from the exhaustion of jumping around so much. While he was on the ground and catching his breath, he suddenly heard a figure land behind him and looked up sharply.
Immediately upon doing so Omoi spun around, kunai drawn and lashed out, forcing his opponent to move back quickly to avoid his sudden counter. Sasuke blocked the repeated blows with his own blade, moving back quickly across the field following the nearby tree line he'd previously been hiding in, only to receive a kick to the chest that sent him rolling back along the grass with a grunt. He managed to right himself on the last roll, coming to stand on his two feet again covered in dirt, where he saw his opponent marching towards him cautiously, blade held up.
"It's not exactly a sword, but it will do," Omoi murmured, sweating as he faced off against his adversary.
Sasuke, counting the boy's steps, then gave a smirk before tossing his kunai at the ground directly next to him. The instant he did, he cut the wire that he had positioned there, which then triggered the trap in the form of a series of more wires that shot out of the ground and wrapped around his target from the action the Uchiha had rigged. Omoi only had time to let out a shout as he was wrapped up in more, after which he watched his opponent slip his hands into his pockets and look at him confidently.
"I didn't intend to kill you with those last traps. Those were only feints. And I didn't create that last setup using all of the tags I had. The amount was only meant to disarm you," Sasuke informed, nodding towards the larger of the more damaged areas. "I wouldn't have been able to beat you in a close-quarter exchange or with the first traps I laid, so I had to wear you out a little before going in for the finish. The smoke from the initial explosions gave me plenty of cover to make this possible."
Omoi blinked in surprise, "But… how were you able to see through the smoke?"
Sasuke smirked and tapped the side of his head, showing off his still red eyes. "I can see a lot better than most people here, even in a thick haze. It helps to have this kind of edge."
Seeing how his opponent was able to pull it off and looking down at the wires and explosive tags binding him, Omoi gave a weary sigh before lowering his head in defeat.
The nearby proctors, seeing the boy from Kumo visibly admit defeat, acknowledged this as his surrendering and called the match. Tenga raised his hand and, despite his village losing this fight, smiled and made his announcement loud and clear. "Omoi concedes defeat. The winner of Match 9: Sasuke Uchiha of Konohagakure."
At that, the entire stadium erupted into applause. The Uchiha being a big name and with one of its only members present in the stadium, having watched his superb performance the people couldn't help but celebrate his success. Under the cheers of the crowd and cries of nearby girls his age in the front row, Sasuke cut the wires surrounding Omoi, freeing him and collecting them up, before making his way back to the stands with his eyes closed and a victorious smile in play. He left his opponent to be tended to by the medic from Suna, who immediately went about checking his burns and the wounds on his legs.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
The Fourth Kazekage rubbed his chin thoughtfully at the results. "Quite a fearsome strategy. The Uchiha knew he could not contest with Omoi's superior kenjutsu and taijutsu skills, nor could he close the distance between him and his opponent's swift blade. So he devised a plan to wear him out and cripple his mobility."
A gave an undignified grunt and folded his arms in disappointment. "As good an attack plan as it was, it's still annoying that one of my Genin lost." Hopefully Samui would be able to make up for the downs in her round. "At least Omoi showed excellent tact and caution for a shinobi of his skill set."
"A cautious shinobi is a shinobi who survives, Raikage-dono," Mei spoke brightly from her spot, beaming across at the big man. "I thought it was a marvelous match between two very levelheaded individuals."
Hiruzen smiled and nodded in agreement, "Indeed. Sasuke-kun and Omoi-kun's performances were exemplary."
"Unfortunately, it's still not enough for Omoi to secure a promotion," A stated with a sigh. "He acted far better than Karui did and is extremely close to getting promoted, but the judges will still be looking for something more. I believe the Uchiha filled out that part of the criteria, since he controlled the pace of the entire battle from a distance and utilized his surroundings to his advantage."
"He truly is a talented one," Onoki pointed out, earning a bit more of a heated glare from the leader of the village hidden in the clouds. "For an Uchiha, of course."
"But he still has a firm grasp of what is required for a shinobi," Hiruzen concluded, resting back in his seat with a liberated expression in play.
OOO
(Stadium – Upper Section Corridor Exit)
Kisame smirked widely under his hat and looked down at the raven haired young man standing beside him, who had gotten a good view of the fight from where they were still standing. "Your younger brother sure has gotten tough over the years, Itachi. A Kumogakure swordsman isn't an easy opponent to cross blades with and this is me speaking from experience. The scrappy lad wasn't exactly a master, but he sure was a strong opponent. Are you proud of him?"
The older Uchiha standing as still and expressionless as a statue lowered his head at that question. "It's a shame…"
"Hm?"
"After all this time, I was hoping he would have gotten stronger than this," Itachi murmured under his breath, closing his eyes. "Perhaps I was a little too soft on him that night."
"Oh," the blue skinned swordsman blinked in surprise before smirking. "Never pegged you for the type to care so much, considering the amount of ties you cut before leaving your village. Do you want to talk about it?"
Itachi remained quiet for a bit after that, not really coming up with any sort of reply to his partner's teasing. Eventually the time came for him to look back up when he heard the next announcements blare out over the speakers and signal the start of the next fight. "The six-tails' jinchuriki is up next."
Blinking at hearing this, the swordsman glanced away from his grinning at Itachi to see said boy and his opponent walk out onto the field. The sight brought a smirk to the man's face when he watched Utakata become highlighted up on the big board alongside the kunoichi with glasses from Konohagakure. "Heh, another future target. At least we know where this one is as opposed to the three-tailed giant turtle that has decided to go on a little bit of a walkabout. You know I still can't see how a creature as big as a damn mountain can hide so well."
Probably because it didn't want to be captured again. If you had several different parties of interest chasing after you to seal you inside of some special prison for an entire lifespan, then you'd want to stay the hell out of sight too. Of course, being the kind, considerate and thoughtful person that he was, Itachi chose not to speak up on the matter. After all, he didn't want to hurt his partner's feelings.
He was quite the sensitive type after all.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Shiho's strategy in combating against her opponent in her very first and probably last match of the tournament didn't exactly go as she planned it. The moment Mizore let the match begin and the two engaged, not only did the Kirigakure Genin dictate the entire pace of the fight from the starting point five minutes ago, as expected of someone of his skill and experience, but also used some of the strangest techniques the girl had ever seen. It wasn't everyday that instead of conventional water style techniques you came up against an opponent who used bubbles as a part of his form.
Though Shiho knew Kaede used strange water techniques, his jutsu took on the form of foam as opposed to bubbles.
Utakata was a versatile opponent, as shown how he effortlessly evaded all of the shuriken Shiho pitched his way. The blonde haired girl, looking awfully grungy from being rolled across the ground, sprang away and drew several more kunai from her pouch, watching as her opponent casually brought his weird bubble blowing relic out and began blowing more of the floating spheres in her direction. They traveled at quite a speed, probably at wind speed, flooding the entire air space between both him and her.
Gritting her teeth in frustration and fear, the girl pitched the kunai at the bubbles, striking the ones at the very front. With explosive tags attached to them, the knives immediately detonated on contact, disintegrating the wall of bubbles standing between herself and her opponent in a fiery explosion. Shiho was quick to backpedal away from the blast as well as her foe, whom had also seemingly caught some of the explosion. When Shiho leapt up into a nearby tree and looked down to see the cloud dissipate, she was surprised to see her opponent had just up and vanished.
"W-What? He's gone!" Shiho thought, looking around in alarm. However, while she was surveying the field through her cracked reading glasses, she suddenly spotted a massive bubble float out from underneath the branch, causing her to gasp in shock before it detonated with concussive force.
The branch and part of the tree the kunoichi was perched on was turned into splinters, which rained down along with a whole mass of leaves from the branches rattled by the invisible blast. The greenery covered the ground just as an airborne Shiho flipped through the air before coming to land with an earsplitting crash on the wide, open fields. The girl cried out as she bounced and rolled down the side of the hill she was on, coasting to a stop seconds later covered in crap, clothes torn, bruises formed, and blood dripping down from her head. She'd landed in a very bad way, which left her in a sorry state.
"I-I can't keep up with him," the girl thought desperately, looking over her shoulder to suddenly see her opponent leap down from the sky. Wherever the hell he'd gone in that last attack, she'd lost sight of him completely. "He evades every attack I make and counters every strategy I try to pull. There's only so much I can do with a few kunai, paper bombs and basic jutsu." She tried pulling the replacement technique and using smoke bombs to lose him, but no matter where she went, whether through the woods, crevices or rocky outcrops, she just could not lose him.
Did he have extra sensory abilities? Could he see her no matter where she went? How?
Utakata strolled across the grass to stop a few meters from her, looking down at the wounded kunoichi with a serious expression. "It would be wise of you to throw in the towel. You're a diligent and smart girl, and I'm sure that if you were matched up with any other opponent, your performance would be noteworthy. However, at your current level, you don't stand a chance against me."
Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, the girl pushed her broken glasses up her nose and considered her options. However, finding none, and seeing Utakata pull back his sleeve and bring out his bubble blower again, the outcome of this battle became all too clear to her.
As fast and as well executed she tried to make her plans, she just could not keep pace with her agile and even faster opponent. The girl shut her eyes in resignation and nodded, raising her hand in the air.
"I… I give up…"
Upon hearing this, a nearby Hayate waved his arm in the air and spoke through to the audience once more. "Winner of Match 11: Utakata of Kirigakure!" At that, the entire stadium gave a loud cheer and applause, congratulating the victor, who began making his way back to the balcony. During which time, a still conscious Shiho was checked over by Mizore before she was helped out of the area by another staff member from the sidelines.
Due to how roughed up the Konoha kunoichi was, a full checkup and evaluation needed to be done in the medical bay while the final match was setup.
"Could the competitors Choji and Samui please make their way down to the arena," Tenga spoke through the microphone, calling for the next two competitors.
OOO
(Stadium – Competitors Balcony)
The Konoha contingent, who had watched the entire battle between Shiho and Utakata closely, were currently in a despondent state upon seeing another one of theirs fail to make it through, and that they were beaten by the Kirigakure team once again. That meant that all three Genin from the hidden mist were advancing to the next round of the tournament. However, they were pleased to see that Shiho had at least put up a good fight, praise that Tayuya and Kaede weren't afraid to pass on to their less physically adept teammate.
She was more of a strategist and didn't have much to work with. She didn't even have a lot of time to adequately prepare herself for the exam to face an opponent as strong as Utakata, but that was just life. Some shinobi just weren't cut out for that level of battle, but they were certain if she had a little bit more time to train, she would definitely be able to get strong enough to earn a promotion.
"She did all that she could," Kaede exclaimed.
"In the end that's all you can really do with a limited skill set. I can actually respect her for trying as hard as she did," Karui spoke up as she looked at the board and the next names flash to across it.
Upon seeing Utakata return to his group and fall under the stares of most of those on the balcony, Naruto then turned to see Samui approach the guard rail with her hand massaging her neck.
"Well, I guess I'm up." The Kumogakure kunoichi then glanced across the way, where she saw Shikamaru and Choji had returned to join the rest of them in watching the last of the fights. Looking between the two boys, she then turned to the Nara, "Is your teammate okay?"
The dull looking young male panned towards the blonde girl and nodded, "Yeah. She's unconscious and has internal injuries, but the doctors say she's going to be fine."
Nodding, Samui then glanced at Naruto, spared the boy a smile, before leaping over the side.
While everyone looked at the jinchuriki oddly from all the weird attention he was getting from the girls, Tayuya instead decided to speak up on a different matter. The amused smirk that crossed her face as she cut towards the boy and nudged him in the side clearly conveyed her response, "I think the habit of jumping over the side has caught on."
Sasuke frowned, "That doesn't excuse the fact that there's a perfectly good set of stairs just behind us." He said this while watching Choji leap over the side and land rather clumsily on the ground below. The boy was able to right himself before jogging out across the field to catch up with his opponent, who had decided to walk the rest of the way.
"Don't be such a buzz-kill, teme. Just roll with it," Naruto chirped.
Neji closed his eyes and sighed, "Only the most exuberant ones would ever act in such a reckless manner."
This brought on a rather peculiar look from Karui after seeing the two competitors reach the center and face each other down. "That's… kind of contradictory in a way, since Samui isn't exactly the most flamboyant of kunoichi. She's more laidback then anything else." Yeah. Her teammate was really, really laidback, but could also be firm when the situation called for it. Samui openly admonished the redhead's arguments with Omoi, but the blonde never moved past verbal scolding to actually making an effort to physically stop them. With her cool exterior, it was always hard to tell what she was actually thinking most of the time.
Tayuya shrugged thoughtfully, "First time for everything I guess."
Jumping off of the balcony was probably her way of really getting into the swing of things, in spite of what her expression said otherwise.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
"Ready… BEGIN!" Hayate said loudly, jumping away and allowing Choji and Samui room to engage.
The pair stood facing each other, with the orange haired Akimichi putting on his bravest and most serious face, while his kunoichi opponent remained unchanged from her state. Under the encouraging cheer from the crowd, all of whom were expecting a terrific fight from the last two competitors for the day, the pair then decided to jump back and take their distance, with Choji being the first to assume a fighting stance.
"I have been training hard for this day. I'm going to show everyone back in my village just how strong I've become," Choji exclaimed, rolling his head around on his neck, "I will not lose."
Samui gave an understanding nod, reaching around and gripping the handle of the tanto she had strapped around her waist. "This being an official test of skill I can understand why you would say that. You not only have the judges to impress, but you also have your own goals for the future you're striving towards." She then drew her short-bladed weapon, with the tip being flat instead of pointed like most blades. "But do not let your determination for victory, cloud your judgment. Lose your cool and you'll end up losing this fight."
Choji nodded, "I'll keep that in mind." He then watched as the girl slid into a stance and pulled her weapon back. A bead of sweat trickled down the Akimichi's face as he took stock of his foe's form and her positioning for attack. "From what I saw from your teammates, your group is really skilled in both taijutsu and kenjutsu. If you're as skilled as I assume you are, I won't stand a chance fighting you normally, which is why…" He slapped his hands together to form a ram seal before a special seal. A grin spread across his face, "I'll fight you on my terms! Baika no Jutsu!" (Multi-Size Technique)
In a burst of smoke and chakra, Choji's form suddenly increased in size several times over, his form bulking up and becoming an even larger version of his previous self, about five to seven meters tall. His sudden increase in size had Samui blink in surprise before she watched the boy leap high into the air and allow his now greatly expanded shadow to fall upon her. The giant Akimichi then let out a battle cry as he descended upon the kunoichi, who wasted no time in jumping out of the way when his knee slammed into the space she'd previously been occupying, his fist also hitting the ground with an earth shaking crash.
Teeth gritted, Choji tried to follow his opponent who continued springing away from him. He attempted to pursue her by reaching out and slapping down on her with his hand. The light on her feet Kumo kunoichi however jumped out of the way and avoided being squashed under his engorged palm. She instead watched as he made a massive crater in the ground, and looked up to see her opponent huff and return to a normal stance.
"His size will be troublesome to deal with," Samui stated, her eyes focusing further on her giant of an adversary. "Thankfully, his speed even in this state isn't as versatile."
Clicking his tongue at how cumbersome this new form of his was, as this was his first time using it in battle and he wasn't quite adept at controlling it yet, Choji then smirked and slammed his hands together. "If I can't catch you this way!" In the blink of an eye, his form decreased in size, but only in his arms, legs and head. This resulted in his form's midsection taking on the extra mass, forming into a large, ball like shape. After doing so, he tucked all of his limbs and head in, before using chakra to start rolling at an accelerated rate. "Nikudan Sensha!" (Human Bullet Tank) He then barreled across the ground, charging directly at Samui.
This immediately had the blonde haired girl's eyes widen and she quickly leapt out of the way again, watching as the boulder tore past her, ripping the earth to shreds and carving a reasonably sized trench in his wake. Landing on all fours, Samui observed as her mobile opponent came around and started towards her again, getting her to furrow her brow and look about momentarily.
Searching the field for what she remembered seeing while walking across it, the young girl eventually finished composing her strategy and took off. Samui crossed the field as quickly as she could in leaps and bounds, closely followed by her fast moving opponent rolling after her.
Rushing across the field, the Kumogakure kunoichi then took to the trees the moment she hit one of the forests surrounding the more open plain, jumping from canopy to canopy while looking back to see if her opponent was still following her. He was, and Choji was still hot on her tail despite having taken to a higher level. However, this was exactly what the blonde wanted.
While she was leaping through the arena's forest of trees, Samui began slashing out with her tanto, chopping off branches of berries and leaves, and chucking them down at the fast moving ball chasing after her.
His spinning form grounded up the branches that smacked into him, seemingly disintegrating them into nothing and scattering the twigs. He continued to grind through the rain of branches till both of them burst out of the woods over one of the lakes. Samui led the charge out of the canopy and close to the edge of the pool. Upon stopping once she touched down on ground level, she then spun around to face the enormous ball locked onto her shadow.
However, instead of coming out in his transformed and dangerous state, the original Choji emerged from the brush covered in berry juice, sap, leaves and twigs from grinding through the rain of debris. He stumbled to a stop, looking a little bit disoriented and dizzy, but mostly sticky, and upon catching sight of his opponent waiting for him he then drew a bunch of kunai and chucked them at his opponent.
Samui smacked them out of the way with her tanto and watched as the boy charged at her. The Akimichi let out a bellow of a war cry as he then lunged at her with a kunai. However, just as he was advancing and watching the girl sheath the tanto behind her again, Choji then felt his body start to grow heavy and slow. It wasn't the usual kind of heavy either. It felt like his feet were sinking into mud and he was struggling to take steps. His body and joints began to lock up, and soon the young fighter was forcing himself to take a step forward every five to ten seconds. Soon enough, he stopped dead in his tracks, trying to force himself to move but being unable to. His eyes widened in horror when he found himself struggling to turn his head too and while he was just a couple of feet away from his still calm opponent.
"W-What?" He looked down at himself. "What's happening to me?"
It was then he saw what the problem was. The sap and berry juice he had been covered with had spread over his body to form a sticky, incredibly thick sheen of translucent armor. This armor however had bulked up to form bubbles wherever he had moved the most and spread to the floor, where it was now sticking, like he just had gallons of glue dumped on top of him. Trying to move only got him even more stuck and now he couldn't move an inch from where he'd been practically sealed.
Samui stared at him, holding up a twig of one of the trees she'd been passing through. "The Yugakure area, known for its tumultuous living conditions, terrain and plant life, has a unique tree that secretes a strong, adhesive sap that expands and hardens. Animals use the substance to kill parasites on their bodies during the summer and hornets use it to build their nests." She began walking towards the boy, her footsteps filling the air with a dramatic 'drum' beat. "The area I led you through had a lot of them growing in it. While you were rolling along I dropped branches of the same flora on top of you and you minced right through tons of them, spreading the substance all over your body. Motion generates friction and heat in the coating, which causes the sap to boil, expand and harden even faster."
Choji freaked out when the kunoichi stepped closer to him and raised her tanto to his neck, which was still partly exposed. "Animals rest during the day while the sap traps and suffocates the parasites. There is a good chance you will be thoroughly cleaned when the sap decides to fall apart on its own accord in… let's say about an hour. But by then you will be both motionless and defenseless." She pressed the blade further against his neck for good measure. "I strongly advise surrendering."
Gulping under the cold steel he could feel against his jugular, the boy tensed up before letting out a cry. "Okay! Okay! I give up!"
"Cool," Samui exclaimed, pocketing her tanto and turning heel.
The proctors, having been close enough to watch the events unfold and hear the call of surrender, acted swiftly, with Mizore calling in for the boys to bring a box carrier while Tenga made the final announcement. "Winner of Match 12 by verbal surrender: Samui of Kumogakure!"
Seeing the extra staff approaching from the sidelines to carry the statuette Choji away, the girl waved at them, getting the group to stop short. "No need." She then wordlessly grabbed the Akimichi's frozen, extended fist and shoulder tossed him into the lake. The boy let out a startled cry as he was thrown through the air before hitting the water with a big splash, getting everyone to gawk as the girl walked away and her opponent surfaced.
Coughing and sputtering, Choji initially thought he was going to drown and flailed away in the water for a few seconds, only to discover a little bit later that all of the sap he'd been covered in had washed off. Gaping as he looked himself over, he then frowned and glared up at the girl walking away.
"She conned me."
The previously perplexed crowd then broke the silence with a mighty cheer as Samui gave a single wave before sauntering back to the stands, receiving approving gazes from the audience, the Jonin instructors and the competitors, sans for Shikamaru, who was a little bit disappointed at his best friend's misfortune.
Nevertheless, it had still been a brilliant match.
OOO
(Stadium – Kage Section)
"Now THAT is how it's done," A stated proudly, folding his arms and smirking across at his companions. "I told you Samui was brilliant."
"Indeed. That was one of the most intelligent plays I'd seen in this exam. A brilliant strategy," Hiruzen commented, fingers interlocked as he looked down at the retreating blonde haired kunoichi with an approving smile. "She analyzed her surroundings just like Shikamaru and Sasuke before her and used them to her advantage to overcome an opponent using a technique that gave Choji a clear physical advantage over her, while at the same time wasting little energy in the process."
"Magnificent," Mei chirped brightly, still applauding the girl gently while watching in amusement as Choji was helped off of the field on a carrier, due to still being a bit disorientated from all his rolling around. "Her opponent did well too. He went in there knowing how strong his opponent was and attacked her based on his accumulated knowledge of watching her companions battle. However, he fell out with an incredibly direct approach using an otherwise impressive battle force that was not utilized to its full potential."
"He did come close though," Hiruzen stated with a firm nod. "Though some more control over his jutsu and strategy work is required, he should be proud of himself for his actions today. Even though he lost, it still brings him one step closer to that promotion."
The Fourth Kazekage, satisfied with the viewings thus far, leaned back in his seat and glanced across at the other village leaders. "I believe I've seen enough for today. I'm sure the judges have too."
"The end result is decided by them. But as the village leaders and commanders of these youngsters, we're also entitled to adding our assessments to the ballot as well," Onoki stated, also sitting up and adjusting his wide-brimmed hat. "However, that will have to wait until the end of tomorrow. We still have many more fights to push through, and I'm certain we'll be seeing a lot more action tomorrow." He was unable to hide the grin that formed on his face after saying that. This showed just how excited he really was at the prospects of the coming finals.
"I agree," Hiroto spoke up from his end with a happy expression in play. "I'm really looking forward to the next round of matches. They're sure to get the crowd moving."
They'd already seen so much from the highest prospects today, so the odds of tomorrow being better than this day's proceedings were high.
OOO
(Stadium – Front Section)
Breathing out a sigh, Shizune looked across at her master to see the woman with her arms folded and looking down at the field seriously, as she had been throughout most of the battles they'd witnessed. Upon training her gaze on the woman and adjusting Tonton on her lap, the dark haired woman gave her master an inquisitive look.
"Were you able to make back the money you lost today with your successful bets, Tsunade-sama?" the woman asked hopefully.
Pausing for dramatic effect, the Sannin looked at her apprentice momentarily before turning back and smirking. "Of course. The Tsubaki fight managed to win me everything I lost." To emphasize this point, she held up a set of betting stubs, pulling out one before ripping up the rest of them.
Shizune exhaled deeply, "Thank goodness…"
"From what I gathered on her stats, it was the best bet I could ever make," Tsunade stated sagely, before a cocky smirk crossed her lips and she gave an affirmative nod, "All the more reason to keep pressing forward. I'll put half of it on her tomorrow and the winning amount on her semi-final match."
At that, the apprentice nearly collapsed in her seat, frothing at the mouth.
Honestly, if her master didn't stop these impulsive bets or try to fix her gambling problem, they were going to be so stuck in debt that they would be having collectors coming from this way and that. They'd had these kinds of problems before in the past and had barely been able to make it out of them in one piece. Hell, Shizune was constantly living in terror that her master was going to sell her one of these days to pay back any large debt she'd left unattended to that would come back to confront her sometime in the foreseeable future.
She had to stash away as much money as she could this time so that they would at least have enough to feed themselves should the time come for them to leave this country.
While she was lying back in her seat and listening with deaf ears to Tsunade's gambling strategy for tomorrow, the woman couldn't help but look up at the screen and see the pictures of those who'd made it through into the next round flash past. When Naruto's grinning face appeared, the young woman gave it a momentary stare of curiosity before smiling.
"I have my bets set on you, Naruto-kun," Shizune nodded in encouragement.
The boy was a kind soul as well as a fierce fighter. This gave the woman every reason she needed to wish him well for the future, as the competition ahead of him was going to be seriously tough.
The only real obstacle was going to be that Tsubaki girl. Since Gaara was on the other side of the chart, the chances of the blonde facing him were pretty slim.
OOO
(Stadium – Jonin Section)
Asuma sighed and leaned forward with a smile, "Damn. I was hoping for Choji to win that one… but I guess his opponent was just a little too much for him." She was like Shikamaru, only minus the lack of motivation, and tack on Ino's body, and you had her.
"She was a smooth character. It took a lot of guts to go up against someone as razor sharp as her. She was splendid," Gai commented, arms folded and a wise look on his face as he spoke of the match. "It appears that every village has a shinobi moving into the next round."
"We have a lot from our village advancing," Kurenai added with a warm smile, "So we have the advantage in numbers."
"Ah, but it's not a matter of superior numbers anymore," Genma led off, looking across at the woman with a grin. "It's the quality of the shinobi that will be winning them the points tomorrow. Now that we were able to narrow down the competition, we'll be able to see which one of the remaining 12 will have what it takes to secure promotions."
"And that all depends on whether they've earned the right to be promoted yet," Asuma concluded.
Kakashi eye smiled at his next thought. "Considering the level of these exams and the strengths of some of the competitors, it makes you wonder whether a promotion to Chunin will be enough." It was possible for shinobi participating in assessment to springboard to the next level immediately after getting their Chunin vest. After all, they still had to go through the ceremonies and stuff. But if a shinobi showed enough promise in a low rank that they are deserving of a higher rank, whether from experience, record of accomplishments and what not, then it was easy for them to take two steps forward as opposed to one.
Konoha's oldest Genin Kosuke Maboroshi for example was offered numerous chances for promotion at many different stages of his career from Genin to Jonin, but politely declined each and every one. Even though he can now request a promotion to Jonin and it would be given to him without question, he chooses to remain where he is for personal reasons.
Only the most promising and noteworthy of individuals had secured such promotions in the past. This occurred more frequently in ANBU if you're accepted into the program. Itachi shot up when he was still at a young age, as did the Sannin, the past Kage, and a few of the Jonin currently seated here right now.
The thought rested in many of their minds, but was quickly dismissed as they figured the judges wouldn't be that kind.
"So!" Asuma spoke while sitting up and popping a cigarette in his mouth to light, "New stakes. I'm betting on Tayuya to make it through to the next round after fighting the girl from Iwagakure."
And so the Jonin gathered quickly fell into that routine. This left Shino, Kiba and Hinata sitting on the sidelines and watching with anticipation as the proctors finished discussing with the other staff members whatever business they had to settle before moving out to the middle of the ruined field again the address the audience. The crowd had become restless in the wake of the final round match, and after seeing so many mind blowing fights in a row, it was time to put a dampener on the fires before it burned out of control.
Out of all of them, Kiba was feeling the most skittish. With a smirk on his face and fists clenched, he was finding it hard to stop his foot from tapping. It was a sight that did not go missed by Hinata.
"K-Kiba-kun?"
"I so can't wait for tomorrow!" the Inuzuka murmured, a bark from Akamaru backing him up as he held his shaking fist in front of him. "I want to see Sasuke beat the crap out of his opponent and get her back for what she did to us!"
Damn. He wished he'd made it through with the others. Watching the fights would've been a whole lot better from the competitor's end then the audience's, plus he would have also gotten involved. It would have given him even more reason to be excited about tomorrow.
Kurenai, seeing the eager looks on her students' expressions, gave a smile and turned to face the giant television again as it flashed to the next announcement. "They sure are lively now. Seeing everyone fighting so hard has gotten them all fired up."
Kiba, Shino… heck, even Hinata had a determined shine in her eyes as they all turned towards the proctors in center ring.
OOO
(Stadium – Arena)
Lining up, the three match officials in the center of the enormous coliseum faced the gathered crowd with their hands at their sides and forms set at attention. Looking up over the towering walls towards the bulk of the audience, which consisted of the daimyo high up in their private section and the Kage balcony, Hayate cleared his throat and waved for the attention of everybody present. His action silenced the clamor of the thousands of people seated in the circular structure as he then moved on to their next important order of business.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the end of today's events," Hayate proclaimed, slipping his hands behind him as his voice echoed out over the speakers. "A total of twelve fights. Of the twenty-four competitors that started at the beginning of this tournament, twelve will be advancing into the final rounds." He then stepped aside and pointed up to the big screen, where the chart of the current line-up flashed into view. "These will be the matches leading into the semi-finals and final fights tomorrow."
XXX
ROUND 1
(Bracket 1)
Match 1: Shikamaru vs. Gaara
Match 2: Shirotsuchi vs Tayuya
(Bracket 2)
Match 3: Naruto vs Temari
Match 4: Kiyoko vs Lee
(Bracket 3)
Match 5: Tsubaki vs Sasuke
Match 6: Utakata vs Samui
XXX
That was how it stood and the crowd could see it perfectly.
It was going to be a long haul for everybody tomorrow. Not only did they have the six matches to go through, but the three after that, and the semi-final match that will decide who faces the one that will be getting the bye into the final fight to decide the victor. This was where the tournament's best battles were going to be fought, between the brightest and the strongest to have made it through.
Tenga smirked as he looked back at the chart as well. "So… we have the entire team from Kirigakure, five from Konohagakure, two from Sunagakure, one from Iwagakure and one from Kumogakure." Sounded about right, and the setup was bound to be an interesting one too.
Once he was certain the audience and the competitors had read through it, the man continued speaking. "As you can see from the three brackets, the first round will have a total of six fights. After that in what will be the quarter finals, we will have three fights, and then a semi-final match between the winners of bracket two and three. The winner of the semi-final match will go on to fight the winner of bracket one."
"It might seem a bit unfair, but that's how life is sometimes," Mizore spoke up, leading off when she felt appropriate. She steeled herself as she carried on, "Like today, the three of us will be refereeing each of the battles and will intervene to prevent unnecessary losses. The rules have not changed either. No fighting in between matches. Competitors move forward with each battle at their consent. There will be a two-minute gap between each fight and a half-an-hour intermission between each round of fights, and an hour intermission between the semi-final match and the final match. This will allow all of the competitors enough space to recover for each of their fights, and will give each competitor enough time to decide whether or not they wish to continue."
"The matches will be postponed until tomorrow morning. The starting time for the next round will be the same as today's, so everyone get some much needed rest and we hope to see you all for the finals," Hayate concluded, the giant TV switching off and announcing the end of the debriefing. The proctors nodded courteously to the people before, in a few words, waving them off. "Until then, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the attractions and services Yugakure has to provide. Good luck, competitors."
OOO
Later that night…
Everything was quick to settle down after everyone had left the stadium. The crowds in the stands and venues outside slowly filtered out of the area and back into the village, where they all either turned in to their hotel rooms or to the many attractions provided by the village. After the series of fights they'd witnessed and the events that took place within them, it was no surprise that many in the crowd had been riled up and were still willing to party.
Tomorrow was the big day. The day the strongest of the Genin competing would be decided.
The pubs and betting stands were quickly packed with people wanting to cash in on the festivities. The stats were lined and the Genin's recent accomplishments were put on for display to the public to make whatever wages they felt were appropriate. A lot of money was immediately being placed on Tsubaki, Sasuke and Gaara, as not only had two of them displayed a fierce level of skill and ability, but one of them was also a legacy child and prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Everyone had one reason or another to put all their hopes on the ones left in the draw, and everyone was either going to win big or lose big depending on how the matches went the next day.
While all this was going on and the villagers went about their business, the processions varied for all the competitors who had participated in the tournament.
After being treated in the medical bays, those that still needed to be watched over and tended to were immediately taken to the hospital. Tenten, Sakura, Ino, Lee and Akatsuchi all rode in the same boat up to the main building, where they were separated into their rooms and given the treatment they needed. Medical staff was on hand to tend to all of their injuries, with the most seriously injured Ino and Akatsuchi having to go through operations again to fix up their insides.
Their opponents had messed them up pretty badly, with one of them having her mid-section hammered by the equivalent of invisible bullets being fired into her and the other having his body thrown into a concrete wall twice.
After having her wounds bandaged up and looked at by the doctors, Tenten was soon up along with Lee. The boy had a bit of a trying hour filtering the poison out of his system through profuse sweating and vomiting, but by late evening he was feeling better than ever and ready to kick ass. It took some time, but the swelling from the backed up chakra hampering his Byakugan and the usual wear-and-tear on Neji's face eventually died down, save for most of it around the eye where he'd taken the highest number of jabs to. Gai was incredibly pleased with each of his students and expressed his heartfelt joy at his number one making it through, which they celebrated at the hospital window with their normal display of the dreaded beachside and sunset genjutsu.
The doctors quickly harried them out once they were assured Lee was fine.
Sakura was also up by nightfall, and was watched over at her bed by Kakashi and Sasuke, who'd decided to stick by them in case of anything important that came up. Having watched the last of the fights, the pink haired girl had simply been overwhelmed at the abilities that had been displayed, which quickly had her caution the genius about his next opponent.
"She's strong, Sasuke-kun," Sakura warned, looking across at the boy from her seated position on the bed as the doctor made his final checks on her for that night. "I want you to be careful out there tomorrow. She might do the same thing to you that she did to Kiba's team and her opponent."
Hearing this had the boy grunt and look out the window. "It's fine. I've seen her attack pattern… so I know what to look out for." He saw her speed and he saw how precise and sharp her movements were. Though it was overwhelming, it could still be avoided. He just needed to keep an eye trained on her and his other senses opened up in order to respond accordingly should she decide to teleport over to him. "I'll beat her, don't worry."
Kakashi, sitting on the chair beside Sakura's bed and looking over at the wall where his other student was leaning again, smiled and nodded. "Tread carefully, Sasuke-kun."
The Iwagakure team a couple of rooms over stuck by Akatsuchi's bed as the boy lay unconscious under the covers and wrapped up in casts and bandages. He looked like a mummy. While it was obvious he received the most punishment today, the doctors and medical ninjas working at the facility assured Kurotsuchi and Shirotsuchi that he was going to be fine, and that he didn't receive any brain damage. While this comforted the pair somewhat, they still refused to leave their teammate's side and remained by him throughout that whole evening and night.
The same could be said for Team 10, who stuck by Ino's bedside to the time she eventually regained consciousness. With her midsection wrapped up, the girl asked the two boys how the other fights went. Choji was all too happy to brief her on that, having finally recovered from his excessive rolling, while Shikamaru fell asleep on one of the other free beds. Asuma popped in to visit his team, before saying to Choji and Shikamaru that he could watch over the kunoichi and they could go rest up. However, the squad said they were willing to stick by their friend for as long as possible, with Shikamaru using his stay at the hospital to have his own light injuries checked and to recover for his second round match tomorrow.
Team 9 spent a small time at the hospital, with Kaede needing to have his nose looked at and Shiho for everything else. Genma congratulated the three for doing so well, especially Tayuya who managed to advance into the next round. As they were all excused from the facility, they were all able to break up and enjoy the festivities outside, with the redhead sticking by Kaede and Shiho to partake in some games.
As for the rest of them, the Kirigakure team had broken up to enjoy the various other attractions in the village and the Sunagakure team had also gone off on their own, with Gaara disappearing from the hotel shortly after returning to it. Kankuro was still in one piece from his battle with Lee, but spent much of his time in their room resting, or down in the hall pigging out at the all you could eat buffet.
Temari on the other hand went to the hotel's hot springs for a nice long soak to clean off from her scruff with her opponent during the day. Undressing from her ruffled clothing and wrapping a towel around her, the fan-wielder with her hair undone exited into the outdoor baths and slowly, but surely, eased her body into the steaming water. A heavenly sigh escaped her lips as she knelt down in the water and gently began lathering her arms.
Submerged to her collarbone, the girl couldn't have asked for anything else. "Ahh. This is the best." The only other village with springs said to rival Yugakure's was Konohagakure. However, while this thought did flash past her for the briefest of moments, Temari didn't let it hang over her for too long and just basked in the hot water under the blanket of night and the feng shui of her environment. "I only wish my village had baths like this. Too bad it's so sandy out there. If it wasn't we would have made one ages ago…"
"You should think about making it an indoor bathing area. That way sand won't get into the water and the springs won't evaporate into the air during the day."
"Heh. Yeah," Temari chuckled, "That's a good idea."
"You can make a killing off of the patrons too."
"True. That will definitely solve more than a handful of problems around the village," Temari shrugged, nodding thoughtfully at the ideas the person in the bath was sharing with her. "People can use a place to relax and socialize in Sunagakure, and also somewhere that can also help boost the economy and recognition of our home." You could always count on the support of the local business. Trade and missions were everything for a shinobi village. For Yugakure, so was tourism.
They could learn a thing or two from the other villages, if the Fourth wasn't so hard up about military process.
Of course, while Temari was enthusiastic about the hot baths and spring ideas for Sunagakure she wasn't really too keen on the idea of sand baths, seeing as how it brought up unpleasant memories of Gaara's tendencies to murder people in a manner consistent with the concept. Hot springs were good enough… and definitely the most popular.
As she was thinking about it some more, the girl then opened her eyes and blinked in surprise when she realized the voice sharing the same spring as her did not belong to a girl. In fact, it was very butch for a girl's voice, which quickly had her look to the area next to her, where she saw a familiar, spiky haired blonde submerged in the bath just a few feet away.
Whisker marks stretched back with his smile pulled across his pleasant face, Naruto flashed the Sunagakure kunoichi his most charming grin and waved. "Yo!"
Temari shrieked when she realized who she was sharing the bath with, crossed her arms over her chest and turned away red faced. "W-W-What the hell? What are YOU doing in here?"
"What does it look like, I'm taking a bath," Naruto answered, scooping up some of the water in front of him and splashing it across his face. Sighing at the sensations that came with it, he leaned back and massaged the towel sitting folded up on top of his head. "A dip in the hot springs is always better when you have company to share it with."
Practically glowing at this point, knowing that both of them were naked and in the same spring, Temari decided to point out something of glaring importance. "You do realize that this is the women's side, don't you?"
"Yeah? So?"
The teenager scowled at the boy, "So… give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoulder toss you over the divider to the other side where you belong."
"Two," Naruto chirped brightly while holding up the fingers illustrating the number, before lowering them for each answer. "As competitors, we're not supposed to get into fights in between matches. If you try anything with the other Genin still participating, you will be disqualified." It was a solid answer and one that Temari frowned disapprovingly at. She still had one option available to her, and that was to get somebody else to toss this kid out, but that thought was quickly shot down as well. "The second reason is that this is a mixed bathing night… at least for this hotel. So there." Resting his hands behind his head and leaning back, the boy smiled warmly at the older girl. "No need to get so bent out of shape, Temari-chan. Relax."
Temari's frown deepened into one that promised immense pain for the intruder, "I was a few minutes ago."
"Well then, what's stopping you from relaxing now?"
"Simple. You," Temari answered before pointing out the door, "Get out."
Blinking, the jinchuriki looked down into the water momentarily before looking back up. When the kunoichi followed his gaze, she then quickly realized what he was pointing out, which alarmed her because the blonde then gave a shrug and began to rise out of the water.
"Okay."
"NO! NO! Stop! Sit down!" Temari shouted, her blush increasing tenfold as she turned away sharply, hands slapped over her eyes as she tried to look away. Thankfully, the boy stopped just before his hips could leave the water, which the girl sighed in relief at when she saw him sit back down. Looking distastefully and covering her chest area again, she turned back around and leaned against the bath edge behind her. "Fine… you can stay."
"Sweet," Naruto grinned, happy he'd gotten her permission.
"Just no peeking!" Temari said loudly with a warning glare. "If I catch you looking over here lewdly, I'm going to beat you to death with the rinsing bucket."
"Fair enough," the jinchuriki replied, and so returned to soaking.
Not too long ago he remembered absolutely balking at the sight of naked girls, back when he was his normal, shy, dense self, and wasn't used to seeing girls in that kind of state. His various encounters with Tayuya in the past and that one with Haku are good examples of this. It was mostly his fears over the repercussions of his actions that were the defining points of this character trait. However, hanging out with Jiraiya had really put things into a different perspective for him, and considering the circumstances of where he was now, was intrepidly capitalizing on this new, braver aspect of his personality just as the Sannin would.
He was in a bath with a naked girl across from him and didn't even care. The dark side of the force really was powerful.
The atmosphere from that point onwards proceeded a little colder then it was when the two first entered the area. With all the steam hanging in the air, it was a bit surprising that it was a little nippy, but that was mostly because Temari couldn't help but continue shooting dirty looks towards her opponent for tomorrow's match sitting just a few feet away, washing his face, shoulders and arms.
He had some nerve to just come in here unannounced and think it was okay to hang around with her. She was a proud kunoichi of Sunagakure and he was a rival shinobi from Konohagakure. Though they were allied, there were still the differing codes, attitudes and principles between them that meant that they couldn't get along fully. After all, Konoha was the main reason Suna was having a tough time in the economy, because their ninja kept getting more jobs while their village was left to pick up the scraps.
It was this animosity that hung around Temari as she silently and stiffly continued to share the same bath with the boy.
Eventually, she decided to speak up about this concern and glared across at the comfortable looking youngster. "How can you be so uncaring?"
"Hm?"
"Aside from the fact that you're my next opponent, we're also from different villages. Why are you so interested in getting close to me when we're supposed to be fighting tomorrow?" It was abundantly clear he didn't care about the system of shinobi that divided the villages. He was only interested in the people, like that Samui girl from Kumogakure who won the last fight for the day. Not only did he not care that their villages were supposed to be at odds with each other, he managed to convince the other people from his village to get along with the Kumo team and wasn't afraid to get close to particular individuals.
She wanted to know why he always gravitated towards individuals he was supposed to be wary of and why everyone was so quick to like him.
Thinking about it momentarily, Naruto smirked, "We're in a tournament that has brought people from different countries together to compete. I know we're supposed to be regarding each other as enemies on the field, but off the field it's a different story. Are we trying to kill each other now?" Temari shook her head, even though a few minutes ago she'd wanted to knock his head in with her fan for sneaking into the bath with her. "No. We're not at war with each other and we don't hate each other. Personally, I'd rather make friends with other people from different villages rather than enemies. Shinobi get enough of them on missions."
Temari frowned at this, "What if we were on a mission? Would you be trying to get close to me then? To the enemy?"
"It all depends on the situation, I guess," Naruto stated while washing his upper arm with water. "Anything can happen on an assignment. Completing your mission as a shinobi is important, but doing it in a way that doesn't leave scars afterwards is what I believe is the best way to go about it. Isn't that how we're supposed to act and perform to secure a promotion?" Naruto looked up at the girl to see her stare at him blankly, "To complete the mission with the least amount of loss."
Blinking, the golden haired girl smirked humorously, "I think they mean it in a different way then you. The least amount of loss applies to the village and the people you're fighting for."
"That's true. However, that's not how I think it should be done," Naruto said, poking his thumb into his chest pointedly, "My way is different. If I need to kill, I kill. But then there may be some instances where it would be best to find out everything you can before going through with the deed, otherwise you might end up in a lot more trouble if it turns out to be the wrong decision. It's the same with me being friendly with other people. If there's a chance I can make allies or friends, then I'll take it." He rubbed his head uneasily at that. "It comes from years of being on the receiving end of a lot of bad things, so you can say it's something I've made a habit out of."
Temari raised an eyebrow at him. "Rough upbringing?"
"Yeah, but not as rough as Gaara's I can imagine," Naruto replied, looking across at the girl curiously. "Could you tell me why your younger brother is always so… I don't know… angry all the time?"
Caught a little bit by surprise at that question, Temari gave a frown and lowered her head at him. "Not trying to con information out of me about him, are you?"
Naruto tilted his head, "I'm only interested because I care… and also because he tried to kill one of my closest friends even when the match was said to be over." He crossed his arms, "He's a part of your family, isn't he? How can someone like him get like that?" He couldn't imagine the stuff that the boy had to go through to become so bloodthirsty and violent. It just didn't seem right to him.
Considering his questions for a moment, Temari looked away momentarily before glancing towards him with a more saddened look. "Gaara… isn't exactly what you'd call normal."
"No shit," Naruto thought, but nodded nonetheless and urged the older girl to continue.
"Our father, the Kazekage, wanted to turn him into a weapon for his village because of his… unique abilities. To do that, he trained him, isolated him and sent people to attack him on a daily basis, which helped his abilities to grow. It… also had an effect on his point of view of the world and is also the reason why he's so cruel, uncaring and violent towards other people now," Temari said, where she then saw Naruto's expression of bewilderment at hearing about the way Gaara had been brought up intensify several times.
Shaking his head, as if trying to deny his theory, he then spoke up, "Did… everybody hate him?"
"Yeah," Temari replied straight out. "Because of his abilities, everybody stayed away from Gaara. All of the villagers were afraid of what he was capable of and what he might do to them… so they kept their distance from him."
Piecing together the words spoken to him and comparing it to his own experiences, Naruto looked away in puzzlement for a moment before turning to the older girl again, "Is Gaara a jinchuriki?" Temari appeared stunned at this and nodded silently, which had Naruto clench his hands and punch the water. "Damn it. So that's why…"
"H-How… how did you know?" Concerned, Temari looked the boy over to see the frustration in his eyes and his various attempts to calm himself down. "What gave it away?"
"A lot of things actually… but mostly because I'm in the same boat as him," Naruto replied, looking at the girl who responded likewise to his statement. The widening of her eyes was a clear indication of her reaction. "I've heard these stories before. People being turned into weapons for their villages, people being afraid of them, being hated… it's kind of obvious, isn't it?"
Unable to speak for a moment, the girl stared worryingly at the blonde, "Y-You've got one sealed inside of you as well… a tailed beast?"
"Yeah. And if you know your history on the world, you'd also know which one," Naruto said, leaning back and glancing across at the kunoichi to see her looking him over even more, as if she was trying to find something on him. When he saw her still panning, the blonde became puzzled. "What?"
"You… You don't act anything like Gaara," Temari pointed out, finding the situation a little bewildering. "You're not angry, cold or anything." He just seemed like an ordinary, carefree kid. He was also incredibly smart too from what she gathered from their conversation and he wasn't afraid to show this side of him to her. It was mindboggling.
Naruto smirked, "That's because I managed to turn it around." He shrugged at his answer and continued on explaining. "There was one time years ago where I wanted to hate everything and everyone. But then I realized that hating the world was all pointless… that it would only make me more miserable and more jaded about life… so I decided to change that. It's the reason why I'm so friendly to other people today, because I know that it's better to care about others and to make friends rather than hate the world and face it alone." He figured that's what Gaara was doing right now. He was trying to have his existence acknowledged, but in a way that had him push people away from him instead, and made him more alone. It's the reason why he was so bad in his current state and so uncontrollable. He was constantly panicking, constantly scared and constantly hating. It was eating him up inside, the loneliness. "Being alone is a horrible thing. I think your younger brother knows this more than anyone. He just refuses to acknowledge it because he's so set in his beliefs and so spiteful of everything."
Hearing this had Temari shake herself out of her shock and quickly consider his words. When she thought back on her time in the village and thought about her family, she saw how distant Gaara was and thought about how sad he must have been. But having never been as alone as him, she couldn't understand what he was feeling. She could only imagine, and that made her feel terrible on the inside.
Seeing the girl's conflicted feelings flash across her face, Naruto gave a small smile and stood up. "You came to warn me about Gaara during Tenten-chan's fight… and I came to chat with you, so I think it's a square deal." When Temari saw him get out of the water, she blushed brightly and sputtered when she thought he was freely exposing himself to her, but then realized to her pleasant surprise he was actually covered.
He was currently wearing a pair of black leg-skin swimming shorts with orange trim down the sides that hugged his lower body, and didn't exactly leave much to the imagination.
The kunoichi got a better then good view of his incredibly cut form through the steam. For a kid around thirteen years of age, he was incredibly well built and had fantastic skin texture, with an athletic frame and the notable curves and grooves of strong muscles. The sight of it had Temari stare at him with a far-away look and wide eyes, with the girl continuing to watch him in a daze as he waded towards her before stepping out of the hot spring. She turned to see the blonde walk back towards the changing rooms, her eyes lingering over his rear before he stopped and looked over his shoulder.
When she saw his serious expression, Temari was quickly snapped out of her trance and returned to reality.
"He's lucky to have family like you and your brother to be around him, because you're able to be there for him if he ever needs you. If I were you, I think you should show him how much you actually care for him… otherwise you'll end up losing him forever," Naruto said, giving her a small smile. "It helps guys like us to know that there are people out there who love you." He then turned and marched out of sight, disappearing into the changing room.
By doing this, he left Temari alone to her thoughts, and to consider everything that had transpired between them.
As weird, bothersome and shocking as it had been, it left in engraving in her that she was not going to be able to file away for a while.
OOO
Elsewhere…
Walking through the streets with her hands in her pockets, the imposing form of the orange haired Tsubaki could be seen marching down the various isles of stalls and restaurants. With her samurai robe draped over her shoulders just like before, the Kirigakure girl looked around at all the attractions with interest, stopping when she saw a punch machine lined up alongside several candy dispensers and other coin machines.
Smiling when she spotted it, she pulled out a couple of ryo and wandered over, slipping in a few coins before grabbing the punching glove resting in the holster. Testing its weight by slamming it into her open palm and slipping her strong hand into it, the girl took her stance before the machine as its lights flared up and signaled her to start. At that, Tsubaki cocked her fist, swayed from side to side and took aim at the target in the center. Upon making her mark, she then uncorked a full power straight, smashing into the machine and pushing the spring back.
Her blow caused the machine to rattle.
The screen in front calculated the numbers before giving the girl her final score: 145.
Tsubaki's expression became one of surprise before she childishly stomped on the ground with her left in frustration. "Damn it! No matter what village I go to this machine always reads 145?!" Pulling up a couple more coins she shoved them in and reset it. "Fine! If that's how you want to play it! Bring it on!" Gritting her teeth, the girl then began a furious battle with the punch tester, intent on beating her previous score.
As much as she was a hardcore kunoichi, she still hadn't forgotten to enjoy all the little things in life.
Arcade games just happened to be one of them.
For the next half hour, she spent about several dozen ryo on that machine, trying to beat her best score each and every time. Her efforts drew somewhat of a crowd, with the adults that passed her recognizing her as one of the Genin participating in the exams and wishing her luck, while the kids awed at her as she attempted to beat the damn machine fair and square.
If she used any bit of chakra whatsoever, she would destroy it.
"Go! Go!"
"Yeah! Show that machine who's boss!"
"You're strong, sis! Give it all you've got!" The group of kids standing beside the focused Tsubaki called out in support of the teenager.
The Kirigakure Genin beamed across at the little fan club she had drawn. Smirking, she held up the punching glove before slamming it into her target, rattling the machine and causing the counter to start blaring again. Flickering through random digits, the final number came up as 146, bringing a grin to Tsubaki's face before she held up her arms in victory.
"Yes!" she cheered, completely unlike her usual self, but still a pleasant response nonetheless. When she jabbed her fists in the air, the small group of kids also cheered, watching the girl walk a full victory lap before striking a pose. "Yes! I did it! I broke my record! Who's the girl?!"
"You're the girl!" the children shouted at once.
"Damn right I am!"
Let's just say she felt like a giddy little schoolgirl… scarily enough.
Eventually Tsubaki decided to go on her way, surrendering the punching machine to the children. Hands in her pockets, she started going around the stalls once more, buying a kitten plushy, playing a few games of goldfish scooping, ball toss and darts, as well as buying a cake. When she was done indulging herself in all the glamour of the main street, she decided to head up to the mountain lookout, following the dirt path out of the village, through the forest and stopping at an area with a perfect view of Yugakure.
Above the brightly lit village, the night could be seen stretched across the sky like a curtain. Looking up at the universe beyond and the full moon hanging high above the horizon, the girl in the orange hair simply stared out over the country and basked in the silence. She remained this way for the next few minutes, contemplating on the matches she'd seen thus far and the contenders who were likely to be a challenge for her.
She acknowledged the Hyuuga would have proven to be her biggest problem, mostly due to his perfect defense utilizing chakra bursts from every pore of his body. His ability to target the tenketsu, his 360 field of vision, his speed, reflexes, taijutsu capabilities and genius level intelligence were the sticking points of his fighting ability. Had he been able to advance, he would have given her a really tough battle, even though she knew she would have been able to beat him. It would have been a rough one, and she may have bled, but she was certain of a victory. However, now that he had been beaten by that Naruto character, her second biggest obstacle was out of the way.
The blonde haired wanderer didn't seem like much; just another Kiyoko, minus her special abilities. While he did possess an interesting, diverse and potentially dangerous fighting style, that was all he had from her perspective. He was nothing unique and not someone she should be at all concerned about. She dismissed him immediately.
The Uchiha however was another story. He had the Sharingan, intelligence and superb fighting prowess by way of the gifts of his clan. Out of everyone participating in the exams, he was definitely up there in the top five spots most likely to win this entire exam and secure a promotion. Hell, she was confident he already earned the right to be promoted with his earlier performance. He was able to overcome an opponent with a considerable reach and close-combat advantage through a gradual battering away at his defenses. While it seemed in excess, the Uchiha barely needed to exert any effort to defeat his foe whatsoever. Omoi had been a tough and smart opponent, and would have proven troublesome for anyone.
However, like the Hyuuga, Sasuke would fair no better. Tsubaki could wipe her hands with him.
Temari would be her biggest problem by far. Despite her superior speed, the sand kunoichi used wind attacks with an incredible spread and range. No matter how fast a person could move, you couldn't avoid an attack that could stretch over a wide area and intercept you before you could make it out of there. If you were moving in a straight line towards the opponent, you were basically a sitting duck. The fact that the fan user could aim her shots too meant big problems for her. Out of everyone in the tournament, the golden haired girl from Sunagakure was the only one who could go toe to toe with her and probably beat her… but only if she made it through the next round.
Utakata and Kiyoko, Tsubaki had no problems with. Though they would give her a run around due to their shared history and knowledge of one another, she knew she could still defeat them handily. Though she wasn't too sure about the Samui girl, Tayuya seemed like she might be a bit of a hump in the road by way of her genjutsu. She'd need to keep an eye and ear open for her melodies in order to avoid getting trapped in her rhythm, as it was the main element of the girl's fighting style. The Nara wasn't even worth mentioning, since she knew he would not be making it past his next match. And finally, there was her other obstacle…
"If you're planning on killing me, you'll fair no better than the Iwagakure shinobi who tried," Tsubaki spoke up, seemingly to no one. However, her voice was clearly projected to all corners of the lookout, with it being directed to the boy standing just several feet from her. Looking to her right, she saw Gaara standing there and glaring straight at her, the light of the moon bouncing off of him and giving him an eerie glow. "Of course… there's no fighting allowed between matches. You're just here to check out the competition."
Gaara's frown deepened as he glared hatefully at the orange haired girl standing clearly in his sights. It was hard to ignore the trembling of his shoulders. "Mother is restless… she's shaking so much… hissing at me… calling for me… screaming at me. She's terrified of you."
"Is she now?" Tsubaki asked, looking the boy over before glaring him in his cold irises. Her shadow across her own eyes matched Gaara's perfectly, the pair's stand-off growing in intensity. "I'm not surprised. I tend to have that kind of effect around jinchuriki. I was put onto my squad for that very reason. With my control over my kekkei genkai, I'm able to restrain the six-tails if it ever went out of control."
The Suna boy's gaze narrowed. "Just so we're clear… should you, or Uzumaki… or the Uchiha make it to the finals… win or lose, I'm going to kill all three of you. No amount of tournament rules or boundaries will protect you from me. They are meaningless. The Uchiha is strong and so are you. Your blood will help solidify my existence." He then looked away, as if dismissing the next face. "Naruto Uzumaki on the other hand is just a nuisance… someone desperately fighting for his own survival in this game. I will take great pleasure in putting him out of his misery."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'll be the one to make it through to the finals," Tsubaki stated with a firm look on her face. When she turned, her step was marked with a blast of killing intent, which clashed with the jinchuriki's in midair. "When I get there… pray that you have more than just sand standing at your defense… because that's not going to be enough to stop me." A spark of electricity zipped past her eyes.
Grunting, Gaara glared back at the girl one last time before his form started breaking down into sand, which began to blow away on the wind. "You can't defeat me. There's no shinobi or ideal strong enough that can stand against my power, even you. I will eliminate everyone who stands in my path, no matter how prevailing their convictions." And with that, his body completely vanished, disappearing over the balcony railing in a mass of particles.
Hands still in her pockets, Tsubaki watched the sand drift down to the village, her coat trailing on the same breeze. Staring after it until it was no longer in sight the girl then smirked and closed her eyes.
"I think the final match is going to be a very interesting one," the girl chuckled, looking back out to stare across the village. "I'll take getting past that sand of his as a personal challenge…"
She didn't need sleep. She was going to stay awake the entire night and wait for the festivities the coming morning.
For all she knew, the best was yet to come.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Okay, another chapter done and dusted.
The fight between Kankuro and Lee was a tossup for me. I would have liked either one of them to win. I'm pretty sure Kankuro could have won, but with the open field he was fighting in, he didn't have many places to hide. If all else fails, just set fire to the bushes and flush your opponent out.
Poor Akatsuchi got sent across the arena twice. Due to the elemental disadvantage against Tsubaki he lost.
Sasuke and Omoi was a quick one. The latter is a really strong and smart fighter, but the Uchiha pressured him with a similar strategy Kakashi used in his spar with Minato, where he forced his teacher to jump over an area absolutely riddled with explosives. Clearly Sasuke wanted to show restraint and trap his opponent, but he still got a couple of bruises from it.
Shiho couldn't beat Utakata, which is a shame. She tried her best though.
And Samui against Choji, with the girl getting the boy stuck using the surroundings to her advantage rather than risk running through him with her tanto and breaking her weapon. A move like that would have lost her points.
Also the hot spring scene with Temari was fun to write. If you want to know the swimwear/underwear Naruto is wearing, looks up Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and look up Haruka, and replace his purple lined swim trunks with orange trim ones.
Really good anime. You should watch it.
And the next round is starting. I wonder who will win? I'd like you guys to guess.
Until the next chapter!