Shikotsumyaku no Naruto Chapter 5: The Day Konoha Stood Still, a naruto fanfic

Lesson on Chakra: The Eight Gates…

Naruto: I don't get it. Shino can use the eight gates like fuzzy brows?

Kimimaro: No, he can't, Naruto.

Naruto: But…

Kimimaro: Quiet down and I'll tell you why. The eight gates aren't like Tenketsu. Anyone whose eyes are sensitive to chakra can at least locate them. Their actual places in the human body, where the organs and chakra meet.

Naruto: Ano… so Shino's bugs nibbled at his brain?

Kimimaro: … Not quite. You see, only a ninja even has the gates. They don't turn up in civilians because the chakra coils didn't develop. I suppose… the closest one can liken them to is a small bundle of nerves. Mind you, I'm no doctor.

Naruto: And by breaking the lock…

Kimimaro: Shino forced the Kaimon to open. However, since he didn't open it properly, it sealed itself shut again over a period of time.

Naruto: Poor guy.

Chapter 5,

The Day Konoha stood still! Gaara's Rage Explodes!
-

"Out of my way!" Naruto screamed, running through the halls of the makeshift medical facility attached to the Chunin Exam grounds. Doctors and nurses, ninja and civilian alike, jumped out of the boy's way, as he ran towards the room that contained patient S-98231. Finding room 24, he collapsed into an adjoining chair, eyeing the neon sign above the door saying 'operating'.

'Don't die, Sasuke.' He prayed, burying his face in his hands as he waited. 'You promised me you wouldn't die!' Naruto didn't hear Sakura and Kakashi arrive, nor did he really notice them sit down beside him, team 7 waiting collectively for the news about their comrade. Naruto could only hope it wasn't a long wait, his heart twinging painfully every time he heard a bell chime, only to find the red sign still saying 'operating'.

'Don't you dare die on us, Sasuke. You promised! You promised...' Naruto's thoughts only repeated themselves, 'you promised' ringing through his mind as he waited. He didn't want anyone else to break a promise to him, not when so many had done so before.

"This is not good." Gai whispered softly to himself, as he watched the crowd chatter animatedly. "Konoha's Flames of Youth may not survive this." Kurenai nodded her agreement, while Asuma didn't even move. Kiba cocked his head to the side, staring at the three Jounin.

"I know Sasuke losing is a blow to Konoha's pride and all…" He started. "But I don't get why it's so bad."

"You wouldn't understand, Kiba." Asuma replied. "But for the Konoha-nin in the finals box, that was a crushing blow. Now all of our hopes for defeating Gaara fall to three ninja. If he wins, it will prove once and for all that Suna has the most powerful ninja. He's crushed one of the most illustrious clans we have, bloodline or not."

"He won't make it." Ino scoffed. "Sasuke-kun almost killed him with the Chidori!" The kunoichi seemed almost to swoon at the mention of Sasuke's trump card. On the other hand, Asuma's gaze just hardened.

"Almost doesn't cut it in the ninja world." Asuma scolded. "That almost was the difference between Sasuke's Chidori killing him. That almost was the difference between Sasuke's survival and death. Chidori is an assassination Justu made for one hit kills. Missing means almost certain death." Beside Kurenai, Hinata frowned, looking at her feet.

'Good luck, Naruto-kun.' She thought, as the next match began. Glancing at her teacher, she smiled softly. "Ano, Kurenai-sensei, I need to return to my family."

"Go on, Hinata." Kurenai replied softly, saying nothing more as she watched Hinata scurry off, her once nervous steps now with purpose. 'Naruto is good for her. I wonder if she was good for him as well?'

"Would Nara Shikamaru and Hyuuga Neji please enter the arena?" Genma called, watching the two appear in blurs of motion. Shikamaru's mouth was grimly set line, while Neji had a superior smirk on his face.

"You should surrender, Nara." Neji growled out. "Destiny has stated that I will win." Shikamaru cocked his head to the side, not deigning the Hyuuga with an answer.

'I have two kunai, an explosive tag, no ninja wire, and a little more then a third of my chakra.' Shikamaru thought, his mind analysing the situation. 'I can't win, but if I can weaken Neji enough, I can give Naruto a clean win in the finals, a proper chance to show off.' Genma glanced from ninja to ninja, his eyes set.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Both nodded shortly. "Good. 3, 2, 1, Hajime!" With that, Genma leapt back, signifying the beginning of the fight. Neji wasted no time as he formed a hand sign.

"Byakugan!" He cried, before lunging towards Shikamaru. The Nara steeled himself, as Neji came in for close quarters combat.

'This match won't end well for me.' He determined, ducking under a swift finger strike to his shoulder as he swept his leg low, forcing Neji to jump. 'Perfect.' Shikamaru decided, retrieving a kunai from his pouch and slashing straight up. Unfortunately, Neji Shunpo'd out of the way, appearing directly behind the Nara.

"You have no chance!" Neji cried. "Hakkeshou, Sanjyuuni Shou!" With a cry, he delivered two finger strikes to the Nara's shoulders. "Two palms!" Spinning around, Neji added another four strikes to the Nara's elbows and his shoulder blades. "Four Palms!" He spun again, this time kicking the Nara's legs out from under him as he did so, causing the boy to spin in midair, finally able to see his attacker. Shikamaru's eyes were frantic, as he tried to summon the chakra for a Kawarimi. Neji spared no mercy, delivering eight strikes to the Nara's ribs. "Eight Palms!" Spinning again, Neji delivered sixteen strikes all over Shikamaru's body. "Sixteen Palms!" Suddenly, Neji vanished, as Shikamaru's body got hammered back and forth through the air by an invisible opponent, before Neji finally appeared right in front of him, spinning full circle, chakra clearly visible around his hands, as his palms slammed into Shikamaru's stomach. "Thirty-two Palms!" Left with nowhere else to go, Shikamaru went flying, landing in a small heap across the arena. Neji smiled smugly, his hands on his hips.

"Proctor, call the match. He won't be getting up." Neji stated, his self-thought superiority there for everyone to see.

Hinata couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Shikamaru, the guy who had a plan for just about every situation, had more or less gone down without a fight after being struck by the thirty-two palms. Glancing to her father beside her, she discovered a scowl on Hiashi's face.

"His form… is unbelievable. Definitely the best of his generation." He commented. "His attitude, on the other hand, is deplorable. He should be ensuring his victory, not gloating like some... ruffian!" Hinata glanced at her little sister, Hanabi, who had a scowl on her face, mimicking her father.

"Ano, Neechan…" Hanabi spoke up. "Is Neji going to lose?" Hinata nodded, slightly dumbfound.

"I think so, Hanabi-chan." She replied. Hanabi's scowl turned into a dastardly little grin.

"Good. Neji thinks he's hot stuff." Hanabi replied. "He must have forgotten who beat him in sparring last week." Hinata almost giggled at that. Almost.

Shikamaru was beyond pain. His whole body burned like fire, but he wasn't quite ready to give up. Even if it put him in hospital, he was going to do as much to help his fellow Genin as possible. If that meant sacrificing Neji's chance at advancement for Naruto's, then so be it. Shikamaru forced himself onto his stomach, his uncooperative arms pushing weakly against the ground in order to allow the Nara to stand up. It was almost worth the pain to see Neji's shocked expression at the fact that Shikamaru was moving again. With a grunt, Shikamaru was standing again, a small sliver of blood dribbling down his chin. The small band that usually kept his hair in a small pineapple had been broken, allowing his hair to run almost midway down his back.

"The battle…" Shikamaru grunted. "Is never over…" He channelled his last third of his chakra through his body, using his rage to force his chakra through the closed Tenketsu, blowing them open painfully. "Until your opponent is dead!" With a roar, Shikamaru Shunpo'd out of sight, reappearing behind Neji and slamming his elbow into Neji's back. Ignoring Neji's surprised cry of pain, Shikamaru smashed his fist into the Hyuuga's kidney, before delivering a painful axe kick that last him sprawled on the ground. Neji quickly sprung away, glaring at Shikamaru with as much killer intent as he could muster.

"That's it…" Neji growled. "Your dead!" With a cry, he lunged forward, striking the Tenketsu directly over Shikamaru's heart before he could even react. Shikamaru went down like a sack of potatoes. Neji raised his palm to deal the killing blow, but was stopped from striking by Genma.

"That's enough." Genma growled. "You've already won. Now get out of my sight." Neji gave an arrogant grunt in reply, before walking away towards the finalist's box, as Genma made the announcement. "Hyuuga Neji wins."

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat as a bell sounded, the neon red sign fading, signifying Sasuke was out of surgery. Team 7 leapt to their feet as one, as a young nurse walked out of the room, clearly exhausted.

"How is he?" Naruto asked before she could even open her mouth. The nurse sighed, turning her attention to Kakashi.

"Uchiha Sasuke suffered major damage to his Kyumon, his gate of rest, when using that dark chakra. He's in a stable condition, now, but he won't be able to perform any of his duties for quite a while." The nurse replied. Kakashi smiled under his mask, as Sakura gave a relieved sigh. "However, we have a major problem." The nurse continued. Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"What kind of problem?" He asked. The nurse sighed.

"The boy has gained a second chakra reserve, and it's trying to devour his current one. We need to seal it away." The nurse replied. Kakashi nodded.

"Lead on. I'll do it." Kakashi stated. The nurse motioned to the door, glancing at the two Genin.

"Sasuke will be seeing visitors soon." She said. "Please be patient." With that, the nurse and Kakashi entered the room, leaving Naruto and Sakura to their thoughts. Finally, Naruto spoke.

"Sakura, I'll be back after the finals." He said. "I've got a really bad feeling." Sakura nodded.

"I think Shikamaru and Neji would be almost finished by now." She replied softly. Naruto nodded.

"Thanks." With that, he vanished in a whirl of leaves.

"Sabaku no Gaara, Aburame Shino, report to the arena!" Genma cried, the two Shinobi appearing in a flicker. Genma almost felt sorry for Shino. The poor boy looked half dead. "Ready?" Genma asked. Shino nodded hesitantly, whilst Gaara's was curt and to the point. With a nod of his own, Genma decided to start the battle.

"3, 2, 1, Hajime!" He called, before flickering straight out of the arena. He didn't want to be in Gaara's way at all. Shino immediately leapt backwards, almost stumbling over his own feet in his exhaustion, as Gaara scowled.

This fight would be too easy for the sand Jinchuuriki.

Naruto felt his heart enter his throat as he reappeared in the finalist's box, just in time to watch Gaara begin what could only be called an onslaught. The Suna-nin had unleashed a barrage of Sand Shuriken, the vast majority of them striking Shino cleanly, drawing precious blood from his body. Thankfully, nothing vital had been pierced, yet. Naruto knew that was unlikely to last. Gaara vanished in a whirl of sand, suddenly appearing behind Shino, the sand whirling around his hand and forming a large spear.

"No." Naruto whispered, unable to believe his eyes. Gaara's grin turned maniacal, as he thrust forward with the spear, Shino still yet to move.

When Neji glanced back, wondering who had spoken, there was no one there.

"This is the end of the line, weakling!" Gaara cackled. "Die!" He thrust forward with the spear, aiming to pierce Shino through the middle. He never made it, as the spear collided with something hard, too hard. It was white, too, and looked like a wall of thorns. Gaara's breathing hitched, as he realised someone had intervened in his fight.

"That's enough." Naruto cried, allowing his bone shield to crumble to dust as he cradled Shino's unconscious body. "I thought you would have more honour then to battle an opponent who can't even fight back. Proctor, I'm taking him to the hospital." With that, Naruto was gone in a whirl of leaves, long before anyone could say a word. Genma coughed, clearly embarrassed that a Genin had picked up something that he hadn't, even if he hadn't really been paying attention.

"Sabaku no Gaara wins!" He called, although there were no cheers, unlike the other matches. Obviously, the crowd was quite disgusted at the uncaring sand-nin, who simply stood there and awaited his next opponent.

"It seems this year will be a good year for Suna." The Yondaime Kazekage chuckled, glancing at Hiruzen as he spoke. Hiruzen, on the other hand, was almost outright disgusted at the Kazekage and his ninja. He could understand Temari, and even, to a degree, Kankurou's, tactics, seeing as they had been facing off with some of the best Genin Konoha had to offer, but Gaara? He was outright brutal. Only years of experience allowed Hiruzen to school his features.

"Perhaps." Was all Hiruzen said in reply. 'I doubt that boy will even be considered for Chunin. The Kazekage wonders why Suna is in financial trouble…'

"I think your brat goes beyond what is necessary to just win, Kazekage-dono." The aged, and short, Tsuchikage noted, from his perch on a special chair made just for him, putting him at Hiruzen's shoulder height. It was necessary, too, for the Tsuchikage's hat was almost as big as he was. Unlike Hiruzen, the Tsuchikage was undoubtedly the oldest Kage alive, and, despite his misgivings about both wars, fought in both the Second and Third Great Shinobi Wars. He would have served in the First War, too, if he hadn't been a toddler at the time.

"He gets results." The Kazekage replied, ignoring what was a thinly veiled piece of advice. Hiruzen glanced at his Iwagakure counterpart, both sighing.

"I am still curious as to why you have come, Tsuchikage-dono." Hiruzen spoke up. The Tsuchikage chuckled, rolling his neck absently.

"I'm actually here because of what my sources have told me is a new bloodline." The Tsuchikage admitted, his voice low. "I need to speak with you later, Hiruzen."

"Very well, Tsuchikage-do…"

"Hiruzen, drop the formalities." The Tsuchikage growled. "We fought each other to the death several times, and you still refuse to call me by name?"

"Hai…" Hiruzen and the Tsuchikage began talking in hushed tones in the Kage's box, completely ignoring their Sunagakure counterpart.

"Naruto? Why are you… oh, god!" Sakura cried, as Naruto suddenly appeared in a whirl of leaves, the bleeding Shino in his arms.

"There's no time. I need a doctor!" He called. Sakura nodded, running down the hall, leaving Naruto to wait as nurses rushed to give the unconscious boy aid. "Will he be alright?" He asked. One nurse shook her head.

"His hearts collapsed. There isn't time, get him into surgery now!" She called. She then turned to Naruto. "You need to return to the Exam."

"Thank you." He whispered, vanishing in a whirl of leaves. The nurse sighed, as Sakura rushed back, a doctor in tow.

"Doctor, we have a collapsed heart and an unknown amount of damage to the Chakra Coils!" She called. "Patient is heading to Surgery Four right now." The doctor nodded.

"Good." He muttered. "These exams are turning too brutal. Who next?"

"Hyuuga Neji, please enter the arena for the semi finals." Genma called, watching the boy flicker into existence. He sighed. 'Kids, think their everything once they learn Shunpo.' He thought.

"This will be quick." Gaara growled. Neji shrugged.

"Destiny has stated that I will win." He replied. Genma glanced from Genin to Genin.

"Ready?" He asked, receiving curt nods in reply. "Very well. 3, 2, 1, Hajime!" Once again, Genma fled the arena, knowing perfectly well that Gaara would kill anything in his way. Neji immediately leapt backwards, his hand forming a very familiar seal.

"Byakugan!" He cried. Gaara snorted, thrusting a hand forward. The sand reacted immediately, blasting forward in a jet. Neji slipped sideway, before shooting forwards, only to leap back again as Gaara swept his hand in front of him, the sand forming a claw that tried to take a swipe at Neji. The Hyuuga prodigy frowned, examining his surroundings and his opponent, evaluating them. Gaara, however, was nowhere near as patient as his Hyuuga opponent, making another gesture with his hands. Neji eyes bugged out in his head, as a wave of sand shot out of the ground behind him, attempting to envelope him for what would no doubt be the killing blow. Shifting his stance, Neji took in a deep breath, preparing himself.

"Kaiten!" He cried, as he suddenly spun, unleashing a small dome of chakra around him that sent the sand flying away in little goblets, some even going far enough to smash into the walls of the arena, leaving behind little dents. Staring at his opponent, Neji let a little grin appear on his face, off set by the blank look in his eyes.

"You are destined to fall. Give up." Neji stated. Gaara snickered in reply.

"You are weak." Gaara growled. "Allow me to show you just how weak!" With a roar, Gaara sent a barrage of sand shuriken at Neji, who shifted back into his Kaiten stance, breathing in deep.

"Kaiten!" He screamed, as he executed the Hyuuga's absolute defence, sending the sand shuriken flying away from him moments before they struck. Coming to a halt, Neji allowed an amused smirk to grace his face.

"This is the power that defeated the Uchiha?" He asked. He suddenly began snickering. "Then fate truly is on my side. You will fall."

"You overestimate yourself, weakling." Gaara replied. "The Uchiha was hardly worth the effort." Nonetheless, Gaara winced as a bout of phantom pain flared up in his hand. Unfortunately for the Suna Jinchuuriki, Neji caught it.

"You say the Uchiha was weak, however, you are clearly in pain from the idiots last attack." Neji stated. "You don't have a chance against me. I'm on a whole other level."

"Shut up!" Gaara screamed. "Sunaryuden!" With that scream, a dragon of sand spun into existence as Gaara's sand focused into a point just in front of him, the dragon flying straight at Neji with a roar. Neji hopped sideways, narrowly avoiding the dragon as it smashed into the arenas wall.

"Strange. That wasn't aimed at me." Neji realised, his head spinning towards Gaara fast enough that a lesser man would have snapped his neck. Gaara, however, was grinning like the madman he was, finishing off a swift set of hand signs.

"Ryusa Bakuryu!" Gaara screamed, as sand shot through the grass on the ground, forming a massive wave of sand. Neji flinched, as the wave struck down on him, before he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shikamaru let out a moan as he was suddenly jolted to awareness, a doctor standing over him with a pair of defibrillators in hand. Blinking the stars out of his eyes, he wearily accepted the bottle of water that was offered to him.

"What..." He rasped, but was cut off by a finger. Glancing to his left, Shikamaru smiled softly, eyeing the girl beside him, held up by a pair of crutches.

"Hey, Shikamaru. Next time you want to fight a lunatic, at least try not to die." Tenten whispered with a small smirk. Shikamaru shrugged weakly, taking another draught of water.

"What... happened?" He got out, his hand on his ribs. Tenten sighed.

"Neji got you with the deathblow. The doctor thought you might have died." She explained.

"Naruto?"

"Hasn't fought yet. Neji and Gaara are still going at it. Gaara just covered the arena in sand." Shikamaru adopted a thoughtful look, his eyes drooping.

"Gaara... lose." He whispered, passing out. Tenten frowned.

It wasn't a question or a thought. It was a statement of fact. Shikamaru thought Gaara would lose.

"Damn it!" Gaara screamed, sand buffeting around him as he stalked around the arena. "Fight me, coward! Prove my existence!"

"The only thing I'll prove, is how you will die." Neji replied, his voice echoing from all directions. Gaara snorted in reply, flickering out of existence as a hurricane of chakra burst from the sand beneath him.

"You're too slow." Gaara stated coolly. Neji didn't reply, falling into the gentle fist stance instead. Gaara's eyes narrowed, the side of his mouth twitching into a sadistic smile. Clapping his hands together, Gaara closed his eyes as the sand whirled around his form, creating a giant cocoon.

"Die!" Gaara's voice cried, a claw bursting forth from the cocoon and grabbing at the place Neji had stood barely a moment before. Shunpo'ing out of the way, Neji lunged forward, punching a hole in the cocoon with a mighty blast of chakra from his palm.

"Hakkeshou, Sanjyuuni Shou!" Neji cried, driving both of his palms hard against Gaara's chest, to the Jinchuuriki's surprise. "Two Palms!" Flickering out of existence, Neji slammed his palms into Gaara's back, tapping the boy's shins as he went flying face first into the sand. "Four Palms!" Flickering away again, Neji reappeared in front of Gaara, juggling him in the air with several uppercuts. "Eight Palms!" With a cry, he kicked Gaara high into the air, leaping up after him, pummelling him with palm strike after palm strike. "Sixteen Palms!" Neji didn't let up, finally sending Gaara crashing to the ground with an axe kick. Taking in a deep breath, Neji shot down to the ground, smashing Gaara in the heart with both palms. "Thirty-two Palms!" Taking in a deep breath, Neji leapt backwards, almost stumbling. Gaara didn't move, as Genma suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke, checking his pulse.

"Sabaku no Gaara appears to have been knocked out. Hyuuga Neji wins!" Genma cried. Neji grunted to himself as he walked back to the finalists box, ignoring Genma's statement of a half an hour grace period.

All he needed was a Soldier Pill and he'd be fighting at maximum efficiency again. There was nothing else to it. Fate had decreed his victory.

Naruto felt his heart go out to Gaara, as he watched the fight end. It had been a brutal finishing attack, but it was effective. Naruto frowned to himself as he glanced at his hands, the very hands that could shoot bone bullets.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Naruto glanced back at the soft voice, his eyes falling on Hinata. She was leaning against the wall of the box, her hands nervously clasped in front of her chest.

"I'm fine, Hinata." Naruto replied, a small smile gracing his face. "I've got my bones, and if worst comes to worse, I've got it."

"It?" Hinata asked. Naruto shook his head.

"It's nothing." He amended. "Just plan B." Hinata's eyebrow twitched, but she didn't press the matter. The two sat in silence for a time, until Naruto heard the crowd suddenly roar.

"Will Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto please make their way to the arena." Naruto let out a deep breath, glancing back at Hinata one last time.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered. Naruto grinned in reply.

"Thanks, Hinata." He replied, vanishing in a whirl of blue.

Jutsu Glossary

Sunaryudan (Sand Dragon Blast)

Unknown, 0-50 metres

Using the sand around him, Gaara can form a large dragon made entirely of sand to attack his foes. Unfortunately, the technique doesn't have the same destructive potential as the other dragon Jutsu.

Ryusa Bakuryu (Quicksand in the style of a Waterfall)

Unknown

By gathering minerals from the earth, Gaara can increase the amount of sand he controls to epic proportions, of which he then effectively turns into a tsunami and drops on his foe. After this Jutsu, the most common followup is Sabaku Taiso, which will kill anything under the newly deposited sand. Interestingly enough, this is quite possibly the only Jutsu Gaara uses that requires hand signs, meaning, feasibly, anyone could possibly use it. This also means that, feasibly, it could be ranked.

Kaiten (Heavenly Spin)

Un-ranked Hyuuga Taijutsu, 0-5 metres

A Hyuuga clan secret, the Kaiten involves its wielder spinning in a circle, much like a spinning top, whilst exuding a barrier of chakra. The technique creates a dome around the user, making contact by projectiles almost impossible. It also serves as a fairly effective short range area of effect attack.

Been a while, hasn't it. I won't make excuses, but my teachers at school decided that I could take five assignments at once, on top of exams. Hopefully after next week I'll have some time in my schedule again. Sorry this chapters short, but when I included Naruto's battle, it just got too long. I say it's better to be short then long. Anyway, this chapter was just shy of 4000 words (bout 3900), so its only short by about 500 or so. Also, I received some complaints about the way I paragraph things (apparently its too close), so hopefully my compromise worked.

Don't read too far into Gaara's defeat by Neji. Look underneath the underneath... or simply put facts together. An invasion is about to happen, after all (wink).

Next chapter begins at Naruto's battle. I'm still writing it, so I'm not sure where it ends, but we might be pushing 5500 words. I'm actually looking forward to this...