Disclamer: If I actually owned Naruto, he would be a badass in the cannon. The Ocs I do own ARE badass.
Vote poll: It's still open guys. After the next chapter is posted, the poll will be closed, and Naruto's fate will be sealed onto one of three chosen paths. Choose wisely for those who have not chosen. Two of the three paths are fighting for first place, but it looks like the first choice will win. 32 unique votes last time I checked.
Vote info is on top of chapter 12.
I want to give a shout out to several people.
To Godo: Thanks for all the insight on different abilities man, as well as lending me the blood line. You've been a great help to me when I was just starting out.
To Fang: He's the original inspiration for this fanfic. Logism, the seventh sense are his, and THE chakra hops.
To Queenwitch: I like to thank Queen for making nice reviews, and boosting my spirit to keep on writing.
To Ranmacat: Short and sweet reviews. Thanks cat.
To anyone else I missed: Sorry, I just had reviews from many different people. mckenmic, raw666, and Wyrtha to name a few.
Now, on to the fic!
–
Chapter 17: Third Exam Finals
Eyes behind a pair of glasses slowly opened on a silver haired shinobi. His eyes darted back and forth as he tested several of his muscles. He was currently sitting in a wooden chair, found that his hands were bound behind his back, and that his feet were chained to the floor. His eyes widened in fear. He knew exactly where this was.
Konoha prison. To be exact, the Torture and Interrogations department.
He felt for his chakra. He could feel it, but he couldn't touch his chakra at all. It's like his chakra control has been completely obliterated.
"My, my. It seems that someone's awake." Cooed a female's voice in the darkness around him. A single light lit up above him.
He still couldn't see the entire layout of the room, but he could see he was sitting in the middle of a dark room. Steps echoed through the room.
A female's foot entered the light, and another step was heard. A couple of steps later, and Yakushi Kabuto was staring straight into the eyes of Mitarashi Anko. The snake mistress. She was currently smiling, and a look of evil played about eyes.
"'Bout time you woke up. I was going to wake you up soon anyways." Her voice played in a sadistic tone.
Kabuto shivered. The way her voice said it made him think of horrible things. He steeled his voice and his face; the ability to do through years of training. "What do you want?" He said in a monotone voice.
Anko's smile widened even more. "Can't a girl just come by to say 'hi' to the one man who betrayed her?" Anko's smile had disappeared. In it's place, she was gritting her teeth and growling. Her eyes held deep hatred in them, and were also watering up.
Kabuto's eyes widened. Now he was truly afraid.
Flashback
Kabuto was currently working on his medical skills. His sensei, Orochimaru, said he could become very advanced in that field.
"Hey, Kabuto-kun!" Anko yells out as she enters the training field number 14. The training field was a standard one that had training logs set up nearby, and a small lake nearby the edge of the clearing.
"Ah, hey there Anko-chan." Kabuto responds. On the outside, it looked like the two were boyfriend and girlfriend, but in truth they were just friends... with benefits.
"Are you still reading that book?" Anko asked.
"Yeah. I want to see if I can become an advanced medic." He said. "That would land me in the hospital, and I could even go for head of the hospital taking it away from Maikou-sama." He somewhat hated the man. The man had always thwarted his plans at getting better in the medical field.
"Good luck with that, Kabuto-kun." She smiled, and dashed off to go another lap.
Kabuto went back to concentrating. After about a few minutes, Kabuto sighed. He could understand it all, but for some dammed reason, he felt that it could be better.
A puff of smoke appeared in the center of the field, and two people showed up in the center of it. One was a young boy, of maybe 7 or 9. He was the third teammate in their team 5. Itachi Uchiha. The kid was a friggin' prodigy on steroids. Hell, the kid was already a jounin, AND was going to be put in the ANBU program soon.
Kabuto was a jounin as well, and Anko was the only one who hasn't taken the Jounin test yet. She was a true prodigy in the fields of snake summoning, genjutsu, and weapons training. The rest of the team, even Orochimaru, was expecting her to pass the jounin exam with relative ease. The girl was only 13. Though she had a LOT of chakra, so some of that could explain it. She was also from a family that was a branch off from the Higurashi clan, so that explained her weaponry decent.
Kabuto himself was going to be an ANBU as well, but he was the oldest of the three at the ripe old age of 17. He had been studying in the medical field, as he had somehow gotten near perfect memory. He even had Tsunade teaching him something!
And now to the man. Sununushi Orochimaru. Their sensei. The man was respected among the village, and was even being considered for the position of Hokage. Today though, the man had an unusual face. He was scowling, and at no one in particular.
"Hello, Orochimaru-sensei, Itachi-san." Kabuto said.
Itachi smiled. "Hello, Kabuto-san. How's training?"
"Frustrating..." he sighed, and then looked up, "Orochimaru-sensei... is something wrong?"
"Yes. I want you three to meet me at the bridge at midnight." He said darkly. He turned and shunshin'd away.
The two boys shrugged, and Itachi turned back to Kabuto. "What do you think that was all about?"
"Not sure. Could you tell Anko-chan? She ran off onto another lap, and you know the route better then I. Better find her fast, too. The sun's going to set soon."
Itachi shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I have a mission tonight. I'll find her and tell her, but tell our sensei that I'm sorry for not showing up."
"Alright, I'll pass along the word." Kabuto said. He looked back down to the book, and sighed. He resealed it into a nearby scroll, and packed up his books and gear. Maybe today was the day? He hoped so... he loathed this village.
–
Hours later.
Orochimaru was standing on the bridge. He looked out over the river that passed through the village. His hands were behind his back. He was going to do it tonight. He just couldn't stand the fact that the blond haired brat had been elected to the position of hokage instead of him... HIM! The prodigy of prodigies. He had slain more men in the second great shinobi war then that BRAT in the third war. His face was in a scowl.
Two puffs of smoke appeared behind him.
"Sorry we're late, Orochimaru-sensei."
"Where's Itachi?" Orochimaru didn't even bother to turn around.
"He said he was on a mission." replied Kabuto.
Orochimaru chuckled. It wasn't like he would be able to take the boy anyways. "Fine. It would be about you two anyways."
Anko looked confused. "What are you talking about, Orochimaru-sensei?"
Orochimaru took his hands from behind his back, and lifted them to be over the water. The water lifted, and started curl around him like a snake. "I've grown tired of this village. It's no longer of any use to me." He said slowly. "Tonight... I'm going to defect from the village, and I want you two to come with me." He remembered how he was hated, and treated poorly by the villagers. Hell, he never had a normal childhood. Except for his teammates, he couldn't think of one tiny friend. His students, however, thought highly of him, and so he would give them a chance to join him.
"B-but, Orochimaru-senei! They would hunt us down, and either kill us, or take us to a torture department!" Anko replied.
"You wont have to worry about that at all. You could become more powerful then you ever would if you stayed in this village." Orochimaru said. "I'll teach you things that these puny villagers are two afraid of to even realize their potential." He said, he turned around, still hugging his water snake. "I could make you the most feared kunoichi in all of the lands. All you have to do, is pledge your loyalty to me."
Before anyone else could do something, Kabuto got down on one knee. "I pledge my loyalty to you, Orochimaru-sama. I shall follow you, as you have shown me more then anyone else, and I hate this village's rules of conduct." He truly did. The field of medical science could be taken so much farther then where it was now.
Anko stared wide eyed at her teammate. She looked back to Orochimaru, and saw the seriousness in his eyes. She looked down. "I... I'm sorry." She said. She had many friends that she looked up to. She was happy in this village, and wasn't it an oath you swore to NEVER go against your village as part of the entry exam to the academy? "I... I want to stay here." She said, making up her mind.
Orochimaru frowned. "Fine. Kabuto, if you would."
"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said. He took out a kunai, and pushed it straight into Anko's chest. "Too bad. You were always great in bed..."
Anko was staring in disbelief. She couldn't feel anything, and she lost consciousness. Orochimaru approached her, and did some hand signs. He waved a hand over her head. He bit her neck, and then stood up."Throw her in the river. That curse seal will make sure she'll never remember."
"Why not kill her?" Kabuto asked.
"Hmm, A good point, but I think we should leave her alive. She might come to me later." He said.
"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said. He picked up her body, and threw it into the river. She would live... barely.
End flashback
In the morning, an ANBU found her in the river, and scooped her out. They took her to the hokage.
The man looked her over, and healed her in no time with Tsunade's help. When the girl awakened, the hokage's exact words were "I've never seen eyes so lifeless." The girl had amnesia due to something Orochimaru did with her head, and her soul, as a seal was now evident on her neck.
It took years, but she eventually found out who she was, due to the seal leaking. She was so happy to find out, she glomped the Hokage right out, as he was the one to weaken it... even if it was just a little. As time passed, the girl grew more sadistic, and eventually, the villagers found out who she was in the process. They started to call her 'snake whore' and other such names by the populace. She was avoided, and sometimes drunks would try to rape her at night. The ANBU were the only thing to stop them.
'Apparently, the seal's broken now.' Kabuto thought. 'But that would only happen if...' Kabuto's eyes widened in realization.
Anko was still glaring at him in ways only a woman betrayed could. "Oh? It seems you realize just how deep in shit you really are." She said calmly, though her face said otherwise. "You know, it's funny. You broke my heart in two ways at that moment. I trusted you, and you stabbed me in the chest with a kunai." She said still glaring. "Yes, I have my memories back. All of them. And many, many, MANY things have also returned with them." Two snakes started to slither out of her coat. "That includes my jutsu... and my deep hate for both of the men I looked up to in life. Orochimaru, because he put that goddamned seal on me... and you, for not even bashing an eyelid when you stabbed me." She was now breaking down in tears. "I loved you, baka. I would have forgiven you if you had just left with him. I know you were treated differently by the kids because of your silver hair. That's why I didn't care about them. Now..." She looked back up hate filled her eyes. "I seem to have been given all of the hatred the villagers had for you two. I'm a nobody to these people. A whore at most. No one respected me. No one loved me. No one held me close. I never felt the warmth of any friend. Kurenai tries to help me, god bless her, but she doesn't get all that close to me. And you know why? All because you and 'sensei' had to go, and involve me in that stupid tirade, and that GORDFORSAKEN SEAL! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE WITHOUT KNOWING WHO YOU ARE!? HOW YOU HOPE THAT THOSE PEOPLE WHISPERING THINGS BEHIND YOU ISN'T TRUE!? HOW YOU SOMETIMES WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!? HOW SCARY IT IS TO NOT KNOW IF YOU ARE ALONE IN THIS WORLD!? HOW YOU GO TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT CRYING AND HOPING YOU WONT BE RAPED!? YOU AND THAT 'THING' RUINED MY LIFE JUST BECAUSE YOU TWO COULDN'T STAND THIS VILLAGE!" She stopped. Tears were flowing down her face. She had specifically requested to be the one to 'interrogate' the man. She took a deep breath, and looked back up, her evil smile now present once more. "Seeing as how that 'thing' is dead now, and that seal gone forever, I'll be repaying everything you and that 'thing' did to me back to you." As she talked her voice got deeper "I'm going to make you wish you were never born..." (1)
–
Konoha stadium.
Sakura and Ino were currently holding each other and crying. Why?
Several reasons actually. One is that 'their sasuke-kun' had been beaten down like he was nothing by the dobe! The second reason... well. Hinata's chest was bigger then both of the girls combined.
It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't they have a chest like that Hyuuga? And what's worse is that said Hyuuga wasn't even loyal to the Uchiha! Why does a non-believer girl get such a big chest?
The two fangirls continued to cry.
The kage box.
The hokage and the fire Daimyo were sitting side by side in the kage box. The Daimyo was now sitting where the 'kazekage' sat. The guards from both factions standing off to the side, catching up on how things were going. Even though all of the guards wore masks, they all knew each other from the time that they spent time together as ANBU. They laughed, and cried at each other's antics. They also made sure to get in a good spot to see the rest of the chuunin exams. The candidates this year looked promising, and even looking like future comrades in masks.
They looked over to two new ANBU though. One standing to the right of the Hokage, the other standing to the left of the fire Daimyo. Normally, no one could tell if some ANBU were male and female. There was one exception though. On male ANBU there is a leaf tattoo on the left shoulder, and on females the tattoo is on the right to help distinguish genders. Both female ANBU were wearing Kitsune masks. Rumors were flying all over the board about the two grey haired ANBU girls. One of which was the fact that said girls passed the ANBU hiding test on the first try! No one had ever done that before. Well, maybe Hawk did on the first try, but no one else had. The girls were also a complete mystery. They never talked to anyone, and just hand signed each other. It was as if these two were mutes! "Whenever they would take off their masks to shower," one of the females ANBU explained, "their eyes were a strange red and green with slits."
One of the Male ANBU, an dog mask, spoke up at that moment. "Like Christmas?"
"Yeah. Red around the slits, and then fades to green on the outer edges. Those two would keep their eyes closed though. Especially in the shower." The female raccoon ANBU said. "I wonder why that is?" She didn't add in the fact that they only closed their eyes when 'the games' were happening. Hey being an ANBU was tough, and they needed a release somehow. She shrugged and just pegged it up to being shy.
The girls looked so small... almost like children. Many people wondered who they were, but sometimes shinobi and kunoichi change how they look once they put their mask on, or even when entering the building. That's why no one even had one clue about Hawk's true identity. No one wanted to find out either, for they would die the moment they knew. They chalked up the girls as another enigma.
Down in the arena.
The concrete slab was now pulled away from a perfectly repaired field, and the proctor standing in the middle of the field. "I thank you all for waiting, and I hope you all enjoyed the special show this year." He bowed. "Now, on to the second round of the third exam!" The crowd cheered. "The first match is Hirguashi Tenten v. Hyuuga Hinata. Could those two contestants please come down?"
Hinata looked over to see Naruto smiling back at her.
Everyone of the contestants saw what happened earlier to Orochimaru. To say that it was a special treat was an understatement. They got to see the one man that had destroyed people's lives turn to dust.
Naruto pecked her on the cheek. "You can take the luck, Hinata-chan, but I want it back for my match!" He said.
Hinata blushed, but smiled back. "I'll be sure to do that!" and she hoped down to the field, and Tenten followed shortly after getting some 'advice' from Lee. The boy didn't know the first thing about kenjutsu, but boy was the boy pure at heart.
The proctor looked to both girls.
Tenten spoke up. "I hope you're more of a match then that Ame nin. He was such a disappointment." She smiled.
Hinata returned a smile. "I think you'll find me much more then that." She said, as she thought back to one of her days of training.
"Hinata-chan." Raku had said. "Do you know what water is?"
"Are both contestants ready?" The proctor asked.
"Water is a contradiction." Hinata responded.
Both nod, a smirk on each face.
"Yes. Exactly. Now, why IS it a contradiction?" Raku asked.
"HAJIME!" He said, and then jumped back. He did NOT want to get between these two.
"I don't know." Hinata responded.
Hinata dashed forward, as did Tenten who had pulled out her swords, and in a reverse grip. Tenten was the first to make an offensive move as they got closer to each other, as she brought her arm in front of her to make the sword strike Hinata in the head. Tenten was not disappointed at what she saw.
Hinata had stopped the sword with her hand. Well, it really wasn't her hand, instead of the fact that chakra flowing between the sword and her hand had stopped it. Tenten smiled. This was definitely going to be a good fight.
Hinata smiled as well, and then activated her Byakugan. If anything about the last match, it was that Tenten was dangerous in close combat.
"Water can flow smoothly. Calm as a sunny day..."
Hinata then flowed around Tenten's next vertical strike from below. She dodged another ten strikes from Tenten altogether, like she was dancing. Tenten decided to dance with her blades as well.
The audience looked on in awe. Tenten trying with all her will to hit Hinata, and the Hyuuga flowing around all of the attacks in return. It looked more like a dance then a fight.
"Water can flow like a mighty storm. Destructive as lava from a volcano..."
Hinata then changed pace suddenly, and caught Tenten off balance. Hinata started to flow faster, and started to hit the blades away with chakra flashing from her hands. She got in close, and kicked Tenten in the stomach. Tenten flew back a little, and rolled as she hit the ground. She bounced back up, and looked to see Hinata standing completely still. Hinata's hands were raised from her sides, and her palms faced the walls. Her head bowed to the ground.
"Water can stand as still and as quiet as a predator. It looks inviting and refreshing..."
Tenten smiled, and raced straight towards Hinata. She raised her sword to attack her from the side in an angled strike. The sword went straight through Hinata. This threw Tenten off balance, as it looked like it was an illusion, and not the real Hinata, but the girl suddenly reached forward, and made a hit with her palm straight at Tenten's face. The palm was solid, and hit Tenten back a few feet.
Tenten breathed heavily. She spit some blood to the side, and smiled. Yes. It looked like it was time to use it. She raised her eyes to look straight at Hinata. She whispered, "Dance of the blade." And lowered her head.
Hinata smiled. Her cat ears picked up what the girl whispered. She resumed her stand still position.
Tenten's body blurred, and didn't move in a straight line. She dashed back and forth, faster then anyone could keep up with. She went from being in front of the Hyuuga to being directly behind her in a blink of an eye. Tenten spun on one heel, and held her swords out.
"Water is a source of life..."
The blades fazed through Hinata, as Tenten did her spin attack. Tenten brought both blades down, and cut straight through Hinata from head to toe. Hinata was unfazed. The swords simply couldn't touch her.
"Water is a source of death..."
Hinata spun on one heel as soon as Tenten's swords hit the ground from the attack. Hinata put her right hand into a half ram sign, and aimed straight at Tenten.
"Water cannot be both at the same time... Water cannot be more then one thing at a time..."
Hinata's two fingers were heading straight for Tenten's heart.
"Water is a calm flow. Water is a violent storm. Water is a silent predator. Why is water a contradiction?" Raku finished, and looked to Hinata to see if she could answer.
Tenten automatically reacted, and brought her hands up to stop the attack. Hinata's attack is stopped by Tenten's blades, but the blades are still pushed back by the sheer force from the attack, and Tenten's footing is lost. She jumps back a few feet from Hinata, who's hand didn't move all that much after Tenten started to go backward.
Tenten looked up, and smiled. It was her turn to counter attack. She jumped forward, and then whispered so quietly, the words were carried by the wind. "Kenjutsu: Shintai no kai."(Sword technique: Release of Ultimate Truth) Her arms came up, and she looked Hinata directly in the eye. Tenten jumped up so she was only a foot above the ground, and her her hands put her blades in a normal grip, instead of reversed. Her arms seemed to blurr as dozens of blade point came straight at Hinata. Hinata quickly started to block all of the strikes aimed at her.
Tenten's eyes widened as the attack ended. Her sword's tip was stopped from reaching Hinata's heart by a palm. Scratches appeared all over Hinata's arms and legs, but never on her torso. Hinata couldn't block them all, so she focused on blocking the ones aiming for vital points.
Shintai no kai was an ability to unlock a swordsman's... or swordswoman's in this case... true potential of their muscles for a short period of time, and give them unheard of control over them. The unlock only lasts 2 seconds at most. Any longer, and there would be permanent damage.
A three inch long tip of Tenten's now broken blade lands behind Hinata. Tenten looked at her broken blade in her right hand. She looks sad at it for a moment. She pulls out one of her scrolls, and seals the blade into it. She disappears and reappears next to the tip. She pulls it out of the ground, and seals it into the seal as well. She turns back around. She puts her remaining blade into a two handed normal hold. A normal kenjutsu stance.
Both girl's faces harden. Blood dripped down from Tenten's mouth and nose. Hinata focused not to think about the cuts on her arms and legs. Instead she focused on Tenten in front of her.
Of all the things about Higurashi there was one thing that was feared above all about them. Their single sword two handed style. Stories were passed around kunoichi and shinobi of all ages about their skills. Hinata knew of this as well, and shifted her stance into a tougher position. Instead of even LOOKING like a jyuuken stance, Hinata is holding one of her palms to look straight at Tenten, and her other hand is in front of her diaphragm, palm facing down. She is standing up straight, her chest pointed to the side, and her legs were shoulder width apart.
Tenten's face hardened because one of her babies had been hurt. Now the Hyuuga girl was going to pay.
Both stare at each other, and dead silence enters the air. A single leaf floats down between the two.
Hinata sat quiet for a moment. She looked up, because she was honestly stumped. Hiraku chuckled. "Because, my dear, water can change..."
As soon as the leaf blocks the sight of the other's eyes, the leaf was cut in half by Tenten's sword. The sword was blocked by one of Hinata's hands. Hinata wasn't given a chance to retaliate. Tenten swung around on one foot so fast, that Hinata's reflexes could barely keep up. Tenten kept up an attack that was more of a blur, and Hinata had to concentrate more on defending then attacking. She had two hands, yet had to use both as Tenten kept up an assault most would die against.
Hinata smiled. She changed body motion, and she was dodging them all now. She danced around all of her attackers strikes.
A sword strike going straight for Hinata's side, and it was coming in fast. Hinata couldn't dance her way out of this one, so she simply did a side flip over the blade. The blade flipped in Tenten's hand, and started to go where Hinata was going to fall.
Many of the audience knew there was no way Hinata could dodge it now, and the fight would be over.
Hinata was still smiling.
"...Water can change... in the blink of an eye."
The moment Hinata landed on the ground, she stood stock still in her landing position. The blade passed right through her. Tenten's eyes widened. She had put all of her strength into that, and now she was over extended.
Hinata of course started moving again, and two of her fingers on her right hand went straight for Tenten's heart. The fingers didn't touch her chest. Instead they stayed exactly 3 inches from Tenten's chest. "Forfeit." Was all Hinata said.
Tenten sighed. She knew she was beaten. "Proctor, I forfeit."
The proctor smiled, and walked up to the middle. "Winner by forfeit Hyuuga Hinata!"
The crowd cheered her name on, and many people stood up to clap and cheer for the girl.
Tenten walked away, and Hinata took a bow to the audience. She was smiling, and looked up to watch Naruto cheering her on for the great fight. She ran up the wall, and landed right next to him. "Did you like the show?"
Naruto smiled. "Are you kidding!? You did great, Hinata-chan!"
Hinata blushed, but she kept looking him in the eye. Oh those beautiful blue eyes. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."
Up in the kage box.
"So, what do you think, Daimyo-dono?" Saurtobi turned his head to his left to look at the young man.
The Daimyo was quiet for a second. "I think I'll put my recommendation up for both girls." He said.
"Oh, why is that?" Sarutobi asked.
"Well, to say the fight was a fascinating dance is an understatement. Both girls flowed and danced in their own styles, and made it look like a beautiful emotional dance. If you had put violin music to it, it could have been called a play." He said smiling. "And I, oh so very much, love beautiful plays."
Sarutobi chuckled. The young man did have chakra training, but not to the point of a true chuunin. It was just so he could signal his guards when he needed them. So he couldn't see the finer points of the fight. "Shall I tell you what I saw?"
"Hm?"
"I saw two girls who were trying their best to show off their own styles. The Hyuuga clan has relied on the Jyuuken for too long, and if I'm not mistaken, that two katana style is not in the norm for Higurashi. They were trying to add something new to the field of the kunoichi." Sarutobi said. "I'll put forth my own recommendation as well." he said smiling.
The Daimyo smiled as well. To become a chuunin by these exams, one must have a recommendation from 4 individuals who had voting power. People who had voting power were national traders, Kages, Daimyos, Big business dealers, and ANBU captains.
"What do you think, Hawk?" Sarutobi turned his head to his right. Hawk was standing in a thinking position. He had seen all three fights both of these girls had gone through. Whenever he voted for someone, it was usually because they could become great ANBU members.
"I think I'll withhold my vote for now, Hokage-sama. While both seem advanced in their fields, they are not exactly stealthy. The moves they showed off seemed a little too flashy for my taste." He said.
Saurtobi nodded. Don't get Hawk wrong. He's not a bad man. He just doesn't want to put anyone who can't become stealthy on A-ranked missions where stealth was usually something of utmost importance.
Back down in the arena.
The proctor nodded as an ANBU disappeared. He looked back up to the audience. "The next match shall be Sabaku no Temari v. Rock Lee. Would both contestants please come down?" He asked out.
Lee smiled. "Good luck Lee-san." Tenten said as she passed by.
"Thanks, Tenten-chan. It was a good fight!" He said.
Tenten smiled. "Thanks, even though I lost." She looked back up. "You're the only member left on our team still in. You better not lose!"
"I wont!" Lee said, and jumped down into the arena.
Temari, still looking kind of sad, hopped down as well.
"Are both contestants ready?" The proctor asked as both of them walked up.
"YES!" Lee said.
A meek "No..." came from Temari's mouth.
"Are you going to forfeit then?"
"No.. I... but... AGH! I don't know anymore!" She shouted.
Shikamaru and Asuma were sitting side by side in the stands. Asume looked over to Shikamaru. "You really broke her, you know that?"
Shika opened his eyes slightly. "All I did was give up."
Asuma frowned. "Yes, AFTER you caught the poor girl in a trap, destroyed her confidence in herself, AND made her look like a fool." He said.
Shika just closed his eyes again, and muttered. "Mendoukusai." He said as he leaned forward. He knew just what to say to get the girl's confidence back, but the girl was a troublesome blonde... He knew exactly what his teacher was setting him up to do. "I know what you're up to... and I wont fall for it."
"Then just tell me about your battle then... why did you quit?" Asuma said smiling.
"Jeez. I said it before. I was going to get beaten no matter what I would do. She was superior to me in every way... she would've wiped the floor with me if I hadn't quite." Shikamaru said.
Asuma just smiled. "She was superior to you in tactics?"
"Nah, but every other field and she would win. Maybe if I had time to plan more strategies, I would've won... but I don't think so... I'm just not cut out to being extraordinary. All I want to do is live an average life, do average things, have an average family, and probably die in a mundane way. If she's down because she lost in strategy to me, then there is no way she should be a chuunin." Shikamaru then looked to his teacher who was still smiling. He looked to his teachers hands who were holding a bird sign. "Mendouksu..." He said, and then looked back up to his teacher. "How much did she hear?"
"Plenty." Asuma said smiling.
Back down in the arena.
Temari's eyes widened as she heard the boy's voice being projected all across the field, much to the boy's aggravation. She looked up to the boy, and she had some serious questions for him later. She was going to pound some sense into him. For a guy who wanted to be "average" he sure did seem stupid to waste all of his talent, and then piss her off by saying SHE wasn't cut out to be a chuunin. She looked back to her opponent. She would show him wrong, and then beat some sense into him.
Lee's eyebrows raised up a little. The fire's of her spiritual youth seemed to come back as the lazy boy's voice was thrown across the field. Lee smiled. At least this would be a good match for him.
Her eyes hardened, and said, "I'm ready."
"Then..." The proctor started. "HAJIME!"
Lee dashed forward as Temari sent a wave of chakra filled wind at him with her fan. Lee's forward momentum was stopped, but he didn't get blown backwards.
Temari cursed a little, and then started to send wave after bloody wave of wind to both blow the boy back, and to cut him up.
Lee kept his arms up to stop the blasts of wind from cutting up his face. He was in a predicament. If he didn't get out of this wind fast, he would be cut up. If he dodged to the side, the wind would just blow him away, as he just wasn't fast enough. If he tossed his arm weights, then he would lose the weight that is keeping him in one spot in the first place.
Lee didn't have much choice, and he took off his arm weights. He had to time this right.
Temari waved her hand one more time, and the boy tossed the weights, and jumped backwards. He rode the wave of wind to the arena wall, and landed on it with his feet. He looked up to see Temari gone. His eyes widened, and he looked around to see if he could find her. She wasn't there anymore.
He carefully searched the arena with his eyes.
Temari was sitting in the trees carefully planning what she needed to do. She knew that if this battle was drawn out, he would win, as she had less endurance then that of a taijutsu user. Speaking of taijutsu, this boy was fast. So fast, that she only knew of one technique that could hit him, but she didn't want to use it yet. She quickly put it in the back of her head as a 'last resort' thing.
She picked up her fan, and poured chakra into it. She put it behind her, and changed the chakra into wind instantly. She swung it, and with a loud yell. "Daikamataichi no jutsu!"(Great sickle weasel jutsu)
A gush of wind entered the arena from the forested area. The trees were broken up, and destroyed as Lee gained cuts all over his body.
Up in the kage box.
The Hokage puffed his pipe. 'Area of effect ninjutsu wind user versus a head on single attack type taijutsu user. Neither are strong against each other. This match could either go for a little bit longer, or end right away depending on how it turns.' He thought. 'Hm, though the long range one seems to be a tactician if I remember correctly, and Lee seems to have major endurance, even for a taijutsu user.'
Another puff of smoke escaped his lips as the daimyo watched with fascination. He didn't even KNOW wind could be such a deadly force. The taijutsu user was getting cuts all over his body just from the excess gusts of wind. He then noticed something. 'She's trying to keep him at a distance. Ah, I see. If he get's in close, he wins. If she keeps him at a distance, she wins.' He smiled. 'I wonder how this one will turn out.'
Down in the arena floor.
Lee was getting tired of just taking hits. He was pure speed, and he was going to show her what that means. He'll get in close, and finish this girl off quickly. Lee winced at that. He was told to treat woman like a delicacy, and now he would have to disobey that rule.
He got down on his right knee, and lifted the leg warmer in his left leg. He pushed a small button on the device that held the black rods to his legs. They didn't fall though, and he switched to his other leg. He hit the button on that one as well. As soon as he was standing up straight, he touched a hidden button by his waist, and the 8 rods fell to the ground. A large THUD echoed throughout the arena.
Temari's eyes widened. 'Shit. He just took off the last of his weights. I guess I'll have to use 'that' anyways.'
Lee stood up straight, and looked around once more. He bent over again into a running position, and then disappeared due to pure speed.
Temari only had delicate little time. She bit her thumb, and then swiped some blood onto her fan. She picked it up, and put it into a wave ready position. She pushed some chakra into it, and yelled out, "Kuchiyose: Kirikiri mai!"(Summoning: Swirling wind) As she was her fan, a giant weasel appeared out of nowhere.
"Hmph." it went, and then disappeared. The moment it did, a silver light danced across the battlefield. As it danced a great storm of wind was unleashed, and Temari kept adding chakra to it to make the wind even stronger.
Lee appeared in a kick ready position above her head, but was blown away by the severe wind. No matter how much Lee tried, he couldn't touch any solid surface, thus he was useless. He couldn't gain any speed of any kind. The wind continued to cut him up, as a giant weasel carrying a large sickle in it's mouth sliced Lee's body up. It was through sheer reflexes that he didn't get any major wounds on his body, as he twisted and turned in the air to dodge any strike.
Suddenly, a giant fan hit Lee's head. Temari was in the same position as when the wind first started. She folded up the fan as she had continued to focus chakra into the storm of wind. The wind was moving in a circular motion around the arena. She just waited from his to come right back to her, and she whacked him hard on the head. The poor boy didn't see it coming as her weasel was keeping him busy.
Lee fell to the ground unconscious, and the wind died down immediately. The weasel reappeared near Temari, and then disappeared in a poof of smoke, signaling his leaving.
Temari smirked, and looked up to Shikamaru.
Up in the audience stands.
Shikamaru's eyes twitched. 'She's more forceful then my mom!' He knew he was going to be in for a looong day when she finally found him later.
Down in the arena.
The proctor walked up and checked the boy's vitals. He nodded, and signaled some medics to come in. He looked up to the audience. "Winner of the second match Sabaku no Temari." (2)
The crowd cheered. They had seen something flashy, and that always brightened their day.
Up in the kage box.
Both men in the chair's were looking down at the girl. The Hokage spoke up. "What do you think?"
"Even though she technically won that first battle, she did lose in the eyes of a shinobi, right?"
"Yes, that's right." The hokage said.
"Well, she made up for it with this battle. She showed that she could hold a cool head. That... and she had a FREAKING COOL jutsu!" He yelled out. "And, I loooove that weasel of hers." It was a widely known fact that the fire Daimyo loved the little weasels. Hell, he even had a whole house just for his 23 pet weasels. The fact he had just seen a large weasel carry a deadly weapon just made him happier. He was acting like a little kid in a candy store. "I'm definitely sending a message to Suna to make her a chuunin." Translation: VOTED!
The hokage chuckled. "Yes, despite her earlier 'loss,' she did make a great comeback."
The ANBU captain stayed in his thinking pose. "Hm, she did show great prowess in disappearing mid technique." He's talking about the moment when Temari disappeared during a wind attack early in the match. "And she could definitely learn to hide a little better with practice. She is a very balanced fighter, and in ninjutsu arts. If she worked on her genjutsu, then she could be an all around fighter. I'll see what happens in the next match before I decide though."
The hokage nodded. "I'll withhold my vote for that reason as well. She did make a great comeback, but she needs to prove herself a little bit more before she can become a chuunin."
In the audience.
Shikamaru face palmed as Asuma was continuously teasing him about a certain blonde haired girl.
In the arena.
The medics had picked Lee off the ground as he was just regaining consciousness. "Wha... what happened?" Lee asked.
"Your hard head dented my fan!" Temari yelled out. It was true. She didn't see it until she moved to put it on her back. "Kami, you're lucky that I have my other one with me!" She yelled as she sealed away her fan, and pulled another fan out as she walked up towards the competitor's box.
The medics carried lee off, and the proctor looked back to the audience. "The final match of the second round shall be Uzumaki Naruto v. Sabaku no Gaara. Would those competitors please come down?" He asked.
Naruto smiled, and moved to jump over the rail when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Naruto stopped and turned only to get his mask pulled off and get kissed on the lips from Hinata.
Naruto's eyes widened, but he gratefully excepted the kiss. It was an innocent one though. (They're too young to know about tongue)
Hinata pulled back, and smiled. "Good luck." She said.
"Thanks, Hinata-chan." He smiled. He pulled the mask up over his face, and jumped over the rails into the arena.
Gaara was already waiting as he had done a sand version of the shunshin. This was the moment. This Naruto kid would finally die, and his mother would finally get the blood she very much so wanted. A smile crossed on his lips. "I have been denied a fight, and mother has been getting restless." He said to Naruto.
"Oh, you'll get a fight." Naruto said with a foxy grin. He had tossed his trench coat to the side. His foxy ears could once again feel the breeze of the air. "I'll beat you down with a stick!" He said. He took off his trench coat, and threw it aside.
"Are both contestants ready?" The proctor asked.
Naruto nodded, but Gaara stood still.
"HAJIME!" He immediately backed off, and exited the arena in case of a certain incident.
Naruto brought his right hand up to his face in a half ram sign. "KAI!" He yelled out. A wave of chakra was released as Naruto was nearly glowing in the stuff now. The chakra was slowly flowing out of Naruto, and the amount was so massive that everyone, even civilians could see it.
Many people were gasping at the amount being released.
Back up in the competitors box, Kina smiled. 'He just released 5 of 10 of his chakra seals. When he woke up this morning, we took off his gravity seals, but left the chakra ones on. We agreed he would release the seal the moment his match against Gaara started.'
In the kage box.
All three judge's eyes widened. The hokage was the first to speak. "I knew he always had a lot of chakra, but never this much! He's nearly releasing a sannin's worth of chakra!"
The fire daimyo spoke up. "How did he just release that much energy?"
The hokage sighed. "Long ago, I placed 10 chakra seals on him to help control his chakra level. I always knew the boy would have way too much due to certain circumstances." 'Parentage and kyuubi.' He said in his mind. "I gave him instructions on how to release the seals. I assumed he took them off a long time ago, but if he had kept them on until just now..." His words faded.
The fire Daimyo needed to know something. "How do chakra seals work?" He asked.
The Hokage lifted his pipe to his mouth. "Chakra seals work by limiting the amount of chakra to flowing through the tenkestu. Essentially, a chakra seal will limit the amount of chakra one can use at any one moment. The amount of chakra he has stays the same, but it makes it easier to control the chakra. The longer one keeps it on, the easier one can control the chakra, and let it flow in greater amounts once it's taken off. It's been on him for nearly 13 years now." He said.
The ANBU spoke up then. "So that's how he's been able to sneak passed all my ANBU without detection?" There are many ways a ninja can detect someone. Sight, smell, touch, and hearing are the usual ones. Once someone becomes an ANBU they are MADE to learn how to sense through another way. Chakra. Everyone gives off chakra, whether they think about it or not, and a skilled user can detect that leak. There are ways to suppress your chakra, but they are very difficult to perform. One of them is a chakra seal, which must be done by an advanced seal user or up. If it was done by an amateur, you could die or end up without the ability to use chakra whatsoever, or it wouldn't work to the ability it needed to be at. The hokage was nowhere near a seal master, but he did make it to become an advanced seal user.
"Yes. I had to put 10 on him, as I said, to limit his chakra, and give him a better chance of avoiding the provokers that would attack him sometimes." The hokage said. "He must've just released all 10 in order for it to be this much."
Hawk's eyes widened behind his mask. To put 10 on a kid meant that the kid had super amounts of chakra on him. He knew that the hokage wore 17, and Hawk himself wore 13. Hell, Kakashi wore 15 of them. To think that a kid would need 10 meant that he would be even stronger in the future.
There was a standard rule among shinobi. It was sometimes used by kunoichi, but it was rare.
Once one hits the level of jounin, a shinobi must have a chakra seal applied to them until they leak almost no chakra. It did not hinder the performance of many users except chakra heavy jutsu users. Those ones would just release the seals in mid battle, and use their abilities. Otherwise, they would all be harder to detect.
One of the few rare exceptions to this rule was a girl named Anko. The girl had an unusual amount of chakra for a girl, and when she reached chuunin a second time, they had to give her 5 chakra seals, or she would be like a bright light bulb in the middle of a dark room.
A second exception was a girl named Uzumaki Kushina that had joined leaf with 6 chakra seals already applied, and she was a chuunin at the time.
Another rare exception was the fourth hokage. The man had to be given 3 chakra seals as a gennin. He was one of the few rare gennin ever in existence to have to get one that early.
Hawk looked back down to Naruto. The kid was certainly looking up to his parent's heritage.
Down on the floor.
Gaara's eyes widened. He's never felt this much chakra at once before. He's felt his 'father's' but even then it was being suppressed by seals.
Naruto looked Gaara in the eye. "Well, come on. I'm waiting." Naruto said smiling.
Gaara's face hardened. The sand flew up around him, and went straight for Naruto's body. The sand tried to get close, but the chakra field around Naruto was stopping any such thing. Gaara smiled brightly. "I knew it. IF I KILL YOU MY EXISTENCE WILL BE PROVEN FOR ALL ETERNITY!" Gaara yelled out. He pushed both of his hands out, and a wave of sand came from the ground in front of Gaara.
Naruto's ears went flat against his head as he looked up. The wall of sand had to be easily 40 feet high! Naruto put his hands in front of him. His palms flat and his hands wide open. He slowly thought back to one of his training days.
"Why do I have to release the seals?" He asked.
Nelrim looked him point blank in the eye. "Because the technique were about to teach you is one of the most energy exhaustive ones for this style."
Naruto looked at Nelrim like he was crazy. "What's it called, and why should I use such a huge amount for it?"
Nelrim slowly smiled. "The reason why, you'll soon learn. As for it's name, it's called..."
"Konki Kouseki."(Energy Crystal) Naruto said slowly.
The wall of sand crashed down on Naruto, and the audience waited to see what would happen.
A big bright light shined in the sand, but the sand poured over the source of light until no light could be seen whatsoever.
Gaara smiled in a creepy sort of fashion. He put his hands down on the edge of the sand field, and said, "Sabaku Taiso!"(Sand waterfall imperial funeral) Pulses of chakra could be seen in the sand, as the sand compacted down hard on the field.
Gaara's smile was still evident. There was no way anyone could survive that. He started to pull the sand back into the ground. He had to make sure.
The sand cleared the area slowly, and several people gasped. Surrounding Naruto was a crystal like structure made of pure concentrated chakra. Naruto's hands were against the edge of said barrier.
Naruto breathed out slowly. He then took in another deep breath. He brought his hands back, and crossed them against his chest, and he bent over. He built chakra up into his body, and prepared it for the final part of this technique. Naruto stood up straight, and his hands flew out from his body. He yelled out, and the chakra was released. "Konki Bakuha!"(Energy Explosion)
The crystal structure around Naruto exploded, and shards of the crystal flew everywhere.
Sand immediately engulfed Gaara as a few of the foot long shards hit the sand.
Some of the shards looked like it was going to hit the audience, and the people immediately flinched. They all relaxed when they saw the a barrier made from seals to protect the audience stopped the shards and bounced them back into the field.
As soon as a shard touched the ground, a small wave of chakra would leak from it, and a small amount of wind swirled around the shard. Other shard's landed near it, and they too got a small wind turbulence around them. Electricity sparked off between them, and a dense fog flowed along the ground at about 5 inches high.
When Gaara's sand let him finally see, he was shocked. There was a see of crystal blue shards all along the ground, and some pieces were still falling. The walls had scattered blue shards all over them, and lightning and a small fog seemed to come from them as well. The only area not covered was the slightly scarred ground surrounding Naruto.
Naruto held his hand up in front of him. "Konki Hahen."(Energy shard) he said, and a blue light started up above Naruto's hand. The light grew until it became a full foot long crystal chard just like all the others. It fell into his hand, and immediately lightning started to flow between his shard and all of the ones along the ground and the walls. The shards started to shrink and disappear. Soon after a few seconds of this, the only shard left was in Naruto's hand. It was slightly longer now. 5 feet at the most, and took the shape of a throwing spear. Lightning arced off of it and into the ground below a few times. It wasn't a constant, as it seemed to happen randomly. Wind seemed to circle around the lance in unsteady circles, and a fog seemed to fly out from the wind.
"Say hello to my shiny stick!" Naruto raised the chakra shard up, and took a stance similar to that of throwing a spear. Naruto took a few steps forward, and then threw it as hard as he could, with a little help from a chakra push. It screamed all the way to Gaara's body. The wind seemed to push the spear to go faster, and lightning was constantly coming off the projectile and into the nearby ground.
Gaara's sand immediately reacted and put itself in the way of the projectile, and the sand hardened as much as it could. The projectile hit the sand. It looked like the sand would hold for a second, but then cracks appeared on the sand as it was somehow weakened.
Gaara's eyes widened as he saw the cracks. The spear broke through.
The projectile hit the arena wall covered in blood. After a few seconds, the shard seemed to of had lost it's ability to hold itself together, and simply fell apart. Chakra leaked into the air as the shards began to shrink on the ground.
Gaara was holding his left shoulder. Where the ball and socket joint should have been was a big hole. Gaara pulled his hand away, and looked at it. His eyes widened. "My blood... IT'S MY BLOOD!" He yelled out. "THIS PAIN!" He yelled, and put his hand against his shoulder again. He could feel a nagging sensation against his mind. "Mother?! Stay back! No... I will not let you erase my existence!" He yelled to Naruto. He put his good hand to his head as the headache now exceeded that of his shoulder. "GAAAH!" He screamed out. He closed his mouth, and gritted his teeth. He tried to hold her in, but that thing in his head wouldn't let him. A dome of sand erected around his body.
Naruto could feel the energy inside of the doom. He didn't know how to describe it really. It felt mostly like Kina's yokou... but something like Nelrim's energy shifted inside of it as well.
This was bad. A lot of will power went into making that earlier crystal dome, and Naruto was now mentally tired. Physically, he had almost infinite chakra, but his mentality could only take so much of the chakra compression levels required to make such a shard, much less a crystal structure.
Normally, when you compress chakra, all the chakra usually does is want to spread out. However, part of step three was to learn how to compress chakra so much so that the chakra turns into a tangible substance, usually a crystal shard for Naruto. That was the whole part about what Nelrim's little rock diverging water was all about. A hard surface could change the direction of flowing substance. Thus, whenever he used Shissou(Dash) he wouldn't create an explosion of wasted chakra. Instead a little piece of extremely concentrated chakra that had almost turned tangible was around each of his tenketsu. Each chakra 're-director' would make sure that all of the chakra was sent backwards in order to launch him forwards with the least amount of chakra used. It was also more silent, and left less scarring to whatever was nearby. He had to learn how to dash while simultaneously making sure all 371 tenketsu would send the chakra in the right direction. This SOUNDS hard, but is surprisingly easy when you're forced to learn how to use them, AND dodge Anko's, Nelrim's, and Tenten's attacks at the same time. Thanks to clones, he's gotten it down to the point that he can do it subconsciously.
The chakra shards do have other downsides though. After they leave his hand, they start to dissolve right away. The shards themselves could not be used for defense, as the shards can shatter easily, unless in the form of his defensive dome like structure; then it can take a lot of hits. If one wasn't careful when forming the shards, very painful little spikes can grow inside of your tenketsu, and permanently destroy the tenketsu. Naruto had a few close calls, and Nelrim had to hit him to not let them form in the wrong way.
Naruto looked back up. The energy around the sand dome pulsed, and it felt like whatever was happening, it would happen sooner then Naruto could get his head together. The little dome exploded in a furry of sand.
Naruto quickly closed his eyes, and put his arms up to block it from hitting his face.
Once the sand settled down, Naruto looked back to see Gaara. Only he didn't see Gaara. Naruto's eyes slowly wandered up as he saw a giant raccoon dog made of sand. A tail waved around wildly behind him. On the tanuki(Raccoon dog)'s head was Gaara coming out of the top, and looking down at Naruto.
The arena could barely fit the size of the giant sand creature.
Naruto slowly spoke, "I'm going to need a bigger stick." Kina hopped down into the arena next to him.
Up in the kage box.
As soon as the tanuki appeared, the hokage immediately yelled out, "CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK!"
Several ANBU appeared out of nowhere, and stood on the walls of the arena. They went through several hand signs, and then slammed their hands down on the wall's edge.
The hokage himself came down, and put some hand signs in as well, as even Jiraiya came in to perform the same hand signs.
A wall of pure chakra energy flared up and covered the arena up. The highest point of the dome went about 10 feet above the tanuki's head.
Down in the arena. Gaara was smiling creepily, as he held up a ram sign. "I'll show you." His shoulder started to heal like it was nothing. Soon the shoulder healed completely, and all that was left was bloody tattered clothes around the shoulder. "I'll show you the true meaning of power!" He pushed chakra into the seal. "Tanuki neiri no jutsu!"(Feigning sleep jutsu) His body slumped over.
Life entered the golden eyes of the Tanuki. "Huh?" It said, and looked around. "I'm free. I'm freeee! AHAHAHAHAH!" It laughed. Suddenly, it stopped laughing. It quickly looked down into the audience. The hokage and Jiraiya were currently holding ram signs as they focused chakra into the barrier. On the hokage's shoulders was a little siamese cat. "Yo.. you! Wha... what are you doing here?! I thought your kind was banned!"
Nelrim's voice echoed across the arena. "Yes... and your point being?" It was more of a soft whisper in the wind.
"Kami and Yami specifically banned you, so how are you here!?" He asked again, fear evident in his voice.
"Simple. Yami made me come here on a favor. Actually two favors now that I think of it. One was to look over a brat. The other... Well." An evil laugh whispered in the wind. "Don't worry, I wont harm you for now, stupid one. The next time we meet though, I will be taking you out of Herald, Ichibi no Shukaku."
Ichibi no Shukaku. That was the name of the one tailed demon. Naruto's eyes widened. "Well this is certainly an interesting match, eh, Kina-chan?" He thinks to her.
"Interesting indeed. Do I have permission to access my tails?" She asked back.
"Permission granted for up to 5 tails." Naruto thinks back.
Kina started to laugh. Many people looked like they were going crazy. It's not everyday you here a fox laugh. Her tail split in half. Those two tails split in half. One of the four tails split once more to make 5 tails. She grew in size as the tails increased in numbers. Soon she was the size of a large horse.
"I'll take on the big guy. You can relax for now." Kina said. "Watch and learn how a true master of the Mizu Kanryuu fights." A soft glow enveloped her body. A red aura surrounded her, and Kina bent back. She looked almost like she was laying down. Her tails all lit up with fire and lightning. When the intensity of the rife and lightning reached a peek, she waved them all backwards. A blur of red light was seen all over the stadium. It was a single red beam traveling all over the place. The beams were constantly moving at high speeds.
The poor tanuki couldn't keep up as his body was slowly being destroyed whenever the light would pass over any area of his body. After a while, the sand had made the big guy become a small 10 foot high figure.
"Naruto, hit him hard to finish him off!" Kina yelled in her mind. "Once you do, hit Gaara hard! He'll wake up, and then Ichibi will be forced back into his cage."
Naruto nodded. He put his hand out to the side as bright blue chakra whirled around his hand. He finally figured out how to do this one after nearly banging his head on a tree.
Create the shell first, then add the energy, and finally the spin. In order to complete this technique you had to do it backwards.
Naruto lifted a bright blue ball of energy above his head. "RASENGAN!" He yelled out, and dashed forward.
The impact of the rasengan was hard, and the sand figure blew up as the sand spread all over the arena. The sand started to form around a semi-floating Gaara.
"HURRY NARUTO!"Kina yelled mentally.
Naruto dashed forward. "WAKE UP YOU BASTARD!" He jumped up, and did a hard punch to the red head.
Gaara's body lurched as soon as he was hit on the head. The jutsu that kept him asleep faded off, and Gaara painfully brought himself to consciousness.
"N-no! Stay away from me! I want to LIVE!" Gaara tried to feel for his sand, but for some reason he couldn't even move his arms.
Naruto watch as Gaara struggled to get up, but couldn't even do that. "S-stay away from me!"
"Do you want to know why I'm so strong?" Naruto asked Gaara with a serious face.
"You're strong because you fight for yourself, right!" Gaara said as if he knew the answer.
"No."
Gaara froze. Someone who was this strong that didn't fight for himself? "H-how are you so strong then?"
"I fight to protect the ones I care about most. I fight to protect the ones that are the most precious to me." He said. "Maybe if you did the same, you could become stronger as well." Naruto said.
Gaara dropped his head to look at the sky. "I don't have anyone to fight for."
"Then find someone. Hey, you can start with your siblings. You might not be on the best of terms now, but I think that would be a good place to start." Naruto said.
Gaara looked back up, and went straight to the silver haired kid's eyes.
The determination. Courage. Strength. He could see them all in Naruto's eyes. Gaara didn't know it, but the moment he looked straight into those eyes, his life would change forever.
Gaara dropped his head back down to the ground. "I forfeit."
The barrier around the arena dropped as the proctor came back down into the arena. He walked back to the center of the arena, and turned to face the audience. "Winner by forfeit of the third match Uzumaki Naruto!"
The crowd cheered. They had just seen things they would never forget. A silver haired kitsune hanyou standing in the middle of a crystal blue field. A deadly spear flying through the air. A giant raccoon dog beaten down just like that. This was certainly a special chuunin exam indeed.
The Hokage fell to one knee. "Hokage-sama!" Jiraiya yelled out, and ran to the old man's side. "Are you okay?"
The Hokage coughed once. "Yes. I'll be fine. I'm just getting too old for this shit."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Have you thought of a successor?"
The Hokage looked up to see Naruto enjoying the round of applause and cheering from everyone. The kid was finally getting the attention he longed for from the people.
Sarutobi's eyes grow sad. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but you're not ready yet." He whispered.
"You said something?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes. I think I have a candidate in mind." He said smiling towards Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "I wont do it."
"Who said it would be you? I'm thinking of your teammate."
Jiraiya sighed. "You know she hates this village."
"Oh? I think I have a trump card that can get her back." He said, and looked back down to Naruto. 'I'm sorry. You just aren't ready yet. I'll let you have a few more years of fun before you wear this burden.'
On the arena floor.
Naruto bowed a few times. He looked over to his right to see that Kina had already shrunk down to one tailed size again. She jumped up on his shoulder. "Let's go. A certain raven haired girl wants to meet you!" He quickly ran up to meet Hinata in the competitor's box.
The proctor however received a message from an ANBU. He nodded, and the ANBU left. He focused the chakra into his throat. "Due to difficulties, we will be repairing the field once more for the final match. Yes, I said Final Match. The last match shall be a 3 way battle royal between Hyuuga Hinata, Sabaku no Temari, and Uzumaki Naruto." He finalized. "Please come back in one hour to see the final match."
The concrete slab was once more pushed over the top of the arena to cover it up.
Up in the kage box.
The Hokage slumped into his chair, and relaxed. "I really am getting too old for this shit."
The fire Daimyo chuckled. "You should retire again. It was nice to see you in the hot seat, but I think said hot seat can make you feel a lot older then you are."
The Hokage chuckled. "True. I feel like I'm 120 years old at the moment. I think I'll assign one last mission, attend three more meetings, pass a few laws, promote a few shinobi and kunoichi, and then retire."
"Oh? So I take it you've picked a successor?"
"Yes, and I can finally get her here now that the key to get her back is in the know."
"What do you mean by that?"
"A Hokage never meddles and talks. He only meddles, and smiles at other people's agonies." He smiled.
"I thought that was old people." the fire Daimyo chuckled.
"Oh, right, sorry. Old age and all." He joked.
"Riiight."
In the competitor's box. When the concrete slab covers over the top of the arena, the contestants can't see anything below ground, and they are pushed out into the audience stands by ANBU.
When they reached the audience stands, Hinata turned, and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek. Naruto blushed. The kisses were nice and all, but he still couldn't get his feelings straight on the girl. Did he really like her like that?
Kurenai and Shino show up to save Naruto. "Hello you two." Kurenai said.
"Hello, Kurenai-sensei." The two respond.
"Hey Shino-san. How's training?" Naruto asked.
"Hello to you, too. My taijutsu training is coming along fine, but..."
Kurenai chuckled. "He seems to be better at kenjutsu then taijutsu."
Hinata spoke up. "Really?" She asked.
Shino nodded, and answered, "Yes. For some reason a blade seems better for my technical abilities then most taijutsu styles. Kurenai drilled me in many styles, but I couldn't seem to get the hang of any one. When I picked up a sword however, it felt right."
"Why don't you ask Tenten for help then? I'm sure she'd love to help." Naruto said. "Andaddanewmembertothetogatta." He quickly adds.
Despite Naruto's attempt to hide the truth the other two laugh. "I don't know if I'll join, but I'm sure that the kenjutsu lessons she could give me would be invaluable. Anyways," He adds in a different tone. "I watched your matches so far."
"Oh, yeah. Wha'dja think?" Naruto asked.
"Spectacular." Shino said in one summed up word. "You are worlds beyond me though." He looked a little sad that his teammates were leaving him behind.
Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry. Once you start training with Tenten, you'll gain lots of ground. Trust me on that." He adds. "You WILL learn."
Shino wasn't sure on how to take that. "I'll keep that in mind."
Naruto turned to Hinata. "Wanna go get some ramen? I heard Teuchi-ji-san opened up a stand here in the arena for today only!" He said, clearly exited.
Hinata giggled. "Sure, I'll join you." Secretly, she was getting hungry herself, and ramen sounded good.
Naruto turned to his other teammates. "You wanna join us?" He asked.
Shino nodded. "I'll join you."
Kurenai smiled. "Sorry, but I have jounin duties. You three go have fun."
"Alright, we will!" Naruto said. The three ran off to find Teuchi's stand.
–
Tbc...
(1) Honestly... that was my longest paragraph EVER! That little beginning was something I added on a whim. I just wanted to show you guys just how truly SCREWED Kabuto is.
I'll leave Kabuto's torture up to your imagination, as I don't have the stomach to write out what I had planned. Have fun! (And if you think I'm a weak stomach type, you're dead wrong. Sat through 2 girls 1 cup like it was nothing, while my friends all threw up.)
(2) … I have to be honest. I actually set this match up so that Lee would win... but as I was typing, I thought of this, and in truth, I kinda liked it more then the other version of that fight. The stats match up anyways. If Temari ever summoned that little weasel in any match she had been in, basically.. You would end up like Lee in any circumstance. The wind speeds that both Temari and Katamari can create have to be exceeding 300 or more mph to be able to destroy a forest that big in episode 125 of the naruto cannon series... not shippuden. Wind was cutting HUGE trees left and right like they were NOTHING! That's fast enough wind speed to lift a big building off the ground and throw it like a rock... Much less a person.
Okay, so you guys got to see another full step into MK. Naruto has, at this point completely mastered step 3. Steps 4,5, and 6 have YET to be even mentioned to Naruto, but you have seen something akin to the final form from Kina. However, don't even think you know what the final form will be like. Kina just showed the tip of the iceberg.
Please tell me how I did on these matches... and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you hate the gaara v. naruto match... I just can't seem to get the amount of description just right.
P.S. - I hate Kabuto, Orochimaru, and that prick of an uchiha... what's his name? Oh yeah.. Sasuke.