A/N: Okay. On with the Prelims. Sigh…
Aura Ninja- Hee hee nyan~! You're the only 1 who wants Sasuke to receive the cursed seal. Every time I read the reviews I get, I can't stop laughing. I don't know why.
Something- Anonymous review? Okay… Are you a girl? Sorry. Retarded question. My head's full of random stuff. Anyway, Sasuke could have used jutsu, but if you think about it, it's better that he didn't because that was only the prelims. All he needs to do is pass. The big guns can come out during the actual Third Exam. Same for Minato. If they underestimate Minato, all the better.
Please remember that I'm not a doctor so if anyone who is reading this is, please correct the thing about the VF and flatline.
Chapter 19: Preliminaries Part 2
Minato stared down at Hinata's battered body as Hayate called the match. Many emotions were bubbling in his chest as he fought to keep them from showing on his visage. Neji had brutally beaten her down, but she kept getting up. Never giving up. 'She's about as stubborn as Kushina,' Minato felt tears welling in his eyes before blinking them away. Hinata got up again, blood spilling from the corners of her mouth as she talked to Neji, sympathising with him. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect and only served to further anger the brunet as he charged at the defenceless Hinata. The proctor ran after the boy, as well as the other Konoha Jounin instructors, all of whom restrained Neji and prevented him from further hurting his cousin. Suddenly, Hinata's eyes widened and she fell to her hands and knees, coughing blood. Team 7 and Lee jumped over the railing and rushed to the Hyuuga heiress' side. "Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered.
"Don't talk," Minato urged, ripping the zipper of her jacket down before Kurenai swatted his hand away.
"What are you doing?" Kurenai demanded. Minato's eyes widened when Hinata's form was replaced by that of Kushina's lying on the hospital bed, coughing up her life blood. Kushina's form evaporated, snapping Minato out of his stupor as he ignored Kurenai and gently placed a hand on Hinata's neck and chest.
Kurenai turned to glare at Neji when Minato's voice caused her head to snap back, "90 seconds."
"What?" Kurenai turned her attention to Hinata. "She's going into Ventricular Fibrillation. Get the medics. You can't let it degenerate to asystole," Minato urged Kurenai.
"Medics! What are you doing?" Kurenai shouted at the medics on standby. The medics hastily bundled Hinata onto a stretcher and carted her off to the infirmary, the five Gennin returning to the mezzanine floor. The screen ran through names, stopping at Sabaku no Gaara vs. Rock Lee. Lee jumped over the railing, eager to fight Gaara. After the match, the green clad Gennin was out of commission. He had fought tooth and nail, even going so far as to open the gates to defeat Gaara, but in the end it was all in vain. He was carried away on a stretcher after Gai had intervened. The medics then pulled Gai to the side and talked to him before carrying Lee to the infirmary with utmost care. Whatever the medics had told Gai, it had left the Jounin unresponsive. The final match was Dosu Kinuta vs. Akimichi Chouji.
"Begin," Hayate announced.
"Go for it Chouji!" Shikamaru cheered.
"Fatty!" Ino tried to rile Chouji up to increase the Akimichi's chances of winning. A fire burned in Chouji's eyes, only to have Dosu call him fatty as well, causing the Akimichi to turn his attention to the Oto-nin.
"Ninpou: Baika no Jutsu!" Chouji's body turned into a giant bowling ball and he rolled after Dosu, only to get stuck inside a wall. Dosu jabbed an arm into the meat tank and made a one-handed seal. The result was Chouji sprawled on the floor, unconscious.
"Winner, Dosu Kinuta," Hayate announced, "That concludes the Third Exam's Preliminary matches."
"Congratulations on passing the preliminaries. I will now begin the explanation for the main matches. The main matches will take place in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month. This time is used to inform the feudal lords and important people that the preliminaries have ended. It is also a time for you candidates to train. There are some of you who have revealed everything, so, to make things fair, use the month to work hard and train for the main fights. Take a piece of paper from the box Anko will be going around with," the Sandaime announced as Anko stepped forward with a cream coloured box filled with slips of paper.
"Okay. Everyone got one? Now tell me what number you got starting from the left," Ibiki instructed.
"Eight," Dosu drawled.
"One," Minato looked at his paper.
"Seven," Temari said.
"Five," Kankuro voiced.
"Three" Gaara said, his voice monotonous.
"Nine," Shikamaru noted.
"Two" Neji deadpanned.
"Six," Shino said.
"Four," Sasuke clenched his fist, crushing the paper.
"We will now tell you the match ups for the tournament. Ibiki, the match ups," the Sandaime inched forward.
"Hai," Ibiki turned his clip board around, displaying the chart he had drawn up.
The match ups were: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji
Sabaku no Gaara vs. Uchiha Sasuke
Sabaku no Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino
Sabaku no Temari vs. Dosu Kinuta
Winner of fourth match vs. Nara Shikamaru
"Wait, I have a question. If it's a tournament, that means there's only one winner. Does that mean that only one will become Chunin?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, that's not how it works. These main matches will have judges including the Kazekage, myself, the feudal lords and other potential clients. These judges will grade you by watching you in the tournament and those who are qualified will become Chunin even if they lost in the first round, so it's possible for everyone to become Chunin, and also possible for no one to become Chunin. Winning means that you get to show off your skills more. That is all. We are adjourned until next month," the Sandaime announced. The Gennin scattered, the ones in the infirmary being moved to the hospital. Team 7 decided to visit Hinata in the hospital and bumped into their sensei on their way to her ward.
"Oh, Naruto. I'm going to be training Sasuke for the tournament, so I found a suitable teacher for you," Kakashi eye smiled. Minato felt a presence behind him and turned to face the person, recognising the man to be Konohamaru's trainer.
"I understand why you have to train Sasuke. Thank you for going to the trouble of looking for a trainer for me," Minato said, turning back to Kakashi.
"Ebisu-sensei, we're going to visit our friend, so could I meet you at the bridge in half an hour?" Minato inquired, trying to be polite as images of Konohamaru knocking the man out flashed through his mind. Ebisu gave a curt nod and left the hospital with Kakashi, Minato's shoulders shaking as Ebisu walked through the doors. The moment Ebisu had exited the building he began to chuckle as they continued on their way to Hinata's ward.
"Why are you laughing?" Sakura asked, perplexed.
"It's nothing. We're here," Minato stopped laughing. Hinata's condition had been deemed stable but she was still unconscious. The three stood around her bed, Sasuke placing flowers in the vase situated on the bed side table.
"I'm going to the bridge. Take care," Minato left his two team mates in the ward as he exited through the window. The blond leapt across the rooftops, landing before the bridge that was his team's meeting place, seeing Ebisu already there.
Ebisu lead him to the hot springs and said, "To improve your control, you'll be water walking. The temperature of the water here is 60 degrees Celsius. That'll serve as a nice incentive to not drop in," Ebisu pushed his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. Minato shook, tentatively placing one foot on the water's surface and withdrew it when it broke through the surface tension. He tried again, plunging into the water when he overstepped. Minato surfaced, scrambling out of the water, his skin scalded. The blond tried again, managing to stay atop the water until his eyes caught the back of a familiar white haired Sannin.
His eyes widened, "Sen-" He was cut off when Ebisu followed his line of sight and charged, shouting about how shameful acts would not be committed in his presence. Minato sighed inwardly at both men, Jiraiya turning away from his peeping and summoning a frog. The frog's tongue wrapped around Ebisu and threw him, the Tokubetsu Jounin losing consciousness from colliding with the pavement.
"Geez, what's going to happen if you get me caught?" the white haired Sannin scratched his head from atop the orange toad. Minato left the water's surface for dry land and walked over to Ebisu and, finding the man unconscious, turned to his ex-sensei, who'd already went back to peeping.
"Researching again? I swear. You never change," Minato sighed, grabbing the man's collar and dragging him away from the women's side of the bath.
"Mi- No, wait. Who are you?" Jiraiya slapped the blond's hand away and stood up, brushing the dirt off of his person.
"Uzumaki Naruto. The man you just knocked out was supposed to be training me. I was wondering if you could take over, seeing as he's out of it right now," Minato requested, staring innocently up at his sensei.
'So this is your son, Minato. He doesn't look like much,' Jiraiya thought, saying, "No. And don't make too much noise or you'll scare the ladies off," Jiraiya went back to peeping. 'Kushina would've castrated him if she'd caught him like this,' Minato sighed at what he was about to do.
"Henge," Minato whispered and tapped the Sannin on the shoulder. Jiraiya was about to brush the blond off again when he felt a pair of particularly large assets press against his back. The white haired man whipped around and nearly fainted right then and there, seeing a blond lady hugging him from behind. Her damp blond hair snaked down her body, her full lips glossy and parted, water glistening sensually off her naked body as she rubbed her assets against the Sannin's back. "Please train me," the lady begged, her tone sultry and her voice husky. 'Kushina would do worse than castrate me if she saw me doing this,' Minato shuddered as blood started trickling out of the Sannin's nose and a bulge formed at the man's pants.
"Of course, but there's just one condition," Jiraiya turned around, his hands wriggling perversely.
"What is it?" Minato wound one leg around the Sannin's waist.
"You have to stay in that form whenever you're around me," Jiraiya finished, reaching back to get at Minato's 'breasts'.
Minato smacked the man's hand away and released the henge, muttering, "You're very lucky Kushina's not here right now." They changed location and ended up by a river.
"Okay, try walking on the water," Jiraiya instructed. Minato stepped onto the water and waited for Jiraiya's next instruction.
"Seems as though you already know. Come ashore and take your shirt off," Jiraiya leant back against a tree. Minato threw his jumpsuit on the ground and pulled his drenched shirt off, leaving him top naked.
"Now, channel your chakra," Jiraiya lazily opened an eye. 'He wants to see the seal?' Minato clasped his hands in a seal and concentrated, causing the seal to surface. Jiraiya squatted before him and inspected the seal, touching his stomach before looking up.
"Okay, you can put your shirt back on," Jiraiya stood back as Minato collected his abandoned apparel and pulled them on before Jiraiya exclaimed, "What's that?"
Minato looked up at his sensei, a puzzled expression on his face "What?"
"Let me see your hitai-ate," Jiraiya rushed, gripping the soggy cloth around the blond's neck. Minato grabbed his sensei's hand and yanked it away before backpedalling as his sensei made another grab for his hitai-ate, his fingers managing to knock the hitai-ate enough for it to come loose. The hitai-ate fell to the floor, Minato's hands flying into a hand seal, casting a genjutsu. "What are you hiding?" Jiraiya dispelled the genjutsu and grabbed the blond before he could run away again, only to find that the hitai-ate had been tied back on. The white haired man sighed, "It must be very important if you're trying so hard, but if you show me, I might be able to help you."
"That's okay. It's nothing important really. It's just a choker," Minato said. The best way to lie was to add some facts that were true in it.
"Why are you wearing a choker?" Jiraiya pressed.
"Concealed weapon?" Minato tried.
Jiraiya just sighed, "You know what? Forget it. Just sit down." Minato did as he was told and the two sat by the river, drenched in warm hues as the sun began to sink beyond the horizon.
"Do you know that you have two types of chakra?" Jiraiya asked casually.
"Yes. If I were to describe them in colour, I'd say mine usual chakra colour is blue and the other is red," Minato said.
Jiraiya nodded sagely before saying, "Okay. That's all for today's training. Why don't we go and take a dip in the hot springs rather than falling in. I'll teach you something nice tomorrow." The two got up and made their way to the hot springs. Jiraiya sent Minato home, the latter going onto the roof to think about the battles he'd seen that day. He heard a loud crash and leapt across the rooftops, towards the source. He stopped to pinpoint the location of the crash when two presences caught his attention. 'What's Hayate doing fighting the Suna Jounin instructor?' Minato got closer, noticing the hostile aura surrounding the two.
Hayate's sword bit into Baki's shoulder, Hayate trying to free the sword, his eyes widening when it wouldn't budge. Baki praised his swordsmanship, Hayate too shocked to register the words that escaped his opponent's lips. The Suna-nin cocked back his hand, making a hand seal, before a gust of wind appeared, tearing into Hayate. Baki smirked, only for it to be wiped off his face as Hayate poofed out of existence. The Suna-nin glanced around, concentrating on locating the man and growling when his search came up empty. 'Damn! I should have let Kabuto-san deal with him after all. Now Konoha will know about the invasion. No! I won't allow that,' Baki left to look for Hayate, intent on eliminating him.
Meanwhile, Minato was leaping across the rooftops as fast as he could with an unconscious Hayate slung over his shoulder. Anyone observing would just see a streak of black as he sped towards the Hokage Tower. Minato entered through the window and unceremoniously dropped the Jounin on the floor. The latter groaned, getting the attention of the Hokage as he turned to face the source, finding Hayate in a heap on the floor.
"Hayate? What is it?" the Sandaime asked, taking a drag from his pipe.
"I don't know. I was fighting the Suna team's Jounin sensei. He was going to attack me and… yellow…" Hayate trailed off, trying to remember. "That doesn't matter! Suna and Oto are joining forces! They plan to invade Konoha!" Hayate conveyed.
The Sandaime nodded knowingly before saying, "Thank you Hayate-san. You're dismissed." Hayate bowed and left through the window, leaping across the rooftops and away from the Tower.
The next day found Minato and Jiraiya by a waterfall. "Okay. First, I need you to use up all your normal chakra," Jiraiya instructed after finding that Minato couldn't channel the Kyuubi's chakra. Jiraiya went back to peeping and Minato left for the forest, only for Jiraiya to turn around and shout, "Where are you going?"
"You told me to expend all of my chakra right? I'm going to do just that," Minato shouted back. Jiraiya stared at the blond before waving him off and returning to his 'research', leaving Minato to trudge into the forest. As soon as he was sure that Jiraiya couldn't detect him, he tossed a tri-pronged kunai at the trees surrounding the clearing. As soon as he unleashed the last kunai, he began, flashing to the kunai embedded in the tree, going in a clockwise direction, ripping the kunai out of the bark as he flashed to it, making a grab for the last one, only to have it find a home in the tree before he could get to it.
"Damn it!" Minato ground out, releasing the kunai again and going through the routine a few more times before falling to his knees in exhaustion. Minato kept the tri-pronged kunai before staggering out of the forest, towards the waterfall. He was greeted to the sight of Jiraiya squatting by the bushes, giggling perversely. Minato sighed and tapped the man's shoulder. The white haired man whipped around, grinning at the blond's battered appearance. Minato collapsed on the ground, panting doggedly, sweat coating him like a second skin. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Jiraiya shouted, a large red toad appearing in a plume of smoke. "Just sign your name on the scroll and imprint your fingers below that. In blood," Jiraiya instructed. Minato nodded, staring at the scroll which lay open at his feet. He glanced at the last name and thought, 'Would it have worked if I'd tried summoning before now? Technically I have signed the contract…'
Minato just shrugged the thought off and bit his thumb before using it to write his name on the scroll. He then spread the blood across his other four fingers and pressed the bloody appendages onto the scroll just below his name. Jiraiya told him the hand seals and the young blond began to flash through the hand seals before slamming his hand onto the ground. A seal array spread from where his hand made contact with the ground and en explosion of smoke went up before dissipating, revealing a tadpole. "Maybe it'd be better if I meditate," Minato pulled his legs in, ending up cross legged. He closed his eyes and focused, ignoring his sensei and the perverted giggles.
His eyes shot open and he found himself in a sewer. The blond looked down at himself and gasped. He was in his original body. 'Maybe it's because I'm in my mindscape. My body is not entirely mine, but in my mind, I'm in my original form,' Minato concluded. He strode down the hall, hearing nothing but the dripping of water from the pipes. A flash of yellow assaulted his vision as a thirteen year old blond crashed into him. "What?" was all Minato could splutter as the blond straddled his chest, staring innocently down at him. "Naruto?" Minato chanced.
"I don't have a name. According to your memories, you're Naruto, not me," the blond said.
Minato ignored the boy and pulled the young blond into a hug, tears trailing down his cheeks as he sobbed into the boy's hair, choking out, "I'm sorry," over and over again. He held the boy gently, but close to his chest, as if the boy would shatter like glass, or if he let go for even a second the boy would slip from his grasp like sand between his fingers. The younger one of the two, having never felt the touch of another human, started. He soon wrapped his arms around the Minato, enjoying the feeling of warmth engulfing his person.
"How did you end up here?" Minato questioned, tears tracks staining his face.
"I've always been here. You're the first one I've seen who looks like me. The only one in here other than you is this monster, so I always stay away from there," Naruto said, dizzy from the hug. Minato opened his mouth but before he could say anything, a growl resonated through the mindscape, causing the young blond to shake in fright before running away into one of the many rooms.
"I'm so sorry, Naruto. I'll find a way to get you out. I promise," Minato vowed to the empty corridor before running towards the source of the animalistic sound from before. He emerged in a large chamber with iron bars before him, going from floor to ceiling, a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' inscribed on it tagged to where the two gates met.
"You! I thought you died! Remove the damn seal so I can rip you to pieces!" Kyuubi growled through the bars.
Well, I was going to ask for chakra, but it seems I can't," Minato grinned, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Damn you! I'd sooner throw you into the ninth circle of hell than lend you chakra!" Kyuubi began slamming its body against the bars, trying to force its way out.
"Well, how about a trade. It must be very uncomfortable being cooped up in a sewer, so I'll trade modifying my mindscape in exchange for chakra as rent," Minato tried.
"As if you could bribe me with that you hairless monkey. Now remove the seal and let me tear you limb from limb!" Kyuubi snarled.
"That's fine. I'll be going now," Minato turned to leave, his mindscape warping into a torture chamber, an array of torture devices lining the chamber, blood dripping from them, the cage turning into a large iron maiden with nine extensions trailing behind it. "Enjoy spending the next few years with spikes in your body, unable to move, in the sweltering heat," Minato raised a hand and waved, all the while walking away with his back to the fox. He could hear Kyuubi snarling and growling colourful curses.
"Damn you Yondaime!" echoed through the mindscape. Minato's eyes opened in the real world, the blond stared at his hand and sighed, trying again, feeling some of his chakra returning.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Minato slammed his hand onto the ground.
The smoke cleared, revealing a small orange toad. Minato stared until it said, "Yo! My name's Gamakichi! Do you have any sweets?"
"Sensei, who's this? He's asking for sweets," Minato picked the toad up and shoved him in his sensei's face.
"So you managed to summon Gamakichi. Well, that's not too bad, but it's still not good enough," Jiraiya commented, scratching his chin. Gamakichi tapped Minato's leg.
"Sorry," Minato apologised, producing a lollipop from his kunai pouch. He'd bought it on impulse, having not eaten a lollipop in years and now he was giving it to the little toad.
"Thanks! I see you're new, so you'd want to summon my dad right?" Gamakichi sucked happily on the lollipop.
"Well, kinda. Anyway, you can go if you want to," Minato said.
"I want to see you train," Gamakichi hopped onto a rock and stayed there. Minato sighed and executed the move again, only for a tadpole to appear. Gamakichi blinked owlishly before exploding with laughter, rolling along the ground with tears in his eyes. The next week saw them at the exact same spot, doing the exact same things, Minato going in his mindscape each day to see the Kyuubi, and, most importantly, his son. He told his son about the things in the world and told the young blond about all the memories he'd witnessed.
On the seventh day of training, however, the Kyuubi had stopped Minato and growled out, "I'll lend some chakra to you, but don't expect it to be a frequent occurrence. And if I ever get out, I will have the pleasure of killing you slowly and destroying your precious village while you watch helplessly, before tearing you limb from limb and ripping you to pieces. Then I'll eat you," Kyuubi snarled.
Red leaked out of the cage and surrounded Minato, the latter asking, "Well, how do you want this place to be?"
"A forest with prey," Kyuubi stated simply. The torture chamber disappeared and was replaced by a large forest, the trees towering above them all. The tops of the trees were lost from view as birds broke out in a chorus and many different animal cries mingled with each other, a cooling breeze blowing through the forest. The cage was gone, replaced with a collar around the giant fox's neck.
"Yondaime!" Kyuubi charged at the blond, claw extended, before its whole body froze.
"Just because you're free from the cage doesn't mean the seal isn't there, but at least now you can stretch your legs and hunt prey," Minato looked up at the claw positioned just above his head.
Minato left his mindscape and tried again, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" his eyes widening as he felt power rush through his being, shuddering at the taint and malicious feeling in the chakra. A large smoke cloud engulfed him before parting to reveal him standing on the head of a giant red toad. 'Gamabunta!' Minato thought as he saw the girls by the waterfall shriek and run away, kicking water up in their wake.
"Jiraiya? Why did you summon me?" the toad demanded. "I don't believe it. He actually summoned the boss after a week.
This is bad," Jiraiya muttered, moving behind a tree to hide as the toad towered above him. Minato channelled chakra to his feet to stay on Gamabunta's back as the toad began to look around for the white haired Sannin. The toad's eyes then gravitated towards the top of its head, or tried to.
"Minato? I thought you were dead," the toad squinted up at the blond.
"He is dead," Minato said from the top of Gamabunta's head.
"Then who are you?" Gamabunta asked, hostility edging into his tone.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Minato answered.
"Where's Jiraiya?" Gamabunta demanded.
"He's either peeping on women, running from women, or hiding from women," Minato said and added as an afterthought, "or from you."
"Jiraiya! Why did you summon me! Come out and tell me or I'll crush you!" Gamabunta roared.
"Gamabunta… san? I'm the one who summoned you," Minato braced himself for an outburst.
Booming laughter saturated the air as soon as the words sank in, "You? Summon me? I haven't breathed the air of this world in so long and when I do, a blond gaki claims he summoned me," Gamabunta boomed.
"It wouldn't be the first time now would it?" Minato said, sensing Jiraiya inching away.
"You really aren't Minato?" Gamabunta asked, his tongue wrapping around the blond and holding him before his face.
Minato shook his head saying, "If you're still looking for sensei, he's over there," Minato pointed out the Sannin's location. Gamabunta turned in the direction Minato had pointed in and spotted Jiraiya tiptoeing away.
"Yo," Jiraiya said, raising a hand in greeting, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
A/N: I'm cutting it here. Sorry. I just… never mind. Anyway, about the Kyuubi and torture thing, imagine not being able to move, trapped in an oven with spikes going through your body, and you can't die. Try it sometime. I think you'd crack too. Better to cut your losses rather than knowing you have to endure all that for years. Please review and correct my mistakes. Review or PM me if there's something bugging you. Thank you. I will rewrite the chapter if a major flaw is spotted and pointed out.
Mini poll:
1) Hayate lives
2)Hayate dies
Please put the number of your choice in your review if you choose to reply to the poll. For those who are thinking, 'Minato already saved Hayate, why would he die?' Well, Baki was still searching for him. He doesn't know that Hayate already got the info to the Hokage so if he sees Hayate, he will kill him.