Hey guys, so here's the eighth chapter you all have been waiting for. First of all, thanks for all reviews and feedback you have given me until now.
As many of you have complained, I know that I went way too fast with relationships early on in the fic and I'm still trying to progress Naruto's relationships with other girls more realistically. As promised, the preliminaries start in this chapter, but a bit later in this chapter, mainly because I had to write the reactions of fellow genins as well as the jounins and also about Naruto meeting Hinata. But enough of that, let's start the chapter. This is by far the longest of all the chapters. Enjoy!-
Chapter-8-The Preliminaries Begin!
"D-Do you know w-where Naruto-kun is?", she asked timidly while Sakura blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean? He's standing right...", she trailed off when she realised that Hinata hadn't seen the new Naruto before inwardly grinning evilly. Sakura slunged her arm over Hinata's shoulder with a grin that would scare even the greatest prankmaster.
"Say Hinata..., do you know that Naruto told me... that he liked you?", she said dramatically while Hinata's face went extremely red.
"R-Really?", she asked with a tinge of hope, barely able to contain her excitement if what she heard was true.
"Yeeeaah! If you don't believe me, then just ask him yourself", said Sakura with an evil glint in her eyes while Hinata again blushed scarlet red.
"B-But..", she stuttered while Sakura poked her forehead.
"Oh sheesh! C'mon Hinata, everyone knows of your crush on Naruto and if you don't act soon, someone else is gonna claim him. For instance, Naruto saved that girl from sound team in the forest of death and she too has a thing for him", said Sakura while pointing at Kin who Hinata noticed that she was occasionally stealing glances at Naruto while blushing.
'No, no way am I gonna lose Naruto-kun after all these years', she thought with desperation while a determined look bloomed on her face.
"W-Where is he Sakura-san?", she asked calmly while Sakura just grinned at her from ear to ear.
"Why he's right behind you Hinata", she said while pointing behind her whereas Naruto was still spaced out about something.
Hinata whipped her head lightning fast to see the same one she considered as a proctor, she could immediately feel blood rushing to her face at astounding rates and pinched her nose to prevent a possible bloodloss, but the pressure was too great and was propelled back due to a huge nosebleed almost taking Sakura with her. She barely missed Sakura but was on a collision course with Sasuke who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, trying to concentrate on his brooding.
WHAM!
She collided with Sasuke, and accidently elbowed him in the forbidden zone leading to his eyes popping out of his sockets (Slow Motion). He threw some saliva and thankfully for Hinata cushioned her impact before he was immediately on his knees writhing in extreme pain, rolling around helplessly just to get rid of this torture.
"AAAHH! My...my...", he couldn't say anything coherent but just roll on the ground with a pained expression on his face. He could almost see an image of a laughing Itachi hovering over his head while saying-'I told you foolish little brother, you're dick will always be weak'.
"Sasuke-kun!", yelled Sakura as she ran to help him, but had to stop herself from falling into fits of laughter while others didn't bothered to restrain themselves.
"HAHAHAHA! Oh man...hehehe... this is great...hehehe... the Uchiha's production raw material's busted!", said Kankuro who was laughing his ass off while Temari too was trying to control herself and was barely succeeding at it. Meanwhile, Kiba unconsciously closed his thighs when he imagined the impact.
"Oh man...that must've hurt", he said with a pained expression as if imagining Sasuke's plight while Shino was... well Shino.
"GREAT SHOT!", yelled Kin & Temari simultaneously, they watched each other awkwardly before grinning to each other followed by a thumbs up. Meanwhile Zaku just watched the Uchiha's condition with a proud smirk.
'That's what you get for messing with me Uchiha', he thought while everyone else (Yeah, even Gaara, he too understands the pain of being hit there) could only express their thoughts in one word-"Ouch".
'Mother pities you Uchiha', thought the future Kazekage.
Meanwhile, Naruto just got out of his thoughts to see a starry eyed Hinata with a huge blush on her face and a rolling Sasuke on the floor with Sakura trying to help him. Seeing Hinata's blush and Sasuke's condition, he immediately understood what happened.
'I guess she noticed my changes, earlier she used to stutter in my presence but now..', he thought with a sigh before walking up to Hinata. But he was extremely happy to see her, last time he checked, she was being impaled by Itachi's blade.
"Oi Hinata-chan, are you alright?", he asked with a concerned expression while her eyes slowly fluttered open to see Naruto bent in front of her.
"N-N-Naruto-k-kun..", she stuttered before her world began to spin while Naruto too noticed her swaying. He sighed before putting his hand on her forehead and started to apply his chakra on her forehead. Immediately, she stopped swaying and noticed, just like Kin the strange effects of his chakra.
"W-What are you d-doing N-Naruto-kun?", she asked with a blush but noticed that she was not fainting this close to him, which was a miracle in itself while Naruto's eyes hardened.
'I can't take it anymore, I have to ask her. It's now or never!', he thought before nodding to himself inwardly.
"Hinata-chan, do you hate me like all the villagers?", he asked with a frown while Hinata's eyes widened.
"Ofcourse not!", she said frantically.
"Then are you afraid of me?", he asked with his piercing gaze while Hinata would've just lost herself in those beautiful blue orbs if not for the seriousness of the situation.
"W-Why are y-you asking me this N-Naruto-kun? There's no w-way I'll be ever a-afraid of you", she said with a sad expression while all others watched this strange scene curiously.
"Then why do you stutter in front of me, why faint, why avoid me? If that's not fear then what it is? What makes you different from the rest of villagers and shinobi populace then? If you like me, then why never approach me?", he asked while her eyes widened in surprise.
"N-Naruto-kun...", she trailed while avoiding his gaze, "Eye contact Hinata!", he said firmly while she immediately jerked her head to look into his eyes, eyes which were usually bright were filled with loneliness and pain.
"I know you liked me right from the start, I know you followed me, I am not an idiot Hinata. I know you secretly cheered for me in the academy, secretly prayed for me, but why...why didn't you ever approach me, why didn't you try to atleast be my friends when I was lonely, when I sat lonely by the swing. If I'm the one you like, shouldn't I be a source of comfort for you, shouldn't you be comfortable around me, shouldn't you be just yourself around me & forget all of your problems in the world", he said with an emotionless face, he refused to cry in front of everyone, but he had to know the answer, he was fed up of this game of cat & mouse while tears started to well up in Hinata's eyes at hearing the pain in his eyes.
Meanwhile Kin, Sakura, Temari & Ino were also sad at hearing him, but Ino was hit the hardest among them by his pained confession.
'If only I wouldn't have behaved like an ass back then, for what it's worth...I'm sorry Naruto. But I promise that I'll make it up for you', thought Ino while Shikamaru put a comforting hand on her. He too was a bit sad that he didn't approach Naruto again, although they were friends early in the academy but eventually only him & Chouji remained friends.
Naruto looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder to see Kiba standing there with a frown on his face.
"Naruto, I don't know what happened to you buddy", he said while gesturing to Naruto's appearance, "but you shouldn't create a scene here", before Naruto glared at him.
"Kiba... you don't have any idea what has happened in the past few days of my godforsaken life, but I'm in a foul mood and I want some .now!", he growled while Shino just remained passive, standing by the side of Kiba, ready to defend Hinata if something happens.
"Naruto...I understand that you were lonely, I atleast had Akamaru by my side in times of trouble, but you have to understand that life for Hinata too was not easy. Her father...", he trailed not wanting to reveal anything more in front of the contestants while Naruto just sighed frustratingly.
"Hyouton: Hyou Kekkai: Hyourou Doumu (Ice Release: Ice Barrier: Ice Dome Prison)", whispered Naruto after going through a couple of handseals (both hands) and slammed them on the floor, the effects of which were an ice dome getting created around him & team 8. Just as the dome was about to complete, he created a shadow clone outside it and signalled him to keep watch while the clone nodded at him.
Team 8's eyes widened after seeing something which should be impossible for a genin, "What did you...", trailed Kiba in amazement as he saw that they were completely surrounded by this igloo-like structure while Shino's eyebrows could be seen above his glasses, Hinata didn't say anything but she was just as gobsmacked, however a large part of her was still saddened by Naruto's claims, she knew what he said was true but she too had her own reasons.
"Don't worry, this is completely harmless and also acts as a soundproof barrier, now we can talk without caring about anyone", said Naruto before he again touched Hinata's forehead and started applying his chakra.
Meanwhile, all the genins were astounded at what they had just witnessed except Gaara who was grinning like a psycho maniac and Sakura who had already saw Naruto using ice manipulation. Sasuke too had an amazed look on his face, although he was still in pain from the blow.
'This power... why don't I have this much strength. No matter how hard I train, why ... why can't I get stronger. I feel like I'm getting nowhere. Naruto...how can you be so strong? You were supposed to be the deadlast and I was the rookie of the year. I... I will get this power no matter what I have to do', he thought while clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. Sakura was looking at him with worry, she knew he would be overwhelmed at the display of Naruto's skill and was worried about Sasuke's reaction ever since the forest of death, and now her fears were coming true.
'Naruto, how strong are you really are? Just what... the heck happened in the forest?', thought team 10 while Neji had a frown on his face, meanwhile Tenten & Lee had somewhat akin to admiration in their eyes.
"YOSH, NARUTO-KUN'S FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE BRIGHTLY!", Lee yelled before pumping his fist in air while all the genins except team 9 flinched at his loud volume, Kabuto having a deep frown on his face.
'He could be a problem later in our plans, I have to report to Orochimaru-sama about this unexpected developement', he thought while adjusting his glasses.
"That was so cool!", exclaimed Kin with shining stars in her eyes while Zaku & Dosu wanted to, but couldn't refuse her claim, it was indeed...cool, they thought begrudgingly.
"No one touches this dome or disturbs boss right now", said the clone authoritatively while glaring especially at Sasuke, the others wanted to say something but sensing his foul mood didn't bother to.
Ice Dome
"Alright, about your father, I know everything as to how he treated you", he said to Hinata whose eyes widened in shock, "B-But how?", she asked.
"It doesn't matter right now, you still haven't answered my questions Hinata. I wouldn't have, like killed you for just saying a word to me back then", said Naruto while Hinata bowed her head down, not wanting to tell about her insecurities, not wanting to look weak in front of him.
'But... I may not get this opportunity in the future. Naruto-kun has taken the step now, I can't...back down now...it's now or never', she thought before taking a deep breath while Kiba & Shino remained quiet, they knew how much Naruto meant to her, they were constantly trying to persuade her to talk to him. And now they dare not interrupt them.
"One f-failure after another...every time I tried to s-stand... an even heavier weight was put on my shoulders keeping me to the s-surface", she said while her bangs covered her eyes. Kiba's & Shino's eyes widened at how less she stuttered, even in front of Naruto while Naruto just kept listening to her.
"After the death of my m-mother and m-my uncle, my f-father constantly put...me under harsh t-training schedules, he never encouraged me for a-anything but rather spat on me for even s-smallest of mistakes. G-Gentle fist style of our clan just didn't suit me, but he n-never bothered to understand. I-It's unfair...from the day I was born... I was chosen to be the heiress, the word which I didn't even know the meaning of then, a heavy burden was put on me, ...lots of expectations from me. Th-The elders constantly looked down on m-me because they... wanted a male heir. The s-style suited my sister, so she was proficient in it and c-constantly... beat me in our spars and ...I w-was forced in the shadow of my s-sister's light", tears started falling from her eyes and onto her lap. Naruto's heart ached at seeing her in such condition, and although he knew about the way she was treated, he had to know how she felt about all of this.
"Hinata...", whispered Kiba while clenching his fists, damn her clan!
"Constant harsh b-beatings, c-constant failures, constant cold looks and glares from my f-father, sister & my c-cousin degraded my self-confidence, self-esteem so much that I began to d-doubt if I could ever do anything right. In the a-academy, I tried so many times to a-approach you...but every time I would see the disappointed face of m-my father...my insecurities holding me b-back, me having thoughts like...l-like...", she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from crying, she couldn't break down in front of him. But when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Naruto smiling warmly at her while tears started flowing down his face, his warm and loving eyes urging her to let it all out.
That pushed her over the cliff and she threw herself at him, Naruto was surprised as well as Kiba and Shino, it was a miracle that she hadn't fainted until then, but this...
Hinata hugged Naruto tightly while she sobbed uncontrollably in his chest, he encircled his arms around her petite figure and held her to him.
"I..I w-was too a-afraid to a-approach you, I.. I still am. W-What if y-you d-don't like me, w-what if y-you th-think of m-me as a w-weak person just l-like my father. I can't t-take y-your r-rejection, e-even thinking...about it makes m-me...w-want to cry, b-besides you w-were always i-interested in S-Sakura-san, s-so th-that fact t-too pushed ...me back. I-I'm sorry N-Naruto-kun, but I-I'm just n-not c-confident like y-you", she stuttered in his chest while sobbing loudly whereas Naruto just rubbed her silky hair delicately. Kiba had tears in his eyes at seeing the condition of his sister-like figure and was clenching his fists at not being able to do anything for her, while you could see streams of tears below Shino's glasses, on his cheeks.
"Ne Hinata-chan...there's nothing wrong in crying. You can let it all out and no matter what happens, I would never consider you a weak person. A spark is all you need to awake the sleeping fire in you. I know you are a strong person, so whatever happens...", he paused as he lifted her head by her chin and grinned his famous grin," Don't ever give up! And remember that I would never leave you", he said while Hinata gave a small teary eyed smile. Kiba had a smirk on his face while Shino had an almost unnoticeable smile on his face before they wiped their tears.
Hinata wiped her tears and determination took birth in her eyes before she stood up and pointed her thumb at her hitai-ate, "A-And I promise on my l-leaf hitai-ate, that I w-would... NEVER leave your s-side Naruto-kun", she said while Naruto could see that she was desperately trying to stop her stuttering, he knew that her father had severely damaged her self-esteem, but he also knew that with time, her stuttering would stop.
"Ja, don't worry Hinata, we too are with you. After all what are teammates for, right Shino?", said Kiba before patting Shino's back. "Indeed", said the bug user with conviction.
"Th-Thanks Kiba, Shino", she said with a small smile before Naruto put a hand on her shoulder at which she blushed, and he was a bit surprised that she didn't faint.
"Great Hinata-chan, you didn't faint", he said with a goofy smile leading to her blush getting deepened at the compliment as well as at the '-chan' part while Kiba smacked his forehead," What an idiot", he muttered to himself.
"Now, seeing as you're my friends and comrades, I just wanted to tell you guys that the preliminaries would start in a couple of minutes", he said offhandedly while Kiba just blinked before bursting.
"WHAT!", he exclaimed while Hinata & Shino watched Naruto with confusion, albeit a blushing Hinata as she was still not used to this handsome Naruto.
"The reason will be explained by the proctors or by the Hokage himself, just wanted to tell you so that you can atleast mentally prepare yourself", he said with his hands in his pockets.
"But we still haven't recovered from our forest voyage! This is unfair!", yelled Kiba while Naruto frowned at his outburst.
"Tell me, did Kurenai-sensei ever told you that life of a shinobi is fair? Was it fair for Hinata-chan when her father made her fight her sister even when she was tired from your team missions and practice sessions? Was it fair for me when the academy teachers... ", trailed Naruto before muttering "Never mind" to himself while Kiba bowed his head, he knew that a shinobi's life was out of the boundaries of fair & unfair, it was the first line they read in their academy textbooks while Shino nodded with Naruto. Meanwhile Hinata had noticed Naruto's slipup and decided to ask him later about it.
"Besides it was your fault that you came so late, but still you're not the only ones who arrived just now. Shikamaru's team and the sound team came just before you", he said while Kiba nodded a bit hesitantly
"No problem, Akamaru and I can beat anybody here", said Kiba confidently while Naruto smirked at him.
"Watch it dogboy, pray that you don't have to fight me", said Naruto jokingly while Kiba laughed.
"Bring it on loser!", said the Inuzuka before Naruto turned to Hinata.
"Do your best Hinata-chan. I don't care if you win or lose, just give it your all", said Naruto with a thumbs up while Hinata nodded with determination.
'I will not disappoint you Naruto-kun', she thought before she remembered to ask him something which was on her mind since she saw him.
"B-But what happened to y-your appearance Naruto-kun? And how do you know e-elemental nature m-manipulation?", she asked while Kiba & Shino too were curious about the answer.
"It's an S-rank secret, you have to ask the Hokage about it", he said like a car on an automatic transmission, he was getting tired of repeating that line after all.
"Oh please, do you think we're foolish. How can anything related to you be an S-rank secret", said Kiba while Hinata frowned at him.
"Believe what you want to, but I'm not gonna tell you", said Naruto while glaring at Kiba before he blinked as the clone outside had dispelled itself and the memories of the Hokage, jounins and some people he hadn't seen before arriving via shunshin in the arena came to him.
"Jiji has arrived, alright guys, let's go and kick some genin ass", he said before forming the snake seal resulting in cracks beginning to form on the dome before it collapsed completely for them to see everyone's wide eyes except the Hokage. You could see the blushing faces of almost every female there whether it be genin, chunin, jounin or a kage i.e. Mei, Samui, Karui, Yugito, Hana, Yugao, Temari, Kin and some other female jounins who Naruto didn't know.
On the other hand Naruto was fairly pleased to see the gobsmacked faces of the one's who had just arrived. He could see Kurenai smiling lovingly at him from behind the Hokage and that psycho proctor smiling seductively at him, actually all the female were giving him those strange seductive looks making him extremely nervous & uncomfortable. He started scanning all of them, most of them he knew because of his pranks. Because of the chunin exams, most of the jounins were deprived of any missions for the village's security and hence almost all of them were present except some few ones.
'Hmm, most of them I know...HOLY SHIT', thought a blushing Naruto.
Blood started to crawl to his face when he saw Hana & Yugao, both of whom were grinning at him. If two beautiful women like them would grin at you, well let's just say even Sasuke 'might' melt.
His blush deepened when he set his gaze on Mei, Samui & Yugito, especially Mei's flirtious smile. His mind was getting into overdrive at the attention of this many beautiful women, he'd rather fight Orochimaru again then be in this position. Meanwhile Kiba was grinning lecherously when he noticed them while he wiped blood off his nose, Shino just stood impassively while Hinata was fidgeting nervously under the stares of possibly every jounin of the village. She hesitantly lifted her head to see Kurenai smiling proudly at them lifting her confidence even more after her talk with Naruto.
Meanwhile, the other genins were staring between them and the Hokage, trying to decipher the situation. But most all, they were still astonished over the ice dome that Naruto had created.
"Um, hehe... sorry for the wait, we were... discussing something private...away from prying ears", said a nervous Naruto apologetically, not sure what to say in this situation.
Flashback- Outside the Ice Dome
Several minutes had passed after Naruto had created the dome, while the clone was still keeping watch for the proctors and was talking with Kin & Temari about something. Ino wanted to join in the conversation but she knew now was not the time as it would just create a scene here. Sasuke was better than before, but that area was still sore for him while Sakura was concerned for him.
"That was awesome Naruto-kun! You must have trained hard to do control a rare element like ice like that", complimented Kin while the clone blushed and was grinning while rubbing of the back his head.
"Thanks I guess", he replied, " But how can you do ice manipulation, not even jounins are capable of such a feat. Do you have a bloodline?", asked Temari sceptically while the clone gulped nervously.
'Why did boss leave me here? I'd rather be inside the dome than try to deflect these questions', he whined.
"Um never mind that, you two don't know each other right? So let me introduce you. Kin-chan, this is Temari and Temari, this is Kin-chan", he introduced them while they greeted each other politely and shook hands with each other.
Suddenly, several loud poofs were heard while the arena was filled with smoke and a booming voice reverberated from the smoke.
"Alright maggots, congratulations on passing the second exams", the smoke cleared for the genins to see a brightly grinning Anko Mitarashi, behind whom were almost all the jounins of Konoha. You could see Kakashi reading his smut novel, a smoking Asuma, a cold looking Kurenai justifying her title of ice queen and Gai who was grinning like an idiot, Baki who was the jounin sensei of Gaara's team, the sound team's sensei (Orochimaru) and other Konoha jounins who hadn't taken any teams and specialised in other areas.
But Anko's face along with every newly arrived one's face turned into that of surprise when they saw a human sized ice structure in the middle of the arena with a blue eyed, whisker mark'ed', white cape wearing blonde standing on it. Every jounin except the ice queens had only one thought running through their minds-'Yondaime?' while the female jounins were blushing, but Anko quickly cut them off before anyone could say anything.
'Sensei?', thought Kakashi in shock.
"What is this? As far as I know, there's no ice user in Konoha and I fairly doubt any of you could do this", said Anko in a demanding tone while the clone raised his hand.
"Actually... I created this", he said with a grin leading to a pink tint on the female jounins including the ice queens while Kakashi became a bit suspicious at hearing that voice before. He had heard that voice before, but it wasn't that of his sensei. Then his eyes widened in shock when he saw the whisker marks resulting in him dropping his book.
'Naruto?', he thought while getting surprised looks from his fellow jounins, as far as they knew, he had never dropped his book even at the most shocking facts.
"Are you kidding me brat, there's no way in hell you could know chakra nature manipulation, let alone creating an element as rare as ice", said a jounin .
'What exactly did Rinnegan do for him?', thought the ice queens simultaneously with wide eyed looks on their faces. They were already thrown for the loop when Kurenai told them that he knew nature manipulation for water and lightning element, but this...this was absolutely absurd! Even Sharingan didn't grant you that much.
"Hokage-sama will explain when he gets here", said the clone as he awkwardly used the term '-sama'. He was not used to this formality crap, but in front of so many jounins he had to be careful.
Before anyone could say anything, Hiruzen, Mei along with her bodyguards and A along with Yugito, Bee & his team arrived via leaf, water & lightning shunshin. They too, sported similar reactions like the jounins while Hiruzen too was surprised, he wasn't expecting Naruto to be able to use a sub-element so early even with the shadow clone training. Hiruzen was also a bit nervous of Naruto's reaction as Kurenai had told him, rather while smiling evilly that Naruto knew about him keeping her away from him.
"Hokage-sama, would you kindly explain these people about how can I use ice manipulation and about my changes. I'm tired of saying the same thing over and over again", said the clone while glaring at Hiruzen while the newly arrived ones looked at him with amazement (except Hiruzen). Meanwhile, Yugito, Samui, Karui and Mei were blushing profusely before Mei quickly composed herself.
'What a handsome man, I think it would be fun to flirt with him', thought Mei with a smile.
'Now that's what you call cool', thought Samui while retaining her emotionless look.
'What a fine specimen, kitten you have to claim him!', purred Nibi in Yugito's head while sending mental images of Yugito & Naruto doing something which Jiraiya would be proud of.
'SHUT UP NIBI!', she thought while blushing furiously.
"Ah yes, Raikage-dono, Mizukage-dono, this is Uzumaki Naruto", said the Hokage gaining wide eyed looks from everyone except the genins and the ice queens. Most of the shinobi populace in the village didn't hate Naruto for what he carried, but still remained indifferent to him and held no grudges against him, but they were still surprised that this was the same shrimp prankmaster who wore a kill me orange jumpsuit.
'Naruto-kun, you really intrigue me to no end. It would be interesting to see what else has changed about you', thought Orochimaru while licking his lips like the snake freak he was.
'This...is the dead last they were talking about?', thought Mei, Karui & Samui simultaneously not believing their eyes, how can a genin capable of feat as rare as elemental manipulation and sub-element at that, be called a dead last.
"I know what all of you are thinking, but I will explain later in my office, so no questions for now. And Naruto... care to tell us why do you have this... created here?", asked Hiruzen while pointing to the ice dome.
"Sorry for the disturbance Hokage-sama, boss was just discussing something with team 8 in privacy. I'll immediately inform him", said the clone, glancing at Kurenai who was looking at him in confusion while he nodded at her assuringly before dispelling himself.
Flashback End
"Alright, we have wasted enough time. Anko, if you will", said Hiruzen while signalling Anko to go ahead before she nodded and stepped in front.
"Alright! I want all of you in columns of your respective teams in a minute!", she said authoritatively before the genins quickly started forming lines adjacent to each other.
"Thank you Anko, now first of all, I want to congratulate everyone of you for passing the second part of chunin exams.", continued Hiruzen before introducing the genins to the Raikage and Mizukage. After that he started giving his speech before explaining about the preliminaries leading to an uproar by some teams. He quickly explained about the excessive number of teams passing the second exam and about the third exam and BLAH BLAH BLAH, which Naruto didn't pay attention to.
"Now that I have explained everything, if the proctor for the preliminaries would please step ahead and explain the rules", said Hiruzen as Gekko Hayate stepped forward while typically chewing on his senbon.
"Alright, before I explain the rules if anybody wants to back down he can do now or else there's no turning back", he said before Kabuto raised his hand according to the plan and was led outside of the arena while Naruto watched him suspiciously, also ignoring Sasuke who had been constantly glaring at him for stealing the attention from him. When no one else raised their hands, he continued.
"The matches would be triple threats, i.e. three contestants would take part in each match and would be pitied against each other", he said before Temari interrupted him.
"Hey, I thought the matches were supposed to be one on one battles", she complained while Gekko sighed.
"Being a chunin, doesn't mean you would always get one on one matches on the field. Sometimes you would have to handle more than one opponents during missions. But still, it doesn't mean you would be out of the preliminaries if you lose. Likewise, your win too doesn't guarantee a place in the finals. In a match, all the contestants can advance to the finals or none at all, it all depends on your skills, Hokage-sama, Mizukage-sama and Raikage-sama here would be the judge of that", he said while coughing before continuing, "The match can be won by forfeit, or if your opponent is not able to fight or if your opponent is killed. Beware that if you advance to the finals, you'll most likely make chunins as in the finals too, the judges would be same. There you most likely have to showcase your skills to the foreign merchants and nobles then. Now are there any questions?", he said while none raised their hands. Except a few all the genins were nervous, they had almost no experience in fighting multiple opponents while Naruto was a bit excited at the rules.
'I guess I can finally test my skills in these preliminaries', he thought with a smirk while clenching his fists in excitement. Sasuke too smirked cockily at Naruto from behind, 'Just you wait dobe, I'll show you that I'm much better than you', he thought while Sakura had a determined look in her eyes along with Hinata.
"Alright, the names of contestants of who would be fighting the first match would flash on the screen while the rest of you, with your jounin sensei will go upwards on railing. Also the names would be chosen completely at random, so you may have to fight your own teammate, so prepare yourself for just about anything", explained Hayate before the names started flashing on the screen at random.
'HYUUGA NEJI vs AKIMICHI CHOUJI vs INUZUKA KIBA', the names flashed on the screen one by one leading to a smirking Neji, a whining Chouji, an excited Kiba but at the same time frustrated a bit because he was still tired from the second exam. Meanwhile, all the other genins went upstairs with their respective sensei's. Kakashi was still looking at Naruto gobsmacked wondering just what the hell happened in the forest. When they reached upstairs, he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, who turned towards him.
"Naruto...what happened?", he asked in a barely audible whisper before glancing at Sakura who was shaking her head in denial that she didn't know anything while Naruto just pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, why can't everybody stop asking questions just for once.
"Kakashi-sensei, the only thing that I can tell you now is that Orochimaru attacked us in the forest", he said while glancing towards Sasuke before Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. Orochimaru? What could he want from his team, then he followed Naruto's gaze towards Sasuke and sighed. Ofcourse, he should have known, the Sharingan.
"I have no idea how you guys survived, but I'm glad you did. Also, I suppose Sasuke has a curse mark", whispered Kakashi while Naruto nodded at him.
"Listen sensei, I know you have a lot of questions. But I'm tired and want nothing more than for this day to end. I know you helped me a lot in my youki control training, but please understand me. Jiji will explain everything to you when the time comes, but for now can you please drop these topic? I'm gonna showcase some abilities that'll leave you dry for answers, but can you just swallow everything today sensei?", he said in a pleading tone, he was emotionally and mentally drained. These past few days were like a rollercoaster ride from him, he himself needed some time to think while Kakashi nodded in understanding, he could see that his student was emotionally a raging maelstrom right now and needed some time to get used to this. He would give him some space for now, but was eager as to what abilities he was talking about.
"Alright, are you three ready?", asked Hayate while Neji nodded, activating his Byakugan while settling into his gentle fist form. Chouji too nodded, albeit a lot hesitantly while Kiba immediately ate a foodpill to restore his chakra. Meanwhile Raikage grinned in anticipation of the battle.
"Hm, it's been a while since I've seen a Hyuuga, Akimichi & a Inuzuka in action, this should be good", he said while Mei nodded with him.
"You ready Akamaru?", he asked his partner who barked with him before he nodded with the proctor. Hayate raised his hand before yelling 'Hajime!' and jumped out of the centre to the side.
"I'm warning you guys, you should just give up or suffer a shameful defeat by my hands", said Neji cockily while Kiba growled at him and Chouji became even more nervous.
"I'm not one to go down without a fight, no matter what I'll just give my best", he said before crouching on all fours while Chouji too became determined at Kiba's declaration and nodded with him. Kiba and Chouji looked towards each other before nodding while Neji narrowed his eyes at them. Immediately Kiba dashed towards Neji at a higher speed than a genin should possess, Neji was startled by his speed and agility but that was to be expected of an Inuzuka, and besides he was used to sparring with Lee who possessed much greater speed than Kiba.
Kiba went for a midsection palm thrust as Neji avoided it with grace before going for a palm strike towards Kiba's shoulder but became unsettled by his smirk.
'He's planning something', thought Neji before his eyes widened when he heard Chouji yell.
"Bubun Baika no Jutsu (Partial Multi Size Technique)"
'Shit, I forgot the fat one. That ingrate, he hid himself behind the Inuzuka deliberately so his chakra network was hidden from me behind the Inuzuka's. These losers just might be a bit of challenge for me after all', he thought before using a chakra enhanced jump to dodge the rolling Chouji who was now like an air balloon and was coming at him at high speeds. Upon missing him Chouji just collided with the wall, his enlarged body getting stuck in the crater. Neji, using his chakra on his feet was standing on the ceiling right now before he saw the Inuzuka and his dog coming at him with his Byakugan, rotating at high speeds.
"Gatsuuga (Dual Piercing Fang)", yelled Kiba, having creating the man beast clone before initiating his attack when Neji was in midair.
'They're both targeting me, I've to get rid of one of them quickly', thought Neji while barely avoiding Kiba's attack before rushing towards Chouji, who was still dazed from the impact and was now in his normal size to escape the crater. Upon reaching him Neji unleashed a flurry of palm strikes , not targeting any vital organs but doing enough damage that he would be out of the match. Chouji grunted in pain, he felt like a thousand needles had pierced his body and that he didn't have any chakra left before falling to his knees and fell face first on the floor.
Kiba and his clone (Akamaru) skidded to a halt from their attack before glaring at Neji who was smirking at him.
'That bastard, he used that opening to get rid of Chouji. I don't think I can go on anymore, I'm very tired and that last Gatsuuga took everything out of me', he thought before noticing Neji bending into a strange stance. Meanwhile one of the Kiba's fell on his knees due to exhaustion while panting.
'They both have the same amount of chakra flowing through their networks, but the standing one must be the real Inuzuka', thought Neji before smirking. This match was now over.
"I have no intention of prolonging this match any further. You're in the field of my divination", said Neji seriously while Tenten's eyes widened.
"He's using that attack already!", she exclaimed in surprise while Gai sighed at Neji, sometimes he was too stubborn and arrogant for his own good. They had already discussed that they wouldn't showcase their main attacks before the finals, but apparently Neji deemed it fit ignore them.
"HakkeRokujuuyonshou(EightDivinationSigns: Sixty-FourPalms)", he yelled before dashing towards Kiba at amazing speeds and started delivering flurry of palm strikes with accuracy. The strikes were blur to the genins while everyone including Hinata was surprised that he could use such a technique at such a young age.
"Thirty Two palms", he said in continuation with his attack after delivering the two, four, eight & sixteen strikes, but before he could finish the last set of thirty two strikes, he was given a shattering punch to the side of his head, courtesy of the clone or was it Kiba, before Neji was sent flying back before colliding with the wall resulting in him spitting some blood.
Everyone saw a panting Kiba standing where Neji was a moment ago while the one who was attacked poofed back to show a critically injured Akamaru.
"Akamaru!", yelled Kiba while bending down to check on it. Akamaru's breathing was laboured and Kiba instantly knew that a vital organ of its body was struck during the attack.
"Proctor, call for medics, my partner's injured!", he yelled while checking for Akamaru's pulse.
"Sorry kid, as per the rules, since you both are treated as one contestant, so getting medical attention even for the dog means that you too forfeit the match. So either you have to forfeit the match or continue fighting and wait for the match to end", said Hayate apologetically.
"What! That's ridiculous!", exclaimed an infuriated Kiba.
"So what will you do Inuzuka?", Kiba turned his head to see Neji standing there while wiping the blood off his mouth and growled at him before turning to a whimpering Akamaru.
'Shit! Guess this is it', he thought before nodding towards Hayate.
"Alright, I forfeit the match, just call for the medics quickly", said Kiba with frustration while Neji scoffed at him.
"Coward, why don't you just say you can't win against me? After all, once a loser, always a loser", said Neji before glancing at Hinata to make his point clear while Naruto glared at him.
"Winner: Hyuuga Neji", he said while medics came and carried Akamaru and Chouji on a stretcher.
'That Hyuuga is really getting on my nerves right now', he thought while clenching the metal support of the railing, almost breaking it. Naruto was also satisfied with Kiba's decision to save Akamaru. After the talk with Naruto, Hinata was a bit more confident and was angry at Neji. She could tolerate him insulting her, but to openly insult her teammate wasn't something she was going to just choke down. It was time that she grew a backbone and reply him back.
'I'll show you Neji-ni-san that I'm not as weak as you think', she thought while clenching her fists before Kurenai put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Although the Hyuuga is a genious when it comes to fighting, but he needs some attitude adjustment. Don't you agree Hokage-sama?", asked A while Hiruzen nodded with him before muttering about 'All Hyuugas needing attitude adjustment'.
"Let's give Chouji give a Barbeque treat shall we? That's the first time I've seen him fight seriously", said a smoking Asuma while Ino and Shikamaru nodded with him
"Man this is so troublesome, now I too have to give my best", muttered Shikamaru lazily before Ino hit him on the head.
"Jeez! You're such a lazy ass, can't you show determination once in a while for something, like Naruto", she said before immediately clamping her mouth with her hand and began to blush in embarrassment. Shikamaru and Asuma smirked at her from the corner of their eyes before Ino yanked Shikamaru with his collar.
"If you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll tell your mother about how you skipped classes during the academy", she said threateningly while Shikamaru paled at the mention of his mother and nodded fervently with her whereas Asuma just chuckled at their antics.
"Hn, that dog boy's such a loser. Just for his mutt, he forfeited the match", said Sasuke while shaking his head before Sakura frowned at him and Naruto glared at him. Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder to prevent him from starting a brawl right there.
'I'm proud of you Kiba. Kaa-san would be happy that you put Akamaru before your own interests', thought Hana with a smile while Hinata gave Kiba her healing ointment.
"Alright, the names of the contestants of the second match will flash on the screen now", said Hayate before again names of the contestants flashed on the screen for everyone to see.
'SABAKU NO KANKUROU vs ABUMI ZAKU vs HYUUGA HINATA' .
So did you like the chapter? Sorry that this chapter included only one fight, but I just got lost in doing that NaruHina scene, I know it was not much but I tried my best. I know that this chapter was probably not that good as the previous chapters, but still please review and continue giving me some feedback as you have given me in the previous seven chapters. So see you next time! Ja Ne!