Sadly, I do not own Naruto.
As Naruto looked up at the crowd he could not help but feel joy that they were actually cheering for him. He could tell that not everyone in the crowd was happy with the outcome of the match, but everyone was pleasantly entertained. Where Naruto stood in their eyes, he did not know but for this moment he was just glad they did not want to kill him.
As he got to the candidates balcony he was congratulated by Shikamaru and Shino. Naruto appreciated the praise, but he really only wanted to see one person at that particular moment. As the next match was announced Naruto slipped out of the balcony to go find Hinata. Since she was not really worried anymore Naruto was not sure exactly where she was. After a brief time of searching he found her sitting next to Kiba. As he walked over to where Hinata was, he looked out into the arena and saw that Shikamaru was facing Temari. Naruto really did not care too much for the outcome of the match. He knew that Shikamaru would probably just quit as soon as it got a little tough.
"Oh hey, I thought I smelled you coming over. Great job on kicking Neji's ass Naruto." Kiba shouted as he turned to look at Naruto.
"Thanks Kiba. I did promise to win, ya know. Hey Hinata-" before Naruto could finish Hinata jumped at him and caught him in a big hug.
"Naruto-kun thank kami you're okay. When Neji connected with the our clan's secret jutsu, I thought you would be hurt for sure." Hinata looked up to Naruto with tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Hey, Hinata calm down. I'm okay aren't I. I even beat Neji after he used that jutsu on me. I promised you I would beat him didn't I?" Naruto flashed her his signature smile. Hinata only blushed back in embarrassment.
"Hey Hinata, if you and Naruto want some time alone I can go talk to Shino or somebody?" Kiba jokingly said as he got up to find somewhere else to sit.
It was then that Naruto and Hinata realised that they had been hugging in public for quite a bit of time. In the blink of an eye they both let go and sat down where Kiba and Hinata had both just been sitting. Both young shinobi had bright blushes on their faces as they looked away from each other. After a moment of awkward silence Hinata turned to Naruto with a puzzled look on her face.
"Naruto-kun. What exactly did you do to Neji, and how do you have the two dojutsus.?" Hinata asked much to Naruto's dismay.
"Uh- I don't think I'm allowed to say. It's really a long story and I can tell that the people around us are probably curious too. Maybe I can tell you later. How about I tell you if you come get some ramen with me after I win this whole tournament." Naruto proposed shyly.
"I- I would like that."
"And you know what Hinata, I'm going to need someone to show me how to use my Byakugan properly. I would really like it if you were the one to show me."
"M- Me?! But Naruto-kun there are plenty of other people who can use the Byakugan better than I can. Why would you want someone like me to teach you?"
"So what if there are? I want you to teach me because I know we can work really hard together, and get way stronger than all those other people."
"Are you sure?" Hinata asked.
"Of course I am. I wouldn't have anyone else." Naruto exclaimed
"A-Alright then, I'll try my best."
Just then an explosion in the arena caught their attention. A cloud of dust could be seen in the small cluster of trees in the outskirts of the arena.
"HA! That paper bomb wasn't even close to hitting me. How did someone as lazy as you even make it this far in the exams anyway?" Temari shouted at Shikamaru who was hiding in the shade cast by the walls surrounding the battlefield.
"Ah just shut it and watch."
Temari had already figured out that Shikamaru was using the shade to increase the range of his Shadow Possession Jutsu. However, she did not notice what the explosion behind her had caused. Shikamaru began his Shadow Possession Jutsu and just before it reached its max range Shikamaru curved it dramatically. It was then that Temari realized what the paper bomb was actually for. All around the battlefield leaves began to fall from the tree that had just been blown up. Individually the leaves did not even appear to cast a shadow but there was enough to extend Shikamaru's range a bit. One leaf was not enough to close the distance, but there were dozens falling about.
Like an artist to a canvas, Shikamaru drew his shadow out across the arena weaving it in between as many leaf shadows as he could while chasing Temari who was frantically trying to keep away. She was careful to dodge so that she would not step anywhere the shadow had already been. The arena floor was quickly turning into a maze of tripwire for her, and one wrong step meant the end of the match.
Once the leaves began to reach the ground Shikamaru began to feel the chakra strain of using his jutsu without less natural shadows to aid him. Once all the leaves hit the ground he was forced to withdraw his jutsu. As the shadow receded Temari breathed a sigh of relief.
The two shinobi were once again at a standstill since they both had to keep their distance to avoid being caught in each other's jutsu range. Temari knew however that time was not on her side. With every passing moment the sun moved and with it the shadows in the arena stretched out as well. As she began to think of a strategy she noticed that Shikamaru was looking up at the sky.
Temari looked at him out of bewilderment, 'What's he looking at? Hey that cloud kinda looks like a… Wait the clouds! He's watching the clouds to see if any of them will pass in front of the sun. It's been sunny all day with a few stray clouds here and there. Is he really trying to use the shade from clouds to his advantage. I need to finish this before he even gets the chance.'
She was broken out of her thoughts as Shikamaru threw two kunai with paper bombs. 'They're not aimed for me again, and now there are two of them. He's hoping to increase the amount of leaves to work with by increasing the scale of the explosion. Well that won't work on me again. He won't have any leaves!'
As soon as they exploded against the trees Temari was ready and began to fan away the dust and leaves with her Wind Scythe Jutsu to avoid being caught in a trap again. All the leaves were blown away in a matter of seconds.
"That's not going to work on me again. Why don't you try something original!" Temari shouted to try and egg him into trying it again. 'Wow, he's actually trying it again. He's as stubborn as he is stupid. This time instead of blowing everything away I'll fan everything into the arena and kick up a cloud of dust. I'll use the dust as cover to close the range between us without giving him a line of sight. Once I'm in close range the force of my wind jutsu should be enough to take him out. I just have to time the explosion so I can add the dust cloud and make it as big as possible. Looks like he's using three bombs this time, even better. He has no clue what's coming." A coy smirk came to Temari face as she readied herself to execute her plan.
As Shikamaru threw his kunai she prepared herself, but her eyes widened when she saw that he had only thrown one kunai at first and it wasn't aimed at the trees. It came right at her, or more accurately at her fan. Just before it could tear it Temari evaded the kunai all together. As she recovered the other two kunai had already been thrown and had hit the trees behind her. With just enough time she composed herself and prepared to line up her counter.
Temari was shocked that after the first explosion the second never came and instead she was completely immobilized. As the dust of the first and only bomb cleared she realized what had occurred. The third kunai was not attached to a paper bomb but instead had a scroll tied at one end to it. The scroll had been rolled out completely and was suspended just above the ground just high enough to produce a shadow. The other end of the scroll was held in Shikamaru's mouth as his hands were already making the signs for his Shadow Possession Jutsu. Shikamaru had strung his own shadow to the shadow from the scroll and reached across the arena with it.
The look on Temari's face told the whole story as Shikamaru forced her to walk to the center of the battlefield along with him..
"How?" She asked completely shocked at the predicament she was in.
"Do I have to explain it?" Shikamaru complained.
The look on Temari's face was the only answer he needed.
"What a drag. Well if you must know, I planned everything from the first bomb onward. The first bomb was to see if I could catch you off guard. Clearly it didn't work, but it was also to purposely give you information on how I could manipulate my shadow. I wanted you to be afraid of similar attack. Anyway the second wave of kunai and paper bombs was to make you think I hadn't changed my strategy. You were already underestimating me and calling me lazy so I assumed you would make that assumption." A smirk grew on his face as had just implied to her face that he thought she was smarter than her. The look of shame on her face was proof that she had gotten his message.
"When you started to blow the next set of leaves away I took that brief break in your focus to ready my third attack. I aimed the first kunai at your fan to try and damage just in case this attack didn't go as planned and I would have to gone to the fourth. Lucky for me even though I missed that brief moment where you dodge the kunai took you attention away from the other two that I had thrown after, and you didn't see the scroll stretching across the battlefield. After that I think you can figure out the rest." Shikamaru put his hands behind his head and yawned. "I don't carry very many scrolls but lucky for me the one I did have was long enough to reach across to you."
"Yeah, well it was all luck. I got distracted" Temari retorted indignantly.
"Yeah whatever. It wouldn't have mattered anyway." Shikamaru sighed as he released his jutsu and hold on Temari.
"Wait, Why did you…" Before Temari could finish a cloud began to pass across the sun and with it a large amount of shade to match. She simply looked up and chuckled. As Shikamaru began to walk away Temari nodded to Genma to signal that it was over.
"The winner of the second match is Shikamaru Nara!" Genma shouted out to the audience.
The crowd applauded as Shikamaru slowly walked back up to the balcony complaining to himself in inaudible mumbles. He smirked when he heard his teammates shouting over the entire crowd, Ino being the louder of the two.
"That Shikamaru sure is something don't you think so Hinata-chan?"
"Hai. You have to admit his plan was pretty amazing."
"It sure was. He's a lot smarter than he let's on, ya kno. To bad he's such a bum."
Hinata giggled at the comment, "that's not very nice Naruto-kun."
"Hey isn't Shino up next. You should cheer for him as loud as Ino was for Shikamaru, he was your teammate after all."
"W-What?! I-I don't think I can…"
"It should be an interesting match. That puppet guy was pretty good the last time we saw him."
"The match between Shino Aburame and Kankuro of the Hidden Sand will now begin." Genma proclaimed.
"This match could take a long time," Shino stated "that is because we are both long range shinobi."
"Say what you want bug boy the outcome will be the same." Kankuro shouted. 'It will be over super quick when I hit you with the paralysis poison on all of The Crow's blades. Since poison is a ninja tool just like paper bombs it's just as legal. He's just lucky Baki didn't let me use lethal poison.'
At seemingly the same time both Shino and Kankuro began their attack. Even though neither of the two shinobi are taijutsu types, they are still trained to be quick on their feet. Shino dodged the Crow's attacks well and Kankuro was easily able to avoid the swarm of bugs.
"You're not bad at running away. Too bad the Crow and I have a way of dealing with people like
you." Kankuro bragged.
As he spoke his puppet's limbs split off independently and attacked Shino seemingly of their own accord. With Shino's focus split Kankuro had no trouble avoiding the insects now. Just as Kankuro started to get comfortable Shino was impaled by the fragments of the Crow.
"Well darn I didn't mean to take it that far, but I guess it was just too much for you." Kankuro boasted. 'Even so, that was too easy. It can't be over just yet.
Kankuro's worries were affirmed when the Shino that was impaled, by all the parts of the Crow, began to break up and turn into bugs.
What you attacked was an insect clone. My parasitic beetles are quite impeccable. That is because unlike normal beetles that feed on chakra. They should have already cut the chakra threads that connect you to your puppet." Shino stated.
"Disgusting things aren't they? So what, I can remake my threads in an instant. That's what makes me a master puppeteer. Here we- Huh? I can't move the Crow." Kankuro shouted visibly shocked.
"It's simple really, it's because I commanded my insects to move into the puppets joints to keep it from moving." Shino stated confidently.
'Oh-no This is bad. The Crow is the only puppet I brought. I didn't think I would need the Black Ant. Well I guess it can't be helped. It's time for my trump card. I was hoping to save this for later but I don't have any other choice.' Kankuro's eyes focused as he thought about his plan. "Don't look so confident, you haven't won yet!"
Shino looked over and saw the puppet's head pop off from its body and begin to move and shoot senbon from its mouth. Shino quickly commanded a wall of insects to protect himself but he was unable to block all of the senbon. One of the senbon snuck through and hit Shino in the neck.
"A cheap trick, but it's not going to- to- what? I'm feeling dizzy." Shino whispered. 'Why is this happening? Poison?'
"Packs quite the sting am I right. Each one of those senbon was dipped in my special paralysis poison. You'll probably be out for the next hour or so." Kankuro scoffed.
It didn't take long for Shino to lose consciousness. After Genma checked his vitals he turned to the crowd and announced that Kankuro was the winner of the third match.
"Poison! What a cheap trick." Naruto clenched his fists as the results of the fight were announced.
"I hope Shino-kun will be okay." Hinata brought her hand to her lips as her old habit began to show itself once again.
"He did say that the poison wasn't lethal. Still, I don't like that he won like that. Hey Hinata-chan, I'm going to go to the balcony to see if Sasuke is here yet." Naruto spoke as jumped out of his seat and took off.
"O-okay, I'll see you later then." Hinata whispered as she watched him disappointed that he left.
As Naruto got to the balcony he noticed that Sasuke had indeed arrived. However, he was having an intense stare down with Gaara. The look on Sasuke's face was closer to determination while Naruto could feel the killing intent emanating from Gaara. Its intensity sent chills down Naruto's spine. Looking around he saw Kankuro had returned, and he also noticed Temari staring at Shikamaru indignantly.
'Shino must have been taken to the medical unit,' Naruto thought. "Hey Sasuke! When did you get here."
"Oh. Naruto. I didn't even notice you show up. I don't see Neji here. Does that mean that you were able to defeat him?" Sasuke responded.
"Uh, yeah I did. Hey why were you late and where is Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Well then, can't say I'm not surprised. I guess I WILL be fighting you later then. Looks like they're calling me down to the arena. I'll talk to you after I beat the sand shinobi." Sasuke stated as he leapt away followed shortly after by Gaara.
"Hey wait! You haven't told me where Kakashi is or why you were late.." Naruto shouted after him.
"Poor guy doesn't know what he's getting into. Gaara is going to destroy him even if he is an Uchiha." Kankuro bragged.
"Oh-Yeah? Well Sasuke is way stronger than you think. He's going to wipe the floor with that sand guy." Naruto retorted. 'Wish I was as confident as as I sounded. After last night I don't know what to think about Gaara. I have to find Kakashi-sensei.'
"Since you were late I'll just go over the rules one more time. They are the same as the preliminaries, just try not to kill each other, and I can intervene if I deem it necessary. Okay then. The match between Sasuke of the Leaf and Gaara of the Sand will now begin!" Genma announced.
Sasuke quickly jumped back to ready himself. Gaara stood still but began to release his sand. Slowly it began to float around him.
'There's the sand. Great, just like Kakashi said. I don't think his strategy has changed. He'd have no reason to. Well if he hasn't then I don't have to either.' Sasuke thought.
Sasuke charged straight forward. His first strike was blocked by the sand instantly, but before Gaara could retaliate Sasuke disappeared in a burst of speed. It wasn't long before Sasuke unleashed a barrage of swift strikes like Rock Lee had done during the preliminaries.
Gaara was forced completely on the defensive. With Kakashi's help Sasuke had copied Lee's fighting style down to the speed and stance. Gaara knew that he might have some trouble especially because Sasuke isn't limited to taijutsu like Lee is. Just like Lee had before he was able to score a hit on Gaara and sent him reeling.
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu
Gaara was engulfed in the ball of fire. When it cleared Sasuke saw that he had only burned a sand clone. 'Well I guess I should probably turn my Sharingan on now.' Sasuke admitted to himself.
Once Gaara saw the change in Sasuke's eyes he knew he had to go all out or he would eventually lose. Gaara formed some hand seals and created a sphere of sand around himself.
'Now he's going to hide is he. We'll see about that.' Sasuke charged and punched the sphere, but quickly learned that it was almost as hard as steel. Moments after, spikes of sand shot out at Sasuke. With the advantage of the Sharingan Sasuke was able dodge, but only just barely. A few more attempts yielded the same result.
'To make the sand as hard and dense as steel and with spikes as an added defensive measure I don't think I'll be able to get through it normally. Guess this is as good a time as any to use my new jutsu.'
Sasuke leapt on to the side of the arena wall and got into a new stance where he extended his left arm and braced his left elbow with his right hand. As he concentrated, electrical sparks began to form around him with his left palm as their focal point. After a brief moment his chakra finished pooling into his palm and he charged.
Lightning Style: One Thousand Birds, Chidori!
Sasuke plunged his left arm directly into Gaara's sphere.
"It's so warm. It's… Blood. IT'S MY BLOOD!" Gaara screamed as he began to bleed from his right shoulder.
Sasuke pulled his arm out and jumped back. "I thought your defense was perfect." Sasuke scoffed.
In a flash a burst of sand shout out of the hole Sasuke had just made. Sasuke managed to dodge it and noticed that it was not just sand. It now had a form to it. It looked like a monstrous arm. Sasuke was broken out of his thoughts when he saw the sand sphere begin to fall apart. Sasuke and everyone in the arena were horrified when they saw both of Gaara's arms were now monstrously elongated, covered in an odd marks, and made completely of sand.
"What are you!?" Sasuke gasped.
"I will not cease to exist! You have made me bleed! I- I will do the same to you!" Gaara shouted.
"Let's see you try."
It's now Gaara's turn now to take the offensive. The form of his new arms kept Sasuke away. They were a lot faster than Sasuke anticipated and could elongate seemingly at will.
As he evaded, Sasuke readied another Chidori. Dodging one of the arms Sasuke began to close the distance between them. Just as the second arm attacked Sasuke decided to not dodge and drove his Chidori straight through it. He kept driving until he was close enough to land a devastating kick on Gaara's head.
'It doesn't seem like he has his passive sand defense when he is like that. Even so after two Chidoris I'm reaching my limit. I don't think I have enough left for another one. I have to finish this now." Sasuke admitted to himself.
"You have done a great job entertaining me. I'll reward you by showing you how hopeless you truly are." Gaara's words were disturbingly inhuman.
Gaara began to form another appendage of sand. Soon he had a tail much like the arms he was already using. He began his assault once more while Sasuke attempted to ready another Chidori. Just before he had a chance to complete it he winced in pain as the Curse Mark on his neck began to pulse. In that moment Sasuke was distracted Gaara caught his left arm with his sand. Before Sasuke had a chance to pull away a sickening crack echoed across the arena followed by a horrifying scream of pain. The Chidori Sasuke was forming dissipated as Sasuke's arm fell limp to his side.
Gasps could be heard across the arena as the audience saw Sasuke's now broken arm. A shinobi that can't weave signs is usually a liability, and Sasuke knew this. The match was pretty much over.
"GAARA STOP! Stop before you go too far!" Temari shouted from the balcony.
"The match is over. Stand down!" Genma shouted as well.
"He hurt me. He hurt mother. He has to pay!" Gaara's terrifying shout echoed across the arena as he lunged.
Just before Gaara's final strike could connect, Sasuke let out a mighty shout and huge discharge of electricity. It wasn't enough to hurt Gaara, but it stunned his attack stopping it in its tracks. Sasuke then let his exhaustion and pain take him over and he fell forward unconscious.
Gaara snapped back to his senses when he saw Sasuke collapse. His appendages began to dissipate and he began to walk back to the balcony without a word.
"The winner is Gaara." Genma's announcement met nothing but silence and muffled gasps.
Naruto looked on as the medical team pulled Sasuke away. He could not believe what he just saw. Sasuke lost. He was now standing next to Kakashi, Guy, Lee, Ino, and Sakura, and they all had the same look of shock on their faces. He could feel the fear in Sakura and Ino. They were worried for Sasuke.
'The way they're feeling for Sasuke is the same feeling I get from Hinata. Wonder why girls feel that way. Weird.' Naruto turned to them. "Sakura. Ino. I swear I'll beat him. For Sasuke."
"That's nice of you Naruto, but if Sasuke lost how are you going to do better?" Sakura looked at him inquisitively.
"Forehead is right. Maybe you should just forfeit." Ino admitted.
"Don't worry about me. I know I can win. Right Kakashi-sensei?"
"Naruto just because you beat Neji doesn't mean you can beat anyone. I prepared Sasuke specifically to fight Gaara, and you saw how that turned out. Just be careful." Kakashi warned.
"I won't know until I try. I still have to beat that lazy bum Shikamaru though. I better get out there." Naruto shouted as he jumped away.
A/N: Wow it's been a while. I apologies for the hiatus. All I have to say is that life happens, but I'm back for now. I have the next few chapters drafted already so I'll try to post them every two weeks or so. The editing process is the hardest part in my opinion so I'll try my best. Thank You to all those still here and to any new people who decide to take an interest in my story. Review are appreciated and really helpful to me.
One last thing. I had an idea for another story but I'm not sure if there is one already out there, so if you all could help me find it if it exists I would appreciate it. If there isn't one then maybe I'll give it a shot. Basically my idea is that the Third Hokage manages to stop the Uchiha rebellion by naming Itachi as his successor. I'd like the story to focus on a very positive Sasuke who truly becomes best friends with Naruto. After that I don't know. Just an idea like I said. Let me know if there is already one out there. I'd love to read it.
Finally, just a thank you to all of you and updates are incoming.