The name I go by is Shinji. My past is a big blur, and my family or clan is not something I know of. The only thing I have from them is a dogtag chain with my name on it. Ever since I was 7, I've been trained as a Ninja by a group of missing-nin from the Mist Vilage who merely have no permission to travel abroad from the Mizukage. Oh well. I'm currently on a mission, but I wonder if I can go through with it.

Chapter 18: Final Fights!!! The Fox vs. The Hive! The Pink Blossom vs. The Hurricane!!

Naruto ran and jumped into the arena, smirking. Shino stood, and walked to the arena. "This will be a good match." Sasuke said. "Eh? Why you say that?" Koji asked. "You know that clan Shino belongs to? They are what I would call Bug Warriors." Sasuke said. "Huh?" Koji asked. "You'll see." Sasuke said.

Temari looked to both nin, and asked if they were ready. Naruto nodded vigorously, and Shino nodded. She called begin, and jumped away. Shino stood with his hands in his pockets as Naruto barreled at him.

Naruto thought Shino would bring his hands up to block the punch he sent, but a loud popping sound verberated through the stadium, and Naruto's fist were covered with Destruction Bugs. (The gourd on his back) Naruto began to panic, and swing his fist all over the place, sending the bugs off his fist. After he finished getting rid of the bugs, he turned just in time for Shino to back hand him dead in the face.

Naruto rolled on the ground, and used to momentum to force himself back to his feet. Shino raised his hands, and bugs swarmed out of his hands. "Oh man." Naruto said to himself, as the bugs swarmed around him. He jumped into the air, but was stunned when they began following him. "Damn! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto said, as he created his clone. The clone grabbed him, and began spinning him.

Before the bugs could reach them, Naruto Clone had tossed Naruto towards Shino, who was actually a little surprised Naruto did that. Naruto smashed his fist into Shino, but was surprised when Shino turned into a bunch of bugs, and Naruto was floored. "What!? He can create clones with bugs!?" Naruto voiced outloud, as the bugs swarmed his ass. "Leaving yourself open to be overtaken isn't very smart." Shino said, walking into the open.

From where, no one knows.

He stood, and watched as the bugs left Naruto with barely enough chakra to do anything. When the bugs stopped, Naruto was on the ground, unconscious. You would think that Shino would relax, but his instincts were sending red flags that something was incredibly wrong. He jumped back in time to avoid Naruto shooting out of the ground, looking like he was going to give him an uppercut from hell. Naruto looked surprised, and Shino sighed to himself on the inside.

(That was close, Naruto almost got me.) Shino thought to himself, as Naruto landed on his feet. Shino smirked behind his oversized jacket when Naruto smirked at him, and raised his hands together. He brought his pointer and thumb together, signifying that he was almost there.

(Outside Battle)

(Something doesn't feel right.) Koji thought to himself, watching the battle out in the arena. (An association says my life needs to be taken to ensure their future, but they have never met me. Why would they care if I live or die?) Koji thought to himself.

(Hn. Probably some kind of mind game. They probably are messing with me. Like those two guys in the weird robes with red clouds. Lopping all my limbs off and keeping my head as a trophy…no one can be THAT crazy…) Koji tried to calm himself. Fortunately, his outer façade looked calm and composed, his inner was panicking.

(The Battle)

Naruto stood with the seal for Shadow Clone Jutsu as Shino called more bugs to the stage. The bugs swarmed towards Naruto, who had a Clone preparing the Rasnegan. The moment the bugs were near, Naruto thrust the sphere of doom forward, as a strong swirl of Wind Chakra shot out, blasting the bugs away. The sphere flew towards Shino, and he put up a Bug Dome to cushion the blow.

Naruto wasn't surprised when the dome shattered under the Rasengan, but was stunned when Shino was nowhere to be found. He was about to start to think of a plan, but he noticed that the bugs were moving towards him, without Shino's command.

"What!? Why are they charging me!?" Naruto asked again. "You have one of my Female Bugs planted on you. No matter where you go, she will attract the rest of the males, and they will-" Shino didn't get to finish, because a Naruto Clone popped out and hit him dead in the jaw.

"The hell!?!?" Koji said, confused. "That's Naruto for you." Koji turned around, and saw Kakashi standing behind him. "Huh?" Koji asked. "That boy possesses something that makes all those associated with him change their views of things. He is also Konoha's #1 Surprising Ninja." Kakashi said. Koji looked down, and was surprised to see Naruto in mid-air, the Rasengan in his hand. Shino looked up, and was hit dead on.

Shino and Naruto hit the ground, Shino back first, and Naruto landed on his feet. Shino wanted to move, to try and get momentum going, but his body just wouldn't move at all. The blow to his gut had cut his breathing, and he was on the ground, weezing. (Damnit. I let my guard down for one second, and he defeats me.) Shino thought to himself, as Naruto looked over him, smirking. "I won't lie Shino. That was a big time fluke. The Rasengan hit you around where your lungs are. The force caused them to stop working for a while." Naruto said, smirking.

"Looks like you couldn't beat me Shino!" Naruto said, smiling. (Figures. I drop my guard for one second, and I am flattened. Kiba is never going to let me live this down.) Shino thought to himself, sighing. "Ha! All it took was one shot!!" Naruto screamed, smirking. "You did get one shot in, but you didn't defeat me." Naruto turned around, grim looking, as Shino had a swarm of bugs surrounding them in a dome.

"How? You were hit." Naruto muttered. "Yes, you hit me. But all you did was make me lose my breath. I never said anything about my chakra being drained." Shino said, as he looked on amused as Naruto scowled. "You are something else, Shino." Naruto said, as he made the seal for the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

"This is a dome made of my Destruction Bugs. You won't be able to escape." Shino said. "Watch me." Naruto said, charging at Shino, who blocked his punch and threw a kick. There was one deadly drawback to Shino's Bug Encasement Jutsu.

Shino's Taijutsu is abysmal at best.

Let's face it. He never really needed it when he could summon a bug army to do his bidding. It could handle a Genin or Chuunin, but anything higher, and he was screwed.

In actuality, it made perfect sense.

All Kiba could do was Taijutsu, along with his dog. Never has he felt the need to bust out a fire jutsu, or anything like that. Hinata was the only one who was somewhat balanced out. But she mostly dabbles in Taijutsu with her Gentle Fist. But, unlike her one-trick-pony teammates, she could do some Genjutsu and a small arsenal of ninjutsu.

And so, we come back to Shino, face first on the ground, probably muttering curses. No one would know, because he was so silent.

He does the stereotypical ninja great justice.

Shino stood to his feet, as Naruto looked exhausted. Constantly hitting the dome caused him to receive more than his fair share of Destruction Bugs on his person. Result: Even Naruto's monstrous chakra was being drained. Both were on their last ropes, and needed to finish this. Naruto charged, and Shino prepared himself. Naruto brought his fist out, and rammed it into Shino's face, and he flew out of the dome. Naruto shot out as well, but was stunned when Shino made no effort to move.

Temari moved, and nudged him with her fan, but he still didn't move. Temari flipped him so he was on his back, and chuckled when Shino's glasses fell off, his eyes in the X.X look. It was at this time that you could tell he was a member of the Konoha 12. "And so, Shino is unconscious. Naruto wins." Temari said, as Naruto smirked.

And so, with Naruto's victory, that left two people who had yet to fight. The board showed the two names, and there was a smirk, along with an emotionless face. Gale Kazekiri vs. Sakura Haruno. Sakura expected some sort of smirk, but instead, he stood to his feet, and began to float using his Wind Chakra.

He landed as the wind around him kicked up, and he smirked. (Alright little blossom. Let's see what you got.) Gale thought to himself. Sakura landed in the arena, making sure to leave a nice crater where she landed, causing Gale's eyebrow to rise a little.

(Bone crushing power. Temper as short as a midget. I bet she's single.) Gale thought to himself amusingly. Sakura glared at his amused smirk, before she began to growl a little. "What's wrong? You're not mad are you?" Gale asked, sneering. "Of course I am! You stood, and down talked the most precious people in my life. I won't allow you to!" Sakura said, and Gale's sneer turned into an emotionless face.

"You shouldn't let your emotions judge your actions. They have no place on the battlefield." Gale said. "And you are a bastard! Worry about yourself!" Sakura said. "Temper temper. Someone like yourself will stay single for the rest of your life." Gale said.

"Yeah right." Sanosuke and Sasuke mumbled to themselves, knowing damn well of the sexual tension always floating above the pink haired blossom and the dreadlocked brawler. "You two say something?" Koji asked. "No. Nothing that no one else doesn't know." Sasuke said, smirking at Koji's confused look. "Whatever. You two are weird." Koji said.

Sakura, of course, glared pretty fiercely at the last comment, and charged before Temari could call begin. The moment Temari muttered begin, Gale had shot a blast of wind at Sakura. Sakura dodged the wind blast, and tried to punch him.

He merely side stepped, and brought his fist into Sakura's jaw. Sakura slid across the arena, and Gale brought his right hand out. "Wind Scythe Jutsu!" He swung his hand, and air blades shot out of the wind he created. Sakura jumped out of the way in time, but the wall didn't take the hit so well. In fact, a giant slash mark appeared on the wall, and everyone who saw it flinched.

(That wasn't a normal Wind Jutsu. Is this guy really as strong as he looks?) Koji thought to himself. Sakura charged again. This time, Gale floated into the air, and began launching blasts of air at Sakura. "Hn! Seems like he is scared." Koji said, smirking.

Everyone cleared away from him, as an Air Bullet flew into him. He slid along the stairs, and fell down a few, before he stood to his feet, his eyes white as he glared.

"Sorry, my aim was off." Gale said, smirking. "Like hell it was!! Get over here so I can kick your ass!!!" Koji screamed, pointing at him. "Hey Gale. Please keep the audience out of your little vendetta." Temari said, amused by all of this. "Hey, ref-san! Call a time-out, and I'll give everyone a show! You'll all watch as he get to find out what it feels like to have a pair of shoes shoved up your ass!" Koji screamed.

"As appealing as a brawl would sound, I am FIGHTING HIM NOW!!!" Sakura screamed, and Koji sweat dropped. "Okay." Koji said a little too quickly, and sat down, as everyone sweat dropped. (At least he knows when not to push it.) Sanosuke thought to himself.

With that crisis averted, Gale looked down as Sakura jumped in an attempt to knock him out of the sky. Gale shifted out of the way, and kicked her into the wall. At this point, Sakura was probably pissed. In fact, the wall she chucked at him showed she was pissed.

(The hell!?!?) Koji thought to himself. She picked up a giant piece of the wall, and chucked it. Gale dodged it, and smirked. "That all you-" Gale started, before a rock popped him dead in the forehead. "Sorry! It slipped!" Koji said, and Gale had a vein on his forehead. "SLIP THIS!!!" Gale screamed, and shot a pulse of air so powerful, it blasted Koji out of the arena. Sanosuke sweat dropped, and Sasuke smirked. "Idiot had it coming." Sasuke said.

Gale smirked, pleased with himself. He didn't start anything this time, Koji was the antagonizer. He was about to turn his attention to Sakura, but her foot coming into contact with his face brought him back. He flew pretty far, before he managed to catch himself.

He slowly flew towards the arena, and smirked. "You've got fire little girl. But I grow bored of this little fight. I will put that little flame of yours out." Gale said, as he brought his hand out. It crated a small sphere of wind, and added some power it. Naruto and Jiraiya's eyes widened.

(No way…) Naruto thought to himself. "Hm. Looks like that weird special attack you know." Koji said. (When he got back, no one knows) "No, it's different." Jiraiya said, appearing behind the two nin. "How so, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked. "Where as ours are close combat skills, his is a long range attack." Jiraiya said.

"Let's do this. Swirling Shot!!" Gale said, and he thrusted his hand forward. The spinning sphere blasted towards Sakura, and she managed to jump out of the way. What she wasn't expecting was for Gale to reappear next to her, wielding a weird dagger.

He swung it, and she barely dodged it, as she jumped away. She smirked at his miss, but was confused when he smirked. A small part of her shirt then got cut, and a small cut appeared on her cheek. Gale smirked. "I won't be that easy to dodge. You might as well quit." Gale said, flying towards Sakura.

"How is he doing that?" Koji asked. "He has the element of wind." Naruto said. "Eh?" Koji replied. "He has mastered the Wind Chakra. Like your Lightning Chakra, he can channel Wind Chakra. That blade he has can be imbued with chakra, and work in different ways." Jiraiya said. "Like my Chakra Staff." Koji muttered to himself.

Sakura was on her last rope. She had managed to dodge the blows, but the Wind Chakra was nicking her skin. She was running out of chakra just to patch the small cuts up, just for new ones to reappear. She fell to one knee, and Gale smirked.

"You done, Sakura? I expected more fight from you." Gale said, smirking. Sakura got to her feet, and charged again. Gale smirked, and swung again. This time, Sakura caught the blade, and punched him dead in the chest. That would have shattered ribs, if it wasn't for the fact that instead of blood shooting out his mouth, wood chips shot out from where she hit him, and it turned into a log.

Before Sakura could react, a blast of wind shot her into the wall. She fell to her face, and Gale sighed. "Give up. I don't take to fighting girls so well. Don't want to hurt you too much." Gale said. "No…" Gale looked on, as his face slowly took a look of slight shock as Sakura stood to her feet. "I won't call it just yet… I am not done yet!" Sakura said, charging.

Gale shook his head, and brought out another wind blast to launch her back into the wall. Sakura stood to her feet rather shakily, and Gale sighed and shook his head. "Why bother to fight? You obviously are not able to stand, let alone fight." Gale said.

"I'm sorry you are the weaker of the Legendary Sannin Proteges, but I can't go easy on you." Gale said. Sakura looked like she lost all color on her cheeks. Naruto and Sasuke were on their feet, while Koji looked on, confused. "Huh?" Koji asked, and then he felt it. He looked into the arena, and saw Sakura slowly getting to her feet. Gale looked on, emotionless face still plastered on his face.

"Why try to fight?" Gale asked. Sakura stood to her feet, and slammed her fist into the ground. "I AM NOT WEAK!!!" Sakura screamed, as her fist created a giant tremor that opened the ground. Gale merely floated a little bit off the ground, so the attack didn't shake him up, or throw him off balance.

(Shame. She has great potntial.) Gale said, as he shot another pulse of wind, blasting Sakura into the wall again. This time, Sakura struggled to get up, but she ran out of steam, and fell to the ground. "Hn. Emotions only serve to make a person weak." Gale said. "That's not true!!" Gale looked up, and saw Naruto standing on the rail.

Gale had a slight frown on his face, as Naruto jumped into the arena. "Ah, the kid who was taught by one of the Legendary Sannin. You were the student of the Toad Sage, were you not?" Gale asked. "Yeah. That's me." Naruto said. "Hn. I don't see why you are taking offense to what I say." Gale said.

"You are calling Sakura-chan weak! She isn't weak!" Naruto screamed. "She lets her emotions get in the way during battle. Emotions have no base on the battlefield." Gale said. "That doesn't make Sakura-chan weak!" Naruto screamed. "I find your views rather naïve. A nin isn't supposed to show his emotions." Gale said.

"Well you can cram that rule up your ass! Sakura is a better person than you will ever be!" Naruto said, glaring. "You are dead wrong. She is weak because she shows her emotions too easily. She can be easily manipulated." Gale said. Naruto growled, and charged Gale. Gale smirked, as he crossed his arms. Before Naruto could punch him, and before Gale could use his Wind Chakra, they both jumped away as a Lightning Gun Jutsu blasted in between them. Koji appeared in between both of them, facing Naruto.

"Hey Blondie! Don't do anything stupid!" Koji said, a serious look on his face. "But he-" "I heard what he said. If you fight him here and now, there's a chance you could get disqualified. You want that!?" Koji screamed. Naruto lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Besides, there's a line waiting to crack this guys head open." Koji said, turning to Gale. "I want a piece of him." Koji said, walking towards Sakura. "Though I agree that people's emotions can be used against them, showing them doesn't make them weak. It shows that they aren't robots. That rule needs to be edited." Koji said, as the Medic Nins came to get Sakura.

"Now, I believe that this match is over." Koji said, as Temari stepped in between them. "The fights are over now! Both of you please head to the stands!" Temari said, flashing her fan in between them. Gale glared at her, and Koji merely nodded. "I understand." Koji said, as he guided Naruto to the stands.

"You should hope that you have to face Naruto or Sasuke. Because you will regret facing me." Koji said, as they both smirked at each other.

ShadowRonin: Yeah. The beginning rounds are over, and everyone is ready for the next set of fights to begin! Rivalries are born, and the only thing on the line is the chance to become a Jounin. Wait it out, and see who makes it!

Preview:

Everyone is taking a day off to prep for the next round, but it can't always be that easy. Association taking on the Shadow Nin, training for the Jounin Exams, and Koji getting into another adventure. This time, he's dragging Neji in, or is Neji inviting trouble? Find out on:

Chapter 19: Koji's Big Adventure w/ Neji!! Shadow Blades vs. The Association!!