Disclaimer: This is fanfiction, thus I own only the storyline where it differs from cannon. And I still hold no rights to the characters, other than the Original Characters that I have created for this story.
Chapter 15 – Round two… sort of…
After a thirty minute rest break, so that the participants could rest and spectators could go and use the bathrooms, Genma entered the field and called for attention. He called down Hinata and Haku to get ready to begin the next round of the finals.
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A slug slid up onto Sarutobi's shoulder and asked, "Why hasn't Uchiha Sasuke been disqualified yet?"
Sarutobi excused himself and went around the corner. "The council and the Kazekage both want him to participate in the exams, so I'm giving your summoner the right to punish him, as she sees fit. I'm guessing that he will show up just before we can't wait any more for him. I don't like it, but we need the income from the betting and the jobs that his match will generate. Currently Naruto, Haku and Hinata are all on their way to promotions. Please pass that on to Tsunade," he asked happily, just before the slug disappeared. He returned to his seat and could swear he saw a grin similar to Naruto's near where the Raikage was sitting.
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Hinata glared at Haku, but waited for the match to begin. Genma raised his hand and brought it down saying, "Begin!"
Hinata pulled out a scroll, opened it, bit her finger and wiped her finger over the scroll. Water suddenly came gushing out of the scroll. "You… you little tramp," she yelled at Haku.
"Why? Because I didn't abandon my friendship with Ino?" Haku asked, as she dropped the large scroll from her back and unrolled it. She then stepped on the scroll and a torrent of water poured from the scroll.
Hinata glared at the other girl, but said, "Yes, I'm mad at you for continuing your friendship with that bitch! She may have apologized to you, but she hasn't said anything to Naruto-kun! Her family has only imprisoned her bitch of an aunt for what she did to Naruto-kun! The family has neither apologized nor compensated him in any way!"
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Naruto shook his head at the interchange between his girls. 'So that is what this is about. I guess that Hinata-chan was also hurt by this more so than Haku-chan, more than likely because she has the seal on her and can understand the pain that only seals can bring with them. She is right though. Ino and the Yamanaka's haven't done anything other than hand over the woman who placed the seals on me. Guess we'll just have to talk to the Yamanaka after the exams, that is if we don't have the invasion we're all worried about,' he thought to himself and slowly backed away from the railing.
Shikamaru looked at Naruto's worried look and asked, "Troubles at home with the little women?"
Naruto gave his friend a worried smile and said, "You have no idea, but if I were you I would move away from the railing. That is if you don't want to be washed into the arena with a couple of angry kunoichi."
Shikamaru smiled and backed away from the railing. "That would be 'troublesome'," he said to a hearty laugh from Naruto.
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Sakura looked at Ino with a curious look on her face and asked, "Why is Hinata so mad at you and your family?"
Ino blushed from embarrassment and some anger. "Well, one of my aunts apparently put a seal on Naruto when he was a child, really bad one. It was recently found and removed, rather painfully from what I was told," she explained.
"What type of seal was it?" Sakura asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say, but let's just say that Hinata has just cause to be mad. My father wants to apologize after the exams, so that Naruto will know that he didn't approve of what my aunt did," Ino said in a dejected tone.
The audience watched in awe as the stadium floor filled with water. They also noticed a thin sheet of ice form beneath the water. The water continued to rise to about three feet in depth. Both Hinata and Haku were standing on the water.
"How can they do that?" Sakura asked.
Ino looked at Sakura like she was either stupid or had been hiding in a closet for several months. "It's called water walking and it is a both a skill and a way for you to both improve your chakra control and capacity," she explained.
"We never did anything more than tree climbing," Sakura said in a surprised tone.
Ino looked at her dumbfounded. 'What is that man doing to my Sasuke-kun? I know something he doesn't?' she thought to herself, as thoughts of hurting a one-eyed sensei crossed her mind.
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Hinata smiled and said, "Thanks Haku-chan. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use the scroll and am glad you did."
Both girls went through about thirty hand seals. Water began to spin beside each of the girls forming a large pillar of water. Both of the girls exclaimed, "Water Style: Water Dragon jutsu!"
The pillars of water formed a dragon's head and headed at the other. Both dragons bit the other's neck and decapitated the other. The bodies of the dragons fell back to the waiting pool on the stadium floor. Both girls were panting hard, but then they once again did hand seals and proclaimed, "Water Needle jutsu!"
Hundreds of senbon created from water headed at each of the combatant. Almost all were intercepted by the one coming from their rival. Those that got through were easily stopped by the target wielding a senbon.
"You have improved Hinata-chan, but you still lack the strength to beat me. I do agree that you're right that I should have been harder on Ino, but I fail to see what getting angry will do for us and our situation," Haku explained.
Hinata did several hand seals and said, "Water Style: Tidal thrust." The water drained from Haku's side to only be about a foot deep, while the water beneath Hinata rose to be about three meters high. The water suddenly burst forward and crashed towards Haku.
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Naruto jumped to the back of the balcony followed by everyone in the balcony other than Gaara and Kankuro. The water skins on Naruto opened and spilled the water from them. He then said, "Water Style: Water encampment!" The water formed a wall of water that locked out Kankuro and Gaara from the back of the chamber.
Kankuro looked surprised at Naruto who wore a look of near fear on his face. He turned to Gaara who disappeared in a swirl of sand only to reappear behind Naruto. He looked through the water to see a look of fear on Temari's face. He turned just in time to see the water wash up the side of the stadium and grab on to him, thus pulling him down onto the stadium floor. Everyone watched as the furniture and fixtures in the room were pulled out and down to the stadium floor.
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Hinata was panting, as the water returned to its previous level. Haku's dome of ice fell apart, while Haku stood and smiled at her friend. "So you finally got that jutsu?" she asked happily, only to have a kunai placed at her throat. "I see you also use the water clone to hide your change in placement," she said in a complimentary fashion.
"I learned from the best, but your Ice clone isn't that good just yet," Hinata said, as she pushed the kunai into Haku's neck, only to have her shatter into ice blocks. "So what now Haku-chan?" she asked, as she looked down at the water and suddenly jumped away from a hand coming out of the water.
"Nearly had you that time Hinata-chan. Your reaction time is improving. Now try this on for size, shadow clone jutsu," Haku exclaimed, as six Hakus appeared in puffs of smoke.
Hinata let out a large sigh and exclaimed, "Not fair, we both know you have bigger reserves!"
"You use what you have and improvise where you can Hinata-chan," Haku explained.
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Ino and Sakura were shaking off the water that had sprayed on them from Hinata's jutsu. "Man, I'm glad I'm not on her bad side right now," Sakura said in a mocking tone.
"Dad better hurry up with that apology or I'm dead," Ino said in a depressed and desperate tone.
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The Kazekage looked excitedly down at the stadium floor. "Those girls are quite impressive. Too bad that technique would be useless in the desert," he said wistfully.
"You saw that they carry scrolls with water along with them. Doing so will help them be able to overcome that hindrance," Sarutobi explained.
"I heard that your students had left town recently. I was hoping to meet with them," the Kazekage said.
"Yes, they were taken away on important business. I figure they will be back in about a week or so, that is if you wouldn't mind waiting for them," Sarutobi said happily.
The Kazekage shook his head and said, "No, no, it was a simple matter that I had wished to discuss with them and can be done later."
Sarutobi nodded, but also smirked as he turned back to the arena.
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Hinata had used several water clones to compete against the shadow clones, but knew it was a losing battle. She used juuken to destroy the clones as quickly as she could. Finally both females stood before each other. They began to laugh and pant at the same time. Both then sat down on the water and smiled at each other. This battle had lasted for more than thirty minutes.
Hinata turned towards Genma and said, in between gasps for air, "Proctor, I surrender and can't continue any longer."
Genma nodded and yelled, "Winner by forfeit is Momochi Haku!"
The crowd stood and began to cheer emphatically.
Haku sunk below the water and touched the scroll. The water slowly disappeared from the stadium floor, only to leave a layer of ice on the bottom of the stadium. Haku and Hinata both skated towards the stairs.
Genma shook his head. 'Those girls are going to be hell of a pair of kunoichi when they get older,' he thought to himself. "Will Aburame Shino and Kinuta Dosu please come down to the area floor?"
Shino glared at the twitching form of Kankuro, as both he and Dosu passed him. "Pathetic," Dosu exclaimed, as they neared Genma.
"Please Kankuro of the Desert, leave the area or become one of the obstacles that either of these two gentlemen can use to fight against each other," Genma explained. Kankuro got up slowly and went back up the stairs to the others waiting on the balcony.
"You are going to go down like the other one, quickly and efficiently," Dosu said boastfully.
Shino adjusted his glasses and said nothing in return.
Genma moved his hand down and said, "Begin."
Shino jumped back only to have Dosu follow him on the ground. He failed to notice a group of insects latch onto his feet. Quite a few of the audience also noticed this, but didn't comment. Shino extended his arms and sent a wave of flying insects towards Dosu. Dosu pulled the sleeve of his coat back and revealed his Melody arm. He flicked the metal and watched happily, as the insect swarm began to move around him.
"You haven't a chan…" Dosu began to say only to feel himself weaken quickly.
"You rushed forward quickly before assessing your opponent. You can either surrender or my insects will suck you dry. Please say you won't surrender," Shino said in a dry tone.
Dosu's eyes rolled into the back of his head.
Genma checked the body and declared, "Winner, Aburame Shino."
Shino walked over and collected his insects. He then left the arena for the balcony.
Naruto smiled at Shino on the way down. "You did good Shino," he exclaimed.
Shino only nodded at this, but kept his eyes trained on Fū.
She for her part smiled and waved, as she passed him.
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"Rather anticlimactic, wasn't it?" the Kazekage asked.
"The Aburame were never flashy when the win," Sarutobi explained.
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Genma looked at the two combatants and smirked. 'How are you going to win this one Naruto?' he thought to himself. "Begin," he exclaimed.
Naruto smiled at Fū and she returned the smile. "Do we want to go all out or do we want to end this quickly?" he asked happily.
Fū put her finger to her chin, as if thinking and then turned to Naruto and said in a playful tone, "Whatever you like blonde."
Naruto rolled his eyes, but then wore a grin that sent a chill down both Genma and Fū's spines. "I've got nine, how many do you have?"
Fū looked at him like he was crazy, but then it hit her. "I've got seven, so I guess we can leave them out of this battle, at least this time. So you going to go all out against my bugs and I?" she asked with a smirk plastered on her face.
Naruto shook his head and bit his thumb. He proceeded through several hand seals and then said, "Summoning jutsu. Meet two of my friends Gamakichi and Gamatasu. I'm sure they would love to have some insects for lunch." Both of the toad's grins broadened, if that was even possible.
Fū paled, she had accepted that some of her bugs would die in the exams, but to be eaten by their mortal enemy. That was too much. She bowed her head and asked, "How many can you summon?"
Naruto's grin widened and he said, "More than likely, about fifty or so if I don't summon any of the larger toads."
Fū's shoulders slumped and she turned to Genma. "Proctor, I do not wish to continue. This opponent is not one I could ever possibly win against," she explained.
Genma nodded and said, "Winner Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto smiled and threw some candies to the toads before they disappeared in clouds of smoke.
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"So he can summon the toads?" the Raikage asked.
Tsunade nodded and said, "He can also summon slugs if needed. I equipped my son for most situations. Now if that damn Uchiha would show up we could get on with the finals. I think he has taken after his sensei and not in a good way."
Raikage chuckled at Tsunade's anger. "So he is the student of Hatake Kakashi?" he asked and Tsunade nodded.
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Sarutobi looked at the council member and the Kazekage with irritation. "You can't be serious?" he asked angrily.
"We are quite serious Hokage-dono. I came here to see the Uchiha take on my best and we shall do so or Suna will pull itself out of the alliance," the Kazekage explained.
"We also need to see if the Uchiha has the abilities to be promoted Hokage-sama," the council member explained.
Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose to try and push away the headache he knew was coming. The crowd while happy at the fact that several of the shinobi had given very good fights, they were not completely happy, but since Uchiha Sasuke had not shown up yet and that was the perceived reason for the high turnout. He sighed and turned to the council member. "For his tardiness Uchiha Sasuke will not be allowed to attain the rank of chuunin, but will be able to participate in the exams to showcase his talents," he said authoritatively. He then turned to the Kazekage and smiled meekly. "Gaara will have his fight with Sasuke. The last Uchiha versus Gaara of the Desert, but there will be concessions from Suna for this heinous breach in protocol for just one genin," he said in a capitulating tone.
The Kazekage nodded his head and said in a grateful tone, "We thank you very much Hokage-dono for your gracious offer. We shall discuss the concessions after the tournament."
A jounin walked up next to the Hokage and whispered into his ear, after a nod he took a place next to the Hokage.
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Naruto walked between Haku and Hinata and asked, "So is everything okay with you two now?"
Haku scowled and shook her head. "No, Naruto-kun. We are both angry that Ino-chan and her family haven't come forth and apologized for what they did to you and inversely us," she replied angrily.
Naruto placed his hand in the small of their backs and began to rub. "It's alright. We will see how they react after things have settled down. I can tell that Gaara is getting antsy and wants to have a fight. My guess is that he will try to let his demon out in released form and we will have to find a way to stop him," he said.
"Very good idea Naruto-kun and I will help you. You may have nine, but we both know that controlling more than one tail is difficult. Also that jounin from Lightning might assist us," Fū explained.
"My sensei told me to inform you, Naruto-san that she will be there to assist you if you need it. If you could help me to getting to know Nijiko-san better, I would offer to try to get my father to help also. He holds eight, but please do not spread it around," Raijin said quietly to the group.
Naruto smirked and raised an eyebrow at Hinata. She sighed and then nodded. She left the group and walked up beside Nijiko. The girls began to giggle and blush. "Well Hinata-chan will help you as best as she can. I just hope this isn't another attempt to get the Byakugan," Naruto said in a near growl.
Raijin blushed, but said in his defense, "In a way it is, but that isn't the ultimate goal. I find her attractive and want to get to know her better. If something comes of it than we shall go from there."
"So where is teme?" Naruto asked.
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Genma nodded, as the other jounin pulled away from his ear and disappeared. "Uchiha Sasuke will be give an additional ten minutes beyond the thirty minute break to arrive or he will be disqualified," he explained.
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Sarutobi sighed after the announcement was given. He knew that was all he could give because he needed this exam to be completed. His new guard smirked on several occasions at the uncomfortable posture that the Kazekage was in. A slug appeared on Sarutobi's right shoulder and waited to be acknowledged. "If you will excuse me Kazekage-dono," he asked, while he stood and walked around the corner. "How may I help the slugs again?"
"Naruto-sama wants to know why, in his words that 'teme gets all this time and extensions, when we both damn well know that they would have disqualified me for being a second late?' Please excuse the vulgarities, but he is rather angry at the moment, Hokage-sama," the slug explained.
Sarutobi laughed. He actually laughed. "Tell Naruto-kun that he should prepare to constrain the council's budget, because they are the reason, along with the Kazekage for allowing him these extensions," he explained.
"Naruto-sama also reports that the Kazekage doesn't smell like his children. He can't place the scent, but they are not related. I hope you understand that information, because I frankly don't," the slug said.
The Hokage nodded and said, "I have an idea who it is and his findings just verified what I thought was happening. I have a mission for Naruto-kun and the other Konoha genin. I want them to detain the Suna genin if there are any problems."
"Yes, Hokage-sama, as you wish. Naruto-sama has already conferred with the other genin except for Suna and Oto. He believes that the boy, Gaara is a jinchuuriki of Shukaku, the Ichibi. He already has the support of Shichibi and Nibi. He also possibly has the support of another one from Kumo. He also wanted to inform you that the Raikage is most interested in protecting his nephew, Raijin. All other things for him are secondary," the slug explained.
"That is good to know. Can you pass this information on to Tsunade and to Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked.
The slug bowed, or what would equate to a bow and said, "I will do as you request Hokage-sama." With the order received the slug disappeared.
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Genma looked down at his watch and saw that there was about ten seconds left before he could disqualify the Uchiha boy, so he cleared his throat and began to say, "Because he hasn't…" He stopped and noticed the increase of chakra building in the stadium floor only a few feet from him. A boy and Kakashi both appeared in a swirl of leaves. He turned to the boy and asked, "And you are?"
The boy smirked and replied, "Uchiha Sasuke."
Kakashi began to scratch the back of his head and said sheepishly, "Sorry about being late, but I hope he hasn't been, you know… disqualified."
Genma held his face blank for about a minute before it turned into a scowl. "He is becoming a lot like you. He's about three hours late, but no, he hasn't been disqualified. I would thank the Hokage if I were you boy."
Sasuke's smirk became an actually devious smile. "I'll do that when I get the chance. Now I have a match to begin with," he said in a boastful tone.
Genma turned and said, "Gaara…" he then noticed Gaara standing next to them. "Good you're down here so we can begin. Now if you'll go up to the spectator area Kakashi, then we can truly begin."
Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Genma began the match and backed off. Sasuke began to throw punches and kick only to have them blocked by the sand. Sasuke's speed began to increase, so Gaara send his sand after Sasuke. Sasuke backed up to the wall and climbed it using chakra.
Sasuke went through three hand seals and began to produce lightning chakra in his left hand. "Chidori," he exclaimed. He then ran down the wall and across the stadium floor. He suddenly hit a patch of ice and nearly fell. Gaara began to smile like a cat that was going to capture a canary. Sasuke was able to recover and increased his speed. Gaara brought a wall of sand up in front of himself.
Suddenly he felt his sand come up behind him to defend him. He turned to see Sasuke shove the lightning ball in his hand at him. He was able to adjust slightly and felt the jutsu pass quickly through his barrier. Given an extra instant he shifted his position and was grazed on the left ribs by Sasuke's hand, as blood began to spray across the field. Sasuke jumped back and found that the sand continued to follow him. He wore a satisfied smirk on his face.
Gaara held his chest and brought his hand up to his slowly blurring vision. "My blood!" he yelled in a fearful tone.
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Naruto watched Temari's face show several emotions at once. 'Apparently Gaara has never been injured and this is the first time he has actually been hurt,' Naruto thought about his observations.
"Gaara!" Kankuro yelled only to pass out.
Temari looked at Kankuro and noticed the bugs leaving her brother. She looked down at the floor and saw a line of bugs coming from Shino to her legs. She pulled out her fan only to drop it and collapse in a heap. "Good job Shino. Now we just need to watch for…" Naruto said only to be interrupted by a smoke bomb going off up in the Kage booth.
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Sarutobi turned to the Kazekage and saw the malice in his eyes. He then saw two kunai hit his guards, only to have the Kazekage appear behind him and jump up to the roof of the building. Sarutobi smiled and said, "So Orochimaru, you finally reveal yourself."
The Kazekage pulled off his mask and the face behind it. "So you saw through my deception, I'm happy my old sensei could actually see it. So, how long have you known, sensei?" Orochimaru asked.
Sarutobi chuckled and replied, "We only guessed at it, but you now confirmed it. Also your minions will not escape."
The two Suna guards had changed into four Sound shinobi. They had gone through several hand seals and erected a black barrier. The guard they thought they had killed appeared in the area that they had sealed. The four immediately put up a secondary barrier behind them to protect themselves from attacks from the inside. The Konoha shinobi again disappeared from view.
"It is so good to return home," Orochimaru exclaimed and a smile came across his face. He then continued, "So I can destroy this retched village."
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A/N: Well I hope that answered your questions on the fight between Haku and Hinata. Into every family a little rain must fall, and thus we see differing opinions can cause problems.
Next chapter: The invasion begins...