Genius vs Genius

Drip…drop…drip…drop.

In a lone prison cell, Yamcha was fearing for his life. He was stuck in the cell for the last few hours, but it felt like days. There was a constant dripping sound, and he was more than sure that it was blood.

The room was damp, and the sound of groaning was clearly audible through his isolation cell. The boy was sweating profusely, more than terrified for his upcoming turn of interrogation. Yamcha wish he had Puar with him, but the poor cat was separated as soon as they were imprisoned..

Being stuck in Konoha was the worst. Every nuke nin was aware of their T&I division, and the man known as Morino Ibiki was notorious for his ways. He could make the most seasoned shinobi buckle from the dangerous jutsu he could deal without a hint of remorse. Rumors were that the man actually smiled while his victims screamed of pain.

Yamcha cringed as he heard another scream. The same man was screaming non stop for the past few hours! It made Yamcha shiver and wonder how he would be treated.

The bandit began to shiver uncontrollably as he heard slow steps being made. He pushed himself as far along the wall as he could, wishing he could become invisible. He saw the shadow of two figures approaching his cell.

The door was forcefully sprung open. Standing before the trembling teen were two figures. The smaller was a blonde boy wearing a black robe. He was caked in blood and looked beyond exhausted. The grimace on his face showed Yamcha that he was just the one being interrogated. The blonde was thrown to the floor of Yamcha's cell and didn't move, save for the occasional trembling.

The other figure took a step into the cell and scared Yamcha shitless. The man was much taller than the boy and his face was littered with scars. After one glance at the scowl on his face, he was sure who it was.

This was Ibiki Morino, the head of the T&I division.

Yamcha couldn't move. The killing intent radiated off of the man in waves.

"It's your turn, kid," the man said in a deep voice, causing the bandit to jump in fright. Ibiki smirked, he loved seeing fear in his victims. "And if you love your life, you will talk. Quickly."

XxxoxxX

Hinata slowly followed behind Kiba. The two genin were walking through a thick crowd of people. Kiba wore a big smile, more than anxious to see his fellow classmates battle.

Although Kiba was jealous that he was eliminated so early, by the dead last at that, he wished nothing but the best for his classmates.

Although Kiba knew he shouldn't, he had his winners picked out in his mind. Kiba wished nothing but the best for his classmates. The shinobi from the other villages were nothing to scoff at.

Gaara was the worst. Kiba and his extremely strong sense of smell almost gagged when the boy was near. That sand he carried was saturated with blood! He like tell that he killed many people, and he would bet that the boy enjoyed it.

His siblings, Temari and Kankuro were a mystery. He didn't get to see much of her abilities, she beat that cocky weapon girl from the class ahead of his with a simple swing of her fan. As much as Kiba wanted to laugh at the arrogant girl being brought down a peg or two, he refused to give the enemy's any type of congratulations. Kankuro's match was just as quick. He could tell that the boy was dangerous, however. His puppet reeked of blood. That shinobi from the sound would be a peace of cake for just about anyone in Konoha.

If Kiba was too hope for one of the Konoha nin to fail, it would have to be Neji. The Hyuga kid had a stick so far up his ass, he could use it as his tonsil. The boy was very arrogant, yet he had the skills to be. He also held a strong hatred for the way he both mentally and physically abused his timid partner, his own cousin at that!

Shikamaru was a definite win. Although the boy was lazy, he was the smartest kid that he knew. He remembered playing Anbu and Missing Nin, whichever team the Nara was on always would win, based on the boys strategic mind.

Shino would definitely surprise the spectators. He was silent, yet skilled. Kiba knew from experience how dangerous his bugs could be. The boy was strategic as well, just no where near as smart as the Nara.

Sasuke and Naruto were the two too watch. The two genin were growing at a rapid pace: Kiba couldn't help but to blame it on their rivalry. The two preteens were quickly becoming the better of their nine graduating class. Now that they were being trained by two of the most powerful shinobi in the history of Konoha was a feat in itself. The two could only have gotten better in their time away training.

Kiba grimaced as he felt a pain in his abdomen. He hissed lightly and pressed on it, to ease the slight burning. Although he was healed for the most part from his encounter with Yamcha, there still was an irritating burst of pain every once in a while from his stomach area. He swore that he would beat that guy senseless the next time he saw him.

Hinata's mind was elsewhere. As she walked behind Kiba, she couldn't stop the shiver going down her body from both pain and excitement. Hinata was still in bandages from her scuffle with not only her cousin but also the bandit.

The girl was beyond excited to see Naruto. She was going to cheer him on to win this tournament! The blonde made a vow to defeat her cousin, the same cousin that broke her down a month before.

Hinata blushed as she thought of the other boy. Goku was strange, but strange in a good way. He was more happy than Naruto, which was a feat in itself. The young tailed kid was beyond friendly, she had yet to see a frown on his face. His laugh was a melody to her ears.

Hinata then began to blush harder. What would Naruto think if he knew how she was thinking about his friend? What would he think if he knew how she thought about him. Her face was a deep red as she thought of this.

"Hey, Hinata. Look, these seats are free."

The girl was brought out of her thoughts as she heard her teammates voice. They were lucky to find a front row seat.

"Are you ready to see this, Hinata?" the boy asked the blushing girl.

Hinata nodded. She scanned the stadium, searching for the familiar orange jacket. A slow smile spread across her face as she noticed the boy. He was bounding across the ground, smilingly widely as he approached Shikamaru. After shaking the boy's hand and yelling insults at her cousin, she saw the boys began waving at an excited crowd. Naruto's awe struck face was enough to cause a smile to cross hers.

Hinata heard talking to her right. It was two Chunin, chatting calmly about Naruto's pending loss. Hinata glared back towards the dome with a determined look.

"Do your best… Naruto!" she said louder than normal.

XxxoxxX

"Why can't I sit with Naruto?"

Bulma sighed. She was really getting irritated with her raven haired companion. The boy kept asking about the blonde, even after she explained the situation!

"Goku, for the last time you can't!" she barked at the boy. "He's getting ready for his fight!"

Bulma was scanning the ground in search for the young blonde. She eyes the gathered genin, surprised that the boy had yet to make an appearance.

The girl was actually excited to see the blonde that she had grown fond of. The boy was full of energy and always held a smile on his face. She was sure that he would win his match, and her helping him only boosted his chances.

As much as she was worried about him getting hurt, she still was confident in his success. The child could make hundreds of himself, and she was more than excited to see all of them crush his opponent.

Bulma shook her head vigorously. She wasn't sure where that came from! Bulma wasn't into violence, she only wanted her perfect boyfriend. The only time she liked to see aggression was when she was being protected.

"Goku, it's about to began!"

Bulma looked and saw Jiraiya holding Goku, stopping the boy from jumping over the balcony. The two was a funny sight, the older man was struggling to bring the boy to his seat.

Bulma had to admit, she loved her new band of friends.

XxxoxxX

"Oh, there's one more thing before we get started."

The seven genin stared at their instructor as he fished into his vest. The man pulled out a paper and began to unfold it. He held it for the students to read. On the sheet was a new arrangement for the fights.

"There's been a slight change in the match ups. This is to show you that anything can happen, a C ranked mission could quickly elevate into an A ranked, so be prepared for change." He looked at each genin. "This one is set, so get a good look at it."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw the changes. "Aww great, now I have to fight first, what a drag." Shikamaru said with a grimace. He gazed towards his new opponent Neji, who stared ahead indifferently. He then took another glance towards the list. What happened to my extra match? Oh well, I'm not complaining.

"Yes!" The young orange clad shinobi jumped in joy as he saw his matchup. He was too fight Sasuke! "What better way to show off my skills than on the teme!"

Kankuro and Temari glanced at each other uncomfortably. Kankuro was to be against his kid brother! How the Hell was he supposed to get out of this fight?

Shino looked towards the Sand kunoichi. He quickly analyzed her as she glanced at him with a glare. The surrounding genin could hear the bugs getting excited around him.

"Um, question? Question?" Naruto yelled with his hand up. "What happens to my opponent Sasuke? He isn't here yet!"

The instructor put both hands behind his back and began to speak in a lecturing tone. "If a candidate is not in the arena at the time his name is called, he forfeits the match."

Naruto looked towards the arena entrance with a glare. It didn't make sense! Sasuke would've rather dragged himself here than to miss this fight!

Naruto's mind wandered as the man began explaining the rules. He thought of all the the places Sasuke could be, but it came out as a blank. He barely knew the boy other than the times they met as a team.

"These are the match ups for the first fight. Shikamaru Nara versus Neji Hyuuga. Those two stay, the rest of you return to the waiting area."

Everyone other than the two boys turned to walk away. Shikamaru placed his hands deeper into his pockets, grumbling as he went to the center of the dome. Neji swiftly took his spot, glaring at the lazy boy. He was one easy step the boy had to make. It was his destiny to be the greatest, so he feared no one in this tournament.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" The boy glanced up to the stands. His eyes met the blue of Naruto's the boy gave him a grin. "Beat his ass, will ya?"

Shikamaru grinned at his friend. The boy sure as hell knew how to make a scene. He looked ahead at his opponent and saw him lower into his stance.

"What a drag…" The Nara was really considering quitting. He didn't care about the promotion, it would only mean more work anyway. The sun was at a terrible angle in the sky, he barely had any shadows to work with. He was trying to see six steps ahead of his opponent, but it was harder than you'd think.

Neji, being a close range fighter, would be a challenge. Although he would have enough space to reach him, the boy was much quicker than Shikamaru. He could also see the attack coming from every angle, thanks to those eyes of his.

XxxoxxX

Asuma breathed heavily. It was just his luck, his only student to advance would have to face the previous rookie of the year, in the first match at that. He could see that green clad freak Guy mocking him all the while.

"Yosh!"

"Speaking of the devil…" a green clad man with a bowl cut appeared quickly beside the jonin. A wide smile could be seen on his face.

"This shall be a very youthful match to watch!"

Asuma nodded. It was slightly annoying to be around his classmate, but he couldn't deny the man. They had been through hell and back in there youth, and he knew the man was powerful beyond imagination.

This only made him worry for Shikamaru even more.

"Hai, that student of yours seems to be pretty talented.

Guy gave his friend a wide smile. "Yes, Neji is brimming with youth! That Shikamaru seems to be as well!" The man's voice turned more serious. "Let's hope he can match with my students to make this match electrifying!"

Kurenai decided to speak up. "Shikamaru's too lazy to keep up with Neji. The boy isn't nearly as quick or strong as the Hyuuga."

Asuma began chuckling as he fiddled with his lighter. "Don't let the kid fool you." The two Jonin turned to him with puzzled expressions. Asuma lit his cigarette and took a long pull. As he let out the smoke, he continued to speak. "He hasn't been sitting around doing nothing for the past month.

XxxoxxX

"Are you ready?" Shikamaru slowly nodded, shifting into a defensive stance. "Begin!"

Shikamaru gulped as he saw the boy sprinting towards him. He was slightly happy that the Byakugan wasn't being used, but got over this as he noticed how close the boy was.

Shikamaru quickly placed his hands together. " Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Neji glared as he jumped over the shadow. "Don't be foolish, Nara!" He angrily yelled as he came down with a kick towards the boy.

Shikamaru grimaced as he jumped away. He clumsily landed on his feet, but instantly had to jump back as another kick planted itself where he was a few moments ago. Judging from the mini craters the two stomps created, the boy had been training. A lot.

Neji landed gracefully and turned to face the lazy boy. He noticed Shikamaru's brow was furrowed, as if he were thinking a plan. Neji snorted at that. As if any plan that boy could come up with could beat him!

Shikamaru retreated back, putting distance between him and the overly skilled Hyuga. He quickly dug into his pouch and withdrew two kunai, launching them at the boy. Neji simply caught the weapons in his hands, tossing them to the side with a smirk.

"Are you toying with me?" he asked as he began running towards the boy, ducking under a wave of kunai. His grin widened as he kept running towards the retreating boy. He activated his Byakugan, smiling widely as he saw the boy grimace while still retreating.

Almost….. Almost…. "Now"! Shikamaru placed his hands together in the rat seal.. "Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Neji's eyes widened as he jumped back to dodge the shadow. The shadow followed his movement, and he jumped to the right to get away. Neji smirked as he saw the shadow stop, knowing that it reached its limit.

"Looks like you've reached your limit, Nara. You should've known, you can't change your destiny."

Shikamaru scowled. He reached into his pouch. Damn… Only three kunai left… Wait!" Shikamaru felt three circular objects in his pouch. He instantly knew what they were and quickly came up with an idea.

Neji saw his opponents face become one of confidence. He smirked, lowering into his Juken stance. Shikamaru dug his hand deeper into his pocket, lowering himself as well.

A breeze went through the silent arena. Both boys stared at one another, each ready for action. Shikamaru held a worried expression, while Neji smiled, seemingly unaffected by the seriousness of the match.

In a burst of speed, Neji quickly took off in the direction of his opponent. Shikamaru grit his teeth as he withdrew two of the kunai. The Nara threw the projectiles at the boy.

Neji reflexively ducked away from the weapons. What's that? Neji noticed a slight gleam reflecting behind the weapons. Strings?

Neji instinctively jumped as he noticed the shadow being created by the weapon. He caught another kunai that the boy threw mid air and tossed it back, causing Shikamaru to jump to the side to avoid it. "Did you think you'd catch me with that simple trick? How foolish of you, Nara!"

Shikamaru groaned audibly. "So much for that plan," he muttered loud enough for the boy to hear. His eyes widened as Neji was quickly in front of him. He grunted in pain as the tenketsu in his right arm was hit, causing it to fall lifeless.

Neji jumped back to glance at his handiwork. The boy glared at him in both pain and anger. Neji could only smirk in response. "Quit now, if you know what's good for you." He lowered into another stance, the gentle fist. "You're in range of my attack!"

Shikamaru glared at Neji. "You know what?" he asked as a smirk slowly spread across his face. "You're in mine!"

With his good arm, the Nara withdrew two balls from his weapons pouch. Neji instantly knew what they were, but he froze momentarily as they were thrown to the ground in front of them.

"Aaaaaaaurgh!" The boy released a pained scream as a blinding light exploded in front of the two. The Byakugan only helped to intensify the pain. Neji wiped vigorously, the pain caused tears to involuntarily fall down the boys face.

Shikamaru grimaced at the boy. He really didn't want to hurt his fellow Konoha nin in such a way, but things had to be done. Neji's screaming only helped to intensify the regret the boy felt. He looked towards the stands and saw his classmates looking at him.

Surprisingly, they didn't seem as hurt as he was. They looked worried, yet proud at what the boy had done. He knew the fight was over, but suddenly did something that surprised everyone.

"I forfeit."

The arena became silent. Everyone stared at the Nara, who looked at the proctor with a lazy expression. "You heard right, I quit."

"What?" A loud yell could be heard. Everyone knew that it was Naruto before he jumped into the arena. "Shikamaru, you won! Why the hell would you quit?"

The Nara shrugged, his lifeless arm dangling limply as he did it. He began walking to the stand, ignoring the way the crowd booed him. "I don't care about the promotion. It's only more work."

Naruto growled at the boy. "But you beat the teme! Why fight if you didn't want to win?"

Shikamaru shrugged once more. "I only wanted to show him that he wasn't almighty." He glanced back at the Hyuuga being carried out on a stretcher, writhing in pain. "And I did that effectively."

Naruto looked at Neji, and couldn't stop the slow smirk crossing his features. He even laughed at the way the boy attempted to glare at him. "Hehe, I guess your right." He stuck out his tongue at the boy, causing him to growl.

Shikamaru smirked at Naruto. The boy was so childish that it was actually calming. "Your match is next, if your teammate shows up that is."

Naruto nodded with a solid face. "He better show up!"

XxxoxxX

So that was match one. Not too well, I know. Sure wish I had a beta, then my fights would be more interesting… Any takers? But anyway, here goes A continuation of Jiraiya's childhood!

XxxoxxX

"Excuse me, but are you talking about Tsunade?"

Jiraiya paused in his rant and glared at the child that spoke. The boy looked to be around his age. The boy was pale, with gold eyes. Around his eyes were purple markings. The boy wore clothes that were much too big for him. He had long hair that fell below his shoulder.

"Dude, you need some sunlight!" Jiraiya said to the boy.

The boy began blushing as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I was running late for school, and I heard you yelling. Is this your first day too?"

Jiraiya sighed. This boy seemed nice enough, so he might as well become his friend for the meantime. "Yea, unfortunately. My good for nothing dad registered me. What's your story?"

The boy looked to the ground. "I'm an orphan. My caretakers not very nice, so I chose to come to school instead."

Jiraiya felt bad for the kid. It seemed as if he had a bad life. He walked up and pat the boy's thin shoulder. "I'm Jiraiya!"

The child began blushing. "My name is Orochimaru."

Jiraiya looked quizzically at the kid. "That's a weird name," he mumbled. "Well, Orochi, wanna go to class together?"

Orochimaru nodded swiftly. He never had a friend, so it was kind of a new experience to have one.

The two boys walked in unison towards the building. When they entered their class room, all eyes were on them.

"Your late!" a voice shrieked, causing them to cover their ears. The owner of the voice was their new sensei. It was a lady, easily in her mid thirties. She had brown hair in a long spiky ponytail and blue eyes. She wore a Chunin vest over an all black spandex suit.

"And you're loud!" Jiraiya yelled back at the lady. All of the students gasped, shocked that the kid would actually yell at his sensei.

The lady glared at the boy. As much as she wanted to hurt the kid, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not in the first day, at least. "What is your name, boy?"

Jiraiya glared at the lady. He could already tell that he wasn't going to get along with her. "I'm Jiraiya Son. I would ask your name, but I could care less."

The class all inhaled sharply. This student was a real prick!

The teacher began fuming at the boy. She quickly stormed towards him, rolling up her sleeve. "Why I outta-"

"Stop, Ms. Umino!"

The lady froze. She looked back and saw Tsunade glaring at the disrespectful youth.

"Hai, Tsunade," the lady said. She noticed the kids glaring at each other. They seemed to know one another, and if she had to guess they weren't friends.

"Umm… Ms. Umino?" The older lady looked at the other boy that walked in with Jiraiya. "I'm Orochimaru, ma'am."

She smiled at the sweet boy. She could tell that they would get along well. "Hello Orochimaru. It's nice to meet you. You and you're," she turned a glare back towards Jiraiya, "Jiraiya can take a seat."

Jiraiya gave the lady one final glare as he was dragged away by Orochimaru. There was only two seats left and whoa and behold.

They were both beside Tsunade.

The girl instantly turned away from the white haired delinquent as he sat by her. "Hello, Orochimaru," she said with a smile.

The orphan began to blush once more. "Hello, Lady Tsunade," he replied with a smile.

"Hey, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya yelled over the girls head. "Don't talk to her or you'll catch the cooties!"

Tsunade turned angrily to the boy. "You are so rude, you pathetic little runt!"

Jiraiya glared at the girl in equal anger. "You're one to talk, you little blonde b-"

"Watch your mouth when you speak to her!"

The trio turned around and saw a blue haired boy glaring at Jiraiya. The boy had green eyes that stared angrily at the boy.

He's hot Tsunade thought as she stared at the boy.

"Show some respect to the Hokage's granddaughter."

Jiraiya glared at the older boy. He noticed Tsunade looking at him in awe and couldn't stop the blush that spread across his face. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm Dan Kato. And I'll be your leader one day, boy."

Jiraiya scoffed at the boy. "Oh yeah? I can do anything better than you!"

The boy smirked. "We'll see, boy."

Jiraiya banged his hand on the desk as he stood up. "Whatever the teacher gives us, I promise I'll do better than you!"

Ms. Umino chose this time to speak. "Jiraiya, sit down!" The boy began to mumble as he took his seat, resulting in a chuckle from Dan. The lady began to smile as she began passing out papers. "And now, a written assessment to see where you all stand."

"Crap."

XxxoxxX

Things are getting real crazy for our favorite Sannin. How will he and Dan's rivalry play out? Stay tuned to find out! Oh, and btw, I'm sure some of you will hate me after the exams. Something big is going to happen… Really big. But anyway, tell me how you like this chapter, or if you don't at all. Thanks for reading!