Here is chapter 16. The 2nd exam will end as well as the preliminaries. The fights will not be the same as the manga and the finals will be changed as well. Hope you enjoy it.
"Danzo I want your help to get rid of Orochimaru once and for all"
Danzo had a hard time hiding his shock from this statement. Usually when Hiruzen would ask Danzo to meet with him after a meeting they would argue about an issue that had come up in the meeting. Danzo was sure that this time would have been no different.
"What do you mean Hizuren"
"I have received information from Jiraiya that has led us to believe that Orochimaru is planning an attack of some sort against the Leaf Village. We believe it will happen during the third part of the exam. If he does attack, I do not want him leaving this village alive."
Danzo stared at Hiruzen for a moment. 'So he is aware of the invasion that Orochimaru is planning. I already have what I need from Orochimaru so this could be beneficial to myself as well'. "I will agree to help you on one condition."
"What is it?"
"I want a ninja that I have trained to be placed onto Team 7 after the conclusion of the Chunin Exams."
'What are you getting at Danzo? What do you hope to accomplish by placing one of your own on Naruto's team?'
"Having four genin on one team is unusual Danzo"
"Have you no faith in your genin Hiruzen? I have heard that those three are all extremely talented, possibly more so than their fathers. I would be surprised if they did not all become chunin."
"If they all do pass to chunin, then yes they would need another member in their team because Kakashi would no longer be their Jonin-sensei. I will consider your idea, but I want a full report on this ninja's abilities if this is going to happen."
"Of course. Now what do you plan to do about Orochimaru?"
(The next day with Naruto)
The following morning found Teams 7 and 8 checking their equipment and getting ready to leave the clearing.
"Chances are most teams are still within the forest. I am sure by now only a handful of teams if any have made it to the tower. I believe our best chance for getting a scroll would be to get closer to the tower and then ambush teams as they try to enter." Shikamaru said. The other members of the teams all agreed.
"Alright for traveling purposes Kiba will be in the front, Sasuke right behind him, I will be third, Sakura you are fourth, Naruto you will be fifth, and Hinata you will be last. Kiba you along with Akamaru will be able to sense anyone if front of us, while Hinata will be able to cover us from behind."
All the members of the teams nodded. They knew Shikamaru was the smartest among them, and if he made up a plan it was more than likely going to work.
"Does everyone have everything? Good. Let's head out" Shikamaru said as both teams took to the trees and headed to the tower.
(With Team 10)
"Well that was easy" Ino said as she and her team approached the team of Ame ninja that had tried to ambush them. Luckily for Team 10, Shino had sensed them coming with his bugs and had sprung a trap for them. As the Ame team was sitting in the trees waiting to ambush them, a group of leeches fell on them and fed of their blood and killed them.
"Found the scroll, and lucky for us it's the one we need" Choji said as he held up the Heaven scroll in his hand.
"Good job Choji. Shino are there any other teams around us?" Ino asked.
"None that my bugs can sense. I believe that we should head to the tower now and not waste any more time"
Choji and Ino nodded.
"Lead the way Shino" Ino said as Team 10 took to the trees.
(With the Sound Team)
Dosu stood over a team of dead Kusa ninja as Zaku searched their bodies for the scroll. The Kusa ninjas had tried to ambush the Sound team, but they were no match for them. The Kusa ninjas were dispatched easily.
"Got the scroll" Zaku said.
"Alright now that we have the scroll, can we please continue our mission given to us from Orochimaru-sama?" Kin said.
"I will take out the Uchiha, while you two deal with his two teammates." Dosu said.
Zaku and Kin nodded, though they would have liked the chance to take out Sasuke, but Dosu was the team leader.
"Let's get going. We need to find them before they reach the tower or else our mission will be a failure." Dosu said as he jumped to the trees hanging over head.
(With Teams 7 & 8)
They had been travelling for a few hours and they needed a break. "Alright let's take a quick break and replenish our chakra and eat something quickly" Shikamaru said as they headed toward a clearing.
"Sakura if you wouldn't mind can you please put up a few genjutsu to hide us?" Shikamaru asked.
Sakura nodded as she began going through handseals. "Hinata can you see if there are any other teams around us? Also look for any sources of water" Shikamaru said.
Hinata nodded and activated her eyes. "T-there are no teams within a k-kilometer of us and there is a r-river not too far up ahead"
"Alright. Hinata and Kiba come with me while we go to the river and stock up on water and get some fish. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto you threw set up camp for us so we can rest a bit when we get back"
"Sure thing Shika" Naruto said as he began unraveling his supplies.
"Hinata please lead the way to the river" Shikamaru asked as he and Kiba followed Hinata.
"Sakura how are the genjutsu coming along?" Sasuke asked "Do you need me to help with them?"
"No I just finished. We should be fine. Let me run a quick diagnostic jutsu on you while we have time. I want to make sure all the travelling has caused more damage to your body. Sit down for a second" Sakura said as she flipped through more handseals and her hands began to glow green.
Sakura ran through the diagnostic jutsu and found that the travelling had not caused his injuries to become any worse. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I'm fine. Just a little sore. If anyone comes, I will be able to handle my own as long as they are not Gaara or Orochimare again." Sasuke said as he smirked a little.
"If either of those guys show up, we are running. I'm not risking a fight with either of them at the moment." Naruto said as he was laying out supplies to start a small fire.
"Dobe you should lay down a seal or two as back up" Sasuke said.
"Way ahead of you teme. How dumb do you think I am?" Naruto said as he had just placed a seal on the ground to alert him to anyone who came within 100 yards of the camp.
Sakura watched the two members of Team 7 interact with each other and wandered how different things would have been if she had been placed on the team instead of Shikamaru. She had dreamed on being on Sasuke's team since they had started the academy years ago. 'I am surprised at how they get along. Sasuke sure has lightened up since the academy days. Naruto must have brought him out of his shell.'
As the trio waited for their other team members to come back they chatted amongst themselves. After a few minutes Naruto said "Teme, remember that time we caught Kakashi-sensei looking at his book when he was supposed to be training us? That was a good time"
Sasuke immediately caught on to what Naruto was referencing. A team had gotten close to their camp, and was currently watching them. Sasuke stood up and decided to stretch a bit. "Sakura I think I just heard my shoulder pop, can you look at it for me?"
Sakura was ecstatic that Sasuke was asking her to help him, as she went to check on his shoulder, Sasuke leaned close and whispered, "We are being watched by a team. Get ready for an ambush."
Upon hearing those words, everything made sense to Sakura. Naruto making that comment about Kakashi-sensei was his way of telling Sasuke that someone had gotten through the genjutsu she had set up and that they were close enough to be spying on them. Sakura nodded in response to Sasuke and said loud enough for others to hear them, "Your shoulder will be fine, but I suggest trying to avoid using it until we can properly heal it."
Sakura turned to go back where she was from before when she heard a sound coming from above. She looked up and a kunai coming directly at her. She jumped to the side and was forced to roll away as another kunai tried to hit to her.
Sakura stood up and threw her own kunai in the trees trying to hit the attackers. "Sakura are you alright?" Naruto asked as he ran forward and took out his trench knives, all the while scanning the trees trying to find the attackers.
"Show yourselves" Sasuke yelled out to the team.
"Where is the fun in that Sasuke Uchiha?" a voice said among the trees. All three leaf genin couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from. It was as if the voice came from all around them.
Sasuke activated his sharingan and saw that the air was laced with chakra. 'A genjutsu! But when?' Sasuke put his hands together and made a seal and yelled "Kai!", dispelling the genjutsu that was around the three of them. Once the genjutsu was dispelled they all jumped away as kunai began to rain down on them.
Once the kunai stopped the Sound Team emerged from the bushes. "Well it seems as though you have activated your sharingan. Trying to hide behind that genjutsu now is pointless." Dosu said.
"You three don't stand a chance against us. Especially not you, you sorry excuse for a kunoichi" Kin said as she pointed to Sakura. She had taken one look at Sakura and pegged her for a fangirl type with no talent. If it had been a few months ago, she would have been right, but the Sakura standing before her after training with Kurenai had had the fangirl beaten out of her.
"You want to rephrase that you piece of trash?" Sakura said as he began balling her hands into fists
"Kin that one is all yours. I'll take the blonde one. Dosu you have the Uchiha. Let's finish this quickly" Zaku said as they all advanced onto their opponents.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all looked at each other and nodded. If the Sound team wanted one-on-one battles than they would give them one-on-one battles.
(With Sakura and Kin)
Kin leapt at Sakura and began to engage her in a taijutsu match. Sakura was forced to duck as Kin tried to hit her with a roundhouse kick from her right leg. As Sakura ducked she tried to sweep Kin's left leg out from under her, but Kin was expecting that and backflipped away. As Kin landed she took out a pair of senbon and through them directly at Sakura.
Sakura managed to dodge one of the senbon, but the second one lodged itself into her leg. Sakura cursed and pulled out the senbon and broke it in two. Sakura quickly began weaving through seals and yelled "Cherry Blossom Barrage". Kin looked on as cherry blossom petals began forming around Sakura and soon flew toward Kin. Kin being a genjutsu type as well recognized it immediately and released the genjutsu. As the genjutsu was released, she was forced to dodge as she saw that some of the petals were actually shuriken in disguise.
"Neat trick, but you are going to have to do better than that!" Kin shouted as she took out a few senbon and began launching them at Sakura.
Sakura went to dodge and found her movements slowed in her left leg, the one she had pulled the senbon out of. 'Damn it, she must have poisoned it or have a paralyzing agent on it' Sakura knew she could not dodge them all so she took out a kunai and blocked what she could not dodge.
Sakura began going through handseals and yelled out "Suiton: Water Bullet Barrage" and began spitting out massive bullets of water at Kin.
As Kin was forced to dodge the bullets, she failed to notice Sakura's glowing green hand over her leg.
(With Naruto and Zaku)
Naruto watched as Zaku began advancing on him. Naruto smirked as he flipped through some seals and whispered "Hidden Mist Technique". A cloud of mist began covering Naruto and soon spreading to where Zaku was.
"You think this fog is going to help you? I will be able to find you easily" Zaku said as he raised his arms and began firing off powerful gusts of wind through the mist.
Once the mist was cleared, Naruto was nowhere to be found. 'Where did he run off to?' Zaku thought, but was not able to think about it any longer as a kunai landed in front of him with an explosive tag attached to it.
Zaku noticed the explosive note and jumped away just in time as the kunai exploded, leaving a nice crater in the ground where it once was. "I thought you said you would be able to find me?" Naruto taunted as he could still not be seen.
"Show yourself!" Zaku yelled, but was forced to duck as he sensed Naruto behind him. As Zaku ducked and rolled away, one of Naruto's trench knives sliced the air where Zaku once stood.
As Zaku rolled away, he pointed his hand in Naruto's direction and unleashed a powerful blast of wind. The wind hit Naruto head on and Naruto turned into smoke. 'Shit that was just a clone' Zaku thought.
"Fuuton: Wind Blade Jutsu" Naruto said from his hiding spot as blades of wind began flying at Zaku. Zaku saw the incoming blades and jumped away. As Zaku was jumping away, one of the blades caught his leg and left a cut near the back of his knee.
(With Sasuke and Dosu)
As Dosu began running at Sasuke, Sasuke began flipping through handseals and let yelled "Katon: Great Fireball Technique" and expelled a giant fireball from his mouth directly at Dosu. Dosu jumped above the fireball and was forced to dodge shuriken that Sasuke had begun to throw. As Dosu tried to dodge the shuriken, he noticed too late that they were attached to wires, and the wires began wrapping around him.
As Sasuke manipulated the wires to wrap around Dosu, Sasuke slammed Dosu's body onto the ground. As the body hit the ground, it suddenly turned to mud. 'Shit, he must have switched when he jumped above the fireball' Sasuke thought as he felt a kick connect with his back, sending him flying.
As went flying, he began to turn his body so that he would land on his feet. When he landed he looked at Dosu to see him hitting his gauntlet on his arm.
Sasuke just watched as nothing happened after he hit it. "Is that all?" Sasuke asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his ears felt like they were going to burst and he was forced to his knees. Sasuke grabbed his ears in pain as his vision began to blur as well.
"This is the end for you Uchiha. Once I kill you, Orochimaru-sama will praise me" Dosu said as he began walking toward Sasuke with a kunai out.
Sasuke could barely hear what Dosu was saying as he fought to get his senses back, but he thought he heard something about Orochimaru. Sasuke tried to get to his feet, but he was too dizzy. 'I need to move. I don't know what his attack did to me, but I am a sitting duck.' Sasuke sent chakra to his eyes to activate them and opened them to see the that the air was laced with chakra emanating from Dosu's arm.
'He must use that arm of his to send out chakra into the air through the sound. That's how he attacked my eardrums.' Sasuke thought as he tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground. As Sasuke was attempting to stand again, he grabbed some dirt from the ground and put it into both of his ears to stop the chakra from reaching them. Once the dirt was in his ears, the world became clearer and he saw that Dosu was getting closer to him. Sasuke threw a shuriken at Dosu who easily dodged it.
Dosu was close enough to strike Sasuke, and went to slam his kunai into Sasuke's back, when Sasuke suddenly pulled his arm back and Dosu noticed that the shuriken Sasuke had thrown earlier was attached to a thin wire. Dosu felt the shuriken bury into his thigh and then he felt a numbing sensation as Sasuke began channeling lightning chakra through the wire.
(With Shikamaru)
"Alright this should be enough for now, Hinata can you check to make sure no one is around us?" Shikamaru asked.
"H-hai" Hinata said, as she activated her eyes and began looking around. She didn't see any teams within range of them. She began to search the camp where their other teammates were and were shocked to see that they were currently engaged in a battle. "S-Shikamaru Naruto and the others are in a fight w-with t-the team from Sound."
Shikamaru and Choji's eyes widened. "Let's go, we don't have any time to waste" Shikamaru said as he took off into the trees.
(With Sakura)
Sakura had gotten the paralyzing agent out of her leg, but she was still pretending to be hurt to lure Kin into a false sense of security. Sakura dodged a kunai that came her way and unleashed a few of her own. As Kin jumped to avoid them, Sakura unleashed a subtle genjutsu on the area.
Kin landed and looked at Sakura and saw that she was beginning to pant. 'Perfect, the poison on the senbon is starting to kick in. Soon she will be on the ground and then I can take her out' Kin thought as she watched Sakura. Kin threw a few more senbon, and all of them landed perfectly in Sakura's legs.
Sakura cried out and fell to the ground, Kin taking full advantage of this situation ran at her with a kunai in her hand ready to finish her off. Once Kin was within striking range she tried to drive the kunai into Sakura's back only to have the kunai go straight through. 'Genjutsu! When did she-' Kin didn't have a chance to finish her thought as Sakura's fist hit her directly in the face, knocking her out immediately and sending her flying back a few feet.
Sakura watched as Kin's body hit the ground and smirked. Sakura took out some ninja wire and approached Kin and began to tie her up.
(With Zaku)
Zaku was breathing heavily as his body was littered with scrapes and cuts. He hadn't been able to land a single hit on Naruto. Zaku threw a smoke bomb on the ground and made a hand seal.
Once Naruto saw the smoke bomb go off he immediately went through seals and said "Fuuton: Great Breakthrough Technique" and unleashed a powerful gust of wind, blowing all the smoke away. Naruto ran at the surprised Zaku and interrupted his hand seal that he was making. As Naruto got close he sent a right hook that connected with Zaku's face and sent Zaku to the ground. As Zaku hit the ground his body turned to mud. As Naruto watched the body turn to mud, he felt a kunai press into his back.
"Make on move and you are dead" Zaku said.
Naruto smirked. "I think you need to rethink things" Naruto said as he began glowing white, and then soon exploded. Zaku took the explosion head on and was sent flying into a tree knocking him unconscious. The real Naruto watched from his hiding spot and jumped down from the tree once Zaku was knocked out. "Well that was easy, I wonder if he has the scroll we need" Naruto said outloud as he began searching Zaku for the scroll.
(With Sasuke)
Sasuke smirked as he channeled lightning chakra into the wire. Dosu hit the ground as the chakra became too much and he lost control of his leg. Dosu struggled to get the shuriken out of his leg.
As Dosu was struggling to get the shuriken out of his leg, he took out an explosive note and through it at Sasuke. Sasuke saw the note and jumped away, letting go of the wire he had in his hand.
As Sasuke jumped away, he saw that the note did not go off and cursed to himself. He was too close to Dosu to have him set off an exploding note without hurting himself in the process. Dosu smirked as his plan worked and he slowly began to get up. Once he was on his feet he looked at Sasuke and smirked, "Is that the best you have?" Dosu said.
"I'm only just getting started." Sasuke replied. Sasuke then begin to grab a kunai as he heard, "Shadow Possession Technique" and saw Shikamaru, Hinata and Kiba emerge from the woods.
"Why can't I move?" Dosu exclaimed.
"You are under my technique, now stop talking before I end your life." Shikamaru said as he forced Dosu to grab a kunai and hold it to his throat.
"Sasuke what happened here?" Kiba asked
"After you guys left, these three attacked us under orders from Orochimaru to take me out." Sasuke said.
"W-where are his teammates?" Hinata said.
"Right here" Naruto said as he and Sakura walked up along with two clones, both of whom had Dosu's teammates on their shoulders.
Dosu looked at his two unconscious teammates in disgust. How they could have lost to this trash from the Leaf village. They were under strict orders to kill Sasuke Uchiha and they couldn't even accomplish that.
"Well it seems that you are the only one still standing from your team right now. We also have you vastly outnumbered" Shikamaru said.
"If you let me go, I can give you our scrolls. We have a complete set." Dosu said. He knew it was his only hope of getting out of this situation. They could always find more scrolls before the exam was over.
"Where are they?" Shikamaru said.
"In my pouch" Dosu said as Shikamaru manipulated his hands to his pouch and grabbed the two scrolls. Shikamaru forced Dosu to throw them in front of him.
"Hinata check the scrolls to make sure they are fine" Shikamaru said as Hinata activated her byuagukan and checked the scrolls.
"They a-are real" she said.
Naruto stepped forward and picked up both scrolls, taking the Earth scroll his team needed and throwing the Heaven scroll to Kiba, saying "Fetch". Kiba caught it and shot Naruto a glare.
"Well seeing as how we have what we need from you, we will let you and your team go, but if you try to attack us again we will not hesitate to make sure you cannot advance in these exams" Shikamaru said as he released Dosu.
Dosu approached his two teammates and grabbed both of their shoulders and shunshin'd away.
"I doubt that will be the last time we see them before the end of the chunin exams." Naruto said. The others nodded.
"Well now that you guys are back, let us eat and then head to the tower" Naruto said. The others couldn't agree more.
(A few hours later)
As Teams 7 and 8 approached the tower, they ran into little trouble. Luckily having both Hinata and Kiba with them made it easy for them to avoid all the traps and other teams nearby. Once they got to the tower, they read the wall and realized they needed to open the scrolls they had recovered. As the two teams laid down their scrolls there was a puff of smoke and they were surpised by who greeted them.
"Old man what are you doing here?" Naruto said, shocked to the see Hokage here.
The old Hokage chuckled at Naruto's antics, while Team 8 nearly fell on the floor from the lack of disrespect. Sakura was about to correct Naruto, when Sasuke stopped her.
"That is how Naruto shows respect for people. He sees the Hokage as a grandfather. They have a very playful relationship." Sakura nodded in understanding.
"Before I answer your question Naruto, let me just say that I am extremely proud of all of you for making it past the second stage of the exams. All of this year's rookies teams have survived the forest."
"Teams 9 and 10 beat us? Man that sucks" Naruto said. Everyone present laughed, even the Hokage.
"Well Teams 9 and 10 did not run into the same opponent that you all have, which brings me to why I am here. I would like all of you to please follow me to give me your report on your fight with Orochimaru. After that you are free to rest while the second exam is still underway"
The Hokage led them into a room where Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Ibiki were waiting. "Do not be afraid, I have asked them here so that I do not need to repeat the story to them"
(30 min later)
Teams 7 and 8 left the room with the Hokage and found their respective sensei's waiting for them.
"Kakashi-sensei what are you guys doing here?" Sasuke asked
"We just came to check on you and to tell you where your rooms are located. Team 7 is going to be up in room 315."
"And Team 8 is going to be in room 208" Kurenai said as she looked at her team with pride. Very few rookie jonin can say that their team of genin had passed two stages of their first chunin exams.
"Now don't forget that the exam is still going on, but you are free to explore the building as you wish, but just do not provoke the other teams." Kakashi said.
"Hai" all six genin responded, followed by one "Woof" from Akamaru.
"We will meet back with you guys when the second stage ends. Try to relax until then. You guys have earned it" Kurenai said as she and Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"Do you think they have ramen anywhere in the tower?" Naruto asked all the other genin as his stomach began rumbling.
(With the Hokage)
Hiruzen watched as the two genin teams left his makeshift office. He had to admit he was impressed. For Sasuke and Shikamaru to have lasted that long against his old student was nothing short of impressive. Luckily Team 8 had intervened with Naruto when they had, or else Sasuke could have been marked with the curse seal.
"How long until you think Orochi-teme tries to mark him again?" Jiraiya asked.
"I'm not sure, but we will need to have an ANBU squad near Sasuke at all times until these exams are over. We cannot let him place one of his seals on the boy" The Hokage said.
"Hokage-sama, what are your plans for getting rid of Orochimaru?" Ibiki asked.
"I am still in the process of finalizing them, but if he decided to attack, then we will be ready. I do not plan on letting him leave this village alive. I will correct my mistake I made years ago." The Hokage said. He looked to his other two students and asked, "Did you guys find anything when you searched the forest?"
"He was definitely there, but he left no traces when he vanished from the forest." Tsunade said.
"I would try to track him, but I need to be here to train Naruto for the finals" Jiraiya said.
The Hokage nodded. "Have you three thought anymore about what I have asked?"
"Hokage-sama though I am honored you believe I could be your successor, I am not suited for the job. I believe that it should fall to either Master Jiraiya or Lady Tsunade." Ibiki said.
"You already know my answer. I'm more of a teacher, rather than a leader" Jiraiya said.
They both looked to Tsunade. Tsunade was lost in her own thoughts. She began thinking about her old lover Dan, and her little brother Nawaki. Both of their dreams had been to become Hokage.
"Tsunade? Are you there?" Jiraiya said waving his hand in front of her.
Tsunade caught herself and shook her head. "I'm sorry sensei, but you know I cannot be Hokage either. You know with my weakness I would never be taken seriously"
Sarutobi nodded. He knew that his successor would be one of the three in this room, but he just needed to convince one of them to take the job. He already knew who he wanted, but now all he had to do was convince them.
"Very well. If you three will excuse me, I have a meeting I must attend to" and with that the Hokage disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving his two students and Ibiki standing there.
"So how about we go drinking to celebrate the Gaki making it out of the forest alive?" Tsunade suggested.
"Jiraiya put his arms around her waist and said, "I like how you think", but was soon punched into the ground by Tsunade. "Pervet" she said, but she was secretly blushing.
Ibiki looked on and just shook his head. Those two were madly in love with each other, but would never admit it. "I am needed back at my department. See you around" he said as he too disappeared, leaving Tsunade and a beaten Jiraiya in the room.
(Final day of the second exam)
Team 7 had spent their few days relaxing and trying to recuperate from their fight with Orochimaru. Sasuke and Shikamaru were almost back to one hundred percent. Naruto meanwhile was fine within a few hours of arriving at the tower.
"Hey there is only 10 minutes left until the second exam is over. We are supposed to meet the Hokage and all the other passing teams down in the arena. Let's go" Naruto said to his two teammates.
The past few days had allowed them to not only rest, but also think up new strategies and work on a few of their skills. Naruto had created more seals for himself and his team, Sasuke had practiced a bit more with his sharingan, and Shikamaru was trying to increase his stamina and in return in chakra reserves. He had the lowest amount on the team, and didn't want to be left behind by his two teammates as troublesome as it was.
As Team 7 was filing into the arena, the Hokage stood and began speaking, "The time has now run out on the second part of the Chunin Exams. Let me be the first to congratulate all of you on surviving the Forest of Death." The Hokage stopped talking as a jonin behind him gave a little cough. "Oh, right I am sorry. Allow me to introduce to you Hayate Gekko. He is the proctor for the third and final part of these exams"
Hayate nodded to the Hokage and stepped forward. "Let me congratulate all of you on *cough* surviving the forest, unfortunately there seems to have been too many teams that have passed, so we will need to thin out the numbers by having a preliminary round." This was met with a room full of groans and protests from the genin.
"So you are telling me we have to fight more even though we already made it through the second round?" Naruto asked outloud.
"That is correct. The third exam is one-on-one battles that take place during a day, but if we have 27 competitors than it will take longer than that. Now before we begin does anyone feel that they cannot compete? Your teammates will not be disqualified if you drop out now" Hayate said.
This was met with two individuals raising their hands, Kabuto from the Leaf, and Karin from the Grass.
"Alright you two are free to leave the arena or watch from above with the rest if you wish. Now that leaves us with 25 competitors. So 13 of you lucky genin will be making it into the finals. Lucky for you one of you gets a free pass into the final round. To avoid playing favorites we will randomly select opponents for you to face using this." Hayate pointed behind him to an electronic screen being lowered.
As the screen was lowered the Hokage began looking around at the other genin to see who had passed. '9 teams total, with 5 of them being from the Leaf. Very impressive this year. I hope the rookies are ready for this.' The Hokage thought as he looked out and saw the teams from the Leaf, Sand, Sound, Grass, and Iwa.
Once the screen was all the way down, two names appeared on the screen, Naruto Uzumaki Vs Kiba Inuzaka.
"Will all the other genin make their way up to the balcony to join their senseis. I will be proctoring the match. There are no rules, killing is allowed but I will step in if I feel the match has already been decided so that we can avoid useless killing" Hayate said as the genin filed up the stairs and left Naruto and Kiba down there.
Naruto went to one side of the arena, Kiba and Akamaru the other.
Up in the stands the Jonin sensei's of the four rookie Leaf teams all looked on in interest. This was the first serious match between their students. They all had a lot invested in them. It also didn't help that they had made a bet before the beginning of the exams on who would get the most students into the finals. As Kurenai looked on at her student getting ready to fight Naruto, she was worried. She had heard how Naruto had fought Orochimaru and lived to tell about it. She knew Kiba would put up a fight, but he would lose this fight. Naruto was stronger than Kiba. Karin looked down at the arena and looked at Naruto, 'Is he really an Uzumaki?' she thought.
"Are the two fighters ready?" Hayate said. Both Naruto and Kiba nodded. "Then begin!" Hayate yelled as he jumped back to allow for the fight to take place.
"Get ready dog breath" Naruto said.
"Bring it dead last" Kiba replied as Akamaru jumped from his head and barked.
Naruto flipped through a few handseals and said "Hidden Mist Jutsu" and soon the arena was filled with a dense fog.
As the mist began filling the arena Naruto made a hand seal and three clones appeared next to him. Kiba watched as the fog began filling the arena, but he was not aware that the clones were made.
"Naruto this mist will not help you, I will still be able to find you" Kiba said as he and Akamaru began crouching down. "You ready boy?" Kiba asked his faithful companion. Akamaru barked and jumped onto Kiba's back and they began their attack. "Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru began drilling into the mist. Kiba connected with Naruto only for him to disappear in a puff of smoke. 'Damn, a clone! I need to find the real one' Kiba thought as he kept his technique going and moved onto the next one.
Kiba had destroyed two clones and moved onto the last Naruto he could sense. As he was approaching the target, Naruto turned and smiled. "You lose dog breath" Naruto said as he began to glow white and then exploded, causing Kiba and Akamaru to shoot out of the mist and slid across the floor. Once they stopped Hayate saw that both Kiba and Akamaru were knocked out cold.
"Winner Naruto Uzumaki!" Hayate said to the arena. Once the winner was announced the mist cleared and there was Naruto with his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry it wasn't a big explosion. They will be fine in a little bit. I only used enough chakra to knock them out."
Kakashi smiled as he looked on at his student. 'Sensei you would be proud of your son' Kakashi thought as Naruto jogged back up the stairs.
"Good going Naruto. That was a smart tactic using the mist" Shikamaru said. He was impressed by his teammate's strategy. By using the mist he was able to keep everyone guessing as to what happened in there. Most would assume it was an exploding kunai, but Team 7 knew it was one of his exploding clones.
Everyone looked to the board to see two names pop up, Rock Lee and Yoroi.
Lee began shouting about the power of youth when he saw his name and jumped down to the arena, as Yoroi began walking down the stairs. Once the two fighters were ready, Hayate gave them the signal to begin.
"Give up now rookie, you will not win this fight" Yoroi said.
"That is a most unyouthful thing to say. I will show you the power of youth!" Lee said as he rushed at Yoroi and began to unleash a flurry of kicks. Yoroi managed to block all of them, and caught Lee's foot on his last kick.
"I told you to give up, but this works just as easily" Yoroi said as his hands began glowing blue. Yoroi grinned as he began taking chakra from Lee, but was forced to let go when Lee's left foot came at his head and tried to take it off.
"I do not know what that technique was but I assure you it will not work" Lee said.
Yoroi looked at his opponent. 'I barely got any chakra from him.'
Yoroi didn't have time to think of much else as he was forced to duck as Lee began his assault again. Though Yoroi had the experience, Lee had the speed and it was beginning to show. Lee had landed a few good punches on Yoroi and had kept him on the defensive the whole match. Whenever Lee would get close to Yoroi's hands, Yoroi would try and catch him to steal more of his chakra.
After a few minutes, both were beginning to tire. Lee looked to his sensei and Gai nodded. That was all Lee needed to finish this match. "I am sorry Yoroi, but this match has gone on long enough. I have enjoyed this fight very much and wish to spar again if you wish, but I must end things now."
"What makes you so sure you are going to win?" Yoroi said, as Lee yelled "Release" and then weights from his ankles hit the floor and he disappeared, only to reappear behind Yoroi and hit one of his pressure points causing him to pass out.
"Winner is Rock Lee" Hayate said as the medics came to pick up Yoroi's body. Lee went over and picked up his weights and ran back up to the balcony.
All the genin in the arena thought one thing as they saw Lee's last attack, 'Fast'.
"Will the next two fighters please come down" Hayate said. Everyone turned their attention to the screen and saw the names Gaara vs Zaku Abumi.
Gaara appeared in the arena in a swirl of sand, as Zaku was making in his way down the stairs.
"Your blood will have to do for now." Gaara said as he looked at Zaku.
"Are you two both ready?" Hayate asked. Zaku nodded, while Gaara continued to stare at Zaku. "Begin" Hayate said as he jumped away.
"Let's see you survive this" Zaku yelled as he helled up his right arm and began firing off blasts of wind. As the wind began approaching Gaara, sand came out of the gourd on his back and stopped all of the attacks.
Everyone besides the team from Suna watched in awe as the sand was being manipulated without Gaara moving at all. Shikamaru watched everything closely, trying to find a weakness to exploit.
Zaku watched as his attack was stopped. 'Damn. I knew he had control of the sand, but I didn't think it would be that fast or strong. I will need to get behind that shield of his.' Zaku thought as he took out a few kunai and began throwing them with his left as he let loose blast of air with his right. When the air hit the kunai, the kunai began flying at Gaara faster than before. Zaku watched as the kunai began exploding and smirked.
Up above the arena Temari and Kankuro watched as the kunai exploded and both leaned forward over the railing. "You don't think that worked do you?" Kankuro asked.
"Doubtful" Temari said as the smoke cleared away to show an unharmed Gaara with a wall of sand receding.
"Mother grows tired of this" Gaara said as he put one hand out and sand began flying for Zaku. Zaku saw the sand coming for him and jumped to dodge it. As he jumped, the sand began following him. Zaku unleashed another blast of wind from his hand to stop the sand, but the sand kept coming.
Zaku was forced to roll away as he landed as the sand crashed onto the ground. 'There is no way I can get through his sand. He is way too strong' Zaku thought as he felt his legs get caught in the sand.
"I forfeit" Zaku said as the sand began covering the rest of his body.
Hayate appeared in front of Zaku and looked at Gaara, "Release his now. He has forfeited. You are the winner. If you do not release him you will be disqualified."
Gaara let loose some of his killing intent as he let the sand fall away. "Mother will not be happy about this" he said as he disappeared in a swirl of sand and appeared on the balcony.
Most of all the genin present were sweating at the amount of killing intent that Gaara had unleashed. The jonin present were surprised that a genin could unleash that amount of killing intent.
'It seems as though he can communicate with the beast within him. He believes it to be his mother. I will have to make sure Jiraiya keeps an eye on him'. The Hokage thought as he looked at Gaara. His thoughts were cut short as two new names appeared on the screen. Shino Aburame vs Kenpachi Kamizuru.
'The Kamizuru Clan? I thought they had died out. Well this will certainly be an interesting match' Sarutobi thought as he watched the two young genin approach the arena.
"Begin" Hayate yelled as the two combatants gave him a nod letting them know they were ready.
"Let's see who the better bug user is shall we?" Kenpachi said as he began letting out his bees. Shino responded as he began to let his beetles out.
Kenpachi began sending swarms of bees at Shino who responded with swarms of his own beetles. As Shino watched the two swarms battle for dominance, he knew he needed to do something to tip the scale in his favor if he were to come out on top. Shino quickly called his beetles back as he began flipping through hand seals.
"Katon: Great Fireball Technique" Shino yelled as he let loose a fireball that engulfed some of his own beetles and the majority of Kenpachi's bees.
Kenpachi dodged the fireball and swore mentally. 'He took out nearly the whole swarm with that move, as well as taking some of his own. I need to engage him in taijutsu so he can't use any more ninjutsu' Kenpachi thought as he took out a kunai and began running at Shino.
Shino took out his own kunai to combat the one that Kenpachi was coming at him with. As Kenpachi began to strike with his own kunai, Shino blocked it with his own and began sending beetles to attack Kenpachi. Kenpachi saw this and sent his own bees to stop the beetles. As the two battled for dominance, Shino began to lose as the kunai that Kenpachi held began getting closer to impaling Shino. Kenpachi put all his strength behind the kunai and broke through Shino's guard and plunged the kunai into Shino's chest.
"Yes" Kenpachi said as he watched the kunai go into the chest of his opponent, believing it to be over. As soon as the word escaped his lips, Shino's body exploded into a swarm of beetles and began attacking Kenpachi and sucking his chakra dry.
Kenpachi tried to release his bees, but the beetles outnumbered his bees because of the fire ball from earlier. As Kenpachi struggled to fight the beetles off, Shino appeared in front of him dropping the genjutsu he had put in place to hide him. "Surrender or my bugs will finish you"
"Never" Kenpachi said as he melted into the ground before Shino. Shino quickly flipped through hand seals and placed his hands on the ground.
After a few moments Kenpachi shout out of the ground covered in more of Shino's beetles. "Surrender" Shino said showing no sign of emotion.
Kenpachi tried to stand, but soon found himself too weak from having his chakra drained from all the beetles.
"The winner of this match is Shino Aburame" Hayate said as Shino nodded and recalled his beetles back to him. Shino walked back up the balcony while the medics came to collect Kenpachi.
"These Leaf genin know how to handle themselves" Akatsuchi said to Kurotsuchi as they watched their teammate being taken away.
"Yea I am surprised that that Aburame boy beat Kenpachi. Kenpachi was one of the next few up for promotion, and he beat him easily. If the other genin are as skilled as him, this mission just got a lot more fun" Kurotsuchi said as she began looking over all the Leaf genin. None of them really stood out as powerhouses, but those that she had seen already had impressed her. She also knew never to judge a book by its cover especially in the ninja world because underestimating ones enemy could lead to death.
"Well looks like it's my turn. I hope this genin gives me a good fight" Akatsuchi said as his name appeared on the screen as well as Choji's.
Once Akatsuchi made it down to the arena he found Choji already waiting. "Are you two ready?" Both of them nodded. "Begin" Hayate said.
Akatsuchi began flipping through signs and said "Doton: Earth Golem" and two Golem appeared from the ground. Choji saw this and said "Partial Multi-Size Technique" and both of his hands became larger.
Akatsuchi sent the two Golem toward Choji who rushed forward and sent a punch at each of the advancing Golem. Akatsuchi was shocked as the two Golem were sent back a few feet and they had some cracks in them.
'He is stronger than he looks. I can't afford to underestimate him' Akatsuchi thought as he rushed forward and tried to outnumber Choji. Choji saw this said "Multi-Size Technique" and his body began to grow in size. He grew until he was double the size of Akatsuchi. Choji sent a punch at one of the Golem and shattered it into pieces and then turned to hit the other one, but found Akatsuchi standing in his way with his fist drawn back. Choji didn't have time to block as he was hit in the stomach from Akatsuchi.
Choji was sent backwards and managed to catch himself before slamming into the wall. As Choji recovered, he reached into his pouch and took out two strings filled with kunai and wrapped himself in them. Choji then began growing in size again and began to curl into a ball and started to advance on Akatsuchi while saying "Spiked Human Bullet Tank" as he began rolling.
Akatsuchi saw Choji rolling at him with the kunai attached to his body. 'Interesting. Those kunai will not only help with his attack, but also allow him greater maneuverability. I have to make sure not to take that attack head on.'
As Choji approached Akatsuchi, Akatsuchi jumped into the air and commanded his last Golem to try and grab onto Choji. As the Golem went to try and stop Choji, the kunai wrapped around Choji began grinding into the Golem and shattered it. Choji kept rolling through the crushed Golem and turned around to come back at Akastsuchi as he was landing.
Akatsuchi saw this coming and was already going through hand seals and slammed his hands onto the ground as he landed and yelled "Doton: Quicksand River" and the ground in front of him began to change into quicksand. Choji couldn't turn fast enough and found himself lodged in the quicksand. Choji unrolled himself and tried to break free, but found that the more he struggled, the faster he sank. Realizing defeat Choji said "I forfeit".
"Winner Akatsuchi" Hayate said. "Would you mind releasing your technique?" Hayate asked Akatsuchi as he went through hand seals and placed them on the ground and Choji was released.
As Akatsuchi was climbing the stairs he saw the board flash two more names, Shikamaru Nara VS Kin Tsuchi.
Shikamaru saw his name appear on the board and smirked. He would be able to show her why she shouldn't mess with his team.
As the two entered the arena, they stared at each other the whole time. Hayate could tell that these two had a score to settle and he was going to enjoy watching this fight. 'I will show him that he shouldn't underestimate me. His friends got lucky when we fought.' Kin thought. Hayate gave the signal to begin and jumped away as Kin immediately took out two senbon and through them at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru saw the senbon being thrown and and dodged them allowing them to pass him and go into the wall. As Shikamaru readied himself to attack he suddenly heard a ringing sound and realized that the senbon had bells on them. 'She is trying to catch me in a genjutsu' Shikmaru thought as he threw down a flashbomb. Everyone in the arena had to close their eyes for a second as the bomb went off.
Once the flash died away Kin saw Shikamaru standing there still. Her genjutsu had worked. Just to make sure that her genjutsu was in place she began to circle around Shikamaru and noticed that he was not following her with his gaze. She threw another senbon at Shikamaru this time heading for his back. As the senbon hit Shikamaru's shoulder, he cried out. Kin smirked and began to run at Shikamaru.
As Kin was running at Shikamaru, the senbon that was stuck in Shikamaru's shoulder suddenly came flying at her. Kin stopped running and turned to look at Shikamaru only to see him still standing there looking in the other direction. "How the hell did that happen?" Kin asked out loud, not expecting to get an answer.
"I was thinking of letting you closer, but I would rather end it now. Fighting you has become too troublesome and I want to relax." Shikamaru said, but the Shikamaru Kin could see was still in a stupor from the genjutsu. Kin went to run away again but soon found herself unable to move. She looked down and saw that nothing was attached to her shadow.
"How are you doing this?" Kin asked.
"A ninja cant reveal all his secrets now can he?" Shikamaru said as he suddenly dropped his Chameleon jutsu and appeared behind Kin with a kunai to her throat. Kin's heart skipped a beat and she knew she was defeated. "I surrender" Kin said. As Kin said that the Shikamaru that had been in the genjutsu dispelled letting everyone know it was a shadow clone.
"Winner Shikamaru" Hayate said. 'Damn that kid is good. It looks like Team 7 is going to be hard to beat' Hayate thought as he watched Shikamaru head up the stairs to his team.
Once Shikamaru got back to his team all the other members looked at him for an explanation. "What?" he said. "Don't what us Shika you lazy bastard!" Naruto said. "How did you do that?"
Kakashi was extremely curious because he wasn't even sure how he did it. "Well remember when I let go of the flash bomb?" His team nodded. "Well when that went off I made a shadow clone and then used the Chameleon Jutsu that Jiraiya had taught me to conceal myself next to the clone. I had the clone pretend to be caught in the genjutsu she was using and when she threw the senbon I had my shadow grab the senbon right before it hit my shoulder and my clone faked being hit."
"Ok that explains that, but how did you trap her? We didn't see your shadow at all?" Sasuke asked.
"Explaining everything else would be too troublesome at this time as you guys would want me to explain everything about my technique" Shikamaru said as he leaned against the railing waiting for the next match to start.
Naruto was about to say something before Kakashi cut him off, "If Shikamaru doesn't want to explain his technique then he does not need to. As I am sure you both have some techniques hidden from your teammates" causing both Naruto and Sasuke to look at each other. They both agreed that they had techniques that they had been working on that they didn't want others seeing yet.
"Fine Kakashi-sensei" Naruto said.
Team 7 looked down at the arena and realized that the other two combatants had already been chosen. It looked like Sakura was facing off against one of the Grass genin called Jin.
Hayate signaled for the two to begin as he jumped away. 'Shit I won't be able to use most of my jutsu here in the arena. I am going to have to end this fast' Jin thought as he jumped back and began going through hand seals.
As Jin jumped back Sakura ran forward and began throwing kunai and shuriken at him to disrupt his hand seals. Jin was able to finish them all and he disappeared from sight. Before Sakura had a chance to react, she felt two sharp pains on her thigh and saw that there was two cuts there. Realizing that this a a genjutsu she cancelled it and quickly began going through her own seals. "Suiton: Water Bullet Jutsu" she said as she began to fire off water bullets at the newly appeared Jin. Jin was forced to dodge as the bullets came at him. As he was dodging he didn't realize that Sakura was going through her own set of seals.
Jin dodged the bullets for a good thirty seconds, before realizing that unless she had a mastery of the water element her chakra would be taking a huge hit from using this technique so much. 'Damn it, when did she catch me in a genjutsu?' Jin thought as he brought his hands up to dispel the technique, but as he was going to dispel the technique he suddenly felt a pain in his back left leg and was forced to drop to his knee, when he felt a sharp pain in his right leg too and fell to the ground.
Sakura released the genjutsu she had up and Jin found her standing over him with her hands glowing green. 'Her control must be insane for her to have the genjutsu up this whole time and be using medical jutsu as well' Jin thought. Jin tried to stand but found that both of his legs were useless.
"What did you do to me?" Jin asked, as he tried again to stand, but found that his legs would not respond.
"Just a little medical ninjutsu. Our medics will be able to heal you, but first you need to surrender." Sakura said as she took out a kunai.
"Fine. I surrender" Jin said as medics came out onto the field to heal his legs. "Winner Sakura Haruno" Hayate said.
As Sakura was walking back to her team, she found that Kurenai was smiling at her. "You did well Sakura. That was impressive catching him in that genjutsu as he was also a genjutsu type." She said to her student. Sakura smiled and nodded. She was proud of herself.
Everyone glanced at the screen as two new names appeared, Kurotsuchi vs Dosu Kinata.
Kurotsuchi glanced at Dosu as they made their way down to the arena. 'He is from that village that tried to capture me. I will not be taking it easy on him' As Kurotsuchi was walking past Team 7 she could have sworn someone had whispered something about covering your ears, but she wasn't sure. They must not have been talking to her.
"Dobe what did you just whisper to her?" Sasuke asked as he had seen his teammates lips move.
"Don't worry teme, it was nothing" Naruto replied as he turned to watch the match.
Hayate could feel the tension in the air down at the arena and knew he needed to start the match, "Begin" he yelled as he jumped away.
Dosu and Kurotsuchi just stood there and stared at each other for a few moments. They were sizing each other up. Dosu knew that she had the Lava release bloodline so he was wary of engaging her right away. He didn't want to lose a limb.
"Are we going to just sit here all day or are we going to fight?" Kurotsuchi said when she had enough of them just staring at each other. Dosu looked back and just said "Ladies first" as he was already planning an attack .
"Don't need to tell me twice" Kurotsuchi said as she suddenly disappeared beneath the ground. Dose jumped as soon as she went underneath the ground and as he left the ground, a pillar of stone erupted from where he stood. As Dosu landed again another pillar erupted from the ground. This continued three more times as he landed.
'I need her to come above the ground for my attacks to work.' Dosu thought as an idea struck him and he landed on one of the pillars. He placed his hand of the pillar and struck the gauntlet he had on his arm. He channeled chakra into the sound wave as he knew the ground would dull it.
Within a few seconds Kurotsuchi popped out of the ground and rolled to the side as Dosu began unleashing a volley of kunai on her. Kurotsuchi ran behind one of the pillars. 'Whatever that attack was really messed up my headache is killing me' Kurotsuchi thought as she was suddenly propelled forward as the pillar exploded. Dosu had jumped down and broke apart the pillar with his sound waves come from his arm. Kurotsuchi caught herself and began going through handsigns. "Suiton: Water Wave" she yelled as water began pouring out of her mouth and at Dosu who was forced to jump to another pillar as not to be hit. As he landed on the pillar he was forced to jump away was mud bullets were being shot at him. Dosu landed on the water and began running at Kurotsuchi as he was throwing kunai at her.
Kurotsuchi evaded the kunai and ran at Dosu to engage him in a taijutsu battle. As the two battled for dominance, Kurotsuchi began to lose focus as she felt her senses slipping. Dosu took advantage and kicked her in the stomach sending her flying into one of the pillars. Kurotsuchi hit the pillar and fell into the water that was still in the arena. Hitting the little bit of water left from her technique made her snap back to reality. 'His attacks are somehow affecting my other senses.' Kurotsuchi suddenly remembered the advice she had gotten before the match.
Kurotsuchi stood up, she began to go underground. Dosu knowing how to force her out immediately put his hand on the ground and forced sound waves underground. After pumping more chakra into the technique, Dosu realized that she had found a way to stop his technique and he jumped away as a pillar of lava erupted from where he once stood. 'Shit! She is getting serious now. I need to end this' Dosu thought as he was thinking of a way to end this.
Up in the arena the sound team looked on as Dosu was dodging the lava pillars. Zaku and Kin watched and cheered him on silently because they knew that they had already failed in their mission and would be punished, but they wanted Dosu to succeed so he would not suffer the same fate. Their sensei, who was really Orochimaru in disguise, looked on at his last genin, 'He is faring better than I thought he would against her. He may be able to win this. If not, he will just be used as a sacrifice later on'
As Dosu was dodging one of the pillars, he realized that the pillars had begun to make a wall around him. He was trapped, and his chakra was running low. He saw his only chance of escape from the pillars close up as another was risen. He landed in the center of the circle and looked around. All around him were pillars of lava and he couldn't navigate through them as he would get burned.
Kurotsuchi appeared on top of one of the pillars and looked down. "Give up and I won't end your life right here" she said. Dosu looked around and knew that there was hardly anything he could do to win. If he gave up, Orochimaru would kill him, if he didn't then he would die anyways. 'I might as well die in battle' Dosu thought as he jumped toward Kurotsuchi.
"Katon: Great Fireball Technique" Kurotsuchi yelled as Dosu jumped at her. Dosu had no chance to dodge as the fireball hit him head on and he was sent crashing to the floor screaming in pain as the flames ate away at him.
"Winner Kurotsuchi" Hayate said as he used a water jutsu to put of the flames and called for medics who rushed onto the arena so they could begin healing Dosu.
As Kurotsuchi landed back on the arena floor, she went through handsigns to lower all the lava pillars that she had used so the medics could get to Dosu. Kurotsuchi climbed the stairs back to her spot and as she walked by Team 7, Naruto gave her a smile that she returned as if to say thanks for the information.
Everyone watched as Dosu was being healed enough to move into the recovery room. As they waited, the remaining nine genin who had yet to be called all looked around at each other. Hayate coughed as two new names come on the screen. Temari vs Tenten
The two girls looked at each other as their names appeared on screen. "Tenten show them the power of youth!" Gai and Lee both shouted, while Neji looked at her and nodded. Temari got on her fan and rode it down into the arena as Tenten took to the stairs. As Naruto watched he wondered if he could do something similar with wind techniques.
"Are the two of you ready?" Both nodded. "Begin" Hayate said as he left the floor so the two kunoichi got ready to fight.
Tenten began to unleash kunai and shuriken at Temari who took her fan and blew them all away. Tenten tried again with more weapons as she unsealed one of her scrolls and unleashed another volley of weapons on Temari. Temari swung her fan again and sent all the weapons flying away.
"Is that the best you have?" Temari asked. "Who knew kunoichi of the Leaf were so weak." All of the females of the leaf present began to grow angry at Temari. "I'll show you weak!" Tenten said as she unsealed her katana and ran at Temari.
Temari smirked as Tenten ran at her. Her plan to get her riled up was working. The angrier she got, the easier it would be for her to make a mistake. Temari was forced to duck as Tenten swung her katana at her. Temari could tell that this girl was good with weapons so she needed to put some distance between them so she could attack from afar. Temari jumped back after Tenten tried to slash her midsection, and Temari swung her fan and unleashed a blast of wind that forced Tenten back a few feet.
Tenten knew that engaging Temari up close was going to be hard because she would just keep forcing her back with those blasts of wind, and fighting long range was out of the question as well. Tenten had her work cut out for her.
Tenten resealed her katana and flipped through handseals and yelled "Raiton: Lightning Bolt Jutsu" and began firing off bolts of lightning at Temari. Temari didn't have enough time to get off a wind jutsu so she was forced to jump away. As Temari was landing, Tenten ran at her and began to engage her in a taijutsu battle. Temari was finding it hard to fight against Tenten in a taijutsu battle as she usually dealt with her opponents with her fan and hardly ever fought them up close. Temari had no idea that Tenten's sensei was the Leaf's leading taijutsu expert, but she was beginning to figure it out as she was on the defensive the whole time.
Temari grabbed her fan and tried to use it to push Tenten back. As Temari swung her unfolded fan, it was met with a Bo Staff that suddenly appeared in Tenten's hand. The two battled for dominance with their weapons, but Temari found herself outclassed in the weapons battle. Temari jumped back and began to swing her fan. Tenten tried to block her swing with her staff but wasn't fast enough and was blasted back by the blast of wind. Tenten flew back and let go of the staff. Tenten hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet back. As she was trying to get up Temari unleashed another blast of wind and Tenten was sent flying into the wall, knocking her unconscious.
"Winner Temari" Hayate said as he landed and checked on Tenten who had just been knocked out. Temari grinned and panted heavily, the battle had taken more out of her than she thought it was going to. She was going to need to train hard over the next month.
As Temari was walking back up to the stands, her brother Kankuro was heading down. "Looks like it is my turn to win" He said as Temari glanced at the board and saw Kankuro vs Misumi.
Once the fight began Temari knew her brother would win because the Leaf shinobi was too overconfident. She watched as Misumi made his body bend around Kankuro's and try to strangle him, only for it to turn out to be his puppet in disguise. Temari turned away as Misumi's dead body fell out of the puppet. She always hated had Kankuro killed his opponents with his puppets. They were always so messy.
As they were cleaning up Misumi's body she realized her team had all passed. She wasn't surprised though. They were chunin level already, but they were forced to stay as genin to complete a mission for their village.
Once the body was cleaned up the board showed two new opponents, Sasuke Uchiha VS Hiro.
Sasuke was glad his turn was finally here and he wasn't going to let his team down. Sasuke shunshin'd down to the arena as Hiro nervously walked down the stairs. As soon as the two reach the floor and gave the signal that they were ready Hayate called for the match to begin.
Sasuke wanted to end this battle quickly so that people would not see his moves or fighting style so he activated his Sharingan and began discreetly making hand seals. Once Sasuke was ready he dodged the kunai that Hiro had thrown at him and unleashed his genjutsu. Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique and watched Hiro get caught in it immediately.
Hiro stood still for a few moments until he began screaming and then eventually passed out from whatever he saw in the genjutsu. "Winner Sasuke Uchiha" Hayate said as medics gathered Hiro from the arena.
Most genin weren't sure what happened, but they were surprised it ended so quickly. As Sasuke walked back to his team they were all smiling. "You just had to use that jutsu huh teme?" Naruto said as he approached.
"Shut it dobe. I figured it was a quick way to end it. That way no one can see my other jutsu's. This is a competition you know." Sasuke said. The others nodded. Naruto remembered when Sasuke first learn that jutsu and he was on the receiving end of it. Naruto had imagined that there was no more ramen left in the world. The thought still gave him nightmares til this day.
"There are only three people left know. Ino, Hinata, and Neji. I wonder who will face off." Shikamaru said. He wondered who was the stronger Hyuuga, Hinata or Neji. Neji was rumored to be a prodigy, but Hinata wouldn't go down without a fight if they fought.
Hayate stood at the center of the arena and looked up into the balcony to address the three remaining genin. "Whichever one is not called is given a bye into the finals. So let's see who will be fighting" Hayate said as everyone's head turned to the screen.
The first name to appear was Neji's. The second name seemed like it was taking forever to appear. Hinata and Ino looked at each other. Both hoping it was not their name up there, especially Hinata. She did not want to face Neji. As the name stopped everyone stared at it. Ino Yamanaka.
Hayate motioned for the two genin to come to the arena and both made their way down. As Ino was leaving Asuma pulled her aside, "Ino I know you have come a far way since leaving the academy. I have faith in you. Play to your strengths and you can win this" Choji and Shino agreed and Ino felt confident as she descended the stairs and met Neji in the arena.
"If you two are ready, begin!" Hayate said.
Neither two moved. "You should give up now Ino. I have seen you during our training sessions. You cannot defeat me. I have a whole year experience on you. Give up now and I won't be forced to hurt you." Neji said.
Ino just smiled as she looked back at Neji. "Neji you know nothing about me. I don't care if you have more experience, I will not go down without a fight" Ino said.
"Kick his ass Ino" Sakura yelled. She didn't say Ino-pig because she didn't want to ruin her moment.
"You can do it" Choji said in between handfuls of chips.
"Suit yourself Ino." Neji said as he got into his fighting stance and activated his Byuagukan. Ino got into her fighting stance and took out two kunai. Neji didn't hesitate and immediately began attacking Ino, forcing her onto the defensive. Everyone present watched as these two engaged in a taijutsu battle. Ino was trying to hold her old, but she was not fast enough. Neji was getting through her guard and she was taking hits. Ino jumped back and threw her kunai at Neji. Neji saw it coming and dodged both only to see Ino drop a pellet on the ground. As the pellet exploded the arena was filled with a green gas.
Neji held his breath as he jumped out of the fog. He was caught off guard from that attack and ended up taking some of green gas in. Neji began to notice that it was harder for him to see through the fog. He could barely make out Ino in the fog.
"You are starting to feel the effects aren't you?" Ino asked as she stayed in the fog.
"What is this?" Neji asked. His byugukan no longer active.
"Just a little something Anko-sensei and I created. It messes with your chakra control. I myself am immune to it" Ino said as she began throwing kunai, shuriken, and senbon at Neji. Neji was forced to dodge the projectiles. He wasn't used to fighting without using his bloodline so he Ino managed to hit him with a few senbon.
Neji started to feel the the places where he was hit become numb. "You put a paralyzing agent on those didn't you?" Neji asked.
"Correct." Ino said as the gas was beginning to clear. Neji went through hand signs and tried for a jutsu.
"Raiton: Lightning Bolt Jutsu" and fired of a few lightning bolts. Everyone watched as the few bolts that had been fired off were nowhere as strong as they should have been. 'I only inhaled a small amount. It should leave my system soon. I just need to wait for it to leave my system and then I can attack' Neji thought as he began throwing his own kunai at Ino.
Ino jumped out of the way and unleashed her own jutsu "Suiton: Water Bullet Jutsu" and fired off five water bullets at Neji. Neji dodged the first four, but the last one hit him in the leg and sent him back a few feet. Neji was trying to work his chakra around his body to get the gas out of his system and he was beginning to get some of his control back. He guessed he needed about a minute longer until he would be able to use his eyes again.
"I am impressed thus far. I did not think you would be able to make me go this far Ino" Neji said as he reached for a scroll on his side and sent more chakra than he normally needed to open it. What popped out surprised everyone present except for Team 9. They had seen Neji use his weapon before and knew he had it.
Ino watched as Neji unsealed his weapon and knew that fighting him from long distance was out of the question. "Nice bow you have there, I never would have guessed you would use one" Ino said. Trying to buy herself some time to think of a plan.
"Well Hyuuga are known as close range fighters, what if I run into an opponent who fights at a long range like yourself? I will need a way to fight them, wont I?" Neji said as he loaded the bow and pulled back the arrow aiming right for Ino. Ino swore to herself as she jumped out of the way of the arrow. She barely made it and was forced roll away as another arrow nearly buried itself into her leg.
Ino dodged a few more arrows and went through hand some seals and exclaimed "Ninja Art: Poison Cloud" and then purple smoke suddenly shot from her mouth and formed a cloud around her and Neji. Neji knew not to breath once he saw the cloud come. Luckily for him he could use his eyes again and as soon as he activated them he saw Ino running straight at him with a kunai drawn. Neji dodged at the last second and struck the tenkutsu in her legs forcing Ino to fall onto the ground. Neji kicked Ino out of the poison cloud and she landed a few feet from the wall.
Neji jumped right after her and landed a few feet away. Ino could see his chakra control was back and she knew that without her legs she would not be able to win.
"Surrender Ino or I will be forced to hurt you more" Neji said. Ino realized that she would only get harmed more if she continued to fight. "I surrender" Ino said as she hung her head in shame. She had thought she could beat him.
"Winner Neji Hyuuga" Hayate said. Neji was already making his way back to the balcony. "Can you unseal my chakra points first Neji?" Ino asked.
Neji just looked back and then continued to walk. Hinata seeing this, disgusted with the way her cousin was acting jumped down beside Ino and unsealed her chakra points for her. "Thanks Hinata." Ino said.
"D-don't worry about it Ino. Y-you fought well" Hinata said.
"Thanks" Ino said as Hinata helped her up.
"That concludes that preliminary round. Will all the winning genin please make their way down here." Hayate said as the thirteen winners beagn to line up in front of him.
"The third round is tournament style fighting, similar to what just happened here. Instead of being randomly chosen, we will draw numbers so you can see who you are facing before hand." Hayate signaled one of the chunin present and grabbed the bag he was given.
"Will everyone please grab a number and pass the bag down." Hayate waited for all thirteen genin to grab a number. Hayate asked who had each number until he had reached the last one.
"Now pay attention because this is how the fights will go" Hayate said as he held up the sheet for all the genin to see.
Round 1:
1) Hinata Hyuuga vs Neji Hyuuga
2) Shikamaru Nara vs Temari
3) Shino Aburame vs Kankruo
4) Sasuke Uchiha vs Kurotsuchi
5) Naruto Uzumaki vs Akatsuchi
6) Gaara vs Rock Lee
7) Sakura Haruno.
Round 2:
8) Winner of 1 vs Winner of 2
9) Winner of 3 advances to Round 3
10) Winner of 4 vs Winner of 5
11) Winner of 6 vs Sakura Haruno
Round 3:
12) Winner of 8 vs Winner of 3
13) Winner of 10 vs Winner of 11
Final Round:
14) Winner of 12 vs Winner of 13
After everyone had seen the match-ups Hayate put the schedule away. "Everyone will be given a copy tomorrow. Now I believe Hokage-sama wishes to say something" Hayate said.
"Thank you Hayate-san. I want to congratulate all thirteen of you for making it this far. You should all be proud of yourselves. You will all have one months time to prepare for the finals where at the time you will fight in front of a stadium full of people. Now take this month and train hard for the fights coming up. Those of you who are foreign ninja you are welcome to stay here in the village for the month or return home. If you wish to stay, a private training ground will be given to you so you can train in private for the month. I wish all of you the best of luck" Sarutobi said. He looked out at the genin and was happy to see so many Leaf genin in the finals. He was surprised that they were all rookies this year too.
As the rookies began to break apart and head back, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai appeared. "Our genin stay here." They all said together. Team 7 along with Sakura, Hinata, Shino, Neji, and Lee all stayed behind as the others all left.
"Let us first just say how proud we are of all of you." Kurenai began.
"You guys made it through the forest on your first exams, and made it to the final round. That is very impressive" Asuma added
"I knew the power of youth was in you all" Gai said
"That being said, because there are so many of you in the finals, we cannot train all of you personally so we have made arrangements for your tutors for the month." Kakashi said as he looked at his team. His was the only full team from the Leaf to make it. The other jonin sensei's lost the bet so they would need to pay up.
"Who will be our sensei's?" Naruto asked.
"You will find out tomorrow. We want everyone to report to their own team's respective training grounds tomorrow morning at 9 am. From there everyone will get their tutor for the month ahead. Any questions?" Kakashi asked the genin. All shook their head.
"We will see you all tomorrow at 9 a.m." Kurenai said and with that all four jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke.
All the genin left and began heading back to the village. Once outside the gates of the forest Naruto turned to his team "I wonder who Kakashi sensei got to train us for the month"
"It's too troublesome to think about" Shikamaru said and Sasuke agreed.
"Hey I have some stuff for you guys for training for the next month. Do you think you can meet me above the Hokage Monument in 2 hours time?" Naruto asked Sasuke and Shikamaru. They both gave him a weird look.
"Sure dobe we can meet you then" Sasuke said.
"You are so troublesome Naruto, but we can meet you" Shikmaru said.
"Alright see you guys then" Naruto said as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Alright so that is the chapter. Sorry it took so long to get out, but I was swamped with life. Some of the fights may seem short, but the fights will be longer in the finals. Also next chapter Naruto will tell Sasuke and Shikamaru about his parents, and the sensei's for the month will be revealed. The next chapter will be mostly the training for the month and then the finals will start in the chapter following that one. If you have any ideas on who you would like to see train some of the genin I am open for ideas, but I have already chosen most of them. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. Please review as well.