A/N: Here is the next chapter! Please enjoy ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own anything…
Chapter 8
One month later…
"Today is the day for the final phase of the chuunin exams," the hokage announces to the large crowd gathered in the stadium. "Let the battles begin!" At the hokage's signal, the battles begin, starting with Naruko versus Neji, with Neji being the favorite.
FlashBack - Before the match
"Now remember what I told you Naruko. Stay focused, use your head and don't do anything stupid. Got it?" Naru lectures her younger self
"I got already!" Naruko yells back as she turns to walk through the door leading out to the stadium.
"Oh and one more thing," Naru says seriously making her younger self stop to look back, a slightly annoyed expression on her face. "Kick his ass!"
"I will, believe it!"
End Flashback
In the epicenter of the stadium, Neji and Naruko stand staring at each other, the roar of the crowd completely silent to the two all except for when the hokage commands for the battle to begin. Instantaneously Naruko separates herself from Neji and hides in the trees, even though she knows it's futile to hide because of Neji's byakugan. Okay…avoid close combat. If he hits me I'm done for. Remember what master Jiraiya and Naru taught you, believe in yourself and don't do anything stupid. Quickly Naruko jumps out of her tree and with her swords unsealed she runs towards Neji, his byakugan activated.
"Just give up, your attacks are futile," Neji says, his voice emotionless as he lands a well aimed blow to yet another Naruko shadow clone, making it disappear in a cloud of smoke. "Everything is predetermined and you are destined to lose here."
"You're wrong! The future isn't set in stone! It changes with each decision that we make, and I have decided that I will not lose to someone like you!" she yells out as she appears from the ground directly beneath Neji, punching him in the jaw with a chakra reinforced blow that sends him flying into the air. Quickly Neji gets up and after spiting some blood from his mouth, he starts running towards Naruko. Through pure luck and instinct Naruko successfully dodges several of Neji's punches, but soon it runs out and Neji lands a blow to her chest, the pain forcing her to the ground as blood begins to trickle out of the corner of her mouth.
"Stay there and accept your defeat," Neji says coldly as he turns to leave.
"I will never lose to someone like you," Naruko says back weakly at first, but as she continues on her voice gains momentum. "I will defeat you and continue on my way to become hokage so I can make this village a better place, and to show people like you that you aren't better than everyone!"
"You will never become hokage. Do you want to know why?"
"Humor me," Naruko replies back sarcastically as she gets off the ground.
"My eyes can see many things which include a person's limit, and I have seen yours Naruko. The hokage is the strongest shinobi out of them all and when they were born they were predestined to become hokage. When you were born however, you were predestined to be a loud, obnoxious little girl that will never be anything but an expendable nuisance and a monster that only causes destruction. Nobody will acknowledge you as anything more than that. "
"I don't give a damn about destiny or the future being set in stone! I know I can be loud and obnoxious and sometimes I don't think before I do things. And it is true that I have a monster sealed inside of me," she says, her hand on her stomach. "But I will not let that stop me from fulfilling my dreams! I will become hokage and I will show people that I am not a monster and that through hard work and believing in yourself you can do whatever you want, no matter who you are or where you came from! Everyone deserves the chance to better their life and to chase their dreams no matter what they are. It is those people that can make the world a better place, unlike people like you who will keep this village from growing and from becoming a better place. So I will defeat you and knock your ass off its pedestal and show you that everyone is equal and everyone has the right to chase their dreams!" Naruko finally finishes, her cerulean eyes burning with determination.
And with that Naruko summons her swords again, only this time they are glowing and the air around them is crackling with electricity. Without hesitation Naruko charges towards the poised and ready Neji as he himself grabs a kunai out of his weapons pouch. The two go at it for several minutes before Naruko is sent flying with a kick from Neji. But suddenly out of the bushes another Naruko appears and quickly the clone forms several hand signs before yelling out, "Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Instantaneously an enormous fireball explodes from her mouth, and as it approaches Neji another clone appears and forms several hand signs, "Wind style: Wind gale!" An invisible force of air also rushes towards Neji and as it makes impact with the hurtling fireball, the fireball expands becoming hotter and more ferocious. As it makes impact, a deafening bang echoes off the stadium walls as it destroys everything it touches.
Several minutes go by before the smoke clears, which reveals Neji hunched over with his hands on his knees breathing heavily and smoking slightly. Without giving him the chance to recover, the real Naruko dismisses her swords and rapidly approaches Neji, successfully landing several punches on the Hyuga who also attempts to fight back but before long Neji falls to the ground. Immediately the proctor stops the fight and declares Naruko the winner. Medical shinobi run into the arena and gather the barely conscious Neji on a stretcher. But before they could carry him out, he stops them and motions for Naruko to come closer. "Perhaps the future isn't set in stone," he whispers before allowing him to be taken away.
Everyone in the stadium stands there in silence, disbelief clearly written all over their faces, unable to accept that a Hyuga was defeated by the loudmouthed Naruko. But soon the silence is broken when the hokage stands, "Naruko Uzumaki is the victor, she will move on to the next round. Bring out the next contestants!"
OoOoOo
"Naruko that was amazing!" Sakura exclaims as she runs towards her teammate once Naruko was out of the arena.
"Good job," the younger Sasuke says with a smirk on his face, the older Sasuke and Naru nodding their heads in agreement.
"Thanks…" but suddenly Naruko collapses on the ground as she starts to cough up blood. Quickly the older Uchiha collects the coughing Naruko in his arms and rushes her to the designated medical area of the stadium, the others following closely behind.
"Is she going to be okay?" Sakura asks when she sees the unconscious Naruko lying on a bed.
"She will be okay, during her fight with Neji Hyuga she sustained several broken ribs that cut into her lung causing it to fill with blood. But we have successfully treated her and she is no longer in danger," a medical shinobi says, calming everyone's worried nerves, and before long someone comes to retrieve Sasuke for his match against Kankuro.
"I'll stay with her, you and Sakura go and watch the match," Sasuke-teme says to Naru who nods her head and leaves to watch the match with Sakura in tow. Quietly he grabs a chair and pulls it to Naruko's bedside, sitting there in silence watching over his friend.
OoOoOo
The match between Sasuke and Kankuro doesn't last long, Sasuke's lightning and fire styles easily overpowering Kankuro's puppet style, and soon it was time for the last match Naru versus Gaara of the sand. As the two walk out of their tunnels and meet at the center of the stadium, everyone in the stands holds their breath, the tension in the air threatening to shatter at any moment. Once given the signal to start, the proctor falls back to a safe distance while the two opponents just stand there, staring at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.
Believe it or not, this is going to be tough. I don't want him to lose control and go on a rampage but I have to remember that I must fight at a genine or low chuunin level.
"So what are you going to do kit? Are you going to let him win so he doesn't go berserk or try to knock him out with one blow?" the kyuubi asks.
I'm not sure, but I'll figure something out…
"Are you just going to stand there or are you too afraid to attack," Gaara's dead voice sounds out as he stands there with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Scared? Nah, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to defeat you," Naru laughs back.
"You look a lot like that girl who won against the Hyuga."
"Yeah I get that a lot. But never mind that, let's end this!" Not wanting to attract suspicion, Naru draws a different sword that she had strapped to her back and quickly positions herself in a fighting stance, her eyes the color of blood. Without moving a muscle, a torrent of sand gushes out of the gourd on Gaara's back and speeds towards Naru. With expert reflexes, Naru effortlessly dodges his attacks with the grace of a hunting cat, but suddenly a tendril of sand latches onto her sword and pulls it from her grip, burying the sword halfway into the ground by Gaara's feet. A smirk finds itself on Naru's face as Gaara awaits her move. In a flash Naru creates several hand signs before yelling out, "Water style: Water Shock wave!" Out of nowhere an immense amount of water materializes and speeds towards Gaara. Just as it is about to engulf him, a wall of sand appears just in time. Once the water dissipates the sand wall also disappears, but Naru is nowhere in sight.
Suddenly from behind Gaara another wave appears and soon three more appear, completely surrounding him. As the waves crash down a resounding boom echoes throughout the stadium before becoming silent again. Several minutes pass before the water completely disappears, revealing Gaara encased in a ball of sand. Quickly Naru runs up to the ball and grabs her sword out of the ground, a light blue aura surrounding the blade as she shoves it into the ball with all her strength, the blade being enforced with wind chakra burying itself into the sand. From behind her, sand in the shape of a hand reaches out wraps its fingers around her. An opening appears in the ball, reveling two emotionless sea foam green eyes staring at its trapped prey.
"You've failed. I have the ultimate defense that nothing can beat. Admit your defeat or die," his voice emotionless, but anger soon burns in his eyes when Naru sticks out her tongue. Before he could react, Naru disappears with pop and a puff of smoke, instantaneously the real Naru appears at the opening Gaara made, a smirk on her face.
"Water Style: Black Clouds!" Thick black clouds saturated with highly flammable oil starts to leak out of Naru's mouth and flood into the sand ball surrounding Gaara. Once the clouds completely consume Gaara, Naru jumps back, simultaneously forming hand signs for another jutsu. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" A stream of fire explodes from Naru's mouth and flies towards the black clouds surrounding Gaara. The second the fire touches the clouds, they erupt in a massive fireball, the crowd gasping in fear as the heat of the blast touches their faces.
Once the smoke clears everyone in the crowd gasps again, only this time in shock, standing there, seemingly unharmed is Gaara. Unconcerned about the still standing Gaara, Naru disappears in the blink of an eye and reappears crouched down before Gaara, a smirk on her face as she sees several cracks forming on Gaara's skin. Mustering up a large amount of chakra, Naru punches him in the jaw and sends him flying into the air, moving so fast his sand isn't able to keep up. Naru then appears just above the airborne Gaara and slams her leg down on his head with such force that when he makes impact with the ground a crater several feet deep forms. Gracefully Naru lands beside him with her sword at his throat, pressing down just enough to draw a tiny trickle of blood. "The fight is over, Naru is the winner!" The proctor exclaims as everyone in the crowd jumps from their seats and cheering erupts from their mouth. Silently Gaara stands, the sand shield around his body reforming, the cracks disappearing before he himself disappears.
Quickly the hokage stands and signals for everyone to be quiet, after several minutes the spectators are once again in their seats waiting for the hokage to make his announcement. "All of the winners please take the field as well as Shikamaru Nara," he announces and once all of the victors plus Shikamaru step out onto the field he continues. "Though you have won your round, not everyone will succeed in gaining the rank of chuunin. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruko Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, Temari and Naru, congratulations on all passing and obtaining the rank of chuunin, you should all be proud. Shino Aburame, even though you won your match against Ai Yamamoto (A/N: Yeah I made it up…) you will not advance to chuunin. You fought well and showed great skills you will have to wait until next year, you should also be proud. This concludes the chuunin exams, congratulations to all those who passed, go finish tending to your wounds and celebrate with your friends and family," the hokage concludes and soon everyone starts filing out of the stadium.
OoOoOo
Later that evening, Naru breaks away from everyone in Naruko's hospital room and makes her way towards the building housing the finalists that are from outside of Konoha. Gently she knocks on a door several times before it opens, revealing Temari.
"What do you want?" she asks spitefully, her eyes narrowed.
"I'd like to speak with Gaara."
"Out of the way," Gaara says in his usual manner as he pushes Temari aside.
"I mean no harm. I just came to talk is all," Naru says calmly as she holds her hands up.
"Very well," he replies as he walks through the door, leaving both Temari and Kankuro stunned. Once away from them both and from civilization they stop and Naru turns to face him, her cerulean eyes boring into his sea foam green ones. Instead of saying anything Naru wraps her arms around the unsuspecting Gaara, too stunned to do anything, he just stands there in shock.
"Gaara, I understand. You are not a monster, no matter what everyone says you are a human being that deserves to be loved," she whispers in his ear before releasing him from the embrace, but keeping her hands in his shoulders. "Earlier you asked why I look like Naruko, well the truth is I am Naruko, only from the future." Seeing he was about to interrupt her, Naru quickly silences him with a look. "It might seem impossible but it is the truth. I am just like you. I am a jinchuriki I have the nine-tailed fox sealed inside of me. When I was younger I was treated like trash, the villagers would both verbally and physically abuse me. But I don't hate them because they were ignorant and wanted to place the blame for their friends and family dying so they placed it on me. I won't lie, I still feel bitter about it sometimes, but I have forgiven them, and you should do the same. Like I said earlier I come from the future, I won't tell you details but just know, things get better and soon you will be surrounded by friends and people that love you. If you ever lose hope just look to Naruko, she understands everything you are feeling and will always be there for you no matter what. Understand?"
"Naruko is just like me? But she has so many friends…"
"Open up to people and show them the kindness that I know is in your heart. Things won't happen overnight, but trust me, it will get better and soon you'll have many who are willing to stand by your side and are willing to die for you."
"Really?" he asks in disbelief, showing emotion for the first time.
"Yes, I promise. So don't lose hope, things will get better."
"Thank you Naruko Uzumaki. I will take your words to heart."
"Anything for a friend," and before he could do anything Naru wraps him in another hug before the two head back.
A/N: So the next chapter will be the last one for this part of the story. I hope you liked it! Sorry if the battle scenes weren't very well written but I tried my best. Thanks for all of your reviews!