Me: I do not own Naruto!
Last time:
"I believe this match goes to me." She said, glancing up at Hayate.
He nodded. "Yamanaka Ino is unfit to continue! Winner: Kasumi!"
Tenten/Temari
Kasumi waited until the Medical Team had carried Ino away before making her way back up to Naruto and Kakashi.
"Kasumi-chan!" Naruto grinned at her brightly. "You did awesome!"
"You did very well." Kakashi eye-smiled at her.
"Thanks." She smiled faintly, leaning against the railing and glancing at Shikamaru. "Sorry, Shikamaru-san."
He shrugged. "Ino'll be fine. She'll probably talk my ears off when she wakes up though. Man, what a drag."
"We will move on to the next match now." Hayate said.
The scoreboard buzzed.
Temari vs. Tenten.
That match... it made Kasumi wince. It was just brutal. She took back her earlier thoughts; Sasuke vs. Yoroi wasn't the worst match after all. This one was.
A wind user against a weapons user?
Tenten was at a major, major disadvantage. And, unwittingly, she proved it.
No matter how many weapons she threw at Temari, the Sand nin simply blasted them all away. Even her final attack, one that involved two scrolls and an impressive amount of projectiles had no effect. Temari though... with one simple wind jutsu, she ended the fight.
"How boring..." Temari commented, letting Tenten fall on top of her sealed fan without an ounce of sympathy.
"The 5th match... Winner: Temari!" Hayate announced.
Temari smirked cruelly and, in a swift move, threw the unconscious kunoichi towards her own weapons, lying desolate and dangerous on the ground. Before Tenten could get any more injured, Lee caught his teammate, having moved so fast he was a blur.
"Nice catch." Temari said.
"What are you doing?" Lee demanded. "Is that how you treat someone who gave her all in battle?"
"Shut up. Take that loser and get out of here." She replied callously.
Lee gritted his teeth, muscles tensing in preparation for movement.
"Stop, Lee!" Neji yelled, but he was already moving forward, spinning around to kick Temari in the chest. In the blink of an eye, she bought her fan up, blocking his attack.
"What!"
"Just as I thought, you're also as pathetic as you appear to be." She smiled mockingly.
"What did you say?" Flames leapt in Lee's eyes.
"Lee, stop!" Gai commanded, landing on the arena in a green whisper.
"Gai-sensei..." Lee straightened up, shifting away from Temari as she muttered, "Damn."
"Temari, get up here!" Gaara spoke up coldly. "You've been declared the winner. Stop wasting time with that pathetic guardian guy..."
"What!" Lee looked up, frowning fiercely.
Gaara and Lee engaged in a glaring match, the tension near visible in the air.
"That's enough, Lee..." Gai said, moving forward. He took notice of the way his student's fist trembled with anger and sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sand Team... there's something I'd like to warn you about if you don't mind."
Lee twitched, eyes wide.
"This kid is strong. You better prepare yourselves." Gai said simply, but with the utmost belief.
It rather reminded Kasumi of Naruto. Except it wasn't quite as loud.
"Now... umm... for the next match..." Hayate mumbled, shooing Gai and Lee out of the arena.
The scoreboard buzzed.
Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba.
Kasumi blinked. Oh, dear.
Immediately, she swung around to Naruto, who was still processing. "Naruto-san." Kasumi said sternly, waiting until he was looking at her to continue. "Use your brain. Or else." She had not spent hours teaching him for it all to go out the window now.
Naruto/Kiba
"The Seventh Match... Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba!" Hayate proclaimed, leaping back.
Kiba laughed loudly, bringing his fists up. "It's like we've already won! So lucky! Eh, Akamaru?" His dog barked in agreement.
"Oh, be quiet." Naruto pouted. "You gonna bring Akamaru into this?"
"Of course!" He grinned, kneeling down to stroke the puppy's fur. "He fights with me!"
"Heh, okay." The blonde shrugged, crossing his arms. "You need the help anyways."
"Humph." Kiba rose to his feet, smirking. "Acting all tough. Then I'll do this... Akamaru, you stay out of this. I'll fight alone."
Akamaru whined softly, but backed off.
Kasumi titled her head to the side. 'He's underestimating Naruto-san...'
"I feel bad for you." Kiba said, raising a fist. "So I'll end it with one punch.
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Less boasting and more action!"
"Fine!"
"Then... please begin!" Hayate jumped out of range and, instantly, Naruto threw a smoke bomb onto the floor.
"What's he doing...?" Shikamaru wondered.
The smoke cleared in a minute... to reveal none of the players had moved. Kiba was even sweatdropping, rolling his eyes at a sheepish Naruto, who rubbed the back of his neck. "What the hell was that for, Naruto?!"
"I thought it added effect!" He claimed defensively.
"Moron. You haven't changed a bit." And with that judgement, Kiba crouched close to the floor, making a handseal.
"Beast Effect Ninpou. Quadruped no Jutsu!" He went down to all fours, a layer of chakra glowing off of him. "Here I come!"
Naruto blinked.
Kiba zoomed forward, knocking Naruto in the chest and straight into a wall... where he disappeared in a poof of smoke.
"Huh?!" The look on his face was comical.
"Oi, Kiba!" A poof appeared behind Kiba and scattered to reveal Naruto, grinning a very foxy grin and waving a hand cheerfully in the air. "What was that?! You hit like a grandma!"
Lee grinned widely, white teeth sparkling. "Ooh!" He pumped a fist in excitement.
Shino stirred, turning his head slightly towards Kasumi. "Kasumi. Do you believe Naruto will win?"
She smiled confidently, elbows on the railing and chin in her palms. "Of course." Both Shino and Shikamaru stiffened, obviously surprised.
'Really, you would have thought they understood he wasn't just the dead-last...' Kasumi mused to herself, turning her attention back to the match. Utterly focused on the 'Naruto' in front of him, Kiba hadn't noticed the innocent kunai lying on the floor behind him, hence how Naruto had managed to completely startle the Inuzuka.
"You should stop acting tough!" Naruto proclaimed. "Just use your puppy or something."
Kiba gritted his teeth. "You'll regret that." He promised. "Let's go, Akamaru!"
"Bark!"
Naruto's eyes widened, cerulean eyes catching the small pill in Kiba's hand. That was... a smoke bomb! "Oh no, you don't!" He yelled, flinging kunai and shuriken in batches at Kiba and Akamaru.
"Keh!" Kiba snatched up his dog with one hand and leapt into the air, going at least ten feet with the aid of chakra. Smirking, he threw the smoke bomb and the arena was obscured with smoke once more.
Kiba and Akamaru jumped right into the fray and, a second later, a popping noise was heard. And then...
"What the hell?!"
"Th-That's Kiba-kun!" Hinata's eyes widened.
"Hyahah!"
"Hya!"
"Gua!"
"Got you!"
"Get off of me!"
"Argh!"
"Bark!"
And, interspersed here and there, were random poofing noises. Kasumi giggled softly underneath her breath, rather pleased with her work. Kami-sama knew it had taken almost superhuman reserves of patience.
At last, Kiba leapt out of the smoke with Akamaru, eyes wide. The smoke dispersed to reveal at least two dozen Narutos, standing proudly, complete with the same exact foxy grin.
"What the hell?!" Kiba asked again, mouth open. "H-How...?!"
The Narutos just grinned even wider and reached into their pouch, taking out kunai and flinging them towards Kiba. Clenching his teeth, Kiba grabbed Akamaru and leapt out to the right... only to gape as the kunai disappeared in a poof of smoke and all of a sudden there were more Narutos running towards him, ready to attack.
"No way..." Shikamaru breathed. "That Naruto just combined Kage Bunshin and Henge no Jutsu... on a grand scale!"
"He has good timing with his jutus..." Temari said.
"Yeah. He's better than I thought." Kankuro agreed.
"Tch. Looks like we're going to have to get serious, boy." Kiba said to Akamaru, who yipped in agreement. He flung a pill at his dog who swallowed it whole. Akamaru's chakra seethed, his fur turning a dark red as he began to grow in size, growling menacingly.
"Oi!" One of the Narutos yelled. "What did you feed him?! His fur's red!"
"That's why he's Akamaru." Kiba replied, munching on a pill himself. His own chakra blazed, almost doubling. "Here we go, Akamaru!" He shouted, crouching down with Akamaru jumping onto his back, fingers forming a hand-seal once more.
"Beast Effect Ninpou! Beast Human Bunshin!" There was a poof of smoke, and suddenly, there were two Kibas. "Grr..." They growled.
"Eeeh?! What'd he do?!" One of the Narutos yelled, only to have the one standing next to him bop him on the head, instantly dispelling it.
"You idiot! That's a soldier pill!" He yelled back at himself. "Kasumi-chan told us about it, remember?!"
"Ah, right!" Another one of the clones piped up. "It's that pill that makes your chakra increase, right?!"
"Yeah! That's the one!" A different clone pumped his fist into the air, only to be dispelled by his annoyed neighbor.
"That's not good, you idiot!"
"Who are you calling, idiot? We are you!" The second clone reminded them all.
"Oh, yeah..." The clones sweatdropped along with most of the audience.
"Is he for real...?" Shikamaru deadpanned
"Jeez. You're still as stupid as ever." One of the Kibas said in a rough growl.
"Oi!" Every single one of the clones pointed a finger at the Kibas. "We resent that!"
"Oh, shut up!" The Kibas sprang, spinning rapidly in midair. "Piercing Fang!" The two spun like a tornado or a drill, twirling around each other like twin ribbons and blazing a trail through the Naruto clones. There was a succession of poofing as the clones disappeared in smoke.
"You shut up, Kiba!" Two of the clones in the line of fire chorused, running straight towards the two Kibas. They clapped their hands, holding their palms out. "Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
The double wind jutsu, even if only through shadow clones, crashed through the arena, forcing the Kibas to a stop. They growled, throwing their arms over their faces, digging their feet in the ground but being forced backwards nonetheless and creating deep grooves in the ground.
"What a drag." Shikamaru muttered, arm shielding his face.
"I think... I see what you were talking about before." Shino said to Kasumi, who merely watched the scene with a satisfied smile.
"Good." She said simply.
"Ha... ha... you think something that lame would work on me?!" A Kiba yelled after the jutsu had passed, glaring at the crowd of Narutos who remained.
"No." One of them replied, smirking.
"WE KNOW IT WILL!" They yelled as one, clapping their hands and then pushing their palms outward.
The two Kibas' eyes widened. "Shit!" One of them shouted, running forward, but it was too late.
"WIND RELEASE: GALM PALM!"
There were, by Kasumi's calculations, around twenty-nine Narutos. That was one wind jutsu multiplied twenty-nine times. Naruto didn't lack for chakra, even with Orochimaru's machinations added to the mix... and it had only taken Kasumi one wind jutsu to send Ino flying.
Kiba didn't stand a chance. And neither did Akamaru, of course.
They were hurled into the wall behind them, cracks appearing in the stone. One of the Kibas disappeared in a poof to reveal Akamaru, bruised and unconscious. Kiba coughed up blood, the wind pressure unrelenting as it continued to force him flatter against the wall.
Half a minute, a minute later, and it was over. Kiba fell to the ground along with Akamaru, leaving only the Naruto clones standing. They exchanged looks, the silence in the room absolute.
Finally, after a round of nudging, one Naruto clone stepped out and walked over cautiously to the other genin. He knelt down, cerulean blue eyes focused, and... poked him in the cheek. No response. Poke again. Still no response. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke.
"... Naruto-san, I think that's enough." Kasumi called down, a delighted smile spreading across her face.
The Naruto clones looked between her and Kiba once, twice, three times. And then the brave Naruto clone got to his feet and grinned at the rest, dispersing in a poof of smoke.
All the other clones promptly followed, leaving only one left.
"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Hayate declared.
The only remaining Naruto reached into his pouch and retrieved a kunai that he threw into the air. He disappeared in a poof of smoke just as the real Naruto let go of the henge jutsu and landed lightly on the ground with a grin that outshone the sun and a peace sign.
"Yatta!" He shouted, jumping up and down, fists in the air without a single scratch on him. "I won, I won, I won! That was awesome!"
"Oooh!" Lee joined in on the excitement, pumping a fist of his own.
"That Naruto beat Kiba!" Shikamaru gaped. "Without ever actually fighting him!"
Kasumi only laughed gleefully and clapped her hands proudly. 'Naruto-san... you've truly grown stronger, in mind and in body.'
"Kasumi-chan, Kasumi-chan, Kasumi-chan!" Naruto sprinted up the steps, arms swinging, eyes sparkling. "Did you see that? Did you see that?! I won against Kiba! Wasn't I cool?"
"I saw, I saw." Kasumi smiled sweetly at her blonde teammate. "You did wonderfully."
Naruto beamed at the compliment, which Kakashi added to, saying, "Maa, maa, you did good, Naruto."
Hayate coughed into his fist. "Now... we'll announce the next match..."
Kasumi glanced up and decided that she officially hated this scoreboard as it buzzed.
Hyuga Hinata vs. Hyuga Neji.
Hinata/Neji
Naruto was fuming by the end of the 7th match as Hinata was carried off by the medics. Who did this asshole think he was?! He was worst than Sasuke, damn it! All that crap about fate and destiny! Like hell Naruto believed in that bullshit!
Plus, he had even tried to kill Hinata! The jounins had to stop him! What the hell sort of guy was he?!
Gritting his teeth, Naruto drew his fingers through the blood on the ground - Hinata's blood - and gripped his hand tight, turning to face Neji. "You are going down!" He swore furiously.
"Bah..." The Hyuga scoffed, turning and walking away.
Naruto scowled, but Centipede Brows was right. The only way Neji would get what was coming to him was if Naruto faced him down in the Third Exam and beat his ass. So that was exactly what Naruto would do.
"I can't believe that bastard..." He muttered as he rejoined Kasumi and Kakashi. "Kasumi-chan, did you see what that bastard... did...?" Naruto trailed off upon catching sight of his female teammate.
Kasumi's fingers were clenched around the railing, the metal itself bent and disfigured. Her eyes blazed sienna, her mouth pressed so harshly together they were pale. Traces of anger streaked across the clean lines of her face, in her muscles, so tense they could break.
By her side, Shino had his hands in his pockets, face impossibly stoic. In comparison to Kasumi, he was relaxed, seemingly untouched by what had happened to Hinata. Well, that was if you ignored the loud, heavy buzzing arising from beneath his skin.
Eyes wide, Naruto suddenly remembered that Hinata had been Kasumi's friend for a long, long time, way back in the Academy. And Shino was Hinata's teammate, her friend, and they had gone through everything together...!
Naruto thought about how he would feel if Neji did what he did to Sasuke or Kasumi. Thought back to how he had felt when he had thought Haku had taken away his two precious teammates and felt a cold shiver shake his body. Never, ever again.
He reached out to place his hand on the kunoichi's. "Kasumi-chan...?"
Kasumi bit her bottom lip hard and pulled back abruptly, leaving the metal railing twisted. "Naruto-san, when the time comes, I want you to beat Neji-san into the ground." She said without looking at him at all.
Naruto set his jaw and nodded firmly. "Believe it."
The scoreboard buzzed. Kasumi closed her eyes.
Gaara vs. Rock Lee.
Gaara/Lee
Kasumi refused, refused to witness the match between Lee and Gaara.
It seemed like her life these days was just a progression of bad to worse to even worse.
Watching Tenten and Temari's fight was uncomfortable. Watching Hinata and Neji's fight was painful. Watching Lee and Gaara's fight was agony.
Lee would not give up. Just like Hinata would not give up.
Gaara would not show mercy. Just like Neji would not show mercy.
Don't get her wrong, Lee's strength was impressive. Especially after his weights were off and he was free to fight to his full power. His speed was ridiculous.
But it wasn't enough. Couldn't be enough.
Not against the monster called Gaara.
And then, he started to do something Kasumi had only ever read about in books.
Lee started to open the Chakra Gates.
The amount of chakra was astonishing. It was visible, in the air, to the naked eye. So explosive, powerful, extraordinary.
But it wasn't enough. Couldn't be enough.
At the end, Kasumi closed her eyes and found herself wishing Sasuke was there. She wouldn't mind leaning on his cool strength, steady composure.
Lee had to be carried out by the Medical Team on a stretcher, Gai hovering by his side.
Gaara walked out of the arena, sand mask back in place, not even a bruise in sight.
Shikamaru was then given a free pass out of the Exams, seeing as it had been an odd number. With the strained events that had just happened, even he didn't make such a big fuss out of it.
"Well, with this, the Preliminary Trials for the Round Three Test has been completed!" Hayate proclaimed.
Lots
"To all of you who won the rights to compete in the Third Test in the Chunin Selection Exam, one is missing but, congratulations to you all!" Hayate said after the winners were all called down the to the floor, lined up horizontally.
"Ah, well then, Hokage-sama, if you please..." He glanced back at the Hokage, who stepped up.
"Yes... well, now I'd like to start explaining the Main Test." The Sandaime gripped his hat, tilted it down. "As I told you before, in the Main Event, your matches will be seen by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strength of your countries. I'd like you to show off all your powers with no reserves."
So, all-out no matter what, Kasumi concluded, tasting something bitter in the back of her throat. Like Hinata had done. Like Lee had done.
"Which is why the Finals will be held one month from now." The Hokage informed them.
"We're not going to do it right here, right now?" Naruto asked.
"The break, you can say, will be for preparations."
"What does that mean?" Neji inquired.
"In other words, in addition to informing all the various country lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event and this is also the preparation time for you examination students." He said.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say! What do you mean?" Kankuro scowled.
"Basically, it's the preparation to get to know your enemies and yourself." The Hokage elaborated. "It's the time period where you will calculate your chances of winning by analyzing the data you accumulated during the trial competition. The battles up to now had you fight as if you were in an actual combat situation with the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent."
Which... wasn't the case, now, Kasumi realized. Not when they had all see what the others could do. The Hokage confirmed it with his next words.
"However, the Final Trial will not be like this. There are those who showed all that they can do already to their rivals and there are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent."
Was that what he called it? Kasumi rather thought she admired his loquaciousness. Those genin had been beaten until they could have died. Some did die.
"To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to advance improve yourselves. Of course, it'll be fine to rest your body as well." The Hokage stated.
Kasumi twisted uneasily, glancing around the upper level. Kakashi had left a while back, saying he had something to do, but a rock weighed down her gut. Was something happening? To... Sasuke? Before she could worry too much, it was gone, but she resolved to have a talk with her sensei later.
"That's the way it is. Well, I'd like to dismiss you now, but there's something that has to be done for the Finals before I can do that." Oblivious to her thoughts, the Sandaime said.
"What is it?" Naruto asked bluntly.
"Well, now, don't get so excited." He chided. "There are pieces of paper inside of the box that Anko's holding so each of you take one piece."
"I'll come around so wait your turn!" Anko said, indeed carrying a box. They did as told, taking out one folded piece of paper.
"All right, you all took a piece. Now then, I'd like you to tell us the number on that paper in order, starting from left to right." The Hokage said.
"I've got 1." Naruto.
"9." Kasumi.
"7." Temari.
"5." Kankuro.
"3." Gaara."
"8." Shikamaru.
"2." Neji.
"6." Shino.
"That would mean that he's number 4." Ibiki said.
"Yes!" The Hokage answered. "All right, now I will reveal to you the Final Tournament!"
"Huh?!" Naruto lurched back in surprise.
"That's what we drew numbers for?" Shikamaru exclaimed, looking disgruntled.
"Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."
"Yes." Ibiki turned around the board he had been writing on, showing them the way the matches.
Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuga Neji.
Gaara vs. Uchiha Sasuke.
Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino.
Temari vs. Nara Shikamaru.
And then, Kasumi would be up against whoever won from the previous match, be it Shikamaru or Temari.
"Well then, you're free to start strategizing or resting as you like. Will this, I'll dismiss you, but any questions?" The Hokage asked.
Shikamaru raised a hand. "Can I ask a question?"
"Yes!"
"Since it's a tournament, it would mean there's only one winner, right...? Which would mean that only one person can become a chunin, doesn't it?" The Nara pointed out.
"No! That's not quite it!" The Sandaime said. "There will be judges, including myself, the Kazekage, lords of various countries that will make mission requests, and other ninja leaders, who will be watching the Final Test. Throughout the tournament, these judges will be measuring your abilities. Those judged to have the necessary qualities of a chunin will be able to become a chunin, even if they lose in their first match."
"That means that it's a possibility that everyone here will become a chunin?" Temari sounded skeptical.
"Yes. But also the possibility that no one will become a chunin! To advance in the tournament means that you will have more chances to appeal to the judges. Do you understand, Shikamaru-kun?"
"Hai." Was the deadpan response.
"Well then, thanks for all the effort you exerted for these trials!" The Hokage smiled. "You're all dismissed until a month from now."
Kasumi sighed, already planning the training schedules.