I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters. I know the fights are mostly important but I think most are so boring so I'll be only doing the Uchiha this chapter.
Examining Chaos
"Welcome to the final round of the Chunin exams," the new proctor, Genma, began speaking to the genin assembled before him, excluding Naruto and Sasuke. "The rules are the same as the preliminaries. The fight continues until-"
Just then, the door burst open and Naruto sprinted through sliding to a stop beside Ryuu.
"Sorry I'm late," Naruto panted looking around. "Hey, where's Sasuke?"
"Late," Ryuu stated. "He'll be here."
"As I was saying," Genma continued. "The rules are the same as the preliminaries. Each fight continues until one side is unable to continue or until I call the match. These are the matches for the first round."
He held up a piece of paper with each of the matches written down. Sasuke was up against Gaara, Naruto against Neji, Shikamaru against Temari, Kankuro against Shino, and Ryuu against a blank space.
"Aren't I supposed to fight the sound Village Kid?" Ryuu questioned.
"He was...disqualified for outside fighting so you'll be fighting someone else," Genma lied, deciding against telling them all that the kid had actually been killed. "He is a volunteer shinobi who claims to simply wander around, helping those in need in exchange for enough money to survive."
"I see," Ryuu nodded already not trusting the ninja.
Just then, a second ninja appeared behind Genma and whispered something then vanished and Genma sighed.
"As Sasuke Uchiha is not here, his match has been moved to last!" Genma called out to the people watching from the stands. "Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga will go first."
Ryuu stood leaning on the railing watching Naruto and Neji fight but without seeing it. His mind was reliving the last of the time he had with Fu before she left yet again.
one day earlier
"Alright," Fu nodded, grinning. "That's all I can teach you. Now, I think that you should practice on your own."
"You're not leaving yet are you?" Ryuu questioned.
"I should leave," Fu stated.
"You're still not done whatever it is you have to do are you?" Ryuu questioned.
"No," Fu sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Ryuu smiled. "But before you leave, spend the day with me."
"Okay," Fu smiled. "But only today."
Ryuu beamed and the two of them left the clearing and made their way to Konoha. They stopped at the first good restaurant they came to and went inside. Within minutes they were seated and were given menus before the waiter left. Ryuu scanned through the menu briefly before closing it and setting it aside. After a moment, Fu set her own menu aside. She sighed, knowing what was coming.
"What is it that's so important that you can't stay?" Ryuu finally asked.
"I...can't tell you," Fu sighed. "It's not that I don't want to. Believe me, if I had the choice I'd stay with you forever. But I have to finish my job. Once that's done, we'll be together. I promise."
"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "Why can't I help you?"
"Because it's not something I can let you get involved in," Fu stated. "Trust me, it's for your own protection."
Ryuu nodded, remembering the answers from the last thousand times he had asked. Fu didn't mind him asking, she just wished he wouldn't. The waiter returned, taking their orders and left. Over the course of the meal, their conversation changed from one light subject to another, both of them laughing lightly at one thing or another. Finally they finished and Ryuu payed before they left. They walked along in silence, Fu holding Ryuu's arm with her head on his shoulder. Soon they ended up at the top of the Hokage Monument sitting under a tree and watching the clouds.
"You sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind?" Ryuu finally sighed.
"No," Fu smiled up at him. "I have to go. But I'll be back."
He nodded and kissed her. She kissed him back, turning to face him while sitting in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. They remained like that for several minutes before they pulled away and Fu rested her head on his shoulder.
"I love you," Ryuu stated after a few minutes and Fu instantly tensed, suddenly not breathing.
Ryuu looked down at her and saw tears flowing out of her wide eyes. Before he could ask what was wrong, she jumped up and sprinted out of his reach as he tried to catch her before she disappeared in a nearly blinding flash of light using her own Body Flicker Technique. Ryuu sat against the tree in a stunned silence for a while before standing and returning to his house to rest before the exam the next day.
Ryuu still wasn't sure why she had reacted that way but he forced his mind out of his head and focused on the battle just as Naruto exploded from the ground at Neji's feet, delivering a powerful right uppercut to his jaw. Neji landed on his back, unconscious and Naruto named the winner. Then, Neji was taken to the infirmary in the stands of the coliseum-style stadium where the exam was being held. Ryuu glanced up at Gaara who was staring at Naruto who was climbing back up to the others.
"Psst, Ryuu," an unmistakable voice whispered from just behind him. "Stairwell."
Ryuu calmly turned and walked through the waiting room as Shikamaru dropped down to the ring inside. Ryuu reached the stairwell and found Fu waiting for him smiling shyly and apologetically. He practically jumped down the stairs to her and hugged her.
"When you left I thought you were mad at me for some reason," Ryuu stated.
"I'm sorry," Fu apologized face downcast and voice ashamed. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just..."
"It's alright," Ryuu smiled. "But...what are you doing here? Did you finish already?"
"Almost," Fu stated. "By the end of today, I'm willing to bet. But first I have to warn you that he is here for you. Be very careful. He's been training as hard as you. He's strong."
"And then there's his armor," Ryuu stated.
"Yeah," Fu nodded. "Please be careful. I'll be keeping an eye on you. If you need me, I'll be there."
Ryuu nodded, smiling. He kissed her again then she sank into the floor and he returned to the waiting area with the others just as Shikamaru caught Temari with his Shadow Possession Jutsu using the tunnel Naruto had made to hit Neji. Shikamaru briefly explained how he had beaten her then raised both of their hands.
"Okay that's it," Shikamaru called out. "I give up."
Every single person in the stands fell silent, staring at Shikamaru in shock for a moment before everyone began shouting, voicing their matching opinions about his decision. Ryuu glanced at Genma who looked to be in shock but after a moment he named Temari the winner and the two combatants returned to their places.
"Next is Shino and Kankuro," Genma stated looking around with a slightly worried expression.
"Your opponent still isn't here," Shikamaru stated. "He's late too."
"I think I might be happy about that," Ryuu stated. "I think I know who it is."
"Proctor!" Kankuro suddenly shouted. "I withdraw so please advance to the next match."
Instantly people began shouting in annoyance. No one was happy. Especially since the next match was either Sasuke or Ryuu. Neither of which currently had both participants.
"For the love of..." Genma muttered before sighing. "Very well. Shino is the winner by default. Next should be either Sasuke and Gaara or Ryuu and his opponent. However, neither of those matches are able to be fought from a lack of the other member."
"Have Gaara fight the available Uchiha!" someone in the stands shouted.
Suddenly a ninja appeared and whispered something to Genma who groaned and rested his hand in his palm but nodded.
"There will be a ten minute recess as we wait for Sasuke and Ryuu's opponent," Genma stated. "Hokage's order."
Everyone groaned but soon fell silent and waited for the two missing ninja to show up. After ten minutes, everyone was getting restless and neither was there. Finally, Genma sighed as Gaara arrived in the arena and turned toward the stands.
"As Sasuke is not here, I have no choice but to-" He was cut off by a swirl of leaves as Kakashi and Sasuke appeared on the field.
Sasuke looked up at Naruto and Naruto and Ryuu both dropped to the ground and ran over.
"Sorry if we kept you waiting," Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head. "But, um, how late are we? I mean, it's not like Sasuke's...well...disqualified or anything...right?"
"Like master like pupil," the proctor said. "Even down to your lousy sense of time."
"Well, what about it?" Kakashi asked.
"You know you were so late that we extended the deadline for you, twice in fact," the proctor said. "It's lucky for you we did because you just made it. No, he's not disqualified."
"Oh," Kakashi said. "That's a relief. You had me worried there for a minute. So we're okay."
"Sasuke, be careful," Ryuu warned.
"Don't you dare lose," Naruto ordered. "I'm going to beat you myself."
"Whatever you say idiot," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Who did you fight?"
"Haven't," Ryuu stated. "My opponent is supposedly a wandering good Samaritan who helps out for a very small fee."
"Sounds more than a little suspicious," Sasuke stated.
"I know right," Ryuu nodded then everyone froze.
In the same amount of time it took to blink, Ryuu could feel that there was suddenly someone standing behind him. He and Sasuke slowly turned toward the presence and both of their eyes widened. It was him. He was about one step from Ryuu, armor glinting in the sun and a wicked grin on his face.
"Hello again Ryuu," the man greeted bowing.
"YOU!" Sasuke shouted throwing a lightning fast punch which the man easily caught.
"That's enough Sasuke," Ryuu growled resting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "This is my opponent, isn't it Genma?"
"It is," Genma stated. "You know him?"
"He's the one that kidnapped me," Ryuu stated.
"Oh," Genma blinked voice small.
"I'll be taking your eyes for my own this time," the man stated. "Consider it payback for my brothers."
Ryuu took an involuntary step back and Genma rested a hand on his shoulder.
"We won't let him kill you," Genma promised. "Sasuke and Gaara are up first. The rest of you, please move up into the waiting areas."
Ryuu and Naruto returned to theirs and the ninja that had kidnapped Ryuu before simply jumped all the way to the top of the coliseum.
"I'm going to kill him," Ryuu growled.
"I hope so," Naruto breathed. "But how? We couldn't touch him before."
"I'll be taking care of that problem first," Ryuu stated. "But before that, Sasuke will have to fight Gaara."
They both turned back to the arena and Ryuu gripped the railing, unsure whether he was scared or excited to get to fight the ninja again.
"Alright," Genma said. "The rules for this match are the same as in the preliminaries. The match continues until one of you dies or admits defeat. However, I can stop the match, but that's solely my decision."
Gaara laughed a bit and Ryuu could guess why.
That's what you think buddy, Ryuu thought. I'd like to see you try.
Genma raised his hand then swung it down and said, "Begin!"
With that, he jumped out of the arena just as sand began to stream out of Gaara's gourd. Sasuke jumped back so that he would have time to react to any attacks. After a moment, Gaara gasped and pressed a hand to his head groaning.
"Please," Gaara said. "I beg you! Don't get so mad at me."
He smiled and began to quiver. Then he looked back up at Sasuke.
"Mother," Gaara said.
Sasuke stared at Gaara in confusion as sand continued to stream out of the gourd and form a cloud over Gaara.
"Earlier I..." Gaara said. "I know. I made you taste such awful blood. I'm so sorry. But this time...I'm sure that it will taste so very good."
Gaara suddenly doubled over gasping again and the sand fell to the ground around him. His breathing became ragged and he continued to gasp for breath for a few moments before leaning forward and dangling his arms.
Then he straightened up enough to look at Sasuke and said, "Come on."
The sand began to rise around him and rub against itself while swirling producing a loud roar. Sasuke and Gaara stared at each other for a moment waiting for the other to move.
"Here goes," Sasuke said pulling out two Shuriken and throwing them.
The sand moved in front of it and blocked the Shuriken and a sand clone formed holding the Shuriken. Sasuke began to run forward but the sand clone leaned back and his torso exploded into a wall of sand shooting at Sasuke. Sasuke jumped over the blast just as it crashed down where he had been a moment before. The clone looked up at him and threw the Shuriken and Sasuke threw two more to block the first.
As Sasuke landed, he kicked the clone's hands off then landed on his hand and spun away from the clone long enough to land on his feet and spun backhanding the clone's throat. His hand stuck halfway through, however, and the sand began to close around his wrist. He tried to pull it out but it wouldn't budge so instead he smashed the clone's head with his other hand, destroying it. The sand from the clone exploded in every direction and Sasuke started forward again as the sand to either side began to rise again. He threw a punch forward and the sand moved to block his fist but Sasuke grinned then spun and vanished, reappearing a moment later behind Gaara.
Gaara turned toward him as memories of fighting Lee flashed through his head. Sasuke smashed his fist into Gaara's cheek before he could turn all the way around and Gaara's sand armor cracked as he flew away from Sasuke, the sand following. Both smashed back down and Gaara stood.
"So that's your sand armor huh?" Sasuke asked. "Come on."
The audience stared in wrapped silence at Gaara and Sasuke.
"Come on!" Sasuke repeated. "Well if you won't, I will."
Sasuke charged at Gaara who stumbled back a step then crouched raising the sand to defend himself. When Sasuke reached the sand, he blurred around behind Gaara. Gaara sent the sand at him but Sasuke spun out of the way and charged again. When he reached Gaara, he kicked him and sent him flying.
"What's the matter Gaara?" Sasuke asked. "Is that all you've got?"
Gaara stood with the sand forming up around him and his eyes closed.
"I'm going to tear off all of your armor," Sasuke said dashing forward again.
The sand around Gaara rose in a circle and Sasuke began to run around Gaara in a blur beginning to make a funnel. Then he flipped over the sand and ran at Gaara. He kicked him in the face then grabbed the front of his shirt and smashed his knee into his stomach then jumped back. Gaara fell to his hands and knees and began panting. No one made a sound. Not even the wind was blowing.
Finally, after a while of simply staring at each other, Gaara put his hands together clasping his fingers with his pointer fingers extended upward and pressed together. The Sand began to rise then formed a dome around him.
Sasuke sprinted forward and threw a punch at the dome. The moment his fist was withing a foot of the dome, the side erupted with spikes. He stood there for a moment in surprise. His fist had made contact and he had avoided most of the spikes but the side of the dome had been so hard it had made his hand bleed.
After a moment he jumped back and the spikes sank back into the dome. Sasuke stared at it as blood dripped from his bloody knuckles.
Suddenly sand began to swirl over the dome and formed an eyeball so Gaara could see. Then Gaara began to chant, voice audible outside the dome and everyone seemed to get nervous. There was an nervous, almost scared feeling hanging in the air.
Sasuke sprinted forward again and threw three kunai into the sphere then leapt over it and began to run at it from the other side. The spikes shot out at him and he avoided them then smashed his hand into the dome. The spikes retracted and he jumped back as they began to extend again. He tried to run at the dome again but the spikes began shooting out faster and he had to cartwheel sideways to avoid them. He jumped into the air and smashed his foot into the top with no effect and jumped off just before the spikes shot out. Sasuke looked more carefully at the dome and saw a single spot where the sand had come together that was slightly weaker than the rest of the dome.
Sasuke bent his knees slightly and raised his hand in front of his face then unclasped part of a strap on his left arm. Then he jumped back and up the wall of the arena. He stopped about at the top and made several hand signs. Then he grasped his left wrist and held his hand so that the palm was about an inch away from the wall. As he focused his chakra, a ball of lightning began to form in his hand.
When his Chidori was finished, he took off sprinting down the wall holding the inside of his elbow. As he neared the dome, the spikes shot out but Sasuke evaded them and slammed his Chidori into the dome. The Chidori blasted straight through the dome then into Gaara's left shoulder. Suddenly a splitting scream rang out of the dome.
"AAAHHH!" Gaara shrieked. "BLOOOD! IT'S MY BLOOOD!"
Sasuke tried to pull his hand out but it wouldn't budge. He quickly formed another Chidori and Gaara screamed again. Then Sasuke ripped his hand free and a grotesque, sand-colored, spiked hand was dragged out with it until it couldn't stretch anymore and let go. Sasuke fell to his knee clutching his arm and the hand began to retract into the hole in the dome.
Everyone stared at the dome in shock and fear as something else began to hang in the air. Panic.
Sasuke stared at the hole waiting for something to happen. A deep growl emanated from inside the dome and Sasuke could see something inside writhing around. Then an eye moved into view. The eye was completely black where it should be white and the pupil was in the shape of a four-point star with a yellow iris around it. The moment the eye focused on Sasuke, a horrible roar rang out from the creature. Then cracks began to spread from the hole until they covered half of the dome. Then it fell away into dust. As it did, it revealed Gaara as he was but with a wound in his shoulder. There was no sign of whatever Sasuke had seen. He was breathing heavily and looked a bit scared. He clutched his wound and blood seeped out over his hand.
Just then, white feathers began to fall and everyone began to fall asleep. Ryuu realized what was happening and released himself from the Genjutsu, followed by Naruto and Sakura. Several other shinobi did the same and a moment later, the balcony where the Hokage and the Kazekage had been sitting exploded. Then, several other explosions rang out around the village while Gaara and his teammates fled followed by Sasuke and the Kazekage and the Third Hokage both jumped to the roof of their building and four Sound Ninja erected a barrier around them. Ryuu looked toward his opponent who flashed him a wicked grin then turned and fled from the arena as Sakura and then Naruto followed Gaara and Sasuke along with a couple of the others from their class.
"Sorry Naruto, Sasuke," Ryuu muttered turning back toward his opponent. "You'll have to handle this on your own."
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