Still don't own Naruto
Chapter 36 Chunin Exam Final's
Naruto left the medical tent and decided to head out into the audience to find a seat to watch his part time students compete, he knew it would be a tough competition with at least Matsuri who had been trained by Gaara expected to pass with ease.
When Naruto walked up the stairs into the stands he was greeted with a hero's welcome a large group of people rushed over to pat Naruto on the back congratulating him on his victory.
Naruto struggled through the throngs of supporters and well wishers as he made his way to the front right where he saw Yugito sitting with the other members of his rookie graduating class.
"Hey Yugi-chan can I sit here" he said pointing to the seat next to her as several fan girls still swooning around him. She let him sit down before she planted he self on his lap and sent a dirty look at the girls that were still hanging around that basically said "Get back before I turn you into ash".
"You did great Naru-kun" Yugito said before giving him a kiss on the lips mostly to further annoy the fan girls who had not taken the hint from the look the cat like kunoichi gave them just moments before.
"Thank's Yugi-chan lets just hope Konohamaru and the others do just as well" Naruto said as several cleaning crews were still fixing the arena up from the last battle.
Yugito stayed leaning against Naruto's chest blissfully ignoring the cold hard looks directed towards her by the entire female population that was single minus Sakura who was still hung up on tall dark emo and homo. Even Ino had a twang of jealousy at the happy couple sitting in each others arms.
Eventually they had finished there clearing and the names were ready to be drawn at random, the first name out of the hat, or up on the screen as was the case at this time, was Moegi. She made her way down onto the floor to loud applauding from the crowd who were still worked up from the match up between the jonnin and Naruto.
Moegi's opponent was a kunoichi from Iwa Naruto was interested to see what type of fighting style Moegi would choose, she had become far more confident since training with Yugito and her taijutsu was now very good for a genin because her style suited her perfectly.
The Iwa kunoichi was a bit taller than Moegi and probably a few years older, she had two kunai pouches one on either leg which suggested she was rather liberal with her Kunai and shuriken.
(Arena Floor)
Genma who had relaxed a lot more now there was no threat of being caught by high powered jutsu or a misplaced punch. After checking both party's were ready they began.
Moegi darted forward swiftly dodging the projectile's thrown at her while the Iwa Genin backed away.
The Iwa genin looked to be struggling to keep Moegi at bay until she did something Moegi was not expecting, she charged. Catching Moegi by surprise she began pressing home her advantage and forcing Moegi to back away before she began throwing liberal amounts of shuriken and kunai again.
It was a sound strategy keep your opponent away with kunai in an attempt to hit them before using powerful taijutsu to push her back again when she got close, it was a game of cat and mouse and a very useful style for ninja that were low mobility.
Moegi still weaving in and out of another flurry of kunai decided she needed to do something quickly. Taking out a kunai she began swiping the oncoming waves away from her and looking for an opening.
Suddenly she saw the smallest of gaps and flung her kunai "Kunai Kagebushin no jutsu" Moegi called out and the one kunai turned into many.
The Iwa genin was shocked at this and began throwing more and more kunai as fast as she desperately tried to knock the shadow kunai out of the air.
Moegi used this time to move around to the kunoichi's side and move in. the Iwa gennin had just swatted the last of the kunai from the air when she saw the kick being sent for the side of her bace and brought up an arm to block it.
Having blocked the kick she went on the offensive again trying to force Moegi back but this time Moegi had changed her tactics and sent small counter attacks at the taller genin and began wearing her down.
Once Moegi saw she was getting the upper hand she used a sensory genjutsu to make the Iwa kunoichi to think she was becoming more tired and her movements became sluggish, adding the vision perception shift she was so fond of she made little work of he opponent after that. Ending the fight with a kick to the back of the head.
Once Moegi was declared the winner the crowd roared its approval while the Konoha genin gave a sheepish wave up to where Naruto and Yugito were sitting and making her way back to the competitors box.
(With Naruto and Yugito)
"You really trained her well, she has changed so much from the shy genin that came to ask me for help" Naruto admitted.
"Of course she has changed I trained her didn't I, no student of mine is going to be a weak kunoichi if I can help it" Yugito said proudly.
The next match was between a Konoha ninja most likely from a civilian family, and a boy named Kaine from Iwa, this was not so much a match as an ass kicking. Kaine from the start had moved at high speeds and sent an elbow into the chest of the Konoha ninja before finishing him with a spin kick.
"Well that was certainly... Interesting" Naruto said as he watched conclude, Kaine was around his age if he was honest and was well above genin level Naruto only guessed that Iwa had held him back to wait for the exams to be held in Iwa or for a chance for Oonoki to have an excuse to go to another village as was the case this time.
The board flashed again before stopping on Udon and a ninja from Suna. They both headed down to the arena floor together and seemed to enjoy each others company, that was until the match started.
(Fight)
Udon skipped back sending kunai with exploding notes flying around causing the Suna ninja to back.
Udon kept backing away from the other genin until he was at the base of a tree. The other genin seeing that Udon had stopped runnng decided to take advantage rocketed forward at a fast pace for a genin.
Just as he was about to hit Udon however he rolled out of the way and slammed a kunai into the ground trapping his opponent before drawing his blade and putting it to his throat. "Concede" Udon demanded of the thoroughly confused genin.
The Suna genin looked around for a way out but couldn't see one all he could see were the four well hidden kunai with the trap seal on them. "Very well... Proctor I forfeit" the sand ninja said ashamed of himself.
(Kage booth)
"Well that was almost as anti climactic as the last match" Oonoki grumbled.
"Indeed it was Tushikage-dono but it was a most exceptional use of a basic seal and a well thought out plan that effectively ended the match without much effort and he has definitely shown that he has the head to be a chunin" Tsunade said.
"Yes I would agree Hokage-dono and it seems the genin of my village if not the village as a whole needs educating in the art of Fuinjutsu" Gaara said honestly.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"Yeah way to represent fuinjutsu Udon" Naruto yelled out appreciating the well thought out trap
"Well he should know how to use them well if you taught him them after all" Yugito said
"Yeah I guess train them all well now we just have to get Konohamaru through this round then we are all set" Naruto said waiting for the next fight to be announced.
Naruto instantly became more interested when Konohamaru was called to face an Iwa genin named Tensisuchi. "Oh this should be good I cant wait to see how Konohamaru has improved in a real fight" Naruto said rubbing his hands together eagerly.
(Fight)
When the Proctor began Konohamaru instantly ran forward trying to end the fight quickly like Udon had, unfortunately he was not so lucky and the Iwa genin rolled out of the way of konohamaru's punch and began peppering the young Sarutobi with kunai.
Konohamaru quickly rolled through behind a tre to take cover from the hail of kunai before taking his own out and sending it at Tensisuchi. "Kunai KageBushin no jutsu" Konohamaru yelled and his one kunai became around 50.
The Iwa genin ran out of the way of the incoming kunai and began running though some hand signs. "Doton: Mud shot" he called out and slammed his foot into the ground causing a large sphere of mud to rise from the ground before he punched it forward at Konohamaru.
Konohamaru had to quickly roll out of the way avoiding the mud which splintered the bark off a newly regrown tree after a small bit of work from Tenzo.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"Wow that Iwa genin is pretty good I would say he will be promoted so far he has shown good speed and has at least some knowledge of elemental manipulation" Naruto said plainly.
"Yeah Konohamaru is on the ropes at the moment do you think he will win" Yugito asked.
"Yeah, hes not out of this fight yet, far from it in fact I would say it's only a matter of time before he wins" Naruto said confidently.
(Fight)
Konohamaru had just dodged another ball of compressed mud and was getting sick of this dodging. Creating a shadow clone he used it to rocket himself forward just narrowly avoiding another round of the Doton justu earning a loud intake of breath from the audience.
The most honorable grandson then took out several tags and slapped them onto his kunai before throwing them at the ground causing loud explosions forcing Tensisuchi to back up unaware he was being herded into the same corner the Konoha genin hid at the start before his Iwa counterpart used his Doton jutsu.
'Come on just a bit further' Konohamaru thought as he sent another kunai into the ground at his opposition's feet. 'that's it' "Now" Konohamaru yelled and two shadow clones popped out of the bushes on either side of the iwa genin kicking him in the back, this had the effect of sending him sprawling across the ground right into the real Konohamaru, who dropped a leg down on the back of his head knocking him unconscious and ending the match.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"How long did you know those clones were there" Yugito asked as she had not seen him create the shadow clones and had no idea they were there.
"The moment he left his hiding place and positioned himself opposite the spot they were hidden" Naruto confessed.
"How" Yugito asked curious as to how he could have known what Konohamaru was planing.
"It's simple Kakashi taught him tactics, that is a favorite move of Kakashi's he is known as a genius and always fights with shadow clones first to get the feel of an opposition, why do you think I was still on guard when I struck his clone with a rasengan in our fight earlier, I knew if I wanted to get him out in the open I needed to get rid of his clone" Naruto explained.
The next two fights were Suna ninja against two members of the other Konoha team in the finals the first match the Konoha ninja won after a close match by a clever medical jutsu that made the sand ninja's arms go numb and was unable to continue, however the next match with Matsuri was less well contested. Matsuri easily slipped through the Konoha genins defenses before using a launcher with ninja wire to make an anchor and wrapped the Konoha ninja up tight.
That concluded the first round of matches and he called Moegi and Kaine from Iwa out for the start of the next round. Both parties gave a respectful bow before beginning.
(Fight)
Moegi did not rush in this time, she had seen Kaine's devastating taijutsu from the last round and did not want to be caught by it. Instead she began by throwing a shuriken and using a the Shuiken shadow clone variant. Kaine easily rolled out of the way before sending several kunai of his own at Moegi.
Moegi weaved her way through the Kunai swatting the ones she couldn't avoid away with her own kunai as she elegantly danced her way around the barrage of kunai, before casting a genjutsu.
In the genjutsu Kaine was walking through an empty street that had a river of blood flowing down it 'wha? What is this wasn't I in an exam, this is not right' he thought as the blood became thicker and now there were several body's lying around "genjutsu" he whispered to himself and brought his hands up to release Moegi's jutsu.
The second he released the jutsu he found himself being hit in the face and sent him flying.
"Heh Well not bad for a rookie, but I think its time I get serious" Kaine said and he took off several sets of weights letting them hit the ground with a thud.
"Well as long as your taking your weights off I guess I should too" Moegi said removing the training weights Naruto had given the Konohamaru Korps.
"Well what do you know this could be interesting" the Iwa genin said before taking off in a blurr that was easily traceable to Naruto and all of his graduating class but was still a high speed for a genin.
Moegi was at her flexible best avoiding each hit Kaine sent at her and she followed up most attacks with quick counters that while individually were no trouble for the Iwa ninja together had become quite troublesome.
"You are infuriatingly hard to hit" he said as she slipped through another punch sending another jab into a pressure point causing the Iwa ninja to wince in pain.
"Well when you have a sensei that makes you put on weights while he throws stuff at you you either learn to dodge or get some really good health insurance" Moegi joked as she attempted a kick only for Kaine to dodge.
"Hmm good point well then it looks like I cant beat you this way I guess it's time to show my trump card" he said jumping back from Moegi, doing several hand seals before calling out his jutsu "Doton: Iwa armor"
slamming his fists into the earth large clumps of rock started to form around his body until he was covered in rock that protected him completely.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"Well I cant see Moegi wining this now, she had no jutsu in her arsenal that can break that armor, she would need some Fuuton, Katon, Raiton or at least Doton to even stand a chance, I faced a Iwa genin who could use it in my chunin exams, but his was not anywhere as powerful as this armor is" Naruto confessed.
"So your basically saying she should give up" Yugito asked.
"Hell no, never give up when there is a chance, but if she wants to win this the only way I can see is if she runs till he can no longer use the armor" Naruto said.
Naruto had been right nothing Moegi could do would break the armor and eventually Kaine had gotten a good hit in and after that it ended quickly Kaine who was while slightly slower with his armor on still moved fast for a genin had managed to catch Moegi in a powerful bear hug squeezing her until she lost consciousness.
Konohamaru and Udon jumped down the second he dropped her to check check if she was alright. And waited for the medics to come and collect her.
After she had been successfully stretchered away Genma stopped them by announcing the next match was Konohamaru Vs Udon.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"Well this is going to be Interesting" Naruto said.
"Yeah your right, there styles are completely different, Konohamaru will have to use his head though to avoid Udon's traps, and Udon will need to use that Katana of his to keep Konohamaru from getting too close" Yugito said interested in how the match would work.
"They also know each other better than anyone else if anybody will know how to expose weakness in each others style this will be the match to show it, I would put my money on Konohamaru though he will fight harder and want's to prove he is not just the honorable grandson" Naruto said giving his prediction for the match.
"So basically you are picking Konohamaru because he is stubborn like you" Yugito said
(Fight)
Konohamaru looked across the arena at Udon waiting for the proctor to begin. They each gave a small bow before Konohamaru charged forward.
Udon pulled a shuriken and used a Shuriken shadow clone to halt Konohamaru's advances causing the young monkey to jump out of the way.
Udon was on top and keeping Konohamaru at at fair distance with explosive tags and every time Konohamaru did manage to get in close he had to avoid the swings of Udon's large blade.
Konohamaru had just narrowly avoided his katana by an inch when he saw an opening, and gave Udon a kick that sent him flying and laying out on the ground slowly getting to his feet.
Not one to miss up an opportunity Konohamaru raced forward and once again kicked Udon away.
This time Udon rose to his feat quickly and with a victorious smirk took a single kunai and threw into the ground a little away from him. "Sorry Konohamaru, you fell for my trap"Udon said as seals that were hidden in the dirt where Udon had been hit the first time activated.
Konohamaru was trapped held in place by the same trap that had helped him against the Suna ninja. Knowing he was in trouble Konohamaru began to struggle against the ropes as Udon walked over, just as Udon prepared to bring his sword blade up to Konohamaru's neck however he disappeared in a puff replaced by a log.
"How did you escape I had your hands held at your sides" Udon said in disbelief as he looked over at Konohamaru who was standing a few yards away.
"I broke free I over powered your trap enough to move my arms for a seal to escape" Konohamaru said proudly as he began to charge again.
Udon wasted little time and brought out a kunai before wrapping an explosive note in it which Konohamaru easily dodged jumping back until he found himself in a tree.
"What do you say we take our weights off and finish this" Konohamaru said. With a nod from Udon both boys removed there extra baggage and began circling each other at far greater speeds than they had been moving before.
Every so often as they circled each other one of them would throw a kunai or a shuriken but by the time it came anywhere near the other boy they would send there own intercept it.
Konohamaru stopped causing Udon to react in a similar fashion. Pulling out two kunai one in each hand Konohamaru shot forward seeing this Udon unsheathed his katana again and charged forward to meet him.
They were evenly matched Udon was far better with a blade in this style of fighting having been taught the basic kenjutsu style by Tenten along with several slightly more advanced moves. Konohamaru on the other hand was faster and stronger than Udon narrowing the slight advantage the glasses wearing ninja had.
They matched each other strike for strike, both unable to hit each other. Konohamaru would block the katana with one kunai and make to strike with the other only to have Udon spin away before trying a different stroke of his blade.
Udon went for an overhead slash only for it to be blocked yet again by Konohamaru, this was however a diversion and Udon kicked his teammate in the chest sending him flying into a small group of trees just out of site.
Seconds later Udon saw Konohamaru emerge and run to the left flinging kunai with exploding notes at the glasses wearing genin.
Thinking it was a similar trap to the one Konohamaru used in his last fight Udon dodged the explosions but refused to be herded. Seeing this Konohamaru charged forward and Udon prepared his blade to strike, the second before Konohamaru got into range however he puffed away.
Udon did not have time to react as the second after Konohamaru vanished he felt a kunai pressed up against his neck. "Give up Udon, I win this round" the young Sarutobi said with a smirk.
"Yes I guess you do, proctor I concede defeat" Udon said causing Genma to call the match in Konohamaru's favor and the audience to again erupt in cheerful applause.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"Clever, he used a clone to go out and distract Udon while he used the distraction to sneak around behind him" Yugito said clearly impressed at the well thought out strategy.
"Yeah it was good, but I would say Konohamaru got lucky, Udon should have known better, oh well his next fight will be interesting, I wonder how Konohamaru will deal with the Iwa Armor" Naruto pondered out loud as Matsuri and her opponent entered the floor.
This fight was slightly longer than the first fight Gaara's apprentice had, she had to cope with a vicious onslaught from the Konoha genin from the start but eventually wore him down this time incapacitating the Konoha genin with a Fuuton jutsu.
"She will win this tournament" Naruto said plainly as he watched Matsuri check on her apponent before heading back to the contestant booth.
"What makes you say that" Yugito asked.
"Well for one Konohamaru and Kaine will have to fight each other now, there both use a lot of taijutsu and will take a lot out of each other, secondly Matsuri has an extra match to rest not having to fight again before the final, and lastly she has at least some knowledge of Fuuton jutsu which will be the Iwa armor's worst nightmare and Konohamaru wont be able to use kunai if they just get blown away and her taijutsu is certainly not bad. She has this in the bag" Naruto said.
(Fight)
Kaine and Konohamaru stood apart looking at each other for a moment after the fight began, neither moving, unwilling to make the first move.
Then at the same time both rocketed forward, they each went straight on the offensive with matching kicks to the side and both connected sending them flying in opposite directions skidding along the ground before coming to a halt.
"Well you pack a bigger punch than your teammate, but you are easier to hit" Kaine joked as he stood up.
"Yeah your no slouch yourself, that was one painful kick" Konohamaru replied with a small smile.
They wasted little time getting back into it fighting for dominance, Konohamaru would be on top one second hitting a powerful kick or delivering a devastating punching combo, but then the next moment Kaine would reverse it and send Konohamaru flying with a strike of his own.
They continued along this path for awhile every so often Konohamaru would use a kunai shadow clone or an exploding tag to mix things up, but he was not as good with them as Udon was and this showed.
Kaine would lightly swipe the kunai out of the air or dodge the exploding tags and they would end up in a taijutsu match again.
Even with out his weights on Kaine could still keep up with Konohamaru, maybe if he had been wearing them for longer it would not have been the case but as it was both genin were evenly matched at almost every level.
They broke away again both were panting slightly, they would never admit it but they were both tired from there previous matches.
"Well this was fun, but I'm going to have to finish this now Doton: Iwa Armor" he said and once again became covered in the compressed rocks.
Now Konohamaru was much faster but at the same time nothing he tried could hurt Kaine. Kunai would just bounce off, punches and kicks would create cracks but they would soon seal back up.
Eventually Kaine landed a punch and sent Konohamaru flying. "Proctor it would be best to call the match he wont be getting ba-".
He stopped mid sentence as Konohamaru got onto one knee and spat out a large chunk of blood before standing again.
Kaine saw this and decided to end it for sure and charged forward planting his fist in the weary Konoha genin's stomach making him double over spitting out more blood.
The Iwa genin moved away from him waiting for the proctor to check the downed Konohamaru but his eyes widened and he turned around when he heard him slowly standing from behind "Stay down... you have lost this fight" Kaine ordered.
Konohamaru however had other plans and created a shadow clone next to him before holding out his hand and he began gathering chakra.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"What is that?...Naru-kun you didn't, did you" Yugito asked as she watched what Konohamaru was attempting.
Naruto just sat there with a proud smile on his face and did not bother to answer Yugito.
(Kage Booth)
Jiraiya and Tsunade saw what was happening in the ring and were stunned.
"Naruto has been teaching Konohamaru more than just shadow clones it would appear" Jiraiya said now far more interested in the match.
"Indeed he has, that is the same way Naruto first learned that jutsu is it not Jiraiya-dono" Gaara asked.
Jiraiya nodded his head before Oonoki asked "What jutsu" he could not see what was happening as konohamaru's body was obstructing his vision, but his question was asked less than a second later.
(Fight)
"Rasengan!" Konohamaru yelled slamming the perfectly formed blue sphere into the chest of Kaine who just looked shocked as his armor was being torn away.
Kaine rocketed back before landing in a heap on the ground, he struggled to stand but his body just wouldn't move for him.
"Kaine, from Iwa is unable to continue to fight... the winner Konohamaru!" Genma announced.
The second Genma announced him the winner Konohamaru fell backwards exhausted and sore.
(Naruto and Yugito)
"Well he won, but he is in no real condition to fight Matsuri, the final match will be over quickly, but he should have at least done enough to get promoted" Naruto said proudly.
"Yeah Udon too I think, but Moegi might have to wait till the next exams, she did good but I'm not sure she proved herself to be a chunin yet... by the way when did you teach Konohamaru the rasengan?" Yugito said eagerly.
"Oh I started teaching him before I left three years ago, showed him the first step, then explained how the second would work and what he needed. When we started training them a couple of months ago he had finished the first stage but just couldn't get the rubber ball to explode, with my help he finished it quickly, I then gave him the little cheat I came up with to use shadow clones to help complete the jutsu" Naruto said as he watched Matsuri come down into the ring, Konohamaru was still taking a nap.
"I guess you are a good teacher then, but you are right I don't see him beating the Kazekage's apprentice after the fights he has already had" Yugito admitted.
(Kage Booth)
"The Rasengan huh, never would have thought a genin would be able to use such a jutsu" Oonoki said.
"Indeed, he has shocked even me, but I can not see him winning this match he is far too tired" Tsunade admitted.
"Yes, my pupil will more than likely win this match, it would have been nice to see them fight earlier on so I could have seen for myself where my training could be improved" Gaara said.
The final fight did not last long, Konohamaru was almost dead on his feat from the start and Matsuri who had a far easier run to the final managed to avoid the young Konoha ninja's sloppy attacks before wrapping him in her ninja wire and knocking him unconscious.
Matsuri was declared the winner but she did not celebrate to heavily, despite being the champion she knew that it would not have been such an easy fight had she faced Konohamaru earlier on in the tournament.
After the Suna kunoichi was presented with an award for winning the chunin selection exam finals the crowd emptied the arena leaving only Naruto and Yugito still sitting in the empty stands.
"Well its about time we head to get some dinner don't you think Yugi-chan" Naruto asked with a smile.
"Thought you would never ask... so your going to the Jonnin Exams in two months right, so what are you going to do until then" Yugito asked
"Well Jiraiya sensei wants me to go on a short trip with him to check on a spy contact who hasn't sent word in a while so I will be out of the village for awhile" Naruto confessed.
"Is that so, then I guess we better hurry up and grab something to eat so I can give you a farewell present" Yugito purred as the couple exited the arena.