Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Five minutes," Shino said, sticking his head round the door. The Chuunin nodded and rose. They headed out the room, following the bug master. All except Itachi, because his sisters were holding on to his arm. Tadashi saw Mikoto hug him before letting go. Tani gave her brother a crushing embrace before she too released him. The Uchiha boy glared at the Ame ninja as his family wished him luck. The usually serious Ame Chuunin grinned back before going to join his teammate. Itachi followed soon afterwards.
Chapter 13 – Round Two
"The second round of the third Jounin exam will now begin," Shino announced, looking at the remaining Chuunin. "The first match will be between… Taro no Sunagakure and Uzumaki Kaname no Konohagakure." The Suna shinobi and Konoha kunoichi looked at each other as the other six made their way up to the viewing gallery.
"Begin!" The hatred of that word was bound to return soon.
Taro sighed.
"I suppose you too are against the 'ladies first' policy," he said. Kaname shrugged. "Too bad, that means I'll have to go first."
"Don't bother," Kaname said. Byakugan! Her kekkei genkai appeared and she scowled. "Come on out – I can see the Chakra strings!" The bundle on his back jumped down.
"It was worth a try," he shrugged. Kaname didn't give him a chance to say anything else. Hakke Rokujūyon Shō! Her stance adopted the usual Hyuuga taijutsu position before attacking the puppet master. The end of the match came brutally fast. Just before his Chakra was cut off, Taro directed Karasu to attack the Uzumaki girl. Its poison connected and she dropped like a stone.
"That was easy," he scoffed.
"The winner is… Taro no Sunagakure." The puppet master gathered his puppet and made his way up to where the other six Chuunin stood. Kaname was carried off to have the poison removed from her system. Shino watched her go before turning back to the audience.
"The next match is between… Uchiha Itachi no Konohagakure and Koushi no Amegakure." Itachi looked at the Ame ninja, who grinned back at him.
"I hope you've said goodbye to those sisters of yours," Koushi whispered as they made their way down the stairs. "'Cause you won't end up in the hospital – I'm going to send you to your grave!" Itachi looked at him curiously.
"Brave words – let's see how you intend to back them up, shall we?" he countered. The audience gasped as the pair emerged – they appeared to be having a civil conversation. That is, until the words could be heard.
"Everyone's got such a high opinion of the great Uchiha Itachi, blah blah blah, but your strength is no match for mine!" Koushi said loudly. Itachi's family sighed. The Ame ninja was being stupid. Although most people found it hard to believe, Itachi had a foul temper.
"As I said, we shall see how you intend to back up such brave words," Itachi said, although inwardly he was seething. You'll pay for those words, Ame ninja.
"Begin." Shino was one of the few people who knew about Itachi's temper. He thought that it would be a good idea to get the match officially started before Itachi snapped.
"Bring on your worst, Uchiha!" Koushi spat. Itachi glared at him, his temper rising.
"Why don't you go first?" he hissed. Koushi was temporarily taken back by the venom in his voice. Shino beat a hasty retreat.
"Uh-oh," Mikoto muttered. The people near her glanced at her. "This match could turn nasty." Her uncle looked at her, confused.
"Why?"
"Itachi has a really foul temper which he can usually suppress, but those words have drawn it out. That Ame ninja is going to find out that taunting Itachi is a bad idea," Mikoto explained. Understanding dawned on his face.
"And here I thought our Itachi was a dreamer. Obviously there's more to him than that."
Mikoto nodded. "A lot more. You've only known him a couple of weeks – I've known him his entire life. In a nutshell, he's quiet, but with a flaming temper that is rarely roused."
"Are you scared?" Koushi taunted the Uchiha. Itachi chose not to answer. "Fine – I'll put you out of your misery!" Joro Senbon! He threw his umbrella up into the air, where it dispensed a large amount of senbon needles. Itachi merely activated his Sharingan and dodged the needles using his inhuman speed.
"Is that all you've got?" he asked, scorn creeping into his voice. "I don't think I'm going to struggle then." The Ame ninja was unnerved by the fact that he had not managed to hit the Konoha ninja once. Oh well, I've still got genjutsu. Genjutsu – Ichiru! Itachi scoffed as a single, unbreakable thread sped towards him.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me. Kai!" The thread disappeared.
Big deal, a weak genjutsu didn't work, Koushi thought. Let's try one a little stronger. Genjutsu: Ichijo! Dispel this, Uchiha! Itachi saw a flash of bright light and grinned.
Kai! When will he learn that genjutsu does not work on my Sharingan?
Koushi scowled as Itachi released that genjutsu, too.
How is he doing that? Oh well. I've got loads of more powerful genjutsu I can use. One of them will get him. I'll defeat him somehow, even if I have to use that one. Genjutsu: Hio Kuruizaki!
Itachi sighed. When will he give up?
The audience were getting restless.
"Come on. Why don't they start already? The only thing that they've done is throw and dodge some needles." They were hushed by others.
"It's a genjutsu fight! They're using illusions!"
An Ame ninja in the audience laughed.
"We'll win this fight then. No-one can match our genjutsu!"
The Uchiha family (who were seated right next to the Ame ninja) smirked.
"What?" he demanded.
"Not even Amegakure can match or overpower the Sharingans ability to cast and release genjutsu," Sasuke said quietly.
Kai! Itachi released the plants that were attempting to immobilise him. Koushi was growing more and more irritated.
It doesn't matter what I do – he releases it instantly. Or he makes me think that I've got him, then releases it. Increase the level again. Genjutsu: Renma!
Itachi scowled. He wasn't stupid. He knew that the level was increasing each time. That's it, wear away at my Chakra while you try and find a genjutsu I can't release. Kai!
Koushi smirked. So you can undo that? You're good Uchiha – I'll give you that – but you haven't seen my truly powerful ones yet. Genjutsu: Kuakastsuki!
Itachi sighed. This is so boring, but all I have to do is wait until he gives me a genjutsu that's powerful enough that if I reverse it it'll knock him out. Perfect. This way I don't have to give away any of my jutsu. Kai! Very pretty, but I'm not in the mood.
Koushi ground his teeth. Damn! How did he release that one? No-one's ever released it before! Calm down. OK. Next one. Genjutsu: Senri!
Itachi was very bored. The only thing that amused him was testing the strength of the genjutsu and seeing what it did. Kai. That was powerful, I'll give you that.
Koushi groaned inwardly. This guy's ability is insane. Not even Tadashi could fight me this easily. Physical attacks don't work. I just need to wear him down so that he runs out of Chakra. Genjutsu: Ryuki!
Itachi made no attempt to hide his displeasure as he released that genjutsu. That one was strong, he thought. It was a struggle to release.
Koushi smirked. Struggling are we? You have made me use my strongest genjutsu – it will bring you down though. Genjutsu: Kaien!
Itachi cursed. This is very powerful. Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten! His Sharingan whirled and morphed briefly but no-one noticed. It was so quick. Koushi screamed. This is why you don't try to win with genjutsu when fighting a Sharingan user, Itachi thought scornfully.
"Tell me," he said to the semi-conscious Ame ninja. "How does it feel to have your own genjutsu turned against you?" No-one could mistake the malice in his voice. Koushi didn't answer.
Shino stepped up nervously.
"The winner is… Uchiha Itachi no Konohagakure!"
Itachi huffed and walked back up the steps, still seething. All the ninja moved away from him when he emerged. He watched medics carry off the unfortunate Ame shinobi. His Sharingan remained active.
Interesting, Tadashi thought. I can't tell what jutsu he favours. And he was able to reflect Koushi's most powerful genjutsu back at him. Very interesting.
"The next match is between… Kai Jun no Konohagakure and Nara Kei no Konohagakure." The two Konoha ninja made their way down to the arena.
"Ready?" Shino asked when they emerged. They nodded. "Begin."
Kuchiyose: Kuro ryū! A relatively small, black dragon appeared. Kei groaned inwardly.
Great. Just what I need. A dragon. The dragon looked at her in puzzlement, then looked at Jun. The dark boy nodded and it moved to attack her.
Kagemane no Jutsu! It froze and glared at the Nara girl.
Kuchiyose: Fenikkusuraijingu! There was a burst of flame and a phoenix burst into view. At a nod from Jun, that too headed for Kei, who caught it in her jutsu. Jun whistled and the two summoned beasts strained to break free from the shadows that bound them. While Kei was distracted, Jun summoned another dragon, this one red, which attacked her. By the time she noticed it, it was upon her. She didn't stand a chance.
"The winner is… Kai Jun no Konohagakure," Shino said as Kei collapsed. The dark boy shrugged and dispelled the animals that he had summoned before heading back up to the competitors' viewing gallery. Medics carried Kei off and the last two Chuunin didn't wait to be announced. Usagi no Sunagakure and Tadashi no Amegakure jumped down from the platform.
"Show offs," Itachi muttered, still angry. "That's just a waste of Chakra." But it appeared that the crowd had no such thoughts; instead they cheered the two foreign ninja loudly.
"The next match is between Usagi no Sunagakure and Tadashi no Amegakure," Shino said out of protocol. "Begin." He really hated that word. Neither of them needed to be told a second time.
Kurosu no jutsu! Tadashi performed his jutsu. Usagi drew her Kyodai Sensu, with all three moons showing.
I'll finish this off quickly, she thought. Kamaitachi no Jutsu! A harsh breeze swept towards the Ame ninja, who made no move to dodge it. What's he doing? the kunoichi wondered. Normally my opponents try to dodge the jutsu – why isn't he? She got her answer a moment later when the damaging winds turned on her. Impossible! He turned my own jutsu against me? She held her Kyodai Sensu in front of her body and used it to block the winds. She scowled at him as her anger boiled. No-one turned her own jutsu against her and got away with it. Ōkamaitachi no jutsu! A more powerful attack, she was confident that he wouldn't be able to return it. But when the gust of wind came back at her she had enough time to think what? No way! How is he doing that? before she was overcome and knocked unconscious by her own jutsu.
"The winner is… Tadashi no Amegakure," Shino said, feeling somewhat disappointed by the swift outcome. He had expected more from Temari's daughter. Tadashi slowly climbed the stairs, despite the fact that he would just have to come back down them again as his was the last match.
"Again, there will be a thirty minute break so that the remaining candidates can regain some of their strength before the next round," Shino announced. The four remaining Chuunin looked at each other before descending the stairs to be applauded. As the audience cheered and clapped, Itachi looked round at the other three remaining. There was him, Jun, Taro no Sunagakure and Tadashi no Amegakure. Who will I fight next? he wondered. I don't particularly want to face any of them – they're all very strong. Unbeknownst to him, the other three were thinking the same thing.
Thanks for reading!
Tsari