Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Co-author and Beta: Etheral-23
Co-author and Action scenes: Godospartan the kitsune
The brass ring
XxX ~ last time ~ XxX
With her legs dangling as she sits on the roof of a building, Kuroreimei smiles up at the moonlit sky. Her long silky raven hair flows freely in the gentle breeze. "How will you fair tomorrow my young friend? I look forward in seeing how it all plays out for you... Naruto…"
No matter the era the world, mankind, they kept making the same mistakes over and over. The events soon to come would be no different. Perhaps what the world needed was someone with a spirit like his, that young boy who had went through a lot yet he could still smile.
But a large part of her soon thought that as pointless optimism. There had been people like him before, and that didn't stop the world from falling to chaos over and over… Perhaps what the world needed was something different.
So she would stand by and watch the events unfold, like she always did. Knowing she could not do so much longer, the time for her to act was neigh.
"The times are changing again… will it be for the better or worse I wonder?"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
It finally came, the day of the finals.
Today was the day she was going to face Neji.
Sakura sighed as she continued packing all the tools she was going to use in her fight. With a dozens of sealed scrolls shruiken to the size of a pencil, each containing a large number of different bombs and traps. In another pouch she placed only shuriken and kunai, while another was filled with paper bombs.
The rosette was going to need everything she could get her hands on in order to fight the Hyuuga.
She had trained all month to fight him, and had received plenty of help. But a small voice in the back of her head kept muttering words of discouragement, how Neji was far more skilled and experience than she was, that he was a true genius.
Those things were true, but she had a strategy, and she had her wits. Kushina had said that is she needed. Well, that and confidence.
It was hard to gather confidence when her opponent was someone of such different caliber than her. But Sakura knew she had to be brave, she couldn't fail her team. They counted on her to give it her all, and she had promised herself she would never drag them behind.
As soon as she finished her preparations, she sat on her knees with her palms on top of her legs. Taking a deep breath, she slowly let it out as she concentrated to rid ease her mind. Naruto's mother often said meditation was something useful many people neglected.
Funny how those words came from the mouth of the fiery redheaded woman.
She focused on her task, washing away all distractions and worries from her mind-
Tap, tap, tap.
Then she was suddenly scared out of her wits by the simple tapping on her window. Causing her to yelp in surprise and fall to the floor after losing her balance.
Her jade eyes widen seeing Haku, kneeling at her window, looking at her blankly. Getting up to her feet she walked over and opens the glass threshold; "Haku-Chan? What are you doing here? The finals are in an hour."
The Hyoton user gave a semi-pleasant smile, "This won't take long. I need to ask you something. And I can't ask it with the others around."
Tilting her head, Sakura motions for the brunette to enter. "What do you need?"
At the pinkette's insistence, Haku sat on the bed. "I'll go straight to the point" The ice user said, keeping her tone even. "I have feelings for Naruto" Sakura gave a sharp intake of air at hearing those words. "And I know that you do as well"
"W... W... Well I...," Sakura voice almost a panicked stammer.
Haku lifts a brow; "You're unsure?"
"It's not that. Who asks that before going into a fight?!" the rosette takes a deep breath. "I... I don't really know how I feel. Ever since graduation Naruto has been so different. I used to think he was so annoying doing so many stupid things."
"But you now realize why with his condition," Haku says calmly.
"...Yeah" She lets out a remorseful sigh. "I didn't think... I just didn't" She looks at her in the eye. "But it didn't change what I... think of him now"
Haku nod slowly. "Hmm..." She ponders for a moment. "Let me ask you. What is it that you want?" Her question confused the pinkette. "Do you see yourself at his side in the future?"
That question really made the rosette think. Ever since Nami, she just seemed to be slowly shifting towards Naruto. Helping her out with some many things to make herself a proper kunoichi. Becoming the blond's real friend in the months after Nami no Kuni.
But also...
Naruto's near unconditional kindness, it was so different compared to Sasuke, and his apathetic coldness. It felt so refreshing. But at the same time she still wanted to help the Uchiha, as he was so alone like Naruto used to be, but she kept asking herself one word.
Why?
"I... I want to prove myself to Naruto. I want to make up for all the mean things I did, then that way... I felt like I earned his affections the right way." The rosette looks to the brunette. "But I don't want to lose a friend over this. Do we have to fight?"
Haku looked at her in understanding. "We don't have to let this make us enemies... But I am not willing to cast my feelings aside" She stated with firm resolution.
"I guess he'll have to decide then" Sakura sighed. "At least we won't let it ruin anything between us"
Haku blushed slightly and avoided her gaze. "We could..." She mumbled shyly. "Maybe... share him"
The pinkette's gaze became cold like the grave, as well as her voice. "If he even considers such a chauvinistic solution, feelings or not, I will MURDER him"
"Okay" The ice user said slowly. "A shame, I can see you'll grow up to be a lovely woman"
"Thanks" Now it was Sakura's turn to reply slowly, albeit her voice carried confusion. "But why would that be a factor in all this?"
Haku just has a long, silent, bland look. When she realized the pinkette wasn't getting the message, she gave her a small shrug, along with a tilt of her head and a hum as if those actions could somehow give Sakura the hint she needed.
The gears in her head unstuck and carried on their motion, finally processing the information. "Oh" She said in understanding. "Ohhhhh" The full meaning of Haku's words finally dawned on her. "So uh... you..."
Haku softly rubbed her arm and stammered a low. "Y-Yeah..."
Well... this was awkward.
"As I said. You are going to be quite the beautiful woman, and you're rather cute right now, but I get the feeling you're not like that," the Hyoton user lightly blushes.
Sakura rubs the back of her neck awkwardly a faint blush to her cheeks. "W... Well I know I am into men. But never really brush the subject of ladies."
"You're missing a lot"
"I... I'll take your word for it"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Practically all of Konoha's business was closed for the day. The roar of cheering at the village's arena could be heard outside the village walls. Naruto could honestly say he never felt both pumped and nervous at the same time.
But least he could say his new clothes looked awesome. In tribute to his late grandfather Daisuke Uzumaki, wearing a black sleeveless long men's cheongsam, Black Anbu pants, a dark burnt orange sash around his waist. His hands and forearms taped up like before. Held firmly by his sash, his sword at the ready.
He turned his gaze to see the other contestants. Yugito was stretching her muscles; Temari idly tapped her giant fan in anticipation for the exam to begin. He sweatdrops seeing Lee doing finger push-ups. Chojuro fidgeted with his collar, clearly nervous. Both Gaara and Neji waited patiently with their arms crossed and their eyes closed. Kankuro rolled his neck, trying to look bored but even Naruto could see he was anxious. Tenten waved cheerfully at him, which he returned in kind. Sakura and Haku smiled and gave him an encouraging nod.
The only person missing was Sasu-
Poof! A smoke explosion appeared right next to them. Revealing his teacher who was sheepishly scratching his head, Sasuke, who now sported a black version of his usual clothing along with bandages over one arm, glared at said teacher, and his angry looking mother.
"Can't believe you nearly got him to be late" The redhead grumbled before giving her son a sweet smile.
"Good luck" Kakashi gave him thumbs up and his classical eye-smile before both shunshined away to their seats on the stands.
Naruto and Sakura only blankly look to the Uchiha heir, Sasuke only shrugs; "What?"
"Please don't become another Kakashi," both utter in unison.
He snorted. "As if"
XxX ~ XxX ~ XxX
Up in the stands, Team 8 sat close to their comrades of the other teams. Hinata held her hands tightly; she felt turmoil of emotions mix within her. Sakura-san and her cousin were going to fight; her heart ached for she couldn't help but root for both of them to be successful. She believed Sakura could win, but she worried Neji would he hurt her.
"Hinata-San," the heiress looks to Shino, sitting at her right. "Are you worried about Sakura-San?"
Slowly she nods; "Neji-Nii... I know he will give Sakura-san one chance to forfeit."
A snort from Kiba comes from her left; "She might not act it, but Sakura is as stubborn as Naruto. No way is she going to quit. But she has got to be careful with him."
"There you guys are!" Team looks to see Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji coming down the steps to them. "Mind if we join you?"
Kurenai gave them a curt nod and a smile as she saw Asuma walk closely behind. "Of course"
Team 10 took their seats next to them, "So who do you think will win between Naruto and Lee?" Ino asked.
"My bet is on Lee" The Inuzuka boy said. "You've seen him fight, he's a powerhouse. Even Naruto's techniques will stand no chance"
Opening a bag of chips, Chouji starts munching; "Trust me. Naruto will surprise you Kiba."
Kiba only snorts before almost jumping as a female voice speaks; "I agree with him" The kids and Jounin look to see a tall, beautiful raven haired woman in a sleeveless red kimono and corset gazing at them with a smirk; "my young friend might surprise you."
'She's beautiful,' Ino and Hinata mentally mutter before shaking their heads as Ino spoke; "You know Naruto? Who are you by the way?"
"He was kind enough to invite me to lunch once after accidentally bumping into me" She says as she takes a seat in the row behind them. "As for your second question. My name is Kuroreimei, a... wandering adventurer of sorts"
"What brings you here?" Kurenai asked politely, trying to pry any information about this woman. Being a shinobi gave one a healthy dose of paranoia. Someone introducing herself as 'wandering adventurer' already rang a few bells in her head
"The same as everyone" Kuroreimei smiled. "I'm here to enjoy the show"
Before anyone could say anything else, a pair of loud voices made themselves known. "You sure these are our seats?"
"We can sit wherever we want you dumb ass" They sounded so similar to the point they were nearly identical.
The shinobi of Konoha took a good look at them. They were a pair of twins, in their early twenties, both with long brown hair with bangs at the sides of their faces and green eyes. They were the same clothing even, a sleeveless grey shirt and a pair of blue shorts and sandals. The only thing that helped distinguish them was that one wore a red head scarf and the other a blue one.
"Then why did we have to buy tickets?" The one with the blue tissue asked.
"Because they do the same with everyone" The red one answered exasperatedly. "Well, visitors and non-ninja actually"
"Man for a bunch of tree huggers these people are more stiff than I was lead to believe" The blue one said in disappointment.
"Tell me about it. Here I thought they were hippies, couldn't find a single guy who was holding"
Kiba could only stare at them. "Uh, what are they talking about? Holding what?"
"Nothing" Kurenai said, a little too fast. "Nothing you should know"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Sitting among the people, Saito and the rest of the Uzumakis cheer for their young blond cousin and Sakura. Soujiro could not stop smiling; "This is so cool."
Karin nods. Samenosuke took a look around all the people gathered. "Lyn-chan and Kya-chan should have arrived by today"
"Oh no, what a tragedy" Kushina said in the most deadpanning tone possible.
"They're just late" Saito replied. "Give them time, they'll be here"
An Anbu with an eagle mask quickly shunshins beside the red haired bunch; "Excuse me, Kushina-Sama." The said redhead lifts a brow; "Hokage-Sama requests you to be by his side."
Kushina says nothing for moment before snorting; "Jiji wanting to show me off to the Kazekage and Daimyos eh?" She sighs as she stands; "I'll be there Iguru, go to your station." The Anbu nods before vanishing. "Well, I'm off." The redhead shunshins away.
At that Samenosuke tilts his head; "You notice how our hime still acts like an Anbu captain?"
"Kushina always had a way to talk with authority" Saito remarks offhandedly. "She ordered you to put those frogs on Lyn's bed when we were kids didn't she?"
The roguish redhead laughs; "Oh that was good."
"She is like Daisuke-sama in that regard."
"That she is" The roguish Uzumaki heartily nods, his earrings twinkle reflecting the light of the son. "See a lot of him in her and Naruto" He says with a fond smile.
The same smile is returned by the swordsman. "Indeed"
"...Except for the blonde thing. That's just plain weird"
"Huh, yes. I think the same actually. I don't know why but the fact that he is a blonde Uzumaki... puts me unease for some reason"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Upon looking from his seat at the top of the arena, Hiruzen only smiles with pride seeing his people and young Genin ready for the today's events. The old Kage could not help but fondly recollect when seeing Naruto's choice in clothes, reminiscent of his old friend Daisuke.
"You would be proud of him old friend..."
"Quite the group of young shinobi" The Mizukage comments with a smile as she takes her seat. "A very talented group from what I hear"
"Oh indeed" The Hokage agrees eagerly. "I believe we are in for good show"
Mei smiles mischievously as she sends a playful look at the old Kage. "Two hundred ryo my two shinobi are promoted by the time the exam ends"
Hiruzen chuckles and strokes his beard. "I bet two hundred that, hmm, three of my shinobi will become chūnin"
"The numbers seem to be on your side Hokage-dono" She replies. "But as they say, quality over quantity"
In a shunshin, Kushina, in her shinobi gear, appears beside Hiruzen. "Well least this is the best seat in the house," the redhead crosses her arms. Hiruzen chuckles as Kushina looks to the Mizukage. She waves which is returned. "Isn't the Kazekage supposed to be here?"
Appearing via sand shunshin with a Suna shinobi at his side, wearing a white robe like the Sandaime and Kage hat with the symbol of wind, a cloth covering his face from the nose down. The Kazekage's stern eyes meet his fellow Kage. "Hiruzen-dono, Mei-dono." His voice was like iron. His gaze falls to Kushina; "And Kushina Uzumaki… So you are alive after all."
"I got lucky" The Uzu woman replied with a smirk, making Hiruzen rubs his forehead in exasperation at Kushina's lack of formality when talking to foreign leaders.
"I am very curious to how you survived that fateful day" The Kazekage asked with tempered curiosity as he took his seat next to the Hokage.
"Let's just say it involved a technique with too many risks to use in any other situation where your only options are too desperate"
The leader of Suna gives a faint nod as he looks to the Genin below. Gaara's sea foam green eyes glaring up at him, for which he returns equally. He could feel the intensity in them "As expected of my children. I am afraid your teams will not fare well Hiruzen-dono, Mei-dono."
"Oh I don't about that" The Hokage smiled confidently. "My shinobi are quite talented"
"As are mine" Mei adds. "You shouldn't underestimate us and our soldiers Rasa-dono"
The Kazekage spares her a short glance. "On the contrary" He retorts. "Underestimating you is the furthest thing on my mind"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Team 7 stands ready as a tall, young Konoha jounin shunshin into the arena. Wearing the basics much like Kakashi, the only different is his hite-ate wrapped around his brown hair like a bandanna. A senbon hanging out of his mouth like a cigarette.
"Hello and welcome to the 3rd stage of the exam," the young Jounin speaks with his voice amplified via a jutsu. "My name is Genma Shiranui and I will be the proctor for this event. Now please be calm as Hokage-Sama wishes to speak."
The whole arena turns their attention to the leader of the village who stands up. "I wish to welcome you all to this important event" His aged voice resonates throughout the stadium. "Citizens of our proud village and honored visitors. This exam stands as a symbol of our villages' prowess, a sign of coexistence and cooperation. Here, we choose those fit to join the ranks of the chūnin, those ready to take up the responsibility in service to their country and daimyo" His gaze fell to arena, addressing the participants. "You are all here because you show the capacity to take that role. Remember that you are here to make your villages proud" He tips his head at them nodding. "Fight well and good luck"
Genma looks to the young Genin; "The rules of the prelims apply for the 3rd exam. The match does not stop till you either knock your opponent unconscious, kill them, or I call the match. Am I understood?" None spoke back. "Now let's begin, Haku Yuki and Yugito Nii please remain here, everyone else go to the waiting box."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
A sharp whistle comes from the mouth of Karui, as she Omoi, and Samui sit in the stands; "Kick some ass girl!"
"Try not to lose" Omoi 'encouraged'.
"Rrrr you. Are absolutely. Useless" His hotheaded teammate seethed.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Zabuza shouted from his spot. "Rip out her spine Haku!" People all around him edged away in fright.
Kouhei's eyes were wide in horror; his wild brown hair seemed to stand on end. "Jeez sensei..."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Chocolate and sapphire stare into each as Haku gives a respectful bow; "It will be an honor to face you Yugi-Chan. And becoming your friend was also a bonus."
The Nibi Jinchurriki chuckles putting her hands on her hips; "We might be friends Haku-chan, but don't expect an easy fight." Her adrenaline building for the coming bout. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to facing the Hyoton user, next to facing Naruto.
Genma slowly raises his hand to the sky. "The match between Haku Yuki and Yugito Ni is about to..." He swiftly brings down his hand in a chopping motion. "Begin!" And he quickly distanced himself from the fighters.
The Kumo-nin wasted no time and darted towards her opponent and great speed. Haku swiftly threw various senbons aimed at her joints, but Yugito zig-zagged them with cat-like grace and agility. She leaped into the air and spun in a great display of acrobatics, delivering a sweeping kick upon the Kiri-nin.
Haku blocked the attack with her forearms guarding above her head, she staggered back slightly from the force of the strike. She pushed Yugito away who back flipped in the air, landing gracefully on the ground with a spin. Her catlike eyes widened when she saw Haku quickly going through some handsigns.
Sensatsu Suishō!
The air around Haku grows cold as dozen upon dozen of ice senbon form around her. Quickly, the Kumo blonde jumps back with incredible force to gain distance, flipping her way away from the ice-user as the Senbon stat to build up a path right to her from where she once stood to where she stopped flipping. Yugito jumps into the air as the last few fly under her, flipping towards Haku and spinning.
Seeing this, the Kiri Genin jumps out of the way of the cat-like moves of her opponent, whom lands on both hands and spins like a top with two snap kicks. The attack quickly dodged, Yugito pulls her feet under her and jumps with all her might as grabs for a Kunai, spinning in the air to dodge the next attack the young ice user dispatched against her.
Though it was foolhardy to be as quick as she was, as Haku pulls several of her real senbon from her pouch and throws a line of them right one Yugito's path, forcing Yugito to take the ones that were going to hit her in the back before throwing her Kunai right down at her opponent, ignoring the pain from the needles.
Haku easily evaded the kunai, but the hissing sound it brought with it alerted her immediately. She jumped and the paper tag on the kunai exploded, momentarily blocking her view as Yugito landed behind the smoke, landing on all fours.
The jinchuuriki growled as a small bit of her tenant's chakra flowed throughout her body. Her sharp nails dig into the earth as her muscles tenses and hardened, pushing the needles off from her body and quickly regenerating the small wounds. She brought her hands together and went through quick handsigns. She inhaled deeply, her cheeks puffing.
Nezumi Kedama!
She then spat a small blue fireball with the dark shape of rodent inside the flames. The fireball cleaved through the leftover smoke, and flew straight at Haku, who was caught off guard by the sudden attack. Her reflexes allowed reacting in time for her to quickly grab a kunai and imbue it with ice before throwing it at the fireball.
The kunai and the fireball collided; the elemental attack was split into pieces. Yet to Haku's shock, the fireball hadn't dissipated, rather it had split into numerous smaller blasts of fire which homed in directly at her.
"That's not your average fire Haku," Yugito yells. She hears Matatabi snickering.
Without thought, Haku jumped out of the area of effect that was going to be her demise if she stayed any longer, only just getting out of the way of three of the blasts, one clocking her in the hip and blasting her back as the rest flew up the wall before slipping and looking to flank her as she rolled on the ground.
Groaning in pain, the Ice wielder got up and concentrated. She was hoping to not use her more advanced abilities just yet, but she was backed into a corner. " Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō!" With a flash, the area around her was covered in smoke as the incoming blasts flanking her from above hit her jutsu head on. As the smoke slowly clears, the audience could only look in amazement at the large dome wall of ice surrounding the Kiri-Nin with holes created all around from the blasts hitting it full on, though it managed to stop them regardless.
The kiri-nin then gathers her chakra and molds it through a series of handsigns. Icy mist gathers around Yugito, crystallizing in the form of dozens of mirrors suspended in the air around her. Yugito frantically looks around for a way to escape, but all the mirrors were too close to each other for her to find a spot to quickly sneak out.
Suddenly, Haku's reflection appears on all the mirrors, looking at her with a calculating gaze. Yugito realizes this was more a complex ninjutsu and not a genjutsu, meaning that her opponent most likely had the capacity to strike from everywhere in this dome of hers.
So the Kumo-nin did the most sensible thing she could do in this situation. Before Haku had a chance to strike, Yugito began spinning high velocity, her form becoming a blur and disappearing inside blue flames that suddenly lit up all over her body. Haku decided to strike before she could finish whatever it was she was doing. Dozens of copies jumped out of the mirror and straight at the jinchuuriki, senbon in hand ready to strike.
But unfortunately for her, the blaze of blue fire increased in size greatly, erupting as if someone had thrown oil at it. Dozens upon dozens of fireballs were shot in every direction, striking the various copies of the ice ninja, the mirrors began to melt due to the intense heat, and the continuous strike of various fireballs managed to shatter them.
Haku was forced to jump out of the way as her special technique had been destroyed due to the sheer raw power of the jinchuuriki's flames. Yugito stopped spinning, and looked at her with a predatory gaze while giving a wild smirk. Her features seemed a bit more savage as well.
Without another word, the jinchuuriki lunged at the kiri Nin, nails increasing in length and sharpening. Each attack was like the strike of a wild wolverine, but Haku kept dodging and evading the strike, occasionally countering with a quick attack of her own to stop the claws from reaching her.
'Nibi, she's helping you isn't she' Haku mentally muses while dodging Yugito's strikes.
Narrowly missing the Kumo Kunoichi's attacks, a fingernail from the Jinchurriki cuts through Haku's sleeve, only to hit ice. Yugito's eyes widen as her nails rasp against something cold and hard, she realizes the Kiri kunoichi was surrounding her limbs with a thin coat of ice to protect her body. Her nails manage to break through the place she had stroked, but they weren't able to pierce deeper into the flesh, only managing to graze the skin.
She was forced to dodge as Haku slashed at her with a kunai, but quickly dived in once more with a flurry of her claws. A few of her strikes managed to tear through the clothes over Haku's chest, briefly showing a portion of her undergarments.
Naruto held his nose to stop the blood. Sakura noticed this and glowered.
The Kiri-nin back flipped to gain distance, going through handsigns with one hand while using the other to propel herself from the ground. Yugito tried to close in the distance before she could do whatever she was planning.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Up in their seats, the three Kages watch with highly calculating eyes along with Kushina. "Neither wastes any movement. They keep calm and strike well," the redhead comments.
"It is a close fight" The Kazekage noted with a tip of his head. "They appear to be evenly matched"
Mei only smirks; "Haku will succeed. Out of all my Genin, she has more combat experience than anyone."
"A Genin of mine speaks highly of her," Hiruzen quips.
"I am not surprised" The Mizukage said with just bit haughtiness in her voice, crossing her legs. "She is one of my shinobi after all"
"With all due respect my lady" Kushina intervenes with a good-nature smirk. "You still haven't seen what our ninja can do"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Fire gathers around her claws and Yugito leaps forward with all her strength, bringing her nails down in a sweeping motion. A cross of eight arcs of blue fire shot forward at great speed towards the ice ninja.
Haku just kept doing handsigns and finished the sequence with a clap of her hands. But the fiery attack had managed to reach her, she barely dodged as the blast stroke her right arm, burning away the clothes and ice around it, the force of the impact managed to send her to the ground.
Yugito smirked confidently as her attack had seemingly taken her down, now all she had to do was get close and-
"Ugh!" Her left arm feel limp and felt most of her torso burning with pain. A good number of senbon had somehow embedded into her shoulder and the left half of her back, hitting the nerves and depriving her of the use of her arm. She frantically looked back to see and ice mirror behind her, with one of Haku's copies coming away from it, hand held in a throwing motion.
She quickly jumped back, but a new pain suddenly paralyzed her other arm as new senbon found their mark. This time the attack had come from above, and saw another with Haku's clone having done the same thing. More and more mirrors began to form, but Yugito wasn't going to let them finish. She snarled and channeled chakra through her legs, blue flames coating them. She flexed her muscles tightly as she crouched, before launching herself at great speed.
She flaming legs shattered every mirror they made contact which, jumping from one after the other, obliterating them and the clones before they could strike again. She must have broken over a dozen by how quickly they were forming, it was if the Kiri Nin was trying to trap her into that mirror dome again, but this without her arms she couldn't replicate her previous escape without their strength adding to her spinning fire technique.
As she was about to crush another mirror, Haku's, the real Haku's, feet planted itself against her cheek, sending her flying away. Yugito's first mistake was lowering her guard when her attack had seemingly brought down Haku for a time, now she realized the Kiri-nin had intended for that to happen. Her second mistake was losing herself in the task of destroying the mirrors, her vision clouded by the desperation and anger brought by the loss of mobility in her arms, making her forget about Haku who had been wounded by her technique, allowing the ice ninja to get close.
As Yugito painfully landed, Haku launched more senbon at her, this time aimed at her legs, effectively paralyzing her.
The Nibi Jinchurriki snarls to herself, making such a rookie mistake before looking up to Haku who stands beside her. "Please forfeit Yugito, I do not wish to prolong this further."
At those words the blond woman scoffs/chuckles; "I really have to train better don't I?"
"Don't sell yourself short" The kiri Nin smiles sweetly. "I think you were great, a little more and I would have lost"
Yugito lets out a breath, a bit of laughter still present in her voice. "Still I lost... Proctor!" She called for the Jōnin. "I can't fight anymore"
Walking over, Genma could not help but whistle before looking to Haku; "Winner, Haku Yuki!"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The crowd cheers as Karui slumps; "Damn it, well we're out..." She looks to their acting leader; "we can stay to watch the rest right?"
Samui shrugs; "I have no problem with it. I imagine you wish to see your Konoha friends fight right?"
"Well..." The redheaded girl shrugged. "They're not so bad like they paint them to be back home"
Omoi nods; "An Naruto is a really cool guy."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
A proud smile graces Mai lips; 'Well done Haku-chan.'
"While her attack could inflict intense pain, they were all non-lethal," The Kazekage comments.
"She possesses amazing control that girl" The Mizukage praised the skills of her subordinate.
"I do not deny it" Rasa stated. "I just feel surprised she did not kill her"
"Kiri has gone through enough pointless bloodshed, especially those involving exams" Mei stated with a slight edge on her tone. "We are simply trying to move pass the times where our country was known as 'The Bloody Mist'"
Rasa concedes with a slight nod while Hiruzen rubs his bearded chin; "Impressive nonetheless."
At the fighter's box, Naruto only cheers along with Sakura as the Kiri Nin enters. "You're awesome Haku!"
The Ice user blushes under the praise.
"W... Well fought Haku," Chojuro smiles as his teammate stand beside him.
Sasuke only glances at the brunette; 'She improved ever since Nami.'
"Are you feeling okay?" Sakura asked, seeing the burns in arm.
A medic Nin begins working on her the moment the Kiri Nin sat down at their side. "I'll be fine, I want to remain here and see your fights"
Naruto watches another medic help Yugito out of the arena for treatment. His cerulean gaze soon shifts to Neji who eyes him and Sakura.
"Will Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuuga come down here," Genma calls out.
The Hyuuga pushes himself off the wall he was laying against and walks towards the arena. "Fight with the fairy flames of your youth Neji!" Lee encouraged him.
"Good luck Neji!" Tenten did the same but in a more reserved manner before giving Sakura a soft look. "Gods help you Sakura"
The rosette dryly replied. "Thanks..."
"Look, I'm not saying I don't believe in you" The young weapon mistress said in an apologetic tone. "But I know the extent of Neji's skill, I'm sorry, but there's no way a month is enough for him to match him"
"In skill" Sakura shakes her head. "No, not by a long shot. But that's why I'm going to use my brain for this fight"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
In the stands, Hinata cups her hands with worry visible in her velvet eyes. Behind them Kuro taps her chin; "This will be interesting."
The teen with the blue bandanna nudges the other. "Hey Isao, bet you fifty ryo pinky there bites the dust"
"Aww man, I wanted to bet for the Hyuuga boy"
Saito and even Samenosuke both have stern gazes while a concerned Karin and Soujiro look on. "She'll be alright" The young swordsman tries to remain positive. "Right?" But even he his doubts.
His father speaks up; "Facing a Hyuuga is a dangerous task for anyone. Sakura has been prepared as much as Kushina could teach her."
"Got a good feeling about this fight actually" The wild haired Uzumaki said.
Saito raises an eyebrow at Samenosuke. "Really?"
"Yep. Got a good feeling that this is gonna hurt"
"For her or him?"
"Both"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Sakura stands before Neji a good foot away, enough distance to see the Hyuuga giving her a dismissive look. He didn't think she would be a challenge, all he could see was a civilian-born, a barely capable ninja who was not even worth his time.
That was exactly what she needed.
"You should give up now, and save yourself the humiliation" Neji stated.
Taking a reassuring breath, the rosette shakes her head; "Afraid not. I intend to prove this civilian born is not some disposable tool." Sakura takes the second stance of Nenshou Tsuki.
Neji only closes his eyes; "At least I gave you the option."
Genma eyes both youngsters; "Second bout, Neji Hyuuga vs. Sakura Haruno, Hajimei!" He quickly jumps out of the way.
Neji rushes in like a bolt of lightning, eager to get this over with and advance to worthier opponents. His Byakugan activated as he advanced, his hands rose prepared to hit her chakra points closer to her head and render her unconscious in an instant.
Naruto and the others in the stands held a breath as Neji charged. Up in rows Hinata held her hands tightly.
Neji headed at the rosette with great speed, paralyzing fingers like the fangs of a snake ready to strike. Sakura did not move, instead, she slipped a hand into her pouch, pulling out three small bombs and throwing them to the ground.
What followed was a very large explosion of purple smoke, at least seven feet in length and width, covering their location. Nothing could be seen in the dense smoke. Suddenly, Sakura backflipped away from the cloud, looking unharmed.
As the cloud dissipated, the spectators saw Neji slouching, a hand pressed tightly to his chest while he coughed violently. His whole body shaking, angry pearly eyes that now had a soft red tint, indicating irritation in them, glared at her. "W-What did you do?" He tried to regain his failure but nearly faltered, one leg suddenly feeling very weak before he managed to stand up straight one more.
"Poison" Was Sakura's sole reply.
Coughing through the poison smoke in his lungs, the Hyuuga glares at the rosette. "Poison? That's a dirty trick"
Grabbing a few Kunai with tags, Sakura smiles as she lit the slow fuse "Ninja don't play dirty; they strategize and take down their opponent's. By any means necessary..." Tossing her tagged Kunai at the Hyuuga gave her freedom of movement to rush to the side, hoping to get some distance.
Kushina nods approvingly while Naruto keeps a steely expression watching; "You got this Sakura-Chan."
Neji felt his body heavier than it should be; his reaction and speed were slower due to the poison spreading through his body. He willed himself to respond quickly, he managed to back away as the kunai hit the ground and lit up. The explosion didn't reach him, but he was still close enough to feel the heat.
He tried to concentrate on the girl who kept running around the area. His vision, despite having the Byakugan activated, blurred slightly. He couldn't focus properly, his head swarmed by tiredness and dizziness. He shook his head and tried to focus, Neji noticed the pinkette had not been affected slightly by the poison, despite having been caught in the blast when she had dropped the bombs between them.
"How are you not affected?!" He demanded.
"I've been dosing myself with the antidote!" She called, stealthily dropping a paper tag as she circled around him.
Before he could react an explosion of blinding light hits full force. Neji screams holding his eyes. "Those eyes are deadly, but doujutsu have weaknesses." Sakura's voice coming from everywhere.
Closing his eyes from the blast, Neji tries to figure out where the sound was coming from. "I'll show you! When I find you and take you down you won't be looking down on my Byakugan's power!"
Sakura chuckles as she stealthily places a few more traps around. "You can't use your Byakugan if you can't see!" As the effects of her flashing explosive started to wear off, she see Neji growling and turning every way, trying shaking himself of the headache he must be receiving.
A blurry mirage of pink haired opponent was all Neji could focus on, as the light and the poison were throwing off his ability to process information. Though he could barely see Sakura, he was sure he could fight the effects of the poison long enough to reach her. Rushing, pumping his legs, the Hyuuga branch house member storms right for the pink haired woman, flaring his chakra in an attempt to push back the poisons seemingly zapping effect on his system. Unknown to him, the poison was only disorienting his chakra the more he uses it, causing massive fatigue through his attempts to fight it.
As he strikes with his right palm thrusting forward, his movement too sluggish for it to be effective, Sakura quickly sidesteps and grabs his arm, flipping him over her shoulder and into the ground.
His body protests in pain as his back collides with the arena's soil, though his vision was still somewhat blurry, he saw her standing over him, rearing a fist back to attack. He managed to move quickly enough to hit a few points over her torso and arm, he missed some chakra points but his attack was enough to force her to jump back.
Sakura coughed as he held her left side, it was burning with pain, her arm felt stiffer now, and it was hard to move it.
Slowly rising with a long painful groan to his feet Neji huffs. "You will find your arm will be useless for some time. While I hit nothing fatal in your torso, you will find it hard to move as fast as you were Sakura-San."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Damn it," Sasuke lightly curses. "Will this backfire for her?" The Uchiha looks to his blond teammate. Naruto doesn't answer him; he just keeps as steely expression on his face.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Sakura, however, was feeling confident despite her recent injury. She knew it was not going to be easy, as prepared as she was she had learned not to trust plans too far into the final result. This is why she bought some insurance. Smiling, she holds a few more bombs in her hand. "I may not move fast anymore, but you'll find you won't be able to get away..." Throwing the smoke bombs around the arena, she reached for more paper bombs.
Seeing her start to distract him, he kept his focus on her. Moving forward, fighting his sluggish nature as best he could, he found himself in the center of several Kunai bombs in an instant. Trying to jump back, Neji could barely react fast enough before the explosions blasted him back, causing another trap to activate around where he first hit Sakura, more poison entering his system, making him disorientated.
Taking this as her chance, the Rosette activated the low power bomb she placed on Neji's back during her throwing move that took him to the ground, making him scream in pain and hit the floor. It was almost over, as Sakura still had one trap left on the field. Running to it as fast as she could, she watches Neji stand up, glaring at her from the side. Standing around the final trap, she held another smoke bomb in her hand. "I'd stay down if I were you..."
Neji stood up, groaning in pain but gritting his teeth to fight it. Walking towards his opponent, the Hyuuga glares menacingly to her. "You won't beat me, I cannot lose!"
"Yes... You can."
"I'm telling you it's impossible!" He snarls, rage consuming him. "Do you know why? Because fate already dictated so!"
That makes the rosette stand still and look at him with a mixture of confusion and exasperation. "Fate?"
"Everyone's fate is already decided for them since birth. Yours, mine, everyone's, there is no escaping it" He seethes. He reaches out for his headband and pulls it away with a forceful tug. Sakura's eyes widen at 'ban' shaped seal on his forehead.
"Is that...?" She mutters.
"The Cage Bird Seal" He spats the name with loathing. "My chains, the chains of the entire Branch Family. All of us are branded since birth to serve the Main Branch. This accursed thing can inflict pain and death on a mere command" His hold over his headband tightens. "This seal is a symbol of our unescapable fate, the same fate that befell my father and so many others... Nothing but death and despair awaits us"
In the stands, Hiashi clenches his fists, he could remember the last time he saw his brother. He was smiling at him... 'No Neji... You deserve to know what happened. I will not hold this from you any longer'
Down with the other fighters, Naruto placed a hand upon his stomach. 'It doesn't have to be like this Neji...'
"Neji..." Tenten muttered with sadness. Lee could only feel remorse that regardless of their attempts, his team had failed to pull their comrade from that abyss.
Gaara briefly looked over, but then closed his eyes once more without paying it any mind.
The Hyuuga took a step forward. "And you, a simple civilian born ninja, share the same fate of many others like you. Cannon fodder, a sacrificial pawn that will be cast out for the sake of those stronger... So you can stop holding others back"
Sakura clenched her fist tightly, she remembered those times she could have been more useful, how her teammates seemed to move far and beyond her own progress, how it seemed there would come the day they'd just leave her behind...
She wasn't going to let that happen, she would keep going forward. Always training and learning more, so she could walk at their side, so she wouldn't be a load but rather so she could help them carry their burdens.
She wouldn't leave them, just as she knew they would never leave her.
Jade eyes full of determination snapped open. "You talk too much"
She threw the smoke bomb; the density of the cloud would normally not be a problem for the Byakugan, even with the Hyuuga's weakened state. But the purpose wasn't to blind him with it.
The purpose was to distract him.
As Neji tried to move away from the smoke, not knowing if it carried more of that cursed poison, his blurry dōjutsu's vision began noticing several chakra signatures lighting up... all around him. His turned left and right with growing dread, dozens and dozens of paper bombs were activating, so many and so close.
He willed his body to act despite the pain, he rotated quickly on his fist, hands channeling chakra and forming a fastly moving barrier. The poison kept acting up, putting even more strain to his body. "Kaiten!" The prized defensive technique of the Hyuuga faltered due to his own weakened condition.
Suddenly, one by one they began exploding all around him. The chakra sphere which he used to defend himself disappeared under blasts of fire and thick clouds of smoke.
The entire arena watched in silence as the dust settled, the smoke slowly cleared away, to reveal the fallen form of the Hyuuga.
The twins only felt their jaws drop while Kuro only smiles; 'She did well...'
Hinata cupped a hand over her mouth; both in relief and concern flood her as light tears rim her eyes. 'Neji-Nii.'
Holding her side while her left arm dangles lifelessly, Sakura walks over to the fallen Hyuuga. Neji tried, but his body would not respond as the rosette stopped beside him looking down. She says nothing as she sits down beside him. Her body ached as she simply looked at the Hyuuga.
Neji's sut covered face turns to her slowly and painfully. "Y-You..." He coughs. "You were supposed to lose"
"If I hadn't prepared myself to fight you, I would have" She acknowledged. "I still have a long way to go before being able to fight against someone like you directly"
His breaths are short and shallow. "This makes no sense... You're just a civilian born..."
"That has nothing to do with how I won" She insists. "I was able to outsmart you wasn't I?"
The Hyuuga did not respond.
Sakura sighs. "I'm sorry for what happened to you" She says earnestly. "I can't hope to understand what you went through... But I won't let that make me any less than I am" Sakura looks at him in the eye.
"People like you..." He retorts. "Can't change their fate"
"I don't really know if there is a fate, or how it is, but one thing I know for certain is that I won't fall behind my team, I will keep getting stronger so we can face everything that comes our way. Together" Her gaze goes to the fighter's and the upper stands. "You have people who really care for you, you know?"
Neji remained silent once more, taking in her words.
"So maybe... you could be happier if you try. I know I'll give it my all to. So I can always stay by my teammates' side" She smiles softly and looks to the sky. "So I think a talented guy like you won't have much trouble as me with that, you already are pretty strong, and you have really good friends"
The Hyuuga's gaze fell, the disappointment of his defeat and his will shake so much by someone who by all rights shouldn't have been able to defeat him weighted heavily on him. He barely noticed when the medics took him away.
"Winner!" Genma announced. "Sakura Haruno!"
The Jounin kneels down beside her; "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," the rosette nods as she slowly gets to her feet with Genma's help. "Be nice to have a working arm though." She looks to limp left.
"Doesn't look that bad" He muses as he takes a look. "It should be fine by your next match" He smirks reassuringly at her. "But if you ask me, you're already chunin material girl"
She looks at him as he continues; "Your strategy was excellent, and you kept your composure throughout the match. Far as I am concern kiddo, you're Chunin in my eyes."
Slowly, Sakura bows respectfully to Genma, whispering a thank you fighting light tears in her eyes. She walks back to the fighter's box.
She is immediately received by cheers. "Sakura-Chan, you were awesome!" Naruto cries in excitement.
"I can't believe it, you did it!" Tenten was pretty much hopping in place. "I feel kinda bad for Neji, but you were great!"
"Indeed Sakura-chan, perhaps this defeat will prove to be more beneficial to our youthful companion in the future!" Lee gave her thumbs up, accompanied by blinding (literally, the glint of his teeth was too much) grin.
"Hmm" Sasuke grunted, looking at her and slowly nodding. "Not bad... not bad at all"
Only a tired rueful grin came from the rosette as she looks over to Haku who walks over. The Hyoton user lifts her limp left arm inspecting it. "An hour maybe less before your arm will function again. You will be fine Sakura-Chan."
"You did amazing" The kiri Nin finishes with a sincere smile. "Well done"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
With the Kages, they do their best ignoring Kushina, who is dancing around them cheering. "Hell yeah~!" She sang.
"That was a splendid match" Mei said, impressed at the display.
"To think the unknown girl like her could defeat a prodigy like the young Hyuuga" The Kazekage noted.
"Never doubt the power of a good strategy Rasa-done" Hiruzen said sagely. "Neji was overconfident, and Sakura's strategy to face him proved quite effective as we have seen"
The Kazekage nods; "Very true and no small feat. A well-earned victory."
Up in the stands, Hinata sighed both in relief and melancholy. She was happy for Sakura's victory, but worried Neji's fatalistic vision of the world would remain the same despite his defeat.
Her sister, Hanabi, was more surprised than anything by the events. "I can't believe Neji lost..."
"Excuse me" Their father rose from his seat, an unreadable expression, as always, on his face. "But I need to tend to your cousin"
Saito finally lets out the breath he was holding while his son and Karin cheer. "Good job Sakura-San."
Beside him, Samenosuke whistles while clapping on his feet. "Wooh..! Yeah..!" He cheers. "Man" His voice lost just a bit of its merriment and gained a bit of disappointment. "Can't believe Lyn missed this fight, she would have loved it"
"Make a memory seal" Saito advised. "And show it to her latter"
"I guess" He shrugged, sounding a bit unsure. "Ain't the same as seeing this in person though"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
As the crowd begins to settle, Naruto and Lee look at one another. The young taijutsu expert smiles; "Let us have a good match Naruto-Kun. Use everything you have, I wish to face you at your best my friend."
Naruto rolls his neck, feeling his joint pop, before returning the green clad ninja the same enthusiastic smile. "You bet it pal, give it all you've got!"
"Yosh..!" Lee pumped his feat, and flames erupted from his eyes. "If I cannot beat you then I'll run five hundred laps all around Konoha!"
"W-Whatever you say Lee" Naruto stammered, a bit weirded out.
Lee jabbed a challenging finger at him. "I intent to win Naruto-kun, I'll show everyone in the village that fighters like myself can become strong ninja!"
At that Naruto grins; "May either one of the hardest working shinobi win."
Lee gives the thumbs up before jumping over the balcony. Tenten remain quiet as she cups her hands. Whispering a silent prayer for her best friend and her teammate. Gaara keeps his eyes on his Jinchurriki kin.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto looks to Sakura and Haku; "Wish me luck." He leaps over the balcony.
"Don't lose dobe" Sasuke called, in that 'insulting-you-yet-cheering-on-you' tone of his. "You still have to fight me"
Landing on his feet, Naruto looks up to the Uchiha grinning. "The best for last when I whoop your ass!"
"Do your best honey!" He could her mother's words cheering at him from the Kage's podium (all three Kage winced at the woman's loud voice).
"Kick his ass Naruto!" That was his cousin Karin who cheered for him this time. He could see them sitting on the stadium, spotting them was easy... mostly because Samenosuke had pulled a long flag that said 'Uzu forever!' in wide bold red letters, and was waving it around, annoying quite a bit of people. Saito included apparently.
Naruto only looks blankly at his unique uncle. Genma snorted with a chuckle; "Konoha got more interesting when they showed up."
The blond Uzumaki looked to the Jounin; "My family is awesome and crazy."
"Ain't that the truth" The jounin raised his hand. "The match between Naruto Uzumaki and Lee is about to..." He swiftly brought down his hand on a chopping motion. "Begin!" And quickly back off from the fighters.
Lee immediately took a stance and prepared to attack, but Naruto was already jumping back and gaining distance. The blonde went through a long series of handsigns before slamming his hands on the ground.
Suddenly, the arena around the two trembled. The earth rumbled as large spikes of stone rose up all around them, the soil twisted, some parts of the arena elevated and formed tall mounds, while other parts became small ditches and holes. The terrain now looked completely different than what it used to be, it was like a malformed and twisted earth formation from some odd rocky valley.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Ah" Hiruzen said in understanding. "Lee relies on his mobility to fight, by changing the terrain like that Naruto's limiting his movements. Very smart, but let's see if Lee can overcome this"
Kushina smirks crossing her arms under her bust, both Kazekage and Mizukage nod in approval.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Standing among the people Kakashi lifts a brow; "Hmm. No bad Naruto." Looking over to Gai, he only noticed the smile on his self-appointed 'eternal rival'.
"I'm afraid Lee will not be defeated so easily Naruto-Kun…"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Though Lee was surprised by this sudden shift, he found Naruto jumping into the makeshift valley arena to be highly exhilarating. "This will be most fun indeed!" Jumping in, the green beast skid along the siding of the valley as he found Naruto jumping back and forth between the walls, running away from him. Swiftly, Lee used the terrain in much the same way, jumping forward along the same path.
As the two rounded the bend, Lee getting closer due to his speed, the blonde quickly jumped up to the ledge of the high rock and stopped. Turning, he swung hard with a low kick as Lee climbed up to follow, only to be kicked in the head and thrown back into the hole. Jumping back in, Naruto pointed his feet straight down and aimed for Lee.
However, Lee was not going down so easily, as he gripped the walls and looked up in time to jump out of the way of Naruto, slowing his fall enough for the blonde to pass him. Though Lee did not stand around, he jumped right back up, flipping over the large rock and waited for Naruto. It did not take long, the blonde swiftly came up again and rolled onto the rock and looked down at Lee, who was on another, stretching his legs and smiling.
Seeing the green beast taunting him, Naruto ran down the rock and jumped for Lee. Rearing back to strike. Watching closely, Lee smirked and swung a high rolling kick up at Naruto, only for Naruto to switch strategy and catch the leg instead of hitting his opponent, flipping over it and landing behind the spandex wearing taijutsu expert.
Spinning around as his attack missed, Lee swung behind him at the ducking down blonde, his back turned at the bowl haired fighter, Naruto quickly jumped up and flipped over the kick, getting into fighting stance as Lee launched a speeding snap kick coming for his head. Seeing this, the blonde caught the foot with hands, slamming his palms into the heel and pushing against it. Twisting his body, Naruto raised a leg up and sent a furious side kick against Lee,
Though Lee, being the expert of hand to hand combat he was, grabbed the leg and rose his other off the ground, twisting his body around and swinging a high kick right for Naruto's skull once more. As effective as the other one, Naruto quickly ducked under the strike, in his current position he had to let go of the first leg and turn his back to Lee, who was dropping upside down
Taking his chances, the blonde jinchuriki stepped forward and tried to punch Lee in the gut as he landed upside down. Though he did not count for Lee to be so capable with his feet, as both clamped onto his arm so hard it stung. Lee gripped the ground under him and used it as leveraged, rolling backwards and throwing Naruto up into the air and rolling back onto his feet effortlessly before activating his first gate and vanishing from view.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"What!" The red death's eyes widen along with all the Kage's. "Gai what the hell have you done?!"
Hiruzen sighs deeply tipping his hat, he only shakes his head.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Kakashi looks sharply to his fellow Jounin; "You taught Lee that? Gai, even for you that is very irresponsible. Teaching him the Eight Inner Gates..."
Gai says nothing before looking steely to the silver haired man; "You know nothing of Lee's struggle to get where he has. And I will not apologize for helping my student to be his best."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Getting behind Naruto, who finally finished flipping in the air, the green beast grabbed him by the arms and started pulling him down to the ground, spinning them around rapidly. "Front Lotus!" With little hesitation, the taijutsu fighter slammed them both into the ground, launching himself out of the attack with enough speed and forces to skid along the ground, having to watch his footing from the jagged and sloped hills.
Lee, however, was not smiling. Just as the attack hit, Naruto had vanished from his grip, causing him to hit the ground and hurt his arms from the force of his attack. Though he forced himself through the pain, he started looking around, wondering where Naruto was.
Lee's sharp ears only heard a faint sound; he moves fast enough to duck from a horizontal slash from the blond Uzumaki's blade. The taijutsu expert only grins; "YOSH! Bring your all Naruto-Kun!"
After the slash, Naruto went for a cross cut attack, forcing Lee to jump back. Though the terrain was so rocky, that sharp walls up and down were spaces so close together that he was forced up against another rock with only that single attack. Ducking under the next for his throat, Lee jumped up and then kicked off the rock to get some distance.
Following closely, the Uzumaki jinchuriki followed swiftly and caught up swiftly, using gravity as an advantage under rocks and other smaller formations high up to get in front of the green beast and launch an offensive. Cutting the softer ground hill into a tuft of dirty smoke, Lee closed his eyes and mouth as he was unable to jump out of his current launch, and slipped along the loose dirt, slamming onto his back before falling down the hill. Carefully shaking the dirt away from his eyes, he opened them to see Naruto coming down on top of him.
Slashing for the taijutsu expert, Naruto missed as he landed where his opponent had been sitting, Lee had rolled forward and started running up another rock. Kicking off forcefully, Lee spun in a rapid flurry of kicks. "Konoha Senpū!" Ducking the first kick, Naruto quickly jumped out of the way and blocked the rest of the attacks before Lee stopped. Naruto, however, could see that Lee was starting to falter, as after his attack he crawled and ran on all fours to get some distance before trying to take a stance.
Seeing his chance, Naruto thrust for the bowl headed fighter', only for the green beast to suddenly snap kick the hilt up, the sword went flying into the air. Naruto could only see it fly up before his vision turned back to Lee as he was launched into the nearest rock wall thanks to Lee's sudden turn from upper kick to a harsh side kick, slamming his heel into Naruto's chest the second the sword was kicked up and away.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Naruto!" Sakura and Haku yell beside Sasuke who gashes his teeth.
Narrowing his sea-foam green eyes, Gaara keeps his eyes on Naruto, though Temari and Kankuro slightly backing away from their little brother's killer intent leaking out.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Having opened his second inner gate, Lee sped towards Naruto in a hurry and slammed a fierce fist into him. Though Naruto managed to block the punch, it did not stop the force which was enough to send him through the rock, crumbling the huge boulder into pebbles around them. Not letting up, Lee followed through with another attack, kicking Naruto into another tall formation, a hill, which caused a crater once Naruto was slammed into it.
The shock from Lee's sudden attack wore off, and Naruto pushed himself off the hill and ducked under the next double fist strike that split the hill at the base, making it crumble around them. Jumping away was his only option, and with a swift mental kick to his ass, the blonde rushed through the arena, jumping from hill to rock and vice versa around him. Though his speed was nothing like Lee's, as the bowl haired combatant flew above him and came down upon him hard.
Hearing the young beast of Taijutsu falling, Naruto jumped in a completely random direction, but only managed to miss the brunt of the attack as Lee's foot clocked his shoulder, flipping him in the air and knocking him to the ground. Getting up, and blocking the strong side kick to the face, Naruto kept his guard, taking the force of the punch with his arms flexed in front of him. Standing his ground, he used his special ability to wrap the earth around his feet and crawl over his arms and chest, crystalizing over them in a hardened shell, grounding him against the strength of Lee's attacks.
Not getting a single break, Naruto was starting to get sore, his armor creaked under the blows, bruising his arms and was about to break against the savage strikes given from the beastly taijutsu fighter.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Saito narrows his eyes; "Naruto is using his crystal armor. But with that boy using the Gates it may not help."
Karin bits her inner lip; "Can he win?"
The roguish Uzumaki only smirks; "The eight inner gates are dangerous when activated. But have a dangerous flaw. Just watch"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
It did not take long, through another rocky hill came Naruto bouldering out from Lee's heaviest attack yet, forcing him out of his grounded position and into the valley below. As Naruto fell, Lee took a knee, huffing and recovering as the power released from his Gate was starting to trickle down to a close.
Grunting, Naruto held himself on the wall, catching himself as he didn't want to fall all the way down. Holding his chest, he tried to push pain to the back of his mind as he looked down at the armor on his chest, cracked. Focused and the armor fixed itself, but as it did he was slowly draining himself of chakra. He would need to finish this fast. Climbing back up, he looked to see Lee standing up, slouched over in exhaustion.
Not knowing if this was hi chance, he needed to be careful, but as he started moving forward, Lee was already preparing himself. Before Naruto could make it to the taijutsu expert, a huge amount of chakra spilled waves through the valley's he created as Lee's skin began darkening, a green aura formed around him as the stadium rumbled.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
While the others gaped in awe and shock, Kuroreimei smiled and stroke her chin, leaning forward with interest in her eyes. "My, my…"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Tenten clenched her fists. "Don't overdo it Lee, Gai-sensei told you how much this can affect your body…"
The pinkette was softly muttering under her breath, fidgeting nervously, worried over her friend. "Come on Naruto, come on. You can do this"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Oh... SHI-!"
Before he could say a word, Lee was upon him, a powerful kick sent him back into a hill once more, before being kicked into the air. Looking back in shock, the blonde could only witness as Lee grabbed onto his ankle and threw him down into the ground. The throw sent Naruto into the ground, bouncing off and into a rock where he was stuck into form the sheer force. before he could even grunt, Lee was on him again and a powerful strike sent him through it, and another skipped him along the ground and a few more started forcing him upon the broken hill he cut to distract Lee, only now he was slammed into it with enough force to level the pile made into flat ground once more, a huge crater spilling into the rocks and hills around it, and filling the crevice along the middle and outside.
Opening a single eye, Naruto watched as Lee was in the air again, and with little hesitation, stormed down onto him like a falling meteor. Not knowing what else to do, Naruto reacted as fast as he could, use the ground around him with a flurry of hand seals quickly and huge rock formations enclosed around him. It did little to stop the green beast, which slammed through easily, but it gave Naruto enough time to roll to the side and miss. Pulling no strength from his punch, Naruto swung with a heavy cross, only for Lee to grab him and pull him close before slamming a fist into his gut and slamming him against the stadium wall.
Naruto was having a very bad time, his armor was starting to show cracks, but thankfully the dirt he covered himself in was stopping any of it from being directly seen by the naked untrained eye. Looking to Lee, he could see the master of taijutsu was not done yet. Disappearing, Naruto knew what was coming as Lee's movements were bouncing along every part of the deformed terrain towards him. Thinking quickly, Naruto had to get out of this situation. With little thought, he quickly pushed himself out of the wall, just in time for Lee's fist to smash it almost to the point the cracks nearly reached the stands.
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"Holy cr-!" Soujiro began, only to be stopped by a chop to the head from his father.
"Language" The admonished sternly.
"Samenosuke says worse things everyday…" He pouted, rubbing the sore spot on his head.
As if to prove his point, the wild haired Uzumaki looked on with a large smile on his face as he loudly proclaimed. "Fucking hell that was awesome!"
"Samenosuke!"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Kakashi sighed at the sight while Gai only grinned a twinkling smirk. "That student of yours has no sense of restraint… he's a lot like Naruto actually"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Woah!" Was the only thing that Kiba could say, the others just watched on in awe, Chouji was munching on his chips so fast that when he ran out he accidentally bit his own fingers.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
A huge plume of smoke quickly covered the area, heralding the summoning of clones. Lee looked around before suddenly he was grabbed by the head and pulled back. In an instant, he turned and started kicking, only to find the opponent he kicked was a clone as it dispersed in a plume of smoke, adding to the cloud around him. The smoke was giving Naruto the advantage of surprise to use any tricks he had.
Seeing shadows in the smoke, Lee was suddenly shrouded by darkness as many Shadow clones suddenly attacked him, cutting off any chance to escape. Pushing himself to the limit, Lee launched himself at the clones of Naruto, kicking through several, punching another dozen, and throwing half of the right side into the ground without a chance to move, swirling around the area so fast the smoke was being blown away. Soon the audience could see the green beast fighting an army of Naruto's, the blonde clones disappearing faster than they could be created.
Feeling himself start to tire, his chakra slowly draining, Lee slammed through the next wave and ran through the deformed field, looking for Naruto. As his movement slowed, his body started to lock up, causing him to crash into rocks and hurt himself at high speed against the hills slumping out at him. Soon he found his target, and with all his strength, Lee pushed himself up sped through the crevice of which Naruto was at the bottom of, making more clones. Fighting through them all, Lee pushed himself off the wall at high speed with all his might, and slammed a severe kick into Naruto, only to find himself tricked again with Naruto disappearing in a plume of smoke, and himself slamming into the ground and becoming trapped inside the crevice as the clones attack him from all sides, pummeling him deeper still.
As his lower body got stuck, he was suddenly clamped down upon by the walls, the clones held his arms still as his body started to tire and slow down to nothing. Looking up, Lee could only look in shock as Naruto was dropping from above., a large blue ball in his hand, swirling. "RASENGAN!" With no more strength to break out, and needing time to open the Fourth gate, Lee could only watch as Naruto fell upon him, and slammed the ball into his chest and grinding him into the ground with tremendous forces.
A blast of rock and dust erupted, clouding the vision of all the observers. Murmurs ran around the arena, the people were confused about the outcome of the battle, not knowing who could have finally won at the end.
Genma jumped over the crevice to both check on the state of the participants and which was the victor. He stood up and cleared away the dust with a wind jutsu. "Winner" He called. "Naruto Uzumaki!"
Cheers erupted everywhere in the arena, Naruto's relatives being the loudest among them. Sakura and Sasuke both sighed in relief and smiled at his victory along with Haku. Tenten felt both sad and happy, as one dear friend had lost while another had one.
Gaara smirked predatorily.
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Kakashi sighed and smiled proudly. "Well done Naruto"
"Lee…" He looked over his shoulder to see Gai bearing a crestfallen expression. "It's okay…" He smiled sadly. "You did your best, and from this, you'll only get stronger"
Gaze shifting in thought, Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You should be proud. You taught that boy well"
The taijutsu master's eyes teared up as his lip tremble. "My eternal rival…"
"Please don't hug me…"
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"Yes! Wooohooo!" Kushina cheered at the top of her lungs, she couldn't help it as a tear had rolled own her cheek when she saw her boy using that particular technique at the end.
Hiruzen smiled heartily as he clapped, he could hear his grandson somewhere in the stands shouting cheers of joy 'Nii-chan's the best!' In that moment of victory, the old Kage swore he saw the form of many brave Uzumaki he had known in the past, that same drive and spirit of his clan.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
A pair of Anbu descended upon the arena and with their earth techniques combined, they quickly repaired the ground as if the fight had never taken place.
Naruto and Lee were at the center, the former sitting, supporting his body with his hands on the ground and breathing heavily. Lee lay on the ground, the midsection of his clothes torn where the Rasengan had hit, leaving an ugly bruise.
Among the gasps of breath, Naruto's gaze wandered and found the jian blade resting close to him over the ground. He lazily picked up and sheathed it.
He couldn't help but chuckled. "That was a great match huh Lee?" When he received no answer, he looked over the taijutsu fighter to see if he was okay. "Lee?"
"I lost…" The tone of his voice didn't sit well with Naruto, he sounded so… defeated. Not at all like the Lee had he known. "I wanted to show everyone a hardworking ninja could do anything… But I lost" He sniffed. "I couldn't defeat someone with a strong bloodline like you"
"What are you talking about?" The blonde honestly wondered. Had they not been on the same match or something? "Lee you completely thrashed me at some points there. A little more and I would have lost"
"Eh?" Moist eyes look up to the Uzumaki.
Naruto slowly stood up, his body hurt all over. "Honestly, if you think you what you did wasn't enough, than I'm scared to see what you call overkill" He flashed him a bright smile. "I think you're really awesome Lee!"
"Naruto-kun…"
"We both still have a long way to go, but I promise that one day everyone will know what you're capable of okay?" He stretched his hand to him. "I know you'll be one of the most badass ninja the world has seen. So stop feeling sad"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Most of the competitors in the fighter's stand smiled. Sasuke turned his head so the other couldn't see his.
"You two…" Tenten started before smirking widely. "We're all gonna be legends one day. That's a promise"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Kushina wiped a tear from her eye, moved by her son's words. 'Minato… this is our son'
Hiruzen smiled proudly at the display, along with many of the Konoha shinobi. This was exactly what being a ninja of their village all was about. This was the camaraderie they held so dear. This was the Will of Fire.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Naruto-kun" Hinata whispered with a soft smile.
"You guys were awesome!" Ino cheered for the two, the others voiced their joy in their own manner as well.
Sniff.
Shikamaru frowned and looked at Kiba. "Are you crying?"
"N-No"
Kuroreimei chuckled as she clapped. "Well done boys. Well done indeed"
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"That's how the Uzumaki roll!" Samenosuke shouted for all to hear. Even Saito couldn't help but cheer along with his family at their relative's victory and spirit. For he truly had honored the spirit of their ancestors in this battle.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Lee stared at the offered hand of the blonde; his lip trembled as tears ran down his eyes.
"Uff!" Naruto said as a green blur collided against his body, despite how tired and hurt he was; Lee still had found it in himself to push himself of the ground in a second and hug him with all his strength.
"Thank you for your kind words Naruto-kun!" He sniffed. "I promise you, I'll become stronger, and so one day we can both show everyone the flames of our youth!"
"Um…" Not knowing what to do, Naruto patted him in the back. "Right back at ya Lee…"
Wait a minute… were those waves he heard? Yeah… waves crushing against a… shore?
"W-Woah! What the hell?!" A shore had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, along with a sunset. What kind of weird nightmare was this?
And it just kept on growing.
"S-Sensei help!"
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"It's too late Naruto…" Kakashi's tone was full of dread. "You have caught in IT, and there is no escape"
Gai teared waterfalls as he held his fist tightly. "Such camaraderie, such friendship. Such… Such… YOUTH!" Suddenly, another sunset formed behind him.
"Oh gods it's expanding!" Somewhat shouted.
"My eyes!" Kiba screamed as he held said eyes. "They burn!"
Shino's glasses cracked. Hinata fainted along with her sister. The others could feel their souls leaving their bodies.
Kuroreimei hid her face on her palms, trembling. "I've never seen something… so horrifying…"
"Dude" Isao whispered to his twin. "Am I tripping?"
"No, I see it too" Isamu replied.
"Feels like I just smoked something glorious…"
"Oh yeah…"
Samui rocked back and forth in a fetal position while her teammates turned into so pale they looked like wraiths.
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Kushina had fallen against the wall and the floor, completely defeated by the sight of the Sunset of Youth.
The Kazekage slumped against his chair, his eyes having gone completely white while smoke came out of them.
Mei struggled to recover. "T-That man… is forbidden from ever going to Kiri…" She soon fell victim by the Sunset's radiance and fell unconscious on her chair.
Hiruzen sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Is it a bad thing I've grown used to this?" He thought it over for a moment. "Yes… yes it is"