Chapter 6:

The Chuunin Exams II: Uzumaki Face-off!

Nagato looked up at the sky. The battle stages of the exam were to be held in an open stadium, filled and packed with spectators. He sat in the stands now. In just a couple of hours he'd be fighting, down in that field. The Hokage had warned each contestant that any match could turn into a fight to the death, that that was the Shinobi way of life, and he encouraged them, should they ever find themselves in such a state, it was best to surrender and live to fight another day, than to succumb to the worst. The proctor was strictly forbidden from interfering in the fight unless either contender surrendered or was unable to compete further. Nagato, who had no intention of using deadly force, was aware that other aspiring chuunin would not be as merciful. Luckily, his fight was against Kushina. She wouldn't fight to kill him. Right?

For the moment he sat alone. As alone as he would find himself later on today. It was possible he would be forced to fight more than once, if the judges sought to further scrutinize his skill. His hands were clasped together. He looked around himself, unable to believe that in a few short hours this giant stadium would be full of screaming spectators. His keen eyes scanned the field, combing over every nook and cranny to familiarise himself with the terrain. It was a technique taught to them by Jiraiya-sensei, one which Yahiko, not surprisingly, often forgot. Their sensei would often say, "Ten seconds of meaningful observation of your surroundings could be the difference between life and death."

One by one the genin assembled in the locker room. Konan, punctual as always, arrived precisely on time, rarely ever late or early. She quickly made her way toward Nagato and sat next to him. Like her friend, she felt nervous, but she knew, at least in Nagato's case, she had nothing to worry about. Despite his insecurities, Nagato had heart and guts, the same gift bestowed on his cousin and opponent, Kushina. His quick, calculating mind and precision made him a force to be reckoned with. Kushina, however, had brute strength. Raw power could never be taught, although she had learned how to pack a real punch under Tsunade. Konan herself chose to specialise in control of chakra, and had great potential in medical ninjutsu. The fight would be something special.

Minato arrived, uncharacteristically late, accompanying Kushina. Konan suspected it was her fault he was late. Why had he waited for her then? Curious.

Pinako arrived, in her usual quiet manner, so it seemed as though she had appeared out of nowhere. She arrived behind Nagato and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek as she sat down to whisper words of encouragement to dispel his nerves.

Yahiko was the last to arrive. He sauntered in, confidence seemingly oozing out of every pore of his being. He slung a sword on his back and walked with an almost arrogant swagger which was new to Konan and Nagato. Of course, both Konan and Kushina were fully willing and able to knock him down a peg or two if his head ever swelled too much.

Some time later, a jounin appeared where the congregation of genin were gathered. "It's time." is all he said.

He led them out on to the open field. The crowd had gathered. The sun shone as the people roared and cheered. The jounin stood at attention as he faced the Hokage, seated in his high chair, along with the other judges, a group of Jounin and Leaf Village higher-ups. Yahiko spotted Jiraiya, who as expected was bored by all the formality.

The Hokage stood. "Welcome, all, to the final stages of Konoha's chuunin exams! These finals will be conducted in the form of a series of one-on-one battles between the genin, to test their stamina, skill, speed and intellect. After each battle, the judges and I will congregate to discuss the match, and analyse the participants. The final ruling will be read out after all the battles have been concluded. Good luck to all genin, and we hope you all enjoy the fights!"

Whispers erupted in the stadium. As usual, bets were placed on those favoured to win, and those to lose. Each fan clutched a program, containing the list of matches as well as background information on each candidate. Excitement was buzzing.

"Match #1! Kushina Uzumaki vs. Nagato Uzumaki! Will the genin pleases assemble here!"

The crowd cheered as Nagato descended the stairs from the viewing box to the field, Kushina by his side. Nagato stood on one side of the proctor, as Kushina stood facing him.

"I want this fight to be as clean as possible. However, each fight replicates real-world conditions, and so, there will be no stopping the match. In an effort to save as many lives as possible, the option of surrender is available to you. Do you both understand and wish to continue?"

Kushina nodded firmly, a determined smile playing on her lips. Nagato nodded as well, shakily though. As he looked into his cousin's eyes, his sister's eyes, he was unsure of himself. I don't want to hurt her.

"Begin!"

Nagato did not immediately move. He took a deep calming breath, to steel himself. And then..

He stuck out his hand.

The crowd stared in puzzlement. The genin stared. Kushina stared at his hand, looking from the proctor to his hand. The proctor simply shrugged. Kushina looked into Nagato's eyes, and saw only sincerity and honesty. Slowly, she reached out and shook his hand. But as Nagato tried to let go, she yanked him closer to herself. Up close, she snarled "I don't want you throwing this fight just because I'm a girl, or because we're related or whatever. We maybe friends outside, but here, you're my enemy. Mark my words; I can and will step over your unconscious body to grab the title of chuunin." And she roughly shoved him backward. Shocked at her reaction, Nagato's determination rose. I sure as hell don't want her to hurt me either.

Kushina pulled out a kunai. Nagato stood barehanded. He took a defensive, martial arts stance. The feeling-out process of the fight. He would conserve chakra and use taijutsu to delve her abilities.

Warily, she circled Nagato. He didn't move, only his eyes followed her movements. She charged. Nagato stood ready. As expected, she stabbed forward with the kunai. Nagato's hand easily slipped under hers and yanked it upward, using his other fist to aim a punch at her stomach. But to his surprise, Kushina rose with the momentum of the pull on her arm, light as air, turning over so she floated, for a half-second, upside down over him. She landed behind him, and he used his hands to defend, but the kick never came. Instead she flipped forward, creating distance between them. Nagato attacked. He aimed a barrage of punches, and she ducked and weaved, avoiding and catching his punches. Her footwork was exceptional, she would backtrack and then push forward, keeping him off balance. A fist flew over her shoulder, she grabbed it and twisted, flipping Nagato over and throwing him forward. Nagato flew a good few metres but managed to land on his feet, unsteadily. Kushina took advantage of his imbalance, charging behind him and aiming a punch at his head. He jumped into the air to avoid, but his eyes managed to catch sight of her other hand, reaching into her pouch. Fully aware of his surroundings, he landed neatly on the wall of the stadium, and ran along the length of it. Kushina's shuriken lodged themselves in places behind him, where he was only a second prior. Her eyes followed his movements, she continued to fling shuriken as she raced toward a point she knew he would eventually end up. Busy keeping his eye on the barrage of weaponry, Nagato was forced into the spot where she lay waiting.

WHAM! Kushina slammed her fist into the wall. Nagato, who saw her at the last second, had barely managed to launch himself off the wall. He landed gracefully behind her, as she removed her hand from the wall. Dammit. Missed.

Nagato's mouth fell open. He gazed at the cracks running along the wall, and the depression caused by Kushina's punch. He marvelled at her strength. If I take a direct hit from one of those I'm a goner.

Nagato's mind worked. He began to strategise. Kushina, knowing him as well as she did, knew what he was doing. She kept the pressure on him, pushing him, not letting him rest, and as much distance as he tried to keep, she covered, not letting up her attacks. A chakra fist flew at Nagato's stomach; he evaded, dropped to the floor spinning on his heel and launched a helicopter kick, kicking out Kushina's legs form under her. To his surprise, she landed on her hands, and, upside down, began to launch kicks at him, which he managed to deflect. Seeing her opportunity, she pushed off from the ground, landed with her shine on Nagato's shoulders and spun around, lifting him off his feet and flipping him. Nagato twisted in midair and landed in a crouch, he backflipped backward, springboarding off his hands, avoiding a well-aimed kick. Kushina made a hand sign, and raced for him again. Her fist glowed green with chakra. Nagato backed up till his back was against the wall, he jumped as her fist shot forward, once again finding wall instead of Nagato. Lithely he landed on her arm, and kicked off, flipping over her head. She managed to pull out her fist, but had no time to dodge as Nagato's punch came flying at her..

He looked in Kushina's eyes. He pulled back his punch at the last second, freezing in place. Kushina took the opportunity to slap him, hard as she could, across the face.

A loud, resounding "OH!" ran through the stadium. Yahiko raised his hands to his head. Konan facepalmes.

Nagato, shocked, stumbled backward. Kushina came at him and shoved him harshly, much more roughly than she had at the start of the match. Nagato tumbled backward, pinwheeling his arms before landing on his butt.

Kushina's eyes glowed with anger. "Fight!" she shouted down at him. "Fight! Fight me, you little pussy! Come on!"

Nagato got to his feet. His palms were shaking, but his nervousness was gone. "You want a fight?" he asked in a low voice.

The tension came to head. Kushina launched another punch Nagato easily caught her hand. He pulled her hand down, aiming a kick which landed squarely under her jaw. She was launched into the air. Nagato ran through some handsigns. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two shadow clones jumped up in the air with her. They each grabbed an arm and prepared to slam her hard into the ground. The real Nagato jumped up as well, flipping around, bringing his heel crashing down to Kushina's midsection. Kushina, managing to become aware, pulled her arm free and twisted so the clone was slammed and pulverised by Nagato's kick. She landed in a heap and rolled away. She tasted blood. His attacks are more damaging than before. I'll have to watch out.

"Wind Style: Gale Wind!" and Kushina was forced to dive out of the way of the slash of wind. Nagato's knee stood waiting. CRASH!

He slammed a knee into her solar plexus, driving the breath out of her lungs. He began to strike various parts of her body, rapid, open-handed strikes, before spinning and landing a roundhouse kick to the side of her head. She flew sideways and tumbled, grimacing in pain. She opened her eyes in time to see two clones flying down from above, kunai in hand, aiming to stab dowm. She managed to force her body to evade, as Nagato came flying at her once again.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

The open fisted strike landed on her midsection, before a large and powerful gust of wind emitting from his palm delivered a second blow, blasting her backward. She careened off through the air, bouncing off the ground and skidding as she crashed into the boundary wall. She clutched her bruised ribs in pain. His attacks are getting more vicious. I've never seen this side of him before.

As she got to her knees, he was once again upon her. She managed to raise her hands in time to catch each of his fists, but in doing so was left open and defenceless as his knee came crashing up below her jaw, slamming her head up. He back handed her backward and once again she crashed into the wall. He pulled a kunai and pointed it at her face, scrunched up in pain. "Yield."

Her eyes opened, and to Nagato's surprise, she pulled his arm and spun around, disarming him, locking him into a perfect armlock. With her strength, it was no great task to wrench back, hard enough.

SNAP! Nagato shouted in pain as his arm broke. He managed to move his head as she stabbed with his kunai, slicing his cheek. He drove a knee into her bruised ribs, causing her to double over, giving himself enough time to retreat.

Kushina coughed blood into her fist. She looked up, panting, blood trailing from the corners of her mouth. Nagato stood, panting as well, bleeding profusely from his cheek, clutching his arm which hung useless and limp by his side. She struggled to her feet. She charged at him again, aiming haymakers at him. He was unable to block, but simply tried to dodge, until one finally caught him dead on the side of his fist. Bones cracked, as he was flung backward. Kushina grasped her hand in pain. She had been unable to summon enough chakra to her hand to cushion the blow and maximise strength. A punch with that much strength without her chakra "gloves" caused her to bruise or perhaps crack her knuckles. Nagato, shaking, rose to a sitting position. Unable to move his arm, he formed handsigns with his arm at his side.

"Sh-..Shadow Clone Jutsu" he said weakly.

He stood as several clones formed around him. Kushina's eyes widened as she panted. He still has that much chakra?

One by one the clones flew at her. She managed to jump aside, above, and around, dodging them. But as she kicked off from the back of one, looking behind her, her eyes widened in horror. They weren't attacking her at all. They were positioning themselves. She had seen this move before.

She landed, crouching on one knee. The final Nagato, the real one, stepped in to close the circle. Kushina slowly stood. She looked into his eyes, filled with pain but still hard with determination. He was in more pain than she was, she knew. It was amazing he hadn't passed out by the white hot pain that he was caused by his elbow snapping like that.

And it was then that Kushina learned of Nagato's true toughness, his underrated hardiness, and his impossibly high tolerance for pain. She realised she could not win. She was finished.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm." Came a small voice behind her. She turned her head in time to see a flash of red running up to her duck behind her.

SLAM! The Nagato slammed his good elbow into the small of her back, arching her like a bow. Here it came. She closed her eyes.

The tornado of wind blasted through and around her body. The vicious wind left several cuts on her arms and legs, ripping her clothes in places. She sank to her knees. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

The clones disappeared. Nagato slowly walked up to where she lay. He fell to his knees, and looked down at her bloodied face.

"The winner is: Nagato Uzumaki!"

He barely heard the cheers and roars. He barely saw his frantic siblings rush to the two battle-weary warriors' aid. He barely saw the medical ninja march out carrying their stretchers. He managed to form a thought in his pain-riddled mind. I won.

His lights dimmed, and he succumbed to his injury, collapsing unconscious beside his fallen sister.

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A/N: So what do you guys think? I got some nice reviews for my last chapter and I hope I get some more for this one. Really looking forward to hearing what you guys think.

Nuke Tremor, Umbra Gami, habdreas, konannagatoyahikolover… Thank you for all of your kind words. Really. It means a lot to me. If you hadn't reviewed I probably would have stopped writing this story. Which would be a shame because there's so much to write. Yahiko is supposed to be the main character but we haven't even gotten to his main part yet.

Nuke Tremor, it would be difficult to add the akatsuki members' backstories to this story since it wouldn't make much sense. However, I was planning on running a side story with this one, having 'fillers', extra stories, backgrounds etc. that aren't part of the main story but I want to write for the heck of it, for example, Yahiko's kenjutsu training, The Sannin's final test against the Third Hokage, and various other adventurous or fun stories. I can add it there if you'd like.

In case anyone is wondering, the Akatsuki will be featured in this story (how could it not?) but there will be a different main organisation of villains, having the same members (excluding Obito and Konan, including Kabuto and Orochimaru). The motives of the organisation will be different and the main protagonists' interactions with them will be different.

Chapters may take some time due to me having final exams. Next chapter is Minato vs Yahiko. Look forward to it!