(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Fifteenth Chapter all Teams that passed the second stage of the exams have learned the true purpose of the exams from the Tsuchikage himself. But there are more surprises in store for the competitors. The Chunin Exams continue! What will be the outcome? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
The Tsuchikage then prepares to explain what's involved with the Third Exam, "Now if you have not already surmised…"
A younger looking woman sporting a brown ponytail that shapes her hair into a fan-like appearance steps forward and asks, "May I?"
"Yes, go ahead, Tatsuki," he says, gracefully stepping back and yielding the stage to her.
"I'm Tatsuki Asakura, the proctor for the third exam. Before we begin the third exam we're going to have a preliminary round."
"A preliminary round? What for?" questions Jando. Other contestants grumble complaints as well, but they quickly quiet down so the new proctor can explain the reasoning behind the extra round.
"Sometimes the first two exams may have been too easy. Because of that too many candidates still remain, so we're going to weed out the people who don't truly belong. As the Tsuchikage stated important guests will be observing the third exam, so we want only the best of the Genin to take the third exam to avoid wasting these guests' time," explains Tatsuki.
"That is so lame," mutters Jando.
"Stop complaining," comments Sakura.
"If you don't like the rules then leave," replies the third proctor, "Now the preliminary round is scheduled to begin immediately. Anyone who wishes to quit may do so now."
"We just got done with the second exam and you expect us to take another one?" questions Ichimaru.
"What, are you too tired to compete?" teases Rame Tsu.
"It figures that a slacker like you would complain," adds Naoko.
"As I said, if you want to quit then just say so," repeats Tatsuki.
Kenta whispers to Yui pressuring her to quit, "Your leg may still be damaged."
"Fighting now may make it worse; you need to see a doctor," Ichimaru urges.
She dismisses them, "My leg is fine and I'm going to participate."
Tatsuki scans the room and sees that no one wants to quit, so she calls out, "Okay, release the sorting machine."
A large panel on the wall starts moving upwards and reveals two screens. The two screens start rapidly flashing the names of all the competitors. Then proctor explains, "The opponents for each match are selected randomly, and the opponents for the first match are…. Mari Matsumoto and Jando Hyuga. You two stay here, everyone else move to the upper level before the fight begins."
"Jando? He is not going to win," comments Rame Tsu as her team makes its way to the stairs.
"Good luck, Jando," says Kuroda before walking away.
"I don't need luck," replies Jando with a cocky grin spread over his face.
"Remember, this guy has the Byakugan," Kuro reminds his teammate.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," replies Mari.
"Don't underestimate him," warns Hara, "He may look like a pushover, but appearances can be deceiving."
The two combatants walk to the center of the expansive room, stopping when they get near the proctor.
"I am Jando Hyuga of the Hidden Leaf Village," he announces proudly.
The cute green-haired female across from him introduces herself, "I am Mari Matsumoto of the Hidden Grass."
Tatsuki explains the general rules of the match, "Everyone, listen up! These matches will be at full battle intensity. Fighting only stops when one candidate dies or concedes defeat, or when one is rendered unable to continue. Naturally those who are losing are urged to concede defeat promptly to avoid a fatal outcome. Also, as proctor, I have leeway in judging the matches. I will stop a match if I feel that it is clear that one person is no match for the other. Now, are you both ready?"
In the upper portion of the room it appears that the Genin from the Hidden Leaf have gathered on one balcony while Genin from the other villages are on the other one.
"Looks like your plan worked," comments Ichimaru as he rests his elbows on the railing next to Kuroda.
"Hey, Ichimaru," acknowledges Sakura in a friendly greeting.
"And what plan would that be?" inquires Kayo, eyebrow raised.
"Jando already explained it to you, Sensei," replies Kuroda.
"You mean about giving Ichimaru's team an extra scroll and helping them to the tower?" she asks.
"Interesting," comments Yoshikuni, leaning up against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his overcoat, "You wanted more people to pass the second stage so that you would be able to observe more fights and figure out how to beat people in later rounds."
"Is that really the reason?" asks Yui.
"I am a nice guy, but I am not nice enough to risk my own team just to help you guys out if there wasn't anything for me to gain."
"Wow, Yoshikuni-sensei, you figured that out pretty fast," says Sakura.
"Well, he is one of the top Jonin in the village," says Kenta.
"That's enough chatting," says Yoshikuni, "Team 10 should focus on watching the match. One of you may have to fight the winner."
"I hope it isn't me," Kenta thinks to himself, "I wouldn't want to have to beat up on a hot girl like her."
Jando sizes up the girl in front of him. Mari wears a black sleeveless shirt that only has a strap on the left side, she has a long white arm sleeves on both of her arms, for the bottom she wears a skirt about knee length, and some black cowgirl boots.
"I can't really tell what type of fighting range she specializes in," Jando thinks to himself, "So I will just have to go with my instincts."
"I am ready," announces Mari.
"Me too," adds Jando.
"Okay, then let's get this thing started," says Tatsuki with her devilish smile, "Begin!"
Immediately Jando takes out a kunai and starts charging towards the girl.
"Typical," sighs Sakura as she lays her forehead on the rail.
"What is he doing?" asks Yui.
"What do you mean?" Kuroda inquires.
"Jando is from the Hyuga clan, he has the Byakugan. So why isn't he using it?" asks Yui.
"The Byakugan is indeed a powerful ability and gives the Hyugas a great advantage over other ninja. It allows them to see chakra," explains Kuroda, "They can see for great distances, making them very useful sensor ninja. They can also see 360 degrees around them, meaning they can fight when they are outnumbered. Finally, they have developed a unique form of Taijutsu that can cripple an opponent's chakra system. However, there is one problem."
"What is it?" asks Kenta.
"Jando's Byakugan is not fully developed, and he isn't very good at using his clan's Taijutsu," reveals Kuroda.
"So instead he just charges into battle without thinking," sighs Sakura.
"Aren't you aggressive," comments Mari playfully as she takes out a kunai to defend. They slash at each other, battling back and forth for a while, but neither of them seems to have an advantage.
"Well, this is a surprise," remarks Kuroda.
"Yeah, they look pretty evenly matched," agrees Sakura.
"That probably means that she is not a close combat type of ninja," speculates Ichimaru.
"Brother, the match started already," says No as he leans his orange-haired head over the rail, "Aren't you going to watch?"
"Who cares?" replies Rino, "Why would I want to watch a match between those two pieces of trash? I wish they would have just called my name first so I wouldn't have to waste my time here."
"This is not working," thinks Mari, "He's not doing anything special. I guess if I want to win then I will just have to make the first move."
Mari jumps back and puts some distance between them and then takes out some shuriken. She whips them at Jando with great accuracy, but at the same time she release bunches of leaves into the air that fall to the ground. Jando is too distracted dodging the shuriken to notice anything unusual.
"Now is my chance!" thinks Jando, sprinting forwards and activating his Byakugan.
"He has her!" exclaims Yui.
"I wouldn't be so sure," says Yoshikuni.
"What do you mean, Sensei?" asks Kenta.
"Just watch," comments Ichimaru.
"Gentle Fist Style!" shouts Jando as he attacks the grass kunoichi with his special Taijutsu. Mari seems to be caught off guard as Jando manages to land some serious blows. After a massive blow to Mari's chest she falls apart into a pile of leaves.
"What the heck?" exclaims Jando, perplexed by what just happened.
"What was that?" asks Yui.
Ichimaru comments to his team, "That must have been the Clone Jutsu of The Village Hidden in the Grass. She used it right after she threw the shuriken."
Jando scans the battlefield for his opponent, "Where did she go?"
Suddenly two brown vines spring out of the ground and latch onto Jando's ankles. Before he can bend down to cut himself free more shoot out and wrap themselves around him. Then a large tree quickly grows behind Jando. The vines are actually the roots and branches of the tree. They pull him closer, trapping him against the base.
"I can't move!" exclaims Jando as he struggles to break free. A light-green object starts to grow on the tree in the area above Jando. As more of it emerges it is clear that it is actually the top of his enemy's head. Her body comes out up to her waist, and once her arms are free she takes out a kunai.
"It is over," Mari proclaims, "You're not going to get out of my Tree Capture Death."
"Damn, I can't do anything!" thinks Jando as he continues to struggle, "Wait a minute, something is strange about this Jutsu. The chakra seems weird. I think this is Genjutsu. Yeah, that has to be it! But I haven't been able to do anything in Kayo-sensei's Genjutsu training. What should I do? I guess I have no choice. I have to use the final option."
As Mari begins to swing her kunai downwards towards his neck, he manages to slip out a kunai and stab himself in the leg.
"Mari, get out of there!" yells Hara when he sees Jando has escaped from the Jutsu.
Jando spins around and prepares to strike, "Now you are mine, you got way too close. Gentle Fist!"
He lands dozens of strikes on the Grass Ninja and she is thrown to the ground. She stands up and tries to perform another Jutsu but her chakra pathways have been closed and she cannot summon any chakra. Jando quickly attacks and knocks her to the ground again.
Tatsuki looks over at Mari who is struggling to get up; she raises her hand up and announces, "The match is over. Mari Matsumoto is no longer able to participate. Therefore the winner is Jando Hyuga."
Jando celebrates, jumping up and down with elation as he makes his way to the upper deck.
"Jando…actually…won…" mouths Rame Tsu, stunned by the result.
"If you can even call that a win. He stabbed himself," Naoko points out.
Jando gets to the top and rejoins his teammates. "Great job, Jando," congratulates Kuroda, "That is win #1 for Team 3."
"Yeah, Jando, great job," adds Sakura.
"Wow….thanks," responds Jando, surprised by the acknowledgement.
"It is nice to see that you were actually paying attention to me," says Kayo, "But we are going to have to work on your Genjutsu training. Now let me take a look at your leg."
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? The Preliminaries have officially started and Jando is the first victor! How will everyone else fair? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)