(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Twentieth Chapter everyone is forced to compete in a 1v1 preliminary match before being allowed to take the Third part of the exam. In the Fifth match Ino of the Rain defeated Naoko of the Leaf. 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!)
When Ino returns to the balcony Rino comments, "You almost blew the match, Sister."
Ino replies, "I knew what I was doing the entire time, I had it all under control. Just make sure that you win your own match."
"I'm not going to lose to anyone here," retorts Rino.
"Wow, Naoko actually lost," comments Ichimaru on the opposite balcony.
"That's because she left herself open to counterattack on her last move," replies Kuroda.
"Well, she really didn't have much choice," says Ichimaru, "That Jutsu was the best way to get rid of those clones."
"The best way for her you mean," interjects Sakura.
"Exactly," agrees Kuroda.
"Well, now that we have seen it, we all can come up with a counter," says Ichimaru.
"And we'll have to watch out for that needle attack," adds Sakura, "That other Rain Ninja has an umbrella too, and I am sure he knows the technique as well."
Tatsuki starts the selection machine again and when it settles on the next two names she announces, "The competitors for the sixth match are Sakura Nagana and Yamashita Uzuki."
Sakura starts to make her way down to the battle field when Kuroda whispers, "I've been waiting to see just how much you have improved over the past year."
Sakura blushes and replies, "I have been waiting to show you. I won't disappoint you."
"Good luck, Sakura," says Kayo.
"Thanks, Sensei!" she replies as she eagerly runs down the steps.
On the opposite side Yamashita starts to make his way down when Naga reminds him, "That Sakura girl is on that Leaf Ninja's team. Don't forget what happened to us earlier. Now is the time to get some revenge."
Yamashita gives a disapproving grunt and walks past.
Hoshi comments, "Naga, you're a fool. Yamashita is not going to kill her unless it's absolutely necessary."
"What? Why not?" he asks.
"Because he is not stupid like you," she replies.
Naga argues, "Even though that guy beat us in the forest it doesn't mean he can beat us in a match."
"You are such an idiot. Yamashita recognizes that the Leaf Ninja is far superior to him, and doesn't want to anger him by killing one of his friends," explains Hoshi.
"Whatever, he only beat us one time. He's not so tough. I want another chance to take him out," says Naga.
Hoshi thinks to herself, "Moron, you have no idea just how strong that guy really is. Be careful, Yamashita."
Both combatants arrive on the battlefield and stroll to the center, where the proctor is waiting. Tatsuki glances at the both of them and thinks, "Now this should be an interesting match. They both seem so focused."
"I am Sakura Nagana from the Hidden Leaf," announces the pink-haired girl.
Yamashita shifts his gaze to the upper level where a dark-haired young man is lazily leaning over the rail but his eyes are intensely focused upon his female opponent. After a few moments he returns his attention to the cute kunoichi in front of him. Ignoring the proctor awaiting his name he speaks directly to Sakura, "I don't want to have to kill you, but I will if you force me to. I suggest you surrender so you don't get hurt."
Sakura laughs and replies, "Don't underestimate me, Rock Ninja. I'm a lot stronger than I look."
Yamashita responds, "I recognize that your teammate's skills are superior to mine, but I seriously doubt that you have even a portion of his power. I know this because if there were two Leaf Genin with such strength, then my village would have known about it."
Tatsuki observes the tense situation thinking, "What kind of game is he playing at?"
Sakura studies the mummy man for a few minutes then smirks and admits, "You're right I am nowhere near Kuroda skill-wise, but I'm more than a match for the likes of you."
Yamashita's reaction is hidden by the bandages covering his face. After a moment of analysis he turns and raises his voice, this time directing his comments towards Kuroda. He says, "I don't know why you left me alive in the forest; maybe it was so I could be a test for your teammate here, but it really doesn't matter anymore. I have my own reasons for wanting to win this match, and fear of you won't stop me from using my full abilities."
"What are you doing, Yamashita?" thinks Hoshi, "This is not like you at all."
Kuroda looks on, not giving a response.
"Hey, Kuroda, what is going on?" inquires Jando, "Is that one of the guys that attacked us on the first day? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I have no idea what that guy is talking about," says Kuroda, dismissively.
Ichimaru gives a curious glance to Kuroda, but doesn't ask anything.
"So, yet another thing that you didn't tell me about," thinks Kayo as she stares at her student's back, "What really happened in that forest?"
Sakura turns her head and looks to Kuroda for instructions.
Kuroda tilts his head forward, giving her the go-ahead. She turns back to Yamashita with a smile across her face.
"It seems that you're not going to back down. So let's get this match over with. I am Yamashita Uzuki of the Hidden Rock," says the Rock Ninja.
"Well, that was an interesting little exchange," comments Tatsuki, "Hopefully your match will be just as stimulating. Begin!"
Sakura takes out a kunai and charges at Yamashita. Yamashita gets into a defensive stance and takes out his own kunai. Sakura plants her feet down to stop and throws her kunai at him. The Rock Ninja easily knocks the projectile away and watches as Sakura plants her hand on the ground and makes a large cloud of smoke appear.
"Summoning Jutsu!" yells Sakura as she calls out the twins Apollo and Phoebus to aid her in the fight. The butterflies dance around above her head and then shoot off high into the air.
Carefully tracking their movement, Yamashita thinks, "Hmm, a summoning Jutsu. I had better get rid of those things quickly before I get into trouble." So he reaches behind into his weapon pouch, slips out two shuriken and flings them directly into the flight path of the twins. The butterflies skillfully float out of the way and the weapons zip past harmlessly. Meanwhile Sakura has made her way directly in front of Yamashita and lands a powerful shuffle kick to Yamashita's chin.
As he flies in the air Yamashita thinks, "So those butterflies are just there to distract me, then I will refocus my attack on the girl." He twists in the air and lands on his feet, then blasts off straight at Sakura. She ducks out of the way as his kunai slices horizontally and cuts into the ends of her flowing pink hair. Yamashita rotates his body and his heel comes around to smack her in the temple. She barely brings her arms up in time to block the kick, and she jumps away as his kunai slices at her again.
"Wow, this guy is actually pretty good," thinks Sakura as she dodges his attacks, "But Kuroda is counting on me to win, so I can't disappoint him." She takes a shot when she sees a hole in his defense, and goes for a kick to his chin again.
Yamashita smirks under the cover of his bandages thinking, "Just as I planned, she fell right for it." He slides a large knife-blade out of hiding and aims right for her incoming leg.
Suddenly Sakura flies up into the air, and the Rock Ninja's attack misses.
"Nice move, Sakura," compliments Kuroda, "Very inventive."
"Whoa, she is flying!" exclaims Kenta.
"No, she isn't, Kenta," says Ichimaru, "Look closely at her arms."
Kenta leans over the rail a bit, trying to focus his sight, "Wire?"
"Damn, I should have noticed that earlier," says Yamashita, "I should have seen it based on the way she was dodging my assault. She must have tied that wire to those butterflies when she summoned them."
"Thanks for the save," says Sakura as she floats suspended in the air.
"Of course, Lady Sakura," replies Phoebus.
"What should we do now?" asks Apollo.
"Can you hold me up here for a while?" asks Sakura, her white and blue dress billowing in the small gusts created when the twins flap their wings.
"It won't be a problem for me," replies Apollo.
"Good, then it is time for me to go on the offensive again," she says as she grabs the line attached to Apollo and hoists herself up so she can reach into her weapons pouch. She begins hurling shuriken down at her enemy.
While dodging the rain of shuriken coming down from above, Yamashita attempts to cut the wire attaching Sakura to her butterfly by throwing his own shuriken. However, Apollo and Phoebus keep switching the weight-bearing duties to each other, causing the wire to loosen right in time and make his counter attack miss. Yamashita stops attacking and focuses on dodging while he prepares a new strategy.
"This battle is getting crazier by the minute," comments Jando.
"Yeah, I didn't even know Sakura could use a summoning Jutsu," adds Kenta.
"When exactly did she learn to do that?" inquires Ichimaru, "She has never even shown a sign of knowing a summoning Jutsu when I was on missions with her."
"Good, then it looks like she did a great job of keeping it a secret," replies Kuroda, a wide grin stretched out across his face.
Yamashita rolls to the left and two shuriken land right where he was before. Finally done with his preparations he hurls two kunai into the air, once again aimed at the wire. Phoebus releases her hold on the weight and lets it fall to her brother. Yet, Yamashita makes a motion with his hands and suddenly his kunai change direction.
"He is controlling them with wire!" shouts Phoebus, "He is going after Sakura!"
Apollo attempts to pull the girl to safety, "Damn, I don't have enough strength left."
Sakura quickly cuts the strings connecting her to Apollo and Phoebus in order to escape. Yamashita redirects his flying weapons again and catches Apollo and Phoebus off guard. They disappear in a puff of smoke.
As soon as she lands Sakura performs a Shadow Clone Jutsu and creates two clones. They all charge toward Yamashita simultaneously. He tries to redirect his kunai and shuriken towards them, but one of them grabs and cuts the strings.
Yamashita takes out his large blade again and tries to defend himself thinking, "So those aren't just illusions, they are actually real manifestations. They are probably the same type of clones that the other Leaf Ninja used." He slashes at the first attacker, but she dives out of the way, and a fist comes out of his blind spot and smashes into his face. He stumbles backwards and regains his balance just in time to earn another punch in the face. Yamashita flies back a few feet and tumbles on the ground. He slowly picks himself back up, anticipating an attack that does not come.
"Ready to give up yet?" says Sakura as she and her clones each take out a kunai.
Yamashita decides, "I'm not going to defeat her with my Taijutsu alone. She works too well with her clones, and I don't have the ability to match them with my own clones. I guess I will have to use my Ninjutsu to win."
"Well? Have you decided yet?" inquires Sakura impatiently. The fur and bandage clad ninja doesn't reply, and instead starts working on hand seals. "I guess that is a no. Oh well, it is your decision," says Sakura before sending her two clones in to attack.
But before they can make it to him Yamashita slams his chakra covered palms into the ground shouting, "Earth Style: Split Earth Turn Around Palm!"
The ground around Sakura and her clones starts swirling and sucking them into the ground. The clones are pulled towards the center and are destroyed.
"What the heck is that?" asks Jando.
"It seems like some whirlpool of earth," deduces Ichimaru, "Everything is being pulled to a central area."
Sakura tries to swim her way out, but is unsuccessful. "If I get pulled to the center I am a goner," she thinks. She quickly ties a string to her kunai and throws it up so it sticks into the ceiling. Then she attempts to pull herself out.
"She might be able to pull herself out if I don't do something," thinks Yamashita, "I have to be quick and time it perfectly, otherwise I will disrupt my Jutsu." In one smooth motion Yamashita slips his right hand for a kunai and hurls it at the wire, and then replaces his hand on the ground.
The wire is cut and his Jutsu remains intact. "Good, it worked," he thinks to himself.
"Damn, I was close to escaping!" thinks Sakura as she gets sucked back towards the center.
"I'm not going to let you escape so easily," proclaims Yamashita.
Sakura decides, "I have no choice, if I don't do something quickly I'm going to die. I can't be a disappointment to Kuroda. He gave me this chance to prove myself. I wanted to save this for a later fight, but it is time to bring out the big guns. This is going to take up all of my remaining chakra." As her head starts sinking into the earth Sakura thrusts her palm into the air and a huge cloud of smoke appears.
This time a large white and black butterfly with four red spots appears. Its body is three times the size of Sakura and its wings spread out over twenty feet.
"Man, that thing is huge!" exclaims Kenta.
"Whoa, when did Sakura learn to summon that?" asks Jando.
"I have no idea," replies Kuroda, "This is a surprise to me."
"Then she probably learned it recently," speculates Ichimaru, "And it most likely used all of her remaining chakra to summon it."
Down on the other end of the balcony Rame Tsu comments, "It looks like someone has been training."
"Jealous, Rame Tsu?" asks Shun.
"No, I just wish I had known sooner that Sakura was this good. Then maybe I could have been on an all kunoichi team," she replies.
"A team composed of beautiful women. Now that would be a dream team!" says Tousen in a dreamlike state as he imagines it.
Rame Tsu slaps her hand to her face muttering, "Why do you always have to make everything so perverted, Sensei?"
"Great, I seriously underestimated this girl. My Jutsu won't be able to contend with that huge thing, and I doubt a simple kunai or shuriken will harm it," thinks Yamashita.
The large butterfly grabs hold of Sakura and extracts her from the swirling earth. When her head is free Sakura informs Yamashita, "This is my friend, her name is Parnassius. Parnassius, I seem to be a little stuck, would you mind lifting me out of here?"
"As you command, Sakura," says Parnassius.
Yamashita tries to make his Jutsu pull Sakura down faster.
"Oh no, you don't!" says Parnassius as she flaps her massive wings to pull Sakura out.
Sakura pops free of the mud and then jumps on top of her mighty friend. Yamashita cancels his Jutsu and jumps back to think of his next move.
"You should have surrendered when I gave you the chance," says Sakura, "Now, why don't you show him what you can do, Parnassius."
"As you wish, Sakura," replies the butterfly as she builds chakra around her flapping wings, "Wind Scythe Jutsu!" The air swirls around her wings then shoots forward in a giant gust. Yamashita crosses his arms in front of his chest for defense, but hundreds of tiny air streams slice at his body and send him flying. When he slams into the wall a number of his ribs crack.
Sakura explains, "Parnassius' wings are so big it makes her attacks more powerful than any normal wind attacks. That wasn't even her fully powered attack. This fight was over the second she appeared on the field."
Yamashita tries to stand up, but the damage is too much for him to overcome.
Tatsuki raises her hand and declares, "Yamashita can no longer continue. The winner is Sakura Nagana. Can we get a medical team out here; I think I heard some ribs break."
Medical ninja rush Yamashita off the battlefield in a stretcher.
Naga comments to Hoshi, "Yamashita would have won the match if he had used his Jutsu right away."
Hoshi just laughs, "Naga, you really are stupid, aren't you?"
"What do you mean by that?" he replies.
She doesn't bothering to explaining.
Parnassius flies Sakura over to the balcony and disappears when she jumps off.
"Congratulations on your victory, Sakura. I am very impressed that you were able to summon such a large butterfly, especially since you had so little chakra left," commends Kuroda.
Sakura can stop from grinning and replies, "I practiced the Shadow Clone Jutsu every day since you taught it to me. It barely takes any of my chakra to use it now. I knew I had just enough left to summon Parnassius."
Kuroda smiles approvingly, satisfied that she exceeded his expectations.
Sakura in turn seems to be in complete bliss at gaining validation from her crush.
Ichimaru looks on speculatively as other members of the Leaf Village come over to praise the victor.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? The Preliminaries have officially started and Sakura was victorious in her match! Who will fight next? 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.)