(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Twenty Third Chapter the preliminary matches come to a close. In the Eighth match Rame Tsu was defeated by Ichimaru. Then in the Ninth and Final Match Kuroda seems have struck a devastating blow to his opponent Naga from the Hidden Rock. 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!)
"Naga, watch out!" warns Yamashita, but he is too late. His warning goes unheard as his comrade's limp body hits the cold, hard earth. Mari Matsumoto lets out a screech and then faints; Mazuma is aware enough to catch her before she cracks her skull on the rail. Everyone is stunned, and Tatsuki just stands there looking staggered. Chiasa Inuzu immediately forms her hands together into one of the twelve traditional seals. The wall behind her shoots out and covers her in rocks, then instantly drags her in. A moment later her Body Flicker Technique makes her reappear beside Naga. She checks his vital signs and then looks over at Kuroda's blood-stained hand.
She yells at him, "You murderer! You ripped his heart out and crushed it. There is no possible way for us to even try to revive him." Sensing danger Kayo uses her own version of the Body Flicker Technique. A mound of leaves gathers around her before she vanishes and appears next to Kuroda a second later.
She pushes Kuroda back protectively and says, "Don't say anything, I will handle this." She takes out a kunai and points it at Chiasa.
Sakura seems unfazed by the recent events, but Jando is as stunned as everyone else.
Ichimaru finally comes to his senses and whispers to Yoshikuni, "Sensei, aren't you going to do anything?"
"No," responds Yoshikuni, "I'll let Kayo handle her own students' affairs."
Ichimaru sighs, "But, Sensei…"
"Just watch, Ichimaru," he replies confidently.
"What about you, Tousen?" inquires Shun, overcoming the brief shock, "Aren't you going to step in?"
"Every smart man knows never to step in on a cat fight," responds Tousen.
"This is no time for jokes," says Rame Tsu, who is still breathing heavily.
"Who is joking?" says Tousen, in an uncharacteristically serious manner, "I will jump in if I am needed, but I trust Kayo will be able to resolve the situation on her own."
"If I were you I would stand down," warns Kayo with a deadly look on her face, "I wouldn't want to have to…"
But suddenly Kuroda steps forward in front of her and orders, "Get out of my way, Kayo!" She is forced to move due to effects of the contract she is bound to. Kuroda then looks at Chiasa and tells her, "Naga was advised that death was a possibility in this exam, just as we all were. It was his decision to stay even after he was offered a chance to leave." Chiasa's hands tighten into fists as her temper rises.
Kuroda goes on in his uncaring and diminishing tone saying, "Besides it's not my fault he died. He should have been defending himself instead of running his mouth. I was well within my rights to kill him as stated in the rules of the match. Besides the proctor could have stopped the match at any time if she had only realized that he was clearly out of his league."
Tatsuki grabs her hand and tries to stop it from shaking, only slightly aware of the confrontation a few feet away.
This final comment pushes Chiasa over the edge, "You!" and she charges at Kuroda with a kunai in hand. He prepares to defend himself, but the Tsuchikage steps in and grabs Chiasa's arm stopping her in the middle of her attack.
"Stand down, Chiasa! I shouldn't have to remind you that these are our allies. The purpose of the Chunin exams is to promote cooperation between the various shinobi nations, not conflict. Besides the boy is correct; he did not violate any of the rules."
Distraught and angry she tries to argue with him, "But, Lord Tsuchikage…" "
That's enough, Chiasa, I've made my decision. The winner of this match is Kuroda Taishi," announces the Tsuchikage.
"Yes, my lord," she says as she ceases her actions, but her violet eyes stay glaring at the young Leaf Ninja.
Kuroda nods his head in respect and walks back over to Kayo who is wearing a disapproving expression on her face. A large medical squad rushes into the room and begins to take care of the fresh corpse on the ground.
"You see why I didn't act?" asks Yoshikuni Dosu of his student.
"Yeah, I understand," replies Ichimaru, "You knew that the Tsuchikage would jump in to prevent anything really bad for happening."
"You see, Rame Tsu, the situation is resolved," announces Tousen Nohana.
"No thanks to you, pervert," grumbles Rame Tsu.
He pretends to faint, falling to the ground, and mutters to himself, "She still thinks I am a pervert. Can't a ninja get a break?"
After the main floor is cleared, the Tsuchikage and all three proctors gather in the center of the room. "If all of the winners would please come down to get information on the next stage," says Tatsuki.
Sakura, Ichimaru, Shun, and all the others and their teachers walk down the steps and gather in front of the proctors.
Now the Tsuchikage takes the lead and says, "With the final match completed, let's move on. I extend my congratulations to all of you who have made it into the finals. I will now explain about the third stage of the exams. The third exam will be one-on-one matches like the preliminaries, but they will not be held for another month. We do this in order for preparations to be made for the guests as well as to give the participants time to analyze what took place during the preliminaries, and develop strategies. This in turn will provide for superior quality matches for the crowd, and show the judges how well you can plan and strategize."
Tatsuki steps forward again finally looking recovered from earlier and explains, "You will each need to draw numbers. This will determine who you will fight first in the next round. It will be conducted tournament style."
Ichimaru raises his hand and asks, "Wait, does this mean that only one of us is going to become a Chunin?"
"No," answers the Tsuchikage, "Each participant will be evaluated on their performance in the tournament and becoming a Chunin will not necessarily depend on if they win."
"So we don't even need to win in order to move up to the next rank?" inquires Ino.
"Correct," responds Chiaki Enjoji.
"So we could all become Chunin?" asks Jando.
"Yes," says Kenji.
"How ridiculous," comments Rino, shaking his head in disgust.
"Not at all," responds the Tsuchikage, "While it is true that all of you could be judged to be of Chunin level, it is also a possibility that none of you will become Chunin."
"What? None of us!" exclaims Shun, genuinely surprised.
"Everything depends on your performance in one month," states the Tsuchikage, "So use your time wisely."
Everyone goes up and starts picking numbers. Hoshi draws number 1, Jando 2, Sakura 3, Ino 4, Ichimaru 5, Hara 6, Rino 7, Kuroda 8, and Shun 9. A board with the matches on it is set up for them to see who they are fighting. Kuroda and Shun both realize they will have to fight in an extra match.
The Tsuchikage dismisses everyone, "Your Sensei will tell you when and where the matches will be held. Good luck to you in your preparations."
Later in Rock Village Leader's office Tatsuki Asakura is called forth, "Please explain to me what happened during the preliminaries. Why did you not interfere in the last match?"
She hesitates, "I….. I'm sorry, Lord Tsuchikage. I was not fully prepared to deal with the situation. I didn't expect to see a Genin with such powerful abilities."
He warns her, "Just make sure that it does not happen again in the next stage. We don't want anything to occur before the Hokage and an audience."
"Yes, sir," she says, relieved; before bowing and leaving the room.
Then he calls for his daughter, Hoshi. "Yes, father?" she says stepping forward out of the darkness.
He asks her, "That move that the boy used to kill Naga. Was it the same one that Yamashita was describing about their encounter in the forest?"
She replies, "No, that was not it, not even close. When he attacked us in the forest it was almost impossible to tell where Kuroda was until he had already been and passed. His movements were sort of like someone using a Body Flicker, but the two were almost incomparable."
"What do you think, Yamashita?" says the striking leader as he sits back in his chair.
"I agree with her evaluation," replies Yamashita as he steps up next to Hoshi, "In the forest I wasn't even able to blink and he was gone, and I had no idea where he would appear next. However, when he stuck Naga down, I was able to catch a glimpse of it. I saw him take the first step forward, and I could tell where he was headed. I even tried to warn Naga, but my words were too slow."
"I see," says the Tsuchikage as he rubs his chin, "Well, I have ensured that Hoshi won't have to fight him until the final round. I have also assigned some ninja to spy on him so we can learn the secret of his technique."
Hoshi remarks, "I wouldn't bother. Kuroda didn't use the technique when everybody was watching, so I doubt that he will use it in the later rounds in front of thousands of onlookers. Also, I was disabled before he used the technique, so even if we do fight, he won't use it on me. He doesn't need to."
The Tsuchikage dismisses Hoshi and Yamashita and then ponders, "This is all very strange. Just who is this Kuroda Taishi? I need more information. Maybe I will be able to glean some from the Hokage when she arrives to watch the third exam."
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? The Preliminaries have officially ended with Kuroda defeating Naga. What will be the fallout from the death of a combatant? Who will attain victory in the third stage of the exams and be elevated to Chunin rank? 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.)