(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Twenty Fifth Chapter everyone is using the full month to train for the Third portion of the exam. Well, mostly everyone. 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!)
A gust of wind blows, shaking the leaves of all the trees in the corner of the training area that Team 3 had chosen to meet. "Hey, Kuroda, where are you going?" asks Sakura, smoothing her pink hair back into place.
"I'm going to take a look around the village," he replies, as he walks away from the group.
"What, you're too good to train with us?" snidely remarks Jando.
"I don't need to train," replies Kuroda, waving off the comment.
"Don't you want to walk on water?" asks Sakura.
"I already know how," calls Kuroda as he steps on to the stream and walks across to the other side, "I'll come back and check on you later."
"That jerk, when did he learn to do that?" complains Jando as he slams his fist into the ground.
"Come on, Jando, it looks like we have some catching up to do," says Sakura.
"So Kayo-sensei is able to sense the chakra natures," ponders Kuroda as he lazily walks back towards the main part of the Hidden Rock Village, "I wasn't aware of that. I guess she is more talented than I thought. However she did say she wasn't able to sense my chakra nature, which has me intrigued. Either her abilities are lacking or I am unconsciously able to hide it. But it isn't like I need her to tell me my nature; I already know what it is."
Kuroda uses his peripheral vision to spot a figure about twenty feet away, hiding behind a garbage can. He tracks two more to their hiding spots without giving any indication that he is aware of their presence. "It looks like the Tsuchikage has already put some tics in my hair," he thinks as a smirk grows on his face, "This day might not be as boring as I thought."
"I lost them already? This group is worse than the last few," thinks Kuroda as he rests on top of a building and looks around at the scenery. For the past week he had been leading the Rock Village ANBU squads that were following him on pointless chases for entertainment. After losing the latest group of trackers midway through the day he has been attempting to infiltrate various secure areas of the village. Additionally he has spent a portion of time gathering information and rumors about any strong ninja he might be able to use for his plans. "I don't really feel like doing anything today. I suppose I should go check on Sakura and Jando and see how their training is progressing," he thinks.
Kuroda jumps down to the street and begins to make his way over to the training grounds Kayo had designated. While he walks through the streets he notices a peculiar shop advertising its world-class blacksmith and he decides to check it out. Before he reaches the door he spots some large umbrellas attached to the backs of two individuals dressed in rain coats, so he decides to follow them instead.
"What do you want, Ino?" asks the annoyed male with short black hair.
"I want your help," replies Ino, "You're supposed to be my brother, Rino."
"Yeah, what of it?" scoffs Rino.
"I need a training partner to prepare for my match," explians Ino, "And you are the only other Rain Ninja around."
"I'm busy," replies Rino, "Go train with your other brother."
"I'm not going to learn anything if I train with a weakling like No," she complains.
"Not my problem," replies Rino as he randomly stops and leans against a wall.
"But you are not even doing anything," she counters, frustration building up in the veins on her forehead, "You need to train too."
"Don't put me in the same class as yourself, sister," warns Rino, "I don't need to train to beat anyone in the competition. Not even that Kuroda guy."
"Fine then, can't you help me train so I can get stronger?" pleads Ino.
"If you have to rely on other people to get stronger, then you don't deserve to be a ninja," says Rino coldly, "Now get lost, I don't want to be bothered by you anymore."
Ino hesitates for a moment then regretfully walks away, leaving her brother to his solitude.
Hoshi Ishimaru slumps down to one knee to catch her breath.
"Okay, I guess it is time you take a break," says her mentor, Chiasa Inuzu, coming over and handing the girl a canteen of water. Hoshi accepts the water and sits down to gulp some of it. Chiasa walks back over and sits down on a stone bench. The two appear to be in a large open training area surrounded by mountains. A number of man-made structures seem to be carved into various places on the mountains, functioning as housing and lookout rooms. Currently they are located in the middle of a giant circular stone pitch.
"You are training her all wrong, Sensei," says a mummified figure as he walks up behind her.
"Yamashita, you're out of the hospital," says Hoshi very surprised, "Aren't you still injured?"
"Who could even tell, considering all the bandages he wears," jokes Chiasa, "But what I want to know is how you gained access to the Hisho Shinki Mountains? This is a secret and private training area belonging to the Ishimaru clan."
"Lord Tsuchikage gave me safe passage," states Yamashita, "That should have been obvious."
"Why would he grant you access?" asks Chiasa.
"Hoshi needs a training partner," explains the young Rock Ninja, "You are too tall to give an accurate representation of any of the opponents she might come up against."
"True," admits Chiasa, "But are you sure you are up for it? You are still injured after all; don't deny it, I can tell."
"I'll be fine, once we change your training tactics," he replies.
"You said Chiasa-sensei was training me wrong, what did you mean?" asks Hoshi.
"I was observing you for a while and I noticed you were focusing on her Taijutsu," he responds.
"Taijutsu is her greatest strength," states Chiasa.
"I realize that," replies Yamashita, "And so does everyone else after watching her match. You should be able to get past your first opponent with ease, but after that it will be harder. That female Rain Ninja will use her long range Jutsu to keep you at bay, and if the pink-haired girl wins she will definitely use that massive summoning Jutsu and prevent you from getting close. You need to work on strategies for beating opponents who fight from far away."
"I was going to work on that later, but I guess you are correct about her first opponent. He didn't seem too impressive in his match, and I don't think he was holding anything back," states Chiasa.
"That makes sense," comments Hoshi, "So how are you going to train me?"
"Don't ask me," says Yamashita, "That is for Chiasa-sensei to figure out."
Chiasa sighs and thinks to herself, "You are always thinking, Yamashita, but you never seem to come up with the answer. I guess it is up to me then. So how are we going to do this?"
"So he got away from your men again?" asks a strong voice coming from a man sitting in a large stone chair.
"Yes, my lord," says the mask clad ANBU member kneeling before him, "I apologize."
"This is no longer amusing," comments the Tsuchikage.
"Perhaps if we had a larger contingent to follow him then maybe..." suggests the ANBU ninja.
"No, that would just make you more noticeable and Kayo Yuhi might become aware of your presence," replies the Tsuchikage.
"Yes, my apologies," says the black ops member, "Your orders then, my lord?"
"Continue with your tracking and observation, and do better this time," orders the Tsuchikage, "He is only a Genin after all."
"As you wish, my lord," says the ninja before he vanishes into thin air.
Masato Ishimaru sighs and takes off his white hat that symbolizes his status as a Kage and places it on the desk before sitting back. "How irritating that some little kid is causing so much trouble for me," he thinks.
A few days later after a hard day of training Ichimaru bumps into Shun as he is walking into the hospital. "Hey, Shun, are you checking up on Naoko?" asks Ichimaru.
"Yeah, she was supposed to be released from the hospital today and my Sensei asked me to escort her home," explains Shun, "But the nurses said she took off on her own an hour ago."
"Ha, typical," laughs Ichimaru, "That girl would never let herself be taken care of by a guy. But it is surprising to hear that she is being released so soon. Did they get all the poison out?"
"It was an effective poison, but also a common one," explains Shun, "They already had an antidote, and she just needed to rest a few days to make sure it cleared her system. What about Yui? She got hurt doing her match, but it didn't look too bad."
"You are right, the injuries she obtained in her fight with that Rock Ninja weren't too bad, and they treated them pretty easily," confirms Ichimaru, "It is her leg that was the problem."
"Her leg? I did notice she seemed to be favoring it a little," admits Shun.
"That tall guy from the Rain squad broke it when we were in the Forest of Lost Souls. That is the reason it took so long for us to finish," explains Ichimaru.
"I see," nods Shun.
"Actually, if it hadn't been for Kuroda we wouldn't have finished at all," admits Ichimaru.
"Kuroda?" remarks a puzzled Shun, "What did he do?"
"His team showed up and helped us get to the tower," says Ichimaru.
"He helped you? Interesting," comments Shun.
"Not really, he just wanted to add more people to the mix because he knew there would be one-on-one matches. Anyways, the thing is Yui's leg started healing on its own. That is why she decided to fight in her match. The only problem is that it didn't heal correctly. So the nurses had to re-break her leg and put it in a proper splint."
"Well, that is unfortunate, but seeing as she didn't win her match, it doesn't really matter how long it takes her to heal," states Shun.
"It is a good thing Rame Tsu didn't beat me up too bad, or else I might be in trouble," jokes Ichimaru.
"She is still pretty pissed that you beat her, so you might want to watch your back on the street," jokes Shun, "Anyways, you're still in big trouble since you drew Hara of the Grass village as your first opponent."
"Don't remind me," sighs Ichimaru, "I still haven't figured out what I am going to do against him. And what about you? You have to go up against Mr. Exploding Heart Technique."
"Kuroda Taishi," nods Shun, "That guy is a lot different than I remember from the academy days."
Ichimaru sighs and says, "Kuroda has changed so much in so little time. I feel like I barely even know him anymore."
"I've always known that you and Kuroda were a lot more skilled then you let on, but I never expected anything like this. He killed that Stone Ninja in mere seconds," says Shun.
"Yeah, I know, I wasn't expecting that," replies Ichimaru.
Shun asks "Ichimaru, what will you do if you meet Kuroda in the later rounds?"
Ichimaru says, "To tell you the truth I don't even think I will make it past the first round, but if I did happen to win and ended up against Kuroda I would probably surrender."
"You would surrender?" asks Shun.
"Well, for one thing I don't want to fight my best friend, but from a logical stand point, there is no use in fighting a battle I can't win."
"Don't fight a battle you can't win, huh? I guess it is the logical thing to do, but I don't know if I could give up so easily," says Shun.
"I'm not saying that you should. I mean it's not like he is going to try and kill you, like he did that Stone Ninja," says Ichimaru.
"What makes you say that?" asks Shun.
"Like I said earlier back in the forest my team only had one scroll and we were pretty beat up. Kuroda found us and gave us an extra scroll he had, then he helped us get to the tower safely. He did this because he recognizes that by ensuring that more Leaf Ninja passed the exam, the more that can become Chunin, and the stronger the Hidden Leaf Village can become," explains Ichimaru.
"I see," says Shun, "Well, thanks for talking with me, Ichimaru. I'll see you when the finals start."
Ichimaru watches Shun until he disappears around the corner and then he goes inside the hospital doors.
Shun slips his hands in his pockets and walks down the dirty brown road. Suddenly Shun stops and slams his fist against the wooden fence that runs parallel to the road. "Why? Why me?" cries Shun as he falls to one knee, "Everyone around me is getting stronger: Ichimaru, Jando, Yui, Sakura, even Rame Tsu and Naoko. And most of all: Kuroda. So how come I am the only one who isn't?"
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? The month long training has begun and most of the remaining competitors are working hard to get better. But Kuroda has other plans, just what exactly is he up to? And after speaking with Ichimaru, what will Shun decide to do? 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.)