(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Thirty Third Chapter round one of the 3rd Stage of the Exams is over. Hoshi, Sakura, Hara, and Kuroda were victorious and will move on to the semifinals. 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!)
"An impressive victory," comments Masato Ishimaru from his throne that looks over the stadium, "What is the matter, Lady Hokage, you don't look very happy that your Genin just won his match?"
"I'm not happy, I am irritated," replies Michiyo Katonae.
"And why is that?" he inquires.
"I would rather not say," she responds politely, "It is private matter for the Hidden Leaf, you understand."
"Indeed I do," he says, "But I hope it doesn't affect the tournament in any way. I will be looking forward to that boy's next match. He is a very promising candidate."
"Don't worry, I will make sure that he is here to entertain all of the guests," she says.
The Tsuchikage then stands up and taps his throat to make his voice boom loud across the arena for everyone to hear. He announces, "This concludes the first round of the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams. The semifinal rounds will be held tomorrow and final match on the day after that. Thank you all for attending, and enjoy the festivities!"
People begin to file out of the stadium and Sakura jumps down to the battlefield and runs over to Kuroda to congratulate him. As the crowd moves out Yui falls back onto the bench with a sigh of relief, "Well, at least two people from the village got through the round."
"Yeah, it is too bad everyone didn't win," comments Kenta, "It could have been an all Leaf Village final."
"True, but I think Ichimaru losing his fight was actually a good thing," she says.
"What? How could losing be a good thing?" he inquires.
"Well, if he did win then he would have had to go up against Kuroda. That wouldn't be good at all, because he would be at a big disadvantage," she replies.
"What makes you think that?" asks Kenta.
"Ichimaru's greatest strength is his intelligence and his ability to come up with strategies," she explains, "But if there is anyone of the Leaf Genin that could compete with him in that area it would be Kuroda. I don't know how well you remember the academy days, but Kuroda and Ichimaru always had the best scores on the written exams. And after what we just watched it is obvious Kuroda would have a physical advantage just like Hara did."
"Yeah, I see what you are saying," admits Kenta.
"But there is another factor as well," states Yui, "Kuroda is Ichimaru's best friend and they have been for a long time. As long as I have known them I have never even once seen or heard about them having a serious disagreement or fight. How would you feel if you had to fight your best friend?"
"Well, when you put it that way, it does seem good that they won't have to fight," he responds.
In another section of the stands most of the people are still in their seats, discussing the matches. Yet only three members of the section seemed to have picked up on something. "Well now, that was pretty entertaining," comments Kenji, seeming genuinely interested in something besides the woman sitting next to him.
"You always have a knack for using the wrong words," says Chiaki, "I'd say it was more revealing than entertaining."
"Can't it be both?" he jokes.
"It certainly can," agrees Mazuma, still sitting a row below them.
"Please don't encourage him," sighs Chiaki.
"But in all seriousness, did anyone feel that something was off while watching the match?" asks Kenji.
"So you noticed it too?" she responds.
"Me as well, I can't exactly place my finger on it, but there was something odd about the way Kuroda was fighting," says Mazuma.
"It was almost like Kuroda already knew he was going to win the fight," she says.
"Yeah, but it wasn't just confidence," notes Kenji, "At certain points it was like Kuroda could see the moves the Rain Ninja was going to use before he even made them."
"No, that is not it," disagrees Mazuma, "It was more like he had a plan lying in wait for any possible move that his opponent could make."
"That is an interesting analysis," comments Chiaki.
"So what is the next move for you?" asks Kenji.
"Right now I have to focus on preparing my student for his match," he replies.
"Are you going to be doing any more investigation?" asks Chiaki.
"There is already a team on it at this very moment. As I am sure you have your own team still looking for information," replies Mazuma.
"So if you find anything will you be willing to share it with us?" asks Kenji.
"Well, now that all depends on what you have to offer," says Mazuma as he stands to leave, "Remember it is called information exchange." The Grass Jonin slips into the crowd and vanishes into the pack of people. A second later a group of men pass by Kenji and Chiaki and when they get by the seats are empty.
Rame Tsu and Naoko slide into the one of the groups of people exiting the arena. They skillfully weave their way through the horde and actually end up being some of the first people to get outside. They are looking around, trying to think of what they should do for the rest of the day, when they spot the third member of their team leaning up against a tree. They nervously walk over to speak with him.
"Hey, Shun, we umm…didn't know if you were going to stick around or not," says Naoko.
"I wouldn't waste an opportunity to gather info on strong ninja," he says sourly.
"So then I guess that means you watched the final match," comments Rame Tsu.
"Of course I did," he replies angrily as his hand forms into a fist.
"Kuroda has become strong," says Naoko, "Really strong."
"He took on that Rain Ninja and wasn't even fazed by any of his attacks," adds Rame Tsu.
"You two don't even know the half of it," states Shun.
"What do you mean?" inquires Naoko.
"Kuroda wasn't fighting that guy," reveals Shun as he grits his teeth, "He was just toying with him. Just testing to see how strong he was. If I would have fought him the same exact thing would have happened."
Tatsuki watches with contempt as Kuroda and Sakura walk out. She looks down at her right hand, which is shaking, and asks herself, "What is going on? Every time I am near that kid I get this feeling. There is just something about him that gets underneath my skin. Even now, while he is walking away, I can still feel it."
Suddenly a gigantic man drops down from the sky; the ground shakes as he lands on the ground behind her.
"Hello, Kuma," she says relaxing a bit.
"How did you know it was me, Tatsuki?" he asks.
"I sensed your chakra approaching, plus I don't think anyone else could make that kind of entrance," she responds. Still staring at Kuroda, she looks at her hand shaking again and grabs it to make it stop.
"Yeah, I guess I could never sneak up on you," he laughs, "Something wrong, Tatsuki?"
"No, nothing," she replies.
All of a sudden he picks her up with a single hand and places her on his large and roomy shoulder. "Good, then let's go get something to eat. How about some Ramen?" he asks.
"Even if I say I'm not hungry it's not like it is going to stop you from dragging me with you," she thinks to herself while relaxing and forgetting about Kuroda. "Fine, let's go then," she sighs.
"Yes," Kuma yells in a joyous manor, "I'm really hungry after watching all that fighting," he steps forward and heads towards the nearest restaurant.
When Sakura and Kuroda exit the stadium through one of the side entrances, the Hokage's carriage pulls out in front of them. Raj jumps in front of them and says, "Kuroda Taishi, the Hokage wishes to speak with you alone. Sakura, please make your way back to your hotel and get a full night's rest for your match tomorrow."
"Again, wasn't one time today enough?" complains Kuroda.
"You had a private meeting with the Hokage?" inquires Sakura.
"It is not important," says Kuroda.
"Oh, okay," she says.
"You should head on back to the hotel like Raj said. Kayo-sensei will probably be there soon and you can review your strategy for tomorrow's match with her," suggests Kuroda.
"Yeah, okay, I'll see you later then," says Sakura as she waves goodbye and heads off.
Next Kuroda walks by Raj and up to the carriage. He knocks on the carriage door and slips inside when it opens. The Hokage is sitting inside with a pleased look on her face. The carriage lurches forward and starts to move as Kuroda sits down. "Congratulations, Kuroda, your victory was very impressive. You have made the Leaf Village proud and shown our strength to all the important nobles that attended," pronounces the Hokage.
Kuroda lazily rests his elbow on his knee and puts his chin in his palm then replies, "It would have been even better if all four of us had made it into the next round."
The Hokage says, "I agree, but still for us to have even one person to make it this far is good and we managed two."
"Yeah, but I really was looking forward to fighting Ichimaru," comments Kuroda.
The Hokage raises her eyebrow, surprised by the statement, but doesn't inquire about it. "Now, I have a few questions for you. The first of them being that I want to know where exactly you learned those ice techniques that you were using," she says.
Kuroda explains, "I received training from an Ice Ninja while I was on a mission in the Snow Country; she also aided me and Sakura when we went into the freezing cold ocean."
The Hokage replies, "Yes, I remember reading the report from that mission. Very well, that's all I really wanted to know for now."
"I thought you said you had a few questions?" he asks.
"Yes, well, they can wait until another time. I have more important matters to attend to," she remarks.
The carriage comes to a halt and the Hokage says, "We have arrived back at your hotel, you are excused. Don't stay up too late; I want you to have a full night's rest for your match tomorrow." Kuroda steps out of the carriage and heads straight up to the hotel room to check on Sakura and Kayo.
Late that night, deep in the catacombs of the Hidden Rock Village, two youths come across each other in a secret hallway. "What are you doing here?" asks the shorter female.
"Looking for you, obviously," replies the other person.
"What do you need me for, Yamashita?" inquires the girl.
"I'm following orders, remember?" says Yamashita.
"Oh yeah, sorry, my mind was elsewhere," responds Hoshi.
"We should move out of this hallway and go somewhere more private," suggests Yamashita.
"Right, follow me," she says turning to lead him, "There is a study room close by that we should be able to use." They walk through the twists and turns of the underground labyrinth until Hoshi opens up a hidden door and they enter into a small yet comfortable room.
"So what did your father say?" asks Yamashita as he takes a seat in a wooden chair.
"What do you mean?" she replies as she takes the chair opposite him.
"Well, didn't he call you in to speak with you about today's match?" he asked.
"No, I haven't spoken to him since this morning," she reveals.
"That is odd," comments Yamashita, "I don't pretend to know the Tsuchikage very well, but I would have thought he would at least have wanted to review your match. But I guess he felt it wasn't needed."
"My father doesn't like to waste time talking about things that have already been settled," says Hoshi.
"I'll keep that in mind," he replies, "Now then, we need to talk about your strategy for tomorrow. We didn't know who you would go up against, so during training we just had you preparing for a general long range fighter. However, now that we know you are fighting Sakura things are different."
"Why is that?" she inquires.
"Because Sakura is not a long range fighter; her butterfly allies are the long range fighters," explains Yamashita.
"I don't understand what you mean," states Hoshi.
"Normally I would say that Sakura is a short to mid-range fighter. But once she summons one of her smaller butterflies she becomes a medium to long range fighter. Then of course, if she can get the giant butterfly out, she will jump on top and become a long range fighter," he explains.
"I see what you are saying," says Hoshi.
"So the key to your victory is not letting her get a chance to use her summoning Jutsu. If she does then your chances of winning significantly decrease. Now, other than her clone Jutsu, we don't really know what kind of close range Jutsu she has so it will be a bit of a risk, but I am confident that your Taijutsu skills will be able to handle it," he says.
"Okay, so what should my first move be?" asks Hoshi.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? There is only one night of rest before the competition continues. 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.)