(The epic Chunin Exam Arc is underway! In the Thirty Sixth Chapter of the arc, the semi-finals of the 3rd Stage of the Exams are over and Kuroda has defeated Hara. 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 crowd explodes at the conclusion of the impressive battle. A team of medical ninja quickly rush on and carry Hara off the battlefield. The Hokage sits quietly with a small smile on her face. Many of the Leaf Ninja watching in the stands begin to chant Kuroda's name.
"No way, this is impossible, how could Hara lose?" says Mari in a state of shock.
"There is always someone out there that is going to be better than you are," comments Kuro, "For me it is Hara, and as of now, Kuroda is that person for Hara."
"But he is Hara! Nobody can beat him," she replies.
"Get a hold of yourself," orders Kuro, "We are representatives of the Village Hidden in the Grass. Don't make our village look like sore losers. Hara tried his best and fought a good match, he showed the strength of our village."
"My, my, it seems my source was correct after all," gloats the blue-and-gold-garbed noble.
"Yes, yes, you have won the second part of our bet," grumbles the purple-clad noble.
"Now all that remains is the final match tomorrow," says the first noble.
"And what does your source tell you about that match?" inquires the second noble.
"Well, I will have to consult with my source again, but I think I will be staying with my pick," replies the first.
"Miss Inuzu, what do you think of your student's chances tomorrow?" inquires the second noble.
"The Tsuchikage's daughter is very strong. She will be able to hold her own," replies Chiasa.
"Yeah right, Inuzu, Kuroda is going to destroy her," thinks the blue-and-gold-garbed noble as a sinister smile jumps onto his face.
"He can see right through your doubt," whispers Yamashita so only his Sensei can hear.
"Did you say something, young man?" inquires the purple-clad noble.
"Only that I am looking forward to seeing Hoshi make the Rock Village proud tomorrow," replies Yamashita.
"I am looking forward to it myself," replies the noble.
"Kuroda is so amazing!" exclaims Yui.
"Yeah, he has got the brains of Ichimaru and the speed and power of Shun," adds Kenta.
"Not only that, but he has some powerful Ninjutsu and thanks to all the extra training he has done with Kayo-sensei he has great Genjutsu," says Sakura.
"I see, so that is how he got past that powerful Genjutsu that Hara used," comments Tousen, "Well, you must be an excellent teacher indeed, Kayo."
"Maybe you should stop trying to pick up girls and actually train us once in a while," mutters Rame Tsu.
"Now I see why Shun didn't want to fight him. Kuroda is so strong. There is no way Shun would have been able to defeat him," thinks Rame Tsu, "I want to know how Kuroda became so strong, but the real question is why he became so strong. He never showed any real interest in becoming a ninja back in the academy, so what changed?"
Jando balls his hand into a fist and secretly thinks, "Damn, he is already that strong. But I won't give up! I will surpass you one day, Kuroda."
"So then tomorrow it looks like the final is going to be between Kuroda and Hoshi," comments Yoshikuni, "I think it is going to be an interesting match, especially with all the political implications it has."
"What do you mean, Sensei?" asks Yui.
"Well, it is the daughter of the Tsuchikage up against a ninja that basically no one even knew existed," says Yoshikuni, "If Kuroda wins, it could mean big things for the Leaf Village."
Back down on the field Tatsuki starts to announce to the crowd, "The final match is going to be held tomorrow at…"
Kuroda walks over to her and taps her on the shoulder, "Excuse me, can I interrupt for a moment before you make that announcement."
"Yeah, what is it?" she asks.
He leans in close, making her very uncomfortable. He notices this and smirks but then whispers something into her ear.
"Are you crazy, kid? You just fought," she says in surprise.
Kuroda yawns and says, "That last battle wasn't very tiring and I don't really want to waste any more time in this village, so I would like to have the final match right now. Please relay my request to your Tsuchikage." Tatsuki is very disturbed by this request, but taps on her ear radio and speaks to a Rock Ninja who is standing up at the top of the arena.
The Tsuchikage's assistant at first thinks it is a joke, but then walks over and taps his superior on the shoulder and whispers, "Excuse me, sir, but there is a message from the proctor."
"Tatsuki? Is this about why she is delaying?" inquire Masato. "Yes sir, apparently the young Leaf Genin has made a request," explains the assistant.
"A request? Interesting. What is it?" asks Masato. The assistant leans in and repeats the request into the Tsuchikage's ear. When he gets the message the Tsuchikage is both amused and angered.
"What is so funny, Lord Tsuchikage?" the Hokage asks.
"I just got a request from your Genin down there," says Masato.
"A request from Kuroda? What does he want?" she asks, bothered by the news, but not showing it visibly.
"He wants to have the final match now," laughs the Tsuchikage, "What do you think?"
"This is very surprising," comments Michiyo.
"You sure this isn't on your orders, Lady Katonae?" he inquires.
"Certainly not," she responds, "He is either stupid or extremely confident in his own abilities, either way I do not really care what happens. Your village is hosting the exams, so it is your decision."
"Interesting, very interesting, well, then I guess I am going to grant his request." He motions for the aid to come back to him and says, "Inform the proctor that we will be having the final match now."
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage," he says and bows, and the gets back on the radio to relay the decision.
Tatsuki receives the orders and says, "He said what? Are you sure?"
"What did he decide?" inquires Kuroda.
Ignoring him Tatsuki announces the decision to the whole crowd, "Per the request of one of the participants, and with the approval of the Tsuchikage, the final match will be moved up to today, and will start in 15 minutes." The crowd reaction is very confused, many of them thinking that she is joking. When she shows no sign of this they begin to break out into various groups of discussion.
Kayo is furious and thinks, "Is this what you were doing? You didn't want Sakura to fight so you could take the Tsuchikage's daughter on. But that Genjutsu the Grass Ninja used was very powerful. Even with your advanced abilities to repel Genjutsu it still must have taken a large portion of your chakra to get past it. You cannot beat her with the chakra you have left. So what is your real plan?"
Chiasa punches her fist into the seat next to her causing it to break into pieces, and scaring the people around her. Yamashita sits calmly next to her. Chiasa mutters, "You! What do you think you are doing? It's bad enough you killed Naga the way you did, but now you think you can defeat Hoshi after you have just fought a match. Are you trying to mock our village? We are not one of the weaker villages. We are the Village Hidden in the Rocks, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. You'll see, Hoshi will take revenge for Naga and your insolence."
"It seems someone is a bit upset," muses the noble in purple.
"I apologize, my lord," says Chiasa, "That brat seems to have a knack for infuriating me."
Yamashita quietly sits and thinks to himself, "No, Sensei, you are mistaken. He still has that secret Jutsu of his, but I doubt he will use it here, since he hasn't used it in any of the other matches. My only question is why did he not let his teammate fight Hoshi? Is he trying to humiliate our village by fighting two matches in a row? If he loses, then the Tsuchikage will seem like the bad party for allowing him to fight twice. However if he wins, then our village seems weak. What is your goal in all of this, Kuroda Taishi?"
"Kuroda, what is the meaning of this? What are you trying to pull?" thinks the noble in blue and gold.
"Getting worried you are going to lose the bet?" inquires the noble in purple.
"My source said it would be a good day for the Leaf, so maybe it will be a better day than I even imagined," the blue-and-gold-garbed noble replies.
"Kayo-sensei what is going on? Is Kuroda demented?" asks Rame Tsu, "He may be good, but there is no way he has enough chakra left to take on someone of Hoshi's level."
"But look, he doesn't even look that tired," points out Kenta, "Even after that tough Genjutsu."
"I have no idea," says Kayo, "He just does whatever he wants."
"Are you trying to humiliate me?" thinks Jando as he makes a fist, "You think that you are just going to go out there and win after you just had a match?"
"Regardless of what Kuroda is doing, I am more curious about why the Hokage is agreeing to it," says Tousen, "She usually wouldn't allow something like this."
"I'm betting that she left the decision up to Lord Ishimaru," says Yoshikuni, "That way whatever happens will be on the shoulders of the Hidden Rock."
"Do you think he will win, Sakura?" asks Yui.
"Without a doubt," she replies, "Kuroda wouldn't have asked to have the match now if he didn't plan on winning it."
"Chiaki, what is this, what is going on?" asks Kenji.
"How the hell would I know?" she retorts.
"Well, you are supposed to be the smart one," he replies.
"This is ludicrous, why did your Tsuchikage approve of this? He is going to get destroyed," says Mazuma trying to figure out the situation, "The Hidden Rock has nothing to gain by having the match today."
"Maybe he doesn't think that Hoshi can win if he lets Kuroda recover for a day," suggests Kenji.
"Even if he knows she couldn't win I still find it hard to believe that he wouldn't give her the chance to overcome such a challenge," says Chiaki, "I mean she is practically destined to take the reins of leadership from him when she is older."
"A deal with the Hokage perhaps?" asks Mazuma.
"Not likely," she responds, "It really doesn't sound like either of them."
"It seems like we are missing some very important piece of information," says Kenji, "And I doubt we will ever discover what it is."
Hoshi quietly makes her way back to the battlefield and prepares for her fight and contemplating, "What is going on? I know why father approved the match, but why did Kuroda request it? How can I possibly fight him? He can just order me to surrender. What am I supposed to do?" When she gets to the center of the field she is visibly trembling.
Tatsuki watches Hoshi as she approaches and thinks, "Look at her, she is shaking with fear. I know she fought him before in the Forest of Lost Souls, but could the encounter really have made her this afraid? Well, I shouldn't speak, because I myself have this horrible feeling whenever he is near me. She should be able to win, since he just fought a match, but I better keep an extra close eye out so nothing happens."
Hoshi breathes deeply to calm down a bit, and then assumes a fighting stance. Kuroda on the other hand just stands in a relaxed position. Tatsuki looks at him questioningly, and asks them both, "Are you ready to start?"
"Yes," responds Hoshi, and Kuroda merely nods.
"Okay, then begin," says Tatsuki.
Neither of them moves.
She repeats herself thinking they misheard, "Begin the match!" but again neither of them makes a move.
The crowd starts to get restless, some people shouting, "Come on, let's go! I came here to see a fight. Get a move on!"
Tatsuki asks them, "What are you two doing? Why won't either of you attack?"
Hoshi doesn't answer, so Kuroda decides to say something. He explains, "I am simply giving her the chance to attack. It is the honorable thing that the lady should go first." Hoshi still doesn't move a muscle. Kuroda says, "Maybe she is just too afraid to attack me." Hoshi finally works up the nerve and reaches into her pouch and takes out a kunai. She attempts to throw it at Kuroda, but the surging pain envelopes her body and she falls to her knees as she releases and the kunai falls harmlessly to the ground a few feet away from her.
Tatsuki is so surprised that she blurts out, "What the hell?"
Chiasa stands up and yells, "Hoshi, what is wrong? What did he do?"
Yamashita still sits calmly next to her, observing and thinking, "He didn't even use any hand signs. How did he stop her attack? Did he use his Jutsu to attack some of her nerves?"
"Why, look at that," says the noble in the blue and gold, "He is so good he doesn't even have to move and he can win."
"What is this? Is this some trick!" yells the noble in purple.
Sakura and Kayo are both watching closely. Kayo softly speaks so that only Sakura can hear, "I recognize that. How could I not? So he got her to sign one of his contracts and now she cannot attack him. But when did he do it?"
"In the Forest of Lost Souls," answers Sakura.
"In the forest?" inquires Kayo.
"Right at the start he knocked out Jando and went off on his own. He returned the next day," explains Sakura.
"I see, so that is the real reason why you took so long to complete the second exam," says Kayo.
"Yes, Sensei," she confirms.
"Is there something wrong with your daughter?" asks the 8th Hokage.
"Not that I am aware of," answers the Tsuchikage, "That's a very impressive Jutsu your Genin knows. I have never seen anything like it before, and he performed it so quickly and with such ease."
"Yes, he is very skilled," she answers, but secretly thinks, "That's no technique. I don't sense any chakra coming from Kuroda at all."
"Did either of you catch that?" asks Kenji.
"I don't pretend to have the best eyes in the world, but mine are pretty good," says Mazuma, "And I didn't see a thing."
"Me neither," says Chiaki.
"Did he set something up during the last match?" asks Kenji.
"If he did I didn't see it either," says Mazuma.
Tatsuki looks at Hoshi writhing in pain on the ground, then looks back to Kuroda and thinks, "What the hell is he doing to her? How the hell could a kid use this kind of technique? And when did he do it? I didn't see him use any hand signs at all. What is going on? Is this kid really a Genin?"
Kuroda explains, "I think my earlier statement might have been slightly incorrect. I don't think that she is afraid of attacking me. It seems more like she is incapable of attacking me."
Tatsuki doesn't understand thinking, "Incapable of attacking him? What does he mean?"
Kuroda finally makes a move and performs a Summing Jutsu. A large puff of smoke gathers under his hand and then a grey elephant roughly the size of a small horse appears. It wears a blue and brown cotton wrap around its center that has a number of weapons attached to it. It also has various blue symbols tattooed around its body. "Welcome, Dantoloxo," says Kuroda.
Dantoloxo looks around to see who he is going to fight thinking, "Well, who is it going to be, that woman or the girl on the ground? Fighting is the only reason for me to be summoned." He looks over at Kuroda seeking directions.
"A summoning Jutsu? I didn't know Kuroda had one too," comments Yui back up in the stands.
"That is so cool, do you have one too, Jando?" asks Kenta.
"I don't need a summoning Jutsu, I can win on my own!" responds Jando.
Kayo sits slightly confused, wondering, "Why did he why use a summoning Jutsu if she can't attack him? He could just order her to surrender and she would be forced to obey. Or he could knock her around while she is helpless to defend herself. What are you doing, Kuroda?"
"Stop worrying, Sensei," says Sakura interrupting her thoughts, "Kuroda knows what he is doing, so stop trying to figure it out and just watch."
The power of the contract subsides and the pain ends so Hoshi rises back onto her feet. Kuroda now turns to her and says, "Since you are unable to attack me I am going to give you a fighting chance. Instead of fighting me, you will take on Dantoloxo here. If you are able to defeat Dantoloxo I promise to forfeit the match."
"What the heck is going on here?" wonders Tatsuki.
Kuroda turns towards Dantoloxo, "I want you to go all out against her, but to make sure not to use any fatal attacks. If you did it would be very troublesome for me."
"Understood," says Dantoloxo.
Hoshi listens to Kuroda's proposal thinking, "If I don't obey him that pain will come back again, so I really don't have a choice." She takes out several kunai and shuriken and throws them at Dantoloxo to test his abilities.
"I don't understand, why is she listening to him?" wonders Tatsuki, "Did he put some type of spell on her, or can she really not attack him?"
Dantoloxo easily bats the weapons away with his trunk. Hoshi thinks, "That elephant is no pushover. His trunk must be very thick if he was able to slap away those weapons and not get cut. Even Kuroda's summoned beasts have amazing strength. This isn't going to be easy, but what choice do I have? Oh well, here it goes." She punches a hole in the ground and quickly completes a few hand signs. The debris gathers and forms small sharp weapons. "Stone Shuriken Jutsu," she screams out before flinging the shuriken at the elephant.
This time Dantoloxo dodges the projectiles seeing that they are made of harder material than the last attack. When he lands he counterattacks by shooting bursts of long streams of water at her yelling, "Water Style: Hydro Stream!" The water slices into the earth, destroying about one foot of the soil wherever it makes contact. Seeing the power of the Jutsu, Hoshi wisely dives out of the way as it comes towards her. When the stream ceases she punches another hole in the ground and counters with her stone shuriken.
They both dodge and counter each other for a while, neither of them gaining the upper hand. "This isn't working, my water Jutsu is too slow to catch her," thinks Dantoloxo.
"I'm going to have to move in closer," thinks Hoshi, "My blades should be able to penetrate him since he was dodging the stone shuriken." She punches another hole in the ground and performs a different set of hand signs. The debris gathers around her hands, forming long, hard, sharp blades around them. "Stone Hand Blades," she says. Meanwhile Dantoloxo has used his trunk to take out a kunai from one of the slots on his midsection. They charge at each other, letting loose their battle cries.
As Hoshi storms ahead she lazily leaves her arms to the sides so that the stone blades drag across the earth leaving lines tracing her path. As she comes into range she lifts her arms up to her right side and puts one a few inches above the other, turning the flat sides parallel to the ground. When close enough, she thrusts her hands forward for a double knife stab. In response Dantoloxo lunges ahead and manages to slip his trunk right in the small gap between her arms. Realizing that he has the advantage in reach Hoshi twists her arms and pushes left so that his trunk is slapped off to the side. Then she moves her left arm up in a guard position while slicing her right arm back across her body at an upward angle.
The attack hits, however it connects with one of the weapons stored on Dantoloxo's body, so he is unharmed. They engage each other at close range, blocking and countering, and defending. They seem to be evenly matched at close range combat as well. At one point the elephant leaps high into the air and then somehow begins to spin his body rapidly while holding out the kunai to create a buzz-saw-like attack. Hoshi doesn't anticipate it fast enough so she barely escapes getting her leg chopped off. Dantoloxo immediately slices after her when she rolls away. Then he spins around and lands a hind leg kick to her back.
Before she flies off, the elephant grabs hold of her left leg by wrapping his trunk around it. He easily lifts her light body up into the air and then slams her back down. However Hoshi prevents herself from getting the full force of the impact by stabbing her stone hand blades into the earth. Then with her free leg she kicks her heel back into the trunk of the opponent. Dantoloxo is only slightly bothered by this, but he still rips her back up into the air and hurls her away. Hoshi lands gracefully about thirty feet away and instantly pushes off her feet and charges in again.
Meanwhile Kuroda has made his way next to Tatsuki and is watching the battle beside her. At first she doesn't realize he is there until he says, "A very exciting battle, don't you think?"
She jumps at the sound of his voice and wonders, "When the hell did he get over there? And why didn't I notice he was this close to me? Something is definitely wrong here."
Still keeping an eye on the battle she asks him, "Why are you not fighting? This battle is completely pointless if you don't even participate."
Kuroda responds, "Come now, don't be foolish, you are well aware of the rules. I used a Jutsu to summon my friend Dantoloxo. Dantoloxo is engaging my opponent. So therefore I am technically fighting. Also, as you observed earlier, Hoshi is unable or unwilling to attack me directly. I think that if I were to attack her directly it wouldn't be very entertaining, and one of the main points of the exam is to entertain all the important guests that have come."
Hoshi slams her bladed hands into the ground, her attack aimed at where Dantoloxo just stood. He circles around and slashes at her back, but she gets her arm around in time to block the kunai.
Tatsuki inquires, "You keep telling me that the Tsuchikage's daughter won't attack you. Why is that?"
Kuroda states, "The most obvious answer is that most Genin would be scared to face me after seeing even one of my previous battles, but that is not the reason why. She won't attack because she saw my true power in the forest and she knows that if I really wanted to kill her she could not do anything about it."
Tatsuki remembers back to her meeting with the Tsuchikage after the preliminary rounds and how Hoshi described Kuroda's ability. She speculates, "I wonder what this ability of his is. But how could a mere Genin have such a high level technique. No, I have to stop fooling myself. He is not a Genin. This feeling I get every time he is around me. No Genin could do that to me. He has to be at least a Chunin level ninja. But why is he only ranked as a Genin? Is this some sort of plot by the Village Hidden in the Leaves?"
"If she knew she had no possibility of winning the match, then why did she not forfeit it?" asks Tatsuki.
"That should be obvious," replies Kuroda.
"How so?" asks Tatsuki.
"She is the daughter of the Tsuchikage," he states, "How would it reflect upon your village if she forfeited a match?"
She thinks a bit, and then responds, "You seem to be right. She had no choice but to enter into the match. Even though she knew she would lose, it would be much better than forfeiting." They stop talking for a while and watch the battle between Hoshi and the elephant.
Hoshi jumps up into a flying spin kick. Dantoloxo blocks the kick with his trunk and then wraps it tightly around her leg. As he prepares to toss her away she reveals her real intentions by stabbing her left arm at his head. The elephant quickly snaps his trunk up and releases his grip to send her off target and into a high velocity spin. Hoshi smartly lines her arms up parallel to each other to create a double buzz-saw and prevent him from using a secondary attack. Dantoloxo leaps backwards while throwing two shuriken at her for some cover.
After some more fighting Tatsuki decides, "This match is pointless; I'm going to stop it."
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Kuroda has summoned Dantoloxo to fight his battle, but what other surprises does he have in store? Who will be the ultimate victor 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.)