Naruto the Sharingan Wielder
Chapter XV: Eye to Eye: Sharingan vs Byakugan.
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine and I do not own it.
Sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long! We had a lot of parties previously in order to celebrate the start of 2016. But now that the holidays are over, it's time to get back to my writing since I cannot keep my fans waiting, can I?
With the first match between Naruto and Neji getting under way, the Daimyos from other countries are looking to see who the strongest genin will be selected to lead the village and protect it from harm. Furthermore, this was a battle between Leaf, Sound, and Sand because one of these villages will be the winner in the end.
As for Ino, she was wearing her casual clothes with an orange t-shirt, a stylized kanji that had "boar" written on the upper right side of her chest, brown shorts and cream-colored elbow guards. She also has some bandages from her training before finding a seat next to Neji's teammates.
"Is anyone sitting here?" asked Ino.
"Nope, you can sit here." Said Tenten.
"Thanks." Said Ino as she sat down next to the weapons mistress before looking out towards the field and could see Naruto warming up his muscles while the rest were watching from above. She couldn't tell if that spiky blonde haired genin was actually fighting a strong rival from Guy's team.
"Am I just seeing things, or is that Naruto?" asked a shocked Ino.
"You are looking at that guy right there. I thought you were still infatuated with that Uchiha prick?" asked Tenten.
"I was, but then I realized that Sasuke wasn't my type and now I saw that kid since he was the one that saved most of us from the Sound Genin earlier in the forest of death. So now, I was so moved ever since he started his intense training with Master Jiraiya and wondered if I could be like him." Continued Tenten.
"You are right about that, but that is actually Naruto from the hair style he has." Replied Tenten. Ino had to agree with her since she had to admit that he did look good with his new ninja gear. "I do feel sorry for him since he is taking on a rookie from last year. Neji isn't the sort of person to play around."
"I would have agreed, but Naruto isn't the same guy from our graduating class anymore. He is different now and much stronger than before. Therefore, I need to upgrade my training regime so that I don't fall behind." Explained Ino.
"Really? Well then, I will take you up on your offer. Ever since you and that pink-haired girl fought, it was embarrassing to me because you both have the same obsession over Sasuke and not Naruto. Perhaps next time I will be able to spar with you and show you what it means to be a true kunoichi.
"I might take you up on that offer." Smiled Ino as she turned her attention towards Sakura, whom was sitting next to her parents. From the looks of things, she was definitely under house arrest by her parents before turning her attention towards the first match.
Once Naruto finished stretching, he felt relaxed as he faced off against Neji with his new attire consisting of baggy blue jeans at his ankles, black and orange jersey over a shirt with short sleeves and a blue jacket with red stripes on the sleeves. He saw that his fists were taped just like his ankles were and smirked at him.
"What could possibly be funny, Neji-san?" asked naruto.
"I find it amusing that you are so confident in defeating me with your abilities. I will admit that you are strong and that people are giving you credit for learning new things every day. But your strength alone will not be enough to beat me. You still are a loser and it is your destiny to lose. Just accept it or be embarrassed." Said Neji as he grinned.
Naruto just chuckled at him and said, "Wow, for a guy that's obsessed with destiny, is that how you reall beat hinata with just a few words? I won't break down like that just because of your bullshit and the mistreatment of Hinata."
"Very well, it's your loss." Finished Neji as he stepped into his stance while naruto readied himself as they prepped to charge towards each other. Genma looked at them as Naruto quickly started things off with a roundhouse kick, but it was out of range. But somehow, it sent Neji back a few feet, leaving him confused at what just happened since he barely had time to block that move. The power behind Naruto's move surprised Neji even more as he dodged a few more punches from Naruto.
Neji launched a palm strike but Naruto ducked it and threw an uppercut. Although it missed, he was able to get Neji in a clench before driving his knee right into his opponent's chest, making him gasp. He was about to launch another knee kick, but Neji blocked it and hit Naruto several more times, thereby releasing him from the clench. Soon, naruto launched a front kick that caught Neji flush on his face before getting into some distance before Naruto moved back in again. As the process continued, both jumped away and landed across from each other.
Everyone was shocked at what they just witnessed, the perception of the match has changed. How was the village pariah able to match blows with a Hyuga prodigy? Everyone could see that Naruto had done some damage to Neji and shrugged off the gentle fist. But none were more surprised than Tenten and Ino.
"What did I just witness?" asked a shocked Tenten.
"I knew that he had gotten stronger, but to fight against a Hyuuga is definitely suicide. But he isn't showing any effects of the Gentle Fist." Said Ino.
"What sort of training did he do in order to prepare for that sort of fight?" asked Tenten.
"Who knows?" answered Ino.
Naruto stared at his opponent and paused to take a few breaths. He was thinking about the fight and how it could end.
"Damn, that gentle fist of his really packs a punch, even my own metal plates are not strong enough to stop it. However, my threshold for pain is good but if I take more blows, I could be in a lot of trouble. He is still holding back, but if I can take him seriously, he might just activate his Byakugan. All right then, it's time for me to show him the fruits of my training." Thought Naruto as he started his shadow clone jutsu seal and out came four of them. Neji watched with his byakugan but couldn't tell which one is the real one. He was quickly caught off guard as the middle one launched a direct attack at him before moving out of the way and right into Naruto's fists.
Neji staggered to get up, but he quickly managed to block another roundhouse kick before getting a low kick from another one of the clones. As neji rolled away, he dodged a flying knee and attacked the clones that came after him. The third clone engaged in another close combat as two more Narutos out flanked him. He could see that one of them reared his foot while the other was doing hand seals. Neji then grabbed the clone attacking him and used it as a shield to block naruto's mysterious attack before expelling more chakra throughout his body.
"Fire style: Fireball Nutsu!" called Naruto as a fireball came straight towards Neji.
"Eight Trigrams palm rotation!" called Neji as he spins around with a dome around him, thereby dispelling the fire technique. Neji came to a stop and faced naruto again. He still has that look of determination and readied himself with his sharingan.
"You got some talented Genins here today. A branch member using a main house technique and a dead-last using fire techniques. You must be so proud." Said the Kazekage.
"Yes, it just warms my heart that the next generation is becoming stronger." Said Hiruzen
"I am confused by that technique the blonde used. Is that a wind technique?" asked the kazekage.
"I don't really know. However, it is impressive that it does not require the use of hand seals. From what I have seen, it is not mastered. But if it was, the last attack would have cut right through the clone and right into Neji." Explained the Hokage.
"you got a dangerous genin, hokage-sama. I will have to keep my eye on him in the near future." Replied the Kazekage. Hiruzen didn't say anything since he didn't like the words coming from the Kazekage's mouth since it sounded more like a threat than a statement.
Neji was breathing hard after taking blow after blow from Naruto. He has bruises on his forearms and calves while observing the Naruto clones with a glare. He couldn't believe how that blonde loser was able to turn this match around and wasn't expecting this much from a dead-last. It angered him greatly that he was pushed this far by this failure. Furthermore, Neji needs to finish this off and he has an ace up his sleeve because he knew which one of the clones was the real one and decided to charge towards him. Luckily, Naruto dodged and appeared next to the original. He knew he was in trouble and decided to use his other attack and finished it off just before Neji launched his attack.
"You are in the range of my divination. Ninja Art; Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!" shouted Neji
"Two Palms" Neji shouted as he continued hitting, but all he got was dead air
"Four Palms" Again and he hit nothing
"Eight Palms" Still nothing
"Sixteen Palms" Naruto's images danced around Neji as his palm went right through.
"Thirty-Two Palms!" Neji continued his strikes faster and faster, but he wasn't able to touch Naruto.
"SIXTY-FOUR PALMS" roared Neji. Naruto images just kept dancing until it was over. The images disappeared and Naruto wasn't to be seen. That's when Neji was dragged into the ground by his head, leaving him growling as he tried to blast his way out of the ground when he felt an enormous amount of chakra. He looked up and saw Naruto in the air with his eyes turning red since his features were darker.
"Ninja Art: Lion's Barrage!" Bellowed Naruto as he unleashed a huge wave of sound towards Neji. He didn't even have time to move as the blast created a huge crater, leaving Neji sinking further into the ground. Afterwards, Neji slowly got up and tried to make one more attack, but his body was at a limit as he collapsed on the ground. "How….. How are you this strong?" he said.
"After all my training with a sannin, I have made myself stronger and I do not hold anything back. I don't use destiny to win. My nindo is to be Hokage someday and I will surpass those that came before me. Although I didn't want to hurt you, you let your ego and fate cloud your judgment. Please let it go before it tears your family and your mind apart. If your father were here, he would be proud on how well you handled yourself today. So from now own, please try to protect those you love and leave the darkness behind." Finished Naruto as he slowly dragged Neji out of the crater. Afterwards, the medics quickly came and picked up the Hyuga prodigy before wheeling him out of the arena. Genma was certain that the boy will be sore but alive and pointed at Naruto.
"Winner of the first match, naruto Uzumaki!" At first, nothing was heard from the crowd, but soon, clapping noises could be heard and then, cheering started coming. Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing as the crowd praised him and told him that he did very well. He was too shocked, but then quickly grinned and raised his arms in victory.
As neji looked back at him while on the stretcher, he sighed and smiled. "Naruto, you truly are something else altogether. Maybe we can be friends one day." He thought to himself.
"I can't believe that Naruto just beat Neji." Sid Izumo with a shocked look in his face.
"What is more shocking is that he did it without having so much difficulties. Although he has a few injuries himself, he had the advantage over Neji." Replied Kotetsu.
"I agree, he didn't rush in too much and kept his cool along with his powerful jutsu and strange attacks. Those last few moves were impressive and he didn't even unleash his anger at all. Do you think he deserves a promotion?" asked Izumo
"I think so. He deserves the chunin rank." Said Kotetsu.
"How could Neji have lost?" asked a Shocked Tenten. "That guy is a hyuga prodigy. How could this have happened?"
"Atta boy! Way to Go naruto!" shouted Ino. She was very happy for the blonde that gave her a new direction in her ninja career instead of Sasuke since it also got the attention of Sakura. However, Sakura was growling and ignored her rival. She was saddened that Naruto was getting stronger now with the new techniques he learned so far.
"tenten, can you watch my seat for me?" asked Ino.
Tenten nodded as Ino left to congratulate the blonde shinobi.
"The sharingan and those unseen techniques. He is quite a genin. That last attack had me shaking in my boots." Said the kazekage.
"Yes it was, those techniques are mid C-Ranks. I am excited to see what is next." Replied Hiruzen.
'You won't be alive long enough to see that, sensei.' The Kazekage thought to himself evilly.
Back on the stage, Zabuza and Haku met up with the kid and he was immediately launched into a headlock.
"Brat! That was an incredible match!" said Zabuza with his signature smile.
"Yeah, you really showed him." Added Haku.
"Thanks guys, but did you really have to choke me like this?" groaned Naruto.
"Feh, Troublesome Mr. Cool guy." Said Shikamaru with a bored tone.
"Say what now?" asked Naruto with a confused look.
"Shika-chan here thinks that you have become one of the coolest people like Sasuke or Neji." Answered Shino.
"Yeah, now I have to catch up to you later on, you loser!" replied Kiba.
"Not a chance in hell, but you guys do have a point. Shikamaru is still a lazy ass and neji may be stubborn, but I can still accept him as my rival." Replied Naruto.
"You do have a point there. Anyway, that was impressive, I am surprised that you went into that fight with a plan." Said Shikamaru.
"It's still a new thing for me." Said naruto with an embarrassed look. They then turned their attention towards the referee as they called the next pair of fighters.
"Would Shino Aburame and Sabaku no Kankuro please come down for the next match?" said Genma. Kankuro was growling quietly since he did not want to show his hand before the invasion. But as he looked at Naruto, he knew that if he doesn't go through with the plan from the blonde, than everything would be lost since he has to think about the mission on fighting against the Sound Shinobis.
"Proctor, I wish to forfeit since I do not want to turn against the leaf." Said Kankuro before winking at naruto. Naruto smiled back and shrugged it off as everyone had surprised looks on their faces except for gaara since he was not pleased that his brother is abandoning the mission. Even he wanted to get a first crack at Naruto after the next set of matches was done.
"Are you sure about this? I mean this is your chance to become chunin." Genma said.
Kankuro nodded and stepped back from the ring while rubbing his head since he knows that the kage next to Hiruzen was not the real leader of the sand village. "Very well, I will have to declare Shino as the winner by default then." The announcement didn't seem to help the crowd as they were waiting to see the next match while Naruto looked at Shino.
"Tough break bug-boy, I am sure you would have beaten him." Said Naruto.
"You don't really mean that do you, Naruto? I'm sure that he is quite skilled, but don't you find it odd that he forfeited the match?" asked Shino.
"Yeah, he is going to act like a guy that would flaunt his skills." Answered Naruto. Even temari was getting nervous after seeing her brother quitting like that.
"Damn it, we need to stall out for more time. I understand that Kankuro didn't want to fight, but what was he really thinking? I guess I will have to make this match good myself." Thought Temari as she whipped out her fan and grabbed Shikamaru's arm and settled him behind her before heading off towards the field. "Let's fight, lazy ass!"
"She seems eager to do this." Said Naruto as he sweat-dropped while Shikamaru sighed in frustration. He didn't want to fight this girl since she was just as troublesome as Yoshino and Ino. He felt that becoming chunin was going to be a waste of time. He tried to get off the fan while following Kankuro's lead, but he was suddenly grabbed from behind and tossed out of the competitor's box. Luckily he was caught by Temari while Naruto and Shino turned to see who it was that threw their friend down.
"Ino, what are you doing here? Why did you do that to your teammate?" asked Naruto.
"Duh, I came up here to congratulate you in person. As for Shikamaru, that lazy bun was about to forfeit and I wasn't about to sit here and let that happen." Said Ino as she looked down at Temari holding Shikamaru bridal style and onto the field where she dropped him on the ground with a thud. "Go get her Shika! You can do it. After all, you need a girlfriend like her to defeat the Sound village." But all she got was a pissed off glare from Shikamaru as he slowly got up. Ino then turned her attention back to Naruto and said, "That was an awesome match."
"Thanks, I gave it my best." Said Naruto.
"Keep this up and you might win the whole tournament." Said Ino.
"You really think so?"
"Well, we cannot call you the dead-last anymore. You beat last year's rookie of the year without too much trouble so I think you can do it.
"Thank you, Ino. I will show you and everyone else that I can do this." Replied Naruto.
"Don't get too excited, naruto. I will be cheering for you in the stands. Good luck," said Ino as she returned to the seats. The blonde couldn't stop smiling since he was eager to show Ino that she was right to believe him. But unknown to them, Gaara was watching the whole thing and he was not happy one bit. He remembered everything that Naruto said to him at the hospital and how he interacted with that girl; oh he was going to make Uzumaki pay for that.
As Shikamaru laid on the ground, he refused to get up since he wanted to make Ino pay for throwing him into the arena floor. That stupid girl was always a pain in the ass and he wants revenge, but that would be too troublesome with her recent improvement. But still, he has to make her pay somehow.
"Are you going to lay there for the entire match!?" shouted Temari. Shikamaru ignored her while staring at the sky. That infuriated her as she charged at the downed Nara. As Shikamaru watched, he sighed and decided to fight for real as he took out two kunais and a paper ball.
Once Ino returned, she could see Choji sitting with tenten with a bag and the other hand was with potato chips.
"Didn't you just get admitted to the hospital with a stomach ache?" asked Ino with a deadpan tone.
"It's not that much chips. And besides, my stomach can easily heal in time." Whined choji. Ino could only sigh while tenten giggled. Soon, choji studied the field and saw Shikamaru fighting the Sand Kunoichi. "What is he doing?"
"Your teammate is running away that is what he is doing." Said Tenten with a hint of amusement.
"No, I mean why is Shikamaru fighting. I figured that he would have surrendered by now since Fuu and Yugito have completed their matches already. Therefore, Shikamaru shouldn't have any problems here." Explained Choji.
"Well, I wouldn't let him surrender so me and Naruto gave him a gentle push into fighting" said Ino. She then used her inner self and snarled, "Come on Shikamaru! Stop running and fight her!" Choji just ignored her and started eating with a smile knowing that Shikamaru is not the sort of shinobi to engage in combat. As Shikamaru hid behind the trees, he sighed for the fifth time while covering himself. He could also see the cuts that were on the side of the tree and couldn't understand how determined that girl was. Why are his opponents always women? And he could hear Temari calling him names and telling him to fight her instead of hiding like a coward.
Suddenly, Shikamaru stood up and prepared himself to fight and he knew it was going to be a hassle but it wouldn't be as troublesome if his mother got word of the performance. He looked around the battlefield and started an unfamiliar seal while Temari readied herself for whatever he had planned.
"At long last, he is beginning to get serious." Asuma said with a sigh of relief.
"What are you talking about? Is it that seal that he is making?" asked Kurenai
"It's not a seal, I would say it is more of a thinking pose. When things get too dicey for him, he makes that pose. And when he is done thinking, I would say he has a greater chance of winning." Replied Asuma.
"Come on, he won't win by thinking." Finished Kurenai.
"Don't underestimate him like you did with Naruto. The truth is that Shikamaru's strength is in his mind because of his 200 IQ," smiled Asuma. "Just watch, Kurenai, you're about to see something amazing.
Shikamaru immediately took out three of his kunai and stabbed them inform of him in order for his Kagemane no jutsu. His shadow raced after Temari who jumped back to a line that she created in order to mark the distance of his technique. As she got behind it, she sees a small ball exploding into a smoke cloud, thereby blinding her. Temari was coughing like crazy while seeing his shadow passing through the line. She quickly jumped away as two kunai knives cut off her movement and they also had smoke bombs attached to them. At that moment, she caught up to his plan and opened her fan.
"Wind Scythe Jutsu!" called Temari as a large gust of wind blew all the smoke away, causing the range of Shikamaru's shadow technique to be reduced. "That was good, but not good enough. It's time I end this battle now." Said Temari. However, Temari noticed that she couldn't move her body since it was stuck there. "Why can't I move?"
"Shadow possession jutsu, success." Smiled Shikamaru
"No, that's not possible. I blew your smoke away and there is enough light for you to extend that shadow." Said a shocked Temari.
"How very perceptive of you to figure that out and you are right, I couldn't reach you with that much light so I had some help. Like I told that troublesome girl from the sound, you should have had better awareness to your surroundings because these sind yomoke bombs served as a distraction and a tool to help me find out your exact location." Said Shikamaru as he pointed at the crater that Naruto made. Temari looked at it and remembered that Naruto had dug a small tunnel in order to show where the connection was.
"you used the hold that the blonde used in order to go underground in order to connect your shadow to me?" she asked in awe.
"yup, I noticed it when you are trying to blow me away with your attack. Anyway, I think I am running out of chakra so I am going to end this now." Said Shikamaru.
Temari couldn't even believe that she had lost to this slacker since he treated her like a puppet and led her into his trap. She growled and close her eyes as she didn't want to know what he was going to do to her. Just then, she heard the slacker say, "I am giving up now." Her eyes opened immediately with shock, as did the crowd, Naruto and Ino. Even Asuma rubbed his head in confusion at what just happened while Kurenai tried not to laugh.
"Excuse me?" asked Temari.
"you heard me, I said I give up. This match isn't getting me anywhere and I am not going to take part in this anymore. Besides, aren't you supposed to be on our side?" said Shikamaru.
Temari's shock turned into a fit of rage. "Are you kidding me!? After all that hard work you did, you are just going to throw your match away and risk not being promoted? What sort of a lazy ass sexist pig are you? I don't need you to go easy on me like that!"
"Who said I was, you troublesome woman? As you can see, my shadow is gone and you can move freely now. I don't have any more chakra left to continue. So what are you so angry about? You are just as annoying as my mother and Ino, but perhaps after we fight off that man sitting next to our Hokage, maybe we can go on a date?" finished Shikamaru.
Temari was so red in the face and reached for her fan in order to slap her opponent in the face, but she was stopped by Genma. "Winner of the match, Sakabu no Temari." He said. The crowd was so disappointed as they shouted at Shikamaru for not putting enough effort into the match. Even they called him nasty names while throwing things at him. But he didn't even care as he made his way bacl onto the competitor's box.
"So, you were saying that something amazing was going to happen?" asked an amused Kurenai. Asuma just sighed and thought to himself, 'That was just a brilliant strategy he came up with. If he was going to lead a battalion of men, he would have won the battle. But if he and Naruto got together on the field, they wouldn't lose. He definitely deserves the chunin rank just like Naruto.' The red eyed genjutsu user knew that she shouldn't be underestimating the dead-last students because they are not that weak.
Soon, Ino vein popped as she tried to reach her way onto the competitor's box in order to give her teammate a good beating but she was held back by choji and tenten. "You need to calm down," said Choji as he struggled to try and control his teammate's temper.
"HOW THE HELL CAN I CALM DOWN!? THAT FUCKING BASTARD HAD THAT WIND USER RIGHT WHERE HE WANTED HER, AND NOW HE JUST GIVES UP LIKE THAT!? WHY I OUGHTA BASH THAT MOTHERFUCKER'S HEAD OPEN!"
"Um, Tenten, can you give me a hand here?' said Choji. Tenten immediately got up and subdued the enraged Kunoichi in order to prevent violence going on in the stands.
After that match, Naruto also wanted to give Shikamaru a good beating as well, but now it was time for Sasuke to take on Gaara since this is what everyone has been waiting to see for a long time now. Genma looked around and wondered what the Hokage was going to do. But before he could give his ruling, the blonde immediately jumped down and headed over to the referee and said, "It seems that something else is going to happen during the match between Sasuke and gaara since that man right there next to my grandfather figure is a bit off. I can tell because Kabuto must have given the order to get rid of the real Kazekage in order to trick the sand into attacking our village."
"Are you sure about this? So you are saying that Orochimaru is out here somewhere?" said Genma.
"Yes, so I may need you to give me the signal to evacuate the premises while I get Kankuro and Temari somewhere safe. I know this is so sudden, but I cannot allow any of my precious people to get hurt." Said Naruto as he walked back onto the competitor's box.
"Of course." Said Genma.
Just then, kakashi arrived with Sasuke and pushed him towards the arena floor before vanishing next to the jonins. Sasuke glared at the spot but could see nothing.
"Yo, 'He greeted them.
"You seemed to be cutting it close." Said Asuma.
"it was not my fault because I couldn't find him after looking through the stadium. But after I found him at his parents'graves, I let him speak with them before I had to force him out of there. I am just so glad that he is out of my hair." Said kakashi.
"Well, you missed a few good matches. Naruto defeated Neji and Shino won by forfeit. As for Shikamaru, he lost to Temari because I wouldn't be surprised that both of them gets promoted." Said Kurenai.
"Is that so? I will need a tape of those matches." Said kakashi.
Once Gaara and Sasuke appeared on the field, everyone was wondering what those two had in store for the people here. Even naruto was also interested in this match since he wanted to know what Kakashi had taught his student today. Just then, Shikamaru arrived and was out of breath,
"Is something wrong, Shikamaru?" asked Naruto,
"naruto, we need your sensei to stop this match. You were right, it seems that the invasion is about to begin since Gaara is not stable. He killed two grass shinobis already while smiling."
"He's right, naruto. You should get Kankuro and Temari to Ibiki since my team saw that psycho sand ninja killing a rain team without any remorse." Replied Shino.
"you are right. Let's go find him. Kankuro, Temari, you guys are coming with me." Said Naruto as he took the hands of the two sand shinobi and ran out of the stadium.
'We're about to watch the match, so what is your hurry, brat?" asked Temari.
"your brother Gaara isn't right in the head and that man over there next to the Hokage is not your father. Which means, the village is going to be in grave danger." Replied naruto.
Both shinobis looked at the blonde with shocked looks on their faces. "You mean orochimaru is here already? Don't tell us he killed our father?"
"yes, we need you guys to assist us in keeping the Sound forces occupied." Replied naruto as all of them left to find kakashi.
"He sure knows how to make friends easily with another village." Smiled Temari as she and Kankuro followed them towards the stands.