Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Naruto" – Talking
'Naruto' – Thoughts
Naruto – Flashback
Naruto – Jutsu
Cracking Gaps: Sins of a Family
The Preliminary Match-Ups! Displays of Power!
Previously on Cracking Gaps: Sins of a Family,
"I wish to quit." Hayate and the Jonin looked over to the crowd and saw a Genin from the Konoha teams. It was the other team that had been out of the Academy like Team Nine, but for much longer. "I have used a lot of chakra and I don't think that I can fight at my fullest. I will try again next year."
"You are Kabuto Yakushi, failed the Chunin Exams throughout the *cough* Elemental Nations seven times." Hayate said and the crowd started to mutter. They knew Kabuto, the one who said that he was the veteran of the Chunin Exams since he failed but survived seven of them in a row. But they assumed that Kabuto meant the Exams happening in Konoha; but the 'four-eyes' Genin has been in the Exams throughout the Elemental Nations?
Kabuto has onyx eyes and ash-grey hair, which he normally keeps in a ponytail. His most consistent feature are his black rimmed circular glasses. Kabuto wears a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband. He wears also dark purple fingerless gloves with armored plates on the back of the hand and a blue forehead protector.
"If you are, then I am sorry but we have been given *cough* specific orders to allow all except *cough* you to quit at this point. Hokage's orders." Hayate answered and Kabuto had to make a silent growl. This will be a monkey wrench in his plans. "And if there aren't anyone else, then we will begin. And remember, one of you will get a free pass since there is an odd number of you Genin."
And while Hayate was going to speak more, Team Seven started the same telepathic conversations that they used during the First Part of the Exams, courtesy of their teacher. {For a veteran Genin, he was quick to quit. Like he wanted to have that streak of failures when he could have flunked the first two Parts.} Keiji started it off.
{Chakra exhaustion is such a lame excuse and any experienced Genin would have thought of something with more imagination than that.} Mito added.
{I checked those Chakra coils myself, they are not even strained. He was lying about being low on energy.} Hinata concluded. {He must have a good reason to thwart any chance for the promotion for something else.}
{But more importantly…} Keiji then said with his thoughts, {Did you all notice the seals on the back of their necks? The chakra inside reeks and is enough to rattle a man's nerves. And the Hokage-Sama has been scratching that spot for the entire time.} Keiji had hoped he was seeing things but that was not to be once he saw that his sister and Hinata both nodded, with a look of concern and uneasiness on their faces. Just what is going on in this village?
"If *cough* there isn't anyone else *cough* than we will begin. Take a look up *cough* there." Hayate tried to control his never-ending coughing fit to get the Genin's attention to a large electronic blackboard that appeared out of the ceiling. "That *cough* board has every name of the *cough* Genin that survived the Second Part of the *cough* Genin Exams. It will choose two random *cough* names for the Preliminary Match-ups *cough* and since there is an odd number of teams, there will be one *cough* with a freebee into the Finals."
And while Hayate was saying this, Team Seven turned over to Kabuto, never letting their eyes off of him for a moment. They did see a predictable scowl on that 'veteran's' face that said something like "If only you let me quit'. "Now let's see *cough* who will be in the first match, I *cough* expect each and every one of you to be ready because there isn't a ten-minute delay *cough* to get ready."
When no one responded, Hayate just got to covering his mouth and signaled off stage. For someone to turn on the board and run the names through it, making the screen a lot like a slot-machine at a casino. It then stopped at two names,
Tenten versus Kin Tsuchi
This was to be the first match-up, the audience and other Genin were about to get exciting. But this match was more anti-climactic than anything. Tenten, as well as the rest of her team, had been in the field of Shinobi work for a year longer than any other in Konoha. And Kin Tsuchi was just arrogant enough to think that her parlor trick will get her a win against a weapon mistress.
Kin used moderate skill with Senbon that are laced with strings and common poison. Not the type to be lethal but to disable her targets, making them decoronated and dizzy. That was also what the strings for; a medium to channel her chakra to bells, making a sound that does the exact same thing to whoever is listening to it. But Tenten was still a weapons mistress.
And after seeing what Kin tried to her, Tenten quickly came up with a tactic to combat her. Using her nigh infinite supply of weapons to cut the strings and since the bells, Tenten went for the poison that Kin also tried to use. Her attire was feminine but Tenten also incorporated various hidden pads and wrist-guards against poison and the such. The only thing Tenten had to do was to pull Kin towards her via her strings.
For being a weapons mistress, Tenten had to be accustomed to all form of weaponry, especially the more heavier ones. She coordinated her physical prowess with the help of her teacher so that she can use the bulkiest and heaviest of weapons with grace of an acrobat and a dancer. And she reached the point that the average weight of a human being was nothing to her.
And when Kin was pulled forward, nearly at the speed of sound, she was helpless to stop Tenten from striking her in the stomach. Or when Tenten used her own poison-laced strings to whip some venom for Kin to taste. The finishing touch was Tenten pulling Kin up by the hair and hitting her hard on the back of the head.
"Winner of the *cough* Match: Tenten!" Hayate soon appeared to check on Kin's vitals and announce the clear victor. No one was excited to see just how the arrogant and mighty had fallen to real power and skill of a Shinobi. So, there were no cheers nor any booing. Just silence and let-down civilians who thought that being a Shinobi was never going to get boring. Otogakure just lost its first Chunin candidate and a lot of respect from Konoha.
After that waste of time that was called a battle, the blackboard started up again and then showed another pair of names that set the atmosphere to heavy and serious.
Keiji Namikaze versus Sasuke Uchiha
XXXXX
This match could be the one to set the standard for any and other ones in the Preliminaries. The 'only' son of the Fourth Hokage against the heir to the Uchiha Clan. Both boys were regarded to be prodigies so they were granted only the best of teachers; the veteran Kakashi Hatake and the rising master Naruto 'Uzumaki'.
"Are both fighters ready?"
They both said yes in an excited way so Hayate raised his hand, swiping it down swiftly. "Begin!"
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fire Ball Technique)!" Sasuke shouted and sent out a large sphere of flames, right off the bat. But Hayate was able to move out of the way just in time.
"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Formation Wall)!" Keiji immediately called out that neutralized the fireball. 'Props goes to that humble guy from the Cloud.' Keiji thought before moving his hands again, "Raiton: Kangekiha (Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration)!" The water Keiji was generating soon got mixed in with a surge of electricity.
Too bad that, instead of the smell of burning flesh, the scent of a tree on fire soon filled Keiji's nose so he halted his Jutsu combo. Just as he thought, the only thing in his Suijinheki was just a log of burn wood by the lightning.
"Raiton (Lightning Release)?" Sasuke then appeared, "I only heard of it but I never thought to see a Raiton in action."
"If not then you haven't seen a lot yet." Keiji then said. "But if you now it is your turn." Sasuke then smirked, promoting Keiji to get tense in his stance.
Sasuke then got into one himself in which his legs were tense, his Sharingan was for all to see and his left arm was clutched by his opposite hand. Then the sound of thousands of birds was heard. Then lighting came around Sasuke's hand. "Chidori (Thousand Birds)!" Sasuke shouted with the look of arrogance on his face, like he likes he has the match in the bag with such a deadly technique in the palm of his hand, literally.
"Chidori? Why would a Genin know such a dangerous, double-edged move?" Naruto said from up in the stands. "I'm going to have a little talk with that perverted cyclops." The other Jonin knew of Naruto's power and his rightful wrath so they stayed out of his way.
On the other side of the stadium stands, Team Seven looked down with the same impression as their teacher; curiosity and disappointment. "So, that's the infamous Chidori that they tell us Genin about, especially in regards to Hatake." Mito queried. She had a complex connection to Kakashi; to put it blunt, she was the daughter of the master of the Jonin. And as a result, she was told everything about Kakashi during her times as a spoiled brat of an heir. The attitude might seem to be gone but their knowledge from the home tutoring will never leave their minds.
On the field, Keiji didn't look at all worried. He heard both remarks from his teacher and his twin sister, and Keiji will have to agree on both accounts. "So, you have resorted to the Chidori? It is like you think that a hammer can kill your target silently? That assassination technique just makes too much noise."
This caused the audience to gasp at the logic in Keiji's remark and most turned to Kakashi, as the bad influence. Especially with that move which was ironic in both nature of use and purpose. But Sasuke was stubborn since Naruto had last encountered the Uchiha clan,
"And what do you know about the Chidori? You can't use this powerful move, only the Uchiha!" Keiji just chuckled and then nodded to Sasuke's shock, the latter was ready to hear his target argue with him like the others.
"You're right. I can't…" Keiji started. "But that is because I prefer not to. Like I said it makes too much noise and too much light, it gives you gave so badly." Sasuke growled to hear Keiji speak so casually and critically of the Chidori. "Instead, I prefer this one."
Keiji simply tensed and tightened his right arm. In the palm of his right hand came his own high-concentrated lighting that seemed rather more powerful and dense than the Chidori. Noticing the shocked looks of the audience, especially Sasuke, Keiji just smirked. "Don't look so surprised, I hear of this technique from my darling father. Through all those lame-ass stories about his favorite student, at least one of them had some merit. And I give all the credit to my teacher, showing me how to use Raiton (Lightning Release) techniques in general."
"So, what the hell is that!?" Sasuke shouted off and Keiji chuckled but answered anyways,
"This was what happened when your cyclops of a teacher tried to figure out the real potential of the Chidori. And let's just say he accidently split a lightning bolt in half with this." Keiji said. "That is why this is called the Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)."
Sasuke used his Sharingan on this technique, almost being blinded by the sheer light and immense chakra building up in Keiji's palm. "Whatever, let's see how well you use that technique when I have the power to use mine right!" Sasuke then shouted and charged with his Chidori still burning in his hand and digging into the ground, towards Keiji. "Chidori!"
Keiji then stiffed, making Sasuke think that his opponent is now scared, but instead the Chidori was blocked perfectly. Sasuke was shocked for only a bit and by-reflex dodged Keiji's other hand from striking down on him, less he will be the same as the cracked ground below.
Sasuke then kicked Keiji's wrist, with some chakra behind that blow to get free. The Uchiha then reached in his pouch for some Kunai and Shuriken to throw at Keiji. But that barrage of weapons was expertly dodged, with Keiji moving his head at inhuman speeds. It was fast enough that a human will just rattle their brains or worse, snap something in their necks.
"Nice." Anyone could see the sarcasm in Keiji's voice. "Now it is my turn. Raikiri!" Sasuke used his Sharingan to brace for impact and while Keiji looked slower to his eyes, he was fast enough to take him by surprise. Sasuke even noticed that there was chakra on Keiji's legs as well as faint sparks on his entire body. Whatever the case, the Uchiha was glad to have dodged the attack since the field was fried to Keiji's fist instead of cracking.
But Keiji wasn't done, not with a mischievous look on his face. "You know that they say, lightning never strikes the same place twice?" Keiji said and Sasuke's senses went viral before he was sent back by a blast similar to the one that Keiji first used. "Raikiri: Raidageki Sai (Repeated Lightning Strike)!" Keiji then made the same chopping motion and another explosion of lightning hit near Sasuke.
"How are you doing this!?" Sasuke shouted, trying to use his Sharingan on Keiji but was forced to doge another lightning strike.
"I don't spill my guts to my enemies, even if they wear the same Shinobi symbol." Keiji retorted, keeping up his attacks. "That is one the many things me and my team learned from Naruto-sensei! We are Shinobi, Sasuke."
The said Uchiha soon found himself running ragged and with little to no chakra left, defeat seemed to be just on the horizon. Sasuke then felt the latest of the repeated lightning strikes actually landing some damage, on one of his legs. Now with a burnt leg and the nerve fibers within fried, the Uchiha has no way to dodge anymore of those lightning strikes.
Sasuke tried to fight the pain and the smell of burnt flesh while hearing the sounds of a pair of sandals come his way. Looking up, Sasuke glared to see Keiji looking down on him. The Namikaze heir was pretty much unscratched and barely sweating. And with lightning surging through Keiji's arm, Sasuke could only think of what his opponent will do to him unless the Uchiha swallows his pride and,
"I concede!" Sasuke shouted out, feeling both the physical and the emotional pain. Uchihas were not supposed to surrender. They must either win or die trying, according to what the clan ideals spoke off. "I mean it! I can barely get up to fight and you Namikaze can take on an army. I barely gave you a challenge!"
"I don't know about an army but I will have to agree with that last part." Keiji then answered. "Naruto-sensei not only trains us in the basics but gives us spars based on different styles from his own years of experience. When he decided to fight all of us as a full trained Uchiha, he used more than Ninjutsu and Kunai; there was also Genjutsu and traps he used."
Sasuke gasped. "I am sorry if you feel humiliated but perhaps it has been long past the time to learn how to fight like an Uchiha from an actual one. Instead, you listened to a lazy, old man with a stolen Sharingan." Keiji added, being a little extra harsh on Kakashi. "Our sensei respects your clan Sasuke, despite what you might think of him. I suggest that you get cleaned up, in both your dress and your act. Your mother can help you if your father won't."
Sasuke nodded to Keiji's words and when he saw the latter giving his hand, the Uchiha accepted it. That was when Medical Shinobi with a stretcher finally showed up to help Sasuke with his dead leg. After Hayate showed up to check the vitals, he allowed Sasuke to be taken away on the stretcher. "Winner of the match: Keiji Namikaze!" Cheers were finally heard in respect to the power and maturity of the Namikaze Heir; the civilians liked this Keiji better than the one that joined the academy more than anything. Naruto deserves a ribbon or something for all his hard work finally paying off.
Keiji knew that he and, by associations, Naruto will be getting an earful from the
Hokage and his wife. Kakashi will just be there to ask why Keiji had copied one of his moves and invented a derived Jutsu from it. People still complain about rights with pretty much anything.
Regards, Keiji went up to where his team saved him his spot and they all got back to waiting on the next match. This last one actually had the minimal amount of blood and had more of action to appease the audience, villagers and civilians of Konoha. Now they will be waiting for the next match-up which was this one,
Rock Lee of Konoha versus Gaara of Suna
XXXXX
It was like a horror scene from a thriller movie. Rock Lee shouted of his 'Youth' and physical might to be enough to win this match. Too bad that the audience could only agree with the latter. Unfortunately, Gaara was a real master of brutally and lack of mercy with his supernatural control over his sands. Pretty soon, Rock Lee had got his arm and legs caught in the sands, crushed and nearly consumed.
This left the sight of blood mixed in with the sands, burned into the minds of all who witnessed this match. Whatever appetite that anyone had was spoiled and many more had to leave so no one will have to see what came out of their mouths. Now, they could only think of what could happen if any of the other Genin goes against this 'monster of the desert'.
But to a certain team, they had more things to think of rather than fear and disgust. It was not just this match-up but how things are going ever since the Preliminaries started. It may have been rather soon yet Team Seven trust their instincts, they feel the uncertainty through every nerve fiber in their bodies.
"Something's wrong." Keiji spoke up while in private with his team. "Why is that everything the blackboard shifts, it seems to be only names from Konoha? Only the second slot has all the remaining Genin names." Keiji had trained further into the Ninjutsu surrounding lighting; his reflexes and eyesight was almost as swift as lighting. He already perfected this skill to the point fast moving objects look like they were slowing down to his eyes.
Mito and Hinata looked at each. This might sound crazy but they trust Keiji as much as they trust their teacher and each other. If Keiji noticed something off, it is often worth looking into. "Is the Hokage trying to make our village look better by rigging the blackboard?" Hinata brought up and the twins thought hard on it. They knew that the Hokage was extra callous that this year's exams are in their home village but to do something like this; such a thought will be underhanded, even for a Shinobi.
"That may sound wild and farfetched but it is possible." Mito took her turn at it. "Everything about our village is supposed to have happened by the word of the Hokage. That man will definitely have the power to order such a thing. All of a sudden, this tournament doesn't seem to be more fair."
"But what can we do about it?" Hinata asked. "Whatever or not this is true or not, we can complain all we want. It will not change the fact that every match-up will include at least a name from our village."
"It does sound dangerous. We, three Genin, not even trusting the integrity of our own village." Keiji spoke up again. "Naruto-sensei has told us of stories about Shinobi that come to distrust his village because of clash of ideals and virtues. They never turn up right, just officials in the darkness keeping their secret no matter how."
Team Seven grew silent as they thought hard on it. Then a fourth voice joined them, "That is true guys. Every single one of those foolish enough to challenge the unknown lacked one thing." Turning around, they saw their teacher smiling while being grim serious. Apparently, he finished talking with Kakashi about teaching the Chidori to Sasuke; any complaints he has with Team Seven over Keiji's derived technique from one of his own.
"They lacked the patience to wait until they can find the right evidence to support their distrust, the power to survive their own trying to kill them and to fully understand the picture."
"And since we are the children of the Hokage, they are expecting one of us to succeed the Yellow Flash." Mito spoke up. The messenger was starting to be clear. "We should wait. Not just for days or weeks, months perhaps. Maybe even years so that we can figure out what is really Konoha."
Team Seven took every word to heart and nodded. Who knows, maybe this will the start of something much bigger in the future to come? But right now, the Preliminary Matches are far from over.
And just when the room couldn't be filled with nervousness, fear and bloodthirst, the blackboard broke the silence with its mechanical humming. And it stopped at the last two names to be placed together,
Hinata Hyuga versus Neji Hyuga
End of Chapter 15.
*What do you think? *