You guys are great!
This chapter has quite a bit more fight scenes in it then my chapters normally do, so there isn't a lot of character interaction this chapter. I tried my best to make each fight interesting and unique, but if you guys could let me know if I succeeded or not.
AU changes: The Shinobi Charter is essentially a set of laws agreed upon by the ninja clans who founded the village. They are different then laws, since the Charter has been there since the beginning. Since, as far as I know, Cannon doesn't have anything like that, I'm marking this as an AU change.
Answers to the Direct Questions are at the bottom.
And without any more delay, here's the next chapter. Chapter 21: Goals
The morning of the final part of the Chunin exam dawned bright and early, bringing with it the thrilling current of excitement. For those participating, it was the day they would give it their all in hopes to become Chunin. They had trained for this moment, and each felt confident that they would go far, perhaps even until the final match.
For the others, it was the eagerness to see the daring events in the arena. Konoha's advertising council had done well to drum up excitement during these last few weeks, and that excitement was growing to a fevered pitch. Posters and advertisements showed the pictures of the prospective ninja in vivid color, each one seemingly the best pick. Bets were made, Ryo piling up as each attendee laid money down on who they thought would win. Predictions and theories were feely exchanged, many feeling that their chosen ninja would win the day. Food stands had been set-up well before dawn and the smell of freshly cooked food wafted over the village. The line began to form, many people wishing to see the fights between the young ninja as close as they were allowed.
Sakura's eyes popped open, feeling the same mix of anticipation and excitement in the pit of her stomach as when she had attempted to sleep hours ago. She had, in spite of herself, felt far too excited to fall asleep. She had lain in bed for seemingly forever, only to be surprised that she managed to fall asleep at all. She carelessly brushed her uncut longer bangs out of her eyes as she made her way into the bathroom to freshen up for the day. As the pink-haired kunoichi finished taking off her unmentionables, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
She attempted to smile prettily at her reflection as Ino had always told her girls should smile when attempting to attract a boy's attention. It looked more like a painful grimace then a beckoning invitation. Sakura glanced down at her body. While she was proud of her toned muscles and healthy skin, she couldn't help but mentally compare herself to Hinata and Haku. Haku's quiet beauty was something she almost envied, and the ice-user's gentle curves had caught the attention of many males. Sakura knew beneath Haku's doe-like demeanor lurked a lioness, ready to defend what she cared about.
Hinata on the other hand...Sakura glanced at her rather flat chest. Where the pink-haired girl had a toned athletic figure, the blue-haired Hyuga had curves. Even Hinata's shorter stature lent her a more cute image. Not to mention the well-practiced grace that Hinata unconsciously excluded. Sakura, realizing her thoughts, snorted out loud. "Just because I don't have big boobs doesn't mean I don't have the goods!" Sakura froze at her thoughts. "Shit. Anko-Sensei rubbed off on me more than I thought." The pink-haired Kunoichi turned away from the mirror and reached over to turn on the shower, feeling goose bumps pebble her skin from the cool air the cold water emitted for a few moments. Stepping under the now warm water, she couldn't help but wonder what sort of girl Naruto-Kun was physically attracted to.
Her flushed with heat that had nothing to do with the warmness of the water. She knew, intellectually wise, what was happening to her over the last few weeks. She was starting to transition from a girl to a young woman. But logic failed to quail the worry that with her changing body and emotions, things would change. Above all else, she wanted to make sure Naruto-Kun was always her friend, and things never grew awkward between them. Still, she didn't want to merely be friends with Naruto forever. And once he became head of the Uzumaki clan, he would need someone to carry on the Uzumaki heritage...Sakura flushed again, suddenly aware of the warm water beating gently at wet skin.
"Naruto-Kun's heritage..." The pinkette mused, a rather happy smile creasing her lips. But the smile faded as she was reminded of Naruto's inheritance, or the lack of it. The anger from two nights ago began to pool her stomach yet again. She, Hinata-Chan, and Haku-Chan had found the last financial record of the Uzumaki clan. And it wasn't good. Sakura fumed as she remembered what they had found...
"What?!" Haku's loud uncharacteristic shout startled Sakura from her semi-dazed she had been lulled into by the numbers on the page. Glancing sharply as the ice user, she felt the temperature begin to fall as Haku's anger grew. "H-How dare they?"
Fearing a frozen eruption, Hinata moved quickly, gently tugging the offending paper from Haku's hands. Hinata's half muffled gasp prompted Sakura to quickly stand up from her seat, the sound of the wooden chair scraping the floor echoing across the room. The pink-haired kunoichi scanned the page, only to stop at the final record, the one causing the air to be cold enough to make her want to shiver.
'...as of the death of the last Uzumaki, Kushina Uzumaki, we, the council of Konoha, are hereby invoking Shinobi Charter Number 116, Section 12b and Section 12d. All of the clan holdings of the Uzumaki Clan, including land, wealth, and techniques, shall be absorbed by Konoha.
The death of Kushina Uzumaki was confirmed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, on October Tenth, at Eight-thirty Seven P.M. Standard Time.
The paper went on to list a dozen members who had voted, and yet still a dozen who had abstained. Still another portion wasn't even present, choosing to not even attend the meeting. Sakura was quick to realize that many of the ninja clans had either abstained or were not present. Feeling the icy cold begin to wrap it's fingers around her spine, Sakura handed back the paper to Hinata.
It was times like these that she hated the fact that she hadn't gotten lessons in politics. If it were up to her, Sakura would just track down every name on that list and force them to give Naruto-Kun his money back. But given how it seemed legal, there wasn't much she could do.
In the end Sakura and Hinata had barely managed to keep Haku from attempting to assassinate the Hokage for his part in - as Haku had put it - knowingly allowing the village to steal Naruto-Sama's inheritance. In the end they had managed a compromise, that Haku was allowed to freeze anyone who attempted to steal anything else. When the temperature had risen to normal temperatures, Sakura had asked Hinata what their plan of attack should be, given that this fight was more in Hinata's arena then Sakura's or Haku's.
Hinata had merely smiled a rather cold smile and informed the two that she was starting to get an idea and would let them know as soon as she finalized it.
Yugao shifted in the uncomfortable hospital chair next to Hayate's bed. They had finally tracked down their target just over a week ago. They had engaged the target, keeping the missing nin on the defensive from the start. Or so they thought. Hayate had gone for the killing blow when it all went terribly wrong. The missing nin had exploded into poisoned water, revealing that they had been fighting a water clone the entire time. Yugao had avoided the deadly water, but Hayate didn't have time to react since he was right next to the clone.
Hayate had hit the ground gasping as his respiratory system began to shut down. A frantic Yugao completely ignored standard ninja protocol and began attempting to clear Hayate of the poison; rather than following standard ninja protocol and pursuing the target. Yugao was successful in her personal mission to save Hayate at the cost of the failed mission.
Yugao found that she was perfectly fine with that.
But the damage had already been done. Hayate's lungs had been badly damaged and he would be plagued by bouts of coughing to the day he died. To the purple-haired swordswoman, it was a small price to pay for having her love still alive. Hayate was scheduled to be released today, just in time for the Chunin matches. The brown haired swordsman had made it clear that he would watch Naruto's match, come hell or high water. He wasn't going to let something as small as half of his lungs not working deter him.
Naruto grinned as he sped along the path towards Konoha. Excitement built within him. This was going to be great! He was going to spar with other people, but more importantly, he was going to see Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, and Haku-Chan again. He couldn't wait to see their faces when he gave them their flowers. One long stride reminded him of the tight cotton shirt Jiraiya had given him. It was comfortable, but it seemed rather thin. Naruto shrugged. When he had asked the white-haired ninja about it, the Jiraiya had just grinned a slightly disturbing smile and had said, 'Think of it as an extra surprise attack.' Not really understanding, Naruto had just accepted the explanation for what it was.
And speaking of Jiraiya, Naruto wasn't honestly sure how he felt about the white-haired ninja anymore. While he still didn't regard him as his godfather, Naruto couldn't deny that he felt closer to the white-haired ninja then he had two weeks ago. Naruto shrugged again. He could figure that out later. For now, he had a destination to reach. Naruto shoved even more chakra into his legs, becoming a blur to the untrained eye.
Izumo Kamizuki felt slightly tired. A quick glance informed him that his partner, Kotetsu Hagane, felt the same. The two Chunin were posted as Northern Gate guards, and had spent the last two days checking people into the village all day long, staggering home to crash for a few hours, and then heading back to the guard shack to do it all over again. It had been the most tiring yet exciting thing to happen to the pair all year. The brown-haired Chunin glanced up from his paperwork and noticed that there was a lone man walking towards his booth. Judging by both his build and how he carried himself, Izumo guessed that the man was a highly trained mercenary, possibly a ex-ninja.
However, given that no headband was present anywhere on the mercenary, it was unlikely that he was a missing ninja. The only thing that stood out was a red strip of cloth tied around his head. Well that and all of the scars. "Hello!" Izumo began his memorized greeting, "Welcome to Konoha. May I have your name and reason for entering Konoha?"
The mercenary grinned. "Name's Anaguma Kuma. I'm here to watch the kids beat the shit out of each other in the arena." The scarred man paused considering. "And also to buy some buttermilk bread if you got any."
Normally Izumo would have made a teasing remark on the mercenary's choice of food, but given the slightly...off aura that he was emitting, the brown-haired ninja wisely decided to keep it professional. "Very good." Izumo marked down Anaguma's name and reason for arrival on the Arrival Form. He slid the form across the smooth wooden countertop to the scarred man. "Please verify that the information at the top of the page is correct. Once you have done so," Izumo indicated the line at the bottom of the first page, "Please sign and date here. On the second and third page, please read the rules that you must follow while staying in Konoha. Breaking any of these rules may lead to prosecution by law."
Anaguma grunted his acknowledgement and signed the first page. Quickly perusing the next two pages he signed and dated the final page, signifying that he would follow the rules listed on pages two and three. He slid the signed paper packet back to the gate guard. "So where can I find the buttermilk bread stand?"
"Try down in the section near the market area." Kotetsu offered, saving Izumo from trying to figure out how to answer the scarred mercenary without angering him. Anaguma grinned another one of his slightly unsettling grins and moved off.
Izumo and Kotetsu traded looks. Looks like today was going to be one of those days; the days that the weird ones came out of the woodwork. Spotting a group of civilians approaching, Izumo smiled at them. "Hello! Welcome to Konoha. May I have your name and reason for entering Konoha?"
Naruto rushed towards the arena, not wanting to miss a single second of the final phase of the Chunin exams. It wouldn't do, after all, to have them disqualify him on some technicality. He had to, and therefore would, make Chunin. He had to become Chunin to take headship of the Uzumaki clan so he could better protect his precious people. Not only that, but given that Hinata-Chan and Sakura-Chan would most definitely make Chunin, he couldn't afford not to be at their side. The thought of failing the exam never even crossed his mind as he entered the door marked "Chunin Exam Applicants."
The door opened to reveal several groups of ninja gathered around. Chunin and Jonin moved about, no doubt carrying out some important task. Those who were not busy grouped up, each group of friends speaking in low tones. As for the prospective Chunin themselves, the ones that were already present stood in a loose group; realizing that while safety was easier in groups, it still was not wise to stand too close to the person you could be fighting soon.
Naruto saw the segregation, understood its purpose, and discarded it. He would not be bound by worry or caution. Spotting Shino standing in the back of the group, the blonde ninja of Team Eight trotted towards his friend.
Shino glanced towards his friend Naruto-San as he entered the room. The area that all of the Genin were standing in wasn't exactly hostile, but it was most certainly not friendly. Being the only Genin from Konoha present, he had gravitated towards the back, putting the strong walls of the room at his back. However, once Naruto had entered the room it felt like an invisible weight had lifted from his shoulders. He wasn't alone anymore.
"Shino!" Naruto greeted his stoic friend, happy to see him.
"Naruto-San." Shino returned the greeting with a nod. Upon closer inspection he realized there was something different about Naruto, almost as if he carried himself different. There was a natural confidence that had not been there before. And it enhanced what Shino privately liked to call "The Naruto Effect." The Naruto Effect was, simply put, the way his blonde friend would affect everything around him by simply existing.
People reacted in all kinds of ways to the blonde and most of the reactions were amusing to say the least. Judging by the looks Naruto was getting from a few of the younger female Chunin, the bug user knew that he was in for quite an amusing time when Sakura-San and Hinata-San showed up. A few minutes later Shino wasn't disappointed. The door was flung open and Sakura-San marched in, followed closely by Hinata-San.
"Sakura-Chan! Hinata-San!" Naruto trotted over to his best friends, "How are you doing?" Both Sakura and Hinata flushed slightly, barely managing to keep the heat from spreading at the sight of the tight shirt their not-so-secret crush was wearing. The pinkette stiffened in surprise when Naruto wrapped her in a hug, warmth flowing into her. A second later she relaxed, leaning into the hug as she returned it. "She had missed this."
Hinata tried her best to wait patiently, knowing that soon she would get her turn with Naruto. However, it was hard to see another woman, even one who was your best friend, being hugged rather deeply by the boy you cared about. Not to mention the fact that Naruto's hug seemed freer, as if he was a little less burdened by his past. And so the Hyuga kunoichi waited for her turn doing an admirable job of not making her fidgeting noticeable.
Soon Naruto and Sakura broke the hug and Naruto bent slightly to pull Hinata into an warm, protective hug. The blue haired girl couldn't help the rather un-Hyuga-like smile that appeared on her face as she hugged Naruto tighter, half out of genuine desire to be close to him, and half of out the desire to one-up Sakura. After all, her father, Hiashi, had given her his blessing if she chose to pursue Naruto...
But that was for another time. Hinata reluctantly released her hold on Naruto, stepping back from the hug. A calm mask formed on her face. A quick glance at her teammates showed they had also fixed their masks of calmness in place. As one, Team Eight of Konoha turned to face the door. They were ready.
Two hours later the Genin all heard the music begin to play outside. The general din grew louder. The Jonin in charge of the Chunin hopefuls didn't budge from his position. He counted down the seconds as the clock struck noon. "All right!" The Jonin swung around to face the assembled Genin, "I will be leading to the area in which you will be waiting for the fight." His eyes turned hard and uncompromising. "Any attacks on other potential Chunin while not in the arena are strictly forbidden. If you do attack someone else while not in the arena, you are instantly disqualified." The Jonin stood up straight and continued. "You may kill your opponent if you wish, but keep in mind that bloodthirsty behavior doesn't reflect well on your village. You must either force a surrender, kill, or incapacitate your opponent to win the match." The Genin's shifted slightly, now aware that in just a short while they would be fighting one of the most dangerous fights of their lives.
The door swung open, bright sunlight greeting the prospective Chunin. The loud roar of the talking crowd was almost deafening, yet the fervor of the crowd had a strange energy to it, causing all of the Genins' pulses to increase. The young ninjas began to flex and stretch as much as they could without moving from their spot on the balcony, seeking to lessen the tension they had unconsciously placed on themselves.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, strode out onto a jutting out balcony. He raised his hand for silence. The arena quieted, knowing that the main event was about to begin. "Welcome to the final phase of the two-hundred and third Chunin Exams!" Hiruzen's chakra-enhanced voice boomed, his voice echoing across the large arena, "I am proud to stand before you all today, knowing that these young ninja have fought to be the best; have become the best so they could be here today." The Hokage gestured towards the section that held the young ninja, a proud smile creasing his lips as he thought of one blonde ninja in particular, "Please give them a round of applause!"
The noise was instantly deafening, all of those present rising to clap and cheer for those who had made it this far. Amidst the cheers, Hiruzen moved back to the Kage Box, motioning for the referee to step forward.
Minoru Akimichi strode onto the arena floor, raising his hand for quiet. The clapping and shouts petered out, a few scatted claps echoing before they went silent. "The first match of the day will be..." Minoru paused, letting the tension build, "...Shino Aburame of the Aburame Clan and Karui of Kumo. Would they come down to the arena?"
Karui moved swiftly to the arena grounds, her hand brushing the handle of the long katana strapped to her back as she moved down the steps. Shino walked towards the edge of the third story ledge. "What would Naruto do?" A small smirk flashed unseen across his lips. He stepped off the ledge. The drone of countless wings sounded out, emanating from within the bug user. Shino seemed to simply float to the ground, continuing to walk forward as he touched the ground, paying no mind to the fact that he had just fallen over three stories.
The Red-haired Genin from Kumo couldn't help but be slightly intimidated. She was used to loud outbursts and flashy displays of power. What she wasn't used to was a calm, confident opponent who had just walked off the edge and fallen three stories only to continue walking forward as if it was an everyday occurrence. Karui dropped into a ready stance, ready to unsheathe her sword in an instant. She began to breathe deeply, recalling her lessons with Killer B. She wouldn't let the opponent intimidate her.
Shino walked to the point that he was supposed to stand opposite his opponent. One of his scent bugs noted she smelled with nervous sweat. Shino felt an unseen smirk touch his lips. While Naruto probably didn't realize just how intimidating he could be sometimes, Shino knew exactly what he was doing. His father had, as part of last month's training, showed Shino the subtle art of intimidating your opponent. While Shino had no intentions of showing all of his abilities just yet, he had still succeeded in knocking his opponent off balence. Karui would be more cautious, and thus more prone to bringing out her more powerful jutsus early, rather than late. While Shino was confident that he could win the fight, he couldn't afford to simply waste chakra this early in the fight, especially if he wanted to face Naruto-San in the finals.
Minoru glanced at both of the Genin as they readied themselves. "Karui of Kumo, are you ready?"
Karui focused on flickering her lightning natured chakra back between her chakra coils and her wrist, ready to fire a technique as soon as the match started., "I'm ready! Start the match already!"
Minoru ignored Karui's impatient tone. "Shino Aburame of the Aburame Clan, are you ready?"
Shino nodded, never taking his eyes off his opponent. "Yes."
"Hajime!"
Like lightning Kurui's hand flashed upward and back over her right shoulder, drawing her sword as she took an aggressive step forward towards her opponent. The second her sword cleared it's back holster she let the pent-up lightning chakra burst from her wrist to her sword. Slamming her front foot down Karui snapped her long blade forward in a jab. The moment her arm stopped moving a bolt of electricity cracked off the tip of the sword, racing for Shino!
Shino twisted out of the way, remembering Kakashi-Sensei's lesson on maintaining your balance at all times. He swept his foot outwards as he dodged, keeping his weight evenly distributed. His hand flashed equally as fast as Karui's had, drawing a kunai and throwing it in one smooth motion.
The Kumo Kunoichi's sword snapped to the side, knocking the lone kunai aside. Five more flashed in rapid succession, each blocked without difficultly. "Is that all you got?" Karui taunted, feeling her confidence coming back. If this is all the Konoha ninja had, well she already had this in the bag. With renewed speed Karui swept forward, bringing her sword back for a sweeping strike. Eyes widening, Shino leapt back, attempting to dodge the strike. But he underestimated the reach of the elongated katana, and the tip of the blade sliced into him with little effort. Shino's hand flew to the injury assessing it. It wasn't too serious, but the length of the cut would debilitate him to some degree. Outwardly, however, Shino didn't even seem to care about his injury beyond a courtesy glance.
Karui, however, rode on the feeling of success at hitting her opponent. Several more swipes were barely dodged by the Aburame as he frantically brainstormed for an idea. Watching her sword flash unnervingly close to his face, Shino had an idea.
Three more strikes with the sword put Karui at the perfect spot for his plan. Shino snapped his hand forward, unleashing several varieties of bugs at the Komo ninja at almost point-blank range. Karui jerked back, frantically attempting to dodge or brush off the undoubtedly dangerous insects. Feeling a sharp pinch of pain, she glanced at her right hand and was shocked to see a large beetle with rather alarmingly sized pincers biting into her hand. Already it had broken the skin and warm blood was beginning to trickle down her hand.
Cursing in alarm and pain, Karui sped through the only one-handed seal Jutsu she knew. It was a close range lightning attack, more designed to distract the deal permanent damage. However, it was perfect for what she needed. The red-haired Kunoichi steeled herself for the pain that was about to happen. She fired the jutsu. A flash of tingling seared the back of her hand. The slightest stench flash-cooked insect wafted through the air. Karui spared a glance at her hand, now slightly burned and ever-so-slightly trembling.
Shino saw her attention go to her hand and off of him. Shoving his chakra to his legs, Shino moved. Karui glanced back just in time to see Shino already in front of her, his hand flashing towards her. To her and her teacher's credit, she managed to almost dodge the strike, despite the nearly non-existent warning she had. But almost wasn't enough.
Shino's open palm slammed into the left side of her toned torso. It didn't have alot of power behind it, only knocking Karui back a few feet. The red-haired ninja was surprised, having expected the attack to do more damage. "Ha!" She couldn't help but crow, "Is that your best shot?" She chuckled, finally understanding that the bug-user was all bark and no bite. "If that's all you got, I've already won!" Her golden eyes narrowed. "You should just surrender now."
Shino simply held up the hand that he had struck her with. A moment later a dozen bugs swarmed all over his hand. Glancing down at her torso, Karui froze. There was some large bug with a very alarming stinger poised to attack. "You should surrender." Shino calmly advised.
Karui was torn. On the one hand she could blast it off like she had the one on her hand. On the other, what if it hit her with the poison before she could hit it? The words of Killer B entered her mind.
"Yo Little Lady, I know you're good with the blady, but risks aren't to be taken briskly. Death isn't breath."
Karui huffed angrily. "Damn it!" She slowly raised her hands. "Proctor, I surrender."
Minoru nodded, glad that the Kumo girl hadn't tested the Aburame's insect. He had seen what those things could do to enemy ninja. "Karui of Kumo has surrendered. Shino Aburame of the Aburame Clan is the winner of the match!"
The crowed clapped, having enjoyed their match. While it was perhaps not the most flashy, it had its moments. It was a good first act as far as they were concerned.
As soon as the winner was announced, the bug took off, flying back to it's master. "What would the poison have done had it stung me?" Kurai asked as she watched the strange flying bug slowly buzz it's way back to Shino.
Shino raised his pointer finger to allow the large bug to land on it. "It would have paralyzed you, starting with your muscles." Kurai watched the dangerous bug fold it's wings and crawl inside his long sleeve. "Once it had finished with your muscles, it would have moved on to your brain." He glanced in her direction. "It would have killed you." He started to walk away. "I'm glad you chose to surrender." Shino added as an afterthought.
Kurai stared at the retreating back of her former opponent. He had bested her, clear and simple. And it wasn't one of those tricky genjutsu tricks to. He had simply fought better than her. Still...she shivered as she remembered that highly dangerous bug crawling back in Shino's sleeve like it was an everyday accordance. Only then did she remember what Killer B had told her about fighting an Aburame. You could never think you were just fighting one opponent. You were fighting dozens, if not hundreds of opponents all at once. She scowled to herself in annoyance. "At least Omoi lost before me."
"Shino!" Naruto greeted, "That was awesome!" The blonde's shining blue eyes danced with excitement. "You used your bugs to both distract and attack."
Beside him, Kiba grinned at his teammate. "And then you kicked her ass like a badass!" The Inuzuka nodded to his stoic teammate. "Good job man."
Shino nodded in thanks for their praise as he carefully unsealed a few bandages and began the process of bandaging himself, his insects speeding up the immensely.
Minoru walked back to the center of the area. The crowd slowly quieted in expectation. "The next fight is between Sakura Haruno and Zaku of Sound. Would they please come down to the arena?" The crowd murmured in excitement. It was one of the members of Team Eight that was going to fight! It was well known that the members of Konoha's Team Eight dominated in the preliminaries. The people would get a good fight.
Sakura flexed the well-worn leather gloves as she walked calmly down the stairs, preparing herself for the fight ahead. Leather creaked as she clenched and unclenched her fists once; twice. Already she could see her opponent waiting for her. But he was not her opponent, not really. He was an obstacle, something in her path to her goal. Sakura's goal was simple, a one-on-one fight with Hinata. While the blue-haired girl was her dear friend, they both knew that only the strongest of them could stand beside Naruto; stand and fight those who would harm him.
And while they could stay friends with Naruto, there could only be one wife. That was at stake. And Sakura would not loose. For she had to fight Hinata, for one of them to finally prove who was stronger; who would stand beside Naruto; who would know him in that way; she had to defeat the Sound Ninja in front of her.
Zaku swallowed, watching the pink-haired girl walk to the place opposite him. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his neck as Orochimaru-Sama's words flashing in his mind.
"And if you manage to seriously harm or kill either Sakura Haruno," Terrible, choking chakra and killing intent swallowed the room, threatening to break the sound ninja in front of the Snake Sannin, "I will personally see your punishment...and eventual death." The Snake's yellow eyes glinted with the promise of unending agony. "You will not threaten my plans."
Zaku swallowed again. Despite everything, he still had his pride. He knew he was going to lose, had to loose, but he wouldn't make it easy for her. Zaku's eyes hardened. He would do what it took to make Orochimaru-Sama's plan work, even if it killed him! As the Akimichi proctor approached, Zaku fiddled with his sound gauntlets, turning them down to half power. This way he could still put up a decent fight without running the risk of incurring Orochimaru-Sama's wrath...
Minoru, unaware of the thoughts of the two Genin in front of him, spoke. "Zaku of Sound, are you ready?"
Zaku glanced down, verifying that his gauntlets wouldn't return to their full-power accidentally. "I am ready." "Ready to follow Orochimaru-Sama's will." He added as an afterthought.
Minoru turned to Sakura. "Sakura Haruno, are you ready?"
Sakura flexed her hands, focusing. "Yes," She thought of Hinata and their future battle, "I'm ready."
"Hajime!"
Minoru leapt back as two senbon whistled through the air, their smooth surfaces covered in a clear liquid. Zaku snapped his gauntlets forward, shoving his chakra in them. A sound blast shot out of each gauntlet, easily knocking the senbon aside. Sakura's sharp green eyes searched for an opening and found one. She slipped to the side of the sound blast and wove her hands through a genjutsu.
Zaku dived out of the way of the water blade and returned fire with his gauntlets. "You taught her well." Kakashi congratulated Anko as he stood beside her in the Jonin Teacher Area watching the fight below. He recognized the flowing, twisting dodge from his sparring matches with Anko.
Anko managed to hide her blush as she shrugged, embarrassed by his praise. "Eh, it was all about teaching her the basics and then guiding her from there." A snigger escaped her lips as she remembered how she trained Saku-Chan in reflexive attacking. At Kakashi's slightly raised eyebrow, she elaborated. "You'll never guess what she needed to trigger her attack reflexes." Kakashi turned to fully face her, now openly curious. "The Kunoichi and the Sword. Chapter Twelve."
"Ah." Kakashi nodded, remembering that particular scene in the Icha Icha novel. The main female character learned a new attack move by focusing her energy on her sexual frustration. The main character was a cool, level headed ninja who always wore a mask covering his lower face. Kakashi didn't miss the sub-text. Sometimes he wished he was good enough for Anko. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so broken.
Turning his attention to the fight, he winced as he saw Sakura grab Zaku's head and bring it down to meet her rising knee. A uppercut slammed the sound ninja back several feet. "That wasn't from you was it?" Kakashi asked rhetorically, having seen the move made by Naruto several times before.
"Nope." Anko's bottom lip popping out cutely as she emphasized the 'p'. "I'm guessing she's holding her chakra for the fight between her and Hina-Chan over Naruto." Anko grinned. "Saku-Chan's gunna kick her ass."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Kakashi cautioned, his face impassive as he explained his reasoning. "Hinata-San was trained by her father over the last month. It won't be an easy fight. But more importantly," The grey-haired ninja cast a glance over at the Genin balcony where he knew Naruto waited, "What would Naruto think of them fighting over him?"
Anko frowned before being distracted by the fight below. Apparently the Sound kid had gotten tired of being beaten around. Anko would have admired his tenacity had he not been from Sound. But since he was...She was quite amused when he started shouting incoherently and fired his sound gauntlet in a massive thrum...in the completely wrong direction.
Zaku's head snapped to the side as Sakura's hay-maker broke his jaw in a single punch. Stumbling back, he fired the gauntlet that wasn't covering his shattered jaw wildly. Sakura easily wove around the blasts and moved in for the proverbial kill. A senbon flashed. Zaku crumpled to the ground, his entire body numb.
Minoru waited, seeing if the Sound Genin would throw off the poison. He did not. "Zaku of Sound has been incapacitated. The winner of this match is Sakura Haruno!" The crowd cheered, having not been disappointed by the fight. Sakura Haruno of Team Eight had dominated the entire fight.
Anko glanced over to the Genin section to see Naruto give an enthusiastic hug to a lightly flushing Sakura. "Hmmm..." She wondered to Kakashi, "Perhaps we have been going about this the wrong way..." A few moments of thought past before a 'brilliant' idea struck her. "What if..." She shifted closer to Kakashi - only to tell him her great plan of course, it wasn't like she wanted to stand close to him or anything - and stretched upwards slightly to whisper in his ear.
A moment later Kakashi spoke, his words quiet, but not quite a whisper. "The Lone Warrior and the Kunoichis?"
"The Lone Warrior and the Kunoichis." Anko confirmed. Kakashi's face was impassive as he brought his fist up to meet Anko's in a fist bump.
Minoru paced back to the center of the arena and called for quiet. The crowd hushed, eager for the next match. "The next match with between Temari Sabaku of Sand and Naruto Uzumaki. Would they please come down to the arena?"
The crowd began to murmur as they debated the match-up. For those from outside Konoha, it was another example to see a member of Team Eight in action. Naruto's preliminary match was widely known, and how easily he had taken down a much older Genin. For many of those from Konoha, they hoped that the demon would fall, and perhaps even die in the match. For a few from Konoha, they looked forward to seeing how far Naruto-Kun had progressed since they last saw him. And for one white-haired ninja, he had on a rather anticipatory grin and a slightly perverted gleam in his eye.
Temari swallowed as she looked across the small - so very small, a skilled ninja could cross the distance in an instant - area between her and Naruto Uzumaki. While the blonde Uzumaki looked like he wasn't particularly bloodthirsty, he had easily gotten along with Gaara. And while Temari loved her brother, she couldn't help but be weary of the Naruto, who had stomped his competition into the ground in the preliminaries. Still, she wasn't truly afraid. She had trained this entire month when she wasn't spending time with her brother, Gaara. She had perfected several of her attacks and grown more skilled in the wind cyclone technique.
"Temari Sabaku, are you ready?" Minoru questioned.
The blonde-haired girl nodded, her four pig tails bouncing slightly. "I am ready." She slid into her combat stance, ready to deploy her fan in an instant.
"Naruto Uzumaki, are you ready?"
Naruto grinned as he bounced on his toes before dropping into a basic close combat stance. "Ready!"
"Hajime!"
Temari's hand blurred towards the fan on her back, seeking to make the first strike. But Naruto's hand flashed down to his kunai holster and snapped two kunai in her direction. Temari's toned arms flexed as she pulled her fan out of it's holster in time to block the two kunai. The sharp clang of the kunai hitting the metal outer casing of the fan echoed in the arena. Both fighters paused, assessing one another. A moment later Temari blinked.
Naruto darted forward, his right hand drawing back. The Sand kunoichi leapt backwards, a practiced flick of her arm opening the large war fan. Snapping her arm and fan forward towards Naruto in a twisting motion, a chakra enhanced wind blade blasted out. Naruto spun to the side and maintained his charge. Two more wind blades were dodged. Summoning her chakra, Temari slashed the war fan in a horizontal arc, a large curving blade of wickedly sharp wind rocketing towards Naruto!
The Last Uzumaki never attempted to dodge. His palms glowed white as he summoned enough wind chakra to disturb the dust surrounding him. Shoving his hands in front of him, Naruto angled his hands and tore through the wind technique. Capitalizing on Temari's shock, he blurred in her direction.
Had Temari not trained herself in the ground to become strong enough to protect her little brother - regardless if he needed protection or not - Temari would have never seen the blow coming. She desperately twisted to the side, taking the palm that was meant for her chest on her left shoulder instead. The force of the glancing blow was enough to send her bouncing across the ground, her fan clattering into the dirt several feet from her. Temari winced as she stood to her feet, feeling the large bruise already forming. Her eyes widened in shock and then anger as she watch her opponent walk slowly towards her fan, the last thing she had from her mother. The Uzumaki's intent was clear: He was going to break her fan.
Temari wordlessly snarled, he would not touch her mother's fan. Summoning enough chakra to make breathing slightly difficult, the blonde kunoichi shaped the wind chakra into a concentrated bullet. Naruto was only a mere five feet away from the fan when Temari unleashed the blast, sending it hurtling towards the surprised blonde. The chakra points on her hand ached slightly from the rapid concentration of chakra, but it was a small price to pay for keeping her fan safe.
Naruto's eyes widened as the wind bullet rocketed towards him. He leapt back and to the side, turning the dodge into a distance clearing hand spring. A grin etched on his face as he watched the wind bullet smash into the side of the arena, causing a large dust cloud to be forced upward. This was going to be a good fight!
As soon as she saw the Uzumaki start to dodge, Temari darted forward, almost diving for her fan. Scooping up her fan she snapped it upwards, sending a small gust of wind to divert the shuriken and kunai Naruto had launched in her direction. Returning fire with a wind blade, she was confused and a little dismayed to see her opponent grin widely as he met her wind blade with one of his own. It was strange, Naruto's grin obviously showed that he was enjoying the fight, but his expression lacked the bloodthirstiness that she was so used to seeing on Gaara's face.
Naruto couldn't help but grin widely in exhilaration of the fight. He had never fought someone who could rival his skill with wind chakra before. It was fantastic to see his jutsus clashing against her's again and again. He snapped his hands into the hand seals for a wide area wind blade before snapping his hands and arms open, his wide wind blade meeting Temari's thinner, more concentrated one. The two techniques struggled against one another. Temari's training won out as her wind blade slowly sliced though Naruto's much wider, and thus thinner blade.
The now free wind blade raced towards Naruto. Throwing himself into a leaping flip, Naruto hurled himself upwards above the wind blade that threatened to cut him in two. At the apex of his jump, Naruto flashed through several hand signs and blasted out three wind bullets at Temari. With a sharp pop Temari flicked her fan and arm, using the added wind to push herself out the dangerous wind bullets' path. A quick glance at her opponent's face told the Sand Kunoichi that she couldn't keep the match going like this. She felt the hot sweat running from her temples and already her chakra was more than slightly depleted. In comparison, Naruto had barely even broken sweat and was showing no sign of chakra exhaustion. Gathering her chakra for one more technique, Temari tossed the fan up into the air, her hands flashing through the hand signs necessary for the wind cyclone technique. Catching her fan, Temari forced all of the gathered wind chakra into the fan, feeling it begin to vibrate from holding all of the chakra inside it. One mighty sweep of her chakra launched the wind cyclone at the seemingly shocked Uzumaki.
Naruto watched the swirling mass of deadly wind chakra boring down on him, a look of intense concentration painting itself across his face. Planting his feet securely, Naruto shoved an unholy amount of wind chakra into his right hand. The dust began to dance in the air surrounding him. His bright blue eyes seemed to glow. Just before Temari's technique reached him, Naruto took a step forward and shoved his hand into the oncoming storm.
The wind howled as the two opposing wind techniques battled for dominance. Both sides pushed even more chakra into their techniques, seeking to overwhelm the other. Naruto spread out the portion of his chakra that he was using to stick to the ground, stopping the slow slide that Temari's jutsu was causing. Pumping even more chakra into his wind technique, he twisted his hand slightly, attempting to find the weak point of the technique. A tugging sensation around his chest caused him to risk glancing down. Naruto frowned slightly at what he discovered.
The shirt Jiraiya had given him apparently couldn't take the pressure of the clashing wind techniques. Feeling it start to rip more, Naruto redoubled his efforts. Temari did the same. Dust began to swirl around the two fighters, obscuring them from view. Shoving one last push of chakra into the technique, Temari closed off the chakra flow when she began to feel the burn of her chakra points from forcing so much chakra through them. She stumbled back, catching herself before she staggered. Once she had steadied herself, the Sand kunoichi blew away the dust with a tired flick of her fan. Once the dust was blown away, she couldn't help but stare at the sight of her opponent.
Naruto stood with his palm extended, wind chakra still wafting from his palm. His shirt had torn off, exposing his well muscled chest and abs. Sweat glistened in the sunlight, accenting the fruits of his training. Jiraiya giggled openly. He watched many of the gathered females turn various degrees of red at the sight of his godson's exposed skin. The super-pervert giggled again. The spy master noted that many of the younger females of the village seemed to be looking at his godson as if they had never seen him before. The Toad Sannin couldn't help but feel proud that his godson had withstood a B-Rank Wind Jutsu without much effort.
Anko couldn't help but crack up. The stunned looks on everyone's faces! Spotting the blushes on many of the women, the purple-haired woman couldn't help but smirk. "Only men are perverts, huh?" Anko snorted. "My pretty ass they are!" Spotting the 'innocent' Hinata openly ogling Naruto, Anko grinned. "I am getting so much teasing material!"
Temari was stunned. What was this? It took a bit more effort than she had planned to move her eyes off of Naruto's exposed sweaty torso. So distracted by the unexpected turn of events that she never noticed one of the kunai that Naruto had thrown flash a small puff of white smoke. Out of the smoke charged a clothed clone of Naruto, who promptly snagged the war fan from Temari's hands.
"Yoink!" The clone tossed the war fan through the air towards another kunai stuck in the ground. As teh fan neared the ground, the knife transformed into a clone who grabbed the fan, whipped out a sealing scroll, and sealed the fan in the scroll in one smooth flow of actions.
Temari blinked, attempting to understand what had just happened. To her credit, it only took her a few seconds to realize what had happened. But all it took was a few seconds for Naruto to reach her. Several body blows, meant to knock off balance rather than incapacitate, drove her back away from the clone. Temari frantically attempted to block the blows, but she had never formally trained much in hand-to-hand combat. A decision she heavily regretted now. Not only that, but the realization that her mother's fan had been destroyed weighed heavily on her. A sudden palm blow jarred her and almost knocked her down.
Realizing she couldn't win, not without her fan; and most certainly not against someone who was good at hand-to-hand combat at Naruto Uzumaki was, She raised her hands as she slowly backed up. "I-I surrender."
Minoru quickly made his way to the center of the arena. "By her surrender, Temari Sabaku has lost this match! Naruto Uzumaki has won this match!"
The stands couldn't decide what to do. Many cheered and clapped, while others stood in shock that Temari had lost. Still others scowled heavily, glaring at the blonde Uzumaki who had cost them their winnings.
Naruto paid little attention to the crowd. Signaling his clone, he caught the sealing scroll that housed Temari's war fan. Naruto trotted a few steps forward and unrolled the sealing scroll with a flick of his wrist. Temari grew weary, unsure of what he was doing. A quick application of chakra and a twist of his index and pinky unlocked the seal. The undamaged war fan appeared in his hands.
"Here." Naruto handed Temari back her fan. Numbly the blonde kunoichi received the fan, staring at Naruto in open confusion.
"I-I don't understand." Temari stammered before inwardly cursing herself for appearing weak.
Naruto shot her a soft smile. "I know what it's like to only have a few things left from your mother." Naruto smile dimmed slightly. "I also know what it's like to have them destroyed." He shook his head. "I didn't want you to go through that."
Temari stared at the back of the still shirtless Last Uzumaki as he made his way off the field, his pace even and measured as he walked towards the Genin section. She watched him calmly unseal a new shirt from somewhere, casually shrugging it on. "Just who are you Naruto Uzumaki?"
A swirl of sand blocked Naruto's path as he stepped onto the first step of the stairwell that would lead him back to the Genin section. The sand sucked inwards, forming a humanoid shape. Features sharpened, showing the Jinchuriki of the Sand. Gaara stared at Naruto for a moment before speaking. "Naruto Uzumaki. Thank-you for going easy on Temari."
Despite the strange, almost threatening tone, Naruto grinned, seemingly understanding what the red-head had meant. "No problem. She was really strong."
Gaara nodded once. "Temari is strong." A swirl of sand and chakra announced his departure, his exit as abrupt as his entrance. Naruto trotted up the stairs, reaching the Genin section only a moment later. The blonde was swarmed by Sakura and Hinata, both girls professing their awe and pride in his abilities. Naruto hugged both girls with each arm around them, managing to fight off the feeling of shyness as they praised his ability.
Ino smiled at the three happy Genin with only the slightest of bittersweet feelings welling up inside. She was happy for them, she really was. Only...she wished that she had a relationship like that with someone, that a boy would hold and protect her like Naruto protected Sakura and Hinata. She had thought it would be Sasuke, given his looks and wealth, but over the last month she had caught glimpses of something else hidden deep inside the Last Uchiha. Something dark and black, full of hate and rage. And it scared her. Unlike Naruto, who had very simple, easy to understand goals and aspirations; Sasuke was a unknown. Ino had no idea how far Sasuke would go to reap his vengeance, but she knew that she didn't want to be caught in the way.
Only a few short months ago a handsome face and strong features would have been enough for her. But after meeting Naruto, she was starting to realize that what was on the inside mattered the most. An unstoppable light shining from within, bringing hope, life, and warmth. Looking at Naruto as he smiled his warm smile at Sakura as she explained something from her fight, Ino was once again struck by the knowledge that if she had just realized the truth about a person's inner beauty sooner, perhaps she would be the one Naruto was smiling at. The blonde kunoichi shook her head before shrugging. "Oh well. There was still plenty of fish in the sea." And just because she had ceased attempting to pursue Naruto didn't mean that she hadn't happily enjoyed his impromptu shirtless scene.
"The next match will be between Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan and Ino Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Clan. Would they please come down to the arena?"
Sasuke's eyes were hard as he waited for the Yamanaka to stop across from him. His mind already ran through several plans to beat her, and two additional plans to kill her. Killing the Yamanaka wouldn't really benefit him, so the black-haired ninja was planning on simply incapacitating her. She after all, wasn't a Uchiha. Nor was she Naruto Uzumaki. He fixed the red eyes of his clan's bloodline on her, ignoring the part of him that relished her slight flinch of fear. He would beat her, beat everyone who stood between him and Naruto. And then he would destroy Naruto. Once he beat Naruto, he would then train to reach his next goal, his true aspiration. He would find Itachi. And then he would kill his brother. Only then could he rest. Only then would the maddening screams of his dead clan cease to haunt him. Only then would their cries for vengeance be quieted.
Minoru pitied the girl slightly. She was no doubt skilled for her age, and perhaps even more so then her average clan member, but her opponent was no ordinary Genin. She was facing an Uchiha. And not just any Uchiha. An Uchiha who had already manifested two tomoe of his bloodline, a feat almost unheard of by one so young. But unlike many Genin, Sasuke's eyes were hard and unforgiving. Still, Minoru had a job to do.
"Sasuke Uchiha, are you ready?"
Sasuke almost scoffed. Was he ready? What did the fat man think he was training for? "I am ready."
"Ino Yakamanka, are you ready?"
Ino swallowed slightly before steeling herself. She could win this! "Yes, I'm ready." Ino was proud that her voice didn't waver, no matter how hard it wanted to.
"Hajime!"
Sasuke surged forward, lightning chakra already forming in his hand. Ino, to her credit, snapped four shuriken towards the rushing Uchiha before frantically forming hand signs for a rock wall. She never made it to the final seal.
With almost supernatural grace Sasuke dodged the thrown weapons with ease, never breaking his stride. His Sharingan spun furiously as it assessed the chakra flow within Ino's jutsu that she was attempting to perform. Pushing slightly more chakra into his muscles, he leapt forward, mentally counting the hand signs left for the Yamanaka's technique.
Five.
He increased the chakra flow to his legs, feeling the slight burn as he accelerated.
Four.
Lightning began to focus in his right hand, becoming a stable current.
Three.
His left hand opened into a half-claw, ready to grab the Yamanaka if she bolted.
Two.
He was just a bit more than two arms length away. More chakra was focused.
One.
The Last Uchiha's right hand snapped out and grabbed Ino's shoulder. Lightning chakra poured into her body in an instant, electrocuting her.
Pain. It was everywhere, the worst burning and piercing pain that she had ever felt arced through her body. She was vaguely aware that her body was arching in agony, but she couldn't make a sound. Then her voice unlocked and she screamed.
Painpainpainpainpain.
Blessed painless darkness threatened to consume her and Ino surrendered willingly into it's embrace.
It took a moment for Minoru to find his voice, his ears still ringing from the shrill pained screams that had torn from Ino's throat.
"Ino Yamanaka has been incapacitated. Sasuke Uchiha is the winner of the match." Scattered applause rippled across the arena, the sound echoing across the stands. Sasuke paid no mind to such noises. He locked eyes with Naruto.
"I'm coming for you Uzumaki."
So what did you guys think? Drop a review and let me know!
6/12/15: Edited for spelling.
Answers to Direct Questions:
Animaman: It depends on the route that the person who is attacking them takes. If it's a physical attack, then it would be most likely a physical fight. But if it's some kind of political attack, then it would be a political battle.
HE-SpecOps: Given that I have no idea what other story you are referring to, it's not a copy. As far as I'm aware, it's not cannon either. Back when I redesigned sealing so it wasn't PFM, I had to create different tiers of seals for quite a few things to avoid making it too broken. Each tier excels at some aspect of the seal.
Uraharaisgod: Good guess, and closer than many guesses have been.
Dune: While Neko does mean Cat, it also is very different phonetically speaking. Thus when shouted in the heat of battle, no-one is confused.