Lazyfox: Hi guys~ I'm back with an all new chapter! It is time to continue with the Chunin exams so let's get st...
Random, Magic and Jurabi: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! *they yell as they bust in holding cake*
Lazyfox: ^/^ Aww You guys remembered!
Magic: Now what kind of brother would I have been if I forgot your birthday? *holding up gifts*
Random: And I'm the best friend who got you your favorite cake~
Jurabi: And I'm that guy who's here for the cake! Nah I'm just kidding, I'm here to help out with Lazy's Birthday chapter!
Lazyfox: Oooooohhhhh~ Red Velvet! My favorite~ 😍 I love you guys~ *hugs them all*
Random, Magic, and Jurabi: We love you too~
Lazyfox: Well, I had a good guest to bring out, but I can't seem to speak anymore :) I'm just heading to the chapter now. Oh before that-
Jurabi: LazyFoxLover own no rights to Naruto or the characters. All rights belong to Kishimoto. And on another note to certain idiots, Kishimoto's writing doesn't suck no matter how much you hate Naruto's ending. Anyways, please enjoy th-
Random and Magic: IT'S CAKE TIME!
Jurabi: HEY DON'T TAKE ALL OF IT!
*RECAP*
Zaku was growing impatient as he glared at the side where the leaf ninja stood. "Don't they ever shut the hell up? I'm tired of hearing their mouths!"
"Give it a rest Zaku. You're only upset you didn't get paired off with Sasuke Uchiha" Kin said tired of Zaku's bitching.
"Shut the hell up Kin! I'm so tired of your bullshit!" Zaku yelled at her ready to rip her head off.
"Make me you dumbass!" Kin yelled back.
"Both of you shut the hell up! The next match has been picked already" Dosu yelled at his teammates silencing them quickly.
Everyone looked up to the screen to see who was picked. Some were excited about the matchup while others were disappointed.
"Well this just got interesting..." Kabuto said pushing up his glasses.
*END RECAP*
"Will Zaku Abumi and Kabuto Yakushi please make their way down to the main floor? *cough* We will now begin the fifth match." Hayate coughed out as the battlefield wheel spun.
Zaku smirked as he saw who his opponent was going to be. "Well, looky here. I get the honor of kicking that four eyed bastard's ass. That'll teach him to take our village lightly."
Dosu looked Zaku over and training his eyes on Zaku's damaged arms. "Don't get cocky Zaku. You might be getting feeling back in your arms, but there still heavily injured. When you're out there you're acting as a representative of this team and as a disciple of Lord Orochimaru. So don't screw it up" the masked shinobi warned.
Zaku growled as he glared at Dosu. "Don't lecture me as if I'm a child! I'm going out there to kick that four eyed bastard's ass and then I'll get even with Sasuke!" He growled as he stormed down to the main floor.
Kin scoffed. "Maybe if he didn't act an arrogant prick all the time we might actually take him seriously, but I don't see that happening anytime soon."
Kabuto smirked as he saw the sound trio arguing amongst themselves. "The poor fools think they mean something to Lord Orochimaru. Guess it's time I put an end to that" he thought pushing his glasses up so he could go down to his match.
"Kabuto-san, what do you plan on doing now?" Mitsumi asked his fellow teammate before he went down.
Kabuto gave the boy a sly smile. "Our mission has been completed now that we have seen and made connect with Sasuke Uchiha. Lord Orochimaru decided we are done and frankly I believe Zako and the little sound trio themselves have used up their usefulness. So, whatever I decide to do, I'll do it. Take care Misumi I'll see you again I'm sure" he says before he leaves.
Zaku and Kabuto made it to the main floor and stared off with each other. One looked pissed off and the other one was calm.
"Good luck Kabuto! Show those sound jerks what's for!" Naruko cheered giving the glasses wearing shinobi an encouraging smile and thumbs up.
Kabuto flashed the energetic blond a shy smile as he waved her cheer away. "Thank you Naruko-Chan. I'll be sure to do my best."
Zaku scoffed at the exchange between the two. "You two losers done talking yet? I'm ready to get this match done and over with."
"I'm ready to begin as soon as Hayate-sensei is" Kabuto said calmly not letting the insult get to him.
Hayate started coughing as the arena wheel came to a stop highlighting the Leaf symbol. When the battlefield was chosen the sickly Chunin teleported them in a more dense and covered forest.
"Since both of you are so eager I guess there's no point in asking *cough* Let the fifth match begin!" Hayate ordered.
Zaku glared at Kabuto as he pulled one of his arms out of his sling. "This match works perfectly for me. I still owe you for that snarky comment you made about my team and village at the beginning of this" he said. "When I get done with you I'll go find that bastard Sasuke and make him pay for doing this to me!"
Kabuto studied Zaku's movements, watching the boy grit his teeth as he moved his arms even if he tried to play the tough guy. A condescending smile appeared on his face as he pushed up his glasses. "Big words coming from a crippled man. It's a shame that you're already so banged up before our match even begun."
"Shut the hell up! You just love running that damn mouth of yours, don't you?! I already told you I was going to shut that mouth of yours up so don't underestimate the shinobi of the sound village!"
Taking to a frontal assault Zaku charged straight in at Kabuto and landing a frontal kick to his abdomen before twisting around to point his open palm at Kabuto's face releasing a decapitating sound wave attack. Sadly Zaku failed to realize Kabuto had put himself behind a substitution jutsu escaping any damage.
Kabuto stepped out onto a large tree branch staring down at Zaku with a sly smirk on his face. "Please try and not bore me to submission. I like to have a little fun in this battle ya know" he taunted.
"Just keep talking tough guy! When you see my ultimate Jutsu you won't be talking so big, instead you'll be begging for them to stop this match!" Zaku growled blasting out another sound wave.
Kabuto sighed after seeing how poor Zaku's skills really were. Wanting to make this match look decent before he took a dive Kabuto dodged poorly so his leg would get wounded. "I see now why Lord Orochimaru picked this fool. He's hot headed and easily manipulated into doing someone's bidding. Other than that he be completely useless, oh well I guess I have to make due with him so I can drag this match out. Averting the suspicion of the proctors so they won't catch on to me." He thought as he started running deeper into the forest.
Zaku smirked when he saw his attack wound Kabuto's leg, but that smile soon turned to a scowl as he growled in irritation as he watched Kabuto take off into the forest. "Damn you! Get back here and fight me you coward!" he yelled as he charged after him.
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Kiba leaned against the upper balcony banister as he watched the match between Kabuto and Zaku. "At least we get to see what four eyes is made of. Inside this match he won't get cheap shotted and ganged up on in there."
"That's what I was thinking too. Those sound village guys sure know how to hold petty grudges" Sakura huffed before she felt Akamaru pawing at her legs. Sighing the pink haired girl picked the white puppy up. "There, now you can see better right?"
"Rah!" Akamaru barked happily licking Sakura's cheek while wagging his tail making the girl laugh. Kiba watched them from the corner of his eye secretly smiling at how close the two of them are getting.
Kurenai eyes widen at how kindly her students were acting towards each other. "What brought upon the change in them? Before I had to punish them just to complete missions together, but now there being civil."
"Shocking I know, but at least they finally know to be civil with one another when they choose to. Don't they still fight like bitter enemies" Shino's quiet voice said beside his sensei startling the Kunoichi.
"Shino please don't scare me like that" Kurenai said huffing from her small terror shock.
"Sorry Kurenai-sensei." The shade wearing boy said without looking at her, but at the monitor watching as Kabuto and Zaku destroyed the forest. "There ruining the homes of the bugs and the other forest animals."
Hiruzen was watching the fight curiously as he smoked on his pipe. "If I'm not mistaken I saw that boy in the Chunin finals last time…" the third thought to himself. "Anko, can you please read me the file of Kabuto Yakushi?"
"Of course Lord Hokage. Kabuto Yakushi has failed the Chunin six times in a row. His academy record isn't all that special either, but he did graduate with average marks. He's completed 14 D-rank missions and 2 C-rank missions. Nothing to report on his battle history either, but…" The purple haired Jounin read off before taking a pause.
"But what?" Hiruzen asked.
"It's about before he entered the academy. Lord Hokage do you remember the young boy who was brought back from the battle at Bell-Flower Pass?" Anko asked.
"I do…Kaede was a part of the medical team that had brought back a child of the enemy who had survived the battle. Kaede told me the child looked so sad and alone that she couldn't leave him out there to die. She took the boy to Nonō so the young nun could tend to him and provide him with a home" Hiruzen remembered as he gazed at Kabuto. "So he is that child…"
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Kabuto dodged another sound wave attack that got him in the shoulder making the glasses wearing man fall to the ground out of the tree he was standing in. Kabuto was facing the ground panting hiding the smug look he had. "Well, that should be sufficient enough for me to give off the run-around effect. Time for me to end little Zaku's chapter."
Zaku skidded to a halt as he finally caught up to Kabuto in an open clearing. Panting from the run and multiple blasts of his sound wave attacks. "You finally done running yet?" he growled out.
Kabuto huffed as he got back to his feet showing 'faking' signs of fatigue as he adjusted his cracked glasses. "Yes, I'm done and I must say, you really are a sad case to watch. Having your arms crippled like that must be so painful, but no worries I know how to fix them." He taunted letting his hand surge with blue chakra making it form into the shape of a blade. "Now, shall we begin the operation?"
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Naruko's eyes widen when she saw the attack Kabuto was using. "Oh wow! Kabuto-san can use the chakra scalpel?! Grandma Kaede told me that's a really high level medical ninjutsu that takes years to perfect if a medical ninja wanted to use it properly in battle." She said watching Kabuto closely. "No wonder he fixed Hinata up so quickly. How high ranked is he in the terms of medical ninjutsu?" she wondered thinking to herself.
At Naruko's explanation of Kabuto's skill Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in concentration as the wheels began to turn inside his head. "If he had advance medical knowledge why didn't he heal himself after his attack? Was he just trying to keep his knowledge a secret? The young Nara wondered as he studied the glasses wearing shinobi.
Like the young couple Kakashi too was studying Kabuto closely. The silver haired ninja didn't know what it was, but the young ash-grey haired man gave him a bad vibe.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Kabuto moved in close to Zaku who was parring Kabuto's blows with kicks and punches from his free arm. Between the exchanges Kabuto was rerouting all of Zaku's chakra vessels to a specific point in his left arm.
"By targeting the chakra vessels in his left arm, I'll cause a massive chakra overload to build up inside the arm. Once he's ready to attack me with his finishing jutsu the chakra will come surging into his right arm, causing a massive explosion that I'll so happen to get caught in rendering me incapable of continuing to fight making this battle count as a double knockout." Kabuto thought out as he moved back from the panting Zaku.
Zaku lowered his left arm feeling it tingling as he panted for air. "This can't be happening to me! I'm not weak! I can't be treated like a nuisance. I'll show this smug bastard he can't beat me! I'll show them all!" he thought angrily as he let out a roar of rage as images of Kin, Dosu, Orochimaru, and Sasuke flash across his mind. "I'm not losing to a punk like you! Rahhhh, now take this! Zankūkyokuha! (Extreme Decapitating Airwaves)"
Kabuto his victorious smirk as he watched his plan take effect. "Checkmate, little Zaku. You were a good little pawn after all... it was fun playing with you." he thought as Zaku raised both arms up to unleash his attack, but instead of the normal slicing sound waves that come out an explosion happened trapping the two boys inside.
Hayate appeared on the scene after the dust and smoke had cleared to showcase a bloody sight. In the clearing Zaku was left wailing on the ground from having both his arms blown off before succumbing to blood loss and shock causing him to pass out. Kabuto on the other hand was thrown back a couple feet to where he landed at the foot of some boulders with him face down with blood smeared on the back of his head. After examining the scene and seeing neither participant moving he made his call.
"Due to a double knockout, with neither Zaku Abumi nor Kabuto Yakushi moving on to the next round," Hayate declared as he teleported them all back into the main room were a team of medical ninja were waiting to start emergency treatment on Zaku and Kabuto. Zaku was carried out first leaving Kabuto to wait for the next team to come in to get him.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"Poor Kabuto-san...it looked like he had the win," Hinata said softly before looking over to Naruko to see that her friend had jumped down to the main floor to go check on Kabuto.
"It was indeed a close match. Kabuto-san fought valiantly, but in the end he missed judge the range of the attack and got caught. That is the way battles and fights go sometimes I'm afraid." Rock-Lee tells her.
"So it's just you and me Kin. Think you can move on to the next round with me?" Dosu asked his remaining teammate.
Kin huffed and sent a glare at him from the corner of her eye as she watched Zaku get carried out. "I'm not a fool Dosu that gets out smarted by her opponents. I'll take down anyone who stands in my way" she
Naruko had knelt beside Kabuto checking his wounds over. "I'm glad it's nothing too major. The bash to your head has me worried though..." she tells him wishing she could use her healing technique on him like she wanted to do on Ino. "I swear I'm going to get that damn snake bastard back for this! Why can't I use my medical ninjutsu!?"
"Yea, I'll probably have a knot up there for a couple weeks, but at least I didn't lose my arms. He should have felt the pressure in his arms and quit the match. I was so sure I had won..." Kabuto said looking at her faking disappointment.
"You should have totally won, but don't' worry I'll win my match for the both of us and then I'll win the finals too" Naruko promised giving him a smile.
"Thanks. If I'm bedridden will you come and visit me? I did say I want a cute nurse like you by my side if I was in there" Kabuto said smoothly holding her hand.
Naruko's cheeks turned a little pink. "Ahh, yea I'll come visit you, but the medical staff in the hospital will have you on your feet in no time" she tells him.
Kabuto smirked before kissing her hand as he was loaded onto a stretcher by the second medical team. "Then I look forward to our next meeting" he said as he was carried off. "And I do hope we meet again Naruko-chan. I want to study you and the powers of the nine tailed fox inside you." The young ash-grey haired boy thought as he was taken out.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in slight anger and irritation. The anger was pointed to the ash-grey haired boy and the irritation was for his ditzy and oblivious blond haired girlfriend. "Troublesome Blue-eyes..."
"Well, we finally hit the halfway mark in these battles. Wonder who you two will get paired up against" Karui mentioned looking over at her teammates.
"I'm hoping I don't have to face sunny, because I don't want to be a distraction to her because she'll worry that our friendship will be ruined by the outcome of our fight" Omui said.
"Omui you're and idiot. I think the girl has enough boy problems without you adding on imaginary ones!" Karui yelled smacking the guy over his head.
"Hey Temari maybe you need to talk to that guy that just got trotted out of here to help you break up the wonder couple over there. That way you can have your little pineapple haired boy toy to yourself" Kankuro teased.
"Shut the hell up Kankuro! I swear I hear one more word out of you about that ditzy loudmouth and that lazy jackass, I'm kicking your ass!" Temari screamed at him.
"I won't say it again. Both of you shut up, if you fail to listen then I'll feed your filthy blood to the sand" Gaara said darkly as little particles of sand swirled around him making his siblings shut up quickly.
Hayate waited for the floor to be cleared before he called for everyone's attention. "It's time to choose the next pair for the sixth match" he called as the monitor came back to life.
The names rolled across the screen before it finally selected the next pair to fight. Before the arena wheel began to spin.
"Will Neji Hyuga and Misumi Tsurugi please come down to the fighter's area." Hayate said.
"This is it, Neji." Rock-Lee spoke to his Hyuga teammate, "It is time for you to show everyone the power of Youth!"
"Don't hold anything back!" Gai said giving Neji a thumbs up and a flashy grin, "You all have been training hard for this moment."
"I do not require your encouragement, Sensei. Nor do I need your boastful talking of this 'Youth' you speak of, Lee." Neji said walking down to the fighter's area, "Such things are not what a true Hyuga should concern himself with." He thought.
Hinata looked down shyly at her hands as Neji started to walk pass her. Taking a deep breath Hinata turned to face her cousin. "Good luck... Neji-Nii-sama."
Neji gave her a side glance refusing to acknowledge her well wishes as he walked down to the main floor.
Naruko huffed in irritation for Neji's rude behavior and complete dismissal of Hinata. Remembering her friends request to behave when it concerns her cousin she sighed and kept her rude remark to herself.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Neji and Misumi stood across from each other as Hayate coughs yet again. The arena wheel came to a stop on the water symbol. Hayate took that time to teleport the three of them to a lake to begin the sixth match.
"If the both are ready *cough* You may begin!" Hayate called signaling the start of the sixth match.
Mitsumi wasted no time in taking on a defensive approach and jumped far away from Neji. "I'm the last one from my team. I cannot afford to lose here. Even if Kabuto-san may say our mission here is over, Lord Orochimaru might need someone on the inside as a Chunin informant." Thought the remaining man from team Kabuto as he began to analyze Neji to locate a weak point to attack.
Neji activated his Byakugan and takes an offensive Hyuga battle stance. "By the looks of his chakra vessels he centers his chakra around his area joints...No matter, victory will still be mine" he thought as stared down his opponent.
Mitsumi did a couple of quick hand signs. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Jutsu)" the masked wearing ninja said as he created five clones to surround Neji.
Neji sighed as he saw the futile effort of his opponent. "If this is all you got, then I suggest you forfeit now to save yourself some dignity. Otherwise this match will end with your pride shattered."
Mitsumi growled. "We'll see about that. Nan no Kaizō (Soft Physique Modification)."
Neji watched as the main body and the parts of the clones all dislocated to give them all a sense of elasticity. Sighing once more Neji moved into a sturdier offensive stance. "I tried to warn you. Sadly fools cannot learn to heed the advice of others."
Moving in as one the clones each stretched their arms back ready to strike Neji at once, but the young Hyuga was faster than them. Ducking under each punch Neji hit them each with a precise jab into their main chakra channel dispelling them all quickly. Mitsumi was stunned by how quickly his clones were disposed of and was about to summon more, but once again Neji was too fast for him.
Charging in Neji had his hand reeled back before sending it forwarded. "Juken! (Gentle Fist).
The attack hit Mitsumi square in the chest with a surge of Neji's chakra following behind it. The blow hit the masked Genin in the main chakra point close to the boy's heart knocking the breath out of him and shutting off nearly all his main chakra vessels. From the blow Mitsumi coughed up a huge amount of blood before falling to the ground unconscious.
Hayate who had watched the fight walked over to Mitsumi checking the boy over before standing back up. "The winner of the sixth match is Neji Hyuga."
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"Oh wow... I knew Neji was strong, but I didn't know he was that strong..." Sakura said holding Akamaru a little closer.
Kiba scoffed. "That pompous prick isn't that tough. He just got lucky was all" he growled.
Gai sensei smirked as he looked over to Kakashi. "So what did you think of my student Kakashi?"
Kakashi who was paying more attention to the trembling in Hinata's hands gave an off handed remark. "You trained him well Gai. He might prove to be a real challenger for my team."
Gai felt the fires of a competition brewing. "Bring it on! My team of youthful students are ready and prepared to take on yours to become heated rivals just like us!" the bushy eyed sensei declared making Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai sweat drop at his enthusiasm.
"Naru-chan, what did you think of Neji's battle?" Lee asked moving to his blond haired crush's side.
"The match was okay... The guy still has a ten foot pole jammed up his rear though..." Naruko said the last part quietly so Hinata didn't hear her.
Lee gave a light hearted chuckle at the girl's blunt remark. "Maybe so, but Neji-san is my biggest rival. He's one of the many opponents I want to overcome in this exam."
Naruko raised her eyebrow in curiosity. "One of many? Who else did you want to fight?"
"Well, besides Neji I also wanted to fight Sasuke-kun and Shikamaru-kun" Lee tells her.
Shikamaru who been barely listening to Naruko and Lee's conversation tuned in when the green spandex wearing boy mentioned his name.
Lee let a secretive smile appear on his face as he looked over Naruko's head towards the closely watching Nara heir. "The considered failure with no talent in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu against the gifted geniuses. Do you not think they would make for exciting matches?" he asked looking back down to Naruko's perplexed face.
Naruko pondered his question before giving a soft nod. "Yea, I guess they would. So I understand you wanting to fight the Teme and Neji, but why do you want to fight Shika? Sure Shika's a genius, but that applies to his battle strategies than actual fighting, not that Shika can't fight just the fact he doesn't like too" she said.
Again Lee gave her a secretive smile. "I have another reason for fighting Shikamaru-kun. It is not a battle of strength, but more of settling an old declaration" he tells her.
After hearing Lee's reasoning Shikamaru finally understood what the busy eyed boy was referring to. His old proclamation of being his love rival all those years ago. Sighing to himself Shikamaru watched as Naruko scratched her head in confusion. "Troublesome girl..." he muttered to himself. "Sorry Lee, but I won are little battle…" he thought with a smile on his face.
"And now it is time to select the fighters for the seventh match *cough*" Hayate announced as the screen began to randomly select two names. "The fighters for the next match will be…" Hayate said as the screen stops on two names, "Kankuro of the Sand Village vs. Naruko Uzumaki."
"FINALLY! It's about damn time I got my turn!" Naruko cheered pumping her fist up in excitement.
Kakashi sighed at her over dramatic exclamation before a soft smile touched his lips. "Good luck out there Imoto-chan. Time to show everyone what you got and to show them all how much you've grown." He thought watching Naruko move around excitedly.
Hinata smiled as she stood next to her friend and teammate. "Do your best Naru-chan. I positive you'll do great out there"
"Yes, congratulations Naru-chan! Put on a spectacular performance out there my friend" Rock-Lee tells her before looking away from her to cry dramatically. "When will it be my turn!? I want to show Naru-chan what I've been training for!"
"Hehe no need to worry about me! I'm going to floor that face painted weirdo" Naruko declared cracking her knuckles in excitement.
Kankuro let an evil gleam enter his eye. "Oh this is perfect...I couldn't have asked for a better match up" he sneered about to make his way down before getting stopped by Temari. "What now?"
"Nothing too big. I want you to seriously mess her up though. Don't give all your tricks away, but you know get her to beg for mercy" Temari tells him casting her gaze over to Shikamaru and catching his eye. "I want them both to feel helpless."
Kankuro smirked at her. "Anything for you big sister. Not like I needed you to tell me that. I had already planned on maiming the girl if I got the chance to, but if this will hurt two people in one than that's all the more fun for me."
"Looks like sunny finally up to fight. I can't wait to see her in action" Omui said sitting up straighter looking excited about the next match.
"Yea me either actually. The Sand village guys are pretty strong so she better be careful" Karui warned.
Shikamaru catching Temari's eye watched as the blond exchanged words with her brother making the young Nara feel uneasy. Seeing Naruko was about to head down caught her arm before she could.
Naruko looked back to Shikamaru with a concern look at how worried he appeared. "What is it Shika?"
"I just wanted to wish you luck, and to tell you not to be too rash and careless. Those sand ninja are not opponents you should underestimate...you saw what they did to Ino, so I guess what I'm saying is be careful alright..." Shikamaru tells her.
"Of course I will. I promised Kabuto-san and the teme I'm not going to lose here and I won't, so don't worry so much okay. Now stay up here and watch how strong I've gotten" Naruko tells him.
Shikamaru sighed as he fixed her with one last look before rolling his eyes and smirking at her. "Troublesome Blue-eyes I always worry about you, even when it's a drag too."
Naruko grinned and laughed at him. "Of course you do, that's why you love me. See you in a bit Shika!" she said pecking his cheek as she jumped down
Shikamaru's eyes widen in complete utter shock as he felt the cheek that Naruko kissed. He felt his own cheeks burn up as a hint of pink colored them. "Did she just do what I think she did?"
Asuma eyes widen too before cheeky grin spread across his bearded face as he clapped a hand on his student's shoulder. "So, it's finally official between you and Hime?" he asked with a teasing tone and smile on his face. "How long?"
Shikamaru face palmed at how careless they were before looking over to his grinning sensei letting go of a long sigh. "For a few months now..."
Asuma smirked at him as he petted his embarrassed student's back. "I'm happy for you two, but know you might be a dead man now" he teased.
Shikamaru feeling angry eyes on him he looked over his shoulder to see a very pissed off Kakashi glaring at him, a smiling Hinata, a devastated Lee and a sly grinning Sakura with a dumbfounded Kiba standing next to her. "Mannnn what a drag..." the young Nara said knocking his head against the balcony banister.
Naruko was literally bouncing on her feet from excitement as she stared down her opponent. "Looks like I get to finish what I started with you."
Kankuro smirked at her. "I highly doubt that pipsqueak. You got lucky with that first punch."
"I'm not a pipsqueak!" Naruko yelled stomping her foot down.
"Your response says otherwise. I'm going to enjoy mopping the floor with you, runt." Kankuro said.
Temari glares at the blonde girl with pure rage, "How dare she?! I wish I was up against her so I could splatter her blood all over the wall!" She screamed internally punching the railings on the balcony, "Show no mercy on her, Kankuro!"
Hayate let out a loud irritated cough before looking up at the monitor to find out the area has been chosen. The leaf symbol was lightened up, so Hayate transported the three of them back into the forest.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"Now then...are you two ready?" Hayate asked the two combatants.
"Just give the word." Naruko responded stretching her limbs.
"Like you even need to ask." Kankurō said with an evil smirk getting ready by dropping his cloth covered baggage on the ground.
"They sure are excited…" Hayate thought, "Ready...Begin!" He announced.
Naruko wasted no time in jumping into the battle head on. "Alright, here we go!" she yelled charging straight for Kankurō.
"Already wasting all your energy...how pathetic." Kankurō said
"We'll see who's really pathetic after I'm done wiping the floor with you!" Naruko yelled throwing out punches and kicks.
Kankurō sighed as he moved and blocked every single one of Naruko's punches. "Come on, runt, if you want to 'put me in my place' then stop trying to hit me and hit me!"
"Gladly!" Naruko shouted as she jumped up in the air and tried to kick Kankurō on the head.
The kick is met with a cross-armed block from Kankurō. Grabbing a hold of Naruko's leg, Kankurō with great force threw her across the area. Reacting quickly, Naruko planted her feet to land on the tree she was about to crash into.
Jumping away from the tree Naruko landed back on the ground and went in a low crouch. Kankurō smirked as he took that time to shoot out poison covered senbon needles at the off guard girl.
Thinking fast Naruko pulled out a kunai to block the incoming needles before running for cover behind the trees. When ducking behind the trees Naruko was huffing a little bit as she hid behind the tree.
"Okay so he's a long range attacker and a close combat fighter. So, I need to draw his attention away from me." Naruko thought as she formed the signs she needed for her shadow clone jutsu.
Naruko created five shadow clones and used them to draw Kankurō's attention. Kankurō was a little surprised to see the multiple clones appear, but he easily dealt with them by destroying them all with his senbon attacks. While Kankurō dealt with her clones Naruko was able to sneak out of the shadows of the trees and land a heavy blow to Kankurō's side.
Kankurō let out a painful grunt as he flew through the air and hit a tree harshly. Naruko stood in the center clearing smirking proudly at her plan of attack. "Ha! How was that for a hit jackass" she taunted only to get a dark chuckle in return. "What's so funny?"
Kankurō sat up against the tree laughing before he turned to face her. "I'm laughing because you made this game too easy for me runt."
"What are you talking about?!" Naruko demanded getting ticked off by him making light of her.
Kankurō did not answer but instead started to flex his hands making them dance and move which caught Naruko's attention. Sadly the poor girl was solely focusing on the sand shinobi she failed to see the cloth baggage Kankurō threw down at the start of their fight move until the object within the bandages appeared and struck Naruko across the back with a poison laced sword.
"Ahhhh!" Naruko cried out in pain as she hit the ground twitching at the burning sting in her back, "What in the-" Naruko turned around to look at a human made puppet entirely made out of wood attached to a bunch of strings.
"Runt say hello to Karasu" Kankurō laughed as he brought his puppet back to his side making the puppet move about beside him to give off a creepy appearance.
Naruko gritted her teeth as she stood back up wincing at the pain she was feeling from the wound on her back. "A puppeteer huh...Good to see you have reinforcements. I hate to have beaten you so easily."
Kankurō frowned at the girl. "You sure love to talk big runt, but you'll be sorry here in a little while." he said darkly before twisting his fingers which had strings attached to them causing the puppet to move, "Don't go dying on me yet. I want to give sister Temari a hell of a show."
Naruko clenched her fists at the mention of the blonde's name. "Well, she's going to have to keep watching because there's no way I'm losing to you!" she yelled bringing out her baton and extending it. Twirling it around above her head she faced Karasu and Kankurō. "If you want me, come and get me."
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"That was a cheap shot! That bastard hit her from behind!" Kiba raged.
"Kurenai-sensei, shouldn't he be disqualified for using the puppet?" Sakura asked.
"In terms of war and battle no. Puppeteers are a little rare to find, but puppets count as ninja weapons, just as Akamaru and Shino's bugs do" Kurenai explained.
"Dammit, then shorty's doomed." Kiba said waving Naruko off.
"Do not talk like that. Naru-Chan has yet to show her true strength. Have faith in her and she will surely win" Rock-Lee tells him.
Hinata was quiet as she watched Naruko battle back Kankurō and his puppet. "Naru-chan is far from finished...Everyone that has ever doubted her will know she's so much stronger than they ever imagined. Show them what you got Naru-chan!" Hinata thought smiling at remembering how far her best friend has come.
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Naruko dug her baton into the ground to stop her from skidding to far back after Karasu had knocked her back. Naruko was pushing back a long strand of her loose hair behind her ear.
"Damn he's strong...and why is it getting harder to breath?" Naruko thought as she started losing her breath while her vision started to blur a bit. "Wait...shortness of breath, blurred vision and numbness?" she thought as she tried clenching her fist feeling the tingling radiating throughout her whole arm. "Dammit, he got me with a nerve poison..."
Kankurō, seeing the effects of his poison settling in, and couldn't wipe the cocky smirk from his face. "What's wrong runt? Is your vision going out on you? Or is your body shutting down on you?"
Naruko dug her baton into the ground harder refusing to fall as her knees started to buckle. "So..So what... a little nerve...poison...won't stop...me" she stuttered out.
"Good, the fun has only just begun." Kankurō told her as he moves Karasu forward to attack the girl again.
All Naruko could do was jump out of the way of the incoming slashes from Karasu and side step as best as she could from his poisonous sword attacks.
"Come on! Is that all you've got?! I thought you were going to 'finish what you started with me'. Is this what you were talking about, runt?" Kankuro asked amusingly watching the girl's struggle.
Naruko blocked the sword strike with her baton, but let out a constricting coughing fit as she felt her body begin to pulse leaving her open for another strike that slashed her across the chest.
Blood flew from Naruko's new wound that left her spinning on the ground. When she stopped, she was laying on her side in a pool of blood.
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Hinata's eyes widen in horror at the sight of Naruko's blood as she covers her mouth, "N-Naru-chan…"
"Ha! As I expected." Temari said with an egotistic tone, "Maybe that brat will think twice before messing with us now." She said watching Shikamaru take on a face of both worry for Naruko and pure rage against Kankurō.
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"This match is over now. It's such a shame really." Kankurō said staring at the unmoving blonde girl then turning away, "I was hoping that you would have lasted longer, but it turns out that you are the same below average ninja just as the rest of the ninja in this pathetic village."
"...Pathetic village full of below average ninja, you say?" Naruko's voice called which made Kankurō turn back to her, "You Sand Ninja are so damn egotistical…" she mumbled out as she slowly pushed herself back up with the help of her baton. Slowly a light red hue started to surround her body as the blood seeping out her open wounds begin to lessen.
"How are you still standing? You've lost a lot of blood." Kankurō said noticing that the slash marks Karasu made on the girl were no longer there. "Sh-She can self-heal herself? What kind of Jutsu is that?" He thought.
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Gaara saw that the wounds on Naruko's body automatically heal themselves, "I see...so she is like me." He muttered getting a crazier look in his eyes as a creepy smile formed on his face.
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"I'm not going to back down no matter how much poison you force into my body. You claim the Hidden Leaf to be filled with nothing but weaklings; however, you fail to realize that we're more than what we appear to be. We never give up and keep fighting till we've won the battle. Even if things are looking grim, we keep moving and we don't give in to whatever our enemies throw at us." Naruko said standing on her two feet, "And I never go back on my word. That's my ninja way!" she shouted glaring at him showing a flash of red in her eyes before it disappeared leaving behind her normal bright blue pupils shining with defiance.
"Tch, I've heard these words from another one of you weaklings and it did not end well for him. So what if you keep fighting? Doesn't change the fact that you are all still weaklings compared to us." Kankurō said. "Runt you are just a bug in my path that I plan to poison to death!"
"When did I ever say that our will to keep fighting is what makes us go from weak to strong? No that's not it at all. Our will to fight is our strength! You're too blind and narcissistic to see that." Naruko said. "Besides, there's nothing that says that a weakling cannot defeat the strongest. If you Sand Shinobi fashion yourselves as gods, then I'll surpass everything about you and take you all down. Let's go, Kankurō. The real battle begins now."
"Heh, don't think to highly of yourself because of your speech, runt. It will get you killed." Kankurō said as he moves his puppet fingers again to move Karasu towards the girl. "Besides pretty late game talk to be talking when your already half dead already!" he yelled allowing Karasu to start swinging at the girl.
Naruko picked up her baton and blocked each of the incoming slashes from the puppet. When she blocks another sword slash attack, she digs Karasu's sword into the ground then roundhouse kicks the puppet in the face. Naruko then plants another kick into Karasu's chest area sending him flying against a tree.
"Why is she giving me trouble all of a sudden?" Kankurō muttered.
"Don't you get it?" Naruko replied hearing his muttered question, "You may have slowed me down with this poison, but it's my perseverance that is keeping me in this fight. I don't run from a fight when things get rough and I don't give in to the pain either. It's because I am staying in this fight that I am now able to defeat both you and your puppet, coward."
Kankurō instantly grew from annoyed to angry with the blonde haired girl as he glares at her with venomous eyes, "What...did you call me, you little shit?"
"You heard me alright. Relying on your own puppets to fight your own battles, that's pretty cowardly for a high and mighty Sand shinobi such as yourself...or was that a lie set up by a fraidy cat?" Naruko asked with a sly smirk.
That pushed his button as he had a murderous tone of voice, "When I'm done with you, there won't be a single bone shard left in your whole damn body!"
"What? Did I hurt your precious feelings?" Naruko mocked.
"Shut your trap. I refuse to return home knowing that an ant like you called me such an insulting name." Kankurō said, "I'll prove you wrong here and now. You've made the biggest mistake asking me to get serious. Better hurry up and say your last prayers within the next 10 seconds."
"Hit me with your best shot, paint face." Naruko taunted getting ready for his response attack.
Kankurō did not waste his breath responding to that name so instead he sends Karasu to attack Naruko with dozens of sword strikes. Naruko back flipped out of the way of most of the attacks.
"Here's a surprise for ya!" Naruko said moving her baton back as she channeled her chakra into it until little swirls of winds appeared on it. "Take this! Fūton: Shinkūha (Wind Style: Vacuum Wave)!" She yelled send the wind blasts at Kankurō.
When Kankurō moved to jump out of the way, he was surprised that the wind blast swirled up towards him and exploded inches away from him. "The smoke!" He thought as he saw Naruko above him jumping out of the smoke for a baton attack, but Karasu manages to block it. "You...I'm being held back...by a weakling like you?!"
"Even now you still don't get it? I may be reckless...I may sometimes not be the smartest person in the world...and I may have my weaknesses, but make no mistake: Underestimate me and you will definitely lose!" She declared managing to push Karasu back which both shocks and infuriates Kankurō.
"D-Damn you...Damn you!" Kankurō shouted as Karasu strikes back with a flurry of sword strikes that were blocked by Naruko, "Damn you! Damn you! Damn YOU!" Naruko jumps far away from the two seeing how angry Kankurō was. "Damn you! To think that I would come at a runt like you with the intention of killing you!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way. It's no fun if your opponent's not giving it their all!" Naruko shouted performing hand signs to summon a shadow clone. The two charge at Kankurō from two different directions.
"No choice but to use it then…" Kankurō said as Karasu opens its mouth shooting out a constant stream of poison filled gas, "Dokukiri Jigoku (Poison Mist Hell)"
At that moment, Naruko had come up with a plan. As soon as she was engulfed by the poison cloud, she took out an unknown object.
When the poison gas cleared, Kankurō smirked when he sees Naruko on her knees holding her neck in pain spitting out a large amounts of blood as she had a dark purple hue to her face. "Now to finish this!" Kankurō shouted as Karasu jumps behind Naruko snatching her into a head lock. "Now beg for your life runt," Kankurō taunted.
Through the poison haze Naruko glared up at him defiantly. "Go…To…Hell" she gasped out.
Kankurō glared down at her. "Fine. Have it your way" he said pulling the strings tightly causing Karasu to tighten his hold on Naruko's bady until he snapped her neck and spine leaving Naruko to hang limply in the puppet's arms.
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The whole audience grew silent at the sight of Naruko's end.
"N-Naruko…?" Kiba whispered with widened eyes.
"No way...d-did that just happened?!" Sakura asked holding onto Akamaru as tear stung the corners of her eyes.
"This can't be. Naru-chan couldn't have lost! She had the upper hand!" Lee shouted.
Hinata's had a completely horrified face as tears fell from her eyes, "N-No...N-Naru-chan…" She whispered, "NARU-CHAN!" She screamed.
Shikamaru watch in complete disbelief as Naruko fell onto the ground, "NARUKO!" He screamed.
"Well, I saw this ending coming from a mile away. Another blonde haired girl bites the dust." Temari said earning a glare from Shikamaru, "Man, Kankurō was sure having a blast minus all the insults he idiotically responded to. Makes me wish I was in his place to snap the brat's neck. Sounds like the perfect thing to shut her trap up, wouldn't you agree, pineapple head?"
"It's not over yet…" Shikamaru growled clenching his hands onto the railing.
"Don't tell me you've gone blind? We all saw it. You little loud-mouthed princess' neck was snapped like a stick. How can anyone possibly survive that?" Temari asked.
"You'll find out that Blue-eyes is full of surprises." Shikamaru said not wanting to believe the Sand shinobi's words no matter how logically correct they were. "Blue-eyes...you have to have had a plan...I know you did." He thought.
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"Man...what a pain in the ass you were, runt." Kankurō said staring at the unmoving Naruko, "Now I have to apologize to Gaara and Temari for allowing you to trash talk us. Hayate-sensei, it's over now so you can announce this brat's defeat."
Right when Hayate was done coughing, something caught him out of the top corner of his eyes making him look up.
Curiously, Kankurō looks up to where Hayate was looking and his eyes grew wide in shock, "N-No w-"
"GOT YOU NOW, PAINT FACE!" Naruko shouted from above smashing Karasu into pieces.
"What the hell…?! You were hit by the poison! Karasu just snapped your neck in two!" Kankurō shouted looking back at the other Naruko, which turned out to be a clone puffing into smoke. He then feels a tug on his strings making him turn back to Naruko who had a bottle in her hand.
"Yeah I was hit by it. It was thanks to this baby that I was not affected by it. The moment you used poisonous senbons, I had this antidote ready. That was why I was able to combat your puppet before when I should have still been affected by the poison." Naruko explained, "And when you used that poison cloud, I used the antidote again and allowed myself to get hit. When you thought my clone was hit and disappeared and the one left behind was the real me, that was when you fell into my trap. I was up there the entire time ready to strike." She explained, "Now to end this! GET OVER HERE!" Naruko shouted pulling Kankurō's strings harshly causing the puppet master to be sent flying towards her. "Like I said before: DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" She screamed punching Kankurō straight in the face causing him to fly straight through several trees.
Seeing how far Kankurō was, Hayate dashes over to him. Kankurō's face was covered in blood and his face had a fist mark planted on it. He checks the Sand shinobi's to see if he would move any further and stands back up.
Looking back over to the panting blond Hayate let a small smile show on his face. "*Cough* Kankuro of the Sand Village is unable to continue fighting, which means Naruko Uzumaki has won the seventh battle and will proceed to the second round." Hayate announced as he teleports them back into the arena.
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"NARUKO!" Hinata screamed jumping down from the balcony to hug her friend tightly.
"Ow, hey Hina-chan. Not so tight or I won't be able to breathe." Naruko joked petting the girl's hair softly to calm her down.
Hinata buried her face inside Naruko's chest, "Y-You shouldn't have scared me like that...I-I really th-thought you were…" She didn't want to finisher her sentence.
Naruko smiled softly and patted her friend on the head, "...Sorry about that, Hina-chan, but it was the only strategy I could think of."
Temari bit her lip in rage so hard that blood trailed from it, "How can this be?! There's no way a weakling like her could even have come close to beating Kankurō let alone actually doing it!" She shouted.
"I told you, Blue eyes is full of surprises." Shikamaru said, "Seems to me that the blonde haired girl you were talking about, the one who you said was 'Biting the dust', turns out to be you." He said before jumping down from the balcony.
"What? How dare you mock me like that?!" Temari growled rapidly losing her cool.
"Enough of your trivial yammering, Temari." Gaara ordered with an intimidating growl, "I will not tolerate another sibling to represent our village so immaturely."
"R-Right. S-Sorry, Gaara, it won't happen again." Temari stuttered looking down from the deadly glare of her sibling.
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"So, how did I do, Shika?" Naruko asked hugging her boyfriend as the medical ninja pulled Kankurō away on a stretcher.
"Troublesome blue-eyes...you almost gave me a heart attack with that stunt." Shikamaru said.
"Sorry about that. How about we all go out for Ichiraku's to make up for it, my treat." Naruko said smiling at him sheepishly.
"Well...I can't stay mad at you forever." Shikamaru said planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Come on, Shika, don't be shy about our relationship now that it's out in the open~ I want to rub it into that witch's face anyways." Naruko said tugging him down before planting a kiss on Shikamaru's lips. She then turns to Temari with a sly smirk and stuck her tongue out while making a 'pfft' sound with it. She succeeded in ticking off the already furious Sand shinobi even more.
"N-Naru-chan, please don't antagonize her." Hinata said blushing brightly at the display of intimacy between her two friends.
"Don't worry, Hina-chan. Whatever, that witch is cooking up for me, I'll be able to deal with it." Naruko tells her hugging Shikamaru.
"*Cough* *Cough* If I am not interrupting anything, I would like to continue the Chunin Exams." Hayate said.
"Sorry for dragging this on, Hayate-sensei." Naruko said as the three return to the audience balcony.
"*Cough* Now to move forward to the next match." Hayate said as the names on the board shuffle around until it hit two names. "The fighters of the eighth match will be Hinata Hyuga against Kin Tsuchi!"
Kin smirked when she heard the name of her opponent, "Yes, I get another shot at that weakling. This should be really fun!" the sound Kunoichi said smirking at the shaking Hyuga girl.
Hinata's lavender eyes widen in shock, "H-Huh? I-I'm...n-next?" She asked in fear.
Jurabi: And there it is. Another co-op chapter! Hi everyone, Monkey D. Jurabi is back and I've brought you that awesome Naruko vs. Kankuro fight. I hope you enjoyed it.
Lazyfox: *Looking tired* I love to be loved, but to be dragged from one place to another so family can celebrate your birth is a little much. But I have to thank Jurabi a lot for coming through and writing up that awesome Naruko vs Kankuro battle for me. He followed my vision for it perfectly and I can't thank him enough for it :3
Magic: Thank you for helping Nee-Chan out~ *hands him a huge slice of birthday cake*
Jurabi: *Takes cake* It was no problem at all. Writing that battle was tons of fun. :)
Lazyfox: And it was awesome~ Naruko proves once again she cannot be underestimated and she sticks it to Temari by claiming her man! Yep the NaruShika relationship is out in the open people which means more fluffiness in future chapters~ NaruShika fluff makes for a happy birthday girl ^w^
Jurabi: And I can't wait to see how Hinata takes out Kin for that time she smacked her around! Go get her Hinata!
Magic: Chaaa! Hina-chan going in to beat a bitches ass! Woooo~
Lazyfox: next chapter is going to be fun I can promise you all that one~ I told you this was the arc I planned for in advance so yea I'm pulling the stops out with it~
Jurabi: That sounds very awesome! Okay people be sure to leave reviews and thoughts on this chapter. Those are considered presents for my writing bae!
Lazyfox: ^w^ I do love reading your reviews so that will be a plus for me! Thank you all again for reading my chapter and I hope you all have a great day or night and I will see you all next time~ So until next time...
Everyone: JAA-NEE!