Welcome back for those of you who are following my story or have favorited it, or my page thank you and a shout out to all of you guys. The number of favorites and follows is really a positive site. That is something that I am proud of and would like to thank you guys for. Still hoping that more of you guys will review my story and give me your opinions I want your input on what you guys think of the story so far, as well as ideas of who should be interested in Naruto in the way of girls from the sires. Otherwise, I hope you all like the new chapter and hope to hear from you guys soon. Also, sorry it has taken me so long to post, this chapter has been kicking my butt along with real world stuff getting in the way and the ever-popular procrastination really sorry on that last one. One last thing I forgot to post this back in chapter 5. The song played by Kōga is The Legend of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke here is the link for those who want to hear it watch?v=WggbL2LUs_k Now back to the action.
Picking their way through the forest of death Naruto and his team soon found themselves finishing up a fight with another team of enemy ninja. However, when they finished all they had to show for it was a second heaven scroll. So, they still needed to find and secure an earth scroll.
"Too bad we didn't find an earth scroll from that last team." Yakumo stated to no one in particular.
"It just means that we have three less opponents to deal with later." Naruto said as they kept their eyes open so as not to get ambushed again.
As they made their way through the forest Naruto happened to pick up on a chakra signature that was nearby. Naruto told the rest of the team and they decided to take the initiative and check it out. When they arrived it turned out that a single girl with red hair and glasses who had just seen her team die was surrounded by three ninja from the hidden Rain and a dead tiger off to the side. However, these guys looked nothing like the team that ambushed them. No, these guys looked more like they were just a trio of thugs From the trees above they heard the ninja surrounding the girl. Naruto figured that these three thugs happened to find her after her teammates died do to being ambushed by the cat that now was dead. The thugs must have killed it and decided that since she was out of the exam they could do what they pleased with her.
"You know they never said anything about the members of a team that happen to survive the rest of the team dying." One of them said
"Oh, I can think of a few things that we can do." Another one said.
"Yeah I mean we did save her. She owes us now." The one from before said.
"Now the only question is which one of us gets to have first go…"
Before he could finish that sentence a blur and a boot to the face interrupted him as he was sent flying back a good few feet. As Haku now stood where the rain ninja once did. Without a second thought she brought her hands down to the ground with a of cry of "Water Style: Storm Upheaval." At this a massive amount of water came cascading down from above them drenching the area around them and the other shinobi. At this Kōga jumped down from the branch flashing through hand signs. Naruto seeing what was about to happen body flickered and appeared next to the girl then grabbed her wrist and body flickered a second time back onto the tree branch with the girl in toe. Haku just jumped onto the tree trunk. As he landed on the water with a cry of, "Lightning style: Spider web." Kōga's hands touched the water and a web of lightning shot out across the surface of the water. The surprise still hadn't fully worn off and as a result he managed to take out the two standing Rain ninja who fell to the ground limp from the electricity coursing through their bodies. While the one on the floor was mopped up in the attack.
"You alright!?" Naruto asked with a bit of a rushed tone.
"I-I'm fine, thanks." The red head girl replied.
"Well, that's good sorry about you getting wet though." Naruto said before spinning around kunai drawn as several Shuriken were launched at him from the bushes. He managed to deflect almost all of them but two managed to graze his arm and leg.
As said shuriken throwers came out of the bushes only to pause as they saw who they had attacked.
Both Kiba and Shino were berating themselves but for different reasons, while Hinata ran over to him.
"I'm so sorry Naruto!" She didn't even realize what she was doing until she was already in front of him checking him over while she dug out some of her home-made salve to place on his injuries.
"Thanks, Hinata, but I'm ok." Naruto smiled down at the girl causing her heart nearly to explode with joy.
Hinata blushed deeply but fought not to pass out as Naruto was standing right in front of her. Haku noticed her blushing, 'Does she like Naruto?' At this thought Haku felt something she couldn't explain, was she jealous? Over Naruto?
Naruto noticed she was still on edge. "Hinata-chan, what happened?"
Hinata bowed her head and Kiba spoke up. "The red-headed freak from Suna killed three enemy Ninja without even batting an eye like it was nothing."
At this Naruto's mind jumped to Gaara. As he looked to Kiba he noticed him shaking. He may be somewhat like Menma but Kiba was still a ninja. To be shaken this badly Gaara must be powerful indeed. Though maybe this was a good thing in a way it would be a wake-up call for Kiba hopefully Naruto thought As this thought rolled through his mind Kou spoke up, 'This Gaara character had the same feel to his chakra as you and your siblings do.' This made Naruto skip a beat mentally for a second before he thought back. 'So, he's a Jinchūriki too.' Kou gave a mental nod in the affirmative though he wasn't sure which one of the tailed beast was sealed within the Sand Ninja. "How did he kill them?"
Shino almost made everyone jump when he spoke with the exception of Naruto and Kōga. "He encased them in the sand that he keeps in the gourd on his back. He then crushed them, killing them instantly."
Naruto didn't like the sound of that and neither did Kou.
Out of left field Yakumo spoke up, "Hey, you guys don't happen to have an earth scroll do you?"
Kiba growled, but Hinata spoke up. "Yes, we started with it and got another from a team we took out, why?"
Naruto smiled. "Perfect." Kiba dropped into a fighting stance while Akamaru started to growl as Kōga reached into his utility pouch.
"Hold it, Kiba." Naruto spoke up seeing the reaction to his brother's movement. "We also ended up 'liberating' a scroll we don't need, but our extra is a heaven scroll, so I propose a trade."
Kōga held out the scroll and Kiba relaxed. Hinata took out their extra earth scroll. After they exchanged scrolls they decided to move to the tower as a group. Tuning back to the red head with glasses Naruto spoke up "Anyhow We gotta go. Exams to finish and all that bye!" He replied as he nodded to the others before they jumped up to two of the nearby tree branches.
The redhead yelled in annoyance "Hey! Don't leave me here! At least tell me your name you jackass!"
Naruto decided to humor her as he turned to look at her and said "Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze bye!" And with that said they headed off.
Meanwhile, the redhead couldn't help but stare open mouthed, "Wait, he's also an Uzumaki?...That lying motherfucker!...also, why did his chakra feel weird? Bah, doesn't matter right now! That mummy prick told me I didn't have any living relatives and look who popped up!"
She huffed in annoyance before she looked at her dead teammates, before she sighed "Well, my teammates are dead, my 'boss' lied about me not having any living relatives, and now I'm stuck in a forest filled with a bunch of monsters...dammit!" After a moment she started to make her way back to the gates of the training ground. Little did she know that there would be a surprise waiting for her when she got to the training ground gates.
x x x x
Naruto and Kiba took point, while Haku and Hinata took rear-guard with the rest of the teams made up the center as the group made their way to the tower. It took them Four hours of grueling travel in total from the gate to the tower, but they made it. Having split up to head through their assigned door number, Team 12 soon found themselves staring at the writing on the wall.
"What the heck are we supposed to do now?" Yakumo asked confused about the writing on the wall.
At this Kōga pulled out the heaven scroll he was carrying as Naruto pulled out the earth scroll, while Haku pulled out the man scroll. "I think we're supposed to open the scrolls." Together they opened their scrolls.
Smoke filled the area and a voice most of them knew greeted them. "Congratulations on passing team 12."
Naruto grinned. "Iruka-sensei, it's been a while!"
Iruka smiled. "Yes it has Naruto, I'm glad to see you three are doing well. He looked over to Haku and smiled. "I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Iruka Umino. I've known these three from when I was their teacher in the academy."
Haku smiled. "I'm Haku, it's nice to meet you."
Naruto spoke up. "Hey, we should all go out some time to catch up, but for now I think I just want to get some food and rest."
Iruka smiled. "I bet you're tired. I'll show you around as you'll be staying here until the second exam is complete." Iruka said as he lead them into the main hall. When Iruka had finished with showing them around and to their rooms, he left them to their own devices.
During the next four days teams arrived one after the other and finally the last team arrived on the fifth day. Once that happened all of the teams were gathered and assembled in what was an arena inside the tower with raised platforms on both sides secured with railings, a large pair of arms with their hands in the shape of the Ram seal, where the Hokage along with each teams Jōnin sensei of those who passed were present as well.
Seeing all the examinees finally gathered, Minato motioned to a Jōnin who had his hair tucked under a bandana to address them as he nodded his head.
"Good to meet you everyone. My name Hayate Gekko, your proctor for the next part of the exam." He spoke...and then coughed.
"First of all, I want to congratulate all of you for passing the second exam. Though, I didn't expect so many candidates to actually make it." Hayate said coughing again. Many of the Genin wondered if the man was going to keel over with such a sickly complexion, but the fact he was a Jonin even with that meant it wasn't too likely.
"It's because there are so many of you that Hokage-sama decided to change up the exams a little this year. With that I'll give him the floor to explain it so please pay attention." He said once again coughing like he was about to keel over. Making some of the Genin wonder if he shouldn't have been in a hospital bed.
"Before I start with the explanation of the upcoming event, I want to tell you all the real reason behind these exams." After the words left his mouth, most the Genin had confused and curious looks. This made Minato smirk a bit before his expression turned serious. "I want you to know, without any sugar coating or lies, that this exam is here to promote and show off the prestige and power of each of the villages that are attending." Minato said in a stern tone, his eyes losing all traces of the kindness from earlier.
"There's still too many applicants here." Hayate said surveying the group of candidates. "So, we will need to have a set of preliminary rounds. As whether or not you get to the main stage...that'll depend on your performance here."
"W-What?! What the heck do you mean?! Isn't this just to see who has what it takes to be a Chūnin?!" Menma shouted.
"Of course, that is correct as well, this exam tests all of you to see if you have the merit to be Chūnin but there is also the reason that I was trying to explain earlier. In this exam, there will be many influential and powerful individuals that will give their assessment on all of you, to see if you meet the criteria needed to be a Chūnin. Because of that whoever makes their village stand out and shine more, will in turn bring more clients and in turn more missions to their village the opposite being true for those who muddle their village's name. I want you all to show that you can shine, no matter how small the village you came from!" At that, the Genin gained determined looks on their faces as the listened to Minato's speech.
Once he finished Hayate spoke up again. "Now before we start. I want to let all of you know that from this point on, Cough. You are being judged as individuals you no longer need all members of your team to pass their respective battles in order for you to advance." Again, he broke down into another coughing fit before continuing. "So, those of you who believe you can't go on, please raise your hands as the preliminaries will begin immediately." Once he asked, Kabuto raised his hand stating his chakra was completely spent.
At this Minato quirked an eyebrow since this was the same person who Ibiki said Naruto had left the note about. But he couldn't let him know they were on to him so he would have to put a tail on him to find out just what it was that he was up to. "Is there anyone else who wishes to leave?" when no one else spoke up he nodded "Very well than those who will be continuing please make your way to the balconies those who are not please follow the Chūnin who will take you back to the village." As the rest of the competitors made their way to the stands. Once they all were ready Hayate stepped forward and motioned to the monitor one the wall.
"These preliminary matches will be set up as a 1 on 1 format. These matches will also be paired at random. These matches will be until one competitor is unable to continue, concedes defeat or dies. Cough, As proctor I have a certain amount of authority to make executive decisions when a battle seems hopeless to try and persevere as many lives as possible." Hayate stated with another cough. "Now then the first match pairing will now be selected."
At this the screen started flashing through pairings to see who would be fighting in the first match before finally selecting two combatants.
"The first will be Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akadō." Hayate stated, "Will both competitors make their way their way to the arena floor."
Once both of them were in front of each other Hayate asked if both of them were ready. At this they both nodded, "Very well Begin!"
As the fight went on Naruto noticed that Sasuke was having trouble as his opponent was somehow absorbing his chakra through his strange technique. The fight went on like this for a bit until he used a move that made Lee tense Naruto noticed this and asked.
"Lee is something wrong?" At this Lee looked over at him before he bowed his head.
"No Naruto, Sasuke-san did the Dancing Leaf Shadow just like it is supposed to be done. I'm just saddened that he would copy my move like that."
Naruto frowned. "When did he copy your move?"
Lee sighed. "I challenged him before the first exam. During the spar I used that move to try and finish him before Gai sensei stopped me."
Hayate walked over to the downed Yoroi and did a quick once over. "Looks like he's had it. At this Sasuke managed to get to his knees seeing this Hayate spoke again after coughing, "The winner is Sasuke Uchiha."
Naruto looked down at Sasuke as he walked off the arena floor with the medics to be treated for whatever he had been grabbing at his shoulder for. As he thought about what just happened, Naruto found that he lost a bit of respect for Sasuke. 'Is he really that full of himself.' "But to sink so low as to copy an ally's Jutsu without a second thought or even asking.
Gai nodded. "Yes, I agree with you, Naruto-kun. Sasuke has dampened his Springtime of Youth by stooping to such actions."
Everyone's attention was on the board as the names spun. Naruto sighed when it came up Zaku Abumi vs. Shino Aburame
At this one of the sound ninja who had taken a shot at Kabuto spoke up "Which sucker is that?"
Shino simply started to make his way to the arena floor. As soon both opponents faced each other however Naruto noticed that the sound ninja had both of his arms in a set of slings he must have sustained injuries during the second part of the exam. 'Is he really going to try and fight Shino in his condition?' Naruto thought.
Before the fight even started Shino told his opponent that if he tried to fight him in this condition he would lose. Naruto had to agree with this statement as he didn't see any way this couldn't go bad for the guy. In fact, he was wondering why Hayate didn't just call the match as it wouldn't be anything but a one-sided battle from the get-go.
"Who is this Zaku guy?" Naruto asked as aloud to which Lee responded.
"He is a most unyouthful Sound ninja, Naruto."
"You've seen him fight." Naruto was curious, just for conversation's sake.
"Yes Naruto, he uses air pressure to attack from a distance, but during a fight with Sasuke his arms were both dislocated." Lee grimaced at the memory of Sasuke smiling while enjoying the pain he caused.
"It won't help him against Shino." Hinata commented she had been standing next to Naruto and Haku. Her voice showing total confidence in her teammate.
"I'm glad you're confident he will win, Hinata-chan." Naruto said making her blush at Naruto's statement.
As the fight went on it seemed that this Zaku guy was not as handicapped as he first thought. However, it seemed like it would do him little good as Shino had released his insects and they now had him caught between both him and the bugs. At this Shino spoke up.
"If you use your good arm on me my insects will swarm you and if you focus on them you will leave yourself wide open to me. It's always a good idea to have an ace in the hole."
At this Zaku managed to move his other arm and got it pointing at the bugs and now had both sides covered as his first arm was pointing at Shino.
"Like you said yourself always have an ace in the hole. Right?!" Zaku shouted before made his move "I'll blow you away!"
However, his boast was hollow as a sudden bang drew the eyes of all those watching as Zaku was now kneeling on the ground staring at his two now bloody arms in shock, "What? how?" Zaku asked through the pain. While Shino calmly walked up to him before talking.
"You see while I was giving you that helpful advice my insects were already moving to plug up those pesky wind holes in your hands. While an ace in the hole is good two aces are better." Shino stated calmly before sending a back fist to Zaku's face laying him out flat. At this he turned and walked back to his place on the balcony.
Hayate coughed. "Winner: Shino Aburame."
As Shino arrived on the balcony Hinata congratulated him along with Kiba while Naruto gave him a fist bump as he walked by.
"Nice work in there." Naruto stated to which Shino replied
"Thanks, but you better win your matches too." At this Naruto's face became determined giving him a nod.
As the screen started to flash through names again. When the screen stopped the next match was shown. Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro.
The match between these two was over quick as the other member of Kabuto's team was taken down by his over confidence. Thinking he had beaten his opponent only to find out that he had been fighting a puppet and was now caught in his opponent's trap. The Sand shinobi Naruto had confronted the other day now had his opponent right where he wanted him. Now wrapped up in the puppets arms as they constricted until every bone in his body was broken.
As Misumi was carried away on a stretcher Hayate announced, "The winner is Kankurō."
The board once again spun though names and landed on the next pairing. Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka
"Would Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno please enter the arena?" Hayate asked.
At this Naruto perked up at the names for this fight. Turning to Haku, he smiled. "How bad do you think Ino will win?"
Haku smiled. "Ino has gotten pretty good since you and I helped her with her training."
"Begin." Hayate announced.
The battle that everyone thought was going to be relatively even turned out to be a bit more weighted to one side as it was clear Ino was ahead of Sakura in terms of skill seeing as she had trained harder than her opponent for this exam with help from Naruto and Haku. When she connected with her Mind transfer Jutsu Naruto shouted. "You got her now Ino! Show her how it's done!"
Sakura heard Naruto cheering on Ino and that made her somewhat mad. 'Why is he cheering for Ino? What has she ever done for him?'
As Ino could hear her thoughts, she decided to open the pink haired girls' eyes. 'What have I ever done for him, how about being his friend for one. All you ever did was treat him like he had the plague and or avoid him. Oh, and you punched him when he startled you that one time back in the academy. I mean have you ever talked to him or even gotten to know him at all?'
Sakura mentally gasped when she realized Ino could hear her thoughts, but quickly defended herself. 'I've been nice to him before!'
Ino just shook Sakura's head slightly. 'Prove it. Ninja art: forgotten memories Jutsu.' With that Sakura's past memories that involved Naruto were now visible to the two of them as if they were slides on a projector. 'I bet you can't even show me one memory where you were nice to him or even talked to him like he was a normal person.'
Inner Sakura defended her other self, 'Oh yeah? I'll show you Ino pig!' At that, Sakura dug through her memories. As she dug and dug, she couldn't find even one. She dug even deeper still till she finally found one. Sakura was about to tell Ino to eat her words until she looked closer at the memory but to her shock it was not what she thought it was. The memory played clear as day for both of them to see thanks to Ino's Jutsu effects.
7-year-old Sakura was playing at the park with Ino and some of the other kids. The ball they had been playing with got kicked over by the swings and she had gone to go get it. When she ran over she found the ball near a swing that was occupied but the boy on it wasn't swinging in fact he was looking down at the ground like he was sad about something. Sakura walked up and picked up the ball. The boy looked up at her with his slightly empty blue eyes they were a bit unnerving. "Oh, sorry do you want to use the swing?" The boy asked her which was weird because the other two swings next to him were both empty. If she had wanted to swing all she needed to do was take one of the open swings.
"No that's Okay I just came to get the ball back." Sakura said holding up the ball and trying not to focus on the boy as he looked at her, something about him was making feel weirded out.
"Oh Okay." He said, "I like your hair by the way."
At this Sakura blinked and started to stutter feeling very uncomfortable around the boy like he had some sort of presence about him that made her need to get away, "Oh uh t-thanks. I-I have to go, don't want to keep the others waiting bye." And with that she ran back to the others. As she did she heard a soft bye from behind her as she ran back over to her friends. When she got back Ino asked Sakura who the boy was. "I don't know who he is. He's kind of creepy but at least he said I have good hair." And with that the memory ended. Sakura couldn't believe it Ino was right. It was in that moment of shock Ino used Sakura's body to forfeit the match.
Returning to her body, Ino stood up and walked over to Sakura leaning in so she wouldn't be overheard. "You know, it's not too late. You could make it up to him by trying to be his friend." Noticing Sakura was still lost in her thoughts, she dragged her once best friend back up to the balcony. When they passed where Naruto was standing Sakura couldn't even look at him as he congratulated Ino, she just kept walking until she was by her remaining teammate and sat down.
Naruto barely registered that the names Tenten and Temari were called as Ino stopped and told him about the fight inside Sakura's mind. "So, if she comes to try and apologize please be nice to her, if not for her, then for me, as a friend."
Naruto gave her his genuine smile. "Don't worry Ino-chan; you know I'm not that kind of person. If she really means it, then I'll accept her apology. But she is going to have to work to prove it I won't just act like everything is good between us it's going to take time and a lot of hard work on her end."
At this Ino smiled and hugged Naruto without thinking. As she did she felt something stir in her chest. 'Wait what is this feeling that I'm having? Do I have feelings for Naruto?' Seeing this Haku felt a slight bit of annoyance as jealousy over Naruto welled up in her chest again. Ino quickly stepped back with a slight blush on her face. Quickly saying "Thanks Naruto, you're a really nice guy." With that said she walked over to her team.
Shikamaru and Kin were called down to fight next since Tenten and Temari's fight had ended while she talked with Naruto. As Ino walked by Shikamaru, she noticed he was about to withdraw so she gave him a friendly push "Do your best Shikamaru." With that she bumped him just hard enough to send him over the railing.
Naruto turned his attentions to the arena and the fight that was about to go down between Shikamaru and Kin.
The fight didn't last long since Shikamaru was able to catch Kin in his shadow possession Jutsu Kin found she was unable to move. "This is checkmate, just surrender."
Kin was pissed, but also scared as she was now forced to mimic Shikamaru's movements. As both she and he drew shuriken and aimed their attacks "What do you think you're doing? You can't hurt me without hurting yourself!"
"Will just see about that one won't we." Shikamaru said as both of them launched their attacks and both dodged by leaning back fast however kin couldn't see the wall that she struck her head on. Causing her to knock herself out.
As her body hit the floor, Hayate called the match. "Winner: Shikamaru Nara."
Walking back to the spectator area Ino called out, "Nice job Shikamaru way to get that big brain of yours to work out a win."
"Nice work Shikamaru." Choji said high fiving Shikamaru as he made it back to his team. The screen started to cycle through names again until it stopped on the next set of fighters. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze vs. Kiba Inuzaka.
At this Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the irony of how they had helped each other in passing the second part of the exam. While Kiba shouted that he and Akamaru had just won the lottery. Naruto just looked at the rest of his team when he heard Kiba's reaction.
Kōga looked at Naruto smirking before he said, "Show him who's top dog."
Yakumo grinned before saying, "Make him cry uncle."
Haku giggled trying not to burst out laughing before she told him, "Show the little puppy what happens when he picks a fight with the big bad wolf."
At this Naruto smiled remembering back to that day in the academy when Kiba had told him to stay away from Hinata. He also remembered how tough he had tried to sound. Well now it seems that the dog and the wolf were going to find out once and for all who was really the alpha male.
When the two finally got down to the arena floor Kiba couldn't help but smile as he spoke. "Well, well, well looks like this is going to be fun. Don't take it too hard when you lose to me Naruto."
"Don't take me lightly Kiba or you just might find you bit off more than you can chew." Naruto replied calmly a slight smirk on his face.
At this Kiba just threw back his head and laughed as Akamaru jumped out of Kiba's hoodie and barked at Naruto. This only made Naruto smirk at the fact that Akamaru was trying to prove his superiority yet all he was doing right now was making Naruto laugh on the inside.
"That has to be the funniest thing you have ever said Naruto." Kiba said as he continued to chuckle. "Akamaru you watch this I'm going to take care of this myself."
At this Hayate spoke up, "If you're both ready? Begin."
As soon as the words left Hayate's mouth Kiba dropped to all fours in the blink of an eye rushing Naruto and struck with an elbow to the gut or at least that would have been what happened if Naruto hadn't dodged back so that Kiba whiffed. Growling Kiba dashed forward throwing a flurry of strikes that Naruto dodged and or blocked while Naruto did the same causing Kiba to have to block and dodge as well before the jumped back. Flashing through hand signs Naruto called."Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" And a ball of flames shot from his mouth Kiba managed get out of the way but not without getting singed in several places.
Not going to be outdone by the most average shinobi in his class Kiba snarled "Tunneling fang." With that he launched himself at Naruto whipping himself into a miniature cyclone. Naruto dodged out of the way coming up on his feet he ready another strike, "Wind Style: Beast wave palm." With a single slashing motion of his hand A razor sharp wave of wind sliced toward Kiba.
At this the Inuzaka shifted and dodged with feral grace with his "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu." Charging forward Naruto and Kiba went through another melee exchange before the two jumped back to create space. Most of the leaf shinobi in the room were stunned, while those who knew better just smirked. 'Is this really the same Naruto?' They mentally questioned. Asuma spoke voicing it before anyone else, "I'll say this much whatever Yūgao's training methods are they work."
Flashing through another set of hand signs Naruto bit his thumb and swiped the blood on his palm slamming it to the ground calling out, "Summoning Jutsu." With that a plume of smoke sprung up and when it dissipated a wolf the same size as Kuromaru with black and red streaked fur stood next to Naruto. Kiba blinked at this, 'Where did this kid get a summon contract, and with wolves no less?' His shock cost him as the wolf rushed forward to strike. This forced Kiba to drop to all fours only to have the wolf pass over him and land behind him as it turned to strike again.
Akamaru charged at the wolf drawing it attention only to have it swat him away with its paw. While he was distracted by the wolf Naruto came at Kiba's back but Kiba heard him coming. Spinning on his heels he snarled out, "Tunneling fang." With that he launched himself at Naruto whipping himself into a miniature cyclone. Being as close as he was Naruto couldn't fully dodge and took a glancing blow and was knocked back but managed to come up on his feet in a crouch. Akamaru came up next to Kiba growling at the wolf as it came to Naruto's side.
At this a slight chuckle rumbled from the wolf as it spoke in a feminine voice, "At least you don't lack spirt little one. Though it seems your bark is worse than your bite." Kiba snarled out "We'll just see who's bite is worse." And with those words he flicked a food pill to Akamaru right before he took one himself. Akamaru's fur turned red now looking more rabid as he growled. While Kiba turned more feral as his nails turned into claws and his canines became more pronounced. Akamaru hopped on his back as Kiba readied his next move, "Man Beast Clone!" With that the dog turned into an exact copy of Kiba. At this Both Kiba's rushed Naruto and the she wolf. Kiba threw a set of smoke bombs out to blind Naruto and the wolf.
Before the smoke cloud had expanded fully Kiba roared, "Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang." As the pair turned into a set of miniature cyclones that tore through the smoke cloud. When the smoke cleared standing next to Naruto was a tall Black and red-haired women in a regal black with red trim battle kimono and a red Obi with a Shakujō in her right hand. Kiba's jaw along with several others in the arena stands hit the floor at the sight of the beautiful women. Akamaru on the other hand had no such problems as he barked at Kiba snaping him out of his stupor. "You really think that a simple transformation Jutsu in the form of a sexy women is going to stop me?" Kiba quipped trying to cover up the fact that he was stunned by her looks.
"Oh, this is no transformation Jutsu she's real. Say hello again Akiko." At Naruto's introduction the women spoke up.
"I never get tired of the way they react the first time they see me in this form." Akiko stated.
Kiba blinked before snapping out of his surprise. "Wait you mean that wolf is really her?" Kiba roared in disbelief.
"Oh, come now is the little puppy scared?" Akiko chided as a smile graced her now human face. "I don't bite. Much." This comment made Anko chuckle to herself as she thought 'I like her.'
At her taunting both Kiba and Akamaru charged the pair readying for another fang over fang. However Naruto and Akiko rushed forward and used their combined rush to separate the duo so it would be harder for them to fight together as Akamaru faced the now human looking she wolf he growled and sped forward on all fours to strike Akiko smiled at his recklessness and raised the Shakujō to strike brining it down with a single fluid motion she hit Akamaru square on the nose the resounding crack that was heard caused some to wince as Akamaru now had a broken nose and was whimpering in pain. As Akiko stood speaking in a low tone "Bad dog. Learn to heel."
The rest of the room was in a mix of shock and hysteria as some couldn't believe what had just happened, while others were trying not to burst out laughing at the statement. Kurenai was both stunned and at the same time trying not to laugh by covering her mouth with her hand.
With Akamaru out of the way Kiba tried for another spiral fang but was mobbed by clones as he was launched into the air by three of them while Naruto used one of the clones back as a springboard to launch himself into the air ahead of Kiba only to bring his foot down in a spinning heel drop kick to Kiba's face. Sending him back to the arena floor with a loud sounding impact as his face hit the floor.
Hayate walked over and inspected Kiba. He groaned when his head was lifted to check him over for damage. Hayate stood and stated, "He's had it the winner: Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." At this Naruto nodded to Akiko and she bowed before she turned back into a wolf and vanished in a puff of smoke. Which allowed Akamaru to get up and slowly make his way over to Kiba as the medics loaded him up to be taken to the infirmary. While this happened Hinata met the medics before they took Kiba away and gave him some of her special salve. At this Naruto smiled as he still had the one she gave him when she had been inspecting his wounds in the forest. As Naruto made his way back to the balcony all eyes were on him. As he watched Gaara started to smile as he couldn't wait to fight him.
Making his way back to his team he was met with several congratulations from both his team and others along with a few fist bumps. Yūgao smiled putting her hand on his shoulder as she congratulated him. "You did good in there." Naruto smiled at this as this the screen flashed through names again. Till it stopped on Fū vs. Masa Onogami
"Would Fū and Masa Onogami please enter the arena."
At his request a lithe girl with mint green hair and a hidden waterfall Hitai-ate tied around her arm jumped the railing and landed in a crouch on the arena floor. While a lean boy with brown hair and a leaf Hitai-ate hanging around his waist casually made his way down to the arena floor till both were standing in front of each other.
Hayate stepped back, "Begin!"
At this the green haired girl rushed her opponent at high speed and struck with a hard right aimed at her opponent's head. While the brown-haired boy managed to dodge by the skin of his teeth. And put some distance between the two of them. Flashing through hand signs before calling out, "Fire style: Phoenix flower Jutsu." As he spat a volley of small fireballs at his opponent.
The girl back flipped out of the way. While the fight was going on a brown-haired girl from the balcony was calling out to the guy who was her teammate "Come on Masa show her what your made of." Naruto knew the girl as Sasuke's older sister Setsuna. she graduated from the academy the year before Naruto's class graduated. She was also a friend of Naruto's. When he was little she even helped to show him a few of the basics of chakra control. That was at least until he ran away.
The fight was definitely fast paced as the girl Fū seemed to be controlling the pace of the fight. However, Masa was no pushover as he was giving just as good as he got. As he sent a high kick aimed at her head she ducked and tried to sweep his legs out from under him. As he leg was swept out he spun with the motion and landed before flashing through another set of hand signs as he shouted, "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu." And launched a ball of fire at her. Jumping high into the air she flashed through a quick set of hand signs before she called out
"Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Sneak Jutsu." As she opened her mouth a fine powder like mist was exhaled from her mouth the powder reflected not only the natural light in the room but also reflected the light of the fireball which caused the powder to blind many in the room including Masa when his eye's refocused Fū was gone but only for a few seconds as he heard a shout from above "Hidden Waterfall Hurricane." Looking up in time only to be hit from above Fū came down with a whirl wind of force in a single strike plowing Masa into the floor. When the dust settled Masa was on the floor and not getting up.
Hayate saw this and called the match, "Winner: Fū." At this the girl jumped and pumped her fist in the air while her two team mates just seemed to be unimpressed. The medics came to get Masa and Fū simply picked him up and placed him on the stretcher they had before saying.
"That was a great match we should totally be friends and have a rematch some time."
Masa never responded but she took the moan that escaped his lips as a yes and she smiled returning to her team. As the next set of names were drawn at random. The screen finally stopped on Mito Uzumaki-Namikaze vs. Kegon.
As the two made their way down to the arena floor Menma shouted, "Show him what your made of Mito." She would have face palmed at her brother's outburst as if she would give anything less. If not for the fact that she needed to focus on her opponent she would have told him he was being an idiot.
Hayate raised his hand and called, "Begin." As he brought his hand down to signal the start of the match. The two didn't wait for the other to make the first move as they both raced to close the distance and engaged in a rapid-fire set of blows striking, dodging, parrying, and spinning. Only for the two to split apart as they both went for their next strike.
Kegon launched a wave of water shuriken at the red head while Mito made a single hand sign before calling, "Wind Style: Air Bullets." As a barrage of air bullets met the wave of shuriken. Mito was already flashing through another set of hand signs before she launched a wave of shuriken calling out "Wind style Gale palm." And used the blast of air from her hands to propel the shuriken even faster at her opponent. Kegon saw the incoming attack and made to dodge but two of the shuriken managed to hit cutting small gashes in his arm and leg. The cuts however weren't debilitating and he knew it. As he flashed through a quick set of hand signs calling out.
"Water style: Raging Waves." As a small torrent of water shot from his mouth. Mito returned fire as she finished her last hand sign.
"Wind style: Great Breakthrough." And a blast of wind met the oncoming wave of water
Kegon was surprised that this Genin was pushing him this much. He already knew he didn't need to win this fight since he and Yōrō were both really Jōnin and only here as Fū's handlers. However, this allowed for an opening for Mito to strike and he decided to let the blow land only for it to be followed up by several others in rapid succession with the last one sending him into a wall. Playing possum to make it look more realistic that he had gone down.
As Hayate called the match the medics came out on to the arena floor to collect Kegon as they did he grinned to himself for his performance. Mito was met with a round of congratulations from her brother and sister along with those near her team as she made her way over to them. while this was going on no one really noticed that Yōrō and Kegon shared a nod at each other as he was taken away by the medics.
The screen once again went through the name selection process only to select the next set of fighters Hinata Hyūga vs. Neji Hyūga. At this most of the room went silent as most of the leaf ninja in the room knew that this match up was heavily one sided. As both competitors stepped on to the arena floor the tension in the air was so thick it could have been cut with a kunai. As the two now faced each other Neji spook. "I never thought that you and I would have to face each other Hinata."
"Nor I Neji." Hinata responded weakly.
At this Hayate spoke, "Begin!"
Before either one moved Neji spoke, "Before we do this a word of advice, withdraw now Hinata san. You know you were never cut out to be a ninja. You are too kind and naïve. What's more you actively avoid conflict. You have no faith in yourself but you couldn't bear to let your teammates down could you?" At this Hinata looked down, "I will not hold back in this fight and you will get hurt fate is not on your side as I will be the one leaving the victor. We can't change who we are or what fate has in store for us no matter how much we wish it so."
At this Hinata spoke albeit softly, "Your wrong about why I entered the exams but maybe I can show you that your wrong about me." At this Hinata activated her Byakugan looking up to meet Neji's eyes she took a combat stance.
At this Neji dropped into a similar stance but not quite the same before responding, "As you wish but you cannot win this fight nor can you change who you are."
While this was going up in the balcony Naruto was seething about Neji's words. The rest of his team had noticed by the way his hand were gripping the railing with such force that his knuckles were all white. In fact, Kōga, Yakumo, Haku, and Yūgao all thought they could hear the railing creek slightly. Naruto wanted to jump the rail and pummel Neji into the ground. By his logic Naruto couldn't have done anything that he had that helped to change his former situation. In fact, by that logic Naruto should have been helpless to change the way everyone ignored him and never been able to change anything about it. But the fact that Naruto stood here was a contradiction to this. A stark flaw in Neji's way of thinking.
Naruto knew that to give up was to admit defeat and give in to despair and slowly wither from the inside out and die a slow death. If you wanted things to change you had to abandon your fear your doubt your hesitation and turn to face the mountain before you. Never give an inch and advance never stopping till you make the change that you wanted happen. This was one of the lessons he had learned when he was with the wolves. It was also one of the most important. For just a second Naruto's and Hinata's eyes met they both shared a quick nod. Neji noticed this and looked at where Hinata's eyes were looking and found Naruto glaring at him with an intensity that would have bored right through him and made anyone else among the leaf Genin in the room look away. Naruto had trained with Hinata back when they were in the academy. This was where Naruto had encouraged Hinata to reach for her own goal and to get stronger her own way. This had led to Hinata coming up with her own way to fight.
Neji's eyes refocused on Hinata and he activated his Byakugan and with that the fight began. The two Hyūga locked in a deadly dance of the Gentle Fist style that the members of their clan favored. However, Hinata was moving different from the way Neji moved while his strikes were rigid precise Hinata's were more fluid and graceful allowing for her to bend and weave. The pair went at it without any hesitation Neji notice that Hinata had indeed gotten better but something was different about her strikes. As one of the strikes managed to land but not on a chakra point Neji felt a jolt of electricity run up his left arm causing it go numb. Neji's eyes widened as he disengaged for a moment as he looked to his arm then back to Hinata.
"If you want to know what you're feeling it's the effect of my lightning chakra nature added to my strikes." Hinata stated surprising everyone including her father who had come to see the matches and if his daughter had managed to get any stronger. "By combining a chakra nature change to my strikes, they become more potent."
This info made Neji scowl 'This will be a problem' he thought as the feeling was coming back to his arm albeit slowly. As the fight continued on Hinata surprised Neji again with a strike aimed at his head as she called out, "Eight trigrams Vacuum palm." Neji's eye widened but he managed to avoid the blast of compressed air aimed at his head and aimed a counter strike. At this Hinata disengaged by performing a back flip to make some space as she gathered herself into her stance once more, only to have her opponent rush her. This made her smirk as her cousin ran headfirst into the trap she had set for him.
As Neji closed in she made a hand seal and two clones now stood next to Hinata and charged. Neji saw through her ploy and took down both of the clones as the real Hinata struck Neji smirked as he used his rotation to block the incoming attack and knock her back, only to realize that he had made a misstep as the Hinata he struck dissipated and the real Hinata was coming directly at him just as his rotation was ending. Hinata managed to come up inside his guard as the rotation finished and land a palm heel strike to his right shoulder making his right arm useless for a short bit of time thanks to her chakra nature infused strikes.
As the fight continued it seemed that Hinata could win if not for the fact that Neji had managed to close the gap and hit his with Eight trigrams sixty-four palms which caused her to take a large amount of damage when Neji went in to finish her Hinata surprised him as she struck, "Protective eight trigrams sixty-four palms." At this razor thin blades of pure chakra sliced through the air almost causing severe harm to Neji if not for the fact that he was able to use his rotation at the last second to protect himself. The last of her chakra gone Hinata fell to the ground passed out from the exhaustion and damage to her chakra network.
At this Hayate called the match however, Neji couldn't help but stare for just a moment at the unconscious form of Hinata as she was taken off the arena floor as he thought to himself. 'Well, it seems that you have indeed change Hinata and even become stronger than I thought possible. And it seems you have him to thank for that.' As Neji knew that Naruto had to have helped her train. 'But in the end it ended up the same way I said it would.' As that thought passed through his mind he turned and walked off the floor and back to his team. At the same time Hiashi was still staring after his daughter as she was taken off the field.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes he would have never thought Hinata could have grown so much as to almost defeat Neji and yet he couldn't help but feel something was off. Where had she learned to combine her chakra nature with her strikes? And more importantly who had taught her this, and why? He knew that no Hyūga had taught her this. Then it suddenly clicked when Neji had looked into the balcony the boy who had glared at him. The eldest son of the Hokage had been glaring at him like he was ready to beat him to a pulp. He had been the one to help train his daughter he was sure of it. One thing was for certain he would need to talk to Hinata when all was said and done.
The board started to spin through names again and finally landed on the next set of names to fight in the arena. Sai vs. Narumi Uzumaki-Namikaze at this both of the competitors made their way down to the arena floor. Or that would have been what happened if not for the fact that Sai raised his hand and called out, "Proctor I'd like to forfeit." This caused most of the on lookers in the balcony to stare at him in confusion. While Narumi's outburst drew their attention next.
"Oh no you don't I entered this exam to prove I have what it takes to be a Chūnin don't you dare back out."
Riichi looked over to Sai confused as well. "Sai what are you doing?" He asked his student, puzzled at Sai's actions yet his expression didn't seem to faze Sai as he gave the same fake smile as always.
"Sorry Sensi but to be honest I'm pretty sure I am not strong enough to beat her." At this Riichi blinked but nodded and gave confirmation to Hayate.
"The Winner by forfeit is Narumi Uzumaki-Namikaze." At this Narumi started complaining about how her opponent was a coward and it wasn't fair that she won like this. At this the rest of the room sweat dropped at the girl antics. Riichi however wondered if this was just Sai being Sai or if he really did think that he would have lost the fight and decided to withdraw instead of fighting a losing battle. This showed good judgement if it was the latter. And if that was true it also showed that out of all three of his students Sai was the most ready for this exam.
After that the screen whirled through names once more Narumi fuming next to her brother and sister as the screen stopped on the next two combatants Setsuna Uchiha vs. Kinya Futomi as both Kunoichi made their way to the arena. The grass ninja looked Setsuna up and down only to raise an eyebrow. "From what I know of the Uchiha I would have thought you would be more imposing."
This comment made Setsuna glare at her opponent before responding, "Don't worry when I wipe the floor with you it won't make a difference how imposing I look."
Hayate spoke up before anymore trash talk was hurled, "Begin!"
The two rushed each other however, Setsuna had the upper hand in this fight as her Sharingan flared to life. The two exchanged a series of strikes before Setsuna flashed through a series of hand signs as she called, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." With that she fired off a barrage of small fire balls at her opponent. The grass Ninja dodged and weaved only to fire back with a barrage of kunai. Setsuna rolled out of the way and came up to her feet
Kinya smile as she squared her stance, "Ninja art: Needle Senbon." Her long hair came to life and shot forth a deadly rain of razor-sharpened Hair needles. Setsuna planted her feet and wove through a set of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." At this a large fireball shot from her lips and incinerated the incoming projectiles as it headed straight for Kinya. Only for her to roll out of the way of the oncoming ball of flame. When she came up on her feet Kinya leant forward now on all fours.
"Needle Spear: Odoshi." She cried as her hair turned into long spears that shot forward to impale Setsuna. The young Uchiha wove through the oncoming spears trying to close with her opponent. As she did Her opponent ran through a set of hand signs.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo" Suddenly her long hair wrapped around her body and seemed to turn ridged and sharp, almost like she was wrapped in a cloak of Metallic spikes. Setsuna was surprised by the Jutsu. However, she also knew that while this Jutsu was strong it had weak points since it couldn't cover the entire body. With her Sharingan active she was able to analyze the Jutsu and what its weakness was. With one well-placed strike Setsuna managed to strike the unprotected part of her opponents face which was one of the only spots that the Needle Jizo couldn't protect fully. This caused her opponents Jutsu to dissipate as her hair went back to normal as she was sent back a few feet by the force of her blow. Kinya managed to land on her feet only for Setsuna to be on her in an instant with a Kunai drawn and poised to cut her throat.
"Yield." Was the only word to come from her opponent's mouth as Kinya had no other course of action.
"I submit." She answered quietly but loud enough to for the proctor to hear.
"Winner Setsuna Uchiha." Hayate announced as she made her way back to the balcony and to the rest of her team. While this happened, the screen went through the process of selection again. Before it once again settled on the next pair of combatants Kōga Uzumaki-Namikaze vs. Jura. And once again Hayate called for the two competitors to make their way to the arena floor. For his part Jura was slightly taller than most Genin by about half a foot or more. (similar to Jūgo in appearance) With orange hair dressed in a greyish white and red trimmed vest with a fishnet under shirt and black pants with matching black arm bracers. The two now facing each other Hayate called "Begin!"
With that the fight was on as Jura brought his hands up to form a single hand sign and a small flood of stone came pouring from his mouth to form a stone golem that charged alongside him at Kōga full speed. With a quick set of hand signs Kōga fired off his Jutsu, "Lightning Style: Lightning hound." As the beast leapt forward in a blur headed straight for Jura only to be intercepted by Jura's golem which was blasted into pieces. As Jura burst through the dust left by the golem and struck
The two met with a quick exchange of blows only to switch sides from where they were originally. Jura shot through a set of hand signs before slamming his hands down on the ground, "Earth Style: Rupturing Earth Palm!" At this the stone in front of him ruptured and split heading straight for his opponent. Kōga jumped out of the way to avoid the attack only to find out that it was a faint as Jura closed the gap and landed a hit that sent Kōga back a few feet with the force of the hit, he winced as he got back to his feet Jura's strength was nothing to sneeze at. He knew he would be feeling the full extent of that hit plus the bruises later. Gritting his teeth, he brought his hands up into a single hand sign. Making a threesome of shadow clones Kōga rushed his opponent as they closed all four Kōga's flashed through the same set of hand signs
"Water Style: Raging Waves." As these words finished four torrents of water shot forth impacting his opponent or they would have if not for the fast thinking his opponent showed as Jura simply slammed his hand into the ground.
With a cry of "Earth style: Terra Shield a section of the floor flipped up like it was on springs to block the incoming torrent. Once the water had stopped the earth shield fell back into place to allow Jura to charge, with a single hand sign both of Jura's hands seemed to turn to stone as the skin turned a dark brown as both fists came forward, "Earth Style: Iron Skin." Without skipping a beat Jura took out all three clones without even slowing his charge.
Kōga gulped slightly at both the sight and the memory of how hard his clones had been hit the memory felt like a boulder hit him at highspeed. Managing to dodge the oncoming attack of his opponent as Jura's fist crashed through the spot he had been standing just a second ago and into the ground burring themselves up to the elbow. With only seconds to spare Kōga flashed through hand signs the last one finishing as Jura pulled his arms free. Bringing his hands down Kōga called, "Lightning Style: Spider Web and with that a web of electricity spread out ensnaring Jura in its reach since he was too close to get out of the way in time. With a violent jolt of concentrated electricity arcing through his body, Jura toppled to the ground a groan escaping his lips as his eyes rolled back in his head.
At this Hayate spoke up, "Winner Kōga Uzumaki-Namikaze."
Kōga made his way back to the balcony and his team only to be greeted with high fives and nice jobs. Yūgao smiled at him as she told him, "Good job in there." Minato motioned for a few of the Jōnin to mend the ruined arena floor. After that the screen whirled to life again as the selection process started once more. Only to stop on the next two names to do battle, Yakumo Kurama vs. Yōrō. When this happened Yūgao smiled at this and placed a hand on her shoulder as she gave her student her support. "Show him what your made of out there." This bolstered Yakumo's confidence as she headed for the arena floor. Her sensei was right all the missions and training had led her to this moment and she wouldn't exit this arena without knowing she had done her best.
Soon both were standing in front of each other on the arena floor and once again Hayate called "Begin." And with that one word the match was on as the two sprang into action both jumping back to make room for what they had planned. Yōrō pulled out a single shuriken and threw it at Yakumo, without a second to waste he brought his hands up and flashed through a set of hand signs, "Shuriken shadow clone Jutsu." And with that the single shuriken multiplied to about thirty as the now wave of shuriken fast approached Yakumo. Dodging out of the way Yakumo wove a set of hand signs before calling out.
"Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar." At this Yakumo's body lit up like she had just been struck by a bolt of lightning as the light intensified to blinding as most of the room had to shield their eyes. When the light finally subsided Yakumo was gone. Yōrō ducked the strike from behind and grabbed Yakumo's arm and with one move he brought her to the ground pinned on her back. Thinking he had the match won he readied a strike only for Yakuno to fade as a kick struck him in the face sending him backwards though he managed to come out of the tumble in a crouch. Yakumo was standing where he had been a moment ago in a ready position only for Yōrō to snort.
"Should have known Genjutsu after all the Kurama clan is well known for it." He said smirking. "Too bad it's only useful when your opponent is least expecting it."
Yakumo simply smiled before replying, "Well aren't you well informed however I have more at my disposal than just Genjutsu." With that said electricity sparked along her body as it looked more like she had just become a living sparkplug. As she raced forward faster than she had before closing the distance in a seconds. She struck fast as Yōrō tried to dodge only to be just a bit too slow. As her strike hit it cut her opponent leaving a nice gash along his shoulder blade.
Managing to make some space Yōrō sped through a set of hand signs before opening his mouth, "Water style: Severing Wave." At this Yakumo dodged the blast stream of water as she weaved around it. To come within striking distance as she struck and hit Yōrō in the chest. Even though it was a glancing blow the electricity sparking along her body managed to cut a shallow line on his chest. Flashing through another set of hand signs Yakumo jumped back and drew her Tantō from its sheath as the electricity faded and she began to wave her blade back and forth. Yōrō was about to laugh only to stop as words seemed to echo through his mind 'Leaf Ninja art: Yanagi.' As the waving blade seemed to multiply with this they resembled a willow branch swaying in the breeze. The leaves on the branch blew off and came at him as they passed he felt himself be slice by each leaf as it touched his skin as this happened he made to dispel the Genjutsu only to find that Yakumo now stood with her blade poised to take his eye. Not only that but he was somehow covered in cuts and gashes even though Yakumo was seen by those in the balcony to have not laid a finger on him. At this Yōrō questioned, "How?" before he was forced to surrender.
"Winner Yakumo Kurama."
At this the medics came and helped Yōrō off the arena floor while Yakumo headed back to the balconies. As she made it back Yakumo was greeted with smiles as well as several great jobs Yūgao stepped up and congratulated her student, "See told you, you could do it." Finishing this statement, she winked at Yakumo like they were sharing some inside joke and she could only smile wider at the gesture. Once again the screen flashed through names and again selected the next set of opponents. Gaara vs. Rock Lee. At this Lee went into one of his rants about how his supposed plan worked to be the next one selected to fight, before he and Gai shared a moment that caused most of the room to think they were either going insane or going to go blind as Lee and Gai performed their TRUE ultimate Genjutsu. Gai and Lee were having a master/student moment where they were both shouting "YOUTH!" from the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean with a sunrise occurring behind them as the Kanji for youth appeared in bold above the two of them.
Haku was questioning reality while Yakumo was constantly trying to exert her abilities to dispel the nightmare-like Genjutsu, Naruto however in his curiosity, grabbed one of the rocks from the cliffside and then tossed it over the edge, as a result it went into the water below.
'What kind of sick Genjutsu is this!? They never did this when I was part of one of their training sessions.' Naruto couldn't help but think.
At this Kou cried out "TURN IT OFF! I DON'T WANT THIS BURNED INTO MY MEMORY!"
Naruto turned and looked to his brother who on second glance seemed to be frozen in place.
"Hey… bro you okay?" He said waving a hand in front of Kōga only for him to respond, "I think I'm blind."
Minato however shrugged as he shook his head at the display. He had seen it enough times already between Might Gai and Gai's father. It was too late for him.
Meanwhile Sakura walked over to them from where she had been standing before decking them both as she yelled "CAN YOU NOT MENTALLY SCAR US WITH THAT DAMMIT!?"
After Sakura had finished scolding the pair lee jump the railing and landed to face his opponent who had been waiting for him without moving.
Before Hayate could even start the match the cork on the gourd fired at high speed to strike Lee only to be caught by his hand in a blur before it impacted.
"Why so eager to start before the match has even begun?" Lee questioned dropping the cork.
Finally, Hayate called for the match to begin And Lee took off toward his opponent. At first Lee wasn't able to land a clean hit on Gaara, as his sand was acting as a shield that protected him from all of Lee's attacks no matter how fast or what angle that it came from.
When his standard attacks proved unable to bypass Gaara's defenses Lee was unsure he would even be able to hit him. However, at this Gai called out from the stands, "Lee now is the time for you to do it."
"But Gai Sensei you said it was only to be used when lives were on the line."
"That I did but this is an exception." Gai said flashing his trademark smile which could blind an unsuspecting person from more than twenty feet away.
At this Lee smiled and removed the leg weights he'd been wearing. Most of the people in the room scoffed at this pointless gesture only for their mouths to drop when the weights hit the ground and caused a pair of craters upon impact. The amount of dust that had been kicked up made it look like a batch of explosive tags had gone off. With his ankle weights removed his speed increased so much that he managed to actually hit Gaara, finishing off his strikes with the Lotus technique.
Gaara was now laying in a crater of his own, as Hayate approached to check on his wellbeing. However, Gaara suddenly seemed to be breaking apart as his whole body turned into sand as the real Gaara came up behind Lee and began to strike with blasts of high-speed sand repeatedly.
"LEE! you need to get out of there!" Sakura yelled from the balcony only for Riichi to step up next to her.
"That won't work." He said causing Sakura to turn and look at him.
"Huh why is that?" Sakura asked only for Kakashi to step up next to her from the other side and pick up where her sensei left off.
"It's due to the fact that the Lotus is what you might call a double edged-sword."
"What Does that mean?" She again questioned showing just how little she knew about what was going on.
"You know that it's a forbidden technique, why do you think that is?" Riichi asked using this moment to teach his student just how far behind she was.
"Well…" She spoke up but trailed off as she had no good answer.
"It's due to the fact that it's neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu but Taijutsu that places enormous strain on the user's body. So much so that the strain is almost unimaginable. Right now, Lee can barely move at all." He finished.
"If that's true then that means he is a sitting duck right now. Right Sensei?" Mito questioned showing that she had been listening to what they had been discussing.
"Right. At this moment he's in so much physical pain it anyone's guess how he's still standing let alone moving." Kakashi stated.
As the match went on Lee decided it was time to use his ace in the hole. At this Lee took a ready stance as he smiled and dodged attacks causing many in the stands to be stunned.
Sakura couldn't believe it as she watched it happen, "He's smiling? He's running for his life, and he's smiling?"
"Yes but now it's Gaara's turn to run as the leaf village Lotus blooms twice." Gai stated calmly.
"Lee told me that before what does it mean?" she questioned as this made both Riichi and Kakashi pause before Kakashi spoke up stunned at what Gai just admitted to.
"Gai you didn't?"
At this Gai shot back, "Yes I did and don't think I don't know the consequence of what could happen."
"So that boy is able to open the eight inner gates and use the hidden Lotus. If that isn't…" Pausing to regain his composure before asking his question, "Okay so how many gates can he open now?"
"Five." Gai stated.
"Wait a sec if a primary Lotus puts that much strain on the body what would happen if he went farther?" Mito questioned.
"Exactly." Kakashi responded to his surrogate little sister, "There are eight gates think of them as chakra limiters by opening them you can surpass the body's natural limits and safeguards. The primary Lotus opens only the first of these gates when you open the third gate you enter the hidden Lotus. When all eight gates are open you could gain power to rival even that of the Hokage but the catch is that in the end you die." This caused both girls to gasp at what they had just learned.
Using this technique Lee opened up to the sixth gate and was able to stage a comeback against Gaara. The sand that had been protecting him wasn't able to keep up with Lee's insane speed, actually managing to cause damage to Gaara who could barely keep up. With the final strike of his hidden Loutus Gaara was sent plummeting at high speed into the ground. However, by turning his gourd to sand to cushion his impact, He managed to survive the impact. The problem for Lee was that technique took a massive toll on his body to the point that he could barely crawl away. Gaara added to Lee's injury by using his Sand coffin to crush Lee's arm and leg.
Before this could go any further Gai intervened and stopped Gaara from killing him this action caused Gaara to pause as his thoughts came to a grinding halt before asking, "But why? He failed, so why save him?"
"because he's… He's my student."
At this Gaara got back to his feet all be it slower than he would have liked and made his way off the arena floor he spoke. "I quit he didn't do anything to help to acknowledge my existence." This statement stunned the rest of the room but it was too late. When Gai had stepped in to save Lee the match had been decided. As he walked off the floor he looked up at Naruto and his eyes narrowed at him then widened in a dark glee he will help to acknowledge my existance.
Once the two were off the arena floor, Minato motioned for a few of the Jōnin to mend the ruined arena again, using a collaboration Earth style Jutsu to fix the damage to the floor. After the they had finished fixing the floor the screen spun up once more to select the next two names to fight. Menma Uzumaki-Namikaze Vs. Todasu
At this Pairing Menma whooped about how he was going to mop the floor with his opponent only for Mito to hit him on the head.
"Don't you dare go and claim this is going to be easy this is the Chūnin for a reason." She ranted at him making Menma apologize before he entered the ring. While his opponent made his way down without much drama. The two sized each other up as they stood face to face. Looking his opponent over Todasu was taller with brown hair and brown eyes and a black bandana style Hitai-ate dressed in a gray vest with a black shirt underneath and tan shinobi pants.
At this Hayate announced "Begin."
With that both combatants burst into motion hoping to strike the first blow as they both flashed through a set of hand signs. As if looking at a reflection both fighters finished at the same time with a call of, "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" as twin blasts of flame collided with each other. When the flames cleared both had a look of stunned confusion on their faces. 'Is he copying me?' Menma questioned in his mind. Before this thought could get any traction his opponent made his next move.
Todasu flashed through another set of hand signs, "Fire style: Phoenix flower Jutsu!" at this he fired off several smaller but no less dangerous flaming spheres. Grinning Menma wove and dodged through the fireballs as he went through a set of hand signs himself, "Fire Style Bullet: Homura!" and brought his hand up and fired a decent size column of flame from his hand at his opponent.
Todasu managed to have a clone take the hit. Menma decided two could play that game as he summoned a trio of his own clones who moved to surround his opponent Menma smirked as he moved to enact his plan as he and his clones went through a familiar set of hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire ball Jutsu!" and with that three simultaneous blasts of fire now converged on their target. Todasu backflipped to get out of the way but was still singed in several places as he went through a new set of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Flaming Meteors." At this Todasu made a myriad of small fire balls that streaked for Menma and his clones taking out the pair of clones while Menma managed to dodge and weave his way through the fire balls to get in closer but not without getting singed himself in several places. When he got within range Menma conjured seven shadow clones and rushed his opponent full speed mobbing him with numbers and the Uzumaki style taijutsu.
"Winner Menma Uzumaki-Namikaze."
Menma pumped his fist in the air as he made his way back to the balcony stating that he was the man only for Kakashi to roll his eye at this statement. While this was happening the screen went thought the process of picking names again but with only four people left who had not fought it was not much guess of the pairings since there was only two possible outcomes. As the screen finally settled on an outcome. Haku Momochi Vs. Hineko Uzuka.
Hayate called for the two fighters to make their way to the floor when both opponents were present he motioned for them to begin the fight however didn't last long as Haku used her hidden mist Jutsu to reduce her opponent's visibility and make it harder to retaliate. When the mist cleared her opponent was riddled with senbon and was down on one knee. At this point Hayate called it as anything more would be unnecessary to see that Haku had won the fight. Menma could be heard complaining that they hadn't even seen any action at this Naruto just sighed at his brother's outburst while Mito facepalmed.
The last match was Choji Vs. Dosu at this Naruto heard Choji talk about how he was totally out of his league however Asuma told Choji that he would take him out for all you could eat barbeque if he won. At this Choji shouted that he would win and that he would be feasting when all was said and done as he entered the ring. Naruto waited for Choji to be out of range before he spoke up, "That was a bit of a cheap shot don't you think Asuma Sensei?" Naruto asked accusingly.
At this the Jōnin just chuckled lightly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I didn't really force him to do anything he made his own choice after all."
"Some choice since you knew Choji would never turn down free all you can eat barbeque." Shikamaru remarked causing Asuma to face vault at this.
The match however was over faster than any of the other matches since it was a bad match up to begin with since Choji's opponent could strike using sound even if his opponents' ears were covered like the human body was one giant ear. With a single strike the match was over.
"Winner Dosu." Hayate announced. As the sound ninja made his way back to the balcony
When this announcement was finished Minato stepped forward to address those who had moved on to the final round of the exam. "You have all demonstrated great talent here today and have moved on to the third round of the exam. The third round will be held one month from now. However, we will be drawing for who you will be battling in the finals now." At this many of the participants were confused. However, Minato spoke before any questions could be asked, "This may seem strange but it is to allow for those who have shown their full skill set to improve and acquire new Jutsu. This also makes it so that no one can take advantage of any information gained here today. So please, come forward and draw." Minato said, as he gestured towards a box with the names of all those present in it. One by one, they approached the box and drew, finally the pairing were complete. In order, it was as followed: Narumi vs. Neji, Temari vs. Shikamaru, Shino vs. Kankurō, Mito vs. Yakumo, Sasuke vs. Menma, Ino vs. Haku, Setsuna vs. Dosu, Mito vs. Yakumo, Fū vs. Kōga, Naruto vs. Gaara. With that Hayate addressed those present one last time.
"Use this time well to prepare both mentally and physically dismissed."
And with that round two of the exam is complete hope you enjoyed and as always leave your thoughts and suggestions to help make this story better.